Descendants of the Sun Ep 13 Recap (and life after Urk)

The doctors are greeted enthusiastically on their first day back at Haesung Hospital by everyone save Director Han Seokwon.

Sanghyun tries to suck up to Seokwon but is ignored in favour of Chihoon whom the director berates for not showing up on the first flight home. Chihoon, who’s over his crisis as a doctor, is back to his cheeky self. 

The director stoically goes over to Moyeon and thrusts some flowers onto her before telling her how worried he was in a speech that’s reminiscent of the one’s other male leads have pulled in other shows *coughcoughHeirscoughcough* Moyeon doesn’t give a crap, even after he tries to walk away coolly. She runs over to greet Jisoo instead.

Cut to Moyeon relating how the world shook, her heart raced and her mind went numb. Jisoo hilariously wonders if she’s describing the earthquake or the moment she fell in love. Moyeon wonders who leaked that she was dating a captain in the special forces, but it’s common knowledge in the hospital already. Jisoo asks her how it is dating someone like that, and Moyeon says deadpan that you know what to do when stuck on a car hanging off a cliff, how to get out of a minefield, oh and what to do when you’re being held hostage with bombs strapped to you. Jisoo has no idea what she’s talking about, but Moyeon’s amused at how much she’d survived.

She calls Shijin, telling him how much she misses Urk, which has him wondering if she misses him too. Shijin asks if she’s going to be busy trying to regain her status in the hospital but Moyeon sticks by what she said earlier on opening her own hospital. She jokingly asks if he’ll support if she goes broke and he pretend to no longer be capable of hearing her.

He assures her that he’ll find her a spot in his Alpha team if necessary, given that she has more combat experience that the average soldier. The call ends with smiles on both ends. Moyeon goes to the director’s office to hand in her resignation and is irritated when he launches into a quasi-apology on how surprised he was that his sleazy tactics didn’t work on her.

Moyeon slaps down her resignation, orders him to accept it and leaves. Seokwon sighs after she leaves, muttering that he loves her confidence. Moyeon heads off to the bank for her loan. Cue cameo from Yoo Ah In as a gorgeous deadpan financial advisor who informs her that her previous eligibility for a loan was based on her employment at Haesung Hospital. But now…

She asks if her resignation from the hospital means she won’t be able to get a loan at all and he’s more than happy to agree.

(Bonus shot of Yoo Ah In, just because dayum).
Back in Urk, Myeongju, looking cute as hell in glasses, discusses the same topic with Daeyoung who wonders about her future in the army. She’s known plenty of smaller hospitals that have done under and has no interest in taking the risk of starting up one of her own. She’s content as an army surgeon. Only two things are required of her: a quick diagnosis as a doctor, and a soldier’s understanding of the situation. Surgery is rarely necessary, but she can provide all three. She’s happy where she is. Daeyoung’s busy looking lovestruck as she goes on about what a loss it would be for the nation if she left the army.

Shijin grins that it’s what he lives for these days, before presenting them with an order for Myeongju’s transfer to Korea, meaning that she gets to go back with Daeyoung. Myeongju wonders if her father pulled strings but Shijin grins that it was all him. Both Daeyoung and Myeongju doubt he had the sort of clout to wring an order from Lt. Park like this, but as it turns out, Shijin essentially manipulated/blackmailed him into agreeing to send Myeongju to Korea. He leaves, grinning at his own cleverness until he gets a second call from Moyeon. He asks her if she missed him that much, only to freeze when she begs for help. Dramatic music plays as he rapidly fires off questions. Where is she? What’s going on? Moyeon wails that she can’t get a loan and Shijin visibly relaxes before facepalming upon hearing how she resigned before asking for a loan.

She hangs up with a scowl, wondering what on earth she should do now. The Urk medical team are sitting with her for lunch, and offer all sorts of useless advice when the floor suddenly rattles. All of them dive under the table and huddle there until Moyeon realizes it’s merely a by-product of some drilling going on in front of the building. They awkwardly get up, while the other doctors and nurses snicker. Sanghyun wonders if they should get psychiatric counseling. Moyeon’s deep in thought over her own employment problems and decides to take Sanghyun’s advice. In other words, suck up. She shows up with flower in the director’s room, and a long speech on how much the hospital has nurtured her and meant to her.

He assigns her to night shifts at the ER, and puts her on call for each one of her days off. He asks if she thinks he’s abusing his authority and she’s quick to assure him that the ER is the flower of a hospital, meaning that, as a beauty herself, she should be there. She hastily excuses herself after that, ignoring the director’s offer of working in the VIP ward again if she came to him. Chihoon and his wife are elated to hear that their child in on his way in 10 days (who wants to bet that Moyeon will be delivering it?) and hilariously freeze when the obstetrician asks then not to have sex despite Chihoon just having returned. Moyeon begins work that very night and heads off to the hospital’s cafeteria during her break. Unfortunately, she encounters Kim Eunji there who’s quick to mock the bloodstains on her robes and asks if she got relegated to this (aka working in the ER) due to having found love in Urk. Moyeon doesn’t rise to her jibes, wisely advising her to appreciate what she’s got.

The entire medical team is left fuming while Princess Eunji prances away. Each thinks up a different way to slap her, with Chihoon muttering that he should have tossed his tray and all its contents at her. Later Sanghyun and Ja Ae chat on the rooftop. Sanghyun wonders what on earth is up with Eunji while Ja Ae says that she’s just spoiled. She muses that if she had a choice, she would nevertheless choose to be born as Eunji though, and live that sort of carefree life with no worries whatsoever. Sanghyun wonders what his place in her would be then. They banter before Ja Ae reveals that she’s almost done paying off the money she borrowed from Sanghyun to pay her younger sister’s tuition. He doesn’t mind having lent her the money and worries more that her sister is mooching off her. These two are sort of cute, honestly. Meanwhile in Urk, where it’s afternoon not night, Mr. Grumpypants aka Snoopy of Team Alpha walks in to find all his men in facemasks. The skin-firming, pimple-busting, wrinkle-blurring kind.

They answer that they’re grooming themselves, to look good they’re back. Grumpypants can’t believe it.

Grumpypants is immediately apologetic. Daeyoung advises him to do it as well. It only takes 10 minutes and his wife/girlfriend would sure appreciate it. Grumpypants respectfully refuses, saying that the state of his skin doesn’t matter when the lights are off. The soldiers ooh before fervently hoping that Grumpypants’ potential progeny don’t inherit his features. Daeyoung takes off his mask despite only having had it on for five minutes. 
Look at that glowing skin though. Someone get me what this man was using. Daeyoung takes in the scenery of Urk one last time, ruminating on Myeongju’s father’s proposition on leaving the army. Myeonju herself shows up soon.

She likes how sweet that sounds while Daeyoung worries about her being out of bed and literally lifts her onto the rock he was sitting on before standing in front of her to block the sun.

She wonders if they’re breaking up but he repeats that he loves her, very much. Myeongju murmurs that they always broke up for that reason but Daeyoung vows that they won’t ever break up again. He won’t let that happen. The speech brings Myeongju to tears and she jokes about him being more dazzling than the sun he’s shielding her from.

They remove the minefield sign Shijin and Moyeon erected now that the area’s been cleared of mines. He give her his hand as stoic as ever until she takes it. Then, he smiles.

And so the Korean troops return from Urk. Shijin and his team are given a 4-day 3-night break. Daeyoung stares at a discharge form before filling it out and handing it in. The two meet up for a drinking binge that’s supposed to last 3 days. They both assure the other that they’re okay as the soju bottles keep piling up, but soon Shijin descends into crazy cute levels of aegyo-filled drunkenness (and behaves so much like Gu Yongha from Sungkyungkwan Scandal that I’m just waiting for Moon Jaeshin/Yoo Ah In to pop in at the same bar.)

Moyeon shows up after a call from Myeongju and is shocked to find both men drunk out of their minds. Myeongju has to leave as she’s not on furlough, leaving Moyeon stuck with two idiots.

She sighs and leaves them to their drinking. She shows up the next day to a similar scene, only Sanghyun’s joined them too.

Now if I didn’t know better, I’d think…

Moyeon groans at their idiocy before taking a drink herself. Only she gets super hammered as well, and a now-sober Shijin has to take her home. Only she doesn’t even recognize that she’s home and hilariously tells a well-meaning Shijin, who’s trying to get her to remove her shoes,that she’s not the sort of girl who has ramen at other people’s homes. He mutters that she’s senile when she’s drunk (you should have seen yourself). The word sounds similar to ‘chicken and beer’ and Moyeon exclaims that she’d love some. He hears a sound then and freaks out, thinking an intruder’s in Moyeon’s home.

Only it turns out to be her mother. Shijin introduces himself as Moyeon’s boyfriend, only it’s Moyeon’s turn to have soju-induced amnesia.

Her mother sighs at Moyeon’s drinking habits while Shijin insists that they’re cute. Moyeon fills in Shijin’s personal details while hilariously wondering how she knows them. Her mother asks Shijin, who has been standing stiffly all this time like in front of a commander, why he’s been standing so rigidly all this time. She asks if he’s done ‘something wrong’ which he denies immediately.

Moyeon’s mother smiles at how innocent he is while telling him that no guy’s really gone far with her Moyeon anyway. Drunken Moyeon’s only half-embarrassed. Her mother says she’ll leave them together; she isn’t that old-fashioned. But Shijin insists that he is old-fashioned and races off. The next morning, he heads to Subway for a meal (hello product placement). Moyeon texts him in a bit and shows up as well, insisting that she’s no longer drunk.

He doesn’t believe her for an instant but asks what her mother thought of him.

His phone rings and his tone sobers as he takes a call from his commanding officer. He turns to Moyeon and tells her that he has to go to ‘the department store’ their codespeak for him going somewhere dangerous. She gently tells him not to apologize and asks him to take care. He leaves with a smile. Looking sharp in suits, Shijin and Daeyoung are taken to North Korea to stand guard over a delegation meeting with Kim Jong Un. However, they’re also given ‘pens’ that when used to stab an area by the carotid artery, guarantee death in 10 seconds, which indicates the levity of this mission. The North Korean guard working with Shijin is the same fellow in episode 1 who gave him the knife wound Moyeon had to stitch up. The NK soldier muses that people like the two of them can only ever meet in peace during situations like this where they have the same goal, protecting those inside that meeting room. He asks if Shijin’s interested in a round 2 but Shijin’s more interested in trying out a local noodle dish. The conversation between the two seems as friendly as can be possible for two people with completely different ideologies, and is tinged with no small measure of respect. Shiin even promises to treat him to a meal in return for this one. But he and Daeyoung exchange dark looks over hearing that the NK soldier will be on leave soon. Thankfully Shijin does return safely to Korea and seeks out Moyeon immediately. However, he gets on the same elevator as Director Han and gets an earful on how the man’s sending flowers to Moyeon every day (who rejects them) and seems to enjoy working in the ER (as opposed to complaining as the old more materialistic Moyeon might have done. Director Han wonders who the hell her boyfriend is and his secretary unhelpfully provides the group pictures Moyeon took in Urk. Shijin’s more that happy to point out the boyfriend in the picture though and enjoys the look of shock on the director’s face upon realizing that it’s him. He tries to intimidate Shijin but the latter pleasantly tells him that he’s aware that the director first offered Moyeon his ‘services’ at a hotel room. Oh, and he’s pretty good at fighting. The director’s left wordless. Meanwhile, Kim Eunji’s trying to pressure Moyeon into taking her night shift and Moyeon’s having none of it. Shijin shows up right then and Eunji freaks out at how hot he is, unaware that this is Moyeon’s rumoured boyfriend. She nearly has Moyeon gagging with her attempts to play coy.

Moyeon basically drags him off after that and grumbles over his use of the phrase ‘I’m glad to meet you’ to someone she blatantly dislikes until they reach the destination for their date. Shijin wonders if she’s jealous and muses that she wouldn’t be that annoyed if she knew who he’d just had to deal with.

Shijin nods and Moyeon’s entire demeanor changes.

He clearly finds her adorable. Honestly look at that smile. He sidesteps her attempts to change the subject and literally reaches out and measures her neck with his hand, nodding that the size is about right. She’s wondering at his strange idea of measuring tools when he brings out a gift for her (I sense more product placement). It’s a necklace and she clearly loves it though she tries to say that she can’t be won over that easily. Their date turns out to be a double date with Myeongju and Daeyoung at the same cafe the two men were at (with their plushies) in ep 1. The server notes that their ‘girlfriends’ have changed since then which has both Myeongju and Moyeon ready to kill until they learn that the former ‘girlfriends’ were plushies.

Myeongju asks when they first came here and is surprised to learn that it was the day Daeyoung’s phone was stolen and that he ran after it because it had pictures of her. She thought he’d deleted all of them and leafs through his phone (which she knows the pattern to) to find them. Moyeon and Shijin realize it was the same day they first met and share a second fistbump earning a second dirty glance from Myeongju.

She’s surprised to only find pictures of car license plates on Daeyoung’s phone though. Shijin hilariously wonders if he’s taken on a second job while Daeyoung says that those are pictures of Myeongju to him. He didn’t know what people did on a date so they always went out for drinks. As a result, he couldn’t drive her home and had to call a cab. Those pictures were the license plates of each cab. He deleted all their pictures of her face but not of their memories.

Moyeon wonders how Myeongju knows Daeyoung’s security pattern and she says she set it for him. He’s not that tech-savvy and thinks there’s only one possible password. Shijin’s astounded and wonders why he doesn’t read the pamphlet that comes with a cellphone, but Daeyoung likes his pattern, thank you very much.

Daeyoung drives Myeongju back (one handedly because the other is linked with hers) later for the first time and she hilariously complains that he keeps sending her home when they’re both adults.

She gets a call then and makes the most guilty face imaginable before pressing the red button. Daeyoung insists that she answer it and even puts the car on auto-pilot (this exists?) to do so. Turns out it was Serg. Kim Beomrae reporting as usual on Daeyoung’s routine. Daeyoung hilariously corrects that he fixed his hair twice not thrice and order the hapless sergeant to have noodles ready for him. Myeongju winces that it’s a habit of hers. Daeyoung nods and remains silent for a while before suddenly doing THIS.

She closes her eyes in preparation but he says he isn’t going to do it, as punishment. But he does it anyway.

He gets back to base and orders Beom Rae to make his usual report with Daeyoung’s own additions this time.

But he pauses upon hearing that the Commander’s back. The next day, he meets with General Yoon and Myeongju, who’s all giddy from yesterday’s kiss. She deflates upon hearing that he’s going to leave the army. At first, Myeongju thinks her father had something to do with it and reminds him of the promise she got from him while close to death, but she’s even more shocked to hear that it was Daeyoung. It’s the first time Daeyoung hears taht Myeongju knew everything and even got a promise from her father but he sticks by what he said. Myeongju isn’t having this and orders him outside to talk, asking him why she’s finding out this way. Daeyoung insists that he did this because he didn’t want to break up with her but Myeongju asks why he’s going through with it when she made her father promise to leave him alone. For the first time, Daeyoung grows angry.

She asks where he was when she fought with her father and how he could simply have walked away each time. He growls that he walked away each time for a reason. She argues that she always tried to make her father understand but he says that it made him look foolish. He’d wanted to be acknowledged.

But if the only reason they can date now is because of the promise Myeongju got from her father, then he cannot be with her (wait what? What happened to never breaking up again? You literally said that half an hour ago!)

If he’s going to be unhappy because of her, then he should just live happily by himself. She walks away in tears.
The police station motto above them ironically says ‘If it can’t work, make it work’. Meanwhile, Shijin and Moyeon are much happier and on a movie date at her place. They promise to do loads more like return to the shipwreck where they got that pebble and watch more movies.

However, duty calls and it’s Moyeon’s turn to rush out for surgery. Shijin sighs at the state of their dates. The next day is mission time. This time the North Koreans are meeting in South Korea. Shijin’s heading three other teams besides his own. Daeyoung munches morosely on Snickers bars and irritates Shijin by not sharing.

Shijin’s agog, given that he just saw them being all lovey-dovey a day ago, and is even more surprised to hear that Daeyoung was dumped. Daeyoung pauses , staring at a point beyond Shijin. He turns to find the NK soldier he’d spoken to, walking towards him with deadly purpose in his eyes.

Moyeon’s informed of two ambulances on their way to the hospital, one with a critical patient. She rushes over and is alarmed to see the multiple gunshot wounds on one of then, which turns out to be the NK soldier. Sanghyun takes him, telling Moyeon to attend to the critical patient. Moyeon is horrified at the blood around him before realizing who the patient is.

Okay, I have it bad for Seo Daeyoung but I’m baffled at his present inconsistency. Previously this show made it seem like he was staying away from Myeongju out of respect for her father and understanding of his position. Now he’s making it out to be a matter of pride. Must we really have more random obstacles in this couples’ path? This was a man who went mental when Myeongju got infected, and nearly went and got himself infected as well just so he could be with her. And he’s saying he “can’t be with her” on the basis on him wanting her father’s acknowledgement? That’s bull and rather sloppy writing, giving that he vowed to never separate from her again. ‘I love you’ does not equate with ‘my personal happiness and pride matter more than our relationship’. I’m a bit annoyed at how this is being handled to be honest. I’d rather they focus on the inevitable of Daeyoung and Myeongju’s future as they can’t both be in the army forever. They’ll have to compromise if they ever want a family. There’s a better conflict in there than in whatever’s going on right now.