The Drunken Party
Sang-Eun is hesitant at first, but Ji-Ho convinces her to go along with his plan. She agrees to help him out by going on a date with him, and they make a deal. If she can keep up appearances at work, he will keep her job. They agree to meet up after work so that their meeting can happen in a public place.
The work life of Sang-Eun and Hisan is now inextricably linked. Sang-Eun has agreed to continue their contract, but there is no pressure on her. In fact, she seems to be thinking about it and may have a decision to make soon.
Back home, Ji-Ho tries to find the words to speak to Sang-Eun, but he can’t get them out. However, Sang-Eun too is also nervous, although she eventually does agree to help out with the party coming up on Friday. Ji-Ho wants the same contract as before, but it needs to work around Hae-Jin, so naturally all three of them are joined around the table and forced to come up with a compromise. There’s obviously no love lost between Hae-Jin and Ji-Ho here, but a schedule is decided, with Ji-Ho forced to compromise and look after Hae-Jin’s cat as a result.
Jamie and Sang-Eun are spending their day together when Hae-Jin comes in to join in. Ji-Ho is playing chess with Sang-Eun and Hae-Jin seems to be having a good time. Sang-Eun admits that she thought Ji-Ho really liked her, but she’s not sure if he does.
Hae-Jin tries to use this marriage to his advantage, heading to work and admitting that he’s in love and laying it on thick with the producers. As for Ji-Ho, he prepares for the housewarming party. Before he heads home, he heads out for something to eat with Ji-Ho but the place is pretty busy and Ji-Ho’s social anxiety flares up.
Ji-Ho admits that she’s been in the courtroom as the judge for a lot of her divorce cases and was worried she may be a victim of crime too. She tells the court that she’s been through a lot of tough times in her life, including being divorced, and is grateful to have the opportunity to serve as a judge.
This helps to break the ice between them, with Sang-Eun and Ji-Ho heading to photoshoots and buying a bunch of different items to try and make it seem believable that they’re a couple in love. It’s a really nice montage segment and a far cry from the brash nature of Hae-Jin that we’ve witnessed.
Ji-Ho and Gwang-Nam chat about their families before Ji-Ho’s big homecoming party. Ji-Ho is not going to drink though, despite Gwang-Nam’s teasing, and prepares to head out to Ji-Ho’s after packing up her car. ..
Gwang-Nam wakes up in the morning and finds Sang-Eun exhausted. She’s just come back from preparing Ji-Ho’s apartment, with flowers, catering, and pictures on the wall. It’s just in time for Ji-Ho’s colleagues to arrive and see how angelic the place looks. The apartment looks amazing but Ji-Ho is shocked and tries to act normally.
The principal manager of the school is impressed with all of the pictures on the mantlepiece of the staff going on trips together that they clearly never did. However, a couple of the women are convinced there’s something awry going on here, suspicious of the fact Sang-Eun isn’t drinking. To try and dissuade them, Sang-Eun does just that, deciding to drink on the job. ..
This drinking eventually leads to everyone getting drunk, with the manager deciding to sing while holding a flower. Ji-Ho is shocked and remains speechless, as the group end up doing an impromptu talent show. Sang-Eun gets invovled in every single one, belly dancing, and trying to one-up all the games.
Ji-Ho is not happy with the results of the competition. He immediately calls out the bias and claims that Sang-Eun is the real winner here. Everything ends up escalating and becoming quite hostile, with Ji-Ho super competitive and upsetting his manager.
Sang-Eun woke up on the sofa and basically head back home from there. However, it’s time for Sang-Eun to go and see Hae-Jin. She shows up bleary eyed and ready to work, but she falls asleep on his shoulder. When she does, Ji-Ho shows up from behind and notices them together.
Sng-Eun reflects on what happened that night at the party. It turns out she actually kissed Ji-Ho in her drunken state to keep him quiet, calling him her first love. Naturally, when she wakes up and realizes, she’s shocked. Ji-Ho is not only upset with Sng-Eun for what she did but also with himself for not realizing it sooner. ..
The Episode Review
Just as a side note, did anyone else notice that large light just sticking out distractingly in the park at the end? That’s definitely a goof on the production side of things, right? ..
This episode deepens the ties between Sang-Eun and Ji-Ho in a way that is really nice. With the kiss, Sang-Eun and Ji-Ho cemented their ties together. Given both Sang-Eun and Ji-Ho have been nervous around one another, it’s no surprise that in her drunken state she ended up kissing Ji-Ho. As for Hae-Jin… I’m not feeling it. ..
The show has struggled to really help us empathize with Hae-Jin, who is brash and not very likable. I appreciate these two have history together but the chemistry isn’t there. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re not on the same page or if it’s just that their personalities don’t mesh, but so far the show hasn’t really helped me feel any connection to her.
The ending of the episode shows all three characters in the same shot, which is a nice way of contextualizing what’s happening. The next week’s episodes should be quite the dramatic affair!
