K-DRAMA RECAP: “No Gain No Love” Episodes 5 and 6

September 11, 2024
K-DRAMA RECAPS

Secrets are getting out in the open this week. Be it our part-timer turned new recruit’s connection to our heroine or the identity of the father who abandoned him in the past.

At this point, everyone is connected one way or the other and I wonder what will happen once our main quartet realizes how intertwined they are.

Bunny S. watches No Gain No Love on Prime Video

Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 |

No Gain No Love Episodes 5 and 6 Highlights

“What are you going to do? Someone here will recognize you.”

Hae-yeong might have missed Ji-wook, but that isn’t the kind of reunion she had in mind. All she is thinking about now is how to keep it a secret from others that this new recruit is her husband. Seeing how Ji-wook got a new haircut and changed his dress sense, it won’t be easy to recognize him, but that doesn’t stop a pissed-off Hae-yeong from threatening to kill Ji-wook if the truth gets revealed.

To his credit, it isn’t like Ji-wook willingly joined the company. He was rather blackmailed into working there by a strange man who seemed to know a lot about Ji-wook’s biological parents. At first, Ji-wook couldn’t care less about that man’s threats, but he eventually caved in to keep the promise he made to his grandmother to not cause any trouble for his mother.

Hae-yeong’s plan is to get Ji-wook dismissed or at least sent over to another branch, deliberately giving him wrong instructions to lower his score. Needless to say, Hae-yeong’s plan blows in her face and Ji-wook ends up getting the highest score. While lamenting her failed plans, Hae-yeong comes across a young kid who seems to have fallen victim to child abuse. She tries to take some photos for evidence, but the father catches her while doing that.

Since Hae-yeong refuses to delete the photos, the abusive father starts attacking her. Spotting this sight, Ji-wook steps in, and a fight ensues between him and the father that ends with the three of them going to the police station. Luckily, it ends well for our leads after the legal team head drops by (She was sent by the strange man from before). However, the issue of the abused kid remains since he denies being abused despite sustaining multiple bruises on his body. (Gyu-hyeon instructs the legal team to take on that case later.)

From sending the legal team head to represent him to offering him an apartment, a car and a credit card to use freely as well as getting him a job, Ji-wook starts suspecting the strange man is his biological father. But no. That is a wrong guess. That man is just carrying out the orders of the biological father who might be closer to us than we think. The chairman of the company, who is also Gyu-hyeon’s father, perhaps?

“My feelings are mine, and I don’t need your understanding or permission to feel the way I feel.”

To Hae-yeong’s dismay, despite her effort to send Ji-wook away, he not only gets assigned to the headquarters but also to her team. Hae-yeong is worried someone will catch on that Ji-wook is her husband, yet Ji-wook doesn’t mind it as much. Still, after realizing that Hae-yeong doesn’t want to get gossiped about at work, Ji-wook starts to come around and apologizes for not taking her situation into account.

But that peaceful moment is cut short by the ex-boyfriend lying down drunk in front of Hae-yeong’s house. Ji-wook wants to call the wife to take care of her so-called husband who is harassing his now-married ex-girlfriend, but Hae-yeong stops him since she doesn’t want rumors spreading about her.

In turn, Ji-wook accuses Hae-yeong of still being in love with the ex-boyfriend and this is the reason she doesn’t want others to know he is her husband. Thus, getting Hae-yeong mad. If Ji-wook wants to believe that, suit himself. Hae-yeong doesn’t need to explain anything to him. Ji-wook takes off after hearing those words, but he returns shortly after to carry the ex-boyfriend and sends him away in a taxi.

Unfortunately, the trouble isn’t over yet. Overhearing our leads’ conversation, the other new recruit mistook the situation for Hae-yeong bullying Ji-wook and reported her. Hearing that, Ji-wook storms in and declares himself as Hae-yeong’s husband, getting everyone Hae-yeong included shocked. The guy risked everything to save Hae-yeong, yet she suspected him of reporting her out of revenge.

Ji-wook is understandably disappointed that Hae-yeong doesn’t trust him, but Hae-yeong reconciles with him through a trust fall. Since the truth is already out of the bag, Hae-yeong’s strategy is to act brazenly audacious in the face of gossipers, which mostly works. Yet, it is palpable how hard it is for our leads to be the talk of the town and have others gossip about their private life.

“Am I supposed to respect your intent and forgive you while licking my wounds?”

Meanwhile, our second lead couple has another encounter in front of the police station. Ja-yeon is still livid and refuses to settle or listen to Gyu-hyeon. And it seems Gyu-hyeon is finally starting to realize the impact of his harsh comments and how much he hurt Ja-yeon. As they part ways, a truck of doom surfaces and almost crashes into Gyu-hyeon. But luckily, the driver swerves just in time.

The thing is: witnessing this, Ja-yeon passes out, probably because she has some sort of trauma involving trucks or accidents. Gyu-hyeon carries her to the hospital in a heroic move, giving us a funny parallel/contrast to how he couldn’t lift any weights in the gym but is now successfully carrying his future girlfriend.

Gyu-hyeon’s sincerity eventually wins Ja-yeon over and she agrees to settle, but on one condition: Gyu-hyeon should volunteer at the orphanage where Ja-yeon’s foster mother (Hae-yeong’s mother) used to volunteer. She doesn’t want him to pay his way out or to get away with it without learning his lesson.

And guess who is also there. It is Ji-wook. Since he is a long-term volunteer, Ji-wook gets to teach the kids, while Gyu-hyeon gets stuck doing the laundry. Neither is aware of the other person’s identity or the possibility that they are half-brothers, so they get along pretty well and I like their dynamics together. Which makes me worried about how they will react if the half-brothers theory turns out to be true.

“I don’t know my father. According to my grandmother, he was an asshole who wouldn’t even claim his child.”

Actually, Ji-wook considered that possibility, and his suspicions were further cemented after the chairman invited both Ji-wook and Hae-yeong for a meal and kept badgering Hae-yeong about her parents and mentioned how Ji-wook should be thankful to his parents for passing on those good looks to him. (It is here that Ji-wook learns the volunteer he met at the orphanage is the CEO and his potential half-brother.)

Holding a grudge against the “father” who abandoned him and his mother, Ji-wook claims he can hold his liquor since both the chairman and Gyu-hyeon are light-weights. Ji-wook wants to prove that he took nothing after the chairman, but one glass of wine is enough to get him drunk. As we end this week, our leads are shocked to wake up in the same bed. But that isn’t all. The ex-boyfriend is also there. I wonder how they got there, but unfortunately, we won’t get any answers until next week.

No Gain No Love Episodes 5 and 6 Musings

The drama remains a blast and I appreciate how it subtly addresses the issues women face at work and the impact hate comments has on victims. The funny scenes crack me up, but what touches my heart are those heart-felt moments like when Ji-wook mentions he agreed to marry Hae-yeong because everyone around him deemed him a misfortune that ruined their lives. So, when Hae-yeong, a calculating person who refuses to incur losses, chose him, it made Ji-wook believe he could enter someone’s life and not ruin them.

I admit that I was a bit surprised by the chaebol illegitimate child trope, but I should have seen it coming given the mystery surrounding Ji-wook’s birth father. Still, I like how Ji-wook isn’t intimidated by that turn of events, but holds his own and refuses to let anyone boss him around or use Hae-yeong as leverage against him.

We also got some development on the romance front with Hae-yeong getting jealous over the possibility that Ji-wook has a girlfriend and getting relieved when he assured her that wasn’t the case. Carpooling and pretending to be a married couple at work will surely get them much closer. But I wish Ji-wook could be more honest with Hae-yeong and tell her about his connection with her mother and the possibility that he is the chairman’s illegitimate son. The girl has been nothing but honest, so it is fair that Ji-wook does the same.

Photos and Videos: tvN Drama

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Bunny Sonaki

I am Bunny. Just like you, I am smitten with Kdramas and look forward to watching every Kdrama out there, but is that dream ever possible since they keep showering us with new dramas every day? For me, Kdramas are my comfort zone and a warm hug that makes it possible to face up to whatever life throws my way.

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