A LITTLE BIT OF ME INSIDE YOU.
Ren had done his very best to make Kyoko forget about Sho, and even though she had agreed to pretend that what happened between them couldn't be considered an actual kiss as long as she didn't feel anything for him, she still couldn't quite forget about it.
During lunch break, Kyoko joined Ren and Yashiro at their usual table in the cafeteria. They chatted with each other like it was any other day, but it wasn't. Kyoko didn't share with them how everything, no matter big or small, was reminding her of Sho's lips against hers again and again: like when she overheard the other actresses talking about guys and the Valentine's Day; or when she watched a chocolate commercial play out on the TV. And even when there was nothing to remind her of it, her own thoughts would betray her by ending up exactly where she least wanted them to be, popping in some very disturbing images of Sho in her mind.
Despite her not telling Ren and Yashiro about it, they knew whenever she did think of Sho as her veins would twitch and pop out of her skull and her delicate features would twist in a blinding fit of rage making it obvious what was on her mind, since only one person was capable of affecting her to such a degree.
Yashiro asked her twice what was wrong, despite already knowing the answer.
Instead of giving him an honest reply, like telling him how having your nemesis shove his tongue down your throat would be upsetting to most people, she plastered a fake smile and lied smoothly, "nothing's wrong. I'm fine."
Kyoko excused herself to go to the washroom, where she rinsed her mouth for the umpteenth time. As she was returning, her eye was caught by something on the counter. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a jar filled with red disposable spoons with extra long handles. Taking one out, she grinned wondering how perfectly it will go with the new set of glasses she had bought. It was then she was reminded of the Valentine's present she had made for Ren.
Unlike everyone else whom she gave chocolates for Valentine's day, she had prepared something different for Ren knowing that he wouldn't like chocolates because of his small appetite. She was going to give it to him at lunch but because of all the chaos Sho had caused at the set, it totally slipped from her mind. Until now.
Glancing at her wrist watch, she made sure that she still had ten minutes before the lunch break ended up, and she went back to Ren.
"I was wondering," she commenced, "since you've already had lunch, could you spare a moment?"
"I suppose I could," he frowned a little, and then chuckled, "why are you being so formal?"
"I want to give you something, but not here," she immediately added. "I will wait for you in your dressing room."
In the privacy of Ren's dressing room, Kyoko had placed her present on a small coffee table by the couch. Taking a seat, she called out, "you can come in now."
Ren entered, closing the door behind him. Having noticed the slight blush on Kyoko's face, his breathing sped up and his eyes leisurely strolled down towards the centre of the table where a long champagne glass filled with an unusual red liquid awaited him.
"Please," Kyoko motioned for him to take a seat beside her on the couch, and he obliged.
"This is for me?"
"You remember how I gave Valentine's chocolate to everyone who had helped me out," she looked down, smiling. "Well, you're the one I'm most grateful to, so I wanted to do something special for you." Her cheeks were now burning scarlet.
Something tugged in Ren's heart, and he gently brushed his fingers over the surface of the glass, which had a few big roses carved onto it.
There were also small carvings of colourless vines and leaves. The roses would have been transparent too if the glass had been empty, but the colour of the red wine was the perfect shade of crimson to be suffused into it.
"This drink is called Gelée Au Vin," Kyoko explained. "I found its recipe in a magazine, and it seemed like something you would like. I thought that you might prefer this more than chocolate as your Valentine's present..." She let her sentence trail off, as the colour suffusing her cheeks deepened.
Kyoko was generally so naive when it came to matters of the heart, that Ren had gotten used to never allowing himself to hope, but in this case even he was surprised. She had went out of her way to make him something different than everyone else, so should he be counting it as getting special treatment from her? Did it mean that a part of her, no matter how small, felt something for him? Or was he only reading too much from the situation?
"What are you waiting for?" Kyoko inquired as she handed him the red disposable spoon with the extra long handle. "The spoon I bought from home was too short for this glass, but fortunately I found this one in the cafeteria." She pressed her palms together and grinned with childlike excitement. "Doesn't it look perfect?" She squealed. Her blush returned, and she eased down a bit. "I'm sorry for babbling," she chuckled. "I just always get so caught up on it comes to dishes or utensils."
"No, it's understandable," Ren remarked, holding up the glass for a closer look. "The way you can see the red wine from the crystal rose, it looks quite unique. I mean, the colour of the wine is complementing the rose patterns on the glass."
"I know!" Getting enough encouragement to go on, Kyoko balled her hands into fists and exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's beautiful, isn't it? When I saw this glass, I instantly bought it since it's so perfect! And when I saw the red shade of the Gelée Au Vin, I just had to serve it in this particular glass..." She prattled on and on excitedly.
Having no particular interest in either cooking or utensils, Ren should have been justly bored, but for the first time he was genuinely interested in listening to a girl fawn over a piece of crockery. He couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. The dark bangs of her wig fluttered as she was literally shaking with excitement. Her pupils dilated in wonder, with little stars shining in those big, hazel eyes of here. Ren could have sat there listening to her all day. Watching her act so adorably was a prize in itself.
"It's delicious," he remarked honestly after taking a sip.
Kyoko let out a long sigh of relief. "I'm so glad."
As Ren stared at her beaming smile, his instincts screamed at him to reach out and touch her, to caress her soft skin, and peck her plush lips, but he didn't. He had to squeeze out all the willpower he could muster to hold back but he still did.
Even if you smile like that I won't be swayed, he told her silently.
He couldn't help but wonder if she'll ever see him as something more, or if she'll ever get over Sho's betrayal and let her heart love again.
He also wondered if he himself would ever be ready to be forgive himself for his past mistakes, and let himself be loved, having the courage in the first place to tell her of his feelings.
For now, he wasn't ready at all to risk even a single moment he got to spend with Kyoko. If he made the mistake of approaching her too fast, he'd only scare her away.
"Thank you," he muttered, after sipping in the last drop of the Gelée Au Vin.
Kyoko was beyond grateful and relieved that Ren genuinely enjoyed her present. Compared to all the chocolates he had received from countless fans and co-workers, he actually finished the whole glass of the drink she made for him. She was so happy that she almost felt giddy. Not only that, to hear it directly from him how much he liked it, it made her body tremble with an unusual excitement. Her heart rate picked up ecstatically for some unfathomable reason.
This unshakable feeling inside her heart, it reminded her a lot of the former Kyoko, the one who lived for the sole purpose of serving Sho. Everytime she did something nice for him, her heart used to be pumped with joy the exact same way as it was now.
All of a sudden, her smile vanished and her features twisted in abhorrence as Sho's name reminded her of their kiss for the umpteenth time since it happened.
Ren had been so caught up in staring at Kyoko's alluring smile, that he was first startled to see her veins pop out in rage out of nowhere but it didn't take long for him to figure out who might have crossed her thoughts for her to be twitching in anger. Sho's name was clearly written on her face to be read by him.
For Kyoko to be reminded of Sho while he was thinking about his feelings for her, it hit him like a tight slap on his cheek, which stung him a lot more than he thought was possible. He had been so desperate for her attention, yet her thoughts were solely consumed by Sho even when he was right in front of her. Envy flared up inside him.
The more Kyoko thought about Sho, the more defeated Ren felt. He had done everything in his power to make her forget about him, but all it took Sho was a single kiss for him to possess her thoughts. A new degree of frustration rose in him sending a queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach. In this state of immense vexation, an epiphany struck him. Considering how Sho was now reigning Kyoko's mind, maybe a kiss was what he needed as well to finally capture her attention.
Without a care about the consequences, which had always stopped him before, Ren stood up to his feet, bent down towards Kyoko and leaned in.
"Kyoko?"
Hearing Ren calling out her name finally snapped her out of her frenzy. She broke out of her reverie and blinked at the unusual sight before her. Ren's face was looming right in front of hers.
She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Ren had gotten up from his seat to stand in front of her, with his hand resting on the arm of the couch beside her shoulder.
She couldn't figure out why he was looking at her with that strange expression on his face. There was an intense fire burning in his deep, dark eyes. She sensed mostly fury but also so a pinch of passion in them.
Realising how their faces were only inches apart, Kyoko's first instinct was to jerk away from him but there wasn't any room as the back of her head was already pressed against the wall.
Her eyes nervously fluttered to her side from where she was silently considering escaping, but Ren, as if having read her thoughts, shot out his other hand and pressed its palm on the wall beside her, caging her in.
She was trapped. Ren slowly leaned in, but that was not what scared Kyoko the most. What made her almost quiver with trepidation was the look on Ren's face, and that insatiable, ravenous hunger burning in his eyes. It seemed as though he was going to eat her alive. Her heart was beating so fast that it could have jumped out of her chest any moment.
However, Ren didn't stop, until his lips were about to brush up against hers.
At the last minute, he decided couldn't pretend to not notice the fear lingering in Kyoko's eyes anymore. But at the same time, he was now too far ahead to stop himself. Pausing for a few torturously long seconds, he changed the direction of his lips before pressing a light feathery kiss on her cheek: on the spot right beside her lips.
If Kyoko's heart was hammering before, it was now erupting volcanoes. Ignoring it's erratic beating, she somehow managed to keep her eyes peeled open and focused on Ren, who inched away from her just as slowly, and allowed an easy smile to spread on his face.
"Thank you," he whispered softly, "the Gelée Au Vin, it was delicious."
"Cut!" Director Ogata shouted with a sigh after Kyoko messed up the eighth take of the scene.
"I'm sorry," she looked down guiltily.
"Did something happen?" Ogata was solicitous about her sudden lack of motivation. "You were fine before lunch, but now you can't even manage to get into character. What's wrong? Talk to me."
"I'll get it right next time."
"You won't. Unless you get over what's bothering you." Ogata waited for her explanation which never came. Sighing, the Director said, "if you're not going to tell me what's up, at least take some time off. We'll shoot your scenes later. Until then, try to get into character."
"I will," she bowed. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." With that, Kyoko hurried back into her dressing room, eager to be away from his eyes, as the crew started prepping for the next scene in which they didn't need Mio.
As soon as she was gone, the concern in Yashiro's eyes was replaced by scepticism and he settled his demanding gaze on his client. "What did you do to her?"
Ren had a goofy smile stuck on his face since lunch which he just couldn't manage to fight off, so at last he had given in to the urge. "What makes you think that it was me?"
"Aside from your suspicious grin, the fact that Kyoko was okay until you two went into your dressing room."
"Whatever happened, it wasn't that bad."
"So it really was you!"
"Fine, I'll go fix this."
In her dressing room, Kyoko sat down on the floor, tightly hugging her knees to her chest. She had wrapped her arms around herself hoping it might steady her heart, but nothing helped.
Cupping her crimson cheeks, she squeezed her eyes tight shut trying to forget about him, but the spot beside her lips on her cheek burned at the memory of Ren's kiss.
Back when she had first discovered about Sho's hippocratic personality, her whole body had burned because her craving for revenge was so strong. No matter what she did, even if she tried to move on, she couldn't since every single thing used to remind her of his existence. It was as if Sho had somehow possessed her consciousness. He was like poison pumping into every vein of her body, darkening her whole soul.
She used to believe that she had moved on from her hatred of Sho because of her love for acting, but then out of nowhere, he shoved his disgusting tongue into her mouth and her old feelings of hatred were rekindled. Once again, she was being reminded of his existence by every little thing.
However, since what had happened with Ren during lunch, all the thoughts of Sho had somehow blasted away. In fact, he had never been further from her mind as he was them, because there was no room left for him anymore.
Yet, Kyoko was nowhere near at peace because the thoughts of Sho had been replaced with Ren since that little stunt he had pulled on her. What was he trying to do, looking at her with strange expression?
To her horror, a small peck on the cheek from Ren had a lot more impact on her, both physically as well as emotionally, than Sho's tongue inside her mouth ever had. She was afraid to admit even to herself how her body had reacted to Ren's touch, making her secretly crave for more.
It was frightening how Ren was now the person who had seized her consciousness. Now, every little thing was reminding her of him, as if he was the one who was flowing into her every vein. He had made her heart tremble to its very core, despite all the vows she had made to herself to never let any man get a hold of her heart again.
No! She shook her head vigorously to get rid of these impure thoughts. It's just the hormones! She used the same excuse again which she had been using all this time to explain this painful tinge in her heart every time something happened with Ren.
She was interrupted by a sudden yet reserved knock on her door followed by the sound of someone clearing his throat.
Kyoko, having recognised his voice, literally trembled as a fierce chill went down her spine, and colour suffused her cheeks up to the roots of her hair.
Ren couldn't help but chuckle–which he disguised as a cough–at her overdramatic yet adorable reaction. Shaking his head he went straight to the point. "Kyoko, could it be that you can't focus on your character because you're feeling conscious about what happened between us?"
Her silence was answer enough for him to continue.
"I see. I had no idea that you would react this way from getting a small thankyou kiss on the cheek. Who'd have known that you would get so worked up about it that it would even take a toll on the shoot."
Kyoko slowly raised her head up to shoot him a nasty glare. "Stop acting like it's only my fault! If you hadn't done that, none of it would've happened!"
"You're right. It's my fault," he smirked. "I'm so sorry."
"You sure don't look or sound sorry!" She humphed, sensing the sarcasm in his tone. "Now I know what you really are. I've always suspected it deep down, but I now I know for sure." Jabbing an accusing finger in his direction, she snapped, "you're a playboy!"
This time Ren couldn't react fast enough to disguise his chuckle as a cough because it had already escaped him. "I'mma what?" He snickered.
"A playboy! Since you kissed me so casually without being affected at all! I've always suspected that your nice guy behaviour was just an act, and now I know for sure. If you kissed me using your gratitude as an excuse, you must be used to behaving like thatwith other girls too."
"Now you're just accusing me!" He sighed, pretending to be hurt by her remarks. "I don't just kiss anyone. I grew up in America, so it used to be pretty common for me."
"Well, this is not America! So watch yourself!" She scolded him. "Japanese people aren't used to this kind of affection!"
"Of course I know. If my partner were to be Japanese, I'd never kiss anyone so casually."
Kyoko's eyes became guarded again. "So what you're saying is that if your partner isn't Japanese, then you would kiss just anyone? I always knew you were a playboy!"
"That's not what I meant!"
However, Kyoko wasn't listening anymore. "Come to think of it, you really are an excellent liar! I knew you were a play–"
"If I'm a good actor, that doesn't mean I'll make up lies."
"And sometimes, you're also needlessly kind. I knew you were–"
"What's wrong with being kind?"
She narrowed her eyes, "con-artists are also smooth talkers. I knew-"
"Are you really suggesting that?"
Their playful argument lasted for a little while longer, until Ren had achieved his goal: which was to prove to Kyoko that his kiss wasn't a big deal so she would be able to focus on her character again.
In actuality, he had kissed her because after witnessing her being so obsessed with Sho, he wanted to leave a little bit of him inside her heart. He had initially planned to kiss her on the lips just like Sho, but halfway through, he realized that he was doing it more to satisfy his ego because of his jealousy, instead of his love for her. So he stopped himself, because it would have been unfair to Kyoko. He was now grateful that he did.
Although, deep down, he wished that there was a part of her which would understand how much that kiss, even if it was a small peck on the cheek, meant to him. Shaking his head at his own selfishness, he wondered, hmm, I guess that does make me a bit of a playboy.
To be continued.
Kyoko Mogami and Ren Tsuruga.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT!
With this chapter, the Valentine's arc comes to an end.
Now, the next chapter will commence a new arc, called The Setsuka Arc, which also happens to be my most favorite arc from this manga. I'm so excited for you guys to read it! I just can't wait!!!
A LITTLE BIT OF ME INSIDE YOU.
Ren had done his very best to make Kyoko forget about Sho, and even though she had agreed to pretend that what happened between them couldn't be considered an actual kiss as long as she didn't feel anything for him, she still couldn't quite forget about it.
During lunch break, Kyoko joined Ren and Yashiro at their usual table in the cafeteria. They chatted with each other like it was any other day, but it wasn't. Kyoko didn't share with them how everything, no matter big or small, was reminding her of Sho's lips against hers again and again: like when she overheard the other actresses talking about guys and the Valentine's Day; or when she watched a chocolate commercial play out on the TV. And even when there was nothing to remind her of it, her own thoughts would betray her by ending up exactly where she least wanted them to be, popping in some very disturbing images of Sho in her mind.
Despite her not telling Ren and Yashiro about it, they knew whenever she did think of Sho as her veins would twitch and pop out of her skull and her delicate features would twist in a blinding fit of rage making it obvious what was on her mind, since only one person was capable of affecting her to such a degree.
Yashiro asked her twice what was wrong, despite already knowing the answer.
Instead of giving him an honest reply, like telling him how having your nemesis shove his tongue down your throat would be upsetting to most people, she plastered a fake smile and lied smoothly, "nothing's wrong. I'm fine."
Kyoko excused herself to go to the washroom, where she rinsed her mouth for the umpteenth time. As she was returning, her eye was caught by something on the counter. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a jar filled with red disposable spoons with extra long handles. Taking one out, she grinned wondering how perfectly it will go with the new set of glasses she had bought. It was then she was reminded of the Valentine's present she had made for Ren.
Unlike everyone else whom she gave chocolates for Valentine's day, she had prepared something different for Ren knowing that he wouldn't like chocolates because of his small appetite. She was going to give it to him at lunch but because of all the chaos Sho had caused at the set, it totally slipped from her mind. Until now.
Glancing at her wrist watch, she made sure that she still had ten minutes before the lunch break ended up, and she went back to Ren.
"I was wondering," she commenced, "since you've already had lunch, could you spare a moment?"
"I suppose I could," he frowned a little, and then chuckled, "why are you being so formal?"
"I want to give you something, but not here," she immediately added. "I will wait for you in your dressing room."
In the privacy of Ren's dressing room, Kyoko had placed her present on a small coffee table by the couch. Taking a seat, she called out, "you can come in now."
Ren entered, closing the door behind him. Having noticed the slight blush on Kyoko's face, his breathing sped up and his eyes leisurely strolled down towards the centre of the table where a long champagne glass filled with an unusual red liquid awaited him.
"Please," Kyoko motioned for him to take a seat beside her on the couch, and he obliged.
"This is for me?"
"You remember how I gave Valentine's chocolate to everyone who had helped me out," she looked down, smiling. "Well, you're the one I'm most grateful to, so I wanted to do something special for you." Her cheeks were now burning scarlet.
Something tugged in Ren's heart, and he gently brushed his fingers over the surface of the glass, which had a few big roses carved onto it.
There were also small carvings of colourless vines and leaves. The roses would have been transparent too if the glass had been empty, but the colour of the red wine was the perfect shade of crimson to be suffused into it.
"This drink is called Gelée Au Vin," Kyoko explained. "I found its recipe in a magazine, and it seemed like something you would like. I thought that you might prefer this more than chocolate as your Valentine's present..." She let her sentence trail off, as the colour suffusing her cheeks deepened.
Kyoko was generally so naive when it came to matters of the heart, that Ren had gotten used to never allowing himself to hope, but in this case even he was surprised. She had went out of her way to make him something different than everyone else, so should he be counting it as getting special treatment from her? Did it mean that a part of her, no matter how small, felt something for him? Or was he only reading too much from the situation?
"What are you waiting for?" Kyoko inquired as she handed him the red disposable spoon with the extra long handle. "The spoon I bought from home was too short for this glass, but fortunately I found this one in the cafeteria." She pressed her palms together and grinned with childlike excitement. "Doesn't it look perfect?" She squealed. Her blush returned, and she eased down a bit. "I'm sorry for babbling," she chuckled. "I just always get so caught up on it comes to dishes or utensils."
"No, it's understandable," Ren remarked, holding up the glass for a closer look. "The way you can see the red wine from the crystal rose, it looks quite unique. I mean, the colour of the wine is complementing the rose patterns on the glass."
"I know!" Getting enough encouragement to go on, Kyoko balled her hands into fists and exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's beautiful, isn't it? When I saw this glass, I instantly bought it since it's so perfect! And when I saw the red shade of the Gelée Au Vin, I just had to serve it in this particular glass..." She prattled on and on excitedly.
Having no particular interest in either cooking or utensils, Ren should have been justly bored, but for the first time he was genuinely interested in listening to a girl fawn over a piece of crockery. He couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. The dark bangs of her wig fluttered as she was literally shaking with excitement. Her pupils dilated in wonder, with little stars shining in those big, hazel eyes of here. Ren could have sat there listening to her all day. Watching her act so adorably was a prize in itself.
"It's delicious," he remarked honestly after taking a sip.
Kyoko let out a long sigh of relief. "I'm so glad."
As Ren stared at her beaming smile, his instincts screamed at him to reach out and touch her, to caress her soft skin, and peck her plush lips, but he didn't. He had to squeeze out all the willpower he could muster to hold back but he still did.
Even if you smile like that I won't be swayed, he told her silently.
He couldn't help but wonder if she'll ever see him as something more, or if she'll ever get over Sho's betrayal and let her heart love again.
He also wondered if he himself would ever be ready to be forgive himself for his past mistakes, and let himself be loved, having the courage in the first place to tell her of his feelings.
For now, he wasn't ready at all to risk even a single moment he got to spend with Kyoko. If he made the mistake of approaching her too fast, he'd only scare her away.
"Thank you," he muttered, after sipping in the last drop of the Gelée Au Vin.
Kyoko was beyond grateful and relieved that Ren genuinely enjoyed her present. Compared to all the chocolates he had received from countless fans and co-workers, he actually finished the whole glass of the drink she made for him. She was so happy that she almost felt giddy. Not only that, to hear it directly from him how much he liked it, it made her body tremble with an unusual excitement. Her heart rate picked up ecstatically for some unfathomable reason.
This unshakable feeling inside her heart, it reminded her a lot of the former Kyoko, the one who lived for the sole purpose of serving Sho. Everytime she did something nice for him, her heart used to be pumped with joy the exact same way as it was now.
All of a sudden, her smile vanished and her features twisted in abhorrence as Sho's name reminded her of their kiss for the umpteenth time since it happened.
Ren had been so caught up in staring at Kyoko's alluring smile, that he was first startled to see her veins pop out in rage out of nowhere but it didn't take long for him to figure out who might have crossed her thoughts for her to be twitching in anger. Sho's name was clearly written on her face to be read by him.
For Kyoko to be reminded of Sho while he was thinking about his feelings for her, it hit him like a tight slap on his cheek, which stung him a lot more than he thought was possible. He had been so desperate for her attention, yet her thoughts were solely consumed by Sho even when he was right in front of her. Envy flared up inside him.
The more Kyoko thought about Sho, the more defeated Ren felt. He had done everything in his power to make her forget about him, but all it took Sho was a single kiss for him to possess her thoughts. A new degree of frustration rose in him sending a queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach. In this state of immense vexation, an epiphany struck him. Considering how Sho was now reigning Kyoko's mind, maybe a kiss was what he needed as well to finally capture her attention.
Without a care about the consequences, which had always stopped him before, Ren stood up to his feet, bent down towards Kyoko and leaned in.
"Kyoko?"
Hearing Ren calling out her name finally snapped her out of her frenzy. She broke out of her reverie and blinked at the unusual sight before her. Ren's face was looming right in front of hers.
She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Ren had gotten up from his seat to stand in front of her, with his hand resting on the arm of the couch beside her shoulder.
She couldn't figure out why he was looking at her with that strange expression on his face. There was an intense fire burning in his deep, dark eyes. She sensed mostly fury but also so a pinch of passion in them.
Realising how their faces were only inches apart, Kyoko's first instinct was to jerk away from him but there wasn't any room as the back of her head was already pressed against the wall.
Her eyes nervously fluttered to her side from where she was silently considering escaping, but Ren, as if having read her thoughts, shot out his other hand and pressed its palm on the wall beside her, caging her in.
She was trapped. Ren slowly leaned in, but that was not what scared Kyoko the most. What made her almost quiver with trepidation was the look on Ren's face, and that insatiable, ravenous hunger burning in his eyes. It seemed as though he was going to eat her alive. Her heart was beating so fast that it could have jumped out of her chest any moment.
However, Ren didn't stop, until his lips were about to brush up against hers.
At the last minute, he decided couldn't pretend to not notice the fear lingering in Kyoko's eyes anymore. But at the same time, he was now too far ahead to stop himself. Pausing for a few torturously long seconds, he changed the direction of his lips before pressing a light feathery kiss on her cheek: on the spot right beside her lips.
If Kyoko's heart was hammering before, it was now erupting volcanoes. Ignoring it's erratic beating, she somehow managed to keep her eyes peeled open and focused on Ren, who inched away from her just as slowly, and allowed an easy smile to spread on his face.
"Thank you," he whispered softly, "the Gelée Au Vin, it was delicious."
"Cut!" Director Ogata shouted with a sigh after Kyoko messed up the eighth take of the scene.
"I'm sorry," she looked down guiltily.
"Did something happen?" Ogata was solicitous about her sudden lack of motivation. "You were fine before lunch, but now you can't even manage to get into character. What's wrong? Talk to me."
"I'll get it right next time."
"You won't. Unless you get over what's bothering you." Ogata waited for her explanation which never came. Sighing, the Director said, "if you're not going to tell me what's up, at least take some time off. We'll shoot your scenes later. Until then, try to get into character."
"I will," she bowed. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." With that, Kyoko hurried back into her dressing room, eager to be away from his eyes, as the crew started prepping for the next scene in which they didn't need Mio.
As soon as she was gone, the concern in Yashiro's eyes was replaced by scepticism and he settled his demanding gaze on his client. "What did you do to her?"
Ren had a goofy smile stuck on his face since lunch which he just couldn't manage to fight off, so at last he had given in to the urge. "What makes you think that it was me?"
"Aside from your suspicious grin, the fact that Kyoko was okay until you two went into your dressing room."
"Whatever happened, it wasn't that bad."
"So it really was you!"
"Fine, I'll go fix this."
In her dressing room, Kyoko sat down on the floor, tightly hugging her knees to her chest. She had wrapped her arms around herself hoping it might steady her heart, but nothing helped.
Cupping her crimson cheeks, she squeezed her eyes tight shut trying to forget about him, but the spot beside her lips on her cheek burned at the memory of Ren's kiss.
Back when she had first discovered about Sho's hippocratic personality, her whole body had burned because her craving for revenge was so strong. No matter what she did, even if she tried to move on, she couldn't since every single thing used to remind her of his existence. It was as if Sho had somehow possessed her consciousness. He was like poison pumping into every vein of her body, darkening her whole soul.
She used to believe that she had moved on from her hatred of Sho because of her love for acting, but then out of nowhere, he shoved his disgusting tongue into her mouth and her old feelings of hatred were rekindled. Once again, she was being reminded of his existence by every little thing.
However, since what had happened with Ren during lunch, all the thoughts of Sho had somehow blasted away. In fact, he had never been further from her mind as he was them, because there was no room left for him anymore.
Yet, Kyoko was nowhere near at peace because the thoughts of Sho had been replaced with Ren since that little stunt he had pulled on her. What was he trying to do, looking at her with strange expression?
To her horror, a small peck on the cheek from Ren had a lot more impact on her, both physically as well as emotionally, than Sho's tongue inside her mouth ever had. She was afraid to admit even to herself how her body had reacted to Ren's touch, making her secretly crave for more.
It was frightening how Ren was now the person who had seized her consciousness. Now, every little thing was reminding her of him, as if he was the one who was flowing into her every vein. He had made her heart tremble to its very core, despite all the vows she had made to herself to never let any man get a hold of her heart again.
No! She shook her head vigorously to get rid of these impure thoughts. It's just the hormones! She used the same excuse again which she had been using all this time to explain this painful tinge in her heart every time something happened with Ren.
She was interrupted by a sudden yet reserved knock on her door followed by the sound of someone clearing his throat.
Kyoko, having recognised his voice, literally trembled as a fierce chill went down her spine, and colour suffused her cheeks up to the roots of her hair.
Ren couldn't help but chuckle–which he disguised as a cough–at her overdramatic yet adorable reaction. Shaking his head he went straight to the point. "Kyoko, could it be that you can't focus on your character because you're feeling conscious about what happened between us?"
Her silence was answer enough for him to continue.
"I see. I had no idea that you would react this way from getting a small thankyou kiss on the cheek. Who'd have known that you would get so worked up about it that it would even take a toll on the shoot."
Kyoko slowly raised her head up to shoot him a nasty glare. "Stop acting like it's only my fault! If you hadn't done that, none of it would've happened!"
"You're right. It's my fault," he smirked. "I'm so sorry."
"You sure don't look or sound sorry!" She humphed, sensing the sarcasm in his tone. "Now I know what you really are. I've always suspected it deep down, but I now I know for sure." Jabbing an accusing finger in his direction, she snapped, "you're a playboy!"
This time Ren couldn't react fast enough to disguise his chuckle as a cough because it had already escaped him. "I'mma what?" He snickered.
"A playboy! Since you kissed me so casually without being affected at all! I've always suspected that your nice guy behaviour was just an act, and now I know for sure. If you kissed me using your gratitude as an excuse, you must be used to behaving like thatwith other girls too."
"Now you're just accusing me!" He sighed, pretending to be hurt by her remarks. "I don't just kiss anyone. I grew up in America, so it used to be pretty common for me."
"Well, this is not America! So watch yourself!" She scolded him. "Japanese people aren't used to this kind of affection!"
"Of course I know. If my partner were to be Japanese, I'd never kiss anyone so casually."
Kyoko's eyes became guarded again. "So what you're saying is that if your partner isn't Japanese, then you would kiss just anyone? I always knew you were a playboy!"
"That's not what I meant!"
However, Kyoko wasn't listening anymore. "Come to think of it, you really are an excellent liar! I knew you were a play–"
"If I'm a good actor, that doesn't mean I'll make up lies."
"And sometimes, you're also needlessly kind. I knew you were–"
"What's wrong with being kind?"
She narrowed her eyes, "con-artists are also smooth talkers. I knew-"
"Are you really suggesting that?"
Their playful argument lasted for a little while longer, until Ren had achieved his goal: which was to prove to Kyoko that his kiss wasn't a big deal so she would be able to focus on her character again.
In actuality, he had kissed her because after witnessing her being so obsessed with Sho, he wanted to leave a little bit of him inside her heart. He had initially planned to kiss her on the lips just like Sho, but halfway through, he realized that he was doing it more to satisfy his ego because of his jealousy, instead of his love for her. So he stopped himself, because it would have been unfair to Kyoko. He was now grateful that he did.
Although, deep down, he wished that there was a part of her which would understand how much that kiss, even if it was a small peck on the cheek, meant to him. Shaking his head at his own selfishness, he wondered, hmm, I guess that does make me a bit of a playboy.