Sukina Hito ga Iru Koto Episode 1 Recap

After their successful big-screen pairing, my favorite hero and heroine will be teaming up once again. This time in a drama. Kyah! As expected, they deliver. ❤

Episode 1

Sakurai Misaki (Merei Kiritani) is a daughter of a dumpling shop owner and has been eating dumpling 365 days a year since she was young. And it’s basically the reason why when she took her very first bite of a birthday cake, she was so amazed that she wanted to become a patissier. Eventually, her dream came true. But all of a sudden, the bakery she worked for stopped selling cakes and she was rendered jobless. She applied at Vitz Charleston Hotel (a 5-star Hotel). And in the hopes of nailing the job, she brought her home-made cake to the interview. But unfortunately, she failed.

She relays her misfortune to her best friend Ishikawa Wakaba at a restaurant. Wakaba blames the exaggerated pouting candy dolls Sakurai baked and placed on top of her cake for it. She further stresses that Sakurai needs to break free from her 4-year romanceless and kissless life. Sakurai defends that she has been too busy with work that forgot about having a boyfriend and stuffs. In order to improve her friend’s dried up love life, Wakaba gives Sakurai’s cake to the waiter who is serving them and hints that the latter is looking for a boyfriend. Though confused, the waiter takes the cake. Hours passed by and Wakaba leaves first to meet her boyfriend.

In the midst of the couple-packed restaurant, Sakurai feels isolated and lonely. She goes to the bathroom to cry out her disappointments and frustrations. But then the door lock gets broken and she’s trapped inside. Coincidentally, she is rescued by Shibasaki Chiaki (Miura Shohei), her first love and a staff in the restaurant.

They chat for a bit and since Sakurai is embarrassed to tell him she’s unemployed, she lies that she’s a patissier at Vitz Charleston Hotel and she’s having a break from work because of the kitchen renovation. Chiaki confesses that he tasted her cake and liked it so much that he invites her to work at the restaurant his family owned. And since it’s far from the city, he suggests that she stay with him. The room next to his is vacant so she can just use it. Sakurai is reluctant at first but agrees after Wakaba convinces her to go.

Before Sakurai goes to Shonan, Wakaba gives her some pointers on how to live with a guy. Her tips include wearing cute sleepwear, putting on nude make up after shower, using Instagram and lastly, applying lip balm on her dried up lips. With all sincerity, Wakaba hopes that Sakurai will remember the feeling of being in love through Chiaka.

All is ready and Sakurai boards the train. She enjoys the picturesque view and can’t help post it on Instagram with the caption “I’m going to fall in love this summer. Summer is here!”.

She first goes to the beach, again, to take an Instagram-worthy picture. She shoves her phone to a random surfer dude and tells him to capture her ceremonial jumpshot. The surfer irritably concedes. However, Sakurai ends up falling flat on her stomach after stepping on a ball. The surfer takes a picture of her embarrassing situation nonetheless. She angrily confronts the guy but he isn’t fazed and leaves without even saying sorry.

Sakurai arrives at Chiaki’s place. She stops in front of the gate and stares at the big house. Suddenly, a guy hugs her from behind. She mistakenly thinks it’s Chiaki but when she turns around, it’s not him. Both are shocked as they took each other for someone else. The guy introduces himself as Shibasaki Toma (Nomura Shuhei), Chiaki’s younger brother. He then notice the smudge under her eye and asks if she’s okay. She isn’t aware of the smudge so she asks to use their washroom.

But when she opens the door, somebody else is inside. Somebody handsome and butt naked. It’s the surfer dude. Turns out, he is also Chiaki’s younger brother,  Shibasaki Kanata (Yamazaki Kento) and the restaurant’s chef. He isn’t really fond of Sakurai. He thinks she’s not passionate about baking and uses the opportunity of working in the restaurant to look for a boyfriend. He forbids her to use his kitchen and assigns her to cleaning and serving customers instead. Despite Chiaki’s urging to try Sakurai’s cake, he remains a nonbeliever of her baking skills.

Sakurai is applying a light eye-liner inside the bathroom when Kanata suddenly barges in. She tells him to knock before entering or he may catch her naked. He arrogantly retorts that he’s not interested whatsoever so she can calm down. She pushes him towards the door but he stares intently at her face. He leans closer and pins her to the wall. She closes her eyes, anticipating for a kiss but he just mockingly smiles and pulls the price tag behind her sleepwear, adding that her eyeliner is smudged. He frankly declares that he hates people who works halfheartedly behind a hidden motive.

Sakurai tries to defend her patissier’s honor by pulling an all-nighter to innovate and bake a cake to impress Kanata. After she’s done, she asks Toma to taste the cake. As expected, he finds it delicious and compares it to the cakes in Tokyo. Hearing that, Sakurai realizes that the cake isn’t good enough because it doesn’t cater to the locals preference and doesn’t compliment the restaurant’s signature dishes.

To create a suitable cake, she decides to learn more about Kanata. He’s the chef after all. She walks with him to the restaurant and tries to engage him for some small talk. However, he finds her presence annoying and puts on his earphone. Sakurai is pissed and pulls his earphone. She hears the music he’s playing and compliments his good taste. He then puts his earphone on her and increases the volume to the maximum level. Naturally, Sakurai is riled up. To silence her, Kanata squeezed her mouth in a ridiculous, unglorifying way and sneers at her ‘dried up’ lips.

Sakurai is still fuming when Chiaki arrives at the restaurant. He probes on the reason and she relays her cake problem. She wants to know more about Shonan and Kanata (since he’s the chef) but he’s being difficult. So, Chiaki happily shares that the restaurant (Sea Sons) is a legacy from their father. It’s signature dish is Kanata’s omelette burger.

Just in time, a group of men enters the restaurant. They are being led by Higashimura, a cruel businessman who wants to buy the restaurant’s franchise. Seems, it’s not his first time to visit. But Chiaki reiterates that they are not selling. Before Higashimura leaves, he vows to get the restaurant at all costs.

While working, Sakurai studies Kanata’s secret ingredient. Kanata catches her and throws her out of the kitchen. She begs him to cook for her but he refuses and tells her to go back to Tokyo instead. But then again, Sakurai isn’t easily dismayed and goes to buy her baking supplies after work. She returns to the restaurant and bakes patiently.

Meanwhile, Kanata bumps into Toma and the latter shows him Sakurai’s Instagram post. Kanata reads Wakaba’s comment about not letting Sakurai go back to Tokyo without being kissed and he doesn’t like it one bit.

Kanata goes to the restaurant and Sakurai excitedly shows him her newly invented cake but he just arrogantly shoves it away. The cake falls to the floor. After cleaning the mess, Sakurai prepares to make another one but he declares he already knows how it tastes even without eating it. This time, Sakurai loses her cool and angrily snaps that he doesn’t have the right to call himself a chef with an attitude like that. He retorts that even if she likes it or not, that fact remains that he is the chef and he doesn’t want to acknowledge her. He suddenly squeezes her mouth and kisses her. She is obviously shocked and confusedly asks why he did that. He snootily replies that since she only wanted a kiss and she got what she came for then she can leave. After giving him a well-deserved resounding slap, Sakurai leaves.

Chiaki looks for Sakurai at the restaurant and Kanata answers that she probably left. Chiaki looks at the spoiled cake and reads Sakurai’s painstakingly written notes. He reckons that Sakurai and Kanata had an argument and he’s rather disappointed with his brother. He immediately leaves to continue looking for Sakurai.  Thankfully, Kanata grows some conscience and reads Sakurai’s notes. He then tastes the cake. He may have realized his mistake because he runs after her too.

Chiaki finds Sakurai at the train station. He tells her to go home but Sakurai doesn’t budge. So, Chiaki assures that Kanata already regretted his ill actions. Sakurai clarifies that it’s not Kanata’s fault. She did it to herself. She apologizes for lying to him and admits that she doesn’t work at Vitz Charlestone. She was, in fact, only working at a small bakery and got laid off one month ago. She shares that baking is her only strength but people don’t take notice of her cakes. She feels useless that’s why when he offered her the job, she was glad. She feels recognized and needed. Kanata was the only one who saw right through her fraud. And she’s an idiot for pretending to be someone she’s not. Chiaki then grabs her hand. He lends her a helmet. Seems he’ll be giving her a lift home. However, she’s still embarrassed to go back.

Chiaki puts the helmet on her and gives her a nice pat on the head. He tells her that he recognizes her passion and pride for her work. He knows that she is sincere and motivated but clumsy at times. He knows her too well and that’s exactly the reason why he wants her to stay. His words give her a boost and she rides on his motorbike. They unknowingly pass by Kanata who is still looking for Sakurai.

Sakurai is thinking about her day when she noticed someone at her door. She goes to see who it is and finds a plate of Onigiri on the floor. Bringing the plate with her, she goes to the living room. Someone is busy crouching in the kitchen and she assumes it’s Chiaki. She thanks him for the food. But to her surprise, it’s actually Kanata. She chides him for not correcting her earlier but he ignores her rants and remarks that her cake was too sweet. He adds that she must work harder if she wants to make a dessert that will complement his dish. He throws her a spare key to the restaurant and instructs that she must clean up 30 minutes before opening and stay for another 30 minutes after closing. Sakurai is apparently glad for the change in his behavior. She then reminds him that he hasn’t said sorry for kissing her. However, Kanata feigns ignorance. Since it’s clear that he has no plans to apologize, she lets go of the issue and enjoys the home-made treat.

Sakurai is late for work the next day. Of course, she gets an earful from Kanata. He then orders her to buy some ingredients. On the way to the market, she sees Chiaki. She’s about to call his attention when a pretty lady joins him and together, they walk off. Curious, Sakurai follows them and is shocked to learn that Chiaki and the lady just entered a… wedding venue. Is Chiaki going to marry?