Clean With Passion for Now: Episode 13

by abirdword

Now that our CEO and his favorite housekeeper are officially a couple, Oh-sol struggles with the secrets that she’s been keeping from him. As she moves forward and begins to be more honest, the solutions to her problems seem to fall right into her lap. Things can’t be that easy, but for now we can take some time to let our new couple get to know one another.

  
EPISODE 13: “I will be your shoulder to lean on”

As Seon-gyeol and Oh-sol kiss, Oh-sol promises to remain by Seon-gyeol’s side, always. And apparently, that means sitting outside the bathroom door as Seon-gyeol showers later. Oh-sol plays along with Seon-gyeol’s demands, but steps away when she hears the laundry buzzer. She’s gone long enough that Seon-gyeol is out of the shower immediately, his hair not even dry as he seeks out Oh-sol.

Oh-sol shoves him back to the bathroom to dry his hair and resumes her post outside the door. While she’s waiting, Mr. Choi calls to check in on the situation. Mr. Choi reassures Oh-sol that he covered for her with her dad, and tells her to take care of Seon-gyeol. As Mr. Choi hangs up, he spots Secretary Kwon sitting inside a cafe.

Oh-sol prepares breakfast for Seon-gyeol, who is only too eager to play up his helplessness for the attention. He tells Oh-sol that he’s too weak to hold his own spoon, and then as she offers him a spoonful, he gasps that it’s too hot. When she stands up to get him water, he pulls her into his lap, ha.

Their cute cuddling is interrupted by Geum-ja the vacuum, who bumps into their bunny-slippered feet over and over again. As Oh-sol moves back to her seat, she asks about the story behind Geum-ja, and Seon-gyeol shares that it’s the only thing he has left that reminds him of his former nanny. Oh-sol nods that she understands why he went through such trouble to find it, and Seon-gyeol smiles that Geum-ja also helped the two of them meet, aww.

Oh-sol takes the opportunity to ask what Seon-gyeol likes about her, since she recognizes that they are both very different. Seon-gyeol asks if she recalls the first time she came over to his house. She’d told him that she understood that he must have his reasons for behaving the way he does, and Seon-gyeol appreciated that for once someone understood him. He liked that he didn’t feel wrong, just different, and that Oh-sol had recognized that.

Meanwhile, Mr. Choi joins Secretary Kwon at the cafe and reveals his knowledge of the accident and how Seon-gyeol’s grandfather is connected to Oh-sol’s mother’s death. It seems that Secretary Kwon was unaware until her recent deep dive into Oh-sol’s background, and she confirms that she hasn’t told Chairman Cha yet. She worries that if the truth is revealed, both Seon-gyeol and Oh-sol would be hurt by it.

Back at the apartment, Oh-sol tries to step out for a bit, but Seon-gyeol has called in sick for work and doesn’t want to leave her side. After some brief whining, Seon-gyeol drives Oh-sol to her destination–the columbarium to pay respect to her mother.

Suddenly, a child jumps into the road ahead of them to grab their ball. Seon-gyeol swerves, and everyone is uninjured, but his car has crashed into large piles of trash, ha. Seon-gyeol refuses to turn back though, and he flags down a taxi. Before he’s willing to climb inside, however, he sprays down the back. As the taxi moves down the road, Seon-gyeol’s hand touches the seat in front of him, and their taxi ride comes to an end.

Oh-sol’s last resort is the bus, and she tells Seon-gyeol to just call Secretary Kwon and head home. But he’s not ready to leave her side, and eventually climbs onto the bus. After paying his fare with a huge bill and getting a pile of coins in change, Seon-gyeol stumbles to Oh-sol and clings to her shoulders as they ride.

Oh-sol looks pretty uncomfortable, but Seon-gyeol can’t grab a handle for himself (he’s forgotten his gloves), and he can’t stomach the idea of sitting in a seat. Even so, it almost looks like they’ll manage the ride, until a gaggle of excited hiking ajummas board and begin to gush over the handsome young man on the bus. With that, Oh-sol and Seon-gyeol flee the bus, walking their only option left.

As the pair strolls down the street, Seon-gyeol jumps when he thinks he sees a bug on his shoulder. Oh-sol peels the sprig from a nearby tree off of him, and then points out that bugs aren’t dirty. She realizes that Seon-gyeol doesn’t think bugs are dirty, he’s just scared of them, and she can’t help but tease him all the way to the columbarium.

They finally arrive before her mother’s memorial, and Seon-gyeol introduces himself as Oh-sol’s boyfriend. He leaves her alone to for a private moment, and Oh-sol speaks to her mother, telling her that she would have loved Seon-gyeol if she could have met him. Her thoughts move to Oh-dol and what her decision to date Seon-gyeol might do to his future.

Afterwards she joins Seon-gyeol on a bench as the sun begins to set. Seon-gyeol says that Oh-sol must take after her mother, beautiful inside and out. Oh-sol returns that Seon-gyeol also takes after his own mother–he seems cold at first, but is kind-hearted and thoughtful. Seon-gyeol has a hard time seeing his mother like that, especially after the recent misguided party thrown in his home.

Oh-sol asks Seon-gyeol not to hold a grudge, and he agrees, since Mom’s meddling officially brought the two of them together. He laments that his mother and grandfather have always been meddling, and it’s never done anything to help his phobia. As they sit together, Seon-gyeol smiles as he celebrates all his new experiences he’s had just in this day alone with Oh-sol. But once they return home, Oh-sol keeps herself awake into the night with her thoughts.

The next day, Seon-gyeol is dancing on air happy as he reports back to work. Meanwhile, Oh-sol meets with Secretary Kwon to officially withdraw from the efforts to cure Seon-gyeol. She tells Secretary Kwon that she doesn’t believe curing Seon-gyeol is something that she could ever do, and it’s not what Seon-gyeol wants for himself. She also doesn’t want to keep fooling Seon-gyeol any longer, and tells Secretary Kwon about the chairman’s stipulation against any romance. Secretary Kwon asks about Oh-dol, but Oh-sol says that she’ll find another way to help him.

When Seon-gyeol returns home, he finds Oh-sol waiting with her suitcase packed. She’s moving back home, and Seon-gyeol stammers as he tries to figure out what has happened. Oh-sol reassures him that nothing’s wrong, but that she wants a chance to start over with him. Seon-gyeol’s still baffled by this and tries to ask about the problem that required Oh-sol to stay at his apartment. Oh-sol tells him that she’s moving out to resolve that very problem, and that she’ll tell him everything once it’s resolved.

Secretary Kwon meets with Chairman Cha, and withholds the new information she’s discovered about Oh-sol. She instead asks why he made Oh-sol promise not to date his grandson, and the chairman explains that she isn’t a good fit for his heir to the company.

She reports that Oh-sol has quit her job as phobia cure, and Chairman Cha immediately demands that Secretary Kwon find “suitable” people to place on Oh-dol’s disciplinary committee (oh no).

When Oh-sol returns home, her family assumes she’s been fired again. Dad takes the lead and gets meat for dinner for everyone, and doesn’t even demand to know why Oh-sol left her job.

After dinner, Oh-sol and Oh-dol sit together in her room, and she tells her brother she’s sorry that she couldn’t help him with the assault charges. Oh-dol tells her he was glad she was out of the house, because he didn’t want her to worry and sacrifice for him anymore. He tells her that he just wants her to figure out what she wants to do now.

The next morning, Oh-sol runs into Mr. Choi on the way out. She says that she wants to check on what’s going to happen to Oh-dol. Mr. Choi tells her that he thinks she made the right choice to leave Seon-gyeol’s apartment, and that Oh-dol wouldn’t want that kind of help.

Speaking of Seon-gyeol, he sits at his kitchen table while Oh-sol places a breakfast before him… but of course, he’s daydreaming it all, since we know Oh-sol is busy with her own concerns. The vision evaporates in front of him, leaving him with just a cup of coffee and an empty seat across from him.

Seon-gyeol tries to call Oh-sol once he’s at work, but Oh-sol is busy meeting with Oh-dol’s coach and ends the call quickly. Secretary Kwon stops in to check on Seon-gyeol, and he sighs that liking someone is so lonely. He starts to say that he’s started seeing someone, but then quickly replaces himself in the story with his Minnesota friend.

Back at the school, Oh-dol’s coach explains that the school has submitted a petition on behalf of Oh-dol, but that’s all they’ve been able to do. Coach says that finding a witness would help the situation, but so far no one has come forward.

Oh-dol calls Young-shik to touch base, and all the other Cleaning Fairy boys discover what Oh-sol has been worried about. Seon-gyeol overhears the conversation as well, and demands to know what they mean by a disciplinary committee.

Oh-sol attempts to pass out fliers on the street looking for a witness, but most people can’t be bothered. As she crouches down to pick up a flier from the ground, Seon-gyeol arrives. He scoffs that he’s hurt that this is the secret she couldn’t tell him, and soon the Fairy Cleaning boys appear with buckets of flowers to hand out along with the fliers. Seon-gyeol smiles now and says that this is the method he used to build up his company when he first started out, aww.

Everyone works hard to hand out the fliers, while Secretary Kwon lurks in her car nearby, a usb key in her hands. But by the end of the day they still haven’t found a witness. Jae-min jumps up to give Oh-sol a hug, and his accompanying proclamation that he “loves” Oh-sol doesn’t sit well with Seon-gyeol, who pulls Jae-min off her by the hair. Seon-gyeol knows that Oh-sol hasn’t told anyone about their relationship though, so he instead says that Jae-min’s behavior could be construed as sexual harassment.

The boys leave first, and Seon-gyeol hopes that Oh-sol can linger a little longer with him, since he’s missed her all day. Oh-sol asks him to come closer, and then closer still, until she snuggles deeply into his arms. Seon-gyeol is nervous about being seen at first, but he calms when he sees that Oh-sol isn’t concerned.

As Seon-gyeol walks Oh-sol home, he asks her if she didn’t want to date because she was so worried about her brother. Oh-sol starts to tell him that there was another reason, but she’s interrupted by a call from Joo-yeon, who tells Oh-sol they’ve found a solution to Oh-dol’s problem.

Oh-sol hurries home with Seon-gyeol at her side, where she learns that someone dropped the missing security tape footage off at their doorstep (hmmm, I wonder what usb-carrying individual could have done that…) Once the initial celebrating has calmed, and Dad wonders what brings Oh-sol’s former boss to their home.

They sit Dad down to share the news that Oh-sol and Seon-gyeol are dating, and even then the man can’t keep the juice from spilling out of his mouth when they tell him. Joo-yeon gives Seon-gyeol a “bravo,” while Oh-dol looks dubious about it all. And Mr. Choi can’t help but tease Seon-gyeol and tells him there’s a bug on the floor to make him yelp, ha.

Seon-gyeol stays for dinner, which his OCD is so not ready for. Oh-sol does her best to cover for Seon-gyeol with each new gross offer from her Dad, but he tries valiantly to take a piece of dripping chicken from Dad’s hands. At the last minute, Mr. Choi swoops in and steals it from him, and Dad praises Mr. Choi for being such a good eater (haha, I love Mr. Choi beating Seon-gyeol at the best son-in-law contest).

Seon-gyeol says goodbye to everyone after dinner, though his farewell to Mr. Choi is decidedly colder. Dad wonders how the two know each other, and when Mr. Choi says that he recognizes him from the one time Seon-gyeol walked Oh-sol home, he gets more praise from Dad for having such sharp eyes. Dad says that someone like Mr. Choi should have become a judge, or lawyer, or… doctor, bwahaha.

As Oh-sol walks Seon-gyeol down the road, Oh-dol turns to Mr. Choi and tells him that he’s on his side. Mr. Choi pretends not to know what he means, but Oh-dol says that he’s not that oblivious.

Meanwhile, Seon-gyeol hesitates to part with Oh-sol, and suggests that she come over for some ramyun. It seems like Seon-gyeol isn’t quite aware of what that offer actually insinuates, though Oh-sol seems to register it and then quickly dismiss it. She declines, but she does give Seon-gyeol a smile when she calls him “oppa” for the first time.

The next day, Young-shik and Oh-dol are hopeful about the upcoming disciplinary committee, but Oh-dol’s good mood sours when he spots Joo-yeon in a cafe, on a date with another guy. Oh-dol leaves Young-shik behind to go confront her, and soon he’s dragging Joo-yeon out of the cafe with him (ick Oh-dol, this is not a good look…)

He demands that Joo-yeon stop going on dates with these losers, and declares that now she’s his. He rips the Korean flag pin from his jacket and gives it to her, and tells her that he’ll ask her out if he makes the national team. He places his coat over her shoulders, commenting on her inappropriate clothing again, and darts off. Joo-yeon starts to smile as he walks off, and he shoots her a look over his shoulder as he whoops from the adrenaline of the moment.

Meanwhile, Oh-sol visits Seon-gyeol’s mother to share the news. As Mom tries to catch up, Oh-sol just barrels ahead, thanking her for helping them get together and asking if she can start calling her “Mother.” Once Mom finally catches up though, she’s all giddy giggles.

And while Oh-sol tells Seon-gyeol’s mother the news, Seon-gyeol comes clean with Secretary Kwon about his “friend” in Minnesota. He laughs about the deceit, until Secretary Kwon deadpans that she knew it was him all along. She congratulates him and Oh-sol, surprising him again with how much she already knows.

The Fairy Cleaning crew is the final stop, and Seon-gyeol and Oh-sol tell them their news together. Everyone except Dong-hyun are shocked, and Seon-gyeol warns Jae-min not to get near Oh-sol. And now that everyone knows, Seon-gyeol and Oh-sol head out for a date at the Han River.

Seon-gyeol tries to remain relaxed, but he’s easily spooked by children and a barking corgi. Seon-gyeol is determined to stick it out and go on this date with her, but Oh-sol gives him an out and suggests that they go back to his place for ramyun. At the mention of ramyun, fireworks explode behind Seon-gyeol, ha, but once they’re back at his place, it’s actual ramyun that he places before Oh-sol.

As Oh-sol eats, she asks if Seon-gyeol would want to go to the movie theater on a date, but quickly realizes how stressful that would be for him and instead suggests a movie at his place. They settle into the couch together with some beers, but the steamy scenes in the movie and all that ramyun innuendo has Oh-sol nervous, especially when Seon-gyeol suggests that she could stay the night. In her own room, he clarifies.

Oh-sol springs up to leave and rushes out the door. But she can’t bring herself to leave, and as she turns around to face the door again, Seon-gyeol swings it open, surprised to see her still. “I’ll stay over tonight,” she tells him, and gives him a peck on the mouth. Their kisses become longer, and Seon-gyeol hoists her up into his arms and sets her down on the kitchen counter, both wrapped in each others arms.

  
COMMENTS

Well, I know what I would assume happened next in any other drama after such a lengthy make-out session, but am I supposed to assume the same thing about mysophobic Seon-gyeol? He’s so new to this whole dating thing, it’s difficult to imagine, and yet, that scene was steamy and intimate and pretty convincing, so I guess we’ll see in the next episode.

I love how Seon-gyeol’s limitations drive these two into such intimate activities right away as they officially start dating. I mean, they’ve been making breakfast for one another for who knows how long now, so why bother with a movie date when you can move directly to Netflix and chill? I love how oblivious Seon-gyeol is to his ramyun innuendos, or at least, I think he is, and the ambiguity in that is also pretty charming and fun. I also appreciate how Oh-sol is willing to go along with things, knowing he’s not completely aware of what he’s insinuating, or if he is aware, it’s clear that she’s also interested.

I was hoping for a great date episode, and I think this is as close as we can get for these two for now. Even though a montage of aquarium and river and movie dates is what I really want to see, I also love how Oh-sol likes Seon-gyeol even if he doesn’t want to participate in those things. It’s not about him not being ready, it’s about her accepting him for who he is without any requirements to change.

I loved that Seon-gyeol shared that with her, the fact that she’s been understanding of his situation from the very beginning, and never once demanded that he change for her or for anyone else. After spending his whole life with his family trying to cure him, it makes so much sense that he falls for the one person who is perfectly fine with who he is.

With the information about Oh-sol’s mother’s death and Seon-gyeol’s grandfather’s involvement starting to spread, it can’t be long before this joyful bubble bursts. But the question now is who will tell the happy couple first–will it be Mr. Choi, concerned by their developing feelings, or will it be Secretary Kwon, who is starting to realize that Chairman Cha does not have Seon-gyeol’s best interests at heart (how on earth did she not know that from the start?!). Or, will Chairman Cha be the one to break the news, if he manages to figure it out on his own? It would be a quick solution to causing trouble in the relationship, and his goal of the moment seems to be to cause Oh-sol as much pain as possible. I’m not looking forward to whatever he’s schemed up for Oh-dol’s disciplinary committee.

I want to be onboard with the newly budding romance between Joo-yeon and Oh-dol, but I need Oh-dol to stop acting like such a jerk first. None of his moves have been endearing or romantic. From shaming Joo-yeon for wearing a short skirt to dragging her out of a date against her will, he’s not scoring any points in his favor as far as I’m concerned, and I really wish that Joo-yeon hadn’t given his behavior a smile. The kid is under a lot of stress, sure, but I need a little less “you’re mine” and a little more cute from this boy.

I was so glad when Seon-gyeol found out about Oh-dol’s situation and came to help Oh-sol with the Fairy Cleaning boys. It hopefully demonstrates to Oh-sol that being honest is the best way to get help, and will make things easier when it comes time to tell Seon-gyeol about the way that his grandfather has been trying to use her. Seon-gyeol has been so good at being understanding, so I’m hopeful that he’ll be able to forgive her for participating in it.

As we near the end, I wonder what Oh-sol will want to do with her life. Her brother and father keep asking her to do what she loves, but I can’t think of anything she’s loved more than working alongside the Cleaning Fairy boys. Selfishly, I just want to keep the cute work family together forever, but we’ll have to see if they can stand by each other until the end.

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