Maxwell's Soul song "Welcome" plays.
The perfect style to add romance to sex.
It gives a languorous and hushed mood...
... to this four-star hotel room.
On a table... two crushed beer cans.
An empty soju bottle, two glasses...
On the carpet... man's and woman's clothes.
Hoodlum suit. RED dress of luxury whore...
Feminine moans lead us to the bed...
...in which a couple is having sex.
Man lying on woman. Slow back and forth.
JU-YUN (29) smells her neck like a wild beast.
Handsome, cruel face, scar on his shoulder.
A hunky, sensual brute no woman can resist.
TAE-RIN (21) orgasms relentlessly, greedy for selfish pleasure.
Too cute and too innocent a slut. Somehow irritating.
The kind you want to fuck at first sight.
Then, maybe love her too, with obsessive jealousy.
| : | oOowaah... Oppaaa... I'd like... ahhh... I'd like us to... (Oppa: older boy, brother or boyfriend) |
| (annoyed, "don't spoil my pleasure") |
|
| : | awoahh... to run away together... far from-- |
|
| : | Shhh! (clamps his hand over her mouth to shut her up) |
WOM! He penetrates her with a deep thrust.
|
| : | (orgasmic peak) MmWAAhhOOoooohAAaahhhh-- |
SPLOF! Room-keycard tossed carelessly on the counter by Ju-Yun.
|
| : | Hurry. |
The RECEPTIONIST (25) bows respectfully and takes the card.
He swipes it on an electronic reader, next to his computer.
Reception team of "The Four Season Hotel" wear RED uniforms.
Before the counter, Tae-Rin waits two steps away from Ju-Yun.
He lights a cigarette with his back to her, indifferent.
She's disappointed. Not the first time, though.
Receptionist returns, holding Ju-Yun's ID card.
| : | (?!) Excuse me, Sir. Smoking is not allowed in the hotel. |
Ju-Yun, coldly annoyed by this cockroach's squeak.
Ffff... Calmly, exhales the smoke into his face.
Receptionist doesn't bat an eyelid. Strong will.
|
| : | Please, snuff out that cigarette immediately! |
Snap! In a flash, Ju-Yun grabs Receptionist's wrist.
Receptionist, ...!!!, can't break free. An iron fist!
Ju-Yun gets closer, threatening, eye to eye.
Then reads his badge: "Choi In-Guk, Reception - The Four Season Hotel".
|
| : | (drops honorifics) In-Guk... You speak well. |
|
| : | ...?! (expected a threat, though worried) |
|
| : | Let's see how you scream. |
Pshhh... He crushes the cigarette on Receptionist's hand.
|
| : | (controlled scream) AaRRRrrgghh!!! |
The ID card falls from the hand, smoking with roasted flesh.
Ju-Yun lets go of Receptionist and picks up his ID card.
|
| : | You fucking loser. |
Thunderous male voice from the lobby entrance:
| ~ | YOU FUCKING BASTARD !!! |
Tae-Rin looks at the entrance, wide-eyed and scared.
Ju-Yun looks too, just jaded. Mouths "Shit".
At the entrance, a furious man, with a dozen gangsters.
HA-BOK (48), Seoul's richest underworld shark.
Mad at being cheated on by his beloved young bitch, Tae-Rin.
And insanely mad that this son of a bitch Ju-Yun fucked her!
|
| : | Maybe better that way... |
Ha-Bok and his gang stride toward the counter.
Receptionist, tense, instructs a teammate to call for help.
Tae-Rin glances at Ju-Yun for help, ?!, he's no longer there!
Ju-Yun runs out through a RED back door, ten meters away.
Now she's alone, terrified, as Ha-Bok reaches her.
|
| : | Oppa, it's not what-- |
SPAF!!! Ha-Bok's brutal slap knocks her head off! She falls.
| : | Filthy whore!! |
BOM! He kicks her away. She sprawls down, screams in pain.
Receptionist, !!!, barely hesitates, out of responsibility.
He rushes out from the counter to intervene, jacked on adrenaline!
|
| : | YOU WON'T HARM ANYONE IN MY HOTEL !!! |
Ha-Bok, ??!, sees him approach, and in a flash--
Zip! A man draws a knife, and with terrifying dexterity--
Snikt! Whips out the blade, sticks it to Receptionist's neck.
Only perfect control prevents slicing the carotid artery.
Receptionist freezes in fright, staring at the man.
No ordinary gangster, his icy face is a dagger edge!
DONG-GOO (33), Ha-Bok's right-hand, and born killer.
| : | Your hotel? Think you're the boss, kid? |
Receptionist sweats, gulps, can't speak.
Dong-Goo nods to an ugly thug behind Receptionist, as an order.
BAM! The ugly thug knocks him out with a truncheon.
He's UGLY JO (27), and eases the fainted Receptionist down.
| : | This fool puts heart into his work and has balls. (smiles) We should hire him. |
Ha-Bok observes this pensively. This incident dispels his rage.
Tae-Rin kneels down and rubs hands. Apology posture.
She cries, begs, bows, lays it on thick! But manipulative...
|
| : | Don't forgive me, Oppa. I'm a bad girl. I don't deserve your love, Oppa. But you are the only man able to satisfy me. Oppaaa, I'll never do it again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Oppa. I beg you, don't leave me. I'll do anything you want, Oppaaa. |
She bows lower, practically kissing Ha-Bok's feet, like a submissive slave, irresistibly arousing.
Hrmm. Ha-Bok exhales heavily, sullen. Hides cold contentment.
His shark eyes hook onto Dong-Goo.
|
| : | Catch Ju-Yun. Dead or alive, I don't care. But if it's dead, make sure he suffers before. |
|
| : | (bows head) Got it, Hyungnim. (Hyungnim: older gangster bro) |
He keeps his head down, while Ha-Bok grabs Tae-Rin's hair.
Ha-Bok leaves, dragging her by the hair, on the slick floor.
She wriggles and moans in pain, but agrees to be his luggage.
Dong-Goo remains motionless, head down, stoic.
Hardly noticeable on his face: the order he got bothers him.
Heavy rain lashes the windshield.
Headlights barely show the road in the storm.
Ju-Yun drives, tense, struggling to scan the road.
Tortured by a fate going nowhere but the darkest of nights.
He checks the rear-view mirror: car headlights behind.
In the wake of Ju-Yun's car, beams of light dance...
...cast through the rain by two SUVs chasing him.
Four thugs in the back. Ugly Jo is driving.
Dong-Goo, front passenger, stares coldly at Ju-Yun's rear lights.
He takes out his smartphone. Hesitates. It's a pain.
Ju-Yun's smartphone is fixed to the dashboard.
It rings and lights up, displaying "Hyung".
(Hyung: older man, brother or friend)
Ju-Yun sighs. It's a pain. He clicks to take the call.
|
| : | Hyung. |
|
| : | You want to die? |
|
| : | ...You propose what? |
|
| : | Come back with me. |
|
| : | What for? |
|
| : | I'll smooth it over with Ha-Bok. You'll have a rough time, but you'll survive. |
|
| : | Hyung, it's not my shit but... |
|
| (hardens) |
|
| : | You became the dog of that fat pig. |
Cloc. Ju-Yun's smartphone shuts off. Dong-Goo has cut the call.
Ju-Yun, a muddy feeling of friendship drowned in the shit.
One last glance at his turned-off smartphone.
ZRAK! Dong-Goo's knife pierces his smartphone on the dashboard.
Ugly Jo is startled, then feels sorry for Dong-Goo and Ju-Yun.
Dong-Goo, hand trembling with fury, loosens his knife.
The smartphone stays nailed to the dashboard like a butterfly.
Dong-Goo, now a cold resolve: he'll do what he has to do!
Ju-Yun, anxious... then sees on the dashboard:
A red light flashes, "out of gas".
Ju-Yun, !!, even more anxious!
KRAK!! A lightning bolt illuminates outside:
Up ahead, roadside, a four-story building.
Ju-Yun, ?!, his headlights illuminate a road sign: "K4 MOTEL".
Now, his headlights illuminate the motel parking-lot entrance.
Ju-Yun, !!, has no alternative. He drives in...
Sees an abandoned four-story motel. Parks in front.
Ju-Yun gets out of his car, in the rain.
He looks at the decrepit motel and reads main sign:
"K4 MOTEL - Discount for long stays - ONE STAR".
Although the building is modern...
... its malevolent symmetry, its strange isolation and the storm give it an eerie aura.
Ju-Yun sees the headlights of SUVs coming from the road.
He runs toward the motel entrance.
Perhaps a place where he could hide and fight?
Ju-Yun adapts to the dark, and sees:
Fallen drop-ceiling tiles, debris, dust.
He finds a coat rack, as a potential weapon.
When he lifts it, coming from outside--
KRAK-krr-KRAK... A series of lightning bolts lit up the floor.
Under the coat rack was an old NEWSPAPER.
Its headline: "Gangsters Commit Massacre at K4 Motel".
Then a photo of the K4 Motel, police vans parked ahead.
Ju-Yun didn't notice the newspaper.
He juggles the coat rack to test the handling.
It slips out of his hand and Blang, falls behind the counter.
Ju-Yun, like "shit, bad weapon".
Reluctantly, he goes to pick it up and--
Ju-Yun, !!!, sees something amazing behind the counter! (we don't see it)
KRAK! A lightning bolt lit up his stunned, staring face!!!
The two SUVs park, facing the motel. Keep headlights on.
Thugs get out, armed with iron bar, baseball bat, truncheon.
In his SUV, Dong-Goo yanks his knife from his smartphone.
He gets out. Points his knife at the motel, as an order.
The gang walks toward the K4, in the glare of the headlights.
SUVs headlights blaze at Ju-Yun, transfixed as he sees:
Inexplicably, lying on the counter desk... a SHOTGUN!
He grabs it, checks the ammunition... Empty!
Ju-Yun, !!, at a loss. By instinct, he checks the desk...
There! Further on, a half-empty box of shells.
Hurry!!! He loads the shotgun. Swp..Swp..Swp.. shell by shell.
Puts remaining cartridges in his pocket, just as--
Ugly Jo and three thugs enter, see Ju-Yun.
But not the shotgun, hidden behind the counter.
|
| : | Yah! It's not too late, Hyungnim. |
Ju-Yun pulls out the shotgun, Kri-Krak! racks the pump.
Ugly Jo, !!, retreats at once, and Ju-Yun--
BANG! BANG! BANG! Kills the three other thugs.
Dong-Goo, !!!, heard the bangs and looks at the motel, concerned.
Ugly Jo runs out of the motel, screaming.
|
| : | He's got a gun!! He's got a gun!! |
|
| : | The others?! |
|
| : | He killed them all!!! |
|
| : | (turns grim, can't forgive that) ON EQUAL TERMS. GO !! (punctuates by waving his knife) |
Clac! A SUV's trunk is opened by a thug.
He opens a secret compartment revealing: PISTOLS!
They step over the three dead thugs.
They turn on gun-flashlights and head in further. The hunt begins!
Ju-Yun moves backwards, ready to fire the shotgun.
He passes by the mirror, reflecting his face in fragments.
The gang enters, guns pointed. Flashlights sweep across the room.
Just in time, Ju-Yun hides. Instinct of a tracked beast!
He feels he can't prevail here. Sneaks out of the room.
Two exits. Dong-Goo gestures for the gang to split up.
They nod in agreement and point their pistols at the door.
Vlam! One of them opens... Empty! It's a trap!
BANG! BANG! Ju-Yun kills two from the end of the corridor.
Gun flashlights jump around. Chaos of light and darkness.
POW! POW! POW! They counter-attack, but Ju-Yun escapes.
Ju-Yun steps over a corpse nearby. Then he exits the stairs.
|
| : | You take command. I'll flank him. |
Dong-Goo goes off alone for a personal hunt. Ugly Jo, ...!!
Ju-Yun and Dong-Goo climb to the top via opposite staircases.
Dong-Goo enters, !!, suddenly about to shoot farther, on...
...a man's back protruding from a perpendicular corridor.
He hesitates, "Who?". The man steps back and becomes visible.
Dong-Goo, !!, sees Ugly Jo, hands raised.
At point-blank on his belly: the barrel of a shotgun.
Held by Ju-Yun, barely visible behind the hallway corner.
Dong-Goo, "NO"!!
|
| : | (looks pleadingly at Ju-Yun) Hyungnim... |
Ju-Yun, crazy with adrenaline.
BANG!!! Fires! Bloody hole!
SPAT! Guts ripped out and thrown on the wall behind.
Dong-Goo rushes, POW! POW! POW!.. shooting frantically!
Tzak! Tzok! impacts on the wall. Ju-Yun, !!!, steps back.
Dong-Goo rounds the corner and POW! POW! shoots! Head impact!
Wounded, Ju-Yun retreats in a room at corridor end.
Dong-Goo aims at the room for safety, and checks on Ugly Jo.
He's coughing up blood. Dong-Goo... "there's no hope".
|
| : | Hy...hyun...g...gnim... |
|
| : | You will be avenged, kid. |
Ugly Jo smiles weakly, "I trust you, Hyungnim"...
Then, he DIES.
Dong-Goo, a bitter grimace... the closest thing to a tear for him.
He walks, icier and icier, toward the last room...
Broken lock. He could enter by pushing open the door.
He backs against the wall, figuring out a plan, when...
|
| : | Just the two of us, Hyung... |
Ju-Yun backs against the wall, opposite Dong-Goo.
Dong-Goo, cold murderous anger, eyes piercing like daggers.
Ju-Yun, ear torn off, bleeding, checks his shotgun... empty.
He digs in his pocket... pulls out an empty hand. No more bullets!
|
| : | Together, we can topple Ha-Bok. |
|
| : | You killed all those brave kids we've been working with for years. |
|
| : | Then, you should have decided earlier, as we promised. |
|
| : | Rule without trust and honor? Aigoo, I raised a cockroach. (Aigoo: oh my goodness) |
Ju-Yun brandishes his shotgun like a club, aiming at the door.
Dong-Goo enters, but diving to the ground. Ju-Yun, !!!, "fucked".
POW!! Gunshot in the belly! BRAK!! Shotgun blow to the arm!
The pistol leaps from Dong-Goo's broken arm, wincing in pain.
Ju-Yun collapses, bloody belly, and grabs the fallen pistol!
Sticks the barrel on Dong-Goo's head!! Standoff!!
...STARING WIDE AT EACH OTHER... As if time stood still...
|
| (gun stuck to forehead, ready to die) |
|
| (hurts to do it, presses the barrel harder, hesitates) |
|
| : | If I'd known you were out of ammo. |
|
| : | Sorry, Hyung. |
Ju-Yun, a grin tight with regret... and madness.
Shoots Click! no ammo. Ju-Yun, !!
Dong-Goo smiles cruelly and stands up. Broken arm dangling.
Ju-Yun quickly backs away and stands up. Bowed by belly pain.
Snikt! Snikt! Both whip out their KNIVES. Menacing glares.
|
| : | Not your best hand, Hyung. |
|
| : | Usually better than your best, even without an extra ass-hole in the gut. |
A fight follows. Slashes, kicks, knives clashing, holds.
Dong-Goo dominates, and the fight ends when...
Dong-Goo throws Ju-Yun down, then straddles him.
He blocks Ju-Yun's knife hand with a knee, but won't hold long.
Dong-Goo tries to stab the heart. Ju-Yun blocks, but the knife keeps coming.
They stare at each other, mad with effort and hatred.
|
| : | Eventually, you did well to fuck that whore. Now, I can see you with both eyes. |
Dong-Goo dims in Ju-Yun's vision. A brief fainting.
Not yet! Ju-Yun, last resort!! Diverts the knife higher in his chest.
Shak! Helps Dong-Goo to stab! Holds his wrist, knife full in!
Dong-Goo, ?!!, can't believe it.
Ju-Yun smiles wildly and--
Frees his knife-hand from Dong-Goo's knee, who by reflex--
Drops his knife and blocks Ju-Yun with his good arm.
Dong-Goo, !!!, realizes his fatal mistake too late.
Ju-Yun wrenches the knife from his chest with terrible pain, and--
TSHAK! Stabs Dong-Goo's eye, deep into the brain! Instant DEATH.
Ju-Yun gets up, bloody all over... Lights a cigarette.
Pfff... Exhales smoke. Looks sadly at Dong-Goo. Sheds a tear.
|
| : | Hyung, I just did what you dreamed of, but you were too pussy to tap it. |
Then, he sees something scary, !!!, drops his cigarette...
The pools of blood are gradually absorbed by the ground.
Blood slides like mercury, revealing the NEWSPAPER beneath.
The rising sun illuminates what comes after title and photo:
Subhead "Brave Receptionist Dies to Save Guests".
Then a photo of the FOUR SEASON HOTEL RECEPTIONIST! In-Guk!
The carpet, or the hotel itself, drinks his blood!
The bullet holes disappear. Walls regenerate. Dirt disappears!
Dong-Goo's bright RED blood is absorbed into the floor.
Then the corpse withers before his eyes... Turns to dust...
Ju-Yun, rattled, falls to his knees, waves his hands over it.
But nothing remains, not even dust! Ju-Yun, ...!!!
Stunned, he sees the corridor blurred, and doesn't notice:
Ugly Jo's corpse is gone. The corridor is clean.
The LARGE MIRROR IS INTACT, and as he walks past...
The mirror reflects DONG-GOO'S FACE instead of Ju-Yun's!
At the last moment, ?!, Ju-Yun senses an anomaly.
He looks in the mirror and glimpses Dong-Goo, walking off-frame.
Ju-Yun, !!!, turns around, looks at the room behind him... Nobody!
But, ...?!, he notices that tables are not overturned and chairs are repaired.
He looks at the mirror again... NO REFLECTION OF HIM in it ! Empty!!!
Ju-Yun, ....!!!, scared, can't see he is not wounded anymore.
Tables overturned and chairs broken in the reflection.
The mirror is like a window showing another world.
We enter it... see Dong-Goo's silhouette exit the cafeteria, and...
He passes over the three dead thugs, then exits the motel.
Ju-Yun enters confused: no corpses, debris or dust.
The hall is brand new, the transparent exit door CLOSED.
He tries to open it... but can't! Tries again... Impossible!
The Plexiglas door is unnaturally armoured.
(?!) He sees outside, a man getting into an SUV... Dong-Goo?!!
BAM! BAM! Ju-Yun bangs the door. It doesn't quiver.
Outside, the SUV starts up and drives away...
Irrational shudder, Ju-Yun realizes the absurdity, when--
The lamps light up and Maxwell's song "Welcome" plays!
Ju-Yun turns around, ...!!!, appalled as he looks at the counter.
Fright in his gut, he staggers toward it. (we don't see it yet)
Beside his hesitant steps, he doesn't notice the NEWSPAPER.
Now showing: PHOTO OF JU-YUN, instead of Receptionist In-Guk!
Ju-Yun arrives at the counter. His terror grows when he sees:
Counter in service. Register open. Sign "K4 Motel, WELCOME".
On a coat rack, a RED receptionist's suit with the badge:
"Ju-Yun, Reception - K4 Motel".
Ju-Yun, ...!!!!!, consumed by a despair deeper than death.
Maxwell's song "Welcome" continues during the credits...
Starring:
|
| - | Kim Ji-Hoon is Ju-Yun. Excerpts from the drama "Death's Games". |
|
| - | Lee Shin-Ki is Dong-Goo. Excerpts from the drama "The Worst of Evil". |
|
| - | Yeonwoo is Tae-Rin. Excerpts from the drama "Cheat On Me, if You Can". |
|
| - | Seo In-Guk is Receptionist In-Guk. Excerpts from the drama "Death's Games". |
|
| - | Kim Bup-Rae is Ha-Bok. Excerpts from the drama "Death's Games". |
|
| - | Choi Dong-Goo is Ugly Jo. Excerpts from random internet pictures. |
(additional, post-credits scene)
On a light rainy day, Tae-Rin strolls down a street in Gangnam.
She is protected by an umbrella, held by... Dong-Goo, behind her!
Enough distance that he stays in the rain.
We guess Ha-Bok put him on escort duty.
|
| : | (stops and turns around) You know, Dong-Goo Oppa... |
|
| : | ....? (looks at her shyly) |
|
| : | ...... (dissects him, assesses if he's seduced) |
|
| : | ... (bows his head, embarrassed) |
|
| : | ...No, nothing. (resumes walking) |
|
| : | (?!) ... (resumes walking) |
She, protected by a loyal bodyguard, and nothing more.
As they walk, we pull away and see more of Gangnam around them...
