Last week in “Make Me Tingle,” Nam Ji Hyun’s Gong Yeon Su reveled in her moment of defiance after she took Dokgo Dal (Kim Jae Yeong) home to her grandparents. The Gongs are shocked to learn that Dal manufactures sex toys and is liberal in his views on marriage and relationships. Though she may have averted her family badgering for her to get married, what does she do with the tingling feeling that overcomes her whenever she is around Dal?
In a very uncharacteristic moment, she asks Dal to date her, only to be turned down since he doesn’t date coworkers. Either they end the contract or have a fling, since dating is an entirely different ball game for Dal. Given their differing ideologies on love, sex, and relationships, it is very unlikely they would make the perfect “dating partners.” And the presence of Yoon Ji Oh (Kang Tae Ju) adds another layer to their already complicated dynamic, forcing them to confront their feelings.
Here are three times when Yeon Su and Dal bridged the gap between them and finally gave in to those tiny neurotransmitters playing havoc.
Warning: spoilers below!
Dal and Yeon Su find common ground
Dal and Yeon Su not only spar over their views on relationships but also clash over their attitudes toward marketing and sales. Dal is aware that Yeon Su has never used any of Loand’s products.
Though initially apprehensive about her idea of random mystery boxes, he goes along with it. As online sales go through the roof and the idea proves successful across demographics and genders, Yeon Su suggests a pop-up store in Busan as their next marketing gig. Dal agrees because he wants to expand their customer base and make it widely accessible.
When he observes Yeon Su cramming details about every product on display at the pop-up, he has a pertinent question: how does she expect to sell something she has never tried? When she throws the question back at him, asking whether he has tried even the products catering to the female clientele, he responds that he has helped design them and therefore knows them better. Yeon Su sees him as a hypocrite. He claims to understand his target demographic, women, yet in her view, he remains detached from the emotional depth of love and the physical realities of female intimacy. Dal, on the other hand, believes that as a marketer, she needs firsthand empathy for the user’s experience.
He takes her discomfort for nothing more than being rigid. However, Yeon Su realizes he has a point when she finds herself at a loss for words while trying to explain the products to the many young women who approach her. She even admits to a young woman that she has never used any of them and is simply a marketer trying to sell Loand products. This is a shift, since Yeon Su’s subconscious bias has always guided her actions.
At the same time, she observes the ease with which Dal explains the products and chats with visitors, particularly married couples, making everyone comfortable. As he explains that intimacy, too, is a form of communication, Yeon Su begins to recognize that his cynicism is merely a shield. Beneath it lies someone who cares deeply about breaking down stigmas and making wellness more approachable but also understands the fundamental human desire for care, connection, and respect.
While Yeon Su begins to appreciate Dal’s understanding of the products and the people who use them, Dal, too, gives her marketing instincts room to work, never rejecting the ideas but wanting her to be unbiased and accepting of the product. Their approaches may differ, but they begin to recognize the value in each other’s perspectives. That, ultimately, is where they find common ground.
Dal is forced to confront his feelings
Despite having rejected Yeon Su’s proposal to date, Dal isn’t too pleased about it. For a man who has made it clear that all he is interested in is a strictly physical relationship, he is consumed by the green-eyed monster: jealousy.
The one fueling his discomfort and passive rage is none other than his best friend and co-partner at Loand, Ji Oh. Ji Oh has made his interest in Yeon Su apparent and has even asked her to go out with him right in front of Dal. You can’t blame Yeon Su, being recently single and prickled by Dal’s rejection, for agreeing.
Still, you end up feeling sorry for Dal. He has his own logic about how relationships work, with love being of little or no consequence in the scheme of things. But now that Yeon Su has backed off, Dal is not happy about the situation.
He cannot lie to himself when he holds onto her as they take the stairs up to his floor because he is terrified of the dark. He has allowed her to see his vulnerable side. For a man who is so distant, he doesn’t mind letting her glimpse at his fears.
But what really gets to him is the growing closeness between Yeon Su and Ji Oh—so much so that he spends the worst few hours outside her home waiting after Ji Oh goes in to drop her off. The worst part is when the Gongs take a liking to Ji Oh, since he fits the template of their idea of a suitable man.
It is the trip to Busan which nudges Dal into confronting his feelings like never before. He can’t avoid the fact that he is furious with Ji Oh for being a constant unwelcoming presence. It’s so much so that Dal’s irritation even rubs onto the viewers.
It’s a cute moment when Yeon Su’s brother, who has struck up a friendship with Dal, calls him for help, thinking Dal is some kind of relationship guru. Dal confesses that he knows nothing about women and that he cannot figure them out. Dal is being not like himself, but he cannot help it since his heart has totally overtaken his head. He is feeling strange things for Yeon Su when everything about her is supposed to put him off. He very cutely picks up seed hotteok after getting this nugget of information from her brother, who tells him that it’s her favorite. Now if that’s not a switch in character, then what is?
In a strange twist, her ex-boyfriend also shows up, and his presence irks Dal endlessly. For someone who is so unbothered by people, he is in almost combat mode every time he see the ex. When he overhears him telling Yeon Su that he found what he was looking for in another woman and is getting married, Dal’s anger on Yeon Su’s behalf is a revelation.
The cold, distant man, for whom love is inconsequential, is undergoing a transformation, and we have a quiet, brooding, lovelorn man experiencing feelings he has never felt before. He is ready to make his next move because this woman has totally messed with his head, stirring up unfamiliar emotions as well as desire.
Yeon Su dares to cross the line
There is no denying that Yeon Su feels a crazy, all-consuming attraction whenever she is within Dal’s radius. How has this man managed to stir up such intense emotions in her in barely two months, when her ex, with whom she was together for 18 months, never made her feel this kind of excitement?
On the other hand, Ji Oh’s attention is flattering. He is charming, attentive, and even shares her views on love and dating. But when he leans in to kiss her, she stops him because she feels nothing. She understands that liking him and simply feeling comfortable around him aren’t good enough reasons to get into a relationship.
Then again, she cannot get Dal out of her mind. His presence, physique, and the passionate kiss they shared have completely taken over her thoughts. There is a spark between them, but once lit, can it develop into something deeper? To find out, Yeon Su would need to take that risk.
There is an undeniable undercurrent between the two, and Yeon Su is beginning to understand just how palpable the intensity of her attraction to him is.
This decision isn’t prompted by her ex’s announcement that he is marrying someone else. It is not a rebound effect. It’s rather a catalyst for her to finally articulate and acknowledge what she feels towards Dal.
As she opens the connecting door to his room at their hotel in Busan, Yeon Su leans in to kiss Dal. It is she who makes the move and tells him what she wants. With both of them experiencing and accepting feelings they have never felt before, things are getting a little too steamy, and the sparks are certainly flying! Compatibility or chemistry and what comes first is no longer the question here.
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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Jing Bo Ran and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her at @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.