Boys Over Flowers Season 2: Episode 4

Ota feels nervous about seeing Airi at the door. Airi walks up to them and bows her head asking for forgiveness. She confesses that it was she who ordered the students to harass Ota and take pictures of her mother. She says she did this to drive her out of the school. Haruto rolls his eyes and leaves it up to Ota to forgive Airi or not. Ota looks confused as she does not know what to do. She then bows before Airi saying that she too was at fault for lying about her family’s financial condition and then forgives Airi. Happy, Airi hugs Ota and asks to be her friend.

Haruto quips that Airi has never had a friend before and Ota defends that she has C5 as her friends. Haruto clarifies that C5 are not friends but comrades. Airi agrees and excitedly states that Ota is her potential first friend. At school, students are stunned to see Airi walk with her arms locked with Ota. Airi asks about the cylindrical object in Ota’s hand and Ota answers that it is a flask used for drinking water.

They then sit together at a table. Ota looks at Airi and notices how gorgeous she is and finds it suspicious that a girl like Airi would want to be friends with her.

Haruto looks at all the happenings from his spot and is sure that Airi is up to something evil and that there is no way she would befriend someone like Ota. Sugi suggests he snoop on them. So, Haruto and Kaito change into regular uniforms and sit at the adjoining table to hear what Ota and Airi are talking about.

Ota is astonished that Airi eats a box full of tablets for lunch instead of having a proper meal. Airi shows Ota her childhood picture in which she was obese.

She says that her parents had her when they had given up all hopes of having a child which is why she has always been treated like a princess. Her obnoxious nature pushed her friends away from her because of which she always remained a loner. One day during a school excursion she stumbled to the ground unable to walk for a long time. At that time, Haruto appeared from nowhere and helped her. Despite being half her size, he gave her a piggyback ride till their destination and then collapsed. She says that it was the first time she spoke to Haruto and decided to give up on junk food and get fit.

Haruto suddenly rises from his seat and tuts at her for so casually letting out the secret of her ‘dark past’ while asking him to never divulge it to anyone. Airi justifies that if she does not share her secrets with Ota then she will never open her heart to Airi. She then urges Ota to share more stuff about each other like friends. Haruto still looks suspicious of Airi’s intentions and advises Ota to pack a punch like always if Airi troubles her again. Ota retorts that she does not ‘always’ punch people. He adds that she has his permission to hit Airi as she is like a little sister to him.

This statement does not go down well with Airi as there is a flicker of rage on her face which she quickly conceals with a smile. But her reaction does not go unnoticed as Kaito looks nervously at her.

He confronts her later in private and she says she’s being nice only to have Haruto hate her a little less than he already does. She adds that even after so many years, Haruto never liked her so by being nice to Ota she at least gets a chance to stay close to Haruto which is OK for her.

When Ota reaches home her mother shows her the bouquet of flowers that Tenma sent for her. She tells her how impressed she was with his voice when he called to ask about Ota’s health. Ota then remembers how he saved her from the boys who bullied her in school. She wonders why she was unable to answer him when he asked about her feelings for him and feels guilty for not talking to him after that day.

Tenma’s school friend visits him at his house and asks him about the donation he made to their enemy Eitoku Academy. Tenma corrects him that Eitoku is not their enemy but fellow school. (Oh God!! Taishi has been acting so well as Tenma. He looks like a pretty angel. His smile can easily pierce someone’s heart. Why is he the second-lead?!?!)

At Haruto’s home, Airi asks him what he likes about Ota and starts blushing before evading her question. She then notices a toy in his room and he grabs it away saying it is not just a toy but something that will make a person happy when placed in the armpit. Just then, his father happens to stop by his room and look annoyed with him. His father then asks Kobayashi about Ota and he tells him that Ota is the one Haruto likes. His father asks Kobayashi to tell Haruto to choose his partner wisely.

Airi arrives for her shopping date with Ota but not alone. Ota tries not to cringe after seeing Haruto who tells her that he was ‘miraculously’ free so he agreed to join Ota and Airi.

Airi takes Ota to a high-end boutique and asks her to try on some dresses. She then asks Ota about her relationship with Tenma. Ota honestly says that though she likes Tenma she cannot really carry on with the relationship because she does not feel confident of her current self. Airi asks her if it is because of Haruto. Ota feels surprised at her question and Airi adds that she must be conscious because Haruto and Tenma are rivals and she must be feeling awkward to be getting close to Haruto. Ota unsurely agrees to it. Airi feels happy that Ota has finally opened up to her and urges her to do so more often.

Ota and Airi finally step out of the boutique where Haruto is waiting for them. When Haruto lays his eyes on Ota in her news dress he feels totally smitten and starts imagining himself dancing with her and eventually kissing her. His reaction makes her feel awkward and she wonders if she is not looking nice in the outfit but he sheepishly says that she does not look bad in it. Airi then adds that Haruto’s ‘not bad’ is the highest compliment one can get from him.

Airi then takes them to a restaurant which is fully booked by her. Haruto and Ota cutely bicker over the menu till Airi finalises a dish for Ota. Airi then reminisces over a time when Haruto ran away with her to a factory just because she said she does not like school. Haruto has no recollection of the same which disappoints Airi and she then ‘accidently’ drops a glass of wine over Ota. She takes Ota to the washroom to clean up but they end up in the freezer room. She morosely mumbles of how Haruto does not remember the factory incident when it was such a big thing for her. Ota justifies that it could be because it must have been a regular incident for Haruto who has always helped Airi. Enraged, Airi pushes Ota in the freezer room and locks it as Ota screams after her. From outside, Airi sneers that she will never become friends with someone like Ota who lives off her fiancée’s money while still making a pass at Haruto.

Ota screams for help but it there is no one to hear her. Her phone too does not have any range in there. She then ventures deeper into the freezer room to find Tenma crouched in a corner.

Tenma tells her that someone messaged him saying that Ota had fainted and gave him the address to the restaurant. When he came rushing to see her he met with the C5 girl Airi who led him to the freezer room and then pushed him inside before locking it. Ota feels guilty about having put Tenma unnecessarily into trouble. He takes off his jacket and wraps it around Ota. She refuses to take it as he too must be cold but he then wraps his arms around her and pulls her close saying that if they stick like this together they both will be warm. (aiyyoooooooo….he so cute!)

When Airi returns alone to the table Haruto feels suspicious and asks for Ota. Airi then tells him that she had to do this to make him open his eyes to Ota’s double-game. The projector is then switched on and Haruto sees Tenma holding Ota in an embrace in the freezer room. Airi taunts that this is what happens when you leave Ota alone with her fiancée.

In the storeroom, Tenma reminds Ota of a childhood incident when they both had got lost in the forest because she wanted to help an injured bird and then they had to snuggle to keep warm. Guilty, she apologises to him for being such a bad fiancée for always causing him trouble. He tells her that he feels angry at all those who deliberately cause problems for her and his only consolation is the fact that he gets to be close to her. She tells him that he is her first love and that her feelings for him will never change. Haruto looks unhappy listening to them while Airi laughs like a maniac.

Ota then adds that it was what she felt till her family had not lost everything. He starts to say that if it is about her family then he can always help but she interrupts that she knows he is always there for her because that is how he is but she does not feel like her old self anymore. Each time she goes out with him wearing the expensive clothes he sends for her, she cannot help wondering him many hours of work would it take her to pay for it. She says she does not match him anymore and feels scared of approaching him because she can’t do anything for him.

He then pulls her in a hug and says that she was the only one to have stayed by his side since his mother passed away. In a flashback scene, we see Tenma crying by his mother’s coffin while his now step-mother mother Rie comforts his father. Ota then holds his hands while he weeps for his mother. He tells her that she has always stayed in his heart saving him.

He says he will always protect her. Haruto looks sad and Airi adds salt to his wounds by taunting him that he has no place in Ota’s life and that she is just using him.

Haruto demands to know Ota’s location and rushes to her. He breaks open the freezer room where someone has set off the fire alarm and the place is swamped with water. He finds Ota and Tenma taking shelter under a stand.

Tenma rebukes Haruto for always harassing Ota and she intervenes that is not Haruto’s fault. Haruto asks Tenma to take Ota home and he snaps that he need not tell him what to do. Tenma then grabs Ota’s hands and stomps out of the storeroom.

Tenma drops Ota home and before she can say it, Tenma tells her that the word ‘sorry’ is now banned between them. He tells her that he is happy that he finally knows what she feels about him. He says he thought that she must be hating him already and that she must be coming to the monthly date just because of his mother’s promise. He says that from now onwards he will never make her feel anxious again and will not hold back his feelings for her. (Please stop this dorama here. Please!! I want Ota and Tenma to be together like this forever.)

He is interrupted by Ota’s mother who gushes over him for being so romantic. On noticing that his clothes are damp she invites him home and gives him spare clothes to wear. He then helps Ota and her mother with the cooking.

We then see Tenma’s mother at her house recalling how she pleased she was to see Ota with Haruto. She then instructs her helper to do something for her. (Jeez! What is this woman up to now?)

The next day at school, C5 members, Kaito, Sugi and Issa apologise to Ota for the trouble Airi caused her. They then inform her that Airi is no longer a part of their group.

Kaito then visits Ota at her workplace looking for Airi who is missing. She recalls Airi telling her about the factory Haruto and she ran off to while they were kids. Kaito and she head to Haruto’s house who refuses to help them saying that Airi does stuff like this to get attention. She scolds him for being cold-hearted towards his friend and he snorts that Ota wants to find Airi to thank her to be able to spend some quality time and flirt with Tenma.

Furious, she grabs him by his jacket and orders him to divulge the factory’s location. He asks her the reason why she is so desperate to find Airi and she replies that she feels bad for Airi who is trying to hard to please an idiot like Haruto. Embarrassed by what she blurted out, she takes to heels and sets out to look for Airi on her own.

After frantically looking around the whole town, Ota finally finds Airi in an abandoned factory. Despite Airi’s vehement protests Ota carries her on her back saying the same things Haruto said to her when he carried her on his back. Just as Ota is about to tumble, Haruto’s strong arms hold the two girls to keep them from falling. He then instructs them to get in his car. Ota insists on staying back as Haruto carries Airi to his car. (Huh? What did she stay back for?)

Airi is glad that Haruto did remember the factory and he says he can never forget their secret hideout. He apologises to her for never paying heed to her feelings and for being unable to reciprocate her love. She then wraps her arms around his neck and apologises for loving him. (Guys! You’ll just left poor little Ota alone at the factory. How is she going to get back home?)

Ota is surprised to find Airi at her house the next morning cheerfully chatting with her mom.

Her mother then offers her food but Airi refuses saying she gets fat so she has only supplements. Ota then stops her from eating those tablets and makes her eat her mother’s food which she does and even enjoys it to the extent of asking second helping.

Airi tells Ota that the factory was bought by her father when she had asked for it and they left it like that for her so she and Haruto could go there anytime. But today they put it up for sale so she is done with it once and for all. She then promises to be her friend and support her romance with Haruto. Ota reminds her that she has a fiancée and Airi points out that she looks happier with Haruto. Airi asks her if she has no place for Haruto in her heart and Ota has no answer to it so Airi jumps upon the conclusion that Ota does indeed have feelings for Haruto.

At Issa’s Ikebana exhibition, C5 boys urge Haruto to apologise to Ota for being rude to her when she was only trying to help Airi. Airi arrives with Ota at the party and they see the model Megumi cup Haruto’s face and ask him if they have met before.

 

Image Courtesy: Tokyo Broadcasting System

 

Comments

If you ask me about Tenma, I will say I am still on the fence. Sometimes it looks like there is more to him and sometimes he looks as innocent as an infant. I still can’t figure out his character. After today’s’ episode I know that I like him as he is the quintessential K-drama second lead who is always a dream man for every girl. But I dunno why I cannot brush off the feeling that he is not what he tries to show he is. I guess this could be because of his step-mother who creeps me out.

When Tenma held Ota in his arms and confessed his feelings for her, my heart melted like butter in a hot pan. I wanted to freeze time and have them together like that forever. Why does the second lead have to be so nice to the heroine who won’t even pick him in the end? Anyway, we still have a lot of episodes left so let’s wait and watch what happens next with this couple.

I think of all the cast members, I like Ota the best because of her acting. Even when she does the typical Japanese surprised ‘huh’ she does not overact. Her acting is very natural and I love that about her. I am totally hooked on the drama and am enjoying it because the three main leads act well (yes, Taishi included) and really complement each other.

 

Boys Over Flowers Season 2: Episode 5

 

Boys Over Flowers Season 2: Episode 3

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