One More Happy Ending: Episode 11

by LollyPip

If you thought last week was a cryfest… well, get out the hankies and get ready to sob, because we’re not done yet. At least all the crying means that people are actually thinking about their true feelings and not just what they think they want, which can only be a good thing. Eventually. Once they manage to get ahold of themselves. And soon, I hope.

EPISODE 11 RECAP

Hae-joon overhears some nurses sighing romantically over Soo-hyuk’s defense of Mi-mo in the hospital parking garage, when he took the rotten eggs for her. He watches the video, his face falling to see Soo-hyuk protecting Mi-mo at his own expense.

He’d had coffee with Ah-ni before she headed off overseas, and she’d apologized for overstepping her bounds with him before. She admitted that she was comparing him to Soo-hyuk, the kind of man who would throw himself on a fire for a woman, and had told him of Soo-hyuk’s article.

Knowing that Soo-hyuk is being attacked for printing the real story of her confrontation with Seul-ah, but that getting involved would only make it worse, Mi-mo can do nothing but feel guilty. She looks up to see Soo-hyuk watching her, and they both stand silently for a long moment.

She starts to move towards him, but takes a step back again, unsure what to do. As tears well up in her eyes again, Soo-hyuk gives Mi-mo a sad smile, and turns away. Hae-joon watches from a distance, seeing the pain on Mi-mo’s face as she watches Soo-hyuk’s back.

Hae-joon also leaves, and Yeon-soo’s words echo in his mind as he drives home: What if it’s not Soo-hyuk taking Mi-mo from him? What if Mi-mo just… changes her mind? He pulls over and gets out of the car, fighting his own tears, finally showing some true emotion. He ends up in a bar, downing shot after shot, replaying in his mind Mi-mo’s crying face as Soo-hyuk walked away from her.

Mi-mo walks the streets aimlessly, and ends up at the hospital with Da-jung. She tells her friend that she hates her heart for hurting this much, and Da-jung wonders if this is the same thing she felt “last time.” Mi-mo bursts into tears again, and says, “My heart found out. It realized what it wants. But it’s too late!”

Hae-joon tries with shaking hands to call Mi-mo, but he can’t bring himself to actually do it. Soo-hyuk sees his friend sitting at an outdoor table below his apartment, and goes out to join him. Hae-joon is in no mood to talk nicely and grabs Soo-hyuk by the lapels, demanding to know exactly how much more he’s supposed to endure. He yells that he feels like he’s stuck between Soo-hyuk and Mi-mo, and Soo-hyuk just whispers a quiet, “I’m sorry.”

He whispers that he can’t control his feelings, and it’s frustrating him, too. His voice hitches as he apologizes again, asking his old friend how he’s supposed to deal with his feelings. The words only infuriate Hae-joon, and he punches Soo-hyuk hard enough to knock him to the ground.

If Soo-hyuk really wants to know what Hae-joon thinks he should do, Hae-joon is happy to tell him — go away.

Mi-mo’s upset keeps her up that night, and she gets out of bed for some water. She still has all the cold medicines that Soo-hyuk bought for her, and seeing them only upsets her again.

Min-woo notices how quiet his dad is the next morning, having seen him come home dejected and covered in eggs the night before. Soo-hyuk says that everything is fine, but Min-woo is a sharp boy and asks if his dad is being bullied at work. Soo-hyuk admits that he is, but swears that all he needs is Min-woo’s love. Awww, they’re so adorable.

Mi-mo jumps ten feet when Soo-hyuk’s door opens while she’s in the hall, but it’s just Min-woo on his way to school. He starts to open one of the many packages that have been left at their door, but Mi-mo seems to realize something, and yells for him to stop.

She grabs the box and peeks inside, and sure enough, inside are threatening materials from one of Seul-ah’s fans. He notices her nerves as she says she’ll give the packages to Soo-hyuk later, but she manages to convince him to go on to school.

Soo-hyuk’s coworkers are starting to feel the backlash of his article, having been turned away from photo shoots and seeing their own interviews canceled. Hyun-gi defends his friend, and so does his boss, but Soo-hyuk loses his temper. He takes offense at their discussing him like he’s not even there, and says that if they want him to leave so badly, he’ll oblige them.

Ha, as he storms out, the boss wonders when Soo-hyuk got so attractive and cool. It’s not the first time he’s called Angry Soo-hyuk sexy, and everyone gives him epic side-eye.

Hyun-gi finds Soo-hyuk outside, and Soo-hyuk asks why he does this job. Hyun-gi admits that, while it was fun at first, now it’s just a way to pay the bills. Soo-hyuk says that he no longer loves it, and Hyun-gi encourages him to hang in there.

Mi-mo took the threatening packages to work with her, grumbling that even after a decade, anti-fans never change. After work she finds Hae-joon waiting to take her home, and for once she doesn’t look thrilled to see him.

Hyun-gi and Soo-hyuk go to the Han River to drink, and Soo-hyuk slurs that he thinks he wants to quit his job. This whole situation with Mi-mo has made him realize how his words can affect people. Hyun-gi notices that he cringes and touches his mouth whenever he drinks, and Soo-hyuk tells him that a friend that he’s been tormenting lately punched him.

Aww, it’s so like him to shoulder all the blame, and his tears well up when he says that he’d been thinking of his own feelings and broke his friend’s heart. He even tells Hyun-gi that that friend should have hit him more than once.

The floodgates open, and Soo-hyuk ends up spilling the entire story of himself, Mi-mo, and Hae-joon to Hyun-gi, who listens without judgment. What a great friend. Soo-hyuk tells him that he feels like he’s going crazy, wanting to be with Mi-mo every minute, and he doesn’t know how to stop feeling like this.

Hae-joon takes Mi-mo’s hand on the walk home, though it seems less a gesture of affection, and more like a test. Mi-mo seems like she wants to say something when he drops her off at her door, but just wishes him a good night. On Hae-joon’s walk home he thinks about Yeon-soo’s words again, and how she’d said that if Mi-mo’s feelings change, he would just let it happen like he always does. He walks past a jewelry store, and goes inside.

Dong-mi dreams of Cupid again, who is proud to tell her that he’s no longer in training — he’s a full-time employee! HA. She’s skeptical, and he complains that he even sent that young guy to her as soon as he was promoted, but refuses to give her any personal information about Jung-woo. She’ll have to find out if he’s genuine or not on her own.

Actually, Cupid is here for a favor. He’d like a great score if anyone ever calls Dong-mi asking about his service. HAHAHA.

Dong-mi literally skips into work the next morning, wearing way too much makeup for her date tonight. Her coworkers tease her, and Dong-mi whines that she paid three hundred dollars for the makeover. Ouch.

Ae-ran has her own problems — her friends all made bets on whether she’d take back Dong-bae. At least only one person bet that she would, and when Ae-ran finds out who it is, she informs him angrily that he’s wrong.

She tells Dong-bae that she can’t trust him to be faithful just on his promise, that she needs to see actions. He takes this as encouragement that he still has a chance, and vows to do what he can to prove it to her.

Dong-mi notices that little Tae-yong seems a lot happier in class these days. He draws his mom a sweet picture of herself, with tiny Tae-yongs in her eyes. Dong-mi reinforces that whatever he does, he’s always in his mother’s eyes.

Dong-mi stops on the way to her date and exchanges her glasses for contacts, and she’s disappointed when Jung-woo says she looks weird. But he goes on to say that it’s weird how every part of her face is so beautiful, and Dong-mi literally squees, blushing furiously.

All four friends, plus little Tae-yong, drive Da-jung home from the hospital, and something is obviously up. Da-jung is convinced to let the others take Tae-yong to eat while she goes to her apartment for the first time since her surgery. She arrives home to find flowers and candles everywhere, and a card that simply says, “Baek Da-jung, you’re still a woman to me.” ~tears~

She sits and sobs, and Geun-hak quietly sits next to her and pulls her into his arms.

Of course her friends were in on it, and they have lunch and wonder if she’s seen her surprise yet. Tae-yong proudly shows them his picture and explains that he’s always in his mother’s eyes, and it triggers something for Mi-mo. She remembers Soo-hyuk on his knees, asking her if she wants him to publish his story, telling her that no matter what, her wishes come first.

Da-jung and Geun-hak have what’s probably their first honest discussion in years, and Da-jung makes it clear that she’s not interested in his pity. She finds it hard to trust that his feelings have changed after he asked her for a divorce for years, and Geun-hak tells her candidly that he doesn’t exactly understand his feelings, either.

But he knows it’s not pity, and he knows he can’t leave her this way. He says that he’s gotten rid of the divorce papers, and asks her to let him stay. All he asks is for some time, to be together and see if they can rebuild.

Mi-mo meets Hae-joon for dinner, and Hae-joon looks nervous as a cat. He gets right to the point and pulls out what looks like a ring box, but Mi-mo hesitates to open it. Self-absorbed as always, Hae-joon takes her stricken expression to mean that she’s overwhelmed with happiness.

But Mi-mo apologizes tearfully, unable to accept the (possible) ring, and Hae-joon backpedals and says it wasn’t even expensive, no big deal. She’s in a lot of pain and sure that he’s hurting too, but Hae-joon won’t let her speak further. He leaves her there, still crying, with the ring box on the table.

Mi-mo and Ae-ran go drinking, and Ae-ran advises her friend to be honest — she should break it off with Hae-joon and tell him she’s fallen in love with someone else. Mi-mo is reluctant to hurt him any further, blaming herself for this situation. She approached him first, and now she’s the one with second thoughts.

Ae-ran counters that it’s okay to be the bad guy, as long as you’re being honest. By withholding the truth for fear of being seen in a negative light, Mi-mo is actually being selfish. Either way he’ll be hurt, so it’s better to make a clean break. Amen, sister.

Soo-hyuk sees Mi-mo walking home, tear-streaked and drunk, and he fends off an unwelcome male admirer. But Mi-mo shakes off his hand and says she’s not okay when he asks, berating him for always interfering. It’s obvious that she’s not talking about this incident, but their relationship in general.

She cries again, asking, “Why? Why is it you? Why are you making me hurt so much?” She begs him to leave her alone, and Soo-hyuk just asks sadly why she’s crying, when he only wanted to make her smile. “I’m sorry. Don’t cry because of me.” Oof, you’re both breaking my heart.

Later when he’s alone, Soo-hyuk replays Hae-joon’s request for him to leave in his mind, and remembers Mi-mo crying for him to leave her alone. He asks Min-woo if they should visit his grandparents in America, and Min-woo astutely asks if it’s that hard for him to stay. Soo-hyuk agrees that it is, so Min-woo hugs him and agrees to go.

Mi-mo is emotionally exhausted by the time she gets home, and literally sits up all night thinking. In the morning she waits for Hae-joon in the lobby of his building, but he texts her that he won’t be coming down. She answers that she’ll wait anyway, and she does — all day, but he never shows.

Hae-joon flashes back to a conversation with Yeon-soo, when she’d told him that being married to him was lonely. She’d also said that Hae-joon and Soo-hyuk hold unattainable standards for women (again, amen). There’s no such thing as a woman who’s been crushed by life and come through pure and untouched, and Soo-hyuk only wants a “woman with a lovable flaw” so that he can fill the gaps for her.

Soo-hyuk submits his resignation at Masspunch, and his boss assumes it’s because of the recent kerfuffle over Seul-ah and Mi-mo. Soo-hyuk says he’s just lost interest in this job, pointing out that the magazine will stop suffering if he’s gone. Hyun-gi actually cries at the news of Soo-hyuk going to America, which is so sweet.

Determined to talk to Hae-joon, Mi-mo finds him at the hospital, posing as a patient to get in to see him. Anticipating why she’s here, Hae-joon turns to stone and suggests breaking up first, claiming that he no longer likes her because she broke her promise to only look at him.

I don’t think he intends to be an ass right now, but he’s totally being an ass right now. At least he lets her speak today, and she tells him that she met the man of her dreams here a few months ago. He saved her when she needed saving, and she loved him at first sight, but now she knows that he’s not The One.

She doesn’t deny having feelings for someone else now, but she asks Hae-joon one favor — to believe that her feelings for him have always been sincere. She apologizes one last time, saying that he can spit on her and forget her if he wants, but Hae-joon almost smiles at that. How could he forget such a wonderful woman?

He tells her that she’s never looked more beautiful than she does now, and he’ll always remember her this way. Not the member of Angels who couldn’t sing in tune, or the woman dreaming of a perfect love, but the woman who left him. (Notably, he’s not saying this out of anger, but as if he’s truly seeing the real Mi-mo for the first time.)

Dong-bae treats Ae-ran to a Love Actually moment, professing his love to her in posters full of old pictures of her, from her Angels days to the present. The posters say that he knows who she is in all of her incarnations, and that he can find her no matter where she is. “You’re the only person I see.”

The last posters have photos of her doctored up to look old and wrinkled, saying that even when she looks like this his feelings won’t change, and Dong-bae grins in an infuriatingly adorable way when Ae-ran gasps in horror. The last poster says simply, “And I will love you forever.” Ae-ran’s resolve is starting to crack.

A furious client complains to Mi-mo that she only just found out that her fiance, who she met through Brave Wedding, pays a large amount for child support every month. She asks if Mi-mo would be happy to discover such a debt right before her wedding, and Mi-mo smiles that yes she would, if the man were otherwise a good man and made her happy.

Da-jung is back at work, and asks Mi-mo if she’s seen Soo-hyuk lately. Mi-mo admits that she hasn’t had the courage to face him yet, but Da-jung thinks it’s strange that they’re neighbors and she hasn’t seen him at all. She tells Mi-mo that a mutual friend heard that he resigned his job, and this news has Mi-mo running out of the office like her shoes are on fire.

She goes to Masspunch first, where Hyun-gi confirms that Soo-hyuk did indeed quit. He assures her that it’s not because of her article, but she runs off before he can tell her that Soo-hyuk has gone to the US.

Mi-mo runs all the way back to their apartment, and her calls to Soo-hyuk go unanswered. He doesn’t answer his door either, nor is he at any of the usual places Mi-mo usually finds him. She’s despondent by the time she sits on their bench outside their building, wondering why he would leave without saying anything to her.

She remembers again how he told her that he always thinks of her before making a decision, and wonders out loud again… why would he then leave without telling her?

But life goes on, and time passes. One day, as Mi-mo rushes out to work, she finds herself face-to-face with a man in her building’s elevator. It’s Soo-hyuk, and Mi-mo stops short in surprise.

He walks right up to her and calls her Goldfish, asking if she’s been well. Still shocked, Mi-mo takes a short step back and trips on her heel, and starts to fall backward. Soo-hyuk moves quickly and catches her, and he smiles at her like he used to do.

COMMENTS

I do want to say first, that though I try to see the positive as often as I can, I’m frustrated with One More Happy Ending right now. I feel like the first two episodes promised me a fun, silly frolic into the antics of a couple who got drunk-married and found themselves stuck, and I expected a lot of cohabitation shenanigans and to see them fall in love for real. But instead it turned out to be a fake out, and we were plopped down into a predictable, angst-filled romance. I can’t even call it rom-com anymore, because there hasn’t been any “com” in weeks. That said, I actually do like what the show is now, and the way it’s exploring mature relationships and how people find the courage to try again when they’ve already been hurt badly by love. I just can’t help but miss the light, silly show I was expecting it to be.

Every time I think Soo-hyuk can’t break my heart any more, he goes and ups the ante. This episode was particularly hard to watch, as Soo-hyuk begged Hyun-gi to tell him how to stop feeling the way he’s been feeling. He doesn’t know that Mi-mo’s tearful outburst was because of her feelings for him, and from his point of view, it’s easy to see how he could be interpreting her words and actions as true dislike for him. Kudos to Jung Kyung-ho for making us truly feel his deep sadness at being rejected, and the crushing weight of his years of loneliness. He’s so convinced that Mi-mo genuinely wants him gone that I can’t even call his leaving Noble Idiocy — you almost feel as though he’s leaving to end his own pain as much as Mi-mo and Hae-joon’s. Just the fact that he went without saying anything, quietly and unobtrusively as ever, shows that he just wanted to end everyone’s pain without a fuss.

I’m so happy that Mi-mo finally understands what her conflicted feelings mean, though it’s sad that she thinks it’s too late for her and Soo-hyuk. One look at the man would tell anyone (well, anyone but our Goldfish) that he’s painfully in love with her, no matter that she overheard him saying that he was putting his feelings away. I want her to at least tell him how she feels so that he can take some action knowing all the facts, because it would just be too tragic for them to both just give up, when their feelings are so strong. Though I do think that it’s a sign of personal growth that she didn’t just go running to Soo-hyuk to blurt her feelings the moment she realized them, like she would have done in the past. I’m glad that she took some time to think about it before just jumping in unprepared this time. Even a Goldfish can learn from her mistakes.

Speaking of maturing and growing, I absolutely adored Geun-hak and Da-jung’s talk in this episode, because they weren’t expecting miracles, or for things to magically be okay. I appreciate that Geun-hak took time to think about what he wanted before approaching Da-jung, and to really, truly consider her feelings. He didn’t promise that they would get back together, or that they would fall in love again — he just simply and honestly asked for a chance. And not even a chance to prove to her that he’d changed, but a chance for both of them to try again and see what happens. It was such a mature and open way to approach their situation, because it didn’t assume anything one way or the other. Just… one more chance.

In fact I love how all four ladies are getting their second chances at a happy ending now… maybe with the man they’ve been loving but lost, maybe with a new love, or maybe with a person they’ve cared about for years and not even known it. It’s such a fun look at how second chances come in so many different packages, and that you just need to have an open heart and honesty to make it happen.

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