Romance is on full blast this week with happy couples getting together, and new love triangles popping out of nowhere. But despite the seeming sunshine, clouds from the past are beginning to gather and threaten to rain on the parade of some of our characters.
EPISODES 9-10 WEECAP
We pick up from where we left off last week, with Han-byeol running off to meet with either Tae-sung or Soo-hyuk, and her lucky date ends up being… no one! Actually, it’s Tae-sung, but by the time she arrives, he is swarmed by a truckload of fans and she leaves – but not before calling Yoo-sung to come to Tae-sung’s rescue.
Han-byeol gets to have the dinner date with Soo-hyuk, and when he mentions that he’s not a “star in the sky” but an ordinary guy, it gets her thinking.
Considering that she has dealt with Tae-sung in a strictly professional manner since she confirmed his dating rumor, the knowledge that he likes her makes her hesitant. But more than the reality of his celebrity status which is starting to hit her, she’s scared of getting hurt again.
Encouraged by Ki-bbeum to act on her feelings, Han-byeol marches over to Tae-sung’s house where he reaffirms his love for her, and they kiss! From multiple angles too!!! RIP, my screencap button.
But what’s a K-drama if the characters don’t get interrupted while kissing? Jung-yeol, the captain of the TaeByeol ship, rings the doorbell and sends Han-byeol scampering away to hide. Lol.
Meanwhile, Jae-hyun and Yoo-na who have gone from reel to real kissing – and dating – also go from interlocking lips to interlocking fingers in each other’s hair when Dae-soo and Yoo-sung walk in on them. I just can’t with these two! And I love that in both scenarios, it was the women who initiated the kiss.
As Tae-sung and Han-byeol settle into their new relationship – initial awkwardness aside – Han-byeol is so giddy that she greets and smiles at all the Tae-sung posters on the street – something she couldn’t stand seeing earlier on in the drama. The feeling is so contagious that Yoo-sung catches on from an equally giddy Tae-sung, and he’s happy for the couple.
That same feeling makes Han-byeol turn Soo-hyuk down and thankfully, he’s cool about the rejection. But he has more things to worry about, like a leaked blind item about an incredible male couple: “national boyfriend and top star A” who just returned from a volunteer trip, and “lawyer D” who just moved next door to A. This has to be the funniest subplot yet!
The rumor sends the StarForce team into a state of shock (and me, into a hysterical fit!). Soo-hyuk fields unwanted questions and calls from reporters, but he meets with Ki-bbeum who is tasked to get an interview with the boyfriend of the national boyfriend. Heh.
In addition to the scandal between his biggest star and their lawyer, Ji-woo also scans an article on Eun Si-woo – Tae-sung’s mum – and we get a flashback to high school Tae-sung when he tearfully begged Ji-woo to make him into a bigger star than his mother. So that’s really how he accepted Ji-woo’s scouting to become an actor!
Si-woo runs into the suspicious housekeeper when she visits Tae-sung at home and recognizes her as the rich madam from the mall. They get into a fight but Tae-sung takes his housekeeper’s side and tells Yoo-sung, who’s rushed over, to get his mum out of the house.
Meanwhile on her way out, the suspicious housekeeper runs into Han-byeol and takes note of her necklace – a gift from Tae-sung. She recalls seeing it in Tae-sung’s closet and realizes he’s dating someone from work. Then she gets into a fancy car and is driven off. Okay, who is this woman? And why is she an active member of a Tae-sung anti-fan site?
Whoever she is, she’s definitely up to no good, and Si-woo shares the same sentiment as she tells Yoo-sung about her encounter with the housekeeper at the mall. This gets Yoo-sung and Han-byeol to dig into the housekeeper, and they eventually find out that she’s a crazy rich and obsessed fan who for some weird reason enjoys buying expensive gifts for celebrities.
Three years ago, the housekeeper had bought a limited edition wristwatch for Tae-sung, but he had it sent back because he doesn’t accept fan gifts. Offended by the rejection, she had wormed her way into becoming his housekeeper and fed him salty food so as to become special to him. What in the twisted logic is that?
She even sends all the PR staff the same type of necklace that Tae-sung gave Han-byeol with a note to Han-byeol telling her that she’s not that special. Aigoo! And it’s not like they can sue her because technically, she didn’t do anything illegal.
Unfortunately, the best they can do is file a restraining order after all the trauma she has put Tae-sung through. Ugh! What happened to suing her for emotional distress or some other legal jargon? Soo-hyuk should be able to come up with something!
While Yoo-sung understandably feels bad for not catching on to the housekeeper sooner, his actor counterpart – who cleans up really nicely by the way – harbors a crush on Ho-young, and he even gives her the same head pat Yoo-sung gives her. Does “Yoo-sung” = head pat? It definitely has to be something in the name.
Anyway, another head pat from Yoo-sung leads Ho-young to blurt out her feelings for him, and she ends up running away leaving a confused Yoo-sung behind. It feels like the end of the main love triangle has signaled the beginning of another one with the Yoo-sungs and Ho-young standing on each of the edges. Heh.
Over dinner with Si-woo, Ji-woo – who happens to be her former manager – mildly scolds her for barging into Tae-sung’s life, and tells her Tae-sung will need time to open up to her again – if he ever does.
While Tae-sung and Han-byeol enjoy a morning together, a new character now stands at the gravesite they once visited to pay respects to their friend LEE YOON-WOO (Lim Sung-kyun). The young man swears to avenge Yoon-woo by making Tae-sung pay for whatever it was he did. He then sends a cryptic message to a Tae-sung anti-fan site, and soon afterwards, Tae-sung and Han-byeol’s phones begin to vibrate ominously…
Tae-sung really can’t catch a break, can he? Just when we think we’re done with the housekeeper from hell, another problem pops up. A part of me thought the housekeeper had something to do with their deceased friend, but the only connection she seems to have is being a fellow (deranged) member of the creepy anti-fan site.
I won’t call it a disappointing twist, because the subplot highlights fan gifting, which is a popular aspect of fan culture. I think it’s one of the reasons some fans are very obsessed and feel entitled to the lives of their favorite celebrities – which again, is one of the downsides to being a celebrity.
While I didn’t find this week’s episodes as funny as last week’s, I got a lot of giggles from watching Han-byeol and Tae-sung act all giddy with a slice of awkwardness, like two teenagers newly in love after fighting all the time. I found the awkwardness pretty realistic.
One of my favorite scenes was where Han-byeol sent selfies to Tae-sung and conveniently realized that her skin was dry. Cue some skincare PPL, which was hilariously filmed like an actual commercial. It’s one of those things that shows the drama doesn’t take itself very seriously, and I hope they keep up with that momentum till the end.