Chapter 90: Trip to Japan (3)
“Hello?”
-Yes! Writer-nim!
Arimura Noa answered the phone with an unmistakably excited and happy voice.
“The script is finished… so let’s meet up first.”
-Yes, yes! I’ll come right away, around dinner time tonight.
“Okay.”
Before Arimura Noa arrived, Kim Si-woo sent the script to Lee Hae-soo by email and then called her.
“Hello? Lawyer-nim.”
-Huh? Writer-nim! It’s been a while. Have you been well?
“Just… a lot of things on my mind, so I came on a trip.”
-A trip? Where to?
“Japan.”
-Really? How’s Japan? Is it fun?
“It’s… pretty much the same as always. Anyway, I just sent you an email. Could you register the copyright for me?”
-…Hold on. Don’t tell me you wrote a script even while you’re in Japan?
“It just kind of happened…”
-I’ll register it for you. But still, you’re on vacation—don’t work, just enjoy yourself to the fullest.
“Yeah, I should.”
After some more light conversation, Kim Si-woo hung up with Lee Hae-soo and lay on the bed, waiting for Arimura Noa.
A few hours later.
Kim Si-woo had fallen into a deep sleep when the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
“Uwah!”
Startled by the sound, Kim Si-woo jumped up and ran to the door.
“Hello!”
“Ah… hello.”
Unlike the just-woken-up, messy Kim Si-woo, Arimura Noa showed up in full makeup and flashy clothes.
“This feels a little overwhelming.”
“Huh? Oh… it’s fine. I haven’t eaten dinner either, so I brought some food on the way.”
She misunderstood, thinking he was talking about the luxury sushi she had brought—clearly high-end.
“That’s not what I meant, but… come in first.”
They sat at the table, and Kim Si-woo ate the sushi Arimura Noa had brought. She took one bite… and then made no further progress.
The reason was simple: she was completely absorbed in reading the script on Kim Si-woo’s laptop.
“Tsk… a bit lacking in quantity.”
Having finished his portion and still feeling a little hungry, Kim Si-woo glanced at her and cautiously spoke up.
“Um, Noa-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“I’m still a bit hungry, so I was thinking of stepping out for a moment…”
“Just a second.”
Without taking her eyes off the script, she immediately made a call.
“President, it’s Noa.”
Speaking in Japanese, she gave the accommodation address and placed a food order, then hung up.
“It’ll be here soon.”
And just as she said, less than 30 minutes later the doorbell rang again.
“Looks like it’s here.”
For the first time, Arimura Noa looked away from the laptop, stood up, and went to the door.
“Thank you very much.”
She came back carrying a delivery sushi set and handed it to Kim Si-woo.
“I’ll finish reading now.”
“Ah… okay.”
It was clearly a full set—sushi, sashimi, and various side dishes. Even the packaging looked expensive at a glance.
Rich people really are different.
About two hours later, having apparently finished the script, Arimura Noa let out a big breath and closed the laptop.
She looked straight at Kim Si-woo (who had finished eating and was resting) and suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Writer-nim. Let’s sign the contract.”
“Huh?”
“Tell me any conditions you want. I’ll write them all down.”
She had become even more aggressive after reading the script.
“Hmm… First, I’ll use a pseudonym for my name.”
“Pardon?”
Taken aback by the unexpected condition, Arimura Noa wrote it down in her notebook anyway.
“May I ask why?”
“Just… in case it flops, I don’t want word to get back to Korea.”
“Pfft—hahahaha!”
Arimura Noa burst into laughter at Kim Si-woo’s answer.
“Is it that funny? This is actually a pretty serious concern for me.”
“Ahaha… sorry. It’s just that the reason feels so unlike you, Writer-nim… and it doesn’t suit this script at all. If this flops, my father and I will probably just have to quit the industry altogether. Anyway, is there anything else you want?”
“Full casting rights.”
“Understood. But you have to cast me as the female lead. Otherwise… it wouldn’t mean anything to me.”
Kim Si-woo had already seen Arimura Noa’s acting on YouTube, so he knew her skills were solid.
Still, confirmation was necessary.
“You’re saying that because you’re confident in your acting, right?”
“Huh? Did you just ask me if I’m confident in my acting?”
Today was full of surprises for Arimura Noa.
“If you’re that confident, show me right now. Pick any role you want. I’ll give you five minutes. Five minutes should be enough for a short scene, shouldn’t it?”
“Of course.”
Arimura Noa opened the laptop again, quickly found the female lead’s lines that had impressed her the most, and began memorizing them.
Five minutes later, she closed the laptop.
“Shall I start?”
“Yes. Whenever you’re ready.”
One second.
In that single second, Arimura Noa’s aura, gaze, and breathing—everything changed.
She slipped into the character instantly and began performing.
The scene she chose was, naturally, one overflowing with emotion—perfect for showing off acting chops.
“Hey! Why have you changed so much?!”
It was the moment the female lead explodes at the transformed male lead.
“What did I even do wrong?!”
Even though there was no one delivering the male lead’s lines, Arimura Noa acted as if someone were really there, and Kim Si-woo nodded as he watched.
‘This is more than enough for the female lead…’
Even to Kim Si-woo, who had seen the acting of countless performers including Shim Ji-young, Arimura Noa’s performance was outstanding.
When the scene ended, Kim Si-woo clapped.
“Well done.”
“So? With this, I can secure the female lead role, right?”
“Well… not bad.”
“Pardon?”
“Just kidding. Your acting is excellent. Then let’s settle it—the female lead is yours. Now please prepare the contract. It needs to include my pseudonym, full casting rights, and a reasonable share of profits and payment.”
“Yes!”
Afraid that Kim Si-woo might run off with the script, Arimura Noa immediately called the people at OnlyOne Film and started preparing the contract on the spot.
“Once the contract is ready, send someone here with it.”
After finishing the call, she stared blankly at Kim Si-woo.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Writer-nim… may I ask you something?”
“Sure… go ahead.”
“Why are you so lacking in confidence? I searched you up—every single one of your works has been a massive hit…”
“That’s exactly the problem. I’ve never failed even once. I’ve never experienced what happens when something flops.”
Arimura Noa slowly nodded at his words.
“I’ve only been seriously writing scripts for less than two years, and in that short time my entire life has changed dramatically.”
“Ah… I see.”
It was something Arimura Noa couldn’t fully relate to.
She was born the daughter of a film production company president.
Movies, dramas, and commercials were the first things she ever knew.
With a beautiful face inherited from her mother and a natural talent for acting, it felt like she was born to be an actress.
She started acting with enormous connections and no financial worries, and she succeeded—just as she had expected.
There had never been failure.
She never attempted anything unless she was certain she would succeed.
And because she put in tremendous effort to create that certainty, she could trust herself completely.
“Then… you just have to put in the effort.”
It was a perfectly reasonable statement from her.
And Kim Si-woo already knew it.
Effort?
He wrote every single day and studied famous works to create his own.
But the problem was that “effort” was invisible and impossible to quantify.
“Effort? Do you know how many works I’ve put out in less than two years, Noa-ssi?”
“Well… movies…”
“Five feature films, two TV dramas, and dozens of web dramas. And if this script becomes a movie, that’ll make six films.”
“…”
“Do you think that pace is normal?”
Kim Si-woo’s biggest problem was that he never had a moment to rest.
Before he could even look back on one finished work, he already had to churn out the next one.
Not because he wanted to, but because everyone else wanted him to.
“It’s… too fast. It’s unnaturally fast.”
“At first, I just started writing because I needed something, anything, to put food on the table. But at some point I realized I wasn’t writing for myself anymore. I was writing for the directors, the PDs, the actors around me. Then one day this thought hit me: if these people’s careers collapse because of my script, what would happen to them?”
Arimura Noa said nothing; she simply gazed at Kim Si-woo.
“Well… anyway, the fear just kept growing. Man, I’m spilling all this without even drinking. Sorry.”
“No! Not at all!”
“Either way, I’m not planning to quit writing, so don’t look at me with those pitying eyes.”
“S-sorry…”
Caught red-handed, Arimura Noa hurriedly apologized.
Not long after the conversation ended, an employee from OnlyOne Film’s planning team arrived with the contract.
“Here’s the contract. Please read it over and sign…”
“Send the file to my email as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kim Si-woo forwarded the file to Lee Hae-soo.
“My lawyer will probably get back to me tomorrow, so I’ll sign and return it by tomorrow.”
The next day, once Lee Hae-soo gave the all-clear, Kim Si-woo signed. Arimura Noa stared at the signed contract and let out the strangest little giggles.
“Noa-ssi.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“There’s actually something I forgot to mention.”
“Yes?”
“I have to go back to Korea pretty soon. Also… am I even allowed to sign a work contract while I’m here on a visa waiver?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I’m on a tourist visa waiver. I think I’ve got about a month left?”
“W-wait just a second! Why are you telling me this now…?!”
To prepare a movie together, one month was practically nothing.
Arimura Noa suddenly felt the fire licking at her feet.
“I’ll look into the visa issue right away. When I contact you, please send me all the necessary documents.”
“Got it. More importantly… I’d really like to have some fun now.”
While Kim Si-woo looked completely relaxed, Arimura Noa was dumbfounded.
“Yesterday you were all ‘I’m scared, I’m terrified,’ and now you just want to play instead of work?”
“Someone told me not to work and to enjoy my vacation. Thanks to a certain someone, I spent the last month doing nothing but work.”
“Ah… Fine! For the remaining month, I’ll attach the absolute best guide to you so you can have the greatest trip ever.”
“Thank you.”
And so Kim Si-woo planned to spend the rest of his month enjoying Japan with the very best guide.
That was the plan, at least…
“…Where’s the guide?”
“Right here.”
“
“…”
There was no professional guide—just Arimura Noa standing in front of him.
“It’s more convenient to have someone to talk about the movie with while we’re out and about, right?”
“…”
When Kim Si-woo stared at her in silent disappointment, Arimura Noa hurriedly began listing her qualifications.
“I-I may not look it, but I know Osaka inside out, and I’m pretty familiar with major tourist spots all over the country!”
“I saw last time that you’re terrible at taking photos, though.”
“T-that was… Anyway, I solved your visa problem for you, didn’t I?”
“You only because you wanted my script so badly…”
In the end, since working on a visa waiver is illegal, they voided the original contract and agreed to sign a new one once the proper visa came through.
“Just feel honored that a beauty like me is personally guiding you.”
“…Fine, whatever.”
And so Kim Si-woo began his “real” Japan trip under Arimura Noa’s guidance.
Little did he know it would turn out to be all glitter and no substance.
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