When last we left our conman and lawyer, our lawyer got over himself, rescued the conman (kinda), and confessed his love in return.
Netflix calls this “enemies to lovers”? When are they enemies?
Whatever, they’re lovers now. Shiba has gone from pushing away love to smiling stupidly at his succulents. Haruto spoils him with homemade bread and jam. Shiba wonders if it’s okay to be this happy.
Haruto wants to go somewhere with Shiba on his day off. Cut to Shiba at work, not noticing when Kazama knocks on his door or walks into his office. Kazama notices Shiba’s researching hot springs on the internet. Shiba previously called hot springs places where you soak in a mixture of body fluids. I get this.
Shiba talks about his “friend” again, who is now going to the hot springs. Kazama brings attention to his new couple’s ring. Doing his best to throw Shiba’s life into chaos as usual, he mentions how a night at the hot springs will be sweet and spicy.
Now Shiba can’t get cute and seductive Haruto out of his head
He doesn’t sleep well the night before, which amuses Haruto. He’s also unenthusiastic about posing in pictures but indulges Haruto every time. As they wander, he keeps imagining Haruto in bed.
They check into their room, change into yukatas, and go to the water. For Haruto, this is a happy dream he didn’t think would happen to him. Back in their room, Shiba pulls out a gift for Haruto. It’s couples’ rings.
Haruto is stunned and touched, his long silence makes Shiba anxious. They put the rings on each other and share a funny, awkward kiss. Shiba tries to get things started but fails. Haruto pulls off the top of his yukata, exposing a scar.
Haruto asks if Shiba is curious about his past, but they agree that the now is more important. Shiba confesses that it’s his first time and Haruto reassures him and takes the lead. Typically jdrama, we don’t see much.
After, Shiba is thankful to Haruto and they settle to sleep. But Haruto has nightmares again. Shiba wonders about Haruto’s past and if their meeting wasn’t a coincidence. Haruto wakes up and wants Shiba to hold him so he doesn’t get nightmares. Shiba gives him a back snuggle.
Haruto asks him not to let go, and Shiba says for now he’ll trust his lover’s warmth. Good plan but we know the drama won’t let that happen.
We get just a little more fluff before heading into the big final arc
Shiba and Haruto are home and Shiba is keeping his promise of snuggling the nightmares away. He’s a new Shiba, cuddling and teasing and not wanting to leave for work. Haruto thinks courtroom Shiba is sexy and wants him to go to work.
At work, Shiba thinks he’ll get scolded but his boss wants to promote him. This would bring him closer to becoming Guardian of the Law!
Lucky him, he also gets to go to a client’s anniversary celebration and can bring a plus one. At home, Haruto gets excited about fancy food. Shiba doesn’t immediately encourage him and Haruto realizes he’s not the kind of person Shiba should take.
This pisses Shiba off, and he destroys the silly list of rules he made earlier. Not that I think Haruto ever followed them, but this is to drive home that Haruto is his important partner. He gets an enthusiastic back hug.
Shiba is only faking being stone-faced now as Haruto gets amorous using food metaphors.
Haruto gets the classic rom-com treatment
Because Shiba wants to dress him up in a tailored suit. The final result that shows up at the party pleases him, and everyone else. Haruto thinks the stares mean something is wrong, but proud-and-possessive Shiba assures him he’s fine.
Unfortunately, the client at this party is horrible. I suspect this is the reason Shiba hesitated to invite Haruto. Shiba introduces Haruto as his assistant, which is fair but hurts Haruto. Then the client goes into a sudden tirade about Haruto being trash. It escalates fast.
Haruto starts to leave for Shiba’s sake but gets a wrist grab from Shiba. He tells the client to apologize because Haruto is his lover. Both Haruto and the client are stunned. Shiba is in sexy lawyer mode, threatening the client with the law for defamation. Haruto is into it.
The client gives a lame apology and Shiba leads Haruto out, past a mysterious man with a gray ponytail.
Time for comfort food
Omurice at a bar. The bartender seems to know what Haruto likes. He explains to Shiba that the guy tried to buy him and he refused. That’s probably why he went from 0 to 1000. Shiba is ready to murder him, but Haruto stops him and reminds him that he’s not good at fighting.
But Haruto is happy because Shiba defended him.
And luckily there’s no fallout at work. But there is a new case!
Shiba is going up against an old enemy. At home, he shows Haruto a picture of the man with the ponytail we saw earlier. Takayasu Arisuinbo, the only person Shiba’s lost to in court. At the time Shiba worked under another lawyer named Hachisuka, who set Shiba up to lose. Now Hachisuka works for Arisuinbo.
Shiba wants to win against them. Haruto does too, because of what they did to Shiba. Though as the VO ominously warns, Haruto’s smile hides a heart yearning for revenge. We see the knife, someone yelling for Mom, and Haruto looking serious.
Haruto had some good instincts
Underneath his prickly, fussy, ridiculous exterior Shiba is such a sweet, committed guy. It’s like a switch has been flicked, and now he’s wholeheartedly devoted to Haruto.
Shiba does a lot to heal my heart after my disappointment with how Jack treated Joker, which aired around the same time. If you love someone, you support, encourage, and adore them. Don’t give them rules for being a good person.
It’s funny how onsen episodes are a staple of the anime/manga world but I rarely see them in dramas. Though the show has the usual closed-door-sex scenes of most Japanese BLs, I liked that it was honest about Shiba’s desire for Haruto. We may not see the results, but they’ve got the hots for each other.
The arc of their relationship is nicely done. In the first few episodes, Shiba is attracted to Haruto but frightened. He focuses on the question of who Haruto is. As he grapples with his feelings, that question fades away. Now, he knows Haruto is hiding things but has stated more than once that it doesn’t matter to him. This is a man down bad.
It’s a great set-up for a final arc where Haruto’s background becomes the conflict they can’t avoid. Since we’ve been in Shiba’s head this entire time we’ve also been in the dark about Haruto’s feelings. At the same time, Shiba’s past enemies have appeared. It all has to come together somehow, so let’s keep going!
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