Descendants of the Sun Ep 7 Recap (and working through disaster)

Shijin and Moyeon part, taking on separate roles in the protection of the citizens of Urk.

Shijin begins work immediately, calling into part of the collapsed structure, asking survivors to knock three times if they hear him. One of the other soldiers has squeezed some auditory equipment in there, and checks it for soundwaves from trapped people trying to communicate in any way they can. He can’t hear anything at first and wonders if they’re wrong about survivors, but Shijin reasons that most of the crew was working on the tower and would have tried to escape through this route. He asks Daeyoung for help but Jin Youngsoo’s jumps in and starts lecturing the soldiers on where, in his mighty opinion, they should be going. He keeps trying to make them go to his office but Daeyoung refuses.

Youngsoo scoffs that these soldiers sure are nothing if they’re afraid of a few rocks, and Shijin looks pissed as hell but restrains himself when Daeyoung stands by what he said. Intact buildings are more dangerous to search than collapsed ones, as the interior has likely been severely weakened by the quake. The manager keeps trying to argue, but Daeyoung slams a hand against the wall causing the building to shake precariously which shuts Youngsoo up. Meanwhile, Manager Go and the foreign worker are still trapped inside the building, both in very painful situations. Go’s lower body is completely pinned by fallen rubble, while the worker left side is completely pierced through by a metal pole. Go’s spirits are still high though. In cheerful satoori, he urges the foreign worker to tap harder and apologizes for the building’s poor structure, as manager (Aww!). A group of trapped workers above hear him and are elated to find that they’re not alone. Shijin and the others catch wind of the chatter and prepare to enter the building. Problem is how. They can’t drill through it (as Youngsoo is so happy to point out) as it was made of specially reinforced concrete. Youngsoo wants to bring in heavy equipment but a fed-up Daeyoung reminds him for the billionth time that tossing rocks aside like that would kill any survivors chance of surviving. Youngsoo directs attention to his office and the ‘important documents’ within once more and honestly, Shijin has had it.

Youngsoo gets really nasty and points out that he’s the head of this power plant, meaning they all have to do what he says. Shijin counters that in a disaster zone, it’s the commander of the rescue team that’s in charge.

He gets the other soldiers to drag Youngsoo away and brainstorms for a way in with Daeyoung. They decide to use airbags to lift away some of the concrete, filling some of them with water as they’ve only one air pump. Once they get it, the plan is to erect supporting structures to hold the building enough to evacuate it. Meanwhile, Moyeon’s having to deal with a lack of equipment as well. They’ve only one car and one Medicube and a whole host of patients. Plus there’s no signal so they can’t even communicate with the doctors back at the Medicube. Kibum rushes in right then with a bunch of walkie talkies. Daniel’s on the scene and has brought in some patients from a nearby village, Yehwa and a whole bunch of walkie-talkies for the soldiers and nurses. Moyeon’s grateful for the extra pair of hands and happily grants him access to the surgery room in the Medicube.
(Bonus shot of Daniel because he’s hot)

Shijin and the soldiers can hear everything that’s going on the medical section this way. He smiles upon hearing Moyeon’s voice. Youngsoo’s managed to crawl back in despite the soldiers kicking him out and huffs at the Shijin’s set-up wondering who’d risk their lives to go into a structure that could collapse any second (who was the one mocking the soldiers for being afraid of a ‘few rocks’ again?) but Shijin calmly says that they’re the ones going in, which shuts him up. For a minute at least. Shijin and his boys get in safely and managed to rescue people from the upper level. Moyeon runs over to treat them. One of them informs Shijin of two people trapped in the lower levels, Manager Go and the foreign worker. Shijin prepares to get them. Moyeon briefly watches him for those few seconds. Shijin turns to look at her at the same time and touches his hand to his hat in an old-world salute.

Yoon Myeongju’s working hard as well, trying to save a severely hurt patient. She needs to perform surgery but Moyeon’s just given Daniel permission to operate within. Corps Command is too far away. Moyeon arrives and says they’ve no choice but to operate right there. Myeongju’s horrified at the amount of diseases they could subject the patient to in a non-sterile environment. Moyeon tells her to make her choice. Myeongju doesn’t take long.

Meanwhile, Kibum and his broken arm are running around and not being of much use, upsetting supply boxes and mistaking Betadine for ‘vitamin’ (they sound similar when in Korean). The poor fellow looks sad as hell. Onew Chihoon’s busy looking after patients as well and comes across a young Muslim woman with a fractured leg. He tries to inject anaesthetic before setting the bone, but she refuses each time, even throwing the syringe away. He can’t speak her language and she can’t speak his, leaving him wondering what to do. But the woman takes out a photo, an ultrasound of her baby.

Chihoon sighs that it’ll hurt her so badly for him to set the bone without anesthetic. He adorably tries to tell ask her if she can manage and she seems to get it with a smile. He quickly grits his teeth and sets the bone.

Into the sea of chaos at the Haesung power plant, wade a few journalists. A British fellow is particularly interested in the death toll and the ‘present situation’ and asks Kibum about it, who has no idea what he’s saying and directs him to Ja Ae (who brushes him off) and Sanghyun (who promises an interview for a ride back to the Medicube). And thus, the news van turns into a shuttle for the patients. A call arrives for someone with blood-type AB, which has Kbum running off, glad to be of service. He’s prepping to give blood when Shijin arrives to call Moyeon away. They need her in the building.

She’s shocked to find Manager Go who cheerily wonders what such a beauty is doing here and jokes that he’s all better after having seen here. Moyeon asks him if he can move his feet. Her face falls when he obliges, but his feet don’t move. She asks Shijin how long it’ll take to life the slab crushing him, but Shijin quietly says there’s someone else she has to see and directs her to the foreign worker. He’s conscious, with the pole barely having missed his heart. Moyeon assures him that he’ll live and is ready to save both of them, when Shijin informs her of the sobering choice she has to make. The slab of concrete on Manager Go and the pole through the worker are connected.

In such a situation, the rules of rescue dictate the doctor makes the final choice. Moyeon’s horrified at having to make such a choice and asks for 10 minutes to come to a conclusion. Another solider objects (the one who’s made no secret of his dislike of Moyeon) but Shijin overrules him, knowing she needs that time as a doctor. Moyeon brings Ja Ae over to assess the body. She also looks miserably at Manager Go. Meanwhile, Shijin’s stuck for 10 minutes having to deal with Youngsoo who’s also crawled in now that the structure seems safe. He blabbers about the importance of the government contract in his office that covers this entire operation, and his wages. He has the gall to link the recovery of this documents with patriotism (the documents are of national importance, therefore recovering them is a patriotic act). He argues that Shijin’s a soldier and therefore should put his country first instead of whining over a few labourers and Shijin’s finally had enough.

As a soldier, nothing is more important than saving lives. So…

You angel. He actually hands Youngsoo a shovel. Youngsoo growls that he just made a big mistake. Shijin couldn’t give a crap and is about to walk away when the ground trembles. Part of the roof collapses and shijin instinctively protects Youngsoo from the weight, getting hurt instead. His fellow soldiers similarly protect Manager Go. Shijin prevents some of the sparking, exposed wires from exploding by shooting a slab of concrete so it falls on top of them and walks away as though nothing’s wrong, leaving a trembling Youngsoo behind. Youngsoo starts at the sight of blood and turns to see Shijin bleeding through his military fatigues but not showing a sign of pain. Moyeon’s assessing Manager Go’s position when he gently tells her that the foreign worker has three children. He on the other hand has lived on construction sites for over 20 years. He can tell what something’s wrong. He knows what’s coming and it’s okay. Moyeon can’t help but tear up, when he starts to smile. His kids are all grown-up, the sky’s above him, he says.

Yehwa’s forced to deal with the British journalist and promises him an interview with either Shijin, Youngsoo, or the head of Haesung Hospital. Too bad all the journalists chorus that they only want Daniel, saying that he’s a veteran at disaster scenes.

Seo Daeyoung and a fellow solider are searching a different collapsed wing when the floor gives out. Daeyoung falls through. Their walkie-talkies are on, meaning that everyone in the area instantly knows what’s happened. Still in the middle of her outdoor surgery, Myeongju pauses for just an instant. Kibum, who’s still donating blood, makes to leave but she orders him to stay put.

She’s super tense for the next few seconds while performing the surgery until Daeyoung yells out that he’s fine, just fell on some sand. Myeongju closes her eyes for a second before continuing as she was. Back inside the building, Moyeon’s 10 minute are up. She’s managed to assess their conditions: necrosis has already set in Manager Go’s legs, freeing him could crush syndrome (major shock, renal failure, and may even require amputation), on the other hand, even if the foreign worker is freed, there’s no guarantee that he won’t die from blood loss in the operating room. She asks Shijin to make the call instead, saying that a veteran like him would make the best decision. But that’s not what Shijin wants to hear. There’s no such this as the ‘best decision’ in this field. They need her judgement, all they do is the heavy lifting. She’s expecting an answer according to the right form of protocol but there’s no such thing in times like this. As a doctor, all he expects is an informed decision. That’s it. A tear falls, but Moyeon makes her decision.

Cut to the foreign labourer being wheeled into the Medicube (Awww! Farewell Manager Go). Moyeon and Sanghyun take over his surgery. The camera focuses on a smashed clock as they enter the OR. Moyeon vows that this patient will not die here.

Shijin places in the dead in body bags. Manager Go is placed in one as well. Shijin places his wallet (containing a picture of his family) on his chest, and arranges his fist over it. He salutes Go as the zip is drawn up.Time passes. Daniel picks up the broken clock and gets it ticking. At the same time, Myeongju finishes her surgery, the patient’s vitals having returned to normal. She salutes Kibum, who returns it. And Corps Command arrives on the scene with backup. Shijin and his team can finally take a rest. Myeongju and Daeyoung ride in the same truck on the way back home. He watches her stare at her own bloody hands, looking worn.

Shiijn and Myeongju’s fathers meet up, glad that their children are doing well. Shijin’s father gets uncomfortable when General Yoon starts to steer talk towards how highly he thinks of Shijin and how relieved he is that Myeongju’s with him. At the same time, the sleazy chairman of Haesung Group informs the hospital staff that everyone in Urk is safe though it’ll take some time for communications to be restored. Chihoon’s mother gets screechy at that, demanding to speak to her son. Chihoon’s wife is super relieved. Her husband is suffering mentally though at all the death he’s surrounded by and huddles on his own outside, until Sanghyun comes up and companionable sits by him to provide some comfort.

Things are still hectic back at the Medicube, but Jin Youngsoo could not give a rat ass about it. He barges in left and right, demanding to speak to a doctor, causing trouble and bumping into gurneys. He latches onto Ja Ae in the end, seats himself on a gurney and proclaims himself in need of an IV. She barely keeps herself from smacking him, choosing to broadcast what he’s going over on the walkie-talkie instead.

She muses that it seems to her that he needs an eye-doctor given that he can’t see the conditions of the other patients around him.

The other soldiers and doctors snicker. Ja Ae ignores Youngsoo’s vows of retribution and goes off to make a difference. A few yards away, Shijin and Daeyoung worry about their lack of food. Which is right when a truck pulls up and the girl from the bar shows up with food for a hundred people.

(Daeyoung’s just like “Dude, wtf?)
His men come out for their dinner. Shijin tells them that they’ll have to go out in the field again tomorrow, which is met by groans, and orders them to sleep soon. He quietly adds to think too deeply about what they saw today. Just follow him. He’ll only ever give them right orders (SIR YES SIR!). Daeyoung washes up at the well when Myeongju arrives, and dries his face. She asks if he’s here for her or on her father’s orders. Daeyoung replies evasively, making her wonder why he keeps taking her father’s side. Daeyoung asks her to call her father but that’s not what she’s here to ask.

And yet, she says, he never does anything but stands there like that. Which is right when.

YES! Sanghyun and Ja Ae flirt while sterilizing medical instruments in boiling water, only he manages to weird her out by telling her where his porn folder is. Moyeon finalizes checks on their major patients today all of whom are doing well, Onew’s pregnant patient included. He’s given her his phone to allow the kid to listen to classical music (AWWWW!!!) Moyeon’s impressed while Sanghyun thinks he’s crazy for listening to classical music.

Moyeon’s about to leave when she sees the same worker who gave her his shoes just that morning. She takes them off and gives them back.

She lights a candle by the memorial set up for the deceased and wanders about the grounds of the collapsed plant. The camera spins and we see it as she’d seen it only a day or two again, bustling with life. The worker who gave her shoes smiles while going about his job, Manager Go laughs while dragging out the lazy worker for sleeping on the job. The vision fades and Moyeon’s surrounded by destruction. She starts to sob while Shijin watches her from behind, unwilling to intrude.

A solider shows up then having noticed that Shijin was hurt earlier and asks if he needs treatment. Shijin shucks his fatigues, and the solider’s surprised at how deep the wound is, saying it’ll need stitches.

Wow there, Captain America. You’re not invincible, you know. The solider goes off to fetch a doctor, but Shijin insists he can take care of it himself. Moyeon interrupts them.

And like a good puppy, Shijin follows.

She asks how it happened and Shijin says he was careless when rescuing people. Moyeon smiles before adding that she’s fine. Shijin wonders how she heard the question when he was only thinking it. He sincerely thanks her for being here and for fighting with the. Moyeong thanks him in return. Shijin awkwardly brings up how stern he was earlier, saying that he didn’t mean to sound harsh. Moyeon’s already aware of that though, knowing he was doing what had to be done. She muses that doctors see more people die than soldiers do.

Moyeon stares at him (or the curve of his neck rather) and smiles before saying he should just do what he does best i.e: make a joke.

She notes that he can’t see her. Shijin says he saw her earlier, and that she’s the sort of person who stays pretty no matter what. Moyeon agrees, and points out that what he said was a truth not a joke. But Shijin’s in the mood for more serious fare tonight.

No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Be it drinking or exercise.
Oh Song Hyekyo, why must you always look so troubled when he confesses to you? It shouldn’t be too hard to work up some enthusiasm? I mean look at Kim Jiwon and Jin Gu and all the emotion they put into a single hug. Song Joongki’s such a charmer, can’t you do the same?