Lovesick
Episode 11 of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha begins with Hye-Jin and Du-Sik down by the docks, just after their kiss. Walking hand in hand, the pair leave to go home after admitting that they like each other. At Hye-Jin’s house though, she asks Du-Sik to hold off telling everyone about their relationship until she’s had a chance to speak to Seong-Hyeon. Given we know he has the hots for her, this is set up to be a difficult conversation. That night though, Du-Sik rings Hye-Jin and points out that he was the one who took their family photo in the past. She’s surprised, chuckling incredulously as the pair trade stories from their past. It almost seems like fate – although Du-Sik shoots down that idea and claims it’s coincidence. Meanwhile, Seong-Hyeon takes time out from shooting to head over to the bar. Chun-Jae butters him up while he waits for Hye-Jin, telling him to put in a good word to his peers on his behalf. When Hye-Jin does show up, we learn more about their past together. Now, it turns out Seong-Hyeon always looked out for her, making sure she was okay at college. Hye-Jin’s affection grew for him over time but he was scared to actually muster up the courage to tell her. She knew he liked her too but was concerned given he saw her at her absolute worst. Seong-Hyeon smiles warmly, telling her that she was his first love. In the distance though, Chun-Jae listens intently, tears running down his cheeks. I guess the conversation wasn’t as bad as we initially thought guys! Outside the bar, Seong-Hyeon runs into Du-Sik, who takes him aside to help with something over at Gam-Ri’s place. Now, he knows that Du-Sik is the one Hye-Jin likes and eventually opens up, telling him to take good care of her. Thankfully there’s no ill feelings between them as they continue woodworking, joking about. This also has the knock-on effect of allowing Hye-Jin and Du-Sik to officially confirm this is their first day of being a couple – at least privately anyway. Meanwhile, there are ill feelings between Yeong-Guk and Hwa-Jeong, as the former does his best to try and work out exactly why the pair ended up divorced in the first place. However, he ends up running into Seong-Hyeon at the bar. Given they’re both aggrieved over their relationships, the pair have a lot in common. And if the sheer number of empty soju bottles on the table is anything to go by, they get pretty drunk. Yeong-Guk is definitely feeling the effects the next day at work, although he’s quick to be given a hot drink and a need to shape up, given he has important matters to attend to. Meanwhile, Du-Sik ends up going through the wars in the morning. Hye-Jin continues to inadvertently hit him – first in the face, then in the leg and finally in the nose – on three different occasions as she becomes nervous in the presence of the other residents around town. The climax to this comes that night, as the old ladies show up at Du-Sik’s place and are quickly encouraged to leave after Du-Sik gives them a bunch of candles. They soon exhibit their suspicions over what’s going on, but obviously the reason is Hye-Jin. She just so happens to be hiding in the closet the entire time. When the old ladies leave, Du-Sik scoops her up from the closet but slips, as they both end up on the bed together. Just before they kiss… Hye-Jin’s phone goes off. Ugh, talk about timing! Elsewhere, Seong-Hyeon coming down with a stomachache. Ji-Won looks after him for the time being, encouraging him to sleep it out and admitting that it’s embarrassing that this has happened to someone as healthy as him. Well, Seong-Hyeon believes the real root cause of this is because he’s heartbroken, which of course is thanks to Hye-Jin. Ji-Won looks at him sympathetically; could these two be getting together in the near future? Meanwhile, Eun-Cheol heads into the clinic for a teeth scaling, which Mi-Seon administers. With his mouth wide open, the officer admits to Mi-Seon that he doesn’t want to not date her per-se but really he just wants to get to know her slowly. She grins and tries to hide her elation, feigning ignorance and claiming she can’t understand what he’s saying. Well, things are looking up for Du-Sik and Hye-Jin too ,who are both super excited for their date. They both head down to the docks again but while they’re together, getting close, all the village residents show up. Hye-Jin decides to forget the pretense, openly admitting that they’ve been dating for four days. The others all laugh and joke, correcting them and confirming that it’s actually three. All of them knew about their secret relationship since the beginning, given their goo-goo eyes for one another and the phone left behind. It’s all smiles and giggles though as the villagers welcome this new love story with open arms.
The Episode Review
While Hye-Jin and Du-Sik being together and embracing their newfound love for one another is cute, it also highlights one of the biggest problems with this show – conflict. There’s absolutely none of it here and any sniff of tension or drama with Seong-Hyeon is soon snuffed out as he’s happy that the pair are together. While that in itself is nice, it also basically paves way for 80 minutes of this couple flirting, being all lovey-dovey and preparing for dates. The mini subplot with the villagers and hiding their relationship from everyone is admittedly a nice touch though and it’s hard not to feel warm, fuzzy feelings while watching this. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every second of this episode with the pair together but it also feels like it’s missing that key ingredient to turn it from good to great. Still, we’ve got lots more episodes where that could change but for now, those who have been shipping Du-Sik and Hye-Jin together since the first episode will love what’s here!
