Some truths come to light, and our heroes find themselves at a crossroads. The decisions they must make feel momentous, and doubt plagues their minds as they question their choices. However, like everything else in the world, things move on — both the good and the bad — so rather than let the past hold them back, our main couple learns to move forward, embracing their emotions and the uncertainty of tomorrow.
EPISODES 13-14
Before jumping into the aftermath of the Truck of Doom, the show takes a step back and delves deeper into Kyung-min and his relationship with Jung-woo. From the moment he stepped into Jung-woo’s house to work as a live-in tutor, the stifling atmosphere and his mom’s demeaning attitude were evident — even the way this woman breathes is laced with contempt. However, Jung-woo defied all expectations, warming up Kyung-min’s heart from the moment he entered, and they developed a familial bond closer than any other.
It only makes what he did to Jung-woo worse, and even Kyung-min knows that whatever he says or feels may only be an excuse. As if getting his karmic justice (in reality, it’s more akin to getting burned after playing with fire), Kyung-min is in critical condition after the accident. Unfortunately, so is Ha-neul who got caught in the crossfire, but thankfully, her surgery is a success.
While Ha-neul remains in the ICU still unconscious, Jung-woo keeps up a brave face for her family’s sake, but his façade breaks at work when he receives a note from his homeroom teacher — the one Ha-neul wrote the day they both fainted. He realizes that she has been a part of his life for so long, and even now, she somehow manages to comfort him. As Jung-woo cries, he gets notified about Ha-neul’s recovery and rushes to her side.
The moment Jung-woo sees Ha-neul awake, he finally understands his feelings, which can only be described as love, and immediately confesses to her. Jung-woo, though, isn’t the only one who wants to dote on Ha-neul, so our lovesick puppy cheats his way into becoming her overnight attendant and ushers her family out before they can protest. Once alone, he takes this chance to pamper her, and while he has tons of questions about the accident, he puts them on hold since her well-being and happiness come first.
Despite Jung-woo’s attempts to give Ha-neul some time before sharing her story, the truth unveils itself to him when his ex-colleague shows up. The anesthesiologist informs him of a seventh camera he hid, but in reality, this was a test — one that Kyung-min failed. The anesthesiologist tells Jung-woo that Kyung-min reacted strangely, saying that it wasn’t his fault, which implies that he did something wrong in the first place.
Confirming his fears, Jung-woo gets updated by the police that Kyung-min was, in fact, his other stalker, and Ha-neul helped identify him. He also hears the dashcam recording of the accident and the harrowing collision that almost took her life. Distressed and angered, he confronts Ha-neul for her reckless behavior and asks why she risked her life for him. He leaves her in tears, but a while later, a flower basket he ordered beforehand gets delivered to her room.
Ha-neul finds Jung-woo sitting outside and apologizes. She tells him that she met with Kyung-min on the slim chance of being wrong about him, but even if she went back, she would not have told him the truth easily. She says that he is just now recovering, so how could she inflict more pain on him? As tears pool in her eyes, Ha-neul recalls the first time she nearly died, but unlike then, this time, all she could think of was him and how she didn’t even get to tell him that she loves him.
For some, the rain signals new beginnings, a washing away of pain, or a promise to uphold — but for our leads, it symbolizes a hope that this current sadness will eventually go away, too. As they sit under the rain, Ha-neul tells Jung-woo that the conversation after the accident was more important and reveals a bit more of Kyung-min’s backstory.
While tutoring Jung-woo, Kyung-min asked his mom if he could take just two hours to see his dad, but she coldly reminded him that her son’s test was three weeks away. That one decision had devasting consequences, and Kyung-min found himself at his dad’s funeral with a detective asking why he never came to pick him up. Thus, Kyung-min drugged Jung-woo in order to inflict his family with the same pain they caused him, but in the end, all the choices he made were his own. His circumstances may explain his actions, but they can never justify them.
Jung-woo stops by Kyung-min’s bed in the ICU, and through ragged breaths, Kyung-min tells him that he really did not know the accident would take place in his clinic until the day before and tried his best to dissuade them. Jung-woo glares at his hyung, telling him that he does not deserve his forgiveness, but Kyung-min does not expect it. Rather, he hopes Jung-woo won’t waste anymore time hating him and learn to move on even if he dies. Torn between indignation and pity, Jung-woo leaves without answering him.
Seeing Jung-woo guilt-ridden by his decision, Ha-neul assures him that he should only forgive Kyung-min once he is fully ready, and for once, he should put his feelings first because he deserves comfort, too. Jung-woo admits that he cannot forgive Kyung-min right now, and Ha-neul hugs him, telling him that it’s okay. Not long after, Kyung-min passes, and Jung-woo takes out a black suit (like the one Kyung-min promised to buy him) and mourns the hyung he lost.
The news of Kyung-min’s involvement in the case gets publicized, but since he died, all charges are dropped. In order to tie up loose ends, Jung-woo meets with the nurse who betrayed him and learns that Kyung-min was telling the truth. He did try to stop the medical accident, hoping that the patient would at least not die on Jung-woo’s table. A series of what ifs plague our heroes as they wonder what they could have done to stop this tragedy, and unable to process their own pain, they both deal with their current situation by pretending everything is fine.
In the midst of all these misfortunes, a ray of light shines on Ha-neul as she gets an offer from her old hospital for the assistant professor position she always wanted. Despite the good news, a part of her feels guilty for being excited since she believes the reason it opened up is directly tied to so many people’s sufferings, including Jung-woo’s.
While our leads wrestle with these emotions, the annual family trip to Busan comes up, and Jung-woo asks if he can tag along. The ride down turns into a series of roadblocks from spilled drinks to a flat tire, but in spite of all these mishaps, they make it to their destination in one piece: Dad’s burial. Jung-woo gives the family some space, expecting a somber affair, but is surprised to see everyone laughing and celebrating life instead of grieving it.
Afterwards, he finds a quiet moment alone with Ha-neul’s mom and asks how long it took her to feel at peace with lost because currently he is struggling with it. He tells her that he keeps remembering the good moments with Kyung-min, specifically the time he showed up to his graduation just days after his dad died while his own parents couldn’t even bother to attend. She tells Jung-woo that holding onto hate hurts him more in the long run but asking him to forgive would be too cruel. Instead, she advises him to wait and let time heal him.
As Jung-woo finds solace in Mom’s wisdom, Ha-neul receives an answer to her problem from her uncle. He saw a text about the job offer and reminds her of the reason she chose anesthesiology in the first place: to comfort patients just like that one doctor did for her during her dad’s last surgery. He tells her to return to where she belongs, which is just the push she needed to move forward.
Both Ha-neul and Jung-woo feel a bit lighter after their respective talks and open up to each other about their recent musings. He shares about his conflicted emotions towards his parents, and she informs him of the new position and her hesitations. Unlike her worries, Jung-woo fully supports her dreams and genuinely congratulates her. As they turn their attention to the fireworks show, Ha-neul contemplates how everything disappears, but in exchange, memories take their place, which means they can choose what they hold onto.
Now that Ha-neul has decided to move on, the clinic holds a farewell party for her, and Hong-ran is invited as well. Her outings with Dae-young have increased as of late, but their undefined relationship hits a snag when the other nurses link him with a coworker. Of course, Dae-young only has eyes for Hong-ran, and after the party, he tells her that he wants to be her boyfriend. Before she can answer, Nurse Do comes out to return his wallet and accidentally trips and kisses him. However, from her disgusted response, I’d wager this love triangle is safely nonexistent.
With Ha-neul returning to her old job (hopefully with a better work-life balance), Jung-woo spends his nights making dumplings and cleaning his room, but all his waiting yields no results. As they continue missing each other due to her busy schedule, Jung-woo finally gets a portion of his money back from all his canceled contracts and decides to spend it in a meaningful way that would allow him to see Ha-neul more. He drops by her office to tell her his plans, and she tenses up while waiting for his announcement.
He proudly shows her a picture of a little girl and explains how he volunteered to operate on her at this hospital. As planned, they get to spend more time together, and Ha-neul stares at her boyfriend, commenting on how amazing he is. She does wonder, though, why he worded his plan so oddly, accidentally admitting to feeling nervous that day. Jung-woo mischievously asks what she expected, but Ha-neul gets her revenge by teasing him with a peck on the neck. While she returns to their research, Jung-woo pulls out a ring from his bag. Do I hear wedding bells?
While last week was admittedly a bump in the road, I think these two episodes were much better and reminded me of everything I love about this show. Even Kyung-min who I assumed would be a flat character turned out to be much more layered than I imagined, showing how people can be wonderful yet terrible at the same time. The thing I appreciated most about his character was that he recognized his actions were inexcusable, and he used his dying breath to unburden Jung-woo of any guilt and anger he may hold. As usual, the show allowed its characters to heal at their own pace and approached the topic of forgiveness with nuance. They acknowledged the duality of Jung-woo’s pain as one of betrayal and loss while also giving him room to grieve without taking away from his anger. These feelings can coexist, and I thought the moments with Jung-woo crying over the black suit and his talk with Ha-neul’s mom were poignant because emotions are messy and rarely clean-cut.
The overall message of the show about healing and moving forward are wonderful on their own, but watching these two episodes, I was reminded again that the reason for my visceral attachment to this show pertains to the inherent implication of haste — or in this case, the absence thereof. Whereas so many shows (and society writ large) preach a hustle culture that shames rest as a moral failure — thankfully counterculture does exist — Doctor Slump provides an antithesis. “Time heals all wounds” may be an outdated adage, but that isn’t the ultimate point of the show. Through our overachieving heroes, the show relays the importance of stepping back and slowing down. A slump can be tough, and while no one should willingly stay in a slump, that’s often not a conscious choice. As a result, healing should be everyone’s goal, but that can take many shapes and follow varied paths. No two experiences are the same, and just as Jung-woo and Ha-neul are still learning to find balance and love themselves, it’s okay in the meantime to struggle, hold onto hurt feelings, and fail. Everyone has their lows, and sometimes that reassurance is all a person needs to realize that their rainy days will pass one day, too.