Crash Landing on You: Episode 11

by LollyPip

If it was fun watching our heroine try to adjust to life in North Korea, then it’s double-hilarious seeing her hero and his ducklings flounder in the excess of Seoul. But it’s not all fun and games as the enemy draws closer, and so does their inevitable parting…again.

 
EPISODE 11 RECAP

Jung-hyuk finds Se-ri near her apartment building, and she just stares at him in disbelief as he says that he’s been looking everywhere, since she never gave him her address. Her eyes filling with tears, Se-ri says that she hates dreams like this because she’ll be sad when she wakes up. Jung-hyuk assures her that this is no dream, and Se-ri dives into his arms. Oh his face… he looks like he’s come home.

Eventually Se-ri notices the scrapes on Jung-hyuk’s face, but he says he’s fine. He doesn’t tell her that, in order to get to South Korea, he’d had to crawl through an old gold mine tunnel that was nearly ten kilometers long (over six miles), and that at one point, it collapsed on him. He’d been at the ocean when he finally emerged, and had walked the rest of the way to Seoul.

Unfortunately, Jung-hyuk’s portrait pin of the “great leader” fell off his jacket at the tunnel, and it’s found and reported to the police. While investigating the area, they locate the tiny tunnel entrance.

Se-ri takes Jung-hyuk to a cafe and peppers him with questions until he asks her to stop so he can answer them. He says he didn’t defect and he’s not staying – he came because Chul-kang escaped and came to South Korea looking for her. He explains that once Chul-kang harms Se-ri, he’ll go after Jung-hyuk and his whole family, and makes it very clear that as soon as he stops Chul-kang, he has to return immediately.

Se-ri looks sad about that but she accepts the reality, though she latches onto the fact that Jung-hyuk’s job right now is to protect her. She says that he has to stay right by her side, then wraps her scarf around his neck to hide his face, saying that South Korea has fast internet, and the moment his face is caught on CCTV, it can be all over the world in seconds.

She takes him back to her place, where Jung-hyuk looks pretty freaked out by the obvious wealth displayed. Se-ri offers him something to eat, but all she has in her fridge is bottled water. Jung-hyuk gets right up close and wonders what she spends all her money on if not food.

She reminds him that her nickname is Picky Princess and that she never eats more than three bites of anything. Thinking of all the times he’s watched her pigging out, Jung-hyuk mutters, “I’ve never seen you eat less than three bites…” HAHA. Se-ri explains that that was a survival tactic, and hee, Jung-hyuk just smirks at her.

Elsewhere, the ducklings stand outside a fried chicken place, pitifully wondering if they can afford it. After figuring out that they need to talk like the locals, which means calling Man-bok “hyung” and giving him permission to speak banmal, Chi-soo suggests that they get some fried chicken. Since Man-bok is the hyung, it’s his job to make the final decision, and he’s faced with four sets of the saddest, most pathetic puppydog eyes you’ve ever seen.

Se-ri had the same idea and orders fried chicken delivered for Jung-hyuk. He offers her a piece, deadpanning that he was told that it’s the custom in South Korea to offer your host the first bite, HA. He makes Se-ri laugh, but her expression turns serious again as it hits her again that he’s really here.

Jung-hyuk asks how her family reacted when she returns home, and Se-ri lies her face off. She says that he was right and that they were all thrilled to see her, and that everything has been great, so he doesn’t need to worry about her once he goes home. Jung-hyuk doesn’t look like he believes her, but he nods and accepts her story.

The doorbell rings, and Se-ri tries to ignore it when she sees that it’s her brother and his wife. But Sang-ah remembers her key code so they let themselves in, so Se-ri quickly sends Jung-hyuk to hide in the next room. They walk in like they own the place, and Se-hyung says smugly that they know Se-ri was in North Korea while she was missing and that nobody believes her amnesia story.

He says that he’s the CEO of Queens Corp now, and he warns Se-ri not to try anything to make their father change his mind. But Se-ri continues to claim she remembers nothing, so Sang-ah plays the recording that Seung-joon sent them of his conversation with Se-ri in North Korea and says they have a lot more evidence.

Se-ri asks, if they knew where she was, why they didn’t try to get her home, and Sang-ah has the nerve to say that it was out of consideration for the family. Se-ri says there are three types of people you should never forget: people who help you when you need help, people who ignore you when you need help, and the people who put you in that situation.

Se-ri snarls that she’ll never forget the two of them, and Sang-ah wisely decides it’s time to leave. Se-hyung warns Se-ri to keep her mouth shut and be grateful she got home. On their way out, Sang-ah notices a pair of men’s shoes in Se-ri’s entryway.

When Jung-hyuk rejoins Se-ri, she asks him not to say anything because she’s too embarrassed. He says he won’t, then steps forward to hug her. Se-ri says this helps and she feels less angry, but Jung-hyuk says that he’s angry, so angry he almost ran out to confront Se-hyung and Sang-ah.

He tells Se-ri that there’s another person she should never forget — someone she likes, because only keeping hate in her heart will hurt her. She asks if that’s still true when the person she likes isn’t by her side, and Jung-hyuk nods.

The ducklings sit overlooking the city and marvel at the lights that stay on all night long (Joo-mok is especially entranced that Seoul really is like he’s seen in dramas). Man-bok says that his son would be able to study to his heart’s content with all this light, and Kwang-bum wonders where Jung-hyuk is right now.

They find a jjimjilbang (sauna) to spend the night in for a reasonable price. Kwang-bum brings them some food and says he didn’t even have to pay for it, and the others figure that the shop owner gave him free food because he’s so handsome, ha. Of course, when they scan their bracelets at check-out, they get a nasty shock — the bill for all the “free” food and services. Ouch.

Back in the North Korean village, the ladies get all dolled up in makeup and hanboks for the new year, to visit a fortune teller who’s known to be extremely accurate. Young-ae goes first, asking how to make her son study harder.

The fortune teller (cameo by Kim Sook) summons her spirit guide, a South Korean ghost. She suddenly begins speaking and acting like a little girl, and she says that Myung-sook’s husband (Man-bok) went far away. Myung-sook thinks he’s in Pyongyang, but the spirit says he’s much further than that, and that he can’t return.

Young-ae asks what she means, but the spirit tells her that she’s got a bigger problem. She wails in a frightened voice that there will be a bloodbath in the village, then she cries until Wol-sook gives her a cookie. Sure enough, just then the senior colonel, Young-ae’s husband, and several more officials who were in league with Chul-kang are dragged to prison.

CEO Jeon gets wind of it, and he wakes Seung-joon and tells him that their little business of hiding fugitives was busted and they have to leave. In the hotel hallway, CEO Jeon is caught by soldiers, and luckily Seung-joon hadn’t turned the corner yet so they don’t see him — but now he’s alone.

Jung-hyuk’s father re-reads the letter that Jung-hyuk left for him when he went to South Korea. The letter explains that Chul-kang killed Moo-hyuk and now he’s after the woman Jung-hyuk loves, and he promises to come home before the next company switch in a month. Director Ri thinks for a moment, then burns the letter.

Jung-hyuk’s mother is worried for Jung-hyuk, and Director Ri says that if it’s discovered that Jung-hyuk went south, he and the family are done for. His wife snaps that all he cares about is his career, and that if his position costs them another son, she’ll kill herself.

Se-ri has her lock recoded, and she insists that Jung-hyuk get a code of his own. She also suggests they go shopping and Seoul-ize his style a little. At the car, Jung-hyuk knocks on the hood and says it’s because animals hide in the engine for warmth in winter.

Just as Se-ri laughs that they’re in a parking garage, a cat runs out from under her car. HA, Jung-hyuk looks even more shocked than she does. Se-ri says she’ll be sure to do that from now on, but her expression changes suddenly and she admits that she made herself sad, since she’ll think of him every time she does it.

She says that while he’s there, they should refrain from doing anything to become closer emotionally, and not make more memories that will remind her of him. Jung-hyuk understands, and he says he’ll do his best.

At the store, Se-ri has Jung-hyuk try on several suits, and he looks increasingly drool-worthy in each. The store employee keeps fawning all over him, which makes Se-ri jealous. But then she tells Se-ri that Jung-hyuk was looking at her with a sweet expression, so Se-ri buys one of everything, hee.

Jung-hyuk nearly has a panic attack when he sees how much Se-ri is spending, but she smirks that she was telling the truth about being loaded. She takes him for a haircut then they head to her office, where she introduces him to Secretary Hong as her temporary bodyguard, Lee Hyuk. Secretary Hong assumes this means she’s dating again, since that’s the only time she uses a bodyguard, and PFFT, Jung-hyuk’s face.

In the elevator, Se-ri tells Jung-hyuk that she hasn’t dated that much (Jung-hyuk: “I didn’t ask.”) and that it was mostly because she didn’t have anyone else to do things with. Jung-hyuk rolls his eyes, but he softens when Se-ri says that she’s grown a lot more picky because of him.

The ducklings find Se-ri’s building, and it hits them that she really is as rich as she said. LOL, poor Eun-dong whines that he should have taken the hundred million won as his prize instead of the corn. When they try to go in and see Se-ri, they’re stopped by security, and they awkwardly backpedal out of there when asked for their IDs.

Dan meets some school acquaintances for lunch, who are very focused on their wealth and look down on Dan for not being married yet. One of the women is the one who saw Jung-hyuk and Se-ri at the hotel together, and she pouts that she’s just so worried that Dan will die alone.

Dan keeps her cool admirably and asks how the woman’s husband is doing, since he used to say he would die if he couldn’t marry her, LOL. It starts to rain, and the ladies simper over how their husbands will pick them up because they just love them so much. Out the window, they see a handsome man standing under an umbrella, and they crane their necks to admire him.

HA, it’s Seung-joon — Dan called him for a favor. Dan calmly says her goodbyes and leaves, and a few minutes later, her “friends” gape to see Seung-joon helping Dan into his car. He shoots them a smirk before driving off, leaving them twittering like flustered birds.

In the car, Dan snaps at Seung-joon in annoyance and asks if he has any candy, using a South Korean slang term. He asks where she heard it but Dan snaps that it’s not important. Unfortunately he hasn’t got any candy (cue a glare from Dan and a well-timed thunderclap, hee), and he looks properly terrified.

While Se-ri works, Secretary Hong invites Jung-hyuk to eat lunch with him, and Jung-hyuk narrowly misses seeing Chul-kang walking past in a security guard’s uniform. Secretary Hong talks about Se-ri’s habits, like how picky she is about her food, but Jung-hyuk remembers how voraciously she ate in North Korea.

On the drive home, he’s feeling pouty that Se-ri’s employees know more about her taste than he does. Se-ri says that he does know her taste best, because he’s exactly her taste, and Jung-hyuk can’t help but grin.

Dan agrees to let Seung-joon stay for a few days at the apartment that she and Jung-hyuk are supposed to live in after their wedding. As she turns to go, Seung-joon opens his suitcase — and LOL, it’s full of ramyun.

Dan condescends to stay and eat, and Seung-joon tells her not to do this with other guys because Do you want to eat ramyun? has a hidden meaning. Dan doesn’t understand and says she likes it, and Seung-joon nearly swallows his tongue and asks if she likes the ramyun… or maybe him? Ha, Dan just grins down at her bowl.

Seung-joon is so flustered by Dan’s mysterious smile that he can’t sleep that night. He decides to man up and calls her to ask, but she doesn’t answer, so he spends the rest of the night staring at his phone in case she calls back.

When Dan finally calls the next morning, Seung-joon pretends he doesn’t remember calling her like a giant dork. He says he needs to talk to her and asks her to come over, but Dan just hangs up, sending Seung-joon into a “did she hang upon me or did we get disconnected” emotional tailspin.

Meanwhile, Dan’s school “friend” has posted somewhere (does North Korea have social media??) that Dan’s engagement to Jung-hyuk was canceled because she’s having an affair with another man. Her mother shows it to Colonel Go, her uncle, who guesses that it’s “Alberto,” whom he met at the hotel.

They go to talk to Dan together, but Dan just says she’s busy and leaves. Dan’s mother decides to support her daughter if she really likes this other guy, so long as he’s not a swindler. LOL oops.

When Dan calls Seung-joon to say that she’s waiting outside, he runs to the balcony and stares down at her with a goofy smile on his face. Oh, this boy is toast.

Se-ri’s oldest brother Se-joon and his wife Hye-ji visit Se-ri’s mother to tell her that Se-ri was in North Korea while she was missing. Se-joon says that Se-hyung knew all along, and that he hid it in the hopes that Se-ri would never return home and he’d be named heir. He says that he found out from Manager Oh, Seung-joon’s informant, who’s back in Seoul right now.

When Se-ri and Jung-hyuk were shopping, Jung-hyuk had stopped to hold the door open for several people, and someone had filmed him and uploaded it online because of his dashing looks and manners. Se-ri is worried when she sees it and Jung-hyuk admits that he didn’t know people could do that.

Then he notices the comments and how everyone is complimenting him, and he gets drawn into reading how handsome people think he is. HAHA, he even makes Se-ri move over so he can scroll through the comments himself. He’s so preoccupied that he doesn’t see Chul-kang lurking just outside the office door.

He gets a call from an informant saying that they’ve arranged a meeting with Chul-kang, so he tells Se-ri that he has to go somewhere tonight. Se-ri doesn’t want to let him wander around alone, but Jung-hyuk says that the danger is the reason she can’t go with him.

He reminds her that as soon as he finds Chul-kang he has to go home, which means they might not see each other again. Se-ri understands, but she says that she wants to hear his voice again before he goes. She enters her number into his phone, and installs a locator app so they can find each other.

That evening, Jung-hyuk arrives at the arranged meeting place, but there’s nobody there. Jung-hyuk calls his informant and hears a phone ringing, so he follows the sound to find the phone sitting on a table in an empty room. He’s suddenly attacked from behind by several men, and is soon surrounded.

Se-ri works late, taking occasional breaks to watch the video of Jung-hyuk again, awww. She texts him to ask if everything is okay, then decides to go home. She passes Chul-kang in the hallway, not even looking at his face as she assumes he’s just a security guard.

She gets to the parking garage, where she knocks on her car’s hood like Jung-hyuk showed her. Because she’s standing in front of the car, she can see Chul-kang huddled in the back seat, so she slowly turns to walk away, pulling her phone from her pocket.

Chul-kang gets out of the car and Se-ri breaks into a run, and she has to leave her phone behind when she accidentally drops it. She manages to hide from Chul-kang in the guard booth, where she can watch him on the CCTV feeds. Soon Chul-kang spots the booth and moves closer, pulling a gun from his pocket, and Se-ri ducks in terror.

Jung-hyuk fights his way through his attackers and calls Se-ri, but she doesn’t answer, so he uses the locator app to see that she’s still at work. He calls again but Chul-kang answers, and he croons ominously that he’s with Se-ri. He reminds Jung-hyuk that neither of them can call the police, and tells him to stay on the phone and come see him.

When Jung-hyuk gets to the parking garage, Chul-kang says that if he tries anything, he’ll put a bullet in Se-ri’s head. Jung-hyuk growls that if Chul-kang harms Se-ri, he’ll kill him. He walks into Chul-kang’s line of sight and Chul-kang cocks the gun… then the lights go out.

Se-ri’s voice calls out to Jung-hyuk to run, that Chul-kang is lying. She’s not far from Chul-kang, hiding behind a pillar, and the way she’s yelling makes her voice echo. Loud footsteps rapidly approach Se-ri’s location and a hand grabs her… and whew, it’s Jung-hyuk.

EPILOGUE

Seven years ago in Switzerland, Se-ri had just happened to be in the area when Dan had arrived to see Jung-hyuk. They had ended up in the same little shop, and Dan had overheard Se-ri muttering to herself about needing something sweet, using the same slang word that Dan later says to Seung-joon.

Se-ri had loaded up with chocolate as she’d told Dan that it helps her mood when she’s angry or depressed. Dan hadn’t responded, but she’d grabbed her own armload of chocolate after Se-ri left, ha.

Later, Se-ri had taken Dan and Jung-hyuk’s picture at the bridge, and Dan had seen the way Jung-hyuk was looking at Se-ri. She’d stormed off, angrily shoving chocolate into her mouth.

 
COMMENTS

Oh boy, I was not expecting a confrontation with Chul-kang so soon. I doubt this is the end of it…Chul-kang will probably take off now that his plan has been foiled, and I’m sure that Jung-hyuk can’t go home before the ducklings find him, so there’s a lot more to do before the final confrontation. Plus, Jung-hyuk can’t leave before telling Se-ri he loves her! I totally understand why she asked him not to behave romantically, because it will just make their eventual parting that much harder, but she deserves to hear the words just once before he goes. Or better yet, don’t go!

As cute as Se-ri and Jung-hyuk are together, I gotta say that Seung-joon and Dan are my new favorite thing. I love how very confused Seung-joon is by his own behavior. He knows what he’s feeling, he just has zero control over himself and is completely unable to stop doing and saying stupid things. And I can see why it’s Dan — Seung-joon is very handsome and charming and he’s probably never had to work to impress a woman, and if there’s one thing Dan is not, it’s easy to impress. So when Seung-joon does earn a small smile from her or the pleasure of her company, he probably feels like he’s won a war, and that’s a very powerful feeling. She’s also very much in control, which makes Seung-joon feel like he has no control over the situation for once, and as a con man he’s usually calling all the shots. Add in the fact that Dan is strikingly gorgeous, and Seung-joon’s heart hasn’t got a chance.

And Dan is really coming out of her shell with Seung-joon… she’ll always be reserved, but for her, she’s really loosening up. I love how Seung-joon talks to her straight, so that even she can’t delude herself in the face of his logic. And in the same way that Dan being a challenge does it for Seung-joon, Seung-joon does it for her in the way that he’s obviously thrown off-balance by Dan. She’s only ever liked one guy, a guy who literally didn’t know she existed then ignored her for years after their engagement, so it’s got to be a heady thing for Dan to get so much attention and admiration from a handsome man. There’s something about knowing that you knock a man off his feet that makes a woman feel very powerful, and you can tell that Dan is feeling it by the way she deliberately keeps Seung-joon off-balance.

Back to Seoul, it’s fun watching the ducklings try to navigate this strange new world without any guidance, but they’re just so hapless and I want them to reconnect with Se-ri and Jung-hyuk soon. I can just imagine the scene at Se-ri’s opulent apartment, with ducklings everywhere and poor Jung-hyuk trying to keep them from destroying the place. But as cute as they are, I’m also getting a strong sense of foreboding that all of them won’t get home, especially since the fortune teller made that ominous prediction about Man-bok. I’m scared that he’s going to try to atone for Moo-hyuk’s death by giving up his own life to save Jung-hyuk… and while that’s noble and all, and I know it’s unrealistic, I just want everyone to get a happy ending.

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