Past Flames
After last episode’s cliffhanger ending, Melting me Softly returns with Dong-Chan finally revealing to the world where he has been; this should finally give people an explanation as to why he still looks the same age. While the first signs of Mi-Ran being interested in Dong-Chan finally appear, the former love interests of our two protagonists still manages to cause interesting rifts in their lives. The episode starts with Dong-Chan on the news, revealing to the world about the cryonic experiment he has been part of. He explains that he woke up after 20 years but unfortunately there’s a side effect – hypothermia. The candidates must make sure they stay at a temperature of 31.5 degrees. We also learn from a flashback that professor Hwang is the only one able to make the antidote to help with their predicament. Meanwhile, important political figures around the world react to the news. Gi-Bum is being interviewed and admits to being the one who resuscitated Dong-Chan. When our mysterious man finds out, he tells his assistant they need to get rid of him to make sure Lee Seok Du never wakes up. As Dong-Chan returns to his family’s restaurant, he sees that they are using his story to bring more business in. Unhappy with it at first, he eventually warms to the idea when he learns from his mum the reason why she opened the restaurant. As we see Mi-Ran waking up, we also find out that Ji-Hoon, the boy who’s interested in her, is actually Byung-Sim’s son. Ji-Hoon and Young-Jun arrive in class and ask Mi-Ran if Dong-Chan is her boyfriend. She quickly replies that he’s not his type which seems to please Ji-Hoon greatly. Meanwhile, Hyun-Ki and Hong-Seok carry on with their comedic routine and lament about their lives. Dong-Chan arrives and berates Hyun-Ki soon after for always being in Kim’s office instead of working. Dong-Chang then comes face to face with Ha-Young who asks him how long he’s going to avoid her for. He replies that he will do his best to protect her by not digging into the issue further. He then meets with Mi-Ran to give her her work badge, making her new internship official. They share a touching moment where he also hands her a biometric watch with a box containing an injection to lower her body temperature. It’s here Byung-Sim finally reveals himself to Mi-Ran. He tells her he wants to go back to 20 years ago and be with her but she rejects him and angrily tells him to get lost. However, he doesn’t take no for an answer and forces himself on her which prompts her to tackle him to the ground. Dong-Chan receives a call from Mi-Ran at the police station where he heads to take her away. Outside, he berates her for acting the way she did with Byung-Sim. Defending herself, she explains her reasons and after finding out the truth, Dong-Chan decides to confront Byung-Sim where an argument about Mi-Ran ensues between the two. The mysterious man and his assistant arrive at the restaurant where they see Professor Hwang working. As Hwang sees the mysterious man, he suddenly remembers him, frozen in a capsule. While discussing with Kyung-Ja what she would do if she could freeze herself, Young-Sun receives a call from her son, telling her his dad has been assaulted by a girl in school. Later on, when Byung-Sim arrives home from work, Young-Su decides to kick him out. While having drinks with her two friends, Mi-Ran finally finds out Young-Sun is married to Byung-Sim and can’t believe what she’s hearing. Dong-Chan speaks to Professor Hwang who tells him he did something dangerous in the past. A drunken Hyun-Mi then meets with him to lament about his past and future. While listening to his complaints, Dong-Chan sees on the news that he has been nicknamed Captain Korea and they debate whether they should see him as a 32 or 52 year old man. His family is also watching and arguing whether he should get a pension. Dong-Chan calls Mi-Ran to find out if she has been telling people she was also frozen, while Byung-Sim decides to hide at Yung-Ja’s place for an hour. He tells her he still loves Mi-Ran and would like her help to win her back. Ha-Young receives a request to do a piece on her news about another woman being part of the experiment which leads her to warn Dong-Chan about what she has just found out. She tells him she wants to start over with him as they didn’t get a chance to finish their love story. The episode closes with Mi-Ran walking in on the two talking and looking very surprised. The latest episode of Melting Me Softly concentrated more on our protagonist’s exes and how neither have given up on their original relationships. Ha-Young still seems to be very much in love with Dong-Chan while he is having trouble forgiving her for not doing more to find him. Byung-Sim on the other hand, has an unhealthy obsession with Mi-Ran which ends in a dramatic showdown with Mi-Ran at first, then with Dong-Chan. She’s also in for a shock when she finds out Hi-Joon is her ex’s son. With the professor slowly gaining his memory back, the story should slowly move forward and gives us the identity of the mysterious chairman. The ongoing hypothermia remains a problem for our two main characters to overcome and it brings some tense moments into the drama. While Melting Me Softly is far from the strongest K-Drama this year, it’s still quite enjoyable and remains an easy and interesting drama to watch thanks to its unusual concept.
