Episode Recap
Sad Mi Mo (Jang Na Ra) is seeing hallucinations of Soo Hyuk (Jung Kyung Ho), and wallpapering his apartment door with notes asking where he is. One day, she receives a package delivery from her old elementary school. It contains the jewelry box that Soo Hyuk had bought, but never gave to her then lost during the recent reunion. Inside, Mi Mo finds her wedding ring from her pseudo marriage to Soo Hyuk, and it prompts a flood of tears.
Mi Mo meets up with Soo Hyuk’s former colleague, because she feels guilty about things she said the last time she saw Soo Hyuk. The colleague tells her not to worry about it. Mi Mo reluctantly accepts the advice and later, takes down her post-it notes on Soo Hyuk’s door.
It’s back to work for both Mi Mo and Da Jung (Yoo Da In), whose matchmaking business has recovered from the scandal, and are celebrating their 200th successful match. Da Jung’s husband, Gun Hak (Kim Tae Hoon) comes claiming to want a consultation, but really, he is just hoping to reconnect with his wife. He is undeterred when Da Jung gives him the cold shoulder.
At a pojangmacha, Da Jung asks Mi Mo why she doesn’t go after Soo Hyuk in the US, but Mi Mo is too busy feeling guilty about the mixed messages she sent to both him and Hae Joon (Kwon Yool). Shifting the focus, Mi Mo asks Da Jung why she keeps pushing her husband away. Da Jung is convinced that Gun Hak is acting out of pity rather than love.
Dong Mi (Yoo In Na) opens her door to find the playboy husband, Dong Bae (Park Eun Seok) of her friend, Ae Ran (Seo In Young). He has come to court his wife with snacks. Dong Mi shovels them in her mouth as Ae Ran reluctantly takes a sample offered by Dong Bae.
Mi Mo is cooking and remembering Soo Hyuk when she hears his apartment door open. She rushes out only to find a real estate agent showing the apartment to a young couple. She learns that the apartment was put on the market just a few days ago, but Mi Mo cannot muster the courage to ask for Soo Hyuk’s contact information.
One morning, Mi Mo comes out of her apartment to find Hae Joon’s teenage patient chucking eggs at her. She is tearfully attempting to take revenge on Mi Mo for breaking Hae Joon’s heart. Mi Mo is apathetic as she offers to take the punishment, but mocks the use of generic chicken eggs, then leaves the teenager to clean up the mess under the supervision of an irate neighbour.
Poor Hae Joon has been breaking down over the phone with Mi Mo, blaming her for turning him crazy. Unfortunately, Mi Mo knows nothing of this, because he accidentally called his ex-wife, Yeon Soo (Hwang Sun Hee), while the teenager witnessed this pathetic display. So, when the teenager proudly announces to Hae Joon that she took revenge on Mi Mo on his behalf, she is shocked that Hae Joon loses his temper with her.
Dong Mi’s younger boyfriend, Jung Woo is lovingly shoveling food into her mouth when he is spotted by an acquaintance. The man mistakes Dong Mi for his older sister, then inadvertently reveals that Jung Woo is actually 25 years old. Jung Woo apologizes for bumping his age up by three years, unaware that Dong Mi bumped her age down by the same amount.
Ae Ran insists that the six year age gap was surmountable, but a nine year age gap is not. She advises Dong Mi to break up with Jung Woo since she does not have the time to wait for him to get settled in life. Dong Mi ends up discussing the topic of dating younger men with a more sympathetic nine year old student, who ends up as shocked and disapproving as Ae Ran when she learns of Dong Mi’s age gap with Jung Woo.
Gun Hak proposes to Da Jung that they go on a couples retreat to save their marriage. He gives her the gift of couple shirts, and Da Jung seems to be softening towards Gun Hak.
Mi Mo is rushing for the elevator when the doors open to reveal Soo Hyuk with a new hairdo. She is rendered speechless, and he catches her right before she falls. Soo Hyuk teases Mi Mo about her goldfish-like memory, then vows to stick around until she remembers that they were fated for each other. Mi Mo is speechless as she watches Soo Hyuk nonchalantly disappear into his apartment. He drops the act behind the closed door, looking out of breath and deeply affected.
This reunion turns out to be the handiwork of Hae Joon, who spied Mi Mo moping in the park over Soo Hyuk, and decided to give Soo Hyuk permission to return for her sake. Hae Joon’s good deed is rewarded by a summoning to the office of the hospital director, whose teenage daughter is the one infatuated with Hae Joon. The director knows that Hae Joon did something to upset his daughter, and asks him to fix it.
Mi Mo runs into a woman in the car park who looks familiar, but she cannot place. The woman is actually Shi Ah, the fiancée of Mi Mo’s ex-husband, and also apparently related to Soo Hyuk. At his apartment, she encourages him to meet up with Soo Eun, a mutual acquaintance who has just returned to Korea, but Soo Hyuk is not interested.
Soo Hyuk finds Hae Joon at the hospital and attempts to reconnect, but Hae Joon is still bitter about the perceived stab in the back over Mi Mo. Soo Hyuk apologizes, and keeps up the cute offensive. Before Soo Hyuk leaves, Hae Joon takes exception to Soo Hyuk swooping in to save Mi Mo from an angry mob when it should have been him. The men end up duking it out in a children’s ball pit.
As male spectators conclude that Soo Hyuk and Hae Joon are fighting over a woman, and children pelt the two men with balls, Mi Mo arrives on the scene with Da Jung and her son. In the midst of the onslaught of balls, a bromance materializes with Hae Joon shielding Soo Hyuk with his lab coat. Afterwards, Hae Joon reveals that he also had an unrequited love for the mother of Soo Hyuk’s child, and the men vow not to chase after the same woman for a third time. Mi Mo eavesdrops around the corner, and sighs with relief.
Ae Ran presents Dong Bae with a contract to sign, listing all the conditions he must meet in order for her to remain married to him. To her surprise, he signs it without hesitation nor question, then confidently asks when she is moving back home.
Mi Mo and Soo Hyuk run into each other at the elevator. She makes a snide remark about his bedraggled appearance, and Soo Hyuk points out that she has been the reason for many of his worst looks, though he willingly looks foolish for love of her. Though, Soo Hyuk demands a home cooked meal as compensation for all his ruined clothes.
Over dinner, Mi Mo asks Soo Hyuk what he will do to make money since he has a son to support, which Soo Hyuk fluffs off. Then, Mi Mo reprimands him for leaving without saying goodbye. He admits that he came back for her, and he is ready to take both her and his career seriously from now on.
The moment becomes tense as Mi Mo and Soo Hyuk realize that they are sitting in much the same way as their first drunken kiss. The building intensity is interrupted by a call from Soo Hyuk’s former colleague. Soo Hyuk goes to a pojangmacha to meet his colleague, who admits that he never thought he would see Soo Hyuk again so he diligently monitored Mi Mo in his absence. Soo Hyuk resolves to be both lighthearted and mature from now on.
Hae Joon’s antics in the ball pit spreads throughout the hospital quickly, and Yeon Soo stops by to laugh about it. She is relieved to see that he is visibly improved. They end up having beers together during which Hae Joon apologizes for making Yeon Soo feel lonely while they were married.
Unable to sleep due to Soo Hyuk’s intense promise to grow up, Mi Mo goes for a walk, and spies a drunken Soo Hyuk being carried by his colleague. A security guard comes up, and reveals that the colleague had been stalking Mi Mo up until recently.
Soo Hyuk arrives at lunch with his disapproving, but wealthy parents, along with his son and Soo Eun, the woman who is interested in him. His parents lambaste him for returning to the US only when he looks like he is on the verge of collapse. The woman announces that she intends to stay in Seoul to look after him, even though Soo Hyuk clearly states that he has no interest in her.
After learning from Soo Hyuk’s colleague that he left Korea for her sake, Mi Mo confronts Soo Hyuk in the park by whipping a shoe at his back. She admits she is scared to proceed further with him, but tearfully dares him to bridge the gap to her. Soo Hyuk does exactly that, planting a kiss that silences Mi Mo instantly. They stare into each other’s eyes as the snow falls prettily around them.
Comments
Here I thought that the previous episode was a turning point with Soo Hyuk suddenly resurfacing, and then, episode 12 would be all sunshine and lollipops. Yet, the writers decided to backtrack and have Soo Hyuk make his reappearance mid-episode. Along with non-stop flashbacks, it appears that they are trying to save enough material for the last four episodes.
In spite of the time wasting strategies, episode 12 was not bad. I am relieved that Hae Joon abruptly transformed from crazy at the beginning of this episode to noble by mid-episode. Plus, his scenes with Soo Hyuk trying to charm his way to forgiveness then the ball pit fight were hilarious. Those are the kind of time fillers I like!
This may be the first episode where I was not annoyed and indifferent towards Dong Mi. Of course, I love noona romances, and this one just became more scandalous with the reveal of the nine year age gap. However, any relationship that subdues Dong Mi, making her less annoying, is marriage material.
Mi Mo and Da Jung both looked like they were sleepwalking through most of this episode, but there’s hope that they will both perk up next week. Mi Mo seems ready to love Soo Hyuk without reservation, and Da Jung is being packed off to couple camp. I am not crazy about the sudden introduction of an aggressive rival for Soo Hyuk, because he clearly has no interest in her, so she will serve as a hindrance more than any real threat. Hopefully, they use her to comedic effect rather than last minute angst.
One More Happy Ending (한번 더 해피엔딩)
Noonas Over Forks 