Chapter 133

"Of course!"

I may not know, but Jihoon probably does.

And now, a day later.

Jihoon is engrossed in the Zoom program settings.

The meeting is in thirty minutes.

Geumhong, who will be doing the translation, will be arriving soon.

Jihoon pointed to a folder on the desktop.

"Is this it? The revised storyboard of That House from Director Jonathan?"

"Yeah, that's right. Want to take a look?"

I opened the storyboard book on my desk first.

The version before Jonathan’s revisions.

Then I pointed to a scene and showed it to Jihoon.

"Look here. The scene where little Suji enters Yang Oppa’s room. I showed her back here. Her tense back. The room's scenery is blurred to an unnatural extent. It's meant to express Suji's sense of unfamiliarity and fear in the room."

"Mm… I see."

I opened the folder that Director Jonathan sent on my computer.

Then I displayed the same scene that I had described.

"Look at what Jonathan changed. He made the entire room red, and added some sort of dripping effect."

"Yeah, it’s like…"

Jihoon tilted his head and said.

"It looks like the inside of a beast’s belly."

"Exactly. To be more precise, it's Yang Oppa's belly. It's a perfect contrast to the earlier scene where Yang Oppa was depicted like a Greek god."

"Wow... I guess I don’t need to worry anymore. This director has a 'cult-like' sensibility, doesn't he?"

"I think his cult-like sensibility is even better than mine. What do you think?"

"I don't even know the first thing about cults... But the image looks cool, right? It’s attractive."

That's a good response.

It means the storyboard has hit a popular code.

By the way, I never expected Director Jonathan to scan and send the storyboard.

As soon as I received the file by email, I thought to myself:

Why did I even choose international courier?

Of course, some directors are wary of digital files.

They’re vulnerable to leaks, after all.

Director Jonathan probably waited for the international courier without saying anything, unaware that I hadn’t even thought of the scanning option.

No matter how well I adapt and live… Sometimes I still show my age like this.

"I guess I need to prepare too. I'll write a critique to match the Korean release of That House."

"Would you? That would be great."

Criticism plays an important role in Korean literature.

The first critique when a new book is released.

That decides the direction in which readers approach the book.

If Jihoon could do that, it would be perfect.

But then, a thought that I had forgotten came to mind.

"By the way, could you write something else before That House?"

"Sorry?"

"I’m thinking of writing a short story."

"A short story? What kind?"

Jihoon casually slid on his slippers and went to the kitchen.

Then he poured coffee from the pot into a cup.

"Remember Fork in the Road? I want to write a short story based on that."

"Oh, right. The essay got great responses."

"If that story also gets a good reaction..."

As I spoke, Jihoon looked up at me.

His face said, "What more is there to say?"

"Oh, never mind. I'll tell you later."

"...What is it?"

"I’ll tell you later."

Ding—Dong—

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"It’s Geumhong. I'll go check."

I quickly went to the front door and opened it.

As expected, Geumhong appeared, his face flushed with excitement.

"Hyegyeong!"

"Come on in."

Geumhong took off his shoes and entered the house.

As I brewed Geumhong’s coffee in the kitchen, I spoke.

"Sorry for the sudden request. You’re the only one I could ask to do the translation..."

"It’s no problem. It’s an honor for me. Translating for Director Jonathan and ‘Writer Lee Sang’."

"Is Geumhong here?"

Jihoon shouted from the workspace.

"Jihoon, how have you been?"

Geumhong entered the studio with a smile.

I followed her, holding her coffee.

Jihoon had already finished setting up and had opened the Twitter feed on the monitor.

"People are tagging you and Director Jonathan together. The reactions, especially from the U.S., are crazy!"

Countless feeds were tagging me and Director Jonathan.

Hearts, stars, and all sorts of emojis were attached.

The reactions were not bad.

Geumhong quickly scanned the feeds.

"Most of them are expectations or support. Some are even saying they'll go read The House."

Ding—

A message popped up on the computer.

It was from Director Jonathan.

The one word he sent:

— Possible?

"What should we do?"

Geumhong placed her hands on the keyboard and asked.

Well, everything was ready now...

"Let’s begin."

Geumhong nodded.

Then she replied to Director Jonathan.

Once again, with just one word.

— Possible.

After Geumhong fiddled with the Zoom program a few times...

Eventually, Director Jonathan appeared on the screen.

He had the typical face of an African American.

I smiled back at his bright grin.

— Hello! Writer!

"Hello, Director! This is Geumhong, who will be interpreting for us."

Geumhong bowed and introduced herself.

— Great! Great! It’s amazing that we can have a meeting so quickly. I’m really happy.

He seemed a bit excited.

He was practically bouncing, as if ready to dance.

"Wow... I can’t keep up with the black vibe."

Jihoon murmured from behind.

"Haha, thank you so much for choosing The House."

— I should be the one thanking you. This is truly the best, the BEST! opportunity for me. Cult, it feels like I’m back in college! Wow, this is really amazing.

His excitement kept growing.

If this kept up, we’d end up just admiring each other.

I quickly shifted the conversation back to business.

"So, do you have any production companies in mind?"

— I’m planning to send you a list of possible production companies. But if you already have any in mind...

Director Jonathan asked casually.

His reputation is on par with Korea’s Director Jo Inho.

Any time he wants to make a film, countless production companies will be lining up with bundles of cash.

"We’ll leave the actual production part to you. So, when do you think production can begin?"

— Right away. I’m unemployed and thinking about my next project.

That worked out well.

I also wanted to finish The House perfectly before starting a new novel.

"Actually... the screenplay isn’t ready yet. If you give me a few weeks, I’ll finish it and send it to you."

This was the essence of the meeting.

In other words, the screenplay would be written by ‘Isang.’

If Director Jonathan got greedy about the screenplay, we’d need to talk more.

— Sounds good. I’ll leave it to you. But if there are any small revisions later, I’ll let you know right away.

Just like that?

Still, he’s the director.

"If there’s anything you want to be changed, feel free to mention it. We’ll try to incorporate it into the screenplay."

He revealed his white teeth and gave a little chuckle.

— You write the script.

Then, he made a motion as if taking a picture with the camera.

— I’ll create the images.

That... was a very impressive statement.

He clearly knew what his job was.

Creating the image.

That was the essence of being a film director.

His words definitely gave me a strong push.

I wanted to start working on the screenplay right away.

"Then, I’ll send you the screenplay as soon as possible."

— Sounds great, really great.