EXT. NEW YORK STREETS - NIGHT
Swirls of light speed toward the ambulance as car headlights
and streetlamps merge in a wild dizzying rush. The SIREN
wails into the night.
INT. AMBULANCE - NIGHT
Ji's body is lying in the back of the ambulance as a
PARAMEDIC applies electric paddles to his chest in an effort
to save him. After a moment, he looks up at Dara. We can
tell from the expression in his eyes that it is hopeless.
Ji yells.
JI
Don't stop! I'm not dead!
Dara, kneeling over Ji's body, grabs him and begins to cry
in long terrible sobs.
INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT
A DOCTOR, comforting Dara, accompanies her from one of the
emergency operating rooms and leads her through a pair of
swinging doors into a separate waiting area. We see TWO
POLICEMEN and TWO DETECTIVES stand up and approach her.
Ji doesn't want Dara to go and begins to follow her, but
then seems torn, afraid to leave his body. He turns back
just as his corpse, covered in a green sheet, is wheeled
into the corridor and parked alongside the wall. Ji seems
stunned and inconsolable as he sits down beside it.
A wrinkled OLD MAN approaches Ji and joins him on the bench.
He begins talking.
MAN
So, what happened to you?
Ji is startled, amazed that the man can see him.
JI
What?
MAN
You're new, huh? I can tell.
JI
Are you talking to me?
MAN
Relax. It ain't like before, you
know. It's a whole new ball-a-wax.
JI
Who are you?
MAN
I'm waiting for my wife. She's in
4C. Cardiac wing. She's fighting it.
The man sticks his head into the green sheet covering Ji's
body. His head disappears. Sam is terrified.
MAN
(continuing)
Shot, huh? That'll do it every time.
Poor bastard. Well, get used to it.
You could be here a long time.
(leaning in close)
I'll tell you a secret. Doors ain't
as bad as you think. Zip zap. They
ain't nothin' at all. You'll see.
You'll catch on.
Suddenly there is a loud COMMOTION and we see several
PHYSICIANS operating furiously on an Old Man lying on the
table beside them. It is a life threatening situation and
they seem to be failing.
MAN
(continuing)
He ain't gonna make it. I've seen it
a million times. He's a goner. See?
Here they come. Lucky bastard. Could
have been the other ones. You never
know.
Before Ji can understand what is happening the entire room
fills with a strange preternatural light. Suddenly he looks
up and freezes.
The amorphous forms he saw right after he died are floating
down through the ceiling and reaching for the body on the
operating table. They are emitting a powerful light.
DOCTOR
Hurry, we're losing him.
MAN
What'd I tell you? Bingo!
The glowing forms take hold of the man's spirit and help
extract it from his body. His physical form changes instantly
from a solid object into an ethereal substance.
Ji stares in amazement as the strange beings carry the spirit
upward. They evaporate through the ceiling.
DOCTOR
He's gone.
The light in the room grows dull instantly. Nurses cover the
dead man with a dark sheet as the doctors step away. Ji
turns to the Old Man.
Ji
Who are you? What's happening...?
The Man isn't there. An Orderly approaches the gurney with
Ji's body and begins pushing it toward the elevator. Ji
jumps in front of him.
JI
(continuing)
No!
JI'S P.O.V.
as the stretcher begins to roll right through him. The
penetration of his physical space is horrifying to Ji. He
stands, almost paralyzed, as the body of the Orderly
intersects with his. It is a stunning moment of extraordinary
strangeness as we witness the atoms and molecules of the
Orderly's body passing through his. It is like a glimpse of
ultimate chaos, the universe within.
Then, in a flash, the Orderly has passed through, but Ji is
still shaking. He stares up at the ceiling.
Ji
Oh God, help me.
Ji'S P.O.V.
as the ceiling lights and acoustical tiles begin to blur.
The hallway grows dark. It is as though Ji is blacking out.
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
Slowly, images begin to emerge out of the blackness. It takes
a moment to realize that they are scenes from Ji's funeral.
along rows of mourners as seen from Ji's P.O.V.
He seems to be floating among them. We hear snippets
of conversations. It all seems strangely odd and disjointed.
Time seems unfixed, malleable.
We see a MINISTER standing beside the grave.
MINISTER
As we say farewell to our friend Jiyong
Wheat, we are reminded of his
kindness, his generosity, his buoyancy
of spirit...
Sam's associates from the bank are
among the mourners.
MINISTER
(continuing)
All that we treasure, our friends,
our loved ones, our body, our mind,
are but on loan to us. We must
surrender them all. We are all
travelers on the same road which
leads to the same end.
Ji notices a WOMAN in a fancy print dress comforting one of
the mourners. The woman looks up at him, smiles, and waves.
Ji is surprised. He looks behind him, but no one is there.
As he turns back, the woman is walking away. She appears
just like any normal person until she approaches a large
gravestone and passes right through it. Ji is shocked.
MINISTER
As our loved one enters eternal life,
let us remember that love, too, is
eternal, that although we will miss
him, our love will light the void
and dispel the darkness.
Suddenly, Dara ENTERS THE FRAME. Ji spots her. IT ALL
STOPS.
JI
Dara.
She does not respond. Durami, her sister, leans over to her.
Tears form in Dara's eyes. A hand reaches out to give her a
tissue. Dara looks up. It is Bae. She gives him her hand.
He squeezes it with affection.
MINISTER
...and into Your hands we commend
his spirit. May he rest in peace. In
the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The casket is lowered into the ground. Dara approaches the
grave. She us a little unsteady. Bae takes her elbow. A
shovel is placed in her hands. With great emotional effort
she lifts a shovelful of dirt and tosses it onto the casket.
It lands with a REVERBERATING finality. Ji shudders.
LONG SHOT - PEOPLE
leaving the cemetery. We hear them talking.
VOICES
What time you going back to work?...
What's the buzz on Digital? It's
sad. He was so young... How's your
new Honda?... Going away this weekend?
CLOSEUP - Jiyong
desperately alone. Down the hill, people are getting back
into their cars. Sam can see Dara being let into a limousine.
He stands there staring at his own casket, grieving. Then,
after a moment, he turns away. Separating from his body,
from his own grave site, he runs after her.
INT. LOFT - DAY
Dara is sitting on the couch in the middle of the loft
surrounded by FRIENDS and WELL WISHERS. A young GIRL, her
niece, cuddles in her lap. People are eating and milling
around. It ends on Sam,standing alone in a corner. In the midst
of all the activity he is lost and alone.
BLACKOUT~~
Raw clay on a potter's wheel spins hypnotically, sensuously.
Dara's wet hands press in, shaping it, molding it. A bowl
begins to appear.It pulls back and reveals Ji. He
is sitting on the floor behind her, knees pressed to his
chest, rocking aimlessly.
Dara looks away from the bowl she is forming. It distorts
and bends. Angry, she digs her finger into it. The bowl
disintegrates. Tears form in her eyes.
Dadoong jumps up on the bench beside her. Dara stares sadly
around the room. Quietly, she begins talking to herself, to
the air.
MOLLY
Oh God, Ji...
Ji looks up.
DARA
(continuing)
I picked up your shirts this morning.
I don't know why. Mr. YG said
to tell you hello. I broke into tears.
It's so hard...
Ji walks over to Dara. Desperate for contact, he reaches
out to touch her cheek, but then hesitates and pulls back.
DARA
(continuing)
I think about you every minute. It's
like you're still here, like I can
feel you, Ji.
He stares at her, hoping, wondering.
JI
I am here, Dee. I am.
Suddenly, as if hearing Ji's voice, the cat begins to hiss.
Dara spins around. The cat scans the room. Unexpectedly,
Ji's and the cat's eyes meet... With a wild SCREECH, the
cat jumps from the bench and takes off running. Ji recoils.
Dara stands up.
DARA
Dadoong, what's wrong? Dadoong?
The cat is nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, Dara freezes.
Ji is standing right beside her. It is almost as though she
senses his presence.
DARA
(continuing; whispering)
Ji?
She holds very still for a moment. Ji watches breathlessly,
loving her, wanting her. Then quietly, hopefully, he reaches
out. It is a useless gesture. In a moment of great poignancy,
Dara shakes her head and walks right through him. He remains
IN THE FRAME, alone.
INT. BEDROOM - DAY
Ji, stands in the corner of a large, walk-in closet, watching
as Dara goes through his effects. Boxes, scattered underfoot,
are filling up with his life's possessions. Dara reaches
for a shirt.
Ji
Wait, Dee. Not that one. That's my
favorite...
She tosses it into a box and then takes down a sweater. It
is obviously handmade, about four sizes too big. Ji
recognizes it.
Dara holds the sweater tenderly and presses it to her cheek.
After a moment she puts it back. Then, in a surprising
outburst, she cries out and begins flailing at the shelves.
Everything comes flying off. Ji reaches out to console her.
JI
(continuing)
Dara, don't.
Unexpectedly, Bae comes rushing into the room. He takes
hold of Daea and sits her on the bed.
Ji
(continuing)
Say something. Help her, Bae.
Bae
It's hard. It's very hard.
JI
(sarcastic)
Oh good. That's really good.
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Dara and Bae are standing over the kitchen table folding piles of
Ji's clothes and placing them into boxes.
As Dara lifts one of Ji's jackets, something falls from a side pocket.
It is his small black leather address book. Ji stares at it with recognition.
Bae sees the book fall and stoops to pick it up but Dara gets it first.
DARA
Ji's address book.
She skims through it a moment, but the memories it evokes are too powerful for her.
She places it carefully into a box labeled "Ji's Things -- Valuable" and continues packing.
She finds the old jar with the penny in it. It's marked "For Luck".
She holds it tenderly for a moment and then places it on the nightstand beside the bed.
Bae discovers some old ticket stubs in another of Ji's jackets. He examines them.
BAE
Dave Brubeck. Newport '86. Should I toss 'em?
DARA
No!
Ji
Dara, we hated that concert.
She takes the stubs and lovingly puts them in the box.
Ji groans. Bae finds a half used package of Rolaids.
Dara takes them from his hand and puts them in the box, too.
BAE
Oh, you want to save those?
Ji
Rolaids? What are you doin' Dee?
Dara just stares for a moment.
DARA
I miss him, Bae.
Bae comes over and takes her hand.
Bae
We all do.
Dara buries her head on his shoulder. Bae her hair.
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