Episode Recap
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We have a neat introduction to the lead couple in which Park Do Kyung (Eric Mun) is seemingly providing the sound engineering for Oh Hae Young (Seo Hyun Jin) walking on the street. It turns out to be mere coincidence, though. Do Kyung is doing his job for a movie while Hae Young returns home to announce that she has called off her wedding, the day before the big event.
Hae Young gets a beating from her mother, Duk Yi (Kim Ki Kyung), but she stands by her decision. A month later, she seems chipper on the job as a hands-on restaurant chain executive even though she is at odds with her eccentric boss, Park Soo Kyung (Ye Ji Won). Hae Young is a perfectionist with food, and when she does not get the equipment she feels they need, she badmouths her boss, and is caught in the act.
Similarly, Do Kyung’s exacting standards are a cause for grief in his team of sound engineers, and he walks in on a member of his team, his brother, Park Hoon (Heo Jeong Min) mocking him for being left at the altar. Do Kyung refrains from committing violence on Hoon, and saves it for a director who objects to how much time he is taking to do the sound for his movie. Do Kyung’s mother, the movie producer, is forced to intervene, but also comes to blows with Do Kyung after he bluntly tells her to stop producing duds.
Later, coming out of a jjimjilbang, Do Kyung is objecting to his friend, Lee Jin Sang’s (Kim Ji Seok) practice of taking his pants off before removing his top, when Do Kyung experiences déjà vu. It seems that he has been experiencing it a lot lately. However, when Do Kyung suddenly visualizes Jin Sang having a fit over getting a parking ticket just prior to it happening, it is hard to dismiss.
Hae Young claims that calling off the wedding is the best decision she ever made. However, gossip about the last minute cancellation continues to dog her and her family. While Duk Yi secretly supports Hae Young’s decision, she berates her daughter to start dating again.
Hae Young’s subsequent blind date is with a discourteous oaf who won’t get off his phone, then cuts their date short. Hae Young berates him at the table then angrily challenges him to date her for a week, claiming to be capable of making him fall for her. Presumably, the man does not take Hae Young up on her offer since word gets back to Hae Young’s mother, who berates him as a tattling mama’s boy. Bless her!
Do Kyung calls Jin Sang out to drink, and based on his sixth sense, manages to save his friend from being crushed to death. Unable to explain this ability to predict the future, Do Kyung broods in the shower (yah!) while seeing ominous, fleeting images of Hae Young in danger.
Do Kyung seeks out medical advice to explain these visions of a woman he has never seen yet seems oddly familiar. However, there is no reasonable explanation, and when Do Kyung and Hae Young run into each other on a crowded street, it is like a dream sequence.
After Hae Young happily announces to a nosy neighbour that she hurt her arm while out drinking, Duk Yi reaches her breaking point. Fed up with having to defend her daughter’s scandalous behaviour, she chases Hae Young out the door with a massive beef bone.
Do Kyung’s brother, Hoon returns his ex-girlfriend’s belongings to her as a heap of ashes. While angrily deciding who to date next, a purple haired convenience store employee (Heo Young Ji) volunteers herself as a candidate. Later, the new couple giddily have their first date walking under the cherry blossoms at night.
Hae Young follows her boss, Soo Kyung on a surprise visit to one of their restaurants. Unable to call ahead to warn the manager and staff, Hae Young watches as Soo Kyung tears the place apart then gets a stack of paper whipped in her face.
At the employee social that evening, Hae Young is full of self pity and soju. She drunkenly attempts to pick a fight with Soo Kyung, then demands to know why Soo Kyung keeps picking on her. It turns out that Soo Kyung suffered massive disappointment at losing the opportunity to feast on a hotel buffet. Soo Kyung only found out about the cancellation the morning of the wedding, and having starved herself the night before, was forced to gorge on four bowls of ramen instead. The Noonas understand your pain, Soo Kyung.
The truth of Hae Young’s break up comes out in drunken flashback. Her fiancé, Han Tae Jin (Lee Jae Yoon) was the one who broke up with her. She tearfully asked to let everyone think she was the one who broke off the wedding. In the present day, Hae Young has a meltdown on the streets of Seoul.
At a coffee house, Do Kyung meets up with a colleague who turns out to be the high school friend of Hae Young. The friend discloses the truth regarding Hae Young being dumped the day before her wedding, and a dazed Do Kyung attempts to escape before Hae Young’s arrival. Do Kyung ends up colliding into Hae Young, resulting in her bloody nose, which he had foreseen.
It turns out that Do Kyung was left at the altar by a classmate of Hae Young, also named Oh Hae Young (Jeon Hye Bin). In a case of mistaken identity, Do Kyung drove Tae Jin’s business into bankruptcy, thinking he was taking revenge on the man that his Hae Young had left him for. Tae Jin proceeded to break up with Hae Young the day before their wedding.
Do Kyung decides to go for a walk to clear his mind, but leaves his wallet in Jin Sang’s car. Jin Sang manages to toss the wallet into the middle of the street before driving off. Do Kyung and his wallet appear doomed to remain apart until Hae Young steps confidently into traffic and retrieves it. She hands the wallet back to Do Kyung who gapes at her, having just witnessed his vision come to life.
Comments
This Kdrama is off to a promising start! First off, it features some great female characters. I liked the bold title character who decides to play the bad guy rather than become the object of pity after being dumped the day before her marriage. Her mother is also great; understandably angry about her daughter’s inexplicable behaviour, but still ready to defend her from disapproval and gossip.
The pacing has been good with some surprising plot twists. I am indifferent towards supernatural elements, because I find them gimmicky. However, I really liked the sudden guilt trip that the male lead is now on, having realized that he targeted the wrong Oh Hae Young in his revenge. It will be interesting to see how the prickly Do Kyung will deal with this pull he has towards a woman whose life he toppled.
Finally, the show rounds out with some interesting side characters. Kim Ji Seok is playing a second lead again, but at least, this time, he gets to play a weirdo rather than the usual nice doormat. Hae Young’s boss is also entertainingly bizarre, and her relationship with Hae Young is a puzzling mix of combative and sad.
My fear is that everything will eventually dissolve into tears and melodrama. In the meantime, “Oh Hae Young Again” is showcasing some great characters, interesting set ups, and some food porn. Even if everything falls apart, let’s hope they keep eating.
Noonas Over Forks 
Heh, Puerto Ricans love crunchy rice as well, but we call it “arroz pegao,” or “stuck rice.” I shared that link on Facebook, and my friends are all drooling about it. I have to check this series out, I’m way behind on my dramas with work and school.
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Love this series so far. I think episode 2 showed so much more character development and the reasons for more closely. I love Eric as cold and perfectionist person in this drama rather than someone who seems snobby in almost all of his dramas. The actress, Seo Hyun Jin is doing great job so far. But Yeh Ji Won takes the cake. Looking forward more mysteries to come out and reveal soon.
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