Naughty KISS

Episode : 14

Seung-jo’s jealousy-fueled, rain-soaked, you-can’t-love-anyone-but-me kiss leaves Ha-ni (and everyone else) a puddle of goo. At home, Dad is announcing their departure from the house, throwing everyone up in arms.

Just then, Seung-jo and Ha-ni arrive home, sopping wet. Mom sends them upstairs, but Eun-jo rushes up to his brother: “Oh Ha-ni is leaving!”

At that, Seung-jo does the unimaginable. He takes Ha-ni by the hand, sweetly interlocking their fingers, and announces that they have something to say. Omo! So soon?

Seung-jo: I want to marry Ha-ni.

Cue trumpets, dancing pandas, and stockpile of confetti. I seriously thought we’d be in for some more roundabout angst before he actually admitted the consequences of the Big Kiss, but hey, I’m all for forward movement. Bring back the Cute!

Mom squeals louder than twenty fangirls on speed, hugging Ha-ni and jumping up and down. Her statement to her son cracks me up: “Baek Seung-jo, why are you so awesome right now?” Hahaha.

Upstairs, Seung-jo says goodnight and Ha-ni stops him for a moment, scared that when they wake up, he’ll go back to being cold Robot Boy. He backhugs her (Who are you?) and casually tosses out, “Should we sleep together then?” Kyah! She buries her face in his chest, saying how much she likes him and that she never even imagined he’d like her back. Seung-jo: “Neither did I.” Heh, it’s dense, but totally honest.

Back at the restaurant, Duckie laments his stupid pushy move on Ha-ni earlier. Yeah, that was your downfall, buddy. He packs a lunch for Ha-ni and heads to campus to apologize…only to find a poster announcing Ha-ni and Seung-jo’s promise to marry.

Okay, what is with the convenient announcements all over school, all the time? I get that it’s cutesy, but as a plot device, (as in, a way for people to find out important things) it’s lame.

Elsewhere on campus, Seung-jo breaks the news to He-ra, who shows her disappointment, but basically acknowledges that everyone knew he liked Ha-ni, but him. She even understands exactly why it was so hard for him to realize it—because Ha-ni was the first problem he’s faced that he couldn’t solve easily, unlike everything else he’s ever encountered.

Seung-jo admits to having a really hard time with it, but now that he’s surrendered completely to Ha-ni, he’s happy. And it shows on his face. I’ve never seen him smiling so much, in all of the previous thirteen episodes combined.

He apologizes to He-ra, and admits that he really did think they were a good match, and that he felt comfortable around her. He-ra puts two and two together: he ran away from the discomfort of his feelings for Ha-ni, and took shelter with her, where he felt comfortable. Ouch. He doesn’t deny it, and she plays it cool, congratulating him even while her heart is breaking, which makes me respect her all the more.

Ha-ni laments not being able to tell Duckie herself, but he’s hurting too much to take her calls. He-ra takes out her heartache on a few hundred tennis balls, and Kyung-soo steps up at just the right time, as a shoulder to cry on.

Duckie takes to the river for his bout of angst, complete with beer and a song. Ha-ni’s heart weighs heavy all day too, knowing how Duckie must feel. She comes to Dad’s restaurant after closing, and when she appears, Duckie braces himself for impact. He tries so hard to put on a brave face, to keep her from saying the words out loud…it breaks my heart.

Just then, Seung-jo walks in, declaring that he likes Ha-ni, and asking for Duckie to let her go. That just raises Duckie’s ire, knowing how badly Seung-jo has treated her for four years, but then Ha-ni finally speaks up, and puts the nail in the coffin. Ha-ni: “Joon-gu-ya, I’m sorry. I’m sorry and I’m grateful.”