Chapter 120: 120
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June 18, 2012 – Monday 12 nn – Northwestern University, East Ouigab
The members of Percussive Corrections are having lunch in the cafeteria. They already got used to the stares from their schoolmates. On the other hand, they are also thankful that their school mates do not care enough to bother them, so they can comfortably have lunch in the cafeteria like normal college students.
Today, however, they are gathering more attention than usual.
"I just don't get it. Why would you want to cut it?" Ramil asked.
"It's not like I'm doing it just because I want to." Hoon shrugged.
"Well, I get that it's your song, but why do you cut it? I think it sounds good." Jenna asked.
"Come on. Just explain, we might understand." Ike said.
The vocalist unit of the band is currently grilling Hoon for his stubborn attitude about his choice in his song, and they are talking loud enough for the other students to get distracted.
Finals week is approaching and the students are studying as hard as they can, at any place they find possible. Unlike the band who are helping each other to study, the other students do not have such luxury.
"Look. I know that you love the chorus, but I think it's too long. I think it's enough to play it whole just for the first time. The next stanzas, we can just play the second half of the chorus." Hoon said.
"But it just doesn't feel whole, you know?" Jenna asked.
"I get it. But in this case, the listeners will exhaust their attention and they would find the stanzas boring." Hoon explained.
"I don't think they will, though. We don't know how our listeners will think." Ramil said.
"Huhh.. A little help?" Hoon got tired from the questions and asked Bay-an and Inson for back-up.
"I'm with Hoon in this one." Bay-an said.
Ramil, Jenna, and Ike just gave him a dirty look.
"Look, I'm not defending Hoon's point because I'm also writing songs." Bay-an began.
"We have three verses, similar, yes, but they are obviously varied. If we put the whole chorus after each verse, that's gonna be over 4 minutes already. Adding our cool intro and the bridge, That's almost six minutes. It's too long." Bay-an said.
"Well. We can just vary the choruses a bit like the verses. They don't have to sound exactly the same." Jenna argued.
"Unless, you want to remove one stanza or the bridge?" Inson suggested to the vocalist unit.
"NO!" "That's not-" "We're just saying-" Jenna, Ike, and Ramil were stumped.
"See? The verses and the bridge are just as important. The idea of the whole chorus is mostly contained in the second part of it, so that's what Hoon wanted to save. The first half is just a repetition of some words." Inson explained.
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Plus, the after the first chorus, it only serves as transition and call back after the second and third verse. It's catchy enough. I'll take your suggestion though, Jenna, I'll arrange the other choruses so they don't sound the same." Hoon concluded.
"Uhhh.." "Fine." Jenna and Ramil are getting convinced.
Ike, on the other hand, "Can we ask Tayaw about this?" said.
"You can call him." Hoon shrugged. He learned how to write songs from Tayaw so Tayaw most probably would agree with his decision.
"Aiyay-yay. This is just the third song." Inson said in amus.e.m.e.nt, and the rest of the band chuckled too.
"Where's Tayaw by the way?" Bay-an asked.
---
Nasiri Hill
"YES!" Tayaw threw punches in the air in celebration. He did not care how loud he yelled because of the privacy his land provided.
'View Points – 218,342,794'
He noticed that the increase in his view points jumped in the past week. Before 'September Ninth' was released, he gains an average of 320,000 view points a day. After the movie release, it increased to an average of 800,000, a day. He is sure that it did not come from his book sales because it is too drastic an increase.
With this, he figured that he also got view points from the original songs he sold or gave away; he just did not notice it. After all, the 'View Points' does not have a break down like how sales reports are.
"I wonder what a billion View Points would give?" Tayaw mumbled to himself.
The first million View Points he spent, he gained three movies and film making skills. Even though he has the skills, 'September Ninth', the film he meticulously worked on, when compared to the movies he got from the roulette, is still very much lacking. He can understand that the three movies he got from the giant roulette are better, but he cannot explain yet how, therefore the film making skills he got must only be the basics.
The next ten million View Points, he got the 'Post-congenital Absolute Pitch'; an extinct ability in his world. Even though it's an almost godly skill, it has limited uses. Tayaw felt fortunate that he knows how to use it as a tool to write songs. Adding enhanced brain function, he can play notes in his head and write down the best melodies and hooks he can come up with without the help of an instrument.
The next hundred million View Points, he gained Paul McKinsey's 'Artist Record'. On the surface, it can only be used for copying songs, but Tayaw valued more Peter's songwriting process. After borrowing Peter's songwriting process, Tayaw was able to pump out thousands of compositions in only eight or so months.
"I've plenty of time, healthy body, and more than enough money to enjoy. What's the point of thinking about it now? Oh, then there's the movies." Tayaw figured.
Even though he got free movies from the roulette, he does not want to release any of them yet. Unlike 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' and 'The Halfling' which he simply copied; the movies are different. Unlike the books that have their essences embedded on their pages themselves, films are more than just what is shown on the screen. This is why he has to fully understand them first before making them so the original essence of the piece will not be lost.
He also now had a taste of the success and pride of directing a film and fell in love with it. Unlike writing a book, Tayaw has a much more visceral appreciation of the art of film making so he feels a lot more guilty thinking about blindly duplicating the movies a vast contrast from the almost guiltless copying he did with the books.
========
Montecito, Santa Barbara, California
"We can't just copy the scenes, Xiao Song." Gary shook his head.
"Well. Good point. Hey, look at that. Why did he make that choice for a shot? Why is it lower?" Jun Xiaosong said when he noticed something.
The two directors are currently watching Tayaw's 'September Ninth' in Gary's house, at Gary's personal mini theater. The two directors, belonging to two generations, became friends after getting acquainted at Sorrento Film Festival.
The two of them being members of the festival's jury gave them the benefit of scoring exclusive copies of Tayaw's film. Thankfully, it is a digital reel so it was not worn out by the number of times the two directors played it.
Since the end of the festival, Gary and Jun Xiaosong have been studying 'September Ninth'.
"Okay. I think we've learned enough, right? I'm not even a Christian but Jesus Christ, you look wrecked. Let's have a rest." Xiao Song said.
"Come on. We're on a roll. Play the thing again." Gary said.
"Hey, 'On a roll'? What? It's been three days and we learned nothing new. Why don't we look for the other directors, huh? Fresh eyes. And while we wait for them, we rest." Xiao Song said.
While he liked to study the film more, he is worried about Gary.
"Dad! Why aren't you ans- Oh… hey…" A lady walked in the movie room. She was about to reprimand Gary when she saw Xiao Song.
"Oh, hey Claire, honey. What are you doing here?" Gary said.
"You're not answering your phone for two weeks! TWO WEEKS, Dad!" She said and approached Gary for a hug.
"Even though your housekeeper says you're alright, I was still worried…" Claire said.
"Ooh. I'm a little offended, sweetie. I'm healthy as an ox! I can keep up with Xiao Song right here." Gary said.
"Hey. I'm Claire." Claire introduced herself, finally addressing Xiao Song.
"Jun Xiao Song, Gary's friend."
"So uh, Jun? Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?" Claire said as she played with her raven-colored hair.
"Ugh. Claire. Leave him alone, he's a married man." Gary said, looking at Claire's flirtatious habit.
"Ooh. A pity. *sniff* *sniff* ugh.. It smells like… Man in here." Claire noticed Gary's musky smell from not showering for days.
"We've been practically living here for the past two weeks. We're studying." Xiao Song said.
"Oh dad, is this one of your obsessive episodes again? What is it this time?" Claire asked. "It's just a stupid movie. Wanna watch it with us?"
---
A few minutes later.
"I've seen this plenty of times in the festival, dad. It's basically just the movie I've seen there. So, you're studying it now?" Claire asked.
"Yep. It's revolutionary. A modern classic." Gary said as he turned on his focus again.
"Claire… can we talk outside for a moment?" Xiao Song whispered to Claire.
"mmm… of course ~" Claire smirked and led the way out.
"So, how do we do this?" Claire asked.
"Do what? I want to talk about your dad." Xiao Song said, clueless at what just happened. Claire was relieved Xiao Song is not a native English speaker or she would have been embarrassed by the misunderstanding.
"What's up?" Claire asked.
"I'm worried about him. He has not been sleeping enough, he's not eating right. Hell, I'M not eating right. Two weeks of tacos and burritos? Get him out the house." Xiao Song complained.
"Ughhh. This is why I told him to hire some help around here. By the way, do you know the director of that movie?" Claire asked.
"Yeah? Isaac? We met. Why?" Xiao Song replied.
"Oh. I was just wondering when he'll make a new movie." Claire said.
"What? Want a role from him? The acting is more complicated than it looks." Xiao Song said, figuring out Claire's intention.
"I know, and I've been trying to learn the acting style. You think you're the only ones who's obsessed with the film? I had to go Teungeb to watch the film again! Had I known that dad has a copy-"
"Claire, you can have my copy. Just take your dad out to lunch or something."
"Jun, just tell my dad you want to go home, alright?" Claire chuckled.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
June 18, 2012 – Monday 12 nn – Northwestern University, East Ouigab
The members of Percussive Corrections are having lunch in the cafeteria. They already got used to the stares from their schoolmates. On the other hand, they are also thankful that their school mates do not care enough to bother them, so they can comfortably have lunch in the cafeteria like normal college students.
Today, however, they are gathering more attention than usual.
"I just don't get it. Why would you want to cut it?" Ramil asked.
"It's not like I'm doing it just because I want to." Hoon shrugged.
"Well, I get that it's your song, but why do you cut it? I think it sounds good." Jenna asked.
"Come on. Just explain, we might understand." Ike said.
The vocalist unit of the band is currently grilling Hoon for his stubborn attitude about his choice in his song, and they are talking loud enough for the other students to get distracted.
Finals week is approaching and the students are studying as hard as they can, at any place they find possible. Unlike the band who are helping each other to study, the other students do not have such luxury.
"Look. I know that you love the chorus, but I think it's too long. I think it's enough to play it whole just for the first time. The next stanzas, we can just play the second half of the chorus." Hoon said.
"But it just doesn't feel whole, you know?" Jenna asked.
"I get it. But in this case, the listeners will exhaust their attention and they would find the stanzas boring." Hoon explained.
"I don't think they will, though. We don't know how our listeners will think." Ramil said.
"Huhh.. A little help?" Hoon got tired from the questions and asked Bay-an and Inson for back-up.
"I'm with Hoon in this one." Bay-an said.
Ramil, Jenna, and Ike just gave him a dirty look.
"Look, I'm not defending Hoon's point because I'm also writing songs." Bay-an began.
"We have three verses, similar, yes, but they are obviously varied. If we put the whole chorus after each verse, that's gonna be over 4 minutes already. Adding our cool intro and the bridge, That's almost six minutes. It's too long." Bay-an said.
"Well. We can just vary the choruses a bit like the verses. They don't have to sound exactly the same." Jenna argued.
"Unless, you want to remove one stanza or the bridge?" Inson suggested to the vocalist unit.
"NO!" "That's not-" "We're just saying-" Jenna, Ike, and Ramil were stumped.
"See? The verses and the bridge are just as important. The idea of the whole chorus is mostly contained in the second part of it, so that's what Hoon wanted to save. The first half is just a repetition of some words." Inson explained.
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Plus, the after the first chorus, it only serves as transition and call back after the second and third verse. It's catchy enough. I'll take your suggestion though, Jenna, I'll arrange the other choruses so they don't sound the same." Hoon concluded.
"Uhhh.." "Fine." Jenna and Ramil are getting convinced.
Ike, on the other hand, "Can we ask Tayaw about this?" said.
"You can call him." Hoon shrugged. He learned how to write songs from Tayaw so Tayaw most probably would agree with his decision.
"Aiyay-yay. This is just the third song." Inson said in amus.e.m.e.nt, and the rest of the band chuckled too.
"Where's Tayaw by the way?" Bay-an asked.
---
Nasiri Hill
"YES!" Tayaw threw punches in the air in celebration. He did not care how loud he yelled because of the privacy his land provided.
'View Points – 218,342,794'
He noticed that the increase in his view points jumped in the past week. Before 'September Ninth' was released, he gains an average of 320,000 view points a day. After the movie release, it increased to an average of 800,000, a day. He is sure that it did not come from his book sales because it is too drastic an increase.
With this, he figured that he also got view points from the original songs he sold or gave away; he just did not notice it. After all, the 'View Points' does not have a break down like how sales reports are.
"I wonder what a billion View Points would give?" Tayaw mumbled to himself.
The first million View Points he spent, he gained three movies and film making skills. Even though he has the skills, 'September Ninth', the film he meticulously worked on, when compared to the movies he got from the roulette, is still very much lacking. He can understand that the three movies he got from the giant roulette are better, but he cannot explain yet how, therefore the film making skills he got must only be the basics.
The next ten million View Points, he got the 'Post-congenital Absolute Pitch'; an extinct ability in his world. Even though it's an almost godly skill, it has limited uses. Tayaw felt fortunate that he knows how to use it as a tool to write songs. Adding enhanced brain function, he can play notes in his head and write down the best melodies and hooks he can come up with without the help of an instrument.
The next hundred million View Points, he gained Paul McKinsey's 'Artist Record'. On the surface, it can only be used for copying songs, but Tayaw valued more Peter's songwriting process. After borrowing Peter's songwriting process, Tayaw was able to pump out thousands of compositions in only eight or so months.
"I've plenty of time, healthy body, and more than enough money to enjoy. What's the point of thinking about it now? Oh, then there's the movies." Tayaw figured.
Even though he got free movies from the roulette, he does not want to release any of them yet. Unlike 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' and 'The Halfling' which he simply copied; the movies are different. Unlike the books that have their essences embedded on their pages themselves, films are more than just what is shown on the screen. This is why he has to fully understand them first before making them so the original essence of the piece will not be lost.
He also now had a taste of the success and pride of directing a film and fell in love with it. Unlike writing a book, Tayaw has a much more visceral appreciation of the art of film making so he feels a lot more guilty thinking about blindly duplicating the movies a vast contrast from the almost guiltless copying he did with the books.
========
Montecito, Santa Barbara, California
"We can't just copy the scenes, Xiao Song." Gary shook his head.
"Well. Good point. Hey, look at that. Why did he make that choice for a shot? Why is it lower?" Jun Xiaosong said when he noticed something.
The two directors are currently watching Tayaw's 'September Ninth' in Gary's house, at Gary's personal mini theater. The two directors, belonging to two generations, became friends after getting acquainted at Sorrento Film Festival.
The two of them being members of the festival's jury gave them the benefit of scoring exclusive copies of Tayaw's film. Thankfully, it is a digital reel so it was not worn out by the number of times the two directors played it.
Since the end of the festival, Gary and Jun Xiaosong have been studying 'September Ninth'.
"Okay. I think we've learned enough, right? I'm not even a Christian but Jesus Christ, you look wrecked. Let's have a rest." Xiao Song said.
"Come on. We're on a roll. Play the thing again." Gary said.
"Hey, 'On a roll'? What? It's been three days and we learned nothing new. Why don't we look for the other directors, huh? Fresh eyes. And while we wait for them, we rest." Xiao Song said.
While he liked to study the film more, he is worried about Gary.
"Dad! Why aren't you ans- Oh… hey…" A lady walked in the movie room. She was about to reprimand Gary when she saw Xiao Song.
"Oh, hey Claire, honey. What are you doing here?" Gary said.
"You're not answering your phone for two weeks! TWO WEEKS, Dad!" She said and approached Gary for a hug.
"Even though your housekeeper says you're alright, I was still worried…" Claire said.
"Ooh. I'm a little offended, sweetie. I'm healthy as an ox! I can keep up with Xiao Song right here." Gary said.
"Hey. I'm Claire." Claire introduced herself, finally addressing Xiao Song.
"Jun Xiao Song, Gary's friend."
"So uh, Jun? Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?" Claire said as she played with her raven-colored hair.
"Ugh. Claire. Leave him alone, he's a married man." Gary said, looking at Claire's flirtatious habit.
"Ooh. A pity. *sniff* *sniff* ugh.. It smells like… Man in here." Claire noticed Gary's musky smell from not showering for days.
"We've been practically living here for the past two weeks. We're studying." Xiao Song said.
"Oh dad, is this one of your obsessive episodes again? What is it this time?" Claire asked. "It's just a stupid movie. Wanna watch it with us?"
---
A few minutes later.
"I've seen this plenty of times in the festival, dad. It's basically just the movie I've seen there. So, you're studying it now?" Claire asked.
"Yep. It's revolutionary. A modern classic." Gary said as he turned on his focus again.
"Claire… can we talk outside for a moment?" Xiao Song whispered to Claire.
"mmm… of course ~" Claire smirked and led the way out.
"So, how do we do this?" Claire asked.
"Do what? I want to talk about your dad." Xiao Song said, clueless at what just happened. Claire was relieved Xiao Song is not a native English speaker or she would have been embarrassed by the misunderstanding.
"What's up?" Claire asked.
"I'm worried about him. He has not been sleeping enough, he's not eating right. Hell, I'M not eating right. Two weeks of tacos and burritos? Get him out the house." Xiao Song complained.
"Ughhh. This is why I told him to hire some help around here. By the way, do you know the director of that movie?" Claire asked.
"Yeah? Isaac? We met. Why?" Xiao Song replied.
"Oh. I was just wondering when he'll make a new movie." Claire said.
"What? Want a role from him? The acting is more complicated than it looks." Xiao Song said, figuring out Claire's intention.
"I know, and I've been trying to learn the acting style. You think you're the only ones who's obsessed with the film? I had to go Teungeb to watch the film again! Had I known that dad has a copy-"
"Claire, you can have my copy. Just take your dad out to lunch or something."
"Jun, just tell my dad you want to go home, alright?" Claire chuckled.
June 18, 2012 Monday 12 nn Northwestern University, East Ouigab The members of Percussive Corrections are having lunch in the cafeteria. They already got used to the stares from their schoolmates. On the other hand, they are also thankful that their school mates do not care enough to bother them, so they can comfortably have lunch in the cafeteria like normal college students. Today, however, they are gathering more attention than usual. "I just don't get it. Why would you want to cut it?" Ramil asked. "It's not like I'm doing it just because I want to." Hoon shrugged. "Well, I get that it's your song, but why do you cut it? I think it sounds good." Jenna asked. "Come on. Just explain, we might understand." Ike said. The vocalist unit of the band is currently grilling Hoon for his stubborn attitude about his choice in his song, and they are talking loud enough for the other students to get distracted. Finals week is approaching and the students are studying as hard as they can, at any place they find possible. Unlike the band who are helping each other to study, the other students do not have such luxury. "Look. I know that you love the chorus, but I think it's too long. I think it's enough to play it whole just for the first time. The next stanzas, we can just play the second half of the chorus." Hoon said. "But it just doesn't feel whole, you know?" Jenna asked. "I get it. But in this case, the listeners will exhaust their attention and they would find the stanzas boring." Hoon explained. "I don't think they will, though. We don't know how our listeners will think." Ramil said. "Huhh.. A little help?" Hoon got tired from the questions and asked Bay-an and Inson for back-up. "I'm with Hoon in this one." Bay-an said. Ramil, Jenna, and Ike just gave him a dirty look. "Look, I'm not defending Hoon's point because I'm also writing songs." Bay-an began. "We have three verses, similar, yes, but they are obviously varied. If we put the whole chorus after each verse, that's gonna be over 4 minutes already. Adding our cool intro and the bridge, That's almost six minutes. It's too long." Bay-an said. "Well. We can just vary the choruses a bit like the verses. They don't have to sound exactly the same." Jenna argued. "Unless, you want to remove one stanza or the bridge?" Inson suggested to the vocalist unit. "NO!" "That's not-" "We're just saying-" Jenna, Ike, and Ramil were stumped. "See? The verses and the bridge are just as important. The idea of the whole chorus is mostly contained in the second part of it, so that's what Hoon wanted to save. The first half is just a repetition of some words." Inson explained. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Plus, the after the first chorus, it only serves as transition and call back after the second and third verse. It's catchy enough. I'll take your suggestion though, Jenna, I'll arrange the other choruses so they don't sound the same." Hoon concluded. "Uhhh.." "Fine." Jenna and Ramil are getting convinced. Ike, on the other hand, "Can we ask Tayaw about this?" said. "You can call him." Hoon shrugged. He learned how to write songs from Tayaw so Tayaw most probably would agree with his decision. "Aiyay-yay. This is just the third song." Inson said in amus.e.m.e.nt, and the rest of the band chuckled too. "Where's Tayaw by the way?" Bay-an asked. --- Nasiri Hill "YES!" Tayaw threw punches in the air in celebration. He did not care how loud he yelled because of the privacy his land provided. 'View Points 218,342,794' He noticed that the increase in his view points jumped in the past week. Before 'September Ninth' was released, he gains an average of 320,000 view points a day. After the movie release, it increased to an average of 800,000, a day. He is sure that it did not come from his book sales because it is too drastic an increase. With this, he figured that he also got view points from the original songs he sold or gave away; he just did not notice it. After all, the 'View Points' does not have a break down like how sales reports are. "I wonder what a billion View Points would give?" Tayaw mumbled to himself. The first million View Points he spent, he gained three movies and film making skills. Even though he has the skills, 'September Ninth', the film he meticulously worked on, when compared to the movies he got from the roulette, is still very much lacking. He can understand that the three movies he got from the giant roulette are better, but he cannot explain yet how, therefore the film making skills he got must only be the basics. The next ten million View Points, he got the 'Post-congenital Absolute Pitch'; an extinct ability in his world. Even though it's an almost godly skill, it has limited uses. Tayaw felt fortunate that he knows how to use it as a tool to write songs. Adding enhanced brain function, he can play notes in his head and write down the best melodies and hooks he can come up with without the help of an instrument. The next hundred million View Points, he gained Paul McKinsey's 'Artist Record'. On the surface, it can only be used for copying songs, but Tayaw valued more Peter's songwriting process. After borrowing Peter's songwriting process, Tayaw was able to pump out thousands of compositions in only eight or so months. "I've plenty of time, healthy body, and more than enough money to enjoy. What's the point of thinking about it now? Oh, then there's the movies." Tayaw figured. Even though he got free movies from the roulette, he does not want to release any of them yet. Unlike 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' and 'The Halfling' which he simply copied; the movies are different. Unlike the books that have their essences embedded on their pages themselves, films are more than just what is shown on the screen. This is why he has to fully understand them first before making them so the original essence of the piece will not be lost. He also now had a taste of the success and pride of directing a film and fell in love with it. Unlike writing a book, Tayaw has a much more visceral appreciation of the art of film making so he feels a lot more guilty thinking about blindly duplicating the movies a vast contrast from the almost guiltless copying he did with the books. ======== Montecito, Santa Barbara, California "We can't just copy the scenes, Xiao Song." Gary shook his head. "Well. Good point. Hey, look at that. Why did he make that choice for a shot? Why is it lower?" Jun Xiaosong said when he noticed something. The two directors are currently watching Tayaw's 'September Ninth' in Gary's house, at Gary's personal mini theater. The two directors, belonging to two generations, became friends after getting acquainted at Sorrento Film Festival. The two of them being members of the festival's jury gave them the benefit of scoring exclusive copies of Tayaw's film. Thankfully, it is a digital reel so it was not worn out by the number of times the two directors played it. Since the end of the festival, Gary and Jun Xiaosong have been studying 'September Ninth'. "Okay. I think we've learned enough, right? I'm not even a Christian but Jesus Christ, you look wrecked. Let's have a rest." Xiao Song said. "Come on. We're on a roll. Play the thing again." Gary said. "Hey, 'On a roll'? What? It's been three days and we learned nothing new. Why don't we look for the other directors, huh? Fresh eyes. And while we wait for them, we rest." Xiao Song said. While he liked to study the film more, he is worried about Gary. "Dad! Why aren't you ans- Oh hey" A lady walked in the movie room. She was about to reprimand Gary when she saw Xiao Song. "Oh, hey Claire, honey. What are you doing here?" Gary said. "You're not answering your phone for two weeks! TWO WEEKS, Dad!" She said and approached Gary for a hug. "Even though your housekeeper says you're alright, I was still worried" Claire said. "Ooh. I'm a little offended, sweetie. I'm healthy as an ox! I can keep up with Xiao Song right here." Gary said. "Hey. I'm Claire." Claire introduced herself, finally addressing Xiao Song. "Jun Xiao Song, Gary's friend." "So uh, Jun? Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?" Claire said as she played with her raven-colored hair. "Ugh. Claire. Leave him alone, he's a married man." Gary said, looking at Claire's flirtatious habit. "Ooh. A pity. *sniff* *sniff* ugh.. It smells like Man in here." Claire noticed Gary's musky smell from not showering for days. "We've been practically living here for the past two weeks. We're studying." Xiao Song said. "Oh dad, is this one of your obsessive episodes again? What is it this time?" Claire asked. "It's just a stupid movie. Wanna watch it with us?" --- A few minutes later. "I've seen this plenty of times in the festival, dad. It's basically just the movie I've seen there. So, you're studying it now?" Claire asked. "Yep. It's revolutionary. A modern classic." Gary said as he turned on his focus again. "Claire can we talk outside for a moment?" Xiao Song whispered to Claire. "mmm of course ~" Claire smirked and led the way out. "So, how do we do this?" Claire asked. "Do what? I want to talk about your dad." Xiao Song said, clueless at what just happened. Claire was relieved Xiao Song is not a native English speaker or she would have been embarrassed by the misunderstanding. "What's up?" Claire asked. "I'm worried about him. He has not been sleeping enough, he's not eating right. Hell, I'M not eating right. Two weeks of tacos and burritos? Get him out the house." Xiao Song complained. "Ughhh. This is why I told him to hire some help around here. By the way, do you know the director of that movie?" Claire asked. "Yeah? Isaac? We met. Why?" Xiao Song replied. "Oh. I was just wondering when he'll make a new movie." Claire said. "What? Want a role from him? The acting is more complicated than it looks." Xiao Song said, figuring out Claire's intention. "I know, and I've been trying to learn the acting style. You think you're the only ones who's obsessed with the film? I had to go Teungeb to watch the film again! Had I known that dad has a copy-" "Claire, you can have my copy. Just take your dad out to lunch or something." "Jun, just tell my dad you want to go home, alright?" Claire chuckled.
