by: Raine

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Wow, what an emotionally packed episode. Some great acting on IU and JJS’s parts. Even Mi-ryeong’s selfishness plays a part in her future character development. But seriously, I had tears in my eyes so may times. And again IU…*claps*

AGB Nielson Nationwide had this episode coming in at 24.9%.

episode 25 recap

As Joon-ho stands outside Soon-shin’s house, horrified by the news that Mi-ryeong is Soon-shin’s biological mother, Soon-shin brings her shaken adoptive mother inside. She asks why Mi-ryeong was there; was it because of her. Hye-shin makes the excuse that Granny and Mi-ryeong knew each other from way back when so Mi-ryeong came to greet her.

That doesn’t answer Soon-shin’s question, but Jung-ae avoids answering and Hye-shin ushers Soon-shin upstairs to stop the conversation entirely.

Granny is devoid of energy as she wonders incredulously how Mi-ryeong could be so brazen as to treat the family that way. On top of that, she wants to tell the world about their family business. She begs Jung-ae to promise to stop Mi-ryeong.

Meanwhile, a very angry Joon-ho confronts Mi-ryeong in her home. Mi-ryeong is on some serious defense, thinking she’s done nothing wrong. He wants to know why she never told him about any of this and if she’s told Soon-shin. Answers: because it’s her business and no, she hasn’t. If it’s possible, Joon-ho gets even angrier. Mi-ryeong should’ve told Soon-shin about this before asking for the press conference – she’s going to be incredibly hurt.

But Mi-ryeong, selfish and unable to see beyond her blinders, again, brushes the words of warning aside. Joon-ho should only worry about her career and should prepare the press conference. She’ll take care of HER daughter.

Soo-jung tries to get a hold of Mi-ryeong and of Mi-ryeong but can’t. When she shares her concerns with her husband, he defends Mi-ryeong, calling Soo-jung someone who is careless of others’ feelings. Again, Soo-jung is baffled that the husband who seemed to have hated Mi-ryeong has not defended her not just once, but twice.

Joon-ho comes home, sullen and depressed and is questioned by Soo-jung about Mi-ryeong; she also complains about Dong-hyuk’s behavior. Both father and son leave her to complain by herself.

Luckily for me, we get to watch Hottie McHottiepants brood. Unluckily, we watch Jung-ae brood, too. And sadly, my ire towards her has severely decreased because she has been better. When she tells the truth and apologizes, then maybe I’ll forgive her. Maybe. Or maybe I’ll make a target out of her face and take her to the archery range on Thursday.

The next morning Granny, Jung-ae and Hye-shin, the three in the know, stare at the unfortunate Soon-shin, who DOES notice she’s the center of attention. So does Yoo-shin who begs her mom to quit the chicken shop in the whiniest voice she can muster. Hye-shin tries to shush her, but she won’t stop. Jung-ae ignores her and leaves the table. Yoo-shin is very confused by the bad moods and silence…as she should be.

Yi-jung comes to stalk Chan-woo again, finally wearing something that looks like a dress rather than a floral shop’s refuse. She invites him for lunch, but he tells her he already has an appointment. But Yi-jung isn’t to be deterred and follows him out to ask him if he got her texts. He asks her to stop sending texts like that and her face falls. It’s kinda pathetic that she’s actually hurt by this because she let herself fall for a taken man.

Of course, Yoo-shin walks up and hears everything. She glares and marches up as Yi-jung is confessing her feeling for him. She quickly ushers him away from Yi-jung by linking her arm with his.

Lunch between Chan-woo and Yoo-shin is a bit awkward. Yoo-shin doesn’t care about the girl he was with, but she does want him to talk to his mother and tell her mother than she can’t work at the chicken shop anymore.

Hrm, how about changing your nasty attitude? Did you ever think of that?

He wants to tell their parents that they’re dating. Their mothers are best friends and his mom, Gil-ja, will not treat Jung-ae badly. Yoo-shin is still skeptical. She doesn’t want her already wounded mother to be treated badly. Chan-woo calls her mean and says his mother isn’t that bad. Still, Yoo-shin won’t budget. She even goes so far as to say that he’ll let Jung-ae be a slave to his family.

Jeez, when she gets cranky, she gets mean. Just like when her father died. That bodes badly for when she discovers the truths that are ready to burst.

Yoo-shin thinks Gil-ja looks down on Jung-ae because she asked her to work at the chicken shop.

What backwards logic.

Then Yi-jung texts Chan-woo an apology and Yoo-shin grabs his phone and sees all the tests he’s received from Yi-jung. Yoo-shin puts two and two together and realizes she’s the girl who dropped her phone in his car. Cranky, Yoo-shin accuses him of leading Yi-jung on and being a player.

She decides to end the relationship. Angrily, he tells her to take it back, but she won’t and storms out of the restaurant.

Guh, not girlfriend material.

Gil-ja and Jung-ae are working together and Gil-ja wants to know why Mi-ryeong went over and what she said. Jung-ae tells her about the press conference and Gil-ja is very appropriately horrified. She wonders if Mi-ryeong is going to steal her daughter and Jung-ae quietly leaves.

Mi-ryeong is brooding on her porch thinking about Soon-shin defending Jung-ae as “her mom” when that mom shows up for a chat.

It’s tense from the start. Mi-ryeong says she’ll tell Soon-shin everything. Jung-ae, in a totally badass move, says, “ Tell her what? That you were going to keep it a secret but that you have to reveal it because you were worried that your career might be ruined?”

BURN.

Jung-ae says she’s been hurt enough; Mi-ryeong shouldn’t hurt Soon-shin, too. Then, oh-so-arrogantly, Mi-ryeong asks how she hurt Jung-ae. “What did I do?”

Grr, she keeps saying that, what did I do? What did I do? You have a serious case of denial.

Mi-ryeong declares that she never asked Chang-hoon to raise Soon-shin in his family. Jung-ae snaps that Mi-ryeong shouldn’t be so shameless as to not even feel apologetic to her. She had the baby with HER husband.

Then the best: Why should I feel apologetic? It’s in the past.

*SMACK*…at least that’s what I wish. And that her head would spin around 360 degrees.

Jung-ae sneers and points out that she met Chang-hoon recently and even went to his grave. Cue Mi-ryeong’s shifty eyes and then she smirks. She says that she feels bad for Chang-hoon’s married life. Jung-ae is flabbergasted (and so am I), but Mi-ryeong insincerely apologizes for hurting her. She reminds Jung-ae that Granny hurt her in the past.

Mi-ryeong says that she’ll take of Soon-shin and reminds Jung-ae that she’s a mother, too. Jung-ae shouldn’t think she is.

O_O

NOW Jung-ae leaps up and lunges towards Mi-ryeong only to be held back by Hwang. They trade heated words; Jung-ae asks if holding a press conference without permission is good mothering; Mi-ryeong points out Soon-shin’s job as a mere waitress.

Mi-ryeong tells Hwang to “escort” Jung-ae out and calls her “ahjummeoni” instead of “Soon-shin eommoni,” which is a sign of her asserting herself as Soon-shin’s biological mother.

I absolutely cannot believe how horrible Mi-ryeong is. Self-entitled, useless. HORRRRIIIIIIID!!!!!!!!

Mi-reyong mocks Jung-ae’s possessiveness over Soon-shin and wonders what sort of upbringing she received in a family like that. She spouts on about how she’s doing this for everyone’s own good…uh-huh. SUUUURE.

Hwang looks uncomfortable and then asks the question that answers the question we’ve alllllllllll been wondering: Should we keep acting like Chang-hoon is Soon-shin’s father?

I KNEW he wasn’t her father. I KNEW it!

Mi-ryeong looks at Hwang coldly and says that Chang-hoon is her father.

LIAR!!!!!

Hottie Joon-ho receives the press release on Mi-ryeong from In-sung who is dying to know who the daughter is.

Jung-ae interrupts his curiosity because she has come to beg: she wants Joon-ho to try to stop the press conference. She hasn’t told Soon-shin the truths – she will be devastated.

He promises to try his best and his face is just heartbreaking.

As he heads out to his car, Soon-shin happens to see him and comes over to ask about Mi-ryeong’s strange behavior. You can see Joon-ho’s heart sink as Soon-shin explains that Mi-ryeong came to their house. He denies knowing anything and tells her one thing before he goes: Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.

Awwwwww.

Hye-shin finds Granny mumbling in bed. Granny asks Hye-shin to go with her to Mi-ryeong’s and Hye-shin tries to reason with her, assuring her Jung-ae will take care of it. Granny says she won’t and Hye-shin is just like her: they’re both stupid and got duped by their husbands.

I see where Yoo-shin gets her nastiness.

Speaking of Yoo-shin, she’s staring at her phone mumbling about Chan-woo not calling her. She gets a call, but it’s from Hye-shin and she frowns. The sisters meet up and it’s obvious Hye-shin has a lot on her mind. Yoo-shin suggests that she get a boyfriend instead of being a homebody ahjumma. Hye-shin tells Yoo-shin to be nice and let Jung-ae work with her friend at the chicken restaurant – she needs a friend because of the hard times she’s going through.

Yoo-shin is confused and Hye-shin finally tells her: Soon-shin is Mi-ryeong’s and Chang-hoon’s daughter. She was his first love.

Joon-ho meets with Reporter Park to try his luck. He asks what would make him not publish the article on Mi-ryeong – he would do anything. Park says that Mi-reyong lived how she wanted and she shouldn’t continue to fool the public with a fake image. He understands that Joon-ho probably regrets signing an actress with so much baggage.

Instead of replying, Joon-ho wants to know when he’ll publish the article that will not only affect Mi-ryeong, but her daughter. Park awkwardly says he feels bad, but does that mean he shouldn’t release the truth to the public. Joon-ho realizes the new will come out and begs Park to at least put off the publication for a few days so that they can prepare. Park’s conscience and Joon-ho’s fervent pleas make him agree to put it off…a few days.

Mi-ryeong is planning a white suit for the conference to appear innocent. Joon-ho comes in to chat with his “innocent” actress and he asks if she’s told Soon-shin. Mi-ryeong accuses him of meddling, but he’s firm. We’re postponing the press conference: go get her permission first. He urges her to consider Soon-shin’s feelings and immature, nasty Mi-ryeong points out that he did, too; he used her for a bet.

Joon-ho, who has grown leaps and bounds since the start of the show, admits that he did hurt Soon-shin and that he doesn’t want her to hurt anymore. He tells Mi-ryeong to think about how she hurt her daughter and to apologize. Mi-ryeong asks if he knows who she’s pushing around and AGAIN says it’s not her fault for being a mother. Why should Soon-shin be hurt? She will be happy to have Song Mi-ryeong as her mother and to be taken away from her stupid family. She’ll support whatever Soon-shin wants to do, like acting. How would that hurt her?

Wow…seriously?

Yeon-ah calls, but Mi-ryeong won’t answer and the housekeeper ahjumma lies that she’s sick and in bed. She leaves a message for her “eomma” and I actually pity her, for once.

Jung-ae, Gil-ja and Bok-man are working. Gil-ja says that Soon-shin should’ve been informed of the truth earlier before all of this happened. Jung-ae says nothing and then receives bad news from Joon-ho: he can’t stop the news from coming out. But he hopes Jung-ae can tell Soon-shin to lessen the blow.

Joon-ho sits in his chair, utterly defeated and worried.

Soon-shin says goodbye to Young-hoon and Mr. Waiter who are really sad that she’s leaving. They decide to have a farewell party and she smiles and agrees. Young-hoon tells her she is always welcome and to come for him for anything. They will miss her a lot. He holds out his hand and Mr. Waiter gives him an odd look.

On the way out, Joon-ho catches her and his face is so gloomy. She seems sadly accepting, but it’s so obvious he’s hurting for her. He tries to say something, but she tells him not to worry about her anymore. Then he says it, seriously and full of heart: I’m sorry.

She’s surprised and moved by his apology and doesn’t realize the weight that it carries. She leaves and he watches her go. It’s absolutely heart-breaking to watch him. Jo Jung-seok is rocking this.

Yoo-shin storms into the kitchen hollering about being kept in the dark. Jung-ae tries to silence her, but Yoo-shin is furious that their father was this sort of man. She wants Jung-ae to go pull out all of Mi-ryeong’s hair.

(That would be AWESOME!)

Yoo-shin gets even more worked up. She heard Mi-ryeong wants to take Soon-shin back and says that she should take her back.

?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soon-shin walks in at the tail end and just knows Yoo-shin is ridiculously  upset. She follows her sister upstairs to find out what’s wrong and Yoo-shin looks at her with potent, mixed feelings and then  runs outside without a word.

Hye-shin follows Yoo-shin who is going crazy with anger and sadness. She warns Yoo-shin not to take it out on Soon-shin who is still in the dark. Yoo-shin admits she was always hated their parents for being too nice – but she was proud of them for being upstanding. Now though, she doesn’t know what to think about Soon-shin being Chang-hoon’s daughter. She thought her father would never do a thing like that.

She mostly feels betrayed by their father and pities their mother. But she still shouldn’t take it out on Soon-shin. I hope she doesn’t.

Chan-woo tries to call Yoo-shin but gets interrupted by his nosy mother who wants to know when he’ll bring his girlfriend home.

Joon-ho drinks at Young-hoon’s restaurant after-hours, brooding oh-so-hotly. This is the kind of brooding I love. It’s justified, sexy to look at and he’s really in a pickle  because he is doing the right thing, but hates it.

Young-hoon tries to cheer him up, but Joon-ho interrupts him with a question: how do you feel about being adopted. Young-hoon admits it was painful. It makes Joon-ho sink further into his broody mood.

Young-hoon explains that his adoptive parents were great, but it was still a strange experience. He wants to know why Joon-ho asks, and the man can barely hold back tears as he says, “It’s nothing.” He feels pathetic because he can only act confident – there’s nothing he can do.

Jung-ae invites Soon-shin out on a date now that she’s not working at the restaurant. Soon-shin is suspicious but agrees.

There is a cute montage of them trying on clothes and shoes and being a cute mother/daughter pair.

At lunch, Soon-shin promises to get a great job this time, despite her past failures. She apologizes for not being as awesome as her sisters and Jung-ae just watches her sadly. She assures her that she never disappointed her.

Soon-shin gets nostalgic and wants to visit Chang-hoon’s grave. She didn’t have time before. Jung-ae agrees and while Soon-shin goes to buy the flowers, Jung-ae visits Chang-hoon’s grave. She tells her husband that she hasn’t forgiven him and she hates him. Why did he do this to their family? But she’ll go through it for Soon-shin

When Soon-shin returns, she’s not surprised by tears by a graveside and contributes her own as he lets herself grieve for her father.

Jung-ae takes them to a bench in the cemetery and prepares herself to break her daughter’s heart as Mi-ryeong prepares for the press conference. Jung-ae tells Soon-shin to stay strong and listen well.

I still of the day I first saw you. The day you cried in my arms. I fell asleep trying to make you stop crying. I woke up in the middle of the night and you were staring at me. The little baby was staring right into my eyes. My heart started beating so fast. Strangely, I had the feeling that we had known each other for a long time.

Soon-shin is touched, but she is getting nervous by the unexpected show of emotion.

Jung-ae has never regretted the troubles she had in raising her because the joys were even greater. She is always happy and thankful and proud to be her mother.

Now Soon-shin is really nervous. What is she saying?

You have a real mother who gave birth to you.

Soon-shin’s face freezes.

Cut to Mi-ryeong at the press conference who acts like a humble victim of life. She says she wants to reveal that she had a daughter and why she had to hide that.

The last shot of the episode is of Soon-shin’s face, full of every emotion imaginable.

Comments:

I love that the conflict is real now. Reporters get nosy and secrets can’t hide. Adoption happens and it hurts. People quit jobs. People try to make up for past mistakes. Actresses get arrogant.

I’ll admit, Mi-ryeong is a bit too much, but I’m just going to go for it. After episodes and episodes of set-up, I finally feel like we got some real meal and potatoes this episode.

I need to rant first: Mi-ryeong. Why won’t she tell the family about Soon-shin’s real father? Is she trying to keep some power over them? Is she getting revenge on behalf of her wounded pride. And what the hell is with her shirking her shit onto other people? What did I do? What did I do? She always asks that. Well, let’s see, you had a baby, abandoned her, treated her like crap and now you want her back because you think “she belongs” to you and it will hurt your career if you don’t admit you had her.

I can see the writer’s want to use Soon-shin to melt her ice-cold bitch actress heart, but …meh…whatever. I was so interested in her at first. Now…blech.

It’s interesting to see Yoo-shin act out now because she’s actually showing restraint. She didn’t yell at Soon-shin at all. I was very surprised that she didn’t. We all know that she cares for Soon-shin so I’m going to see if her hot temper or her caring for her sister wins out. We all know Soon-shin will win her over!

I’m getting antsy for some romance sometime soon between Joon-ho and Soon-shin. I KNOW it’s not the time at all. But after this huge hiccup, please give me something, Show. I’m dying here. His puppy eyes and looking out for her so earnestly are so sweet. And she was just starting to like him and I want to get those feelings back on track. I don’t want her to be moved…I want her to LOOOOVE! Heh.

I am SO thankful that the show let Jung-ae tell her daughter the truth and didn’t undercut it with some “overhearing” scene or Soon-shin watching the news. It was a good, solid, quiet moment. Jung-ae redeems herself and tries to soften the blow for her beloved daughter as much as possible.

Now onto 25!

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Character introductions.