Imouto yo

Episode One

At the same station is Takagi Masashi (Karasawa Toshiaki) who is on the phone. He is told that his driver is wearing dark blue blazer and grey pants, which happens to be exactly what Kikuo is wearing. So Masashi naturally mistakes for his driver and hands him his stuff.

Meanwhile, Yukiko is asking to leave early from work to pick up her brother. He says that she will have to make up the time tomorrow.  As she leaves work, it is raining so she goes back in to pick up a (slightly dented) red umbrella.

Back at the station, Masashi realises his mistake and is apologising to Kikuo, who is being quite good-natured about it. Kikuo assumes that like himself, it's Masashi's first time in Tokyo (which is clearly not the case) and he tries to encourage him to have confidence. Yukiko arrives at this point, and Masashi asks if she is Kikuo's sister, saying that she reminded him of his own sister. As Kikuo is scrambling about looking for his own umbrella in his luggage, Yukiko hands Masashi hers, saying that she can share with her brother.  The two siblings then leave the station.

Masashi, surrounded by his staff, is in a hotel, on his way to an important press conference.  One of his staff, Miura Shinji (Toyohara Kosuke) is saying that New York Times and Washington Post have also flown over to attend the announcement of him taking over as the new company president.

As Yukiko takes her brother home, she reflects that she has been in Tokyo for 3 years now, and is saying that in that time, she has learned that  one has to wait for miracles, that they can't be hurried. But she remains unwavering in her belief that they do happen.

As they arrive home, Wakui is saying that her place is on the small side but that it was found by her company and the rent is relatively cheap.  As she is chattering, Kikuo notices a pair of colorful boxer shorts hung up outside on your patio and he takes it down and holds it up against himself... the size obviously  is for a guy, and he assumes it's her boyfriend's. He then says to Yukiko  that he doesn't mean to criticize (although he's obviously bothered by it) but he says the color and pattern are quite tacky and that real men should wear briefs (holding up one of his own pairs for her to see). She explains that they are actually just for show, and said that she was advised by her colleague to hang them up so people would think that she did not live alone.  She then calls Goro a pervert and he tries to defend himself by saying that underwear is actually a good way to tell a guy's character. but she retorts that she wouldn't want to use such a character test. One must look at his heart, not his undies, she declares.

While she's moving around the house, Kikuo secretly takes out a diamond ring but hides it quickly again when Yukiko comes back. She tells him that she had signed him up for a half-day city tour tomorrow, but as she has to work, she can't go with him. But she'll take him to some place special for dinner, and asks for his preference. Kikuo asks to go to a trendy restaurant for a fancy meal.

Back at the conference, Masashi's driver is apologizing for his tardiness, saying that he was held up by a traffic accident. Shinji wants to dismiss him but Masashi gives him a second chance. As Shinji is reminding Masashi of an upcoming chairty event, he sees the red umbrella that Masashi is using and tells the driver to throw it away. Masashi seems reluctant to do so, but Shinji insists on throwing it out, saying that it was inappropriate for someone in his position to carry a dented umbrella.

Kikuo is at home, with the engagement ring and some  photos (of a woman) spread out on the table. The phone rings and it's Yukiko calling to ask about his dinner preference. He asks her to make the reservation for three people -  that he is bringing his g/f - and to book an expensive meal. As they dress for dinner that evening, Kikuo tells Yukiko about his relationship with his girlfriend, Reika  - which he has known since high school - and how she was an air-stewardess. Yukiko seems  relieved that he has one, saying that their family worried about him being 30 and still single.

Meanwhile Shinji is trying to convince Masashi to escort some important corporate player's only daughter (Kanzaki Hatsue) to the charity event tomorrow evening. Masashi is not impressed and refuses to do so.

At the restaurant, Kikuo is a bit surprised that there didn't seem to be a lot of French people, despite this being French cuisine.  He tries to act cool in such a classy place but soon blows the act when he looks at the shockingly high prices on the menu. They find out that they only have enough money  for two people and Yukiko offers to go, telling her brother to wait for his girlfriend, who hasn't arrived yet.  Just before she leaves, she quickly briefs Kikuo on using the fancy cutlery.

As Yukiko leaves the restaurant, Masashi's call passes by and he decides to follow her. He sees her stop at a hotdog stand and he buys one too.  He then asks her why she was eating this, when she has just left the restaurant. He says that he knows the restaurant quite well, as he often likes to bring clients there. She is a bit embarrassed and tells him that she does too, so he assumed that she was there for business.  He asks her if her work is done and if she is going home. He then tells her that he has thrown her umbrella away, which she quickly says she was going to do so anyway, since it was dented, but then can't help saying that it would actually have been useable, if repaired.

Masashi's driver comes over and calls him president. Masashi explains that he is taking over his father's business, and offers her a ride.  In the car, he starts to talk about his sister again, and how she used to carry a red umbrella too.  His sister left home three years ago and he doesn't know her whereabouts now.  Yukiko reminded him of his sister.  Just as she leaves the car, Yukiko decides to tell him the truth about her being in that  restaurant. She also reassures him that he will find his sister eventually.  He is touched and gives her the invitation to the charity event tomorrow night, telling her to bring her brother with her.

Back at home, Yukiko gets a call from her brother, who is still waiting at the restaurant. Kikuo asks if Reika had called, and after finding out she didn't, he continues to wait...until closing time.

The next morning, Yukiko asks him what happened the night before, but he avoids her questions and she assumes things went well.  During breakfast, he pretends that he had given her the engagement ring and she becomes excited and starts to ask questions, but he tells her that they have yet to work out the details.  She then gives him Masashi's invitation, telling him it's a fancy event and he should bring Reika.  He uses the excuse that he doesn't have the appropriate clothes, and     she admits she doesn't either, and he tells her to forget going.

Masashi is talking to his father who received a call from some guy who's with his sister, asking for money, which his father refused.  His father had already decided to cut the connection with his daughter, but Masashi clearly wants to find his sister.

At work, Yukiko asks her colleague Nakamura to go  shopping with her after work, but she refuses, and tells Yukiko that she is   pregnant.

At Masashi's office, he gives his driver some photos of  his sister, asking him to secretly find her whereabouts.

Yukiko is looking at clothes and she picks out a tuxedo for her brother, asking the salesgirl if she could pay by installments.  As she  carries the tux home, she sees Reika waiting at the door. Reika tells her bluntly that she has no feelings for him at all, and she just fooled around with him a bit at a  student reunion and never expected him to take it so seriously.  Yukiko finds out the truth about what happened the night before and that her brother lied about the engagement and everything.

Kikuo is walking around Kabuchi-cho and is coerced by a pimp Ono Kenji (Watanabe Katsumi) to go to this nightclub, where he meets Hitomi (Tsuruta Mayu) who is a hostess there. He proceeds to get quite drunk, but when she finds out that he actually has no money, he is beaten up quite badly.

The next morning, he lies to Yukiko about how he'd got hurt, saying that he was protecting Reika from some street thugs who were probably jealous that he had such a beautiful girlfriend. Yukiko - having seen Reika - accidentally let slip that she too found Reika beautiful, and so Kikuo finds out about Reika visiting their house the night before. He then admists that the fight was provoked by his having no money to pay the bill. He then asks her what Reika came over for, and it's Yukiko lies to protect her brother from being hurt, saying that she only came to say she was going to have to fly to London and that she was quite upset about having to leave him.  Kikuo knows that she is lying and goes after her about the truth, so she tells him what Reika said the night before. 

When Yukiko gets to work, her colleague Nakamura asks to borrow some money and to accompany her after work.

Kikuo is walking around the city again, and bumps into Hitomi. He asks her to give him back his engagement ring, saying that he knows he deserved the beating but he really needs his ring back as he has used up his entire life savings to buy it.  Her pimp/boyfriend, Kenji, intercepts at this point and Kikuo is beaten up again by Kenji and his gang, while Hitomi looks on.  While he is getting beat up, he continues to plead with her.  After the gang leaves, she decides to give him back the ring, and tells him not to go to the club again.  Kikuo then hawks the ring at a pawn shop, asking for 50,000 yen.

Yukiko is drinking at a pub with her colleague after work, trying to persuade Nakamura to have a talk with her boyfriend about her pregnancy situation, but Nakamura replies that it's not the right time and asks her for a loan.  Yukiko gives her all the money she has in her wallet, but it's only 5,000 yen.

When Yukiko comes home, she sees Kikuo all dressed up, and he tells her to hurry or they'll miss the party.  It's his last night and he wants to make it memorable.  He shows her the beautiful white balldress he has bought her, and they head off to the charity event.  When they arrive at the party, they're dumbstruck by the glamour.

While Kikuo is gawking at the elaborate food set-up, Yukiko is looking around for Masashi.  As they're tasting the fancy food, Kikuo accidentally bumps into a waiter and spills the food everywhere, making a scene. Shinji comes over and asks to see their invitation. He is vexed when he finds the invitation to have come from Masashi and says that the invite wasn't meant for them and asks them to leave... after cleaning up the mess from the floor.  As they're picking up the spilled food, Masashi comes over and asks Yukiko to do him the honour of dancing with him.  The other guests look on, commenting on how pretty she is and what an atractive a couple they make.  The scene is like a fairytale come true for Yukiko...

The next day, Yukiko is still in rapture and talks about the party while she is sending Kikuo off to the train station.  She wishes that     they had photos of the event, so they could share it with their parents.  Kikuo seems less impressed and just before leaving, he tells Yukiko not to take last night too seriously, and that she should regard it as nothing more than a dream.

Next, Yukiko is at the clinic waiting for her friend who is having an abortion.  Afterwards, as they are eating in a restaurant, Nakamura tells her that she did see her boyfriend but only briefly as he showed up to give her the money and then left.  She says that even though he is only a student, his family is quite well-off, so the money was not a problem. She says that she will now have to look for a new boyfriend. They then discuss the type of boyfriend they would like, and Yukiko says that while being rich is not that important, he must have a gentle heart.