We dig a little deeper into our three musketeers this week, and the cracks are beginning to show in their relationships. Our two Dads are put through the wringer, and it appears we are going to have a very bumpy ride in the weeks to come. It may be worth arming yourself with some tissues before we dive in, because ugly crying is definitely on the menu. (And it’s only Week 2!)
EPISODES 3-4
Let’s start with Hae-joon’s entire world being shaken up after the arrival of “Real Dad” (Lee Jong-hyuk) last week. We see the entirety of the bombshell conversation they had and Real Dad is acting pretty shifty, pretending to get a phone call so he doesn’t have to answer Hae-joon’s questions. Real Dad lays it on thick; he didn’t know he had a son – they’re flesh and blood – yadda yadda yadda. And Hae-joon really wants to believe him. His naivety is endearing, but it seems to me like it could become his undoing in the future. Hae-joon is so distracted he gets sent home from basketball practice, misses his stop on the bus, and totally spaces out at dinner.
It’s touching to see the bond between the two boys when San-ha notices something is off with Hae-joon, and has a quiet chat alone with him to find out what’s going on. Hae-joon opens up about meeting his “real dad” and how it makes him feel bad for Dad Yoon because he was kind of glad about it. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, San-ha definitely isn’t naive — in fact he’s quite the opposite. San-ha suggests to Hae-joon that they need more than monolids to confirm this man is his real dad. *snorts on coffee* (He has a point.) Who knew San-ha had a funny bone? San-ha asks Hae-joon if Real Dad looked healthy – does he need an organ? *Inhaled half the cup – coughing and dying* But as a serious suggestion, San-ha thinks they should ask his aunt about Real Dad to see what she knows.
Our two boys go together to meet Hae-joon’s aunt at her workplace. (Side note: I love how San-ha is holding Hae-joon’s hand through this; it pulls on my heartstrings.) Hae-joon’s aunt does not respond well to hearing that Real Dad went to see Hae-joon, and she gives Hae-joon an ultimatum right off the bat: if Hae-joon is going to see Real Dad again than he will never see her again. Harsh.
When Hae-joon questions her about her reaction, she explains that Real Dad abandoned Hae-joon and his mum – when mum was pregnant with him. Real Dad proceeded to run off with and marry the daughter of a wealthy family and cut off Hae-joon and his mum all together. Even though I understand her anger here, this entire reaction (shaking included) feels disproportionate to her reasoning. Maybe that’s just me?
Together, the boys decide to confront Real Dad the next day, in spite of promising Aunt that they wouldn’t. Hae-joon is pissed that Real Dad lied to him and it shows – the first words to leave Hae-joon’s mouth are: “Is it my organs?” *Snickering so much at San-ha’s reaction that I had to pause it not to miss the conversation*
Hae-joon lets Real Dad know he’s not interested in seeing him again after learning the truth. It turns out Real Dad needs an heir to his empire — that’s why he’s interested in Hae-joon after all this time. He doesn’t want his wife and her family to get his assets and property. What a prince. This dude makes my skin crawl. After a petty jibe from Real Dad to the boys (because that’s what adults do), the boys leave and Hae-joon tells Real Dad to never contact him again.
As insightful as ever, San-ha points out to Hae-joon that his mum probably had her reasons for leaving — but why did his aunt create this situation? (A very good question.) Hae-joon thinks it was for his sake, and San-ha suggests maybe she thought Hae-joon couldn’t handle the situation. (To me this is interesting… is the aunt on Hae-joon’s side?) Hae-joon begs San-ha to keep this whole thing quiet (from Dad Yoon and Joo-won), but I fear it is too late, as we see Real Dad’s gaudy yellow sports car rock up at Dad Yoon’s noodle place.
At first Dad Yoon is flabbergasted and completely unprepared for this meeting with Real Dad. Things are made worse when Real Dad hands Dad Yoon an envelope full of money to “compensate” him for looking after Hae-joon for the last decade. And by “compensate” what Real Dad means is to ignore what Hae-joon wants and get Dad Yoon to “hand him over” to Real Dad. Urgh! Real Dad’s plan is to change Hae-joon’s last name to his surname, get him a passport, and take him to the States. Everybody needs a dad like Dad Yoon: he slides the envelope back over to Real Dad and reminds Real Dad that he (Dad Yoon) is Hae-joon’s guardian.
In the sweetest and most genuine exchange, Dad tells Hae-joon if he wants to go with Real Dad he wouldn’t stop him, but he wishes he wouldn’t go. Dad Yoon continues that he would like to keep cooking Hae-joon’s meals and ironing his uniform at least until he graduates. (The emotion flooding off these two actors has tears streaming down my face through this.) Through his sobs, Hae-joon finally speaks and confesses to Dad Yoon that he was afraid Dad Yoon would tell him to go. Hae-joon chokes out that he was only supposed to stay with Dad Yoon until his mum came for him, but Real Dad came instead and he thought he would be made to leave. *Ugly crying like I didn’t know I could* This was so touching and heartbreaking at the same time. Dad Yoon just wants Hae-joon to feel safe and wanted, but Hae-joon’s abandonment issues leave him on unsteady footing — probably more than even he realizes.
We jump from emotional heartbreak with Hae-joon, to heartbreak and anger with San-ha. San-ha’s mum is back in town with a young child in tow and designs on making San-ha move in with her. (Is this woman for real?) San-ha agrees to have a coffee with his mum and he has the sole intention of telling her to go and live a happy life – away from him. Mum is quite nasty to San-ha, and she still blames him for his younger sister’s death and insists San-ha meet his new half-sibling. Needless to say, this turns into a heated exchange and San-ha leaves being plagued with flashbacks of his sister’s demise. (This seems to be common for him — even after all of these years he doesn’t sleep well and often has flashes of his past running through his mind.) San-ha is so discombobulated he nearly meets a white Truck of Doom head on. As mature and level-headed as San-ha is, it’s apparent that he needs to come to terms with his past in one way or another in order to move forward.
We’re in for another heated exchange with San-ha’s mum (honestly at this point I wouldn’t mind a heated exchange with this woman) when she goes to visit Dad Kim at work and things turn truthful and ugly. They go for a meal that San-ha’s mum looks down on. She then informs Dad Kim she wants San-ha to go with her to Seoul because she can get him into college admissions consultations. (Is San-ha a trophy now that he’s a promising young adult? Sheesh.) Dad Kim reacts exactly how I would expect him to. So when San-ha’s mum tells Dad Kim San-ha is “old enough to understand her now,” talk about red rag to a bull! Dad Kim puts San-ha’s mum firmly in her place, but this woman seems to be completely incapable of reading the room.
In an underhanded tactic, San-ha’s mum rocks up to Dad Yoon’s noodle place with her new child. San-ha’s mum is planning on ambushing San-ha with a child that she gloats looks just like his sister who died. (Wicked – just wicked.) San-ha’s mum declares she’s going to take San-ha to Seoul, and that family should live with family. After abandoning San-ha and trying to manipulate him, I can’t believe what I’m seeing and hearing. San-ha is a lot more self-aware than our other musketeers, and this works in his favor when it comes to his mum. San-ha tells his mum he does live with his family – here – and his opinion should matter in this.
Our last scene is San-ha leaving this meeting with his mum, and he’s being followed by Hae-joon. Hae-joon has let his abandonment issues rear their ugly head again, and he projects this onto San-ha. Hae-joon pleads with San-ha to give his mum a chance. (A chance Hae-joon hasn’t had with his own mother – one he desperately wants.) San-ha however, recognizes the difference in their situations and the boys end up in a scuffle. The ending shot is San-ha lying on the floor after being punched by Hae-joon. *Puts head in hands*
San-ha has already explained to Hae-joon that he wants to leave the toxic relationship with his mum in the past. San-ha doesn’t want to highlight that his sister’s death wasn’t his fault (I’m so relieved he knows this), and he thinks his mum must have had her reasons to leave them alone for two days with no food (and I hope they’re good ones). So for Hae-joon to react like this makes me a little sad for both boys. These are some big emotions and some big doubts/worries for two teenagers to be dealing with.
There has been a little more insight into Joo-won this week too, when she finds out she has a secret admirer. After scouring the school she finds out who it is and they go on a date. Swept up in what she’s hoping is a budding romance, Joo-won is brought down to earth with a bump when Joo-won’s date comments on how she’s a surprisingly cheery person for being from a single parent family. What a way to kill the mood; Joo-won is less than impressed. Joo-won tells her date to pretend it never happened as she leaves him on the side of the road to go home and eat with her family. (It is both surprising and delightful how much food this girl can put away.)
When the boys ask about her date she tells them it’s all off because… her date hates cake! HA! When people are mean to our trio it does affect Joo-won, but she seems to cope with it better than both the boys. Joo-won will eat something sweet to feel better and put a smile on her face, but unlike Hae-joon it doesn’t feel like she’s wearing a mask. Joo-won seems to be more acceptant and firm in her beliefs, and for the most part she doesn’t really care anyway because she’s happy with her family how it is. The other two musketeers could learn a thing or two from Joo-won.
To me it seems San-ha is the “mother hen” who looks after both Hae-joon and Joo-won. When the boys find out about what Joo-won’s date said to her, San-ha tries to get to the bottom of it and tells Joo-won that he and Hae-joon will only be okay if she is okay. In the same breath I would say Joo-won looks out for San-ha; she doesn’t leave him alone in hard situations and she saved him from his near-fatal run in with the Truck of Doom. It feels like San-ha has hidden feelings for Joo-won from some glances he’s given her in this week’s episodes, and I’m intrigued to see how that will play out in the coming weeks.
One of my favourite things about this week was the dad’s bond. Both dads got hit with cannon fodder this week when trying to help the boys navigate their difficult parental situations and helping the boys fight for what they want. Both dads cope by drinking soju and being there for each other — co-parenting at its best if you ask me. It’s nerve-wracking to think what other bombshells are going to come and blow up everyone’s lives next week. But I’m fully invested and truly hope that they can overcome it with their chosen family to back them up.