Chapter 2: Work ethics
Kuon jumped out of the bed and stared at Fuwa Sho's image in the mirror on the wall. What was the meaning of all this? Was it another one of Lory's tricks? No… Not even him can pull something like that. How was it even possible?
"Sho?" the woman behind him called worriedly "What's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost…"
"I… I…" I am Fuwa Sho. What was he supposed to do? Should he tell her the truth right away? She would think he was crazy if he told her he was anyone other than the person standing in front of her.
"You're starting to scare me." She got up and brushed his arm, causing him to move abruptly.
"I" he stopped her with one hand and tried to recreate Sho's attitude "I'm sorry, I'm not feeling… quite like myself right now." Would she buy it? Would she notice something? "Can you give me a moment?" He smiled nicely.
"Huh." She blushed and looked away "Sure, we're early anyway. You don't need to charm me." She pouted and got up. "I hope you're not trying to get out of your shooting today."
My shooting? He blinked. Was he expected to do Fuwa Sho's work now?
"My shooting, yeah…" he tried to look relaxed "Can you just remind me… What exactly and what time…"
"Come on!" she scolded "Can't you remember anything? This is the commercial for Star Cosmetics."
"No trying to get out of anything here, Shoko san." he said teasingly hoping that was in character.
"We're leaving at 10, so make sure you're ready" she instructed "I'll be in the shower."
He looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table just as it turned to 8 and started ringing. He turned it off and sat back down. A commercial, I can do. He thought. Hope they don't expect me to play the guitar. He sighed. Things might get worse if anybody close to the singer started asking questions. And he was so professional that he felt compelled to honor the job. It was so annoying. Why did he have to be Fuwa Sho of all people?
...oooOOOooo...
Sho was filled with dread as he felt fingers touch his cheeks and watched the reflected image of his worst enemy do the same on the much hated face.
"Tsuruga." He scorned himself.
How, and why, was he in Tsuruga Ren's place? He wanted to know the life of the biggest star of Japan for himself, not live it through the eyes of that stupid pretty boy… Huh. He stared. His eyes… Since when did that Tsuruga have such incredible eyes? Crap! He berated himself. I'm not here to admire the man! It was so irritating. Why was he here, anyway? Was it a sick joke, from some kind of... unnatural… spirit… or…
His train of thoughts was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. He picked it up and looked at the screen. "Yashiro". Is that his manager?
"Hello?" he risked.
"Ren, good, you're up, as expected." The man spoke in a professional tone "I just received a call from director Yamazaki, he asked if we can move up the meeting by half an hour."
"What?" the request made Sho mad. "Are they for real?" What did they think that a star like him had the leisure to adapt to lesser people's schedules?
"Ren?" the man's voice on the phone sounded surprised. "It's ok if you need more time, I just thought…"
"Well stop thinking, and while we're at it, you can cancel this meeting and everything I have for today!" Sho yelled into the phone.
"Wha… Ren?!" was all Yashiro could say before Sho hung up on him.
He couldn't believe it. Why did the manager even ask the question? Did Tsuruga Ren usually do that sort of things? Agree to move a meeting at the last minute? Sho would never let that happen, and Shouko knew it.
"Stupid bastard." He cursed. Like hell I'm gonna do your work in your place.
He looked up and met the abhorred reflection again. What was up with his eyes anyway? What kind of secrets was Tsuruga really hiding?
Author's note: I don't really think Sho would be that unprofessional, I forced it for better effect (lazy writing, huh).
Now I just realized that if I publish 1 chapter a day, I'm going to ruin your Christmas (with a premise like that, there will be hard times, I'm sure you can imagine). So... Hooray for double issues! I will share the chapters in pairs, so that it will all be over (and most of all resolved) before the festivities... So make sure you don't rush when they come out :)
By the way, I have my limitations with English (feels lonely here without a beta), I often get stuck when I try to find better formulations (and I end up going 'meh, just go with it'), and though I work with dictionaries and translation sites, I often feel like I end up using the same sentences sequences (it's frustrating)... So please, do not hesitate to point out anything that feels out of place, so that I am mindful to not use it again. Honestly, that's great help (it's just impossible to spot typos or misuse of words, when you re-read yourself), I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to improve the humble writing I do!
Well, thank you for the feedback, and for reading. 2 more chapters tomorrow... We're still in the ok part of the story, enjoy it while it lasts!
