We start off with Yeonjoo insisting that she’s going to turn everything around and that they should get back together. She says she’ll give him back the career opportunities he missed. Saetbyul’s ready to throw things lol but quietly leaves them and gives them space (wow I love how much she’s matured!)
Daehyun brushes it off as no bid deal and says it won’t change anything. He leaves and Yeonjoo sniffles in the street lol, Serves her right. And thus begins episode 13!
Daehyun’s manner entirely changes once he enters the shop and sees Saetbyul. He brightens up and asks her how she’s doing and what’s she doing.
Saetbyul’s more muted, not sure of whether he and Yeonjoo have reconciled. He notices that she’s distant and wonders why. Saetbyul get pissed off the moment he gets home but is already worried about Eunbyul’s iljin history surfacing. She doesn’t have the time to stress about this as well.
Daehyun wonders over Saetbyul’s change in mood and asks Dalshik to stand outside the store and repeat what Yeonjoo said. Dalshik’s still lovesick, so Daehyun makes him sing a song instead and is aghast to realize that the walls are far from soundproof that Saetbyul heard everything.
The next day, Yeonjoo’s at a meeting with Seungjoon and Seungjoon’s rich daddy, who’re praising her for her skills or some bs like that in raising the brand reputation with the Jiwook promotional stunt. She suggests thanking an employee who performed CPR on a customer a couple years ago, who also works at the store (is this Daehyun?). Seungjoon’s adamantly against it, so maybe it’s Daehyun but Yeonjoo insists, saing she’s requesting this in her capacity as PR Manager.
Meanwhile, Saetbyul heads to Eunbyul’s entertainment agency to come clean about the picture and help Eunbyul but of course Eunbyul catches wind of it and drags Saetbyul away. Instead, she throw Saetbyul to the wolves by calling the iljin girls and shoving Saetbyul to them and asking her to take care of them. Saetbyul has no choice but to follow the iljins’ orders and go with them.
On Daehyun’s end, Manager Bae visits the store on Yeonjoo’s orders. He’s under strict orders to make Daehyun agree to something and grits his teeth and sucks up to Daehyun within and inch of his life lol. Daehyub sees right through it and is midly disgusted and suspicious when Manager Bae tells him that he’s been invited to dinner with Chairman Jo (Seungjoon’s rich daddy).
Manager Bae insists it is and between him and Boonhee, who was also in the store, Daehyun ends up having to agree.
On the other hand, the iljin brats have found that Saetbyul doesn’t have the money they demanded and beat her to pieces. Normally, Saetbyul would’ve fought back but Eunbyul’s career’s on the line so she just takes it. It’s a brutal beating and Eunbyul’s not the sort of person who’d appreciate the sacrifice she’s making. I honestly wish Saetbyul had a better sister.
Saetbyul’s left quite battered at the end and the girls demand money or else Eunbyul’s going to have it. The same reporter who’s been following Jiwook and Eunbyul snaps pictures of Saetbyul lying all beaten up. With the last vestiges of strength she has left, Saetbyul calls Eunjo, who rushes over to take care of her. Eunjo calls Daehyun and brings Saetbyul over. Saetbyul insists she fell down the stairs but Eunjo quickly tells Daehyun the full story and has to rush back to her store. Daehyun’s angry and gently cleans her wounds and applies ointment . He asks her to come to the police station with him and report it, but Saetbyul says it’s fine, she’ll just let it go. But Daehyun knows it’s not okay
Saetbyul says it isn’t the pain. Her heart breaks for Eunbyul and she feels like she did it all wrong. She says she doesn’t think she has the right to be Eunbyul’s guardian. Daehyun gently tells her it’s not her fault. She’s been trying for years to turns herself and her life around, and she’s always looked out for her sister and tried to prevent her from going down the same path she did [You really can’t fault Saetbyul her. It’s 100% Eunbyul’s fault].
Saetbyul cries even further how kind he being and thanks him for everything. For letting her work her, stay at his home, worrying about her, and being kind to her. Even Daehyun tears up hearing that no one else has ever done that for her.
She apologizes over and over again and Daehyun just hugs her [Wow this is actually such a wholesome couple. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well done this is.]
Meanwhile, Dalshik works off his lovesickness by breaking a sweat at the Dance Dance Revolution machine at the arcade. And who should come in but Geumbi, looking to do the same. She realizes that he’s the DDR master whose high scores she’s been competing with. He realizes the same. They battle it out at the machine, acting like they hate each other but still not knowing what to do with each other.
Afterwards, they go out for beer and sit back-to-back at separate tables and talk so they don’t have to see each other’s faces lol. Dalshik cries at how much his heart hurts and Geumbi cries at how much she hates this. And errrr, they cry a lot I guess.
The next day, they wake up stone drunk and right next to each other. Both pray that this is a dream but nope, they’re fallen asleep in the same bed and both were too drunk to realize it so they’re both to blame. Geumbi races out of the place and both wonder why they’re affected by this.
Saetbyul wakes up to find that Daehyun’s taken care of the store during her convalescence. Daehyun asks how she’s feeling and what she’s planning on doing about the iljin girls. Saetbyul insists that she’s taken care of it and that everything’s resolved but Daehyun doesn’t look too convinced. He can’t follow up on it because he has to head out to lunch with Chairman Jo. It’s the first Saetbyul’s hearing about it and she’s happy for Daehyun but grouses that Yeonjoo will probably be there too.
Lunch is an awkward affair, with Chairman Jo presenting Daehyun with a golden key [for all the good that does, what about a bonus? Something more useful that people can use to eat and live, ya know?]. He asks Daehyun about how it feels to have works at the head office and on the ground as a manager. Daehyun quips that its feels like he’s worn a hat two ways, regular and inside-out. Yeonjoo laughs at the joke, acting warmly towards Daehyun. Seungjoon is not pleased, especially when Yeonjoo suggests afterwards that Daehyun be made a special advisor.
Daehyun returns from his lunch upon which Boonhee promptly takes the key for sakekeeping lol. Saetbyul gives him the old sniff test for cologne and happily says he passed. She said she was worried because Yeonjoo was going to be there but she’ll let it go since he was clearly not trying to get her back.
Ooooh a moment.
The moment is quickly broken when Boonhee comes back in lol. She jumps to the conclusion that Daehyun was about to yell/hit Saetbyul lol and drags her away, saying she can study at home. Saetbyul tries to say that she’d really prefer studying at the store but Boonhee’s not having it. She yells at her son and drags Saetbyul away and both Saetbyul and Daehyun look heartbroken at the moment they missed out on.
Lol
The next day, Yeonjoo shows up at the store and says that Chairman Jo’s offering Daehyun a job as special advisor where he’ll be representing the interests of 13,000 other store managers. Daehyun doesn’t think he has the experience for the job, let alone to represent 13,000 managers, and says that someone more experienced should do it.
Yeonjoo comes clean and says this is her way of atoning for what she’s done. Daehyun is gentle but firm in his refusal and tells her not to come by to ask him about it again because Saetbyul could misunderstand. Awww, I love how he’s actually seriously considering Saetbyul as a romantic interest now.
Yeonjoo doesn’t want him to lose the opportunity so she goes straight to Boonhee. Daehyun’s mom’s not exactly welcoming especially after their spat last time, but she listens to money and Yeonjoo says Daehyun will be making a lot of it if he takes this position. Boonhee says she’ll talk to Daehyun about it, right as Saetbyul leaves the house. Boonhee heads in and both Saetbyul and Yeonjoo snip at each other a bit and huff off lol. I don’t even know what Yeonjoo’s mad about anymore. She literally dumped him, so why is it her business on who he dates afterwards?
Saetbyul heads to the store for her shift where she finds Daehyun with a cop (the same one who’s been recurring throughout this show). Turns out their a stalker nearby and the cop requested the store’s CCTV footage. Only that’s not what the iljin girls watching from after think. They’re here to bully Saetbyul into giving them money but they think she’s called the cops on them. So they retaliate by posting everything online.
Within seconds, Eunbyul is being called Jiwook’s iljin girlfriend. Phones ring off the hook. Eunbyul’s agency head calls her ‘mother’. Only the actress who played Eunbyul’s mother is working on another film set (a Kingdom parody lol)and couldn’t keep track of all her roles so she messes up and the agency head catches on. She demands the truth from Eunbyul who’s in deep shit.
The reporter who’s been following this story the entire time wails at the loss of her expose but uploads her pictures online saying everyone’s got it wrong. Saetbyul is Jiwook’s girlfriend not Eunbyul.
Either way, Jiwook is in deep shit. [Poor guy] His manager forbids him from taking a step out of the apartment.
Old classmates of Saetbyul upload the videos of Saetbyul beating people up and soon students in the store are watching it and edging away from Saetbyul, giving her weird looks. Saetbyul sees the video and collapses in shock as her years of hard work to turn herself around are ruined in a flash.
She cries under the cash register as people leave the store.
Daehyun sees the video by chance and rushes to the store to check on Saetbyul. He finds her in the back depressed and teary and gets straight to the point.
Awwwww. Saetbyul explains that in that video she was trying to help Geumbi and Eunjo who were being blackmailed. She sighs that she went about it all wrong this time too. She should’ve just gone to the police. Daehyun says that it’s a little late but it’s not too late to come clean and set everything straight.
Saetbyul isn’t sure it’ll work but Daehyun assures her and honesty is the best in this situation.
He gently wipes her tears and hugs her some more.
That night, Saetbyul thinks carefully about Daehyun’s words and leaves the house, walking purposefully. She texts Daehyun saying that she’ll do as he mentioned but in her own way. Daehyun worries even more when he reads “I’ve never started a fight. I’ve always defended myself but I’ve always won”. She asks him to trust her, but all it takes is Daehyun calling and finding that Saetbyul’s phone is turned off to run after her, abandoning the store lol.
He races home but she’s long gone. Instead, she confronts the bullies, finding the iljin girls with the iljin guys.
She fights them but not with the intention to cause harm. Saetbyul has another plan up her sleeve. She defeats the red-haired girl, whom she’s calls gochujang (Korean chili paste lol) and takes her phone. Then, she heads over to the reporter’s place of work. The reporter’s worried she’s going to be beaten up but Saetbyul just hands over the phone.
Saetbyul says she doesn’t care about what happens to her but she doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea about her sister, her friend and her boss. She bows and leaves and the reporter looks mildly impressed.
She heads to Eunbyul’s dorm and finds that Eunbyul’s gone missing. Saetbyul knows where to find her easily enough and heads to the rooftop of a building, where sure enough, Eunbyul is.
Saetbyul says it’s her fault but Eunbyul at least recognizes enough to know that it’s her fault and her fault alone. The two sisters cry in each other’s arms.
Meanwhile, the reporter meets with Jiwook at the charnel house where Saetbyul’s dad’s remains rest. Jiwook sets the reporter straight on his relationship with Saetbyul, saying that he likes her but she has someone else she’s interested in.
Saetbyul takes Eunbyul to Daehyun’s house, with Eunbyul not having anywhere else to go and wanting to stay low. Saetbyul’s unsure of how to ask Boonhee for help but Boonhee comes out to find the two girls there staring at her house lol. She says she read everything online and Saetbyul insists that they’re not like what the rumours say. Boonhee, in her gruff cheerful way, just tells the girls to hurry up and come inside. She feeds them up really well. Eunbyul digs in but Saetbyul is hesitant. Boonhee tells Saetbyul that she trusts her.
Boonhee says she’s going to make sure that Saetbyul lives that way from now on. Saetbyul cries and Boonhee gruffly tells her that it’s okay and to just eat up. Eunbyul cheekily asks for more side dishes and Boonhee sighs that this must definitely be the sister that’s been causing Saetbyul so much grief [Eunbyul is a menace I swear].
The reporter goes through the phone and sees all the evidence of blackmail. She ties that in with Jiwook’s information about Saetbyul’s dad and how he died and writes a truly heartrending article. She calls Saetbyul to inform her of the article and Eunbyul gratefully hugs Saetbyul after seeing it published and knowing that her sister made it happen [she’s still an immature brat, but who knows. I really hope this is the wake-up call that’ll make her stop being such a burden on her sister]
After comforting Eunbyul, Saetbyul delightedly races over to Daehyun, who Boonhee says has been looking for her the whole day. Daehyun reads the article as Saetbyul approaches and smiles with recognition when he sees Saetbyul’s dad’s name. He finally puts it all together. When Saetbyul shows up, Daehyun acts pissed but she asks him to scold her later.
He worries over her but she assures him he’s okay. He says she’s a great person just like her father and reveals that he knew her father and went to his dojo. Saetbyul asks if there was anything else that left a huge impression on him when he was at the dojo. Daehyun thinks back to saving little Saetbyul [Aha, so he remembers!] but doesn’t mention it.
Saetbyul notes that tomorrow is his first day back at the office. Daehyun says he hasn’t accepted the job yet, but Saetbyul notes that he never denied that he wouldn’t accept the job. She says she’s a little bothered by Daehyun working with Yeonjoo but it’s a good opportunity. Daehyun smiles at her growth and they have dinner at the store.
The next day, Daehyun shows up to work at the same time Yeonjoo does. Things aren’t as awkward between them as they normally are. Daehyun introduces himself to the rest of the team, and while there are some who grouse at his return [like Manager Bae], his friends look happy for him.
At the store, Saetbyul’s dozing off at work when Jiwook shows up and apologizes for not being there for her when she needed him. Saetbyul assures him it’s fine and thanks him for meeting with the reporter. Turns out Jiwook’s gotten a Hollywood offer.
She says that she’s grateful for him, her friend. Jiwook smiles sadly and says he’ll be leaving, he was here to say goodbye. They shake hands and Jiwook says he’ll see her soon but it sounds like it’ll be a while before then. He walks away sadly but Saetbyul calls out his name and the next thing we know, surprises him with a bear hug.
Aww look at that height difference. She thanks him for being her friend, and he finally smiles and thanks her for being his friend.
She wishes him nothing but the best and he asks her to stay well. As he walks away Jiwook thinks that this is enough.
Meanwhile, Daehyun picks up some flowers looking super happy. And I’m really hoping this goes well, because the guy looks so happy. No car crashes, no misunderstandings. Like please let this actually go well without unnecessary angst between a couple that’s been really good at talking things out even before they became a couple.
He finds Saetbyul studying away as hard as can be and says he should reward her. He gives her a bunch of red tulips.
He then leans in really close and says “Saetbyul, I…”
Saetbyul closes her eyes and prepares for a kiss, aaaaand thus ends Episode 13. Boom, cliffhanger lol
Thoughts:
I really like how this relationship is progressing! We only have 3 more episodes so I’m really really hoping we can skip the unnecessary angst that every single K-drama deems necessary to have. It’s almost like they think forcing an unnecessary obstacle between the couple have having them overcome it makes it more realistic. It doesn’t. If anything, these two have been through quite a lot so I, for one, am ready to sit back and see some cuteness!
The Quill and Screen 