Crushology 101: Episodes 7-8
by Unit
The second half of our campus romance kicks off with misunderstandings, jealousy, and insecurity. Our love square navigates unrequited feelings, cold feet and stolen confessions, as the truth about a two-year old breakup comes to light.
EPISODES 7-8
After last week’s dead fish kiss, Hee-jin calls Jae-yeol out for kissing her on purpose in front of Yeo-reum. “Does it mean we’re dating now?” She asks him, but a cat holds his tongue hostage and he can’t find the words to explain his intention for kissing her. Hee-jin is upset that Jae-yeol used her to make Yeo-reum jealous, and she tells him he is no different from other guys. Hee-jin lies to Ji-won that something came up and Jae-yeol couldn’t make it to their date — but Ji-won knows this is a lie because he dropped her off on the date and saw the kiss. Now it’s his turn to tell Jae-yeol not to mislead Hee-jin with his insincerity.
Dong-ha is crushed when he finds out Bo-bae has a boyfriend, and he calls for a pity party with Jae-yeol — who is also down in the dumps because Hee-jin is upset with him. While both guys drown their sorrows in alcohol, Ji-won hosts an after-party with the girls to celebrate the wrap-up of Bo-bae’s school play. Hee-jin tells her friends that Jae-yeol still has feelings for his ex, and Ji-won says she deserves someone better. Ji-won’s “someone like me” is said in silence, so Hee-jin pushes him deeper into the friend zone when she remarks that his gentlemanly behavior might cause other girls — but definitely not her — to misunderstand his intentions. Lool.
Moving on, we learn that Jae-yeol’s mom’s professor boyfriend is married when his wife embarrasses her in school for having an affair. Jae-yeol apologizes to the wife and drags his mom away. But Mom insists that she’s the victim because she didn’t know Prof was married, and Jae-yeol shouldn’t have apologized. Jeez, maybe you shouldn’t have put your son in that position in the first place!
Jae-yeol is even more embarrassed that Hee-jin witnessed the whole drama — but it ends up being a good (?) thing because Hee-jin goes from not talking to him to cheering him up. Jae-yeol tells Hee-jin it’s not the first time his mom has gotten mixed up in that kinda situation. But while he’s disappointed with her, he can’t judge her since he also disappointed Hee-jin. He acknowledges that what he did to Hee-jin was wrong and he apologizes. But a security guard comes to interrupt them and the moment passes.
Speaking of parents, Hee-jin learns that her mom — a volleyball player (now coach) — used to date a hotshot athlete and they were dubbed “the sports star couple of the century.” Everyone said her dad stood no chance with her mom, but Dad never gave up because “love is only reserved for the brave.” Hee-jin’s parents’ love story parallels the triangle between her, Jae-yeol and Yeo-reum, and Hee-jin figures she has to put aside her Yeo-reum-induced insecurity if she really likes Jae-yeol. But when Jae-yeol comes down with a cold and his friends dispatch Hee-jin to bring him porridge at home, Yeo-reum answers the door and her insecurity strikes again. Aish!
But the truth is, Jae-yeol was really asleep and he had no idea Little Miss “your passcode was still the same” Yeo-reum was in his house. Yeo-reum doesn’t mention that Hee-jin dropped by, and Jae-yeol finds out much later at the school festival. But he has been stationed to man the camera, and he doesn’t get a chance to explain Yeo-reum’s presence in his house to Hee-jin. It also doesn’t help that while Yeo-reum and Jae-yeol are a few paces away from each other onstage as MC and cameraman respectively, Ji-won and Hee-jin are together in the crowd since they attended the festival together. And while everyone else is having fun, the quartet is burning looks at each other from their different spots across the room. Pfft.
The main attraction of the festival is the confession tree — where students anonymously write out their confessions for Yeo-reum to read aloud and pair them with their crushes. One of the confessions is a wish to be with Hee-jin on Christmas, and Hee-jin is called to the stage. A nervous Yeo-reum calls for the anonymous confessor to step forward, and just like Yeo-reum, Hee-jin expects Jae-yeol to come out. But nobody does. Hee-jin is left onstage by herself for quite the number of embarrassing minutes, before Ji-won steps forward to claim the confession. Phew! Yeo-reum is relieved at the turn of events, but Hee-jin and Jae-yeol stew further in their misery.
Surprisingly, Ji-won is not the author of the confession note — although he doubles down when Hee-jin tries to confirm if he really wrote it. No way! When Jae-yeol confronts Ji-won afterwards, Ji-won replies that he saw Jae-yeol struggling to make up his mind to come out, and he cannot let Hee-jin date someone like that. Side eyes at Ji-won for stealing the confession, but he has a point. Hee-jin deserves better than a man with cold feet. Ji-won declares his intention to pursue Hee-jin romantically, and now Jae-yeol has officially got competition. *Chews popcorn*
Speaking of competition, Yeo-reum tells Hee-jin that she will get back together with Jae-yeol. Hee-jin acts unfazed, but her anxiety deepens when Jae-yeol sweeps in like Prince Charming to wrist-grab Yeo-reum away in public — after news breaks that her mother was accused of fraud. Whut? It turns out that Yeo-reum’s greedy mom had money problems two years ago and she even tried to borrow from Jae-yeol’s mom. Yeo-reum broke up with Jae-yeol to prevent him from finding out, and she used the exchange program as an excuse to leave Seoul and get a part-time job. Great! Now I feel semi-bad for her.
In the present, Jae-yeol asks why Yeo-reum didn’t tell him the truth, and she replies that she didn’t want to look pathetic. I feel her, but breaking his heart to protect her pride wasn’t the best of moves. Yeo-reum promises she won’t leave Jae-yeol this time even if things blow up in her face again, but it’s two years too late. Jae-yeol has feelings for someone else — and she knows this, but she still drags him to hang out with her. Ji-won is in the same shoes as he ramps up the romantic gestures towards Hee-jin, but Hee-jin is totally unaffected for obvious reasons.
Due to a reservation mistake, the love square ends up dining at the same table in a restaurant. While one half of the quartet brims with jealousy and unspoken feelings, the other half is anxious because the first two are clearly in love with each other. After Ji-won and Hee-jin leave, Jae-yeol apologizes to Yeo-reum for his two-year hatred when she was going through a hard time, but he reiterates that it’s really over between them. Jae-yeol races out of the restaurant and calls out to Hee-jin, but Ji-won holds on to her and tells her not to go. Too late. Hee-jin goes to Jae-yeol and he tells her he likes her. Then they kiss for real this time.
I’m happy for the happy couple, but what’s up with that love confession note that Yeo-reum saw with Jae-yeol? If that note was truly his and Ji-won didn’t write any, then who wrote the one that was read during the festival? We saw Hyun-oh making his weekly one scene appearance beside the confession tree, so maybe the note was from him. I have to say, I do not appreciate how Show keeps teasing and dangling Hong Min-ki in my face like this. I don’t have any expectations, but still, Show had better be reserving his character for something good. He deserves better and so do I.
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Tags: Crushology 101, Hong Min-ki, Jo Joon-young, Kim Hyun-jin, Lee Chae-min, Noh Jung-eui
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1 zindigo
May 5, 2025 at 12:46 PM
The best part about this drama is yelling at all the characters while trying not to fall off my treadmill. (The only excuse I can give myself for watching this show is habit stacking it LOL.)
The wishy-washy choices and endless misunderstandings can best be accepted given the characters and setting. This is college after all.
Speaking of misunderstandings... no way is Bo Bae dating that other guy. He was probably the actor playing Romeo and she was just joking about him being her "boyfriend."
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uhni0317
May 5, 2025 at 12:59 PM
You for sure have a better life style than me - i try not to fall off my couch, or spitting out junk food and pop, while watching kdrama, for goodness sake lol.......
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zindigo
May 5, 2025 at 6:08 PM
😂
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Isa is always time travelling
May 5, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I'm sure Bo Bae doesn't have a boyfriend. It's other misunderstanding. Poor Dong Ha.
This secondary couple would be interesting if the script gave them more time.
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zindigo
May 5, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Yes, I like the second couple too!!
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hacja
May 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I sometimes watch shows on the exercise bike, and the advantage of that is that you can not only yell at the characters without risk of shooting off the back of the treadmill, but you can also pedal really fast in irritation while they are doing something stupid.
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zindigo
May 5, 2025 at 6:11 PM
An exercise bike would indeed be even more productive lol!! However, I do a lot of arm flailing on the treadmill while watching this show, so at least I'm getting some upper body work in hahaha
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2 hacja
May 5, 2025 at 1:16 PM
While I can understand Bunny deciding early on Ji-won was not for her--until these latest episodes, he really did just hang around, not making his intentions clear-- Jae-yeol is exactly what an insecure Bunny does NOT need--an immature, poorly communicative arm-grabber who is not very thoughtful of her concerns, but instead is obsessed with his own minor traumas. While I'm not defending his Mom, I did find his behavior pretty jerky in its own right--that he just stamped away from his Mom like a petulant teenager rather responding to her-- maybe even saying something like "even though I don't approve of your affairs,which is why I too hastily apologized I'm still sorry you were mislead by a two-timer"
One of the reasons I was hoping that Hong Min-ki would have appeared sooner, is that maybe his character would have provided the solution to Bunny's man issues, by combining some of the virtues of the previous 3 candidates, without the obvious flaws. That does not seem to be happening, although who knows, maybe 4 episodes is enough to have her dump Jae-yeol, pass the Crushology 101 exam, and move onto the upper division course Crushology 330, Methods in the Study of Adult Emotions and Lasting Love.
By the way, do Art Departments in Korean National Universities actually have juvenile "traditions" like "the confession tree" at student association celebrations? Because that might be the issue right there--Crushology 101 is too advanced a course for Korean undergraduates, and they should be required to pass a Crushology course in high school before taking the subject at a college level.
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zindigo
May 5, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I too have been hoping the mysterious Hong Min Ki would be the resolution to this mess, and it would be amazing if this mild story surprised us with that ending. But I'm not holding my breath. 🙃
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Isa is always time travelling
May 5, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I'd love that plot twist! As I said in What we are watching, this show is totally predictable from the first episode, but somehow it seems that those who are still watching it are waiting for a surprise (me included 😂).
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zindigo
May 6, 2025 at 11:27 AM
If they don't have one, they should film it now while there's still time to save this show 🤣
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Isa is always time travelling
May 6, 2025 at 1:48 PM
💯💯💯
I hope they are reading us 😂
3 Isa is always time travelling
May 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Random thoughts:
_ The tropes bingo card is more than full now. We need more cards. Some tropes have been repeated, actually.
_ I don't like the main couple anymore, they are quite annoying. I am only waiting for Hong Min Ki (I don't know why MDL includes him as one of the main leads. He is a cameo).
_ I wish the show gave more time to the secondary couple, at least Dong Ha is funny.
_ Ji Won was in the friendzone since the beginning, then why is the preview trying to make us think he still stands a chance?
_ At least the OST is quite good.
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zindigo
May 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I was expecting HMK to be the one to claim the confession and was genuinely surprised when he wasn't. So many missed opportunities for a more exciting story!
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Isa is always time travelling
May 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM
When I saw those feet moving towards the stage I thought it was HMK, finally!
We are being robbed 😅
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4 Reply1988 - 🍊Mother Bean🍊
May 5, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Thanks for the recap @unit
I hope Jiwon can manage his feelings and accept he is just a good friend now that Heejin is officially dating. He seemed to be acting out of character with a possessive, under the guise of ‘protective’, vibe going on that doesn’t suit him.
My hopes are the Jaeyeol and Heejin relationships is a short term crush that fades out naturally and the fourth character is the end game as Jaeyeol and Heejin’s interactions became annoying this week. Heejin’s parents have provided her with a great example of what a long term relationship should look like so I hope that Heejin can move on from relying on superficial feelings to something with depth. I also don’t get the point of the teasers if the fourth character is just going to play a low key side character as Jiwon and the artist have the love rival jealousy inspiring angle covered.
I hope the misunderstanding between Dongha and Bobae is resolved as she starts to notice him due to his absence.
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Isa is always time travelling
May 5, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Bobae has been indifferent to Dong Ha so far, but as you say, now she will miss him a little. Btw, they are online "enemies" but they don't know it. It seems they have very different opinions about movies.
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Reply1988 - 🍊Mother Bean🍊
May 5, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Yes I loved that and I am looking forward to them discovering that connection.
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5 Kurama
May 5, 2025 at 11:51 PM
The characters are really not interesting...
But the ML confessed his feelings 3x times when Ji-Won never did, he denied he had feelings when he talked to Jae-yeol or his sister, so I found funny he tried to give a lesson.
I don't know why they added a 4th man, if they don't give anything to do...
This drama has already way too many episodes.
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6 sumi
May 6, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Three things that annoyed/frustrated me this week on this show: 1. the two lead characters not saying things they truly mean, 2. the two lead characters not giving clear answers to each other, 3. the SFL spending almost 2 entire days in the same (pink) outfit without every showering/changing? EEEYEW!
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7 Prism
May 9, 2025 at 5:25 PM
While I loathe the ML since episode one, I now have lost any respect for FL this week too. She has no self-respect and gets her boundaries trampled all the time by everybody. Girl needs to go to therapy and work on her self-esteem, not go boyfriend hunting.
ML doesn't want to be exclusive with her, stands her up on the confession stage, doesn't change his apartment code after his ex goes in and out of it, wrist graps her in public like she's a romantic interest, and lets her sleep in his apartment. He intended to have one-on-one dinner with his ex if not for the reservation mistake. All his actions scream disrespect, and it makes the FL look like a doormat who ignores all the red flags because TALL and HANDSOME.
The show sends the message that as long as a man has trauma, he can treat you as badly as he wants, and it's up to you to cure his childhood trauma with love instead of him going to therapy working on his personality. The problem is that the show tries to frame this as romantic instead of problematic.
Unless this show ends with FL realizing this and then breaking up with ML. 4th ML swooping in and showing her a healthy love. This show is not a romance but a psychological thriller.
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