Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! And its characters…

I'm so so so so so sorry… I have no excuses… Yes, I was busy but really I was just not in the mood to write. I don't know why… I really need an inspiration to write faster. Anyways, enough about that. Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Chapter 34

Ren was having a very nice dream- obviously about Kyoko- when out of nowhere an annoyingly loud sound pierced his ears. He reached for his alarm clock on his bedside table and pushed the snooze button but the sound still continued. His hand continued its search blindly until he felt his phone under his hand. He flipped it open and put it on his ear. "Hello." Ren answered sleepily.

"Ren! Congratulations! You finally did it!" A familiar voice exclaimed through the speaker of his phone. Ren recognized it as the president's.

"Did what?" Ren asked confusedly as his still half asleep brain processed the president's words.

"You are finally not a boring man." The president told him satisfactorily.

"Come on, Boss. What the hell's going on?" Ren barked at the phone. Kuon's impatient side came out.

"Well, my dear boy, you just made the front page of today's paper." Lory enlightened him. "Oh, you really got to read this. It's so exciting! And the title is so catchy, too. Wait till you see it." The president exclaimed almost excitedly. "And the pictures! Wow! It's perfect! Picture perfect!" Lory chuckled heartily.

Ren was stunned at first and when the president started talking about the pictures, he groaned. "What the f*** did I do, Boss?" He barked angrily at his phone. It was so early in the morning and the president was beating around the bush and it was driving him mad.

"Oh, the great gentleman Tsuruga Ren is swearing so early in the morning." Lory continued to tease Ren. "Anyways, please get yourself ready for today and be careful on your way here. We'll continue discussing this here in my office. I'll see you in thirty minutes." And with that, he hung up.

Ren looked at his phone in confusion and bottled frustration which was bordering in anger. His beautiful dream was ruined because of one phone call. He cursed under his breath as he put his phone back on his bedside table a little too hard. He climbed out of bed and went to prepare for probably a very long day ahead.

When Ren finished showering, he got a call from Yashiro telling him not to pick him up for safety measure. Yashiro was just going to catch a cab or the train. They did not dare let Ren go anywhere without having a serious talk with the president first for a solid strategy about that interesting headline.

Ren finally arrived at the president's office safely. But outside the building of LME, there swarmed many reporters and paparazzi. He even saw several outside his apartment complex. He was really wondering and was very curious to know what the newspaper said about him to get all these people to camp outside LME. Never in his entire career in Japan did he have a scandal, which he realized with a groan that this could be the smell of blood to the paparazzi sharks and they would never let him be until they had ripped him to shreds with those sharp teeth of theirs.

Lory was dressed as a rock star that early in the morning. He was lounging in pure relaxation on his couch with a smoke on one hand. His feet were stretched on the coffee table in front of him. If Ren was not in a state of confusion, worry and tension, he would have laughed or chuckled at the artificial cigarette, used by those who are quitting, between the president's fingers. The president had the look of a rock star who appear on newspapers or gossip magazines everyday. Perfect for my situation, huh? Ren thought inwardly. Ren made his way to him and sat across him at the twin couch and did not waste time greeting the president.

"So where's this interesting headline you're talking about?" Ren asked impatiently. The president only grinned and tossed the newspaper on the coffee table beside his feet. Ren nervously took it in his hand and read the bold printed letters of the interesting headlines. Ren realized it was not interesting at all, it was appalling!

TOP ACTOR TSURUGA REN'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET! That was that catchy headline the president told him about. It was catchy alright and when it would catch people's eyes, there were no arguing what they would do. They would certainly read it. And the pictures. How the hell did they get these pictures? Ren's mind screamed.

There were three pictures. The first one was from Ren's toothpaste commercial. It was of Ren and disguised Kyoko kissing. The second one was bad. It was of them in family disguise. He recognized it was at the beach resort in Taiwan which really made him wonder how they got that picture. He remembered the moment this picture was taken. It was when Ren was having his revenge in tickling Kyoko on that boat before they went parasailing. Ren's face was hidden in the crook of her neck and the picture showed Kyoko's lovely mouth opened in laughter. He could even recall and hear her laughter ringing in his ears right that moment. And the third one. It was much worse than the second one. He could have handled being found out he had a secret girlfriend. But that, that was the killer because a picture paints a thousand words. It would be his word against that picture. A picture of a happy family. Ren holding baby Ren on one arm and the other wrapped around a beautiful brunette woman. The same woman he was kissing in the first picture of that toothpaste commercial, who would be think of as his secret wife now or someone he accidentally knocked up.

Ren stared at those pictures. He did not even read the article yet he already knew every word of it. He sighed a hundred years of misery.

Kyoko woke up early even though she slept so late. Baby Ren. That was the first thing she thought when she woke up as it was the usual for the last more than two months. She glanced down to the right corner of the room in front of her where his baby crib was, but reality crushed in when she saw no crib, no baby. She realized she was no longer in the apartment bedroom she shared with the baby and Ren. Her heart sank and she felt sad and alone in the world with no warmth. She turned to her side and curled into a ball. She saw her phone and took it in her hand. She opened it and browsed her picture gallery. Her heart clenched as she looked at pictures of Baby Ren. Then she saw that really cute picture of Ren in a plush doggy hat and she remembered what happened yesterday.

Wh-what am I going to do? She thought in a panic. He found out I was Bo. A certain memory played on her mind. Ren, seething with a dark almost violent aura and she was in her Bo costume bowing down asking for his forgiveness. She shivered involuntarily. It was really scary. She did not want to face him like that again or even worse than that time. She was startled out of her thoughts when her alarm clock went off, signaling the start of the day. She turned it off and got up to prepare for the long day. But she was not prepared for what she saw when she climbed Asamiya's car and was handed a newspaper.

"WHAT!" Kyoko cried in shock. Luckily, Asamiya still had not pulled away from Daruma-ya or else they would have crashed into something. "H-ho-ho-how… wh-why… wh..what?"

Translation: How did they get these pictures? Why do they have it? What is this? That was what Kyoko wanted to ask but she was in no condition to form coherent sentences at the moment. Asamiya just stared at her in surprise. Yes, she could understand why her new charge would be upset about the first and the dirtiest scandal of Tsuruga Ren, Kyoko's perfect sempai. But she did not expect her to be that upset. She observed her charge reading the article. First, Kyoko was surprised, upset and confused. Then, Asamiya slowly could feel something ominous as the air suddenly thickened around Kyoko, almost turning black if you looked closer.

"So, what do you want to do about this, Ren?" the president asked. Ren let out a long sigh.

"I don't know. You're the boss. I thought you're suppose to be the one to know how to fix this." Ren replied, irritated. He could not help letting out a bit of Kuon's attitude.

The president lowered his feet to the floor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs near his knees. "As I said, I'm still glad that you're not boring anymore. So, here are your options. One, you ignore it and let it die down. Two, we release a statement saying all of it is not true. Though personally I don't think it will do any good. Three, we hold a press conference for you with a cover story. And last…" Lory paused as he seriously looked Ren in the eyes and continue. "You make the dream come true. Confess to her, marry her and adopt the baby…" He leaned back again, stretching his legs on the coffee table. "Your choice, Kuon."

Ren's mind carefully processed each one of his options. But when he got the last one, his mind came to a halt. "What do you mean adopt the baby? He's already been adopted by another family."

"Temporarily." The president answered.

"I thought we were the ones who temporarily adopted him?" Ren asked.

"Yes, but it's a bit different. It's like on probationary." He explained. "They still haven't permanently adopted him."

"Why do they need to do that? I thought they're a very good family? That they were going to love him a lot and take care of him properly. I trusted your word because your all about love." Ren said angrily at the president.

"Now, now, Ren." Lory said nonchalantly. "I don't think you have time to worry about others. You should worry about yourself. What is your decision?"

"But-" Ren started but was silence with a pointed look from the president. Ren looked at him disapprovingly for a few seconds but ultimately sighed in surrender. He carefully considered all his options. Though he agreed with the president about option two. One look at the pictures, it would be a hard battle to deny all of it. Option three, was a good course, but the idea of covering the truth that was so beautiful and fun and bright did not set well with his stomach. It was like replacing it and he was not prepared for that because the wonderful time he spent with Kyoko and baby Ren felt like a dream come true and he was afraid it would suddenly fade. If he was going to have a cover story, he would have to first believed that story is true to be able to make others believe it too and he was not prepared for that. At least not yet.

"I choose option one." Ren finally answered. "…At least for now."

"Okay, if that's what you want. Yashiro is rearranging your schedule as we speak, so that you won't have to go to interviews and public areas. We'll increase security." The president concluded. "Ah… one last thing."

Sebastian, dressed in a typical manager suit, suddenly appeared behind the couch the president was sitting on. He handed Lory a script and Lory threw it on the coffee table like the newspaper. "Here. If you want to be out of public's eye for a while, that's a very good opportunity." He suggested. "Read it over when you get home."

The next three days were as always hectic and tiring, especially the paparazzi hunting Ren down wherever he went to possibly get answers and comments from him. The day after the newspaper was printed, Sebastian finally found out how someone got the pictures of the disguised Kyoko and Ren on the beach in Taiwan through legal or otherwise methods. He crossed check the names of every employee, former employee (and their families) of the newspaper company and the names of the people who stayed at the resort they stayed in in Taiwan and the neighboring resorts and hotels. But it was pretty unlikely because the resort was very private. He also searched the web but there was not anything there no new pictures about the scandal. And after several grueling hours at last, he got a hit. The name of the new editor in chief of the newspaper company.

Lory informed them all of what they found, including Kyoko. But it did not actually helped with the problem nor formed a new course of action to counter the wide spreading scandal. It just answered their questions and made them learned their lessoned that just because you are in another country, you cannot be too easy going about not be seen or recognized. And after three days of evading and getting chased and mobbed by paparazzi like never before in his entire career, Ren needed a break. Even when he was still Hizuri Kuon, he never experienced that much with paparazzi. They followed him everywhere he goes all the time. It was suffocating and exhausting.

So now, ten o'clock in the evening, he was heading for the president's office to talk about that project that would get him out of public's eyes for a little while. He opened the door to Lory's office and walked in, feeling tired as ever.

"Ah… Ren. You're just in time to join us." The president said to him warmly. He was surprised by the last word the president said. He thought it would only be the two of them. He eyes searched the sofas and chairs in the room to find the other person with them. There on the sofa across the president, sat a very familiar figure. He noticed her posture was stiff and her spine ramrod straight. He knew why and it made him feel warm and happy inside.

Ren stopped in front of the sofa a few feet away from where Kyoko sat stiffly and nervously. "Good evening president." He greeted the president and then turned to her, who still had not looked at him since he entered. "Good evening, Mogami-san. It's nice to see you, again."

Kyoko sat there frozen in fear as all her little demons came out and dance their happy little dance to see and feel their favorite sensation from their so-called second master. Kami-sama! What should I do? Kyoko's internal scream for help echoed loudly inside her head.

I'm so sorry for the delay. Thank you so much for bearing with me. I know I'm so frustratingly slow… I hate it too but I can't seem to do something about it. I'm really sorry. Thank you so much everyone for all your support and reviews and everything. Soooo, I've given you what the newspaper contained. I think that's the only exciting part in this chapter. Next chapter will be the discussion of the new project and I bet you know who will be the lead actors already. ^_^ and as for the project itself, I'll save that for later… it's a surprise… see you next chap… oh, wait I have a new Skip Beat! English fandub in my you tube channel. It's "Dream Star" this time and it's a slow version… Hope you check it out…Thanks so much… ^_^

http:/ www. youtube. com/user/zionx0602