Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!

Chapter 1 – the Meeting

Director Ogata cleared his throat. Good afternoon, everyone," he said. He adjusted his tie uncomfortably before continuing, "I'm so sorry to call for a meeting on such short notice, but Momose-san has an announcement to make."

Kyoko Mogami turned eagerly to her dear friend, Itsumi Momose, who gracefully rose from her seat on the opposite end of the room. She failed to notice the director still fiddling with his tie, cold sweat dripping down his face.

"W-Well," Itsumi stammered. "I'll be m-moving away from Japan to Korea this coming July to get m-married." Her face was a beetroot red, her hands tucked sheepishly behind her back.

Fanshui Iizuka's head fell into her hands in exasperation.

Tsuruga Ren's gentlemanly smile appeared in full force.

Director Ogata shrunk even further into his chair.

Basically, the news wasn't good…

Well, almost.

Kyoko leapt towards Itsumi and crushed her in a hug. "Momose-chan! Congratulations!" She squealed loudly. Ren, who had been watching Kyoko the entire time, let a smile grace his lips as Kyoko continued squeezing the life out of Itsumi.

The jubilation didn't last very long. Soon, realization hit Kyoko like a rocket in a failed re-entry. Her face fell a thousand miles. "Ogata-sama? Momose-chan's role…is the lead female, 'Mizuki'…How will we continue the filming of Dark Moon as planned?"

Ren's brow was furrowed as he considered this inconvenience for the umpteenth time. He had long been informed of this…event, but Ogata spoke up first. The pale man was evidently stressed and still highly uncomfortable.

"Takarada-sama has come up with a solution for Momose-san's departure," Ogata spoke to the actors. "As the conflict in "Misao" 's and "Katsuki" 's relationship is crucial in the story, we've spun the plot to work with the characters we already have."

"We've decided that "Mio" will learn to love "Katsuki" even under their unlikely circumstances. Hence, let me run you all through the new plot." He continued unsteadily, as if preparing for a huge rejection.

-Insert about an hour's worth of script-review here-

As Ogata finished summarizing the script for everyone, Kyoko's eyes were wide and sparkly. Kyaa…Mio…can finally be returned to the pure princess she is! The people sitting to her right and left leaned away as she daydreamed dangerously.

Her sparkly fairies – the kind that only appeared when she was seriously on the edge of delusion, stuffed the room full. She darted back to her beloved corn as she thought about his fully-grown wings…high in Fairyland with his fairy friends….

Everyone's eyes darted to Kyoko's and they all felt suddenly uncomfortable. The newest actor, Ryuji, who would be playing the new character "Tsume", had a very uncomfortable look in his eyes and wondered quietly aloud, "Is she always like this?"

Ryuji had come to admire Kyoko as an actress, with the immense scary aura she could project through a television. However, when he had first met her in person, she had a (overly) cheerful demeanour, with one of the tightest hugs and brightest smiles he'd ever seen.

Only Ren could keep his cool, expecting her reaction to the twist in the plot. The night before, President Takarada had already informed him of the change as a 'favour' to Ren. However, he suddenly felt the wind knocked out of him as he finally realized something. (A Note from Tabitha: Yes, he's got a very thick skull.)

Kyoko played the role of Mio.

Across the room, Kyoko's cheeks flushed the deepest shade of red as she considered this as well. Momose …Momose Onee-sama and Yashiro-san have told me about Tsuruga-Senpai's co-stars having a tendency to fall in love with him…What if I end up falling for him the same way I fell for Shotaro? What if I suffer a second heartbreak?

"So…what do you all think?" President Lory Takarada's voice boomed through the meeting room, making all the actors jump in shock. A small blonde head poked out from behind his legs, her eyes scanning the room.

In a flash, Maria Takarada had attacked Kyoko with full force and pushed her to the floor in a giant hug. "Onee-sama! I've missed you at work today," she pouted at Kyoko, who smiled in response. "Maria," Kyoko told her off sternly, "I'm in a meeting now, go and play with Moko-san."

"It's okay, Kyoko-chan," Ogata called. "The meeting is over. You're excused –Maria-chan can take you anywhere she likes." Maria squealed in delight.

"Thank you, Ogata-sama!" Kyoko bowed before Maria dragged her off. However, before she could leave, she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around.

Ren smiled at her flustered appearance. "Mogami-san," he greeted her. "Would you be so kind as to come for dinner tonight at my place? Perhaps, if you like, you could cook…" Kyoko's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

"Of course, Tsuruga-san," she bowed hastily. "Now if I can excuse myself, Maria is beginning to pull very hard. I should go!" Maria wrenched Kyoko from the room and dragged her off to play with her black magic artefacts.

If only she knew…When Ren had caught her shoulder, he resisted every urge to hold her in his arms, thanking whatever lucky stars he had for his superior acting skills. Yukihito Yashiro walked up to his side, waving his infamous planner in front of Ren's face. "You're thinking of her too much again, Ren, your face is slipping," he commented dryly.

Ren turned his gentlemanly smile to full power. "What are you talking about, Yashiro-san?" The latter just cringed lightly, used to his manipulation with the smile. He muttered to himself, "yeah, sure…"

The duo walked to Ren's car, in a hurry to get to their next appointment at LME.