Chicken Nugget (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

[dynamic music]
[roars]
[clucks]
[Baek-joong] I know
who this man is.
[mysterious music]
The delivery guy
from Nobleman's Chicken Nuggets.
Are you sure he's from Nobleman's?
Yeah. Do you remember
when we ordered from them?
It's the delivery man from that night.
I know it's him.
[gasps]
More than Machines!
We develop and research ♪
And you should order from us now
More than Machines! ♪
[sighs]
Impressive. That was the most dreadful
moment I've ever had to endure.
Let's make this our new company song
and never play it again.
[all laughing raucously]
[banging at door]
[Baek-joong] What?
[banging]
[Baek-joong] Eh?
Oh?
I'm sorry. We didn't hear you knock.
Busy making machines?
How 'bout making a fucking doorbell?
Enjoy the food.
[insects chirping]
[deliveryman] Jesus.
Doorbell?
Doorbell
Fucking
Duck, um ♪
Fucking duck, um ♪
[synthesizer plays]
Duck-footed, I'm walking duck-footed ♪
Doorbell rings, a big fucking duck ♪
Like a big duck, a big fucking duck ♪
Now I'm walking
Like a big fucking duck ♪
Wow!
Big fuckin' duck ♪
[Baek-joong] I was inspired
by the word "fuck"
and the way he was doing
this duck-footed walking,
so I made a song named
"A Fucking Sitting Duck".
Actually, would you like me to play it?
- You fucking kidding?
- Right.
Anyway, I swear it.
It was that guy.
I'm positive.
But Min-ah brought
Baekjung Chicken Nuggets.
Nobleman's doesn't make sense.
Why would their delivery guy put that
kind of machine in front of our company?
We can go ask him.
[sighs]
I mean, why the hell would their delivery
guy put a machine like that at our door?
Why, huh?
How am I supposed to know,
when he was the one that put it there?
- Why are you raising your voice?
- Only because you did it first.
You can't do everything I do. [gasps]
- This doesn't make sense.
- Does anything make sense anymore?
- [sighs]
- Mr. Choi.
- Look at Min-ah now.
- [sighs]
She's a chicken.
No, she's parts of a chicken.
She's parts of a chicken.
- She's deep-fried and covered with sauce.
- Enough!
Min-ah's stuck in a situation
that seems like a horrible prank.
Who can she turn to?
How can she endure this crisis
if we break down in front of her?
- Mr. Choi.
- [breathing shakily]
We only have each other,
until Min-ah comes back.
I hate it, but you're right.
Min-ah.
I'll be right back, okay?
- Don't touch them.
- Where are you going, sir?
Nobleman's. To find that man.
Oh. I'll come with you!
- [Baek-joong] Why are they closed early?
- [Choi] Because they're open every day?
[Baek-joong] That can't be.
Baekjung Chicken Nuggets
across the street closes early
because they run out of ingredients fast.
That's why this place is always open late.
- [woman] They're no longer in business.
- [Choi gasps] Jesus, you scared me.
Closed down for good? Uh, why?
The owner. He passed away.
[Baek-joong] What?
We we ordered delivery
just the other night.
- He died yesterday.
- Yesterday? Why yesterday?
Why yesterday?
It's not like you schedule your death.
It was a hit-and-run.
It was pouring hard that night.
I doubt there's any witnesses.
Okay Well, then, do you know,
by any chance, their deliveryman?
I do. He had our pajeon almost every day.
Then, well could you give me his number?
Why are you asking me for his
Ah, well
- Um, he
- Is he the hit-and-run driver?
Are you guys detectives?
- Ah, we're not.
- Oh!
Uh, would detectives wear these pants?
We're actually from a
Oh, a company called More than Machines
that's nearby.
Why are you looking for him?
What happened was he left this machine
in front of our company,
and the machine made this boom sound!
- And a person turned into a chi
- Ah, ah
It's just there was a misdelivery,
you know.
- So, if you know his number, may I
- I don't know his number.
Um okay, well, what do you know?
- What he looks like?
- Well yes, we know that too.
So how am I somehow supposed
to know something that you don't?
Uh, well
Let me Here, please.
I'll give you my business card.
- Could you please
- Please.
give it to him for me?
Okay. But in return, buy a takeout pajeon.
For you, 30,000 won.
- Oh, what's the original price?
- Market price.
- Market price for pajeon?
- Hey, stop.
Okay, sure, we'll take one.
I'm sure it's delicious.
And here's my card.
I'll be reachable any time.
So, whenever you see him, please
Okay, sir. Please wait here a moment.
- Of course. Thank you.
- [shop bell rings]
More than Machines
[phone buzzing]
Mr. Kim?
Now?
No, not a problem.
I'm out, but I'm heading back.
Okay, bye.
Take this.
I'm not hungry.
[footsteps]
[Choi] You're early today.
Good morning, Mr. Ko.
Why have you brought me pajeon?
I didn't go home yet, and it's nighttime.
And this is the pajeon
you bought earlier for 30,000 won.
So, why are you still here?
It was too hard for me to go home.
Mr. Choi, you should stay strong.
Have some.
You haven't eaten anything today.
Min-ah
makes good pajeon.
[melancholy music]
[Min-ah] Now adding some seafood.
- More?
- [Choi] Yeah!
- [Choi] Whoa!
- Oh! Whoa!
- That pajeon is so thick!
- [laughs]
- Say aah.
- Aaah
Mm mm
- How is it?
- Mmm!
- Is it good?
- Try some. Go ahead. Hmm.
- [Min-ah] Mmm! Mmm!
- [Choi chuckles]
- [Min-ah] Okay, we'll take this.
- [Choi] Okay.
[Min-ah] Roll it up.
- Mm.
- [Choi] How is it?
- Mmm!
- It's good?
- Mm-hmm! Mm.
- Let me try. Put this on.
[Min-ah] Isn't it good?
- [Choi] Mmm!
- Good, right? [chuckles]
- [Choi] Mm-hmm.
- [Min-ah] Cheers!
[Choi] Mmm
This was just
something we would enjoy together.
Let's pull ourselves together.
[knocking at door]
[man] Hey, guys.
Sorry to bother you on a Friday night.
- [Choi] No, don't be. Have a seat.
- [man] Thank you.
Here's the blueprint. The manual.
- The documents you requested.
- [Choi] Okay.
- Here's some water.
- Oh, that's great. Thank you very much.
Well, aren't you guys going home soon?
Yeah, but we've received
a machine that we shouldn't have
Shhh!
Hey I didn't expect to see that here.
- Whoa, that's interesting.
- [Baek-joong] Huh?
Mr. Kim. You know that machine?
Yeah, I do.
What is it?
- What's going on?
- What the hell is that machine?
It's just a machine. [scoffs]
And what is it used for?
Uh hey, what's up with you two?
- You said you know what it is! Tell me!
- [Kim] I do, but not really.
- I actually want to ask you what it is.
- You said you fucking know what it is!
Uh I just, uh, meant
that I recognized that thing.
[whirring and clattering]
[burst of energy]
[hissing]
[Kim] Three years ago,
I participated in Professor Yoo's
Carbon Composite New Material
Development Project.
- As in that professor who
- The first Asian winner of the ASME Medal?
The so-called Nobel Prize
in mechanical development?
ASME.
Right, but he was obsessed
with that weird machine.
So, then, what the hell
does that machine do?
I told you, I don't know.
Plus, I never even went near the thing.
- [sighs]
- [clicks mouse]
[door closes]
[Kim] Jeez
Is there anything in this thing?
What the hell is this?
[Yoo] What are you doing?
Oh.
- Professor, can I help you with anything?
- I told you not to come in.
Well
[Yoo] Epicyon!
Bite!
[Kim] His dog that he had for 20 years
passed away the year before.
He was having a really hard time.
He never stopped grieving.
I started to think he was having
a complete mental breakdown.
[Kim] What the
Ugh, crap.
Damn it.
Ugh. Jesus.
[groans]
[groans]
Hello, sir.
[mysterious music playing]
[Yoo inhales]
[exhales]
[clicks tongue] Professor,
what on earth is that machine?
I don't know.
Why are you so obsessed with it
when you don't know?
Because I don't know.
But don't you think our current project
has been dragging on too long?
Records show that
the machine existed 200 years ago.
Do you know
what kind of material the exterior is?
A kind of steel.
Duralumin.
- [Baek-joong] Dural
- Duralumin.
Aluminum alloy.
High tensile, with age-hardening ability.
Used to make the skin of an aircraft. But
back then, they had duralumin?
I thought it was. It is not.
A material invented in the 20th century
existed in Joseon in the 19th century?
Then Korean history
no, world history would be different.
I don't understand what you're saying.
[Yoo] I don't either.
All I know is that
the exterior material of that machine
is beyond, or at least ten times stronger,
yet lighter than duralumin.
A new material that could only exist
200 years in the future
was used 200 years ago.
I think you've been working too hard
for too long, Professor.
Right.
It's likely.
But you know what?
I've found something
even more interesting.
[dramatic music]
Wha what is it?
[mumbles]
To be continued.
- Shit
- [Baek-joong yells]
To be continued, my ass!
- [yawns]
- It's awful.
He believed he could revive his dead dog
with that ridiculous thing,
and, well, we all decided
that he'd gone completely insane.
So this machine is the same one
you were working on?
Yeah.
- [Choi sighs]
- Wait. No, it's not.
- What?
- [Kim] That mark is different.
Everything else looks the same,
but the mark I saw wasn't that.
Then does that mean
that there are others like that out there?
Well, how did it get here?
We, uh um we don't know.
- That's that's not important right now.
- Uh-huh.
Like it or not, we have that machine here,
and we should know how it works.
- So that we can either fix it or sell it.
- Right.
Uh, speaking of which,
can you give us Professor Yoo's contact?
[sighs] You didn't know?
He's missing. It's been on the news.
- What?
- He's missing?
- Yeah, it's been a while.
- But how?
No one knows how.
It's like he just disappeared.
- [sighs]
- Then where on earth did that come from?
I have no idea.
The research he was doing was cut short.
- [Choi sighs]
- We lost all the funding too.
Yoo In-won, professor,
and the first Asian winner of
the ASME medal, and mechanical engineer,
has been missing for nearly a week.
His whereabouts at this time
are still a mystery.
The only evidence left
to explain his disappearance
is CCTV footage we acquired
of him running somewhere,
which shows
that it was recorded on the fourth
FIRE IN POORLY MANAGED LAB, INJU
- [Kim] Also, a fire
- [Choi] Where'd the machine go?
[Kim] I don't know. We were supposed to
dispose of them at the end of a project.
STILL NO PROGRESS AFTER A YEAR
[music fades]
[birdsong]
[grunts]
Huh.
[sighs] I'm sorry.
I wish I could help you.
Should you get some sunlight?
But I'm worried you'll get too dry.
Corn syrup could moisturize you.
No.
[sighs]
INJU POLICE STATION
Are you tired?
- Yes.
- Me too.
Please leave.
- You know, I'm not asking you to find him.
- [cop] I know.
If someone goes missing,
those who are involved get drained.
I'm not trying to drain you.
But there must be some kind of record
left of the investigation.
Do you think cops are a joke? We're not
talking about school records or something.
FATIGUE RECOVERY
You have a daughter.
So do I.
Let's say, out of the blue,
your daughter became this energy drink.
Are you insane?
It just happened. You don't understand.
Uh
- And then, I just twisted off her neck.
- A are you crazy? That's
[Choi] How would I know
that was your daughter?
Then, when you get home, she's not there.
She's disappeared.
She was that energy drink
that crazy guy twisted the cap off of.
- [gasps]
- You go to find the bottle.
But it's already been recycled.
- You think about her when you see these.
- [whimpers]
- Even the sound of twisting the cap off
- [cop yelps]
[cracking]
feels like they're twisting her neck.
- Hah!
- No, don't, please. Aah!
- Aah! No! [yelps]
- [cracking]
- [cop gasping]
- [loud, sharp cracking]
- Stop it! [gasps]
- [Choi] Aah.
In this world, there are many dangers
we can't prepare for.
And this
is the danger that's taken my daughter.
Oh shit. God, you must be crazy.
- [cracking]
- [sighs]
Oh.
My daughter My God, seriously
Why'd you have to say all that weird shit?
About Professor Yoo's case.
The thing is,
he was such a big name, I had no choice
but to pay a lot of attention to it.
I didn't want to tell you
because it hurts my pride.
Listen. He didn't go missing.
[mysterious music plays]
He evaporated.
Huh?
Oh my.
[cop] On the day he disappeared,
he rushed out of the lab.
They had security cameras
installed everywhere,
just as you'd expect
from a research laboratory.
They were all working normally.
There weren't even any blind spots,
so his every move was captured.
There are so many
security cameras in Korea,
sometimes I wonder
why anyone would commit a crime.
Tracking him down was a piece of cake.
But, for whatever reason, he went
into a locked building through a window.
And surprisingly,
that was it.
There's footage of him entering
the building, but none of him coming out.
We might have missed something,
so we checked all the security cameras
within a five-kilometer radius,
but there was nothing.
Pipes, sewers, there was simply no way
anyone could've gone
in and out of that building.
We investigated everyone related
to his work as possible murder suspects.
We didn't want to give up,
so we really pushed ourselves.
[sighs]
A machine from 200 years ago?
[Choi] Time machine?
He didn't go missing. He evaporated.
[Choi] Invisible man?
This doesn't make any sense.
[chuckles] Like the chicken nugget thing
really makes sense.
Huh?
[diners laughing and chatting]
- Uh
- Why do you have these here?
It's dangerous.
We need to find out which one is her.
Among these chicken nuggets,
I am going to find Min-ah.
Then don't stand there. Let's go in.
I've been running in my head
simulations of possible outcomes.
And did you decide on a plan?
I did some thorough research
on Baekjung Chicken Nugget history,
and I found something quite astonishing.
What was it?
Baekjung Chicken Nugget's recipe
has been passed down for four generations
and has maintained their superior taste
for 200 years.
200 years?
Yet the crazy thing
I found out about it was
[chickens clucking]
chicken nuggets became
popular and common only recently.
200 years ago,
people rarely had fried chicken
because cooking oil was scarce.
The industrial mass production
of low-priced cooking oils
like corn or cottonseed
began after the 1960s,
the same time
poultry farming started booming.
Meaning that oils and chicken were
both very rare ingredients before then.
So that must mean someone is lying.
What does that have to do
with our situation?
They're not lying.
The best food columnist in Korea, Hongcha,
held a grudge against them
because they refused to be interviewed.
So she posted everything
she found out about them on her blog.
There's countless evidence showing
they started making these chicken nuggets
200 years ago!
That's when even noblemen
couldn't easily afford them either.
This wouldn't have been revealed
without that columnist.
So, even though they invented the chicken
nuggets 150 years before anyone else,
they didn't use it
as a means of promotion!
The current owner is
the fourth generation to run this store.
He grabbed
the chicken nuggets of his family
during his first birthday ceremony,
and was chosen as the next successor
one year after his birth.
To this day, he doesn't allow even
the slightest change in the taste.
So what?
So that kind of person
would easily pick out a chicken nugget
that his restaurant didn't make.
He will definitely find Min-ah.
All right, let's go.
- Hello, ma'am.
- Hello.
[woman] Get out.
Go wait in line.
I will call you in to order.
Uh, we are here to see
the owner of this restaurant, please.
And what do you want?
Ah, well
He will never open franchise stores, and
he declines all offers for TV appearances.
You can talk to me
if you have any complaints.
Are there any other questions?
- Ah, that's
- What were you planning on asking her?
- About franchising.
- Was a TV offer your next one?
Yeah.
Now what?
We're from a company called, uh
More than Machines.
And every year,
we find and give a star rating
to the best restaurant in town.
It's like the Korean Michelin star.
We came to tell you that you've been
awarded two stars for your restaurant.
So can the owner come out
to receive his generous cash prize?
Pay them one million won.
Our boss will only accept
a heart full of gratitude.
- Here.
- Uh
- Lay it down.
- What?
Please give to me your grateful heart.
[both men] Oh!
It was very well received.
- Ten million won!
- What?
The prize money. Ten million.
He would like that money
to go to small businesses in need.
- One hundred.
- [woman] Ten billion
[gasps] What You
is the minimum amount he can receive.
Back to work.
But the owner
was an old school friend of our president.
He was an outcast and was bullied.
The owner here always helped him.
He really wants to repay his kindness.
But my boss was homeschooled every year.
Homeschooled. Right, of course.
[Choi] I mean, what [scoffs]
The chicken nuggets might go bad.
Why don't we just tell them the truth?
Definitely not!
If word gets out about this,
Min-ah could be in danger.
Do you really think anyone
would believe this nonsense?
They could! Curiosity makes people crazy.
I can't take the risk.
What if Min-ah lives
as a chicken nugget forever?
What about the fact
that you can't tell which nugget she is?
What's more dangerous right now?
Trust me on this one.
[suspenseful music playing]
[clattering]
[clicks pen]
[grunts softly]
Quick.
Ma'am?
Could you give him this note for me?
Come with me.
[Choi gasps]
[grunts]
[both yelling]
[dramatic music playing]
[Choi, slowed] Min
[grunting]
[baroque music playing]
[slowed]ah!
- Aah!
- Min
- [gasps]
- Huh?
- Uh
- Huh?
- [Baek-joong] Aaah!
- [Choi] Uh!
[echoing crash]
[echoing thuds]
[echoing pattering]
[both screaming]
- [Choi] Min-ah!
- [Baek-joong] Ah! Oh no!
[both continue screaming]
[Baek-joong] Put them back in!
[both wailing]
[Choi] Careful.
- Here, right here. Sorry. I'm sorry.
- [Baek-joong gasping]
I I'll I'll pay for the beer
and the chicken nuggets.
[both men scream]
[Baek-joong] I did this!
[sobbing]
[Baek-joong screeching]
This is all my fault!
This is all my fault!
[both continue screaming and crying]
- [Choi wailing]
- You can have it all. Let's go.
- Come on, Grandma. Let's go.
- Come on.
- [Choi wailing]
- [mother] What's wrong with him?
[screaming]
Min-ah!
- [woman] That's not your daughter.
- [gasps]
Uh uh
What?
I said, that's not your daughter.
[Choi] Huh?
Huh?
[dramatic music plays]
[Choi] What?
What?
MY DAUGHTER TURNED INTO A CHICKEN NUGGE
[dramatic music]
- [music fades]
- [Baek-joong] Let's go.
- [rock music]
- [Baek-joong] Ahem.
[singing in Korean]
[music softens]
[cheerful music]
500 nights, I have my plan ♪
To have a good time
With you, my friend ♪
So we don't have much time
'Cause we've got many things to do ♪
One year is so short
With you, my friend ♪
Ah-ah-ah, with you, my friend ♪
Ah-ah-ah, with you, my friend ♪
[music fades]