Chapter 44

On the 18th, the box office figures for the three-day weekend of "The Curse" were released: 381,559 admissions. This was undoubtedly an excellent, even dazzling number. Apart from last year's "Shiri," it ranked second in the weekend box office for Korean films released in the country to date.

Although the history of Korean cinema was just beginning, this achievement still caught the attention of many people. Even the largest Korean newspaper, the "Chosun Ilbo," reported: "While the film's biggest highlight was its initial promotional strategy, which made 'The Curse' a synonym for all eerie events, we must also acknowledge that in terms of plot, visuals, and music, it is a sincere and heartfelt film..."

The "JoongAng Ilbo" and "Dong-A Ilbo" also reported from different perspectives: "The evil lies in the human heart, and the curse is the latent guilt of wrongdoing..." and "A decent quality combined with a stunning promotional approach has led to 'The Curse's current success. It is said that all of this originated from their screenwriter, a Harvard economics Ph.D. who is only eighteen years old..."

In Korea, the "Chosun Ilbo" accounts for about 30% of the newspaper market, while the "JoongAng Ilbo" and "Dong-A Ilbo" together exceed 30%. This means that more than 60% of the population saw reports about "The Curse."

Not to mention the even more vigorous online promotion by Jin Cheong-gwang and his team due to the good box office performance. As expected, in the following week, "The Curse" once again raked in 526,591 admissions. This already surpassed the 1.2 million admissions predicted by Jin Cheong-gwang, reaching 1.311133 million admissions.

Therefore, in the face of such exhilarating news, even though Lee Jeong-hui was in Gangwon Province, Jin Cheong-gwang still called him immediately. As soon as the call connected, he laughed heartily, "Writer Lee, I always thought your prediction was a bit conservative, and it turns out to be true..."

This guy was so excited that he couldn't stop talking, "Why don't you give me another conservative number to look forward to? Of course, since you're young, why not give me an exaggerated number to shock me? Don't worry, I won't blame you if it doesn't reach that number..."

In the end, Lee Jeong-hui had no choice but to hang up with an excuse. Of course, he still gave a number: 1.5 million admissions. This time, he said it with much more confidence.

However, as soon as he hung up, other calls started coming in. Gao Zuodong, An Byung-gi, and even Ha Ji-won called. But she spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "You bloodsucker, a screenwriter taking over a billion won, you're really shameless..."

Lee Jeong-hui naturally understood her envy and jealousy, perhaps even a bit of lingering resentment from that night. So, he wisely said nothing.

"Hey, brat, it's President Jang's call!" Just as he was dealing with Ha Ji-won, Kim Tae-hee walked over with her phone, pouting, "Don't get too cocky, you just got lucky and made some money!" Then she shoved the phone into his hand but didn't leave, still staring at him.

This girl, Lee Jeong-hui smiled inwardly. She was so proud, but at this moment, she would never say anything nice about him, just like in his past life, when she was the top beauty of South Korea, and he never gave her a good face.

They were really like enemies, but fortunately, he wouldn't be like that anymore. Thinking this, he smiled gently at her, and although he didn't say anything, it made Kim Tae-hee's heart beat a little faster.

"What's wrong, President Jang, you can't keep your cool either!" After taking the call, Lee Jeong-hui teased Jang Dong-gook casually.

Jang Dong-gook laughed even harder, "I have an interesting story to tell you. I was just at the bank, and the last time we talked about the 300 million won loan, that guy was all high and mighty, as if I owed him a huge favor. But when I played the call from Director Gao about the box office figures on speaker, he immediately perked up like he was on steroids, offering me a 1.5 billion won limit. When I said I needed to think about it, he almost got down on his knees to beg me..."

Lee Jeong-hui also laughed. When he heard that Jang Dong-gook had secured a faster timeline, he felt even more relieved. Now everything was in place, and he immediately shared this good news with Guo Jingze, who also burst into laughter.

Finally, the calls temporarily stopped. He didn't know many people yet, and most of them didn't know the details of his contract, like on set, where only a few people knew: Kim Tae-hee and Son Ye-jin.

Perhaps because they were around the same age, and Son Ye-jin was the first artist of Empire Entertainment, living in his old house, they got along very well and sometimes spoke without any reservations.

So, when he finished the call and Park Dong-chan asked him, "What's going on, why so many calls all of a sudden!" he replied with a hint of happiness, "President Kim from TUBE Entertainment said 'The Curse' has surpassed 1.3 million admissions!" Son Ye-jin immediately fixed her gaze on him.

She muttered, "1.3 million admissions!" Then she leaned close to Lee Jeong-hui's ear, her eyes shining, "Hey, you must be making a fortune! If I had acted in your film, I would have been rich too..."

Lee Jeong-hui resisted the urge to roll his eyes and ignored her, but she clearly wasn't going to let it go. Instead, she stared at him intently, "Share the wealth! Since you've made so much, treat everyone to Korean beef tonight!"

"I don't have any money!" Lee Jeong-hui said casually, trying to slip away, but on one side was Son Ye-jin's threatening look, and on the other, Kim Tae-hee's unfriendly gaze. So, he had to give in and agree.

To his surprise, Son Ye-jin immediately cheered, "Hey, good news! Writer Lee said he'll treat the entire crew to Korean beef tonight..."

Lee Jeong-hui was now in a bind. Looking at Kim Tae-hee in the distance, he decided to pull Yoon Seok-ho aside, "Director, I think we need to make a slight adjustment here!"

He wasn't just making it up. He had thought about it before. It was about the scene where Joon-hyuk and Eun-hee meet again after growing up, with Joon-hyuk in a car and Eun-hee on a bicycle.

In the original script, this scene seemed a bit unrealistic. Lee Jeong-hui explained to Yoon Seok-ho, "In our setting, Eun-hee is 14 and Joon-hyuk is 16. At this age, they already have the facial features they will have as adults. Moreover, they meet again just a few years later, and they have a particularly deep emotional connection to each other.

So, in this moment, it shouldn't just be a fleeting glance followed by indifference. It must be more profound..."

Yoon Seok-ho frowned in thought and then nodded, "Your point is that Eun-hee and Joon-hyuk should have more facial expressions, such as deep thought, and even a turn of the head after a moment of confusion..."

"Exactly!" Lee Jeong-hui clapped his hands in agreement, "We can set it up like this: both will feel that the person in front of them is familiar, but they can't quite remember where they've met. Naturally, after a fleeting glance, they will turn their heads to try to confirm something, but since they're not walking, they will still miss each other."

He smiled and continued, "Then, perhaps we can add a line for Won Bin's character: 'That girl was pretty, but you're about to be engaged, you know.' This will disrupt Song Seung-hun's thoughts, and the scene will end with a calm smile..."

Yoon Seok-ho laughed and patted his shoulder, "Let's try it."

After the trial and discussions with the main cast, including Song Seung-hun and Won Bin, the writers, and other crew members, everyone agreed that this was more appropriate. They all said that when you meet junior high or high school classmates after a few years, if you're familiar with them, you can usually recognize them.

Thus, the scene was finalized. After this adjustment and shooting, Lee Jeong-hui seemed to have avoided the crisis, but it was only temporary. Soon, when night fell, the crisis returned again... PS: Please recommend and follow if you like it, thank you!