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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

In the Back Seat

Updated: Jan 20, 2023

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT


  4. PETER, his WIFE and their younger SON are enjoying Korean delicacies.


  5. SON: How was the trip?


  6. PETER: Great to see your elder sister.


  7. WIFE: We had Korean cuisine but I haven't done my eating list.


  8. PETER: We saw her moving in her new studio two days ago.


  9. WIFE: Although it's at the Seoul National University subway station, she still has take a bus to the SNU.


  10. PETER: Waiting for its availability, she's lived in six Airbnbs.


  11. WIFE: It's worth the waiting though.


  12. Peter's wife then shows phone images to his son.


  13. Act 2


  14. FLASHBACK


  15. EXT - ROADS TO HONG KONG AIRPORT - DAY (JAN 13. 2023)


  16. Sitting next to his wife in the back seat of a taxi, Peter is having a Zoom meeting.


  17. PETER (V.O.): If I was driving myself, there's no way I can drive some other things.


  18. Arriving at the Airport, Peter leaves the meeting.


  19. WIFE: You should have left the meeting a long time ago.


  20. PETER: I spotted something and wanted that to be done timely.


  21. INT. HONG KONG AIRPORT - CONTINUOUS


  22. Airline check-in counter. Peter and his wife drop their bags.


  23. PETER (V.O.): My wife has brought a lot of stuff for our daughter. She's a very caring mother.


  24. Peter touches his hand bag.


  25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've only brought cash. Our daughter quit her Tokyo job to become a student in Seoul.


  26. INT. INCHEON AIRPORT - LATER


  27. A long quarantine queue for visitors coming from China including Hong Kong.


  28. PETER: I think we've to wait for at least 45 minutes before we can show our QR Codes at the quarantine inspection desks.


  29. WIFE: I don't see any toilet in the vicinity.


  30. PETER (V.O): Two nights ago, it took us about an hour to figure out how to input in advance our quarantine information in the user-unfriendly e-form.


  31. WIFE (Cont'd): Our daughter and her boyfriend have been waiting outside...


  32. PETER: They're together now...

  33. Later, they see an OFFICIAL asking an unprepared WOMAN in front to prepare to show her QR-Code.


  34. PETER (V.O): I wonder how quick she can get the QR-code on the spot. Travelling during the pandemic time is still hard.


  35. Pausing.


  36. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): But we've good reasons to come over to see our elder daughter now. The last time we met in person was Dec 2019 in Japan.


  37. Pausing.


  38. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Our daughter needs to have a permanent address in South Korea before she can re-enter it, if she comes back to Hong Kong.


  39. Pausing.


  40. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): We don't know about the procedural hurdle.


  41. Pausing.


  42. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): But the most challenging one is love relationship.


  43. Pausing.


  44. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Our daughter fell in love with her Korean classmate in Fukuoka years ago.


  45. Pausing.


  46. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And upon completion of studies, her boyfriend had to return to Busan as his father was terminally ill.


  47. Sighing.


  48. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A few weeks ago, our daughter has already paid tribute to her boyfriend's late father in Busan.


  49. Pausing.


  50. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): We're advised to fly direct to Busan if the Korean authority would allow flights from Hong Kong landing there again.


  51. Act 3


  52. INT. ROADS TO MYEONG-DONG - LATER


  53. Peter and his wife are at the back seats of a Genesis G80.


  54. PETER (V.O.): In the back seat, I enjoy the ride.


  55. Smiling.


  56. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I watch not the scenery but the couple in front.


  57. RETURN TO PRESENT


  58. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While I won't be a backseat driver, I've the value to be their "guardian".

  59. THE END


  60. FADE OUT














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