Do it now before it’s too late. There are many words that have yet to be said and things that have yet to be done for many of our characters. There are unspoken words and hidden feelings with many of the relationships and regrets to decisions that were made in the past. Just how will things turn out for our characters who are stuck and uncertain with their situations in the present? For how much longer can they hold things together before everything completely falls apart?
Dinner Mate/Would You Like to Have Dinner Together?: Episode 13 Recap
Jae-hyuk stops by Hae-kyung’s clinic to seek counseling from the psychiatrist himself. Hae-kyung eventually gives in to his reality and accepts the situation for what it is. Jae-hyuk starts off first by stating that his dad never viewed him as his son and his mother wasn’t strong enough to love him. Jae-hyuk only had Do-hee when he had no one else left. That must have been why Do-hee came to meaning so much to him. Hae-kyung attempts to cut the session short by suggesting that he can recommend Jae-hyuk to another doctor. However, Jae-hyuk insists on resuming the session with Jae-hyuk. He’s the only one who can understand him and how much he loves Do-hee.
Jae-hyuk then brings up the incident from the other night. It was the night when Jae-hyuk broke into Do-hee’s apartment and she lied to Hae-kyung that nothing had happened to her. Jae-hyuk makes it clear that he was actually there inside the house, but yet Do-hee still drove Hae-kyung away. Jae-hyuk assumes Do-hee didn’t mention anything to Hae-kyung about that night which throws the psychiatrist off. Jae-hyuk uses the incident as a reason to explain Do-hee’s love for her. He reasons she protected him that night because she loved him. Fed up and irritated, Hae-kyung throws a punch at Jae-hyuk’s face. He ends up dragging the the medical journalist out of the room and out into the front desk area just as Do-hee arrives at the clinic. There’s an awkward silence as Jae-hyuk and Hae-kyung witness Do-hee standing in front of them.
Hae-kyung is shocked to find his girlfriend at his clinic and a part of him wants to say something. However, he struggles to find the words and soon finds himself taking care after a patient who begins to have a panic attack in the lobby. With Hae-kyung temporarily distracted, Do-hee drags Jae-hyuk out of the clinic and with her back inside a taxi cab. She asks for the driver to take them to the police station. OOOOOOH. Gun-woo grows concerned when he fails to get in contact with Jae-hyuk and assumes something must have gone wrong. He learns from Hae-kyung that Do-hee and Jae-hyuk left the clinic together. The psychiatrist himself takes time away from his clinic that day to find the two.
Do-hee and Jae-hyuk are dropped off in front of the police station, but Do-hee breaks down into tears upon arriving. All the pressure and heaviness finally gets to her and she can’t bottle up these emotions any longer. As she sobs, Jae-hyuk quietly watches from behind and is uncertain as to how to react or what to say. After calming down, Do-hee calls Gun-woo and asks for him to meet up with her at the police station. Upon hearing the words police station, So-ra and everyone else at 2N Box become confused. What police station? Gun-woo barely manages to weave his way out of the situation by lying that he’s meeting up with Do-hee at a bar across from the police station. So-ra and Assistant Producer Kim does the same to CEO Nam when she inquires for information on the whereabouts of Do-hee.
No-eul meets with the journalist who’s been following her around at 2N Box and interviewing staff at the company. He’s excited at the thought of the article and the title that will grab people’s attention, but No-eul gives things a second thought. She’s reminded of her conversation with Gun-woo earlier that day in the waiting room. Gun-woo discouraged No-eul from pursuing after Hae-kyung. It doesn’t matter that she loves him; what matters most is that he’s happy and it’s obvious that he’s happy with Do-hee. It seems as if No-eul (nor Jae-hyuk) has any conscience; they don’t care about the happiness of Hae-kyung or Do-hee and only about themselves. He’s fed up and exhausted of No-eul’s efforts to go after Hae-kyung who obviously doesn’t feel the same way about her anymore. No-eul decides that they can wait on the article release for now. Instead, she has something else up her sleeves that will make just as much buzz and maybe even more.
Hae-kyung stops by CEO Nam’s office to update her on the situation with Jae-hyuk and Do-hee. All he knows is that Do-hee showed up to his clinic and dragged Jae-hyuk out with her. He doesn’t reveal any further details on the incident that happened at his clinic with CEO Nam. CEO Nam is certain that Do-hee wouldn’t be hiding Jae-hyuk anywhere. With that, Hae-kyung exits her office and heads back to Do-hee’s place to wait for her in hopes of reuniting.
Gun-woo arrives to find Jae-hyuk and Do-hee apart while near the police station. She admits that she was going to report Jae-hyuk for stalking, but then ultimately decides to give him one last warning. If he ever appears in front of ever again and does something similar, she’ll really report him to the police. With that, Do-hee leaves and Gun-woo is left to take care of Jae-hyuk. Gun-woo updates Hae-kyung that he’s now with Jae-hyuk and that Do-hee has gone her own separate way. While walking around, Do-hee comes across the same overpass where she and Hae-kyung met a few months back. She’s reminded of that specific memory and she feels scared about her situation. She values the present too much, but she can’t seem to erase her past.
Both No-eul and Jae-hyuk aren’t happy with Gun-woo and he can’t seem to comprehend just why neither of them are talking to him. Meanwhile, Hae-kyung receives some counseling from our homeless ahjusshi outside of the convenience store. Hae-kyung feels conflicted about the whole situation with Do-hee and Jae-hyuk. He’s aware that Do-hee lied to him not because she was covering for Jae-hyuk and he claims he understands why she did it, but still, he can’t seem to get over it. He misses Do-hee, but he’s also angry and upset at her at the same time. Hae-kyung’s had too much to drink so he eventually knocks out. Of course, this is also the same time when Do-hee approaches both men so Keanu goes away to give Do-hee some alone with her boyfriend.
As Hae-kyung mutters Do-hee’s name in his drunken sleep, Do-hee observes Hae-kyung and extends her hand towards his head. With teary eyes, she reflects on their relationship, thinking,
“If I took him to a different place other than the place we went to, would things be different now? Or what would be different now if I never shared the traces of my past? If I never shared my rock bottom in the first place, how different would we be now? If he never knew about my past breakups, if he never had to, then would it be okay for me to miss him right now?”
Hae-kyung wakes up the next morning to find both him and Keanu inside of his place. It turns out Keanu took Hae-kyung home the night before after the doctor had fallen drunk. Do-hee herself takes the day off of work to have some time to herself. She sets out to grab some food to make breakfast and encounters Hae-kyung waiting outside her place. The two have breakfast together after Do-hee prepares some food that she cooked and microwaved herself. She brings up Jae-hyuk’s name which Hae-kyung brushes off. He already learned about everything due to Gun-woo so it’s okay. She doesn’t need to say or explain anything. However, Do-hee doesn’t want to just keep sweeping things under the rug. It’s not okay for Hae-kyung doesn’t deserve a messy relationship like this. Do-hee admits that she doesn’t feel comfortable eating with Hae-kyung. She regrets getting into a relationship with him and wishes they had just remained dinner mates who didn’t know each other’s names. Do-hee’s not so sure she can keep eating with Hae-kyung.
CEO Nam catches Keanu in front of the convenience store right at 8AM sharp. She can tell that Keanu’s suffering from a hangover. Keanu merely just explains that Hae-kyung visited the night before. He also reveals that he and Hae-kyung went to medical school together; Hae-kyung is his hoobae not from high school but from college. CEO Nam is surprised at the news, but she doesn’t want to learn more. As long as Keanu is not a psychiatrist, then she’s okay with anything. *nervous laughter*
No-eul hosts another live stream at 2N Box, but it’s obvious she’s acting and behaving oddly. Back at Do-hee’s place, she sits alone at her dining table after Hae-kyung leaves (sooo sad!). Hae-kyung receives a phone call from Gun-woo shortly afterwards who asks about Jae-hyuk. Gun-woo needs to step out so he’s not quite sure if it’ll be safe to leave Jae-hyuk alone. He hasn’t been budging at all since the night before. But rest assured, Keanu is sent to Gun-woo’s place to take care of Jae-hyuk.
Byung-jin warns Hae-kyung about all the media attention the clinic is gaining due to a video of Hae-kyung dragging Jae-hyuk out that has surfaced. A journalist was inside of the clinic at that moment and was recording the altercation between the two men. However, Hae-kyung has something else he’s more worried about at the moment: Do-hee. He can’t seem to get out of his head the moment when Do-hee revealed that she felt uncomfortable eating with him. Hae-kyung feels even more regretful since he was the one who proposed that rule in the first place.
With Do-hee gone for the day, Assistant Producer Kim is given the opportunity to host one of Do-hee’s shows that day. Woo hoo! Speaking of Do-hee, she takes some time to visit her mom. She stops by and the two drink some beer that morning and catch up. Do-hee first inquires about Mom’s divorce with Dad to which Mom answers that she’s done with Dad. Everything is over between them. Mom then goes on to share about her counseling appointment with Hae-kyung from the week before. Do-hee connects the dots and she realizes that Hae-kyung had shared a story about mom with her last week during one of their dates. Do-hee is in disbelief at the revelation. It’s too good to be true.
Hae-kyung has a follow-up session with the same man who had trouble registering his marriage because of his history with receiving mental treatments from Hae-kyung. The man and his wife has returned to the clinic and are now happily married. They also bring some Vietnamese food to share with Hae-kyung and Byung-jin to highlight one of the many wonderful things about their marriage. The husband hopes food will be a healing aspect to their marriage and that they won’t ever have to worry about food. Hae-kyung grows sad at the sight of the food and he’s reminded once again about Do-hee’s comment. He chokes up while munching on one of the Vietnamese spring rolls that the couple brought with them to the session T___T
Back at the studio, Assistant Producer Kim takes the lead in a livestream show that was originally Do-hee’s show. CEO Nam and So-ra are also there to watch the show and they’re not so excited at the topic of the live stream: smelly food. Ahhhh. Hae-kyung wraps up his counseling session with the international couple successfully. Meanwhile, Jae-hyuk finally wakes up only to find Keanu accompanying him. After encouraging Jae-hyuk to get some food inside of his system, Keanu brings up the incident at the clinic. Jae-hyuk is determined in expressing his love for Do-hee. He’s adamant that he loves Do-hee and that loving her is not an illness to which Keanu describes Jae-hyuk’s love for Do-hee as poison. It’s toxic and poisonous and it created a poison inside of Jae-hyuk.
But maybe with some counselings and treatments, Jae-hyuk can get better, right? He reiterates that he loves Do-hee and that his intentions were never to hurt her. While Jae-hyuk sobs on his knees in front of Keanu, Keanu sits quietly and reminds Jae-hyuk that the both of them shouldn’t live this way anymore. Do-hee heads out with Mom to an arcade to blow off some steam and to get some fresh air. So-ra and CEO Nam also appear at the arcade to reunite with the mother-daughter pair. They sure do take after each other.
No-eul finally decides to cut ties with Hae-kyung. She stops by his clinic to communicate to him on how she plans on letting him go. She mentions how she saw him return to the retreat site back during their staff trip and the scene of Hae-kyung kissing Do-hee. Ever since then, No-eul knew that it was completely over and that there wouldn’t be any point in chasing after Hae-kyung any longer. She bids farewell with Hae-kyung and walks out of his clinic. It doesn’t take long for her to break down into tears and cry afterwards. She’s finally learning to let go of Hae-kyung (ABOUT TIME!).
Do-hee returns back to her place to find Hae-kyung waiting nearby. She ignores him and walks past him at first, but stops upon hearing Hae-kyung speak a few words. He doesn’t say much other than that he vows he’ll make her comfortable eating with him again. Things will slowly but surely return to like how they used to be. With that, he walks back to his car. The next morning, Do-hee asks CEO Nam for three days off of work. She needs the time to herself, such as to clean her messy bedroom up. So Do-hee gets to it and starts cleaning up her bedroom. Haha.
It’s time for Hae-kyung’s Mom’s surgery. Minutes before her operation, she inquires Hae-kyung on the whereabouts of Do-hee. He didn’t bring her with him to visit. Hae-kyung lies that she’s been busy which Mom could tell right away is a lie. There must be something wrong. Regardless, Mom encourages Hae-kyung to stay with Do-hee and to keep her by his side or else he’s going to regret it. With that, it’s time for the operation to begin. Mom has something pressing she wants to tell Hae-kyung, but Hae-kyung assumes that the news can wait after her surgery. Mom heads in for surgery while Hae-kyung and Byung-jin anxiously wait outside. While waiting, a nurse stops by to deliver a letter that Mom had written for Hae-kyung prior to her surgery. The letter consists of Mom’s honest thoughts about Hae-kyung and how she regrets forgetting to spend time with Hae-kyung who was the most important person to her. So just in case she is to pass away, there’s one thing she wants to say to him: she loves him. Hae-kyung is the most important person to her.
Gun-woo stops by his house to check in with Jae-hyuk. He steps out to grab both the both of them some coffee. Back at the hospital, Jae-hyuk and Byung-jin finally receive updates regarding Mom’s surgery. The surgery team steps out and the atmosphere immediately darkens. It’s not looking too great. The surgeon delivers unfortunate news to Hae-kyung; Mom didn’t make it. Time seems to have stopped for Hae-kyung and he freezes upon hearing the news. The shock is too much for him and he has trouble comprehending that his mother passed. It takes him a few seconds for him to begin processing his emotions and feelings and he breaks down into tears at the hospital. Meanwhile, Gun-woo returns with some coffee and cookies only to find Jae-hyuk gone. He’s no longer at his house. The same goes for Do-hee who also isn’t present at her apartment.
Extra screenshots from the episode~
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