The competition between Yi-hyun and Kim Geum to impress Ok-nam deepens, causing Kim Geum to worry and stress out now that he has someone else who is also in love with Ok-nam. Kim Geum’s feelings are put to the test in this episode when he has to learn to confront the challenging situation.
Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter: Episode 8 Recap
Yi-hyun visits Ok-nam’s house early in the morning to confess to her: he’s not sure if he’s her reincarnated husband she’s been searching for, but he is certain that he’s beginning to like her. The intense moment is interrupted by Jeom-soon who wakes up to the chatter. Yi-hyun freaks out when he glances at Jeom-soon with whiskers on her face. He is eventually invited into the house and introduced to Jeom-soon as Professor Yi-hyun. He also learns that Jeom-soon has been reincarnated five times and her fifth time is that of a tiger.
Once Yi-hyun leaves to use the restroom, Ok-nam scolds Jeom-soon for appearing with whiskers on her face. She must have been dreaming of something racy. Moreover, Ok-nam encourages Jeom-soon to go outside and spend time outside in the sunny weather. However, Jeom-soon plans on staying inside for the day so Ok-nam is forced to go outside if she wants to spend more time with Yi-hyun.
Back at the apartment, Kim Geum gets ready and prepares to visit Ok-nam. However, when he arrives to the house, he learns that Ok-nam isn’t home. Instead, she’s out at a restaurant with Yi-hyun for breakfast. The two each order their own bowl of boiled chicken, but while Yi-hyun digs in to the food, Ok-nam hesitates to eat. She finds the bowl of chicken too big of a portion for her to eat alone. Of course, this was because she would share a similar size chicken with her entire family 699 years ago. Ok-nam then notices Yi-hyun’s strange eating habit with the chicken. He shares that he eats the neck of the chicken first after developing it as a habit because of Kim Geum. To allow Kim Geum to taste other delicious parts of the chicken, Yi-hyun would volunteer to eat the neck first.
Kim Geum manages to reach Ok-nam via phone thanks to Professor Park who lends Kim Geum his phone. Kim Geum joins Yi-hyun and Ok-nam at the restaurant and also orders his own bowl of chicken. While Ok-nam leaves to use the restroom, Yi-hyun reveals to Kim Geum the honest truth: he likes Ok-nam as well and wants to also spend time with her just like how Kim Geum did with Ok-nam. Kim Geum reacts in shock and struggles to process the information.
Once the three finish eating, they exit the restaurant together. An odd encounter with a stranger motivates Ok-nam to suggest they participate in another activity that won’t involve being outside. With that in mind, Kim Geum recommends they try out an escape room (I love escape rooms!). Back at the sea, Wizard Park and Teacher Gu devise their escape plan. They can maybe just use another magic bean to escape and return back in time, but Wizard Park warns that using the bean could also be dangerous. Teacher Gu grabs some of the beans hidden in Wizard Park’s pocket, but he’s unable to read the writing on them. Wizard Park is unable to read the writing either since they’re in Chinese. Lol. So much for wanting to escape.
Speaking of escaping, Yi-hyun, Ok-nam, and Kim Geum attempt to accomplish their first mission in order to escape the room. They’re faced with the challenge of weaving in and out of lasers to move onto the next round. While both guys struggle to complete the mission, Ok-nam passes through the mission on her first attempt. Hahaha! I’m loving it. In the next mission, they are to unlock the code to the door to get into the next room.
Ok-nam is able to determine the lock-code to the door not because she knew what the answer to the historical question was, but because she communicated with the plant resting next to the door. Of course, our two guys are impressed and assumed Ok-nam’s 699 years of living helped her answer the historical question. Lol. In the next room, the three are surrounded by what seems to be a church-affiliated room. There are crosses hung around the room as well as the Bible resting on a table.
Upon seeing the items, Yi-hyun begins to panic and suddenly recalls memories of his mother back at the church. The horrific memory eventually causes Yi-hyun to faint and fall onto the ground. While Ok-nam looks after Yi-hyun, Kim Geum attempts to break open the door and to contact the employees using the phone they gave them. However, it doesn’t work and Kim Geum’s hand bleeds as a result of trying to bust the door open. Though Kim Geum does his best to get the door to open, he also can’t help but notice just how well Ok-nam is taking care of Yi-hyun.
The three eventually manage to get out of the escape room and they take Yi-hyun back home to rest on his bed. Kim Geum volunteers to walk Ok-nam back home, but she declines his offer. He should stay behind to watch after Yi-hyun since he’s sick. It seems like the room caused painful memories to trigger for him which could explain for his reaction. Ok-nam also reminds Kim Geum to treat his injured hand.
After bidding farewell with Ok-nam, Kim Geum returns to the house to check up on Yi-hyun. He returns to his room afterwards and recalls the moment back at the escape room of Ok-nam embracing a fallen Yi-hyun. He stares at the lotus flower Ok-nam gave him in his room to cheer himself up.
Back at the boat, Fairy Oh takes a glance at the magic beans to read the words imprinted on each bean. She doesn’t reveal to Teacher Gu or Wizard Park what the words mean. It doesn’t matter anyways since she’s aware of how she feels about the mortal realm. She actually doesn’t mind staying a little longer since there’s someone she’s in love with. Both Teacher Gu and Wizard Park assumes it must be either one of them, but Fairy Oh denies the assumptions. She also can’t seem to find her winged clothes from her ex-husband who she had assumed hid them. Fairy Oh suggests Wizard Park and Teacher Gu both meet her the next day at the hour of the dog if they wish to escape the boat safely.
Yi-hyun eventually wakes up and joins Kim Geum and his mother at the kitchen. While Mom occupies herself with cooking and singing, Yi-hyun treats Kim Geum’s injured hand in the bathroom. Kim Geum lies that he injured his hand after trying to enter the front door of the house. Of course, he got it as a result of the escape room. Kim Geum questions Yi-hyun about the escape room incident, but Yi-hyun is more curious about Ok-nam. Kim Geum reveals that Ok-nam was deeply worried about Yi-hyun when he fainted.
Speaking of Ok-nam, the two guys reunite with her on the school campus right at that moment. Kim Geum grows jealous watching Ok-nam hand Yi-hyun some coffee she made for him so he leaves the two alone. He gets some fresh air by himself, but it’s obvious he still yearns for Ok-nam. Meanwhile, Yi-hyun and Ok-nam talk with each other at a bench on the school campus. Since Ok-nam shares with Yi-hyun how she was able to unlock the code to their second mission at the escape room (she cheated by asking the plants), Yi-hyun shares with Ok-nam about his recurring nightmare.
It’s always the same dream where he’s locked up inside of a shed and looks outside through a crack. He’s starved to death and can only see crows waiting outside for him to die. Ok-nam comments that maybe the nightmare is a memory from his past life that he once experienced. Yi-hyun doesn’t add any more details about the nightmare since it’s a little too much for him to be revealing at the moment. However, Ok-nam makes it clear to Yi-hyun that he can tell her everything if he ever chooses to do so; she’ll be there to listen to him. Yi-hyun responds that he wishes he was the one she was waiting for.
To make it up to Ok-nam for the escape room incident, Yi-hyun offers to treat Ok-nam out for dinner. She at first volunteers to cook them dinner, but Yi-hyun is adamant in cooking her food. He also shows her the crane t-shirt that she had embroidered for him a while back. Yi-hyun proudly sports the t-shirt to Ok-nam to prove that he likes her and the t-shirt. Yi-hyun asks Ok-nam for one more thing: he wants his own lotus leaf flower. Aww. They’re toooo cute!
Lab-mates Jung-min and Gyeong-sik gossip about the rumors they heard about Doctor Lee and Kim Geum. They quiet down when Kim Geum enters the lab in a sullen and dejected mood. They assume it must be related to dating issues. Kim Geum doesn’t say much and answers his mother’s phone call asking about Doctor Lee.
Mom visits Doctor Lee to lend her her support. It’s obvious Doctor Lee likes Yi-hyun so Mom has come up with the perfect plan to help Doctor Lee win Yi-hyun’s heart. Mom suggests Doctor Lee cook some seaweed soup for Yi-hyun since he didn’t get the chance to eat it for his birthday yet. Once the night darkens, Mom will move to Kim Geum’s room and leave both Doctor Lee and Yi-hyun alone with each other. Doctor Lee is grateful for Mom and her quick thinking. LOL.
Jeom-soon gets ready to meet up with Gyeong-sul for some quick plans so she won’t be able to join Yi-hyun and Ok-nam for dinner. As she heads to the place where they agreed to meet, Gyeong-sul stops by the coffee shop to grab some coffee. He reveals to Bong-dae that he’s getting busier since he now has a girlfriend so he won’t have as much time to play video games with her. Bong-dae grows jealous and envious of his girlfriend.
Gyeong-sul meets with Jeom-soon after getting some coffee. He shares his coffee with Jeom-soon and notes that he got it from the coffee shop where Ok-nam works. However, instead of finding an old woman working there, he only witnesses Bong-dae at the coffee shop. Jeom-soon quickly changes the subject and suggests they hurry with their plans. Gyeong-sul grabs Jeom-soon’s hands to hold, but she flinches in nervousness. Jeom-soon wasn’t expecting Gyeong-sul to touch her hand.
Kim Geum continues to think about Ok-nam. He grows doubtful about his feelings for her after realizing just how much she seems to care for Yi-hyun. Ok-nam prepares for her dinner date with Yi-hyun. As he cooks at his house for their dinner, she pulls out the pouch that she found hung outside of her house 699 years ago. Upon discovering the pouch, the same deer who we saw notify husband Bausae about the fairies bathing in the waterfall visits Ok-nam and warns her to be careful of her husband. The deer leaves without saying anything further. Ok-nam hasn’t forgotten about this encounter ever since.
Doctor Lee moves forward with her plans in securing Yi-hyun’s heart. She’s cooked him some food and has arrived in front of his house. She calls Kim Geum’s Mom to solidify their plans, but Mom has already left the house. She’s at a sauna relaxing. Lol. Since Mom is unavailable to help her with her plan, Doctor Lee seeks Kim Geum’s assistance and support. She fills him in on her plans and asks for him to stay out late at the lab that night. Kim Geum reluctantly agrees.
Our trio act out their plans to escape. Fairy Oh finally understands what her special powers and abilities are. She also reveals who it is that she loves. Just as Wizard Park is attacked by Fairy Oh’s ex-husband in search of the magic beans, Fairy Oh now knows that her special power is to love. Speaking of love, she’s in love with Wizard Park. She punches her ex-husband in the face and then throws the magic bean in the air. Their original goal to reunite with Ok-nam is reignited thanks to the magic bean.
Ok-nam communicates with the lotus flower she plans on giving to Yi-hyun as a gift. She hopes the lotus flower will take good care of Yi-hyun. With that, Ok-nam makes her way to Yi-hyun’s house. On the way there, she encounters Kim Geum and excitedly greets him. However, Kim Geum isn’t as excited or elated; he speaks the honest words that’s been on his mind and questions Ok-nam’s decisions.
Is Yi-hyun really the person she had been waiting for? He might not even be her reincarnated husband. Kim Geum tugs at Ok-nam’s dress to prevent her from entering the apartment. Ok-nam stares at Kim Geum in confusion and shock.
My Thoughts:
GAAAAAAAAH, the angst. The drama. The pain. The misery. I love it, but I also hate it. I feel so so so conflicted and I’m especially bummed out. This episode gave away two crucial hints that sort of explained who is the one with the higher potential to be the reincarnated husband. That could explain for why my heart is hurting like how Kim Geum’s heart was hurting in this episode.
During Yi-hyun and Ok-nam’s conversation out on the bench, Yi-hyun commented that he wished he was the one who Ok-nam was waiting for. He said that he wished he was the one she was waiting for. Then at the end of the episode, Kim Geum notes that Yi-hyun might not even be the one who Ok-nam is waiting for and that it could be someone else (aka him). Maybe I’m just overreacting to things or being overdramatic, but I counted this as the two most crucial hints (so far) that tell us who is the reincarnated husband. Of course, this doesn’t totally solidify everything and we’re still not entirely sure who is the reincarnated husband, but it does give Kim Geum a higher chance of being the husband. It seems as if Yi-hyun is already aware that he’s not the husband since he hinted that he’s not the one Ok-nam’s waiting for. How did he reach this conclusion? Does he actually know he’s not her reincarnated husband? Maybe he was the deer who informed her to be careful of her pouch as well as the deer who met up with her husband Bausae in the woods? I just can’t seem to wrap my head around that specific phrase that Yi-hyun voiced to Ok-nam. It’s like this never-ending phrase that I keep repeating in my head. Maybe Yi-hyun isn’t the one who Ok-nam is waiting for. Maybe the one she’s waiting for is Kim Geum.
This possibility is what breaks my heart because I love Yi-hyun with Ok-nam (if you haven’t already noticed, I’m all for Yi-hyun and Ok-nam so I won’t comment as much about Kim Geum and Ok-nam’s moments with each other). Their short but meaningful conversation with each other on the bench was definitely the highlight of the episode for many reasons. First being that they finally were able to talk comfortably with each other and even joke around about small things like the crane t-shirt. Not only that, Yi-hyun opened up to Ok-nam about his nightmare which means that he’s slowly warming up to her. It takes a while for someone reserved like Yi-hyun to talk about his past or his experiences with anyone; we’ve seen him only share such things with Doctor Lee (who’s also his doctor) and minor details to Kim Geum (his roommate) – people he are close to and have known for a while. In an effort to get closer to Ok-nam and to learn more about her, he’s taking the step in sharing more about himself which I find beautiful. Additionally, his request in also wanting a lotus flower so that he can be reminded of her at all times plus inviting her over for dinner proves just how genuine he feels about Ok-nam. Yi-hyun feels jealous of Kim Geum and it’s obvious the two are engaged in a sort of rivalry to win over her, but this competition only stems as a result of having genuine feelings for Ok-nam. Yi-hyun doesn’t want to lose Ok-nam to Kim Geum or in general so he’s doing all that he can to impress her. Of course, it’s easier for him since Ok-nam believes Yi-hyun is her reincarnated husband.
However, Yi-hyun does also have competition since Ok-nam is starting to care for Ok-nam as well. She might not feel the same way about him as she does towards Yi-hyun or might not care about him as much, but it’s obvious that he’s also someone important to her. Ok-nam has her own reasons in appreciating Kim Geum and keeping him around so I can see the competition getting tougher in the future. I think it’s going to take a while for Ok-nam to eventually come around and realize that maybe Yi-hyun is not the only contender as her reincarnated husband and that maybe Kim Geum too is a potential contender.
I feel bad for not being as interested or engaged in our trio’s adventure as it’s obvious just how much the drama wants us to care about them. They receive an ample amount of screentime in each episode multiple times so that you never forget about them. While I want to be more intrigued with their journey in finding Ok-nam (and was for a short bit when Fairy Oh reunited with her ex-husband), I can’t bring myself to enjoy their plot as much. It feels so much more filler than anything and I know that they weren’t going to reunite with Ok-nam right away in Seoul, but it also feels wasteful to see them do other things instead.
I’m trying to prepare myself for the heart-breaking ending where Yi-hyun doesn’t end up as Ok-nam’s husband. After snooping through comments here and there, some people are claiming that Kim Geum is the reincarnated husband instead. This scares me tremendously since I really am holding out some hope that Yi-hyun is the end-game, but I’m already dreading the ending to the drama where he probably won’t be. No matter how much I hold on, I know doing so will only make things worse. Maybe I can save myself of my time and emotions by the end of the drama with some magic beans that Wizard Park possesses. Surely, he can spare some and share them with me right?
Bonus: Extra screenshots from the episode~
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