Thank you for couchkimchi making recap episode 1, This bit of help we can't read hangul ^_^
Credits:
EPISODE 1
The show opens with Chef Ki Joong (Kim Young Kwang) grilling a dish in the kitchen. The dish is brought to the table of our main couple, Hye Yoon (Jung So Min) and Jung Hoon (Sung Joon).
Hye Yoon takes the reigns of the story, and as she narrates, she looks on lovingly at Jung Hoon.
After greeting his patrons, Ki Joong saunters over to Hye Yoon and Jung Hoon’s table. He gives Jung Hoon a knowing look and winks at him. Ki Joong then presents Hye Yoon the highlight of their meal—ice cream? She’s vocal about her disappointment with the dessert, but she’ll soon be in on that tacit glance between the boys.
Jung Hoon watches her nervously as she takes a bite of her ice cream, but the expression on his face is replaced with panic when Hye Yoon begins to choke. Ki Joong and her photographer friend Dong Bi (Han Groo) rush to their aid. Dong Bi is unsuccessful with the Heimlich maneuver, but Jung Hoon takes a shot at it, and a ring ejects from Hye Yoon’s mouth and jounces on the floor. Hye Yoon pushes a concerned Jung Hoon and doesn’t seem to notice the ring, as she gasps for breath.
Plan A for operation proposal is a bust, but Jung Hoon’s a smart guy, coming up with a plan B.
The young lovers arrive at a posh hotel (or apartment?), where Hye Yoon is pleasantly surprised with flowers and a heart-shaped cake. On the bed, a bouquet of roses, bathrobes, and matching PJs rouse a smile on Hye Yoon’s face. She turns to Jung Hoon, and a tear trickles down her cheek. He gets down on his knee, presents her with the choking hazard ring, and proposes. Of course, she’ll say yes!
He slips the ring on her finger, and she rewards him with, “I love you”. They seal their engagement with a real kiss that only cable channels are willing to simulate. The first ten minutes of this show has already outpaced Playful Kiss and Standby with the physical intimacy.
Their friends Ki Joong and Dong Bi may be getting lucky that night, too. They’re all over each other as soon as they enter Ki Joong’s apartment, frantically stripping off their clothes. As he lays her down on the couch, however, Dong Bi’s hand knocks down a lamp. That kills the mood for Ki Joong, who bitches about the broken lamp. Even though Dong Bi apologizes, the situation escalates into an argument, and clearly it becomes more than just about the lamp. (I’m pretty sure Jung Hoon’s proposal to Hye Yoon comes up during their discussion.) Something Ki Joong says hits Dong Bi hard, and she cries.
Back at the hotel, the newly engaged Jung Hoon and Hye Yoon cuddle under the sheets. Is this supposed to be afterglow? But they’re in their matching pajamas …
She holds up the ring on her finger, and it appears she asks about it. His reply doesn’t seem to satisfy her, and she moves to the living area, where they continue their discussion. I think they may be talking about his ice cream proposal. The conversation devolves into an argument, with Hye Yoon clearly not putting up with any crap.
At this time, Deul Rae (Choi Hwa Jung), who’s probably Hye Yoon’s aunt, is introduced when Dong Bi drops by for a visit. They sneak into the darkened house, careful not to disturb another occupant. They go into the kitchen, where Deul Rae accidentally slams a cupboard door that wakes up sister Deul Ja (Lee Mi Sook).
Trying to avoid any questions from sis, Deul Rae quickly scuttles Dong Bi out of the house, but it’s too late. Mama gets her question in and becomes suspicious. I think she may be wondering about Hye Yoon’s whereabouts.
As Hye Yoon and Jung Hoon step out from the hotel elevator, Hye Yoon receives a call from Deul Ja. It appears she placates mom with some excuse.
Hye Yoon still seems cross with Jung Hoon, but instantly, they’re back to being cute and on good terms.
Hmm, perhaps Hye Yoon’s excuse didn’t fly with mom (or maybe didn’t fit Dong Bi’s cover story for her friend), as Deul Ja pushes Deul Rae and Dong Bi out of the house, scolding and beating them on the way to the car.
As the women drive, mom phones older daughter Hye Jin (Jung Ae Yeon), piling her on with distress nagging about Hye Yoon.
Meanwhile, Hye Yoon and Jung Hoon are back in their hotel room, both just having finished a shower and dressed in their bathrobes. The couple hug, and Jung Hoon playfully kisses her neck, making her squeal.
Just as he’s carrying her to the bed, Hye Yoon receives a call from older sis, warning her about Deul Ja’s upcoming raid. Hye Jin would be familiar with this situation, her romantic interlude with her then-lover-now-husband having been interrupted by mom’s hotel bust.
When mom arrives at the hotel, Hye Yoon and Jung Hoon have already split, surprising Deul Ja and making Dong Bi and Deul Rae share a relieved smirk.
The Deul sisters get back home, and mom is ready to pounce on Hye Yoon as soon as she sees her. Mother and daughter bicker, with Deul Ja clocking in more words per minute and throwing in a couple of thwacks.
Jung Hoon hangs out with Ki Joong and his friend’s motorcycle buddy, Min Ho (Kim Jin Soo). Jung Hoon may have felt free and loose earlier while coasting on the highway on Ki Joong’s bike, but now, he looks out of place and uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s something that Min Ho states that causes his awkwardness
Hye Jin is a dutiful wife to her husband Do Hyun (Kim Sung Min), a plastic surgeon. She waits on him when he gets home, but it’s clear they have grown apart, animosity breeding between them. Instead of directly confronting him after he pisses her off, she takes a screw driver to the tire of his expensive motorcycle.
The next morning, Hye Yoon and Dong Bi are at a bath house. Hye Yoon either recounts a memory or imagines a scenario, in which an emotional Jung Hoon stops by her house, and she receives him with coldness. He grabs her in a hug and apologizes to her while a smile forms on her face. Hmmm, did she just one-up him in this scene?
While they eat, Hye Yoon relays another memory to Dong Bi: Waiting in the rain for her then boyfriend to get home, she witnesses him planting a passionate goodbye kiss on another woman. She confronts him then storms off, drenched from the downpour.
Meanwhile, Jung Hoon joins his parents, mom Eun Gyung (Seon Woo Eun Suk) and dad Dong Gun (Kang Seok Woo), for breakfast. Forget having a peaceful meal, as mom throws him third degree questions while dad watches them with confusion.
That same morning, peace also escapes Hye Jin’s household, as a foul-mood Do Hyun scolds their son at breakfast. Do Hyun huffs away, and his mood ticks up for the worse when he finds the tire of his motorcycle flat. He confronts Hye Jin about it, but a ring from Deul Ja cuts him off.
With pestering her son-in-law accomplished, Deul Ja turns her angry nagging to Hye Yoon, who’s folding away clothes into a box.
Dong Bi lets herself into Ki Joong’s apartment, and they quibble with each other. She holds out her hand, perhaps asking for her stuff back, and she, in turn, returns/dumps his shirts on his kitchen counter. Is this a post-breakup property exchange?
While Jung Hoon meets with Do Hyun, who seems to have given him some unsettling advice (perhaps about Deul Ja and marriage), Hye Jin visits her family. Deul Ja, the alpha female in perpetual bitch mode, badgers her entire family. During this casual gathering, Hye Jin brings up a point to mom, all for the sake of helping little sis Hye Yoon. Whatever she says works, and mom yields to whatever Hye Yoon wants. (Ugh, I need subs!)
Hye Yoon runs to her room excited and immediately calls Jung Hoon, who’s such a geek and a boy with action figures flanking his bedroom walls. Jung Hoon’s mom barges into his room, squawking as well, and it appears to be about Hye Yoon. Hmm, I don’t think she likes her son’s girl. (This show has one too many heckling mothers.)
Later, Jung Hoon drops by at a sports bar to check on Dong Bi. While she is close with Deul Rae, Jung Hoon seems to be the only person to whom she can turn at this time. During their conversation, Dong Bi grabs Jung Hoon’s face, pulling him up close to her and locking her eyes on his. Naturally, he is rattled. Whatever he tells her, she glowers, pushes his head away, and scarfs down her hang-ups with alcohol.
Soon, Jung Hoon’s piggybacking a hammered Dong Bi to her place. As he helps her up, she vomits on his sweatshirt, prompting him to take it off. The timing’s awful, as Hye Yoon, who has been waiting for his phone call, pops up at Dong Bi’s place. With a fiancé halfway undressed and her friend’s sexy figure splayed on the bed, this can be misread easily by Hye Yoon, who, after all, has been cheated on before.
Hye Yoon waits for an explanation, who doesn’t immediately get one from the stunned and bewildered Jung Hoon. It becomes a bit complicated when Dong Bi, a devious smile spreading across her face, wraps herself around his waist. Jung Hoon reflexively shoves her off him while she protests. I think now the two are laying blame on each other for the situation, but I also think Dong Bi’s trying to cause trouble for the lovers.
Left alone in the room, Jung Hoon receives a thrashing from Hye Yoon. Heh. The next day, everything is forgotten as we see the lovers chatting on their phones while at work.
Dong Bi, on the one hand, is in bed, sick and depressed. She gets up to have a swig of water but quickly runs to the bathroom to throw up. She eventually faints, and Deul Rae arrives at her apartment, banging frantically on her door.
At the same time, busybody Deul Ja scouts Jung Hoon’s ritzy neighborhood, and after a security guard confirms her future son-in-law’s upscale crib, a flicker of opportunism beams from mom’s face.
QUICK THOUGHTS
There are several aspects that I truly like about Can We Get Married?:
• Jung So Min’s departure from the inept, naïve, and too-nice-for-her-own-good characters, granted, there were a few instances on this episode when I grimaced at Hye Yoon’s pushy behavior towards Jung Hoon. This is a very grown-up role for So Min.
• I also appreciate that Hye Yoon has a career as a teacher while husband-to-be Jung Hoon is hunkered down with a steady profession. Their stable careers (and financial security) prep them closer to a lifetime commitment with each other.
• The cinematography and editing are top notch in my opinion, and the music/soundtrack is perfectly edited to the scenes.
• Since it’s a cable drama, the physicality of romance is not inhibited, so, woohoo for steamy scenes!
• Story wise, I don’t think meddling parents will be the only obstacle facing Jung Hoon and Hye Yoon. They love each other, but there may be a trust issue getting in the way of their growth as a couple. It’ll be even more interesting when their relationship problems are juxtaposed to Do Hyun and Hye Jin’s relationship, which is paying the price for lack of communication and perhaps love.
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