My Lovely Boxer: Episode 9

23 September 21, 2023September 20, 2023

by DaebakGrits

It’s time for some self-reflection now that our lovely boxer finds herself without her favorite manager, but his spot is filled by her father. Unhappy with this new arrangement, she slowly accepts that her father’s a changed man, but it’s actually her future opponent who helps our boxer find the motivation to (temporarily) return to the ring.

EPISODE 9

It was a short week for My Lovely Boxer, but as much as I would have liked watching two consecutive episodes, I think the tone and character development of Episode 9 fared well on its own. This drama has always been entirely character driven (if you ignore the match-rigging business), and we’ve now reached the point in our plot where Kwon-sook must reflect on her relationship with boxing and decide what she wants to do moving forward, which will lead us into the climax and resolution of our story.

The beginning of Kwon-sook’s emotional transformation starts after Tae-young tears up his contract with Kwon-sook and frees her from being his accomplice in the match-rigging scheme. He then leaves her standing outside her childhood home, where Kwon-sook comes face-to-face with her father. Kwon-sook’s journey with boxing began with her father, so it’s only fitting that we learn more about the man whose abusive tactics created a boxing “monster” who fears and loathes the sport she dominates.

It should come as no surprise to any armchair psychologist that Chul-yong’s brutal expectations for Kwon-sook stemmed from his own failed achievements, but the real revelation to his characterization was that his career did not end because of an injury. Instead, Chul-yong choked before reaching the pinnacle moment of his boxing career. Fearing what would happen when he reached his limit, Chul-yong retired, citing a recurring fracture in his hand as the cause. The media branded him a young talent whose career was tragically cut short, and ever since, Chul-yong has lived with the shame of knowing he lied and that it was actually his cowardice that ended his career.

All of this insight into Chul-yong’s backstory is disclosed through a flashback of a conversation between Chul-yong and Tae-young, after Tae-young confesses that he took advantage of the fact Kwon-sook wanted to quit boxing. I loved every second of this scene as both men opened up and shared their vulnerabilities. On the surface, the only connection between Chul-yong and Tae-young is Kwon-sook, but through their mutual concern and affection for her, they’ve also become confidants. Kwon-sook’s boxing career may have been the catalyst for this particular conversation, but in discussing her, they revealed more about themselves.

Because Tae-young has cut ties and kicked Kwon-sook out of his apartment, she reluctantly settles into her old bedroom. Her resistance to sharing a living space with her father gives way to acceptance when she discovers that he’s been nurturing her mother’s rooftop garden, which he’s expanded into a greenhouse full of plants. Chul-yong also teaches boxing to children, and his gentle technique with them flabbergasts Kwon-sook, who did not receive the same tenderness in her father’s boxing ring. With time, Chul-yong’s repentance becomes undeniable, and Kwon-sook grows comfortable with her new living arrangements as she acquaints herself with this new version of Chul-yong.

Another character that gets a bit of a redemption arc — if you can call it that — is the insufferable Jae-min. To give him credit, his apology seems genuine, and I believe his excuse — that he got so caught up in the excitement around Kwon-sook’s boxing return that he mistook it for romantic attraction — but he’s still annoying. The collective look of disbelief Kwon-sook’s former teaching friends all wore when Jae-min put on an apron and started serving customers at Chul-yon’s restaurant is a whole ass mood that accurately reflects my annoyance that we’ll probably see more of him (especially since he seems keen on being one of Kwon-sook’s groupies).

With time, Kwon-sook’s tears over being abandoned by Tae-young dry as she settles into the comfortable familiarity of her training routine, but left to her own devices, she’s adrift and still undecided if she wants to follow through with the match against Ah-reum. But all that changes after Ah-ra drags Kwon-sook and Ho-joong to the restaurant where Ah-reum works. There, Kwon-sook is confronted by her boxing rival.

Ah-reum is the complete opposite of Kwon-sook, who lacks passion, and of Chul-yong, who once feared failure and the end of his winning streak in the ring. Instead, Ah-reum, despite a shoulder injury, plans to forge ahead with her fight against Kwon-sook. Even if she loses, she will feel proud to know she gave it her all, and she wants Kwon-sook to come at her with the same level of energy and passion.

When faced with Ah-reum’s obvious dedication, Kwon-sook finds her own spark. She still hates boxing, but she’s undecided if she still wants to throw the match. Either way, she’s inspired to fight and give it her all out of respect for her opponent. (Cue: intensive training montages.)

While Kwon-sook has been reconciling with her father and finding her place in the boxing world, Tae-young has been trying to locate the evil-doers behind the match-rigging syndicate. They’ve gone underground, but the broker who facilitated the fixed baseball games tells Tae-young that they will send out a link to their new betting website once they’re back up and running. Sure enough, it isn’t long before the bad guys start making moves. Unfortunately, one of those moves is to contact Hee-won’s widow and offer her a loan to pay for the remaining cost of her son’s eye surgery.

With the stakes even higher, Tae-young teams up with his reporter friend, who has more investigative connections to help him dig into the backgrounds of the people involved. The reporter is practically salivating over the story, especially when Tae-young stops denying he’s involved. If Tae-young gets implicated in the match-fixing schemes, then he will face jail time, but Tae-young has reached a point where he’s prepared to face the consequences so long as his loved ones are safe. And among those loved ones is Kwon-sook.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record: I still don’t feel like there’s any romantic chemistry between Tae-young and Kwon-sook, but there is no denying he cares about her and includes her among the people he wants to protect. He forced her into his life, and now that he’s cut her out, he’s still feeling the effects of their time together — as demonstrated by his body’s new habit of waking up before the crack of dawn to go running. If Tae-young shows up at the botanical garden and fulfills his promise to Kwon-sook, maybe there will be a notable shift in their relationship that even I cannot deny, but I’m not banking on it. Tae-young needs to get his shit together before getting into a relationship, and I trust he’s smart enough to realize that.

Overall, I found the pacing of Episode 9 rather slow, but I appreciated all the character development — not only with Kwon-sook and her father, but Ah-reum, as well. She’s the closest thing this drama has to your stereotypical sports drama/movie hero. She’s passionate about boxing and strives to be the best version of herself, and I appreciate that the writer has set the stage for a very novel situation in which I find myself rooting for the leading lady to lose against her opponent.

Although Kwon-sook still claims she hates boxing, I’m hoping that by the end of our drama that will change to her hating competitive boxing. She seemed to have a lot of fun teaching Chul-yong’s students and showing off her skills in front of them. Maybe that’s just the teacher in her, but my ideal ending for this drama would be for her to lose the match (unintentionally) and then retire from professional boxing in order to teach kids at her father’s boxing gym. If Tae-young also shows up as her love interest, so be it. I just want our girl to be happy.

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1 Kurama

September 21, 2023 at 5:28 AM

I was so disapointed by the fact they released only one episode >_<

I liked the way her different relationships are evolving :
- Her father : he was abusive with her, so at least he's trying a new way. She's not stubborn to ignore it but she's right to take her time to forgive him.
- Jae-min : he was a jerk but at least he apologized. But if we don't see anymore, I won't be sad.
- Tae-Hyung : it was cute watching her running and she texted him at this moment. He cleary cares about her.
- Boxing : she likes boxing but she needs to find a way that doesn't scare her. I agree, she will be a good teacher, she liked teaching before. So it would be a good way.

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2 Olive

September 21, 2023 at 5:45 AM

On the other hand, I'm feeling the romantic chemistry between the leads right from their first scene together. Which I wasn't expecting.

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OAsia

September 22, 2023 at 12:18 AM

Their first meeting was a typical moment when two people can become romantically interested in each other. They didn't meet in a "neutral" place. She was on a blind date, which means he was shown as a woman ready for love. He saved her from an uninteresting guy on that date. So in her eyes he showed himself as a possible romantic partner. It happened beyond their will or not. In this way, people see others as potential partners, even outside their awareness.

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OAsia

September 22, 2023 at 12:19 AM

*she was

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3 KDramaTipsy

September 21, 2023 at 6:34 AM

I don't like abusive parents getting a redemption arc. After destroying their kid's childhood, these people shouldn't be treated like the good guys (The FL's mother in My Lovely Liar didn't deserve that HEA. Boo!). Guess the father was responsible for Kwon-Sook hating boxing, and now he will be the catalyst for her to start loving boxing? I see it but I don't buy it. Kwon-Sook really is a teacher at heart and she always looks happy around kids, so I too would like an ending where she retires from boxing and channels her new found love for the sport into coaching.

I can feel the chemistry between Tae-Young and Kwon-Sook very strongly. A 13-year age gap doesn't bother me when two people are soulmates. However, Tae-Young won't act on his feelings till he has sorted the match fixers. Fingers crossed for our ML to survive this battle. This better not be a tragic ending!

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DaebakGrits

September 21, 2023 at 8:07 AM

I think I'm (mostly) fine with the redemption arc because they aren't rushing Kwon-sook's process of accepting him. She's appropriately weary, and Chol-yong is (for the most part) showing restraint by allowing her to decide if she wants to bridge the gap. Ultimately, it should be her decision to decide if she wants to repair or abandon that relationship.

If I take issue with anything it's that Tae-young doesn't show much respect for the boundaries Kwon-sook established with her father. When Tae-young tore up the contract and locked Kwon-sook out of his apartment, he should not have dropped her off at her father's house of all places. As much as I disagree with his behavior, though, I think it rings true to real life. So many people will meet a former abuser after they've reformed and dismiss their victims' feelings as inconsequential because the abuser is "no longer that person."

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Kurama

September 21, 2023 at 8:15 AM

I think in this case, her father is connected to her boxing and she can't resolve one without resolving the second one.

I want it for her because it's important for her own growth. I don't care about the father.

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Lalla32

September 25, 2023 at 7:42 AM

Agree on both points.
Another thing that I found concerning is, that even if he supposedly changed, he still goes around punching people when he is angry. That is in NO way okay. Even if Tae-young deserved it...

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Mrs Buckwheat

September 21, 2023 at 11:41 PM

While I don't like the father and all the damage he has caused, I agree with Kurama that her father and boxing are very much connected and to move forward she needs to go through the process of at least having discussions with him.
This doesn't necessarily mean a redemption arc, there is no way you can make up for treating anyone like that. It's positive that her character is very upfront with him about his behaviour and there has been no quick, easy fix, lets move on to some other issue in the same episode.

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Bruno Leite

September 22, 2023 at 1:00 PM

Yes, we should not conflate change with redemption. The former can be achieved without resulting in the latter.

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4 Dylan [JooJoo couple, fighting!]

September 21, 2023 at 6:58 AM

I hate the dad so much sometimes, yeah he's funny comedic relief sometimes... but his default is always punching ppl. Like leave my bby Taeyeong alone, hasn't he been brutalized enough?? also maybe she just doesnt want to continue boxing, old man?? Haven't we been over this?? Like, look at this abusive ajusshi giving us his sad backstory like I care 💀

They didn't have to show her in the rearview mirror as he drove away... brutal 😭😭

Man, even the OST/BGM in this is so good, they elevate every scene istg

at least abusive dad said she can stop boxing now. He seems to have genuinely mellowed out and become softer ig... plus tending the mom's garden was sweet too. I do think theyre on the first steps to reconciliation and it's genuinely moving. I think?

even after cutting her off, Taeyoung kept his promise and took her to her mom's place. Wish he'd keep the birthday promise he made to her 😭

Idk why ppl think Jo A-ra is annoying, she's so funny and adorable lol. She just wants to spread chaos and watch the world burn... taking them all to Areum's workplace is so out of pocket. "don't ever bring her back here again" 💀💀

And the schoolteacher besties are still so wholesome. Wish I could say that about Mr. Cardboard Personality Guy. Chat, do any of you think his apology is genuine? Cause I don't. I hope Kwon-sook isn't softening on him again... (Btw, even he's calling her beautiful or whatever, he has 0 rizz)

Bro woke up asshole grandpa late at night just to roast his password making abilities, we stan. Also wow, this illegal gambling ring must have a decent IT department.

not him imagining her coming over and annoying him... he misses her 😭😭 why must you do this to my heart

he between show up at that baobab tree or Imma cry... but it's probably cardboard personality boy or a gangster or even the dad maybe.

How could they delay EP. 10 and this banger of a drama like that??? I need all episodes now 😞 how am I supposed to wait a week to see this couple 😭😭

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LaurenSophie

September 21, 2023 at 8:07 AM

I like Jo A-ra, too, and that moment when she confessed to the coach that he missed admired her talent the way he admires Kwon-sook's was genuinely touching.

I don't think Tae-young is showing up at the tree, but I do think he contacted someone to do so in his place. That would be the kind of compromise he would make, imo. He doesn't want to stand her up because he genuinely cares about her, but he also knows that if he *does* show up he's implicitly making a kind of promise and declaration to her that he's not ready to make. So demonstrating that he didn't forget but not showing up in person is the most Tae-young thing I can see him doing.

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parkchuna 🍉

September 24, 2023 at 12:27 AM

That someone better not be Jae Min! I’m still holding out hope that TY shows up at the tree.

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5 LaurenSophie

September 21, 2023 at 7:46 AM

Although the pre-emption is annoying due to the fact that the contemplative tone and slow pace of ep. 9 was clearly setting up at least a couple of turning points in ep. 10, I still was happy with what we got this week. This show is at its best when it focuses on the growth of the characters, and it has only gotten more addictive on that front as we've spent time with these people and see why they are who they are.

I particularly enjoyed the writing for Chul-yong's character. It's true that many--if not most--of abusive parents never are fully able to take responsibility for what they've done and why they've done it. Often it's simply too difficult for human beings to hold themselves accountable like that, or they themselves are so broken by past abuse done to them that true self-reflection and transformation isn't possible. But Chul-yong's redemption felt real and earned to me. It makes sense that part of his motivation was his self-loathing over the lie he told and the cowardice behind it. I also completely buy that he's now able to be gentle with children learning boxing in a way he couldn't be with his daughter. (As an aside, I loved his line about how the only areas in which one can make a living nowadays are weight loss or children, lol).

Kwan-sook's reticence and then very gradual and subtle warming towards her father made sense, too. They probably will never be super close and affectionate with one another, but they can have a healthy relationship in which they support each other.

Now it's my turn to be a broken record: I know romantic chemistry is subjective, but I definitely see it, and it was apparent this week even with the leads mostly apart. I would agree that Tae-young needs to get it together before he can have a relationship with anyone, but that's the story; his attachment to Kwon-sook is outside of that, meaning his inability to offer her a healthy relationship right now is not because he doesn't have feelings for her, but because he knows he can't and shouldn't do anything about them right now. His sad eyed realization that her waking him up to run was just a dream, the same sad eyes looking around at his empty apartment after she'd packed up her stuff, and him standing on that bridge just to catch a glimpse of Kwon-sook weren't about an agent missing his client. He just misses *her.* Like Kwon-sook said, his life feels empty and he's bored without her. And although the romantic nature of her attachment to him is more obvious (because she has a real heart-on-the-sleeve personality to begin with) I don't think that means Tae-young's feelings aren't the same for her. He's just a much more guarded person, and he knows that right now he has nothing positive to offer her.

That said, I don't expect these two to get together in any substantive way before the show ends. Because of the age difference between the actors, I think a kiss is unlikely, too. But I'd be very surprised and disappointed...

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Dylan [JooJoo couple, fighting!]

September 21, 2023 at 8:30 AM

I would also feel sad and disappointed if we don’t at least get a hug or some major resolution. I get why we won’t… the age and maturity gap is HUGE…. But I can’t help shipping them.

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LaurenSophie

September 21, 2023 at 8:44 AM

Oh, I think we'll get a hug. I think they showed one in the original trailer that hasn't happened yet--looks like maybe before a match?

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6 Scottie

September 21, 2023 at 9:21 AM

I caught up with this drama now and I am impressed how well it is done. Kim So-hye really brings out the young, naïve and inexperienced sports woman who does not quite know what to do at first in the face of Tae-hyung's grieve. It is so good to see how she is growing into an adult through it all.

Tae-hyung cares about her very much, it is more than an agent's friendliness. It is a line that he crossed before with the ex girlfriend and golfer and the baseball friend, but I don't expect the romance to develop fast, he has other things to sort out first. I like how he works with the reporter who asks the right questions all the time.

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7 skirt

September 21, 2023 at 6:34 PM

The delicate balance between a wronged daughter and an amending parent was portrayed very well in the rooftop greenhouse scene. A parent-child relationship is always complicated as there are always so many expectations from both sides. And both sides are humans and prone to mistakes.
On the one hand, there is so much anger and resentment; on the other hand, he is her father. There has to be room for forgiveness, right? His whole body language of trying to make amends is like he is approaching a monster, which is of his own making, always afraid to upset her further.

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8 Mrs Buckwheat

September 21, 2023 at 11:25 PM

I enjoyed the slower pace of this episode and the character development.
Does anybody know if we will get all three episodes next week?
I wish this was 16 episodes, it has been such a fantastic watch.
The leads are great, especially the ML and I will definitely search out their other shows.

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LaurenSophie

September 22, 2023 at 6:47 AM

I read somewhere that they'll show 10 & 11 next week and then 12 the following week.

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Mrs Buckwheat

September 22, 2023 at 3:59 PM

Argghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
That will be cruel 🤪

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9 OAsia

September 22, 2023 at 12:26 AM

To some extent I can understand that some people don't want to see love between ML and FL. But on the other hand, if you put aside age prejudices, there is a typical K-drama love story between these characters. This is visible from the first episode. Even the presence of SFL and SML in their lives never threatened ML and FL's relationship. There was never a sense in the drama that the presence of these people was important for the feelings between the main characters. It's so obvious that, I'm sorry, you really have to be "stubborn" not to see it.

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10 Lalla32

September 25, 2023 at 7:54 AM

Loved this episode and I'm kind of glad we will get the last ep next week. I will be very sad to see this drama end :(
My question is... the bad guys went into hiding because of what happened. Does this mean that Tae Young is free from his debt? It looks like ti from what they showed...

Anyway... th scene at the bridge was just perfect. Exactly what my heart needed <3 <3 I'm so ready for tonights episode!! <3

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My Lovely Boxer