ENVY.
The moment Kyoko disappeared from the set with no other than Sho Fuwa at her heels, the crew erupted into some frantic gossiping, guessing the relationship of the two. The starstruck girls went wild with excitement after getting a glimpse of the Sho Fuwa in person, and there resentment and envy towards Kyoko grew as well for her being close to Sho Fuwa as well as Ren Tsuruga.
But the person who was most affected by this ordeal was Yashiro. He was freaking out like some teenager who had been caught by his parents smoking weed or something. He desperately prayed that the two were not planning to make up.
"What on earth is his relationship with Kyoko?" He heard some of the crew members mumbling to each other.
"It didn't feel like they just mere acquaintances of friends though."
"Right. Do you think they are going out?"
"It's not impossible."
No! Yashiro shook his head vigorously. Even if Kyoko does forgive him, there is no way she would go out with him again... Or at least I hope so.
"Yashiro!"
Hearing the sound of his name, he turned towards his employer and found Ren behind him. To his horror, there was not even an ounce of worry reflected on his perfectly impassive face.
"I've got today's schedule from the Director, so I'm going to the dressing room to get changed," his lips spread into his perfect, signature smile before he turned to leave.
Yashiro's eyes went wide to the size of saucers. This is not the time to put on that fake smile of yours, you darned Ren! The whole place was in an uproar, but the person who should be going nuts, despite everything, still somehow managed to appear as cool as a cucumber.
What Yashiro didn't know was how much Ren's heart was sinking. Leaving the set, he locked himself in his dressing room, and once he was alone, he punched the wall with all his might to relieve some of his frustration. You had your shot, Fuwa. Since you blew it, there's no way I'll let you have her again!
Once they were alone in the lobby, Kyoko whisper-screamed at Sho, "are you crazy? Do you think you can just show up at my workplace anytime you feel like it?"
"I know," he replied coolly. "I shouldn't have come here, but I just couldn't wait. I had to see you so-"
"Of course you couldn't! Your precious pride was hurt by the likes of me. How on earth could you wait to get back at me! You just had to settle the score as soon as-"
"That's not why I'm here!" His voice raised a little, cutting Kyoko off. I came here to give you this." He reached into his jacket pocket.
What is that? A weapon? Kyoko didn't put it past him. She was instantly on her guard.
Unexpectedly, the tiny object that Sho pulled out of his pocket was nothing close to resembling a weapon. Instead, it turned out to be a patch of ointment. "Here." He held it out to her.
Kyoko shied away from it as if it was a deadly bomb about to set off.
"What now?" He frowned angrily.
"For someone, who had only taken from me all my life, to be coming out of his way to give me something! And you expect me to believe that it's not poisoned?"
"Why do you always have to get so melodramatic? Sheesh." He rolled his eyes. "My stunt double gave it to me. He assured me that it works really fast." His eyes guiltily flickered over to her band-aid. "Even if it's not a major wound, you want it to heal quickly, right?"
"I don't want it!" Kyoko grumbled. "What's the point anyway? Its just salve! I've brought my own!"
"Just use it already!" he tossed it over to her.
"I said I don't need it!" She caught it before throwing it right back at him.
"That's what I always hated about you! You can be stubborn as hell!" He threw the patch at her face. "Even after I went to the trouble of coming here and giving it to you in person!"
"That's precisely why it suspicious! And so what if you did? Do you think it's enough to make amends for what you did yesterday?"
Her words stung Sho like a bee. He looked down, guilt dripping in his sharp, brown eyes. "Why not?" His voice turned soft. "Everything you said had been dead on!"
Kyoko was about to throw the patch of ointment back at Sho's face, but she froze when she heard those words tumbling out of his mouth. Did he just admit that I was right?
The next moment when he parted his lips, everything he had been holding in for so long came pouring out without any resistance. "When the Vie Ghouls first showed up, even I could tell they were out to crush me. However, I thought there's no way they could stay in the industry just by copying me, so I underestimated them. Yet, they beat me! The fact instantly sent chills down my back. For the first time I realized just how fragile my position in show-biz is. I could lose it all in an instant because there are countless replacements for me out there. I had to pretend I didn't see it. Even though I couldn't stop them from topping the sales chart, I refused to believe that a bunch of plagiarist could take the existence of Sho Fuwa from the world. I felt... fear!" There was so much desperation mingled in his voice that even Kyoko bit back the gloating remarks rising in her throat. She had wanted to hurt him for so long but seeing him so broken filled her with desperation as well. Not trusting herself, she kept her mouth shut.
"Yet, all the stuff I was desperately trying to keep hidden, you saw right through it," he went on. "Your words were like adding salt to my wounds, and I ended up getting provoked. But..." lowering his head, he squeezed his eyes tight shut before finally saying what he came here to say. "I never intended to hurt you." He lifted his head nervously before looking down again. "Even though it wasn't deliberate, no matter the reason, to raise a hand against a women! It left that lingering feeling on the palm of my hand and a foul taste in my mouth, so much so that I couldn't stop thinking about you. That's why I couldn't wait. I had to apologize."
The door to the set hall opened and Yashiro's eyes almost popped out from surprise, when he saw Ren re-enter in his fresh, new Katsuki costume. Walking up to him in long strides, he demanded "why are you by yourself?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ren asked as he fixed the stiff collar of his dark shirt.
"Well, I was certain you had left to bring back Kyoko."
"She hasn't returned yet?" One of his eyebrows raised nonchalantly, his demeanor as calm as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Yashiro cocked his head to the sides, making sure no one was looking in their direction, before he grabbed Ren by the collar and whisper-screamed at him frantically, "are you insane? It's precisely because of this vague attitude of yours that Fuwa and Kyoko could be making peace at this very moment! It's about time you admit and start acting-"
His words were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door snapping open, and Kyoko's hurried footsteps, when she scuttled inside huffing and puffing as if she had ran all the way back. "Sorry! I didn't mean to make anyone wait!"
All the eyes shifted to her and total silence once again settle inside the room. About five seconds later, it was broken by Yashiro who had apparently left Ren's side to join Kyoko. He asked her the question that was burning in everyone's mind. "What did Fuwa want with you?"
The entire crew pretended to go back to work, but the silence still remained. They discreetly inched closer to Kyoko and Yashiro with pricked ears so they could get a jist of their conversation.
Kyoko took her sweet time considering the answer, as her eyes nervously flickered across the room. The gesture only made her look even more suspicious. At last she answered quietly, "err... It was...um...nothing serious."
Every single person whose ears were sharp enough to catch her quiet words, translated them into, "it was serious and personal enough to not be shared with everyone." or, "please don't pry any further, it's none of your business."
Yashiro face paled with distress. He cupped his cheeks to keep his jaw from hanging as he shot a paranoid look to Ren.
"Why do you fret so much?" Ren said once he was alone with Yashiro as he casually flipped through the pages of the script, his face still devoid of any expression. "Isn't it normal for her to not talk about anything relating to Sho Fuwa?"
"Ren," Yashiro placed his hands on each of his client's shoulders and demanded, "how on earth are you so cool about this? Do you know something that I don't?"
For a very brief moment, Ren's face darkened, but before Yashiro could notice it, he regained his composure turning his face impassive again.
He didn't reply. So Yashiro decided not to push him anymore.
While the set was being prepared, Ren sat in a corner rehearsing on his hand-roll electric piano, with Kyoko sitting a few feet away from him. Both of them were already into their costumes, waiting for the scene to start.
"Ren," all of a sudden Kyoko called out to him, her voice only a nervous little whisper.
"What is it?" He turned around to face her.
"Are you...umm...mad about something?"
"No," he smiled sincerely to prove his answer. "Why do you ask?"
"N-No reason," she stuttered. It was precisely because of that smile of his. She had been expecting him to hit her with a barrage of questions about Sho's visit, but to her surprise, he didn't even ask one. She figured he must be giving her the silent treatment and was about to put on that cool, fake, signature smile of his any moment. Yet, the smile he passed to her was completely genuine. Something was wrong. Him acting so normal, while he usually gets so mad when it comes to Sho, was kind the freaking her out.
Well, it's for the best anyway, she decided. Because he is the hardest to fool after all. If he had asked her about Sho, she would have ended up making some flimsy lie which he would have seen through the very moment and the truth would have been out. Even the mere thought of Ren finding out about how Sho had slapped her chilled her to the bone, exploding her face in a fit of horror.
Sensing her fear, Ren turned back again. A humorous chuckle escaped his mouth when he saw the cowering expression on her face, as if she was a small bunny before a lion. "I'm really not angry," he assured her with another chuckle. "What are you so afraid of?"
Seeing his reaction, Kyoko heaved a sigh of relief and allowed herself a small smile as well.
Not a long time later, she was called to the stage to start the scene. Once she left, Yashiro joined Ren.
"So?" The manager smiled hopefully as he rubbed his hands together. "What did she say?"
"About what?"
"Stop kidding around," Yashiro lightly punched his arm. "You asked her about Fuwa, right?"
Ren smirked. "Nope."
"You. Didn't. Ask!" Yashiro almost shouted. "That was the whole reason why I made sure you two were left alone! You ingrate! You could have at least asked her for my sake!"
"Stop worrying so much" Ren smiled assuredly. "I'm sure it's nothing."
Yashiro sighed to calm his nerves. Since he had no other option, he decided to trust Ren and hope for the best.
It's not like I didn't want to ask her, Ren thought as his smile slowly disappeared. He didn't because he already knew. Sho's words rang in his mind again from the time when he went to spy on him and Kyoko.
...I never intended to hurt you. Even though it wasn't deliberate, to raise a hand against a woman...
Gritting his teeth menacingly, he clenched his fist, resisting the urge to punch another innocent wall through his sore knuckles, for the hundredth time this hour. His blood boiled all over again. If he had asked Kyoko about Sho, he would have surely failed to suppress the fits of intense rage coursing through every vein of his body.
That was the most afraid I've seen her, he thought. The mental image of Kyoko calmed him down, but only a little. If I had snapped, I'm not sure I would have been able to control myself.
It was around midnight. Kyoko fastened the zipper of the small bag filled with her clothing and belongings she would be needing for the next five days. Her small room was unusually messy because of the piles of clothes lying around. After some careful sorting, she was finally done packing for the trip to Karuizawa the next day.
Thinking of her first shoot on location at Karuizawa brought a wide grin to her face. It almost felt like going on a school trip with friends. If the shoot went well then she will get to stay there for five whole days! Kyoko had already made up her mind that while on that trip, she will enjoy each day to the fullest.
Putting her suitcase in a corner, she started cleaning her room in an lightning fast speed. It was midnight already and she still wasn't asleep yet. She had been trying to sleep for a long time but her excitement kept her awake. So, in order to tire herself out, she ended up repacking her whole luggage.
She was about done when her cellphone started beeping. Without even glancing at the screen, she picked up the call, "hello?"
There was a brief moment of silence before he finally answered. "Hey... It's me."
"Ren."
"Sorry to call you so late. You weren't sleeping, were you?"
"No," she instantly replied. "It's okay."
"I see. I'm glad."
"So...?" she waited for him to go on but he didn't. "Is something the matter?" Kyoko knew the Ren had to get up even earlier than her the next morning because he was also going on a trip to Okinawa for a magazine photoshoot. He was supposed to join them only after the third day at Karuizawa, since Katsuki's scenes to be shot there were relatively less compared to Mio and Mizuki.
"Hm? Ah, well, kinda," he sounded unusually spaced-out. "Actually...I called because I was worried about you. Have you prepared everything for tomorrow? You haven't forgotten anything, have you? Have you double-checked?"
Kyoko was too surprised to respond. This was not what she was expecting.
"Kyoko? Are you listening?"
"Yes, umm...I was just done packing and I'm pretty sure I haven't forgotten anything." Unbidden, colour rose to her cheeks. She tried to fight off the silly smile suffusing her lips, but failed. Ren was treating her like a child. Ordinarily, she would be mad in such a case, but right now, it filled her with an unexpected warmth. Even though she didn't have a family, Ren was still there trying to look out for her. He even went so far as to make time to call her, despite his busy schedule. Her smile widened as she clutched the phone tighter.
"Don't get too excited," he went on. "And especially, don't leave the set or the hotel when you're alone. You're a celebrity now, people might recognise you and corner you. So do not go out alone."
She chuckled. "As you say."
"I will join you there in three days at most."
"Okay. Good luck for the magazine shoot."
"Thanks. Anyway, don't you have to get up early tomorrow?"
"Not as early as you." She chuckled again.
"True," he joined her. "We should get some sleep."
"Right. Good night."
"Good night."
As Kyoko hung up, she fell down on her small, fluffy bed with a thud. Pressing her pillow to her face, she tried to hide the silly grin which was still stuck to her lips. It was pretty strange how one call from Ren made her forget all about the trip she hadn't been able to stop thinking about all day.
Meanwhile, Ren's smile disappeared the moment the call disconnected and it was replaced by a dangerous look, while his eyes glinted with hatred. Putting down his phone, he picked up the TV remote and pressed the resume button. On the screen, big drops of tears poured down from the eyes of the breathtakingly beautiful angel, like tiny crystals, and fell on the face of the devil whom she was choking to death. All the while, Sho Fuwa's hit single, 'Prisoner' kept playing in the background.
With every passing moment, Kyoko looked even more alluring, making Ren almost desperate to have her at his side, to hold her petite form in his arms. His heart sped up with an intense craving. But not as much as his body burned with resentment when he saw the way Sho Fuwa was staring at her from even close. The skin of her small, pale hands was touching his neck. Even that small contact was enough to twist his heart with unintentional envy.
Ren had no intention of watching this video, precisely because of how he was loosing control the very moment. If it hadn't been for Yashiro saying that Sho Fuwa could easily fall for Kyoko now, he wouldn't have even considered watching it. Ren just wanted to see for himself what Sho's reaction was or if there was even a pinch of something close to love in his eyes as he stared at her. But after one look at Kyoko, Ren didn't even need to see Sho's face to confirm his feelings. The look he had and the guilt on his face when he had apologized to her, said it all.
Was it only guilt? Ren cracked his knuckles. He was getting more and more restless. It's too late for you. After you turned your back on her, you can just go sprouting feelings for her. No longer will I let you mess around with her or toy with her emotions. If you even try... He didn't need to finish the thought because he knew just how far he was willing to go for Kyoko.
