MaryMeKpop

Love is a wild rollercoaster ride. Yeon-soo and Choi Woong have a second chance at love, but it’s not as easy as it seems. There’s still a few things that they have to work on if they want to work out, but both are committed to learning from their past to prevent the same mistakes in the present. What will it take for things to be successful this time around and can they overcome new challenges that might come their way?

Our Beloved Summer Episode 14: Life is Beautiful

Yeon-soo has always protected herself at a young age. She was teased from all the other little girls for not having parents. She had struggles maintaining friendships in high school and college because she was poor. She rehearsed her break-up with Choi Woong in the mirror inside of her bedroom because she was insecure and she hurt the people she loved so she wouldn’t get hurt in return. She pretended as if everything was fine when really it wasn’t.

On the night that Choi Woong contacted her for the first time since their break-up, he was too intoxicated and buzzed to listen to her list the reasons as to why she initiated the break-up. She shared how she was going through rough times financially. She didn’t want to burden Choi Woong with her burdens. In response, Choi Woong reacted in disbelief. He would have rather heard any other excuse or reason other than what she told him. He couldn’t believe such a thing.

Back in the present, Yeon-soo and Choi Woong sit next to each other on the sofa in his living room. He questions why they broke up five years ago. As Yeon-soo struggles to come up with her answer, she reminds herself how the past can catch up to you to the point where you make the same mistakes. Choi Woong was confident that they would never break up for good despite all the fights and arguments they had. They would fight and then make up and the cycle would repeat. But why did they break up?

Yeon-soo reasons that she was exhausted and tired. She was occupied and busy with other priorities and commitments. But none of that matters now. She and Choi Woong are back together and that’s all that they should focus on. With that, Yeon-soo excuses herself from the house and she heads back home. Choi Woong turns on the lights outside of his house as Yeon-soo exits and Yeon-soo joins her grandmother on the bed when she arrives home.

Grandma shares how Choi Woong came by to visit her earlier that evening which Yeon-soo was already well aware of. After teasing Grandma about possibly nagging at Choi Woong, Yeon-soo receives another question about her break-up with Choi Woong. First Choi Woong, now Grandma. Did Yeon-soo break up with Choi Woong because she and Grandma were going through hard times? Because she was carrying loads of burdens and hardships at that time with Grandma? In an effort to not worry Grandma, Yeon-soo reassures her that the break-up was due to all the fights and arguments with Choi Woong. Just like Yeon-soo did with Choi Woong, she quickly pivots the conversation and goes to sleep next to Grandma for the night.

While embracing Yeon-soo, Grandma reflects on the conversation she had with Choi Woong from earlier that evening. She pleaded for Choi Woong to stay with Yeon-soo and to never leave her. To be that person that Yeon-soo could rely on for a very long time. Yeon-soo grew up lonely. She didn’t have anyone else other than Grandma and had to grow up quicker than others. There’ll come a day where Grandma won’t be there like she used to be for Yeon-soo and that’s why it’s important that Choi Woong take good care of Yeon-soo. Choi Woong vows to be there for Yeon-soo, but he’s also curious about Grandma and Yeon-soo’s family background and history. What exactly happened to them? Although we don’t get Grandma’s response to Choi Woong’s question, it’s undeniable that their conversation prompted the both of them to ask the same exact question to Yeon-soo on the same night. What prompted Yeon-soo to initiate the break up?

Another day at Mom and Dad’s restaurant means another day of chaos. Mom scolds Dad for pocketing some money for some fishing rods and a fishing trip that he had originally planned with Chang-sik. Ji-woong catches it on camera before heading over to the office. Mr. Park is excited to reunite with Ji-woong. The ratings to the first episode of their documentary were great and he’s astounded at the results. He rambles on and on about the ratings and the first episode, but Ji-woong isn’t in the mood to celebrate. It’s only the first episode (and plus, he’s tired. Lol).

Yeon-soo and Choi Woong walk together towards the bus station. They chat a bit about work before a group of three high school students approach the couple in excitement. They’re fans of the documentary and gush over Choi Woong specifically. This gives Yeon-soo the chance to quietly sneak away and catch her bus on the way to work. Of course, the documentary is a huge hit and she catches her staff members watching clips of the first episode at work. Yeon-soo is strict and stern with them and declares that they are forbidden from watching the documentary at work.

But hey, to thank them for their hard work and cooperation with the documentary filming, Yeon-soo volunteers to treat them to a dinner that evening. Her team is surprised by the news since Yeon-soo rarely ever attends their get-togethers. They’re excited for the rare opportunity. Choi Woong is hanging out with his staff member, AKA Eun-ho, and they grab some lunch at Subway (NOOOO, not the dreadful Subway PPL again T_T). They converse about work and Eun-ho plans on canceling any upcoming schedules and interviews so that Choi Woong can focus on his exhibition. Choi Woong at first seems fine with the idea, but gives the interviews involving both him and Yeon-soo a second thought. He’d like to see what Yeon-soo would think about them.

Eun-ho notes how Choi Woong has been very conscious of Yeon-soo which concerns Choi Woong. Does that make him seem loss and aimless? As if he doesn’t know what he’s doing? He feels insecure and irresponsible. Maybe that’s why Yeon-soo didn’t rely on him back then prior to their break-up. But as much as Eun-ho is Choi Woong’s manager, he is also Choi Woong’s friend and reassures the artist that he is anything but irresponsible. He’s successful now and he takes great care of Eun-ho. There’s nothing irresponsible or unreliable about that (get you a friend who cares about you like Eun-ho does about Choi Woong!).

Ji-woong chats with a staff member who’s working with NJ on her upcoming documentary while in the staff break room. The staff is a bit concerned about NJ whose behavior has been a little off and out of it. All he hopes for is that filming for the documentary will go smoothly without any troubles. And so the narration for the documentary with NJ resumes in a recording studio in the building, but NJ isn’t satisfied with the script. There’s a line in particular about friends that triggers NJ to pause and think. She doesn’t have any friends. She finds it hard to relate to the script. Ji-woong is present in the recording studio and watches the scene unfold before leaving shortly. NJ barely catches Ji-woong slipping away.

Another night at Sol-yi’s restaurant means another night of chaos. Sol-yi unexpectedly reunites with her ex-boyfriend, Jin-seob (cameo by Kang Ki-doong), who she gave a special shout-out to in the first episode of the documentary. He attempts to make amends and peace with her, but Sol-yi isn’t in the mood to see or interact with him. It doesn’t help when Eun-ho enters the restaurant and catches sight of the scene. He’s confused as to what’s going on and just wanted some acetone to help clean up the restaurant sign outside. Jin-seob eventually leaves the restaurant, but not before telling Sol-yi he misses her. He’ll come back to visit her later on. Eun-ho is speechless, but he reminds Sol-yi the reason for his visit again. The acetone. And he knows where exactly it is in her restaurant. Sheesh, Eun-ho. Might as well just work for Sol-yi as well! Hehe.

Choi Woong visits Dad at the restaurant and secretly gifts him with some money for his fishing rod. Choi Woong knows just how much his dad loves those fishing rods and fishing trips. The secret only lasts for so long when Dad shows Chang-sik the amount of money Choi Woong gave him and Chang-sik threatens to spill the beans to Mom, lol. Choi Woong leaves the restaurant afterwards and quickly catches sight of someone who was standing nearby. He doesn’t think too much about it as he only saw the person’s back.

NJ and Ji-woong grab some dinner with each other in his work building after running into each other. They chat about the narration incident that happened back in the recording studio and Ji-woong follows up to ask why NJ doesn’t have any friends. NJ reasons that her busy life as a celebrity doesn’t allow her to have any. She doesn’t have the time to befriend anyone. Ji-woong comforts lonely NJ and encourages her to change her state of mind. It’s not too late to start making friends if she alters her attitude and way of thinking. She can pretend to live an ordinary life like others until she doesn’t have to pretend any longer. NJ is strangely comforted by Ji-woong’s words and she also takes the opportunity to ask him about Choi Woong. It’s been a while since she’s been in contact with him, but the same thing can be said about Ji-woong. He doesn’t have an update for her on how the artist has been doing.

While Yeon-soo chats with Choi Woong about her dinner get-together with her staff, the guys on her team sit inside the chicken restaurant and converse about Yeon-soo. How exactly did CEO Bang get Yeon-soo to work with him? CEO Bang’s connection with Yeon-soo stems back to their university days when they were in the same club together. Contrary to their beliefs, he’s actually not that much older than Yeon-soo, lol. Yeon-soo eventually joins her team at the table and they stuff themselves with some delicious chicken and beer.

Eun-ho stops by Sol-yi’s restaurant later on that night. He notices how she jumped at the sight of the door opening and suspects that she must have been waiting for Jin-seob. Although Sol-yi denies the accusations, it’s quite obvious to Eun-ho who she was waiting for. She eventually steps out for a bit to deliver something to their neighbor so Eun-ho takes care of the restaurant in replacement. After throwing out the trash, he returns to the restaurant to discover Jin-seob sitting inside on a phone call. Jin-seob’s only intention of visiting Sol-yi was to get some quick money from her. He’s confident that Sol-yi would never reject him.

Jin-seob finds himself not alone in the restaurant like he thought he was so he chats with Eun-ho about Sol-yi’s business. Unlike what he thought, Sol-yi isn’t actually doing that well with the restaurant. When Sol-yi returns, she finds both guys sitting next to each other and she overhears Eun-ho voice that she no longer belongs to Jin-seob. She quickly exits after hearing the comment and misses out on Eun-ho’s follow-up statement: Sol-yi doesn’t belong to Jin-seob because she now belongs to the bank. LOL. She had to take out loans for the restaurant. With that, Jin-seob no longer has a reason to be in contact with Sol-yi. It’s not until he exits that Sol-yi slowly enters her restaurant. It’s safe to say she has a different opinion and perception of Eun-ho now. Maybe she’ll change her mind about not dating younger guys, lol.

Yeon-soo walks home after her get-together. She chats with Choi Woong on the phone and they bring up how she never wanted him to pick her up back when they were together a decade ago. She didn’t want him to spend money on all the taxi rides and she wanted to be independent. But truth be told, she did want him to pick her up. She still feels that way in the present. So Choi Woong presents himself to her and she discovers him standing close by behind her. He did indeed come to pick her up like she always wanted. Aww.

He walks towards her and asks that she tell him everything. If she wants him to pick her up, she has to communicate or else he won’t know because he’s an idiot (that sounds like something I would say, haha). Yeon-soo promises to be honest and transparent with Choi Woong. He isn’t so sure still why Yeon-soo chose to break up with him; that’s something that she’s yet to be honest with him about but he’s okay with it. He’ll wait. And when Yeon-soo finally opens up to him about it, he’ll do all that he can to make sure they never break up again. He’ll spend the rest of his life with Yeon-soo and they’ll take care of each other.

That night, Yeon-soo does the laundry and stops by Grandma’s room to grab some of her clothes that needs to be washed. She runs through the pockets to see if there’s anything in them and unexpectedly comes across a brochure in one of the pockets. It’s a brochure detailing medical services offered in the neighborhood. Yeon-soo is heartbroken at the sight of the brochure. A part of her feels hopeless, but the other part of her knows that this is her new reality. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Choi Woong himself revisits the school of architecture brochure that’s been on his coffee table for quite some time. It seems like he’s quite interested in attending the school, but he has some second thoughts on the possibility. What could be holding him back this time? Is history doomed to repeat itself?

The next morning, Yeon-soo eats breakfast with Grandma and suggests that they go on a trip. They can eat lots of good food and she can buy Grandma pretty clothes. They can get some fresh air and it’ll be a nice refreshing break. Yeon-soo hopes that she and Grandma can stay together for a very long time. The truth is, Yeon-soo hopes Grandma likes living with her. She hopes that Grandma doesn’t leave her. She can’t help but feel insecure. Even if everyone else was to dislike her, Grandma wouldn’t, right? There would be no reason as to why Grandma would feel such a way towards her own granddaughter, but Yeon-soo struggles to stay positive. With tears in her eyes, she voices how she doesn’t want to be alone ever again. Grandma listens carefully to Yeon-soo, but she has nothing to say. She stays quiet at the dining table.

Epilogue

Ji-woong returns home to find his mom back at his place again. She’s returned a lot sooner than he had expected, but he still feels the same way about her. Ji-woong assumes it’ll just be like any of her other visits, but his mom has a special request this time. She asks that he, as a producer, film a video on her. She’s dying. She doesn’t have much time left to live. Therefore, she wants her own son to document the remaining days of her life. Ji-woong remains silent with the request and he’s uncertain as to how to feel or how to process the information. What is he going to do with it?

My Thoughts:

Oh wow, this drama brought back the mommy issues for Ji-woong which was a surprise! I thought it’d be sort of a one and done type of situation with his character, but the drama brought it back which I was not expecting. It sort of makes sense though given that the drama is wrapping up which means it’s wrapping up its sub-plot where Ji-woong has an unrequited love towards Yeon-soo. Now that Yeon-soo is back together with Choi Woong, the drama has to do something with Ji-woong. It found a way to keep his character going by looping back in his complex and complicated relationship with his mother. I would have been fine without this to be honest.

I could have done without it, but I also like that the drama continued with it mainly for the fact that it involves Ji-woong’s profession as a producer. He films and produces videos of Yeon-soo and Choi Woong as well as Mom and Dad. They’re people who he loves and have special connections with. Will he take up this task of filming his mom who he holds resentment towards? But who he also yearned for growing up and wanted to be around? Does the fact that she’s dying change any of that or will he continue to push her away like he did this entire time? It’ll be interesting to see how Ji-woong’s professional life conflicts with his personal life again. His first struggle with respecting those boundaries came about when he was filming Yeon-soo for the documentary. Now he’ll be tested again in this request from his mom to film a video of her. Will Ji-woong let go of his past and do something for his mom? Will he do it because he loves her or simply because it’s his mother’s last dying wish?

Yeon-soo’s bit with Grandma was so touching and heartbreaking at the same time in this episode. Grandma pleaded for Choi Woong to stay with Yeon-soo and to take care of her since there’ll come a time where she won’t be alive to be with Yeon-soo forever. As much as they both want to avoid the difficult conversation, it’s bound to happen one day. Grandma’s wish is for Yeon-soo to never be alone and that’s where Choi Woong comes in. As long as Yeon-soo isn’t alone, Grandma will feel okay about going away. Grandma has always been so protective and caring of Yeon-soo. She knows just how much Yeon-soo went through and a part of her feels guilty for maybe not giving Yeon-soo as much as she may have wanted to growing up. But as challenging as times might have been for the both of them, Yeon-soo is grateful for Grandma and grateful for it all. It’s molded her to be who she is. As long as she’s with Grandma, Yeon-soo doesn’t need anything else. But what happens when Grandma is no longer there? How will Yeon-soo (and us) process with the aftermath? It’s going to be so sad when that day arrives.

Yeon-soo and Choi Woong are slowly growing more and more comfortable with this new chapter in their relationship. They’re starting anew and beginning again and it’s obvious that they both really want things to work out. As curious as Choi Woong is about their break-up, he’s also willing to wait for the answer from Yeon-soo. He’ll wait for the day that she finally opens up to him about why they really broke up and maybe a part of him is also okay with it if that day never comes. As long as he’s with Yeon-soo, that’s all that he truly cares about.

Of course, there’s plenty to learn from regarding their past and knowing the reason as to why they broke up could also help prevent the both of them from committing the same mistakes in the present. But a part of me wants to believe that Yeon-soo and Choi Woong are different now. They’ve changed for the better and have grown. They’re now at a different phase in their lives. That means that as wonderful as it is that they get a second chance with each other at love, there’s also going to be new bumps and challenges that they’ll face along the way. Are they doomed to repeat history again? Just like Choi Woong experienced back in university, he has plans of attending a school of architecture abroad. But this time, maybe he’ll really go. This time, maybe he’ll actually graduate. That could potentially pose problems for the couple.

But at the same time, maybe Yeon-soo can join Choi Woong like how he originally wanted back when he was in college. It never came true since they obviously ended up breaking up, but maybe things will be different this time. They can study abroad together and Yeon-soo will discover a new passion of hers while Choi Woong attends architecture school and graduates. It can be a self-discovery for the both of them as well as a relationship-discovery type of journey as a couple. They’ll discover new and old sides to each other like in the past and they’ll come out of it stronger and better.

I mean, even if all of these ideas and possibilities never come to light, there’s really only one thing I ask for. I just ask and hope that there is no noble idiocy that either Yeon-soo or Choi Woong pull. Please. Don’t break up with each other in the name of “sacrifice.” No more of that. We’ve already been through enough with the whole push and pull fight that we were dragged through this entire drama (much of it was for better than worse). I just want a happy couple who’ll work out their problems and challenges together. Who go through the bad and good times together. Whatever Yeon-soo and Choi Woong decide to do and whatever direction they decide to go, I just hope they go together. I hope they’ll stay together this time.

Extra photos from the episode~