MaryMeKpop

Woo-hak’s investigation in search of the truth continues while Mok-ha still holds onto the hope of someday meeting Ki-ho. Ran-joo’s on a search for her truth, realizing that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Castaway Diva Episode 5: Regret vs. Pride

Mok-ha waits at the old Seoul Station for Ki-ho after receiving a bouquet of flowers and a handwritten note sent by him. She assumes the wait will finally be over. The day has finally arrived. Except it’s not Ki-ho who shows up to the meeting spot. It’s Ki-ho’s dad who had been stalking and following Mok-ha on the way to the Seoul Station. Thanks to a stranger, Mok-ha is able to successfully escape from Ki-ho’s father towards safety and she assumes that maybe she was saved by Ki-ho. But it’s Bo-geol who showed up to help Mok-ha instead and he scolds her for being so naive. She should have been more careful. However, Mok-ha is desperate to find Ki-ho and she’s desperate to know if he’s alive or safe. Though Bo-geol claims that he doesn’t know Ki-ho personally himself, he reassures her that he’s still alive and hiding well. While going back home with Bo-geol, Mok-ha receives a phone call from Woo-hak. She updates him on her condition as well as the situation back at the old Seoul Station. Woo-hak finds Ki-ho’s father waiting at the meeting spot and learns from Mok-ha that it was him who showed up. So Woo-hak follows after Ki-ho’s father to his house and memories suddenly trigger in his mind. The house feels familiar to him.

When Woo-hak returns back home, he’s clearly affected by what he saw and remembered when he was at Ki-ho’s father’s house just a few moments earlier. Mok-ha, who had come outside of her room for some fresh air, witnesses Woo-hak sitting in his car and she grows worried. She calls him to check up on him but all Woo-hak can think about is Ki-ho. After seeing Ki-ho’s father and being near his house, Woo-hak strongly believes that he’s Ki-ho. He has to be. And the realization is too much for him that he questions Mok-ha once again if she had ever regretted leaving with Ki-ho 15 years ago. He even leans his head on her shoulder when they stand face-to-face seconds later. All Mok-ha can do is comfort him and reassure him that it’s all over.

When Woo-hak returns home that night, he chats with Bo-geol about next steps. While he wishes to report Ki-ho’s father to the police to protect Mok-ha, Bo-geol isn’t so open to the idea. He objects and argues that they shouldn’t report Ki-ho’s father to the police. Instead, he and Woo-hak will protect Mok-ha. It seems as if Bo-geol knows something that Woo-hak doesn’t. The trio spend all night thinking about the moments that unraveled earlier at the station and Mok-ha misses Ki-ho a little bit more than usual on this night in particular.

The next morning, Woo-hak chats with his parents and Mok-ha about the emergency contacts on their phones. To look out for Mok-ha and her safety, he places him and his parents on Mok-ha’s list of emergency contacts. He also advises her with security measures she can take with her phone. Just like how Woo-hak and his parents are on Mok-ha’s cell phone, Mok-ha asks that they do the same with her on their cell phones, haha. And so, Mok-ha begins her journey as Ran-joo’s manager. First thing on her list? Getting her driver’s license.

While Mok-ha takes the exam for her driver’s license, Ran-joo meets with the CEO of her former agency, CEO Hwang. She learned the brutal and harsh truth that CEO Lee doesn’t care for her so she has to go with another strategy. And just like CEO Lee claimed in their conversation the other night, Ran-joo’s albums were pulled from shops and shelves. After passing her driving exam and earning her driver’s license, Mok-ha learns that Ran-joo’s albums have been removed from stores. Out of frustration, she storms inside of RnJ’s headquarters to confront CEO Lee. Manager Park is there with her and manages to get her to stop in her tracks upon showing her a video that he took of her. He’s aware that Mok-ha has been singing for Ran-joo as evident in the video he took where Mok-ha is seen stuffing a microphone into her bag backstage. So with that, Mok-ha has no choice but to stop or else the entire world will know her secret.

As for Ran-joo, she proposes to re-release her albums that she recorded back when she was with CEO Hwang’s agency, Sugar Agency. But CEO Hwang isn’t so quick to respond to Ran-joo’s request. Nothing is free and he invites Ran-joo to sing at his daughter’s wedding. If she does, he’ll then consider her request.

Mok-ha receives a ride from Bo-geol on her walk back home. Bo-geol too is concerned about Mok-ha’s safety and he does the same exact thing that Woo-hak and his parents did this morning: ask Mok-ha to add him onto her emergency contacts list. She can call him anytime if she needs to but Mok-ha grows concerned. What if he’s busy? What if he’s at work? And it’s Bo-geol’s response that reminds her of Ki-ho. Bo-geol is adamant that Mok-ha can reach out to him anytime she wants. Similarly to what Ki-ho said to her when they planned on running away, Bo-geol’s responses sound the same. But the conversation is cut short when the pair discover Ran-joo outside of their house. Ran-joo’s had a little too much to drink because she’s stressed and upset at how she’s being treated by CEO Lee and CEO Hwang. She takes it out on Mok-ha and then leaves to go to a sauna afterwards. In a moment of reflection many decades later, elder Ran-joo questions this moment in her life and it’s obvious that she felt bad about the way she lashed out at Mok-ha.

While Woo-hak is busy staking out at Ki-ho’s father’s house and noting down his every move, Mok-ha stops by Mommy Kang’s house for some formal clothes. She’s attending CEO Hwang’s daughter’s wedding and needs something nice to wear. But it’s not just Mok-ha who’s attending the wedding. It turns out Bo-geol is going as well. He picks Mok-ha up in his car and together they drive to the wedding. He is a PD and CEO Hwang is the president of Sugar Agency after all. It’s a business decision for Bo-geol.

From the house to his workplace, Woo-hak follows after Ki-ho’s father. Ki-ho’s father now works as a security guard at an apartment complex and he steps out of the office for a bit to take care of a situation involving some giant Asian hornets. While he steps away for a bit, Woo-hak sneaks inside the office to snap a few pictures of Ki-ho’s father’s schedule. Later on, Ki-ho’s father meets with Dae-woong and they chat once again about Ki-ho. Ki-ho’s father hints that he’s finally found Ki-ho which terrifies Dae-woong. Dae-woong discourages him from acting any further but Ki-ho’s father has no intentions of stopping (Dae-woong, please stop talking! You’re giving too much away!!).

When Bo-geol and Mok-ha arrive at the wedding, they find that CEO Lee is also there. Wait, what is he doing there? They assume he’s there to talk to CEO Hwang and sure enough, he is. CEO Lee attempts to get CEO Hwang to join his side by offering him a handsome salary and golf membership. All CEO Hwang has to do is, you know.. Not re-release albums prior to 2007. So CEO Hwang gives CEO Lee’s offer a thought and when he exits out of his meeting with CEO Lee, Mok-ha feels as if she’s seen CEO Hwang before. He looks familiar. Hmm.

Ran-joo attempts to occupy her time with some karaoke at the salon but it just doesn’t hit the same. So it seems fitting that a phone call from Mok-ha arrives right at that moment. Mok-ha pleads for Ran-joo to come to the wedding to sing with her. Mok-ha has been Ran-joo’s fan since when Ran-joo was in middle school and she was just a cute young little kid watching Ran-joo sing. But the guilt for abandoning CEO Hwang to sign with CEO Lee still eats at Ran-joo and she doesn’t have enough courage to show up to his daughter’s wedding. He separated from his wife and family to focus on work. Then Ran-joo left him by signing with another agency. Also, what about her makeup? Ran-joo doesn’t feel all that great or beautiful either. But with Mok-ha’s constant motivation and encouragement, Ran-joo gathers the strength to keep pushing and she shows up to the wedding.

Together, the singer-manager duo impress with their singing at the wedding. Everyone including Bo-geol who’s recording the performance from his seat is memorized. Memories of CEO Hwang and young Ran-joo show up on the screen as the present time CEO Hwang and Ran-joo perform next to each other at the wedding. After the performance, CEO Hwang thanks Ran-joo for attending. He also apologizes to her for how he treated her in the past. He was stressed with both work and his personal life and took it out on her when he shouldn’t have. Mok-ha and Ran-joo prepare to head back home when they’re reminded by Bo-geol why Ran-joo showed up in the first place: to talk about album sales with CEO Hwang. Haha.

But there’s no need to talk about album sales so soon. It turns out that CEO Hwang rejected CEO Lee’s proposal. If CEO Lee betrayed Ran-joo, who’s to say that CEO Lee wouldn’t betray him either? So CEO Lee attempts to use his superstar Eun Mo-rae to his advantage. He gives her a call as she arrives in Korea and requests that she appear on ‘Heyday Again’ with Ran-joo. Hmm.

Woo-hak’s been busy with his investigation on Ki-ho’s father and he heads out for the night once again. Before leaving, Woo-hak reassures Mok-ha that she may finally have the chance to see Ki-ho again. There’s a few more things he needs to do but she’ll finally receive the chance. Meanwhile, there’s been a car accident inside of an underground tunnel and the injured driver is none other than Dae-woong (NOOO!). Police officers are shocked to find giant hornets inside of the car (NOOOOO!). Mok-ha attempts to return Mommy Kang’s outfit back to her but Mommy Kang encourages Mok-ha to keep it. Who knows, Mok-ha might need the outfit again one of these days when she interviews as a singer. It’s not until Mommy Kang drops the same exact quote that Ki-ho stated his mother used to say to him that Mok-ha grows suspicious again. Wait, who did she hear the quote from? But Mommy Kang is confused. No one ever taught her the quote; it’s just something she came up with. Ooohhh.

Woo-hak sneaks into Ki-ho’s father’s house after using the hidden house key. With just the light from his cell phone, Woo-hak goes around the house to search for clues and hints. Flashes of certain memories play in his mind at certain items throughout the house. And it’s not until he catches sight of a family photo hung on the living room wall that he’s baffled. Why is there a family photo of him, his mom, and Bo-geol with Ki-ho’s father sitting in the living room? At that moment, someone enters the house and thankfully, it’s not Ki-ho’s father. It’s Bo-geol and Woo-hak has burning questions to ask him. Why is there a family photo of them inside of Ki-ho’s father’s house?

Back at the house, Mok-ha asks Mommy Kang if she knows someone by the name of Jung Ki-ho. Mommy Kang stares back at Mok-ha, unsure as to how to answer her question.