Episode Recap
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Hye Rim (Han Ye Seul) receives a call from a young woman looking for Soo Hyun (Sung Joon). She redirects the call then frets about who this young woman who appears so familiar with Soo Hyun might be. However, she need not worry, because Soo Hyun misses the call from the young woman named Clare, and has no intention of speaking with her. Hye Rim brings him coffee to ask about Clare, and Soo Hyun casually dismisses the topic with lies.
Using a Passionate Love Scale test, Soo Hyun determines that Hye Rim is not sufficiently crazy in love with him to fulfill the next two tasks in Phase Two of his experiment. He calls Clare to his office, and Hye Rim’s curiosity about the nature of Clare and Soo Hyun’s relationship prompts her to interrupt their meeting on the pretense of bringing coffee then ask to be introduced to his guest. It turns out that Clare is a human rights lawyer affiliated with the United Nations. They fall into an awkward silence until Hye Rim is sent out to fetch another drink for Clare. Afterwards, Soo Hyun checks in on Hye Rim, and it appears that Clare provoked the jealousy in Hye Rim that he was hoping for.
When Seung Chan (Jinwoon) arrives at the clinic, he finds Mi Ran (Jang Mi Hee) waiting to do their daily exercise session. He tersely claims to have a leg injury that will prevent him from exercising for the rest of the winter, then quickly limps away. Later, Mi Ran tries to offer treatment for his leg or a meal, but Seung Chan rejects all her offers. When Seung Chan spots Hye Rim, he uses her to escape from Mi Ran. Mi Ran realizes that Seung Chan’s attitude towards her has changed, and she can do nothing about it.
Feeling sorry for her, Hye Rim takes Mi Ran aside and asks her point blank if she likes Seung Chan. Though she initially rejects the idea, Mi Ran eventually confesses to having feelings for Seung Chan. Hye Rim admits to finding out about Mi Ran’s crush via her bucket list, but she lies about being the only one to know about her feelings for Seung Chan.
Hye Rim is sympathetic about Mi Ran’s crush on Seung Chan, and Mi Ran condones her feelings as a professional counselor. However, on a personal level, Mi Ran is embarrassed by her attraction to Seung Chan, and worries that other people will find out. She wishes to die without scandal. Hye Rim reassures her that she will help Mi Ran keep her secret. Hye Rim manages to convince Seung Chan that they have made a mistake about Mi Ran’s attraction towards him, then encourages him to stop avoiding Mi Ran.
Yoo Rim (Hwang Seung Eon) finds Ji Ho (Lee Joo Hyung) popping up in the middle of her documentary shoot. When she corners him, Ji Ho tell Yoo Rim that he loves her. Yoo Rim proposes giving him 10 tasks to do within a month to prove his love. Yoo Rim looks around the jjimjilbang for inspiration and comes up with eating nothing but salt and water, walking around barefoot, brushing his teeth 27 times a day, while wearing a towel on his head, sheep style. The next time Yoo Rim sees Ji Ho, she has already forgotten what she tasked him with, and is astounded at his unwavering commitment to looking ridiculous for her sake.
Hye Rim finds out that Soo Hyun is out with Clare at a French restaurant, and drops in on their dinner. It turns out that Soo Hyun and Clare are talking about her work at the UN, which intimidates Hye Rim into hiding in the washroom to give herself a pep talk. She receives a text from Soo Hyun in which he notifies her that they are ready to leave the restaurant. Hye Rim finds herself scrambling to keep up with Soo Hyun and Clare.
After Soo Hyun sees Clare off in a taxi, Hye Rim lets her anger fly about being rushed off. Soo Hyun claims that he was doing it for her sake, then takes her to view a lunar eclipse. He reveals that he used to watch lunar eclipses with his mother, and wanted to share it with Hye Rim. Suddenly, all is forgiven.
Hye Rim returns to the café late at night to find a previous client waiting for a reading from her. Hye Rim confirms her suspicion that the woman is Soo Hyun’s biological mother. Aware that Soo Hyun is resentful towards her, the woman simply wanted to see Soo Hyun once, but now, finds herself wanting to see him repeatedly. She asks for Hye Rim’s help to allow her to have a meal with Soo Hyun before she returns to the US in a month.
Hye Rim arranges a chance meeting at a restaurant between Soo Hyun and his mother. They end up having lunch together, despite Soo Hyun’s reservations about dining with a patient. Things get awkward when the woman asks Soo Hyun personal questions then proposes that he and Hye Rim help her shop for a gift for her son. At the store, the woman eagerly asks Soo Hyun what he would want. Soo Hun carelessly points at a scarf, and the woman immediately buys it.
Hye Rim visits the Chairman’s (Byun Hee Bong) home, and runs into his housekeeper. She finds out that the Chairman was a happier man before the death of his sister. Meanwhile, Soo Hyun learns from the hospital that the Chairman struggled with alcoholism. Then, his wife and son committed suicide.
Hye Rim arrives home to Soo Hyun’s gift of a brand new car. She is overwhelmed by the scope of the gift, but touched by the custom interior that Soo Hyun picked out, and the designer sunglasses included inside; it all goes to prove that Soo Hyun pays close attention to her. Everything is going according to Soo Hyun’s plan, but he becomes grim as he contemplates the next step: ceasing to love Hye Rim.
Seung Chan enters Mi Ran’s office with trepidation, and he invites her to join him on a shopping trip. At the store, Seung Chan styles Mi Ran with hat, scarf and mittens, then they treat grocery shopping like an adventure.
Mi Ran happily cooks the squid they bought, then calls Hye Rim to save the dish. The women and Seung Chan are joined for dinner by Soo Hyun and Ji Ho. When Ji Ho asks where Yoo Rim is, Hye Rim decides to trick her sister into coming for dinner via speaker phone. Yoo Rim is told that Seung Chan was injured during a burglary, and she suggests that Mi Ran be informed right away given her feelings for Seung Chan. Hye Rim abruptly hangs up on Yoo Rim, and after an awkward silence, everyone scatters. Mi Ran escapes to her office then leaves without saying goodbye. Soo Hyun receives a text from Mi Ran saying that she will be taking time off from work.
The Chairman’s daughter, Yeon Woo has been found after days of wandering around their old home and neighbourhood. The Chairman visits her at the hospital, but Yeon Woo does not recognize him. He sends for Soo Hyun and Hye Rim, and Yeon Woo does not recognize them either. Soo Hyun and Hye Rim attempt to get the Chairman to tell them more about the tragic deaths in his family, but the Chairman bristles at the inquiry and sends them away. That night, the Chairman dreams of his wife, son and sister socializing at the foot of his bed then sees them dining outside his bedroom.
The Chairman goes running to find Hye Rim, to request an exorcism. While the Chairman waits for Hye Rim, he engages in obsessive compulsive behaviour, which Soo Hyun watches from behind a two way mirror. When Soo Hyun joins the Chairman, he attempts to ascertain when his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder started. The Chairman breaks one of his drinking glasses in a rage, then runs off after Soo Hyun warns him that his OCD will only get worse.
After discussing the Chairman’s OCD with Hye Rim, Soo Hyun presents her with the breakfast that he had cooked for her, and the finger he burned in the process. A guilty Hye Rim asks if there is anything she can do for him. Soo Hyun continues to claim that all he wants is her.
Alone in his office, Soo Hyun broods over how he will get Hye Rim to repeat the task that his first subject executed out of love: tie 100 ribbons in a tree and publicly proclaim her love. He struggles as he arranges for flowers to be sent to Hye Rim with this very request.
The next day, Soo Hyun receives a video message recording from Hye Rim, which was what he had requested previously. In the video, Hye Rim bares her heart, and Soo Hyun looks aghast. He rushes to the café and arrives just as Hye Rim receives the bouquet with the request attached.
Hye Rim looks devastated as she reveals that she knew about the actual experiment that Soo Hyun was conducting on her all along. Yet, she is amazed that he persisted on carrying out the experiment right until the end. Soo Hyun attempts to take the bouquet back, and Hye Rim whips it at his feet before leaving.
Hye Rim runs into Yoo Rim on the way to burrowing under the covers of her bed, but refuses to tell her sister why she is upset. Yoo Rim finds the bouquet and card, and angrily marches back to ask Hye Rim if Soo Hyun truly made this request of her. Hye Rim stays silent as an outraged Yoo Rim demands retribution.
Soo Hyun is wracked with guilt knowing that Hye Rim met his request for a video message, in spite of being aware that it was one of the hallmarks of his experiment. He punishes himself by rewatching Hye Rim’s declaration of love, now most probably a recording of a bygone era.
Comments
This episode provoked exclamations of horror and delight from me with the dropping of two truth bombs. First, Mi Ran discovering that her crush on Seung Chan was known by everyone while Seung Chan learns that Mi Ran is indeed attracted to him. The revelation about Mi Ran’s secret was especially juicy, because it was revealed so unexpectedly and suddenly. Second, Hye Rim coming face-to-face with irrefutable evidence that Soo Hyun continues to experiment on her, then revealing her knowledge about the experiment to Soo Hyun.
The promise of emotional havoc and drama with these reveals makes me wonder why the writers prolonged the petty games and scheming, which served only to make both Hye Rim and Soo Hyun completely unappealing. If only they had allowed Hye Rim to be straight forward sooner, then we would have more time for the couple to tackle their issues, and reconcile, and I could actually respect the lead couple.
Seung Chan and Mi Ran’s story line provokes less intense feelings for me, because other than the shock of Mi Ran and Seung Chan’s humiliation, there is nothing more to anticipate. Mi Ran’s failing health is a convenient way to avoid any actual boundary pushing development, so from here on end, the story will probably take a safely sentimental turn.
At the very least, I can look forward to the sight of Sung Joon and Han Ye Seul, who continue to look great, in spite of being sleep deprived for the past seven or more weeks. The couple are pleasing to the eye, even if they lack sexual chemistry, though I would be thrilled if they were to suddenly whip it out in the final three episodes.
Madame Antoine (마담 앙트완)
Noonas Over Forks 