So-yong & Chi-hyung Outshine Everyone
Episode 7 of Now, We Are Breaking Up starts as Jae-guk, Yoo-jung, and Hye-ok share dinner. Yoo-jung tries to bait Jae-guk into telling Hye-ok about Young-eun but he keeps his lips sealed. Yoo-jung takes this as a sign that he knows he shouldn’t be dating Young-eun. We then see Yoo-jung calling Young-eun and sending her the message from Soo-wan’s old phone. On a new day, Yoo-jung meets Young-eun and talks about the circumstances of Soo-wan’s death. When Young-eun wants to know why Yoo-jung brings this up, Yoo-jung lectures her for dating Jae-guk. Meanwhile, Chi-sook meets with Do-hoon and the Vision PR team. He avoids her eyes and speaks only to the room. Afterwards, he only replies to her texts with a curt “yes”. When she tries a different tactic and calls him, he directs the call to Soo-ho. Jae-guk tells Do-hoon that Young-eun is Soo-wan’s old girlfriend. Do-hoon is understanding of their attraction but won’t support the relationship, reminding Jae-guk of the potential fallout, especially for Young-eun. Young-eun calls Jae-guk and asks him to meet her in the office storeroom. She wants to know why Yoo-jung interrogated her and Jae-guk reveals that Yoo-jung was Soo-wan’s fiancé during the time that he dated Young-eun. Young-eun takes the news calmly, only cursing Soo-wan – without any real venom – when Jae-guk prompts her to. Sono’s new collaboration has been outperforming Claire Marie in sales. Feeling the pressure, In-a resorts to spreading a rumour that Young-eun conspired with Ms Choi’s factory to Gwang-soo. Chi-hyung and So-yong deliver a gift from Sono to Hye-rin. She says that Chi-hyung was at her place last night. He rushes to explain to So-yong that Hye-rin got drunk and called him for a lift home. Hye-rin also discloses that they used to date. So-yong is unfazed by it all. Mi-sook gets a call from her mother-in-law, who complains that Mi-sook doesn’t spend enough money on her in gifts. We cut to Mi-sook at the bank closing all her accounts. Back at The One’s office, Young-eun and Jae-guk are huddled together choosing movie tickets. Chi-sook sees them and clears her throat, warning them to move apart just before CEO Hwang comes down the hallway. That night at Mi-sook’s apartment, Soo-ho complains that Mi-sook has been making infomercial purchases for herself and her mother instead of buying his mother gifts. Mi-sook tells him that his mother has consistently taken her extra money and refuses to continue living for anyone but herself. Jae-guk is planning to rush over to Young-eun’s apartment but Mi-sook beats him to it, carting along her boxes of infomercial purchases. Young-eun tries to prise the truth of Mi-sook’s behaviour out but Mi-sook won’t relent. Young-eun tells Mi-sook about the call from Soo-wan’s number and about him having a fiancé while they dated. Young-eun self-examines her feelings and finds more indifference than anything else. Mi-sook is proud of her for growing up and learning to move on. The next day, Chi-sook barges into Do-hoon’s office and cages him into a corner, asking why he’s been ignoring her. He tells her he’s been drawing a line between them to avoid being the only one getting his hopes up and then being disappointed. Young-eun realizes that that is how she felt every time she fell into a one-sided love. Young-eun is called into CEO Hwang’s office as Gwang-soo is leaving it. CEO Hwang asks her if she accepted a bribe from Ms Choi’s factory and Young-eun denies it. He then reminds her that she was able to finish her studies and come this far because he supported her financially. He tells her not to chase what doesn’t belong to her, obviously implying that she should stay away from Jae-guk. After the workday ends, Young-eun waits in the rain for Jae-guk, who has been held up at a shoot. She’s about to leave when he finally arrives. At a bar, Chi-sook tells Do-hoon that she won’t return his feelings because of the lack of mystery in their relationship. Meanwhile, Jung-ja sneaks into Taek-soo’s phone and finds Jae-guk’s contact saved under what sounds like a woman’s name, although it’s just a shortened version of the word “witness”. Young-eun takes Jae-guk to her apartment to get dried off. She tells him about the call from Soo-wan. We flash back to her replying to the message asking if she’s been well by simply saying that she has. She then deletes his number. In the present, Young-eun tells Jae-guk that her life became so busy that she eventually forgot she still had Soo-wan’s number saved. The next day, Jae-guk confronts Yoo-jung, calling Soo-wan’s phone while in her office. When it rings from within Yoo-jung’s bag, his suspicions that she used it to fool Young-eun are confirmed. Yoo-jung tries to use Hye-ok’s feelings as an excuse for her behaviour. Jae-guk calls Hye-ok right then and there and tells her that he’s dating Young-eun.
The Episode Review
The writer continues to do their best to justify Young-eun and Jae-guk’s relationship by unveiling Soo-wan’s two-timing escapades. Instead of absolving our lovebirds, this just means that all three points in this love triangle were/are questionable. Yoo-jung, as everyone predicted, was behind that phone stunt. It was refreshing to see that Young-eun and Jae-guk only grew closer in the face of her attempt at sabotage. Part of the appeal here was also the relief that came with avoiding the drawn-out, angsty route that better fits the profile of the writer’s narrative choices up until now. Admittedly, this move was based on some iffy logic since Young-eun has supposedly been miserable for the past ten years and even changed her dating patterns because of Soo-wan. And now, suddenly, we’re asked to believe that she’s already been well on the path to recovering from that relationship. So-yong and Chi-hyung continue to outshine everyone else. He’s puppy-like and playful while she has a single-minded determination to climb higher in the fashion industry – it’s like an improved version of our lead romantic pair. Here’s hoping they get more screen time over the drama’s run.
