Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Their First Instagram Photo
Over the next few weeks, Kyoko threw herself into her work, trying not to think too hard about the interview questions she was getting now, and the questions reporters called out to her on the rare occasion that she and Kuon were ambushed by reporters either outside of LME on their way to his car. And honestly, it kind of worked. Between Love Me work, her commercials and the guest role she was filming for, the interviews, and Bridge Rock, she felt as though she barely had time to think about anything other than work. This, she thought, must be what Kuon had done when he'd first come to Japan.
Everyone wanted to talk to Tsuruga Ren about filming Tragic Marker, and he found himself busier as well despite his best efforts, booking interviews in addition to his regular work, and over the next few weeks, he sat down with the director and the rest of the main cast for the film at least three times to give group interviews and talk about the process. Kyoko, thankfully, wasn't expected at these interviews since she hadn't been in the movie, but she did get the questions in her own interviews.
Was it hard to work so closely with Ren before they were dating? What had it been like to practically live with a man in a hotel room? Had they started dating while she'd been playing his sister? Had she gotten to pick out her own outfits? Was the lip piercing actually fake?
Yashiro-san sat off to the side as she answered all of these and more, thankful that she'd done plenty of work with him and the PR department at LME so that they could coach her on how to respond to these kinds of questions and guide talk back to her work, like Lotus and even hints about her upcoming international project. She spoke about life in America, and how much fun it had been to spend time in LA with her best friend, throwing Moko-san's name in whenever she could in the hopes that it would get her friend some publicity. It wasn't fair, Kyoko thought, that she was so well known when Kanae wasn't. It was only because she was dating Ren, after all.
She also gave a few short, embarrassed answers to questions about dating Ren, but thankfully those were a bit fewer and further between. Yashiro-san had mentioned that they might want to do an interview together at some point in the near future, but with Kyoko's schedule absolutely booked solid until Christmas, she didn't have the time yet. It was her own fault, of course, since she was also taking another acting class at the training school and working with Maria-chan to plan the Happy Grateful party. Her friend had told her that she wanted to have the party again, making Kyoko adjust her plans a little. She would be working up until 2 on Christmas Eve, so she wouldn't have as much time to help, but Moko-san had agreed to help out as well, and Kuon had even offered to help decorate, along with Takarada-sa who still insisted on being 'Daddy Long Legs.'
Kyoko also had other plans for Kuon on Christmas day, but she was pretty sure Yashiro-san would be willing to help her with those. It would be another expense, but she was sure it would be worth it.
She and Kuon managed to keep their date nights on Thursday, and as October turned into November, Kyoko realized that was the only time she was seeing him. Even her weekends were busy with the new acting class and filming for her guest role which was taking up more of her time than she'd expected, but she was glad for the paycheck. She saved every single bit of it she could, only buying the absolute necessities at the grocery and eating the provided lunches on set whenever she could. One day, she even ate food from a convenience store for lunch, praying tht Kuon never found out, mostly because he'd surely never let her hear the end of it.
It was on the first Thursday of November that Kuon started to notice something was off with her, despite her desperate attempts to hide everything relating to her plan from him.
He usually arrived too late to see any of the show, and she would find him in the parking garage waiting for her, but on this day, a familiar figure was leaning against the wall by her dressing room, making her smile in the costume.
"Need more help with that girl?" she called, and he chuckled as he looked up, pocketing his phone. "Or is it your script this time?" Kyoko pulled the chicken head off, only feeling embarrassed at her messy hair and probably red face for a moment before he was kissing her in the hallway. Knowing that the press would have a field day if they managed to get a hold of a picture of Tsuruga Ren kissing Bo the chicken, she reached out for the door and opened it, then guided him inside without breaking contact.
Kuon kicked the door shut behind them, his hands on her shoulders as he slipped the straps of the costume off of them, then held her hands as she stepped out of it. All of her embarrassment slipped away when his hands went to her waist, lifting her easily and placing her on the table where she usually got ready. This, she thought, was a much better height to kiss him from, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed closer.
"I haven't seen you in a whole week," he murmured against her lips, moving to her cheek, then her neck, careful not to leave any marks. At least, she thought he was being careful. It still made her fingers clutch the back of his sweater, gasping and throwing her head back when he sucked gently on the skin over her pulse.
"I missed you too," she whispered with a little smile, sliding her fingers into his hair and scratching his scalp, something she'd quickly learned that he loved. He groaned, finding her lips again, one hand braced against the wall, his other pressed to her back. "But I thought you said something about reservations in your text…"
He sighed, dropping his forehead against hers and giving her a rueful smile. "I did, actually."
"And I don't know how those work where you come from, but here, if you're not on time, you tend to lose the reservation."
He snorted. "You think they'd give my reservation away?"
She lifted an eyebrow. "They should, if you're not on time."
Kuon smiled, leaning in for one more kiss, then brought his hand up to her cheek, seeming to get a good look at her for the first time, his thumb brushing gently under her eye where she knew her lack of sleep was causing purple bruises.
"Would you rather go back to my place? You can get some rest and I can cook."
"No, I'm fine," she insisted, waving a hand. "I want to see where we're going!"
He let it go for the moment, helping her slide off the table and sitting on the sofa while she got changed. She always brought her make up bag to work now, as well as a curling iron to style her hair. And not just because she wanted to look nice for Kuon. He didn't seem to care if she wore make up, as evidenced by his behavior a few minutes ago. But when she was out with him, or even out alone, the press could take her picture at any moment, and so could anyone else with a cellphone. She tried not to worry too much about that, but it was always in the back of her mind.
Once she'd made herself look presentable, changing into the sweater dress and boots she'd brought for their date which she hoped would be dressy enough, she found Kuon still on the couch. He smiled at her, his eyes raking over her in a way that made her feel suddenly too warm, but all he did was hold out his hand, taking hers when she offered it, then he shouldered her bag and led her to the elevator. Together they waved at the Ishibashis who always made sure to say goodbye, then he held the door open for her before making his way over to the driver's side.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to dinner?" he asked, as though she hadn't been looking forward to this for a week.
"Of course! I'm excited!"
"We could always postpone if you need to rest…"
"Do I look that bad?" she asked, suddenly self conscious as she lifted a hand to her cheek. She'd thought she'd done a good job cleaning up.
He caught her hand before she could touch her face. "Of course not. You look beautiful," he murmured, bringing her hand to his lips. "You're always beautiful. I was just worried that you weren't sleeping enough."
"I've just been busy," she told him, squeezing his hand and praying he didn't start digging into exactly how busy she'd been, or why she was auditioning for so many commercials and even PVs.
"I noticed. You're booked solid all month."
"It's just commercials and that guest role...and I got a role in a PV."
"Wow, that's impressive. You're busier than I am these days."
She blushed. "That's just because you've cut back."
"I have," he admitted. "I thought maybe I could use a little break."
Kyoko glanced over at him, surprised. She hadn't really asked him about the fact that he hadn't taken on any big new projects, despite the fact that he had to be getting offers. So she decided now would be a good time. "Have you gotten any interesting offers?"
"A few."
"Anything...international?"
He smiled a little. "One or two." When she was quiet, he went on. "A series filming in England next year starting in February, and one in New Zealand around the same time."
"Really?"
"I turned them both down."
She dropped her eyes, but before she could apologize or try to open that topic of conversation again, he went on.
"Even if I wanted to do them, I have a contract with R Mandy, and the series I'm filming here won't wrap up until March at the earliest."
"I don't want you to pass up opportunities because of me, Kuon."
He waited until they pulled up to a stoplight to lean on, pressing a long kiss to her forehead, his hand squeezing hers. "I'm not. I'm passing on them because of me. I don't want to leave you for months at a time. Not yet. Maybe someday we'll figure something out, but that's not what I want right now."
She fought the urge to argue...to insist he take every offer he wanted, regardless of her, but that wasn't what she wanted either. Not when things between them felt new. She didn't want him to leave her for months at a time. Even one month had felt impossible.
When they arrived at the restaurant, he pulled out his phone with a little smile. "Yashiro-san asked me for a favor," he told her, opening her door. She climbed out of the car, shivering a little in the chilly evening air as she left his warm car.
"A favor?"
"Yes. He said that LME wanted some photos of us leading up to Christmas to put on the Instagram page."
Kyoko blushed. "Of...of us?"
He just nodded, wrapping an arm around her, and she blushed, looking around the parking lot. "But...I mean, doing what?"
"I thought we'd start with a date night. Come on." Sounding like an excited kid, he led her to the restaurant, then turned them around so their backs were to the facade of the building.
"But...why do they want pictures of us?"
"They're doing some kind of theme...something to do with Christmas and celebrities doing winter activities." He didn't sound like he cared much.
"Eating at a restaurant isn't a winter activity," she told him with a laugh when he held up the camera, his arm wrapped snugly around her.
"You're wearing a sweater dress. That seems wintery."
On the screen on his phone, they were silhouetted in warm light from the windows behind them, her nestled under his arm. He rested his cheek on her hair and she couldn't help smiling, leaning her head on him and closing her eyes for a minute. It was perfect, she thought, smiling at the camera. A perfect night with someone she loved so much. And maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have their photo on the Instagram page. She'd done it with Moko-san and Juli after all.
When he took the photo and held it up for her to see, she nodded. "Perfect."
"Perfect," he agreed, leaning down to kiss her hair. And then they went inside.
The photo didn't go onto the Instagram page until December, just as he'd promised, and Kyoko finally sat down to figure out how to download the app onto her phone. She didn't dare make a page under her own name, instead using a generic name with a picture of a kitten she'd found online as the profile picture so that she could follow LME. Their picture was posted in the middle of the day on the first of December as the first of the series of promotional photos they would be posting every day that month, and immediately it received what to Kyoko felt like an alarming number of likes and comments.
"They're so adorable!"
"My all time favorite couple!"
"We've been meaning to try that restaurant! Now we have to go!"
"I loved Kyoko-chan in Dark Moon! I knew those two had chemistry!"
Kyoko blushed, putting her phone away and getting back to her script as she sat in her dressing room for her guest role. She was playing the family member of a main character, in town for a visit with her own story arc, and although she liked her role and her coworkers, she couldn't help letting her mind wander back to her phone as she studied her script for the remainder of the day's scenes. Finally, a few minutes later, she dared to pull it out of her bag again, bringing up the photo and feeling her whole body flush as she stared at Kuon.
He looked so happy.
And everyone else seemed to think so too.
"I wish Ren-san would hold me like that!"
"Kyoko-chan is sooooo lucky!"
"Couple goals!"
"How did a plain girl like that get someone like him?"
That last one made her flinch a little, but when she opened the comments, she felt heat rise to her cheeks at the number of people defending her.
"What are you talking about? Kyoko-san is so beautiful!"
"She's just as talented as he is! Haven't you seen her in Box R? If anything, he's the lucky one!"
She put her phone away again, her heart unable to take it. How could she ever get used to so many people talking about her online?
Later that week, for maybe the second time in her life, Kyoko sat down in the Love Me room with some convenience store onigiri and a hot tea for lunch. She hadn't packed a bento, and she didn't want to spend any money at the LME cafe, so she'd ducked into a nearby store to grab lunch, saving herself a good chunk of money. She'd been working on putting together gift bags for the Happy Grateful party for Maria, which Takarada-san insisted would count as Love Me work, so she settled into her seat and took a bite.
And that's when the door opened.
She looked up, wondering if it was someone with another Love Me request, then froze when she saw Kuon.
A thousand emotions seemed to pass over his face.
Happiness when he first saw her.
Curiosity as he looked at the gift bags being assembled on the table.
And then his eyes landed on the plastic bag and the onigiri.
The emotion he finally seemed to settle on was smug triumph as he crossed his arms, grinning down at her.
"I wasn't even that hungry!" she cried, shoving the bag behind her as if to hide the evidence. "I just knew it was important to eat around lunch time, and I had a big breakfast! I knew I'd be eating dinner early! And I've been sitting around all day, so it's not like I've burned a lot of calories! I can't eat a huge meal three times a day, especially if I'm sitting around all day! And I have way more food than you usually eat!"
He came to sit across from her, still grinning as he put his chin in his hands, but she couldn't stop.
"This one has tuna in it! And these have vegetables! It's not a proper meal, but it's enough food! Especially for someone my size! You're twice my size, so you should be eating twice as much as me, especially since you're filming a more active role! And it's not like I do this every day! I've only ever done it one or two other times! I almost always have a full meal!
Still smiling, Kuon reached over and snagged one of her snacks and opened it up, taking a bite and never losing that smug look. "I didn't say anything," he told her once he'd swallowed his food. He grabbed her hot tea next, taking a sip, and she huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back.
"You're thinking it! Really loudly!"
He took another bite of the onigiri.
"Do you need the Love Me section for something, Tsuruga-san?"
He barked out a laugh, eyes glittering with amusement. "I just thought I'd stop by. See what the Love Me department was up to today. I see you're working on the gift bags...need any help?" She just continued to glare at him as he pulled the bags to the middle so that he could assemble some of them. "The party is going to be really nice this year. I ran into Maria...she was telling me about it." If it wasn't for the little smile on his face she would have thought he was just making conversation, but she knew what he was doing.
When she didn't move, his smile grew, his eyes only on the gift bag he was assembling, and she stood.
"Well, I think you have this handled."
He laughed aloud and jumped up after her, catching her easily before she could make it to the door, one arm wrapping around her, his lips pressed against her neck, and she gasped, closing her eyes. "Kuon," she whispered, and she felt him smile against her skin.
"Hm?"
"We're at work...and Takarada-san probably has cameras in here."
He huffed out a sigh, making her smile, then released her, but moved his hands to her arms, still leaning over her. "Don't you want to finish your lunch?" She could practically hear his quotation marks around the word 'lunch,' but he went on before she could defend herself again. "Or would you rather go get something from the cafe?"
Kyoko shook her head. "No...this is fine. I'm not really that hungry." It wasn't a lie per se, but she knew that the food she'd gotten would be enough to tide her over until dinner. Still, Kuon cocked his head as if to get a better look at her.
"Are you sure? Is everything okay?"
"Of course!"
"Do you…" he lowered his voice. "Do you want me to get you something for lunch? I mean...do you have enough money?"
Kyoko blushed, shaking her head despite how close he was to guessing everything and waving her hands. "No, everything is fine. I promise! I have enough money. I just didn't want a lot of food."
He nodded slowly. "Okay...if you're sure. But you know you can talk to me, right? If you need something?"
"I...I know," she told him, blushing.
Kuon smiled then. "Okay. I'll be right back."
Kyoko watched him go, a little puzzled, but when he was gone, she sat back down and continued to eat. And about twenty minutes later, he returned, a bag in hand that he dropped on the table. Inside were a pile of convenience store snacks, and she had to laugh when he pulled out the rice ball, unwrapping it and taking a bite with a smile.
Soon, gift bags were assembled, and Takarada-san's people were ordering food and decorations. Kyoko would still be designing the menu and making the first batch of most of the food and desserts, but afterwards, she would be changing into a dress and joining the other guests at Maria's insistence. She had a feeling this was just because Kuon wanted to buy her a new dress, but she couldn't prove anything and besides, she had a plan of her own to focus on.
As well as her minor deception.
The next time they sent in a photo for the LME Instagram, it was the two of them standing together in the park, her in a beanie and him in a baseball cap, both of them wearing thick sweaters and coats as the snow fell around them. It hadn't even been their usual date night. The two of them had (thanks to Yashiro-san) had the same evening off, and after donning their usual disguise of hats, they'd gone for a walk in the park, her arm tucked into his. She had to admit as she stared at it later from her blank instagram account that it was a beautiful picture...that she looked beautiful. Somehow. The makeup, probably. But his arm was around her, her cheek pressed to his chest, and this time, his gaze wasn't on the camera. It was on her.
He loved her.
She could see it in his eyes, as plain as though he'd said it aloud. All around them, snow fell in lazy little flakes, and there was a dusting of it on the ground, and they looked like a couple in love. Just looking at this photo (which she'd saved to her phone) made her heart feel as though it might explode in her chest, which was sort of dangerous considering how long she'd spent staring at it.
And according to the comments on Instagram, everyone seemed to agree. Nearly every single comment, other than the ones lamenting Ren's lack of availability and making snide remarks about her, were about how much he obviously loved her...how happy they looked. How something as simple as a walk in the park was the peak of romance when it was with someone like him. And Kyoko had to agree. It really was. That walk with him had been like a dream with the flurries falling all around them and his body pressed to hers. It had been such a special evening.
Which was why she wanted to do something extra special for him.
Thus, the number of jobs she was working.
Kyoko was at a smaller agency finishing up a commercial when she ran into Sho. She'd just gotten out of her dressing room, having wiped her face clean of makeup, and was pulling her phone out to give Yashiro-san a call to let him know that she'd finished up a little early when she nearly ran into her old friend in the hall.
"Hey. You're Instagram famous now, you know?"
Kyoko rolled her eyes at Sho's abrupt greeting, blushing a little. Just a few minutes ago, she'd been scrolling through the comments on her latest picture...she could see how someone could get addicted to this. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, drawing on her acting skills as she lifted an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked, glancing at his watch. It was nearly 10, she knew, because the commercial had been set to wrap up at 11, but thanks to her ability to get nearly everything in one take, they'd finished early.
"I'm filming a commercial."
"Really? Weren't you just in a big movie? Why are you filming a commercial?" He hesitated, looking at her more closely. "Are you sick or something? You look tired."
"Rude. I am not sick, and I don't look tired," she snapped a little, knowing it was a lie.
He just crossed his arms. "You already spent all that movie money?" Sho asked, almost teasing, but when she didn't reply right away, he frowned. "What? Seriously?"
"Will you stop? I'm not sick and I don't need money. I'm working. And now I'm leaving."
"Hey...wait a second!" Sho chased after her when she walked abruptly past him, reaching out, then hesitating at the last second and dropping his arm before grabbing her. "Please? I'm sorry, okay? I'll stop."
She hesitated, crossing her arms and regarding him silently.
"You really are Instagram famous, you know?"
"LME is doing a promotion on their Instagram, and they wanted pictures of celebrities. It was Ren's idea."
"It's working. People like them." He shrugged a little uncomfortably, and Kyoko couldn't help her smile.
"You follow LME's Instagram?"
Sho scoffed. "Whatever. I just happened to hear from Shoko. And your boyfriend told me you graduated from high school. So...good job. I'm uh...I'm sorry I couldn't come to your party. But, I...I'm almost done with my new album."
"It's okay. Ren told me. And...congratulations." She stared at the ground, wondering when things had started to feel awkward like this between them. Maybe when he'd started being genuinely nice.
"Anyway...uh...I actually knew you were going to be here. I was kind of hoping to run into you."
"How did you know I'd be here?"
If she didn't know any better, she'd almost think he was blushing. "I had Shoko keep tabs on your schedule. Just in case I needed to talk to you!" He told her in a rush, lifting his hands. "Don't sic your boyfriend on me, okay? I'm not stalking you. It's just that your weirdo President still won't let me make an appointment with you, and I meant to call but...I kind of wanted to ask you in person."
"Okay…"
"So...the album is almost done, but I'm going to film a PV for my new single and I was...kind of hoping you'd...do it."
Kyoko blinked at him, eyes wide. "Do...what? Act in your PV?"
"Yeah. I mean, people loved you in the first one. And it might help the bad publicity between us. Let people know we aren't in some big fight or love triangle or anything. Look...it'll take a day. Two tops. It pays well and we'll be done before 10. Promise."
His Prisoner PV had paid well...not to mention the fact that even with all of her extra work, her budget was pretty tight with Christmas coming up. With one more job, especially one that paid as well as Prisoner, she'd have a little extra money for the other part of her surprise. And working with Sho would probably be a lot easier now that they could apparently get through a whole conversation without it devolving into a screaming match.
So she smiled.
"Call Yashiro-san to set it up. Tell him I already said yes."
Sho nodded, smiling as she made her way down to the parking garage, her phone in her hand to call her manager for a ride.
Thanks for reading! As always, if you have any ideas for firsts, I'd love to hear them :)