Love is in the air this week — while our heroine starts to catch feelings, her romantic rival has decided it’s time to make proactive advances. Meanwhile, our hero may be clinging to the past, but his heart is in the present. He’ll need to tread carefully, though, because a certain CEO has caught onto his supernatural scent.
EPISODES 9-10
Now that he’s realized Woo-hyul is a vampire, Do-shik tries to test the waters by asking In-hae if she’s noticed anything strange about her housemate. Do-shik’s fishing for information, but he doesn’t get any; In-hae deflects his suspicions, coming to Woo-hyul’s defense as best as she can.
Later that day, Woo-hyul returns home in a funk, having had his entire existence thrown into turmoil with the news that his lifespan may not last much longer. In-hae’s perceptive, and she clocks his downcast demeanor, but Woo-hyul pretends nothing is wrong when she expresses concern.
Woo-hyul’s mood only gets worse when he accidentally overhears a conversation between In-hae and Hae-won, in which In-hae admits that she has no plans of dating Do-shik for the time being. With his matchmaker scheme utterly thwarted, Woo-hyul can barely enjoy his date with Hae-won. She points out how beautiful the flower field is, but Woo-hyul muses that when he looks at the daffodils in full bloom, all he can think about is how they will soon wither.
Bottling his troubles up has only made them simmer and fester, and Woo-hyul eventually ends up lashing out at In-hae. Yes, it’s all her fault — for opening the coffin, for ruining his plans, and for having poisonous blood. Storming out, Woo-hyul heads to his buddies’ rooftop haunt, where he drowns his sorrows in instant ramyun and junk food.
The guesthouse welcomes its second lodger, who’s a jovial and chatty dad who makes a delicious breakfast of French toast for In-hae and her other guest like they’re his daughters. It soon becomes clear why, when Toast Dad opens up about how he’s drifted apart from his wife and daughter living overseas. On the rare occasions he’s able to visit, he can’t help but wonder if they find his presence burdensome.
In response, In-hae comforts him by sharing her story. She resented her missing father for a while, feeling like he abandoned her, but she soon realized that she missed him more than anything, and that she simply wishes he’s alive and well somewhere. On his way back from taking out the trash, Woo-hyul overhears In-hae’s honest words, and it puts her life thus far into perspective. Woo-hyul may have lost a dependable butler, but In-hae has lost a dear parent.
The neighborhood night patrol brings our duo together again, and Woo-hyul takes the chance to finally initiate a conversation. Still peeved, In-hae brushes Woo-hyul off, but a sincere apology from him finally gets her to speak — and she starts scolding him for staying out all night and shirking his guesthouse duties, though her words are clearly laced with concern.
As they walk back, In-hae admits that she has never experienced love, and she doesn’t think she ever will — the chances of her falling in love are the same as the likelihood of flowers blooming on the dead tree in their front yard. It’s an offhand comparison, but Woo-hyul’s gaze lingers on the tree, as if contemplating her words deeply.
The next night, In-hae returns home to glowing fairy lights on the tree, looking just like flowers in bloom. Moved by Woo-hyul’s thoughtful gesture, In-hae asks if there’s any way she can help him become human. Woo-hyul finally comes clean about needing her lovestruck blood, though it’s met with much confusion on In-hae’s part. How is she supposed to infuse her blood with love?
Confiding in his buddies about his current predicament, Woo-hyul decides to take their advice. Life is all about give and take, so our considerate vampire proposes a deal in exchange for In-hae’s blood. Woo-hyul offers to leave the mansion for good once he’s human, but the thought doesn’t please In-hae as much as it once used to. Aw, he’s grown on her!
Troublemaker Man-hwi decides to add trespassing to his ever-growing list of crimes this week, when he sneaks into Woo-hyul’s basement lair and discovers his painting of Hae-sun. He steals it to show Hae-won, and it only intrigues her further. Paying Woo-hyul a visit, Hae-won asks if she can see his basement room. Woo-hyul obliges, and when she asks about Hae-sun, he admits that she died a long time ago, and it felt like she came back to life when he saw Hae-won.
Finding Woo-hyul’s mysterious past too fascinating to resist, Hae-won suggests that In-hae throw a retro-themed party at the guesthouse. Not only will it attract more guests, but it’ll also serve as the perfect opportunity for Hae-won to ask Woo-hyul out. That last part bothers In-hae, but she doesn’t realize why.
As usual, Woo-hyul must maintain his title of fashion king, so he pays a visit to the tailor shop. To his surprise, the shopkeeper recognizes his name; it turns out Butler Joo commissioned a custom suit years ago, instructing the tailor to hold on to it until Woo-hyul comes to claim it. Woo-hyul relays the encounter to In-hae, and it rekindles a flicker of hope in her, though the lead is a dead end for now.
With Woo-hyul’s vampire friends pitching in to help with the preparations, the party launches to great success, ushering in an impressive turnout and a lively atmosphere. Amidst the crowd, Woo-hyul finds his gaze unconsciously drifting from Hae-won to In-hae. The same goes for her; tipsy from the drinks, In-hae follows Woo-hyul outside, where she confesses that she likes the mansion because Woo-hyul is here — so won’t he reconsider leaving, and stay here instead?
When they return to the party, the crowd chants enthusiastically for the hosts to take the dance floor. In-hae tries to usher Woo-hyul towards Hae-won, but Woo-hyul takes her hand instead, unwittingly thwarting Hae-won’s chance at the spotlight. Woo-hyul leads In-hae in a waltz, and as their gazes meet, it’s clear to Do-shik, Hae-won, and everyone else in the audience that sparks are flying.
Squee! I love the progression of Woo-hyul and In-hae’s relationship — as shown in the flashback montage, it’s been a gradual and organic growth process from petty bickering, to grudging respect, to comfortable camaraderie. I realized that Do-shik’s benevolence towards In-hae may know no bounds, but while he goes above and beyond to be considerate of her, his eagerness to support her sometimes causes him to overlook the unique quirks that make In-hae, In-hae.
Conversely, Woo-hyul may not be the most generous or courteous, but he pays attention to the details and sees In-hae for who she truly is. Do-shik may be capable of grand gestures that boost In-hae to greater heights, but sometimes In-hae just needs someone to reassure her that she can let her hair down and enjoy a night of partying.
Talking about Do-shik, his sudden chest pains landed him in the hospital this week, and his condition is looking more dire by the minute. With his time ticking down, Do-shik sees no other choice than to follow the instructions recorded in his family heirloom in order to cure his ailing heart — he must find a half vampire, identifiable by a scar, then carve their heart out and drink their blood. Oh dear. He’s already made it clear to Woo-hyul how much his cohabitation with In-hae perturbs him, so now that Woo-hyul is starting to emerge as a proper romantic rival, who knows what else Do-shik might feel compelled to do.
It struck me this week that our leads have all led fairly lonely lives. That’s clear as day when it comes to our main pair; In-hae had to fend for herself growing up, while Woo-hyul spent centuries in longing. Yet even our second leads, who seem like they have it all, are also isolated in their own way. The hotshot CEO Do-shik yearns for the simplicity of his bygone college days, and Hae-won, for all her self-assured affability, seems to hold herself at a distance from others.
It’s why I’m glad the mansion-turned-guesthouse brought these four together — they’ve all been craving connection and companionship, even if they aren’t consciously aware of it. If not for the tangled love lines and conflicting goals, they would’ve made a solid quartet. Unfortunately, it seems the train has long since left that station. I’m hoping they can all at least remain friends by the time cupid’s arrows are sorted out — that’s not wishful thinking, is it?