Back to 1989 Episode 1 First Impression

Back to 1989 Episode 1 By Ninja

Drama: Back to 1989 (1989???)
Country: Taiwan
Episodes: 13
Airs: Fridays

Synopsis: Sent all the way back from the year 2016 to the year 1989 on a stormy night, our hero Chen Che has the rare chance of meeting his own mom back before he was born...and perhaps finally finding out the truth of who his father is. As always, things gets complicated when Chen Che starts to develop feelings for his mother's best friend.

Back to 1989 Episode 1 Overview
As an extremely talented stock analyst, money and job offers are always plenty for our hero Chen Che. Despite Chen Che's confident exterior he harbors a lifelong desire to find out the identity of his father but unfortunately, that is one topic his mother refuses to talk about.

Filled with frustration when his last attempt to find out the identity of his father ended with his mother telling him to either stop asking or never see her again, Chen Che goes out on a dangerous motorcycle ride during a storm. While passing through an underpass, a light sudden blinds Chen Che and he disappears as the motorcycle skids across the road.
Puzzled when he opens his eyes to find his motorcycle no where to be found, Chen Che has no choice but resorts to forcefully stop the first person he sees...which turns out to be our heroine Ye Zhen Zhen.

Apparently that particular town was filled with terrible drivers back in 1989, so in no time Zhen Zhen's brand new motorcycle is hit by a truck while she is busy arguing with Chen Che for suddenly stopping her.

Dumbfounded when both Zhen Zhen and the motorcycle shop owner stare at him strangely when he pulls out a credit card to pay for the repairs, it finally dawns on Chen Che that something is very wrong. Shocked once he realizes he has somehow ended up in the year 1989, Chen Che tries to cheer himself up that someone as talented as himself could survive anywhere.

Convinced that Chen Che must be a big liar, Zhen Zhen pesters him and demands that Chen Che pays her back the money it costs to fix her damaged motorcycle. Frustrated that all of his spectacular credentials are of no use in 1989, Chen Che asks Zhen Zhen to lend him $10,000 N.T so he can make more money quickly (via stocks). Even more convinced that Chen Che is just out to scam her, Zhen Zhen refuses Chen Che's seemingly crazy request.

As the least productive employee in her stock trading company, Zhen Zhen has no choice but to go with her boss to a dinner meeting if she wants to keep her job. Her heart sinking when her boss all but tells her to do "whatever" it takes to please their VIP (President Lee), Zhen Zhen feverishly hope someone would come and rescue her when President Lee's hands start to get grabby.

Puzzled but relieved when Chen Che suddenly barges into the room, Zhen Zhen quickly realizes with dismay that instead of saving her Chen Che is using her as a bargaining chip. Stunning everyone in the room, Chen Che makes a bet with President Lee that he could guess the next day's closing stock number. Laughing heartily, President Lee agrees to pay Chen Che a large sum of money if his prediction of the closing stock number turns out to be true but if not then Zhen Zhen would have to go singing with him.
In the middle of arguing with Zhen Zhen who keeps insisting that he must be a quack, Chen Che is astounded when a familiar figure suddenly popped out of nowhere. Looking at a much younger version of his mom, Chen Che can hardily believe it as he stutters "Your name is Chen Ya Juan?!" Somewhat freaked out by the intensity Chen Che is staring at her, Ya Juan hides behind her best friend Zhen Zhen.

First Impression
To be honest, I had an extremely low expectation of Back to 1989 and really didn't think I would be tempted to keep watching after episode one...but I was wrong! Episode one was extremely well done. The story set up was super short but intriguing, and more importantly the show was able to give the familiar premise of time travel a refreshing feel.

My only concern at this point? The doomed romance between the two leads. The alternate title for Back to 1989 is "The impossible love" which I am assuming points to the romance between the hero and Zhen Zhen who would be his mom's age if the hero ever goes back to his own timeline...which in shows like this they always do eventually. 
So here is my dilemma: Keep watching and hope the writer would somehow make it all work out for our two leads...or wait and watch the ending before I invest too much into this show?

ps. I am currently leaning towards checking out at least a couple more episodes and bailing if it starts to look like the writer is really not going to twist the logic of space and time to give us a happy ending.

Friday Drama Round Up #65

Friday Drama Round Up #65

Witch's Castle (Korean Drama)
Well...going into episode 30, our two leads are finally interacting with each other but they have just barely moved past from their initial mutual dislike for one another. Sigh...the romance is kinda slow BUT this one is still my current K-daily that I am following. 

Moorim School (Korean Drama)
I wasn't too sure if this one would keep my interest for too long but surprisingly I am really liking the bromance, and of course the young romance in Moorim School. I am a bit worried about the conspiracy and the treasure hunting plot line taking over the fun aspects of the show...but at least for now I am watching this one faithfully. 

Local Hero (Korean Drama)
Park Si Hoo's comeback drama as an ex-secret agent with a hidden mission for revenge while working as the owner of a bar. 

I checked out the first two episodes and while I liked the secret agent vibe of Local Hero but the plot moved painfully slow. 

Madame Antoine (Korean Drama)
This one is about a battle like romance between a world famous psychologist and a fortune teller. I haven't quite made up my mind about this one yet. The battle of the wits between the two leads is very interesting but the hero is really quite unlikable at this point so it's kinda hard to stay interested. 

Taste of Love (Taiwanese Drama, Finished)

Surprising even myself, I actually stuck with this one most of the way. Taste of Love really had a lot potential going for it but in the end the show's biggest downfall was insipid secondary characters and being bogged down by the big mystery that stops being intriguing a long time ago. 

One More Happy Ending (Korean Drama)
One of my favorite K-drama right now...but what's up with the male second lead that is both perfect AND decisive?! 

Back to 1989 (Taiwanese Drama, New)
This one has an intriguing premise about a guy who suddenly finds himself back in 1989 and meeting his much younger mother. I really liked the first episode and will be putting out a first impression on this one soon.

Oldies but Goodies

Family's Honor (Korean Drama, 2008)

This 50 episode long family drama was the very first show I took notice of Park Si Hoo as a leading man. So it seems appropriate to feature Family's Honor in view of of Park Si Hoo's new drama (Local Hero). 

Synopsis: Daughter of a very traditional family, Ha Dan Ah (Yoon Jung Hee) has never been able to let go of the trauma of losing her brand new husband in a car accident. Shutting herself off emotionally, Dan Ah is content to live a quiet life as a reserved collage professor...until she meets our hero, Lee Kang Suk, a mercenary like businessman. 

I personally find Yoon Jung Hee's acting a bit stiff but since the heroine's character is suppose to be really restrained anyway, I didn't mind the actress' acting here. Park Si Hoo's character in Family's Honor is one that suits him quite well as a cold businessman that obviously is going to undergo some dramatic change once he starts to fall for our heroine. It has been a LONG time since I watched Family's Honor but it kept my attention for 50 episodes so that must meant it was fairly good. 

Go Princess Go- Novel's Ending

Go Princess Go Novel's Ending By Ninja

(This chapter is pretty long so I will pick up from where the 9th Prince is exiled) 

Fall left and winter came. Without knowing it a new year has arrived. Qi Sheng names Qi Hao (Peng Peng's son) as the crown prince. When Fall came around, I found out I am pregnant again. That next summer, the Second Prince was born. That same summer, Concubine Lee asks to move out of the palace for health reasons...Qi Sheng allowed it.

On the third year, the court officials ask Qi Sheng to choose more wives but the only thing Qi Sheng said was "That is my private life, so it doesn't concern you" and ended that discussion.

Once I realized a nation wide beauty pageant was out of question, I figured I could just choose from the palace maids since there are after all over a thousand of them.

Keeping it a secret from Qi Sheng, I went through a whole lot of hard work to finally choose ten palace maids and gathered them together for training. But somehow Qi Sheng got a wind of it and before I have even enjoyed my own hard work sufficiently, Qi Sheng took the ten beauties and gave them to his court officials.

He sure is dang generous with other people's hard work.

I almost spit blood from being so angry. Privately, I took Qi Sheng's emperor's gown and bit it a few times before I elegantly showed up in front of him and advised "A harem exists as a way to have more royal offspring, so you really shouldn't be stubborn about this."

Smiling, Qi Sheng replies "I too think that there are too few children in the palace, let's work harder shall we?"

And thus, that's how in less than three months, the empress is once again pregnant.

Omitting a brief sentence about Peng Peng's maid (not Lu Li though) being married off and someone else becoming her personal maid. 

Peaceful time always passes quickly, and in a blink of an eye the third prince is here.

While I am busily being a baby machine, Prince Zhao and Lu Li are also keep busy...kinda of like being in a race with us. However, Prince Zhao still hasn't remarried (not counting Lu Li because she is still more on the concubine status). Every time this subject comes up, the empress dowager would start tearing up and feels like she has done a great wrong towards Prince Zhao... which means all the well known families will be summoned to recommend appropriate marriage candidates.  

Every time this happens, Lu Li would come visit me at the palace...right when Qi Sheng is around. Lu Li doesn't say much other than grabbing onto my legs and sob that she misses me too much but since the empress dowager is picking a wife for Prince Zhao, then she is going to come back into the palace as my maid once the new wife arrives. 

Unable to stop himself, the very next day Qi Sheng would show up in front of the empress dowager and somehow makes the empress dowager forget all about picking out a new bride for Prince Zhao. 
To clarify here, in the novel, Qi Sheng doesn't miss the fact that the first time he slept with Peng Peng she had mistaken him for Lu Li so Qi Sheng has a jealousy thing going on when it comes to Peng Peng's personal maid.  

After a few times of this, when the empress dowager brings up Prince Zhao's marriage again, the "important" families stop taking her seriously and all the appropriate candidates for one reason or the other end up becoming unsuitable. Eventually, out of ideas and unable to watch his brother still unmarried, Qi Sheng finally elevates Lu Li's status and she becomes Prince Zhao's wife.

Things settles down over at Prince Zhao's household and Qi Sheng too can finally be at peace.

However, it's my turn to be aggravated, because for some reason all of Qi Sheng's wives have become extremely religious and one after another is asking to leave the palace.  

Qi Sheng's wives has always been few in number but now that we are losing one a year, by the time Qi Sheng has been an emperor for five years, the only one left was Concubine Liu and even she is asking to leave in order to join a monastery.  

I met with Concubine Liu and tries to persuade her with "You are so young, why do you have to do this? Everything can be worked out. After these years, you and I are the only ones left in the palace. Back in the old days, we had to wait seven or eight days for the emperor to grace us with his presence but now, the emperor is either at my place or your place so why are you asking to leave? How can the monastery be better than the palace? You won't be able to eat meat at all! Stay! Keep me accompany. I promise you, as long as I can eat meat, I won't make you a vegetarian."

So moved by my own speech, my eyes even start to tear up. 

However, Concubine Liu was even more determined than I was. She grabbed my legs and sobbed "Empress, Please just let me go! I have took my turn at the emperor's palace for so many years but I have never even touched him! I could only swallow my suffering all this time. Back in the old days, at least with the other sisters' help I only needed to do half of the night, but now I am the only one! I have to stare at the emperor all night! I am getting old now, not sleeping for so many nights it's just torturous. Look! Look at the dark circles underneath my eyes! They can't be covered with makeup!" 

Dumbfounded, I stare at the sobbing Concubine Liu and could find no words to say. Finally, after a few pauses I suggests "How about this, I will talk to the emperor and tell him not to summon you at night anymore?" 

Unfortunately, Concubine Liu would have none of it and insists on joining the monastery anyway. 

Looking around the empty palace, I decided that it can't keep going like this and approach Qi Sheng once again "Why does it have to be like this? Isn't it better to have the palace filled with noises and people? I don't care about things like this so we are you so stubborn?"

Giving me a smile, Qi Sheng replies "I am going to use a heart in exchange for another heart. If one year won't do it, then ten years, and if that's still not enough, then a whole life time." 

Not sure how to explain, I tell him "Qi Sheng, you don't understand."
"Then explain it to me." He replied. 

I open my mouth to explain, but I had no clue what to say. In the end, I could only tell him that as long as he is the emperor, he is my master. With my very existence in his hand, how could I just toss all caution aside and love him?

He doesn't understand that love is not just about giving me everything but equality. As long as he is the emperor and I am his empress, we will never be equal. 

The empress dowager dies on the the tenth year of Qi Sheng becoming an emperor. Qi Sheng was really close to the empress dowager so he was depressed for a long time. However this also meant the next year Qi Sheng had an even better reason to not bring in anymore concubines into the palace. 

Two more years passed, and by this time Qi Sheng and I already have three sons and two daughters. That year, Qi Sheng listed all the possible groom candidates and dig though all of their family background before he finally married off our eldest daughter. 

I told Qi Sheng "Let's not have anymore kids okay? I am going to become a grandma anytime now, I am really not barefaced enough to have anymore kids." 

Qi Sheng thought about it for quite a few nights and finally tells me that he will consider my suggestion. 

On the 14th year (since Qi Sheng became the emperor), The crown prince is 16 years old and after picking through carefully we were able to find a wife for him. When we were choosing concubines for him I told my son, "If you would like, it's okay to marry a few more girls. But if you don't like the girl, then don't marry them at all. Don't ruin someone's life." 

The crown prince is still young so he eagerly replies "I only like my wife, so I don't need any more girls." 
But Qi Sheng looks at my with a thoughtful expression. 

The next day, Qi Sheng takes me to the the monastery and asks "Does Peng Peng feel happy?"
Surrounded by the smell of incense, I answered honestly "Happy, very happy." 
It's just...I can't help it but feel bad when I think that these happiness came at the price of all those other women spending the rest of their lives at the monastery.

Qi Sheng asks "This monastery is the very one they (the concubines) joined. Would you like to see them?"
After a short pause, I finally shook my head "No, I don't think so."
Qi Sheng laughs and whispers as he lean close "Good thing you don't want to see them. If you did, I wouldn't have anyway to conjure them out of nothing." 
Dumbfounded, I look at him without understanding. 
Qi Sheng smiles, pats my hair and softly explains "Peng Peng, how can I stand to have your conscience suffer? Them...I let them all go. Even though I couldn't promise riches and splendor for life but I did let them choose the kind of lives them wanted to live."

Heaving a sigh, Qi Sheng pulls me out of the monastery. When we got back to the palace, Qi Sheng's mood suddenly got chipper and he turns to tell me "Our twentieth year will be here soon. I am going to prepare a surprise for you birthday this year." 

I nodded. Since I was especially happy because of what happened that morning, I decided to be extra "considerate" that night. Qi Sheng refuses to admit that he is not a young buck anymore...which meant the next morning he was late for the morning court...again. 

Before my birthday, Qi Sheng went on a hunting trip after telling me that he is going to catch a few white foxes for me as my gift. 

I actually don't care for animal fur too much, but since he seems so enthused I nodded and replies "Remember your words, don't give me empty promises."

He smiles as he nods then rides away.

Half of a month later, an express message came to the palace and said that Qi Sheng died from falling off his horse. My body froze. With the last remaining thought while I lost complete control over my body I thought to myself "This sure it's a surprise." 

By this point, the crown prince is already grown and has been helping Qi Sheng with court duties for many years. Therefore, even though the news brought sorrow but there were no chaos. With his brothers, the crown prince held Qi Sheng's funeral and ascends to the throne. 

That meant I moved as well and finally became the empress dowager. (In case this wasn't as obvious in the show, Peng Peng's goal has always been to become the empress dowager.) 

After twenty years, I can finally sit on that empress dowager seat. Yet, how come my heart feels no joy but only the desire to sob out loud? 
However, the tears refuses to come. Instead, there seems to be something pressing down on my heart.

Trying to console myself, I reasoned that after living with Qi Sheng for twenty years, I should feel some emotions ...much like one would feel towards a pet, so it is entirely reasonable that I would feel sorrow towards the loss of a human being. If I can just get over this period then everything will get better. 
As the empress dowager, the emperor is my own son and there is no mother-in-law to reign over me so as long as I don't betray the country, I figure no one else would dare to tell me what to do. 

In my head, I started thinking once I started feeling better, I am going to go built a big house somewhere nice. I could even bring in some pretty servants, so it will add to the view. 

I even thought that since I am really not that old, to avoid hormonal imbalance I should secretly get a few male concubines...of course this needs to be done very quietly because after all I need to be mindful of my emperor son's reputation.

I had plenty of grandiose plans for my future but my body seems to be against me and refuses to get out of the bed no matter what.

The eldest princess came in to keep my company but got concerned when she saw me doing nothing but eating and sleeping. Alarmed by my refusal to get off the bed, all my children knelt around my bedside and plead with me to stop mourning so their father wouldn't be sad in the heavens.

Qi Sheng being sad in the heavens?! He has been dead for two whole moths, he has probably reincarnated into some baby by now.

Still, looking at all of my kneeling and pleading kids, my heart softened and I tell them "Go back. I am going to get better soon. So don't worry anymore."

The emperor is after all a ruler with a bit more shrewdness in him so he immediately cried "As long as mother won't see a physician and get the proper medication then we won't get up from the floor."

With no way out of it, I compromised and told them to summon the palace physicians so they would go their ways.

The palace physician came right away but ended up kneeling on the floor with sweat rolling down their face.

Puzzled, I asked "Is it some incurable disease?"

Shaking like a leaf, the physician stutters "no...no..."

Even more confused, I asked "So why are you shaking?"

Continuing to stutter, the palace physician replies "Empress dowager... is pregnant."

Stunned, I closed my eyes for a moment and finally whispered "You can go now. Don't say anything to anyone, not even to the emperor." 

After giving me a bow, the palace physician leaves. 

Laying on the bed, my mouth is filled with a bitter taste. Qi Sheng died without a worry but left me baby. How am I suppose to tell my sons and daughters about this?

The second day, Prince Zhao comes to see me and with a mischievous smile tells me "I know how to cure you of this illness."

Confused, I asked "How?"

Turning to the door, Prince Zhao claps a few times and right away someone completely covered in a cloak walks in. 

Giving me a smile, Prince Zhao promises "This person will cure sister-in-law's illness for sure. Okay, I will take my leave now." Finished with his declaration, Prince Zhao immediately walks out of the door and even closed it behind him.  

Looking at the hidden meaning behind Prince Zhao's words...did he bring the newly minted empress dowager a male concubine? In broad day light? Prince Zhao sure have a lot of guts. Isn't he afraid that Qing Sheng would be so angry that he would climb out of his tomb? 

Standing by the door, the man takes off his hooded hat and raised his head. Revealing a handsome face, he grins and asks "Peng Peng, You are finally the empress dowager. Are you satisfied?" 

Sitting up abruptly, I look at him in astonishment, unable to say a word. 

Laughing, He asks "Does this count as a surprise?"

Dumbfounded, I sat until things starts to get blurry before I finally snaps back to reality and nods "Yap, it really it's a surprise."

Looking at Qi Sheng's bright smile, I continue "Qi Sheng. It's always polite to reciprocate, so let me give a present in return. Alright?" 

Surprised, Qi Sheng raises his eyebrow and asks "What surprise?" 

Giving him an equally bright grin, I answer "This empress dowager...is pregnant." 

Other Interesting Bits From The Novel:

• In the novel, Qi Sheng actually was the one that chose not to marry Ying Yue. Due to some court intrigue Qi Sheng had come to an agreement with Prince Zhao in order to secure his status as the crown prince.
• Prince Zhao had been Qi Sheng's confidant but Prince Zhao did end up resenting Qi Sheng when he couldn't get Ying Yue to give up on Qi Sheng. So the whole assassination attempt by Prince Zhao did happen but it was just more a way to vent his anger instead of a serious attempt on Qi Sheng's life. 
• The scene of Ying Yue being a hostage happened in the novel as well but instead of hesitating, it wasn't a hard decision for Qi Sheng to choose between his men or Ying Yue's life but Peng Peng ended up stopping him from killing Ying Yue.  

• Prince Zhao was the one that rescued Ying Yue and brought her back. Thanks to Lu Li who "cried" in front of Peng Peng (but within ear shot of Qi Sheng) that Ying Yue will steal her husband's heart so she can come back as Peng Peng's maid soon, Qi Sheng quickly ordered Ying Yue to be sent away. (By this time, Prince Zhao didn't care about Ying Yue anymore.)
• Qi Sheng not only finds out quite quickly that Peng Peng is not his wife BUT he also later starts to suspect Peng Peng's gender. (I guess the whole ogling his concubines gave it away.)  Fearing what Qi Sheng would do if he finds out the truth, Peng Peng had assured Qi Sheng that she is a woman in her past life. You do get the feeling that Qi Sheng probably knows that Peng Peng is lying and that's why he remained VERY jealous of Lu Li. 

• In the novel, Peng Peng's soul was actually supposed to be a girl anyway but due to a mistake by a minor god, Peng Peng's soul was sent to a man's body. So to correct the mistake the god had put Peng Peng's soul back to her rightful body. (The old Peng Peng actually went to the modern time and into Peng Peng's old body.)
• Instead of being the Romeo he was in the drama, the 9th Prince only had his eyes on the throne and used Peng Peng's secret (the soul switch) as a way to form a partnership with Peng Peng. Which meant, Peng Peng never trusted the 9th Prince and there were really no romance between them. Well...the 9th Prince might have felt something at the end but certainly not enough to sacrifice his emperor dream. 

• Oh, one last thing. Remember Yang Yan? In the novel he helped the 9th Prince escape from jail as well but he had no part of betraying the military secret and told Peng Peng that if he knew the 9th Prince would go so far then he would've never helped him.  

I Have A Lover Episode 39-40 Recap

I Have A Lover Episode 39 Recap By Ninja

Swallowing her panic as she sits in the ambulance with the unconscious Baek Seok, Hae Gang notices the piece of paper he is holding in his hand. Carefully extracting the paper, Hae Gang is horrified when she reads the familiar note from her stalker that reads "I Will Kill You."

Ironically meeting his father to watch a movie about mountain climbing, Jin Eon confronts President Choi about Daddy Dok Go's death. Showing no sign of feeling guilty, President Choi proudly declares that he was able to grow Daddy Dok Go's research into a company beyond his friend's wildest imagination and that his friend's death benefited the greatest number of people. Furious as he listens to President Choi's ridiculous logic, Jin Eon makes his own declaration when President Choi refuses to turn himself in "I can't kill me own father...so I will have to die instead. You hold the rope to me now. Are you going to cut it again?"
Already feeling guilty, Hae Gang is overwhelmed when Jin Eon informs her that there is a chance Baek Seok would lose the use of his right hand because of the nerve damage. Sobbing when she finally sees Baek Seok lying in the hospital bed, Hae Gang laughs through her tears once Baek Seok starts to tease her for crying too much.
Despite the brave and happy face Baek Seok puts on in front of Hae Gang, the tears that start to fall once he is alone belies the fear in his heart.
Rushing to the police station, Hae Gang breaks down in heart wrenching sobs when Kyeong Woo tells her the reason he has been attacking her was because of what she did to his father, Shil Il Sang.
Busy trying to comfort the sobbing Hae Gang, Jin Eon suddenly snaps to attention when Kyeong Woo yells that he never hit Baek Seok because at the time of the attack he was watching Jin Eon crying in his car.

Quickly realizing that there were too many clues they missed, Jin Eon and Hae Gang soon come to the conclusion that Baek Seok was the target all along. From there, it didn't take too much brain cell to figure out Tae Seok is the only one that would have it out for Baek Seok.
Strutting into Baek Seok's hospital's room with the assumption that Baek Seok would have no choice but to postpone the court date, Tae Seok is visibly flustered when Baek Seok just smiles and assures him "I have no intention of postponing the court date. Don't I still have my mouth? Don't worry, I will be there for sure."

Furious when she realized that Tae Seok was the one behind Baek Seok's attack, Seol Ri has an ugly confrontation with Taek Seok and starts to list off all his dirty deeds. Too busy yelling at one another, neither Tae Seok nor Seol Ri notice Hae Gang listening in on their conversation until Hae Gang's voice startles them. Ignoring Seol Ri's protest, Hae Gang drags her off after telling Tae Seok that she will deal with him later.

I Have A Lover Episode 40 Recap
Dragged to a cafe, Seol Ri fully expects to have a confrontation with Hae Gang about her asking Tae Seok to destroy both Jin Eon and Hae Gang. However, instead of being angry, Hae Gang pleas with a stunned Seol Ri that she wants the two of them to start over. Exposing all her vulnerability, Hae Gang apologizes to Seol Ri for everything she did before and begs Seol Ri to not end up like her.
Showing up at the police station to clear Kyeong Woo's name, Jin Eon watches with a sinking feeling as Shil Il Sang tells his rebellious son that no matter what happens in the world, the tie between a father and son can't be broken.

Pleasantly surprised when Jin Eon tells the police that Hae Gang is not going to press charges against his son, a shame faced Shil Il Sang thank Jin Eon repeatedly.

Storming into Tae Seok's office, Jin Eon throws a bat (the one that was used to attack Baek Seok) on Tae Seok's table and demands "You are so despicable that you are even framing a kid for your own purpose now?"

Picking up the bat, Tae Seok points it at Jin Eon and taunts him to back up all his accusations with some evidence. Yelling back, Jin Eon gleefully informs Tae Seok that he will find Baek Seok's real attacker soon and taunts back "So brother-in-law better send him away soon. Where are you going to send him this time?
Panicking as he listens via the wire tab of Jin Eon and Hyun Woo's (his friend) conversation, Tae Seok is dismayed to find out that his minion is really in danger of being exposed. Unbeknownst to Tae Seok, Jin Eon has actually set up the whole thing just to make him nervous enough that he will meet with Baek Seok's attacker.

As Jin Eon predicted, Tae Seok does call the attacker and Jin Eon waits with his eyes glued to the surveillance camera as the man parks his car at the company's parking garage. Unfortunately, the attacker ends up catching Hae Gang's attention and a fearless Hae Gang confronts the guy personally.
His heart in his throat as he races towards Hae Gang, Jin Eon arrives just in time to throw his own body at the attacker right as the man pulls out a knife. Leaving the attacker in the hands of the hoard of security staff that followed closely behind, Jin Eon turns angrily towards Hae Gang and yells at her for being so foolish as to confront the attacker herself.

Speechless as he watches an equally angry Hae Gang yells back at Jin Eon for daring to throw himself at the attacker, Hyun Woo tells our two leads "Are you guys really divorced? Just get married! I will be your mc at the wedding again."
After an unpleasant confrontation with Tae Seok, Hae Gang is mildly surprised to find a seething Jin Eon waiting for her right outside of Tae Seok's office. Ignoring all the staff that is standing right there, Jin Eon goes off on a rant about Hae Gang never including him when she goes off on doing dangerous things. Speechless once again as he watches Hae Gang and Jin Eon's "fight" with envy, Hyun Woo mutters "I am going to go get married and divorced too."
Meeting Hae Gang for drinks, Jin Eon's face twists with pain when Hae Gang tells him that she already guessed the truth about his father being the one that killed her father. Shaking with self disgust for living as President Choi's "hunting dog" for so many years, Hae Gang tells Jin Eon that while she will make sure President Choi pay for what he did she doesn't want Jin Eon to be involved at all.

His expression contorting with the pain, Jin Eon finally tells Hae Gang that it's an end of their relationship. Crying as she stares at Jin Eon, Hae Gang nods as Jin Eon tells her "I love you, Do Hae Gang. This is my last confession in this life. In our next life, if we meet again then let us live happily. Where ever you are, I will find you right away. At that time, let's live together for a long, long time."

Sitting down with an expression mixed with dismay and relief, Hae Gang listens as a prosecutor tells her that she is the only suspect in a case they are investigating concerning Mido Pharmaceutical. (I believe that's Shil Il Sang's company)

Taking a calming breath, Hae Gang tells the prosecutor "If you are going to investigate me then call President Choi in as well...because I have a recording that proves President Choi's involvement."

As always, Yong Gi and Kyu Seok gives us the much needed cute among the melo:

Reluctantly agreeing to learn English in preparation of moving overseas for Woo Joo's treatment, Yong Gi obediently repeats after an English movie. Melt! They are so cute together! 
Trying to force Yong Gi to learn English as soon as possible, Kyu Seok has even resorts to only speaking to her in English. Frustrated when she struggles with understanding Kyu Seok's perfect English, Yong Gi some how manages with her broken English to kick Kyu Seok out of his room in order to clean it.

Thoughts

Awe, Kyu Seok is so cute. From Kyu Seok's conversation with his brother, we find out that he probably approached Joo Woo and Yong Gi at first because he felt badly for what Tae Seok did to Yong Gi's husband but he obviously have developed real attachment to them since then.

One of my favorite scenes this week was the conversation between Baek Seok and Jin Eon. It seems hilarious but touching at the same time that Baek Seok and Jin Eon has gone from competitors to great friends. While it would obviously be nice if Jin Eon gets his happy ending with Hae Gang, but I am strangely satisfied with the thought if the three of them just end up being drinking buddies together... 

... that is until I see the longing expression on both of our leads' faces.