Ron Does Stuff

This Japanese series has actually been a fun watch for me and I can’t wait to see what else it has in store for me!

At the end of the last episode, Haruto has offered himself up as not just a partner to Shiba, but his lover as well. Well, well, well. Well, well, well indeed because Haruto tells Shina that he’s just joking and he’ll go prepare the bath now. Don’t give the man blue balls, he’s your employer!

The bath Haruto prepares for Shiba has rose petals and everything and this is a very new experience for Shiba. Haruto says a rose petal bath is going to be good for Shiba’s skin and then Shiba’s mind wanders and he imagines the two of them in the bath. And then Haruto is applying what I think is serum on his face and just…what? I’m not complaining but just…what? Shiba is rationalizing in his head that Haruto is a business partner and this is what business partner’s do. If this is what business partners do maybe I should start a business too?

We’ll have to get back to that though, because now we’re going to be focusing on the influencer trial that Shiba is involved in. It’s a cast about portrait/image rights and I won’t even pretend to understand the legalese. The influencer who filed the case says he never agreed to have his image used for an ad, and since it was just a verbal agreement, it’s hard to prove which one’s at fault.

The first bombshell that Shiba drops during the trial is the audio recording that Haruto acquired, showing that the influencer and his business/romantic partner planned to lie about not agreeing to the verbal contract since they didn’t expect the backlash the influencer received because of the ad. The influencer’s lawyer brings up the fact that the the recording was acquired illegally and Shiba argues that it wasn’t acquired from the influencer under duress and in a public place and the judges say they’ll reserve judgment. I don’t know what that means but the influencer’s lawyer’s happy about it.

The second bombshell is the influencer’s social media manager, who Haruto was able to convince to testify against the influencer because she is also the influencer’s romantic partner and she wasn’t aware that the guy was cheating on her. And I think the lawyer is also romantically involved with him but I’m not sure about that. Either way, Shiba wins the case!

Back at home, Haruto is asking for a treat since he did so well after all. Because Haruto’s got Shiba’s head in his hands and it would be so easy to kiss him Shiba thinks that it’s a kiss that Haruto wants but what he really wants is for them to go camping. Their hands touch while they’re setting up and when Shiba asks why are they celebrating their court win with a camping trip Haruto distracts him with food.

As the day progresses, Shiba asks Haruto to sign a contract to be Shiba’s investigator and Haruto signs it, no questions asked, because he says he trusts Shiba. But is this in itself a con? I guess we’ll find out further down the line! And then Haruto tells him that the reason he asked to go on a camping trip is because he likes Shiba and he didn’t think he would be able to tell him at home. This has got to be a con because you haven’t been that long together and Haruto knows Shiba hasn’t been in a relationship. He’s confusing him and seducing him and I approve of this homosexual crime!

Internally, Shiba is beside himself. His internal dialogue is all “My heart feels like a marshmallow. It’s hot, soft, and melting.” Externally, his face is still blank and he’s munching on that marshmallow as if he isn’t sporting a chub. A chub that he may not be able to sustain for long because his colleague Kotaro thinks he remembers Haruto from somewhere and he’s right — he’s one of the suspects in the real estate scam case he’s handling.