One Spring Night: Episodes 7-8

by TeriYaki

Our librarian and pharmacist can no longer deny that they are playing with fire. Jung-in wants to be loyal to her boyfriend but she has to consider the possibility that her feelings have changed. For the first time in years, Ji-ho can imagine happiness but he has to ignore Jung-in for her own good. Will these two “friends”, who are so well synced, realize that embarking on something more may be their one chance for true happiness?

 
EPISODE 7

Ji-ho pops out of the stacks and smiles expectantly, but he disappears the second that he sees Ki-seok. Jung-in searches the aisles and is shocked when Ki-seok is the one who finds her. Uneasy, she asks Ki-seok to wait for her outside.

Once she’s alone, Jung-in searches for Ji-ho but he’s nowhere to be found. Jung-in texts him and when Ji-ho doesn’t reply, she meets up with Ki-seok. Jung-in just needs to grab her things so Ki-seok promises to bring his car around.

Jung-in finds a quiet spot to call Ji-ho, who’s already left the library. Ji-ho volunteers, “I saw him,” and Jung-in demands to know why he had to hide, “We didn’t even do anything.” Ji-ho wonders, “Would you if I asked you to? Would you be willing to do it?”

Ji-ho reminds Jung-in that he said he couldn’t be friends so she reminds him that he moved on. Jung-in wants to talk in person but Ji-ho warns, “If you come to me now, there’s no going back.” Jung-in can’t move while outside, Ji-ho paces around, unsure what to do.

When Jung-in exits the library, she hesitates before joining Ki-seok. As they pull out of the library, Ki-seok sees Ji-ho crossing the street at a stoplight. Ki-seok rolls down his window to shout out a greeting at Ji-ho, who lingers at the sight of Jung-in.

As they drive away, Ki-seok jokes that he should have Ji-ho bring Jung-in snacks and she asks, “What if it brings us closer?” Ki-seok thinks it would be great so Jung-in continues, “Are you okay with me spending time with another guy…As a friend?” 


Ki-seok is surprised that Jung-in cares what he thinks and reminds her that he finds her strong personality attractive. Jung-in asks if they should get married but Ki-seok wants more than her lukewarm enthusiasm and insists that there’s no rush.

Jae-in surprises Young-jae at his academy and offers to buy him dinner. While Jae-in grills the meat, Young-jae rummages through a bag of vitamins that she brought him from home, “No one in my house needs them.”

Jae-in asks how many times Young-jae has failed the civil service exam and correctly guesses that it’s been five times. Young-jae starts to ask a question but changes his mind so Jae-in helps him out, “Why do I keep coming by?”

Jae-in confides, “You constantly miss those you’re fond of,” but Young-jae reminds her that she knows nothing about him. When Jae-in matter-of-factly admits, “I’m drawn to you, that’s all,” Young-jae asks if she’s always so bold.

Jae-in tells Young-jae that she takes after Jung-in, “When she sets her mind on something that she really wants, no one in our family can stop her.” Jae-in notes that Jung-in has gotten boring, which explains her sorry love life. Young-jae thinks Jung-in and Ki-seok look good together and clears his throat when Jae-in asks, “What about us?”

Ji-ho reads a bedtime story (Still Stuck by Shinsuke Yoshitake) to Eun-woo until he falls asleep. Mom is out with the neighbors and Ji-ho surprises Dad when he suggests having a drink. Over soju, Dad asks if there’s something wrong but Ji-ho is silent.

Ki-seok parks in front of Jung-in’s place and asks to go inside, but he changes his mind once he learns that Jae-in is home. Jung-in bristles when she realizes what Ki-seok had in mind and after he protests, “…couples don’t need to seek permission for sex,” she reminds him, “You still need to ask.”

Annoyed, Ki-seok tells Jung-in to just say that she doesn’t want to, so she tells him, “I don’t want to.” Jung-in gets out of Ki-seok’s car and as soon as she shuts the door, he speeds away.

Back at his parents’ house, Ji-ho’s father describes the challenge of raising an academically gifted child. His parents lived in fear of calls from Ji-ho’s teachers about academic competitions, specialized academies and scholarships. Ji-ho’s parents couldn’t do much to help their son and his father wonders if that’s why Ji-ho’s life turned out the way it did.

Ji-ho defends Eun-woo, “For whatever reason, he was sent to me. I wouldn’t change him for the world.” Ji-ho asks his father not to worry about him because he was raised well and he promises to raise Eun-woo well too.

Jung-in calls Seo-in, who immediately senses that something is wrong. Jung-in brings up Ki-seok and asks, “I can’t turn my back on him now, right?” Seo-in urges Jung-in to think about her happiness and guesses that there’s another man.

Jung-in wipes away her tears and denies that there’s someone else. She insists she just needed to hear her sister’s voice but Seo-in knows better, “You’re pretending to be all right again.”

At work, Hyun-soo brings Ki-seok a file (Shi-hoon’s) and explains that it’s been flagged as a high-risk loan. The applicant is heavily in debt so Hyun-soo cautions, “…you shouldn’t approve this loan even if he’s family.”

Hyun-soo reminds Ki-seok that they need to crush Ji-ho in their next game, after their humiliating loss. Once he leaves, Ki-seok reviews Shi-hoon’s case and mutters, “Unbelievable.”

While they wait for library elevator, Ha-rin mentions that Jung-in seems down. Jung-in insists that she’s fine but Ha-rin knows her better than that. Jung-in reminds her friend that she’s not the adventurous type and wonders, “Should you take risks in life or shouldn’t you?”

Ji-ho’s mother calls Ji-ho as she and Eun-woo leave the neighborhood library. She puts Eun-woo on the phone and the boy protests, “This isn’t it.” Ji-ho promises to take his son to Jung-in’s library another day but Eun-woo can’t wait and tells his dad, “I hate you.” Ji-ho’s mother offers to take Eun-woo to the library he wants but Ji-ho has his mother take the boy home.

Jung-in gets off of the bus across from Ji-ho’s pharmacy and sees that it’s closed. As Jung-in makes her way to Young-joo’s apartment, she passes by the restaurant where Ji-ho is having dinner but doesn’t see him.

When Jung-in reaches Young-joo’s building, she looks up at Ji-ho’s dark window before going upstairs. Ji-ho gets home and gazes at Young-joo’s window before walking up to his apartment.

EPISODE 8

At the end of a calligraphy class, Jung-in’s mother shares with her friend that she wanted to study art when she was young. Mom is interrupted by a call from Shi-hoon, who invites himself and Seo-in over for dinner in a few days.

Seo-in’s boss sees her dozing in the glass elevator when it stops at his floor. He gets in and brings up the new program that Seo-in was offered, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Seo-in’s boss can’t understand her hesitance and urges Seo-in accept the offer soon. As he exits the elevator, her boss holds the door open to emphasize that the show will be Seo-in’s big break.

Jung-in’s father looks for Chairman Kwon at school but he’s at the dentist. Dad calls Shi-hoon and asks him to give his boss the VIP treatment. Shi-hoon is quite agreeable over the phone but the minute he hangs up, his annoyance is obvious.

When Chairman Kwon walks in, Shi-hoon greets him warmly and escorts him inside ahead of his other patients. Shi-hoon mentions his recent visit with Ki-seok, who’s been too busy to see his father. Shi-hoon helpfully explains, “He asked me how he can build a happy marriage,” but when he adds, “We’re practically family,” Chairman Kwon scoffs.

Ji-ho’s coworker, Ye-seul, alerts their boss that Ji-ho is acting strangely. They peer out of the back room and see Ji-ho staring out the window. He catches them and insists that he’s fine but they know that he hasn’t been eating lunch.

Ji-ho explains that he has no appetite and has a lot on his mind, so his boss pries, “It’s because of a woman, right?” When Ji-ho denies it, the women exclaim in unison, “Why not?”

Ye-seul slips out as their boss reminds Ji-ho, “I’ve told you that your life is important too.” Ji-ho’s boss leaves for the day just as Young-joo walks in and as she shops, Young-joo mentions, “I heard you and Jung-in know each other.” When Young-joo explains that she’s Jung-in’s coworker, Ji-ho works up the courage to ask how she’s doing.

Young-joo calls Jung-in to ask if there’s something going on between her and Ji-ho. Jung-in wants details about their conversation but Young-joo suddenly says, “Hold on.” We see that Ji-ho walked into the same market where Young-joo is shopping so she pretends that she’s on the phone with her mother.

Once she’s in the clear, Young-joo tells Jung-in, “I forgot for a moment that he’s my neighbor.” Jung-in peppers Young-joo with questions and when asked why she’s so curious, Jung-in announces that she needs to go and ends the call.

Ki-seok visits his father, who immediately brings up Shi-hoon and warns his son to keep his distance. Just because he allowed Ki-seok to date Jung-in, Chairman Kwon makes it clear that he doesn’t approve of her. Chairman Kwon was thankful that Ki-seok stopped talking about going back into music and now that he’s pulled himself together, his father wants him to end the relationship.

Chairman Kwon calls his son a fool when Ki-seok announces his intent to marry Jung-in. Chairman Kwon asks Ki-seok two questions in rapid succession, “Do you love her to death,” and, “So, you need the basketball court?” When Ki-seok answers, “Yes,” his father promises to tell the office to expect his call. Ha.

At the next basketball game, Ki-seok plays aggressively against Ji-ho. When an exhausted Ji-ho drops to the floor during a break, Ki-seok helps him up.

Jung-in and Jae-in pick up snacks in the neighborhood market. On the walk home, Jung-in mentions getting side dishes from their mother but Jae-in figures that Mom is probably still mad at her. Jung-in realizes that Mom knows about Jae-in, who forgot to mention Mom’s discovery to Jung-in. Oops. Jung-in now understands why she hasn’t heard from her mother lately.

Mom wakes up Seo-in, whose short, pre-dinner nap stretched into an hour. Shi-hoon is on his way up from the garage and Mom worries that they won’t be able to go home together since they drove separately.

Mom sits down to dinner and invites everyone to eat but her husband has already started. When asked about his clinic, Shi-hoon shares his plans to expand and Dad recommends relocating in a rich neighborhood. Mom points out that rich neighborhoods are expensive but Dad insists, “The more you invest, the more you’ll earn.”

Shi-hoon mentions Ki-seok, who’s stressed because of Jung-in. Seo-in glares at her husband when he suggests that Ki-seok wants to marry Jung-in as soon as possible. When Dad suggests that Ki-seok needs to ignore Jung-in to get his way, Seo-in speaks up, “Is Jung-in an obedient dog or what?” Seo-in warns that if her father forces Jung-in to marry, he’ll lose her for good.

Hoping to smooth things over with her mother, Jung-in decides to regift the vitamins that Ki-seok bought her. All Jung-in finds are empty bags and Jae-in admits that she gave them away.

Ji-ho is out to dinner with the team when he gets a text from Jung-in asking if the pharmacy is open. Ji-ho texts back, “Yes, we’re open,” and it’s a race as he and Jung-in head for the pharmacy at the same time.

After leaving her parents’s place, Shi-hoon catches up to Seo-in in the garage, “Why didn’t you just say we’re about to get a divorce?” Seo-in warns Shi-hoon to leave her sisters alone and adds that Jung-in can decide for herself whether or not to marry.

Shi-hoon decides that he’s been too easy on Seo-in and tries to drag her away. He’s forced to let go when someone enters the garage and Seo-in follows the stranger to her car and gets away.

Ji-ho arrives at the pharmacy and finds a construction crew blocking the side street. Forced to park further away, Ji-ho runs to open the pharmacy before Jung-in arrives and when he can’t find his lab coat, he goes without one.

Just as Jung-in nears the pharmacy, she gets a text from Ki-seok asking what she’s doing. Jung-in walks into the pharmacy and mentions Ji-ho’s missing lab coat so he lies that he was about to leave.

Jung-in lies that she misplaced her vitamins and needs to buy more, but she has no idea what she had in the first place. Jung-in admits that she doesn’t like pills so Ji-ho confesses that he doesn’t read books.

Back at the team dinner, the guys tease Ki-seok about his almost-certain marriage. Hyun-soo pressures Ki-seok to help out his single teammates by inviting Jung-in and one of her single friends to join them.

Jung-in gets a call while Ji-ho works on her order and he encourages her to use the back room where the construction noise won’t be picked up. Jung-in calls Ki-seok and the guys shout for her to join them. Jung-in suggests to Ki-seok that he should just go home but he wants to stop at her place first.

Jung-in tells him, “No, don’t come,” but Ki-seok wants to make up and he won’t be dissuaded. Ji-ho walks in to place a note in front of Jung-in, “I’ll drive you home now, so tell him to come.”

When Jung-in walks back into the pharmacy, Ji-ho tries to understand what it is she wants from him, “Do you want me to stop you?” Jung-in wonders what Ji-ho wants, “Should I tell you not to worry about the fact that I’m taken? Do you want me to be the only bad one?”

Jung-in wants to know why Ji-ho came to the library and he answers that he wanted to see her. Their tense exchange is halted by the intermittent noise from a jackhammer, preventing any further discussion.

Ji-ho and Jung-in are silent on the drive to her place. After he parks his car, Ji-ho confesses that he went to the library hoping that Jung-in would make the first move, then he would be able to tell himself, “I wasn’t even interested, but Lee Jung-in seduced me.”

Jung-in confesses that she’s been just as unreasonable — pestering Ji-ho to be friends and going out of her way to see him. Jung-in is thankful that she got to know Ji-ho and calls him a good person. Ji-ho can’t accept the compliment, “No, I’m not. I’m getting bad desires now.” Ji-ho asks Jung-in, “…just let me see you. I promise I won’t get caught.” Jung-in thinks that Ji-ho wants to cross that line but he explains, “I won’t get caught by you.”

 
COMMENTS

Several relationships revolve around Jung-in and Ji-ho, who are the heart of One Spring Night. As Jung-in and Ji-ho explore their feelings and now, their attraction to one another, Jae-in and Young-jae are in the first stages of getting to know each other. Neither Jae-in or Young-jae are tied down, so they’re free to flirt, tease and enjoy one another’s company, unlike Jung-in and Ji-ho. Jae-in’s boldness and playfulness are a welcome change from Jung-in’s fear and repressed emotions. Jae-in is a wild child and it was fun to watch her with Young-jae, who was intrigued and maybe a bit frightened by his outspoken dinner companion. I can’t get enough of Jae-in, who is blissfully honest with herself and with others. Jung-in could learn a thing or two from her younger sister.

It’s the established, long-standing relationships that have serious problems — Seo-in and Shi-hoon, Jung-in’s parents, Jung-in and Ki-seok. The only exception seems to be Ji-ho’s parents. Shi-hoon is obviously abusive, Jung-in’s Dad is a bully and for now, Ki-seok’s worst crime seems to be that he’s clueless about Jung-in. The quality that interests me in all of the relationships is one of respect, or in the cases of the troubled ones, disrespect.

It looks as if Shi-hoon’s reason for marrying Seo-in was to elevate himself in the eyes of others and to avail himself of her earnings. If there was ever any affection between Shi-hoon and Seo-in, it’s long gone and all that’s left is disrespect. Seo-in has no respect for the man who has accumulated crushing debts and physically abused her, nor should she. Shi-hoon certainly doesn’t respect Seo-in as evidenced by her many injuries. In fact, Shi-hoon has nothing but contempt for his successful wife and has to exert his power over Seo-in to compensate for his shortcomings. Sad stuff.

Jung-in’s mother can’t bear to be in the same room with her husband. Jung-in’s father is a bully at home, probably to make up for the fact that he’s so conciliatory at work. Dad belittles his wife at every turn — she coddles their daughters and wastes time on her calligraphy. He doesn’t respect his wife at all. And that talk about Ki-seok taking the lead in the marriage discussion with Jung-in? Ugh. Dad doesn’t respect his daughters either. That generation has very definite beliefs about marriage that have nothing to do with affection or compatibility. Wives are a sign that a man is settled and responsible, expected to provide children and a welcoming home. Chairman Kwon says as much when he counsels Ki-seok about the “business” of marriage.

Ki-seok hasn’t really shown any disrespect to Jung-in, but I’m not convinced that he respects her either. Right now he’s veering towards the disrespect spectrum in my book thanks to that tantrum that he had when Jung-in turned down his overture for sex. It was worse than Eun-woo’s meltdown over the wrong library. Unbecoming behavior like that is understandable for a five-year old but not a grown man. The way I see it, even if Ki-seok sincerely loves Jung-in, he’s grown used to her and takes her for granted. If Ki-seok really respected Jung-in, he would pay more attention to her cues.

In comparison, Ji-ho struggles with his feelings for Jung-in because he respects her. Ji-ho is struggling mightily to hold back his avalanche of emotions (and desires) out of respect for Jung-in’s existing life. Ji-ho admitted that he selfishly wants Jung-in to cross the line first so that he won’t feel complicit, but at least he respected her enough to tell her the truth. Ji-ho is trying to end things before they even begin with Jung-in, admittedly not very successfully, for her own good.

But Ji-ho isn’t completely wrong because the ball is definitely in Jung-in’s court. She’s the one who has to decide what to do about her relationship with Ki-seok, to play it safe with him or to take a risk with Ji-ho. The tears that Jung-in shed during her phone conversation with Seo-in were a huge clue that her heart is quickly falling in line with her thoughts. As Jung-in and Ji-ho struggle with their feelings and their complicated lives, it’s possible that they’ve already passed the point of no return. That will have to be the case if this couple is ever meant to be more than “friends”.

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