Prime Minister and I: Episode 5

by gummimochi

This hour continues to deliver the cute and play up the funny as our married couple is forced to keep up the ruse while living under one roof. Playing married isn’t always easy when there are so many accidents that put them in such close proximity. Not that I’m complaining of course, but it certainly makes their job of pretending that they’re an adoring couple and my job of squeeing by the sidelines a heckuva lot easier.

EPISODE 5 RECAP

Yul is taken aback by the surprise kiss (but… kisses!), but even more alarmed to learn that there’s a spy within the estate. He gets defensive about said kiss later, blustering that their lip smacking was more like a car crash, and warns her against assaulting his lips again. Pfft, the man doth protest too much, methinks.

Anyhow, he instructs her to throw out her copy of their contract while he’ll do the same, but Da-jung isn’t about to get rid of her insurance that easily—what’ll they do if he eats and run on their agreement? As in he’ll get what he wants and runs?

That statement leads to another spat until Yul finally tells her to do as she’s told with his trademark “That’s an order!” line.

Back at the bar lounge, Joon-ki is still suspicious about Hye-joo’s intentions for keeping him company. He bristles when Hye-joo wonders if he still blames Yul for his sister’s death, but when she asks what will put an end to his longstanding bitterness, Joon-ki answers readily, “If you come to me.”

His answer can carry either a political or romantic connotation, but perhaps there’s a bit of both as Joon-ki says he’s willing to cast everything aside if Hye-joo is by his side. Though he isn’t surprised at Hye-joo’s reply that that won’t ever happen, he’s still disappointed and takes his leave.

Da-jung mulls over whether to actually tear up the contract before ultimately deciding against it and stuffing it with her wedding gift from her editor boss: a collection of celebrity scandal photos, including one of Kang Ho-dong and Madam Na. HA, I love that the show followed-up on that joke.

She tucks it in her suitcase, thinking that it’ll stay safe there. But then ominous music looms over the estate as we see someone creep into the bedroom and searches for something in the dark.

Da-jung wakes at the noise and attacks the intruder, who climbs on the bed to muffle her screams and turns on the light…

… and Da-jung finds herself face-to-face with Yul. WELL NOW. He lingers there for another few seconds before he explains that he’s here for his meds.

He shows concern when she complains about her ankle, however, and when she pulls back at the touch, he takes a beat before explaining that they’ve already bumped lips, and then awkwardly tosses her foot aside and says she’ll live.

He dismisses her question about his meds and reminds her to leave his room before dawn so he can get ready for work. She gapes at that, but tells herself it was a good decision not to get rid of the contract.

Hye-joo overhears the bodyguards gossip about last night’s kiss incident, to her dismay. The thought of the kiss leaves Yul distracted during the kids’ morning kendo practice as well.

Da-jung is given a house tour by the housekeeper, who gets especially snippy when Da-jung grows curious about a locked room, saying that there are certain areas like this one that she mustn’t enter.

Da-jung falls for another one of Nara’s pranks as she serves breakfast, slipping and falling into Yul’s arms. Hee. Yul sighs exasperatedly at Da-jung’s kid-friendly breakfast menu (cup o’ mixed rice, ha), but the family digs in without further complaint.

He launches into his usual round of criticism of each child in turn, until Da-jung speaks up about his nagging tendencies, using another slang that has Yul fuming.

Once they’re alone, he reminds her that she’s subject to his rules while they’re under his roof, and takes issue with her hanbok. His criticism doesn’t faze Da-jung in the slightest, as she explains it’s all part of her newly married concept. And that’s why we love you.

Joon-ki’s wedding present is met with skepticism when it finally arrives to the house. Da-jung wonders if the porcelain vase has been bugged, to which Hye-joo says there’s only one way to find out and breaks it onto the floor.

It’s clean, but that doesn’t reduce her suspicions about the spy. When In-ho asks how she learned about it in the first place, we see that she successfully broke into Joon-ki’s phone about the vase’s successful delivery, and told to look into the employees once more.

Da-jung notices In-ho’s cut hand just then and patches him up. Why she bandages his arm when it’s just a graze is beyond me, but it’s cute. Their friendly rapport isn’t lost on Hye-joo, who gives Da-jung the stern reminder to be more careful about her demeanor around the house.

Joon-ki asks after the wedding present, and when he’s told that he was informed about it last night, he realizes that Hye-joo found out about it.

Speaking of whom, Hye-joo holds a press conference about an upcoming diplomatic banquet, to which Reporter Byun grumbles whether this will be another private event like the wedding. She assures him that it’s a public event, which shuts him up.

So that’s how we end up at the banquet that started off the series. Da-jung leaves a great first impression when she greets their guests in fluent Spanish. Even Yul can’t help but be impressed… and then we see that it’s In-ho feeding her lines through her earpiece. Ha.

Thanks to his help, Da-jung greets their guests with ease, but she nearly lets slip when Joon-ki comes by to congratulate the couple’s recent marriage. He warns that marriage is fragile like porcelain before excusing himself.

Little Man-se pouts in his father’s bedroom in boredom, but then his eyes fall upon Da-jung’s suitcase. Uh oh.

Yul does his best to keep matters civil with their foreign guests as they dine. However, they keep pressing up on the prime minister for his opinion on the importation of foreign goods in Korea, and the added remark that that makes Korea an easy trading market in the eyes of the world bothers him.

He maintains his composure, however, and turns to ask Da-jung about that “eat and run” phrase he called childish earlier before using it on their guests. He comes out strong with the reminder that France once promised to return a collection of Korea’s historical documents and didn’t fulfill their promise. He asks if their guests won’t do the same with their technology transfer proposal.

(A bit of history: In 1866, French troops seized 297 volumes from Gwanghwado Island in a campaign, and the two countries later agreed upon its return in exchange for installing a high-speed bullet train system in Korea [KTX] akin to France’s TGV. The books were shipped back in 2011 and currently stored at the National Museum of Korea, but on renewable loan.)

But that’s enough for the crown prince to vow to participate in a fair trade agreement with Korea for the next five centuries, and both parties raise their glasses to seal the deal.

Madam Na’s gossipy friends chat about Da-jung before they drop the bomb that they saw Hye-joo riding in the same car as her husband, which makes them wonder if there’s something going on between those two.

I can’t blame Madam Na for being upset since they are married, and she protests that those two share a professional relationship, nothing more. That’s when little Man-se grabs her attention to say hello.

Hye-joo is upset to hear that the meeting she came for (which was also the reason why she rode with Joon-ki) has already ended. The real reason why Joon-ki has called her here is to bring her over to his side, and he asks how she broke into his phone.

He confirms that the passcode was her birthday, which was also the same date she turned down his marriage proposal. Well, that explains those mixed intentions of yours. But right now he’s talking business, and he wonders how the media might react to her little break-in.

Hye-joo caves at that, and Joon-ki tells her that she’ll put in a good word for the ministry of strategy and finance.

Da-jung rests her tired feet at home and nearly jumps to see In-ho behind her. She returns the earpiece but he tells her to keep it for next time. Taking his hand Da-jung calls him her guardian angel.

He deflates at that, and listens to Da-jung talk about the prime minister’s impressive retort with a glum expression. She skedaddles before Yul comes by and picks up her high heels she left behind in her haste.

Yul calls after Da-jung and stops her in her tracks. He returns her heels and jokes that he should call her Nam Geok-jung (or “to worry about others”) instead. He smiles that he can’t even scold her because she did such a great job today, and Da-jung beams at the words of praise.

At that moment, Da-jung slips and falls backwards, and Yul catches her, bringing their faces mere inches from each other. The close proximity makes both their hearts skip a beat and Yul purses his lips. Puhahaha.

He pulls her back up and gives her another lecture before walking away, muttering to himself that she’s accident-prone. Hee. Then Yul lingers outside of the locked door before thinking better of it.

Da-jung fans herself at the thought of the fall and catch, and then muses that there are too many “accidents” lately. You say that as if it were a bad thing; I see no problem with it.

But that’s when she sees the destruction path left by Hurricane Man-se, and gasps that he used the scandal photos to make paper frogs… which means he made off with the contract as well.

She searches Man-se’s room, where the boy wakes just long enough to admit that he gave away a few paper frogs to his father… and also his aunt to give to his uncle aka Joon-ki. Acccckk.

So it cracks me up how Madam Na drops one off to her husband, but she can’t work up the courage to ask him where he went with Hye-joo today.

We’re then transported to another hilarious imaginary scenario that depicts Da-jung’s worst fear: both she and Yul are arrested for their sham marriage along with his staffers as co-conspirators. I love how they all bicker and shift the blame on each other, upstaging Reporter Byun covering the story.

Then there’s Joon-ki, who gifts his wife with a paper frog used to incriminate the lot, and this entire sequence plays the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, ’cause who knows why. Hahaha.

Da-jung snaps out of it and decides to start with Yul first, who’s busy playing with his mean-looking paper frog. Gah, why so adorable?

Da-jung lingers outside his study long enough to see Woo-ri finally comes home. She gets a whiff of him, but they hear noises, and she hides him away moments before Yul appears.

Yul has his suspicion radar up, but Da-jung leads him back to his office with the excuse that she has something important to tell him. She pours on the praise for his “eat and run” retort, calling it but Yul fears it was a careless move.

He asks if that’s it and sends her out, and Da-jung scours his desk before getting caught. She says it’s impressive how he keeps tabs on the children’s homework too, which he considers as part of his responsibility to instill good habits in the younger generation.

Da-jung thinks that it’s more important that Yul gets to know his kids—it’s not a criticism of his parenting skills, but that he needs to learn how to communicate with them. She mentions that Woo-ri is going through puberty and all the other kids have smartphones, but Yul cuts her off to dismiss her.

As for Woo-ri, he unlocks the locked room which houses a piano. Brushing his keys with his fingers, he ekes out, “Mom.”

Da-jung’s words about communicating with the kids stay with Yul, who then starts to unravel the paper frog. But Da-jung catches him and literally pounces on him to snatch it. It’s not the contract, however, and she returns it, leaving Yul totally confused.

Joon-ki is next on her list, so she calls In-ho for help, but he isn’t in the area. That’s because he’s sitting vigil beside his comatose brother’s bedside and wonders when hyung will wake up.

“I’m beside that person now,” In-ho says. “Wait and see I do from now on.” He runs into Dad outside.

Hye-joo comes clean about her absence, and she’s told not to worry about the budget issues. Yul is more concerned about her, worried that she’s spreading herself too thin for his sake.

It troubles him that she’ll overwork herself, but Hye-joo counters that it’s not tiring at all. It makes me wonder if she still feels indebted to Yul, who doesn’t want her making the wrong decisions, something he’s saying for her sake.

Da-jung visits Madam Na with the excuse to get to know each other. There’s a hilarious silent exchange where Madam Na thinks she’s being a brown nose as Da-jung sweats bullets about the paper frog.

Da-jung asks to take a look around once she learns the paper frog is around the house, and jumps happily when she’s given the okay. So she rifles through the bedroom until she discovers the paper frog on the floor… which is when Joon-ki stops to ask what she’s doing.

Joon-ki doesn’t buy her excuse and immediately dismisses her with the curt reply that Yul will be able to explain why she isn’t allowed to be in his home. He asks for the paper frog in her hand, which she reluctantly hands over.

At the same time, Yul walks into the bedroom, wondering where Da-jung has gone (and reels with disgust at the mess) when he spots another paper frog on the floor. I’ll laugh if that’s the copy with the contract. Sure enough, it is. Hahahaha.

Which means Joon-ki has the copy of the scandalous photo of his wife and Kang Ho-dong. HA. Madam Na interprets this as a catty move on Da-jung’s part.

Da-jung prays to the heavens for help, saying that she can’t get caught. That’s when Yul appears and laughs at her excuse that she was visiting a friend, and then asks if she found the lost copy of the contract yet. Eep, busted.

Needless to say, she’s relieved to see the copy intact, but Yul doesn’t see how the end justifies the mean. He asks if she didn’t know that Joon-ki was his late wife’s brother, thus making her presence there at the very least, inappropriate.

She apologizes for her carelessness, but her actions have already pressed the wrong buttons with Yul. He’s upset and disappointed in her, and asks what more havoc she needs to wreak to come to her senses.

She may have thought their deal was done once they got married, but Yul argues that he risked everything when he made that decision to marry her. He feels that she’s taking his decision too lightly, and hopes that she doesn’t forget why they agreed upon this fake marriage in the first place.

Those words has Da-jung in tears, and she quickly wipes them away when In-ho finds her outside. He asks what’s wrong and listening her woes about the prime minister angers him.

He sees Yul approach at a distance, the latter having decided on a walk, troubled by how Da-jung cried in front of him. Then In-ho hugs Da-jung, offering her a literal shoulder to cry on.

Yul sees them and the image of them together disturbs him. He sees his bodyguards approach and hurriedly sends them in the other direction.

Afterward In-ho reminds Da-jung that he’s on her side and offers his shoulder for whenever she needs another cry. She assures him that there won’t ever be a need for that in the future, and then vows to herself that she’ll make Yul regret those harsh words.

She jumps in fright to see Yul sitting alone in the dark bedroom and asks what he’s doing here. He walks towards her and says he’ll sleep here starting tonight, which has her blustering that this is her room.

But Yul draws close and locks the door, telling her that he needs to be a good husband before being a good father. Bow chicka wow wow.

Da-jung nervously stutters in response, and Yul explains that he’s become a laughingstock in front of the staff with her displays of public affection. He says they’ll be sharing a room like an actual married couple.

The image of In-ho hugging Da-jung still fresh in his memory, Yul asks that she doesn’t forget that she’s still the prime minister’s wife and should act accordingly.

Then Yul stays up late at night working, occasionally glancing at Da-jung, who sleeps on in dreamland.

COMMENTS

It’s not much of a cliffhanger, but I love the overall breezy vibe of this show that makes it a cute and enjoyable watch. Not only that, Da-jung continues to rock my socks off with her overall upbeat can-do attitude—she has an optimistic outlook about her role as the prime minister’s wife and even has fun with it, which may be why I love her all the more. I’m impressed at how she carries out all her duties with such gusto that makes me believe that her genuine determination to do a good job is because of her good-hearted nature. She even goes the extra mile at times, but doesn’t hold her extra efforts against Yul; instead she brightens at his approval and praise. It’s adorable.

Da-jung doesn’t act as if she’s indebted to Yul for agreeing to this contract marriage, which is more than I can say for Hye-joo, who seems to keep finding ways to do more for Yul’s sake. It’s as if she’s driven by whatever happened in the past, and she’s not doing enough to repay him. I would say that kind of loyalty is rock solid, if only for the fact that we’re already seeing how her devotion is also her weakness. For now, I rest in the knowledge that she reports to Yul about everything, though it worries me that she could later fall prey to Joon-ki’s manipulation under the umbrella reason that it’s for Yul’s sake.

On the upside, I like that Hye-joo questions whether Joon-ki’s villainous motivation is solely because of his sister’s (Na-young) death. It gives him (and us) a chance to challenge a straightforward but painful motive in dramaland, and could make him an interesting rival. Now we know that Joon-ki once had romantic feelings for Hye-joo (and it sounds like they’re still there under the surface), and I admit there are times their charged interactions makes me feel guilty since Joon-ki is a married man.

In-ho still remains a mystery, and at this point, I’m intrigued to learn more about his backstory since it holds the key as to why he sought to be employed by Yul in the first place. It seems like he’ll become Da-jung’s Daddy Long Legs with his one-sided crush as we move forward, and I’m sure his storyline will continue to tug at the sympathy heartstrings, especially now that there’s the misunderstanding (to Yul) that his and Da-jung’s feelings could be mutual.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Yul’s awkward reactions to his physical closeness with Da-jung in this hour, and just love how he doesn’t even know (or perhaps cares not to acknowledge just yet) how much he lights up at the sight of her. Then Da-jung isn’t even aware of how much of an impression she’s already made on Yul and the kids, and how her words are challenging him to get to know his children. Maybe they need more accidents to occur for them to realize the fantastic chemistry they’ve got flying off the screen.

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