New Year
Oh no
What should I do?
What's the matter?
Shiro, what should I do?
Last night
It's tomorrow, right?
I think you should shave
It'd be better if you shaved
It would, right?
I'd better shave
After all, you're meeting Shiro's parents for the first time, right?
As it is, people think
hairdressers are too laid-back.
Is that so?
My girlfriend's parents are ok with me
Look, our parents belong to the
mid-Showa-era [1926-89] generation.
They are conservative, right?
This hairstyle would be unacceptable to them
What? My hair too?
It looks fine as it is
Your hair & moustache are fine. Just go as you are.
If they don't see the real you, then what's the point in meeting them.
But he won't meet them often anyway
If he makes a good impression, it'll reassure them, won't it.
Why disguise small details
when you've decided to end the whole pretence?
It isn't a disguise. Shiro's parents...
They will see right through him!
Stop worrying. It looks ok like this.
We're leaving in 30 minutes. Eat your breakfast quickly.
Sorry you had to wait
Hey, do I look respectable enough?
Yes, but something seems off.
Oh no! I'll change.
- No! It's ok. - Really?
What?
Ready?
Welcome
Hello
Please
Do come in
Happy New Year!
Ah... yes!
- Happy New Year - Happy New Year
Er... this...
I hope you'll like this
Oh my, thank you very much.
Come, this way please.
Father, the slippers.
Come in
What did you eat yesterday? Episode 12
Please, have a drink.
I will, thank you.
Yabuki-san
Yes
Your profession is hairdressing, isn't it.
Yes it is
What an interesting job
It must have been your childhood ambition, then?
Yes
I've been interested in it since I was little,
and my mother ran a hair salon then,
so naturally I chose that path.
Well, in that case, your mother must be very happy.
It'd be nice if she was
Do help yourself
I will, thank you.
Shi~...
Shiro
I'm going to prepare the karaage [deep-fried meat]
Could you give me a hand?
- Of course - I'm so sorry
Have more osechi [New Year food] with your drinks
Please excuse me
Wait...
- You... - Yes
... want to look at Shiro's high school yearbook?
Yes I want... I'd like to see it.
- Here you are - Thank you
Look
This is Shiro
How adora~...
How young he looks
This was in high school, after all.
Shiro was too cute for words!
So what was Shiro like as a son?
What was he like...
Generally, he was a diligent student.
His mother was pleased, but deep down I was a bit incredulous.
Why?
He was a high school student
He must have had other interests
What on earth was he doing, studying all the time.
Actually, sir,
in his late teens, Shiro
knew that he was ga~...
... that he was homosexual.
So did I
That was why I chose hairdressing,
a job which I could take sole charge of.
It's different now, but salarymen used to be... well...
... "advised" by their bosses to marry.
Oh yes
Your boss & your family would meet often too
Such things could affect your career
As a lawyer, as long as you're capable,
you can do well enough on your own.
That's why Shiro chose law
and studied so diligently.
I see
And...
although this is just speculation on my part,
as an only child,
unable to give his parents grandchildren, he thought
he'd at least get into a good university & become a lawyer.
It would make his parents happy, wouldn't it.
That was the only way he could fulfil his filial duty
True
He always looked like he worried too much,
but he was never unkind to us,
or needlessly defiant.
He is a good son
Cut the meat of 2 chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces
Add grated ginger and garlic
Some salt, if you don't mind.
Add half a teaspoon, and pepper too,
and 2 tablespoons of sake.
Finally, a tablespoon of soy sauce.
- Rub it all in - Must it be seasoned in that order?
Yes, for better absorption of the water in the chicken.
That's the trick to more tender meat
Now pour in a little beaten egg
Ok
Then add the rest of the egg
Rub it all in
Right, that's it for the preparation of the chicken.
Oh right
We should use up the remaining vegetables
Shiro, get the turnip leaves from the vegetable box in the fridge,
and the jako [tiny dried/salted fish] too.
Oh, that dish. I'll do it.
When the turnip leaves are chopped up,
stir-fry the jako in sesame oil till crisp.
Add all the turnip leaves
Season with sake, mirin and soy sauce.
Finally, sprinkle with white sesame.
The fried turnip leaf & jako dish is ready
I used to devour this with rice
And now let's fry the karaage
I'll prepare the oil
Shiro, coat the chicken in potato starch.
Ok, ok. In the end, it's fried food again.
- Nothing. Let me do the frying. - Thanks
- You prepare the other dishes - Ok
You just need enough oil to submerge the meat
First, fry at low heat till it sinks.
Remove after 3 minutes
The chicken meat should still be white
I see. It has to be fried twice.
Now turn up the heat
The temperature should cause the meat to float the moment it goes in
Fry till golden brown, and that's it.
What a great colour
- Father, Kenji, the food's ready! - Ok!
I love karaage
- I'm tucking in - Please do
It's crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.
This garlic & ginger seasoning is the best!
Can I have a word...
What's going on?
Did I say anything wrong?
No, not at all.
Yabuki-san
Are you enjoying the food?
Yes, it's absolutely delicious.
Is it? Splendid!
Thank you so much for having me over
We've had a wonderful time too
- Bye - Take care
Don't catch cold
You must come again, Yabuki-san.
I will. Thank you very much.
You must be tired
But I'm glad they were all smiles at last
You seem awfully cheerful
I'm relieved
Hey Kenji
After going upstairs, what did you & my father talk about?
We talked about a lot of things
But there seemed to be something he'd always wanted to know
What?
It was...
How should I put this...
By the way, Yabuki-san, that... er...
What is it?
You...
Does your wearing a suit mean
that the one who dresses as a woman at home
is Shiro?
- What was that?! - He seemed really worried
So that's why, when they first saw you,
their faces fell for a moment.
He called my mother away when dinner'd just begun
to tell her about it, I guess.
Even so,
I don't think your parents understand gay relationships.
They still believe that one of us
must play a female role.
What? So my parents now think
you're the one who dresses as a woman at home?
Probably
For god's sake. I'm really sorry. They're so old-fashioned.
Don't worry about it
If that puts their minds at ease,
it's good isn't it.
More importantly,
I feel like I'm dreaming.
Visiting my boyfriend's home
Eating with his parents
Actually...
I'd thought...
I was convinced...
that such a day would never come.
Really
If I died right now I'd still be happy
What are you saying
No more talk of dying or whatever
We will control our fat & sugar intake
& eat more simply & moderately.
We will grow old together
We will
A bundle of asparagus, 248 yen?! That's expensive!
- Shiro you're shouting - Sorry
But it's too much even for New Year
They're taking customers for fools
Happy New Ye~...
What's the matter?
The cheapest Gonben mentsuyu has ever been, anywhere, is 299 yen.
It's 215 yen here. Unbelievable. Unbelievable!
- Limited to 1 bottle per person - Kenji
- You take one too! - Ok
Shiro, calm down a bit.
(Low fat milk 75 yen)
Thank you Nakamuraya
You're the best
I'll continue shopping here this year
What a good New Year this has been, Shiro.
It has really been a good New Year
Hey Shiro, we haven't had such good weather in a while.
Why don't we stop for a cup of tea?
There's a super cute café near the station
There's one over there
Their coffee is good and cheap
Yes they're good
but that's not the point.
I want to go to that café
Let's go
- Let's go together! - No, wait...
But the coffee here is delicious...
It's very good at the café too
Look. Isn't it just adorable? Right?
Thank you for waiting
- Here you are: coffee & milk tea. - Thanks
And a scone
I wanted to try the scones here just once
- Looks delicious! - Doesn't it?
You can have half
Try some
- This is bigger. Kenji, you have it. - It's ok
No, no, you wanted to try it, didn't you.
- It's really good - No it's ok
- There goes the chocolate. Oh no... - It's ok, eat up.
This is delicious
Their soup & sandwich lunch is very good too
So this café serves decent meals too
I wanted to come to this café with you
And on such a fine day... what bliss.
Hey Shiro
Sorry
No, I mean...
Thank you
For coming here with me
Why so formal?
I know you aren't interested in cute cafés like this one
Moreover,
you feel uncomfortable, right?
This bores you
and is an unnecessary expense.
So why did you come with me?
I don't know, I just did.
It seemed ok to me
Hey Shiro
The hair on your nape has grown
I'll cut it when we get home
That'd be great
Turn a little that way
- Ouch! - Did it hurt? Sorry.
- That was deliberate - Was it?
- It really hurt? - Yes!
Surprisingly, we kept to 25000 yen at year end.
Though sometimes I'm not sure if tax was included
You've got so much hair. I'm envious.
I must perm to disguise my thinning hair
- Lucky you - But I've got white hair
And there's more every day
Between the 2 of us, we've got thinning hair and white hair.
I guess it can't be helped
Both of us are ancient codgers
That's why you shouldn't worry so much
Like you did in the café just now
After all, I'm your partner,
and I want you to be happy.
So if you're happy,
everything will be fine.
As long as you're happy,
I'll go to cafés with you as often as you like.
Hey you! Watch those scissors!
Come on
That was scary. I thought you were trying to kill me.
How could I kill you
If we die, we die together.
Will you stop talking about killing & dying!
Shiro, is this namuru [spicy bean sprouts] ok?
Try it. Here.
- It's good - Fantastic!
And now for the stir-fried chilli prawns with asparagus & egg
Just the mention of it makes me drool
Asparagus is expensive, but it's ok since it's the New Year.
- I'll de-vein the prawns - Ok thanks
I just remove this bit, right?
Put more spring onion in the chilli prawn sauce
All right
Ouch!
Are you ok? Be careful.
Oh no, you're so sweet, I'm falling in love again.
- Get on with it - Ok
Or the prawns will lose their freshness
But would our love lose its freshness?
- We'd keep it up - Keep it up? We would!
A B C D E F G
H H H H H ecchi [sex/sexy]
- You've hit rock bottom - Rock bottom? Rock bottom?
- Yes, rock bottom - Aren't ebi [prawns] ecchi?
Wiggling their bottoms to and fro
- What are you talking about? - All soft & bouncy
Looks delicious
Right, time to eat.
- Let's eat! - Let's eat!