This episode showcases the differences in personality between our two leading men. Ren is calm and has always been supportive of Yo, while Ryusei is much more emotional and assertive.
We learn that Ren’s sister Makoto has a new boyfriend, and that she invited him home for dinner without warning her mother. Apparently Mom was lounging around in pajamas. Woops! Now we are wondering if Makoto’s advice is infallible anymore.
Makoto tells Ren that love needs good timing. Pointing to a calendar, she tells him that now is the time. It’s a February calendar and we assumed she was talking about Valentine’s Day, but we find out pretty soon his birthday is coming up.
Ren’s boss offers him a transfer to Shanghai, which would be a good opportunity for his career. However he immediately sees it would be bad timing if he wants to get together with Yo. He calls and asks to meet her.
She tells him that she’s going to be liaison with Ryusei’s company, and Ren asks her to get someone else. He doesn’t want her to be around Ryusei that much. However she’s not willing to give up an important career advancement. Ren invites her out for the next night on his birthday.
Maki comes to work with a face-mask and a cough. Later in the day she seems quite sick, so Ren cancels with Yo and takes Maki home. If you think he is going stay with her, putting wet cloths on her forehead and feeding her porridge, you are right. She knows he is skipping his date with Yo and worries about him.
That day Yo meets with Ryusei to brief him on the latest trends in shoes. Afterwards he asks her to dinner and they go to their old haunt where she had seen the little toy car. She is reminded of the time five years ago when he had asked her to marry him if his business turned out well.
Now as they are walking home it starts to rain. He grabs her hand to run for shelter, but she pulls away. He quietly takes it again and this time she follows him. This guy is very different from Ren. He holds her hand, grabs her shoulder, and gives her a back-hug. He tells her he loves her and asks to start over. In distress, she says, “I can’t believe you any more; we are done,” and walks away in the rain.
The next morning as Ren leaves his house, Yo surprises him with a confetti popper, a present, and a cake. Their conversation becomes pointed, as he asks her if she still likes Ryusei and reminds her of how much Ryusei had hurt her. She retorts that it’s Ren’s fault because he’d given her phone number to Ryusei and he should take responsibility. He’s a little shocked, because it wasn’t him.
She leaves, still upset, walking right past Makoto who was lurking on the stairs listening to everything they said. Makoto warns Ren that his time is running out, so when he gets to work, he turns down the Shanghai job. Then he decides to take responsibility and goes out and buys a big bouquet of gerber daisies.
He sees in his mind once again the hasty words in high school that had set Yo against him, “I won’t love you, I definitely won’t.” And her answer, “Thanks for making that clear.” Now he calls her and asks to meet. She tells him she is waiting for Ryusei so she can deal with him.
Ren wishes her luck and starts running for her house. Ryusei arrives before Yo hangs up, and asks her if she likes Ren. She says yes, as a best friend, and no one can interfere with it. He accepts that for now, and claims he’s loved her all this time. She starts walking away, but he talks her into riding home with him in a taxi.
Standing on the sidewalk in front of Yo’s house, Ryusei tells her again that he loves her and slowly takes her in his arms for a hug. Ren gets there just in time to see him saying that he can never let her go. We can tell she’s conflicted.
Ren and Ryusei are very well cast—they play these different personalities so well! Yo has buried hostile memories of both of them, and can’t seem to change her image of Ren. Yet in just a few days, Ryusei has done what Ren couldn’t bring himself to do in five years.
We’ll see what happens next time!
Telzeytalks
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi