diymy Chapter 21 Start-up
Chapter 21 Start-up
When the phone rang from the film set, Su Yu was squatting on the floor, struggling with the linoleum floorboards. He didn't answer the phone, waiting until it rang four or five times before slowly pulling it out.
"Yoon Shi-yoon's story has been approved," the voice on the other end of the phone said.
"Um."
"One take."
"What else can I do? If he gets two passes, I'll have to pay him extra."
The person on the other end laughed. Su Yu hung up the phone, pressed the tape down, but the linoleum was still peeling up. He stood up and ignored it.
Su Yu did not appear on set. Cai Xiubin caught up with him: "Boss, why aren't you going? The whole crew is waiting for you!" She was dressed in neat cargo pants and Martin boots, her high ponytail was taut like a string, her eyebrows were sharp, and the keychain at her waist gleamed coldly.
"They'll be nervous if they go. How will we film?" Su Yu leaned against the door frame, picking at the paint on the wall. Cai Xiubin glared: "The boss has to keep things in order!" She squatted down to tie her shoelaces, taking them apart and tying them again for the third time, her fingertips trembling.
Photos from the set showed Yoon Shi-yoon sitting in the driver's seat of a taxi, a chafing mark visible on his collarbone, the window rolled down half an inch. Su Yu clenched her fist and replied to the message: "Take another one! Now!" A sudden downpour began outside.
Filming began for Cai Xiubin's scene in the internet cafe. Rain poured through the ceiling and onto the screen. She yelled, "Continue! Rain marks can be fixed in post-production!" Her fingers furiously tapped the keyboard, code scrolling like a torrential downpour. The director hoarsely yelled "Cut!" She sat frozen, cold sweat mingling with the raindrops.
The scene at the internet cafe took place at night. When Su Yu arrived, Cai Xiubin was already sitting in the corner. Two monitors sat in front of her, their screens lit, code scrolling rapidly. She wasn't typing; her hands were resting on the keyboard. Su Yu leaned against the doorway and watched for a while. Then she turned her head.
"What are you looking at?"
"Let's see how you act."
"If you write it, I'll act it. If it's well-written, I'll act it well. If it's poorly written, there's nothing I can do to save it."
"Then you're saved. I don't have the money to rewrite it."
She glared at him and turned away. The director yelled "Action!" Her fingers began to move, tap-tap-tap, neither too fast nor too slow.
Halfway through filming, the internet cafe's ceiling started leaking. A drop hit the monitor, and Su Yu saw water trickling down the screen. A stagehand offered an umbrella, but Su Yu pointed, indicating she didn't need one. Cai Xiubin didn't stop. Her fingers were still tapping.
Ta-ta-ta.
"Cut!" the director yelled. Cai Xiubin stood up, put her hands in her hoodie pockets, and walked up to Su Yu.
"Did you pass?" she asked.
"Passed."
"One take?"
"Are you deaf? I already said that."
"You have a really unpleasant way of speaking."
"As long as you act well, that's enough. Whether you speak nicely or not doesn't matter."
She snorted and left.
Early morning, in the car.
Kim Do-gi and Ahn Go-eun meet for the first time. This scene has no dialogue. Su Yu didn't expect it to be filmed when she wrote it; it only had a few words on paper—"The wind blew in, messing up her hair." A cheap line, but now it would cost tens of thousands to film. On the monitor, Yoon Shi-yoon sat in the driver's seat, hands on the steering wheel, not moving. Chae Soo-bin sat in the passenger seat, her hair flying everywhere in the wind. She didn't care.
Su Yu stared at the monitor, suddenly remembering a time at the convenience store when he was wiping the counter and Shirley sat by the window. They sat across the counter from each other, neither speaking. Back then, he was waiting too. Waiting for what? He didn't know. Now he knew. Waiting for this moment.
"Passed," Su Yu said.
The director called "Cut!" Cai Xiubin got out of the car, her hair still messy. Without fixing it, she walked up to Su Yu.
"How is it?"
"good."
"What kind of evaluation is 'not bad'?"
"It's alright. Not bad, but not so good that you'd want to slap your thigh in admiration."
"Then take a picture and let me see. You wrote it yourself, don't you even know what it should look like?"
Su Yu thought for a moment. "Have you seen 'Léon: The Professional'?"
"I've seen it."
"The little girl inside didn't cry when Reno left. She chased after him, holding a flowerpot, and stood at the door looking out into the alley. The wind blew her hair, but she didn't care. You were just like that."
Cai Xiubin was stunned for a moment. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her ears turned red.
"...Just say it, why compare movies?"
She turned and walked away. Her ponytail swayed.
Yoon Shi-yoon got out of the car and stood next to Su Yu. The two stood side by side, the monitor screen still lit, replaying the scene. The wind blew, messing up his hair, but he didn't care.
"The script is well written," Yoon Shi-yoon said.
"Um."
When will the action scenes be filmed?
"next week."
"Where?"
"downstairs."
"In the alley?"
"Yeah. That low wall is perfect for practicing climbing over."
Yoon Shi-yoon was silent for a few seconds. "Couldn't you find a decent place?"
"You can when you start earning a salary."
"If I don't get paid, where will you get the money to start a company?"
"Borrowed."
"Who did you borrow it from?"
I won't tell you.
Yoon Shi-yoon glanced at him. "Fine. If you cripple him, it'll be considered a work injury."
"Medical expenses are half price."
Why is it half price?
"Because you're my friend. Friend's price."
"Stingy." Yoon Shi-yoon turned and left.
Supa was still standing in front of the monitor. His phone vibrated; it was a message from Cai Xiubin: "That movie you just mentioned, the part where I didn't cry. Do you remember the lines?"
Su Yu thought for a moment and typed a few words: "What she said was—'I think we'll be fine here.' Jean Reno didn't answer. So she didn't ask anymore."
There was no reply for a long time. Su Yu assumed she had fallen asleep. A few minutes later, she sent another message: "Su Yu, you're a really strange person."
Su Yu replied, "Is this the first day you've heard?"
She sent an eye-rolling emoji. Su Yu laughed and put his phone in his pocket. The black hair tie had somehow slipped out of his pocket and landed on the ground. He bent down to pick it up, but instead of putting it back, he held it tightly in his hand.