Dare to Love Me: Episodes 3-4

by starrygazer

This week our drama is full of funny moments, which it’s great at. There are some bonding moments too, which are lovely to see between our leads. And there’s a little bit of heartache mixed in, which for me adds more depth to the story.

 
EPISODES 3-4

After saving Hong-do from the rain last week, Yoon-bok has developed a nasty cold. When Hong-do finds out she makes him some porridge and takes it to him. He’s still treating her with the utmost respect even though he’s sick and I love how she uses her *cough* “teacher status” to try and make him more comfortable and encourage him to let her help. All without pushing his boundaries too far.

The next day Yoon-bok seems recovered, but Hong-do senses something is wrong with him when he asks her to go for a drink with him. While drinking, they are sitting behind each other again, which made me chuckle. (Clearly to make our hero more comfortable.) Yoon-bok tells Hong-do that someone from his past has contacted him, but he is used to being alone now. Hong-do can feel his hurt and tries to comfort him, telling him he’s not alone as he has her and Hong-hak. Still, she feels like should have been taking care of him sooner.

Yoon-bok tells her she’s always been affectionate towards him. In the past when people were kind to him they eventually grew uncomfortable and left, but she is someone he wants to be close to. How can my heart sing and break at the same time? Hong-do seems to feel the same, and she tells Yoon-bok to lean on her anytime — and then he literally does haha! Followed by falling on the floor, to Hong-do’s horror.

Hong-do guides Yoon-bok homeward through his drunken haze. He jumps away from the skinship and tells her she looks drunk, which she finds funny but plays along. Putting him on a bench, she tells him she’s going to get him a drink. But as she turns to leave, we have a wrist grab, people! (Well, there’s two, but who’s counting? *cough*) Yoon-bok asks her if she’s abandoning him, and a tiny piece of my heart is broken.

As we flashback to a scene from Yoon-bok’s childhood, we learn that the boy has abandonment issues for a reason. When he was little, his mum and sister abandoned him at Seongsan Village, telling him to count to one hundred and they would be back. (You can guess how that ended.) Then we have Yoon-bok’s grandfather SHIN SOO-GEUN (Sunwoo Jae-deok) telling a young, visibly upset Yoon-bok not to waste his emotions on people: the only person he can rely on is himself. Poor Yoon-bok! He’s obviously still scarred by this as he sits and waits for Hong-do while slowly counting to 100.

Whilst finally finding a convenience store, Hong-do receives a call from her new boss CAMILLE (Bae Jong-ok), who has told her when she calls she expects Hong-do to materialize within thirty minutes. Hong-do is now in a bind. It has taken her so long to find a store… will she have time to go back for Yoon-bok? Or will she have to abandon him and go straight to Camille on pain of being unemployed?

I have to admit I did waver a little wondering who Hong-do would choose. She knows this is her last chance in the fashion industry. After the truth came out at Losi Fashion about who was at fault, Hong-do was told to quit and that she would never work in fashion again. (Nice staff in this place considering she was the innocent party.) Just then, Camille herself swooped in and offered Hong-do a job.

Alas, I do not know why I ever doubted Hong-do. Just as a dejected and heartbroken Yoon-bok gets up and turns away after reaching “100,” Hong-do shouts his name as she approaches. *fist pumps* (Side note: Once she gets Yoon-bok home she runs to meet Camille and just makes it in time. *another fist pump*)

Yoon-bok wakes up mortified at his impoliteness the night before — and then he remembers Hong-do came back for him. This is just adorable; is it wrong to try to grab his cheek through the screen? Aigoo.

The next day, after first clearing up the confusion around Hong-do’s invitation that Yoon-bok go on a city tour with her, they commence with their date that isn’t a date. Hong-do introduces Yoon-bok to different games at an arcade, and then they’re off to the sauna. Hong-do also witnesses Yoon-bok’s amazing archery skills, and he gives her the prize he wins. Cute.

As their day winds to a close over ice cream and a sunset, Yoon-bok is downcast about how his heart has always been heavy due to old objects and events, but after his day of firsts with Hong-do he feels better. “I’m the happiest when I spend time with you.” Now if that doesn’t deserve some leg kicks and squeals I don’t know what does!

When they return home Hong-do takes Yoon-bok’s phone and gives him her number (which he refused previously since she is Teacher lol). She tells him he doesn’t have to call her, but if he ever needs fresh air to let her know. I love how she isn’t pushy with him; she leaves things open-ended so he can match her pace as and when he wants to. It is sweet how he calls her before she’s even made it to the top of the stairs to say she can call him whenever too. My goofy grin mimics theirs as they both sit looking at their photos together from the day.

While it’s delightful to watch the bond between our OTP grow, we also have the mystery component of the story. Yoon-bok is convinced his father’s death was no accident, but he can’t find any proof to the contrary. Plus it happened seventeen years ago, so the people involved don’t really remember. But we learn Gamjjok has a burn on his arm, which our hero finds suspicious. He’s convinced these cases are connected, we just don’t know how yet.

The police, Yoon-bok, and Yoon-ah get a lead on one of the thugs trying to sell a relic and go to catch him. After threatening the appraiser and fleeing the police he is captured with a badass double kick from our hero and his trusty hand fan. “I recognize that fan!” coming out of said thug’s mouth actually made me splutter very loudly haha.

Apparently, now that Gamjjok knows they’re after him, he has moved the spot for the auction to none other than Seongsan Hall — a restaurant run by LEE JOON-HO (Park Eun-seok). Joon-ho happens to be an excommunicated member of Seongsan Village with a mysterious benefactor and a mum who still lives in the village. This is all lining up a little too nicely for me.

Camille sends Hong-do to Seongsan Village with a gift for Yoon-bok’s Grandad Shin (as I’ll be calling him) – the head of the village. Camille is adamant that they will hold her fashion show there as it is for the Cultural Heritage Association. It becomes apparent that Grandad Shin and Camille have a past and she’s calling in a favor. The problem is that not just anyone can enter Seongsan Village.

Hong-do is desperate to find a way into the village to complete her impossible task, and tries to contact Yoon-bok for help. Yoon-bok happens to be back in the village for his dad’s memorial day, but he has no phone service so Hong-do’s calls can’t reach him. After looking around the town square she tries to blag her way into the village – which is off limits to the public. This fails miserably so she decides to disguise herself and try again. Just as she is being physically carried away our little white knight shows up and rescues her.

Yoon-bok delivers her to Grandad Shin so she can give him the gift from Camille… but not before Hong-do becomes the talk of the village. To make things worse, the girl who insists she’s marrying Yoon-bok, LEE SE-RYEONG (Moon Yoo-bin), gets a bad case of the green eyes. Going out of her way to make Hong-do feel inferior, Se-ryeong points out that she helps with Yoon-bok’s father’s memorial day every year because he loved her. Cue sicky faces at my screen.

Hong-do finds Yoon-bok by the river deep in thought, but she decides to let him have his time. Again, this gentle push and pull she does with him is illuminated here. She knows when to gently encourage him out of his comfort zone and when to leave him in it. She obviously respects him and his chosen way of life.

Later, Hong-do overhears Grandad Shin ask Yoon-bok about getting married, and he thinks he should just marry Se-ryeong because she likes him. *eye roll* When Yoon-bok tells him that he will handle his marriage himself, Grandad Shin asks if there is someone he already likes. Yoon-bok replies that he will “tell him when the time is right.” I am just as shocked as Hong-do at this point. But it is nice to see Yoon-bok stand up for himself even if it is in the most polite way possible. It is really hard not to love this character.

Once back in Seoul, Hong-do is dancing around asking Yoon-bok the question “Does he actually like someone”? She chickens out the first time, and just as she’s about to commit to asking him for real, his face changes. A woman is outside his place with a suitcase and an over-familiar tone which immediately sets off Hong-do’s heckles. I suspect, however, that this is the woman (his sister? His ex?) who called earlier and put him in a terrible mood. Enough to make our hero want to go out and get uncharacteristically drunk.

We end on this cliffhanger moment, but what I love is that this show does not take itself too seriously. The very Titanic-esque flute music being played at every sweet moment our couple has together makes me chuckle. It’s nice to see them together more this week, and helping each other out in one way or another. Our heroine is no one’s fool but she is good at keeping quiet when needed and pushing forward when needed. Not just with Yoon-bok but with her work too. It’s lovely to see her thriving more after being in that horrible toxic work environment at Losi Fashion.

Our hero fell apart this week and I felt every ounce of his pain. When he was sick and remembered being sick as a child and being completely alone, my heart broke for him. Hong-do looking after him was healing and exactly what he needed. It was the same when she went back for him on the bench. I’m not 100% sure she understood the gravitas of that situation for Yoon-bok, but if I could high five her I would. Small acts of kindness go a long way for him.

As for the mystery angle of the story, I’m slowly finding the artifact-finding mission more appealing because it is probably tied to Yoon-bok’s father’s demise. Yoon-ah and Hong-hak’s little collisions are starting to deliver too, as she is thawing out a little. And no one was more surprised than me that Grandad Shin had a secret relationship!

 
RELATED POSTS

• Premiere Watch: Dare to Love Me
• Lee Yoo-Young falls for L’s polite charms in teaser
• Teaching and fighting manners with L in Dare to Love Me
• L dares to choose Confucius over Lee Yoo-young
• News bites: April 22, 2024
• L Dares to Love in new rom-com with Lee Yoo-young
• News bites: April 17, 2024
• News bites: March 21, 2024
• News bites: August 23, 2023
• L (Kim Myung-soo)
• Lee Yoo-young