Quartet (カルテット)

After meeting you that time, I went to her apartment in Tokyo.

She had the guts to bring a man into the bedroom.

That was... The man was Beppu-san, right?

They were just there to take the trash out...

If nothing had happened between them, would they have reacted like that?

It's been a while, Maki-chan~

Mother.

- You were here? - Yes.

- What happened to that? - Ah, the quartet?

- Today we... - Hold on a sec.

- Let me borrow the bathroom. - Mother, the bathroom is...

- Mother, over here. - Ah...

It's been a while since I last came here.

She's my mother-in-law.

Well then, I'll wait in the car.

You didn't have to stay for me.

Mother, how's your lower back?

It's still the same, I guess.

Lie down. I'll give you a massage.

- It's fine. - No, you lie down. Come on. Come.

Come on.

Oh no, I made a weird sound.

Mother, you're so stiff. Have you been walking around a lot?

Yeah, kind of.

Have you got a boyfriend?

Seriously? Huh...?

Did that boyfriend buy this for you?

Next time you should come with him to see my performances.

I'll pass. Karuizawa is so cold.

You can come after it gets warmer.

Maybe we can all go after Mikio comes back.

Yeah.

I'm just joking.

I have a feeling Mikio is never going to come back.

Maybe he's already dead somewhere.

I'm sorry.

I should have called you more often.

Have you been thinking that way, Mother?

There's no way that could have happened.

Definitely no such thing.

Mikio must have set up his health insurance.

If that apartment is sold, she'll get a considerable amount of money.

Is Maki-san...

Is Maki-san the type of person who would do those things for money?

She's the type who would go to a party like this the day after her husband disappeared.

She is definitely the deceitful type.

Doesn't look that way to me.

Even you are lying to her, aren't you?

Hasn't she realized your two-faced nature?

She and you only met because of a lie.

What's with pretending to be her friend after all you've done?

What else do we need to go through?

Did you tell Maki-san about what I told you the other day?

The story where she supposedly... her husband on the balcony.

Iemori-san, are you sure her husband didn't just tease you?

I thought it was a joke too, so I was hoping you could ask her.

There's no way I could...

How was the part that we changed? Is it okay?

- All good. Right? - Yes.

- Isn't that inappropriate? - Is it?

I don't think it is inappropriate. It definitely isn't.

What's going on?

- He snooped through my phone. - We are a married couple.

Is there something you're hiding from me?

There isn't, but I still don't want anyone to snoop through my phone, no matter who it is. Right?

- Huh? - Hm?

- Huh? - Hm?

Take turns to talk!

Thank you very much.

He's my younger brother.

You don't have to tell me your thoughts about the performance.

Ah, right. I want to ask you about the villa.

Are we selling it?

Well it's all up to you, Bro.

- Right now... - The other three people are unemployed, right?

So you're basically providing for them?

But all of them are doing their best.

People who don't know when to give up, huh?

Anyway, I talked with Mother about it, and we didn't want to just chase them out.

So we were thinking maybe we could introduce them to some work.

If it's possible, we would like to find work ourselves.

I understand that you get along with them

but we first have to make the quartet a viable business.

Isn't it gonna get difficult if they can't stand on their own feet?

Wow~

- Are you Beppu-san? - Yes.

I'm Asagi.

Your brother has been of great help to me.

Ah...

It's been decided that we will be holding a classical music festival here in July.

Orchestra, opera, piano.

It's a festival that showcases the most prominent artists.

And I would really like for all of you to perform there.

That's impossible!

If someone as terrible as I am were to perform, it's definitely gonna be a disaster!

Maki-san! Let's do this.

A festival that showcases the most prominent artists? I'm nowhere near "prominent."

- It'd be faster to count from the bottom. - Let's give it a shot.

People are gonna leave their seats. They are gonna start dozing off.

- It's gonna be fine. - We're gonna be fine.

Then they'll start to snore...

Well, first, let me listen to your performance.

- Yes. - They are gonna throw raw eggs at us!

He's probably already left out of boredom.

That's still better for us than getting killed though.

Well~ excellent!

That was excellent!

I can't for the life of me understand why you all couldn't turn pro.

First violin, what have you been doing up until now?

- I've been a housewife. - Cellist.

You sure are an interesting cellist.

- Très bien! - Merci.

Listen. A pro...

...isn't merely someone who can play well.

You have charisma. There's a special aura about you.

As someone who's been in the music industry for 40 years, let me say this.

You... will be popular!

- Of course, there are a couple of issues. Cello. - Yes!

You are too wild.

You've got to be able to control your tempo.

Yes!

Viola. You've gotta study the music score and develop your originality.

Second violin, you mustn't be shy!

- You've gotta be more assertive. - Yes!

- First violin. - Yes.

Let's enjoy the sound of music. Let us be...

...drunk in music. - Yes.

Good.

I think he was just teasing us.

Of course he was. And yet you guys couldn't stop grinning.

You too, Iemori-san.

You were so enthusiastic with your "yes!"

Like an elementary school student.

He was obviously just flattering us.

- I know that. People like him... - People like him are smooth talkers.

If you aren't careful, he's gonna pull the rug out from under your feet.

But still, it made me happy.

Yes.

Well, that "unexpected" slope, huh?

It was the first time in my life someone has praised me like that.

Um...

I have a dream.

My dream is to, even just once, have things my way...

and to be worshipped by everyone.

Suzume-san, what's your dream?

My dream is to live inside a futon.

Also, I want to have kaiten sushi in my own room.

How about you, Iemori-san?

- I want to become a Junon Boy or-- - How about you, Maki-san?

T/N: Junon Super Boy is a beauty pageant for boys and young men aged 13-22.

My wish is for everyone to stay safe and be in good health.

Let's for once... set aside our dreams.

Maybe this right now is the "upward slope" for us.

Let's set aside our individual dreams

and for a while...

For a while, let's focus on our dream as the quartet Doughnuts Hole.

Would that be alright?

It's getting much-excite.

Ass...

- Eh!? - Huh?

Did I say something just now?

You said "ass..."

Why did you say that?

I was transcribing this man's interview.

- He's such an asshole. - Asshole?

He's married but he was like, "I don't see my wife as a woman."

"I have no romantic feelings for her," he said.

Ah...

Well I guess, since the same thing happened to me...

Did you think your husband was an asshole too?

Eh? Hm...

I even shouted "asshole" once at a friend's wedding party.

- Wedding party? - It was on the day after my husband left.

Eh? You went to a party...

...the day after your husband disappeared? - I did.

Weren't you worried that he might have been in an accident...?

I understood right away that he was just running away from me.

How come?

That day, his mother-in-law came to visit.

Yes.

When his mother learned that he disappeared, she started to panic.

- When I saw her like that, I remembered. - Yes.

That he ran away from his mother before.

He once said to me:

"When my mother and I lived together, she became such a burden to me."

"I felt really bad about it, but I just ran away from home one day."

"Ah~ he just did the same thing to me," I thought.

"Just like how he ran away from his mother, it's me he ran away from this time."

"He abandoned me in the same way he abandoned his mother."

"What an asshole," I thought. That's why...

I decided to go to the party and enjoy myself to the utmost.

So I put on my best smile and yelled "Asshole!..."

"You think this is gonna break me?!" Someone took a photo while I was like that.

I wonder if I still have that photo.

Did you tell your mother-in-law about that?

I couldn't tell her any of that. I feel bad for her.

I don't have that photo anymore.

What kind of face did you have while taking that photo?

"Asshole!"

Sorry to interrupt you in the middle of your work. I'm gonna take a bath.