I'm off to school.
I was 19.
Even then, when my heart was more fickle than ever,
I was hopelessly devoted to my first love.
To me, there were two types of people.
Hong Si-jun,
and then there was everybody else.
Hongsi!
Just like the first time I tasted soda as a kid,
I saw bursts of starlight when I looked at him.
I'm good. We can't use this tiny thing together.
The rain will make you go bald.
Which would be absolutely cool.
True artists have either no hair or long hair.
Here.
That was what Hong Si-jun was to me.
To someone who only listened to the Top 100 songs…
Do you have the live album?
Oh, this one? This isn't an official release.
You always tell me to wait.
…Si-jun's taste in music sparkled like scattered jewels.
Does it hurt a lot?
How can anyone do this to their own son?
At least I'm out of there for good. I feel great right now.
Now I can do music all I want.
To someone who never had a dream…
The world is tough. Living alone isn't easy.
I have you, don't I?
All right. I'll keep you safe.
…he offered the chance to love a dreamer.
Pass.
Goal!
It's a bit late, but do you want to join me?
Our hearts overflowed with happiness.
Should I try doing something like you?
I'm kinda anxious that my life is going nowhere.
There must be something I like doing.
What food did you bring today? I'm hungry.
And I always managed to sweep that sliver of anxiety under the rug.
Ta-da. Stir-fried squid, your favorite.
Sounds good, huh?
GLORIOUS SCREENWRITING CONTEST
So? Do I look presentable?
Why? Are you nervous?
Why would my dear Si-jun be so nervous?
It's the first time I'm meeting them.
Just go and be yourself.
Your music will convince them.
Good luck.
I can't do this. Ju-a.
Can you come with me?
What?
I would love to,
but you know I can't.
Please.
I won't be able to say anything without you.
But I have to finish the script today.
All right. I'll go with you. Let me just grab my bag.
Thank you.
And after many years, I finally realized
that even in this tiny room,
there was Hong Si-jun, and then there was everybody else.
There.
He will probably always be the greatest love of my life.
Here. Okay.
Si-jun.
Yes?
Should we break up?
But the thought of leaving him was…
What did you say?
I think
we should break up.
It was a feeling I could never put into words.
How did I fall in love with Son Ju-a?
I've been watching you for a while,
but don't you have friends other than that weirdo, Ko Gyeom?
You're good at your studies, you make music,
and you're good-looking, so why aren't you popular?
-I am at the beginning of the year. -And?
As soon as I speak, they all find out I'm a jerk.
You're casting a shadow. Move.
What are you doing?
You're wrong.
Move aside. What's your problem?
From now on, you should only believe those who look into your eyes when they speak.
Why did I fall in love with someone so bright…
I think you're really cool.
…and have her turn my life upside down?
I haven't written a sentence for three hours.
You mean five hours.
Whatever. I'm sleepy.
I don't have what it takes to be a writer.
Where in the world do you find this thing called inspiration?
You're so lucky, Hongsi. You have so many songs inside your head.
I'm jealous.
I found it super powerful to have someone trust and love me wholeheartedly.
It made me want to become an even cooler person
so I could keep those bright eyes set only on me.
Sorry. They must've decided to go with another song.
Let's work together next time.
You're here early.
My laptop is so heavy.
It's not like carrying this around will help me write anything.
My arm hurts.
Creative work is never easy.
But you're holding out pretty well. I'm proud of you, Sonju.
Don't you dare leave me when you make it big.
You better provide for me.
Of course I will.
Who else would provide for you but me?
That's right.
Goodness.
JINGLE GIGS
Wow.
THINK BIGGER, FUN MATH WORKBOOK
Did you stay up all night?
You even do gigs like this?
-Move. What are you doing? -What the hell?
God, stop touching my stuff and go away.
Hey, aren't these jingles?
You said you're not in this for the money, and you're making jingles now?
-What about it? I need lots of money. -For what?
You've made in-game purchases, right? No wonder you got so strong so quickly.
Shut it, okay?
I need to provide for Ju-a like the responsible man I am.
Hey, what about me?
Provide for me, too, like a responsible man.
Get lost!
You're being funny. What's with you all of a sudden?
Are you gonna marry her or something?
Yeah, duh.
Really? When?
I could even marry her tomorrow.
Hello.
What's a good laptop for writers?
Is this light? What's its storage capacity?
Does this type okay?
It's a good laptop. Would you like to try it out?
I'll come back with my girlfriend.
It's a present, so I want to give her what she likes.
It's our seventh anniversary.
She's a writer. She writes scripts for movies.
Cool, huh?
But then…
with the same eyes and lips she once used to tell me I was the best,
she spoke of breaking up.
I doubt there's anything crueler than that.
Did it seem pathetic that I failed to make it despite all that big talk?
Had she grown tired of my music that she once said she loved?
Did she not see a future in me?
Did I…
truly become a hopeless case?
But by the time the memories faded and pain became a familiar friend…
I wrote about us.
You wrote what?
As you said, I got desperate and used anything I could as inspiration,
so I wrote about us.
I want to make it into a movie, but I need you.
…she showed up again with some ridiculous excuse.
What are you doing?
And I began to wonder.
Isn't this what guys usually want from their ex-girlfriends?
"Should I break her heart?"
"Or make her confess why she came back?"
That was so idiotic of me.
That was my way of liking you.
I just wanted to do everything your way.
Back then, I loved you so much
that I did pathetic things I didn't have to.
But the funny thing is…
There's nothing left, is there?
Do you want me to say yes or no?
…I found myself hoping there was still a chance for us.
It was a feeling I couldn't put into words.
Ju-a.
Yes?
Are we over? Or are we…
on our way back to each other?
When it's hard to tell, there's only one way.
It looks like we need to talk.
Son Ju-a.
I missed you so much at times.
I'd think, "I should get back at her," or "I should just go and hug her."
I thought of you so much, I didn't expect anything to catch me by surprise anymore.
But I…
still get pretty swayed when I see you.
Si-jun.
I thought about hiding it,
but seeing you smile at me again
makes me want to give it one last shot.
Go on three dates with me.
Let's go on a date, Ju-a.
WE WERE LIKE STRANGERS WHO KNEW EACH OTHER VERY WELL
You're awake, right?
You definitely are.
Yes, I'm awake!
Oh, I should get up.
Come on.
Easy there.
We shouldn't be doing that kind of thing in bed.
When did you even come in here?
What if we're not in bed?
I didn't tell you to move in, did I?
Should I… just stay here for good?
What?
Weird.
It's making my heart flutter.
Does she even know what she's talking about?
-Will you be working late today? -Not sure.
The producer insisted on coming to the office, so it'll take a while.
God, why does she always bother you on your day off?
Happy house-sitting while I'm gone.
Okay.
What you said earlier,
what did you mean by that?
What?
What did you mean about staying here for good?
I meant exactly that.
-Really? -Yeah.
As long as Mom doesn't catch me, why not?
Don't worry. She really likes me.
I think she'll hate you from now on.
Bye now. Don't wait up for me.
I might not get to come back here tonight.
Okay. Have a great day.
Is this too casual? Maybe I should have worn a skirt instead.
Hi.
Let's go.
Hey, why would you hold my…
You can let go.
I'm hungry. Let's eat first.
Yeah.
I don't know where to begin.
First, our budget was quite small, right?
The thing is, the investor asked us to cut down on it a bit more,
and I said that we wouldn't be able to proceed with the production.
So, in conclusion,
they told me they would pull out.
Jesus Christ! What are you doing here?
Are you throwing these out?
Yeah.
But this one looks perfectly fine. And it was Jun's favorite chair.
Why are you even here?
That's mean, especially since we haven't seen each other in a while.
I'm glad you're here.
I have a lot to throw out, so give me a hand.
Why the sudden cleaning?
No reason.
It's about time I cleaned the house and got rid of some things.
What? Why?
Nothing.
You couldn't even get rid of an old box you found, and you returned it to me.
You can't get rid of your old comic books and VHS tapes,
so it's surprising to see you throwing things out.
I had to get rid of them at some point.
Gyeom.
You can take your time.
You don't have to move on so quickly.
What do you mean?
Back when I was in the US,
I always wrote a will before big surgeries.
I ended up writing five wills in total,
but the process gradually got less sad as I got used to writing them.
But I came to realize that my mom had been receiving
all five of those wills while I was growing numb to them.
Question.
Who does death break down?
Those who are left behind.
So you can mourn as much as you want and take your time getting over it.
Don't force it.
Okay.
Thanks.
We're not that close yet.
Wait. What do you mean, "We're not that close"?
Gyeom, this is your one and only chance.
It'll feel really snug. I work out a lot.
Come on, let me give you a hug!
Thank you.
Have you ever thought
that people might be quite disappointed once they find out you're not a big deal?
Why? Do you think that while you write?
Yeah.
I'm always anxious that my lack of potential will be exposed.
I feel the same.
You? No way.
You're a natural talent.
I'm no longer naive enough to believe that.
So I feel anxious and scared.
Now that I'm in a similar line of work as you, I guess I understand
how tough it must've been for you.
I didn't intend to talk about these things.
I said I missed you at times. Do you have anything to say to that?
What?
Don't just be here. Try to be more attentive, will you?
You told me not to feel pressured.
I did, but it feels kind of unfair that you look so relaxed now.
It's okay to feel a bit of pressure.
Want to listen to this?
What is it?
I like the guitarist on this track.
Do you like this album?
The guitarist has an interesting style.
It was pretty cool at the end.
It's supposed to be presentable…
What's this?
It was on the ground.
This is a first from you.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
Is it good?
Yes, it's still warm.
PRODUCER HA HYEON-SIL
I guess you're coming home to this house today.
Right. Mom.
Try to be more diligent if you're going to deceive me.
No mom would turn a blind eye to what I saw today.
Sorry.
You know how much Gyeom has been through lately.
Why are you the one with the long face? Is something wrong?
No.
So? Are you going to keep living at the office for a while?
I won't have to go for a while.
Which office are you talking about?
The house opposite ours or your actual office?
The project got canceled. The investor is pulling out.
And?
Well, it can't be helped.
That's it? You're letting it go?
Yes.
Don't worry.
I won't do anything foolish like Dad and get into debt just to make a movie.
What?
I don't have to make a fuss to keep this project alive.
I'll just take some time off and pick up another movie.
You're mean.
What use is being smart?
If that's your attitude, you should've quit a long time ago.
A lot of people just wasted their time because of you.
Mom.
Did Dad seem foolish to you? That's no way to talk.
-Don't you know how proud he was of you? -Am I wrong?
He put his family aside his whole life because he was busy chasing dreams.
Isn't that foolish?
What?
Have you ever taken a day off?
When you were working yourself like this, what was Dad doing?
He practically lived on set to get paid some paltry sum,
which he used up to make movies, but he couldn't even do that properly.
You might've been okay with that.
But what about me?
I had to spend my whole life waiting for Dad to pay attention to me.
Didn't you feel sorry for me?
Did you ever take pity on me
for having no choice but to hate him to get his attention?
Do you still hate him that much?
Dad never cared about me.
He'd show up and spend time with me like I was homework he was behind on.
I wasn't stupid enough to not see that.
Mubee.
I hate that name. It's so…
It's so pathetic.
MUBEE
Is she busy?
You don't want to go home, do you?
Yeah, I do.
I cleaned the house and threw out everything I needed to.
I didn't know you could throw stuff out. You usually hoard everything.
You're right.
Turns out I have a mountain of stuff, while Jun only had…
He had less than a backpacker would.
What's this?
Jun's bottle.
He'd come by from time to time.
He came to drink here? And you served him?
Just one drink at a time. I'm sure he needed a drink at times.
Hey, why are you telling me this now? Why didn't you tell me?
Good grief. Stop that, okay?
You don't need to know everything he did.
Well, I don't know anything.
I really know nothing about him.
I have no idea what Ko Jun's life was like.
Why didn't he have anything to leave behind?
Hey.
Ko Jun's life belongs to Ko Jun.
No one gets to have a say in his life, not even you.
What?
He chose to live the life he did.
So you live your life to the fullest.
Such a know-it-all.
I may not be able to cry with you.
But I can talk some sense into you when you're being foolish.
Damn you.
Hey, worry about your own life. Are you gonna keep that up with Ju-a?
What?
How do you know about that?
What would I know? I don't know anything.
But I guess something is going on.
Just go, okay? The bar's closing.
Hey, do you want me to
give you some advice?
Like what?
Si-jun.
It's your life, not mine. Don't ask me for advice.
Get lost, you punk.
That crazy bastard.
FOUR-LEAF CLOVER KIM HUN-DONG
Put that away!
He's right. You can do that after you finish your meal.
It's still…
Try this, Ji-u.
…as boring as ever.
-What's this? -It's delicious. Try it.
Where has she gone this early?
So you're saying you just came to see me?
Yes.
But were we ever close enough to meet this early in the day?
We used to pull all-nighters for days on end.
What are you talking about?
I guess you're right.
So why are you here? Are you here to talk behind Gyeom's back?
Does Gyeom talk behind my back?
Nope.
You must have a question about directing.
I knew I was your mentor, not Director Chu.
So what do you want to know?
I just came as a comrade.
What kind of comrade?
I know your project got canceled.
Are you here to tease me too?
Mine did too.
What?
I notified the staff this morning. It felt awkward to go to the office.
I had nowhere else to go.
So I was wondering what you did to pass the time.
So… the production company wanted to call it off due to lack of investment,
and you just said okay?
Yes.
What is it that you want me to tell you? That you made the right choice?
You made the same choice, didn't you?
Sure. They said they had no money, so I just scrapped it.
Exactly. That's what I did too.
It was the right thing to do.
But are we really the same?
I directed 12 feature films
and five short films if I included all my screenplays.
But you, on the other hand, only released one feature.
I understand it must be worse for you to have your project get canceled, but--
No, it's quite the opposite.
Director Kim, they would say to me,
"Oh no. I'm sorry, Director Ma. We have no money to make the movie."
Then I'd just say, "Screw this," and wait for the next opportunity.
I don't mind sharing my story a bit later. It's not a big deal.
But it's different for you young people.
If you don't tell your stories now, they are going to fade away.
Some stories need to be told at that very moment.
And you're dying to put your story out there, aren't you?
So stop wasting time on your thoughts.
Go to the production company to protest or find an investor yourself, okay?
Do whatever it takes to make it happen.
I'm not sure I need to put that much effort into it.
I'm not exactly saving lives here either.
Who told you to save lives?
I'm telling you to make a movie! That's what you want to do, isn't it?
This is odd.
I've seen tons of people forced to give up on this work,
but not one person sticking around against their will.
It's time for you to decide.
Kim Mubee.
I don't know how you ended up in this industry,
but nevertheless,
it was all your choice.
Why isn't he picking up?
Where are you going?
Why weren't you answering my calls?
It was on silent.
Have you heard about our movie?
Yes, I heard.
I'm confused as to how this happened so suddenly,
but it's not official yet, so there must be a way to overturn this.
Is that why you are here?
Are you okay?
Yeah, well…
I'm more used to things not working out.
Things were too good to be true.
We'll talk to the production company. All we need is an investor.
Or we can go with crowdfunding. We don't need a large budget to--
Sure.
That aside…
how about we go now?
On our second date.
What?
I just don't want to think about anything else right now.
Good grief.
I know you have no work, but you're calling me way too often.
I'll fill you in on the details in person. Where are you now?
I'm overseas. Hawaii.
Wow, it's a kangaroo.
A kangaroo in Hawaii, my foot.
Stop your nonsense.
Grab a drink with me and Director Kim later, got it?
Come and comfort the poor souls in distress.
Why do you say "poor souls"? I'm sure you're the only one in distress.
Haven't you heard? Kim told me her project got canceled.
I need to go. And stop drinking so much, for God's sake.
DIRECTOR MA SEONG-U
MUBEE
Your call cannot be…
Maybe she needs some time to think alone.
Goodness, are you throwing this away?
It looks perfectly fine.
May I take it?
No, I'm not throwing it out.
Si-jun.
Yes?
Let's go to your studio since we're nearby.
I have to listen to your music again.
Hearing your music convinced me our movie was gonna do well.
Let's go.
Not this one.
The first song you made. Can you play that?
You said you wanted a male voice.
I love this song.
I really hoped it would feature in our movie.
But it's an awesome song, so it'll do well wherever it's featured.
Why don't you just release it?
It's Ms. Kim's fault for missing out on this masterpiece.
Never mind. We'll find a way to get this movie going.
Can we talk about something else?
Don't tell me you're shaken over this setback.
Don't worry. I'll make sure--
There's no need.
I'm going to quit now.
What? Quit what?
Music.
What?
I've held out for long enough.
I'm too ashamed to pretend that I have what it takes.
And above all…
I'm tired now.
You can't quit.
Why not?
-Am I not even allowed to give up? -No, you're not.
Someone as talented as you--
Stop that already!
You treating me like this is why I can't stop being a goddamn idiot.
Stop going on about me being talented. I don't want to hear it.
Why do you keep getting my hopes up and making me forget my place?
Why do you keep butting in on my business?
Damn it.
MELODY
Some stories need to be told at that very moment.
And you're dying to put your story out there, aren't you?
Dad.
Why do you want to make a movie so badly?
Well, because there's a story I want to tell.
What kind of story?
Oh, right.
I don't have a lighter.
I guess you can't help me out now.
I went around the entire neighborhood looking for you.
Really?
No, I found you right away.
Why were you looking for me?
Come to think of it,
you did say that you'd ask for help if you needed it.
I'd need to be near you to hear you ask for help.
You did say
that you'd ask for help if you needed it.
I'd need to be near you to hear you ask for help.
Come here.
Shall we go?
Give me that.
For God's sake.
Son Ju-a!
You big jerk!
You're still so self-obsessed.
Do you think I'm a joke for humoring you and supporting you all along?
I butted in on your business?
Don't I have the right after all the shit I went through for seven years?
I didn't ask you to.
It was suffocating to see you pinning your hopes on me.
You'd get excited over some lousy song. That drove me nuts!
You made it impossible for me to give up.
How dare you talk about my love that way!
It was suffocating? Was it so wrong of me to want the best for you?
I don't even care what happens now,
but you always treat me like a poor guy who needs saving.
All I wanted was to go on a date with you,
but you keep making me feel like a hopeless case.
Good. This is more like the Si-jun I know.
You always blame me.
Was it my fault that we broke up and your career didn't take off?
Then why else did we break up? You left me!
Because you're selfish.
You're so selfish that you don't deserve to have someone by your side.
You don't care about my thoughts or feelings.
You only care about your hardships.
You ignore me when I'm right next to you!
All I ever wanted was to be with you.
Was that too much to ask for?
Was that so selfish of me?
You're the one who left me and came back on a whim!
Why did you have to come back and make me hopeful again?
You were the one who complicated things by saying you were swayed.
You don't want the person I am now.
You're still looking for the Son Ju-a you knew back then.
Because I'm still trapped in that day you left me.
Everything I want is in the past,
so who cares about the future?
Maybe knowing each other so well is actually quite unfortunate.
Such relationships can share the greatest love,
but they can also be so much more hurtful.
And…
you can't help but realize that the end is drawing closer.
I can never seem to figure Ko Gyeom out.
Shouldn't you be concerned for me that my movie got canceled?
I don't know. I'm pretty sure Kim Mubee will be fine.
How so?
Because you'll do it anyway.
Is that what you think?
You said you wanted to make "an awesome melo movie."
But why did it have to be a melo?
I just
wanted to tell the sweetest story.
A story about people loving each other.
All I wanted
was just to be loved.
And I could feel that…
If I share my secret with you, will you still like me?
And not leave me?
…I wanted to share everything with him.
I think I'm the reason my dad died.
MELO MOVIE
Gyeom, what's your secret?
My secret?
Well…
Subtitle translation by: Daham Yoon