A Wish

Chapter 18 Mayhem, continued...

Ren held Kyoko's hand and Kuu patted her shoulder while Julie calmly leaned on Ren's shoulder. Lory faced the crowds and held up his hands, the hall fell silent.

"My dear friends, I'm sure you're all curious about my old friends here as to why they would be with our top stars as soon as they came back from US. But, before any of you ask your questions, would you be kind and listen to what they have to say?" Lory asked politely, never once raised his voice but still everyone listened well as the one who's speaking was the number 1 person in entertainment business. No one would want to miss what he said.

Ren cleared his throat and that got everyone's attention. "Thank you. Actually, I want to keep this story for a bit longer, but things happened. So, here I am, standing in front of you to admit my sin as well as my most rewarding achievement. Today, will be the last day for Ren Tsuruga to appear in public. From now on, I will use my birth name as my stage name. Nice to meet you all, I am Kuon Hizuri, the only son of Juliena and Kuu Hizuri." Kuon bowed deep.

The hall turned into an uproar. Questions were raining on the people on the stage. Lory raised his hand, asking for attention, and waited until the entire hall quited down.

"Before we get to your questions, why don't we listen to his story first? It could answer some of your questions too, I'm sure." Lory said in his deep voice. He was in his business mode.

Kuon sat back down, his mother patted him lovingly and Kyoko slipped her hand into his, holding him tight.

"First, for some people, having superstars as parents is advantageous, in my case, it is a double-edged sword. One side, I am very proud of them that I bragged to everyone about them but on the other hand, people often see me not as myself but as their child instead. Up to the school stage, I was in constant struggle and some of it affected me more than others. In the end, I was stuck in my own despair, thinking that the only way to make people see me as myself is by standing as an equal to my parents. So, my dad here called his friend to set a stage for me to build myself."

Kuon sighed, "Seven years ago, President Takarada welcomed me into his family and gave me the chance to start a new. I was 15, coming here with nothing but passport, with noone I know and no idea what to do. Even though he was the one who brought me here, Takarada-sachou was the one who threw me, literally, into the jugle of showbiz. Still, I owe my life in Japan to him." Kuon exaggerated a sigh.

"Hey! You told me not to help you in your career. Besides, you were so eager to prove yourself, why do you expect me to help you?" Lory puffed his cheek as if annoyed. Some soft chuckles could be heard.

Seeing Kuon stopped talking, some hands were rising, wishing a chance to ask. Kuon gave them the chance.

"Why did you hide yourself and make a false identity?"

"I don't think that I'm the only one who chose not to use the real name as a stage name. It's mostly because of privacy, in my case, I just want people to look at me, not as Kuu Hizuri's son. Despite my egoistic thought, my parents never once stopped supporting me even in their inability to contact me for the first five years. Even when my dad came here during the Dark Moon shooting, I could neither call him Dad nor hug him no matter how the urge was killing and eating me up inside." Kuon smiled as he could feel his father patted his back lightly.

"Oh I'm so proud of him. To see him challenged me by kept acting as Tsuruga Ren at that time made me feel beyond happy. I, too, had a little struggle to stay in my character. If it wasn't for my beautiful daughter here, maybe I gave up my role and ran to him to beg him to come home." Kuu chuckled and gave Kyoko a brief hug.

The gesture and statement picked everyone's attention and it was, once again, turned into chaos.

"What do you mean by daughter?"

"Are you saying that Kyoko is Kuon's sister."

"Hell!! No!!" Kuon snapped and Kuu laughed heartily.

"Oh, Kuon! Just let your father share the story. It's very amusing..." Julie chuckled and patted her son lightly.

The impromptu press conference, or at least, it seemed so, ended peacefully. However, the impacts lingered for a longer time. Let's just say, it was an all-out war of information. Both Kuon's and Kyoko's past were digged, uncovered, and shared to public. They both were haunted by reporters wherever they were seen.

A month after, they appeared together, all the Hizuri's and Seana were present along with Kyoko and Kuon. Together, they appeared on a live broadcast from LME office. They released a story that stirred another mayhem.

"As for you who haven't realized, this is Mogami Seana, Kyoko's mother. She is here with us to show her consent, as well as my parents', to announce that Kyoko, thank God, she finally said yes, and I are engaged. By God's blessing, we are holding our wedding in the end of this year. Please keep supporting us and gave us your blessing."