2001 Fresh Autumn

A Major Calamity on the eve of the Autograph Event

We decided that the autograph event of the book “ ” should be held in Tokyo and Osaka. The preparatory work for the event was a lot harder than we had expected. The overnight queue of many fans around Tokyo Forum on the previous event had become well-known throughout all the book stores. Many big book stores that seemed suitable declined our offer because of their concern about causing an inconvenience to their neighbors as well as the difficult issue of security. There were some stores that were keen to accept, but these stores did not have the capacity to hold an event for a thousand people. Hence our negotiations deadlocked over a series of issues and problems. After several months of negotiations, we finally secured the contract with the main store of Aoyama Book Centre in Tokyo and Maruzen at OCAT, Nada in Osaka.

According to the schedule of the book stores, we decided that the event would start in Osaka on September 29^th, then in Tokyo on 30^th. Though we managed to finalize the venues yet we still had a major hurdle which was how to move Leslie from Osaka to Tokyo safely without any problem. Taking into consideration the risk of his exposure, airplane would be the better option, but Leslie preferred to take Shinkansen. If it was merely in Tokyo, it would have been easier for us to handle, but traveling from Osaka to Tokyo with Leslie by Shinkansen was too much for us. Hence after much consideration of the various situations, we decided to ask Mr. K’s security company to provide security for Leslie. Mr. K had worked for Leslie as a guard when Leslie came to Japan to hold concerts or attend Tokyo International Film festival. However I was also wondering whether we could afford it for the proceeds from the photo book sale would not be as much as those from concerts or movie festivals. When I asked Mr. K timidly regarding Leslie’s security, he said, “Mr. Leslie is special; I will try to manage it with my pleasure!”

The production of the photo book finally managed to finish on time. Our plans for the autograph event were all finalized; even the security would be perfect. Everything should run smoothly or so I thought but suddenly a major and unexpected incident happened on the eve of the autograph event.

It was September 11^th, 2 weeks before the autograph event. At that time I was talking with our staff about the previous autograph event in Tokyo. We remembered almost the same time about 2 years ago, there was the ‘Sun’ affair and we were on the verge of canceling our event. Then suddenly someone brought the shocking news into the editorial department while we were talking in the editorial room. It was the news of the 911 terrorists’ attack. An airplane hijacked by the terrorists had crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York resulting in the collapse of the two towers. At the same time similar incidents happened in other places in the U.S. The whole world was shaken by the simultaneous large scale terrorist attacks.

Initially I thought this calamity would not affect Leslie’s autograph event in any way, but it turned out that I was wrong. These attacks were committed by Al-Qaeda; the speculation that they would launch similar attacks at all advanced countries that support USA was widespread. There were rumors that the airlines in Japan or Hong Kong would become their target, and further more, even Tokyo would be dangerous. As a result a lot of mail and calls from fans came to our office. There were opposing opinions that came from two factions. One group said “Are you going to cancel the event? Please proceed with the event no matter what may happen!!” and there were those who said, “What are you going to do if something happen to Leslie? You should cancel this event!!” Both groups stood firm to their respective proposition; they requested that we should come up with a reasonable clarification. We had been preparing for this event with great discretion, but never did we expect worldwide terrorism to be our obstacle.

Personally, I did not think that Japan could be attacked so soon; it was not likely that Leslie would be injured during his two weeks in Tokyo. Of course I could not be a 100 percent certain, but if we begin to be concerned about minimal possibilities, we cannot have any future plans at all so with great efforts I decided to declare that the event would not be cancelled despite receiving a lot of warnings and reproach from some fans.

However on the other hand, I also had a bad hunch within my heart because Leslie’s reaction towards the Sun affair came into my mind. This time my premonition came true. Several days later, Leslie called me to say, “I heard Japan is now very dangerous. Tokyo and Osaka are now under a kind of martial law. Is this true? If so, traveling by air seems also dangerous. We’d better cancel the event.”

I could imagine some media in H.K. would make a fuss and play up the danger in Japan. From my experience, my perception of Leslie is he did not mind any difficulties when his mind is positive, while he tends to lose his good judgement easily, like a stone rolling downhill, once his mind becomes negative. To make him positive again, I explained to him that the Hong Kong media news report was an exaggeration; that Japan was not dangerous nor under the martial law, and that no events like ours would be canceled. I managed to persuade him not to cancel the event. Leslie, however, seemed not to be in the mood to stay in Japan for a long time for he canceled his earlier plan of traveling elsewhere in Japan deciding instead to return to Hong Kong immediately after the event in Tokyo.

On the evening of September 28^th, Leslie arrived at the Kansai International Airport. There were more fans at the arrival hall than the previous time, but I felt more relaxed as I had entrusted all the security responsibilities to Mr. K and his staff. I know this could be an imprudent remark as I was the one who had asked for Mr. K’s services, but the truth is I felt that it was not Leslie’s style to walk with so many strong bodyguards. Though it made him looked like a VIP but for the sake of Leslie’s safety I really had no other choice although I did wonder if this was the right decision just for an autograph event.

It had been only 2 years since the previous event. At that time Leslie said “It will be no problem. I will take the airport bus by myself!” In the last 2 years, his position in the Japanese entertainment world had changed a lot and Leslie along with it for he has changed as well in some way. I cannot describe it in words except that there had been ‘some kind of change’. Although at that moment Leslie was right in front of me smiling as usual, but there was this distant feeling as if he were very far away. I missed the day when we were surprised by the excited fans, both of us running away to the car hand in hand just like in a comedy film. Those days seemed a long time ago.

Leslie was staying in the Westin Hotel in Osaka. The lobby was already full of fans when we arrived there. Leslie and Mr. Tong, escorted by hotel staff and security guards, got into the special elevator that took them directly to the floor where their room was located. After receiving confirmation from the hotel staff that there was nobody loitering around except our staff, Leslie and Mr. Tong went into their room. Our room and Mr. K’s room were on either side of Leslie’s room. The other rooms in the vicinity seemed unoccupied with no guests in them. Then suddenly several women came along to our rooms. They were asked by the guards, “Are you staying on this floor? Could you tell me your room number?” They went away with the guards, complaining, “Why should I answer such questions?” “We are only walking along the corridor, leave us alone!” or “How come this hotel won’t allow those who are not their guests to enter inside the hotel?”

Leslie, did you start it again?

After waiting for a while till everything became calm, I visited his room. Leslie was looking at the book, ‘’. I asked him, “How do you like this book?” Leslie was rather ambiguous in his answer, “Mmm, I am not sure.” Although I had no idea what was on his mind, I guessed that the book was not what he had expected. When Leslie had finished browsing through the book, he asked me, “Is there any picture you like in this book?” After flipping through the pages of the book, I said, “I like this picture of you standing with your hands in your pockets. I like this profile!” Then he took out his silver pen and signed on the page with these words: ‘To Miss. Shima. I dedicate this picture to you! Leslie.’

When he was penning his signature on the page, Leslie leafed through the pages of the book and said, “I like this kind of picture.” It was a picture of Leslie taken from behind, which had the text: ‘I am going to play this stage at my best. Is this for you or for myself?’

While talking with Leslie, I noticed something which shocked me. To my great surprise, Leslie was smoking. He was not just smoking but he was chain-smoking. I asked him “Leslie, did you start smoking again?” Like a child caught doing some kind of mischief Leslie gave me a nod and said, “Yes, but it is a secret.” Then he put his forefinger on his lips and gave me a quick smile. I asked, “Why? What made you take it up again?” He answered he had to smoke in the scenes of the film he was shooting. I got tough with him saying, “But you have had a lot of such occasions all these years, haven’t you?” Then he replied, “Well, that is right, but I recently saw the scene on a preview and realized that I looked better when I am smoking!”

His excuse did not make sense to me at all. I know I am not his guardian or anything like that, so I have no right to question him when he decided to smoke again but I still had my own reason to query him. I had been told about the merit of not smoking by Leslie since I met him. After a while I finally decided to quit smoking following Leslie’s advice. For me, Leslie was the teacher who had taught me how to quit smoking. How dare the teacher himself go back to being a chain smoker!? I told him indignantly, “You know I have quitted smoking!” Leslie stared at me and said “Really? Is this because of my advice? Ha ha! This is good for you! Congratulations!”

He offered me his hand for a handshake as if nothing had happened. So I could not help saying thank you, but still I am not quite impressed with him.

As we talked, we began to feel hungry and decided to eat out somewhere. Leslie wished to go to a Japanese style pub. However I was a stranger in Osaka so I asked a local body guard to lead the way. When we went down to the lobby, there were still a lot of fans gathered there. They became excited when they sighted Leslie but thanks to the perfect security of the guards, we got safely into the car which was waiting for us in front of the hotel. We left the hotel in a flash.

The local guard took us to a Japanese style pub in Nishi Nakajima. It was a small pub with a homely feel. A lady owner who spoke Osaka Japanese came to serve us. While I was ordering some dishes, Leslie suddenly said in Japanese “Give me an ice cream!!” The lady thought she was being teased. She said angrily, “This is a pub! We don’t have such things!” Leslie did not understand what she had said and gave a surprised blank look. I remember that he looked so cute and funny at that moment.

On that day Leslie had just got off the plane and it seemed that the ride was quite rough, so his topic of discussion was on plane travel. Leslie expressed he had a slight fear of heights; if it was not necessary he would avoid traveling by plane as much as possible but in his profession this was not possible. He then went on to tell me about his fearful experiences of traveling by air, most of which I have forgotten. Leslie was not only knowledgeable about hotels but he also seemed to know a lot about airplanes as well. He told me about the merits and shortcomings of each airline as well as the special characteristics of the airline’s service. In the midst of our conversation, Mr Tong chipped in with some interesting comments.

As for Mr. Tong, he is a man of few words with an expressionless face so I could not tell whether he was in a good mood or otherwise. However his occasional comments and remarks seemed to please Leslie immensely. At times Leslie bent over in peals of laughter whenever Mr. Tong made a comment. Leslie laughed so much that he had difficulties in breathing for he started to gasp for breath. While Leslie convulsed with laughter, Mr. Tong did not laugh along with Leslie nor did he appear to be sullen. He just kept talking calmly with his gentle expression that gave me a warm feeling; I thought both of them were very well-matched. Once they started to speak in a low voice in Cantonese, I felt a bit left out for I did not understand a word of what they were saying. I could not figure out why Leslie was laughing so happily but anyway it was a blessing for those who were able to see Leslie’s smile for it was a picture of happiness. Above all, the fact that Leslie was laughing like an innocent and naughty boy filled me with relief as he looked a bit stiff and uneasy when I met him earlier at the airport.

On the morning of the autograph event, Leslie took his time to come out of his room. They had ordered breakfast from room service, but Leslie ate little. At the eleventh hour, he finally he came out of the room, so I asked him, “What is wrong with you?” Leslie replied he had not slept well the previous night. He seemed a bit under the weather and moody. I was worried that he would not be able to sign 1000 autographs in his condition. However en route to the event hall, Leslie’s spirits gradually lifted and by the time he entered the anteroom, he was in lighter mood. It seemed as soon as his condition got better, Leslie began to feel hungry for he suddenly wanted to eat “Makunouchi Bento”(a traditional Japanese style box lunch) so I asked for the help of one of the staff at the hall who went out of her way to buy it at the department store.

Unlike the previous event, this time we had distributed the admission cards a week in advance of the event so there was not much confusion on the actual day of the autograph session although there had been a bit of chaos on the day when the admission cards were issued. Moreover thanks to the excellent security services, the event went very smoothly. Leslie was cheerful at first but due to lack of sleep and tiredness, he gradually became quiet; even during his break in the anteroom he remained quiet. Though he had been a good boy, Leslie still did some mischievous things to stir me up. One of them was the incident with the cigarette. The anteroom we prepared was on the opposite side of the hall separated by a passage. Before the first session of the autograph signing, the room had quite a few visitors, such as the manager and staff of the bookstore who came to greet us. There was an unceasing flow of traffic with the comings and goings of the security guards or our staff. At times Leslie was sitting on the sofa reading fan letters and at times he was doing some light stretches. All this time Leslie was smoking continuously. I, who had quitted smoking, was looking at him with fuming eyes. While Leslie was smoking and I was talking to him, we heard someone knocking on the door. With lightning speed Leslie was forced to thrust his half smoked cigarette between my fingers. Then he lounged against the sofa with both hands free as if nothing had happened. While one of the staff was opening the door and talking to the person, I glared at Leslie angrily with the cigarette between my fingers. However Leslie was looking somewhere else as if he had nothing to do with the cigarette but his eyes were smiling; he seemed as if he was about to burst into laughter. “How could you do that?” I said to him angrily after the guest had gone. “Well, I had no other choice, because it is a secret!” Leslie coquettishly teased me pouting his lips and making a sulky face.

Leslie would sometimes behave in this enticing manner when he hoped to be excused for his whims. I wonder if he did this only to the elder ladies for ordinarily this is not what a man in his forties would do. Nonetheless I still could not help spoiling him once I looked into his limpid eyes just like a young boy with his adorable manners. Indeed with his experience over the years as a pop idol Leslie knew exactly what his charm was and I used to wonder for how long he would be able to maintain his lovable sweetness. Much to my sorrow I have already got the answer to this question...

A very touching rendition of ‘A Man of Intention’ and ‘Getting Warm’

After the autograph event, we got on to a small bus that had been prepared earlier in the basement parking lot and took off to Osaka station. We moved swiftly like the wind and with the windows of the car covered with curtains few fans would have noticed our departure.

That was the first time that I rode in a car with its windows shaded. As soon as I got into the car, I regretted it, as I am slightly claustrophobic. I feel suffocated whenever I am in a small place without any windows but this was not the time to worry about myself. I keep telling myself this as I looked at Leslie. He was totally engrossed in his conversation with Mr. Tong. The confined space did not seem to have any claustrophobic effect on him. After a few minutes, the curtains were drawn apart and we could see outside.

It was not so far from Nanba to Sin Osaka station, so after about 20 minutes, the curtains were closed again as the station got closer. Once again it became dark inside the car but not long after the car came to a halt. We had to wait inside the car while Mr. K went to make some arrangements at the station. Some fans began to notice that Leslie was in the car; suddenly the car was surrounded by many women and the number of fans was gradually increasing. The sound of women yelling and the voice of the guards who were trying to get rid of them could be heard. It was getting very noisy around our car. I began to wonder how we would be getting out of the car. I took a look at Leslie. He had his eyes closed and was muttering to himself. At first I thought he was reciting some kind of charm, but then I found he was only humming his song, ‘Getting Warm’.

I have a special recollection of this song. When we went to Discovery Bay to have an interview for the book, “All about Leslie”, Leslie was humming some western song in the empty ship cabin at night. I wanted to hear him sing his own song, so I asked him to sing a song which I had seen on a music video clip. I could not remember the name of the song, so I just said, “The song you were singing in the hot spring.” Leslie thought about this for a few seconds and said “O.K!” He then started to sing the song, ‘Getting Warm’. He sang it with a low voice. The original song is a sad and quiet song; his rendition that night had the same atmosphere as the music video clip. He gently closed his eyes, raised his chin up a little bit, and sang the song with a small but clear voice. I was mesmerized by his song.

I would sometimes hear him humming songs. Sometimes the songs he hummed were his own songs and sometimes not. If I asked him to sing a song while he was humming, he would usually entertain my request with pleasure. Frankly speaking although I love his songs, but I only knew the names to a few of these songs, so I could only request him to sing these few songs. My favorite songs include the theme song of ‘The Days of Being Wild’, ‘Farewell my Concubine’, ‘A man of Intention’, ‘In My Lifetime’, and ‘Getting Warm’. Oh, I must not forget to mention ‘Chase’.

I personally love quiet and sorrowful songs especially when Leslie sang them with so much soul that even if he was drunk or in good humor, as soon as he began to sing those sad songs, he looked so attractive and sexy. I cannot remember when and where it was that I once told him I love the song ‘Man of Intention’ very much. Leslie looked at me in surprise; he said that he also loved this song very much, he sang it to me right there and then. Compared to the movie or the CD version, this song, ‘Man of Intention’ sung to me by Leslie was much better. The high notes of the song especially moved me to tears. From that moment on, ‘Man of Intention’ has become my all time favorite. Even now whenever I listen to this song, his sad voice at that time and his short lifespan comes to my mind like a revolving lantern and my heart is overwhelmed with emotion.

Well let’s get back to our original topic. The song he was singing in the car was ‘Getting Warm’. This is such a sorrowful song that it felt like he was weeping as he was singing it. With his eyes closed Leslie was singing the song in a quiet almost imperceptible whisper. I looked at him but could not guess what was on his mind. Though he had just finished an autograph event for 1000 fans and was lacking sleep, he did not appear to be very tired at that time. Perhaps he felt it was a pain to be cooped up in a car and was just trying to bear it or maybe he was thinking of something else while singing…

I also tried to focus on something else but to no avail because of the suffocating feelings of claustrophobia. Though I knew that it was my good fortune to be able to hear Leslie’s own singing sitting beside him, I just wished I could get out of the car as soon as possible!

After about 10 minutes, Mr. K seemed to be back. I heard the door opened followed by the sound of shrill voices calling Leslie before the door banged shut again. Then Mr. K drew apart the curtain between the driver seat and our seat to inform us that we would be going into the underground parking lot of the station where we would get on a freight elevator that would take us directly up to the Shinkansen platform. That enabled us to get on the Shinkansen without being seen by anyone. I was impressed by the plan but at the same I also felt a bit sorry for the fans that had been waiting there for a long time just to catch a glimpse of Leslie. Leslie made a face when he heard that but said nothing. Leslie seemed very tired already and a few body guards could not have protected him nor taken us to the platform if we had got out of the car in front of the station. Though I wished I could have let the fans see Leslie, I gave up the idea because I was afraid of the resulting uproar and confusion.

Our car drove away from the station slowly leaving behind the fans’ voices of reproach and disappointment. After making a few rounds in the pretence that we went away somewhere, the car returned to the station again to enter into the underground parking lot without being seen. It was a perfect feint but the real problem was how to take Leslie on to the Shinkansen super express. When we got off the car, we found we were in a dark room like an underground boiler room. To tell you the truth I was desperately conscious of stooping to make my way through the dark narrow passage with a low ceiling like a maze that I hardly remember what the place looked like. Leslie was walking in front of me. He walked fast with such agility for he seemed to be used to walking through these kinds of passages. Come to think of it, I thought this passage was a bit similar to the passage behind a concert hall.

It felt like I had walked for a long time, but actually it might not have been such a long walk. When we reached an elevator, Mr. K asked us to wait there for a while. He seemed to be synchronizing time so that he could get us on the Shinkansen just before the departure. As soon as Mr. K got a message on his transceiver, all of us got into the cargo elevator. After the elevator went up several floors, the door opened and we found ourselves on the platform. I have been to the Osaka station many times but I never noticed that there was such an elevator. I really would love to be adventurous to explore my new findings but of course under those circumstances it was impossible to do so. As soon as Leslie got off the elevator with some body guards, there was a loud exclamation and resounding cheers from the women loitering on the platform; they began to run towards us. The staff and I were just stunned at the sight of them but the body-guards took prompt action. They quickly ran cross the platform to surround Leslie and got him on the train in a flash. We also ran fast and hastily got on the train while the departure bell was ringing. Mr. K was so careful and sharp that he did not miss that several fans had followed us on the train.

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