Recap: Queen In-Hyun’s Man Episode 12
Today we learn more lessons of courtship but don’t take them too much to heart. We will never be as perfect as these two.
On the side we also learn how to make “curry rice,” Hee-Jin style.
It is dawn and Hee-Jin is half-asleep, half-awake. She notices Boong-Do wordlessly watching her, standing by the doorway, and she smiles at him. (Does this man ever sleep?) The camera pans to two coffee mugs, standing side by side on the nightstand. Hee-Jin falls back asleep.
The sun is shining brightly outside and Hee-Jin wakes up fully. She looks next to her on the bed but no one is there. She bolts up and searches for Boong-Do. She walks out into the living and throws a little tantrum that Boong-Do seems to have left without telling her. She comes back into the bedroom and finds a note on the nightstand. It is written in Hanja (Chinese characters). She can read her name but the rest, no idea.
Hee-Jin is fully dressed now looking up each character on the internet. She grows more frustrated every second. “Is he testing my intelligence? If you are writing a letter to someone, you need to think about that person and write Hangul. He doesn’t even know the letters of the people, that elitist!” (Lesson 5: Learn Hanja so your smarty-pants boyfriend doesn’t tease you.)
Hee-Jin notices something in her pocket and she pulls it out. It is the amulet. She hears Boong-Do’s voice outside.
Boong-Do is outside riding a bike, asking the guesthouse owner if he is riding the bicycle well. The owner replies that he riding that well only after one to two hours of practice.
Hee-Jin steps out onto the balcony and looks down at Boong-Do who is circling the yard on a cute red bike. Boong-Do notices her and asks, “You finally woke up.” But Hee-Jin warns that he is going to fall and Boong-Do crashes into the deck. But his long legs touch the ground first and he avoids a complete embarrassment.
Hee-Jin asks where he got the bicycle. Boong-Do borrowed it from the owner. He was bored waiting for her to wake up so he figured he should try to learn how to ride the bicycle. Hee-Jin bashfully explains that she likes to sleep-in in the mornings.
Hee-Jin tells Boong-Do that she thought he left already, only leaving a letter. Boong-Do tells her it is not a letter, but her address. Hee-Jin can only softly say, “Oh.” He asks if she can’t even read her own address. “You seem to be more dumb than I….” Hee-Jin cuts him off. “You don’t even know how to ride a bike so stop showing off. There aren’t any men here who don’t even know how to ride a bike at that age.”
Boong-Do asks Hee-Jin if she is not hungry. He is about to faint from waiting for her to wake up. Hee-Jin tells him that he should have woken her up. He asks her what she wants to eat. He will go buy it. Hee-Jin wants to go with him but Boong-Do insists he can go alone. Hee-Jin knows that he doesn’t have any money to buy food so she needs to go with him.
Boong-Do pulls out a load of cash from his pocket. (Lesson 6: Never use a wallet. A handful of bills showcases your wealth much better). “I have so much money and I don’t have anywhere to put it.” Hee-Jin knows immediately where he got the money. She asks, “When did you sell it again?” Boong-Do informs her that it was easier the second time.
In a flashback, we see Boong-Do selling his family’s sword again (a gift from King Taejo). The shopkeeper once again notes the good condition of the sword. Boong-Do asks how much. The shopkeeper punches in some numbers on the calculator and shows it to Boong-Do. Boong-Do looks at it and announces, “Are you playing with me right now?” Boong-Do tries to take the sword but the shopkeeper stops him. Boong-Do turns his head and smiles in secret. (Lesson 7: Take care of gifts handed down from the King. You never know how much haggling will get you with that.)
Boong-Do informs Hee-Jin that he got a better deal this time. “If I sell it a third time, I think I will be able to get even more. I thought maybe I should buy you a car again but since you already have one….” Hee-Jin shakes her head. She doesn’t want a car that just disappears when you wake up one day. She will just remember Boong-Do’s heart.
Boong-Do wants Hee-Jin to list the things he should buy and Hee-Jin starts to rattle off. But she stops and heads back inside.
Hee-Jin sits at the coffee table, pen and paper in hand. She mutters, “Who are you calling dumb?” Hee-Jin heads downstairs and hands Boong-Do the paper. She instructs him to just buy everything on the list. As Boong-Do continues to look at the list, Hee-Jin informs him that he won’t understand what is on the list. It is written in English. English is trendier than Hanja right now. Boong-Do doesn’t need to try so hard to read it. All he has to do is hand it to an employee at the supermarket and they will find everything for him. Boong-Do smiles and puts the list in his shirt pocket. Hee-Jin continues to tease him. “I’m so worried. You don’t even know the alphabet.” Boong-Do just rides off.
Boong-Do is now at the mart and the employee is looking at the list. The employee exclaims, “Oh, a foreigner must have written this.” Boong-Do corrects him. “Not a foreigner. Just someone who has too much useless pride.” (Lesson 8: Make sure someone doesn’t know you too well before you try to upstage him.)
The employee is selecting the things on the list. He asks Boong-Do, “You’re asking for curry, right? It’s written here as c-a-r-r-e but it is c-u-r-r-y.” Boong-Do almost snorts in laughter. He just tells the employee that it doesn’t matter as long as the meaning got across. (Lesson 9: Learn how to spell. Correctly.)
Soo-Kyung is home, pouring milk into cereal, as she counts the minutes left until nine. “There are only three minutes left until the moment that starts our separation, Choi Hee-Jin. Call me now Hee-Jin if you don’t want to regret it forever.” Just as she says this, Hee-Jin calls. Soo-Kyung picks up and immediately starts screaming. “Where are you?” Hee-Jin apologizes and asks about Dong-Min. “Did anything happen?”
Dong-Min had been trapped inside the shower stall until Soo-Kyung and Chun-Soo got home. Dong-Min had left in a foul mood.
Hee-Jin apologizes. She couldn’t lie. Hee-Jin continues to apologize and Soo-Kyung explains that Dong-Min think Soo-Kyung knew Hee-jin was cheating and covered everything up with a story about counseling sessions.
Hee-Jin informs Soo-Kyung that they are in Paju. Soo-Kyung asks if Hee-Jin spent the night with a “sa-saeng” fan (“sa-saeng” fan is an obsessive fan who follows celebrities around like crazy and knows way too much personal information.) Hee-Jin corrects Soo-Kyung. Boong-Do is not a “sa-saeng” fan. Hee-Jin reminds Soo-Kyung that she said she would be on Hee-Jin’s side if the man from her dreams really existed. Soo-Kyung calls Hee-Jin crazy but Hee-Jin hangs up before Soo-Kyung can finish. Soo-Kyung asks to herself. “When did I say I was going to be on her side? When?” Then Soo-Kyung remembers. She had indeed said that on the night Dong-Min visited. Soo-Kyung wants to rip out her own mouth. “Why did I say something like that?”
Boong-Do is back and Hee-Jin inspects the food. Boong-Do asks, “Are you sure you asked for ‘curry’?” Hee-Jin confirms. Boong-Do is glad that it was right. “Since I don’t know English, I was worried that I bought the wrong thing.” He suppresses a smile as Hee-Jin innocently teases him about his concern. She pats him on his back to praise him. Boong-Do smiles widely in return, finding Hee-Jin incredibly adorable. (Lesson 10: Unlearn lesson 8 and 9. You will earn a cute smile in return.)
Boong-Do is sitting at the kitchen island and Hee-Jin is dressed in an apron in front of him. Hee-Jin tells him that what she is about to make is something that very difficult and is made only once a year, usually on birthdays. “Just because the cooking time doesn’t take long, it doesn’t mean that this isn’t high-level cooking. Because it is. Very high-level.”
Hee-Jin proceeds to show Boong-Do her amazing cooking skills.
“Today’s menu- Curry Rice”
- Tear the plastic.
Hee-Jin: “See this line here? You have to make sure to tear exactly at this line. If you go just a little out of the line, you’re ruining the meal.” Boong-Do keeps his eye on the bag as Hee-Jin tears the container with great effort.
- Pour the curry on top of the rice.
Hee-Jin: “Pour it nicely and evenly like this, over the rice.”
- Cover with wrap.
Hee-Jin: “This is a skill that not any housewife can do.”
- Put everything into the microwave and heat for 3 minutes.
Hee-Jin: “It can’t be 2 minutes 50 seconds or 3 minutes 10 seconds. It has to be exactly 3 minutes. That’s the lifeblood of the meal.”
Boong-Do sits seriously with his arm crossed, waiting. The microwave bell chimes and he perks up. Hee-Jin wipes her forehead and with grand gestures, takes out the rice and unwraps it. Voila- It’s perfect!
Hee-Jin pretends that this was the hardest thing to do in the world and sits down. “You don’t have to be too thankful. All you have to do is eat well.” Boong-Do finally says, “Just because I don’t know this world, you try to con me too much.”
Hee-Jin is surprised at the word “con.” Boong-Do reminds her that he has known this world for several months now. “How dare you?” Hee-Jin laughs and sticks out her tongue at him. “Merong.” (Lesson 11: Con, trick, and prank all you want because you will get nothing but huge smiles).
Before they can dig in, Hee-Jin asks what Boong-Do was doing at dawn. He was up, all dressed, and standing at door. Boong-Do asked her if she was dreaming. Hee-Jin is sure it wasn’t a dream. Did he go somewhere at dawn? Boong-Do turns the conversation around but Hee-Jin remains suspicious.
Dong-Min is on the drama set, still mad as hell. He sits next to Na-Jeong who asks him if he had fun yesterday. Dong-Min tells her to buy him a drink after they finish filming. Na-Jeong wants to know why he is asking her. What kind of scandal does he want to create?
The director comes into the room and Dong-Min approaches him. “I have a good idea. Why don’t have In Hyun Wang Hoo drink the poison and die? I think it will become a big issue.” Na-Jeong reassures the director that it wasn’t her idea. Dong-Min confirms. “It is my idea.” Dong-Min says the same thing he said before the cutting of the amulet changed the course of the future, when Dong-Min had embarrassed himself on the airplane. The director says the exact same things as the last time. To kill of his previous wife would make the King a psycho. Na-Jeong asks Dong-Min, “Did you guys fight?” Dong-Min tells Na-Jeong that she definitely has to buy him a drink.
Dong-Min is in the van throwing a temper tantrum and Chun-Soo yells at him for making a fuss here on set. Dong-Min informs Chun-Soo that he can’t film in this mood.
Boong-Do is outside with the bicycle and Hee-Jin runs downstairs to him. She points out that he forgot to buy one thing- instant coffee. Boong-Do tells her that he purposefully forgot that. He wants them to drink outside, to celebrate him learning how to ride the bicycle. Hee-Jin is worried. A new bicyclist can’t handle having a woman riding in the back. Boong-Do tells her that he practiced hard since the morning in order to give her a ride. Hee-Jin gets on and Boong-Do warns her. “If we fall though, let’s take care of our own individual selves.” Hee-Jin is surprised at such irresponsible words. Boong-Do just takes Hee-Jin’s hands and puts them around her waist. “Hold on tight.”
Now we can a delightfully sweet montage of our adorable couple riding the bicycle, laughing and thoroughly enjoying themselves. They take a break and Hee-Jin sits on the wood railing of a deck overlooking the river. She playfully tries to butt heads with Boong-Do. They rest and sit on the bike together. Then they blissfully continue to ride around the village. (Lesson 12: Make sure you know how to ride a bike. And that it is a one-seater.)
They stop at a railroad crossing. Hee-Jin is resting her head on Boong-Do’s back. Hee-Jin notes that Boong-Do does really learn fast. Boong-Do reminds her that he said that was his only good point. Hee-Jin slowly starts to say, “Even if you lived here, I don’t think you will starve. Do you like to teach? You can teach Hanja. You can be a horse-riding instructor. You can even just not work. You can just sell your old things. That’s a life to be jealous of.”
Boong-Do, who had been listening to this all silently, responds, “Is that so?” Hee-Jin asks, “Isn’t here more fun than there? Truthfully.” Boong-Do just says, “Maybe.” Hee-Jin pouts. “Even if you are from a great family there, you don’t know when you can be killed by the king. Even if you do succeed in life there, medicine has not developed well there yet so you can die early. There’s nothing good there. Isn’t that so?” Boong-Do is smiling softly at all this. “I guess so.”
Hee-Jin remembers that she has the amulet. She takes it out and sees a small flame nearby. She notes, “If I just throw this there right now, you would have to stay here. Should I just throw it there?” Boong-Do smiles and does not say thing. Hee-Jin says that his silence is affirmation. “I’m really throwing it!”
Boong-Do just smiles and starts to pedal, as the intersection is now safe to cross. He looks back for a moment and sees the flame. He stops and exclaims, “What have you done?” Hee-Jin reminds him that she said she was going to throw the amulet. As Boong-Do heads toward the flame, Hee-Jin waves the amulet in her hand and teases him. “You were scared!”
Boong-Do looks at her in relief as Hee-Jin sticks out her tongue. Silence falls heavy on them before Hee-Jin says, “You DID really get scared. That you couldn’t return.” Hee-Jin looks crestfallen and Boong-DO is silent. Hee-Jin says, “You know that I am impulsive. Take this before I really burn it.” Boong-Do slowly takes the amulet from her and Hee-Jin looks disappointed.
Boong-Do gets back on the bike. Hee-Jing gets a call from a drama’s assistant director. The assistant director wants to know if Hee-Jin can film tonight since Dong-Min is in the hospital and the schedule got changed. Hee-Jin is surprised to hear this.
Soo-Kyung gets a call from Hee-Jin. Hee-Jin is calling to confirm that Dong-Min really went to the hospital because of gastric camp, due to stressed caused by her. Soo-Kyung doesn’t think so. She thinks Dong-Min is putting on a show. Soo-Kyung lays it out for Hee-Jin. Dong-Min’s insides are all twisted up now because he can’t endure being dumped even though he can dump people. Because of his pride, they don’t know what he will do next. It seemed like the director got a hint that something is going on between Dong-Min and Hee-Jin so she is going to see him right now. Hee-Jin decides that she needs to go the hospital.
Boong-Do calls Hee-Jin’s attention with his bicycle bell. She informs him that she needs to go. Boong-Do overheard her talk about the hospital and guesses that Dong-Min is there, putting on a show of being sick. Hee-Jin feels she needs to go since she is the cause. Boong-Do doesn’t think Dong-Min is the type of person to get sick because of things like this. Hee-Jin asks how he knows. She thinks Boong-Do is jealous of her going to visit Dong-Min. Boong-Do retorts, “Impossible.” Hee-Jin DOES think it is jealously but reassures him that it will only be a short visit. Boong-Do should not worry and wait for her.
Back in Joseon time, Yoon-Wol is leaving Boong-Do’s house with her maid. A man is sitting outside watching this. The same man reports to Ja-Soo that Boong-Do is said to have gone to Yang-Ri and doesn’t know how long he will be gone. Ja-Soo doesn’t think Boong-Do went there. Ja-Soo asks another guy where Boong-Do’s hometown is. It is Chung-Poong. Ja-Soo figures out that if the lie to make sense, Boong-Do cannot appear back in the capital for five days since that is how far Chung-Poong is.
Ja-Soo notes that the Queen is visiting her parents’ house tonight. He remembers what Minister Min instructed. They are to wait for the Queen to leave the palace and they must not let Boong-Do enter the palace on that day. Ja-Soo is happy that the heavens seem to be on their side today. He instructs one man to go down to Boong-Do’s hometown and the other man to gather more soldiers. Ja-Soo and the others will go to the Queen’s parents’ house tonight. One of the men tells Ja-Soo that he thought about just killing Yoon-Wol who was on her way to the temple unguarded. Ja-Soo tells him to leave her alone. She was a favorite of Minister Min before and Min will deal with her his own way when everything is solved.
Dong-Min is in the hospital. Chun-Soo is on the phone with Hee-Jin and informs Dong-Min that she is downstairs. Dong-Min allows her to come up to see him. Chun-Soo warns Dong-Min to not create trouble at the hospital. Dong-Min remembers something and scurries to the bathroom.
Hee-Jin is outside the hospital room door, flowers in hand, nervous about going in. She enters. Dong-Min is sitting cross-legged on his bed. Before Hee-Jin can finish talking, Dong-Min pulls out a water spray bottle and sprays Hee-Jin in the face. Dong-Min continues to spray Hee-Jin in the face, angry that she tricked him. Dong-Min finally finishes and says, “Since you are a couple, you don’t mind getting sprayed instead of him, right?” (Sure, Dong-Min. Attack someone who is weaker than you just because you can’t defend yourself against a stronger person. Ugh.) Hee-Jin is not angry but she thinks it is petty. Dong-Min throws a pillow in her face, saying Boong-Do threw a pillow at him too. “How about being locked in the bathroom?” Dong-Min asks and tries to drag Hee-Jin into the bathroom. “Then go tell on me to that guy. Is he a gangster? He fights really well.”
Hee-Jin tries to calm Dong-Min down. “I’ll explain why the situation is like this even though I didn’t lie or cheat.” Dong-Min doesn’t believe her.
Thankfully, Chun-Soo enters the room with the director. The director asks why Hee-Jin is wet. Hee-Jin lies that it is sweat. The director, looking back and forth between Dong-Min and Hee-Jin says, “Did you wash your face in sweat?”
Chun-Soo tries to ease the situation but the director has his suspicions and looks at Hee-Jin. The director says to Dong-Min that he looks well. Dong-Min denies that he is well. Dong-Min refuses to film with In Hyun Wang Hoo from now on. He wants all those scenes cut out. He can’t act with a cheating In Hyun Wang Hoo. He can’t pretend to be in love with her. Chun-Soo tries to calm Dong-Min down but Dong-Min continues to insist he can’t work with someone who can’t take care of her personal life. The director is astounded. Dong-Min points to Hee-Jin and calls her a two-timer and a pretentious liar.
Hee-Jin and the director are outside and Hee-Jin apologies. The director doesn’t know whom to believe but knows he will have to shoot the two of them apart for the time being.
The director leaves.
Hee-Jin sits in her car, worried and upset. She looks at her watch and remembers that Boong-Do is waiting for her. She calls the guesthouse. The owner picks up and tells her Boong-Do left. Hee-Jin is not sure if Boong-Do returned to Joseon time or if he is just temporarily out. She remembers that Boong-Do was up at the dawn. She thinks that he definitely went somewhere then. She also thinks back to earlier in the day when she pretended to have burned the amulet. She talks out loud, “Surely he doesn’t have a hidden woman in the Joseon era and is going back and forth between us?! He admitted he was a player.” Hee-Jin starts to imagine Boong-Do with gisaengs, laughing his head off. “Do you know what a player is?” Hee-Jin imagines Boong-Do saying to the gisaengs. (No, no! Not our Boong-Do!)
Hee-Jin shakes away this imagination. “It doesn’t suit him. But how do I know what he does there? I can’t even go back and see for myself.” (LOL. Risking his life to go back and forth between women. Uhm, I don’t think so. Oh wait. He IS risking his life to see A woman, though. Hehehehe.)
Yoon-Wool has come to see Young-Myung monk to confirm for him that Boong-Do had returned safely that night. She was worried that since the monk only received a letter of confirmation, he would still be uneasy. The monk reassures Yoon-Wol that he saw Boong-Do safe, face-to-face. Boong-Do came at dawn.
The monk and Boong-Do talk. Boong-Do came to the temple because he couldn’t sleep.
The monk tells Yoon-Wol that it seemed that Boong-Do’s worries had only increased since he found the amulet. Yoon-Wol asks, “What worries?” The monk responds, “It seemed like he wanted to go the new world.”
Hee-Jin is driving when she gets call. It is Boong-Do and he is at the park again. He was touring Seoul while waiting for her. Hee-Jin is upset that she worried when he out having fun. Boong-Do asks if anything happened to her. Did Dong-Min do something? Hee-Jin just tells him that she is not the type of person to just let people attack her. Boong-Do thinks Hee-Jin is exactly that kind of person.
Hee-Jin is parked near the phone booth already but she doesn’t hang up. “If you were that worried, you should have gone with me. You said you would take responsibility.” Boong-Do responds, “If I went, I think Dong-Min would have been more sick.” Hee-Jin frowns. “This is a situation when a cat pretends to care about a mouse. You said you would take responsibility but you don’t actually have any plans.” Boong Do responds, “I thought about it but couldn’t come up with anything. We can only wait for him to calm down.” Hee-Jin cannot believe what she is hearing. “You’re not just joking right now, are you?”
Boong-Do asks her if she is in her car. Hee-Jin tells him to stop turning the conversation around. Boong-Do tells her to open the glove compartment. She sees a ton of money in there. She quickly closes the compartment, grabs the cellphone, and leaves the car. “Why are you giving me the money? What am I supposed to do with it? Stop pretending to be a ‘chaebol’ from a manga/manwha/comic.”
Boong-Do asks her to use the money for him. “I need to stop using the payphone and wearing other people’s clothes. In order to meet you once, I have to keep running away to the countryside. I want to buy a house near where you live.” (Okay, starting to hyperventilate). “I need to buy a cellphone and some clothes. Will that money be enough?”
Hee-Jin responds, “The money is enough but…” Boong-Do continues, “I said I would take responsibility. I suddenly came into your world and turned it upside down. I don’t think it is enough to just be your boyfriend for some time or buy you an expensive car or spray water on him.”
Boong-Do: To take real responsibility is to always be by your side.
Hee-Jin had been walking slowly to the phone booth all this time and now she is finally in next to it. Boong-Do cannot see her yet. He continues to say, “How is that? I could only think of that solution.” When Hee-Jin remains silent for a long time, Boong-Do finally turns around and sees her.
Boong-Do tries to hang up the phone but Hee-Jin starts to speak. Boong-Do puts the phone to his ear again. Hee-Jin says, “That’s a wonderful solution.” Boong-Do asks, “Is that so?” She nods. “I sure know how to pick a person.” They smile at each other through the phone booth.
It starts to rain and Boong-Do immediately pulls Hee-Jin into the phone booth. They stand close together, watching the rain. (Lesson 13: Find the smallest phone booth in your town because it is going to be very useful.)
We cut away to what happened between Boong-Do and the monk the night before. The monk asks what worries Boong-Do. Boong-Do tells him he just ran straightforward trying to save his life and help the Queen. Now that everything has been solved and his memories are back….This place he is living in right now has become the past to him. Can he live well in this world?
We get a montage of Boong-Do touring Seoul. He sees people dressed in Joseon clothing and reads the plagues that commemorate history. We hear Boong-Do tell the monk, “I know how history will play out. I will now have to just live out my life as it is destined to. Is that how a human should really live? Can someone who already knows his destiny be happy?” Boong-Do is at the bookstore touching the spines of the Korean history books. He sees an open book of a European cathedral. “The future is now my present. I am questioning whether if the future is where I must live out my life.”
Yoon-Wol is shocked to hear this from the monk. The monk tells her that he thinks Boong-Do has created a relationship with someone there. Back with the monk and Boong-Do, the monk says, “I think I know what you are saying but will you be happy in a strange place where no one remembers you? There is nothing worse than loneliness.” Boong-Do agrees. “But if there is even just one person who remembers me, wouldn’t that live be different?”
Yoon-Wol asks the monk if Boong-Do really does want to leave here. The monk replies that it isn’t a decision easily made but it seems his heart is already pointed in that direction.
We get a flashback of Ja-Soo telling Minister Min about the amulet and how it is loyal to only Boong-Do. “He lives when he dies.” Minister Min instructs Ja-Soo to not kill Boong-Do. “He lives when he dies. He dies when he lives. Who’s to say Boong-Do won’t lose it all because of the amulet.”
Ja-Soo and the others are hurriedly making their way to the Queen’s parent’s house.
It is evening and Boong-Do and Hee-Jin are still inside the phone booth waiting for the rain to stop. (Who am I kidding? They are not waiting for the rain to stop. They just want any excuse to be as close to each other as possible.) They are looking at the European tour book that Boong-Do saw at the bookstore. He tells Hee-Jin that when he saw the picture of the cathedral, he wanted to go there. Hee-Jin teases him that he can’t travel since he doesn’t know English. “I guess I have to be your translator.” Boong-Do replies, “I think after one month of learning English, I will be better than you.” Hee-Jin can’t believe his confidence. She learned English for years. Boong-Do says that they can even bet on it. Hee-Jin wants to know where he got his confidence. Boong-Do asks her what the spelling of “curry” is. Hee-Jin replies, “c-a-r-r-e.” Boong-Do laughs and says, “See.” Hee-Jin insists that she is right.
Hee-Jin and Boong-Do continue to tease and laugh and talk as only lovers can do as the rain continues to fall. Hee-Jin narrates, “We met by coincidence. A strange meeting that started at the gap in time. The necessary ‘cause-and-effect’ of our coincidental meeting, and its end, were heading towards us.”
Comment:
Perfect, Perfect, Perfect.
I said it was perfect. I will take responsibility for those words. “How” you say? By giving you detailed recaps. I might die doing them but I have learned a lot from Boong-Do.
I don’t know how it gets better with each episode but this drama does. Today we got one important answer and several pertinent questions asked.
Hee-Jin wanted to know Boong-Do’s intentions and she got her answer. We now know for sure that Boong-Do plans to travel back and forth to see Hee-Jin. But the question that is now on his mind and ours is whether he will make his life here in the future with Hee-Jin permanent.
The effects and consequences of Boong-Do’s meddling with history and time travel had not been openly discussed in the drama so far but we now see those questions coming out. Boong-Do knows how history will play out. He knows much more than a person should. His life in the past, then, is just watching everything play out in front of him. How can someone live his or her life like that?
The easy answer would be to say that Boong-Do could just live in modern time with Hee-Jin. But the writer throws us in for a loop and reminds us that there is a balance to the amulet. “He lives when he dies. He dies when he lives.” Boong-Do lived for the sake of trying to reinstate the Queen. When he traveled through time, he wasn’t doing it solely for his life or happiness. But now it is a different story. Boong-Do is trying to live and is searching for his own happiness. The great looming question then becomes whether that means death for him.
Just when I thought that maybe the Joseon and time-travel part were starting to lose their significance, the writer once again raises the stakes. Now that’s a good drama. KEEP IT COMING!!!!!!
(My recaps keep getting longer and longer. Someone kill me. Or stop me from caring about this couple so much.)
Scattered Joonni 
SQQUUUUEEEE!!! WOW you recapped it already! THANK YOU. So excited! (Off to read)
Lovely recap! Great commentary at the end, too. I delighted at their love, but also anxious for their relationship and also for Boong Do’s happiness. The drama doesn’t gloss over the decision he faces (when/where to live?) that is raised by Hee Jin’s tentative questions.
It’s not easy, the choice he faces. The closest thing I can think of is for a lover to move across the country or emigrate for you.
When I leave the States, I am often excited to travel, even to live abroad for many months, but I always miss the United States, even when there is much to criticize about it. I sometimes think I don’t fit in perfectly in my home country, but then when I travel I am reminded of how thoroughly American I really am. So much of who we are is shaped by where we live and our era (thus the generation gap and cultural gap between immigrant parents and their children). Homesickness feels like a kind of loneliness. .
Although Boong Do’s family was killed, there are still people and other ties in Joseon that matter to him. Yool Wol. Han Dong. The monk. The Queen and King, his love for and desire to serve his country. While his mission of justice/salvaging his family’s honor is fulfilled, and he is excited about the future world and Hee Jin, he probably fears losing touch with his home (300 years ago!) and his roots. No wonder he was so freaked out when Hee Jin pretended she had burned the amulet.
On the other hand, I can sympathize much with Hee Jin too — their love is so new but can she count on him? Is there any way for them to be together for the long haul?
Anyway, THANK YOU again for your wonderful recaps! I am so impressed and grateful for your commitment. This episode is so lovely but it also made a think a lot…
I love your point about how tricky it is sometimes for people to figure out what “home” is to them– where they’re originally from? where they feel the most comfortable in? or does “home” the place really matter when you compare it with the people that mark a place in your lives… it really hits home for me personally since I immigrated when i was old enough to feel deeply bonded with my birthplace and have now lived in the states for almost 20 years. =3 it makes Boong Do’s story mean so much more =D
and Joonni~ thank you for the recap… after seeing all the spoilers i had a mini tantrum about how QIHM’s recent episodes has gotten SO sweet that it’s unhealthy for the mind XP and how it’s the first drama to make me REALLY jealous of the couple in it because I’m single… and how the Joseon story seem to be fading… so i was actually planning to skip watching ep 11 and 12 to spare my heart… but now seeing how deep the story can still be amid the romance, I think I just might give in and at least watch ep 12 =D
Thanks hartseeker, and good point! If you love/are bonded to more than one place you can be homesick for more than one place, right? The longest I’ve lived in another country is a year. I studied abroad in Provence in college and sometimes I still miss it, but it’s like an old fling that I look back on fondly and that I knew would never work out long term.
Like you, my mom and dad emigrated when they were old enough to feel a serious connection to their country of origin but they have been in the US for 20+ years now and I suppose would miss it too if they moved back.
This drama makes me feel a little heartsick too, but also giddy at the same time. I love both Hee Jin and Boong Do and I am delighted with them as a couple, but yeah I am jealous too, I admit it!
But I hope you watch the rest of the drama! It’s just so well-done and gorgeous. I agree that the sweetness of the romance swells in this episode (couple bike ride, etc.) but in other ways the drama seems so subtle — how “deep the story can be” as you put it.
Haha JC, don’t worry, I definitely plan on watching the rest of the series– I love this thing to bits, it’s just that after reading the spoilers of ep 11, I wavered because a) I usually check the spoilers in the morning, then watch the raw in the afternoon, before watching the Chinese subs the next day– I wasn’t sure my brain and heart could have handled the sweetness without evaporating and therefore not be able to concentrate at work at all b) again, the level of sweetness is health-threatening c) call me conservative, but i was EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the thought that BD may have ummm slept with HJ because… I don’t want BD to break that respect I had of him– it’d taint my image of him– it’d be out of character with his sense of responsibility and consideration for others, so I wanted to skip those two episodes, wait it out and see what happens =P
It’s a difficult situation for Boong-Do. In Hee-Jin’s time, he has no roots, no family or friends. He only has one person in that whole world to be connected too.
Imagine Boong-Do does make the decision to stay with Hee-Jin and burns the amulet. And then she dies. Can you imagine how lonely it would be for him? I could almost cry right now just thinking about it.
Oh good (that you will continue watching)! Yeah, I was torn the idea of about HJ and BD sleeping together at the end of ep. 11. Still not sure whether they did or not (I hope I’m not opening a can of worms for discussion)?
Their kisses are hot! And in theory, I am against shaming any adult for having consensual sex. But that’s in these times, right? (and even then, you can argue that when anyone’s heart is involved, not to rush in!)
But BD comes from a time and place where noblemen/gentlemen don’t do that sort of thing with women they love and respect. And BD IS gentle and scholarly and virtuous, so yeah, it would be out of character for him, I think.
Exactly, Joonni! Boong Do being torn between his own time and the future really rings true for me. Until he builds more of a life in 2012 (friends, career, place to live), he is one person away from being totally alone (kind of soul or heart-homeless, if that makes sense), esp. now that everyone else in 2012 besides Hee jin has forgotten even meeting him. Yeah I don’t even want to think about it. Luckily, I don’t think the writer would do anything that awful or melodramatic to us!
The number of hits on your site keeps going up! I am glad for all the attention and traffic you are getting for your excellent recaps and hard work.
Please ladies.. Don’t put such ideas into the writer’s heads. Actually BD’s situation is not that farfetched. There are still places on earth which are at least a century behind. Think of a refugee coming from some remote village to New York or London.
People move to be with their one loved one, leaving behind their own country, culture, family, job, etc. all the time. It just is usually the wife who follows the husband.
madsu, I think you’re absolutely right about the situation not being so far-fetched after all… It’s an amazing achievement when refugees succeed in building a life in their new country – especially considering they don’t have royal swords to sell and don’t usually have a loving guide like Hee Jin at their side who cons them into believing curry rice is the state of art of modern cooking. If Boong Do had been a North Korean refugee he would’ve felt just as disoriented in Seoul, but would have less resources for making his new life easier.
Once again, an amazing recap. I live by these to understand the raws. You’re awesome 🙂
so fast dear!! thank you so much!!!!
Thank you thank you thank you!! So darn good this drama LOL
I love you!!!!! Thanks you so much for your remarkable recap!!!! Love this show so much:)
Sometimes I wish your recaps never ends lol:D thank you so much for your effort & write as long as you want. Will be reading every single word;)
I’m on the edge of my seat just reading your recaps. Thanks a lot, this is really an amazing drama. It brought difficult question and answering them in… next week! GAH! I’m so hooked! ><
Thanks for the fast recap. What a sweet episode. Hee Jin has amazing culinary skills…. hahahaha…. she should have introduced him to ramen instead… 🙂
i totally fall in to dream..gosh..this drama so addicting me…. hahahaha..love the scene..gumawo joonni…big thankssss jonni …..
*i’m little bit worry about next week, sometimes, drama makes u happy on the top , expect more, and then ..puftt.make us angry and sad…
no one could kill you Jooni. And no one should, or else they will suffer the wrath of many. Thank you again for the recaps! 🙂 you’re awesome!
wow wow wow … thank you so much for the fast recap .. i was here 30 minutes ago checking the recap of ep. 12.. i knew it I can count on you .. thank you thank you thank you
“He dies when he lives.”
the show is doing great so far. of the 3 kdramas i’ve been following in the last several weeks, this is the best written. but goodness, i hope the show doesn’t bungle this up and do a king 2 hearts, when a character you’re heavily invested in dies in the end. if that happens, ill swear off kdramas for good and content myself with jdoramas instead.
true. they simply can’t kill both of my favourite kdramas guys in such short succession. the end of this episode did sound ominous, so I hope they’re just playing with the viewers’ expectations… they could have Boong Do fake-die in Chosun, so that he can live full-time in present-day Seoul. that’s the only kind of death I can deal with at the moment.
i thought HJ will teach bong doo the other use of telephone booth .. what a pity .. she didn’t .. but anyway bong doo learned a lot from her.. yay.. so cheesy .. i love it
i think this will have a happy ending .. i just don’t know how will the writer do it.
Thank you verr verr much, Joonni!
Nobody KILL Joonni! That is an order! In fact, I would be willing to start any sort of [nutritious/life giving force item here] bank for you. What will it take?
Coffee? Chocolate? Chicken wings? Watermelon? Lemon squares?
I am sorry, I cannot get you a HJW, as he is currently busy being perfect in SK.
NAME IT, I will send it to you. Can we send food via Paypal? Hmmmm…
Seriously, take care of yourself. We can wait a couple extra hours to get our fix, we can, if it means we keep you for the long run.
This is the episode where all the nervousness starts again.
I almost died when she pretended to burn the amulet. We saw the catastrophe associated with cutting it in half, I can just imagine the both of them combusting and melting like that dead Joseon guy if that thing falls into fire.
I am pretty sure, BD would be gone instantly, wouldn’t he?
Ay ay ay ay ay ay
The acting keeps getting somehow better and better, too. Their together scenes definitely get more romantic the more the actors relax around each other. But don’t you think Kim Jin Woo is simply fabulous as an angry crazy man? He is scaaaaaarreeee, I tell you. I know PDs and managers have to keep the talent happy if they want the show to go on, but really? Refusing to work with her because he can’t pretend to love her? Hold on there, puppy dog, isn’t that what ACTING is? PRETENDING? What a jerk!
I am glad we are going to be digging deeper in the in-kwa of the amulet. That part of this show fascinates me. I love love love the love story, of course, but they aren’t just kidding around here with consequences. Something is going to happen. BIG. At first I thought JS and Min would successfully kill Queen Hyun-in in the past and change history.Which meant only uri OTP would know – maybe because HJ’s role in the drama really would be cut short- but so far we haven’t seen that BD can change things in the past of the past so they can’t mess with such a high profile historical person.
So BD is going to have to go back at least until Min dies, maybe even JS dies.
That’s OK, cause once BD decides to leave 1694 altogether, he won’t be able to protect that YW. That worries me a lot.
Bring on the consequences, I am confident BD can handle them…whatever they send his way…
Stalk you later!
PS I have to download a good copy of 12 to get you some banners. Do you have any requests for any scenes from the last two?
Virtual coffee please! I had to drink an extra cup while writing this recap today. 🙂
Ugh, I hate Dong-Min so Kim Jin Woo is doing a fabulous job.
Requesting sunflower kisses please! And the bicycle ride.
Check your email, too. I think there are three new ones
I’ll do a bicycle one, too. 🙂 ♥♥♥♥
great point about the consequences of destroying the amulet! I didn’t think of it before, but it makes sense that something drastic would happen.
THANK YOU, JOONNI!
Really lovely, detailed recap with some thoughtful commentary at the end. I’m so anxious for this OTP! I really want them to get their perfect, PERFECT happily ever after. >_______<
I have a theory though, that the drama will end right where we began – at their meeting in front of the palace. I'm usually all for open-ended endings, but I really hope the writer will elaborate more on how he'll adapt/manage to live in the modern world (if that is what he chooses). Notice that he was wearing RED – not his typical court official robe is it? …. unless it's his *gasp* wedding gown?!
Omo, I thought exactly the same! They have to get back to that scene at some point, and the more the drama goes by, the more it seems like it might be the last. But I’ll be ok with it, if they do it well (i.e BD and HJ don’t spend the last 8 episodes apart and suffering).
Thanks for the recaps! I couldn’t wait until the translation of the episodes, so I watched them while reading your awsome summaries 🙂
I meant the next 4 episodes (god, I’m so traumatized by the 20th episodes of Rooftop and King2Hearts that it’s the only number I remember lol)
I’m the opposite. I don’t like open endings. I am usually fine with whatever a drama gives me but this time I want to see them together happy at the end.
I want them happy too, Joonni! I want them to have everything. The perfect happily ever after. In the case of this drama, I NEED a closed ending. This one is the exception for me, definitely.
Everybody now………SQUEEEEEEE! ❤ ❤ ❤ These past two episodes were all about hee-jin and bong-doo's reunion, but it felt like there wasn't enough time for the two of them. The episodes also felt like there was no plot movement, but the "i'll-burn-the-amulet" scene said it all: it propelled the story forward, gave us that "yeah, how will bong-doo manage to be hee-jin's lover without leaving the old world behind?" And the looming question about the consequence of using the amulet to escape death, not once but multiple times…how will fate get its payback? Aaaahhhhhh!
And praise the Lord, for cable tv, this drama has been so generous with smooches! Smooches here and there!
Word. The smooches have been amazing. (SIGH)
By the way, almost 83,000 hits.
Whoa! Excellent! That is 83,000 times people love you!
Nice! Joonni, your recaps are awesome and I am glad more QIHM fans are discovering them.
Whoa, 84,000 hits now. That’s 1000-2000 more hits just this evening!
Thanks a ton for the quick and detailed recap. Absolutely worship your sense of humour. I love the stills that you post as well. So picture perfect.
The conclusion BD is coming to is as rational as can be expected from him. He knows that with his influence and intelligence, he could cause serious damage if he continues to live in the past. He knows too many things that are not supposed to be known at that time. He has already expressed his wariness of changing anything significant. According to original annals, he is already dead, so for him to disappear into the future would not alter history. A quiet life in the future with the person he has come to adore may be his only answer.
thank you, thank you. i like your recaps. great job!
about the amulet… since minister min said not to kill boongdo, what would happen if he instead kills yoon-wol? after all, wasn’t it because of her love and devotion that the amulet works? what will happen if she becomes brokenhearted or worse… dies? what effect will it have on boongdo’s time traveling???
anyone with me with this theory?
I stated this in a comment for an older recap. The literal translation does say that Yoon-Wol put her heart into the amulet but it is understood more as her care and earnest wish for Boong-Do to be safe. Harming her won’t have any effect on the amulet.
THANK YOU JOONNI!! Now you’ve got me worried, so I guess by that Min am and co will try to kill him (yikes! no, not Kim Boong-do! THE all time leading man) in the future *shakes head* but I have faith on uri smartypants scholar with Heejin by his side (loved her more and more with her amazing cooking skill LOL). Yep I agree with you the plot is awesome by the episodes, so I guess epi 13,14 will the climax, and then, we’ll get swoonworthy episodes again, in Italy maybe? No?
Awesome speculation about Italy. I hope that Boong Do will travel widely with Hee Jin in 2012 and see museums and cathedrals and different countries to his heart’s content. Someone like him who loves knowledge and adapts quickly would love travel, right? He rises to the challenges of a new place and new language easily. His world would so much because modern transportation shrinks distances. He hasn’t even discovered the internet yet, I think. I keep on thinking to where he said he could stay in the library forever, not even noticing the passing of time.
Traveling the world together. That sounds wonderful.
And you know, Heejin is right, he doesn’t need to get a job, how awesome his life will be (Gah! Kim Boong-do I love you) Just selling a few more family relic, traveling the world, learning languages, learning how to cook (he just has to, with Heejin’s amazing cooking ability :p *sigh* that thought makes me want to see KBD in apron making some ridiculous sophisticated French cuisine. And when he’s done exploring the world, just let the man does what he wants, spending his life in library, maybe he can run a blog about Joseon history and other serious stuff, well he can’t teach in SKKU right? I think his SKK diploma will attract a few questions..
tarianant, you kill me 😀
KBD, the key on which the Joseon history turns, to not put those awesome braincells to good use would be a awful waste, don’t you think? Politics is his forte. What could he do to travel and fulfill his ambition?. Foreign affairs ministry perhaps?
Hehe..I prefer him to do what he loves with his braincells, writing and traveling would be awesome, if the money runs out, just let Heejin to be the breadwinner, CF, movies, dramas, milk delivery, that’s what a heroine a for in kdramaland, right? Let alone HKBD (hot.kim.boong.do) is the one waiting at home, heck I’ll do anything. The man has been through hell, just let the pretty boy unwind… *picturing him writing with a guitar by his side..sigh*
May be he can make his own fan vids 😀
LOL so Joonni can relax instead and just rerun the show 😀
Lol. Joonni, don’t listen to her. Love your fan vids. Keep ’em coming.
Man, this drama has turned my brain into jelly beans. I can actually hear my brain clatter.
You guys crack me up.
I can hear my own brain rattling inside my head.
Great episode again… lot of cuteness, but also some questions which makes me nervous !
Like you said, HJ has finally an answer as until when she can get her man, she’s quite nervous about the fact he can disappear any time, it’s quite understanding… at the end , he tells her, he would take measures to stay, that’s a marvellous solution indeed.
I Like your comment about the fact that now he’ll use the time-travel paper to his own benefit and not any more for an altruist/noble task. It can be a loophole in the mystical process , it makes me nervous!
and the evil minister has already seen another loophole : it isn’t necessary to kill him, you can just hurt him many many times…. Evil man! Let Bong-Do alive , please u__u
JOONNI, are you kidding me? the recaps getting longer and longer, so you think any of us would have any complaint about that? NOOO!!!! on the contrary, i am enjoying reading your recaps more than watching it, and i mean it! your comments in paranthesis, i don’t know how to describe, i so much like your comments in between the scene-definitions. Especially lesson 10, i literally scrolled up to reread lesson 8 and 9! fish memory because of squealing, i can’t concentrate, your recaps, BD and HJ, their chemistry, all of you are to blame! haha! guess who is not a memoriser and quick learner like BD and doesn’t care about it and sticks out her tongue? 😛
How many eps? will we have 16? i read someone writing 3 eps left, no right? 4 must it be 😉
thanks a million again JOONNI, thanks to you i could enjoy it very much!
16 episodes, so 4 more after this one!
Kekeke. Thank you for enjoying the lessons!
Thanks so much for the recaps!!
Those lines she said as the episode finished, “We met by coincidence. A strange meeting that started at the gap in time. The necessary ‘cause-and-effect’ of our coincidental meeting, and its end, were heading towards us.”
. . . those are very ominous words. I have a feeling that our hearts are going to break with the next episodes =(
thank you thank you thank you for the recaps,…!!! thousands kisses for you,..^__^
GREAT!! Amazing!!
so lovely recap and verry envy with couple >.< how dare the script writer make us more n more love this drma. really good and wish the next episode can make BOMB again
thanks for recaps 🙂
I love this drama, but now i love love love your writing style. I cant stop smiling while reading your recaps!…especially with your ‘lesson’…it’s so hilarious. I’m seriously will learn the lesson you gave.
I think i’ve no intend to stop you from caring our OTP or because your long recaps. I’ve no problem with it,i’m really enjoy it. Because we’ve same problem,we love this drama.
Thank you Joonni! FIGHTING!
Thank you again Joonni~ I’ll never get bored of thanking you twice weekly hehe.
Firstly……did they DO it?? gaahhhh….how ambiguous!! HJ under the covers…in a singlet (typical kdrama-morning-after for the more ‘conservative’) but i cant be too sure in this case. Gaahhhh!! i’m not sure if they did…DID THEY?? omo omo omo……ok…..got to get my mind out of the gutter….wished they did though…i want me little BDs….anyways…..curses for BD and his calm mannerism that reveals nothing……moving on moving on…..
Love love love love LOVVEE their date and when they were stranded in the phonebooth. Man…you’ve got to be as tall as JHW to reach out and close the door by taking a hold of the upper ledge no less. Move aside superman. Let BD show you what a phone booth can really do! HJ had me sighing and awwing when she snuggled up to BD’s chest in the cramp booth and with her little loving glances. And that intertwined-fingers-book-hold~~♥ kkkyyyaaaa…..so swoon -worthy. About that phonebooth, i hope it gets the same status as the namsan stairs.
And how smart it is of BD to sell his sword at a higher price now that he knows how it’ll pan out. His little outburst at being con with ‘carre’ rice and HJ’s cooking skills. *lol* i just about squealled every single time HJ is on screen during this ep. Her failed attempt at trying to one-up BD with her language skills and her little cooking demo. (omo omo…how cute can this girl get?) Major cuteness overload except when she was with DM. Aaarrgghh….what an @ss. Poor girl’s soaked to the front of her dress. Aisshh….you little punk!! *shakes fists at DM*
my gawd…i was rolling on the floor when HJ imagined BD as a player and all those gisaeng. But his declaration of what taking responsibility is………..total ALL KILL of all the girls in the world! Yes HJ, you really hit the jackpot with this one. i’m not gonna fight you for him coz i know he’s only got eyes for you. As consolation, i will accept little BDs and HJs. Now get to it!
Oh yes…must add: how i love that both HJ and BD simultaneously looked to the floor bashfully after she told him that she sure knows how to pick a person. XD
Also question: how will BD travel?? he doesnt have an ID!! How are they going to get him one? He cannot be using HJ’s friend’s ID his whole life. They’ll get caught sooner or later.
hehe I’m been thinking about the ID too, he has been travelling to Jejudo-Seoul back and fort, surely by plane. I just assumed he stole an ID, since on the plane he has returned Heejin’s friend ID before DM (hate you now!) gave him the hilarious failed flying kick.
Hmm.. That tippie toe was too long to not go anywhere. Was it not?
As HJ mentioned, noblemen of olden times have a lot of experience with women. Wives, concubines, gisaengs.. No reason to believe BD would be very different. His intentions are very clear (stay by her side), so he may not think of this as anything wrong. Either way I don’t see it seriously affecting the story. So leave it to individual preference.
i’m just pervy when it comes to HJ and BD together! XD Wanting to know if they got it on is just to appease my curiosity. Thats why i’m so hung-up about it. Like jomo143 mentioned in ep11’s comment, even if history censored the ‘human urges’ from their records to state a more ‘prudent’ society, the deed still carries heavy consequences. That’s why things like adultery and debauchery results in heavy punishment in joseon/ancient times. And that’s why men back then have concubines and more than 1 wife. If you want to get in her pants, boy’s got to marry her. If he gets caught, he’s still got to marry her despite being married. Else the girl will probably be stoned/shamed by society. In recent times who you sleep with, is nobody’s business… ‘cept if you’re married. Then said punishment will be met out by wife/husband in terms of divorce and alimony. Since BD is not privy to the ‘intimate’ ways of recent times, getting into HJ’s pants SHOULD be a VERY big deal to him. Which i’ve mentioned in ep11 comments, is equivalent to marriage. And throughout the show, he has shown to be very level headed and he does a quick run-through in his brain before he acts out on anything. So when i’m suddenly thrown with a BD telling HJ to not leave him by his lonesome self at night, i get gobsmacked! this boy doesnt seem like the type to not be able to keep himself in check. (BD said he’ll be responsible but nothing about marriage. i deduced that he only decided that taking responsibility is to stay by her side at all times after much discussion with the monk in this ep. which should be the day AFTER they did it…assuming that they did) if they did get naughty, i feel kinda disappointed coz it doesnt feel consistent to BD’s responsible character. if they didnt, i would still feel disappointed coz my brain is always in the gutter in regards to HJ and BD. XD i’m contradicting myself aint i? hahahahah
Niki, agree completely.
He is not doing this lightly. Am certain it is a VERY big deal to him. Boy’s already decided to marry her. He has already sold the sword and made enough money to buy a house. Staying by one’s side is code for marrying in kdrama, isn’t it?
I think the freedom HDM took with HJ earlier in the day may have something to do with BD’s out of character action. That guy was coming on to HJ pretty strong, wasn’t he? Must make BD wonder how far they have gone in the two months while he himself was “just a dream”? Seemed like a VERY calculated goal from BD’s part to me.