Ch.201This is quite a bit troublesome, isn’t it?

As if I had immersed myself in the script.

The filming proceeded in a similar manner.

The difference was that I wasn’t actually driving.

Since acting while driving would be dangerous.

The car was loaded onto a trailer, and I was just pretending to drive.

Anyway, as I continued acting.

‘Was Chisako’s acting always this good?’

I was internally amazed as we performed together.

To act with a feeling so similar to what I experienced during immersion.

I couldn’t even imagine how hard she must have worked for this moment.

“After we break up, could you not come to this rest area with another woman?”

And amid my admiration, the filming continues smoothly.

“What?”

“I want to linger, linger longer. As if today isn’t the last…”

My gaze naturally turns to the rest area sign at Chisako’s—no, her words.

What cruel words.

So this was your childish wish.

With that calm thought, I continue speaking.

“You know that’s not possible.”

“This is my selfish request.”

“I didn’t know it would be this harsh.”

“Yes, because I was happy enough before without needing to ask.”

“I don’t speak Japanese.”

“Says the one speaking Japanese right now?”

A faint laugh.

This gradually drying conversation ends today too.

I feel my grip tightening strangely on the steering wheel.

Like exerting force in the wrong place instead of holding what I should.

‘This is indeed my body.’

That thought crossed my mind.

Vroooom.

The car quietly heads toward the rest area.

A place to fulfill part of this selfish request.

Deliberately not parking close to the rest area.

I park the car as far away as possible.

Almost immediately after entering, the closest to the entrance.

“I love you.”

Realizing what this means, she suddenly professes her love.

But I have no intention of responding.

Because I shouldn’t right now.

Today is the day to cut the knot.

Yesterday was the last day to tie it tighter.

“You used to answer before.”

“Since I said I don’t understand Japanese, are you speaking Korean now?”

“No, this is the last time in Korean. It’s over now.”

“Why?”

“Because you taught me, because you remain in my words.”

We’ve been dating for 3 years.

Known each other for 6 years.

Perhaps we’ve been dating for 6 years.

Since we’ve had feelings for each other since then.

But various things happened.

We promised to date 3 years ago.

“You know how to say such things?”

“A guide’s job is to sell romance, after all.”

“I didn’t know it was that kind of job.”

“You torment yourself saying you sell falsehoods.”

“I was just stating facts.”

“People who read that book won’t think so.”

I know the more we talk, the more disadvantaged I become.

Usually in these situations, I would hold her tight and silence her.

Now there’s only one thing I can do.

“…Enough, get out.”

“Selfish request time, unfasten my seatbelt and… the door too.”

She speaks calmly.

Though she calls it a selfish request, there’s no childishness in it.

It’s poignant.

Knowing this moment is the last.

How pitiful we look, desperately trying to hold onto each other a little longer.

Miserable and sad.

Click.

I get out of the car.

Opening the door, I do something I haven’t done once in three years.

And then.

Hug.

Just as I’m unfastening the seatbelt.

She suddenly pulls me into a tight embrace.

With surprising strength.

I don’t resist and embrace her back just as tightly.

When untying a knot, should you loosen it slowly?

Or cut it at once?

Not knowing the clear answer, we briefly felt each other’s warmth, and at that moment.

“Cut!”

All illusions shatter as we return to reality.

From you and me, to Chisako and Kim Donghu.

“…Sniff.”

Chisako couldn’t easily let me go even after confirming the OK sign.

She seemed to be a method actor.

One who deeply immerses herself in emotions.

That must be why she’s capable of such skilled acting.

“Sob.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, but… if they love each other this much, why are they breaking up?”

Chisako, seemingly calmed down somewhat.

Slowly pulling away from me, she asked about the reason for the breakup.

“I wonder.”

But that’s something I wasn’t told either.

Neither in the script, nor in the immersion.

It only portrayed the process of separation.

There was no beginning or end anywhere.

Like a dream.

Everything suddenly started from the middle.

“You won’t tell me, will you?”

“No, not yet.”

I directly asked Director Lee Seongdeok.

But the answer was always the same.

Not yet.

What that “not yet” referred to, no one knew except the director.

“Since the rest area should be empty right now… I’d like to shoot immediately, is that okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine with that.”

“Sniff… sob! Me, me too! I’ll just fix my makeup and be right there!”

And so without knowing the beginning or end.

We continued acting.

<Cutting the Knot>.

To cut the knot of 3 years, no, 6 years tightly tied.

We ate sugar-coated sweet potatoes, blowing on them to cool.

We ate fish cake udon that she said must be eaten in its homeland to be authentic.

“Not fish cake udon, but oden udon.”

“Suddenly?”

“Just like it’s kimchi, not kimuchi.”

A conversation we had once.

Why bring this up now?

Afterwards, we stayed at the rest area as if it were a Monopoly desert island.

Deliberately avoiding rolling doubles.

Listening to 90s trot music we normally wouldn’t.

Buying a plastic back scratcher shaped like a hook that surprised us when we used it.

Decorating the car with a dancing cactus doll we’d regret purchasing.

Clearly we should be breaking up now.

But during those brief three turns on the desert island.

We ended up creating more memories.

“Let’s go now.”

“Already?”

“It’s hard for me to drive when it gets dark.”

“…Okay.”

Despite parking far away on purpose.

We arrived quickly because we knew where the car was.

And then.

Grab.

Suddenly she grabbed my arm.

“Let’s eat tteokbokki.”

“I’m too full.”

“Coffee then? After a meal, we should have coffee.”

“We can eat when we get there.”

“…Don’t you need coffee after eating to avoid getting sleepy?”

“It’s fine, let’s go.”

The insistence ends there.

She can’t push any further.

Vroooom.

The car starts again.

“Cut!”

And the filming ends here again.

The next shoot would be at Busan Port.

Until then, we relaxed comfortably in the car.

Surprisingly, Chisako had come alone without her manager.

So instead of traveling with the filming crew.

I decided to let her ride in my van to avoid discomfort.

“Wow… is this the van you ride in, oppa? It’s huge!”

“Don’t you see things like this often?”

“No, wages in Japan are lower than you’d think, so despite popularity, we lack such things.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and the production budget difference is huge too… at least 10 times?”

“10 times.”

That was an enormous difference.

Looking at recent movie performances, it made sense.

“Famous voice actors do earn a lot… but there aren’t many popular voice actors.”

The small number of people at the top was the same everywhere.

That I understood.

“So sometimes when I meet Director Kiryu, he complains a lot.”

“Huh?”

“He says we need to somehow bring Kim Donghu to Japanese films… but we can’t afford your fee.”

On the way to Busan Port.

I had various conversations with Chisako.

The most interesting was about the animation of <Our Fake Marriage>.

“They’re making that into an animation?”

“Yes, from what I hear… they’re working on resolving copyright issues.”

But she said this might change because of the “bullets.”

“Bullets?”

“Yes, Our Fake Marriage was such a hit that the money is a bit…”

Hearing more details.

This was apparently quite a widespread story in Japan.

A not-so-secret secret, you could say.

When even Twitter users knew about it.

She couldn’t understand why they pretended otherwise.

“I see, so it’s true?”

And ironically, the one who responded was.

“We weren’t aware of such an interesting development.”

Netflix content team leader Park Jii.

Why was she in our van?

That was obviously because of Seokho hyung.

For Veritas, having conversations with the content team leader was definitely beneficial.

‘The situation seems to be flowing in an interesting direction.’

What result would this butterfly effect create?

That was something I would find out later.

+++++

Two days at Busan Port.

Four days to film the innocent early days.

Plus an additional week for real-time adjustments and reshoots.

After a total of two weeks.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The filming of <Cutting the Knot> was completed.

What remained was continuous editing and refining until submission to the Cannes Film Festival.

Since that wasn’t the actors’ job.

My schedule was officially finished here.

‘But I probably won’t be able to go to Cannes in May.’

That was truly regrettable.

“So I don’t have any schedules for a while now?”

“Schedule… Ah! There might be one in March, what do you think?”

“March?”

While coordinating my schedule with Seokho hyung at the Veritas office.

Unexpectedly, a schedule for March popped up.

To have something scheduled for next month.

Since Seokho hyung usually rejected most offers.

I was honestly curious about this schedule.

“Yeah, it’s about throwing the first pitch… everyone’s curious about your throwing.”

First pitch.

“If it’s just throwing briefly, I don’t mind?”

“R-really?”

“We can do it on a rest day, since rest is very important for exercise.”

I was quite interested in the idea too.

Hearing this, Seokho hyung opened his mouth with a very serious expression.

“Then which team do you want?”

“What?”

“The team you’ll throw for.”

“Don’t teams usually make the proposal?”

“Well… all teams want you to throw for them.”

“…”

Wait, that’s how it turned out?

And I get to choose?

This is quite troublesome.

‘Which team should I choose?’