Lovers' Kiss

  

Kawana Rikako

Kawana Rikako is a high school student. She sees Fujii Tomoaki on the beach. He is a student in the same school. Students say he's an only son of a wealthy doctor and is living in a gorgeous apartment by himself. They also say he's slept with many girls and that one of them had an abortion in a hospital, which Tomoaki's father owned. Girls say he's good at kissing.
Rikako also sleeps around. She invites Tomoaki to go on a date with her. The hotel where Tomoaki takes her looks cheaper than she expected. In the bed, Tomoaki asks Rikako, "Are you ok?" because she is trembling.
The next day, Tomoaki tells her she shouldn't have invited him just to divert herself. When drinking on the street with Miki, Rikako runs into Tomoaki. Rikako apologizes him for sleeping with him just to divert herself. Rikako gets sick with alcohol and Tomoaki takes her to his place. Rikako wakes up next morning and finds out that he's not living in a gorgeous flat. Tomoaki says his aunt owns the flat. He has to work to support himself. She gets in love with him.
She asks Sagisawa Takao if he knows where Tomoaki is working. Takao says he doesn't. Takao is a year younger than she. They took piano lessons at the same school when they were young. Rikako doesn't play the piano any more, whereas Takao is a good pianist. Rikako knows he was in the same junior high as Tomoaki.
Some days later, Takao lets Rikako know where Tomoaki is working.
Rikako goes to a marine sports shop that Tomoaki works for and hands him back a towel.
One day, Ogata, a classmate of Rikako's younger sister Eriko comes to see Rikako and tells her Tomoaki is quitting the school and is going to Okinawa@Miki encourages Rikako to ask Tomoaki if it's true or not. When Rikako calls on him, his aunt is in his flat. Rikako misunderstands one of his girlfriends is in his room and goes to the beach. Tomoaki follows her. Rikako says she's scared of the evening sea since it looks as if it draws her into it. Tomoaki says he's actually been drawn in it. Tomoaki invites her to go back to his place.
Tomoaki is not going to Okinawa but Ogasawara. He's decided to work at a hotel for scuba divers, which his arnt and her husband run in Ogasawara. Rikako says Tomoaki has a strong will. Rikako talks about herself. She's been a goody-goody since she was a child. When her parents gave a doll to her and a teddy bear to her sister, she pretended being happy even though she preferred the teddy bear. Her sister cried she preferred the doll. She got angry and gave the doll to her sister. Some days later, her grandparents bought a piano for her in return. Her sister told her to let her play the piano, but she wouldn't let her even touch the piano even though she didn't want the piano. When she was in elementary school, she was sexually abused by a young teacher who she liked. Some years later, when she was hugged by a boy who she was in love with, she felt scared because his cold hand reminded her of a hand of the teacher. She wasn't able to say she felt scared for fear that she might have lost his affection.
Holding Rikako softly, Tomoaki says nobody can help her get over the shocking experience and she has to overcome the fear by herself no matter how hard it is. He tells her how the moon looked when he saw it while he was scuba diving in the night. He tells her not to cry alone any more. Rikako confesses she loves him. Tomoaki says he loves her too. He gets nervous about kissing her even though they have made love to each other.
On the day Tomoaki leaves for Ogasawara, they see Ogata and Sagisawa sitting on a bench in front of the station. Tomoaki says he wants to listen to Rikako play the piano someday since Sagisawa told him she was a good pianist. Rikako says she's not a good pianist but Sagisawa is. She says Sagisawa must be living a happy life. Tomoaki says nobody can tell whether someone else is happy or not.
Rikako promises she'll go to Ogasawara during the summer holiday. She can't help crying when the train door shuts and Tomoaki leaves.


Sagisawa Takao

Sagisawa saw ghosts when he was a child. He left school for home earlier on that day because he got a flu and had a fever. It was a freezing cold day in February and looked like snow. When he was on a platform in the station, he saw a high school boy and a girl on the next platform. They looked weird since both of them were in summer uniform. The boy swept the sweat and the girl handed him a handkerchief. They smiled at each other. A train arrived at the station. Sagisawa got on the train and looked at the next platform through the window and he saw nobody there. He was sure they loved each other. It made him want to be in love with someone someday. Years later, he heard a high school boy and a girl had died together at a nearby place three years before he saw the ghosts.
He has a part time job at a marine sports shop, which Fujii Tomoaki and Miki's elder brother also work for. Sagisawa sees Tomoaki leaving school when he is practicing with Ogata on the ground for an athletic meet. On their way home, Ogata says he has no idea why Tomoaki is so popular with girls. Sagisawa says he doesn't want Ogata to speak ill of Tomoaki because he was very kind to him when both of them were members of the basketball club in a junior high.
Tomoaki was the top student in the junior high. He was good at sports, good-looking, and sociable. Everyone liked him. His family was a big landowner and his father ran a obstetrics and gynecology hospital. When Sagisawa made acquaintance with him, he was amazed that a perfect boy like him really existed. Sagisawa isn't sure when Tomoaki began to look unhappy. On the first day after the summer vacation in Tomoaki's last year at junior high, all the school were surprised that he had dyed hair and was wearing pierced earrings. He quitted the basketball club shortly after that. When Sagisawa first saw him in high school, he didn't look unhappy but dissolute. Sagisawa wondered what made him wrong.
When Sagisawa is talking with Ogata, he saw Rikako and Tomoaki talking. He saw Rikako again after he's done the practice. Ogata asks him if Rikako is his type. Eriko, who is Rikako's younger sister, is Ogata's classmate. Ogata says Eriko is always speaking ill of Rikako. Sagisawa is puzzled since Rikako and Eriko got along well when they were children.
He dreams that Tomoaki kisses him in the music room. At lunch time, Rikako comes to see him and asks if he knows where Tomoaki is working. He answers he doesn't know. Ogata asks him why he lied to her. He asks if Sagisawa is in love with Rikako so much. Sagisawa actually is in love with Tomoaki. He ends up letting Rikako know where Tomoaki is working because he hates his being jealous of her. When Rikako visits the marine sports shop, he hides himself. He sees Rikako walking back home fast. He knows she walks fast whenever she gets nervous or angry.
In the music room, Sagisawa practices playing the piano for a coming competition, when Tomoaki gets into the room. Sagisawa plays "Je te veux" for him. Tomoaki asks what "Je te veux" means. Sagisawa answers "I want you.", when Ogata gets into the room. When Tomoaki is to get out of the room, Ogata asks him if it's true Tomoaki got a girl pregnant and had her have an abortion at a hospital owned by Tomoaki's father. Tomoaki answers it's true that he got a girl pregnant but she had an abortion in another hospital, and he gets out of the room. Sagisawa gets mad at Ogata. "It's him. It's him that you're in love with." says Ogata. Ogata confesses he's been in love with Sagisawa since they first met. Hearing two girls talking outside the room, they get out of the room.
Sagisawa pays a visit to Tomoaki to make an apology for Ogata's rude question. While Sagisawa is in Tomoaki's room, Tomoaki's mother comes to see Tomoaki. Tomoaki wouldn't open the door even though his mother begs him to open the door.
Ogata goes to the marine sports shop together with Sagisawa to make an apology to Tomoaki. Overhearing Sagiwawa's co-workers say Tomoaki has commit suicide, Sagisawa asks them if it's true. Miki's brother tells him they rescued Tomoaki at the seaside when he had tried to kill himself in the water. He also tells him it wasn't Tomoaki who got the girl pregnant.
On the day Tomoaki leaves for Ogasawara, Sagisawa and Ogata are sitting on a bench near the station. Ogata cheers up Sagisawa. Tomoaki and Rikako looking at each other reminds Sagisawa of the ghosts. After the train leaves, he sees Rikako walking fast. He sheds tears and Ogata kisses him.


Kawana Eriko

Eriko is in love with Miki. When she saw her hesitating to touch Rikako's shoulder when Rikako was playing the piano, she got Miki was in love with Rikako.
When Eriko and Miki are in the dining room at school, Eriko sees Sagisawa. Miki knows he's the one who plays the piano at the chorus competition. Sagisawa was the only boy who was often coming to play with Rikako, who also took piano lessons.
Miki says there's a tune that she'd like to listen to again and Sagisawa might be able to give her the title. Eriko almost asks her why she doesn't ask it to Rikako, but it occurs to her that Miki doesn't want Rikako to know she wants to listen to the tune again. They go to the music room. Outside the room, they hear Ogata say "I love you." Shouting "Let's go out to eat ice cream" , Miki and Eriko run away. Ogata and Sagisawa get out of the room and run away immediately after that.
Ogata asks Eriko to introduce him to Rikako. He sees Rikako and lets her know Tomoaki is quitting the school and is going to Okinawa. Rikako looks very shocked to know it. Ogata tells Eriko he's heard Tomoaki has gone into the sea under the full moon to kill himself.
Eriko sees Miki and Tomoaki talking near Miki's place. Miki tells Eriko not to misunderstand and asks her brother to tell her Tomoaki and Miki were childhood friends. Eriko knows Miki doesn't want Rikako to misunderstand her. Miki serves coffee for Eriko in her room and plays a CD of "Tempest", which Rikako was playing when Miki hesitated to touch her shoulder.
Miki visits Sagisawa with Ogata. Sagisawa's family has a garden where many vegetables are growing. Miki and Ogata see Tomoaki and Rikako walking together and hide themselves behind the bush. Miki sees them kiss goodbye and is jealous of them.
Miki and Eriko have a job of cleaning the swimming pool in a company, and they are allowed to swim there. At the poolside, Miki mentions Tomoaki. They first met at the age of nine. Miki and her elder brother delivered liqueurs to Tomoaki's family. Tomoaki looked as if a prince in a fairy tale when she first met him. Miki and her brother played with him in the spacious yard. Tomoaki's mother was very pretty, and she made sweets that Miki had never seen. Miki also talks about the first meeting with Rikako. One day, she heard someone playing the piano in the music room and opened the door and saw Rikako. Miki had seen Rikako play for the chorus competition. Even though Rikako didn't look eager when she was accompanying the chorus, she was playing the piano eagerly then in the music room. Miki clapped her hands. Rikako smiled at her and said she had decided not to play the piano any more. Miki got in love with her in an instant. "I always get in love with someone who I can't reach." says Miki.
Eriko kisses her. She asks Miki if she won't stop loving Rikako even though Rikako is in love with Tomoaki. Miki says she'll always love her and makes an apology to Eriko. It starts raining.
Eriko calls Ogata and asks him for an umbrella and waits for him at the station. She cries on his chest. After the rain stops, they see Miki's brother and Tomoaki walking together toward the beach. They follow them. Miki's brother asks Tomoaki why he tried to kill himself. Ogata and Eriko eavesdrop their conversation.
Tomoaki's mother had been too protective of him since he was a child. Even after he reached the high school age, she opened the letters to him without his permission. Tomoaki thinks she got neurosis because his father had a mistress and didn't return home. One summer night when he was in the third year of junior high, she got into his room and hugged and kissed him. He shoved her and got out of the room. After that, he always locked his room before going to bed, but she tried to open the door in midnight and she cried. In the February night, he kept watching the sea on the beach since he didn't want to go home. Then he thought, "If only I were gone," and he went into the water. Tomoaki's aunt noticed the situation he was in and encouraged him to live in her flat by himself.
Miki's brother notices Ogata and Eriko eavesdropped the conversation and tells them to keep it secret.
Eriko is taught by Sagisawa how to play the piano and plays a tune for Rikako. Eriko wants to have the piano tuned up. She encourages Rikako to go to Ogasawara to see Tomoaki in summer and promises to ask their parents to allow Rikako to go. She's thinking of going to Sagisawa's garden in summer with Rikako, Miki and Ogata to pick up corns.