Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: OST Pre-Release Video
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Bombaram Pictures' conference room.
The film's lead director, Min Woo-jung, along with six members of the production team, sat together conducting a meeting.
Min Woo-jung's expression was quite bright as she spoke.
"As you all know, the response from the distributor has been really good this time. Now we just need to promote it steadily. Manager! What's the status on the trailer release plan?"
"Yes. We're planning to drop the first trailer next week, and the second one three weeks after that. We'll naturally blast it across our SNS channels the moment the videos go live."
"And the OST video shot by Woo-jin and Eun-ha— that's going up between the first and second trailers?"
"Yes, that's the current plan. But for that one, we might need to release it flexibly depending on how the buzz is going."
Min Woo-jung nodded in agreement at the production manager's report.
"Fair enough. For this movie, honestly, the OST pre-release might have even more impact than the trailers."
"Exactly!"
"We had no idea Woo-jin could sing like that."
Though they'd started with a distributor on board, the film's test screenings for distributors and theater reps had drawn rave reviews.
Male-Female Best Friends was riding a tailwind, steadily progressing through each step toward its theatrical debut.
July 24th.
A hot, muggy evening.
An old fan spun intermittently with a rattling clunk, while college student Kim Min-ji lay on her bed, swiping through Nutube Shorts.
- Where are you headed?
"Eek, an ad."
Min-ji swiped her thumb up the instant the ad popped up, skipping it.
"Hehe. Dopamine hit. So cuuuute."
The Nutube algorithm mostly served up daily moments from her favorite male idols. Occasionally, cute dog clips too.
She was sprawled face-down on the bed, blissfully relaxing, when—
"Min-ji, have some watermelon!"
The voice from the living room made her bolt upright and leap off the bed.
"Ack! Watermelon! Watermeeeeelon!"
In her mad dash to the living room, the smartphone she'd left behind started playing the ad she hadn't skipped in time.
And.
"Ahh. So refreshing!"
Her belly now filled with cool watermelon, Min-ji felt great as she headed back to flop onto the bed.
"Oh, left it here—?"
She reached for the smartphone by the bedside that she'd forgotten about, only to freeze as the ad played on the screen.
A man in a sharp suit filled Kim Min-ji's vision.
The screen showed only his upper body, but Min-ji could already picture the suit's perfect fit—broad shoulders, thick veins faintly visible on the back of his hand resting on the table.
Gulp.
The man gazed at her with eyes that were sharp yet brimming with some aching pathos.
- Is this... Team Leader Lee Seo-ha?
"Khup...?!"
The man's words felt directed right at her. Min-ji clapped a hand over her mouth. Her phone tumbled onto the bed, but she snatched it back up and glued her eyes to the screen.
- Yes, that's correct. I'm Lee Seo-ha, Team Leader of Daeheung Planning's AE Team 3.
The screen had switched unnoticed, now showing a woman standing before it.
Crisp office attire that, far from hiding, highlighted her slender figure. She was bold and beautiful.
"Huh? That's Im Eun-ha?"
Im Eun-ha was an instantly recognizable celeb.
Only then did Min-ji spot the text in the top right corner.
'Male-Female Best Friends September 5th Major Theatrical Release'
"Ah... Im Eun-ha's in a movie?"
The screen cut back to the handsome man. Min-ji stared, speechless.
- If I may—
Handsome. So incredibly handsome it felt wrong to sum it up that way.
Neatly side-parted hair, clear features with delicate lines.
'Clear yet delicate lines—what kinda nonsense is that...'
It was paradoxical. But Min-ji couldn't describe it better.
'That's just how he looks...'
His base expression was impassive, almost cold at first glance. But staring into his eyes, it didn't feel that way.
Unlike his blank face, those deep brown irises churned with profound emotion.
Maybe... a grudge-filled longing?
- How old are you, Team Leader Lee Seo-ha?
His formerly smooth voice now carried a faint hoarseness, like a catch in his throat.
"O-oppa, what's wrong...?"
Outwardly cold and aloof, yet those eyes so heartbreaking you wanted to pull him into a tight hug.
This nameless oppa—Min-ji wanted to know more about him.
The ad ended and looped back to what looked like child actors, but Min-ji had no time for that. Not right now.
She hurried to her desk, fired up her laptop, and started searching "Male-Female Best Friends" on the portal site.
Two weeks later. August 7th.
"My, my god!"
Now a die-hard Jung Woo-jin stan deep in her bones, Min-ji checked his fan cafe daily, plus scoured portals and Nutube for "Jung Woo-jin."
And just then, fresh bait caught her eye.
- [OST Pre-Release] Im Eun-ha & Jung Woo-jin Deliver Acoustic 'Our First Love Back Then'. Male-Female Best Friends September 5th Major Theatrical Release.
The thumbnail alone was pure grace.
Im Eun-ha and Jung Woo-jin gripping mics, gazing at each other with warm eyes.
Min-ji rose reverently from bed and settled at her desk. As the laptop booted, she straightened her rumpled collar and spine.
"Hup. Hah...!"
Browser open, Nutube search: 'Our First Love Back Then.'
Finally, she hovered the cursor over the thumbnail.
Why did her finger feel so heavy? Her rogue digit clicked the wrong video.
Min-ji hit back and tried again, calmer this time.
Click.
No ad—straight to playback. Worth every penny of that ad-blocker sub.
Jung Woo-jin and Im Eun-ha sat diagonally in a bright room bathed in slanting sunlight through the window.
Behind them, an artist with a guitar began a soft, resonant melody.
The pair swayed gently to the rhythm.
"So cool..."
Relaxed with faint smiles. Not their profession, yet so at ease.
After the warm intro melody—
Woo-jin opened first.
"Now it's time to forget by now♬"
Goosebumps erupted across her skin.
"Hic..."
"Why does your shadow still flicker in my mind♬"
A soft voice murmured over the gentle guitar, like a whisper.
Woo-jin's solo, akin to the warm sunlight by the window, gave way to the pre-chorus. Eun-ha's voice layered in, tension building.
By now, Min-ji was leaning into the screen like she'd melt into the laptop, lost in a daze.
The chorus hit.
Even as the pitch climbed, Woo-jin nailed the high notes smoothly—no furrowed brow, no squeezed-shut eyes. He even locked eyes leisurely with Eun-ha.
The song raced to its final phrase. Woo-jin and Eun-ha turned to face each other, singing while embodying the leads Jeong Ho-young and Lee Seo-ha from Male-Female Best Friends.
"If back then I had been a little more selfish♬
And confessed—what might have been♬"
"If back then I~~♬
Should've confessed♬"
The apparent final phrase.
After gazing at each other with aching eyes for a beat, they shifted to smiles brimming with conviction.
Faces full of certainty that now they could hold each other.
They smiled like that, breaths syncing to a close, slowly lowering their mics.
A silent exchange of glances conveyed countless words. Probably lovers' talk now.
And.
In the quieted space, only the guitar's outro lingered, echoing the intro. The plucks faded softer, then stopped.
Ding.
A faint twang as the string was plucked and released. Min-ji's chest tightened at the sound.
A mere three-minute video. Yet it felt like she'd watched all of Male-Female Best Friends from start to finish.
"Insane..."
Just when she thought it was over—
Woo-jin looked toward the camera.
- The film Male-Female Best Friends opens September 5th—please look forward to it!
Now Eun-ha.
- If you've got a first-love tale marred by bad timing and regrets, drop it in the comments! We're giving away preview screening invites!
Min-ji's eyes flew wide.
"Pre...view...screening?"
She'd planned to see the movie anyway, but a preview screening?
"Stage greetings, right? I can see Woo-jin oppa in the flesh? Aaaah!"
Min-ji whipped open a Word doc and racked her brain.
"First love, first love. Got none like that... Ugh...! If there's none, just make one up!"
No cherished first love in memory, but she'd gladly endure the pains of creation.