Everyone makes mistakes, even doctors, but not everyone accepts responsibilities for their faults. Some choose to run and others even push the blame onto others. However, the show reminds its viewers that there are still decent people in the world who take their responsibilities seriously, and it is thanks to these individuals that the world isn’t so bad.
EPISODE 8 RECAP
Gyu-wool asks Jung-won to buy her dinner, emphasizing how she wants to eat with just the two of them. His face tenses at her declaration, and after a pause, he turns her down because he’s visiting his mom this weekend.
In the neurosurgeon residents’ office, the residents express their worries over Jae-hak since he was scammed out of his deposit by his real estate agent. Meanwhile, the hospital director hounds Joon-wan to accept the chief position of his department, but he refuses and goes to his operating room. During the surgery, he reprimands Jae-hak for coming unprepared and warns him to keep his personal life outside of work.
Seok-hyung makes his rounds sans Eun-won who disappeared after a patient died. He’s sympathetic to the resident’s struggles since the work is difficult yet the department is short-staffed. However, this means Min-ha has to pull double-duty, and she yawns in the back—her face looking uncharacteristically bare.
Ik-joon meets with a patient whose charts shows signs of liver cancer. They need to run additional tests to verify his prognosis, but Ik-joon tells the crying family to stay optimistic since the cancer may be operable.
While Jung-won watches over a baby in the PICU, Joon-wan finds Song-hwa stretching in the hospital garden. As they eat bread, she asks about his girlfriend, and Joon-wan says that he’ll introduce her to them later.
Jung-won skips towards his friends and tells them that his patient has improved. He describes his patient’s poop in more details than the eating friends want, and in retaliation, they hide Jung-won’s bread. Song-hwa: “It is turning into poop right now.”
Joon-wan meets with some guardians and informs them of their baby’s rare heart condition. He has no explanation for the disease, and though there is only a 50% chance for success, surgery is the only option.
At the bank, Jung-won offers the bank teller some advice on good posture while picking up his matured savings account (nicknamed, “Mom’s 70th Birthday Trip”). Before he heads out, he asks if the rumors are true and asks for a doll. How is this forty-year-old so adorable?
While Rosa cuts flowers in his office, Jung-won brings her a glass jar he got from Song-hwa. Rosa gushes about Song-hwa—proving that all the moms love her—and she wonders why such a great person isn’t interested in her son. He changes the topic to Rosa’s upcoming birthday, but Rosa just wants a trip with the four of them: her, Jung-won, Song-hwa, and Jong-soo. Ha!
Speaking of Jong-soo, he slurps cup ramyun in his cousin’s office, covered in bruises after falling in the bathroom. The hospital director asks if Jong-soo’s sons know, but Jong-soo kept his accident a secret since his sons are busy. He asks about the open chief position, instead, and suggests a young professor should take the position. The director sighs over the lack of prospects since no one wants to take on extra duties.
Jung-won forgets his phone as he leaves for an operation, so when the chief priest calls him, Rosa answers it. The priest shares the good news about Jung-won’s recommendation letter being accepted, but Rosa’s face hardens. She tells the priest that her son won’t schedule an interview, and hangs up just as Jung-won comes back for his phone. Rosa passes along the message, but looking at her son, she begs him to stay by her side and live a normal life.
A nurse sighs over an angry patient asking for stronger painkillers, so Gyu-wool checks on him. His wound is clean, so when his insists on a particular drug, Gyu-wool asks if he’s an addict. She states the facts of his current situation, and the patient huffs at her accusation and hides under the covers.
An elderly guardian shouts at Jae-hak over the phone for not checking on his wife, and Jae-hak apologizes before hanging up. Chi-hong asks why Jae-hak chose cardiothoracic surgery when it’s such a busy department, and Jae-hak tells him that the CS department offered more money. As for Chi-hong, he chose neurosurgery because he saw a documentary where the surgeon operated while sitting down.
The daughter of the elderly guardian calls Jae-hak, apologizing for her father’s call, but instead of graciously accepting the apology, Jae-hak tells the daughter that her father is rude. The neurosurgeons exchange worried looks with each other as they overhear Jae-hak’s call.
Song-hwa makes coffee in her office when Ik-joon drops by to ask if she’s coming to dinner. She tells him that she’s going after attending an acquaintance’s wedding and wouldn’t miss the chance of a Jung-won paid meal.
Just as Song-hwa warns her friend not to touch the pot, Ik-joon shows her his burned fingers. Pfft. She wraps up his burns—including his unhurt pinkie—but goes overboard with the bandages. Ik-joon complains about looking like Demetan Croaker, but Song-hwa leaves him behind since she’s late.
At a café, Rosa meets with Jong-soo and asks if he’s been to the hospital. He jokes about being at the hospital everyday because of work, and tells her that he’s fine. Rosa scolds him for not telling his family and then berates his sons for only visiting their sick mom once during the seven years she was hospitalized. Seems like someone has his own family troubles.
Jung-won buys his friends tteokbokki for dinner, and Seok-hyung tattles to his mom about the cheap meal. Joon-wan notices Ik-joon’s gloves and wonders if he’s parodying Inside Men. Ik-joon responds by quoting the movie and mimicking the iconic scene, though Only Song-hwa laughs at his joke. Heh.
The others ask Jung-won if his father really didn’t leave his son anything, and Jung-won admits that he did receive something. Everyone perks up in their seats, and Jung-won tells them that his father secretly donated money to an orphanage every month. Of course, secretly-an-angel Jung-won decided to uphold his father’s tradition.
After hearing about his friend’s saintly deeds, Seok-hyung offers to buy dinner instead. Jung-won protests, claiming to have money, but the others feel more comfortable mooching off their actual rich friend and start adding more to their orders.
After the food fighters finish eating, they ask about Seok-hyung’s mom, and he tells them that she refuses to get a divorce even if the chairman offers her the entire company. They wonder if this means Seok-hyung will inherit all of his mom’s properties, and Ik-joon asks if Seok-hyung might adopt Woo-joo and him. He then asks his dad about his runaway resident, and Seok-hyung comments that his son is nosy. Hahaha!
Nurse Han brings a snack to Min-ha, and during her break, she cracks open a non-alcoholic beer. She whines about Eun-won and laments her situation: her colleague is the sliest fox and her supervisor is the dimmest bear. She vows to confront Seok-hyung about only treating Eun-won nicely, but the next day, Min-ha enters the office with a smile and gives Seok-hyung a drink.
Unable to wash his face because of his bandaged fingers, Ik-joon goes to Joon-wan for help, but his friend shoots him down since he hates touching other men. Next is Jung-won, but Ik-joon runs away first when his friend jokes about being thorough and caresses his face. His last hope is Song-hwa, and he barges into her office. Noticing his unkempt look, she offers to wash his face, and Ik-joon gratefully accepts.
The hospital director meets with Gyu-wool’s supervisors—which includes Ik-joon and Jung-won—since a patient posted a complaint about her comment. While they were able to solve this issue with an apology and a discount (plus the fact that the patient was actually a drug addict), the director asks the professors to warn their residents to be more careful.
Gyu-wool waits outside the office for the verdict, and though Jung-won exits first, he acts a bit stiff around her and leaves quickly without telling her much. She turns to Ik-joon for an explanation, and he informs her that everything is fine.
Seok-hyung meets with his patient—the one who experienced miscarriages before—and tells her that there’s blood in her uterus. He prescribes her some medicine, but tells her not to worry since he’ll keep monitoring her situation. Reassuring the nervous patient, he says that they’ll protect the baby this time.
Ik-joon offers Gyu-wool a drink and tells her that he texted Jung-won to come. Gyu-wool knows that he won’t, though, and Ik-joon sighs, commenting on how his friend should treat her half as nicely as he treats Woo-joo. He tells her that Jung-won was at his place this weekend, and Gyu-wool deflates, realizing that Jung-won lied about his weekend plans. She decides that it’s time to give up her crush if the other party is lying to avoid her.
Eun-won returns to the hospital, and the professors tell her to take it easy for a while. She says that she’ll fulfill her duties, though she asks Min-ha to take over her night shift, again. A nurse comes by to tell the others that the preterm mother is here, and Seok-hyung orders Eun-won to take special care of the patient. After he leaves, the nurse passes along the patient’s note with a list of requests to Nurse Han.
Ik-joon visits his patient, and the room is gloomy since they’re worried about their father’s test results. He wonders how the daughters are there, but both of them are taking time off their work and studies to be with their father. In the hall, Ik-joon suggests to Nurse Song about moving the family to a six-person room, and she agrees with his idea.
The hospital director sits in his office, commenting on the sense of deva ju. Another guardian complained—this time about Jae-hak—but Dr. Chun “fixed” the problem by suggesting a 3-month pay cut for Jae-hak to the guardians.
In the hospital garden, Jae-hak tells Seok-min that he only causes harm to those around him and asks his friend to remember him after he leaves. Seok-min shouts at Jae-hak to not quit, and Jae-hak admits that he can’t quit… because he has the night shift today.
In the OB/GYN department, Eun-won asks the nurses to tell Min-ha to watch the preterm patient since she has to go to an operation, and the nurses are baffled at her request. The operating room isn’t even ready when Eun-won arrives, and Seok-hyung asks what she’s doing there since the chief resident is supposed to assist. Eun-won asks to observe, and Seok-hyung agrees.
As predicted, the preterm patient is testy and calls for Min-ha to check on her multiple times, even asking for the monitor to be taken off. Meanwhile, in the PICU, Jae-hak jerks awake when the monitor beeps, and he calls Joon-wan for help.
Joon-wan wakes up in bed with Ik-soon sleeping next to him, and tells Jae-hak that he’ll be there even though Dr. Chun is supposed to be in charge of the patient. Before he leaves, Joon-wan kisses Ik-soon, and she smiles to herself. At the hospital, Joon-wan checks the baby and tells Jae-hak that he did a good job monitoring the patient. As he leaves, jae-hak stops him and asks if they can talk.
Min-ha offers to set up Gyu-wool with an ex-colleague to help her get over her crush, but Gyu-wool rejects the idea. Unfortunately, Min-ha already made plans, so Gyu-wool agrees to meet the person. With that settled, the two residents fall asleep at the table. Heh.
Joon-wan operates on the patient with the rare heart condition, but despite his best efforts, the valves are still leaking. Though things have improved, it’s not good enough, and Joon-wan closes his eyes as he sighs.
As Seok-hyung leaves for the day, Nurse Han asks him if he’s going on a date, and he tells her that he’s meeting his mom. After receiving an update on a patient from Min-ha, he tells her to work hard, and she seethes while watching him leave since she’s the only one working.
Joon-wan checks on his patient after the surgery, and then asks the parents if they can talk. Back in the OB/GYN department, Min-ha looks at a template for a resignation letter and sighs at another checkup request from the preterm patient. She goes to patient’s room but gasps when she notices the blood-soaked sheets. She frantically calls Seok-hyung who rushes back to the hospital, and with shaking hands, Min-ha makes the necessary calls to get an operating room ready.
As Seok-hyung takes a taxi back to the hospital, he talks with Min-ha over the phone, telling her that she might have to take the baby out. Min-ha says that she’s only a second-year, but Seok-hyung shouts at her, asking if she’s going to let the patient and baby die.
With Seok-hyung guiding her, Min-ha grabs a scalpel and makes the first cut. Righ then, Seok-hyung arrives and takes over the surgery. He successfully takes the baby out, and the infant’s cries fill the room. Crisis averted.
Joon-wan meets with the guardians and tells them that there’s nothing more that they can do for their baby. The mother asks if their child is in pain, and the parents weep as they agree to let their baby go. Oof, it’s always hard to see parents lose their children.
Min-ha visits Seok-hyung in his office, bearing coffee, and apologizes for badmouthing him these past couple days. Seok-hyung admits that he knew about the situation going on in the department but didn’t know how to interfere with problem between residents. He apologizes for his shortcomings, promising to step in next time, and Min-ha accepts his apology since she did curse at him a lot. Hehehe.
Seok-hyung tells her that he prefers responsible people over smart ones, and during the ride over, he was worried that she might quit if the patient died. He says that she will become a good doctor because she didn’t run away and faced her problems.
Min-ha thanks him for the food the other day, and wonders why he didn’t say something sooner since she would have cursed him less. Seok-hyung tells her that she needs to relieve stress somehow and tells her to go rest.
Flashing back to the day the friends ate tteokbokki, Seok-hyung paid for the food and ordered takeout for Min-ha. He went back to the hospital, and asked Nurse Han to watch over the resident since she’s having a hard time.
Jung-won talks with a priest over the phone about scheduling an interview, and says that he’s still in the process of convincing his mom. In the hospital director’s room, Jae-hak asks about his resignation letter, but the director has no clue what he’s talking about. He tells him that the pay cut issue was resolved by his department chief, and when Jae-hak points out that there’s no chief, the scene flashes back to the night Jae-hak asked to speak with Joon-wan.
After their conversation, Joon-wan called the director and accepted the chief position. Back in the present, the director tells Jae-hak that Joon-wan apologized to the guardians and promised to take responsibility for his resident. With tears brimming his eyes, Jae-hak knocks on Joon-wan’s door, but Joon-wan doesn’t even acknowledge his resident’s tears and orders him to change into a black suit and meet him downstairs. Heh.
Ik-joon tells the patient with liver cancer that it hasn’t spread which means they can operate as planned. The family rejoices—the father finally able to eat again—and the other people in the room congratulate them on the good news. The eldest daughter thanks everyone for cheering them up during these hard times, and they decide to throw a party with everyone to celebrate.
Seok-hyung and Min-ha visit the preterm patient, and she thanks Seok-hyung for saving her and her child. He directs her gratitude towards Min-ha, instead, and the patient apologizes for her behavior earlier. Min-ha says that she understands since she would have acted the same way and is just glad that the patient and child are healthy. As the patient cries, her husband holds her hand, and Seok-hyung watches the lovely couple with a smile.
Jung-won sees Gyu-wool waiting by the curb and asks what she’s doing. She tells him that she has plans and a car with a man pulls up to her. He watches her leave and doesn’t notice his friends arrive until they call out to him in unison, “Hi, Andrea!”
During their car ride, Ik-joon tells his friends about the loving family and party they’re throwing. Seok-hyung says that he’s envious of the happy family and tells his friends about the couple he saw today, too. Ik-joon tells him to get married, then, but Seok-hyung throws his words right back at him.
Jung-won isn’t with them because of other plans, so Song-hwa wonders if they should skip practice on account of Ik-joon’s injuries as well. Ik-joon says that he’s all healed and complains about his injuries lasting longer because of Song-hwa’s overboard aid. They bicker back and forth and end up banning the other from their offices. Ha!
The song of the day is “With My Tears” by Seo Ji-won, and as Ik-joon sings, the scene changes to Joon-wan who attends his patient’s funeral. The mother cries into his shoulders, and Joon-wan silently comforts her.
An ambulance arrives at the hospital, and a woman is carted inside. As Dr. Bong performs CPR, Seok-hyung runs through the halls and bursts into the emergency room. He can barely breath as he sees his mom lying in the hospital bed.
Like Jae-hak, Min-ha considered quitting her job. More than the workload (which I’m sure was still a contributing factor), Min-ha’s complaints stemmed from a lack of acknowledgement from her superiors—particularly from Seok-hyung. While her sly colleague received comfort after shirking her responsibilities, Min-ha felt like no one was paying attention to her hard work and diligence. However, just as Jae-hak changes his mind after learning about Joon-wan’s actions, Min-ha feels better after learning that Seok-hyung was on her side this entire time. He tells her that he was worried about her quitting—something he never says about Eun-won even though she left—and apologizes for not helping her out sooner. Though on one hand I’m glad Seok-hyung and Joon-wan don’t brag about their good deeds (probably because they have a saintly friend who does even bigger acts of charity in secret, heh), Min-ha and Jae-hak’s stories showed the importance of expressing your feelings once in a while because sometimes people need verbal recognition and words of comfort.
I completely understood Min-ha’s frustration with Eun-won because her actions made my blood boil, too. I didn’t care that much about her running away (if she needed a break for her mental health, she could have gotten it through the proper channels, but I get it, sometimes you need to run away for a while), but her actions after she came back irked me. Right off the bat, Eun-won acts apologetic, telling a professor that she’ll fulfill her duties, but then asks Min-ha to take over her night shift (again, since Min-ha covered for her during her absence which she didn’t even thank her for) in front of people which forces her colleague to agree unless she wants to look like a jerk. To make matters worse, Eun-won proceeds to avoid her duties by going to the OR for a surgery she’s not even a part of so she doesn’t have to deal with the irritable patient. It’s frustrating that no one calls her out for it, but in the end, Eun-won’s actions are only causing her more harm. It’s clear from this episode and the previous one that Seok-hyung and the nurses trust Min-ha and turn to her for help rather than Eun-won. Though Eun-won may act sly, everyone sees through her act, so while Min-ha might have to work extra hard for now, at least she’ll reap the fruits of her actions in the future.