My Love Eun Dong - Episode 4 (A SqueeCap)

All this dancing around the truth, dancing around feelings, almost knowing things...it's nerve-wracking. Thank goodness we have Joo Jin Mo being cute and boyish to sustain us! I don't know about you, but I feel very sustained. 

Oh most definitely. I am so very glad that cute and adorable Joo Jin Mo is such an intricate part of this drama. His smiley-ness is constantly threatening to do me in. 

We all wait, alone, dreaming to Joo Jin Mo in our ear.  Don't we?

Episode 4

Jung Eun's strange feeling that she has some connection to Eun Ho's story is growing stronger, and she visits her mother in hopes of learning more about her life pre-amnesia. Mom almost slips up when she says something to Jung Eun about 'when we first saw you...' but recovers quickly.  We know she is conflicted about the secret they're all keeping from Jung Eun, but for now she'll toe the party line since her husband is adamant that 'this is for the best.'  Jung Eun puts a cheerful face on it (sorry, I picked the pouty face screencap because she looks so cute), but she still thinks something is strange.
For the life of me I cannot think how anyone thought that this was a good idea to give a woman with amnesia a fake life story. I mean, way to complicate things even more. One thing I really love about our amnesiac is that her cheerful goodness somehow remained intact despite the trauma. It's such an Eun Dong characteristic and seems part of her core. 
The part that gets me is that they just assumed she'd NEVER remember.

 

Even when her hairdresser friend tells her she's starting to act like the obsessive lead in Stephen King's Misery, she's not really convinced her strange feeling is all in her head. Friend theorizes that she just imagines herself in the story because she doesn't know her own life; it's pure romantic fantasy to think she might be Eun Dong. The two women laugh when Jung Eun admits that Eun Ho makes her heart flutter, because it's obvious he would make ANY woman's heart flutter.

Yup, a whole host of women avidly waiting for squeecaps in the hope of seeing more delightful Eun Ho each week because they really want to find out what happens next. I keed I keed, it can be both, right? So many beautiful screencaps of Joo Jin Mo...that never make it into the post *sigh* #ihaveaproblem.

In town and planning to stay that way, Eun Ho needs house help. His new housekeeper/cook comes highly recommended and has very definite ideas about how things should be. Makes sense; she is former military and very strait-laced, insisting on the importance of a uniform and proper title. Ohhh, I hope they become buds. I love it when the stiff butler type is revealed to have a gigantic marshmallow heart!
Hihi. I love how he turns into an awkward schoolboy around her. She's all business and he's like, um, let me stand awkwardly here with my hair so sexily tousled. Also, when I come home, can Joo Jin Mo please be waiting there to open the door like that for me? 

Eun Ho's complaints to Dong Kyu about 'Mrs. Ta' get him nowhere so he switches to complaints about 'that pretty writer with the nice eyes and good body' who turned out to be surprisingly rude. How dare she not return his calls! He's offended when Dong Kyu says matter-of-factly that Eun Ho must have insulted her somehow. 'Unlike you, my body is 70% moisture! The other 30% is a lump of manners!' He peevishly decides he doesn't like either woman. Meanwhile, the 'rude writer' is moved to tears every time she listens to Eun Ho's recorded promises to stay put, to keep looking, to wait for his beloved Eun Dong, no matter how long it takes. We feel you, girl. We feel you.
Oh Eun Ho-yah, you are so cute. Is it just me or is he a little like a teenage girl obsessed with when her crush isn't texting back? I guess teenage boys can be like that too. And Dong Kyu, with the patience of a saint, is just not fazed at all continues to grill the meat. With all the eating that takes place in dramas, it's not wonder I'm starving half the time while watching.
He is EXACTLY like a teenaged girl, and Dong Kyu is adorable and snuggly in his own right.

Oh whoops! I got distracted. Yes Eung Dong-ah, we totally get why you're in tears and completely exasperated when you listen to that voice. 

Eun Ho listens to 'their song' in the car and loses himself in ten-year-old memories. He sends the file to Jung Eun, who listens immediately (but doesn't reply, which annoys him further.) Eun Ho's words filter through as she listens, imagining those scenes from Eun Dong's perspective. Is she so engrossed in the romance of the story and her wish to know her own past that she's identifying too strongly? Or is she really beginning to remember? Not even Jung Eun knows for sure at this point.
I think South Korea really needs to shoot some car CFs with Joo Jin Mo staring moodily into the distance. I know I'd be like, um, I'll buy ten of those. 

Hyun Bal has been promoted to head of Eun Ho's agency, and somehow the shameless conniver had a hand in that. She says she does it all for Eun Ho, and asks Hyun Bal to help her remain 'a cool woman' while still preventing Eun Ho from finding his true love. Grrr.
The thought has crossed my mind more than once that Hyun Bal is in love with her. Anyone else getting that vibe? She really is a shameless conniver and she's so incredibly meddlesome too! Argh! If I type anymore, I will not say very nice things about her. 
It never occurred to me - all I see is that she supports the agency (but it's secret from Eun Ho) and he's a toady who will kiss ass for money.

Jung Eun visits the District Office halmeoni on her way home from work after assuring her mother-in-law that she won't be long. Grandma immediately recognizes her as Eun Dong and is genuinely shaken when Jung Eun says that not only is she not Eun Dong, but she was even out of the country at that time. Jung Eun is there to talk about the letter, but Grandma couldn't read Korean very well and only recognized that it said love a lot. As they part, Grandma insists that Jung Eun meet with 'that man' so that she will understand everything. I guess Grandma isn't so confused after all, and thinks right away that Jung Eun is the one who is mixed up somehow?
Halmae for the win! You tell her to go talk to Eun Ho, pretty please with a cherry on top! Jung Eun not only needs to find Eun Ho, but she really needs to get her memories back. To be missing two decades of her life must leave her feeling rather empty and unfulfilled. I can't imagine that being a pleasant experience for anyone, let along throwing in a forgotten first love star crossed lovers deal. 

Next she visits her father at the baseball stadium. Dad is an ass who immediately starts lecturing her to be loyal to her husband, reminding her that their situation is all her fault because she 'sinned' against Husband Choi. He won't tell her what the sin was, though he does quickly insist it was NOT another man, no sirree. When Jung Eun says she wants to know about her life, he tells her he's already told her everything she needs to know from the moment of her birth.
*grumble grumble* I want to punch the living daylights out of her dad sit him down and explain to him that he has sinned against his daughter. Who does he think he is meddling in her life? I do get the impression that Jung Eun senses something is off and she's figuring out that maybe she should trust her gut more than dad. 

When Jung Eun gets home she's greeted with a pissed-off mother-in-law who criticizes her as a lacking wife and mother. She goes after Jung Eun's parents as well, claiming credit for getting her father that good job and complaining that they didn't help at all with the medical bills and living expenses. She blames Jung Eun for Jae Ho's injuries and insists that he wouldn't be like that if he hadn't been protecting Jung Eun in the accident. Now they themselves are broke and it's time for her parents to step up, especially since Ra Il needs to go to international school, and soon. How can they just allow him to live like this? Are they even her real parents? Hmm, good question.
Oh man! Did you catch that eye-roll from the MIL?! Jeepers woman. Jung Eun is the one working several jobs to put bread on the table. Breadwinners often come home late in Korean dramas lady, didn't you get the memo? Wait, I'm kind of glad that the MIL seems to have reticently gone along with the whole sham memory scheme. Despite her lecturing ways, she might actually help reveal the truth #tryingtofindthesilverlining. At least hubby does seem genuinely sorry that his mother is being horrid to Jung Eun. 

The shameless witch is at Eun Ho's house for dinner because he's an idiot who doesn't learn his lesson. As he pours her wine she grabs him close for a kiss. He pulls her off his face and she begs him not to speak so that she will be saved from embarrassment. (Try not throwing yourself at him, why don'tcha?) She pouts that it's his fault since he invited her for dinner at his home, and what was she to think? He replies that he feels comfortable around her, and he's sorry, he thought they were just comfortable friends.
Dear Eun Ho, inviting woman over for a glass of wine and some dinner late at night is not exactly sending signals that you're not in love with her. Sincerely me. (Though if the whole Eun Dong thing doesn't work out, I'm happy to stop by) Though way to go taking the initiative for getting that kiss woman, however much that I also hate that you did that. Those lips belong to Eun Dong.

Okay, now I'm feeling some sympathy for her. She says he's cruel and I have to agree - he does know how she feels, after all. But when he says he's sorry again she defends him and says it's not his fault she took him into her heart, especially since he doesn't want to be there. Then boom, she puts on a cheerful face and compliments his cooking and Eun Ho goes along with the changed mood happily. Presto chango! Water under the bridge! Yeah, they're not twisted at all.
*sigh* I don't even know what to say about these two together. Twisted is right. Therapy anyone?

At home in bed, Jae Ho apologizes to Jung Eun for his mother's lecture. Jung Eun doesn't hold any hard feelings but agrees that it was a bit much. After all, aren't they both working hard, and Ra Il too, to make a place to belong? She sighs that it was a very long day and turns away to sleep. Jae Ho lies awake in the dark with a worried look on his face.
I think I've seen those same sheets at the Lotte department store. As much as I'm not okay with hubby a seeming co-conspirator with the memory sham gang, I do feel sorry for him. A little. 

The next day Jung Eun accompanies Jae Ho to his appointment with Dr. Sis, Hyun Ah. She checks on his strength, reflexes, range of motion - he really can't do much of anything. Hyun Ah says that she's different from most doctors and feels that most of the improvement a patient will have comes from their mental attitude. She encourages him to imagine himself walking again and in the physical therapy session after, Jae Ho does seem to be working very hard, but remind me to wonder some later about this timeline. While he's busy, Hyun Ah and Jung Eun take a break outside and Hyun Ah tells Jung Eun that she thinks they are very similar.
I googled his possible injuries and it looks like he has a C5 spinal column injury, which is possible to partially recover from, maybe. Then again, I am no medical professional. 

She shares that her husband died seven years earlier, and claims that he lived two extra years with his brain tumor due to her efforts. She goes on to remember him fondly as a man who could make people laugh right up until the end. Even his appearance before her in a hospital gown was cool, and the smell of his cigarettes was like leaves burning. She encourages Jung Eun to regain her memories so that thoughts of falling for Jae Ho will help them through the tough times. Jung Eun confesses that even though she wants to remember, she's also afraid. She says it feels like inside those memories is a secret she's not supposed to know, one that will come like a big wind and shake everything up.
Soooo...um....why are you only encouraging Jung Eun to recover her memories ten years after the injury? Why now? And Dr. Hyun Soo's noona, are you also part of the memory sham gang? Jung Eun-ah hwaiting! You can recover your memories, though you are right, those memories are going to shake everything up, that's for sure.
If they've only been back in the country for a few months, Hyun Ah hasn't known them long.  She definitely is not part of the cover up, regardless.

Eun Ho pouts to learn that Jung Eun contacted Dong Kyu to ask what the book title should be, now that she's almost finished. He insists again that he couldn't possibly have been rude and refuses to discuss the title until she calls him. This prompts a warning from Dong Kyu not to stand on principle and to instead remember his manners and only show his 'cool actor' side. They bicker about who's more rude and when Dong Kyu insists it's not her because 'she's not like that!' Eun Ho demands to know who comes first if they both fall in the water in front of the manager. Warning him not to be childish just causes Eun Ho to childishly insist that they're MAKING him be childish. At this, poor Dong Kyu sighs and reminds him that Jung Eun has a tough life: she works part-time in a clothing store, plus she's doing writing and editing, and on top of that she has the disabled husband to care for - for a person like that, even a casual word could be hurtful.
Ji Eun Ho, teenage boy in a man's body, a very manly man's body I might add. Whatever they're paying Dong Kyu might not be enough. 

Really, she's soooo rude!!! She must text me back NOW!!!

This guy sure does not have it easy. Back at the office, Dong Kyu gets abuse from Hyun Bal because of the book - how could everyone know about it but the agency? Hyun Bal demands to meet the writer. He swears he won't do anything to her - he just wants to meet her and ask her to be cautious with the writing. Dong Kyu warns him that if anything happens to Jung Eun, he'll tell Eun Ho right away.

Manager needed: must be able to deal with moody actors and abusive CEO's. Dong Kyu: That sounds like a great job! I should apply!

Jung Eun is at work when she receives a call; we realize it was from Hyun Bal only when she walks into a café and he recognizes her immediately. He's shocked to see her and puzzled that she doesn't recognize him, but he doesn't explain and only asks whether she's met Eun Ho yet. He can't figure out why she hasn't realized she's the girl Eun Ho is looking for, and asks first if she's single and next whether she knows that Ji Eun Ho is in fact Park Hyun Soo.
I've been trying to figure this out now for several episodes: Why is Hyun Bal so concerned about making sure that Eun Dong never comes back into Eun Ho's life? Like I really don't get it. He's not in on the memory sham gang's plan I'm sure, so what's his beef? Does he not want to see Eun Ho happy?
It's because Se Ryeong doesn't want it to happen, and the agency either owes her money or she has info that Hyun Bal doesn't want to get out.

He tells Jung Eun that he's been friends with Hyun Soo since high school and knows his history with Eun Dong better than anyone else. For that reason, if she has questions she should contact him and not bother Eun Ho. In fact, he asks specifically that she not meet Eun Ho. Jung Eun agrees to his request without even asking why. Back at the office, Hyun Bal asks Dong Kyu how he found the writer and insists that she never meet Eun Ho.
Oh Hyun Bal. I don't like you so much. 
I don't actively dislike him - he's shown conflicted feelings about this. I can understand feeling responsible for making sure the agency doesn't fail, and why he'd be tempted to think that it's to everyone's benefit if Eun Ho just falls for Se Ryeong the way she wants. The problem is that it's not his choice.

This is probably pointless, as Eun Ho has given in to his frustration and left Jung Eun a message requesting that they meet.  When she returns his call his little smile of satisfaction is funny, as are his pointed queries:  why did she hang up like that that day?  did she receive the music file he sent?  He's so petty!  But Jung Eun has no idea he's been upset and innocently says yes, she got the file - that was the song that he and Eun Dong were listening to the first time they kissed, right?  Eun Ho says yes.
Poor Writer Seo. Eun Ho really is so petty. Silly teenage man. 

She suggests that the book title should be Saranghaneun EunDong-ah (My Beloved Eun Dong) and the scene flips to black and white for a moment as Eun Ho freezes in place. He stutters that he likes that, and she says she heard it was the first line of the letter he left for Eun Dong with that halmeoni 10 years ago. She hangs up, claiming that she has to get on the subway. We hear a young Eun Dong telling Hyun Soo that she wishes he would grow up to be a good person, and we realize what has caught Eun Ho's ear - she sounds like Eun Dong might. The thought is so distracting that he can't concentrate on his meeting with a TV station exec, so he rushes off and immediately tries to call Jung Eun.
With all these time freezes and hallucinations going on, I'd started to wonder if the coffee weren't hallucinogenic. As I think I mentioned a little earlier, Eun Dong's core goodness has remained intact in amnesiac Jung Eun and I love that those echoes of the past desire to be good are what get Eun Ho's mind jogging. 

When he can't reach her he calls Dong Kyu and demands that he come right away, then confirms with him that he's seen Jung Eun's face. His questions are urgent: How old is she? Where did she go to school? They have her resume, right? Of course they don't have any of that and a frustrated Eun Ho demands to know if Seo Jung Eun is even her real name. Dong Kyu has no doubts, and says he even deposited the money to the account of Seo Jung Eun. He mentions that Hyun Bal met her, too, and muses that he also had a lot of questions as well.
Her name! Now we're getting somewhere Eun Ho, well at least a little closer. 

Eun Ho is not calm at all in the van on the ride home, but when Dong Kyu calls him back to confirm that she's 33 and then mentions that she has a 10-year-old son, he settles back against the seat. If she has a child that old, she can't be Eun Dong. (That's not logical at all, Eun Ho, but whatever. right?!) He admits sheepishly that when she spoke, he heard Eun Dong's voice. Dong Kyu laughs that it isn't possible and if it were, obviously she'd have told one of them long ago. Eun Ho worries that she might not, if she hated him, but Dong Kyu says there's no way she hates him when she even asked for an autograph. He points out that lots of people sound alike in the world. Eun Ho hangs up, disappointed.
Ah! So close, but so far! This drama is such a tease! Eun Ho, I feel your disappointment. I want to you meet Eun Dong too, but then again, it's going to make your heart hurt, and mine. Maybe you should wait a little bit. Okay?

At the agency, Hyun Bal is checking out the official Ji Eun Ho fan page. He clicks on a member link and the pop up is a photo of college-age Eun Dong, giving her name as Seo Jung Eun. Hyun Bal recalls that she'd said she was adopted when he met her back then. She'd volunteered to be the fan club president and asked him to make a fan page, and he'd pointed out that she was the only fan at that time. She assured him that it would be a small beginning but a big ending and told him that they would be good friends as President and Manager. Wait, so she was already Seo Jung Eun when she reconnected with Hyun Soo ten years back? She must not have told him her new name. But how did Hyun Bal know that Seo Jung Eun was Eun Dong? Or does he just think it's weird that the old fan club president has popped up again, but isn't mentioning the connection?
Eun Dong! How could you NOT tell Eun Ho that your adopted name was Seo Jung Eun?! No wonder he couldn't find her when he went searching at her old college. Yeah, the whole Hyun Bal thing confuses me. I really have no idea what role he's playing in hiding/not hiding her and why? o.O

Clearly shaken, Hyun Bal meets with Se Ryeong at her hotel. He almost can't believe his own words as he confesses that he found Eun Dong, that it's like something out of a movie: the ghost writer for Eun Ho, the woman writing the book that will help him find Eun Dong, IS Eun Dong. Okay, so he does know. And he knew back then...so why does Eun Ho not know? To a stunned Se Ryeong, Hyun Bal says he's thankful that Eun Dong is married and has a child, and assures her that he's made it so that they can neverrrrrr, ever meet, no way, no how. Se Ryeong muses that they have a scary fate, those two, and wonders aloud why it couldn't be her, then criticizes herself for being petty.
These two. Hyun Bal, why do you dislike seeing Eun Ho happy? Se Ryeong, find a new man. You can't have Eun Ho. Dang right they have a scary fate and it might be best to not get in Fate's way peeps. 

When Hyun Bal returns to his office, Eun Ho is waiting there and says he's moving forward with publishing the book, and if Hyun Bal won't publicize it he'll call a press conference on his own. Eun Ho confirms that his friend met with Jung Eun, and Hyun Bal passes it off as just a move to ensure she wouldn't ever reveal having ghostwritten the story. Eun Ho sounds tired and dejected when he confesses that her voice is just like Eun Dong's. Like Dong Kyu, Hyun Bal laughs it off - voices can sound the same. He says she's pretty but he doesn't particularly remember her face. Meanwhile, Se Ryeong instructs a young, handsome lackey (Kim Hyun Joon!) to investigate her rival.
Oh hello handsome lackey! 

Eun Ho and Jung Eun have a brief text exchange which she ends with a sentence he isn't sure he likes - it could sound rude or not, depending on the mood. Dong Kyu points out that he's really nitpicky with this woman, and Eun Ho responds that he can't tell who Dong Kyu belongs to, lately. Dong Kyu laughs at him and remembers suddenly that she needs autographs for the woman at the district office. Eun Ho says he doesn't like either of them and if she wants autographs she can ask for them herself.
I am starting to think that perhaps Eun Ho never really grew up. He's like Peter Pan in a man's body. So petty. 

At home, Jae Ho asks his wife when she'll be done with the book, admitting that it feels uncomfortable that she spends so much time texting another man. She laughs and says that Eun Ho is weird, that his real name was Park Hyun Soo but he changed it to sound more like Eun Dong. Jae Ho freezes at that name and when Jung Eun confirms that the woman Ji Eun Ho is looking for is named Ji Eun Dong, let's just say it's a good thing she's not looking at him. She'd have known right then. Fearfully, he asks how old Eun Dong is. When the reply comes that she and Eun Dong are the same age, Jae Ho's eyes fill with tears and he begins to shake and breathe hard, but he passes it off as being tired.
One minute I feel sorry for hubby, the next minute I'm like: see, lying hasn't bought long-term happiness, you can't be sad now that you realize the game might be up. How is it that I'm feeling both sorry for him and angry at the same time? 

In his own home, Eun Ho is listening to that song again. Realization hits him - Jung Eun knew that this song was when they first kissed, but he never told her that. He confirms it by checking their text messages (which is funny, because they were actually talking on the phone when she said it, but whatever. I think he was checking to see if he had told her via text and that when she called, she was maybe repeating the information he had maybe given) Even though it's late, he calls her right away, waking up both Jung Eun and her husband.
Dun Dun Dun...*tension* 

They're both shaken and confused to realize that she knew something like that without being told. Urgently, he asks her who she is. 'Eun Dongi?' Jung Eun gasps. He demands to meet right away, but she says it's too late, it has to be another time. He insists that it must be rightnowthisminute but Jung Eun doesn't budge. Jae Ho lies in bed, worried. When Jung Eun returns, he tells her not to pick up in the future and she apologizes. Both pretend to go to sleep, while Eun Ho paces alone in his apartment.
I really loved the play on words there with the "it's too late". Not only was it late at night, but in many ways, Eun Ho and Eun Dong might be too late in realizing their love. She's also terrified she might be Eun Dong and what that might mean. It could just be easier to let it all go. Though of course, we'd have no drama then. 

Comments

Ah!  We're so CLOSE!  Overall this drama has really grabbed my heart despite some plot issues.  They are minor points of continuity mainly, but also a couple of gaping holes.  One would be thatHyun Bal knew her as Seo Jung Eun back then, but also knew she was Eun Dong, and yet Eun Ho has no idea that Eun Dong is also Seo Jung Eun.  Another would be the timeline of the accident and their stay in America. Yup. Yup. Yup. 

The accident happened in Korea but when?  Ten years ago or a few months ago? It had to be ten years ago, unless she deliberately stayed away from Eun Ho all this time.  Why did they go to America if he was in a wheel chair?  He was supposed to go there to play baseball, but that couldn't have happened, so why go?  For medical treatment?  These aren't rich people.  Without insurance, that level of medical care in the US would bankrupt anyone who wasn't a multi-millionaire in a year or two. *nods nods*

How soon did they go after the accident?  Wouldn't he have been in the hospital for a long time?  What about her, she had to have been pregnant during the accident, right? So she had the baby in the states, far from their parents, with a brain injury and a completely disabled husband?  Why? What did they do for ten years?  Why did they come back?  How come it's been ten years but now suddenly they're making a break through on his paralysis?  Another issue:  in the States she worked as an editor but here she can only get a job selling clothes in a children's store?
Yeah, there are some big gaps in the story. I am hoping *crosses fingers* that the memory sham gang have made so many lies that no one really knows what story is true anymore. I'm starting to doubt that anyone even went to the US at all. 

These are the questions that keep me up at night, and they might have been enough to dim my interest in the show except that we have really good actors who make me care very much about their characters.  They seem real because there are depths to them, and not everything about them is all good or all bad.

Jung Eun kept things from her oppa back then, and I don't like that even though I don't know the reason why yet.  Eun Ho borders on the obsessive...okay, more than borders: he is obsessive.  As a friend pointed out, it's very, very likely that he'd have lied to keep her by his side back then, too.  This actually helps when thinking about Jae Ho - he loves his wife as much as Eun Ho loves her.  It allows you to feel some sympathy for him (so far.) 
Yeah, Eun Ho is definitely on the obsessive side. I'm not sure what to make of the pining for his first love when so much time has passed. I get the star-crossed lovers motif going on, but in some ways it really seems that he's lived so long in the past, watching that video clip over and over and over, that he won't really be able to deal with the present and all the baggage that comes with it. And I also feel some sympathy for Jae Ho. I'm really curious to see why everyone is so insistent as to why Eun Dong caused the accident. Had Jae Ho followed them there that day and confronted her? I do think that Jae Ho does love her though, and is using that to justify going along with the deception - especially if he does feel that she's to blame for his injury/the accident. 

Se Ryeong can be forgiven a bit for her pursuit, too, because you can argue that Eun Ho is sending mixed signals.  If someone likes you, states it out loud to you, and says that even if you say you're not interested, they're going to keep trying to win your heart?  If you are not interested, your only possible choice is to cut ties with them, at least until they get over it.  He doesn't do that.  He likes having her around, probably likes that she likes him.  It gives you a bit of understanding for her that she doesn't take what he says as his final word. Yup.

I just hope they don't make me like her father.
Oh please no! That would be awful!

I will look at this lovely gif of Eun Ho walking his drama dog and try to remain calm