Payback

Before going to Alice, I handed over the screenplay to Hansoo. It took a while to read, but the content was one of the best screenplays I’ve ever read. In fact, the material was common. It was all about the protagonist getting caught up in an incident while following the trail of his long-lost father. 

However, there were unexpected twists and turns everywhere, and moderately thought-provoking parts. It seemed to be true that the novel became very popular because it was in the form of a script with only simple dialogues, and even I, who did not enjoy reading, was absorbed in reading it.

What was unusual was the pop song that appeared throughout the novel. It appeared as his father’s favorite song, but the main character listened to this song all the time because his father hid a password using the lyrics of the song. A very important song that initially hinted when the lyrics were interpreted in Korean, but later a definitive solution by combining words from the original English lyrics could be found.

“What song is this?”

Hansoo, who was putting the screenplay in his bag, looked back at me with a shocked face. Why was he looking at me like that? The expression disappeared as soon as he raised one eyebrow, but it was still a look of disbelief. 

“Don’t you know this song?”

“…”

“No, how can you not know this famous song?”

“…”

“… Of course you may not know.”

As Hansoo’s voice grew quieter, he lowered his fist. Still, Hansoo looked at me as if he wanted to say something more, and eventually, before we parted ways, he sent me a music file on my phone.

“It’s this song. When you hear it, you will probably say, ‘Oh, this is the one.’”

Hansoo, who had been teasing me about whether the old phone could play music properly, tossed the earphones before getting hit by me and ran away. When I pressed the play button, a really familiar pop song flowed. But to me who was heading to Alice, it was a different feeling of familiarity. Where have I heard this? After thinking about it for a while, it came to mind when I finally reached Alice. 

It was a song I heard in the madman’s car before. I also remembered the expression he made while turning up the volume of this song. Was it because he remembered the drama at that time? I thought of Dream Planning that might be taken away. Concerns about the guy spread inside again. As I went down to the basement with an unwelcome but persistent discomfort, I was greeted by a familiar face.

“Welcome, Mr. Lee Baekwon.”

The manager, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, still had the same smile, as if he had been notified in advance that I was coming. I nodded, said hello, and naturally went to the madman’s office, but he stopped me.

“The boss wants to see you first.” 

Then he led the way to the owner’s office, but I couldn’t follow right away. He wanted to see me? Surely he’s not going to laugh his head off about ‘200 won’, was he? He is a person I didn’t really want to meet, but I walked into the office without revealing it on my face, and it was all in vain. The boss noticed right away when he saw me.

“Ah, yes, Baekwon is here… huh? What’s wrong with your expression?”

My expression was obvious. I was swallowing my irritation in advance, afraid he would say nonsense again. Even if I didn’t show my emotions, the boss raised the corner of his mouth as if he knew everything.

“Yeah, I get it. Were you nervous? What fancy language magic is waiting for you this time? Hahaha, actually, my joke that day did shine a little!” 

Glv atf ybrr fnfg vgfjw bo yfmbwlcu jc jmabg? Yatfgklrf, qfbqif mbeiv cba yf atlr vgjwjalm. Qtja qlrrfv wf boo kjr atja P kjr ufaalcu erfv ab atlr qfgrbcjilas jcv la rffwfv cbgwji. P kjcafv wf ab mbwf ab ws rfcrfr, rb P jrxfv yiecais.

“Gb sbe tjnf jcsatlcu ab rjs?”

“Sometimes you see, I have a flash of wit… huh? Ah, no, I don’t have anything to say, I just wanted to see your face.”

“Since you’ve seen my face, I’ll go now.” 

At the same time as I said that, I closed the door with a ‘bang’ and came out right away. It seemed like I could hear a ‘huh?’ through the closed door, but I moved away regardless. And I opened the door to the madman’s room as anger yet again flared up at the person who turned my name into ‘Lee Baekwon’. Inside, as expected, he was sitting at the desk wearing glasses.

But I couldn’t help but frown at him. As soon as he confirmed that it was me who had suddenly entered without knocking, he gave me a very comfortable smile. A genuine smile that made me forget what I was thinking a moment ago. Without realizing it, I stopped breathing and lost my eyes to his smiling face. As if even time stopped until his voice was heard.

“What’s the matter?”

My brain, which had hardened for a moment at the low voice that I could hear in my ears, started to be filled with embarrassment before I knew it. I saw him slowly rise from his seat and realized that I had been standing at the door the whole time. It might have been a very short time, but it felt strangely long to me, so I must have been more embarrassed. It was only then that I saw the madman whose expression had changed seriously and stepped inside. Then pretending nothing was wrong, I asked back, “What?” and he narrowed his eyes and followed me as I moved. 

“Did something happen to you?”

This time, I answered briefly, “not really,” and sat on the sofa avoiding his gaze. The embarrassment caused by my uncharacteristic behavior should have dissipated, but it still clung to my beating heart. I didn’t understand why I’m like this, and I was not used to it, so I must have looked a little sullen. The madman who sat down next to me asked repeatedly.

“Then what’s wrong with your expression?”

“How is my expression?” 

When I turned around and asked bluntly, he curled his mouth without smiling.

“As soon as you saw me, you hardened as if you weren’t happy to see me.”

I knew he was angry by the cold sound of his voice. Still, I thought it was a hundred times better than revealing that I was surprised by his smile.

“I’m never happy to see you.” 

I threw the words away and turned my head away again, fearing that the lie would be evident. But this prick looked at me from the side and embarrassed me.

“I’m saying this because today is different.”

Different? I couldn’t help but turn my eyes to him, and I met the gaze that was staring at me.

“It’s different from usual.” 

“…”

“Speak. What happened.”

I got speechless whenever I heard stupid questions from this lunatic, but this time I was really speechless. Nothing happened, what does he want from me?

“Did you meet Song Myungshin? Or Chairman Kim… not possible.” 

As I listened to the last words that trailed off, I felt a strange thought. Why was Chairman Kim excluded?

“I asked if you had met Song Myungshin again.”

He asked for an answer sharply, as if he could only think of Myungshin affecting me. I thought about selling Myungshin out for a while, but soon gave up. If I said it was because of Myungshin, it felt like he was ready to take my hand and go to scold Myungshin.

“It’s just that I’m tired.” 

After replying evasively, I lowered my eyes and raised them again. He still seemed doubtful, but he soon accepted.

“I heard that some people change their mood when they are tired.”

That’s you. Pretending to be someone else, how disgusting. The embarrassment I had at first disappeared somewhat thanks to my dumbfoundedness.

“Yeah, they say there is.” 

I emphasized each letter and shouted inwardly, ‘It’s you, you.’ However, this jerk, like a madman, lightly sympathized.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen it, but you seem to be that type.”

Why did I feel resentment just by talking to this guy? Even though I knew from experience that words could not win, sarcasm automatically came out of my mouth.

“Good for you. It’s the first time you’ve seen a type like me.” 

“Well, I think I would get annoyed seeing a type like you.”

Are you saying I’m annoying? The moment my mood was about to turn sour, he added as if talking to himself while looking into the air.

“But if you’re the one, I won’t be annoyed.”

Then he looked at me casually and added, 

“Rather, it makes me feel better. It looks like you’re complaining.”

“…”

“You’re really strange today. Normally, you would have fiercely told me not to talk nonsense.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” 

He rolled his eyes and smiled as if he couldn’t contain the joy. It was a more familiar laugh to me these days. The eyes were not a cold expression that only smiled without smiling. The inside of my chest tickled as I saw his laugh revealing pleasant emotions. This made it difficult for me to open my mouth easily without a quiver. When I didn’t say anything, his laughter died down and he raised his hand with grave eyes.

“You are very tired.”

His hand ran through my bangs. I managed to turn my head to the side to avoid his touch, and he smiled again and pointed at the sofa.

“Then lie down here and sleep. I can’t go home yet because I have a call I’m waiting for.” 

Then he got up and went to his desk. While watching his movements in a daze, I realized something important.

“Why did you call me here?”

He sat down and pointed his eyes at the table.

“The book on it.” 

Book? As usual, I found a book with a thick cover in the middle of a pile of things. No, the title caught my eye first. Because it was like the screenplay I was reading.

“It’s yours. Read that.”

I was thinking of saying another word to the commanding voice, but I gave up because I remembered his rather favorable face when I scolded ‘Don’t talk nonsense’ earlier. Instead, I picked up the heavy book because I was looking for the book anyway. But on the outside, it said ‘volume 1’. What, how many of these were there? Then, as if he understood my inner thoughts, I heard an explanation.

“There are only three volumes in all, so read quickly.” 

It took me days to read the screenplay, but I didn’t know how many weeks it would take to read this. I didn’t like it because I suddenly felt like I was only doing what he told me to do. So, thinking about throwing it away, I unfolded the hard cover. However, there was someone’s handwriting inside.

‘Lee Baekwon, enjoy reading.’

And the first name written under it. No, I saw this name a while ago. Right in front of the hard cover. Realizing that this was the signature of the writer, I stared at the paper for a while before opening my mouth. It was belatedly that another important thing came to mind.

“Hey, why did you get an autograph for Lee Baekwon?” 

The madman, who was working while staring at the monitor, answered casually at intervals.

“Because I like Lee Baekwon.”

“You like the name Lee Baekwon?”

Yes, he answered briefly as he typed on the keyboard, and added after a while. 

“That’s the name I gave you .”

At the answer that seemed obvious, I frowned to ignore the strange heat that was rising in my chest again.

“Did you call me to give me this book?”

“No.” 

When I turned my head around, Director Yoon was staring at the monitor seriously while wearing glasses. Tap, tap, tap. His answer was mixed with the small keyboard sounds.

“Just to see you.”