Heart to Heart: Episode 15

by LollyPip

Hong-do is becoming lost in her own mind, and despite all the friends who care about her, nothing is getting through to her. Yi-seok at least can function, though he’s an empty shell of the man he was when he had someone to love. Something needs to happen to get the two of them together, so they can be whole again and face the real, final truth of Il-seok’s death.

EPISODE 15 RECAP

Yi-seok’s parents are having a terrible fight (Mom is apparently being accused of cheating), and Dad chases Mom out to the shed in the field. She locks herself in while he pounds on the door, but she refuses to open up. He breaks a window with a rock and takes out his lighter, threatening to burn the shed down with her in it.

He flicks the lighter on and accidentally drops it through the window, setting the shed ablaze. Suddenly terrified, he breaks open the door with a shovel and drags his unconscious wife out, too scared to hear little Yi-seok yelling that his brother is also in there. Dad tries to go back in for Il-seok, but it’s too late, as the fire has completely consumed the shed.

The family can only wail in horror as the shed burns down with Il-seok still inside. Six-year-old Young-ji stands watching, with a still-unlit box of matches in her hand.

Back in the present, Yi-seok monitors his grandfather’s blood pressure and reassures him that he won’t be seeing Hong-do behind his back. He’s bought fully into the “do it for her sake” argument, believing that seeing him and his family will only make her guilt worse.

After he leaves, the chairman comments to Butler Ahn that he knows Yi-seok is only pretending to be all right, and that it makes him sad to watch. Butler Ahn returns the money that Chairman Go gave to Hong-do, saying that she’d waited at the gate the day before to give it to him. She’d said she couldn’t accept it, but asks Ahn to reassure the chairman that she’ll keep her promise not to see Yi-seok again.

In his astute way, Butler Ahn points out that even though the chairman tried to make the problem go away, he feels like it’s gotten worse. Not one person feels better now that Hong-do and Yi-seok have broken up (hear hear, and add me to that list). The chairman admits he’s worried about Hong-do, and asks Butler Ahn to find out how she’s doing.

How she’s doing is pretty awful — these days she mostly mopes around the house, eating dry ramyun and wearing the same clothes day and night. She ignores her landlord pounding on the door to show the house and doesn’t answer her phone, either.

Yi-seok at least goes through the motions of going to work and treating patients, but his normal irreverent style is replaced by listless by-the-book advice. He even refuses to talk to Dr. Uhm about any of this, limiting their conversation topics to his patients. She does manage to get him to talk about forgiveness, and how you forgive someone for yourself, not for their sake, but he only says that forgiveness isn’t something for people like him and Hong-do.

Doo-soo brings groceries for Hong-do, half-threatening her to take them inside this time or he’ll break in again. She doesn’t answer, but texts him to take the groceries with him and not to come back. As he leaves, he notices someone dressed in black lurking under the bridge near her place, and gives chase.

Butler Ahn reports to Chairman Go that Hong-do only leaves her house at night and walks around like a sleepwalker. The chairman worries that something might happen to her, and asks Butler Ahn to have someone watch over her until she snaps out of it.

Se-ro comes home from a day of filming to find her mom waiting for her with a cup of tea. Yeah, I’d be suspicious, too. Se-ro asks Mom what she was like before Il-seok died, having only known her when she was sick, but Mom doesn’t really remember. When Se-ro asks if she’s happy now that Yi-seok and Hong-do are broken up, Mom admits that she isn’t, though she thought she would be.

Se-ro says she doesn’t like being home, and asks to go back to the States when her shoot is over. She’d hoped they would be a family… but they aren’t, and she hates it.

Hong-do still hasn’t brought the groceries in when Doo-soo goes back that night, so he calls Yi-seok to talk. He brings a six-pack to Yi-seok’s office, and shows him the photo of the scorched lighter found at the scene of his brother’s death. Yi-seok doesn’t recognize it, but he’s not worried to hear that someone’s been lurking around Hong-do’s place, correctly assuming it’s his grandfather’s doing.

Doo-soo says thoughtfully that if he were Yi-seok, he probably would have chosen breaking up, too. He understands Yi-seok, also being the eldest of an important family and knowing the filial obligations that entails, but says he wouldn’t have been able to keep working in the place where he’d worked with Hong-do. It’s heartbreaking how Yi-seok flinches a little every time Doo-soo says Hong-do’s name.

Doo-soo says without malice that Yi-seok is a selfish person, so he doesn’t understand why he’s letting Hong-do suffer. He asks why he doesn’t just run away with her, and Yi-seok just sadly says that he wishes he could. He gets a designated driver to take him home, and imagines seeing Hong-do in the car window. He caresses her reflection, wondering if she’s happy.

Se-ro intercepts Yi-seok on his way to his room, curious why he was drinking with Doo-soo, only to be told again that she can’t date him. She says she’s trying to stop being interested and invites Yi-seok to watch a movie with her. After, she tells him she’s giving up on being an actress, because it was mostly an excuse to come home and try to be a family.

She tells him she’s going back to school since studying is what she’s good at, and he says he won’t stop her since it’s what she wants. He does ask her to think about studying in Korea, offering her the use of his apartment, since he’d miss her if she left.

Late that night Hong-do gets out of bed, half-dresses, and goes to Yi-seok’s office. She takes out her knitting, using his chair to measure how big she should make the shoulders of a sweater. (As a knitter myself, I know what a labor of love this is, and it hurts my heart to see her working alone in the dark on a gift for Yi-seok.)

Housekeeper Geum-shim leads Yi-seok down to breakfast in the morning, worried that he’s drinking too much and not eating enough. His father comes down but seems to get nervous when he sees Yi-seok, and joins him with a guarded air. Yi-seok surprises him by apologizing for not being sensitive that he lost a son too, realizing now that his dad’s absence was his way of trying to deal with the pain.

When Yi-seok gets to work, he finds Hong-do’s scissors and some snippets of yarn on his desk, that she left behind the night before. He calls Butler Ahn to come see him, and asks if his grandfather has someone following Hong-do. He’s worried that Hong-do may not be doing well, and says that if she’s not, he doesn’t think he’d be able to stand by and do nothing. Butler Ahn admits that Hong-do wanders around at night like a ghost.

It’s worse than they think, because Hong-do is out of food and resorts to licking up bits of uncooked ramyun, and just sucks her last egg raw right out of the shell. Se-ro calls to her from outside but Hong-do ignores her too, even though Se-ro says she came to say goodbye before she goes back to the States.

Detective Yang tries to get Doo-soo to talk, excited about his new girlfriend, but Doo-soo is more interested in studying the picture of the lighter. They notice that there’s a letter engraved on the lighter, that could stand for the name “Go.” Interesting.

When Doo-soo gets a text from Se-ro that she’s waiting for him, he walks away in the middle of Yang’s sentence again, hee. He doesn’t even know yet that he likes Se-ro, and even smiles as he approaches her.

He can’t hide his disappointment when she tells him she’s going back to the U.S. and asks several times if it’s permanent and if she’s ever coming back. She skirts the question, saying people will talk if he shows too much interest. Doo-soo asks her to stay for one cup of coffee, but Se-ro just says she texted him her departure time and it’s up to him if he wants to do anything with the information.

That night when Hong-do wanders outside, the chairman’s tail reports to Butler Ahn. The chairman asks the man to make sure she gets home safely. Yi-seok’s father comes to talk to the chairman, dissolving into his usual blubbering mess, whining that his son is apologizing to him and that he feels useless. You won’t get any argument from me, and the chairman just rolls his eyes at his son’s histrionics.

Chairman Go reminds his son that he needs to keep silent in order to protect his son and wife. I dunno, seems like keeping quiet isn’t protecting much of anyone. Chairman Go does feel bad, but somehow he still believes that knowing Dad is the one who caused Il-seok’s death would somehow burden Mom and Yi-seok more than thinking they’re at fault themselves. Have I mentioned this family is sick?

Hong-do walks to the clinic in a daze, unable to see anything around her, not even that Yi-seok is still there waiting for her. She’s so lost in her own head that she doesn’t even hear him when he talks to her. He cries, asking what she’s doing, and begging her to get mad if she’s mad but not to just ignore him.

He sits and asks if she’s forgotten her promise to live confidently, and pleads with her to come to her senses. Hong-do only wonders out loud if he’ll like the color she’s knitting, and Yi-seok whispers that she knows it’s the color he hates the most.

Yi-seok stays with Hong-do all night and follows her home in the morning, making sure she gets to her house safely. He smiles a bit at how she walks strongly now, without hiding from people, and we see a glimmer of the old arrogant Yi-seok when he notes that she must have a great doctor. But she stops short when she sees some men warming their hands around a barrel fire, looking terrified at the reminder it brings.

Just before she gets to her door, Hong-do whirls around, having finally heard Yi-seok call her name. But he’s not really speaking, and she’s only hearing echoes of his voice from the past. She reminds herself that he’s not there and goes inside, as Yi-seok watches her sadly from a distance.

Inside, Hong-do berates herself loudly for being this way, asking herself how long she plans to act like this after doing so much wrong to so many people. She still blames herself, and reminds herself to remember how her grandmother raised her. Angrily, she rips her knitting needles out of the sweater and unravels it.

Dr. Uhm finds Yi-seok crying on the stairs of the clinic, and he tells her bleakly that Hong-do is very sick. He says she was never scared of fire before, and that she always loved cooking, but that she’ll die if she doesn’t get help. That explains all the raw food she’s eating. Yi-seok breaks down and shamelessly begs Dr. Uhm to save Hong-do.

When Yi-seok gets home he’s summoned by the chairman, who asks him to go to the hot springs with him. Still crying, Yi-seok goes down on his hands and knees in front of his grandfather, begging him to kill him. He gasps that he can’t breathe, and pleads for death over and over as his sister listens outside the door.

Se-ro runs to Doo-soo to beg him for help, knowing something is terribly wrong with Hong-do, and experiences her first moment of disappointment in him when he hesitates. She storms out, but he follows her and agrees to help her bring Hong-do to Yi-seok.

Yi-seok tries to call Hong-do, but after an internal struggle, she turns her phone over and doesn’t answer. Knowing that she’s home, Yi-seok makes a decision, and goes to her place and lets himself in. She still thinks he’s a mirage and fights him, screaming that she doesn’t really see him, and he’s forced to pick her up and set her on the sofa to stop her trying to run away.

Yi-seok hugs Hong-do tightly as she cries, saying over and over that he’s missed her and he was wrong, promising never to leave again. She finally realizes he’s really here and relaxes, and they stay like that, holding each other for a long time.

When Doo-soo and Se-ro arrive at Hong-do’s place, they see Yi-seok’s car, which has Se-ro relieved that her brother will sort everything out. Doo-soo drives Se-ro home, noting that Se-ro and Yi-seok seem closer than most siblings. She says she knows her brother very well, and how he jokes to hide his pain.

She says she knows now how hard it is to forget someone you like, promising to practice it herself, and Doo-soo gives himself away a bit with, “Why would you do that?” By the time they get to her house, Se-ro is asleep, and Doo-soo just adorably settles in to wait until she wakes up. He even turns his phone ringer off so the noise won’t disturb her.

Yi-seok recoils at how nasty Hong-do’s kitchen has gotten, but she just watches him make coffee like she still doesn’t believe he’s real. Ha, he even jokes that if this is how she lives, he’ll have to reconsider getting back with her. Easy to say for someone with a butler and a maid.

Hong-do ignores his shenanigans and asks after the chairman’s health, and why he came. Yi-seok sobers up and says he can’t live without seeing her, and he knows she can’t, either. If the choice is between dying or seeing each other, it only makes sense to be together, right?

Hong-do admits to being confused, since Yi-seok just barged in and is acting like everything will go back to normal. He matter-of-factly explains that they tried breaking up and it didn’t work, so their only option is to get through this together. He notices the half-ripped-out sweater and asks Hong-do to knit it again, reminding her that it’s his very favorite color. Awww.

It’s dark out when Se-ro finally wakes up, and Doo-soo is still waiting quietly, which is just so cute. Se-ro gets out and shakes his hand, keeping a distance since she’s about to leave. She thanks him for everything, saying that it was at least a happy one-sided love, and apologizes for bothering him.

When Doo-soo doesn’t immediately let go of her hand, Se-ro teases that she might misunderstand again. She’s a bit disappointed when he lets go, but he tells her that even though he didn’t like her at first, he’s sad that she’s leaving. She cutely warns him not to come to the airport tomorrow or she really will think he likes her — no really, he’d better not come! Haha. When Se-ro goes inside, Doo-soo smiles to himself then wonders why he feels this way.

After a revelation from Detective Yang, Doo-soo goes to talk to Yi-seok again about the photo of the lighter. It’s suspicious that the lighter’s presence at the fire was never investigated, and Doo-soo thinks he can solve the mystery of who actually started the fire if he knows who originally owned the lighter.

He points out the engraved initial on the lighter, and something about it seems to make Yi-seok take notice. He takes the picture inside, where his father is waiting at the breakfast table for his grandfather. Yi-seok asks to see his grandfather’s cane, which is engraved with the same initial, and in the same engraving style, as the initial on the lighter.

Yi-seok angrily asks his grandfather if the lighter was his, and the chairman fails to look innocent as Yi-seok’s father shifts in his seat nervously. The chairman says the lighter was his, and Yi-seok demands to know if Young-ji really started that fire. His grandfather yells at him for daring to accuse him of starting the fire, and the men’s loud voices draw Mom into the room.

She gets there just in time to see her husband stand and tell Yi-seok and the chairman to stop fighting. “It wasn’t Grandfather. It was me. That lighter is mine.” The chairman clutches his chest as Yi-seok’s dad starts to cry, admitting that the fire was his mistake. Yi-seok makes him repeat himself, but Mom suddenly cries from the hallway not to tell him the truth.

Mom falls to her knees screaming, as Dad gasps in horror that she already knew he was responsible. Realizing that his entire family has let an innocent girl shoulder the blame for the death of his brother, Yi-seok can only stand and stare as they all have hysterics around him, though he’s frozen with shock.

COMMENTS

And I don’t blame him one bit. What a horrible realization to come to, that his brother’s death has been hung on a tiny little innocent girl for twenty-three years, and that his family was perfectly willing to let him lose the one woman he’s ever loved in order to hide their secrets. I wouldn’t blame Yi-seok if he walked out of that house and never looked back. Though I doubt he will, because he’s always been a caring son and grandson, and an incurable fixer. I have a feeling he’ll want to stay and try to repair all the damage that they’ve done to each other, and to Hong-do.

I honestly think that this family is worse than most typical chaebol family types we see in so many dramas. At least those other stereotypically terrible in-laws and controlling patriarchs/matriarchs do what they do in a misguided belief that they’re doing the right thing, whether “right” is defined by society or tradition or whatever. At least they believe they’re doing the right and correct thing, and that someone getting hurt is just a nasty side effect of that. But this family — this family knows they’re doing wrong. They know they’re at fault for the death of their oldest child, and they know exactly who started that fire and why. They made the conscious decision to let that little girl take the blame, that day and every day in the twenty-three years since. They made the deliberate choice to let their remaining son become emotionally stunted, and just sent their daughter away to boarding school and forgot all about her.

The really scary part is how awfully, completely GOOD at it they’ve been. They’ve even managed to convince themselves that they did the right thing, because what’s one little girl’s life compared to their Very Important Family? But no matter how fervently they’ve convinced themselves that they were right, eventually they were going to crack at the edges. It was only a matter of time. Mom became mentally ill (though I’ll bet she wasn’t exactly all there to begin with), the chairman went about his business like nothing happened, and Dad just bailed entirely. That kind of life wasn’t going to be sustainable forever. Yi-seok’s falling in love with Hong-do may have been the catalyst for starting the unraveling of the secrets, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Thank goodness Hong-do truly had no part in that fire. Yi-seok was right that she was becoming sick again, though in a different way. She wasn’t shying away from people anymore — it was actually worse, that she just literally didn’t care about anything or anyone anymore. Not even herself, and I have no doubt that if something hadn’t happened to make Yi-seok go in and get her, she would have just starved to death in that house. I’m so glad he realized that she needed him, and went and did something to snap her out of herself.

Yi-seok and Hong-do still have a lot of work to do, and only one episode in which to do it. I’m glad they’ve found their way back to each other, because I think that together they’re so strong, they can accomplish anything. If they want, they can even make Yi-seok’s awful family repent and do the right thing, finally. I’m very much looking forward to seeing them make that happen — or alternately, leaving his family to their own miserable devices and sailing off happily into the sunset together.

 
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