How will Young Joon pop the question? Again? The poor love struck fool is running out of new ideas as he gears up for his fifth and final proposal. Good thing for us he’s got more than one person ready to provide their hilarious input.

Boys Night Out

Mi So is ready to accept Young Joon as her husband, but her father has other ideas as he sits up in bed and bellows that he objects. Rocker Dad grabs a surprised Young Joon and drags him away to a street cafe for a heart to heart about this marriage business. It turns out he’s not against the man who’s proposing to his daughter, just the method of his proposal. He wants something grandiose and romantic for his baby girl. Although his motivation is sweet, it’s telling when he keeps making assertions about Mi So that Young Joon has to correct. She doesn’t like mackerel anymore. She ate too much spicy food while stressed out over dad’s debts. And he even knows how much her rent is. Dad is appropriately impressed with how much Mi So’s future husband knows about her and declares that Young Joon has passed as The Hallelujah Chorus plays in the background. The men bond over multiple bottles of liquor and stagger home together with Rocker Dad happily on board with his pretty Son-in-law Lee.

Girls Night Out

The girls serve up their own shots when Mi So invites Manager Bong and Ji Ah out after work as a thank you. The ladies pump Secretary Kim for details about who liked whom first and squeal like fangirls at the the answer. They get more and more smashed as the night progresses and Manager Bong invites the Vice Chairman to join them when he calls while Mi So is in the bathroom. He arrives to find an adorably giggly girlfriend and her somewhat obnoxious friends. His employees insist on calling him by his first name since he’s only there as Secretary Kim’s boyfriend not their boss. And they even steal his wallet and wristwatch when he tries to leave the party too soon. Young Joon manages to escape their drunken clutches and walks his tipsy, but affectionate girlfriend down the street with her purse slung over his shoulder. Mi So tells him she’s touched that he came to pick her up and by his handsome face and by the lullaby he sang her before. Her boyfriend is the best she declares as she gives him two thumbs up.

100 Easy Ways to Propose

Young Joon faces a life crisis as he tries to come up with an appropriate marriage proposal that will satisfy both Mi So and her father. He goes to his usual sounding board, his best friend, but has already tried every suggestion Director Park throws out. Rent out a restaurant with fancy champagne. Check. Prepare a huge event at an amusement park. Been there, done that. It’s actually kind of hilarious as the show puts flashbacks of the many times Young Joon has proposed in one long montage. He now has an addendum to his nickname. He is The Wedding Bulldozer. In fact, the overarching theme of the entire episode is how he will propose. Again. He searches the web for good suggestions but dismisses things like candlelit paths and notepad confessions as childish or inefficient.

That wasn’t what I expected

I looked forward to Young Joon’s mother finding out about their relationship since she loves Mi So so much, but was ultimately surprised. And disappointed. When she learns that they are dating, she calls her son over for a serious talk and reveals that she’s worried about his brother. Arrrrrrrghhhhhh! Hasn’t Young Joon suffered enough for his brother’s feelings! How can this woman be against her poor son finding true love when she already knows how much he has sacrificed for his family? Thankfully, a much improved Sung Yeon shows up to correct her assumption. He’s not devastated by the news that Mi So is dating his brother and is even getting psychiatric counseling. If only someone had thought of that about a decade ago! Sung Yeon is much more at peace now that he is getting help and even provides some helpful suggestions for Young Joon’s proposal conundrum. Don’t try to copy someone else. Just focus on what Mi So likes.

The final proposal (we hope)

Young Joon takes his older brother’s advice to heart and thinks sincerely about what is special to his girlfriend. He eventually ends up combining ideas from his internet research with unique hallmarks of their past together. Young Joon calls Mi So and asks her to come over to his house and our girl is savvy enough to realize she should be dressed up for this visit. She arrives looking stunning in an elegant black dress and her usual fabulous hair. (Seriously! How do they get it so smooth and silky? Can I buy this product somewhere?) Mi So finds a candelit pathway leading her to a table filled with her favorite caramels and then another table with the claw machine stuffed animals she likes. There is also a flip chart informing her that a classic man has handmade a classic proposal for her. She continues inside to a large room where Young Joon sits at a piano and serenades her. (I don’t care how rich you are. Who has a private concert hall in their house?) He finishes his song and tells her he prepared it because she liked when he sang her a lullaby and slept well because of it. Now he wants her to sleep next to him for the rest of her life. He kneels down and opens a small, wooden music box to reveal a diamond engagement ring. And after five proposals, Secretary Kim finally says yes! (To be honest, I preferred his simple declaration in last week’s episode that she could fill him up with MSG for the rest of their lives. The piano playing was a little cheesy for my tastes, and I even play the piano. Oh well, to each his own.) But lest you think that it’s all smooth sailing for the finale, we don’t end with our happy couple basking in post-engagement bliss. Instead, Director Park opens his front door to find a confused Young Joon who is once again wondering what is wrong with Secretary Kim. It seems she’s called off the wedding. Dun-dun-duh!

The question of how to produce the perfect proposal supplied tension without actual conflict in our penultimate episode. Apart from small hiccups like mom’s initial reticence, I like how the writers just let our OTP enjoy being in love. There’s obviously some sort of bump in the road since Mi So is digging her heels in, but we all know that won’t last. I hope we get to see Young Joon’s mother fawning over her future daughter-in-law like she deserves. Director Park deserves a happy ending of his own with the ex-wife he still loves. And can you imagine what a hilarious scene would ensue if Secretary Yang proposed to Manager Bong? We’ll find out tomorrow how many of these we actually get to see.

Until then. Keep the K-love alive!

Dramarookie

You can watch What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? Here at Viki!