Chapter Nine

 When Warren left, SooYun sat down and looked at her computer setup. It was a large LED monitor a wireless mouse and a keyboard that were both sitting on a pull-out tray. She pressed the power button on the front of the CPU that was positioned to the left of the monitor and the slim laptop was cradled in a charging dock to the left of the CPU. Everything powered up and the screen welcomed her. That was when she noticed the small camera sitting on the top of her monitor. A tiny blue light came on and in the lower right was a small image of herself. She did not have any interest in video chatting with whoever was at the other end of the connection. She clicked it off and the blue light winked out. 

 She continued exploring the files on the server. She navigated to her file, drew a deep breath, and began the process of the revisions. In her folder were three files, Lotus 1, Lotus 2, and Lotus 3. 

 She clicked on Lotus 1 repositioned her desk chair, opened the printed copy, and got to work. She quickly discovered that most of the revisions were not even at the same level as Professor Jin's comments. Director Jin's comments were terse commentaries on character development, "MC motivation is weak. Anger - Make the audience feel it. This is a screenplay, not a novel."

 SooYun finally sat back in her desk chair and stared up at the ceiling. She was beginning to feel annoyance bubble up. She was not as thick-skinned as she thought she was. Anger. Was her main character angry? No, it was fear! She sat up and thought about Brittany, she was not angry she was afraid! Afraid to fail, afraid to go home in defeat. Afraid to go back to normalcy. SooYun felt something click in her thoughts. Her character was not just angry, she was terrified of failing, terrified of being plunged back into a world of feeling worthless. When her character was winning trophies, winning competitions, praised by her sensei, she was a champion, but how did she rewrite her opening scene that would illustrate that?

 As inspiration struck, SooYun settled back into position and started writing. Ordinarily, she had music playing in her office as she wrote. She did not feel comfortable doing that, but if she had her earphones on, she could listen to the kind of music she enjoyed without disturbing anyone on the second floor. She worked until her smartwatch vibrated against her wrist, and she looked at it. "Take a break and collect your thoughts." She frowned at the orders. She wondered if Director Jin or Mr. Lim was monitoring her, but she grudgingly admitted it was sound advice.

 She saved her work and got up. She strolled down the hallway past Mr. Lim's office. He was on the phone with his back to the door. Whomever he was talking to, he was very animated with them. She went downstairs. The offices down on the first floor were filled with people at work, moving from one office to the other to confer with one another. In the center was a large lounging area with lots of green plants, sofas, overstuffed chairs and throw pillows, some large enough to toss on the floor and sit on them. On the opposite side was an area with a television and a low worktable with cushions positioned around it. On the television was a children's cartoon just coming on. A girl and a boy about eight years old were settling down in front of the TV to watch, but they saw SooYun and waved her over. 

 She went over, "Hi, what are you watching?"

 "Peppa Pig!" cheered the little girl. "You like Peppa Pig too?"

 SooYun sat down on a cushion next to the little girl with bright happy eyes. "I think I do. She is very pink!"

 "I am Park Min-Seo and that is my brother Park Jun-Seo. We are twins!" she said proudly.

 Jun-Seo came and squatted in front of SooYun, "I like your eyes, they are like a stormy ocean."

 "Thank you, Jun-Seo," SooYun replied. "What cartoons do you like?"

 "Bugs Bunny!" Jun-Seo cheered.

 Min-Seo touched SooYun's ID tag, "SooYun, what cartoon did you like when you were a little girl?"

 "Johnny Quest," SooYun replied. "It was fun to watch the boys get into all kinds of trouble!" Jun-Seo picked up his tablet and quickly looked up the cartoon on YouTube. He showed the listings, "Which one?"

 SooYun scrolled through and found it for Jun-Seo. "Here he is, 'The Adventures of Johnny Quest'!" 

 While Min-Seo and SooYun settled in to watch the antics of Peppa Pig, Jun-Seo put in his earbuds and started watching the episodes of Johnny Quest. From his facial expressions, he was quickly becoming a fan! 

 During the program, whenever SooYun heard a word she was unfamiliar with, she repeated it, and Min-Seo would correct her if she got it wrong. She was enjoying her role as a teacher. By the time SooYun's watch vibrated against her wrist, she had learned how to count from one to ten. Min-Seo taught her a counting song and a special hand-clapping sequence that helped reinforce the counting song. 

 "I must go back to work," SooYun replied. "Thank you for helping me learn my numbers, I will practice, and you can test me when I see you again." They parted with hugs and SooYun went back into her office and started working out her scenes. 

 Just before it was time for lunch there was a knock on her office door. "Come in!" she called.

 Mr. Lim opened the door, "Ms. Shin, You have a visitor." 

 SooYun stood up and came from behind her desk. He opened the door wide, and Min-Seo and her mother were standing in the hall. Min-Seo's face lit up when she saw SooYun, "Unnie!" she rushed past Lim and ran up to throw her arms around SooYun's waist in a tight hug. "You left before your reward!"

 "I get a reward?"

 Min-Seo pulled back as SooYun knelt to be at eye level with Min-Seo. The little girl took SooYun's ID tag and pasted a gold star just above the first character of her name. "You were the very best student, SooYun!"

 SooYun smiled she got to her feet and bowed very respectfully to the little girl with the bright pink ribbons in her black pigtails. "Thank you for your patience, Min-Seo. You are a very excellent teacher!"

 Min-Seo's mother smiled at SooYun and bowed. They left with Min-Seo cheering, "Bye-bye, Unnie!"

 "Bye-bye, Min-Seo!" SooYun called from her door and waved until they disappeared around the corner. She looked down at her gold star and grinned. Mr. Lim tilted his head at her, "You were tutored?"

 "I was," SooYun replied, "I watched Peppa Pig and learned to count to ten today. But I must practice for homework. Min-Seo is a taskmaster!"

 Lim chuckled then tapped his watch, "Let's gather the others and head down to the cafeteria for lunch."

 SooYun, Warren, Brittany, and Gus followed Lim downstairs and they entered the large cafeteria where they had eaten dinner last night. It was full of men and women preparing lunch, and delicious aromas. The writers heating their lunches paused to bow respectfully as Mr. Lim walked in. They were not accustomed to seeing him in the cafeteria. 

 Most had already seen SooYun downstairs earlier with the children and they were openly friendly with her and a bit more reserved with the others. Gustav employed his language skills and went about introducing Brittany, Warren, and himself to the individuals Mr. Lim stopped to speak to. SooYun was waved over by Mrs. Park, the twins' mother. The table of men and women shifted their seating and made room for SooYun to sit with them. They spoke English fairly well and as they began to be more at ease with the foreigners, they began to mix English and Korean. SooYun responded as she could in her limited Korean, but it did not seem to matter. 

 Lunch passed quickly and Lim had three mentors stay in the cafeteria so he could brief them on their shadows. As SooYun joined Lim in the hallway he took her aside, "Your mentor is out of the office for a few weeks, so you can continue to work on your scenes. I believe we might try to schedule your visit to the temple while we wait for her return."

 "Really?" SooYun felt her heart begin to speed up at the thought of a field trip! "What temple will we visit?"

 "Jikjisa Temple," Lim replied. "One of the oldest in Korea."

 SooYun's smile was radiant, and Mr. Lim could not help but smile back. "I think in a few weeks I'll send the others out on location to take a look at the projects currently in production, I think they will enjoy an outing, don't you think?" 

 "I'm sure they are anxious to get a taste of filmmaking." SooYun said, "To see what it might be like to see their screenplays come to life."

 "You will have your chance as well," Lim said, "But I think it will help to get a feel for the period you are writing about. The Temple is well over 1300 years old."

 "I will be ready with my sketch diary to make drawings and take notes," SooYun replied. "I'd best be getting back to my scenes. The Director made it clear that he was expecting results!"

 "Then off you go!" Lim declared, "If Director Jin has so ordered, then you must make it so."

 SooYun happily headed out of the cafeteria and up to her office. The others were already sequestered in their offices, doors closed, and blinds shuttered. True to her word, SooYun had reworked her opening scene and uploaded it to the working file folder. When she left the facility and entered her flat, she felt very good about her first workday at Aquila Studios.

 That Evening

 Director Jin opened it and from the first paragraph, he was snared by the raw emotions that SooYun captured in the opening scene. It was an excellent piece of writing. He smiled. He closed the file and went downstairs to eat dinner. The house staff continually worried that he did not eat proper meals. Tonight, they would rest easy. He had a healthy appetite. 

 The next morning, LiYul found that he was looking forward to the morning conference call. They all arrived a few minutes ahead of time and were chatting across the table with one another but fell silent as Lim came in. He nodded to everyone and sat down. "Good morning everyone," he tapped his tablet and leaned forward, "Let's start the meeting, the Director will join us in a moment."

 They were all looking forward to getting back to work, but the moment Lim mentioned a possible field trip soon, they were immediately full of questions. "Will we be going with our mentors?" Brittany asked.

 Lim nodded. "You three will be accompanying your mentors to the filming location," he replied and glanced up at the screen, the active light was winking green. "Ms. Shin's mentor is out of the country for another few weeks, so until she returns, Ms. Shin will stay here and work."

 "That's fine with me," SooYun replied, "I've got a lot to do!"

 "Yeah but it doesn't seem fair you have to stay behind ---," Warren began but broke off when Director Jin's image popped onto the screen on the wall. 

 "This isn't about fair," Lim said, "The filming is all within your genres. SooYun will have many other opportunities soon to watch the filming process of a fantasy."

 SooYun and the others looked toward the end of the table where the large-screen monitor hung on the wall. The Director sat behind his desk, arms folded, and his facial expression was fierce. Brittany tried a bright smile but ended up sitting in her chair with her hands in her lap and her smile just a shadow on her bright red lips.

 "You were saying, Mr. Lim," The Director rumbled. Already Jae-Ho was speaking informally and addressing SooYun by name. 

 Lim touched his glasses, cleared his throat lightly, and nodded toward the Director. "Yes, when you get to your offices, you'll find your second round of revisions. The Director has revised Mr. Meyer's and Ms. Shin's first episode and I'll be expecting your second episode from you, Ms. Woods." Lim looked at Warren and smiled. "An excellent job on your rewrite, Mr. Grisham. It is coming together well." Lim replied.

 Warren grinned over at SooYun and winked. The Director spoke to Gustav. It was in German and was of course flawless! Gustav beamed and spoke back in German briefly. SooYun was expecting to hear something about her submission, but the Director said nothing more. Lim nodded and closed his tablet, "If there's nothing else, you are all free to go."

 Ms. Shin," the Director said, his voice was crisp and if SooYun did not know, he sounded like an English aristocrat about to discharge a servant! "You will remain."

 SooYun had stood up with the rest of the group, but she immediately sat down again. Lim ushered everyone out and closed the conference room door. SooYun had in her other life, faced down opponents far more severe than Director Jin. She braced herself for whatever was coming. She had felt confident about her rewrite when she submitted it to the server. There was no reason for her to feel unsure now! She looked at the screen and turned her chair toward the Director. 

 "You have an issue with my opinion of your main character's motivation," LiYul said, "You feel it is fear rather than anger?"

 SooYun did not even hesitate. If he was thinking she was challenging his suggestion in the revision – she was! "I do," she stated.

 "Care to elaborate?" LiYul was suddenly intrigued. It had not been an open challenge, but her rewrite had rejected that her character was angry as he had suggested, but afraid. 

 She seemed to follow his thoughts and began to carefully tread into her challenge. "I agree that the character harbors a lot of anger," SooYun said. "I did reexamine the opening scene as you suggested. It was then I realized that fear was the outstanding motivator."

 "You wish to proceed with this plot direction?" He asked.

 "Yes." She answered.

 He studied her for a long time then he relented. "Very well. Congratulations, Ms. Shin, your rewrite was exceptional."

 "Thank you, Director Jin," SooYun said, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

 "While your rewrite was compelling," LiYul told her. "I hope you will not make a habit of challenging my revisions regularly."

 "Not regularly, no," SooYun answered.

 He paused in the act of switching off his connection and looked at her. A smile appeared, and then the image disappeared. SooYun turned to gather up her notebook and sketch diary, feeling very good and energized! 

 The late afternoon found SooYun still at work on her revisions. Mr. Lim strolled down the hall and looked in to find her with headphones on and deeply immersed in the process. He decided not to interrupt but went downstairs, walked to his car, and prepared to head home. He was on the phone with the Director as he drove out of the parking lot. "She's still working?"

 Lim smiled. "You sound surprised, she's as much of a workaholic as you are! She was deep at work when I passed her office. She was listening to music, so I didn't interrupt."

 "She should not work alone in the facility," LiYul said. "It isn't safe."

 "There are still writers downstairs until eight o'clock. Is there something I should know?" Lim asked. "Is it Min-Ji?"

 "No," LiYul said wearily. "Hopefully she's too focused on making my life miserable at the moment to bother Ms. Shin."

 "What do you mean?"

 "She's decided she is moving back in until the end of the month," LiYul said. "So, I'm going back to the townhouse. I've locked down the computer servers in the house so unless she can hack into the system, she's locked out."

 "If you're back in the townhouse," Lim said, "You're close enough to come into the facility in the morning?"

 "I suppose so," LiYul replied. "I'll see you in the morning."

 "Seven sharp!" Lim declared, "No excuses!"

 The Director hung up on Lim and he chuckled at being able to annoy his best friend and boss. It would be a shock to see the Director in the facility. He hoped everyone would behave, especially Ms. Woods.