K-Drama Reaction: Hospital Playlist 2

I’m a crumpled-up piece of paper after watching this episode because of its casually cruel take on life, love, and other matters.

Episode 7 Recap

With Tchaikovsky’s music in the background, everyone in Yulje is in their marching pace: a bathless Jang Hong-do joining Chu Min-ha in their meeting at the OB/GYN floor; a blower-less Jang Gyeo-ul gulping two cups of coffees after checking the charts made by resident Choi Se-hoon; Yang Seok-hyeong calmly drinking his cup while listening to The Nutcracker on his way to the hospital; Chae Song-hwa receiving a call from her mom as she arrives at the hospital; energyless Kim Jun-wan borrowing Do Jae-hak’s coat for his appointment; Lee Ik-jun checking a liver transplant with Gyeo-ul, Se-hoon, intern Jang Yun-bok, and nurse Song Su-bin; Ahn Jeong-won in the middle of his outpatient appointments.

Jeong-won asks his patient Han-jun about his condition but her mother keeps on interrupting him. So Jeong-won steps in and explains that Han-jun is old enough to describe his condition on his own. When the mother insists that his child is still a baby, Han-jun disagrees and proved that Jeong-won was right. Han-jun describes what he feels and the two promised to stay healthy so that they would not have to see each other often.

At the NS floor, Chae Song-hwa checks in with TA victim Hwang Du-na. She instructs Seok-min to start Du-na’s rehabilitation before explaining Du-na’s condition to her mother. She relays that Du-na has Broca’s aphasia (loss of the ability to communicate using words). Her mother told Song-hwa that she’d do everything Song-hwa advises them to and she’s already grateful that her daughter is alive. The look on Du-na’s face doesn’t mirror her mother’s happiness.

At the HPB ward, Ik-jun talks to patient An Seong-ju and her family about her liver transplant. He patiently answers the family’s question but the patient’s brother, in particular, seems to worry more than the patient herself.

Later, Ik-jun invites Song-hwa for lunch. Ik-jun tells Song-hwa about his dry eye syndrome. Although he is dismissing it as nothing, Song-hwa can’t help but worry because his other friends are also having health problems: Jun-wan – presbyopia (can’t see nearby objects), Jeong-won – headaches (again???), and Seok-hyeong – back pain. Along the way, Ik-jun made a *few* stopovers and talk to these hospital people: hair salon owner, optician shop owner, maintenance staff, gardeners, and EMS helicopter pilot. As they reached the cafeteria, Song-hwa asks Ik-jun how can he know everyone at the hospital with latter only answering that it’s because they think he’s adorable (while covering his ears because he said “귀엽다” or adorable as “귀__엽다” which sounds like no ears. This ahjussi’s puns/jokes are my cup of tea.)

After Song-hwa recites her meal mantra, Seok-min, Heo Sun-bin, and Choi Seong-yeong join the two professors during their lunch. Security personnel Yong-hyeon then approaches their table to greet Ik-jun. It shocked the rest of their lunch group because they have never seen Yong-hyeon smile; Seong-yeong even said he’s scary because they once had an encounter with him. He told them that the security guard didn’t allow them to park in front of the ER with Song-hwa saying Yong-hyeon just did the right thing.

Ik-jun and Song-hwa then continued their break time at the central garden. Ik-jun watches a video of U-ju dancing and wondered if his son lied to avoid going to school but Song-hwa rebutted him with a very familiar line: “kids don’t lie, they always tell if they are in pain or not.” Song-hwa then changed the subject of their conversation by asking Ik-jun his plans for the weekend. Ik-jun answers that he has to study for a conference but he delays it after learning that Song-hwa will go camping over the weekend. He excitedly tells U-ju that they will go camping with his camping expert friend. U-ju requests if he can sit by the fire and relax.

At Song-hwa’s favorite camping site B-104, Ik-jun is having trouble liting up their wood fire. Camping expert Song-hwa had to step in and quickly sets up their camping area. The two long-time friends enjoy their ramyeon while U-ju watches the fire with a sullen face. Apparently, U-ju and Mo-ne had a fight and it looks like they might break up (nooooooo!).

On the same weekend in Yangpyeong, Chairman Ju Jong-su and Jeong Ro-sa are in the middle of their afternoon walk. She then receives a call from her youngest son. Jeong-won called to remind her of Rosa’s niece’s wedding. Ro-sa felt distressed that she completely forgot about the wedding. Jeong-won assures her that it’s okay and that forgetting things are completely normal for people her age. Jong-su also comforted her by telling her he also forgets things like dinner plans.

Back in Yulje, Seok-hyeong is eating his second bowl for lunch when his mother called. He informs his mom that he’s there to study for complicated surgery.

Meanwhile, at the campsite, Song-hwa is having a hard time choosing one thing for her last supper. In the end, Song-hwa chooses to eat a whole cow.

On his way back to his office, Seok-hyeong came across Min-ha, Hong-do, and another resident. During their small talk, Hong-do then tells his professor that Min-ha is the funniest person he knows, and Min-ha’s misses seeing Seok-hyeong smiling at that comment. Ever-so-lively Min-ha then invites Seok-hyeong for lunch. He agrees and walks with them to the cafeteria (he agrees even though he already ate his lunch!!!).

At the GS Medical Office, Jeong-won surprises Gyeo-ul and invites her for dinner. Gyeo-ul, however, is on duty for the night so they had to settle with gimbap, mandu, sundae sausage, and fishcakes. While Gyeo-ul eats her dinner at Jeong-won’s office, he reminded her of their date next Sunday, five o’clock at the cathedral. She then opens up about her GS dads nagging her to tell them about her boyfriend. She suggests if she should just lie about them breaking up. Jeong-won thinks they should just talk about it next Sunday. Jeong-won then offers his hand to her and Gyeo-ul slips her fingers through the spaces between his. With their hands intertwined, the two enjoys their little moment together. At Jeong-won’s shared apartment, Jun-wan looks for food in their refrigerator but only found old bread and spoiled drink.

It’s already past midnight but Ik-jun and Song-hwa are still talking about anything and everything at the campsite. When Ik-jun brought up their school days, Song-hwa reminisces on how Ik-jun practiced Sad Sea with his guitar all through freshman year. The guy “nicknamed” Cho Jung-hyun is surprised that Song-hwa remembers that thing. Song-hwa didn’t answer why and just told Ik-jun that it is time for them to sleep.

Another work week has started in Yulje. Gyeo-ul’s brow is furrowed as she looks at Min-ha and her latest make-up experiment: aegyo-sal. She tells Gyeo-ul that she wanted to look young but her best friend tells her that she already looks young without the aegyosal. Min-ha then emphasizes that she knows Gyeo-ul doesn’t lie and always tells the truth.

At the second-floor café, Ro-sa and Jo Young-hye talk about their children while drinking coffee. Ro-sa admits that he is curious about Jeong-won’s girlfriend but she doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable. She tells her though that already had a quick chat (probably their talk in s1e11) and that she’s very pretty. Young-hye then comments that he wants Seok-hyeong to have a girlfriend quickly and declares that she’ll be okay to whoever he decides to date. As if on cue, Min-ha passes by their table carrying a try. She accidentally elbows Young-hye, which infuriated the madam. Min-ha apologizes but also reasons out that she already apologize earlier, even questioning why “halmeoni” keeps on talking to her in banmal. Ro-sa stops Young-hye from making a scene and accompanies her to the restroom.

At the bathroom, Young-hye declares that she would be okay with anyone Seok-hyeong dates except for the woman in the cafeteria. Not having any of her petty complaints, Ro-sa scolded her for talking in banmal to anyone he meets. The two then leave the hospital to share a meal with the rest of the Yangpyeong squad.

Meanwhile, on the sixth floor, An Seong-ju’s approaches the people at the nurse’s station to complain about the bruises in his sister’s arms. Nurse Su-bin tries to explain the situation to the guardian but he still airs his concern about how his sister is being treated at the hospital. Su-bin assures him that they will make sure it won’t happen again. Yun-bok thinks the guardian is being harsh to them. Later, Ik-jun checks Seong-ju’s condition before their surgery tomorrow. As they leave the room, he sees Seong-ju’s brother waiting outside. Ik-jun patiently talks to Seong-ju’s concerns and demands as annoyed Yun-bok watches the exchange.

The next day, Ik-jun lead Seong-ju’s liver transplant. The transplant went well but Seong-ju’s organs expanded and they can’t close her up immediately. After 15 hours of waiting, they proceeded with the operation. Ik-jun thanks everyone including the anesthesiologist who patiently waited and look over the patient’s condition.

At the ER, an old woman is brought to the hospital after collapsing. Dr. Bong Gwang-hyeon attends to the patient and decided to call the neurosurgery department after seeing the CT scan results. Nurse Sunwoo Hui-Su informs that the patient is only accompanied by her co-worker. After checking the patient, Song-hwa instructs Seong-yeong to call the hospital coordinator about the patient’s wish to donate her organ. The only problem is that they can’t find the patient’s family.

At the HPB ward, Gyeo-ul checks patient Sun Du-ho (a patient of Dr. Jong Se-hyeok that she had to take care of for a month because the fellow had a ruptured disc). Gyeo-ul relays the result of the PET scan to the family. Upon hearing the good news, Du-ho’s family thank Gyeo-ul and declares that she is their family’s lucky charm.

Outside the ICU, a shocked Seong-yeong accompanies Song-hwa as they talk to the brain-dead patient’s guardian. The old woman turns out to be security personnel Yong-hyeon’s mother. After explaining the situation to Yong-hyeon, he was then left to decide whether or not they donate his mother’s organs.

Meanwhile, at the two JW’s shared office, Jun-wan asks Jeong-won about their song for the week. Jun-wan sulks after hearing it was another love song. He perks up, however, when Jeong-won asks what he will do this Sunday only to get disappointed because his housemate is just asking him to get some groceries. Ik-jun joins them and the two arranges to meet for the school reunion on Sunday. When “formerly micky, now Ik-sun” calls Ik-jun, he quickly stands up and leaves the room with Jeong-won wondering out loud why he rushed out suddenly. Jun-wan missed the caller’s name though.

Ik-sun informs Ik-jun that he will be staying in Seoul and will look after U-ju while Ik-jun is at the school reunion. His brother warns Ik-sun not to teach anything weird to the kid. But it’s too late as Ik-sun is already teaching U-ju how to reach his nose tip with his tongue (haha).

Outside the ICU, Yong-hyeon mulls over the news he just heard. Seong-yeong then worries that Yong-hyeon would take a while to decide whether the organs should be donated. Song-hwa warns Seong-yeong to keep his thoughts to himself as they don’t know the whole story. The donor then met with Yong-hyeon and informs him about his mother’s condition, still trying to persuade him to make a decision.

In her office, Song-hwa receives a call that Yong-hyeon decided to donate his mother’s organ. The resident then admits he was wrong about judging Yong-hyeon and that there is really a “story” behind his reluctance to decide. At the central garden, Ik-jun consoles Yong-hyeon. He tells Ik-jun that he just met his mother after 30 years today. And he couldn’t even remember her face or has no memories of calling her mother. So he was confused about having the right to decide over her mother’s death. He realizes later on that it was probably fate’s way of giving him one last chance to play his role as his mother’s son.

At the consultation room, Jun-wan receives a patient’s mother who is asking for a second opinion. The mother wants her baby to get VAD but Jun-wan thinks the baby weighs too small. Jun-wan hears the mother’s side, saying she also thinks her baby could get VAD. Jun-wan gave a straight no as his answer. He gives her a no-nonsense explanation of her baby’s condition and why he refuses a VAD procedure. After a few tense moments, the mother cries in front of him and thank him for telling her his objective opinion. The woman leaves and the nurse confirms to Jun-wan that the mother didn’t go there to ask them to accept her baby. She was there to hear the cruel truth they already know all along.

Meanwhile, at the GS Medical Office, Ik-jun joins Gyeo-ul and Yun-bok as they eat rice cakes from An Seong-ju’s brother. Gyeo-ul explains they accepted the gift because the brother wanted to apologize for how he treated the hospital staff. Yun-bok couldn’t help but comment that she resented him for being unreasonable. Ik-jun enlightens Yun-bok about how the patient’s brother feels, saying “it’s something we see every day but it’s one of the most important and dramatic moments in their lives.” He then adds, “And if we were ever in a situation like that, we’d be the same way. So do your best to understand them.” Ik-jun’s words have made Yun-bok burst into tears as she remembers being in the same place as their patient’s brother. She sobs as she remembers how she yells and begs her mother’s doctors to save her but she forgot all about it when she finally wore a scrub.

Gyeo-ul and Yun-bok were then called to the ER. There, they witness a woman hysterically shouting and ask for someone to check her baby. Dr. Bong steps in as he recognizes the woman. Later, he tells Nurse Hui-su, Gyeo-ul, and Yun-bok that the woman is Doctor Kim Ha-eun, a pediatrics fellow at Jae-an. Yun-bok nods, probably recalling Ik-jun’s words earlier – “And if we were ever in a situation like that, we’d be the same way.”

It’s already two o’clock in the morning at Yulje when Jeong-won arrives at the HPB ward. There, he sees Gyeo-ul sleeping in her seat. Instead of waking her up, Jeong-won stands beside her and lets fatigued Gyeo-ul lean on him. The next morning, Gyeo-ul smiles as she crosses the street in front of the ER entrance. He greets Jeong-won with a chaste kiss on his lips before getting inside the car.

Mido and Falasol performs Kim Kwang-seok’s “To You”

With Jeong-won’s voice singing the poetic lyrics of the love song, we see Jeong-won in a dusty rose pink suit waiting outside Chogangdong Cathedral. On her way to Jeong-won, Gyeo-ul receives a call from an unknown number. Hospital staff from Suhan Medical Center in Gwangju informs Gyeo-ul that her mother Cho Sun-yeong was rushed to the hospital and needs surgery. Meanwhile, in Yangpyeong, Ro-sa keeps on inputting the wrong code for her door lock. Frustrated, Ro-sa’s eyes well up in tears.

The night falls and we see the Changwon boys on their way home after the school reunion. U-ju then calls Ik-jun to ask for fried chicken. Ik-sun then asks to get a spicy jajangmyeon from a nearby pojangmacha. All the while, Jun-wan listens silently to his ex-girlfriend’s voice.

The episode ends with Jeong-won still sitting outside the cathedral, re-reading for the nth time Gyeo-ul’s text message: “It’s me Gyeo-ul. A thing came up and I have to go to Gwangju. I’ll tell you more lately…I’ll tell you everything later.” With one last sigh, he grabs the green box beside him and leaves with a disappointed look on his face.

Maknae’s Takeaway

Phew, that’s been a tough episode to recap. It’s jampacked with emotions. This week, Hospital Playlist tells us that everyone has their own story. And like Seong-yeong we often judge them without thinking; without knowing the whole story.

Yong-hyeon’s story is one I had a hard time rewatching. It was heartbreaking to watch a seemingly tough man broke down because of his situation. It took him a while to process his emotions but he eventually came around. What I like the most about this particular side story is how he interpreted the situation that he is in. He considered it as his last chance to play the role of his son to his mother. I doubt many people would look at such a dreadful event the same way as Yong-hyeon did. I also like that Ik-jun lends his ears for Yong-hyeon. This is what I like about Ik-jun the most. He’s a people person who is genuinely interested in them and not just “networking” for the sake of social status. And I think this is what also draws Song-hwa to him. He’s always genuine with everything he does, be it talking to random strangers or practicing Sad Sea on guitars.

And yes, Song-hwa remembers that thing from their past because she always watched Ik-jun on the sidelines just like how she did on their way to the cafeteria. But going back to the Sad Sea comment, these two spent the whole weekend talking about anything and everything except for their own thing. When Ik-jun asked how come Song-hwa remembers that memory from far back, it could have been a good segue to talk about them and their years-long of friendship and what to do next about it.

Clearly, they’ve been spending most of their free time together. No one blinked their eyes about it because they’ve been always like that but something is clearly different right now. There are shots/frames where the focus/subject is either Ik-jun or Song-hwa looking at the other with longing. Longing for what? Only the two can give the answer to this. After all, it’s their story to tell.

Meanwhile, Seok-hyeong’s story seems to be starting to veer off the singlehood track into a rom-com territory as the women in his life finally crossed paths. There’s a lot that has been said about Seok-hyeong’s eomma, Young-hye. They say she’s the representative of all K-drama samonims, those who love confrontations and think they are always right. But in their short encounter in the cafeteria, Min-ha proves that she can handle things on her own. She’s no Shin-hye. She can’t break easily. Seok-hyeong rejected her many times but she’s still there. And with Seok-hyeong too. I think, this time, he’s doing it his own way. He’s slowly getting there. (I think my only complaint about this episode is the lack of OB/GYN patients. I always love their stories but anyway they did have great side stories this season.)

One recurring agenda this season is to seemingly break the notion that tough-looking people can handle pain on their own and that their “harshness” will only do them harm. Kim Jun-wan tops the list of tough people of Yulje but we see him in a lot of low moments this season. Episode 7 is no exception. There was no dramatic line nor wall-wailing but him on the floor – in an empty apartment, on a weekend when everyone is with someone – looks so sad to me. When he seems to take 1 step forward by attending (socializing is a big deal for brokenhearted people!) a school reunion, he then took 3 steps back after hearing Ik-sun’s voice. I’m really curious about how Jun-wan’s romantic arc would get resolve and right now, to be perfectly honest, I won’t mind if they would not end up together anymore and their story would remain a sad beautiful tragic kind of love story.

But anyway! Moving on, let’s talk about his recent patient. I thought like OB/GYN, he wouldn’t get any “patient story” this week because they just finished the marathoner mothers’ story in the other episode. As I’ve said, Jun-wan’s patient is always heartbreaking for me. And this one – the Jae-an patient’s mother – is short but packed with emotions. The reason why the mother thanked him is the same reason why I really like Jun-wan’s personality. He’s always objective and can deliver “bad news” with a straight face. I shared the same view as Jun-wan. I’ll take and accept truths – no matter how cruel and heartbreaking it is – over any kind of lies or sugar-coated excuses.

And I think Jeong-won is similar yet different to Jun-wan in this aspect. A few episodes back, Ro-sa mentioned that her children – of course, including Jeong-won – shares everything with her. Jeong-won grew up in that kind of household where he knows that when you are going through something, it’s better to share it with people who knew you and would understand you no matter what. He might keep things on his own but there’s always one or two people who know what he’s going through. Last season, it was his closest friends – Song-hwa and Ik-jun – who knows what’s bothering him. He probably didn’t share it in detail but he also didn’t deny their assumptions. He seems to be glad that one or two-person know and understand what he’s going through and they’re letting him mull over it on his own – ready to step in in case he needed some help. But this season, the closest person to him is Gyeo-ul and the dejected face in the last scene says it all. He was expecting her to hurl everything to him and trust him that he’d stay with her regardless of whatever it was that she’s going through.

Jeong-won likes taking care of his people and it probably pained him that Gyeo-ul couldn’t give him the chance to do that for her. I’ve said it my previous recaps that ShinLee can do heartbreakingly good angst. That’s what they gave me this episode. And I’m liking how their story is being written. I know, I know it’s painful to watch your favorite characters go through something. But great stories have great conflicts and I love how carefully planned this conflict is. A lot of foreshadowing was made before this. In episode 7 alone, some scenes are conditioning us for the next step in Jeong-won & Gyeo-ul’s arc. Ik-jun’s advice on Yun-bok – “And if we were ever in a situation like that, we’d be the same way” – is an ominous sign that Gyeo-ul and Jeong-won would eventually become a patient’s guardians. Both of their mothers seem to be going through something and both weren’t given any updates prior. It seems that Gyeo-ul’s mother and Ro-sa are not telling their children about their real health condition. Remember Song-hwa’s line about kids not lying, Jeong-won told Ik-jun the same thing back season 1 episode 10. Kids tell when they’re in pain, unlike adults. I’m really excited to know what would happen next. I’m pretty confident they would resolve it eventually but “how” is what I’m curious right now. I expect no dramatic confession but I know and trust that the showrunners are good at giving emotional resolutions. So for now, I’m letting the story unfold on its own. Because every story told this season has been worth the one year wait.

Afterthoughts

– The Nutcracker Act I, Scene 1, Op. 71, TH 14: No. 2 was the specific part used in the opening scene in case anyone’s keeping tabs of all the classical music used in this season. Also, can I just say that the transitions in the opening act are jjang!

-Presumptive April Calendar: First week – preparation for the liver transplant patient; assumed date of Jeong-won’s supposed proposal – April 18.

-IkSong is worrying about everyone’s problem. How about deal with your heart, people???

-This frame alone made my heart ached for Jun-wan

-Jun-wan x Jae-hak engame

-I actually list down make-up trends as inspired by Min-ha and her make-up looks in season 1. You can read it here.

-I’m looking forward to actress Choi Yi-hyun!

-I skipped Jeong-won’s mandu joke in the recap because it’s an ahjussi joke that only Gyeoul would love.

-Speaking of Jeong-won, Yoo Yeon-seok’s OST is here!!!

-Give some love too to the original song.

K-Drama Reaction: Hospital Playlist 2 | Episode 7

Episode 7 Recap

Published by maknaeahjumma

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Episode 7 Recap

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