Chapter 1

The Problem & Solution

She stared into her eccentric boss' eyes and then back down at the incriminating photos of Sho kissing her, again. If she weren't so stunned, she would have been phenomenally pissed.

"Mogami-kun... Did you hear anything I just said?" Lory prodded.

Kyoko's face twisted in anger. How could Sho do this to me? He took advantage of the situation and caught me off guard. That bastard!

"Mogami-kun! I said, that if you don't want people to think you have a relationship with Fuwa-san, you will have to start dating. It doesn't have to be anything serious, just a diversionary tactic for the press." He explained in a consoling parental way.

She sighed in defeat. "What do I have to do to get away from him and this mess?"

Lory smiled widely. "Well, it isn't a mess yet, but you do need to be seen with someone else. I really don't know what your relationship is with Fuwa-san, but perhaps him seeing you with someone else will discourage his behavior. Perhaps it will let him know that you aren't available to him and he will turn his attentions elsewhere."

"Don't count on it..." Kyoko grumbled.

Lory looked at her curiously. "Hm? Why do you think that Mogami-kun?"

She sighed. It was now or never, she was going to have to tell him everything or she was going to end up in a deeper mess. She now suspected that these pictures were why Ren was avoiding her, again. She had let her guard down and Sho had kissed her, again. "Well, it's like this..." She then told Lory everything. She told him about how they grew up together, how they ended up in Tokyo, how they ended their relationship and how he had been behaving ever since. Lory was livid when she told him about Sho's physical abuse towards her and how his manager did nothing to stop it. He wanted to personally strangle the boy when she told him of the forced bet, and now the photos of this kiss. It seriously had Lory wondering if the boy didn't plan those himself to make Ren jealous. Lory groaned internally. And I just showed them to him without a little more research. He sighed. "I'm very sorry that I didn't tell you before." She fell into a dogeza thinking that Lory's anger was directed towards her.

"No, no Mogami-kun. I'm not angry with you; although, I am a bit upset that you never told me any of this. I'm upset that someone could use love in such a despicable way." He explained.

She relaxed. Knowing the way he was, his reaction made perfect sense to her. She sat back in her seat and awaited his lecture. The lecture opposite of what she was expecting.

"Mogami-kun, I have already assigned Yashiro-kun as your permanent manager." He informed her and she started to protest. He held up his hand. "No objections. Ren's schedule isn't as chaotic as yours and you need the advice from a seasoned agent. Ruto will be helping Ren with crowd control and you need a manager that can help you avoid situations such as this." He held up the photo's that she really wanted to forget that they existed.

She winced and nodded.

"Now... In order to prevent other rumors from surfacing with Fuwa-kun, I suggest that you need to start dating or people are going to start thinking that you and he are an item. There are already whispers in the halls about you two regarding that occurrence that you informed me of that happened at TBM and that "bet". Which, I assure you, you have nothing to worry about or have you forgotten that Ren's name is his stage name?" He smirked. He was not about to allow her to feel restricted in a case such as this.

She rolled her eyes and a feeling of relief washed over her as she thought more on it. She shook her head and giggled. "Sorry Takarada-san, I think I forgot that part. Tsuruga-san did mention one time that was the case."

He nodded in approval. "Very well, I have a few suggestions for your partner if you would like to look over them or I can pick one for you." He told her, holding up a list of young men's names.

She shook her head and quickly snatched the list from him. "No, that's fine. I'll look over the list." She hastily told him as she glanced at the ominous list in her hand.

Ren Tsuruga; Hikaru Ishibashi; Hidehito Kijima; Hiromune Koga; Ichirou Takanawa; Ryouichi Moto, and the list went on to include twenty other known names to her. Not all were A-List celebrities, but they came very close to it. She looked up at him a little puzzled. "Why would you have all of them on a list for me?" She asked a little confused. She hadn't expected any of them. Well, maybe Hikaru-kun and maybe even Kijima-san, but certainly not any of the others or so many of them.

Lory chuckled. "Kyoko-chan, all of these men have expressed interest in you. They want to date you." He explained. "They volunteered themselves for this list when they found out."

"Oh~ They just want to help me protect my reputation. That explains why Tsuruga-san, Koga-san and Hikaru-kun's names are on the list." She really got it wrong.

Lory laughed and shook his head. "No, no Kyoko-chan, they would actually like to date you in earnest. Each of these young men are interested in you romantically."

She furrowed her brow. "That can't be right. Why is Tsuruga-san's name at the top of the list? He has someone else he's interested in."

Lory gave her a confused look. "Really? Hm, he's never mentioned anything like that." He pondered out loud.

She let out a sad sigh and nodded. "He mentioned that he was in love with a girl four years his junior."

Lory sat for a moment, his eyes went wide and laughed. He wiped the tears away and shook his head. "Mogami-kun, you needn't worry about that. I assure you that Ren is completely and 100% unattached. His name on this list is genuine."

She looked at him warily, knowing that Lory was always a trickster. "Does he know his name is on the list?"

He gave her a small suspicious nod. "Of course he does!"

She sighed. "I can't pick." She stated. She wanted to pick Ren and after what Lory had reminded her about the bet, she felt a little more confident about how she felt about Ren, but she didn't want their date to be fake, an assignment or unwilling on Ren's part. She still wasn't sure he had willingly put his name on the list for her. She actually wasn't certain that any of these young, good-looking men did.

"Shall I pick for you?" He asked mischievously.

She shook her head vigorously. "NO! I'll pick!" She lay the list on the table, closed her eyes and circled her finger above the sheet. What better way to do it, than leave it up to fate? Her finger fell upon number 19.

Lory quickly took the sheet from her, before she could open her eyes. "Very good choice Mogami-kun! I will let the young gentleman know as soon as our meeting is over." He smirked.

"Aren't you going to tell me who it is?" She asked worried.

"Don't worry, he is a very nice young man and a very good choice on your part. I think you will be happy with fate's decision. Now, you should hurry or you'll be late for your filming today." He reminded her and watched her scramble to leave for her next appointment.

Lory sat back in his seat and laughed as he watched the doors to his office close. He shook his head and pulled out his phone and dialed. "Ah... Well, she picked and fate decided for her." He laughed at the response. "Who is it?..." He laughed again. "Honestly, do you really think it was fair to have yourself on that list twice?... Technically no... I guess... Well, you weren't exactly the only one to do that." He chuckled. "Well, you better start planning your date with her..." He held the phone away from his ear a little, he hadn't expected that outburst. "I did not!... She closed her eyes and picked at random! I'm offended that you would think such a thing!.. Stop by in the morning so we can rearrange your and her schedules and pick a day... Alright, see you then." He hung up and smirked.