ENG SUB MULTI [Highlight] The Birthday Mystery | Ep1
Signal… Out of range. Come to me, Legendary Rare. Help. Please, bless me. I already… have that one. You see, I love your
drawings, Kurome-san. They’re whimsical and dreamy.
– I appreciate that. Well, to be frank, it’s a little
old-fashioned or a little too whimsical. I love them though. Please speak your
mind. I can take it. It’s boring, your writing. Why suddenly use kabedon now?
That’s just destruction of property. Or that face when they’re
dying of cuteness? It’s gross. I don’t think there’s any
problem with the face. You know, it’s painful to see you trying
so hard to grasp the latest trends. It’s like you’re always
one step behind. I have to pay my rent… That kind of desperation doesn’t
translate into creativity. You can’t feel the passion
that wells up in the characters. You’re drawing from your head, so there’s no emotional
attachment to the heroine. Ugh, I hate this. This must be what it’s like to work
in HR and downsize older employees. You see, it’s hard for me too. I got the message. I’ll see myself out. Should I give you a chance or not? A final chance? You’ll give me one? – You want one?
– Yes. It’s gonna be a collaboration. So, we’ll have someone
else write the story, and you can concentrate
on the drawings. I see. You know the young adult
novelist Kumon Ryuen, right? I’m sorry, I don’t. What? He’s a huge
best-selling author. You must be living under a rock
or completely oblivious, huh? I’m sorry, I’ll google
him right now. Kumon R— Don’t bother. It’s not
set in stone just yet. I’m sorry. I’m
behind on rent, and… He has one condition. The payment distribution?
I leave that to your discretion. It’s not about money. How much
royalties do you think he gets? I’m sorry, I’ll google it right now. Don’t bother.
There’s no way it would be listed. I’m fine with anything.
I can handle it. You have a daughter, don’t you? Well… yes. He said that if you lack
emotional attachment, you should just
draw your daughter. Hold on a second! It’s tidier than I thought. You can’t just enter her room. We can’t grasp the real situation
unless we catch her off guard. That’s right. This is research. Have you messaged your daughter
about us coming here? She doesn’t have a cell phone. Since she spends most of her time at
home, she says she doesn’t need one. A hikikomori for 10
years since high school? But, you know, there was COVID
with the restrictions and all that. So I’d say it’s actually
only been half of that… – Your daughter?
– Yes. On the far right. That’s her. What about work?
Any part-time jobs? She used to help out sometimes with
backgrounds and such for my mangas. There may be a diary
or signs of suicide somewhere. That’s going too far.
Even if it’s a joke, that’s… A suicide note? Class Reunion Notice Ah, Sui, you’re back. I’ll introduce you.
This is my editor-in-chief, Kurusu— Ah, don’t bother. You don’t have to introduce us. Take your time. I’ll just make some
miso soup real quick. You don’t have to turn
this way, please just listen. We’re thinking of starting
a manga series with me as the writer and your father as the illustrator. Don’t bother. It doesn’t
really concern me. As for the main
character of the manga, we’re thinking of
using you as the model. You don’t ha— Editor-in-Chief Kurusu wants
a passionate, pure love story. Pure? Sui… Sui-chan… Love… Sui… You have a beautiful smile. I saw your room. Right? How dare them? Going into a girl’s room
without permission… Well, as long as they
didn’t take anything… – That’s what she’s worried about?
– Nothing has been taken. It’s a waste of time to be
a hikikomori for 10 years. Hikikomori… But, you know, there was COVID,
so only half of that counts, right? Instead of leaving your hair unkempt
and scratching your butt in sweats, why don’t you go out
on the town in style? I don’t scratch my butt. I see. Komoribito. Is that what you call a hikikomori? Not a hikki? You’re quite behind. Behind? Yeah, I hear it’s made it easier
to talk to support centers. Komoribito? It sounds… Cute. It does? Becoming the model for a manga… We have to pay rent somehow. Well, that’s true… A passionate, pure love story… Will you talk about the accident? Are you okay? I’m okay. I think.
What? 10 years ago… Yes. What? Bullying? Were you bullied? Girls
are the most vicious, aren’t they? Like a childish siege of
ostracism or something? Mei. Right. I’ll tell it in her place. I’m afraid she’ll have a flashback. It might be painful to remember. What is it? The suspense is
killing me. What is it? What is it? Mei, can you get lost? My daughter and him had an accident. A motorcycle accident. He was from the same club… He was a boy from the soccer club. She was a manager of that club. Right. It even was in the newspaper. Because her school was
Yatsu Higashi High School in Chiba. One of the best soccer
school clubs in Japan. Yes. He was the heart of
the team, so to speak. He was a professional prospect and
was even selected for the U-18 team. Fortunately, my daughter escaped
with only minor injuries. But as for him… He’s dead? The tournament was supposed to
start the next week. It was a big tournament
with them defending the title. But with him gone… The team was eliminated
in the second round. You were one of their managers. You must have taken a lot of flak. Kumon-sensei, isn’t
this a little too heavy? Well, of course, you
can rearrange the story, but gouging out her
emotional wounds like this… Even if you depict her overcoming her boyfriend’s
death and meeting someone new, it’s still… Well, I guess you’re right. Kurome-san, look. If you had given us
a hint of her story, we wouldn’t have put her
through this in the first place. That’s true. I’m sorry. But somewhere deep down… It was an accident after all. The statute of
limitations, or rather… I thought it was time for
my daughter to get over it. Also, our rent… never mind… He’s not. He wasn’t my boyfriend. A reality stranger than fiction. In other words, you
actually liked someone else? I have… If you’re going to write about me,
I have one condition. Go ahead. May I have the Agatha figure? This notice about the class reunion. I thought maybe there was someone else she
wanted to see, not the guy from the accident. I see… or else she
would have thrown it away. Who’s the boy from the accident? Amamiya Junpei. Him. A group of six close friends. It’s probably one of
the other two boys. Shirosaki Kento or… Eda Yuma? Your mom’s cheating? For real? With her gym trainer. All that’s left is to capture
irrefutable evidence. So, what’s the plan? ( sign with rates of a love hotel )
I have two options.
Show it to Mom and make her stop. The other option
is to show it to Dad. So? Which one would you choose? I wouldn’t like either. I don’t even want to imagine it.
My mom having an affair and stuff. I’m thinking of
showing it to my dad. Wouldn’t that result in a divorce? – It won’t.
– Why not? Because if he asked her about it,
she’d just get defiant. She always gets angry
when it’s not in her favor. She’ll say, “It’s your fault.” And then my dad, as soft as he is,
will apologize to her. – I get the picture.
– It makes me sick. Then, let’s go home. Maybe we should
just turn a blind eye. I can’t. It makes me sick,
but I can’t ignore it. Then I’ll film it for you. Here. Eda-kun… I can’t win at all. How boring. Ah, Mom is back. The girl collapsed. She’s hyperventilating. Bang! Please lie her prone. Come on, join me. Bang! It’s impossible. I knew it.
She can’t go to the reunion. She’s panicking. Bang! Bang! Bang! Hayata! She’s already dead. No matter how much I
want to sell my manga. I can’t use my daughter
as an experiement! If she misses this chance, the next reunion might
be in another 10 years. Or maybe even 20 or 30 years. She doesn’t have to go.
There’s nothing forcing her. I’m fine with just the two of us.
It can stay like this forever. And not fall in love
for the rest of her life? I’m her father.
I’d rather have her not fall in love than fall for some strange guy. You don’t want her to get married
and give you grandchildren? I don’t! I don’t care about
the declining birthrate! I won’t feel lonely or eat alone! That may be fine for you. But she’s the one who’s
going to suffer nursing you. I’ll die when that time comes.
If she wants, we can die together. That’s absurd. Sui. I’m going! The PIN is Agatha’s birthday. 201654. You’re a fan after all? Not really. Maybe you’ll end up
exchanging numbers. You’re raising the bar again. But I don’t know what I would say
to him if I suddenly met him. Right? Nanuma? Excuse me? It’s short for “What day
of the week were you born?” What’s up with that? In Japan, we tell fortunes
by blood type and horoscope. Similarly, in Thailand and Myanmar, everyone knows what day
of the week they were born. They believe it’s related
to personality and compatibility. I don’t know mine or my son’s. I also don’t know mine or Sui’s… Ah, wait! Nope. You’d get everyone to google it
and lighten the mood. Nanuma? Nanuma? Yes. I’m off. You got your wallet? I can’t help but worry. Maybe we should take
a cab and follow her? No problem. You saw her
hyperventilating earlier! Kumon-sensei, don’t tell me… I bugged her phone. You bugged her!? She has given her official consent
to be the source of this story. Look, that doll of
yours couldn’t even— It’s a premium limited edition
figure. 140,000 yen a piece. Enough to pay rent. Please picture her in your mind.
The heroine of the story. Right now she’s on the bus,
at the end of a long, long struggle, trying to fulfill a
decade-long desire. Fortunately, she escaped with only
minor injuries from the accident. But she’s left with deep,
deep emotional scars. Is it guilt? Why was
she with another boy? What happened at the beach? What excuse did she give
to the boy she really loved? Alone in the dark, crouched down. Nobody was holding her down,
yet she couldn’t stand up. For ten years, time stood still. The same goes for you, her father. Time stopped while she
was still in high school. That’s why you’re
so worried about her. Even though she’s already 27. She’s finally got the courage. The overdue rent, your
manga being canceled. It was time for her to stand up. It’s a chance! Now is the time to
be brave and stand up. Stand up, Clara. Clara… Picture the scene in your mind. Her sitting at the bus window.
Staring at nothing in particular. A tangerine sunset. I want to see him. I can’t see him. I want to see him.
I can’t see him… I’ll do my best to draw it. Beautifully. It’ll work. It’ll sell. Mom, why are you crying? I guess it brought me back? I was there myself. An episode from
by bittersweet youth. I want to see him, but I can’t. Dad? Not him, no. All right, let have a toast
to celebrate her new beginning. But, um… we don’t
have any glasses… Anything’s fine.
There’s gotta be something. You’re right. Anything is fine. We’re fine with just the two of us. Forever. Eda-kun, you can’t go home yet. I just need some fresh air. Kurome… right? Ah, it’s me, Eda Yuma. You know. It’s tiny me. Na… Na… Nanuma? Out of the blue? What day of the week were you born? …I guess.
About The Birthday Mystery (2023):
Due to an event, Kurome Sui has been living as a hikikomori for the past 10 years since the age of 18. However, her life begins to change after she receives an invitation to a high school reunion and meets popular novelist Kumon Ryuen.
Cast: Iitoyo Marie, Mizobata Junpei
Director: Iwamoto Hitoshi, Otsuka Kyoji and Matsubara Hiroshi
Genres: Mystery, Romance, Youth, Drama
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