Dare to Love Me: Episodes 13-14

4 June 26, 2024June 26, 2024

by starrygazer

There is less romance this week and more personal growth for our hero and heroine — which for me is a shame — but their goofy yet heartfelt connection is what keeps me interested. Overall, the dynamics are changing in a lot of relationships which leaves me wondering how things will end next week.

EPISODES 13-14

Hong-do and Yoon-bok are tasked by Camille with finding somewhere for the main stage for the fashion show. They go for a walk around, and as Hong-do’s assistants are being less than helpful, Yoon-bok decides to take the reins. Yoon-bok takes Hong-do to see some beautiful scenery that he has always wanted to share with her. Sweet. He reminisces about seeing these places with his late father and Hong-do seems touched that he is sharing this with her.

Yoon-bok takes Hong-do and her assistants for a meal after their day walking around the village. And the two assistants are very curious about (read: crushing on) Yoon-bok, bombarding him with questions — “Do you have a girlfriend?” being the most pointed one. He declares Hong-do his girlfriend and the assistants seem a tad shocked haha.

The comic relief this week comes in the form of Yoon-bok being the face of the fashion show. Camille is nudging Hong-do and Yoon-bok to spend time together because they so obviously like each other. She asks Hong-do to train Yoon-bok every day until the show on how to walk down the catwalk. Watching him walking all disjointed and striking poses was so against his character it was almost droll.

Hong-do has a little slip trying to show Yoon-bok how to pose and twists her ankle. Yoon-bok, being the gentleman he is, insists on giving her a piggyback ride and tending to her before they continue. A group of women from the village decide to help, but instead bombard the pair with questions about marriage and having offspring. The word offspring has our couple looking horrified haha.

Hong-do is clearly troubled by the encounter and decides to talk to Yoon-bok about what will happen to their relationship in the future (i.e., if she goes to Paris and he inherits Seongsan Village), asking him his plans for the next year or two. Yoon-bok, always steadfast in his convictions, assures her he will be by her side even if they are on the other side of the world. “The moment I gave you my heart I gave you my time too.” This gave me all the feels, but Yoon-bok is so rigid to his beliefs it leaves us the audience and Hong-do wondering if he will blindly follow them at the expense of his own happiness?

Our mystery subplot is starting to take an unexpected turn this week, and we see a very different side of Joon-oh after he is arrested in the storeroom (after Yoon-bok had corned him in there at the end of the last episode). First, a flashback shows us how Yoon-bok came to know Joon-oh would be there. Yoon-bok happened to see Nobleman Lee accepting a bag of cash from Joon-oh, and after seeing this Yoon-bok had met with Grandad Shin, Camille, and Hong-do to discuss a way forward.

Yoon-bok’s plan was to have Camille seemingly turn her back on Grandad Shin and cozy up to Nobleman Lee, giving him money so she can still hold the fashion show in the village. Yoon-bok also advised Grandad Shin to step down in order for Nobleman Lee to have a false sense of security, thinking he had won. After putting a few puzzle pieces together, Yoon-bok realized that Joon-oh would be back and this is how he comes to confront him in the storage room.

The witness that Yoon-bok hid in Seongsan Village some time ago is outed as Hong-do’s absentee father, KIM CHIL-BOK (Kim Byung-choon.) After finally running into him at the village after a few near misses, Hong-do has a very cold exchange with him. This surprises Yoon-bok, who has never seen her act like this before. Yoon-bok follows him out and Dad explains that Hong-do had every reason to act that way. Dad briefly explains how he fell apart after their mum died, and after a series of bad judgement calls and mistakes he couldn’t face his children. He pleads with Yoon-bok to go in and comfort Hong-do.

Hong-do puts on a brave face for Yoon-bok as he asks earnestly if she is okay. Hong-do tries to get him to leave saying she’s fine, but he just sits and waits for her. Opening up, Hong-do goes into a little detail about her dad’s suicide attempt (which she witnessed after their mum passed), and how he lost their home and then disappeared, leaving her and Hong-hak to fend for themselves. Taking her hand, Yoon-bok comforts her as she breaks down. It’s a lovely moment between the two, albeit heart-wrenching for Hong-do, and it allows for a little more depth and understanding in their relationship.

In the aftermath of Joon-oh’s arrest, YEOJOO-DAEK (Lee Se-rang) — Joon-oh’s mum who is a servant to Yoon-bok’s household in the village — is distraught. Yeojoo-daek goes to see Grandad Shin to tell him she is going to leave the village because she feels too ashamed. Overhearing this, Yoon-bok agrees with Grandad Shin’s sentiment that she should stay. He successfully convinces her to, reminding Yeojoo-daek that she is like a mum to him and he would hate for her to struggle outside of the village like his mum did when she was forced to leave. Yoon-bok’s sincerity makes you really love his character.

As Joon-oh had Yoon-bok’s father’s key in his possession, Yoon-bok visits him in the holding cell and asks him outright if he was involved in his father’s death. Judging by Joon-oh’s reaction it seems very unlikely he had anything to do with it. Yoon-bok reassures him he will look after Yeojoo-daek until he gets out of prison. It makes a nice change to see Joon-oh a little more conflicted over what he has done at the mention of his mother.

After being told he is going to be moved to a detention center, Joon-oh is being walked out by an officer and crosses paths with a “delivery man” brandishing a concealed weapon. Very bold to attempt an assassination in a police station! To my relief it is a failed attempt, and Joon-oh’s demeanor has quickly changed from smug to contrite to downright scared.

On a lighter note, there is some joviality between Camille and Grandad Shin this week. Grandad Shin is wildly misunderstanding Camille’s relationship with Frankie, exhibiting hilarious bouts of jealousy. He happens to overhear Frankie whispering sweet nothings over the phone to someone and jumps to the conclusion that Frankie and Camille are having an affair. When Grandad Shin confronts Camille, her laughter is so raucous and infectious. I loved it. She explains to Grandad Shin he needs to update his mindset (good point): Frankie is her business partner and best friend. The good-humored teasing between these two is turning into one of my favorite things about the show.

Speaking of Grandad Shin updating his mindset, Yoon-bok has an idea he is not sure Grandad will be on board with. He wants to open Seongsan Cultural Academy, giving the children of the village a chance to learn skills from the outside world. After witnessing a child being chided for drawing the same way he was when he was young, Yoon-bok comes to the realization that not much has changed in twenty years. And he wants to do something about that.

Grandad Shin initially says their traditions will disappear if they open up the village, but Yoon-bok disagrees. Having a very similar viewpoint to his late father, he points out that if tradition can’t keep up with the times it will disappear anyway. The similarities between father and son are not lost on Grandad Shin, and he grants him a trial period.

Yoon-bok and Hong-do decide to ask Hong-hak to teach webtoon drawing, which might I add he’s brilliant at. Hyang-ki teaches coffee making. (I like that she has now been accepted into the group.) Yoon-ah teaches self-defense with Hong-hak as her opponent, and it’s great to see these two interacting again this week. As for Yoon-bok, he teaches manners/etiquette, and with everyone’s help it is a roaring success. (I’m not sure why Hong-hak and Yoon-ah are dressed as birds and dancing around lol but it was cute and the kids liked it, so I’ll just go with it.) The success of the academy leaves Hong-do thinking that Yoon-bok is needed here in the village. He is making a real difference. What happens to them now?

The final scene of this week did take me by surprise. Joon-oh has been declining all visitors, but he does meet his mum to warn her not to come back again, and to be careful she isn’t being followed. Slowly becoming a jittery mess, he asks Yeojoo-daek to pass on a message to Yoon-bok: He will meet him just once.

However, on his walk to the visitor’s room to meet Yoon-bok, Joon-oh is brutally attacked and consequently rushed to the hospital. Joon-oh has not been a favorite character of mine, but I have seen him in a different light this week. It would have been nice to see a proper redemption arc for his character, if only the drama has worked this plot point in better. With one week left to go, I’m not sure there will be one.

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1 HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth 🦞

June 26, 2024 at 3:06 PM

Thank you for the recap, @starrygazer! I really enjoyed this week - things definitely got more interesting. I love how respectful and supportive Yoon-bok and Hong-do are of each other. Favorite moments include Yoon-bok comforting Hong-do, and the conversations they had about their goals. This has been a comfort watch for me, and I'll be sad when it ends. I also wish Joon-ho had gotten a redemption arc, but is there enough time? Is Joon-ho's backer an as-yet unidentified former friend/enemy of Yoon-bok's dad, or just a random art thief? Looks like we'll get a brief separation next week, but I'm still hopeful about my preferred ending: a trip to the future where we see Yoon-bok and Hong-do happily married and living in the village, which Yoon-bok has opened and modernized, and from which Hong-do runs her own fashion house/brand, bringing heritage styles to the world. *throws confetti* 🎊

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2 GySgt213

June 26, 2024 at 3:56 PM

I wish the writers would have stopped having him refer to his girlfriend as Teacher.

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3 Kurama

June 27, 2024 at 12:22 AM

I don't really like how nothing in the past has consequences. The grandpa is completely forgiven, it looks like the father will be too, the patriarchy in the village doesn't seem to be addressed, Joon-oh will be surely forgiven too...

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4 Bunny Sonaki

June 27, 2024 at 12:51 AM

The show had potential to provide social commentary on the patriarchal life people have to live at the village along with other downsides, but it is taking the easy way out in almost everything. I love how layered Joon-oh's character was and I really hate the drama for doing him dirty and making him another full of envy character wreaking havoc on others.