Tell me I am not the only one who could not wait for this week to come as soon as possible. With where we stopped last week, I have been dying to see what happens in this episode. I just hope we will not need tissue papers this time.

Recap

Episode 9 opens a few minutes before the ending of episode 8. Just before Su Jeong asks if he is Black Dragon, Ju Yeon tries to explain how he used the chain to confess to his first love. The realization hits him when she finally asks if he is Black Dragon. Su Jeong is Strawberry. The two are dumbfounded and Su Jeong says they are in this mess because he could not recognize her before walking off to her room.

At Ha Jin’s bar, oblivious to the event, she worries about the duo and even ends up pricking herself with a skewer. She calls Shin Won and tells him they need to talk about Ju Yeon and Su Jeong. Meanwhile, Su Jeong is in her room in tears, remembering how badly she was bullied as a child, how helpless her father was because he was poor, and how her mother was hospitalized before her death. This leads to her decision to become strong on her own. Just when she meets the first person she wants to rely on, she cannot rely on him either. You can call this scenario pathetic and you will be more than right.

Ju Yeon and Secretary Kwon are at a restaurant to examine the food of a brand, but he looks absent-minded. Secretary Kwon asks what is wrong, and he answers mysteriously, stating he had a nightmare that should not be real. Secretary Kwon is about to continue the discussion when she receives a call and leaves. While still sitting, a group of men dressed in rock band attire enters, making Ju Yeon have a flashback of his memories with Su Jeong from both the past and the present. He asks himself what he is supposed to do when the same person makes him sad and happy at the same time. Just forget the past and move on, people!

At Ha Jin’s restaurant, Su Jeong looks gloomy. Ha Jin asks if she is alright, but Su Jeong tells her to go ahead first. Just as Ha Jin is about to confess that the director is Black Dragon, Su Jeong cuts in and finishes the statement for her, throwing Ha Jin off guard. The same scenario happens between Shin Won and Ju Yeon in the car on their way to Ha Jin’s bar. At the bar, Su Jeong asks Ha Jin how she knows, making her talk about the night Su Jeong was bringing Ju Yeon to the bar. When Ha Jin asks if she is okay, she confesses she is not and even tries to blame Ha Jin for not informing her sooner. She soon waves it off and voices her concern about not knowing who she actually likes. Is it Black Dragon from the past or the one from the present? She wants to avoid him. Shin Won and Ju Yeon enter at that moment. After Shin Won and Ha Jin explain how they became an item, Su Jeong moves to leave but is persuaded to stay by Ha Jin. Shin Won tries to play it cool and asks if they will keep seeing each other. Su Jeong and Ju Yeon answer no and yes simultaneously and respectively.

Su Jeong and Ju Yeon stand outside to talk at Su Jeong’s strict request. She asks him if he thinks he can continue like this and if he will still like her. Obviously pained and scared, Ju Yeon asks her the same question, but her answer breaks his heart. She does not think she can and asks that they stop now since it will be easier. She leaves. I am more than curious to see how they navigate office encounters after this. Back at the bar, Shin Won and Ha Jin weigh in on the issue, with Ha Jin explaining how Su Jeong is adamant because she has hit a wall many times. Things get more emotional as Ju Yeon sits in his car, going through their memories on his phone. At the office lobby, Ju Yeon and Shin Won are standing by the elevator when Su Jeong arrives and uses another one. Although Ju Yeon cannot take his eyes off her, she acts aloof. Later, in the corridor, they meet again. When she tries to walk past him, he asks her to see him in his office. Once she enters, he tells her to sit and wait on one couch. He talks about business briefly. She stands to go after giving an answer, but he tells her he is not done talking. He leaves the office, making her stay there for God knows how long, and then comes back. She throws a fit about what he is doing and mentions their breakup, but he cuts in and says they cannot break up because he still likes her. She tells him their past is a painful memory that they both want to forget. Moving closer, he apologizes for what happened between them and asks that they forget and move on. When she tries to walk away again, he asks why she has not changed at all, referencing how she left him in the past after saying she liked him. She answers that the fact that he has not forgotten she hurt him means their past still lingers. She tells him she genuinely liked him in the past but could not rely on him since he was a kid, obviously hurting his feelings even more before she leaves.

The next series of scenes shows both of them nursing their pain. Su Jeong is at Ha Jin’s bar explaining how she was lonely in the past, leading to the event. Half-drunken Ju Yeon explains how he was a clueless kid who hurt her to Shin Won at the house. Su Jeong is in her room revealing she did not hate him but herself. Ju Yeon is on his bed crying. As if that is not enough, a scandal rocks the company the next day. A rumor spreads that Ju Yeon is dating a team manager, with blurred pictures of his dinner with her family circulating. Oblivious to this, Su Jeong wonders why she is at the center of attention.

In his office, Secretary Kwon reports the incident to Ju Yeon, but he acts cool about it. She asks why he met her family. He dismisses the question, saying he ran into them and only treated them to a meal to be nice. He says it is unfair to Su Jeong. How about yourself? While waiting for Ju Yeon in a team meeting, some people take the opportunity to tease Su Jeong. As usual, she gives them a strong warning before Ju Yeon, who has been standing at the door, enters and tells them to focus on work alone. Later, Su Jeong’s team members throw a fit about the rumor, stating their strong support for her and citing her reputation as evidence that nothing could have happened between them. Secretary Kwon reports the situation to the chairwoman when Ju Yeon enters. The chairwoman chastises him for being careless and even asks that he dismiss Su Jeong, but for what seems like the first time in a long time, Ju Yeon refuses, stating Su Jeong’s efficiency as the reason. The chairwoman lets him off with a warning but then turns to Secretary Kwon and tells her to take responsibility for the incident. I sense some trouble brewing.

Shin Won runs into Su Jeong and asks if she is okay. She plays it cool and says she is, but when she asks about Ju Yeon and hears that he was summoned by the chairwoman, concern flickers across her face. Inside the elevator, Ju Yeon and Secretary Kwon discuss ways to increase work and sales at the office. As Ju Yeon steps out, Su Jeong stops him to ask about the chairwoman. She offers to explain things, but he dismisses her, saying nothing is going on and everything is back to normal. His words are cold, but the hurt in his eyes says otherwise. On her way home, Su Jeong picks up an umbrella at a convenience store when it starts raining, but then a familiar song plays, flooding her with memories. At home, the weight of it all finally crashes down on her, and she breaks down in tears. Her father is caught off guard, and her younger brother, ready to storm out and confront Ju Yeon, is only stopped when she tearfully admits she was the one who ended things. And who ends up needing tissue papers? Me. Cut to Ju Yeon, arriving at Su Jeong’s office with an umbrella. He finds her absent, a reminder that their separation is real. The next morning, they find themselves in the same elevator. Their conversation stays at work, but tension lingers. It is a painful sight for their team members, one of whom later reassures Su Jeong about the dating rumors.

At Ha Jin’s bar, she and Shin Won worry about the duo, focusing only on work. Ju Yeon is seen throwing himself into it, pushing himself to exhaustion, while Su Jeong watches from a distance, helpless. One evening, she walks into his office and finds him dozing off. Softly, she wonders if he is really okay with things being back to normal. The next day, Ju Yeon is absent. Su Jeong immediately senses something is wrong. At home, Ju Yeon collapses before reaching the door and is discovered by the cleaner. When Su Jeong asks Secretary Kwon about him, she reveals his condition and cryptically emphasizes how upset the chairwoman will be. Su Jeong tries to push away her worry but rushes out to buy medicine. She arrives at his apartment with secretary Kwon hiding in the car at the parking lot and calls the chairwoman after she sees Su Jeong. I mean, I just know something is up. She sits at his bedside, apologizing for hurting him and admitting she is scared of doing it again. She tells him she wants to be his biggest and coolest secret. As she turns to leave, Ju Yeon holds her back, saying he wants to be loved even when he does not deserve it. She is that person for him, both then and now. Tears well up in her eyes, and she responds with an “I love you.” They seal it with a kiss. I should be happy, but my fear of the chairwoman lingers. When Shin Won receives a shocking message, the next scene confirms my worry. People are clearing Ju Yeon’s office, and episode nine ends on this note.

If anything, I expect episode 10 to be more serious, gloomy, and sad. We seem to have our disagreement resolved, but what do we do with the chairwoman and how to navigate her wrath? I guess we will never know until the next episode.