Chapter 4. An Unlucky Encounter.
When Kyoko woke up the next morning, the first thing she did, was to move out of that apartment. Mrs Taisho had earlier offered her a room, which was spare at Darumaya.
It was a small, tiny loft, in the attic, but that didn't matter to Kyoko because she didn't have a lot of stuff anyway. And the best thing was, that the rent was way less than her pay.
She cleaned that room and moved in her stuff, which didn't take long. Once she was settled, she called at the other two places where she worked, to let them know that she was quitting.
She grabbed her purse and the money which he had been saving for rent and went out to the shopping mall for the first time, since she had come to Tokyo.
There she bought a new designer purse, a pair of shoes and boots.
And clothes, as many as she could afford, without caring about saving some of that money for later.
At last, she went to the saloon.
.
.
.
Mrs Taisho was wondering about Kyoko's sudden change in heart. She had tried countless times, in the past year, to persuade her to move out of her apartment and be sensible. But whenever that topic was up, Kyoko always looked down and said nothing. She didn't seem interested at all. And today, out of nowhere, she came with her stuff, saying that she wanted to move in.
Mrs Taisho knew that Kyoko was hiding something big. She knew that she lived with someone in that apartment. It must be a boy, that's why she didn't wanna tell anyone. She must have had a fight with him, as she left so suddenly.
Kyoko was a bright girl with such a bubbly personality. She always dreamed of having a daughter like that. But now that Kyoko was there, she didn't know what to do to help her. The only thing she wanted was for her to be happy.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It must be Kyoko, she thought, because it was the time of her shift. But when she opened the door, she saw that it was some other girl. She was the same age as Kyoko. But she looked completely her opposite.
She had short, cropped, ginger hair, which were so smooth, that they were glistening. Her eyes were big and beautiful. She was wearing a crop top, a knee length skirt, denim jacket and long boots. She was also carrying a designer purse. She looked like a fashionista. She was carrying a lot of shopping bags as if she just returned from the mall.
"May I help you?" Mrs Taisho asked her. She was sure that this girl had lost her way or something.
"Don't you recognise me?" That girl asked. But only after she heard her voice, she knew.
"Kyoko! Wh-What happened to you?"
"Do I really look that different that you didn't recognise me? I just cut my hair short and had it dyed."
"But your clothes?"
"Oh, yeah. You were right. Now that I don't have to worry about rent anymore, I thought I should buy something new." She smiled
"Well, come on in." Mrs Taisho smiled as well. She wasn't worried anymore. Yes, she was acting differently. But it seemed like a good difference. Because, her eyes were sparkling after shopping all day. She had never seen her like this. After pushing herself so hard for the past year, she really did deserved this break.
.
.
.
That night Kyoko completed her shift and then went straight to bed. Her new bedroom wasn't anything like her old one. It was small and cramped, but she felt oddly calm there. For the first time in a long time, she went off to sleep without thinking about Sho or her jobs.
She felt happy. She felt free.
Yes, Sho had used her. But if she didn't come to Tokyo with him, she would still be that naive, young girl, who did everything she was asked. She would never have found out, what she herself wanted. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.
.
.
.
Sho was taking a small break between his rehearsals. He was getting more popular day by day. But that only resulted in more practice. He wasn't lazy per se. But practicing all day and taking only a small break just seemed too much work to him.
He was thinking of an excuse to skip practice and go to bed early, but was interrupted by Shoko, as she came in carrying two chilled cans of Diet Coke.
"I was wondering, did she go back to Kyoto?" Shoko asked him.
"Who?" He really had no idea, who she was talking about.
"That childhood friend of yours, what was her name again?"
"Oh, you mean Kyoko, who knows? She did leave the apartment though."
"Aren't you worried?" He give her a look that said she-is-not-my-responsibility.
"Why should I be? She can take care of herself. She has three part time jobs, remember?"
"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that she seemed pretty intense, she struck me as the type who goes through with her threats."
"You think I should be worried of her? Of Kyoko?" He burst out laughing.
"You are the one who suggested her to break into the entertainment world, to get her revenge."
"Kyoko, in showbiz. It's so bizarre to even imagine. Nah... She's not stupid enough to try something so hopeless."
.
.
.
"... You see, that's why I have to get into showbiz." Kyoko explained to the receptionist.
"Miss, I'm sorry, but I can't help you, you don't have an appointment."
"Why not? This is a talent agency, right? I wanna meet someone who can make me a star!" She shouted. She was standing on the reception of LME. It was the best agency in Tokyo, she had found out. The only way she could get her revenge was to become a star. This was the only agency where she had a minute chance of becoming a bigger star then Sho.
She didn't care if she had to beg, plead scream, shout or bribe to get in. She was gonna do it.
"Look" she tried again."I have to become a huge star. This agency is the only place where I could do that. I might not have an appointment with someone but you could say that I have an appointment with destiny! Does that count?"
"That's not how it works. I am sorry ma'am but I am gonna have to ask you to leave." The receptionist replied. She was no help at all. But Kyoko wasn't gonna leave without meeting anyone, after coming all this way.
.
.
.
Takenori Swara had a busy day ahead of him. The annual casting auditions were coming up and he had piles of new applicant's forms to check. On top of that he was running late.
When he finally arrived at LME, the agency where he worked, he saw that a teenage girl was shouting at the receptionist. So he went ahead and inquired.
"What's the commotion about?"
The girl turned to him and said, "I wanna sign up with this agency. I wanna be a star. Can you help me?"
She must be here to get a form for the auditions, he thought.
"Come with me" he said and took her to the cafeteria. She must be a singer, he thought. Because she certainly looked the part.
They sat down. Swara spoke first, "You were saying, that you want to sign up?"
"Yes. I just have to be a star. I'll do anything." Her eyes were burning with passion. He could see that she meant every word she said. She must be really talented to have this much confidence.
"Just the kind of enthusiasm, we like to hear. So, in which of our divisions would you like to enter?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, are you a singer?"
"Nope, I am completely tone-deaf."
What? If she was not a singer then what was she? She wasn't tall enough to be a model or pretty enough to be an actress. She was beautiful, but in an ordinary way, not in a competitive way.
"Do you play any instruments?"
"Nope, I suck at music."
"Do you have any experience in acting?"
"I once played a tree in a school play."
"What about actual movies and TV shows?"
"I don't have any interest in them. Besides, isn't it more about reality shows these days, anyway?"
How could he have been so wrong? He stood up and shouted, "GET OUT!"
"But why? What did I do?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and started pushing her towards the door.
"I wasn't born yesterday, Miss. I know that you are here just because of Ren."
"Ren who? You mean Ren Tsuruga? What do I have to do with him?" She hugged a nearby pillar tightly and refused to go.
"This place is not a fangirl club or anything. We are running a business here." He said, still pulling her away from the pillar to kick her out.
"Wait, I really do want to sign up. I didn't even know that he worked at this agency." She was still hugging the pillar persistently.
Nice try! He could tell from experience that she was a fangirl. Making excuses to sign up just so she could see Ren.
It was the worst. At last, Kyoko found someone who was willing to hear her out but now even he was trying to kick her out. And why would he just assume that she was a fangirl? She had never even seen Ren Tsuruga's movies. Why would she care?
"I am not leaving." She said.
"You are not the first fangirl who tried to join this agency just to see him."
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE HIM!"
"Um, what's going on?" Both, Kyoko and Swara turned. It was Ren Tsuruga!
What the hell? He really did work in this agency. Why was she so unlucky? He was Sho's competitor, she couldn't work in the same agency as him. She let go of the pillar and sat down on her knees. All that effort for nothing.
"Mr Swara, who is she?" Ren asked.
Mr Swara mumbled a reply, but Kyoko was too busy in sulking. She didn't pay attention. It didn't matter now anyway.
Wait a minute! So what if he was Sho's competitor, I don't have anything to do with him anymore. Why shouldn't I sign up with this agency? She was sulking for no reason. She still had a chance. She got up.
After exchanging a few words with Mr Swara, Ren Tsuruga came up to her and said, "So, you have no talent, experience or respect for this career. Yet you are still desperate to break in."
And the next moment, she was kicked out and the door was slammed on her face.
.
.
.
Swara walked up to his office. That girl wasted another precious fifteen minutes. Why did he have to butt in? He could have just left her for the receptionist to deal with. He still couldn't believe, how wrong he was about her. He mistook her for a young prodigy after seeing the passion in her eyes, but she was a far-cry from being talented. She was what he hated the most, an annoying fangirl.
But now that he thought about it, she didn't act like one when she saw Ren. In fact, she began sulking in the corner
Whatever, he didn't have time to think about such nonsense. He reached his office and began to work.
It was evening, Swara had been crawled up in his office, all day long, working. He didn't even had time to eat. Finally, he got up and left him office to go to the cafeteria to grab a bite.
As he was walking, he saw two ladies from the acting classes, standing on a window and chatting.
"I can't believe she's still waiting."
"She is a fangirl, waiting around is what they do."
Swara got curious so he peeked out. He was surprised to find that same girl, from the morning. She was sitting outside by the front door.
She had been waiting all day, is she crazy?
So what? He didn't have anything to do with her. He was just going to get his lunch and then go back to his office. He wasn't going to waste any more time on her.
At last, the work was done. Swara got up from his chair and streched his body. It was almost midnight.
He grabbed his bag and started to leave for home. When he got out of his office, he first peeked out of the window to see if that girl was still waiting. She wasn't there.
Looks like she left, he thought, at first, I thought that she might stay out their the whole night.
He walked out of the back door, which was used by the staff, and there she was, right outside, waiting.
"Heading home for the evening?" She asked with a smug look on her face.
"Wh-What are you still doing here, I thought you left?" He was really shocked to see her there in the middle of the night.
"Well, since it's so late, I figured you might go out of the back way. Mr Swara. First name Takenori. Head of LME's theatrical division. Born March 10. Age 41. Happily married with one daughter. Blood type AB." She had the look of a cat which was about to pounce on him.
"Stalker!" Swara was freaked out. How did she find so much about him in just one day? "Leave me alone." He tried to sound brave but his voice came out like that of a strangled cat. He ran away in search of a taxi. The girl just sat on her bike and kept up with him easily.
"I have done my research, you are the best in business. Please take me on as a client."
"You don't have any training," he increased his pace. "And you didn't show any kind of interest either." His voice still sounded frantic. Fortunately, he saw a taxi. "Taxi!" He called.
"But-"
"No buts, get it through your head." He sat down in the taxi. "We will never sign you up." And then it drove away.
.
.
.
Four days later, Swara handed the audition's form to Kyoko. "Here you go." She smiled sweetly. He didn't know that a devil like her could smile so sweetly. She had made his life a living hell for the past four days.
That night, she followed him home. She kept ringing the bell and tapping his door, the whole night. She didn't let him or his family sleep all night.
The next day she followed him all the way to work. Then, the night was the same again. His wife asked him to call the cops, but he couldn't.
Once, a fangirl started stalking him so he could take her to meet Ren. Eventually he got fed up and called the cops. But that didn't work out well for him. Because the media found out and those filthy corrupted journalists were always looking for loopholes.
They twisted the whole story and printed how the head of LME's theatrical division, a middle aged man, called a young, innocent girl to his home but when he was caught, he accused her of stalking. They used that incident to bring down LME's name.
If a scandal like that happened again, it could cost him his job, even if it wouldn't be his fault.
For four days, he tried to tolerate that girl. But, his daughter was scared and his wife was mad.
So in the end he gave up. He couldn't call the cops so he decided to give her a shot to audition. That was the only way she would leave him alone. It was not like she had any chance of making it to the second round anyway.
.
.
.
Kyoko felt like a champion. In only four days, she was able to get a form for the auditions. Which meant that she was now a step closer to her revenge. Now all she had to do was pass the auditions with flying colours. Once she signs up with LME, no one could stop her from becoming a star. She could already picture Sho's sorry face when he would find out that she signed up with an agency which was bigger than his own. He would beg her to come back to him. But she would just laugh and leave him.
She was still in a reverie as she walked out of Swara's office. Outside, she bumped into someone, as she wasn't looking and the form dropped from her hands. It was the last person she wanted to see. Ren Tsuruga.
He was so tall that she had to lift up her head to look at him. When she did look at him, she was taken aback.
Because for the first time, she didn't just see him, she noticed him. He was gorgeous. He was wearing a brown summer trench coat and black trousers. She didn't pay much attention before to notice that his skin was actually flawless, unlike Sho, who digitally edited his pictures to make it seems so. His hair was shiny jet black. His dark eyes, so deep that she felt like she could drown in them. His lips were full and perfect, but he didn't have his signature smile on them.
Just then, Kyoko understood why those fangirls did what they did.
"You again." He picked up the form from the floor, and read aloud, "LME's annual open auditions. Looks like Mr Swara gave in. Such a shame." He gave her a pitiful look and shook his head in dismay.
Kyoko was so caught up in looking at him that she almost forgot that he had helped Mr Swara, to kick her out, four days ago. And now he was giving her such a sorry look. Star or no, she wasn't gonna take crap from anyone else anymore.
"That look, it's practically screaming," she made her voice deeper, "she doesn't stand a chance in hell, yes I do." She shouted.
"Wow, a mind reader!" He seemed amused.
"I don't read minds! It's written all over your face. You, you are so smug. You think that I am wasting my time. But you are wrong."
"Maybe, but I was really sorry about the people who are judging this audition. You are wasting their time."
She snatched back the form from his hands. "I disagree."
"Breaking into this business is hard enough, even for people who are dying to be here. And you don't seem interested at all." He looked more serious now, more exasperated. He continued. "What are you looking for? Fame? Money? To top the charts or to get some gold statue? You are just a high schooler with way too much time on her hands and now you are here to waste other's time."
"What I am looking for is revenge on Sho Fuwa!" She blurted out. She lost it when he compared her with those highschool fangirls. Without knowing anything about her, how much she had suffered, he just started judging her.
He looked surprised at first. Like it was the last thing he had expected to hear. He then, scratched his chin and looked up as if trying to remember something. When he couldn't, he finally took about his phone from his pocket and googled Sho Fuwa.
What the hell? Kyoko thought. He didn't even know who Sho was, while he was obsessing over him, all day.
That made her so mad that she just started shouting "He's a star. His first single rocked so hard, it was on the top of the charts. He is the youngest singer in Japan to-"
What is wrong with me? Why am I defending him? Kioko slapped her forehead with the palm. She had to break this awful habit.
"Oh, him." Ren was done googling, so he put his phone back. He lightly tapped her shoulder and said, "You can get to his level, no sweat. Just post a video of yourself singing off key into a hairbrush."
What's that supposed to mean? He was clearly mocking her.
"I say, don't even bother with the audition." He continued.
"Don't bother? Wha-I think I've got a great shot." She was mad now.
He looked into her eyes and said, "You bribed Mr Swara into giving you a chance you didn't earn and have no right." His voice sounded almost dangerous.
His face looked hostile now. "Stay home, let someone else have a shot who deserves it."
Where was all the hostility coming from? She had never even met him before, but his tone suggested that he really hated her. He was taking that forcing-Mr Swara-thing way too seriously. Kyoko didn't know what to say to that.
He then put back that perfect signature smile of his, all of a sudden and said sweetly. "But I can tell that no matter what I say, you are not gonna listen to me. So, go ahead with this little scheme of yours. Hopefully, you won't be completely humiliated in the process." His tone was sarcastic now.
He turned away to leave and waved his hand at her.
"Break a leg!" he said mockingly and left back a furious Kyoko, who was still trying to come up with a smart comeback.