The frequency in which our leads meet up is increasing quickly, and each hangout is more effortless than the last. Sparks fly when they’re around each other, and their company is a great escape from their pasts that keep trying to tie them down.
EPISODE 11 RECAP
When Hae-kyung returns to the samgyupsal restaurant, Do-hee is too drunk to walk. She falls into his arms and Hae-kyung apologizes when she slurs that she would’ve waited for him to come back if he’d asked her to. In fact, she was waiting for him to ask.
However, she’s not actually talking about him. Do-hee continues that the years passed by and she still heard nothing. She laments that they dated for six years, “How could he just leave without explaining anything?”
She compares her relationship with Jae-hyuk to meat that has gone cold. Instead of throwing it out, they could’ve reheated it, or added it to another dish. They could’ve made it work.
After receiving intel from Byung-jin, Hae-kyung’s mom pulls up at the restaurant with her book in hand. Hae-kyung runs into Mom while supporting Do-hee with one arm and Penguin in the other. He introduces Do-hee as his girlfriend which surprises her, but she goes along with it.
Even in her drunken state, Do-hee remembers not to say her real name. Taking inspiration from the book that Mom is holding, she introduces herself as Lee Moon-jung. Mom’s delighted to meet her and gifts her book to “Moon-jung,” telling Hae-kyung to answer her calls.
On the drive home, Hae-kyung asks why she isn’t asking him about what happened. She reminds him of their rule to not be curious about the other’s personal life. Do-hee brushes off his apology, happy with her penguin prize.
Geon-woo brings No-eul a healthy kimbap breakfast. Although she’s not in the mood, she cracks a smile at a cheesy joke and muses that smiling is hard. “Perhaps that’s why I can’t let him go. I guess I’m supposed to cry next to Hae-kyung,” she says, knowing that she’s being shameless. I’m not really following her logic, to be honest.
At the office, Jin-kyu and Jung-hwan can tell that something is off about Do-hee but are too afraid to approach her. Jae-hyuk arrives with coffee for the team and pulls Do-hee aside to talk. She’s not having it today and doesn’t believe that it’s work-related until No-eul shows up.
They discuss the project and No-eul suggests shooting a pilot episode for now. Do-hee wishes her well and leaves, but is drawn in by No-eul’s confident claim that they can hit one million hearts with just one episode. When she asks how, No-eul answers, “Jin No-eul and Kim Hae-kyung.”
Hae-kyung waits for a patient to arrive while looking over her medical chart. It’s Sandara Park! Formerly an idol, she’s now an actress who recently starred in a new movie. Hateful commenters targeted her weight which caused her to resort to extreme dieting. She now suffers from anorexia.
He patiently lets Sandara cry her heart out. Although she wants to eat, she can’t once the food is in front of her. Hae-kyung suggests adjusting her goals and starting off with some comfort food instead of forcing herself to eat. “You may need to undergo surgery,” he tells her.
Hae-kyung scrubs in with Byung-jin’s assistance as if preparing for surgery…but they’re actually just suiting up to cook a grand meal. PFFT. Hae-kyung expertly dices vegetables and as his confidence grows, he shows off a bit more. Byung-jin looks like he’s about to pop a vein as he scrubs the abalone clean, trying to match Hae-kyung’s intensity.
She and Hae-kyung clink their glasses during a private candlelit dinner and Do-hee suggestively asks, “Are we only having dinner?” Hae-kyung pulls her onto his lap and she initiates a passionate kiss. Do-hee wakes up to an empty office with her lips still puckered, shocked at her own dream.
Do-hee finally receives the text she’s been waiting for: “Will you have dinner with me?” She can’t help but be reminded of her fantasy when she spots Hae-kyung through the window of the restaurant. They’re having sashimi tonight!
They both apologize for their behaviors last night. Before he can dig in, Hae-kyung waits for Do-hee to snap some pictures of the meal. “It’s an occupational habit,” she explains, but doesn’t deny nor confirm Hae-kyung’s guess that she’s a photographer.
Ah-young holds an emergency meeting to cancel the show, which Do-hee finds harsh. It’s not No-eul’s fault – it’s her mom’s, and it’s not even confirmed to be true yet. Do-hee recalls No-eul’s answer about reaching one million hearts.
She’d joked about starring with Hae-kyung, but her true answer was that she believed in Do-hee’s skills as a producer. Do-hee claims that she’ll go to the top with No-eul and Ah-young tells her to be realistic, “Show business is all about the public opinion.” They can’t go down with No-eul.
Jae-hyuk leaves to meet with No-eul, and Do-hee follows closely behind. Jin-kyu thinks they’re crazy and sighs, “How are we supposed to do a project with her?”
EPISODE 12 RECAP
Jae-hyuk attempts to start a conversation in the car, but Do-hee shuts him down. No-eul offers to quit when they meet with her but Do-hee says, “Running away is the most irresponsible thing you can do.” The meaning of her words isn’t lost on Jae-hyuk.
Do-hee tells No-eul they should do the show together. She’s not helping No-eul, just investing in her because she knows she’ll do great. They tell her to stay safe and will reach out once things are settled on their end.
While grocery shopping, Do-hee picks strawberry milk instead of her usual coffee flavor. She beelines for the ramyun that’s on sale, surprised when Ah-young puts them back. Ah-young comments that low quality products should be shut out (referring to No-eul), but Do-hee is confident they’ll reach a million hearts.
Hae-kyung receives a call from Geon-woo about the viral debt scandal. Although he claims that he doesn’t care, he searches up articles the moment he hangs up. Worried, he heads to Geon-woo’s studio where No-eul coolly asks him to guest on the first episode of the broadcast.
He scoffs at her audacity and she admits that she’d do anything to survive. “Can’t you just help me?” she insists. Hae-kyung raises his voice and fumes that he can’t – no, won’t – help her anymore. “After leaving me like that, you really can’t be like this to me,” he says, choked up.
Geon-woo enters and Hae-kyung tells him, “If you ever call me again because of things like this, I won’t see you either.” He leaves with conviction and No-eul notes that this is the first time she’s heard him yell. “Even when I cheated on him, he didn’t yell at me.” Damn.
At home, Hae-kyung thinks about how Do-hee had gone through an equally painful breakup. He opens up their chat and sees that it’s only filled with messages regarding dinner logistics. Meanwhile, So-ra borrows Do-hee’s phone and pretends to call her mom. When Do-hee heads to the restroom, she pulls up the dinner mate chatroom.
Ah-young pulls up at the convenience store by Do-hee’s, less than pleased when Ajusshi tells her that Do-hee isn’t home yet. He offers her some coffee and though she rejects it at first, she ends up joining him and is surprised at how good it is.
She thinks Ajusshi is making fun of her lack of coffee knowledge when he says the coffee is named Panama La Esmeralda Geisha. He accurately tells her the origin of the name, and she’s impressed that it matches her findings online. They thank each other for the coffee and mandoo respectively before she leaves.
Do-hee agrees to go on a spontaneous camping trip, so So-ra picks her up the next day and they excitedly set off on their adventure. When they arrive, So-ra claims that she needs to buy wine, telling Do-hee to watch their stuff and to perhaps look in a mirror, haha.
Someone taps her lightly on the shoulder and she turns around to find Hae-kyung beaming at her. Do-hee quickly realizes this was So-ra’s doing when Hae-kyung shows her the text that he received. Exasperatedly, she asks, “You came all the way here just because I told you to?”
Do-hee feels bad when he heads back to his car. Flustered and not wanting him to leave, she asks, “Will you have dinner with me?” He agrees easily – he’d just gone back to grab the wine that he’d forgotten.
COMMENTS
Oooooh, it’s happening! Hae-kyung has been letting Do-hee dictate the boundaries of their relationship so far, so it’s fitting that she’d be the one to end their contractual friendship. I have high hopes that this will be a step forward rather than a step back, considering how smitten they both are. Hae-kyung absolutely lights up whenever he’s with her, which is SUCH a contrast to how pained and angry he is when he’s with No-eul. I don’t mind that we’ve gone this long without the big reveal happening, since it allowed the two to share their experiences without being held back by their preconceived biases about one another. They’re in way too deep now, and for my own sanity, I need them to admit their feelings for each other before one of their exes does something crazy to mess things up.
What I love most about this pair is how they’re curious about each other’s tastes and habits. Do-hee choosing strawberry milk over her typical coffee flavor and Hae-kyung joining in on the food photography (despite looking mildly judgmental the first few times she did it) just goes to show that they’re actively taking an interest in one another. They are honest and there are no false pretenses because of the nature of how their relationship started. This results in Do-hee feeling more comfortable to speak her mind (like she typically does outside of romantic relationships) instead of holding things in and letting it fester into a bitter feeling. The peppered steak and chili paste sashimi were really minor things, but she chose not to let her preferences be known to Young-dong and Jae-hyuk. Although both are jerks, neither meant any harm and had just wanted to share food that they loved. They just never learned how she really felt, and I would imagine that she probably never raised any other concerns with either of them, which would’ve been suffocating.
I am continuing to enjoy the cameos. Whether long or short, they’ve each made an impact. This episode highlighted how public figures are affected by the words of others, starting with Sandara. (Off topic: I really enjoyed the fact that they played 2NE1’s “It Hurts” when she entered the clinic! Love that song.) Her situation showcased how malicious comments made from behind a screen could have such drastic effects on the psyche of a celebrity. No-eul’s scandal shows how quickly public sentiment can change – and nobody even cares about the truth. Even Jin-kyu, who has been such a huge fan, decided to drop her when the news broke out. I still don’t like No-eul (I didn’t actually realize she cheated on Hae-kyung until this episode…there is not a single positive thing I can say about her at this point) but it sucks to have your success stripped from you because of someone else’s mistakes. Now that Do-hee is determined to work on this show, I’m looking forward to seeing her killing it at work. She’s portrayed as very passionate about her job, but we have yet to really see her in action. I’m ready for the one million hearts, and although I do hope it doesn’t involve Hae-kyung (I don’t want him interacting with No-eul any longer than he has to), that’s probably where we’re headed.
I find it mildly hilarious that Geon-woo is conveniently close to every single person involved in this love square. With the show’s love of coincidences though, I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore. I am surprised that Ajusshi has a connection to Jae-hyuk, of all people. I suspected that his story would come into play sooner or later, but never would’ve imagined that Jae-hyuk would be involved. It makes me wonder if Jae-hyuk’s sudden disappearance had a more sinister reason behind it? Ajusshi definitely didn’t react well to seeing him, but I can’t tell if it’s because he wronged Jae-hyuk or if Jae-hyuk wronged him. I was getting sick of seeing Jae-hyuk just kind of…floating around doing nothing besides annoying Do-hee, so at least he’s getting an interesting back story. To be honest, he seemed really sweet when he dated Do-hee. I just wish that he saw the pain he put her through, and instead of trying to erase the fact that it happened, owned up to it and let her find her own happiness elsewhere. That’s the least he can do for someone he claims to love so much.