Dear Sempai

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat! or any of the characters from the Manga.

Summary: Lory has conceived yet another devious scheme, wrapped in the guise of a LoveMe assignment. All the girls have to do is to write at least one letter a week to the person they respect the most. Simple… right?

Letter 7

Dear Chiori-san,

I think that there must be some sort of misunderstanding. I assure you that there is nothing going on between Tsuruga Ren and I, so there is no need for either you or Moko-san to become so incensed over the scandal in Taiwan. Tsuruga Ren is my senior in the company, nothing more. There is no reason whatsoever that he should not date or become engaged to Liem Hùifang. She is an experienced model, a gifted actress, and she is exceptionally beautiful. I am also sure that she is a nice person.

As I said to Moko-san, Tsuruga Ren has never even pretended to have any interest in someone as plain and uninteresting as me. You know as well as I do that he has only ever dated women who are accomplished and spectacularly beautiful. I assure you that I never entertained any delusions [the remainder of the line is obscured. It appears that something wet was dropped on the paper and then hastily smeared]

I apologize for the messiness of this letter. I accidentally spilled something on it. Takarada-shacho's restriction against re-writing our letters seems rather constraining at the moment. Anyway, I am feeling very tired right now and a little under the weather. I will close now and say thank you for your concern, though it is misplaced.

Sincerely,

Kyoko

p.s., I will write again at a different time in response to what you wrote about your "greatest heartache." For some reason I don't feel as if I can respond properly right now.

Dear Sempai,

I should address this in the way that you have requested, but I am afraid that someone else might see it and misunderstand. Congratulations, by the way, on your new relationship. Liem Hùifang-san is truly beautiful, like a princess. I was not aware that you were even seeing anyone, so the news of your imminent engagement came as a big surprise. I was aware that you had acted in a previous movie with her, but had not realized that you had grown so close. I wish you well.

If you receive any phone calls or emails from [Mo scratched out] Kotonami Kanae, please disregard them. She is under a false impression; a simple misunderstanding which, I assure you, I had nothing to do with.

I am supposed to write about the topic of the week, but I seem to have forgotten what the topic was. That is probably for the better, as I am feeling overwhelmingly tired. If I continue to feel this way by morning, I may have to phone in sick. Please don't despise me for this.

I think that it would be best if I did not send any more letters for now, lest Liem-san see them and misunderstand. I don't know when you will receive this, as I only have the studio's address at the moment.

Sincerely,

Mogami Kyoko

Dear Otou-san,

I assure you that I am fine and that all is well. It is true that I was sick for three days, but it was probably only a cold. I apologize for turning off my phone and not taking calls, but I was sick enough that I didn't feel up to taking calls.

It was unprofessional of me to allow my body to become sick and to miss three days of work, but today I am on my feet and working once again. I don't really understand what made me sick. I was not congested, but I ached all over, especially in my chest. I feel much better now, though for some strange reason I feel very [the words "sad," "emotional," and "depressed" were written and then scratched out] I can't honestly explain how I feel.

But don't worry: your pseudo-son will not embarrass you any further. Today I will go to work with a renewed enthusiasm and I will make up for all of the time lost. Whatever it is that is bothering me, I am sure that it will pass with a healthy dose of hard work!

I fail to understand why everyone keeps bringing up the news about Tsuruga Ren and Liem Hùifang. It is true that I introduced him to you when you visited last year, and it is true that I greatly respect him as an actor, but there is nothing between us. I think it is wonderful that you, one of the world's most renowned actors, take the time to communicate with me, but that is because you are such a wonderful and kind person who overlooks the inadequacies of others. That does not mean that others, such as Tsuruga Ren, who is my senior and superior in every sense of the word, should look upon me as anything other than a talento-but hopeful actress in the company.

The skies outside seem very dull and gray today. I wonder: is it sunny in California? I hope that all is going well,

Your affectionate "son,"

Mogami Kyoko