HAHAHA I LOVE THEM.

Mimi says the whole thing reminds her of a sci-fi story she read, where the protagonist's cat kept searching for the door into summer around the house once it started snowing.

The main character was also down bad because he'd been betrayed, fired and had his invention stolen so he was looking for that door not just to escape the literal cold but the emotional one too.

Chibimon says that guy sounds like Daisuke because he got his heart broken and nothing's going right, and Daisuke's like "STOP SAYING THAT!".

It starts snowing with fireflies floating in the air and in the middle of that weird vibe a girl runs straight to him, says she was waiting for him and then asks him to give her a name because apparently she doesn't remember anything.

Daisuke is confused, Chibimon suggests "Hikari" but Mimi steps in and names her "Nat-chan" from natsu, which means summer in japanese. The girl asks Daisuke if he likes the name and he still confused says yes, so she happily accepts.

The snow starts falling harder. Daisuke and Wallace try to evolve their digimon with their digimentals but it doesn't work there. Nat pulls Daisuke into a snowball fight and it all seems innocent until Chibimon tries to join and she pushes him aside. Chibimon's left hurt and Daisuke doesn't react either because it seems fun or because he doesn't want to face how weird it's starting to feel.

Later, Nat trips and Daisuke worries. That's when she asks him to stay with her and says he was the one who heard her. He starts getting uncomfortable, even more when Chibimon calls him from afar. Nat says Chibimon is annoying and that he should stay with her.

Daisuke doesn't confront her but doesn't indulge her either. He tries to defuse the moment casually because he doesn't want to hurt her but he's not going to leave Chibimon behind so he suggests going back to the others.

When Nat feels rejected, she immediately goes after Wallace and repeats the same approach: "Wallace, let's play!", "what do you like?" and now Gummymon is the one fighting for Wallace's attention.

Nat isn't looking for a real connection. She wants full attention, instant validation. And when she doesn't get it, she replaces the person.

And that's where everything connects...

Wasn't that the same vibe Daisuke had at the beginning of this drama?

Because Hikari rejected him, he felt inferior because even Iori had a girlfriend and he just wanted someone to like him too... he wanted to be important to someone.

And then Wallace also falls into that pattern when the girl completely ignores him. He gets indignant, feels invisible and maybe that's why when Nat switches targets, she picks him because she sensed that same open wound, that same desire to be seen.

So, when Daisuke sees Nat repeating the pattern with Wallace, he asks Mimi if she doesn't find anything weird about her but Mimi brushes it off joking around.

Meanwhile, Chibimon burns himself and Daisuke helps him by putting his paws in the snow. Then he tucks him into his jacket to warm him up, and Chibimon thanks him… but also tells him he smells like sweat.

Daisuke holds back but then Chibimon tells him he should be more like Wallace and that's too much, Daisuke snaps back that he also needs to learn when to shut up. Chibimon says it's because he worries, but yeah, he's been saying hurtful stuff, with no filter and Daisuke, already overwhelmed, decides to go take a walk alone.

Daisuke walks off to clear his head but Nat follows. She says everyone has a partner except her, that she feels lonely and jealous. Daisuke tells her having a digimon isn't always easy but someday she'll get a digiegg and a great partner. Nat says she doesn't want a digimon... she wants Daisuke.

Right then Chibimon falls into the water and calls for help. Daisuke runs and jumps in without thinking. Nat watches from afar and whispers that no one would ever come save her.

Daisuke and Chibimon are frozen after that and while Mimi looks after them, Daisuke blamed Chibimon for his bad luck but deep down he knows Chibimon always protects him. Then they realize Nat is gone.

They go out looking for her and find a snowstorm. Wallace sees what looks like fireflies but they're actually data chips that get into Chibimon and Gummymon.

They go wild and Mimi smacks them gently 😅 and they snap out of it.

The kids find Nat... and the chips are coming out of her body.

Nat evolves into a monster!!!

Their digimon can't evolve and Nat looks dangerous, everyone tells Daisuke to step back but he won't, he says he can still hear her voice, that she's terribly lonely and he can't leave her like that.

He calls her "Nat-chan", apologizes for not realizing that she didn't want a digimon, she wanted a partner... and then she calms down.

Nat becomes a little girl again, touches him gently, says thank you and disappears.

Daisuke is heartbroken but Chibimon reminds him he already has a partner. And just then they find a new digiegg.

They return to the summer in New York while Daisuke narrates:

"Like a shimmer of hot air, the snowy scenery disappeared... and the door to summer opened".

And the drama ends with a funny moment where Gummymon and Chibimon are whining about the heat.

This is the Youtube link where I listened to the Drama CD. I really hope it stays available, it has english captions and even shows some illustrations from the story.

I LOVE this trio of Daisuke, Mimi and Wallace. They're hilarious together and it really stood out to me how well Daisuke and Mimi get along, I liked that dynamic a lot.

<<< DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 FLASHBACK >>>

<<< END OF THE 02 FLASHBACK >>>

At first I thought the girl's voice was Hikari calling Daisuke from the Dark Ocean but then the moment Chibimon sniffed her, I knew she had to be a digimon. I also cracked up when the mysterious girl ignored Wallace and Gummymon immediately called it out.

The story Mimi mentions is The Door into Summer (1956). The protagonist, Dan Davis, lives in a "future" 1970 with his cat Petronius who refuses to give up hope that one of the many doors in the house will eventually open to summer. It's a symbolic image of hope and desire to escape from pain.

Daisuke really touched me in this Drama CD because he kind of feels like that digimon girl... ignored, rejected, alone. And he tries to help her calm down because he gets it.

At this point in his life, Hikari seems to be his symbol of emotional validation. It's not just that he likes her, he wants her to like him. Being rejected by her, losing a soccer match and seeing Iori with a girlfriend... in his kid head, it all becomes part of the same inner story "I'm not good enough".

I feel like what Daisuke longs for here is a sense of belonging and to be someone special to someone else.