"Are you by any chance... Kyoko-san?" asks Rain.
Shin starts breaking into a wide grin but Kyoko does not. She recognizes the meaning of that American accent, the tone, and the addition of san to her name.
"Indeed," she replies. "I am. Do I know you?"
Shin looks at her in surprise.
Rain smiles broadly, "I knew it. My name is Rain Aoki. My dad's a Jap so I speak Japanese. I recently watched your movie - Wisteria House and I was blown away. The movie really spoke to me even though I have no kids - no wife even. But it really touched me. You're a great actress and I am a big fan."
'No wife even.' Kyoko's mind stops on those words. She had recognized that he was playing a role - to not be Tsuruga Ren but those three words brought home the fact in such a forceful way. He was obliterating everything from their shared past with those three words. It feels like a physical blow to her. But such is the force of her acting spirit that without even realizing it, she was responding without missing a beat.
"Thank you. You're too kind."
"No. No. You're amazing. What brings you to Danville? Shooting perhaps? No, of course, you can't talk about it. But while you're here if there is anything I can do to help, please ask."
"What is good to order on the menu?" Shin puts in cheekily.
Rain laughs and the sound grates on Kyoko's soul.
"The Big Boy Big Burger, of course. I will ask the cook to make it special for you. Two Big Boy Big Burgers coming up." So saying he is about to walk away when Kyoko stands up close to him.
A momentary mask falls on Rain's face as she advances on him.
"The toilet," says Kyoko. "Where is it?"
"Oh, that way" Rain replies pointing.
In the bathroom stall, Kyoko first checks to make sure she is alone. It was still too early for lunch regulars to trickle in. There is no one except Kyoko. She lets out a deep sigh. She doesn't cry though she wants to, badly.
Despite what she had told Shin that morning, she hadn't really expected things to be easy. She had been prepared for him ignoring her, stony silence, angry recriminations, or even his fake 'Get away from me' smile. But not for this- an act so complete that it excluded everything. Even as she hates, she admires the brilliance of it. She had tried to test it by walking close to him. He had felt it, the attraction to her as she passed him by. But...
Kyoko bit her lip. Rain, the fan, could feel attracted to her with impunity. While Ren would never surface to acknowledge the real source of that attraction. So neatly it all fit into place - he could talk to her as much as he wanted, flirt with her even, display his attraction while she would never get an opening to bring up their common past. He was the ideal actor, he would make sure of it. She could try to force the past on him but that would be futile. And worse, she would be admitting defeat in the game. That's right. It was the game once more- the acting game.
Well if that is the way he chooses to play it, Kyoko would respond in kind. She had had months of practice with Shin. She would bring him back to her with the force of her acting. She would be the star actress to his fawning fan. As she thinks this, an idea forms in her mind. She smiles and lets go of the washroom sink that she had been gripping tightly all this time.
Ren was no stranger to patience. When he had been starting up as an actor with not enough jobs to occupy his entire time, he had had to bridge the time between finishing a role and its appearance to the public - the drama's first episode or the movie's release. The time in between when the confidence of a role well-executed gradually gave way to the anxiety over the audience's reaction to it. Would they find his execution as believable as he felt it? Would they applaud or boo, would it be a hit or a flop. Patience was a virtue to actors.
The night before, he had steeled himself for the interminable wait for her to come to him. But he was mightily relieved that she had appeared the very next day and he had not had long to wait - to find out if he could act it out, if he still had it, for the moment of truth. He was assailed by an insane fear that at the sight of her, he would forget everything and run to her and hug her and tell her he missed her and he loved her. But the sight of that boy with her -the same one from the photo - Rain recognized was a powerful antidote to all that he could have felt. He found the strength to carry through.
But when he sees her getting up and moving towards him, he freezes. What if she slaps him and tells him to stop being stupid, what if she kisses him. But the moment passes and she doesn't do any of those things. Instead, she just asks for the toilet. Rain does not allow himself to be disappointed. Why would she kiss him, she was an actress, a huge star and he was just a fan. He looks away as she walks to the toilet and sees Shin scribbling something on a notepad. He glances over it and sees the words, "And he looked longingly at her retreating back, with love and hurt in his eyes."
The cheeky brat! Where does he get off writing something like that? I didn't, don't look like that at all.
But somehow he is not able to hate Shin. The line seems strangely beautiful and true. He shakes himself and walks off towards the kitchen to ask Lizzy to make the 4Bs.
"One chocolate milkshake too," calls Shin after him.