The plot thickens. And so does my love for our unhinged leading lady. I can't help falling for all the heart she has under all that craziness.

Recap

We open on our ending from the previous episode. Kim Mi Kyung is equally shocked and confused by Baek Ho firing her. She thinks it's a flirting tactic at first, but when he doesn't budge, she thinks it's punishment for kissing him. He stoically points out her lack of skills and calls her a redundant part of the team despite her proven diligence. The lab needs expertise to grow, not diligence. After failing to convince him, she goes to her truck to have a ranting session while Baek Ho watches from his office window.

Younger brother is in the tub when Bestie walks in unannounced. He yells at her to leave, and she comments snidely that she's seen it all before. Wait, WHAT?! I am now intensely interested in the back story here. Hwan Kyung acts like nothing happened, and they discuss dinner after.

Mi Kyung is nowhere to be found so Hwan Kyung and Bestie come to Baek Ho's house to ask about her whereabouts. He doesn't know, so they leave and Baek Ho thinks back to how upset she was earlier in the day.

We're taken to Mi Kyung's location - a temple where her father happens to be a monk. HE clocks that something is wrong, tries to comfort her, and succeeds. After dinner and a heartwarming conversation, Mi Kyung seems to be feeling better. Meanwhile, Baek Ho can't sleep and goes to look out the window just as Mi Kyung arrives in high spirits. She almost kicks Baek Ho's side mirror but decides against it. Baek Ho is relieved that she's fine. Hwan Kyung clocks that Mi Kyung has just returned from seeing their father and it's clear that they don't agree on their father's decision to be a monk. After a little bickering, Hwan Kyung tells Mi Kyung she can rely on him too, even though he's the youngest. Of course, she doesn't take him seriously.

It's work time and the lab team is gossiping about how good-looking Baek Ho is. They've gotten a chance to see him even clearer since he's having one-on-one meetings to size each team member up. Just before his next meeting, Mi Kyung barges into Baek Ho's office and tries to convince him to reconsider firing her. She starts by trying to seduce him with her special Kim Mi Kyung smile but it doesn't have any effects on our dear robot man. She threatens to quit before she is officially fired and he encourages her to go ahead, leaving her at a loss for words. She tries one last time to negotiate working for free instead, but Baek Ho is ice man so we all know how that one ends.

Mi Kyung's friends clock that something is wrong and try to find out but she fakes being okay and requests the number of a headhunter for a "friend" who is job hunting. Her office friends are sure something is wrong but they can't quite place it.

Back at Wonhan, Kise's secretary informs him that his sister-in-law had a meeting with his ex-wife at Wonhan the previous day, and knows where she is currently located. Kise immediately hurries to find her and ask her about Hee Jin (ex-wifey) but she pretends not to know where she is, giving him the most random answer ever. Because "tanning somewhere in the Mediterranean"? Seriously?

She tells him to give up because Hee Jin will never forgive him. She storms off just as Kise gets a withdrawal alert message from a nearby hotel. This is the same hotel outside which Mi Kyung is parked in her truck, trying to calm herself down as she prepares to meet the recruiter. Meanwhile, Kise is already at the hotel counter shouting about wanting to meet the guest who has just checked in with his card. Of course, he isn't allowed through and is forced to wait after dropping a message for the hotel room occupant to come meet him at the cafe on the first floor. He checks his phone again to see that his messages to her are still unread.

Just then, Mi Kyung arrives for her interview with the recruiter. Kise is shocked to see her, but eavesdrops on her conversation and finds out that she's leaving the lab. He listens as the recruiter tells her that her chances of getting another job are pretty low. After her interview, he tries to strike up a conversation about her job search and offers to let her keep her job. He boasts about Baek Ho reporting to him and tells her how a word from him can change her fortune. He wants to help her for old time's sake. This sets Mi Kyung off and she asks to beg him for a favor. She then seriously walks him through the steps to slap himself across the face. LOL

She walks off leaving him muttering about her stubbornness.

We are taken to a very messy hotel room where a woman - Hee-Jin - is practicing tai chi(?) with all seriousness. Baek Ho arrives with a food delivery, complaining about hearing from her for the first time in a year to be used as a delivery man. She has just arrived in Korea and couldn't wait to see him, hence having him come over like so. The easy banter between them shows how close they are and before long, they are chatting about Baek Ho's new, exciting life. She's scared about him ending up alone so she asks him if there have been any interesting people recently.

He thinks about various moments with Mi Kyung and smiles ever so slightly, but Hee-Jin catches it. She gets excited but he denies it in regular Baek Ho style; it's not what she thinks. Just then Kise calls and Hee Jin refuses to pick it up, sticking to maintaining her good mood. Baek Ho tries to argue for Kise, telling her how much he's been looking for her, but Hee-Jin doesn't budge and deflects with dinner instead. Kise is left sitting alone in the hotel cafe, staring at his phone.

It's another day in the potato lab and Mi Kyung is observing leaves on the field. Her assistant runs over to request her help on some slides, and then effectively kidnaps her. He hands her over to her potato gang friends, who are dressed in dark glasses, super spy style. They've found out she is the one who needs a new job and they grill her for information. Why did she go see the headhunter?

Cut to: the potato gang members giving Baek Ho mean looks, making snide comments, and even stylishly giving him the middle finger. My favorite part is when they literally park around his car to stop him from leaving work.

Back home, Hwan Kyung is cleaning when Ong Ju's piercing scream has him scrambling to help her. It turns out she is just excited about the opportunity to get a rare book she has been looking for. He's uninterested until he finds out the person giving her the book is male. He follows her to get the book, wondering why she's so excited, especially since the book is smutty. On the drive back, Ong Ju gushes about how pretty the sea is and convinces Younger Bro to stop by annoying him. He leaves to get her a drink and within moments, she is surrounded by a trio of shirtless surfers.

Hwan Kyung returns to find her chatting and drinking with the shirtless men. He suddenly starts calling her his wife and the mother of his daughter, making a scene about how she keeps cheating on him despite how much he loves her. He's so dramatic that the shirtless trio comes as people stare at them. Correct me if I'm wrong but is Younger Bro sweet on Bestie? I'm sure we'll find out later.

In the meantime, Baek Ho arrives home to see that the plant he ordered for Mi Kyung has arrived. He remembers her mentioning it as her second favorite plant. He stares at the plant soberly.

The next day at work, the team excitedly prepares for their general meeting. It's not a regular meeting; it's one where the team lead's wife allows them to raid her convenience store and have any food or snacks they want. Just then Manager Bu arrives with bags full of snacks. The team members excitedly kneel before him and chant "Dad" repeatedly as he raises the bags. It's a whole festival.

The team troops into the meeting room, snacks in tow, but freeze in shock when they meet Baek Ho there. Confused, they ask him why he's there, and he answers that he wants to join the general meeting of course. The team is sober as Manager Bu presents the figures to the deflated team members. They chat in their secret chatroom, talking smack about Baek Ho. Things are good until one of them sends a message to the general group instead of the secret chatroom.

Oblivious, Baek Ho is reading the report while the entire team is panicking behind him. For some reason, this reminds me of the scene with the potatoes all over again. He finally notices that something is amiss and brings out his phone, but Mi Kyung jumps up, snatches it out of his hand, and takes to her heels. He chases after her, confused for the most part, but still intent on catching her as she runs into the restroom with his phone. She comes back with an "oh, my mistake" and returns his phone. At this point, Baek Ho's expression echoes my thoughts - She Cray Cray.

Back in the meeting room, the team is thanking Mi Kyung for her bravery when she points out that he's already out to get her so it doesn't matter. Their joy is cut short when her assistant reminds the team that the messages will be on his desktop too. Mi Kyung makes a crazy dash for his office, then locks him outside, begging him through the door to reveal his computer password. At this point, Baek Ho has had enough, and he unlocks the office with his key. Cornered, Mi Kyung confesses that she cursed him out and accidentally sent the message to the group chat. She tells him she has to delete the messages herself because they are unspeakable words that might hurt him.

Baek Ho retorts that he won't be hurt as nothing she says matters to him, but since she's worked herself into a fit, he unlocks the laptop and lets her delete her comments anyway. He coldly warns her to be mindful of their official hierarchy and she leaves, subdued.

Mi Kyung gets home just as Baek Ho arrives and stops herself from hiding; not that he notices her either way, as he heads straight to his apartment, where he just sits and stares. Later that night, it's raining and Mi Kyung gets a weather warning on her phone. Baek Ho is at his window and he sees her hurry out of the house as she heads to the Potato Lab. The storm is pretty bad and covering the plants is proving extremely difficult by herself. Thankfully, Baek Ho has followed her and he appears behind her just in time to help her. Her relief is palpable as she looks at him, and this is where we end today's episode.

In the prologue, Hwan Kyung sneaks into Ong Ju's room to steal the smutty book, but she orders him to put it down, eyes still closed. LOL... I can't wait for their story to unfold. I'm sure there's something there.

This episode was very enjoyable for me, especially with the rising tension between our lead couple. I'm also starting to see Kise as a bit of a nuisance, because ... just let it go, man. His repeated references to the past would annoy even the saintliest ex-girlfriend. All this aside, I'm most curious about Hee Jin. I already love her friendship with Baek Ho and I can't wait to see how her presence develops this story.