Be Careful What You Wish For (PUBLISHED)

(3) - The Thing With Knowing

Unfortunately Ken had met him too. He was one of the American actors in the movie they had just finished shooting. He was an affable enough fellow and well-liked my most of the cast and crew. Even Ken himself had gone out with him once or twice. He mentally shook himself when he realized that Erina was talking again.

“… He asked if he could be here tonight to help me explain but I thought it would be better if…”

“If you gauged my reaction to it all first?” he stood up and walked over to her.

She stiffened at his approach. He knew his temper was something to be reckoned with, but he had never physically hurt a woman in his life. Nor had he mistreated Erina in all their time together. Yet, she often shrank back and dissolved into tears if he raised his voice even a little. He was surprised to realize that he was often irritated by her timidity. Her on-screen persona was so bouncy and spunky that he thought that she had more than enough spirit to deal with him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make a scene. I understand that you have fallen for someone else.”

“Ken… honto ni gomenasai. We didn’t mean to…”

He shook his head and held up his hand to silence her. Then he turned away and walked over to the large picture window, which afforded him a nice view of the casinos in LA. “Ja, I guess there is nothing more to be said, is there?”

“Ken, I … thank you for understanding” she paused delicately and then turned to leave the room.

Now, as he sat back and watched Takashi pace and strategize, Ken didn’t know what bothered him more, the fact that the situation with Erina could seriously affect his career, or the fact that he cared little beyond that. Erina had been a nice companion these past years, but other than the occasional twinge of guilt, he hadn’t mourned the loss of her. He admitted that in the beginning he had been attracted to her, but although his feelings petered out only after a few weeks, he had let the relationship continue because on the surface it had been popular with the press. On the inside, for Ken at least, it had been uncomplicated. In a way, Erina had just been to somebody to sleep with; someone to stand by his side and smile while the fans looked their fill.

“…but how do we find her?” Takashi groaned as he sat down in a chair opposite Ken. Takashi had been with him since he had started his career. He was as sharp as a shark and often had good, solid advice that raked in good money for Ken.

It was actually Takashi who had brought Ken into show business. When Ken was twelve, he had been part of a school production of Shakespeare that Takashi’s niece had also been in. That was when Takashi had scouted him. His family had encouraged him in his new profession and he was able to land a commercial and a bit part in an afternoon drama. Back then, Ken had thought of acting as a lark, something to pass the time. He had wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and enter diplomatic service. But after a few years, tragedy struck and his mother discovered she was in the final stages of cancer. She died just a few months after Ken’s drama had started airing.

Theirs had been a close-knit family and the death of his mother devastated all of them. His father was the most affected. Out of grief, he had buried himself in work and alcohol and died of heart failure a few years later.

Ken had been seventeen then. With a younger sister to look after and bills to pay, had learned to steel himself against the pain. He decided to quit school and act full-time. Takashi had been more than supportive. Things began to look up when he was offered a small part in a movie. His role was very minor, a mean biker who scares off the female lead, starting a chain reaction that would lead her to the love of her life. Ironically, it led her to his bed, but that small role highlighted how well Ken stood out onscreen. He had a quiet presence that transmitted the moodiness and edginess of the scene to the audience. Afterwards, he was given a few other roles in the same mold where he made a name for himself as a mature character in a rampant sea of pretty boys and cuteness.