Partner in Crime (2015) - full transcript
Matsumoto Seicho
Special Project
Mizuki Arisa
Naka Riisa
Yamamoto Koji
Daichi Yasuo
Terajima Susumu
I am the Little Mermaid.
I have no voice.
In exchange for getting
the thing I wished for...
...I gave up my voice.
I never would have thought
you were 40, Uchibori-san.
You truly are beautiful...
But in order to keep
those good looks of yours...
...what sort of efforts do you
go through for that?
I'm not that beautiful...
But if only in order for the splendor
of our products to be understood...
...I guess since I am its President...
...I do have to be my own model.
I am careful about caring for my skin.
Thanks for you hard work.
Thanks for yours.
President. This is that "Women Illustrated"
article from the other day.
This just came in, so please check it.
"The Too-beautiful Woman President."
That's true, but...
...the title is a bit contrived, isn't it?
Ah, but, I do think it's
fairly well written, though.
As I took a look through it beforehand,
I don't think there's a problem with this article...
Well, it would be.
There's nothing but good things written here.
I am afraid of the response
from people who see this though.
Women's Illustrated Uchibori Miwa
Wouldn't it be best...
...not to spend much time
looking for reactions on the Internet?
All they say on there
are irresponsible things anyhow.
That's true.
But because my image
is the same as my business's image...
...I should listen for negative feedback.
Very well.
That was a lie.
I really am afraid.
Among the voices of this common rabble
there just might be...
...a person who knows the true me.
A person who knows of
the past I had sealed away...
Uchibori Miwa's former husband
was a plastic surgeon, right?
Uchibori Miwa's former husband was a plastic surgeon, right?
Eh? Then her face is surgically altered?
Eh? Then her face is surgically altered?
Such clear skin; it's to laugh for.
Being beautiful just because of plastic surgery.
After her husband died, she ended his
hospital business and claimed the insurance.
Ninfa Miwa Corporation's annual sales are 15 billion yen.
Ninfa Miwa Corporation's annual sales are 15 billion yen
If they can't make a profit on that much
If they can't make a profit on that much...
Then things would have to be bad
...then things would have to be bad.
It won't go well. I'm looking forward to her being unmasked someday
I know the true Uchibori Miwa
It won't go well.
I'm looking forward to her being unmasked someday
I know the true Uchibori Miwa.
Heiwa Fansubs Presents
Kyouhansha
(Accomplice)
Matsumoto Seicho
Special Project
7 Years Ago
Doctor, thank you so very much!
I've always had a complex about my nose...
...but with this,
I'll have the confidence to live!
That's great.
It really is all thanks to you, Doctor.
Here's a thank you gift.
Thank you.
Thanks for your hard work.
Ah, and thanks for yours.
Why... are you always wearing that mask?
Yes...
Why?
Yes... I don't want to leave
your customers with a bad feeling.
A bad feeling?
This isn't a place for
an ugly person like me.
I see.
You've been here a long time, right?
After seeing the beautiful young people here...
...haven't you considered cosmetic surgery?
I don't have the money for that.
It'd be good to put
a prosthesis in your chin.
Then for your eyes,
bury the double folds...
...and do a nose-reduction on
the tip of your nose.
Then a 3D Face Lift by lifting up the skin...
Roughly... 2 million yen.
($17,000)
That much money would be...
Won't you let me do it? For free.
Why?
Because it'd be interesting.
My arm tingles a little when I see a girl
who I could make beautiful if I stretched myself.
And besides...
...I have a new surgical method to try out.
Can I try it out?
Then, here goes.
If you would please.
This will sting just a bit.
Needle-nose scissors.
The prosthesis.
Let's take that off.
Hmm... not bad.
Not bad at all.
Ah...
This is great, isn't it?
Your life after this will be bright.
It will be?
It will.
You've given up on so many things
up till now because of your looks, right?
Well, from here on...
...please try out everything you can.
Like falling in love
and getting married.
Marry... I couldn't marry...
Don't be a fool.
You aren't the person
you used to be anymore.
Stand up for me.
Yeah...
You'll look good in anything.
You're beautiful.
You're pretty.
We were married that year.
I recommend the oyster dish for today.
I can recommend the raw oysters as well,
but do try the lightly flambeed ones...
...and we can also have some
prepared with truffles.
Looks so delicious.
Should we ask them to go to that much trouble?
Oysters are no good.
Really?
But if we asked for...
...just one dish of it...
You shouldn't be deciding on the menu.
I'll decide for us.
I don't think you have the right
to decide on something for yourself.
Excuse me...
This and this.
Certainly.
Excuse me.
Welcome home.
About your hair.
In my slippers...
...there's some of your hair!
Hurry and bring me a new pair!
Yes!
Here's this month's living expenses.
Thank you very much.
Could it be you're thinking you could run off
if you got that money?
I wasn't thinking such a thing.
That'd be impossible, after all.
Since I know everything about you.
I also have photos of
your original, ugly face...
...and I have secret videos
of you and I having sex.
If that time were to come...
...I'm okay with letting those
get out on the internet.
Oi, do you get it?
Huh? Huh?
I understand.
Do you really understand?
Huh? Oi, here, here.
Tamiya Landscaping
Tamiya
Landscaping
Yes?
Good afternoon! This is Tamiya Landscaping.
I've come to take care of your garden.
Yes. If you would please.
It's right around over there, please.
Yes.
I'm sorry...
I'm sorry... ah...
In my hands
Souda tashika ni kanji ta fure ta kankaku oboe teru
That's right; I certainly remember being touched by you
Aru-nichi guzen ni deattanda
We met by chance that day
Kimi to boku to wa sou deatsu tanda
That's how you and I met
Sokode futari wa ai o kawashite hitoshikiri kisetsu o megurimegutte
The two of us fell in love and had a season of one thing after another
Kimi wa doko ka e kiete ittanda
But you disappeared somewhere
Thank you very much.
Here's your share for today.
Thank you very much.
Have a good night.
Ah, hold on.
Um, this is kinda sudden, but...
The bar's gonna close up for the time being.
Eh?
Well, I'm disappointed about it, too.
It's these times, you know.
Unless we change the atmosphere in here
to bring in the ladies...
...then we won't get into the black,
is what the Owner is saying.
Is that right.
I understand.
So long; I was under your care.
I'll call you again if something comes up.
Yes. Thank you very much.
Excuse me! I'm finished.
Excuse me!
Excuse me.
You're finished?
Yes.
I called out many times,
but didn't get an answer.
I'm sorry.
Here's the bill.
Please transfer it to this bank account.
Pay by the fifth of next month.
So long; excuse me.
Are you really sure about this?
Yes.
This is about the best I could do.
Very well.
I'll take it.
Then...
Ah, wait!
I've re-thought it.
Ah...
Hello.
You knew I was probably going to try
and open that safe the other day, didn't you?
Why did you keep quiet about it?
Because you don't particularly seem
to be a bad person.
They don't quite go together...
Those clothes and the grilled chicken.
Ah...
My husband hates grilled chicken.
He says just the smell of it alone
is enough to nauseate him.
And so out of consideration for him,
you eat it outside?
That husband of yours
is pretty awful, isn't he?
I've seen him in action.
Like the way he tried to
push your head into that toilet.
What was that about?
He said the toilet bowl was
still dirty but that I hadn't noticed it.
He said my way of cleaning
wasn't any good.
You should just dump a man like that.
You're pretty.
You could find a man right away.
I'm pretty?
I really can't tell...
Wanna come up to my apartment?
Eh?
Ah, well, um...
I just thought you might enjoy
a change of pace.
So long.
Ow!
Stand up.
This one and this one.
Since I have to go to the hospital,
pay for them using this card.
Here.
Ma'am, since you're beautiful,
you look good wearing anything.
Coming!
Yes?
Tamaya Landscaping.
I've come to care for your garden.
Yes... If you would please.
Welcome home.
What's that song?
One I wrote.
What's its name?
"Number 35."
Since it's the 35th one I've written.
Ehh...
Say, why don't you run away
from your husband?
My parents got into debt
and hung themselves.
When I was in middle school.
After that I was left to live at my Aunt's house...
...and I barely made it out of high school
with my part-time jobs.
I came out to Tokyo alone...
When I was hired by that hospital...
...I felt I had gotten really lucky.
Since I felt it was the same as
cleaning at a hotel...
...I felt motivated in keeping
such a pretty place clean.
And? So you're hard at work
cleaning even now?
Having money and a home
is happiness enough for me.
That's a pretty tiny wish.
I...
I...
...had plastic surgery.
Ehh...
I couldn't tell at all.
So what about it?
Nothing.
What's your name?
Miwa.
This world is far and away...
...more outrageous and anything goes
than you think, Miwa-san.
There are women Presidents
who used the money they made in the sex trade...
...to create companies that cater to celebrities.
And there are successful politicians...
...who've come this close
to committing murder.
Plastic surgery's pretty
common these days, isn't it?
Worrying over something so minor
and shackling yourself because of it...
...would be boring, wouldn't it?
Right?
You don't have a dream or such?
Me?
I have... that there.
My dream is to go around the world
with this guitar in one hand...
...and live off the coins tossed to me.
And to build a mansion with the winnings from
the lottery tickets I bought using those tips.
And not to become famous selling your songs?
Hmm...
I thought about that a long time ago...
...but that's probably impossible, isn't it?
That's an even tinier wish than mine is.
Really?
Is it?
Yeah.
I guess I will have one, too.
Akizuki
Don't smile.
What are you smiling about? Huh?
I told you to tell me
what you're smiling about!
Don't go smiling for no reason...
...when you're in front of me.
Don't you go smiling as long as
you're living with me.
Don't forget that!
What's with that glare?!
What's with that glare of yours?!
Um... Excuse me...
Gardeners shouldn't come to
the back without permission.
Are you okay?
Kill my husband.
He's put 50 million yen into this safe.
($416,000)
I'll give you all of it.
Just kill him.
My husband manages the credit cards
and accounts, so I can't get at those.
But I can just say the money in the safe
was stolen by a robber.
It might not be enough,
but I'll give all of it to you.
So... kill my husband!
What are you guys doing?
This son of a bitch...
You bastard! Come here!
Hey! Hey!
Hey! I'll kill you!
You little shit...!
Don't look.
It's best if you don't look.
What'll we do?
We can't meet... ever again.
No e-mails, no phone calls.
Don't write any letters, either.
Because the police would mark that
and we'd be finished.
For life?
Yes...
...for life.
It's not fair.
Only you get a safety zone.
All right.
I understand.
Because I heard a sound,
I came down from the second floor.
And there this man
and my husband were having a fight.
The man took a golf club from my husband...
...and then struck my husband with it.
Lastly he took a knife from the kitchen...
...then went to my husband and...
Then under orders from this man
you opened the safe, right?
That's right.
I opened the safe
and handed him the money.
What sort of man was he?
A man I'd never met before.
Only one of them was struck, huh?
Is there something?
He put a sheet on top of the husband.
He put a sheet on him,
then stabbed him with a knife, killing him.
He fell after being struck by
the golf club and wasn't moving.
But he started moving again after that...
...and so according to her explanation,
the criminal got a kitchen knife and stabbed him.
That's true, but...
After he was done using the golf club...
...why did he go to the effort
of covering him with a sheet?
And why kill someone whose face
was hidden under a sheet?
Why would a passing robber
go to all that trouble?
That's normally only done when the criminal
knows the person they're killing.
That's a cardinal rule in profiling.
Well, that's true.
It's also a cardinal rule to be
suspicious of whoever first discovers them.
Still, there are traces on the victim
of a fight with both the criminal and with her.
Was her husband arguing with her
using a golf club?
Hmm...
Have you found something?
The victim was a plastic surgeon?
Yes.
This is data on his clients.
There are before/after photos here
of the various women he worked on.
Whaa, that was really nasty of him, wasn't it?
This shows that doctor
only worked on women's faces.
Among them might be women who
were dissatisfied with their surgeries...
...and so bore a grudge against that doctor.
I see.
Going with the line it was a grudge, huh?
Still, this one...
and this one...
Before and after are totally different.
Huh?
That's his wife, isn't it?
Whaa... women can be scary, right?
7 Years Later - Present Day
President.
It's best not to be concerned about
those articles on the internet.
Because it's said only beautiful women become successful,
that breeds envy among our sex.
That's true.
I just need a change of pace.
Your usual, right?
Have a nice time.
Live in
Beauty
Uchibori Miwa Lecture in Hakata
Thanks for your hard work.
Ah, thanks for yours.
You're Uchibori Miwa-sensei, aren't you?
Yes.
Whaa! I'm a fan of yours!
Please let me shake your hand.
Whaa! I did it!
You're so pretty.
I'm from the back woods of Chiba...
When I was in high school, an article
about you appeared in a women's magazine...
...so I cut it out and stuck it to my wall.
Ninfa Miwa Corporation cosmetics
were expensive...
...but I did my best to save up
my allowance and buy them.
I see... Thank you.
Ah, good luck to you.
It would be nice to meet you here again.
I think that'll be impossible.
Why?
The company I was
working for went bankrupt...
...so today's the last day I can come here...
What kind of company were you working for?
A detective's office.
But there's been the recession recently
and the internet has developed, too...
...so lots of people are able to do
their own investigations.
I did search around for a new job,
but it hasn't worked out.
I see...
If you'd like, would you come to my company?
Eh? Are you sure?
Whaa... what a wonderful company!
That's from the Maldives.
And in addition, that one's from Kerama.
Whaa... so fantastic!
I want to go there.
You should go.
They're beautiful places..
I don't have the money for that.
Still, it must feel good, huh?
That's true.
There's a freedom you get in the ocean
and you're out of the public glare.
The public glare?
Ah, being a celebrity
has it's troubles, doesn't it?
It's not like that.
I just feel relieved in the ocean.
I'm not really too sure...
...but it gives me this feeling of
being glad I was born.
Miwa-san, you're like
the Little Mermaid, aren't you?
You're over-praising me.
I really think that.
I wasn't flattering you.
Still, I wonder if it wouldn't be best to have a model
with a bit more of an adult feel?
The product we're selling
is for anti-aging, after all.
Then if we're going to do that,
we should appoint an actress...
...with an image of being attractive
and over 35, shouldn't we?
That's true.
Come in.
Excuse me.
Our rookie employee, Takeoka.
I'm Takeoka.
Here you go.
Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Please watch over our account.
Hey.
Your nails are dirty.
Ah... yes.
Don't ever forget you are now
part of a company that is engaged in beauty.
Yes. I'll be careful.
Excuse me.
Say, Takeoka-san...
...have you ever thought about
having plastic surgery?
Eh?
I'm sorry if I offended you.
However, the customers who buy our products...
...pay a high price to do so precisely because...
...they feel they want to be
more beautiful than others.
Since you will be working here,
I want you to make a greater effort at that.
Ah... yes.
I understand.
I'll make an effort.
Fukuoka Airport - Domestic Line
Fukuoka
Well then, Live in Beauty.
Here is Uchibori Miwa-sensei!
Hello there, I'm Uchibori Miwa.
I feel the magic that makes a woman
her most beautiful... is self confidence.
Not her looks, but her heart.
For example, to become beautiful
when looking into the mirror...
...all a woman has to do...
...is murmur, "I am beautiful" to herself
and they will become beautiful.
The number one thing you mustn't do...
...is bind yourself to your age or environment...
...since that only closes your potential.
Whatever their age...
...a woman can be reborn into beauty.
That potential...
I see.
To be reborn into beauty...
...I believe it is necessary to put in the effort.
Miwa-san, what sort of effort
to you put into yours?
Yes. That's true.
In order to maintain your beauty...
Uchibori-sensei!
Sensei, please give us your autograph.
I want to be as pretty as you are, Sensei!
I want to be as pretty as you are, Sensei!
Here.
Thank you very much.
Please sign for me.
Here.
Thank you very much.
Ah, Sensei!
I thought you had left already.
You're cleaning?
Yes. I thought I'd just clean
the area around my desk...
...but then various other places
started bothering me.
Since you went to a lot of effort
for get this beautiful office...
...I wanted to keep it perfectly clean.
Ah, but you want to
lock up already, don't you?
Then, I'll finish up.
Hold on a minute.
Yes?
You said you worked at
a detective's office before here, didn't you?
Yes.
Machida Takeharu
Machida Takeharu...
He's about 35 years old.
Long ago he worked at a
landscape gardening company in Tokyo.
Because I didn't widely publicize
my lecture in Hakata...
...80% of the attendees were locals.
I think there's a high probability
that he lives in this area, too.
But, why this man?
We dated a long time ago.
Before I came to know my husband.
Ah...
It's not a nice story.
Because of his terrible abuse of me,
I broke it off with him.
That's why, when I saw him at the venue...
...I was shocked.
I think he must be jealous of my success
and came to threaten me.
But why now of all times?
I've been picked up by
the media recently, haven't I?
The only clue you can
give me is his name?
He might be using a false name.
Do you have any photos of him?
I don't.
Given that, it'll be quite difficult
to search for him.
That's true, isn't it?
His job was related to landscaping?
There's a possibility he's into music.
Since he was a man who loved music.
I understand.
Shibamichi Landscaping/Public Works
Shibamichi
Landscaping
Public Works
Oi, any of you know a Machida Takeharu?
Nope, don't know him.
Well, we get lots of part-timers here.
Can't know 'em all.
I understand.
Thank you very much.
Do you happen to know
Machida Takeharu-san?
No, I don't know him.
I'm sorry.
Machida Takeharu-san?
Ah... yes.
He self-produced this.
Machida Takeharu
Takin' a Breather
Fukuoka
Your motsuni. Thanks for waiting.
(stewed giblets)
Whaa... looks good.
Sweeny, sweeny darling,
Sweeny, sweeny darling...
Thank you very much.
Do you know this man?
Yeah, I know him.
Eh? Really?
He's the owner of Margot, right?
Margot?
Margot.
Welcome.
Please enjoy your stay.
Hakata-ku, Kamikawabata-town, 2-chome?
He's the owner of a restaurant/bar
that becomes a live music house at night.
Seems his store is well known in town
and nice people go to it.
I see...
His homemade chorizo
and octopus rice were delicious.
This is the bomb!
Thank you very much.
Did he play a musical instrument?
He didn't play one.
He was always making food and drinks
in the back of the store.
I see...
He doesn't seem to have any family.
I followed him after he closed his store...
...but it looks like he lives alone quietly.
That's all I know for the time being...
...but should I keep on investigating?
Will you go to his store once every two weeks
then let me know how he's doing?
Ah... Well, sure, I guess...
I'll give you a travel allowance.
And a bonus on top of that.
If you put it that way...
And so, how's he doing?
"How's he doing"?
Nothing out of the ordinary.
I'm sorry for not having
any new information.
Should I still continue my investigation?
Continue it.
He seems a reticent man, somehow.
And gentle.
Is it true that man used to
abuse you, President?
There's no one who
doesn't have their dark side.
Even a person who looks like
they wouldn't kill a fly...
...can have a side that will do terrible things.
A man with a gentle face
can have his demon side.
It's not that simple a thing
to come to know a person's heart.
Ah, he played the guitar and sang.
The guitar?
Yes.
He didn't have any customers,
so he had some free time.
What kind of song was he singing?
Hmm... I can't reproduce it myself...
Niawanai kedo kami o some mashita
It doesn't look good on me, but I dyed my hair
Mainichi kao mo araimasu
I wash my face every day
Tabako no meigara mo kinou kaete mimashita
I tried changing my brand of smokes yesterday, too
Kimi o hayaku wasure rareru youni
All so I could hurry up and forget you
Kimi ga inaku naru youni
So you would disappear
Dandankun no shiranai boku ni natte imasu
I gradually became a me you wouldn't know
Um... I'm sorry.
We haven't opened the store yet.
Um... is there something?
No.
Beautiful, isn't it?
This new shampoo product.
I was thinking of selling it with
the name "Little Mermaid."
A full set with face lotion,
beauty essence and cream.
It's nice isn't it? Romantic.
The "Little Mermaid" got her human feet
from a drug the witch had given her, right?
But at night her feet would ache.
I think stretching yourself a little
for the sake of love can be painful.
A woman's heart such as that is pretty, isn't it?
But in a fairy tale...
...the magic is invariably taken away
at the end, isn't it?
Now that you mention it, that's right.
For Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty...
...once the magic is taken away,
they do find happiness...
...but when the magic is taken away from the Little Mermaid,
she's the only one left unhappy at the end.
But by pretending to be someone she wasn't
in order to be liked...
...the end result was that
she got dumped, wasn't it?
From "T"
1 new e-mail has arrived
Don't think you can run away from your past
I won't let you be the only one left feeling good
Don't think you can run away from your past.
I won't let you be the only one left feeling good.
Looks like Machida-san's bar
isn't doing all that well.
Is that right?
He's a man who gambles a lot, isn't he?
Ah... that might be so.
I followed him to an ATM machine,
and I found his receipt slips...
With this you can see details of
his consumer credit lines.
Seems he's got a number of
these credit lines going.
To be frank, he's in
a really bad situation right now.
How much longer
will that store of his last?
Taking Applications
for a Tenant
Taking Applications
for a Tenant
Seems the restaurant had
taken on a ton of debt.
His new address is one in Nagoya.
Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya-shi, Nakamura-ku
Villa Yoshimoto, 202
Seems he's been going to an
employment office every day and job hunting.
He's getting up there in years
and facing various prejudices because of it...
...so it seems finding a job is tough for him.
If you don't want to lose everything,
then prepare 5 million yen in hush money.
Tomorrow at 11:00 am.
Into the dumpster next to the bench
across from the big clock at Hibiya Park...
...drop the money
wrapped inside a Ninfa Miwa paper bag.
Don't look
Primarily within Nagoya...
...he works as a day laborer helping out on moving jobs
and has a part-time job in traffic control.
Seems his former debtors
don't know where he lives though.
He just can't stop his gambling, can he?
You've investigated quite well.
I'm an ex-detective, after all.
Ah, hasn't he been
asking you for money, President?
In your story about your past,
you suggested he pestered you for money.
He hasn't; not even once.
You'd best be careful.
It's said there's even
revenge porn going on these days.
They secretly record you having sex
when you're all lovey-dovey with them...
...then when you break up,
the man'll spread it all over just out of spite.
Don't go talking about things
you know nothing about!
You don't know anything
about him, now do you?
There are things only I know about him.
Things you know nothing about.
What is it that only you know, President?
That's okay...
There are things only
popular women would know about.
I didn't mean it like that.
I'll investigate and report again.
Yes?
It's me, Murata.
Are you available?
Yes, come in.
President, we have an issue.
This was faxed to the company.
Uchibori Miwa had plastic surgery!
She has a horrible past
She can't tell to anyone
Uchibori Miwa had plastic surgery!
She has a horrible past she can't tell anyone
This area code is from Nagoya.
Probably from a convenience store somewhere.
This absolutely can't leak outside...
...so have all the employees
who saw this sworn to secrecy.
This kind of rumor is
inherent to the beauty business.
But tell them that since it's an unfounded lie,
they shouldn't get upset over it.
Understood.
Uchibori-san.
It's been a long time.
How many years has it been since then?
Seven years.
It has been, hasn't it?
Well... we didn't make any progress
in the investigation after that...
...so I felt sorry about that.
Thank you very much
for all the trouble you went to.
Ah, have a seat.
Thanks.
You told me back then...
...that it had been a passing robber
and so we narrowed our line of investigation to that...
...but we're wondering now
if that was how it went.
And so lately we've been reconsidering it
along the lines that it was a grudge.
Is that right.
But my husband was an excellent doctor.
I don't think there's anyone he operated on
who would bear a grudge against him.
I suppose.
But it seems...
...there's bound to be some bad claimants
among his customers.
Thinking that,
I tried investigating his customer list.
But many of the women who had had plastic surgery
changed addresses in the meantime...
...so tracking them down
has been kinda tough.
Yes.
But...
I found some recently.
You found some?
Yes.
Women who had undergone
surgery by your husband.
In the short time you
lived with your husband...
...what sort of man was he like?
What sort of man?
I'm sorry.
Of those women who had had it done...
...you weren't among them... were you?
No.
And, then...
...when I heard these women's stories,
I was surprised.
Every one of them...
...said they had been abused by your husband.
He had this terrible fastidiousness
to the point of disease...
...where he wouldn't allow so much
as a speck of dust inside his house.
Wastepaper, dust...
If he found those, he'd become
incredibly threatening...
...and would beat and kick them.
Ma'am, were you okay?
Did he treat you in that way?
No... nothing like that happened to me.
Is that right.
Then... it was just with these
other women, wasn't it?
Well, either in men or women...
...I just don't understand such crude people...
...in the least.
And there's that.
I'll get to the main subject now.
Yes.
When we checked into the people who were
coming and going to your house at that time...
...there was one man who moved
immediately after the incident...
...and whose whereabouts
we never could locate.
It was a worker who tended your garden...
...and who was with the landscape
gardening company, "Tamiya Landscape"...
...a man named Machida Takeharu.
Do you know him?
Machida-san...
I wonder...
Remembering the name of a worker
who worked on our garden would be a little...
I see.
Well, it would be, wouldn't it?
I apologize for troubling you.
So long.
Thank you for your hard work.
You heard, didn't you?
My husband was a cosmetic surgeon.
He was killed seven years ago in a robbery.
I see.
That's why it can't be helped when anonymous
notes like the one today go around.
And nowadays, you can use the internet for
anything and everything and never be found.
That's true, isn't it?
My going out with Machida Takeharu...
...was long before that.
Unable to get over me,
even after I got married...
...he became a gardener and visited my home.
That was scary, wasn't it?
I was. It was very scary.
Could it be this Machida...
...was the robber who did in your husband?
I was joking!
Please don't make such a scary face.
Don't worry.
Since I'll protect you, secretly.
I absolutely won't talk
to anyone about this.
Not about your past husband...
Or, well... that other thing, either.
I didn't have plastic surgery.
Well... I know that.
Of course you wouldn't have.
What is called "beauty"...
...is believing in yourself.
I want to give you beauty.
Ninfa Miwa.
What is called "beauty"...
Are... are you okay?!
I want to give you beauty.
Machida Takeharu has disappeared from Nagoya.
Eh?
I think he ran away because the ones
he was in debt to found out where he was.
I see...
And so, where is he now?
In Tokyo.
In Tokyo?
Please look at the e-mail I'm sending you now.
Arakawa-ku, Tokyo South 4-4-16, Oku-cho
He's come here... at last...
...to Tokyo.
From "T"
1 new e-mail has arrived
Detectives came yesterday.
Detectives came yesterday
I'm already done for. I'll kill you, then myself
I'm already done for.
I'll kill you, then myself.
Yutaga Inn
Machida
Caught red-handed arrest!
Right?
If I had been the police, then...
What's this about?
Why are you here...
"Why am I here?"
You killed your husband, didn't you?
You and Machida-san, both.
You did, didn't you?
I asked Machida-san straight to his face.
Eh?
"Did you go out with
Uchibori Miwa-san?"
At first he was wary about me
and wouldn't answer...
But I didn't get the feeling
he bore a grudge against you.
Rather instead, he would ask about you
over and over again.
I felt he was worried about you.
He didn't look at all like someone
who would abuse a woman.
So I wondered why the President
would be scared of such a man...
And then I had a thought.
Something definitely happened between them.
So I did come checking.
On both the President and Machida-san.
And then I came across it.
Seven years ago, your husband was
beaten with a golf club during a robbery.
Cosmetic Surgeon Stabbed To Death
A case of being stabbed to death.
That's why even before you confided in me...
...I already knew about it long ago.
Machida-san had moved to Hakata
right after that incident.
I wondered where he had gotten
the 50 million yen to open his restaurant.
Though he'd been living in Tokyo with a 60,000 yen
a month rent he'd sometimes fall behind on...
($500)
That was strange, wasn't it?
And then I had a thought.
"Maybe he got it from the President?"
His reward for killing someone.
That Machida-san went to
your lecture in Hakata...
...was because he wanted to see your face,
even if only from a distance.
Far from bearing a grudge against you,
he was grateful to you.
Then... what about those threatening letters?
I wrote those.
You were surprised when Machida-san
came to Hibiya Park, weren't you?
That was because I had called for him.
"Since I got tickets to an outdoor live concert,
how about going to it with me?" I told him.
Ah, by the way,
I took that 5 million yen.
I'm the one who sent that golf club, too.
The reports I made to you were all lies.
Those detailed accounts
of his debts were forgeries.
But his restaurant in Hakata was gone.
It had been decided that building
would be demolished...
Notice of Store Move
...so he had moved to
a more advantageous location.
Taking Applications
for a Tenant
Machida-san never took
a single step out of Hakata.
Then... what about this place?
This is my apartment.
Why...
For what reason?
I've hated you all this time.
A woman can be reborn at any age?
"How can someone who had plastic surgery
make 'you can be pretty' speeches?" I thought.
Because the stress was building up inside me,
I wrote all that stuff bad-mouthing you on the internet.
I just wrote all the things I wanted
to say to your face on that homepage.
At the sight of you in a women's magazine,
I'd find one fault after another about you.
Since when?
Huh?
Even before I joined your company, of course.
Once I did join,
I grew to hate you more and more.
You said this before, didn't you?
"Why don't you have plastic surgery?"
"The President thinks I'm ugly," I thought.
Unconsciously, you were
looking down on me as a woman.
I'm sorry.
Now you bother to apologize.
That doesn't eliminate the fact
that you're a fool.
Then... what will you do?
Will you turn me in to the police?
I wouldn't do such a thing!
Doing that wouldn't benefit me
in any way, after all.
Ah, rather instead...
Will you make me an executive?
And please hand over
half of your stock holdings.
And paying me a salary on a
par with yours would be a help.
Just because I advised you
to get plastic surgery?
Your revenge for that... is this?
Well, there's that, too...
...but the other part is to maintain the balance.
Balance?
After all... this is unfair, isn't it?
That only you get to become famous...
...while Machida-san can't make
a name for himself in the world.
After opening his bar in Hakata...
...he went out for live concerts at first.
He was heard by professional scouts
who asked him to sign up with them again and again.
But he turned them down.
If his songs did sell
and he became famous...
...that might bring to light
his ties with you...
...and he didn't want to be
the source of any trouble for you.
That was what he was thinking.
Kimi o hayaku wasure rareru youni
All so I could hurry up and forget you
Kimi ga inaku naru youni
So you would disappear
Dandankun no shiranai boku ni na..
I gradually became a me you...
Then let's go in that direction
with the TV commercial.
Yes, let's please do that.
Still Sensei, you really are beautiful.
I've asked you this many times before...
...but what is the something
you use for anti-aging?
Nothing special.
I only use our company's skin care products.
The President is so pretty
because she's had plastic surgery.
The President is so pretty
because she's had plastic surgery.
Because no matter how much
you polish your skin...
...without plastic surgery, you just won't shine.
Ah, that's true. Um...
President. Wouldn't it be okay
to make it official already?
That the reason you're so beautiful is because of
plastic surgery and the perfect maintenance of it afterwards.
Both plastic surgery and beauty skin care
afterwards are important, aren't they?
Well, that can't be...
Right, President?
It's true.
I had my late husband operate on me.
I thought so...
As you know, Botox injections
and surgical operations...
...or even having your skin pulled will,
after five or ten years...
...or even half a year later,
return to how it was...
...and there's a possibility that your skin will
deteriorate to even worse than it was before.
But because our company's staff has
in-depth knowledge about plastic surgery...
...we can be very thorough in
our aftercare treatments.
I think the future of beauty
will be the twin wheels...
...of plastic surgery and skin care.
I see.
Thanks for your hard work.
Good night.
Thanks for your hard work.
Thanks for yours.
Uchibori Miwa had plastic surgery done!
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
'Morning.
Your reputation is through
the roof on the internet, too.
The President coming out
about her plastic surgery.
They feel it's admirable and refreshing...
And the positive opinions are 7:3 in your favor.
And our sales are
even higher than before, too.
I see.
Ah... maybe even I have some talent
for administration, huh?
Ah!
I do have a favor to ask though.
What is it?
Please give me my retirement from the company money.
Retirement money?
50 million yen.
Cheap, ain't it?
You intend to go independent?
I'm just tired of teasing you.
I did what I wanted to do
and I'm satisfied with that.
I don't get it...
"A woman's happiness..."
Is that only money and success?
Fukuoka
Royal cod roe!
It's cod roe!
Yeah!
Thank you. Yeah!
Yagate kuru haruwomatsu boku ni
For me who was waiting for Spring at last
Sotto kata yosete neiki o tatete
I softly put my shoulder around you and listen to you breathe in your sleep
Yoko de maruku natsu teru kimi wa marude kitakaze to taiyou
As I curl up beside you, you're totally like the north wind and sun
Kanji teru taiyou ou
I can feel the sun, oh
President, I've been looking for you.
Where are you right now?
I'm not feeling well.
That's why you left early, isn't it?
Are you okay?
I'm sorry.
I'll be taking a break for a little while.
"For a little while"...
Have you been happy?
Since we broke up...
...have you been happy?
Yeah.
I've been unhappy.
I couldn't forget you...
...and have been unhappy ever since.
Niawanai kedo kami o some mashita
It doesn't look good on me, but I dyed my hair
Mainichi kao mo
I wash my face
Say.
Huh?
How many times did you
and Uchibori Miwa have sex?
Eh?
Two times? Three times?
I think I've got her beat.
Because we've already done it...
I don't know.
Eh?
I don't know any woman
named Uchibori Miwa.
Let's go out.
Yeah.
Uchibori Miwa
and Machida Takeharu are connected.
I'm asking for backup. Listen.
Machida's address is Hakata-ku...
Walking hand-in-hand with him
and smiling when looking into his eyes...
...she acts at home in his arms.
I wonder why it isn't me
over there with him?
Ah, thanks for waiting...
This is awesome.
That woman can laugh
in such a loud voice...
...while I have no voice.
Since if he notices me, it would be over.
In her contract with the sea witch...
...in exchange for the Little Mermaid
hiding her true form...
...she became a woman without a voice.
Seven years ago, after my husband's death...
...by giving you the money I had at hand...
...I cast you aside and chose money.
But, if I had chosen you at that time...
...you and I could have fled
somewhere far away.
And if I had, then I'm sure
we would be living like that.
Counting the loose change in our pockets,
buying cheap side dishes...
...eating together, sleeping together,
getting up together.
Thinking about today today,
thinking about tomorrow tomorrow.
That would have been better.
That kind of life would have been better.
The one who changed was me.
You didn't change at all.
And yet, because I had changed...
...I convinced myself
that you had changed, too.
You and I together.
That dream won't be fulfilled.
I wanted to see that dream forever...
...but it's too painful to look at.
If that dream must disappear someday...
...then I must make it disappear myself.
I couldn't make my dream disappear.
I have become sea foam.
This Drama is fictional
All appearing characters and organization names are fictitious
Special Project
Mizuki Arisa
Naka Riisa
Yamamoto Koji
Daichi Yasuo
Terajima Susumu
I am the Little Mermaid.
I have no voice.
In exchange for getting
the thing I wished for...
...I gave up my voice.
I never would have thought
you were 40, Uchibori-san.
You truly are beautiful...
But in order to keep
those good looks of yours...
...what sort of efforts do you
go through for that?
I'm not that beautiful...
But if only in order for the splendor
of our products to be understood...
...I guess since I am its President...
...I do have to be my own model.
I am careful about caring for my skin.
Thanks for you hard work.
Thanks for yours.
President. This is that "Women Illustrated"
article from the other day.
This just came in, so please check it.
"The Too-beautiful Woman President."
That's true, but...
...the title is a bit contrived, isn't it?
Ah, but, I do think it's
fairly well written, though.
As I took a look through it beforehand,
I don't think there's a problem with this article...
Well, it would be.
There's nothing but good things written here.
I am afraid of the response
from people who see this though.
Women's Illustrated Uchibori Miwa
Wouldn't it be best...
...not to spend much time
looking for reactions on the Internet?
All they say on there
are irresponsible things anyhow.
That's true.
But because my image
is the same as my business's image...
...I should listen for negative feedback.
Very well.
That was a lie.
I really am afraid.
Among the voices of this common rabble
there just might be...
...a person who knows the true me.
A person who knows of
the past I had sealed away...
Uchibori Miwa's former husband
was a plastic surgeon, right?
Uchibori Miwa's former husband was a plastic surgeon, right?
Eh? Then her face is surgically altered?
Eh? Then her face is surgically altered?
Such clear skin; it's to laugh for.
Being beautiful just because of plastic surgery.
After her husband died, she ended his
hospital business and claimed the insurance.
Ninfa Miwa Corporation's annual sales are 15 billion yen.
Ninfa Miwa Corporation's annual sales are 15 billion yen
If they can't make a profit on that much
If they can't make a profit on that much...
Then things would have to be bad
...then things would have to be bad.
It won't go well. I'm looking forward to her being unmasked someday
I know the true Uchibori Miwa
It won't go well.
I'm looking forward to her being unmasked someday
I know the true Uchibori Miwa.
Heiwa Fansubs Presents
Kyouhansha
(Accomplice)
Matsumoto Seicho
Special Project
7 Years Ago
Doctor, thank you so very much!
I've always had a complex about my nose...
...but with this,
I'll have the confidence to live!
That's great.
It really is all thanks to you, Doctor.
Here's a thank you gift.
Thank you.
Thanks for your hard work.
Ah, and thanks for yours.
Why... are you always wearing that mask?
Yes...
Why?
Yes... I don't want to leave
your customers with a bad feeling.
A bad feeling?
This isn't a place for
an ugly person like me.
I see.
You've been here a long time, right?
After seeing the beautiful young people here...
...haven't you considered cosmetic surgery?
I don't have the money for that.
It'd be good to put
a prosthesis in your chin.
Then for your eyes,
bury the double folds...
...and do a nose-reduction on
the tip of your nose.
Then a 3D Face Lift by lifting up the skin...
Roughly... 2 million yen.
($17,000)
That much money would be...
Won't you let me do it? For free.
Why?
Because it'd be interesting.
My arm tingles a little when I see a girl
who I could make beautiful if I stretched myself.
And besides...
...I have a new surgical method to try out.
Can I try it out?
Then, here goes.
If you would please.
This will sting just a bit.
Needle-nose scissors.
The prosthesis.
Let's take that off.
Hmm... not bad.
Not bad at all.
Ah...
This is great, isn't it?
Your life after this will be bright.
It will be?
It will.
You've given up on so many things
up till now because of your looks, right?
Well, from here on...
...please try out everything you can.
Like falling in love
and getting married.
Marry... I couldn't marry...
Don't be a fool.
You aren't the person
you used to be anymore.
Stand up for me.
Yeah...
You'll look good in anything.
You're beautiful.
You're pretty.
We were married that year.
I recommend the oyster dish for today.
I can recommend the raw oysters as well,
but do try the lightly flambeed ones...
...and we can also have some
prepared with truffles.
Looks so delicious.
Should we ask them to go to that much trouble?
Oysters are no good.
Really?
But if we asked for...
...just one dish of it...
You shouldn't be deciding on the menu.
I'll decide for us.
I don't think you have the right
to decide on something for yourself.
Excuse me...
This and this.
Certainly.
Excuse me.
Welcome home.
About your hair.
In my slippers...
...there's some of your hair!
Hurry and bring me a new pair!
Yes!
Here's this month's living expenses.
Thank you very much.
Could it be you're thinking you could run off
if you got that money?
I wasn't thinking such a thing.
That'd be impossible, after all.
Since I know everything about you.
I also have photos of
your original, ugly face...
...and I have secret videos
of you and I having sex.
If that time were to come...
...I'm okay with letting those
get out on the internet.
Oi, do you get it?
Huh? Huh?
I understand.
Do you really understand?
Huh? Oi, here, here.
Tamiya Landscaping
Tamiya
Landscaping
Yes?
Good afternoon! This is Tamiya Landscaping.
I've come to take care of your garden.
Yes. If you would please.
It's right around over there, please.
Yes.
I'm sorry...
I'm sorry... ah...
In my hands
Souda tashika ni kanji ta fure ta kankaku oboe teru
That's right; I certainly remember being touched by you
Aru-nichi guzen ni deattanda
We met by chance that day
Kimi to boku to wa sou deatsu tanda
That's how you and I met
Sokode futari wa ai o kawashite hitoshikiri kisetsu o megurimegutte
The two of us fell in love and had a season of one thing after another
Kimi wa doko ka e kiete ittanda
But you disappeared somewhere
Thank you very much.
Here's your share for today.
Thank you very much.
Have a good night.
Ah, hold on.
Um, this is kinda sudden, but...
The bar's gonna close up for the time being.
Eh?
Well, I'm disappointed about it, too.
It's these times, you know.
Unless we change the atmosphere in here
to bring in the ladies...
...then we won't get into the black,
is what the Owner is saying.
Is that right.
I understand.
So long; I was under your care.
I'll call you again if something comes up.
Yes. Thank you very much.
Excuse me! I'm finished.
Excuse me!
Excuse me.
You're finished?
Yes.
I called out many times,
but didn't get an answer.
I'm sorry.
Here's the bill.
Please transfer it to this bank account.
Pay by the fifth of next month.
So long; excuse me.
Are you really sure about this?
Yes.
This is about the best I could do.
Very well.
I'll take it.
Then...
Ah, wait!
I've re-thought it.
Ah...
Hello.
You knew I was probably going to try
and open that safe the other day, didn't you?
Why did you keep quiet about it?
Because you don't particularly seem
to be a bad person.
They don't quite go together...
Those clothes and the grilled chicken.
Ah...
My husband hates grilled chicken.
He says just the smell of it alone
is enough to nauseate him.
And so out of consideration for him,
you eat it outside?
That husband of yours
is pretty awful, isn't he?
I've seen him in action.
Like the way he tried to
push your head into that toilet.
What was that about?
He said the toilet bowl was
still dirty but that I hadn't noticed it.
He said my way of cleaning
wasn't any good.
You should just dump a man like that.
You're pretty.
You could find a man right away.
I'm pretty?
I really can't tell...
Wanna come up to my apartment?
Eh?
Ah, well, um...
I just thought you might enjoy
a change of pace.
So long.
Ow!
Stand up.
This one and this one.
Since I have to go to the hospital,
pay for them using this card.
Here.
Ma'am, since you're beautiful,
you look good wearing anything.
Coming!
Yes?
Tamaya Landscaping.
I've come to care for your garden.
Yes... If you would please.
Welcome home.
What's that song?
One I wrote.
What's its name?
"Number 35."
Since it's the 35th one I've written.
Ehh...
Say, why don't you run away
from your husband?
My parents got into debt
and hung themselves.
When I was in middle school.
After that I was left to live at my Aunt's house...
...and I barely made it out of high school
with my part-time jobs.
I came out to Tokyo alone...
When I was hired by that hospital...
...I felt I had gotten really lucky.
Since I felt it was the same as
cleaning at a hotel...
...I felt motivated in keeping
such a pretty place clean.
And? So you're hard at work
cleaning even now?
Having money and a home
is happiness enough for me.
That's a pretty tiny wish.
I...
I...
...had plastic surgery.
Ehh...
I couldn't tell at all.
So what about it?
Nothing.
What's your name?
Miwa.
This world is far and away...
...more outrageous and anything goes
than you think, Miwa-san.
There are women Presidents
who used the money they made in the sex trade...
...to create companies that cater to celebrities.
And there are successful politicians...
...who've come this close
to committing murder.
Plastic surgery's pretty
common these days, isn't it?
Worrying over something so minor
and shackling yourself because of it...
...would be boring, wouldn't it?
Right?
You don't have a dream or such?
Me?
I have... that there.
My dream is to go around the world
with this guitar in one hand...
...and live off the coins tossed to me.
And to build a mansion with the winnings from
the lottery tickets I bought using those tips.
And not to become famous selling your songs?
Hmm...
I thought about that a long time ago...
...but that's probably impossible, isn't it?
That's an even tinier wish than mine is.
Really?
Is it?
Yeah.
I guess I will have one, too.
Akizuki
Don't smile.
What are you smiling about? Huh?
I told you to tell me
what you're smiling about!
Don't go smiling for no reason...
...when you're in front of me.
Don't you go smiling as long as
you're living with me.
Don't forget that!
What's with that glare?!
What's with that glare of yours?!
Um... Excuse me...
Gardeners shouldn't come to
the back without permission.
Are you okay?
Kill my husband.
He's put 50 million yen into this safe.
($416,000)
I'll give you all of it.
Just kill him.
My husband manages the credit cards
and accounts, so I can't get at those.
But I can just say the money in the safe
was stolen by a robber.
It might not be enough,
but I'll give all of it to you.
So... kill my husband!
What are you guys doing?
This son of a bitch...
You bastard! Come here!
Hey! Hey!
Hey! I'll kill you!
You little shit...!
Don't look.
It's best if you don't look.
What'll we do?
We can't meet... ever again.
No e-mails, no phone calls.
Don't write any letters, either.
Because the police would mark that
and we'd be finished.
For life?
Yes...
...for life.
It's not fair.
Only you get a safety zone.
All right.
I understand.
Because I heard a sound,
I came down from the second floor.
And there this man
and my husband were having a fight.
The man took a golf club from my husband...
...and then struck my husband with it.
Lastly he took a knife from the kitchen...
...then went to my husband and...
Then under orders from this man
you opened the safe, right?
That's right.
I opened the safe
and handed him the money.
What sort of man was he?
A man I'd never met before.
Only one of them was struck, huh?
Is there something?
He put a sheet on top of the husband.
He put a sheet on him,
then stabbed him with a knife, killing him.
He fell after being struck by
the golf club and wasn't moving.
But he started moving again after that...
...and so according to her explanation,
the criminal got a kitchen knife and stabbed him.
That's true, but...
After he was done using the golf club...
...why did he go to the effort
of covering him with a sheet?
And why kill someone whose face
was hidden under a sheet?
Why would a passing robber
go to all that trouble?
That's normally only done when the criminal
knows the person they're killing.
That's a cardinal rule in profiling.
Well, that's true.
It's also a cardinal rule to be
suspicious of whoever first discovers them.
Still, there are traces on the victim
of a fight with both the criminal and with her.
Was her husband arguing with her
using a golf club?
Hmm...
Have you found something?
The victim was a plastic surgeon?
Yes.
This is data on his clients.
There are before/after photos here
of the various women he worked on.
Whaa, that was really nasty of him, wasn't it?
This shows that doctor
only worked on women's faces.
Among them might be women who
were dissatisfied with their surgeries...
...and so bore a grudge against that doctor.
I see.
Going with the line it was a grudge, huh?
Still, this one...
and this one...
Before and after are totally different.
Huh?
That's his wife, isn't it?
Whaa... women can be scary, right?
7 Years Later - Present Day
President.
It's best not to be concerned about
those articles on the internet.
Because it's said only beautiful women become successful,
that breeds envy among our sex.
That's true.
I just need a change of pace.
Your usual, right?
Have a nice time.
Live in
Beauty
Uchibori Miwa Lecture in Hakata
Thanks for your hard work.
Ah, thanks for yours.
You're Uchibori Miwa-sensei, aren't you?
Yes.
Whaa! I'm a fan of yours!
Please let me shake your hand.
Whaa! I did it!
You're so pretty.
I'm from the back woods of Chiba...
When I was in high school, an article
about you appeared in a women's magazine...
...so I cut it out and stuck it to my wall.
Ninfa Miwa Corporation cosmetics
were expensive...
...but I did my best to save up
my allowance and buy them.
I see... Thank you.
Ah, good luck to you.
It would be nice to meet you here again.
I think that'll be impossible.
Why?
The company I was
working for went bankrupt...
...so today's the last day I can come here...
What kind of company were you working for?
A detective's office.
But there's been the recession recently
and the internet has developed, too...
...so lots of people are able to do
their own investigations.
I did search around for a new job,
but it hasn't worked out.
I see...
If you'd like, would you come to my company?
Eh? Are you sure?
Whaa... what a wonderful company!
That's from the Maldives.
And in addition, that one's from Kerama.
Whaa... so fantastic!
I want to go there.
You should go.
They're beautiful places..
I don't have the money for that.
Still, it must feel good, huh?
That's true.
There's a freedom you get in the ocean
and you're out of the public glare.
The public glare?
Ah, being a celebrity
has it's troubles, doesn't it?
It's not like that.
I just feel relieved in the ocean.
I'm not really too sure...
...but it gives me this feeling of
being glad I was born.
Miwa-san, you're like
the Little Mermaid, aren't you?
You're over-praising me.
I really think that.
I wasn't flattering you.
Still, I wonder if it wouldn't be best to have a model
with a bit more of an adult feel?
The product we're selling
is for anti-aging, after all.
Then if we're going to do that,
we should appoint an actress...
...with an image of being attractive
and over 35, shouldn't we?
That's true.
Come in.
Excuse me.
Our rookie employee, Takeoka.
I'm Takeoka.
Here you go.
Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Please watch over our account.
Hey.
Your nails are dirty.
Ah... yes.
Don't ever forget you are now
part of a company that is engaged in beauty.
Yes. I'll be careful.
Excuse me.
Say, Takeoka-san...
...have you ever thought about
having plastic surgery?
Eh?
I'm sorry if I offended you.
However, the customers who buy our products...
...pay a high price to do so precisely because...
...they feel they want to be
more beautiful than others.
Since you will be working here,
I want you to make a greater effort at that.
Ah... yes.
I understand.
I'll make an effort.
Fukuoka Airport - Domestic Line
Fukuoka
Well then, Live in Beauty.
Here is Uchibori Miwa-sensei!
Hello there, I'm Uchibori Miwa.
I feel the magic that makes a woman
her most beautiful... is self confidence.
Not her looks, but her heart.
For example, to become beautiful
when looking into the mirror...
...all a woman has to do...
...is murmur, "I am beautiful" to herself
and they will become beautiful.
The number one thing you mustn't do...
...is bind yourself to your age or environment...
...since that only closes your potential.
Whatever their age...
...a woman can be reborn into beauty.
That potential...
I see.
To be reborn into beauty...
...I believe it is necessary to put in the effort.
Miwa-san, what sort of effort
to you put into yours?
Yes. That's true.
In order to maintain your beauty...
Uchibori-sensei!
Sensei, please give us your autograph.
I want to be as pretty as you are, Sensei!
I want to be as pretty as you are, Sensei!
Here.
Thank you very much.
Please sign for me.
Here.
Thank you very much.
Ah, Sensei!
I thought you had left already.
You're cleaning?
Yes. I thought I'd just clean
the area around my desk...
...but then various other places
started bothering me.
Since you went to a lot of effort
for get this beautiful office...
...I wanted to keep it perfectly clean.
Ah, but you want to
lock up already, don't you?
Then, I'll finish up.
Hold on a minute.
Yes?
You said you worked at
a detective's office before here, didn't you?
Yes.
Machida Takeharu
Machida Takeharu...
He's about 35 years old.
Long ago he worked at a
landscape gardening company in Tokyo.
Because I didn't widely publicize
my lecture in Hakata...
...80% of the attendees were locals.
I think there's a high probability
that he lives in this area, too.
But, why this man?
We dated a long time ago.
Before I came to know my husband.
Ah...
It's not a nice story.
Because of his terrible abuse of me,
I broke it off with him.
That's why, when I saw him at the venue...
...I was shocked.
I think he must be jealous of my success
and came to threaten me.
But why now of all times?
I've been picked up by
the media recently, haven't I?
The only clue you can
give me is his name?
He might be using a false name.
Do you have any photos of him?
I don't.
Given that, it'll be quite difficult
to search for him.
That's true, isn't it?
His job was related to landscaping?
There's a possibility he's into music.
Since he was a man who loved music.
I understand.
Shibamichi Landscaping/Public Works
Shibamichi
Landscaping
Public Works
Oi, any of you know a Machida Takeharu?
Nope, don't know him.
Well, we get lots of part-timers here.
Can't know 'em all.
I understand.
Thank you very much.
Do you happen to know
Machida Takeharu-san?
No, I don't know him.
I'm sorry.
Machida Takeharu-san?
Ah... yes.
He self-produced this.
Machida Takeharu
Takin' a Breather
Fukuoka
Your motsuni. Thanks for waiting.
(stewed giblets)
Whaa... looks good.
Sweeny, sweeny darling,
Sweeny, sweeny darling...
Thank you very much.
Do you know this man?
Yeah, I know him.
Eh? Really?
He's the owner of Margot, right?
Margot?
Margot.
Welcome.
Please enjoy your stay.
Hakata-ku, Kamikawabata-town, 2-chome?
He's the owner of a restaurant/bar
that becomes a live music house at night.
Seems his store is well known in town
and nice people go to it.
I see...
His homemade chorizo
and octopus rice were delicious.
This is the bomb!
Thank you very much.
Did he play a musical instrument?
He didn't play one.
He was always making food and drinks
in the back of the store.
I see...
He doesn't seem to have any family.
I followed him after he closed his store...
...but it looks like he lives alone quietly.
That's all I know for the time being...
...but should I keep on investigating?
Will you go to his store once every two weeks
then let me know how he's doing?
Ah... Well, sure, I guess...
I'll give you a travel allowance.
And a bonus on top of that.
If you put it that way...
And so, how's he doing?
"How's he doing"?
Nothing out of the ordinary.
I'm sorry for not having
any new information.
Should I still continue my investigation?
Continue it.
He seems a reticent man, somehow.
And gentle.
Is it true that man used to
abuse you, President?
There's no one who
doesn't have their dark side.
Even a person who looks like
they wouldn't kill a fly...
...can have a side that will do terrible things.
A man with a gentle face
can have his demon side.
It's not that simple a thing
to come to know a person's heart.
Ah, he played the guitar and sang.
The guitar?
Yes.
He didn't have any customers,
so he had some free time.
What kind of song was he singing?
Hmm... I can't reproduce it myself...
Niawanai kedo kami o some mashita
It doesn't look good on me, but I dyed my hair
Mainichi kao mo araimasu
I wash my face every day
Tabako no meigara mo kinou kaete mimashita
I tried changing my brand of smokes yesterday, too
Kimi o hayaku wasure rareru youni
All so I could hurry up and forget you
Kimi ga inaku naru youni
So you would disappear
Dandankun no shiranai boku ni natte imasu
I gradually became a me you wouldn't know
Um... I'm sorry.
We haven't opened the store yet.
Um... is there something?
No.
Beautiful, isn't it?
This new shampoo product.
I was thinking of selling it with
the name "Little Mermaid."
A full set with face lotion,
beauty essence and cream.
It's nice isn't it? Romantic.
The "Little Mermaid" got her human feet
from a drug the witch had given her, right?
But at night her feet would ache.
I think stretching yourself a little
for the sake of love can be painful.
A woman's heart such as that is pretty, isn't it?
But in a fairy tale...
...the magic is invariably taken away
at the end, isn't it?
Now that you mention it, that's right.
For Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty...
...once the magic is taken away,
they do find happiness...
...but when the magic is taken away from the Little Mermaid,
she's the only one left unhappy at the end.
But by pretending to be someone she wasn't
in order to be liked...
...the end result was that
she got dumped, wasn't it?
From "T"
1 new e-mail has arrived
Don't think you can run away from your past
I won't let you be the only one left feeling good
Don't think you can run away from your past.
I won't let you be the only one left feeling good.
Looks like Machida-san's bar
isn't doing all that well.
Is that right?
He's a man who gambles a lot, isn't he?
Ah... that might be so.
I followed him to an ATM machine,
and I found his receipt slips...
With this you can see details of
his consumer credit lines.
Seems he's got a number of
these credit lines going.
To be frank, he's in
a really bad situation right now.
How much longer
will that store of his last?
Taking Applications
for a Tenant
Taking Applications
for a Tenant
Seems the restaurant had
taken on a ton of debt.
His new address is one in Nagoya.
Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya-shi, Nakamura-ku
Villa Yoshimoto, 202
Seems he's been going to an
employment office every day and job hunting.
He's getting up there in years
and facing various prejudices because of it...
...so it seems finding a job is tough for him.
If you don't want to lose everything,
then prepare 5 million yen in hush money.
Tomorrow at 11:00 am.
Into the dumpster next to the bench
across from the big clock at Hibiya Park...
...drop the money
wrapped inside a Ninfa Miwa paper bag.
Don't look
Primarily within Nagoya...
...he works as a day laborer helping out on moving jobs
and has a part-time job in traffic control.
Seems his former debtors
don't know where he lives though.
He just can't stop his gambling, can he?
You've investigated quite well.
I'm an ex-detective, after all.
Ah, hasn't he been
asking you for money, President?
In your story about your past,
you suggested he pestered you for money.
He hasn't; not even once.
You'd best be careful.
It's said there's even
revenge porn going on these days.
They secretly record you having sex
when you're all lovey-dovey with them...
...then when you break up,
the man'll spread it all over just out of spite.
Don't go talking about things
you know nothing about!
You don't know anything
about him, now do you?
There are things only I know about him.
Things you know nothing about.
What is it that only you know, President?
That's okay...
There are things only
popular women would know about.
I didn't mean it like that.
I'll investigate and report again.
Yes?
It's me, Murata.
Are you available?
Yes, come in.
President, we have an issue.
This was faxed to the company.
Uchibori Miwa had plastic surgery!
She has a horrible past
She can't tell to anyone
Uchibori Miwa had plastic surgery!
She has a horrible past she can't tell anyone
This area code is from Nagoya.
Probably from a convenience store somewhere.
This absolutely can't leak outside...
...so have all the employees
who saw this sworn to secrecy.
This kind of rumor is
inherent to the beauty business.
But tell them that since it's an unfounded lie,
they shouldn't get upset over it.
Understood.
Uchibori-san.
It's been a long time.
How many years has it been since then?
Seven years.
It has been, hasn't it?
Well... we didn't make any progress
in the investigation after that...
...so I felt sorry about that.
Thank you very much
for all the trouble you went to.
Ah, have a seat.
Thanks.
You told me back then...
...that it had been a passing robber
and so we narrowed our line of investigation to that...
...but we're wondering now
if that was how it went.
And so lately we've been reconsidering it
along the lines that it was a grudge.
Is that right.
But my husband was an excellent doctor.
I don't think there's anyone he operated on
who would bear a grudge against him.
I suppose.
But it seems...
...there's bound to be some bad claimants
among his customers.
Thinking that,
I tried investigating his customer list.
But many of the women who had had plastic surgery
changed addresses in the meantime...
...so tracking them down
has been kinda tough.
Yes.
But...
I found some recently.
You found some?
Yes.
Women who had undergone
surgery by your husband.
In the short time you
lived with your husband...
...what sort of man was he like?
What sort of man?
I'm sorry.
Of those women who had had it done...
...you weren't among them... were you?
No.
And, then...
...when I heard these women's stories,
I was surprised.
Every one of them...
...said they had been abused by your husband.
He had this terrible fastidiousness
to the point of disease...
...where he wouldn't allow so much
as a speck of dust inside his house.
Wastepaper, dust...
If he found those, he'd become
incredibly threatening...
...and would beat and kick them.
Ma'am, were you okay?
Did he treat you in that way?
No... nothing like that happened to me.
Is that right.
Then... it was just with these
other women, wasn't it?
Well, either in men or women...
...I just don't understand such crude people...
...in the least.
And there's that.
I'll get to the main subject now.
Yes.
When we checked into the people who were
coming and going to your house at that time...
...there was one man who moved
immediately after the incident...
...and whose whereabouts
we never could locate.
It was a worker who tended your garden...
...and who was with the landscape
gardening company, "Tamiya Landscape"...
...a man named Machida Takeharu.
Do you know him?
Machida-san...
I wonder...
Remembering the name of a worker
who worked on our garden would be a little...
I see.
Well, it would be, wouldn't it?
I apologize for troubling you.
So long.
Thank you for your hard work.
You heard, didn't you?
My husband was a cosmetic surgeon.
He was killed seven years ago in a robbery.
I see.
That's why it can't be helped when anonymous
notes like the one today go around.
And nowadays, you can use the internet for
anything and everything and never be found.
That's true, isn't it?
My going out with Machida Takeharu...
...was long before that.
Unable to get over me,
even after I got married...
...he became a gardener and visited my home.
That was scary, wasn't it?
I was. It was very scary.
Could it be this Machida...
...was the robber who did in your husband?
I was joking!
Please don't make such a scary face.
Don't worry.
Since I'll protect you, secretly.
I absolutely won't talk
to anyone about this.
Not about your past husband...
Or, well... that other thing, either.
I didn't have plastic surgery.
Well... I know that.
Of course you wouldn't have.
What is called "beauty"...
...is believing in yourself.
I want to give you beauty.
Ninfa Miwa.
What is called "beauty"...
Are... are you okay?!
I want to give you beauty.
Machida Takeharu has disappeared from Nagoya.
Eh?
I think he ran away because the ones
he was in debt to found out where he was.
I see...
And so, where is he now?
In Tokyo.
In Tokyo?
Please look at the e-mail I'm sending you now.
Arakawa-ku, Tokyo South 4-4-16, Oku-cho
He's come here... at last...
...to Tokyo.
From "T"
1 new e-mail has arrived
Detectives came yesterday.
Detectives came yesterday
I'm already done for. I'll kill you, then myself
I'm already done for.
I'll kill you, then myself.
Yutaga Inn
Machida
Caught red-handed arrest!
Right?
If I had been the police, then...
What's this about?
Why are you here...
"Why am I here?"
You killed your husband, didn't you?
You and Machida-san, both.
You did, didn't you?
I asked Machida-san straight to his face.
Eh?
"Did you go out with
Uchibori Miwa-san?"
At first he was wary about me
and wouldn't answer...
But I didn't get the feeling
he bore a grudge against you.
Rather instead, he would ask about you
over and over again.
I felt he was worried about you.
He didn't look at all like someone
who would abuse a woman.
So I wondered why the President
would be scared of such a man...
And then I had a thought.
Something definitely happened between them.
So I did come checking.
On both the President and Machida-san.
And then I came across it.
Seven years ago, your husband was
beaten with a golf club during a robbery.
Cosmetic Surgeon Stabbed To Death
A case of being stabbed to death.
That's why even before you confided in me...
...I already knew about it long ago.
Machida-san had moved to Hakata
right after that incident.
I wondered where he had gotten
the 50 million yen to open his restaurant.
Though he'd been living in Tokyo with a 60,000 yen
a month rent he'd sometimes fall behind on...
($500)
That was strange, wasn't it?
And then I had a thought.
"Maybe he got it from the President?"
His reward for killing someone.
That Machida-san went to
your lecture in Hakata...
...was because he wanted to see your face,
even if only from a distance.
Far from bearing a grudge against you,
he was grateful to you.
Then... what about those threatening letters?
I wrote those.
You were surprised when Machida-san
came to Hibiya Park, weren't you?
That was because I had called for him.
"Since I got tickets to an outdoor live concert,
how about going to it with me?" I told him.
Ah, by the way,
I took that 5 million yen.
I'm the one who sent that golf club, too.
The reports I made to you were all lies.
Those detailed accounts
of his debts were forgeries.
But his restaurant in Hakata was gone.
It had been decided that building
would be demolished...
Notice of Store Move
...so he had moved to
a more advantageous location.
Taking Applications
for a Tenant
Machida-san never took
a single step out of Hakata.
Then... what about this place?
This is my apartment.
Why...
For what reason?
I've hated you all this time.
A woman can be reborn at any age?
"How can someone who had plastic surgery
make 'you can be pretty' speeches?" I thought.
Because the stress was building up inside me,
I wrote all that stuff bad-mouthing you on the internet.
I just wrote all the things I wanted
to say to your face on that homepage.
At the sight of you in a women's magazine,
I'd find one fault after another about you.
Since when?
Huh?
Even before I joined your company, of course.
Once I did join,
I grew to hate you more and more.
You said this before, didn't you?
"Why don't you have plastic surgery?"
"The President thinks I'm ugly," I thought.
Unconsciously, you were
looking down on me as a woman.
I'm sorry.
Now you bother to apologize.
That doesn't eliminate the fact
that you're a fool.
Then... what will you do?
Will you turn me in to the police?
I wouldn't do such a thing!
Doing that wouldn't benefit me
in any way, after all.
Ah, rather instead...
Will you make me an executive?
And please hand over
half of your stock holdings.
And paying me a salary on a
par with yours would be a help.
Just because I advised you
to get plastic surgery?
Your revenge for that... is this?
Well, there's that, too...
...but the other part is to maintain the balance.
Balance?
After all... this is unfair, isn't it?
That only you get to become famous...
...while Machida-san can't make
a name for himself in the world.
After opening his bar in Hakata...
...he went out for live concerts at first.
He was heard by professional scouts
who asked him to sign up with them again and again.
But he turned them down.
If his songs did sell
and he became famous...
...that might bring to light
his ties with you...
...and he didn't want to be
the source of any trouble for you.
That was what he was thinking.
Kimi o hayaku wasure rareru youni
All so I could hurry up and forget you
Kimi ga inaku naru youni
So you would disappear
Dandankun no shiranai boku ni na..
I gradually became a me you...
Then let's go in that direction
with the TV commercial.
Yes, let's please do that.
Still Sensei, you really are beautiful.
I've asked you this many times before...
...but what is the something
you use for anti-aging?
Nothing special.
I only use our company's skin care products.
The President is so pretty
because she's had plastic surgery.
The President is so pretty
because she's had plastic surgery.
Because no matter how much
you polish your skin...
...without plastic surgery, you just won't shine.
Ah, that's true. Um...
President. Wouldn't it be okay
to make it official already?
That the reason you're so beautiful is because of
plastic surgery and the perfect maintenance of it afterwards.
Both plastic surgery and beauty skin care
afterwards are important, aren't they?
Well, that can't be...
Right, President?
It's true.
I had my late husband operate on me.
I thought so...
As you know, Botox injections
and surgical operations...
...or even having your skin pulled will,
after five or ten years...
...or even half a year later,
return to how it was...
...and there's a possibility that your skin will
deteriorate to even worse than it was before.
But because our company's staff has
in-depth knowledge about plastic surgery...
...we can be very thorough in
our aftercare treatments.
I think the future of beauty
will be the twin wheels...
...of plastic surgery and skin care.
I see.
Thanks for your hard work.
Good night.
Thanks for your hard work.
Thanks for yours.
Uchibori Miwa had plastic surgery done!
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
'Morning.
Your reputation is through
the roof on the internet, too.
The President coming out
about her plastic surgery.
They feel it's admirable and refreshing...
And the positive opinions are 7:3 in your favor.
And our sales are
even higher than before, too.
I see.
Ah... maybe even I have some talent
for administration, huh?
Ah!
I do have a favor to ask though.
What is it?
Please give me my retirement from the company money.
Retirement money?
50 million yen.
Cheap, ain't it?
You intend to go independent?
I'm just tired of teasing you.
I did what I wanted to do
and I'm satisfied with that.
I don't get it...
"A woman's happiness..."
Is that only money and success?
Fukuoka
Royal cod roe!
It's cod roe!
Yeah!
Thank you. Yeah!
Yagate kuru haruwomatsu boku ni
For me who was waiting for Spring at last
Sotto kata yosete neiki o tatete
I softly put my shoulder around you and listen to you breathe in your sleep
Yoko de maruku natsu teru kimi wa marude kitakaze to taiyou
As I curl up beside you, you're totally like the north wind and sun
Kanji teru taiyou ou
I can feel the sun, oh
President, I've been looking for you.
Where are you right now?
I'm not feeling well.
That's why you left early, isn't it?
Are you okay?
I'm sorry.
I'll be taking a break for a little while.
"For a little while"...
Have you been happy?
Since we broke up...
...have you been happy?
Yeah.
I've been unhappy.
I couldn't forget you...
...and have been unhappy ever since.
Niawanai kedo kami o some mashita
It doesn't look good on me, but I dyed my hair
Mainichi kao mo
I wash my face
Say.
Huh?
How many times did you
and Uchibori Miwa have sex?
Eh?
Two times? Three times?
I think I've got her beat.
Because we've already done it...
I don't know.
Eh?
I don't know any woman
named Uchibori Miwa.
Let's go out.
Yeah.
Uchibori Miwa
and Machida Takeharu are connected.
I'm asking for backup. Listen.
Machida's address is Hakata-ku...
Walking hand-in-hand with him
and smiling when looking into his eyes...
...she acts at home in his arms.
I wonder why it isn't me
over there with him?
Ah, thanks for waiting...
This is awesome.
That woman can laugh
in such a loud voice...
...while I have no voice.
Since if he notices me, it would be over.
In her contract with the sea witch...
...in exchange for the Little Mermaid
hiding her true form...
...she became a woman without a voice.
Seven years ago, after my husband's death...
...by giving you the money I had at hand...
...I cast you aside and chose money.
But, if I had chosen you at that time...
...you and I could have fled
somewhere far away.
And if I had, then I'm sure
we would be living like that.
Counting the loose change in our pockets,
buying cheap side dishes...
...eating together, sleeping together,
getting up together.
Thinking about today today,
thinking about tomorrow tomorrow.
That would have been better.
That kind of life would have been better.
The one who changed was me.
You didn't change at all.
And yet, because I had changed...
...I convinced myself
that you had changed, too.
You and I together.
That dream won't be fulfilled.
I wanted to see that dream forever...
...but it's too painful to look at.
If that dream must disappear someday...
...then I must make it disappear myself.
I couldn't make my dream disappear.
I have become sea foam.
This Drama is fictional
All appearing characters and organization names are fictitious