The Man in the Theater
The day I met the strange man was a weekend when the four of us — Noh Bihyeok, Park Haeun, Baek Seojin, and I — had finally gotten together.
"Hi! I'm Park Haeun. You are seriously so pretty!"
"Oh my gosh, thank you. I'm Baek Seojin. You're gorgeous too…."
Was complimenting each other just something girls did when they first met?
Still better than awkward silence.
Haeun and Seojin, meeting for the first time, got close at a surprising speed. They kept a bit of distance from each other all the way through lunch — tteokbokki — but then they went to the bathroom together midway and came back walking arm in arm.
"My summer was full of heartbreak all because of Yeonjae…."
"Oh no, what are we going to do with him. Tell me everything."
I watched the two of them chatter away as they slipped out of the shop ahead of us.
"…Does anyone else feel like we're supposed to make ourselves scarce?"
"Same."
I answered Noh Bihyeok, whose voice was distinctly sulky.
And so the four of us went to a noraebang, did an escape room, and finally made it to the last stop on our itinerary — the movie theater.
The smoothly pleasant mood shattered the moment we had to pick a film.
"I'm telling you, I hate romance."
"Ugh, just sit through one for me. We haven't seen each other in forever — let me watch what *I* want to watch!"
"Yeah! Listen to Haeun!"
Park Haeun wanted a romance; Noh Bihyeok looked positively green at the idea. The funny thing was, Baek Seojin hadn't seemed all that keen on romance either, but the second Bihyeok said no, she flipped sides on the spot. That girl is truly a character. Fascinating.
"Guys. If you're going to fight, fight quietly. We're in public."
"Hey, you're supposed to take my side at least."
I laughed at Bihyeok grumbling under his breath.
"Okay, here's the deal. You come watch something else with me, and Haeun and Seojin watch the romance. Problem solved."
The girls looked a little disappointed, but they seemed to realize this was the best compromise, because they quietly split off.
"Bihyeok, is there anything you want to see?"
"Anything that's not a romance."
"Since when do you hate romance? You watched Goodbye, My Summer just fine."
"I only watched the parts you were in. I've never liked shows where a guy and girl come out and make googly eyes at each other."
As he said it, Bihyeok wore a distinctly sour expression.
What exactly put him in a mood?
I couldn't guess, but I knew for certain that if I asked now, he'd just blow up at me for treating him like a kid. Best to smooth things over quietly, I decided, and booked us tickets for whatever looked fine.
"Bihyeok."
"What."
"This is my first time at a movie theater."
"…? Seriously?"
When I nodded, he stared at me with eyes gone round as dinner plates.
"Why? You've literally never been?"
"Nope. Never had anyone to come with, and it felt like a waste of money."
"You've got Jinbae-hyung and Junghyun-hyung now, though."
"We just watched movies at home. If we go out, people recognize us."
Junghyun-hyung was famous enough that a mask did nothing to hide him, and Jinbae-hyung was so big he drew stares everywhere he went, no matter what.
I had a mask on now too, of course, but standing here with just Noh Bihyeok, I probably looked like any ordinary boy.
"Lee Yeonjae. You know you're supposed to take your shoes off before entering the theater, right? It's etiquette."
In an instant his face had turned full of mischief, and he jabbed me in the arm, poke, poke.
"Then you go first."
"…If I take mine off, are you actually going to take yours off?"
"Yep."
Does he take me for an idiot?
Bihyeok hesitated at the entrance to the screening room — and then actually took his shoes off.
So I abandoned him there and went in ahead.
"Hey! Lee Yeon—. No, what is wrong with you!"
"You have to be quiet, Bihyeok. It's etiquette."
When I dripped one-liners on him like that, he threw himself onto my back in irritation, slinging an arm around my shoulders in something close to a headlock. Somewhere along the way, he'd grown taller than me.
He wasn't exactly a bean sprout, but somehow this kid got taller every time I saw him.
"What is this movie, anyway? There's nobody here."
"I think it's an indie film."
The vast theater was completely empty. Apart from us, there were maybe two or three other people in all.
I was just thinking this suited me fine when Bihyeok jabbed me in the cheek.
"Yeonjae. Look over there."
"Where?"
He was pointing at the far end of the front row. A man with unruly hair and a grimy trench coat sat alone, muttering to himself.
"Doesn't he look cold in this weather? That coat looks so thin."
"Right?"
Christmas was only days away. In a season when the streets were thick with people wrapped in heavy padding, scarves wound tight around their necks — and he wore a coat like that.
"He's not going to keep muttering once the movie starts, right?"
"Probably not. Let's ignore him."
Something about the man gave off an unmistakably gloomy air. Best to avoid getting entangled with him if we could help it.
Fortunately, once the film started, the man went quiet.
"Bihyeok. The movie's over."
"Huh?"
"You were really out cold."
Noh Bihyeok had fallen asleep mere minutes into the film. He flushed with embarrassment.
"It was just such a slow movie."
"Yeah, it was pretty quiet."
"I didn't snore, did I? I wasn't bothering you? Did you enjoy it?"
"Mm-hm. You didn't bother me. The movie was decent."
Honestly, it had just been okay. Never mind the slow pace — I couldn't quite tell what it was trying to say. But watching a film in a theater really was a completely different experience from watching one at home.
So this is why people come to the movies.
Two hours in the dark with nothing to do but focus turned out to be a rather nice environment.
"The girls are waiting at the café. Let's go."
"Sure."
Gathering our trash, I headed down the stairs, eyes on the front. The man was already gone from his seat. In his place sat a bundle of belongings.
I picked up the thick notebook lying on the seat.
"Is this what that guy left behind?"
"Yeah. Let's give it to a staff member on our way out."
The notebook had a surprising heft to it. I wasn't the least bit curious about its contents, and I fully intended to hand it straight to the staff.
That is, if the man hadn't started screaming from behind us.
"Hey!!!"
"…?"
"Get your hands off my notebook! That's mine!!"
What is his problem?
His long hair hung over his eyes, making his face hard to read, but one thing was crystal clear: the man was furious. He stormed toward us with such momentum that it looked like he might shove me over at any second.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy now."
"Who the hell are you?!"
"His friend. Who are you, old man?"
All I could see was Noh Bihyeok's back. Nothing else. I patted it a couple of times, meaning for him to move aside, but Bihyeok was completely absorbed in arguing with the man.
"Who're you calling an old man? How old are you even?"
"Younger than you, old man. Isn't that why I'm speaking casually?"
"What? You got a problem with me using casual speech?"
"Obviously. Can't you see your friend here is scared?"
I wasn't scared, though. What's gotten into him this time?
Seeing no opening whatsoever to interject, I slid the notebook between the two of them.
"Here. Take it."
"Hand it over, now!"
"Please don't yell in a public place. And if it's that precious to you, I'd suggest taking better care of it. We'll be going now."
I grabbed Noh Bihyeok, who was glaring daggers at the man, and tugged him away. As I soothed him — why are you holding me back! — and steered him toward the exit, the man followed us out.
"Hey. You looked inside in there, didn't you? You read it?!"
"……."
This guy is genuinely insane.
I stopped Bihyeok just as he opened his mouth to fire back and took a step toward the man myself.
"No. I didn't read it. I'm not interested."
I was about to tell him to pick his fights somewhere else and be on his way when, all of a sudden, the man froze.
"Of course you're not interested. I know that."
"…?"
In the space of a heartbeat, the man's voice had gone deflated and small.
He really must be ill.
Fighting him clearly wasn't the answer. I was running through the number of the nearest hospital when the man muttered on.
"No one would ever care. I know that too. If this notebook were valuable enough for anyone to steal, there'd have been more than a handful of people in that theater."
I had no idea what he was going on about, half to himself. I studied him for a moment — a man trapped inside his own world, right there in front of us.
"Right. Well, we'll be going then."
With a short bow, I left. Calming down Bihyeok, who was muttering about having seen the last of crazy people, I made my way toward the café where the girls were waiting.
"Who is that guy? Why does he keep staring at us…."
Baek Seojin whispered, her voice uneasy. Park Haeun looked just as rattled.
He really is a nuisance.
The man had followed us all the way to the café. He'd taken a seat far away from ours, and the way he kept sneaking glances at us was not the look of a sane person.
I pressed Noh Bihyeok back down into his seat just as he half-rose, ready to storm over.
"I texted Jinbae-hyung to come here. He says ten minutes. You stay next to Haeun and Seojin."
"And what are you going to do?"
I figured I should just ask him directly why he'd followed us. When Haeun tried to stop me, saying it was too dangerous, I told her it was fine. If he was truly deranged enough to suddenly pull a knife, it wouldn't be me on the receiving end anyway. I'd done my share of knife-practice practice for the day.
"Hello. Mind if I sit across from you?"
"…Uh? Sure."
The man answered in a daze.
"Did you have something more to say to us?"
"Ah…."
"It's a rough world out there these days. With the girls here, when you keep glancing at us like that, I can't help but feel on edge."
When I addressed him calmly, the man flustered and insisted that hadn't been his intention.
"Then why are you here? It feels like you followed us. If I've got that wrong, I'll apologize."
"No. I did follow you. I had something to say."
The man said he wanted to apologize — that he'd gotten far too worked up earlier.
"The truth is… the movie you just watched. I made it."
"……."
"My first film. And, well, probably my last. The notebook is my idea notebook. There were barely any viewers and my spirits were low, and then I saw a stranger holding my notebook, and I just lost it for a moment. It wasn't something I should've yelled at you two about. I'm really sorry."
He asked me to pass the apology along to Noh Bihyeok as well, and I said I would.
Ha. I called Jinbae-hyung out for nothing.
I'd gone and interrupted the man's day off. Business was settled, so I was just about to stand when he asked, hesitantly:
"Could I… ask how you liked the movie?"
"You said you made it. Are you a writer, then? Or a director?"
"Both. It was such a low-budget production, I barely managed to cast the actors. I begged a close friend to rent me the camera and equipment cheap, too."
The man poured out answers to questions I hadn't even asked, then wiped his face with both hands.
"I don't know what I'm even saying right now. Sorry. You can go."
"The premise was fun."
"Huh?"
"The protagonist who tried to die going back to the past. He had a clear purpose — avenging his little sister — and his attitude stayed consistent with that, so the story flowed smoothly."
The man's face went blank with astonishment.
How far could I go before it became rude? Speaking slowly, mindful of that line, I went on.
"That said — I'd call it the scenes that really land, or lack thereof. It was missing impact, which was a bit of a shame."
"Impact?"
"Yes. Time travel is such a worn premise these days. The whole game is how you differentiate it, and it seemed like you focused on the protagonist's emotional arc."
"Uh, yes. That's right."
"You slowed the pacing to give the audience time to sink into the character, but I think it would've been better a little faster. It dragged enough that my focus actually wandered."
I'd planned to stop the moment he showed the slightest discomfort. But the man's eyes lit up every time I opened my mouth.
Left with no other choice, I simply said whatever came to mind — and the conversation went far better than I'd expected.
"Also, the final scene would have come alive more if you'd shot it in a crowded city."
"Ah, I wanted to do exactly that! But the budget, well. There was nothing to be done."
At some point, the man's face had gone as open and guileless as a child's.
It wasn't as though the conversation was boring, and part of me thought about talking longer, but when I saw Jinbae-hyung walking into the café, I let the thought go.
"I should get going now."
"Oh?"
"It was a pleasure talking with you, Director. I enjoyed the film."
I stood up without a trace of regret. I was heading straight for Jinbae-hyung when the man asked, out of nowhere:
"Want to write a screenplay with me?"
I turned around slowly. Looking at the hope blazing across the man's face, I answered.
"No, thank you."