It was the best of romantic starts as far as noona-dongsaeng romances go, it’s now hit the worst of road bumps faster than Hanae can take off her glasses. Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu glides into episode 5 all roses and rainbows before stumbling and fumbling all the way to an episode ending that had me gasping out loud. Yu gets way more screen time than the last two episodes combined while Yuto says the one immature relationship thing that basically reveals a couple that isn’t working hard to understand each other.

The focus remains squarely on Hanae still and she’s so amazingly frustrating I don’t know whether to slap some sense into her or hug her for trying so darn hard all the time. Best part is seeing yet again the second Hanae interacts with Yu she’s all fast retorts and saying it like it is. Suddenly Yu seems way more suited for Hanae even if he’s too cocksure and intrusive all the time, at least he makes her straighten that backbone and stand up for herself. I appreciate that all three leads are flawed in their own ways and don’t always do the right thing because that only makes me root for them to correct a mistake and fight on.

Episode 5 recap:

Hanae is preparing dinner in Yuto’s small apartment alone, a clear sign of her settling in as his girlfriend nicely. Yuto comes home and thanks Hanae for reminding him to wear gloves because it was chilly out. He places his cold hands on her neck to tease her before grabbing a beer to share.

Hanae sneaks a peek at Yuto sitting down to wait for dinner and thinks to herself that he’s like a god to her, her very own god. She means that in an unattainable sense.

It’s been a few weeks now since Yu resigned as CEO of Sapphirus Trading and the company is now gone from the office building to be replaced by another. The parent company that acquired ir wants to exit the Japan market entirely. So and Ryusei are still hard at work containing the fall out from the abrupt collaboration termination which means plenty of personal apologies and groveling to their own suppliers which are left high and dry.

So takes Ryusei along for yet another personal apology meeting and Boss reminds them both to bow low so that the tops of their heads are visible. So Japanese. Boss salutes them with his tea cup but the team thinks it’s bad luck to use the same toast the Yu did during their intercompany party. Another suggests Boss use a toast from Hawaii since the place holds a special place in his heart so Boss cheers them on with a HipaHipa toast. Ryusei gestures to Boss that he’ll do his best.

Hanae and Yuto are in the storage room sorting samples together and Yuto mentions how Ryusei seems especially energetic lately. Hanae explains that Yu being gone is good news for Ryusei who likes Hitomi since that puts a damper on Hitomi’s pursuit of Yu. Yuto is surprised to hear Ryusei likes Hitomi while Hanae laughs that So has been telling people while asking it be kept a secret but now even the cleaning lady knows.

Yuto wonders how Yu is doing and Hanae thinks he’ll be fine. Yuto pauses before tentatively observing that Yu appears to like Hanae. She acts surprised and quickly denies that is the case but Yuto’s not blind and he sensed it from his few interactions with Yu. Hanae realizes Yuto is jealous and secretly feels giddy that her god is jealous because of her and gives herself a HipaHipa cheer.

Hanae finds Hitomi moping up on the roof as she struggles to let Yu go now that he’s not a bigwig CEO, except Hitomi appears to really have fallen for Yu and doesn’t know what to do.

Hanae recollects that Yu actually helped her a lot from returning her handkerchief to driving her home to giving her the push that got her to take a chance on dating Yuto. She then gets a call from a Tanabe san on the phone and is shocked to pick up and hear that it’s actually Yu.

He’s calling to check in and ask about how the company is dealing with the aftermath of the scuttled deal which he still feels terrible about. Hanae asks what he’s doing and hears that he’s planning his next career project. She’s happy to hear that and Yu wonders if she’s been worried about him all this time? Hanae doesn’t answer and offers to help in whatever way Yu needs. Hanae tries to end the call but Yu rattles her one last time by revealing that Tanabe (the name he used to call) is the name of the girl who embezzeled money that he told her about the first time they met. He hangs up leaving Hanae seething about him always getting the upper hand with her.

Hanae goes to enjoy her favorite curry udon in peace now that she doesn’t have to worry about running into Yu at the restaurant. If Yuto is her god then Yu is definitely her devil out there to torment her. After eating she goes to pay and leaves the cashier holding back laughter at seeing Hanae with a cracked front tooth.

Hanae stands in front of the mirror staring at her gaping tooth while her parents try to contain their giggles. Hanae wonders how she could chip a tooth eating udon and perhaps it’s the devil’s curse (i.e. Yu). Mom suggests a dentist for Hanae to see tomorrow after work while Dad advises Hanae to wear a face mask at work tomorrow lest she distracts all her coworkers from doing their jobs. LOL.

Mom changes the subject to share the news that their Mamoru is in love for the first time. He’s been running into a girl bulldog out on his walks and always gets super excited to see her as he wags his tail and walks circles around her. Hanae squats down to give advice to Mamoru that love is not about looks but is about the heart. She takes off her face mask and smiles broadly to Mamoru.

Hanae is sitting in the dentist chair with her mouth wide open when the dental technician walks over and removes her face mask to greet Hanae. It’s young and cute Hirono (from the restaurant) who wonders if Yuto recommended Hanae to this dental office. Hanae explains that it’s her mom.

After the procedure, Hirono is uber friendly and asks to walk home with Hanae and along the way talk turns to boyfriends. Hirono asks if Hanae has a boyfriend and is envious that Hanae has one. Hanae figures Hirono likes a boy but hasn’t gotten anywhere so she pulls up what Yu said to her and encourages Hirono to confess to the guy and go for it.

Hirono is so moved by Hanae’s encouragement and hints that Hanae knows the guy she likes. Hanae racks her brains and the only two guys they know in common are Tanokura Yuto and Mushi san who runs the restaurant. Hanae is about to ask if Hirono likes Mushi san when Hirono blurts out that she likes Yuto. Poor Hanae wonders if Mushi san’s first name is also Yuto, LOL, but of course it’s not. Not surprising that Hirono likes Hanae’s own very young boyfriend. Hanae’s mental “OH MY GOD” freak out when she hears Yuto’s name kills me.

Hirono asks for Hanae’s phone number so she can contact her to discuss more about this crush. Hanae awkwardly agrees and pulls out her old school flip phone. Hirono is surprised Hanae doesn’t have a smart phone and goes to enter her number manually. Hanae stares at Hirono and thinks to herself that she’s met her first love rival.

Hanae is flipping through smart phone selections in a magazine at work when So sticks his head in curious about why Hanae suddenly wants to upgrade to a smart phone. Boss chimes in that he not only still uses a flip phone, he doesn’t even know how to record a DVD.

Hanae gets a text from Hirono asking what Yuto’s lady situation is, i.e. are there a lot of women milling around him? Hanae reads the text and realizes that Hirono is going for it with Yuto and sending such direct texts to Hanae despite their two brief interactions so far. She thinks Hirono doesn’t even suspect that Hanae is Yuto’s girlfriend.

Hanae sits in the lunch room and wonders if she has a winning chance going up against a 21 year old. Her coworkers are playing Japanese chess and Hanae imagines that the pieces describe her and Hirono. She’s a dowdy dull 30 year old while Hirono is a fresh and energetic 21 year old. Hanae dives into a fantasy chess match opposite Hirono with So as their judge.

Hanae makes the first move as “down to earth” and Hirono takes her piece using “cute”. Ryusei and Hitomi are the announcers calling the game and both think Hanae doesn’t stand a chance against Hirono’s youthful appealing strategy. Hitomi gasps to see that Hanae’s “spare key to the apartment” has just been taken by Hirono. Ryusei sighs and hopes that loss won’t become Hanae’s downfall.

Hanae’s “flip phone” loses to Hirono’s “smart phone” and her “worked 7 years” also loses to “having a professional skill”. Both fan themselves and even their fans read their strategy as Hanae’s says “down to earth and sincere” while Hirono’s says “fresh faced appeal”. Eventually Hirono takes almost all of Hanae’s pieces until she’s left with only two pieces “Hanae” and “Mamoru”. Hirono checkmates Hanae with her trump piece “young” and Hanae concedes defeat. Hanae snaps out of her fantasy when her chess playing coworkers invite her to join them since they all use flip phones as well. Ha!

Yuto and Hanae are having dinner at Mushi’s restaurant and talk turns to Hirono. Mushi explains she quit her job at the restaurant to work at her family’s dental clinic. Yuto hear about that the last time he saw her at a family restaurant and explains they met so she could return the CD to him but he didn’t eat with her. Mushi knows that Hanae has every reason to feel worried since it’s clear that Hirono likes Yuto.

Yuto confidently states that he only likes Hanae which is when she finally reveals that she ran into Hirono recently at the dental clinic. Yuto hears that Hanae didn’t tell Hirono that they are dating and asks why not? Hanae couldn’t bring herself to say it and Mushi understands since it would be very crushing to Hirono. Yuto offers to tell Hirono himself and takes out his phone but Hanae stops him and plans to tell Hirono tomorrow when she goes back to the dental clinic.

Hanae is sitting in the dentist’s chair as Hirono offers advice on bleeding gums when she brushes her teeth and explains it’s due to getting older. That makes Hanae feel awkward again and she still can’t tell Hirono that Yuto is her boyfriend. Hirono apologizes for sending the text earlier to ask about Yuto and then asks to have dinner tonight with Hanae to talk.

Hirono tells Hanae that she’s feeling more and more despondent about her crush on Yuto. Hanae tries to interject and tell her the truth but Hirono continues and explains that she may be idealizing Yuto. Hanae ends up sharing insights on Yuto’s personality that may not be perfect such as his voice is too deep for someone so young. Hirono loves Yuto’s deep voice which she finds very sexy. Hanae says Yuto sends dull texts and responds like a robot.

Even hearing flaws about Yuto, Hirono doesn’t think she can ever dislike Yuto because he’s her first love. She’s never liked a guy before and is still a virgin. Yuto is the first guy she’s ever liked and she waited all this time so wants her first time to be with a guy she really likes. Hanae notices that Hirono is tearing up and ends up not telling her the truth still.

Hanae sits beside Mamoru later that night and feels like she doesn’t have a right to destroy Hirono’s hopes in her first love.

The gang from the office are having dinner together and Hitomi declares she’s totally over Yu. Now drunk and girly Samejima agrees that he’s over Yu too and suggests to Hitomi that there are great guys in their own office. Hitomi doesn’t think so but So takes the idea and asks who Hitomi would pick among the four guys sitting at the table.

Hitomi would pick Ryusei because he’s cute enough and she likes guys that she can’t read very easily. The other guys wonder if a new couple is about to be born within the company and So is all for it. Talk turns to So’s mysterious romance life since he’s always getting involved in other people’s business but never talks about himself. So thinks there is nothing to talk about and leads the group in a HipaHipa toast whole Ryusei shoots nervous glances at a bored Hitomi.

Hanae is at Mushi’s restaurant first waiting for Yuto to arrive after he runs an errand at school. Hanae uses the alone time to tell Mushi that she hasn’t told Hirono the truth yet because she just couldn’t bring herself to say it and shatter a girl’s dreamy first love. Mushi understands that Hanae has been put in a tough spot. Hirono suddenly arrives at the restaurant to dine and sits down next to Hanae when she asks Hanae if she’s dining alone and Hanae can’t say she’s waiting for Yuto.

Hirono reveals she came hoping to run into Yuto since that would be fated which freaks Hanae out since that fate is coming right now. Mushi tries to help by telling Hirono that Yuto didn’t make a reservation tonight but Hirono knows that Yuto never makes a reservation when he comes by. Hanae ducks out to call Yuto and tell him that she’s leaving the restaurant because she doesn’t feel well. Yuto walks into the restaurant right at that moment and asks if Hanae is okay? Hanae isn’t okay but can’t say more when Hirono walks out and spots Yuto. She pulls him inside and Hanae follows trying to hint at Yuto not to say anything. Mushi tries to help but asking Yuto to run an errand for him but Hirono offers to do it so that gets her out of the restaurant.

Hanae can’t openly tell Yuto that she still didn’t tell Hirono that they are dating so Mushi yells at Yuto for being so dense and not reading all the signs. He blurts out that Hanae didn’t tell Hirono they are dating! Turns out Hirono came back for some reason and heard the conversation. Hirono asks Yuto directly if he’s dating Hanae?

Yuto confirms it while Hanae apologizes to Hirono for not telling her earlier. She’s crestfallen and upset, asking if Hanae has been messing with her on purpose all this time?

Hirono runs out of the restaurant and Hanae runs after her. Hirono stops and apologizes to Hanae for bothering her all this time. She manages to wish Hanae and Yuto happiness before walking away crying.

Back at his place, Yuto asks Hanae why she didn’t tell Hirono? Hanae explains that Yuto is Hirono’s first love and she couldn’t bring herself to break her heart. Yuto thinks it’s even more important to end things as early as possible and he finds the silent consideration on Hanae’s part even more cruel and hurtful. Hanae feels like Yuto won’t understand how people like them feel since he’s dated so many girls.

Yuto thinks she just wants to play the nice guy and doesn’t view him as important whereas she’s very important to him. Hanae has no answer for that and gets up to leave which is when Yuto asks that they not see each other for a bit because he wants space to figure things out. Hanae silently accepts that and goes home to cry while staring at her Yuto ducks on the table.

Things are professional but awkwardly chilly between Hanae and Yuto at work during their “take a break.” Dude Yuto, if you’ve ever watched Friends then you should know that anything can happen when a couple “takes a break”.

Hanae takes Mamoru out for a night walk and encounters his crush. But poor Mamoru gets his heart broken when his crush daintily trots over to greet another male bulldog. Mamoru lays down dejectedly on the street while Hanae tries to cheer him up by telling him that she’s here for him.

Hanae goes home and finds Ichika visiting so her daughter can show Dad how to use a smart phone.

Hanae pulls Ichika into her room to brief her on the fight with Yuto over how she handled Hirono. Hanae thinks she made her god angry at her because she couldn’t tell him the real reason she was so loath to hurt Hirono. It was because Hirono reminded Hanae of herself ten years ago. Ichika understands but advises Hanae that she can’t have any sympathy for her love rival.

Hanae pouts that even Ichika doesn’t understand how she feels. Ichika gets fed up with Hanae and tells her that she needs some space to think (what Yuto said). Hanae immediately wheedles Ichika not to abandon her which leads Ichika to point out that all Hanae needed to do was act cute with Yuto and beg for understanding and all would have been well. Too bad Hanae can’t do that with Yuto and if she could then she wouldn’t need to get advice from Ichika. I so love their friendship!

Hanae is at work early per usual when her phone rings with a call from Yu. He needs her help on a problem he’s having at work. He reminds her that she offered to help and will pick her up tomorrow at noon outside her home. Hanae doesn’t like how he just decides things so Yu asks if she has plans tomorrow. Hanae doesn’t so Yu thanks her in advance for helping him.

Boss gets a huge PO to buy all the rare walnuts they sourced for the collaboration with Yu’s company. The guy explains that Yu begged him to buy the walnuts and not leave Hanae’s company high and dry. He agreed because the walnuts are good quality and he can use it in his new dishes. Plus Yu offered to pay for some of it which goes to show what a responsible guy he is. Hitomi looks totally crestfallen to hear news of Yu.

So and Ryusei are taking a whiz together and So pushes Ryusei to confess his feelings to Hitomi tonight. Ryusei doesn’t want to, Hitomi is the unattainable flower to him and he can tell Hitomi still likes Yu because her face changes anytime she hears his name. So encourages him not to lose this chance because he might not get another.

So and Ryusei go back to the bar where Hitomi is waiting and So tries to take his leave while pushing Ryusei to confess. Ryusei can’t confess and asks So to stay and have a drink with them. So reluctantly sits down and Hitomi brings up how she dislikes men who can say things about others but can’t bring himself to say what’s important. She thinks that type of guy is just a coward and gives Ryusei the side-eye. Ryusei gets up to leave but Hitomi tells him to stay and walks out.

So sits a dejected Ryusei down and tells him not to worry as he’ll help him find another strategy. Ryusei wonders why So is so helpful in trying to get him to win Hitomi’s heart? So claims he’s the senpai at work which is why he wants to help.

Dad is trying to train Mamoru to sit down but all Mamoru does is lay flat on the ground. Hanae waits outside her house for Yu and nervously makes sure no one comes out to see her leaving with him. Yu pulls up and honks the horn for Hanae and she quickly gets into his car.

Hanae demands to know where Yu is taking her and presses until he explains that they are going to a sausage factory run by a reclusive and suspicious couple. He wants Hanae to pretend to be his wife and showing up as a couple will make the owners less wary. Hanae wonders why he picked her out of all the females he knows and Yu explains she is the ideal fake wife.

Hanae thinks he’s insulting her as totally dowdy. Yu explains it better as she’s very down to earth and has a maturity that’s older than her age. Hanae thinks he’s still insulting her and can’t believe that he’s still so biting even though he’s not a CEO anymore. Yu laments that it’s hard to change a personality. Hanae is peeved that she worried about him for nothing which gets Yu to ask if she really was worried about him?

Yu and Hanae arrive at the small sausage factory and go inside to meet with the laconic proprietor and his wife. They sample the sausages and Hanae is immediately wowed by the flavor. Yu explains that he was hoping to find just the right products for the dream restaurant he wants to open with his wife. Hanae doesn’t get the cue when Yu says “wife” and he has to playfully pat her on the back before she goes overboard and starts gushing about the food and calling Yu “honey”.

Hanae is so nervous when she’s playacting that she overcompensates and chatters on and on about how the sausages might become their signature item in the restaurant. That totally gets Yu to smile especially at the very old-fashioned phrases coming from “fake wife” Hanae.

After touring the factory, Yu teases Hanae that she needn’t have acted so vigorously in the role nor did she have to pick such an old school wife trope to mimic. Doesn’t she know they are in the 21st century? That gets Hanae’s goat up and she storms off and Yu has to go pull her back and explain to the proprietor that they are just having a couple tiff. Hanae quickly goes back into fake wife character before shooting Yu a dirty look.

After bidding farewell to the factory owners, Yu asks Hanae for a bit more of her time as he wants to stop elsewhere first before heading back.

Yuto is at home and gets called out by a guy friend. Yuto arrives at a college friends dinner gathering and finds Hirono sitting in the group. He sits down next to Hirono and the group shares a toast while Hirono sneaks glances at Yuto.

Yu takes Hanae to a bluff overlooking the ocean and walks to the edge to sit down and stare out at the water. Hanae asks if he’s waiting for someone? Yu points out the obvious that he’s admiring the sunset and Hanae’s shocked that this isn’t a work-related pit stop.

Yu quietly thanks Hanae for helping him today and she demurs until he explains how much she really helped him unrelated to the sausage factory. He is thanking her because it’s been a long time since he laughed and she made him laugh today. He really is grateful that she agreed to come with him today.

Hanae sits down as well and compliments Yu on pulling through the rough patch on his own talents. She then gets a text from Hirono saying that she’s with Yuto right now and for Hanae not to be upset at her. Hanae immediately stands up and tells Yu that she needs to go back now.

Yu is looking all around as they walk back to the car and stands in front of it looking sheepish before telling Hanae that he lost the car keys. Hanae can’t believe it and tries to open all the car doors only to find it locked. Yu says “don’t expect to get back tonight” before apologizing. Dun dun dun.

Thoughts of Mine:

Even though I’ve read the manga and the ending scene here is one of the few original plot points that’s made its way into the drama adaptation, I still squealed like a stuck pig because seeing Yu and Hanae standing there against the sunset just took my breath away. It’s so wrong for Tamaki and Ayase to be this gorgeous together and have enough chemistry to power their own generator, and yet to ask the audience not to automatically root for them to populate the earth with their perfect progeny. I’m glad Yu and Hanae are spending time together regardless of what Hanae’s current relationship status is with Yuto. I don’t see them doing anything that crosses the line especially since Hanae offered to help Yu as a friend and he is merely accepting the offer. Whether or not he purposely “lost” those car keys (and we’ll see in the next episode) is a different story, and one where he’s going to have to man up to either wanting to snatch Hanae away from Yu or merely remain as platonic friends with her despite all signs that he’s really falling for her. I’ve always loved Yu’s straight talking and I want him to stay that way because that’s the personality pulling out every bit of fire from Hanae.

I love sweet Hanae but there is more than meets the eye with her. She’s not docile and meek by nature, she’s just been educated and raised by very well-mannered and exacting parents to restrain her behavior at all times to prim and proper. It’s so ingrained now that it is part of her personality, but only Yu manages to rile her up so she talks back, snaps back, and orders him around. She doesn’t take any shit from him, whereas I feel like she takes everything Yuto dishes out without ever rebutting him. Pretty young Hirono pops back into the picture and throws Hanae for a tizzy, turning her once again into the conflict adverse nice person. But then that isn’t really Hanae at all, that’s just Hanae in love when she’s feeling confused and insecure.

Yuto picked a fight with Hanae for the stupidest reason. I totally get why he’s annoyed with her because who the heck doesn’t just tell Hirono that the object of her crush currently has a girlfriend. But that’s the very soft-hearted aspect of Hanae that Yuto fell for so I’m not sure why he’s feels so aggrieved and doesn’t understand why she would do such a hare-brained thing. I don’t like his assumption that she didn’t tell Hirono because he’s not that important to Hanae. Not everything is about YOU, m’boy. I don’t agree with what Hanae did and would never do it, but Hanae has her own hang ups and reasons and I felt Yuto didn’t even try to understand where she’s coming from before judging that she just wanted to be the nice guy all the time.

This episode had so much great conflict and narrative movement it strikes me how quickly times flies yet how much happens. Best part is the situations are not ridiculous and the problems simple life and personalities differences butting heads. I understand where all the characters are coming from even if none of them are personally relatable to me. Even the side stories continue to be nicely fleshed out. I’m more and more curious why So is the office gossip and why he’s so keen on bringing Ryusei and Hitomi together. Hitomi’s sadness over Yu shows her depth, that she does have real feelings even if she calculates romance and marriage like picking a car. I think Yu’s heart wants a Hanae but his life probably would be better off with a Hitomi. While the earlier episodes made Yuto and Hanae seem like a far-fetched pairing that had undefined potential, this episode suddenly flipped things for me and showed me that Hanae might want to consider a man that challenges her and gives her free rein to be herself at all times.