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On the Way to the Airport: Episode 9

Su-ah tries to find meaning in her life apart from work this hour, but her newfound freedom actually sets her up to realize what else is truly important to her. Are her friends really her friends? Was her husband her husband, or just a pilot? Sidelining her job in the sky may ground her away from living in the clouds in one way, but in others, she’s just starting to figure out what “escape” really means.

 

 
EPISODE 9 RECAP

Remembering Hyun-joo’s words, Su-ah calls the airport and informs them that she’ll be resigning. As she returns home, Hyun-joo catches her, asking why she’s going in the wrong direction. When Su-ah tells her that she quit and asks if she did the right thing, Hyun-joo tears up at how much Su-ah suffered until now tending for an unappreciative household, and for working so hard.

Hyo-eun is alarmed when Su-ah comes home saying that she quit, and acts defensive because she thinks her mom quit just because she wouldn’t go to school. But Su-ah assures her that she doesn’t have to go today, so they’ll just spend time together without any thoughts or responsibilities.

Su-ah processes her resignation at the airport, the first time we’ve seen her there out of uniform. She starts to text Do-woo to tell him she quit, but deletes it at the last moment and wonders who one should talk to when one “breaks up” with work. She takes Hyo-eun’s hand and they start to walk out together, but Su-ah stops and takes one last look around the vast halls of the airport for the last time. Gosh, am I really tearing up?

Do-woo meets with another name on Grandma’s list, but the real owner, Mr. Moon, is out of town. His assistant informs him that Annie came to seek him out before, catching Do-woo’s interest. He tells him to come back tomorrow if he wants to meet Mr. Moon in person.

The assistant leads Do-woo to the storage shed where they keep Grandma’s ornament. Suddenly he recalls that Annie would always come in here whenever she visited, just for a couple of minutes. Do-woo looks around the shed as if in a new light, and notes a large white decorative vase in the corner.

Meanwhile, Mi-jin runs into Ji-eun at their hotel, and the two groan as they realize how close their rooms are to both Jin-suk and Hye-won’s rooms. Mi-jin tells Ji-eun to make a scene and move her and Hye-won’s rooms away from Jin-suk’s ASAP—they can’t let Hye-won and Jin-suk meet. Ji-eun can’t believe that Do-woo would really have an affair, but Mi-jin just snaps at her just to stop acting suspicious. At that moment, Jin-suk comes out of his room, and the two immediately press themselves into the wall and avoid eye contact. LOL, you two.

Su-ah and Hyo-eun visit Grandma Young-sook at the hospital, whereupon she immediately scolds Su-ah for rashly quitting her stable job. She says she would have been able to take care of Hyo-eun if she’d waited just a few days, and she’s even been doing her physical therapy exercises every day. When Su-ah tells her that she’ll be moving Hyo-eun back to her old school once the paperwork is set, Young-sook hotly orders them out.

As they head home, Hyo-eun complains about Young-sook’s temper, saying that being a working mom is hard work. Su-ah just sighs, wondering why everyone else seems so mad about her personal problem, before suggesting that they go somewhere far away, just as if she got on a flight to someplace far.

So they find themselves at an amusement park, playing bumper cars and enjoying the rides. Hyo-eun teases Su-ah for being able to take ten-hour flights but not a simple park ride. Su-ah thinks about her now former life for a moment, looking up wistfully at a passing airplane in the sky.

On the way home, Su-ah calls and informs Do-woo that she quit after seeing the peaceful laundry woman. “To think you were tired enough to envy someone who was doing laundry,” he laughs. He tells her she did the right thing, and asks what kind of comforting she needs from him.

Su-ah heads to Do-woo’s house and enters one of the rooms, which is completely empty save for a single pillow. She looks at the pillow for a moment before laying down on it, immediately immersed in her relaxed surroundings.

When Do-woo comes in, she smiles serenely up at him, and he settles down beside her. She tells him that this room seems to have a special power to separate her from the rest of the world: “Just like you, Do-woo.” Do-woo smiles and reaches out a hand to stroke her cheek, and they lie together just like that.

Afterward, Do-woo leads Su-ah out behind his house. He asks her to wait a moment before going inside to fetch something—a laundry hamper. “The first step of my comfort was my house,” he says. “The second step is laundry.” Okay, that’s cute. She tells him that she’s never done laundry in a yard before, and they hang up the laundry together, all smiles.

At night, the magic ends, and Do-woo drives Su-ah home. He asks if Hyo-eun is home alone, telling her that the phrase she says the most is: “Hyo-eun is home alone.” He wonders how free they can be when they have a family. “Maybe our age is when we say goodbye to the old things in our lives: our jobs, and…” He doesn’t finish his thought, but simply smiles and tells her that thankfully, he’ll be here for her.

Mi-jin lies alone in her hotel bed, trying to make sense of the web of relationships at play right now: Jin-suk, Hye-won, Su-ah, and Do-woo. Mi-jin tells herself that she shouldn’t make any stupid mistakes again the same way, and when she receives a text from Jin-suk inviting her to a beer at their “usual place,” she ignores it.

Jin-suk is indeed sitting at his usual bar when Hye-won and Ji-eun walk in. Hye-won recognizes him and calmly takes a seat beside him while Ji-eun nervously excuses herself to order some drinks. She texts Mi-jin about the emergency, causing Mi-jin to scream in frustration.

Hye-won wastes no time in questioning Jin-suk, asking if he knows Do-woo. Jin-suk recognizes the name as “Malaysia,” and Hye-won informs him that Do-woo is her husband. Jin-suk greets her and expresses his condolences about Annie. Just as Hye-won starts to ask him about Su-ah and Do-woo, however, Jin-suk receives a call from Mi-jin, who wants to talk back at the hotel. Jin-suk immediately excuses himself, much to Hye-won’s chagrin.

Joo-yeon hears the news about Su-ah’s resignation and muses to herself that she should let Jin-suk know about it immediately. When she reaches Jin-suk’s room, however, she catches him letting Mi-jin into his room without a word.

In the room, Mi-jin says flippantly that seeing him here seems more wrong than it did back home, and she’d better head back. Jin-suk just laughs, telling her she can relax—he doesn’t go for older women, anyway. He suddenly mentions that he just saw Do-woo’s wife, laughing that it sure is strange that everyone knows him.

Meanwhile, Joo-yeon runs into her coworkers on the elevator, holding back her tears. “Do you guys know what I saw just now?” Uh oh.

Mi-jin notes that Jin-suk’s claustrophobia went away after marriage, and Jin-suk seems touched that Mi-jin still remembers that about him. She tells him that she worried about him during every fitness test, and laughs at the idea of it being a phase, just like she was to him. He tells her that she should be honored to spend time with him, but she scoffs: “Why should I be happy to sit next to my dark past?”

At that, Jin-suk leans over and kisses her. When she doesn’t resist, he says smugly, “Your body won’t lie. How dare you pretend I’m a mistake?” She punches his shoulder, calling him pathetic, self-centered, and pitiable, but he points out that she’s only drinking water because she’s afraid she can’t control her true emotions otherwise. In response, she downs her glass of wine.

Jin-suk tells her that she’s jealous of Su-ah for living with him, and when Mi-jin jokingly agrees, he suddenly flips it on her, calling her a beautiful and capable woman. He agrees that he’s self-centered and pitiable, and asks why she can’t just spend some time with that “pitiable” being—after all, they once lived together, and they’re comfortable with each other. “Su-ah is my wife and you’re…” Jin-suk trails off, either unable or unwilling to finish his thought, and drinks his wine.

Ji-eun and Hye-won return to the hotel just as Mi-jin starts to excuse herself. Jin-suk, however, has one more thing to say. He tells her he can only share his one hundred percent with her, and asks if Mi-jin has ever missed what they had. He tells her that she’s the only one who knows everything about him, and that she’s comfortable to him. “If you miss that too, we should start seeing each other again. Let’s go where our hearts take us.”

Mi-jin leaves, but starts to pound her head into the wall. “Where my heart takes me,” she mumbles to herself. Her coworker watches from afar as she suddenly turns back around and enters Jin-suk’s room again.

The next morning, Su-ah works as a volunteer who helps students cross the road, and she and Hyo-eun share teasing smiles as they pass. She and the other moms laugh about their past jobs over coffee at Hyun-joo’s café. The other moms try to guess where Hyun-joo and Su-ah used to work and laugh at the idea that they were once stewardesses.

Su-ah and Hyun-joo take a walk together afterward, talking about how those moms only think about their kids’ education now that it’s their only identity. Hyun-joo sighs that every so often, she tries on her uniform when she misses it. As they part, Su-ah sighs wistfully.

Do-woo goes back to meet Mr. Moon, who tells him about Annie—she would come to spend time looking at Grandma’s ornament, and he always wondered why it was so important to her. A flashback shows Mr. Moon explaining to Annie that this quilt was Grandma’s first work that first got her into the business, a secret hobby that kept her away from studying or doing anything else.

Mr. Moon then showed Annie the big white vase in the corner, and told her it was a magic pot that seals up secrets. “But I don’t want my secret to be sealed up,” she said. “I want it to be carefully passed on to the next person.” Still, she cried her secret into the vase, wishing for her, her parents, and her grandparents to all be able to live happily in the future.

According to Mr. Moon, she then asked if he would let her father work for him here—not Do-woo, but her biological father. Annie had said that he traveled often that he couldn’t be with her a lot, but that he was very good at pottery. She made Mr. Moon promise not to tell anyone about what she said before looking around at the field behind Mr. Moon’s house, musing that her father loved sceneries like this.

Do-woo stumbles into the field, recalling an earlier conversation with Hye-won. She’d insisted that Annie didn’t know her biological father, but Do-woo hadn’t believed her. He looks around at Annie’s field, devastated at her suffering.

Su-ah unpacks her luggage and finds a photograph of Do-woo—the photo she found in Annie’s room. When she looks on the back, Annie had written, “Please protect my dad, Do-woo.”

As Do-woo leaves, Mr. Moon says he can’t share Annie’s secret. Still, he knows what she wanted to protect: family. She thought that if she kept lying well, she could protect both families. Do-woo doesn’t quite understand the meaning of “two families,” and sits in his car deep in thought. Later, however, Mr. Moon’s assistant knocks on his window and tells him that Annie used to live with her father before she met Do-woo, and that her “two families” refers to her biological father and Do-woo’s families.

Do-woo is shocked to hear this, and he stop the car as he drives home, confused and angry. When Su-ah texts him pictures of both sides of Annie’s photograph, he steps out and pounds his chest in fury.

He and Suk drink that night, and Suk guesses that Annie and her father must have been in contact, promising to meet at that field. Suk suggests that they start figuring out where they talked to each other, but one thing is for certain—Hye-won didn’t raise her. So why, Suk demands, did she leave her father and come here? He tells Do-woo to stop protecting Hye-won and get to the bottom of this.

Do-woo takes a walk back to his office, recalling all sides of this situation: Mr. Moon’s, his assistant’s, Hye-won’s, and Annie’s. He is totally lost in thought when he arrives at Hyun-woo’s bar, but spins on his heel and walks in the other direction. Hyun-woo muses that Do-woo walking so much must mean that he’s either horribly sad, or horribly contemplating something.

Do-woo tries to log onto Annie’s email at home, and works until dawn trying to guess the password.

At the airport, Jin-suk gathers his crew, but halts when someone mentions that tonight is Su-ah’s farewell party. Jin-suk coolly excuses himself, clearly furious. Mi-jin follows close behind, trying and failing to distract him from his anger, while Joo-yeon complains that this wasn’t the response she wanted.

Hyo-eun and Su-ah sit at home doing work when Jin-suk calls. He demands to know how she could so “selfishly” quit her job without his consent. She asks if he even thought about what might have driven her to quit, that Hyo-eun has been struggling for weeks at school from bullies and soccer. She tells him that there’s no way he would understand since he’s never seen her like that. Jin-suk tells her that he won’t tolerate her selfishness any longer, but she only says: “So don’t.” Yes!

When Ji-eun and Hye-won arrive back in Korea, Hye-won receives a text from her business friend informing her that Ji-eun’s mom knows that she lied about Grandma’s unfinished ornament. Ji-eun tells her that her mom is waiting for them back at the gallery, but when they arrive, she’s mighty pissed. Ji-eun’s mom tells her that she’ll just fault this mistake as due to Hye-won’s overeager ambition, and that Do-woo has already apologized for her mistake.

As Ji-eun listens from afar, Ji-eun’s mom tells Hye-won that she’s going to be taking over Grandma’s role as Hye-won’s mother-in-law, and says she won’t forgive her if she gives Do-woo a hard time. She tells Hye-won that she’s willing to have a purely professional relationship with Hye-won, and that otherwise, she completely trusts Do-woo.

Ji-eun has a beer at Hyun-woo’s, complaining that both her mom and Hye-won are scary. She tells Hyun-woo that her mom wants Do-woo and Hye-won to break up so he can get together with her. Hyun-woo just shakes his head, pretending he didn’t hear that.

Su-ah meets her former co-workers at her farewell party, where she receives an expensive bracelet as a farewell gift. The mood is solemn, and Su-ah asks them all to remember how great she was at her job. Mi-jin asks what difference that would make, but Su-ah explains that she doesn’t want her career history to disappear after she worked so hard.

When Mi-jin tries to laugh off the solemn mood, however, their younger coworker suddenly blurts out that Mi-jin was part of the reason for Su-ah’s hardship. She says that Su-ah always looked out for her when everyone else saw her as a rival, and she respects her completely: “So how did you end up with a friend like that?” OMG.

She says that she and Joo-yeon saw Mi-jin go into Jin-suk’s room late at night, and that she knows they were having an affair. Su-ah is shocked for a moment, but then takes it in stride, telling her that Mi-jin and Jin-suk are very close—they might even have married if she and Jin-suk hadn’t married each other first. Mi-jin agrees, saying that they were only talking about business, but her tone is cold: “Is that a problem?”

Joo-yeon tries to dispel the awkwardness while the others take the coworker out. She apologizes for ruining Su-ah’s party, and everyone else files out quickly after.

Su-ah tells Mi-jin that she should have been more careful when there were so many people watching, but Mi-jin just laughs that there sure aren’t any secrets in the world: “After all, who would have thought that the wife of the man you’re having an affair with would be on the same flight as me?” Oh man.

Do-woo is still at home trying to log onto Annie’s email, and finally guesses it right with his own name as the password. The first email he sees was sent a day before her death to her biological father, telling him she was coming to Korea. “Mom isn’t happy, but I want to be there for Grandma’s birthday,” she writes. Another email: “I don’t believe Mom, but if you really are avoiding me, you only have to give me one reply and tell me you’re okay. I’ll wait however long it takes.” Do-woo looks through all of their emails, seeing that she and her biological father had been in contact for years.

And one last email, sent from her father two years ago, telling her he loves her.

Do-woo thinks of all the times Hye-won lied to him, and remembers all the times he gave Annie a ride to Mr. Moon’s. One of Annie’s emails says: “Dad, why didn’t you come today? I waited all day in the field. You didn’t show up, but I’ll keep waiting for you. No matter what Mom says, I know you didn’t abandon me.”

Mi-jin tells Su-ah that she knows she’s cheating with Do-woo, and tell her to stop seeing him.

As Do-woo stares at the computer, Hye-won returns home. He looks up at her and says, “You… Who are you?”

 
COMMENTS

AHHH! Everyone knows!

This was the moment I was waiting for, but who knew it would happen so early? This drama continues to surprise me with its pace, and I’m glad that the show really knows how to keep us on edge—it’s slow enough to be wistful, thoughtful, and poetic in all the ways it promised, but fast-paced enough to be dramatic, not melodramatic. Having a handle on both sides of that coin is no easy feat, but the drama has such assured direction that it just takes me along on this emotional ride. Even in this episode, the scene when Su-ah looks back at the airport after she quits, and the scene where she lies down in Do-woo’s house in the serene isolation of nature—those were such beautiful moments. But minutes later, I was on the edge of my seat when a terrifying Hye-won questioned Jin-suk in a bar, or when Ji-eun’s mom beat her down with a few, carefully chosen words. Such skill!

I honestly could talk about all the things this drama does well, but since I’ve done that quite a bit in my previous comments, I’ll talk about what I think is its biggest flaw: I’m not sure the drama is giving me sufficient reasons to believe that Su-ah and Do-woo should be apart. It’s very, very clear that Su-ah and Do-woo are the only things that give each other meaning and peace. On Su-ah’s side, she doesn’t really love Jin-suk, and I’m convinced that Do-woo never loved Hye-won—if he did, he most certainly doesn’t anymore.

Even if they do care about their spouses to a certain degree, it seems to only be a matter of time before they’ll break up anyway. Hyo-eun doesn’t necessarily want her mom to be with her hotheaded and difficult father if it’s hard for her, and while Young-sook might take Jin-suk’s side, she believes in Su-ah’s qualities and in Hyo-eun enough not to make her life hell or any such thing. Their friends—Hyun-woo, Ji-eun, and Mi-jin—are good friends if a bit wishy-washy, but if they can’t accept their friends’ happiness, Su-ah and Do-woo are probably ultimately better off without them.

In that sense, while I know that it’s only a matter of time before everyone breaks up with each other, the real question is how they’ll end up finding each other. Will friendships be broken? Will families be torn apart? With more than halfway to go, I can’t see this drama ending without tears—but does it make me bad for looking forward to it?

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This drama has some of the most beautiful scenery/lighting/directing. Watching every new ep is the highlight of my week!

That scene where Doh Woo and Su Ah are lying down together, and he reaches across to gently stroke her cheek seriously ended me. Such a tender moment honestly <3

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Can't agree more with your comments.
However, I might add that this drama lingers on my mind throughout the week not only for the scenery/lightning/directing as you said but also for the o.s.t. Each theme song is gently sync with the mood of the scene, not overwhelming at all. And Su Ah, Do Woo dress in subtle colors, mostly in autumn tone, and mostly suit like a couple. Apart from the story telling way, those little details really bring this drama to a whole new level in my heart.

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Thanks for the wonderful recap. Did Hye-won bamboozle Do-woo to marry her out of pity? Cos i can only think that Hye-won properly planned her way into this marriage using Annie.
It is likely for Su-ah to shed the most tears later.
As far as Jin-suk is concerned, i have nothing to say.

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I like the way you use "bamboozle" on Hye-won! She is so deceitful, stuck-up and insanely creepy. Yes! DW should not show her any mercy, he must wrestle himself free from the evil grip of this self-serving and pretentious woman who didn't even show a shred of remorse for the inhuman way she treated Annie, she is so cold-hearted and beyond redemption.

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That woman is straight up creepy. And ever since I read @angeiya's suggestion for her to get on a broom and fly into the woods, I keep thinking about it anytime she appears.

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I said this from pretty early on – Hye-won has mental issues. From what's revealed in this week's episodes, I'd say she's a chronic liar. This is not going change. All I can say to DW is run! run!

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I'm still enjoying ALL of them. Maybe she'd pull a Baek In Ha on us *shudders*, Bring on the messed up dynamics!!

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She's definitely a ticking time bomb. I think it's only a matter of time till she blows up and we're only halfway through the show.

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I love every minute of this drama.From mommy meetings, happenings on Sydney and The mother-daughter times. Every conversations played a huge part on the story no matter how simple it may seem.

I also love how empathetic Hyo Eun towards her mother's relationships with her grandmother and father. She's not your typical kid who says "but he's my dad..". I wouldn't be surprised if she won't care if her parents decided to divorce.

I'm frustrated on Soo Ah. She gave so much freedom to Jin Seok. She left and didn't even asked for support atleast for Hyo Eun. JS is one lucky s.o.b..

I really don't mind if Soo Ah and Deo Woo will end up together. I just want Soo Ah to find freedom and peace she really deserves. ?

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thanks for the recap...the scene where she resigned her job despite d fact that she loves it was sooo touching that I shed tears. it just shows how in reality women have to give up their jobs for the sake of the family..wow we ladies are great. cheers to us!!!!

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(but nuuuu~ it was so sad... she loved her job!)

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Thanks for the amazing recap Hanshimi!

its biggest flaw: I’m not sure the drama is giving me sufficient reasons to believe that Su-ah and Do-woo should be apart.

Their separation is the only way to ensure that SA and DW could be spared the onslaught of criticisms from viewers who are adamant that any kind of adultery is wrong and shouldn't be condone, not only in real life but on the big or small screen, regardless whether it is the lustful "Fatal Attraction" category or leaning more towards the platonic emotional connection, and no matter if the current spouses are the worst kind of partners from hell and the marriage is already on the rocks, adultery or not. Since this is a KBS drama, it is the only direction the story can go in order for it to be presented in a morally acceptable way befitting for viewing by the mainstream viewers.

I think this is a good development, SA and DW will have to face off with their partners and get a clean break first, so as to enable them to start from a clean sheet to embrace a new life. Since their love is portrayed so beautifully as a fateful gift, I'm sure they will be able to find each other again and pick up from where they left off. Maybe one day, SA will walk into a quaint little house surrounded by greenery in a quiet seaside town to find an exquisite display of Korean knots and then, DW will appear from an inner room, and they lock gaze and smile at each other. This is type of dreamy reunion for SA and DW I would like to see! :)

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Pebble -

I can totally see this scenario happening for the ending.

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I really hope this will be how they reunite, not hoping it as the ending though. We will be torture 6 more eps till they reunite, don't you think?
And I need more screentimes of our Otp happy together, with Hyo Eun, and the drama needs to display how they create a cozy family of their own.

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<Their separation is the only way to ensure that SA and DW could be spared the onslaught of criticisms from viewers who are adamant that any kind of adultery is wrong and shouldn’t be condone

Their separation is overly convenient as a dramatic development. Plus, you can push the "fated" some more (SA throwing out her phone, unreachable... they'll just "cross paths" as they are "meant to"). Yeah, I find the separation a bit dishonest/cowardly – I can see why the writers are doing it, but in terms of the characters I'm not sure it really is compelling. Especially on DW's part, I find it off-putting (going around the country to find himself and leaving his friend Seok to live with Hye-won??? That's pretty galling to ask.).

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Am not sure what you mean by "leaving his friend, Suk with Hye Won". Do you think she may pose a physical danger to him?

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You're spoiling it for people who haven't watched episode 10 yet. This is the recap for episode 9 wait until they upload episode 10's recap.

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above everything, i think their relationship should start with a clean slate.

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As expected, Jin Suk and Mi Jin. But it's still >< frustating. I need Airport and Han River to heal me out.

Hye Won is just scaring as hell.

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I am enjoying this drama mainly the mystery that is HY is keeping me hooked. What is her game???? I'm actually fed up with the JS and MJ situation. I kinda wish they hadn't made SA and MJ friends if they were just going to have MJ be the one to sleep with her husband, the part were MJ tells her to stop having and affair made me laugh. I feel sorry for SA because they are making her life truly pitiful, her husband is trash and her "best friend" is actually a snake. But I also don't like how stupid they are making SA. If the entire airport knows about MJ and JS past why doesn't she know? Even newbies know they had a relationship. She honestly believes they were only friends? also the airport knows about his "conversations" with the stewardess but she doesn't. Even MJ says she comforts all the rejected girls when they cry but why would't she tell SA? If that is your best friend why wouldn't you sit her down and tell her wake up your husband is a lying manipulative jerk who does all these awful things. Instead she covers for him and doesn't tell SA the truth. Like JS said MJ isn't SA friend, she's only pretending to be when in reality I think she was waiting for something to happen so she could have JS back. If SA does know all this and knows her husband is cheating then wth is her game? Why did SA marry JS?

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I think because SA believes MJ more than her husband and the others. They've been a friend for years, it's like MJ is her another half. She's too naive and kind to everybody which JS always took for granted by fooling with the other girls and not afraid being caught by his wife, seriously this man. I think they get married because of mistake - a night spent in Sydney ended up with SA pregnant because clearly there's no love between them always SA once stated she liked her husband before. Well, that's a past tense in her words. Still, MJ is not honest with SA in the first place. She lied about knowing JS, lied about their past relationship, always covering his flirty behavior and now, having an affair by herself! What kind of friend is that? SA should just dump both of them and have her own life with HE and DW.

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I have a personality similar to Mi Jin - headstrong and carefree. And I just set up my buddy with a guy friend - thinking they will be a good couple. It's not that straightforward.

I didn't let her into everything. If you tell your girl buddy how close you were with the guy the situation becomes unnecessarily awkward - between you, your friend and the guy.

The main issue with Mi Jin is that she's not honest with her own feelings - she still emotionally attached to Jin Suk and he still has some feelings for her. I know guys like Jin Suk as well, and sometimes... it takes a headstrong woman like Mi Jin to break the guy.

Honestly, by episode 10, I am getting bored with the Su Ah character. Too much of an pushover mush-pot, which is why her kid is being bullied at school. If her kid likes football then she should go and duke it out with the three guy kids at least tackle them just once. She artificially puts the kid into Jeju Island which is a reprieve, but what happens when the kid grows up and has to face the cruel real world just like she did?

I like Su Ah to express her suppressed frustrations some more and be her own person.

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MJ can't be that headstrong when she allowed JS to openly cheat on her the entire time they were together. She said herself she knew he was cheating on her the entire relationship.She can't "break" him or change him. If she could she would have never lost him in the first place. She was even worse then SA in the fact that she lived with him for years and allowed his behavior and even after he got married she still covers for his bad behavior and makes excuses like its SA's fault for cheating.

I agree SA is a push over and I find that annoying, she allows JS to push her around and her MIL. I watched the next ep and I can say I'm happy with it and in my opinion SA handles JS better then MJ ever did in their four year relationship.

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If JS is to be believed then he actually did straighten up a bit for SA.With MJ he openly and often had affairs and slept with other women, she may not have liked it but she did accept it. With SA he claims that he has never slept with any women he only talks to them to vent his pent up emotional frustrations but always dumps them before it crosses a line. So actually if anyone "changed " him it would be SA. Although he still treats her poorly and does in a sense keep up his old ways if he at least abstains from sex then he is at least a tad better to SA then how he was with MJ. So in some small level he must value his vows a bit however small it may be. He also didn't seem to thrilled with the idea of his wife meeting another man but they may simply be arrogance instead of affection. He believes SA will never leave him no matter what he does, although I do wonder why he defended SA to the flight attendant that was pestering him. I always thought that was strange, he immediately jumped in to basically tell her not to mess with his relationship. On a subconscious level I think he doesn't want to lose SA which is why he hasn't crossed that line. MJ may have let him get away with it but SA won't.

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@Hana, that is because SA's is his daughter's mother. Most men has this mentality of "respecting" the mom of their children for putting up with the painful birth and for bring up the kids. Though he clearly doesn't love SA, he at least acknowledges that she is the mom of his daughter.

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Maybe because I'm more like SA - conservative and quiet, I can't see through MJ's shoes. But if I was SA, the fact that my best friend and my husband has been living together for three years will crumble all my trust I put on her. It's okay if she set up me with a guy but your ex? And have worst and jerk personality on top of that? I can't imagine that =.=

And I agree about SA in both episodes. She buried JS and MJ matters, keeping her mouth shut whenever JS casually told her shameless, insulting her. I was waiting for her to fire him back but no. Still, she holds her opinion and doesn't even care anymore about what pilot jerk said. I think she's gonna change for the better in next week episodes. Hopefully.

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Yeap, it gets me to wonder what Jin Suk and Su Ah saw in each other in the first place. The only thing I could think of is that she's a mother figure that lets him get away with living like a swinging bachelor for years.

Well, if Mi Jin met Jin Suk in his swinging player days she knows what she is in for. If you look closely, the reasons why Jin Suk + Mi Jin and Do Woo + Su Ah couples were matched were exactly the same. There's something inside them which are wired similarly.

I don't want to spoil Episode 10 if you haven't watched it. Mi Jin didn't voluntarily offer Jin Suk to Su Ah.

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JS said himself in the last ep that he liked SA because she is clumsy and not so quick witted. This would make for easy manipulation and enable him to live the carefree and flirtatious life like a highly sought after "eligible bachelor" pilot.

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it gets me to wonder what Jin Suk and Su Ah saw in each other

@MX, SA was enamoured of JS, she told DW herself that she was looking up to JS and liked him quite a lot as he was a popular pilot among the air hostesses. SA couldn't be blamed, being young and naive, she would be over the moon when suddenly this man gave her full attention, so naturally, she happily married him at that time.

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MJ never leant from her mistake. There is a saying, "You can't make the same mistake TWICE, the second time you make it, it's no longer a mistake, it's a CHOICE." She obviously made that choice, despite knowing that it may ruin her long standing friendship with SA. She subconsciously still loves and cares for JS, as such, when she learnt that SA is having an affair, she started to pity JS and wanted to have him back.

MJ said herself that she felt relieved and grateful that SA, by marrying JS, inadvertently helped her to escape from her ill fate with JS. She knew that this man is shit, but silently watched her friend fell into deep shit as an unconcerned bystander. For all the agony that SA had to go through due to MJ keeping mum about JS's character, she was acting like a saint keeping watch over JS like a faithful guardian behind SA's back. Well, she really is a "good friend" of the worst kind. And now, MJ is jumping into deep shit herself by running back into the claw like embrace of the beastly JS without any concern about SA's feelings. He is so manipulative, all along, he knew that MJ has a soft-spot for him, yet he was playing along with her in their casual banter, teasing her for being old and purposely hurting her feelings, and now, shamelessly beckoning her to come back to him again. SA should just divorce him straight away and let these two incorrigibles rot together.

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Yeap, Jin Suk is a straight up jerk.

But if you look at the order of events:

Jin Suk has been committing emotional adultery with any stewardess who walks around with a skirt.

Soo Ah and Do Woo then cheated on their spouses. Emotionally first then physically.

Mi Jin then starts a physical affair with Jin Suk his ex.

Oh gosh this is so messed up... but it does happen in real life. Arms length with ex boyfriends is the best policy

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Well, the farewell party held by her friends actually is a farewell party for Mi Jin and Soo Ah...

I am always love Lee Sang Yoon in Drama and Real Life, really, as a single person (hehe) this drama change my perspective about choosing a husband,
No matter how handsome, or charismatic a man is, if his character is jerk, you'll ruin your own life.

Is there a man like Do Woo in real life?

^_^

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>> Is there a man like Do Woo in real life?

Unfortunately LSY himself said there is no man like DW in real life during the press conference... *sigh

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I always fall in love with every character he played,
Kang Woo-Jae, Ha Woo Jin, Cha Hyun-Suk, and now Seo Do-Woo,.. *_*

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Diana, how about LSY as "Park Dong Joo"? :)

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I love Park Dong Joo the most among LSY’s characters :)

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That woman is straight up creepy. And ever since I read @angeiya's suggestion for her to get on a broom and fly into the woods, I keep thinking about it anytime she appears.

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crazy conspiracy; hye won is a dude. he is the missing father

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O_____________________O

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I brought this up a couple of recaps ago, and after this episode I'll bring it up once again ...... it may be possible that Do-woo is not grandma's son. Perhaps Ji-eun's mom is his biological mother.

I keep on thinking this since a couple of episodes ago.

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Hi @korfan, I think this unlikely, because Ji-eun did mention to Hyun-woo about her mom wanting DW to divorce HW so that he could marry her. If Ji-eun's mom is DW's biological, it doesn't make sense for her mom to harbour such intention, right? Unless Ji-eun is not her biological daughter, but this will make the side story too convoluted as the affair should be the focus of the main storyline here.

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Pebble -

I did think about the statement Ji-eun made to Hyun-woo regarding her mother's intentions ..... but I also considered that while this may be a true statement on Ji-eun's part, it may also just be her interpretation of something her mother might have said, her own personal wish or flat out not true at all. Who knows at this point.

You're right, a side story such as this would make things a little too convoluted, but I have to consider that such a possibility exists based on the info we do have and the scenes we've watched ...... especially because I've questioned since the beginning how in the world grandma accepted Hye-won as a daughter-in-law. Not that grandma couldn't, of course, it's just that with the harboring of secrets all around, the mysterious gazes and the incomplete conversations one can't help but speculate.

So far, I've speculated the following: Do-woo is Ji-eun's mom's biological son and grandma's grandson, making Ji-eun's mom, grandma's daughter. Somewhere along the line, Hye-won may have found out grandma's secret and perhaps threatened to reveal all so that she could work there, later marry Do-woo and then be in charge of the business. ....... Again, just speculation on my part.

The things this drama makes us think about!

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But why keep it a secret enough to be blackmailed over.

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Flightey Gazelles -

Because perhaps grandma was protecting her daughter in order for her to enter into a good marriage and excel in the art world. It certainly wouldn't be the first time we've seen something like this in a drama.

Then again, I may be waaaaay off the mark here and none of this happened.

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Lol, grandma being Ji-eun's mom's mother would be way too makjang. Iirc she was calling grandma "unni" when she visited her therefore I'm pretty sure there are no family ties between them. Grandma would have to be in her 80s for having such an old grandchild. ?

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angieya -

*laughing* ...... it would be makjang ineed!

Ooooo, maybe Ji-eun's mom is not grandma's daughter but her sister. Come to think of it, Ji-eun's mom did seem to act like she had "rights" to Do-woo's house and property when they both spoke.

Who knows.

At this point, I really should just stop.

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I find it a bit hard to read recaps and comments for this show - its best for quiet viewing - but hanshimi's comments at the end of the recap summed up the episode well. The many little details and the assured directing make up for a few typical drama elements (like the coworker's drunk disclosure).

I thought the break ups would happen mid-way and the second half would be the aftermath but we are not there yet.

In this episode SA says once you are on the road to the airport you know how difficult it is to turn back (regarding her coming back home despite knowing she would have to resign). In a sense at this juncture it appears she is forced to do that on both fronts.

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I am among those who believe that MJ didn't sleep with JS. It was JS himself who said previously that MJ values her friendship more that she would never told SA about her "past mistake" and in the hotel JS said he just want to talk to her because she is the only one who understands him.

Let's see.

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I also don't think something about that nature went down in that hotel. Ji Suk may be a premium Jerk, but I think he's very principled. Yes he kept on cheating on Min Jin and does all this flirting. But I think, if he really wants to, he can adhere to his beliefs and convictions pretty stubbornly. There's really something unhealthy about he's relationship with Min Jin.

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I also thought so at first but then why did she go back to his room? Clearly not for talking after he'd just kissed her and shaken her up so much.... and what really made me think otherwise is her reaction to his rejection of going for a drink outside the airport (to distract him from going to SA after learning of her resignation). Her look there betrayed her. She looked hurt and had that "crap, why did I fall for his shit again"-look.

And JS has been saying again and again that she's his office wife (i.e. she has a different status than those flight babes - btw what an apt description for them, Flightey Gazelles lol), so it wouldn't surprise me if in his screwed mind he thinks it's not really cheating since he's been in a relationship with her before, like how he just kissed her without hesitation just to prove his point.
Also him saying “If you miss that too, we should start seeing each other again. Let’s go where our hearts take us.” does not sound like just having late night talks to me anymore.

Oh and because he knows MJ would never talk to anyone about a potential affair between them because of her friendship with SA is exactly the reason he'd toss his so called principles out of the window whereas with the flight babes it's way too risky, Mr. "Gentleman of Sydney" has a reputation to maintain, you know.

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i would like to believe that this was what happened that night. so as not to let the friendship between MJ and SA be ruined.

PD-nim please :(

crossing fingers here

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I also find Sua grandmother to be selfish and a bully just like her son. Why ask Sua for money all the time as if The kid is not her biological granddaughter

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Sorry not Sua grandmother.....but mother in law

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I don't think Min Jin is a bad person per se, though her actions are unbecoming. I'm reminded of her statement when she said she was grateful to Su Ah for marrying Ji Suk because it helped her get her head straight.

I don't think Su Ah is completely oblivious to Min Jin and Ji Suk's past closeness because of what she said at the party, when she told the colleague that if she had not been in the picture, Ji Suk would've married Min Jin. That shows she was aware of the possibility of something more between them.

Min Jin has been able to ward off( lol) Ji Suk's advances because she wrongly thought that marriage and her friendship with Su Ah would help create strong enough boundaries. It was only after she saw that Su Ah was having an affair that she started faltering. She was shocked that even patient, longsuffering and loyal Su Ah could stray. Am not saying that Su Ah is responsible for Min Jin's actions but that's the thing about dishonesty, if she had been clear with Su Ah I don't think it would have come this far.

But she was happy to let Su Ah shoulder her burden because she didn't have to face them. She obviously doesn't trust herself when it comes to Ji Suk. That's why I think she's chastising Su Ah so much about her cheating. Its not because of some moral principle or accountability but because she's afraid of the implications on her. Her shield has been shaken or taken away!

I think Min Jin has demons she needs to confront. The same reason that let her go back to Ji Suk again and again will not change with time or distance until she's ready to ask herself why. Its obvious Ji Suk has enough charm to seduce her so frequently, snag himself a loyal wife and all those tearful flight babes. Speaking of which, I think one of the reasons she's always the comforting shoulder to those heartbroken girls/women is because its a way of reminding herself that she dodged a bullet. Like she's probably saying "damn, thank God am not that stupid anymore!" That's why she keeps repeating in front of Ji Suk, she's reassuring herself.

But telling him all that hasn't brought her any closure like she said, that she doesn't feel any comfort even after finally telling him to piss off and calling him trash. Nope, that possibility that she's still the same dependent, needy, insecure girl keeps on haunting her. The are a lot of flawed humans in this show, including our lead couple and I want to see where it takes them, redemption or condemnation.

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@Flightey Gazelles, what an impressive analysis of MJ's behaviour and motivation, you must have completed Psychology 101 previously. ;)

I still couldn't help but label MJ as hopelessly incorrigible. She should know better than anyone else that JS is a selfish serial flirt. After having her best friend become the sacrificial lamb in her stead, why did she still act like she had "battered person syndrome" and willingly ran back to be "beaten" by JS when she is an independent and confident woman who was not trapped helplessly in an abusive relationship by a partner she couldn't do without? I really find her behaviour appalling, I said above that she made the mistake twice, so it was her conscious choice, what more did she expect? She chose to make the same stupid mistake again, and then got pissed off when JS gave her the cold shoulder when he didn't need her. This woman is incorrigible, she was not dumb, she just refused to learn from past painful lessons!

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Why do people keep saying that JS has feelings for MJ? Ok, it might be sentiment or convenience, but for sure it isn't love. He calls her when HE needs her, when she's the one taking initiative to meet or spend time together - like going in one taxi after the flight or asking him for a drink - he doesn't have time or he's too tired or he just simply says no. Does a man in love act like that? No, because he's incapable of such feelings, he's a selfish person who likes everything to be like he wants it to be. So, he's meeting his wife and daughter when he feels like it, he meets his ex-gf when he feels alone or sad or he need reasurrance that he's still in the game, same thing with this young stewardess - he used her when he needed her, but when she showed some initiative, he immediately shot her down.

So, imo JS doesn't love MJ, he doesn't love anyone but himself.

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1. This show is beyond gorgeous. Why can't my life look like a sepia instagram photo all the time like these folk?!

2. I too, am looking forward to the tears, and folk ending the old season of their lives. Sometimes the road you're on... simply runs out, and you're either at your destination/home, or it's time for the next stage

3. I am so pleasantly surprised by Hyo-eun (Su-ah's daughter, for those of you like me who can't quite keep the Korean names straight.) I'm surprised that they have written her so well - at times she is selfish, at times she shows a maturity understanding that her dad is not too nice to her mom sometimes. That's how kids those age act, in-between, and I am so pleased they wrote the tweenager right!

4. I'm quite impressed that Hye-won has been so devious about her life. If she truly loves the cultural work she is doing, she may have really sacrificed all her life and integrity to get to a position to protect those cultural assets; she may have even gotten together with her former boyfriend/not-husband for that reason since he's (apparently) a potter.

5. I like all the friends. I can see some of my friends in Ji-eun, Mi-jin, and Hyun-woo - ok not the bad bits like the cheating (!) But the wishy-washiness and the support and the standing back to let you make your own decisions.

6. Who knew "laundry and chill" was the perfect date?

7. This is a question to Koreans who could give better nuance to the statement "xxx is scary". In the show, Ji-eun says her mom and Hye-won are "scary". I view both women as focusing on their careers and being "ruthless". I think I've seen other folk being called "scary" as well. Is the Korean word leaning more towards the "scary because they are formidable"? Could anyone give me a bit more nuance to the translation, if possible? I've been quite curious about the term since I see it quite often.

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I'm thinking about this drama many times.

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