Hey, um...
Can I do some cleaning?
You don't have to...
No, I didn't mean like that.
I enjoy cleaning.
And, um, I kind of want to.
Then by all means.
JOURNAL WITH WITCH
A novel?
EPISODE 2: WRAP
You're actually writing one? A novel?
What if I am?
A novel, of all things! You're so—
She's good at singing...
That's her journal entry?
EMIRI: HOW ARE THINGS GOING?
Hey... Hey.
Yeah?
About leaving that open...
I feel guilty for glancing at it.
Could you be a bit more discreet?
I don't mind if you read it.
But it's a journal.
It's supposed to be more...
Let's have dinner.
Uh, okay.
I feel like we had hot pot yesterday.
The routine around here is hot pot, hot pot,
rice bowl, rice bowl, ginger pork, ginger pork, then sashimi.
The routine, as in...?
For the week.
Plus udon for lunch.
On what day?
Every day.
Wait, what?
"How are things going?"
It's from a classmate.
I'm not sure how to respond.
That reminds me... I got a message like that too.
Really? How did you reply?
Er, I haven't yet.
I should get on that.
MAKIO-CHAN, YOU HAVEN'T RESPONDED IN LIKE A WEEK. YOU ALIVE? HOW GOES?
I HAVE SOME NEWS. I DECIDED TO...
Holy crap!
You're, like, actually a parent all of a sudden!
Unbelievable, isn't it?
It's cold out, so come on in.
Thanks a bunch.
You're Asa-chan, right?
I heard from Makio.
I'm Nana Daigo.
How old are you?
Fifteen.
Fifteen? That's crazy.
Oh, and hey.
Can you make some of that tea again?
I don't get it. What's crazy?
I can if my cinnamon isn't dead.
For real?
Whoa, when did this room get so clean?
I can actually sit down. Look.
I don't know about that bare-shoulder look.
Wait, does cinnamon actually die?
Are they even having the same conversation?
It must be mummified by now.
Are we even having the same conversation?
I heard you, yeah.
So? Does cinnamon really die?
Shush.
So they do get each other...
Oh! U-Um...
I, uh...
I've just never seen two grown-ups act like friends, so...
Really? Not even your mom?
I think she means she's never seen such lousy grown-ups.
Ah, that's gotta be it!
Grown-ups wouldn't go busting a gut, duh.
"Busting a gut, duh"?
That's crazy.
I'm hungry.
Let's make some dinner.
What's this?
Dessert.
Say, have you even been cooking like you should?
Has she been feeding you?
Um, well...
SAT/SUN: HOT POT, MON/TUES: OYAKODON, WED/THURS: GINGER PORK, FRIDAY: SASHIMI UDON FOR LUNCH
Let's see here.
Hot pot, hot pot, rice bowl, rice bowl, pork, pork, sashimi.
AS ABOVE, SO ONWARD
SAME APPLIES FOR SUMMER -MAKIO
That's a solid lineup.
Not bad.
I still need to get used to cooking for two.
Eh, that'll come with time.
Was your older sister a stay-at-home mom?
Don't ask me.
You don't know? That's crazy.
Aha, I see now.
This is how grown-ups talk?
I totally understand.
I was originally planning on making dinner for you two...
But screw that.
No, this isn't grown-up talk.
It feels more like...
a whole other language.
Whaddya say? Let's make it together.
In fact, you two can do the bulk of the work.
Wait!
Don't you worry. It'll be fine.
Daigo!
I'm already making her clean.
I'm in! I-I want to cook!
So, what? You're already making her clean. And?
I-I can't force her to cook on top of that.
I can wrap them! I can wrap the gyoza!
You heard the girl.
I-I don't want to dictate what she can or can't do...
If Makio-chan doesn't want me to, I don't have to...
Awkward!
Listen, Makio-kun.
You once came to me about how you couldn't do even the simplest things.
Daigo...
I never wanna see you cry like that.
Daigo!
Not ever again, you hear?
She doesn't seem very grown-up...
I've never seen this side of Makio-chan.
Consider it a good opportunity.
So from this moment forward, we'll be Team Bao.
Team Bao?
TEAM BAO
A team wrapping up bao...
hence Team Bao!
You know what makes gyoza so great? You can fill them with virtually anything.
Any requests?
Ginger buds.
Those aren't even in season.
Women who wrap...
JOURNAL WITH WITCH
Can you heat this up in the microwave?
One minute should do it.
Okay.
Makio, you cut the stem off the eggplants.
And mince the cabbage.
Okay.
This reminds me of your dog, Daigo.
Didn't it love cabbage cores?
Oh, yeah.
I remember the sound of all that crunching.
I don't eat cabbage cores!
She's like a corgi.
Nah, I say a shiba.
With a black nose.
My nose isn't black!
Slice it lengthwise. Yeah, like that.
Hey, Makio.
Heat up the eggplant next.
You're good at mincing.
When I did it my home ec class, this guy took my place.
What? What's his deal?
Maybe he likes you, Asa-chan.
No, he just really liked green onions.
You're suddenly starting to sound like Makio.
Okay! Let's throw it all in this bowl and mix it all up!
I don't say weird stuff like that...
But he told me as much.
He was like, "I love green onions!"
Don't worry about measuring the seasoning.
Now mix it up round and round in one direction.
Daigo-san, how do you know so much about gyoza?
A guy who worked at a Chinese restaurant once taught me.
I had a crush on him.
Keep that hand moving.
I've never heard this story.
Well, yeah, it's cringey to look back on.
But every time I make gyoza, it reminds me of him...
The jerk!
Then don't make gyoza.
Round and round and round and round...
Hey, so what do I do with this eggplant?
Round and around and around and around...
Tear it by hand, then add ground sesame and noodle soup broth.
What did I grow up eating?
All those homemade meals...
I used to think they were good. But now...
Is it good, Asa?
Yeah!
I can't remember.
My mom's gyoza...
What did she put in them again?
'Tis time to wrap, Team Bao!
Yessir.
Okay!
I shall make you my secret dipping sauce in the meantime.
Secret?
It's a classified recipe.
I'll teach it to you later.
Can I have your LINE ID?
Yeah!
So much for classified.
Fine, I shall bestow the recipe upon you too.
Asa-chan, could you share it with her?
Yeah, sure!
Uh...
You haven't exchanged IDs yet?
Get on that!
Well, we've been at home together all this time, so...
Now! Begin wrapping, dear Team Bao!
Yeah!
M'kay.
Garlic-ginger oyster sauce.
Pickled plum and mustard sauce.
Shiso with miso and onion-vinegar sauce.
And finally, the classic vinegared soy sauce with chili oil.
Plus tons of sliced ginger.
It looks so good!
For the Gram?
For the Gram.
Okay! All done.
Let's dig—
Shiba it is.
"How are things going," huh?
Does this friend know about your parents?
She does.
Gotcha.
Then that's nice of her.
Makio?
Sounds like she chose her words carefully.
"How are you?" "You okay?" "What's happened since?"
It's hard to give a precise answer to any of those.
And it probably didn't sit right to sound overly worried or too casual.
It feels like she tried to convey those complicated thoughts
with her question: "How are things going?"
That's why it was nice of her.
You should explain as much yourself.
See, this is what I like about you.
Yeesh. Thanks, I guess.
EMIRI: HOW ARE THINGS GOING?
You made this yourself?!
I couldn't sell a plain cake like this at the store.
So? Did you decide how to respond?
HOW ARE THINGS GOING?
Um... "I'm doing okay," I guess?
I'M DOING OKAY
Nice! That sounds good.
THANKS
Yum.
Thanks for today.
No prob.
Hey, why don't you reach out to Kasamachi-kun?
About money and stuff.
I mean, that appetite of hers...
It's gotta be a huge hit to the household.
Kasamachi-kun, huh?
Your whole life's about to change.
It's an epoch!
You've got my respect.
All done here.
Thank you.
Well, I should get back to work...
Oh, okay.
Let me know when you want to sleep.
U-Um...
Do you remember what you said to me after the accident?
That I can be sad if the time comes.
Oh, that.
I wanted to say...
thank you.
I was worried it was weird of me not to be sad.
So I was really relieved to hear you say that.
I appreciate it, Makio-chan.
How you feel is no one's business but yours.
Whatever you may feel, no one has the right to shame you for that.
Yeah.
So if I ever do get sad, I'll let you know.
I'm okay for now. Really.
Got it. I'll let you know if I ever need to as well.
Let's work together from now on.
Yeah.
Oh, but I'm a good-for-nothing downer.
So I'll ask you to go easy on the pressure.
Pressure?
Oh, that kind of pressure!
Like what my mom always did.
"You can't even do this much?"
And stuff like that, right?
Roger that! No pressure, then.
I'm heading out for a bit.
Can you get yourself takeout for dinner?
You look amazing!
It's so different from your usual!
Thanks...
Can I get your signature, Sensei?
Stop it, Kasamachi-kun...
You look displeased, as always.
Been a while.
Sorry for the sudden invite.
All good.
I'd show up anywhere with one call from you.
A coffee, please.
Coming right up.
Hey, so did Ruby die at the end?
FOR KASAMACHI-KUN, THANKS AS ALWAYS. -MAKIO KODAI
You left that ambiguous, like she's actually alive.
You really are a keen reader.
I mean, it was a good book.
I'll write more about Ruby if a sequel gets picked up.
If, huh?
This series isn't selling very well.
I feel bad for them.
The characters, I mean.
Here they are, yet I can't tell their story.
That was a creepy way to put it.
It's not creepy at all.
These characters are like your kids—
Excuse me, can I get a grilled sandwich?
Right away!
Are you even listening to me?
Speaking of kids...
What is she, in middle school?
She's fifteen.
You know...
Don't take this the wrong way. I'm just saying.
First off, I'm not hoping to get back together.
But when I heard you were taking in a kid, I was annoyed.
When we were a thing, you used to talk about how you never wanted kids.
So I couldn't figure it out.
Anyways, I just realized it hurt more than I realized.
That's all. End of story.
So?
What?
You wanted to talk finances, right?
Oh, right.
At least until she graduates and lands a job.
But I have no clue what she needs, or what I can do for her.
Are you moving?
That apartment's gotta be small for the two of you.
I own it, so... I don't plan to leave any time soon.
What? You bought it? That apartment?
Yeah.
When?
Six years ago?
That's literally when we were dating!
Well, my series back then just happened to take off, so...
I had no idea.
You're terrible about sharing important stuff, you know that?
I never thought my work would sell so well.
It felt like I'd awaken from the dream if I told anyone.
That's just like you.
I'm glad to see you doing you.
Have you filed a petition for guardianship yet?
What's that?
You'll need it for the girl to receive her parents' life insurance.
Wasn't there a copy of the policy?
I don't know.
I haven't been to her house yet.
Then I'd suggest you go and look for it.
What else is there?
She sleeps a lot.
She's up a bit during the day, but she's asleep otherwise.
All the time.
I don't think she realizes it.
Maybe it's her way of tending her wounds.
To process what happened internally.
If that's the case, is shaking her awake
and forcing her to find closure the right thing to do?
It scares me.
I still can't believe it.
You view most human interactions as scary by default.
I bet you were nervous reaching out to me too.
Hush, you.
And you signed up for this?
Well...
Sure I'm scared. Of course I am.
I mean, dealing with a fifteen-year-old...
At her tender age,
the smallest remark could change the rest of her life.
It's terrifying.
You may not like hearing this,
but your remark changed my life too, you know?
What did I say?
That's a secret.
You wouldn't remember anyway.
You're always so...
But you're right.
Makio.
I'll be in touch.
I wanna meet her. This girl of yours.
Okay.
You know when Ruby thinks back on her home in that one scene?
Toward the end?
Yeah.
I really liked that part.
I read it over and over.
Ruby reflected on the beginning of her journey.
That first step she took back when she bolted, as if to run away,
was no different than the one she took now:
a step back toward home.
No matter where she was, her footprints were always headed there.
"Home."
"I'm going home," she thought.
With the next step, Ruby lost her footing.
She clawed at the sky until she couldn't bear any more.
With grains of sand on her cheek, she crawled forward like a baby.
"No!"
She tried to yell.
But her voice tangled in her throat.
Not even the sand grains before her moved any longer.
"Powerless..."
"Was my voice always like this?"
"How did I sound to you?"
"Just when I want to ask, you're not here."
Home was nothing but shelter with a roof—
What are you reading?
Huh? Oh, this book.
Welcome home.
Yeah...
What's that face for?
Fine, I'll read it later.
Asa.
Next week, let's go through your stuff at home.
"HOME. I'M GOING HOME."