Chapter 180: Let's Talk Later

embers, as well as some friends and family, Ji Chang Wook left for the airport on August 22nd with the production crew to board a chartered flight to Los Angeles.This trip to LA is not for all the act..."Bro, what did you just say about getting off 《Music Bank》"

Having casually sent a text message, Chi Jingyuan put his phone away and entered work mode. Recalling what they had discussed before the call, he repeated it in a slightly surprised tone.

"Yes."

Park Bo Gum nodded in confirmation: "** has already signed you up for the drama 'Signal,' and they are now negotiating with the production team to coordinate filming schedules, aiming to avoid overlap between the filming of the drama and your activities as an EXO member."

Upon hearing this, Chi Jingyuan nodded slightly. Idol actors often have this problem. If their group's schedule is relatively busy, they frequently need to balance their role as an idol with acting in television dramas. They can't fully immerse themselves in the drama like professional actors. This is especially true for top male groups like EXO, who have incredibly demanding schedules. Every time he takes on a TV drama, this kind of situation arises.

Although ** will definitely reduce Ji Chang Wook's activities in the group because of the TV drama filming, and some unimportant schedules will directly let him absent, but overall there is still quite an influence.

“Fortunately, PD Kim Won Suk and we are not the first time to cooperate, so there was no problem talking…… However, after entering the TV drama shooting, now recording once a week, each time takes a whole day of《Music Bank》MC work is a bit too time-consuming, ** feels that MC work has no help for your career.”

"Although the current ratings of around 10% for each episode have brought a lot of exposure, compared to EXO and Jingyuan's own popularity and heat, it's not actually that important. On the contrary, 's incredibly high viewership is largely due to your combination with Irene... So **'s intention is to have you join the program for filming and then leave after."

"Hmm..."

Ji Jingyuan listened seriously to Park Jae-hyun's words, and after hearing the last sentence, he nodded slightly to show his understanding. Then, leaning back in his chair, he smiled and said: "It's not that it doesn't help at all. I feel like this MC job has brought me a lot of benefits."

“That's right, appearing on a 10% viewership variety show once a week, and most of the audience comes for you two MCs. After so long, it has indeed brought a lot of exposure, which has greatly improved your fame and national popularity. For Jingyuan, being able to rank first in the Peninsula Gallup male idol rankings this year is largely thanks to……”

Of course, as a rookie member of Irenexi who debuted just one year ago and the only member of Red Velvet to rank on the Gallup Idol rankings, even breaking into the top ten, she has also received considerable help from this. Park Jae-hyun did not refute, nodded in affirmation, and then said with a chuckle.

The Gallup rankings are a series of surveys conducted by the Gallup organization in South Korea. They are conducted three times a year, in July, September, and November, ranking various categories and topics. Among the many lists measuring popularity, heat, and other metrics, Gallup rankings are considered one of the most prestigious and reliable.

After one year of debut, being able to directly enter the top ten of Gallup is already a remarkable achievement. Within Red Velvet, her individual fame far surpasses that of the other four members. Compared to the help brought by the two comebacks of Ledebebe this year, the role of the Music Bank MC position in increasing her recognition might be greater.

"I suppose so, mutually beneficial" Chi Jingyuan looked at his manager and blinked.

"Well, I guess that's true."

Park Ja-hyun was the same way, and the two of them burst out laughing together.

But after laughing, Ji Jingyuan fell into thought and became quiet.

To be honest, I mostly took the position of a fixed MC on "Music Bank" because of my partner. At that time, I didn't think about doing it for very long. My initial plan was just half a year, and six months would be enough.

Just...

Although Park Ji-hyun and ** both made good points, Ji Kyung-won didn't immediately agree. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "What would happen to Irene if I stepped down"

"Well, well, I specifically asked about that over at **..."

After hearing this, Park Bo-gum laughed, seemingly proud of his preparedness. "In normal circumstances, if one of the two fixed MCs steps down early, they would urgently find a temporary MC to fill in until the contract of the other fixed MC also ends, and then they would choose a new fixed MC combination."

“However, Jingyuan and Irenexi's situation is rather special. Your hosting style is quite unique, centering around the CP theme. Your well-coordinated partnership has attracted a large number of regular viewers and fans, which is why 'Music Bank' enjoys such high ratings...”

But in the audience's hearts, this CP is bound. Once one of them changes, the sweet feeling that used to move people will be gone. Changing partners to forcefully host would even cause the audience to feel resentment and anger, backfiring. Plus, Irenexi might not be willing to... so if you get off the show, ** should discuss with the Music Bank program team and also let Irenexi get off the show in advance.

“...”

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Upon hearing this, he nodded in understanding.

From May to now, almost six or seven months have passed.

"Music Bank" has also gone from a music show with an average viewership that wasn't very impressive before, to one where every episode has nearly 10% viewership thanks to the MC pairing of him and Jennie.

This makes "Music Bank" stand out among all music shows.

Moreover, the weekly program recording is actually quite enjoyable. From Ji Jingyuan's perspective, this case is more like a relaxation during a busy week of work. Every time he sits on the sofa in the MC lounge, playing with his phone and listening to sweet voices while smelling the fragrant scent coming from beside him, it's actually quite enjoyable.

He was a little unaccustomed to being asked to get off the car suddenly.

Moreover, what ** prioritizes most, as an MC bringing popularity and exposure to the team, is something that isn't considered the highest priority on Ji-Seong's side.

Because he didn't start for that reason in the first place…

"Well, Jingyuan, what do you think..." After a moment of silence, Park Jae-hyun asked.

"When first joining the team, filming probably wouldn't be so busy…"

Following his heart, Chi Jingyuan raised his head and sighed: "It's only been six months, getting off the show after only half a year would look a bit bad. So, let's not quit for now. Let's wait until the TV series airs and things get busy, then we can talk about it."

"OK, I'll tell them."

Pak in-hyeon nodded quickly, without any hint of persuasion. He grabbed a pen and scribbled something on the document.

From his expression, it seems like this guy already expected to lose.

Qi Jingyuan's secret was out, but he didn't seem to think it was a big deal. After all, as his personal manager, this guy probably knew more about him than anyone else.

Then he said a few more things. The small meeting of Ji Jingyuan's personal team was also considered over at this point. The atmosphere became more relaxed, Park Bo Gum was smiling while organizing files and chatting with a few assistants beside him. Ji Jingyuan, who had decided to stay put for now, felt inexplicably relieved. He crossed his legs, took out his phone, and Zhou Tzuyu's reply came back very early.

"Why are you saying that I already know... Thanks, thank you."

"Heh."

Looking at the young girl, who seemed a bit awkward and shy as she thanked him, Chi Jingyuan tilted his head and chuckled softly before tapping the screen with his hand.

"Okay, I got it."

……

Although he decided to stay for now, Ji-seong still missed this episode, which was the recording of Music Bank on the 13th. He flew to Osaka with EXO on the 12th to start preparing for their three-day Osaka Dome concert.

To be honest, since he started as the MC, he's missed quite a few recordings because of his personal and team schedules. Although the "Music Bank" program team didn't have any issues with it, after missing so many times, there are still some negative impacts. It's no wonder that **'s team managing EXO started to see this as a problem.

As an agency, and with the operation of idol groups, everything naturally revolves around popularity and revenue. Stances also shift as the popularity and level of EXO and Ji Chang Wook rise. Back then, we felt that having a fixed MC role would bring EXO a lot of publicity and exposure, allowing them to compete effectively against Big Bang. However, now with EXO topping charts, ** is in a hurry to have Ji Chang Wook step down from the show.

Before that, it was the same. In early 2013, EXO wasn't popular yet. When ** and JYP discussed a temporary collaboration between Yuan & Suzy, they were very serious and thoughtful, hoping to leverage each other's popularity. However, by the second half of the year when "Growl" became a huge hit and EXO skyrocketed in fame, ** seemed less invested in this temporary duo when discussing it again.

Although there might be some initial politeness followed by a lack of respect, it's normal for both companies and the reality of the entertainment industry.

Unfortunately, Chi Jingyuan's thoughts and pursuits are a bit different from theirs.

And this time, his appearance on the internet caused quite a stir. This was Ji Jingyuan's first public appearance after cutting his hair short. When he entered and exited the airport, displaying his airport fashion, he didn't wear a hat or a mask. As soon as he appeared, he was swarmed by waiting reporters and surrounding fans who frantically snapped pictures with their phones and cameras. The flashbulbs made his eyes almost unable to open.

So before he even boarded the plane, while he was still waiting in the lounge, Peninsula Network already had a press release with fresh photos online.

Although short-haired male idols are quite rare in the music industry, there have been precedents before. Some boy groups even used this as a gimmick to attract attention, and some groups even had bald male idols, which is a rather unique phenomenon.

However, the influence and fan base of these combinations pale in comparison to EXO and Park Seo-joon. Their combined fanbase is estimated to be less than one-tenth of Alice's, so there hasn't been much of a response. On the other hand, Park Seo-joon has attracted a lot of attention from passersby and fans because of his new short hairstyle, which is a stark contrast to his previous style in a short period of time.

"Whoa, Oppa's hair is so short now! What happened"

"Why did Yuan suddenly cut her hair short What's this A new fashion"

** hasn't released an announcement, but it's probably because of the role in his new drama. Otherwise, why would an idol suddenly cut their hair out of the blue The company wouldn't allow it... However, I have to say that Yuan looks super cool with this hairstyle. I didn't feel much about him before, but today I instantly got it.

Looking forward to Chi Jingyuan's new drama. It's been a year since "The Untamed" ended, and we fans have waited so long. He finally remembers he's still an actor! Super excited...Does anyone know what the new drama is Any insider leaks

Because of the agreement with the production team and the matching promotion, ** has not yet publicly announced that Park Ji-won will be starring in "Signal." However, these veteran fans are all clever people. At a glance, they can almost guess that Park Ji-won is about to star in a new drama, and they are discussing it online. Although "Signal" has not been officially released, it has already generated considerable heat.

At the same time, Park Ji-won's hairstyle, which is close to a buzz cut, has also received many compliments. Among all the airport photos of EXO, his is the most eye-catching. At first glance, you can feel the difference in temperament, and even because of this style, he gained a wave of fans, which Park Ji-won did not expect.

From the 13th to the 15th, EXO's three-day concert at Osaka Dome was a resounding success. With the conclusion of the final day's performance, it also marked the perfect end to EXO's debut in Japan and their month-long activities there.

Six stadium concerts, each nearly sold out, drew in over 300,000 spectators.

It's already rare for a Korean artist to be able to hold a concert at a stadium like this, especially when it's sold out. Even rarer is doing it several times in a short period of time. Nowadays, within ** Entertainment, almost only the senior group TVXQ can easily do this, even SJ falls a little short. Looking at the entire K-pop male idol scene, only Big Bang can match them.

As for girl groups, being able to hold a concert at an arena is already something to brag about for a long time. To hold a stadium tour is still a bit difficult.

Even EXO, the youngest and newest member among them, has achieved this feat. This is even more impressive considering their main focus hasn't been on Japan.

It's safe to say that from any angle, the popularity of the XO group on this side of the neon lights is astonishing.

……

Having returned from Japan with dazzling results, the weary EXO was immediately whisked away to a pre-built studio to begin filming for their winter special music video, "Sing For You."

It was actually already set up before, but because of the events happening in Japan, the filming kept getting postponed until now that the whole group finally has time to rush the shoot.

Fortunately, MV production can be wrapped up pretty quickly if things go smoothly. Half a day or a whole day is usually enough.

It just seems like the situation right now, filming doesn't seem to be going very smoothly.

"Haha, oh no, no, no."

"Cut!"

"Don't laugh!"

Watching the filming stop because a few members were laughing, and the director's helpless grumbling after calling cut, also made Ji Chang Wook sitting on the side laugh along.

The music video for this song features many scenes of EXO members facing each other, staring intensely. There are also scenes of two people fighting, shoving, and angrily grabbing each other's collars while yelling.

That kind of face-to-face, pretending to be angry and making an exaggerated roar, then looking at the other person's familiar face, that absurd and ridiculous feeling really makes people can't help but laugh.

Although 《singforyou》 is a sad song that makes listeners feel desolate and lonely, the MV shoot has been extremely lighthearted. Laughter has almost never stopped from the start of filming to now.

Especially, one can also appreciate Wu Shih-Hsun wearing a thick spacesuit, being suspended in the air by wires for three to four minutes at a time, flapping his limbs like a frog swimming. It's hard not to laugh at this wonderful scene.

As someone who isn't a professional actor, I just couldn't hold back.

This is Chi Jingyuan's first MV shot after getting a short haircut. Although his new hairstyle looks very energetic, in order to match the style of this song, under Cody's operation, his hair still looks a bit longer and not as eye-catching as it was at the airport a few days ago.

In the entertainment industry, Cody sister's magical skills are truly impressive. She can easily transform someone like IU, who has long hair into short hair, and vice versa. Her ability to change from short hair to long hair is even more effortless.

However, in this MV, Ji-won is not the main character and has limited screen time, so he could watch the commotion for a long time from the side. From the start of filming, his smile has hardly ever stopped.

It took a whole day to film the MV, and after dinner, EXO went back to the company's practice room in the evening.

"Our XO has already confirmed our participation in this year's MAMA Awards ceremony on December 2nd. You guys have all participated several times and are very familiar with it, so I won't go into any unnecessary details about what to watch out for."

In the practice room, the EXO members formed a circle. Manager Li Cheng Huan stood among them with several familiar dance teachers, briefing them on their most important upcoming schedule:

“The MAMA organizer has high expectations for us, giving us almost five songs' worth of performance time. After careful consideration, the company has finalized the setlist. Besides our title tracks, "callmebaby" and "boywithluv," we'll also perform "dropthat" and "LIGHTSABER" as transitions. The specific performance content, choreography, and flow are all ready. Just now you will learn from the teacher and then start practicing…”

"Hey, bro, have there been any decisions made about the prizes yet" Hearing this, Park Chan-hyeol waved his hand and asked loudly.

Although he was interrupted, Lee Seong-hwan didn't seem annoyed. He clearly was in a good mood. He glared at Park Chan-hyeok with a mischievous grin and then chuckled: "The organizers had private conversations with us and confirmed that the awards were minor ones like 'Best Styling'. There's also a fan-voted award still being tallied, but it looks like we have a significant lead..."

"This year has been a year of harvest for us. The achievements throughout the year are the result of everyone's hard work at the company, so our stage performance must match the awards we've received. We need to practice seriously and not disgrace ourselves when the time comes. Remember, Bigbang will be there too..."

If we go, naturally we'll aim for the big prizes, BigBang and YG would definitely do the same.

Lee Seung-hwan retracted his previous smile and seriously explained a lot. Finally, he clapped his hands: "I've been a debut for three years, so I won't say much as a senior. Let's begin, fighting!"

"Fighting!"

After finishing his words, the manager left the waiting room and went out. EXO also began practicing for their MAMA stage with the dance teacher.

Although the choreography of several title tracks remains unchanged, for important large-scale events like this, new choreography or interactive elements are often added to the stage for visual effect.

However, after all, the content isn't much, so the difficulty of practicing it isn't high.

After more than an hour of jumping, it was time for a break. Chi Jingyuan took out drinks from the refrigerator and gave them to the others who hadn't gone to the restroom. Then he returned to his position, sat down cross-legged, gasped for breath, drank a few sips, and immediately took out his phone.

"Huh"

A text message marking famous names from the south of town caught his attention.a whole week, but the actual shooting time wasn't that long. Most of it was spent traveling back and forth on airplanes, which was really tiring. However, after all that hard work for so many days, th...