Chapter 25

Author's Note:
Skip Beat! and its characters belong to the creator Nakamura Yoshiki.

Skip Beat! is serialised in 'Hana to Yume' magazine (Hakusensha) and licensed in English by 'Shojo Beat' (VIZ Media, LLC).

The work below is written in the spirit of fan appreciation.
UK English has been used throughout.

Ren looked at the beet-red girl before him and tried not to grin. She stood with her hands clasped tightly together and her back straight. She bent suddenly into a crisp, low bow.

"Good evening, Tsuruga-sempai. It is a pleasure to see you this evening."

He raised his eyebrows. Even though she had asked him out to dinner the night before, she was this formal today? Did she really have no interest in dining with him other than as a work commitment? But that blush ... she was clearly affected. Was it possible that her formality was hiding her true thoughts? Or was he just trying to fool himself again? I won't slip, I won't.

He smiled. "Good evening, Mogami-san. Shall we go in?" He held his hand out to the meeting room.

She froze and looked at him with wide eyes. He sighed and stepped ahead of her. As he passed, she seemed to mutter, "Why is he angry?" but Ren wondered if he misheard, because he hadn't done anything to make her think he was angry. Had he?

Inside the meeting room, Mifune-kantoku was already chatting with Yashiro-san and Aki-san, who had apparently been brought in on the secret now that she was managing Kyouko. Ren hoped that Fuwa's ex-manager was trustworthy enough for this. She'd only been working at LME for a few days, after all. But he supposed that she wouldn't be able to manage Kyouko effectively if she didn't know the full extent and nature of her duties.

"Good evening, Tsuruga-san, Kyouko-san," said the director. "Please take a seat."

Ren bowed and greeted the director, as did Kyouko.

Once they were all seated, the director handed a booklet each to Ren and Kyouko. "I've asked you here today so that we can discuss your special schedules for the on-location filming days next week. All of your extra scenes are included in that script, plus their context so that you can see how they fit into the episodes."

Ren flicked through the booklet. It seemed they would be filming scenes from the first five episodes. All the scenes would take place in two locations: a convenience store where Kyouko's character Tomoe works, and the beach.

"What we're hoping to do," said the director, "is film the scenes that would give away the twist as soon as possible, before any of your fans find out we're filming at Zushi and start staking out the set. We intend to film as many of the convenience store scenes as possible next Wednesday evening after everyone else has left for the day, and as many of the beach scenes in that booklet as possible on Thursday morning before everyone else arrives again. It will mean a very late night, followed by a very early morning. Will that be OK?"

Ren nodded. "It's OK with me. I can do that."

They all looked to Kyouko. "I can do it, too," she said. She had a determined look about her.

"Thank you for your cooperation," said the director. "I have made allowances in the second week to mop up any scenes that we aren't able to do, but I'd like to get the few kisses the two characters share in the can as soon as possible, since a single cellphone picture taken by a curious bystander could give the game away."

Ren immediately imagined kissing Kyouko. Don't grin, you idiot! he thought.

He glanced at Kyouko. She had gone somewhat pale.

"Pardon me?" she said. "All of the kissing scenes? Right away?"

"Except for the first one, funnily enough, which we will need a different location for. But other than that, yes."

"All at once?" she said.

The director gave her a concerned look. "Do you think you will be able to do it? Let me know if you have any concerns. Oh! Of course. You haven't filmed a kissing scene before, have you?"

She shook her head. "No, but I can do it, I'm sure. I was just a bit surprised that we'll be filming so many of that kind of scene right away." She glanced at everyone but Ren. "But forewarned is forearmed." She saluted. "I will be ready next week, I assure you!"

"That's the spirit. We'll have time for several takes on the day, so don't worry too much. We'll spend the time to get it right."

Don't grin, don't grin, don't grin.

Ren realised that he'd been quiet for too long. "If you need any advice, Mogami-san, please feel free to ask me." Wait, does that sound creepy?

But she smiled in his general direction. "Thank you, sempai."

Of course, I'm just a sempai.

They spent the next ten minutes or so discussing the details of the schedule and the accommodation for the night, before moving on to the production in general.

"I want to make sure that I'm clear about something," said Mifune-kantoku while he brushed his hair out of his face. "This concerns you in particular, Tsuruga-san. You don't need to go so far as to block out the whole of the filming run of Aozora no Yume to protect the secret of the twist. Your characters will only be appearing regularly in the first five episodes. After that, there will be long stretches of time when we won't need you on set very often, followed by a longer appearance for the last episode. In weeks six to eleven, we will only need you for brief scenes, and we can easily tweak the schedule to fit you in around other work commitments. So please go ahead and pursue other opportunities that will film within that time, for example guest appearances on other dramas." He nodded to the two managers. "I'm sure your managers will be pleased to hear that they have more of your time to schedule."

"Yes, indeed," said Aki-san. "I'd like to get Kyouko-san out to some auditions. Thank you very much for the clarification."

Kyouko's face lit up at the mention of auditions. Ren's heart squeezed at the sight of her infectious enthusiasm.

"Well, I think that's all for today," said the director. "Thank you for coming. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns."

A minute later, they stood in the hallway watching the director stride away, his long houndstooth coat flaring behind him.

Kyouko bit her lip and glanced up at Ren several times.

"Do you have a question, Mogami-san?" he asked.

She looked at the two managers and blushed. Neither looked like they wanted to step away and give them the privacy Kyouko wanted. Yashiro-san looked like he was fighting one of his ridiculous excited faces. Kyouko squared her shoulders.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Tsuruga-san, but do you have any advice on how I could prepare for th-those scenes?" she asked in a quiet voice.

He took a moment to fight the grin that still wanted to appear on his face. Her awkwardness was almost at a comedic level. "You mean the kissing scenes?"

Her face nearly burst into flames. She nodded, not meeting his gaze.

"Didn't you learn anything about kissing scenes at the acting school?"

"They did cover it, but I was filming for Dark Moon that day and couldn't go."

"That's quite an interesting problem you have there, Mogami-san. Too successful doing the thing to learn how to do the thing."

She giggled, although he wasn't sure if it was his joke or her nervousness that set her off.

"I have a tip for you. Lots of people practice kissing on the backs of their own hands. Why don't you try that? You could film yourself with your cellphone to see how you're doing. That way, you can make all the embarrassing mistakes in private and no one will be the wiser. But whatever you do, delete the videos after you've used them to learn. You don't want anyone else seeing them."

She laughed at the thought, but then her face fell. "I can't do that. I have YouTube set up on my phone for the LoveMe job. I would be terrified that I would accidentally upload the videos to YouTube."

He chortled, and Yashiro-san snorted. Yes, he was blatantly listening to their conversation.

"That's a valid concern, Mogami-san. I have a camera that I don't use anymore because my cellphone is actually better. I'll drop it off in the LoveMe section tomorrow morning and you can pick it up next time you're at the office. How's that? You can't accidentally upload from an old-school digital camera."

"Oh, I couldn't …"

"Yes, you can. I haven't used it in years. It'll be good to have someone put it to use for once."

She bowed. "Thank you very much, Tsuruga-san."

"No problem. Oh, about the dinner. I'm still not sure when I will be free and can get a booking." He looked over at Yashiro-san, who gave him an apologetic look. Yashiro-san was trying to confirm his schedule, but he had a couple of shoots that were on a sliding timeframe, which made things difficult.

Kyouko held up her hands. "That's quite all right, Tsuruga-san. There's no urgency. Whenever is convenient for you." Her face had turned red again. "Thank you for the advice. I should let you go now. I'm holding you up. My apologies." She bowed. "Good evening."

Aki-san also bowed, and then the two women left. Ren felt a pang of sadness. Now that Aki-san was looking after the LoveMe section, he couldn't offer Kyouko a ride home, because she already had one.

"Aw, that's quite a face you're making," said Yashiro-san. "But Aki-san is looking after the whole LoveMe section, not just Kyouko-chan. There will no doubt be schedule clashes that will allow you to offer Kyouko-chan rides home."

Ren schooled his expression. Was he really that easy to read these days? Well, actually, Yashiro-san had always been able to read him. He was probably just getting sensitive because a few people had spotted his feelings for Kyouko recently.

They started walking towards the parking garage. "You're such a fool, Ren," said Yashiro-san. "I can't believe you let that opportunity slip you by!"

"What opportunity?"

"She was asking you to teach her how to kiss! Why didn't you offer to teach her? You could have enjoyed kissing her and had the perfect excuse! 'Practice on you own hand.' What is that, even?"

"She wasn't asking me to teach her, she was asking for advice on how to prepare. Do you really think she was expecting a practical lesson? This is LoveMe no. 1 we're talking about."

"Yeah, but—"

"I'm not going to take advantage of her professional development for my own selfish reasons. Seriously, what are you suggesting, Yashiro-san? That's immoral."

"It's not immoral if you truly like her."

"Yes, it is!" He scowled at his manager. "Sometimes I really worry about your morals."

"How rude! I'm only trying to support you, Ren."

"Well, please do so in a way that doesn't involve suggesting I take advantage of her trust." I already have enough things for which I need to apologise to her. I don't need another.

OverheardAtLME 3 h
"We didn't hire him. We hatched him. We all took turns sitting on the egg."

XXXXXXX 2 h
OMG, is this about Bou the chicken from Kimagure Rock? LOL

XXXXXXX 2 h
He's clearly just a guy in a suit!

XXXXXXX 2 h
OMG, please tell me which of the Bridge Rock hotties said this. I'm dying to know!

OverheardAtLME 1 h
Sorry, I was sworn to secrecy (^ω~)

Next time: Ren makes a rare slip in an interview.