Now and Forever...Itsumademo... - Chapter 17C

[unare_haineko]

危機(kiken)
太陽のない日々が終わり(taiyou no nai hibi ga owari)
栄えの翼で辿りつき(sakae no tsubasa de tadoritsuki)
隠された真実に近寄るものたち(kakusareta shinjitsu ni chikayoru mono tachi)
秩序の維持できなくなる(chitsujo no iji dekinakunaru)

Danger
Days of no sunlight will end
Arriving on wings of prosperity
Those who get close to the hidden truth
Will make it impossible to maintain order

Comments

Commentary & Analysis CH 17, Ohno Section: Meaning of Roses & Baubles, Part 4

[mmestrange]

DIAMOND TRILOGY RING

I like baubles, I like looking at them, and I always press my nose to Tiffany’s downtown and tell myself that I will buy a pendant from Tiffany for mummy and earrings for myself when I’m established with the PhD. But since we are not talking about me, let me move on the Harry Winston diamonds.

Aside from the fact that diamond ring is expensive, we are told that it has three diamonds diagonally set in a row. In the early 20th century, such a setting (for any kind of stone on a ring) was called a trilogy ring. It is used to symbolise commitment in the past, present and future. Well, have readers been asking why Ohno needs to remind BOTH himself AND Jun of his (Ohno’s) commitment to Jun in the past, present and future. Surely, Jun would notice that Ohno usually takes him for granted. Surely Jun will question, “What have you done Leader that you need a big reminder (that you can see) of our commitment in the past, present and future? Have you done something in the past that gives you cause to react like this in the present with expensive gifts? Given your reaction in the present, wouldn’t that mean you are worried about our commitment in the future?”

Those are the exact questions that come up when the meaning of the trilogy ring is dissected.

Diamonds stand for clarity and wisdom transcending the pedestrian. A neat irony given that Ohno is unwilling to transcend the banal realm of his desires and lusts. My question is:
(12) What will it take for Ohno to wake up be like a diamond in clarity of mind? What will it take for him to transcend the pedestrian? A betrayal?

However Haineko plays it, we as readers can see the cracks in the cosy la vie en rose in the little Juntoshi paradise. Daniel Dafoe (author of Moll Flanders) once wrote, “The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond and must be polished or the lustre of it will never appear.”

My question is:
(13) Whose soul is it that must be polished? Ostensibly we know it’s Sho and Ohno with the defective souls. They are like charcoal pieces who think they are diamonds when they aren’t. Sho is a charcoal piece because he’s shrouded himself in darkness. Ohno’s waddling in a standing black pool of his own filth. So who will polish their souls so that their lustres would appear?

As Sho and Ohno are charcoal pieces, I can understand why they gravitate towards real diamonds like Aiba and Jun. Sho and Ohno are unpolished and slavish souls hiding behind the lights and desiring the diamond.

HINTS AS TO JUN’S STANCE TOWARDS OHNO IN THE PRESENT

Notice also that Haineko tells us specifically, “Jun bowed deeply, ran out the door, and grabbed the folder that Miyazono’s secretary handed him. As he ran into the parking lot, he speed dialed the missing person in question. After the fourth ring, it sounded like someone picked up. There was a ten second pause before a reply.” [NB: My emphasis added]

Recall everything I said about the number 4 in the commentary section on Sho. 4 is the number of ‘creation’ in numerology. Four rings before the phone was picked up by Ohno. Why four? Because Ohno is thinking of an excuse TO CREATE to tell Jun. The best Ohno could manage is a lame ‘I am at home’ AFTER a 10s pause. Why is his excuse so lame? Because his FOUR humours are not in balance.

Additionally, there is a ten second pause before Ohno speaks. 10 in numerology means ‘the fulfilment of the conscious mind’ or ‘that which makes the mind full and logical’. In numerology, the number 10 is the number of the sun. The Sun represents knowledge and the truth. But we know that Ohno’s not even aware of his mind; Ohno’s mind is not logical (since he worships Min); and we know Ohno doesn’t even have knowledge of the truth of his own situation. Ohno doesn’t realise that he is a narcissistic sex addict.

While Jun may not know that Ohno is a NaSA, Jun does know that Ohno is completely ignorant of his own situation and that Ohno doesn’t realise what he has done wrong. We know Jun knows because Haineko informs us, “Jun drove home fuming at Ohno’s seeming nonchalance. Going thirty kilometers over the speed limit, he arrived home in record time.”

Commentary & Analysis CH 17, Ohno Section: Meaning of Roses & Baubles, Part 5

[mmestrange]

Jun went 30 km over the speed limit. 30 is a sphenic number. Sphen is the ancient Greek word for ‘wedge’. The message is clear - due to that which happened to Ayu and Ohno’s transformation from earnest fool to NaSA, there is now a wedge between Jun and Ohno. Of course, Ohno is dimly aware of this, hence the expensive gifts. It remains to be seen whether Jun or Ohno (or both) will discover that the cause of the wedge is Ohno’s NaSA! tendencies - the same tendencies that were budding when Ohno was with Nino (hence Ohno’s visits to host clubs while he was officially with Nino) but have now become full blown NaSA-ness.

Final questions to close the Ohno section:
(14) How does Jun react to the coral roses and the ring? We are told that Jun sees those things BUT we are NOT told how Jun reacts to them. What exactly are Jun’s thought?

(15) Will Jun interrogate Ohno to find out what he’s trying to hide?

(16) What about the would-be interrogation of Ayumu? What will Jun discover there?

(17) Will Jun’s interrogation of Ayu as to what happened while he was away and that which Jun will glean from his interrogation of Ohno vis-à-vis the expensive gifts and where he has been all night give Jun the bigger picture as to Ohno’s overwhelming tendency to revolve things around Ohno’s enthusiasm for passionate desire?

Let us move on the Jun section where there is much more in the way of symbolism and analysis.