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It’s a new beginning for Yeon-soo and Choi Woong. It’s a new world that they’re also quite familiar with. They’ve been through this before, but it also feels a bit different from last time. They’ve learned from their mistakes and want to be better this time. But how long can they go for before their past eventually comes back to haunt them?

Our Beloved Summer Episode 13: Love Actually

Choi Woong reflects on what it’s been like now that he and Yeon-soo are starting a whole new chapter again. It’s like a different world for him. She aids him in returning to a normal sleeping schedule where he sleeps at night and stays up throughout the day. It’s a difficult adjustment at first, but any time with Yeon-soo is precious to Choi Woong. He even drops her off at the bus station on her way to work. The two lovebirds video call each other at night and Yeon-soo visits Choi Woong’s house like she frequently did in the past. Things are going well for the two and this is the world that Choi Woong wants to live in forever. However, he can’t seem to forget about the memories of their break-up and he worries that the past might repeat itself.

Meanwhile, Yeon-soo is busy reading an article on her phone with tips on how one can maintain their relationship with their partner. It states that one must show a new side of themselves and must not let their guard down. Yeon-soo has worked hard to get to where she is with Choi Woong and hopes to not make the same mistakes again.

Another morning means another another chance to drop Yeon-soo off at the bus station on her way to work. Except this time, there’s a witness. Eun-ho observes in surprise and shock as Yeon-soo and Choi Woong hug each other before bidding farewell. It’s quite the unexpected for Eun-ho and he grows upset with Choi Woong for not telling him the truth. It doesn’t help that Sol-yi and Ji-woong knows about the relationship except for him. Eun-ho isn’t so happy he was excluded from the news, haha. At the office, CEO Bang informs Yeon-soo about the special rumor that’s been spreading around and about: she’s apparently dating somebody. Haha. CEO Bang doesn’t believe it to be true and instead shifts the conversation to the documentary. Soen Shop would like to review the footage about them that’s going to be in the documentary so Yeon-soo contacts Ji-woong for the clips. However, she fails to get in contact with the producer. He must be busy.

Ji-woong is busy indeed as he watches the draft of the first episode to the documentary in a conference room with his team. Mr. Park is especially impressed and satisfied with the first draft of the episode. Writer Lee believes Ji-woong has finally found his direction. To celebrate their hard work, Mr. Park suggests the team go out for a team dinner, but Ji-woong declines the idea. He exits the room to return to the editing room and Writer Lee notes that Chae-ran and Imterm Tae-hoon should keep an eye on Ji-woong. Make sure he eats properly and takes care of himself.

NJ clarifies the dating rumors and scandal with Choi Woong in an interview. She still likes Choi Woong – as a fan, of course – but admits that she hasn’t been in contact with him as much lately. She asks that people stop with the speculations between her and Choi Woong. Eun-ho is still upset with Choi Woong, but he stays over at Choi Woong’s house to do his job as manager. Eun-ho’s worried about Choi Woong now that he and Yeon-soo are dating again. Choi Woong was hurt after the break-up and he’s concerned that Choi Woong might resort to those bad habits. He would hate to see his friend end up like that again. However, Choi Woong reassures Eun-ho that he’ll be fine. Things are different this time. Choi Woong finally gets Eun-ho to warm up to him by bringing up the raise that Eun-ho had asked for a few while back. Haha. Now you got him talking!

Yeon-soo takes a break at work and texts Choi Woong. She becomes self-conscious about how short her responses seem to be and inquires Ye-in for some tips and advice. Ye-in is quite the dating expert and has no hesitation in sharing some of the lessons she’s learned along the way about dating to the rookie, Yeon-soo. So later on that evening, Yeon-soo meets with Choi Woong for a date. She’s dressed in a completely different outfit — the first advice that Ye-in pointed out. Upon driving to a restaurant for some dinner, Yeon-soo keeps Ye-in’s tips in mind. She reacts and laughs to Choi Woong’s rant about Eun-ho since guys apparently like reactions. Yeon-soo also randomly compliments Choi Woong on his driving (only for them to bump onto something on the road) and his large hands since guys like compliments. It’s a bit random and awkward, but Yeon-soo doesn’t know how to act otherwise. She’s only doing what she was taught to do.

The couple eventually arrive at a restaurant for dinner and they munch on pasta like how Choi Woong wanted. When he accidentally flicks some sauce from their food onto her coat, Yeon-soo stops herself from nagging. Like Ye-in pointed out, men despise nagging. Yeon-soo pretends to not be upset at Choi Woong and refrains from nagging or saying anything. Choi Woong easily notices Yeon-soo’s behavior and grows uncomfortable.

After dinner, the two go for a walk. Yeon-soo practices the last advice from Ye-in: keep things romantic. So with that, Yeon-soo pushes Choi Woong back to a pole and leans in for a kiss. But Choi Woong stops her from proceeding and it’s his turn to nag at her. She’s been acting odd all night and he’s not a fan of it. Yeon-soo comes clean to Choi Woong and admits that she’s trying to put in effort into their relationship. She’s trying to change since she feels like all she does is fight and nag. However, Choi Woong reassures Yeon-soo that she’s not doing anything wrong. In fact, he likes her for the way she is. She doesn’t need to change anything about her. It feels different every time he’s with her; he likes that she’s unpredictable. Choi Woong is so in love with Yeon-soo, he even encourages her to keep nagging — as long as she doesn’t nag about the same thing twice, haha. With that, they proceed to another stop for their date: Sol-yi’s restaurant.

Choi Woong’s always wanted to eat at a neighborhood pub during the cold weather and chat all night over some hot stew. He’s happy that he gets to do that with Yeon-soo. Sol-yi watches as the two lovebirds chat it up in her restaurant and she’s not so sure how to feel about the couple. It makes her want to puke (haha, the struggles of living that single life!). The next morning, Yeon-soo is greeted by a not-so-happy Grandma. Yeon-soo came home late, but she’s also not so thrilled about Yeon-soo and Choi Woong’s relationship news. Grandma would like for Yeon-soo to bring him home so that she can do a little investigation of her own. Yeon-soo reassures Grandma to not worry. In fact, she would prefer if Grandma not meet with Choi Woong. She’ll only scare him even more.

Choi Woong and Yeon-soo chat on the phone for a bit before she heads out to work. Choi Woong is suddenly reminded of NJ while drinking a beverage that NJ is the model for. He contacts her and expresses his gratitude for the way she clarified the dating rumors in her interview. NJ comes close to calling Choi Woong after receiving his text, but refrains herself from doing so. She shows some self-control by sealing her cellphone in a bag so as to not contact him so quickly. Lol. Speaking of Choi Woong, he stops by Mom and Dad’s restaurant. They chat about Yeon-soo and Choi Woong has plans to bring Yeon-soo over for dinner one of these days. However, he changes his mind at the last minute and asks Mom to pack some side dishes to give to Yeon-soo.

With Choi Woong busy, Eun-ho stops by Sol-yi’s restaurant. He spits out the water in his mouth when he notices Sol-yi’s outfit that she’s prepared for her blind date later on that night. Her dad set it up for her and she converses with Eun-ho about the blind date. All she knows is that the guy is handsome and older than her. She also notices Eun-ho’s strange behavior and face expression; at one point, she notes how he seems to be pouting. Sol-yi makes it clear to Eun-ho once again that she doesn’t date guys younger than her (AKA Eun-ho). Eun-ho pretends not to care, but he can’t help and be curious about how old her blind date is, lol. OooOoooh, someone’s jealous.

Chae-ran and Imtern Tae-hoon do their jobs of checking in with Ji-woong who’s stuck in the editing room all day. They remind him to eat, but Ji-woong isn’t in the mood nor does he have the appetite. It’s not until Yeon-soo pulls a surprise visit that Ji-woong finally moves and escapes from the editing room. They have some dinner in the work cafeteria and catch up with each other. As someone who’s known Ji-woong for a decade, Yeon-soo easily notices Ji-woong’s strange behavior. He hasn’t been looking at her and has been avoiding her eyesight. Ji-woong realizes that he can’t go on any longer and admits that he’s a mess. But Yeon-soo doesn’t mind. She’s a mess too; they can be a mess together. She asks him about the clips involving Soen Shop, but she also checks in with him on how he’s been. They are still friends, after all. Aww.

It wasn’t such a good idea for NJ to bury her cellphone in the bottom of her house plant. She digs and digs in search of her phone, but it’s nowhere to be found, lol. Meanwhile, Sol-yi cuts her blind date short after remembering about her restaurant. Her package of fresh clams! But Eun-ho comes to the rescue and she arrives at her restaurant only to find him cleaning the clams in the kitchen. Omg, Eun-ho is the best. He’s quite happy to hear from Sol-yi that her blind date didn’t go as well (even though it lowkey did) and she’s quite happy to see him take care of her restaurant for her. To thank him for his help, Sol-yi will make him some clam stew. Hehe.

While Eun-ho makes a surprise-but-not-so-surprising appearance at Sol-yi’s restaurant, Choi Woong is genuinely surprised to find NJ at the front doors of his house. There’s a few things she wanted to clarify with him and since she doesn’t have her phone with her, this was her only other option. She confesses that the dating rumor clarifications were never for him; they were more for her and she would never be that considerate for him. She also forces herself to be okay with the idea of not being friends with Choi Woong. Since Choi Woong is now dating Yeon-soo again and she had a crush on him, things will go back to being awkward between them again. Even with the new reality check, NJ doesn’t lose all hope. She’ll try not to care too much, but she pitches that Choi Woong can call her if he and Yeon-soo were to break up. Omg, lol.

Yeon-soo is invited back into the editing room with Ji-woong and she watches the clips from the documentary in fascination. She compliments Ji-woong for his talent and hard work as a producer as she points out small details about her and Choi Woong in the footage. While the two are inside the editing room, Chae-ran swings by with some food she had bought for Ji-woong. However, she stops immediately upon catching Yeon-soo and Ji-woong inside together. Yeon-soo eventually bids farewell with Ji-woong once he grows uncomfortable being with her. She suggests that they grab food with Choi Woong together one day, but Ji-woong declines the invitation. He needs time. He is busy with work, but he also needs time to move on.

Choi Woong garners his courage and stops by Yeon-soo’s house without Yeon-soo. He’s brought his Mom’s side dishes with him and hangs out with Grandma alone. Choi Woong’s well aware that Yeon-soo isn’t home and won’t be home anytime soon, but that was the whole point of the visit. He wanted to talk to Grandma. With that, she brews him his favorite tea (jujube tea). Yeon-soo discovers about Choi Woong’s visit to her house thanks to a quick conversation with Mom and Dad. They’re relieved to hear good news about Yeon-soo’s dinner with Ji-woong, but Yeon-soo panics when she learns about Choi Woong’s visit to her house. She stops by Choi Woong’s house for the details.

While Choi Woong brews Yeon-soo some tea, Yeon-soo sits on the couch and looks over a brochure for an architecture school that was used as a bookmark for Choi Woong’s book. When asked about it’s about, Choi Woong simply shares that his favorite architect is a professor at the university so it was just something that he was interested in. He doesn’t actually plan on going. Yeon-soo understands Choi Woong’s dilemma; she’s positive that having one university diploma is already enough schooling.

But Choi Woong’s truth surprises her really quick when she learns that Choi Woong never graduated from university. He ended up dropping out of school. Choi Woong only attended university because of Yeon-soo anyways so once they broke up, he didn’t have a reason to attend anymore. Yeon-soo recalls the moment she overheard Choi Woong and his professor in the classroom and she’s taken aback by the sudden news. Wasn’t that one of the reasons as to why they broke up?

Choi Woong seats himself closer to Yeon-soo on the news and expresses his curiosity on the one thing that’s been on his mind for the past five years. Why did they break up? Why did Yeon-soo break up with him? All Yeon-soo can do is stare into Choi Woong’s eyes as she attempts to piece together an answer in her mind. The couple – who loved each other so much that they were willing to make sacrifices for the other – quietly stare at each other in silence. No words are spoken, but the looks in their eyes speak volumes.

Epilogue

Chae-ran joins Ji-woong for some coffee out on the company patio. She brings up the moment she saw Ji-woong with Yeon-soo inside the editing room together and shares how she was reminded of the movie ‘Love Actually’ where the guy harbors a crush on his best friend’s wife. What will the ending for Ji-woong be like? Ji-woong isn’t so sure how things will end up for him. It’s quite different for him as his life isn’t a movie, it’s a documentary. It’s reality.

My Thoughts:

This drama continues to impress and surprise me in the ways that it remains such a refreshing watch. I wasn’t so sure which direction it was going to take after having Yeon-soo and Choi Woong reconcile and get back together again. I was even afraid it was going to slow down a little too much and not be as entertaining as it was in the episodes prior. However, I loved what the drama did in this episode and how it once again proved to us that it doesn’t need a whole lot to be enjoyable. It needs just enough.

And just enough this episode was. The drama has been trying to convey the same message to us with its last episode which was the idea that Yeon-soo and Choi Woong love each other who they are. They don’t have to change, they don’t have to do anything different, they don’t have to be someone completely different to be lovable. In fact, acting the opposite and not being yourself removes that authenticity from the relationship. It makes the relationship itself something that it’s not. I appreciate Yeon-soo’s effort in changing herself because she was afraid that her behavior was the problem in the past. Although she shouldn’t have to change who she is, I get that she did so because she wanted to be better and wanted to prove that she was willing to fight for the relationship. I completely understand where her doubts and concerns were coming from. Yeon-soo doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes and doesn’t want history to be repeated so she was willing to change her behavior.

The best thing about all of this is the fact that Yeon-soo doesn’t have to change a single thing about herself. She can stay true to herself, to Choi Woong, and to the relationship. Choi Woong will love her for who she is. He’s already accepted her and her personality and everything in between. That’s what he loves about her. If she were to change and be somebody who she’s not, what would that mean for him and the both of them? Yeon-soo wouldn’t be happy because she would have to keep pretending and Choi Woong wouldn’t be happy because he knows how out of character it is for Yeon-soo and how unnecessary it is. They love each other for who they are and they don’t have to be someone unrecognizable to make the relationship work. You make the relationship work because you love that person and you’re willing to fight for them even with all the up’s and down’s. Relationships aren’t perfect and that’s okay.

It was fun and entertaining to watch Yeon-soo and Choi Woong sort of navigate this new chapter in their lives. It was especially hilarious to watch Yeon-soo ask Ye-in for advice since she’s really only dated Choi Woong and was not interested in anyone else. Choi Woong’s had her heart since the beginning so even though it was funny to watch Yeon-soo practice the tips that Ye-in gave her, it was also so sweet knowing that she’s only had one person in her heart this entire time.

The ending scene to this episode was also interesting in that it could open up a can of worms that neither Yeon-soo or Choi Woong is prepared for. Are they sure they’re ready for the truth? The answer to the haunting question? Choi Woong was absolutely crushed and heartbroken after the break-up. He was so hurt that even his great friend, Eun-ho, wasn’t so thrilled seeing the two date again. Will Choi Woong let Yeon-soo and the relationship heavily affect him like how he let it years ago? Is Yeon-soo ready to let go of her past and reveal everything to Choi Woong? Is she prepared to break down her walls and be honest with him on why they broke up?

I suppose Yeon-soo wasn’t so happy to hear that Choi Woong never ended up graduating, especially when that was one of the reasons as to why she broke up with him in the first place. Yeon-soo wanted Choi Woong to study abroad and do big things in life and around the world and she didn’t want to be the one holding him back. Now that she knows that he never ended up graduating in the end anyways, what was the whole point? I wonder if there’s a part of her that regrets breaking up with him or if she would still have made the same decision at that time given the tough situation she was in five years ago.

Even with the adorable moments between Yeon-soo and Choi Woong, I appreciate how the drama reminds us about Yeon-soo’s friendship with Ji-woong. I love that she continues to be a great friend to him. Though Ji-woong might still have an unrequited crush on her (for the longest time) and it’s difficult for him to accept the truth for now, I enjoy watching them spend time together. I enjoyed watching them together in the past, but I especially enjoy watching them together now with how situations and circumstances has changed.

Though not much has changed for Ji-woong since he still harbors a one-sided crush on Yeon-soo, things have changed for Yeon-soo as she’s now in a relationship again with Choi Woong. However, Yeon-soo doesn’t let her circumstances change and dictate the way that she treats Ji-woong (compared to Choi Woong’s treatment of NJ which one can argue is different because of the way that Choi Woong and NJ met and interacted with each other. Their relationship isn’t nearly as deep and intricate as Yeon-soo’s relationship with Ji-woong). It’s hurtful for Ji-woong and he’s going to need plenty of time to move on from this complicated and heartbreaking one-sided crush on Yeon-soo, but I’m confident that he’ll come out of it just fine. He’s a strong person and he’s overcome plenty of challenges and bumps in his life. This one might just be one of the most difficult ones just yet, but once Ji-woong finds himself again, things will return to normal like how they were supposed to be.

Extra photos from the episode~