Sticking out like a sore thumb, the newest resident of our small town tries to fit into the close-knit community. But some things are easier said than done, especially when said community is not exactly welcoming to newcomers.
EPISODES 3-4 WEECAP
This week, we continue with Yeo-reum’s (mis)adventures in the small town of Angok. Time is all she has, and she spends it fixing up her house and worrying about her dwindling savings. Living on ten dollars per day for an entire year is kinda extreme, but in her calculation, that’s the only way she can survive for a year without a job. I envy her new life of reading books all day and binging movies at night, but I don’t envy her position as the town’s outcast.
Sung-min takes the lead in Operation Frustrate Yeo-reum Out Of Town, and he recruits everyone to pick on her — from his son BAE JOON (Kim Jun) and other kids, to high schooler KIM BOM (Shin Eun-soo). Bom is the daughter of the town’s resident drunkard and while she appears prickly and slightly rebellious on the outside, she’s really just an ordinary teenager who needs an understanding adult on her side.
Bom soon opts out of Sung-min’s plan after deciding for herself that Yeo-reum is not a bad person. And Dae-beom, of course, has been team Yeo-reum from the beginning. Despite his aversion to strangers, he warms up to Yeo-reum pretty quickly, and he no longer communicates with her via written notes which is a big improvement from last week.
But Yeo-reum needs more people on her side especially after a threatening graffiti is sprayed on her building. Sung-min jumps at the opportunity to pressure her into moving out, and I wonder if he’s actually the one behind the graffiti and not the stalker from last week — who from all indications is HWANG GEUN-HO (Kim Yo-han), a resident who for some reason is not allowed by his mom to leave the house. Weird. (By the way, Geun-ho’s parents are way too eager to buy Yeo-reum’s building off Sung-min’s family, and the whole thing is suspicious.)
For someone who’s worried about her savings, Yeo-reum ends up buying a dog at an exorbitant amount from its abusive owner in a part-noble and part-impulsive decision. But I can’t really blame her because she is lonely and the dog needed saving. Plus having a dog around is better than being alone in that building, and a dog is a better family member than her older brother who emotionally blackmails her for money. Although the dog can do a better job of alerting Yeo-reum when a stranger enters the house to drop off some food.
Then again, I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference since as we saw from last week, Yeo-reum can sleep through a storm whenever she’s drunk. And it’s very worrisome that she just wakes up to eat the food without first checking who it’s from. Granted, it’s from Bom, but still. Girl, I know you’re on strike, but don’t you like your life? You could be allergic, it could be poisoned… there are so many possibilities.
There’s a thin line between bravery and recklessness, and Yeo-reum has crossed the line multiple times already. Just like I’ve crossed the line from understanding her to being frustrated by her actions. There’s also the matter of her withdrawing all her savings while drunk and losing the money. I mean, who puts cash in a plastic bag and wanders the streets at night? Sigh.
Yeo-reum panics when she realizes her money is missing, and everyone joins her in search of the missing money — from Sung-min who is surprisingly helpful, to Dae-beom who escorted her drunk self back home the previous night. At some point, Yeo-reum even suspects Bom, but she’s relieved — and slightly upset — when Dae-beom eventually finds the money, as she thinks the money was in his possession the whole time.
Yeo-reum apologizes to Bom for suspecting her, and I’m already liking their budding unnie-dongsaeng relationship. Yeo-reum soon picks up another stray in the person of Bom’s classmate HEO JAE-HOON (Bang Jae-min), who has a crush on her. Together, the trio name the dog Gyeoul (winter) based on its white fur, and the name also matches Yeo-reum (summer) and Bom (spring). I love it!
Sung-min ends up grudgingly joining team Yeo-reum after learning that Joon was the one who picked up the money thinking it was a windfall. Joon later handed it over to Dae-beom after learning it was Yeo-reum’s, and Sung-min apologizes on his son’s behalf. He might be a jerk sometimes, but he’s a good dad. He also drops off some old furniture for Yeo-reum’s use, fixes the leaky pipes in the house and reinforces the locks — which has been my biggest peeve since day one!