Episode Recap
Hae Joon (Kwon Yool) seems worried as he discovers that his best friend, Soo Hyuk (Jung Kyung Ho) has sacrificed a lot to save his girlfriend, Mi Mo (Jang Na Ra) from being vilified in the press. He’s right to be worried: when Hae Joon goes to see Mi Mo, he catches sight of Mi Mo wordlessly weeping at a battered Soo Hyuk, as she holds herself back from going to him. Soo Hyuk goes back to his apartment, while Hae Joon goes out to drink, and Mi Mo ends up weeping all over her friend, Da Jung (Yoo Da In) at the hospital.
Hae Joon ends off by brooding drunkenly outside of Mi Mo and Soo Hyuk’s apartment building, where Soo Hyuk catches sight of him, and goes to see him. Hae Joon angrily wonders how he should rid himself of the feeling that he’s coming between Mi Mo and Soo Hyuk, but Soo Hyuk can only apologize. Hae Joon punches Soo Hyuk, tells him to get lost, and then stumbles away. That night, Mi Mo broods while taking cold medicine, and thinks back to Soo Hyuk bringing it to her.
Over breakfast the next morning, Soo Hyuk looks listless (don’t pick at your food!), while his son, Min Woo tries to find out what’s wrong, and fails. Min Woo finds a stack of mail outside the door, as he leaves for school, and is about to open a box, when he’s interrupted by Mi Mo. Sensing that it’s hate mail for Soo Hyuk, Mi Mo takes the box away and sends Min Woo to school instead.
At Mass Punch, the wrath of the agency of Goo Seul Ah (Sandara Park) has fallen on the heads of Soo Hyuk’s colleagues, who are struggling to work while being blocked by the agency. Soo Hyuk tells them off then leaves the meeting, but he’s backed up by the editor, who finds his rebellion charming. The charm wears off as the director of Seul Ah’s agency decides to sue Mass Punch for damages. But, when he goes drinking with his colleague, Soo Hyuk can only think about what to do with his feelings for Mi Mo.
Mi Mo, meanwhile, goes for a walk with Hae Joon, then awkwardly parts with him at her apartment. Hae Joon thinks back to the words of his ex-wife, Yeon Soo (Hwang Sun Hee) about how he never hangs on to anyone, and then stops in front of a jewellery store.
Mi Mo’s friend, Dong Mi (Yoo In Na) gets a visit from Cupid in her dreams, who assures her that her younger boyfriend is legit (in exchange for her giving him a good rating). The next day, in anticipation of a date that evening, she shows up to work in full makeup, and her colleagues mock her. That night, though, when Dong Mi goes on her date (without her glasses on, even), her younger beau compliments her on being pretty.
Their other friend, Ae Ran (Seo In Young) is upset that her employees are betting on the outcome of her relationship with her playboy husband, Dong Bae (Park Eun Seok). When she meets with Dong Bae, she demands that he show her that he’s sincere in his promise to be faithful.
Mi Mo, Ae Ran and Dong Mi drive Da Jung home from the hospital, then kidnap her son Tae Yong, sending her up to her apartment alone. When Da Jung gets in, the apartment looks like Valentine’s Day threw up all over it. She’s greeted by her estranged husband, Gun Hak (Kim Tae Hoon) wearing nothing, but a bow…just kidding! Gun Hak tells her that she’ll always be a woman to him, and holds her as she cries. She’s skeptical of his feelings, calling it pity, but Gun Hak denies it and tells Da Jung he threw out the divorce papers.
Mi Mo goes to dinner with Hae Joon, who brings her flowers and gives her jewelry. Rather than accept it, Mi Mo starts crying and apologizes to him. But, before she can break up with him, Hae Joon stops her and leaves. Later, over drinks, Ae Ran tells Mi Mo that she can’t be the good guy in this situation, that it’s better for her to be a jerk and break things off with Hae Joon cleanly and quickly, than to drag it out in the hopes of Hae Joon breaking up with her instead.
On her way home, Soo Hyuk spots a drunk Mi Mo being harassed by a drunken passerby. When he rescues her, Mi Mo gets angry at him for confusing her, and cries as she tells him not to appear in front of her. Soo Hyuk goes home, and asks Min Woo if they should go visit his parents in the US for a bit. Aware that Soo Hyuk is suffering, Min Woo agrees. Soo Hyuk goes to work and hands in his resignation, much to the dismay of his editor and colleague.
Meanwhile, Mi Mo goes home and mopes some more, then goes to see Hae Joon the next morning. Hae Joon refuses to come out of his apartment while she’s there, and Mi Mo eventually leaves. Instead, Hae Joon thinks back to Yeon Soo’s words that his ideal type, someone who’s been through a lot, but is innocent, is not only impossible, but that he himself doesn’t meet the requirements.
Finally, Mi Mo corners Hae Joon at the hospital, but before she can break up with him, he breaks up with her, saying that he hates her for her changed feelings. Undeterred, Mi Mo repeats her reasons for breaking up with him, and apologizes. Hae Joon is just sad that he couldn’t be the one to have the heart of such an amazing woman. Mi Mo goes home and looks at Soo Hyuk’s apartment door, but doesn’t go inside.
Meanwhile, Dong Bae visits Ae Ran, and reenacts that scene from Love, Actually with the cards, and tells her he’ll love her no matter what. Ae Ran doesn’t say anything, but she looks convinced.
The next day, at work, Da Jung tells Mi Mo that she heard that Soo Hyuk quit his job. A frantic Mi Mo goes to the Mass Punch office, where Soo Hyuk’s colleague confirms the news, but doesn’t add that Soo Hyuk has left for New York. Mi Mo runs to all of Soo Hyuk’s hangouts, but can’t find him.
I can’t tell how much time is supposed to have passed, so maybe it’s the next day, when Mi Mo heads out to work. As the elevator doors open, Mi Mo is shocked to find Soo Hyuk already inside. He asks Mi Mo how she’s been, and she’s so startled by his change of hairstyle that she trips over her own feet and falls. Luckily, Soo Hyuk catches her, and the episode ends as they stare into each other’s eyes.
Comments
Having spent this entire episode moping, I’m going to cling to the hope that the last three seconds of good cheer are a signal that this series is going to move away from the pointless angst and back to the entertaining hijinks that made this show so entertaining initially.
But, before I get into my hopes and dreams for what comes next, let me vent a little about what made this episode so painful to watch. I could go into Hae Joon’s refusal to face facts, or Soo Hyuk’s martyr complex, or Mi Mo’s indecision, but what really bothered me was the fact that nothing actually happened here that couldn’t have been compressed into the end of the last episode. Instead, we get a full hour of moping, tears, self-reflection, sad characters staring off into space, and pointless flashbacks. I never thought I would say this, but I’d almost rather they’d wasted the time with more of the side stories, like Ae Ran and Da Jung, than spend the time obsessing over how miserable our leads are. Or, I don’t know, bring some comedy to this romantic comedy.
On the positive side, let me take a moment and appreciate Ae Ran’s advice to Mi Mo, that being the bad guy and breaking up with Hae Joon is actually the kinder thing to do, rather than dragging things out and waiting for him to break up with her. Sometimes it’s nice when a character articulates what you’re thinking.
Anyway, it looks like things are progressing, so yay! Maybe the next episode will showcase more of the fantastic comedic chemistry between Jang Na Ra and Jung Kyung Ho, now that we’ve removed their number one source of angst.
One More Happy Ending (한번 더 해피엔딩)
Noonas Over Forks 
“wearing nothing but a bow” — ha! I thought for a second that I had missed a very important scene. 🙂 A little disappointed that I did not.
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You did miss a very important scene… too bad it only existed in my imagination. 😀
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