Chapter 87

"Never noticed before, Park Ji-hoon is actually so charming! Especially when he's getting a haircut in front of the mirror, ah—" a woman's voice.

"I bet you're just captivated by those six-pack abs, aren't you?" a man's sour voice.

"Nonsense!" the woman denied, then added, "And his chest, collarbone, neck..."

"I can't see what's so good about this movie!" the man said, even more dissatisfied, though even he lacked confidence.

After the screening ended, Park Ji-hoon and Park Min-ya deliberately walked slowly at the back, listening to the comments of the surrounding audience. This was a conversation between a couple beside them.

There were many praises.

Of course, there were also negative comments, but they were hard to make Park Ji-hoon and Park Min-ya angry.

"Where's the good part? The story is average, the action is average, not violent enough, not touching enough, the dialogue is too fake, only Park Ji-hoon's acting is worth watching."

Park Ji-hoon saw Park Min-ya's gaze and could only smile speechlessly.

The two finally walked out of the cinema.

"You have female fans too, bro..." While waiting for the car, Park Min-ya suddenly said.

"I know!" Without waiting for her to finish, Park Ji-hoon said in a helpless tone, "I definitely won't mess around!" From what he learned from Park Ji-hyeon, she was usually cold and distant at school, but with him, it was completely different.

"That's not what I meant!" Park Min-ya nudged him with her elbow, a bit embarrassed and angry, and said.

"Ah!" Park Ji-hoon, hearing this, quickly covered his side and pretended to be in great pain, asking, "Then what?"

"I mean, since you have female fans now, you should pay more attention to your appearance and dressing, and not be so casual!" Park Min-ya pouted and said.

"No need!" Park Ji-hoon shook his head. He didn't resist, but he wouldn't deliberately dress up either. Before Park Min-ya could speak again, he added, "It's great to have fans, but it's fine not to have them. I'm not a singer; I mainly rely on the quality of my work. I'm not going for that kind of image. Besides, I've already taken the first step to success, so there's no need."

"Okay." Park Min-ya nodded after listening to him.

"Ah—" Park Ji-hoon slightly tilted his head, seeing her delicate profile, her fair and smooth ears, and her hair like mist, and couldn't help but sigh lightly. He raised his hand and gently placed it on her head, saying, "Don't always think about me, think more about yourself!"

"I always do!" Park Min-ya said with a smile.

Park Ji-hoon didn't say anything more, gently rubbed her head, waved, and hailed a taxi, returning to the apartment.

Park Ji-hyeon stayed at home, not wanting to stay out for long. She had been invited to join them, but she refused.

Feeling very good!

This was genuine, unadulterated audience feedback, so he felt much more at ease.

...

On August 5th, the box office statistics came out.

"Uncle" ranked second with 148,097 viewers, while the champion was the popular Hollywood blockbuster "Inception" with 164,079 viewers.

Considering it was a Wednesday, this was already a very good result.

Moreover, the media and the film industry were full of praise.

"Intense eyes, agile movements, and a cold exterior with a warm heart—this summer, Korean women are destined to fall for such a charming uncle!" — The Chosun Ilbo.

"The final action scene of the film is enough to be recorded in the history of Korean cinema!" — Park Chan-wook, director of "Oldboy."

"Warmth and redemption, though it appears to be an action film, it places great emphasis on emotional expression..." — CINE21 magazine.

The praise was overwhelming!

What was most surprising was that the magazine MOVIEWEEK actually published a personal interview with Park Ji-hoon on that day, titled "Ten Years of Sharpening the Sword"!

The interview started from Park Ji-hoon's decision to give up the college entrance exam and reviewed his ten years in the industry, with videos, text, and photo spreads, vividly depicting a Park Ji-hoon who had faced many hardships but never abandoned his dreams.

TV show writer, assistant producer, actor, director's assistant, assistant director... each profession represented a segment of life experience, no longer a source of ridicule, but a symbol of a mature man.

His casual knowledge of film and television, which made it impossible to doubt that the books on the wall were just for show.

Ten years of mediocrity were praised as the accumulation before the takeoff, just as the title of the report suggested, "Ten Years of Sharpening the Sword"!

Silent but powerful!

This report pushed Park Ji-hoon's popularity to a peak.

Even the busy members of Girls' Generation knew about this report.

"Xu Hyun!" Before Xu Hyun left to shoot "We Got Married," Soo Young called her.

"What's up, sister?" Xu Hyun asked.

"Help me get his autograph," Soo Young said.

"Ah?" Xu Hyun blinked.

"My sister wants it," Soo Young said helplessly, "She called me this morning!"

"Okay." Xu Hyun nodded obediently.

"Xu Hyun, get a few more!" Yoon Ah suddenly interjected.

"Why?" Xu Hyun looked at her curiously.

"Little fool! You can sell them or give them away; there will be many people who want them," Yoon Ah said with a serious face.

"Sister!" Xu Hyun called out helplessly.

"Never mind her, hurry up and go, don't you have to go to the beauty salon?" Soo Young patted her shoulder and said. Clearly, Yoon Ah was joking, and only this little one would take it seriously.

"Sister, goodbye." Xu Hyun said goodbye to all the sisters and left the dormitory.

The destination was a beauty salon, one that Park Ji-hoon often visited. The meeting place was here.

"Cough! Xu Hyun." Just before arriving, the agent suddenly coughed and said to her.

"Yes!" Xu Hyun responded, looking at the agent who was driving.

"More interaction can be appropriate," the agent stammered. At first, he completely looked down on Park Ji-hoon and warned Xu Hyun multiple times not to get too close to him. Now, he was saying this on his own, which was inevitably awkward.

But there was no choice; the company had instructed him to do so, and he himself thought the same. Now, anyone could see that Park Ji-hoon was definitely a high-quality potential stock!

If "Uncle" had been released at the end of 2009, Xu Hyun would have had no chance to become "couples" with Park Ji-hoon.

"I understand, thank you, oppa," Xu Hyun nodded slowly and said. She hadn't thought about it, only assuming that the agent was reminding her because of the awkward relationship she had with Park Ji-hoon recently. Throughout July, they had only shot "We Got Married" once, so there was no opportunity to show a new relationship.

The agent didn't say anything more, stopped the car at the entrance, and watched Xu Hyun enter the beauty salon.

Ten minutes later, an ordinary car also stopped outside the beauty salon. Park Ji-hoon and the VJ of "We Got Married" got out of the car. It wasn't a taxi but a car from the "We Got Married" production team.

"Mr. Park Ji-hoon, you're here so early?" The beauty salon attendant greeted him familiarly. However, the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice were different from before, much friendlier—this wasn't to say that the previous service was bad, as she still had professional ethics, but now it went beyond that.

"Good morning," Park Ji-hoon greeted with a light smile and then asked directly, "Where's my wife?"

"She's washing her hair," an attendant pointed and said. Everyone knew that he and Xu Hyun were appearing on "We Got Married," and they used to say he was lucky, but now they suddenly envied Xu Hyun.

"Thank you," Park Ji-hoon said, heading to the inner room.

"So handsome!" Two female attendants whispered behind him.

Finally found her!

Xu Hyun was wearing a white dress, with a towel covering her face, and was having her hair washed. She didn't hear anyone come in.

Park Ji-hoon smiled lightly, went up to the attendant who was washing her hair, and gestured to replace her.

However, what made him laugh and cry was that Xu Hyun was unexpectedly dull and didn't even notice the change!

"What did you have for breakfast?" Out of helplessness, he had to ask first.

"Ah!" Xu Hyun let out a light exclamation, pulled down the towel, looked up, and then let out another cry, "Ah—" Then, she hurriedly said, "Oppa, hello!"

"Good morning," Park Ji-hoon said with a smile, showing no intention of leaving and continuing to wash her hair carefully.

"I had doenjang jjigae and vegetable bibimbap for breakfast, what about you, oppa?" Xu Hyun didn't forget to answer the previous question.

"Omelet rice," Park Ji-hoon said with a smile, "How about it, did I hurt you?"

"No," Xu Hyun answered, then asked out of the blue, "Oppa, have you ever washed a girl's hair before?"

"Besides Min-ya, you're the first," Park Ji-hoon said.

"Oh," Xu Hyun pursed her lips, trying to hide the sudden appearance of a frown.

After washing her hair, Park Ji-hoon followed her to the front hall, sat in a nearby seat, and watched, like a newlywed husband who couldn't bear to leave his wife for a moment.

"Congratulations on the successful release of your movie, oppa," Xu Hyun said, looking at him in the mirror.

"Any congratulatory gift?" Park Ji-hoon asked with a smile.

"Hmm—" Xu Hyun frowned in thought and said, "How about I wash your hair?"

"I'm not washing my hair today," Park Ji-hoon shook his head.

Xu Hyun frowned again.

"Would you cook for me at home?" Park Ji-hoon, seeing her expression, asked with a smile.

"Ah—" Xu Hyun hesitated. After eating the food made by Park Min-ya, she suddenly felt a sense of inferiority about cooking. But seeing his sincere expression in the mirror and remembering his behavior during the last meal, she nodded and said, "Okay!"

"Hehe..." Park Ji-hoon laughed, suddenly turned his head, and met Xu Hyun's gaze in the mirror.

Xu Hyun's face turned slightly red, and then she seemed to suddenly think of something, showing a look of embarrassment and shyness.