#love365

I have to be honest.

I’ve been a huge reader of Irresistible Mistakes since 2017, when I was just a freshman in high school. Back then, I was captivated by its melodramatic flair, and the plot had this exciting, forward-moving energy that kept me hooked. I vividly remember when Kijima, Kiriya, and Shunichiro’s first season debuted on the standby app—it felt fresh, engaging, and full of promise. But after season four, the magic started to fade. The pacing became unbearably slow, and the storylines dragged on without delivering any real payoff for the readers. It became a frustrating read.

Take Tachibana’s arc, for example. In his final season, the first part opens with the MC reflecting on changes within the company, which had become a more progressive and liberal environment. By now, the MC is a part-time employee because she’s juggling her career as an award-winning novelist. That’s when the familiar trope hits: she starts feeling sick, notices she missed her period, and takes a pregnancy test. She’s pregnant. Yay, right? Except, this is where it all feels strangely… underwhelming.

Tachibana, noticing her odd behavior, asks what’s wrong, and to my surprise, he reacts to the pregnancy news with happiness—totally different from his panicked reaction in season three during the pregnancy scare. They visit a maternity hospital (which I’m sure surprised Kings of Paradise fans), and it’s confirmed she’s six weeks along. He tells her to take it easy at work, and she eventually informs her co-workers that she’ll be working from home. Kiriya, Yuuki, Minoru, Sakura, and a couple of others are supportive, but here’s where things start to crumble for the MC.

Morning sickness hits her hard, to the point where she’s losing weight and can’t keep anything down without getting sick. Tachibana advises her to take it easy since it’s her first pregnancy, and there’s a lot of internal dialogue between them—mostly arguments. Then, Tachibana’s parents drop by, furious they weren’t told about the pregnancy sooner. His father asks the MC if she plans to contribute anything to the family or if she’ll be ‘lazy’ unlike Shunchiro’s mother, who supposedly did it all without help. This scene just grates. After they leave, Tachibana pleads with the MC to stay with her parents for the remainder of her pregnancy, but she refuses.

Part two of the last season focuses on them making amends, and now she’s going on maternity leave. Minoru and Toma are emotional, telling her she can always come back after the baby is born. Tachibana, trying to be thoughtful, makes her dinner when she returns home, and she starts reminiscing about their breakup in NYC. He apologizes for his earlier comments about sending her home and promises she can always lean on him because pregnancy isn’t easy.

And yet, despite all this support, the MC continues to feel sick and tired constantly. Things get so bad that Tachibana secretly hires a maid to take care of the chores she can’t manage. This, of course, leads to another fight. The words of her father-in-law echo in her head, making her feel useless, and it drives her to argue with Tachibana again. Eventually, he sends her to stay with her parents for a few weeks, and she feels much happier there. However, Minoru reaches out, wanting to meet up about a project she helped with before leaving. During their meeting, he confesses that people at work see Tachibana as distant and depressed.

When she returns, she and Tachibana make up, and then—boom—the baby girl is born. And that’s it. The storyline feels like it builds up to this massive crescendo, but the conclusion falls flat, like an ending that was filtered through just to tie up loose ends.

The last three seasons really dragged. Instead of exploring more nuanced themes—like political family dynamics, which is what initially drew readers to Shunichiro’s arc—they spent far too much time portraying Tachibana as this ‘flawless’ man while the MC came across as a complete mess. Voltage missed the opportunity to introduce new characters or develop more meaningful family drama. And honestly, I was hoping for a boy instead of a girl, which could’ve added more layers to the family dynamic.

 You had bruises and cuts on your body as well as a black eye and a split lip. The gangsters suspected you the moment you walked in. Once you opened your mouth to state your interest in purchasing the illegal weapons, they had guns pointed at you from all sides.

They asked who you were working for, but you wouldn’t give away the agency, so they beat you over and over. You were defenseless, having had your weapons confiscated and being tied up to a cold metal chair and gagged. You couldn’t do anything to fight back.

Kei woke up the next morning alone, he stretched his arm out to feel your body next to his, but not even your warmth remained. He realized that was because you hadn’t been to bed, the sheets weren’t rumpled, the covers were still made on your side of the bed. He knew you had gone on a mission, but it wasn’t supposed to be an overnight mission. 

He had to trust that you knew how to do your job, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried, of course he was worried. This is the first time you’d ever not come home. He got out of bed, and went about his day as normal. Well, as normal as possible with the anxiety and worry bubbling inside of him. 

He stood with a groan as a knock was heard. Kazoumi pushed his way inside, and Yuzuru casually followed. “Why are you here?” Kei snapped, irritation oozing in his tone. 

“Is that any way to speak to your friends?” Kazoumi asked with a cheeky grin.

Kazoumi and Yuzuru both sat on the couch. Kei sighed and joined them, sitting in a chair across from them. They chatted, but Kei was unceremoniously withdrawn. He began tapping his foot and fidgeting with his watch. 

Ever observant Kazoumi noticed Kei’s body language.“Kei, what is going on?” 

Kei looked over at Kazoumi. “Nothing, I’m fine.” 

Yuzuru looked at Kei knowingly. “How is _ _ _? I haven’t seen her around recently.”

Kei swallowed. “She’s on a mission.” 

“Ah, I see. Well, we’ll all have to get together soon,” Yuzuru added.

Kei nodded slowly, and Yuzuru tilted his head.

“What’s really going on?” Yuzuru asked.

Kei stood ,and began pacing. Kazoumi saw the turmoil his friend was going through and rose from his seat. He sauntered to the liquor cabinet, pulled out a decanter filled with amber liquid. Its contents shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. Setting it on the shelf, he took out the stopper with a sharp pop before pouring the liquor into a crystal glass.

“Sit down and drink this. It’ll help you calm down,” Kazoumi said as he rested a hand on Kei’s shoulder and gently guided him back into his seat.

Kei sat and took a swig of the strong alcohol, and sighed. “_ _ _  never came home.”  Yuzuru frowned. “Do you know where she is?” he asked 

Kei shook his head. “ She doesn’t share the details of her missions with me.”

Kazoumi grimaced. “ And it’s out of character for her to not return?” 

“Yes!” Kei raised his voice, he hadn’t meant to, but their questions were aggravating him.

Yuzuru and Kazoumi glanced at each other.

“I just keep thinking, what if she’s in some kind of trouble? I know I’m supposed to trust her abilities with her job, but there’s just something about this that has me on edge.” Kei had his elbows on his knees, and he leaned his head into his hands.

” We should go find her then,” Kazoumi stated.

Yuzuru was able to find you easily from the tracking device the agency had placed in your phone. He smiled and looked up. “Got her.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go,” Kei says as he stands up and picks up his keys.

 When they arrived at the warehouse Kazoumi and Yuzuru were effectively able to distract the gangsters by being interested in purchasing guns. Kei took his chance and snuck into the back. He began searching all the rooms to no avail. He was starting to feel panicked when he came upon a door that had several locks on it. He unlocked each one individually ‘till finally the door opened. It was dark in the room, and there was a woman’s figure in the middle of the room tied to a chair, with her head hung and her hair covering her face. 

Kei stepped into the room and walked up to the hunched over figure. He kneeled on the ground.  “_ _ _.” 

 Kei brushed her tangled hair out of your face. “_ _ _.” 

 You moaned feeling disoriented. Your eyes looked unfocused and your head swayed. 

“Have you been drugged?” He whispered.

 Then he noticed you were only in your underwear. 

“Where are your clothes?” He asked, the worry seeping through his words.

 He stood and untied you with a sharp knife he had armed himself with, as well as a gun. Your arms fell limp to your sides. He took the gag out of your mouth, then went around the front of the chair, took off his coat and draped it on your shoulders, then he squatted down and collected you in his arms.

 “Up we go,” He said, as he lifted you up.

He walked out with you in his arms.

When he arrived at the front of the warehouse the gangsters had left, 

“ Where are they?” Kei asked

 Kazoumi smiled wickedly.“Getting more guns to show us.” 

Kazoumi glanced at you and his brows drew together. 

“Let’s not waste anymore time then,” Kei said as they piled into the car.

As Kei sat in the back seat with you in his arms Yuzuru sped to the hospital.

Kei sat next to the bed, holding your hand. 

You blinked open your eyes. “Kei?” He looked up.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he squeezed your hand

You put your hand on your head. 

“I feel kind of woozy, and I hurt everywhere.” Kei nodded 

“You were drugged, and have two broken ribs, a black eye, and a number of bruises and cuts.” He cleared his throat and stood up and sat on the edge of the hospital bed, stroking your hair.

 “I know you can’t talk about it, but I’m really pissed that your agency didn’t come to rescue you, that I had to wake up without you to realize something was wrong. What did those men do to you?” Kei said as his hand moved from your head to cup your cheek. 

“I don’t remember half of it, they kept demanding I tell them who I work for, and every time I refused they would hit me. They kept me in that cold dark room and wouldn’t let me get dressed.”  Tears filled your eyes and without warning they fell. 

“I-I’m sorry,” You said as you wiped your tears away. 

“Don’t apologize, it’s a perfectly natural response after what you went through.” He pulled you into his chest. 

“I’m here, you don’t have to be strong anymore, you don’t have to fight. It’s just you and me here. You can let your guard down.” Kei rubbed your back in soothing circles. You fisted the material of his shirt, clutching him close to you as you cried. 

“I’ve never been so scared in my life. I woke up, you weren’t there. I didn’t know what had happened, I wanted to trust you, but I couldn’t get rid of the anxiety that something happened to you.”  Kei pulled away and put both his hands on your cheeks, looking into your eyes.

“Thank you for saving me, and trusting your instincts,” You said between sobs.

“I cannot lose you, I don’t ever want to feel that way again. Take less risky missions from now on, yeah? Because there’s someone waiting for you who loves you.” He lightly stroked your cheek

“Okay.” You nodded, and he smiled.

“I love you, don’t ever forget that.” He kissed your forehead.

“I love you too Kei.” You put your hand over his, and he took your hand and kissed the back of it. As much as he wanted to taste your lips, he didn’t want to hurt the cut in the center of your lower lip, so this would have to do for now.

“Let’s see if we can go home now. I imagine while you’re healing we’ll have a lot of spare time to spend together, let’s make the most of it.” You gazed at his beautiful face.