| Fan Fiction |
by W99
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“Well, I see everyone’s here. Let’s get down to business then,” Jon remarked once everybody was present in the conference room. “I’m sure the both of you have heard and seen them before, but still let’s just make the customary introductions shall we?” he glanced at Selina and Calvin, who was sitting across him.
They nodded.
“Pete’s going to be the director,” Jon indicated towards the man sitting at the head of the table. He was a thirty-something year old man with no hair and a jovial smile on his face. “His assistant, Leah. And Joey who was one of the writers working on the script,” he sat back down after he had finished.
Selina and Calvin echoed their greetings politely.
Joey stood up and began handing out stacks of papers to the two main leads as well as Jon and Tony. “I’m sure you’d all been briefed about the plot, but I’ll go through it once more alright?”
“Basically, [Because of You] is a typical romance with an atypical twist, being that everything takes place in the hospital. It will bring a brand new outlook to your otherwise normal, average love story.”
“Calvin, you’d be playing the part of the rich and famous doctor, the envy of everybody in your field for your medical expertise, swooned and daydreamed over by nurses and female patients alike.”
“However, Dr Jayden’s character is a lot more complex than what you would think. Towards the middle of the story, he finds out that he suffers from a rare, mild form of illness, somewhat similar to Parkinson’s. It’s not so obvious that other people would be able to detect it, but it affects his performance in the surgical room nevertheless.”
“Jayden fears that his disease would develop to the point that it is impossible to hide, and that he’d lose everything that he has come to cherish, his career, his passion and his respect. The uncertainty takes a heavy toll out of him mentally and he slowly sinks into depression.”
“Enter Ariel, a fumbling, clumsy, happy-go-lucky nurse who has been assigned to do an attachment program with Dr Jayden, much to the envy of all the other young nurses. She wreaks havoc in the doctor’s life, creates one mishap after another for him to clean up, and generally brings chaos to his otherwise calm, orderly existence.”
“The doctor is at first disgusted by her incompetence, but soon finds himself strangely fascinated by her optimism towards living. She is the only one who realizes that he is sick later on in the movie, and provides him with the mental support and encouragement that he so badly needs. She is also the one who suggests he takes time out from work under the pretence of having a much-needed holiday, and head to LA to look for a cure for his disease.”
“Needless to say, there’d be the usual drama where another girl and guy enters the picture (we have yet to decide who will be playing these two roles) before the both of them realize they can’t live with each other and declare their relationship publicly. Any questions?”
“So upon first impression, Jayden would be the typical loaded, high-and-mighty arrogant ass?” Calvin spoke up.
Pete nodded. “The more self-centered and inflated your ego you can act, the better. But I want this hint of loneliness to always be present around you too, alright? Act utterly despicable, make the audience want to hate you. But at the same time, make them sympathise with you too.”
Calvin looked slightly nervous. Selina interpreted his expression correctly to mean that he wasn’t so sure if he could pull such a complicated character off.
“You’ll be great, don’t worry so much just yet,” she whispered to him.
He nodded, grateful that she was so vocal in her support for him.
After another hour of Qs & As, of suggestions and opinions being thrown around, the meeting was wrapped up. Filming was scheduled to start sometime next month, and in the mean time Selina and Calvin would be prepping themselves for their roles, as well as going on some minor promotional activities to generate public interest.
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‘Free? Need to talk, asap. Where are you?’
-Chun
‘Yeah, not doing anything atm. Currently at home. Wassup? Sounds serious.’
-Cal
‘It is. Can’t believe this shit. Will be at your place in 10.’
-Chun
“What’s wrong?” Calvin asked the moment he opened his door to allow an angry, dishevelled Chun into his apartment.
Chun let out a stream of expletives, storming into the kitchen to grab himself a can of Coke. Calvin followed behind, keeping a wary distance.
“Fuck this shit.” Chun swore loudly, turning to face his friend, rage evident in his eyes. “They knew what had gone on between us, but do they care? No, they only fucking care about their stupid ratings and their stupid publicity stunts!”
Calvin reached out to still Chun, who was pacing up and down tensely. “Hey, I’m not exactly sure what you’re so mad about. Some explaining would be nice.”
“Damn them all to hell and back.”
“Ok, and I would really like to know what happened---“
“Just fuck all of them!”
“Chun!” Calvin snapped, finally having had enough of all the cussing. “Mind what you’re saying.”
Calvin’s irritation seemed to succeed in deflating Chun. He wilted and muttered, “Sorry.”
“Now, would you care to start from the top?” Calvin sent him an apologetic look to show that he hadn’t meant his earlier harsh tone.
Chun slumped down on Calvin’s couch. “Your movie, ‘Because of You’? They said you still lacked two supporting characters,” he began wearily, a pained look descending upon his features.
Calvin nodded slowly, a feeling equivalent to doom creeping swiftly up his spine, especially when he noticed how upset and angry Chun really was.
“I’m sure you know what I’m going to say next,” Chun’s tone was bitter.
Calvin shook his head in disbelief. “Please do not tell me that somehow, you and Ella got casted into those roles.”
“Damn right we did!” Chun was raising his voice again, a clear sign that he was getting agitated once more.
“The hell? They didn’t say anything about this in last week’s meeting!”
“It was just decided. Tony told me the fan-freakin-tastic news about half an hour ago.”
Calvin couldn’t help the curses that tumbled out of his mouth.
“Unbelievable isn’t it? They knew how awkward the position we’re in right now, but they don’t freakin care!” Chun’s voice dropped to a low hiss. “To quote Tony, we’re not really sure yet how the public would react to Calvin and Selina working together for the first time. So we need both of your presences to help boost TV ratings.”
“I can’t believe this shit!” Calvin’s mouth was curled up in disgust at how selfish their company could be at times. The welfare of their charges always came second to any money-making prospects they were currently cooking up.
Everyone around them knew how distraught Chun had been over the break-up. Calvin seriously could not believe the company would just stomp over Chun’s feelings like that, and force him to work on such intimate terms with his ex. The whole thing was plain crazy.
Chun sighed tiredly. “Tony tried talking to them, but they wouldn’t listen. They said I had to be professional enough to separate my social life from work,” he paused to stare blindly down at the floor. “I suppose they’re right. I’d have to learn to face her, sooner or later.”
“But what the hell? Why couldn’t they find some other people? I mean, the very idea of you both playing supporting roles is already a big joke in itself! Come on! The Wu Chun and The Ella Chen! You two are among the highest-paying actors in the industry! Nobody tells you both to play supporting characters! It just isn’t how things are done!” Calvin ran his right hand through his hair restlessly.
“Tony said the purpose of both our presences was to boost ratings,” Chun replied dully. “On one end we have yet another couple-collaboration forming from SHE and Fahrenheit. On the other end, we have both me and Ella, who are supposedly the darling couple of Taiwan’s entertainment industry. With an A-star cast like that, ‘Because of You’ is bound to shoot straight to the top of ‘2009’s Most-Viewed Idol Drama’s’ list.”
Although he was still feeling disgusted, Calvin had to hand it to H.I.M. This latest move would guarantee them instant success equivalent to a Hollywood box-office hit. The exposure for both SHE and Fahrenheit would be incredible. Any other movie thinking of competing with them would definitely have a hard time coming up with anything that could possibly rival such a brilliant tactical play. ‘Because of You’ was going to earn them millions.
“I don’t know what to say about this,” Calvin stood up and began pacing, feeling too riled up to continue sitting. “Have they told Ella?”
“I should think she’ll be getting the news any day now.”
“Maybe she’ll reject the offer…”
Chun looked up at his friend like he was the world’s biggest idiot. "Direct orders straight from the big boss himself. Do you think any of us are in any place to say no?"
Calvin chewed on his lip in frustration. “One can still hope, though.”
Chun dropped his gaze back down to the floor. “Whoopee, I can’t wait for next month,” his tone dripped sarcasm.
“My sentiments exactly.” Calvin sighed.
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Here's Chapter 3. Hopefully you'll all like it. =D
-W99