“Fated to Love You” Episode 18 recap

The feels! The feels!

Side dish: This episode was insanely cute, but if you need more cute in your life, how about some Totoro onigiri? Here’s a video from Ochikeron with instructions on how to make your own.

Episode Recap

Kim Mi Young (Jang Na Ra) races to Lee Gun’s (Jang Hyuk) side, as he gives a press conference to announce his resignation as CEO of Jangin Chemicals, because of his genetic disease. Mi Young bursts in on the press conference, and in front of all the press and cameras, she tells him she knows everything. Gun tries to have her thrown out, but breaks down when Mi Young refuses to back down. He claims he doesn’t have the right to love her. Everyone’s head explodes into hearts and flowers when Mi Young closes in to kiss Gun, and he slowly kisses her back.

The two of them end up in a hotel room (Room 2006) to talk, and Mi Young reasonably points out that he should have given her the choice to stay with him through his illness, because Gun would do the same for her. He finally gives in when she tells him she won’t leave even if he tries to get rid of her.

Over dinner in the hotel room, Gun’s serious mood continues, until Mi Young pinches his cheek as revenge for being a jerk to her for three years. The cheek pinching turns Gun’s thoughts to love, but Mi Young does not even acknowledge Gun’s attempt to get her into the bedroom, and they go back to eating.

They do end up staying overnight, so as not to waste money, but their amorous moment is interrupted by a call from Secretary Tak, who tells Gun his resignation has not been accepted. Gun yells at him and rushes back to the bedroom, only to find Mi Young has fallen asleep.

The next day, Mi Young asks permission from Gun’s grandma to be with Gun, but grandma refuses until they can get permission from Mi Young’s mom.

Gun informs his unruly board that he won’t be resigning as CEO, but taking a three-month vacation. Meanwhile, Mi Young breaks up with Daniel (Choi Jin Hyuk), who tells her he’ll need time to settle his feelings.

Revelations are coming thick and fast at Gun’s house, where Yong is devastated to learn he’s not a member of Gun’s family, since his mom was actually Gun’s father’s nurse, and not his mistress. Gun is equally devastated to learn his dad was not a philanderer, but left them, because of the onset of his illness.

Gun and Mi Young ask for permission from Gun’s grandmother to live together. She refuses again, because of Mi Young’s mom, but hints they should just elope. Mi Young goes to her mom for permission, but her mom refuses, not wanting Mi Young to end up alone like her.

Gun, meanwhile, refuses permission for Yong to resign, and tells him to stay at the house with his grandmother, since he’s part of the family. Overjoyed, Yong tries to hug him, but Gun freezes him. The theme from “Dragonball Z” plays as Yong uses his dragon-fire to melt the ice.

Se Ra (Wang Ji Won) comes home to find Daniel drunk. He collapses in front of the elevator, and she ends up carrying him into his apartment. When Se Ra puts Daniel to bed, she notices a framed picture by his bedside, of himself and his sister as kids. Stricken, Se Ra picks it up to look at it. Does she recognize herself? We’ll have to wait till next week to find out.

At Mi Young’s studio, Gun and Mi Young’s amorous moment is again interrupted by Secretary Tak, who has arrived with brochures for places to live. Mi Young proposes that they move into Ji Yeon’s apartment instead. In turn, Ji Yeon moves into their apartment at Gun’s grandmother’s house, much to the consternation of Yong’s mother.

Back at Ji Yeon’s apartment, Gun and Mi Young clean up and flirt. That evening, Mi Young finds the casino chip that Gun gave her in Macau. They reminisce over it, and Mi Young tells Gun that she’ll stick to him like super glue. They finally kiss, and hearts explode all over the screen.

Comments

Only 만: What a great episode! It was everything I hoped for. It was adorable, and better yet, the plot progressed!

Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다: From the very beginning of the episode, I knew it was going to be awesome, because Mi Young is awesome. She pushes the journalists out of her way, is upfront about her feelings to Gun, then grabs his head for a kiss! I don’t know if I have ever seen a woman initiate the kiss in any other K-drama!

Only: It’s definitely a first. I especially loved when Mi Young pinched Gun’s cheek to punish him for his three years of noble idiocy. Then, after complaining, he offered her the other cheek. Amazing!

Junggugeo Kaenada: It did remind me of Se Ra’s headlocks. Apparently, Gun likes to be punished by the woman in his life.

Only: Well, he is a naughty boy. I loved how ridiculous Gun was in his pursuit of Mi Young after their emotional reunion.

Junggugeo Kaenada: Yes, the laugh was back, and Mi Young obviously enjoys it, but in a more sophisticated way. Instead of beaming at him, she has taken on the role of straight man. In one scene, Mi Young ignored Gun until he realized that he, too, should finish his dinner before they engage in any hanky panky.

Only: Gun did seem a little too eager. Good thing Secretary Tak was there to frustrate him at every turn.

Junggugeo Kaenada: I was actually surprised that Mi Young and Gun moved to spending time alone together so quickly. It makes sense since they used to be married, and they are both adults. However, in the context of a K-drama, I think it pushed the envelope.

Only: Given the story so far, and the fact that they believe that Gun’s days are numbered, I guess it makes sense. Plus I’m happy to be back at our earlier rapid pace, so I’ll take it. Anyway, they were really cute together in Ji Yeon’s apartment.

Junggugeo Kaenada: It was hilarious how the real purpose of swapping apartments with Gun and Mi Young was to give Ji Yeon the opportunity to live with Yong. Gun’s stepmother is against it, but Gun’s grandmother just quips, “The agreement is in a contract. What can I do?”

Only: I loved Ji Yeon’s response when Yong’s mother asked how long she would stay: “Until you like me.”

Junggugeo Kaenada: I find it interesting that they decided to reveal that Lee Yong is not really a Lee after all. Well, at least, not a Lee who is related to Gun. What did you think brought about this turn of events?

Only: Well, they don’t really have a choice here. Given that they went with the now-unnamed genetic disease, if Lee Yong is actually Gun’s half-brother, then his future is also as bleak as Gun’s appears to be right now. And, I doubt they want to dwell on Yong long enough to deal with that. So now, Gun still accepts him and he won’t get the genetic disease. Loose end neatly tied.

But, before we circle back round to our main couple and how cute they were, let’s take a moment to talk about Daniel and Se Ra.

Junggugeo Kaenada: I was watching very closely for incest potential, but they tried very hard not to have that happen. Even the usual incidence of drunken skinship stayed sibling safe.

Only: Yes, they were well within the bounds of safety with that, which was a relief. But, it did look like Se Ra finally figured out their relationship at the end.

Junggugeo Kaenada: Great, that gives two episodes to focus mainly on Gun and Mi Young. How do you think the story will go? Will the show become a cry-fest, or end on an optimistic note?

Only: I suspect that we’re going to find another reason for Gun’s amnesia, and it will turn out that he doesn’t have the genetic disease. I mean, they’re not going to invent a cure for Huntington’s Disease on this drama, nor are they going to leave him with an incurable, degenerative illness. At least, I hope not.

Junggugeo Kaenada: If they decide to come up with a cure, might I suggest snail slime? Or, anchovy wraps? Think of the new craze that will sweep across the K-drama viewing world given how hard China fell for chicken and beer thanks to “My Love From the Stars”.

Only: Well, snail mucus is already a common enough beauty ingredient. But, anchovy wraps, well, there’s potential there.

Before:

After:

Fantastic!

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Fated to Love You (운명처럼 널 사랑해)

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