Together with the Minefield

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Skip Beat!
18th January 2009 25 mins Season 1 Episode 15

Ren is talking on his phone with Matsushima, the head of L.M.E.'s acting division, who informs him that his regular manager is out with a cold and that Kyoko will be filling in. Due to the tensions between them, Ren is cold toward her and tells her she won't be able do much as his manager. The first day goes poorly for Kyoko, who can't seem to do anything right, and she feels useless because Ren has been picking up the slack every time she messes up. While driving with Ren that evening, thinking about how much he must hate her, Kyoko's stomach starts to growl. Ren notices, so they stop at a cheap family restaurant to eat dinner. While there, some high-school girls spot Ren and loudly joke about Kyoko's work uniform, saying that a girl around her age should be in high school. Kyoko becomes angry because she dropped out of school. After dinner, as Ren drives Kyoko home, he asks her why she didn't go to high school. Kyoko explains everything to Ren including her plan to get revenge on Sho by surpassing him in show business. Ren reveals that her motivation disgusts him, and Kyoko finally realizes that this is why Ren has been cold towards her. While trying to explain herself, Kyoko receives a phone call from the president of L.M.E., who has apparently been trying to reach her all day. He asks her if she would like to attend a local performance-arts oriented high school. Kyoko happily accepts and the president tells her she will have to pass an entrance exam. The next day, while Ren is shooting scenes, Kyoko notices him frequently coughing and clearing his throat. When Ren takes a break, Kyoko tells him she thinks he is coming down with a cold and that he should take medicine to help him. Ren isn't convinced, saying he never catches a cold, and ignores her. By the following morning, Ren has developed a sore throat and a high fever. Kyoko chides him for his stubbornness and Ren apologizes for being too proud. On set, Ren must do a scene in which he is drenched with rain. Kyoko, fearing it would worsen his fever, tells him not to shoot the scene until he recovers, but Ren says he will keep acting no matter how ill he may feel, only stopping if he passes out. Because his inexperienced co-star has trouble saying her lines, Ren is forced to shoot the rain scene multiple times. Back in the dressing room, Ren passes out, awkwardly trapping Kyoko beneath him.

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Hate X Hate still
Season 1 · Episode 16

Hate X Hate

Kyoko continues to take care of Ren. In this episode, his positive thoughts and reactions are shown as she takes care of him. When she is at his apartment nursing him through his fever, Ren thanks Kyoko in a 'kind' manner. Kyoko keeps thinking about Ren's thanking and is unable to focus on reviewing for the entrance exam. Later at the set, when Ren has difficulty memorizing his lines, Kyoko recites the lines of his partner to help him. Ren realizes how far Kyoko has come in learning how to act. He compliments her progress and her response is that learning to act is fun. He questions her response, believing that she's studying acting to get revenge on Sho Fuwa. Kyoko corrects him, saying that she's doing it to discover a new Kyoko Mogami. That night she stays over at Ren's apartment again because he's not yet fully recovered. When he discovers her slumped over her textbooks, fast asleep, he wakes her and urges her to use the guest bedroom. She protests, saying she still has to review for the entrance exam. He observes that she's acting as if she has to get a perfect score and she realizes she's fallen back on her habit of always trying to get 100% in order to please her mother, but now can relax. The next morning, when Ren and Kyoko are running late due to heavy traffic, she "borrows" a bike and says that she will take them on time. He admires her tenacity and thinks to himself that he will grant her full marks as his manager.

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