Chapter 2

Chapter 002

“The sun is already high in the sky, and you're still sleeping like this? And what kind of nonsense were you mumbling in your sleep?”

Mom suddenly leaned her face right in front of my wide-open eyes.

“Uh, Mom??”

“Yeah, I'm your mother.”

Overwhelmed by the joy and relief of being alive, I instinctively threw my arms around Mom and hugged her tightly.

“Mom, was it you who saved me? You pulled me out of the water, right?!”

“Goodness, why is a grown man acting like this? And what do you mean I saved you? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“No, I fell into the stream in front of the house, but was that stream really that deep?”

“What on earth are you talking about? Did you have a dream?”

Mrs. Kim Soon-hee stared blankly at me as if she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

I quietly looked at Mom.

“But Mom… did you get Botox or something? Why is your skin so firm?”

“Goodness, Botox, my foot… Ah, what was it called? Wrinkle cream or something? I did buy one and put it on, but does that stuff actually work? Does Mom's face look firm?”

Something was strange.

Come to think of it, the desk and furniture in the room, even the movie posters hanging on the wall…

‘This is the house in Hong-eun-dong where Mom used to live before moving to Gyeonggi Province seven years ago….’

As I quickly looked around, my eyes caught a full-length mirror standing against one of the walls.

‘Gasp! This can't be….’

Inside the mirror wasn't the dark, worn-out face ruined by alcohol and cigarettes.

Instead, there was a young version of me in his twenties, with clear, pale skin, thick hair, and even one or two pimples, the symbol of youth.

My heart suddenly began pounding as if it were about to burst.

“Mom… how old do I look right now?”

“Why? Did someone say you look old?”

“No, that's not what I mean.”

“Then what year is it this year?”

“You crazy brat. What year do you think it is? It's 2004. Why? Do you want me to tell you the date too? September 20th!”

‘Wait, 2004?’

‘Then… I'm 22 years old right now?!’

My mind went completely blank, as if I were dreaming.

That was when Mom suddenly smacked me hard on the back.

“Get up already. The sun is already high in the sky. Mom is going to work, so take care of your own meals.”

Even after Mom left the house, I remained dazed and couldn't get out of bed for a long time.

Then I remembered struggling in the stream after falling into it.

Was that moment a dream and this was reality?

Or was this current moment the dream?

But this was far too vivid to be a dream.

It felt so real that it was almost unreal.

My thoughts were completely tangled and chaotic.

At that moment, a familiar cellphone ringtone rang.

I turned my eyes toward the cellphone carelessly lying on one side of the bed.

It was the phone commonly known as the ‘Lee Hyo-rin phone’, a device that, by 2024 standards, was practically an ancient relic.

“Y-Yes, hello?”

After hesitating for a moment, I picked up the phone.

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice came through the receiver.

<Were you sleeping?>

It was Cha Seung-jun, my senior from university.

‘I haven't been in contact with Seungjun hyung for at least ten years….’

Hearing Cha Seung-jun's voice made me happy, yet strangely emotional.

“Yes… hyung… It's been a long time. Have you been well?”

<What nonsense are you talking about? I saw you just the day before yesterday.>

Ah, right.

At this point in time, we practically saw each other every day.

<I've got something going on, so I think we need to change the time and place of our appointment. One-thirty, KFG in Hongdae.>

‘Wait, were we supposed to meet?’

<By the way, have you made your decision?>

‘What is he talking about?’

‘Decision?’

‘What decision?’

‘What decision was I supposed to make with Seungjun hyung in 2004?’

I quickly racked my brain, but nothing came to mind.

“I… well….”

<Hey, I have to go now. We'll talk when we meet.>

The call ended.

I continued staring at the phone with a blank expression before finally reaching a conclusion.

It was certain that this situation wasn't a dream.

‘Then… I somehow traveled back in time twenty years.’

‘Ha… But time travel… Is this even possible?’

Just a few hours ago, I had decided to leave the movie industry after dedicating half of my life to it.

I had been desperately wondering how I was going to live from now on.

Perhaps my life had seemed so pitiful that the heavens had decided to give this Min Gibaek another chance.

The moment I realized that I had been given another opportunity, I became anxious.

‘What should I do first?’

‘Wait, what stocks skyrocketed in 2004?’

‘Which pieces of land that haven't been redeveloped yet are going to enter redevelopment soon?’

But wait.

Whether it was stocks or land, I needed money first.

In 2024 or 2004, I was still equally broke.

‘Then should I just work part-time jobs like crazy and save up a lump sum?’

While I was frantically racking my brain, the meeting time was already approaching.

‘Ah! It's already this late!’

I hurriedly got ready and left the house.

‘Right, let's think about it slowly.’

‘I'm only 22 now.’

While waiting for Cha Seung-jun in front of KEC, I took in the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery around me.

It had been twenty years ago, so I expected everything to look extremely outdated.

But surprisingly, it didn't feel that old-fashioned.

I checked the time on my cellphone.

Cha Seung-jun would appear here soon.

The thought of meeting Cha Seung-jun after ten years made my heart tighten for some reason.

Until ten years ago, Cha Seung-jun had worked in the movie industry with me.

He was working as a freelance PD and developing a movie screenplay with a new director.

However, the movie screenplay they had developed was practically stolen by a mid-sized film company at the time.

Afterward, Cha Seung-jun became disillusioned with the movie industry.

He left the industry and immigrated to Canada at the same time.

There was probably no easy job in this world, but the movie industry was especially brutal.

It was common for comrades who had been standing beside you until yesterday to leave the movie industry the very next day.

At some point, I had become accustomed to such things.

But when the hyung I had relied on emotionally so much suddenly left the movie industry, I couldn't get my head straight for quite some time and wandered around aimlessly.

Just as my heart grew heavy from those old memories, I suddenly remembered the first movie I had worked on with Cha Seung-jun.

‘That's right! I worked on that damn movie in 2004!’

‘Good heavens, how could I have forgotten that?!’

I remembered vividly that I had worked on my first movie with Cha Seung-jun.

But I had completely forgotten that it happened around this time in 2004!

That was when—

“Hey, Min Gibaek!”

I quickly turned toward the voice.

A man in his mid-twenties was standing there.

It was Cha Seung-jun.

‘Ha… Can a person really shine this brightly just because they're young…?’

The moment I saw Cha Seung-jun, tears unconsciously welled up in the corners of my eyes.

It suddenly hit me just how much I had missed him.

Without even caring about how embarrassing I looked, I rushed forward and hugged Cha Seung-jun tightly.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

The startled Cha Seung-jun shuddered and pushed me away.

But every time he pushed me away, I hugged him again.

Every time he pushed me away again, I hugged him again.

I laughed and cried like a crazy person.

‘Hyung, I really missed you.’

Perhaps because his throat was dry, Cha Seung-jun grabbed the iced Americano sitting on the table and gulped it down as if it were water.

Then he placed the cup down on the table with a loud thud.

“What is it? What happened?!”

Despite his interrogating tone, there was clear concern in his eyes.

Seeing Cha Seung-jun's reaction, I couldn't help but chuckle.

“You're laughing?”

“Actually, the thing is….”

The words had almost reached the tip of my tongue.

‘I traveled back in time from the future.’

‘You left the movie industry ten years ago.’

‘After that, you immigrated to Canada.’

‘That's why I'm so happy to see you again after ten years.’

But I stopped myself.

He obviously wouldn't believe me….

“What is it?! What happened?!”

Cha Seung-jun urged me impatiently, apparently frustrated by my hesitation.

“The thing is… the movie I watched yesterday was just so sad.”

“What? You crazy… &**#·!$#$%^^”

Cha Seung-jun cursed loudly as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

I gave him an awkward smile.

He looked like he had a lot of questions to ask me, but he didn't question me any further about it.

“Have you made your decision?”

“You're going to do Director Kim's movie, right?”

“If you make the decision, I'll tell the PD tomorrow.”

“I… well, about that….”

When I made an awkward expression, Cha Seung-jun looked at me curiously.

But I knew how this movie would end.

I had no idea how I was supposed to explain it to him.

That was when—

“Seungjun!”

At someone's voice calling Cha Seung-jun, both he and I simultaneously turned toward the sound.

“Oh? Hyung!”

“Wow, it's been a long time. Have you been well?”

“Yes, hyung. How about you? Have you been doing well?”

“I was actually planning to contact you soon. It's good that I ran into you like this.”

The conversation between the two seemed to be getting longer.

Then the man they called hyung simply took a seat at our table and began talking with us in earnest.

‘Come to think of it… his face looks familiar too….’

I kept stealing glances at him.

Noticing this, Cha Seung-jun finally introduced me.

“Oh, this is Min Gibaek, my junior from university.”

“And this hyung is Song Jaehyun hyung.”

“He was the director of the short film I worked on in the production department before.”

Wait.

Song Jaehyun?

Could he be Director Song Jaehyun, the man who made ‘Money Is Visible’, ‘Dirty Man’, and ‘Kingdom of Crime’?!

As of 2024, Director Song Jaehyun was one of the top five hottest directors in the industry.

He had participated in numerous OTT productions as well as many projects as a producer.

I had spent twenty years working in the movie industry, but I had never crossed paths with Director Song.

I had never even seen him at the drinking parties held at film festivals, where almost every person in the movie industry eventually crossed paths with one another.

And yet, here I was, meeting Director Song Jaehyun like this in 2004…!