The fourth episode of the Nippon Television drama series "Punch-Drunk Woman: XX Days Left Until Escape" (Sundays at 10:30 PM), starring actress Shinohara Ryoko, aired on February 1st. The episode featured a scene in which Kusaka Reiji (played by Jesse), who is being held at Hikawa Detention Center on suspicion of murdering his father, saves prison guard Fuyuki Kozue (played by Shinohara) from peril, and the subsequent developments sparked a stir on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In episode 4, Kozue, a prison guard at Hikawa Detention Center, is taken hostage during a hostage situation that occurred within the detention center, but with the help of Reiji, she captures the culprit. However, behind the scenes, Kozue's ID and password are stolen by a prison guard who is in collusion with a cult that is plotting a prison break. Meanwhile, Detective Saeki Yusuke (Fujiki Naohito) of the First Investigative Division begins to look into Reiji's case once again. Unable to understand why Reiji continues to remain silent, Saeki suspects that Reiji is hiding something.
Meanwhile, social media exchanges between Kozue and Reiji are discovered on a smartphone carried by the hostage-takers, and Kozue, who has been framed by a cult, is suspected of being an informant. Furthermore, Reiji, who wants to escape from prison, is told by Numata (Kubota Yuuki), a former leader of the cult, to betray Kozue. Then, when Reiji finds out that he is being compared to his former friend Haruomi (Takezai Terunosuke), he declares that Kozue has orchestrated the whole thing and that he is the victim. Kozue is stripped of her authority as ward chief and forced to return her ID card.
Later, when Saeki met with Reiji, he revealed that Kozue had been betrayed by Haruomi, saying, "Haruomi is Kozue's trauma."
Towards the end of the story, a group of semi-criminals, including Kawakita Ryuma (Karma-san), assaults Kozue at the request of a cult. As Kozue loses consciousness due to pain and despair, she has a flashback to Haruomi's words from 28 years ago: "I'm sorry, but... I just felt sorry for you. Your life is too much for me. If you want to run away, run alone." However, just as Kozue is about to lose consciousness, Reiji appears and punches Ryuma and his men, fighting them off. Reiji then asks her if she's okay, and when he realizes that Kozue is crying, he embraces her from behind.
On social media, many people expressed their excitement over Reiji's sudden back hug. Comments such as "So hot," "Reiji is so cute," "It made my heart flutter," "Back hugs are unfair," and "That's so cool" were posted.
