NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 105
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 105. 「Sketch」 (4)
“How about this one?”
“Hmm, no.”
“Then this one?”
Countless photographs had arrived.
Not all the emails that arrived were tip-offs, but among them there seemed to be at least fifty serious reports.
While going through them one by one, Jay’s movements stopped.
When searching around, he had thought he would need to go see it in person to know for sure.
The photograph displayed on the Monitor didn’t have very good quality, and since the focus seemed to be on a parked automobile, the background looked blurry.
But the moment he saw it, he knew.
“···Nari. I think we found it.”
***
“How is it?”
“I’m certain.”
Once they arrived, his memory became clearer.
“It’s that house at the very top.”
The house at the very top of the Hill Road where Red Brick curved down.
Ironically, this place wasn’t very far from Nari and Grandmother’s House either.
A place they reached in just 20 minutes by bus.
Nari and Jay climbed up the Hill Road.
The house at the very end was a two-story Old House, and in front of the house, a grandmother was outside watering her plants.
“Oh my, who might you be?”
Since it was a house at the end of the Hill Road, in a dead-end Alley, the grandmother asked upon seeing Nari and Jay walking up.
Then Nari answered.
“We came up here looking for a house we used to live in.”
“A house you lived in? I’ve been living here for decades though?”
“Do you perhaps remember a Mother and a young boy who rented a Single Room about 17 years ago?”
The grandmother’s eyes widened upon hearing Nari’s words.
“Oh my, then could this young man next to you be Ji-hoon?”
Both Jay and Nari’s eyes widened at hearing this name for the first time.
“Jay, your name must be Ji-hoon.”
“···I think that’s right. I remembered the moment I heard it.”
According to the story they heard from the grandmother, they weren’t renting, and it wasn’t a Single Room either.
“It was here. The mother and child looked so pitiful that I told them if this place was okay, they could just stay here.”
What the grandmother opened to show them was a very small Storage Shed under the Stairs going up to the 2nd floor.
“···If Mother was about my height, she wouldn’t have been able to stretch her legs.”
At Nari’s words, Jay couldn’t continue speaking as he looked into the Storage Shed.
The Room that had remained in his memory as a very small room even to his young self.
Seeing it as an adult, it was only slightly larger than a public Restroom stall.
Jay and Nari came down to the Town Center based on the information the grandmother had given them.
They stopped by the BBQ restaurant where Mother was presumed to have worked.
Fortunately, it was a BBQ restaurant that remained the same even after nearly 20 years had passed.
“Huh? Well, who are you talking about. So many people have worked here until now, you see.”
When the Grandfather looking at the counter tilted his head, a voice came from the kitchen.
“Are you perhaps talking about Seon-hwa?”
“Seon-hwa? Oh, is that it? Right, that’s right.”
Nari’s eyes widened as they seemed to have found a clue about Jay’s Mother.
“Seon-hwa? Could you perhaps tell us more details?”
“Her name was Lee Seon-hwa, ···right? It’s getting hazy. Was Seon-hwa a Lee ? Or a Park ?”
“That’s right. She was a Lee.”
The Grandfather nodded at the sound coming from the kitchen again and continued speaking.
“She was a girl who lived desperately. She filled her stomach with food left by customers and saved money without spending a single penny carelessly. But I remember her because she was so bad at work. Normally I should have fired her, but her situation was so pitiful that I kept her on.”
After translating the Grandfather’s words to Jay, Nari asked.
“Do you perhaps know her whereabouts after she quit?”
“One day suddenly some man came and took her away.”
“A man?”
“The child also stopped being seen from some point. So we thought she must have remarried.”
After greeting the Grandfather, they left the BBQ restaurant.
Nari hesitated about whether she should translate, then closed her eyes tightly and told Jay everything as it was.
But rather than that, Jay’s face, which had been hardened since seeing the Storage Shed at the house at the end of the Hill Road, relaxed upon hearing those words.
“If she remarried, that would be fortunate.”
“Really?”
“But if she remarried and is living well, would it really be a good thing for me to visit her?”
Nari smiled while looking at Jay’s face.
“I’ll respect whatever choice Jay makes.”
“Nari, wouldn’t you feel disappointed if we stopped here? You put so much effort into helping me.”
“I’d be disappointed if our journey ended here, but if that’s not the case, then I’m fine with it.”
“Of course that’s not it.”
Jay looked at Nari and grinned.
A few days passed, and during that time Jay and Nari had been inquiring and learning about Mother and the man who had taken her away.
Then, through an unexpected channel, that man contacted them first.
An email that came through the email address they had made public.
– Hello. I am Social Worker Lee Chang-su.
I’m contacting you after seeing your story on the internet.
I think the person you’re looking for might be Lee Seon-hwa, whom I know, so I’m reaching out.
“Lee Seon-hwa?”
It was the name of Jay’s birth mother that they had heard at the BBQ restaurant.
***
Beep beep beep.
A repetitive beeping sound was heard.
Although nearly two hours of runtime had already passed, when the audience heard the beeping sound, the first scene of this movie vividly came to mind.
A close-up shot captured the upper body of a man standing blankly in front of a hospital room, hesitating to enter.
Now the audience knew his name was ‘Jay Miller’ and understood what process had brought him to this place.
Silence flowed and it seemed as if even the sound of the audience swallowing could be heard loudly in the Theater am Potsdamer Platz.
Creak─.
Jay opened the door and entered, followed by the Nurse and Nari.
Although it was a hospital room shared by four people, as soon as Jay entered, he immediately knew which of them was the woman he had come to find.
He didn’t know how he knew, but through instinctive attraction, he stood in front of patient ‘Lee Seon-hwa’.
A gauntly thin woman lay quietly sleeping on the hospital bed.
The unusual thing was that her hands were blue.
Though he had met his birth mother, Jay had a surprisingly calmer expression than expected.
“Why are her hands like that?”
The hands of the woman Jay was looking at were so blue they had turned almost black.
Jay looked at the Nurse behind him and asked.
“What is this person’s illness?”
At Jay’s question, the Nurse smiled awkwardly.
“It’s quite late, but still, this is really fortunate.”
This patient was famous even among the nurses.
“This person’s illness is Alzheimer’s. In Korean, it’s dementia. You know what kind of disease that is without me explaining, right?”
The Nurse bent down and pulled something out from under the bed.
***
17 years ago.
It had been three years since receiving the diagnosis.
The symptoms gradually worsened.
Was this what it meant to forget as soon as you turned around?
She was sure the customer over there had ordered something, but she forgot as soon as she turned around.
“Hey lady! I’ve been asking for two more servings of pork jowl since earlier, why do you keep not bringing it? Twice means it’s intentional. Are you ignoring me?!”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Tears welled up in Lee Seon-hwa’s eyes as she bowed her head and apologized.
It wasn’t because of the customer getting angry in front of her.
‘····It would be selfish to continue raising him with this body. What sin did I commit to receive such harsh punishment at this young age?’
***
5 years ago.
Staying up through the last night, looking at her young son who had no idea that when dawn broke he would be separated from his mother for life, she stifled her sobs and quietly shed tears, afraid the child might wake up.
“I told him not to come back. I told that small child who doesn’t even know what longing means not to miss his mother, to forget everything and never come back. Since I’ll forget everything anyway because of dementia.”
The woman on the hospital bed, with her gauntly thin body, looked at the Social Worker with strength that came from who knows where, and wailed endlessly with flowing tears.
“But I regret it so much, so much that I wonder why the memory of talking to myself while looking at my sleeping son on that last day won’t disappear? Dementia is a disease that makes you lose memories. So why does it remain in my heart for a lifetime···.”
“I know everything. It’s okay, Seon-hwa.”
The social worker had already heard this story from Lee Seon-hwa dozens of times.
But whenever she heard this woman’s story, tears would always come.
The woman who beat her chest with her fists, clutching it while silently bowing her head.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Whether she was speaking to the social worker who held her hands and cried with her, or to the child she had sent away to a distant foreign country.
She kept repeating endless apologies until she became exhausted and fell asleep.
***
Present.
Perhaps sensing the nurse’s presence as she took something out from under the bed, Lee Seon-hwa slightly opened her eyes.
It was unclear what memory her eyes recalled when they looked at Jay, but she slowly opened her mouth.
“···I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
She muttered words of apology to no one in particular, then fell asleep again as if it was too difficult.
Jay remained silent while watching Lee Seon-hwa.
Jay’s face held an indescribable expression.
What the nurse took out from under the bed was a children’s sketchbook and worn, crumbling crayons.
The nurse handed the sketchbook to Jay.
Jay took the sketchbook and turned to the first page.
‘···Bills?’
Inside were drawings of 10,000 won bills colored in green.
“···She says she needs to earn a lot of money to go find her son, so she always draws 10,000 won bills.”
Jay turned the page with trembling hands.
The next page was also full of 10,000 won bills.
He turned again.
The next page too, and the page after that.
After turning several pages, perhaps having used up all the green, there were 10,000 won bills colored in blue.
Jay closed the sketchbook with trembling hands.
And looked at the worn, crumbling crayons.
The screen showed only the crayons in the frame, and silence flowed through the audience seats.
Then Jay’s voice was heard as the screen showed Jay’s large hands quietly embracing the shabby hands that were blue from crayon marks, almost black from overuse.
“Hello. My name is Lee Ji-hoon.”
A sentence Jay had practiced countless times over the past few days in preparation for meeting his mother.
The audience finally realized that this movie had started with the English narration “My name is Jay Miller” and ended with Jay’s Korean voice saying “My name is Lee Ji-hoon.”
And the screen faded to black with the movie’s title “Sketch” appearing on the black screen.
Sketch means a preliminary drawing made before creating a painting.
Like the youth of Jay and Nari, who were still before drawing the full picture of their lives.
In dictionary terms, it also meant a short one-act play, or a skit.
And it was also Mother’s sketchbook.
An unbelievable silence fell over the large theater as if no one was there, then sniffling sounds could be heard from various places.
And film student Neil Benson couldn’t bear it anymore and shot up from his seat.
Clap clap clap!
And he spread his arms wide and clapped his hands together with all his might.
Chris stood up, and film critic Franz also stood up.
Soon everyone in the theater stood up and gave generous applause.
Yeon-woo and his group stood up, watching the audience members crying and clapping from here and there.
‘If not for the power of cinema, what could make so many people cry and stand up to applaud? The movie I made this time is a proper film.’
Tears welled up in Yeon-woo’s eyes from the surging emotions.
For the past few months, Yeon-woo had lived as Jay.
This was the moment that long journey came to an end.
“Sniff···.”
At the sniffling sound, he looked to the side and saw Seo Ji-eun with tears welling up in her eyes, barely holding back her crying.
Yeon-woo took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Waaah.”
Upon receiving the handkerchief, Seo Ji-eun’s tears that she had barely been holding back burst forth.
She wiped away the tears falling like chicken droppings and blew her nose with Yeon-woo’s handkerchief.
‘Hmm···.’
Blowing his nose too would be a bit···.
Just then, Director Park Chan-hong approached from behind and put his arm around his shoulder.
“How was it?”
Seeing Director Park Chan-hong like that, Yeon-woo grinned broadly.
“I can feel the power of cinema.”
“I feel the same way.”
Then Director Park Chan-hong released his arm and patted the shoulders of both Yeon-woo and the crying Seo Ji-eun.
“Thank you. For making my dream come true. Both Jay and Nari.”
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work on such a wonderful piece.”
“Me too! *sniff*”
Hearing Seo Ji-eun’s voice, which was incomprehensible due to her crying, both Yeon-woo and Director Park Chan-hong burst into laughter simultaneously.
The audience members standing there watching them continued their standing ovation for several more minutes.
Meanwhile, Reporter Jung Yu-jin from Hansae Daily, who had been dispatched from Korea to Berlin, quickly turned off airplane mode on her smartphone with her face covered in tears and snot.
– Senior! Breaking news from Berlin Film Festival. The movie 「Sketch」 is absolutely insane.
11:40 PM Korean time.
Reporter Kim from Hansae Daily, who had just finished washing up before going to bed, looked at his smartphone and tilted his head in confusion.
“···No, Jung Yu-jin. If you just send me ‘absolutely insane,’ how am I supposed to write an article?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
