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 8
Dear Otou-san,
I cannot in good-conscience accept the ticket that you sent me. It is much too expensive and there is no way that I can possibly clear my schedule for two weeks. I apologize deeply if anything that I have written to you made you feel that I was asking for such a gift from you. Besides, how would your beautiful wife feel about having another child foisted upon her, as if I were truly your daughter (or son)? It is far too much to ask.
I value the care you give to me deeply and I place great weight upon the advice that you offer to me. You are an actor without peer and I cannot even begin to explain my astonishment that you spend time on someone like me… I know, I know: you have already berated me for my self-effacing habit. I cannot completely agree with you, but I understand what you are saying to me. I will make a serious effort to stop "putting myself down," as you described it. I do appreciate your kind words and, since I would never call you a liar, I will accept them at face value.
Yes, I did see the interview with Tsuruga Ren. He must have been mortified when Liem Hùifang's agent spread this false rumor. As a relative newcomer, even I understand the need for the occasional boost to make the public remember your name; still, it seems highly inappropriate to spread a rumor that could be damaging to the career and reputation of a fellow actor. I am embarrassed to admit that I believed the rumor, along with many others… not that I claim any special knowledge about Tsuruga Ren or anything like that. It's just that I have worked with him rather often lately. I am almost too ashamed to speak with him when he returns next week.
I am happy to say that my cold has finally lifted. Perhaps I was only exhausted. It is odd, sometimes, how an ailment can make you feel as if life wasn't really worth living anymore. Oh well, I am better now.
Please understand why I can't accept your ticket. I wrote straightaway so that you could get a refund before it is too late.
Sincerely,
Mogami Kyoko
Dear Chiori-chan,
There is no need for you to apologize to me for misunderstanding Tsuruga Ren. I also believed that he was engaged. After all, Liem Hùifang is a stunningly beautiful woman and any man would fall in love with her. I sometimes wish that I was that beautiful. Anyway, what I meant was that there is no reason to specifically apologize to me. If you still feel guilty and you feel compelled to apologize, then shouldn't you do so to Tsuruga Ren himself? Why apologize to me?
I guess that it is only fair that I answer your exposition of last week as well as this week. Last week you wrote to me about your greatest heartache. I never knew that you had never been in-love. I guess that this makes sense, since you are my age and I haven't truly known love either. Still, the heartache that you did describe sounded incredibly painful. To have the public misjudge you and to have them spurn you just because of a character that you played; that seems preposterous! I never experienced that, but during my school years I was often misjudged and ridiculed unfairly, so I think that I understand.
I am glad that you wrote so quickly this week. I honestly didn't know what to write about my "deepest fear," so your letter was a great help. I have never enjoyed (or endured) the type of press-attention that you describe, but I can definitely see how it would have been overwhelming for a small child. To have been accidentally separated from both your mother and your manager, and then to be surrounded by the relentless flashes and shouted questions from Paparazzi must have been terrifying.
Thank you for always being so open and honest with me. I don't know what I would do if I did not have your letters to help me to be as honest with Tsuruga Ren. Actually, I had asked Takarada-shacho to allow me to stop, or to change the person I wrote to. He refused to allow it. Now I have to write to Tsuruga Ren even though I feel foolish and guilty for congratulating him on his engagement. Do you think that he will be angry with me?
What do you suppose that Moko-san writes to Hiou? She won't tell me and she becomes testy whenever we tease her about it. I thought it was so cute when Hiou sent her that bouquet of roses. She pretended to throw them out, but I saw her carrying the flowers to her car that same night (don't tell her that I said anything).
I have to close this now. I am being summoned to the President's office again.
Sincerely,
Mogami Kyoko
Dear Tsuruga-sempai,
I wanted to write "dear friend," but I am too mortified about what I wrote in my previous letter. I was too sick to take phone calls for three days, and, though I received your return letter, I did not open it until yesterday. Now I feel ashamed, especially after seeing your interview. I sincerely hope that you will forgive me for believing rumors. You are right: as friends, I should have trusted you to tell me if anything like that were true. If you no longer wish to be my friend, I will understand… though I hope that this is not the case.
Guess what? You are not the only one who will be travelling soon. Hizuri Kuu, the man I call "Otou-san," sent me a ticket to come and visit him and his wife in California! At first I turned his offer down, stating that I was too busy. But Takarada-shacho called me into his office and told me that I would start vacation on Monday, and that he expected me to accept Otou-san's offer. That isn't all: Hizuri Julie, the famous model, actress, and designer, personally phoned me while I was in the President's office! She was so kind to me and she also insisted that I go. Can you believe it? I wonder if she is as beautiful as she looks in the magazines? So on Monday I am going to the airport and flying to California.
I have to apologize to you because that means that I will not be able to act as your younger sister for the first week of your return to Tokyo. Please be careful and don't allow yourself to get hurt? Also, please eat properly. Are you eating properly now? Should I call Yashiro-san and ask?
The topic from last week was "Your biggest heartbreak." When I first read this topic I naturally thought what happened between… that person… and I. Now, strangely, what happened doesn't seem to matter as much any more. I can't really explain, but now I feel, well, almost glad that things turned out the way that they did. If he hadn't been so cruel, then I would never have begun acting. I would never have met Moko-san, or Chiori-san, or Maria, or so many others. I would never have met you… not that [a sentence here is blotted out] Sorry, I slipped and spilled something. What I wrote wasn't important anyway. But anyway, I realize now that I should be thankful for what happened. Does that sound strange?
The topic for this week is "Your deepest fear." I suppose that what I just wrote lines up with this topic. Please don't think me silly? I am sometimes afraid that someday all of the people who have been so kind to me will become like my mother. I am afraid that someday everyone will turn their backs on me and I will be alone again. [An entire section, possibly two or three sentences, is blotted out and illegible]. I'm sorry for blotting out the last few lines. I wrote something ridiculous and presumptuous. It wasn't important.
So, my sempai, my pretend-brother, and my friend, I hope that you will forgive me for my previous letter. I know that I don't deserve it, but I would be sad if my foolishness caused you to turn your back on me.
I will close this letter now. I must still be fighting a little of my sickness, since I seem to be writing foolish things. Please take care of yourself in Taiwan. If you reply to this letter, please send it to the address I included. Can you believe that I am flying to California!
Sincerely, Your friend,
Mogami Kyoko