The Scars (1)
Director Yoo In-gyu's debut film tells the story of a protagonist who, scarred by school violence, struggles to live a normal life and ends up in a home that resembles a garbage dump. He returns to his horrific high school days, confronts the same situations, and begins to overcome his trauma.
Kang Tae-san naturally recalled his own high school years the first time he read the script.
Most kids from orphanages had bleak school lives, but Tae-san's orphanage friend had used his natural size and insane athletic ability to rule the school Tae-san attended through sheer force.
He was what people called a legendary zero.
From his first year of high school, he rode around on a motorcycle and hung out with scary older guys. After returning from juvenile detention, he was even kicked out of the orphanage.
Still, he seemed to carry a strange sense of pride about being from the orphanage. No one under his influence dared to bully or ostracize the other orphanage kids.
Thanks to him, Tae-san's school life had been relatively easy. Not that he had any real friends, but it was the perfect environment for quietly studying and working part-time jobs.
“Hmm.”
Tae-san's worries deepened here. When he had portrayed Joo Chang-mok, modeled after Seo Chae-hyuk, he had studied various videos because he couldn't grasp the profession of “painter” at all. But that scene had focused more on showing the madness of the psychopath Joo Chang-mok than on the job itself, so experiencing Seo Chae-hyuk's life had been a huge help.
There were plenty of movies and dramas about school violence victims, and the horrific emotions were something anyone could empathize with, so it didn't seem too difficult. Still…
“I have to do it properly.”
He didn't want to half-heartedly copy someone else's acting when he was being paid ten million won.
Kang Tae-san opened the Smile app. A request that had been bothering him for a while came to mind.
Today's Requests
➤ Client: Yang Seon-il
- B103, 2XX-XX Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- Estimated Time: 6 hours
- Hourly Rate: 80,000 won
- Note: School violence victim
When he first saw the request, the high hourly rate had made him think, “Huh?” But after reading the note, he hadn't been able to bring himself to accept it. All the other requests had disappeared, yet this one remained, which meant no one else had taken it either.
After doing several cleanings, he had developed a sense for these things.
“This is going to be seriously tough.”
He hesitated over whether to press the accept button. He didn't know if other cleaning managers could see the note, but they probably sensed the same overwhelming difficulty from the time and pay alone.
“Screw it, whatever.”
[Do you want to accept the cleaning request?]
Kang Tae-san pressed the button, thinking he could both get help with his acting and complete the part-time job in one go.
***
And that choice immediately turned into regret.
In front of the semi-basement apartment in Nonhyeon-dong, a note was stuck to the door.
“The room is quite dirty, so I'm embarrassed. The password is *1233#. I probably should have paid more… Thank you for just throwing out the trash.”
Tae-san entered the password as written. With a cheerful unlocking sound, he opened the door to find a literal garbage dump inside.
“Whoa… This is pretty bad.”
Even the stalker Yoo Pil-joo's room had been at garbage-dump levels, but that comparison only worked because he hadn't seen this place yet.
The moment he stepped inside, his breath caught in his throat. The smell of mold growing between the floor and ceiling mixed with the stench of unprocessed food, hitting him all at once and making him grimace.
In front of the shoe rack, cup ramen containers, food wrappers, coffee cans, and plastic bottles were piled up to waist height. Delivery plastic containers scattered throughout had fly eggs stuck to them like sesame seeds.
The floor had long since stopped functioning as a floor. Luggage and trash were strewn everywhere with no space to step. Yellow stains from sweat and grease spread across the walls, and in the corner, a pot with dried ramen broth sat abandoned, covered in dust.
The sink was covered in mold more than dishes, and something white and thread-like floated on the surface of an old stew. The windows looked like they hadn't been opened in months, layered with dust so thick that even light barely filtered through.
Deciding there was no point in taking off his shoes, Tae-san wrapped them in the plastic bags he had prepared. As he stepped inside, he heard a rustling sound.
“Please tell me that's not a rat…”
He prayed it was just cockroaches instead. Tae-san pulled out a mask from his cleaning kit, put it on, and moved forward one careful step at a time.
It was a semi-basement studio. The mattress in the back had just enough space cleared for one person to lie down. It felt less like someone's home and more like a cave where a person's time had rotted and hardened.
“Wow. How am I supposed to clean this?”
For a moment, his mind went completely blank. The 80,000 won hourly rate for six hours suddenly made perfect sense. The roughly eight-pyeong space was packed with trash, and he had no idea where to even begin.
Tae-san had a sudden idea and opened the app.
“Right. This is exactly when I should use cleaning items.”
Among the various items available at Smile Cleaning Company, he found one that seemed immediately useful.
[Goblin Trash Bag 100L (Single-use)]
Free from the pain of bending over to pick up trash!
Free from the hassle of sorting trash one by one!
3-in-1 set of , , !
After separation, just throw it in the nearest trash area and the goblins will collect it.
❈ Caution
Do not use in places where people are present. Risk of being classified as trash.
Quantity: 5 bags
Price: 50P
Tae-san's remaining points in the Smile Cleaning app were 240P. From what he had seen so far, the effects of items in the Smile shop were exactly as described. After purchasing, a delivery arrived shortly at the client's doorstep.
When he peeled off the bat-shaped sticker on the goblin bag and opened the opaque white bag…
Whoosh—
A small wind stirred around him, and trash began getting sucked in as if a vacuum cleaner were pulling it.
“Whoa.”
After about five seconds, one goblin bag was completely full. Inside, recyclable plastics were neatly compressed. When he opened the next bag, cans and glass clattered as they were pulled in. The noticeably heavier weight made him grunt without realizing it.
The third bag began filling with non-recyclable trash. He tied the bags tightly and stacked them to one side. After opening and tying more than ten bags, five plastic bags, five general waste bags, and three can/glass bags later, all the trash in the room had disappeared.
“Phew.”
Once the trash that had filled the house was gone, the actual shape of the home became visible. Of course, the sticky unidentified liquids and furniture stuck to the floor remained, but at least now he could picture where to start cleaning.
Tae-san put on rubber gloves and opened the window. It had been closed for so long that it only opened with a creaking metallic sound. He could see car wheels passing outside the iron bars. Exhaust fumes might come in, but he had to leave it open to get the accumulated dust out of the room.
The client had said just throwing out the trash would be enough, but with the help of the goblin bags and the small size of the place, cleaning wouldn't take too long. Besides, if the room was left in a clean state, there would be less temptation to dirty it again. Rather than half-cleaning it, finishing it properly might make the client reluctant to throw trash around again out of reluctance to ruin the neatness.
Tae-san began sweeping, wiping, and polishing with his cleaning tools. He sprayed mold remover on the mold growing on the window frames, wallpaper, and floor, then left it. Thanks to the goblin bags sucking up dust, hair, sand, and even bugs, cleaning was much easier even without a vacuum.
“Agh, my back.”
Stubborn stains that the mop couldn't handle still required crouching down and scrubbing with a cloth, though.
After about three hours of sweeping and wiping, the kitchen and living area were mostly tidy. The yellowed wallpaper and linoleum couldn't be fixed with cleaning alone, so he would have to suggest redoing them to the client.
“The problem is… the bathroom.”
The bathroom, which was large compared to the room size, was also covered in mold, and the sink and toilet had turned so yellow they were almost black. He scrubbed and cleaned with various cleaning products, but…
“Whoa. This isn't gonna work.”
It looked like he needed special equipment, not regular cleaning supplies.
“Special equipment? Special equipment, huh…”
Tae-san opened the Smile app again. It was the first time he had used two items in one day, but he figured he wouldn't encounter many homes this bad in his life.
[Squeaky Clean Filter Head (Includes Filter)]
As soon as water touches it, everything becomes brand new!
Keep things spotless anywhere with this miracle shower head!
When the filter turns yellow, just replace it with a new one.
Price: 90P
* Additional filter costs 10P extra
The description suggested it was an item that helped remove stubborn stains by replacing the bathroom head. Since it was the only thing that seemed useful for bathroom cleaning, he decided to buy it after some deliberation.
After swapping the shower head, water filled the handle and poured out in a cool stream. When he aimed it at the toilet, the blackened grime turned white, and after holding it a bit longer, it looked brand new. He did the same for the floor, sink, and mirror, and everything shone like new.
“This is seriously amazing.”
Tae-san felt the urge to spray the whole house and do a full water cleaning, but after finishing the entire bathroom, the original filter had turned yellow.
“I can just buy replacement filters next time.”
It had been worth spending all his points. As expected, life was all about the items.
Tae-san left the bathroom door wide open and turned on the exhaust fan to help it dry. He slowly looked around from the entrance to the bathroom, kitchen, and room. He couldn't believe this was the same space he had entered five hours ago. Even after cleaning it himself, he was amazed.
“Feels pretty satisfying.”
He hadn't expected the cleaning to be this hard, but finishing it felt incredibly refreshing. Using all his points on items hadn't been a waste at all. He even felt tempted to fix the wallpaper and linoleum with items too.
In truth, there was a reason the usually frugal Tae-san had used two items and cleaned so thoroughly. The client's note still weighed on his mind. Honestly, if he hadn't known the homeowner was a school violence victim, he would have wondered why anyone would let their home rot like this. But Tae-san understood. He knew how much of a hell this person's mind must be. Not being able to care for even the space that should feel most comfortable.
From now on, you will experience the life of client Yang Seon-il, a “school violence victim.”
“Hey, you in the back. What are you doing? It's class time.”
Someone shook Tae-san awake. Tae-san, who had been sleeping face-down, sat up groggily and looked around. Students in uniforms glanced back at him.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
“That's it for today's class. There's a test next week, so everyone stay focused.”
“Yes!”
Before the teacher with the textbook had even left the classroom, the students rushed out.
The clock showed 12 o'clock. Lunchtime.
Kang Tae-san stood up and headed for the back door. Next to the lockers, by the trash can, there was a half-body mirror. Reflected in it was eighteen-year-old Yang Seon-il in his school uniform—an awkward-looking kid wearing glasses with acne on his face. Seon-il slowly touched his own face, then walked out of the classroom.
The cafeteria was located in a separate building outside. Yang Seon-il slowly entered. He lined up and received miso soup, fried flounder, cucumber kimchi, and braised chicken with soy sauce on his tray.
Looking around, he saw students gathered in small groups eating. Yang Seon-il scanned the room and sat alone at an empty spot. As he picked up a piece of braised chicken with his chopsticks and was about to put it in his mouth…
“Ah, shit, why the hell is there crap soup?”
Something hot poured over his head. Miso soup ingredients slid down Seon-il's hair and uniform, splattering onto his tray.
“Oops, sorry. My hand slipped.”
When Seon-il turned his head, Jo Tae-man, with his dark face and thick eyebrows, was holding his tray and snickering. Behind Jo Tae-man stood his three friends.
“This bastard has no loyalty. Your friend can't even eat, and you're just stuffing your face alone?”
Jo Tae-man, who had been chuckling, leaned his face right up to Yang Seon-il, who was covered in food.
“I'm hungry, Seon-il. What are you doing? Go to the store and get something. I'll give you three seconds. Three, two…”
Yang Seon-il jumped up like Pavlov's dog. Before Jo Tae-man could even call out “one,” he was already running toward the cafeteria door.
“…One. Heh. Damn loser.”