Our leads insist on being just friends. But there are too many inklings hinting at something bigger going on between them. While one heroine wants to tackle it head-on, our male lead might not be as ready to be honest with his feelings.
It isn’t that he doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. He just needs to sort things out first before he can properly come to her.
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 5 and 6 Highlights
“I mean, even friends won’t come out this far. Who’d come out all the way to Hwabon?”
Ha-neul is relieved to see Jeong-woo. But is this something friends do for each other? Or did Jeong-woo go out of his way for her? Well. Jeon-woo claims he went there for sightseeing. And while at it, he can go for a bike riding race and some group shots with Ha-neul.
An encounter with a man having a heart attack has our leads missing the last train. Hence, they stay the night at a hotel. Unlike Kdrama land traditions, two rooms are available. Yet Jeong-woo and Ha-neul have to stay together for an hour till the other room gets cleaned.
Having trouble sleeping, Jeong-woo grabs Ha-neul’s wrist, asking her to stay with him a bit longer. They spend the night playing Go Stop, where Ha-neul gets on a winning streak despite this being her first time playing.
“I think I am finally understanding you. I think you are too harsh on yourself.”
Unable to tell her family about her failed interview, Ha-neul stays out. Seeing through her, Jeong-woo goes looking for her. And they end up at their old school. Ha-neul opens up to Jeong-woo about how her family’s high expectations have put immense pressure on her that lasted during her adulthood as well.
On the college entrance exam, Ha-neul got so sick that she flopped the test and couldn’t get into her dream university. She keeps beating herself up for it and wishes to travel back in time to that very day. Ha-neul must have felt devastated, having sacrificed everything for that dream she never got to achieve. But as Jeong-woo tells her, one should focus on their happiness, not what others think. We should be okay today to make it through tomorrow.
“It must have been so hard. It is okay. It will all be okay.”
With too many clues about Jeong-woo having feelings for Ha-neul, she takes the bull by its horns and asks him about it point-blank. Wrongly believing he shouldn’t be happy after failing to save his patient, Jeong-woo lies about seeing Ha-neul as only a friend.
Feeling awkward, Ha-neul tries to avoid Jeong-woo. But it dawns on her that Jeong-woo might be suffering from PTSD. (He has trouble sleeping and keeps having nightmares about that day. Also, the sight of blood makes him panic.) That might be why he lied about his feelings for her.
Ha-neul gives Jeong-woo the comforting hug he wanted to give her younger self were he to travel back in time. Hence, making Jeong-woo’s defense lines crumble. He admits to missing Ha-neul, though he isn’t sure if he is allowed to be happy.
“Let’s see if this is just a strong friendship, an infection due to a weak immune system, or some other feeling. Whatever it may be, I want to be ready first.”
The next day, Ha-neul runs into Jeong-woo while jogging. She doesn’t want to pretend nothing happened or brush it off as a mistake. Ha-neul hugged Jeong-woo because she wanted to. But before they can discuss their feelings, there is a more urgent issue, Jeong-woo’s PTSD. To ensure Jeong-woo gets a good night’s sleep, Ha-neul makes use of all the tips she knows. From buying soft cotton pyjamas to gifting us with a swoony blanket washing scene.
Now, it is time to talk about their feelings. Honestly, Ha-neul is confused. It is something stronger than friendship. But it is too early to call it love. Given Jeong-woo’s current situation, she settles to wait for him until he sorts things out. Likewise, Jeong-woo says he genuinely meant it about missing Ha-neul. But things are too tough for him right now. So, it might be better to figure out their feelings slowly.
“To be honest, I did once think about going. But it wasn’t easy to admit I needed help.”
Following Ha-neul’s advice, Jeong-woo visits a psychiatrist for his PTSD. He refused to do so at first. But if Ha-neul is willing to accompany him and eat together after that, Jeong-woo might change his mind. They head to a karaoke after the counseling session where Ha-neul funnily misinterprets the situation as Jeong-woo confessing his feelings for her through songs.
An unexpected run-in with a former classmate (and a wonderful cameo by Lee Sung-kyung) stirs up jealousy in Ha-neul. Still, it isn’t like Jeong-woo knowingly acted like a novel male lead to the girl. He just wanted to tease Ha-neul by acting nicely to other girls while treating her coldly.
“Who are you? Why have you been following me?”
With the third hearing around the corner, Jeong-woo is on pins and needles. He has lately found out about hidden cameras in his clinic. But unluckily, the police couldn’t get any identifiable fingerprints from them. Also, a masked man is lurking around the rooftop and following Jeong-woo around.
This time, Jeong-woo didn’t feign ignorance but chased after the man. He was one step behind unmasking the man. But the man hit Jeong-woo on the head with a bottle and ran away. Simultaneously, Ha-neul came across a hidden camera on the rooftop. It seems like someone is out to get Jeong-woo and destroy his career.
Doctor Slump Episodes 5 and 6 Musings
Jeong-woo and Ha-neul’s primary love language is comforting each other. What makes this more captivating is how there are no grand gestures or going out of one’s way. They are simply there for each other whenever the other needs comfort and say the things the other one needs to hear the most. Ha-neul needed someone to tell her she didn’t need to meet people’s expectations to be seen as a successful person. She isn’t lacking anything. Her existence is enough.
Likewise, Jeong-woo needed someone to tell him it was okay. He is allowed to be happy and enjoy his life. That incident isn’t the end of the road. He should let it all out in front of Ha-neul and not keep his pain pent up inside.
One thing I like about the drama is how it doesn’t romanticize or make light of the mental conditions our leads are going through. Depression and PTSD are serious conditions that don’t go away when people fall in love. Thus, I appreciate how Ha-neul commits to visiting the psychiatrist while also suggesting it to Jeong-woo after learning about his condition. Getting her depression treated helped her feel better. So, she wants him to experience it too.
Watching Jeong-woo and Ha-neul pursue this beautiful healing journey makes me feel healed too. The dialogues in this drama are thoughtful and well-written. Those lines touch my heart to the point I want to quote every single sentence.
Even the way those two express their feelings is unique. For instance, Ha-neul calling Jeong-woo a protein or organism she would never fall for and then saying she got infected by him as her way of confessing her feelings, and Jeong-woo resembling Ha-neul to a drug easing his pain.
But then, the mystery around Jeong-woo’s case comes and gives me an annoying wake-up call. I know Jeong-woo was set up, so we need to go over that arc. However, I would rather the patient’s death was entirely accidental because of her medications.
Instead of a villain to chase after, I want to spend more time with our cute secondary characters, who have finally met each other. Insects are really an unusual way to connect people. It isn’t every day you find the grasshopper your son is fascinated by on the hair of the man who harbors a crush on you.
Find encouraging lessons as Jeong-woo and Ha-neul rediscover their purpose in Doctor Slump!
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
