Original subtitles

DECEMBER

What are you doing?

I burned it earlier, and it's been bugging me.

You don't need to do it now…

Your dad's surgery is tomorrow, right?

Right… That's right.

So… dinner tomorrow will be the same as today. Sorry.

What are you saying?

I'm thankful you made something ahead of time.

You don't need to worry about me. Go ahead and sleep.

Okay.

Wait. I'll give this to you now.

For your mom.

A mini towel.

For when she washes her hands.

I thought you might not want me to do this,

but I found a cute one.

No need to…

Oh, no.

Thank you. I'll give it to her.

Well, I'm going in.

At first, I thought a private room would be too extravagant.

But since we need to wait ten hours for his surgery,

I think it was a good choice.

Mom, you're not wearing a kimono.

Of course not. This is no time to be wearing a kimono.

Yeah.

So, Shiro,

when they do surgery for esophageal cancer,

they pull up the stomach and use it instead of the esophagus.

But dad had his stomach removed before,

so they said they can't do that.

They can't cut off a piece of his stomach to use for his esophagus?

It might be a more difficult procedure than I thought.

It'll be okay.

The doctor said it's a very common procedure.

Yeah, but even so…

MR. GORO KAKEI

Your dad!

What would happen… if your father dies?

You pray too!

Don't read those work documents!

You can lose that case.

Pray to God

to save your father!

I can't pray for that!

My client's life is on the line!

Calm down.

Goro!

What should we do?

What should we do if he dies?

-Be quiet. -What should we do?

They can hear you outside!

It's like a geyser.

Thank goodness you got a private room, Dad.

Oh God,

whoever you are,

please… save Goro.

I'm begging you.

Thank you.

I never forget my handkerchief,

but I left it on the table this morning.

It seems… I'm beside myself.

Someone I know...

got this for you.

What is it?

It's a mini towel.

It's nice.

Tell him thank you for me.

Sure.

Mom, you…

really love Dad, huh?

Of course.

I love him very much.

Why wouldn't I?

A new intestine?

We've removed the site of the cancer,

but we couldn't find a new intestine.

Okay…

We put parts together hoping it'd work

but it kept becoming necrotic.

Now we've just found something that we think we can use.

It'll be about four more hours, I think.

Is that so? Please keep going.

Well then.

We still have four more hours.

What's wrong with the way he talks?

What does it mean? Dad's in danger?

Why is he being so despondent?

No, that's not it!

He's just frustrated that the surgery is taking longer!

But he was making such a gloomy face!

Mom!

I think he means that Dad's going to be fine.

Are you okay?

Yes, I'm better now.

The surgery was successful.

Last night was a little rough.

Right there.

That's where your father always sits.

When I look at it…

You know,

I realize he isn't here…

And that

he might never be back.

The person you live with every day…

is special, you know?

How are you feeling, Dad?

I slept a lot.

What?

I slept a lot.

He said "I slept a lot."

Oh!

This is delicious.

I can finally taste it.

Yeah.

You're going home now?

Don't let too much time pass before coming to see him again.

I'll make tempura again.

But Dad isn't supposed to eat oily food for a while.

Right.

Hey Mom, I love tempura,

but I'm not good at making it myself.

What's your secret?

Determination.

I don't think I can expect that of you, though.

It's so cold.

It's definitely December.

Welcome home, Shiro.

Today's Tuesday?

Wasn't it cold? How about you take a bath?

I'll go now before you do.

Sure.

You've been doing a lot of cleaning today.

Yeah, well…

When things are tough,

you feel even worse returning to a messy home, don't you?

Nothing.

Are you hungry? What do you want?

Hot pot?

Hot pot?

That sounds good!

Was your Dad all right?

Yeah.

He said he slept a lot.

Once you start having kids,

Christmas stops being a fun holiday.

It's an obligation.

You don't dress up as Santa?

I don't. I just place the presents.

I wrote Santa's responses to your letters, you know.

It was fun.

Only single men find Christmas enjoyable.

Right, Mr. Kakei?

No, I don't find it particularly fun.

Come on!

He's chugging along even more than usual today.

You're right.

You're going somewhere after this?

Yes, technically...

How about this?

How about a cake for Christmas Eve?

We have chocolate and strawberry.

How about a cake?

Canned tomatoes for 88 yen…

TWO FOR 100 YEN

Again!

They're very determined.

Do they want to empty their stock?

I have to.

I love this store. I'll help them out.

Determination…

I was pretty determined back then.

SUMMER THREE YEARS AGO

Hey!

Thanks.

Actually, this is my first time coming to Nichome.

Really, at your age?

You don't need to come if you're already with someone.

What should I do if someone approaches me here?

You just turn them down.

You won't have to worry, though.

Huh?

You're not really anyone's type here.

You might not have noticed, though.

What?

Ma-chan!

Ma-chan!

-Oh! -Ma-chan!

-How are you? -Oh!

Stop it already.

Is this guy your current boyfriend?

Evening.

-He is. -Evening!

Ma-chan, come here!

-What? -Kenji's here.

Kenji's here?

Kenji's here.

That's when I finally understood.

There's popular fashion in the gay world.

Essentially, the way I looked

was like a woman showing up to a dating party without any makeup.

I really wasn't attractive at all.

I want to go home…

I get it. I definitely do.

You definitely don't.

Hold on.

What? Where? Tell me.

Where? Tell me.

Could it be this guy?

Ma-chan, you're dating this guy?

Good evening. It's nice to meet you.

Same here.

-He's suave… -This was my

first encounter with Kenji. Quite ordinary.

For some reason Kenji highly praised me, even though I was out of place.

After that, we didn't really stay in touch.

Then when I had almost forgotten him...

-How wonderful! -No, really…

Hello, I'm Yabuki. I'll be taking care of you today--

We met again by accident.

Do you live around here?

Yeah, sort of.

Me too. Right across from the station.

Oh, Ma-chan…

How is he? I haven't seen him lately.

Oh, me neither…

We broke up almost right after that.

Huh?

You did?

Then because we lived close, we ended up

going out to dinner or drinks occasionally.

Cheers!

This way!

We saw a lot of each other, but we weren't dating.

It continued like that.

-You ran? -I ran.

Water leakage?

Yeah, apparently the bathtub upstairs broke,

and unfortunately all the water seeped into my ceiling.

It's a studio apartment, so…

Welcome.

How's your apartment?

It's a mess.

My furniture and appliances are destroyed.

I had been staying at my boss's place,

but I felt bad since he has a family.

Your home got so messed up right at the end of the year?

So this is what it's like to be at your wit's end.

I don't have the savings to move, and weekly apartments are expensive.

Talking about it makes me want to cry.

I'm leaning you back.

Here we go.

Excuse me.

Is your neck okay?

I'm going to shampoo you.

Actually…

Does your neck hurt? I'm sorry.

So let's just…

No, it's not that.

Do you want to come to… my house?

What's going on?

Did you hear me?

Yeah.

Are you sure?

I was quite determined then.

It's a joke.

Yes, by all means.

Snow…

You're right.

It's so pretty!

So let's do it again this year.

First up is the lasagna.

Finely chop the celery, onion, and carrots,

and sauté them well.

Add in pork, and sauté it more.

Then, add one can of boiled tomatoes,

and let them break apart.

Fill the can up two-thirds with water,

which saves time rinsing out the can, too.

Then add chicken stock and herbs and season it with salt and pepper.

While this is simmering, make the white sauce.

After melting the butter, sauté flour on medium-low heat.

When it's no longer powdery, add a little milk.

Keep it simmering until it thickens.

Finally, add salt and pepper, and it's done.

Boil six sheets of lasagna in water with a little oil and salt.

Be careful since the lasagna sticks together easily.

Spread the red sauce on a heat-resistant pan. Add two pasta sheets.

Add the white sauce, spinach,

mozzarella cheese, red sauce, and Parmesan cheese.

Repeat this three times.

After you bake it, it's ready to eat.

Next is herb-crusted chicken.

This is simple.

It's panko, Parmesan cheese, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.

A lot of salt gives it flavor.

Add just a little oregano and basil,

and mix it with olive oil.

Just cover the chicken and bake it.

Next is a dip made of sour cream and mentaiko.

This goes well on a baguette.

Kenji loves this.

But it's so high in calories.

I'm back!

Welcome back.

I bought some cake.

Shiro,

Merry Christmas!

It was on sale, so I bought it.

This amount is amazing!

We even have red wine!

Well, it is Christmas.

Eat without thinking about calories today!

Yay!

Let's eat!

Let's eat.

This baguette is so good with

the mentaiko dip.

I'll never be able to stop taking turns eating this and drinking the wine.

Things that are bad for your body taste so good!

Eat this too while it's hot.

Thank you.

Ow, it's hot!

It's so creamy!

The chicken has just the right amount of salt.

You requested the same meal for Christmas last year, too.

That made things easy. I didn't have to think,

but there's nothing else you'd rather eat today?

Correct.

Look.

Always eating the same meal on a particular day

makes the day feel so much more special.

Really?

This meal is special.

Wow.

This is… amazing.

You made this all by hand?

Well, it's Christmas. I wanted to try and do something special.

You're a fantastic cook.

Looks delicious.

I'm happy.

Well…

Welcome to my home.

Thank you.

Anyway, let's drink.

Right, let's drink.

Shall I?

It's fine.

Somehow now it's been three years since we started living together.

Thank you.

What a nice night.

Yeah.

How's Dad? Is he able to eat?

Still only liquids, but it's okay. He's doing fine.

Really?

I'm just thankful that we're able to eat together like normal.

That's true.

By the way, Shiro, what are you doing for New Year's?

Since things are like this, I was thinking of having a quiet--

Actually, Mom, I…

It's just that…

What?

Uh, actually…

That towel?

Did you thank him for me?

I did.

The person who gave it to you…

Um…

is Kenji, my…

The boyfriend you're living with?

Yeah.

Really?

His name is Kenji Yabuki.

He's very thoughtful.

Even the pattern was to my taste.

Thank him for me.

I will.

I'll call you later.

Say hi to Dad for me.

Sure.

Kenji Yabuki…

Shiro, let's eat the cake!

He's not my type at all.

What?

Nothing. What kind of cake is it?

A shortcake and Mont Blanc!

Tada!

But as someone to live with…

Yeah, it's perfect.

Right?

Which one do you want?

I'll take the Mont Blanc, I guess.

Okay.

So I'll have the…

No! I made a mistake.

Let's split this one in half.

-In half? -Half!

-Why? -I mean…

You'll get fat.

Get fat? But it's…

NEXT EPISODE

They're making me fat.

Then they just complain.

I just need to grin and bear it.

You should be more grateful for

your understanding parents.

THE STORY, NAMES, AND CHARACTERS PORTRAYED ARE IMAGINARY

Subtitle translation by: Kelsey Lechner