This is a translation of a fic of my own and the Spanish version is available at /s/12705846/1/

Our everlasting gratitude to Dutchgirl79, from Discord, for her translation into English. She's amazing!

Any mistake you might find is only ours.

Written in collaboration with Acolyte of Anansi. The covens around the bubbling cauldron bear fruit to create new stories ;) [Yes, this is addressed to you, dear a92]. [And always a thousand thanks to the wonderful Rashel Shiru for introducing us to this magnificent k-drama].

DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! does not belong to us, no matter how much we would like ... She was pretty belongs to its rightful owners, back in Korea. And Choi Si Won, like Tsuruga Ren, belongs to the world, because when you think that 2D men do not exist in the real world, you go and you find him.

REPORTER KIM

Ren ignored the confetti and streamers that fell around him, and made his way among the cheerleaders (who waved their pom poms overly enthusiastically) without giving them a glance; He took a seat, breathed in and gave Takarada Lory a dirty look, who sighed, disappointed with the meager success, —rather none— of his staging, and with two claps he sent away the girls with ridiculously short little skirts.

"Well, Boss?" Ren asked.

Too bad that having to blow the confetti on his face detracted from his expression.

"No."

"For some reason in particular?" asked Lory, although he knowed the answer well.

"It's Morikawa ..." Ren replied, shrugging, as if that explained everything.

Tsuruga Ren is a polite character, well-mannered and kind to everyone ... never a bad gesture betraying his mask. But this man, Morikawa Hitoshi, brings back memories (still too fresh, too vivid) of those times when the young Kuon Hizuri struggled with trying to leave the shadow of his father behind.

And his mask is already quite cracked these days since a certain girl in pink revolutionized his world and his heart.

"I've worked with him before," he added.

"Boy, you know better than anyone that, in this environment, there will be times when you will have to work with people who displease you."

"Yeah, sure. But no, thanks…"

"And where is your professionalism?"

"Well safe, thank you very much," he replied, crossing his arms.

Lory took a puff of his cigar and let Ren ruminate his discontent a little before launching a new attack.

"Little Mogami-kun also had to work with someone she deeply disliked, remember?" he asked. Lory did not miss his jaw tighten. "If she could be a professional, if she could do it, why not you?"

"Because she is a better person."

Just like that. A sincere and honest statement. But totally wrong. By the gods, they are both good people, including him. Why can he not see it? How much remains for you to learn, boy ...

"You will not be afraid that being close to this director will bring out the worst in you, Kuon?"—And Lory used his real name with all the intention of the world.

"Boss," Ren said, inhaling sharply, trying to remain calm. "You ask me too much."

"Maybe …" recognized him. "But I thought you had moved on, that you had finally accepted that you are no longer the one you were."—Ren put his hand to his wrist, where he still wears Rick's watch, like invisible shackles. Lory left the cigar in the ashtray, which drew sinuous scrolls between them, until at last, with a sigh, he patted his thighs and changed strategy—"Well, then, let's pay attention to your career, boy."

"My career?" asked Ren, putting himself on the defensive.

"You're typecast," said Lory point-blank. Ren's eyes widened in an undisguised panic because that's one of the worst things that can happen to an actor. "You've done a lot of drama and action, and I put in the same bag other genres like thriller, police, horror... It's all the more of the same ..." he declared, describing an imaginary arc in the air with his arm outstretched. "And put aside honorable exceptions such as BJ, you repeat yourself."

"Boss, I–" Ren tried to intervene, but Lory interrupted him with a raised hand and kept talking.

"You repeat yourself, yes, you do. Only now you prove yourself worthy for romantic roles, and only because you finally feel the true emotion of Love, but (and the real challenge lies here) there is nothing harder than to make people laugh. And you'll say 'What's that about now?' "—The aforementioned only nodded with his head, eyes half-closed and suspicious—"You must move forward, boy, you must grow as an actor and as a person. And don't look at me like that."—Lory waved his hand in front of Ren's face—"I do this because I appreciate you sincerely, boy. It's time for you to advance ... You must learn to enjoy life again. You must laugh and make people laugh."

Ren sighed and squinted, considering Lory's reasoning.

"Let's say I say yes ... Only in theory ..." he pointed out. "What do you propose?"

"Well, it's not like Japan lacks original plots or excellent screenwriters, or anything like that. But someone in LME, I really don't have any idea"—Ren had no doubt about it—"... has decided that the famous k-drama She was pretty could be adapted to the Japanese public. Since Korea has adapted so many of our dramas, well, once it's the other way around …"

"Tsuruga Ren is not a comedian," Kuon said, tilting his head and setting aside the mask that had accompanied him for so long. "He wasn't created with that idea ... It's not that he's against a light, solid and well-written comedy, or some witty black humor, but Ren"—he felt weird, very weird, talking about himself (or at least part of himself) in the third person—"Ren is too correct and polite for more basic and absurd comedies."

"Oh, that's not my intention," Lory resumed the cigar before continuing to speak, stretching the pause dramatically. "I want you to do it, Kuon..."

His real name, again ... But the boy did not flinch.

"I want Kuon to play it, and not Ren," Lory said, seeing the boy's lack of reaction.

"I already said no."

"Well, let's make a deal," he said, advancing his torso to get a little closer. It's not as if Lory didn't have a plan in reserve. "If you learn to laugh again and make people laugh and survive filming with Morikawa without beating his face, the three things, Kuon," he emphasized, "I'll leave you alone for a whole year to freely choose your papers."

"Hmm," Kuon murmured. The deal had its advantages, indeed. A whole year free of the interference of Lory in his career, was certainly interesting. Despite Morikawa … "What if I don't get it?"

"You'll wear pink for a year."

"What!?"—Let's see, it's not that pink has anything wrong. But Tsuruga Ren in pink? The gaudy Love Me pink? A whole year? His career would be dead in a month. What the hell, in a couple of hours he would be on all social networks ...

"This is an undercover Love Me mission, of course," Lory replied carelessly. "What did you expect?"

"Can I refuse?" Kuon asked, holding on to a sliver of hope.

"Rather not."

"Do I have any choice?"

"No, none."

"So what is all this about?"

"Oh, I love a good staging."—And he smiled, before dragging his cigar again.

Kuon rolled his eyes, still considering the possibility of leaving right away, but ... But Lory had his ways of making his life impossible until he said yes ... He meets people who know people and ...

Uff ...

Kuon slumped against the back of the seat, in that ungainly and careless posture that Lory met him years ago, and exhaled a very Tsuruga-unlike snort.

"What will be my role?" he asked without bothering to hide the resignation in his voice. And Lory's smile widened triumphantly.

"You'll be the Reporter Kim," he declared exultantly. Then he narrowed his eyes, smiling like a naughty boy. "Don't you guess who will be the female protagonist?"