K-DRAMA RECAP: “Our Unwritten Seoul” Episodes 9 and 10 – kdramadiary
Returning to their original spots, the twins contemplate their next moves. In addition, the story unveils the truth about what happened at the company and our benevolent restaurant owner’s past.
There are plenty of romantic moments to lighten the mood, though, where things end might be quite gloomy.
Bunny S. watches Our Unwritten Seoul on Netflix
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 & 10 |
Our Unwritten Seoul Episodes 9 and 10 Highlights
“We are done pretending to be each other.”
Scanning her fingerprint, it is verified this is Mi-rae. Backing up a bit, we see Mi-rae returning to Seoul and calling the swap quits. Except, she isn’t there to turn in her resignation letter. She will keep working at the company, despite Mi-ji’s protest. Still, there is only so much Mi-ji can do to talk Mi-rae out of this awful idea before giving up.
Before leaving, Mi-ji spends some quality time with Ho-su. He wants her to stay with him while searching for something to do. But Mi-ji feels out of place. She heads back and starts working at Se-jin’s farm instead of Mi-rae. Se-jin knows about the swap, yet he isn’t mad but misses Mi-rae. (Side note: Se-jin indeed got an enticing job offer in the US yet couldn’t decide on it as he wanted to talk to Mi-rae first.)
We get the full story behind what happened in the company. Returning to the office after his paternity leave, the culprit from the sexual harassment case approached Mi-rae, pretending to be a kind-hearted senior who looked out for his juniors, and got close to her. He even comforted her after she was ostracized for stepping up for her colleague (the whistle-blower who quit).
Then, one night, the culprit called Mi-rae while drunk, claiming he had called her by mistake instead of a driver. Offering to drive him home, the culprit tries to kiss Mi-rae, arguing he assumed she liked him too. Begging on his knees for forgiveness, Mi-rae agreed to pretend nothing of this happened. And to repay her, the culprit made it seem Mi-rae was trying to seduce him, though he was a faithful married man.
Rumors spread about Mi-rae being a home wrecker, and the culprit’s wife slapped Mi-rae in the lobby. The situation escalated, and Mi-rae got a warning. But why would they punish her when she was a victim? Unfortunately, Mi-rae couldn’t prove she was sexually harassed and began to doubt herself, wondering if she had done something wrong to make the culprit do that to her.
“Do you think I will fall for the same trick twice?”
At present, an anonymous post goes viral, disclosing the company’s shady activities. Everyone thinks it is Mi-rae. But it is the guy who helped Mi-ji a few weeks ago, who also happens to be the younger brother of Mi-rae’s colleague. He joined the company to collect evidence. And now that his work is done. He hands over everything to Mi-rae, leaving the final decision to her whether to disclose the truth or bury it.
Heading back to her place, Mi-rae finds the culprit waiting for her. He puts up a concerned act, urging Mi-rae to transfer to another branch temporarily until he calls her back to the headquarters. But Mi-rae has had enough of his nonsense. Realizing Mi-rae is recording their conversation, the culprit gets violent and threatens her. Luckily, Mi-ji drops by at that exact moment and beats him up. It was funny how Mi-rae kept a lookout and urged Mi-ji to hit him more, since no one was coming.
At the station, the culprit shamelessly refuses to settle. Yet the tables are turned when Ho-su mentions the sexual harassment case. Mustering up the courage, Mi-rae presses charges for sexual harassment and defamation. This time, she won’t back down or run away, but will see things through. Also, though it might take time, she will disclose the truth about the company to the public.
On a lighter note, a lovesick Se-jin drops by Seoul to see Mi-rae. He kept looking for her for days until they finally met. Hanging out together, Se-jin takes Mi-rae to places owned by his friends who quit their office jobs and started their businesses. Their journeys were challenging. But Se-jin wanted to show Mi-rae there were other options than enduring a toxic job that stressed her.
Heading to an observatory, Se-jin admits he wants to go to the US, and asks about Mi-rae’s plans. She has things to wrap up. After that, she will think about what to do next. Extending a job offer to her, Se-jin wants Mi-rae to go with him. But we don’t get to hear her answer.
“Not everyone can ask for help.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Lee makes a move, alluding that he knows Mrs. Kim is an impostor to pressure her into selling. When she doesn’t waver, he releases an article, accusing her of living under a fake identity. Earlier, Mr. Lee pulled a stunt and made Mrs. Kim suspect Ho-su and Mi-ji of spying on her. However, hearing about what happened, they kept reaching out to her and convinced her to tell them her side of the story.
Mrs. Kim, or, more precisely, Hyeon Sang-wol, met the real Kim Ro-sa at an orphanage when they were children and became best friends. The real Ro-sa was a genius, while Sang-wol struggled to read her name. But none of that mattered. After they came of age, the two friends lived together happily. Yet, Sang-wol felt out of place and disappeared after Ro-sa got into college and made new friends.
Years later, they met coincidentally at the market. Ro-sa got married and gave birth to a son. But her husband abused her even when she was pregnant. So, the baby had a mental condition. Helping Ro-sa run away, the two friends and the baby found peace. But it was cut short when the husband found them. Spotting him beating Ro-sa, Sang-wol stood up to him, and he started hitting and choking her. To save Sang-wol, Ro-sa hit him on the head. Sacrificing herself, Sang-wol claimed she was the one who killed him and went to prison.
Having served her sentence, Sang-wol started living with Ro-sa and the baby again. They barely had any money to get by since no one hired Sang-wol because she had a record. Heading to Seoul for a fresh start, they used Ro-sa’s name for official papers. After a few tough years, they finally had enough money to buy a two-story house, the one where Sang-wol currently lives and runs the restaurant. But this happiness was short-lived. Ro-sa got cancer, and it was too late to get treated.
Sensing the end is near, Ro-sa admitted her son to a hospital and begged Sang-wol to live as her, worried her greedy in-laws would take her son’s money and then abandon him. Though reluctant, Sang-wol granted Ro-sa’s last wish, filing her death and living as Ro-sa for the rest of her life. But Mr. Lee distorted the truth and painted her as a greedy criminal who stole her friend’s life and assets.
Satisfyingly, Mr. Lee won’t get his way. Before dying, Ro-sa transferred her assets to Sang-wol. The building was bought with Sang-wol’s money, yet she willingly put it under Ro-sa’s name because she couldn’t use her name. Also, the money from royalties was donated to the scholarship program, and Sang-wol added her money, too. Handing over those documents, along with petitions from students who received the scholarship program, Sang-wol gets a suspended indictment and won’t face any charges.
To celebrate the good news, Ho-su goes out to get a cake. But instead of a celebration party, this week ends with a tragedy. Ho-su is talking to Mi-ji on the phone, yet he can’t hear anything. Earlier, Mi-ji asked Ho-su what he would do if he couldn’t work as a lawyer anymore. So, we guess this was a foreshadowing. Ho-su has been doing just fine and only started hearing a ringing after getting into an argument with Mr. Lee. So, we wonder why his condition suddenly got worse. Is this only temporary, or is that an inevitable after-effect of the accident?
Our Unwritten Seoul Episodes 9 and 10 Musings
We have mixed feelings about this cliffhanger. On one hand, we can see what the drama is trying to do, exploring the theme of people with disabilities fighting through life. But this feels abrupt given how Ho-su’s hearing issue was brushed off for too long. Also, the timing is cruel. Mi-ji and Ho-su got together after ten years, and they are finally happy and trying to find out what they want to do. Yet things are coming crashing down like this.
Judging by how Ho-su took off abruptly without a word, he might keep his condition a secret and lock himself out. So, we wish he opens up to Mi-ji and his mother about it, and they would find a way together. It would be tragic if Ho-su lost his hearing. But if the drama goes this way, we hope it finds a satisfying way to give Ho-su a happy ending both as an individual and in his relationship with Mi-ji. Our girl deserves a happy ending, too, and we want to see her achieve her dreams.
As for the other duo, we are fine with anything as long as Mi-rae and Se-jin don’t part ways. They can go abroad together, set up a business, or oversee the farm. Just, please, let them end up together. It is a pity those two had a limited screen time, so at least give them a proper happy ending.
Photos and Videos: tvN Drama
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