Fated To Love You: Episode 5

by gummimochi

Newlywed life turns out to be harder for our chaebol and his bride than either of them could have anticipated, especially when they’re living under the same roof with a meddling (but well-meaning) grandmother. Indeed, they’re about to find out that marriage is more than just wearing a ring and playing house—it’s about communication, understanding, and most of all, respect for the other person.

Fated To Love You saw a slight dip in ratings on Wednesday with 8.6%, but there’s still hope yet.

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EPISODE 5 RECAP

At the Lee Manor, Mi-young gets mistaken for the new help by the first person she meets—Yong’s mother. Needless to say, the woman is floored when she finds out that Mi-young is, in fact, the new young lady of the house.

Grandma, however, welcomes her new granddaughter-in-law with vigor, taking her to pay her respects to the family ancestors. I love Mi-young’s dumbfounded expression at the array of the nearly identical-looking portraits trying to greet the right one. Adorable.

It’s also sweet of Grandma Wang to dote upon Mi-young so much already, calling her something like a lucky charm to the family. Even if that fondness turns out to be just because Mi-young is carrying the next heir apparent, it’s still nice to see our heroine being adored by her in-laws. Beaming, Mi-young promises to become a worthy granddaughter-in-law to this family.

Over at the office, Manager Tak barely recognizes his boss when Gun swivels his chair around, looking even more haggard and disheveled than ever. After explaining in a croaking voice that he tied himself up for his own safety, Gun tsks at hearing “that snail” (aka Mi-young) actually moved in.

Then Gun collects himself long enough to entertain the thought of selling the island soap factory, an idea that gets promptly shut down—how disappointed would his new bride be if he went and did that now?

As Mi-young is given a tour of the newlywed quarters, she’s reminded of how Mom had given her a pair of wooden ducks (a customary wedding gift as ducks are known to mate for life) along with the classic “call me if he gives you any trouble” speech. Moved, Mi-young had assured her mother that Gun is a decent man.

Mi-young places the ducks underneath their wedding photo just before Yong and his mother pay her a visit. They cautiously play on Mi-young’s sympathy, asking if it’s okay to address her like family. But when Mi-young addresses her as “Mother,” Gun — who’s looking immaculate again — interjects, “Says who?”

His entrance brings a smile to Mi-young’s face, though it quickly disappears when he gruffly reminds her: “We didn’t get married to become a married couple, but for the baby.” Therefore there’s no need to take care of each other nor will they be sharing a bed. And above all, Grandma Wang mustn’t know about any of this.

Despite being taken aback by his brusqueness, Mi-young agrees. He states that he only has one mother who isn’t Yong’s mother, just like how he only loves one woman in this world: Se-ra.

While Yong and his mother wonder if Gun’s new shotgun marriage is contrived, Mi-young changes into the pajamas gifted to her by Grandma, only to see Gun wearing the other set. Ha, Grandma got them couple PJs?

Annoyed, Gun starts peeling off his clothes, to Mi-young’s shock. Are you… telling him to keep his clothes on?! As Gun get dressed again (boo), she asks where she should sleep tonight. He tells her to sleep in the bed, but she insists on sleeping elsewhere, and he doesn’t fight her about it.

Mi-young gets up in the middle of the night to quietly whip herself up a late-night snack. She barely gets a few bites in before someone else barges into the kitchen—Gun, who’s also having trouble falling asleep. He turns on the light, only for it to turn off seemingly by itself a split-second later.

He’s unaware that it’s Mi-young trying to keep herself hidden, so when it happens a couple more times, he’s understandably spooked; the haunting background music adds to the overall eeriness.

Gun walks over to take his pills, muttering under his breath about “that snail”, completely unaware that Mi-young is lying beneath the table by now. She tries to inch away, but the camera pans to show his foot stepping on her hair. She tries pulling away, gritting through the pain until he finally walks away.

Gun shuffles back to the fridge, but then jumps in alarm when he sees a pair of feet under the table. He’s further spooked when one leg disappears. Then he arms himself with a frying pan, pulls back the chair, and nearly has a heart attack to see Mi-young lying there. Boo!

Gun turns on the light and tells her to come out. She says there’s a logical explanation for this, explaining that her pregnancy hunger pangs keeps her up. She invites him to join her, but he declines, suddenly exhausted again.

Mi-young stops him to tell him to let her know if she makes any more mistakes in the future, since they have to live under the same roof and all. Gun has no intention of interfering with her life, so he asks that she do the same for him. She can do whatever she wants, just so long as she doesn’t irritate him, like an invisible presence in this house.

She clearly looks hurt, but her words comply with his request. That reaction only frustrates him more: “It’d be better if you just got angry with me.”

Yong and his mother bring their suspicions to the Lee clan leader, who pockets another envelope of money from them. This kind of exchange must be a common occurrence, and the clan elder encourages them to find more solid evidence to prove that Gun’s marriage is a sham.

It seems like Gun intends to follow through with that plan to sell off the Yeoul Island soap factory, as he has Manager Tak arrange a meeting with a competitor that also placed a bid. Gun also has another set of documents prepared for Mi-young to pick up at her office. Curiously, her old boss tells her that she can come to him for help for anything in the future.

At the bus stop, Ji-yeon wonders why Mi-young’s husband isn’t here to help pack up her things. Instead of considering it a red flag, Mi-young assures her friend that her new groom is treating her fine.

Mi-young stops to peek into a new business preparing to open up on her way home. She drops her things in shock when a dog suddenly appears, and the owner comes running—whaddayaknow, it’s Daniel.

He’s happy to hear that Mi-young’s baby is fine and that she’s married now. She says it’s all thanks to him, and he supposes that their prayer worked. Daniel picks up the envelope dropped among her things and peeks at the contents: divorce papers. Oh no.

Mi-young hasn’t taken a look at what’s inside herself since they’re for Gun, and Daniel is the next person in this hour to ask if her new husband is treating her well. But just in case he isn’t, Daniel encourages her to speak up for herself and voice her complaints. She thanks him for the encouraging words and declines his help to carry her things, claiming that she lives nearby.

Still feeling uneasy, Daniel catches her to give her his number, saying that she can call anytime. She meekly admits this is the first post-it that wasn’t a request. He invites her to drop by the cafe once it opens, which prompts her to ask what a priest is doing spending time here rather than at church.

Instead of taking that opportunity to clarify his not-a-priest status, Daniel answers that he’s helping someone out. He asks for her name, and is taken aback to hear it’s Kim Mi-young. Does he think it’s just a common name like she does or that there’s more to it? Hmm.

At home, Mi-young walks through a slightly opened door to discover a cozy den inside. She finds the projector still on and watches a home video of Gun and Se-ra spending time together in this very room.

She keeps watching their sweet relationship with a forlorn expression until Gun’s booming voice interrupts her viewing.

Gun asks what she’s doing in someone else’s room. It’s worth noting that he’s been (and still does in this conversation) using choice words to create distance with Mi-young like they’re acquaintances, which I suppose is technically true, but I’d like to think they’ve become pretty familiar in the brief time they’ve known each other.

Still, Gun draws the boundaries in their relationship, informing Mi-young that she needs to keep three things in mind: (1) Never enter this room; (2) They have no obligations to each other since they’re only legally married on paper.

When Mi-young asks about the third, Gun takes off his wedding ring and places it next to the envelope he brought in with him—the same one Mi-young picked up from the office. He tells her to read what’s inside and sign it.

She’s utterly speechless at the divorce papers, as she’s told that it states that their marriage will end soon after their baby’s birth, and that she’ll be compensated handsomely. “Do you agree?” Gun asks.

He repeats the question when she doesn’t respond right away, but now there are tears welling up in Mi-young’s eyes, her hands shaking. She struggles to find the words, and then says in a breaking voice that the reason she got married was to protect their child and her hometown.

Mi-young: “It was the first time this many people needed me… and the first time they blessed me. And I was grateful to you. You showed up and helped me whenever I was going through hard or difficult times… I was grateful because I thought that was sincere. And I felt relieved that you were the baby’s father. So… I truly wanted to follow you and married you.”

Gun isn’t totally unaffected by those words, but he keeps a stoic face as Mi-young signs off on the paperwork. And then she surprises him further when he sees that she’s crossed off the money.

That’s not what she wants, Mi-young asserts. As a tear rolls down her cheek, she states her own condition: that she’ll have this baby and raise it on her own.

Gun is flabbergasted: “Why did I agree to this marriage? Do you know how I went through with this?” Yes, but there were two people who agreed to this marriage, good sir.

A little later, Mi-young swallows back her tears to pick up Mom’s call. Mom is sharp enough to pick up on her daughter’s shaky voice and wonders if something’s wrong, but Mi-young insists that her in-laws treat her like a princess here. Oh, sweetie. I just want to give her a hug.

Her pregnant unni Mi-ja interjects to ask how the whole soap factory deal is going, to which Mi-young says it’ll take some more time. Mom wrenches the phone back to tell her youngest daughter not to worry about a thing, because a happy mommy means a happy baby.

Mi-young insists that she’s happy and says her husband takes good care of her, unaware that Gun is standing nearby, listening. Mom tells her not to bottle it all in, and Mi-young keeps up her smile even though she’s doing her damnedest to hold back her tears.

After hanging up, Mi-young gives herself a tiny pep-talk: “You’re a mom, too, Kim Mi-young. Be strong.”

Gun barely listens to his grandmother’s whisperings that the company isn’t doing well and that Yong’s side of the family is itching for an opportunity to take everything for themselves. It doesn’t help that Gun is giving the cold shoulder to his bride, and Grandma sighs exasperatedly when Gun says he has no romantic feelings towards Mi-young.

The fact of the matter is that they are married, Grandma notes, and there was enough infidelity in this family thanks to his late father. Oh snap. Gun takes offense to that statement: “Don’t compare me to Father.”

Mi-young is feeling just as lost as she cleans the next day, noting that the (possibly PPL) robot vacuum is smarter than her: “At least you know where you’re supposed to go.”

Gun meets with the men who want to buy the soap factory property, and ha, is he imitating a snail with his hand? Although the future plans for the land and the high price they’re willing to pay seems suspicious, Gun signs off on the deal.

He barely has time to entertain second thoughts about it when he receives news that Grandma currently hospitalized. He rushes over to her bedside, where he’s told from the family’s doctor that it’s high stress.

Grandma Wang certainly doesn’t look all that unwell, as it quickly becomes apparent that she’s feigning sickness as a ploy to get the two to attend prenatal education classes that just happen to start today.

“Why? She’s not even showing yet!” Gun cries defensively. But Grandma points out that it’s her great-grandson at stake here, so… he’s going to go, right?

He does, but his lack of interest in participating gets him and Mi-young sent up to the front of the class. When they admit that they haven’t named their baby yet (whereas everyone else already has, apparently) and told to do so, Gun chortles at the idea before he murmurs in agreement.

It’s pretty funny how Gun keeps getting scolded by the teacher for his cheek, like when he asks if any of these activities are useful, and is told that the baby is listening. Mimicking the instructor’s hand gestures, he replies, “I understand.”

Unlike the other soon-to-be fathers, Gun doesn’t go easy on the prenatal massage with Mi-young. But the best part comes when the teacher announces that the fathers will be giving the mothers a breast massage. They both freeze. HA.

They sit there like that, watching the other couples do the exercise until Gun awkwardly gives Mi-young a verbal heads-up. Then Gun puts his hands through her arm and starts massaging the air. They both look sooo uncomfortable in this position, and it’s hilarious.

Unfortunately for them, they get caught by the teacher, who then takes it upon herself to place Gun’s hands directly over Mi-young’s chest. Mi-young jumps away while Gun stares at his hands in horror.

Gun finds Mi-young waiting outside after class, and tells her that he’ll keep up the ruse with Grandma, so there’s no need for Mi-young to attend more classes. “It was fun,” Mi-young admits. “It was really great to do something with the baby and its father.”

She’s sure that their baby would have been happy knowing that it did something with its father. Gun asks how she knows, and Mi-young is even surprised at herself when she replies that she thinks it’s mother’s intuition. Gun cracks a tiny smile.

It’s adorable how Gun gets all worried when Mi-young says her stomach aches, only to get annoyed when she says it’s because she’s hungry. He says he has to get to a meeting, but emphasizes that she make sure to eat, like on her own or whatever. Aw, I knew you couldn’t be mean forever.

He even offers her his card, but Mi-young kindly declines, citing that she can pay for herself. Girl, I know you’re just trying to be nice and all, but when a chaebol gives you his credit card, you take it.

Daniel happens to spot Mi-young eating alone, and he enlists her help to set up his cafe. They adorably laugh and joke around with each other as they paint and furnish the place, and Daniel even helps her puts the glasses in place when she can’t reach.

Later, Daniel snaps a few photos of Mi-young while she sketches a baby onto a mug. She suddenly gets sheepish when she notices the camera, but Daniel encourages her to smile wide.

He takes notice of a wound on her arm and tends to it. Mi-young falls back on her habit of saying sorry, to which Daniel replies that it’s better to say thanks instead of always apologizing. Aw, that’s sweet.

Gun has trouble concentrating during his meeting, especially when a product regarding snails has him wondering out loud, “Has our snail eaten? Our snail should eat.” Awwww, are you worried about Mi-young?

Of course, the other execs mistake this as a question about their product, but Gun pretty much talks to himself as he snaps that he shouldn’t care if “that snail” takes care of herself or not.

Back at the cafe, Daniel compliments Mi-young’s drawing, though he notes that it’d be better if the baby was surrounded by its parents. He offers to draw them in, but Mi-young says no: “What’s the point when they can’t be together anyway?”

Mi-young catches her own words and apologizes again, but Daniel just calls her out on her apologetic habit again. Unable to suppress it any longer, Daniel admits that he saw the divorce papers and he asks if Mi-young’s husband really is an awful person to be asking for a divorce not long after getting married.

But when Mi-young rises to her husband’s defense, saying that there’s a good reason, Daniel bursts, “Where in the world would you find a reason like that?”

Mi-young tells Daniel not to get upset; she was initially shocked too, but she understands where her husband was coming from since he had to give up the woman he loves in order to marry her instead.

Daniel asks about the baby then, and Mi-young says she wants to raise the baby, but worries that she won’t be a very good mother. Furthermore, she’s a little scared. Daniel says there’s no need to be, and assures her that he is a good judge of character.

Mi-young says that Daniel knows all her secrets now, and that makes her feel oddly comfortable around him. “Maybe because you’re a priest…” Daniel returns that he feels like he gained a cute little sister. Oh, do you actually think that she might be your little sister?

Daniel insists on walking her home that evening despite her protests that she’ll be fine. He’s surprised when they stop outside Lee Manor, and he barely gets the words out about Mi-young’s in-laws when a car drives up to the gate and Gun climbs out.

 
COMMENTS

Huh, I just realized that despite Daniel’s friendship with Grandma Wang, we’ve yet to see Gun and Daniel cross paths in this show, let alone interact with one another. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Daniel went ahead and assumed that Gun was an asshole, given the sparse evidence he’s gathered on Gun and the circumstances under which he runs into Mi-young on occasion. To him, Gun is the guy who got Mi-young pregnant, may have sent her to almost have an abortion, married her, and now wants a divorce. Yeah okay, if that’s all I knew, I’d want to punch the guy, too.

In that sense, Daniel is quickly becoming the kind of oppa that any girl wishes she could have in her life. He’s protective, kind, and unafraid to call you out when you’re being too hard on yourself. In Mi-young’s case, he was her cheerleader and encouragement even in their earlier encounters, and their acquaintance got a lot more complicated now that Daniel knows her name. I honestly don’t know if he wonders if this Mi-young could be his sister Mi-young, but until we get more information, I’m leaving it as an inkling on his part. More importantly though, I don’t think Daniel would change his behavior towards Mi-young at all even if she didn’t share the same name, because who wouldn’t sympathize with the kind lady who sees the best in all people?

I know I say it over and over again, but Mi-young’s kindheartedness is her best quality. So it breaks my heart when I see hers getting stomped by other people. Just because she tries to be agreeable with Gun and her in-laws doesn’t mean it was an easy decision for her to enter this marriage. Hearing her speak of why she chose to marry Gun was simply lovely, because Mi-young finally felt that her life was significant in relation to those around her, that people actually depended on her instead of being thrown away after fulfilling their wishes. It was hard to watch her hope that this marriage with Gun wouldn’t be half-bad, only to get the cold shoulder for reasons unknown on her part. Then she had to go ahead and pretend like married life was treating her fine, because now she has another life to protect that’s growing inside of her.

We know that Gun got the wrong idea about Mi-young in the previous episode, and while it gave us some hilarious moments that made me seriously worry about the state of his mental health, it also allowed him to hear and see a glimpse of Mi-young’s genuineness. It made me uneasy that Gun could be so cold so quickly towards Mi-young, but there’s also a complexity to his character and emotions (expertly teased by Jang Hyuk). He’s moved by sincerity, and in those moments, we see the cracks in that stony exterior that reminds us of his warmheartedness.

I did find it interesting that Gun used language to emphasize the distance in his relationship with Mi-young, choosing pronouns one would use towards a stranger or mere acquaintance. It’s these kinds of moments that I feel don’t always translate over, but speaks volumes about where two people are in relation to one another. But what I love most in this hour is how Gun starts off by cursing his irrational fear of “that snail” and eventually worries over “our snail” that’s slowly crawling into his heart.

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