A plate full of love lessons was served in the 14th episode of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.
Heartening moments about meanings of love abundantly run in the lives of Gongjin people in this chapter. A peek at Du-sik’s deep-seated pain was also unraveled, but its timing was definitely off!
abbyinhallyuland watched Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha on Netflix
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Finale Episode + Review |
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha Episode 14 Key Moments
“Why are you turning into someone else? Why are you drifting away? Why are you becoming a stranger? I don’t know who you are anymore.”
Unable to get a response that would make her understand, Hye-jin steps out of Du-sik’s house. Emotions overwhelm her as she shed tears without being able to tell Hwajeong who was just passing by what’s wrong.
Handing a bowl of seaweed soup to Hye-jin, Hwajeong watches her eat. Sensing the emotional weight Hye-jin carries, she asks if there’s something wrong with Du-sik. So, Hye-jin asks if she knows about his past. Hwajeong responds what little information she knows which is how he returned one day like someone who lost the reason to live.
Everyone knew something happened to him, but they let him be. Hye-jin confesses Du-sik has not opened up yet to her. Appeasing her woes, Hwajeong tells her that she has not seen Du-sik so happy, but with her. She also advises her to be more empathetic since Du-sik has literally forced himself to be mature at an early age.
“What may be easy for one person can be something difficult for another.”
Hye-jin listens to Hwajeong’s thoughts of how Du-sik hasn’t had anyone to share his pain with for a long time, thus, it’s not easy for him to open up. Waking up, Hye-jin finds Du-sik’s multiple missed calls. She calls him and tells him that they need some time apart so he can sort his feelings. That way he won’t feel sorry for her and he can try to be honest with her.
Meanwhile, Mi-seon and Eun-cheol are proceeding well with their budding relationship. However, the shower of gifts from Eun-cheol overwhelms Mi-seon. Reasoning that every day is special when he’s with her, Mi-seon politely replies she appreciates the effort.
Overhearing a suspicious call from Eun-cheol, Mi-seon thinks he’s getting bribes to get her gifts. So, she goes to the rendezvous point she heard at night and stops him when she thought he was selling illegal firearms. It turns out Eun-cheol sells preloved items to add to his savings.
Clearing the misunderstanding, they both agree to have a relationship with the intention of marrying. He also can’t help but skip a “few bases” and scoops in a sweet kiss.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? You don’t realize your own feelings until they’re seen from a distance.”
Cho-hui and Yeong-guk go for a heart-to-heart talk while cleaning in the neighborhood. She coaxes him not to lose Hwajeong again. Confessing he does not have confidence anymore because of the things he has done, she urges him to not apologize but be brave enough to do what needs to be done.
From afar, Hwajeong sees the two with smiling faces. She later seeks solace by drinking with Nam-suk. Sharing her pain, she tells her friend how she loved Yeong-guk for making her mother laugh in her last days. She took the chance that her one-sided love could be returned. Before alcohol knocked her down, she also whines about him pushing her for the blind date.
Thankfully, Nam-suk’s presence of mind is impeccable. She informs Yeong-guk that Hwajeong is alone drinking with her blind date so he rushes to where she is. Mustering courage, he finally tells her not to go on the blind date.
Acknowledging all his mistakes, he apologized for hurting her in the process. He pleads for her to give him another chance. Hwajeong responds in tears while slapping his body for belatedly realizing everything after 15 years.
“I feel so unworthy of her. She’s transparent, honest and brave unlike me.”
News travels fast in Gongjin so Du-sik’s and Hye-jin’s lovers’ quarrel reaches PD Ji. The latter visits the sad-looking handyman and stays for some sikhye. He urges him to make it up with her by being honest. But Du-sik also can’t elaborate with him, their situation.
Receiving a side dish package from her parents, Hye-jin yearns for Du-sik. At that same moment, Du-sik stares at a picture. A flashback reveals the man is a close senior who has been good to him. But that close senior seemingly died because of him.
His sad reverie gets cut by a knock on his door. He sees Hye-jin with the side dishes. Confessing she’s done thinking about them, she tells him to at least open up with her someday.
“Things that are ambiguous don’t sit well with me. Despite our current situation, if you can promise that you’ll someday open up to me, I could wait. Take your time while we’re dating. But don’t make me wait for a long time.”
“We’ll talk later then. We’ll talk about everything.”
It’s a wrap for Ji PD’s variety show and an after-party was organized. Du-sik meets Grandma Gam-ri who gives him a pep talk about his love life. She tells him how seeing him happy also makes her happy. A lively Gongjin munches on party food as everyone wears happy faces.
Inspired by PD Ji’s beautiful song, Du-sik asks Hye-jin to meet him after the party as he has something to tell her. When they return to the party, Doha approaches Du-sik right away to ask if he previously worked with an investment company. Confirming his hunch that he is the man who caused his father’s illness, through Du-sik’s expression, Doha throws a punch at him.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha Episode 14 Musings
Couples can really learn a lot from Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. It has emphasized the importance of communicating respectfully with each other. Along with that, it has also touched on understanding personal spaces for each person in a two-way relationship.
A few love lessons were touched in this episode from Gongjin couples. Braving a second chance on love and dating with the intention of marrying are two that viewers should heed on.
Pulling off a cliffhanger befitting of the series’ finale week, it’s also nice that happy-ending closures were already sealed in this episode.
Yeong-guk’s and Hwajeong’s emotional confrontation speaks about probably the most overlooked relationship fallout reason. Hopefully, its message ripples a long way for people who might be in the same situation of taking for granted people who are always there for us. Being complacent and hiding emotions are not good practices in fostering a healthy relationship.
Mi-cheol couple fondly encouraged us to not overthink what needs to be done in a relationship. Being emotionally and financially ready aid confidence to push for marriage. And again, dating with marriage in mind is the most honest kind of love anyone can give himself.
Other than that, we felt the progress between Ji PD and writer Wang, and we couldn’t be happier for them.
Finale Next Week!
I honestly felt Du-sik’s traumatic past has dragged a bit. As hinted in this episode, his life is just an utter series of unfortunate events. From losing his family and growing up alone, his early career suggests causing quite irreparable damage to a few people. Possibly an investment mishap. We saw Do-ha’s story today, but we have to confront Ji PD’s sister’s connection to Du-Sik as well.
We know, he was about to open it up to Hye-jin, but the ruckus would most likely make him choose to carry the burden alone. Hopefully, Hye-jin would stay beside him, even if he pushes her away. She seems to be considering the job offer in Seoul. So, it’s quite a packed final week we are heading to.
Next week, I will go for a quick finale recap plus review. So, I’ll save all I wanted to say till then.
Photos/Videos: tvN
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