Chapter XXIV – The Big Screen

“This weekend will be a nightmare,” Nabi complained to the group during the short break between classes.

“I thought that if anyone was going to be ready for midterms, it’d be you,” Max said sitting down tilting his chair, balancing on the back legs.

Passing by him, Tjay gently kicked one of the back legs making Max almost fall prone.

“Hey!” Max yelled out.

“Ever heard how dangerous it is to sit like that?” Tjay lectured him with a devious grin on his face.

“Max is right though, why are you so nervous about midterms?” Arthur asked. “You’re bound to get top 10 in our year.”

“Arthur’s right,” Irene added as she leaned against Nabi’s desk. “I’ve seen your notes. They are flawless.”

“Right. . . I guess I’m just overthinking it,” Nabi whispered glancing at the ground.

“Parents huh?” Irene questioned.

Nabi didn’t respond, but Irene figured she was right on the mark.

“Well if I were you, I wouldn’t worry one bit,” she reassured Nabi.

“Thanks. I’ll just study hard during the weekend and all will go well. What about the rest of you?”

“I should be fine. Just a few more things to go over and I’ll be ready,” Don answered.

“Eh, I’ll do well enough. I won’t fail like this idiot here that’s for sure,” Max said pointing back at Tjay.

“Hey, I won’t fail!” Tjay disputed.

“I won’t believe it till I see it,” Max poked fun at him.

“Just you watch,” he said with a wide grin, turning to Arthur. “Art will help me out. Won’t you?”

“Sorry, can’t,” Arthur refused instantly. “I have my own stuff to do, plus Sophie and I will study together.”

“What about you Irene?” Max asked.

“Me?” She looked towards Max. “I’ll be fine, but I won’t be managing to study as much. Got paperwork to get sorted with the school still.”

“Must be quite a hassle,” Nabi commented.

“Yeah, but hey, at least I get to spend time with you guys,” she said with a smile pausing for a moment to go over an idea that came to mind. “Since it is Friday night, and I know all of you will be busy for the weekend, how about we go to the movies tonight?”

“I don’t know. . .” Nabi said. “I really do have to study up.”

“Ah, I hate to say it, but I should probably study too,” Max added.

“I’m good to go,” Tjay claimed.

“Of course you are. . .” Max responded sarcastically.

“I too can go,” Don spoke up. “But maybe we can catch an earlier showing, after school perhaps?”

“Oh come on you two. . .” Irene looked at Max and Nabi with disappointment. “It wouldn’t be a party without you two. Besides, it has been a long week and a good night's rest is what is perfect for a long weekend study session.”

“Well, if everyone is going I ain’t going to miss it,” Max sighed.

“I guess you’re right. . . Fine, but the two of us pick the movie,” Nabi demanded.

“Sounds good to me!” Irene said as she chuckled. “How about you Arthur? You’ll come, won’t you?”

The way she looked at him made it difficult to refuse. Arthur sighed as he thought back about the responsible Irene she mentioned she’d be. Her idea wasn’t bad as long as everyone did manage to study during the weekend. Besides, he wanted to have fun as well and didn’t care too much to argue.

“Fine, but no horror movies. . .” Arthur agreed with an extended sigh.

“Damn, I love horrors. . .” Irene commented. “You’d avoid watching them?”

“Well. . .” he thought about it while looking at her. “I’ll probably be in the mood for it next time.”

He was reluctant to say it, but he didn’t wish to shut down the idea permanently. However, he had no intention of watching them in such a large group.

“Well, I’m fine with the two of you choosing just-” Max began talking.

“Just don’t make it a boring chick flick!” Tjay interrupted, but Max simply nodded instead of getting annoyed.

“Now that you say it like that, it does sound like a good idea,” Nabi smiled mischievously. “What do you think Irene?”

“Hmm, how about an action movie?” Irene suggested. “I think we can all get a kick out of it.”

“I agree!” Tjay yelled out.

“Sounds good to me. . .” Max agreed.

“What about you Don?” Nabi asked.

“There is a good one that recently came out which I planned to watch,” Don mentioned. “Trouble in Busan City.”

“What’s it about?” Irene asked stretching her arms before pushing herself from the table.

“An underground crime syndicate that decided to start trouble all over Korea, but the protagonist heroically tries to stop them by infiltrating their ranks. There is bound to be loads of action and a good story.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing that,” Arthur finally spoke up.

“Then it’s settled!” Irene said cheerfully.

“Well if those two decided, then I guess that’s that,” Max whispered with a smile.

The rest nodded in agreement.

“If the rest agree, I think you should call Sophie and Ari as well,” Irene suggested.

“For sure,” Nabi cut in.

Max, Don, and Tjay also had nothing against the idea.

After a simple message was sent, the group has settled for a movie night. Irene reserved the ticket so they’d have good seats. It was just a matter of surviving the rest of the school day.

“I don’t know, the Haunter Castle of Zadralan wasn’t the best,” Irene said to Sophie and Ari who were walking a few steps ahead of the rest.

“I know! I’ve read the reviews and believed it to be better than it was,” Ari defended their choice.

Tjay and Max were arguing in the back about who’ll do worse at midterms, while Nabi kept on trying to stop them. Arthur and Don silently went side by side. Don seemed lost in thoughts.

“You OK there?” Arthur asked.

“Huh? Yeah. . .”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Ah. . . Nothing really. Just imagining how different this Friday would have been had you not talked to me that day.”

“And?” Arthur asked with a smile on his face and his hands behind the head.

“Well, I probably would have been home alone studying.”

“Respectable.”

“But then I wouldn’t get to enjoy having fun with you guys. . . I-”

“Hey, Don!” Tjay yelled out from the back. “I’m going to crash at your place on the weekend to study. That OK?”

“Hey! Me too. . .” Max cut in.

“Umm. . .” Don mumbled surprised.

“Don’t let them pressure you,” Nabi defended him.

“No, no! It’s all cool,” Don said with a smile looking down at the ground. “I’d love to study as a group.”

“Yes!” Tjay yelled out. “Come here. Let’s discuss food and drinks.”

Arthur watched as Don joined them. He couldn’t help but smile. It was nice that everyone was getting along so well. Don’s words made it sound like Arthur talking to him was a miracle, while he found all of them a blessing in itself.

To Arthur’s surprise, the cinema was at the mall their grandpa worked at. With his schedule, there was a high possibility they’d see him if they looked for him.

“Why are you all by yourself?” Irene asked Arthur as she slowed down a bit for him to catch up to her.

“Well, they are talking about food, and you three had been going on about horror movies. . .” he sighed recalling the uneasiness he felt during the whole thing.

“We could have changed the subject you know.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Arthur glanced at Irene and winked. “We are all together anyway, a few minutes of silence can be quite enjoyable.”

“Don’t mind me ruining it then,” she chuckled.

“Shameless,” Arthur teased.

The cinema was on the third floor of the mall, and for Arthur, that meant loads of escalators. The first one they stepped on, Arthur glanced around enjoying the view. The numerous people there was always a shocking sight to see. He also enjoyed leaning against the railing and grabbing onto it, something he repeated on every escalator. Irene just observed him with a coy smile.

“So, ever watched an action movie?” Irene asked glancing at her phone to check the time.

“No. I haven’t had the pleasure. I’ve seen a few comedies when passing by the living room that Sophie watched. And of course that one horror movie you girls talked about. . .”

“Well, I checked out the trailer during a break and if it is any indication of how good the movie will be, it should be quite fun.”

“Trailer?” Arthur asked raising one eyebrow. “Sorry, it’s just one of those things I haven’t gotten around to relearning.”

Irene giggled.

“Why apologize though? Feel free to ask anything you’d like,” she said with a beaming smile returning the wink along with shoulder bumping him gently. “Trailers are a short clip, typically one to three minutes long that show short clips of the movie. This gives you an idea of what the movie is about.”

“Isn’t that the same as a synopsis then?”

“Some people don’t bother to read, and like to get hyped up by trailers.”

“Isn’t it kind of spoiling the movie then?”

“Yeah, you could view it that way, but without them, we’d also be baited to watch poor quality movies with a good synopsis. It’s a double-edged sword if you ask me.”

“I see. . . Thanks for explaining.”

“No worries,” she chuckled. “However, don’t take trailers for granted either. They tend to overhype the real thing as well.”

Strolling through the third floor, Arthur’s focus shifted as he looked around for Grandpa Ryung. Irene noticed that Sophie was looking out for someone as well.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Ah, our grandpa works here,” he explained but quickly turned his attention to Sophie. “Hey Soph.”

She turned around and stopped while waiting for them to catch up.

“You looking for grandpa as well?” Sophie asked.

“Yeah. You think we’ll see him?”

“What does he do?” Irene cut in.

“Ah. . . He’s a janitor here. . .” Sophie answered awkwardly, finding it as something not to brag about.

“That’s cool. Probably means you guys could stay in the mall a bit later than most. It’s always fun seeing gargantuan places like this empty.”

Sophie was taken aback by how genuine Irene always was.

“We haven’t really done that,” Sophie mentioned.

“No way. . . Really?”

“Yeah. . .”

Arthur pondered the idea.

“Maybe we could try sometimes. It does sound like fun,” Arthur commented. “I’m sure grandpa wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t know. We’ll see. . .”

“There he is,” Arthur interrupted the conversation nodding towards Grandpa Ryung who was mopping the floor in the distance.

“Want to come to say hi?” Sophie asked Irene.

“Sure?” Irene answered surprised.

“Hey, guys. We’ll be right back,” Arthur called out to the rest.

Everyone stopped to wait for them while lost in their conversation.

“Ari, come with us,” Sophie called out to her while grabbing Irene by the hand. “Grandpa is here.”

“Oh cool. I haven’t seen him in a while!”

The four made their way to him.

“Grandpa!” Sophie yelled out cheerfully.

He glanced towards them before putting the mop to the side.

“Sophie, dear. What are you doing here?” he asked with a smile.

“We are just out with friends to watch a movie.”

“Ah, I see,” he glanced at rest. “Arthur, you’re here too.”

“Hey Gramps,” he waved.

“Ah, and is that Ari I see? How have you been my child? You should come over more often.”

“I’m doing well sir. It’s good to see you again.”

Grandpa glanced towards Irene who was unfamiliar to him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t recall seeing you before,” he spoke with a gentle voice and a soft smile on his face.

“We haven’t met before sir,” Irene answers appealingly. “My name is Irene, I’m Arthur’s classmate. I’ve just transferred to their school recently, so they have been showing me around a bit, along with some of our other classmates.”

The two shook hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Irene. Call me Grandpa Ryung. Do come by the house sometimes for dinner.”

“Grandpa makes killer apple pies,” Arthur adds.

“Indeed he does. . .” Ari commented giving a more objective point of view.

“Once I have time, I’ll make sure to drop by,” Irene said with her hands held together.

“Well, you kids have fun, but I do have to get back to work.”

“Of course,” they all answered before saying their goodbyes.

“Your grandpa is quite sweet,” Irene told Sophie and Arthur as they returned to the group.

“Alright, I’ll pick up the tickets and you guys grab your snacks,” Irene said to the group. “Arthur, can you come help me carry some stuff?”

“Sure,” he said as the two walked into a line.

“So what’ll you be eating?” Irene asked.

“I don’t know what they offer.”

“Hmm, well. . . There is popcorn, I do recommend just the regular as the flavored ones are eh. I usually tend to pick up nachos. The cheese topping is great! There are a few more options, but personally, I’m not a big fan.”

“So you’re going with nachos?”

“Yeah, and coke for the drink.”

“Then I guess I’ll go popcorn and we can share if you’d like.”

“Of course! That’s the whole point,” she chuckled.

Reaching the counter, she gave her phone to be scanned for a barcode to get the tickets.

“And give us two large cokes, one large bucket of popcorn, and nachos with extra cheese topping.”

“Alright, anything else?” the cashier asked.

“Hmm, a regular bottle of water,” Irene added.

As the cashier went to get everything, Irene took out her wallet.

“Wait, let me give you cash,” Arthur said but she quickly grabbed his wrist.

“No, it’s my treat.”

“You paid for drinks last time as well,” Arthur sighed.

“Well, it was my idea. So I guess you’ll just have to come up with something on your own.”

“Fine but only the snacks and not the tickets,” he said taking out the cash. “Next time we go out, I’m buying us lunch.”

“Deal!” she agreed to take the cash.

Arthur shook his head watching her wait excitedly. Grabbing the tickets and the snacks, the two returned to the group.

Few minutes before the movie started, a flashing green light indicated that they were permitted to enter the auditorium. Even walking through the hallway towards the doors felt exciting.

Entering, Arthur saw the massive space occupied by numerous rows of empty red seats that were slowly being filled. In his previous life, such luxury would only be reserved for the highest class in capital cities.

“So where are our seats?” Arthur asked looking to the front.

“Up there,” Irene pointed out towards the back.

“Oh? I thought you said you got us good seats.”

“I did. Trust me, you do not wish to sit in the front. The best view is from the back.”

Arthur turned to the gargantuan white screen that spread across the entire wall. Thinking about it, it would probably be hard to see the whole thing from the front row seats.

Climbing up the steps, they reached the row marked with the letter I.

“Alright, who is sitting where?” Max asked.

“I want to be centered,” Tjay demanded.

“I don’t care,” Nabi commented, walking to the furthest seat.

Don followed behind her. Max looked back at Arthur and Irene knowing she’d probably want to sit next to him, so he proceeded next. In the end, Arthur had Sophie to his left along with Ari and to his right Irene.

Arthur observed everyone placing their drinks in the cup holder, and mostly keeping the snacks in their lap so he followed along. The place felt chilly, but it could have also been his excitement.

Once most people were seated, the lights went out followed by a loud sound of the projected commercial.

“Woah,” Arthur whispered as he gazed in awe.

Irene and Sophie looked at him then glanced at each other before chuckling.

“You like it?” Irene asked.

“It’s amazing.”

His eyes said it all, as they were glued to the big screen.

“You haven’t seen nothing yet,” Sophie commented.

“Well at least he won’t jump in fear this time, I hope,” Ari whispered jokingly making Sophie and Irene laugh cutely.

With the commercials finishing up, the first trailer appeared. Every scene shown took Arthur by surprise, as the camera angles shifted rapidly, a low voice narrated in the back and music played a gloomy, yet relaxing, melody. He could feel the tension slowly build up as the story spoke of a married couple who had a fallout with one another.

“You like dramas?” Irene whispered.

“I don’t know. I’d have to give it a try,” he said turning towards her. “So can I have one?”

His focus shifted to her nachos.

“Don’t bother asking,” she pointed out, extending the plate closer to him. “Make sure to dip it in the topping.”

With a single bite, Arthur felt the taste melt his mind. He was hooked.

“Damn, that’s good. . . I should have gone with your choice.”

“But then I wouldn’t get to steal any of your popcorn,” Irene chuckled before leaning forward to have Sophie in view. “Want some?”

“No thanks. We got them too,” Sophie pointed towards Ari’s lap which had a larger plate for two.

“Movie is starting, everyone hush,” Max called out as everything went silent.

The opening scene stole the audiences’ attention in an instant as it began with a car chase through the streets of Busan. It introduced the badass protagonist of the show who worked for the NIS, National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

Arthur was captivated. The audio surround system made him feel as if he were there with sound alone, and the high-quality visuals made the horror movie they watched seem like a school project.

With a slow buildup, the story took everyone into the life of an undercover agent who had to discover the malicious plan from the infamous Shadow Syndicate, a group of organized crime that was plotting to take over South Korea.

“I bet you he dies by the end of the movie,” Sophie whispered, referring to the main lead’s best friend, Sung Ji-Hoon.

“No way,” Irene whispered back. “I don’t think this movie will have such an ending.”

“I don’t know. I think Sophie is right,” Ari added.

Arthur’s focus didn’t shift. It was then that the action finally started. The slow paced movie was finally unfolding the grand scheme in a heavy action pact sequence. Arthur shook at the first sound of a gunshot. Firearms were a novelty to him.

“You ok?” Irene whispered grabbing his popcorn.

“Yeah,” he glanced at her. “Those things are frighteningly powerful. Is that realistic?”

“You mean guns? Yeah. . . They are deadly weapons that use extremely fast projectiles.”

“So like a crossbow?”

“Similar. I’m not really an expert so you might want to ask the boys, but it might just be best to search it up online.”

“Cool,” he said turning back to the movie.

Without paying attention, he went to grab popcorn but instead placed his hand on Irene’s who was gobbling them up. Instinctively he moved the hand away quickly before the two glanced at each other.

“Sor-“ Arthur tried apologizing but was interrupted by a loud noise to his right.

“Dammit!” Tjay yelled out.

Arthur glanced over to see Tjay who was picking up what was left of his drink that he spilled, as the surrounding people glared at him for yelling. Max couldn’t stop chuckling, but kept it as quietly as possible. Nabi on the other hand was far from amused and sighed in disbelief.

Arthur leaned back into his seat and reverted his focus to the movie. However, his view was obscured by a single nacho dipped in cheese topping which Irene held in front of him.

“Take it,” she whispered smiling. “I’ve eaten most of your popcorn anyway. . .”

Arthur chuckled, biting down on the nacho at the point where his lips barely grazed her fingertips. She slowly moved away her hand before the two continued to watch the movie.

“Damn, that was a great one!” Tjay yelled out from the bathroom stall he occupied.

“It would have been even better if you didn’t keep on talking during the entire thing,” Max argued as he and Arthur washed their hands. “What did you think of it Art?”

“It was loads of fun. I never would have guessed that ending. I was for sure that they’d stop the bad guys,” he said wiping his hands. “Aren’t movies supposed to have good endings?”

The sound of flushing echoed as Tjay left the stall. Heading towards them, he beelined for the exit.

“Not even going to wash your hands?” Arthur asked.

“I hardly touched it. . .” he argued.

“Disgusting,” Max shook his head disapprovingly. “Anyway, there is bound to be a second part to this movie. Maybe even a trilogy.”

“Oh, I see.”

The three left the bathroom only to see the girls chatting with Don.

“I never would have imagined seeing the day when Don is surrounded by four gorgeous women,” Max teased Don, wrapping his hand around him. “Good call on the movie.”

“Thanks. . .” he said shyly.

“So what way is everyone going?” Tjay asked.

“My dad will pick me up, so I’m going to drop Ari off at her place first,” Nabi answered.

“The three of us are headed in a similar direction, so we can share a cab,” Max said to Don and Tjay.

“Sounds good to me,” Don said.

“What about you Irene?” Arthur asked.

“I’m getting a cab as well.”

“Want us to drop you off? I’m sure my dad won’t mind making an extra stop.”

“Thanks Nabi, but there’s no need. Don’t make him wait up.”

“Alright. In that case are you ready to go Ari?”

“Yeah! Thanks again.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

After a few minutes of organizing, everybody left. The only three remaining in front of the mall were Irene, Sophie, and Arthur as they waited for her cab.

“That was fun,” Sophie broke the silence. “I hope we get to do that again.”

“Of course we will. As long as you come along, Arthur is bound to come as well and the guys are glued to him too. So, whenever you feel like it, just hit me up.”

Sophie laughed, but then turned to Irene with a question in mind.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you something. Do you want to come over on Sunday and study up for midterms?”

Irene was surprised by Sophie asking her as she glanced at Arthur for his approval.

“I think it’s a great idea. If you can find the time of course,” Arthur cut in.

Irene sighed as her cab arrived.

“Sure. Text me the address and time, and I’ll see you guys then.”

“Cool!” Sophie cheered.

Arthur approached the cab and opened the door for Irene.

“Have a good night's sleep you two,” Irene said before entering.

“Text me when you get home so I know you got back safely,” Arthur said holding the doors open still.

“I will. Thanks,” she smiled at him and looked towards the driver.

With Irene gone, the only two left were the siblings who slowly made their way home. Since tomorrow was the weekend, they went for a walk.

“I can’t believe you didn’t invite her yourself,” she pointed out annoyed.

“She said she was busy on the weekend with paperwork."

“So you already asked her?”

“No, but the rest did.”

“It’s not the same, obviously. . .”

“What do you mean?” he asked confused.

“This’ll be the death of me, won’t it?” she mumbled to the sky.

Once the two arrived home, they hit the bed early. While getting ready for sleep, Arthur’s phone rang notifying him of a received message.

“Got home, took a shower, and now ready for bed. Have a good night! <3”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.