Finally, More Than Friends saw the heroine of the story being firm to what she wants in her life!
Delving on the idea of how efforts can open a door to a love was tackled in episode 9 of More Than Friends. Although not completely claiming the courage to move past the knots in her hearts, she at least knows to be firm with her decision to not be in a bad relationship.
abbyinhallyuland watched More Than Friends on iQIYI
Recaps: 01&02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Finale + Review |
More Than Friends Episode 9 Recap
“Someone who’s late has no right.”
Braving Lee Soo’s confession, Woo-yeon drew the line, asserting he can’t demand for an unrequited love the same way she did in the past. Turning her back as tears well in her eyes, he tries holding her back and asks what he needs to do to change her mind.
Coldly responding, she tells him how he does not have a right to ask since he is too late. Drenched in the pouring rain, Lee Soo stares at Woo-yeon’s fading back. Finally feeling the overwhelming emotions seeps in, she sits down at the bus stop and let her tears pour for the only man who can make her cry.
Woo-yeon arrives home and finds Joon-soo waiting for her. Her ever-understanding boyfriend comforts her as usual, against her whining of how he does not express his real emotions. He hugs her while saying she will get used to feel being grateful than sorry for him.
He promises to try even harder making her sigh for being so nice. Just then, Lee Soo arrives and sees Woo-yeon being hugged by Joon-soo.
Haunted by the scene of his favorite woman embraced by another man, Lee Soo sits in his home like a glaring “I’m-lonely” sign. At the same moment, Joon-soo is also on a brooding mood thinking about the appearance of Lee Soo earlier.
“Will everything become okay with time? Will everything work out if I put in some effort?”
Unable to sleep, Woo-yeon also sits with her mom who made tea for her and chat about what’s bothering her. She asks if things will go better as time passes by and if she makes an effort.
Thinking it was about her work, Woo-yeon clarifies that it is both for work and what she feels. Giving her a reassuring look, mom replies that effort never betrays, although there might be some exceptions.
Deciding to trust her effort, Woo-yeon goes on the usual date with Joon-soo at a calligraphy exhibit and later talk about the progress of the photobook. Since the book does not have a title, she asks Lee Soo to meet so they can chat about it.
“Everything I did to you was the wrong answer.”
Smoothly coming up with a title, they combine their thoughts for a beautiful concept. Sensing Lee Soo’s weird stare, she calls his attention. He asks why she looks totally fine and she recites the line he told her before.
“Do you want to be friends? Or should I ask you to go out with me although I don’t like you just because you like me?”
Receiving her fierce verbal and emotional attack, Lee Soo sighs and acts unfazed. Since he is determined to do a role reversal he returns her challenge with another familiar reply.
“Do you want to be friends? Or should I be someone you kill time with? It’s an essay question, not multiple choice. You can curse at me. You can hit me. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Finally empathizing to what Woo-yeon went through, Lee Soo realized how all the responses he gave before was not the right ones. He tells her that’s why he is asking her directly baffling Woo-yeon. Firmly promising her of his unrequited love, she refused it adamantly because she does not want to be like him.
‘Are you okay?”
At night, Lee Soo is visited by his parents and eats dinner with him. Their last chat did not go out well so when his father asked if he is okay, he responds feeling uncomfortable. His father corrects his thought, directly asking how he is coping up after getting dumped.
That surprised his mom as well, so his father explained how he drunk call his number. Adorably, he is worse than Woo-yeon, because he literally passes through adorkable stages of love grief.
He tells his parents that he won’t push through with his plan to leave. Surprised at his decision, his mom brings up why they visited and tells him to quell his anger at them. In hindsight, they apologize for overlooking his emotions while battling their own in the past.
Halting the conversation, his mom insists and blurts how they are worried the hurt he bottled up might be done to others. (Too late mom, that’s why he was dumped.)
“Do you mean my heart?
Huddling at Sang-hyuk’s resto for new menu sampling, the friends meet up and get surprised by Jin-ju’s shower of supplements. She apparently bought it from the “younger guy” she’s dating. Showing off his chef skills, Sang-hyuk gets distracted when Jin-ju can’t be seen on her usual spot.
Just as Woo-yeon points out the burning smell, Lee Soo who vowed an unrequited love for her, responds that she’s smelling his burning love for her, but she shove off his cheesy pick-up line. Discovering Sang-hyuk to be the culprit, they hurry to ward off the building smoke.
How can we not "add to cart" Lee Soo's "unrequited love" for Woo-yeon? 😉😝#MoreThanFriends #MoreThanFriendsEp9#ONGSEONGWU #ShinYeEun pic.twitter.com/ahAUY8dGIy
— kdramadiary (@kdramadiarylogs) October 31, 2020
“The bad memories must have beeen clear to you, but I acted like nothing happened. I’m sorry.”
Joon-soo speaks with Woo-yeon over the phone and reports that he is going to a book reading event. She agrees to wait for him to pick her up and sees Lee Soo approaching. She asks if he wants to say something and he replies he does. However, all the things he wants to say, she does not give him time to say it.
Before she evades him again, Lee Soo utters his confusion on how he was not able to express himself properly. He reminds her that whatever happened in the past cannot be counted as something that did not happen.
Genuinely apologizing for disregarding her emotions and all the times he only thought about himself, Lee Soo pours out his heartfelt regret for being such a jerk to her in the past.
Responding how he promised to do as she told, Woo-yeon requests if he can just live quietly and not to fix something that’s already broken. She tells him not to cling on her because it’s futile and she wants to have a good life too.
“Because I thought this would never happen. It’s something I desperately wanted for a long time.”
Finding Woo-yeon sitting alone with a long face, she offers to listen to what’s keeping her pensive. She confesses how her decade-long wish of getting Lee Soo’s heart finally happened, but affirms she now likes Joon-soo.
Young-hee points out how her claim of liking Joon-soo sounds like a spell convincing herself when in reality it is not the case. She reminds her of how covering up her real emotions does not make it grow at all.
“I love you, Woo-yeon.”
Battling with her emotions for the nth time, Woo-yeon seeks the power of soju and wakes up inside Joon-soo’s car. Just as she was about to get off his car, he utters “I love you” stopping her momentarily. But she can only respond “thank you” for what he did that day.
It turns out that Woo-yeon’s soju drowning led her another drunk call, not with a stranger anymore, but with her boyfriend who knows her long running emotional battle with her first love.
“You’re so selfish until the end. Back then, and today too. You were selfish in every moment. Whether you like me or not. Whether you’re going to wait for me or not. Whether you live a good life or not.”
“You can take it easy in front of me.”
In the cusp of calling Lee Soo for not minding his warning to back off, Joon-soo managed to take a deep breath trying to prove that he has confidence to what he has with Woo-yeon.
While checking with his staff a current exhibit, he sees his first-love-turned-sister-in-law and had a tea with her. She opens up about his dating life and they brush upon his self-sacrificing nature before. Joon-soo assures her that he is still the same, but his approach has changed for the better.
At night, Joon-soo brings Woo-yeon to the art museum and presents his plan of holding her photo book exhibit there. He promises to pave the way for her dreams, if the road is rough or if what she wants seems so far.
Quipping how he is making her feel like Cinderella, he asks if she wants to be Aladdin instead, so he can be her genie. He adds how it’s better to be a genie, than a prince who can’t recognize the woman he loves.
While waiting for Joon-soo get some drinks, Woo-yeon learns from Young-hee that Joon-soo receives another drunk call from her last night. She asks if he has something to say to her, but kind Joon-soo has not figured out Woo-yeon’s sudden silence.
“There are many reasons to like you. But even if I recite all those reasons again and again, it won’t turn into love for me.”
Remembering her recent conversation with her mom when she asked if her effort would be enough, she ponders if she is facing the exception her mother mentioned. The exception meaning the feelings that cannot be controlled.
Picking up her phone, she calls Joon-soo and asks him if they could meet tomorrow because she’s going to tell something.
Mustering emotional strength, Woo-yeon reveals her agenda of being honest that she can’t really love him. Albeit all those reasons, many to mention, that makes him likeable.
Admitting the pain he felt at that moment, he asks Woo-yeon if she really can’t do it, or she just can’t do it for him. Complaining on how he always keeps his emotions to himself, he responds that he did it out of fear of her leaving him.
Confessing he knows she does not love him and she is not over Lee Soo, he tried hard to be patient in the hopes that she will love him back. So he decided to wait for her. Understanding where he’s coming, Woo-yeon unfortunately does not want him to be on the exact situation he stated.
She remarks that they are in a bad relationship and painfully declares they should break up.
“Will you just take it again although you have the right?”
Deciding to follow Woo-yeon, Joon-soo drives to see her again. He spots Lee Soo sitting in front of the convenience store and walks to where he is.
Tightening his fist, he heaves a sigh and turns his back, but Lee Soo taunts him if he will just be patient even if he has the right.
Remembering all those times that he became the bigger person, he finally goes back and throw a punch at Lee Soo. Smirking at the thought that something bad happened in his relationship with Woo-yeon, he asks if she likes him again infuriating Joon-soo.
Evading each other’s punches, Joon-soo tells he is okay if Woo-yeon goes to another guy except him. Because he only made her cry for 10 years and he does not know how to cherish her.
Lee Soo responds that he already realized that so he will really like her the way it should be. He throws in a punch and they engage in a scuffle just as Woo-yeon arrives to see two familiar figures being watched by a crowd.
“I want to stop being in a bad relationship!”
Stopping the two in their brawl, Woo-yeon ends up treating their wounds. But, while she gently applied medication on Joon-soo, she bicker comfortably with Lee Soo.
Clearing how her intention to not be in a bad relationship means not being hurt or hurting another person, she firmly makes a stand. She tells the boys that she won’t go out with them regardless if she receives curses from Joon-soo or selfish banter from Lee Soo.
Joon-soo takes her left arm and insists that his pain is for him to bear alone. No matter what he will still go and cling to her. Holding her right arm, Lee Soo also makes a promise that he’ll wait; if she comes to him, he will wait quietly.
Tired of the two, Woo-yeon leaves them be, and all the love promises they just professed. She declares only taking care of herself.
“You can call me when you’re drunk. More so, if you miss me.”
A month later, Woo-yeon goes to her decided love-my-self life. Her parents tease her about the two boys lurking around her. She chides her mom for going through her things and discovering Lee Soo’s letter.
Returning the book she left, he returns it with a note of him leaving for vacation less he troubles her if she remains within his reach. He starts taking pictures of people after emancipating himself from his past pain.
In the letter, he tells Woo-yeon to call him when she’s drunk or when she misses him. But she never did.
On the day of the the photobook exhibit, the three meet again as if nothing happened. Woo-yeon reckons inwardly how “efforts indeed never betray.” While staring at the photos, Lee Soo also appears in the museum and she realizes how there are things that require and not require effort – and the perfect example is the feelings felt towards someone.
More Than Friends Episode 9 Musings
This chapter of More Than Friends is all about Woo-yeon. We saw her going through an array of emotions, some meaningful, but most of the time circling and indecisive. Taking a break to sort her feelings though seems leading to what her heart really wants. Her heart which seemed to be beating for only on person.
Her nature has been consistent since day 1. Instinctively drawn to an inescapable love fate, we see her at least learned how to value herself more.
That poignant scene when she came clean to Joon-soo, that she cannot love him reflects her growth. Indeed, her character is hard to tackle owing to how she was pictured to had glorified the idea of first love. So much to the point that it could have self-destructed her if not for Joon-soo.
Going back to the poignant scene, More Than Friends has been gifting beautiful, but agonizing moments made more stunning with its screenplay. It gifts a satisfying picture of a love triangle, interestingly because of how the three people involved do not make sense sometimes, then gives a convincing pitch of why the love is worth it for all of them.
Meanwhile, the side love stories also move to a clearer picture today. I root for Woo-yeon’s best girlfriends to be happy in their life and love.
We always get this kind of beautiful but heart-wrenching moment in #MoreThanFriends 💔#MoreThanFriendsEp9#ShinYeEun #KimDongJun pic.twitter.com/M7ej6xrNfB
— kdramadiary (@kdramadiarylogs) October 31, 2020
More Than Friends airs on jTBC every Friday and Saturday.
Global fans can watch it on iQIYi or Viu.
Photos/Videos of More Than Friends from jTBC
[wpedon id=”3227″ align=”center”]
