Modern Farmer: Episode 15

by LollyPip

Winter hits Hadurok-ri, and everyone’s in a terrible mood as emotions run high and tempers flare. A stranger to town shakes up Yoon-hee’s family, bringing some answers to Yoon-hee’s past and Min-ho’s parentage. What do you do when a decision made to protect a loved one comes back to possibly harm another? Yoon-hee is torn between keeping her secret to shield one family member, or telling it in order to help another.

EPISODE 15 RECAP

After leaving the group to go do their farm work, Yoon-hee and Hong-gu joke and tease each other until they’re interrupted by a familiar voice calling, “Yoon-hee-ya.” Hong-gu seems to recognize the man in front of them, but Yoon-hee cuts him off and sends him home.

Yoon-hee and the man find a place to talk, and they’re comfortable enough with each other as they catch up (Yoon-hee calls the man “Oppa”), though there’s a definite strained feeling between them. The man hesitantly asks if Yoon-hee is married, and she says she’s been too busy farming and being village head to think of marriage. She carefully avoids any mention of her son.

The man confirms that he’s never married either, and wonders out loud what would have happened if Yoon-hee had left with him eight years ago. This sobers up Yoon-hee quickly, but she nervously jokes that she’s better at farming than playing piano anyway. Ah, so it wasn’t just about him, but also her piano talent.

Yoon-hee makes an excuse to leave, and the man hands her a pair of tickets to his concert next weekend. She says she’s awfully busy but she’ll try to make it, which seems to make him happy, and she ushers him into his car and on his way. After he leaves, her cheerful smile turns to a sad and wistful expression.

She slowly wanders home, steeling herself to smile again before going inside. She makes small talk with her aunt and uncle, but Hong-gu wants to talk about the stranger who shook her up. He bluntly asks if he was Min-ho’s father, and Min-ki and the guys walk in right in time to hear that Min-ho’s father was here in town.

Uncle and Aunt pull Yoon-hee aside to speak privately, Uncle angry that Yoon-hee obviously planned to hide Min-ho’s father’s appearance from them. Aunt asks what he wanted, and Yoon-hee admits it was nothing important and tells them that he doesn’t know about Min-ho. They advise her to tell him he has a son, but Yoon-hee doesn’t want to tie him down when he’s so successful.

I’m with her family — that’s very selfless, but he’s got a right to know he has a child, and Min-ho should know his father. Yoon-hee says she doesn’t want to confuse Min-ho now that he’s doing okay, and asks them to trust her and keep her secret.

Meanwhile Hong-gu tells the guys and Yoo-na about the man coming to town and that he’s Min-ho’s father, wracked with guilt and insisting that it’s all his fault that Yoon-hee lives like this. Yoon-hee interrupts him, angry that he’s talking about her past, and sends him to his room in a no-nonsense noona tone. Min-ki asks if she’s okay, and she barks that she’s fine in an I’m-extremely-not-fine voice.

Yoon-hee watches her son sleep, barely holding back tears. She remembers the time just after her parents were killed, when she’d been deep in grief and Hong-gu, who was the age Min-ho is now, had tried to comfort her.

Min-ho’s father had asked Yoon-hee one last time to leave with him, saying that this is a great opportunity to study piano abroad that won’t come again. Yoon-hee refuses him and he calls it a waste, but there’s nobody else to take care of Hong-gu if she leaves. He asks if a boy who isn’t even her blood is important enough to give up her future, and him.

Yoon-hee is nearly swayed, but a tug on her sleeve by tiny Hong-gu makes her decision for her. She sends the man away without her, and tearfully promises Hong-gu that she’ll never leave him alone or go anywhere without him.

Up in their attic room the boys discuss Yoon-hee’s problem, and Ki-joon’s throwaway comment that they should live good lives because you never know when you might die hits Han-chul harder than intended. Min-ki is silently thoughtful, and Hyuk watches him intently.

It’s snowing hard the next morning as the boys head to their farm, and Ki-joon says they should treat Yoon-hee gently for a while as she’s probably feeling fragile. Cue Yoon-hee screeching up to them at full speed to happily urge them to the village center for an emergency meeting. They all blink at her energetic bouncing, but follow obediently.

Yoon-hee has been thinking of ways to make money during the winter months instead of sitting around drinking and playing games, and she’s come up with something called “Country Life Village Experience.” Her idea is to invite Seoul dwellers to come and experience village life, and she’s already thought of a job for each of the townsfolk.

After the meeting, a serious Min-ki asks Yoon-hee if she’s really okay, and she tells him to just focus on Yoo-na. She leaves to work on the website and Min-ki remarks to Hyuk that she’s still acting really weird. He thinks she’s upset over her ex coming to town, and Hyuk says it’s not that, but snaps, “I’m not telling you!” when Min-ki asks what he thinks.

Bul-ja gets a letter from home, and Ki-joon notes that even the mail carrier knows she’s an illegal worker. He gripes at Man-gu’s mom for her big mouth, and reminds her of his vow to get revenge on her for telling his mother all about him and Bul-ja. The letter is from Bul-ja’s brother, telling her that their mother is sick but can’t afford to go to the hospital. Ki-joon makes a few suggestions for her to get some money to send home, but none of them will work.

Hyuk helps Yoon-hee set up a website for the Country Experience, but despite his insistence that he’s a genius with computers, he soon manages to freeze her entire laptop. He swears he can fix it as Yoon-hee hits him and yells, but as he’s fumbling for a screwdriver he finds the concert tickets on her shelf. He figures out that they’re to see Min-ho’s father and asks if she’s going, and Yoon-hee says she isn’t and refuses to discuss it.

As Yoon-hee and Hyuk bicker over the broken computer, we see that Min-ho was in his room next door and overheard the entire conversation, including the part about his father. Oh no, poor little peanut.

Mi-ja and Soo-yeon work at their cover of painting murals, but Mi-ja has had enough. She’s exhausted and doubts there’s even any money hidden in this town. Yoon-hee comes to ask if Soo-yeon is doing the murals because of a Ministry of Agriculture project she found out about online, and Soo-yeon plays along and says she is.

She realizes too late that she’s made more work for herself when Yoon-hee asks her to make signs and banners for the Country Life Village Experience, and she has no choice but to agree. Yoon-hee leaves happy, and Han-chul finds them next, toting a couple of humongous cabbages for them to try. His dog Ho-ddeok (who’s gotten huge!) joins them, helpfully bringing his owner some money he found.

After Han-chul leaves, Mi-ja notices Soo-yeon watching him go, and asks if she likes him since he takes such good care of her. Soo-yeon practically admits it with her overreaction, but Mi-ja just says that neither dog nor owner are normal. Soo-yeon asks if Mi-ja has seen her missing portfolio, and leaves her to go look for it.

Sang-deuk and Grandpa go for a walk, and Grandpa fusses at Sang-deuk’s constant drinking these days. Mi-young passes them on the road and pointedly only speaks to Grandpa, but before Sang-deuk can talk to her he’s accosted by Bok-nyun (who must be freezing in that miniskirt). Grandpa refers to Bok-nyun as his “daughter-in-law,” to Sang-deuk’s horror, and Mi-young hurries away before he can do anything about the awkward situation.

Min-ki and Yoo-na go for a walk, and Yoo-na goes on about how nice everything is here, but Min-ki’s mind is far away. When Yoo-na asks, he admits he’s worried about Yoon-hee, and that it bothers him to see her pretending to be happy. Yoo-na gently points out that he’s been talking about Yoon-hee all day, so Min-ki makes an effort to pay attention to her, though Yoo-na still looks troubled.

Bok-nyun has brought soondae for Sang-deuk’s mother, and he barely tolerates her fawning over his mom and even going so far as to feed her. But when his mother also calls Bok-nyun “daughter-in-law,” then she tries to feed him also, he storms out with Bok-nyun right behind. Bok-nyun says she’s tired of him playing games, but he insists he’s not playing any game and that he’s really not interested in her.

Ki-joon finds Bul-ja walking to town, determined to get her overdue pay from the sleazy factory owner where she previously worked. He offers to go with her and help, since maybe the owner will pay attention if there’s a man with her. He insists it’s just to see justice done and not because he likes her, but they both smile like that’s their inside joke now. Cute.

When they get to the factory, Ki-joon goes in alone, puffed up and swaggering like a badass (“My nickname is “Age of Feeling!” HAHAHA). He hollers to the secretary that he wants to speak to whoever is in charge, and plunks himself down to wait when he’s told everyone is out to lunch.

Dejected, Soo-yeon mopes back to Mi-ja when she can’t find her portfolio. Ho-ddeok brings them another dollar bill, and they wonder where he’s finding all this money. Ohmygoodness, the dog’s found the hidden stash, hasn’t he?

Han-chul comes to get Ho-ddeok but Soo-yeon stops him. She says that they need to work on the Country Experience banners, and asks him to help them with the mural, using her biggest aegyo eyes to manipulate him. She asks if they can take Ho-ddeok with them… you know, since he’s so cute. After they leave, Han-chul takes a call letting him know that “it” is ready, and he asks whoever is on the line to mail “it” to him.

Ki-joon has made himself comfortable in the office waiting for a manager, but he sits up straight when a scary-looking man finally shows up. He gathers his composure and demands Bul-ja’s money, and he and the man exchange crazy-eyed faces as they argue.

An even scarier-looking man arrives, the first man’s superior, and Ki-joon can barely speak but manages to squeak out politely that he’s here for Bul-ja’s money. The second man warns Ki-joon to leave before the CEO shows up, but Ki-joon screams that he’s not scared of anyone, and he wants the money now.

The CEO comes to bellow about all the noise and HAHA, he’s so tall you can only see the bottom half of his face through the doorway. Ki-joon momentarily forgets why he’s even here in his terror, but composes himself enough to very politely ask for Bul-ja’s money. Or half would be fine too.

It’s impressive how far Ki-joon flies out the factory door. Bul-ja says it’s okay if he wants to give up, but Ki-joon is determined to get her money back no matter what.

Min-ki and Yoo-na come home after their walk to see Yoon-hee sitting outside looking upset. She smiles when she sees them and makes small talk with Yoo-na, but Min-ki only looks more worried about her. Yoon-hee gets up to go feed the cows, and Min-ki follows her to the barn.

In the barn, Yoon-hee chatters on about Min-ki’s date with Yoo-na, but he just tells her to stop it. He says he knows something is wrong lately but he doesn’t know what, and Yoon-hee tries to deny it. Min-ki pushes and Yoon-hee can’t keep up the cheerfulness, and reminds him that she told him to stop worrying about her or Min-ho.

Yoon-hee’s voice gets strained and she asks why he even cares about her, but he doesn’t know either — he just does. Yoon-hee says she knows, and throws his words to Yoo-na back in his face, that he only cares out of sympathy and pity. She angrily tells him she doesn’t want his pity, and orders him again to stop caring about her, because it feels terrible.

Yoon-hee leaves with Min-ki yelling after her that he won’t care about her even one tiny bit anymore. From behind a bale of hay, Yoo-na has heard their entire angry conversation.

Ki-joon sneaks into the factory storage and starts to shove soaps in his pocket, figuring if they won’t pay, then at least he’ll take it out of them in product. But he’s caught red-handed, and takes a beating this time before being thrown out.

Man-gu tends his strawberries while grumbling about Yoon-hee’s Country Experience idea, and his sister Yi-ji brings him her newest coffee concoction to try. She asks him to buy her a coffee shop, but he refuses on the grounds that this isn’t her first business idea and he’s not falling for it again. In retaliation she starts shoving strawberries in her mouth, saying she’ll eat them all until he buys her a coffee shop.

Man-gu’s mom (I’ll start calling her by name, Soon-boon, since she’s got her own loveline now) makes strawberry jam, complaining about her tired arms, when In-ki comes to offer his help. She startles when he touches her hand, and things get all dreamy and sparkly again as they stir the jam. He helps her carry the jam to their cold storage unit, and the door release breaks, locking them in together. Of course her phone won’t work either.

Soo-yeon and Mi-ja follow Ho-ddeok around town, digging wherever he stops to dig, but they only find such treasures as a buried bra and someone’s porn stash. Mi-ja growls that the dog is a pervert just like his owner. They follow Ho-ddeok one more time but he leads them right back to their mural (where Han-chul has fallen asleep), and he digs in Mi-ja’s coat pocket and drags out her own money.

Mi-ja yells at the dog for being a pervert and a thief, waking up Han-chul. Han-chul demands that Ho-ddeok tell him why he stole the money, but the dog isn’t talking (and doesn’t look at all guilty) so Han-chul just apologizes and leaves.

Bul-ja patches up Ki-joon’s face, telling him to stop now before he gets hurt even worse. He proudly shows her the soaps he managed to steal, and promises to get her money back for her later when he can think of a plan. He reminds her that he’s doing it for justice, not because he likes her, and she’s just all, “Yeah, right, whatever you say.” As they walk home arm-in-arm, they miss seeing a sign that announces that it’s an illegal worker enforcement period. Oh no.

In-ki pounds on the freezer door and yells for help, but it’s no use, nobody can hear them. Soon-boon is shivering without a coat, so In-ki gives her his coat and says he’ll keep warm by exercising. She watches his muscles ripple and hears music again, captivated by his manliness.

A while later, they’ve both fallen asleep, and Soon-boon tries but can’t wake In-ki. He looks bad, with his face all blue, and he collapses over onto her. She puts his coat back over him and wails for him to wake up, as the theme song from Frozen swells in the background. HAHAHAHA.

Just like in the movie, a single teardrop falls onto In-ki’s face and you can see the warmth spread through him. He wakes to see Soon-boon crying over him, and croaks that her burning tears woke him up. This is the corniest thing ever. She holds his face to her bosom again, which is how Ki-joon and Bul-ja find them as they clean up the jam-making supplies.

Bul-ja is shocked to see In-ki and Soon-boon in such a compromising position, but Ki-joon is practically giddy to have found her in exactly the same situation she kept finding him and Bul-ja in. Just like she’s said to him multiple times, he tells her to keep doing what she was doing, and cackles gleefully as he runs off to tell the whole village.

Soon-boon is met on her walk home by practically everyone in the village in turn, who all congratulate her on her impending marriage and child, hee. Only Man-gu and Sang-eun aren’t thrilled to hear the “news,” horrified that they might be family soon.

Sang-deuk waits for Mi-young and of course, he has to pee. This time he makes sure, several times, that the coast is clear before he lets loose, but of course Mi-young catches him anyway. He tries to explain that he was cornered by Bok-nyun earlier, but Mi-young doesn’t want to hear it and says she doesn’t care who he dates, then shuts his hand in the door. Ouch, on multiple levels.

Min-ho works on his homework, but he remembers the discussion he heard between his mom and Hyuk and goes to her room. He finds the concert tickets, but Yoon-hee calls him to dinner.

The mood at dinner is strange, as Ki-joon can’t stop laughing over his revenge and Min-ki answers questions in monosyllables. Hyuk gets Yoon-hee’s computer working and they exclaim over it, but when Yoon-hee pats Hyuk’s head, it’s too much for Min-ki and he leaves the table.

Later the guys worry over their cabbages, afraid that they waited too long to harvest and the heavy snowfall will ruin them. Man-gu reassures them that these cabbages are made to get through winter, so they can relax. Min-ki is barely listening, as he replays his argument with Yoon-hee in his head. He says they should just harvest the cabbage so they can leave town, because he’s sick of it.

Everyone leaves but Han-chul, who sees Ho-ddeok romping through the cabbages. He gives chase, and ha, he can barely see the white dog in all the snow. As they run through the cabbage rows, Han-chul doesn’t notice when he steps on a dollar bill sticking out of a patch of mud.

The man who told Soo-yeon about the hidden money is still in a coma, where the assemblyman’s two minions watch over him. Scary Minion gripes at Dumb Minion’s comic books, but leaves him alone with the unconscious man to report to the assemblyman. Dumb Minion goes on reading and laughing at his comic books, not noticing that the unconscious man’s finger is moving — he’s finally waking up.

COMMENTS

Well, I certainly do not envy the position that Yoon-hee has found herself in. Eight years ago she made a decision to stay in town and take care of her little brother, but things have changed drastically since then. She no longer only has Hong-gu to protect, but her son now as well, and keeping the secret of his parentage could harm Min-ho. That’s a terrible thing to happen, when a decision that was right eight years ago, suddenly could be the exact thing that hurts her own child.

But I’m firmly on the side of telling, because not only does the man deserve to know he has a child, but Min-ho deserves to know who his father is. And all this time, Hong-gu has been carrying the guilt of thinking that his sister lost her chance to be a successful pianist, all because of him. Coming clean about all this would be the best thing for all involved.

Yoon-hee needs to be honest with Min-ki too, though I understand why she’s not willing to open up to him. Just when she was starting to feel close to him, she overhears just about the worst thing you can hear from someone who you care about — that he only cares about her out of pity. No wonder she’s angry, because that’s just plain hurtful. The sad thing is, I believe Min-ki meant it when he said it. I do however, think that he’s got his own feelings all mixed up, between reconnecting with Yoon-hee and Yoo-na at about the same time.

Min-ki has got a severe case of White Knight Syndrome, and likes to run to the rescue when a lady needs him. But when two ladies need him at the same time, I think it’s easy for him to misinterpret his own feelings, and I don’t think he really knows how he feels about either woman. So he’s not lying when he says how he feels, I just think he doesn’t really know how he feels. It’s no surprise that all three of them are starting to get tense and snappish. Something’s gotta give,and it’s going to take some real honesty on everyone’s part. Yoon-hee needs to be honest about her feelings, Yoo-na needs to be honest about her past, and Min-ki needs to get really, really honest with himself.

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