Pen and Paper Translations

Chester drained the wine glass in front of him like he was drinking beer, then knit his brows slightly and went on.

“I wanted to judge whether you’re someone who’ll make it or not. If you’d gotten swept up by my offer and asked me on the spot to introduce you to my Hollywood connections, I think I would’ve been a little disappointed.”

“…?”

“Heh. ‘Puppet,’ huh… that’s a good way to put it. You’ve got the right stuff.”

With a satisfied smile, Chester continued.

“You’re right. If you went to Hollywood right now, it’d be hard to make the kind of films you actually want to make. Like you said, you’d be nothing but a puppet. A director with directing rights only.”

He spoke like he could see straight through everything I’d already thought out.

“You’re a director who wants to write the script and be involved in the edit, aren’t you? To do that in Hollywood, you need to be widely known or you need money… tch, who knows how long that would take.”

With just one Un Certain Regard award under my belt, to say my name is widely known…

It’s still too early.

It might actually be faster to set up a small production company in Hollywood.

But then the problem would be the astronomical production costs…

It wouldn’t be easy to pull all that budget from KMD.

And it’s not like I can raise money in the U.S. off the value of my name alone.

“Still, don’t even think about giving up. Not that you look like the type who would, even without me saying it,”

“No. I have no intention of giving up.”

“Heh heh, I like the confidence. An Asian genius director in Hollywood… I’m looking forward to it.”

When he said “Asian,” Chester lightly knit his brows.

“There are plenty of sons of bitches in Hollywood, so I am worried. You sometimes get scum who strut around like skin color is some kind of privilege.”

He sighed as he spoke, then asked, a bit regretfully,

“Are you heading back to Korea tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Tsk… that’s a shame. I’d have liked to hold onto you and talk movies for a few days.”

Chester uncorked a new wine and filled my glass and Junseong’s to the brim.

“When will a day like this come again, I wonder.”

“There’s always the next Cannes.”

“Haha, what, you think Cannes only calls me? Do you know how many film people there are in the world?”

“There aren’t many with your kind of insight.”

“Heh heh… this fellow’s good at playing with people’s hearts, too? Is this how you manipulate actors at will and at all?”

Chester giggled as he emptied his glass, then poured wine into it again in a rush.

Quite a few bottles on the table were already empty.

“Phew… I want to hold onto this time. Movies, booze, and good friends. With all three here, this is heaven.”

---

The next day.

My head felt like it was splitting.

At some point the film in my mind had cut… I couldn’t properly remember exactly what we’d talked about.

Seeing that Junseong, lying on the bed next to mine, had come in wearing the same clothes as yesterday, I let out a wry laugh, figuring I wasn’t the only one whose film had cut.

“Let’s get up. We need to get ready to go.”

“Nngh… just ten more minutes…”

“Then I’m showering first?”

“’Kay…”

Even after I finished my shower and came out, it didn’t look like Junseong had any intention of getting up.

“Ten minutes are up.”

“Ten more minutes…”

Thwack!

“Gahh.”

“Get up.”

“I’m the one who hauled your drunk ass here after you passed out. And you repay grace with…”

Trailing off, he grimaced and rubbed the back I’d just smacked.

“Did your film not cut?”

“If mine hadn’t, you think I’d have kept drinking while you were completely gone? Geez…”

I worried I might have said weird stuff. So I carefully asked him,

“How much, and what, did we talk about yesterday?”

“You were spouting such bizarre nonsense I couldn’t even drink, trying to figure out how to translate it.”

“Uh…?”

“How am I supposed to translate ‘saving the film industry’! What are you, some hero of cinema? I toned it down as much as I could because I was afraid Chester would think you were insane.”

“And the rest…?”

“What, ‘god of movies’? You kept spewing strange crap, so I figured, wow, you must be really stressed.”

Even as he spoke, he looked at me with pity.

“But how was I supposed to say that to Chester! ‘God of movie’? Then your good image would turn into ‘total nutcase.’ So I just said you were really drunk and smoothed it over the best I could. I thought I was going to die!”

“Uh… good job. Haha…”

“You can act crazy and babble around me. I already know you’re nuts, but don’t show that madness to people like him!”

Catching my flustered expression, he gave a little snort and went to shower.

“Whew…”

Since we’re used to trading absurd nonsense as a matter of course, if he took the real thing as nonsense too, that’s a relief.

Still, I let out a sigh of relief, thinking I should be careful.

Once we were fully ready, we boarded the plane back to Korea with the team.

The past eleven days felt like a dream.

From being invited to Cannes to winning an award.

It was all so dreamlike I couldn’t help but smile.

---

The flight ended and we arrived in Korea.

Maybe because she had just lived through a dreamlike stretch, Kwak Yeonji still couldn’t quite believe they were back in Korea.

The first Korean actor ever to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Thinking that this situation wasn’t a dream but reality, even the fatigue from the long flight seemed to lift.

“Ugh… tired.”

At the sigh-laced voice from beside her, she looked—and the culprit was Gyeong Chanhyeon.

He yawned with his mouth wide open without even covering it, and Yeonji let a laugh slip.

“What are you laughing at?”

“For someone who just won at Cannes, you look like an unemployed bum.”

“Unemployed!? You think a director’s a joke?”

“I mean you feel approachable. It’s a compliment.”

“Doesn’t sound like it…”

Watching Gyeong Chanhyeon mutter to himself beside her, Yeonji laughed again, then rummaged in her bag and took something out.

“Here, have this.”

She handed him a chocolate wrapped in luxurious packaging with a smile.

“Oh, thanks.”

As something sweet hit his system, Gyeong’s eyes seemed to regain some pep. He even stretched with a satisfying groan.

“Ggeuu-ijja!”

Watching him make a weird sound, Yeonji scrunched her face playfully.

How could someone who seemed this sloppy have won at a world-class film festival?

Of course, when it came to film he became a completely different person, but still…

“Ha… now I feel human again.”

“Want another?”

“Nah. I’m good. It’s too sweet.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“If I eat one more, my teeth’ll rot.”

“That’s a bit rude to the person who gave it…”

At his odd phrasing, Yeonji scrunched her face playfully and spoke.

Gyeong scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said,

“One is the perfect amount.”

“Fine, then.”

Once they finished immigration and neared the doors leading to the airport lobby, a murmur of voices rolled toward them.

Startled, Gyeong asked Yeonji beside him,

“Why is it so loud? It’s not just me hearing this, right?”

“Beats me…?”

When the doors to the lobby opened, Yeonji clapped a hand over her mouth in surprise.

The people waiting at the airport looked like they had been waiting for the team and shouted,

“Director Gyeong! Please look over here just once!”

“Ms. Kwak Yeonji! Over here! Could we get your autograph!”

As the staff began to appear behind Yeonji and Gyeong, flashes went wild, and several reporters even ran up with microphones in hand.

“You’re the first in Korea to win an award overseas. Could we get a word on how you feel!”

“Ah. I’m pleased. As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, I feel a certain pride in having spread our country’s name.”

“In your acceptance speech you said it was an award for the Korean film industry. Was that a jab at the Cheongpung Film Festival incident?”

“No, it wasn’t. I simply added a word for the development of our film industry.”

Gyeong Chanhyeon wasn’t the only one the reporters pounced on.

They peppered Yeonji with questions too.

“You were slammed for poor acting for a long time. How do you feel now?”

“Uh… I feel good. Every day in Cannes felt like a dream.”

“We heard that at Cannes not only Director Gyeong Chanhyeon but also your performance received rave reviews. Can we look forward to your acting in <Jawol>?”

“Yes. Please look forward to it. Haha.”

After handling a certain number of questions, Yeonji looked around.

Gyeong still seemed to be answering, chin up, like his response wasn’t over yet.

And voices reached her ears.

“Ms. Lwak Yeonji! An autograph! Please, just once!”

“Wow, she’s a real goddess…”

“Should I try cutting my hair like that too…”

With a beautiful smile, Yeonji went up to fans, took pictures, and signed autographs, giving them service from the heart.

“Noona, you’re so pretty! I’m not washing my hands today!”

“Unnie, seriously daebak! I changed my dream to becoming you! It’s like a doll is talking…”

Hearing things like that, Yeonji laughed big, and the fans, proud that they’d made her laugh, smiled sheepishly among themselves, creating a warm atmosphere.

“Ms. Kwak Yeonji! Please look over here! Pleaaase!”

At a voice, Yeonji turned her gaze.

She spotted people who had even brought placards.

When she read what was written, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Kwak Yeonji’s acting was acknowledged by Monica Bellucci! We love you, Kwak Yeonji!”

“We want to see too! Hurry up and release it!”

“Ms. Kwak Yeonji! Please marry me! I’ll make sure your hands never touch water as long as we both…”

She’d never felt anything like this.

She’d had fans before but never crowds this large.

Even though people hadn’t even seen the film yet, seeing them so excited about her made a smile spread across Yeonji’s face.

After some time, the staff escorted the team to the bus, and Gyeong, having wrapped up the brief press scrum, got on board.

Yeonji carefully sat in the seat next to him.

“What’s this? Not sitting by Go Sangwoo?”

“If a junior sits next to you, you should think about looking after her, not question it. Or do you not want me sitting here?”

“No, that’s not it. I’m going to listen to music on the way, though?”

Flustered, Gyeong hugged the small bag next to him.

“Ugh, I just came to say thank you.”

“I told you, I’d make you a star. This is just the beginning.”

“Words are…”

“If this is the reaction even before release, don’t you get a strong feeling for what it’ll be like once it opens?”

“Ugh, fine. I came to say thanks and ended up getting a big dose of showboating.”

Pouting, Yeonji tossed him a whole bag of chocolates and stood up.

“Eat those and rot your teeth.”

“I’m going to eat one a day, actually.”

“Ugh, childish.”