6- 5,000 Miles Apart

Lory answered his phone on the second ring.

"Ren, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked. "You are aware of what time it is, are you not?"

"You picked up."

"Touché. But still, you're interrupting— I'm a very busy man, you know," Lory replied.

"You're playing that dating game, aren't you."

The head of LME hit the mute button. "I hardly think you called to ask about my hobbies."

"You're right, I didn't," Ren said, ignoring the President's whining. "Where's Mogami-san right now?"

"You may find this hard to believe, but I have more important things to do than spend my time tracking the location of my talents at all hours of the night."

"Bullshit," Ren said. "She's in the middle of a smear campaign and currently being harassed by the public. It'd be a problem if you didn't know where she was right now."

"She's been staying at a luxury multiplex in Daikanyama," Lory said calmly. "I was going to applaud you for keeping your little love nest hidden from me, but—"

"I don't have a love nest," Ren interrupted, voice thick with disgust.

"Clearly," the older man drawled. "If you did, you wouldn't be calling to ask where she was, now would you?"

Ren fought to control his temper. "Why didn't you arrange for her to stay at a hotel?"

"Oh, you mean after a certain idiot leaked her private residence to the public in the middle of a dating scandal?" Lory's voice was dripping. "Honestly, Ren— one would think that you've never interacted with the press before."

"They've never taken an interest in Tsuruga Ren," the actor said defensively.

"That's because you're too boring for your own good," Lory countered, as unflappable as ever.

"Not anymore," the star muttered. "Please tell me she's staying in an LME apartment."

Lory was silent.

"Or at someplace you own," Ren suggested. He waited, but still Lory said nothing. The feeling of dread kept creeping up the back of Ren's neck. He pressed his lips together, but then the question burst out of him. "Is she staying with someone?"

"With whom Mogami-kun is staying is not relevant."

"Tell me it's not Fuwa."

The silence was confirmation enough.

"Put her up at a hotel," Ren said. "A nice one, somewhere that will be discreet. This is my fault, I'll cover it. Get her a suite, so she has— "

"No."

"What?" Ren blinked.

"I said no, Ren," Lory said, in the placid tone he reserved for upset directors and stars throwing melodramatic tantrums. A calm voice coming from such an eccentrically dressed man usually stopped most emotional outbursts, or at made the intended recipient listen.

It did not work on Ren.

"She probably doesn't know that she can ask," he said caustically, not bothering to hide his frustration.

"I have made it clear to Mogami-kun on multiple occasions that she can come to LME for assistance. But she hasn't asked me, Ren," Lory reminded the actor. "And if you're telling me to do it, it means she hasn't asked you, either. Have you considered the possibility that if she hasn't asked for your help, it's because she doesn't want it?"

"But—"

"You can't force people to accept things they don't want. It doesn't work that way."

"But she won't tell me anything! She doesn't even pick up my calls! And I'm not there to—"

"No, you're not." The president's voice held no accusation. In fact, Ren recognized the stern-but-kind grandfatherly tone from when he'd heard Lory use the same voice when speaking seriously to Maria. It was meant to be gentle, and that only made Ren feel worse.

"I asked her to come with me," Ren said. He hated the way he sounded, like he was making excuses. But Ren couldn't stop himself. "She said no."

"There were other options," Lory said. "You could have chosen to stay."

The line was silent for a few moments as the actor tried to process. Nothing about this conversation had gone how he'd thought it would. It was one thing to let himself think that Kyoko might be with Fuwa, but actually knowing that it was true was so much worse. Because while it was easy to look at the president's eccentric dress and unorthodox methods and write him off as crazy or an idiot, but Takarada Lory was neither. Ren knew that the President would never leave an underage female employee in a situation that was harmful or unsafe. Which meant that Lory thought that being with Fuwa might be good for Kyoko, in some way. And that was the scariest thing, because Lory had instincts when it came to people.

When Ren spoke, his voice was hoarse.

"I fucked up."

"You made the right choice for your career," Lory said with surprising gentleness. "It's a good role: interesting character work, amazing director. Big award potential. Could be your ticket back to Hollywood, if you play your cards right."

"Yeah, yeah, everything I ever wanted. Got it," Ren said, deadpan. "I'm thrilled."

"Life rarely gives anyone everything they ever wanted. Sometimes you have to choose, Ren. Professionally, it was the right move. But you can't pretend you thought there would never be any trade-offs."

Ren was silent.

"Think of it as a learning opportunity," Lory offered. "Perhaps there are more important things in life than your career."

Ren sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he weighed his options. Kyoko would never forgive herself if she thought he had given up a role for her sake. Could he even back out of the film now? The contracts had already been signed: quitting would mean an expensive breach and a legal headache. Plus, the production studio would be furious: with Ren's luck, he'd probably get blacklisted in Hollywood (again). And then there was the fact that deep down, Ren didn't want to give up the opportunity. It was a fantastic role for him. The sort of career-making, life-changing, golden opportunity that wouldn't come around twice. He wanted Kyoko, and he wanted the role, too. He didn't want to have to choose. And yet, apparently, unwittingly, he already had.

"If Mogami-san comes to you, will you put her up in a hotel?" Ren asked in defeat.

"Of course," Lory said. "Don't worry about Mogami-kun. You might not like it, but she's perfectly safe from the press where she is."

"It's not the press I'm worried about," Ren said darkly. "Well, not only the press," he corrected.

"She was going to have to deal with Fuwa eventually, one way or another. Perhaps it's for the best that it's while you're away," the President said cheerfully. "Or maybe not. But you may as well think that way, since you can't do anything about it now."

"Great. Inspiring." Ren rolled his eyes. "Any other helpful advice?"

"Don't get fired," the president added cheerfully, before unceremoniously hanging up the phone.

The President's face sagged as he ended the call. Tiredly, he tiredly ran a hand over his mustache. Lory took a long drag from his cigar, exhaled, then shook his head. He was, of course, concerned for Mogami-kun, but not about her living situation. Fuwa's manager had good sense, the proper NDAs had been signed, and if the pop singer's apartment had remained hidden until now, Lory was confident it would remain so. Lory was more worried about the press and how stories about the photo had yet to die down, even while Ren was out of the country. Of course, it would pass eventually, Lory knew. Things looked glum now, but Kyoko was determined, and she was young— she would spring back.

As for Ren, well— Lory was always concerned about Ren. It was hard not to be. He was practically the kid's uncle, after all. But Ren was off, forging his own path.

The two of them had been making such good progress. They had even been taking small steps together. Lory had carefully been keeping watch from afar, doing his best to nurture both of them and their relationship from the shadows. But now, it seemed, they had hit a snag that even he had not predicted would come so soon. Still, perhaps that was for the best— the path of true love was never perfectly smooth. He didn't believe the words that he'd said to Ren, but he didn't not believe them, either, Lory decided. It was simply too early to tell, when it came to his #1 Love ME girl. And if his favorite real-life couple was being difficult, at least he had another that he could turn his attention to. The President picked up his controller, and unpaused his game.

"Alright, Seiichi-kun," the older man muttered, cigar hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "What've you got for me this time?"

«×»«×»«×»

Ren arrived on set early and bleary-eyed. He gave an apologetic smile to the makeup artist, who had taken one look at him and reached for the concealer, motioning for him to close his eyes. Ren gratefully obeyed.

Being at work was a relief. At least, for however long the day lasted, he wouldn't have to think about the absolute disaster that was his personal life. His hotel room had been torture, lying in bed and feeling hopelessness press down on his chest like a stone. He wanted to be anyone but himself. Anywhere was better than trapped alone with his own thoughts. Thankfully, the hair and makeup team kept up a stream of chatter as they got Ren ready for the camera. They asked how he was liking the city so far, if he'd had any time to explore: the Hollywood sign, the observatory, the usual sites. Ren was uncommonly grateful for having to make small talk. It required focus to add just a hint of accent, to pretend that he'd never heard of Santa Monica or the boardwalk, to solicit restaurant recommendations he had no intention of following through on. When he was finished he stood, thanked the team for their excellent work with a smile and a small bow, and made his way over to where several of the cast members were standing around. The male lead, a man named Chris with blond hair and ridiculous biceps, gave Ren a friendly smile, sliding over to make room.

"Ren! Hey man, nice to see you!" The actor gave Ren a friendly clap on the shoulder, then motioned to the set with his head. "Gonna be another long one today. What are the odds we get out of here before midnight?"

In response, Ren just smiled. Chris laughed goodnaturedly, then turned his attention back to the group. They were all fairly young stars with a few veterans thrown into the supporting cast to up the star-factor. Some of the actors cracked jokes, flirted with the female lead, or engaged in some good-natured ribbing. Ren was happy to just stand there and look engaged. The conversation meandered around through industry gossip and personal trainers and whose stylist had ties to which designers before eventually making its way back to work and the list of shots for the day. The director, being the strange man that he was, was extra particular about the action sequences and some of the cast was nervous about a few of the stunts.

" —before, too. Ren, have you ever done wire work?"

"Only once or twice," Ren lied, fighting his natural inclination to sound like a California native. "I think I will manage, although I am a bit nervous."

"Nah, you'll do great! Can't be any different than how you're used to it, right? I heard you've done a bunch of your own stunt work." Chris gave Ren a friendly punch to the arm, before gesturing at another one of the actors. "Tom here's done a bunch of stunts, too."

"Oh, yeah—" Tom smiled a bit bashfully, scratching the back of his head. "Just a few though. Anyways, nothing compared to what's happening today."

"I'm sure you'll do great," Ren said with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, man. Hey, your English is really good, you know?" Tom glanced slightly past Ren. "Um, do you think your, um, friend wants to come hang out?"

Ren turned over his shoulder to follow Tom's gaze and briefly locked eyes with Kanae before she looked away.

"I tried talking to her yesterday, but I think I might've offended her?" Tom confessed in an almost whisper. "Or I don't know, maybe she didn't understand me. She just kinda gave me a look, you know?"

That did sound like Kotonami. Ren tried to give the younger actor a reassuring smile. "It was probably a misunderstanding," Ren offered. "Please excuse me."

Ren walked over to where Kanae sat in a folding chair a few yards away. She looked thoroughly engrossed by the script in her lap, and anyone else might have assumed she didn't hear his approach. Her acting was good, but Ren knew better— Kyoko's friend was ignoring him.

He cleared his throat.

"Good morning, Kotonami-san," he said politely in Japanese.

"Good morning, Tsu-ru-ga," she replied, mimicking the way their American costars butchered his Japanese name. She flipped a page in the script without looking up.

Ren ignored her behavior. "How are you liking LA?"

Kanae looked up, only to give Ren a flat stare. "What is there to like?"

So far, Kanae had a very low opinion of Los Angeles. It was too hot and too trafficky; the food was bad, it was all too sweet and the portions were enormous; the people were too friendly, they spoke too loudly and stood too close. And when it came to work, the director was talented but weird and his methods were unorthodox and completely unnecessary. Her co-stars were fine, but she had no interest in hanging out with any of them, and they all spoke either too slowly or too fast, and she'd given up on any of them pronouncing her name correctly. Being on set was slow, since Kanae didn't have a large part and so she spent many hours on call. So far, the only part of LA that Kanae enjoyed was the spacious, quiet hotel room which was being paid for by the production. It had the most stupidly giant bathroom she'd ever seen, her arsenal of skincare products could quadruple in volume and there would still be counter space. It was the only thing Kanae would miss when she went home and back to sharing one bathroom with her whole family.

Feeling as out of place as she did, Kanae couldn't help notice that Ren seemed to blend in just fine in Hollywood. He chatted with the Americans regularly and apparently didn't mind their casual, direct way of speaking. Kanae never heard him stutter as he tried to find the right word in English, and she enviously noted how his accent seemed to almost disappear at times. And Ren didn't struggle with making that terrible 'r' sound the Americans seemed to love so much, whereas Kanae spent most of her time drilling her lines, making sure her pronunciation and inflection were how she wanted them.

"You might enjoy the city more if you got to know your coworkers," Ren said with an easy smile. "They gave me a recommendation for a good Japanese restaurant."

As if she trusted any of them to know real Japanese food. Kanae sniffed. "I'll pass. Getting too friendly with coworkers can cause a lot of problems," she said pointedly. "Forgive me if I don't want to be involved in a scandal before my career's even taken off."

Ren's friendly mask slipped. For a second he looked shocked, like she'd slapped him in the face. Then Kanae blinked and it was gone, his polite smile back firmly in place.

"I can see you're busy. Please forgive me for interrupting your morning." He gave a polite nod then turned abruptly and fled to Yashiro.

"Kotonami's pretty brave, isn't she?" his manager said in lieu of a greeting. "She's not afraid to show how much she doesn't like you."

"Thanks so much for that," Ren replied dryly. "Any luck?"

Yashiro sighed. "Nope. Apparently she wasn't in the office yesterday. Er, today? The time change is confusing. Anyhow, It'll be another few hours before anyone's answering the phones. I'll try again this afternoon."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." Yashiro adjusted his glasses. "I checked in with the PR department. Things are still looking pretty bad, Ren."

Ren winced. "How bad?"

"They're hoping things will calm down in a week or so. Hopefully the public will forget about you since you're out of the country."

"As long as it goes away," Ren said with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Let's hope one of your rivals back home does something stupid enough to make headlines." Yashiro grinned, then waved Ren away with a hand. "I'll keep you in the loop. Now go, they look ready for you."

"Places for scene 37 lighting check!" The director's assistant called loudly.

«×»«×»«×»

Kyoko was pretty sure that if she spent one more day cooped up in Sho's apartment she was going to go crazy. But the problem was, she had nowhere to go. She'd finally gotten the heavy hint from both the PR department and Sawara that her presence at the office was more headache than helpful, and she wasn't supposed to go to school given what had happened last time. Her only current filming job was Bridge Rock, but she wasn't due on set for almost a whole week. Kanae was an ocean away and Chiori was busy, and those were basically her only friends. Basically, the only thing for Kyoko to do was get ahead on her schoolwork, and even that had to be rationed as she was rapidly reaching the end of her syllabus in most of her classes.

The hours crawled. Kyoko made herself lunch, then took her time washing the dishes, hoping to stretch out even the most basic chores. She did her laundry, since Sho had a washing machine and Kyoko didn't have a ton of clothes with her. She thought about taking a nap, but Kyoko had never been much of a napper. Besides, given how free her schedule was recently she was hardly tired. She'd been sleeping too much, if anything— but then again, it wasn't like she had anything better to do. And at least when she was asleep she couldn't compulsively scroll through all the major news sites and celebrity gossip blogs looking for her name or think about her dwindling bank account.

It was late afternoon when her phone rang. Kyoko pounced when she saw the number.

"MOKO-SAAAAN!" Kyoko couldn't even wait for her friend to say hello. "How are you? Are you doing okay? How is filming going?"

"Don't yell! Jeez. Filming is fine, just wrapped for the day," Kanae said, stifling a yawn. "Thought I'd say hi before bed."

"What time is it for you?"

"Late. But I can't really complain, the leads are still going. Apparently they've been filming til 3:00 AM," Kanae said matter-of-factly, before moving on. "Anyways, I didn't call to talk about my schedule. How are you?"

"I'm fine!" Kyoko said quickly.

"Really?"

"Yup!" Kyoko forced herself to smile, hoping the expression would come through in her voice.

"Stop."

"Stop what?" Kyoko asked.

"Making that face. I know what you're doing." Kanae shivered. Kyoko's customer service smile was so politely bland, it was disconcerting. She sighed dramatically. "I thought we were best friends," she said, putting just enough waver in her voice. "I know you're lying to me. I thought we were best friends who could tell each other anything!" It was overboard, but Kanae added a big sniffle for good measure.

Was it emotional manipulation? Yes. But was it for Kyoko's own good? Also yes. Kanae was not above such methods (with the amount of nieces and nephews that she had it was a necessary tactic and she would not apologize for using it).

It worked like a charm. Kyoko cracked instantly.

"WE ARE BEST FRIENDS! OF COURSE WE ARE, MOKO! YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE, YOU ARE THE MOST WONDERFUL ACTRESS AND PERSON I KNOW, YOU ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND ELEGANT GALLANT BEST OF THE BEST, AWE-INSPIRING RARE PRECIOUS DRAGONFLY OF—"

"We're best friends, I get it," Kanae said, cutting her off. "Listen, if you don't want to talk about whatever it is that's going on, fine. But if we're friends then don't just pretend everything's fine all by yourself!"

"You are so wise and so beautiful, Kanae," Kyoko said reverently. "You're like a noble unicorn princess, who—"

"Don't start again," Kanae said, too embarrassed to let Kyoko continue. "Besides," she mumbled, "you're the one who taught me that in the first place."

"Sorry, Moko-san, I missed that. What did you say?"

"Mo! Nothing. Nevermind. We aren't talking about me here, remember?" Kanae said pointedly.

For a moment, Kyoko said nothing. Kanae waited.

"I—" Kyoko's voice broke. "I just don't know what to do!"

Kanae heard a sniffle, and she knew it wasn't fake.

"Kyoko…"

"People keep telling me that I just have to wait it out and it'll get better, but I feel so useless! I know that I'm not supposed to do anything because it'll just make more of a mess, but I feel so— trapped. I'm not even supposed to leave the house, and I feel like I'm going to go crazy if I can't do something, but then I feel guilty because I'm only making it worse! How am I supposed to be an actress if I can't act? No one will even give me a chance. The only offers I've gotten are from producers who think that casting me will help their projects because Tsuruga-san's fans will hate watch it, since views are views. Sawara-san said to turn them all down, but I can't just do nothing! What if no one will cast me ever again?"

Kanae didn't know what to say. She felt like she was watching a drama. Two best friends, one of them going through a crisis, and they talk on the phone. Kanae had seen thousands of versions of this scene, and read even more of them. Some had comforting words, or inspiring speeches, or sometimes one of the characters would race to the other, no matter how improbable that was. Showing up at Kyoko's house was out of the question, given that Tokyo was an 11 hour flight away. And as for comforting words… Kanae remembered plenty of them, but they all felt hollow and insubstantial. The practical part of her brain realized that while Kyoko was being extreme and that things weren't quite so bad that Kyoko would never act again, Kanae couldn't pretend like scandals weren't seriously damaging to a young actress's career. And for all that she hated it, Kanae also had to acknowledge that public opinion mattered to casting directors. There were plenty of gorgeous but completely incompetent stars that got cast all the time, simply because their fans loved them and would support their work no matter what.

"It's not going to last forever," Kanae said. She tried to speak as rationally and objectively as she could. "The public is just bored, there's nothing else going on. It'll go away eventually, and people will forget, and then you can go back to acting just like before. It might even be useful to generate press for your next project," Kanae pointed out. "I mean, once things have calmed down. It's just because it's Tsuruga, everyone's out of control right, but people will move on."

"How is Tsuruga-san, by the way?" Kyoko asked anxiously. "He's… he's not mad, is he?"

"Why would he be mad?" Kanae replied flatly.

"Well, I mean, because… I mean, for his name to associated with me and dragged through the press, he can't feel good about it," Kyoko said hesitantly.

"You're right," Kanae said. "He doesn't feel great about it. But not because of what you're thinking."

"What?"

"Nevermind," Kanae said. "Figure it out yourselves. Tsuruga is fine, you don't have to worry about him being mad at you. If anything, you should be mad at him."

"Why?"

"Really? You can't think of any reason?" Kanae prodded. "I know you're nice, but you're not stupid."

"I don't have the right to be angry at him," Kyoko said softly. "It's not his fault."

"It's not your fault either," Kanae countered. "But even if it's nobody's fault, that doesn't mean you can't feel angry. He left you to deal with all this on your own."

"Work comes first. And he didn't leave me on my own to deal with it, I told him to go. Besides, the President and Sawara-san are being really helpful, and PR is doing their best," Kyoko said hollowly.

"That's not what I meant. Of course LME is helping, that's the agency's job. If the situation were reversed, would you have gone?" Kanae asked.

Kyoko paused. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about it. "That's not the point."

"You wouldn't have," Kanae interjected. "But fine. Whatever. He still shouldn't have left you to deal with all this alone."

"But I'm not alone," Kyoko said softly. "Because I have my best friend."

"I'm sorry," Kanae said. "I wish I was there for you."

"It's okay," Kyoko said quickly. "I wouldn't want you to pass up this project for me. After all, we're rivals, aren't we?"

"Friends first, rivals second," Kanae clarified. "And I don't know, part of me wishes I'd passed on this project. The director is so strange, and LA is terrible. I miss Tokyo."

"Are you on schedule?" Kyoko asked.

"Yup. At least there's that. If we continue on pace I should be back in a few weeks," Kanae said.

"We have to celebrate once you're back!" Kyoko said excitedly. "I'll make all your favorite things! And then you can tell me all about the States and filming and we can braid each other's hair and have pillow fights and—"

Kanae pressed her lips together, struggling not to smile. Despite everything that was happening in Kyoko's life right now, the weirdo could still get excited and rambly about something as regular as a sleepover. And while it hurt that there was nothing that Kanae could do for her friend right now, she couldn't help but feel an ember of pride glowing in her chest. Maybe all she could do was call on the phone, and it didn't feel like nearly enough, but to Kyoko it was. Because they were best friends. And that was all that mattered. Kyoko would get through this. Kanae knew it.

"I gotta go," she said.

Kyoko pouted. "...Alright."

"Hang in there, okay?" Kanae felt a bit gruff and awkward, but she managed to get the words out.

"You too, Moko-san! Good luck with the rest of your filming!"

"Thanks," Kanae mumbled. "...ve you."

"WHAT WAS THAT, MOKO-SAN?!" Kyoko's ecstatic voice came through the phone at full volume.

"DON'T SHOUT AT ME!"

"I MISSED IT! SAY IT AGAIN!"

"MO! YOU'RE SO EMBARRASSING! I'm hanging up," Kanae declared.

"I love you toooooo, Moko-san!" Kyoko teased, practically cackling with delight. She didn't even care when Kanae hung up.