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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

The Spring Cleaning

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. STUDY - DAY


  4. PETER is having screen time.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Originally, I had to work this morning. But the assignment had been rescheduled while I was flying back to Hong Kong.


  6. Pausing.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'll start working on the 6th day of the Year of the Rabbit.


  8. Peter checks his phone calendar.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Today is the 28th day of the last month of the Chinese Agricultural Calendar.


  10. Thinking.


  11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Chinese tradition is to do the Spring cleaning today to welcome the fortune for the coming year.


  12. Peter takes a look of the papers and documents here and there.


  13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me start cleaning then.


  14. Act 2


  15. FLASHBACK


  16. INT. OFFICETEL, SEOUL - NIGHT (14 JAN, 2023)


  17. Peter, his WIFE, their elder DAUGHTER and her BOYFRIEND begin checking a largely-vacant studio.


  18. DAUGHTER: The former tenant has just quit. My lease will begin tomorrow. The landlord will do the cleaning in the morning.


  19. They check the washroom facilities.


  20. WIFE: Everything is fine except the loosened toilet seat.


  21. They check the open kitchen.


  22. WIFE (Cont'd): Very nice, but there're some stains on the marble table.


  23. Checking the wall paper, they see two torn spots.


  24. PETER: They can be glued.


  25. DAUGHTER: Oh, there's a stain under the window.


  26. PETER: It can be cleaned. The window design is classy.


  27. Checking an extendable dining table, they find a big pile of papers and letters inside a cabinet drawer.


  28. INT. OFFICETEL, SEOUL - NIGHT (15 JAN, 2023)


  29. Inside a cleaned studio with no more papers and letters, Peter, his wife and their daughter deposit their bags.


  30. ALL: A clean place looks safe and beautiful!


  31. RETURN TO PRESENT


  32. INT - STUDY - LATER


  33. Peter picks up some papers and documents to check.


  34. PETER (V.O.): My practice has been that if the items don't catch fire, even if they multiply and block my access to work stations, I won't bother.


  35. Peter checks other items before putting them down again.


  36. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They always seem to have some residual value and I might need them someday.


  37. Repeating.


  38. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Especially for items I brought back from outside Hong Kong, they bring back memories that I wouldn't like to lose.


  39. Pausing.


  40. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Thus, I find it difficult to throw them away. My study is messy enough to make me feel good!


  41. Thinking.


  42. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): But I should at least do some Spring cleaning today.


  43. Peter re-checks some items.


  44. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I haven't read them since 2017 and they've no use to me. I've kept them long enough.


  45. Peter puts those items into a garbage bag.


  46. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Let me dump them into a recycling bin downstairs.


  47. INT. LOBBY - LATER


  48. A CARETAKER sees Peter intermeddling with the contents of different recycling bins.


  49. PETER (V.O): I've accidentally dumped the papers into a bin for plastics!


  50. Act 3


  51. INT. STUDIO - NIGHT


  52. Using a very thin flat chisel, Peter clears the gaps between white keys and black keys of a Yamaha Clarinova.


  53. PETER (V.O.): It has sticky keys. I thought it was old. But Spring cleaning has inspired me.


  54. Peter then wipes the tops and sides of the keys with a dampened cloth.


  55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've discovered that cleaning can resolve the sticky problem.


  56. Smiling.


  57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): With a fresh start, I believe I can now do anything I want.


  58. As Peter checks his phone images, we see many depicting the Rabbit device.

  59. THE END


  60. FADE OUT
















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