EPISODE 01
¤ General view of Seoul...
¤ Successively, various properties for rent:
Residential apartment, business office, traditional house, store.
They all display a sign: "GONG Real Estate Agency - For Rent".
| ~ | Today is the happiest day of my life.... |
¤ Quick flashes: "GONG - For rent", in every neighborhood of Seoul, rich or poor, until...
... We softly glide over this traditional neighborhood, filled with cozy boutiques.
Then, we slip into the streets of Ikseon-Dong, known as "the heart and soul of Seoul".
A few strollers pass a charming, spacious boutique.
It's closed, with no occupants and no furniture inside.
No sign except... "GONG Real Estate Agency - For Rent".
|
| ~ | ... Because I found this place. |
LEE SEOL (27) looks at the store with great hope.
She's extra cute, glamorously dressed, bursting with energy.
|
| - | Yah!!! (brandishes fists in victory) |
Lee Seol takes out her smartphone and Flash! photographs the storefront.
She doesn't notice, next to this magnificent boutique for rent...
... There's a dark old store, tiny, abandoned, sinister.
The entrance and windows are boarded up with rotting planks!
A building of sophisticated architecture, where several companies have their offices.
On this street in Jongno, near the village of Ikseon-Dong, stands...
HAN YE-RI (41), a sensitive woman hurt by a difficult life, wearing corporate clothes.
|
| ~ | Today, I'd like everyone to be as happy as I am. |
Ye-Ri smiles, but hesitantly optimistic, as she looks at the building and...
... its great hall, visible through the huge windows on the first floor.
Ye-Ri walks down the hall, filled with people, restaurants, armchairs...
... feels like a stranger in this eternally clean and seamless place.
She stops in front of a branch of the Gong real estate agency.
Sign: "GONG Real Estate - We find the home your heart desires".
| - | (motivates herself) I, Han Ye-Ri, can do it!!! |
| ~ | (behind her, laconic) ~~fighting... |
|
| - | !! (turns around and sees...) |
KIM JI-HOON (36), a handsome, cynical man, dressed relaxed and sophisticated.
He raises his fist to show "Fighting", but limply in derision.
|
| - | ~a-ha. (mocking sneer) (stares at her like "she's so ridiculous") |
|
| - | ... ?? |
|
| - | (articulates like a retard) Ye-Ri ~ can ~ do ~ it. |
|
| - | !!! (too shocked to react) |
Clac! Ji-Hoon leaves curtly, instantly forgetting her, and...
... he enters the Gong agency!!!
|
| - | (shaken) I'm going to work for that jerk?! |
Ye-Ri grumbles, then resigns herself and enters the agency.
(Half an hour later.)
Open space: exhibition stand, waiting area, then reception desks and access to administration.
Teeming with murmuring activity, a gentle ballet, soothing to customers.
Ji-Hoon is sitting at a real estate agent's desk, as a customer!
Ye-Ri is sitting behind another reception desk, confused while...
MANAGER JANG (52), a demanding woman, shows her the business app on the computer.
It's Ye-Ri's first day in her new job.
Manager Jang alternates screens, commenting rapidly. Fast-track training!
| - | Here's the list of available properties, sorted by neighborhood. To filter, click here. Here, the rental prices. In this area, the maximum level you can use for a negotiation. Which you must NEVER reveal to the client. Is that understood?! |
|
| - | Yes, manager Jang. |
|
| - | Here you must always check - and I mean ALWAYS - that no options have been granted on the property. Got it?! |
|
| - | (nervous) Yes, manager Jang. |
|
| - | ARE YOU SURE?! |
|
| - | (!!!) Yes, yes! Check that there are no options. |
|
| - | And here, the list of blacklisted, unavailable properties. (quickly closes the screen) |
|
| - | .... (loss of attention, too much information to remember) |
|
| - | (opens a new screen) Here, the input screens for processing the file, and the MAN-DA-TO-RY supporting documents to request from the customer. The rental authorization... |
We leave on Ye-Ri's nervous face, struggling to concentrate......
|
| ~ | ... is only issued after that. Here's the banking screen. Once payment has been made, the property is legally assigned for the minimum duration of the contract, and-- |
PRELAP: Vroom... The sound of a car engine covers her words, coming from...
...vroom... A luxury car drives along a deserted suburban road.
GONG YU (29) is driving. A handsome businessman, stubborn and desperate.
|
| ~ | Today, I'd like those whose hearts have been abandoned to find a home. |
Gong Yu's face distorts with moral suffering.
bam! Bam! BAM! A sound of hammering, in his mind.
He is struck by a recurring memory...
... This hammer is wielded by Gong Yu, in tears, mad with despair.
| - | (screams, banging with all his might) ARH!! (BAM!!) ARH!! (BAM!!) ARH!! (BAM!!) |
He nails the board to the front of a store, old and tiny... (the same as previously)
... on which other boards have already been nailed, to seal off the exits.
Gong Yu is exhausted by years of obsessive memories...
She's wearing a light white dress, and we can't see the top of her face.
She's clutching an ancient red book to her chest.
Her mouth smiles tenderly and says: "I'll keep it close to my heart".
Gong Yu takes a road he knows well, ending in a brick wall.
He had years to die. Why this particular day? Intuition? Coincidence?
Clic! He unbuckles his seatbelt. He grits his teeth and accelerates!!!
VRroOOM... The car speeds towards the wall and--
SLOW MOTION:
KRAASH!!! Hits it! A fatal accident! But the wall isn't thick enough, so--
Bricks fly!! Break windshield!! The car goes through the wall!!
BRoNK! Car crashes into a building behind. Shock reduced.
Gong Yu is rushed forward, through the damaged windshield.
Unconscious, bloodied, Gong Yu lies on the shriveled front hood.
Ffffff... Smoke from the engine envelops him.
Ironically, on the building, a sign: "GONG Real Estate Agency - For Rent".
Following the impact, ziik..., the sign wobbles, then... Spat!!! falls and breaks in two.
We leave on Gong Yu's face, not knowing whether he's dead or alive...
Lee Seol holds up her smartphone and shows the photo of:
The beautiful store for rent, from Ikseon-Dong village.
|
| - | This place! |
|
| - | Ikseon-Dong Village... I'll check. |
Ye-Ri, smiling, is welcoming Lee Seol at her desk, on which...
... a plaque reads "Han Ye-Ri, GONG Real Estate Clerk". Ditto on her badge.
Ye-Ri, proud to take care of her first customer, searches on the computer...
|
| - | (enthusiastic) Guess what I'm going to do there. |
|
| - | (concentrated on the computer) Uh... Um... A restaurant, perhaps? |
|
| - | A bookstore! |
|
| - | (looks at her) Really?! I go to that place a lot. |
|
| - | Oooh, you like to read? |
|
| - | (mixture of joy and sadness) A book is a home for lonely hearts. |
|
| - | .... (too touched to answer) |
Ye-Ri continues her search on the computer...
She finds it! On the screen, a photo of the store.
|
| - | Yes, it's been for rent for three weeks. (checks other info) |
|
| - | (finger in the air) Suuure enough, I've passed it since-- |
|
| - | Aaah... (sorry) No such luck. |
|
| - | (worried) ... ?! |
On the screen, "Option reserved".
|
| - | Someone else has already reserved it. |
|
| - | (!!) ... (disappointed, in vain) So... What do I do? Could this person... cancel? Can we contact-- |
|
| - | (checks on screen) A deposit has been paid. It's unlikely the person will cancel, otherwise they'll pay a penalty. |
|
| - | (dream broken) ...... (plaintive) But on the sign, it said-- |
|
| - | It was rented this morning. We didn't have time to remove the sign. It's really bad luck, only a few hours away... |
|
| - | ... (contracts eyelids, regrets having waited) |
|
| - | ..... (empathizes with her) |
|
| - | (sighs) It really was the place of my dreams... |
|
| - | (thoughtful) ... Wait. |
|
| - | ... ? |
|
| - | The Gong agency must have other buildings for rent in this area?! |
|
| - | ... ! (uncertain hope) |
Ye-Ri searches on the computer...
|
| - | (in wonder) YES!!! |
|
| - | !!! |
Ye-Ri turns the computer screen, to show to Lee Seol...
... a boutique for rent, even bigger and prettier.
|
| - | Wooow... (doubt) But... The rent? |
Ye-Ri clicks on the file... 3,500,000 wons!!!
|
| - | 3,500,000 won??! But that's impossible!!! Who could rent something like that?!! |
|
| - | Aaah yes... Any business would turn a loss. |
Ye-Ri resumes the search, the building sheets scroll across the screen.
|
| - | (watches her do it) ..... (then gives up, looks away) |
|
| - | (mumbles) No, that's not the same neighborhood... and this one's already rented... (sighs) ... There doesn't seem to be anything else. |
|
| (looks down, hopeless) |
|
| - | Maybe... THIS? It's not rented but-- |
|
| - | (looks up) ... !!!!! |
On the screen, a photo of a dark old store, tiny, sinister.
|
| - | Ugh, it's not fabulous... |
Lee Seol hadn't noticed, but now she sees it in her memory...
... there's an old, dark store, tiny, abandoned, sinister.
The entrance and windows are boarded up with rotting planks.
|
| - | It's right next door to the place I wanted to rent?! |
|
| - | (checks) Indeed. It's rented for 700,000 won. |
|
| - | (!!) ... Ah, no wonder for such a dump. But I can't take something so musty and tiny. |
|
| - | (looks at the surface area) ... ?!!! It's..... 150 m2... ??! |
|
| - | (looks at the screen) ... !!! 150 m2 ?!!?! For 700,000 won?!! |
|
| - | (reads the description) It looks small up front, but in addition to the main room... ... there's a basement, an attic, a storeroom, two large rooms...?!!! |
|
| - | (yells) I TAKE !!!!! |
In the agency, (!!) the other people jump and look at her, ...??!
|
| - | Okay. (pulls out a piece of paper) Here's the list of supporting documents to-- |
|
| - | I've got everything!!! (stands up) |
Vroof! Lee Seol empties her bag onto the desk!
|
| - | !!! |
Envelopes, photocopy of ID, letter of recommendation, a book, wallet...
dling-dling-dling... coins roll and fall to the floor.
|
| - | Oops! |
|
| (warm smile) |
Lee Seol picks up her wallet, while Ye-Ri sorts through the documents she needs.
|
| - | (picks up the book by chance) ... ??! |
A book that interests her: "Pride and Prejudice" by "Jane Austen".
|
| - | Keep it. You'll love the story. |
|
| - | But... |
|
| - | Really! I'm offering it to you. |
|
| - | (moved) If you agree to lend it to me, then-- |
|
| - | A book is not something we keep for ourselves. We never lend a book, we offer it or sell it! |
|
| - | It's too much, I can't-- |
|
| - | (instinctively) Unnie!!! (Unnie = Older girl: sister or friend) You've made this day the happiest day of my life. Take this as a promotional offer. If you want to buy more books, come to my store. |
|
| - | (heart-warming) ... So... ... I'll come to buy some books from you... Yes... I promise. |
|
| - | Mh! (nods "yes") |
|
| - | (prepares rental file) And... You are? |
|
| - | Lee Seol! |
|
| - | (types her name) Lee Seol... |
As a friendship is born and they complete the rental contract...
... further on, in the open-space...
BRZZ!!, Manager Jang's smartphone vibrates.
|
| - | (takes the call) Yes? |
The caller speaks. Something serious, as she becomes distraught.
|
| - | President Gong Yu?!! A car accident?!!! |
Next to her, a tall, obscure, unsympathetic man frowns...
SECRETARY DO (44). It's hard to know whether he manages real estate or a bodyguard company.
|
| - | Which hospital?!! |
| - | ... (masks his concern with a stern look) |
|
| - | (hangs up, to him) Our President is between life and death. |
|
| - | !! |
A few employees nearby are worried, including...
MANAGER HWANG (50), a small man, professional but venal and devious.
|
| - | Manager Hwang, you take over the agency!! |
| (nods "yes") |
Manager Jang rushes out of the agency, escorted by Secretary Do.
Gling! Lee Seol takes out the keys of her store.
She looks at the facade... damaged, blackened, planked...
|
| - | (doubtful) Maybe I should have visited the inside before deciding. Maybe everything in here is moldy and demolished. (remembers...) |
|
| - | It was rented this morning. We didn't have time to remove the sign. It's really bad luck, only a few hours away... |
|
| - | (shakes head) No, it's better this way! |
She approaches the key to the front door, but...
... the lock is covered by a plank!
|
| - | Aish! (Aish = Shit) |
She puts the key away and grabs the board to peel it off.
But her fingers have no grip and "mpf", "argh", she struggles uselessly.
Coming out of the store next door (the one Lee Seol wanted to rent)... Ji-Hoon!!
|
| (sees Lee Seol and... wow! blown away by her beauty) |
Behind, in his store, workers set up decoration and equipment...
... science-fiction posters and objects, bar-restaurant utensils.
|
| (suddenly suspicious) |
Ji-Hoon joins Lee Seol, who is struggling vainly with the wooden board.
|
| - | (doesn't see him) Damn, what a mess!!! Get off, you rotten board! |
|
| - | (!) ... What are you doing? |
|
| - | Oh!! (surprised, turns to him) |
|
| - | ?! |
|
| - | ..... (remains stupidly unresponsive, "this guy is handsome") |
|
| - | ... ("unbelievable, how can she be so annoying so quickly?") I ask you... (articulates insistently) WHAT - ARE - YOU - DOING?! |
|
| - | Uuuh... Well... (big smile) I'm trying to get rid of an annoying board. |
|
| - | (eyes to the sky, "unbelievable") Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh... ... There are still people in this world who understand everything LITERALLY. |
|
| - | ..... (appalled, "why is this guy so obnoxious?") |
|
| - | (points) Is this your store? |
|
| - | Yes! I've just arrived and-- |
|
| - | Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes. I've just arrived too. AND SO??! |
|
| - | (?!!, confused) ... And sooo... what?!! |
|
| - | (furious) You're doing WHAT in here?! A bar? A restaurant? That's it, right?! You do a restaurant? A BAR? A RESTAURANT? You do-- |
|
| - | I... I... |
|
| - | (shouts) SPEAK!!! |
|
| - | (!!!, startled) A BOOKSTORE!!! |
|
| - | !! (calms down) |
|
| - | A bookstore... I'm going to set up a bookstore. |
|
| - | (opens arms) Well, weeeell... All you had to do was say it straight out... (imitates a retard) ~I'm not opening ~a restaurant, ~I'm opening ~a bookstore. |
|
| - | ?! |
Clac! Ji-Hoon turns around curtly and bolts for his store.
|
| - | ... (mouth agape in disbelief, watches him enter his store) |
Then... Lee Seol looks at the board blocking the lock, dejected.
She closes her eyes to think, "how do I get this off?", when--
BLANG-BLING!! The din of a metal object falling nearby!!
|
| - | (shudders) WaAAhaAH!!! |
She looks down at her feet... a metal crowbar!!
(?!) Hand clutched to her heart, she looks at the store next door...
... Ji-Hoon is half out, arm outstretched. He's just thrown the crowbar!
|
| - | ... !! |
|
| (winks, then disappears into his store) |
|
| - | ......... (a moment to recover) That guy's gonna give me a heart attack! |
Lee Seol picks up the crowbar.
|
| - | With this, I should be able to do it... Mh! |
A few moments later... Lee Seol is sweating.
She tries to wedge the crowbar between the board and the wall, but it slips.
|
| - | (struggling, upset) Aish!! Why did they nail that so hard! |
Thsok! She manages to wedge the spike into a gap.
|
| - | Mmmpfff... Come oooon... (forcing the board aside) |
PAF! A man's hand tackles the board to prevent it from pulling away.
| ~ | Such a beautiful woman doesn't deserve to die. |
|
| (look at him, !!!) |
PARK KYU-HYUNG (33), a theatrical man, traditionally dressed as a Joseon nobleman!!
|
| (surprised by the clothes, but "wow! another handsome guy") |
|
| - | (closes eyes, feels vibrations with hand) Kyu-Hyung feels... in this place... Kyu-Hyung feels... |
|
| - | ... ??! |
|
| - | Something sinister... |
|
| - | !!! (looks at his hand, the store, him) Si... Sinister? ... What? |
|
| - | (opens eyes, stares at her) A greeEEeeat suffering... ... Hearts that d-d-Death has... ARRACHED!!! |
|
| - | ... !! (frightened) |
|
| - | A vengeful spectre... with a cruel and unfulfilled destiny... ... Who will do anything... yes, ANYTHING, to get what it seeks!!! |
|
| - | ... But... What it seeks? |
|
| (approaches, eyes threatening) |
|
| (cornered, guts in knots) |
|
| - | RIP YOUR HEART OUT! |
|
| - | (Gloob! swallows) I... I'm... just going to sell books... so... so, maybe... the... the spectres like to read too? ... I mean... if they can read good books... that should, uh... reduce... uh, SIGNIFICANTLY reduce this... this sudden urge to rip out hearts? |
|
| - | (nods "no" several times) nO, noOo, nooOOoo.... If you invade this place... You'll suffer the WORST torments, you won't escape the mAALLLLediction! |
|
| - | (sheepish) ... I still won't give up 150m2 at an ultra-reduced price... ... for something so hypothetical?!? |
|
| - | (smiles, relaxed) In that case, if you need any help... (hands her a business card) |
|
| - | ... ?! ("he's relaxed now?", takes the card) |
|
| - | CROM. (Crom = On this) |
Flap! He flies the tail of his dress and leaves.
Lee Seol watches him go, incredulous... Then she reads, on the business card:
|
| - | Ikseon-Dong Village, Boutique ESOTERIKA. More than ANTIQUES, Divination, Exorcism. |
She sighs, feeling tired...
A few moments later... Lee Seol is sitting on a crate.
|
| - | (discouraged, looking down) Should there be anything but weirdos in this neighborhood? |
SkRanGLkkrrGlangGrlang... The sound of metal being dragged across the floor!
|
| - | (??!, looks up and sees...) ... !!! |
ESOM (30), a supermodel dragging an axe!! Short t-shirt, big muscles.
Bad-boy looks, covered in flower tattoos. A gang member?
SkRanGLkkrGrlang... Esom goes to Lee Seol dragging the axe.
(!!) She stands up, frightened... He looks serious, hermetic, dangerous!
|
| - | Who are you? What do you want? |
| (GLkkrrGrlang... approaches, silent) |
|
| - | Are you part of a gang? (increasingly scared) Are you trying to extort me?! |
|
| (kRakLrGrlang... dark, continues to approach) |
|
| - | WHAT THE HELL do you want?! (a memory flash...) |
|
| - | TO RIP YOUR HEART OUT! |
|
| (in terror, "he's a psychopath!") |
|
| (a meter away from her... BRANDISHES THE AXE!!) |
|
| - | (screams) NOOOOO!!!! (collapses to her knees, arms over her head) |
KRATSH!! With an axe blow, Esom destroys the plank blocking the door!
|
| (eyes closed, trembling) |
KRATSH!! Axe blow! He destroys another plank blocking the front.
|
| - | (???) ... (opens eyes and sees...) |
KRATSH!! Axe blow! Esom destroys another wooden plank.
|
| - | (relief) Phewwww...... |
|
| - | (Blang! puts down the axe) This door is now open. |
|
| - | (gets up, angry) You're crazy!! How hard was it to warn?!! I thought I was dead!!! |
|
| - | (melancholy, recites a poem) The day I die will be the happiest day of my life. What frightens me is agony. Death is a door that creaks, but opens. |
|
| - | ... ?!! ("too crazy to be true") Bbl... mbb... mbl-bl... It's... It's... |
|
| - | (nods a solemn "yes", "good guess") hhhh-Yes... A poem by Sister Emmanuelle. hMmm, of course, you're a bookseller, yeh, you know all about that. |
|
| - | ... ??! (has guessed nothing, but is captivated by his beautiful deep voice) |
|
| - | (admires her hand) hhh-Oooh! |
|
| - | (trembling voice) oOoOoh-What? |
|
| - | (takes her hand) Your skin. |
|
| - | ??! ("he takes my hand? and I let him do...") Wh... What? What's wrong with my skin? |
|
| - | Of all the women in the world... ... you're the only one whose beauty can't be perfected by a tattoo. |
|
| : | (??!) What does that mean? A compliment? So direct??! Or am I a hopeless case? And a tattoo won't change that??! |
|
| - | (lets go of her hand) hh-Ahhh... |
|
| - | To be honest... I've never considered getting a tattoo... ... And I think it'll stay that way. |
|
| - | hMmh, of course. But you see... (points to a store further down the street) |
Lee Seol sees a traditional store with a wooden sign: "Tea and Tatoo".
|
| - | I can also offer you tea. |
|
| - | aAaAah, all right, all right. But another time. Now I'd like to visit "my" store. |
|
| - | hhMmh, of course. |
Gl-gl-gling... Nervously, Lee Seol takes out her bunch of keys.
She frowns, "I'd rather be alone visiting this".
|
| - | (embarrassed smile) So... I'll see you next time. m'kay? |
|
| - | Anytime would be great. (nods goodbye, picks up the axe and leaves) |
Lee Seol puts the key in the lock and cric-crac, unlocks it.
She puts her hand on the door handle and--
|
| - | (exhales sharply) Pffoooo! |
She opens the door!!!
From the entrance, Lee Seol peers into the dim light.
A warm, wooden interior, nothing broken.
Just dust and empty shelves...
... which look perfect for books.
|
| ~ | We never lend a book, we offer it or sell it! |
She's galvanized, "better than expected", and as she smiles...
... she feels a presence behind her.
She doesn't dare turn around, just looks out of an eye corner.
|
| ~ | But also... a book is to be shared. That's what book clubs are for. |
Yes, that's what she guesses, behind her...
... three curious men peer into the store.
Kim Ji-Hoon, Park Kyu-Hyung and Esom!
Lee Seol tenses up, it's painful, she wanted to be alone.
|
| ~ | Here, there's enough room for books and for people. Enough room for those who want to share. |
They admire the room, delighted as children.
And so... Lee Seol reconsiders, amused...
... and smiles fondly... Ready to welcome.
|
| ~ | If we want to share a book, then we must share a home. |
Lying in bed, Gong Yu's broken body in a coma.
Bandages and plaster casts, IV, breathing tube, electrocardiogram.
|
| ~ | A book is a home for lonely hearts. |
PROFESSOR KIM (50) is at his bedside, with Manager Jang and Secretary Do.
|
| - | (heavy hearted) So... He won't have any after-effects? |
| - | With proper re-education, he won't have any physical after-effects. |
|
| - | (!!, note the omission) ... What about mental sequelae? |
|
| - | (embarrassed) It's probably too early to talk about that. |
|
| - | Professor Kim!! |
Reluctantly, Professor Kim picks up a folder.
He pulls out some brain pictures, with the title "SPECT".
|
| - | The results of a Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography test. This measures functional inter-hemispheric brain connectivity. |
|
| - | ?! |
|
| - | (???) ... And ? |
|
| - | (shows on picture) The frontal and parietal regions were affected. We can expect cognitive dysfunction of inflammatory origin. |
|
| - | What does this mean in concrete terms? |
|
| - | It can be... mood disorders. For example, how do you react to sleep deprivation? |
|
| - | hhh... I get... irritable. |
|
| - | What about prolonged sleep deprivation? Several weeks? |
|
| - | Really, really irritable. |
|
| - | That's what he risks. Even with a lot of sleep, his brain will produce little rest. |
|
| - | So it's as if he's condemned to only two hours' sleep a night? |
|
| - | Exactly. |
|
| (looks at Gong Yu, stern but pained) |
|
| (looks at Gong Yu, weeping silently) |
|
| (looks at Gong Yu, then at his picture of the brain) |
Picture of a heart, on a poster stuck on the wall, then we slide towards...
A chest diagram, a library of cardiology books...
|
| ~ | How is she? |
... And on a desk, a plaque: "Professor Choi - Cardiology".
PROFESSOR CHOI (55), cardiologist, welcomes Ye-Ri to his office.
| - | Alas, Ye-Won's myocarditis shows no signs of remission. |
|
| - | (emotional suffering) ... What does that mean? My daughter's heart will remain fragile? |
|
| (nods "yes" with empathy) |
|
| - | ... (suffers more) |
Intimate nocturnal atmosphere, lit by a single lamp, in chiaroscuro.
Ye-Ri, distraught, is sitting next to her daughter...
YE-WON (8), bedridden, with IV and ECG monitoring.
Ye-Ri lovingly applies a moist compress to Ye-Won's forehead.
| - | Mom, am I going to die? |
|
| - | (heartbreaking coming from a child, her child) A pretty little girl like you, with such a great heart, must live. |
|
| - | ..... (sad, pensive) |
|
| - | ..... (looks at her, hiding her sadness) |
|
| - | Mommy, can you read me a bedtime story? |
|
| (smiles affectionately, takes a fairytale book out of her bag) |
|
| (smiles affectionately) |
|
| - | (reads the book) Once upon a time... |
We no longer hear her words, just the moving ambience of the mother reading a story to her daughter.
|
| ~ | A book can mend broken hearts. |
We leave slowly, on this affectionate moment...
(The next day.)
Few passersby on the streets, so early in the morning.
Restaurant name on the front: "Starfield".
A van is parked, blocking the street, trunk open.
Ji-Hoon inventories the contents, ticking off an index card on a wooden stand:
Crates of groceries, kegs of booze. All the ingredients of a bar-restaurant!
|
| - | (mumbles as he ticks) ... Beer, check. Steaks, check. Coffee, check. (exclaims) Coffee, COFFEEEE!!! |
A waiter wearing glasses emerges from the restaurant.
He picks up a crate of vegetables from the van. He's...
KIM GYU-JIN (30), Ji-Hoon's eternally tired little brother!
|
| - | tD ~ tD ~ tDDuuUU!!! (shouts) Coffee first!!! |
| - | (audible from 10 meters away) KKRRrrrrHHhh... |
Gyu-Jin puts down the vegetable crate, picks up the coffee crate and carries it into the restaurant.
|
| - | (holds up his card, as if to slap his back) Aish! That cheeky little brat!! |
Geek decor, science fiction: posters, models, goodies.
Gyu Jin carries the crates to the kitchen, while behind the counter...
Shlik-Shlok! Ji-Hoon prepares coffee on the espresso machine.
|
| - | (sweating) Hyung! I can't make it all alone! (Hyung = older guy: brother or friend) |
|
| - | Yah! Is this restaurant making money already? |
|
| - | (!!) But at least you could-- |
|
| - | (as if explaining to a retard) ~I'll be able to hire ~more people, ~when we have ~customers~. |
Fshhhh... Ji-Hoon pours his coffee.
|
| - | ... !!! |
(After Gyu-Jin has unloaded the whole van.)
Slam!!! Gyu-Jin closes the empty trunk of the delivery van.
He gives the driver a thumbs-up, and Vroom... the van drives off.
Tired, Gyu-Jin sits down at a table.
(?!!) Ji-Hoon shocked to see this, drinking a third coffee (two empty cups on the counter).
|
| - | Will the tables come out by themselves?! |
|
| - | The tables? |
|
| - | The light tables, THERE! (pointing to folded wooden tables) What are you waiting for to get all this out?! |
|
| - | !! (sees folded tables and chairs) |
|
| - | (cynical) Unless... you've got an inventive concept for the terrace? Like offering customers to drink their coffee sitting on the tarmac among dog droppings?! |
|
| - | ... !!! (offended) |
clac-clac-clac... A knife cuts onions at high speed.
It is expertly handled by an old man who is...
CHEF KIM (62), chef and father of Ji-Hoon...
... alone in the kitchen.
Ji-Hoon appears at the entrance, coffee cup in hand.
|
| - | Chef Kim! Was the delivery of good quality? |
| - | (annoyed) There's enough for 100 people! |
|
| - | So what?! It's perfect then?! |
|
| - | Yah!! (points knife around) Why am I alone here? Where are the second knives?! |
|
| - | Abeojiiiiii, we'll hire when we need to. (leaves) (Abeoji = Father) |
|
| - | (yells) YAH!!! You want to kill your old dad?! I'm a slave here?! YOU SCUM!!! |
(After Gyu-Jin has taken out all the tables.)
Clac!! Gyu-Jin unfolds the last chair.
Half a dozen tables and their chairs occupy the street.
Ji-Hoon dozes, holding his cheek, elbow on the counter.
Gyu-Jin enters from the street, immediately annoyed when he sees him.
|
| - | IT'S DONE!! |
|
| - | (startled) AwAha!!! |
|
| - | (slumps into a chair) Damn, I'm beat. |
|
| - | It's my turn to work! I'm gonna check if the coffee's pleasant to drink on the terrace. |
Ji-Hoon prepares a new cup of coffee when--
Piiip - Pip - Piiiip! A horn sounds from outside.
He doesn't care and continues his preparation but--
Pip - PiPiPiiiip - PiPip - PiPiPiiip - PiPiiiiiiiiip!! INSISTENT horn from outside.
|
| - | (pours his coffee) This kind of jerk is gonna drive the customers away. People don't respect anything anymore. What wonder in our autistic Kafkaesque society. |
PiiipPiPipPiPipPiiiipPiiiipPiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!!! Frantic honking!!!!
|
| - | (looks out the window) Hyung!!! I think it's honking for us. |
|
| - | Oh my gosh. We're in the jungle. (heads for the exit) I'm gonna educate this primate who should never have come down from his tree. |
Tables block a van, going to the bookstore.
Ji-Hoon exits the restaurant. He sees Lee Seol, upset, at the driver's seat, and--
PIP! - PIP! - PIIIIIP!!! Ouch! He plugs his ears. The sound is louder here.
|
| - | (opens window, points to tables) What is this mess?!! |
|
| - | (explanation for retard) Tables ~ for drinking ~ or eating ~ on the terrace! |
|
| - | I can see that are (imitates him) ~ Tables ~ for gna-gna ~ or gna-gna-gna. |
|
| - | Then why do you ask? |
|
| - | (dismayed) Are you misunderstanding on purpose?! |
|
| - | Wait, I made a biiiiig effort. I've amputated nine tenths of my brain to adapt to your LITERAL way of speaking, and now you claim to speak... FIGURALLY?! |
|
| - | (!!!) ... (starts to boil) |
|
| - | Ah! Make a definitive and coherent choice, if you want to be underst-- |
|
| - | These tables - don't - have - to be - here!! You're blocking everyone else's way!! |
|
| - | (looks right, left, pedestrians going around the van) People have no problem getting through. |
|
| - | The street isn't yours!!! It's not your terrace!!! |
|
| - | What?! Everybody puts their junk outside in this neighborhood! |
|
| - | (yells) You don't have the right to block the street to vehicles !!!! |
|
| - | Of course I can! It's a pedestrian alley. All you had to do was get here EARLIER! |
|
| - | (about to explode) AaAaAaaah, but I DID go by earlier! And a van was blocking the way. YOUR DAMN VAN!!! |
|
| - | I assure you my van wasn't blocking anyone's way at 3am. |
|
| - | (about to scream, but finally puts head in her hands) (broken voice, as if sobbing) ... Get it all out. |
|
| - | (pretending to be sad) OoOoh nooo... ... Now a little 3-cent romance novel psychodrama. |
|
| (raises head out of hands, calms down, thinks) |
|
| - | Hey! (obvious) A street has two exits, you just have to go around! Or unload your junk here, it's just ten meters to go. |
|
| - | (icy) I'll give you a choice. Or I'll drive over your tables and crush everything. Or I do WORSE!!! |
|
| - | Ah yes!! Ah yes!! Demolish my furniture! You know if I sue you, you'll lose?! And you think you can do WORSE? You want to spend your life in jail?! Try !!! Try to do worse... |
|
| - | hAff... hAff... (breathing heavily, preparing to dare a big hit) |
|
| (suspicious) |
PIIIIIP!!! She honks to attract the attention of passers-by.
|
| - | (looks at him with crazy eyes) AH!!!! A RAT!!! (screams) A Rat just came out of the restaurant!!! WAAAH, A RAT!!! |
Passers-by are shocked and look at the ground, around the restaurant.
|
| - | ("the worst thing for a restaurant") (stammers) Tdd- TDDdd- Shut up! Shut-- |
|
| - | (stares fiercely at him, screams) A RAAAAAT!!! He's huge! He's ugly!! He's contaminating!!! AAAH! That filthy RAT!!! |
|
| - | Stop! STOP !!! Stop! I'M TAKING IT ALL OFF!!! |
|
| - | AAAAHHH!!! AAAH!!! |
|
| - | !!! (panic! rushes to the tables) |
|
| - | (sticks her head out the window) Pale-pale-pale-pale... (Pale = Quick) |
FAST MOTION:
(At cartoonish speed, while Lee Seol shouts "pale-pale".)
clic-clac! clic-clac! Ji-Hoon folds up the tables, sets them against the restaurant wall.
|
| ~ | Pale-pale-pale-pale-pale-pale... |
clic-clac! clic-clac! Ji-Hoon folds the chairs, clears the street at full speed.
PAF! Ji-Hoon puts the last folded chair against the restaurant wall.
|
| - | (satisfied) MH!!! |
Vroom... She starts the van, drives ten meters and...
... stops in front of her bookstore.
Lee Seol comes out, smiling, key ring in hand, and goes to open her store.
Ji-Hoon watches her from a distance, intrigued. She leaves the door open, then...
... opens the trunk of her van, filled with baskets of books (without lids).
As she lifts a basket of books, behind her...
|
| - | Where did these books come from?! |
|
| - | (!!!) ... (doesn't turn around, loses her smile) |
|
| - | (inquisitive look at the books) They look old. |
|
| (serious eyes, "a question no one should know the answer to") |
|
| - | (articulates insistently) Where ~ are ~ they ~ from?! |
|
| - | (puts down basket of books) They come from... |
|
| - | (like a schoolteacher) From...? From...? |
|
| - | (turns over, stares at him) They come from great authors. Homer, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Victor Hugo, Pak Chi-won, and... others. |
|
| - | (!!) ... That's not what I-- |
|
| - | (sarcastically) Oh!! Sorry. Was that a LITERAL question?!! |
|
| - | (!!) Say, you're getting ~a little too comfortable with me. Now, answer my question! |
|
| - | None of your business!!! Now, unless you intend to help me, get the hell out of here! |
|
| - | ......... (stern look) |
|
| - | ..... (waits for him to leave) |
|
| - | ............. |
|
| - | (fed up) ... (turns around and lifts her basket) |
|
| - | Ok!! I'll help you! |
|
| - | (jaded) Heol. (takes the basket into the store) (Heol = Unbelievable: jaded and ironic) |
A few meters further down the street...
... Kyu-Hyung quietly watches Lee Seol unload baskets of books.
|
| - | (serious) She really intends to stay here. |
He grimaces like "shit, trouble ahead".
He looks sadly at Lee Seol, empathetically, sighs heavily.
Lee Seol, smiling and carefree. Further back, Kyu-Hyung, worried, and...