Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! That's all there is to it.

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She first met him in an Armandy photoshoot.

At the time, she was a newbie model who saw no harm in attending a modeling casting call when an employee from Armandy encouraged her to. She didn't really think much of it. She was just at that bar to celebrate a friend's birthday.

She lucked out and got accepted because she had the look that they were looking for. The money's good. That relieved her parents of the burden of paying for college and it was much better than flipping burgers. It was a one-time job. She didn't think that she was going to be modeling professionally. She wanted to become an accountant.

"Oh my God!" her friend gushed. "You're going to be working with Tsuruga Ren!"

"I'm so jealous," another said. "You have all the luck."

It was luck the first time. The second, the third and so on... Luck had nothing to do with it. She worked really hard to get to where she was.

She was really mesmerized by him when they met. He was handsome, nice, witty and friendly - what was not to like about him? But of course, a newbie who just lucked out can't be with someone who was undoubtedly surrounded by people more gorgeous and much more sophisticated than her.

But she wanted to see him again. So she ran around, getting work from nothing more than her own blood, sweat and tears - without a manager or an agency to represent her, building up her portfolio. She learned the business from the ground up on her own. And once again, luck smiled down on her and she got to work with Tsuruga Ren again.

"Why don't you try your luck and join LME?" he told her that time when he found out that she didn't have an agency. "You'll be a shoo-in. That will make your life easier. You'll get better representation and better opportunities."

He just gave her the best advice ever! And as he told her, she got accepted on her first try.

However, luck is not always on her side. The modeling section was in another part of town and not in the imposing headquarters at the heart of Tokyo. And since Tsuruga Ren was more of an actor than a model, he rarely went to the modeling section. And since she really didn't have an interest in singing other than the occasional trip to the karaoke bar or had a knack for acting, she was stuck in the modeling section. The only real way that she can get to be in the headquarters everyday would be to join the company as an accountant. And that will take years. She didn't think she can wait that long.

But being in LME was not without its advantages. In the limited corner of the entertainment industry she was in, she struck gold. She had access to Tsuruga Ren's modeling schedule. Gradually, she learned everything about the brands he's endorsing and the shoots that he was participating in. And with her hard work and luck still on her side for the last four months, she managed to get a spot on another Armandy shoot with Tsuruga Ren.

"You again!" Tsuruga Ren smiled at her. "Looks like we'll be working together."

"Yeah," she smiled cheerfully. "Small world, isn't it?" Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a girl with short hair in a hideous hot pink jumpsuit standing on the side, guarding his bag. "Um... Where's your manager?"

"Yukihito-san??? He's sick with the flu and is taking a few days off," Tsuruga Ren nodded towards the girl in pink. "That's my temporary manager for the time being."

Temporary manager?

That girl?

She felt as though the heavens crashed down on her. The man whom she had been in love with for the last couple of months - to the point of following Tsuruga Ren's schedule like a stalker - was not there, but home sick with the flu?

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Notes:

- There is not enough love for Yashiro! Sorry... I'm in love with megane-shonens ^^ and Yashiro is one of the awesome glasses guy I've ever read in manga \0/