Then there’s the however… and we see that the interview took place before the conversation on the beach, where Joo Yun tells Wan that the thought of their meeting disgusts her and that she hopes that they won't have any other reason to talk. A shot of Wan after he told Shing Shing that she’s cold because she’s not loved and she needs to break up with her boyfriend as his voice over declares that she's not the Shing Shing that he knows. And that statement is really telling, his utter faith in who she is, despite what she’s become. As Wan looks at the falling snow, the snow that lovers are supposed to meet together when it’s falling, he declares that this Shing Shing was unfamiliar and cold.
Back to the club, where Joo Yun’s gang is watching her conversation with Se Ryung and Wan. A replay of Joo Yun declaring that her face hardens when she sees people who aren't even human-like, because she’s so naive and innocent. Se Ryung asks if Joo Yun’s not happy to run into each other. Joo Yun can’t believe she would be. Joo Yun calls Se Ryung easy. Wan scolds Joo Yun that he doesn't know what easy means, but he can tell that Joo Yun is rude and cranky. Wan looks at Joo Yun and thinks that there’'s no way that Shing Shing has changed this much; this person only resembles Shing Shing. The question by Joo Yun about Se Ryung being happy living like a whore, as she looks pointedly in Wan’s direction. Wan reaching over and kissing Se Ryung on the forehead as an answer to Joo Yun’s insult. Joo Yun laughing in disbelief, calling it all crazy. Wan not believing this person!
Joo Yun goes to leave, but this time, there’s a little more that happens… Wan tells Joo Yun to hold on. He confronts her on her behavior, asking if there’s someone there who wronged her. He asks why she’s so twisted. She asks him if he knows her. He looks mad. Having this image of someone turn out so wrong can do that. But it’s almost like he’s mad at how she’s acting because he knows that she’s so much *more* than this. Joo Yun looks over at Se Ryung and asks if Se Ryung will lend her Wan, so she can explain why she’s so twisted. Wan laughs because he can’t believe her audacity. She walks closer to him, grabbing his lapel seductively. She seductively asks him if he’d like to leave with her, since it seems that he’s curious about a lot of things about her. He replies that she really is an irresponsible woman. She scoffs a laugh in reply and tells him to just worry about his own life. Then she walks off. And Wan looks after her like he can’t believe that she went, like he wants to call after her.
Now we hear him ask Se Ryung if she did something wrong to the Shing Shing look alike. His irritation/shock is even more explained and he doesn’t sound very happy. Se Ryung sounds philosophical as she muses, “I know, right? She lives her life with difficulty, Shin Joo Yun.” There’s a flash of “oh, crap” on Wan’s face as he clarifies *who* Se Ryung just said. When Se Ryung repeats that she was Shin Joo Yun, Wan is even more shocked, because it *was* Shing Shing. He blinks as he looks at the door where Joo Yun just left.
Because he didn’t catch her taxi, he takes a taxi to her house. As he walks up the steps to her door, he touches the stones of the wall along the staircase. It’s a place he remembers all too well. Tender music plays as he reconnects with a place that is vivid in his memory. He stands outside the door and remembers the last time he was there: the day he found out that he’s moving to America. Nine-year-old Wan is utterly distraught when Shing Shing comes outside. He’s doing the hyperventilating cry that you do when you cry really hard. Shing Shing asks Sweet Potato why he’s crying. He holds out her hand and tells her to hold onto what he’s holding. It’s one of his teeth. There’s a gap in his lower teeth and I wonder if he just now pulled it out. She asks what it is and he practically screams that she just needs to keep it! She wants to know why she has to keep this dirty thing. He sobs as he tells her that he has to go to the United States and he doesn’t have anything else to give to her. And my heart breaks just a little bit for Wan. Wow. His heart is so broken that he’s having to leave her. He tells her that it’s not just for traveling; he may not ever come back!
Shing Shing is kind as she asks Wan what he’s thinking, giving her the tooth. He sobs as he declares that if she keeps it, he will come to get it back. Aw. I really hope that she stuck it somewhere so she can find it later and remember who she is, how much she was loved. She smiles and kneels in front of him. She tells him that his heart hurts right now and he’s sad. But in times like this, don't get angry and yell. He just needs to speak his heart. How did she get to be so cold like she is now? Wan takes her words in and tries to stop sobbing as he says that he’s moving to the United States and that he’ll miss her. Still teaching him, she smiles and says, “That's right. That means we won't be able to see each anymore, right?” trying to encourage his comprehension of things. Wan declares that he will definitely come back! She smiles and stands and tenderly wipes away the tears from his cheek as she tells him to be sure to come back so that they can meet again. She strokes his hair tenderly, comfortingly, and Wan stops crying.
Present day Wan looks at the door and sighs. He pulls out his phone and calls Shing Shing. Joo Yun is at a shop, eating mussel soup. I love that soup! She pulls out her phone and sees that he’s calling. She grumbles but answers the phone with a “What again!?” Wan’s voiceover: “She was not a friendly woman at all.” Joo Yun tells at him about calling her again. Wan’s voiceover notes that Joo Yun is a woman who's made a habit out of hurting people. A shot of Wan, sad as he hears what she’s become. Joo Yun tells at him, telling him that she’s not an easy woman to meet! She tells him it was extremely hard dealing with him when they were children, calling him a snotty boy, and that she was constantly worried about getting in trouble with her mom if she made him cry. All things that could really hurt the guy who told her that he missed her.
Wan thinks that Joo Yun is a woman who just opens her mouth and venomous words come out. Which makes me laugh because it’s true. She yells at him, asking if she has to live like that again?! She calls him an unlucky guy and yells bye as she hangs up the phone. Her face is really bothered by this boy from her past bugging her. Probably reminds her of who she used to be, not just if it was a burden. Wan looks at his phone briefly, reacting to being hung up on as he thinks that Joo Yun is a bad and rude woman. He sadly sighs and looks like he wants to cry. Slowly he walks away from her house, a model’s walk, as he thinks that she became *that* kind of woman.
Wan rounds the corner and hears Joo Yun yelling at the ajumma about not being drunk and wanting one more bottle of Soju. He stops as he sees her. And she *is* drunk. Ajumma doesn’t want to give it to her. Wan enters and sits across from Joo Yun, his face waiting for the onslaught. He’s not angry or hard, just waiting. She laughs, not amused, and asks if he lives in the neighborhood. He slightly smiles and orders her that bottle of Soju. She adds a request for another glass, even though I don’t think Wan’s going to be drinking.
Wan looks back at Joo Yun and she remarks that she never asked him to sit down. There’s definite affection on his face as he listens to her talk. She can’t believe it… he didn't follow her did he? He smiles softly at the question and thinks, “She's become delusional (full of herself).” She tells him that ‘honestly’ she kind of likes him. She thought his DJing earlier was very good and she’s a fan. Wan thinks, “She even lies.” Joo Yun adds that he was 9th on the Billboard charts with “Now and Forever.” He’s looking at the Soju he’s pouring as he asks her if she’s even heard the song before. And I’m wondering if there’s a double meaning behind that question, because I really think it’s about her, about their relationship, and when she finally does hear it, it’s going to hit her like a ton of bricks how much she’s loved by someone. But she protests that of course she has and she’s his fan.
Looking at her, Wan tells her that if she’s his fan, she should know his name. He looks almost expectantly, hopefully, like if she’s really his fan that she will know that he’s Sweet Potato. She looks at him and then says that his name is Allen Joo. She giggles and he smiles softly, almost sadly, because she doesn’t know and she is lying about knowing who he is. She pours herself another glassful of Soju and chugs it. He asks her if her personality was always like this. She’s unclear what he means. Then she asks if he’s being like this because of what she did to Oh Se Ryung earlier. She tells him that she’s sure his first impression of her isn’t good because of it. She slightly smiles as she declares that she’s quite bad. Then dispassionately, she asks what the point is of living as a good person. The adage of “If you are kind, you'll be blessed,” is crap. Does *he* believe in words like that? He replies that if she did live that way, at least she wouldn't be drinking alone at this hour, because she’d have someone by her side.
Those words ring true for Joo Yun and she knows they’re true, but her defense mechanism won’t let her show that to a stranger. She smiles and concludes that Wan sat down at the table because she looks pitiful and lonely. Because on this chilly winter night, a girl is all by herself, without friends, without a lover, and is drinking. He looks down, because it’s true that he does hurt for her. She smiles and thoughtfully chugs another glass. Then she slaps the glass on the table and declares that he’s right: Nobody loves her. And my heart hurts for her. Wan can’t believe that she thinks that about herself. Joo Yun, denying the hurt, declares that she’s all right, smiling broadly, sarcastically. She laughs derisively and explains why she’s all right: Because she’s alone in this world anyway. Even when you’re with someone, you’re on your own. Also… she wasn't born to be loved. And I can relate to how she feels. You try for love and come up empty and so you conclude that you just must not be meant for that… And it hurts, but you pretend it doesn’t really.
Wan looks at Joo Yun, not reacting, as she declares that she was born to eat and live well on my own. And she *likes* it that way. She says that last part all coyly, like teasing about it will make it true and believable. Wan swallows, hurt that she’s so hurting, and asks if she’s always been this kind of woman. She stops smiling and nonchalantly asks where you would find a woman who's always been like this? Rather it's something that you come to understand as you live… it’s the universe's secret. Wan’s face asks what she mean. She explains: except for herself, everyone’s a stranger. She chuckles and pours herself some more Soju. He asks her if life isn’t hard, living, believing in that. Her hard face makes her next words a lie: Of course not, not at all. She declares that if people hate her for being like this, then she’ll hate them right back. It's really very simple. She starts to crack and admit that she’s sad as she says that there's no reason for her to look good to people who don't like her. She’s having a hard enough time liking back the people who *like* her. It's killing her!
Wan sadly looks at this woman that he loves. He swallows hard and can barely ask with a straight face, “Do you have people who love you?” This breaks Joo Yun’s façade, Her face falls and she looks like she’s fighting back the tears. She doesn’t answer until she can cheerily reply that she told him earlier, that nobody loves her. Almost in a whisper, she declares that even if she is in that situation, she is doing alright. And she is ripping out my heart for her. She is so alone and it makes me very, very sad for her. Wan looks at her, hurting, wanting her to not feel this way since he loves her, has always loved her. She won’t meet his eyes. She sighs and pinches her nose, declaring that she should go. She acts like everything is marvelous as she grabs her purse and walks away to pay her bill. Wan sighs and blinks as he hurts for her.
Joo Yun walks home, with Wan about 20 paces behind her. I don’t think she realizes he’s there. He definitely looks like he feels bad for, wants to go to her, but knows he won’t be welcome. As she climbs the steps to her door, she’s muttering about their conversation, asking what would be the reason for her to live kindly, since it’s all a trap that people use to set you up to stab you in the back. Living the way she is now is so easy and comfortable. She stumbles and drops her purse. Wan almost dives to pick it up but stops himself. He just waits.
Joo Yun has reached her door. She looks around suspiciously, still not seeing Wan. She declares that she needs to be careful keying in her passcode. She commands herself to pull together, since she can't trust anyone in this world. Wan is looking at her, surprised that she’s even being mean to herself when she’s drunk. She mutters that 2 times 9 is 18, her pass code [2918]. Wan laughs and breaks out into a wide smile at her, appreciating this person that he loves. She walks inside her house. He rubs his face, his mouth and nose, pinching it to squeeze away how it’s started to run a little from his wet eyes. He sighs and goes up to the number pad. He keys in her code and laughs as it opens the door. He starts to go inside but thinks the better of it.
Joo Yun plops onto her sofa with the television on. Of course it’s tuned to the competitor’s home shopping channel. She remembers moments of her relationship with Jung Ho: Them sitting on the couch and making out. When she goes into the kitchen for a drink, she remembers him teasing her about how she had nothing in the fridge but ginseng and water and him wanting them always to eat together. Joo Yun sips her ginseng and looks at the couple ring as she remembers discussing her glass of previous couple rings, how she keeps them to remind her not to give up on love.
Joo Yun goes into the bathroom and gets the couple ring glass. She drops the latest failed couple ring in the glass and, her eyes brimming with tears, whispers, “Except myself, everyone is a stranger. In the end, they become strangers.” And, man, I’m depressed for her. Kim So Yun is doing a fantastic job of making his cold woman so likeable, because she’s hard but there are cracks in the armor that you can just relate to…
The gang from work appear to cheer Joo Yun up. They basically have a slumber party featuring wine, with everyone dressed in pajamas from last season. Woo Young gets to wear Jung Ho’s. Hee Jae asks why Jung Ho dumped Joo Yun and Joo Yun protests that she wasn’t the dumpee. They mention that there might be a rumor that Jung Ho might have left because there was another woman. That’s why they always leave, because they think they’ve found something better. Joo Yun flashes on Se Ryung and THE NECKLACE and glowers for a moment before trying to act like it’s no big deal.
Then the gang discusses relationships. They tell Joo Yun that a new romance is right around the corner, of course. Which it is, but only because we already know that Wan is in love with her and is just waiting to make her feel loved. Normally, this would just be them saying things in hopes that they’ll be true, which they’re doing, since they don’t know what we know… Hee Jae is all for them, and is of course in one. Min Jung is not for them and doesn’t have a man (by choice, of course!). Min Jung declares that there are only two types of men: those who kiss well but have no soul and those who absolutely suck at kissing and have a soul. Woo Young asks about a man *with* soul, tapping his forehead to point at himself – since he *is* one – and Joo Yun and Min Jung declare they haven’t seen one yet. Heh.
Min Jung starts to blather about her one-night-stand but stops because Woo Young is there. He protests that it’s not like he hasn't heard her talk about things like that before. That’s enough for her to relate her escapade, although she declares that it’s a one-night stand that might not be a one-night stand. Because we wouldn’t want anyone to think she’s easy and shameful. Hee Jae was nervous about Min Jung hooking up with a guy she met on the internet, but Min Jung was confident that he was safe because she’d cyber-stalked him for the last 6 months. Facebook shows his name as Heidegger Ahn. She describes the meet and Woo Young chokes on his wine… *because she used his name.* But she’s totally confident that it’s not dangerous. Everyone is also appalled that Min Jung told him that she was *27.* Hee Jae can’t believe that he fell for it. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he likes cougars.
Later, Joo Yun and Min Jung are cleaning the dishes and Min Jung asks why Joo Yun was so cold to Se Ryung. Joo Yun is vague and only shrugs her shoulders to say ‘I don’t know.’ Way to talk about it.
The next day, Se Ryung meets Wan at the hotel – and I love the fact that he’s using a bike to travel. They stop by its café. She’s ordered him scrambled eggs. So they must know each other pretty well. And how does he *not* know her history with Joo Yun? He wants to know why she’s there so early and Se Ryung wants to know how he could have just left like that the night before. He avoids the question by asking her about the altercation with Joo Yun. Nice deflection. He says that it seems like Joo Yun didn't have a good relationship with Se Ryung. Se Ryung smiles and shakes her head, declaring that it’s nothing like that. Se Ryung likes Joo Yun. Wan’s surprised that she would like a woman who was so rude to her in public. Se Ryung says that they used to be close, like going to the restroom close. They were in the same class during high school. It ended because Se Ryung stole Joo Yun’s first love. Who was really in love with the ROCK. Hand gesture. And this explains why Joo Yun throws the easy/slutty moniker around. Se Ryung calls herself a Bad Woman and laughs. Wan isn’t sure how to take that.
Se Ryung sips her coffee and says that it's understandable that Joo Yun’s like that to her. Wan asks if Se Ryung apologized properly for it and Se Ryung didn’t. They just stopped being friends. Se Ryung says that Joo Yun didn’t ask why she did it or blame her; Joo Yun just ended the relationship. Se Ryung says she would have preferred if Joo Yun had slapped her than how she reacted; it was much scarier because there was no where to go after that. Wan tries to not react as he asks how Se Ryung could do that to Joo Yun. Se Ryung tells him that she admires Joo Yun because of how she carries herself: instead of just declaring her a man-stealing whore, which would have earned the wrath of everyone at the club last night – Joo Yun kept it to herself. Wan considers what Se Ryung said.
At work, Joo Yun and the gang arrive to see people discovering the winners of a bidding process for a new development project. Instead of being gracious like the rest of her team, Joo Yun declares the company backwards for not picking her team’s proposal. Way to earn friends; poo-pooing their work as old-fashioned. Joo Yun calls the company inflexible and backward in thinking, boring, and lacking in creativity. Sunbae Tae Yoon just happens by to hear her comments. Instead of being offended, he smiles to himself at her reaction. Of course, her co-workers are insulted at her diss of their winning work and Joo Yun rubs it in further by saying that the guy’s problem is that he’s just stuck in the present, instead of anticipating the trends.
Tae Yoon pipes up and asks Joo Yun if she thinks the judges are failures, because of what they picked. And another reason why I love her: Joo Yun sticks by her words and tells him that he should raise his standards. Tae Yoon tells her to come and speak with him in his office. Ooooo! Somebody’s in trouble. But Joo Yun’s reaction is not one of fear, but one of ‘of course he wants to see me, because I’m right.’
In his office, Tae Yoon tells Joo Yun to put down her bag and stand at attention. She tosses her purse on the table, with a protest, and crosses her arms in a huff. Tae Yoon calls her on her attitude and, nonplussed, she snarks back at him. He just looks at her until she gives him a little submissiveness. He asks her if she really thinks that the reason he didn’t pick her team’s proposal was because he’s old-fashioned. She grumbles that he probably thought her idea – Merchandisers scouting foreign designers and operating a multi-brand fashion store on TV home shopping network – was unrealistic. Tae Yoon asks her if she would trust him and follow his lead, if he had an alternative plan that could feasibly, financially work. She hopefully pouts as she asks if there could be one and Tae Yoon tells her she needs a very sexy plus alpha. What the heck does that mean? Plus alpha? Tae Yoon explains that she needs to find a style director who could add value to the quality and be the face of the brand. He compares it to being a styling director for a famous celebrity couple that I guess would equate with Posh and Becks. He tasks Joo Yun with finding that stylist and he’ll fund her project. And guess who’s a stylist? Hmmm… I wonder. That’s one way to finally resolve things, have to work together. Joo Yun, once she understands, gives him two thumbs up, showing her enthusiasm for his new assignment.
Her team gets to work immediately, onboard with the idea of selling shoppers on the concept of getting access to an elite stylist. Min Jung suggests Se Ryung and then hesitates, but Joo Yun says to put her on the list, because the is business, not personal. Jung Ho arrives in the cafeteria and Joo Yun hurriedly leaves, although she makes it look like she hasn’t a care in the world, even going over and smiling at Jung Ho as she wishes him a good meal. You can tell it bugs him that she’s not more upset.
Scenes of the team hard at work, with Joo Yun being a slight slave driver. In the evening, Hee Jae is at a convenience store falling asleep on her feet. Her boyfriend arrives and catches her when she doses off. He takes her back to her room – since it’s just *a room* – and gives her a foot bath and massage. She tells him she’s so tired, but she owes it to her sunbaes to work this hard. She adds that he needs to pass the civil service exam soon, so they can can get married, buy a house, have kids. They both smile over that idea.
The team enters their new digs and marvel at how spacious and awesome everything is. They profusely thank Tae Yoon for his confidence. There’s a spot up the stairs for the soon-to-be-named Style Director. Woo Young enters and announces that there’s a problem: the production director, Jung Ho, has turned in his resignation letter. This is really bad news because it leaves them with Producer Kang Chul, who Min Jung describes as an old ajusshi who focuses on the models' faces when he's supposed to show the clothes. Joo Yun promptly calls Jung Ho, gets his voicemail, and bawls him out for not being professional and resigning.
Since she couldn’t reach him by phone, she decides to head over to his house, still calling him as she travels there. When she arrives, she jumps out and furiously rings his doorbell. Jung Ho opens the door and she just pushes her way inside. She starts yelling at him for bailing on the team and letting his personal feelings interfere with work. He responds by asking why she’s acting so cool (like she doesn’t care) and making things about work.
Wan and Se Ryung arrive. Apparently the necklace *was* for her because Wan is dropping Se Ryung off at Jung Ho’s house. He laughs and notes that he’s dropping her off at a man’s house again.
Inside, Jung Ho tells Joo Yun that he can’t be like her, acting like nothing’s wrong. She starts to get teary-eyed as she asks him who said that nothing is wrong with her. She protests that she’s not fine, not okay. She almost breaks down in tears when Se Ryung walks in. Se Ryung takes in the scene, a shocked and horrified look momentarily on her face. Then she plasters on her smile and asks Jung Ho why he hasn’t left yet. Jung Ho looks down uncomfortably as Joo Yun glares at him, hurt by the betrayal. Even though we don’t *know* that they’ve done anything. I really suspect that they’ve haven’t, that it’s something else entirely that’s going on between them.
As Wan starts to drive away, Se Ryung’s phone rings. She’s left it in his car.
Joo Yun has risen from the couch and is walking towards Se Ryung. They face each other as she asks Se Ryung if it was her who causes their breakup. Se Ryung glances over at Jung Ho but doesn’t say anything as Joo Yun adds to her question that even this time, was it her? Se Ryung responds, “That’s right, trying to look like she doesn’t care, that it doesn’t mean anything. She smiles at Joo Yun as Joo Yun fingers the necklace and asks that even if it is her this time, what’s Joo Yun going to do about it? Joo Yun grabs the necklace, rips it off Se Ryung’s neck and throws it to the ground. Because the door is open, the two-ring pendant part rolls out the door and lands at Wan’s feet. He picks it up and looks at it and then climbs the steps.
Joo Yun slaps Se Ryung and then they glare at each other. Flashback by Joo Yun, where we see Se Ryung walking happily with the rock guy. Joo Yun thinks that when her first love ended the thing that hurt the most wasn't because the man was cheating, or the change in love, nor was it the man who betrayed me. It was because that girl was her friend. That’s what hurt the most.
Another flashback of their friendship where Se Ryung’s trying to help Joo Yun have her first kiss. They were really there for each other. Back in the present, as Wan enter the apartment, Se Ryung slaps Joo Yun back. He takes a step backward and Jung Ho stands in shock that she slapped back. Wan shift his weight, not sure what to do, since his friend is slapping this woman he loves. Joo Yun thinks that since Se Ryung’s betrayal, she stopped believing in the word called friendship. Ouch. Wow. That hurts me. She thinks that because it hurt so much., she couldn't even confront Se Ryung about it. But I guess not today, because… Joo Yun slaps Se Ryung again. Se Ryung slaps her right back.
Joo Yun screams and grabs Se Ryung’s hair. There’s hair pulling and crashing into things and yelling. Wan rushes in and grabs Joo Yun while Jung Ho grabs Se Ryung to separate the women. Joo Yun calls Se Ryung a wicked wench! Joo Yun thinks that today she found out, that if it's something to fight about, you should fight about it. And once you've decided to fight, you must win. Wan pulls her out of the house and down the steps. Wrist grab leading now. He thinks, “She has no sense of responsibility. Ah, what am I supposed to do with this woman?” I love that he’s mentally taking responsibility for her, because he loves her, even though they are not even together.
Wan sighs and asks Joo Yun if she really has to throw punches. She responds, asking him if he knows how many times she got hit, because she thinks it was more that Se Ryung. He crinkles his face and asks why that matters. She replies that she doesn't want to lose to Oh Se Ryung. Even if she loses to everyone else the world, she wont lose to Se Ryung. Wan sighs at her. Joo Yun spins around and asks if Wan’s car I Se Ryung’s car. Before he answers or realizes what she’s thinking, she starts attacking the car, kicking off the driver’s side mirror. She’s quite proud of herself as he looks horrified at his broken mirror. She starts to go to attack the other one, but Wan rolls across the hood and starts blocking the car with his body.
Joo Yun runs at Wan. They struggle and she shoves him at the wall. She runs for the car and he basically tackles her on the hood. She grabs his hair and they roll off the car, him landing back-first on the ground and her landing on top of him. I can’t tell if he hit his head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Brief tender moment of looking at each other and then Joo Yun realizes that she’s cut open her hand with the fall. She looks at her hand and announces that she’s bleeding. Wan looks at it and sighs. He then tells her that she’s heavier than he thought. I love that. He’s not afraid to insult her, even though it’s not really that mean. He suggests that she examine her wounds after standing up (and getting off of him), which brings her out of her daze. She realizes she’s lying on him and shoves herself up. Then she helps him stand up.
After they’re standing, Joo Yun looks briefly at her hand and then looks away like she’s trying to act demure. Wan asks her if she knows how fast his heart was beating? She looks at him surprised, and there’s a glimmer of hope in that face, too, like ‘you’re interested in me?’ Which he is but she doesn’t know that and he’s not acting like that either. She is ‘vain,’ like he was thinking before… Almost as if in response to the look, he nods indicating the other mirror and tells her he was worried that she would destroy that mirror, too. She tries to recover as she mutters, “Ah, that kind of heart beat.”
Joo Yun recover quickly. She clears her throat and declares that Wan’s girlfriend is cheating and he should be the one to destroy the side-view mirror, not her. She doesn’t understand why he stopped her. He firmly explains that it was *his* car! Joo Yun is shocked and horrified at this news. She covers her mouth with both hands and asks why he waited until now to say something. Matter-of-factly he points out that she didn’t really give him a chance to. Then he pulls her chain by mentioning getting the police involved. As he does, she suddenly sticks her hand in his face and says that she got the wound that’s there because of him. She declares that it’s what they call in Korea a “two-way mistake.” And she majorly distorts the law. Since it’s a double fault, they should settle it with words, but Wan’s not having it.
Teasing Joo Yun more, Wan asks whether or not what would really be fair is him smashing her side-view mirror. She races to get between him and her car as she asks him not to do that. Wan demands her car keys then, if she doesn't want him to destroy it. She’s scared of what he’s planning, but he just waves his hand in a ‘come on, let’s go!’ fashion, demanding those keys. As she hands over the keys, she tells him that she’s not sure what he’s thinking, btu she’s *not* an easy woman. He gestures toward the car and tells her to follow him. She starts to try to sweet talk him, telling him that his personality is very stubborn; if they go to the police station, nothing much will happen and they should just settle things with money. He stops her with a pointed hiss and leaning in toward her face as he stares into her eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just looks at her, so she gets into the car.
Next stop, police station. No, actually, he’s taken her to Mellon Pharmacy. And I go, aw, he’s taking her to go get her hand taken care of. That’s so sweet! Wrist escort inside the pharmacy. Wan lifts her hurt hand and shows it to the pharmacist, asking if they can treat it there. His face shows genuine concern. Joo Yun looks at him like she can’t believe he cares that much, that someone cares whether she’s hurt or not. He doesn’t look at her, but the pharmacist. Joo Yun looks away from his face, not sure what to do or what it means. The pharmacist produces the medicine and gives the price. There’s a pause and then Wan looks at Joo Yun and asks her whether she’s planning on paying or not. Heh. She’s shocked and he has no reaction to her face. She tries to cover her shock with a nervous laugh. Then she shoves his hand off her wrist so she can get her money. Wan makes a face like that’s something familiar and that he’s happy with that familiar thing. Wan adds that the injured person is supposed to pay for the medicine. He smiles a wide grin as he adds that that is how he’s been taught that things are done there in Korea. She mutteringly responds, asking who taught him such weird things.
They go out to a park and sit on a bench where Wan tends to her hand. There’s snow on the ground, so I’m really surprised they are outside for this. It looks nice, though. Romantic. As he’s treating her hand, it hurts and she tries to act like nothing’s wrong, even as she’s gritting her teeth and wincing. Wan tells her that he’s doing it gently. She nods, not looking at him. Gently, he asks if it hurts. She replies that she can endure it. He asks her if she’s the sort of woman who won’t say that she’s hurting. She replies that she doesn't need to over-exaggerate her pain with someone she doesn’t know that well. Wan smiles slightly at that one.
Wan asks her about her heart. Joo Yun looks at him. He asks if it’s okay, since her boyfriend cheated on her. Trying to sound detached, she tells him that anything between them ended the moment she left Jung Ho’s house. Wan tells her that he was a wild troublemaker in his youth and always fell down and hurt himself. Flashback of Shing Shing taking care of Sweet Potato’s boo-boos. She tells him to ask him mom for money for the medicine. She basically spent her entire monthly allowance on his medicine. She tells him that the person who gets injured is supposed to pay for the medicine.
Shing Shing applies the medicine to his hand. It obviously hurts, but Sweet Potato tries to act like it doesn’t. When she presses him, he protests that it doesn't hurt because he’s a man and he can endure all of it! Shing Shing smiles at his blustering. She asks him if he wants to become an attractive man. He retorts that he’s always been attractive. And Shing Shing and I laugh at that. Shing Shing tells him that what's really attractive is admitting that you're in pain when you are and being honest about it, not being worried about people’s opinions, but just being who you are. Sweet Potato is eating this up with a spoon and asks Shing Shing if she finds that type of man attractive. Shing Shing is adamant, saying it’s much more attractive than *pretending* to be a man. She puts the bandage on his hand and he tells her it hurts and asks if he’s attractive. She smiles tells him that he’s totally attractive!
Back in the present, Wan is putting a Winnie the Pooh bandage on Joo Yun’s hand and tells her that every time he got hurt, the person who treated me said that it’s more attractive to admit that you're in pain. He adds that because of that person, he learned how to speak with honesty, without making calculations about what the other person's thinking. He looks up at her. From her face I wonder if this all felt familiar. She tells him that the way that person thinks could have changed. After going through hard times in life, people do change. She’s not quite catching his eyes as she speaks. Wan responds that he thinks so, too.
Wan looks down at Joo Yun’s hand and says that that person became a really weird person, which is why his heart really hurts. As he adds the part about his heart, he looks at her. She’s still not meeting his eyes. He tells her that if it's possible, he wants to change her back to the way she was before. He smiles softly, fondly as he says it. As he finishes the sentence, Joo Yun looks into his eyes. Then she looks away and then down at her hand. She tells him thank you. He smiles at that.
They walk toward her car. Joo Yun holds out her hand and asks for her keys. Wan hands them over. .She gives him her card and tells him to send her his account information by text. She apologizes again for the side mirror and tells him she’s grateful for today. She starts to get in her car but Wan grabs her by the shoulders and spins her around. Almost like he’s going to kiss her. She looks up at him and I wonder if she’s thinking that, too. He tells her that she has a place she has to go with him. Her voice sounds like she’s thinking about that kiss when she asks “Where?” He tells her: Hotel, "Maison de Flore." She asks him if he’s asking her to go to a hotel… (for sex). Her mind *is* in the gutter! Heh.
Wan scrunches his eyebrows like he can’t believe that Joo Yun’s going there. Yes, Wan, she thinks you’re attractive! Not only are you physically attractive, but your personality is attractive, too. He starts to smile (laugh at her) and his eyes bulge for a millisecond as he thinks, “I can't take this anymore. Now, she's even reading between the lines.” He puts on a serious face and asks her, “Why? You don't want to?” She starts to laugh and I am laughing too. The way he says it is almost like a little boy trying to persuade someone. He watches her laugh, not changing his expression or looking away. She’s laughing several times, but never making eye contact. Then she looks at him and asks if he’s hitting on her right now? With a smile on her face. Jung Ho who? In response, he asks her whether, if he was, would she come? He ends the question with a smile on his face. She looks at, expression unreadable. And the episode ends!
Thoughts
Like I said at the beginning of my Episode One recap, I wanted these first two episodes back-to-back before attempting to recap and all I have to say is: ADDICTING. I love the two leads and the twists and quirks that they’re bringing to their characters. I love that Sung Joon’s Wan is so grounded, even as he isn’t quite conventional. And I love how confident and powerful Kim So Yun’s Joo Yun is, even as the weaknesses in her armor are being exposed. And they have *great chemistry!*
Where to start with my thoughts? I am liking how this seems to be taking a relatively real look at love and relationships in modern-day Korea, as much as a kdrama rom-com can take. Not everyone is chaste and virginal and the heroine is actually quite jaded. Plus it’s really refreshing to see men who are *not* jerks. Even Jung Ho, who broke our heroine’s heart and who looks like he’s having an affair, he’s not an arrogant jerk. So refreshing! And the women are real.
We’ve been presented with several characters and I think I’ll start with the second leads:
Tae Yoon is a very interesting character. We haven’t seen too much of him yet and the way that he interacts with the heroine, it’s obvious that they have been friends for a long time. From everything, it doesn’t seem like they’re going for the love triangle where the nice guy, best friend is pining for the heroine, even though it’s not going to happen, which I am grateful for. The synopsis says that he’s going to be the first man that Se Ryung’s ever really loved, so I hope that means good juicy romance between them. I do hope that we get some more characterization of him, though.
Se Ryung is someone that I like, if even she is a man stealer. And I don’t think that she’s stolen Jung Ho. I think it will be later revealed that they’re cousins or something like that. I like her because she’s not resentful of Joo Yun’s treatment of her, since she deserves it for stealing Joo Yun’s boyfriend. I like that she doesn’t get mad at Joo Yun even when Joo Yun’s being obnoxious. But I think that she (and Tae Yoon) are both going to be onions where the surface looks really fine, but you have to peel away layer after layer to get to the sweet stuff. I’ll be interested to see how she’s brought into the fold of work and when Wan will follow. Or rather, when Allen Joo will model for them. How did she and Wan become such good friends?
The Leads:
Joo Yun is a heroine with baggage and I love her. Kim So Yun has done a great job of making her witchy and sweet and hard and cold and vulnerable and cracked all at the same time. She is very human and someone that you can tell that life has made jaded. I’m curious to see what it’s going to be like for her to actually be loved by someone, because in those relationships with other men, she gave away her heart too quickly and easily, to people who didn’t deserve it or treasure it, and ended up getting hurt. To realize just how deeply she is loved by Wan, that’s going to melt her brain just a little.
Wan is… wow. I want one. He is thoughtful, introspective, creative and man does he love his woman. Even though, right now, I don’t know if he’s necessarily thinking that he’ll romance her, just that he loves her and wants her in his life. To watch him hurt *for* her is so lovely and heart breaking at the same time. I love him. I love how he loves her, unconditionally loves her, and how he is much wiser than his 26 years.
I do wonder how long Shing Shing is going to oblivious to the fact that Allen Joo is Sweet Potato. I can’t wait to see that one, when she figures it out. I can see her realizing it and because she can’t handle what his love means, she gets really ticked at him instead.
Love this show! And the episodes go *so* quickly. Bring on episode three!
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