Mathematician Yabushita Sayoko-shi Lecture Presentation
21 years ago
"All is number." Those are the words of Pythagoras.
Final Episode
Everything in this world is composed of numbers.
No matter how complex and unorganized something may appear at first,
there's a law of nature that can be applied, and it can be expressed in a mathematical formula.
That's true for our life as well.
Why were you born?
Why are you here?
Who will you meet and who will you fall in love with?
Everything is a mathematical formula and determined by law of nature.
No matter how much you may dislike someone, you'll meet the person you were meant to meet, and
no matter how much you may resist, you'll fall in love with the person you were meant to.
If anyone was to be able to change destiny, that would probably
be only those who are able to solve the mystery of numbers.
In other words, mathematics is a challenge to God.
0 days until Yoriko's birthday
Happy 30th Birthday!
And my sincere condolences.
Your dream has been shattered.
27 28 29 30!
Hello, this is Washio.
Good morning. This is Yoriko.
Good morning.
Is there something?
No. I was just wondering what you were doing today.
Oh... I got called in to work.
- For an important business meeting. - Oh, I see.
I'm sorry. I know it's a precious Sunday.
Sunday...
That's all right. Work is important.
I have to head out to see the client now. I'll talk to you later.
Yes, good luck.
- Hello. - Father? It's me.
Is something wrong?
No.
I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me today.
Oh...sorry.
I promised the guys from the dojo that I'd go drinking with them.
- Next time, okay? - Sure.
Go ahead and ask what's so funny.
Not a single person wants to celebrate your birth...
...Good day.
Good day.
- What are you doing? - I'm riding on the bus.
And you?
I'm out to do some shopping.
My child accidentally peed here. I'm sorry.
Pee...
You can sit here.
Excuse me.
Did you come all this way to buy a book?
This bookstore is well-stocked.
Does that mean you're voluntarily riding a bus to venture into town?
I guess I have no choice but to give up being a hikikomori.
- That's a good thing. - Where are you going?
- I'm going for my leisure activity since it's Sunday. - Leisure?
- Really? What are you going to do? - I'm riding the bus.
- Where are you going? - I'm riding the bus.
I'm asking you where are you going on the bus?
Riding the bus is my leisure activity.
- I like riding the bus. - I didn't know that.
Oh...come to think of it, it's today, isn't it?
- What's today? - Your birthday.
Oh, I had completely forgotten about it.
I just remembered when you mentioned it.
- Happy birthday. - Thank you.
Washio-san was suddenly called in to work today.
- I see. - Naturally,
he was planning to celebrate my birthday, but
it's an extremely important meeting, so it can't be helped.
- Yes, you're right. - However,
a birthday is nothing more than 1 out of 365 days.
I doubt the wisdom of making a big deal out of it.
It's not just any 1 out of 365 days, is it?
I know today's a special day for you.
You made this day your goal and you've been working hard to get married.
But you don't have to take it so hard just because you couldn't achieve it.
- I'm not taking it hard at all. - That's good then...
Since you've been living your life setting up goals and achieving them,
- I thought you might be feeling a sense of failure. - It's your fault!
It's because I wasted my precious time going out with you that I was unable to achieve my goal.
- I just pitied you so... - I am not pitiable.
- I apologize for being so loud. - I'm sorry.
I end up getting emotional before I know it when I'm with you.
I'm normally a rational person.
It's better for you to get a little emotional.
Compared to when we first met, you've become much more human.
Being that you like riding buses, are you also into rails?
- Rails? - Railroad otaku.
No. But in the case of trains, I like the tickets.
- Tickets? - You can do the four basic arithmetic operations with them.
It's a game of using the 4 digits on the ticket.
You add, subtract, divide, and multiply to make it equal 10.
- I've been really good at it since I was a child. - I can imagine.
- Shall I show you something good? - Sure.
- Ponpoko pon~. - Your sound effect is weird.
- When is this from? - 21 years ago.
- "3 4 7 8"? - Can you
add, subtract, divide, and multiply these numbers to equal 10?
- I don't think you can with these. - That's what everyone thinks.
However, there is one solution.
See? Isn't that amazing?
- Why do you have this? - Being a mere child,
I just didn't want to let it go and kept it as my good luck charm.
No, no, that's not what I meant. Isn't it strange that you have this?
You're supposed to give up the ticket. How did you get out of the station?
Now that you mention it, how did I get out?
- This is like cheating on the fare. - I did no such thing.
Please give that back to me.
Gee, what are you doing?
I'll get it.
- What are you going to do if you break my finger? - What are you going to do if you break my nose?
It's because you stepped on my hand... Oh, nose bleed.
Huh? Tissue, give me tissue.
Just a minute. Hang on.
Oh, thank you very much.
I am truly embarrassed to repeatedly cause so much trouble.
You two are very close.
We're not like that.
- We both have other partners. - Oh my.
- You look so good together, I just assumed... - Far from it.
We're extremely incompatible.
We get into fight over anything and we always end up in humiliating situations.
- Like this. - Is that right?
- Then are you happy now? - Yes.
Every day I wonder how love can be so enjoyable.
Love is enjoyable...
Is that really love?
That sounds like child's play.
- Pardon me? - I'm sorry.
That was a strange thing for me to say.
It's just that my love was,
well, it was a terrible thing.
We caused all kinds of trouble and incurred hatred from people around us.
So we ran away together, but we had problems no matter where we went.
All we did was fight day in and day out.
For 45 years, all I felt was misery.
Then my husband passed away 6 months ago.
I thought, now I can finally be at peace...
But
now that I don't have anyone to fight with, I'm much more miserable
It's as if I'm in a neverending hell.
For me,
love is
a very terrifying thing.
Once you step into it, it's an everlasting bottomless pit.
I wonder if anyone ever found happiness by falling in love.
I'm sorry.
For making you listen to my boring life story.
Please forget what I said.
That's right. Life is better when you're having fun.
Even if it's just child's play.
Here you go. Birthday present.
Thank you.
Remember, don't step in there.
Kaori
Hello.
- Takumi-kun, where are you? - I'm on the bus right now.
- Bus? - Oh...to buy a book.
That's bad manners.
Are you with someone?
Yabushita-san.
We just happened to ride on the same bus.
She hung up.
A love like that lady's is not good.
That's the pits.
Love should never be like that.
Although
I do feel sorry for her that she can only think of love as
something that's terrifying and miserable.
She's pitiable, isn't she?
Kaori-san
This is Yabushita. I'm on the bus right now so please keep it short.
What?
- Rumi-san collapsed. - What?!
Hurry!
It's probably nothing major.
What are you saying? Hurry!
Rumi-san!
Perhaps they took her to the hospital.
Yoriko-san! Pull me♥
1 hour ago
Come on in!
- Hello. - Hello.
- Sorry to impose on you. - Thank you for cooperating with us.
Not at all. We all love doing things like this.
I don't think she ever had a birthday celebration like this.
- I'm sure she'll be happy. - But Washio-chan,
don't you really want to celebrate with just the two of you?
I'm sure she'll be happier celebrating with all of you.
You'll celebrate with her tonight, right?
Yes.
- Let us celebrate alone tonight. - No one's gonna get in your way.
- Oh, I'll take that. - Thanks.
- This way please. - Isn't that a bit much?
It's better to go overboard with things like this.
Tsutomu-san's coming today too, right?
He said he's going to be late so go ahead and start without him.
- Where's Takumi-san? - He snuck out somewhere this morning...
- I wonder where he went. - Kaori, try calling him on his cell.
I wonder if he forgot about today.
You know how he doesn't have any sense of date or day of the week.
Every day's a Sunday for him, huh?
Takumi-kun, where are you?
- I'm on the bus right now. - Bus?
- Oh...to buy a book. - That's bad manners.
Are you with someone?
Yabushita-san. We just happened to ride on the same bus.
- What happened? - He said he's with Yoriko-san.
- What?! - Why are Yoriko-san and Takumi-san...
He said they just happened to ride on the same bus.
That idiot, what's he doing?
What shall we do?
Why don't we have Takumi-san figure out a way to deceive Yoriko-san and bring her here...
Takumi doesn't have such advanced acting skills.
Yoriko's surprisingly perceptive too.
What made them ride the bus.
Whenever she has too much time on her hands, she always goes bussing.
I guess she's still bussing.
What's bussing?
- That's what we call it. - Oh...Yoriko-san?
Listen, Rumi-san collapsed at home. Please come right away.
- Good thinking. - That should make both of them come.
The Present
Surprise!
Yoriko-san, happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Knowing that Rumi-san collapsed,
how can you even think about having a birthday party!
- No, no. - That's not it!
- I'm fine, just fine. - You must take it easy.
- Please rest here. - That's not it. I didn't collapse. That was a lie.
- Lie? - Yes.
- That was a lie. - Washio-san.
- What happened to your important meeting? - There's no meeting. It's his day off.
- Father, what about your drinking party? - There's no drinking party either.
What it means is we all deceived you.
- W-who are you? - It's me, Sotaro.
You deceived me?
Washio-kun wanted all of us to celebrate your birthday, so
we tried to surprise you.
Washio-san, everyone...
I'm terribly sorry I couldn't give you the reaction you anticipated.
- No problem, no problem. - Say, Yoriko,
the candles are dripping all over the place.
- Happy birthday! - Happy birthday!
Thank you! Thank you!
- Cooked just right. - Washio-chan, Washio-chan.
- Get me a drink. - It's done. It's done.
- Sotaro-san, go ahead and eat. - Thanks.
Well then, Yoriko-chan, here's my present to you.
The name of the song is "Cheers to the Miracle Called Loved."
Don't do it.
- That was better than I expected. - That was good.
It was filled with emotion, wasn't it?
Of course he'd be emotional.
- Since a miracle happened to himself. - Quit it.
- Did something happen? - No...
It's nothing major, but
my wife and I, who were on the brink of getting a divorce, met yesterday and had a talk.
And, well, we decided to give it another try.
- For real?! - We're going on a date tonight after this.
- Congratulations. - No...
I owe it all to you guys!
Yoriko-chan, Washio, Takumi, Kaori...
watching you all working so hard to be in love,
I thought I should too.
Thanks, guys!
Since I have this opportunity, there's something I want to tell Yoriko too.
- What is it? - Actually, it's probably not appropriate to tell you here.
- Go ahead. - It's not something I should tell you here.
Fine, don't tell me.
- Maybe I should tell you here. - Hurry up and tell me then!
The thing is...my superior at work has been urging me to go on a marriage meeting.
- Marriage meeting? - Of course, I had no intention of going at all.
But I'm like Sotaro-kun too.
Seeing you and Washio-kun looking so happy,
Takumi-kun and Kaori-san, Rumi-san and Tsutomu-san's wedding...
when I saw all that...
little by little, I started changing my mind.
What is your partner like?
She's the nurse at the place I get my physical checkup every year.
Her husband had passed away...
But...there's a slight problem...
What?
She's 25 years younger than me.
I think she's too young for me.
How does she feel about you?
For some reason, she's interested.
The only thing is, she's too young.
You must have mixed feelings too, so
I'm feeling tormented.
You don't look like you're tormented.
- I'm okay with it. - Really?
If it's with someone who has a liking for you, I can't ask for more.
If you say so, maybe I will.
But she's so young~!
Then while we're at it, maybe I'll make an announcement too.
- What is it? - Yoriko-san,
remember what you told my husband at our wedding?
I don't think you failed
in the way you educated Takumi-san.
Because of that,
he decided to work in the field of education again, and
went to show the manuscripts he had saved to an old friend at a publishing company.
I thought I'd be told how dare you show up now, but
to my surprise, he gave me high praise.
He even told me to finish it up quickly... I guess I have to do it now.
So I'm planning to help out with my husband's work.
I'm thinking maybe we can work together again.
That's just wonderful.
It's all thanks to Yoriko-san.
Then going with the flow, I have an announcement too.
Since Rumi-san decided to move on,
we'll be taking over the art class completely.
- "We" as in? - Me and...
You two?!
Well, tentatively, I'm the manager.
But if I'm going to do it anyway,
I figured I might as well come up with something more interesting and...
Among the graduates of the class,
there's quite a few of them who are active artists.
So I'm thinking about gathering those guys and setting up something like
a management company to strategically promote them.
- If... - Taniguchi-san...
Taniguchi-san...
- What? - What you're doing is...
- business operation! Right? Washio-san. - That's right.
That's downright working!
Well, it's just how things turned out.
Rumi-san! Your son is actually working!
I know. He just started working too easily,
I'm in shock too.
That's because Kaori kept on nagging me to work with her.
That's wonderful. That, indeed, is the power of love.
You have knowledge and the ability to appreciate things of beauty.
Take advantage of that, and I'm sure you'll do well.
Kaori-san, you should work hard
- and make lots of painting too. - I'll do my best.
I see...
Love makes miracle happen. That, indeed, is true.
However, this is probably due to a large amount of
phenethylamine being released in the brain from being in love
that you start thinking of things in a positive light
which, in turn, encourages you to become proactive and everything starts working out.
That's what is believed to be happening, but...
Say, Yoriko. We shouldn't overstay our welcome.
- Why don't we call it a day? - Oh, okay.
Washio-kun probably wants to celebrate alone with Yoriko too.
- Yoriko-san, shall we go? - Yes.
Oh, just a minute please.
Let me say a few words before we go.
Oh, good idea.
Thank you, everyone, for the party today.
I had a most enjoyable birthday.
Looking back, the past 5 months
were extremely hectic days for me.
The first time I met Washio-san and Taniguchi-san
seems like a long time ago.
Back then, I thought
marriage was a contract, and love didn't have any value.
Taniguchi-san and I ripped apart Washio-san's argument, didn't we?
- You got me good that time. - Now that I think about it, I'm embarrassed.
Taniguchi-san back then was really deplorable.
You were jittery and constantly quoting other people.
Not as bad as you, though. You had these flowers on your head
and you kept on glaring at me for no reason.
- That really scared me. - I told you,
- I wasn't glaring at you. - You were too glaring at me.
- Sticking your lips out. Like this.
- Yes, that's it. - This is called a duck face.
It's a mannerism that is said to be favored by men. Don't you know?
That's a surprise... Who would've thought that was duck face.
- What did you think it was then? - I don't know. That's why I was scared!
Now, now, now... Why don't you two stop arguing like that?
People are going to misunderstand again, you know?
- You're right. Sorry. - I'm sorry.
I was wrong.
Love is truly a wonderful thing.
The person who taught me that is Washio-san.
Taniguchi-san, Kaori-san taught you that too, right?
Our rigid way of thinking was
loosened up by Washio-san and Kaori-san.
My dates with Washio-san were so very enjoyable.
With Taniguchi-san, they were nothing but agony.
- They were agonizing for me too. - At the amusement park, the crowd made him sick...
This is like scene from hell.
And he suddenly came up with a strange proposal...
I'll have to find someone to leech off in place of my mother.
Please marry me.
- I didn't like it either! - When we went on a Christmas date,
- he came down with a fever... - I don't want to hear that
- from a Santa who's too perfect. - Got into a fight with my father
and even got the police involved!
- That was a terrible experience for me too! - Okay, okay. That's it.
Let's really stop this.
I'm sorry. I end up getting emotional before I know it when I'm with Taniguchi-san.
- We must be really incompatible. - That's because
- you argue with everything I say! - That's because you provoke me!
That's what we're telling you to stop!
- Are you guys messing around with us? - No, we're not.
When you two start messing around with each other,
the rest of us start getting uneasy! Knock it off!
They look like a husband and wife comedy team, huh?
Don't say things like husband and wife!!
- I'm sorry... - Now, now, Father.
We're okay with it.
- It doesn't bother us. - Okay, if you say so...
Yoriko-san, why don't you tell us your memories with Washio-kun?
That's got to be the kiss Wasshie stole suddenly from you, huh?
That...was a surprise.
Even now, when I think about, my heart skips.
- Me too. - I couldn't believe it.
Kaori-san too.
That was...embarrassing.
At a place like that, and moreover, in that weird costume.
It wasn't weird. If you didn't like it, you shouldn't have worn it.
You told me to wear it!
I just thought if you were a cyborg, I'd be able to kiss you...
5 days until Yoriko's birthday
It's delicious. Washio-san,
you're nothing like Taniguchi-san.
It's nice to see how you always eat so heartily.
Taniguchi-san eats like a bird, so even when we're eating together...
Yoriko-san.
I wish you wouldn't talk about Taniguchi-san anymore.
You may think I'm petty, but...
I don't like it.
3 days until Yoriko's birthday
I knew you'd do it right. I appreciate your help.
Yabushita Yoriko messed it all up.
I can't believe she categorized "Rose of Versailles" under Vegetation.
Ozu Yasujiro's "Tokyo Story" is under Geography.
"The Taste of Mackerel Pike" is under Food, you know.
I have no idea how her mind works.
Fellini's "8 1/2" and Takahashi Rumiko's "Ranma 1/2"
are on the same shelf too....
Listen...
can you please stop?
Talking about Yoriko-san.
You have a lot of memories of your dates with Washio-kun, don't you?
Of course!
My memories with Washio-san are...
countless!
They're countless!
There are so many
I don't know where to begin!
Soccer game...
Watching soccer was fun.
It was exciting watching 11 players on the field in
a functional formation moving around in an orderly manner.
As expected, the stronger team's maneuvers are more precise,
- and the individual player's role is... - Yabushita-san.
You're reminiscing about the soccer game. Let's reminisce about Washio-kun.
Washio-san...
Washio-san is...
a good bowler!
In particular, I was most impressed with the placement of the 10 pins.
It's been calculated so that the pins fall in various ways
depending on the location, angle, and speed of the ball...
Bowling! You're talking about bowling!
Hurry up and make Washio-kun appear on the scene!
Father.
I'm going to do it here.
What? Here?
- You made reservation at a restaurant... - It doesn't matter. I'll do it here.
Okay! Go, Washio-kun!
Yoriko-san.
It's your birthday today.
You worked hard towards today as your goal
to achieve your dream to get married.
Yoriko-san,
you deserve to see a miracle too.
Yoriko-san's dream...
please let me make it come true!
What's the matter, Yoriko?
He's proposing to you.
Th...Thank you very much.
Is that a yes? Or a no?
Of course it's a...
y-y...yes!
Yes! Yes!
- All right. - Thank you!
- Congratulations! - Congratulations.
- Congratulations. Way to go, Washio-kun. - Thank you.
Yoriko, I'm so happy for you...
To see this day finally come...
I... I...
Father...
These are tears of joy.
I'm crying because I'm so happy...
I know.
I'm happy that you're so happy too...
I'm happy for you, Yoriko.
Mother...
Looks like you don't need me anymore.
Be happy.
Good bye.
Washio. The ring, the ring.
Ouch...that hurts.
- What's wrong? - It won't go in.
It won't go in.
That's impossible. It should be the right size.
Push it in harder.
How come? It won't go in at all.
It's swollen...
Just the left ring finger is swollen...
Why?
What are you going to do about this! Look what you did!
You again?!
- No, uh... - Takumi! What did you do!
He made my left ring finger swell up!
- I stepped on her hand on the bus... - What were you two doing on the bus!
- She dropped the ticket...so I picked it up for her... - Washio-san.
I'll make it fit. Give me the ring.
- Twist it, twist it. - Bear the pain. Bear the pain.
Go ahead and break it. Go ahead and break my finger.
It won't go in at all! Shit!
Why did you just make my left ring finger swell up!
I didn't aim to just make your left ring finger swell up!
You're constantly, constantly doing unnecessary things!
- What did I do! - You broke my father's trophy and
tried to kill Taro too!
I didn't try to kill him! He flung himself into the pot!
He could have very well died!
You tried to kill my mom too!
That's a terrible thing to say!
Rumi-san's going to die soon, you know.
Don't say she's going to die. You just assumed she was going to die!
I just wanted Rumi-san to spend her last days
in peace without any regrets...
See! See how you were trying to kill her off!
Takumi-kun.
Is it really true that you just happened to be on the same bus?
It's true.
It was really by coincidence.
You hardly ever ride the bus.
Uchida Shungiku was having a book signing event today...
Look, his autograph. See? See? See...? Look.
If it really was coincidence,
I feel even worse...
In the first place, why did you go out when you knew about this party?
Because...
I just forgot that it was today.
Don't tell me you forgot! You promised me!
3 days until Yoriko's birthday
I wish you'd stop.
- Huh? - Talking about Yoriko-san.
We're having her birthday party here, right?
Make that the last time.
After that day, don't see her, don't call her...
cut off all ties with her once and for all.
All right.
I'll do as you say.
But you blew me off.
- You were going to break our promise. - That's not true.
If we were going to cut ties anyway, I thought it would be better if I didn't see her today.
Isn't it because if you saw her, you'd have regrets?
That means you still have feelings for her.
Kaori-san,
that's not true.
It's because if we meet, we get into a fight like this.
It's because we'd end up causing trouble for everyone.
It means we're that incompatible.
Neither Taniguchi-san nor I
have any feelings for each other at all.
If you don't, how can you remember all that?
That's because...
I implemented what Washio-san told me.
5 days before Yoriko's birthday
I understand how you feel.
I, too, had a hard time forgetting the first woman I went out with.
Shall I tell you how I got over her?
- Yes. - Memories tend to get beautified, right?
So the things I didn't like about her, her faults, bad memories with her,
I wrote down all those things.
Then, it made me wonder why I liked someone like her
and I was able to get over her completely.
So you did that?
Yes. I'm still doing it.
- This... One whole notebook? - No.
I'm on my third one.
Do you plan to continue doing this?
In order to write everything down,
I think it might take a while.
This is something else...
It only made matters worse.
Yoriko-san's mind is
filled with thoughts of Taniguchi-san!
Damn.
These two seriously piss me off!
How dare they make a fool of us.
That's bullshit, I say!
- That's a misunderstanding. - That's right...
The person I'm in love with
- is Washio-san. - Kaori, you're the one I'm in love with.
Shut up!
You guys are in love with each other.
You have been for a long time!
That's not possible...
I enjoy being with you, Kaori.
- I feel at peace when I'm with you. - Me too. I feel happy only when
- I'm with Washio-san. - That's not...
really love.
Love that's only fun is like a child's play.
When you get right down to it, you were just enjoying dating us
but weren't really in love with us.
That can't be true!
Besides, only unpleasant things happen when I'm with her!
It's only agonizing for me too when I'm with him!
That means you didn't agonize at all when you were with me, right?
For me...
there were more agonizing times than fun times.
More agonizing times than fun times?
That's what love is.
Who are you to talk about love!
This can't possibly be love! When you're in love,
phenethylamine is released and
you're supposed to be filled with happiness!
That's exactly why you all fell in love and found happiness!
That's not how it is.
It's not easy for me either to get back with my wife again.
There are more battles ahead.
That goes for me too...
It's going to be hard trying to make it with him all over again.
You know how he gets discouraged easily, right?
I'm already getting depressed.
Your mother and I had our problems too.
Your mother could be difficult at times.
The good times, the painful times... they're all precious to me.
Every time I think about her, my heart hurts.
Even now, it's unbearably hard.
Isn't that what love is?
Is that how it is?
That's how it is.
This is starting to get ridiculous.
I can't be wasting my time on this hopeless pair.
I know, right?
Takumi-kun, let's nix the idea of taking over the class and starting a company, okay?
- Wait a minute. - Yoriko-san.
You and I are
unequal after all.
The proposal...
I'm withdrawing it.
Thank you for everything.
What the...
Okay. Everyone in favor of Yoriko and Takumi hooking up.
If Kaori-chan's okay with it.
Washio-kun, are you really okay with that?
I did everything I could.
I have no regrets!
It's decided then. Let's go!
- Wait! - Wait please!
Accept it gracefully. It was decided by a majority vote.
Why are you here?
- I thought you weren't going to appear anymore. - That was a fake.
Looks like you're finally starting to realize.
What true love is.
Who you're truly in love with.
Are you all right, Yoriko?
An everlasting bottomless pit.
No...
- This isn't what I want! - I don't want this either...
Resign yourselves to it already.
- You two are in love with each other. - No, we're not!
- Definitely not! - Why are you being so obstinate?
Because...
it can't possibly be me!
If we get together... he won't be happy!
Kaori-san,
please don't abandon Taniguchi-san.
- Please! - Washio-kun!
Please marry Yabushita-san. I beg you!
Taniguchi-san
got motivated to work for your sake.
The man who was so obsessed with leeching off someone
changed after he started going out with you.
He will be happier with you!
Washio-kun, do you know how hard Yabushita-san tried
to get you to like her?
She tried really really hard, you know!
This socially inept person gave it her all!
Please make her happy!
The person who couldn't understand
what love is like since she was a child...
the person who, precisely because she couldn't understand,
wanted to fall in love more than anything else...
finally learned to fall in love!
It would be too pitiable if her partner is me!
I can't let that happen!
I'm...
a person without a heart.
From the time I was in kindergarten until now, I've been told by 14 people,
so there's no doubt.
I don't
understand people's feelings.
That's why
I always end up hurting people...
Taniguchi-san is a man with
a very sensitive and delicate heart.
It can't be me!
I'll end up destroying him again...
All I'll do is agonize him!
I beg you... Please!
Please make her happy!
Please! Please!
Please.
Please make him happy.
Please! Please!
- Well, I'll be damned. - Yes, me too.
I've never seen a confession of love like this.
I'm envious.
To be in love like that.
It's not a matter of being unhappy or whatever anymore.
- This is how it was meant to be. - My condolences.
But congratulations.
You finally fell in love, Yoriko...
Good luck.
The person you fall in love with
is already determined by law of nature, they say.
Isn't it possible to change that law?
The only ones who can change destiny
are those who can solve the mystery of numbers.
Can't you solve it?
Unfortunately...
it's impossible for me.
That's too bad.
Remember, don't step in there.
The marriage meeting... I'm wondering how you feel about it...
Of course I'm for it.
You're a good man. It's a shame if you stayed single.
- Do you mean that? - 25 years younger, that's awesome.
But nurses look 50 percent better in their white uniform, so
once she takes it off, it's quite possible she may not be so great.
Be careful that she doesn't run away with a younger man with your retirement money.
Ouch... Sorry.
So when you get right down to it...what is love?
Haven't you shown them the manuscript?
The most they'll say anyway is how dare you show up now ...
Ah~ I can't stand this.
I'm really fed up this time.
I have the night shift after this. Can you fix me
- a midnight snack or something before you go? - You've got to be kidding.
I swear...
Is onigiri all right?
I thought happiness came naturally once one fell in love.
But apparently, that's not the case.
Let's go drink at one more place, Wasshie!
Anyway, I want to experience a love like that too.
You can do it!
- I'll introduce you to a nice woman. - Seriously? Thank you.
- I'm going to introduce you to someone too. - I'm counting on you.
- What type do you like? - No more literary type.
I'll try the athletic type next.
A cute younger one.
I'd like someone who's cheerful and straightforward.
And I still like older women.
Okay, okay. An older straightforward type, right?
Even if it's agonizing, even if you're miserable,
if you're not with that person, life has no meaning.
Maybe that's what love is.
By
Yabushita Yoriko.
If that's true...
I wonder how everyone manages to do something so tough like it's a normal thing.
Really, huh?
Can we really manage to do something that tough?
I don't think we can.
I don't think so too.
- Since we're both unfit for romance. - Yes, we're unfit for romance.
Romance is a waste of valuable time.
Yes. It's not worth a shit.
There are many things in life that are much more valuable.
Love is nothing but an illusion anyway.
- Leave it to folks who have too much time on their hand. - In the first place,
it's not etched in stone that you and I are fated to be together.
Exactly. We might still meet our real partner.
That's probably it.
21 years ago
Mother.
What? The four basic arithmetic operations again?
You sure like doing that.
" 3 4 7 8", "3 4 7 8"
8 x (3 - 7 ÷ 4)
That's right. That's the only answer.
- That's amazing. - Isn't that amazing?
I want it.
I want this. As a good luck charm.
Huh? You can't keep it.
You can't get out of the station unless you give up the ticket, right?
- I want it! - No.
We're getting off.
- Mom, I lost my ticket. - What?
What are you doing, Takumi.
We'll have to pay again.
Look for it carefully one more time.
You're late by 1 minute and 20 seconds.
That's not considered late.
Frog?
It's a brooch. I found a tip that said one must coordinate
spring-like styles in the springtime.
You'll have to try to understand fashion too.
Let me confirm just to be sure.
This is a relationship that excludes any romantic feelings.
I know. Our goal is contract marriage.
Since our previous contract
was made in a hurry, it had many flaws.
This time, I'm planning to take my time and aim for a more highly-detailed contract.
Consequently, I believe it will demand
even more stringent conditions from you.
- I assume you're fine with that. - I'm going to be demanding
more stringent conditions from you as well.
Condition 1. Don't ever make that duck face again.
- I was glaring at you. - Ah, is that right.
Well, where shall we go today?
I'll leave it up to you.
I hear cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
What do you think about an ohanami (flower viewing) date?
Ohanami, right? That's fine with me. Let us go.
We're going to be walking a bit.
When I participated in a walk meet in high school,
I walked 65 km but...
Do you want to continue viewing?
Let's view it a little longer.
All right. Let's view it a little longer.