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 slut...
Feminine moans lead us to the bed...
...In which a couple are making love.
Man lying on woman. Slow back and forth.
JU-YUN (29) scents her neck like a fawn.
Hunky, cruel face, scar on his shoulder.
A sensual brute no woman can resist.
TAE-RIN (21) orgasms relentlessly, greedy for selfish joy.
Too cute and innocent cunt. 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! (puts hand over her mouth to silence her) |
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 passes 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. But not her first time.
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, grim, eye to eye.
Then reads his badge: "Choi In-Guk, Reception - The Four Season Hotel".
|
| - | (impolite mode) 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 steaming of 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 on too, just jaded. Articulates "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 strides towards 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 and crying, as Ha-Bok joins 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 the counter to intervene, on adrenalin!
|
| - | YOU WON'T HARM ANYONE IN MY HOTEL !!! |
Ha-Bok, ??!, sees him approach, and in a flash--
Zip! A man draws out a knife, and with terrific 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 helps fainted Receptionist fall safely.
| - | 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, bends over, makes tons! 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 bends down further, almost kissing Ha-Bok's feet, like a submissive and irresistibly provocative slave.
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 windscreen.
Headlights barely show the road in the storm.
Ju-Yun drives, tense, struggling to scan the path.
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, brushstrokes 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 painful.
Ju-Yun's smartphone is fixed to the front deck.
It rings and lights up, displaying "Hyung".
(Hyung: older man, brother or friend)
Ju-Yun sighs. It's painful. He clicks to take the call.
|
| - | Hyung. |
|
| - | You want to die? |
|
| - | ...What do you propose? |
|
| - | Come back with me. |
|
| - | What for? |
|
| - | I clear it with Ha-Bok. You'll have a hard 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 lights out. Dong-Goo has cut the call.
Ju-Yun... a muddy feeling of friendship drowned in the shit.
A last glance at his extinct smartphone.
ZRAK! Dong-Goo's knife pierces his smartphone on the deck.
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 foredeck 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 petrol".
Ju-Yun, !!, even more distressed!
KRAK!! A lightning bolt illuminates outside:
Further on, at the roadside, a four-storey building.
Ju-Yun, ?!, his headlights illuminate a road sign: "K4 MOTEL".
Now, his headlights illuminate the motel car park entrance.
Ju-Yun, !!, has no alternative. He drives in...
Sees an abandoned four-storey 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 hurries towards the motel entrance.
Perhaps a place where he could hide and fight?
Ju-Yun adapts to the dark, and sees:
Fallen ceiling tiles, debris, dust.
He finds a coat hanger, 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 hanger 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 hanger to test its usability.
It slips out of his hand and Blang, falls behind the counter.
Ju-Yun, like "shit, bad weapon".
Reluctantly, goes to pick it up and--
Ju-Yun, !!!, sees something amazing here! (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 unhooks his knife from his smartphone.
He gets out. Points his knife at the motel, as an order.
The gang walk towards the K4, in the glare of 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, !!, distraught. By instinct, he examines the desk...
There! Further on, a half-empty box of cartridges.
Hurry!!! He loads the rifle. Swp..Swp..Swp.. bullet by bullet.
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! activates the breech.
Ugly Jo, !!, immediately runs back, and Ju-Yun--
BANG! BANG! BANG! Kills the three other thugs.
Dong-Goo, !!, heard the bangs, 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 unlocks 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 go round 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 further, 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 grin... the closest to a tear for him.
He walks, icier and icier, towards the last room...
Broken lock. He could enter by pushing open the door.
He leans against the wall, thinking of a plan, when...
|
| - | Just the two of us, Hyung... |
Ju-Yun is leaning 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.
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. |
|
| - | To rule without trust and honour? Aigoo, I bred a cockroach. (Aigoo: oh my goodness) |
Ju-Yun brandishes his rifle like a club, aiming at the door.
Dong-Goo enters, but diving to the ground. Ju-Yun, "fucked"!!
POW!! Gunshot in the belly! BRAK!! Rifle kick in 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) |
|
| (suffers morally, presses gun harder, hesitates) |
|
| - | If I'd known you were out of ammo. |
|
| - | Sorry, Hyung. |
Ju-Yun, a grin cramped with regret... and madness.
Shoots Click! no ammo. Ju-Yun, !!
Dong-Goo smiles cruelly and stands up. Broken arm panting.
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 one, even without an asshole in the belly. |
Follows a fight. Slashes, kicks, clashing knives, grabs.
Dong-Goo dominates, and the fight ends when...
Dong-Goo stumbles over Ju-Yun.
Straddling him, blocks his knife hand with a knee, but won't hold long.
Dong-Goo stabs in the heart. Ju-Yun blocks, but the knife slowly penetrates.
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 healthy arm.
Dong-Goo, !!!, realises 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 fancied, but were too pussy to fuck. |
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:
Headline "Brave receptionist sacrifices life to save guests".
Then a photo of the FOUR SEASON HOTEL RECEPTIONIST! In-Guk!
The carpet, or the hotel itself, drinks his blood!
Bullet holes disappear. Walls regenerate. Dirt disappears!
Dong-Goo's bright RED blood is absorbed into the floor.
Then the corpse withers at sight... 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 round, 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, ....!!!, distraught, can't see that he's no longer injured.
In the reflection, tables are overturned and chairs are broken.
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 entering a SUV... Dong-Goo?!
BAM! BAM! Ju-Yun bangs the door. It doesn't quiver.
Outside, the SUV starts up and drives away...
Irrational thrill, Ju-Yun realises the absurdity, when--
The lamps light up and Maxwell's song "Welcome" plays!
Ju-Yun turns round, !!!, appalled as he looks at the counter.
Fright in his gut, he staggers towards 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 ready for use. Registration open. Sign "K4 Motel, WELCOME".
On a coat hanger, 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 is walking down a street in Gangnam.
She is protected by an umbrella, held by... Dong-Goo, behind her!
Enough distance for him to keep out in the rain.
We guess that Ha-Bok has asked him to escort her.
|
| - | (stops and turns round) You know, Dong-Goo Oppa... |
|
| - | ....? (looks at her shyly) |
|
| - | ...... (dissects him, assesses if he's seduced) |
|
| - | ... (bows head, embarassed) |
|
| - | ...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...
