Pinocchio rolls right into episode 3 with nary a slowdown from the fantastic first two episodes. Lead chemistry? Check. Interesting story? Check. Fluid directing and lovely acting? Check and check. There isn’t a single thing to find fault with this drama unless one really wants to nitpick, and right now I’m in a non-nitpicky mood. When a story cohesively works as well as this one it’s much more enjoyable to sit back and see where the ride takes me. The time jump descends on this story effortlessly to put all the great characters into a whole new setting and kick start the main narrative.

The Choi family moves form their remote and idyllic island to bustling Seoul but their warm family dynamic stays the same. Dal Po looks after In Ha as surreptitiously as possible while being a doting “son” to Grandpa, Dad observes from the sidelines, and In Ha takes in all that Dal Po does for her without maudlin gratitude but fully aware of their comfortable and complication relationship with each other. In Ha’s reporter and mommy dreams took a giant dip in the cold bath of reality but lucky girl has Dal Po the guardian uncle around to pick her back up. He does more than that, but as usual makes it seem like he’s doing nothing at all for her.

Episode 3 recap:

Dal Po wakes up to the sound of his mother’s voice calling him out to breakfast. He rushes out of his room to see his dad regaling his mom with stories of his latest fire rescue and how he came out unscathed. Dal Po stares in shock at his parents and then looks into the other room to find his older brother getting dressed inside.

Dal Po pinches his dad’s cheeks to make sure he’s real and this isn’t a dream. Hyung Jae Myung laughs at how Dal Po thinks he’s in a dream and hasn’t woken up yet. Dal Po eyes redden and asks if he didn’t just have a terrible nightmare about dad disappearing after a fire tragedy and then he lost his mom and his hyung disappeared as well.

Mom playfully hits Dad for going MIA and hyung laughs about why he would ever leave the family. Dal Po resented Dad and hyung for disappearing which is why he never tried to look for them. Mom ushers Dal Po to sit down at the breakfast table and strokes his head for having such a terrible nightmare. Dal Po pulls his mom’s hand to cradle his cheek and can’t believe he had such a bad nightmare.

The cooker timer beeps and In Ha’s voice pipes up asking if the dish only needed to be warmed up for 30 seconds? Dal Po stares in shock at why In Ha is here and she calls him uncle in a confused voice because Dal Po is acting weird. Dal Po is upset In Ha is here because that means this is all a dream. In Ha sits down while Dad continues his fire escape story which had him escaping by falling into a pile of cow dung. Dal Po asks why In Ha is here and hyung explains that In Ha is their beautiful niece.

Dal Po accepts that this is a dream and he’ll wake up soon. He then sees the lace table cloth on the breakfast table and fingers the uneven texture to try and convince himself this can’t be a dream because it feels so real.

Of course it’s just a dream and the year is now October 2013 and In Ha is trying to wake Dal Po up. The lace table cloth that he’s fingering in his dream is In Ha’s lacy black skirt. Dal Po tries to get closer to the lace and plasters himself against In Ha’s thigh. That gets him a swift “pervert” punch to the face and he wakes up screaming.

Dal Po is nursing an egg on his bruised face at the breakfast table while Grandpa chides In Ha for using such violent means to wake up Dal Po. In Ha doesn’t think Dal Po is all that cute to begin with so it doesn’t matter if his face gets bruised up a bit. Dal Po pinches her lips shut while Grandpa smacks her with a spoon for being so disrespectful to her uncle. In Ha grouses that life would be unfair if she was sweet on top of being pretty and smart. Plus what she said is true, Dal Po is very dorky looking.

In Ha’s dad pipes up and asks Dal Po to pass word to In Ha to have some modesty. In Ha tells Dal Po to pass word to Dad that she does have modesty. Dad’s annoyed she graduated college three years ago and has done nothing other than try and become a reporter. She just spends the money of her hard working taxi driving uncle and doesn’t even appreciate it and all she can do is ridicule his style. Dad snarks at how In Ha actually claims she’s modest!

In Ha huffs and tells Dal Po to tell her Dad that this is her last interview and she’ll become a reporter so he needs to stop bringing it up anymore after that. Dad retorts that a final interview after three years of trying isn’t anything to be proud of plus she might not get accepted so she better be prepared to fulfill her end of the promise if this interview is a bust as well.

Grandpa smacks both In Ha and her Dad on the head with a spoon and doesn’t care if she gets accepted or not. He’s just happy that three years of hearing the two of them argue will be over soon. Dal Po separates his egg yolk from the white and places the white on In Ha’s plate. She does the same with her egg and places the yolk on Dal Po’s plate. He asks if this is the 36th rejection after today and she corrects him as the 35th. In Ha is sure she’ll get accepted because only the final 10 get an interview and only 1 or 2 out of the 10 will be rejected.

Reporter Kim Gong Joo is at the airport with hoobae Reporter Lee Il Joo and discussion turns towards this year’s crop of new reporter recruits. Ten have gotten final interviews which is more than usual but it’s necessary to find a real talent. Reporter Kim isn’t sure there is real talent but one candidate is worrisome for having the Pinocchio syndrome.

Reporter Lee wonders if she’s an inside candidate and hears that she’s the daughter of Department Head Song Cha Ok. Reporter Lee thinks it doesn’t matter that the daughter has Pinocchio syndrome, if she has even half of her mom’s reporting skills then she’ll be fine.

Reporter Kim snarks that Cha Ok isn’t all that either as she steals hoobae’s tips and sensationalizes her news reports for ratings. He suddenly changes his tune and whips out a welcome banner as Cha Ok walks out of customs and both reporters rush forward to welcome her home. Reporter Lee bits back his bile to see Reporter Kim do an about face and brown nose Cha Ok.

Dal Po is giving Grandpa a back rub when Grandpa whips out a picture of the daughter of the nearby pizza store owner (picture of Kim Min Jung). He hears Dal Po recently broke up with his girlfriend Se Yeon (as in Jin Se Yeon) and wants to introduce him to a new gal. Dal Po claims he’s already gotten another girlfriend and says her name is Hye Sung and she has a lovely voice, is very kind and smart. He’s basically describing Lee Bo Young’s character in I Hear Your Voice LOL.

Dad reminds Dal Po that he described the last girlfriend the exact same way. In Ha thinks her uncle likes the same type of girls who has a nice voice and is very kind and smart. She fixes Dal Po’s hair and suggests that he clean up his style and get some new clothes otherwise he’ll keep getting dumped by girls. Dal Po doesn’t care because a girl who dumps him for his looks isn’t one he wants anyway. Grandpa beckons In Ha over and confirms that from her perspective all girls will think Dal Po looks really dorky and dumpy.

Dal Po brushes his teeth while watching In Ha get ready to head out for her final network interview. He asks what network it is and she tells him it’s MSC (where her mom works) and asks that Dal Po keep it from her dad. She texted her mom already about getting a final interview with the network and wonders if she’ll see her mom today? In Ha asks Dal Po’s advice on picking an outfit that will make her look smart but he just walks away.

In Ha finds Dal Po in the parking lot moving cars aside so he can pull his taxi out. She asks the suit makes her look smart but he snarks back that she looks stupid. He can’t believe she thinks she’s been texting her mom all these years. In Ha is sure she has because if it wasn’t her mom’s number then the person on the other end would have texted back that it’s the wrong number. In Ha makes excuses for her mom never responding to her texts for 10 years such as being too busy but Dal Po baldly explains that In Ha’s mom either wants to make it clear to In Ha that she wants to cut ties or she doesn’t care.

In Ha claims her mom was too busy these last few years being a network reporter sent to Washington DC on assignment. Dal Po can’t believe Washington DC doesn’t get cellphone coverage and In Ha is near tears asking why both her dad and Dal Po want to paint her mom as such a terrible mom. Ugh, maybe because that’s exactly what she is? Dal Po doesn’t want In Ha having hopes about her mom, the higher the hopes the greater the disappointment.

In Ha doesn’t think it’s hoping because she knows her mom and she can’t stand Dal Po insulting her mom without any basis. Has Dal Po ever met her mom before? Dal Po doesn’t answer so In Ha continues that she is only trusting what she sees just like she trusted Dal Po 8 years ago. Dal Po claims the two instances are different but In Ha sees it as the same. When their classmates blamed Dal Po without evidence and she believed him, in the same way she’ll have faith and believe in her mom.

Dal Po gets into his taxi and remembers how In Ha stood up for him in front of their high school classmates. He starts his car and his GPS is a girl’s voice called Hye Sung (also Lee Bo Young’s voice cameo). Dal Po asks his Hye Sung GPS what he should do?

In Ha’s dad rushes out to work and finds Dal Po’s wallet on the ground. He opens it and notices a picture of In Ha tucked inside one of the slots. Grandpa urges him to hurry up and bring it to Dal Po before he leaves for work. In Ha’s dad looks down from the balcony to call Dal Po and finds him standing there staring at the angrily departing In Ha. He looks down at In Ha’s picture in Dal Po’s wallet again with concern.

Dal Po pulls up to the bus stop and offers In Ha a ride since it’s so cold out today. She refuses because he’s so mean he’ll charge her full fare even as her uncle. Dal Po promises not to turn on the meter for this ride so In Ha gets into the backseat.

Dal Po notices In Ha is nervous in the backseat and offers to sell her his good dream. He had a good dream last night and saw people he really missed. If she buys it then maybe she’ll get to see her mom today. In Ha asks how much and he wants it for 10,000 won before lowering the price to 5000 won. In Ha slides the bill over and Dal Po gives her a little token as a “receipt”. In Ha strings the token into her necklace and asks who are the people Dal Po saw in his dream that he missed a lot but he doesn’t answer.

PD Hwang sits with Reporter Kim in the reporter’s lounge to discuss how Song Cha Ok is back triumphant from her stint in Washington DC and is now the department head of the society column and the anchor for the 9 pm news. Reporter Kim figures the network is doing something this unprecedented to boost ratings which has been lagging for some time. PD Hwang thinks this is either a smart move or a total failure. Reporter Kim brings up Cha Ok’s impressive resume and legendary status among reporters. PD Hwang knows that Cha Ok works hard, she ran an entire marathon and even wins beer drinking contests. She’s also very pretty and wows with her showmanship, making her less like a reporter and more like an entertainer.

Reporter Kim remembers Cha Ok already having showmanship when she first started, at a report for an overturned kindergarten bus, she bought a kid’s shoe and held it up for the sad reporting. When there was a flood she got in waist deep to report from the trenches, which turned out to her reporting while kneeling to make it seem like the flood levels were much higher than it really was.

PD Hwang calls her tactics deceitful rather than just showy. PD Hwang leans over and points out that Reporter Kim’s calls for honesty in reporting needs to start from himself. He saw Reporter Kim searching for his own name over and over again on the internet to raise the search results. Reporter Kim laughs that what he’s doing is small beans compared to Cha Ok’s tactics.

In Ha is at the beauty salon looking at the picture of her mom on the newspaper and asks the makeup artist to do her makeup the same way. The makeup artists thinks In Ha is going in for TV announcer interviews and In Ha corrects her as she’s interviewing to be a reporter. She then gets a reply text from her mom wishing her good luck and is so ecstatic that her mom finally texted her back after 13 years.

In Ha calls Dal Po to share the exciting news that her mom texted back a good luck to her. She kisses the token Dal Po gave her and thanks him for selling the good dream to him. She asks if he thinks she’ll pass the interview? Dal Po reluctantly tells her that she’ll pass and In Ha gobbles up his throwaway reassurance before ending the call.

Dal Po talks to his Hye Sung GPS about how he feels like a medical quack selling his wares in front of a hospital. How could In Ha be this gullible at her age? Hye Sung keeps on responding with navigation but Dal Po sighs that In Ha is still a child that needs to be protected. The foreign passenger in the backseat freaks out and whispers into his cell phone that his driver is insane and keeps talking to the GPS and should he get out now? Dal Po smiles at him through the rearview mirror and assures the passenger in English “You don’t need to get out, I’m quite alright.”

Dal Po drops his passenger off and notices an old man pulling trash looking distressed next to a truck. He gets out of the taxi and hears from the old man that his cart rolled down the slope and struck the truck. He doesn’t have a cell phone to leave contact information to pay for the damages. Dal Po tells the old man to leave and he’ll take care of it. Dal Po leaves a note on the windshield with his contact number.

The truck belongs to Dal Po’s hyung who uses it to deliver water. Jae Myung walks out and finds the note on the windshield. Dal Po is still there but gets a call from In Ha’s dad to come get his wallet. Dal Po drives off in his taxi before the two brothers have a chance to see each other.

In Ha’s dad looks at In Ha’s picture in Dal Po’s wallet and flashes back to the rainy night after the quiz show when Dal Po and In Ha came back together. He later told In Ha that the family didn’t have the money to send both kids to college. In Ha knows that Dal Po wants to go to college because he scored number 1 on the last school exam.

Dal Po walks up and informs the family that he’s going to the army after high school and already sent in his papers. In Ha thinks he’s doing it for her but he pinches her lips shut as usual. Dal Po tells Dad to send In Ha to college because he doesn’t want to go.

Dal Po rushes to meet up with Dad to pick up his wallet and sees that Dad found In Ha’s picture already. When Dad asks why he has it, Dal Po lies that he was delivering In Ha’s application headshot pictures to her that she forgot and this one was left over. Dad asks if that’s the only reason? Dal Po assures him that is the only reason. In Ha’s dad returns the wallet but keeps In Ha’s picture, telling Dal Po that his girlfriend will misunderstand if she sees the picture in his wallet.

In Ha arrives at MSC and stands in the lobby with her arms outstretched to soak in being in the same place as her mom. Arriving interviewee Yoon Yoo Rae notices In Ha and snarks that she sure looks rather pathetic. In Ha nervously fingers her token while waiting for her interview and asks Yoon Rae who finished her interview whether reporter Song Cha Ok is inside? Yoon Rae confirms Cha Ok is there and is as icy cold as her reputation. In Ha thanks her happily.

In Ha is called in for her interview and nervously sits down in front of the three interviewer panel which includes her mom Cha Ok. Immediately the two male interviewers question In Ha about her Pinocchio syndrome and the interviewers point out that no reporters in Korea have the affliction. Being unable to lie is a detriment as a reporter but In Ha counters that reporters are supposed to report the truth so she thinks her condition is actually an asset to this job. Cha Ok speaks up that In Ha is clearly a newbie to think this way. She wonders if she was once as optimistic as In Ha and the other two interviewers remember she started off like this as well.

Cha Ok gives In Ha a test and if she can pass without hiccupping then Cha Ok will pass In Ha. In Ha is confident she’ll pass the test. Cha Ok takes out two name cards and ask In Ha to pick on. The test is that the two restaurants are suspected of illegally allowing patrons to smoke so the reporters will call and record the conversation for an expose.

Cha Ok picks up the other card and calls the restaurant to make a reservation for a political leader’s dinner group. She tests the restaurant and asks if the dining group can smoke. The restaurant confirms they can smoke as long as it’s in their private room and mentions diners smoking right now. Cha Ok ends the call and tells In Ha to make the same call herself and not hiccup when she does it.

In Ha nervously dials the number as the other two interviews are startled at how tough Cha Ok is with In Ha, totally not like a real mom. In Ha directly asks the restaurant if it allows diners to smoke? She admits that she’s calling because someone reported the restaurant for the violation. The restaurant hangs up on In Ha and she fails the test. Cha Ok explains that a reporter needs to tell some lies to get to the bigger truth. This is why someone with Pinocchio syndrome can’t be a reporter.

In Ha leaves her interview in a daze and sits down in the lobby as everyone files out. Cha Ok sees In Ha sitting there and asks why she’s still here? In Ha wants to confirm something and asks that her mom take out her cellphone. In Ha dials her mom’s number and Cha Ok’s phone doesn’t ring. In Ha knows now that she never had Cha Ok’s real number and Dal Po was right. In Ha gets up the courage to tell her mom that she missed her all these years.

Cha Ok leans in to hug In Ha so the other two interviewers can see and be impressed that Cha Ok still acts like a mother. Cha Ok then whispers to In Ha that she doesn’t have any free time all these years to miss In Ha. OUCH. Cha Ok steps back and rejoins her group and leaving In Ha crying there.

In Ha texts the number she’s been texting all those years and calls the person even worse than a thief. The person on the other end is Seo Bum Jo and he reads In Ha’s text and calls her back. In Ha answers the call and starts asking why he couldn’t just text back that he wasn’t her mom? Why did he steal 13 years of texts meant for her mom? Why leave her so pathetic and full of hope so that she’s suffering now! Bum Jo listens to In Ha crying and doesn’t say anything. He finally says “I’m sorry” but In Ha has already hung up.

Dal Po is waiting outside MSC for In Ha and sees her walking out. He gets out of his taxi but the heavy traffic keeps him on the other side of the road. He calls In Ha and she steps aside to send a lying text that she’s with her mom right now and can’t talk. Dal Po knows she’s lying as she’s sitting in the park hiccupping and sobbing.

Dal Po texts back asking what In Ha’s mom said to her? In Ha keeps hiccupping and texting back lies like her mom said she grew up so pretty and apologized for being too busy to text back and gave her a big warm embrace. Dal Po sadly stares at In Ha before asking if she’s lying right now? In Ha texts back that what she’s saying is all true and his dream is a good dream so he will be able to see the people he misses as well.

Dal Po asks if In Ha wants him to pick her up but she declines the offer. The crossing light finally changes to green but Dal Po doesn’t walk over to In Ha and lets her sit there crying. An ahjumma asks why In Ha is crying so hard and she sobs that she’s just hiccupping too hard. Dal Po drives off and talks to himself that In Ha will be fine alone. He remembers In Ha’s dad taking In Ha’s picture from his wallet so Dal Po’s girlfriend doesn’t misunderstand. Dal Po tries to assure himself that what he’s doing is the right thing but he can’t and turns his taxi back around to drive to MSC. By the time he arrives In Ha is gone but Cha Ok summons a taxi and Dal Po picks her up.

During the ride Dal Po breaks the silence by recognizing the famous anchor Song Cha Ok and laughingly asking for an autograph but Cha Ok coldly turns him down. Dal Po mentions how his good friend got to the final round of the MSC reporter interview today and wants to know the result. His friend is Choi In Ha and Cha Ok says she got eliminated. Dal Po figured that would happen and wants to know why? Cha Ok says it’s because of the Pinocchio syndrome but Dal Po knows it’s because In Ha is Cha Ok’s daughter. Cha Ok demands to know who Dal Po is and hears that he’s In Ha’s uncle.

In Ha goes home and she’s still hiccupping uncontrollably. She packs up all her reporter study books into a suitcase and rags it out of the house along with a lighter.

Cha Ok makes Dal Po stop the taxi and gets out right on the bridge. She never heard In Ha had an uncle so who is Dal Po? He explains that In Ha’s grandfather adopted him. Cha Ok suggests Dal Po act like a good uncle and stop encouraging In Ha’s daydreams. Dal Po doesn’t think it’s a daydream for someone with Pinocchio syndrome to become a reporter. Cha Ok says there isn’t a single reporter with Pinocchio syndrome in the country and that is the reason enough.

Jae Myung texts Dal Po’s number from the note left on his windshield while having a meal with a coworker. The coworker asks about Jae Myung’s family and hears that his mom and younger brother are dead and he drove the truck all around the country doing deliveries hoping to find his missing dad but came up empty handed. The coworker assures Jae Myung that having no news is good news and his dad is alive somewhere well. Jae Myung wants to join in the next job in demolishing the old factory.

The three lying factory workers happen to be sitting at the next table and arguing about spending all the borrowed money. The chief refuses to sign the promissory note and crumples it up before throwing it on the ground near Jae Myung’s seat. He brings up how the other two were in the lounge and started a fire….. One guy openly yells that the deaths of all those firefighters was the chief’s fault for sending the firefighters in by claiming there were still workers inside.

Jae Myung listens to this in shock. One guy burns his hand on the grill so they leave for the hospital. Jae Myung runs after them but is too late. He is so angry to realize that it was the factory workers who lied. Dal Po texts back Jae Myung’s phone and says he’ll take care of the car repairs.

Dal Po comes home and hears from a worried Grandpa that In Ha is missing and so are all her study books. In Ha’s dad is already outside looking for her. Dal Po runs out to look for In Ha and is startled to see fireworks exploding over the Han River which brings back memories of the night his mom took him to commit suicide. He has to take deep breaths to calm himself before continuing his search for In Ha.

Dal Po finds scraps of paper floating down from above and climbs the stairs all the way to the roof. In Ha lights all her books and says goodbye to her dreams as the fireworks explode behind her. She notices the fire isn’t burning and reaches in only to tumble into the trash can. She hears Dal Po pounding on the door for her to open it so she opens the door for him but goes to hide.

Dal Po runs around the roof screaming for In Ha and worried out of his mind. In Ha is hiding underneath a tarp and hiccupping and wonders why Dal Po is so anxious? Dal Po hears her hiccupping and finally calms down in relief that she’s fine. Dal Po walks over and tells In Ha that he knows she failed the interview and also got her mom hopes dashed. In Ha wants him to pretend he doesn’t know but he doesn’t want her to act like she’s fine when she’s so heartbroken.

Dal Po pulls the tarp off In Ha and finds her crying. In Ha yells at him for not reading the signs since she wants to be alone right now. Dal Po looks at the token on her necklace and apologizes for his dream not being a lucky dream.

Bum Jo goes back and reads all of In Ha’s texts that she’s been sending to his phone all these years. He then goes home and tells his mom that he wants to see her. Mom asks who and wonders if it’s that Pinocchio? Bum Jo is finally ready to meet In Ha after 13 years of reading her texts. His doting mom asks what she can do for him to make it happen? Should she bring her here? Bum Jo doesn’t need his mom’s help and plans to go see her himself.

Dal Po asks if In Ha is burning all her books and dreams now? Is she really going to give up on being a reporter for good? In Ha has no choice since she promised her dad and she’s almost 30 and still doesn’t have a job. Plus she has no face to see Dal Po who gave up college and works hard all for her. She has eyes and a conscience and now it’s time for all of this to stop. She’s hiccupping and Dal Po calls her out for lying about giving up her reporter dreams. Dal Po grabs In Ha’s hands to stop her from burning up her books.

Dal Po flashes back to the rest of his conversation with Cha Ok on the bridge when she claimed that no Pinocchio syndrome person can become a reporter as it’s never been done. He calls Cha Ok out for denying something simply because it’s never happened yet. Cha Ok insults Dal Po as being pitiful and clueless in the way he’s criticizing her without any knowledge of what it means to be a reporter. Dal Po apologizes to Cha Ok for speaking out of turn when he really doesn’t know what it’s like to be reporter, but then he’ll go learn what it means to be a reporter and he’ll meet up with Cha Ok again.

Dal Po tells In Ha that she can’t burn the books because he wants it. Dal Po has decided that he wants to be a reporter like In Ha. Dal Po wants to work hard together with In Ha to become a reporter. Dal Po smiles and points out that In Ha finally stopped hiccupping.

Thoughts of Mine:

I’m trying hard to control my squees this early in the drama. I’m reluctant to get my hopes up plus the over enthusiasm can get old quick. Dal Po and In Ha aren’t doing anything new in terms of great OTP development seen in many K-dramas. Their take the growing up together first love construct and adds the right amounts of bickering and straight talk. It’s not refreshing but it is definitely satisfying which is what matters more. The writer has done a great job of fleshing out In Ha in this one episode enough for her to catch up to Dal Po in terms of character development to connect with the audience. Many times In Ha sees passive or reactive but now she’s placed in the driver’s seat along with Dal Po as both are striving to become reporters together. There is a bit of let down that Dal Po never seems to do anything meaningful with his talents unless it’s to act as In Ha’s white knight, but that’s a narrative crutch I can accept and hope will be used less and less. He has his own issues and needs to work through it rather than living his life for In Ha and Grandpa.

In Ha’s reunion with her mom was so difficult to watch especially with the drama presenting it in the context of a nerve wracking job interview. Cha Ok is beyond ice cold and I don’t know how the story plans on redeeming her. She’s not the worst mom in K-drama land but I don’t have any sympathy for her even if she is allowed to choose career over daughter. Having a right to do something doesn’t mean she gets to do it the harshest way possible and Cha Ok rubs me all wrong with her reporting style and lack of empathy. I knew it was going to be a double hammer of doom for In Ha and even Dal Po could see the rejection coming from a mile away.

I love that he always tries to make her happy and doesn’t shy away from telling her the harsh truths. But when he sees she needs more comfort than hard loving then he’s capable of being there for her as well. I wonder if Dal Po sees in In Ha the very same need he has as someone who doesn’t have a mom around. So in many ways he’s her Mom presence, the tough combined with the love, even if the love part is tinged with both familiar and non-platonic affection. She’s so lucky to have him in her life, and he is also lucky that it was Grandpa who found him and took him in.

In all ways the OTP makes me happy because they are there for each other and always have each other’s back so the story doesn’t build on misunderstandings or breakthroughs. It’s two people growing up together and finding their future as well as discovering love. I enjoyed the glimpse of seconds leads Yoon Hae (too brief but intriguing attitude) and especially Bum Jo. That he was on the other end of In Ha’s texts to mom is a nicely written connective plot device but the drama needs to flesh him out quick to even have a shot at the audience enjoying his arrival as a rival to Dal Po.

I’m more eager for Jae Myung to cross paths with Dal Po and the two brothers do more with getting closure with their dad’s tragedy. That Jae Myung overheard the factory workers drunken confession was the height of absurdity but works here since the drama isn’t banking on realism so the quick coincidences keep the plot reveals moving swiftly. I can’t wait for Dal Po’s makeover in the next episode and the unleashing of his full potential as an aspiring reporter. The Dal Po is a fool gag has run its course at just the perfect length and now the world, and In Ha, can finally see what a talent he has for upending expectations.

Click here to watch Pinocchio.