Chapter 24. Miss Manager.

"Yeah, it's bad. Yashiro's got a pretty awful cold. He is down for the count." Akihira of the acting division of LME, spoke into his office telephone. "That's why I asked her to fill in, just as a substitute. It's always helpful to have someone on location."

He paused to listen to the reply from the other end.

"Yes I know you don't need her necessarily, but still."

"Sir!" His secretary called out to him. "It's urgent!"

"-Gotta run. Best of luck, Ren!" He put down the receiver and sighed before getting back to work.

On the other side, Ren blinked at his cellphone, his eyes a little shocked. He was not used to people hanging up on him while he was still speaking.

"Um... Everything alright?" He heard an all-too-familiar voice from behind.

He whirled as he put back his cellphone into his coat pocket and faced the owner of that voice. "You can just go back, Mogami. I will be fine on my own," he said to his substitute manager in the pink jumpsuit, before striding inside the studio building.

"I can't just leave you!" She protested and sprinted after him to follow him inside. Even though he was walking casually, his stride was so swift because of his long legs that she had to run to keep up with him. "Supervisor Matsushima specifically asked me to take care of you," she pointed out.

"I assure you there is nothing to be taken care of," he replied. "Besides, I am perfectly capable of surviving without a manager's supervision. So just go."

"Way to be a jerk," Kyoko muttered quietly under her breath with a scowl. "I can so be your stupid manager. It doesn't look that hard to handle."

Suddenly his ears pricked up and he bolted to a stop. "Oh?" He turned back in an agonisingly slow pace to face her. And when he did, his lips were twisted into his perfect signature smile. "Is that so?"

No! Not this smile! Kyoko's eyebrows shot up in remorse for muttering those stupid words and she took a few steps back instinctively. Anything but that lying, cruel, beautiful, sweet smile! Why do I always fall into this trap?

"I suppose if you really do insist..."

"I don't! N-not at all!" She shook her head briskly and stepped back into the empty corridor. "You will be fine on your own!"

"But I'd love your help. It'll be nice to not have to worry." His smile was so radiant that it seemed like it was solely responsible for illuminating the brightly lit corridor. Kyoko got chills from watching it. All the past, misfortunate events that started with that same phony smile flashed in her inner eye and she continued stepping back until her back was pressed against the cold wall.

He advanced towards her. With two long strides, he was in front of her. Lightly grabbing her chain with his index finger and thumb, he mumbled sweetly, "I look forward to seeing just how essential you can be, Miss Manager."

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On the umpteenth appointment of the day, Ren was giving an interview while Kyoko groaned sitting in the corner of the studio with a grim look on her face. Why on earth she thought this would be easy, she had no idea.

She flipped through the pages of Ren's schedule diary and tried her best to decipher Yashiro's hasty penmanship to figure out what the next appointment might be. They were already fifteen minutes behind schedule, and to make matters worse, it was her fault since she couldn't keep up with him. And to top it all, it was still only noon. Although it seemed like an eternity, the day was far from being over.

This morning was probably the biggest disaster in managerial history! She thought gloomily. I couldn't even manage to keep up with him. How does he do that every single day? On the plus side, I did figure out how his hectic schedule is supposed to work.

She allowed herself a small victory smile when she finally managed to read and comprehend what was written in the planner. It wasn't too late yet, she realized.

This afternoon I'll be the best manager anyone could ever ask for, she promised herself.

"Thank you so much for your time," the interviewer said with a coy smile to Ren after it was over.

"It was a pleasure," Ren smiled back politely and shook her hand.

Kyoko was already on her feet, looking for any chance to help. She reached for his bag to pick it up but he beat her to it.

"Hey!" She tried to snatch it away from him. "I can get it for you!"

"I'd rather not let a girl carry my bag for me." He slung it on his shoulder and firmly held it's strap without any effort despite the fact that she was pulling it using all her strength.

"But I am supposed to be your manager!"

It was no use. In the end, Kyoko failed. Ren carried his bag himself and she ended up wasting ten more minutes in arguing over who should get to carry the bag.

When they made it out of the studio, a horde of fangirls noticed Ren and they were ready to pounce on him. Kyoko thought this was her chance. She placed herself between Ren and them, holding out her arms protectively.

The next moment, the fangirls rushed viciously past her to get to Ren by hitting her with their shoulders and stomping on her feet. She would have been crushed by the mob in the chaos if Ren hadn't stepped in and protected her by enclosing her in his arms as they rushed out.

"I'm supposed to be the one protecting you!" She growled and shot him a glare.

"You want to be trampled on? Be my guest," he whispered back as he helped her out to the safety of his car.

Kyoko failed again.

The next screw-up was the worst of all. Ren was invited as a guest star on a talk show. While they were shooting, Kyoko watched from backstage. Her legs were aching and she wanted to sit down and relax for a while but she didn't want to give Ren the impression that she was slacking off, so she kept standing right where she was.

After a little while she leaned on a mannequin next to her, for support.

Bam!

She came crashing down on the stage floor with the mannequin beneath her, whose poor neck snapped off and its head rolled away. Not only she embarrassed Ren in front of everyone, they had to to cut the scene and shoot it from the beginning because of her.

In the end, Ren apologized to the director on her behalf for interrupting the scene and even offered to pay for the headless mannequin, which thankfully, the director politely refused.

To add to her bitter mood, she heard a couple of women whispering about her at the studio while she was waiting.

"Is that her? Ren's substitute manager?"

"She is so lucky. I'll do anything to trade places with her."

"What would I do to get to be with Ren all day!"

Lucky! You think I'm lucky? Kyoko's vehement vexation maxed out when she heard there incessant, superfluous remarks and she gritted her teeth. What could possibly be lucky about this disaster of a day?

Oh, how she wanted to snap at them so badly! But the last thing she wanted was to embarrass Ren again, so she shut her mouth and swallowed her anger.

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On the ride to the next set, subdued silent streched between Kyoko and Ren awkwardly but neither made a move to strike a conversation.

Is he mad? Kyoko thought as she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. He had his usual poker face on. His eyes were fixated on the road and his hands were clasped around the steering wheel. This silence is unbearable. I wish he would say something. Maybe I should apologize.

"Um... I wanna say I'm sorry," Kyoko's voice stammered as she broke the awful silence.

He tilted his face a little to match her gaze, "for what?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and let out the truth. "When I took this job and told them I'd be your manager, I didn't understand how hard it would be. This whole thing had been nothing but trouble for you. I'm sorry for everything."

"You don't need to apologize twice." His expression softened. "Maybe it wasn't the best day but it definitely didn't rate two apologies."

He can't be serious! Kyoko frowned. I can almost reach out and touch the tension in the air. After everything that went wrong, there is no way he would be fine with just an apology.

Suddenly, a thunderous grumbling resounded in the car and Kyoko turned her face outside the window to hide her flustered cheeks.

"What's that?" Ren squinted his eyes. "Did you hear a noise?"

Before she could refuse, the grumbling thundered again, this time louder than before. Kyoko held her stomach embarrassingly. Shut up! She silently screamed at it.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea you were so hungry." Ren said when he finally figured out the origin of the sound.

"N-no...I mean... Kind of."

"It's late. Of course you're hungry," he glanced at the digital clock above the speedometer. "Sorry I didn't realize this before. Let's stop somewhere and grab a little dinner."

"But we still-"

"It's alright. We've got more than enough time." He smiled. "What do you say, Mogami? Would you like to grab some dinner with me?"

His smile took Kyoko by surprise. It was not the same plastic smile which he gave everyone. It was different. Warm. For some reason her cheeks flared up and the hair on the back of her neck  straightened, just like last time when she was in the Bo costume and he graced her with his beautiful and - surprisingly authentic - smile for the first time.

She couldn't figure out why he suddenly started acting nice? But then she remembered what he told her when she was dressed up as Bo.

I don't hold grudges against people, especially when they've apologized.

Of course, now it made sense. But she was still shocked that one single apology was all it took to get on his good side.

He cleared his thought and she realized that she had been staring. She immediately averted her eyes and remembered his question. Apparently, he was still waiting for a reply.

She somehow manage to give a small "yes," but it came out as a croak.

"So what would you like to eat?" he tilted his face again and held her eyes for a moment before looking back at the road.

"I am okay with whatever," she replied honestly. "I am not picky, anything you like is fine."

"Alright then," his lips twisted into an amused smirk. "Boiled frog!"

What the...?!

He waited for her to object, but all she did was cover her mouth and tried to hide her retching lips.

"I'll ask you one more time. What would you like to eat?" He finally gave in when he realised that she would actually rather eat boiled frog than object.

"I want a hamburger steak and I want a topping with fried eggs," she almost shouted this time, refusing to let this opportunity slip from her fingers.

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In the acting division,  Akihira was typing on his computer in his office, while his secretary was busy in making notes. Except for the low hum of the monitor, the hushed clatter of the keys and the scratching sound of a nib on paper, the room was silently gloomy.

They started chatting with each other as they worked to get rid of the silence. Somehow, the topic shifted to Ren and his substitute manager.

"No way! That's why Mogami is assigned to him?" The secretary's eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"It's how it is." Akihira sighed hopelessly. "Somebody's gotta make sure Ren eats. Otherwise he will keep working for days without food."

"Hold on. She is his manager but her only job is to make sure he eats every once in a while?"

"If there is one thing I know about Ren, it's that he is a predictably nice guy. I guarantee that his sense of chivalry will take over. There is no way he'll let a girl eat all by herself."

"Wow! I mean I heard he had some issues with food, but I assumed that it was all just gossip."

The door burst open interrupting their retarded chatter and a very unexpected man in a wierd yet expected attire sauntered in.

Both the men sprang up to their feet to greet the intruder, "President Takarada!"

The President was dressed up in some wierd Afghani white kurta and a golden vest over it. His head was covered with a round velvet hat.

His eyes wandered the place searchingly but a frown creased on his forehead when he didn't find what he was looking for. "Where is Ms Mogami?" He inquired. "I heard you borrowed her for a love me job."

"She is now Ren's substitute manager. So she is not here at the moment, Sir."

"Too bad. I had some wonderful news I wanted to share with her." The President sighed.

"Sir, she was provided with a cellphone by the agency for this particular job. If it's urgent, you can reach her."

"She was?" the President's lips upturned into a hopeful smile and his frown disappeared. "Quick, give me her number."

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Kyoko's face lit up like the sun and her lips spread into a wide grin when the waiter arrived with their order. They had stopped at the nearest eatery they could find to grab a quick bite before going to the next shoot.

The hamburger's savory aroma attacked Kyoko's nose and her mouth flooded with fluids.

"Thank you!" She sang in a melodious tune, her eyes nearly filled with tears of ecstasy. "It's been so long!"

She took the first bite with extreme relish and rapture and her mouth exploded into a utopia of flavour as the juicy ham melted on her tongue. "I love... hamburgers...so much!" She moaned from a stuffed mouth.

Ren, who was sitting across her with his elbow leaning on the table and his temple resting on his knuckles, watched her with an amused smile on his lips.

He remembered how much Kyoko loved hamburgers even when she was little. In fact, next to Sho, it was her favourite topic. She used to collect hamburger shaped rocks and fantasize about dancing with some imaginary hamburger king. The memory was so funny that Ren couldn't resist his urge to chuckle.

As Kuon, he never thought that years later he would get to treat her to her favourite dish. The exaggerated delight with which she savored every bite was priceless and it made him chuckle with amusement.

Though he tried to hide it by covering his mouth, Kyoko noticed him shaking with silent laughter. "Is there something you'd like to share?" She raised one eyebrow.

"It's just... you seem like you're having so much fun with your food." He grinned.

She blushed. "It's quite good," she admitted grudgingly.

He smiled. "I bet it is."

A shiver ran down her back. It was the same, warm and affectionate smile from before. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but when he smiled like that he looked almost... dreamy!

She sucked in a breath and tried to calm her heart which was hammering against her chest. She shifted her attention back to her meal.

"He looks just like him though."

They heard a hushed female voice from the table behind them, which was occupied by a bunch of high school girls.

"Please, it's just a cheap family restaurant." Another girl replied. "There is no way the Ren Tsuruga will come here."

"Darn it!" Kyoko started gulping down the rest of her meal. Since Ren was already done, she thought it best to leave before those fangirls recognized him and started fawning over him.

"Take your time," Ren said. "There is no need to rush."

"I'm 'ot rupffing," she spat with a mouthful of fried eggs.

"Besides, look at that girl he's with."

That voice came again with a chuckle. "She's wearing that pink nightmare of a jumpsuit."

"If he were Ren Tsuruga, there's no way he'd be with a girl like that."

"I know. Why would someone choose to wear that?"

The moment Kyoko gulped down the rest, Ren paid the waiter and they quietly slipped out.

Though Kyoko would never admit it, what those girls said stung her a bit. Ordinarily, Ren Tsuruga would not hang out with someone like her, it was true. But what she was upset about was not that but, highschool. It was not like she chose this. If it weren't for Sho dragging her here, she'd be a normal girl, enjoying her second year of high school. The image of Sho burned into her a head and her mind drowned into a frenzy of rage.

Once they were in the car, Ren asked her what she had been dreading about.

"So," Ren said. "I never thought to ask you before now, but I'm guessing you didn't go to high school, did you?"

Of all the things in the world we could talk about, you had to ask me that? Kyoko gulped. This was a conversation she did not want to have. Especially with him. And with Sho's face dangling inside her mind, all she felt like doing right now was to gut someone.

Ren recognized that burning anger in her eyes, that look was an amalgamation of betrayal, love, determination, and above all, fury and rage. It was the same look she had when they first met and she told him about her reason for being an actress. Revenge. Judging from that look, he could tell she was a thing about him.

"Lemme guess," he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Sho Fuwa, right?"

Kyoko gasped and cocked her head up to face him. Her eyes blinked with surprise and were filled with questions. They seemed to be asking, 'how could he know?'

She was surprised. For the hundredth time, she regretted telling him about Sho in the first place. He always despised her and judged her for her motives. He could never understand why she was so obsessesivly seeking revenge.

But have you ever tried explaining to him? A little voice said to her from the back of her head. Maybe he will understand, if he'll just hear you out.

Her surprise and anger vanished and it was replaced by a determination. Determination to make him see how much she had suffered. To show him why she deserved to have her revenge. She had to, because she couldn't bear the thought of him hating her.

She turned to face him again with a creased forehead and opened her mouth to speak.