This could be more awkward, but I don’t see how.
Side dish: Since everyone’s getting coffee all over themselves, let’s make sure we’re combatting their waste by drinking good coffee. You may know how to make an espresso, but do you know how to make a pour over coffee? Here are some instructions from Serious Eats.
Episode Recap
Yu Jin (Sa Kang) and her mother confront her boyfriend Dong Wook (Shin Dong Wook), and her work colleague, Soo Kyung (Lee Soo Kyung), suspicious about finding the two in a department store together. Even though the circumstances are clearly innocent, Yu Jin’s mom obliquely hints that Soo Kyung has moved in on Yu Jin’s man, as Yu Jin drags her away. Unnerved, Soo Kyung tries to leave, but Dong Wook refuses to let her, since that would make them look guilty.
They continue shopping for Yu Jin’s gift instead. Dong Wook expresses surprise at Soo Kyung’s interest in jewelry, since he thought she was more simple. He follows that up by pointing out that he’s seen her cry twice already. Soo Kyung is embarrassed, but since this is the most honest conversation we’ve had between two members of the opposite sex, I’m pretty pleased. Dong Wook points out a ring he thinks would suit her, which she obviously likes, but since it brings up painful memories of her engagement to Phillip. Soo Kyung walks away, upset.
At the banquet hall for her 27th birthday party, Yu Jin checks her watch in a fantastic pink poofball of a dress. When a giant flower arrangement is delivered, she discovers that the deliveryman is Soo Kyung’s brother, Joo Ho (Joo Ho), who declares his love for her again, in his typical cheesy style.
Back at the department store, Soo Kyung berates Dong Wook for not knowing Yu Jin’s style. Under the pretext of picking out a dress for Yu Jin, he makes Soo Kyung try on dresses, until he finds one he likes on her. She’s uncomfortable in it (she should be; it’s awful), but he tells her she should wear things that other people say look good on her. She turns it around, and tells him what we’ve all been thinking from the first episode: to take off the damn hairband.
As Soo Kyung looks at herself in the dress, she imagines Dong Wook as a prince watering plants, and herself as a little weepy girl. When she asks him whether he’ll take her to Versailles and love her forever, fantasy Dong Wook tells her to stop her habit of crying instead. The real Dong Wook, who is obviously reading her mind again, bursts out laughing, then agrees she looks better in jeans and t-shirts. Soo Kyung informs him that they need to go to another store to find Yu Jin a dress.
Back at the party, Yu Jin and her mother greet the guests, who all comment on how well Yu Jin’s plastic surgery turned out. Hwan sees Min Ae come in on Ryohei’s arm, and confronts her about toying with him when she’s with Ryohei. Min Ae clues in that she’s been acting like an ass in the name of her competition with Joo Hee, who is unruffled by this turn of events. Ryohei stalks off, and Yu Jin’s boss, Mi Jin arrives to defend Hwan.
Back at the department store, Dong Wook drags Soo Kyung into playing a couple game for gift certificates. Dong Wook wins them the game by reading her mind for the answers. They celebrate their victory by having a coffee on the rooftop. In the course of their conversation, Soo Kyung is again reminded of Phillip, but tries to play it off.
The two of them have a moment when Dong Wook reassures her that it’s okay for her to be sad, but is interrupted by a phone call from Yu Jin, who is upset to find out that they are still together. Startled, Soo Kyung ends up spilling her coffee on her white pants (we’ve come full circle, I guess). Instead of hurrying to the party, Dong Wook hands Yu Jin an excuse then drags Soo Kyung downstairs to buy her a new outfit with their gift certificates.
Back at the party, Ryohei is trapped in a tug of war between the two man-eaters, Min Ae and Joo Hee, while Hwan drinks his sorrows away. Yu Jin’s mom sends her to the podium to greet the guests, and we’re back at the beginning of the last episode, as Dong Wook and Soo Kyung burst in. Yu Jin introduces him as her boyfriend, and gives a speech about what she loves about him. She caps it off by asking him to marry her (how modern!). Pressured by the room full of guests, Dong Wook apologizes for not asking her first, and then asks her to marry him.
Soo Kyung stands there like a third wheel while Yu Jin and Dong Wook embrace each other and everyone cheers. Dong Wook looks up at Soo Kyung, and the two of them stare at each other over Yu Jin’s shoulder.
Comments
This show has grown on me since Soo Kyung and Dong Wook started interacting, and this was one of the more enjoyable episodes. I can’t say their chemistry has really smacked me upside the head yet, but compared to everyone else, Soo Kyung and Dong Wook seem to have progressed to the point where they can be honest and comfortable with each other. Unsurprisingly, this is a refreshing change from the game playing and manipulation of the other characters.
As for Yu Jin, frankly, I’d imagine that any relationship with her would be stressful, as natural doesn’t seem to be a word in her vocabulary. Still, I can’t blame her for having expectations of Dong Wook, who continually gives in to her, and makes no indication that their relationship is not as strong as it seems. I can, however, blame her for railroading him into an engagement by proposing in front of everyone she knows, and I can blame her for her crazy jealousy and emotional demands. Treating him as a fixer-upper is just the icing on the cake.
Also, for some reason, I found the scenario with Dong Wook and Soo Kyung in Soo Kyung’s mind really hilarious. Maybe it was Dong Wook watering the plants in a ruffled shirt? I’ll admit I did briefly wonder if he’d borrowed the outfit from Ryohei.
Noonas Over Forks 