Winter Sonata – Episode 7

Yoo-jin has thrown herself in danger for the stranger that looks like her lover; how will that stranger react to such feelings?

EPISODE 7

Yoo-jin is rushed to the hospital after pushing Min-hyung out of the way so falling lumber. Sang-hyuk is pacing his hotel room when the doorbell rings. It’s Chae-lin, looking for her boyfriend. Since he’s not there, she whirls away. He gets the phone call from the hospital.

In the waiting area, Boss Jung-ah and Min-hyung are, well, waiting. The other two show up, and Min-hyuk apologizes for Yoo-jin’s injuries, which sets off her boyfriend. Sang-hyuk starts manhandling him, but he doesn’t resist. Jung-ah wedges herself between them just as the doctor calls out for family members. Sang-hyuk abandons the group. Jung-ah tries to smooth everything over, but Min-hyung is distracted. Chae-lin notices, so you know her insecurity radar just went into overdrive.

Jung-ah heads for Yoo-jin’s hospital bed, and explains to Sang-hyuk what happened. Yoo-jin finally opens her eyes, and pisses off Sang-hyuk by asking about Lee Min-hyung.

He is outside on the hospital grounds alone, when Chae-lin finds him. He gives her a long searching look before heading back inside, leaving her to trail behind. So now, Min-hyung, Chae-lin and sang-hyuk are all hovering around the bed. The guys all but growl at each other as Chae-lin mouths platitudes. She also thanks her for saving “her” Min-hyung. Sang-hyuk says his fiancée would have done the same for anyone, and he politely thanks the engineer for his help, but he will handle everything regarding Yoo-jin. After they leave, though, his face tells me he doesn’t believe his own words.

Sang-hyuk meets with Min-hyung outside the hospital, and reiterates that he’s nobody special to Yoo-jin, just the equivalent of some random guy. Then he runs back inside and berates her for saving Min-hyung because he’s special. He hates that “that man” reminds her of Joon-sang. She counters that she wish she could forget him, but her eyes remember his looks and her heart remembers his words. He tells her he needs to think about their relationship.

Chae-lin is getting the silent treatment from Min-hyuk until they reach his hotel room. Then he flat-out asks her: why did she lie about Kang Joon-sang? Chae-lin goes into her rehearsed story: Yoo-jin always wanted everything Chae-lin had, and only liked Joon-sang because she liked Joon-sang. But he’s not buying it anymore. Yoo-jin’s odd behaviors around him are making more sense.

Chae-lin starts crying; how could she tell him he looked like her first love? She was afraid her friend would steal him, just like she stole her first love.   He is unmoved, and tells her that they need some time apart. Chae-lin is at her car and tries one more time, but Min-hyung is firm that he needs to think about their relationship.

Finally alone in his room, Min-hyung searches his pockets for his cigarette lighter and finds the “Wheel Of Fortune” tarot card. He stares at it for a moment, thinking.

Yoo-jin is clearing out of the hospital room and prepping to visit the site, when she finds a pic of her and Sang-hyuk. She opens the room door, and Min-hyuk is waiting with flowers and a ride. He tells her it’s the first time he’s given flowers to a woman; Assistant Lee calls him a playboy, but he really isn’t.

At the resort, they end up on a wooden bench together, and he apologizes for his rude behavior when he thought she was pursuing him. She accepts the apology; since the misunderstanding is resolved, it’s finished. He admits that he didn’t realize he looked like her first love; he thought it was a ploy for his affections, but he now knows better.

His curiosity is piqued, and Min-hyung asks if he really resembles her high school sweetheart? She confirms it that she wanted to believe they were one and the same. She remembers his words that it’s best to forget the past, and he asks for her forgiveness. She’s gracious about it as they go for a stroll. She admits that, with the exception of his face, he is nothing like her memory. With a smile they shake hands as friends.

Everyone heads to the uppermost building of the resort, which can only be reached by cable car. That’s two leads, two sidekicks and four scarves.

Min-hyung decides to check the feasibility of converting the restaurant to a cabin, and Lee mentions how many times Polaris or Yoo-jin are mentioned every day. Our fluffy-haired engineer gets a bit defensive when Lee reminds him that she’s engaged. He claims it’s nothing like that.

It’s nothing like that, Yoo-jin tells her unni, but Jung-ah is quick to point out that Sang-hyuk is probably upset that she saved another man. Yoo-jin starts idly playing “First Time” on an old piano. Min-hyung shows up and comments on how nice that song is, even though he can’t play the piano. To Yoo-jin, it’s just more proof that he’s not Joon-sang.

And in another location, Sang-hyuk’s radio station is also playing that same song. The DJ wonders why Sang-hyuk is down, but Chae-lin shows up and pulls him to a cafe. There, she almost hysterically demands that he marry Yoo-jin, but he has no time for her nonsense. At least, until she admits Min-hyung wants to break up and it’s all because of Yoo-jin.

The DJ comes up with the idea of doing a outdoor winter jazz festival, and Sang-hyuk recommends the ski resort. So if renovations and peak season aren’t enough business, lets tack on creating an outdoor venue to the mix. The DJ is happy for an innovative idea.

Sang-hyuk talks to his parents that night, and tells them he wants to marry Yoo-jin as soon as possible. Mom balks; she still hasn’t forgiven her for the botched engagement. Her son goes so far as to kneel, but she’s not having any of it and leaves.

At the resort, our pair is walking through the complex and the picture of Yoo-jin and Sang-hyuk falls out of her portfolio. Min-hyung asks her what is about her fiance that she likes? She lists some traits: he’s kind, understanding, responsible, a close friend…Min-hyung laughs. Those are too many reasons to love him. He feels love shouldn’t have any reason; he asks what she loved about Joon-sang. That stops her in her tracks for a moment and he aplogizes. She decides to tell him, though. She jumps on a snow ridge and balance walks across while she talks: Joon-sang always argued and only had one real date, the first snow that year. She suddenly slips and he catches her. Both are self-conscious about it, but Jung-ah breaks the moment to tell Yoo-jin that her mother in Seoul has collapsed.

Min-hyung immediately takes charge and drives her to Seoul, afraid that her emotions might make her careless on the slippery roads. He drives straight to her house, where her mom is resting in the care of her younger sister. Hee-jin tells her the doctor has already left and she going to be fine.

Hee-jin takes one look at Min-hyung, and tentatively asks, “Joon-sang oppa?”

Yoo-jin takes care of her mom, who cuts to the chase; is there something going on between that man and her? She warns her daughter not to say anything to her fiance, and wonders if her mother-in-law-to-be has forgiven her. She answers in the affirmative, and Mom tells her she wants both of her daughters to be happy.

Yoo-jin’s dongsaeng serves Min-hyung tea, and can’t stop staring at him. She tells him that her unni almost died of grief. He asks her where the nearby lake is located, the one her sister went to when she played hooky with Joon-sang.

After leaving her mom’s, he drives her to the lake, and all but forces her to take a stroll with him. It’s all but silent. Yoo-jin tears up when she sees a couple on a tandem bike, remember her bike ride with Joon-sang.  She quickly hides them from Min-hyung.

They continue walking, and Yoo-jin relays the story of the Shadow Land: there was a man who lived there, but no one would speak to him, so he was lonely.  It is Joon-sang’s story, and Yoon-jin finally asks him why they came to the lake.

He takes on a serious tone, and tells her that in a beautiful setting like this, she can only see sadness.  How can she learn to love again, if she is the one living in the Shadow Land?  They both look over the lake with their own thoughts. Later, in their own resort rooms, they both are still contemplating.

The next day,  the boys are going over the blueprints, but Min-hyung wants to ask his hyung a question. Instead of saying what you want to say, you end up saying something completely different.  What does that mean? Manager Lee is pretty blunt: 1- you forgot what you wanted to say; 2-you’ve done something wrong; 3- you like the other person.

Manager Lee plunks out “September” on the old piano while Min-hyung muses out loud what it’s like to truly love someone.  Manager Lee guesses #3 was the correct answer.  Min-hyung wanders over to the piano, and plays a decent version of the “First Time”.  He breaks into a big smile – maybe he is a genius!!

Sang-hyuk heads to the resort.  Mom is still complaining, but Dad genially tells him to invite Yoo-jin to Mom’s birthday party.  It turns out he’s meeting all the high school gang.

It’s just Min-hyuk and Yoo-jin as they ride the cable car to the tower at dusk.  He brings the rough renovation plans and they walk through and make notes.  At the observation deck at the topmost part, she recommends using pure white for the walls, and he remembers something she said when she was drunk: white is her favorite color, and winter is her favorite season.  She wonders why he would bring it up. They finish just when the sun is finally down.

The sidekicks meet up, and Manager Lee tells Jung-ah that the wind has increased and it’s too windy for the cable cars to safely function. So our couple has to spend the night on the mountain.  He starts a fire in the lodge fireplace, prepared to hunker down.

At the base of the mountain, the group from Seoul shows up.  Our little lovelorn whiny-butts immediately freak out that their respective significant others are together and alone.  I personally wonder how the cable cars work without any workers at either end.

Yoo-jin comes back from wandering around to find Min-hyuk asleep in front of the fire.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This episode has Min-hyung changing from defensive tactics to keep Yoo-jin away, and actively trying to understand her.  He has been more or less solicitous of her well-being even before the lumber accident, but it’s gone a little deeper than that as he becomes more and more attracted to her.  And Yoo-jin?  The pull of those familiar features was already tugging at her heartstrings, so without Min-hyung actively avoiding her, the pair can’t help but get a little closer.

Chae-lin still remains the most annoying character ever, with Sang-hyuk a close second.  She never learned the lesson of the previous episodes, and yet again uses her manipulation skills for her own selfish needs.  Sang-hyuk is just jealous, but it seems he’s never been convinced of Yoo-jin’s affection.  Otherwise, why would he always be just a hairbreadth away from annoyingly clingy.