Asian Addicts Anonymous

Yes, I know it has been awhile. I don’t know if anyone is still interested in this drama, but it’s a pet project that I will definitely finish recapping. This episodes sees Saewa’s brief moment of humanity melt away when faced with losing her meal ticket. Plus we have Donghae given a crushing diagnosis while Tae Hoon keeps a secret from his family about the exam.

 We start out in the hospital with Anna holding Donghae’s hand begging him to wake up so they can talk, eat, and work on puzzles. She may have some mental capacity issues and Donghae acts more like a parent, but you can see her love for her son and her motherly instincts. It’s heartbreaking watching Anna tell Donghae to wake up and not be sick anymore because she’s scared. Meanwhile, the reason behind Donghae’s accident is faced with an angry Do JIn. Saewa apologizes and says she will tell him later. When she turns to go, Do Jin refuses to let her – how can he when she is crying like that? She needs to tell him what happened even if its difficult to say because he can understand. Saewa rejects this and walks away saying she doesn’t want to talk to anyone. I am impressed that she’s actually ruffled.

Back at the hospital, Anna feels Donghae’s fingers move. She looks and his eyes opened! Donghae looks around and asks what happened. Where is Saewa? Anna replies that Saewa is fine and then starts crying saying she was so scared since he wasn’t waking up. Donghae then recalls the competition – what time is it? He has to go compete. Well… that’s so not going to happen now. Anna tells him that he can’t since he is so hurt. Donghae replies that he worked too hard not to go and takes out his IV. Talk about a stubborn man. We then cut to a scene of Donghae winning and Saewa and his mother congratulating him. Donghae puts the medal on Saewa and says he won, he’s not dreaming is he. Saewa’s smile fades and then everything begins disappearing. Yep, it’s a dream. The whole thing was. Figures [well I knew the competition part was, but not the whole thing]. The dream ends and Donghae is at the hospital, still unconscious with the worried Anna holding his hand. Anna looks down at her son and sees his eyes cracked open. Donghae cries and softly calls Saewa’s name. The girl isn’t worth it.

Meanwhile, Tae Hoon is in the bathroom during break trying to take off Sae Young’s handmade panties with no luck. He recalls Sae Young’s warning about tearing them and then the announcement comes for all exam takes to return to their seats. What to do? Back at the Lee house, Sun Ok talks to her deceased mother about how tough Tae Hoon has had it so far. Enduring unheated rooms and not being able to afford a tutor. Will Sun Ok’s mother watch over Tae Hoon and let him pass this time? After Sun Ok finishes her tearful plea, out pops her brother-in-law complaining about the cold weather. Pil Jae asks if she’s preparing red pepper paste stew – perfect for a fall day like that. Sun Ok turns and yells at him to stop mentioning the word fail when his nephew is taking an important exam. You understand her feelings, but she doesn’t need to take it all out on poor Pil Jae who points out that Sun Ok said the word fail more than he did. He then leaves before incurring more of his sister-in-law’s wrath.

Sae Young rushes home and calls for her mother who wonders just what is going on. Sool Nyeo rushes out wondering what is wrong. When Sae Young latches onto her, Sool Nyeo scolds her daughter for running while pregnant. Sae Young ignores this and says she thought her mother had left home once again. Sool Nyeo says she didn’t abandon her kids when they were babies, so why would she abandon them now? She and her daughter sit down and Sae Young notices the pen her mom’s holding. What’s that? Sool Nyeo explains that the pen was used by a boy who passed the bar exam. Sool Nyeo sat down for two hours to hear the story and get the pen. She then hands it over to Sae Young and tells her to give it to Tae Hoon to use on the rest of the exam [it spams 4 days]. If Tae Hoon uses it and passes, they are guaranteed a great future. Start the delusions of the two women. They dream of riches and big houses, and being the envy of everyone.

Bongi is at the hotel making a picnic lunch. Her friend Sunae comes over and Bongi asks her to cover for her since she needs to step out again. Sunae will, but she wonders just where Bongi keeps going. The male chef comes over and says that Sunae is clueless, its obvious that Bongi has a boyfriend. Bongi denies this and leaves. After she changes, she gets a call from the Anna telling her that Donghae has woken up. The happy Bongi rushes to the hospital where she sees Saewa who goes to leave when she catches sight of Bongi [she’s afraid to face Donghae as well]. Bongi stops her and tells her not to go as Donghae is awake and probably wants to see her. So the two girls go off to see Donghae.

Anna, meanwhile, is trying to keep Donghae still. He struggles to get up saying that he has to compete. He manages to get out of bed when the doctor comes in and stops him. It was difficult closing the gash in the stomach. If Donghae moves too much, it could reopen putting him in danger once more. Donghae insists that he has a race to compete in and then collapses. He gets back up an goes out into the hall while both his mother and doctor try to stop him. His doctor insists that he cannot race, but Donghae insists that he can. He trained so hard to be able to compete. At this time, Saewa and Bongi arrive to hear the doctor tell Donghae that he’ll never be able to have a career in sports again because he damaged nerves and muscles. Poor Donghae, but not surprising as he was hit by a rather large vehicle.

This throws Donghae for a loop. He cannot accept it and gets angry. He insists that he can still compete and win and then he collapses in pain. The doctor calls for a sedative and Donghae grabs him by the lapels and calls him a liar. He’s been skating for a long time now, how can that be taken away from him? Besides, he needs to compete and win to make his mother and Saewa happy. The crying Anna clutches her crying son and the shocked, guilty Saewa runs away instead of facing the reality of what she’s done. The girl deserves to feel guilty. She ran against a traffic light just to try to impress the mother of her wealthy boyfriend in order to advance her career. After Saewa leaves, Bongi rushes over to hold both Anna and Donghae and cries with them. Yes. Bongi is so much better than Saewa.

Saewa starts crying and pulls over to the side of the road while Do Jin tries to call her. His mom comes in and asks what Saewa said. Do Jin says that something came up, but since no valid reason is given Hye Sook tells him to give up on Saewa. Instead, she will introduce her son to a better woman. This upsets Do Jin, but Hye Sook doesn’t care as she is beginning to question her son’s taste in women. Understandable. Hye Sook iterates that Do Jin knows nothing about the girl and that he won’t even tell her what her job is. Do Jin says that Saewa is an announcer and Hye Sook jumps on this. Does the girl work at his father’s station? Do Jin acknowledges this and this upsets Hye Sook as Joon will hit the roof if he finds out. Hye Sook asks for the announcer’s name, but Do Jin refuses to give it. Hye Sook has had enough of his secrets and tells him to break things off and start going on arranged dates. The upset Do Jin tries again to get in touch with Saewa.

Tae Hoon sits at his desk bawling. That can’t bode well. Sun Ok sits at home folding laundry when Sae Young and Sool Nyeo come to see if Tae Hoon is back yet. Sun Ok scolds them for coming over and making a big deal on only the first day of the test. Sae Young volunteers to fetch him, but Sun Ok tells her to stay put since she is pregnant. Sun Ok then says that Sae Young needs to get used to the Lee house as she will be moving in soon. This floors Sool Nyeo and her daughter. If Sae Young moves in, is Pil Jae and his daughter moving out? Sun Ok refuses to kick them out just because Tae Hoon is getting married. She tells Sae Young just to treat Pil Jae as her father since Pil Jae is a good, smart man. Sool Nyeo is not happy to hear that Sae Young will have two more people to care for. As if Sae Young can really do anything to care for people at the moment. Sool Nyeo then vows she will do whatever it takes to marry off Pil Jae so that Sae Young won’t have more responsibilities. Then enters Kang Jae wondering how the exam went as well.

Tae Hoon stands anxiously outside his house when his cousin comes home and asks if he did well on the test. Song Yi then calls out to everyone that Tae Hoon is home. They all come out and ask him how he exam went. The unhappy Tae Hoon replies that things went well. Noticing how down he looks, Sool Nyeo asks if something was wrong. Did he not know answers and then Sae Young asks if he forgot to fill an answer in. Sool Nyeo then slaps Sae Young and tells her that Tae Hoon isn’t her. Sun Ok scolds them and goes to kick them out, but Sae Young tries to give him the pen before leaving, but Sun Ok won’t let her. Sool Nyeo then manages to get past.

Tae Hoon sits down miserable when Sool Nyeo bursts in followed by her daughter. Sool Nyeo wonders if it was Sae Young’s underwear that allowed him to do so well. Um, I don’t think so. Sool Nyeo tells him to wear the underwear for all the days without changing or washing it. Eww. Sool Nyeo then hands him the lucky pen. Tae Hoon thanks her half-heartedly. Sae young asks again if he did well and then comments that the twins were nervous all day, too. Sun Ok then barges in and chases them out while Tae Hoon sits and cries. Just what happened exactly? Did he fail or just not finish? If you screw up on day one, can you not do well on the rest of the test?

Saewa has made it back to the station and is a wreck. Her hands are shaking and she is fighting back tears. When she hears someone entering the bathroom, she shuts herself in a stall and tries to stifle her sobs. In come the same two announcers who are always bothering Saewa and gossiping. They say that they learned Do Jin is on the market. They comment on how Saewa and Chanyeong would be a good match for Do Jin. The other girl points out that Saewa’s background isn’t good enough so she’s automatically out of the picture. Rubbing salt into Saewa’s injury. She does deserve it for her social climbing ways.

Joon arrives home and finds Hye Sook looking at date candidates. If Do Jin has a girlfriend, why is she looking at those pictures? Hye Sook says its just a precaution and then asks if there are any nice girls at the station. Joon gives a rather lackluster response before going into his office. Do Jin then comes in and asks if anything major happened at the station. Joon replies that there hasn’t been anything, why is his son asking? Do Jin says he has no reason, just wondering. Joon then asks why Hye Sook is looking at girls when Do Jin has a girlfriend – did Do Jin cause trouble again? Do Jin replies that Hye Sook is just sensitive. Joon then warns his son not to make any more mistakes. Do Jin then wonders if its not Joon just waiting for him to make a mistake. Do Jin then leaves his father alone. What a crappy relationship this family has.

After Do Jin leaves, Joon notices something amiss on his desk and calls Hye Sook in. Did she move the picture on his desk? Hye Sook says that she noticed the picture looked old when she changed the curtains, so she put out a new picture. Joon scolds her for changing it without asking him. Hye Sook points out that the current picture is nicer, but Joon won’t be placated. Why must his wife always do everything her way? Why did he marry her? Seriously. Joon asks her to put it back immediately. The hurt Hye Sooks says she will put it back immediately and comments on how her husband never likes anything that she does. I can’t tell if Joon cares that he hurts Hye Sook’s feelings or not. He’s hard to read.

Saewa goes and sits at her desk. Donghae’s diagnosis and Do Jin’s dating status keep replaying in her mind. Saewa answers her phone and it is Do Jin requesting to meet. Saewa meets him and gets into his car. Do Jin opens by asking does she know how hard she is making it for him by doing what she did and not talking to him? Did something happen? Is there more trouble at work or is it problems at home. Or maybe Saewa is seeing someone else. Saewa denies this and then tells the story about Sae Young’s pregnancy and Sool Nyeo’s running away. Saewa says it is all her fault for not taking care of Sae young when Sool Nyeo was busy. Well, Saewa picked the right thing to talk about. Do Jin falls for it hook, line, and sinker. I know Saewa does feel responsible for her family, but given her attitude with both her mother and Sae Young, you know she doesn’t feel responsible for their actions [she didn’t even look for her missing mom and here she is saying that her mom is hurt and unwell]. Unbelievable. Do Jin hugs Saewa and she tells him that she wanted to talk to him about it, but was too embarrassed. Do Jin tells her that is okay. He likes that she is a warm person who cares about her family. So not true. Saewa is very cold and calculative. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Anna is taking care of the hurt Donghae who is trying so hard not to cry. Anna sees this and starts crying herself. She begs him not to cry as that will make her sad. She wipes away his tears.

The next day Saewa is practically back to normal. She happily arranges to meet Do Jin for lunch. After she hangs up, she looks at piles of money on her desk and piles them into an envelope. At the Lee house, Bongi hangs up after arranging to meet Saewa for some reason. Pil Jae comments on how different the two sisters are. They talk about the exam and make Tae Hoon feel even more uncomfortable. Kang Jae tells his son to do well as it is the last exam. The whole family wishes him well and Sun Ok walks him out. But Tae Hoon doesn’t go to take the exam. He sits and looks out over the water, crying wondering how he can tell his family.

Meanwhile, Sae Young and Sool Nyeo are planning for marriage. Sae Young wants her mom to get her and Tae Hoon a place as she doesn’t want to live with Sun Ok. Sool Nyeo promises to talk to Sun Ok again and then asks Sae Young to go dress shopping for the wedding. This excites Sae Young. Sool Nyeo goes to take a shower and when she comes out, Sae Young is gone [she left to meet Tae Hoon who called her]. Sae Young wonders why Tae Hoon is at the waterfront instead of at the exam. Tae Hoon cries and says he couldn’t take the exam. What a shock to Sae Young.

Bongi meets with Saewa and asks why her friend actually contacted her to meet when its rather unusual for Saewa. Saewa tells Bongi that she cant’ believe she actually has to say this to Bongi, but she needs her help. Saewa find the situation strange, but its all thanks to Bongi’s meddling that Saewa keeps getting involved with Donghae. Right. Blame poor Bongi. Having enough of Saewa’s cryptic answers, Bongi demands she get  to the point – does it have to do with Donghae? Saewa replies that she will settle with the truck driver and police. Saewa then hands over the envelope of money. Meanwhile, Donghae recalls his last conversation with Saewa before the accident and starts crying again.

Bongi asks what’s going on. Saewa replies that she knows herself well. Saewa knows what she wants with her life. She can’t be with Donghae out of guilt. This shocks Bongi. Doesn’t Saewa know that Donghae only came to Korea because of her. Saewa replies that she knows, but can’t marry Donghae because that’s just who she is. Saewa then gets up and says the envelope is her apology to Donghae and leaves. Bongi dumps the envelope out and is annoyed to see it full of money. Yeah, that is kind of low. Money won’t make up for Saewa’s rejection.

End episode.

Is Saewa beyond redemption? Right now, I can’t imagine how she can be saved.