It’s a chill week in serendipity’s corner, and we get confessions, confirmation of feelings, and a truckload of smiles. Our hero finally gets his lady love after ten years of longing, but how long can his happiness last when he hasn’t properly resolved the issue that drove them apart in the first place?
EPISODES 5-6
Our serendipitous love story resumes from last week’s dead fish kiss, and Hong-joo puts us out of our misery by pulling away. She tries to brush it off as a prank, but Hoo-young replies that it was never a prank. Not now, not ten years ago. “I liked you then, and I like you now.” Hoo-young has to remind Hong-joo to breathe after his confession, and she turns him down as she takes in air. “I didn’t like you then, and I don’t like you now. And I won’t ever like you,” she replies. Whoa! Slow down, sis. Hong-joo attempts to pull the “we’re friends” card, but Hoo-young reminds her that they’ve already kissed. It’s time to start thinking seriously about if they’re just friends and nothing else.
While Hoo-young is happy and relieved to have finally confessed, uncle Wook is worried that his nephew still hasn’t returned to the head office. Is he going to quit his job when there’s no guarantee that things will work out between him and Hong-joo? “What’s first love anyway that you’d risk everything for it?” Uncle asks — and he’s in a shitty mood because his first love and Hong-joo’s boss, BAE HYE-SOOK (Yoon Jung-hee), is driving him crazy with her choice of parking space outside their office building. Petty Hye-sook is holding a grudge because she was saving up to buy the building and Wook bought it first. Lol. Real estate waits for no one, ma’am.
Hong-joo begins to avoid Hoo-young after his confession. And in a flashback to their high school days, we see her at the bus stop excited to show him her newly filled — animation director — career form. But he’d left before she crossed the road, and she later found out that he emigrated to the States. Maybe his abrupt departure is why she’s hesitant to start anything with him. “I can be happy without a relationship,” Hong-joo declares — but not when she’s got meddling friends. Heh.
Sang-pil ropes Hong-joo into a beach trip with Hoo-young, and Wook and Hye-ji are also invited. Hye-ji has been looking to buy Kyung-taek a meal for going along with their fake relationship the other day, so she brings him along too. But on their way, Hye-ji learns that her dad has arranged for a blind date between Kyung-taek and her sister, and she’s disappointed because she has already started catching feelings for him. Awww. Hye-ji, part jokingly, part seriously asks Kyung-taek if he’d like to date her instead, and he malfunctions again — before denying having any such feelings for her. Mr. Robot, please!
Despite the rejection, Hye-ji intends to pursue her feelings for Kyung-taek, and Hong-joo asks if Hye-ji isn’t afraid of losing everything — the good relationship with him, the memories and even Kyung-taek himself. Of course Hye-ji is afraid, but she wants to try regardless. Hye-ji’s determination encourages Hong-joo to warm up to the idea of dating Hoo-young, but commitment is not an easy decision when she’s had major people in her life walk away: her mom, her aunt, and Joon-ho.
Hong-joo eventually decides to take a leap of faith, and she tells Hoo-young she doesn’t want him to go back to the U.S. “I’m not going,” he replies, and we get a proper kiss. Cue: Hong-joo and Hoo-young’s cheesy dating era, with pockets of cute awkwardness here and there. Hehe. When they return to Seoul, we learn that Hoo-young already sent his resignation to the head office, and he tells Wook not to mention this to Hong-joo yet. Hmmm. Isn’t it too early in the relationship to start keeping secrets? But I suppose Mr. Reckless in Love has a plan.
Hye-ji third-wheels Hong-joo and Hoo-young’s first date because Kyung-tae is sick and he can’t hang out with her. But Hoo-young did not wait ten years to reunite with his first love just so he can wait a second longer to hang out with her alone. He drives Hye-ji to Kyung-taek’s house to go be with her sick crush — and he’d relocate with Hong-joo to the moon no questions asked if it guaranteed alone time with her. It does, actually, but that’s not the point.
Hye-ji meets Kyung-tae’s mom who likes her immediately, and Mom is already printing wedding invitations in her head. But Kyung-tae firmly maintains that there’s nothing going on between him and Hye-ji, and this is Hye-ji’s last straw. Honestly, I’m not sure why the many denials when from all indications, Kyung-tae likes her. I don’t think I’ve seen a second lead couple serve more angst than the main leads, but here we are. And it’s just unnecessary in this case.
Anyway, back to our lead couple and their cute love, Hong-joo wants to know what Hoo-young likes about her, but he also doesn’t know. According to Hoo-young, when Hong-joo calls his name, his heart beats so fast it aches. He doesn’t know when it started, he just found himself waiting for her to call his name. That’s when he knew he liked her. “I really don’t know what I like about you or why I like you. You never gave me time to get used to you,” he says, and she replies that neither did he. The good news is, now they’ve got enough time to get used to each other. Or do they?
Like a wrecking ball, Hoo-young’s mom and boss, BAEK DO-SEON (Kim Jung-nan), arrives in Korea with one goal in mind: to take her son with her back to the States. It would seem that Hoo-young’s parents had issues before Mom took him abroad, and Mom has zero love for Seoul and everything it represents — Hong-joo included. But while Hoo-young has gone with his mom’s plans for him for most of his life, this time, he intends to start making his own decisions. Unfortunately, when two stubborn elephants fight, it’s the grass — in this case, uncle Wook — that suffers. Prayers up for Uncle, because he is going through a lot at this time.
The week ends with Hong-joo resuming for work at Joon-ho’s studio because Hye-sook came up with the bright idea of sending Madam Producer to work on the Avant Garde project from Mr. Writer’s studio. For someone who knows their history, I don’t get why Hye-sook didn’t push for them to meet in a neutral space. This is a little too much even if her intention is to show that Hong-joo is strictly professional. I mean, what’s the point of the producer being professional when the writer has every intention of trapping her in the memories of their past?
“What if I left because I was sick? Will you take me back?” Joon-ho asks Hong-joo after having a panic attack when she tells him that she’ll excuse herself from the project. We’ll have to wait until next week to hear Hong-joo’s answer, but I hope it’s a “no” from her. Because while I sympathize with Joon-ho, he doesn’t get to use his condition to guilt trip her into staying by his side when he’s the one who left without a word. Sorry not sorry, Joon-ho, but Hong-joo and Hoo-young’s romance has taken flight, and they are on their way to happily ever after.
Serendipity’s Embrace has been a pretty decent and straightforward show from the beginning, and ever the optimist, I’d like to say there’s not much damage left to do in just two episodes. But K-drama writers have taught me that it’s not over until it’s over, so I await next week’s finale to see if this sticks the landing or wobbles and falls flat on its face.