When A Man Loves - Episode 19 (A Squeecap)

If you want to get smashed while watching this episode, take a shot every time a plot point gets neatly tied up, and two shots for every “He is your brother” statement.
Episode 19

Shuk: So all of our principals are at the worksite; President Han is with the foremen, and Manager Lee is with a group of investors. We have the Looney Tunes rusted safe drop, and Mi-do pushes Tae-sang to safety. He loses his hardhat but retains perfect hair.
JoAnne: She looks like she’s sleeping so peacefully. Dare we hope she died? I know Kakashi wants someone to die, because this is a melo. I’d be ok with it being her.
kakashi: Oh yes, yes, yes! She is dead! She has amnesia forever, walks away to Russia, and will never be seen again!

Shuk: Mi-do is shaken but the only wounded person, sustaining a laceration to her left knee. Uh, writer-nim, she landed on her right side. Just sayin’. It gives us a chance to see that her shoes are at least 11.5% safer than the previous pumps.
JoAnne: Nothing a little humidity won’t put to rights, though. Quick someone, where’s the vaporizer?
kakashi: Oh my goodness. I LOVE how stupid she looks in that hat. It really suits her.
Shuk: Tae-sang wrist-grabs her away from the danger zone; and she sputters that she has found his brother, but he coolly replies that he know the person showing up at his mother’s restaurant isn’t real. He’s thinking she’s talking about the Fuchsia-trained fake brother, not the Vice-Chairman.
JoAnne: Mi Do, don’t give up. SOMEONE needs to do something nice for Oppa that doesn’t involve murder. (Yes, Chang Hee, I AM looking at you.)
kakashi: His hair is a little bit flattened by the helmet. Cute. Take off your shirt, oppa - aren't you hot?
Shuk: Jae-hee sees the two of them talking, and immediately hoofs it over to their location, and isn’t happy to know she came to see President Han. Tae-sang asks her to go to the hospital and leaves the arena. Jae-hee immediately asks her if she was going to tell him about his brother. She admits it; she doesn’t like to play with families, but Jae-hee is relieved that Tae-sang only knows of the fake brother.
JoAnne: I actually really forgot that they were dating, at this point, and I couldn’t figure out why he was being so nosy. Also, Mi Do: pay attention to the slime dripping off his intentions.
kakashi: They are dating? Huh? (Should I have paid more attention I wonder ...)
Shuk: Tae-sang see Mi-do limping towards the bus stop and beep-beeps her until she gets in the car. He insists that it’s not because he likes her. He offers to drive her to the hospital; she says no and he drops it. The roads are congested, forcing him to back up. He insists it’s not to impress her. He still can’t get through, so he stops by a drug store for a first aid kit, treating her knee in the car.
JoAnne: I loved that struggle on his face. First, that we could see it and know what it was. Baeksang! Second, that he even had it. He wants to be cool and distant but he wuvs her he weally weally does wuv her even now. Also loved the nod back to the driving. And say hello to the world’s largest first aid kit.
kakashi: :-( (why does he have to love her. so stupid)
Shuk: She explains that Roy Chang can’t stand spicy food; and Tae-sang snaps back, is every person like that related to him? She follows up with seeing the Vice-Chairman touching the gate to his old house, and he pauses at that. She insists she has no ulterior motive, just a sincere wish to help him find his brother.
JoAnne: You had me at spicy.
kakashi: Spicy = hot = Roy Chang.
Shuk: He thinks about the tangled webs: Jae-hee’s parentage juxtaposed with Roy Chang. At the office, he flashbacks to the two of them sharing dukkbeoki and sweating together. He had told his little brother that cool people will always find hot food hot. His reverie of his kid brother fanning him with a menu is broken by the object of his thoughts fanning him with a Chinese paper fan.
JoAnne: This guy. Who IS this guy? He’s only been acting a couple of years. I hope he got a lot of notice because of this because I would like MOAR please.
kakashi: Yes, fanning. Lots of women with burst ovaries fanning themselves.
Shuk: Roy mentions that he walked around In SangDong alone, and Tae-sang is quick to offer to go together with him next time. Roy nixes the idea, stating several upcoming appointments, including the Asia Star team and Manager Lee.
JoAnne: psssst, I think it’s Insadong or Insaedong.
Shuk: Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to. It's their childhood neighborhood, neh?

Shuk: Jae-hee gives Mi-do a bank account for moving expenses, but she refuses, and he petulantly mentions she accepted money from President Han. She tells him not to talk like that, and wonders out loud that he seems like a different person. He stomps off after snapping at her, and she watches him leave with another inscrutable expression. I think she is thinking for herself instead of believing the worst. Too bad Jae-hee can't do the same.
JoAnne: He’s not different, Mi Do. You are. Welcome to the world the rest of us having been living in for about 10 episodes now.
kakashi: "Another inscrutable expression". haha, you make it sound as if she did more than one of those! In the next gif, I made him walk away forever. Haha, serves him right. I hope he gets blisters on his feet!
Shuk: Roy is listening to the night frogs when he receives a phone call from Jae-hee and Seon-joo. They meet for a poolside chat in Ji An, and Seon-joo finds out for the first time that it’s in regards to an acquition and not an investment. Our lovely sharp-eyed dongsaeng quickly sizes up the Dysfunctional Duo.
JoAnne: Isn’t it funny how now his face just looks sad and melty and suspicious and before he just looked like an ass?
kakashi: It's because we're collectively in love with him.
 

Shuk: Even Seon-joo can’t get through Jae-hee’s hatred armor as he sneers at her: doesn’t she want him to lose everything and crawl back to her? She starts to cry, but Jae-hee coolly tells her to pull herself together. I’m at a loss for the tears at this late game.
JoAnne: Here’s the thing. She won't be able to go through with it, because she’s a lot like the witch from Nice Guy. She talks a good game, but she’s not actually evil. And I think she really loves Oppa. The love doesn’t come from a twisted place, but her responses to situations do. I’m guessing love will win out in the end and she’ll do the right thing.
kakashi: bleh. Do they want us to like her now of what? Seriously, drama. Gives us abs already.Who cares about Miss Pilates.
Shuk: After looking at what must be a cherished toy of his younger brother, Tae-sang flies to Hong Kong and meets with Chairman Chang Ji-myung. The Chairman is wonderfully honest: yes, Roy Chang is Tae-min, and that makes them family. The story goes like this: he was unable to find his biological son, and one day he saw an abandoned Asian boy in America, and adopted him.
JoAnne: SURPRISING lack of secret keeping in this particular plot line. It must be because they aren’t Korean. But no joke, that dude is awesome. Plus handsome.
kakashi: I also want to adopt abandoned Asian boys. Ah no, Asian man. Abandoned Asian men (and btw that toy is one of the original G1 Transformers)
Shuk: Tae-sang gingerly talks about the other boy; Roy must remind the Chairman of his lost son. Ji-myung says he wishes he could find his son, and believes him to be loved as much as he loves Roy. It gives Tae-sang some food for thought.
JoAnne: Oppa, you already know. How come you don’t say anything?
kakashi: Cause it's KDrama. And this one is one with 20 episodes.
Shuk: Little Weasel is at the hospital with a death cocktail syringe, but entreats Chang-hee to wake up and beat him to prevent his own death. Chang-hee tells him to do it or not, but make the decision. Dong-goo eyes open wide and he hugs his hyung and cries. Jae-hee gets the phone call and heads back to Seoul immediately.
JoAnne: He’s a weasel, not a murderer. Does he still work for Grandpa Leeteuk, though? I’m confused.
kakashi: Oh, I'm so glad you're also confused, JoAnne. Makes me feel less alone. But ... is NOBODY going to die in this drama???!
Don't cry, I am sure somebody will!
Shuk: In Hong Kong, father and step-son share videos of Roy Chang, and Ji-myung hopes they can find his son and everyone can get along. While chatting he gets the phone call from Dong-goo, and the decision is made.
JoAnne: Roy was a really lucky little boy, in the end.
kakashi: This drama has taught me something important! I have a fetish for men on the phone. Wow.
Shuk: He hands the Chairman the business card Chang-hee had kept, and advised Ji-myung to come to Seoul and see his son. Tae-sang takes his leave, but doesn’t notice the Chairman collapse, gripping his chest.
JoAnne: F*** YOU, wrong person dying. Seriously pissed off.
kakashi: Oh no, this is SO KDrama of you, drama. but ... we already know that nobody can die in this universe!
Shuk: Roy Chang is looking at Mt Mai and thinking about a conversation he had with his father. It appears they were suspicious of Jae-hee’s actions even before the Vice-chairman went to Seoul. His morning coffee is interrupted by Seon-joo, who wants to explain President Han’s lfe.
JoAnne: But why were they suspicious? He started that with decent intentions. They'd have had no reason to know a thing about Mi Do.
kakashi: File it away under plot-hole #28976798

Shuk: Jae-hee is happy to see his brother, and finally FINALLY is hearing the truth: Chang-hee got hurt in a fight with Dong-goo, who fought because he was embezzling and Chang-hee had called Tae-sang. The brothers go outside, and Chang-hee explains the circumstances surrounding his decision to keep Jae-hee away from his biological father; his decision to get rid of Mi-do; and the death that caused him to go to prison.
JoAnne: FINALLY we get the light of some truth-telling up in this hizzy.
kakashi: Imagine Chang-hee saying "braaaaaaaaiiins" in the next gif. 
 
Shuk: Chang-hee yells at Jae-hee for his assumptions of wrongness towards Tae-sang. Didn’t he raise him better than that? Jae-hee asks if Tae-sang really didn’t abandon his hyung, and Chang-hee quietly states that the President asked him to take care of Jae-hee, when he let go of Mi-do. Jae-hee sits down with a thump.
JoAnne: Feel like shit now, don’t’cha?

Shuk: At the villa, Seon-joo winds down her synopsis of Tae-sang’s life with how un-thuglike he was in the gang. When he dismisses her comments, she tells him: He’s your brother. Roy Chang tells her he knows.
JoAnne: Did they put something in the air? EVERYONE is being honest. If I was playing that drinking game I’d be on the floor right now, patting the tiles and drunkenly crying ‘Oppa, oppa, why don’t you love meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?’
Shku: [weaving] Alreadyy therre dude. [hic]
kakashi: Oh, I'm so with you! 

Shuk: The two moms are have spa treatments together as Mi-do talks to the detectives and insists that she will not prosecute Chang-hee. And the police skip happily away as a potential crisis is averted and plot point neatly snipped.
kakashi: And another one down (side-plot). How many to go?
JoAnne: So that’s a very different basis of law. Primarily civil, I guess, since so many things can be settled with money right in the police station. And no, I don’t mean by bribery. I sort of like the matter of factness of it. Also: Do Not Like Seo Eomma being so chummy with Han Eomma because we know it’s fake. WAY more fake than Mi Do was with Oppa.
kakashi: It is possible that I hate the mother even more than the daughter.
Can we push Seo Eomma down a mountain?
Shuk: She receives a text from Tae-sang, thanking her for finding his brother. He’s back in Seoul at his apartment, when he receives an SMS from Seo Eomma with a selca of his mother. He shows up at the restaurant, and invites his mother to a picnic.
kakashi: Woah, he sits so sexily, uri oppa. I would have liked to sit there with them. Real close.
Shuk: They go to a park when the three of them used to go, and he shows her a small dogwood; it’s where he buried his father’s ashes. They talk a little about what happened, although most of the talk revolved around her actions; she apologizes for all the pain, and he forgives her. Ahh, Oppa, your mother has waited decades for that hug.
JoAnne: Eomma’s are people, too. I’m so glad Oppa got his back.
kakashi: Oh ... when he called her Eomma, my heart skipped a little (btw, when he sits there prettily on the beautiful grass, his shirt, which is unbuttoned at the top, wrinkles a little and you can see his abs a little bit!!!!!)
Shuk: They stand in front of the old house, and he asks her if she would be happy to know her younger son grew up loved. She stated she hopes he hates her forever, as her punishment for the life he was forced to live.
JoAnne: I really, really, really believed at this moment that he would open the gate and say he bought that house for them to live in again.
kakashi: I am SURE he has! It's KDrama.
Shuk: Our ever-helpful Ddol updates Mi-do on her brother’s progress just as Tae-sang and his mother show up. When Mi-do leaves, she forgets her phone, and Tae-sang calls out to her familiarly. His mother asks him if they dated, but he just blushes a bit and hurriedly leaves.
JoAnne: Oppa you are so freaking cute all the time. Well except for when you are being mind bendingly hot.
kakashi: Like that bit, when he calls out, forgetting that it will give his relationship away.

Shuk: The final day of the bookstore dawns as Mi-do choses the final cheddar quote for the Chalkboard of Cheese: “You are someone I had read the most painful book with.”
JoAnne: I don't really get the Eastern concept of falling in love based on shared pain. I guess the closest I can get is ‘we went through a lot together.’ but that’s not really what they're saying. Or maybe they are. Who knows.
kakashi: Time for her mother to have a heart-attack, I think. Oh, and the father as well.
Shuk: The Battle Brothers are back together. Tae-sang and Chang-hee hug as Dong-kneels and begs forgiveness. Tae-sang tells the little gangster his punishment or forgiveness will be decided by his victim, and Chang-hee demands a foot massage. Jae-hee comes upon this touching scene, but turns away before anyone see him.
JoAnne: Evil spiteful narrowminded ungratefulness is always beaten back by honest friendship.
kakashi: In the next gif, you see the look we would have on all our collective faces if WE were hugged by oppa.
Shuk: The bookstore is officially closed, with a final box of freebie books and the Chalkboard left as a farewell.
JoAnne: I kinda liked that bookstore.
kakashi: I think it would have been awesome if someone had blown it up. 

Shuk: And in other news, a body is found buried on a mountain. Yong-gap smirks nastily as he drives through the rain, listening to the news report. Hmm, seems he knows something about it, and another loose plot thread is uncovered.
JoAnne; Either we were shown or I just assumed but it’s not news to me that he knows something about that…at this point I’m supremely uninterested in any of it, except to be glad it’s not just another ‘oops, I dropped the plot point, oh well, I have so many I can just forget it’.
kakashi: So drunk already ... 0_o
Shuk: Jae-hee and Mi-do discuss the future. She is heading to New York City as soon as her visa is approved. She gets around to questions about Tae-min, but he gets huffy and leaves.
JoAnne: I hope he ends up with a mean wife who only puts out on their anniversary, and then only if he gives her jewelry first, AND she lies there like a dead fish. I hope the children born of that unholy union are whiny, spiteful people who only interact with him when they need money, and that each, as babies, throws up on him more than once.
kakashi: so be it! By the power of KDrama!
Shuk: Detectives show up at the restaurant, and we now know that the body has been positively identified as her ex-lover. Based on the current actions of the po-po, they probably found his ID, birth certificate, working cellphone, and a sign around his neck to figure it out. The detectives say that witnesses on the night he disappeared saw him fight with Tae-sang. Wow, and they are just investigating now? [shake head].
JoAnne: I am sure this is so painful for you on a professional level, honestly. As an avid watcher of procedurals growing up with my cop father, I share your pain to a point. For the most part though, I look forward to the continually inept Korean police force that appears in pretty much every drama ever.
kakashi: People. You forgot again to leave your critical brains at the door when you entered WAML. 

Shuk: They also talk with President Han, who confirms the fight but says he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Oh Chang-hee, is this another one of your whoopsies?
JoAnne: *singing* Oops, I did it again! I killed someone new, for making you blue.
Shuk: Seo-joo is swinging up a storm at the driving range- I think she’s angling for a boyfriend on Heartless City… Yong-gap shows up: scruffy beard that’s thankfully NOT purple, and a really strange tie / handkerchief combo. He tells her about the body investigation, and how it is affecting Tae-sang’s business.
JoAnne: I actually like him with the beard, and if she goes ANYWHERE near Doctor’s Son I will hurt that b****.
kakashi: He should color his beard purple, too. Sexy beast.
Shuk: Seon-joo shows up at the police station as Tae-sang is leaving, and she spills beans that have already been spilled. Yeah, Roy Chang is his brother, yes he is buying out the company, and bully for him.
JoAnne: Sigh. You are SO yesterday’s news.
Shuk: She tosses the love card: every despicable thing she did was for love. Will he marry her. He says yes. WHUT???
JoAnne: I actually spit water at the screen and slapped the dog’s rump. Neither were very appreciative of my response.
kakashi: Yes. And we SO know that this is not what is going to happen. Even though I would prefer Miss Pilates to Mi-do anytime and then some. 

Final Thoughts

JoAnne: I know it’s Episode 19. I know they had to throw something at us. I am suddenly reminded of the whole marriage of convenience plot line that we kept hearing before the series started, and how we all wondered what the hell happened to that, and now BAM! Here it is in our faces. If he actually marries her I will …register my displeasure very severely on this week’s OT. In other news, whatever happened to his bum shoulder? Perhaps that will come up in a big way and force a wedding cancellation and during his hospital recovery Chang Hee and him can share hospital rooms, if not beds, and MORE TRUTH WILL BE TOLD. Sigh. One more episode. No one has died yet. I’m a little disappointed about that.
Shuk: Can't we have one more shirtless scene by the end of this? Pretty please?? I would almost settle for The Chairman...
kakashi: JoAnne is now stealing my lines and I'm just SO TIRED. I really want to go to bed. Can this drama end already? With abs and blood, please? Thanks.