Then, will you come over?
What?
Tonight… to my place.
Yes!
Coming!
You…
Please!
I'll get killed.
H… Hello?
Iwaya-san?
This is Fukushima~
You…
I met you last time. At Iwaya's…
If you're looking for Sumire-chan, she's not here right now.
What?
My name is Momo. I am the unofficial pet of a certain woman.
I have absolutely no human rights.
And this, by the way, is my master's official lover.
Tokyo University graduate, with a height of 183 cm,
and an annual minimum salary of ¥120,000.
It has been about two months since I became her pet.
With food, bath… but no sex.
This lifestyle with my master has been pretty thrilling.
But lately, she's been too busy with her sweet and handsome new boyfriend.
I may be feeling jealous… as a dog would.
What kind of a relationship are you in, if you can't even be yourself in front of your boyfriend?
It's not that I can't show my true self.
I like you.
Honestly speaking,
I'm pretty excited about these circumstances now.
You know, I…
Hello?
Hello…? Iwaya-san…?
You were the one who called just a while ago, weren't you?
Why?
Why… are you there?
Can't you see that he's letting me spend the night?
Shall I explain things in further detail?
You should've listened…
Iwaya-san, you're here?
Apparently the server has shut down.
I was drinking downstairs, but I came rushing up as soon as I heard.
I'm afraid to learn the truth.
I don't have the courage to even listen to excuses.
This is Fukushima~
Can't you see that he's letting me spend the night?
Huh?
You are my pet
5. I'll discipline you.
Why?
Hey, she's home.
Welcome home.
You must be tired.
Huh? What?
Aww… Sumire-chan's gotten confused.
I suppose we surprised her, after all.
Umm… E-Excuse me for a moment.
Hold on a minute. Calm down.
This is my place… and when I called Hasumi-senpai's place, that happened…
But senpai is here, and Momo is here.
Where is the logic in reality that the two are sitting and talking together like this?
Umm… Iwaya?
Yes?
My friend suddenly came over and asked to stay at my place.
Your friend…?
I didn't have a place to sleep, so I left home.
And I was wondering if you could let me spend the night at your place tonight?
Is that… so?
I see.
I'm sorry.
I left you a message on your phone, but I seem to have surprised you a great deal.
Oh, no. Not at all.
Did you have to work overtime?
Yes, the host server shut down, so I was there until now.
Well, I'll be going now.
Huh?
I'm going home.
Oh…
Thank you, Takeshi-kun, for waiting with me.
No, it was interesting chatting with you.
See you later, Sumire-chan.
Huh?
Wait… Mo…
He said his sister asked him to return a video to you.
What? A video?
He said he dropped it into your mailbox.
What was it again?
"Fukawa Ryo's Workshop on How to Overcome Cowardice" or something.
I thought it was unlikely that you would watch that kind of stuff.
Somewhat…
Well, let's go in.
I was waiting all day for tonight.
Oh, no. I don't really mean it that way…
I mean… it's not that I don't mean it either, but…
Well… I just thought that we could finally spend some time together without any distractions.
Okay.
Why is it so messy?!
Can I come in now?
Yes, yes! Come in!
I'm sorry I made you wait. Please come in.
Thank you.
Hey, where's Momo-chan?
Momo?
Oh… Momo, the dog… Umm… My sister is taking care of Momo right now.
Lately I've been sick and have been coming home late, so…
I see, then tonight it's just the two of us.
This room's really nice.
It makes me feel tranquil. It seems like the room of a career woman.
Oh, not at all.
Oh, would you like something to eat? Or a bath?
Huh?
I'm sorry.
It must be odd to suddenly offer you a bath. It was strange, I'm sorry.
Umm… I must make something to eat.
Before I do that, let's turn on the television.
Television… Oh…? Where's the remote control?
You don't have to go through all this trouble for me.
I'm sorry.
See, you apologized again.
Right now, I don't need anything.
As long as I have you.
Oh…
After a month and a half of dating, finally…
Finally I'm able to get her to this stage…
Although I'm still a little bothered by the whole incident with Fukushima-san.
What am I going to do?
Senpai…
is really good at kissing.
What should I do?
Should I just continue like this?
Or should I carry her over to the bed?
What?
Can we go to your room?
Oh, no. Please put me down.
I'm heavy. I have more muscle than I appear to.
I'm fine.
Senpai…
I'm sorry.
What?
I pulled a muscle.
It hurts.
Are you laughing?
No, I'm sorry.
Umm… I'm really, really sorry about this.
You don't have to apologize so much.
It's not like I came here to have sex.
Well, let's eat.
I'm actually pretty hungry.
Please, go ahead. Although it's nothing much.
Delicious.
I'm glad.
Wow, I didn't know you were so good at cooking.
Not at all.
Oh… Shall I turn on the television?
Oh, yeah, sure. There are so many news bulletins lately.
Oh…? The remote…
Oops… I threw it up onto the loft…
I'm sorry. Excuse me for a moment.
Oh, are you okay?
Yes, the pain has subsided.
Is something wrong?
Oh…? Nothing.
I found it… the remote control.
That's good.
Who could it be at this hour?
It's the office.
Oh, Yada? What's up?
At Jordan?
That's pretty big news.
What's the current situation?
What about Kimura-san?
Gotcha… I'll go right away.
I'm sorry, Iwaya.
I'm sorry.
Oh, I mean… Did something happen in Jordan?
There seems to have been a hijacking situation.
Kimura-san has gone to Hong Kong, so I'm the only one who can speak directly with them.
Oh…
I understand.
Then please don't worry about me and go on ahead.
I'm really sorry to do this, especially when you took time off for me.
It's fine, don't worry. If it's about your work, it can't be helped.
Shall I wrap some of this up? Maybe you can eat it at the office?
Iwaya…
I'm sorry.
No, me too. Sorry that things were so hectic.
Thanks.
I'll go now.
Itterasshai.
That was tiring.
Woohoo!
What?
It's finally my turn! Yes!
What do you mean, "my turn"? Be quiet, it's already 5 in the morning.
Because it's my turn to eat! Hurry up and make me something!
I'm so tired…
But it's a pet's right to be fed.
A normal pet doesn't declare it like that.
But I'm starving already!
When I was about to go buy some dinner, I ran into Hasumi-kun.
And…? What did you two talk about anyway?
A lot of things.
And since when were you over there?
The whole time.
What?
You two were having a long conversation down here.
So I circled around the dumpster and came back in through the back door.
Oh! The video you threw hit my head.
How dare you… Why didn't you tell me earlier?
It was okay for me to speak up?
No, never…
Right.
I behaved like a good pet, didn't I? Pat me, pat me!
You wish.
Oh, really…
Oh, good morning!
Good morning.
Morning already…
There you go.
Huh?
This is dinner?
Yes, that's your food. Although it's already time for breakfast.
Oh, what a long night.
Wait, Sumire-chan!
This is clearly completely different from what you gave Hasumi-kun.
What are you talking about?
This is so much worse than what you gave him!
Over there, there was chikuzen-ni, sunny-side-up, burdock and steamed eggs!
There was even kenchin soup!
Don't complain!
Because of you, I just had the most stressful time of my life. And I'm awfully exhausted!
I think, even before that, you were already pretty tired…
Didn't you want to ask Hasumi-kun about who stayed at his house last night?
Huh?
Apparently some girl from his company was being stalked,
and she said that if he wouldn't let her stay over, she'd be killed.
So he couldn't do anything but let her stay.
So that's what happened.
I learned about it while we were waiting for you.
Aren't I good? So give me a pat!
And if you'd just add in some miso soup, that'd be nice.
And maybe some pickled side dishes too.
Stop being so selfish!
If you're a pet, act like one and just be quiet!
Really… I wonder where I went wrong in disciplining you.
At that moment…
I could faintly smell Fukushima-san's perfume on him.
That woman…
What did she do to him?
Good morning!
See you later, Junpei.
All right, see you at the studio.
Good morning!
Hey, who was that?!
My new boyfriend. Isn't he cool?
You're kidding me! He's so hot!
Yeah, he's really good looking!
You did something to Rumi, didn't you?
Huh?
Did something happen?
I'm asking you!
She suddenly grabbed me and asked me to go to a love hotel.
Oh, man…
She was crying about committing suicide,
so I let her stay at my house last night and the night before.
Why do I always have to deal with your mistakes?
I wonder why…
"I wonder why"?!
She asked me to kiss her, so I just did what she asked.
I feel like punching you out.
Whenever she sees me, she always goes into a fit of hysteria.
That's because she likes you.
I like her too.
But…
The more we get close to one another, the more it tires us out…
I can't give her any of the things she wants.
The things she wants?
Then what are you giving that chick whom you live with?
Momo…
Sorry, Junpei. I'll call you back later.
I decided to go to work after all.
Your food is in the refrigerator.
Sorry about earlier…
I should be going now.
What I'm giving her?
I wonder what it is…
Maybe something like an antidepressant for her.
This whole situation is kind of bittersweet.
It's something that happens often.
In love, there is always a superior and an inferior party.
Superior and inferior?
Yes.
It's the "food chain of love".
Good morning.
Oh? Iwaya-san, I thought you were taking the day off today.
There's nothing to do at home, so I decided to come to work.
She's a corporate warrior.
What a sad life for a woman to lead. She's a corporate warrior.
What a sad life for a woman to lead.
Then, can you look over this for me?
It's about the next cover article.
Sure.
This is really helpful. I've never handled a big article like this before.
I'm lucky to be able to work with you.
Fukushima-chan, do you have those copies ready?
Yes.
Here you go.
Thank you.
Oh, Fukushima-chan, your perfume today is a little too strong.
Don't say that, Ishidacchi. That's sexual harassment.
What? Sexual harassment from Ishidacchi again?
You're too young to be thinking about such things, Ishida!
Whoa, Iwaya-san!
Huh?
The bags under your eyes!
What? Oh…
Excuse me for a moment.
Oh my gosh… Wow… They're like stains!
Yes?
Acting all cool and collected again. You dislike me like no other, don't you?
The fact that you like him is not something I can do anything about.
I don't just like him, I want him.
I won't say anything like "break up now", so don't worry.
He seems pretty hard to get.
Last night, I tried to seduce him physically, but he just panicked and ran away.
Besides, I decided to spend a little more time on it.
After all, my ultimate goal is marriage.
Marriage?
So you're saying that you don't like Hasumi-senpai, but you just want him?
Perhaps.
Everything's there.
The top education, top income.
Just by things like that?
Then what about you, Iwaya-san?
Do you really… like Hasumi-san just for who he is?
Regardless of his educational background, income and looks?
Only men who are taller than me, higher in education and income can talk to me like that.
Yes, of course!
Your birthday's at the end of this month, isn't it?
What?
"May 2nd. Lost as to what to get Iwaya for her birthday present.
Honestly speaking, I don't really know what she wants.
Sometimes she seems to be so self-conscious that I feel bad for her.
How can I make her happy?"
Tada!
Hasumi's diary.
One can be so careless when living alone. It didn't even have a lock on it.
You didn't copy it, did you?
Shall I give it to you? He wrote many other things about you.
I don't need it.
That's what I thought you'd say.
And… if you say anything about this to Hasumi-san,
I'll spill the beans about your younger boyfriend.
The cute boy with the curly hair?
You look so surprised.
Why?
So it's true?
You lied to Ishidacchi about having a younger brother, didn't you?
That kind of stuff, along with your address,
can be found just by doing a little research at General Affairs.
I haven't told anyone yet. I want to use my last resort wisely.
Aren't you ashamed of what you're doing?
Not at all.
When I was 9, my mother left home.
I always had to take care of my lousy dad and younger brothers. And everything I wanted came last.
After I graduated from high school and came to Tokyo, I didn't have anything.
Unlike you elite people, I didn't have any unnecessary pride either.
So everything I desire, I'll go through any means to get it.
I'm just saying that there are some things you can never get just by showing off.
I'm home.
What are you doing?
I'll make dinner, so come along.
Do you really like…
Hasumi-san just for who he is? Regardless of his educational background, income and looks?
You know what…
I really like Hasumi-senpai…
Regardless of any conditions… he's really kind, and I can truly respect him.
But it's painful.
Please.
When I was young, I had a big dream.
A dream?
Yes.
To become a ballet dancer with the lightest footstep and most beautiful grace.
To set foot on stages all around the world.
However…
Mama, look at me!
Bravo!
Yay!
However… that dream was obliterated with the appearance of a child prodigy.
What a weak person.
Weak?
On top of that,
it's a rotten way to find out about the lady who lives in the apartment.
I won't tell you! Never!
I'm sorry.
So you can dance?
Huh?
Can you still dance a little?
No. Now all I can do is chase after his back…
This is him, right?
It's an article that was published when I worked with local news, before I went to Kofu.
This…
This "Kumakawa Post" won the disfavor of his mother,
and she called us saying "Please don't taint our Takeshi's image with libel".
I just happened to answer the phone when she called to yell at us, so that's how I remember.
Rozan?
Yeah. It's a worldwide convention for young dancers, isn't it?
It's amazing how such a talented young man is the younger brother of your childhood friend.
I didn't know…
But he seems to have quit classical dance.
Well, there must be a lot of difficulties in the professional world.
I got into a fight with my parents and left home.
By the way, thanks for this.
You didn't have to wash them.
My coworkers teased me, saying it was like a loving wife's homemade lunch.
What? Loving wife?
It's kind of embarrassing, isn't it?
No.
But…
It wasn't so bad getting a lunchbox and being seen off by you.
Does this mean…
that if we keep this relationship going…
it will eventually lead to marriage?
Sorry, I'm late.
Momo, I bought you some flan.
Hey, not yet. After dinner.
All right, good boy.
There's something wrong.
Oh, well.
Marriage…?
Oh, is that so? I understand.
Then 10 o'clock, the day after tomorrow, may I meet with you? Thank you, goodbye.
I run into you again.
It feels like destiny, doesn't it?
There's a wrinkle between your brows again.
What? A wrinkle?
Yes.
Reminds me of a sailing youth rather than a Noh-mask.
Is there something wrong?
No, actually I'm very happy.
Oh, is that so?
I wonder what it is…
My lover is very sweet, my work is going well, so there should be no discontent.
Yet, something is bothering me… and I can't sleep.
I think it may be a bone from the mackerel I ate yesterday.
Let's talk more later. The next time we meet… as comrades.
I'm home.
What is it every day?
Something bothers me.
This boy…
he hasn't uttered a word lately.
Since when? When was it?
His behavior is as usual, so I didn't notice. But…
Momo, are you mad about something?
Why are you so quiet? Say something.
Are you still mad about the breakfast I made you the other day?
Because I didn't make you any miso soup…
You're kidding me.
Momo baby, are you hungry?
Oh, really?
Then say "Give me food".
"Give me… food". If you don't say it, I won't give you any.
Fine then. I'll eat it.
Delicious.
Momo, your mouth's open.
Say "give me", or else I won't let you have it.
For the last time, I said I won't give it to you unless you talk!
Just eat it, then! Don't look at me with those eyes!
I lost to my pet.
The pet won't talk?
Isn't that a given? It would be weirder if it did talk.
But Momo's a human.
But there's no drawback, is there? After all, he's just a pet.
He's not loud, and he can completely understand what you're saying. It's actually ideal.
That's true, but…
You're just keeping him as a pet, right?
Then it's fine…
Unless you want more than that from him.
It's not like that…
Oh! Maybe he's sick.
How could that energetic kid ever get sick?
If you're going to get that sad about it, get a parrot next time.
It couldn't be…
Momo.
Come here.
After listening to your story, I see no problem with Momo-chan.
I know that.
He's a very well-disciplined good dog.
He can go to the bathroom on his own, and he can even dance.
I know that very well.
So I wasn't really asking for advice about the pet…
I was just making conversation.
Didn't I tell you not to get too emotionally involved with your pet?
You did?
Well, I should speak for myself.
Right, Rudolph?
Umm… Doctor, how are we comrades?
In the sense that we both can't love people.
That's not true…
I have a boyfriend and the relationship is going very well.
Then why don't you go talk to your boyfriend about
these troubles and uncertainties that you're carrying right now?
He must be a fine, dependable man.
Yes, he is.
Ah… You can't act spoiled in front of him?
Of course.... not.
I'm going to ask you some questions, so I want you to answer truthfully.
Are you telling this boyfriend how much you love him everyday?
No.
And the reason you can't is…?
Because it's embarrassing.
Why is it embarrassing?
Because I get shy.
Why do you become shy?
What do you mean why…
Then I'll change the questions. You own a pet.
Yes.
Can you tell Momo-chan that you love him?
Yes, I can.
Can you hug him on your own initiative?
I can! Can you hug him on your own initiative?
I can! Why is that?
Why is that?
Because I love him, and he's adorable.
Why don't you become shy with him?
Why? He's not the kind that I would get shy around.
You act spoiled around your pet.
The pet's the one that's being spoiled.
There is a relationship of ownership between animals and humans.
To put it simply, humans will betray other humans.
But, a pet will never betray its owner.
If we know that they will not betray us, we can tell them 100% openly how much we love them.
I will probably only be able to live with pets the rest of my life.
With pets the rest of your life?
I sometimes wish that I was born a simpler animal.
Today's appointment is free of charge.
I talked too much about unnecessary matters.
Humans will betray other humans.
But, a pet will never betray its owner.
Then what if the pet is a human?
I'm home.
Well, you've got to have them check on that.
Yeah, that's the deal.
Why?
Why are you talking, Momo?
Hello? Takeshi?
Oh, sorry… Yeah.
I better go now. I'll talk to you later. Bye.
Isn't it obvious? Did you actually think that I was a dog?
Welcome home!
Say it again.
Welcome home.
One more time.
Welcome back, Sumire-chan.
This is what was missing.
These words that were always my comforting salvation.
I'm home.
I'm back, Momo.
Welcome back.
Don't test me.
I need you enough already.
Stay a good boy.
Sorry.
This may be too much, coming from a pet,
but I wish she'd see a little more… just a little more of the value of my existence.
What?
Hey, can I sleep with you tonight?
Sure.
Come on.
Yes!
But if you do anything weird, I'll kill you.
Got it.
I want her to feel strongly that she needs me
and not taking for granted that we're always together.
More than anyone…
Always.
Yes?
Good morning.
You didn't go home last night?
You probably already know, but I failed in a marriage once when I was young.
I didn't know.
I loved her. But I couldn't tell her that.
It's not that I disliked her, but it was embarrassing and difficult to say those words.
Becoming inferior… inferior.
I was afraid of becoming the inferior one.
There were many problems within the marriage, but I think this was the most direct problem.
I cannot love a woman with all my body and soul…
because I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
Afraid?
Yes, afraid… very afraid.
But…
I cannot live alone.
Doctor!
I love you.
I like you… a lot.
What?
Oh, Fukushima-san.
I like you, Hasumi-san.
I'm sorry, but this makes things difficult for me.
I'm seeing Iwaya with the hopes of marrying her someday.
It's fine. I don't mind at all.
What?
Hasumi-san, you will soon come to like me.
I feel so happy on mornings when I have no work.
Hey, even if you get married… will you still own me as a pet?
Silly…
What are you talking about?