MaryMeKpop

Soo-ho is finally in touch with his emotions after a few interactions with Ji-hyun while Min-seok finds him even more distant from his girlfriend of six years and seeks new beginnings. Each of our characters are stuck in time and wants to so desperately begin anew. But how successful will they be when they’re all involved and surrounded by the same issue that’s keeping them all connected and holding them all back?

Time (시간): Episode 3 Recap

Soo-ho rescues an exhausted and hopeless Ji-hyun from a busy street full of cars and they move towards safety. However, Soo-ho doesn’t leave Ji-hyun alone and she questions why he’s following her. Is it because of the $10,000 that she owes him? At first, Soo-ho denies that’s the reason he’s following her, but then he quickly changes his mind. Yes, he wants his $10,000 back. They also have to sign a memorandum to officialize everything. So the two head to Soo-ho’s place to create and sign a memorandum.

Soo-chul is minutes away from announcing to the nation the doings of Soo-ho. He prepares for the press conference and gets ready to make the announcement, but he’s stopped by Min-seok and Chae-Ah. She threatens to reveal the shady business activities he’s committed under his dad’s company, but he isn’t afraid. If he’s going down, they’re all going down together. He rushes for Soo-ho to hurry to the location of the press conference.

So Soo-ho stops by the press conference, leaving Ji-hyun and assistant Bok-gyu in the car outside. Once he enters, he walks straight to Soo-chul and gets right to business. Soo-chul wants half of Soo-ho’s company shares. Soo-ho agrees to his brother’s demands and prepares to leave, but Soo-chul has more plans to embarrass Soo-ho. He wants Soo-ho to tie and clean his shoes. Soo-ho is unable to comply to this demand though and he grows angry. Soo-chul reminds Soo-ho that he has the power to end Soo-ho’s life, possibly making him end up like his mom. The comment causes Soo-ho to grow enraged and he’s had enough. He stands up on the podium and gets ready to reveal to all the reporters about the incident.

However, Soo-ho immediately stutters and stops upon observing Ji-hyun enter the building. She stares at him confused as to why he’s standing on the podium ready to make an announcement. Soo-ho can’t bring himself to reveal the truth though and before he can say anything, Soo-chul grabs him and punches him in the face. All the reporters swarm towards the two brothers while Min-seok looks after a fallen Chae-Ah. They leave the building together in front of Ji-hyun and he rushes her to safety. Soo-chul and Soo-ho stop fighting and Soo-ho heads back inside his car to W Department store where Ji-hyun is waits for him. Forget about the company shares, he and his brother are equal now.

When Soo-ho arrives at the department store, he finds Ji-hyun sitting by herself. She’s injured so Soo-ho uses a handkerchief to treat her injury. They leave the department store afterwards together.

Meanwhile, Soo-chul, Dae-chul, and Min-seok are reprimanded by Soo-ho’s dad for the press conference incident. He warns Soo-chul to be more careful next time or else he’ll get kicked out of the company with no company shares at all.

Min-seok stops by a convenience store to eat some ramen noodles when he receives two phone calls. The first one is from his mom who wishes for Min-seok to visit her and his dad. The second phone call is from Chae-Ah who wants to take him to go somewhere.

Ji-hyun and Soo-ho fill their stomachs at his restaurant. She’s a little timid and shy at first and doesn’t eat much of the food, but it isn’t until he threatens to have his chef cook all the meals again that she begins to stuff her stomach. Now that she’s eating, she thanks him for accompanying her the entire day. It would have been lonely had he not been with her. She clarifies her comment afterwards to not start any misunderstandings, but Soo-ho doesn’t want to hear it. They continue eating.

Chae-Ah takes Min-seok to the club with her. As she’s dancing and partying, he sits down with a drink and watches her from afar. It’s a little too much for him and he exits the club, but she chases after him. Chae-Ah doesn’t have any friends to party with so she wants him to stay with her as her friend.

After eating, Soo-ho takes Ji-hyun inside and gives her some time to rest. She’s a little confused about the timing of everything and refuses to rest, but he demands she sleeps a little. While he leaves her behind on the couch, he thanks his staff members for their work and then orders Bok-gyu to write up the contract.

At the club, Chae-Ah and Min-seok discuss about their relationship with each other. Since the two are single, they could be with each other instead. However, Min-seok isn’t opened to the idea and he rather just be friends. Chae-Ah is a little heart-broken over how careless and indifferent Soo-ho is towards her. She was worried about him and tried to protect him from being falsely accused. Min-seok advises that she no longer sacrifice herself for him as it’s not worth it. If Soo-ho isn’t worth her time, then Min-seok should be the one worthy of her time.

Min-seok safely transports Chae-Ah to a hotel room. Before leaving, he expresses his wish for her to find someone who cares for her. He’s unable to be more than a friend to her.

When Soo-ho returns to the lobby, he finds an exhausted Ji-hyun asleep on the couch. He’s about to cover her with a blanket, but he stops after questioning himself. He lays on the couch not too far from her and also takes a rest.

The next morning, Soo-ho panics when Ji-hyun is no where to be found. However, she’s just in the restaurant along with Bok-gyu reading over the contract. She presents the final version to him and vows to pay Soo-ho $400 every month for the next 25 months to make up for the $10,000 that her mom had borrowed. Soo-ho is content with the contract and agrees to it. He also demands that she reveal to him her whereabouts whenever he asks just so he knows she hasn’t run away. Ji-hyun then leaves afterwards to file a missing person’s report for her mom. It’s going to take a few days for the application to be processed.

Life doesn’t stop for anyone, including Ji-hyun. She returns to work at the W Department store just after a few days. In a short break with Young-hee, Ji-hyun expresses her disbelief at all the events happening in her life. Her mom’s disappeared, her younger sister has passed, and Min-seok is no where present in her life. It all just seems like a dream to her.

Bok-gyu who had been following Ji-hyun around informs Soo-ho of Ji-hyun’s difficult and depressing situation. She’s having a hard time and so is he. Along with her sister’s death and mom’s disappearance, Ji-hyun still has debt to pay off to Tae-sung. Soo-ho takes care of the situation though and pays off the $10,000 that Ji-hyun’s mom owed Tae-sung. He’ll pay her more for more information on Ji-hyun’s mom’s whereabouts.

In a meeting with Soo-ho, Min-seok warns Soo-ho not to interact with Ji-hyun any longer. It’ll only cause more trouble that Min-seok might not be able to cover up and hide. Soo-ho remains careless though and will do what he wants.

Chae-Ah stops by Soo-ho’s restaurant. She greets Min-seok who too has entered the restaurant alongside Soo-ho. She excitedly confirms their friendship in front of Soo-ho, but Soo-ho’s more entertained than jealous. He assumes that Chae-Ah will just treat Min-seok like a slave which upsets her.

Chae-Ah and Soo-ho head to another restaurant to have a meeting about their marriage. He reveals to her that someone died on the night that he had called her over to his hotel room and that he might have killed her himself, but he’s not too sure. In response, Chae-Ah adds that she already knew which is why she tried to stop him at the press conference. The two reach a consensus about their upcoming wedding. They’ll get married after a year. Soo-ho needs some time to do all the things he wants to do and he still has some stuff to take care of. But after a year, they’ll get married and have the most amazing wedding ever. Until then, Chae-Ah will have to wait.

Ji-hyun encounters Min-seok on the way out of her apartment complex. On the way to the detention center where her mom is located, Ji-hyun grows upset with Min-seok. Why didn’t he visit her at the funeral house? Why wasn’t he there for her when Ji-eun had passed away? Ji-hyun was so lonely, vulnerable, and depressed and he wasn’t there to support her. Min-seok makes excuses for his behavior, but Ji-hyun doesn’t buy any of it.

When they arrive at the detention center, Min-seok explains the rest of the situation to Ji-hyun. Her mom had been arrested for fraud. However, she’ll be released soon and Ji-hyun and Mom can finally return to their house which is finally theirs again. Someone had paid Tae-sung back the amount they owed so they have what is rightfully theirs. Before leaving, Min-seok breaks up with Ji-hyun. He can’t even bring himself to tell her when he had thoughts of breaking up and instead drives away. In the midst of all this is Soo-ho sitting in his car observing the two not too far away.

Mom is finally released and reunites with Ji-hyun. To cheer the both of them up, she suggests they contact Ji-eun and all go grab some buckwheat noodles together. Ji-hyun breaks the news to Mom and they go visit the memorial site where Ji-eun’s ashes rest. Mom breaks down into tears.

Soo-ho confronts Min-seok on his doings. How could Min-seok even think of betraying his girlfriend and hiding the truth about her sister’s death to her? Min-seok justifies his actions and claims that he was only trying to protect Soo-ho. Plus, he didn’t want to see Ji-hyun waste the rest of her life solving the mystery behind her sister’s passing. The two guys warn the other to stay away from Ji-hyun and to leave her alone. They’re both clearly not good for her.

Mom is angry at the detectives who was responsible in investigating Ji-eun’s death. How could they conclude the investigation in only two days? How could Ji-hyun move forward with the funeral? Ji-hyun cries in frustration and expresses how uncertain and lonely she was at the time. Plus, Ji-eun was working her part-time gig at clubs and bars to make up for the money that Mom had lost. Mom walks away from Ji-hyun and out the police station.

Tae-sung threatens Ji-eun’s supervisor to reveal hidden details which he didn’t tell him about Ji-hyun’s mom and Soo-ho. Why did Soo-ho pay off Ji-hyun’s mom’s debt? The supervisor finally discloses that it was Min-seok’s idea to have Soo-ho pay Tae-sung back. Doing so would make everyone believe Ji-eun’s death was a suicide. When Tae-sung himself is confronted by Mom, he reminds her again of her daughter’s death. What’s not important was the fact that she was working at clubs and bars, but that she’s dead. She’s no longer alive.

Meanwhile, Ji-hyun cooks some cream spaghetti that Ji-eun would often pester Ji-hyun to make with her. In the past, Ji-hyun refused to cook the dish for her sister, but on this day, she cooks the spaghetti over and over again until she’s satisfied with the taste of the spaghetti.

Soo-ho relaxes with his pet turtle in his room when he overhears a drunk and loud Ji-hyun screaming outside for him in the restaurant. When he heads down to where she is, she hands him the plate of cream spaghetti in his hands and shouts foolish nonsense to him.

After a few seconds of pacing back and forth, Ji-hyun finally reveals the reason for her appearance at Soo-ho’s restaurant. Her sister’s dead and she wants Soo-ho to help her discover the truth behind the death. Soo-ho stands frozen in shock and perplexity, uncertain as to how to respond or what to think.

My Thoughts:

OHHHH ho ho, this is the biggest dilemma Soo-ho has faced yet (other than the news about suffering from cancer). He played a role in the death of Ji-hyun’s death and hid this one detail from Ji-hyun who he’s clearly looking after, but now is confronted with the decision of whether to sacrifice himself to help Ji-hyun or abandon Ji-hyun like everyone else did to protect himself. We knew this conflict was going to arrive sooner or later and I’m surprised at how quickly it came around in this drama. It doesn’t help that Soo-ho’s already been doing quite a lot for Ji-hyun because he pities her and understands well what she’s going through and how she’s feeling. A part of it is also done out of pity because he played a role in Ji-eun’s death somehow despite not knowing exactly how. It’ll be so interesting to watch Soo-ho struggle between helping and supporting Ji-hyun because he cares for her and empathizes with her to lying to Ji-hyun to protect himself and his family.

I’m glad that someone confronted Min-seok on his evil act of betrayal to Ji-hyun because it was about time. He himself felt some kind of remorse and pity, but he clearly still went through with the plans despite knowing that it was bad. It’s a good thing he set boundaries with Ji-hyun and broke up with her. He doesn’t deserve her and after all that he didn’t do for her as her boyfriend, he doesn’t deserve to be with her or anyone else for that matter (maybe Chae-Ah but that’s another story).

After re-watching this episode more closely, I’m convinced that Chae-Ah does have feelings for Soo-ho to some extent. She felt isolated and lonely in her business relationship with him so she tried to use Min-seok to fill in that gap in her heart that was reserved for Soo-ho. The hardest part for her is 1) having to pretend that she and Soo-ho are just in a business/professional relationship for the sake of their respective family businesses 2) developing feelings for Soo-ho that will probably never be reciprocated and that she knows she shouldn’t have developed. Chae-Ah saved Soo-ho while also saving herself from damage and destruction and the two are tied to each other to save their families. They don’t have anything more than a false relationship, but yet Chae-Ah wishes it was real and genuine.

I’m glad that Mom is finally back in the drama and given some time to connect with Ji-hyun. Her reaction upon discovering about Ji-eun’s death was absolutely heart-breaking. She didn’t even have the time to bid her daughter farewell during the funeral service. What’s even more depressing was watching Mom question the work behind the investigation and wondering why it only lasted two short days. There are so many questions with little to no answers and it’s going to be difficult for both her and Ji-hyun to find those answers on their own.

Soo-ho and Soo-chul are always fighting each other I almost cannot wait for the day (if it happens) where Soo-chul is thrown out of the company without any shares and Soo-ho inherits the company. It’s unlikely that this will happen anytime soon and Soo-ho probably won’t even able to keep the company with the deadline to his life coming up, but still, it’d be great to see Soo-chul learn his lesson for once (because clearly once or twice wasn’t enough).

There were quite a few comedic moments in this episode which was such a huge but pleasant surprise to me. Soo-ho’s tsundere and aloof personality where he would make excuses and pretend like he didn’t care about Ji-hyun was so funny to watch. What makes it even funnier is knowing how serious and melodramatic this drama is, but watching all these comedic relief be inserted into the episode. Watching this side of Soo-ho kind of reminded me of Kim Jung-hyun’s character as Tae-woon in School 2017 where he acted similarly. It just once again reminds me of how versatile and talented of an actor Kim Jung-hyun is and that yes, he does indeed have great comedic timing (as if School 2017 and Waikiki didn’t already prove that to us).

Watching Soo-ho ask for one more year until his marriage with Chae-Ah was absolutely heart-breaking. It is true that within that year, he’ll fulfill all the many things he hasn’t been able to do yet or still needs to take care of, but not because he’s preparing himself for the wedding. It’s because he’ll be preparing himself for his death and when that time comes, there will no longer be a wedding. We’re constantly reminded of his death and it just makes you question how he intends to spend the next few months of his life. Will he sacrifice himself and help Ji-hyun uncover the truth since he doesn’t have that much time left to live anyways or will he spend the last few months of his life doing things for himself? This is the true question and the one question that the drama will hopefully explore the rest of the way.