Grief
Episode 7 of When I was Most Beautiful begins with Hwan messaging Ye-Ji and trying to get through to her. After some time, he thinks it over and remembers what Jin told him about Jeju Island. This is what brought him along to the church where he eventually found Ye-Ji outside. It turns out she’s not in the US after all and actually on Jeju Island. She and Jin chose this spot for their honeymoon as it’s the only place neither of them have been. She wanted to share memories with him. Before this, she was in the US for 3 years searching desperately for Jin. Despite the detectives looking for that long, none were able to find him. Instead, Hwan seizes his opportunity and tells her to head back to the US with him to start again. For these 3 years, it turns out Hwan has been going through all the morgues and searching the bodies to see if Jin showed up. Elsewhere, Ye-Ji’s Mother deposits her money into two separate accounts. When she gets talking to her colleague, she learns that Jin has gone missing. As she keeps looking through her phone, she remains determined to try and figure out what’s happened in her daughter’s life. Even worse, she learns the truth about how badly Ye-Ji was treated by her Aunt too. Angry and distraught, she heads over to Dreamtel and smashes up the windows. She’s irate that her sister did a terrible job taking care of her daughter. She threatens Il-Hwa and tells her to return all the money she didn’t spend on Ye-Ji or there will be trouble. Hwan decides to take Ye-Ji out for a day away from thinking of Jin. They have a good time too, laughing and joking until the drive home. Feeling the wind on her face, it makes her remember moments with Jin in the past. As they head to the beach, the duo start drinking together. That drinking leads Hwan telling her to give up on her husband. As he does, he leans forward and tries to kiss her. Only, she pulls away and tells him she’ll never be with him no matter what. It’s a fair point too and given how grief-stricken she is, it’s probably not the best time to try it on. Eventually he leaves upon her request and heads back to the US. Meanwhile, Ye-Ji heads back home to the workshop where she finds Sung-Gon waiting for her. He encourages her to move out given how long it’s been since Jin hasn’t been back. Elsewhere, Carry Jung suspiciously meets one of the drivers and discusses what happened “3 years ago” with him. She mentions how there’s no use admitting the truth as it won’t change anything. Could this be about Jin? Ye-Ji is approached by her Mother’s lawyer who arrives and tells her she needs to fight for her inheritance. She refuses though, telling him she doesn’t want to go to court and starts getting back out in the fields with Da-Woon. At the same time, Hwan struggles to compose an email for Ye-Ji, apologising for his behaviour. Instead, he decides to drown his sorrow in alcohol. Eventually Ye-Ji returns to her Mother Go-Woon and confronts her over the money. She left everything to her Aunt and is now broke. Ye-Ji tells her that her pride is more important than money. As the two come to blows, Ye-Ji eventually turns and walks away. As the months pass, Seo-Hwan continues to try in vain to get through to Ye-Ji. He leaves numerous notes and messages but struggles to hear from her. We then jump forward 3 years again and now we’re in 2020. Seo-Hwan is slightly more grown now and he returns to Korea. More specifically, he returns to the workshop and finds himself staring contemptuously at Ye-Ji. He asks whether she’s still living there before turning and warmly greeting Sung-Gon. After some initial pleasantries it’s obvious this is a very different Hwan from the one we remembered. He tells Ye-Ji to leave and promises to look after Sung-Gon from now on. In private, the two come to blows over what’s happened between them in the past. After promising to kick her out of his house, Seo-Hwan admits that he missed her.
The Episode Review
Another episode, another time jump. Hopefully this time though, now that we’re caught up, this will start to slow down a bit. On top of that, the show continues to deliver decent drama and there’s enough here to whet the appetite and stick around for the long haul. What happened to Jin? Is Carry Jung responsible somehow? And what will happen between Hwan and Ye-Ji now? All of this gravitates around the fractured relationship between Hwan and Ye-Ji. This episode does Hwan absolutely no favours and although I understand his frustration, he’s also lost a good thing with Amber. The premature end to their relationship is a shame and although Hwan made a mistake, it’s obvious it’s turned him bitter and cruel. Quite what will happen next remains to be seen but I’d imagine we’ll find out what happened to Jin sooner rather than later.
