Gomen for the delay on the episode 6 recap for Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu. It’s not for a drop in quality or dropping the recaps, with the holiday season descending, and revving up, my posting schedule will be less consistent. Episode 6 continues to be uproarious and sweet with the arrival of the infamous shouja manga stable the Kabedon (wall press) as well as Hanae and Mamoru reenacting the orphan in the snow classic scene. It also picks up right where the awesome episode 5 left off, the moment when Hanae finds herself stuck in some random boondock locale with Yu, a car, and no car keys.

The story subverts and doesn’t act on all the rawr potential and viewer swooning over Hanae’s opportunity for alone time with smoldering Yu since one-track minded Hanae can’t wait to go back to her placid boy toy Yuto. Usually the older man option is the stable and secure one Hanae actually reverses the situation and it’s Yu who leaves her frazzled. That’s why I love her and Yu so much, every time they are together there is so much rat-a-tat-tat back and forth, the stuff that makes me think two people are learning about each other while growing at the same time from the difference in viewpoints.

Episode 6 recap:

Hanae is haranguing Yu as they walk to the nearest town to get some help. She keeps asking how long until they reach their destination and finds his calm “ten more minutes” reply infuriating because he said the same thing ten minutes ago! She also can’t believe someone like him could lose his car keys and he teases back that even he has flaws and that just happens to be the flaw. LOL. I love how she is soooo outspoken towards him now contrast to the way she shrank back when they first met.

Hanae thinks Yu has way more flaws and he’s game to hear her list it out. Hanae just wants him to sincerely apologize to her and doesn’t accept that he did it already since his first apology was so cavalier. She thinks his apology should be solemn and his flippant attitude upsets her. Yu believes his attitude is a positive trait because it means he can move on easily. Hanae is ready to ignore him forever until he drops one last bombshell: it’s already too late for her to call a cab to the nearest train station in time to catch the last train. Ooops. Yu’s Cheshire grin is so naughty.

Hanae calls her parents to explain she’s staying out tonight and Mom naturally assumes she’s staying with boyfriend Yuto and Hanae doesn’t explain otherwise. Dad perks up a bit to hear that and Mom notices even though Dad claims he’s not bothered by it whatsoever.

Yu and Hanae are seeking refuge at a café and she’s giving him the silent treatment. Yu patiently tries to engage Hanae still and asks if she’s worried that her boyfriend is waiting for her. Hanae admits they are “on a break” and Yu immediately asks who asked for the break. Is it him? If so then the situation isn’t looking so good now. A call from the rental car company cuts short what Yu wants to say and he informs Hanae that the spare key is being delivered so he can drop Hanae back home tonight. Hanae’s surprised and Yu teases her not to let her mind wander. Heh.

Drunken Hirono makes the moves on Yu and declares she likes him and wants him to pick her. Yuto stares at Hirono and we don’t hear what he says to her confession.

Yu gets the spare key by the car and counsels Hanae to stop worrying so much. Hanae can’t help but worry since the other girl is young and pretty, plus her boyfriend is so much younger than her. Yu wonders if the boyfriend would worry if he knew Hanae went to the beach with Yu? Hanae plans to come clean with Yuto and explain that she was just helping out Yu as a friend.

Yu gives Hanae a final bit of friendly advice – not to always assume full explanations are an expression of love. He concedes this is Hanae’s positive trait but she needed to be frank all the time, her approach needs to be adjusted depending on the person. The way Hanae is acting right now is being too cluelessly transparent.

On the drive home, Yu takes in Hanae’s silence as her being mad at him for what he said earlier. Hanae claims she’s not mad and is just thinking. Yu points out that being a friend is giving helpful advice but Hanae doesn’t see them as friends. Yu wonders how she sees them then? Hanae sees them like a moneky and a dog, completely incompatible like fire and water. Yu claims he’s never seen Hanae as a monkey which gets her goat up and she barks back that she’s the dog and he’s the monkey! Ahahaha.

Yu teases that the dog is clearly the cuter animal but Hanae didn’t the pick the dog for that reason. There are dogs out there that isn’t built on selling its cuteness, and the camera cuts away to Mamoru sleeping in his doghouse soundly snoring.

Yu pulls up to Hanae’s house and finds her fast asleep in the passenger seat. He smiles and unbuckles his seat belt to adjust his own seat and let her keeping on sleeping. Eventually Hanae wakes up and Yu apologizes again for the long day out all at his expense. Hanae wishes his new endeavor well while Yu returns the hopes that she can progress smoothly with her boyfriend. Hanae scrambles out of Yu’s car as he says goodnight one last time before driving off.

Hanae tries to sneak into the house but Mom hears her and is surprised she’s back. Mother-daughter sit down for late night tea and a gab session with Mom wanting to hear why Hanae and Yuto are fighting. Hanae thinks they are on the verge of breaking up which makes Mom laugh as she explains fighting is normal for couples.

Mom shares a story of getting mad at Dad when they were dating and she found a love letter a crush sent him. She gave him the silent treatment for a long time until they made up. Hanae is surprised Dad was so popular in his youth while Mom laughs that some women have strange taste. Hanae points out the woman with the strangest taste in men would be Mom herself. That gets a laugh out of Mom while Dad has come out of the bedroom to hear this conversation and grumbles angrily at being the butt of the joke. This family is so wonderful! Mom tells Hanae to look for a sign if things really are over and until then don’t worry too much.

Hanae washes up and wonders how long the break is supposed to last since Yuto didn’t get into specifics? Does it also mean no talking on the phone or texting each other? She really doesn’t know how to read his signs. Suddenly one little duckling breaks from the trio of stuffed ducks Yuto got for her and Hanae takes that as a bad sign.

Hanae is at work and the look for signs advice Mom gave her is at the front of her mind. She knows that Yuto gave her a spare key and visited the parents already so he’s clearly serious but what if he’s now ready to move on? So far she hasn’t seen any signs from him other than he’s wearing new shoes today.

Boss confirms with So that all their walnuts have been resold as Yu helped a lot to find out buyers. Poor Ryusei is spaced out and Hitomi finds in the printer job search print outs indicating Ryusei is looking for a new job. Hitomi isn’t even sad at the prospect of Ryusei leaving which further demoralizes him. Boss whispers to So to placate Ryusei and not let him leave.

So enlists Yuto’s help to counsel Ryusei on his lady woes and admits he sometimes doesn’t know how to advise Ryusei as talking with him is like navigating a maze. Yuto suggests that it’s even more confusing to talk with So.

The guy trio sit down to a lunch and So immediately squirts an entire bottle’s worth of ketchup over his plate of omurice. Yuto’s silent spit-take reaction is priceless.

So then launches right into advising Ryusei in how to win Hitomi’s heart. Since she doesn’t like guys who run away then he just needs to be direct with her next time. Ryusei doesn’t know what action would be direct and So suggests he do the Kabedon, an infamous shoujo manga leading man staple wherein he pins the woman against the wall in a manly display of ardor. Kabe means wall and Don is the sound of someone hitting a hard surface.

Yuto’s slight grimace to hearing of the Kabedon is once again precious since he did just that to Hanae at the end of episode 1 in the elevator and clearly he remembers it. So demonstrates the technique of the Kabedon using a mayonnaise bottle, a ketchup bottle, and a coaster and claims the Kabedon is the favorite of all the Japanese ladies. Ryusei isn’t that easily sold and sneers that the Kabedon only works for handsome fellers like Yuto.

Yuto finally gives some useful advice and suggests Ryusei convey how his heart really feels towards Hitomi, that’s what is most important. That riles up Ryusei who thinks Yuto is so confident because he’s never failed in love before, all his romantic memories must be positive ones. Yuto admits he’s currently in a romantic quandary and Ryusei makes derpy disbelieving faces at him even as Yuto insists he’s telling the truth.

Hanae goes back to the office after lunch and sees apartment searching print outs on Yuto’s desk. She freaks out that this is the sign she’s been waiting for, and it’s a sign that Yuto is moving and soon her spare key won’t even work anymore. So and Hanae are cleaning up the conference room and talk turns to Yu’s great help in cleaning up the mess left by the scuttled collaboration. So reveals he just talked on the phone with Yu who is doing well and planning to open an Italian restaurant. Hanae doesn’t reveal she saw Yu recently and just says that she’s happy to hear he’s doing fine.

Hanae finds Ryusei arguing with Yuto over how many boxes to carry at a time to the storage room, with Ryusei upset that Yuto is using his young body to make him look bad over how many boxes he can carry. Yuto sighs that this is the inexplicable confusion that talking to Ryusei can lead to.

So sees Ryusei and Yuto leaving the office and goes to gossip with Hanae that Hitomi gave Ryusei the hand and Yuto is also dealing with love woes in his own relationship. That’s news to Hanae and she gets up to go behind So’s desk to access the copy machine. So claims he told Yuto to get a new girlfriend if the current one is giving him so much of a headache. Hanae makes angry faces behind So’s head for the way he’s inadvertently undermining her.

Hanae wants to know what Yuto said to that advice and hears he just smiled and said nothing. Hanae thinks Yuto likes the advice and is ready to accept Hirono. That’s why he wore new shoes today and is looking for a new apartment, he wants a new start.

Hanae goes up to the rooftop garden and scurries back inside when she sees Yuto standing there. She thinks he’s going to say the same thing to her as he said on the phone to the ex-girlfriend in episode one. We hear her fantasize that Yuto is breaking up with her and telling her to move on and stop thinking about romance all the time.

Hanae then fantasizes that all the men in the office are congratulating Yuto on getting married. When asked who his future bride is, Yuto smiles and says her name is Hirono chan! The guys whistle their approval and want to throw a wedding party for Yuto and suggest Hanae plan it since she’s so capable.

Hanae runs out of the office and the scenes turns all snowy and dark as Hanae and Mamoru stare up at a hilarious wedding picture of Yuto and Hirono. Hanae dramatically whimpers to Mamoru that she’s so tired and cold and leans on his shoulder.

Mamoru walks over to nuzzle Hanae but she can’t walk him anymore. Suddenly the pink scrunchie shows up on Mamoru’s head and then he tries to shake hands with her but she can’t shake anymore either.

Hanae wakes up from her ridiculous fantasy as her two other coworkers head up to the roof to practice their golf swings. Hanae sneaks out to the roof behind them to do her watering all the while avoiding Yuto who gets dragged by the guys to practice golf with them and doesn’t get a chance to talk to Hanae.

Ryusei ends up alone in the same elevator as Hitomi after work and he gets up his courage to ask her directly out on a date. He gets shot down immediately but he’s not ready to call it quits and unleashes an absurd Kabedon on Hitomi.

Hitomi is unimpressed and saunters out of the elevator. She turns back to ask what exactly Ryusei is doing? He doesn’t know either so she warns him to stop otherwise she’ll report him to Boss.

So finds Ryusei huddled sadly in the elevator and rushes inside to ask what happened. Ryusei angrily Kabedon’s So against the wall which is when the door opens the girly Shigeshima looks on in shock at the guy-on-guy action. LOL.

Hanae is back at the same arcade armed with coins and a determination to catch the same trio of ducks. If she does then it’s a sign she can make up with Yuto. She fails until she runs out of coins and has to run to the bank to get more change.

When Hanae comes back she discovers the duck toy has been caught from the claw machine by the two little boys who were waiting behind her to play. She tries to buy the duck from them which only leads the boys to run away from the crazy woman. Hanae finally snaps out of it and realizes how ridiculous she’s been acting.

Hanae goes to Mushi san’s restaurant to say her farewells and thank him for being so good to her while she was dating Yuto. She then runs into Hirono who takes her coat and leaves the restaurant without saying a word to Hanae. Mushi invites Hanae to sit down and talk.

Flashback to Hirono propositioning Yuto and wanting to know why he likes Hanae so much? Yuto explains that Hanae is trustworthy and dating him with all her heart. Hirono hugs Yuto and claims she can do the same. Yuto says Hirono’s current behavior isn’t sincere and she’s hurting Hanae. Yuto doesn’t want Hanae hurt.

Mushi asks Hanae to forgive Hirono who admitted to him that she sent a rude text to Hanae. Mushi is certain that nothing is going on with Hirono and Yuto so he doesn’t want to hear any farewells from Hanae. She thanks Mushi san for the support but knows that doesn’t mean she and Yuto are back together yet.

Yuto gets a text from Hirono apologizing for what she did and wishing him well with Hanae going forward. Hanae goes home and sews the fallen duckling back on the string.

Hanae gets a call from Yu thanking her as he’s currently at the sausage factory and the owners are signing a contract with him. He is also calling because the owners asked him to say hi to his “wife”. Yu then asks if Hanae made up with her boyfriend and hears they haven’t. He advises Hanae to consider that maybe her boyfriend wants to make up but doesn’t know how to take back what he said. Men are prideful like that so Yu suggests Hanae take the initiative. Hanae doesn’t have the opportunity since the office is full of people so Yu wonders if there is another way. That gives Hanae a great idea.

Yu goes back inside and his friend wonders who he was talking to? Yu describes Hanae as a friend but his friend thinks Yu is clearly interested in her. Yu admits he did try to pursue her before but not anymore. Now he’s just regular friends with her though he does worry about her.

Hitomi has dinner with her friends to celebrate yet another one getting married. Her friends think Hitomi is next but she reveals the CEO left the company and is not available anymore. But now she’s not the one doing the pursuing as someone is pursuing her for a change. Her friends suggest she enjoy this swapped experience for the time being. Hitomi smiles as if she is secretly liking Ryusei’s pursuit.

Ryusei has decided to tune out So from now on because his advice is always a failure. So then invites Yuto out to lunch so Ryusei once again joins to hear what Yuto has to say. So continues his ketchup attack on his food while revealing that Ryusei tried the Kabedon yesterday on Hitomi resulting in an epic fail. Yuto knows that Ryusei appears very complicated but is actually quite sincere and straightforward and that’s quite admirable.

On the walk back to the office, So thinks Ryusei and Hanae are quite similar. Neither share what they really think but appear to work secretly behind the scenes. Ryusei doesn’t think he’s as good inside as Hanae. So admits that years ago at a company retreat Boss got lost and Hanae looked for him the most earnestly. Later Boss was found and the bus took off only to discover that Hanae was still looking for him so wasn’t back on the bus yet. Ryusei knew a classmate like Hanae back in school who got in trouble for cleaning the classroom too well and leaving other students slacking off.

Hanae leaves a post it note for Yuto that she’s waiting for him after work on the rooftop. The post it is left on a PO that So picks up from Yuto before he has a chance to read it. Ryusei is the one who reads the note after the PO ends up in his ends.

Hanae doesn’t know what to say to Ryusei who takes the opportunity to ask how Hanae has a boyfriend? He thinks they are quite similar in being the type that doesn’t get others interested in them. He also likes growing plants like Hanae does because the plants need people like them. Hanae claims she’s nothing like Ryusei but then he shows her the row of plants in his balcony.

Ryusei admits he’s someone who doesn’t have lasting patience and usually leaves a place or activity after a few months. He thought he would leave this company as well but doesn’t know why he’s still here? Hanae knows it’s because of Hitomi and Ryusei is surprised Hanae knows about his crush. Hanae tells him that even the cleaning lady knows.

Ryusei sadly admits that Hitomi totally rejected him already and asks Hanae for advice on how to get over a broken heart. Hanae thinks to herself that she doesn’t have the experience to advise him but tries anyway. Hanae tells Ryusei that she also wants to give up when things get tough but when she realizes she can’t let something go then she gives up on the idea of giving up so she can keep going forward. Ryusei doesn’t see any hope with Hitomi but Hanae believes it’s too early to tell and if he doesn’t continue then he will never get the final answer. He needs to pass through door after door to get to next stage. Ryusei bows low as thanks to Hanae for her advice.

Hanae thinks to herself that she also can’t handle her own situation so what right does she have to give advice to Ryusei. She’s currently standing at the gate unable to cross over herself. Hanae goes to Yuto’s apartment and rings the doorbell. When there is no answer she uses her spare key to go inside and wait for him.

When Yuto comes back, Hanae apologizes to Yuto for coming inside so rudely but asks that he listen first to what she has to say. She apologizes for causing a problem with her clueless way of handling Hirono. Even though they’ve only dated for a short period of time, this is the first time they have differing points of view. It’s also the first time she’s experienced the pain of being apart and not talking. It’s led to her reevaluating herself and she’s come to the conclusion that she wants to start dating him again.

Yuto silently takes in everything Hanae says and then he bows really low all the way to the ground to apologize to Hanae for his fault in the fight. He got upset over how she handled Hirono and said things in anger, but he just wanted her to understand how it made him feel. Yuto then shows Hanae the print outs of his apartment hunting and reveals that he wants to live with her going forward. He’s lease is almost up and he wants to live with Hanae so going forward they don’t have the option of taking a break anymore.

Hanae can’t give him an answer about living together so quickly but she’s so happy that he asked. Yuto tells her to take as long as she needs to consider it. He then flops on the bed so relieved after thinking that she came today to break up with him. He saw the way she avoided him on the roof that day even though he was waiting for her to apologize and ask her to live with him. He totally though she didn’t like him anymore. Hanae smiles to realize that Yuto was as worried as she was during their break.

Hanae is blow drying her hair after taking a shower and happily wearing Yuto’s shirt. He comes out shirtless and offers her a beer before putting his head in front of her to sweetly ask for a blow dry as well. Hanae kneels behind Yuto to blow dry his hair and the two are all smiles towards each other.

Ryusei runs into Hitomi in the elevator going to work. When they are alone he gets up his courage to ask her out on a date again. This time she pauses a few seconds before turning him down. Ryusei then goes up to the roof all happy to share the news with Hanae and give her one of his potted plants as a present. He’s ready to keep pursuing Hitomi because she seems to be less and less adverse to his pursuit as she took longer to reject him this time.

The elevator door opens and Yu walks out and heads into the office, passing Yuto in the hallway and exchanging pleasantries. The entire office stares as Boss gets up to warmly greet Yu and the two move into the conference room for an unknown business discussion.

Thoughts of Mine:

This dorama continues to be so good I can’t even wrap my mind around the last time Japan really got its act together with a rom-com this cohesively. What makes KwKY a rare beast is how every single supporting character not only has distinctive color and personality, each remain substantively integrated into the narrative with seamless ease. Beyond the romance, the work and home life of Hanae is at times more interesting than which guy she ought to pick. Part of that is probably due to her being firmly on the Yuto ship herself, so much so even Yu isn’t even trying with her anymore. I genuinely get the sense that he’s amused and entertained by her moreso that he actually is falling in love with her. There might be the teensy bit of that due to their crackling chemistry but he’s not someone to be overly swept up in romance over other more urgent matters in his life. I remain firmly shipping his always fascinating conversations and interactions with Hanae, I never know what’s going to happen and as a viewer he is the perfect blend of eye candy and savvy charisma.

The episode didn’t feel slow at all despite it keeping the big make up moment for the very end. That continues to make Yuto and Hanae’s relationship less compelling as a romance and more interesting for how it drives Hanae to change. This is a self-discovery story as much as it’s a romance and perhaps a more intense boyfriend than Yuto would help to elevate the coupling beyond sensible and sweet. After Kabedon-ing Hanae in episode 1, Yuto has turned all kitty without claws around her. Kick it back up a notch, m’boy. She’s 30 years old and deserves some hot and heavy in her first relationship, and surely Yuto has the stamina to keep on delivering the sexy to Hanae. It’s either that or I’m going to have to keep rewatching Yu and Hanae scenes for the sizzle.

I thought the making up was very well reached, both in seeing how Yuto tried initially to patch things to the way Hanae was too scared to even hear him out until finally she got up the courage and determination to direct the course of their relationship. She’s usually so comfortable with Yuto almost like they are an old married couple, which is why their fight in the last episode was so needed to shake things up a bit. They can’t possible see eye to eye but their contentment at an easy relationship is leaving a lot of great discussion untapped. Once again Yu was the catalyst but he doesn’t appear to mind so I’ll not waste any tears for him if he’s content to play the platonic confidante.

I thought Ryusei getting more screen time in this episode was wonderfully wrapped in with Hanae’s own taking a break woes with Yuto. He turns out to be like a snippy version of Hanae and needs plenty of guidance, but his pursuit of Hitomi adds so much amusement to the office I totally dig it. She appears to secretly like it as well so I’m fingers-crossed they end up together. So’s constant advice-giving backfiring on him was uproarious especially when he got the Kabedon smackdown. The way this story develops camaraderie among the coworkers gives me the warm fuzzies to see people who happen to work together be able to share little nuggets of wisdom and insight rather than always be rivals or at odds. I do wonder what’s in store for the second half of now that the story continues to deviate from the manga and will clearly end before the manga is anywhere near finishing. It would have an OTP switch from the manga so that story is Hanae and Yuto while the dorama tries out Hanae and Yu for a chance. Who knows but as long as the quality and laughter remains I’m just content to soak up this rare treat.