"God, please grant my wish. This Christmas, for sure..."
Wednesday, December 24, 1986.
The girl stares out the window at the brightly lit city.
"On Christmas," she thinks, "gold bells, and a pure-white chocolate cake."
"Handa-saaan!" calls a voice. "Handa Ryouko-san! Package for you!"
She goes to the door and takes a box wrapped with a bow.
"But I hate spending Christmas eve all alone," she thinks.
She opens the box and takes out a cake.
"That Dad," she says. "Just how am I supposed to eat such a huge cake by myself? Every year in December, my father flies all around on business trips overseas. And since my mother has fashion shows and such, she's never been here."
She looks at the clock.
"Eight o'clock."
The radio plays.
"Oh," says the voice, "isn't there anybody anywhere who will give me a birthday present? I hate Christmas. Even though I age a year on Christmas Eve, everyone around is being festive and no one even looks at me. On top of that, my birthday I spend working like this, too. From this Panorama Studio, alone by myself I gaze out the window at a Christmas that looks so happy."
"Panorama Studio is that radio station on the way to school," says Ryouko.
"I'm Choco, and this 'Chocolate Night' that's begun today was my suggestion," says the man on the radio. "Christmas is a day that should be spent together by lovers. So that next year I'll have someone to spend Christmas eve with, I'm going to bring loves together."
Ryouko looks at the cake she received.
-
Lights in the shape of a fir tree decorate one side of a tall building in the city.
People on the street all wear bells.
Ryouko stops and looks up at the tree of lights.
"Wow!"
She sees Panorama Studio, and runs inside carrying a box wrapped with a bow.
She approaches a person working there.
"Umm..." she says. "You're on the air now, right?"
She holds out the box.
"I want to give this to the DJ. To say happy birthday."
Then, December 1987.
"Makiko-saaan!"
Ryouko runs to the girl.
"Hey, hey, listen! I- I- I might be able to meet Choco-san!"
"Morning, Ryon," says Makiko. "Is Choco-san that DJ you said you gave the Christmas cake to last year? (It's so cold, but you've got such energy.)"
"Hehe! You know, I......"
"What!?" says Makiko. "You got a part-time job!? (We're still in junior high!)"
"Hey, stupid, shh, shh!" says Ryouko. "Anyway, I sort the postcards on the day of Choco-san's program. Meeting him might not be a dream!"
"Ryon!" says another girl. "Say, will you go to the high school with me? I want to deliver this, but I wouldn't feel secure doing it alone."
She shows her letter in an envelope.
"Oh," says Ryouko, "would that be a..."
"Yep! Hehe. From the reply the other day, I've decided to go out with him!"
"No way! All right!"
"It's all because you brought us together, Ryon," says the girl.
"Well..." says Makiko. "Ryon, joining those two together like that is just like what Choco does."
Two boys watch Ryouko walking away.
"Oh, it's Ryon-chan," says one. "She does her work all the way over here."
"Who's that?" says the other.
"A girl in the junior high. Her hobby is making couples. You know, since Christmas is near, she must be in great demand here too, don't you think?"
"Hmph, this person, that person. I hate Christmas. I'm clear on that."
"Oh, come on, Keiki."
['keiki', by the way, is also the Japanese pronunciation of 'cake'.]
The elevator reaches the seventh floor, and Ryouko runs into the studio.
"Hello!"
"Hey, Ryon-chan," says one of the boys working there. "You're late!"
"I see," says a voice over the speakers. "So for you he left the girl he had been seeing. Oh, isn't that a good thing? Since he chose you."
"Wow, it's already starting," says Ryouko.
"Ryon-chan," says the boy, "you can't go outside during recording, since it's a live broadcast starting at eight."
"Leave it to me!" she says.
"You don't need to worry," says the voice over the speakers. "And so now, let's go to your request."
"Say, what kind of person is Choco-san?" says Ryouko.
"What kind?" says the boy. "Just an ordinary person. Ordinary."
"Nah, nah," says another boy. "He's being a love advice DJ. It's obvious he's effeminate."
"Tell me the truth!" says Ryouko.
"No comment! Choco-san is a man of mystery."
They laugh and walk away.
Ryouko starts looking through the postcards sent in.
One reads:
Choco-san!
I failed again! But I won't be discouraged.
My request is "Lemon no Yuuki" by PSY-S.
Rieko.
"Starting every Wednesday night at eight," thinks Ryouko, "at Panorama Studio it's 'Chocolate Night'. After I started listening to your show, I started making couples, Choco-san. I've longed to get near you, even a little bit."
"Hey," says a man, "somebody go buy drinks for the people in here!"
"I- I'll go!" says Ryouko.
"You're sure enthusiastic," says one of the boys.
"Choco-san and the others will be drinking them, right?" she says. "So I'd be happy to go. After all, I call myself Choco-san's first fan!"
"That's right," she thinks. "Ever since I gave him that birthday present on Christmas Eve last year..."
"First fan?" says the boy. "I don't know about that. There might be someone else who was the first."
"Someone else..." says Ryouko.
The on-air light goes off.
"Nice work, everyone!"
"Oh, it's over already," says Ryouko.
She watches people coming out of the booth.
"I thought I might be able to meet him..." she thinks. "I'm glad I came, but I couldn't go inside as long as they were actually broadcasting. And I don't even know what Choco-san looks like."
"Choco-san is a man of mystery."
She approaches the door.
"He might be in here. I wonder what kind of person he is."
The door opens in front of her.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she says, turning away.
Keiki stands in the doorway looking at her.
He turns and goes back inside.
"Oh, Keiki, forget something?" says a boy with a short ponytail and dark glasses.
"Wh- Wh- What is she doing here..." he says.
"What do you mean? Ryon-chan? She's the new girl working part-time."
"She goes to the same school as me!" says Keiki. "I told you not to hire anyone like that!"
"Oh, it's all right. She's in junior high."
"The junior high and high school are on the same campus!" he says. "And that girl is constantly coming to the high school! You have to make her quit right away. If I'm found out..."
"Hey, come on," says the boy. "You can't expect me to do that now. It's fine, it's fine. There's no way she'll find out you're Choco-san, Keiki."
"Hey," says Keiki, "from now on I want to go on by myself."
"What's with you all of a sudden?"
"Because," says Keiki, "I can do it well enough now without help from the writer."
The boy pats him on the head.
"What are you saying! You'll be left speechless without a script."
Keiki looks out the booth window at Ryouko.
"Ryon," says Makiko. "Where are you going?"
"The high school. Want to come?"
"Sure! What is it, another love letter?"
Ryouko shows the letter to her.
"'To senpai'," reads Makiko. "'Please tell me the following things. 1, date of birth. 2, blood type. 3, favorite color. 4, favorite food. 5, favorite type.' ...Instead of inching along like this, why doesn't she go ahead and confess her feelings?"
"Makiko-san!" says Ryouko. "It's all right. Even if I leave these two alone, their getting together is only a matter of time. I'm just giving them a little push."
Ryouko cries out as a hand grabs her braid of hair from behind.
"What on earth is so interesting about sticking your nose into other people's business?" says Keiki.
"What are you doing!?" says Ryouko.
"Oohara-senpai!" says Makiko.
"What, do you know him, Makiko-san?"
"Er, well, not really..."
"It's none of your business!" says Ryouko.
"Oh?" says Keiki. "And isn't what you're doing meddling in other people's business, Ryon-chan?"
"D- Don't call me too familiarly!" says Ryouko. "We just met! You have no right to... Huh?"
She looks at him.
"I thought I'd seen you somewhere before... You were that rude guy staring at me at the radio station!"
"What!?" says Keiki. "Hold on, hold on, hold on! I ask you, don't say that so openly. If I'm found out, I'll be suspended from school and more..."
"What do you mean," says Ryouko. "You've got the same part-time work doing odd jobs as I do, right? You're such a chicken."
"What...?" says Keiki. "Oh... Right... But I don't know if you're making couples or what, but I don't really want you wandering over to the high school."
"Oh!" says Makiko. "So you're working at that radio station too, senpai? This girl started making couples as she was longing for Choco-san."
"Fool..." says Keiki. "That guy with a puffed-up ego from girls' attentions, because of his fake love advice. What's so great about him."
Ryouko's eyes water as she looks at him.
She turns and runs away.
"Oh, Ryon!" says Makiko. "Come on, Ryon!"
"Oh... That stung..." thinks Ryouko.
A boy stops her.
"Handa-san," he says. "Here."
He hands her a letter.
Ryouko sits on a desk in the classroom sipping a drink.
"Ryon!" says one girl. "That guy who gave you a love letter during lunch, who is he after?"
"Kaori-chan in class two," says Ryouko.
"That's crazy!" says another girl.
"Kaori-chan has strong pride," says another. "There's no way a letter will work!"
Ryouko glares at them.
"What!" she says. "Whatever it takes, I'll get them together and show you!"
"Hey, hey, what are you so upset about?"
"Even if you feel like doing it, if Kaori doesn't, it still won't work."
"Ryon, Shimada's calling you!"
Ryouko goes to the classroom door and talks to a boy.
The girls look at her.
"That girl," says one. "She's been so vigorous lately."
"She must be busy, since it's almost Christmas."
Ryouko walks back to them, carrying two little bells.
"What did Shimada say?"
"Here."
She shows them the bells, which are attached to clip-on earrings.
"Wow, gold bells! Those two must be getting along well."
"Isn't that great? If I had a boyfriend, I'd be sure to get gold bells too, and meet him on Christmas Eve beneath that one building's tree!"
"Hey, I went there on Christmas Eve last year!" says Ryouko. "Beneath that tree. It was so pretty... There were lots of girls who looked like students here, wearing gold bells on their chests."
"No fair! You met someone there too, Ryon? Who? Who?"
"No, no, it wasn't like that," says Makiko. "She had business at the radio station across the street."
"Right!" says Ryouko. "I don't really have any interest in gold bells. I went just to see Choco-san."
"You can't fall in true love with someone on the radio," says one girl.
"Maybe not..." says Ryouko.
"Of course not! What are you talking about? I wonder about that love advice show, too. I get the feeling it's not really sincere."
She stops.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult Choco-san..."
"Ryon?" says Makiko.
"When you were talking about Choco-san," says Ryouko, "I suddenly remembered getting mad at that one guy before."
"Ryon!"
"And that guy said he was Oohara Keiki, the club senpai. Keiki? That's a strange name."
"I was surprised," says Makiko. "You two looked like you were going to start a fight. But I'm glad you're talking like that, Ryon... Oh, and so, you're asked to create bridges of love by boys also, right? So if I were you, there wouldn't really be a problem... I think that would be nice..."
"What are you saying?" says Ryouko. "But you're popular! So, is there really someone you like? Tell me! You're the one I'm envious of, Makiko-san. If I had that spirit, I bet I'd get plenty of gold bells. I love it! Our school custom of wearing gold bells given by guys on Christmas, and meeting under that building's tree."
She walks away smiling.
"Ryon...?" says Makiko.
Ryouko stares at a Santa doll on the desk in her room with tears in her eyes.
"You're a liar, Ryon," she thinks. "Saying you have no interest in gold bells. Despite really wanting one... Nobody will be my partner. But my love that began last Christmas eve... This year I'll give some present to Choco-san."
She looks at the calendar.
"What? I'm shocked! The 24th isn't a Wednesday! Then how should I give him the present? Oh no! I don't know his face either... My love hasn't progressed one step since last year."
"I get the feeling it's not really sincere."
Ryouko addresses a postcard to Chocolate Night.
"Well, shall I do one more postcard? Next is..."
Keiki looks at the postcard.
It doesn't seem my love can be realized.
I am in such painful love.
From Ryon.
The man in the booth with him whispers. "Keiki, read it! Read it!"
"Ryon-chan from Koto-ku asks that I play a painful love song."
"Oh, really!?" says Makiko. "Your postcard was read by Choco-san!? You did it, Ryon!"
"Yep," says Ryouko. "I hadn't thought of sending in a postcard until now. From now on, I'll send one every day! As I thought that, I got so excited."
"Yeah, but..." says Makiko.
Keiki sees Ryouko laughing. He grabs her ponytail from behind.
"Wherever I see these red bonbons, I know it's you at a glance."
['bonbons' refers to the two ball-shaped decorations in her hair.]
"Oh, Oohara Keiki!" says Ryouko. "What is it, what do you want!?"
"What are you acting so happy about?"
"Ehehe!" she says. "Well, you see, just thinking about my postcard being read by Choco-san, my face trembles and trembles!"
Their eyes widen as they look at each other.
Keiki ruffles her hair.
"Good then," he says. "Is it something to be so glad about, just having your postcard read..."
"It's not just that!" says Ryouko. "To me, it's a serious..."
She turns and blushes.
"I- I'm kind of getting carried away," she thinks.
"When her face is so gentle..." thinks Keiki.
He leaves.
"Saying something or other, senpai has quite some feelings for you, Ryon," says Makiko, walking past her.
"What!?" says Ryouko. "W- Wait, Makiko-san!"
"Talking about your red bonbons, it had the feeling of a stuffed animal. That's right... Ryon, you're working hard, getting a part-time job, sending postcards. I can't be hesitant forever."
A drop of sweat appears on Ryouko's forehead.
"Come on, Ryon, make my love be realized! The person that I love... It's Oohara Keiki-senpai."
A hand touches Ryouko's shoulder as she looks in the store window at a gold bell.
"Oh, you startled me," she says. "I didn't know who it was."
"On your way to work?" says Keiki. "What are you doing stopping on the way."
"Nothing..." she says. "Thinking it would be nice..."
"A gold bell...? Really, wherever you go Christmas is one color. That's why I don't like December."
"Because it's a lonely season for a single person, right?" says Ryouko.
"I guess we're in the same situation."
"Sorry, but don't put us together," she says. "Because it doesn't mean I don't have hopes of gold bells!"
"What," says Keiki. "You're determined in spite of your love?"
"You saw my postcard at the studio, didn't you!" says Ryouko. "You really are a jerk! Why would you do such a sinister thing!? It's cruel!"
"It's your fault for sending a postcard to a guy like that!"
"A guy like that!? Because unlike you, Choco-san is kind, right? At least he gives advice! What's wrong with sending postcards?"
"Aren't you mistaking the ideal for reality?" says Keiki. "He just reads from the script, the real guy isn't kind or anything!"
"You don't know him well..."
"But it's true. They say he's a man of mystery, but that's just so the fans can decide whatever they want about him. Meeting him is a pain."
"It's not like that," says Ryouko. "Choco-san isn't supposed to meet..."
"Have you actually been working there and never met him at all? He must find you unpleasant!"
Ryouko turns and runs away.
"No... It can't be..."
She runs into the studio.
"Oh, Ryon-chan," says the boy there. "You're early today. It's only..."
"Hey, can't I meet Choco-san at all, at all, at all!?"
"What!?"
"Is he really a man of mystery who nobody's met?"
"Well... Well, Ryon-chan..."
"That was a lie," says another boy. "There are lots of fans who have met him..."
"Then, can I meet him too!?"
"Sure, of course you can."
The other boy elbows him.
"What?" says Ryouko.
"Well, no..." he says. "I don't really understand it, and don't feel bad about this, Ryon-chan. When I hired you, Choco-san said he was firmly opposed to it..."
"Why!?" she thinks. "Does Choco-san hate me?"
-
The two boys go into the control room.
Inside, the boy with dark glasses is talking.
"Oh no!" he says. "We're in trouble! What are we going to do today?"
"What is it?"
"The writer is in bed with a cold, and can't come in at all. We do need some person to sit in front of Choco-san giving him directions, right? I'm looking for someone."
The two boys look at each other.
-
One boy walks down the hallway.
"W- Wait a sec here!" says Ryouko.
"It's okay, it's okay," he says. "I won't give him your name, Ryon-chan."
"It's not that," she says. "Sitting in front of Choco-san... He hates me, I can't do it!"
"It's all right," says the boy. "You're just going to choose the next postcard for him to read."
"What should I do?" thinks Ryouko.
"I'm running a commercial! Now, five seconds..."
Ryouko's heart pounds.
"How should I look when I meet him!?" she thinks.
"I'm putting in a pinch hitter! Here she is!"
Ryouko enters the broadcast booth.
She sees Keiki sitting behind the microphone.
"Huh!?" she thinks. "What!?"
"You can't be serious," says Keiki.
"What is this guy doing here!?" thinks Ryouko.
"Commercial's over, three seconds!"
"Choco-san," reads Keiki. "The boy I've liked for a long time, T-kun, has confessed his feelings for me... But we can't see each other, because my best friend also likes him..."
"Oh, what should I do!?" thinks Ryouko. "I can't believe it. Choco-san is speaking now before my eyes. And what's more, what's more..."
"What do you think, Ryon-chan?" says Keiki.
"Huh!?"
"Choco-san was that Oohara Keiki," she thinks. "Can it be!?"
"M- Me!?" she says. "You want me to talk too!? Er, umm... I- I know how she feels... She feels she wanted things to work out for her best friend and the boy. In a time like that..."
"That's foolish!" says Keiki. "It's mutual love! It's not something to worry about!"
The jaws of the boys in the control room drop.
Keiki covers his mouth abruptly.
"S- So you're saying that as long as things work out for you," says Ryouko, "it doesn't matter what happens to anyone else!?"
"That's not what I'm saying! If the girls both give him up, then what about the guy's feelings!"
"Even if the love does blossom, if it creates a rift in their friendship, it'll be your fault, Kei- Choco-san!"
"If the love blossoms, that's plenty!"
"If it doesn't, she should hurry up and dump the guy, and hold on to the beautiful friendship! You're so greedy!"
The boys watch from the control room as the two continue arguing.
"This'll be a retake, I guess," says one.
"No," says the boy with dark glasses. "This is turning out to be unexpectedly interesting."
-
The door slams behind Ryouko and Keiki as they leave the conference room.
"Jeez..." says Ryouko. "Why were they mad at me! It was your fault. I didn't even intend to talk..."
Keiki chuckles.
"Ah, that was refreshing," he says. "I wanted to try doing that nonsense once, saying what I wanted to say."
The boy with dark glasses pushes them out.
"Come on, get out of here!"
Keiki laughs as they leave.
"I'm so scared!"
"Ryon, I'd like some French fries."
Makiko looks at Ryouko.
"Ryon? You're out of energy. What's the matter? Are you busy with your job? Everyone was worried when you took a day off recently, based just on the rumors."
"Not really..." says Ryouko.
"Hey!"
Keiki grabs her ponytail.
"What are you two doing eating outside when it's so cold," he says.
"Oohara-senpai," says Makiko. "It's rare that you come to the junior high."
Ryouko's heart pounds.
"Has your swelling from yesterday gotten better?" says Keiki.
Ryouko runs away.
"Hey, wait, Ryon!" says Makiko.
She runs after her.
"Hey, hey, what swelling is this?" says Makiko. "Did something happen?"
Ryouko stops.
"What!?" says Makiko. "You met Choco-san!? You spoke!? That's great! You did it!"
"Yeah, well..." says Ryouko.
"So how is that related to the swelling," says Makiko.
"If I told Makiko-san," thinks Ryouko, "I wonder what she would say. That the Choco-san I've longed for... was the 'Keiki-senpai' she loves."
Ryouko looks at the stacks of postcards on the table.
"All these, they're addressed to me!?"
"Yep, that broadcast the other day was a big hit. There was quite a reaction."
"Th- That terrible thing was broadcast!?" says Ryouko. "I thought surely you'd do a retake..."
"Raw voices were popular after all. As for Keiki... His reaction to being bored until now came out."
"Kei-- Choco-san was bored while he was doing this?"
"Yep. But... It seems he has a special fan. I'm sure it's for that girl he was able to continue."
Keiki enters the room.
"Hey!" he says. "Don't tell her what she doesn't need to know, jerk."
"What's this," says Ryouko. "You of all people have someone like that."
"Shouldn't I?" says Keiki. "Even I do have a special person."
"Ryon-chan, you're doing it today too. Relax."
Ryouko and Keiki sit in the broadcast booth.
"Why are you bored when it's your own show?" says Ryouko.
"Did you think the show was original with Choco-san?" says Keiki. "Choco-san's show... The script is precisely set out, and the writer sits in front of him and advances the show. Over there the AD gives directions. I just read as I'm told."
"Isn't radio one-on-one communication?" says Ryouko. "It's like you're doing it by yourself here, for people who are by themselves listening. I see. Radio is put together by everyone. Choco-san can't make it by himself."
One of the staff laughs. "You're getting henpecked."
"What!?" says Keiki.
"Next commercial is the last one," says the director.
"Can I ask you something?" says Ryouko. "They said you were strongly opposed when I was hired..."
"I'd be in trouble if my job were discovered," says Keiki.
"What? That's all?"
"What else would it be?" says Keiki.
"I'm glad!" says Ryouko. "So, I'm not hated by Choco-san!"
She looks at the postcards on the table.
"Haven't you gotten any postcards lately?"
Keiki picks up the one Ryouko sent.
"I do have this one," he says. "About a partner in a painful love..."
"Okay, five seconds."
Keiki speaks into the microphone.
"Tonight again, it's Chocolate Night. I wonder if you're listening."
"It's only at times like this that I think Keiki is amazing," thinks Ryouko. "In front of the microphone, look, he has Choco-san's face."
"Now, the postcards."
Ryouko finds a postcard on the table.
"Oh. Look, look! Gold bells!"
"So on Christmas Eve," says Keiki, "you wear bells like this on your chest and confess your feelings to the person you love? And the rendezvous is beneath the tree of the building across the street from the studio."
"The gold bell tradition!" says Ryouko. "I wondered if it was just in the junior high."
"I know about it," says Keiki. "Girls make a fuss about it here too."
"Say, Choco-san," says Ryouko. "I've been giving advice and joining couples at school, too. Until Christmas last year, I thought it was enough if I did that and the couples got along well. But this year, just a little bit, I want gold bells too."
"Like the table bell in the window we saw together that one time?" says Keiki.
"No. Something bigger and more special."
She points out the window to the bells atop the tree on the side of the building.
"Those!" she says. "Those would be nice. The ones on top of that neon tree."
Keiki bursts into laughter.
"Th- That's mean!" says Ryouko. "I knew you'd laugh! I'm leaving!!"
"Oh, no, no, I'm sorry," says Keiki. "I guess you're not an ordinary person after all, Ryon-chan."
He grabs her hand as she walks away.
"It would upset me for you to leave."
"Well, it's a difficult thing," says the director, "Taking someone off the air... From the beginning, I wondered if this would be all right. But as you see, since our broadcast the other day we've received plenty of letters from friends and such of Ryon-chan. I don't think your teachers could be listening to this, but if it's found out there will be trouble, I'm sure."
He points to Keiki.
"There's no way I take this guy off, but Ryon-chan... For a little while... Okay?"
"Well, it's a little early, but here's a song off Christmas Aid."
Ryouko sees two people talking.
"Frankly, Keiki doesn't seem energetic," says one.
"The combination with Ryon-chan was doing well," says the other.
"It was supposed to be great if I could just see Choco-san," thinks Ryouko. "I'm here, but it's so unsatisfying. I want to sit in front of Choco-san again. In front of 'Choco-san'?"
She gives a coffee to the director, who is wearing headphones.
"Oh, thank you," he says.
"What are you listening to?" says Ryouko.
"These are what give directions to Keiki," he says. "Try saying something."
He places the headset on her head.
"Hey now, Keiki!" she says. "What shoddy DJ work you're doing!"
Keiki grimaces.
"Be quiet."
"Now, now," says Ryouko. "Read a postcard."
"Let's see... A question for Choco-san!" says Keiki. "Why is it called Chocolate Night? Please tell me. Umm... There's a mint chocolate with the name After Eight. This is after 8 o'clock, right? I took my name from 'chocolate' as well. Actually, I have a sweet tooth."
"Oh, is that so," says Ryouko.
"Yes," says Keiki.
"Do you love sweet things?"
"I love sweet things," he says. "Chocolate, and cake, and..."
"I love cake too," says Ryouko.
[cake = keiki]
"Ryon-chan?"
Ryouko sees Makiko as she leaves the building.
"Makiko-san? I don't believe it. What are you doing here...?"
"I'm on my way home from juku," says Makiko. "I wondered how you were doing and came to see you. Good timing."
Ryouko puts her arms around Makiko.
"Hey, wait... Ryon? What's wrong?"
They leave the studio.
"So it wasn't my imagination thinking you weren't feeling well," says Makiko. "Does it have something to do with the holiday?"
Ryouko is silent.
"Ryon, are you sure you're not hiding something from me...?"
"Keiki has somebody special to him..." says Ryouko.
"I know that," says Makiko. "But I don't even know the person's name. Everyone told me about his unrequited love. This isn't like you, Ryon. What happened to your belief that you only had an attack for that, that you told everyone about?"
. . .
"K- Keiki-senpai is Choco-san!?" says Makiko. "It can't be... So suddenly you and I are rivals? And suddenly we're lovelorn? So Ryon, you were worried about me and didn't take any action? That's so like you. You like Keiki-senpai, right? Here goes. I give this love up for you, Ryon! Since it's your first love. You two make a good combination."
Letters are stacked on a table inside Panorama Studio.
"Since Ryon-chan came here..."
"You should be happy. Aren't you bothered by the mountain of postcards?"
"Haha. Really. But I am glad. Ryon-chan has brought so many calls..."
"But if something happens with the school, Ryon-chan will be the one in trouble, right?"
"Hello!"
Ryouko enters the studio.
"You want to quit your job!?"
"Yes," she says. "So before that, would you let me do the show with Choco-san just one more time? I know it's very selfish of me to ask, but... No matter what, I want to do it once more... I have a feeling that if I do, something will break through."
"Outside the fishbowl," she thinks, "I thought I wanted to be inside one more time. But not with Choco-san. I want to sit in front of Keiki."
"Please," she says.
Keiki enters the room.
"Hey, Keiki!"
He turns and leaves.
"Ryon-chan," says the director. "When we did the first broadcast, the writer wasn't here. He did it by himself. He kept looking toward us, and those helpless eyes were impressive. Since then, I thought we had to do all the preparation here. But before we knew it, Keiki wanted to do it himself. He even found his own partner. He's stubborn and lonesome. If you quit, he'll be lonely. Don't say you will."
"I'm Choco-san's partner...?" says Ryouko. "Or Keiki's, as an ordinary girl...? I want to find out."
She leaves and goes to Keiki.
"What," he says.
"Were you timid?"
"Don't be silly," he says.
Ryouko holds up a stack of postcards.
"Look, look, these are all for me!"
"You're quitting, aren't you?" says Keiki.
"I thought so, but I guess... I won't quit. Are you mad?"
"Why you...!"
"No, no, wait."
He puts his arms around her.
"Did you know?" he says. "Chocolate Night is doing a live show on its one year anniversary, on Christmas Eve."
"No way," says Ryouko. "That's great. How romantic. I hope it snows."
Ryouko runs to the studio as the clock strikes eight.
"Ryon-chan, hurry, hurry!"
She enters carrying a wrapped package.
"Where have you been!" says Keiki. "You're late!"
"I- I'm sorry!" she says. "As soon as I received my Christmas cake, I..."
"Cake?"
"This year I wanted to make sure to give you the white chocolate cake as a present in person," says Ryouko.
"Then... Last Christmas Eve, you...? Then, fan number one who sent a Christmas cake to Choco-san, it was you?"
"Yeah... Wait, you got it?"
"What do you mean? Of course I did. Last Christmas Eve we did a live broadcast too."
Ryouko sits down.
"I see... I was really fan number one."
"Didn't I tell you?" says the staff member. "That fan number one is Choco-san's special person."
"And with that," says Keiki, "I have a present for you too, Ryon-chan."
He sets down a large pair of gold bells.
"They looked like they had such strength, but when I got them, they were polystyrene."
Ryouko looks out the window and sees the bells missing from the neon tree.
She goes to the staff member.
"Say, do you have a postcard?"
She takes one and starts writing.
Keiki begins the broadcast.
"Until last year, I didn't really like Christmas," he says. "But this year is special. Because I have a person to spend Christmas Eve with like this."
Outside, people look at the tree.
"Hey, that's somehow unsatisfying."
"Look, look! Aren't the bells on top missing?"
"They are!"
"Choco-san," says Ryouko. "I want you to read this postcard next."
Keiki reads the postcard and blushes.
"This year, too, there are lots of girls waiting beneath the tree wearing bells on their chests. For them, trite though it may be, I'll play 'Jingle Bells'."
The postcard reads:
Choco-san,
My painful love was fulfilled. That person is now right before my eyes.
From Ryouko.
"Thanks for the Christmas cake," says Keiki.
"Happy birthday, Keiki," says Ryouko.
"Merry Christmas, and maybe a happy new year!"
The end.
Note:
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Mengambil setting era Taisho (tahun 1920an), film ini bercerita tentang seorang cewek tomboi bernama Benio Hanamura yang dijodohkan dengan seorang letnan dua Shinobu Ijuin atas perjanjian kedua kakek nenek mereka. Benio yang keras kepala, ceria, ceroboh, namun berhati tulus sengaja dibawa ke keluarga besar Ijuin untuk dididik menjadi calon menantu yang mengerti adat istiadat serta kebiasaan hidup kelas atas. Meski awalnya Benio menolak dan mencoba kabur dari rumah besar tersebut, kepatuhannya sebagai seorang anak yang menurut pada orang tua serta hatinya yang diam-diam mulai tertambat pada sang letnan dua menjadikan Benio mencoba berusaha beradaptasi dengan keluarga tersebut. Di sisi lain, sang letnan dua Ijuin sudah kadung jatuh hati pada pandangan pertama ketika melihat Benio.
