Farewells are always tough, even if it is with someone who hurt us a lot. Our leads go through the wringer as they say their goodbyes to an old acquaintance.
Still, with some resolve and encouragement, they pull themselves together and enjoy the presents life showers them with after facing all those misfortunes.
Bunny S. watches Doctor Slump on Netflix
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 & 10 | 11 & 12 | 13 & 14 | Finale Week + Series Review |
Doctor Slump Episodes 13 and 14 Highlights
“I could have died then and there but all I could think about was you.”
Hearing Ha-neul was in an accident, Jeong-woo rushes over to the hospital along with Ha-neul’s family. Thankfully, Ha-neul’s surgery is a success. But she stays unconscious for a while despite there not being bleeding in her brain, getting everyone worried to death. Luckily, Ha-neul opens her eyes soon. Jeong-woo now realizes what he feels for Ha-neul is love. She isn’t just a friend or a romantic partner. He loves her and wants to stay together forever.
Since she has yet to recover, Jeong-woo and Ha-neul resolve to wait until she is better before they talk about the accident and why she met with Kyung-min. But as luck would have it, Jeong-woo ends up learning everything from the police. Mad, he confronts Ha-neul about it. How could she hide something this big from him? Does Ha-neul know how he felt as he sent her to the OR?
Ha-neul apologizes to Jeong-woo for hiding meeting Kyung-him from him. But even if she returned to that moment again, she would do the same thing. Jeong-woo has just started to heal from his trauma and work again. So, she didn’t want his pain to resurface again.
“I pitied the kid even before I met him.”
Before they got transported to the hospital, Kyung-min confessed to Ha-neul about why he had it in for Jeong-woo. Back when Jeong-woo was in high school, Kyung-min tutored him. Thus, they became close and had a brotherly relationship. Three weeks before the CSATS, Kyung-min moved into Jeong-woo’s house to avoid wasting time and focus better.
One night, Kyung-min got a call from his father asking to come pick him up since he was too drunk. But Jeong-woo’s mother cruelly refused to permit Kyung-min. Kyung-min’s father died that night. Yet Jeong-woo’s mother didn’t have the decency to apologize or attend the funeral. She even kept it from Jeong-woo and shamelessly proclaimed she wouldn’t have stayed still if Jeong-woo had tanked his exams because of Kyung-min. That woman is unredeemable.
“I found out the day before. And I tried my best to dissuade them. But I’d already come too far.”
Though Jeong-woo was nothing but kind to him, Kyung-min’s twisted nature made him mix Jeong-woo’s drink with the same substance that killed his father. Since Kyung-min senses his near death, he asks to see Jeong-woo for one last time, asking for forgiveness and claiming he didn’t know the clinic was Jeong-woo’s. He might be sincere about it and even tried to stop the “medical accident.” But it was too late, just like his apology.
If Kyung-min indeed regretted what he did, he should have come clean to Jeong-woo a long time ago and confessed his crimes to the police. But alas, he said his final words and died, leaving Jeong-woo torn between the betrayal he feels now and the old days when they were like brothers.
Like Ha-neul says, Jeong-woo should take his time and process his feelings without suppressing anything. Nothing can force him to forgive Kyung-min if he doesn’t want to. Actually, the only right thing Kyung-min said was that Jeong-woo should forget about him and move on with his life.
“We knew it would be painful for each other, so we dealt with our sadness on our own.”
Though he hurt them badly, Kyung-min’s death leaves our leads with immense sadness, which they make an unspoken agreement to process separately. Before each other, they pretend to be okay. But their hearts are hurting.
Adding to Jeong-woo’s distress, his parents plan to return to Korea for the first time in a while and want to see him. Having learned how his parents hurt Kyung-min badly and that might have been the reason why he screwed up his life, Jeong-woo couldn’t bring himself to meet them. So, when he hears of Ha-neul’s family plan to visit Busan on the weekend, Jeong-woo is more than happy to tag along.
Things mostly go hilariously, but the most notable takeout from the trip is Jeong-woo letting his pent-up pain out in front of Ha-neul’s mum and her words about letting time heal our wounds. This beautiful woman might get misguided at times and make mistakes, but her words never fail to comfort the one listening to her.
“This is just a result of your hard work. So don’t feel guilty.”
Truth revealed, Ha-neul gets an offer to get reinstated at her former hospital as a full-time assistant professor. She hesitates a bit at first. But remembering why she chose to specialize in anesthesiology, and with some pep talk from Jeong-woo, Ha-neul musters up the courage to return to work. But this time, she will maintain a work-life balance and not exhaust herself like before. (Or so she says.) It seems Jeong-woo will keep making dumplings and waiting for her forever.
Cue: Jeong-woo pretending to be busy taking care of his own business while not so subtly stealing glimpses at his phone to see if Ha-neul texted him and then getting all excited when he spots the note she left him in the morning.
Things are now solved, Jeong-woo gets back a part of the penalties he paid as compensation. He wants to use that money to be together with Ha-neul. Here I thought Jeong-woo was going to propose to Ha-neul and got excited for nothing when Jeong-woo meant covering the expenses of a young girl’s surgery and working on it together with Ha-neul. Still, Jeong-woo did buy a ring but saved it for later so we could end the penultimate week awaiting his proposal.
Doctor Slump Episodes 13 and 14 Musings
I can’t believe we only have one week left with those beautiful characters. It feels like only yesterday we got introduced to Ha-neul and Jeong-woo as a childish bickering duo. I appreciate how writer-nim tied Kyung-min’s arc this week in a nice bow, hopefully, to gift us with a finale week full of adorable cuteness and a much-anticipated wedding.
There is no dragging things out or unnecessary tension. Ha-neul and Jeong-woo encounter some hardships along the way, but they stay strong and support each other to get over it. For a drama billed as healing, not only did Doctor Slump deliver on that front, but also set the bar too high. Let’s cross our fingers the drama sticks the landing and makes its way into the list of masterpieces that remain with us for a long time.
Find encouraging lessons as Jeong-woo and Ha-neul rediscover their purpose in Doctor Slump!
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
