Drama Recap: One More Happy Ending Ep 9

The ninth installment of One More Happy Ending educates viewers that genuine care always wins over self-driven love.

Bad habits and actions may go unnoticed in the beginning but they will come back to bite eventually.

Episode 9 Recap:

The episode starts with the doctor examining Mi Mo. She is fine and isn’t unconscious. She is just sleeping to hide her embarrassment. Soo Hyuk walks him out. The doctor is their classmate’s husband. He advises Soo Hyuk to live alone because marriage isn’t peaceful.

Soo Hyuk goes back inside and Mi Mo is asleep. His kid self says if one confesses on a snowy day, it will be accepted.

We flashback to elementary school and the kids are drawing. Mi Mo draws a snowman while Soo Hyuk draws stars. They walk home together after stage practice. He is going home late because of a goldfish, not Juliet. She doesn’t like being called a goldfish so she wants to go home by herself. He insists they should walk together, despite her braveness.

The kids chat about what’s in the sky – a sun, moon, stars, rain and snow. Soo Hyuk says stars come together and become the sun and the moon, while rain falls when stars grow sad and cry. For snow, it forms when stars cry from happiness. Soo Hyuk believes confessions will be granted when it snows. Mi Mo wishes there will be lots of snow during the play.

Adult Soo Hyuk thinks whatever he says, it’ll be forgotten because it’s snowing. He continues to confess his feelings to Mi Mo. He can’t hold back his tears and walks out.

Mi Mo wakes up with watery eyes. Soo Hyuk watches the snowfall outside. He opens the box and stares at the jewel box. He remembers how he bought the box 24 years ago. He travelled to the shop with his life savings of coins to play the tester game. He spent the night and his coins to win the jewelry box.

In the present, Soo Hyuk takes out the yellow ring he gifted Mi Mo. It landed in his possession after he found it lying under her coffee table when he drank with her and Hae Joon. He pops the ring in the box and closes the lid.

Mi Mo is struggling to sink the confession in. Meanwhile, Hae Joon is pondering about whether to go to her. He does, despite the snowstorm. Mi Mo hears someone coming in, so she quickly pretends to sleep. It’s Soo Hyuk, who brought some warm water. He places his hand on her forehead, checking if she has a fever. Her temperature is normal but a red cut on her head isn’t. He quickly finds a first aid kit. She glances at him before closing her eyes. He takes care of the cut and grabs another blanket to keep her warm. He lies next to her. Her eyes are wide open but she can’t bear to look at him. He knows she is awake and avoiding him. He stops looking at her.

Boyfriend Hae Joon is on his way. The two are falling asleep. As Soo Hyuk is wriggling around, he accidentally kicks his gift box underneath a drawer.

Next morning, Mi Mo is awake before Soo Hyuk. He asks if she slept well. She gives a quiet ‘yes’. They awkwardly stare at each other.

Leaving the school, they meet their classmate. Soo Hyuk asks if her husband is okay. She says he gets tired because he’s old and she should’ve married someone younger. There will be a Romeo and Juliet play coming up and she invites them. Soo Hyuk kindly rejects because it’s too far. She jokes; there won’t be any poison involved. She says she organised breakfast at the restaurant across the road. They agree to go but suddenly Hae Joon arrives.

The love triangle eats together. Hae Joon notices Mi Mo not eating. He asks if she doesn’t like it. Soo Hyuk says the more disgusting food looks, the more she likes it. Hae Joon sasses, it seems like they’ve been friends forever when they only attended elementary together. The meal is full of bickering and indirect insults. Hae Joon keeps on complimenting on how Mi Mo looks good in pink, especially during her Angels days. He continues to ask her about her childhood, only to receive unwanted answers from Soo Hyuk. He bitches, “Did I ask you?” Soo Hyuk is asked what he put in the capsule. He says it isn’t anything X-rated but something adults like them cannot see. The couple leaves for Seoul while Soo Hyuk travels alone.

Inside the car, Mi Mo lovingly stares at Hae Joon but doesn’t get any response. Soo Hyuk feels lonely without a passenger.

Da Jung’s husband is at the hospital. He was told to visit often to observe other patients. Da Jung is the bathroom and is struggling to cope with losing her breasts. She doesn’t have the emotional strength to eat soggy rice. Her roommate kindly offers her some home cooked food. She tries to cheer Da Jung up by saying she’s lucky for not requiring chemotherapy. Da Jung says, “I don’t feel like a woman.” Her roommate tells her if she recovers well, she can go get plastic surgery for a C-cup. She also comforts her by reminding her that she will never be a man with such a pretty face. Da Jung’s husband watches their conversation through the door. He’s crying, yet his feet don’t move an inch.

In Dong Mi’s classroom, the kids, including Tae Yong are writing a poem about snow. Dong Mi stares at the snow outside while forming a poem in her head. The poem focuses on her ex who left in the cold wind after selling an oven with expired warranty. He left without a trace. She gets a text from her bank, revealing money that her ex transferred back to her.

Mi Mo is sitting on her couch with Hae Joon. Awkward silence looms in the room. She thanks him for picking her up. He cuts in, stating trust doesn’t come from one side. She thought the one-day event wouldn’t be a fuss. He says he is a man who has personality traits at both extremes of the spectrum. He has seen Mi Mo involved with Soo Hyuk many times. He’s pissed again.

Soo Hyuk can’t seem to find his jewelry box. Before he can think where he lost it, his colleague calls him about A Ni resigning. He’s surprised.

Back to the couple and Hae Joon sternly asks Mi Mo if she should be keeping a distance from Soo Hyuk because he is uncomfortable with their closeness. She doesn’t understand. He questions, if she really doesn’t know or is pretending not to know the truth. She believes there’s no reason to avoid Soo Hyuk. She wants a straight answer to prevent misunderstandings. He doesn’t want to be pathetic and scared getting hurt while loving her. She asks if he hasn’t fallen in love with her yet. He remains silent. She thinks she was right about his feelings being different. She isn’t a person to open her heart halfway, in threat of getting hurt. He questions whether he is the only one in her heart.

Meanwhile, Soo Hyuk exits his apartment. He glances at his neighbour’s door. Suddenly, Hae Joon comes out. Soo Hyuk tries to explain that he and Mi Mo are merely schoolmates. Hae Joon doesn’t want to listen to him because he only cares about Mi Mo’s feelings. He leaves his friend in distraught.

Mi Mo ponders about Hae Joon’s last plea – to not open her heart to anyone except him. She takes off the Band-Aid that Soo Hyuk put on. She reminisces back to his confession and struggles to stop her wavering feelings.

Hae Joon is driving as he thinks back to his college days. His younger self is talking with Soo Hyuk’s girl. This was before she got together with Soo Hyuk. She asks if he can’t see that she likes Soo Hyuk. He reasons how she was really sweet towards him. She pushes him in her friend zone. She wants to ignore his confession and move on without awkwardness. She asks if he hopes she’ll like him instead. He subtly denies. She reminds him that Soo Hyuk really cares about him. Soo Hyuk will be disappointed if he learns about this. The present Hae Joon seems unlikely to change his ways.

Soo Hyuk is sitting with A Ni on the stairs at Masspunch. She has no reason to stay. He asks if it’s his fault. She says he knows she never loved her job and she only chose it because of him. She is quitting the job, discarding her immaturity and ending her crush. He questions what she plans for the future. She is disappointed because he didn’t ask her to stay. She hopes to slowly define happiness that doesn’t involve him.

A Ni packs up her stuff. She finds her story on Mi Mo still open. Glancing at Soo Hyuk, she decides to delete it. The editor swings by, asking her to hand over any newsworthy stories before leaving. According to her, he is the worst boss ever. Over at Soo Hyuk’s desk, his colleague shuts his computer, revealing the star couple they stalked has split. He complains about celebrities not knowing how difficult love is. Everyone sarcastically wants to call them to get back together so they can publish the story.

Min Woo is in his room and holding onto some movie tickets. He remembers the time when his dad carried an injured Mi Mo to her apartment. He cheekily smiles.

Mi Mo steps out of her place, only to see Min Woo. He gifts her the movie tickets. He cutely thanks her for volunteering with him and asks if she could bring his dad along. She tells him she cannot be neither a mum nor a woman for his dad. She apologises and rejects his offer. He also apologises for getting ahead of himself. He bows and goes back inside.

At Masspunch, A Ni’s successor is checking her computer. She finds the Mi Mo story in the trashcan. It hasn’t been fully deleted. The editor likes what he sees.

Da Jung gets a visit from Mi Mo. She notices Mi Mo being more depressed than herself. Mi Mo says sorry for looking down before taking out Da Jung’s favourite desserts. Da Jung asks what’s wrong with her. Mi Mo shakes it off. Da Jung reminds her to go to their office party in her absence. Mi Mo hesitates before agreeing. She cutely feeds Da Jung.

As Mi Mo walks through the lobby, she meets Da Jung’s husband. They go out for coffee. He reveals the doctor gave him homework – to find what Da Jung needs on his own. She agrees to him calling her when he needs help.

Brave Wedding is holding a fancy blind date party. Soo Hyuk rocks up in a polished suit and slick hair. He finds Mi Mo and taps on her shoulder. He believes all the women will look at how dashing he looks and he will choose the sexiest and youngest one. Mi Mo hands over his nametag first and welcomes him to his first meeting event. He acts excited but is seated on a table full of not-so attractive ladies.

One serious looking girl leans closer to Soo Hyuk, asking why he hasn’t entered her life until now. He laughs awkwardly at Mi Mo and sends her his distaste of his table of ladies.

The blind dates embark on a game where the man has to carry the woman on one foot. Soo Hyuk gets a chubby partner and is dying. Even after swapping partners, he receives all kinds of displeasure. He still remains polite.

Washing his hands vigorously in the bathroom, Soo Hyuk complains how isn’t enjoying the event at all. He’s never experienced anything so shocking before. He hears a loud noise.

A guy destroys a glass in front of Mi Mo. She demands an answer for causing a commotion. The guy is one of the clients’ exes whose complaining about her business and what it does to kids when remarriage happens. She declares they only introduce clients to each other and leave the decisions to them. He aggressively pulls onto her hair. He warns her to behave or else he’ll expose to the media that she is a fraud.

Soo Hyuk appears and he snaps the guy’s hand off of Mi Mo. He tells him that he also is skilled in threatening people. He can make an unbelievable story be viewed as true. He doesn’t reveal his identity to him and warns if he dares to threaten him, he’ll wreck him with one story. The guy shits himself and denies saying bad words to Mi Mo. He backs off. Soo Hyuk asks if Mi Mo is okay and she nods.

The next day, Mi Mo sits in her office drinking coffee. She looks into her fishpond and sees a goldfish version of Soo Hyuk. He repeats, “It’s YOU!” She tells her assistant to not feed the fish for three days. The assistant thinks she is crazy for starving the fish.

Mi Mo tries to calm her nerves down. The assistant returns to share food that Manager Lee bought her. Mi Mo happily accepts. She realises its goldfish bread so she frantically tosses it away. She imagines Soo Hyuk handing her the bread. The assistant snaps her out of it. Mi Mo gives the bread back for the assistant to munch on.

Hae Joon is at work and has a few coughs. His favourite student wants to eat dinner with him. He tells her to eat at home before asking if she has any after-school classes. She is a girl who doesn’t need to study since she’s got a huge inheritance fund. He smiles and says she is lucky. She is glad she made him smile and advises him to date someone who makes him smile. He is dating someone like that.

Mi Mo arrives home. Before she goes inside, she sends evil stares at apartment 1502.

In 1502, the father and son are having dinner. A female calls Soo Hyuk but he doesn’t have her number saved. It’s Kim So Yeon, a lady he went on a date with. He puts her on speaker. He is only interested in feeding Min Woo. She wants to see him right now. Min Woo widen his eyes and tells him to go. He tells her he doesn’t want to see her. Clients have complained about Soo Hyuk being nice on the first date and going M.I.A (missing in action) after. She believes Brave Wedding is paying him to raise the quality of clients. He says he doesn’t accept any money. She wants to take the business down. He quickly leaves to meet her.

Stopping Soo Hyuk is a dead-eyed Mi Mo waiting for him at his door. He is frightened. She doesn’t say a word before angrily walking inside her place. He sneers; she should’ve introduced him to better candidates. He says to himself, “What can I do when I can’t find anyone better than you?”

Mi Mo is busy putting tons of photos of Hae Joon in frames. She has him surrounding her room. Putting on some classical music, she tries to meditate and sleep. But she still hasn’t gotten rid of Soo Hyuk’s fishy voice out of her mind. So, she calls Hae Joon, who has fallen sick.

A coughing and shivering Hae Joon is sitting on his couch while his girlfriend cooks for him. As she slices abalone, she accidentally cuts her finger. She sucks on it and continues cooking the porridge. She brings a bowl over to him and checks his temperature. He smiles at her caring gestures. She asks why he didn’t call her earlier. He says he wanted her to be worried because he didn’t call. He eats one spoonful before giving her a sweet hug. Thanking her for coming, he gives a kiss on her forehead in return. He doesn’t want her to get sick so he went for the safe kiss. The genuinely smile at each other. But Mi Mo holds onto her Band Aid that’s wrapped around her cut. He didn’t notice it.

Mi Mo visits Hae Joon’s place the following morning with some groceries. He already went to work since he felt a lot better after eating her porridge. So, he gives her the passcode instead. She walks in and drops her groceries into the fridge. She opens a pot in the sink and sees her porridge left completely smelly and untouched. She is devastated.

She darts out of his place and walks in the snow. Blisters form from her heels, adding to the pain in her finger. She thinks back to the times when her heels gave her pain and how Hae Joon never noticed. He really is cold-hearted.

Still limping her way from her parking lot to the elevator, she bumps into Soo Hyuk. They don’t talk at all. That is until they are in the elevator. He notices her injuries and calls her clumsy. They reach the 15th floor and he exists first. He tells her to wear comfortable shoes.

Mi Mo enters her apartment. Her mind is confused due to Soo Hyuk always noticing her finer details and any pain she’s facing.

Paparazzi, including Masspunch are gathered outside Sarang Hospital. Soo Hyuk arrives and is told that Seul Ah had a miscarriage. His colleague jokes that two hands can’t count all of Jung Hoon’s women, which caused Seul Ah to fight him. They’re in for a long night, so they order Chinese food.

We visit Dong Mi’s house where Ae Ran is still living. Dong Mi mopes about feeling down despite getting her money back. She is mad about the douche fooling her since day one. Ae Ran regrets being in a girl group because they received too much love and is paying the price now. Dong Mi angrily yells, “Nobody loved me!” Ae Ran starts ranting about her husband. She admits she finds him attractive and it’s making her want him. Dong Mi tells Ae Ran to wake up. Ae Ran is confused about her status and contemplates whether to move in with her husband. Dong Mi sadly expresses she is always alone. Ae Ran offers to make her so desirable she can’t handle the male attention.

Ae Ran takes Dong Mi to a club. Dong Mi lets loose and has fun until people tell her off for bumping into them. Her mood dies down. Ae Ran is adamant she can still make the guys come at Dong Mi. She runs to the DJ and uses all her ahjumma cuteness to get him to play a song – a sexy number for her to pole-dance to.

Dong Mi is embarrassed by Ae Ran’s dancing and so is the crowd. Young guys call her old and to get off the pole. Dong Mi tries to escape but bumps into more people. She slips but luckily a guy catches her. He is hot and drool-worthy. Suddenly, a wine cork hits her head. Mi Mo narrates; Dong Mi couldn’t believe she was in his arms.

She sits outside a convenience store, holding onto her sore forehead. Her young knight comes out with ointment in his hand. She tries to refuse his help but to no avail. He sweetly treats her bruise with his gorgeous visuals shining through her eyes. He says after bandaging the bruise, her pretty face won’t be ruined. She tries to avoid his dashing stares.

The ladies are eating mandarins in Da Jung’s ward. Mi Mo asks Dong Mi if she had a blackout last night. Ae Ran teases Dong Mi, making her nervous. Dong Mi scored a date on a sunny Saturday afternoon with her knight. She’s scared she’ll look bad in the sunlight and asks for advice. There is a six-year gap she wants to get over. She lied to the 28-year-old guy that she’s 31. Da Jung has no opinion since she married an oppa as does Mi Mo who hasn’t dated a younger man.

 

Dong Mi glances at Ae Ran, who’s wearing her ‘bitch please’ face. Ae Ran comments, guys at 28 is the prime age to satisfy the fantasies of women in their thirties. She makes Dong Mi stand up to give an imaginary lesson on dating men of all ages. For Dong Mi to date a guy in their early 20’s, it’s a crime. A guy in their mid 20’s would result in less criticism but people will notice the age gap. A 28-year-old is a fantasy romance that’s perfect for her because people won’t think she is his auntie. Ae Ran thinks she got lucky and will help her.

Ae Ran mentions there are many reporters outside. Dong Mi reveals a top star got exposed.

Soo Hyuk and his colleague are hanging around a convenience store. They’ve been awake all night. The colleague brings over coffee cans and shows Soo Hyuk an article. He says he didn’t know they published the story. Soo Hyuk takes a look and it’s the Seul Ah-Mi Mo article. He is shocked.

While Dong Mi is playing with her phone, Mi Mo receives a call from Soo Hyuk. He hurriedly asks her where she is. She says she is at the hospital with her friend. He hangs up. Dong Mi finds the Seul Ah miscarriage article along with Mi Mo’s.

Fans and reporters are scattered outside. Dong Mi and Ae Ran want to hide but Mi Mo thinks there’s no reason to since she did nothing wrong. Ae Ran suggests her to stay the night to avoid them. Mi Mo refuses and walks forward, only to be drawn back by Soo Hyuk. She is surprised. The girls are confused.

Soo Hyuk and Mi Mo step aside to talk. He says she really is a goldfish for wanting to face the reporters. Mi Mo ignores his rants and the fact he’s extremely worried. He asks if she knows what will happen if they get a photo of her. She will become the wicked one. She’s fine with it and tells him not to worry. He softens and says they should go home in his car to avoid the fiasco. He grabs her hand but she flicks him off. She wants to deal with it on her own like she always has. She says she is not that weak and doesn’t need his protection. It’s not something that he should worry about. She walks off, leaving him even more anxious.

Hae Joon overhears people murmuring about Mi Mo being the third wheel in Seul Ah and Jung Hoon’s relationship.

Soo Hyuk walks outside and notices Seul Ah’s fans going in to seek revenge at Mi Mo.

Mi Mo is scared as she goes to her car. Fans run after her. She almost slips over, but luckily Soo Hyuk comes out of nowhere to catch her in his arms. They get eggs and junk ditched at them. Soo Hyuk withstands it all on his back and holds Mi Mo closer. A guy threw a rock right at Soo Hyuk’s face, which startles Mi Mo. His face is bleeding but he keeps on protecting her.

Thoughts of mine:

Soo Hyuk is so respectable in many ways. His unconditional care and love for Mi Mo is priceless. He accepts that she is his friend’s girl but it doesn’t stop him looking out for her. Whenever she gets hurt, he will notice and go out of his way to take care of her. He is trying hard to draw the line like she is. But he can’t help but to stay by her side when she needs support most.

Hae Joon comes second best on every occasion. Sometimes it’s because he actually misses the chance to Soo Hyuk. However, most of the time he just doesn’t bother to realise any of Mi Mo’s scars or flaws because he is too busy caring about himself. He is becoming cruel in order to gain fake trophy points from Mi Mo. But acting super sick and not eating her porridge is unacceptable.

On the brighter side, it’s great to see Dong Mi getting another good catch. The guy is way cuter than her former sugar daddy. I hope she can finally find her match.

This episode was slightly slower-paced than others but it dug through the depths of the three leads’ personalities.