(Flashback, 1 day prior)

"Mogami Kyouko-san. Would you date me?"

"…."

"…Date (desert fruit)?"

"No, date (boyfriend and girlfriend)"

Kyouko frowned and ordered for more water.

"Here, some water. I think you've drunk too much wine, Director. That much smoke and drinking couldn't be good for your health."

"Tsk."

Kyouko gaped. Did he just tsk-ed me?

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. You're behaving exactly like Furukawa Kyouko, and I'm not even confessing my love to you. So annoying."

Wha-What did he just SAY? Kyouko felt her facial muscle twitching.

"Remember what I just said. This is nothing personal. An experiment, if you will."

"Experiment?"

"You're scared of love right? That's just good because you would be able to embody the past Furukawa Kyouko, but you still haven't figured out why Furukawa Kyouko decided to fall in love."

"And how is that related?"

"As long as you're scared of love, the least you could do is fake it. We can learn that in this experimental relationship. Let me bet: you've always turned your sight away from lovey-dovey couples right, Furukawa Kyouko-san?"

Kyouko twitched at his mocking tone. How does he know that anyways?

"Faking is also an important actor's skill. We can't all have experienced everything, but faking puts you closer to understanding what you should be feeling."

"Plus", Ushio continued, "no one's going to fall for anyone here, so you can let go of that fear of yours and start paying attention to normal couple's interaction."

"Was this the president's idea?" Kyouko warily asked.

Sharp, isn't she? "Partly. Though I did offer myself in."

Kyouko sat up straight and looked at him suspiciously, as if the director is about to sexually harass her any moment.

"Hey, watch it with that attitude. I'm still your senior."

"Why did you?"

Ushio huffed his cigarette. "Well, for starters, who would refuse a cute high school girlfriend with no string attached?"

'He sounded like a hentai ojii-san…', Kyouko warily thought. Kyouko started to wonder if she was the crazy one for thinking the idea was weird.

"Plus I'm the senior here so I definitely have more experience in love. And I'll be the one to make sure that nothing weird or sexy will surface. My life is hard enough as it is, I don't need to add drama to it."

Kyouko raised an eyebrow at the word 'sexy'.

Well, Ushio inwardly amended, the plan was to actually ask lover boy to be her experimental boyfriend, considering that he was her co-star and that he must have a lot of experience with women. Seeing how whipped he was though, that was just no good. He'll scare the hell out of her before anything even begun, plus complications in the set he'd rather not think about. Which brought him to another point.

"On that note, let's keep this a secret as well" Especially from Tsuruga-san, he mentally added. "I don't wanna turn away my potential suitors. Us single men has it tough, you know."

Kyouko seemed to be thinking hard, and was no longer listening to him.

Ushio gave her the time to.

"I want this project to succeed. I want you to succeed. Think about what I just said."

The director signaled for the waiter to come.

"Bill this to my old man."

—-

"…mi-san"

"Mogami-san! You're spilling it"

"Oh! O…Ah! I'm so sorry Tsuruga-san! I'm dirtying the table!"

"It's fine, it's just water. I'll wipe it off. More importantly, is something on your mind?"

"It's-"

- On that note, let's keep this a secret as well -

"It's fine. Just thinking of what kind of dinner I should cook" Kyouko pulled a smile.

"Anything you make is good, Mogami-san. I think I'm spoiled by your cooking."

"Jya-! If you don't mind, I'll check what you have in your fridge, Tsuruga-san"

"I told you, I'm fine with take outs too, you know." Ren gently reminded her.

Kyouko pouted "You barely eat anything healthy, and since you've picked me up everyday to work, the least I can do is cook for you, Tsuruga-san."

"Just stay there, and leave it to me." Kyouko shouted on her way to the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am" Tsuruga Ren inwardly smiled. Not that he minded, her cooking was the only food he could enjoy lately. He was more worried about burdening her and what she'd find inside his fridge (usually next to nothing).

Ren had invited Mogami-san for dinner under the pretext of practicing the script, although what he truly needed was apologize to her. However, ever since her arrival at his place she'd been acting weird, as if there's something weighing down her mind. Was it something that was said during her dinner with the director?

Feeling that his thought was heading nowhere, Ren decided to practice the script aloud while waiting.

—-

KEN: "What is love anyways... it sounds so shady." (drinks another cup of sake)

SUSHI CHEF: *shrugged nonchalantly*

KEN: "Everyone of them said that I don't love them. Even though I've done everything they asked."

SUSHI CHEF: *Answered noncommittally that Ken seemed to be the type that would be popular with the ladies*

KEN: (snorts). "Yeah right."

OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT

KEN: "Love eh? I wish there's somekind of handbook on love."

Ken sarcastically asked no one in particular, half tipsy over a series of light sake in front of a sushi bar he recently frequented at. Little did he know that it was Furukawa Kyouko standing right next to him, wearing a tuna-head mascot.

KYOUKO: "You're asking a Tuna what's love?"

—-

Ren turned to see Kyouko joining him at the dinner table. In front of him sat freshly cooked hot stew and agedashi tofu. Kyouko was now Furukawa Kyouko.

Ken shrugged.

KEN: "Does that make me worse than a tuna?"

KYOUKO: "This is the second time you've asked me strange question, Mister."

KEN: (Chuckles) "It's stranger that I can say these things freely to you, Maguro-san*. I apologize for asking you strange questions." [A/N: Maguro = Tuna]

Furukawa Kyouko wondered how Iwasaki Ken could be polite when he wanted to be, and strangely mature too. How different his treatment was when he saw her as Furukawa Kyouko.

KYOUKO: "Love… hm.. for example, there will be little things that will make you happy... It's simply just that."

KEN: "Happiness…"

KYOUKO: "…."

KEN: "…in what way?"

KEN: "…"

KYOUKO: "…"

KEN: "…"

KYOUKO: "PFT-!"

—-

Kyouko tried to hold her laughter until tears came out of her eyes. T-The conversation is repeating!

Ren, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought, if not a bit confused at her strange reaction. This script sounded very familiar. Could it be the chicken-?

"Mogami-san, why are you laughing?" Ren asked, irritated for reasons he couldn't identify. He felt like she was laughing at him, though he couldn't tell why.

Oops, he looks miffed. "N-no. It just reminded me of someone I know."

"Was it a chicken perhaps?"

The question passed Ren's lips before he knew it, and Kyouko effectively froze in place.

Her stiffness caught Ren off-guard. She knows the chicken! That explains her reaction just now. Did the chicken tell her anything?

"Do you know the chicken, Mogami-san?" Ren asked, smiling, with extra wattage added.

"Eh…. I…. " Kyouko averted her eyes.

"You...?" Ren prompted while maintaining his gentlemanly smile directed at her, full-blast.

Kyouko's demon antennae ran wild and Kyouko decided that that day, Mogami Kyouko (16), was ready to be flayed alive.

"….I'M SO SORRY TSURUGA-SAN!" Kyouko proceeded to bow down on a dogeza.

"Becauseatthattimeyouseemedsosadandyouwouldn'twanttoshareitwithyourjuniorIdecidedtopretendassomeoneelseI'msosorrryyyTsuruga-sannnn"

"Wait, calm down Mogami-san."

"Because… (sniff) Tsuruga-san, I wanted to help because you had looked so troubled, but If you know it's me, you wouldn't have let me help you because I was hated.."

"Hated… I would never!" Ren stood up from his seat and suddenly it dawned on him. Wait a minute. Is she saying that—

"You'd bullied me a lot back then, Tsuruga-san" Kyouko reprimanded him.

"Uh…" I guess there were those moments as well, Ren sheepishly thought.

But more importantly!

"Mogami-san. Are you saying that you are Bo?