'The One Leaving Is Me' Episode 4 Recap: He Tears Up the Marriage Form

The facts

Episode 4 Recap (Spoiler-Free)

The episode is set the same night as Episode 3, in Kenta and Rika's apartment. After the lobby, Rika stopped by the ward office and now hands Kenta a marriage registration form, asking him to marry her. Kenta tears the form in two and refuses both the marriage and his signature.

Rika then asks him to become the father of her child. Kenta answers that he failed yesterday's interview and has no job, and refuses that too.

When Kenta asks what was said in the lobby, Rika points out that his story about Misaki cheating was a lie. Kenta says he will get back together with Misaki because he can live off her money.

Rika replies that Misaki knows all of his lies, shows him the same business card from Misaki, and says Misaki also told her where to get advice before putting it back in her pocket. She picks up the white suitcase she had prepared, and when Kenta protests that he can't pay the rent, she tells him to pay it himself. She takes Misaki's business card and the white suitcase and goes home to her parents. Alone, Kenta kicks the torn form and mutters that he will just borrow money from Misaki.

Sources: bun-cho.work, youtube.com

Characters and What They Do in This Episode

Rika Sato: She hands over the marriage registration form and asks Kenta to marry her, sign it, and become the father of her child. When he refuses, she takes Misaki's business card and her white suitcase and leaves the apartment.

Kenta Takahashi: He tears Rika's marriage registration form in two and refuses both the marriage and his signature. He says he has no job and refuses to become a father, and he says he plans to get back together with Misaki and live off her money.

Misaki: She does not appear on screen, but she is named as the person whose business card Rika carries and who told Rika where to get advice. She is also the person Kenta says he wants to reunite with.

Sources: bun-cho.work, bun-cho.work

Analysis

Highlights: The Torn Form and the White Suitcase

The core of this episode is the moment Rika's marriage registration form is torn up on the spot. He refuses not only the marriage and his signature but also fatherhood, and that pushes Rika toward her decision.

The white suitcase Rika had ready is just as telling. It shows through a prop, not dialogue, that she had prepared to leave if he refused. The way she puts Misaki's business card back in her pocket quietly signals that she has someone to turn to.

Note also why Kenta tries to stop her: not for the baby, but for his own rent. Rika's short reply, telling him to pay it himself, sums up the relationship in this episode.

Sources: bun-cho.work, bun-cho.work

How the Novel Version Differs

The novel version opens with Rika already holding out the marriage registration form and Kenta roughly snatching it and pulling it apart. It adds finer details than the video, such as the sound of the paper about to tear and Rika placing one hand on her belly.

The novel also spells out lines like Rika saying the child is his and that Misaki wrote the ward office contact on the card, plus her words calling him the worst. The video conveys these feelings and background through images and short lines.

Both versions follow the same path: Rika goes home to her parents with Misaki's business card, and Kenta mutters that he will borrow from Misaki. The details of the ending can be checked in the video.

Sources: bun-cho.work, bun-cho.work

Who This Episode Is For

It suits viewers who like modern dramas about friction in marriage and partnerships. Through the conversation about the marriage registration form, you can watch the two characters' relationship change clearly.

It is also for anyone who wants to feel an emotional shift in a short time. Rika choosing her own path after being refused plays out as the events of a single night.

It is recommended for those who want to compare the novel and video versions. The same scene differs in how much dialogue and action are described, so each version can be enjoyed on its own terms.

Sources: bun-cho.work, bun-cho.work

How the Story Leads to This Night

Episode 4 depicts the same night as Episode 3 as it happens. That means Rika's stop at the ward office to prepare the marriage registration form was for this night. After what happened in the lobby, she had gotten ready to hold it out and ask him to marry her.

The novel also suggests Rika had received Misaki's business card that day. The contact information is written on the back, and Rika leaves the apartment with it still in her pocket. Kenta's claim that Misaki's cheating was a lie, and his talk of getting back together with her, both become clear to Rika for the first time in this night's conversation.

Because of this buildup, Episode 4 reads not as a sudden breakup but as a decision Rika had already been considering. The white suitcase is placed there as part of that preparation.

What This Episode Leaves With the Viewer

What changes in this episode is that Rika moves from asking to deciding for herself. After both requests, the marriage and the fatherhood, are refused, she says she will raise the child herself and leaves the apartment. She is shown choosing her own life rather than waiting for his answer.

Kenta changes too. We do not know from Episode 4 how he had talked about Misaki before, but on this night he says he will get back together with her and explains that it is because he can live off her money. Whether the reunion works out is not shown, and the episode ends with Kenta muttering that he will borrow from Misaki.

For the viewer, the difference in how the two think about marriage and money comes through in a single night's conversation. The moment Rika puts the business card back in her pocket shows that the person she turns to is not Kenta.

What to Watch For Next

The title of Episode 5 refers to an ex-husband coming to his ex-wife to ask for a loan. How that connects to Kenta muttering at the end of Episode 4 that he will borrow from Misaki is worth watching. Episode 4 does not reveal whether Kenta actually contacts Misaki or tries to borrow in some other way.

It also does not yet show what Rika will do about work or housing after going home to her parents. How the fact that Misaki was the one who told Rika where to get advice affects the two women's relationship is another point to watch.

Since Misaki does not appear directly in Episode 4, how much she knows about Kenta's lies and why she gave Rika the business card may become clear in later episodes.

Questions

What is Episode 4 about?

It begins on the same night as Episode 3, when Rika hands Kenta a marriage registration form. He refuses both the marriage and his signature, and the episode follows Rika until she leaves the apartment with Misaki's business card.

How does Episode 4 end?

Please check the video for the details of the ending. This article covers the story up to Rika going home to her parents and Kenta muttering that he will borrow from Misaki.

Is there a novel version?

A novel version has been released. It follows the same story as the video, but the description of the scene where the marriage registration form is torn and Rika's lines differ.

Sources

• 『私を捨てた夫が、私の会社に面接に来た』第4話「出ていくのは、私」 (bun-cho.work)
• YouTube: 出ていくのは、私 (youtube.com)
• 小説版: 出ていくのは、私 (bun-cho.work)