‘Turnover’ is a black and white film that starts with the sound of a train speeding, the buzzing carrying across the carriage.
Sungmin (played by Choi Taejoo) is busy sketching a random man from across him, drawing the man naked with the pole against his back. The man is with his girlfriend who notices Sungmin. She whispers something to the man which makes him regard Sungmin with a stare, prompting Sungmin to look away. Moments later, Sungmin alights the train and is busy writing something outside the mall. He writes about the pros and cons. Under the pros section, he writes sexy and sweet. He ponders about what to write as a con. He writes “distraction from work” and “borrows cab fare.” He thinks for a few moments before adding “sexy and sweet” in the cons section. He’s suddenly interrupted by a man walking up to him.
The man, his boyfriend, asks him if he has been waiting for too long. Sungmin answers negatively. His boyfriend then invites him to go inside where they go to a fast food chain. Inside the restaurant, Sungmin who opens his wallet to no cash, tries to pay with his cards but all of them get declined at the register. His boyfriend notices and walks up to Sungmin. He asks what’s wrong but thankfully, the card gets accepted and Sungmin can pay for them.
When the order arrives, Sungmin’s boyfriend immediately gobbles his food. He offers his burger when he sees Sungmin looking at him but Sungmin only shakes his head. He then asks Sungmin if he has ever thought about their trip to Jeju that his friends would like to go on soon. Sungmin halfheartedly says that they should go. His boyfriend excitedly tells him the things he’s looking forward to doing in Jeju while Sungmin subtly rips off the receipt of his boyfriend’s meal in his hand.
Just then, a memory surfaces mirroring the conversation with his current boyfriend. Sungmin and a man are inside the train. The man asked Sungmin to go on a trip with him to Jeju which the man will shoulder. Sungmin was flustered but the man assured Sungmin that the reservation had been made already. They shared a smile before Sungmin asked when the man would be alighting the train but he replied that he would be staying a little longer until he and Sungmin reach the end. It’s a pretty tender moment between the two.
Back to the present, Sungmin has ripped the receipt to pieces as his boyfriend drones on and on about the things they should do when they finally go to Jeju. Sungmin is visibly uninterested and his boyfriend notices his sullen expression. He puts down his burger and asks Sungmin if anything happened today. Sungmin denies anything happened and turns the question to his boyfriend. His boyfriend says he went to prep school which was boring but he adds that he’s glad that he’s spending time with Sungmin now. Sungmin doesn’t react and instead asks if he wants to go for a walk. Uh-oh. This looks bad.
Outside, Sungmin and his boyfriend walk in silence. His boyfriend notices Sungmin’s odd behavior. Meanwhile, Sungmin’s vision gets blurry and the world starts to get shaky. Moments pass in silence until Sungmin’s phone alarms with the message “Five minutes for turnover.” Sungmin turns around and faces his boyfriend. His first words are “I’m sorry, let’s stop seeing each other.” Sungmin apologizes once more and then walks away.
