Yikes, I wasn’t expecting Ae-ra (Kim Ji-won) to be the first one confessing her feelings but it’s pretty noticeable that she’s more aware of how she truly feels than Dong-man (Park Seo-joon) who seems to be in a tug-of-war when it comes to realizing his true emotions. But with this turn of event, will the romance between the two finally bloom? Let’s see!
Now onto this week’s highlights:
Scene: At the rooftop, Dong-man and Ae-ra end up talking about the men she dated in the past. Dong-man quips that he dated such awful guys: the band member; Moo-ki, who impregnated an older woman; and now Moo-bin who two-timed her. He also remembers another guy who he only knows by the monicker ‘Wrist Guy’. The mention brings us back to a moment in 2011 where Dong-man’s nearing his enlistment. One morning, Ae-ra takes a pot of hangover porridge to Dong-man’s place, with a note saying that she’ll wait for him to return from the army. She sees a sleeping Hye-ran (Lee Elijah) at the bottom of his staircase and tiptoes past her. When Dong-man doesn’t answer, she leaves the porridge on his doorstep. Unfortunately, the wind blows away the note she put on it. Dong-man wakes to find a note that Hye-ran slipped under his door, asking him to meet her outside. He finds the porridge and naturally assumes it’s from Hye-ran, and she doesn’t correct him. A little later, Ae-ra dashes back to Dong-man’s, having forgotten the kimchi. She hears weird noises coming from his balcony and finds him and Hye-ran making out. She tries to escape before they see her, but she trips and goes tumbling. Dong-man runs down to Ae-ra, who’s clutching her badly hurt wrist.
Though I have guessed this one starting from the first episode when she got pissed off when Dong-man asked Bo-ram (Jin Ji-hee) to be his girlfriend, this flashback finally confirms my hypothesis, and maybe yours as well. So Ae-ra has been keeping her feelings secret but we got to discuss why she chooses to do so. I can only come up with two reasons: First, they’ve been friends for a long time and it’s risky to cross the line; and second, because Dong-man has Hye-ran which makes it harder for him to notice her. But whatever excuse Ae-ra has, how in the Earth has Dong-man never got a clue?
Scene: Seol-hee (Song Ha-yoon) invites Ye-jin (Pyo Ye-jin) to have tea with her, alone. Ye-jin accepts, thinking that they’re girl-bonding because their parents both sell pork trotters and they both like pink. Over tea (and some cakes), Ye-jin asks Seol-hee about her boyfriend, and when Seol-hee describes her like a teddy bear, Ye-jin gets excited saying they have the same taste in men. Seol-hee feels relieved hearing Ye-jin confesses that she actually does have a boyfriend, thinking that Ye-jin is not actually a threat to Joo-man (Ahn Jae-hong). But Seol-hee gets stunned when Ye-jin shows her a picture of Joo-man on her phone, saying that although they’re not dating yet, they will eventually do. Looking at Ye-jin’s overjoyed expression and listening to her gush about how happy she is, Seol-hee can’t help but be reminded of the way she felt when she first fell for Joo-man (shown via some flashback). She imagines throwing water in Ye-jin’s face, or maybe giving her a good kimchi-slap. But then she realizes that in real life, it’s really hard to make yourself slap someone.
Yes, it’s really hard to slap someone especially when that person is as nice as Ye-jin. Although she can be annoying, we cannot blame her for behaving that way especially when she’s clueless he has a girlfriend. Seol-hee is good-natured, there’s no doubt in that, but like the advice she’s got from a senior colleague, if she can’t keep cool about keeping their relationship a secret, then they should tell everyone. Or else, she’ll also find herself in an awkward and frustrating situation like her conversation with Ye-jin.
Scene: Ae-ra heads to the her interview for the next news anchor, looking professional and beaming with confidence. But during the interview, the panel skips her and doesn’t ask her any questions. She raises her hands to say that she’s not asked yet. The female interviewer tells her that their time is precious and if that she wants a piece of it, she should have spent her time gaining skills and experience. Ae-ra’s expression drops. She says that as other candidates were studying and volunteering abroad, she was working.
Huhu! This is one of the most heartbreaking scenes for me so far! How could they skip her like that? If they didn’t have the time to interview her, then they shouldn’t have invited her in the first place. They should have, from the very beginning, rejected her application because it’s both upsetting and humiliating. Yes, learning and experience are important things to a job, but as well as skills and Ae-ra is oozing with skills! They should realize that not everyone has access to expensive education and work immersion because if they do, they’ll continue to marginalize people. Personally, I dislike the fact that employees got hired based on their interviews because, goodness, there are people who are just good at speaking—only. Let these candidates at least have internship to test their competence.
Scene: As they wait for bus home, Joo-man and Seol-hee get engaged in a hearty conversation. Seol-hee confesses that sometimes she wants someone to find about their relationship because she’s nervous that a younger woman’s hovering around him. Joo-man tells her that she’s prettier, but she admits that sometimes she feels like a secret mistress and that she’s a burden to him. She adds that sometimes she wished Joo-man isn’t he is now and that his on her same level not being able to go to college and finding a good job. Joo-man tells her that if he gets promoted, he’ll tell everyone about their relationship and she can quit her job. He adds that she can pursue being a power blogger because it’s what she dreams of. He stares at her and says he’ll marry her.
Fast forward to another scene, Joo-man and Seol-hee alight the bus together, and to their surprise, Ye-jin is standing in front of them.
This one is touching. I’d like the idea that Joo-man is not the type who gets annoyed by his partner’s inferiority. He understands Seol-hee’s feelings and that he, in fact, plans to marry her once things fall into place. I’m also delighted by the fact that he’s aware of her dream and that she can pursue it once working is no longer her first priority. Unfortunately, just when all our hopes are up that things are working out, Ye-jin discovered their relationship. What would this mean for the two? I’m eager yet scared to know.
Scene: Dong-man easily knocks out Byung-joo (his opponent and rude gym mate) with a single kick. his signature roundhouse kick. Tak-soo is stunned to see Dong-man easily win his debut fight against an experienced fighter in only nineteen seconds. Dong-man lets out a mighty roar as his hand is raised and he’s declared the winner. Reporters swarm around him asking him questions about who he is and what his relationship is to Hye-ran (who’s in the audience). Dong-man heads towards the crowd and stands in front of Hye-ran, who looks expectant. BUT, he goes past her, crouches in front of a girl with a cap who’s sobbing quietly. She lifts her head which reveals she’s Ae-ra. In a shaking voice, She asks if he really has to do this, because she can’t bear to watch. Looking up at her in wonder, Dong-man just says, “I’m in trouble. Now you look pretty even when you cry.”
Yaaaaaaay! My heart fluttered watching this! But then my mind told me something’s awkward with this scene. I actually preferred that these two scenes didn’t come consecutively. I wish the spotlight stayed on Dong-man’s victory and maybe, we could get this lovely scene some other time in the series because it kind of diverted the attention away from what could have been a poignant point in Dong-man’s pursuit of his dream. But given as it is, please let’s get the love wheels rolling in the coming episodes!
Image source: Dramabeans.com
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