When Yuuto shows up at the restaurant with a hamster but it’s his dad’s day off, Tachibana escorts him home, and is surprised to find the manager is not there, either.
Yuuto invites her in in his stead, and Tachibana takes full advantage of the opportunity to gather intelligence on her target. Placing her shoes right between his and Yuuto’s is enough to make her blush…Why, it’s like they’re already a family!
Kondou is always running himself down as a loser, but while much of the somewhat messy apartment kinda supports that claim, Tachibana finds Kondou’s “man cave” through a cracked door that betrays a passion for both historic literature and a writing bug she had no idea he had.
When Yuuto is hungry, Tachibana makes do with the paltry contents of the fridge to make omurice, something Yuuto likely doesn’t get often. As she cooks at the stove, she’s in pure heaven.
When Kondou returns home, Yuuto thinks it will be fun if Tachibana hid herself. But she’s still in earshot when Yuuto, almost unconsciously sensing Tachibana’s curiosity, talks to his dad in a way that gets him to reveal that besides his job, reading and writing, he doesn’t have much going on…though he did enjoy going on a movie recently.
When the heat of the confined space is too much, Tachibana bursts forth and plops to the ground, surprising the dickens out of Kondou, who has no earthly idea what she’s doing in his house (nor does he ever get an answer, at least on-camera).
The harm of Yuuto’s little practical joke is seemingly compounded when he accidentally spills barley tea all over the back of her shirt, revealing her bra. However, even this is a win for the Kondou-crazy Tachibana, who gets to change into one of his big t-shirts; borrowing clothes is a big couple thing, after all.
Kondou is far more self-conscious about washing her shirt with his laundry, and takes it to the laundromat (yes…one shirt), but when it rains, Tachibana shows up with Yuuto and an umbrella to pick him up.
Tachibana uses this opportunity to tell him she wants to know more about him; that which she cannot glean merely by being in his apartment, cooking for his son, or wearing his shirt.
The last act takes place at the restaurant, and we get dual perspectives from Kondou and Tachibana, as he learns that it doesn’t take how-to books to get oneself on good speaking terms with one’s staff; one just needs to have a hamster, as all of them have had hamsters and are eager to dispense advice.
This irks Tachibana, who is trying to give the manager a note in private, but cannot because he’s constantly surrounded; suddenly Mr. Popular. She finally puts a stop to it by urging everyone to get back to work (only Kase remained in the kitchen; Tachibana’s interaction with him is mercifully brief and unremarkable this week).
Once alone with Kondou, she tells him the only source of info on caring for hamsters is her, and hands him the note: not a love letter but a list of supplies he’ll need. It’s a sweet, practical interaction, but also an instance of Tachibana acting swiftly and decisively to thwart any efforts to impede her progress with the manager.
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