Witch's Romance - Episode 7 (A SqueeCap)

Here we are, the episode where we begin to hate on a guy without even knowing his story.  His story doesn't matter because he is interrupting the puppy and that is what matters.  I can tell you this: noonas do not like it when their puppies are thwarted.  At all.
kakashi: I hate this episode!!! I refuse to watch it subbed. I do that to punish dramas. 
See?
Episode 7

Because drama knows what's good for it and to kind of build us up for what's coming, we open on a shirtless Dong Ha getting himself all pretty. He's skinny and pale and barely has any hair under his arms (yes. I noticed) and somehow I JUST DO NOT CARE I LOVE HIM HE IS AWESOME (he is ... as a friend. I feel no stirrings in my nether regions). We learn a secret, too. Remember last week when he showed up on the scene all awesome in his cream colored suit looking like Prince Charming? He was scared to death. Sigh.
kakashi: Oh, you cute little Schnuggiputzi.
JoAnne: I'll admit, there are moments when Schnuggiputzi sparks MY nether regions, but it's always based on something he does, not on how he looks. He's attractive, but he's still a little soft and boy-like.
While Ji Yeon bravely confronts the Mean Girls (why are these school-friends always mean in KDrama?! So much competition!) and admits to being older and not having a good personality or a man who loves her, Drama also gives us a nice view of Dong Ha approaching the scene. Take a minute, I know. He's just so adorable.
All too soon we're at the part where Polar Bear shows up (I hate him) and the Mean Girls turn into bimbos (I hate them) while Ji Yeon tries not to disintegrate into tiny shattered pieces of glass. Reason 5,048 why Dong Ha rules: the absolute only thought in his mind right now is to protect Ji Yeon and see her through this. He holds her hand tightly and whispers encouragement. Na Rae, the best of all best friends, asks Shi Hoon where the hell he's been for 6 years without even a phone call.
kakashi: She is a very good friend, but she would even better if she KICKED that sorry ass out of there. 
Stupidface jerkwad Polar Bear (what's wrong with this guy's face??!) wipes the grin off his face from all the fluttering bimbos and says hello to Ji Yeon. She stands and Dong Ha immediately stands behind her - his entire aura is one of bristling anger towards this person who hurt the woman he loves. Ji Yeon can't bring herself to speak, so Dong Ha strides over to Polar Bear. I have to laugh because as I'm thinking to myself that geez, he walks like a man on a mission, I notice that the fluttering bimbos all step back from the two men nervously. The tension is thick, yes.
kakashi: Sometimes, all that social nicety is overrated. He should have decked him. 
'I'm Yoon Dong Ha,' he says, and holds out his hand. Polar Bear smiles (he looks even worse when he smiles), completely not understanding what's going on, and sticks out his hand. 'I'm Noh Shi Hoon,' he says, 'with Ji Yeon...' - Dong Ha interrupts. 'I'm her boyfriend.' Polar Bear loses a bit of his stupid smile as he finally registers that this is not a happy reunion for everyone. Na Rae suggests that everyone sit down and talk, because after all these years there's probably a lot to say. Ji Yeon disagrees; she has nothing to say (yeah, bravo. Talking? Overrated). She grabs her purse and leaves. When Shi Hoon tries to follow her Dong Ha stops him, because it's not his business anymore.
Dong Ha doesn't find her though, Polar Bear does. Shit (fucking unmyeong fucking with people again). Ji Yeon is standing out on the golf green doing that kind of crying where it's so physically painful to let it out that you can't even do it, really. It's heartbreaking. Stupid jerkface (oh you have no idea how much I want to just use the word fuck every other word you can't possibly - don't hold back. Just do it.) has the brains to look a little embarrassed (oh, is that what this is?), but he leads with 'Is that really your boyfriend? He looks kinda young.' Shithead, with your stupid smirk. Die. Ji Yeon claims him proudly as someone she can depend on, even if he is young. And then the world's stupidest man ever asks her if she's been ok the last six years.
kakashi: You know what? It just strikes me that this face would make a perfect dart target. 1000 points if you hit one of the eyes! 
I remember this bit in My Queen, thinking that if he basically didn't get blown apart and then rebuilt like the Bionic Man, but held in an underground cave for 6 years? He had no HOPE of me understanding how he could have hurt her like that. Now I know what happened so I can see more, but all I can focus on is how STUPIDLY he handles the whole situation. I should be able to have sympathy for him but instead I just dislike him more.
kakashi: Who the fuck cares what happens! Why didn't the polar bears eat him?! 

Ji Yeon, to her credit, does not try to be brave and play it off. She lays it out for him exactly. She shows him every bit of the pain and suffering she went through, and his response? He wants to clear up the 'misunderstanding.' Oh, she says. There is no misunderstanding. You didn't show up for our wedding. I didn't misunderstand that. You didn't call me. I didn't misunderstand that, either.
kakashi: She is awesome when she's like that.
Instead of explaining this 'misunderstanding', which is what a rational person would do, he sighs and hands her an invitation to his gallery opening because there's a picture he wants to show her. What the everloving FUCK. Ji Yeon is vibrating with six years of rage and wastes no time in tearing it to pieces. She tells him she's living fine now and will continue to do so, and Puppy chimes in as he approaches: Of course she will. Puppy and I both want to smash the idiot's stupid face into the dirt.
kakashi: Count me in! Count me in! 
Dong Ha tells Shit for Brains that Ji Yeon is his responsibility now, so go away. Then he takes Ji Yeon's hand and leads her away while I try to figure out how I could possibly have grown to love him even more in those few seconds, because I already love him completely full up to the top of my heart, but no matter, because I did. Alone, Ji Yeon thanks him for taking her out of there. He says he'll bring her home but she wants to go alone, and offers thanks again for his help today. Poor puppy... I wonder if it has sunk in that she thinks his confession was fake? He wants to keep her company but lets her go, keeping watch as she walks away.
kakashi: When she is like that, I don't like her. In fact, now I want to stick HER face into the dirt as well.
JoAnne:  So folks, here's the deal. We like her, but we love him.  In a divorce, we go where he goes.
After a moment, though, his expression changes. He takes off running and when he catches up to her he reaches for her hand to turn her around (it both is and is not a wrist grab and is part of what makes him so awesome) and is shocked to realize that she's sobbing. She insists on being alone, and he lets her go for real this time. As he watches her cab disappear he quietly says 'Help you? I told you my sincere truth.' I guess he realizes, then. Sigh.
kakashi: It's very sad and I didn't sign up for this. It said "rom-com".  
JoAnne: Koreans live by this rule: Laughter is sweeter when earned through tears. Nice huh, I just made it up. And I say fuck that, give me the less-sweet laughter right up front, thanks.
Na Rae dissects the day's events with her husband Min Goo and we learn that it was Min Goo's suit that fit Dong Ha like a glove, but the scene is only important for this reason: Min Goo refuses to go to future events because all the women care about is tearing each other down over their husband's income, status, belongings, etc. Dong Ha hears this. He really hears it. It is not welcome information.
kakashi: Do you think Min-goo's portfolio says "looks a bit like Jang dong-gun, depending on the angle" and that is why he sometimes gets roles? 
JoAnne: Hahahahaha you see it too! I thought it was just me.
Ji Yeon is someplace pretty near the river thinking back to a month before her wedding, when the asswipe broke the news about the trip. He promised to be back at least a week before the wedding and even offered not to go if it was really upsetting to her, but it was clear he was proud to have been chosen for the job. When she gave her blessing he promised to be good to her for 200 years. They seemed completely happy, which makes the betrayal just that much worse.
kakashi: Ack, come on, yadiyadiya, I'm not going to feel sorry for this asshole just because something bad happened to him. 
JoAnne: You might. Well, some will. You tend to draw a hard line.
Mom calls Ji Yeon and they chit chat for a bit. She hears the strain in Ji Yeon's voice but gets the cause wrong completely and yet it's still such a normal mom/daughter conversation you can't help but smile - she really wants her daughter to be married, but it's with the best of intentions and comes from her deep love for her daughter.
kakashi: I actually like this mother. There are so many crappy ones in KDrama it's a relief. (me too)

After they hang up Ji Yeon cries by the river, heartbroken, while Jerkwad drinks in his apartment. Wait, what? Who is this who grabs the alcohol and asks if he saw 'that woman.' Oh no he is not. He better NOT be. Is he married? She wants to know if he explained why he 'did that six years ago' and reminds him that Ji Yeon is a woman who 'abandoned' him by returning her wedding ring? You're all throwing things at the TV right now, aren't you. Meanwhile, poor Dong Ha is pacing the apartment waiting for Ji Yeon, but she doesn't even register his presence when she comes in.
kakashi: I am currently unsure whom I hate more. Him, the idiotic bigheaded idiot or that small-assed woman around him. 
The next day Ji Yeon is back at work but she's wearing sunglasses to hide her swollen eyes and the Main Stooge is being an ass about it (he can die, too), while loyal Dong Ha keeps glancing at her with concern. Young Shik is rambling on and on about some famous (and famously elusive) photographer named Phillip Noh that no one has ever seen or interviewed who just returned to Korea for the first time. Yep. You get one guess. And of course, Ji Yeon is arm-twisted by the boss into interviewing him.

Cutie Soo! He's visiting the offices at TroubleMaker and everyone is trying out the instant noodles or whatever it is he'll be selling in his new shop. Intern Girl floats down the stairs and her hair blows in the fake breeze and Cutie falls in love. Oh good, maybe they'll skip one of the more annoying parts of the original.
kakashi: This is cute. I can continue watching for this. 
Girl Stooge smells money and comments that Cutie opened his restaurant himself. It's not subbed but Dong Ha says something about his dad, and since I know it anyway plus Girl Stooge does a double-take, this is the part where everyone finds out that Cutie is ridiculously rich. He tries to be all suave and debonair in front of Intern Girl, but (still not subbed) Main Stooge points out that the lunches are expired, I think.
kakashi: I can't help you, because I refuse to watch it with subs. Oh wait, there are no subs? See, even the subbers got rage-fits. 
Stupid Jerkface whines about the upcoming interviews to the mystery woman, wife/assistant/whatever. Cut to him and Ji Yeon sitting on opposite sides of a table staring at each other with poker faces. Well, he can only make a poker face, so that's not fair, but then again I'm not all that interested in being fair this time around. Ji Yeon seems not to have realized that 'Phillip Noh' was in fact her ex-fiance until they're face to face. She declines to complete the interview and heads out, but then doubles back into the building. Her questions are decidedly antagonistic but Losingest Loser is working hard to impress. It gets through to her, a little bit. It definitely registers that he's been in dangerous situations, and especially, that he'd been shot. They also establish that there is something he never photographs, but that it's very personal to him. Ji Yeon declares the interview over and leaves.
kakashi: Drama is working hard to make this guy likable. It's not working. 
Back at the office, Ji Yeon is lost in thought while Young Shik rambles on about cool Phillip Noh. He would totally have his big-headed babies if it were physically possible. Ji Yeon gets a call from Na Rae. Turns out Ji Yeon's mom is paying a surprise visit - remember when she told her mom that she'd be staying at Na Rae's while the apartment was being renovated? Yeah, me neither. Ji Yeon rushes out to try to keep their cover. She drags Mom away to see the newly renovated apartment and Mom is understandably confused since nothing much seems to have changed, although Ji Yeon spent a ton of money. Of course, she doesn't know about the vandalism/physical attack. She also lets it slip a little bit that she's interested in Ji Yeon's boss, which Ji Yeon picks up on.
kakashi: That storyline is also cute. Thank goodness. Because almost all the rest .... NOT. 
Ji Yeon puts her mother in a cab and is sitting outside the house, lost in thought, when Dong Ha walks by. He joins her on the bench and she tells him that 'Phillip Noh' turned out to be Polar Bear. While he loyally pronounces the ex all kinds of terrible, Ji Yeon gives up and begins to cry again. As always, when Dong Ha realizes that Ji Yeon is crying, he immediately shuts up and focuses everything he has on just being there for her. She slowly starts talking.
kakashi: Lalala, but I'm not listening. 
He was supposed to be back a week before the wedding, but he never made it. He didn't show up at the wedding, either, and a month after the wedding, still no word. She was furious, and then she was terribly worried. She stopped eating and had to be hospitalized several times. Finally, two months after the wedding date, she received a call from an 'assistant' who said that Shi Hoon had reconsidered his desire to get married.
kakashi: Oh my friggin gaawwwwwd, there's fucking noble idiocy, too?! Die! Just die!
JoAnne: Nope, he's not a noble idiot.
His plans were bigger than that, and she was a bother to him. Dong Ha proclaims Shi Hoon a pathetic punk for not even saying the words himself, and Ji Yeon says that's why she even returned the ring through that assistant, to show him that she was fine without him. She breaks down again as she confesses that she didn't know his dream was to be a war correspondant. She'd always thought they had the same dream, and he was always part of any future she imagined.
kakashi: Yeah, he's a total dick. Just get over him. Quickly, please. 
Dong Ha kneels in front of Ji Yeon. He looks at her with all the compassion in his heart and reassures her that all men are not like that. Ji Yeon struggles to regain control of herself as he promises that he would never betray her. She smiles and says that yesterday, thanks to him, she was able to walk away confidently from Shi Hoon, and for that she is very grateful. She gives him a tentative smile as he searches her face for some sign that she understands what he's saying. The moment stretches out - and then is ruined by Cutie yelling out the door that he wants to eat ramen, so hurry up. It makes Ji Yeon smile, though, and they head into the house companionably. Before they hit the top of the stairs, she's laughing at his jokes.
kakashi: Oh, Cutie Soo ... I heart you so. Please be in a drama very soon again. 
Alone in bed that night, Dong Ha tosses and turns. He finally allows himself to acknowledge his own feelings in this situation, complete with insults for Polar Bear and hilarious faces for us which is the only reason it even needs to be mentioned, really.
kakashi: And giffed. (she reads my mind)
Cutie is closing up his shop for the night when Intern Girl shows up. He is completely smitten, not above using her dead sister as leverage to get himself Oppa'd, and hilariously creepy in his pursuit of Intern Girl. Also the only reason it needs to be mentioned, since she's not that impressed and it has nothing to do with the story.
kakashi: And his faces need to be giffed as well. (reads it, and gets it right every time.)
At the TroubleMaker offices, Director-nim is complaining that Ji Yeon didn't get any dirt on Noh. She claims there's nothing interesting, but how could that be, with this mysterious photographer coming back to Korea and having an exhibit titled 'One's Beloved' - clearly it's a message for a former lover (BLEH). Ji Yeon and Puppy squirm uncomfortably as everyone offers their theories on the situation and their ideas for digging up information. Ji Yeon agrees to go to the press conference being held the next day the moment someone suggests looking up Noh's old contacts from his school days, but she insists she has to go alone. Poor girl, she must plan to pretend that there's nothing.
Young Shik begs Dong Ha for help. Yesterday he was so busy fangirling that he forgot a packet given him by the assistant, and he needs that photo material before the article on Noh is written. He has to go out to another job, so will Dong Ha please go and retrieve it? YES. That gets Puppy to the press con, which is definitely going to be necessary.
kakashi: Yes, yes. But as plot devices go, I've seen better ones. 
Awww... everyone but Director Shekshi is out of the office when Ji Yeon's mom shows up, bearing a tomato plant. We'd seen her exercising and dieting earlier, and she's dressed nicely now as she shares the news that she's here to see him, not Ji Yeon. The tomato plant is one she raised herself; she had noticed he liked her tomatos when she brought lunch the other day. They flirt carefully, and it's adorable.
kakashi: I approve, yes. 
Stupid Face has a surprise planned for the exhibit so he's heading out to check on that when Dong Ha shows up. They swing their dicks at each other a little bit but nothing happens. Once he's gone, the assistant goes off to find the packet/deal with someone else and Dong Ha takes the time alone to observe his surroundings. His eye is caught by a medical form and he reads that both morphine and codeine have been prescribed to Noh - he muses that he must have really severe pain if he's taking both, and then he notices two silver rings hanging from a chain. His poor face is stricken with shock and perhaps realization as he wonders aloud that Noh has kept the rings all this time.
kakashi: I'm thinking ... no. I will not share. But it has to do with substances and people and substances in people. (and people dying?)
(I promise you, you'll forgive Noh for the radio silence in a bit, if they keep to the original story. But we'll all still hate him anyway, so it's all good.)
kakashi: No. I will not. I hate him. Forever. Unless it's an IRIS2 scenario, you know, with actual brain matter coming out? Then, maybe .... maybe. 

Dong Ha scooters home, lost in thought as he remembers all the times Ji Yeon was hilariously awesome, and then all the times she was vulnerable and hurt. He wonders why every time Polar Bear shows up she cries, and in all of those vulnerable, hurt times, it's true - Polar Bear or his memory or his last actions were part of that situation. Finally, as he prepares a romantic event for Ji Yeon, Dong Ha remembers all the times that brought them closer to each other.
kakashi: I heart Puppy, but Puppy also isn't really smart, is he. Why would he prepare a romantic event for her now?! She is not exactly ready for romance.
Ji Yeon arrives looking drained, but when she takes in the sight of literally hundreds of tiny votives lighting her way to the door of their shared home, she smiles. Dong Ha, awesome wonderful Dong Ha that we love, is waiting for her at the top of the stairs. He has wine and food, and when Ji Yeon asks if it's a special day he says that this is a farewell party. Ji Yeon's face freezes in shock as my heart plummets to the floor, but he just means it's because she'll be moving back to her own place and gestures at her door, just feet from his own. We are all much relieved.
kakashi: Oh, yes! I thought HE was leaving (I think I would). Maybe he should. Then the drama would be over and I wouldn't get a rage-fit heartattack soon. 
They fuss at each other a bit but it's how they show their affection for each other, and Ji Yeon is soon smiling brightly. Dong Ha hands her a gift box. It contains a personal alarm and he demonstrates the noise it makes, which is pretty piercing. He explains that if she uses that, he will always come running. She thanks him, and his face turns serious as he says there's no need for thanks. He told her (during his confession) that even if she pushed him away, he would be there. Overcome with emotion, he's bashful and unable to meet her eyes, so he doesn't see Ji Yeon's puzzlement. That was just him acting to help her out, wasn't it?
kakashi: Come on. He has told her before that he really likes her. Why would she be in doubt??! Just stupid. 
Dong Ha protests that he wasn't acting at all. He shyly confesses that he was being sincere, and then awkwardly continues - he knows she's having a hard time because of Polar Bear, and he wasn't going to say anything right now, but Polar Bear is coming out strong. Ji Yeon's face softens as she realizes his sincerity, and Dong Ha assures her that he doesn't expect a response right away, so she should not feel burdened. He immediately changes the subject to ask her if she won't eat something.
kakashi: I feel very sorry for him. It really is awkward. 
Ji Yeon asks him if it shouldn't have been soju served with the jokbal (pig's feet), but Dong Ha assures her that this is the new thing - Wa-Jo (wine and jokbal). She tries it and agrees immediately that it goes together very well and Dong Ha blurts out 'yeah! just like us!' She grins and they laugh and eat companionably.
kakashi: Like we want to see them EAT companionably. Seriously. 
JoAnne: It's not top on my list, no. Unless it's grapes, naked in bed.
The next Ji Yeon is at the gate of the gallery, staring at the event poster. It isn't until Dong Ha shows up and takes her hand that she is able to enter the grounds, and she shields herself behind him as they join the crowd. Dong Ha reminds her that she hasn't done anything wrong as Noh is introduced by the mystery woman, who notices them and reacts with dismay.
kakashi: Die, bitch. 
JoAnne: I have never loved you more, Kakashi.
In response to a reporter, Useless Excuse for a Man says that 'One's Beloved' is a message he sending personally to one particular person (Ack, here it comes). Ji Yeon immediately moves to leave but Dong Ha insists that they stay and hear whatever shameless thing the waste of skin has to say. Someone asks Noh what was the hardest thing, and he says seeing the children starving and alone was hard, and he always hoped that people would see his photos and be moved to help - but the most difficult thing for him was knowing that he wasn't there to help a particular person when they needed him. Ji Yeon's eyes shoot deathrays.
kakashi: Powerless ones, unfortunately. Or he would drop dead. He very clearly does not. 
The reporter asks if it was a girlfriend, and FuckFace says yep, she was - although to him, she still IS. He finally notices Ji Yeon in the crowd. She whispers urgently to Dong Ha that she's leaving, but when Noh makes her the center of attention she's forced to stop. Don't they have any questions? Ji Yeon is frozen like a deer in headlights, so Dong Ha steps up to the plate. Didn't Noh consider that his former lover might feel awkward? You can't turn back time, and she might have someone else by now. Shameless Asshole acknowledges the truth of that, but points out that some things DON'T change, like his heart. Ah, you fucker. He believes it's like that for his former lover, as well. GO AWAY YOU JERK. He promises to do everything that he can.
kakashi: I throw up. 
Ji Yeon is on the verge of collapsing and Dong Ha is furious. He takes Ji Yeon's hand and leads her away but in the street, Ji Yeon stops him. Why now, she wonders? All this time, she was really curious why Polar Bear left her. She thinks that answer is in there. She lets go of Dong Ha's hand and backs away from him, apology written on her face. She turns and runs back toward the gallery, leaving Dong Ha to sigh and look worried. He doesn't try to stop her, though, and he may even look a little resigned to losing...
kakashi: She is too stupid to see what you are worth, young one. Don't force it. It never works. 
All the reporters have moved inside now, and are photographing a large exhibit against the far wall. The crowd parts magically as Ji Yeon slowly makes her way forward. Why? Because people are looking at her and recognizing her. Huh? Oh, shit. It's her. It's her on the wall, made from a collage of every photo he took on the battlefield. Ji Yeon takes it in and starts to cry. I can't help it, it makes me cry, too. It's overwhelming. Polar Bear walks in behind Ji Yeon, and Dong Ha races in behind Polar Bear. 'Ji Yeon-ah,' the world's worst fiance says. She turns to look at him, apprehension on her face. 'Let's start over again.'
kakashi: *insert the worst profanity you can think of*. No, I'm not crying. This doesn't make me cry. It makes me rage. 

COMMENTS

Fuck you, no.
kakashi: In a blogless life, I would have dropped this drama. I seriously would. I don't deal well with annoyances.

Ok, but here's where this is SO much better than My Queen, but also makes me afraid for what's coming because I can't really guess at this point. In the original, the photo was a shot of the first thing he saw at a certain point in time. I can't go into detail because it hasn't been revealed yet. Suffice to say that the photo was strictly about him and his experience and looked like nothing so much as an excuse. It was not compelling to me at all. But THIS photo, this is different. This is a man showing that through everything that he has experienced and everything he has seen over the last near-decade, there was only one thing truly occupying his mind or heart, and that was her. That is a powerful message, and it is directed outward. It's about him, but only in the context of her - whereas the first one was about him, and served as an excuse for her.

The look on Puppy's face pretty much mirrors my own... it's anyone's game at this point and I am NOT pleased.
kakashi: He should just give up. There is no winning against this jerkface. Kdrama logic! It's always the first love, isn't it?
JoAnne: Be patient. Take deep breaths.