Chapter 11: Short Film Title Change

As I complimented her cookies from yesterday, she didn't respond as I expected. Looking at her, it seemed like she was forcing a smile.

At that moment, a light bulb went off in my head. In the countless web novels and mangas I've read, the protagonists always say that if you want to woo a girl, you should have a glib tongue and always compliment her nice and good.

Heeding the sages' advice and remembering my blunder of only complimenting her with one line earlier, I, after imagining the rich taste of the cookies from yesterday once more and licking my lips again, started complimenting her culinary skills again.

"Those cookies taste heavenly—they blew my mind. I've never eaten such heavenly cookies in my life. They were just perfect, with the perfect amount of sweetness—not too little and not too much. The appearance, the color, the texture—it was all great. Your culinary skills are top-notch. Even the world's top chef will kneel down in front of you."

When Soo-jin heard his compliments, she got so embarrassed that she threw a book, landing it on his face, thinking, What is this bastard saying? Even the world's top chef will kneel down in front of me? What the heck does he mean by that?

As Joon-ho caught the book that Soo-jin had thrown, he noticed her covering her face, which had turned red. He thought, So she is weak to compliments, huh?

Laughing in joy, a big smile formed on my face as I saw Soo-jin covering her face in embarrassment, thinking, This is the reaction I was looking for, not that forced one. Smiling, I said,

"Anyway, where did you gain this level of culinary skills?"

As Soo-jin heard him speak, she got slightly calmer. Looking down and still blushing, she said,

"I cook at home from time to time and love cooking."

"Oh, I see. I thought you were trained under a top chef. Seeing your culinary skills, it didn't seem like they were honed just from cooking at home."

When Soo-jin heard this, she blushed again, thinking, What is this crazy bastard saying again? I should change topics and take revenge for this embarrassment, so she did, You are not going to leave after embarrassing me this much.

"So, Joon-ho, what book were you reading earlier?"

As I heard her, my mind froze, not knowing what to say. What should I say now? Should I just tell her it was a fantasy book? But if she asks to read it, it will be a disaster. I cannot let her read this book at any cost. But thinking of that book, it was good—haha, really, really good. I should treasure it and keep it hidden. Ah, keep your thoughts straight, Joon-ho, keep your thoughts straight. I should tell her it was a horror novel so she won't ask for it.

Looking at her smirking, I thought, Yeah, I think she knows what that book was about. Why do you ask if you know what that book was? Sighing in my head and with embarrassment all over my face, I said shamefully,

"It was a horror novel."

Seeing Soo-jin's dumbfounded expression, I smirked.

"What? What did you think I was going to say?"

Clenching her hand, Soo-jin spoke through gritted teeth,

"It didn't seem that way to me. You were reading that book like no one in the world existed."

Hearing her, I enjoyed seeing her grind her teeth, but I was also ashamed, thinking, Was I really that immersed in that book? Well, that book was really good. I should read it privately, locking the doors and closing the windows with curtains down, where no one can watch, with tissues in hand for wiping tears, of course, for wiping tears.

Internally, I was too embarrassed, but outwardly, I showed no reaction. With a calm face, not believing my own words, I said,

"That horror book really got me hooked. Do you want to read it?"

As I said this, I was sweating buckets after all. If she asks for it, I have no choice. If she knows what that book was about, she will definitely decline. After all, she is a lady, and ladies need to keep appearances. Please, God, help me out here, sincerely praying to God, I hoped that Soo-jin would decline.

Soo-jin, thinking of the lines she read from that book, blushed again and said in a mosquito-like voice,

"No thanks, you can read it all you want. I don't like horror stories."

Joon-ho, dodging the bullet, congratulated himself and patted himself on the back for handling the situation well. He thanked his lucky stars and the gods above for helping him and quickly changed the topic.

"So, what are we going to do today?"

"Let's change the title first."

As I heard the title change, I agreed, and we started to think. After a few minutes, she said,

"Deadly Deception. What do you think?"

"Not bad, but not good."

After hearing him, Soo-jin started to think again, while did Joon-ho, and a few moments passed.

"What do you think about The Missing Piece?"

What the heck? As I thought about her titles, the murder mystery Deadly Deception and now this The Missing Piece, I thought, She is really bad at naming. Yeah, I think she is really, really bad at naming. Shaking my head, I once more said in a neutral voice,

"Not bad, but not good."

Hearing him speak with a poker and innocent face, she got angry. What did he mean by 'not bad but not good?' Slamming her hand on the desk, she said forcefully, "Isn't The Missing Piece a good name?"

As I flinched and shivered in fear at her angry face, my voice got low unknowingly, and my head gears started to turn rapidly, thinking of a convincing reason for declining this title.

"Umm, you see, Soo-jin, this title doesn't have the essence of the story. All the titles you suggested are vague. A title should portray what is going to happen in the story."

As I saw her easing her expression, I sighed in relief, thinking she was convinced.

"Yeah, you are right; the things you said might be correct, but still, I like the title The Missing Piece. If you don't like it, then suggest a better title that will convince me, or else this title is confirmed."

When Soo-jin heard her own words, she was shocked because this was the first time she was being rebellious after a long time.

After Joon-ho heard her, he was, what should I say, dumbfounded, thinking, Is she being childish now? Sighing, he thought, I am really sighing a lot today, and started thinking of a good title. Like that, a few minutes passed.

"How does Top Detective Reopens the Cover-Up Case sound?"

As Soo-jin heard this title, she thought it was good, really good. Compared to her titles from earlier, this is much better. Like that, she decided,

"Yes, it's good."

"So, will you change it?"

While I was nervously looking at her for the confirmation of the title change, she replied,

"Of course. Top Detective Reopens the Cover-Up Case is really good. I like it, so let's go with this title."

"Okay, then what's next?"

"Let's start writing the script."

As we started writing the script, without knowing, time flew by in the blink of an eye.