The final episode of the drama series "Reunion ~Silent Truth~" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring actor Ryoma Takeuchi, aired on March 17th. The episode's ending depicted events one year after the incident, and Junichi's (Takeuchi) actions towards Makiko (Mao Inoue) garnered significant attention on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In the final episode, it's possible that Junichi wasn't the one who shot and killed the bank robber 23 years ago... The key to uncovering the truth lies in the handgun of a police officer who died in the line of duty, which was taken and hidden from the scene by four classmates: Junichi, Makiko, Keisuke (Koji Seto), and Naoto (Daichi Watanabe), and was also used in the murder of a supermarket manager 23 years later. After hearing Detective Minami Ryo's (Noriko Eguchi) hypothesis, Makiko turns herself in, desperate to prove Junichi's innocence. She admits to killing the manager and hands over the handgun she was carrying to Minami Ryo.
Minami immediately examines the gun and notices a "crucial fact." Meanwhile, Junichi is troubled by the "memories of the immediate aftermath of the incident 23 years ago" that Naoto casually mentioned.
After a tenacious investigation, Minami Ryo, along with Junichi, heads to the location of the person they believe to be the real culprit. That person is Kosugi (played by Danta Yasunori), the chief of the Mitsuba Police Station.
Minami Ryo revealed his deductions to Kosugi, explaining that Kosugi, his accomplice, was responsible for shooting the deceased police officer and the robber, that he had swapped his gun with the deceased officer's, and that he had also swapped the gun's equipment number in the computer's equipment ledger data to match the rifling marks. Minami Ryo also revealed that the original paper document with the equipment number still intact was still in the prefectural police headquarters' archives, leading to Kosugi's arrest.
Afterward, Junichi expressed his gratitude to Hiromi (Kana Kita Kita) for everything she had done for him and told her his true feelings, saying, "I want to support Makiko." Hiromi agreed and left for another town. Junichi then went to Makiko and confessed, "I couldn't say I loved you all this time. Makiko... I love you," before leaving.
A year later, Makiko's sentence was determined to be murder, three years in prison, suspended for five years. When Makiko was released from the detention center after receiving her suspended sentence, she found Junichi there. Walking hand in hand with Makiko, Junichi asked her the same words he had used 23 years ago, "Hey, have you ever kissed anyone?" and suddenly hugged her and kissed her.
On social media, Junichi's lines and kiss to Makiko became a hot topic. Comments included: "He kissed her there!", "I knew he'd say it!", "He did! He finally did!", "The kiss was amazing!", "An unexpected kiss to end it!", "I cried during the final episode!", "The ending was great!", and "Junichi's kiss after the same lines as before. So mellow!"
