Fated To Love You: Episode 15

by gummimochi

Gun will need to be quite the sleuth if he doesn’t want anyone else catching onto the idea about his lingering feelings for the woman he once sent away. Now that he’s clued into the notion that Mi-young is no longer the same woman who fell in love with him three years ago, Gun is caught between preserving her happiness or following his own heart. But no matter where he stands on this battlefield right now, it won’t be an easy fight.

Ratings update: Joseon Gunman came up on top at 11.1%, Fated To Love You followed at 10.6%, and It’s Okay, It’s Love came in at 9.7%.

SONG OF THE DAY

Jung Joon-young – “Hold On” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 15 RECAP

At Daniel’s proposal of Mi-young becoming his real family, Mi-young takes a beat before giving her answer. Because Daniel was by her side in her time of hardship after they arrived in Paris, she thought she should be good to the man who endured in her suffering with her.

Neither of them hear the door close behind them, as Gun leaves before hearing the rest of her answer. Mi-young continues, “I thought that if I were to be a part of someone’s family again, it should be with this person. But… I don’t really know if my heart towards you is gratitude or love yet. I shouldn’t be unsure. You sincerely asked me [this question], and I want to give you a sincere answer…”

Daniel cuts her off just then, putting on a brave face at the rejection. He asks that she give him one more chance to truly convey his feelings towards her. For realzies this time, everyone. Should her feelings remain unchanged by then, he’ll remain as her good friend.

Our love triangle broods separately that evening, and as Daniel erases the sand drawing, he reflects upon more words he told Mi-young: “My heart towards you keeps changing. Just being a good person by your side was enough, but now I want to keep you by my side for a long time.”

After Gun leaves the breakfast table in an irritable mood the next morning, Yong informs his grandmother that he recently met Mi-young—who’s still single by the way. Next thing we know, Grandma Wang sits down with Mi-young, and it’s sweet how they’re both so happy and sorry to each other to meet now.

Grandma Wang would love it if Mi-young became part of the family again, but she also knows that it’s hard for her to face Gun after everything that’s happened. At her attempt to defend Gun’s case, Mi-young gently apologizes—her ties with Gun have ended.

Gun is watching Mi-young’s interview in his office, and is about to hear her answer about her love life when he gets interrupted by Manager Tak. He praises his chief secretary on narrowing down the remaining candidates of artists to collaborate with, although he mutters how Manager Tak did too good of a job when he doesn’t see Elle Kim/Mi-young on the list.

He says they’ll take their time before making a decision, which prompts Manager Tak to ask if the painting Gun bought recently was Mi-young’s work. Manager Tak doesn’t seem to buy his boss’s defensive answer that he simply liked the painting, and asks if he can’t just try to win Mi-young back if he hasn’t forgotten about her after all these years—to tell her that he thought wrong and that they’re destined for each other.

It’s not like his medical condition has worsened after all, Manager Tak adds. ‘s what I’m saying. But Gun says Mi-young’s living quite happily nowadays and will continue to do so, especially since she has someone by her side. “Must I… I have no reason to make her waver. I shouldn’t [rock that boat] either.”

Gun gets annoyed running through every little detail about his schedule on his way out, and shoos his secretary away. There’s a reason why today’s so important, though: it’s the anniversary when Keddongie was lost, and Manager Tak wonders if Gun will just sit “there” again.

Speaking of which, we see Mi-young sitting by the intersection where The Accident took place three years ago. She conveys her belated greetings to Keddongie, and her eyes well up with tears as she says she’s never forgotten about Keddongie because he continues to live in her heart.

After resting the memorial flowers on the sidewalk, and when she sees Gun approach the same intersection, she tells him that he needn’t come here anymore. She’ll remember Keddongie for the rest of her life, so Gun can forget it all and move on with his life.

Gun laughs at that, thinking it ridiculous—how is it okay for him to forget, but not her? Mi-young: “Because Keddongie is my child.” Gun: “He’s also my child.”

But Mi-young points out that Gun gave up on Keddongie, reminded of the (fabricated) divorce agreement and Gun’s wishes to relinquish his parental rights. Hurts when those words come back to bite, don’t they, Gun?

Calling Mi-young by her new name, Gun argues that her name change signifies a new start, which means Keddongie would laugh at her now for bringing up the past. He tries to laugh it off, but that only grates Mi-young further—whether she makes a new start or becomes a new person or however many times she lives her life over again, she’d never forget Keddongie, though Gun isn’t obligated to do the same.

After Mi-young walks off, Gun sits down by the road to share cake with Keddongie, issuing another apology to his unborn child. “I’m sorry today too, Keddong-ah.”

Mi-young texts Young-ja/Gun later that evening, which spurs another one of those wonderful talking-text conversations between them. Gun apologizes that something always comes up whenever he has to return the painting, to which Mi-young sweetly replies that the painting must want to stay with him.

She invites him to call her by name (Ellie) and informs him that she’s postponed her trip back to France. Curious, Gun starts to ask if it’s because of the proposal, only to edit himself and ask how long she’s staying instead. At the answer of “about six months,” Gun wonders to himself: “Am I supposed to be happy or have a hard time about that?”

Their split-screen convo continues in their respective beds, and he asks what she’s doing up this late. Upon hearing that there’s something on her mind, he encourages her to confide in him because it isn’t good to bottle up worries. “If you do, your heart will get bruised and you’ll age faster.”

“I thought it was a happy moment, but now that I came face to face with it, I think I lived my life putting effort into just wrapping it up as happiness,” Mi-young says. He says it must’ve been a very painful memory, and Mi-young admits it was, but it was also a very happy time.

Gun offers her some wise words (as Young-ja): “Very painful memories aren’t meant to be forgotten, but to be accepted with an empty heart.” Mi-young would love to do that, “even if it’s for that person who’s waiting for me.”

Gun swallows hard at those words and gives her some encouraging words before bidding her goodnight. “Sleep well, Ellie,” Gun talk-texts, then speaks aloud, “Sleep well, Kim Mi-young.”

Daniel peruses a new apartment, and crosses paths with Se-ra in the hallway. Both parties recognize one another, and since Daniel’s a new tenant here as of today, they exchange smirks over how this makes them neighbors now. He stops her to ask if she and Gun are still together, but Se-ra believes doesn’t consider that appropriate neighborly chit-chat.

Meanwhile, Se-ra’s mother pays a surprise visit to Gun at work, however, where she says that while Gun may have moved on and thinks he’s good friends with his ex, she’s seen her daughter return home in tears every time they’ve hung out together.

That’s news to Gun, who believes that he and Se-ra have talked everything out, but Se-ra’s mother won’t stand for her daughter being played like a fool, especially by the man who effectively ended Se-ra’s prima ballerina career.

Elsewhere, Mi-young is presented with her new studio and her upcoming projects during her extended stay in Korea. She’s surprised to see herself prospectively attached to a collaborative project with Jangin Chemicals, and asks for time to review the offer.

She takes the contract to her former boss Lawyer Hong, who believes this would be a great career opportunity. He reminds her that she has alimony to her name if she needs some business capital, but that’s a topic Mi-young chooses not to pursue anymore.

Gun is still weighing upon Se-ra’s mother’s words when Manager Tak and Yong come bearing sweets. It’s nice of them to try and lift Gun’s spirits, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually had a regular Happy Time scheduled into his workday. Do we have to worry that Gun might die sooner from Type 2 Diabetes than his family’s genetic illness?

But then Gun breaks down into fake sobs before telling them to take it all away. He’s craving something else to eat right now. Could it be Mom’s cooking?

Aw, it is, ’cause we see Gun unexpectedly turn up at Mom’s restaurant, forcing her to hurriedly hang up on Mi-young. He whines for food like a little kid, stubbornly refusing to leave until he’s been fed.

Mom wonders if something’s the matter for Gun to come by not on his usual day, and Gun says he was just hungry. She tells him to chew his food slowly then, and the two bicker back and forth as per usual. Then Gun takes Mom’s hand and starts to ask, “By any chance… did Mi… Mi…”

But then Gun backs out, calling Mom a beauty (mi-een) instead. Mom almost seems disappointed, as if she’d hoped he’d finally ask about Mi-young. Gun calls himself crazy, and heh, I don’t think anyone’s really going to argue against that.

Mom smiles while he eats, but her expression turns into surprise when Mi-young shows up like she said she would. She tries her best to hide Gun’s face (and tells him in a whisper to run, ha), but he gets caught red-handed anyway. So he blurts out, “So what? I came to eat!”

Gun and Mi-young carry on their conversation outside, where Gun is on the defensive about his visits to Mom over the years. He went there to eat—is there something so wrong with that? He doesn’t see why he needs Mi-young’s permission to see her mother, but Mi-young returns that her mother genuinely liked him.

It’ll only be hard on her mother if he keeps this up, but Gun argues that’s between Mom and himself. To that, Mi-young argues, “You shouldn’t give your heart away so carelessly if you can’t take responsibility for it.”

Gun is taken aback by those words, but he remains on the defensive. All he did was come to eat, and he doesn’t have any feelings for her. She asks if that means he isn’t at all uncomfortable when he sees her. He fires back that he doesn’t, and doesn’t see anything wrong with extending an offer to work together either.

She asks why it had to be her, which has him laughing at whether she’s acting like a hotshot artist right now. She was chosen because she’s the best for this project—how could he, as a CEO, possibly let personal feelings affect his business decisions?

That prompts her to ask if this is really all about business; he doesn’t have any other motives? He replies of course not, though he looks away. And if she walks away from the offer? Well, that’s up to her to decide.

But when Mi-young accepts that and starts to walk away, Gun points out that unless she has very good reason, the company will have to assume that she was scared and walked away.

“Why would I run away?” Mi-young returns. “What would I be afraid of?” You gotta love a feisty Mi-young. But even with that brave front, Mi-young ruminates over Gun’s words later.

In his office, Gun excitedly reviews the contract before Mi-young’s arrival, and I have to admit his hand gestures are adorable, addressing himself with two thumbs up, and Mi-young with the trademark snail hands. He’s under the belief that he’ll get to order Mi-young around (as in, to dinner) once she signs on, but Mi-young isn’t the same meek woman anymore.

In fact, Mi-young wastes no time to get down to business, and Gun breaks into hearty laughter as soon as she signs the contract. She announces that she can get started immediately, and points out that she’ll only be in contact with Manager Tak.

This isn’t really how Gun imagined this meeting would go, and he tells her that usually people go out to eat—and yunno, watch a movie or something—after making a business agreement. She says she’s not hungry.

So Gun launches into his speech about the nature of their contractual relationship, but Mi-young draws a clear boundary between them—he won’t easily find someone of her caliber. “Our snail has become really cool,” Gun smiles, impressed. “Makes me not want to send her away.”

Mi-young works diligently into the night, letting her calls go ignored. It isn’t until morning does she see an email from Manager Tak. It’s cute how he writes of his everlasting devotion to her and that she can call him whenever she has need. Aww.

Daniel arrives at the studio wearing a worried yet unsurprised expression on his face. This isn’t the first time he’s seen Mi-young throw herself into her work before, so he sits her down on the couch and asks when she last slept and ate.

He gets worried-angry that she’s overworking herself again and orders that she’s taking the afternoon off. Moreover, she’ll stay still while he sets up her new monitor. She asks that he places a few packs of post-its into the pockets.

Daniel takes Mi-young out on an outdoor picnic, complete with a homemade lunch. She’s eager to get back to the studio, though, only to be told that it isn’t good for her to be cooped up inside all day.

He honestly isn’t thrilled about how she’s working with Jangin Chemicals either, to which Mi-young says she’ll drop the project at his word. But Daniel won’t have any of that, and says she must do a good job instead. Like the workaholic she is, Mi-young sneakily sends Manager Tak another e-mail.

After Gun checks in with the groundskeeper, he takes a leisurely stroll around the gardens. He happens to spot Mi-young working, so he keeps his distance. She’s here to study the flora in person for their collaborative project, and Gun forms a picture frame with his fingers and snaps his own photos of his subject.

Gun ducks when Mi-young looks around, and he grows worried when she grows dizzy from exhaustion. She collects herself to continue working, however, unaware that Gun is hiding behind some reeds, having followed her.

When a sketch goes rogue by the wind while her back is turned, Gun runs over to retrieve it. He returns it with the others on her clipboard, but the snapping sound catches her attention. Mi-young whirls around, and Gun makes a run for it.

He makes bird sounds as cover, but that only intrigues Mi-young, who doubles back for her camera. She responds in kind to lure the bird out, so Gun makes another bird call, thoroughly amused. Pffft, is that the Woody the Woodpecker laugh?

Mi-young has caught onto the strange calls by now, but plays along. Gun rises from his hiding spot and turns to find himself face to face with Mi-young. She asks what he’s doing hiding here, and Gun denies doing anything of the sort. These gardens belong to his company and he was here because of work.

She asks why he was making bird calls then, and doesn’t buy the answer that he was bonding with nature. He was following her, wasn’t he? Gun flat out denies that too, and turns the question on her. How strange of her to be here when she should be in Seoul.

Mi-young replies that she’s here to work too, which earns her a round of applause from Gun. He scolds her for wandering around the grounds alone, but Mi-young won’t let him weasel out of this conversation that easily. She notes that he hasn’t changed one bit by not apologizing to her for scaring her, and he in turn points out that she’s changed a lot.

She requests that they keep their encounters to within the office, which is something Gun agrees with. She hopes that he’ll keep to a level of dignity in the future, and he laughs to himself that she was making bird calls too.

It suddenly rains just then, so Gun hurriedly covers her with his coat. She initially refuses, but they both acknowledge that there shouldn’t be a problem since they aren’t romantically involved at all, and so Gun shields her from the rain again.

This leads into a throwback to the movie The Classic as Gun and Mi-young run through the grounds in step with each other trying to find cover. Unfortunately that downpour turns into a heavy thunderstorm by nightfall, and they’re told that they’ll be stranded here tonight.

Ha, is Gun sending the manager encouraging and satisfied hand gestures like he tasked the man to feed her how all the roads are blocked and flooded? Gun makes a big deal out of how they have no choice but to stay the night, and looks disappointment when Mi-young says they should come up with something.

After the manager takes his leave, Gun cracks a smile over how this rain won’t stop. He asks if Mi-young’s all right and tells her to wash up thoroughly so she doesn’t catch a cold. He’s simply concerned for his contracter, he says, then he falls into Mi-young’s lap when the power suddenly goes out. Ha.

Gun lights a pair of candles and hums along to the sound of the rain. “What do you think of this music?” he finally asks. She doesn’t quite get his meaning, and he points out the rain. He shares he liked the sound of rain ever since he was young; he’d make a wish at night and fall asleep to the soothing sound.

He tells her to listen, then jokes that it sounds like grilling pork. He asks if she’s hungry, but again Mi-young says she isn’t. But at the sound of a growling stomach, Gun notes that her hunger cues haven’t changed. “That wasn’t me,” she answers.

But that growl does trigger happier memories for Mi-young, and Gun sighs that Yong would sing praises about a certain fish-eye ramyun. She replies that Gun had eaten rice with his face on it.

Gun recalls the homemade lunch now with fondness, saying how he wants to eat that too now. He calls her by Mi-young for the first time in this episode before catching himself, then saying that he’ll just call her by that name tonight.

He regales her with how rain droplets hitting the rooftop makes sounds that eventually sounds like a reassuring voice, saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay. It isn’t your fault. It’s okay now,” and a comforting pat on one’s back.

Although Mi-young has tears in her eyes, she says she has no idea what he’s talking about. She wills her exhausted body up to leave, but then slips and flicks away Gun’s hand. She insists that she’s fine, ignoring the words that the roads are blocked.

Gun sits her down so that she’ll listen to him, and that’s when he realizes that she’s running a fever. He instinctively places his hands on her cheeks, his face filled with worry. But Mi-young pulls his hands off of her, telling him not to concern himself.

But Gun grabs her wrist, refusing to let a sick person wander outside on her own. “I’d really like to decline your worries about me now, Lee Gun-sshi. We don’t mean anything to one other anymore,” Mi-young says. “Let go of me.”

So Gun lets go, but Mi-young takes two steps before he holds her back again. “You foolish woman,” he says. They hold each other’s gazes for a few more moments, and Gun leans in as if to kiss her…

 
COMMENTS

Of course you’d cut us off there, Fated. Oh Gun, I know how much you want to give into your feelings for Mi-young, but she’s also sick right now! Granted, Mi-young proves herself over and over again that she isn’t someone to be trifled with anymore, which has me thinking that Gun will have to work that much harder for a kiss, let alone win her heart again.

If I’m not mistaken, Gun still believes that she and Daniel are together, possibly even engaged. He didn’t stick around long enough to hear the rest of her kindhearted rejection, and we didn’t see anyone or anything to dispel Gun’s thoughts for the rest of the episode. So while I’d love for Gun and Mi-young to be together again, I also doubt that Gun would let his feelings trump his morals about pursuing a taken woman. Then again, his lips are mere inches from Mi-young’s right now.

So it rather looks like he’s losing his internal conflict between preserving Mi-young’s happiness versus his lingering feelings towards her. What’s more is that the people around him are pointing out how Gun has more reason to go after Mi-young than to not, despite his insistence that he does not have feelings for Mi-young anymore. When he clearly still does. Speaking of feelings and lingering relationships, I found myself agreeing with Mi-young and Se-ra’s controlling mother’s arguments about how Gun either has or very well could unintentionally hurt the still-attached relationships he believes are harmless. I can’t blame Gun for thinking that he and Se-ra had talked things out, and I’d also say that Se-ra is also partially responsible for keeping ties that still cause her emotional pain.

And that’s the tricky thing about the concept of jeong (affection or attachment) because those feelings make breaking those ties that much harder and more painful once they’re broken. So in the case of Mom, Mi-young knows how much her mother cared for him and vice-versa. While he may claim that he’s only visiting Mom for her cooking, Mi-young is protecting her mother and warning him of the dangers of keeping up with a relationship he cannot take responsibility for in the end.

Thus we’ve been seeing Mi-young guard her heart more than ever, especially in her interactions with Gun. I’ll admit that it’s been pretty gratifying to watch a more self-confident Mi-young standing up for herself, leaving Gun stammering in her wake. Furthermore, she’s been giving Gun what he wanted from three years ago, relieving him of any obligations to her or Keddongie. She won’t have any of Gun’s flimsy answers either, but when she does question his motives (like the collaboration project), she gives him the opportunity to admit to something more.

It’s that something more that Gun wants, seeing as he keeps falling back to their contractor/contractee relationship as an excuse to worry about Mi-young in this hour. And the thing is that Mi-young has been doing such a good job of establishing herself apart from Gun that she’ll keep insisting that she’s fine, despite pushing her body past its own limits. But not every snail can stay in its own shell forever, and we know that this Mi-young doesn’t have anything to be of afraid of now. Apart from her own heart, that is.

 
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