Side dish: If you find yourself tasked with cooking fried chicken for a new beau, try Chuck’s Fried Chicken. The recipe comes from hunky French Canadian chef, Chuck Hughes so you’ll be cooking with double the love.
Episode Recap
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After their dreamy kiss, Ha Won (Park So Dam) and Ji Woon (Jung Il Woo) have their bliss interrupted by scandal. Gossip sites are declaring that Ha Won, still known as playboy, Hyun Min’s (Ahn Jae Hyun) fiancée, is now involved with pop idol, Seo Woo (Lee Jung Shin). Ji Woon gets pissy about the cozy photos of Ha Won and Seo Woo. Ha Won is more worried about the Chairman finding out that she and Ji Woon are dating.
Sure enough, when Ha Won and Ji Woon return to Sky House, the Chairman is waiting for them along with Seo Woo and the Chairman’s secretary, Yoon Sung (Choi Min). The Chairman demands to know if the gossip is true, then reveals the terms of Ha Won’s contract that forbid her from dating any of his grandsons. Ji Woon is stunned then angry after the Chairman makes a snobby statement about Ha Won not meeting their standards.
Seo Woo finds himself repeatedly denying that he is dating Ha Won. First, to the Chairman then to Ha Won’s friend, Ja Young (Cho Hye Jung). Ja Young seems willing to concede Seo Woo to Ha Won, since her friend has had a hard life, but is very happy to learn that it is pure gossip.
When Ha Won goes looking for Ji Woon in his workshop, they have an argument over her signing of the contract. Ji Woon calls her careless, and Ha Won points out that he was such a jerk when they first met, she never would have imagined that the no dating clause would become an issue. Ji Woon jealously brings up Seo Woo and Ha Won cites his dating of Hye Ji before she leaves in a huff.
Yoon Sung is still following the Chairman’s wife, Madame Ji, and discovers that she purchases boutique clothing for orphans, and gets them to call her ‘mother’. Yoon Sung investigates, and learns that Madame Ji has been claiming that she lost her son – Yoon Sung – at a young age.
After Hye Ji (Son Na Eun) finally manages to drive Hyun Min and his car home, she coldly tells him not to pull such a stunt again. He can only watch forlornly when Hye Ji enters Ji Woon’s workshop. Little doe Hyun Min know, Hye Ji proceeds to pack up her belongings. When Ji Woon finds her, he confirms that he and Ha Won are dating, and reveals that Hyun Min was actually the one responsible for placing her belongings in storage.
After Ha Won spots Hye Ji coming out of the workshop with Ji Woon, she begins to have second thoughts about dating him. Fortunately, Ji Woon approaches her shortly thereafter. He apologizes for being mean to her when she first came to Sky House, and for overreacting to the gossip about her and Seo Woo.
Ji Woon decides to cook dinner for Ha Won, and gets cuddly when Ha Won takes over prep. Ha Won puts an immediate end to it for fear of getting discovered. They talk about drinking, and Ji Woon reveals that he does remember their drunken kiss. When Seo Woo shows up unexpectedly during dinner, Ha Won smacks Ji Woon upside the head and shoves him under the table. Ji Woon fumes as Seo Woo flirts with Ha Won, then does contortions to avoid getting found out by Seo Woo.
Ha Won’s father belatedly learns that the investigator he hired was successful in tracking down Ha Won’s suspected biological father, Kang Young Jin. Ha Won’s father meets Young Jin face to face to accuse him of having an affair with his late wife, and selling their tae kwon do dojo in order to run away together.
Young Jin confesses that he sold the dojo without telling Ha Won’s mother. She was going to confront him about this betrayal when a fire broke out in his apartment. Ha Won’s mother was trying to save Young Jin’s neighbour when she died, and the ring Ha Won treasures actually belonged to the neighbour. Ha Won’s father belatedly realizes what a heartless dick he has been towards Ha Won and her dead mother.
Ha Won’s father meets up with her to apologize for the misunderstanding, and for not trusting her mother. Ha Won instantly forgives him, and proposes that she come home. However, knowing how Ha Won was mistreated by her stepmother and stepsister, her father asks for some time to sort things out.
At home, Ha Won’s father confronts her stepmother and stepsister about meeting with Young Jin secretly and mistreating Ha Won. He moves them into the enclosed porch that Ha Won used to sleep in, and the two women cry about being cold and the prospect of being homeless.
Ha Won and Ji Woon find themselves sneaking around Sky House in order to hide their love, and it makes Ji Woon resentful towards the Chairman. The feelings also stem from Ji Woon’s ignorance regarding his father, and how his mother met him.
Madame Ji correctly guesses that Yoon Sung is monitoring her, because the Chairman suspects her of cheating on him. Yoon Sung cannot confirm nor deny. She repeats her request for a meal together, and when Yoon Sun turns her down, she gives him the flamboyant tie that the Chairman spied her purchasing. Oh oh.
Hyun Min remembers that Hye Ji’s birthday is coming up, and reminisces about meeting her for the first time on her birthday. It turns out that child Hye Ji was a killjoy, too, crying over not getting a gift from someone she had just met. On her birthday, Hye Ji claims to have a lot of plans, but her main objective appears to be finding a rental that won’t require a deposit. Hyun Min does not have the courage to confront her when she is going out, but he trails her during the day.
The Chairman spots a young couple getting frisky on the street, and approves until he realizes that it’s Ha Won and Ji Woon. Then, their cuddling is spotted by Seo Woo who prevents Yoon Sung from discovering their relationship by having the Secretary massage him. Later, poor Seo Woo feigns ignorance and agreeably provides advice when Ha Won asks about gift giving to a new boyfriend.
The Chairman confronts Ha Won about breaking the no dating rule, and offers her the financial support he promised if she forgets Ji Woon, and leaves Sky House. Ha Won stumbles away in a state of shock. The Chairman is reminded of the time he kicked out a long time employee after the employee’s daughter became involved with one of his sons. The Chairman still has the matching ring belonging to his son, but has obviously learned nothing from past tragedy.
Hye Ji moves out of Sky House with no notice other than a note for Ha Won, and Hyun Min goes searching for her. He finds her sitting by herself in a playground, and she proceeds to reject the proposal of marriage he made at this very spot 10 years ago. Their frank conversation becomes a game of one-upmanship as each claims to have been more hurt in the past. Hyun Min reveals that he was present when her brother died, and he is ashamed of how he reacted. Hurt by his deception, Hye Ji proposes that they never see each other again.
The Chairman is sent reeling when he spots his wife’s flamboyant tie on Yoon Sung, then sees them having an intimate dinner together, and nearly collapses. Meanwhile, Ji Woon accidentally finds a photo album of his parents together. That is how he learns that, like Ha Won, his mother once lived at Sky House.
Comments
This was an entertaining episode on multiple fronts. Starting with the lead couple’s panoramic kiss, filmed from multiple angles no less, Ha Won and Ji Woon were adorably affectionate with each other throughout. Their hugging and kissing in public, as spotted by the Chairman, is practically scandalous by the usual Kdrama standards. So, I really appreciated this rare instance of a new couple not suddenly acting like platonic roommates.
Surprisingly, my outbursts while watching this episode were frequently prompted by the old men of the show. Ha Won’s idiotic father finally realized that he threw her out based on nothing, but conjecture. The man did not even bother to do a DNA test before disowning the girl he raised; he is too ridiculous to hate. Then, there was the Chairman’s hilariously soapy turn in this episode. His snobby comment about Ha Won failing to meet their standards, his discovery that Ha Won and Ji Woon are dating, then the seeming confirmation that his wife is having an affair with his trusted secretary all made me laugh out loud.
It was a relief to finally have Hyun Min and Hye Ji communicate with each other like adults. I would be satisfied if the story of Hyun Min and Hye Ji ended with this episode, because the healthy choice for both of them would be to move on. Unfortunately, there are enough episodes left for the inevitable happy ending that will see them reunited, no matter how ill advised that is. Let’s hope the writer chooses wisely, and focuses most of the attention on lovey dovey Ha Won and Ji Woon.
Noonas Over Forks 