I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day: Episode 4

by quirkycase

More stress is heaped on our protagonist today as she’s forced to face an old betrayal on top of her housing troubles, misadventure in the woods, and worries about her aunt. But she has more than her own problems to worry about. A crisis brings the town together as everyone works to prevent a tragedy. Dangerous situations have a way of bringing all kinds of feelings out into the open, which may turn out to be the catalyst some need.

 
EPISODE 4: The Old House in My Dream

Coming back from his cabin, Eun-seob is surprised to see Hae-won running through the forest. He’s even more surprised when she grabs him in a tight hug. She collects herself enough to pull away and apologize, explaining that she was lost and scared.

“It’s cold, isn’t it?” he responds. “Let’s go back down.” Still shaken, Hae-won grabs onto his arm as if afraid of being separated. He takes a step back to gently pull her hand away so he can grab her arm to lead her out.

Back in the bookshop, Hae-won heads upstairs while Eun-seob sighs in pent-up worry. Disregarding the effects of caffeine on sleep, the insomniac Eun-seob makes them some green tea. Hae-won shares that her mom would leave her home alone sometimes when she was little. She’d feel anxious on days when she’d wake up to an empty house, worrying that her mom wouldn’t come back.

Hae-won had that same feeling when she was looking for Eun-seob earlier. Even so, Eun-seob reminds her that she shouldn’t go into the mountains at night. It’s easy to get lost. As he heads to bed, she wonders why he fearlessly treks into the woods at night, then. “Because I’m familiar with it.” He cautions her against going into the woods alone that like again.

Alone in his room, Eun-seob looks bothered and listens for Hae-won heading to bed. He stares out his window as church bells chime.

At school, Hyun-ji provides Hwi with intel on her crush Yeong-soo. For a fee, that is. Hwi pays her from Eun-seob’s wallet which she stole. Hyun-ji shares that Yeong-soo loves to read novels and even hopes to be a writer. After Hyun-ji leaves, Hwi notices a worn picture of a young boy and a man in the woods drop out of Eun-seob’s wallet. Hmm…

Hae-won and Eun-seob are awkward around each other in the morning, but Eun-seob invites her into the city with him. Since they have a lot of laundry between them, he can’t just do it at his parents’ house per usual. An hour commute for a washing machine is intense.

Hae-won agrees to go, and they both look excited for their little laundry date. During the car ride, the keychain with “Goodnight Irene” on it catches Hae-won’s eye. She asks why he would’ve said, “I’m happy you came, Irene” while drunk if Irene is indeed his sister Hwi. Plus, it sounded like he was addressing a girlfriend. “It’s not Hwi, is it?” Eun-seob is saved by his ringing phone.

Bo-yeong leaves work right as Eun-seob and Hae-won pull up across the street. She sees them parking and goes over. Bo-yeong really doesn’t let being unwanted get in her way, huh? Hae-won is pestering Eun-seob about the Hwi/Irene thing, so he darts inside. Hae-won turns and sees Bo-yeong.

Meanwhile, Jang-woo is up in the mountains with his Hyecheon City Hall colleagues for their kickoff ceremony for the new year. Apparently, it’s a yearly tradition to start the year with a hike, which Jang-woo isn’t thrilled about. They head back down after pictures, but Jang-woo looks worried about his colleague, Min-jung, who doesn’t look well and is wearing raggedy sneakers to hike.

In the city, Hae-won and Bo-yeong go for coffee. Hae-won cuts right to the chase. Bo-yeong has been going around claiming it was a misunderstanding, so what exactly was the “misunderstanding?” Bo-yeong nervously explains.

In flashback, we see a classmate asking if the rumors of Hae-won being transferred because she got pregnant are true. Bo-yeong angrily denies that’s the reason. So what’s the real reason? Bo-yeong hesitates, and the girl accuses her of not being that close to Hae-won after all.

The other girl goes running to share the news after she learns the truth. The story spreads like wildfire through the school. Soon after, Hae-won overhears those three girls gossiping.

In the present, Bo-yeong argues that she only told that one girl Joo-hee. She did it to stop the awful rumors she was spreading about Hae-won. Uh, did she actually think the truth would be easier on Hae-won? Joo-hee had promised she wouldn’t tell anyone else.

Hae-won points out the hypocrisy since Bo-yeong made that same promise. Bo-yeong says she trusted Joo-hee. “I trusted you too,” Hae-won counters. Hae-won argues that false rumors would have been better than the truth. She couldn’t fight against the truth. Hae-won leaves.

Bo-yeong chases after her and wonders what next. Will Hae-won never forgive her? It wasn’t even entirely her fault, so why is she punishing her like this for one mistake? “You were always good at playing the victim in front of others, and you still are,” Hae-won observes. Bo-yeong yells after her, but Hae-won walks away without a backward glance.

In the car, Eun-seob starts to suggest going to see Myung-yeo, but Hae-won preempts his question, saying she doesn’t want to see her aunt. Instead, Eun-seob takes her to the pharmacy for headache medication. The pharmacist tells her Myung-yeo was just in asking for the same thing.

Right then, Myung-yeo returns for athlete’s foot ointment. A stressed Hae-won aggressively asks why she needs it, thinking she’s hiding another illness from her. Myung-yeo frustratedly explains it’s for Soo-jung. The pharmacist intervenes since they’re both raising their voices by this point.

Outside, Hwi rides up and sees Eun-seob in his car. While she’s harassing Eun-seob for money, Jang-woo calls. He tells Eun-seob something has happened. After listening, Eun-seob urgently asks where he is.

Geun-sang stops by the pharmacy asking for one hundred hand warmers. Someone went missing in the mountains, he explains. Ah, I bet it’s she of the improper hiking shoes. Yep, Geun-sang confirms it’s Min-jung. Myung-yeo and the pharmacist are both familiar with her in that small-town way. Hwi comes running in to share the same news.

Meanwhile, the police are interviewing Min-jung’s colleagues to figure out where exactly she was last seen. Eun-seob pulls up while Jang-woo, who seems to be coordinating the effort on the civilian side, is reporting to the cops. Eun-seob wonders how she got separated when they all came down together.

We see in flashback that Jang-woo had been the first to notice she was missing. A coworker told him Min-jung had fallen behind, so he’d started asking others if they’d seen her. Jang-woo tells Eun-seob she likely went missing 40 minutes before they’d finished the hike.

Eun-seob surmises that’s mid-way up the mountain. He notes that, with the many rescue points throughout, it should be easy to find her if she yells for help. Jang-woo worriedly recalls that she looked ill. Eun-seob emphasizes that they need to find her before nightfall when the temperature drops. Jang-woo points out that the sun is already starting to set.

The rescue team searches well after dark and still can’t locate her. Hae-won shows up with Myung-yeo and Soo-jung and looks emotional as she takes in the hectic scene. In the woods, Eun-seob goes off on his own search and discovers Min-jung’s shoe.

Eun-seob calls out to her and hears a clanging sound. We see her striking rocks together as she lies hurt on the ground. Eun-seob follows the sound.

Hwi comes up to Hae-won to see if they’ve found Min-jung yet. Hae-won asks if Eun-seob is with the police, but Hwi says he took a different route since he’s familiar with parts of the mountain no one else is. Hae-won worries that it’s dangerous, but Hwi laughs it off due to her brother’s familiarity with the area.

Hae-won heard it takes three hours to reach the summit, but Myung-yeo says that doesn’t apply to Eun-seob. Hwi nonchalantly says no one worries about Eun-seob, which upsets Hae-won. She gets indignant on his behalf that people just expect him to do this like it’s nothing.

Hwi smiles in amusement as Hae-won continues ranting that it’s dangerous for him too. Can’t he get hurt like everyone else? Myung-yeo turns in surprise as Hae-won gets more and more worked up. Hwi laughs that Hae-won sounds just like their mom, who is currently crying and smacking Jang-woo for getting Eun-seob involved.

Hwi tells Hae-won mountain climbing is Eun-seob’s specialty. But even she’s getting worried at how long it’s taking him. Just then someone yells, “We found her!” Everyone goes running towards Eun-seob who’s piggybacking Min-jung. She’s quickly loaded into an ambulance.

Hae-won heads toward Eun-seob, but his family gets there first. She takes a step back as she watches his mother hug him through tears and his father and sister affectionately pat him. Hae-won gives a small smile and leaves with Myung-yeo and Soo-jung.

Eun-seob goes home with his family that night, and his mom tells him to stop going around saving people. His dad reasons that no one else is as good in the mountains, but Yeo-jung cuts her husband off. Echoing Hae-won’s earlier sentiments, she says Eun-seob is a person like everyone else and could get hurt.

Yeo-jung says she’s going crazy, and Hwi doesn’t help by reminding her she said the same thing when she saw her recent grades. Eun-seob tells his mom he’s okay, but she leaves in a huff.

Hae-won stays at Soo-jung’s that night. Alone in her room, she remembers getting lost in the woods herself and Eun-seob finding her. She then thinks of him carrying Min-jung on his back down the mountain.

Eun-seob approaches his mom outside. He explains that it was faster and more comfortable for him to go alone rather than joining the rescue team. She instructs him to stop going into the mountains alone. “Don’t go to that house either.” She worries there’d be no one to save him if something were to happen.

But Eun-seob thinks his mom, dad, and Hwi together could save him. Yeo-jung won’t hear of it and tells him she’ll really be angry if he does it again. Hwi comes up, laughing that she’s already mad so what’s this about next time? They all go back inside for roasted sweet potatoes.

There’s another book club meeting full of warmth and comradery. While everyone listens to Hyun-ji read aloud, we cut to when Yeo-jung had slipped in to stare at Eun-seob’s sleeping face, gently touching his brow and tucking him in. After Hyun-ji finishes reading, “A Small Love Song” by Hwang Dong-kyu, little Seung-ho goes next and reads his selection, “Owl at Home.”

We see in a flashback—I’m assuming, although the timeline isn’t that clear—Hae-won stopping by her frozen house and taking out the letter from her mom. After some deliberation, she had put it back without reading it. At the book club meeting, it’s Jang-woo’s turn, and he chooses “Natasha, the White Donkey, and Me” by Baek Seok. Hwi comments that he must like foreigners too, based on the name Natasha.

Everyone laughs in confusion as she and Hyun-ji start talking about how popular foreigners are now. When Hwi starts ranting about Irene, Eun-seob gives her a “shut up” look. Everyone starts messing with Jang-woo, as usual, and Eun-seob is off the hook.

On his way out, Jang-woo informs Eun-seob that Min-jung wants to meet with him. A little too invested, Hae-won immediately asks, “Why?” Eun-seob and Jang-woo both stare at her for a second before Jang-woo responds she must want to thank Eun-seob for saving her.

Once they’re alone, Eun-seob hands Hae-won a bag, telling her to wear what’s inside. It’s a new pair of sturdy boots. She wonders why he got them for her, and he thinks back to finding Min-jung’s sneaker in the woods. He replies that the terrain in the countryside can get dangerous. In his awkwardness, he walks away before she can respond. “Where are you going?” she calls after him. “The restroom.” Ha.

Walking home, Geun-sang expresses relief that Eun-seob didn’t get hurt, as does Jang-woo. Hwi lets Jang-woo know her mother is “waiting for the right moment to kill you.” Heh. Jang-woo insists it was out of desperation that he called Eun-seob. Hyun-ji wonders if Jang-woo likes Min-jung, making him stammer his concern was of the humanitarian kind. Uh-huh.

Hwi jokes that her mom won’t really kill him, but she may stick some pins in a voodoo doll of him. They laugh, but Geun-sang understands why Yeo-jung is so upset. Everyone depends on Eun-seob in those situations, but he’s precious to his family, too.

Hwi changes the topic and wonders if Geun-sang was ever the number one student. He responds he wasn’t, as it’s incredibly difficult. Jang-woo gets smug and unsubtly calls attention to himself. Hyun-ji looks over and comments he’s famous for being number one all the way through school. Hwi suddenly recalls Jang-woo went to Seoul National University.

Jang-woo is ready to teach her anything. Calculus? English? But all she wants to know is what kind of girls top students are into. She specifies she’s talking about Korean, not foreign, girls. Pfft.

While Hae-won is out sweeping in her snazzy new boots, she notices two beer cans tucked into the eaves in the back of the shop. She takes them inside and sets them on the table where Eun-seob has fallen asleep. She drapes a blanket over him and gently brushes the hair off his forehead to reveal a band aid covering a cut he got in the woods.

“It must have hurt,” she notes while staring at his face. While memories of his loving family play, Hae-won says in voiceover that she’s envious of his warm family since hers is so cold. She recalls how his family rushed to him when he came off the mountain and is envious of how many people love him.

The next day, Jang-woo rides his bike to work and chats with people along the way. He even stops to help the delivery man when boxes fall off his cart. Min-jung spots Jang-woo and runs up to eagerly ask if he talked to Eun-seob yet. Jang-woo thinks back to the conversation Hae-won butted into and realizes he didn’t get a straight answer.

Min-jung dejectedly wonders if Eun-seob doesn’t want to have a meal with her, but Jang-woo quickly interjects that’s not it. In fact, he said he would. (Did he now?) She’s excited to hear that, since she’s so thankful to Eun-seob. Min-jung walks ahead while Jang-woo takes a phone call.

At the bookshop, Eun-seob slept through the night at the table. Noticing the blanket covering him, he calls out for Hae-won. But she’s currently in the city at the market. While she makes her way back in a taxi, a woman arrives at the bus stop.

An elderly man stops the woman as she makes her way down the dirt path and asks, “Aren’t you Myung-joo?” Oooh, it looks like Hae-won’s mom is in town. Hae-won arrives just then, and they come face to face. “Mom,” Hae-won calls from a distance.

 
COMMENTS

I figured we’d meet Hae-won’s mom at some point, but I didn’t think it’d be so soon. I wonder if she even knew Hae-won is currently in town; she didn’t look like she expected to see her. Being back in town with her aunt has made Hae-won revisit how her mom’s actions wreaked havoc on her life, so maybe it’s a good time for Hae-won to face her. For her to be free of her past, she can’t let it keep festering.

Bo-yeong’s “clearing things up” and non-apology was underwhelming. But what I found interesting is that she truly doesn’t get how badly she messed up. She was so eager to explain her side that she didn’t really listen to Hae-won’s. I think Hae-won is right that Bo-yeong plays the victim, although I don’t think Bo-yeong even realizes she does it. People like her can cause more devastation because they don’t hurt others on purpose, but they refuse to take responsibility for the pain they inflict regardless. All Bo-yeong needed to do was show that she understands she broke Hae-won’s trust and apologize for the pain she caused. She was young and made a mistake—I think Hae-won would’ve forgiven her if she’d sincerely apologized and showed remorse. Instead, she wanted absolution and to win Hae-won over to her side.

Hae-won’s anger at everyone expecting Eun-seob to put himself in danger was sweet. In such a short time, she’s already become so protective of him. Between her and Eun-seob’s mom, no one is going to get away with taking him for granted, that’s for sure. Eun-seob is so quiet that it’s easy for his needs to get overlooked. Even though Hae-won is also quiet and introverted, she’s much more assertive and confident than he is. And it’s obvious that she’s willing to fight not only for herself but for those she cares about, which clearly includes Eun-seob now.

We got to see more Jang-woo in today’s episode, which is always a plus. He seems like such a caring person. He’s always watching out for people and helping wherever he can. I suspect even his bringing Hae-won into the book club was to give her some friends and get her more involved. And with the Min-jung situation, he was the first to notice she wasn’t with the group and actively start looking for her. Although, like Hyun-ji suggested, there might be more to his paying attention to Min-jung than his usual kindness. He did seem awfully eager to make her happy, seeing as he committed Eun-seob to having a meal with her because she looked upset.

Oh, and what’s up with that picture in Eun-seob’s wallet? I’m guessing he’s the little boy, but the man didn’t look like his dad. Are we in for a birth secret? Of course, it could just be a friend or another relative, but with the dramatic backstory Hae-won got, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Eun-seob isn’t biologically related to his family. I feel like that cabin plays into things somehow. When his mom specifically asked him to stop going there, it seemed like there was more to it than just being worried about him in the mountains. Maybe I’m way off and it’ll be nothing, but there’s been so much emphasis placed on Eun-seob’s affinity for the mountains. That has to mean something, right?

 
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