The table was on the outskirts, almost in the shadows, and further events were seen only by the artist, who from time to time glanced in the direction where the girl was.
So, at that moment, when a friend from America tried to give May his kiss, the girl twitched and tried to pull away, but she failed. The drunken man dug into the girl’s lips. Kunqiu rushed to Mei’s aid, but only made it towards the end of the action. There were still twenty steps to the scene of the action, he did not hear what the girl said, but he saw that the man was sitting on the ground and he was bleeding from his nose. Having reached the arena of the battle, the artist heard that the girl was laughing and saying something in English. The guest was sitting with a red face, probably the girl’s words touched him even more than a blow to the nose, he began to rise, his expression left no hope for a successful outcome of the conversation. At that moment, Kunqiu finally ran to the scene of the conflict. The guest was eager to fight and promised to teach the arrogant waitress a lesson. The artist tried to explain to his friend that the girl was not a waitress, but the guest was already in such a state that he simply did not hear what he was being told. He rushed at May, but the girl, instead of fleeing, again said something mocking in English. The situation was getting out of control, the American friend was the same height as Kunqiu, but his weight clearly exceeded the owner by seventy kilograms. Despite this, Kunqiu would of course have covered Mei with his body, but this was not necessary. Manager Kim finally saw that the case was amiss and the drunk man was first calmed down and then taken home.
May took a napkin, brushed her lips furiously several times, and then smiled at the owner and, as if nothing had happened, went on to manage the party.
When the guests had departed, it was time for the waiters. It seemed that May was in several places at the same time, so quickly she moved from one end of the terrace to the other. When everything was finally cleaned up and the team of waiters left Kunqiu’s house, the artist decided it was time to rest. As he poured the coffee, he suddenly remembered the note that one of the waiters had given him. The waiter found this note under the tablecloth of the table where the artist was sitting with his friends. The note was clearly addressed to the artist, because it was lying under the tablecloth, exactly in the place where the dishes from which Kunciu had been eaten.
The note was found at the moment when the tablecloths were being removed from the tables. The artist did not immediately have time to read it, but now that time has come.
I wrote it so solemnly, but to be more precise, the note was handed over to the artist five minutes ago. So, the artist poured himself a coffee, stretched out his tired legs and opened the note. The note read:
«By credit card or cash?
Who will pay?
It doesn’t matter who pays. Both of you will pay a heavy price for this!»
At first, the artist thought that someone wanted money from him, and the extortionist left his demand in this original way. But on reflection, he suddenly became confused, and remembered that these are the words said by one of the heroines in the film in which he played the main role.
Oh, that was one of the key moments in the film, it was a little connection to the action, where, by the way, his close friend played the angel of death, the one who was at the party today. I mean Uka.
The hero and the heroine meet on bridge, their hands simultaneously reach for the ring, which is being sold by a jewelry merchant. The heroine and hero, once, several centuries ago, held this ring in their hands. The jewelry merchant is also a difficult woman, she is a deity who can take, when necessary, the appearance of a beautiful and mysterious woman.
In general, the phrase that was written in the note and, which, at first glance, looked so threatening, was just a phrase from the film that the screenwriter once invented. But, nevertheless, the situation remained incomprehensible, the artist did not understand what this note means, if it is a threat, what is the extortionist asking for? And if it’s a joke, what’s the point? The party was over, the extortionist did not show up, and therefore the artist, in the end, decided that the note was just a stupid joke.
May was crying, the artist heard this, the girl was in her room, but was about to go home. After the party, Kunqiu apologized for the drunken guest, and then asked what the girl said so insulting to the guest?
May said she accepts the apology, but has absolutely no memory of what she said. The words were spoken out of spite, and as soon as the guest left, the girl immediately forgot them.
But it turns out that the girl lied to him, she had not forgotten anything and was now crying from the experience of fear and humiliation. In order not to embarrass Mei even more, Kunqiu hastily grabbed his coffee mug and went up to the second floor.
KUNCYU’S BIRTHDAY
«Both actors admitted to sending messages to their ex-girlfriends in the middle of the night. When asked to choose between love and friendship, Wook chose the former and Kunqiu the latter.»
From the author’s interview with the actor
It was high summer outside, July, Mei rarely stayed overnight at Kunqiu’s house now, because the weather was unusually fine outside.
However, one evening the actor invited May into the living room and announced to the girl that, in three days, it was his birthday. The party will take place in a restaurant. Since the artist is a public person, it was decided to rent the entire restaurant so that outsiders would not enter the party. There was silence in the living room and suddenly the artist said
– I want to introduce you to my family, and therefore I also invite you to my birthday. Ms. Oh was like a family member and I want you to get to know my whole family too. Judging by your expression, I can see that you want to refuse, but take your time! I told manager Kim that I was looking for a housekeeper for a long time, and therefore I want you to be aware of all my family affairs. Mrs O was friends with my mother, I hope that you will also be friends with her and my other relatives. Well, what have you decided, will you go?
– Yes.
May was as laconic as ever. The artist wanted to ask something else, but the girl had already got up. Soon the front door slammed and the house was empty.
The birthday was set for Saturday. A lot of people came, as in the case of the party, there were many guests whose visit was not planned in advance. These were distant relatives whom Kunqiu’s mother decided to invite at the last moment. Naturally, the son did not even think to argue with his mother. It was a round date, and therefore even relatives who lived outside of South Korea came. It was fun, noisy and crowded. The rumble did not subside, which was replaced by bursts of laughter. Finally, the music began to play, and the master took the floor.
The actor looked around the hall, besides the others, there were about ten people in the hall, whom he had never even seen. Mom said that he simply forgot their faces, with some of these people he met only in childhood. The celebration went on as usual, when suddenly one of the elderly relatives ran into the hall. She turned pale and looked bad. A commotion began. It later became clear that someone had written the words of threat on the toilet mirror. Kunqiu’s first impulse was to call the police, but his film partner, who was also invited to the birthday party, suddenly approached him and told him that nothing terrible had happened.
On the mirror, only a phrase from the film was written in lipstick. The inscription was in the women’s toilet, the actor did not dare to go there, and therefore the actress showed him a photo on the phone.
The caption read:
«Tell me your death, and I will report my grief»
And below the inscription was a sword.
An elderly relative decided that the artist was threatened with death from a knife.
May sat apart from the artist, along with manager Kim and two agency employees, and watched the commotion.
Manager Kim, who, of course,