I miss the sugar rush from the first episode as our couple settles into the monotony of everyday life. Getting a job. Dealing with unfriendly coworkers. Shooting underwear ads. Just a regular day at the office.

The Morning After

We get a replay of their one night of passion, and the practical side of me wonders how inconvenient those bucket seats were. The next morning, Lee Yoo Mi wakes to the sound of the neighborhood ahjummas loudly making their way to the beach. She finds herself ensconced in Cha Jin Wook’s cream overcoat. Her grim reaper jacket is now covering him in the driver’s seat. She snatches it away, along with her pile of discarded clothes and makes a break for it. We fast forward three years, and I’m left disappointed that we didn’t get to see Jin Wook caught shirtless by the gaggle of old ladies. Except we did. The writer knows how to make us wait for it as we revisit the scene later on in the episode and it’s even worse than we hoped. Jin Wook writhes in embarrassment as the ahjummas wonder how bad he could have been to make the girl bolt like that, complete with uncomplimentary hand gestures. No wonder he’s still mad.

And, oh boy, is he mad

Lee Yoo Mi just happens to find herself working at Daebok Group where Jin Wook is a notorious director, already known for his bad temper and lack of patience. Gone is the good time playboy. He now eats, breathes, and sleeps the company. Jin Wook is so dedicated he even poses for the company underwear ads to save the model fee. (I wonder if they’re going to find a new excuse every episode to strip Sung Hoon down.) Even his Dad wants him to stop playing the monk and give him some grandchildren, but Jin Wook can’t be shaken. Not until he spots a familiar face getting into the elevator. Or maybe it’s just the suit he recognizes. Because Lee Yoo Mi is still wearing the same grim reaper outfit! Can she not afford any other clothes? Or maybe she considers this her lucky suit after that night on the beach.

Once he realizes who she is, the payback begins. He literally goes Inigo Montoya on her with his “You’ve deeply insulted me” attitude. Since she’s the company nutritionist, he orders elaborately picky dishes and then throws them away without eating them. She finally snaps and sends him a very colorfully worded text telling him exactly where he can go with the food he keeps rejecting. Which leads to a face-to-face confrontation that we won’t see the end of until next week. Bummer. It was just getting good!

The Butler love continues

This character cracks me up. Jin Wook’s “wife” keeps a watchful eye on him, checks his temperature, and blackmails him into eating three meals a day by threatening to leave him. I wonder if Butler Bestie knows anything about “that night”. There are clearly few secrets between them when he’s even willing to show Jin Wook the color of his underwear if he asks. It looks like Secretary Jang gets his own loveline with the suggestive side cook in the kitchen. I hope it’s as hilarious as his other relationship.

Sweet 2nd Lead – Present

What’s a drama without a supportive second lead who watches out for the heroine from the background. Jung Hyun Tae owns the bookstore-cafe below Yoo Mi’s apartment and moonlights as a famous author on the side. She gives him headlocks. He picks her up and shakes her around, then she kicks him after he pats her hair. It seems pretty noona – dongsaeng at the moment, but we all know the K-drama playbook. The secret, yearning glances are sure to come.

It made me think of you

We all have them. Random, inconspicuous things that remind us of a former crush. I like how this episode shows several times how much that one night still affects these two. Yoo Mi sees a white car on the street and gets the nervous hiccups as she remembers Jin Wook. He finds a 500 won coin (dropped by Yoo Mi, but he doesn’t know this) and he fingers it wistfully as he sits in the hospital. He’s obviously going to be really sweet once he gets over her three-year-old rejection. But I get the feeling we’ll have to wait awhile.

The OTP spent much of the episode apart, so it wasn’t my favorite. Now that the masks are off and everybody knows everyone else’s names, we can get down to business. Bring on the petty. Just as long as they’re in the same room and the sparks are flying.

DramaRookie