Episode 5 starts with a recap in 6 sentences to explain how they arrived at this new phase in their relationship.

In the ambulance:
Nanase: I wish I could spend more time with you.
Tendo: I heard you! Get through this and I’ll grant you any wish you want. I’ll take you on dates! I’ll kiss you!
Next scene:
Tendo: (he kisses her) This is part of the treatment.
Nanase: (speechless)

This kiss isn’t a therapy she was expecting so she’s confused.

They arrive at their apartments in silence. Before going in, he reminds to get her stitches looked at the following day. Nanase still has a stunned look in her face and says nothing in reply.

At first, I thought she’s just catatonic. Not only did she have a mild concussion from the accident, her mind must have been boggled by his kiss, too. So yes, her stupor is understandable.

I only realized that she’s been quiet because she’s thinking about the kiss once she brought up “hundreds” of kisses. It hit me then that she’s trying to decipher what he meant by the kiss as “part of the treatment.” She doesn’t get whether he’s being flippant, sarcastic, mean or romantic.

Nanase: (stuttering) Ummm…what you just did…may have been one out of hundred or thousand kisses for you. But it was my…first one.

Gasp! He stole her first kiss.

Despite watching this scene several times, I still laugh at her indignation. She reminds me of a Victorian lady who’s affronted by a perceived slight on her virtue. I can imagine our warrior chick Sakura-chan challenging Tendo to a duel because he dared (how dare he!) to steal her lips’ virginity.

Nanase: Because it’s something you only do with a boyfriend…I don’t think I can focus at work tomorrow like this.

Now, if I were in Tendo’s shoes, I’d wonder what on earth she wanted me to do about this. Un-kiss her? Kneel down and apologize? She was visibly upset so how should I remedy this?

His next move surprises me. Frankly, I think his response is overkill. It simply isn’t  commensurate to the situation. It’s like killing a fly with a sledgehammer.

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Tendo: Fine then. I’ll go out with you.
Nanase: What?
Tendo: I’ll be your boyfriend.
Nanase: Uhm. Wait. What?… WHAT??
Tendo: (goes inside his apartment)

Nanase also enters her studio. She takes out the Cat God to talk to it. She does this whenever she’s overwhelmed.

Now, I understand the difference between Nanase and Tendo in how they view a problem. Nanase doesn’t understand what that kiss signified to them both. She doesn’t know if her heart should flutter or ignore the kiss because she doesn’t understand his intentions. She wanted to TALK about the kiss and probe his reason for it.

Tendo, on the other hand, does NOT want to discuss the kiss. As far as he’s concerned, the kiss is done. It already happened. What he wants to do is to mend Nanase’s hurt feelings. She’s upset so he tries to figure out how to RESOLVE their situation. He concludes that she’ll calm down if he declares that they’re officially dating. He’ll take responsibility for the kiss. After declaring his solution, he beats a hasty retreat into his apartment.

To me, the difference in their approach to problem is clear here. She acts like a peacemaker while he sees himself as a problem-solver. She’s a peacemaker because she’s more inclined to talk together in order to reconcile their differences. In contrast, he takes charge and wants direct action. Their differences in managing conflict will again be visible again during the chocolate cornet scene.

To continue…

When Tendo rings her doorbell, she becomes rattles. She sees her bed and her imagination goes into overdrive. As she said, it was her first kiss. Like the innocent that she is, she assumes that after the first kiss, sex comes next.

It’s funny when she glances at the chain door lock. She looks as if she wanted to bolt the door. To preempt any amorous moves, she launches an excuse as soon as she opens the door.

Nanase: Maybe perhaps we’re going a little too fast.
Tendo: (pushes the door wide open) I forgot the most important thing. I don’t mix work with my personal life. (leans against the doorframe)

Awww. I like him here. He knows that stepping inside her room would give her the wrong idea so he holds their conversation in the hallway. Of course, if this had been Dr Koichi, he wouldn’t have hesitated to enter her bedsitter and be alone with her.

Tendo: Don’t talk to me at the hospital beyond work.
Nanase: Okay!
Tendo: Stop giving me that goofy grin.
Nanase: Okay!

Awwww. But I like her goofy grin!

Tendo: And don’t tell anyone at work.
Nanase: But why…
Tendo: It’ll get in the way of my work. Stay professional at work. Got it?
Nanase: Okay! Got it!
Tendo: Go to sleep.

His lack of self-awareness is laughable. He doesn’t realize that the wheels have turned. The last time he barked his personal rules like this, he told her that there was 0.0001% chance of anything ever happening between them; he wasn’t interested in her. Now, he’s again laying down the rules but this time that 0.0001% has become a reality. From previously declaring that there’s “not a chance” to presently requiring her to keep their dating life separate from work, he’s unfairly moved the goalposts on her.

 He’s always challenging her to punt the ball into a moving goalpost…and ends up regretting it.  

As soon as he’s gone, realization sets in. She’s ecstatic that Dr. Tendo is now her boyfriend. Her first boyfriend. She looks exactly like a manga character when she takes a flying dive on her bed and starts kicking in excitement. She’s dorky.

Let me see now:

Episode 2 is about the rice cooker.
Episode 3 is “Operation: Cream Puff” and
Episode 4 is “Happy. Happy. Happy.”
and Episode 5 is about the “unfair” boyfriend. I told you that he moves the goalposts, right?

From the start, Nanase complains about his unfairness: he has more kissing experience than her. In her mind, he’s had hundreds of kisses while she only has one. Thus, it’s unreasonable of him to expect her to act blasé about her first kiss, and to belittle her first kiss as nothing more than “part of a treatment.” THAT’s Nanase’s point. She isn’t expecting him to propose becoming her boyfriend.

Then, the following day, she behaves very stiffly around him. To comply with his strict orders to maintain professionalism, she changes her voice, and wipes off her “goofy grin” as soon as she walks in the room. She keeps the conversation strictly on hospital matters. Of course, he finds her formality rather strange.

See his squinty-eyed look?

He’s wondering what she’s up to now. He notices her change in behavior. But really! What does he expect when he gave his orders in such an imperious way?

So he calls her back with an “Oy” (or hey!) and tells her to study up on a new patient. To me, he’s killing two birds with one stone here. He’s assigning her a new task but he’s also trying to prolong their conversation.

When her colleagues ask her about the stalker incident, she can’t share her happy news with them because Tendo has unfairly put a gag order on their relationship. He imposed all those rules on her, expecting her agreement, but not her consent.

Nurse 1: Are you glad he went to help you?
Nurse 2: He looked really worried when you brought in. (lol. I’m sure…)
Nanase: I suppose so… (grinning secretly)
Nurse 1: Huh? What’s with that grin?
Nurse 3: Did something happen?
Nanase: No. Uh. Nothing.

Meanwhile, deep down inside, she’s dying to tell the whole world. Her imagination runs wild again. This time she imagines a press conference where Tendo will announce that they’re dating.

lol. Don’t their couple sweatshirts look funny? She’s wearing a “K” for Kairi and he’s wearing “N” for Nanase. Tendo would have slayed her on the spot had he known she was daydreaming about couple outfits.

She’s excited that he’s her boyfriend but she can’t tell anybody about it. This is an unfair situation, but she abides by his rule to keep it secret, and follows it to a T.

But…there are some aspects of this separation between work and personal life that she doesn’t quite understand.

For one, she doesn’t get when he crosses the line himself. Take for instance when he suddenly wipes off the ink stain on her chin. They’re walking together while she enumerates the signs of arrhythmia. He gets distracted when he notices the ink stain on her chin. He then reaches out to hold her chin.

She’s startled by his gesture.

Nanase: Doctor?
Tendo: How do you get ink in a spot like this? Idiot.

And he wipes it off himself.

She watches him walk away and mutters, “That scared me.”

Sure, it scares her because, in her mind, his gesture is so out of character. To me, however, her bewilderment is a sign of her inexperience. She doesn’t get that he’s breaking his own rules and behaving in a “boyfriend-ly” manner in the hospital. To me, it’s clear that Tendo can’t resist her. And just like her, he’s trying to balance and separate work from his love life.

Spoiler alert: in later episode, he’ll do the same thing with the ice cream on her nose. He tells her (or is he telling himself?) that he isn’t going to wipe it off her nose. He acts as if it’s below his dignity to clean her up, but he does it anyway.

Then, another thing Nanase doesn’t understand about this separation of work and romance is Tendo’s ambiguity towards Koichi. She doesn’t realize that her camaraderie with Koichi bothers him. Sure, he tolerates it when they work together in the hospital. For instance, when Koichi called on Nanase to assist him with Tsuruoka, he controlled his annoyance. He couldn’t protest that Nanase suddenly switched over to Koichi’s team because it was a professional matter.

But Tendo doesn’t tolerate it when he sees them working closely together outside the hospital environment, like at his own home and in his own kitchen. Take for instance when she’s cooking with Koichi.

With Koichi’s help, she prepares his favorite creamy crab croquette. Oil accidentally splatters on her wrist and Koichi applies first aid. Tendo walks in the door and sees the cozy scene between the two. He bristles with jealousy.

This is what he sees and hears. Koichi is explaining that she’d dropped the croquette too early so the oil splattered.

But he’s suspicious.

This looks like a scene from a cheesy soap opera: the guy comes home to find his wife cheating with the gardener or the poolboy.

Tendo: What are you doing?
Nanase: Oh, doctor! Welcome home!

The contrast in their faces is funny. She’s positively beaming with excitement while he’s … well… grim.

He doesn’t return the smile. He folds his arms across his chest. He’s angry, and at the same time defensive. He must know that his jealousy is irrational. Nanase isn’t the type to be unfaithful, and Koichi can hardly do anything in his own apartment.

Nanase: I wanted to make you dinner, since you’re so busy.

Tendo doesn’t answer her and he looks pointedly at Koichi.

Koichi takes it as a sign that he’s outstayed his welcome. He gets ready to leave.

Koichi: I was just a helper.
Nanase: Thank you for teaching me. (she bows deeply to Koichi. As usual, she’s unaware of the tension between the two men.)
Koichi: It was fun cooking with you. Bye.

Tendo waits for him to leave.

Nanase: Today I made your favorite, cream croquettes. They’ll be done soon.
Tendo: Sorry. I need to run some scans, so I have to go back immediately.
Nanase: Huh? If you like, you could just have a bite…
Tendo: (he ignores her offer) Hey. You’d better study properly.

I think he’s just using the scans to go back out. Grrr…

According to Nanase, she doesn’t mind that he skipped out on dinner because she invites her friends to eat the food. But I’m glad that Koichi calls Tendo out for being insensitive the following day.

Koichi: You’re horrible, you know? Sakura-chan did her best to make those.
Tendo: (sighs)
Koichi: (looking at the group photo with Minori) You still can’t forget? About Minori?
Tendo: What?
Koichi: How do you feel about Sakura-chan?
Tendo: That’s none of your business.
Koichi: Alright. If it’s none of my business, I’m going to do what I want to, too.

Koichi’s declaration catches Tendo by surprise. He isn’t expecting that.

Look of surprise.

I think it finally dawns on Tendo that his rules about keeping their relationship secret and keeping work separate from his personal life have drawbacks. First, he can’t tell Koichi to stay away from Nanase. And second, he really can’t compartmentalize his private life from his professional life when Nanase is in both of them. But he knows he has an advantage over Koichi because Koichi doesn’t yet know that they’re secretly dating.

Look of determination.

As for Nanase, she finally complains about the unfairness of their relationship when she accuses Tendo of not choosing her to assist in the medical procedure. She corners him in the hallway.

Tendo: You’re being a true nuisance.
Nanase: For Shinji-kun’s ablation, why wasn’t I allowed to join?

Tendo knows that he couldn’t tell her that the senior nurse (and mother of the patient) personally requested that she be excluded from the team.

Nanase: (blocking his path) Doctor, you said…You said you would train me to be a proper nurse. Do you think my head’s up in the clouds because we’re dating? Do you think I’m not capable of assisting? I want you to judge me just as a nurse. Aren’t you the one mixing work and personal affairs?

This is a curious twist. She accuses him of being unfair because he isn’t judging her based on her professional merits. She thinks she’s being passed over because of their personal relationship. However, she’s actually the one being unfair because she’s falsely accusing him of lacking objectivity. She doesn’t know that Tendo was only fulfilling the head nurse’s request. There was ANOTHER personal relationship being considered here, that of mother-and-son.

Tendo: Do you seriously mean that?
Nanase: I’m disappointed.

Later, Nanase realizes that she unfairly accused him of being unprofessional. In my opinion, she didn’t understand that he was being personal as well. It would have been easy for him to tell her that it wasn’t him but the senior nurse who didn’t want her in attendance.

But to tell her this piece of information would have broken her trust in her senior nurse and mentor. So Tendo decided to take the hit instead. This decision wasn’t based on professionalism, but on their personal relationship. He was counting on them to overcome their misunderstanding because they cared for each other.

Sure enough, she confesses to Koichi that she finds Tendo “insensitive, unsociable, and indifferent” but she still loves him. She goes back to the hospital to apologize to him, and ends up helping him instead.

Then, after the operation, Tendo seeks her out with the chocolate cornet in hand. By the way, Tendo is unknowingly following the Cat God’s relationship advice for lovers on Valentine’s Day. The Cat God’s advice was “Use a romantic holiday to make your huge comeback.”

Nanase: For getting emotional yesterday, I’m sorry. (bowing)
Tendo: (sitting down) Here. (handing her the bread) Want it? (he waits for her to take it)
Nanase: (confused because he’s never bought her food before) What?

I like how awkward Tendo looks here, waiting for her to take his version of an olive branch. He looks away because he’s embarrassed that he’s practically “begging” her to take the bread.

Nanase: (smiling) Thank you.

The bread is his apology. I can imagine him feeling self-conscious and uneasy as he bought it for Valentine’s Day.

Social custom dictates that the women give chocolates to their men in their lives, but in this case, he buys it for her instead. To me, this is his “comeback” because he’s done a lot of “unfair” things to her that she protested against, starting with the surprise kiss,

the rule about not telling anyone at work,

the creamy crab croquette,

and lastly, the ablation.

But remember what I wrote at the beginning of this looooong review of Episode 5? I said that Nanase and Tendo have differing styles in handling conflict, that Nanase is a peacemaker, and Tendo is a problem-solver.

Here we see it again.

Just like when he kissed her and confused her because he said the kiss was only “part of a treatment,” he knows that he’s at fault, too, for not informing her that she wasn’t going to be “part of the treatment” — that is, his surgery team. And just like before, he doesn’t want to talk about it because what’s done is done.

What he wants to do is to make amends. He knows he upset her because she confronted him in the hallway — just like she confronted him in the hallway of their apartments. He hopes that she’s forgiven him. He doesn’t like to talk about their problems (Nanase is the one who does the talking in this relationship), but he takes action to correct them.

The chocolate cornet is his peace offering.

source: pinterest

Nanase: It’s so warm. It’s fresh.
Tendo: For your first time, that was okay.

Nanase smiles at his unexpected praise then sits down beside him.

Nanase: Just now, you were so amazing. Fixing bit after bit of the depths of his heart. It was like you alone were in your own separate world. I could tell that you’ve been doing this for years before this to get to where you are. Someday, I want to be able to support you. (he looks at her) Then, if I could have a post-work bun with you like this, that would be the best date.

lol. I already broke down this conversation here: In Search of Grumpy Old Men: Team Tendo vs Team Jerry

Nanase: What? It’s a chocolate cornet. Thank you. Mmm… It’s delicious.
Tendo: (frowning the whole time)

To me, Tendo is disgruntled with their arrangement. Instead of being friend-zoned, Nanase has “work-zoned” him.  She already forgot about Valentine’s Day; she talks only about hospital work; and she looks forward to “post-op bun” with him in lieu of a date. It must be vexing that Nanase treats him like an esteemed mentor whenever they’re in the hospital, and not like a boyfriend

Remember: he already found it strange when she addressed him with sternness and formality when she used to greet him with a cheerful voice and a “goofy smile.”

To me, Dr. Rokuru’s advice merely confirms what he’s been thinking all along. Dr.Rokuru says, “Memories are linked to all sorts of things…. Don’t split things up strictly into ‘work’ and ‘romance.’ Enjoy the everyday chaos. You can’t draw a line in your heart, after all.”

He remembers Nanase as that girl who annoys him like this:

Now, even her goofy grin is gone.

She’s changed because of those rules he imposed on her.

That’s why he comes out as the nurses are requesting for the time-off for the next month. Everybody has special demands except for Nanase. She only wants to work, not date.

Head nurse: What about our Warrior-chick?
Nanase: I don’t have any particular requests.

Head nurse: What? Is that okay?
Nanase: Yes. I want to participate in more exams, and get more experience assisting, so I can come in whenever needed.

lol. See that? She’s forgotten about all about her desire to date him (remember her “dying wish” in the ambulance?) because she’s now so focused on working.

Head nurse: That’s good. First off, then…can you come in on Sunday the 8th?
Nanase: Yes. Gladly.
Head nurse: Thank you:
Tendo: (walking in) Chief. She can’t to that day. Please leave that day free.

Head nurse: Huh? Is something going on then?
Tendo: We’re going to have dinner together.

Head nurse: Sorry?
Nurse 2: Dinner?
Nurse 3: Why with the warrior-chick?
Tendo: (walking over to her) Because she’s my girlfriend. (looking at Koichi)

And that’s how the story nicely circles back to the beginning of this episode. He told her back then in the ambulance, “I heard you! Get through this and I’ll grant you any wish you want. I’ll take you on dates! I’ll kiss you!”  And it took him this whole time to realize that he hasn’t delivered on his promise to take her out on dates.