No Other Choice (2025)
Original title: Eojjeolsuga eobsda
Director: Park Chan-wook
Screenplay: Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi, Lee Ja-hye
Based on: The Ax by Donald Westlake
Release Date: 29 August 2025 (Venice); 24 September 2025 (South Korea)
Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, Kim Woo-seung, Choi So-yul, Kim Hyeong-mook, Woo Jeong-won, Yoo Yeon-seok, Yoon Ga-i, Oh Dal-su, Lee Suk-hyeong, Oh Kwang-rok
* * *
Plot Summary
Yoo Man-su is an award-winning paper industry expert with 25 years of experience working at Solar Paper. Due to his employment, he lives happily and comfortably in his lavish refurbished childhood home with his wife Mi-ri, his teenage stepson Si-one from Mi-ri’s previous relationship, their young daughter Ri-one, an antisocial neurodivergent cello prodigy, and their two dogs Si-Two and Ri-Two whom Ri-one is particularly close to. Man-su and Mi-ri enjoy several luxuries including dance classes and Mi-ri’s regular tennis games with friends. However, a buyout from an American company leads to Man-su being among thousands abruptly laid off. After informing his family, he promises to find another job within three months with his stellar resumé.
Thirteen months later, Man-su works at a lowly retail job while taking several job interviews. As a result, they have cut back on finances, sold several belongings, stopped tennis games and dance classes, let go of Si-Two and Ri-Two to the care of Mi-ri’s parents to Ri-one’s distress, sold their expensive cars in exchange for older and cheaper models, and cancelled their Netflix subscription. Ri-one’s talent leads to her mentor recommending her to higher learning which would be more expensive. They are given a letter of foreclosure by their mortgage, with the parents of Si-one’s best friend Geon-ho being prospective buyers. Mi-ri is hired as a part-time dental assistant to the much-younger Oh Jin-ho. Man-su begins having a toothache that he ignores despite his wife’s pleas.
Man-su seeks out Moon Paper, a rival paper company, and submits his resumé, only to be humiliated by line manager Choi Seon-chul, who also dabbles as an influencer online. The desperate Man-su follows Seon-chul and ponders killing him by dropping a large pot holding a red pepper plant, but decides not to follow through with it. He decides he wants to eliminate his competition for the job he seeks. After buying the plant, he puts out a fake ad of a fictional “Red Pepper Paper” in need of a paper specialist like him. He receives several applications but targets two men whose credentials exceed his: Goo Beom-mo and Ko Si-jo. He retrieves the gun of his father, a Vietnam War veteran, which he will use to murder the two and Seon-chul.
Man-su begins spying on Beom-mo to find a window to kill him. Beom-mo lives as a drunkard after being unable to find a job for over a year to provide for himself and his wife Lee A-ra, his college sweetheart and a veteran stage actress struggling to find roles. Beom-mo seeks to rekindle his love with his wife, while A-ra is frustrated with her husband’s drinking and his stubborn refusal to pursue another field. While observing the couple having a picnic, Man-su is accidentally bitten by a rattlesnake and is saved by A-ra. Mi-ri also proposes her husband to pursue another field and that they downsize their lifestyle, but Man-su adamantly refuses. Beom-mo spots Man-su’s ad and resolves to quit drinking and apply for the job. In his next attempt to kill him, Man-su discovers A-ra having sex with a younger actor. When Beom-mo arrives home, Man-su is unable to prevent him from discovering his wife’s affair. In his third effort, Man-su confronts a drunken Beom-mo at gunpoint, which devolves into a scuffle between the two men and A-ra. A-ra takes the gun and Man-su flees, but he is shocked when A-ra kills Beom-mo instead due to her frustrations towards her husband coming to a head. He narrowly escapes A-ra, but he realizes he is late to a costumed dance party where he watches Mi-ri dance with Jin-ho out of spite for him being late. Man-su leaves and returns to Beom-mo’s residence, where he observes that A-ra and her lover have buried Geom-mo and the gun in their gardens, and Man-su digs out and retrieves the gun. At home, Man-su and Mi-ri accuse each other of being unfaithful before they reconcile.
Man-su next visits and bonds with Si-jo, who is working at a shoe store and also has a young daughter he loves and provides for. Despite this, Man-su reluctantly lures Si-jo to a highway and kills him, hiding his body in his car’s trunk. Meanwhile, Si-one and Geon-ho steal iPhones from the storefront of Geon-ho’s father in the hopes of reselling them, but they are caught by police instead. Man-su and Mi-ri blackmail Geon-ho’s father, who has been secretly using the storefront for his own infidelity, to having Geon-ho take responsibility and letting Si-one go. Detectives later come to Man-su’s home to warn him of Beom-mo’s and Si-jo’s disappearances which they linked to their common circumstances; overhearing them, Mi-ri becomes suspicious of her husband. Si-one witnesses Man-su trying to dispose of Si-jo’s body in their greenhouse. Man-su struggles with disposing Si-jo’s body before he decides to wrap the body into a ball and buries it in their garden alongside Si-one’s stolen iPhones under an apple tree.
Man-su travels to Seon-chul’s home in the country, where he reconnects with him and plies him with alcohol. However, Man-su is forced to break his sobriety and drink as well to not raise suspicions, and the drunk Man-su forcefully removes his cavity-filled tooth. Meanwhile, at home, Si-one begins having nightmares of his father. He confesses what he saw to his mother, who digs up the apple tree and finds Si-jo’s body, but Mi-ri decides to lie to Si-one about her discovery to comfort her son. She contacts Man-su while he is suffocating Seon-chul to death, sharing vaguely her concerns to him. Man-su lays out Seon-chul’s body to make it look like he drank himself to death before leaving. Man-su returns home in the morning where he is coldly greeted by his wife.
Some time later, Man-su is given the job of manager at Moon Paper following Geom-mo and Si-jo’s disappearances. However, they inform him that their factory is being fully automated after letting go of their workers. He is in charge of overseeing the machines functioning well, but he is not assured of his job being kept if the trial run is successful. Despite this, he is afforded enough money to keep his house, and their dogs are returned home. The detectives visit Man-su again where he learns that Geom-mo and Si-jo were former colleagues in their previous jobs; A-ra has given him an alibi to cover up her own involvement in her husband’s murder. She told them that Geom-mo had suicidal tendencies and owned the gun, and might be responsible for Si-jo’s disappearance as well to ensure his job, thus lifting any suspicion off Man-su. As Man-su leaves for his first day, Si-one leaves to hang out with Geon-ho, and Mi-ri listens to Ri-one playing cello for their dogs, who previously didn’t allow her family to listen to her play the cello before. At work, Man-su celebrates at his new job alone in the paper factory run by machines.
* * *
No Other Choice (2025) | Transcript
Yeah…
Come on, fall!
They must really like you.
Sending you expensive eel.
It’s not that they like me.
They’re going to work me even harder.
Those Americans too must know that eels make men perform better.
They even sent it on your birthday.
The kids will hear!
I need eel! Eel!
Come and eat!
Dad sweated in the heat grilling these.
I’ll go.
A snake?
Snakes don’t taste this good!
Dad’s company sent it, for doing a good job.
It’s not even a holiday.
Couldn’t they give us beef?
Ri-one.
Dinner.
Come on. Let’s eat.
Let the cello take a nap.
What’s this?
Honey!
Must’ve been expensive!
Well, I can afford decent dance shoes.
Aren’t Mom’s shoes pretty?
Eat up.
I’ll be able to dance so well in these.
They say not to gift shoes to your lover.
Why?
Why?
‘Cause they might run away in them.
Seems your dad is confident.
Come on.
We need to practice when we can.
Ready, start!
One two three, two two three, three two three…
Thanks for your hard work and years of dedication to Solar Paper. Damned paper…
Honey, come here.
Why?
Come on.
Come on, Ri-one.
Ritwo Sitwo Just three minutes more.
One minute…
Know what I’m feeling now?
I’ve got it all.
You people bought Solar Paper, where I devoted 25 years of my life. But as soon as you take over, you say you’ll cut 20% of the production line? And you ask for a list of names to fire? Names of veterans who taught me their craft? Names of young men who came of age in this factory? Innocent workers who lovingly cared for these machines, you want me to point a gun at their heads? I can’t do it. Guns are meant to be aimed at one’s enemies!
Stop! Think! Act!
I cannot give you that list. You Americans say to be fired is to be ‘axed’?
Know what we say in Korea?
Off with your head!
So being fired is having your head chopped clear off with an ax!
Job for life, old shoes “If you don’t start a union, we guarantee a job for life.”
That beautiful tradition… tossed out like old shoes!
To you Americans…!
Damn, my throat…
I said to do this in the warehouse.
All because you wanted to smoke.
Quit, dammit!
You put so much work into this.
He could’ve said, forget it.
But he acts like it’s his job at stake.
It is!
If you guys are fired, who will I work with?
Real sense of humanity.
Damn.
Stop!
Hello, sir.
Off with your head!
So to be fired…
Give back the helmet!
…is to chop your head clear off!
Wait!
What’ll he do with that helmet?
They didn’t… give you the eel, did they?
No way, right?
Honey.
What?
You said you’d say something.
I forgot.
Aren’t you going to work?
Right, right.
That’s right.
Sitwo Ritwo, house!
Study hard.
Ri-one, let’s go.
Ri-one!
Have a good day.
Good luck!
I slaved for 25 years!
Deep breaths.
I am…
I am…
A good person.
A good person.
Mansu!
…person.
Losing my job…
Losing my job…
Losing my job!
Losing my job… is not my choice!
My loving family…
My loving family…
My loving family… will support me fully as I seek new opportunities.
…as I seek new opportunities.
My loving family will support me fully as I seek new opportunities.
Honey. Can you put in earphones?
Just a sec. Hired in 3 months So you must’ve had sleepless nights?
Are you crying?
Where’s that brave bachelor who proposed to a single mom?
I made a new start, you can too.
Sure you can!
Take all your hopes and dreams, and recite your own incantation. Ready?
Go!
A new start… A new start… A new start… A new start. A new start.
I’m head of a family.
I’ll be born again.
To put food in my family’s mouths…
there’s nothing I won’t do. In three months, I’ll get hired again!
I feel great!
3 Months Later 13 Months Later
Hi Namgu, I know.
Today at 5 o’clock.
My boss is really curious about you. Sorry to ask so suddenly, but can you come at noon?
Listen, I’m… at the retail store, with my wife.
The boss suddenly booked a 5pm flight back to China. Too much to ask?
No no, hold on.
Wait.
I’ll plead with my wife.
That’s right. Come over now. But there’s a question he always asks. “What’s your weak point?”
Weak point?
It’s a crucialutely sensitive issue, okay?
Okay, thanks!
Weak point?
Sorry, I know it’s absolutely impossible to answer.
What’s my weak point?
What do you think?
You love plants too much.
You’re a vegetable.
Last night you called me an animal. Namgu gave me this awesome tip. Mortgage Default Warning If only I can explain my weak point well. It’s a crucialutely sensitive issue.
If you’re hired, you’ll work under your former subordinate Namgu.
Tell us how you feel about that.
I was a manager, true, but I’ve always considered myself to be blue collar.
So, in that respect…
I don’t think you understood the question.
Namgu…
No, of course I understand, my point is…
Namgu came to Papyrus first, so you’ll learn from him, right?
Of course!
I am always learning.
I got hired as soon as I graduated from high school.
But even while working, I earned a chemistry degree.
Of course, that was at a distance university.
Of course after that too, I kept… learning.
And of course, safety management.
When I received the 2019 ‘Pulp Man of the Year’, it was that aspect that they singled out in my record.
And that same year, I finally bought my own home.
The very house I was born in.
Of course…
I’m saying “of course” too much, aren’t I?
It’s not so much because I’m nervous, but… self-confidence?
Assurance? That’s what it is.
Of course!
If you don’t mind, could you tell me about your weak point?
No.
…is the one thing I can’t say, that’s my biggest weak point!
Have you looked into Moon Paper?
Moon?
They say Moon Paper has cracked the Japanese market, look into it.
Pacific Paper is restructuring this winter, too.
Really?
Go to a dentist, will you?
Just go, okay?
If you get hired, you’ll be too busy to go.
No, I’m fine.
There’s that pigheadedness of yours!
Anyway, get hired before winter, okay?
The company will call you soon.
Thanks.
Don’t forget, Moon Paper!
I’m a man. I’m a good person.
Founded by legendary paper man Moon Changho, Choi Sunchul, Line Manager at Moon Paper
Moon Paper is…
Mr. Choi!
Yes? We agreed to talk about how paper is made. That’s what I’m… Leave the promotion to the company channel. 6 hours 17 minutes later… Many people think paper companies mindlessly raze entire forests, right? That’s not true.
What?
First, the good news.
I got a part time job.
Mom’s going out to work now!
You always blamed us for killing your career.
Congrats, Mom!
Congrats, Mom!
Thanks.
Where? A dental clinic?
Dr. Oh Chinho.
Dr. Ouch Inho?
No jokes allowed.
I’d like us all to face the fact we’re in a crisis.
Refrain from the listed activities until Dad finds work.
Except for Ri-one’s lessons, anything nonessential must go.
For example…
For example, meat in the soup?
There is some, look harder.
For example, my car.
We’ll trade your car for something smaller.
And our house.
If we sell the house, we can pay off our loans and rent an apartment.
You said you’d find work in 3 months.
So we kept living as usual, dipping into your severance pay.
Now that’s run dry.
House Foreclosure in 3 Months
Honey.
This house… I have so many childhood memories in this home. After turning 9, I moved every 10 months on average. I worked so hard to buy back this home. I mean, we did. With my own hands, I tore down the old barn, built the greenhouse… and the swing. Every corner of this home…
Honey. If we go bankrupt, they’ll take it anyway. The piano, living room table, two chairs, TV, curtain, carpet… have all been put up for sale. My racket, too. No more tennis. Let’s quit dance lessons, too. Your bonsai magazine. And I’m canceling Netflix.
Hey!
Before it’s cancelled, I should watch one more show.
So comrades, now for the bad news.
Something even worse?
Something even worse?
In these circumstances, we can’t afford to feed so many mouths.
What do you mean, so many?
Don’t go, Ri-two.
Ri-one.
Si-one.
We’ll see them soon, okay Ri-one?
Come on.
You can come visit them at our house. Okay?
Si-two Ri-two will be back.
As soon as Dad gets hired.
That dog hair is brutal.
I’m sorry, Dad.
Have a safe drive.
Let’s go in.
Come on.
I’ll bring them back soon, I will.
Hello, ma’am!
You’re here early!
The potential buyer is that dickhead?
Not bad for a 50yearold house.
Look at the curtains.
They fixed up this ruined house so well.
It’s been born again.
You know my townhouse near here?
Yes.
That land was originally part of his dad’s pig farm.
Wow, if he still owned that land…
If we tear down that greenhouse, it’d make a great practice green.
Disgusting pig.
You’re quite the handyman, You Mansu.
That’s enough for today.
The moms are besties.
The kids are besties.
Pulp Man of the Year!
Your dad’s gun is still looking good…
Vietnam War Service Certificate
Oh, look here!
Imagine waking up and seeing that sturdy red pine!
It’s a white pine.
White pine…
Look around. I’ll stop by the dry cleaners.
Pick up my clothes for an interview.
You’re a Man! Su! Fight!
Shall we see the kids’ rooms?
With just one kid, we’ll use that as a closet.
I thought that too!
Nice mattress.
That’s for sale too, buy it.
Where will you move to?
Need to sell the house first.
Hope you don’t go far.
If we leave, Si-two Ri-two won’t be able to find us.
Says who?
We’re not leaving.
I promise.
Si-one Ri-one Si-one Ri-one…
Si-two Ri-two Si-two…
Let me through!
I’m late for a meeting.
Listen, please.
My wife is doing part time work, we put our home up for sale,
cancelled Netflix…
What?
Sir?
Choi Sunchul!
What’s going on? Who’s this?
He was fired from Solar.
Just a sec.
Come out.
I’m sorry.
Going to the meeting?
I wanted to talk to you.
Sure, then.
Let me look…
God, you’re strong.
If you have any shame, don’t do this in a place where people shit and piss.
Sir!
I told you to come visit me!
We’ll have a nice barbecue.
All right, then.
Oh my.
Listen.
On the hill opposite, there’s a nice whisky bar called Moon Shine.
Have a drink on your way.
I just moved here to Hoi Island. It’s really gorgeous. Revealed for the first time ever! Give a shout! Barbecue over my own wood fire is out of this world! Die! For each drop of sweat, a drop of whisky! It’s what I live for. Ms. Wife
Hi honey.
Listen, the cello teacher called…
Where are you?
Huh?
Are you in a bar?
No no.
Well, it’s true.
It’s true, but I’m not.
Look.
I’m by myself.
Have you gone mad?
I’m drinking this, really.
Whisky? This here.
You went to a bar to drink apple juice?
Honey, you trust me?
Of course. Why’d the cello teacher call?
I can’t teach Ri-one anymore.
What?
Ri-one’s talent is too… outstanding?
But ma’am, how can I believe you?
She doesn’t play for us.
We’ve never heard anything but a few notes.
Right.
Why do you think I’d give up my lesson fee to another teacher?
Another teacher?
Ri-one needs to learn from a music professor now.
But you should know, the fee is on a different level than mine.
You said you wanted Ri-one to be able to live independently.
If so, this level of investment…
I’ll say two things. Many people think paper companies mindlessly raze entire forests, right? That’s not true. Trees for paper are grown separately, cut, planted again, grown and cut again. And that’s not all. There’s reuse. We collect waste paper, recycle it, then collect it again and—
What are you watching?
The only company doing well these days is Moon Paper.
They cracked the Japanese market.
He’s line manager of specialty paper.
A perfect job for you.
You’re good at Japanese, too.
Korea’s the most advanced country in paper reuse. Unlimited reuse! Freaking unlimited reuse!
Compared to my husband, he’s nothing.
Can’t he get hit by lightning?
Pointy umbrella in a thunderstorm…
Choi Sunchul
Sure, it’s fabulous!
Try living there just one week.
An apartment can’t even compare!
Come on, the ferry runs so often!
I’m telling you.
I know that, but it’s so quiet there.
Air’s clean, it’s fabulous.
Even more fabulous at night…
Right.
No, there aren’t any!
If you’re scared, we’ll raise chickens. They eat snakes.
What?
Listen, honey…
For once, at least come for a barbecue!
Pork! Who roasts snakes?
No alcohol, of course.
Weight lifting?
Honey! Honey!
Even if this guy disappears, it’s not like I can take his place.
Right?
What’s so great about that spot?
The competition for the place will be fierce.
Actually, it is a pretty nice spot.
Lots of sun, nice breeze.
Right…
How many other candidates will there be?
Ten people?
Five?
Moon Paper Four?
Sell me this. How much do you want?
This is Pulp Men.
Is this the advertising division?
Hey.
At least give me those pajamas to wash.
And take a shower this century!
And will you let our pear tree die?
Bugs are swarming all over it.
Hey! You want me dead, too?
Too drunk to feel pain?
You’re practically paralyzed!
It’s because of all those bugs.
So what I’m asking is…
You’re the bug!
…please give me a drop of remedy.
I’ll be back late.
I have a meeting after the audition!
Paper is our life! A master’s degree in paper or chemical engineering is required. Japanese speakers preferred. We at Red Pepper Paper, together with European and Japanese firms are launching a three-company joint venture in Korea. Our goal is to be the top boutique factory in specialized security paper. We seek family, not cogs in a machine. Tell us about your hobbies, personality and family. Give us a photo as large and recent as possible. Send it to P.O. Box 76, Gujong City Central Post Office. We firmly reject applications by internet. If we don’t use paper, who will? My name is Gu Bummo. As a resolutely analogue person, I play music only on vinyl, take photos only on film, and write letters only on paper. My bond to paper, as durable as reinforced synthetic paper, began before I was even born. Encouraged by my uncle, a first generation paper man, I enrolled in paper manufacturing at Kangwon University. After serving in the Marines, I joined Namsun Paper in 1999. In 2013, I oversaw the reinforced paper line with most of our customers coming from the defense industry. Winning Pulp Man of the Year in 2018… “To Red Pepper Paper HR” …was the pinnacle of my career, but in 2023 the Defense Ministry had a change in strategy causing our production line to close. Namsun Paper merged with Mori Paper, and all specialty paper personnel such as myself had to leave the company. I’ve now been 8 months between jobs, and I feel my batteries are completely charged. During my extensive free time, I… Pulp Man of the Year Fire Safety Certification Worked 2 years at Ishii Paper in Japan North Korea Type 64 Pistol
One, two, three men…
How was your day?
Daddy’s day was hard.
There’s this house with a beautiful pear tree, but bugs are eating it alive.
It made me sad.
In these circumstances, we can’t afford to feed so many mouths.
Oh, fuck!
Eating any old mushroom again!
You quit drinking, and now you’ll eat anything?
My back will ache without a blanket.
Why would you lie down?
Not scared of a snake?
They haven’t called for an interview.
They’ll call.
Do like me.
What?
Wrap the sunlight in wind and take a bite.
With a dollop of foliage.
I’ve always at least gotten an interview.
What about me?
I failed my audition again!
My skin’s too firm to play a woman wailing over her husband’s death.
Still, it was nice being at the Arts Center after so long.
Remember the night of the blackout?
Our first play seen together.
In Act 2, suddenly the lights go out.
People panic, women scream, and I was about to have a panic attack, when you appeared.
Suddenly, from who knows where, like a streetlight turning on, your face…
Please light a flame in my lonely heart…
Smiling, you lead me to the door.
“Ara, follow me. Only me.”
“Watch your step.”
“Are you okay?”
I was at my most innocent then.
Plump and pretty.
I let you have my first kiss.
Remember what you said?
“Ara, your lips are softer than the highest quality Okamoto tracing paper.”
Akimoto.
Okamoto is a condom brand.
“Ara, your lips are softer than the highest quality Akimoto tracing paper.”
No message, no email.
Paper, paper! Damned paper!
My dad kept offering to set you up with a café, but no, it had to be paper!
Even if they hire you, you’ll retire in 67 years. What then?
In an age of living to 100?
You with your nice audio system, you could earn even more with a music café!
Know how I feel lately?
I want to run through the mountains, wailing like a madwoman!
I’m like one of your precious paper machines.
Neglect me, and I’ll break!
Hurry up and smother me in that lube oil!
Or I’ll rip you to pieces.
Like tracing paper!
Paper has fed me for 25 years.
Honey.
It’s how I’m meant to be, I’ve no other choice.
You’ve been fed by the money I earned from paper, too.
That money was printed on paper I made, and the cigarette filter you smoke is paper, too.
If we don’t use paper, who will?
What?
They won’t send a text or email.
The mailbox! The mailbox!
Hey!
Hey!
I’m through with you!
You…
As useless as scrap paper!
Sorry to keep you waiting.
I’ll check before the doctor comes.
Yes.
You’re a nurse?
Dental hygienist. It’s different.
Don’t you have dance class now?
My tooth hurts too much.
Then say “ah”.
You’ll come to the dance party, though?
How can I? I quit the lessons.
You can still come! Ask the teacher.
Ms. Lee, go on home.
You need to pick up Ri-one.
Yes.
You were a thing pure, noble, honest, without stain!
And now – oh!
When I think that I made of a man like you my ideal!
Dear me! The ideal of my life!
Fucking snake!
Was its head triangle-shaped?
Then it’s a cannibal viper.
It’ll eat its own mother.
Or was it a black-and-white pattern?
Then it’s a 7step mamushi.
You’ll die before taking 7 steps.
I think I heard a rattle, too.
Keep the bite wound higher than your heart.
Shouldn’t it be lower?
Don’t worry. I did this in a play once.
Did what?
Honey, know what?
Listen…
A snake just bit me.
What?
Might be poisonous, I’ll call you back.
Chase the snakes away like this.
Damn it!
1. Keep bite lower than heart.
2. Don’t cut, or suck out poison.
For god’s sake!
Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?
It’s okay.
If it were poisonous, I’d be dead now.
What’s with you?
About the dance party…
We better not go, right?
We quit the lessons.
What? But we practiced so much.
It’s from the first mixtape you gave me.
For a guy who only listens to ’80s rock.
I was blinded by love.
I think I was prettiest back then.
Even if I was a divorcee with a kid.
Hey, don’t talk like that.
Of course, I earned more money than you.
What?
You think I proposed because of your paycheck?
Who knows? I had a college degree too.
So did I.
Not back then.
You’re so mean. Forget it.
You were busy doing the distance degree while working.
I wanted so much to have fun with you then.
Apologize, will you? Right now.
You’re right.
Let’s have 10 times more fun now instead of wasting time complaining.
When should we tell Si-one?
Tell him what?
We agreed to tell him when he’s old enough to shave.
But do we have to tell him?
I’ve been his dad since he was 2, so I’m his dad.
I’m sorry, Miri.
You must want some lube oil too. I’ve been so…
Lube oil?
It’s not that.
I’ve just been so busy these days with job interviews.
Does it have to be paper?
How about some other job?
What?
Like a café?
Why a café?
Paper has fed me for 25 years, honey.
It’s how I’m meant to be.
Think about it, would you tell a cannibal viper to live off pear leaves?
It’s meant to eat its mother.
Is that so, Mr. You?
Yes.
Mr. You.
Yes?
You’re not a bad dancer.
Follow me. Only me.
Guess you overdid the vibrato.
This will be the best job interview ever.
Slay them all!
Okay, I’ll slay them all.
Green light!
Chunoh!
Chunoh!
Doing it on your bed is great, ma’am. It doesn’t even creak.
Don’t call me ma’am!
Tell your husband not to quit that group for quitting drinking. This is great.
Minsan City… Hello, this is Red Pepper Paper.
Oh, hello!
Hey, don’t!
What? Yes? Hello? What was that?
I’m having trouble hearing you.
I can hear you fine.
I heard well from the spot where you first answered.
I see! I’m heading there now.
Stop!
That spot is perfect.
You can hear best from here?
Yes, I can hear you great now.
By any chance are you at your home in Minsan City?
I am.
My boss would like to meet you.
He’s very curious about you, Mr. Gu.
However…
Yes? My boss is returning to Zurich on a 5pm flight.
I’m sorry, but if you leave from Minsan right now, you should have time.
Right now?
Guess it’s too much to ask?
Okay, then I’ll tell him you’re not…
No, no!
I can go.
Of course! I’ll go.
Then I’ll text you right now with the address of our office, so please set off now.
Of course, yes.
I’ll just change clothes quickly and go.
Text me the address!
No, no! You’re fine as you…
Bitch…
No New Messages
Please answer…
Come on, pick up.
Hey, how are you? Busy?
Bad reception?
No way! The signal’s best here.
You hear me, right?
Well, I went to some gathering without seeing that it got cancelled.
So I came back early, and now I’m feeling so bored.
My wife?
Not sure.
Maybe she went out.
Want to catch up over a drink?
I quit, sure, but now it’s under control. I can drink reasonably.
Exactly!
See you at the fried chicken place.
Come when you finish work. I’ll wait there.
Oh Chinho’s Dental Clinic
Hello.
Yeah.
Hi Ri-one.
You’re late.
I’ll throw it out.
Thank you.
I waited to say hello to you. I’m Oh Chinho.
You’ve got a bad toothache?
Yeah.
Stop by some time.
Could you lower the window?
I’m okay.
I’m totally fine, Mr. Oh Chunoh.
Thank you, Doctor Oh. Chin. Ho.
Thanks!
Go home now.
Goddamned embarrassing…
Ri-one, it’s okay now.
Dad’s not a very smooth driver, that’s all.
He’s young. Quite an age gap.
Age gap?
With who?
I’d rather you not talk to that man about me.
♪ It may be ♪
♪ that I’m still just a child ♪
♪ It seems so ♪
♪ Mom, why do I ♪
♪ keep waiting for you? ♪
♪ Mom, why do I ♪
♪ suddenly miss you so? ♪
♪ It may be ♪
♪ that I’m still just a child ♪
♪ It seems so ♪
♪ Mom, why do I ♪
♪ keep feeling sad? ♪
♪ Mom, why do I… ♪
The two of us can’t live under the same sky.
Want to end this with a duel?
Does Ara know you’re doing this, newcomer actor Lee Chunoh?
Who?
Were you baking, and suddenly, decided you want Ara all to yourself?
Exactly!
♪ With my heart steeped in loneliness ♪
♪ I gaze up at the sky, ♪
♪ and the clouds flow past ♪
♪ making me dizzy ♪
♪ Making my head spin ♪
♪ as the red dragonfly flies off… ♪
Sorry.
But you must disappear for me to live.
Know your place!
The man Ara loves is me!
You sure?
What!
Can’t an unemployed man love?
That’s not it!
That’s not it at all, but…
You… did not… even listen to your wife’s sensible suggestions!
Damn, my throat.
What’s wrong with a music café?
She even told you that?
If you can’t earn money, sell the house!
Work at a retail store moving boxes!
I’m an engineer!
An expert!
The house… is Ara’s father’s, so I can’t sell it.
The boxes… hurt my back, so I can’t lift them!
You proud of that?
If you found out, tell me!
Why not say something?
And if I do?
Will you come back?
Huh?
Snake bite! You fucker!
Honey!
Honey!
You shithead!
The gun!
Give me the gun!
I’m an ex-Marine!
Losing my job is not my choice.
How many times must I say it?
Losing your job isn’t the problem!
The problem is how you deal with it!
Oh, come on…
You going to die from two bullets?
Ms. Wife – 10 missed calls
Fucking… hell!
These ones sell for a lot.
Yep?
Why won’t your mom pick up?
Dunno.
Is Mom home?
Nope.
Did she leave any message?
Your dad is going to regret this!
Your dad is going to regret this!
Why? Where’d she go?
Did Mom leave me a costume?
Yep. Can’t you answer me in full sentences?
Good luck, Dad!
Thanks!
Let’s dance.
You don’t know the dance.
Sure I know it.
I memorized it, watching now.
You said you practiced a lot.
Got to show it off.
Greetings. That way.
Don’t you believe me?
No, I don’t!
I’m a bullfighter today, so a pretty bull… no, cow.
Nice!
Care for a cocktail?
Welcome to Gujong City
Did you fuck in the car?
You like it in the car.
You wore the black fishnet panties? Rose lace?
I searched, and they’re missing.
What are you doing?
You’re wearing them!
You are! Take them off.
If I smell them, I’ll know if you fucked him or not.
It’ll just take a second!
If you’re innocent, what are you scared of?
Did you drink?
You can’t!
We can’t go through that again!
Nine years!
You’ve held back nine years, gritting your teeth.
Has it gone up in smoke?
Puking in your sleep, almost suffocating!
Getting drunk and… beating my 5year old son.
Saying he’s jealous of your daughter!
I’ve said it a million times.
Si-one is my kid, too.
Sure enough.
You don’t discriminate. You’re a dog to everyone when drunk.
What were you thinking?
Matching your costume with Dr. Ouch.
Dressing me up as a goddamn Nutcracker!
John Smith!
British Admiral John Smith and Pocahontas, you idiot!
Ri-one’s favorite cartoon!
You forgot? We watched it a million times with her!
When I told Dr. Oh I’d be Pocahontas, the whole clinic decided to be Native Americans!
The nurse there was dressed as one, too!
You and I were meant to be a pair!
You think I’m that kind of person?
How can you suspect me?
Sure I can suspect you!
You’re pretty! You’re so damned pretty!
You’re handsome, too!
What’s this? Who did this?
I’m fighting a war, for our family.
So we need to band together and believe each other.
Loyalty.
Trust.
Then why lock yourself in the greenhouse?
That damned greenhouse!
And driving 3000 km in a month!
Why bring rubber pants?
How can you get a snakebite at a job interview?
How stupid do you think I am?
Tell me! Who is she?
The bitch you go fishing and eat chicken with, having sex smothered in lube oil!
Honey, don’t do this to me.
My job interviews, they’re really difficult interviews.
Looking someone right in the eye…
Doing that is really hard.
You don’t deny it?
Drink with colleagues, work talk
How is this?
This is a softer material.
Not really.
Just a moment.
Yeni, what is it?
Can I hang out with my friends after art lessons?
Min’s dad will drive you?
Yes.
These are no good, either.
Yes, just a minute.
I have a pair that you’ll like.
Go on, go!
It’s a brand new item, so…
Never mind, mister.
Wait.
Just a second.
Don’t go yet.
Headquarters only sends us a few pairs.
Just a moment.
I’ll be right there.
Sir!
So the other man left?
Seems so.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Shoes for yourself?
Or a gift?
I’ve got a daughter, too.
How old is she?
Come in.
You miss it, right?
Having a drink with colleagues, talking about work?
It’s been over a year for me too, so I recognize an unemployed comrade at once.
You don’t look like a man for this job.
Ten years old.
Your daughter!
What kind of shoes?
Boots? Sandals?
Enamel shoes. Quite shiny.
Yes.
I worked in the paper industry.
Specialty paper.
We made banknotes, lottery tickets… invoices, passports, ice cream cone sleeves, menstrual pad release paper, cigarette filters…
People laugh when I say this, but for those of us who make it, white paper is a kind of art.
Why laugh?
That feeling of touching fine paper is so comforting.
You’ve got fine senses, I see.
My daughter hardly ever speaks.
When she does, it’s to echo others’ words.
She was born that way.
She only plays cello.
Her teacher says she’s gifted.
Might even become world famous.
But she won’t play for us.
As parents, we should support her talent, because without music she’ll never be independent.
Her teacher said she needs to be playing on a $50,000 cello.
She’ll give a recital this Christmas, but she only has rain boots.
I can’t buy her an instrument, at least I’ll get her shoes.
Wait.
Her lesson finishes soon.
Maybe I’ll bring her to try them on.
When do you close?
You can come any time before 7.
Her lesson won’t finish by 7.
It takes me an hour to clean up.
I’ll wait, then.
8 o’clock!
I can only get a commission if you buy through me.
Yes.
No other choice.
No other choice.
No other choice.
No other choice.
No other choice.
What are you doing here?
You haven’t been able to pick up your daughter?
Think it has to be towed.
It’s so expensive, though.
Then, the money for the shoes…
I’m a machine repairman…
Let’s see if my skills are any use.
My beloved Elantra, no less!
My, without your glasses, you look like a model.
What have we got here?
So this is on your way home.
So this is it!
Try starting…
♪ I will walk where my steps take me, ♪
♪ and let the rain wash ♪
♪ away these feelings of mine ♪
♪ Endlessly, aimlessly ♪
♪ my heart is floating ♪
♪ here and there in the rain ♪
♪ The teddy bear lets out a laugh, ♪
♪ the store lights let out a laugh ♪
♪ I can’t forget the ♪
♪ shambles of days gone by ♪
♪ like the inside of a discarded bag ♪
♪ I will walk where my steps take me, ♪
♪ and let the rain wash ♪
♪ away these feelings of mine ♪
♪ Endlessly, aimlessly ♪
♪ my heart is floating ♪
♪ here and there in the rain ♪
♪ The passersby don’t know, ♪
♪ the lonely streetlights don’t know, ♪
♪ The dizzying mass of days long gone ♪
♪ like a flower bed bursting ♪
♪ recklessly into bloom ♪
♪ I will walk where my steps take me, ♪
♪ and let the rain wash ♪
♪ away these feelings of mine ♪
♪ Endlessly, aimlessly ♪
♪ my heart is floating ♪
♪ here and there in the rain ♪
Honey.
Honey.
Honey!
The police are here.
What should we do?
Be sure not to panic, okay?
I need to change clothes.
I’ll explain it all at the station.
It’s all my…
You Si-one.
What were you saying?
It’s all my fault for being a bad father.
You’re the one who said not to panic!
Get in!
The door…
Is Dongho’s mom not picking up on purpose?
How could Dongho rat on his friend like that?
It can’t have been Si-one’s idea.
It’s Dongho’s dad’s store.
So Dongho suggested it.
Isn’t it obvious?
Dongho’s Mom
He must be so lonely and scared, my baby.
This is all your fault!
Excuse me!
Just a minute! Wait!
Hold on a minute!
Listen, his mother is parking the car.
Can we go in with him? He’s still just a kid.
All right.
Thank you.
Lift your head. Look at me.
Dongho dragged you into it, right?
Dongho?
Why would he drag me…
Hey. Listen…
Doing a crime on your own is incredibly lonely and scary.
That’s how I imagine it, anyway.
I’ll never leave you to feel lonely.
So, I need your cooperation.
Since we’re a team.
Actually, the one who suggested it…
Hey, hey, wait. Wait!
Get a grip.
Listen to me.
Our family is in a war now.
What?
No, I don’t mean with each other.
You and me, in this war, we need to protect our women, right?
You know Grandpa’s pistol?
Your grandpa bent the fingers of a dead Viet Cong and took that pistol, why do you think?
To remember that if he hadn’t shot first, the enemy would’ve shot him with that gun.
You get what I mean?
All the men…
What’ll you do, huh?
Let’s wash your hands.
Up you go!
Dongho says Si-one wanted to sell the phones and help out his mom. Damn!
It’s your own store.
Let’s put this behind us.
If you don’t settle, he’ll get a year’s sentence.
A mom can’t let that happen to her son.
Isn’t that so?
Hey, Mansu.
Wonno.
Gimme a smoke.
Sure.
What are you doing?
I started smoking again.
But honey, mind if I talk to my friend for a sec?
Just talk.
You don’t mind, do you?
Well…
Dongho dragged Si-one into it.
That’s what Dongho will testify.
Si-one just stood nearby.
What a crock of shit!
Dongho turned off the CCTV, but not the other one.
He didn’t know to turn off the security system.
What if your wife found out you use that store at night as a place for fucking women?
And if she heard you bragged about it to all the men in the neighborhood?
You jobless stinking piece of shit!
I’ll fucking kill you!
One more thing.
You’re not buying my home.
Miri, let’s go.
Forget buying it.
Honey, be careful.
Are they up there?
Are there many?
How many?
There’s more?
That brat…
Two, four, six…
We don’t have to give them back?
Let’s make them disappear.
Wonno can’t help but cover it up anyway.
Right?
Of course.
What tree will you plant?
When the apples ripen, let’s make jam.
Will the roots grow over the phones?
The tastiest things grow on filth.
Fertilizer’s made from shit and piss.
Okay, thank you.
Is it true about Grandpa?
He hung himself in this house?
You know his pig farm?
They caught a disease, and he had to kill them all, 20,000 pigs.
How?
He buried them, alive.
But he was always a bit unstable.
Ever since fighting in Vietnam.
In the old barn, he… you know… but I didn’t see it.
Hey.
Sit with me.
Come closer.
Mom doesn’t know.
Don’t look, don’t look!
I quit.
Throw them out yourself.
Papyrus…
You interviewed there?
I was rejected.
The name Go Sijo—
Never heard of it.
And Gu Bummo?
Not sure…
We’re visiting people who interviewed there.
Anything unusual happen recently?
Have you felt in danger?
Those two men have disappeared.
You may think badly of me, but even after hearing they died, the thought that comes to mind is, I wonder what lucky person got hired?
I said “disappeared”.
Give me that.
And then, Mr. You, you said to me, “they died”.
Why do you think they’re dead?
Well…
In today’s world, if someone disappears, then usually…
“In today’s world, if someone disappears, then usually…”
Go Sijo’s wife reported him missing, and after tracking his phone, we found his car sitting by itself.
She said after being fired, he was extremely depressed.
Oh my.
A phone contains all of a person’s life, right?
Who you talked to, and also, who you couldn’t talk to.
9 Missed Calls
What the!
It’s that number! The missed calls.
Umbrella.
Finally, you answered.
You’ve called the phone of a man who’s gone missing.
Excuse me, but who are you?
I’m head of HR at Papyrus.
Mr. Go interviewed at our company, and I called to say he was hired.
This is like some kind of curse.
What? We originally planned to hire a different applicant but couldn’t reach him, either.
What was that man’s name?
That man… hold on, his name…
He scored highest.
Gu… Gu… Gu…
Bummo.
And I knew I’d seen that name before.
Gu Bummo
Look, kiddo!
They knew each other?
So, there were two paper men.
They knew each other. And disappeared at the same time.
We did a painstaking search around the car.
We found traces of Mr. Go’s blood…
Blood…
And what might’ve caused Mr. Go’s blood to spill out of his veins?
A gun.
A handgun.
Made in North Korea.
A bullet shell was found.
By me.
A bullet shell!
Pretty scary.
Until I catch the culprit, you must be very careful.
Ri-one.
What kid listens to such music?
I’ll contact you as soon as I go missing.
This is not a joking matter.
Drive safely!
Ri-one!
What are you doing?
What’s wrong?
My dear Ri-one…
Don’t cry… Don’t cry.
Don’t cry.
I’ll bring them back, okay? Stop crying.
Just need to do one more.
25 years
♪ After you left me, ♪
♪ the hole you left in my ♪
♪ chest hurts me so much! ♪
♪ Thinking I will die, I pray ♪
♪ Please take this pain from me… ♪
What the fuck?
Mr. Choi Sunchul?
You thought I was a deer?
For fuck’s sake.
I waited all day.
I’m You Mansu.
I was manager of specialty paper at Solar until they fired me.
The guy from the restroom?
I’ve got all this free time, and I envy you so much, I’ve been watching your Instagram every day.
Whoa.
You mean I’m being stalked?
Want to have a drink with me?
Seems like you already had some.
All right.
After slaving for 25 years, they gave me 25 minutes to clear out.
I walk out of the office, and the security guard had my things in a box already and was standing there, holding it.
They wouldn’t let me go down the hallway where I’d always walked.
Sent you out the back door?
Exactly.
Fucking dickwads!
Hurry up and eat.
Not again!
If you don’t eat, I’ll take that paper away!
You need to eat, so your arms get strong, and your bowing gets stronger.
Why are the men in this house all hiding something from me, Ri-one?
Why could it be?
Do they want to die?
My quality ratio was 96%.
On those old Bumin machines.
They don’t give out Pulp Man of the Year to any old fool.
Hey, eat up. Eat this.
Right.
If they gave it to any old fool, I’d have gotten one.
Hey, that’s not what I meant!
Sorry, fuck.
Damn it, drink up.
“Fuck”?
No, I…
Hey! Listen to you.
I fucking love it, fuck!
Have a fucking drink!
Let’s fucking drink!
Hey, slow down a bit.
To hell with that, I’m drinking fast.
Do they want to die?
So you saw it, or you think you saw it?
I’ll die if I keep working like this.
With this much work to do, I need another manager.
Right.
At your level!
That’s what I’m saying!
Mansu my man, you crying?
Feel sorry for me?
Why so softhearted?
Ask the higherups.
Ask what?
Ask them to hire someone else!
Those tight-assed pricks?
If you sit tight, their asses get tighter!
Demand it!
Just collapse at work one day!
You’ll need sick leave!
Production will stop!
Won’t they come to their senses then?
Come to their senses?
They’ll just fire me.
Recommend me.
We’d work really well together!
Complementing each other.
A Team, B Team.
Sure.
I’ll try talking to them.
Oh dear.
So this is the best you got?
I know, water streaks.
It’s the crosslink cellulose recipe of those bastards at Bumin.
But you know, I’ve got no other choice.
Even if you use their machines, you don’t have to use their recipe, too.
How can you afford this house as a line manager? And that car?
Someone might think you’re pocketing all kinds of cash.
That’s not what I think, but others might think that way, I mean.
I really don’t think that. Here.
Bottoms up.
You okay?
You’re dead now.
Bomb shots, okay?
No other choice.
No other choice.
No other choice…
Hurry the fuck up!
So freaking cold…
My head…
Where do you keep the…?
What a fucking relief!
I need some fucking air!
Let’s go out.
Getting drunk in front of a bonfire is my lifelong dream!
You’re freaking awesome.
Vodka.
You had more?
Man-superman you’re the best!
I moved here 6 months ago and it’s my first fucking bonfire.
I thought I’d have barbecue every day.
When you get the thing you want, that’s what happens.
My wife was right.
I really don’t want to do this.
What?
But if I don’t, the deaths of those other two are meaningless.
Just a dog’s death.
No…
You shouldn’t barbecue dogs!
Ms. Wife
Sorry, I can’t turn on the video.
It’s okay. You look at me.
I didn’t want to get your hopes up, but I’m visiting a friend from Moon Paper.
He’s got so much work, the company needs another line manager.
Remember what the detectives said?
About the interviewees.
Yeah. That they died.
Yeah?
So?
I’m worried.
You go around late at night…
Hey, I’m okay.
How can you be so sure?
Because I’m… me?
Hey, can’t you drop that and come home now?
I don’t want to say this, but no.
Don’t carry the load by yourself.
Even a sheet of paper is better lifted together.
That’s a favorite saying in our industry. A sheet of paper.
If the four of us band together, we can beat this.
Six.
I know, Sitwo Ritwo.
I’m going to bring them back.
You’d be good at gardening or bonsai, too.
People live to 100, you have time.
This is my last interview.
Up until now I’ve been digging, now I need to plant the tree.
If you do something bad, I’m doing it with you, okay?
Hey, don’t worry.
I think my friend woke up.
Your cheek…
I’ll call tomorrow, okay? Bye.
Honey!
Si-one, Si-one!
It’s okay.
I dug in the ground.
There?
There really was something.
He cut up a pig?
Yes.
Like when he barbecued a pig for us last year?
He put a whole pig in the ground to fertilize the tree.
Must’ve been so tough for him.
So that’s what it was, a pig…
Did the interview go well?
Yeah.
Did you sleep well?
Just one minute.
59, 58, 57…
Count up, not down.
1, 2, 3, 4…
So you drank, in the end.
Yeah.
You smell of smoke, too.
We had a barbecue at my friend’s place.
He’s been on his own six months, but he’s lonely already.
Divorced?
They split up because of the house.
He wanted to live in nature, but she refused.
Can that be a reason?
Splitting up over that?
I’m sorry.
When I was doing my degree, I couldn’t have fun with you.
You shouldn’t have lived so hard.
How many seconds? 30?
59.
60.
That must’ve been hard for you.
So what I realized while going through that ordeal is you need a creative plan.
The important thing is to shift your perspective.
In the execution phase, you have to be persistent and bold.
When necessary, at any time you need to be able to say no.
We have a “lights-out system”.
Recently we built a fully automated factory.
Lights out?
Since AI doesn’t need lights turned on.
Right.
The days of tapping a roll with a stick are over.
Yes, of course.
Anyway, we quite urgently need you to oversee this test run.
When you say fully automated, the workers… will have to be reduced, right?
That’s the whole point of the system. No other choice.
Do you have any objection?
If you don’t like it, you can say no.
Not at all.
How can you go against the times?
But at any rate, you need one person to watch over it all, right?
So 5 years ago, there was a secret bid at Minting and Security Printing Corp?
Yes, the competition was fierce then.
Solar, where I worked, was one of the three designated companies.
We never even considered bidding.
Then who made the bid?
Two people facing off as representatives of the two major paper companies.
Who were the rivals in this bloody bidding war?
Gu Bummo and Go Sijo!
The day he returned from his business trip to Daejeon…
His sleep-talking woke me up in the middle of the night.
He started crying and whining, saying things like “It’s not fair!” and “Don’t insult me!”
Then after that, wouldn’t you know…
He was surely asleep, but he gathered the phlegm in his mouth and…
He spit on his own face.
It startled him too, and he woke up.
The day he came back from Daejeon?
“It’s so unfair”?
As you know, Minting and Security Printing Corp is in Daejeon.
Was that when it started?
He just listened to music here, avoided going to bed with me.
After he got fired, he drank all day, developed depression…
Oh my god.
He didn’t bring his medication.
Honey, where in the world are you?
Does your husband own a handgun by any chance?
Can I ask why you take so long to answer?
If you own a firearm, you need to report it, right?
He didn’t do that.
What’s more, it vanished with my husband.
He could… commit suicide with it.
Please find him quickly.
Was it one of these?
This one?
Gu Bummo’s wife really said that?
So be wary of Gu Bummo.
Remember his face.
Gu Bummo killed Go Sijo and ran away?
Wow, this is…
Honey! Got something to say?
Congrats on your first day at work.
This weekend, should we do a pig roast?
No.
No way!
It’s too cold for that now.
Quit the clinic and take up tennis again. I’ll buy you a new racket.
I’m not doing that anymore.
I’ll save money.
Sitwo Ritwo, house!
House! Ri-one, come here!
Don’t play over there.
A snail! A snail!
I called the real estate agent.
Said we’ll keep the house.
Oh.
We planted an apple tree here, how can we sell it?
Exactly.
Ri-one!
Ri-one!
I’ll see you later.
Bugs are eating it alive.
…will ease up sometime this morning.
After the nighttime rain which seemed to mourn the passing of autumn, the temperature also dropped sharply, bringing us one step closer to winter.
Going to school already?
Dongho and I are meeting early.
Are you two still friends?
Even after what happened last…
