Bedroom Genius Actor - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 44

-Day 1 box office cumulative audience: 120,000.

-Day 2 box office cumulative audience: 260,000.

-Day 3 box office cumulative audience: 370,000.

Kim Ji-hu bit his nails as he looked at those numbers.

‘This isn’t good…’

The growth rate was gradually declining.

While positive reviews continued online, the number of people coming to see the movie had stagnated.

Although the cumulative audience was still increasing, this level was worrying. To reach the 3.5 million that the System had set, the growth needed to continue steadily without dying out.

‘Wh-what should I do about this…’

But there wasn’t anything he could do at this point.

The promotional schedule was essentially over, and to create new promotional opportunities would require even better performance.

The fortunate thing was that the reviews from people who had seen it were definitely good.

But that wasn’t enough to get people to come to the movie theater.

‘Even in online communities, the reviews themselves are good, but most people are saying they’ll watch it when it comes out on OTT…’

The current trend in the movie industry was to watch through OTT rather than going to theaters.

Especially for ‘My Little House’, while the story was good, the visual appeal wasn’t particularly outstanding, so everyone seemed to want to watch it on OTT.

‘I need some kind of opportunity for a comeback…’

While Kim Ji-hu was thinking this, suddenly the ‘My Little House’ group chat became noisy.

‘What’s this…?’

The chat room, which usually only discussed schedule-related matters, was buzzing loudly, which seemed a bit strange, but Kim Ji-hu checked the chat anyway.

-Amazing!!!

-Really? I should check it out now too.

-Everyone please check it out, and could Seong-min and Se-ra leave comments from the official account?

-Confirmed.

“…?”

Kim Ji-hu looked up through the chat with a puzzled expression.

-Kim Ji-hye covered our OST! And she said the movie was so interesting and told everyone to go see it!!!

“Ah…”

He remembered what Kim Ji-hye had said a few days ago.

“This won’t do. I need to go home and upload a cover of the movie OST.”

When Kim Ji-hu immediately searched YouTube, it came up right away.

It was a video of her singing alone with an acoustic guitar.

‘She sings… really well?’

The melody of the acoustic guitar with her voice gently layered over it. The dreamy yet warm feeling was impressive enough to amaze even Kim Ji-hu, who was clueless about music.

-Everyone, ‘My Little House’ is interesting, so I recommend you all go see it…!

The roughly 3-minute video ended with those final words.

And when he scrolled down below the video, he could see the view count.

-Views: 23,112.

A video that had been uploaded less than an hour ago and already had over 20,000 views.

Kim Ji-hu’s eyes widened.

He had heard that Kim Ji-hye had become a singer, but he didn’t know she was famous enough for everyone in the chat room to make such a fuss.

Choi Tae-geon had given him a rough explanation, but it hadn’t really hit home.

‘I just thought it was nothing special and let it slide… I didn’t know it would be helpful.’

Kim Ji-hu had just brushed it off when Kim Ji-hye said she would do a cover.

One thought stuck in his mind.

‘I should at least buy her a meal next time…’

***

-‘My Little House’ Day 4 box office.

-Cumulative audience: 560,000.

The audience numbers rebounded thanks to Kim Ji-hye’s influence. Even people who had said they would watch it on OTT were now heading to theaters, saying they wanted to hear the OST that Kim Ji-hye sang.

***

-‘My Little House’ Week 1 box office.

-Cumulative audience: 1.01 million.

Word of mouth is like a snowball. A work whose only strength had been its story now gained an audio advantage through Kim Ji-hye’s cover.

People said it would taste best when heard in theaters and headed to the cinema.

And as if proving those words, the audience numbers gradually increased.

***

-‘My Little House’ Week 2 box office.

-Cumulative audience: 2.1 million.

The growth rate actually became steeper. People were starting to say they were watching it to avoid spoilers.

Thanks to becoming a topic that couldn’t be missed in conversations with others, audiences flocked to theaters.

***

And then.

-‘My Little House’ Week 3 box office.

-Cumulative audience: 3.51 million.

Following the steep growth, Kim Ji-hu, Yun Se-ra, and Park Seong-min ran around doing various promotions, and finally settled at 3.51 million audiences in the third week.

“Phewwwww…”

Kim Ji-hu let out a sigh of relief as he checked the audience numbers at home.

Without Kim Ji-hye, achieving such results within three weeks would have been impossible.

‘Now I can finally rest comfortably…’

Even though it was the second time, the fact that he had overcome danger again drained all his energy.

On top of that, thinking about what would have happened if he hadn’t met Kim Ji-hye made him shudder even more.

‘I should at least say thank you to Ji-hye…’

Honestly, he thought Kim Ji-hye deserved much of the credit for the audience numbers being filled so quickly.

‘Well, let me check now.’

It was certain that he had already surpassed it, but shouldn’t he check the System?

Kim Ji-hu closed his eyes and entered that place where the Mannequins were.

Then the System window was there to greet Kim Ji-hu.

Goal Achieved

Reward: 1 week rest, Reward Box

“Huh…?”

In a slightly different way, that is.

***

A studio in Seoul.

It was the office of Vivid Studio.

Vivid Studio was the most famous studio in Korea for creating special makeup and special effects.

A man in a suit who appeared to be in his 40s smiled and said.

“Jin-woo, how have you been lately?”

That person was production company CEO Kang I-wook. He was currently here for a meeting with Oh Jin-woo.

Oh Jin-woo replied with a sullen expression to Kang I-wook’s words.

“I haven’t been well.”

“…Why is that?”

“Because no one can find that ‘Armchair Reviewer’ person.”

Oh Jin-woo had told Kang I-wook about the ‘Armchair Reviewer’ just a few days ago.

That person he had continuously tried to find but couldn’t.

He was definitely said to be in the industry, but not even a shadow similar to him could be found.

“We’ll get a chance to meet eventually. At times like this, it’s better to wait quietly. If we try to find him, he’ll probably hide even more.”

Kang I-wook spoke with a benevolent smile. Of course, inwardly he was letting out a deep sigh.

‘His skills are certain, but the problem is he’s too much of an eccentric…’

He was especially troublesome when he got fixated on strange details, making him a really difficult actor to handle.

However, he was too necessary for the major project Vivid Studio was preparing, so they had no choice but to humor him and cater to his whims.

“By the way, did you see the movie that was released recently?”

“Movie? Ah~ you mean that ‘My Little House’ thing?”

“Yes, I saw it yesterday and it was really interesting. The actors’ performances were amazing too.”

“Is that so? I thought it was mediocre.”

“Pardon?”

Oh Jin-woo clicked his tongue and said.

“Honestly, isn’t that movie just riding on the popularity of that singer Kim Ji-hye or whatever? What kind of filmmakers rely on a singer like that. Tsk.”

“….”

“And frankly, I didn’t like the acting either. Everyone was just so-so, especially the acting that didn’t seem sincere. That was the worst part.”

Kang I-wook was a bit flustered by the sharp words filled with irritation.

Still, he carefully asked.

“But wasn’t actor Kim Ji-hu pretty good? He showed great acting in ‘Trauma’ last time too, and everyone liked him….”

“He was the worst though?”

“Pardon?”

“That’s the acting style I hate most. As an actor, shouldn’t you decide on your own style and stick with it? That way you can get better at that style of acting. But what’s with that character… Ugh. Never mind.”

Kang I-wook looked at Oh Jin-woo and thought.

‘This could get quite troublesome….’

The reason Kang I-wook called Oh Jin-woo today was simple. It was because Kim Ji-hu was the next casting candidate.

‘I didn’t expect this level of reaction. How am I going to bring this up….’

Cold sweat ran down Kang I-wook’s spine.

Oh Jin-woo, unaware of Kang I-wook’s inner thoughts, continued speaking.

“I like people who are sincere about everything. Rather than people who act just to make money. Yes, like the ‘Armchair Reviewer’. Not only his ability, but that attitude of being sincere about his work rather than money. That’s what I….”

Oh Jin-woo was once again going in circles, talking about the ‘Armchair Reviewer’.

Kang I-wook listened to such words and let out a sigh.

‘…I guess we need to have another meeting first.’

***

Kim Ji-hu pondered while looking at the box placed before his eyes.

A single box placed among countless mannequins.

It seemed to be the ‘reward box’ the System had mentioned.

‘D-don’t tell me there’s some kind of bomb in there?’

Considering all the trouble the System had caused him so far, this ‘reward’ was also suspicious.

The thought that it might just be called a reward while actually causing him trouble again.

‘No, maybe there’s something good inside….’

Since there was nothing like this last time, he was being extremely cautious.

Still, since it was after solving the difficult task the System had given him, he had high hopes that it would give him something good.

He hoped it would be something practical like ‘being able to stay home for a week’ or ‘being able to watch interesting works first’.

‘Alright, let me just close my eyes and open it….’

If the System was going to throw something weird at him, it would do so openly, not give gifts like this.

Kim Ji-hu suppressed his trembling heart and reached for the gift box, untying the ribbon that was tied around it.

And when he opened the box.

“Shoes?”

A pair of men’s dress shoes was greeting Kim Ji-hu.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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