Me Too, Flower! Episode 10 Recap

Any of you figure skaters? One of the prettiest moves on the ice is the spin, a symphony of turning mixed with body movement. A spin starts off slowly with a wide body stance going into it, but as the skater picks up momentum the limbs are pulled tighter and tighter, ending with a whirling dervish on ice that finishes with a sudden stop. That is the trajectory a good drama must take, and that is exactly what I am seeing in Me Too, Flower! This story continues to turn tighter as the writing hunkers down with each subsequent episode, allowing the characters to dig into their issues and move forward in confronting it. Episode 10 had clarity for me, illuminating the source of the major conflicts in ways that make absolute sense and elicits our empathy. M2F burns so hot with all the intensity that watching it actually makes me shiver it’s so good.

Episode 10 recap:

Bong Sun points her gun at Jae Hee, who doesn’t blink an eye and tells her to decide if she wants him dead or alive. But he doesn’t want to die like this and leave her all alone. The arrival of the police chief ends this madness and the gun is jerked away from Bong Sun. Jae Hee doesn’t break eye contact with Bong Sun this entire time.

When the chief demands an explanation from Bong Sun, Jae Hee grabs her hand and drags her down on their knees to apologize for causing this all. Chief tell him not to come anymore and create trouble here. He agrees, which is when Bong Sun runs outside and Jae Hee follows. Everyone wonders what is happening? Maru mumbles that it was clearly a lover’s spat.

Bong Sun paces back and forth at the park, trying to find the words she wants to say. She reminds Jae Hee not to be presumptuous and kneel that easily. She starts to list all his lies, about living at the factory, the bag in fact belonging to him, and his cheap monthly rent. He nods his head like an errant school boy. Bong Sun finally calms down and tells him to explain himself, she’s willing to listen.

Jae Hee cops to the lies and apologizes to Bong Sun. He never meant to intentionally lie to her. An apology now is not enough for Bong Sun. She wonders why a rich man like him has to pretend to be poor? And why is he messing with her in particular? There are plenty of rich girls around him, so why is he choosing her? Is it for fun? Is he tired of eating steak and wants some bean paste soup now? Jae Hee looks stricken but Bong Sun tells him to stop giving her that look.

How can Jae Hee be feeling more wronged than her? She’s the one stabbed in the back here. In one day her world turned upside down. Right now she’s using every ounce of control to keep herself from flipping out. If it wasn’t for the other officers restraining her back there, she’d probably have blown his head off already. Jae Hee argues that he’s Seo Jae Hee. Even if he’s not Kim Jae Hee in name, he’s still the same person. Does he need to explain more? She snarks that he’s still got the same glib tongue that can explain everything away.

She doesn’t care about his explanation, other than they are over. Starting right now, it’s over between them. Jae Hee stops Bong Sun from walking away and demands to know why she can end it so easily. She’s not such a casual person. Bong Sun’s retort is that compared to Jae Hee, who is as light as a feather, this is nothing. He asks her to take it back but she won’t. He makes her look him in the eyes while asking if she can really live without seeing him every day? Without him, can she survive? Bong Sun says yes. Without food a person can die. But without seeing a person, no one can die. Bong Sun shakes off Jae Hee and leaves him standing there.

The officers at the precinct read about Jae Hee true identity online and are so shocked and impressed. They call him a slick smooth talker who can’t be trusted. Maru says he would have shot Jae Hee if it happened to him. The older officers are pleased their Bong Sun is about to become a Cinderella. Bong Sun returns and warns them never to mention that bastard otherwise they are dead.

Dal looks at the new car given to her by Hwa Young. She scoffs at the car, Hwa Young underestimated her if she thought a car can buy Dal. Bong Sun thinks back to Hwa Young and her lies about Jae Hee. The other officers leave the precinct and run into Jae Hee outside waiting for Bong Sun. They encourage him to make it work.

Bong Sun walks out and ignores Jae Hee but he follows her and continues to explain. Bong Sun stops and asks one more question. Actually she asks a litany of questions about Hwa Young – who she is, how does Jae Hee know her, when did they meet, what is their real relationship, why did she invite Bong Sun to the show. Before Jae Hee can explain, the reporter walks up asking for an interview. Jae Hae tries to brush her off but she’s persistent. She calls him a public person now but he retorts that he doesn’t work for the government so he’s no public person.

Dal walks back to the car and thinks back to Hwa Young asking Dal to break up Jae Hee and his girlfriend. Dal wonders what the weapon she has is, but if she has a weapon that means she has power. If she can get rid of Jae Hee’s girlfriend and take her place, she can get everything she wants. There is no reason she can’t have what that girl has. Dal gets into the car and call Hwa Young. She has some conditions to discuss before agreeing. Dal excitedly drives off in her new car.

Bong Sun and Jae Hee sit on some steps and she notes that he’s someone who has reporters tailing him. She thought they had so many similarities, when in fact she was trying too hard to find the few similarities that were present. They like each other not because they have so much in common, it’s that they tried to find so much in common to justify liking each other. Bong Sun liked him so much, she never stopped to think they could be quite different. That was her own fault.

Jae Hee tells Bong Sun to stop over thinking everything. He started making money when he was still a kid, and then he started the company. He doesn’t want to stand before the public as the figurehead for the company and there is no such need for him to do so. He went to park cars because he was curious about how the company was run.

Then he met a bossy and brassy young female cop in the nearby precinct. That cop liked him so much despite him having not a penny to his name. And that cop made him act like an idiot which is why he likes her. All that has happened right now is the truth coming out before he has a chance to tell her.

Bong Sun gets up to leave and Jae Hee offers to take her home. Standing ten feet from each other, Bong Sun points to this distance as what separates them. She tells him not to get closer, but he keeps walking forward to show that it’s easy to bridge the distance. Bong Sun keeps taking steps back while Jae Hee walks forward. She tells him to stop. All she wants is warm rice and soup, and she thought that he was the same. But now he’s not the person she thought he was.

Jae Hee wants to know what she wants him to do then! Does she want him to die? Whatever she wants, he’ll do it. Bong Sun shakes her head and says she wants none of that. She just shakes her head and calmly says she’s given up. They have nothing in common. Bong Sun leaves Jae Hee standing there just looking at her.

Hwa Young meets with Dal, who wants Hwa Young to stop ordering her around and start asking her nicely. That is her sole condition. Hwa Young is fine with that, noting that her bossiness hurt Dal’s pride. She tells Dal that pride is a weakness. She needs confidence when she is with Jae Hee. Dal will start model training tomorrow and get a brand new wardrobe. Dal asks what weapon Hwa Young thinks she possesses. Hwa Young says Dal will know when the time comes. Hwa Young notes that Dal needs a lot of work to shed her brash and poor exterior. Cue makeover scene (from hell).

It’s nighttime again and Bong Sun leaves the precinct. There is Jae Hee, ready to pick her up. She was serious about wanting to break up, so he needs to accept it. Jae Hee says he’s not joking around either. Bong Sun gets on the bus and Jae Hee sits down in the seat behind her. He leans forward and keeps apologizing adorably to her. He even pokes her repeatedly on the shoulder while saying I. Am. Sorry. over and over. He playfully grabs her arm and tells her to forgive him.

When Bong Sun puts head phones on, Jae Hee takes one and puts it in his ear. She turns around annoyed so he uses his gloves and makes cute gestures with accompanying puns to get her to laugh. While walking home, Jae Hee continues following Bong Sun and trying to get her to talk with him. He hilariously runs into a pile of trash because he’s walking backwards in front of her.

Bong Sun goes home and slams the gate in Jae Hee’s face. As Jae Hee walks away, Bong Sun’s mom arrives and passes him outside, noticing him. Bong Sun’s mom unloads food in the kitchen for Bong Sun and asks if Dal is seeing someone lately. Mom saw a man outside. Bong Sun asks what mom thinks of that guy. Mom says he was handsome and seemed kind. Bong Sun smiles at that description of Jae Hee but then shakes that thought away.

Mom asks Bong Sun to introduce a boyfriend if Bong Sun has one. Dal returns home carrying bags of new clothes. Bong Sun asks if she charged more items on her credit card? Dal says it’s all presents but Bong Sun doesn’t believe her because the items are so expensive. Dal spits out that she signed a contract with Perche and she’s a professional model now. Mom is happy for Dal and asks Bong Sun about that company which signed Dal. Bong Sun says the company is alright.

Bong Sun follows Dal up to her room and asks why Dal loves money so much. Dal says she wants to match up, and thinks Bong Sun secretly wants the same thing. Bong Sun sits in her room eating ramyun and drinking beer, content with that.

Jae Hee arrives at Dr. Park’s office and notices the broken vase still on the ground. Dr. Park is going to leave it there until Jae Hee replaces it. Jae Hee says he’s not afraid of things like social circles, he just dislikes it. He’s decided to go to work tomorrow. He wants to try it himself. Dr. Park is happy for him. Jae Hee wants to know why Hwa Young exposed his secret and asks Dr. Park for his objective opinion.

Dr. Park explains that Hwa Young sees Jae Hee as her husband – someone she can rely on, get along with, and she wants to keep by her side. Doesn’t Jae Hee already know that? He had an inkling, but he likes someone else, so that is what is inconveniencing Hwa Young. To Hwa Young, Jae Hee is her son’s surrogate father and went through a lot with her, but now he’s getting stolen away. Jae Hee sighs, asking what he’s to do? Dr. Park tells him to be a man and handle everything even if the world were to collapse. Jae Hee doesn’t know if he’s that kind of guy.

Jae Hee arrives at work in his rich man persona. He hands his resignation letter to the parking lot manager thanking him for the time working there. He thanks manager for yelling at him every day, which cured his fear of getting yelled at. Hahaha. Working at such an expansive parking lot, it’s also cured him of his fear of violence. But he has even more phobias, so he wants manager to continue to berate and care about him in the future. Manager lets out a sigh of relief when Jae Hee informs him that he doesn’t have a black list.

Jae Hee walks upstairs and chats with all the employees, encouraging them to work hard. He walks into Hwa Young’s office and tells her not to look so surprised. He’s not here to visit with her and asks to see the file she is holding. Jae Hee notes sales don’t look good but they are in it for the long haul. Jae Hee doesn’t want a name card or an official position. He just needs an office and will continue to do what he’s done. Working outside at times and continue with his design work.

Hwa Young informs him that she hired an official model for the company, and it’s someone Jae Hee already knows. As Jae Hee walks out, Hwa Young thanks him and also apologizes. Jae Hee reminds her that they are still in a state of cold war. Jae Hee is shown to his office and he looks around. When he turns back, Dal is in his office all dolled up.

They note that both are them are looking quite different. He compliments her on doing well at the show and giving him a pleasant surprise. Dal says she has more surprises up her sleeve. Jae Hee shakes Dal’s hand, but she won’t let go right away, noting that people sure can pull surprises.

Dal shoots pictures modeling the bags. Jae Hee is in the studio with Hwa Young watching this photoshoot. Dal tries to look sultry and get Jae Hee’s attention. Hwa Young watches Jae Hee and is pleased Jae Hee is watching Dal intently. The photographer tells Dal to focus better and present the story to captivate the audience. Jae Hee assesses Dal as doing well and having potential.

Jae Hee is dropping off Dal before his own dinner engagement, and asks Dal for her thoughts on discovering her formerly ordinary boyfriend is actually wealthy and famous. What would her reaction be? Dal would thank the lord and thinks 10 out of 10 women would feel the same way. Jae Hee says there is such a woman who feels the opposite. Dal says that woman must be either faking it or pretending to be saintly.

Dal tells Jae Hee to end it if he has such a woman besides him. Being with someone like that is of no use to him. Jae Hee isn’t so sure, and has no such intention. Dal puts her hand under his chin and turns Jae Hee’s face towards her, telling him not to be so presumptuous. Jae Hee looks at her but doesn’t say anything. Dal quietly slips her cell phone into Jae Hee’s suit pocket.

Bong Sun tells her story to Dr. Park, who supports her reaction to a guy who dared to lie to Office Cha! Bong Sun is more and more mad at the guy who strung her along in a series of lies. Dr. Park says he would never do anything like this. Bong Sun confirms everything is over, so Dr. Park asks if they ought to celebrate.

Bong Sun is in no mood to celebrate since it’s no different than getting dumped. Dr. Park is surprised to hear her say that, since he thought she did the dumping. Bong Sun finally confesses that she’s afraid of getting dumped. She’s afraid of ending up all alone. She knows getting dumped is inevitable with a guy who has it all. What does he see in her? So she ended it first before that could happen.

Bong Sun gets up to leave and Dr. Park pulls her in for a hug. He asks her why she is doing this when she likes the guy so much. All humans experience fear, so don’t let that stop her. Whether it works out or not, she should give it a chance. She likes that guy, doesn’t she? After giving it a chance, if it still doesn’t work out, perhaps she can come to him. He teases her and she laughs.

Jae Hee walks into Dr. Park’s office but sees him hugging a girl, so he quickly tip toes out of the office. He wonders when Dr. Park managed to sneak in dating a woman? Bong Sun pushes Dr. Park off and asks why he’s hugging people randomly. Does he like hugging sick people?

Jae Hee walks in and asks to be introduced to his hyung’s girl. As expected, both Jae He Hee and Bong Sun look stunned to see each other there. Bong Sun tries to walk past Jae Hee but he grabs her arm, asking her what is going on? Bong Sun shakes him off and storms out. Jae Hee follows, asking why she is here? He wants to know her relationship to Dr. Park. Bong Sun asks him to go first, and Jae Hee says Dr. Park is just like a real brother to him. Bong Sun says Dr. Park is her boyfriend. She’s sorry for two-timing him with Dr. Park, and that is the reason she’s breaking up with him. Jae Hee doesn’t believe Bong Sun is a two-timer. Too which Bong Sun apologizes for misleading him, so now he knows what it’s like to be lied to and not know the true nature of a person.

Bong Sun leaves and Jae Hee rushes back to Dr. Park’s office demanding to know how Dr. Park knows Bong Sun? Jae Hee says Bong Sun is the woman he likes and pushes Dr. Park to find out his relationship with her. Dr. Park says Bong Sun is his patient, and asks what the hell Jae Hee did to make her cry. The tears she’s shed is enough to fill up the Han River. Jae Hee demands to know why his girl is crying to Dr. Park.

They start yelling at each other, with Jae Hee demanding to know what Dr. Park said to elicit Bong Sun’s tears, and Dr. Park yelling that he can’t break patient confidentiality. Dr. Park finally gets annoyed and pokes Jae Hee in the forehead. If Dr. Park knew Bong Sun was Jae Hee’s girl, he wouldn’t have given her a discount. He wants that money from Jae Hee’s pocket. Jae Hee looks flabbergasted.

Bong Sun sits down at her desk and moans about how embarrassing it all was. She can’t believe she said that. Jae Hee and Dr. Park go drinking, with the former wanting to know when Bong Sun started seeing Dr. Park but he reminds Jae Hee they agreed to not discuss Bong Sun. Jae Hee keeps wanting to know what is bothering Bong Sun she needs to discuss with a psychiatrist.

Dr. Park asks if Hwa Young knows and Jae Hee confirms he told her already. Jae Hee sincerely wants to know what is on Bong Sun’s mind. Dr. Park says everything she shares is a worry, and Jae Hee is her most troublesome issue. Dr. Park tells Jae Hee to treat Bong Sun well. After finding out his real identity, she’s been having a hard time.

Dr. Park asks Jae Hee not to leave Bong Sun alone. No matter what happens, make sure she’s not all alone in this world. Jae Hee is annoyed Dr. Park knows this about Bong Sun. Afterwards, Dr. Park goes back to his office and sits down on the sofa. He mumbles Bong Sun’s name and is glad he at least told her for once.

Jae Hee is drunk and crouched on a street corner when Dal’s cell phone rings. He answers and Dal pretends that she left her phone with him by accident. Dal calls him oppa and realizes he’s drunk and tries to flirt with him as being cute when he’s drunk.

Suddenly a cop car flashing its siren drives by and Jae Hee starts using Dal’s phone to call the dispatch asking for Officer Cha to be sent to him. He lies that he was driving drunk and caused an accident. When asked who this Officer Cha is, he says she will become next year’s Detective Cha, and also his wifey. LOL, so cute!

Bong Sun grumbles about this drunk looking for her. She and Maru pull up to find drunk Jae Hee sitting on the side of the road. When Maru asks what he’s doing here, Jae Hee points to him and says “baby….go home!” Ahahahahaha, OMG that is hilarious, considering Yoon Si Yoon is even more of a babyface than Ki Kwang.

Jae Hee tries to hug Bong Sun but she pushes him off. When Bong Sun tells Maru to take Jae Hee home, the baby declines. He doesn’t want to always clean up their mess. If they want to bicker in public, don’t drag him into it. Maru leaves and tells Bong Sun to take care of the situation. Jae Hee grabs Bong Sun by the legs and doesn’t let go.

Bong Sun helps Jae Hee to the patrol car. When she’s trying to put him in the car, he pulls her in for a quick kiss. She handcuffs him but he uses his handcuffed hands to encircle her. He asks to go to her house, and then tells her never to cry in front of another man. He appears to lean in for another kiss, but then passes out on her shoulder.

Bong Sun drives Jae Hee home, pulling into his luxury complex. Too bad Jae Hee hurls on Bong Sun at that very moment, so she ends up following him up to his apartment. He’s got his head on her shoulder in the elevator and is happy, telling her not to leave tonight. Bong Sun takes him inside, asking why he’s living in a bag factory when he has such a beautiful home.

Bong Sun deposits Jae Hee in his bed and goes to the bathroom to clean up. Bong Sun washes the vomit off her patrol jacket and sets it on the sofa to dry. She takes inventory of Jae Hee’s gorgeous apartment, walking around to look at all the expensive items. Jae Hee is in the bathroom washing his face to wake himself back up.

Bong Sun walks around and opens the door leading to the courtyard that connects Hwa Young and Hae Hee’s apartments. She admires the lights strung on the trees before walking into Hwa Young’s apartment. She calmly looks around when Ah In walks out and asks Bong Sun who she is. She asks Ah In who he is and finds out Ah In is seven years old.

Hwa Young walks out and thinks Jae Hee must’ve brought her here. She tells Bong Sun that this place is her home. Bong Sun turns to leave when Jae Hee rushes into the apartment. He looks worried while Bong Sun once again has her steely face back up as she walks past Jae Hee to leave.

Thoughts of Mine:

Dr. Park’s role in this drama feels like a narrator of sorts, the Greek chorus of a K-drama if you will. He illuminates the inner thoughts of the three main leads so we’re spared the need for the characters to sit in the dark and talk to themselves. We have accepted that as part and parcel of the K-drama exposition, but really no one does that unless the person hears voices. Dr. Park fulfills that role, but his presence isn’t forced in M2F because the three main leads are indeed that emotionally frakked up they need to see a psychiatrist.

Through Dr. Park, we confirm that Bong Sun’s main issue remains the same – the fear of abandonment. It’s not so much Jae Hee lying about his net worth, which she can get over, but it’s the sudden chasm that has formed between them because of what the truth represents. Bong Sun keeps talking about how she’s forcing commonalities between her and Jae Hee because she likes him so much. She’s both right and wrong. The commonalities she’s discovered between them happened when he was poor, all the hurt he’s experienced mirror hers in many ways. The differences are their current station in life, but inside they are the person their common childhood molded them into. Jae Hee is not an entitled brat who is now a rich adult, he’s as comfortable with the have-nots in life as Bong Sun is.

But Bong Sun is right to worry that Jae Hee’s current station in life makes him a risky proposition to give her heart to. If he’s rich, he’s going to have more options, and more likely to discard Bong Sun for something better down the line. Like her parents traded each other for better-suited spouses, leaving Bong Sun the victim of a failed marriage. In Bong Sun’s mind, poor Jae Hee is so similar to her that they can create a simple life whilst clinging to each other, with no other alternatives and distractions. Even if rich Jae Hee is the same man inside as poor Jae Hee, the circumstances create a different level of risk for Bong Sun.

Even with Dr. Park encouraging her to face her fears and take a chance with Jae Hee, it’s something easier said than done. Whereas Jae Hee says his choices in life stem not from fear but from dislike, therefore he can elect to do something (such as going to work for the company and becoming a recognizeable figure), Bong Sun admits her deeply rooted fear is still in control. It’s hard to describe, but if we imagine the thing we are most afraid of and then coming face-to-face with it, I’d freak out in a millisecond and need rescuing. That is the level of fear Bong Sun experiences with the risk of dealing with abandonment again. It’s psychological, but it’s real to her.

I continue to love Jae Hee more and more, for wanting to be with Bong Sun with such conviction. In front of her, he has no posturing or pride. He has no doubts or hesitation. He wants her, and it’s only a matter of how to convince Bong Sun to give him another chance. Like I said before, I really don’t think this drama needs Hwa Young plotting to separate the OTP. I get Hwa Young’s jealous anger and feeling of having her favorite toy taken away, but having her actively plot against Jae Hee makes her evil when she needn’t be. She can simply express her disapproval and continue to be her snotty condescending self towards Bong Sun and that is plenty enough from her.

The OTP honestly can torpedo itself in multiple ways through their own emotional landmines, and I’m looking forward to the drama addressing each and every one of them. Now that Bong Sun knows just how close Jae Hee and Hwa Young’s odd personal and professional relationship is, we’ve got another consideration for Bong Sun to mull over. Even if she and Jae Hee are together, he’s forever tied to Hwa Young through his guilt and his love for Ah In, which should never be severed in any situation. Ottoke? Bong Sun and Jae Hee are both are so quick to feel that jealousy is always lurking beneath the surface. It makes their every interaction a cacophony of sparks that capture what it’s like to witness the spectacle of a passionate love blossoming.