Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Opening Day (♡)
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Tap, tap-.
The distinct sound of dress shoes echoing from the corridor leading to the theater entrance.
The hundred or so audience members who had been clapping and cheering for Im Eun-ha all turned their heads in unison at the low, resonant sound, as if on cue.
A hundred gazes converged on the brightly lit entrance.
Tap, tap-.
And finally, a man emerged.
Jung Woo-jin. He stood still at the entrance, his back to the brilliant light shining from the corridor.
About two seconds.
His back straight as a rod, he slowly swept his gaze from bottom to top, then left to right.
"......?!"
Kim Min-ji felt as if Jung Woo-jin was looking right at her and smiling.
But the sighs erupting from various spots in the theater made her realize she wasn't the only one.
Still, she couldn't just swallow her disappointment quietly.
Jung Woo-jin, who had paused for a moment, naturally swung his long arms and walked to the seat beside Im Eun-ha.
In his suit, his movements exuded precision. Even with his somewhat cold expression, the subtle twitching of his brows suggested a craving, matched by his earnest, deep gaze.
"Ah...!"
That's why his appearance felt so familiar.
'He's acting as Jung Ho-young...'
The traits of the male lead from the movie they'd just watched, 'Jung Ho-young', were embodied in him. Whether this was Jung Woo-jin's natural demeanor or not, the subtle wrinkling of his nose felt incredibly familiar.
And when Jung Woo-jin finally stood at the center of the stage in front of the screen.
"Hello. I'm actor Jung Woo-jin, who played the role of Jung Ho-young."
His face bore the pure, radiant smile from the end, when he held onto the female lead 'Lee Seo-ha' and smiled brightly for the first time.
Kim Min-ji could only stare at him in a daze.
Even though it was her first preview screening.
"Oppa, your fan service is too on point..."
She was proud of herself for being a Jung Woo-jin fan—even if she'd fabricated a first love just to attend the preview.
The preview screenings from Friday through Sunday concluded smoothly, and four days later.
September 5th. The movie [Just Friends] finally hit theaters nationwide.
And I was.
Spending time in Baek Hee-jin's CEO office on the 7th floor of Stone Actors.
"It'll still break 2 million, right?"
The first condition to covet Im Eun-ha's fifth talent: the movie [Just Friends] reaching 2 million viewers.
Realistically, it wasn't easy.
This year, only six released films had surpassed 2 million viewers.
There were various factors.
The theater industry's slump post-COVID, the rise of powerhouse OTT platforms like Netflix and Disney, skyrocketing ticket prices on top of that.
And considering the genre of [Just Friends], it was even more uncertain.
"Th-that's it! Ah, aaah...!"
"Huh? What?"
I propped one foot on the sofa and yanked Baek Hee-jin's plump ass toward me.
Slap, smack, slap, sloosh-.
Baek Hee-jin's full, white ass felt incredible slamming into from behind.
Her velvety folds, soft as castella sponge cake, rubbed and gripped my cock, heating it up as it throbbed wildly.
Squelch-!
Every upward thrust made her juices squelch obscenely from our joined parts. I pounded relentlessly, hammering the deepest part of her pussy, right at her cervix entrance.
"Ah, aaaah! Hngook?!!"
Maybe from the momentum of her bouncing tits, Baek Hee-jin jerked her head as if she might fly off the sofa, unleashing her moans.
Yet her pussy clung to my cock without a gap, coquettishly begging.
For rougher, faster thrusts.
But I readjusted my grip on her ass and slowed the tempo instead.
Slooow-.
I slid my cock in quite gently. It burrowed slowly, letting me feel every single wrinkle inside her.
The shift in sensation made Baek Hee-jin gasp and tremble her hips.
Her inner walls writhed, enveloping my cock snugly.
Sticky, hot, sopping wet. An indescribable drenched bliss.
Finally, the hard texture of her cervix pressed clearly against my glans.
In that position, I leaned over her, grabbing her tits. Even with my fairly large hands, they overflowed, massive mounds of flesh.
I had no illusions of gripping her entire breasts.
Instead, I swept around the nipples and areolas, sagging downward from gravity, and seized them.
Squeeze, griiip-.
I modulated my grip to tease her nipples.
"Hng, h-heuk, hng...!"
I felt her trembling ripple through her belly.
With my cock buried to the hilt, I didn't pull back—instead, I swirled my hips. Circling to stretch her pussy wide.
She must have liked it. Baek Hee-jin slurred her pleas coquettishly.
"Hak, f-full, so full... Hng, haeuk...?!"
Savoring the shudders jolting through her waist, I began slow reciprocations again.
Squelch, sloosh, sloosh, sloosh-!
"Hik, hot, aaaah, ah...!!"
In that brief pause, she'd gushed so much. Her pussy was even stickier and wetter.
At the sudden resumption of fierce pounding, Baek Hee-jin tried to pull her ass away.
But I seized her hips again, yanked her back, and thrust up.
Slooosh-!
"Aaaaah?!!"
Baek Hee-jin's vulgar yet sweet moan rang out.
I used the echo of her cries in my head as fuel and slammed my hips forward.
Thud, smack, smack, smaaack-!
"G-gonna, gonna cum, cumming-?!!"
Her back arched dizzyingly, and I wrapped my arms around her chest, yanking her close. My cock swelled simultaneously.
"Keurk?!"
Spurt, splurt, spluuurt-!!
"Hoo..."
I fully savored the soft, jiggly fullness of Baek Hee-jin's ample breasts against my forearms.
Then.
Flop-.
I released her body, and she collapsed onto the sofa like a ragdoll.
Pop-.
With a cute sound, my cock slipped from her pussy, smeared messy with cum and juices.
Normally, I'd pry open her mouth and make her clean it.
But maybe because [Just Friends], her first major role, had just opened. My eyes kept drifting to my smartphone.
Ego surfing, was it?
I roughly wiped the cum residue on my cock onto Baek Hee-jin's ass, then sat on the opposite sofa and picked up my phone.
Since it opened today, first-day numbers wouldn't be out until tomorrow morning, but vibes mattered, right?
I searched 'Just Friends' first on the green-bar portal site's search box.
Top result.
[Just Friends]
• Genre: Romance, South Korea, 110 min.
• Release: 09.05
• Rating:8.90
• Synopsis: The bond between two childhood friends from elementary school. These platonic besties spend their youthful days together, their feelings gradually deepening. But because they're so precious to each other, neither dares confess... and they end up parting ways. However... (Read more)
"Oh!"
I remembered it being mid-8s when I checked earlier, but the rating had climbed higher.
Audience reviews already over 100.
Cute child actors, incredibly charming leads. A happy time.
Actor Jung Woo-jin—is this really the same guy who played a sociopathic killer recently? Both smile, but the vibes are so different!
Jung Woo-jin's acting needs more time to judge? This movie shuts that down instantly.
Since when was Im Eun-ha this good at acting? I knew Jung Woo-jin was talented, but their chemistry is perfect—had to hold back tears the whole time.
Does this really need to be seen in theaters?
Actor Jung Woo-jin, your English is native-level. Hollywood next? So excited!
Jung Woo-jin and Im Eun-ha's visuals are undeniably great. But nothing special otherwise.
Vicarious experience is why we watch movies. Even as a singleton, feeling that heart-fluttering romance makes this worth all the praise.
The fact that ratings rose as more real viewers piled in was a great sign.
"Oh? Critic reviews too?"
I thought it was all audience stuff, but there was a separate 'Critic' section.
Simple lyricism. Isn't that perhaps the most beautiful structure?
Melodrama master Min Woo-jung's masterpiece. The leads' gazes are the narrative and tension driving the film.
A simple story. Yet impossible to look away, total immersion. 'And they lived happily ever after'—a childish fairy-tale ending you can't even complain about.
Exceptionally high and generous for critics.
Critic scores don't always correlate with box office success.
"Still, 2 million will be a breeze."