Chapter 77
On a day in late December, with a freezing wind cutting through the air, I enlisted in the military.
Mom insisted on coming all the way to the training center with me, but I stopped her again and again. In the end, we said goodbye in front of the house.
There was a reason for that.
Before my regression, when I enlisted the first time, Mom had followed me all the way to the Nonsan training center.
Then, once we got there, she had collapsed onto the training ground and cried her eyes out.
I still remembered how awkward and embarrassed I had felt back then.
So this time, instead of Mom, Cha Seungjun and Moon Changsu came with me to see me off.
“It’s cold, so don’t get sick. Make sure you adjust well.”
“When you come out for your hundred-day leave, hyung will buy you a proper round of drinks.”
Cha Seungjun kept patting me on the shoulder.
I looked at him with a serious expression.
“Hyung, you remember what I told you, right? There probably won’t be much work on set for a while. And it won’t just be ‘Big Picture.’ Other companies will be the same. This is the perfect time for you to develop a good script of your own.”
“Ha... I like being on set, though. And I need to at least earn the title of production manager before people start taking me seriously...”
Cha Seungjun made a gloomy face as if his head already hurt just thinking about it.
I raised my voice a little.
“Hyung! I’m not joking right now. Take this seriously.”
“All right. I’ll give it a try too.”
And so, after being seen off by Moon Changsu and Cha Seungjun, I entered the training center.
Maybe because I had already done military service once before, I adapted much better than I had expected.
Time passed.
The harsh winter ended, and spring finally arrived with blooming flowers.
After completing basic training, I was assigned to my permanent unit.
By the time I came out on my first leave after being assigned, Timeless had already entered its third week in theaters.
If I judged it purely by box-office numbers, Timeless wasn't as successful as Red Moon, Blue Child or Family Scandal.
However, it was receiving strong reviews for showing a new possibility for Korean-style science-fiction fantasy.
And since it had already passed two million viewers in its third week, it was safe to expect that the movie would comfortably surpass its break-even point and become a solid success.
I met writer Jo Aram and watched Timeless together with her.
She told me that she had already watched it by herself more than ten times since its release.
“Every time I watch it, it feels new. Sometimes I wonder if I really wrote this... None of this would've been possible without you, Producer Min. Thank you so much. I honestly feel like you're my lifelong benefactor.”
After the movie ended, Jo Aram kept thanking me again and again as we left the theater.
“No, writer-nim. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Through Timeless, I was able to confirm my own potential too. Thank you for trusting me and waiting for me.”
More time passed.
Around the same time I became a Private First Class, my first junior soldier was assigned under me.
But that junior was thirty-three years old.
He had delayed his enlistment as long as possible and had finally reached the point where he could no longer postpone it.
Maybe because he had enlisted so late and now had to serve younger soldiers as his seniors, he didn't really get along with the others.
Most of the time, he stayed alone.
One night, while we were standing guard together, I felt a little sorry for him and spoke first.
“When it’s just the two of us, you can talk comfortably. You can speak casually to me, hyung.”
“No, Private Min!”
Even then, my older junior soldier was so stiff from military discipline that he couldn't bring himself to speak casually.
Maybe my kindness had affected him.
One day, he suddenly came to me with an unexpected request.
“You want me to read a script you wrote?”
“Yes. I heard from Corporal Go that before enlisting, Private Min worked in planning at a film company... and that you were also involved in Timeless, which is currently in theaters...”
Even though he was the one asking, he looked embarrassed and kept rubbing his short hair.
“Then were you a screenwriter before you enlisted?”
“No. I wasn't a writer... I was just an aspiring writer, sir.”
This late-enlisting junior's name was Do Gijeong.
He said that ever since he was young, his dream had been to become a drama writer.
Because of that, he had wanted to major in Korean literature or creative writing.
But his parents strongly opposed the idea, so he ended up graduating from the business school at S University and even earned an MBA in the United States.
Yet none of it made him happy.
After returning to Korea, he ignored his parents' objections and finally challenged himself to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a drama writer.
“But the wall to becoming a drama writer was much higher than I expected, sir. For five years, I entered every contest I could find, but I kept failing... It became embarrassing to face my parents... and I couldn't delay the military anymore either...”
I quietly listened to Do Gijeong's story.
“I don't know anyone in this industry, so all I ever did was write scripts and submit them to contests. My wish was to receive proper feedback from a real professional at least once, sir.”
Do Gijeong said that if I read his script and thought it was hopeless, he planned to finally give up.
After being discharged, he would come to his senses and prepare for a normal job.
I thought for a moment.
Yeah. If he's going to quit, maybe it's better to quit before it gets even later.
And someone who graduated from S University and even has an MBA from America is wasting away like this...
I thought Do Gijeong might still have plenty of chances to return to an ordinary life.
“All right. I'll read it and give you an objective evaluation. I'm actually pretty strict about things like this, so even if I say something harsh, don't take it personally.”
At my firm tone, Do Gijeong nodded, looking slightly nervous.
“But do you have the script here?”
“No, sir. If you're willing to read it, I was planning to ask my family to send it by mail.”
“Ah, then do that. But what's it about? Actually, just tell me the logline first.”
