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We are soooo back and by back, I mean my K-drama recaps as well as middle-aged rom coms. What better way to welcome the new year than to watch a new fluffy, cozy, heart-fluttering, and swoony drama with a male lead full of green flags who also has amazing chemistry with his love interest?

Though I had been catching up with “Love Scout” weekly, I hadn’t written any review or post about it because I wanted to give it some more time. After finishing the first four episodes, I can see why it’s loved by so many (including me). Starring Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk, the drama follows Kang Ji-yoon, CEO of popular headhunting company Peoplez. She’s successful and great at her job and excels even more with the help of her new kind and competent secretary, Eun-ho. The two develop feelings for each other as they continue to get to know each other both professionally and personally.

Love Scout: Episode 1 Recap

Kang Ji-yoon (Han Ji-min) paces back and forth while reciting details and information about a man who she wants to recruit for a client at her company named Peter Kwon. She’s at the race track where Peter works and interrupts him to introduce herself. She’s Kang Ji-yoon, CEO of the company Peoplez, and the two meet privately a bit later to discuss her proposal. She would like him to join as the leader for a project that one of her clients is working on. He’s the perfect fit for the project given the amount of experience and success he’s achieved over the decades and it’ll help her client fulfill their number one goal of becoming number one. Though Peter initially declines Ji-yoon’s offer, her honest and brutal reminder of his reality persuades him to accept the offer. Change is scary but this can be a new start for him which he clearly needs. He’s not in the greatest spot with his current company.

So Peter accepts the position as the project leader and sure enough, he adds one more successful item to his resume. Ji-yoon watches proudly and confidently at the press conference where Peter’s new car that he had designed is unveiled. She attends a public event afterwards and shares her tips and thoughts on the best HR practices in business: hire someone worth their salary. This shocks everyone in the audience but Ji-yoon further elaborates on her opinion to defend herself. After the event, she gets into the car she assumes belongs to her but it actually doesn’t. She’s entered the wrong car and she awkwardly exits after running into the driver and the passenger. LOL.

It’s been quite some time since Ji-yoon has had an assistant and she follows up with the Chief Financial Officer of the company and long-time friend of hers, Seo Mi-ae, about the position. She would like to fill the position as quickly as possible but it isn’t easy as there aren’t that many applications and a handful of people have previously quit. Plus, the position for Ji-yoon’s assistant isn’t the only position that they need to fill. As a search firm, Peoplez works for many different clients in order to find the best candidates for their vacant positions. It’s quite hectic and busy when Ji-yoon arrives into the office and she learns more about the newest candidate who she and her team will be targeting. His name is Yang Ho-jin and he currently works for Hansu Electronics. Over at Hansu Electronics, there’s only one person who can try to stop Team Leader Yang from leaving the company and that is none other than Yoo Eun-ho (Lee Joon-hyuk).

When Eun-ho arrives at the office, he discovers that Team Leader Yang is nowhere to be found. So after gathering a few clues around the office, he sets off in his search for Team Leader Yang. And sure enough, Team Leader Yang is not at the office because he’s in a secret meeting with Ji-yoon at his most favorite spot: a temple. Ji-yoon offers Team Leader Yang the opportunity to work with her and her client but is interrupted by none other than Eun-ho. He halts their conversation and Team Leader Yang is embarrassed to be seen by his colleague. He steps away and leaves Ji-yoon and Eun-ho with each other. The two debate as to what is more important to Team Leader Yang: his value for his work or his loyalty to the company he’s been with for 22 years. But Ji-yoon concludes the conversation by adding that companies are never loyal to their employees – a lesson that he will see for himself sooner than later.

The sun sets quicker than expected and it’s already nighttime. Ji-yoon and Eun-ho haven’t made it out of the temple just yet and they descend down the stairs by using the flashlight feature on their phones to guide them. Ji-yoon’s phone battery unfortunately dies but Eun-ho swoops in to help her out. He at first walks past her using the light on his cellphone but then he stops himself and flashes it back at her and down at her feet. Without speaking a word to each other, the two walk together down the steps and eventually reach the exit. Ji-yoon expresses her wishes to never meet Eun-ho again which garners no response from him. However, it’s clear that he’s made quite the impression on Ji-yoon and it’ll be difficult for her to forget about him (EEEEK! This whole scene was sooooo heart-fluttering and swoony. I loved it even more how even though there were no words spoken between them, there was such sizzling chemistry! And all of this happening after meeting each other on bad terms. I’m impressed! I love it so much!).

Later on that night, Team Leader Yang arrives at the restaurant that Eun-ho has arranged for him and their colleagues of Hansu Electronics. It’s another one of his attempts to get Team Leader Yang to stay with the company. But that’s not the only way that Eun-ho appeals to Team Leader Yang. He even helps out at Team Leader Yang’s son’s soccer competition with some yummy food and treats. This is enough for Team Leader Yang to be persuaded to stay and he ultimately decides to reject Ji-yoon’s offer. Ji-yoon, who had driven Team Leader Yang to his son’s soccer competition, notices Eun-ho at the same location and she grows upset. She lost to him this time.

To celebrate Eun-ho’s successful efforts, he and his HR co-workers gather for some drinks after work. But the celebration is quickly interrupted by Chief Song Young-sik who sours the mood by discrediting Eun-ho’s efforts and reminding him how much of a burden he was when he was on parental leave. It’s clear Chief Song dislikes him and things quickly get awkward at the table. Even when bidding farewell, Chief Song continues to pick on Eun-ho and expresses his clear dislike for him. Though it’s been a tough night, Eun-ho cheers up upon picking up his daughter, Byeol, at his neighbor’s apartment. He makes small talk with his neighbor, Jung Soo-hyun, and her mother before leaving to go back home with Byeol.

And it’s due to Eun-ho’s love and care for Byeol that caused Chief Song to hold a grudge on Eun-ho. Upon learning that his daughter was sick and wasn’t doing so well emotionally and mentally, Eun-ho decided to go on leave to be with his daughter. This greatly upset Chief Song who was close to getting a promotion and needed Eun-ho for his project that would allow the promotion to happen. Of course, with Eun-ho’s leave, the project stopped and the promotion was postponed. That’s why Chief Song has never been kind to Eun-ho since his return to the company.

From brushing their teeth together to cooking breakfast for Byeol to doing her hair, Eun-ho is the best dad ever. The father and daughter pair meet Soo-hyun and her son, Seo Joon, on the elevator and he walks them to school. It’s obvious Eun-ho is quite the popular guy and he’s well-known for both his looks and his personality.

There’s another superstar at Peoplez and it’s Woo Jung-hoon, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the company. Or at least it seems like he’s the superstar but when he arrives at the office, he isn’t greeted by anybody. He whispers under his breath that he doesn’t want to go to work (LOL don’t we all feel the same?) and then finds everyone quiet and tense when he enters the office. The reason being is because an employee at the company lied about a candidates’ profiles for one of their main clients which Ji-yoon caught onto. She has a knack for forgetting the names of her employees as well as for bickering with Jung-hoon. He should have been more responsible in overlooking the candidate list affiliated with this client but Jung-hoon has a few words of his own for Ji-yoon. She herself failed to recruit Team Leader Yang which would have been tremendous and huge for Peoplez. After the bickering ends, Jung-hoon notes how tired he is and how much he wants to go home (LOL I love him so much already). Things aren’t going so well for Ji-yoon and she blames it all on Eun-ho (or at least on his business card that he had given to her back during their first meeting). She considers him bad luck and throws his business card away.

Things aren’t looking so good for Eun-ho either. He’s assigned by Chief Song to prepare for a meeting that he originally wasn’t responsible for and he’s forced to leave the meeting shortly after. It’s not until Eun-ho leaves that the meeting resumes. To calm himself down, Eun-ho marches down to the cafe on the first floor of the building and orders a bunch of his favorite sweets and drinks. His close co-worker, Kim Dong-gi, meets him afterwards and persuades him not to quit his job. He still has Byeol to take care of. Ji-yoon is busy herself with her close friend at work, Mi-ae, and she’s forced to eat some food after a long day of work. Mi-ae reminds her to be nicer to her employees by at least remembering their names correctly. But Ji-yoon is more focused on the business aspect of things. Even if all her employees were to leave, she’d be okay with it. That would just mean more money for her. But money doesn’t fix everything and when Ji-yoon arrives back home at the end of a long and grueling day, she’s alone. The house is dark and she immediately flops onto the couch. She swallows a few sleeping pills before attempting to get some sleep only to have visions of a man, presumably her father, saying her name.

Eun-ho is confronted at work by Chief Song who announces to the entire office about the sudden departure of Team Leader Yang. He’s left for a company in China and he accuses Eun-ho of conspiring with Team Leader Yang who he’s afraid may have stolen some company data with him. Eun-ho urgently sets out to find Team Leader Yang and ends up outside of Peoplez headquarters. He’s reminded of his last interaction with Team Leader Yang where he overheard Team Leader Yang talking to Ji-yoon on the phone. So Eun-ho parks his car outside of the Peoplez building and it doesn’t take long for Ji-yoon and Eun-ho to encounter each other again. She accidentally gets into his car and the two are speechless upon seeing each other (hahaha). Ji-yoon quickly exits the vehicle but Eun-ho follows after her to confront her on what she did to Team Leader Yang. He accuses her of being the one who persuaded Team Leader Yang to leave Hansu Electronics for the position in China. Before he can receive Ji-yoon’s answer, he finally gets in contact with Team Leader Yang and runs to the airport to meet him. It turns out Ji-yoon actually discouraged Team Leader Yang from going to China. Instead, it was Kim Hye-jin, CEO of Peoplez’ rival Career Way, who was behind the decision.

When Eun-ho meets with Team Leader Yang at the airport, the two have a real and honest talk with each other. Team Leader Yang never stole any company data nor is he a traitor. The decision to move to China was entirely his own. He wanted something different; he wanted to get paid worth his value and also be a role model to his son. He never plans on returning to Korea again. So with that, the two men bid farewell with each other and Team Leader Yang gives Eun-ho some helpful advice,

“Don’t work too hard, Manager Yoo. In the company’s view, we’re just disposable. We are discarded when no longer useful. There’s no shortage of new replacements.”

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the Audit Team at Hansu Electronics invades Eun-ho’s desk at the office and packs all of his belongings. This was clearly a tactic from Chief Song to eliminate Eun-ho and Eun-ho fell for the trap. He’s devastated at the situation but there’s nothing he can do. Eun-ho is eventually terminated for “leaking internal data” and he loses his job at Hansu Electronics.

Ji-yoon is still super busy with Peoplez which causes Mi-ae to also be super busy in looking and cleaning after her. When Ji-yoon returns to the office after an exhausting day of work, she suddenly faints and is rushed to the hospital. The two are also joined by Jung-hoon who arrives at the hospital after hearing the news. While meeting with a doctor, the three learn that Ji-yoon is suffering from cognitive and mental overload. She shows signs of symptoms that the doctor lists and is recommended to not overstress and to work less (all things that Mi-ae had been telling her this entire time). So to de-stress, Ji-yoon visits Mi-ae’s bookstore run by Mi-ae’s husband and takes some time to distract herself with books. It’s something she’s always enjoyed doing since her high school days with Mi-ae. Though Ji-yoon is a strong, tough, and independent CEO of a successful company, she’s human after all and she can’t do it all by herself. She needs some help.

And that help arrives at the perfect time. Upon entering the elevators at her work building, Ji-yoon discovers Eun-ho in the same elevator as her. She’s suspicious of his presence but doesn’t think too much about it. It is odd that he’s at the same place as her but maybe he’s there for something else. Right… right? And sure enough, he is there for something. It’s for her. Because as soon as Ji-yoon enters the Peoplez office, Eun-ho follows suit shortly afterwards and he makes his grand appearance as well.

Mi-ae is relieved to see Eun-ho finally arrive at the office. She welcomes him in and he struts down the room to greet Mi-ae as well as his boss. All eyes are on him but there’s only one thing on his mind. Mi-ae happily introduces Eun-ho to Ji-yoon and announces his position as her secretary. With that, Eun-ho swallows his pride and wishes his new boss a good morning. When one door closes, another one opens and it’s the doors to the office at Peoplez that he finds himself welcomed to.

My Thoughts:

Man oh man, after rewatching this episode, there were so many details that did a great job in setting up what would eventually be the ending scene which was Eun-ho’s arrival as Ji-yoon’s secretary. Additionally, there were so many good messages and lessons related to work and one’s professional career that this episode conveyed and that I think could resonate with many viewers. I really enjoyed everything about this episode and I think the drama was able to pull all the bits and pieces together in a way that made this first episode smooth and easy to watch as well as help set things up for the future.

Before I go on to speak about the messages that the drama relayed related to work and one’s career, I really want to talk about Lee Joon-hyuk first and commend him for his acting. It’s barely the first episode but I’m already so impressed and amazed at how well he portrays Eun-ho. Lee Joon-hyuk is a really good actor in general but he plays Eun-ho in a way that is so subtle, careful, delicate, and soft. And maybe a part of that is because his character as a single, loving, and kind father requires him to portray these types of emotions but there’s also just something about Lee Joon-hyuk’s acting specifically that elevates Eun-ho’s character. The two scenes that impressed me the most was the flashlight scene where he walked with Ji-yoon down the stairs at night at the temple. He said no words and only used his facial expressions to convey his emotions and he did a wonderful job in expressing himself during this moment.

The other scene that amazed me was during the ending when Eun-ho greeted Ji-yoon and wished her a good morning. In a way, I interpreted this scene as Eun-ho biting his tongue, swallowing his pride, and admitting internally that she was right all along. Companies really don’t care for their employees and will immediately find someone new to replace them. That was the situation that Eun-ho found himself in and that was how he ended up as Ji-yoon’s secretary at Peoplez. So in that moment, Eun-ho had to face his reality, had to accept the fact that Ji-yoon was right, and be open to working a new position for the CEO of a company who he was on bad terms with. Lee Joon-hyuk is doing great as Eun-ho but it was these two scenes in particular that really stood out to me and made me appreciate and love him even more. Lee Joon-hyuk is just so so good as Eun-ho, I really don’t know how else to explain it.

I felt for Eun-ho in this episode and my heart broke for him as he suffered at work because he chose to put his daughter first. He’s a single father who loves his daughter and she clearly needed him. She was his priority (rightfully so) and this decision was something that Chief Song didn’t respect. I hated seeing Eun-ho being treated disrespectfully and rudely by Chief Song and it’s unfortunate that the senior-junior (sunbae-hoobae) formality at work prevented Eun-ho from advocating for himself. It’s clear that Byeol means a lot to Eun-ho and he would do anything for her. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with putting family first.

There’s also truth to Team Leader Yang’s words about how companies don’t take responsibility for their employees. They will dispose of employees and then find replacements for them as quickly as they can. This is a message that I’ve heard many times before and it serves as a good reminder of what reality is like in the professional world. Team Leader Yang was at Hansu Electronics for 22 years before deciding to call it quits and move away. He chose himself this time; he put him and his family first. Chief Song strategized a method to get rid of Eun-ho because Eun-ho chose his daughter over work. It can be challenging to quit a job or to just walk away because you have bills to pay and mouths to feed but when is enough enough? How much longer can one put up with it and how much worse can it get before one decides to leave? This was a battle that Eun-ho fought with at Hansu Electronics and it turned out to be a blessing for him because even though he lost his job, the end results landed him in a much better position.

I appreciated the drama setting the tone by showing us Ji-yoon executing her job as CEO of Peoplez. As seen with the case of Peter Kwon and then with Team Leader Yang, we witnessed how smart and competent she is and how she was able to become so successful. Sometimes, dramas like to tell rather than show but here, we actually got to witness Ji-yoon perform and execute successfully which aided in helping us learn more about her character. Her conversations with Mi-ae about doing the little things right like remembering her employees’ names correctly was also an example of her mental fatigue and cognitive overload but also a preview as to how Ji-yoon could change (for the better). She’s so focused on the business side of things (which make sense given that she is CEO) that she forgets about the more humane aspects of her job. Yes, she’s the CEO of a successful company but she’s also human. Human in the sense that she can’t do it all by herself or all at once (which resulted in her fainting and receiving treatment at the hospital). But she’s also human in the sense that it’s important for her to build and sustain healthy connections with the employees who work for her. And this is where Eun-ho’s position as her secretary can come in handy. Though he may be working for Ji-yoon, he’ll also show her a few things along the way that will help her grow both professionally and personally.

And thankfully, we already got a small glimpse of what it would look like with Eun-ho as Ji-yoon’s secretary. That scene of him sharing his flashlight with her and walking down the steps with her was probably one of the most heart-fluttering and impactful scenes that I’ve seen in a drama in a while. What’s even crazier is that they didn’t even speak any words or say anything to each other and yet, the scene was so loud. There was already so much chemistry between them two. It was also just so heart-fluttering with how kind Eun-ho was to Ji-yoon. Ji-yoon and Eun-ho had just debated with each other over Team Leader Yang and they met on bad terms. He could have just left her behind to fend for herself but he instead chose to assist her. They may have started off as enemies and rivals but they found themselves in a situation where they could uplift each other. Ji-yoon needed someone who could help her become more organized and structured. Eun-ho needed a new job that was healthier and more secure. He’s a kind and loving person; she’s a strong and successful business woman. They eventually found their ways to each other and are now on the same side. It’s a win-win for them both.