Fated To Love You: Episode 13

by gummimochi

Thank the drama heavens that this episode is filled with such sweet moments that I might get a cavity from the sugar overload. But just like any cavity, those saccharine moments are paired with some emotional beats that reminds us of the all-too-recent pain. At least I’m not the only person longing for sweet things in this hour, as we watch Gun jump through all kinds of hoops to at least be in the vicinity of the one gem of a woman who’s returned as an even brighter star in his sky.

If you can believe it, Fated To Love You secured first place at 11.5%. Joseon Gunman hit 11.1%, and It’s Okay, It’s Love came in at 9.8%.

SONG OF THE DAY

Ailee – “잠시 안녕처럼 (Goodbye My Love)” from the OST [ Download ]

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EPISODE 13 RECAP

We open with a man relaxing in a bubble-filled bathtub, and he takes a baby in his hands afterwards. Giving the infant a kiss, the man (cameo by Park Joon-hyung of g.o.d.) delivers his lines about the body shampoo and sends another wink to the camera.

The director calls cut wraps up the commercial shoot, ignoring Yong’s feeble protests to get a better take. Just then, someone snaps their fingers and a familiar voice calls out, “Hold it.” It’s Gun, who saunters into the set, rapping along to the song “To My Mother.” (Another meta-moment: Jang Hyuk also appeared in the music video here.)

Gun takes it upon himself to teach the celebrity how to hold the infant properly so that it feels comfortable in his arms. Ha, this reminds me of the time when Gun acted as a midwife and knew all the things about childbirth. Has he kept up with pre- and postnatal care in the past three years?

Gun introduces himself to Park Joon-hyung before calling out orders on set, all with a hearty laugh and wide smile. When he meets up with Manager Tak downstairs, he assures him that he’s never threatened to cancel any kind of contract these past three years, let alone terminated one.

We’re also given a familiar re-introduction to Mi-young: running with coffee in both hands into a building where gallery exhibition preparations are underway. Daniel oversees the production, and when a staff member points out one particular painting (entitled “le soupir” or “miss/longing” from the Korean) depicting a child gesturing a snail with its hands, he says the artist likely treasures this one the most.

Daniel suppresses a smile when the staff curiously asks when the artist, Ellie Kim, will arrive, his eyes fixed on Mi-young. It’s sweet how Mi-young offers a drink to everyone, including the janitor ajumma, before she’s introduced as the artist in question and the star of the exhibition.

Gun meets with Doctor Moon at the hospital, and notes how the doc is one of the people he sees most frequently these days. It rather seems like his devil-may-care attitude about his health is a front to ward off everyone else’s concern, though he still listens intently at hearing his latest test results have come back clean.

As of now, it seems like his genetic disease is lying dormant, and Gun will need to make sure not to let any triggers set it off. He’s even adopted a realistic perspective on death, but is slightly annoyed that he should have a special someone in his life.

Speaking of which, Grandma Wang is busy looking at marriage candidates for Gun over at Lee Manor. HA, are those all pictures of Jang Nara? That. Is. Awesome. But rather than a prestigious background, Grandma is more interested in someone who has pride in her roots and puts others before themselves.

Ji-yeon, who’s in charge of this selection, offhandedly remarks: “What if you just brought Mi-young back?” Heh. Grandma Wang says she couldn’t possibly hope for someone as perfect as Mi-young again. Aww, I love that she truly adored her granddaughter-in-law. And while she entertains the notion of sending Gun on a romantic trip overseas, Mama Yong swipes one of the candidate’s portfolios.

In the car, Daniel puts out his hand which Mi-young takes. Are you two an item now? That only lasts for a few seconds though, since Daniel is told to pay attention to the road. Using his hand like a mic, he interviews Mi-young on how it feels to return to Korea.

She says she thought that a lot would change, but it feels like not much has. Daniel jokingly takes offense to that, saying that he’s by her side now. Have you moved out of being friend-zoned and neighborhood oppa now?

Gun picks up Se-ra after one of her students’ performances. Suffice it to say, she’s a teacher now, and Gun laughs cheerily at the mound of presents from her own fanclub. He asks if she regrets quitting ballet, but she seems pretty happy, and if anything, they seem to be on friendly terms.

He gladly helps her fasten a necklace given to her by her fans, and of course, that’s the moment Daniel and Mi-young arrive at the same restaurant. Mi-young’s the only one who spots the other duo, though the sight is enough to distract her during her meeting about working in Korea.

Both Daniel and Mi-young are caught off-guard when they’re asked about future marriage plans, though Daniel says he’s been giving hints about his feelings towards Mi-young. I don’t think a three-second hand-holding really counts, but Imma throw you a bone anyway.

When Gun drops Se-ra off, he declines her invite to hang out this weekend, citing personal business. They tease each other on their (absent) love lives: he says she can have her pick among the men lining out the door to date her; she says he must have forgotten the basics in dating.

Mom closes up shop at her little restaurant and sends the rest of the family home. She keeps a close eye on the clock as she whips some food for a special kind of regular: Gun. Has he kept in touch with Mom all these years? I’m both moved and near tears — it may have been years in this dramaverse, but the pain still feels so fresh.

She makes a fuss about how he visits so frequently, even though she loves that he does, and Gun asks if Mom’s sneaking in meds in the food. They bicker back and forth like a real mother and son while he eats, and he tells Mom (whom he affectionately calls “Lady Lettuce Wrap”) that she looks a decade younger.

It’s sweet and heartbreaking how Gun lingers outside for as long as he can until Mom finally chases him out. He keeps offering to drive her home, only for Mom to refuse, and it’s only when he finally does leave does she sigh at how he can’t ask her the burning questions on his mind.

But her frown turns into joyous surprise when Mi-young appears with Daniel from around the corner moments later. Mother and daughter share a happy reunion, and the trio heads home together. Which means that when Gun doubles back to drop off his present for Mom, he finds the restaurant closed.

Mi-young’s family is in awe at home over how sophisticated and successful Mi-young is nowadays, though she downplays a relationship with Daniel. President Park kills the mood by how Gun seriously lost out with his chance with Mi-young, and Mom momentarily flusters when Daniel calls her “Mother.”

Gun arrives home to a spread of marriage candidates, which he notes looks like a snail collection. He smiles at Grandma’s threatening note to hurry up and get married, and then retreats into his man cave, where… he’s kept all the nursery items.

Evidently Gun has kept up with Mi-young’s success as an artist, smiling at the program of her upcoming gallery exhibition. “Our snail’s become really great,” he remarks. “Keddong-ah, Mommy’s really cool, isn’t she?” Is it just me or are those tears building in his eyes?

Much to Grandma’s displeasure, Gun refuses to go on any seons (blind dates with the intention of marriage), then turns to his half-brother Yong to hurry up and get married. Pfft, it cracks up that he calls Yong “Dragon.”

Mama Yong jumps on making the most of that offhand remark in her meeting with the Lee clan head elder, because while Gun has won over the shareholders by throwing himself into his work, Yong could establish himself by getting married and producing an heir.

Gun checks into his hotel for a business trip, and is none too pleased to be given a different room than he specifically planned because another guest has already checked in. Hilariously, he’s told that he’ll be staying in Room 2009 and not Room 2006… because that’s where Mi-young’s staying.

Staring blankly at the number, she sighs, “Why did it have to be Room 2006?” She checks if the last digit is movable. Hahaha.

And as luck would have it, Gun’s room just happens to be directly across the hall. I’ll laugh if that “9” will swing directions.

After the gallery opening, Mi-young sits down for an interview with a few reporters. She hopes that her work will bring joy and happiness to women who are hurting, and express a happy, confident woman receiving love. She makes a slight mention of a painful time in her life, and how someone encouraged her to pursue art to heal that emotional pain. Lastly, she laughs off the question about her personal romantic life.

Meanwhile, Gun has his own Gollum/Smeagol crisis in his hotel room, debating on whether he should go to Mi-young’s gallery exhibition or not. Gollum Gun: “Can I really go?” Smeagol Gun: “Why can’t we? It’s just a cultural experience.” It’s hilarious how Gun’s inner turmoil builds with each passing second:

Gollum Gun: “But what if we cross paths? Have you got a plan?”
Smeagol Gun: “I’m Gun. You think I’d go without one? Listen up, you fool.”
Gollum Gun: “Right, you’re Gun. What are you going to do! Tell me!”
Smeagol Gun: “Just you know, we meet and naturally exchange greetings. ‘It’s been a while,’ ‘Good to see you,’ ‘Have you been well?'”
Gollum Gun: “Is that it? Is that really it?”
Smeagol Gun: “Then I say I came to see the paintings!”

After all of that, Gun decides to head back to Seoul, taking his suitcase. But then we see him lingering outside of Mi-young’s art exhibition anyway. Then Gun musters up the courage and throws on a pair of shades before he slinks and tumbles towards the door.

Ha, I’m glad to see that Gun’s spy moves have gotten better over the years, though they’re still ridiculous and obvious and topped off with the Inspector Gadget soundtrack. His jealous pettiness hasn’t changed either, because once he sees a floral arrangement sent from Daniel, he promptly calls in an even bigger order. Like the BIGGEST.

Gun literally swings in to pay for the flowers (one line reads “Your No. 1 fan forever”), then places the mammoth arrangement right next to Daniel’s. LOL.

Gun skulks down the gallery doing his best to remain unseen (but it totally seen). He spots Mi-young next to Daniel and mutters under his breath that while he’s grateful Daniel looked after Mi-young in France, Daniel better remain as a friendly oppa and nothing more.

He sighs, then acts as bodyguard to Mi-young’s works, chasing people away when they so much as touch the canvas. He prides himself as the first person who recognized Mi-young for her artistic talent, then his eyes fall upon the “le soupir” painting.

Hearing that the artist values this work the most, Gun realizes the similarities between this portrait and the Keddongie mug. He expresses his interest to purchase the painting immediately.

After Mi-young returns to the gallery with her entire family in tow, she’s both surprised and devastated to see her prized painting sold off so quickly. Daniel assures her that he’ll look into the buyer and try to cancel the sale, but Mi-young insists to speak to that person herself.

So Mi-young calls the contact number later that evening, and Gun quickly adopts a female voice (since he left a woman’s name behind) and hangs up before she can get a word in. They continue the conversation via text, where Mi-young expresses her gratitude and apologies to cancel the sale.

She says that work was never meant to be sold, to which Gun replies that he really likes the one he bought. She offers to exchange it with any other painting, and he answers with a petty no. He deflects her attempts to speak on the phone about it, and she says she’ll be waiting at the hotel bar downstairs to meet in person. He says he’ll be in touch later.

With that, both Mi-young and Gun exit their hotel rooms at staggering times for their schedules that evening.

Back in Seoul, Yong is on a blind date who’s eager to hear the possibility that he could run Jangin Chemicals one day. She asks what kind of woman he’d like to marry, and Yong answers, “A woman who is small and weak, but makes me want to depend on her. A woman whose soft heart you can see even if her bright eyes are hidden behind round glasses. A woman who makes me cry inside even with her whispers.” Pfffft, are you talking about Mi-young?

However, the one who hears this is a very upset Ji-yeon, who marches up to the duo. As the Temptation of Wife OST plays in the background, Yong tells her not to make a scene because this is family on the line. Ji-yeon says it doesn’t matter because she’s crazy in love with him. Ji-yeon runs off, leaving Yong with physical emotional pain. Haha.

Gun arrives downstairs in time to see Mi-young sharing congratulatory drinks of champagne with her staff. He hops into an egg-shaped chair to remain unseen, only to pop out again when they rally for Mi-young and Daniel to share in a love shot.

He all but collapses right then and there when they do, but then trips moments later and falls flat on his face. I kinda like that this hour is dedicated to Gun being a bumbling fool and pining after Mi-young.

Gun stays close by the bar though, making snide remarks to seeing Daniel stick so close by Mi-young’s side. He notices that she isn’t wearing glasses anymore and takes a moment to stare at her pretty face. Aw.

He nearly chokes on his drink at overhearing the question of Daniel and Mi-young’s marriage plans. Mi-young gives a non-committal answer, and Gun turns to his neighbor, all, What’s so bad about being single and alone?

He gets so worked up over the question about their first kiss that he unknowingly draws attention to himself by banging a tumbler, then plays off the moment as drunken ramblings of a Chinese guest—loudly introducing himself as Jang Hyuk. HAHAHA.

But Mi-young and Daniel haven’t had their first kiss yet, so Daniel suggests that they do it here and now. He claims to be serious about it and takes her hand, despite Mi-young’s attempts to laugh off the matter. So Daniel draws Mi-young towards him, slowly leans in for a passionate kiss, as Gun freaks out at the bar.

But of course Gun’s imagination has run away with him again because he wakes up at the bar to see Daniel whisper something in her ear instead. “Did you think I’d have our first kiss in a place like this? For whose benefit?” he asks teasingly.

Gun hurriedly sends a text to Mi-young about that painting, which does the trick to draw her away. So Mi-young waits at the park, stopping any woman in hopes that’s who she’s looking for. Not too far off, Gun sits on a bench.

He asks if she’s here, which she says yes. (Omg, Gun—did you already save her on your phone as “Sweet ♥ Peng-ie”?) He apologizes that he won’t be able to meet her after all. Mi-young replies that it’s too bad, since one’s health trumps their meeting and hopes that they can stay in touch. Still the same ol’ considerate Mi-young.

And now we see Gun sitting beside Mi-young, vocalizing their text conversation aloud. He asks what’s so special about that painting that Mi-young, no, she as an artist would treasure it so. It holds genuine meaning to her and is her first painting, but more importantly, the painting is like her family and other self. “Family? Other self?” he repeats.

Mi-young: “In all my life, it’s my brightest, most precious, and a gem of a memory I don’t ever want to forget.”
Gun:: “Isn’t now your brightest and precious moment in your life?”
Mi-young: “Now is good, too… but it pales in comparison to that memory.”

Mi-young catches herself at that moment, wondering why she’s blathering on to a customer. When she takes a look at her surroundings, Gun is already gone.

Gun reflects over Mi-young’s words while downing shots of soju. He drunkenly slurs in awe of how Mi-young would think positively about their time together whereas he believes all he did was hurt her.

Back in her room, Mi-young takes out the Keddongie journal and is interrupted by a loud banging and kicks to enter her room. As expected, it’s Gun, who yells at the door saying that he always stays in this room, unable to understand why his keycard won’t work.

He keeps banging on the door, so Mi-young calls down to the front desk about the disturbance. She inches towards the door cautiously and grabs a heel to use for defense while Gun drunkenly screams “Open sesame!” from the other side of the door.

Those cries soon turn into “Open dalpeng-ah!” but Mi-young is too concentrated on bracing herself to hear that properly. She opens the door and falls into Gun’s arms before they both fall to the ground.

Both look at each other with surprised expressions, and Gun asks why she’s coming out of his room. Mi-young: “But this is my room.” Gun repeats: “But this is my room.”

 
COMMENTS

Firstly, thank goodness for a lighthearted episode after a most angst-filled pair of episodes last week. I don’t know what I would’ve done if we had to go through the hellish emotional wringer some more at this point. All I can say is that when it comes to Fated To Love You, the emotional highs had to come with lower lows—because Gun was built up in such a positive light and just so perfect, then his downfall had to come swiftly and make him look like the most awful man of the hour. Even if that meant hearing him speak mean words and seeing him act distant to Mi-young (gee thanks, Noble Idiocy—you go take your seat now) despite knowing that doing so pained him. You’re better than all those drama heroes, and you could’ve just been less of a jerk about it, Gun, ‘s all I’m sayin’.

Even though it’s been a three-year skip in this drama’s timeline, it’s been less than a week for the rest of us to cope with the aftermath. Frankly, that made it difficult to laugh at the much-needed comedy at the top of the hour because the scars still felt so fresh—seeing those similarly-played moments from the beginning of the series felt like reopening fresh wounds. Although I’m still wrestling with all of these differing emotions, I have to hand it to the show to find ways to make me laugh anyway. And that’s no easy task for a show with a few more weeks on air (Fated is 20 episodes).

So now it’s redemption time for Gun if he’s got a shot at winning Mi-young back. All of those tiny what-could’ve-been throwaway lines help us establish how he’s become an even-more improved Gun. He hasn’t threatened to terminate a business contract at a whim, has visited Mom at her restaurant (even if it’s in secret), and most importantly—he hasn’t forgotten about either Mi-young or Keddongie. I’d worried about the last bit the most, because I’d wondered how much Gun was affected by the loss. And if there was ever a moment that assured us that Keddongie’s loss still pains him, it was when he was moved by the painting of what I assume would have been Keddongie, and then bought it.

Because Gun and Mi-young’s separation was so painful, there were times I sort of took sadistic pleasure in seeing how hard Gun worked in this hour to appease Mi-young, even if she never knew that it would be him (see: giant flower arrangement). He’s gone through the mental gymnastics of building up that moment of when they would meet again that I find it borderline funny that those thoughts would lead up to him being a drunken mess when he ran into Mi-young again. Not quite the better or more impressive way to meet her again, I’d imagine.

It’s nice to see that Gun and Se-ra were able to remain friends (and that Se-ra moved on with her career as well), though the bigger question mark is what’s going on between Daniel and Mi-young. It’s clear that Daniel still has feelings for her and also that Mi-young appreciates his company…. but that whole topic about marriage just has her skirt away. C’mon Daniel — you had three years with Mi-young in Paris of all places, and you still couldn’t sweep her off her feet?

And speaking of Mi-young, I love that even in her blossoming successful career, she’s still the same sweet soul we came to love in the first place. She’s still considerate of others and thoughtful, and even after such great emotional pain, she can look back upon her time with Gun as a bright and precious memory. So while their reunion may not be what either of them expected, sometimes people need a little magic to bring them back together. What happens afterward is up to them ’cause sometimes people just have to make their own destiny.

 
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