Bad Couple: Episode 10

by javabeans

Oh man, this episode was sad too! I think I cried more than I did in Episode 9… but while Episode 9 gradually became sadder and ended at a low (emotional) point, at least Episode 10 swung upward at the end, to give us some more hope. And at least Gi Chan and Dang Ja started talking again (kind of) — I’ve missed him.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Eru – “I’ll Promise” [ zShare download ]

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EPISODE 10 SUMMARY

After letting the news of her dire situation sink in, Dang Ja busies herself with work, as usual…

 
Yoon Seok sees Young’s phone pictures of her and Joon Soo together, and hires a private investigator to follow her around. Young gets the requisite post-break-up haircut, and while it looks good on her, I keep thinking she looks much older now.

Young and Joon, meanwhile, are continuing to track Yoon Seok and keep up their appearances of dating. In an interesting runaround, they narrow down Yoon Seok’s whareabouts to a certain neighborhood and guess at which hotel he’s in, assuming he’s there with Sae Yeon. Yoon Seok is in fact in the hotel next door for a medical conference, and when he receives the call from his investigator that his wife is nearby, he goes to the hotel to spy on her… and Sae Yeon sees Yoon Seok following Young (who thinks she’s following Yoon Seok), and gets angry.

Sae Yeon tells him she’s done being strung along and being lied to. If he’s so concerned about his wife, why have an affair in the first place? He said he loved her (Sae Yeon), but she’s ashamed of herself for believing it. Young sees the fight and gets angry at Yoon Seok as well, and when he raises his hand to Young, Joon Soo intercepts and sends Yoon Seok flying to the ground.

Dol Soon finds herself in the same elevator with Yoon Seok, and figures if she’s got to spend time in his presence, she’ll at least give him a hard time. She takes enjoyment in bringing up his relationship and Young’s hot new boyfriend.

Yoon Seok doesn’t take the bait, though, and tells Dol Soon the trio’s friendship is ironically not doing so well — one friend is in a dire crisis, another is swept up in a silly romance, and the last is blissfully unaware. Dol Soon asks if he’s talking about Dang Ja, and is stunned to hear the truth of her condition. Yoon Seok tells her to try to persuade Dang Ja to get surgery quickly. Dol Soon rushes to Dang Ja’s side.

Dol Soon and Yong Gu try to convince her to operate immediately — the baby’s important, but Dang Ja’s more so, and they try to convince her to think rationally.

Dang Ja asks Yoon Seok about how fast her cancer will spread. He insists that she operate, but she won’t hear it. She’ll save her baby. Yoon Seok tells her firmly, “Without a miracle, it’s impossible.” (And again, I really like Yoon Seok in his scenes with Dang Ja. For once we get to see him as a competent professional who’s trying to do the best for his patient, rather than a cheating scoundrel.)

While Gi Chan’s still feeling saddened at the way things have turned out, Dang Ja tries to figure out a way to do anything to fix her situation. Desperate, she grasps at straws for any solution, and sees an ad for a mystery “miracle” medicine. She goes to the fraudulent company, who assures her the medicine is safe for her baby, and the “the most important thing is faith — the moment you start being suspicious, the effect is killed.” Dang Ja starts drinking their juice constantly, obsessively — so much that she ends up in the hospital.

Dol Soon, Yong Gu, and Yoon Seok look on with concern and pity over her desperation. Yoon Seok has scheduled her for surgery, and Dol Soon and Yong Gu approved it as her medical guardians. They tell her to live, and Dang Ja finally agrees to the surgery.

This scene had me in tears, as Dang Ja follows Gi Chan as he walks along dispiritedly, on parallel but separate paths, and she thinks: “Gi Chan, I’m really sorry. I really wanted to have your child. I wanted to give birth to a daughter who took after both of us and live happily, but that’s become impossible. My body is sick, so I have to lose the baby. I tried my best to save it, but I can’t. This is the price I have to pay for my sins. Gi Chan, I was foolish, please forgive me.”

 
And so, Dang Ja goes into surgery. She really does intend to go through with it, but at the last minute, she stops them just before going under anesthesia, because she feels the baby kicking. She can’t do it, and she walks out of the operating room, to her friends’ surprise.

Worried for her, they ask Yoon Seok what they can do now. Is there anything else they can try? He tells them, “You’ll have to pray for a miracle in the next two months.” She’ll be seven months pregnant then, and they can remove the baby and put it in an incubator, then operate on Dang Ja immediately. At that point, the baby should be able to survive, although Dang Ja’s survival chances are less certain.

Visiting her mother’s grave, Dang Ja explains that she couldn’t kill her baby to save herself. “Even if I die, I’ll save my baby. Mom, please help me. You can take the rest of my life. Just help me give birth to my baby, and let me live ten years together. Or if that’s too long, even just one year. Please.”

I really love Dang Ja’s friends, because once they realize surgery’s out of the question, they leap into Plan B to do whatever they can to help — and that’s to make the next two months as pleasant and stress-free for Dang Ja as possible. They throw her a baby shower with lots of baby presents. Dang Ja’s touched, and thanks them, telling them not to treat her like a patient in the future, but act normally like today. When Yong Gu says they’re all going to pray for a miracle, Dang Ja says, “I’m not praying for a miracle. I’m Kim Dang Ja. I’ll make one myself.”

Dol Soon pushes her to get Gi Chan back, saying she should pursue happiness. Dang Ja doesn’t want to get him back because of the baby or because she’s sick, but because he wants to come back to her.

And so, Dang Ja “runs into” Gi Chan on campus, where her magazine is giving away issues as a marketing ploy. I’m not positive, but I think she’s planned it so she can bump into him — and she gives him an invitation to her birthday party. She hopes he’ll be able to make it.

Dang Ja waits nervously at the restaurant, hoping that Gi Chan will come but trying to understand why he wouldn’t — he’s not the type of guy to turn his back on a fiancee. This is her last opportunity to try to get Gi Chan back — if he doesn’t show up today, she’ll understand he’s completely over her. She won’t try to get him back after today.

Just as they think he won’t be coming, he appears, much to Dang Ja’s happiness…. only he’s come with a guest.