On that night when
Naoki left home, he kissed Kotoko for the second time.
However, there was no passion in this kiss which left
Kotoko to feel that the kiss felt as cold as ice.
Even though she is very much in love with Naoki, the
kiss gave her anything but happiness. When she
reached home, Kotoko stared blankly at Naoki's photo
in her wallet. She felt so excited just looking at
Naoki's photo. Why didn't she feel the same when
Naoki kissed her?
Naoki has a dream
about his family knowing about his kiss with Kotoko.
When he sees Kotoko's smug look and his family's joy
upon knowing this, Naoki grimaces in his sleep. Then,
he sees Yuki asking Naoki why he hasn't been playing
with him. Yuki tells Naoki that he likes Kotoko more
than him and leaves Naoki breaking out in cold sweat.
He then finds his parents telling him that they will
be building an extension for Naoki and Kotoko as a
wedding present. Naoki asks Kotoko what is going on.
Kotoko appears in a wedding gown and tells Naoki that
he has to marry her since he kissed her last night.
Naoki tries to escape from Kotoko when he finally
wakes up from the nightmare.
At the breakfast table,
Kotoko and Naoki look at each other with a weird
expression. Naoki seems to have something on his mind
but his parents and Shige keep on talking among
themselves. Naoki finally tells them that he wants to
move out and live alone. This shocks everyone but
Naoki keeps mum about his reasons for doing so. To
stop them from questioning further, Naoki leaves for
school hurriedly and Kotoko chases after him.
Kotoko asks Naoki why
he wants to move out suddenly and whether this has to
do with what happened last night. However, Naoki says
that his decision has nothing to do with Kotoko and
tells her not to overestimate herself.
In school, Kotoko
tells Junko and Satomi about the kiss which proved to
be a disappointing experience. Junko relates her own
experience to them. Once, she and her date had just
eaten grilled eel and they kissed but Junko got the
spinach that was stuck between the guy's teeth in her
mouth. Satomi then says that in the midst of her kiss,
the guy ran away by saying that he had to relieve
himself urgently. However, Kotoko tells them that she
is not referring to disgusting kisses but those
kisses which are very "cold". Kotoko says
that a kiss should be warm and sizzling so she cannot
comprehend why her kiss was so cold. Junko and Satomi
get into a frenzy and immediately guess that Kotoko
has kissed Naoki. Kin-chan gets so uptight about this
when Junko asks him if he has kissed before. In an
attempt to save his own reputation, Kin-chan lies
that he has kissed before but blurts out the fact
that the person was a guy. Kin-chan tells them a kiss
without feeling is not considered to be a real kiss
and Kotoko should accept this type of kiss. This
leaves Kotoko to think hard.
Kin-chan rushes into
the 'A' class and demands Naoki to apologise to
Kotoko. Kotoko runs in and tries to stop Kin-chan
from saying anything more. Kin-chan says that Kotoko
is the real victim when Naoki forced Kotoko to accept
his kiss. Reiko refuses to believe it and says that
it should be an accident. Kotoko tells Kin-chan to
forget about this thing and that the kiss without
feeling isn't considered to be a real kiss. Naoki
looks up when Kotoko says that. Kin-chan is touched
by Kotoko's words and says that he will give Kotoko a
fiery kiss. Kotoko tries to fend off Kin-chan
advances when Izumi-sensei ('A' class form teacher)
comes in and sends them to the teachers' room. Reiko
stares at Naoki when she realises that what Kotoko
has said is true.
Izumi-sensei scolds
Kin-chan and Kotoko in front of Kanhara-sensei (the 'F'
class form teacher). The latter tries to defend them
by saying that Kin-chan and Kotoko are just using a
more liberal way of expressing friendship. When Izumi-sensei
asks Kotoko if she did kiss Naoki, Kotoko is
speechless. Izumi-sensei keeps on questioning Kotoko
and cannot believe that Naoki kissed her (she seems
to be quite fond of Naoki). Izumi-sensei then gets
into a big quarrel with Kanhara-sensei.
Junko, Satomi and
Kotoko go to have a bite at the fast-food restaurant
when Junko is abnormal to feel nothing when Naoki
kissed her. Satomi adds on by saying that Kotoko
could have liked the feeling of being in love instead
of loving Naoki. Kotoko doesn't think that this is
possible and is sure that she loves Naoki a lot.
Naoki's parents ask
Naoki why he wants to move out but Naoki remains
silent. Yuki then says that Kotoko must have done
something to make Naoki move out. However, Naoki
defends Kotoko by saying that his decision has
nothing to do with her. His parents refuse to let
Naoki move out because he is still in senior high
school but Naoki tries to evade the topic. Yuki
scolds Kotoko for being a troublemaker.
Naoki goes up to his
room but he cannot concentrate on doing anything.
Yuki asks him if he is bent on moving out but Naoki
ignores Yuki.
Naoki's parents
discuss Naoki's matter with Shige and he feels that
Kotoko could have been the cause of it. Machiko
suddenly says that Naoki's strange behaviour could be
due to him falling in love. According to her, people
in love are always at a loss about what to do and
often does things beyond their normal self. She even
thinks that Naoki has fallen for Kotoko but Shige
begs to differ since they are so different in terms
of personality and studies. Machiko insists that
Naoki and Kotoko are the most compatible in Japan.
Shige seems to sense that something is wrong with
Naoki's father.
Kotoko is baking a
cake with Machiko's cake while the guys are all
relaxing. Suddenly, the doorbell rings and Naoki
answers it to find Reiko calling on him. Machiko
doesn't like Reiko at first sight but Naoki's father
keeps singing her praises. Machiko delibrately says
that clever girls may not be cute in order to put
Reiko off. Reiko says that she will be studying in
the same university as Naoki but Machiko tells her
not to give Naoki too much pressure by following him
everywhere. When Reiko brings out the cake that she
has baked, Yuki and his dad are won over but Machiko
still stands by Kotoko. However, Kotoko's burnt cake
is no match for Reiko's beautiful one. Shige tries to
build up Kotoko's confidence by lying that her cake
is delicious but when Kotoko tries it herself, she
knows that she has lost to Reiko. Suddenly, Reiko
mentions the fact that Naoki has kissed Kotoko before
and this shocks everyon. Machiko's reaction makes
Naoki remember the 'nightmare' he had which fully
coincides with what happened. However, Reiko says
that she is worried for Naoki as Kotoko's presence in
the Irie family has created many rumours in school.
Machiko tells Reiko not to worry since their
relationship is approved of but Reiko says that the
rumours will affect Naoki when the exams come. Naoki
gets irritated at Reiko but she asks to speak with
him privately. Kotoko is upset by this but Machiko
tells her that she should not lose to Reiko.
Reiko asks Naoki if he
intends to let Kotoko stay on but Naoki says that
Kotoko's presence is not a problem to him. Reiko
tells Naoki to kiss her when Machiko barges in to
spoil things for her. Reiko is embarrassed by this.
Yuki asks Naoki if he did kiss Kotoko but Naoki tells
him to keep out of his affairs. Yuki is upset by
Naoki's reaction.
Shige tells Machiko
that she should not force Naoki to accept Kotoko but
Machiko says that she has felt all along that they
are made for each other. Kotoko feels a bit upset
when she hears that.
Reiko tells Naoki to
express thanks to his father for entertaining her
when Watanabe overhears it. He asks Naoki if he likes
Reiko but Naoki doesn't answer. He then remarks that
Watanabe has become so serious like the 'F' class.
Watanabe doesn't get Naoki's meaning.
Naoki's father says
that he won't object to Naoki moving out. To his
surprise,Machiko agrees to it because she feels that
absence will make the heart grow fonder and this will
be a test for Naoki and Kotoko. Upon seeing Naoki,
they stop their discussion and go back to their rooms.
Kotoko is in her room
staring at Naoki's photo when Machiko rushes in and
says that something is wrong with Yuki. The doctor
comes and says that Yuki is suffering from stress
disorders. He shows them the balding part of Yuki's
scalp. Kotoko feels that she is the one giving Yuki
stress.
Kotoko discusses with
Shige that they should move out soon. Shige tells
Kotoko that she can still like Naoki but she should
never be a burden to him. Kotoko promises to become a
woman who men will like but is unsure at this stage
whether she likes Naoki. However, she tells Shige
that when they move out of the Irie residence, she
will know the answer to that.
Yuki refuses to eat
anything and still stares into blank space. Kotoko
brings him some comics but Yuki throws them out of
his room. Kotoko is upset by this.
Naoki sees that Yuki
is still throwing tantrums but Yuki says that Naoki
should leave him alone since he means nothing to
Naoki. Naoki ignores Yuki at his words.
Kotoko brings a
lunchbox for Yuki but Yuki doesn't reply to her
knocking. Just then, Naoki comes upstairs and Kotoko
asks Naoki to bring the lunchbox to Yuki. However,
Naoki tells Kotoko not to bother about Yuki because
he has become a spoilt brat. Kotoko is shocked by
Naoki's reaction.
Kotoko goes to Yuki's
school and asks his classmates to visit Yuki. However,
they refuse to go and even insults Kin-chan and
Kotoko. They then approach two girls and ask them to
write their well-wishes on a cardboard for Yuki. Kin-chan
wants to reward their kindness with some sweets but
the girls refuse, saying that Kin-chan is a weird
uncle. The teacher in the school spots them and takes
them as tricksters who want to abduct the kids.
This matter gets to
the school and the headmaster warns them that if
another thing happens again, both Kotoko and Kin-chan
will be expelled. Kotoko apologises to Kin-chan about
this but Kin-chan says that for the sake of Kotoko,
he wouldn't mind. When they meet naoki and Watanabe
along the corridor, Watanabe insults them but Kin-chan
defends Kotoko who is running around for the sake of
Yuki. Naoki scolds Kotoko for being a busybody and
wants her to stop making trouble. Suprisingly, Kotoko
rebukes Naoki for not caring about Yuki and praises
Kin-chan for helping her.
Kotoko goes to Yuki's
classmates' houses to get them to write down their
well-wishes for Yuki. She is striving hard for the
sake of Yuki. When she manages to get everyone to
write on the cardboard, Kotoko feels so proud of
herself.
Kotoko slips the
cardboard into Yuki's room and Yuki is touched by her
gesture. When Naoki sees the cardboard, he scolds
Kotoko for being such a fool to do such things.
Suprisingly, Yuki stands up for Kotoko and scolds
Naoki for being inferior to Kotoko. He even tells
Naoki that he can move out if he wants to. Naoki goes
out in anger.
When Naoki goes
downstairs, he sees his parents talking to Kotoko and
Shige about Naoki's moving out. His father agrees to
let Naoki move out for the sake of learning to be
independent. Kotoko insists that if she moves out
with Shige, Naoki will not have to move out. However,
Naoki's parents will not hear of it and wants them to
stay. Naoki is shocked to find that what happens
coincides with his dream again. Naoki shouts at his
parents and tells them to forget about manipulating
him. Kotoko tries to explain but Naoki rushes out of
the house. When his parents try to stop him, Naoki
tells them to stop bothering him. Kotoko gives Naoki
a tight slap and shocks everyone. Kotoko tells Naoki
that he should understand his parents' well intention
before flaring up.
Naoki runs out of the
house while Kotoko chases after him. Kotoko had
thought all along that Naoki was only pretending to
be cool but he had a warm and caring heart. However,
Kotoko has realised that Naoki's heart is so cold
that he is too selfish to love anybody who showers
affection on him. Naoki scolds Kotoko for disrupting
his life ever since she came into the Irie family and
wishes that she didn't exist. Kotoko thanks Naoki for
speaking the truth to her even though she is hurt by
his words. Kotoko then kisses Naoki and says that
this is a kiss filled with happiness and warmth
before going home.
Kotoko and Shige pack
up to leave even though Naoki's parents try to stop
them. Kotoko thanks Machiko for the beautiful
memories and says that she will never forget her days
in the Irie residence. Naoki's parents are very upset
while Yuki rushes out from his room but is unable to
bid Kotoko goodbye.
Naoki is roaming the
streets while Kotoko and Shige are singing happily as
they make their way to Shige's restaurant.
Yuki writes in his
diary that with Kotoko's absence, he will be able to
recover from his illness.However, he feels bad about
treating Kotoko badly when she was around.
Kotoko lies in her bed,
unable to sleep. She gets Naoki's photo out and
stares at it for a long time.
When Naoki gets home,
he says sorry to the asleep Yuki. In actual fact,
Yuki is just pretending to be asleep and he has heard
what Naoki said. Naoki has a look of loss and
frustration on his face...
-Erin Lee
<== Previous / Next
==>
