Emergency Couple: Episode 10
by Slappyunni
There’s a cherished law in rom-com dramaland: A jealous hero makes for a childish hero, and amusing hijinks must always ensue. And that is exactly what happens in this episode—along with realizations of what such jealousy must mean. But the childish antics are balanced with those little gestures that speak of earnestness and love, and these gestures begin to make headway on our heroine.
EPISODE 10 RECAP
On the rooftop of the hospital, Jin-hee looks shocked at Chang-min’s jealous outburst. “What are you talking about?” she asks. Chang-min shouts back, “You’re asking because you don’t know? You’re falling for Chun-soo, aren’t you? I can tell just by looking at your face.”
Jerking herself out of his grip, Jin-hee replies, “Whomever I fall for, it’s not like I’m cheating on you…I can understand you might feel uncomfortable but look, I’m okay. Whether you date or marry Ah-reum, I don’t care. I won’t be uncomfortable with it either. Isn’t that how it should be? Seeing as how we’re divorced?”
Jin-hee walks away, leaving Chang-min hurt and confused.
In a stairwell, Jin-hee recalls the conversation where Chun-soo informed her that it was actually Chang-min who averted her dismissal, and that it was therefore Chang-min who deserved her gift. Jin-hee insisted that Chun-soo keep the gift, calling it a token of her respect and thankfulness.
Yong-gyu finds Chang-min busily handwriting information for the after-effects and treatment of meningitis. When Yong-gyu asks who has meningitis, Chang-min immediately replies, “My nephew,” before catching himself. Because Chang-min’s arm aches from all the writing, Yong-gyu suggests simply printing the information. Chang-min’s response: “Hey, punk. If I just print it, there’s no sincerity or good will in the action.”
Chang-min goes to deliver his painstakingly written handiwork to Jin-hee but he stops when Chun-soo pulls Jin-hee aside. Chun-soo has beaten him to the punch again; he gives Jin-hee a drug prescription for Baby Guk. Chang-min watches Jin-hee’s thankful reaction in disgust.
Jin-hee finally notices Chang-min, and he hurriedly hides his plastic baggie of notes and prescription medication behind his back. When a nurse calls for Chang-min, he walks off and throws the baggie into a nearby wastebasket.
Jin-hee comes home to utter chaos. Kwang-soo is shouting in excitement at the blaring TV, Jin-ae is shouting at Kwang-soo, and the entire kitchen is piled high with dirty dishes. As Jin-hee takes all of this in, Baby Guk then starts to cry in the other room. Things only get worse when Jin-ae accidentally drops a baby bottle, splashing boiling water onto Jin-hee’s foot.
Cranky and hungry, Jin-hee limps over to her mom’s spa. She gives her mom the medication for Baby Guk. When her mom learns that it was provided by Chun-soo, she excitedly remarks that Chun-soo must think of Jin-hee as family and gives her a nudge-nudge wink-wink of encouragement.
Meanwhile, Kwang-soo’s got that special gleam in his eye and his bare toes are walking suggestively up Jin-ae’s leg. Noooo, Guk is still awake and right there, you randy people! Think of the therapy bills alone!
Thankfully, Jin-hee’s phone call interrupts them, and Jin-ae goes over to the spa as summoned. Jin-hee demands to know how long they will be staying at the house, which irks Jin-ae into threatening to tell their mom about how Chang-min is Jin-hee’s fellow intern at work.
Jin-hee whacks her sister a few times on the head and Jin-ae defensively points out that she is no longer a child, but a mother. She insists that Guk was no accident but instead, a product of her and Kwang-soo’s love. She then twists the knife by telling Jin-hee that she, at the very least, won’t be getting a divorce after being so crazy in love.
Those last words ring in Jin-hee’s head as she lies awake, while Chang-min drinks alone in his apartment thinking about Jin-hee’s words on the rooftop. As Jin-hee falls asleep, we finally see her memory of how she first met Chang-min.
In flashback, a young Jin-hee walks into a university building. Nearby, a young girl falls to the ground clutching at her chest, unable to breathe. Thinking she might be asthmatic, Chang-min, a medical student, asks the girl’s friend to look for an inhaler in her bag. There isn’t one, and Jin-hee now steps in, asking Chang-min where the girl might have eaten her lunch.
He doesn’t know, of course, and Jin-hee pulls up the girl’s sleeve, revealing spots up and down her arm. Jin-hee tells Chang-min that the cafeteria had served buckwheat noodles for lunch, which leads Chang-min to wonder whether there’s such a thing as a buckwheat allergy. Jin-hee replies that some people do react aversely to buckwheat, so Chang-min elevates the girl’s feet in response.
A doctor arrives and confirms that the girl is in anaphylactic shock due to a skin allergy. Chang-min asks Jin-hee whether she’s a dietician, and she says yes, and that today is her first day of work. He further remarks on how they share the same surname, and she smiles flirtatiously while Chang-min, in voiceover, explains how he had fallen in love with that face, that look.
Still in flashback, Jin-hee catches Chang-min vomiting into a sink in the hall after having seen a burst intestinal tract in anatomy class. Holding out a piece of dried fish and a leaf of cabbage, Jin-hee advises Chang-min to take a bite of each if he wants to settle his stomach. He looks dubious, but he complies, and smiles that he does indeed feel better.
When a gurney passes by, the arm of a cadaver slips out and slaps against the back of Jin-hee’s leg. Startled, she jumps into Chang-min’s arms and what do you know, our girl needs more than a few moments to collect herself and let go.
In the present day, both Jin-hee and Chang-min settle into sleep and ask themselves whether their relationship would have ever got off the ground had it not been for those crucial moments.
If only he hadn’t been in anatomy class that day…Chang-min wonders. What if she hadn’t had the dried fish and cabbage with her that day…Jin-hee thinks. What if it hadn’t been for the cadaver?
But both of them smile as they sleep and remember, and I’m amused that burst intestinal tracts, dried fish, cabbage, and a cadaver can serve as harbingers of love.
Jin-hee wakes up the next morning, deeply disturbed that she dreamed of Chang-min, and convinced that she’s going mad. Likewise, Chang-min shakes his head when he wakes up to find himself hugging a pillow.
At the hospital, the two eye each other uncomfortably while waiting for an elevator. They get on, and as the elevator gets more and more crowded, Chang-min finds himself closer and closer to Jin-hee.
Despite having braced one arm against the wall, Chang-min gets pushed hard enough such that Jin-hee’s face gets buried against Chang-min’s chest. They share a moment of awkward physical awareness, and Jin-hee raises her fingers to her lips.
Cut to: Chang-min bent over, his hands in his pockets, walk-hopping down a hallway…trying to disguise…is he trying to disguise what I think he’s trying to disguise? Ahahahaha. I don’t remember seeing this sort of slapstick routine even in high school.
He promptly runs into Ah-reum, who instead of noting the more obvious…er…flag, chooses to notice a lipstick stain on Chang-min’s gown lapel. He stiffens (*snicker*) in dismay but she merely teases that women can tell who did the kissing just by the color of the lipstick and flounces away.
As Jin-hee cleans up a medical tray, she glances at the neighboring wastebasket, and sees Chang-min’s plastic bag of handwritten instructions and medication intended for Baby Guk. She takes it out, and seems both baffled and moved.
She catches up with Chang-min, but Ah-reum interrupts by exclaiming loudly that Chang-min’s lipstick stain is still there on his lapel. Ah-reum moves in and starts to rub at the mark, while Jin-hee rolls her eyes. Clearing her throat loudly, Jin-hee walks between them, huffily pushing them apart with her arms.
Chang-min rushes to Jin-hee, and she says sarcastically, “You two play so well together. She acted like your wife back there.” Chang-min scoffs but Jin-hee continues, “You stood there looking like I’d just caught you cheating!”
Amused, Chang-min reminds her, “I thought you said you weren’t going to care. See? It bothers you. Wasn’t I right? It would be strange not to be bothered.”
Jin-hee insists that she isn’t bothered, but she’s fooling no one, because Chang-min follows her down the hall with a delighted grin.
Yong-gyu, Ah-reum, and the two married interns step out to grab lunch. Yong-gyu’s good mood is shattered, though, when Ah-reum picks up a phone call and addresses someone as “Mother,” using a more formal term reserved for other people’s mothers or possibly, one’s mother-in-law.
Chang-min’s mom asks his dad for help in getting Chang-min and Ah-reum married. She invites him to a family dinner to meet Ah-reum formally, but he refuses, saying he hasn’t the time. He further points out the irony of asking for his cooperation given that she’s already asked him for a divorce.
Pulling out Jin-hee’s note that was enclosed with her gift to Chang-min’s dad, she asks shrilly why he kept in touch with Jin-hee, and why she would be thanking him after passing her medical exams. Dad insists that it was simply a gesture of respect, from one doctor to another. He lies, saying that Jin-hee’s visit was the one and only time he has seen her over the years.
At the hospital, a hungry Chang-min suggests that they stop to eat, but Jin-hee responds that she has another patient to see. Chang-min pouts with an extra large helping of aegyo, and complains that his stomach hurts.
While eating, Chang-min gently chides Jin-hee for eating so fast; he knows that she’s prone to indigestion. She wonders that he’d remember such a thing, and when she starts coughing, Chang-min opens up a drink and nags her to stop talking while eating.
In his office, Chun-soo finally opens the gift that Jin-hee gave him. Using his glass bookcase as a mirror, he tries on the jacket, and at that precise moment, Ji-hye enters his office.
His look of guilt is hilarious, and he hurriedly takes off the jacket while Ji-hye teases him mercilessly, asking why he has the look of someone who’s wearing something stolen.
Seeing Jin-hee reapply her lipstick, Ah-reum asks whether she was in an elevator with Chang-min earlier in the day. She sees that Jin-hee’s lipstick matches the stain on Chang-min’s lapel, and she bluntly demands an explanation.
Jin-hee counters by asking Ah-reum what she likes so much about Chang-min. Ah-reum replies, “Well…everything. He looks manly, but also has his cute aspects. And I can see hurt and pain in his eyes.” Jin-hee asks whether she’s serious enough to marry Chang-min, and Ah-reum replies blithely that such things are up to Destiny.
She continues to describe her first encounter with Chang-min as unbelievably, indescribably fated. Scoffing, Jin-hee cynically shoots down any romantic notions such as fate or destiny, observing instead that Ah-reum can marry whomever she wants due to her status as a Cabinet Minister’s daughter.
Losing her temper, Ah-reum gets in Jin-hee’s face, shouting in English and asking how she knows. Dropping to banmal, Ah-reum asks again about Jin-hee’s relationship to Chang-min.
Chang-min buys a depressed Yong-gyu some drinks, while Yong-gyu lays out his suspicions that Ah-reum may be married. Chang-min is quick to piece together that she must have been referring to his own mother as “Mother.” When Yong-gyu claims that he’s enamored enough with Ah-reum to marry her, Chang-min assures him Ah-reum is neither married nor divorced.
When Chun-soo and Ji-hye walk into the same bar, Chang-min sees that Chun-soo is wearing a new jacket—the one gifted to him by Jin-hee. Chun-soo drapes his jacket over a chair, and excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Uh oh. That look in Chang-min’s eye makes me think he’s aimin’ to misbehave.
Chang-min says hello to Ji-hye and feigns curiosity about what they’re drinking. Picking up a drink, he “accidentally” (by which I mean, quite deliberately) spills the entire contents on the jacket. Chun-soo shakes out his jacket, and Chang-min turns away and smirks, entirely satisfied with himself.
Ji-hye has something to tell Chun-soo, and while she claims it’s not a big deal, she says that telling him would put her mind at peace. She runs off, however, to take an urgent phone call in English during which she promises to send the results of her own blood tests. When Chun-soo finds her to ask what’s wrong, she merely says she needs to leave right away.
With Chun-soo off in a stairwell talking to Ji-hye, and Yong-gyu distracted by his drunk-texting, a watchful Chang-min senses his opportunity. In a stealth maneuver that would impress all the wild poodles of the Serengeti, he nabs Chun-soo’s jacket from the empty chair and brings it back to his table, only to beat and punch the hood of the jacket repeatedly in a childish and highly amusing fit of rage.
When Chun-soo returns for his jacket, Chang-min hurriedly stuffs it into his bag. Chun-soo catches Chang-min’s obvious smirk, but Chang-min turns away, sits down with his back to Chun-soo, and places a nonchalant elbow on the table. He couldn’t look more suspicious if he tried.
Chun-soo asks whether Chang-min took his jacket, and he denies it. A drunken Yong-gyu is no help either. With false solicitousness, Chang-min offers up his own jacket to Chun-soo, but when Chun-soo barks that he’s fine and turns away, Chang-min laughs to himself in triumphant glee.
Getting off from work, Jin-hee finds Chang-min waiting for her in his car. He insists that she hop in, saying that he has something to tell her. As they drive, Jin-hee asks him where they’re going, and he replies with fake seriousness, “I’m kidnapping you.”
Jin-hee’s phone rings, and Chun-soo is on the line asking her about her patient, who is still suffering convulsions and whose blood test results are suddenly abnormal.
She offers to return to the hospital, but Chun-soo tells her there’s no need for her to come. Jin-hee screams at Chang-min to stop the car, but he argues that she shouldn’t have to go back. Distracted, Chang-min notices a red traffic light only at the last possible second, and he slams on his brakes.
Jin-hee jerks hard against her seatbelt and clutches at her chest. Chang-min pulls over, and he finds that she’s badly bruised.
Despite being in obvious pain, Jin-hee can only think of returning to her patient at the hospital. When she can’t even raise her arm, Chang-min begins to suspect that she has a fractured collarbone.
Racked with guilt, Chang-min grabs supplies out of the trunk and fashions a sling elevating Jin-hee’s arm. After unwrapping his scarf from his own neck, he uses it to tie the makeshift sling in place.
Chun-soo sees Chang-min bringing in an injured Jin-hee and walks over in alarm. Jin-hee explains that she’s hurt and Chun-soo shouts, “Do you think I can’t see that you’re hurt? How did it happen?” Jin-hee explains and Chun-soo orders Chang-min to get an ice pack and painkillers.
Angry to see Chun-soo’s obvious concern for Jin-hee, Chang-min walks off to do as he was told. Jin-hee asks about her patient and Chun-soo barks, “Who’s worrying about whom right now?” Examining Jin-hee, Chun-soo confirms that Chang-min’s diagnosis was correct: her collarbone is indeed fractured.
As Chang-min wraps a bandage around Jin-hee’s shoulders, she giggles, saying that it tickles. He tells her to stay still, but when she yelps in pain, he’s instantly alarmed, only for Jin-hee to dissolve back into giggles over being tickled.
She tells Chang-min to go home, but he insists that he’ll stay, since he considers himself at fault. He tucks her into bed and tells her to sleep. While Chang-min steps away to get some supplies, Chun-soo comes by Jin-hee’s bed to check her chart. Chang-min returns, and he asks with obvious annoyance why Chun-soo is there.
Chun-soo orders Chang-min to stop dosing her with painkillers, but Chang-min protests that she needs to sleep comfortably. Chun-soo responds, “If you were going to be that worried, you should have driven better, instead of making her like this!”
Glaring back at Chun-soo, Chang-min asks, “Are you getting angry with me right now?” When Chun-soo replies in the affirmative, Chang-min then asks, “Why? Are you interested in Jin-hee?” Chun-soo demands that Chang-min follow him out.
In a stairwell, Chang-min repeats his question. Chun-soo replies, “Yeah. I’m interested. What are you going to do about it?” Noting Chang-min’s surprise, Chun-soo continues, “Why? Is there a reason I can’t be interested?” Chang-min recovers and fires back, “Yes. You can’t be interested. Because I’ve gotten to like her. So take your interest elsewhere.”
A resident delivers the results of Ji-hye’s blood test to Chun-soo, saying that she needed to have it sent to an American hospital urgently. Chun-soo says he’ll take care of it, and wonders what this could mean.
Meanwhile, Chang-min watches over a sleeping Jin-hee, and he thinks back to their happier times before their ill-fated marriage. In flashback, we see young Jin-hee wake a sleeping Chang-min in an empty auditorium. She’s brought him coffee, and they toast with their paper cups and smile.
He burns his tongue on the hot coffee, and when she fusses over his lip, he smiles and kisses her. And let us offer up thanks for cable TV, ’cause there’s lip motion and everything.
In the present day, Chang-min glances over at Jin-hee’s coat, and is surprised to see his handwritten note and prescription for Baby Guk in her coat pocket. Staring at Jin-hee, he thinks to himself, “Jin-hee. What should I do? Do I need to start over from the beginning?” Leaning in slowly, he plants a kiss on sleeping Jin-hee.
COMMENTS
OK, I won’t lie. Non-consensual kisses give me the serious heebie-jeebies. I know, I know…I’m to believe that other law of dramaland: that kisses can somehow be passionate, yet chaste, and that heroes never, ever push the envelope into more offensive territory.
That aside, the pacing of this show, which was decidedly too slow in the first several episodes, has picked up steam. All the milestones that we’ve grown to expect in a romantic comedy are coming on fast and furious now. Jealousy? Check. Hilarious antics resulting from said jealousy? Check. Hero marks his post to warn off other alpha male? Check. Hero starts making the gestures that count? Check.
And therein lies a little problem for me. We weren’t just promised a romantic comedy. We were promised a story about a couple who got together, fell apart, and presumably will get it right on the second go. Such a story can have certain advantages. We might get to see the hero and heroine fall for each other not once, but twice! Double the pleasure, double the fun. And the drama IS starting to show us flashbacks of our lead couple’s happier days and I’m hoping that we’ll get more substance on what really drew them together, other than pretty smiles and grope-happy cadavers.
But a story about a couple that gets it right the second time also has to show me two things. One, what went wrong in the first place? We know that it went terribly wrong, but why? I can’t say that I’m satisfied with the explanation that the heroine was overly emotional and the hero financially stressed. Two, the storyteller needs to show me that both the heroine and hero are now new, improved versions of their previous selves. Our heroine, whether by dint of the writing or Song Ji-hyo’s performance, does show us that, whereas Chang-min needs to show more growth for me to believe that whatever mistakes they made on the first go-around won’t be repeated.
In short, we’re at the midway point of this drama’s run, and I find myself shaking my head a little at the telling signs that we are not in the hands of an expert, subtle storyteller. And yes, I’m looking at the writer. “What is that?” Jin-hee has to ask (while looking at a covered body on a gurney). “Oh that’s a cadaver, as in a dead body,” replies Chang-min. Really? Why not just pitch a sign over the body that says DEAD BODY for us to understand that it’s a…dead body.
For me to eventually close the book on Jin-hee and Chang-min with a sigh of satisfaction, I need security that the second go-around is the final go-around, their final happy ever after. I need to be assured that they can now safely gird themselves from falling back down the rabbit hole of relationship failure and a trashed apartment. And I need Chang-min’s mom whisked away onto a different, sound-proofed planet. Show, you’ll do all that for me, right? Right?
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Tags: Choi Jin-hyuk, Emergency Couple, featured, Song Ji-hyo
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1 tata
March 1, 2014 at 8:09 PM
They do have chemistry together though, right? Chang-Min is sooo cute. And Jin Hee. Omo she's extra pretty in this episode!!
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Altins
March 2, 2014 at 5:58 PM
I don't know how to say this, but I like it when ChangMin calls JinHee, not using her full name, but "JinHee-ya". It's like more intimate, and when he uses that to call JinHee, it feels like he's taking the lead and become the protector in the relationship.
And I like that.
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lolcoolcat123
April 11, 2015 at 5:39 AM
i am shipping jin hee with chang min more than chun soo. i don't know why but i always tend to ship the leads together and i have had second lead syndrome only once till now and believe me i have seen many dramas....many. the one time i had second lead syndrome was in "To The Beautiful You". i mean who doesn't like a cute Lee Hyun Woo who is not one but steps in front of the lead...its not like i don't like Choi min ho, that not the case at all but still i prefer cute over hot. Okay bye now. This drama keeps getting better and better ever episode!
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2 momosa
March 1, 2014 at 8:11 PM
I don't understand, what is he trying to disguise?
He even hopped around..?!
What could have happened that we don't get to see!?
I demand they show it!
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wannabean
March 1, 2014 at 8:21 PM
I as well, want answers!
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Funfair
March 1, 2014 at 8:45 PM
His male member below was blowing hard in the wind since he became excited by being in a close confined spot with his ex-wife who he used to have passionate sex with and his body remembered he body thus causing a fiery furnace in his pants which is why he placed his hand in his pockets so that he would have a total of 3 mountains (2 hands and the male flag ships)....yes one long sentence ...I hope the picture is painted.
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wannabean
March 1, 2014 at 8:53 PM
wow that was unnecessarily descriptive
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Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 8:59 PM
Well, you had to go and ask . . . :)
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TS
March 3, 2014 at 8:23 AM
I thought it very useful.
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Joy
March 1, 2014 at 9:06 PM
"blowing hard in the wind"
"fiery furnace"
"total of 3 mountains"
i cANT BREATHE HAHAHA
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SongSong
March 1, 2014 at 10:11 PM
LOL.. my stomach hurt just reading your description.
I thought he just needed to go to toilet so bad that he had to hop like Baby Bop.
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cinqgirl
March 1, 2014 at 10:44 PM
Ah well... maybe that'll take care the problem. .LOL...
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Funfare
March 1, 2014 at 10:51 PM
My looong sentence was all in fun….
Please forgive if you were offended…here is the eng sub for ep 11
http://www.tiveee.com/ep/emergency_couple/?ep=11
smile!
Quiet Thought
March 2, 2014 at 6:48 AM
Ahhhh! Great opening shot in that episode. Ji Hyo and the director are having a great time.
dduk
March 1, 2014 at 11:26 PM
OMFG. I spat out my lunch reading this!!! trolololo!!
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tata
March 2, 2014 at 12:04 AM
HAHAHAHAHA. Too much information. Gaaaaah. :))))
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v
March 2, 2014 at 12:30 AM
loooveee the description...Obviously that's how much that guy still in love with his ex. If standing very close to a c-cup Ah-reum a couple episode ago doesn't do the trick but a crowded elevator with a girls that blew his steam off the roof does, definite sign. Thank you writer-nim for being at least a little bit more real.
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Noelle
March 2, 2014 at 1:49 AM
HA! 3 Mountains....I die. Too good.
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devon98
March 2, 2014 at 2:13 AM
My friend, thank you for your excellent explanation and very good laugh
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sogazelle
March 2, 2014 at 1:23 PM
That's what I'm talking about yo!!!! Tell like it is!!! LMAO!
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Cyoon
March 2, 2014 at 3:32 PM
hilarious! When I watched it, I thought she had kneed him in the groin and he was hopping around in pain! LOL!
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momosa
March 2, 2014 at 11:14 PM
Hey Funfare, mine wasn't a question ok! It's a protest against improper conduct (discreetly or not) in a lift full of people! Hehe!
But your answer is enough to cause a riot!
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Danae
March 4, 2014 at 7:16 AM
OMG I should have read this comment at work, now I'm the crazy LOLing lady from the corner. Loved it! thanks.
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Lulubell
March 1, 2014 at 8:48 PM
I'm assuming he got a little too excited about that hug.
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Alexio
March 1, 2014 at 9:01 PM
I saw people walking out of elevator covering their noses... Jin Hee is doing the same thing. So I innocently thought that it was a toilet joke, not an adult joke...
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nomad
March 2, 2014 at 7:32 AM
I had to go back to that scene after reading this recap, cause I TOTALLY missed it. Puhahahahahaha!
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bigwink
March 2, 2014 at 1:18 AM
Me too! What is it he's hiding?
Is it magic tricks? Is it a bunny? Me wanna see!!
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Gidget
March 2, 2014 at 9:50 AM
All I can say is that Slappyunni handled it masterfully.
If you have to ask, you're too young to know. ;-)
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Trixie
March 2, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Oh never mind ...
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Trixie
March 2, 2014 at 12:07 PM
Seriously?
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3 joycekang
March 1, 2014 at 8:16 PM
petty Choi Jin Hyuk is so cute!
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4 momosa
March 1, 2014 at 8:18 PM
That pout & that school boy gleeful mischief make up for all the inadequacies in the acting dept. What a cute episode!
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5 splatterpainted
March 1, 2014 at 8:18 PM
Thanks for the recap! Been waiting for it. :)
This drama is seriously getting better as it progresses. I love the moments when Chang-min displays his jealousy through childish actions (like stealing the jacket and punching it). So cute!! :)
And then when the Chang-min and Jin-hee are on screen together--the chemistry is great. They are seriously great together. Like how Chang-min is realizing that he is falling in love with Jin-hee all over again, I can't wait to see when that happens to Jin-hee.
Keep up the great work! Thanks again for the lovely recap! :)
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6 namaSTE_bliss
March 1, 2014 at 8:23 PM
This episode is great... Now, Chang Min finally know his feelings and he is ready to fall in love with Jin Hee again.
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7 bourbon
March 1, 2014 at 8:28 PM
Hahaha, 'all the wild poodles of the Serengeti'. Thanks Slappyunni, this was an excellent recap to read! :)
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8 jt885
March 1, 2014 at 8:45 PM
How weird is it that she broke her clavicle when changnim was braking the car. Didn't know she was that fragile. Just thought the scenario was a little off
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Joy
March 1, 2014 at 8:56 PM
She mentioned that it was because of the chain of her purse. And he did brake pretty hard.
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eastwestmess
March 1, 2014 at 8:56 PM
I think for your sanity, it's best not to question the medicine in this show and just go with it. The meds Chun Soo gave for the baby are widely used for tuberrculosis and a carrier state of meningitis. The baby was still getting treated, so it made no sense to prescribe it. I could go on, but I've decided to treat this show as an alternate medical reality.
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Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 8:58 PM
I agree, direction was a bit off. However, apparently the damage was caused by a chain purse-strap slammed into her clavicle by the shoulder harness. I assume the writer heard of someone this happened to. It is not something I would expect him to invent.
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9 Nina
March 1, 2014 at 8:46 PM
Thanks for the recap :)
I love this drama more and more with every episode
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10 Megan
March 1, 2014 at 8:52 PM
I wish they'd been showing flashbacks throughout their entire relationship from beginning to divorce in every episode, but I still think this is a cute show. Thanks, slappyunni, for the recap!
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11 Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 8:53 PM
More fine romantic moments then I've seen in entire series on Kdrama or American. Hoping, like our re-capper, that it all gets tied together properly.
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12 Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 8:55 PM
. . . Also more finely detailed acting by Song Ji Hyo, who continues to rule the screen.
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Joy
March 1, 2014 at 9:04 PM
Agreed! She looks way more comfortable acting in romcoms than in sageuks. I don't know why she didn't do this sooner haha.
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destiyr
March 5, 2014 at 6:53 AM
I think part of why jihyo never tried romcom before is that she hate or doesn't like doing aegyo which most of the leading actress in a romcom usually do all the time. Even in running man where the members find it cute when a female guest do aegyo and then they tell jihyo to do the same think she just gave them a killer look. In EC I think Changmin does more aegyo than Jinhye example that pout he made when she ask him if his stomach hurts. Personally I think jihyo is really cute even without trying.
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13 joyce
March 1, 2014 at 8:55 PM
Thanks for the recap. The story gets better as it progresses.
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14 Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 9:00 PM
. . . And also confirming the iron rule of Kdrama: people go to the "States" to hide secrets, to get rich, and to learn bad manners.
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windsun33
March 2, 2014 at 12:28 AM
And no matter how long they have lived in the States, they NEVER come back knowing how to speak any English beyond "Okay!".
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wildrose
March 2, 2014 at 2:27 AM
Hahahaha so true. And quite weird. Cos I have Korean friends who studied in the States before returning to Korea, and they speak perfect English. The only good English I've heard in this drama so far is by Choi Yeo Jin, considering she's Canadian. And Clara's English was a little off, since I thought she should be able to speak well as she was Swiss-born, Korean-British AND studied in the States before :/
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Quiet Thought
March 2, 2014 at 7:50 AM
Man, would it have been cool if she had reeled off that set of questions in German or French? Or Italian or Grisons Romanach?
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15 Joy
March 1, 2014 at 9:03 PM
I agree with everyone else, the drama really is getting better with each episode.
I'm so glad that this is on TVN, bc I don't think we would have seen Changmin's "problem" or their real kiss and not just a measly peck haha.
But yeah I really wish they'd show us more of their past marriage and what really went wrong with their relationship. I can't see them being together again if they can't fix what went wrong.
Also Changmin was really cute this episode but he was also kind of annoying. Like, ruining Chief's jacket isn't that cute, it's kind of childish. And yelling in Jin Hee's face that she can't fall in love w/ Chief bc it's making him uncomfortable was just really bad... I don't know. Like I actually really like Changmin but I think I'm just giving him way too many second chances than he deserves.
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windsun33
March 2, 2014 at 12:34 AM
I guess I am the odd man out, because I am starting to lose interest in this drama. The over the top jealousy and childish tricks of Chang Min are just getting annoying to me - like he has not grown up a bit in the past years since the divorce.
And one second he is acting all protective, the next he grabbing her arm to drag her off (when just seconds before he told her not to lift her arms..).
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Harem
March 2, 2014 at 7:44 AM
Yeah..I find him annoying too..the jacket thingy, the whole irrational out of nowhere warning issues..damn, I like chun soo better than him..I just can't relate to his character..
I love how chun soo went in and out to check on jin hee condition<3~ even if he have little screentime in this episode but with just that little scenes, he still managed to brim the spotlight ^-^
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Altins
March 2, 2014 at 6:06 PM
I find ChangMin totally "human"...
I admit, age doesn't equal with being adult and mature.
And even JinHee's act, to walk between ChangMin and AhReum when they're talking, it's also childish.
And for me, childish is part of being in love. So that's ok.
Because this is a point, both parties don't admit they still love each other, so even small attention given by others make them feel insecure and do childish things. It's understandable.
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tata
March 3, 2014 at 12:17 AM
Amen to that :)
16 Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 9:10 PM
I've been watching and not been worrying about the "reasons" for the marriage and divorce, as I thought Episode 1 told the story as well as needed. Passion brings them together, family resistance, being cut off from Chang Min's connections, the resulting loss of status and income, Chang Min's humiliation at failing at a low caste job. What more is needed?
Frankly, if there turned out to be some special circumstance, like adultery or a miscarriage, I would feel cheated. The causes I listed ruin more young marriages and trigger more early divorces than any others.
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maia
March 2, 2014 at 5:48 AM
exactly. those on your list, plus their immaturity... now with their emotional growth, there's bound to be good changes in their relationship, seeing as they probably still love each other.
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nomad
March 2, 2014 at 6:52 AM
Yup. I remember reading way back when…the #1 reason for divorce is for financial reason. So, I think you're right on.
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rearwindow
March 2, 2014 at 7:40 AM
Totally agree with your point, thank you for sharing it. I am curious at some point to find out who initiated the divorce & how the other felt about it (because that may impact their current relationship in terms of trust and resentment), but I'm in no rush for that and I too feel like we have plenty of information about their previous relationship. I think it's also clear that the main reason that they didn't work out is because they were both young and didn't know who they were or what they wanted out of life, let alone out of their relationship. Chang Min's immaturity manifested itself in refusing to take responsibility for his decisions and actions (and listening too much to momma's scapegoating of Jin Hee). Jin Hee's immaturity led to her hide from the world, trying to play the part of "wife" (and failing because she was so unhappy).
As someone who has experienced the fallout of entering a long-term commitment when I was too immature to commit to a healthy relationship, I think the first episode was an extremely poignant and detailed look into the dissolution of a marriage. I too will be extremely disappointed if the show makes their divorce about something more "dramatic" like a miscarriage or adultery. The problems as I see them were that they were both immature, there was a lot of outside pressure, and they pushed each other away rather than coming together.
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nomad
March 2, 2014 at 8:21 AM
I think in the early episodes it was shown that the one who initiated the divorce was Jin Hee. I remember her pulling the paper from a dresser and looking at it intently after their big fight.
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s2rosez
March 2, 2014 at 8:35 AM
But the divorce papers that Jin-hee was looking at were already signed by Chang-min. She muttered that she was going to give it one more shot, before she put them back in the drawers, so I think it was actually Chang-min who initiated the talk.
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Lucy
March 2, 2014 at 12:10 PM
That's exactly what I was thinking. I have been in a similar situation so I can relate. My husband and I married pretty young, divorced, and remarried again a few years later. Looking back on the divorce it was really due to immaturity, misunderstandings, petty fights, and hurt feelings. There wasn't any adultery involved or other special circumstances so I can see how these two characters can still be attracted to/care for each other despite their divorce. I love when they give each other looks in certain situations because it's shows how well they know each without having to verbally express it.
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annnsow
March 2, 2014 at 1:25 PM
To me, what was missing was the feelings, apart from hatred. I'm glad they approached it later on, when they were starting to feel attracted to each others again.
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evw09
March 2, 2014 at 2:32 PM
Agreed.
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LizJ
March 2, 2014 at 4:58 PM
I have a theory that she was pregnant when they got married (remember the "I'm sorry" and "Thank you" Chang Min said at their wedding). His mom was pretty unbearable from the beginning, possibly due to her frustration with her son being "trapped" into marriage with a "lower class" woman. CM was cut off from his family and had to quit school. Then Jin Hee lost the baby. She fell into depression and he didn't know how to handle it. Eventually things boiled over into that last big destructive fight and the divorce.
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17 Quiet Thought
March 1, 2014 at 9:14 PM
. . . And, yeah, I have to apply eastwestmess' rule to any incident of someone stealing a kiss from an unconscious woman. It's something that only makes sense in an alternate Romcom universe. In our real-world universe, it is considered misdemeanor sexual assault in most jurisdictions.
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Harem
March 2, 2014 at 7:51 AM
if he is in real world, he would get the same punishment as Park Shi Hoo..
On topic, this guy love to do anything he want like a spoiled brat! If he can't get her, no one else can~He can't even take on his rival fair and square, and using cheap tricks like his advance knowledge on her due to their prior marriage as his trump card...If anything,all I can see how immature and irrational he is!
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Gidget
March 2, 2014 at 10:02 AM
"...misdemeanor sexual battery is the non-consensual touching of the intimate part of another for sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse.
Generally in misdemeanor sexual battery cases the “touching” occurred over the victim’s clothes."
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18 justaperson
March 1, 2014 at 9:17 PM
Starting all over again for Jin Hee and Chang min won't be easy, they are both hurt and Jin Hee is obviously confused about her feelings right now. They need to understand what they did wrong and work on that. I would like them to have like an honest conversation about that but I get the feeling it's not gonna happen so fast. They are not ready for that. Jin Hee needs to understand few things on her own too. It's complicated and lets not forget about Chief, very annoying Ah-reum and the Mother wrrrr ;D It is going to be interesting and I can't wait. Still I've been waiting for episode 11 but I couldn't find it anywhere which is killing me!!
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19 stella
March 1, 2014 at 9:19 PM
I think this is one of the best episodes thus far. However, it could be so much better.. all that potential! And yeah, I do think that the writer has to tell us more on why their marriage failed.. rather than just jinhee's overly emotional state and changmin's financial worry. We do see that jinhee has sort of changed especially in the episode where changmin mentioned that that's the reason why they broke up. But I can't say the same for changmin.
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20 Anna
March 1, 2014 at 9:23 PM
I'm feeling for the OTP starting this episode. It was quite well made!
Viewing their past was enjoyable and I'm glad Chang-min could recognize his feelings. That's cute, boy, but do something about your mom.
His antics were super funny!
Can all of us just take a moment to adore how cute younger Jin-hee looks? They made such a sweet couple six years ago!
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21 whatis
March 1, 2014 at 9:29 PM
Loving this drama!!!! It's so light, it makes me happy. :)
I'm ready for Jin-hee to start showing lingering feelings for Changmin. But... hey... if Chun-soo and her were to get together, I can get on that boat as well!
It's really weird, 'cause right now... without watching the first episode, it's feeling like Changmin is the caring one while Jin-hee just simply hates his guts. I want to know what Changmin actually did to spark this craziness. DID he really cheat on her? How high was the level of condescendence when he spoke to her? Want to know more!!!!
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22 xcmk
March 1, 2014 at 9:31 PM
Yay, i've been really enjoying your recaps on emergency couple :3 i love his aegyo. i want moarrr <3
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23 Anne
March 1, 2014 at 9:33 PM
Cable TV really does have the best kissing scenes! Queen In Hyun's Man, Reply, and now this!
I almost fell of my chair trying to watch Shin Jung Tae and Ok-Ryeon TRYING to kiss in yesterday's episode of Inspiring Generation.
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24 owl
March 1, 2014 at 9:38 PM
Hey, you're all ll caught up with the recaps, slappyunni et al, thanks!
Chung Min hiding the coat in his backpack, so childish. I would have done the same thing :)
"Because his lips are so kissable." My answer to any question you could possibly ask me about Choi Jin Hyuk.
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25 Pinkclover
March 1, 2014 at 10:22 PM
Does anyone else think that they should've elaborated on the pain that jin hee has in her heart ? I feel like the writer should've included it so that chang min would feel bad about neglecting her in their past relationship
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blck
March 1, 2014 at 10:38 PM
I can't get over the atrocious hair colour most the the cast has ughh! , but great recap slappy
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pinkmerlot
March 1, 2014 at 10:47 PM
YES! I want more of what happened between them. Jin Hee was seriously emotionally abused in her marriage and the writer seems to just brush over it. As if they're trying to keep the drama way too light hearted. But a drama about a divorced couple who went through hard times?! Come on, we're dealing with some darker themes here.
Step it up, writer! There's only 9 more episodes.
(I did really enjoy this episode and ep11 though.)
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26 alua
March 1, 2014 at 10:35 PM
"I find myself shaking my head a little at the telling signs that we are not in the hands of an expert, subtle storyteller"
That!
"And I need Chang-min’s mom whisked away onto a different, sound-proofed planet."
And this!
I found this episode half-baked. Try a little too hard but not being really funny or really earnest, but a little too contrived. Their 'fateful' moments of when the first met? Mehhh. The fractured collarbone? Like they really really needed something so that Chung-min and Chun-soo could butt heads in the stairways. Chung-min and the jacket? The pouring water on it I could have lived with, but, seriously, running off with it? Other than being super-childish, in fact what he's done is stolen something. The kiss: couldn't they had him kiss her on the forehead while sleeping? That would have been sweet and caring, while the kiss-on-the-lips just went into 'forced' territory, which we really don't need. Chung-min already has shown too much possessiveness (red flag!), this only adds to it. Overall, I'm not seeing Chung-min develop much at all really – sure, he's starting to admit to himself that he has feelings for his ex, but he's still so immature. Pretty much every scene he has with Chun-soo makes me despair, because, come one, they are in a hospital and working, he should pull himself together and be professional!
I also just keep having the feeling that in reality that one half of the divorced couple would just not be interested and blow the other one with lingering feelings off. I'm just not feeling it when Jin-hye walks in between Chang-min and Ah-reum as if she were just slightly jealous or that she would care at all about Ah-reum questioning her about Chang-min.
I do think some of the plot devices could work, but only in the hands of a much better, more subtle writer.
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windsun33
March 2, 2014 at 12:43 AM
I think we are in the minority here, but the last 2 or 3 episodes also seemed awfully contrived to me also. I am finding his childish antics - well, just childish, not funny. She has grown up, he has not, and I just don't see this OTP thing, but I think it will be forced to happen because it is the premise of the whole show.
And as with way too many K-dramas, it is full of over bearing nagging and/or evil gold digging mothers - seriously, can't we have a new plotline somewhere?
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Stephanie
March 2, 2014 at 1:59 AM
Maybe time constraints were the problem? It was really good for the first 9 eps. The writer was subtle in introducing the many strains in their relationship. And she managed to tell the audience that Changmin still loved his wife. From the scene on the stairs where we find out that she dumped him, not the other way round. And him crying in his car.
But for the eps this week, it seemed as though the writer completely forgot the problems in the way they talk to each other.
Let's not give up hope yet, maybe next week the writer will show some real efforts in cleaning the mess of their marriage before going full steam ahead with the round 2.
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alua
March 2, 2014 at 1:04 PM
Yup, I think we are simply playing the iron rules of drama land regarding OTPs. In real life, they would maybe get closure (overcome the problems of the past, individually and possibly also together) but would move on to another relationship.
Very tired of K-drama mothers and this actress that seems to only play super-annoying characters of this sort.
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Danae
March 5, 2014 at 12:37 PM
Actually in real life, divorced couples can overcome their issues and get back together.
I know a couple that started to have a lot of problems, mainly financial problems, so they fought a lot, finally they decided to separate and eventually got divorced.
A couple of years later, they were back on their feet, found each other again, worked their issues, and got back together, now they have two kids, they are not even married anymore, but they live together and they seem just fine.
So I think both scenarios are possible in real life, any scenario is possible in real life, I have heard real life stories that are so weird or nonsensical that one might even think is a fiction story.
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Gidget
March 2, 2014 at 10:37 AM
So well said, Alua, Windsun and Stephanie.
Re the kiss: I couldn't agree more, a kiss on the forehead would have been much better. A forehead kiss would have said he was feeling protective and nurturing towards her. A kiss on the lips says he's just feeling physical attraction. If that's the only thing that's drawing him back to her, their relationship is doomed.
I'm guessing what the show/channel is doing is trying to push the envelope on the sexuality they'll show onscreen. This sets them apart from the main networks, but not always in a good way.
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Gidget
March 2, 2014 at 10:42 AM
Maybe someone can help me with the following things that are making it difficult for me to connect with these characters:
In the first episode, what seemed to drive him away from her was that she had become so utterly helpless and hapless. She didn't take any responsibility for herself or for making an equitable contribution to the relationship. For a man already struggling to carve out a way to support a family, this would compound the stress he's under exponentially. He would need someone who would live alongside him in supportive partnership.
What I'm having a hard time with is seeing that she's really any different. She vacillates between extremes of competence and complete haplessness. That's hardly a picture of someone who is stable or desirable, either as an employee or a spouse. Am I misinterpreting something here?
Also, I need help understanding the body language that's used in this drama. Specifically, prolific use of mouth-breathing. In the US, this physical behavior has a strong association with stupidity / ignorance. (In fact, 'mouth-breather' is slang for someone stupid.)
I'm assuming that there isn't the same symbolic association in Korea. Since mouth-breathing is used so heavily in this drama, what is this body language meant to communicate?
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alua
March 2, 2014 at 1:00 PM
"What I’m having a hard time with is seeing that she’s really any different. She vacillates between extremes of competence and complete haplessness. That’s hardly a picture of someone who is stable or desirable, either as an employee or a spouse. Am I misinterpreting something here?"
I think you are quite right here – she is still going between extremes. I do think she is different, but she is just right in the middle of the process of changing and could end up in a good place eventually. The signs I see are things like when in the early episodes she made it clear to Chang-min that she wasn't going to quit just because he was there, but that she was going to do her internship (Chang-min, if I don't remember incorrectly, ran to Chun-soo to get her or his placement changed). When CM's mom showed at the hospital for the first time, CM just wanted to avoid the whole situation by hiding JH from sight, while JH made clear that she wasn't going to do that – that it was her place of work and that she wasn't going to play hide and seek games but be an adult. When CM's mom returned, she stuck with that and tried (as much as she could) to treat her patient – and also declared "I'm here because I'm a doctor."
All of those were signs of strength, but of course they are countered by her moments of complete self-doubt and bowing to or taking nonsense from others (including her own family).
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annnsow
March 2, 2014 at 4:04 PM
For the first point… you're totally right about her being kind of unattractive? with that weird 2 faced behavior?
Because really, I can totally see why he'd be tired of her, although all of what he says is mixed with immaturity and sexism, I couldn't bear someone like Jin Hye and even less as a partner. And the thing is, indeed, it seems that she didn't change about that.
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Stephanie
March 3, 2014 at 5:05 AM
1) The fall of their marriage due to the fact that "She didn’t take any responsibility for herself or for making an equitable contribution to the relationship."
I think the fall of their marriage, although not elaborated upon, is mirrored by his parents' relationship. The girl falls under emotional stress and the guy thinks she is over reacting. Although the emotional stress comes from different places.
I shall not elaborate about the parents. But for Jin-hee, looking at the reaction she has towards his mother, she probably was under immense emotional stress from his mother. Which he did not see. Thus he came to the conclusion that she was useless, pulling her further into distress. He could not stand her crazy outbreaks but it was Jin-hee who broke off the marriage in the end. As the drama hinted.
2) How is she different now.
- She went through the stigma of being an "ahjumma" to become an intern doctor. If that's not a show of strength I don't know what is.
- When their patients were near the point of death; while he fell for his own fears, she overcame it easily, every time. And that's because she developed what Dr. Gook called a will to save their patients, no matter what.
- And he learned that from her, as we saw in episode 11 when he saved the man. He said that it was the first time he felt like he needed to save someone, no matter what.
- And instead of crumbling because of the emotional trauma Changmin's mother inflicted upon her, she took care of his mother well and thought of her history of heart problems. Which in the end, saved her.
- When he first found out that she was an intern, he started scolding her again. Telling her how useless and stupid she was. In the past, she would have crumbled under these insults. The insults that probably contributed to her heart problems and depression.
Has she grown? Yes.
Her choices to give in to people may show that she's weak. But her everyday actions show strength. Because I have had a loved one in depression so I know. She must have been so helpless, sleeping all day, not being alert to anything at all. But she's not like that anymore.
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xueh
March 2, 2014 at 7:26 PM
I actually disagree with labeling this as poor writing. Sure it's not genius writing, but what Korean drama is genius writing? I've seen similar if not worse things in Heirs, wind blows, or even Man from the stars.
All in all I think the drama is still very realistic compared to the others. It reminds me somewhat with Alone in Love. That drama is even more realistic and can be boring for people because character wise there isn't much change. They just have misunderstandings. What happened then was they finally realized that they still need each other and that being together is preferable than facing life with any other person.
Yes CM is being childish and annoying, does that kind of person exist in real life? Yes.
I'm very sure Jin Hye will call him out on this, if not Dr Gook will.
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27 bluegrass
March 1, 2014 at 10:42 PM
Awesome recap.
Loved it.
Waiting for the next.
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28 pinkmerlot
March 1, 2014 at 10:43 PM
I totally agree that the writer needs to show the characters' progress. It seems Changmin is still immature but I'm beginning to see a bit of growth from him through experience in the ER. And it wouldn't be funny/kdramaland if he wasn't anyway.
Also may I say that Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ji Hyo are SO FREAKIN ADORABLE. That ticklish bandage scene killed me. And Jinhee is starting to speak more softly to him (and dare I say with aegyo).
I have a pretty good feeling that the writer will reveal more of WHY it is that they had to break up. He/she has been throwing little (tiny) hints in some of the lines they say, but I think they'll reveal it slowly just like they did with how they met and fell in love, etc. It seems different from what other dramas do and I'm not sure if I like it because I'm dying to know. But at the same time, inserting flashbacks like that can be good for making a point. But idk.
In any case, I'm loving the drama so far. I really hope the writing gets better because they have a really high view rate now (5% for ep11!) and hope it keeps climbing.
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29 August
March 1, 2014 at 11:11 PM
Thanks for the recap!
I agree with you that the Emergency Couple has really started to pick up steam particularly on the forefront of "2nd time around" romantic developments for Oh Chang-Min and Oh Jin-Hee.
The hair goods industry is big business and wigs are a huge segment of the market. For that reason, all I can think about each time I see Song Ji-Hyo in a flashback scene with that unsightly wig on her head is --- the voice of John McEnroe saying "You cannot be serious!...Homer Simpson saying "D'oh!" and it just makes me want to facepalm.
Whoever the stylist is they should be ashamed of themselves for letting her wear something like that on camera. There are better products on the market than what she is wearing in those flashback scenes. It is a travesty and someone needs to speak up and out about it.
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Quiet Thought
March 2, 2014 at 6:32 AM
Yeah, and I'm also not at all sure what the make-up team was aiming for in those flashbacks. Song Ji Hyo looks adorable, but she also looks like a survivor of chronic illness.
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jensenbb
March 5, 2014 at 6:58 AM
Agree!! what is up with SJH eyebags? I don't think it deserve to be called eyebags its already eyeluggage.. lol
I know she's probably tired and doesn't get enough sleep because of the live filming but can't they do something about it? Jihyo lost a lot of weight and with the eye bags/eyeluggae she really does look like someone who is very sick and needs to go to the hospital asap.
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ChefAQF
March 2, 2014 at 6:40 AM
I am so glad SOMEONE mentioned the wig, it's been driving me INSANE!!! Seriously, it totally ruins all the flashback scenes for me. I agree that the stylist should be ashamed!
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30 Crazynoona
March 2, 2014 at 12:12 AM
A slow burner this show is. Getting better and better with each episode. I rooted for the Chief before but i'm guessing that he and the lady doc have a kid together, so then i'm swaying back for Chang Min - the guy need to redeem himself fast since he can't seem to contain his swelling *ahem* heart.
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31 HuiEr
March 2, 2014 at 1:31 AM
Frankly, I'm just horrified at how often - or rather, un-often - Wusu Hospital is emptying their trash cans. Or how little trash the ER seems to have. It was overnight before she found the note.
Poor Jin Hee - burns and fractured bones in one episode? Writer-nim is a bit stepmommyish with her.
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jomo143
March 2, 2014 at 7:33 AM
I thought the same thing!
It's a hospital and you have garbage from the day before?
Kinda sloppy.
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32 bigwink
March 2, 2014 at 1:34 AM
Thank you for the recap!
Your comments and thoughts about the show are so spot on. Couldn't agree more.
Since we're on the 10th episode mark, I'm now side eyeing the writers, because we all know that K-Dramas tend to get messy from here.
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33 Stephanie
March 2, 2014 at 1:53 AM
I have to agree, these 2 episodes lacked the awareness of pent up anger and hurts in their break up.
I do get the show is trying to say that Changmin loved her all along and was not the one who initiated the divorce. The show can go further to say that his reactions to the divorce are merely based on pride rather than hurt. That would still be pushing it though.
What happened to all the problems that we saw in the first half of the drama. Where Changmin can't stand her emotional side and she can't stand being looked down upon by him? It's like those perspectives that were hurting them deeply, suddenly disappeared.
I understand that it's hard to execute though. And relationships are not as simple to understand as it seems. Sometimes people just, forget. But as a storyteller, the show isn't showing it's awareness of the sudden changes. It's like the writer got ahead of herself with typical jealous drama hero stuff. But our hero is not the typical hero.
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34 Noelle
March 2, 2014 at 1:59 AM
Thanks for the recap
I'm still waiting for his moment of change. It's nice he's falling back in love with Jin Hee, but so what. He did that before... THe big question is: How will this time be different? What will he do/change for her to consider giving it another shot?
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35 devon98
March 2, 2014 at 2:47 AM
The change is so fast and furious in this 2 last episode. Oh chang min sudden movement is a bit confusing, not that I'm complain. That pouting, deep kiss, secret kiss, boner accident is really enjoyable.
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36 tura
March 2, 2014 at 3:02 AM
I am thinking people should give this writer the benefit of doubt, u never know what can happen within the space of nine episodes. I think the writer just likes to tease us into wondering what happen and am sure everything will come to light before the end of the drama. Besides CM being childish is just for the funny, I mean its a romcom for God's sakes and it my book that means there is room for comedy. CH and JH are so cute together with so much chemistry.
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nomad
March 2, 2014 at 8:29 AM
Agreed. I guess it's the shallowness of me, but I watch this show totally for fluff. If there's some unexpected reason a break through in the philosophy of life department, that's cool…but otherwise, I watch it because life is so unlike it.
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37 ha-neul
March 2, 2014 at 4:51 AM
this is not the best episode but i still enjoyed the flashback and the small moment jin hee and chang min have in it..and the KISS!! OMO!!!
nevertheless, i still root for chief gook bcus he is the best man for jin hee so far..since chang min hasn't changed like at ALL~
i still hoping that the kid is not chief gook's..please don't be cliche' show~ plus it is not logical why ji hye would keep it a secret?
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38 tdot
March 2, 2014 at 5:00 AM
Thanks so much for the review slappyunni!
I'll start with my favourite moment in the episode, which was the Oh-Oh first kiss in the lecture hall, which like very much because they both looked like they were really into it. There was one particular shot when CM was leaning in for the kiss, and JH also inclined slightly towards him and smiled expectantly, like "Bring it, I'm ready!" -- I loved that note of playfulness and eagerness and flirtation and the very evident mutual attraction. It was really really good.
Like others, I didn't like the bedside kiss. And I really think that there were many other ways that the writer could have found to show Chang Min's affection for a vulnerable Jin Hee. Even leaning in for a kiss and then pulling away and looking at her lovingly instead, maybe smoothing her hair away from her forehead. Something a bit less creepy.
I was both surprised and very amused by Ah Reum's sudden outburst in the changing room, because it was so over the top (and why in English?) I was like, whoa, under that pretty-girl veneer there was a hoodlum just waiting to come out, huh? It kind of didn't make sense to me in light of Ah Reum's characterization so far, but it was hilarious nonetheless, especially given Jin Hee's (unspoken, but shown clearly on her face) WTF?! reaction.
This episode felt quite different in tone from the ones before it; it was cute and funny, but in a more typical kdrama way, with broad strokes, and without a lot of the nuance that I appreciated so much before. I'm about to watch the next one so I'll see what that is like.
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Quiet Thought
March 2, 2014 at 6:28 AM
Ah Reum's sudden outburst should have been expected -- keeping her Chaebol status secret is apparently as important to her as it is to Chang Min -- but I didn't expect it in heavily accented English. An outburst in your birth language works better if it SOUNDS like that language was your birth language.
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Danae
March 5, 2014 at 1:05 PM
The outburst in english made perfect sense to me, my birth language is spanish, and I sometimes find myself babbling and cursing in english when I get mad, is like, my angry brain expresses itself better in english somehow, I've never even lived in the states, I just use english a lot in my daily life; and I have even had outburst in english in front of my non english speakers family members which makes me look totally crazy.
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39 Genie
March 2, 2014 at 5:17 AM
I think we will get there. Have you noticed that Jin Hee seems to be the only person in the world with tender feelings for her mother in law? Yes she hides if MIL is awake, but she shows genuine concern when caring for her, particularly if MIL is asleep and no one is watching. At first, I thought Jin Hee identified with her MIL because they share an emotional makeup, both impulsive and over the top aggressive.
But as the story unfolds, ah hah. It is cool and collected Chang Min who is starting to act like his mother. Sure, it's cute now - the jealousy, the jacket-stealing antics, but he's just at a simmer, and living with that boiling over day to day doesn't wear well.
Add to that Chang Min's lack of focus and confidence vs. Jin Hee's extreme awareness and competence that had nowhere to go. In the flashback we see that she was a more competent intern as a dietician than he was with medical training. No wonder it was frustrating for both of them when he ended up hawking pharmaceuticals. She was diminished in the marriage.
He is the impulsive, emotional one. He projected that on her and because it's believable - she is not exactly stoic - she let him. Between him and MIL piling on and the way Jin Hee escalates things when he is off the rails... Intolerable.
But I have to wonder if in their earlier relationship she was calmer, up until the big showdown when she started really giving back.
Either way, I think the what-has-to-change aspect is being set up. The show is delivering in every way. I think the writers will continue to bring it.
Chang Min needs to own his own volatility, lack of focus, and come to terms that he is neither best nor brightest professionally, adorable as he is. Jin Hee needs to continue to recognize her own extreme competence and stand firm on it, learn her own smaller version of not escalating or screwing up. (Did she pick that up from him - the family dynamic and flashbacks show her as the responsible daughter and her sis as the screw-up?) and she needs to decide she wants to try with Chang Min again.
Then can they take those lessons and make a healthier new start?
We're barely halfway into a rapid fire show. I think there is time for the continuing reveal and character arc.
I am having a blast with this drama. I think it raises the bar across the board.
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ajummanoise
March 2, 2014 at 8:02 AM
I think you have it right Genie and that this could be one of the twists show has in store for us. Maybe it’s so obvious no one else is saying it, but really, Jin Hee is by far the better, more compassionate and more competent “doctor” in every situation. (Doctor being such a loose term in dramas!)
He responds to emergencies with a much more self-centered attitude, while she forgets herself to the point where she gets hurt. As she becomes more important to him again, it’s like he thinks of her now under the umbrella of his selfness and now he’ll go to extremes to help her. And yet again, he disregards how this might affect patients and doesn’t understand or try to understand why she wants to do what she does.
I think that’s why the Chief is so compelling to me – he has a focus and commitment to patients similar to her without all the childish pettiness of Chang-min.
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BasketChaste
March 2, 2014 at 11:40 AM
Totally digging both of your comments, Genie and yenny!
@Genie: I super agree that there has been a straddling of the line with Chang Min's antics that has me kind of iffy about the future of the main leads - like someone mentioned above, I thought him spilling a drink on the jacket in pettiness was funny, but him stealing it with the same amount of glee just kind of turned me off on the whole bit. And it wasn't really until your comments that I realized it completely does emulate what his mom would do in a situation like that, and that just makes me a little scared for the future. I mean, I still have hope, but man!
@yenny: I feel the same way about how the Chief is presented, especially as it continues contrasting Chang Min. There was this one moment near the end of this episode where the Chief tells Jin Hee (with no apparent bite to his words) to get better by saying she should get well and return to work sooner, and Chang Min retorts that he shouldn't be saying that to her, considering she's sick. The way I see it, the character of Jin Hee really loves doing her work and would be encouraged by that kind of thing - and yet, it's the Chief who really knows that while Chang Min doesn't. I'm betting (hoping) that Chang Min really steps it up in the understanding others department, because otherwise I will remain hooked with the Jin Hee-Chief similarities and will be dead by the time the drama concludes!
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40 JoJo
March 2, 2014 at 5:44 AM
Thanks for the recap. Enjoyed your comments and hope you have a long run. Don't have unrealistic expectations about rom com writers or you might become a cynic like me.
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41 Waiting
March 2, 2014 at 5:45 AM
"Cut to: Chang-min bent over, his hands in his pockets, walk-hopping down a hallway…trying to disguise…is he trying to disguise what I think he’s trying to disguise? Ahahahaha. I don’t remember seeing this sort of slapstick routine even in high school."
Oh to be fly on the wall during the first script read for this scene! Hahahahaha! I am wondering the same thing...is it what I think it is?
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42 d.crazy
March 2, 2014 at 7:50 AM
thanks for the recap! loving the comedy part and the way they unconsciously act like a couple,like they never got divorced or something,its super cute! i hope the show gives us a big reason enough other than "mother-in-law-interference" as the true reason for their divorce. don't let us down show! and yes, also a resolution, a valid resolution to the said problem. and many more hijinks please,i'm loving them! kumawoo slappyunni!
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43 Izie
March 2, 2014 at 9:20 AM
I think the reason is clear why did the broke up. From how the annoying mother is behaving, it was very obvious could cause any daughter in law to have mental breakdown. So it was not a question for me. Anyway, there are a lot of mistake medically speaking. Not gonna list it. Im going with the flow since i like to couple so much.
P/s: GB stone is not an emergency. And they never wear facemask during procedure.
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44 nims0307
March 2, 2014 at 11:18 AM
Thanks for the recap.. I enjoyed the antics of Changmin and we finally saw the flashbacks!! It was about that they showed us! Young Jin-hee and Chang-min were so cute.. I LOVE this show.. It keeps getting better and better..
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45 jusash
March 2, 2014 at 11:37 AM
>>> Two, the storyteller needs to show me that both the heroine and hero are now new, improved versions of their previous selves. Our heroine, whether by dint of the writing or Song Ji-hyo’s performance, does show us that
@ Slappyunni:
Your comments totally resonated with me.
From the slowness of the first 4? episodes to this rather unconvincing persuasion that 2nd time around for this couple will work better.
I am NOT impressed by Chang-min's reactions to anything - be it a rival, or hospital emergency. And his acting out on that poor classmate who like Ah-reum when he's angry ... snatching his drink, and then throwing it to the ground after. Jeez, what a jerk.
Amusing as it may be to watch his jealous immature reactive knee-jerks, it doesn't give much hope that in any life challenge that Chang-min won't be reactively irresponsible, or they won't end up throwing stuff at each other again.
And shouldn't the dude make some resolution in the direction of Ah-reum, knowing full well now how she feels about him/future plans with him?
I have more hope in Jin-hee, who is more down to earth based on her own family circumstances but she got exhausted and resentful first time around as well.
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46 jusash
March 2, 2014 at 11:47 AM
>>> Two, the storyteller needs to show me that both the heroine and hero are now new, improved versions of their previous selves. Our heroine, whether by dint of the writing or Song Ji-hyo’s performance, does show us that
@ Slappyunni:
Your comments totally resonated with me. :)
From the slowness of the first 4? episodes to this rather unconvincing persuasion that 2nd time around for this couple will work better.
I am so NOT impressed by Chang-min's reactions to anything - be it a rival, or hospital emergency. And his explosive acting out on that poor classmate who likes Ah-reum when he was mad (ep 7? 8?) ... snatching his drink, and then throwing it to the ground and stomped off after. Jeez, what a jerk. It doesn't give confidence that this guy can ever be calm or control his emotions.
Amusing as it may be to watch his jealous immature reactive knee-jerks, it doesn't give much hope that in any life challenge that Chang-min won't be reactively irresponsible, or they won't end up throwing stuff at each other again.
And shouldn't the dude make some resolution in the direction of Ah-reum, knowing full well now how she feels about him/future plans with him?
I have more hope in Jin-hee, who is more down to earth based on her own family circumstances but she got exhausted and resentful first time around as well.
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47 MM
March 2, 2014 at 1:29 PM
Oh I have got to love Chang Min's reactions. It was hilarious watching him do this. After playing such emotionally burdened characters in Heirs and in Gu, I love watching CJH have fun in this drama. And yes his reaction would be very similar to a child who realized that now that someone else is playing with the toy that he used to have, he wants it back! Yes! I am sure things will happen that he will grow up in this drama, and yes this writer is a bit off, but right now watching him have fun in this Chang Min character is so fun for me!
And regarding the "why" of the divorce? Knowing the heapload of abuse a hateful mother in law can spill on you (i.e. that was the reason for the divorce in Pretty Man too), knowing that in this case, the husband began to treat her like the mother in law did? What sane woman wouldn't eventually leave- except those with low self esteem who come to believe they deserve it?
I really hope, with the inconsistencies in this drama, though, that we will get a happy ending out of this...
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48 MM
March 2, 2014 at 1:32 PM
Oh and the pout!! Loved the pout!
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49 annnsow
March 2, 2014 at 1:35 PM
Slappyunni, you made great point about the lack of technique from the writer, because clearly, it seems like a simple romcom when it's not since this couple has already tried once.
Also, I find some of the dialogues soooo weird and awkward. Like when Chang Min talks to Chief, or when Chief talks in general. Both men are blunt about what they're saying, make simple sentences and expose problems as in a childish way whereas it's a little bit more complicated. Also both men don't know how to show love without being paternalistic or agressive.
I think the writer needs to diversify a little bit the personalities of the male characters and to think more about what they say. Not just throw out a few funny seducing methods here and there one after another, or a few meetings between the characters "by coincidence" à-la-Kdrama (lol, that's how I call them).
Otherwise, I still like this show, I love the leads and the story is still interesting but to me the episodes are not getting better.
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50 kikidee
March 2, 2014 at 3:35 PM
Finally. For the past 9 episodes I've been thinking that this show better get to convincing me that she's better off with Chang Min rather than Chief, because so far Chief seems like her soulmate. Finally, this is the first episode where I've seen the chemistry between Chang Min and Jin Hee and thought that yes, when things are good they are good together.
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