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She had done a poor job of hiding the damage from her previous ‘relationship’, if you could even call it that. She hadn’t realized how one sided her feelings were until it was far too late. She once had a heart of gold, thinking the best of everyone, especially her golden boy. She followed him everywhere when they were children, thinking he was the prince that would make her his princess. As it turned out, her role wasn’t to be made princess, but to be kept in rags while he shone brightly for other girls. Seeing him flirting with his manager that day broke something in her. No longer would she be the supporting role, no longer would she be the princess just waiting for her prince, or the damsel in distress. No, she would forge her own path, one of fire and rage that would burn Fuwa Shotaro down.
That rage would always be inside her, but it had simmered down after getting into the Love Me program and acting for the first time. The total makeover from plain boring girl to devilish cutie helped too.
When Moko-san was dragged into the program too, she finally had her first female friend. All the fantasies she had of princess tea parties didn’t have to be a dream anymore. She had someone to talk to, to go to for advice, even when Moko-san didn’t like her at first she still helped in her own way.
But any mention of Sho would still set her off. And while fire and passion was good for an actress, too much and she could get burned, again.
That’s when he appeared. Too bright of a star to look in her direction, yet they always seemed to bump into each other. She had been conditioned to hate him because he was in Shotaro’s way, but now there was no point. Yet she still didn’t know how to act in front of him. He was different after all. No one could ever be as smooth or elegant or just plain perfect as Tsuruga Ren after all.
Their first meeting had not gone the best. Getting kicked out of the LME agency was never a good impression. Yet she had haunted her way back in, getting an audition, getting into the Love Me program, doing odd jobs for everyone. It was on one of those odd jobs that she ran into Ren again. He shot her his killer smile while helping her with her client's bags, knowing full well she’d get in trouble for it. She knew then, this man was not to be crossed. And while he would never come close to the hate she felt for Shotaro, she decided she definitely disliked him. He already helped get her kicked out once, why does he feel the need to keep trying!?
Then her first acting job came, it was just a scene or two as a try out. Her client, Ruriko, was acting like a brat so the director had issued an acting challenge between them. Even though her ankle was in immense pain, she shut it off to make it through the scene. Seeing Ren across from her, making him act seriously, made it worth the pain. She knew he was an amazing actor, but experiencing it for herself was another thing entirely.
It was her first real experience with acting, and although she didn’t get the part, she was already hooked on the feeling. One day, she would act on par with Tsuruga Ren, and make him acknowledge her too.
Fast forward to Dark Moon. She had officially debuted as an actress, but this would be her first experience doing a multi-episode drama. Commercials and playing Bo the chicken had nothing on this. Now she just had to figure out her role in time for filming. But with Ren actually willing to help her, she could do anything.
But now Ren had his first retake… The king of first takes made a mistake. Turns out he doesn’t have as much of a grasp on his role as Katsuki as he would like. And now it’s her turn to help him.
Showing up at his apartment for the first time, she’s nervous, and doesn't know what she can do to help Ren get a grasp on his role. And playing Mizuki would be hard. Mizuki reminds her of her old self, happy and without a care in the world, dreaming of someone she can never have. But for Ren, who’s helped her so much already, she’s willing to do anything.
And that’s how she fails the first take, not even making it into the apartment. Now she has to focus on acting, and not on how nervous Ren makes her feel, otherwise she’ll never pass his test, let alone help him achieve his desired performance as Katsuki.
After the whirlwind performance they put on, Ren looks at her with joy in his face. He gives her a smile, not one of his 100 watt killer smiles, but a real one. She knows then what the tight nervous feeling in her chest is. It had been bugging her ever since Ren first helped her. It’s the same feeling she once felt for that selfish jerk Shotaro, the one that she thought she locked away forever.
She pulls away from Ren, tries to run away from her feelings, but Ren won’t let her. He catches her hand before she can flee and pulls her back to him. Seeing her flushed face and inability to look him in the eyes, Ren can tell. He’s seen the signs many times before, on a variety of women. The only difference this time is that he thinks he feels the same. He can’t remember the last time someone made him feel so alive.
But this isn’t a fairy tale where they can live happily ever after, this is reality. Their lives are too different, he can’t afford to make mistakes… But who’s to decide what is a mistake and what isn’t? With that in mind, he leans down and kisses her like he’s wanted to since he first realized his feelings with the help of that silly chicken.