Chapter 4 of 100
Chapter 4
17 min read4,129 words
When Li Chong reappeared among the crowd, it was already five days later. Dressed in a gray suit, he looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and a thick beard covering his chin. At least his hair was relatively clean...
"Damn, why did the razor run out of power just now?" Li Chong checked his phone; it was already 9:30. He had an appointment with Jin Yanji, the director of QY Film Company, at 10:00. There was no time to deal with his beard... Li Chong quickly walked down two streets and bought a can of milk from a vending machine, finishing it in a couple of gulps. He then casually threw the can into a trash bin. By the time he reached the agreed-upon café, it was 9:50. He entered the café and found a seat away from the window, as his appearance might affect the city's beauty. Li Chong ordered a light meal and a cup of coffee... and waited for the people from the film company.
Li Chong finished his light meal, but the person he was waiting for didn't show up. He finished his coffee, but the person still didn't come. After ordering two more cups of coffee, the person still hadn't arrived. Li Chong had a bad feeling. The café was gradually filling up with people, and it was already noon, time for lunch...
After waiting for two hours, Li Chong thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and called Jin Yanji. "Beep, beep, beep. Hello, is this Mr. Jin Yanji? I'm Li Chong," Li Chong said as soon as the call connected.
A light, casual voice came from the phone, "Hello, I'm Jin Yanji. Is there something you need?"
Li Chong felt a twinge in his head, "You had scheduled a meeting with me at the café to discuss the script and investment."
"Oh, that. Didn't my secretary inform you? I don't have time today. Why don't you bring the script to my company, and I'll look at it when I have time, then we can discuss the investment?" Jin Yanji said with a hint of mockery...
Li Chong suddenly felt like a fool for waiting... but he couldn't show it in his words. "Never mind, Mr. Jin Yanji. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
Li Chong hung up the call, thinking to himself, if you don't want to see me, just say so. Why go through all this trouble? Is QY the only film company in Seoul... QY is just a medium-sized film production company.
On the other end of the call, Jin Yanji sneered, thinking, you probably don't even know that you've been blacklisted by CJ Entertainment... Liu Xiuli is a notorious opportunist. If it weren't for his sharp eye for good movies that have made CJ a lot of money, he wouldn't have held such a lucrative position. No one would risk offending him for a nobody like you. You'd better stick to directing music videos...
At this point, Li Chong had already started looking for another film company. The result was predictable. Over the next five days, apart from one large film production company that wanted to buy his script, over ten film companies either directly or indirectly rejected Li Chong. It wasn't until a film company executive who had been very supportive of him before his military service told him the reason that he finally understood...
It turned out that someone had ordered a blacklist on him. "You, Li Chong, want to enter the film industry? You want to be a director and make movies? You can write and direct? I'll make sure you can't even get funding. I want to see what you'll do without money to make movies..."
Back in 2004, when Li Chong was at his peak, Liu Xiuli had already seen great potential in him and had agreed on a director's contract for a film. The terms were very generous, on par with those given to directors who had already directed one or two films. This was a significant offer for a newcomer. However, Li Chong suddenly disappeared for 2-3 months, forcing the film to be directed by someone else. This greatly angered Liu Xiuli, who felt that Li Chong was playing him. Liu Xiuli thought that giving such a big opportunity to a newcomer was already a favor, and he had planned to sign the director's contract at the film's press conference as a publicity stunt. This would have generated media attention from the start. Unfortunately, Li Chong's sudden disappearance disrupted Liu Xiuli's plans, and the film not only failed to recoup its costs but also resulted in a loss for CJ Entertainment. Liu Xiuli blamed Li Chong for this, and given his character, Li Chong's career in the film industry was effectively over...
Moreover, in the first half of 2007, Korean films had been thoroughly defeated by Hollywood, with 80% of domestic films failing to recoup their costs. Although Li Chong had the reputation of a genius PD, he had no completed works and had served two years in the military. No company was willing to invest heavily in him, especially since he had offended Liu Xiuli, the president of CJ Entertainment, who was known for his vindictive nature. Therefore, no film production company in Seoul would invest in him...
Li Chong felt wronged. It had been so long, and while he had made a mistake, he hadn't signed the contract. He had personally called to explain that his condition was unsuitable for directing a film, even if it was a bit late, it was still before the press conference... It was the day before, but it didn't warrant such a grudge...
Li Chong felt helpless. Without investment, even the best script was useless. Even if he was confident that his work would be a hit, without money, it was all for nothing.
As he walked, Li Chong found himself at the Seoul Han River Bridge. He realized he had a special connection with bridges. Whenever he was lost in thought, he would encounter a bridge. Last time it was the Geoje Bridge, and this time it was the Han River Bridge. Standing on the bridge, looking into the distance, Li Chong felt lost. He wondered if his decision to run away was right or wrong. Over the past two years, he had missed a lot. He missed his first film, the film boom of 2005 and 2006, the reduction in the quota for Korean films, the massive success of "The Host" and "King and the Clown" that overshadowed Hollywood, and of course, her wedding. But without those two years of reflection and沉淀, he wouldn't have written so many imaginative scripts, wouldn't have developed his love for life, and wouldn't have the script in his hands now.
"Ah," Li Chong sighed lightly, as if paying off a debt from two years ago...
Just as he was lost in thought, he opened his briefcase to get a cigarette when a girl suddenly bumped into him from behind...
"Ah!" The girl behind him fell to the ground, and Li Chong's briefcase, like a sandbag, fell into the Han River. A stack of manuscript pages fluttered out of the open briefcase, drifting away in the direction of the setting sun... Only the bold black title on the first page was faintly visible: "The Chi Young-min Murder Case."
"Ah!" Li Chong exclaimed in frustration, ignoring the girl who was still sitting on the ground, and rushed to retrieve his briefcase. Unfortunately, it was too late, and he could only watch as the pages danced and drifted into the Han River.
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