When the Camellia Blooms: Episodes 7-8

by selena

Everyone learns a little more about themselves and their peers in this episode. Moments of raw honesty and self-discovery hit us hard as our leads try to navigate their newly interwoven lives.

  
EPISODE 7: “The Country Boy”

After Jong-ryeol sees Yong-shik leading Dong-baek into the Camellia, he starts his car to leave. But before he can go, he’s caught by Hyang-mi, who knocks on his window to ask why he’s lurking outside instead of coming in.

Hyang-mi informs him that lurkers fall under two categories: they either want to borrow money or they miss someone. She speculates that there must be a reason why he can’t enter Dong-baek’s bar. Exasperated, Jong-ryeol gives in, snapping that she’s a good saleswoman.

He orders the stir-fried pork and when it’s served he gets super emotional at the sight of it, noting that nothing has changed. Though he’d claimed that he couldn’t finish such a huge portion alone, he ends up gobbling down the dish with incredible fervor.

When Dong-baek brings him more rice, he asks after Pil-gu and snidely comments that she should still take care of their son even if she’s busy dating. She retorts that Pil-gu’s just fine; he should just keep taking his daughter to see the dolphins – accidentally revealing that she’s been keeping up with him.

She’s so thrown off that she burns herself on a hot bowl and Jong-ryeol immediately jumps up to tend to her.

The tension breaks when Yong-shik approaches with Pil-gu’s notebook in hand. Cut to Yong-shik proudly showing off an autograph from Jong-ryeol. It turns out he’s a huge fan and even knows all of Jong-ryeol’s fan chants by heart, which he passionately demonstrates for everyone. Jong-ryeol stares at him incredulously, wondering if this is Dong-baek’s type.

Yong-shik pulls up a chair (uninvited) and launches into a story about “Ten Million Kang Jong-ryeol.” The nickname started because Jong-ryeol was so popular he could fill stadiums. 10 years back Korea faced Japan in the World Baseball Classic finals and instead of running from 2nd to 3rd base, Jong-ryeol froze, causing Korea to lose.

From then on the nickname referred to his ten million anti-fans. Jong-ryeol just throws a meaningful look at Dong-baek, stating that this happened 8 years ago while she avoids eye contact.

The boys take an awkward selfie outside. Yong-shik is excited and invites Jong-ryeol to visit anytime and it the way Yong-shik refers to the Camellia like it’s his doesn’t sit well with Jong-ryeol. He thinks to himself that Yong-shik’s “just a country bumpkin” and gives him a backhanded compliment by saying he seems down-to-earth and popular with guys. At that, Dong-baek chimes in to say that girls find that quality charming.

Love-struck Yong-shik clutches his delicate heart once again as she declares that in a world full of good-looking jerks, a country boy is the real catch. Yong-shik dorks up the moment by confirming with Dong-baek that she’s talking about him.

As Yong-shik escorts Dong-baek home, she tells him that it’ll be harder for the Joker to kill her now. Yong-shik asks if it’s because he’s by her side now but she says, “No, because I’m an ajumma.” You have to be strong to raise a son alone, so she’s confident she can take them on, one-on-one. Please don’t speak this into existence, Dong-baek!

The night of the crime, 5 years ago: Detective Byun learns that not only did the Joker leave behind a weapon for the first time, but there was also a survivor. He surveys the crime scene and finds Dong-baek drenched, staring solemnly out the window.

Back in the present, Dong-baek confides that it would be a lie to say she isn’t scared. She confesses that the note on the wall gave her goosebumps and Yong-shik immediately regrets telling her about its existence.

She dismisses his suggestion to close the Camellia for a few days – she didn’t close shop 5 years ago, so she’s sure not going to now. It’s her way of giving the Joker a warning: Don’t mess with her.

He muses that the people in this neighborhood aren’t very smart since they can’t see her claws. It’s the wimpy dogs that pick fights with others. Dong-baek may seem like a loser (she scoffs at this) but she’s actually brave.

He talks big about protecting her, but he knows the truth is that she’s not a woman who needs saving. Yong-shik lets out the most hilarious honking laugh as he says that her toughness makes her sexy. This earns him a punch, but she doesn’t seem to hate it.

Back at the Camellia, we hear ominous thumping noises. But it’s just Hyang-mi attempting to unclog the sink after washing her hair. She complains that she’s basically homeless and we see that she’s squatting at the Camellia.

As Hyang-mi settles in to sleep, she wonders if she should ask Dong-baek for permission to stay at the Camellia. She quickly dismisses the idea, knowing that even Dong-baek would go crazy if she knew that Hyang-mi’s apartment deposit was gone. Hyang-mi asks herself sadly how she’ll manage to scrape together 100 million won (about $100,000) and when she’ll make it to Copenhagen.

Preoccupied with her phone, she doesn’t even notice that a masked intruder is standing a few feet away from her. Yikes.

The next morning, Kyu-tae thinks about Hyang-mi declaring her respect for him as he loafs in bed. Ja-young stops what she’s doing when she sees his most recent status update where he described himself as someone who “knows the ‘reeds’ of the people.”

Outraged, she kicks him out of bed to school him on his lack of knowledge. “Just use Korean words if you don’t know English!”

Frustrated, Kyu-tae throws a tantrum. He accuses her of not respecting him and calls the house his prison. In a truly low blow, he blames her for being unable to bear a son to carry on his bloodline. Ugh.

Yong-shik brings Chief Byun to the Camellia to check out the note but they’re shocked to see it’s been burned off. Yong-shik hides the burnt message when Dong-baek comes by.

He goes overboard telling her she shouldn’t fret about something so trivial, but our girl’s sharp senses can tell something’s wrong. She forces the table out of the way and is shaken to see the message burned off.

Yong-shik gets very heated with Chief Byun, coming up with a detailed action plan to keep Dong-baek safe. He blames the chief for scaring “doe-eyed” Dong-baek by not hiding the message properly and asking to see the security footage.

Chief Byun seems to have it all figured out and circles Yong-shik with a keen eye. Giving a knowing smile, he nudges Yong-shik who gives in and yells that he’s right. The chief excitedly cuts in, “You’re finally a true police officer. Look at your sense of duty!” HA. He doesn’t have much of love radar, does he?

Hyang-mi asks if Dong-baek isn’t scared, but she says that Pil-gu’s tuition fees are scarier than any killer. Hearing this, Pil-gu turns off the travel ad to Qingdao he was watching and heads off to baseball practice. Dong-baek worries that he’s not eating much these days.

Sang-yeob goes over the baseball team’s itinerary for the Qingdao trip while Jong-ryeol passes bread out to each child, dropping an extra one in Pil-gu’s lap. Pil-gu goes outside to eat alone and Jong-ryeol follows closely behind to ask why he’s not going on the trip.

Pil-gu acts tough, insisting he doesn’t want to go. He calls the others losers for spending 480,000 won on the trip. He lists all the different things he could do with that much money and besides, his mom would have to sell 48 servings of stir-fried pork to get 480,000 won.

Jong-ryeol sounds close to tears when he asks Pil-gu if he at least makes sure to eat.

At a charity event, Kyu-tae squeezes himself into the center during the photo session. Willing to do anything for attention, he goes as far as piggybacking the most influential man there. The man tells him off afterwards, saying that acting close to him won’t get Kyu-tae a nomination.

Utterly humiliated, he turns around to see Chief Byun and Yong-shik were there to witness the exchange.

They’re there to ask for the security cam footage, but he refuses to show them. At the mention of a break-in, Kyu-tae beats around the bush to ask about Hyang-mi. Despite his concern, he can’t show them the footage because the camera is fake.

Sang-yeob tells the team to stop writing malicious comments online since the resident baseball star has been treating them well. Jong-ryeol bugs a pre-occupied Pil-gu, asking if he likes rib eye steak.

Aw, it seems like he wants to treat him to something nice and as such, is treating the whole team. Pil-gu lights up and asks for something else – marinated crabs.

Hand-in-hand, Pil-gu leads Jong-ryeol to Deok-soon’s restaurant, thrilled to bring her a herd of customers.

Yong-shik’s there, helping his mom out, and is pleasantly surprised to see Jong-ryeol again. Pil-gu sits between the two men and it turns into a bit of a dad competition. Yong-shik beats Jong-ryeol to the punch in giving the Pil-gu some crab.

As they eat, Jong-ryeol notices that Pil-gu has the same tastes as him – they both dislike carrots and cucumbers. Jong-ryeol confidently states that Pil-gu will hit at least 180cm the moment he hits high school, which makes Yong-shik laugh.

He asks Jong-ryeol what makes him say so, but of course, Jong-ryeol can’t give him the real reason. Instead, he scarfs down the rest of Pil-gu’s unfinished rice as naturally as a father would while Yong-shik watches with a thoughtful expression.

After lunch, Yong-shik overhears Jong-ryeol offering to cover the cost of the trip for the entire team as a scholarship. As he and Pil-gu to the Camellia, he asks if Pil-gu’s a left-handed hitter but Pil-gu rushes to hug his mom without answering. He’s over-the-moon about the trip, and seeing his excitement, Dong-baek asks why he didn’t want to go before.

She’s taken aback when Pil-gu matter-of-factly says he was worried about the money. Dong-baek grows silent when she learns that Jong-ryeol is fronting the cost for all the students.

Yong-shik is slicing radishes for Dong-baek when he learns that she has a best friend in the neighborhood – the toughest woman around town. Pil-gu is in great spirits but Dong-baek feels awful. She wants him to worry about little kid issues like ditching class to go to the arcade, not about their finances.

At his mom’s restaurant, Yong-shik is on radish duty again. He complains to his mom about how much kimchi she’s making but she responds by telling him that making kimchi is all about sharing.

She’s already set aside boxes of kimchi for his brothers and her bestie. Yong-shik’s laughter turns to shock when his mom says her bestie is Dong-baek, who’s on her way right now.

EPISODE 8

Deok-soon wants her bestie to meet her youngest son but he’s nowhere to be found…because he’s hiding under a counter. He barely holds it together as his mom tells embarrassing stories about him and describes him as being an “all or nothing” kind of guy.

Dong-baek muses that all Ongsan men must be wired the same and tells Deok-soon about a man she just met who’s all or nothing, and likens him to a grizzly bear. Deok-soon advises her not to get involved with men who are like bears. But Dong-baek reasons that some bears are pretty cute.

Speaking from experience, Deok-soon encourages Dong-baek to live her life for herself. Once her children are gone, she’ll just be an empty shell. Life as a single mom is lonely, so she urges her to find somebody to spend it with. Yoo-shik listens quietly, affected by his mother’s words.

Kyu-tae rolls up to offer Hyang-mi a ride and when they’re in the car together, he asks who else she respects. She says that if there were even three men she respected, she’d be living a much better life.

That answer makes him feel special, so he hands her coupons for water skiing and makes a cheesy dad joke about kissing. Ew. He wonders to himself if he’s being cool and Hyang-mi is amused that he’s trying to flirt.

Dong-baek asks Yong-shik to respect her and keep his distance as she heads to the market. She points out that he doesn’t know how awful it feels to be the center of rumors. He agrees — for about a second.

He figures that declaring to the world that he’s proud to like a woman as amazing as Dong-baek will shut everyone up.

This reminds her of a time she’d wanted to accompany Jong-ryeol to a wedding, but he didn’t want a dating scandal to erupt. She’d never been anyone’s pride. She sees Yong-shik in a new light as he shoots her a bright smile.

In the market, Yong-shik is keeping his distance as Dong-baek shops. To nobody’s surprise, the vegetable ajumma tries to rip Dong-baek off and Yong-shik steps in to complain. Led by Chan-sook, the ajumma squad arrives and tsk-tsks that his mother would be heartbroken to see him acting like this towards the women who helped raise him. Dong-baek removes herself from the situation and Yong-shik leaves the ajummas with a stern warning.

Already being scrutinized for everything she does, Dong-baek asks him to back off so she can live peacefully. He gets huffy at the fact that she doesn’t understand how he feels watching her be bullied. She scoffs that he has a knack for turning every conversation into a confession.

Deok-soon comes around and chides the ajumma squad for gossiping about her son but uses the opportunity to brag about how ambitious he is for dating a lawyer. The ajummas don’t break it to her that there IS no lawyer.

Dong-baek worries that people will think she’s seducing a young bachelor. She asks him to pretend not to like her, but he’s an open book – he can’t hide his feelings. Suddenly, his nostrils flare and his eyes get round. He’s in the zone and determined to ensure the town knows what’s up as he stomps back to the market.

He confronts Chan-sook with a public declaration of love, “Dong-baek isn’t the one seducing me, I’m the one trying to seduce her!” Chan-sook tries to get him to shut up and leave since his mom is inside the store behind her. She looks around nervously as he continues to yell with indignation that they have nothing to be ashamed of, he just likes her so much!!!

Deok-soon comes out and that’s how Dong-baek finally learns of the mother-son relationship. She worries about losing her best friend as Yong-shik follows his angry mother home.

Dong-baek downs some soju after the rough day and Jong-ryeol joins her. He can’t understand why she’s running a bar when it doesn’t suit her, but learns that he was the inspiration. We see that they were once very happy.

He’d showered her with kisses and praised her cooking, saying her dishes paired perfectly with soju. It was the first time that Dong-baek heard she was the best at something.

He’s in disbelief that he had that much influence on her, but as the only person in Dong-baek’s life, everything he said meant a lot to her. Now, she just wants to be left alone to make a living.

Jong-ryeol is upset that she’s not living well — she should have just stayed with him if she was going to end up like this. She asks him to ignore her but he can’t, especially now that he knows of Pil-gu’s existence.

He truthfully tells her that he hasn’t been okay all these years. Dong-baek admits that she thinks of him too, but she moved on and he should do the same.

He brings up “Ten Million Jong-ryeol” again and tells her he zoned out on March 12, 2012 – clearly a day of significance for them both. Later, Yong-sik finds him wiping away tears outside. Jong-ryeol warns him not to make Dong-baek’s life tougher than it needs to be and Yong-shik clocks that he refers to Dong-baek informally.

Inside, Dong-baek laments that she can’t face Deok-soon ever again and asks Yong-shik not to visit. He quietly asks if she cried. After hesitating, she confirms that she cried because she’s sad about losing her best friend and feels like a joke. She grew up as the only orphan in school, she’s the only single mother in town…she’s the only one who makes her own child worry about money.

Yong-shik gently tells her not to act weak; she’s lucky. She’s an orphan and a single mom who managed to raise a great son and run a successful business. On top of that, she’s diligent and kind. For all of that, Yong-shik says she deserves to be complimented and respected.

Dong-baek holds back tears as she thinks to herself that it’s the first time anyone has ever complimented her. He continues that she is the strongest, most admirable person he knows. This triggers the waterworks and she tells Yong-shik not to take her side or say that he’s proud of her. She sobs that he’s making her cry when she’s trying hard to stay strong. Dong-baek can’t get the words all the way out, but as she sobs, “You say that, but you’re just going to…”

Yong-shik declares that he’s not like Kang Jong-ryeol. He doesn’t care who Pil-gu’s dad is and will never make her or her son cry so she should just accept his compliments. She tells him to be careful, because what will he do if she really starts to like him?

Dong-baek narrates, “Can a person be another person’s miracle?”

We flash back to when Yong-shik was working hard, painting the Camellia’s walls. He looks back at someone and grumbles to himself that he could use some help. That someone is sitting at a table, wearing gloves and playing with a lighter.

  
COMMENTS

There’s a lot to dissect in this episode, but first – can we give a round of applause to Gong Hyo-jin? There’s just something about her that is so compelling to watch. You can’t help being drawn into her world, and she fully embodies each character she plays. She’s absolutely killing it here as the timid but low-key tough single mother. My heart hurt for Dong-baek as she broke down. I think most people can relate; it’s not the hurtful words that break you, it’s the words of support that leads you to become a sobbing mess. The fact that someone out there is saying the very words you need to hear just triggers tears.

Yong-shik may seem like a doofus but he’s actually quite introspective. Despite his initial infatuation being superficial, you can tell that he’s falling for her for all the right reasons. He’s not just spitting out empty compliments, he fully believes that Dong-baek is amazing with every fibre of his body. I love that he credits her for her successes. I am not 100% aboard this ship yet, but I’m sure it won’t take much more convincing.

Perhaps more so than the murder mystery, I’m curious about the history between Jong-ryeol and Dong-baek. The show seems to hint that Dong-baek initiated the breakup, which left both of them with a void in their hearts. Jong-ryeol definitely has some growing up to do, but I can see Pil-gu really benefiting from having him as a father figure and I enjoyed watching Jong-ryeol and Pil-gu bond. (But real talk: how does he spend so much time in Ongsan? Who’s taking care of his daughter?)

Speaking of parental figures, Deok-soon’s heart-to-heart with Dong-baek was touching. She has lots of love for her and I hope Dong-baek takes her advice to heart and lives life for herself. Dong-baek shouldn’t worry about losing her BFF; it’s likely that Deok-soon was more embarrassed about bragging to the ajummas than the fact that her son is chasing after a single mother.

The Joker kind of took a back seat in this episode, but they must be someone familiar to everyone in the neighborhood.. What compelled the Joker to erase the message? Is it because they don’t mean it anymore and want to take it back? Or that they want everyone to know that they’re watching and close by? I guess only time will tell.

Anyway, I am eagerly anticipating the day that the residents of Ongsan truly see Dong-baek for who she is, and accept her with open arms. She deserves to feel like she belongs for once in her life.

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