NOVEL WEB Episode 105 - 「Sketch」 (4)
“How about this one?”
“Hmm, no.”
“Then what about this?”
They received countless photos. Not all the emails were tips, but there were at least fifty serious leads. As they flipped through the images, Jay suddenly stopped.
He had thought they would need to visit the places in person to be sure. The photo on the monitor wasn’t of great quality, and the focus seemed to be on a parked car, making the background blurry. But the moment he saw it, he knew.
“Inari, I think we found it.”
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“What do you think?”
“I’m sure.”
Arriving at the location made his memories even clearer.
“It’s the house at the top.”
The house at the top of the winding downhill road lined with red bricks. Ironically, it wasn’t far from Inari and her grandmother’s house. They reached the place after a 20-minute bus ride.
Inari and Jay walked up the hill. The house at the top was an old two-story building, and an elderly woman was watering plants in front.
“Who are you?”
The grandmother asked, seeing Inari and Jay walking up the dead-end alley.
Inari answered.
“We’re looking for a house where someone used to live a long time ago.”
“A house where someone used to live? I’ve been living here for decades.”
“Do you remember a mother and a young boy who lived in a one-room around 17 years ago?”
The grandmother’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, then is this young man Jihoon?”
Hearing the name for the first time, both Jay and Inari’s eyes widened.
“Jay, your name must be Jihoon.”
“…I think so. The moment I heard it, I remembered.”
According to the grandmother, they weren’t renting a room, and it wasn’t a one-room apartment.
“This is the place. The mother and son were in such a dire situation that I told them they could stay here if they didn’t mind.”
The grandmother showed them a very small storage room under the stairs leading to the second floor.
“If your mother was about my height, she wouldn’t have been able to stretch her legs,” Inari said, looking into the storage room.
Jay couldn’t find the words to respond. The room, which had seemed small even to his younger self, was barely larger than a public restroom stall now that he saw it as an adult.
Jay and Inari took the information the grandmother provided and headed into town. They visited a barbecue restaurant where they believed Jay’s mother had worked. Remarkably, the restaurant had remained unchanged for nearly 20 years.
“Hmm? I’m not sure who you’re talking about. We’ve had so many employees over the years,” the elderly man at the counter said, scratching his head. A voice called out from the kitchen.
“Are you talking about Sun-hwa?”
“Sun-hwa? Oh, right. That’s her.”
Inari’s eyes widened, sensing they had found a clue about Jay’s mother.
“Sun-hwa? Could you tell us more about her?”
“Her name was Lee Sun-hwa, or was it? My memory’s a bit fuzzy. Was she a Lee or a Park?”
“Yes, she was a Lee,” the voice from the kitchen confirmed.
The elderly man nodded and continued, “She was a hard worker, always saving every penny and eating leftovers from customers. She wasn’t very good at the job, which is why I remember her. Normally, we would have let her go, but her situation was so dire that we kept her on.”
Inari translated the conversation for Jay.
“Do you know what happened to her after she left?”
“One day, a man came and took her away.”
“A man?”
“Yes, and the boy stopped coming around too. We assumed she had remarried.”
After thanking the elderly man, they left the restaurant. Inari hesitated but then decided to relay the information to Jay exactly as she had heard it.
Surprisingly, Jay’s tense expression softened after hearing about the man who had taken his mother away.
“If she remarried, that’s a relief.”
“Really?”
“But if she’s remarried and living well, would it be right for me to find her?”
Inari smiled at Jay.
“I’ll respect whatever choice you make.”
“Wouldn’t you be disappointed if we stopped here? You’ve put in so much effort for me.”
“Of course not,” Jay said, giving Inari a wide smile.
A few days passed, and during that time, Jay and Inari continued to search for information about his mother and the man who had taken her. Unexpectedly, they received an email from the man himself through the public email address they had shared.
[Hello, my name is Lee Chang-soo, a social worker. I saw your story online and believe the person you’re looking for is Lee Sun-hwa, whom I know.]
“Lee Sun-hwa?” Jay murmured, recognizing the name from the barbecue restaurant.
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– Beep, beep, beep. –
The repetitive beeping sound echoed. Although nearly two hours had passed since the movie began, the audience was immediately reminded of the film’s opening scene upon hearing the beeps. The camera focused on the upper body of a man standing hesitantly in front of a hospital room door.
Now, the audience knew his name was ‘Jay Miller’ and understood the journey that had brought him to this moment. Silence filled the Potsdamer Platz theater, and even the sound of the audience swallowing seemed loud.
– Creak. –
Jay opened the door and entered, followed by a nurse and Inari. The room was shared by four patients, but Jay instantly knew which one he had come to see. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but he was instinctively drawn to the patient named ‘Lee Sun-hwa.’
A frail woman lay quietly asleep on the bed. The most noticeable thing was her blue hands.
Despite meeting his biological mother, Jay’s expression remained surprisingly calm.
“Why are her hands like that?”
Jay looked at the woman’s hands, which were so blue they appeared almost black.
Jay turned to the nurse behind him.
“What is her diagnosis?”
The nurse gave an awkward smile.
“It’s very late, but it’s a relief you came.”
This patient was well-known among the nurses.
“She has Alzheimer’s disease. In Korean, it’s called dementia (치매). I don’t need to explain what that is, right?”
The nurse bent down to retrieve something from under the bed.
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Seventeen years ago.
It had been three years since she was diagnosed. Her symptoms were worsening. Was this what it meant to forget everything as soon as you turned around? She was sure a customer had ordered something, but she forgot as soon as she turned away.
“Hey, lady! I asked for two more servings of pork jowl! Why haven’t you brought them yet? This is the second time! Are you ignoring me?!”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Lee Sun-hwa apologized, tears welling up in her eyes. It wasn’t the angry customer that made her cry.
‘…Raising him any longer with this condition is just selfish. What did I do to deserve such a harsh punishment at this young age?’
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Five years ago.
She spent the last night with her young son, who had no idea he would be separated from his mother by morning. She cried silently, trying not to wake him.
“I told him not to come back. I told that little boy who didn’t even know what it meant to miss someone not to miss his mother, to forget everything, and never to come back. I told him I’d forget too because of my dementia.”
The woman on the hospital bed, frail and thin, looked at the social worker with tear-filled eyes, crying out with all the strength she had left.
“But I regret it so much. Why can’t I forget the memory of watching my son sleep on that last night? Dementia is supposed to make you lose your memories. So why does this one stay in my heart forever?”
“It’s okay, Sun-hwa. I understand.”
The social worker had already heard this story from Lee Sun-hwa countless times. Yet, every time, it brought tears to her eyes.
Sun-hwa pounded her chest with her fists, her head bowed in silent agony.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
It was unclear whether she was apologizing to the social worker holding her hand and crying with her, or to the son she had sent away to a distant country. She repeated her apologies until she exhausted herself and fell asleep.
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Present.
Sensing the nurse’s presence as she retrieved something from under the bed, Lee Sun-hwa slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze fell on Jay, and though it was unclear if she recognized him, she began to speak softly.
“…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She murmured the apology, its recipient unknown, before drifting back to sleep. Jay stood silently, his face a complex mix of emotions.
The nurse handed Jay a child’s 「Sketch」book and a set of worn-out crayons. Jay took the 「Sketch」book and opened the first page.
‘…Money?’
The pages were filled with drawings of 10,000 won bills, all colored in green.
“She always drew 10,000 won bills, saying she needed to earn a lot of money to find her son.”
Jay’s hands trembled as he turned the pages. Each one was filled with drawings of 10,000 won bills. When the green crayon ran out, she had switched to blue.
Jay closed the 「Sketch」book with shaking hands and looked at the worn-out crayons. The screen focused on the crayons, capturing the audience’s attention in silence. Then, it shifted to Jay’s large hand gently holding his mother’s frail, blue-stained hand.
“Hello. My name is Lee Jihoon.”
This was the sentence Jay had practiced countless times over the past few days, preparing to meet his mother. The audience realized that the film, which began with the English narration ‘My name is Jay Miller’, had come full circle to end with Jay’s Korean voice, ‘My name is Lee Jihoon’.
The screen faded to black, displaying the title 「Sketch」.
A 「Sketch」 is a preliminary drawing before creating a detailed picture, much like the youthful lives of Jay and Inari, who were still in the early stages of their life’s journey. It also referred to a short play or skit, and in this case, it was also about his mother’s ‘Sketch’ book.
The large theater was enveloped in a silence so profound it felt as if no one was there. Then, the sound of quiet sobbing began to emerge from various corners of the audience.
Film student Neil Benson couldn’t hold back any longer and stood up abruptly.
– Clap, clap, clap! –
Neil Benson spread his arms wide and clapped with all his might. Chris stood up, followed by film critic Franz. Soon, everyone in the theater was on their feet, giving a standing ovation. As Yeon-woo and his companions rose, they observed the audience clapping and crying.
‘What else but the power of film could make so many people stand up and clap while crying? This film I made is truly a real movie.’
Yeon-woo tears welling up in his eyes from the overwhelming emotions.
For the past few months, Yeon-woo had lived as Jay. This was the moment that marked the end of that grand journey.
“Hic…”
He turned to see Seo Ji-eun, her face wet with tears, struggling to hold back her sobs. Yeon-woo pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Waah…”
Receiving the handkerchief seemed to break the dam, and Seo Ji-eun burst into tears, using Yeon-woo’s handkerchief to wipe away her tears and blow her nose.
‘Hmm… Blowing your nose too…’
At that moment, Director Park Chan-hong approached from behind and put his arm around Yeon-woo’s shoulders.
“How do you feel?”
Yeon-woo smiled broadly at Director Park.
“I feel the power of cinema.”
“So do I.”
Director Park patted Yeon-woo and the crying Seo Ji-eun on the shoulders.
“Thank you for making my dream come true. Both Jay and Inari.”
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful project.”
“Th-thank you… hic.”
Seo Ji-eun managed to say through her sobs, causing Yeon-woo and Director Park to burst into laughter.
The audience continued their standing ovation for several more minutes. Meanwhile, Jung Yoo-jin, a reporter from Hanse Daily dispatched to Berlin, quickly turned off airplane mode on her smartphone, her face a mess of tears and snot.
[Senior! Breaking news from the Berlin Film Festival. The movie「Sketch」is absolutely incredible.]
At 11:40 PM Korean time, Kim, a reporter from Hanse Daily who had just finished washing up before bed, looked at his smartphone and scratched his head.
“…Seriously, Jung Yoo-jin. How am I supposed to write an article with just ‘absolutely incredible’?”