MORE THAN MACHINES
THE DAY BEFORE
Cha Eun-woo!
Ah, I knew it was ridiculous, but it was worth a try.
That is not how it works.
Okay.
THE BOOKSTORE THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A BOOKSTORE
Uh, excuse me, sir.
Hello, Mr. Store Owner?
Well, sorry to wake you up, but it's urgent.
Excuse me, sir. Hello!
Oh! Oh no. No, no!
Oh!
Is this 911?
There's a man who's not breathing here.
Uh, yes, it's a bookstore.
Well, the name of this bookstore is…
The Bookstore That Doesn't Look Like a Bookstore.
No, it isn't my opinion that it doesn't!
Lady, please just listen to me! An old man here isn't moving.
Oh, he just moved.
I'd like to ask for your support in reviving
the struggling used book industry.
This is The Bookstore That Doesn't Look Like a Bookstore. Thank you.
Here to buy books?
Actually, I called you earlier.
I called earlier and asked…
DR. YOO IN-WON'S STUDY ON MECHANICS
-You have these books? -Oh.
Well, they're… probably somewhere up there.
But… I can't climb up ladders now.
-Oh, right. -Mm.
I'll climb up there.
YOO IN-WON'S STUDY ON MECHANICS
Aah!
Huh? Huh?
Oh! Sir!
What? No!
Hello? Old man?
There's someone here! Aah!
Sir…
Huh?
Uh…
It's so nice.
I felt really stuffy, being kept in a cool place without direct sunlight.
Let's do this more often.
Oh, wait.
You're a little dry.
Look at me.
You got me the premium corn syrup?
I would have been happy with just Ottogi corn syrup.
It was bothering me. It was attracting flies.
This keeps the pests off.
And it should feel much lighter on your skin.
Aah… That does feel really nice.
Sorry I can't do more for you.
Why would you say that? You're always doing things for me.
It's my pleasure.
It really brings me a lot of joy.
Min-ah, you're starting to blush.
-Spicy chicken nugget? -Ah, stop teasing me!
-Min-ah. -Yes?
Baek-joong, you don't have to spend money on this kind of stuff.
King-sized sesame seeds are really expensive.
It's beautiful on you.
Ah, I don't know what I did to deserve this.
You deserve everything. You're the most beautiful chicken nugget ever.
Oh. Tofu man.
Ah, tofu man needs a helmet. Isn't that dangerous?
It must be suffocating.
He needs fresh air.
Ohh…
Ooh!
-Are you okay? -Oh, tofu!
Oh, no.
No, your tofu head is crumbling!
Oh no!
Don't worry.
Thankfully, you're not tofu.
It just breaks my heart.
-Min-ah. -Uh…
Oh… uh…
My sugar level's low. Uh…
I want some candy too.
How can you possibly eat candy?
I can. Give me one.
-But how can you eat this? -I said I can.
Are you there, sir?
Uh!
Oh no!
MR. KIM
Mr. Kim, my phone's on one percent!
Okay. I talked about that machine you're looking for
over a drink with someone I worked with when I was in Professor Yoo's lab.
I heard there was a research assistant who joined the team after I quit.
Anyway, I managed to get his contact info.
But Mr. Choi isn't answering, so I called you.
Thank you, Mr. Kim. Text me the number.
911? I'm calling from The Bookstore That Doesn't Look Like a Bookstore.
Oh. Are you the one I talked to earlier?
Oh God…
Well, uh…
It's okay. It's okay.
It's been a fruitful day today.
Gosh, my blood sugar's getting low.
CANDY
Aah!
♪ There's a little treat Inside the candy box ♪
RECEIPT
There's no candy in here.
Certain death.
Holy shit, man!
Uhh…
Nope!
A… are… are you…
Uhh…
…the… the guy from yesterday?
Uh-huhhhh…
MORE THAN MACHINES CHOI SUN-MAN
If you see that machine,
reach out.
Uh-huh!
If you find that machine,
don't go inside that thing.
Hah!
Do you… have a son or daughter?
One daughter, and one son.
That's why… you shouldn't go inside.
-Understand? -Uh-huh!
It's trouble!
Yeah?
-Call, okay? -Okay!
Mmmmph!
Aaah…
Uh…
-Quit drinking. -Uh-huh.
Uhhh…
Min-ah!
THE BOOKSTORE THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A BOOKSTORE
CCTV IN OPERATION
Huh?
Here to buy books?
How much are they?
Sir? Sir?
Si… sir… I…
Min-ah…
Huh? Mr. Ko!
Mr. Ko.
Mr. Ko. Huh? Huh?
-Mr. Choi. -Yeah.
Me…
Me, me, me?
Food.
-Food? -Food.
-You want a meal? -Big meal.
-A big meal. -Food.
-Feed me.
Good morni…
You're having breakfast, I see…
You know you should chew your food?
That's what teeth are for.
A chicken nugget…
I'm curious, but I don't wanna know.
This is absolutely perfect.
I'll just go to the sauna.
Hmm.
MORE THAN MACHINES
-Thank you for calling… -Thank you for calling More Than Machines!
Oh, yes, sir. Okay.
Oh no, it's acting up again?
Why does it keep doing that?
Okay, I'm coming right now.
Mr. Choi, that machine in the Healing Shop's acting up again.
I'll go fix it for them.
Huh? Uh, take care of it.
Hey. What about Professor Yoo's research assistant?
Ah!
He said he's available during lunch today, so I asked him to meet us at one o'clock.
We have some time till then.
I'll change and head over to the meeting place.
-Okay. -It looks like you should, too.
Okay, I probably should.
Why don't you try… maybe wearing yellow pants this time?
Ugh…
-See you later. -Okay.
Mm. I'll be back.
My dear Min-ah.
1-0-0-4, star. Easy four digits.
Only one CCTV.
How naive.
That's how you lose something valuable, idiots.
REALLY GOOD RESTAURANT
Yes, please write your name here and your signature here.
Sir, please, the same, and check the agreement box too.
Order, please. One galbijim…
Could we get one soy sauce bulgogi and two gochujang bulgogi.
-Rice in stone pots, please. -Okay.
You'll get a call in a few days.
Just need to tell them you've been fully informed,
and that you understand everything.
You'll get asked quite a lot of questions,
but that's because they need to check each item off one by one.
-Should I just check all… -Yeah, just check "no" on everything.
The insurance coverage for this plan is very simple.
More pain in death, more money.
Straightforward, right? Hope you get a lot.
Will the compensation increase if I pretend to be really sick?
-Your joke is really not funny, man. -Do you think you're being funny?
So, you… you worked with… Professor Yoo, right?
Of course I did. I may be an insurance planner now,
but I was a proud researcher with no future.
Stop laughing. It's not funny.
So, um, this is why… No, no, I mean…
So, you quit all on your own?
It shows how unfortunate the Korean science community is.
No matter how small it may seem, I'd appreciate any information.
-Please, tell us something. -Please.
I'll just be honest with you.
I was definitely hired as Professor Yoo's research assistant.
I'll… I'll tell you why I was hired.
Oh. Uh-huh…
He was obsessed with some kind of metal junk.
I just sat on my ass all day long.
He only hired me so he could meet the requirements for the government funding.
So when the funding was cut off, I got canned.
I didn't even have any regrets, because I did nothing.
Uh, well… I mean, that junk, um…
Uh… did you ever, I mean… get any results from it or anything?
Not that I know of.
-Is there anything to-- -I have a picture.
-Here. -This…
This one right here is what Professor Yoo was obsessed with.
But he kept saying some lunatic stuff,
saying that the machine and this drawing were 200 years old.
But what's surprising is
that it was all true.
Just how did you verify that?
I took it to Professor Wang Jong-geun at the K1 University.
Wang Jong-geun?
It's an old craft paper.
Crap… paper?
No, craft paper.
Paper to make fans.
-Oh. -It's very durable.
And this one… seems to be around 200 years old.
-Really? -But are they scribbles, or a drawing?
This even has a seal, as well as some thumbprints.
I think someone made it as a joke.
-You want me to appraise this shit? -Yes, please.
We're researching a machine like this at work.
-What machine is it? -A machine to look at.
-A machine just to look at? -Yeah, we've just been looking at it.
Shit. Professor Yoo fucking with me, or what?
-I have no fucking idea. I'll go. -Wait, wait. Wait a moment.
They're the same, right?
-How come it has this seal? -Wh… why?
-This is Jeong Hyo-bong's seal. -Jeong Hyo-bong?
Who's Jeong Hyo-bong?
JEONGJO: 22ND MONARCH OF JOSEON DYNASTY
In Joseon history, he was one of the brightest prodigies,
born into a prestigious family.
Are you Seol Min-seok? What's with the history lesson?
His family even once had a prime minister.
His father was a genuine scholar.
King Jeongjo wanted to appoint him, but he didn't like politics.
-INTERESTED IN WORKING FOR ME? -NO
Why? He was a Catholic!
His son is Jeong Hyo-bong.
This guy started writing while learning to talk.
He started to write poems and paint at the age of five.
The Veritable Records show the King called the little boy to the palace.
-YOU TAKE AFTER YOUR DAD, DON'T YOU? -MOM, ACTUALLY.
He thought they were outstanding and wanted to exchange them.
He was a prodigy, starting on his road to success.
Why would he do random doodles like this?
We don't really know.
As Queen Dowager Jeongsun served as regent after King Jeongjo passed away,
the conservative ruling faction began a full-scale Catholic persecution.
The boy's father was executed during the Catholic Persecution,
and the rest of his family
was either demoted to the lowest class or taken as slaves.
And after that, he disappeared.
So what you're telling me is
we can assume the drawing's 200 years old, right?
I mean, apart from that craft paper or whatever,
if the drawing or the metal is older, why would I care?
Also, Jeong Hyo-bong's seal?
I mean, a seal from someone who became a slave?
Why do I care if that seal was just somehow stamped on that scribble?
So I guess Professor Yoo grew even more obsessed after he found out.
Who… who told you that?
Yeah, he got crazier after that point.
He kept arguing that there was another machine
and he needed both of them to make them work.
-So he started making a machine tracker. -Machine tracker?
-Jinx. You owe me… -A device that tracks these machines.
Ah, actually, Professor Yoo's nephew egged him on about this.
His nephew?
Come to think of it, I wasn't the only research assistant there.
He wasn't technically a researcher,
but he was spending a lot of time in the lab, suddenly.
The younger one was a smart, promising kid.
But he followed his machine-crazy uncle around and went crazy too.
I don't know where he is now.
Professor Yoo said he was a real genius.
But if you ask me, he was a fucking nutjob.
He kept saying that he was 22, but he had the face of a 50-year-old.
Professor Yoo was looking for the machine we have,
and we're looking for the one he had.
And remember, we're looking for him also.
It's possible that he could've turned into something too.
Why do they have different marks if they do the same thing?
I know, right? It seems like a brand of some kind…
Maybe they're characters.
-Oh! -Oh!
Oh, it's gone!
-Min-ah? -Min-ah?
Min-ah.
Min-ah!
-Min-ah. Min-ah! -Aaah! Min-ah!
-Min-ah! Min-ah! -Min-ah!
Min-ah!
No! Aah!
Min-ah! Min-ah!
-Min-ah! -Min-ah!
Min-ah! Min-ah!
Min-ah!
Min-ah! Min-ah!
Min-ah!
I thought it could only turn things into humans. Fuck.
A mirror
should tell the truth.
Why are you lying to me?
Oh…
Where are you going?
Huh?
The office.
I'm going there too.
That means one of us is facing the wrong direction, right?
You couldn't find her?
-Guys, the camera's broken. -Min-ah…
What's going on?
What? Where'd that machine go?
Did we get robbed?
I mean, there's nothing valuable here.
So they took something useless out of spite?
-I'd better call the police. -There's nothing valuable?
What? What do you know?
Taking this scrap metal alone is worth something.
Why are you angry?
Let's say there's nothing worth taking.
So they took something useless out of spite? That doesn't make sense.
You really think robbers get that emotional while they're robbing?
They'd end up getting caught. Robbers should be calm.
Why are you worried about some robber's personality?
What do you mean there's nothing valuable? Nothing to take?
There is! My life!
♪ My life belongs to me ♪
You see? They took it.
My everything.
All right. Then I'll report that your life has been stolen.
No need.
Mr. Ko broke it while moving it.
Wait. Me?
How long are you going to… work carelessly like that?
Follow me.
Soon you're gonna die.
You will die.
You won't, technically.
Since I'm… going to become you.
The hell? Go away. Go away!
Stop!
Go away!
♪ 500 nights, I have my plan ♪
♪ To have a good time With you, my friend ♪
♪ So we don't have much time 'Cause we've got many things to do ♪
♪ One year is so short With you, my friend ♪
♪ Ah-ah-ah, with you, my friend ♪