SCREENPLAY-NOVEL "THE RUNNERS" - EXCERPT

EXT. IN FRONT OF A BAR CALLED “UNDERSTAND YOU” THAT IS LOCATED IN A KOREAN CITY. DEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

All of the friends emerge onto a quiet, wet street.

CRAIG: It rained.

HYUN-MI: It’s jangma. Rainy season.

CRAIG: Hm.

DEBORAH: [Holding her hand out] Oh great. It’s starting to rain again.

CRAIG: Come on, quick. Let’s run to the taxi stand.

They all start running.

EXT. TAXI STAND.

CRAIG: [waving to a cab that is driving by] Yo-gi-oh! Ajushi! Over here!

[The cab rushes by.]

DEBORAH: Great.

NEVILLE: We’re the poor saps who don’t know how to get a ride.

CRAIG: There’s got to be a free cab somewhere. [waving at another] Yo-gi!!

[it rushes by]

[the rain keeps falling]

CRAIG: What’s the trick? Is there a trick to this?

DEBORAH: Try waving some money.

CRAIG: What? Like man won?

DEBORAH: It might work.

Craig pulls out some money]

CRAIG: Ajushi! 돈 있어요! [“Doane issayo!!” “I have money!”}

[A cab drives by.]

CRAIG: Swell.

DEBORAH: Look! It’s stopping!

The cab has stopped several meters up the road from them. It waits, engine idling. They all run for it.

CRAIG: What’re we going to do? We can’t all fit in.

DALE: [putting his arm around his date] We got to the cab first.

DEBORAH: We can fit in.

CRAIG: [disbelieving] What?

DEBORAH: Sure. Why not? Haven’t you ever tried that before? Six in a car?

CRAIG: Seven, with the driver.

DALE: Look, seriously, folks. Kyoung-ja and I don’t have far to go. If we can just squeeze two in the front and four in the back, it’ll be cool. Hyun-mi is small.

CRAIG: Think the driver’ll let us do that?

DALE: [brusquely] This is Korea. Nobody tips here. We’ll just give him, like, cheon won extra. He’ll think we’re big shots.

KYOUNG JA looks at Dale for a moment, and gives a snorting laugh.

DALE: What? What? I said something wrong?

KYOUNG JA: [sarcastically] You’re such a nice guy, Dale.

DALE: [grinning wolfishly] Yeah. And you love it, right?

She smiles but doesn’t concur.

DALE: Okay, okay. We’ll give him a real tip. Something substantial. Come on, let’s go. We gotta get out of this rain.

They approach the cab.

DALE: [to Kyoung-ja] Honey, you tell him what the deal is.

KYOUNG JA leans in the taxi window and says something. Then she turns to everyone else.

KYOUNG JA: It’s okay. Get in.

As they all squeeze in, Craig turns to Kyoung-ja.

CRAIG: You know, your English is really good. Better than Hyun-mi’s, I think.

HYUN MI slaps Craig’s shoulder. Craig smiles.

INT. TAXI. EVERYONE SQUEEZED IN TIGHT.

DALE: [looking around the streets impatiently] Babe, where is it? Where's your apart?

KYOUNG JA: It’s next block.

DALE: By those lights?

KYOUNG JA: Yeah.

DALE: [to driver] Hey, ajushi! Ajushi!

KYOUNG JA: What do you want?

DALE: Tell him to stop at the intersection.

KYOUNG JA says something to the driver, but it’s too late. The car whips through the intersection and continues for half a block.

DALE: [dumbfounded] what’d he do that for?

KYOUNG JA: It’s okay. He just misunderstood.

DALE: misunderstand?! He’s Korean. You’re Korean. What’s there to misunderstand?

KYOUNG JA: He just misunderstood, that’s all. Okay?

DALE: [under his breath] Friggin –

KYOUNG JA: What?

DALE: nothing.

The cab stops.

DALE: C’mon, babe. Hop out.

KYOUNG JA opens the front right door and disembarks.

DRIVER: [To Dale] Tip.

DALE: What?!

DRIVER: You say, ‘tip’.

[beat]

DALE: I said a tip if you friggin’ drive us to the right friggin’ place.

CRAIG: You promised him, dude.

DALE: you keep out of this. And you guys are goin’ farther. Why don’t you tip him?

CRAIG: You caught the ride. 50/50. That was the deal.

DALE: [coldly] Thanks loads, there. Buddy boy.

He starts to disembark.

DRIVER: Tip, Mister!

DALE: [turning on him rapidly] How’s this for a tip? [He gives the driver the finger.]

Like a bolt the driver is out of his cab and standing next to Dale. Suddenly it’s as if the two of them will come to blows.

KYOUNG JA: [off] Dale? What’s going on?

DALE: [looking at the driver, who’s shorter than him] You want a piece of me? Hunh? You want a piece?

KYOUNG JA: [running up to him] Dale! What is going on?! What did you do?!

[she looks at Craig]

CRAIG: [laughing and saying to her] Just Dale being Dale.

The driver speaks rapidly to KYOUNG JA in Korean.

KYOUNG JA: [to Dale] Why won’t you give him tip money? You promised!

DALE: I promised if goofball here would drop us off where I say.

KYOUNG JA: I told you. It was misunderstanding. We’re close to my place. The rain is stopped. Why you make a problem?

DALE: Babe, haven’t you ever heard of principle?

KYOUNG JA: [sighing with sheer exasperation] What?!!!

DALE: A tip is an exchange for above-par service. We didn’t get that. No tip.

KYOUNG JA: You won’t give him tip??

DALE: No.

KYOUNG JA suddenly turns on her heel and starts walking away.

DALE: [chasing her a few steps] Hey. Hey. Babe. Where you goin’?

KYOUNG JA: Home. Alone.

DALE: Awww.

But KYOUNG JA keeps walking. She disappears into the night.

DALE: Great.

Dale returns to the cab.

The driver watches, somewhat taken aback, as Dale takes his seat as if nothing has happened.

DALE: [to Hyun-mi in a tired voice] Do me a favour, would you? Just tell him to take us home.

Paul, having watched all this carefully, looks at Deborah, who is staring ahead stony-faced, and Craig and Hyun-mi, who seem to think it was rather amusing. He catches Neville’s eye. Neville simply raises his eyebrows.

[beat]

NEVILLE: Good thing this is a roomy car.