Bad Memory Eraser: Episodes 9-10

by solstices

Our memory mystery takes a backseat this week, in favor of a road trip gone hilariously wrong. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery to draw out concern amidst conflict — or to push repressed feelings to the fore.

 
EPISODES 9-10

As Gun overhears Shin’s confrontation with Director Hong, a sharp pain lances through his head. Joo-yeon rushes to his aid, and her reaction confirms his suspicions — they’re all hiding the truth of his memory loss from him. Still, he lets Joo-yeon take him to the hospital for a medical scan and an IV drip.

Elsewhere, Shin drinks himself into a stupor at a bar, where he deliberately gets himself beaten up by drunk patrons. Joo-yeon gets called over, but while she hesitates before the door — frozen in fear due to her past trauma — Gun whacks his way to Shin’s defense with a tennis racket. Then the sedative kicks in, and Joo-yeon ends up having to drag both woozy brothers back to the office, lol.

Training season rolls around for Shin and Shi-on, which means their Italian coach needs an interpreter. The moment Sae-yan learns that the athlete’s village is near her hometown, she immediately seizes the opportunity — and that’s how a very disgruntled Shin runs into Sae-yan yet again. Worried that her presence might dredge up Gun’s lost memories, Shin demands that Sae-yan stay away from his own territory. Except Sae-yan just kicks him in the foot, ha.

As for Shi-on, her morale has been affected by malicious comments. Joo-yeon attempts to reassure her with cheesy words, and though it makes Shi-on cringe, her sincerity still gets through. Shi-on pushes through with the advertising contract she’d initially protested against, saving Gun from hefty cancellation fees. When Gun hears of Joo-yeon’s help, he invites her out for a simple dinner as thanks.

Alas, our brothers are of the same mind. Shin asks Joo-yeon out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and she accepts, since she needs to collect Gun’s journals from him. Shin’s trying his best to turn it into a romantic date, while Joo-yeon is distracted the entire time.

She only breaks out into a smile when Shin relates a childhood story about Gun loving jellies, and the perceptive Shin immediately catches on. “Do you like my brother?” he asks, noting how her eyes light up. To his relief, Joo-yeon denies it, despite her crestfallen expression when he reiterates how she isn’t Gun’s actual first love.

In spite of her words, however, Joo-yeon buys jellies home for Gun. They share a round of drinks together, leading to a charged moment over a can of beer that nearly spills over. The close proximity sends Joo-yeon’s heart racing, despite her still remaining knee-deep in denial. Surely she’s just drunk, or sick, or stressed out!

The pair wind up dozing off on the couch, and when they awake, Gun gets the bright idea to sneak into Shi-on’s school in the middle of the night. No one gets to bully his little star; he’ll erase every nasty word scribbled on her desk. In the dark and deserted hallways, the terrified Joo-yeon clings onto his hand every step of the way. They spend the night painting over the defaced desk with the Korean flag, to reaffirm Shi-on’s pride as a national athlete.

As they’re leaving, Joo-yeon finally realizes she’s fallen for Gun — and when he runs over to her, she impulsively meets him in a hug. In his embrace, all the feelings she’s been harboring become crystal clear. But she can’t admit to them just yet. Quickly distancing herself, Joo-yeon attempts to play the hug off, though it seems Gun has seen right through her flimsy excuses.

The next day, Joo-yeon is even more determined to suppress her feelings, going as far as to hide behind cardboard cutouts to avoid Gun. The athletes and their chaperones are expected to reach the countryside training center by 5pm, which has Gun and Shin bickering over whose car Joo-yeon should ride in — until Sae-yan realizes her father’s bodyguards are after her.

With that, she shoves all three of them into one car and gets behind the wheel, speeding off so fast that it sends Joo-yeon careening right into Gun’s arms. Latching onto the golden opportunity to shake off Sae-yan, Shin attempts to ditch her at a rest stop — except the person asleep under a coat isn’t Joo-yeon, but Sae-yan. Shin’s left Gun and Joo-yeon behind instead, oops.

Once she realizes what he’d tried to do, our little spitfire Sae-yan grabs Shin’s hair in a fury. In turn, he threatens her wish bracelet. Both agree to end the stalemate and let go on the count of three, but Shin accidentally snaps the bracelet, and a distraught Sae-yan storms off.

Feeling guilty, Shin mends Sae-yan’s bracelet, then goes searching for her along the mountain trail when she doesn’t return. He finds her safe and sound, then gives her a snack, her phone, and his scarf — he’s planning to ditch her all over again, LOL. Pretending to answer nature’s call, Shin ducks behind a rock to contact Sae-yan’s father.

But barely minutes later, Shin comes sprawling out of his hiding spot, wailing in agony and panic. He’s been bitten by something — what if it was a venomous snake?! Believing he’s on his deathbed, Shin admits that he contacted her father, and that he knows who she’s searching for. Sae-yan’s worry and anger quickly gives way to confusion: “How do you know my biological father?”

It turns out Sae-yan hasn’t been searching for Gun, but for her dad. I love this development for Sae-yan, because it reflects why she clings to Joo-yeon and craves the warmth of a loving family. Her Italian father seems heavy-handed and controlling, which must have been suffocating for a bright and carefree spirit such as Sae-yan. She may seem ditzy, but her tenacity is endearing, and I think it’s heartwarming that she consistently spreads such joy and positivity to those around her.

As for Shin, he isn’t meeting his maker just yet. Sae-yan worked up the nerve to suck the venom out for him — but it was just a bee sting. HAHAHA. By the time Gun and Joo-yeon finally catch up to them, they’re sheepish and chastened by the whole experience, and the quartet pile back into the car to finally head to the training center. Except they’re out of gas. Stranded, our forlorn four lament their fate, but thankfully Shi-on — or rather, her mom’s car — arrives in the nick of time. Phew, what a day!

Circling back to Gun and Joo-yeon’s hike through the mountain, they’d taken a break partway to let Joo-yeon rest her scraped heels. Unfortunately, he’d bought three different medicines for her lovesickness motion sickness, but no bandaids. Still, Gun disinfects her wound with an alcohol wipe, coaxing her through the pain with her favorite snack — he’d taken note of Sae-yan’s offhand remark earlier, and bought it at the rest stop. Then the camera pans over, and we see that Joo-yeon had bought a whole bag of jellies for him. Aww, these two.

Later, Gun takes Joo-yeon to the creek that he fell into. Reminiscing about how she once saved him here, Gun confesses his feelings to her. But the guilt eats away at Joo-yeon, and she turns him down, unable to meet his gaze. Discerning her conflict, Gun tells her not to lie to herself, even if she’s lied to him. Then he pulls her into a kiss, and she leans in.

This drama continues to flail all over the place, but I actually found myself laughing out loud this week, though that can probably be attributed to Shin and Sae-yan’s increased screen time. I’m still not quite feeling the main leads’ romance because of their lackluster chemistry and exaggerated comedy, but their care and concern for each other is quite touching in their quieter moments. The drama’s strengths lie in its character relationships — especially the familial and platonic bonds — so I hope it explores them further, instead of whisking them about by the whims of its scattered plot.

 
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