Will You Have Dinner With Me: Episodes 25-26

by LollyPip

The exes are making things tense, and one of them finally does something that succeeds in getting between our sweet couple. It sets off a domino effect, sending one of our couple on a downward spiral that just gets worse in the next few days. Cut off from the one person who can comfort them, will they be able to recover?

 
EPISODE 25

Jae-hyuk talks to Hae-kyung about how his father never accepted him. He starts to scratch his neck nervously as he says that he thought nobody would be sad if he died, but then he met Do-hee. Hae-kyung stops him there and offers to set him up with a different doctor, but Jae-hyuk insists that only Hae-kyung can understand how he feels about Do-hee.

He mentions the other night when they were both at Do-hee’s house, and Hae-kyung’s head snaps up. Jae-hyuk knows perfectly well that Do-hee hasn’t told Hae-kyung what really happened that night, but he’s all innocence as he says that he heard Do-hee send Hae-kyung away.

You can see the fury slowly welling up in Hae-kyung’s eyes, as Jae-hyuk says gleefully that he was there because he missed Do-hee so much. Jae-hyuk continues with a manic gleam in his eye, “See, Dr. Kim? Do-hee will protect me whatever I do, just like that night, because Do-hee loves me!” He ends on a scream, and with a curse, Hae-kyung stands and punches Jae-hyuk in the face.

Having been tipped off by Geon-woo Do-hee arrives at the clinic just in time to see Hae-kyung literally kicking Jae-hyuk out of his office. Jae-hyuk spots Do-hee first and drops the swagger, going limp and whining her name. Jae-hyuk starts to go to Do-hee, but Hae-kyung stops him with a warning hand.

Before Hae-kyung can say anything to Do-hee himself, a patient in the waiting room starts to have a panic attack, so he goes to help her. Do-hee grabs Jae-hyuk and yanks him outside, and by the time Hae-kyung follows them, they’re already riding away in a taxi together. Jae-hyuk starts to give the driver his address, but Do-hee tells him to take them to the police station.

Outside the police station, Jae-hyuk puts on his best repentant expression and apologizes to Do-hee for becoming “that guy.” She tries to keep firm, but her resolve crumbles until she crouches, grips her head in her hand, and screams in frustration. Jae-hyuk just stand there watching impotently as she sobs.

Eventually she gets hold of herself and calls Geon-woo to come to the station. She asks him not to tell anyone where she is, but the whole office just heard him blurt out, “Police station?!”, so he fibs that she’s at a bar near the police station. That upsets So-ra and Ah-young, thinking that Do-hee might be day-drinking alone.

Meanwhile, No-eul discusses the article that’s being written about her, which they’re purposely turning into a story about her famous first love. No-eul thinks about how Geon-woo yelled at her that Hae-kyung is with Do-hee now, and that she and Jae-hyuk are getting in the way.

He’d asked why she’s doing this when she knows there’s virtually no chance, but all she could say was that she loves Hae-kyung. That just sent Geon-woo into gales of dry laughter, reminding her that he himself gave up Hae-kyung when he loved him because Hae-kyung loved her, and he wanted the person he loved to be happy.

He’d accused No-eul and Jae-hyuk of having no conscience, and no interest in seeing Hae-kyung and Do-hee actually happy. No-eul had retorted that Hae-kyung was happy when he was with her, and again Geon-woo had laughed incredulously, deciding that there’s no point in trying to reason with her. Now No-eul asks Reporter Kim not to publish the planned article, promising him a big, heartbreaking scoop in exchange.

Hae-kyung ends up at 2N Box, where he tells Ah-young that there was an incident and asks if she knows where Do-hee might be. She says that Do-hee isn’t stupid and suggests they give her some time, so Hae-kyung heads to Do-hee’s building to wait there.

Geon-woo finds Do-hee and Jae-hyuk still sitting outside the police station. Do-hee tells Geon-woo that she intended to report Jae-hyuk for stalking and trespassing, but instead she tells Geon-woo to take his cousin, promising to report him if she sees him again. Jae-hyuk meekly goes with Geon-woo, who calls Hae-kyung to let him know that he has Jae-hyuk and that Do-hee left alone.

She walks around aimlessly for a while, as we hear Hae-kyung say in voiceover: “Nobody can put their past behind as if nothing happened. I’ll do my best to make the present more valuable.” Do-hee thinks, I’m scared, because I value my present too much. Because I can’t erase my past.

Hae-kyung is glad to see his old sunbae when Keanu finds him at the convenience store. They have a drink and discuss Jae-hyuk, who Hae-kyung believes has borderline personality disorder, anxiety, and delusional disorder. Hae-kyung slurs that he punched Jae-hyuk, a patent, and Keanu quips that if he hadn’t he’d be a deity, not a doctor, ha.

In no mood to feel better, Hae-kyung beats himself up for letting Do-hee leave instead of taking care of her. He admits that he was angry that Do-hee lied to him, though he understands that she wasn’t covering for Jae-hyuk. He says that he’s always been understanding of patients in similar situations, but with Do-hee, he’s angry, then he misses her, then he hates her.

Keanu agrees that he’s experienced the same thing, that he was able to understand patients but that when it happened to him personally, it felt different. But Hae-kyung has passed out on the table, and Keanu gets the giggles thinking about one “quack” doctor counseling another “quack” doctor.

Do-hee finally comes home and sees Hae-kyung drunk, so Keanu leaves them alone. Do-hee whispers an apology and thinks about the night she took him to all the places she used to go with Jae-hyuk:

“If I took him to another place… would things be different now? Or what would be different now if I never shared the traces of my past? If I never shared my rock bottom in the first place, how different would we be now? If he never knew about my past breakups… then would it be okay for me to miss him right now?”

In the morning, Hae-kyung wakes up on his own couch, with Keanu asleep in the chair. He vaguely remembers Keanu piggybacking him home, though he’d been sure that he’d heard Do-hee’s voice in his sleep.

Do-hee takes the day off work, promising to explain things to Ah-young later. Her fridge is empty, and when she steps out to go shopping, Hae-kyung is standing on her porch. He nervously invites her to breakfast, but instead she has him come inside and makes whatever instant food she has.

She’s a little embarrassed, but Hae-kyung beams at their first meal cooked by her. Awww, he’s so sweet. She starts to talk about Jae-hyuk, but Hae-kyung stops her, saying that Geon-woo explained everything. He says it’s okay, but Do-hee argues that it isn’t.

Do-hee says that Hae-kyung doesn’t deserve this and that their relationship is a mess, and she thinks things would have been better if they’d gone their own ways, never knowing each others’ names. She admits that she’s having regrets, and that she feels very uncomfortable eating with him right now.

Nearby, Ah-young shows up for her 8 a.m. meet-up with Keanu, who tells her that he was drinking last night with Hae-kyung. He says that Hae-kyung is an old hoobae from med school, but she’s not thrilled at the idea that KEanu is a doctor. She cringes that she hates psychiatrists the most, and Keanu lets loose a nervous MWAHAHAHA.

While Do-hee sits at her table alone, crying, Hae-kyung hangs out near her porch. No-eul’s show (on yoga? She’s literally just lying on the floor) is boring the watchers to sleep, and Jae-hyuk sleeps the day away in Geon-woo’s studio.

Geon-woo needs to go out, so he calls Hae-kyung to ask if it’s okay to leave Jae-hyuk alone. Hae-kyung asks him to wait, and he sends Keanu to keep an eye on Jae-hyuk.

EPISODE 26

When Hae-kyung returns to the office, he dismisses Byung-jin to brood over Do-hee not wanting to eat with him. He remembers that he was the one who originally said they shouldn’t force themselves to share meals when they don’t want to.

Do-hee goes to see her mom, who senses that something is up, since Do-hee never visits her for no reason. Mom mentions that she went to see the doctor that’s on Do-hee’s show, and it only takes a minute for Do-hee to put the clues together — her mother is the patient Hae-kyung joked about, who doesn’t want her daughter dating a guy like Hae-kyung.

Hae-kyung’s patient Jin-seob brings his new fiancee to meet his doctor. Jin-seob is worried because his bride-to-be is new to the country and unused to Korean food, so he’s learning to make Vietnamese food so that she can feel more comfortable. Awww. Seeing them only makes Hae-kyung sadder that Do-hee felt uncomfortable eating with him, and he has to force himself to eat the Vietnamese food that Jin-seob brought to share.

Ah-young tells Jung-hwan to take over Do-hee’s show this afternoon, which will be his debut as a PD. For today’s theme, he has the show host eat smelly foods like durian, fermented skate, and stinky cheese. Ah-young squeaks that it’s a terrible idea because the crew is grossed out and the viewers can’t even smell anything, and she accuses Jung-hwan of being as bad as Do-hee, hee.

Jae-hyuk finally wakes up and Keanu offers him some porridge. He’s worried that their confrontation led to the incident at the clinic, but Jae-hyuk says it has nothing to do with Do-hee and everything to do with his father. Keanu agrees that Jae-hyuk’s abandonment by his father turned into obsession for Do-hee, and Jae-hyuk blows up, asking why loving Do-hee is an illness.

Keanu explains that the love turned poisonous, which created Jae-hyuk’s illness. Jae-hyuk denies it and orders Keanu to get out, but then he starts to cry and says that he thinks he does have an illness in his heart. He asks if he can get better with treatment, but he continues to insist that his love for Do-hee is real. Keanu only says gently that neither of them should live like this anymore.

Do-hee is still hanging out uselessly at her mom’s house, until Mom tells her to go home if she’s just going to mope like this. HAHA, shoe’s on the other foot now, isn’t it, Mom? They go to an arcade to blow off some steam playing Dance Dance Revolution, and they call So-ra and Ah-young to meet them.

No-eul shows up at Hae-kyung’s clinic and spots a new sign on the desk, stating that he’s only taking patients by reservation for personal reasons. He’s there, and she tells him that she’s giving up on him. She admits that she saw him on the night of the workshop, when he’d returned and had kissed Do-hee.

She says she’d thought about making a scene, but she’d realized it wouldn’t work. She advises him not to hold in his emotions in order to to be nice like he did with her, then she leaves. She almost breaks down in the street, but I honestly don’t care.

Hae-kyung is waiting when Do-hee finally goes home, but after she gets over the initial shock, she tries to walk right past him. He speaks up, telling her to stay safe and vowing to make it comfortable for her to eat with him again. He asks her not to worry and to wait for him, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder before he goes.

Writer Lee complains that Hae-kyung hasn’t brought Do-hee to see her again, so he awkwardly promises to bring her after Writer Lee’s surgery. She jokes that he’s a bad liar and that he gets that from her, because his dad was a great liar. She tells Hae-kyung to cheer up, able to read on his face that there’s a complicated reason Do-hee isn’t here. She says not to lose Do-hee or he’ll regret it, and to bring her next time.

It’s time for her surgery, and she admits to Hae-kyung that she’s scared. She says there’s something she still needs to tell him, but he says comfortingly that she can tell him later.

Do-hee tries to negotiate for a few more days off, and Ah-young blocks all of her excuses but lets her have the days anyway. Do-hee uses the day to clean her apartment, unaware that Hae-kyung is sitting at the hospital, waiting for news of his mother. Byung-jin stays with him, and at one point a nurse hands Hae-kyung a note, saying that Writer Lee asked her to give it to him after her surgery started:

I have been a writer my whole life, but this letter is the hardest thing I have ever written. No word and no sentence can describe how I feel now. If this is my last letter to you, I was afraid I would never have a chance to tell you this. I’m sorry that I lived my life forgetting that you’re the most important person to me. I love you. To my son who is the most important person to me, Hae-kyung.

Jae-hyuk is still at the studio, much calmer now, when Geon-woo returns. Geon-woo steps out for a minute to get them some coffees, but when he comes back, Jae-hyuk is gone.

The doctor comes out to speak to Hae-kyung, and unfortunately it’s not good news — Writer Lee didn’t make it through the surgery. The floor drops out from under Hae-kyung, and all he can think about is how scared she was, and how she needed him. He sinks into a chair, still clutching her letter, and he starts to sob.

 
COMMENTS

Geez, this episode just came at poor Hae-kyung with both barrels, didn’t it? Do-hee takes a step back for reasons that have nothing to do with him, and not only that, but she really got him where it hurts — saying that she feels uncomfortable eating with him. Eating together is something Hae-kyung finds so meaningful that not only does he model his career on it, but his and Do-hee’s entire relationship is based on eating together, so it’s a huge blow. He’s got to deal with the guilt of treating a very sick patient abusively because of his own personal feelings, and now his mother, who he was just beginning to reconcile with, is dead.

This is the first time that Hae-kyung and Do-hee have had a real disagreement, regarding Do-hee’s not telling Hae-kyung that Jae-hyuk broke into her home. Yet I’m still impressed by how they handle things — they get upset and lash out, but they do still understand each other. Hae-kyung trusted that Do-hee wasn’t covering for Jae-hyuk when she lied, and she turned around and became very honest with him, even though it was difficult. One thing I think is very telling about Hae-kyung is the way he always waits outside her house, especially now that we know that Jae-hyuk used to always let himself in to wait for her. Hae-kyung respects Do-hee’s boundaries to a fault, but I do think No-eul was right to tell him that that’s not always the best thing to do. In their relationship, his extreme respectfulness resulted in No-eul feeling like he didn’t care enough to fight for her, so I’m glad he took her parting advice and didn’t let Do-hee have all the control in whether they saw each other again — he spoke up for what he wanted, and told her how he felt. Personal growth, yay!

I’ve resisted commenting on No-eul for the last few episodes because she’s just so useless… useless to the plot and useless to the viewers’ interest. When she said that Oh, Hae-kyung was happy when he was with her, as if that justifies her chasing him despite being told multiple times that he’s not interested and he’s with someone else now — I mean, how stupid can a person be? So if someone was happy with you at one time in their life, you can hurt them however you want, leave them for years, and they’re obligated to just take you back when you decide you want them again? What kind of grown adult thinks this is in any way reasonable? It’s like watching a train wreck, waiting to see what ridiculous thing No-eul will do next and what twisted, nonsensical logic she’ll use to justify her behavior to herself. I hope she means it that she’s giving up on Hae-kyung, but I doubt it, since she promised that reporter a big scoop.

As cute as Hae-kyung and Do-hee are together, and as eager as I am for them to reconcile and get back to being adorable as soon as possible, I admit that I find Jae-hyuk’s storyline compelling. A lot of that is because I’ve always had a lot of interest in psychology, and a lot is because Lee Ji-hoon is really yanking at my heartstrings. He portrays Jae-hyuk’s psychosis so well, to the point that I hope he’s okay personally, because playing characters like this can be traumatic as an actor if you aren’t careful. But if he pulls it off, I think this role could bring him fully into A-list actor territory, because his performance here is just so good. He appears dark and menacing one moment, then pathetic and weak the next, and he flips back and forth so fast I can barely keep up. It’s difficult to tell if Jae-hyuk is even being truthful when he admits that he needs help, or if he’s just playing the part he thinks people want to see, so that he can go back to his attempts to manipulate Do-hee. Unfortunately, I still feel like Jae-hyuk is a danger to Do-hee and Hae-kyung, and I don’t just mean to their relationship… I mean, he’s a danger to their lives.

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