I Do, I Do: Episode 4

by gummimochi

Oh, I didn’t see you there. We learn the story behind Ji-an’s drive to succeed and some secrets can’t stay hidden for long. Ji-an finally hears the news we’ve all been waiting for and I can safely say it will change her life forever.

EPISODE 4 RECAP

Eun-sung is met with Ji-an’s perplexed expression after a surprise peck on the cheek. He’s made his mark like an official contract he says. He offers his own in return if she finds the arrangement unfair. Cheeky.

Magical music fades and Ji-an rightfully questions, “How many girls fell for this?” God I love a heroine who doesn’t immediately fall head over heels over one small gesture. He admits to a dozen or maybe twenty. The count they use here is a dozen pencils or a small pack of 20 dried fish.

She can spot a player a mile away and muses that Eun-sung’s skilled enough to have seduced at least 20 women. He wryly retorts, “It’s not because you’re dried up?”

He immediately apologizes when Ji-an balks and adds, “But you know something? You look sexy when you get mad.” Ji-an blubbers in response. Eun-sung vows that in one month, “I’ll revive all of those dried up dating cells.” Big talk, lover boy.

On their morning jog, Jun-hee is impressed with Eun-sung’s sweet words. Ji-an: “If you like sugar water too much, you’ll get diabetes.” (ha) Insisting that she should marry him for real, she reminds Ji-an that a guy like him doesn’t fall for a brash girl like her every day.

There won’t be anyone by her side after her parents pass away and Jun-hee chugs away, “There’s a hole in people’s hearts that can only be filled by people, not money.”

Dating and marriage are all part of life, Jun-hee explains and looks back to see Ji-an struggling from the light physical exertion.

Things at the office are still rough for Tae-kang who came in early to clean the office spic and span. His efforts are for naught because he gets berated for his efforts by his sunbae coworkers. Awww… A for Effort!

Ji-an is filled on the previous evening’s events and asks after Na-ri’s response to the public dancing display. She raises an eyebrow at the news that Tae-kang wasn’t fired nor did Na-ri get annoyed and wonders what card she’s holding.

A guest arrives to her office – Madame Jang – who hints that Ji-an should be prepared as the next CEO of the company. That confuses Ji-an who has naturally assumed that Na-ri will would take over as the Chairman’s daughter.

Madame Jang raises an eyebrow at this – did Na-ri assume that she’d inherit the company? She admits that she knows nothing when it comes to those who build their success from scratch because of her lengthy well-born lineage.

What she does know, however, is that she would choose a hardworking person who loves the company like Ji-an than someone who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

And then she drops the bomb – she wants Ji-an to take over the company.

The news shocks her and Madam Jang explains that it was Ji-an who shaped the company into a brand name. She remembers that it was Ji-an’s dream to launch her own brand and display her work. “Don’t you think it’s time to make that dream come true?”

Ji-an returns to her office, shell-shocked. Once the news sinks in, she squeals in her chair in excitement.

Na-ri spots Madame Jang who greets her with an icy cold air. Has Na-ri been proclaiming to others that she would be the next CEO?

She steps closer and whispers that she’s afraid that Na-ri’s unrefined roots will be disclosed…just like her mother. “You’d hate that, right?” Ooh, does this mean that Na-ri is of illegitimate birth?

The staff continues to tease and outcast Tae-kang whose job is no better than a minion. Like fixing the copy machine or picking out tiny gems by color. He sits alone outside at lunch hour after being conspicuously left out of the lunch group.

He grumbles that he knew things were going too well and screams at the sky at his miserable life. After he nearly chokes on his food, he sees someone else on the rooftop. It’s Na-ri who mulls over Madame Jang’s hurtful previous words.

Finding themselves alone at the office, Ji-an drops that she’s heard about the dancing with Na-ri at the office party. She makes it a point to dig that Na-ri won’t let the issue go easily and threatens that he might be on the chopping block.

Tae-kang notes a flare of jealousy and replies that he found Na-ri nice enough, she’s much younger than someone else he knows, and she’s the President’s daughter.

That successfully digs under Ji-an’s skin and she retorts that he’s a poor judge of character because he’s so young. She switches into a babyish voice when he gripes that he’s certainly old enough, teasing him. “How old are you? Two? Three?”

He instructs her to check behind his ears if it’s wet or not (an indication that one is young or inexperienced) and places her hand on his head.

Ji-an slips while she struggles against his grip. He catches her before she falls and ends up on top of her… which is of course the rest of the staff walks in to witness this compromising position. HA!

Tae-kang retreats to the bathroom when he hears a strange noise in the stall. He raps on the door… to find the entry-level intern on the john doing his business. Oh Korea, you and your toilet humor.

They grab a drink while the intern shares that though he’d love to resign, his wife is expecting again with twins.

He gasps when he learns the exorbitant cost of raising just one child since he dreamed of having a large family. The intern tells him that he’s better off living alone just like Medusa, aka Ji-an.

He lights up when he hears that Ji-an entered the company at the same time as the intern, moreso that she’s so successful given she too was an outcast among the rookies.

We flashback to younger Ji-an who was scolded for speaking up when her work was criticized by a superior. Confident that her work would be well-received, she asked to participate in open rounds of judging and bet her job on it.

Tae-kang snaps his fingers; that’s when she succeeded right? Nope – she failed and was demoted to customer service.

We see another flashback of Ji-an crying in the bathroom. She vowed that she’d bring this very design into reality when she made it one day. Then we cut to present day Ji-an in her grand shoe closet looking at the same design with fondness.

After that, Ji-an dedicated her life to her work. She scored three hit designs the very next year, marking the beginning of the Medusa era.

He drunkenly muses that one has to live their life with blinders if they want to succeed like her. He adds that it’s no surprise that her parents disowned her because of her workaholic behavior.

Tae-kang remains optimistic – surely there’s no way a parent could actually abandon their child. Parents would become a little sadder because their children are getting busier. The intern insists that those rumors are true; he heard it from a reliable source.

So Tae-kang gets riled up and raises his voice to defend her, “It’s not true! How would the person feel if they heard this!” Aw. He storms out.

Choong-baek sits at the table to apologize for his friend, “They say that one’s ‘first’ is always special.” Uh, did you just out your friend?

The intern swears that he won’t tell a soul (psh) and soon enough, word gets out.

Ji-an decides to go ahead to make her first design into a reality and orders a sample to be made. None of the staff are willing to step up and it gets handed off to Tae-kang (who’s still sorting out gems, ha). I sense disaster ahead.

On his way to the factory, he guards it like his life depended on it. In a distracted moment, however, it gets swiped from him and the thieves outrun him. Uh well, crap.

He informs the police that everything else is worthless compared to the design because it’s costs more than his life.

An urgent meeting is called and Ji-an scoffs that rumors about her are being circulated again. Are they calling her out as a lesbian? Na-ri explains that the company forums are rift with the rumor that Ji-an and Tae-kang are involved.

Then she calls in the source of the rumor who is none other than the intern himself. Na-ri threatens that he must be well aware of the punishments for slander given his law background. She explains that ruining Ji-an means blackening the company’s image.

He stands there, trembling in fear, and just when Na-ri calls to press charges against him, he blubbers, “I didn’t make it up! I-I personally—” He confirms that he heard it from Tae-kang himself which is when the President turns to Ji-an for an explanation.

Na-ri gives the slightest of smirks as Ji-an forms her hands into fists.

We don’t see her answer right away but she storms out of the meeting room. She spots Tae-kang in the hallway and shoots death rays at him with her eyes.

Once they’re in her office, Tae-kang starts to apologize (for the lost design) but she slaps him across the face. Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.

She accuses him for spreading the news that they slept together. Does he know what kind of position he left her in? “Do you even know what you did to me?!” Uh, I have an answer! Pick me!

Tae-kang exclaims that he didn’t do anything but Ji-an fumes, “Because of trash like you, why do I have to go through this?” She’s made it this far but now she’s faced to deal with this issue. Blaming the night together on alcohol, she spits that would never have been involved with him if she weren’t drunk.

He just takes it and then answers, “Is that how you really feel?” She nods. He responds, “Let’s pretend that I said it – no, I told the whole world that we had a drunk one night stand!” She breathes, “Bastard.”

But it doesn’t matter, Tae-kang tells her – this is the truth she’s come to believe and nothing he says will change it. “I’m trash who sold knockoffs in a street corner in Itaewon,. I’m a guy who’s no better than a fly.”

How sorry he feels for her to have been involved with a guy like him. Ack, you’re breaking my heart here, kid!

Angry tears welling up in her eyes, Ji-an tells him to get lost and he retorts. “I don’t want to. No matter what kind of fly they are, they don’t end their own lives. So if you want me gone, then fire me yourself.”

Tae-kang turns to leave but then looks at her to say one final thing, “That night might have been a dirty and shameful mistake for you. But it wasn’t for me.”

He’s never been ashamed of anything he’s done in his life. However small, his feelings were genuine.

Ji-an meets with Madame Jang again, who’s heard the news and tells her that she should be careful of what she drinks from now on. Wait, ’cause you know she’s pregnant or because you think she’ll be targeted as a potential threat to become CEO?

She’s already taken measures to remove the intern and Tae-kang from their positions so Ji-an needn’t worry. She warns Ji-an to be careful not to expose her weaknesses this early in the game.

Tae-kang sits alone at the office (sorting out gems again) as Ji-an’s words about what he did to her ring in his ears. In frustration, he throws the rest of the gems off of the desk.

He walks home, cursing himself for trying to make it as a designer when Dad grabs him in a headlock. He’s got good news – their old house is back on sale. With Tae-kang’s prize money, his salary, and a loan, they can pull some strings to acquire the house again.

That’s the last thing on Tae-kang’s mind and he walks out. Dad follows him, repeating his earlier promise that he would buy back that house for them. Tae-kang looks at him and start, “Dad, I…I…”

I start to think that he’ll own up to possibly losing his job when he asks instead, “Do you believe in me? Or did you just say that to encourage me?”

Dad sweetly tells him that just like the great sons of yore, Tae-kang is his son. He’s inherited Dad’s skill and Tae-kang is his other self. “If I can’t believe you, who can I believe?” Aw Dad!

At those words, Tae-kang resolves that they’ll go ahead and sign the contract, future be damned. Dad lights up and breaks into a smile.

Ji-an is preoccupied with her thoughts at dinner as Eun-sung’s questions come in through one ear and out the other. Lucky for her that our gynecologist is ALSO a psychiatrist and he offers to hear her out, free of charge.

“I killed someone.” Ji-an admits. Eun-sung jokes that he’ll have to charge her for this service but she continues that she stood by as two people’s lives changed forever. She corrects herself – she was the one who did it. “Even if I wasn’t a kind person, I never wanted to live as a coward.”

Eun-sung comforts her that everyone are cowards, especially when they have something to protect. He’s sure that there was something more important that she wanted to protect. Ji-an agrees but it doesn’t make her feel any better about the situation.

This is a serious problem then, Eun-sung observes, so it calls for the ultimate prescription.

He brings her to the newborn wing at the hospital, calling it “Baby Therapy.” Ji-an is reluctant to look at the infants so Eun-sung shares that when he looks at them, even the roughest day at the office doesn’t seem so bad.

They visit the NICU next and introduces her to a preemie (named Se7en because he was born at 7 months and a reference to the singer). Ji-an worries that he might die because he’s not as strong as the others.

Eun-sung explains that Se7en had a slew of health problems when he was born but now he’s the strongest baby in the hospital. He invites Ji-an to put out her hand to hold its hand.

Just when her pinky hovers over him, the baby grasps onto it with his fist, eliciting a small gasp from Ji-an. “Now that I look at him he looks like a healthy and mature boy. He’s strong too.” She comments.

Eun-sung adds, “And, he’s also good with the ladies.” Pfft.

Ji-an excuses herself that there’s somewhere she needs to go before she turns into a coward again. She marches straight into Madame Jang’s office and asks her to revoke Tae-kang and the intern’s dismissal.

They also must have had something to protect and she understands that it was wrong of her to think of just herself.

Madame Jang agrees to do but reminds her that a bit of compassion can be a weakness but Ji-an clarifies that she’s acting out of her pride.

Donning a pair of killer red heels, Ji-an carries out her mission. Seeing a group of employees whispering about her, Ji-an butts into their conversation.

If they’re so curious, they can ask her in person. What do they want to know? How they met? The color of her underwear? Her first love? Omg, this retaliation is so awesome.

They scurry away and Ji-an faces Na-ri next. She admits to being offered the CEO position and that she was scared when a new young-faced Na-ri came in.

But then she realized that backstabbers only concentrate on the backs of others so if Na-ri wants to win fair and square, she can do so without hiding behind Daddy. Niiiice.

She gives the intern an earful about staying out of other people’s business and he squeaks that he actually didn’t hear the story from Tae-kang himself but his friend. Thanks for that belated news.

She lingers around trying to muster up the courage to talk to him but Tae-kang gets called away.

Ji-an calls Eun-sung to buy him dinner in thanks for last night. I love Eun-sung’s little fist pump. He invites her to come by his house instead and she stutters, “Y-your house?”

Jun-hee informs her that it’s a clear sign of, “Let’s take it to the next level.” She advises Ji-an to go get a new set of undies.

When Ji-an balks, Jun-hee tells her, “At our age, acting coy does more harm than good!”

Eun-sung consults his coworker to change shifts, offering to cover all the holidays for the rest of the year. His cohort asks if he’s dating and he shakes his head, “I’m getting married!”

Teehee. Both Ji-an and Eun-sung get ready for the date separately: she goes to buy a set of underwear as he goes food shopping.

At the florist, he’s all, “I don’t want the boring normal ones. They have to be dazzling without being showy but not too simple that they look cheap. Something that has a certain allure.” The look he gets is a Are you kidding me right now?

Ji-an steps out of her office to see Tae-kang sleeping at his desk. She covers him with his jacket as she thinks back when he told her that his feelings were genuine. She smiles at his rudimentary sketches.

Tae-kang suddenly bolts awake, scaring the both of them. Immediately, he covers himself, “What were you doing to me?” HA.

They stand there awkwardly until Ji-an criticizes his sketches – if he didn’t know how, he should have asked his coworkers. But he mutters that no one’s willing to teach the outcast. So she takes it upon herself to show him how.

Afterwards, she admits that she heard the news that Tae-kang didn’t spread the story. Ji-an acknowledges that she wouldn’t have believed him and murmurs, “Sorry.”

Surprised, Tae-kang asks her to repeat it and she mumbles, “I’m sorry.” Breaking into a smile he asks again, “What?”

This time she looks straight at him and says, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Is that enough? Are you satisfied?” They both give a small laugh until Ji-an asks after her design. Oh crap I forgot about that.

Tae-kang braces himself and then laughs awkwardly… and we hear a blood-curling scream resonate throughout the building. Ji-an chases after him in the office until she collapses in pain.

Oh no. Eun-sung readies a perfect dinner with the perfect mood music complete with a sparkling necklace.

Ji-an wakes in the hospital exclaiming, “My shoe!” The doctor informs her that the danger has passed and that Ji-an should be more careful in the future.

Why? “You’re pregnant.”

COMMENTS

Now she knows. We knew that this moment was coming well before Ji-an knew herself. The question now is what Ji-an plans to do next. I’ll admit that for the first few episodes, I honestly thought that she would go through the pregnancy with some hormonal antics involved. But then I was pegged with the question: What if she doesn’t keep it? It wouldn’t make much of a story if she didn’t given that the entire premise is about becoming pregnant because of one night stand. Plus, we’d be delving more into melo territory than a rom-com. Yet it would be a fascinating question to ask and explore. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we were schooled about this issue in a rom-com and question how Korea approaches the idea of pregnancy and motherhood?

A small note about Na-ri. I actually enjoy her character a lot because she’s not outright evil nor is she a particular malicious character towards Ji-an thus far. At the end of the day, she’s a lonely soul who craves for love from her parents (and Ji-an).

For now, I see her gestures towards Ji-an as genuine and trying to make a friend. Who we really should be suspicious of is Madame Jang who seem to be the puppeteer of this company.

Both of our male characters will eventually have to know about the pregnancy and I wonder about Tae-kang’s reaction. I breathed a sigh of relief when he said completely bright-eyed that he wanted lots of children and that he dreamed of being part of a big family. Since all he has is Dad, I can see that he would love someone else to adore just like he is. Tae-kang’s earnestness is beyond adorable and we can tell that he works hard at everything and that he doesn’t take anything for granted.

The way Lee Jang-woo plays this character reminds me of a part of his actual self as well. I saw portions of We Got Married (you can argue that show is also fake, but it’s the closest shot to see his actual personality) and the word that popped into my head is earnest. He does ham up Tae-kang a bit, but instead of being annoyed, I just wanna pinch his adorable cheeks. Well, you know, aside from the whole forceful holding last episode.

On the other hand, I’m pretty skeptical about Eun-sung. That man is wayy too perfect where I have to raise an eyebrow. It’ll be interesting to see if his reaction to Ji-an’s pregnancy isn’t what we expect from Mr. Perfect. Then we can assign a flaw and not put him on a pedestal. I will admit that it was adorable watching him trying to perfect every little detail for their date and then my heart broke a little knowing that Ji-an would never make it. He’ll have to work harder to win her heart in a month.

It takes work to revive those dried up cells, Doc.

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• I Do, I Do: Episode 2
• I Do, I Do: Episode 1
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