We are getting down to the wire and don’t have a clue how we are going to arrive at the situation we see in the opening titles. Good news; there is progress in this episode.

Three months have gone by since Ryusei’s car accident, and he is well again. Yo asks her parents if he can come over and meet them formally. They agree, but her mom follows her into her room to ask if she is sure. Yo says she is.

They all know that Ryusei is coming to ask permission to marry Yo. He bows to the floor, and Dad and Mom bow back and give consent. Gaku still doesn’t like Ryusei and says he will only agree if Ryusei eats some boric acid balls that he uses to kill bugs. Everyone is shocked when Ryusei actually eats them, but then Gaku relents and admits they were only rice cakes!

Over at Ren’s apartment in Shanghai, Ren tells Shurei not to blow it with Yang, and that she needs to take action. When Yang walks into the room, Ren leans close over her as she is cooking, hoping to make Yang jealous. Yang looks annoyed but still claims he doesn’t think of her that way.

Yo is visiting Ryusei’s apartment when he announces that he has rented a wedding hall. She objects that this is too sudden, and he reminds her that he wanted to get married soon. (Didn’t he ask her to get married “right now” when they were in China? I was expecting a hospital wedding!)

Maki, who we remember as having been Ren’s girlfriend for a short time, has gotten over him and now has a new fiance. When he has a business trip to Shanghai, she decides to tag along. She visits Ren at his office and informs him with an impish grin that she told Yo that he loves her. Then she reminds him that you have to be pushy sometimes. Good for her!

This news distresses Ren enough that he discusses it with Shurei. They realize that it means Yo knew Ren loved her and still decided to marry Ryusei. Shurei sympathizes, and Ren urges her again to make an effort with Yang. The plan is working, because Yang sees them from across the street and feels left out. He calls across to Shurei, “What about me?”

Yo does not look excited at all as she and Ryusei choose a wedding dress and flowers. Instead, she is nostalgic about the time she and Ren tried on wedding clothes just for fun. Her family can’t help but notice how listless she is. Gaku grumbles that he should’ve given Ryusei a real boric acid ball! Mom follows Yo into her room again for another talk.

Yo asks Mom to oppose the marriage so she can rebel and be energized, and it cheers her up when Mom responds that she should just run away. Then Mom tells her if she shuts her eyes, the person she thinks of is the person she should be with. They try it, and Yo sees Ren, but she doesn’t say anything. Mom leaves thinking she solved things, and Yo just looks tired.

Alone in his Shanghai apartment, Ren writes another postcard to Yo and stashes it in his drawer with several others. Then he gets an email about a class reunion, asking for addresses of people who have moved. That’s when he gets out his old phone and sees all Yo’s messages. He is listening to them when she calls on the Shanghai phone to ask him to the reunion, and he misses her call.

Shortly afterward, Ren witnesses a little drama play out, as Yang walks up to Shurei holding a huge bouquet of flowers behind his back. He presents them to her, and at first, she gives him a hard time. Then she jumps at him, and he catches her and spins her around. Ren is excited they broke past the best friend barrier!

At the class reunion, several people recall the mean things they did to Yo when she first came to their school. To make up for it, they give her a recording of an early version of one of the Setsuna Boys’ songs, the one written by Ren. Listening to it, Yo finally accepts that Ren had loved her way back then and realizes that she lied to herself and has always loved him. She wonders if he lied to himself too.

Ren walks up and down the street in front of Yo’s house, imagining the scene where he told high-school-Yo he’d never love her. Now he adds a new heartfelt end to the scene, asserting that he cannot NOT love her, and walks away. Then high-school-Yo in her blue uniform turns around and morphs into present-day-Yo with her fur collar, her face streaked with tears.

What is this? Didn’t he realize she was real, and did she just let him go? But finally, people, finally! Couldn’t we have had this scene five episodes ago? Not that this hasn’t been an enjoyable show; it’s just been slow-moving.

Can they wrap it up in one more episode?

Telzeytalks

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi