As though our characters weren’t already making life hard enough for themselves, someone new shows up who feels like he can order anyone around.

The episode starts at a coffee shop, with Yo being offered a new latte flavor, honey ginger, but sticking to double latte just because that’s what she is used to.

That day she is kept very busy and works overtime again. When she finally goes to meet Ryusei, he is annoyed that she is late. He reveals that he is holding a big deal company party and wanted to surprise her. My opinion, this is not a good kind of surprise.

She is introduced to Ryusei’s business advisor, Mr. Tokura. We can tell by his shoes that we won’t like him. The men go off to go talk business together, and Mr. Tokura doesn’t like any of Ryusei’s business ideas.

Ryusei’s secretary introduces herself to Yo and then leaves her alone in a curtained-off booth. Getting bored, Yo wanders off down the hall, finds an empty room, and sits down there.

While Yo is at this party, Ren is at a different one with some old friends. One of them, Seiya, takes a silly picture of Ren and posts it. Ren objects, but Seiya says this is how he keeps in touch with old friends like the Setsuna Boys. Yo sees the picture and calls Ren to talk.

Mr. Tokura’s genius plan is for Ryusei to propose to Yo in front of all the employees. Standing outside that curtained booth, Ryusei delivers a sweet prepared speech complete with flowers and a ring. Receiving no answer, he opens the curtain and is horrified to find that Yo isn’t there. Everyone trails down the hall after him to find Yo on the phone with Ren.

This fiasco makes Ren decide he really needs to leave, so he asks his boss if he can go to Shanghai after all. Now Yo apologizes to Ryusei and assures him that Ren is being transferred. Ryusei asks her to come work for him part time as a special advisor, assuring her that she will be an asset to his company.

When Yo asks Director Hayashi about working for Ryusei, the director is drinking the new honey ginger latte. She is all enthused about making little changes, whether it’s her drink or her hairstyle. She asks if Ryusei called Yo himself, and reveals that she gave him the number. Now Yo realizes that she had unfairly blamed Ren.

Yo decides to start making little changes and starts with her hair. When she shows off her new short bob to her family they are surprised but positive. Then she sends a picture to Ryusei. He calls immediately, incensed that she did it without asking him. She retorts that it’s her hair, and hangs up. Then she goes to meet Ren to get his opinion.

She apologizes for suspecting him of giving out her number and offers to buy him dinner. He checks to see if she has her wallet because she often forgets it, but she has it this time. She tells him about Ryusei being angry, to which he replies that she should do as she wants. He knows that she can’t bear to not be herself. She laughs and finally admits that all this time she’s been wearing a wig!

Ryusei introduces Yo to his staff as a shoe expert and leaves for a meeting. Mr. Tokura begins a training session with the rest of them, and immediately puts Yo on the spot to come up with a new idea. She tries her best, but he shoots her down. Then he makes her stay late to write up the minutes, does not like the way she did it, and rudely makes her do it over. Meantime, she is missing Ren’s farewell party which is going on at her parent’s house.

At about 9:00 Ryusei comes back, surprised that she’s still there, and tells her she’s not supposed to do the minutes. He laughs and says this must have been Mr. Tokura’s idea of an initiation, and he will talk to him.

When Ryusei takes Yo home, she stops in the street to ask what he would think if she went away for a year. He’s against it, so she asks if she has to always accept his choices. He asks back if he has to always agree with her. She replies that she just wants to discuss things. At this point Ren comes out of Yo’s house, sees them, and hides by the door.

Ryusei asks if he has any say about her hair and Yo says, sorry, no. Well, he decides, she can choose her hair and the inside of the house. His one condition is that they need to be together. He pulls out the ring and proposes again and they hug. At this, Ren walks quietly away down the street. Ryusei sees him but doesn’t say anything.

From time to time we have seen flashbacks of Yo and Ryusei fighting, and I’m beginning to think that they won’t get along any better this time. You can see he’s trying hard to please her; but he tends to tell her what to do and she’s too independent for that. Having seen the opening credits, we all know who Yo will end up with. The plot of this story is how those two end up together. I just want it to be their own journey as they come to understand themselves, not anything that someone else, like Ryusei, does.

Let’s see how it all works out!

Telzeytalks

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi