Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! Thanks for joining us for this fated commemorative group watch of Winter Sonata! I hope you’re enjoying Trent’s notes; I know I am! 🤩

We are getting into Even More Angsty Territory as I type this, but hang in there folks, coz Trent’s notes are here to save the day – or, at least, help us not feel alone! 🙈😅

SOME IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS, before we begin:

ZERO SPOILER POLICY

1. We will be adopting a ZERO SPOILER POLICY for this Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point.

The spoiler tags don’t work in email notifications, therefore, please take note that WE WILL NOT BE USING SPOILER TAGS FOR THIS OPEN THREAD. 

ANY AND ALL SPOILERS WILL BE REDACTED to protect first-time viewers in our midst (although, I’d appreciate it if you would save me the trouble of having to redact spoilers, heh 😅).

This includes, but is not limited to, how characters &/or relationships develop, later in the show.

We need to protect the innocent! 😉

SPOILER ZONE

2. HOWEVER!! If you’d like to discuss spoilers from a rewatcher’s point of view, I’ve created a SPOILER ZONE for you, where you can discuss all the spoilers you’d like, without the need for spoiler warnings. You can find it here!

Without further ado, here are Trent’s reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

Trent’s thoughts

Episode 13

Right up front, I have to say that there were significant stretches of this episode where I just wanted to fire EEEE’RRYBODY into the sun.  (Yes, even you, Yu-jin). Just load ’em all up into a big ol’ spaceship and hit the “ignition” button… 🚀🌞

Anyway, we pick up right where we left off: Min-hyung is pushing his “I am Jun-sang” revelation at a fairly resistant Yu-jin, who is not at all receptive to this message.

She’s all, Min-hyung, wake up, my man, just how much of an idiot do you think I am? She tries to leave; Min-hyung restrains her by holding her shoulders, and she’s like, do you think it changes anything even if what you’re saying were true?

And then right on schedule, bad penny Sang-hyuk turns up to stick his oar in, basically ridiculing the idea that Min-hyung could be Jun-sang, who everyone of course knows is DEAD 💀💀💀 as the proverbial doornail, and did you just decide this was the only stratagem by which you could have Yu-jin? (which takes some chutzpah, since Sang-hyuk actually knows the truth here, but then it’s Sang-hyuk we’re talking about, so chutzpah is not in short supply).

At this, Min-hyung hauls off and punches Sang-hyuk… 👊

…and look, I’m conflicted.  On the one hand, I definitely don’t like Sang-hyuk either, and it’s got to be intensely frustrating and confusing for Min-hyung to be in this situation, but then on the other hand, just punching the dude out…I dunno. Justified? 🤔

And of course, this gives Yu-jin the opportunity to leap in and simultaneously defend Sang-hyuk while calling Min-hyung on the carpet, giving him a good dose of the “I’m incredibly disappointed in you” sermon, before leading Sang-hyuk away.  

Me, I’m just frustrated with everybody after that clown show 🤡🎪. 

I mean, I sympathize with Min-hyung and understand he’s really not at his best right now, but that was just really poorly handled.

Yu-jin I can understand—although a little more empathy might have been welcome, she is after all trying to be true to the (bad) choice she’s made, which necessarily includes putting Min-hyung behind her and avoiding contact with him. And Sang-hyuk…ugh, don’t get me started.

We move to the back seat of a taxi, where Yu-jin is fussing over Sang-hyuk’s split lip, and Sang-hyuk starts demanding that Yu-jin promise him that she won’t meet with Min-hyung ever again; that she won’t listen to him; that she won’t believe whatever he says; that she won’t think of Jun-sang anymore; that she won’t leave him even if Jun-sang comes back alive.

Yu-jin is like…okay, sure, I guess. And Sang-hyuk is all, you promised me! Thank you. (not gonna lie, I found this all, uh, pretty creepy? I’m just contrary enough that if someone were trying to strongarm me into making promises like this, I would be all, what the hell? Forget it!).

Back to her apartment, and Jin-sook tells Yu-jin that her mom has arrived and is sleeping in Yu-jin’s bed. Jin-sook then goes on to relate how Min-hyung showed up at the bar and was all talking about crazy “maybe I’m Jun-sang” stuff.

Yu-jin lays down next to mom, when her phone rings. It’s Min-hyung, and Yu-jin sneaks out to the living room to talk.

He asks her if she’ll come out to listen to him; she says let me first tell you all the ways you’re not like Jun-sang. 

And then she goes through this litany of reasons Min-hyung is different than Jun-sang, and I’m sorry Yu-jin, but as I’m listening to these, I’m thinking that they’re all kind of dumb examples, because duh, they’re all pretty much easily explainable by 1) dude lost his memory of being Jun-sang entirely, AND  2) ten years have passed and he’s in a radically different time, place, and circumstances, so even if he did remember being Jun-sang, of course it would be quite natural for him to be acting or reacting differently.  

Nevertheless, that’s Yu-jin’s position, and both of them are deeply affected by the interaction, with tears rolling down two faces in tandem…Yu-jin goes on to say, even if you were Jun-sang, I have to stay with Sang-hyuk, I’ve chosen him. And after all, you are the one that sent me back to him. AND YES, FINALLY, FINALLY WE HAVE ARRIVED AT THE GRAVAMEN OF THE COMPLAINT. 

This is the core of it, isn’t it?  Min-hyung is the one that drove Yu-jin to the hospital and delivered her up to the lion’s den.

He’s the one that urged her to go in and see Sang-hyuk when she was trying so hard to break free, and put her where she would end up succumbing to Sang-hyuk’s b*llsh*t emotional coercion play.

I mean, there’s plenty of fault to go around here, but Min-hyung, buddy, let’s own up to the part you played, huh? 

Anyway, Yu-jin goes on to say, this is the last time; she’s about to hang up, and Min-hyung is all, just come out to see me, and I’ll listen to whatever you have to say (my dude, that’s the point, she’s already said it at this point, and you’ve listened.  Why do you think hearing it a second time in person is going to make a difference?)

(pause to note that I am sometimes overly cynical (overly clinical?) in these recaps, but they are both crying here, with the sad sentimental violin and piano accompaniment going full bore, and it is all very sad and suffused with pathos…😭). 

Yu-jin hangs up, and you can see her inner conflict reflected on her face.

She finally jumps up and heads for the front door…just as mom bursts from the bedroom full of fire to ask just where Yu-jin thinks she’s going, hmmmm? What is wrong with you, Yu-jin, why do you keep doing this?!

Yu-jin is all, but, but he said it’s the last time, and mom is all, no way no how are you meeting that man, missy, nuh-uh, and she grabs Yu-jin’s arm to physically restrain her. Out pops Jin-sook to enter the lists and join the festivities. 

Yu-jin breaks free and heads for the door…mom then grabs her head and collapses to the floor. (and I refer you all to my opening comments about wanting to fire everyone into the sun…most definitely including Yu-jin’s mom).

Cut to Sang-hyuk driving up then rushing into the bedroom, where mom is resting in bed and the doctor and nurse (what the hell, they make house calls at this late stage of our medical evolution?) have set up an IV line (that dang IV line is as much of a trope as the Truck of Doom, honestly).

Sang-hyuk is all, what’s going on? why did she collapse?

After waiting around and then wandering the streets for awhile, Min-hyung heads back to his hotel to find Sang-hyuk waiting for him.

They sit down in the lobby, and Sang-hyuk fills him in, playing it more or less straight, and then he’s all, you’re just going to continue to cause problems for Yu-jin if you keep doing this.

And then Sang-hyuk starts harping on all the pain Min-hyung has already caused Yu-jin by, you know, dying and all (oh, so sorry, my good man, I shall certain try to avoid dying next time). 

And THEN, Sang-hyuk has the sheer face to say that he’s sorry he was misleading about the Jun-sang stuff he found out about, but please please please, if you care about Yu-jin, just leave her alone, and let her go. 

And you know, I kinda hate Sang-hyuk, BUT IF (big if) we accept the premise that Yu-jin is truly going to stay with Sang-hyuk and marry the guy and try to have a life, then he kind of does have a point that Min-hyung sticking around to continually remind Yu-jin that she’s stuck with second (last?) best (from her perspective, at least) is going to continue to mess her up. 

We shift to Jun-sang’s old house in Chuncheon, where Min-hyung is kind of idly staring into space, which is where his mom finds him, and they sit down for a talk.

They kind of have it out, and mom sort of explains what she was thinking, that it was better that he be given “new memories” than have to live with no memories, and that she only went ahead with it after “long thought.” (look, I’m not saying it was a GOOD explanation…🤪).

Min-hyung’s all, you decided? Isn’t that my decision to make? (I applaud the principle, and agree with it, but as a practical matter, the problem was obviously that you were in no position to make that decision, right?). If I had no memories, you should have let me be, left me that way. 

And mom is like, I wanted to give you a father! Jun-sang grew up without a father, and was always unhappy about it! So I wanted to get married to provide you with a father (and I am trying to recall, but I don’t think we have seen whether piano mom currently has a husband, or whether he has been referenced at all? I don’t think so. So did she make up a memory of a father, too, or is there some rando dude out there floating around as “Min-hyung’s dad”?)

Min-hyung sees mom off, then goes through old mementos in the house; he finds a flirty note from Yu-jin written to Jun-sang back in high school, and then an old cassette tape that he plays to hear himself (as Jun-sang) practicing how to give a recording of his song “First Time” to Yu-jin as a Christmas present. More tears roll down his cheeks, and it is very sad and all.

Yu-jin is back in Chuncheon looking after mom, and she decides to drop by the old high school to deliver a wedding invitation to her teacher; meanwhile, Min-hyung has also decided to drop by the school to…soak up the atmosphere, I guess? Maybe see if it will stimulate any lost memories? 

Thus follows an extended montage of them wandering around the campus looking at stuff and continuing to just miss bumping into each other.

Show insists on teasing us that maybe they’ll finally meet up, like when Min-hyung is in the deserted auditorium playing the piano, but no, ‘tis not to be this time.

We shift back to Seoul and Min-hyung’s office, where his minion is complaining that Min-hyung is never around these days, just as Min-hyung strolls in, and then proceeds to inform minion that he’ll be going back to the U.S., as soon as possible.

Min-hyung then arranges to meet up with Sang-hyuk, where he tells Sang-hyuk that he’s decided to just be Lee Min-hyung, and to give up on Yu-jin, and leave the two of you alone, and oh yeah, he’s going back to the U.S., for good, and not planning on coming back. Oh, and Yu-jin has been faithful to Sang-hyuk, and even told me (Min-hyung) that she would stay with you (Sang-hyuk) and choose you. 

And…I mean, yeah, this pretty upsetting, not gonna lie, but it also seems to be true that Sang-hyuk manages a much better facsimile of tolerable partner material when he’s not under the strain of dealing with a bona fide rival, so…I guess Min-hyung is sort of doing Yu-jin a solid here, as long as he’s intent on abandoning the Field of Eros? Whatever. 

Well, of course now Sang-hyuk can afford to be all gracious, so he offers to shake Min-hyung’s hand, and tells him thank you, and that he’s glad that he survived and he’s alive…no, he means it! Really! Really really! 🙄 And I’m all, dude, stick a sock in it already, you smarmy SOB…🙊

Cut scene to Yu-jin and Jin-sook at Chae-rin’s boutique, where Yu-jin has arrived to try on the wedding dress that Chae-rin has prepared for her. 

Jin-sook scampers off to pick out a tiara, so just about the time Yu-jin comes out in her wedding dress–yes, looking quite lovely, can’t deny it–is just about the time Min-hyung walks through the door, intending no doubt to say a last goodbye to Chae-rin.

They stare at one another; he bows. Yu-jin goes to step back into the fitting alcove, and loses her shoe; he picks it up and helps her back into it, thus sparking her memory of Jun-sang helping her back into her shoes when they were escaping over the wall of their high school. 

They sit down on the couch to talk; Min-hyung asks Yu-jin, when you said you liked me, and also that you loved me, was it because I looked like Jun-sang?

And Yu-jin answers, no; I liked you, and I liked Jun-sang…I liked both of you. And he’s all, thank you. 

And just then, Jin-sook pops back in, and Min-hyung is like, I just came by to say “bye,” is Chae-rin here? Jin-sook is all, she’s not here, and Yu-jin is all…what did you mean by saying “bye”?

And Min-hyung is all, oh, it’s nuthin’; I should take my leave, then.  Oh, and congratulations on your wedding (he leaves)…Yu-jin is clearly about a fingernail away from crying big fat tears, but well, not much she can do about it at this point, right?

Jump to Yu-jin on the bus back to Chuncheon; meanwhile, her mom and professor dad are hanging out waiting for Yu-jin to arrive, and dancing around events in the past.

Mom mentions that piano mom is back in Korea and professor dad mentions that he already saw her once, and clearly there’s some past history here, but secrets, you know? and just then Yu-jin arrives anyway.

Yu-jin sees professor dad out, and they have a discussion about Jun-sang, of all things (Yu-jin assures professor dad that she won’t be seeing Lee Min-hyung any more), and professor dad mentions that he heard about Jun-sang’s death too late to attend his funeral.

Yu-jin says it was held in Seoul, so they didn’t go either, just had a memorial service for him. 

Sang-hyuk contacts Chae-rin, and they meet at his radio station. He tells Chae-rin that Min-hyung is leaving for the U.S., and won’t be coming back.

Chae-rin rushes out, and is all trying to track down where Min-hyung is…she then meets with an investigator she apparently hired to look into the Min-hyung/Jun-sang conundrum.

He tells her that piano mom seemingly altered the family record when she married, which people sometimes do, and that it seems definite that Min-hyung and Jun-sang are the same person. 

Back at the boutique, Chae-rin overhears Jin-sook on the phone with Yu-jin, who is apparently asking how to find someone’s death record.

Chae-rin is all, where is Yu-jin now?! And Jin-sook  is like, in Chuncheon, she’s going to the school after lunch.

So of course Chae-rin rushes off to intercept Yu-jin, because Yu-jin must not learn that Min-hyung is actually Jun-sang! (I’m not sure why she’s bothering at this point, to be honest, unless it’s just residual villainy.)

On her way, she calls up Sang-hyuk to tell him Yu-jin is going to the school, presumably to poke around (again, why is this so urgent?), and Sang-hyuk is all, does she know that Min-hyung is Jun-sang? 

Which of course pisses off Chae-rin, who is all, you knew that already?! And you didn’t tell me, you rat-bastard?!

So of course Sang-hyuk also goes rushing off to Chuncheon.  Chae-rin manages to intercept Yu-jin at the school and drag her away (without overtly seeming like that’s her goal or what she’s doing) before Yu-jin can do any digging around. 

Chae-rin drops Yu-jin off at her mom’s house, where Sang-hyuk is waiting for her; he drives her back to her apartment in Seoul.

Sang-hyuk drops her off, and she goes to climb the stairs, but pauses at the top to make sure that Sang-hyuk has driven away…then steps back out to hail a cab. 

Min-hyung, in the midst of packing, is on the phone with his mom, telling her that he’s departing for the U.S. tomorrow.

Yu-jin steps out of the elevator and walks down the hall to the door of Min-hyung’s room.  She pauses in front of the door. Her finger hovers over the doorbell button.  Freeze frame, et fin.  

WHAT WILL SHE DO?!  (Pause to note that the next episode, ep. 14, recorded the highest ratings of show’s entire run, so we are/were obviously not alone in wanting to know WHAT HAPPENS). 

Episode 14

Well, as you will recall, when the curtain fell on our last episode, we trembled on the edge of a momentous decision. Will Yu-jin ring Min-hyung’s doorbell? Well, WILL SHE?! 😳

…NO.

A whole montage flits through Yu-jin’s head, of people wondering about whether Min-hyung is really Jun-sang, but the last image she entertains is of Min-hyung congratulating her on her imminent wedding, and her telling Min-hyung that she feels honor-bound to stick with Sang-hyuk (😠).

So…she finally turns away and hastens back to the elevator. …where she stares painfully into the mirror while asking herself why she wants him so badly now, why she’s being so foolish.  Tears cascade; she collapses to the floor.  Oof. 

Next day, Min-hyung is winding it up at the office. Minion is expressing his dissatisfaction that our boy is running away from it all.

Min-hyung is all, c’mon dude, at least shake my hand…if you drive me to the airport, it’ll just be harder.

Switch to Yu-jin’s office, where she is also packing some of her stuff…so I guess she really is going to quit upon getting married? 😥

Jeong-ah is all, well, at least I can give you this…Mr. Lee Min-hyung swung by and dropped this off for you–I think it’s a goodbye gift.

Yu-jin is like, goodbye? Huh?  Jeong-ah is all…didn’t you know? Seriously?! He said he told you already…anyway, Min-hyung is going back to the U.S. His flight leaves at noon. 😲  

Yu-jin gets kind of a frozen/stricken look on her face (so, help me out here. Yu-jin turns her back on Min-hyung, makes clear she’ll not have anything further to do with him…but the very thought of him leaving the country paralyzes her? Was she subconsciously thinking she’d continue to flirt with temptation, maybe accidentally-on-purpose run into him now and again, just to see him? Hmm.)

Jeong-ah is all, do you want to go to the airport? You can make it if you leave right now, go…it might be the last time to see him.  That jolts Yu-jin out of her paralysis, and she’s all, no, no, why would I go to the airport?

Then Yu-jin opens the package Min-hyung left her, and it’s a CD of “First Time.”

So Yu-jin puts it in the player to play, and a note from Min-hyung falls out, and he’s like, well, I’m probably on the plane by now, and maybe this is a burden, but I wanted to leave this for you, even though I can’t record it on tape like Jun-sang would have.  I wish you happiness.

And Yu-jin tells Jeong-ah, you know, I’ve never told anyone that Jun-sang gave me that tape (to be clear, I don’t think Min-hyung is necessarily recovering memories; recall that he found that trove in Jun-sang’s old home last episode, which included a tape of Jun-sang practicing how to give the tape to Yu-jin). 

Anyway, that’s what it takes to finally galvanize Yu-jin into action. She jumps up and goes running out on the street to hail a cab to the airport.

(Fun fact: Incheon Int’l Airport opened in March 2001, less than a year before this aired, so I wonder if she’s going to Incheon or still to old Gimpo? I wouldn’t be able to tell from the interior shots…)

Cut to interwoven scenes of Min-hyung checking in, having coffee and reading the paper, while Yu-jin runs into and through the airport concourse, frantically looking around and trying to locate our boy.

ENOUGH TENSION ALREADY, SHOW. Does she find him?! YES!!!!  

Min-hyung walks through the seated area, just as a little girl kicks off her boot. He kneels down to retrieve it, then put it back on the girl’s foot…thereby triggering a memory of him–Jun-sang–putting Yu-jin’s shoe back on back when they were going over the wall in high school.

He sees a hazy, backlit view of Yu-jin’s face, she’s in a high school uniform.

He stands up…Yu-jin runs into view behind him.  She calls out…Jun-sang. He turns; she walks toward him as the tears fall down her face.

Are you Jun-sang? she asks. A tear runs down his face; she collapses into him. Jun-sang, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you…she hugs him tight, he returns the embrace. 

And damn, they’re both leaking so much they’re at serious risk of dehydration 😭😭😭.  Wonder if that ticket is refundable? (I mean, it was very melodramatic, but FINE, it was still moving, okay?)

Anyway. Night has fallen, and they are back in Min-hyung’s room, sitting facing each other on the couch. 

Yu-jin is all, I can’t believe I’m looking at you, Jun-sang. He’s like, say whatever you will; I don’t remember, but I’ll listen.

Yu-jin is all, I just want to say your name out loud.  Whenever I was missing you, I felt if I said your name, and you didn’t answer, it would be a reminder you were really dead. And I couldn’t believe that, because you promised me, you were supposed to meet me (and look, Yu-jin, that’s very idealistic of you, but in fact your perfect cinnamon roll was on his way out of town when he was supposed to be meeting you.  Alright, fair, he did turn around to come back…which is what got him smushed in the first place, oops).

Min-hyung is all, did I promise you? And she’s like, don’t you remember? (girl, we’ve just spent twelve episodes or so establishing that NO, he doesn’t remember. Remember?).

Then she’s like, I gave you my pink mittens, and you were supposed to bring them back to me (and okay, fair, finding those in his pocket is what triggered him to jump out of the cab and head back, so).

You don’t remember playing piano for me, and we skipped class and rode a bike, and you held my hand…And Min-hyung (Jun-sang? Are we supposed to go back to calling him Jun-sang? Oy, confusing) is all, I’m sorry.

Yu-jin is like, it’s not your fault, it’s all that naughty boy Jun-sang (🙄). You were alive, but forgot everything about me. And I remembered everything. (More tears, they embrace again).

Well. We’ve had a blessed twenty full minutes with no sign of bad penny Sang-hyuk, but of course that was too good to last, so for our sins, show cuts to Sang-hyuk lying in bed when his phone rings.

It’s Jin-sook, here to borrow some trouble. Actually, she wants to know if he knows where Yu-jin is? (and I mean, okay, if your roommate is usually back by a certain time, and now she’s not, of course you’re going to worry about her. Still…) 

So then we shift to Yu-jin’s apartment, and Sang-hyuk rushing in to see a worried Jin-sook. Jin-sook is all, she’s not in the office, and her mom doesn’t know anything about her being down in Chuncheon. What is going with that girl? She’s never done anything like this, oh, I’m so worried.

Just then, Sang-hyuk’s phone rings…it’s Min-hyung (Yu-jin is stretched out asleep on his couch).

Sang-hyuk is all, are you with Yu-jin, and Min-hyung is like, yes. (whew, that’s…a hell of a thing. Your fiancé who you’re supposed to marry in a couple weeks is with her  old flame late at night? I mean, I’m 100% on their side, and that’s still not a good look, to say the least).

Sang-hyuk is all, Yu-jin must have found out everything? And Min-hyung is like, I’m leaving for the U.S. Yu-jin is asleep, and I didn’t want to wake her up, so can you come pick her up tomorrow morning? Can you just wait until tomorrow?

Sang-hyuk is all, cool, cool, no problem.  And that high decibel screeching sound you’re hearing is me, SCREAMING MY FOOL HEAD OFF AT ALL THIS NOBLE IDIOCY UP IN HERE. LORD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL. 😱🤯🤬  

Of course, Jin-sook wants to know what’s up, and Sang-hyuk is all, Yu-jin is with Min-hyung. And just then Yong-gook busts in, so she has to fill him in on the sitch 🤪 so everybody can be properly aghast at this turn of events.

Yong-gook is all, why is she with him? And Sang-hyuk is like, Min-hyung is Jun-sang, to which they’re like, the hell?

Switch to Min-hyung tenderly tucking Yu-jin into his bed, then going off to sit in the living room and gaze pensively (but nobly!) into the distance. 

Next morning, Sang-hyuk pulls up to the hotel.

Up in the bedroom, Min-hyung gathers his briefcase; Yu-jin is still Snoozetown on the bed (even though it’s full light streaming in the windows?! C’mon). Min-hyung takes a last longing look, then closes the bedroom door…at which Yu-jin slowly opens her sleepy eyes and looks around.

She finds a note on the bedside table:

“Yu-jin-ah. Did I used to call you that? But I can’t remember it. Kang Jun-sang, who you missed so much, is me, but also not me. If I can’t remember our time together, then Jun-sang is just a name I used to have, nothing more.  I’m sorry. I’m grateful you were in my memories, although I lost them.”

While Min-hyung’s voice-over is reading this, he’s strolling down the street. Yu-jin bursts out of the hotel, looks around, and starts running down the street as well.

But then Sang-hyuk jumps out of his car and intercepts her, and is all, Yu-jin, where do you think you’re going? She’s like let me go! PLEASE! And she breaks loose and continues running down the street.

Sang-hyuk just stops and looks after her and kind of sighs…and can we even hope that he’s starting to get a glimmer of a clue that this is not going to work out?! (probably too much to hope for, alas).

Yu-jin spies Min-hyung walking on the opposite sidewalk, across a busy street. She yells “Jun-sang.” He pauses and looks at her, as Yu-jin rushes into the street, heedless of traffic. 

We hear a honk from a large vehicle of some sort (bus or truck?).

Yu-jin is paused in the middle of the street; Min-hyung jumps into the street to run toward her. They collide in front of the oncoming truck (it is a truck).

Min-hyung looks toward the truck as the screen whites out. We get a quick snippet of old memories of Jun-sang and Yu-jin together, and then flash to what looks like a hospital ceiling moving by as a gurney rolls down the hallway. 

(So I’ll tell you my immediate thoughts at this point in the episode: 1) OMG, Yu-jin is going to get hit by the Truck of Doom, and she’ll lose her memory! 2) no, no, Min-hyung gets his second dose of Truck of Doom (lucky guy!), and loses his memory again, 3) no, wait, he still gets Truck of Doomed, but it jars loose his old memories, so now he remembers everything!)

We move to a hospital room, a frantic Yu-jin asking the doctor if Min-hyung will be alright. Doctor says he has head trauma, we’ll just have to wait for him to wake up.

Yu-jin sits disconsolately by his bedside; Sang-hyuk tries to comfort her that he’ll be alright, just as Jin-sook, Yong-gook, and Chae-rin bust into the room.

Chae-rin starts getting all aggro to Yu-jin, saying it was probably her fault it happened, and Yu-jin is just, yeah, it was my fault.

Chae-rin is like, Jun-sang got hurt on the way to see you, and now so did Min-hyung. You must be so happy! Jin-sook and Yong-gook go to drag her out, but then Yu-jin is all, yes, I am happy he got in an accident and was injured to save me. I’m just happy that I found Jun-sang, satisfied now?

The four of them walk out; Chae-rin and Jin-sook go off, while Yong-gook asks Sang-hyuk if Jun-sang is really in critical condition?

Sang-hyuk is all, I think so. Then Yong-gook is all, I’ve never seen Yu-jin like that…you have to take care of her.

Sang-hyuk heads back up to find Yu-jin sitting alone in the hallway. Yu-jin says she’s so scared that he might not wake up again. 

Sang-hyuk is all, no one thinks it’s your fault, ignore Chae-rin. Yu-jin is all, it is my fault. He’s like, well, you’ve gotta eat something, and she’s all, donwanna. 

Sang-hyuk gets kind of testy and is all, you gotta eat, how are you gonna take care of him otherwise? Then he heads off out of the hospital to clear his head or something, I dunno, wrestle with his feelings at being so clearly an afterthought to Yu-jin…

Yu-jin goes back in and sits down to talk with (at) a still comatose Jun-sang.  She holds his hand and tells him she won’t be scared anymore, she’ll be with him and look after him. 

Next day, we are treated to a scene of piano mom finally arriving at the hospital and rushing in. 

Yu-jin is on the phone with Jin-sook, telling her to pack up some of her stuff for her and bring it over.

Just then, Mi-hee comes in and gives a trembly “Min-hyung.” She’s like, what happened to him?! And Yu-jin is all, sorry, it was my fault (uhh, maybe not the best introduction?)

Out in the hall, Mi-hee’s secretary is asking how he’s doing; Mi-hee wants to cancel her flight to Japan, and secretary is like, but your Japan schedule is important 🤨🤔.

Just then, Mi-hee sees Yu-jin in the hallway. Yu-jin bows and is all, Jun-sang’s mother; Mi-hee is like, why do you keep calling me that? I told you not to. And Yu-jin is like, sorry. Mi-hee is all, did you tell him he was Jun-sang, that he looked like Jun-sang?

Yu-jin is like, at first I did….Mi-hee is all, what were you thinking, girl? Who would think that would be a good thing for him to hear? Look, I appreciate you looking  after him when I wasn’t here, but you can go now. I’ll hire a caregiver.

So Yu-jin is all, nope, sorry, I can’t leave him. I missed him for ten years, and then I found him, and I’M NOT GIVING HIM UP. (Being Yu-jin, she’s more polite, of course). This does seem to reach Mi-hee, although she doesn’t say anything further before leaving. 

So more scenes of Yu-jin sitting beside, holding Jun-sang’s hand, looking after him. Then out in the hall..it’s Sang-hyuk again! 

They sit down to talk, and Sang-hyuk is all, I actually knew Min-hyung was Jun-sang some time ago. I told him to leave you; he wasn’t really Jun-sang anyway if he couldn’t remember it.

Yu-jin is all, hmmmm, interesting. Sang-hyuk is like, so…are you mad? Do you hate me?

She’s like, nah, dude, I get it. I understand why you would do that. And you came here because you feel sorry. I’m fine! (and I’ve gotta say, our Yu-jin really does have a habit of seeing the best, or at least assuming the best in people, right?)

Sang-hyuk is like, if he doesn’t wake up… And Yu-jin is all, he will! You gotta believe, he will!

So as Sang-hyuk is heading out of the hospital again, he fields a call from Chae-rin, who is busily getting hammered at a bar. He goes to meet her, and she’s like, let’s share a drink, we happy two who were dumped. 

Sang-hyuk is like, you’re drunk, and Chae-rin is all, duh, and don’t you wanna be drunk too? (say what you will about Chae-rin, but she has a certain style).

She’s all, I wanted to go every day to see Min-hyung, but I didn’t. You know why? Because I don’t think he would want me; what he wants is Yu-jin. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE US SO MISERABLE? 

Sang-hyuk has been stone-faced through all drunken philosophizing, but at this he grabs the bottle and is all, girl, enough.

Chae-rin is all, Sang-hyuk, my wee man, wanna go out with me? We could comfort our broken hearts together!! (And you know, okay, it’s crazy, BUT!! Damned if it might not just do both of them a world of good! I know, I have passionate trysts as a universal panacea on the brain, sorry all…😁😉).

Of course, good boy Sang-hyuk is all, let’s go, I’ll take you home. (in the sense of, “drop you off,” alas, not “come in with you.”). So then Chae-rin really gets her pity party underway, and is like, why does everybody like Yu-jin and nobody likes me, huh?

Chae-rin goes running out of the bar, pursued by Sang-hyuk. He catches her out in the middle of the road in the crosswalk, and she collapses, and tearfully confesses that she just wants to be with Min-hyung too, and look after him, and why if I love him can’t he love me back? (and I mean, she’s hardly the first to have asked that question, you know? Chae-rin can be a nasty piece of work, as we have seen, but it’s hard not to feel some empathy for her raw emotion here). 

Back in the hospital, Yu-jin is sitting with her mother (yay! 😒😣), and mom is drilling down on the “is he really Jun-sang?” question.

Then she’s like, even if he is, how can you stay here with him? Haven’t you given any thought to Sang-hyuk?

Yu-jin is all, when I think of Sang-hyuk, I feel sorry and hurt, but honestly mom, I think Jun-sang is the one I have to be with. (Wow.  So all it took was a life-threatening accident for that tectonic shift to occur. I guess I’ll take it!)

Yu-jin is like, I fell in love with one person twice. And he’s in a coma because of me. If he doesn’t wake up, it’ll be like I killed him twice! (Yikes. That’s one way of looking at it, I guess). All I can think of is him waking up, even if he doesn’t love me OR remember me. You think I’ll be punished for my wickedness? Fine, I’ll take whatever I deserve. 

So Yu-jin mom leaves the hospital just as piano mom rolls up and heads in. She runs into Yu-jin in the hall, and is all smiles, just as a phalanx of doctors and nurses double-times down the hall and into Jun-sang’s room.

They follow the crew in, where Jun-sang is all thrashing around. The nurse pulls Yu-jin out to the hall, where she spends time praying to “please save him.” 

Later, Mi-hee comes out to report that he’s stable and awake, but doesn’t really recognize anyone very well just yet. Yu-jin tells her to go home and get some rest, and she’ll look after  him. 

Next morning, Yu-jin is sleeping at Jun-sang’s bedside when his fingers twitch and he kind of wakes up and touches her cheek.

Yu-jin wakes up and starts calling him Min-hyung, asking if he recognizes her. He kind of nods, and she jumps up, says she’ll call his mom and get the doctor.

So then he calls her by name, “Yu-jin-ah”. She turns back to him, and is like, are you…Jun-sang?

And he kind of nods, and then we get another extended montage of their greatest hits as Yu-jin and Jun-sang, So Happy Together 🥰💞 

So she puts her tearful face down on his chest (So. Many. Tears. In this episode…), and he slowly brushes her hair with his tremulous fingers.  Draw curtain…

SO. Was I right in my speculation? The second application of Ye Olde Truck O’ Doom did the trick and knocked those old lost memories right back into place? I dunno; sure looking forward to seeing where we’re at, and also…where do we go from here?

I have now caught up to the point I was at when we started this odyssey, so the final six episodes are completely virgin territory for me.

I do have to admit to a rather dreadful premonition that BIRTH SECRETS are just about due to take center stage sometime soon 😱. I mean, I hope I’m wrong, but…we shall see.