Chapter 13: Waiting
As soon as submission was complete, Hyeonsu pulled out his phone.
"First, let's tell the group chat!"
He sent a short message to the production-team chat.
[Submission complete.]
Then he immediately sent a photo of the confirmation message on the monitor.
Replies came faster than expected.
Taejun responded first.
[Wow. Finally.]
Yura's message appeared next.
[You worked really hard. Director, Hyeonsu too.]
A message also came from the contact saved as Dogyeom's mother.
[Dogyeom is yelling beside me right now. Congratulations.]
Hyeonsu laughed.
"Sounds like Dogyeom is going crazy."
Geonwoo smiled.
"He must be excited."
A little later, Myeongho's message arrived.
[Good work. Now all that's left is waiting for good news.]
It was exactly the kind of reply Myeongho would send.
Geonwoo smiled again.
Waiting.
That was all they could do now.
Hyeonsu stretched.
"All right, Director. Let's go home."
"Yeah. Let's actually rest today."
The two cleaned the editing room.
They disconnected the external hard drives and backed up the project files one more time.
Hyeonsu didn't close the browser until he'd checked the Submission Complete message one final time.
The monitor that had been on for weeks finally went black.
They cleaned the entire room before leaving.
Hyeonsu looked around.
"Cleaning this place before leaving feels like moving out. Maybe this is how Seoyun felt in the movie."
Geonwoo chuckled.
"Assistant Director, please stop living inside the movie now."
When the editing-room lights went off, the room became silent.
That night, Geonwoo visited his family home for the first time in a while.
He carried plastic shopping bags in both hands.
One held pork belly from the butcher.
The other held lettuce, perilla leaves, mushrooms, and garlic.
The moment he opened the front door, Sua's voice rang out.
"Oppa!"
Before Geonwoo could even take off his shoes, Sua checked the bags.
"Did you really bring pork belly?"
"That's the first thing you say when I walk in?"
"Of course. We're celebrating today."
Geonwoo laughed.
"Nothing's happened yet."
"You submitted the movie. That's worth celebrating too."
Sua quickly took the bags and ran inside.
"Mom! Oppa brought pork belly!"
Their mother's voice came from the kitchen.
"Keep your voice down. The whole neighborhood can hear you."
A moment later, she came out wearing an apron.
"Did the submission go well?"
Geonwoo nodded.
"Yeah. We sent it before the deadline."
"That's good."
The simple words felt strangely warm.
There was no dramatic celebration.
Just, That's good.
His father got up from the living room.
"You're here."
"Yeah."
His father looked him over once.
"You look better than I expected. I heard you were staying up all night editing."
Sua immediately jumped in.
"Oppa's skin suddenly got better. It's weird."
Geonwoo flinched.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm serious. You say you're exhausted, but your face looks fine."
His mother studied him too.
"She's right. You look like you've lost some weight, but your face looks healthy."
Geonwoo cleared his throat.
"I'll look even healthier after eating meat."
Sua nodded immediately.
"Exactly. Hurry up. Let's eat."
Soon, a portable burner was placed on the table.
The grill heated.
Slices of pork belly went on top.
Sizzle.
The smell of cooking meat filled the house.
Sua held her chopsticks and stared only at the grill.
"I'm starving."
Their mother laughed.
"Anyone hearing you would think we haven't fed you for days."
"I went to the academy today. I'm exhausted."
Their father quietly turned the meat.
Geonwoo watched the scene.
Meat sizzling on the grill.
A plate of lettuce and perilla leaves.
Sua talking nonstop.
His mother bringing more side dishes.
His father silently cooking meat.
It was an ordinary dinner.
But to Geonwoo, that ordinary moment was more precious than anything.
How many times had he longed for moments like this while lying in a hospital bed in his previous life?
Even after returning to the past, he'd often been too busy to visit home.
But today, he wanted to come.
On the day his movie was submitted, he wanted to eat with his family.
Sua built a lettuce wrap and asked,
"So what happens now? Do you go straight to Busan?"
"No. We have to be selected as an official screening first."
"When does that happen?"
"I don't know yet. We have to wait."
Sua pouted.
Everyone laughed.
Their mother placed a cooked piece of meat on Geonwoo's plate.
"Whatever the result is, don't worry yourself sick over it."
"Okay."
"It'll go well."
Geonwoo raised his head.
His father was still looking only at the grill.
"Geonwoo."
His father called him.
"Yeah?"
"What are you going to do while waiting for the result?"
"I'm going to work at the café near the university where I used to have a part-time job. I contacted the owner, and he said I can start again tomorrow."
"That's good."
His father turned another piece of meat.
"If the movie gets selected, great. But what if it doesn't?"
When Geonwoo had said he wanted to study film in high school, his father had opposed him.
How was he supposed to make a living through movies?
His father wanted him to study engineering instead.
But Geonwoo had wanted film too badly.
Eventually, his father stopped trying to change his mind.
"If it doesn't get selected, I'll keep working at the café and prepare my next movie."
"I see."
His father nodded.
"Good. You know what you want, so work hard."
He still worried about Geonwoo trying to make film his career.
But he respected his son's choice and waited quietly as a parent.
Sua noticed the atmosphere and immediately raised her hand.
"If oppa gets selected, I'm bragging to all my friends."
Geonwoo laughed.
They hadn't even been selected yet.
But somehow, those words made his heart feel steadier.
Someone already believed his film would make it to Busan.
That belief helped Geonwoo endure the wait a little more.
He placed a piece of meat inside a lettuce wrap.
Then quietly thought,
Just wait a little.
In this life, he would show them.
His family.
Everyone who had worked with him.
