MaryMeKpop

It seems like there’s nothing that can stop Ji-yoon and Eun-ho. Not Career Way, not Chairman Woo, not Jung-hoon, not outside people. They’re each other’s biggest fans and their relationship remains strong and stable. But just when it seems like things are going well, the couple face their biggest test yet. And it’s one that will shake up both of their worlds. It’s a test that they never thought imaginable.

Love Scout: Episode 9 Recap

At Chairman Woo’s party, Eun-ho interrupts the intense situation between him and Ji-yoon and he steps in to protect his partner. The unexpected moment allows Ji-yoon and Eun-ho to excuse themselves from the party but Ji-yoon isn’t all that happy with Eun-ho. Why did he step in? She didn’t need his help (and I agree with her). It made her look pathetic. But this is Eun-ho’s way of protecting her and he comforts her. Ji-yoon doesn’t have to look strong all the time. It’s okay to not be perfect every single time. He’ll be there for her every single step of the way. So Ji-yoon calms down and the two head over to her place after. To make up, the two lovebirds have a passionate make-out session. So passionate that books and papers from one of Ji-yoon’s shelves fall over the place, causing the couple to pause to share some laughs (and I’m laughing with them because there was so much going on with all the noise and the papers and books falling over. Like please, just let them be in peace!! Lol).

The next morning, Ji-yoon and Eun-ho ride the same elevator as the rest of her staff. They’re quiet and stern and don’t show any type of emotion so Kwang-hee, Gyeong-hwa, Young-soo, and Gyu-rim all assume Ji-yoon’s upset with something. But she’s actually not and Mi-ae catches Ji-yoon smiling as she walks into her office. Hahaha. She’s about to confront Ji-yoon about it but is disrupted by a surprise visit from Jung-hoon. He visits Ji-yoon’s office to address the situation at his father’s party from the night before. He apologizes on his father’s behalf and advises Ji-yoon not to trust his father too much. But at the same time, she shouldn’t become enemies with him. And lastly, Jung-hoon finally receives the dagger to the question that he already had a feeling about but was in denial of receiving an answer to. Ji-yoon confirms that yes, she is indeed dating Eun-ho (Jung-hoon, just give it up my boy.. just let it go..).

Our Peoplez team meet to discuss their next project: a portal site that owns domestic market shares called Next is hiring a new CEO. It’s a public competition for a bid so Career Way has also been recruited in the search for the position. Ji-yoon and Hye-jin meet up with the chairman of Next. He emphasizes the significance of the new CEO hiring. Whoever is able to successfully find the best candidate for the CEO position will be the search firm who Next will exclusively partner with afterwards. After the meeting, Ji-yoon and Hye-jin share a few words with each other. She assumes that Ji-yoon and Eun-ho are dating and is baffled at how Ji-yoon can be in a relationship instead of focusing on work. But Eun-ho steps in to stand up for both himself and Ji-yoon. Yes, he’s well aware of what type of person Ji-yoon is: she’s stringent, stubborn, and relentless. But that’s why Hye-jin shouldn’t want to mess with Ji-yoon and he hopes that she’ll fight fair and square this time (OHHH!!). So with that, Ji-yoon and Eun-ho take their leave but Ji-yoon’s flustered at how Eun-ho described her. Relentless? But hey, it’s not like Eun-ho was lying, right? Ji-yoon can’t help but find him cute (EEEEK! They’re both so cute).

Jung-hoon confronts his dad and warns him not to even think about doing anything to Ji-yoon. But Chairman Woo only cares about himself and how he benefits from his relationship with Ji-yoon. Since she has no plans of marrying Jung-hoon and she refused to do him any favors, it’s time he cut his ties with her. Jung-hoon heads to the office after and he finds Eun-ho there working late at night. So the two guys go out to grab some drinks and have a talk. Jung-hoon also receives confirmation from Eun-ho’s side that his feelings for Ji-yoon are mutual and that he likes her. This pushes Jung-hoon to drink and drink and drink to the point where he asks for an arm wrestling match with Eun-ho. LOL. The two get into it and Jung-hoon ends up winning the match. He may not have won Ji-yoon’s heart but he at least won over Eun-ho in something else. Eun-ho drives Jung-hoon over to his place since Jung-hoon’s too intoxicated to even think properly. Once they arrive at Eun-ho’s apartment complex, they come across Soo-hyun. This is how Eun-ho discovers that Soo-hyun and Jung-hoon are already acquainted and Jung-hoon’s also curious as to how Soo-hyun and Eun-ho know each other. But before they can get into explaining things, Jung-hoon follows Soo-hyun to her place and ends up entering inside. He’s such a mess that he knocks out on the floor inside of Soo-hyun’s apartment.

When Jung-hoon wakes up the next morning, he finally comprehends his surroundings and he panics. But Soo-hyun’s Mom invites him to stay for some breakfast so he joins Soo-hyun and her family. Grandma’s curious about Jung-hoon and wants to know more about him and unlike what Soo-hyun thinks, Jung-hoon feels comfortable talking about himself. He’s willing to talk about whatever Grandma wants to talk about. However, the conversation barely gets started for it’s time to walk the kids to school. Eun-ho and Byeol show up to Soo-hyun’s place. Things click for Jung-hoon as he walks with Soo-hyun, Eun-ho, Byeol, and Seo-joon to school. Soo-hyun’s one-sided crush who she was referring to this entire time was none other than Eun-ho. Lol.

During a meeting to discuss next steps for the Next CEO position, Ji-yoon asks for Gyeong-hwa to compile a list of candidates. This surprises Gyeong-hwa because Ji-yoon has finally called her by her name correctly for the first time. Our Peoplez quartet notice how different Ji-yoon’s been acting recently. It’s as if she’s become more gentle and nice. Haha. But it’s not just our quartet who’s paying close attention to Ji-yoon. Eun-ho himself pays close attention to her during her meeting with the CEO of a successful interior design firm, Min Jeong-hyuk (special cameo by Kwak Si-yang). He’s good-looking and smart and Eun-ho can’t help but feel jealous of him. Jeong-hyuk notices Eun-ho’s behavior during the meeting and decides to take things up a notch. He invites Ji-yoon over for some dinner to discuss more details about work. So since Ji-yoon doesn’t have any dinner plans, she accepts the invitation and she’s okay with not having Eun-ho there to accompany her.

Eun-ho can’t help but feel bothered about Ji-yoon’s dinner plans with Jeong-hyuk. He’s jealous and he can’t stop looking at his phone for any notifications. He spends some time with Kang-seok at Dodam bookstore while waiting for Ji-yoon. Kang-seok can tell that Eun-ho is jealous and he admits to his friend that he knows about Ji-yoon and Eun-ho’s romance. Haha. Speaking of Ji-yoon, she unexpectedly shows up to the bookstore. Instead of having dinner with Jeong-hyuk, she would much rather be with her boyfriend and Eun-ho is relieved to see his girlfriend. He wants her to have dinner with him instead and it’s obvious he is jealous (I have the biggest smile on my face watching this scene. I can’t get enough of these two lovebirds!). So Ji-yoon and Eun-ho walk out of the bookstore hand in hand to grab some dinner and Mi-ae and Kang-seok admire them from afar. It seems as if Mi-ae’s accepted Ji-yoon and Eun-ho’s relationship. As long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters.

Chairman Woo meets with the Next chairman. Chairman Woo was the one who recommended both Career Way and Peoplez to him and he doesn’t seem to have one preference over the other. Hye-jin meets with the Next chairman privately to provide him with some updates. Though the chairman wishes to conduct a fair hiring process, Hye-jin is well aware of the chairman’s relationship with Chairman Woo. If he wishes to keep his position, he should do what makes Chairman Woo most happy.

Eun-ho and Ji-yoon spend another late night working at the office and take a coffee break together. Since the weekend is approaching, Ji-yoon throws out the idea that they go on a date. Eun-ho already has some plans that he’s arranged so they’ll have to go another time. He’ll tell Ji-yoon what it’s all about later. So when the weekend arrives, Eun-ho meets up with a man named Park Gi-hoon. He shares information about Kang Gyeong-tae, the elementary school teacher who saved Eun-ho in the Gajin fire that Eun-ho was involved in as a child. The man left behind his daughter who suddenly became an orphan. Since Gi-hoon doesn’t know much about her, he suggests that Eun-ho visit Mr. Kang’s school to learn more. And sure enough, Eun-ho receives confirmation that Mr. Kang’s daughter is Ji-yoon, CEO of Peoplez.

The episode takes us back to the tragic day of the fire incident. Young Eun-ho returned home to an empty house and fed himself some food while watching TV. Later that night, he woke up to loud noise and the fire alarm blazing. He realizes that the building is on fire and he screams for help as he’s trapped inside of his room. The next thing he remembers is the sight of Ji-yoon’s dad rescuing him. Ji-yoon’s dad puts his life on the line to save Eun-ho. He eventually hands Eun-ho over to firefighters who thankfully arrives right at that moment but it’s too late for Ji-yoon’s dad. The fire explodes and he doesn’t make it out alive.

Eun-ho meets with Mi-ae privately to chat about Ji-yoon’s dad. He learns more about Ji-yoon’s thoughts towards her father and how upset she was that her father left her behind. She was all alone and had no one. Her mom passed away and her extended family didn’t care for her. It’s obvious that Ji-yoon went through a lot to get to where she is today and this deeply hurts Eun-ho. He struggles to process all the information that was just shared to him and he feels guilty. Guilty for surviving and devastated for Ji-yoon who endured so much. He eventually receives a phone call from Ji-yoon who’s on a special date with Byeol and he meets up with them. He doesn’t feel at peace though knowing what he knows about Ji-yoon and even though he should be happy seeing Ji-yoon and Byeol get along so well, he keeps feeling bothered. While driving home that night, Ji-yoon points out how much Byeol likes her father and how lucky she is to have a dad like him. In a way, she wished she had a father like him too. Eun-ho stays up late thinking about Ji-yoon.

Eun-ho doesn’t come in for work the next day which worries Ji-yoon. She can’t seem to get a hold of him through text or phone call. Eun-ho goes to pay his respect to Ji-yoon’s dad at his memorial site. He stares at a photo of Ji-yoon with her dad and shares,

“Thank you for saving me. Thanks to you, I didn’t give up. And now, about Ji-yoon, I want to protect Ji-yoon now. Will that be okay?”

Eun-ho finally returns Ji-yoon’s phone call and goes over to her place to visit her. She’s excited upon seeing him again and he enters her place. Ji-yoon’s cheerful and upbeat but she quickly notices that something’s off. He’s acting weird. Did something happen? Why does he seem so down? Eun-ho observes how empty Ji-yoon’s apartment feels despite its large size and he feels sorry for her. He shares with her what he did for the day and how he went to visit her father. He elaborates that he was the child who her father saved in the fire incident. Upon learning the truth from Eun-ho, Ji-yoon lets go of his hand and takes a few steps back. She stares at Eun-ho in disbelief and shock at what she just heard. Eun-ho’s heartbroken over all that he’s learned the past few days and he’s hurting for Ji-yoon. Just how will they recover from this?

My Thoughts:

Okay okay okay okay okay. I’m trying not to freak out over what transpired in this episode because we finally got the primary conflict that will test our main couple’s relationship and it’s up to them to see how they will bounce back from such a huge situation. I have to admit that I was a bit worried how the drama was going to handle this sub-plot and if it was going to even mishandle everything but I was so relieved to see how things played out. The drama approached this story carefully and went about things the right way.

I was close to tears watching Eun-ho pay his respects to Ji-yoon’s dad at the memorial site and I think this was the scene that sold me on how well the drama handled the conflict between our main couple. We knew it was something that the drama was building up to and that we would eventually get to this point where Eun-ho and Ji-yoon would find out the truth. So it wasn’t a matter of when they were going to find but rather how and I’m glad the drama stayed true to its root and didn’t go overboard with things. It turned out that the two were already involved and connected to each other in a way and the foundation for this connection was rooted in a tragic incident that altered their lives. Ji-yoon was forced to grow up much quicker than she expected and she had to learn to live for herself. She had no one to rely on and her experience of losing her dad taught her to be independent and strong. Many years later, she falls in love with the person who her father saved in the fire incident. Ji-yoon was able to finally understand what love looked and felt like for once and that was because of her father’s actions in saving Eun-ho.

When I take a step back from the details of the fire incident, the optimistic side of me views Ji-yoon and Eun-ho’s relationship as something that’s bittersweet. It’s heartbreaking for Ji-yoon who lost her mother and then also her father at a young age. She had no one to call home or family. She was left all by herself and she resented her father because he went back inside the building even though she didn’t want him to. His action caused a huge ripple effect on her life. But although she lost her father, the person who he saved was the one who brightened up her life and her world. He’s the one who loved her and cared for her and supported her. He’s the person who showed her what warmth feels like. And how fun and gentle and beautiful life can be. She was able to find love through him. It’s just both so tragic and beautiful at the same time. The person who you love is also the same person that resulted in the devastating situation that you experienced. The same could be said for Eun-ho who was the reason as to why Ji-yoon’s dad went back inside the burning building. He feels guilty for surviving but he can now protect Ji-yoon and take care of her since her dad wasn’t able to after his death. Of course, it won’t make up for what happened and Ji-yoon will always be hurt over losing her father. But at the same time, things are different now. The things that Ji-yoon grieved over and wished her dad could have done for her are things she will experience with Eun-ho. She’s no longer alone. She has someone who she can rely on and go to. She has someone who will protect her.

I liked how the drama gave us plenty of moments to show Eun-ho processing his emotions and feelings. He was suffering from survivor’s guilt since Ji-yoon’s dad died in the process of saving him and he was hurting for Ji-yoon. But he was also trying to process his role in all of this. I wish he wouldn’t blame himself for being the one who survived. It was terrifying to be stuck in a building that was on fire with little hope of escaping and he had no one else there to help him. Eun-ho being Eun-ho, he thought about Ji-yoon’s side of the situation a lot more and felt for her. But I hope he will also take care of himself and protect himself. He did nothing wrong.

Moving on to the other characters, I wished the drama would do more with Jung-hoon’s arc. Granted, he’s the second male lead so I’m not expecting him to receive a heavy dose of screen time or focus but it’s such a shame that he doesn’t seem to do much. I enjoyed watching him bond with Soo-hyun and I wished the drama could have gone this route. Instead, this episode still showed Jung-hoon pining over Ji-yoon who we all know is going to end up with Eun-ho. It just feels a bit redundant and pointless to have Jung-hoon be hung up on Ji-yoon this late into the drama. In a way, I understand that Jung-hoon’s unrequited feelings for Ji-yoon is linked to Chairman Woo’s connection with Ji-yoon which the drama has been focusing on a little bit more recently. But at the same time, I want to see something different from Jung-hoon other than him constantly drinking out of sadness and heartbreak for a woman who doesn’t love him back. There’s so much potential to do more with his character arc. Show us more of him spending time with Soo-hyun or his complicated relationship with his father. Heck, even if he’s involved mainly for the comedic effect, I’m okay with that too. But instead, Jung-hoon has primarily been all about Ji-yoon which is unfortunate. I have little to no reason to be invested in his unrequited crush because I have every single reason to root for Ji-yoon and Eun-ho’s romance instead.

“Love Scout” just continues to amaze me with how calm it feels even when there’s stuff going on in the drama. It’s a drama that relies on the details with its storytelling. From Eun-ho paying respects to Ji-yoon’s dad at his memorial site to Eun-ho watching Ji-yoon spend some time with Byeol, the drama takes such good care of its characters and the storylines. It doesn’t over-exaggerate or feel rushed, it doesn’t ramp things up with some unnecessary drama and theatrics, it didn’t go all makjang on us with the fire incident revelation and confrontation (and you never want to go full makjang). “Love Scout” took its sweet time in showing us how conflicted, heartbroken, and devastated Eun-ho was in learning the truth and how hurt he was in having to tell this to Ji-yoon. We’ve reached halfway through the fire incident sub-plot and the other half will be to see how Eun-ho and Ji-yoon react. How do they process this information? Do they go weeks without talking? Do they take some time away from each other? What are their feelings and emotions through all of this? It won’t be easy and this is the biggest test to their relationship just yet but someway, somehow, they will figure it out. Ji-yoon and Eun-ho will come back from this stronger than ever.

Bonus: Since only one episode aired this week, it felt so weird not watching anything on Friday night and I felt so empty and dead inside (I seriously had no idea what to do on Friday evening after work. I’m so used to watching this drama on Friday’s!!). I was inspired to create a video edit of our adorable couple using a song that I really like which is linked down below. And if you’re interested, I have plenty of more video edits on my Youtube channel as well :]