Can’t Lose: Episode 14

by girlfriday

Eom. Ki. Joon. Need I say more? I dunno what happens in this episode, because Eom Ki-joon stops by, and I lose all sense of reason. What? What’s that you say? Eom Ki-joon isn’t the star of this drama? It’s just a cameo? Lalalalala. I can’t hear you!

 
EPISODE 14 RECAP

Hyung-woo asks how long Mom has known that Little Bro was dead, and she confesses that she’s known this whole time. She woke up in the hospital (after her initial shock and collapse) and found him weeping at her bedside.

She decided then and there to save Hyung-woo first, knowing that he would cave under the guilt. So she pretended not to know, and hoped that after time had healed their wounds, she could tell him that she knew; now’s that time.

Gah, you know that feeling you get when you think you know better than your mom because you’re an adult now, only to have her totally school you with her momness so that suddenly you feel six and utterly small again? It’s that.

The look in both Hyung-woo and Eun-jae’s eyes is amazement at the tiny woman, as she just smiles at them to assure them it’s okay. Eun-jae takes Mom’s hand in hers and says sympathetically how hard it must’ve been on her. Mom happily tells Hyung-woo that next year they can observe his brother’s memorial together.

On their way back, Hyung-woo asks Eun-jae if all moms are that strong. She wonders the same, and he picks up on the fact that she must want to see her mother as well. He takes her there, but once outside, she hems and haws.

He literally has to drag to the door and give her a nudge from behind, and tells her that he’ll be waiting outside the whole time. There’s something so simple and a hundred percent supportive about that – he’s just going to stay there and wait, just in case she needs him.

She takes a deep breath and goes inside to see Mom, which is a thing she just doesn’t do. Mom gasps at the sight her, and when Eun-jae tries to make small talk and then tries awkwardly to start apologizing, Mom just grabs her in a hug.

She squeezes Eun-jae tightly, saying that there’s no need for words, when she knows her daughter’s heart. Augh, why does the mother-daughter stuff always make me cry? I love that Eun-jae is searching for words and worrying about how things’ll go, but Mom needs no words at all. All it takes is Eun-jae walking through her door with her own two feet – that’s enough for a mom. As they embrace tearfully, Eun-jae says, “Just don’t make me go see him. That’s all I ask.”

Eun-jae fills her in on Hyung-woo and his mother, and Mom feels bad now for being jealous that she had two perfect sons. Mom asks if she’s really going to stay split up with Hyung-woo, and she says that she’s scared of fighting again like they did before.

She thinks it’s best the way it is now – to remain friends. Steaming pile of bullshit, anyone? At first I thought these people didn’t know what “marriage” and “divorce” meant, but now I just think they don’t know the meaning of WORDS.

Mom calls her bluff and asks what if some other woman comes by and steals him. Eun-jae: “I hadn’t thought that far ahead…” her face twisting in uncomfortable thoughts. Mom tells her not to take it lightly – Hyung-woo’s a catch, and not likely to stay by her side forever “as friends.”

Eun-jae chastises Mom for always choosing the most hurtful thing to say, but today there’s no tension behind her words. She calls to her again, “Mom,” just to hear herself say it. “I wanted to say it so much.”

She wonders why she gets teary-eyed at just saying the word “mom,” and Mom points out that it’s the same with her. Eun-jae realizes for the first time that Mom has a mom too; that she’s not just a mom but a daughter. Mom smiles and says she was the same with her own mother, and that’s how mothers and daughters are.

She spends the whole day with Mom and even eats a big bowl of her noodles, and tells Hyung-woo that she’ll meet him for dinner. Mom adorably tries to get her to stay the night, not wanting the day to end, but Eun-jae promises that she’ll make up for all their lost time, and runs out with a kiss on the cheek. It’s so cute the way Mom touches her cheek after Eun-jae goes, like a young girl who’s just been kissed for the first time.

Meeting at Eun-jae’s apartment for dinner seems to be a simple enough plan, but then an unfortunate series of events occur. First, Woo-shik gets a call from his daughter and gets dressed up to go out (aw), only to be told that she’s getting married… and she doesn’t want him there. Ouuuuuuch. Woeful Karaoke for One.

Then Professor Jo gets a call from his daughter who’s studying abroad in France, and she basically treats him like an ATM and hangs up on him when he has to turn down her request for cash. He explodes and Gogi directs him to Woo-shik, so he joins him. Tragic Karaoke for Two.

Then Gogi finally gets a chance to tell Young-joo that he’s given up on his exams, and it goes badly. She can’t believe how long she’s supported him through all this, only to have him give up while she’s pregnant. In anger, she asks for a divorce, and this time Gogi snaps back, “Fine! Let’s divorce!” Thankless Karaoke for Three.

Just as Hyung-woo is about to step out to go meet Eun-jae, the boys walk in at the height of their wallowing, and direct him to provide beer and food. At the same time, Young-joo arrives on Eun-jae’s doorstep unannounced, declaring that it’s over with Gogi.

They both get stuck and end up texting each other secretly, trying to hide how happy they are while everyone around them goes on and on about their horrible days. My favorite move is Eun-jae’s hug-while-texting, behind Young-joo’s back… literally.

The next morning Hyung-woo offers to pick her up for work, and they both primp a little extra before meeting. Aw. On their way, Hyung-woo takes the leap and says, “Let’s date.” Hee. Why are they so cute?

They both tell the other that watching Professor Go and his wife made each of them understand the other’s position and their sacrifices, and Hyung-woo says honestly that he’s still scared that they’ll end up like before.

That’s why he’s proposing that they date, and for real this time, not the speed version they did the first time. He figures they’ll fight as they date and they’ll figure things out slowly, and perhaps work their way back.

Eun-jae agrees happily, and adds that they should probably keep it a secret from everyone else for now, since they don’t know how things will turn out. Hyung-woo keeps a bright outlook and declares that from now on, they’re dating.

As soon as they arrive at the office, Deuk-hee eyes them suspiciously and immediately calls them out for doing coupley things, but they shoot out awkward excuses and run away.

On his way out of the office, Hyung-woo stops in to tell Eun-jae he’s leaving, and caresses her face. She pretends to be concerned that people will see, but she blushes as soon as he’s gone. Aw.

Hyung-woo goes to see the car accident client, and tells him about his own experience, and how the young man ought to consider his family – the people in his life who did survive and depend on him. He finally admits that he wasn’t behind the wheel, and remembers that a gas station attendant witnessed his girlfriend driving the car.

He rushes back to the office with the big news, and calls Eun-jae excitedly. But she doesn’t hear her phone because at that very moment, she’s running into ex-boyfriend, freshly back from living abroad, CHA SEOK-HOON (Eom Ki-joon!!!). Eeeeee! Dr. Poopy-seok! I lub you!

He greets her with a big hug, and she maintains a cool distance, though she calls him by his old nickname, Cha-sshi, which makes him happy. He tells her that he was pretty traumatized to hear of her marriage, when he remembers quite clearly asking her to wait for him so they could get married.

Eun-jae: “That wasn’t you drunk and kidding?” Haha. He confesses that seeing her is weird, and it brings back all his conflicting feelings, and regret, and even anger. She laughs that he’s the same forthright person he’s always been. She notes that he still likes the same kind of cake, and he says tellingly, “Do people’s tastes ever really change?”

Aaaaack! Marry him, NOW! Oh wait, I’m getting all transferry and stuff. Now that Eom Ki-joon’s in the running, my judgment’s been compromised. Don’t listen to me. I cannot be trusted.

He asks what kind of man her husband is, and she doesn’t offer up news of the divorce, just answering that he’s a good man. As they part, he asks, “I was sincere then. Why did you think I was joking?”

Eun-jae ponders it for a moment, and says, “Maybe we just weren’t meant to be.” He sighs as he watches her go. Aw. Why are you always destined NOT to get the girl?

He heads to a meeting with a lawyer sunbae, and who should show up just ahead of him, but Hyung-woo? It turns out he’s called them both, not knowing the connection. He sits them down and after introductions, he basically tells them that he’s selling out.

Both Hyung-woo and Seok-hoon react the same way, and totally gang up against the sunbae in lockstep with each other. Aw, is Seok-hoon even the same kind of idealistic do-gooder lawyer as Hyung-woo is? Talk about dating a type.

The sunbae leaves in a huff, so the two future rivals share a drink and a meal, sighing over how people change. Seok-hoon asks about where he works, and Hyung-woo says he has a small office with his wife.

He asks Seok-hoon why he’s not married yet, and he says he loved someone, but while he was in the States, she married someone else. Oblivious, of course, Hyung-woo wonders what kind of woman would do that.

Seok-hoon says that he proposed but she thought he was kidding, and describes her as a somewhat obtuse woman who’s all over the place, though that’s what he likes about her. Hyung-woo warns that he knows a woman like that, but those traits don’t stay attractive for long. Oh my goodness, this is getting so awkward only they don’t know it!

Seok-hoon says that he plans to find that out for himself. Hm. He says that she’s divorced, so he plans to try again. Oh, you sneaky. Did you know she was divorced the whole time?

Hyung-woo offers his support and suggests they meet again since they seem to connect, and runs off to meet a fuming Eun-jae whom he’s left waiting for their date. As he leaves, Seok-hoon smiles, making me wonder if there’s a chance he knows who Hyung-woo is. Dayum. Is he eeeeeviiiiil?

Eun-jae waits and waits and then gets tired of waiting, and leaves. Hyung-woo misses his timing again, and sighs that he’s off to a great start. She visits HotBar and confesses that she’s dating Hyung-woo, and he totally laughs in her face.

She gets defensive from his two-second mocking and tells him he’ll see when he’s found someone. She sighs that they’re still stuck in their old obsessions – wanting the other person to do as they say, instead of accepting things as they are.

She asks if he’s been hanging out with Hyung-woo, and HotBar says he calls at least once a day, conceding that it really does seem like Hyung-woo cares a lot. She smiles and tells him to treat him well, no matter what happens with her. Aw.

She gets interrupted by a frantic Young-joo, who calls her to the office late at night for another knockdown-drag-out with Gogi. She tries to talk them off the ledge, but they’re barreling straight for divorce and won’t listen to her.

Hyung-woo goes to Eun-jae’s place looking for her, only she walks in with a distraught Young-joo after the fight. He has to lie that he came by because he left something, and Eun-jae kicks him out with a silent sneer. (The face he makes above has no accompanying noise, which makes it hiliarious.)

He goes to the gym and whines to Soju, and tries calling her again, but Young-joo sees that he’s calling and declines the call on Eun-jae’s behalf, thinking that she’s doing the right thing. Hyung-woo deflates at the blatant rejection.

After comforting Gogi for a while, he calls Eun-jae late that night to apologize again for missing their first date. Eun-jae says she’s thought about it carefully, and realized that being apart meant that their expectations were gone, and they had no reason to fight anymore, but ever since they started dating, they ended up right back where they used to be.

“So I’m going to stop.” She tells him it’s because she doesn’t want to fight anymore. He tries to dissuade her, but she tells him that she’s angry for getting her hopes up, for raising her expectations again. Aw.

Thinking quickly, he tells her to wait and hangs up, and then shows up at her apartment huffing. She can’t believe he came all the way there in the middle of the night, and the gesture is enough to clear the air for now.

He grabs her in a hug and says he’s sorry, promising a proper date next time. Then he plops down on the couch, exhausted, and intending to stay the night. He swears to stay on the couch and she warns him not to come in the room.

But inside, she tosses and turns for a while, until she finally decides to bring him a blanket. He stirs awake and thanks her, and she scoots away in embarrassment.

The next morning the doorbell wakes him up, and in his sleepy stupor, he gets the door, not thinking that he oughtn’t be here. Eun-jae’s mom comes in and jumps at the sight of him, and then both kids get an earful, asking why they got divorced if they’re going to live like this. You’re not the only one asking, Mom.

She makes them breakfast despite her disapproval, and basically yells at them to get back together, like that’s going to fix anything. I love that Mom calls him “former son-in-law,” the same way Eun-jae calls him “former husband.” Like mother like daughter.

At the office, Eun-jae whines that Mom’s now trying to move in, because she disapproves of Hyung-woo being around. It might seem weird that Mom is all up in arms about Hyung-woo being there, but technicalities matter, so in her mind, her daughter is single and unmarried, and therefore not allowed to have strange men sleeping over, no matter how much she loves former son-in-law.

She gets a call from Seok-hoon, who wants to meet to discuss work. Hyung-woo clocks her dodgy reaction and asks who it is, and she hesitates, and then decides that she’s not like HIM (heh) and tells the truth – that she ran into an ex-boyfriend yesterday.

He freaks out internally but pretends to be totally cool about it, so she goes out to meet Seok-hoon. He says he heard she’s divorced, and wonders why she didn’t tell him yesterday. She tells him truthfully that she’s not ashamed of it but she’s not proud of it either.

He’s decided on a firm and asks her to go with him, but she says that she’s not going to give up on Hope. Assuming that she’s handling Hope alone, he then offers to work there with her instead, and sighs at the missed opportunity when she tells him that she has a partner already.

Meanwhile Hyung-woo’s internal freakout starts to seep through, and he goes from annoyance to exasperation to terror, finally pacing outside in a crazy panic and checking his watch every five seconds. This from the guy who was in contact with his ex behind his wife’s back? Shoe, meet other foot.

Seok-hoon insists on walking Eun-jae back to Hope to check out her offices (and maybe his competition?) and Hyung-woo sees them walk up together. He immediately recognizes Seok-hoon, and vice versa.

Eun-jae introduces Hyung-woo as her partner and ex-husband, and Seok-hoon stutters in surprise. Oh, so I guess he didn’t know. Yay for not being evil! They stand face to face, with Eun-jae between them.

Before she can even introduce them, Hyung-woo says, “Cha Seok-hoon?”

Eun-jae: “Do you know each other?”

 
COMMENTS

I was wary of a new conflict being introduced this late in the game, what with the extension and all, but if we’re going to have an effective love triangle with two equally matched opponents, and one of them is Poopy-seok? I am IN. Bring on the petty rivalry. The pettier the better.

I hope they go all out with the war, and Hyung-woo starts enlisting HotBar and his friends in crazy schemes to try and beat Cha-sshi. I’m glad that we have time for this storyline actually, because I didn’t realize it until it happened, but I’m feeling some residual anger for the way he handled his own ex situation, and his panic now makes me feel a little vindicated for Eun-jae’s sake. Once it turned out HotBar was the brother and not his true competition, it sort of deflated the jealousy angle without resolution, but now with Seok-hoon, the game is ON.

 
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