Six Kilograms
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Mar 1
- 3 min read
Act 1
INT. CAR - 18:00
Raindrops on the windshield. Peter's WIFE drives. PETER, a worried crease in his brow, sits beside her, peering at the road ahead. The sign for the Airport looms. Peter checks a WhatsApp message.
PETER (V.O.): Three months ago, my elder daughter and her husband were in Hong Kong. Very happy.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then she didn't go to visit her mother-in-law in Busan with her husband for New Year. Said she needed to rest. Now she's on a plane coming home alone.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What if something's wrong?
Peter checks a WhatsApp message.
PETER: Her flight from Seoul has landed.
WIFE: Good!
Peter types on screen: We've also arrrived at P4...
Act 2
INT. CAR - LATER
Accompanied by her mother, the DAUGHTER gets into the middle row of the car with her lugguage. Peter is in the driver seat.
PETER: Welcome back!
PETER (V.O.): Our girl looks a little tired.
PETER (Cont'd): Let's get you home!
EXT. HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS
They're heading away from the Airport. The cityscape slides by. A comfortable silence, then the daughter speaks.
DAUGHTER: My husband and I have been talking. A lot.
Peter's knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. Here it comes.
DAUGHTER (Cont'd): We never had a proper honeymoon, you know? Work got in the way, life got in the way. We've finally started planning it.
The tension visibly drains from Peter's shoulders. He lets out a a breath he didn't know he was holding.
PETER: A honeymoon! That's...that's wonderful. About time!
WIFE: Oh, that's lovely. Any ideas where?
DAUGHTER: Thinking may be France, Switzerland and Italy in the summer. But that's not the only news.
The brief relief in the car evaporates.
DAUGHTER (Cont'd): Today was my last day. My last day at that job.
PETER (V.O.): I thought you're doing very well...
DAUGHTER (Cont'd): I handed in my notice weeks ago. I couldn't do it anymore. The stress, the hours, the pressure...
WIFE: That's why you didn't go to Busan and stayed home during the New Year.
DAUGHTER: Yes... the job was toxic. I was running on empty.
Peter's eyes are full of concern.
DAUGHTER: I've lost six kilograms in two months. There's no time for sleep. Always ready for the next email or phone call.
PETER (V.O.): Six kilograms is too much.
Peter's eyes blaze with fierce protectiveness.
DAUGHTER (Cont'd): I thought I had to be the one who could handle it all. But staying...staying was breaking me.
PETER: And your husband? He supports this?
DAUGHTER: Yes. He believed my work environment was tougher than the military service.
PETER: Well, I think you're incredibly brave. Walking away from something that's hurting you, that takes strength. More strength than staying.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Sometimes, the most successful thing one can do is stop.
WIFE: I'm making your favourites: soup, chicken, prawns...
Pausing.
PETER: Yes, we'll fatten you up.
PETER (V..O): We drove to the Airport ready for anything. I never thought her job was eating our daughter alive.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She didn't tell us earlier. That's the part that gets me. She thought we'd be care more about her job than her wellbeing.
Act 3
INT. DINING ROOM - 21:00
The table is set simply. Bowls of steaming soup, dishes of chicken, prawns...They are eating, chatting.
PETER (V.O.): Quiting cost our daughter nothing. Staying was costing her everything - six kilograms at a time.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Six kilograms isn't just weight. It's worry that she couldn't eat. It's nights she couldn't sleep. It's a job that took more than it gave.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Six kilograms disappeared, but what emerged was a woman who finally chose herself - my good girl.
The outside is dark. But inside, it's warm, bright and full of family.
The END
FADE OUT
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