We Are All Trying Here (모두가 자신의 무가치함과 싸우고 있다)

SISTER VENGEANCE

S#38 SEOK-GU'S HOUSE - FRONT - DAY

Damn it.

1F: AGIT 2F: KOPARK FILM PRODUCTION

Why are you writing again already?

Your movie premieres in a few days.

Hear me out.

There's this thing called the National Stress Management Department.

They're public officials.

Their job is to take out idiots who stress out citizens.

And by that, I mean kill.

That's amusing.

But they don't kill randomly. It's based on an intricate system.

This system has found

that far more people die from stress

caused by idiots they can't stand than from wars or natural disasters.

The second they open their mouths, it pisses off the entire country.

Their looks, their words, and their laughter piss everyone off.

Right, people like that exist.

Because of them, people are dying from high blood pressure or heart attacks,

causing major economic losses for the country.

So now, it's become standard practice for society to eliminate these idiots.

The system monitors everyone,

and the moment someone hits that threshold…

The siren goes off.

NATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

And the name of the target appears.

HWANG DONG-MAN

Then the NSMD is dispatched and must kill that person within 24 hours.

No matter where they are,

they must hunt them down…

And shoot them!

They even make an official statement.

"At 0100 hours, Hwang, a Seoul resident, was eliminated by the NSMD."

There's no public backlash either.

A few politicians have been eliminated this way, so everyone is on edge.

They analyze what pisses off citizens,

such as their tone or facial expressions.

They even get lessons

on how to speak without offending people and to become likable.

That sounds amusing.

There's action, comedy,

and room for a dilemma.

There's no dilemma. I just kill them off.

Come on, it's a movie. You need a dilemma.

Don't get too caught up with Hwang Dong-man.

I was so pissed at Hwang Dong-man that I couldn't sleep

and ended up with this.

What should I do about that bastard?

In a way, Hwang Dong-man is… your muse.

A muse who pisses you off.

When people reach our age,

there's nothing we really like or hate,

so there's nothing to write about.

We feel emotionally drained.

But this bastard comes along, stirs things up, pisses you off,

and suddenly you're writing something new.

- Maybe you should be thanking... - Hey, people are meant to be inspiring,

not infuriating.

What happened this time?

Whatever it is, I'm sure it won't surprise me.

It won't.

If I tell you…

It'll piss me off because I'll come off as a pathetic loser,

but I want to tell you anyway.

We all went to Director Choi's kimchi stew restaurant.

- Welcome. - Welcome.

But he said he didn't like kimchi stew.

He went to a kimchi stew restaurant on opening day,

only to say he didn't like kimchi stew.

He said he didn't like spicy food.

I don't like spicy food.

The bastard usually shovels down whatever is in front of him,

but he acted like he couldn't eat spicy food.

It was ridiculous. He just didn't like what we were having.

We can ask them to make it mild.

- One mild kimchi stew, please. - Okay.

I didn't want that jerk to get what he wanted to eat.

This is what annoys me.

Dealing with that bastard makes me act pathetic too!

After that, he sat there all pissed off, stuffing his face.

More bean sprouts, please!

The bean sprouts aren't spicy.

Do we really have to make a big deal over food at our age?

I was getting really fed up with him.

He said he spent ten years preparing that.

At the second place we went to, he ordered whatever he wanted

and just talked nonstop.

You see,

I'm a guy with a massive desire to make people laugh with funny stories.

I always prepare funny stories wherever I go.

The thought of making people laugh excites me.

But whenever he's around,

all that desire goes right out the window.

Being around him

is nothing but getting through an ordeal.

I just don't get it.

Hey.

Park said I didn't look like someone about to release a movie.

Was I supposed to explain in detail how that bastard ruined my mood?

I was tired, so I just said…

It's just…

I have a feeling the movie won't do well.

That it might tank.

That's when that damn bastard, who was sitting way across the table,

somehow heard what I said,

and his face suddenly brightened up.

Gyeong-se.

Keep that up, and you'll end up like me.

How? Why?

I have my fifth movie coming out.

So how the hell would I end up like him when he hasn't even made his debut?

That's Hwang Dong-man's go-to line.

"Keep that up, and you'll end up like me."

He acts self-deprecating but implies no one is different from him.

I'm totally different!

While he was busy bad-mouthing others,

I put up with all kinds of insults and worked my ass off to get here!

I worked hard so I could say,

"I'll show you!"

"I'll prove that I'm nothing like you!"

Who does he think he is,

trying to ride along and acting like he's on my level?

Obviously, I didn't actually think my movie would tank, but…

Keep that up, and you'll end up like me.

He looked delighted.

Incredibly delighted.

I'm wondering

if Dong-man should take an IQ test.

If life keeps kicking you down, does your intelligence go down with it?

He's becoming less self-aware and more out of control.

That bastard has always been dumb.

That's why he can't even piss people off properly.

All he can do is irritate you in this lingering way.

If he were actually smart and ruthless,

we'd at least have a proper head-to-head fight and cut ties clean.

But with him?

It's that same lingering irritation my whole life.

Twenty years of the same damn lingering irritation.

Shouldn't the government take care of people like him?

They need to shoot him like this.

Damn it.

Bigfin reef squid tend to bite

when the lure starts to sink right after the cast.

When they bite, the fishing line…

During the day, leave the fishing line alone…

Patience is the key. Impatient people tend to…

Damn it. Hey, Unit 308!

Unit 308!

You'd better pay the maintenance fee by today!

-Or I'll force your door open. -My wallet.

And move all your stuff out!

Do you understand?

CHEONGRAM WRITING ACADEMY

Why are we losing students by the day?

This won't even cover the heating bill.

Take out some ads, then.

We advertise by putting up banners with a long list of winners.

So how can we do that when we don't have a single winner?

Bring your fancy director friends here

and have them give special lectures or something.

Don't just talk about how close you are to them.

I can't bring them to a place like this.

"A place like this"?

You're not rich, are you?

You've never seen one?

Then why'd you write about them?

It shows when you write from imagination.

I can tell it's fake because of the lack of details.

But most of all, watching how the rich live isn't fun.

Why look at delicate, sheltered flowers?

You snap its stem, but it still won't die.

You burn it with a torch, and it still won't die.

A stubborn will to survive. That's what makes a movie.

Rich kids don't panic when they get into trouble.

They just make a call.

"Daddy."

They have adults who clean up their messes.

But kids who never had that kind of support,

their hearts drop.

They have to handle it on their own.

That's what a real movie is.

People who do whatever it takes to handle things on their own.

Who can bring these characters to life?

All right, everyone.

Poverty is something etched into every cell of your body.

It's not something you can learn.

Perseverance born from poverty

makes you very perceptive.

We examine every single shoe at the doorway.

Survival instincts force us to notice.

We also read people's moods just to get by.

Think about it, Myeong-hun. This is an incredible gift for a writer.

Are you listening?

Jeez, what am I going to do with you?

For a writer, poverty is a blessing sent by the gods.

Don't write it down. Just listen.

What is poverty for a writer?

- A blessing sent by the gods. - A blessing sent by the gods.

Why would you throw away such a blessing and write about something else?