Original subtitles

[cutlery clattering]

[indistinct murmuring]

[woman] Who do you think they are to each other?

[man] Hm...

I don't know.

[woman] Yeah, this is a hard one.

[man] I think...

the white guy and the Asian girl are a couple,

and the Asian guy... is her brother.

[woman] Or the Asian girl and the Asian guy are a couple,

and the white guy is their American friend.

[man] They're not even talking to the white guy.

[woman] Maybe they're tourists, and the white guy is their tour guide.

[man] Drinking at 4:00 a.m.?

[woman] Yeah, you're right, that makes no sense.

[man] Hm. Maybe they're all just colleagues?

[woman] I have no idea.

[cars horns honking]

[girl sniffles]

[boy in Korean]

[girl sniffles]

[Na Young sniffles]

[sobs softly]

[books thudding]

["Hey, That's no Way to Say Goodbye" by Leonard Cohen playing]

[door closes]

[Na Young's mom speaking]

[Na Young speaking]

[Na Young's mom speaking]

[Na Young's mom speaking]

[Na Young] Hm?

[Na Young's mom speaking]

[indistinct chattering]

[Hae Sung replying]

[Na Young giggling]

[Na Young's mom chuckling]

- [children chattering] - [machinery creaking]

[rain pattering]

[camera shutter clicks]

[Hae Sung's morn speaking]

[Na Young giggling]

- [children chattering] - [camera shutter clicks]

[Hae Sung's morn speaking]

[chuckles]

[Hae Sung laughing]

[Hae Sung's morn speaking]

[children continue chattering]

[Na Young giggling]

[mellow music playing]

[birds chirping]

- [Hae Sung chattering] - [both giggling]

- [both laughing] - [Hae Sung exclaims]

[Hae Sung speaking]

[Na Young and Hae Sung chattering]

[laughing]

[squeals playfully]

[children chattering indistinctly]

[girl giggling]

[distant children yelling excitedly]

[indistinct chattering continues]

["It's Not Love if It Hurts Too Much" by Kim Kwang Seok playing over radio]

[Hae Sung speaking]

- [Na Young in English] Hello. - [Si Young] Hello.

[Na Young] My name is Nora, what's your name?

[Si Young] My name is Michelle.

- [Na Young] How are you, Michelle? - I'm fine, and you?

- I'm fine, and you? - I'm fine, and you?

- I'm fine, and you? - [chuckling] I'm fine, and you?

I'm fine, and you?

- I'm fine, and you? - [chuckling]

- I'm fine, and you? - I'm fine, and you?

- I'm... - [both giggling]

[announcer] Toronto Pearson International Airport...

[announcer repeating in French]

[chattering indistinctly]

[announcer] Toronto Pearson...

[Na Young's mom in Korean]

[young Nora's dad speaking]

[in English] This is from Korea.

This is our passport, and...

[children chattering and yelling]

[boy] Whoa!

[school bell ringing]

[crows cawing]

[mellow music playing]

[man] I mean, there's so much in it that... that I responded to.

But the one phrase that sticks with me most...

Mm-hmm.

[man] "The long journey...

- of rotting." - [woman] I liked it too.

We liked how you used the long pauses.

[Nora in Korean]

[Nora's mom speaking]

[Nora]

[Nora's mom]

[chuckling]

[Nora's mom] Hm?

Hm...

[Nora's mom] Uh...

[keyboard clacking]

[sighs]

[chuckles]

[chuckling]

Um...

[in English] Oh, shit.

[in Korean]

[man 1 in Korean]

[man 2 agreeing]

[Hae Sung speaking]

[man 2 speaking]

[man 1 chuckling drunkenly]

[sighing]

[man 1 chuckles]

[chuckling]

[man 1] Hm.

[man 1 murmuring indistinctly]

— [sobbing] - [man 1] Hey.

[man 1 speaking]

- [phone ringing] - [man 2 speaking]

[Hae Sung speaking]

[man 3 sniffling]

[man 3 continues sobbing]

[sighs sleepily]

[groans]

[grunts]

[exhales]

Whoa.

[chuckles]

[Hae Sung's morn speaking]

[sighing]

[grunts]

[cutlery clanging]

[grunts softly]

Hm.

[upbeat music playing]

[phone vibrates]

- [distant siren wails] - [indistinct chattering]

[car horn honks]

[keys clatter]

[backpack thuds]

[computer chimes]

[call ringing]

[dings]

[Nora chuckles and gasps]

- [chuckles] - [Nora speaking]

- Whoa. - [laughs]

[Hae Sung chuckles]

Oh...

Hm.

[Nora chuckles]

Hm, oh...

[Hae Sung speaking]

Hmm.

[gasps playfully]

- [Hae Sung chuckles and speaks] - [laughing]

Hm.

Hm...

[Nora sighs]

Huh?

[Nora chuckles softly]

[chuckles]

[mellow music playing]

[Hae Sung speaking]

[Nora speaking]

[Hae Sung speaking]

[distant sirens wailing]

[Nora speaking]

[Hae Sung laughing]

- Mm. - [Hae Sung chuckles]

Hm.

Hm...

Hm. [continues speaking]

[Hae Sung chuckles]

[both sigh]

[breathes deeply]

[Hae Sung chuckles]

[Nora] Hm.

[computer beeps]

[upbeat music playing]

[keyboard clacking]

[Nora speaking over computer]

[Hae Sung chuckles]

[Hae Sung laughing]

[Nora chuckles]

Hm...

[chuckles]

[Hae Sung chuckles]

- [gasps) - [Hae Sung laughs]

[in English] Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

[in Korean]

[Patrick, in English] What did I do?

I love you so much.

I'll do anything to make you happy.

Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it.

[Nora in Korean]

[Hae Sung replying]

[Nora speaking]

[Nora munching over computer]

[speaks greeting in Mandarin]

[both laughing]

[Nora speaking]

[Hae Sung]

[Nora]

[wind whooshing over laptop]

[call ringing]

[beeps]

[Hae Sung]

[Nora]

[indistinct chattering]

[cell phone ringing]

[Hae Sung's friend] Oh. Huh?

[call ringing]

[beeps]

[breathes shakily]

[sobbing softly]

[breathes deeply]

[beeps]

[melancholic music playing]

[earphones clatter]

[clucking]

[taxi drives away]

[wind chimes chiming softly]

[birds chirping]

[drawer opens]

[train rumbling]

[man inquiring]

[woman responding]

[man and woman conversing]

[both chuckling and chattering]

[announcer speaking over PA system]

[door opens]

[indistinct chattering]

[Hae Sung's friend 1 speaking]

[all laughing]

[Hae Sung's friend 2 speaking]

[car approaching]

- [birds chirping] - [insects chittering]

[door closes]

[footsteps approaching]

[cup clinks]

[wind chimes chiming softly]

- [birds continue chirping] - [insects continue chittering]

Hi.

Hi! I'm Nora.

I'm Arthur. Nice to meet you.

When'd you get in?

This morning.

- You got the worst room. - [chuckling] Right? I know.

[mellow music playing]

[birds continue chirping]

[announcer 1 speaking indistinctly over PA system]

[PA system beeps]

[announcer 2 speaking Chinese over PA system]

[cars passing]

[Nora] There is a word in Korean.

In-Yun.

It means "providence."

- [inaudible conversation] - Or... "fate

- [indistinct conversation] - [all laughing]

But it's specifically about relationships between people.

I think it comes from... Buddhism.

And... reincarnation.

It's an "In-Yun"

if two strangers even walk by each other in the street

and their clothes accidentally brush.

Because... it means

there must have been something between them in their past lives.

If two people get married...

they say it's because there have been 8, 000 layers of In-Yun.

Over 8,000 lifetimes.

[indistinct chattering]

[crickets chirping]

You believe in that?

Believe what?

That... you and I knew each other in another life.

What, because we're sitting here...

- [both chuckling] - ...at the same table,

in the same city,

- at the same time? - Mm-hmm.

Yeah, wouldn't that make this...

In-Yun?

[Nora] Hm...

- Mm-mm.

That's just something Koreans say to seduce someone.

[chuckles softly]

[aircraft whooshing]

[announcer speaking indistinctly over PA system]

- Hi. - Hi.

- [immigration officer] Where you going? - New York City.

- Why're you going there? - We live there.

- What's your occupation? - Writers.

- You're what? - We're writers.

- How long were you visiting Toronto? - Ten days.

What was the purpose of your visit?

We were visiting her family.

Are you two related?

We're married.

Thanks!

[door opens]

[mellow music playing]

[truck horn blaring]

Hey.

[actress] "if you bought a ticket to see this show,

took the subway or a cab to be here,

it cost you something to be here,

and spend a couple hours with these old women.

That makes you some kind of immigrant.

And... all this cost me something too.

I crossed the Pacific Ocean to be here.

Some crossings cost more than others.

Some crossings...

you pay for with your whole life."

[Arthur speaking indistinctly]

...sit most of the day, and in the end I...

And then I started to write around... after dinner.

Um, yeah, I mean, it's my kind of time.

Uh, but you're studying, right?

[man speaking indistinctly]

[Arthur in Korean]

[Nora, in English] Me, too.

[Arthur]

[Nora, in English] I don't know.

[Arthur sighs]

[chuckles]

- [Arthur kissing] - [sighing softly]

[Arthur sighs]

- You know what I want? - What?

Chicken wings.

Holy shit.

- Mm-hmm. Yeah. - [grunting]

- Oh, genius. Yes. - Mm-hmm.

Chicken wings!

Hm... [kisses]

What're you thinking about?

Remember I told you about Hae Sung?

Oh, yeah. Is that this week?

Yeah.

Why is he coming here again?

I think vacation.

[in Korean]

[Hae Sung]

[friend 2]

[Hae Sung]

[friends laughing]

[friend 1]

[thunder rumbles]

[Hae Sung, in English] Uh, trunk? Trunk?

[cab driver replies indistinctly]

[sighs]

[melancholic music playing]

[thunder rumbling]

[birds chirping]

[vehicles passing]

[exhales]

[Nora]

[chuckles softly]

[in Korean]

[chuckling]

[Nora softly laughs and exhales]

[chuckles]

[Nora laughing softly]

[laughs]

[both laughing]

[Nora gasps and exclaims playfully]

[Nora laughing]

[Hae Sung laughs]

[Hae Sung laughs]

[both exclaiming]

[continue exclaiming in Korean]

[laughing]

[indistinct announcement over PA system]

[Nora]

[Hae Sung]

[Nora]

[Hae Sung]

[Hae Sung]

[chuckles]

[chuckles]

[Nora] Hm.

[Nora laughs]

[laughs]

[carnival music playing faintly on carousel]

Hm?

Hm.

[birds cawing]

- [in English] Hi. - Hi, my love.

- [sighs] - How was it?

You were right.

I was?

Yeah.

He came here to see me.

[object thuds]

[object thuds]

[sighs]

It's so crazy to see him be this grown-up man

with a normal job and a normal life.

He's so Korean.

He still lives with his parents, which is really Korean.

And he has all these really Korean views about everything.

And I feel so not Korean when I'm with him.

But also, in some way, more Korean?

[Nora scoffs]

It's so weird.

I mean, I have Korean friends,

but he's not, like, Korean-American.

He's Korean-Korean.

Is he attractive?

I think so.

He's really masculine in this way that I think is so Korean.

Are you attracted to him?

I don't think so.

I don't know, I mean... I don't think so.

He was just this kid in my head for such a long time.

And then he was just this image on my laptop.

And now he's a physical person.

It's really intense, but I don't think that that's attraction,

I think I just missed him a lot.

I think I miss Seoul.

Did he miss you?

I think he missed the 12-year-old crybaby he knew a long time ago.

- You were a crybaby? - Yeah.

Most of the time he'd have to just stand there and watch me.

When is he leaving, again?

- The morning after tomorrow. - Mm-hmm.

Are you mad?

No.

It feels like you are.

[scoffs] I don't have a right to be mad.

What do you mean? Of course you do.

No, I... That guy flew 13 hours to be here.

I'm not gonna tell you that you can't see him or something.

He's your childhood sweetheart.

And it's not like you're gonna run away with him.

Are you?

Definitely. I'm gonna throw away my life here...

- [chuckles] - ...and run away with him to Seoul.

Do you even know me?

I'm not gonna miss my rehearsals for some dude.

I know.

I know you.

[indistinct chatter over TV]

[phone clatters]

[TV turns off]

[chuckling softly]

What?

I was just thinking about what a good story this is.

- The story of Hae Sung and me? - Yeah.

I just can't compete.

What do you mean?

Childhood sweethearts who reconnect 20 years later

only to realize they were meant for each other.

- We're not meant for each other. - I know.

I know.

In the story, I would be the evil white American husband

standing in the way of destiny.

[laughs]

Shut up.

Well think about it? Our story is just so boring.

We met at an artists' residency.

Slept together because we both happened to be single.

We realized we both live in New York,

so, we moved in together to save money on rent.

We got married so you could get a green card. So...

- Oh, you make it sound so romantic. - Right, that's what I'm saying.

I'm the guy you leave in the story when your ex-lover comes to take you away.

He's not my ex-lover.

What if you met somebody else at that residency?

What if there was another writer from New York

who had also read all the same books you had,

and watched all the same movies,

who could give you useful notes on your plays,

and listen to you complain about your rehearsals?

- That's not how life works. - I know.

Yeah.

But wouldn't you be laying here with him?

This is my life, and I'm living it with you.

Are you happy with it?

Is this what you imagined for yourself when you left Seoul?

When I was a 12-year-old?

Yeah. Is this what you pictured for yourself?

Laying in bed in some... tiny apartment in the East Village

with some Jewish guy who writes books?

Is that what your parents wanted for you?

You're asking me if you, Arthur Zaturansky,

are the answer to my family's immigrant dream?

- Yeah. - Wow.

[sighs]

This is where I ended up. This is where I'm supposed to be.

Okay.

What?

It's just that you make my life so much bigger.

And I'm wondering if I do the same thing for you.

You do.

[soft piano music playing]

I'm just a girl from Korea, you know.

And you're forgetting the part where I love you.

I don't forget that. I have trouble believing it sometimes.

Do you know you only speak in Korean when you talk in your sleep?

- I do? - Yeah.

You never sleep-talk in English.

You only dream in Korean.

- I didn't know that. - Yeah.

You never told me that.

Well, sometimes I think it's cute.

Sometimes, I don't know,

I guess I get scared.

Scared of what?

[sighs]

You dream in a language that I can't understand.

It's like there's this whole place inside of you where I can't go.

I think that's why I've been trying to learn Korean,

even though I know it's annoying for you.

You want to understand me when I'm dreaming?

Yeah.

I'm sure I'm just saying gibberish.

[boat horn blaring]

[in Korean]

[Hae Seung speaks Korean]

[Nora] Hm?

[Hae Sung laughing]

[soft music playing]

[laughs]

[Hae Sung]

[chuckles]

[door opens]

[door closes]

[inhales and chuckles]

Um...

[chuckles]

[in English] Uh, hi. Nice to meet you, also.

[chuckles]

[in Korean]

[Hae Sung chuckles]

Uh...

[in English] Are you hungry?

-Hm? - Oh...

[translating]

[in English] Ah, oh. Yes.

Uh...

Pasta?

[laughs] Pasta? Yeah. You like pasta?

Yes. [chuckles]

- Okay- - okay-

- Let's get pasta. - Pasta.

What did you two do today?

Uh...

The Statue of Liberty.

You took the ferry.

- Yes. - Yeah.

It's, um, nice.

I've never been.

- What? - Really?

Yeah, I've never actually been there.

[in English] Have we seriously never been there together?

[chuckles] No.

[Hae Sung] When I was 24 years,

I, uh... Urn...

Oh.

[in Korean]

- [in English] Yes. - [chuckles]

- Oh, military service. - Right.

You know how Korean men have mandatory military service?

Yeah, your dad talks about it. How was it?

You like it?

[translating]

- [in English] No. - [laughs]

Uh, but military and work, same.

Same?

[translating]

[in English] Uh, you have, um...

You have a boss.

[Nora] Hm.

[in English] There's no overtime pay in Korea.

[in Korean]

[chuckles]

[in English] It's, uh, very hard.

Hmm. Uh, work. Work is hard.

Hard physically or mentally?

[translating]

[in English] Uh, yes. Uh, both.

Physical, very hard.

- Uh, and, urn... - Hm. Mentally.

Mentally, I'm strong.

- Mm! - [chuckles]

[chuckles softly]

[Nora] Mm.

Hmm.

[chuckles]

Hm.

[scoffs]

Hm.

[chuckling]

[both laughing softly]

[in English] He's talking about you.

[Hae Sung]

[both chuckle]

[laughs]

[chuckles]

["You Know Me More Than I Know" by John Cale playing over speakers]

[Hae Sung inhales and chuckles]

[in English] I'm sorry we speak alone.

Uh, we will stop.

It's okay.

You haven't seen each other in a long time.

[Arthur scoffs and sighs]

I never thought I'd be a part of something like this.

Hm?

Sitting here with you.

Do you know what In-Yun?

Yeah. Nora told me about it when we first met.

[Arthur chuckles wryly]

You and me.

[laughs] Yeah. Yeah, you and I are In-Yun too.

[chuckles]

Right?

I'm really glad you came here.

It was the right thing to do.

[door opens]

Um, I'm gonna walk him to his Uber.

Okay.

Uh, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too.

Uh, come visit me in Korea.

Definitely.

- [whispers] I'll be right back. - Okay.

[siren wailing]

[in Korean]

Hm.

[car approaching]

Hm?

[chuckles softly]

[melancholic music playing]

[Nora sobbing]

[continues sobbing]

[melancholic music continues]

["Quiet Eyes" by Sharon van Etten playing]

[song continues]

[instrumental music playing]