Episode 24 -
Warning: Spoiler!This was a surprisingly sad episode.
A man in a fancy sports car gives Natsumi a bouquet of white roses to give to Aoi, creating a mystery.
A famous actor that is multi-talented, rich and single comes to the station to be “Chief for a day” and has the whole office excited. He has requested Aoi as his personal assistant/bodyguard because they already know each other from working together before at another police station.
There is a flashback of Aoi telling him that she likes white roses best because they are the color for respect.
At an autograph signing, some of the children see Aoi and come over to talk to her. The actor watches the scene and I got the feeling that he must be thinking that she will make a good mother someday.
He asks Aoi to get some more flyers out of the storage room, but once she is alone, she is confronted by two obsessed fans of the actor that would like her out of the way. They attack her, but the actor saves her and chases the fans off. Aoi is a little shaken up and almost faints, but he picks her up in his arms and says that he will take care of her. There seems to be some strong feelings here on both their parts.
During the parade, Aoi rides in the care with the actor. He manages to ask her if she is seeing anyone and she says she isn’t, so he tries to ask her out but gets interrupted by the noise of the parade.
Back at the station, he leaves Aoi a note to meet him on the roof. She goes up to the roof and finds him standing on his hands. He says that he was trying to get up the courage to tell her of his feelings and asks her to marry him.
I don't know what her answer was, but she is next seen coming down the stairs from the roof and she looks pretty upset. The others are waiting for her to go to the party with them, but she says that she'll join them later.
Later, at the party, Aoi finally shows up, but she is dressed as a man. Outside, she speaks to the actor alone. The noise from the fountain drowns out what she's saying exactly, but it's plain that she is telling the actor that she's a man. This was so heartbreaking!
The actor says that he feels like an idiot and thanks her for being honest with him. He compliments her on her courage to be herself. Aoi tells him not to hate her and gives him a white rose. Ok, I admit I teared up here. It was a beautiful scene.
The next day, everyone at the station is watching the actor give an interview on TV. He is wearing the white rose. One of the reporters asks him if the rose is from someone special and he says that it is. He tells them that a white rose means that you value and respect someone as a person. He says that he “met a beautiful person who will always have a special place in my heart.” As Aoi watched, I think she was very happy to hear him say this. The actor didn't hate her after all and by wearing the rose, he sent her a message that he still respected her. And as sad as it was, it was nice to see an episode focused on Aoi.