by: Raine

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Lee Hong-ki is so adorably and romantic. His cuteness made this episode worth it. That, and we’re finally getting somewhere with this story! We’re not just plotting evil deeds, but we’re actually getting them done…sort of.

“Do You Know” –  Jeon Geum-hwa  (from the Bride of the Century OST)

episode 9 recap

After breaking Doo-rim’s heart, Kang-joo stands outside her room, listening to her cry. She flashes back to all of the time they spent together as Lee Hong-ki croons on the OST in the background. The last thing that runs through Doo-rim’s mind is the fact that she’s the first person he’s given his heart to. Then she rips her i.v. out and runs after him, sobbing.

He’s already gone down the elevator and is trudging out of the hospital where he meets Yi-hyun. Yi-hyun asks him not to come around anymore since they’ve already broken up. Kang-joo simply strides right by him, but Doo-rim stops him by yelling, “Don’t go!”

Then, with Yi-hyun watching, she runs to him, hugs him from behind and tells him, “I love you.” Kang-joo visibly crumbles at the words. He turns, incredulously demanding why she doesn’t listen to him. She says she doesn’t believe any of it – it doesn’t matter to her. But he doesn’t want her to throw herself away because of him.

He walks away, leaving her in tears. Yi-hyun watches and listens, heartbroken.

Granny comes to visit and she and Jin-joo find Doo-rim looking like a zombie on a hospital bench. Later, Jin-joo tells her to stop liking Kang-joo. All she does is cry herself to exhaustion. It’s understandable she likes him after all of the time they’ve spent together, but she’s not Yi-kyung. Doo-rim isn’t allowed to like him. Doo-rim doesn’t understand why. Because she’s not rich, pretty or smart?

Um, she looks like Yi-kyung. How is she not pretty?

Anyway, Jin-joo doesn’t want things to get any harder for her. Doo-rim can’t lie to him forever and when he finds out later and shuns her, it will be too difficult for her to handle. Still, Doo-rim wants to spend the rest of her life with him.

Mommy Myung-hee finds Kang-joo having a fit in the family shrine, throwing things around and screaming our his frustrations. Dad slaps him and orders him to come to his senses. He should walk away if he doesn’t have the courage to overcome his fears.

Yi-hyun asks Creepy Mom why she called Kang-joo. She says it was so they could say goodbye. (I say it’s because she’s creepy and evil.) Yi-kyung defends her mother and thinks Yi-hyun is mad because of Doo-rim. Creepy Mom says it’s clear where Doo-rim’s heart lies – not with him. Yi-hyun guesses that was her intention to show him that, but he also thinks that she called Kang-joo for another reason.

Later, Creepy Mom assures Yi-kyung that they don’t have to worry about Yi-hyun. In his room, he orders a Mr. Park to secretly look into something.

In the hospital, Doo-rim calls Creepy Mom and tells Jin-joo to wait for her at the restaurant. She asks Creepy Mom to make a deal. She wants to be Kang-joo’s bride, even if she only lives for one day. Afterwards, she calls Kang-joo, but he doesn’t answer.

We see in flashback that Creepy Mom protests the marriage (a little to hard methinks). What about her life? Doo-rim doesn’t care about her life, but Creepy Mom keeps protesting until Doo-rim begs. She can’t live without him. Creepy Mom reminds her it’s dangerous and asks if she’s willing to stay no matter what. Doo-rim makes her promise that she can stay by Kang-joo’s side if nothing happens. She wants a chance to tell him the truth. She doesn’t want to lie to him anymore, not even if he leaves her. Creepy Mom creepily smirks.

Creepy Mom reports to Yi-kyung who sardonically says that she’s jealous of the love worth dying for.

Doo-rim climbs into Kang-joo’s car and asks why he’s not picking up her calls. He asks if it’s okay for her to be out and about and she says “Nope, not at all.” Basically, it means he has to drive her and can’t kick her out. Hehe. She smiles like a fool because she feels so much better after seeing him. She says it’s his fault she was ill and that he should take responsibility. Yeah! Kang-joo tells her to find another guy to blame. Then she says she wants to be his bride, and he asks her if she wants to die…literally. She says yes, if it means she can be his bride for a day.

Kang-joo stops the car angrily and tells her to shut up. She climbs out of the car and runs in front of a moving van that barely stops before hitting her. Kang-joo freaks out and yanks her out of the road and demands to know if she wants to die. “What does it matter to you if I die or not?” she throws back. He left her first. How can he be sure something will happen to her? Of a future that hasn’t happened yet? Like his father did, Doo-rim calls Kang-joo a coward. She has confidence to fight it if it’s with him. Is he sure he won’t regret letting her go for the rest of his life? She most fears never seeing him again. She doesn’t want to regret it.

She hugs him tightly and cries onto his shoulder.

Secretary Kim eats at Doo-rim’s shop. Jin-joo asks why Kang-joo is breaking off the wedding. Secretary Kim swears her to secrecy and whispers the truth in her ear. “No one knows if it’s true or not,” Secretary Kim qualifies. It freaks Jin-joo out that Kang-joo believed it enough to cancel the rumor.

Granny-in-law heard that Kang-joo plans to break off the wedding and asks what Myung-hee plans to do. Skip to Granny-in-law leaving and glaring at Dad on her way out. Myung-hee admits she told her everything. He gets this resigned look on his face that makes me think Granny-in-law is evil, too.

Yi-hyun visits Doo-rim and they are both pretty awkward. He wants to know if his mother said anything to her. She asks him why he’s making his mother worry (over his affections for Doo-rim). She’s grateful to both of them and knows she can’t have Yi-hyun by her side. Yi-hyun stresses that she can’t be with Kang-joo either. It’s too difficult. But she knows that (because EVERYONE HAS BEEN SAYING IT.)

Doo-rim visits Mommy Myung-hee who tells her that Kang-joo is not doing well and is acting out. Mommy Myung-hee asks what her feelings are and Doo-rim states that she wants to marry him no matter her family’s desires. It’s really horrible how Mommy Myung-hee smiles and offers her support.

Dad visits Granny-in-law. (I seriously don’t get some of the camera angles in this show. Why do I want to look at Dad’s ear and the back of his head? How well can an ear emote?) Dad asks about Hong Man-soo who was familiar with the car accident thirty years ago.

Mrs. Jang scolds the staff to be diligent and watch what they say. I’m thinking she could take her own words to heart.  As she preaches, the servants leave her to attend to Mommy Myung-hee and Doo-rim who have come out. HA! Myung-hee tells Mrs. Jang to watch her mouth and for once, I agree with her.

Kang-joo considers Doo-rim’s question: is he sure he won’t regret letting her go? That question leads him to Creepy Mom to ask for permission to start again with her. Creepy Mom puts on a decent show, asking if he wants her to hand over Yi-kyung’s life. He gets on his knees, but she only returns the necklace he gave Doo-rim. She scolds him for reneging on his actions and thanks him for breaking up and sparing her daughter’s life.

What a load of crap, Creepy Mom.

But she gets him to confess he loves “Yi-kyung” and then turns him down. Is love more important than Yi-kyung’s life? It’s why other families turned down marrying into his family.

She leaves him. Yi-kyung watched everything. Then Creepy Mom informs Doo-rim that Kang-joo wants to start over with her. Scheming, scheming bitch.

Doo-rim shows up at his office the next day and teases him about getting on his knees. He looks pretty pleased with himself. She hugs him, surprising him, and he can’t help but like it. He calls her inappropriate for hugging him in the office. She blames him for making her that way and orders him to take responsibility for her. Hehe. He admits that he wanted to and that’s why he went to her mother. She wants to talk about how he can take responsibility for her and leaves grinning.

They are so sweet together!

On her way out, Doo-rim spots Bong-sook and makes a scene trying to catch her. Bong-sook disappears and instead another evil, Roo-mi appears, having witnessed the entire scene. She asks if she came to see Kang-joo and what “Yi-kyung” plans to do about the marriage since her family is against it. Doo-rim says she will marry Kang-joo because she genuinely cares for him. Roo-mi wonders if she’s scared to die. Doo-rim is afraid of letting Kang-joo go and regretting it. She knows Roo-mi dislikes her because she loves Kang-joo, and won’t hate her for it.

Turns out it was Roo-mi who pulled Bong-sook aside. They go for a chat. Uh-oh.

Yi-hyun finds out that Creepy Mom was in an officetel a few times, but no proof Yi-kyung had been living there. Yi-hyun swears his investigator, Mr. Park, to secrecy – Mr. Park then reports to Creepy Mom. He lied to Yi-hyun as she had asked him to. She wants to be kept up to date on Yi-hyun’s dealings. It’s all for the company. Yeah right.

At home, Yi-hyun goes into Yi-kyung’s room and does a little snooping. A white cell phone is on the vanity. He answers a call on a black phone in the drawer and sees in the call log that all calls were from her mother. The calls start back in December when she vanished. Finally! He knows Yi-kyung and Creepy Mom were in cahoots about her disappearance. He starts piecing everything together: the grocery receipts, the officetel, the strange behavior. He also realizes that Mr. Park lied.

Doo-rim packs a lunch for Kang-joo and lies that it’s for Yi-hyun. Granny overhears and is happy about the pairing. Psychic arrives for some chow and trembles when he sees Granny. She apologizes to him, suddenly sweet, and says that all his predictions came true. Her granddaughter was rushed to the hospital. She wants to hear more about what he was going to tell her that day and he puts on a big show before announcing that there is an ominous energy around the place. He hints that he’s hungry and Granny jumps on bringing him a meal.

Doo-rim heads out and the Psychic freaks out when he sees the bracelet. He grabs her wrist, demanding to know where she got the bracelet. Granny wrenches Doo-rim’s hand free and Psychic watches her go with a fearful look on his face and then begs his leave. He can’t talk about this with Granny, he declares dramatically and actually pushes her off when she tries to hold him back. Pyschic wonders whether or not to tell Granny that it’s not bad luck looming over Doo-rim, but the shadow of death.

Kang-joo stands in the family shrine remembering the conversation he had with Doo-rim. She wants a ceremony with only the two of them. All that is important is the two of them. She doesn’t need a diamond ring and a dress. She describes a beautiful day to marry and Kang-joo smiles – I think he likes her loving him for him and not his status and her sense of romantic cheesiness. Doo-rim thinks that is the only way to get their families to approve.

Back in the shrine he speaks to the ghost. Just as she is the protector of the shrine, he is the protector of “Yi-kyung,” the owner of his heart. If this is his fate, he will face it head on. ALRIGHT! Only…the ghost appears and looks really scary pissed.

Kang-joo calls Doo-rim to meet and they flirt a little. She tells him to find her and she waits impatiently for him. She meets Secretary Kim while waiting and he informs her that Kang-joo isn’t there and it’s closing time. The lights are going off.

Okay, lights off either means the ghost is going to come and be scary, or we’ll get some romantic time. You know which I’m hoping for!

Doo-rim sets up the food for him. Suddenly the lights go out and softer lights turn on (in the guise of a moon.) A ball of yarn bumps into her shoe and on the other end is Kang-joo. She knows he found her right away. He says she’s always where he is. They’re adorable. She asks what the moon and the yarn are for. Kang-joo tells of a tale where two people are connected by a piece of red string. Once it’s tied, they are tied forever. He tells her he loves her and puts the necklace around her neck. Quietly, he asks her to be his bride. She complains that it took him long enough and he silences her with a kiss.

He drops her off at home and he promises to shield her from everything that’s coming. Her family will flip when they find out – he’ll take care of it all. She sends him off and watches him go.

A voice asks if she won’t regret it. Doo-rim turns and it’s Yi-kyung. Watching them confront each other, of course, is Roo-mi. Doo-rim says she won’t regret it. Yi-kyung has this nasty smirk on her face as she snidely says that it looks like they’ll both be his bride. One in death; one in life. Not a bad deal for her – she can take her place and no one will notice. Doo-rim looks unsure. Yi-kyung continues. Might they look the same to make Doo-rim’s unrequited love possible? She may not believe the curse, but it’s real. She’ll probably meet the presence who protects that home very soon and Yi-kyung wonders if Doo-rim will feel the same after she does.

Roo-mi leaves.

Mommy Mi-kyung reads Dad’s first love’s diary and sees how much she loved Dad and that she met the ghost who wondered if she’d give up her life for Dad.

Doo-rim heads home and senses someone following her – it’s Roo-mi. Outside the shop, Doo-rim starts to take off her necklace when the ghost appears. “Pretty necklace,” she says. Doo-rim is very surprised to see her.

Ghost: You want to become the owner of that necklace, don’t you?

Doo-rim: Who are you? What do you want from me?

Ghost: That bracelet I gave you, do you still believe it will bring you good luck? In exchange for love, you’ll be giving up her life

The ghost shorts out the street light and wind blows through her hair as the color in her face changes to black and white and she morphs into her ghost form. It’s supposed to be scary, but I laughed. Anyway, Doo-rim remember all the strange things she’s heard about the protecting spirit of Kang-joo’s house. The last shot we see if of her gazing upon the ghost in horror.

 Comments:

Well, now she knows. I doubt she’s going to run away from Kang-joo, but this sure will strike some fear into her heart. I also doubt that she’ll tell Kang-joo that she believes the curse now. I wish the ghost was a little creepier. Right now I find her somewhat creepy, but mostly laughable. It’s all in the production with the blowing wind and all that. It’s just too much.

As for Roo-mi, her presence lessened once the real Yi-kyung came back. Now that she’s re-emerged from the wood work I’m wondering if she’s going to turn into an ally. She heard Yi-kyung’s plan first hand. Or, she could tell the truth on them. Really, she’s been a mostly evil character. Perhaps the speech Doo-rim made about not hating Roo-mi will affect Roo-mi positively.

The Psychic is a totally utilitarian character. He shows up when the show needs to introduce the mystical aspects of the show. He’s a regular ol’ exposition fairy with a big ego and lots of funny faces.

And the ghost. What is her deal? Why does she kill people? Is she evil? Selfish? I liked it when she was an ambiguous being rather than an evil one. This episode definitely made her out to be evil. I’d like for her to have a story behind all of this.

Last but not least, when this show is cute, it’s REALLY REALLY CUTE. Lee Hong-ki has this sweetness about him when he smiles that is so touching. Once he made Kang-joo soften towards Doo-rim, I was all melty and gooey inside. SO. CUTE. I love them uniting as a couple to fight this curse, but they are not quite united. They’re actually divided because of her secret. I want to see how that plays out. There are a lot of messy fingers in this pie and I have no idea how it will turn out. Well, except for that he gets the girl and she doesn’t die. Right?

Recaps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Character Introductions