Chapter 105: The Texture of a Tote Bag

Rated 3.4 stars on Godflix, goes as follows.

The male lead, Won Chan-gyu, is a non-human living in South Korea in the year 2025.

He has the ability to travel to any point in time by burning tobacco leaves with his ever-present pipe.

With that power, he lived through major time periods: the Joseon Dynasty, the Japanese colonial era, post-liberation modern times, the '88 Olympics, and the 2002 World Cup.

He also lived in China during the Qing Dynasty and the People's Republic, in Japan during the Bubble Economy, and even in New York during the collapse of the Twin Towers.

He finally decided to stay in modern Korea, as he found it the most comfortable era to live in.

Of course, he could have traveled further into the future, but the reason he didn’t was because Earth would soon be destroyed by a virus.

Won Chan-gyu tried many times to prevent the calamity facing humanity, but failed every time.

He tried to prevent the fall of Joseon, the invasion by Japan, and even attempted to save certain historical figures.

He hoped that by fixing the misplaced buttons of history, he could change the future.

However, what was destined to happen happened no matter what.

Sometimes, his interference even led to greater disasters and more deaths.

Eventually, Won Chan-gyu settled into a happy and prosperous time, growing complacent.

But one day, as the time of destruction drew near, his pipe was broken.

Unable to time-warp to another era, Won Chan-gyu once again faced the fate of trying to prevent his own and humanity’s end.

This drama, a blockbuster mixed with dystopian elements, was so gripping that you couldn’t take your eyes off it for a single second.

So I knew my request—to only point out the ‘problems’ in this script—wouldn’t be so easy.

At my words, the assistant writers all fell deep into thought.

“Hmm. If I had to pick one, I think the scale is so big that production costs would be huge.”

The curly-haired assistant writer bravely spoke up first.

“The male lead has to play so many different roles from each era. That must be tough to act. It’d be perfect if an actor with really outstanding skills took the part. It’d be icing on the cake if Ahn Yoo-seok did it.”

This time, the assistant writer with red horn-rimmed glasses spoke.

“We’ll have to be thorough with historical accuracy since the story jumps back and forth across so many eras and countries.”

Pyeong Taek-soo pushed up his glasses and added.

It seemed more like they were enjoying themselves than truly worrying.

“Hmm. You all make fair points, but those comments aren’t exactly helpful for when the writer revises the script. When giving feedback, it’s best to avoid general or superficial comments.”

Jeong Tae-mi, ever the senior writer, pointed out what was necessary.

“The protagonist deciding to stop the virus—there should be a bigger sense of duty, not just a personal reason.”

“That’s right. He’s already tried to stop the disasters of the era several times, so it’d be good if his decision to fight the virus involved a more emotional incident.”

“What kind of emotional incident would work?”

Im Seong-hee and Jeong Tae-mi, seasoned writers themselves, started offering more concrete feedback.

The other assistant writers followed suit, giving more meaningful input than before.

But the issue that troubled me remained unresolved.

I couldn’t blame them.

I myself hadn’t established a clear standard for what exactly I wanted to fix.

“Thanks for all the good feedback, everyone. Let’s wrap up the meeting for today.”

After sending the assistant writers home,

I headed to Yeouido The Sharp Officetel, my former workspace and now my home, for the first time in a while.

Because I’d been eating and sleeping in the Hapjeong-dong studio for a while, the place had become musty from lack of attention.

I threw open all the windows for ventilation, then started cleaning.

‘Nothing like cleaning when you’re stuck.’

Determined to do a proper job, I donned rubber gloves and a mask, and dusted every nook and cranny.

Then I vacuumed the floor for a first pass.

After that, I vigorously wiped down the floor with a rag until it gleamed.

Getting down on my knees and doing some physical work for the first time in a while reminded me of when I was at that temple on Cloud Mountain, and my mind began to clear.

I didn’t forget to polish the window frames and furniture as I went.

While I was at it, I even took out all the dishes and cooking utensils from the kitchen cabinets, washed them, and neatly put them back in order.

Next was the bathroom.

Though it was pretty clean since I rarely used it, I finished it off with bleach for a perfect shine.

I worked so hard I was drenched in sweat in no time.

After soaking in a hot bath, I felt like a new person.

A clean house, a refreshed body! All right! Now I was ready to start writing the script again!

“……”

Damn.

I still couldn’t write.

A suffocating frustration, like I’d just eaten a hundred sweet potatoes, washed over me.

What was the problem?

How could someone like me, who owns Godflix, have so many worries?

‘Should I just use  as it is? Park Rael said the  script was good too.’

I started to think I was needlessly trying to fix a script that a genius had already approved.

Godflix script plus a genius.

Anyone would say that’s a perfect combination.

Of course, remaking it would mean registering it as a Godflix remake and earning hundreds of millions in cash.

But maybe I was just making a pointless gamble.

Even with the current script, it should easily pass 10 million views on Setflix.

Should it? My pointless doubts were holding me back from everything.

It was my flawed judgment, the one that made me think  was lacking, that was ruining everything.

‘Yeah. Let’s just go with it.’

I started up episode 5 of  on Godflix.

I was ready to copy the lines and scenes exactly as they were.

Bzzz— Bzzz—

My phone, switched to vibrate, began to buzz.

It was ‘Seo Ji-won.’

“Hello?”

-Yes, writer! Where are you?

“I’m at home.”

-At the Hapjeong-dong studio?

“No, my place in Yeouido.”

-Oh, perfect! I’m passing through Yeongdeungpo—let’s go for a drive.

“A drive?”

-Yeah, I just got a new car.

“You got a car? Did you even drive before?”

-My dream was to drive myself to the set. Come on out! Let’s go for a drive.

“Wait, I—”

I glanced at episode 5 of Traveler, just started on my laptop.

I’d finally made up my mind to get back to writing, and now, of all things, a carefree drive? I couldn’t do it.

“Ji-won, sorry, but maybe next time—”

-Writer, today’s my first day off in a month. I really wanted to go for a drive with you after getting my license.

“……”

-You’ll come, right?

Once, I would have refused Seo Ji-won’s offer without hesitation.

But for some reason, the image of Seo Ji-won as a palace lady in  flashed through my mind.

The scene where our hands met while watching a movie together replayed slowly in my head.

“How long will you take?”

-I’ll be there in 5 minutes!

All right. I could always pull an all-nighter after a short drive.

I threw on a light spring jacket and headed out.

---

“Ahhhh! The brake, brake, Ji-won!”

“The wheel—turn the wheel right! No, not so hard!”

“Relax, relax, don’t switch lanes, just go straight. Yeah. Even if you turn, it’s fine, just keep going straight.”

If I’d known Seo Ji-won had only had her license for two weeks, I would never have thought, ‘What’s the harm in a short drive?’

Driving with Seo Ji-won was nerve-racking, like a variety show—almost like a blockbuster action sequence every second.

It had been a long time since my heart beat so hard.

It was past 10 p.m., but I was as sharp and alert as ever.

“Writer. Are we almost there?”

“Yeah, just stop here for a bit. I’ll handle the parking.”

After a harrowing journey, we arrived at Mapo Hangang Park.

A trip that normally takes 10 minutes from Yeouido at this hour had taken 40.

But I was grateful we’d arrived safely, without any incidents.

I was amazed at her guts—driving a Range Rover much taller than herself, despite being a total beginner.

“Hehe. Thanks, writer. How’d you know I’m still clumsy with parking?”

“You bought a car even though you can’t park?”

“My manager does it for me.”

“Isn’t that a bit much for Woo Manager?”

“Come on. He’s getting married soon, and I’m handling all his home appliances and wedding stuff.”

“Fair enough. But still, you should sell the car right now.”

“Oh, please. Once shooting is over, I’ll get proper training. I’ll become a parking master.”

“Thinking parking is the only issue is the problem. Do you know how many times you almost hit other cars on the way here?”

“That’s why I got an expensive car. Everyone gives way to me.”

“Call Woo Manager for the ride back.”

“No way. I want to go on a date with you, writer.”

“If you want a date while crossing the River Jordan, go ahead.”

“Chee.”

We stopped at a convenience store, bought ramen, snacks, and drinks, then sat at a bench with a table, far from the crowds.

“Oh. This is my first time having Hangang ramen. Here, you try it, writer.”

“No thanks. You eat.”

“Really? I can have it all?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Seo Ji-won slurped up the ramen.

Her face was so small, but watching her eat with such adorable diligence made her look especially pretty.

No, I shouldn’t think she’s pretty.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat and tried to open a can of cola,

But because I’d clipped my nails after cleaning, the tab wouldn’t budge.

“Give it here, writer.”

“I got it.”

“No, my nails are long, so I’m good at this.”

In the end, Seo Ji-won took the cola and popped it open in one go.

“Ahem. Thanks.”

“No problem. Open this for me, then.”

Seo Ji-won handed me a 500ml bottle of water as if she’d been waiting for it.

“My wrists are weak, so I can’t open PET bottles.”

I opened the cap easily and handed it back to her.

At that moment, something struck me.

“Ji-won. Of all the dramas I wrote, which was your favorite?”

“Hmm. I have to pick just one? That’s hard. Twin Love was great, Macho Restaurant was great, Ma Bok-soon was really fun, and Killer Romance was the best of all.”

“Really?”

“But, I like The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed the most.”

“Why?”

“How do I put it… It just felt more human?”

“More human?”

“Yeah. Twin Love, Macho Restaurant, Ma Bok-soon—they’re like really well-made designer bags. You get why they’re expensive, because a master crafted them, but you don’t want to use them too much because they’re precious.”

“Yeah? What about the others?”

“But Killer Romance and The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed—they’re like tote bags. Not that they’re cheap, but they’re so practical and well-made you can use them anywhere, anytime. They’re just easy to pick up every day.”

“Hm.”

“I watched Killer Romance five times.”

“Five times?”

“Yeah. Even Twin Love, which I was in, I only watched twice.”

Seo Ji-won sipped the ramen broth and put down her chopsticks.

“I’ve already watched episodes 1 and 2 of The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed three times. It’s not even finished, but it’s my favorite drama ever.”

Watching Seo Ji-won drink the water I’d opened for her, I realized something.

There was something I’d overlooked all along.

I’d been trying to write something that met a genius’s standards.

But not all 10 million viewers are geniuses like Park Rael.

Most people are ordinary, like me or Seo Ji-won.

Not everyone calls a perfectly-crafted script the ‘drama of their life.’

If Park Rael and Godflix are good at opening a can of cola with a perfectly honed fingernail,

What I’m good at is opening a bottle of water with the punchy dialogue I learned from Writer Park Eun-sook and the warmth I learned from Writer Oh Hee-kyung.

Everyone has their own strengths.

Using Godflix to make my own drama—

That’s the best I can do right now.

“Thank you, Ji-won.”

“For what?”

“Oh, nothing. Shall we go?”

“Already?”

“You finished the ramen, didn’t you?”

“Come on. Who came here just to eat ramen? I came to see you, writer. Ahem. Let’s walk a bit.”

“Shall we?”

I walked along the well-maintained riverside with Seo Ji-won, enjoying the night view.

The end of March. Spring was beginning.