Our two favorite couples are on a seesaw this week — as one pair celebrates crossing a romantic milestone, the other hits a speed bump. Relationships are a lot of work and communication, so hopefully our favorite ships can find the appropriate balance.
EPISODES 9-10
I legitimately woke up Monday morning excited that it was Monday. Who am I? What kind of person has Business Proposal turned me into?! But as ready as I was to start my week and watch my fill of my favorite K-drama characters, I don't think I surpassed Tae-mu's enthusiasm the morning after his kiss with Hari.
He's so eager to see her again that he gives her a wake-up call — ahhh, an archaeopteryx with a heart! He's also outside her house, waiting to have a little pre-work breakfast date. The date is both over the top (he used his connections to access a popular restaurant before opening hours) and understated (he cooked for her), which is a bit like Tae-mu himself. He's just a simple boy wrapped in rich chaebol packaging.
They sit down to eat, and Tae-mu notices that Hari is wearing two different shoes. Considering a large portion of her morning routine was dedicated to skin care — gotta make sure we see that PPL packaging — it's understandable that she rushed through dressing herself. Tae-mu finds her mismatched footwear absolutely adorable, and he teases her, which makes Hari blush. (They are so gosh darn cute! I just want to bundle them up and carry them around in my pocket!)
At work, Sung-hoon updates Tae-mu on the success of Hari and Min-woo's viral video, which has created a noticeable increase in their sales. And speaking of Hari, how did things with her go last night?
Tae-mu lets Sung-hoon stew in his curiosity for a moment, but Tae-mu is too pleased with himself to stay silent for long. Nonchalantly, he asks Sung-hoon to buy a pair of women's shoes and oh-so-casually reveals that they are for his girlfriend.
The shoes are delivered to Hari's office via a courier, who announces they're from her boyfriend. Her coworkers are instantly curious, but she dismisses the impending gossip with a lie that the expensive heels are from her prankster friend Young-seo.
Tae-mu, who spent a whole meeting doodling Hari's name and contemplating canceling his next business trip, can't resist popping in to see his secret girlfriend before he leaves town. As he holds out his tablet, she spies his doodles and panic-swats the screen. Her coworkers stare aghast as his tablet hits the floor, and she lies, saying she saw a fly. Sung-hoon — who understands the assignment — claims he saw it, too.
While the men are overseas for business, Tae-mu tries to call Hari, but she's out at a team dinner and can't find a private place to answer her phone. At the same time, Sung-hoon receives texts from Young-seo — and her cousin.
See, what had happened was... Sung-hoon went on the blind date with Yoo-uung. He did his best to politely reject her, but she was — quite understandably — smitten at first sight. She's also undeterred by his proclamation that he has a girlfriend and won't take no for an answer.
So when Young-seo runs into Yoo-jung at the office and they both begin bragging about their new beaus, they have no idea that it's the same man! There's no way this can possibly go wrong... Oh wait! It almost immediately does.
Yoo-jung's mom JIN CHAE-RIM (Kim Young-ah) overhears Yoo-jung bragging about her new man. Assuming she's talking about Tae-mu, Chae-rim immediately reports the "good news" to Grandpa. His emotions flit through surprise, doubtfulness, and regret — the last emotion clearly stemming from the realization he might have to be in-laws with Chae-rim.
When Tae-mu returns to South Korea, he immediately seeks out Hari to collect on the dinner he owes her for winning MVP at the company field day. They go to her favorite tteokbokki restaurant, where Hari explains that she would like to keep their relationship secret at work. Tae-mu pouts, and Hari appeases him slightly by introducing him as her boyfriend to the ajumma running the restaurant. Ajumma is so excited that she offers to give them some free soondae, which upsets the nearby high school girls who want the same offer.
