Hospital Playlist 2: Episode 4

by lovepark

Things are looking stressful for our cardiothoracic surgeon as he faces new setbacks in both his professional and personal life. Despite the people around him trying to help, he hides his pain and keeps to himself. As life at the hospital continues as normal, every day brings another opportunity to learn and grow for the people of Yulje Medical Center.

 
EPISODE 4 RECAP

After learning about Se-kyung, Joon-wan drinks alone in the living room and waits for an update from Ik-soon. Jung-won comes out to use the bathroom and finds his friend still up. Though groggy, he offers to keep him company, but Joon-wan turns him down.

It’s nearly two in the morning when Ik-soon finally returns his call, and she claims to be fine, downplaying her injuries. She plans to continue the trip tomorrow, but Joon-wan advises her to go home and rest. She apologizes for keeping him up all night, and Joon-wan tells her not to be sick before hanging up.

Jung-won hops over to Gyu-wool’s station, asking if she wants to see the ocean. The nurse replies instead since that is their patient’s name (aka, Ba-da), and the three of them head out to check on her.

Joon-wan enters Jae-hak’s operating room, and his chief resident tells him not to worry. With a sigh, Joon-wan orders the others to make things easier for him than themselves, which means completing the surgery quickly. Jae-hak jokes around, pledging to do his best, and Joon-wan scolds him again.

Before Jung-won sees his patient, the nurse informs him about the guardian’s worries, and he says that he understands. The nurse asks if he is secretly a father, and he tells her that he has lots of kids because he considers all his patients as his own. The nurse calls him “holy, holy” and Gyu-wool agrees.

Song-hwa praises Seon-bin’s draft of her thesis, but her resident wants her unfiltered criticisms. After thinking it over, Song-hwa suggests having coffee then, and makes some for both of them.

Jung-won goes over the pre-surgery instructions with the guardians and answers all of their questions in detail. The mother asks about the scarring, so he uses his finger to show them the size. Ba-da mistakes it for a pinky swear, so Jung-won plays along, promising to heal her.

During the OB/GYN meeting, Seok-hyung turns to Min-ha and tells her to ask her question. She wonders if he can read her mind, and everyone giggles since she wrote down her thoughts in her notebook for all to see.

Ik-joon meets with an outpatient who is doing well after her surgery and sets another check-up for next month. He remembers that they live far away, and the patient’s husband tells him that they come at night and sleep in the hospital lobby before her appointments. Ik-joon recalls her having to meet a neurologist as well, so he adjusts the schedule to meet with them on the same day as her other one.

After the surgery, Joon-wan heads towards the ICU and passes by a crowd of guardians waiting for visiting hours to start. Meanwhile, Song-hwa gives Seon-bin her last piece of advice on her thesis, and takes a sip of coffee. She praises the taste, and Seon-bin points out that Song-hwa made it herself. Heh.

Seon-bin asks if Song-hwa likes studying, and Song-hwa pretends to hate it like everyone else before admitting the truth: she loves learning. She chose neurology because she finds the challenge fun and wishes she could do research all day. Song-hwa asks if she sounds strange, and Seon-bin just sips her coffee.

Hong-do greets Joon-wan a second time in the ICU, so Joon-wan drops another quiz on him. Poor Hong-do never catches a break as he struggles to answer, and Joon-wan tells him to study more. On his way out, Joon-wan notices all the guardians inside the various rooms except for Dr. Chun’s patient, Kyung-mi. Making eye contact, he waves at her, and she smiles back.

Joon-wan goes to the PICU next and explains to the guardians that the surgery went smoothly. He looks for Min-chan’s parents afterwards, and Jae-hak tags along since Joon-wan is his pick-me-up. In the hall, Joon-wan tells Min-chan’s parents that their son is doing well, and they cry in relief.

If possible, they want to buy him an expensive dinner, but Joon-wan tells them that he would lose his job. He thanks them for the sentiment, and as they part, Jae-hak clings to his arm and asks if he will eat with him, then.

Grabbing lunch at the cafeteria, Joon-wan spots Song-hwa coming his way, so he offers to buy her a meal. She gladly accepts his generosity, which includes paying for her entire team.

While Jae-hak marvels at the large drumstick and happily munches away at his food, Joon-wan nibbles on his rice with a sigh. Jae-hak comments on his uncharacteristic behavior, and Joon-wan says that it tastes like sand. Looking worried, Jae-hak reaches over to steal his chicken, but Joon-wan blocks him. He said the rice was bad, not the chicken. Pfft.

Staring at the drumstick, Joon-wan unconsciously mentions Ik-soon, and Jae-hak inquires about the curious name. Joon-wan pretends to have said Ik-joon instead and shouts at his chief resident who keeps insisting otherwise. After their commotion dies down, Jae-hak says that someone named Ik-soon must exist somewhere in the world, and Joon-wan agrees, adding on the possibility that she might live across the globe.

Song-hwa excitedly calls Ik-joon to tell him about the drumsticks, but he already made lunch plans with his tteokbokki lovers club. Back in the cafeteria, Min-chan’s parents eat their prepared food, but Min-chan’s mom looks torn at the sight of Eun-ji’s mom sitting alone.

Ik-joon’s club gathers in the OB/GYN office, and Min-ha brings three tubs of tteokbokki since Gyu-wool can devour one by herself. Noticing Gyu-wool’s heat-level preference, Ik-joon comments on how Jung-won will not be able to handle it, but quickly shuts his mouth since Min-ha is here. Gyu-wool tells him that she knows, too, and Min-ha explains how she congratulated her friend for beating God.

They start eating before Ik-joon’s guest arrives, and right then, Seok-hyung enters the room. Min-ha’s face lights up, but Ik-joon scolds his friend for coming in. Seok-hyung joins them anyways since this is his department’s office, and Min-ha grabs him a chair. Ik-joon claims the steamed eggs before Min-ha can give Seok-hyung everything at the table, and Gyu-wool protects her tub when Seok-hyung says that he likes spicy food. Ha!

Ik-joon eyes the two OB/GYN doctors as they go back and forth handing each other food, but keeps silent. Instead, he does a little countdown for Gyu-wool, and on cue, Jung-won walks in. This time, Gyu-wool steals the eggs for her boyfriend, and Ik-joon playfully complains about being the third wheel. When he receives a call from Song-hwa, he leaves to go see her.

While taking a break in the garden, Jae-hak brings up Dr. Chun’s conference and asks if Joon-wan is watching over any of his patients. He says that he took on three more; one of them being Kyung-mi. In the ICU, the nurse notifies Kyung-mi about the change and describes Joon-wan as blunt but attentive. The nurse asks if she is lonely and promises to visit her as much as possible.

On their walk, Song-hwa complains about her mom for sending her too much food, and Ik-joon relates to her struggle since his mom is the same. She tells him that she needs to go back home in order to eat it all, and he advises her to share the side dishes with their friends. He offers to take some off her hand on one condition: she needs to take some of his food, too. Heh.

Jae-hak shows Joon-wan a picture of a woman, and his professor asks why he is looking at a stranger’s account. Jae-hak tells him that it is his wife, and Joon-wan drinks his empty cup to hide his embarrassment. Pfft.

His chief resident gives him a quick lesson on social media, but Joon-wan says that he only uses his private account to check on his girlfriend. Jae-hak explains the benefits of sharing your daily life with the people you love, and Joon-wan shows the tiniest hint of interest.

Borrowing his phone, Jae-hak snaps a photo of Joon-wan and wonders what he should write in the captions. Joon-wan suddenly becomes invested, suggesting they put down his name, but Jae-hak rejects his idea. He asks about hashtags next, but Joon-wan only wants his girlfriend to see it.

After they upload the photo, Jae-hak offers him more lessons in the future, and all he has to say is “Jae-hak, do you have a moment?” Joon-wan says that he will never ask him, and returns to his office to rest. Once alone, Joon-wan scrolls through Ik-soon’s account and finds a couple of posts about Se-kyung.

It’s the start of a new week, and Jae-hak enters the PICU with a pep in his step. Unfortunately, they have an emergency concerning Eun-ji, and Jae-hak calls Joon-wan to notify him about her condition. Joon-wan instructs him on what to do and tells him to keep him updated while he is in the operating room.

Seon-bin visits Song-hwa in her office since she is here again for a VIP surgery. When Song-hwa asks about Seok-min, her resident frowns and tells her that they are still fighting. As someone who chose neurology to study the brain, she chastised him for giving up on his dreams, but he called her sheltered and shortsighted.

She asks Song-hwa for advice, so she tells Seon-bin to wait. She learned from experience that the right time for reconciliation comes naturally if both sides want the relationship to last and aren’t separated physically. Seon-bin agrees that rushing things might make the situation worse and thanks her for the guidance.

Jung-won takes out a loan at the bank, and since it is for a good cause, the manager wants to give him a gift, too. Jung-won gratefully accepts, but before he leaves, he wonders if he can get the complimentary dolls as well. Since he doesn’t have kids, the bank teller assumes that it is for his girlfriend and hands him two.

Gyu-wool plays with the dolls in the office, making them kiss, and stares at them lovingly. When a professor notices the toys, he comments on how his daughter would want one, and Gyu-wool catches onto his glaring hints. She pretends to answer her phone—though she holds it backwards—and runs away.

Jae-hak notifies Joon-wan about Eun-ji’s improvement, but he’s worried about her parents who remain unsettled by what happened. Joon-wan was planning to meet them anyways, and he finds them outside the PICU. Explaining the situation, he tells them that their only option is a transplant, and Eun-ji’s mom beats her chest. She says that every day is exhausting and asks if they should give up on finding a donor.

Her husband comforts her, and Eun-ji’s mom composes herself, apologizing to Joon-wan for her outburst. He tells her that she has done a good job thus far and promises to never quit as long as she does not give up first. Afterwards, he checks up on Eun-ji and waves to her from the window.

Song-hwa and Jung-won read over his proposal and make a list of things they need to buy for the new place. Ik-joon joins them in the middle of their conversation and asks if they plan to live together. Filling him in, she brags about Jung-won’s plans to make a patient-guardian shelter, and Ik-joon wonders how he will fund all these projects.

Jung-won tells him that he struck a deal with Jong-soo and asked him to support his dream programs if he stayed. The shelter is the first of many changes, and the ultimate goal is building a children’s hospital. Thoroughly impressed, Ik-joon spells out “wow” with his hands and mouth—even getting Song-hwa to join his joke. Pfft.

Receiving a call from Gyu-wool, Ik-joon goes down to help and gives her a quick lesson on observing a patient’s state of mind. As he leaves, he bumps into Joon-wan who is also at the ICU. His friend invites him out to coffee, but Ik-joon suggests food since Joon-wan looks haggard.

While Joon-wan eats, Ik-joon tells him to ask his chief to cut back some of his workload, but Joon-wan points out that he is the chief. He says that he is stressed lately about Eun-ji, but Ik-joon knows that something else is bothering him, too.

Joon-wan says that he missed his dad’s birthday, and Ik-joon blames it on his lack of sleep. He advises him to go home, but Joon-wan is on duty tonight. Ik-joon says that he is, too, and plans to drop by his office later. Joon-wan tells him not to worry, but Ik-joon corrects him—he’s coming over for snacks. Ha!

Dr. Min finishes an operation and leaves the neurology fellow and Seon-bin to tidy things up.

In his office, Joon-wan talks with Ik-soon over the phone, though not on a video call as usual. She tells him that she visited the doctors recently and is waiting for the lab results. Noticing his downcast voice, she wonders if something is wrong, but Joon-wan lies about being fine.

Taking him at his word, she tells him that she aced her test, and they talk about her for the rest of the call. From the doorway, Ik-joon overhears his friend chatting with his girlfriend and leaves without a word.

Seon-bin monitors the patient who recently came out of the operating room and detects some troubling signs. She notifies the fellow about the possibility of internal bleeding, but he dismisses her concerns as improbable.

While leaving the ICU, Joon-wan runs into Jae-hak and asks if he has a moment—he even does the head scratch! It takes a while for Jae-hak to understand, but once he does, he smugly grins and tells his professor to follow him.

Joon-wan asks if he can post a comment, and Jae-hak’s ego deflates as he realizes the enormity of the task. He starts from the basics, teaching Joon-wan about uploading photos and changing his account to public. Joon-wan even wants to use hashtags, and Jae-hak stares at his professor curiously.

When Seon-bin checks on the patient again, she notices his motor skills have not fully returned on his right side, so she wakes up the fellow to ask for permission to order some scans. He ignores her assessment and instructs her to wait a little longer.

In his office, Ik-joon video calls his sister, and she looks a bit tired. She asks about his friends, going down the list until she reaches Joon-wan. While Ik-joon says that all his friends are fine, he tells her that Joon-wan is stressed. He says that his girlfriend seems to be making things harder for him and calls her selfish for only talking about herself. After they hang up, her face falls, and she mulls over his comment for a long while.

Seon-bin rushes back to the ICU after a bathroom break, but in the five minutes she was gone, the patient’s condition has worsened—he is no longer responding to her commands. She tells the fellow that she will call Dr. Min, but he instructs her to wait for him. She yells at him for stalling, asking if he will take responsibility if something goes wrong, and hangs up the phone.

They set up the operating room, and Dr. Min returns to the hospital. The fellow lies about watching the patient every ten minutes and calling him as soon as he found signs of bleeding. He glances nervously at Seon-bin, but she keeps quiet.

After the surgery ends, Seon-bin sits by the patient’s bedside. The ICU nurse tells her to rest and asks if the fellow scolded her about earlier. Seon-bin says that she hasn’t gotten the chance to talk with him yet, and the nurse tells her to disregard any lectures since her decision saved the patient.

The incident surrounding Seon-bin spreads quickly throughout the hospital, and Song-hwa scolds her about it. She says that Seon-bin was right to question the fellow’s decision, but she was wrong in everything else. Seon-bin apologizes for talking back to her senior, but Song-hwa shakes her head.

She tells Seon-bin that she should have fought harder and sooner. If something happened to the patient, the one at fault is Seon-bin, and Song-hwa advises her to fight for her patients because that is the only way to save them.

After his final appointment, Joon-wan receives a call from Ik-soon, and he hurries back to his desk to talk with her. Pausing for a moment, she tells him that she likes someone else. He asks if it is Se-kyung, and she silently cries before apologizing one last time.

All the friends minus Joon-wan eat lunch in Song-hwa’s office, and they ask Jung-won if something is wrong with their friend. He says that he does not know either, and they berate him for being a bad roommate. Jung-won points out that he is living with Joon-wan for his sake, not the other way around.

Jung-won offered to move out multiple times, but whenever he suggests leaving, Joon-wan looks disappointed. Ik-joon agrees that Joon-wan gets lonely easily and calls him a softie. Meanwhile, Joon-wan mopes in his office, ignoring his friend’s calls.

Jong-soo hangs out with Rosa and mocks her straw hat, describing her as a scarecrow. She asks if it looks weird, but decides to keep it since it is practical. She changes her mind again, but Jong-soo calls her pretty… as a scarecrow. He chuckles at his own joke, and they head out to tend her garden, singing a silly song along the way. Heh.

Song-hwa and Ik-joon take a stroll, basking in the soft glow of the sunset. She asks about Woo-joo, and he tells her that his son is completely enamored of his girlfriend, who’s also related to Hong-do and Yoon-bok.

Speaking of the medical students, Song-hwa mentions how they resemble their past, and Ik-joon points out that he was smarter than Hong-do. She agrees but calls him lamer as well. When Ik-joon complains, Song-hwa starts to sing and skips away.

Wearing Ik-joon’s jacket, Song-hwa continues screeching out off-tune notes, and he claps once she stops. To his embarrassment, Song-hwa raps as well, and Ik-joon swivels around, ignoring her until she finishes her mini-concert.

After all the bad things that happened, Joon-wan finally gets some good luck when the nurse calls him about a donor for Eun-ji. Though the donor is bigger, they accept the heart since this might be her last chance. Joon-wan heads over to the PICU and tells Eun-ji’s mom the news. He thanks her for waiting this long with them, and she weeps, overcome with emotions.

Seok-min visits Seon-bin in the hospital and hands her a bouquet of flowers. He heard about the incident and comforts her, but she asks if that is all. Apologizing for their earlier argument, Seok-min tells her that he has a complex, and she looks happy to hear him open up.

He informs her that the flowers mean forgiveness, and Seon-bin teases him for showing off his upbringing since his parents own a flower shop. He brags about getting her all the flowers she wants and hugs her.

As Joon-wan goes over the operation with Eun-ji’s parents, he breaks his own code and tells them that he will save their daughter. While the parents wait outside, the mom spots Min-chan’s mom pacing in the hall. As soon as they make eye contact, Min-chan’s mom bawls and congratulates Eun-ji’s mom on finally finding a donor.

Joon-wan looks worse as the days go by, and Ik-joon worries about his friend. While Joon-wan gets up to talk with another doctor, Ik-joon answers a call from Ik-soon. In a shaking voice, she tells him that she is sick, and his expression darkens when he hears about her condition.

He orders her to come home right away and promises to heal her. She agrees to fly back but makes him keep her illness a secret—specifically from Joon-wan. Hearing his friend’s name, Ik-joon turns around and stares at him.

The band plays “Let’s Forget It” by Kim Wan-sun, and during Joon-wan’s solo, it flashes back to his relationship with Ik-soon. However, whenever Joon-wan sings, he skips over the lyrics about forgetting.

The scene switches to the hospital where Jae-hak is on duty in the ICU. He is surprised to see someone visit Kyung-mi, and the nurse tells him that Joon-wan posted a notice about it on his social media account. Amazed by his thoughtfulness, Jae-hak comments on how Joon-wan continues to impress him.

Returning to Seok-hyung’s basement, the band finishes the song. Without taking a break, Joon-wan tells the others to move on to the next one, and they play the show’s closing credits theme.

 
COMMENTS

Most people are probably concerned about Ik-soon’s breakup comment, but here I am, wondering if Ik-joon knew about the two of them dating or not. All the clues from season one as well as in this season hinted at Ik-joon knowing about Joon-wan dating his sister, but that last expression threw me for a loop. I can’t tell if Ik-joon was genuinely surprised by his sister mentioning his friend or if he was simply shocked by her asking him to keep it a secret from Joon-wan as well. Even when he complained about Joon-wan’s girlfriend to Ik-soon, I thought it was possible for him to say those things while being aware of their relationship. It would also make sense for him to suddenly share so much details about his friend’s love life to a third party if he meant it as some roundabout advice. Alas, Ik-joon’s comments may have backfired since his sister took it to mean she was being self-centered and should stop hurting Joon-wan by completely cutting ties with him.

I’m glad the creators added the flashbacks at the end because I was starting to forget why I even liked these two together. It was sad to see their adorable relationship go awry, and while both sides have communication problems, Ik-soon’s decision to break up with Joon-wan because of her illness was the height of miscommunication and noble idiocy. I don’t believe for a second that she fell in love with someone else because it makes absolutely no sense with her character and how the story has progressed so far. Whenever they video called in the past, Ik-soon always seemed cheery and loving towards him. She then stops showing her face to him, and the show reveals that she is sick. Instead of feeling anxious for Ik-soon, this plotline makes me frustrated because the tension between the couple comes across as forced. Ik-soon is trying to make him hate her, but does she really think lying about cheating on him is better than telling him the truth about her health? I wish the show stuck to one main issue with them instead throwing so many problems at once, but I’ll hold onto the hope that they will solve this tangled mess in a meaningful and heartfelt way.

Like the previous episode, the story about the two mothers was well done, and besides the friendship between the main cast, I really think the show shines the brightest when it focuses on the lives of the patients and guardians. There are so many nuances in these portrayals—only made better by the stellar performances from the supporting actors—and it sets the show apart from other medical dramas. The minor characters often have the most impactful scenes because they are the ones directly dealing with hope, loss, and grief. While the hospital staff experience these emotions as well, they have so many patients to watch that it becomes too emotionally draining to invest themselves in every single case. As a result, the audience connects with the patients and their guardians when it comes to specific medical situations, and I love the attention to detail the director and writer put into their characters, both large and small.

Since this is the second season, the show has time to develop some of the characters that didn’t get a chance in the previous one like Seon-bin. While I don’t understand the creators’ decision to limit Chi-hong to just the first season (he could have been so much more than a failed love interest), I’m enjoying the attention spent on our only neurology resident who is turning out to be a fascinating character in her own right. She might have chosen this field because her parents are doctors, but she has a strong sense of responsibility to her profession and patients. As a resident, she struggles with snobby guardians and dismissive superiors who don’t respect her as a doctor. Even when she makes a reasonable assessment, her opinions are ignored by the fellow, and Seon-bin has to find the right balance between being assertive and polite. Song-hwa advises her to fight for her patients, but what she means isn’t for Seon-bin to be argumentative but confident. Seon-bin has worked and studied hard to reach this point in her career, and Song-hwa wants her to trust her judgment more if it’s in the patient’s best interest.

Despite the conflicts and heavy topics this episode, there was also a lot of silly and cute moments. Jae-hak continues being a ray of sunshine, and I adore his relationship with Joon-wan. No matter how prickly his professor acts, Jae-hak knows that he is kind, which is why he clings to him all the time. The social media plotline was also funny, and the heartwarming twist at the end was perfect. The other consistently hilarious character is Ik-joon, and I cannot imagine anyone else in this role besides Jo Jung-seok. His banter with Song-hwa is always a treat, and I’m glad the show emphasizes their friendship over any romantic inklings. The only thing missing from the show is more scenes of all five friends together outside of band practice because I really miss the chaotic energy they bring to the screen when they’re all in the same space.

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