All good things must come to an end, but will our archaeopteryx and leading lady have a fairy tale K-drama finale? Grandpa's keen on separating them, but maybe our heroine can win him over with her charm and love for his grandson.
EPISODES 11-12
As expected, there was more to Hari's conversation with Grandpa than what was shown last week. The extended scene reveals that she was able to come clean about all the subterfuge, and Grandpa's resulting cold dismissiveness stems mostly from his concern that her association with Tae-mu will create rumors and sully Tae-mu's reputation.
Since their relationship was all a lie, he tells her to cut ties with Tae-mu to avoid any potential fallout. Before she can admit that she and Tae-mu are now in a real relationship, though, Sung-hoon calls with word that Tae-mu was involved in an accident.
Hari follows Grandpa to the hospital — in a taxi because he rudely doesn't give her a ride — where he buckles down on his opinion of her, even after Tae-mu – who's barely injured from the car wreck, by the way – explains that he's dating Hari for real. Tae-mu even drops the L-bomb, but Grandpa cannot overlook Hari's lies and deception.
Tae-mu argues that he was the one who blackmailed her to participate in their fake contract relationship. If Grandpa wants to blame someone, he should point fingers at Tae-mu. And, Tae-mu threatens, if Grandpa won't accept the woman he loves, then he can kiss his dream of great-grandbabies goodbye. It's Hari or the highway, Grandpa.
Young-seo picks Hari up from the hospital, but on the way home, it starts to rain. Hari, remembering Tae-mu's PTSD, asks Young-seo to pull the car over so she can run back to the hospital... in the rain... without an umbrella. So, of course, she's soaking wet when she rejoins Grandpa and Sung-hoon in the lobby. On the bright side, her obvious concern for Tae-mu and sprint through the downpour softens Grandpa's glare — slightly.
She finds Tae-mu standing at the window, where he appears calm despite the rain. As he gazes at the skyline and the view of N Seoul Tower, he's reminded of his childhood, of his father calling the tower a Christmas tree, and of the time his parents came up with a convincing lie that extended the number of years he believed in Santa.
The trip down memory lane inevitably leads to discussing the car accident that took his parents' lives. Although the tone is serious, the flashbacks are theatrical and stylized in such a way that's reminiscent of some of the drama's earlier scenes (e.g. Hari's interpretation of their fake rainy day meet-cute), which helps blend the tragic subject matter with the light-heartedness of the drama.
Tae-mu — predictably — ends his tale of woe with an admission of guilt, having blamed himself for their deaths. If only he hadn't insisted that they drive through the torrential rain so that they could spend his birthday at the theme park! But our unconventional heroine comforts him in an equally nontraditional way: by asking him if he blames her for his recent car accident, too.
"Of course not!" he objects, and because he's so distracted trying to reassure her, he fails to notice her smile. See, she tells him, your parents wouldn't want you to blame yourself for their accident, just as you don't want me to feel responsible for yours.
After unintentionally falling asleep at Tae-mu's bedside, Hari returns to work the next day and finds that she's at the center of a scandal — all thanks to that fart kazoo Yoo-ra. In typical jealous girl fashion, Yoo-ra believes Hari is the one who lit her dumpster relationship on fire, so she takes to the interwebs and posts a tell-all comment. She exposes both Hari's seven-year unrequited crush on Min-woo and her secret relationship with Tae-mu, and people jump to the conclusion that Hari is two-timing.
