Mr Gu’s Plight
Episode 9 of My Liberation Notes begins with Mr Gu and Je-Ho moving furniture together. Up on the wall happens to be a big billboard reading “Something good will happen to you today.” Mr Gu spots this and it plays on his mind as he heads off to pick up Mi-Jeong from work that evening. The pair walk together, where Mi-Jeong comments that the seasons are changing; it’s getting cooler. Mi-Jeong is starting to come out of her shell, and that’s thanks to Mr Gu’s worshipping. She feels lovable and is able to speak her mind, airing her random thoughts and gaining a good amount of confidence. Meanwhile, Gi-Jeong sports a cast on he arm and speaks to her boss about her failed plight involving her brother. He admires her spirit, as Gi-Jeong reflects on the sincere message he sent that night to her, apologizing for leading Gi-Jeong on and wanting to treat her to a meal just like he promised before. At Alpha Retail, Chang-Hee continues to feel frustrated and eventually snaps at A-Reum. He’s sick of doing her favours and asks outright if she likes him, given she keeps following him around. The whole office is silent as Chang-Hee shouts at her. The thing is, Chang-Hee constantly talks about her, and his friends joke with him later on over food that 80% of what he talks about is A-Reum. Specifically, his unbridled hatred for her. Chang-Hee finds himself conflicted and challenged over his ideals. More specifically, whether the root cause of his hatred stems from how rich she is. Meanwhile Mr Gu is approached by Sam-Sik on the side of the road. Gu heads off with him to talk in private, where Sam-Sik’s berates him over the death of Gu’s lover. Apparently he’s shown no remorse since then. Back home, Mi-Jeong breaks the news to her mother about dating Mr Gu. Predictably, she’s shocked. Mi-Jeong visits Gu afterwards, who discusses what happened to that woman. It turns out she needed therapy but Gu uses an analogy of jumping off a cliff, where two thirds of the way down one regrets their actions and sees their issues as inconsequential. He wanted her to feel the same way and used this analogy with her. Unfortunately, it resulted in the woman jumping to her death. This explains some of what Gu is going through. Off the back of this, he tells Mi-Jeong to stop worshipping him. The flip side to this though, is that Gu begins drinking again. With bottles lining the table, he stumbles up in the middle of the night when the electrics fail. He grabs a knife from the kitchen, suspecting the worst. However, it’s just Chang-Hee, who heads over to use his bathroom. As Gu listens, we jump back in time and see what happened to Mr Gu. He stopped off at Dangmi Station, deliberating over whether to help a woman stuck with a guy by the side of the road. Only, it turns out to be Mi-Jeong. The thing is, she inadvertently saved his life. He was scheduled to meet Sam-Sik at Oido Station but it was a trap, given there were numerous thugs waiting to beat him up. She saved his life, but after leaving his phone behind, Mr Gu decided to stick around, partly thanks to Mi-Jeong. Back in the present, Mi-jeong notices Gu walking up by the side of the road. He’s stumbling along, so she gets off the bus and decides to walk up behind him.
The Episode Review
The latest episode of My Liberation Notes slows down to show Mr Gu’s past and the guilt he’s been feeling. This really helps to understand what’s happening with him, while the other characters continue to grow and add layers of depth. Understanding why Chang-Hee hates A-Reum so much, at the same time as Gi-Jeong deliberating over her love life, works to flesh this episode out, in what’s otherwise a slower and more methodical chapter than we’ve seen before. This drama is still gripping though, and the characters are richly developed and an absolute joy to watch. Let’s hope the follow-up this week is just as enticing!
