AN: I'm not really sure when or what I'll write. My heart still feels pained. My treasured cat had to be put down on Monday and now it's been two days and I really miss her. She would have turned fifteen-years-old in May and I've had her since she was three and a half months old. I miss her a lot.
Act Fifty – Whether it's a Cold
Ren looked over at Kyoko as he saw her furiously working at the test. She was concentrating too much on the negative emotions that wouldn't get her anywhere in life. She had to show restrained and control especially when it came to the entrance test. He sighed as he heard the stylist ask him, "With her average, does this girl have to work this hard?"
Ren sighed as he looked away. He didn't want to talk about how they were childhood friends and attach Kyoko to him but he could remember when she showed him her tests when she was six. She would get scores like high B averages and low As and she would be told that she wasn't good enough. Actually, her mother didn't tell her anything, she just told her to get away from her if Ren remembered what Kyoko had told him correctly.
All that her mother had wanted from her was perfection and Kyoko was determined to give her that. She didn't want to be unloved and maybe that's why he became her fairy prince, he wanted to give her love and hope and happiness.
Ren was pulled from his thoughts as the stylist finished and he went onto set, Kyoko following him close behind.
…..
…..
Kyoko froze as she stood on the set, her face showing a look of surprise before turning into one judging herself and acting as if she rated high in stupidity. She shouldn't have been so worried when she was a child because people wouldn't make fun of someone with an average of 80 or above. Schools were tough and not everyone got perfect grades. To have never flunked a class was a great feat but she had punished herself for not being perfect.
She sighed as she felt exhausted as she reflected on her past, she had always been thinking that there were no kinds of good grades or bad grades, the only grade that mattered was that one-hundred percent mark. She was stupid. Just because she had been attempting to impress her mother, she had fallen down a rabbit hole. She shouldn't have that feeling ingrained in her but those were the same feelings that Ren had towards his work.
She sighed, Ren took offense at her acting for revenge when he gave his whole heart and body to be able to do a scene perfectly. Her mother had taken offense at her not being able to meet the requirements she had set out for her and if Kyoko wasn't perfect, she was both useless and worthless. She didn't want to dwell in those thoughts any longer.
"Cut!" the director called out and Kyoko looked up to see Ren standing there with a soft glance to her as people changed positions and they were ready to film on the same set. "Let's wrap up this scene," the director said before yelling again. "Action!"
Kyoko turned to watch the actors, wanting to take a break so that she could spend some time with Kuon. She felt special knowing his secret despite not knowing most of his background. Still, she cared about him greatly, he was her Corn. She looked at him before hearing him cough between takes. Was he getting sick? Would he be able to do his work if he was ill? He cared about his work and prioritized it highly. She didn't want for him to have trouble with something that was so important to him.
He was coughing frequently and not only was he coughing but the coughs sounded very dry. It was obvious that the cold that Yashiro-san had had was spreading to him. Did he not notice that? Kyoko's eyes widened as he rubbed his throat and she felt sympathy, still seeing him as a fairy prince but in a metaphorical manner now. She was determined to help him.
…..
…..
Ren hated the way his throat was feeling, it felt as if he had to continually yell the same line for the scene but in this particular scene there had been no yelling so it was strange. This feeling that he had was very strange. Maybe his throat would feel better with something hot within it, that was why people drank tea, to heal their vocal chords. Ren went over to the vending machine and pressed the button for red tea with sugar and milk. He waited for it to pour out, not knowing that he was being watched.
"Abnormal," Kyoko whispered as she looked around the corner, she was obviously spying on him and that took Ren back a little but Kyoko was watching him, wanting to help him but knowing that he wouldn't tell her what was wrong. He was too foolishly proud for that.
"What are you doing hiding there?" Ren said uncomfortably as he felt her suspicious energy. "That was so creepy," he commented, feeling a shiver through his body. She was acting like an obsessive fangirl instead of a temporary manager. If Yashiro had been doing this, it would have felt even scarier.
"Ren-san," Kyoko said in a low voice, "I saw everything," she commented before shaking her head. Ren couldn't deny this any longer and Kyoko would be the one to make him admit that he had developed a cold. She would make him admit to it. "Just now you chose to add milk and sugar into your red tea," she said and Ren blinked. "Why?" she asked.
Ren felt confused as he stared at her. "Huh," he asked with a slow blink wondering why she had decided to focus on that detail, "I just felt like drinking it."
"You're lying," Kyoko whispered and then shook her head, "You shouldn't lie to your manager, mister" she said and Ren laughed. He wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about. He stared at her. This wasn't as if he was continuing to eat edible flowers, he had just put sugar and milk in his tea because he wanted something comforting.
Kyoko looked to Ren with an air of confidence, "I've asked people about you and compiled a data list on you" she announced, ignoring Ren's shock for the time being. "They said when you're drinking coffee or tea, you would never add milk or sugar and you only drink beer with ice."
Ren gave another slow blink. If they really were working on rebuilding their friendship then why hadn't she just come to him and asked him if she were truly interested in this. He would have told her. He had no reason to not tell her. He choked a little, "Are you a cop or a stalker?" she asked, "You could've just asked me directly, y'know?"
Ren sighed as he saw her staring at him, "but," he said feeling that it didn't really matter, "You're right. I seem to be a little bit tired, so I wanted to try something I don't usually drink." Ren held up the tea as if showing her and Kyoko narrowed her eyes, suspicious of him once again.
"Oh," Kyoko said as she raised an eyebrow, "So when you're tired, your throat becomes uncomfortable?" she asked him.
Ren looked at her, had she gone so far as to research his personal habits, his biology, his physiology? She could have just asked him and he would have told her. He wasn't ready to just not tell her simple things like that. However, his history was a different story and he wanted to avoid her digging too far into that.
"Huh?" Ren said before feeling himself sweat under Kyoko's careful observation, "I think this is the first time that this has happened," he commented and Kyoko nodded as she listened to him. He wouldn't admit to this discomfort, would he? He was going to remain as stubborn as possible.
"Does your throat feel like there's something stuck there?" she asked and Ren's eyes widened as he looked away from her. How much did she know about him? Hopefully it was all superficial stuff like this that didn't really make too much of a difference. "And does it feel itchy when you swallow your saliva?" she continued and Ren stared at her.
"How did you know?" he asked slowly as she continued to stare at him, "It feels exactly like that."
Ren looked at her, waiting in silence for her explanation and answer but Kyoko was happy to let the silence drag on as she looked at him the same way that a detective looks at their key suspect in a criminal case. Ren took a slow breath in but fortunately Kyoko spoke first.
"Ren, do you know what people normally classify this symptom under?" she asked and Ren sighed.
"What?" he asked her directly. He was getting a little uneasy by how closely she was studying him. Was there something that he was supposed to know? What was it. What was she sure that he knew?
"A cold," Kyoko said directly and there was another long silence between the two of them.
That was Ren turned to the side and started laughing at the possibility of himself getting a cold. Kyoko felt a little annoyed by how much he was dismissing this. It was a cold, there wasn't a possibility of it not being a cold. Whether it was a flu or just the common cold, Kyoko didn't know but it was something and that something was definitely not a joke like he was making it out to be.
"Ren," Kyoko said quickly, her eyes widening, "This isn't a joke. This is really a symptom of a cold. We have to control it before it flares up," she announced but Ren laughed again and shook his head in denial.
"Impossible," he told her and Kyoko couldn't help but feel how completely childish he was being regarding this subject. "I won't catch a cold," he announced and Kyoko looked at him in surprise. How could he announce that? "I've never caught a cold before and I'm proud of it."
Kyoko continued to stare at him in shock, was he truly proud of that!? "Please stop living in your past glories!" she attempted to reason with him. "What evidence do you have to show that you do not have a cold!?" she asked and Ren shook his head, dismissing her again. "The you who has never caught a cold would not know anything about the symptoms for one."
When Ren shook his head once again Kyoko felt a little annoyed. She wanted to help her friend but if he was just living in his own imaginary world where he was too important to have a cold then she couldn't help him.
"I've had countless colds," Kyoko told him, "and I wouldn't be wrong about it. You must have caught a cold."
Ren shook his head, "No, it can't be."
Kyoko looked at him, wanting to make him see common sense, "It's a cold."
"No it can't be," Ren denied once again.
"Why are you so stubborn in denying it's a cold?" she asked. It was truly impossible that with all of his achievements in the acting world, Ren…or more so Kuon had to be so proud of the fact that he hadn't ever been sick before. People could be struck with colds at any age and if Ren hadn't had a cold before then did he even have the antibodies to confront a cold.
"Why are you so eager for me to have one!?" he asked her and Kyoko turned to look at him passionately.
"I'm not hoping for one, but it's a fact," she announced and Ren stared back at her, "Your manager must have passed you this cold."
Ren looked down, avoiding eye contact with her, he didn't want to make her feel idiotic but she was trying to convince him of things that he didn't believe. With respect to her, he avoided eye contact. "That's even more impossible," he tried to tell her, "I'm not sneezing like him, nor do I have a fever."
He turned to the side smugly and Kyoko stared at him in disbelief. Had he gone crazy!? How much did he want to brag about his body!? Ren put a hand on his head, he did feel weird but it shouldn't be a cold. He hadn't had a cold before.
Ren sighed, "Forget it," he told her, "Why don't we do this. We'll just look at the situation for the time being, if I have a fever and a runny nose, then I've caught a cold," he tried to compromise and Kyoko continued to stare at him in shock. This wasn't the type of thing that people should compromise on especially since different people had different reactions to viruses.
"You, you plan to do nothing about it!?" Kyoko asked as they started to walk down the hallway. "It'd be too late if you had a fever."
"I always take care of my body," Ren replied still showing arrogance, "You don't have to worry. I'm not that weak."
"If you fall ill," Kyoko continued to try to convince him, "then it'd be bad 'cause you won't be able to work."
"It won't happen," Ren said in denial, "My body is very strong."
Kyoko sighed, knowing that she couldn't convince him right now. "Just don't come crying later!"
"I won't cry," Ren said stubbornly.
"You'll regret it!"
"I won't."
End of Act 50
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to the reviewers of Act 49
Brennakai, H-Nala, Kaname671, Luv2readgirl,