Overwhelmed (15)

 

The perspective of ‘Henry Gordon’ or Kang Woo-jin in ‘Clierot’ has changed. Now, we were not inside a shabby bus where a terrible ‘clown’ ran amok. A place in New York crowded with people. The time is around daytime. It was his past. Woojin was walking on the sidewalk. However, I lost strength in my walking.

Truly trudging.

The madness he showed in the shabby bus is nowhere to be seen. It was the same inside and out. The current ‘Henry Gordon’. No, what should I say about Woojin’s feelings? They were as damp as a wet dishcloth. My body was heavy and my mind was wet with muddy water. It felt like the energy in my whole body had disappeared.

“······after-”

Kang Woo-jin sighs softly as he walks down the street. Among the many people passing by him, some glanced at Woojin strangely. Everyone was dressed in smart suits or neat attire. Kang Woo-jin also noticed the gaze. But he didn’t care.

-Suuuuu.

Woojin, who was walking, stopped in front of a supermarket and looked at himself reflected in the window. A frayed zip-up hoodie, jeans, shoes with the soles torn apart, long messy hair, slightly curved waist and shoulders, and an overall skinny build.

This was his current form.

Soon, the door of the supermarket opened and a fat man who appeared to be the owner came out. He had a bald head, but his mustache was thick. As soon as he saw Woojin standing blankly in front of the mart, his eyes turned suspicious and he frowned.

“what?”

Embarrassed, Woojin’s bent shoulders shrank even more.

“Oh, no. I am.”

“It’s okay, just go on your way.”

“misunderstanding-”

“Fuck off!”

The fat owner’s shout-like shout made the people walking nearby turn their gazes, and Woojin, who had hesitated for a moment, managed to move on. Glancing behind him, the fat owner was still glaring at Kang Woo-jin.

Condescension.

This obviously made Kang Woo-jin feel bad, but he ignored his previous feelings as he walked down the street again. Because it happened often.

“Yeah, it’s okay. “If only I erased my thoughts.”

At that moment, Woojin’s own emotions clearly resonated within him. It was meaningless. The world he sees and what exists in that world. Probably the fat guy in the back too.

It was insincere.

Kang Woo-jin’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, and state of mind as he moves his feet trudging. Nothing was right. At this time, Woojin felt an indescribable sense of loss. She was neither hot nor cold, neither comical nor tragic. She was just meaningless and indifferent.

Woojin, who was walking down the street, entered an alley.

A small pizza place right in front of you. It was where he worked as a delivery worker. Woojin, with his bent back, looked at the pizza place for a moment, then sighed and opened the door.

at the same time.

“hey!!”

A shout rang out from the kitchen of the pizza restaurant. A big man wearing a flour-covered apron lost his temper as soon as he saw Woojin. He was the owner of a pizza restaurant.

“I got a call from a customer!! I heard you were 7 minutes late?? “Why do you do things like that!!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

Woo-jin, who was overwhelmed by the momentum, immediately apologized, but the pizza restaurant owner stood in front of Kang Woo-jin and grunted as if he had no intention of paying attention at all.

“How much does the pizza cost?”

“I didn’t receive it.”

“I’m going crazy.”

“That’s because the customer who ordered it didn’t give me the correct address.”

“what? Are you blaming the customers? “Are you saying you did well?”

“No, sorry.”

The pizza restaurant owner, who was glaring at Woojin as if he were going to kill him, bit his molar.

“Damn you, you begged me so hard to get me to work, but I went crazy. Okay, get out.”

“yes?”

“Get out.”

“Go, if you suddenly do that!”

“Get out of here!!”

The sharp disdain spread as a roar. Woojin held back. My shoulders and back were bent, but I did my best to cling to the pizza restaurant owner. I was so desperate that I even stuttered for words.

“I’m so sorry! “Everyone, work really hard to make sure something like this never happens again!”

“Do you want to go when you talk, or do you want to go after something breaks?”

“······”

Hope was just extinguished. Woojin was making a living by working at this pizza restaurant. He became smaller and smaller and spoke again with difficulty.

“···Then even if it’s the money you worked for so far-”

-Park!

The owner of the pizza restaurant threw several bills and coins. Of course, it was far from enough.

“The mistakes you made and the money you didn’t receive today are deducted! “Get out of here!”

Woojin looked down at the money lying at his feet and slowly stretched out his hand. Pride tells you not to pick it up. Self-esteem hits rock bottom. But reason and reality correct it. Pride and self-esteem do not give money. I felt irritated when I reached out to the floor, but as soon as I picked up the scattered bills, a feeling of emptiness spread over me.

‘okay. This must be right.’

Be patient. Woojin accepted the rampant persecution as always. After picking up all the money, he left the pizza place. From behind, I heard the pizza restaurant owner spitting on the floor. He pretended not to notice.

Kang Woo-jin walks again.

As I walked a few steps, I saw a store with several TVs on display. On TV, a woman in a suit was making a comment.

-[“Hold your anger in, reckless outbursts of anger are a disease. You need to get treatment. Anger is the root of many problems.”]

The woman in the stylish suit seemed like an expert in psychology. And it sounded as if she was speaking to the current Woojin, and she was speaking to ‘Henry Gordon.’ Woojin, full of loss, walked again and muttered to himself.

“That’s right, if I was angry, I wouldn’t have gotten the money.”

Suddenly it rained lightly. People on the streets without umbrellas ran. But Woojin.

“······”

All he did was wear a frayed hood over his head. A bus pulled up in front of him on the crosswalk. A child seen in the window. He smiles brightly. Woojin followed the child and forced a smile. He didn’t last long. Because her mother covered the child’s eyes with her hands. The smile quickly disappeared from Woojin’s face.

This was because we had adapted to repeated excessive prejudice.

Many words were swirling around in my head. Bear with it, tolerate it, ignore it, pass it on, close your eyes.

Suppress your anger.

“I need to find a job.”

At home, my mentally unstable sister is waiting for me. She had no time to rest. Soon, frustration began to bloom.

The rain became heavier.

-Saaa!

Kang Woo-jin picked up a newspaper from the trash can in front of him. He tried to cover his head with it but stopped. It was because of the headline seen on the front page of the newspaper.

『Bank robbers whose whereabouts were unknown were found abandoned in front of the police station, unconscious! Who is the hidden hero?』

‘Hidden Hero’. I’ve seen articles like this a lot lately. Soon, Woojin snorted slightly and threw the newspaper in the trash can.

hero. It’s good to hear. But even heroes need villains to exist, right?

If you think about it, how many villains did Kang Woo-jin meet today? However, Woojin could not eradicate anyone. Why? He arrived home. A place with only one narrow room and a bathroom. Her sister is sleeping on a worn out bed. Woojin covered me with a blanket and went into the bathroom. He looks in the mirror.

“······”

I smile again. But for some reason, I became angry. His face was smiling, but his heart was filled with fire. I didn’t do anything. But why? Why only to me? The kindness he showed to the world throughout the day was a defense mechanism to survive.

Woojin curled his fist.

He was so angry that he tried to break the mirror with his fist. But I still endured it. instead.

-Park!

I threw the soap on the floor. It was the limit.

A few days later.

Kang Woo-jin’s vision changed once again. Currently, he was running around the entrance to the parking lot holding a billboard for a large supermarket. Finding a new job.

However, his behavior and attire were unusual.

Lightly red hair, a face painted white, two pointed eyes with red rectangles, and equally thick lips that looked like a split smile. Even the clothes are like clowns.

A ‘clown’ holding a billboard and shaking it.

As he was shaking, a familiar male voice was heard from behind.

“Hey Henry.”

‘Henry Gordon’ or Kang Woo-jin, the ‘clown’, turned his head. A big man is giggling. He was the owner of a pizza restaurant that he quit.

“Kkeke, is that right? Hey Henry. “Maybe it’s because I’m slightly bent at the waist, so it suits my current appearance?”

“······”

“No, is it because you’re so skinny? Dance, dance. ‘Clierot’ has to impress customers.”

Disdain, persecution, discrimination, prejudice, and contempt. Maybe more. Stinky things swirled around Kang Woo-jin. I feel angry. But what should I do? In the end, Woojin stood there dumbfounded. The pizza restaurant owner giggled for a few minutes before disappearing in the direction of the supermarket.

The ‘clown’ who took down the billboard just looked at his back.

“······”

The expression on his face was strange.

And a night of pouring rain.

The large owner of the pizza place was watching TV alone and drinking beer. It seems like it was after the business was finished.

-Kugugu goong!

The sound of rain mixed with thunder. At this time, the door to the pizza place creaked open. The pizza restaurant owner, slightly surprised, turned his face. A monster soaked in the rain. No, the ‘clown’ was standing there. As soon as he saw it, the owner of the pizza restaurant immediately realized who the ‘clown’ was and jumped up and shouted.

“Henry?! “Why are you here, you bastard?”

Thunder and lightning striking at the same time.

-Kugugu goong!

The gunshot is buried in that sound.

– Bang bang!

‘Cierrot’ or Kang Woo-jin was standing. Gun in one hand. The pizza restaurant owner is lying scattered on the floor. Blood spreads little by little on the floor. This moment.

“······ah.”

Kang Woo-jin regretted it. At the same time, I felt the anger I had been holding in all of a sudden burst out, and strangely enough, my hunched shoulders straightened out. It was the same with my back.

At this time, it flashed.

Thanks to the lightning that struck outside, I could clearly see the face of the ‘clown’ in the dark. He still had a ‘clown’ face, but thanks to the rain, red was dripping down his eyes.

At first glance, the face looks like it is crying and shedding bloody tears.

Kang Woo-jin laughed.

“Kkkkkk! ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

It’s not unreasonable. Then something caught Woojin’s eyes. It was one of the items lying on the floor when the pizza restaurant owner fell. One of several cards. Kang Woo-jin picks up the blood-stained card.

“hmm-”

The card depicted a clown or ‘clown’.

-‘JOKER’

How long has it been?

Kang Woo-jin, who had been living in the world of ‘Henry Gordon’ in ‘Clierot’, had already returned to reality and inside the van. It was still snowing heavily outside the window. As expected, nothing has changed at all from the moment Woojin entered subspace.

but.

‘Are you feeling a little stiff?’

Woojin, who has lived a rough life, has personally experienced and done extraordinary things. No, should I say that he went through a ‘birth period’ as a villain? If it weren’t for the concept, Woojin would probably have been laughing so hard right now.

It was because the lingering scent of the clown, the ‘clown’, remained.

However, like a subspace veteran, Woojin erased the frenzy and insanity he had cut. He then looked down at the ‘clown’ scenario on his lap while maintaining a poker face.

‘What can I say about this – the scenario is fun, but isn’t reading it (experience) on a different level?’

This is because a lot of emotions are hidden in the scenario itself, and there is a lot of ‘subtext’ in the dialogue and passages. The subtext was like a land mine secretly hidden by the writer or screenwriter. A feeling that the true meaning of a line or passage is included.

The main character, ‘Henry Gordon’, was also unique.

Although he is weak at first, has low self-esteem, and is a model of the weak, the anger and anger that builds up inside him is more intense than anyone else’s. However, there is no anger or rage in ‘Henry Gordon’, whose madness and pleasure become more prevalent as he goes on.

Woojin, who had read (experienced) such ‘Henry Gordon’ several times, thought.

‘I think I could also use ‘freedom of casting’ or ‘role composition’ – ‘beast painting’.’

It means releasing the villain from ‘Clierrot’ into reality.

‘Or other abilities. Hmm, that sounds fun.’

Of course, in an upgraded state.

Meanwhile, L.A.

It was morning in Korea, but afternoon in LA. In Hollywood, which is several times more noisy than Korea, in a medium-sized conference room at ‘Columbia Studio’, which is popular for ‘Cierrot’, director Ga-bok Ang, an interpreter, and executives from ‘Columbia Studio’ were sitting on the other side. A total of 4 people. Director Gabok Ang was working on a nearby set or stage when he suddenly received a call.

so that.

‘what. Their expressions are a bit serious.’

I looked at the expressions of executives at ‘Columbia Studios’, who were highly involved in the movie ‘Clierrot’, including those with bald heads across the street. I was being serious. It felt like a secret meeting.

It was like this.

“Director.”

Among the executives who were talking, a bald-headed man presented a transparent file to Director Gabok Ang.

“There’s something you need to know.”

“······”

Angabok, the director of ‘Clierrot’, picked up the transparent file handed to him without saying anything. At the same time, the bald head executive spoke.

“There will be a change in the title of ‘Cierrot’ before its release.”

“···Title?”

“yes. It’s similar, but a little different. As you can see, it will be changed to ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain.’”

A bald-headed executive muttered a new title, ‘Clierot: The Birth of a Villain.’

“And the movie ‘Clero: Birth of a Villain’ is the starting point of a large-scale project that we are planning in top secrecy and have been preparing for quite some time. A hero series in which several movies are organically connected. In other words, the cinematic universe. ‘Henry Gordon’, the male lead of ‘Cliller: Birth of a Villain’.”

He spoke calmly and firmly.

“He will be the first villain character to introduce our cinematic universe to the world.”