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Melting Me Softly: Episodes 7-8 Open Thread

Now that our cryogenic couple is working together to a) stay alive and b) create their new variety show, things start to get a bit more complicated between them. As it turns out, location scouting in the woods and hypothermic body temperatures do not make for good bedfellows. But, if there’s one thing Melting Me Softly is doing right, it’s the great level of detail around this body temperature conundrum.

 
EPISODES 7-8 WEECAP

Melting Me Softly continues to hum along with not a whole lot of plot development, but a lot of fun character interactions. I certainly got what I hoped for, and Dong-chan and Mi-ran are now at the center of the drama, and with a lot of screen time together.

With Mi-ran working at the broadcasting station, the two not only sit across from each other and exchange post-it notes all day (I loved this bit of detail), but Mi-ran’s ideas are instrumental in Dong-chan’s new show, Go Go 99. I’m not sure if we’ll actually watch them develop the show, and it will be used it to draw out some overarching themes, or if it was just an excuse to get Dong-chan and Mi-ran hiking in the woods together.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that these two are going to either get lost, overheated, or both, while they’re out location scouting, but things turn way more dramatic than I expected. Lost and overheated, Mi-ran reaches critical body temperature — but of course, the pair only has one fever-reducing shot with them.

Dong-chan, though he’s also about to pass out from dragging her around, gives Mi-ran the shot before he does. Then they’re both passed out there in the woods like a sweaty Romeo and Juliet for a bit, until Mi-ran recovers.

She’s horrified that there’s nothing she can do to save Dong-chan — but just then the skies open up and a gorgeous torrential rain shower drenches and cools them both. Dong-chan revives and sits up, only to be greeted by a smooch from Mi-ran, lost in the magical moment.

Then, the kiss causes her to pass out again (because Wookie), and Dong-chan catches her. Phewf, that’s a lot of passing out. Shouldn’t we be worried about brain damage or something at some point? I lost count how many times these two have conked out like overheated engines.

While Dong-chan and Mi-ran’s story stays pretty light, there are some nice moments with more gravitas scattered throughout the drama. First there’s Mi-ran’s friend who married (and adores) Byung-shim, but decides to divorce him after a loveless twenty-year marriage. At the suggestion of their divorce, he is more concerned with getting his “striped panties” than anything, while she sits in a cafe with an utterly broken heart. And it actually hurts to watch her cry.

A similar scene that reached a bit deeper was with Dong-chan and his siblings. Dong-chan is filled with empathy for his little brother and how old he got and embraces him; his sister also bangs into the room, and he holds them both for a long moment and it’s so sad and sweet and fatherly. I loved it.

Lastly, there was Ha-young, who I’m finally feeling some sympathy for. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long, but I really felt for her in Episode 8. Dong-chan seems more than over her, and even sings a goodbye love song at the company noraebang event, but it’s made abundantly clear to us that Ha-young loves and desires him… and it’s kind of sad to see her twenty years older than him and pining from afar.

However, this is Melting Me Softly we’re watching, and we don’t linger on these heavy moments for long. We learn a little bit more about chaebol baddie who is both in a cryogenic sleep and not, Professor Hwang is hanging out with Nam-tae (they’re adorbs together doing puzzles and hairdos), and Professor Jo almost gets blown up a la Professor Hwang twenty years prior.

But really, the drama mostly cares about the fumbling and heart racing and attraction between Dong-chan and Mi-ran. In fact, most of Episode 8 is them dealing with the hilarious repercussions and emotional ramifications of their kiss. They go through a confused courtship dance of apologizing, avoiding each other, seeking each other out, and coming to terms with their feelings.

Clearly, both are falling for each other, whether they realize it at first, or not. At the end of Episode 8, Mi-ran is duly crushed, finding herself more lost than ever in what she calls “this world.” Quickly adopting the fashion trends and slang and music (her Zico ringtone!) of 2019 has just been her way of hiding how lost she truly is.

When Dong-chan runs to her rescue, yet again, he can’t help but confess he likes her. And with their body temperatures both skyrocketing, we know the feeling is mutual. Now the games really begin, because if they weren’t in danger before, their newfound mutual attraction is also a major health risk. Perhaps they should have their next kiss in a freezer — these two can’t afford to pass out anymore.

 
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Few words exist to express my relief at dropping this awful show. Dong-chan is a fickle jerk and he has the depth of the puddle that is this drama. I think I hate it almost as much as Abyss.

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Everything about this show seems second-rate. The wardrobe, the music, the cinematography, the plotting, the sets. Its episode 8, has the hero actually DONE anything besides get his old job back and annoy his coworkers? Its a sci-fi series with no sci-fi in it.

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I love Ji Chang-wook and Won Jin-ah and they do have chemistry together but I kind of wish they didn't try to do a romance between them. I honestly think it would have been more interesting if the focus was on the other loves lines.

Dong-chan trying to work it out with 20-years-older Ha-young (who this time, did try to find him or he does forgive her) and the difference 20 years can make but that their love can overcome it would have been a great story.

Similarly, Mi-ran wakes up and falls for the 'perfect' Hwang Ji-hoon. The struggle of being legally 20 years older but only biologically/visually a few years older would/could(/does) lead to cute flirting. But the real kicker comes when the truth about her first boyfriend is his father and that he is still in love with her would have been the real drama.

Honestly, the pieces are all there for some great romance stories and they would even ask some thought-provoking questions about how 'age' plays into romance.

Sadly, there is nothing really interesting to me about Dong-chan and Mi-ran getting together, Their struggle with keeping their heartbeat and temperature down could have still been there with the other love lines. It doesn't have to be them in a romance specifically.

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Amen. This alternative plot development would have made for a far more interesting story!

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Oh, I agree with this. And it doesnt help that Mi-Ran and Wookie don't really have romantic chemistry. That dream kiss that he shared with the evil ex? Hot! HOT, I say. And he and Mi-Ran came no where near that in any of their interactions in these eps.

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Mi-Ran and JCW have a bit of chemistry. Honestly, JCW can have chemistry with anyone. I mean, I'm always sold when he looks at the love interest with those soft heart eyes. Won-jin is a good actor too. They are very interesting together when they are on screen. I just think they don't have much to work with (romance-wise). Their romance feels forced compared to the other two relationships.

If the ex had married someone else, I'd be 'meh' about this but she did seem to wait. She didn't seem to move on and is clearly still crazy for him. And he still saw her as a woman after all that time (it's only the betrayal that changed his feelings)! When he said that - ugh, the feels! If she was like Professor Hwang who had remarried, I'd think that would have been better. It would have been interesting for JCW to come back 20 years later and see his fiancee married to someone else. That could have gotten me on the Mi-Ran-Dong-chan ship. But they spent so much screen time to Dong-chan in love with his ex and thinking Mi-ran is crazy that it's hard to forget that when he suddenly has a 180 feelings flip in regards to both women.

(honestly, that kiss initially irritated me because he seemed to be concerned with/likes Mi-ran now and that wishy-washy nature would have irritated me to his character. But after they showed it was a dream, I was like WOW! Those actors have chemistry!)

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I think a show is more disappointing and more frustrating when you can see the obvious story it's failing to tell. When I say that nobody has made the right decision about anything in this drama I mean it very literally. I know that his fiance betrayed him but being angry at her and not wanting to be together anymore is a very different than to mooning after somebody else ten seconds later. It suggests that he is either very fickle and didn't really care about his fiance or that Candy is merely a rebound. I don't think the writers were aiming for either of those things.

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Exactly. It's so frustrating because there are all these pieces for some great storylines that they are completely ignoring.

Yes, there was no time spent between his feelings for his fiancee and Mi-ran. Also, I still don't understand why he likes her? I get that he feels responsible in a way for her but romance???? Like he saw wind blow through her hair as she smiled (at two other guys) and thought,' yupp - I like her'??? He definitely saw her smile and wind in her hair as he filmed her soaring through the air courtesy of those water bottles...

I also don't understand her feelings for him - she saw him up close and thought 'wow, he's pretty'??? that shouldn't mean feelings! The moment they liked each other should have been stronger. Or there should have been a stronger beginning for them but back in the past, she thought he was crazy and he didn't even remember her name???

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I agree with everything you said. Their relationship just feels forced and out of nowhere. It’s a magical moment when he understood that her smile melts his heart ( after heart breaking conversation with his ex, who he looooooved so much) and she just went straight from he is annoying to oh wow I actually like him. That kiss was totally unnecessary at the end of episode 7 and both actors are great but they don’t have good chemistry

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THIS. Can I please watch your show? Having the two meltees fall for each other avoids ALL of the relationship pitfalls that could have been.
It would have been so much more interesting to see Dong-chan, who still looks and acts like a younger adult, reconstruct a relationship with the older, more powerful, and presumably more wise and experienced Ha-young.
Conversely, Mi-ran is older in some ways but much younger in others, and trying to craft a relationship with someone both younger in years and much more experienced about the current world - as well as the son of your best friend and your whacko ex-boyfriend... WHY can't I watch that show???

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Truth! I think that some dramas go to the trope rather than to the deeper questions of their story premise. I'm glad the writer showed that his old girlfriend was truly loving and i would've loved our hero and his long-waiting now-older girlfriend would work out forgiveness issues. But noooo, we have a couple who really have nothing much in conquer except for oversleeping. I admire Chang Wook's determination to learn how to do comedy but this isn't working for me. I plod through because i kinda sorta already know how it'll all turn out. Kinda sorta.

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I got Tyra Banks "We were rooting for you!" mad at Mi-ran in episode 7. I understand being forgetful and all. It's an affliction that plagues me on occasion. But gurl, keeping your temperature at a specific evel is a matter of life and death. How then could you not double check to see if you had your injection with you?!! Made me so mad.

Side note though. If rain works just as effectively as the magic serum, do they really need the serum? If dunking yourself in an ice bucket is going to cool you off/wake you up when you've overheated, doesn't it make the serum less special? Or did I miss something?

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The serum/injection is for when they can't get to an ice bucket or take a shower in time. Like when Mi-ran needed to get an emergency shot at the hospital (because her temperature was way too high) but JCW just hosed himself down with cold water.

Also, the serum is not something they are supposed to use all the time because it grows less effective with each use. Which made me really angry to see that she wasted her shot just to get drunk after JCW warned her against it (he did right?).

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I think he did which is why he wouldn't let her drink when they were at the company dinner. I don't mind if she doesn't save the world but I do wish she'd try a little harder to keep herself alive.

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HAHAHA!!! "We were rooting for you!!!" Honestly, I feel that way about this whole show.

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I 💖JCW and it is for this sole reason that I watch this kdrama. It doesn’t give justice to his talent and acting skills. It is a pain to watch. I will agonise whether to finish this or drop this at any given time.

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I can't drop it 😔. I must suffer for love(of Wookie).

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I was just thinking this. I should stick thru this drama to the bitter and painful end, because that's what a fan does. But oh it is painful, oh so painful.

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I'm not finding Melt My Brain too painful, I guess because the acting is pretty good, it's just the writing that is sophomoric, and I love trouncing on bad writing. I'm evil that way.

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Melt My Brain, lol!

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I love him too, but I dropped it after the premiere... really, it is just that the writer is bad. She didn't learn anything after SWDBS!

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This is worse, so far, than SWDBS.

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That's what I am getting from the comments. I liked the otp in SWDBS, and also their romance felt real... it was done so nicely that they saved the whole show, but here... apparently it is not the case.

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Not so far.

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Thing is I like SWDBS though. It's even on my yearly rewatch list. This one is just not doing it for me though. I like the premise but I'm not sure what she wants for her drama because I feel like we didn't get enough fish-out-of-water hijinks for that to have been her main focus. The villain of the story is still way too vague for me to invest in his motivations.

I even thought they would get into the journey of the loved ones like what happened to Mi-ran's brother in the 20 years she was gone. I mean she did go into the capsule for him right? It's like writernim wants to be serious but also light, and doesn't quite hit the mark on either end.

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Agree. I dropped after episode 4. I think it wants to be Forrest Gump, but ended up being... Home Alone.

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LoL.... I liked home alone though, at least when I was a child!! 😂😂😂

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@javinne I ❤ it too! But when you aim FG, and end up like HA......🙄

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Strangely, I loved SWDBS! I think because they were really able to pull off a campy, webtoon-superhero-chickflick vibe and never even tried to pretend that people should take them seriously. Reminded me of the old Batman and Robin series😊😂

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I'm sticking with it. Anything for Wookie.

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Indeed. We'll survive this and send up wish lanterns for his next role to be better written

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I fervently hope he will soon choose a better script. Can we have something like Healer again?

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I know right. Healer is my favorite drama(also my fav Wookie drama). But he said no more action for now so we may need to wait a while

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If he does not want to do action then we better see some action, if you know what I mean. Judging by that dream kiss, I think he needs to get back together with his old flame. Just to make absolutely sure there is nothing there, you see. ;-)

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😂 I think we may have to settle for dream sequence action because this writer does not get us.At.All

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It's badly written. The only thing that's preventing me from dropping the show is JCW and WJA's acting. They are so believable to the point that it forces me to be on-board for their romance development even when there were plenty of WTF moments.

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Another commemorative comment for those still hanging on. I finished ep 8 in 15 mins, that should tell how much I hated it.
Also dunno if I missed nikolai bit in previous episodes due to ⏩ & 2x or if it's just one of those things like the mad profs assistant & his subsequent explanation of their condition to jcw the show never bothered to show.

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Hahaha! Me tooooo! I finished Ep 7 in probably just as much time. Funny thing is, even ffw through most of the sloggy, badly managed plot "development", you can still pretty much get what's supposed to be going on. Which means nothing much.

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Exactly. We'd miss nothing even if we skipped an ep or two.... Or four.

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Well... Except Wookie's lovely lovely face.

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See wookie has been making me want to stab him with an ice pick or swat him with a sauce pan in Thrash Me (it evolved, don't question it. From Thaw Me because it needed to be de-freezed to thrash me because of multitude of reasons)

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I'm amazed that Ji Chang Wook's comeback role isn't as good as Kang Ha Neul's. I thought Ji was the more high-profile actor. He deserves better.

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I agree with you. When Camellias Bloom is enjoying a lot better viewership than MMS. And Ha Neul was discharged from military just around the time JCW got out, too. I guess it is the choice of script and its execution. WCB does little of the Joker mystery but its enough to inject a little suspense every now and then. Whereas, MMS tries so hard selling to us the cryogenics thing. The only thing sustaining this drama is JCW. So yes, for I am a fan, I will get to the end of this... regardless. Fighting!!!!

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It's just the JCW's show for me. No high expectations so if it does better, it's good. If it doesn't, no biggie. But I have to admit, it's not so bad as Arthdal Chronicles (for me). It still has some cute stuff that makes for some light-hearted viewing.

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This is worse then Abyss! So sad to see JCW in it!

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I will continue to power through this stinker of a drama for wookie but I will be using the FF button anytime the leads are not on screen. I am so sad that he picked this drama. It is not good enough for him, and it is a waste of two good lead actors. Please pick a TvN or OCN drama next time Wookie!

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Thing is, this is a TVN Drama. The channel is not the issue here, it's...everything else.

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This show is bad, guys. Good performances won't save a fundamentally flawed story.

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This show's entertainment value is now entirely meta. I'm watching it just to enjoy the showrunners' endless missteps and misjudgments. The way they contrived to randomly place the pair into the woods on a hot day. Yeh, that was convincing (eye roll). The whole series feels like a rough first draft script. In the past I've become angry at other series because it seemed a good story was being botched. In this case there was no hope for this story from the beginning.

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Dropped on the second episode, but keep on checking these recaps just to make sure I'm not really missing anything (and to check out the screengrabs and bask in JCW's pretiness... that kiss! I'm blushing). Thank you missvictrix for your hard work, fighting!

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i want to watch that one

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Some character regression on Dong Chan in the latest episode as the writers sells the love angle between thw leads. DC is supposed to be a mature, successful and totally self-assured man before he was subjected to the experiment. Now why this awkwardness towards Mi Ran? He is now made to look like a teenager on the throes of first love. Ughhhhh!!!!

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Not even my love for JCW Gould make me watch this awful mess. The plot sounded trite, boring and stupid, but then I found out it was written by the person who wrote SWBDS - one of the worst dramas I’ve ever tried to watch - and the sheer awfulness of the plot synopsis suddenly made sense.

This is, apparently, so bad that even JCW fans can’t rescue it, and yet like SWBDS ( probably thanks to PHS obsessed fans), it inexplicably has a 9.6 or 9.7 rating on Viki.

I didn’t plan on watching this any time soon, as there are good and interesting dramas that are currently airing, just finished, or are highly praised older dramas I haven’t yet had time to watch, so I can’t imagine ever watching garbage like this. I was, and continue to be, very disappointed and mystified that JCW made such a poor choice in his first drama after the 2 year absence for military duty. I hope my other favorites pick good projects, like Jung Il-woo did, and not something disappointing.

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I had no expectations for this drama. I just really wanted to see my oppa doing what he does best again. So I'm glad to say I'm not disappointed regarding his skills. He is doing a great job. This drama was the best option? I don't know. I've surely seen better dramas when it comes to writing, but I've also seen worse. Abyss was a completely waste of my time. And Arthdal Chronicles could not grab my attention, for example. So, yeah, Melting me soflty is far from perfect, but I don't think is that bad neither. Every time I watch it, I can relax a bit, laugh a few times and see some great actors doing good scenes like the last one. It is not a complete disaster on my book. :)

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Imagine if he was casted as the lead in When the camellia blooms or Vagabond instead

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For those dithering on To watch or not To watch MMS .. read on. Mild SPOILERS. 
(I have collated below Missvictrix words - sentences in her review for you to decide if you want to watch JCW in his COMEDIC GLORY. He took the crown effortlessly.)
My Comment: I HEART _ HUG _ SNORT_GUFFAW_ROFL_and go all fluttery warm and crazy with the TWO leads whose chemistry was like poetry.
This is my first watch of JCW as a total goofy - hilarious - WITTY - Short tempered but adorably COMIC ROLE. SO SO SO polar opposite to what I have seen earlier in HEALER and K2 and Empress Ki.
The ONLY JCW movie I dropped was K2 .. and NOT because I didn't drool over his Je Ha character .. but because it because torturous to watch Anna written in as his love interest when a large majority (those who dropped it like a hot potato) was rooting for the STEAMING HOT vibes that developed between Je Ha - Choi Yoon Ji. I have cussed the writer-director-producer-casting of Yoona as Anna in K2 related comment sites where I found fellow disappoints,
I HAD to collect MissVictrix's HILARIOUS review highlights which 200% reflected my thoughts and feelings as I watched the show - all nighter binge-mode.So below .. BOWING to MissVictrix prose :
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- if there’s one thing Melting Me Softly is doing right, it’s the great level of detail around this body temperature conundrum.- not a whole lot of plot development, but a lot of fun character interactions. I certainly got what I hoped for, and Dong-chan and Mi-ran are now at the center of the drama, and with a lot of screen time together.

- the two not only sit across from each other and exchange post-it notes all day (I loved this bit of detail), 

- While Dong-chan and Mi-ran’s story stays pretty light, there are some nice moments with more gravitas scattered throughout the drama. 

- A similar scene that reached a bit deeper was with Dong-chan and his siblings. Dong-chan is filled with empathy for his little brother and how old he got and embraces him; his sister also bangs into the room, and he holds them both for a long moment and it’s so sad and sweet and fatherly. I loved it.

- Lastly, there was Ha-young, who I’m finally feeling some sympathy for. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long, but I really felt for her in Episode 8 ..it’s kind of sad to see her twenty years older than him and pining from afar.

- But really, the drama mostly cares about the fumbling and heart racing and attraction between Dong-chan and Mi-ran. In fact, most of Episode 8 is them dealing with the hilarious repercussions and emotional ramifications of their kiss. They go through a confused courtship dance of apologizing, avoiding each other, seeking each other out, and coming to terms with their feelings.

- their newfound mutual attraction is also a major health risk. Perhaps they should have their next kiss in a freezer — these two can’t afford to pass out...

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