Marriage, Not Dating Episode 8 Recap

It’s time for Jang Mi to choose between Gi Tae and Yeo Reum, but will she be happy about her choice?

 

Episode 8: Marry Me, If You Can

Cold Open: Curtains open to reveal Jang Mi, who’s wearing a wedding dress. Jang Mi: “This person called my name like a flower”. Gi Tae’s mom: “Jang Mi (means a rose)”. The two smile at each other.

Mom is cleaning the fridge. When she thinks back to the outburst Gi Tae had regarding Jang Mi, her frustration just grows. Grandma asks mom what’s wrong so mom confesses that she thinks she lost and that Gi Tae is actually serious about Jang Mi. Grandma’s ecstatic when she hears that the marriage must take place, but she’s gone by the time mom adds, “if it can be done”.

Sleeping on Gi Tae’s bed, Jang Mi is wakened by a phone call. She sleepily answers to find out that it is Gi Tae’s phone and his mom’s on the other end. Mom’s no longer shocked that Jang Mi is in Gi Tae’s apartment and just tells her that she’s  heading up to the apartment.

Jang Mi’s confused as to how she ended up in Gi Tae’s bed but there’s no time for detective work, mom’s coming. She rushes out into the living room to find Gi Tae and Yeo Reum cuddling on the couch. LOL I love the little smirk Gi Tae has every time he winds up sleeping with Yeo Reum.

Jang Mi tries to gently wake the two boys up but it’s not until Gi Tae wakes up to find Yeo Reum’s arm around him that the two finally snap out of their peaceful slumber. Gi Tae feels violated and asks Yeo Reum, “Again?!”, which makes Jang Mi wonder when else did the two sleep together.

Yeo Reum says that he thought he was sleeping with Jang Mi but we flash back to last night when Gi Tae carried Jang Mi into his room and unceremoniously threw her on his bed, dusted off his hands and basically complained that she’s too heavy. Awww and LOL. Before he left, Gi Tae made sure that Jang Mi was covered in her blanket.

Yeo Reum realizes that Gi Tae was the one to separate him from Jang Mi and asks if it was out of jealousy. Gi Tae defends his actions by saying that it’s not right to have a woman sleep outside but Yeo Reum points out that Gi Tae’s the one who’s sick and can’t take care of himself. Yeo Reum even touches Gi Tae’s forehead to check on his fever and says, “because I held you in my arms, at least your fever went down a bit”. HAHA! Gi Tae just shoves his arm away.

Jang Mi interrupts their little bromantic moment to tell them that mom’s coming just as the door’s keypad is sounding. Yeo Reum is forced to hide in Gi Tae’s room and by the time mom is actually inside the apartment, Gi Tae and Jang Mi are acting like a very much in love couple.

Mom thinks that the two of them have started living together. Mom looks around the apartment but thankfully; she doesn’t see Yeo Reum who manages to escape her line of sight. Mom apologizes about yesterday and gives back Jang Mi’s phone before saying that as of yesterday, she stopped being suspicious of them. Gi Tae, Jang Mi and Yeo Reum are curious about what she means when mom says, “Joo Jang Mi-ssi. Oh wait, I can call you comfortably now. Jang Mi?” When mom calls out Jang Mi’s name, it literally reverberates and you can visibly see Jang Mi twitch. Mom tells Jang Mi and Gi Tae to get married and that they should have the first official meeting between the two families this weekend.

In the car, aunt asks if mom’s serious. She is, and she’s going to be using all her abilities for this marriage. Aunt is aware of how scary mom’s abilities are but mom says the scariest thing is actually when the marriage becomes a reality. Aunt understands that mom’s sending the message, “try and do it if you can”.

Jang Mi is shell-shocked that mom really wants them to get married and even Yeo Reum feels like mom’s blessing to get married, actually sounds like a death decree since the atmosphere was so cold. Jang Mi asks Gi Tae what he’s planning to do since a family meeting would just bring her parent’s hope up even more and it’s be too difficult to handle with the aftermath.

When Gi Tae sees the pot that carried the ginseng chicken soup that Jang Mi’s mom made for him, he tells her that he understands. He also doesn’t want her parents to have to be dragged into this mess even further. Of course, Jang Mi sweetly asks, “Then Gong Gi Tae…what about you?” Gi Tae just resignedly drinks his coffee and sighs.

At Hoon Dong’s restaurant the next day, Gi Tae builds the courage to call Jang Mi’s mom. When he manages to finally do it, he finds out that his mom has already called her about the family meeting. He says that he has to tell her something and wants to come find her but Jang Mi’s mom offers to meet him at his clinic.

After mom hangs up on Gi Tae, Yeo Reum comes by his table to tell him that he did good, “Jang Mi is weak hearted so her not being able to do this or that while being dragged around didn’t look good. Ending it around here is good. Thank you hyung.” Gi Tae doesn’t know how this concerns him, but to Gi Tae’s consternation, Yeo Reum says that now he can openly date Jang Mi. Yeo Reum even borrows Gi Tae’s phone to call Jang Mi to ask her to go see a movie with him that weekend.

When Jang Mi’s mom stops by his clinic, Gi Tae can’t get the words out, so what does he do? He gives mom a lower eyelid surgery. Jang Mi finds out about this as she’s about to tell everything to Hyun Hee, who’s apparently been very sad about their distance. When she asks Gi Tae what he did to her mom, Gi Tae says nothing, since he barely removed some skin under her eyes, which only took 20 minutes! Yay?

Jang Mi doesn’t understand why he performed plastic surgery on her mom if they were ending their fake relationship anyways but he says he doesn’t want to end the relationship, he just wants to delay the official meeting between the two families. He even gives her a wink, which earns him a smack from Jang Mi. We now see why he gave mom the eyelid surgery since as a result, the area around her eyes is bruised and it won’t go away for at least a week. Guess they’re going to have to postpone the meeting.

Mom’s worried about how it’ll look if she delays such an important meeting but Jang Mi tells her that she’ll let Gi Tae’s family know. Mom insists that Jang Mi can never say that it’s because she got plastic surgery so Jang Mi calls Gi Tae’s mom and tells her that mom just had surgery for hemorrhoids. Gi Tae’s mom understands that postponing the meeting is a must but when she offers to visit Jang Mi’s mom in the hospital, Jang Mi’s refusal is a bit too suspicious for her liking.

Gi Tae’s mom goes to a flower shop and calls mom about visiting since she’s heard “everything” from Jang Mi. Jang Mi mom’s thinks that Jang Mi told her about the plastic surgery and even says that Jang Mi is honest to a fault. Ha! Both mothers have two separate conversations since one thinks it’s hemorrhoids and the other is talking about plastic surgery. Gi Tae’s mom is all, it must hurt to sit down, while Jang Mi’s mom doesn’t want Gi Tae’s mom to visit since it’s difficult to look at, which earns her some strange looks. Gi Tae’s mom puts on the guilt saying that she thought she or Gi Tae did something wrong but it must be that Jang Mi’s mom doesn’t care that much for her daughter’s wedding. Jang Mi’s mom agrees to have the meeting as planned and Gi Tae’s mom feigns concern. After hanging up, Gi Tae’s mom even asks for a refund on her flower arrangement. LOL

The dreaded weekend comes and Jang Mi’s mom dons her sunglasses for the family meeting. Jang Mi tries to stop her parents from going but fails so she’s dragged along and has to postpone her movie date with a very confused Yeo Reum who thought the fake relationship ended.

Gi Tae runs to the venue where his family is and tries to stop the meeting from happening but also gets shut down. Jang Mi’s family arrives, Gi Tae and Jang Mi send signals to each other, introductions take place and then Jang Mi’s mom is even given a donut cushion for her sore buttocks. Haha! Grandma asks Jang Mi’s mom to take her sunglasses off so Jang Mi’s lie is revealed and mom is embarrassed so she exclaims that her rear end is healthy. Gi Tae’s mom just looks at Jang Mi while the rest of the family laugh at Jang Mi’s mom’s bluntness.

When mealtime comes, Gi Tae’s dad acts affectionate towards his wife, putting food on her plate, which just earns them a look from Jang Mi, for their great acting. Jang Mi’s mom looks at her husband who just eats on his own, and since she can’t see behind her glasses, she makes a mess while reaching for the food.

Gi Tae’s mom tells Jang Mi’s parents that she wants to hold their wedding sooner, hopefully within the next 2 months. Jang Mi’s mom says that since Jang Mi’s their only daughter, she wants to take things slow, but Gi Tae’s mom says that her family will take care of everything which makes mom happy. Ugh. At least Jang Mi’s dad is sensible enough to say that they should take care of something, but mom shushes him.

After dinner, aunt, grandma and dad break out into laughter after what happened at the meeting. Mom doesn’t find anything funny but grandma says that Jang Mi’s family are good people and it’s been a while since their family have been able to look at each other’s faces and laugh together. At someone else’s expense but okay. Dad tells mom to lighten up and even reaches for her hand but mom pulls away. Hmmm.

Once at home, Jang Mi’s dad says that it’s curious that Gi Tae’s family wants to rush the wedding and are even willing to pay for everything, but that just leads into a huge argument with mom.

Gi Tae asks Jang Mi to meet him in front of her house. Gi Tae hands her a first official family meeting gift and tells her to give it to her parents. Jang Mi looks at Gi Tae and smiles, saying that at least he looks like he’s sorry. Gi Tae asks about her parents and Jang Mi just tells him the truth, her parents started fighting as soon as they stepped inside the house. Gi Tae apologizes and he promises that he’ll take care of her mother’s wrinkles forever. Aw. This causes Jang Mi to smile but she says she’s worried about what else is awaiting them.

Jang Mi gets a call from Gi Tae’s mom, who calls her by the now dreaded two words, “Jang Mi”. For the next few days, the two go on multiple shopping trips for everything in preparation for the wedding. Poor Jang Mi never gets anytime for herself. Mom even wants Jang Mi to buy gifts for all of Gi Tae’s aunts and when Jang Mi tells her honestly that she can’t handle it, mom gets all smug and asks if that means Jang Mi can’t get married. Mom continues to threaten Jang Mi by saying that she’s just thinking for their own good since they can’t stay alive in the household with just their feelings.

Mom also adds her sexist’s comments to the trips. She wants Jang Mi to quit working since after she’s married, she’ll be responsible for the cooking and housekeeping. Mom even takes her to a gynecologist and Jang Mi thinks it’s ridiculous, “I’m not a hen that lays eggs, nor a cow that lays calves”. Jang Mi continues to throw out some good points about how mom isn’t worrying about her but just about the future baby. She says that the exam itself isn’t horrifying, it’s just that she can’t believe she has to have this type of exam with Gi Tae’s mom instead of her own mom. Mom says that it’s because Jang Mi has to have kids as soon as she’s married and even gives Jang Mi a timeline on when her 3 kids will happen. Say whaaaaa?!?! I want to slap this lady so bad right now…

Jang Mi doesn’t know why she has to live by mom’s plans since her body is hers (AMEN) but mom just says that Jang Mi is entering a household where progeny is precious so that kind of egotistical mindset needs to go. Mom gets up, flips her hair (that’s in a bun) and smirks. Gotta say, I think she’s going to win this one.

Yeo Reum waits for Jang Mi at a jokbal restaurant but Jang Mi’s being held up by mom, who took her to a traditional health clinic. Poor Yeo Reum has to sit at the table awkwardly, without eating, while the line for a table continues to grow. He’s still waiting by the time the restaurant closes.

Jang Mi finally arrives and apologizes, but she’s lucky since Yeo Reum smiles and tells her that he bought takeout.

They go back to Gi Tae’s apartment and Gi Tae’s shocked to see that she bought more things. Jang Mi explains that she can’t help it since mom seems to have a supernatural hold over her or something. She gives Gi Tae the receipt for just about $12,000. Gi Tae can’t believe the things she bought and scolds her like a husband. Gi Tae even brings Yeo Reum into the conversation by saying that it looks like Jang Mi really wants to marry him so Jang Mi promises to return everything.

Jang Mi sits down angrily to eat the food and Gi Tae steals a seat next to her. He tells her that no one can beat Jang Mi at what she does best; causing a ruckus. Jang Mi agrees and is determined to not be dragged around by mom anymore, she’ll just tell mom things like when she gets married, Gi Tae will do the housework and cooking or she won’t have kids yet since she’s still young. Gi Tae heartily agrees and the two drink their beer in celebration. Their interaction doesn’t go unnoticed by Yeo Reum who seems rather affected by their camaraderie and even tells Jang Mi that he’s a bit jealous by how excited they are.

When Gi Tae isn’t close by, Jang Mi tells Yeo Reum that the department store is closed tomorrow and the day after is her day off. Yeo Reum suggests that they spend some time together in someplace far away. When Gi Tae comes back, he asks what they were talking about but they’re both mum.

The next day, Yeo Reum prepares some food for their romantic getaway and meets Jang Mi outside of Hoon Dong’s restaurant. Gi Tae suddenly appears and asks what they’re doing meeting in the light of day. Jang Mi says that, as a bride-to-be, she’s trying to relieve her stress. When Yeo Reum goes to get his bike, Gi Tae jumps on Jang Mi’s bike, lying that his mom is there so Jang Mi, in her panic, hops on as well. Yeo Reum returns and sees the two biking away.

They’re obviously close enough for Yeo Reum to chase them, but before he can, Hoon Dong shows up and asks for a chat. Hoon Dong calls Yeo Reum a bastard and tells him to stop confusing Jang Mi since Gi Tae and her are getting married. Yeo Reum thought Hoon Dong still had feelings for Jang Mi but Hoon Dong says that although it was difficult to let her go, Gi Tae really likes her and Gi Tae’s his only best friend so Yeo Reum needs to get lost. AWWWWWwww. Yeo Reum laughs and says that Hoon Dong’s actually the one out of the loop and he should hear the real story from Gi Tae. Hoon Dong just thinks Yeo Reum is trying to separate him from Gi Tae. LOL Hoon Dong tells Yeo Reum to go wash his car and to wash his heart while he’s at it.

Sitting behind Gi Tae on the bike, Jang Mi thinks they can slow down now but Gi Tae tells her to hold on tight since he’s going to go real fast. He’s trying to help her relieve her stress and she’s just surprised that he’s even caring for her so he pulls her arm around his waist. She wants him to let her off since Yeo Reum’s waiting for her but Gi Tae just pushes forward. That is until he reaches a hill he struggles surmounting so he tells her to get off, which causes her to crack up at his lack of stamina.

They end up walking through a picturesque field and Gi Tae goes through the lunch pack for something to drink. Jang Mi doesn’t understand why he’s doing this to her. If he can’t help her with her dating, he better stop it. Gi Tae asks if Yeo Reum is her boyfriend and when she says that he is, Gi Tae pokes her with this sad puppy face and asks if she actually heard Yeo Reum say, “Let’s date”. Jang Mi thinks that’s ridiculous so Gi Tae asked if they kissed yet. He doesn’t think so but when she admits that they did, he’s so shocked he spits the cherry tomato back out and scolds her for going that far when they barely started and then goes to call her easy. She gets pissed so she hops on the bike and he tries to use his mom to stop her but she realizes that he probably lied earlier. She bikes away and leaves him behind.

When she gets back to the restaurant, his mom actually arrives and drags her off to a dress shop. Jang Mi tries to get a hold of Gi Tae but he’s at a gym (that’s fast) and can’t hear his phone vibrating. Jang Mi tries on the wedding dress mom picked for her and although she likes it, she lies and says that it’s not her style.

She runs off to find the shortest dress and mom tries to advise her otherwise.

By some unfortunate coincidence, Se Ah is also working out at the same gym as Gi Tae. He doesn’t want to talk to her but she just forces her apology on him. She tells him to look at her and he just wonderfully says “even if I look at you, I can’t tell what your true feelings are”. Burn!!! She agrees, and says that he looks confused these days about who is actually by his side and who’s faking it. Oh just shut up! She says that she wants to be on the same side with him and suggests they take a trip to the ocean. WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK HE’D WANT TO GO WITH A WITCH LIKE YOU?!?!? Of course Gi Tae rejects her and says that he hates places with a lot of people. He walks off but he leaves his phone behind on the treadmill. OH NO!

Jang Mi tries on the short dress and shows it to Gi Tae’s mom when her own mom shows up. Although her mom thinks she looks pretty in the dress, Gi Tae mom does what she does best and gets mom to agree that the dress is a bit inappropriate.

Jang Mi tries to call Gi Tae but of course Se Ah ends up answering his phone. Don’t know why she thinks she has the right to do that but anyways, Jang Mi tells her the predicatment she’s stuck in and for Gi Tae to come help her. Se Ah says she’ll relay the message once Gi Tae gets out of the shower. After she hangs up, Se Ah realizes that Jang Mi probably misunderstood and smiles. Birch!

Jang Mi clearly feeling something after she hangs up with Se Ah. She receives a text from Yeo Reum asking where she is but I don’t know why he needed to ask when he turns on his GPS tracking to find her anyways.

In the parking lot, Gi Tae gets in his car and Se Ah just jumps into the passenger seat. Ugh. She tells him about Jang Mi and tags along. I know what you’re trying to do.

Jang Mi sadly tries on dress after dress. Each time Gi Tae’s mom gives her a harsh comment and even her mom just goes along. Jang Mi says in a voiceover,

“I, too, used to dream about wedding dresses. However, I didn’t dream of a lavish one like the ones from the movies. I was fine with a simple dress. I just wanted to stand in front of the person I love. ‘You are pretty’. I just wanted to hear that one sentence. For whom am I standing here?”

Jang Mi finally can’t take it anymore so she apologizes and runs outside while still in her dress. Looks like mom won. Jang Mi runs into Gi Tae. They have a long charged moment of looking at each other but then Se Ah ruins the moment by getting out of the car. Gi Tae just looks Jang Mi up and down in the wedding dress. Yeo Reum appears in Hoon Dong’s car and calls for her. Her mom appears and also calls for her.

She looks confusedly towards Yeo Reum but Gi Tae says, “Wait a moment. I’ll go to you.” Go! Go! Go!

Jang Mi looks at him, a bit conflicted, but she makes her choice and runs toward Yeo Reum.

In the car, Jang Mi is on the verge of tears so when Yeo Reum says the one sentence she wanted to hear all day, “you look pretty”, she can no longer hold it back and the tears just start falling.

Gi Tae stands in the same spot, looking hurt and conflicted, and continues to look towards the direction Jang Mi and Yeo Reum drove off in.

Thoughts:

You IDIOT! Just run to her! Don’t need to tell her about it first! But how interesting is it that everyone wanted her to come to them but Gi Tae was the only one to say that he’d come to her. Too bad it was poor timing. Was it just me or was he rubbing his chest and was that a tear I saw forming in his eye in the final shot?

Anyways, thank you Yeo Reum for saying those three magic words to our girl who’s suffered too much in this episode.

I admit I’ve been giving Gi Tae a lot of slack lately but after today’s episode, I have to be slightly critical and say that he’s handling this whole situation with his mom very poorly. I know he feels guilty and apologetic towards Jang Mi, and he wouldn’t want to purposely hurt her, yet he continues to put Jang Mi through hell and back. He needs to seriously up his game because there’s tough competition. Although, it sure seems like Gi Tae is purposely stalling the break-up with Jang Mi since he knows this is the only way to keep her by his side at the moment. It’s selfish but can you blame the guy? When he’s with Jang Mi and her parents, he gets to experience the love and care of a real family; not one solely kept together to sustain an image of perfection. It was way sweet when Gi Tae promised Jang Mi that he’d take care of her mom’s wrinkles forever since it was like he was promising that he’ll be responsible for both Jang Mi and her family from now on. Not like Jang Mi can’t take care of herself, but the thought is rather swoonworthy.

Is it just me or does Jang Mi’s simultaneous relationship with both Gi Tae and Yeo Reum feel like a polygamous relationship? They all kind of live together and both boys kind of like her. At the moment, Jang Mi’s feelings for both of them are a bit unclear. Her mind probably says, “Choose Yeo Reum” but it is slowly becoming more evident that her heart is inching towards Gi Tae. We see this inner struggle clearly in the final scene when Jang Mi finds it difficult to decide whom she should run to. She wavers while looking at Gi Tae, but in the end, her brain won since her heart was still hurt, thinking that Gi Tae and Se Ah had something going on. Even Yeo Reum sees that Gi Tae and Jang Mi have a unique and weird bond and there might not be any room for him between the two of them.

When I saw the withering rose that Gi Tae gave Jang Mi beside her bed stand, it made me think that the rose, which also happens to be Jang Mi, represents her feelings and may help our couple mark time. There must be a reason the rose received so much focus in episode 5 so maybe Gi Tae and Jang Mi will manage to find each other (romantically) before the rose completely wilts and dies. (10 points–that are worth nothing, for anyone who can guess which drama I’m referencing 😀 )

Mom oh mom. Seriously, Gi Tae’s mom should just be renamed The Manipulator since she’s a boss at what she does. I can’t believe no one has been able to get through to her so that she would STOP IT!!!!!! I’m just curious why mom didn’t pull the wedding card earlier since she suspected Gi Tae and Jang Mi were lying all along? It really is the smartest and easiest way to break them up, since if they don’t have real feelings for each other, no way would they get married. Too bad she used this pressure point too late since during the time where she was trying to find evidence of their lie, they gradually grew attached and fond of each other.

But like Jang Mi said earlier, marriage sure is unfair! Why is it always the girls who are suffering? Although Jang Mi defended herself with many good points against mom’s ridiculously sexist remarks, she still succumbed to the idea that the daughter-in-law needs to be obedient and always follow the wishes of her in-laws. It’s hard to break from a mold that society has jammed girls into but it’s the 21^st century here people, let’s act like it. I hope that Jang Mi’s suffering now will all be worth it and in the long run, she’ll have a great relationship with her in-laws so that she can have a peaceful marriage life and maybe she can make Gi Tae suffer in return. A one-sided love might just be the type of punishment Gi Tae will have to go through to redeem himself.

Also, is it really that bad to have a daughter? Does having a son mean everything? Why is it that Jang Mi’s side, aka the bride’s side, have to constantly acquiesce to everything? I know Jang Mi’s mom is trying to ensure Jang Mi a good life and a harmonious future with her in-laws but I wish mom would stand up for Jang Mi and stop bowing to Gi Tae’s mom when it’s clear that her family and her daughter are being looked down upon.

And once again, I’m loving Hoon Dong more and more. How adorable was it for him to tell Yeo Reum to back off since Jang Mi’s his best friend’s girl now? So sweet of him to try and protect Gi Tae even though Gi Tae was the one who stepped in between him and Jang Mi. I’m glad he knows that he has lost his chance with Jang Mi and has instead decided to play cupid.

I still can’t read Hyun Hee. Is she really being sincere towards Jang Mi or not? I’m just constantly suspicious of her. Rather ere on the side of caution.

My sentiments about Se Ah remain the same. She’s a witch and I HATE her.