Crushology 101: Episodes 9-10 » Dramabeans

KDramaHQ AdminMay 12, 2025

Crushology 101: Episodes 9-10

by Unit

There’s a new couple on campus, and boy are they cute! But happily ever after is reserved for finales, so our penultimate week puts the happy couple through the wringer of an unwelcome character’s return which leads to an explosion of insecurities that threatens the stability of their budding relationship.

EPISODES 9-10

Jae-yeol and Hee-jin are officially a couple! The cute and cheesy “I couldn’t sleep because I missed you,” I’ll-walk-you-to-school-even-though-I-don’t-have-classes-today, kinda couple. Must be nice. Hee-jin updates Ji-won about her new relationship, and he congratulates her — despite his broken heart. Aw. Spring gives way to summer, and just like that, Jae-yeol and Hee-jin are celebrating 100 days together. Then Show decides the couple — and the viewers — have had enough of sweetness, so it digs through the recycle bin and restores Hee-jin’s shitty ex back to plot. Sigh.

A picture from last week’s confession tree goes viral, and now everyone thinks Hee-jin and Ji-won are an item. Oops! Hee-jin’s unrecyclable trash of an ex sees the picture and becomes furious that she’s dating someone else after “ruining his life.” Tsk. Hee-jin is alone in the studio putting finishing touches to her class project when Ex sneaks up on her and accuses her of dumping him to date a rich guy. His unreasonableness is as huge as the gap in his logic, so he grabs a nearby hammer… and ruins Hee-jin’s sculpture. Oh no he didn’t!

Ex attempts to attack Hee-jin next, but Ji-won returns to the studio in record time to stop the whimpering fool from going further. The police are called and Ex is arrested. Phew! Jae-yeol arrives after everything is over, and he feels bad he didn’t get there sooner. Then the campus community site is flooded with pictures of Hero Ji-won and Princess Hee-jin, and Jae-yeol feels worse. He tries to be an understanding boyfriend by ignoring the gossip, but he can’t help feeling jealous because Hee-jin has to work overtime with Ji-won to restore her sculpture before the final evaluation.

The final evaluation comes and goes, but unfortunately, Hee-jin’s sculpture is not selected as the main piece for exhibition. This is doubly disappointing, because: 1) her sculpture was sure to be the main piece if Ex didn’t ruin it; 2) she’s getting a lower grade, which means her next semester’s scholarship hangs in the balance. Hee-jin is worried about tuition, and her parents promise to cover the fees. But her dad falls victim to an investment scam — to the tune of fifty thousand dollars! — and things look bleak. Worst case scenario, she’ll have to take time off school.

Jae-yeol and his friends pass the preliminary round of a contest they entered, and he calls Hee-jin to share the good news. She doesn’t want to rain on his parade, so while she tells him her sculpture wasn’t selected as the main piece, she doesn’t mention that her dad was scammed. Jae-yeol cancels the celebratory party with his friends in order to spend time with Hee-jin, but she is already out drinking with her girl friends — and Ji-won. By the time Jae-yeol arrives at the bar, the girls have left and a drunk Hee-jin is asleep on Ji-won’s shoulder. To Jae-yeol’s credit, he doesn’t walk away to stew in misunderstanding. Instead, he walks up to them, warns Ji-won not to cross the line, and then takes his girlfriend home.

The next morning, Hee-jin tries to explain last night’s situation to Jae-yeol, but he’s getting tired of Ji-won’s existence in her orbit. So Hee-jin puts some distance between herself and Ji-won. After several longing stares at their phones — and at Hee-jin’s front door — Jae-yeol and Hee-jin finally decide to have their make-up conversation. Hee-jin opens up about the scam — and now that they’re in the sharing zone, she also tells him about a scholarship that her professor encouraged her to apply for. It’s a one-year fully funded program in the US, and if she gets it, she doesn’t need to worry about taking time off school.

Unsurprisingly, Hee-jin is accepted into the program and her family is overjoyed. Then Show decides her family — and the viewers — cannot be put out of misery so easily, so Hee-jin’s dad gets into an accident while on a delivery run. (Dad was working part-time as a delivery driver to raise money for Hee-jin’s tuition.) Dad is rushed to the hospital in need of urgent surgery, but all the operating rooms are occupied and other hospitals aren’t able to admit him. Out of options, Jae-yeol calls Ji-won, and our resident chaebol uses his connections to get Dad his surgery. Thankfully, Dad pulls through. But Jae-yeol can’t help feeling like an inadequate boyfriend compared to Mr. Chaebol. Aigoo!

Speaking of Ji-won, he decides to take a semester off and spend it with his parents and sister in New York — which is exactly Hee-jin’s destination in the U.S. But no, he has no idea that Hee-jin got the scholarship, he’s just going to heal his broken heart. But that doesn’t make the news sound any better to Jae-yeol. He’s already worried about his upcoming long distance relationship with Hee-jin, and now Ji-won is going to be in her vicinity? Hell to the no!

Hee-jin tells Jae-yeol to have a little faith in her, but as much as her anxiety-ridden boyfriend is happy she got the scholarship, he doesn’t want her to go. Understandable, but still selfish. Hee-jin’s mom wisely advises her to follow her heart in order to avoid future regrets, and she informs Jae-yeol that she has decided to go abroad. They do not come to a conclusion about the future of their relationship, and she leaves the decision in his hands.

Hee-jin’s departure date coincides with the finals of Jae-yeol’s contest — which he has to present at. Our departing heroine drags her feet at the airport while her undecided hero stews at the contest. At the last minute, he leaves Dong-ha to handle the presentation, and races to the airport. Unfortunately, this love story doesn’t follow the typical airport trope rules. By the time Jae-yeol arrives at the airport, Hee-jin’s plane is already in the air.

Not to make excuses for Jae-yeol, but he probably has some unresolved abandonment issues stemming from his nonchalant mother and the abrupt breakup with his ex-girlfriend. Still, if he had set aside his insecurities and had a modicum of trust in his current girlfriend, he’d have been able to say goodbye to her on a happy note.

Speaking of happy notes, it turns out that Dong-ha and a very single Bo-bae are anonymous nemesis in an online movie community. They’re shocked to see each other when they meet up for an offline face off — and movie discussions lead to drinks which lead to a kiss. Long story short, they are now a couple. As for our main couple, we shall find out their fate in our final set of episodes next week.