May I Help You: Episodes 9-10
by Unit
We are welcomed into the second half of the show by confessions and rejections. Romance is in the air, but past trauma, self-doubt, and clingy exes join in the race to tear our lead characters apart.
EPISODES 9-10 WEECAP
Welcome back from the week-long hiatus. Again. Am I the only one who had to scan the previous weecaps to give myself a refresher on what’s happened so far in the drama? Lol. Anyway, we left off on the camping trip where Tae-hee told Dong-joo about his brother’s accident.
Tae-hee wishes to see Joon-ho one last time to apologize, because he believes his brother resents him. But from Dong-joo’s interactions with ghosts, she knows they don’t resent the people they cared about while on earth, and she tells him so. And it’s kinda sad how she comforts him with knowledge she gleaned from her first ghost, without connecting the dots that the kid ghost and Tae-hee’s brother are the same person.
I feel bad for Chung-ha who was collateral damage in the aftermath of Joon-ho’s death, but there’s a big difference between her relationship with Tae-hee and his friendship with Dong-joo. Unlike Dong-joo who is patient with Tae-hee and doesn’t pressure him into revealing more than he’s willing to share at a particular time, Chung-ha is needy and she puts her immediate emotional needs above Tae-hee’s feelings. So it’s no surprise that such a one-sided relationship like that is bound to wear the other party out.
Tae-hee finally opening up to Dong-joo is another milestone crossed in their friendship, and they both return from the trip in high spirits — so high that Vincent can spot the change in their relationship from a mile away. And this development gladdens him as he was worried about Tae-hee’s feelings on going camping with another same-aged kid as his brother.
Tae-hee’s happiness doesn’t get past Chung-ha’s mom when she spots him out on an errand, and Mom gets upset because how can he look so happy when her daughter is miserable? But it’s not like she readily accepted their relationship in the first place. Mother and daughter get into an argument over Tae-hee, and Chung-ha moves out of the house and temporarily into the Dime a Job building. But Tae-hee would rather sleep in the office than under the same roof as Chung-ha.
Chung-ha goes after Tae-hee, but he reiterates the end of their ten-year relationship (wow, that’s a long time!), but she assumes their breakup stems from Tae-hee blaming her for reviving the truck driver without knowing the accident victim was his brother. Oh! So that’s why she asked Tae-hee last week if she should unplug the driver’s life support. Like that will undo everything that happened. Pfft. Tae-hee maintains that it wasn’t her fault for doing her job as a doctor, but she still cannot accept the breakup because she needs a more concrete reason to do so.
The real issue here is that Joon-ho died on his way to deliver Tae-hee’s proposal ring for Chung-ha, and Tae-hee cannot in his right mind continue a relationship with that same woman. While he doesn’t divert the blame to her, Tae-hee still chooses to keep his previous proposal plans a secret from Chung-ha, just as he has chosen to not forgive himself and live in the shackles of his guilt. I can understand breaking up with Chung-ha to an extent, but I still feel she deserves to know exactly why their relationship had to end.
Anyway, Chung-ha refuses to give up on their sunken ship, and declares her aim to win Tae-hee back in front of Dong-joo with a: “Tae-hee is nice to everyone.” Okay, and? “How long is your lease? I plan to move in after you leave.” Tsk. Staking claim to a territory that has since moved on? I admire the effort, but unfortunately, her claim activates a sense of inferiority in Dong-joo, and Dong-joo starts to think she’s not good enough for Tae-hee.
So-ra’s crush on Il-seob mirrors Dong-joo’s situation with Tae-hee — especially since Il-seob’s ex is back in the picture. And while So-ra is hilariously excited at the prospects of being in a love triangle, Dong-joo is pissed at her friend. In reality, she’s just annoyed at Chung-ha’s arrival in their lives. But when her latest ghost client regrets not being able to confess to her own crush while she was alive, Dong-joo decides to take the leap.
Dong-joo pulls the wrist-grab trope on Tae-hee (a win for the K-drama ladies), and confesses her feelings for him. Unfortunately, the swoon-worthy moment dissipates just as quickly when Tae-hee denies having feelings for her. But the pretty little liar is not fooling anyone since he goes on to tell Chung-ha’s mom that he likes someone else, as he turns down the clinic she offered him in exchange for getting back together with Chung-ha. He’s really serious about not returning to practice as a doctor, huh?
On the bright side, there is no end to the scheming of uncles in order to get their niblings together. And when a bride with no family members needs to hire friends to attend her wedding, Father Michael and Vincent are only too happy to send Dong-joo and Tae-hee to pose as her friends. Unfortunately, Dong-joo’s ex is a colleague of the groom’s, and he recognizes both of them. Tae-hee begs the ex to just go with it, but when the jerk makes snide remarks about Dong-joo’s job, Tae-hee replies with his fists.
The scorned ex goes on to reveal the truth to the other guests, and the bride gets a harsh scolding from her in-laws for lying about her background. Thankfully, the wedding isn’t cancelled as the groom admits to Tae-hee that he already knew about his wife’s background. He only went along with her ruse because he wanted to protect her, and now he regrets not telling his family the truth about his wife sooner.
In order not to do something that he will regret, Tae-hee decides to stop running from his feelings as well. He tells Dong-joo that he likes her too, and he reinforces his confession with a kiss. Squee!! My DongHee ship has officially sailed! I absolutely love the slow buildup of their romance and the sincerity of their confessions (and the kiss). They’ve really earned this relationship, and I couldn’t be any happier for them.
Poor Hae-an, though. He already got his heart broken after Dong-joo turned his feelings down, and it was really funny to watch him sob his heart out as he threatened to kill the bastard Dong-joo has feelings for. Heh. Fair warning, Tae-hee — now that Hae-an has been promoted to detective, he will sniff you out soon, so make sure to sleep with one eye open.
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Tags: Hyeri, Jun, Lee Kyu-han, May I Help You, Song Deok-ho
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1 latebloomer
December 2, 2022 at 3:41 PM
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I thought it was a little entitled of Tae-hee to swoop in for a kiss in the same second as his apology. It would have been nice if he waited for Dong-joo to forgive him. The kiss itself was squee-worthy, but under the circumstances, a wee premature.
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2 miso
December 2, 2022 at 4:12 PM
I'm confused about the Il-seob thing. Isn't that woman his sister? I thought So-ra was just confused about their relationship.
I don't know what happened with Chung-ha. After keeping her on screen for most of Ep. 9, she was sent away with a "I like someone else"? Somebody please have an actual conversation with this girl!
I'm glad Tae-hee accepted his feelings but the kiss did not seem earned.
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Britney
December 2, 2022 at 4:35 PM
Oh the pitfalls for guys being called "oppa" strikes again haha
To be honest, I didn't quite understand their relationship either because I thought she was some kind of leech (sorry, I really couldn't think of a nicer word) who always asks him for money and this time she happened to use her kid. It wasn't clarified any for me when her father showed up to berate him because to me it seemed like he was saying just association with a funeral director was enough to randomly make the kid sick.
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Unaspirated
December 4, 2022 at 9:35 AM
They never made Il-seob's relationship with her explicit (as far as I know) so it's fair to be confused. I just assumed she was someone he felt connected to, for whatever reason, and was (and am) confident the baby wasn't his. But then last week when her dad showed up, it seemed like it wasn't also his dad, and then Dong-joo helpfully explained the situation for us this week haha! There certainly are a lot of clingy exes in this show.
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3 Jingbee
December 2, 2022 at 4:58 PM
Who would have thought that an underrated , quiet show like this could deliver the feels. It has been a long-time since I caught myself giddily smiling because of the OTP. The actors have greatchemistry, and them falling in love makes sense. I also love the match-making uncles.
But more than that, the way the show does it's episodic stories featuring Dong-joo's clients was done right. The stories may be heartbreaking but not stretched too much , and not contrived like some other similar stories. I am actually impressed by the high-schooler's story. The show could have chosen to milk the sad sick girl story, but they did not. It lasted probably just about 10 minutes total, but it was poignant. That the boy thought she left for the US instead was a good ending to a "what could have been" sob story. Also, the side story about the bride and groom was also nicely done - it, too, could have turned into a makjang side story but it did not. In the end, their story ended there with us knowing that this couple will work things out. And their stories' connection to our OTP's own stories are integrated well. So far, this show is doing a good job, despite the lack of hype.
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Unaspirated
December 4, 2022 at 9:39 AM
I was really loving all the parallels in everyone's stories this week too. That's one of my favorite storytelling devices lately, and it was done so well here. You could tell Dong-joo wasn't actually mad at So-ra (maybe a little exasperated) for going after Il-seop, she was frustrated at her own situation with Tae-hee. And both of the ghosts' stories worked so well to clarify things for our leads, but it didn't feel forced. It felt totally normal to look at a situation and relate it to the thing that is taking up so much of your attention. I thought the whole thing was really well done.
And YESSSS to the matchmaking uncles. They are so adorable!
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4 Britney
December 2, 2022 at 5:31 PM
I don't know where to start. This is the first drama I've watched that had its airing interrupted multiple times and to be honest, it hurts the momentum for me a little. I have to actively remember to watch it after these breaks and I even forgot how Chung Ha came back into Tae Hee's orbit.
My subtitles said that Chung Ha said it was fate her and Tae Hee came together after 10 years. The "after" made me think they knew each other (possibly dated), separated for a period of time and then reunited (continuing their relationship) after 10 years. When Chung Ha spoke to Dong Joo, it seemed as if they dated continuously for a decade. So I am a bit confused.
So I get that Chung Ha is hurting but her clinginess is just irritating to watch for me. He's repeatedly said they were over and she takes it upon herself to just stay in his place after a fight with her mom? Then she tried to stake a claim on him by confirming a dinner reservation under *his* name in front of Dong Joo after Tae Hee had already said not to do stuff like that again when she had him come to lunch with her (which he didn't eat). He's not giving her any false hope or mixed signal; he's said it as clearly as humanly possible with his mouth and body language that he doesn't want to be with her and even though her mother was harsh, she made a very valid point of Chung Ha being really pitiful clinging to someone who doesn't want to be with her. Again, I get that her feelings are hurt and she loved him deeply so it's hard to just cut off her emotions to him like her mother makes it sound like she can do but Chung Ha's actions are doing no one any favors.
I'm not sure if Tae Hee told her the full story that would've made her feel any better. I can totally see her just saying "so that means you wanted to marry me. We can get back to that, no matter how long it takes!" rather than he broke up with her because seeing her just makes him feel bad and she's not a comfort to him.
Plus Chung Ha has her own abandonment/insecurity issues which as has been mentioned makes her needy, entitled, and an emotional sponge but not really able to be a source of support for Tae Hee.
Speaking of insecure people, Dong Joo's ex was so ugh to me. All I could think was "why did she date him?". The only thing I could come up with was she must've felt some kind of lonely and insecure herself because the dude is so trash. According to my subtitles, he didn't just out them for being hired to be at the wedding, he screamed it was a marriage scam in the hopes it would ruin the wedding. And then he said Tae Hee brought it on himself by being there. What?! The guy just kept pushing especially after he saw he was making Tae Hee angry and for me, the guy was the epitome of a troll. He just kept needling because he felt jealous that she moved on from him (with someone objectively better). Oh he's so trash!
Once again, I am a fan of the uncles haha. Vincent repeatedly made me...
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Britney
December 2, 2022 at 5:33 PM
...laugh or smile especially when he was listening to Han An's recount of the rejection as he looked between him and Tae Hee haha.
Sidenote: I kinda wish there were something, whether it be an epilogue or internet extra, of him learning about and reacting to the fight haha
I liked the apology Tae Hee gave to Dong Joo as well as their kiss though when I saw it, I knew there would be people who wouldn't like it or have issues with it.
And now I'm wondering if giving a break up is a service they won't be offering in addition to the no illegal acts.
I don't think it's going to be smooth sailing for Tae Hee & Dong Joo even though they've now put themselves out there but I do hope for some cute moments before Chung Ha and/or her mom do something to smash their giddy happiness bubble. Oh and I hope they finally get to eat together haha
I've never seen something where it was so hard for two people to follow through with eating together.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
December 2, 2022 at 6:05 PM
I think the big problem with Chung-ha is that she’s so unrealistic. Yes, I know, this is a drama with ghosts and someone who can speak with them, but most of the characters have settled into being ‘real people’ within the framework of the show. And then there are caricatures that seem to belong to a different drama altogether: CH and her mother seem to have timewarped here from the early 2000s. CH has the high-handedness and oblivious self-absorption of an old-school chaebol ice princess but it’s incompatible with being an apparently caring and competent doctor. Showing up at a hostile ex’s door with a suitcase after 3 no-contact years? Grabbing him from behind and literally clinging to him? The mom backstory isn’t strong enough to support that behavior and it isn’t believable. So-ra with her middle school crush antics is also a bit out of place. I blame the writers/PD.
The uncles plotting to get TH and DJ together, with an assist from Dad, was the best part of this week’s episodes. The rest was a little underwhelming, despite the kiss. The drinks in the confessional continue to crack me up.
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latebloomer
December 2, 2022 at 6:26 PM
Fr. Michael is the best. He just shines in every scene.
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Britney
December 2, 2022 at 6:59 PM
Oh they've been broken up for years? I thought it was months. If it's been years, that's even worse.
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bloomingtide
December 3, 2022 at 5:08 PM
Yes, the accident happened in October 2020, after which he broke up with her and left Seoul for his military service. The drama starts in Mid May 2022 (DJ's birthday is on May 24th which is episode 2) and the current date in the show is now end of June/Juli 2022, so it has been over two years since their breakup. I made a timeline list over at MDL, if anyone needs it.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/il-dang-baek-butler/82885-timeline-list-of-may-i-help-you-spoilers
:)
Moriaelini
May 19, 2023 at 10:48 PM
Agree with you. Chung Ha’s biggest issue, for me, is her selfish way of approaching the whole situation. She seems most concerned about her feelings and pays little heed to his. Which also seems at odds with her ‘saving a stranger on the bridge at a moment’s notice’ persona. She is a weirdly written character for me, a poorly constructed foil to push the main relationship further.
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5 altered eggo
December 2, 2022 at 10:14 PM
This is a sweet little show that deserves more attention, but all the breaks in the schedule haven't been helping. I miss the focus on the ghosts' requests and am a bit wistfully that we'll never know what this show was intended to be before Itaewon. I like that they're not draw out, but as other have noted, a few more details would have helped, especially for the bride's story. That being said, I loved Dong-Joo in episode 10. The way she put her heart on the line, the way she handled her rejection with grace, even the way she turned down Hae-en with such kindness. I kinda swooned for her myself.
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LaurenSophie
December 3, 2022 at 7:11 PM
ITA about Dong-joo's grace and maturity in the face of rejection.
I was in awe of her apology to Tae-hee for putting him in the position of having to reject her, since it's hard to reject people you care about. My heart! You could tell it got to him, too. I thought he was going to cave right then and there in the face of that incredibly selfless kindness on her part. She's awesome.
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