The Spies Who Loved Me: Episode 6

by TeriYaki

Our designer struggles with how much she really wants to know about her current husband because the truth could change their relationship forever. In spite of the fact that she’s acting as if everything is fine, it’s proving difficult to ignore her husband’s troubling associates and she reaches the same conclusion as her ex-husband — that she may be in serious danger.

 
EPISODE 6 RECAP

A young girl holds a candle in front of a bathroom mirror at the stroke of midnight to see the face of her future husband. In voiceover, Ah-reum reveals that she saw two men as we see the girl run away. When she returned for a second look, the mirror was cracked and bloodied because one of her husbands had stabbed the other.

In the present, Ji-hoon stares at the camera in Ah-reum’s chandelier while Derek watches the live feed. When Ah-reum screams, Ji-hoon runs to her just as a rat scurries away. Ji-hoon questions Ah-reum about her current security camera setup and confirms that the only people who visit her office are Du-rae and Ms. Yoon.

At Dongpoomloo, Doo-bong warns Peter that he’ll have to take the blame for Helmes’ failed mission. Annoyed by Peter’s unwavering loyalty to Helmes, Doo-bong plants the seed of suspicion when he concludes that with Sophie dead, everyone there is safe. As soon as Peter leaves, Doo-bong’s expression goes from amused to deadly serious.

Jin-min visits Gulliver Publishers and his excitement that Sophie’s stalker has been found is obvious. Tae-ryong reports, “The stalker is a Helmes agent and Doo-bong is trying to recruit him to his side,” which means that Doo-bong has valuable information about Helmes.

Worried about the collapse of the six-nation pact, Jin-min asks about Sophie’s fiancé. Ji-hoon only reports that he returned to pay his respects and says nothing about her U.N. connected ex-boyfriend. After the update, Jin-min approaches Ji-hoon to ask about Ah-reum and warns him to stay focused.

At home, Ah-reum finds Derek preparing breakfast and they both silently struggle with what they’ve discovered about each other. When they sit down, Derek asks Ah-reum if she met with her ex-husband and he’s surprised when she admits that she met him to give him some money.

While Derek busies himself with peeling an apple, Ah-reum recalls Dr. Chen’s description of Sophie’s U.N. connected ex-boyfriend and reminds Derek, “You said there’s no need to apologize for things you cannot change.” When Ah-reum asks, “Did you date Sophie,” Derek freezes and his mind goes back to Sophie’s welcome home party where he first met Ah-reum.

A bored Derek scanned the room until he saw straight pins poking out of Ah-reum’s dress. One of Ah-reum’s companions pointed out that Derek was staring at Ah-reum and when she looked over at him, he pointed to the pins.

Moving closer to be heard over the loud music, Ah-reum explained that she used the pins to adjust the fit and then forgot about them. Derek found an apple to serve as a makeshift pincushion so Ah-reum could safely remove the all of her pins.

Just as Ah-reum placed the last pin in the apple, Sophie marched over to their table and leveled a withering glare at Derek. Pulling Ah-reum away, Sophie insisted that she was too good for Derek.

Derek was about to leave the party when Ah-reum called out, “You have to return my apple first.” When Derek held out the apple, Ah-reum reached for it and their hands touched.

Sometime later, Ah-reum took Derek to her modest dress shop and used her dressmaker’s shears to demonstrate how to cut a length of cloth in one stroke. Ah-reum handed the scissors to Derek so he could try but he couldn’t duplicate her move. Derek joked that he’d finally found something he wasn’t good at and the scissors gleamed in Ah-reum’s hand when he pulled her in for a kiss.

After even more time had passed, Derek took Ah-reum to Classic Car to show her a car that was manufactured the same year she was born. Derek explained that he brought it back from the States for a special occasion and then asked Ah-reum to open the trunk.

Ah-reum asked, “You didn’t put balloons in here, did you?” Derek urged Ah-reum to open the trunk and when she did, she found a pair of dressmaker’s shears set with a diamond and surrounded by white roses. A nervous Derek appeared beside her to ask, “Will you marry me?”

Ah-reum had to ask, “Why didn’t you ever ask me about my first marriage,” and Derek confessed that he didn’t want to make her feel bad. Ah-reum admitted that is spite of that failure, she wanted to get married again.

When she asked Derek about his mother, he insisted, “She likes you.” Pointing to the car, Derek described it as the sum of parts with unique histories and suggested, “Let’s make our own story together.” With a huge smile, Ah-reum hugged Derek, whose smile was just as big.

Back in the present, Derek ignores Ah-reum’s question and she thinks, “If he wants to hide that fact from me, there must be a reason…Sometimes in a marriage, it’s better to ignore the matter than ask prying questions.”

Derek reminds Ah-reum that she had something to tell him and she explains that she was invited to wear one of her designs in a photo shoot. Derek usually avoids publicity so she’s surprised when agrees to join her, “I just have to stand and pose, right? Like when we had our wedding shoot.”

Grateful, Ah-reum gushes that Derek handles himself well in any situation and brings ups the apple from their first meeting as an example. Ah-reum is touched when Derek tells her, “Even if the world ends tomorrow, I will plant an apple tree to meet you in my next life.” When Ah-reum arrives at Areumdam Dress, everyone notices that she’s in an exceptionally good mood.

While Ah-reum tries on a dress for the photo shoot, Du-rae mentions that Ah-reum’s two weddings couldn’t have been more different. Ah-reum remembers that she cried a lot when she married Ji-hoon while she smiled for her wedding to Derek.

Ah-reum confesses that she only had eyes for Ji-hoon that day and a flashback shows how bothered her mother was by the fact that he had so few guests. Mom asked about the man in the white hanbok while Tae-ryong handed out meal tickets to perfect strangers and coached them on how they knew Ji-hoon.

When he was done, Tae-ryong found Ji-hoon who apologized for putting him through so much trouble. Tae-ryong told him, “Compared to what’s ahead of you, this is nothing.” Tae-ryong noticed the red carnation in Ji-hoon’s lapel and Ji-hoon explained, “Ah-reum gave it to me. It’s in memory of my parents.” When Ji-hoon was hesitant about checking on Ah-reum, Tae-ryong reminded him, “Walk like a man. You’re our top agent.”

Ah-reum beamed when Ji-hoon walked into the bride’s room. After Ah-reum took his arm, her mother suggested it would be better to have her uncle walk her down the aisle. Ah-reum insisted on walking in with Ji-hoon but when he tried to move to the proper side, a button on his sleeve got caught on Ah-reum’s frilly cuff.

Trying to minimize the damage, Ji-hoon took off his jacket but it ripped off the cuff from Ah-reum’s sleeve. When Du-rae saw the damage, she called the shop to have another cuff sent over right away. After Ah-reum ripped both sleeves from her dress, Ji-hoon had tears in his eyes when he apologized not only for ruining Ah-reum’s dress, but for not being able to give her the wedding of her dreams. When Ah-reum confessed that all she needed was Ji-hoon, Du-rae burst into tears.

Ah-reum’s outdoor wedding to Derek was a much grander affair and her mother couldn’t contain her excitement over her future son-in-law. When Ah-reum confirmed that her uncle was sober enough to walk her down the aisle, Du-rae was reminded of how much she and Ji-hoon cried when they entered their wedding together.

After confirming that Derek’s mother chose a white suit for her son’s wedding, Du-rae called her “rude”. When it was time to put on her wedding dress, Ah-reum and Du-rae found it ruined thanks to a huge, red wine stain. Derek walked in and saw the dress and Ah-reum fretted, “Do you think someone did this on purpose?” Neither of them saw the woman in a white suit who was watching them.

In the present, Du-rae wonders why Ah-reum decided to walk down the aisle by herself that day, after finding her uncle too drunk to escort her. A flashback shows that Ah-reum walked down the aisle alone, wearing the flowered dress meant for the after party. Du-rae suggests that Ah-reum’s choice was influenced by her lingering loyalty for Ji-hoon.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Derek brings his boss a cup of coffee and they discuss Max Hoffmann’s visit. Derek’s boss hints that there’s a problem at the Ministry of Science but a phone call prevents him from saying more. On his way out, Derek overhears him say, “Rumor is going around that it wasn’t an accidental overdose.”

After getting a text, Derek joins Peter at a bookstore but they’re careful to make it appear that they don’t know each other. When Derek tells him, “You have to take responsibility,” Peter pushes backs, “For what?”

For the first time Peter is experiencing regret because of Sophie and asks Derek, “Have you ever regretted a decision you made…like going back and changing things?” Peter suggests that Sophie’s change of heart was motivated by love and when Derek disagrees, Peter snaps, “I can’t believe that you are capable of actually loving someone.”

Peter suggests, “Boss, it’s your turn to make a move. It’s the only way to get what we need from Interpol.” When asked about Doo-bong, Peter lies that he hasn’t heard from him. Peter turns to Derek to ask, “Who has the most to gain from Sophie’s death,” and Derek looks him in the eye when he answers, “We don’t know that yet.”

At Dongpoomloo, Seo-ra asks Doo-bong if he knows a good lawyer. After she claims that she was swindled out of some money, Doo-bong pulls out his phone and Seo-ra loudly asks, “Are you going to call him now?” Young-gu immediately tracks the outgoing call but Peter doesn’t answer.

In spite of his failure to reach Peter, Doo-bong brags that they’re close, he even ate at Dongpoomloo the day before. After Seo-ra takes Doo-bong’s hand and coos, “You’re so reliable,” Young-gu shoves tissues into his ears and mutters, “I can’t listen to this.”

Ji-hoon shows up at Areumdam Dress in his courier disguise and manages to get past all of the employees without being seen. In Ah-reum’s office, Ji-hoon turns out the lights and then climbs onto a chair to reach the hidden camera in the chandelier. We see that Young-gu had given Ji-hoon a chip that would allow them to hack the camera’s signal.

As Ji-hoon stretches to attach the chip to the camera, he hears Du-rae tell the staff that she needs to get something from Ah-reum’s office. When Du-rae opens the door, she’s surprised to find that the lights are off and that a chair is in the middle of the room.


Ji-hoon sets up his laptop in a tiny study room to watch the feed hacked from the camera. Faced with the fact that someone invaded Ah-reum’s private sanctuary, Ji-hoon finds himself worried for her safety.

Doo-bong puts Seo-ra into a taxi and makes a heart with his arms as it pulls away. As soon as she’s gone, one of his thugs hands him a phone and Doo-bong’s goofy smile is replaced by a hardened gaze.

Ji-hoon watches Ah-reum return to her office and when she kicks off her shoes, he predicts, “She’ll probably want instant noodles.” Ji-hoon remembers teasing Ah-reum with a flavor packet after finding her stretched out on their couch. While Ji-hoon massaged Ah-reum’s feet, she ate instant noodles and suggested, “What if I joined you on your trips?”

Finished with Ah-reum’s massage, Ji-hoon sent her off to bed but she insisted on doing the dishes first. Ji-hoon lent a hand and soon the couple was dancing and laughing in their kitchen.

Ji-hoon’s smile at the memory disappears when Derek enters Ah-reum’s office. Turning up the volume, Ji-hoon overhears Derek telling Ah-reum, “You look so tired.” When he hands Ah-reum the sandwich that he brought her, she ignores it and suggests that he try on his tuxedo.

When Ah-reum reaches for Derek’s tie, Ji-hoon slams down the earphones and does pushups to get through the ordeal of seeing them together. After Ah-reum leaves to fetch something, Derek looks up at the hidden camera and Ji-hoon realizes that he knows it’s there. His thoughts are interrupted by a call from Young-gu summoning him back to the office.

Seo-ra returns to Gulliver Publishers and demands to know why Ji-hoon didn’t provide backup. It’s not the best time for Young-gu to ask about Doo-bong, “You’re faking it, right? You’re not into him, are you?”

Jin-min and Tae-ryong walk in and catch Seo-ra and Young-gu arguing. When Jin-min asks about Doo-bong, Seo-ra reports that he’s the easiest target she’s ever had to seduce. That surprises Jin-min because former cops are usually the toughest targets in the underworld. When Young-gu expresses scorn for Doo-bong, Jin-min warns that any one of them could end up like him.

Ji-hoon walks in with a long face and Jin-min amends his claim, “Not him. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.” Jin-min warns, “Keep your lips sealed. We can’t leak any information. That could ruin everything, okay,” and he’s annoyed when everyone ignores him.

While Young-gu gets some sleep, Ji-hoon and Seo-ra watch more video from the amusement park the day that Sophie died. Seeing that Ji-hoon isn’t paying attention, Seo-ra asks about Ah-reum and he insists that she’s fine. Seo-ra reminds him, “Her husband hired a goon to tail her. She can’t be okay.”

Dong-ran, who’s now on crutches, approaches Ah-reum’s wedding dress display at the charity auction. Wanting to see one of the dresses without a veil, Dong-ran uses her crutch to knock the headpiece to the floor and Du-rae has to hold Ah-reum back.

When Dong-taek walks in with a painting, Dong-ran pretends that she’s happy to see him and they head into the auction. As Ah-reum fixes her display, she informs Du-rae that Derek is going to be late.

At the auction, Dong-taek is introduced as CEO of DDK Medical and a gasp is heard when his painting is valued at 3 million dollars. Just as the bidding gets underway, the siblings learn that their father returned home sooner than expected.

On the race to see who gets to their dad first, Dong-taek has the advantage since he’s not on crutches until Dong-ran uses one of them to beat him into submission. Dong-ran is all smiles when she’s by her father’s side during his introduction at the auction. Seeing all the photographers, Ah-reum asks, “What’s going on,” and Du-rae whispers it’s the first time he’s attended an official event with his illegitimate daughter.

Ah-reum steps outside to text Derek just as he arrives and finds Dong-taek waiting for him. Shielded by some tall grass, Ah-reum watches as Dong-taek rages that Dong-ran is poised to become their father’s heir. When Ah-reum tries to move closer, she’s blocked by one of Dong-ran’s crutches.

Dong-taek reminds Derek, “Heroin. Drug conviction. Assault. Hiring goons. Abusive boss. That’s my image.” Rather than have Derek repay the money he’s already accepted, Dong-taek demands, “If you can’t get the nuclear fusion secrets, then bring me the sun.”

Dong-ran and Ah-reum hide when Dong-taek’s car drives by. Dong-ran quips that it didn’t look like Dong-taek and Derek were discussing classic cars. From inside her car, Ah-reum tries calling Derek but instead of answering he sends her a text, “I can’t make it. A meeting came up.”

At the shooting range, Jin-min is pretty happy when a couple of his shots hit the center of his target. When Ji-hoon arrives, Jin-min begs for a competition and offers him new dash cam footage from the day of Sophie’s murder if he agrees.

When Ji-hoon obliges, every one of his bullets hits the center of his target. Deflated, Jin-min reports that the video file is on his desk but before he can follow Ji-hoon out, Tae-ryong shows up. Squinting at the target, Tae-ryong asks, “How long do I have to take these exams?” As soon as Jin-min walks out, Tae-ryong fires off his gun with a cold stare and a steady hand and every shot hits the center of his target.

When Ah-reum gets home, she finds a package of car parts on the doorstep. Tinker is surprised when she brings the package to the garage and after covering up her anniversary present, he excuses himself to tend to a customer. When Tinker is handed a ball cap, he puts it on and Ah-reum is reminded of the man who broke into Sophie’s office.

Ah-reum sees a wrench that looks just like the one she threw at the intruder. Ah-reum hides it behind her back when Tinker returns but she gasps when she sees the gash on the back of his head and she drops the wrench with a clang.

At Dongpoomloo, Seo-ra walks into the mahjong room and recognizes the man who’s sipping tea. When Doo-bong brings some food, he spins around to avoid running into her and the wooden bead with the microphone gets wet, meaning that all Young-gu can hear is static. Seo-ra smiles when Doo-bong introduces his guest, “This is my friend. He’s an international lawyer.”

Tinker picks up the wrench and warns Ah-reum, “It’s not dangerous, but you have to be careful.” Ah-reum decides to leave and her eyes widen in fear when Tinker blocks her. She’s relieved when Derek calls out, “What brings you here?”

Ji-hoon watches the latest footage from Sophie’s murder scene at Jin-min’s desk. When a man crosses the screen, Ji-hoon rewinds the video to confirm that it’s Derek.

 
COMMENTS

With that hint that Tae-ryong could be the traitor on the Interpol team, @LollyPip might be onto something with that theory that Derek married Ah-reum because she’s the ex-wife on an agent. Doo-bong once suggested that Peter was #3 at Helmes and if Derek is #1 or #2, who’s the third agent? Could it be Tae-ryong? After seeing Tae-ryong pretend that his eyes are failing only to shoot with incredible precision, it makes me fearful for the entire Interpol team as well as Ah-reum. Ah-reum’s determination to find Sophie’s killer has compromised her safety and while Ji-hoon is afraid for her, I’m curious to see how Derek reacts after her standoff with Tinker. And then there’s Doo-bong. He’s not a bumbling goofball after all, in fact, Doo-bong may be the only one who knows if Tae-ryong is part of Helmes.

Ji-hoon finds himself in a real quandary after learning that Derek and Sophie were once romantically involved. For now, he’s keeping the information to himself only because he doesn’t want to risk compromising Ah-reum’s safety even more. Ji-hoon keeps finding proof that Derek is a very bad guy but because Ah-reum is his wife, he has to be very careful. My heart really broke for both Ah-reum and Ji-hoon during that flashback to their wedding day. They started out with so much love and sincerity in spite of the fact that Ji-hoon couldn’t tell her that he was a spy. In every other way, Ji-hoon was a loving and devoted husband which explains why Ah-reum had become so distraught over his constant traveling. For someone who meant it when she said that all she needed was Ji-hoon, having to endure the constant separations was too much for her.

Now that Ah-reum is married to the ideal man, it’s going to be crushing when she realizes that it’s all been an illusion. All of Derek’s money, his job and reputation, the mother-in-law who supposedly loves Ah-reum, none of it is real. And just like Peter, Ah-reum’s life is beginning to crack, she’s just not willing to accept it yet. And maybe that’s where Dong-ran comes in. Dong-ran is one no-nonsense half-sister whose interest has been piqued by Derek’s connection to Dong-taek. Dong-ran is going to find out a way to exploit that association for her own benefit and it’s sure to shatter Derek’s carefully crafted existence, which will make him even more dangerous than he already is.

Regarding that vision that the young Ah-reum saw, it verifies not only that Ah-reum was destined to have two husbands, but that they would become mortal enemies. It also suggests that one of Ah-reum’s husbands will kill his rival. For now, it’s the calm before the storm with Derek’s secret on the verge of being exposed. And the recently departed Sophie was right all along, Ah-reum always was too good for Derek. Will there come a day when Ah-reum longs for the life that she once shared with Ji-hoon? Because I would welcome more sweet scenes of the two them.

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