Boyfriend: Episode 13

by LollyPip

This couple just continues to up the ante on what makes a strong, healthy relationship, and how to love someone purely and beautifully. No matter what threatens them, they never falter, and each attempt to break them apart only makes them stronger. There’s only one thing that could truly endanger their happiness, and when it comes time to face it, we can only hope that they’re able to stand firm in their resolve to stay together no matter what.

 
EPISODE 13 RECAP

Soo-hyun surprises Jin-hyuk by showing up for his family dinner instead of going to Woo-seok’s father’s memorial service. His entire family stands there, open-mouthed, when he leads her inside, and Dad leads her to the table while Mom runs to the kitchen for more rice.

At the memorial service, there’s a small furor when Driver Nam pulls up in Soo-hyun’s car. But Secretary Jang steps out of the car to deliver the message that Soo-hyun won’t be able to attend, and they immediately leave.

Jin-hyuk looks proud enough to bust at having Soo-hyun to dinner (I love that he’s equally proud of Soo-hyun and his parents), especially when she addresses his mom as “Mother” and asks her to speak informally. Mom is gracious but seems uncomfortable, and she notices the matching couple rings that Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk are wearing.

Dinner goes well, and afterward, Jin-hyuk walks Soo-hyun outside. She says that his family is fun and comfortable, unable to picture it when he jokes that his parents can have some vicious fights. She asks Jin-hyuk if he told her the dinner was canceled because he worried she’d be uncomfortable (at having to make a choice), and says that if she were him, she’d have been selfish and asked him to skip the other event.

Jin-hyuk says that wherever she is or who she’s with, it doesn’t bother him, because he knows her heart is with him. She smiles in agreement, but she worries that his parents felt awkward around her. Jin-hyuk insists that she fit in fine.

Chairwoman Kim is quietly furious that Soo-hyun didn’t come to the memorial. When it’s over, Woo-seok tells her to get some rest, but before she leaves the room she snaps that his father must be upset.

After dropping off Soo-hyun, Jin-hyuk goes to Dae-chan’s restaurant, where he’s gorging himself on leftovers brought by Jin-myung. Jin-hyuk beams happily when Dae-chan asks if introducing Soo-hyun to his parents means he’s taking things to the next level. Jin-myung admits that he was worried Soo-hyun wouldn’t fit in, but says that she seemed like one of the family.

Jin-hyuk hopes that their parents agree, and Jin-myung tells him to just worry about his love. Jin-hyuk tells him about their dad going to talk to Soo-hyun in her office, and that things seem fine there, but he’s not so sure how Mom feels. He says he’s scared to mention it, because he feels like this is the calm before the storm.

In the morning, Soo-hyun’s mother is furious over a news article about Soo-hyun not attending the memorial last night. Soo-hyun’s father tells her to calm down and stop worrying about the past, but he’s not surprised when she slams out of the room.

Chairwoman Kim calls Director Choi to tell him that a board meeting will be held to discuss extending Soo-hyun’s term as CEO. She instructs him to take this opportunity to take her out and have Woo-seok made sole CEO.

Director Choi says uncertainly that he would need to know that the board members on their side would win, but Chairwoman Kim says it’s taken care of. After Director Choi leaves, Chairwoman Kim calls someone and tells them to have the legal team begin their plan to reclaim Donghwa Hotel.

Secretary Jang has finally found a camera exactly like the one of Jin-hyuk’s that they broke in Cuba. When she gives it to Soo-hyun, she mentions her concerns that Taekyung will proceed with a lawsuit to take back the hotel, now that they don’t have to take her father’s career into account. Soo-hyun jokes that that’s what they live for and tells Secretary Jang not to worry.

The PR team is working on a wedding promotion event, something they do every year to drum up business. Manager Lee is distracted, so DK offers to pass his usual duties to Han-gil since they can’t afford mistakes, but Manager Lee says he can handle it.

That evening, Soo-hyun thinks about a conversation she had with her father. She’d admitted to being reckless (by skipping the memorial) and possibly harming him, but he’d said she did well. He says it’s too early to explain fully, but he tells her not to be surprised when she sees his political path, and not to worry that it’s because of her.

She takes a picture of the camera and texts it to Jin-hyuk, who’s still at work. He thinks it’s his old camera , but she tells him that this is a different one, though the same model and even made in the same year.

Excited, Jin-hyuk wants to come see the camera now, but Soo-hyun says she’ll bring it to work tomorrow and makes him pout like a child whose parent won’t let them play with a toy. Soo-hyun says innocently that she didn’t say the camera was for him, then she admits that he’s just too much fun to tease.

She relents and says he can see the camera tonight, though he quips that it’s not the camera he most wants to see. Since he’s still working, she offers to come to him and “give him some energy.”

They go out to eat gopchang (intestines), another food Soo-hyun has never had, and she says that one of her favorite things about being with him is getting to try mysterious foods. She confesses that she’s usually very picky about menus, but she never refuses anything Jin-hyuk suggests, and she always enjoys it.

Jin-hyuk is eager to see his new camera, but Soo-hyun wants to eat some fried rice first. She finally caves to his whining and hands it over, and he’s delighted by it, though he says it feels different than his old one.

Soo-hyun says that she looked so hard for the camera, and he deadpans, “Sure, I’ll ask Secretary Jang about it later.” He knows her so well, lol. He’s engrossed in his new toy, until Soo-hyun gets jealous and reminds him that he said he wanted to see her more.

At work the next day, Soo-hyun learns (through the phone records that Driver Nam got from his detective friend) that Manager Lee from the PR team was involved in the attempt to sabotage the Cuban hotel deal. Secretary Jang wants to call him in immediately, but Soo-hyun decides to wait.

She meets with Jin-hyuk during a break, and she asks him hypothetically what she should do if someone did something wrong to her, and she learned who it was. Jin-hyuk says that he forgives people at least once because everyone makes mistakes, and Soo-hyun grumps she should have known better than to ask someone so generous, hee.

Jin-hyuk checks to make sure he’s not the one who needs to apologize for something, and Soo-hyun gives him the stink-eye and asks if he feels guilty about something. He says he doesn’t, but he confesses that he thinks about her more than he thinks about work. He gives a half-assed apology and tells her to tattle to DK, but Soo-hyun says he’s a model employee. He grins and asks for a reward, then sneaks a kiss.

Dae-chan visits Secretary Jang at work, adorably dressed in his nicest jacket, and offers to take her to lunch. She fibs that she already ate, but she agrees to go for coffee. At the cafe, he admits that he missed her, then laughs while Secretary Jang tries to pretend that he didn’t just make her heart jump.

Soo-hyun decides to confront Manager Lee, and to his credit, he looks deeply ashamed. She says that she’s more interested in finding the person who planned the sabotage, and she promises not to fire him or get legal involved, but she asks him to reveal the culprit at the next board meeting.

She says that she’ll have him reassigned to the Cuba hotel, and Manager Lee looks her in the eyes for the first time. He asks why, and Soo-hyun says that she hopes he’ll see the future it promises for Donghwa, and, “Because we all make mistakes at least once.”

The PR team sets up a photo session for their wedding promos, but at the last second, the photographer has to go to the emergency room. They can’t delay the shoot or they’ll miss their deadline, so Hye-in suggests that Jin-hyuk take the pictures.

Soo-hyun wanders by and stops to watch when she sees Jin-hyuk playing photographer. The bride and groom models remind Soo-hyun of lying in bed with Jin-hyuk, and him asking if someday, they can fall asleep together every night. Jin-hyuk spots her and smiles, but he notices that something in her return smile seems forced.

After the shoot, Jin-hyuk asks if he can have the bouquet that the bride model was holding. He shows up at Soo-hyun’s apartment that night, and he gives her the sweet little bouquet and asks her to hold it. He explains that while he was taking those pictures, he kept thinking that she would look prettier with it than the model.

He steps back to look at Soo-hyun with the bouquet, and he’s a little stunned at how pretty she is. He kneels in front of her and takes her hands in his, and says, “Like this. Come to me just like this. I can no longer imagine living without you, because it would be impossible. Let’s live together for a really long time.”

Soo-hyun sighs and looks unsure, so Jin-hyuk asks if she’s giving him a “no.” She just jumps up to put the flowers in water, leaving him wondering if he said the wrong thing.

He visits his dad at the store, needing to talk. He tells Dad that Soo-hyun really enjoyed dinner with the family, and Dad says it was brave of her to come. He admits that all the pictures of them online made him worried, especially after Jin-hyuk got transferred to Sokcho, but that seeing them together made him feel more at ease.

He says he was impressed when he learned that Soo-hyun skipped an important event to come to their house, and Jin-hyuk confesses that he’s thankful, but also worried. Dad says that he’s decided to fully support them, and Jin-hyuk says that he can’t imagine his life without Soo-hyun so he was worried about his parents’ approval. He thanks Dad, and Dad is all, If you’re so thankful, organize the fruits. LOL.

Just outside, Jin-hyuk’s mother stops before coming in, having overheard their conversation. Instead of joining them, she turns and heads home, and when Jin-hyuk makes his way home and says he wants to tell her something, she claims to be too tired to talk. He asks if she trusts him, but she sends him to bed without a clear answer.

On the day of the board meeting, Director Choi tells Woo-seok confidently that they’ve got this vote in the bag. They start the meeting without Soo-hyun, but she interrupts to say that before they vote on extending her term, there’s an important matter to resolve.

She brings in Manager Lee, who looks nervous, but he tells the board that he made a huge mistake and convinced someone to send the email that might have canceled the Cuban hotel deal. They ask him why, and he says bravely, “Director Choi put me up to it.”

Soo-hyun tells Director Choi that if he offers a sincere, regretful apology, then she’ll end things here. Instead, he says that he gave the order to Manager Lee, but someone else gave him the order.

Soo-hyun asks why it’s so hard for him to just apologize, and he growls that he’s just a hired hand. He refuses to say who he works for, so Soo-hyun leaves it to Woo-seok and the board members to decide what to do with him.

She leaves, saying that she’ll wait to hear their decision on this, and the other matter as well. After she’s gone, Woo-seok also excuses himself, since he wasn’t on the board at the time of Director Choi’s incident and he thinks they should discuss Soo-hyun’s extension another time.

Director Choi is dismissed from his position, and he runs into Jin-hyuk on his way out of the building. He says that he thought he’d last longer than Jin-hyuk, but that the war isn’t over.

Soo-hyun invites Secretary Jang to dinner at her place, and tells her to bring Driver Nam with her. She says she’s planning to cook, and Secretary Jang looks a little scared, ha.

A neighbor visits Jin-hyuk’s mom, asking for Jin-hyuk to use his influence with Soo-hyun to get her son a job at Donghwa Hotel. She says it should be easy, since Jin-hyuk got hired because he was dating the boss.

Jin-hyuk helps Soo-hyun set the table for dinner. He asks where she learned to cook all this, but she carefully avoids the question. Over dinner, Secretary Jang mock-complains when Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk act too couple-y for her taste, and Driver Nam accuses her of being jealous.

Soo-hyun says that it was her wish to cook for the people she cares about and share it together at the same table, but that it was also difficult for her. Driver Nam breaks the tension by pretending to be offended that this is the first time he’s been invited to Soo-hyun’s home, and the three long-time friends playfully bicker while Jin-hyuk looks on happily.

Jin-hyuk’s mom takes some tangerine syrup to Dae-chan and asks him to give it to Secretary Jang to pass on to Soo-hyun, but she tells him not to mention it to Jin-hyuk or Jin-myung.

Jin-hyuk stays to help Soo-hyun clean up after their guests leave, and he invites her to lay her head in his lap. He says he feels like he belongs at her place now, but she thinks that his room felt more comfortable. She thanks him for his help today and for being reliable.

He asks why she’s not answering his question to stay with him for a long time. Soo-hyun sits up and says that she’s good at making different kinds of foods, because she learned while she was a Taekyung family member. She says that ever since she went to his home, she’s been dreaming about being happy with Jin-hyuk in that house, but that her memories of the past are holding her back.

She says she dreams of standing in front of him holding a bouquet, but that she’s afraid it’s a greedy dream. Jin-hyuk wipes away her tears, then crouches in front of her again, and tells her a story about a woman he met in Cuba. He says that he didn’t even know her name, but he hoped she didn’t have a boyfriend.

He says that she’s the first person who’s ever left such a deep impression on his heart, and that her past isn’t important to him, because he loves the person that she is and wants to be with her every day. He asks if she will make that possible, and Soo-hyun answers, “Let’s make it possible.”

She takes her bouquet to work and gives it a place of honor next to her lemon plant. She asks Secretary Jang to have it preserved, and Secretary Jang takes the bouquet and drops off the tangerine syrup from Jin-hyuk’s mom. Soo-hyun finds a note taped to the top of the jar, asking Soo-hyun to call her.

They meet at a tea house, and Mom gets right to the point: “I’m sorry, I really am. But please end things with my son.” She tells Soo-hyun about her neighbor asking for Jin-hyuk to get her son hired at Donghwa, ashamed that everyone assumes Jin-hyuk got hired because he was dating the boss.

She can see that Soo-hyun is upset, and she says she’s sorry, but she just wants her family to live a quiet, happy life like before. She says it’s not like Soo-hyun would marry Jin-hyuk anyway, because she and Jin-hyuk are from two different worlds. Mom continues that she’s scared Jin-hyuk will get his heart broken and be gossiped about, and she asks again, sobbing, “Please, please break up with my son.”

Tears stream down Soo-hyun’s face as she thinks about Jin-hyuk, and how he said he can’t imagine living without her. “Let’s live together for a long, long time. I love you, Cha Soo-hyun-sshi.”

 
COMMENTS

I loved how Soo-hyun took Jin-hyuk’s advice about giving people a chance to apologize and applied it to her work problem. In the case of Manager Lee, it worked, because he’s not a bad person, he just got caught up in a bad situation, and he’s looked for a while now like he would jump on a chance to get out of it. Soo-hyun offered him the opportunity to redeem himself, and he did so admirably. She offered the same chance to Director Choi, but I’m not surprised that he rejected it and made things worse. Now he’s gone from Donghwa, but that may just make him a loose cannon who’s willing to do anything for revenge.

But on to my major concern — Jin-hyuk’s mother begging Soo-hyun to break up with him. I’ve never understood the whole, “Break up to avoid breaking his heart” argument, because isn’t it way too late for that? I know, the thinking is that it’s better to break up early before the person’s feelings get any deeper, but that ship sailed for Jin-hyuk long ago. He’s been at risk for a broken heart since Soo-hyun admitted her feelings for him, and now they’ve told each other they love each other, so a broken heart is a given if they split up. And I said this when Jin-hyuk’s father spoke to Soo-hyun about their relationship, but isn’t it Jin-hyuk’s decision to risk his heart and his reputation? I have no doubt that his mother loves him and thinks she’s doing what’s best, but he’s almost 30 years old — he’s more than capable of deciding for himself what he’s willing to give up and whether Soo-hyun is worth it. She’s so busy worrying about him that she hasn’t noticed what Dad’s noticed — that Jin-hyuk is incandescently happy with Soo-hyun.

And goodness knows, nobody knows what he wants, and that he’s willing to risk everything for it, than Jin-hyuk. He’s never hidden his feelings for Soo-hyun or shied away from the consequences — the time they did split up for a while, he only agreed because he knew Soo-hyun needed the time to think about everything without him pressuring her. He’s never been anything but one hundred percent in, and he’s never been scared of what might happen to himself as a result of loving her. So it makes me incredibly frustrated to see his mother giving Soo-hyun a guilt trip and begging her to leave him without even talking to him about it first, like Dad did. I could understand her concern if Jin-hyuk had ever wavered in his commitment to this relationship, but he hasn’t. He knows what he wants and what it will cost him, and he considers it a fair trade. It’s not right for his mother, however well-meaning, to make an end run around her very mature, very strong, adult son and try to convince the woman who loves him that he’d be better off without her, without even bothering to find out how Jin-hyuk feels about it first.

And unfortunately, a mother’s heartfelt plea might be the only thing that could make Soo-hyun consider leaving Jin-hyuk, especially when she just admitted her fear that she’d never be good enough to join his wonderful family. I don’t like the way Soo-hyun ducked her head the way she used to do in front of her mother and Chairwoman Kim, literally bowing under the pressure of parental disapproval all over again. So I’m glad she and Jin-hyuk just had that talk and reaffirmed their commitment to each other, because, while it looks like Soo-hyun might be so hurt by this conversation that she actually does try to break up, Jin-hyuk won’t be having any of it. I still worry that we may end this drama with these two going their separate ways, but at the moment, there’s still time for these misunderstandings and hurt feelings to be mended.

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