The Man They All Know

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. STUDY - 22:45

6. 
   

7. PETER is working before a laptop, We can hear his WIFE mumbling some Korean.

8. 
   

9. PETER: In three hours, we've learned how to tell time and the days of the week in Korean.

10. 
    

11. WIFE: Yes.

12. 
    

13. PETER: In the listening exercises, I was particularly slow...

14. 
    

15. FLASHBACK

16. 
    

17. INT. CLASSROOM, HKUSPACE - 21:15

18. 
    

19. Around 20 STUDENTS. The TEACHER is making a remark.

20. 
    

21. TEACHER: As there're just three more sessions before we part, we should know each other more. Do you know my name?

22. 
    

23. STUDENT#1: Seonsaengnim (Teacher)!

24. 
    

25. TEACHER: Ah ha, my name is Seonsaengnim (teacher)?

26. 
    

27. Act 2

29. INT. CLASSROOM, HKUSPACE - CONTINUOUS

30. 
    

31. Class activities. We hear: Peter...Peter...Peter...in Korean. Peter interacts with them.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): They all know my name, but I don't know theirs.

34. 
    

35. Interacting.
    

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Perhaps, my profile picture in the class chatgroup has caught their attention. But they've never asked me about that...

38. 
    

39. Interacting.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Probably, they've never had a classmate as old as me.

42. 
    

43. FLASBACK UPON FLASHBACK

44. 
    

45. INT. BUSINESS SCHOOL, HKUST - 09:50.

46. 
    

47. Committee meeting. As Peter appears, Wilson waves at him.

48. 
    

49. WILSON: Come and sit next to me.

50. 
    

51. PETER (V.O): Wilson knows I travel monthly. We share travel information.

52. 
    

53. A STAFF puts a name plate "Peter Cheung" before Peter.

54. 
    

55. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): He knows my name, but I don't know his.

56. 
    

57. FURTHER FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK

58. 
    

59. INT. SCHOOL OF LAW, HKCU -11:00 (25 July 2024).

60. 
    

61. Conference coffee break. At the foyer, MAN#1 stares at Peter.

62. 
    

63. MAN#1: You can't recognize me. We worked closely on the one-country-two-IP-legal-systems project back in the 1990s...-

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O): Still a stranger to me.

66. 
    

67. INT. MARRIOT HOTEL - 11:00 (Yesterday)

68. 
    

69. Coffee break. Peter is chatting with a few former COLLEAGUES including DERECK.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O): I recruited Dereck. But when I met him again in April this year, I couldn't recall his name. So I made an effort to find out his name later.

72. 
    

73. Chatting.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): They're all familiar faces, except one.

76. 
    

77. Dereck gets Peter's cue.

78. 
    

79. DERECK: He's Fred. He was the MC for your retirement party.

80. 
    

81. Peter scratches his head.

82. 
    

83. PETER: Oh, yes, yes...

84. 
    

85. Lunch break. At the foyer, Peter sees MAN#2 staring at him.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O): Who is he?

88. 
    

89. MAN#2: I sent you the photos, depicting your performance at ICC last month. I'm Dominic.

90. 
    

91. PETER: Oh yes! Dominic, thank you very much again for that!

92. 
    

93. DOMINIC: I like to have a photo with you.

94. 
    

95. Having taken a selfie of them, Peter sends it via WhatsApp.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O): That's how I may remember others now.

98. 
    

99. RETURN TO PRESENT

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS

104. 
     

105. Peter inserts an AI drawing entitled "The Man They All Know..." to a draft.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O): There's a level of familiarity and prominence that I myself doesn't seem to possess.

108. 
     

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): As I get older, I feel more the disconnect between how others perceive me and how I perceive myself.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I'll continue to explore memory, identity and human connection.

116. 
     

117. FADE OUT

118. 
     

119. THE END