Dal Ja’s Spring: Episode 5

by javabeans

Episode 5: “Her Pose in Dealing With an Unsuitable Relationship”

Dal Ja is stunned at meeting Eom Ki Joong’s wife (to be known simply as Ms. Ji, or as I like to call her, Crazy Wife. Because of all the crazy.).

While waiting for Ms. Ji to speak, Dal Ja nervously imagines the violent reaction surely to come her way. Surprisingly, though, Ms. Ji remains quiet and docile.

Elegant and soft-spoken, Ms. Ji implores Dal Ja not to steal away her husband. She loves her husband very much, and doesn’t know what she would do without him. Dal Ja feels horrible and apologizes, and tells Ms. Ji that she didn’t know Eom Ki Joong was married. (Dal Ja specifically recalled that he didn’t wear a wedding ring, and he passed himself off as a single man.)

Ms. Ji clarifies that she and her husband have been separated for two years, but she still loves him and wants him back. Dal Ja sincerely apologizes again. But this time, Ms. Ji cracks her demure facade for a moment when she tells Dal Ja coldly that she should’ve known better. But before Dal Ja can react to this Jekyll/Hyde switch, Ms. Ji switches back to her innocent face, and she leaves the office quietly, apologizing to Dal Ja’s co-workers for disrupting their workday.

Upset at being made the Other Woman, Dal Ja imagines how she’ll angrily tell off Eom Ki Joong. How dare he cheat on his wife? How dare he make her into the bad one in this situation? How could he not tell her he’s still married?

But, when they meet, Dal Ja finds herself without her crucial weapon.

Eom Ki Joong doesn’t give her a chance to speak as he barrels through and tells her he’s leaving on business for a few days. He’ll call her when he returns, and leaves the expensive dinner and his driver at her service. Caught off-guard, Dal Ja doesn’t have a chance to give him a piece of her mind. Moreover, looking at the gifts he’s left her with, she’s weak to their powers…

She asks Tae Bong for advice, torn between her principles and her feelings for Eom Ki Joong. She’s loath to give up her Man of Destiny, and doesn’t know how she’ll respond to him when he’s back from his business trip.

Tae Bong jokes it off, trying to cheer her up with a funny little chicken-arms dance. He doesn’t have a magic answer for her situation, but he tells her not to worry too much about it.

Soon Ae is strictly against Dal Ja dating a married man, while Sae Do doesn’t see what the big deal is. The two argue back and forth: Soon Ae insists that no matter if they’re separated, in the eyes of the law, he’s still married. Dal Ja should give it up. But Sae Do argues that it’s just a technicality. If she really likes him, and feels he’s her destiny, Dal Ja shouldn’t give up based on that.

Dal Ja gets prank phone calls all night from a mysterious caller, whom we see is Ms. Ji. The calls continue all night, leaving Dal Ja tired and worn out by morning.

Sae Do didn’t sleep either, worrying about Seon Joo, who seems to be in some financial troubles.

Seon Joo’s out sick, so Dal Ja and Sae Do visit her at home. They find her collapsed on the bathroom floor, and rush to help her. Seon Joo awakens to assure them that she’s just a little sick, but Dal Ja freezes when she imagines herself in Seon Joo’s place.

Dal Ja cooks porridge for the sick Seon Joo, while Tae Bong and Sae Do assist. (Sae Do looks on in anxiety as Seon Joo eats, threatening Dal Ja that it had better be good. Sae Do’s cute in his puppy-ish devotion to Seon Joo, despite her outward coldness to him.)

Furthermore, although Seon Joo acts aloof, she does appreciate the company, and invents an excuse for Sae Do to stay with her. He’s only too happy to oblige.

Upon leaving, Dal Ja finds her car has a flat tire. Although Tae Bong suspects someone may have done it purposely, Dal Ja waves it off, saying her car’s old and junky.

Tae Bong picks up on Dal Ja’s strange mood, and she explains that she’d imagined herself in Seon Joo’s place, collapsed on the floor. At her age, she’s experienced the Bridget Jones-like fear of being alone in such situations, and fears winding up lonely and unloved.

Tae Bong assures her she’s not alone, and despite her insecurities, she is desirable. He also tells her it doesn’t suit her to be going out with a married man, so she shouldn’t do it. He’s simultaneously her spare tire, her source of comfort, and her moral compass. Someone tell me where they sell Tae Bongs. I’ll take two.

Eom Ki Joong returns from his business trip, and offers her an expensive gift: a luxury watch. Dal Ja expresses her reluctance to let go of a man like him, but she can’t accept. She can’t go on with their relationship, and hands back the watch. Accepting one present opens the door for more presents, and before long she’ll be going against her own values.

Little does Dal Ja know that they’re being followed and watched by Ms. Ji, heretoafter to be known as Crazy Wife. She somehow manages to be both menacing and entertainingly off-kilter. You can’t hate someone that off her rocker.

Tae Bong sees Crazy Wife at Dal Ja’s apartment complex with a can of spray paint, and finds Dal Ja’s car tires (which he’d fixed) once again flattened. But before he can investigate, he’s caught by the strange men again.

At work the next day, Dal Ja arrives to a huge commotion, with news reporters and firemen outside her office building. Walking along the ledge of the rooftop is Crazy Wife.

Dal Ja pleads for the Wife to come down, alarmed and feeling responsible. Crazy Wife tells her she loves her husband; she’s never not loved him. She can’t lose him…

Although Dal Ja insists that she and Eom Ki Joong broke things off, and that they decided not to pursue a relationship, Crazy Wife seems beyond reach and sways…