Asian Addicts Anonymous

A whole lot of crazy and not a whole lot of love…have you noticed that? Again, we get a recap of the events of the last episode. Whether or not Hae Ram is alive or dead…it is unconfirmed. Maybe she’ll pop up alive and well later.

We then cut to crazy Myung Ja strangling Mi So saying everything will be righted if Mi So just dies. Enter Min Jae in time. And…WOW… this scene seemed so fake. Min Jae gets Myung Ja away from his wife and asks if Mi So is okay. Myung Ja then screams for Mi So to bring Hae Ram back. Min Jae says that there is still hope, but looks like Myung Ja doesn’t believe this because as soon as Yoon enters, Myung Ja attacks Moon Do and screams at him saying that Mi So killed her granddaughter. She then shakes Moon Do and screams at him to bring Hae Ram back. Aigoo.

The disheveled Na Young ends up drenched at Baek’s. He asks what happened, but Na Young unconvincingly says that nothing happened. She just didn’t want to be alone during the storm. She then shivers as she recalls the truck heading towards Hae Ram and then we flash to the water. Uh…the road wasn’t near the water…so what the heck. Apparently, Na Young was really frightened of  thunderstorms when she was a little girl and Baek would sing to her to comfort her. Such a sweet guy. Na Young then says she feels ill and will go rest. Where does she feel ill? Baek, Baek, Baek. STOP wasting your sympathy on that woman. Baek goes to get her medicine, but she stops him as she doesn’t want him to leaver her all alone—he’s her medicine. She pleads with him to sing to her again and to assure her that there’s nothing to be frightened of. Baek tells her she’s not a little kid anymore and there is nothing to be frightened of. He then touches her forehead. She has a fever. He leaves to get a washcloth and she cries and shakes. Serves you right.

Both Myung Ja and Mi So are resting at the Lee home. Min Jae turns work over to Ko who assures him that things will be taken care of. Min Jae then tells him to hire a private search team to search for the missing Hae Ram. Yoon sits by his daughter’s bed and wonders how such a thing could happen to his granddaughter. How could she be swept away like that? Jong Hee is certain that they will find Hae Ram alive and well. Chan Ki blubbers about being a horrible uncle and not teaching his niece how to swim when she asked. Yoon—unlike everyone else—wonders aloud how that little girl could end up so far away from where Mi So lost her. Good question. There is no way even given the amount of time she was lost. Yoon then shakes this thought off and says that his precious granddaughter will return since Mi so has only done good in her life. Bad things happen to good people all the time—no explanation, sir.

Min Jae comes into the room and Yoon springs up and asks if there is any news. Not yet. Right now they can only wait and pray. Min Jae refuses to give up the search and believe anything happened to his daughter since she was afraid of deep water.

Ko reports the situation to Yoo Jung who anxiously demands to know what happened to Hae Ram. Ko tells her what was found and says that Myung Ja won’t be in for awhile. What about Mi So? She has completely collapsed. How horrible. Yoo Jung tells Ko to report to Myung Ja that she doesn’t have to worry about the company as Yoo Jung will take care of everything.

That night Kyung Soo is coming out of his bedroom when he overhears Yoo Jung and Tae San talking about Hae Ram. So the little girl is dead? Yoo Jung says her heart aches for the Lee family and she particularly feels badly for Mi So who is only having one problem after another heaped on her. No kidding. Tae San then talks about all the rain they’ve been getting which makes it even more probable that the girl’s body could have been swept out to the ocean meaning it would never be found. Oh wants this news kept from the softhearted Hae Ryung who will take it poorly. Yoo Jung doesn’t think such a story can be kept from their daughter.

Kyung Soo walks away in shock. He recalls his words to Mi So that she will find Hae Ram. He also recalls Min Jae’s angry words demanding to know what Mi So and her family will do if Hae Ram dies—how will they take responsibility? Yeah…Poor Mi So. A parent’s worst nightmare. She sits at the kitchen table in the dark recalling her nightmare of Hae Ram apologizing and telling Mi So that she will go alone. Mi So keeps shaking her head. Her daughter isn’t dead. Hae Ram is still alive.

Crazy evil witch Na Young watches the news. A week has passed and Hae Ram’s body still hasn’t been found. The police predict the child’s body may have been washed out to the ocean. Na Young is out of her funk and recalling Mi So collapsing after finding the shoes and doll in the river. She tells herself that this a fresh start and she will slowly be regaining all of her rightful things one by one.

Now. I must pause to gripe, please forgive. It absolutely infuriates me when people talk of what is theirs. What belongs to them. The things they are laying ownership to have never belonged to them and they have no right to. In Na Young’s case, sure Mi So was adopted in her stead…but the Yoon family didn’t belong to Na Young in all honesty. And Min Jae? Even if Na Young was adopted by the Yoon family, what is to say her story would be the exact same as Mi So’s? Would she have gone to work at CK after getting a legitimate education and fall in love with Min Jae? Ah…probably not. If Na Young was in Mi So’s place, she’d be a spoiled little person with a selfish black heart still given her personality as a child was never good and very jealous and hungry wanting that which was not hers. So…how she can say all of these things belong to her… I don’t know.

Na Young happily goes to work reveling in it. Meanwhile, Myung Ja is complaining about how she feels like she’s suffocating. She keeps dreaming about Hae Ram begging for help all cold and wet. Min Jae scolds his mother for those dreams. That woman…if she’s suffering so much, how can she be so perfectly coifed and wearing costume jewelry. Anywho, Myung Ja is in hysterics when Mi So leaves the room heading out to the river yet again. Yoon calls her and urges her not to keep going as its been so long without news or a trace, so maybe they should stop. Mi So will not give up and hangs up. Yoon goes to rush out, but gets dizzy. Jong Hee tells him to stay home and orders Chan Ki to watch over him to ensure Moon Do rests. Meanwhile, Jong Hee will meet up with Mi So to help her search and hand out fliers and then bring her back home. A good friend. Yoon then asks if Jong Hee doesn’t think Mi So is behaving strangely. Shouldn’t she be taken to a hospital? Jong Hee assures him his daughter isn’t weird. Mi So just cannot accept that Hae Ram is dead. What mother could especially when there is no proof?

At JR, Kyung Soo is working, but can’t get Mi So out of his head. He recalls when he took her to the market looking for Hae Ram and she started beating herself and screaming that she should die. He then flashes back to her desperately handing out fliers and vowing that she will definitely find her daughter. He then talks to Detective Park who gives him the bad news that it will be next to impossible to find Hae Ram’s body if she indeed was swept away. Kyung Soo asks if there are no other ways. There really isn’t.

Another pause. So…if Hae Ram was really squished by a truck, there would have to have been some sort of report. Unless the arse that hit her just kept going because he hit a child. So…what the heck happened. I want to know. And we probably won’t for a long, long time. Darn it.

Meanwhile, Hae Ryung has taken to sitting lifelessly in bed. Yoo Jung caters to her daughter and tells her to take care and rest. Yoo Jung will make the family’s dinner. Oh isn’t very hungry as he’s worried about Hae Ryung. The doctor has put her back on her medication (I’m thinking some kind of drug to deal with depression or her manicness) saying that’s the best thing to do for her at this stage. Tae San just doesn’t get why Hae Ryung is affected by Hae Ram’s death so much. Yoo Jung explains this stems from Hae Ryung desperately wanting her own child and doting on the little Hae Ram hoping to have a daughter just like her. Yoo Jung and Oh then agree to go visit Myung Ja later. Tae San asks after Kyung Soo and is angry that his son-in-law will be coming back late when his wife is sick. Meanwhile, Yoo Jung recalls Mi So and is feeling really badly for the mother.

Aigoo, Myung Ja…the actress playing her is a bad actress. Fake son, fake mother. Anywho, Yoo Jung does visit Myung Ja who complains that she can never forgive Mi So for losing Hae Ram. Yoo Jung says that Mi So must be feeling even worse than Myung Ja at this moment and as her mother-in-law, Myung Ja should be offering comfort instead of condemnation. Too bad. Myung Ja isn’t that kind hearted. She hates Mi So and blames the Lee family’s ruination on her. Not that the family is technically ruined yet. Myung Ja then asks after the office and Yoo Jung assures her that things are fine and she’s willing to do all she can to keep things running smoothly. Myung Ja says the sentiment is nice, but it will be Min Jae making the final decisions on any important matters. Myung Ja also vows to pull herself together soon and go back to the office. Yoo Jung leaves and Myung Ja immediately badmouths her before going back to moaning about Hae Ram.

Yoo Jung goes out into the kitchen where Mi So has prepared coffee. Yoo Jung clucks over her with worry. Mi So looks worse for wear after this. Is she still handing out fliers? Mi So nods. That’s right. As a mother, Mi So can’t give up and needs to keep striving and searching. Mi So silently agrees with this sentiment. Yoo Jung tears up and then apologizes. The two then leave as Mi So is going out once again to hand out fliers and search. Myung Ja immediately calls to have the front gate’s lock changed. I give up on that woman.

At work, one of the employees ask about Hae Ram and Na Young immediately bitches the younger girl out for caring about something outside of work. The male employee then rushes in and tells them that Manager Kim when to offer condolences to Min Jae and something he said must have rubbed him the wrong way because Min Jae punched him and broke his nose. Good grief.

Meanwhile, Mi So returns home. Her key doesn’t work. She rings the bell. No answer. She knocks on the gate and calls out to Myung Ja to open the door. Nothing. Mi So then takes out her phone and calls the house phone. Myung Ja ignores the call. So Mi So tries calling Min Jae who is out drinking. He also ignores her call. Enter Na Young who tells the drunk man she’s cleaned up his mess. Min Jae gives a bit of a smirk. Scruffy and drunk shoot this actor for some reason. Na Young says she will keep pouring drinks for him and look out for him. Min Jae then says that the only person he can share his agony with is Mi So, but he’s starting to hate her. He can’t even stand to look at her anymore. This makes Na Young smirk happily. I can’t say I blame Min Jae as this type of incident really does put stress on a marriage and has been known to cause divorce. It’s just hard to get over…but…still…You can’t say it’s 100% Mi So’s fault.

Our heroine sits out in front of the Lee house and cries. Meanwhile, Kyung Soo calls her and asks if she can talk now. He asks if she is okay and Mi So cries and sys she isn’t okay. She is having such a hard time right now she feels like she could die. Kyung Soo immediately demands to know where she is and he will go to her. At least someone is there loving her and supporting her wholeheartedly.

They meet at a park nearby and Mi So tells Kyung Soo the only good thing she has done since she was born was to give birth to her daughter. Mi So describes the newly born Hae Ram and talks about how grateful she was that Hae Ram was born to her. Mi So then tells him she promised to always be with Hae Ram and protect her. Kyung Soo changes the subject. What will be the first thing she will do when Hae Ram returns. Mi So smiles. There is so much she wishes to do. She wants to cook Hae Ram good food and take her to a library for storybooks. What else? She wants to take her daughter to Hawaii for avocado hamburgers. Sounds like Hae Ram will be busy once she is back. What to do? Kyung Soo wishes to take Hae Ram to the amusement park. I love that he isn’t the type of guy who would try to push a child out of a mother’s life. You know…like in dramas where the guy wants the girl (or vice versa) but they don’t want the whole package (i.e. kids, younger siblings, sick parents, etc.). Not that Kyung Soo is making any type of move to take Mi So…yet.

Kyung Soo confesses he has never been to an amusement park in his life. Will it be okay if he takes Hae Ram out on a date and ride on the bumper cars? Oh, wait. That might scare the child too much. Mi So smiles at this and agrees to the date. Kyung Soo then puts his hand over top hers and says she is certain that Mi So will get to do all she wishes with her daughter. Meanwhile, Na Young brings the drunk Min Jae home and says that he has been bottling his feelings and needs to release them. This makes Myung Ja finally realize she isn’t the only one hurting. About dang time.

Somehow Mi So ends up back in the Lee house. Looks like Min Jae let her back in. Detective Choi says that the search will be reduced as it is highly unlikely that the child is still alive. Mi So will not accept this and this makes both Myung Ja and Min Jae scold her, shocking Mi So. We then get to see the dang shaman Jang badmouthing her over the phone to Myung Ja. Getting old fast. Myung Ja pleads for his advice as she doesn’t know what to do. Jang tells her to send Hae Ram off in peace. If they can’t let go of the child, her soul will wander aimlessly and she will never find peace. Myung Ja needs to do a ceremony.

Mi So is holding onto Hae Ram’s doll and then morosely goes out into the living room. What is Myung Ja doing with her daughter’s clothes? Packing them up to send to the temple for a memorial service. She tells Mi So to be prepared. Mi So is horrified. Why are they holding a service for her daughter when Hae Ram is still alive? Myung Ja tells Mi So she has completely lost her mind if she thinks Hae Ram is still alive. Myung Ja then accuses Mi So of refusing to accept reality in order to lessen her guilt after killing Hae Ram. Myung Ja then tells Mi So to mind her own business and leave her alone as they will be strangers soon (divorce). Mi So grabs up the clothes and again asserts there will be no funeral service as Hae Ram is definitely alive.

One week. It’s been one week. Sure…time and extenuating factors are against them…but in only one week Myung Ja can accept her granddaughter is dead and prepare a funeral for her? There should be more time allowed here it seems.