Clover 2014

Saya Suzuki, Emi Takei, is a hotel employee at Hotel Toyo who labors under the steady gaze of her supervisor, Susumu Tsuge, Tadayoshi Okura. He is portrayed as a proud, well-educated, and career-driven man who keeps the front desk and corridors humming with a strict, but fair, professional cadence. Saya, a bit scatterbrained and prone to mistakes, often finds herself under Tsuge’s corrective eye, which creates a tense but undeniably functional dynamic at the workplace.

One day, in a moment that catches her off guard, Tsuge asks her out on a date. Reluctantly, Saya agrees, curiosity mixing with a hint of anxiety about what such an unexpected invitation could mean for her already complicated life. On the date, she opens up about a long-ago chapter with Haruki Hino, Kento Nagayama, a famous singer and aspiring theatre artist. In their school days, Saya and Haruki were deeply in love and even eloped, only to be found by the police. They believed that finding a four-leaf clover signified that they had found the one. The elopement’s failure sent Haruki to America, leaving Saya heartbroken. He returns later as a teen idol, a public symbol that stirs old emotions and new insecurities in Saya.

Tsuge, ever practical, suggests that he rehabilitate Saya—helping her move toward loving again, with time and distance. As the pair navigate an organized event together, Saya and Haruki meet again and reconnect, gradually forming a bond of friendship that is tinged with shared history and unspoken romantic tension.

Meanwhile, Tsuge’s career ambitions push him toward a foreign branch of Hotel Toyo. He accepts the opportunity, and rumors swirl about his potential romance with Shiori Tsutsui, the hotel owner’s daughter, Natsuna Watanabe. Those rumors feed Saya’s insecurities as she confronts the realities of a growing distance between them during Tsuge’s six-month work assignment.

During Tsuge’s absence, Saya and Haruki spend more time together, and their relationship—rooted in memories and mutual understanding—becomes more intimate as they lean on each other for support. When Tsuge finally returns, Shiori becomes engaged to him, and photos of Saya and Haruki appear in the media, fueling a whirlwind of gossip and doubt. Saya challenges Tsuge about the engagement and his closeness with Shiori, and he begins to doubt Saya’s relationship with Haruki. The tension peaks as Saya and Tsuge end their relationship; Haruki, sensing the opportunity, makes a move to rekindle what they once shared, but Saya chooses to stay committed to Tsuge.

Complications multiply when Shiori drugs Tsuge to spend the night with her and uses the act to blackmail him into marrying her. Their engagement is publicly announced at a gala, and the party scene becomes a clash of old loyalties and new desires. Saya is tasked with delivering a bouquet to the engaged couple, but she drops it in a moment of heartbreak and jealousy, only to search frantically for a four-leaf clover that might vindicate her feelings.

In a dramatic turn, Tsuge declares his love for Saya in front of everyone, an act that shifts the room’s mood and complicates the power dynamics at the hotel. Yet the reconciliation is not straightforward: Tsuge’s pride fractures, and he becomes increasingly submissive to Shiori, a development that strains his own sense of purpose. The hotel CEO is moved by Tsuge’s outburst for Saya and grants him the chance to keep his job, a precarious but meaningful victory.

As the story unfolds, Saya loses the clover once more but eventually discovers it tucked under a table, a symbolic sign that she may have found her true match at last. The film closes with a post-credits glimpse of a final, lasting union: Saya and Tsuge are married, their complicated history giving way to a quiet future together.