My Unfamiliar Family: Episode 3

by quirkycase

Even the longest-held secrets are in danger of one day being revealed, and when they are, the consequences could be dire. To say this family has a communication issue would be an understatement. Secrecy and silence have eroded some relationships and threaten to erode others, and this oppressive pattern will continue until everyone chooses honesty. Now it’s our younger daughter’s turn to grapple with a new secret of her own and decide whether to follow her desires or her conscience.

 
EPISODE 3

Eun-hee laughs in disbelief after hearing Geon-joo is engaged to his girlfriend of nine years who’ll be joining him in Korea soon. Kyung-ok thinks Eun-hee is laughing at her until Eun-hee clarifies she experienced a traumatic breakup with a boyfriend of nine years.

At her desk, Eun-hee gets a message from Geon-joo offering to cook dinner for her at his place. He has something to tell her. While she contemplates her response, Chan-hyuk texts he wants to meet for lunch.

Ji-woo arrives at the hospital just in time to hear Sang-shik ask if Eun-joo knows he’s not her biological father. Jin-sook adamantly says she doesn’t, and they promised never to speak of it. Ji-woo listens in shock.

Eun-joo calls her dad to check on him right as Eun-hee calls her mom. Ji-woo comes in as his parents talk to his sisters in turn and observes his mom thoughtfully.

Tae-hyung stops by home to get his laptop and catches Eun-joo working. She’s been freelancing for a while now and isn’t sure why she didn’t tell him about it. When she comments they’ll talk about it later, he dismissively says there’s no need.

Fed up with his disinterest in her and seemingly everything, she wonders if he’s always been like this or became this way. Tae-hyung calls her sensitive in that same apathetic tone. Isn’t she late for a meeting? Eun-joo ambiguously replies “too late” and leaves.

Holding back tears, Eun-joo marches back inside. It’s better to resolve the issue than be distracted at work. Tae-hyung doesn’t see the issue until Eun-joo throws out, “You’re keeping a secret from me, aren’t you?”

Strained silence stretches, and Eun-joo rewords it to ask if he’s worried about something. She’ll help if he tells her. Tae-hyung scoffs ungraciously that he’ll tell her whenever he has a secret she can help resolve. If he’s so bothered by the idea of family helping each other, she’ll just listen. He can tell her anytime. Tae-hyung stands silently as she goes.

Ji-woo drives his parents home from the hospital and asks who his mom was talking to on the phone. It was the cultural center where Jin-sook takes literature classes. Sang-shik speculates she’s writing poetry and pouts when she snaps at him.

Jin-sook had forgotten about Sang-shik’s three pouts. We see his upset pout, request pout and proud pout in flashback. In the car, Sang-shik whines about wanting to call her “Miss Sook” until Ji-woo coughs uncomfortably.

Chan-hyuk meets Eun-hee at work, hiding around back so as not to start rumors. Ha. He asks Eun-hee when the meditation center’s book is coming out; the author won’t pay his company for the promotional materials until its release.

Eun-hee offers to lend him the money by taking out a work loan, but he just wants her to buy him a meal. Over lunch, Eun-hee stuns Chan-hyuk with the uncanny coincidence of Geon-joo having a nine-year girlfriend.

They assume he wants to break the news to Eun-hee over dinner, but Chan-hyuk worries about her going to his house. “Do you think I’ll make the same mistake twice?” Chan-hyuk: “I do.” Heh. Given her experience being on both sides of a cheating situation, she should break it off coolly and cleanly.

And in walks Geon-joo with the entire staff. Eun-hee tries and fails to blend into the background. Kyung-ok joins her table (all smiles at Chan-hyuk) while the others sit nearby, and Eun-hee makes introductions. Chan-hyuk notes Geon-joo, who gives him his card, with interest.

Meanwhile, a woman arrives at Geon-joo’s place and wanders the (amazing) apartment. She finds their photo stashed in a drawer and puts it back on display.

At the restaurant, Kyung-ok interrogates Chan-hyuk. Geon-joo peeks over with interest as Chan-hyuk says he’s known Eun-hee for 15 years, and he’s unmarried. Eun-hee intervenes and says Chan-hyuk has someone. Thirsty Kyung-ok immediately announces it’s time to leave. Chan-hyuk struggles to conceal his amusement at the whole situation.

On the way home, Sang-shik wants to stop and buy something, so he politely asks Jin-sook for spending money. Ji-woo gapes at the bizarreness, even taking a photo of Sang-shik holding Jin-sook’s hand. They go to a neighborhood fruit stall to buy tangerines, which Sang-shik says Jin-sook likes.

When the owner recommends melons he knows Jin-sook likes, Sang-shik gets jealous and demands to know if she likes tangerines or melons better. Oh my gosh. Jin-sook just buys them both to the owner’s amusement. Ji-woo plays it safe and wholeheartedly agrees tangerines are better, muttering that it’s like he got a little brother. Ha.

Sang-shik is still bitter and starts asking Ji-woo about the stall. Ji-woo shares that the owner used to be a professor. Sang-shik doesn’t understand how the owner has never met him before when the stall has been there for years. He notices the owner looking friendly with Jin-sook, so he marches over to Jin-sook and shoots the owner a hostile look.

Eun-joo arrives for her client meeting with a professor. Oh, she’s a lawyer. At the clinic, Tae-hyung treats Hyo-seok for the wound on his hand which he got in a “lover’s quarrel.” Tae-hyung doesn’t think you can call it that when a partner stabs you with fabric scissors. No freakin’ kidding.

When Tae-hyung tells him to come to his senses, Hyo-seok throws it back at him. “My girlfriend knows you,” he says ominously. Tell Eun-joo or he will. Whoa.

The professor encourages Eun-joo to work full time again. It shouldn’t be a problem since she doesn’t have kids (which he attributes to her husband being “weak”). He then lecherously notes her style has changed, and she’s at her peak. Ew.

Eun-joo smiles as she says the same can’t be said for his papers – there’s a lot of patent issues. Heh. And he should stop seeking help from his female students. Undaunted, the gross professor calls her cute but immature.

Tae-hyung calls Eun-joo under the watchful eye of Hyo-seok, saying he’ll pick her up for dinner. He has something to tell her. She tells him to stop by the university to meet the professor; he’s concerned Tae-hyung is weak. Ha!

As they walk back, Chan-hyuk remarks that he can see Eun-hee has feelings for Geon-joo. She even tried to say he had a girlfriend so Geon-joo wouldn’t misunderstand. Eun-hee argues she’s just surprised by how much they have in common. Uh-huh.

Chan-hyuk brings up a habit he got from his mom which gets Eun-hee talking about DNA. He scoffs at her pseudo-science, but she says she researched DNA because her and Eun-joo are so different. Chan-hyuk claims that’s just because Eun-joo is cool and perfect. Eun-hee is indignant, but when he goes to leave, she holds him back.

At home, Sang-shik latches onto the familiar photo of him and Jin-sook from 1982. Jin-sook isn’t in the mood to reminisce, but Sang-shik can’t do anything else. He sweetly peels a tangerine and offers it to her. Jin-sook observes that he’ll realize how flustering his actions are when his memories return.

We flash back to the times he complained at her for being sick, concerned more about the inconvenience than her wellbeing. Now, she tells him, “If words could kill, we’d both have been dead long ago.”

At the bus stop, Eun-hee shows Chan-hyuk the CCTV footage of her dad. Eun-hee remembers how Chan-hyuk takes his coffee but barely knows the basics about her own family. Chan-hyuk thinks it’s hard to see what’s closest to you.

When he returns, Chan-hyuk is surprised to see Ji-woo back at work since he gave him time off. While they talk, KIM YOUNG-OH (Park Jong-wook) taps Seo-young to ask her to move the camera. She screams and jumps away from him, seeming truly frightened. Chan-hyuk chides Young-oh for not doing it himself and glances worriedly at a traumatized-looking Seo-young.

In the car, Tae-hyung tells Eun-joo he’ll be attending a seminar in New Zealand next week. Eun-joo asks if she should go with him, and he goes silent. She assures him not to worry – she won’t go. But is that really want he wanted to talk to her about? Tae-hyung doesn’t answer.

The celebratory family dinner is awkwardly quiet and not at all celebratory. Eun-hee tries to liven things up, but it’s a bust. Everyone stares in shock when Sang-shik makes a wrap and gives it to Jin-sook who doesn’t want it. Ji-woo takes the wrap instead and feeds his dad one, trying to stave off the awkward.

Tae-hyung gives Sang-shik a checkup while he’s there and recommends that he take it easy. He advises the family not to try to force him to remember things and encourages Sang-shik to enjoy this time of being 22 again.

Outside, Eun-joo slips Ji-woo money for their parents since Sang-shik can’t work, but Ji-woo is being weirdly formal with her. Eun-hee rushes out to meet Geon-joo and is stopped by Eun-joo. She scolds Eun-hee for acting immature and accuses her of being the groveling type when she dates.

Ji-woo gets irritated with their bickering and is taken aback when they join forces against him. Ha. Eun-joo brings up a comment he made at dinner about being the son who “will carry on the family line.” The sisters berate him for being sexist – they taught him better than that. Ji-woo whines that they really do resemble each other.

Eun-hee stalls outside Geon-joo’s apartment, ruminating over Eun-joo’s words. Geon-joo goes out to find her, worried she wouldn’t remember his apartment number and didn’t have his cell number. He suggests going up, but Eun-hee would rather talk at the café nearby.

Geon-joo comes right out with it: he’s dating someone. Her reaction tips him off that she already knew, and she informs him it’s the office gossip. But this isn’t what he wanted to tell her. He’s actually brazen enough to say he thought long and hard and decided he wants to keep seeing her.

Eun-hee is thrown but thanks him for his interest. She’s not going to be the other woman, though. Geon-joo claims he and his partner have been slowly drifting apart for a while and barely even talk on the phone anymore. Eun-hee understands all too well.

Before responding, she imagines Eun-joo beside her, asking for clarification about what “drifting apart” means. Do both partners agree? Now that he’s honestly told her, Geon-joo hopes they can keep meeting.

The following day, Sang-shik meets Man-ho and inspects his truck. Although he doesn’t consciously remember his job, muscle memory kicks in when Sang-shik gets in the truck. Man-ho whispers to Jin-sook that it’s not dementia, right? Ha.

Sang-shik excitedly ushers Jin-sook into the truck. Man-ho chuckles that Sang-shik is acting like a newlywed. Sang-shik is astonished Jin-sook has never ridden in any truck he’s driven. He glances at the stickers adorning the passenger’s side dash.

Eun-hee meets with the meditation center author to help Chan-hyuk get his pay. The media joins her, and they convince the author it’d be advantageous to utilize (and pay for) the promotional materials now. Seo-young even promises they’ll upload the materials that day. Outside, Eun-hee fills Chan-hyuk in on her and Geon-joo’s talk the previous night.

Eun-hee brings up Eun-joo’s accusation that she’s the groveling type, and Chan-hyuk basically agrees but puts it way more diplomatically. She casually mentions her and Eun-joo’s falling out, and Chan-hyuk grabs her in alarm.

She cut off her sister because of that jerk? Chan-hyuk frustratedly says the issue with family is they never say what should be said until it explodes. He tells her to apologize to her sister, which she did. Chan-hyuk claims she’s always been overly sensitive when it comes to Eun-joo, which gives Eun-hee pause.

In the car, Eun-hee contemplates the complicated nature of family and her relationship with Eun-joo. Meanwhile, Sang-shik belts out an old favorite in the truck and happily reminisces, to Jin-sook’s dismay. When he goes out to help another driver, Jin-sook’s eye is drawn to those stickers on the dash.

At the book fair P & F Books is participating in, Eun-hee runs into Geon-joo. He gets a bit flirty which she shuts down when she spots Kyung-ok coming over. Once he leaves, Kyung-ok complains about all the work Geon-joo gave her team. But Kyung-ok shares he thoughtfully set aside lunch for Eun-hee, knowing she had a client meeting during lunch hour.

Chan-hyuk’office gets a surprise visit from Seo-young’s mom who couldn’t reach her daughter. Seo-young is not happy to see her and refuses to go out to talk. Ji-woo nervously suggests they go eat lunch, so the guys start to file out.

In earshot of everyone, her mom asks how she can work in place full of men after what she suffered. What the heck, lady? Her overbearing mother scolds Seo-young for getting angry, and Seo-young yells that she hates her. The guys run out at this point.

Young-oh sighs that mother-daughter relationships are always fraught, but Ji-woo muses it’s not like that in his family. When Chan-hyuk chuckles that someone from an ordinary family wouldn’t know, Ji-woo glumly says he used to think his family was ordinary.

At the work gathering after the book fair, Eun-hee deliberately doesn’t drink. Meanwhile, Chan-hyuk asks Ji-woo to show Eun-hee the photos he has of her. If he were to show her, someone said he’d be misunderstood. Seo-young is in a foul mood and stomps out when Chan-hyuk suggests she grab a drink with Ji-woo while he edits.

Ji-woo is offended by the rejection, but it turns out she’s waiting for him outside. Chan-hyuk grabs his box of memories and pulls out a sealed envelope. Inside are pictures of Eun-joo from her wedding. Oooh.

At the café, Hyo-seok keeps glancing at Eun-joo until she tells him to spill. He uses the excuse that it’s his job to keep an eye on the customers. When Tae-hyung arrives, Eun-joo is startled by the tension and his sarcastic remark about how caring of a barista Hyo-seok is.

As they take a walk, Tae-hyung’s silence after saying he has something to tell her makes Eun-joo nervous. She recalls she used to wonder if she’d ever get to live in a rich neighborhood like theirs and admits she’s felt like she’d be leaving it for a while now.

At the rest stop, Jin-sook is sore from riding around all day and realizes how uncomfortable of a job it is. Meanwhile, Eun-hee arrives at Geon-joo’s, and they go inside. As they’re making out on the bed, they hear the beeping of someone entering the door passcode.

The guys at his job find Sang-shik’s behavior strange and are shocked he’s planning to leave without seeing Young-shik. Of course, he has no idea who that is. A voice calls out, “Father!” and a man comes walking towards him. Eyes wide, Jin-sook sits up in the truck and narrates that she thought something like this would happen one day.

 
COMMENTS

Come on, Eun-hee! You know better than that. Since she’s been on the other side of this, her behavior is that much more disappointing. Even if they’ve both started to check out of the relationship, unless they’ve officially broken up, it’s cheating. She can’t even blame alcohol this time – just good old poor decision making. If Geon-joo really likes her that much and is over his current relationship, he can break up with his girlfriend first. It’s a big red flag that he hasn’t broken it off yet and never mentioned doing so. Eun-hee knew what she should’ve done, but she let her feelings take control. Although Eun-joo is usually too harsh in her delivery, she’s not wrong that Eun-hee’s wavering, dislike of conflict and emotionality get her in trouble.

Questionable decision making does seem to run in the family, though. Sang-shik, apparently, went one step past cheating and even has a secret kid. One birth secret wasn’t enough, I suppose. Does Sang-shik have another, secret family or is it just Young-shik he’s hiding? It amazes (and disturbs) me that someone can keep such a huge, devastating secret for so many years. Jin-sook wasn’t even surprised which leads me to wonder what made her suspect he was hiding something like this. What a mess. This family has a hell of a lot to work through.

And now we have confirmation that Tae-hyung is hiding something major from Eun-joo. She’s more invested in their marriage than I first assumed but her attempts to communicate are constantly rebuffed. Watching her trying to make things work while he looks like he’s given up is sad. It’s the first time we’ve seen her getting overtly emotional. I think she’s guessed he’s cheating but hasn’t wanted to face it. It’s ironic given her criticism of Eun-hee for doing that very thing years ago. Of course, we haven’t officially heard what Tae-hyung’s secret is, but the clues point to cheating. Although why would Hyo-seok’s girlfriend know anything about Tae-hyung? That was unexpected. But Tae-hyung was right about one thing. Hyo-seok, it’s time to leave when your partner gets stabby with household implements.

At least we’ve got Eun-hee and Chan-hyuk to lighten things. They have such great chemistry, and their interactions are so natural and fun. She needs someone like him who will listen and genuinely cares but also calls her out when necessary. Honestly, I love them as friends and don’t much care if they get together or stay platonic. So long as they don’t part ways again, I’ll be happy. That being said, they do seem to have the healthiest relationship of everyone, and I would like to see one couple that’s happy and unproblematic. It’s looking like Chan-hyuk’s feelings towards the sisters might be a bit more complicated, though. I thought Ji-woo was off on his prediction that Chan-hyuk could’ve liked Eun-joo at one point, but maybe not. Eun-joo could barely remember him when Ji-woo mentioned his name, so they must not have been close. Maybe it was just a crush on the “perfect” sister of his friend. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll come to light soon enough, along with every other secret emerging from the shadows.

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