As our not-quite-vampire adjusts to the fascinating capabilities of modern technology, he soon realizes that earning a living isn’t as easy as he’d expected. Meanwhile, our OTP takes a step forward in the romance department, but a new arrival signals upheaval on the horizon.
EPISODES 3-4
Centuries ago, Woo-hyul once rescued Hae-sun from a feral vampire; that was their first encounter, and the one that began their ill-fated romance. In the present, Woo-hyul’s heroic rescue ends with In-hae chasing the crook all the way to the police station, hah. She accidentally drops her wallet in the process, which Woo-hyul picks up. As he begins the long trek home, a department store piques Woo-hyul’s curiosity.
Cue a fabulous fashion show! (Taecyeon definitely gets a 10 out of 10 for his ability to pull off those garish colors.) At the end of the day, Woo-hyul returns home with a dozen shopping bags and In-hae’s maxed-out credit card. When In-hae finds out, she’s downright furious — does he have any idea how much she’s scrimped and saved over the years?!
Oh, but she needn’t worry, Woo-hyul declares. See, he’d hidden gold under the floorboards a century ago, so he just has to retrieve them — except they’re all gone without a trace. There goes Woo-hyul’s small fortune.
Once again, they bicker over who owns the mansion; In-hae has the title deed, but Woo-hyul argues back. “It’s my house,” he insists. In-hae begs to differ; he can’t lay claim to the house when he’s knee-deep in credit card debt. Well, she has a point there.
In an effort to clean up Woo-hyul’s mess as best as she can, In-hae decides to resell his purchases online. After a fascinating adventure through the subway station, Woo-hyul finally meets the buyer — who turns out to be his buddy Sang-hae! With Sang-hae’s help, Woo-hyul gets a fake ID, but it’s hard for them to keep their funeral staff jobs when Woo-hyul decides to take a nap in someone else’s coffin.
Having heard that the fraudster got caught, Do-shik pays In-hae a visit at her old apartment, where she’s in the midst of boxing up her belongings. Of course, that’s the exact moment a cockroach decides to scuttle across the floor, sending In-hae screeching and ducking behind Do-shik’s back, much to his amusement. Hah, so tropey but so relatable.
Do-shik offers In-hae and her boxes a lift home, which is how he ends up meeting Woo-hyul for the first time. He’s surprised by how cold Woo-hyul’s hand is, and In-hae hurriedly smacks their hands apart, explaining it away as poor circulation. Do-shik doesn’t seem particularly convinced, but he accepts her excuse anyway.
Since Woo-hyul is still stuck in his unemployment woes, In-hae decides he can earn his keep through spring cleaning. They get to work dusting furniture and wiping windows, leading to several cute moments that leave both feeling a little flustered, hee.
By nighttime, the house looks good as new. Curious about the mansion’s history, In-hae asks Woo-hyul how long he’s been residing there. In response, Woo-hyul answers that there’s someone he’s waiting for — he’s stayed in the same place for 400 years, hoping that maybe she’ll come back one day.
Already, we see the parallels between Hae-sun and In-hae. Neither lady is scared of Woo-hyul, and when he asks why, they both give the same answer — because he saved them. He may not be human, but in their eyes, he’s the farthest thing from a monster.
As fate and our OTP’s magical connection would have it, it’s time for Woo-hyul to be a knight in shining armor once again. His rooftop brooding is interrupted by the sharp pain of his bite mark, and he rushes inside to see a chandelier about to fall on a dozing In-hae. Before he knows it, he’s sweeping her up in his arms, out of danger’s reach. Omg, he can fly again!
Just then, Woo-hyul notices a drop of blood on In-hae’s chapped lips. The parched vampire in him can no longer resist the sweet temptation, and he leans in to get a taste — which means he ends up kissing her. Oops. Naturally, In-hae retaliates by smacking the living daylights out of Woo-hyul, hah.
In-hae’s feeling dazed in the aftermath of her first kiss, but the smooch leaves Woo-hyul reeling for other reasons entirely. When he drank In-hae’s blood, he had a vision of Hae-sun in her last moments, almost as if the blood itself held her memories. Woo-hyul refuses to believe the implications, though — there’s no way the hot-tempered In-hae could be a reincarnation of the sweet and gentle Hae-sun, right?
Woo-hyul may have dug his feet firmly into denial central, but his curiosity winds up getting the better of him. He can’t stop wondering about the connection between him and In-hae, and through a series of fortuitous coincidences, Woo-hyul winds up getting hired as a janitor at In-hae’s high school. He’s happy to be in her vicinity, while she’s decidedly less enthused.
Meanwhile, Do-shik is harboring a secret of his own. There’s a curse in his bloodline; none of the men in his family have made it past the age of forty. Although medical tests show that Do-shik’s heart is perfectly healthy, he’s been experiencing abnormal symptoms, and he can’t help but fear that one day he’ll succumb to a heart attack too.
Determined to avoid his destiny, Do-shik retrieves an ancient ledger from his personal safe. It’s a family heirloom passed down through generations — and as the camera pans over the secret book, we see that it’s titled “vampire record.” Gasp! Is Do-shik related to Woo-hyul’s past too?
We may not have the answers to that yet, but Yang-nam comes through with another dose of his weekly wisdom. Likening Woo-hyul to a pot of boiling water that was taken off the stove at 99°C, Yang-nam explains that he needs In-hae’s blood to reach full mortality. There’s just one problem — In-hae’s blood is too cold in its resting state, so Woo-hyul needs to heat it up by having her fall into a deep, passionate love. Hah, the logic is ridiculous but it fits right into the drama.
That gives Woo-hyul food for thought, and when In-hae defends him from false accusations at school and clears his name, he begins to see her in a different light. It’s as if all the puzzle pieces are finally fitting together — their special connection, her ability to open the coffin, her staunchness in standing up for him. Connecting the dots, Woo-hyul approaches In-hae, calling her by Hae-sun’s name.
Elsewhere, Do-shik arrives at the airport to receive the successful chairwoman NA HAE-WON (Yoon So-hee), who has just returned to Korea. As Do-shik greets her with a radiant smile, we see her face — and she’s a dead ringer for Hae-sun.
Ooh, the plot thickens! It’s interesting how the drama is playing with the idea of reincarnation; usually, the hero’s lost love would either return with the same face, or with a different appearance entirely. Here, it’s both scenarios at once, effectively keeping us (and Woo-hyul) guessing.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that Do-shik is barely a contender in the romance department; he may be considerate and thoughtful, but In-hae often looks burdened by Do-shik’s kindness. Since it’s obvious she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, I hope Do-shik will have a bigger role to play against Woo-hyul with regards to his vampiric identity, rather than as a romantic rival.
When Woo-hyul was first given his make-In-hae-fall-in-love mission, I thought it’d be pretty funny if he tried to matchmake Do-shik and In-hae but ended up catching feelings in the process. I have to admit I’m a little disappointed it’s not going in that direction — imagine the sheer havoc that wingman Woo-hyul would wreak — but petulantly jealous Woo-hyul is a treat to watch, so I’m not complaining.
Also, I continue to love the bits of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it humor sprinkled throughout the show! One standout moment this week was Sang-hae’s faux tarot-reading shop, which is really just a front for his actual enterprise of providing forged documents (and even white hair implants, hah) to immortal creatures. Our vampire trio, plus our sage feline, are an absolute hoot to watch — I can’t wait to see what other game plans they cook up, and how our headstrong heroine will thwart them all.