This episode is focused on Taemoo’s change of heart. In the beginning, all he wants to do is punish Hari for lying to him. In the end, he does an about-face and forgives her.

But before I start talking about Taemoo, Iet me comment about Minwoo.

Minwoo visits Hari’s chicken restaurant and he comes bearing a box of abalones.

Dad: You didn’t have to do this. These must have been expensive.
Minwoo: I remembered you craving them the other day, Omoni.
Mom: Really? You’re so sweet. I wish you were my son instead of this little brat. Wait a second. You can still become my son-in-law, Minwoo!
Hari: Mom, come on!
Brother: That won’t happen. Youngseo told that Minwoo got back together with his ex-girlfriend. You know, that one.
Mom: Ahhhh. You broke up when she went to study abroad, but you’re back together?

We know what he’s trying to do, right? After learning that Hari had a date for the concert, now, he’s worried that he’s losing Hari to this unknown guy. So he pays her family a visit to ingratiate himself with her parents.

Nice try, dude. You can’t fool these Bitches. We can read you like a book.

And kudos to baby brother for throwing a monkey wrench into Minwoo’s plan by reminding them all that he has a girlfriend.

Okay, now on to Taemoo…

1. Taemoo discovers Geumhui’s identity.

He goes home and checks the employee personnel record, most likely her address. He confirms that Geumhui is Hari.

Taemoo: She’s been right under my nose. I went on a blind date with an employee!

Flashback to the day when Hari gave him a fake name.

I must point out that, for him, the beginning of the deception is when he asked for her actual name, not when he met her on their blind date.

Then flashback to the other times he met Shin Hari: in the elevator when she didn’t want to look at him, at her presentation when she didn’t want to remove her face mask, and in the elevator again when she had a “sty” on her eye. Once he realizes that Hari’s been hiding her real identity, her odd behavior falls into place.

Taemoo: How dare she fool me?

More flashback to their concert date when he was moved by her tears, and when she gave him the souvenir bag. He also remembers their fake anniversary date when he was enchanted by her excited face. And more embarrassingly, he recalls the time when he asked her to marry him.

In anger, he picks up the souvenir stuffed toy and flings it to the wall.

Taemoo: This isn’t right!

My comments:

a. he doesn’t want to date somebody from the workplace — which is a good policy in the long run. His future missus won’t worry about him fraternizing with a coworker.

b. he wouldn’t be this upset if his feelings weren’t involved. Based on the flashbacks, e.g., her tears at the concert and her excitement at the fireworks, it’s noticeable that he couldn’t keep to his usual aloof demeanor when he was around her. If his feelings weren’t engaged, then his anger at her deception would have been less severe.

c. he thinks she’s deliberately toying around with him, so he took out his anger on the stuffed toy. His sense of righteousness is offended, and the doll is a convenient stand-in for Hari.

2. He offers her a chance to come clean.

The following morning, he arranges to meet her. Although he doesn’t understand why he arranged this meeting, it’s clear to me that he’s trying to make allowances for her deception. If she confesses to lying to him, he’s amenable to forgiving her.

Taemoo: (musing) What’s going to change if I meet her in person?
Hari: (walking in) I’m sorry I’m late. I had to go all the way to Gangnam for a business meeting.

A small note: I like that Hari is always late for their meeting but she’s always dressed nicely as if she spent the whole day dressing up for their date.

Taemoo: You work at a small company, right? What kind of company is it?
Hari: What? We produce all types of household goods.
Taemoo: (grilling her) What do you mean by “all types of household goods”?
Hari: Like coffee mugs, air fresheners and tie pins, and so on.

Taemoo’s testing her and I doubt he’s very pleased. He can see how easily she can spin lies.

Taemoo: They sure make a lot of things. You must be so busy working for a company like that.
Hari: Well, work is like that. Our company tends to do anything that will make a profit. Anyway, why did you call me?

He isn’t happy with her answer. If she had to make up a lie, she could have at least made her company appear less unethical. It sounded like she was defaming HIS company.

Taemoo: (turning the screw) What Chinese characters is your name derived from?
Hari: That’s random. Why do you want to know?
Taemoo: I realized that I don’t know much about you while you know the schools I went to, the company I work at, and even my hobbies.
Hari: Well, we’re not actually dating. Why do you need to know?
Taemoo: My grandfather could ask about it.
Hari: Well…

Hari’s buying time since she doesn’t know the Chinese meaning of her made-up name. At this point, Taemo expects her to give up and simply own up to her deception. He becomes furious when she persists on lying.

Hari: “Guem” means “iron” and “hui” means “happiness.”
Taemoo: (thinking to himself) So she’s going to keep lying to me?

Hari: You could have asked me these things over the phone. You hate wasting your time.
Taemoo: I do. Shall we go, then?

He agrees that he’s wasting time. But he’s alluding to his foolish attempt to get her to come clean. He admits it’s a waste of his time because he sees her as an inveterate liar. He quickly exits the café, leaving her behind.

Hari: What? Did he really call me all the way to Ilsan just to ask me that?

No. He called her to come all the way to Ilsan to give her a chance to fess up. When she didn’t, he starts the ball rolling.

3. His punishment for her deception begins.

Back in the office, he orders Hari to redo the ravioli at a lower cost. His goal is simple: as long as she doesn’t realize that she made a mistake trying to fool him, she’s going to make him ravioli over and over again.

To me, this is anger displacement, just like with the stuffed doll. Instead of getting mad and yelling directly at her, he’s taking out his anger on the ravioli. He intends to find fault with the ravioli to give her a hard time.

He’s saying, “다시” or “dasi” meaning “again.”

Yes, this is petty.
Yes, in real life, honesty is the best policy.
Yes, he should have just told her that he found out that she was lying. This is the simplest thing to do.

But this is a romcom based on a comic book. In the general scheme of things, he could have just exposed her lies. But he chooses to drag this out. In a way, he’s testing her. He wants to see her how far she’ll go until she gives up. And he delights in seeing her go through hoops because it makes him feel less of a fool for falling for her.

As I said, if his feelings weren’t involved, this wouldn’t be happening.

4. Taemoo’s jealousy makes him escalate his punishment.

But I don’t think he intends to push Hari indefinitely. When Hari lies in wait for him in the hallway with her new concoction, he appears flustered.

Taemo: Again!
Hari: Mr. Kang! Please give me detailed feedback on how you want it redone. Sir!
Taemoo: I want you to redo it until it’s to my liking.

He can’t look her in the eye, and he flees from her. His reaction tells me that he’s uncomfortable too with his punishment, and he’s ready to end it because of her pushback.

To me, if he hadn’t seen Hari together with Minwoo in the cafeteria, he would have ended his game sooner. But the sight of them together at lunchtime triggers him, and he decides to ramp up his torture.

I laughed at his archaeopteryx’s stare. If looks could kill, then she and Minwoo would have been sprawled on the cafeteria floor.

Hari sees him glaring at them, and her survival instincts kick in. She quickly pushes Minwoo out of the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Taemoo fumes because he thinks that she’s shamelessly dating someone in the workplace.

Taemoo: (thinking to himself) So now you dare to date someone else openly at work?

The doll. The ravioli. The fork. I’m glad that he takes out his anger on inanimate objects instead of the real individual.

Clearly, he’s jealous.

When his grandfather requests to see Geumhui/Hari’s company again, he jumps at the chance to punish Hari some more. He sets up another meeting with her that evening, and uses the Founding Anniversary Ceremony as an excuse for another date.

They begin their battle of wits.

Hari: I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can attend that day.
Taemoo: Why? It’s a Saturday, so you don’t have to work, do you?
Hari: Well, that day just happens to be my close friend’s wedding.

This is a good excuse. Taemoo can’t invite himself to her friend’s wedding unless he wants to “formalize” their relationship.

Taemoo: Show me the invitation.
Hari: Why?
Taemoo: I’ll send them flowers and congratulatory money since you won’t be able to go.

Ha! For a second, I thought he was going to send the bride flower and the money out of the goodness of his heart.

Hari: Huh?! Oh right! Now I remember. The wedding is next week. My family is holding ancestral rites that day.
Taemoo: Isn’t that usually done at night? The ceremony will be done before then.

Taemoo is like Wonder Woman deflecting all of Hari’s excuses.

Hari: Actually, our company isn’t doing so well right now.
Taemoo: (sighing) What do you mean it isn’t doing well?
Hari: Our company is actually only a step away from going bankrupt. So all of the employees are working overtime every day due to this emergency. So I think it’ll be really hard for me to attend the Founding Anniversary Ceremony.
Taemoo: Is that so? Then there’s no other choice.
Hari: (giving a sigh of relief)
Taemoo: You’ll have to pay the penalty fee. (slicking back his hair)

I get why he slicks back his hair. It’s his self-calming method. He does it whenever he’s stressed out. As much as he successfully rebuffed all of Hari’s excuses, he must have been stressed out keeping one step ahead of her because she’s wily.

Smoothening his hair is his self-calming mechanism, kinda like breathing in deeply.

Hands down, Taemoo wins the battle of wits because of the penalty fee.

5. He admits to his SungHoon that Hari gets under his skin.

His assistant SungHoon is the only one who can point out the obvious to him.

SH: You didn’t mean it when you said you’d bring Shin GeumHui, I mean Shin Hari to the Founding Anniversary Ceremony, right?
Taemoo: I’m really going to bring her.
SH: I feel bad for Ms. Shin.
Taemoo: What? Do you really think that comment is appropriate in this situation? Are you taking Ms. Shin’s side right now?

He expects loyalty from SungHoon. But note here: although SungHoon is his assistant, SungHoon can express himself freely in a way that an ordinary assistant can’t. Outside of the office, Taemoo treats him like family.

SH: I’m not. But you’re the one who suggested it when you knew she was a stand-in for someone else. And you even made it sound like a threat. Also, I’m sure she had to hide that she worked for our company. So I think this might be a bit much.

Yes, SungHoon is more perceptive than Taemoo, but that’s because he isn’t blinded by his pride and jealousy like Taemoo.

Taemoo: So what are you saying? That I’m in the wrong?
SH: I’m just saying maybe you can just forgive her now. As an employee, Ms. Shin doesn’t have any issues.
Taemoo: She does.
SH: She’s good at her job.
Taemoo: Good at her job? She had her crush of seven years work for the company she works at. Anyway! She’s dragging all of her personal issues into her work.

Again, if he hadn’t seen Hari with Minwoo in the cafeteria, then he wouldn’t be complaining about this. The only reason he’s going through with this plan is because of jealousy. Jealousy is fueling his outrage now, rather than Hari’s lies.

Taemoo: (continuing) Why are you looking at me like that?
SH: Well…you just seem to lose your calm when Ms. Shin is involved.
Taemoo: I guess nobody else has made me so angry before. Just watch. I’ll make her take off that despicable mask with her own hands and beg me for mercy.

As they say, hell hath no fury like a woman…errr… lover scorned.

6. His plan backfires.

Taemoo’s plan is a two-pronged attack. First, Taemoo secures GeumHui’s attendance to the Founders Anniversary Ceremony. Next, he forces Hari to attend that same ceremony as the Presidential awardee.

But he anticipates Hari trying to weasel out of the event by inventing an illness. So, to preempt her, he sends an invitation to her family for the event.

In effect, he’s set a trap for Hari to be in one place as two people. Whether it’s Shim GeumHui or Shin Hari, her game is up.

Watching Hari from the balcony, he really does look like an archaeopteryx circling over his prey.

As to be expected, Hari is a nervous wreck before the company event.

At her workstation, she dreams of the upcoming disaster. In her dream, her colleagues, Taemoo and his grandfather are all present to witness her humiliation at the hand of her mother. In her sleep, she keeps moaning, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” as she’s hauled away. Even in her unconsciously state, she’s aware that she’s done Taemoo wrong and feels guilty.

Taemoo sees her troubled sleep when he arrives at her lab to inspect her latest ravioli creation for him.

Taemoo: Did you have a good nap?
Hari: Well, I…
Taemoo: Where’s the ravioli for me to try today?
Hari: Here.

She opens the pot and nearly burns herself with the steam. Taemoo stops himself from reaching out to her. He can’t let himself show concern for her so while his assistant tells Hari to be careful, Taemoo barks out an order to do it again.

That evening, Taemoo replays the whole scene in his mind. He heard her mumbling her apologies, and so he wonders why Hari simply doesn’t come clean with it.

Taemoo: If she knows she’s done wrong, she should just tell me the truth and beg.

Of course, it doesn’t enter his head that Hari is scared of losing her job. What a dimwit!

He also gets agitated remembering how she almost injured herself.

Taemoo: How could an experienced researcher be so careless?

But what baffles him the most is not Hari, but his reaction to Hari.

Taemoo: Wait. Why am I worried about that woman?

That’s why Taemoo’s plan backfires on him. Now, he can’t get her out of his mind.

By the way, there’s a trope here. It’s called the “Thinking Aloud” trope, where the lead characters voice their thoughts aloud for exposition. We often see this in kdramas that we barely notice it anymore that there’s something awkward and unnatural about a person talking to himself, and telling himself what he’ll do next.

Of course, if we were doing Shakespeare, the correct literary term is “soliloquy.” But I dare not to compare Taemoo’s silly inner monologue to Hamlet’s philosophical musing:

To be or not to be—that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them.

7. “In vino veritas” trope

Conveniently, Hari calls Taemoo after a drinking party with her friends.

Hari: Mr. Kang. How much is the penalty fee? You know, I really don’t think that I can attend the Founding Anniversary Ceremony. But about the penalty fee, I really don’t have the means to pay for it either.
Taemoo: (coldly) It sounds like you’re drunk. Let’s talk later.

I think that’s the whole point of her getting drunk. She can’t summon up the courage to tell him all this if she’s sober.

Hari: I’m not drunk. I…I really have a good reason why… (voice changing) Hey, you!
Taemoo: “Hey, you”? Did you just say that to me?
Hari: No, not you. There are some high schoolers over there smoking in this neighborhood.

She argues with the kids and accidentally falls off her the swing. She gets disconnected, and Taemoo panics. He drives over to her place and searches for her.

We know this is a trope, right? It’s the standard “Oh no! She’s dying!” trope.

Sidenote: I laughed when he described as this tall.

Surely, she can’t be that short? Does he think she’s a midget?

After going through much trouble looking for her, he finally finds her asleep in a playground chute.

Taemoo: Ms. Shin, wake up. Are you all right? Ms. Shin.
Hari: What? Mr. Kang. What? How did you know to come all the way here? (pokes his face) Are you the real Kang Taemoo?
Taemoo: Just how much have you had to drink?
Hari: Just a bit.
Taemoo: Snap out of it. You need to go home.
Hari: It’s cold. By the way, Mr. Kang. This is a dream, right?
Taemoo: What?
Hari: If this isn’t a dream, there’s no way you would come running to take care of me like this.
Taemoo: (silent)
Hari: That’s right. Since this is a dream, can I tell you a secret?
Taemoo: What is it?
Hari: I’m Shin Hari. Shin Hari is Shin Geumhui. It feels so good to let it out. I’m sorry for everything. Sorry.

And there it is: the truth and the apology that he’s been waiting for. He can’t stand that she was lying to him all this time.

Ironically, though, when he gets home, he’s the one who begins lying to himself. In effect, he’s exchanging one lie for another. lol.

Taemoo: It makes no sense. I’m treating something fake as if it’s real.

He decides to cut all contact with her by firing her from their pretend girlfriend contract.

It takes Hari a few moments to realize the implication of being fired. She’s free. She no longer has to worry about going to the company event with him anymore. She can go as herself, the company employee.

Simultaneously, he rescinds his order for her to create a new ravioli. Her coworkers pity Hari for the time she spent on developing a new ravioli. But Hari views this as proof that the ravioli she made the first time is the best.

When Taemoo’s assistant SungHoon asks if he’s forgiven Hari, Taemoo explains, “Yes. I realized that I was investing too much time into something that’s insignificant.”

But of course, we all know that he’s a Pinocchio.

He’s running away precisely because Hari has become more significant than he cares to admit.

Taemoo: There’s no way I’ve feelings for Shin Hari. My brain’s just confused because I saw her so often recently. This will pass if I don’t see her for a few days.

Easier said than done. The whole time he’s away in New York, Hari continually pops up in his head, uninvited.

I laughed at the couch scene because she isn’t only living in his head, she’s seducing him, too.

For me, these two episodes are enjoyable because I’m seeing Taemoo’s inner struggles as he deals with Hari. We’ve often seen Hari’s perspectives in previous episodes so it’s a welcome change to see his side for now. He’s not all that different from Hari. He only looks cool when he’s doing business. But in matters of the heart, he’s clumsy and comical like Hari.

Next up, Episode 6.