Hae-soo just blinks at Jae-yeol's sudden marriage proposal, and she finally just starts misinterpreting his question in the hopes that she heard wrong. But nope, he meant what he said: "Let's get married."
She tries to pass the situation off lightly, and scoffs that he'd have a hard time if he found a woman who would say yes to a proposal like his. Obviously, she's not that woman.
After Tae-yong breaks down into tears when Sunbae Jo tells him that Jae-yeol will need treatment, we find our couple at a bar where Yoon-chul and his schizophrenic wife work.
As usual, Jae-yeol is keenly interested in how Hye-jin has a successful relationship and career with her condition, which Hae-soo claims is perfectly healthy.
"Let's get married," Jae-yeol mentions again suddenly. Hae-soo asks him how he can ask it so lightly, to which he asks in return whether she'd like him to get a ring and turn the proposal into a production. That's not what she wants, as she explains how she couldn't handle being married right now, what with her family's debt and her career.
Jae-yeol accepts her explanation at face value, and says it's fine-they just won't get married. Then Hae-soo gets upset that he dropped the matter so easily, but it's clear that she's deliberately antagonizing him because she seems to find it fun. Or something.
"I'm just wondering... How long do you think we'll be happy like this?" she asks. "What would be the reason if we were to break up?" She brings up how it always happens in makjang dramas with the disapproving parents, and wonders whether she'll receive an envelope of money from his mother in order for her to disappear.
He just chuckles that his mother doesn't have the money, and even if she did, he'd want Hae-soo to bring the money to him so they could run away together. Ha. But in the absence of parental rejection, he claims the only reason they'd have to break up is because of their tempers, which has Hae-soo spitting up her drink.
Serious now (for real you guys), Hae-soo asks if he really has plans to marry her. She can't seem to believe that she's the first woman he's ever asked, and that he's dead serious. She wonders why he'd want to marry her when she's iffy on the kids issue, terrible at housework, and prefers studying above all else. So why would he insist on marrying her?
Jae-yeol would rather call it a night, but Hae-soo demands that he tell her his reasons now. He'd rather give her a gift he got her-a new wallet, complete with a picture of them and money inside. (Does this practice exist across all cultures? I also grew up being told that you never give someone an empty wallet or purse. Bad luck or some such.)
But Hae-soo won't let him leave without telling her why he wants to marry her, and makes it easier for him by closing her eyes to hear his answer. Only then does he tell her:
"I sleep in a bathtub instead of a bed, and my mom sleeps in her cold living room with the windows open every night, even in winter. And the fact that my brother has spent the last fourteen years of his life in prison... I don't have the courage to share those stories with any other woman but you. Even after hearing and witnessing all that about my life, you don't feel disgust or pity toward me. Do you think there's another woman out there who can listen like that and like me for who I am, like you? I don't think there is. Hae-soo, if you know of another woman like that, please tell me, so I won't have to cling to you as much."
He apologizes for not giving her the lighthearted answer she was expecting, and the two part ways with much to consider. Hae-soo calls him later that night with a heavy sigh: "Jang Jae-yeol. If I told you I don't want to marry you, would you stop dating me?"
"No," he replies simply. She seems surprised that he wouldn't, and asks whether he wouldn't see any other women, either. Again, his answer is no. Hae-soo: "Why not?" Jae-yeol: "Because I love you."
