See You at Work Tomorrow: Episodes 9-10
by Unit
Our penultimate week features honest conversations between our OTP as they work out their relationship issues. But the presence of relationship problems doesn’t mean the absence of work problems, and they also have to navigate the nasty traps their office nemesis has set for them.
EPISODES 9-10
We resume with Ji-yoon walking away from Shi-woo at the wedding hall, but he silently follows her to make sure she gets home safely. She tells him she needs some time to sort out her thoughts, and he tells her to take all the time she wants. But he plans on liking her so hard, she won’t be able to end their relationship. While Ji-yoon withdraws from the relationship, Shi-woo carries on with his unreplied good morning messages, unacknowledged cups of tea, and unrequested escort services when she clocks out from work. He even shows up to their dinner reservation fully prepared to eat alone if she doesn’t come. But Ji-yoon shows up with the big question that we all want answered: why did Shi-woo and Soo-jin get a divorce?
Shi-woo and Soo-jin grew up together since their moms were besties, and they naturally started dating as well. They got married after graduating college with the intention of studying abroad together, but his dad’s business went under and his mom fell sick. Shi-woo had to get a job in Korea while Soo-jin went abroad, but long distance took a toll on their marriage. Shi-woo was so drained by his life that he had no room left to tend to Soo-jin’s loneliness, so he agreed to her divorce request when she returned to Korea after his mom’s passing. The marriage lasted less than a year. At the time, he thought he was being considerate of Soo-jin’s wishes. But in retrospect, Shi-woo admits that it was his pride that prevented him from fighting for their marriage.
In the present, Shi-woo tells Ji-yoon his past was the emptiest time of his entire life, and he’s not going to allow it to hold him back anymore. I’m not sure what Ji-yoon was expecting, but Shi-woo’s past is nothing like she imagined. She tells him she started their relationship because she had feelings for him, but now feelings aren’t enough. If she’s really going to be with him, she has to be sure she’s committing with a heart that won’t waver. This is all well and good, but it means the fate of our OTP’s relationship is still on “pending” status. But on the bright side, Ji-yoon resumes replying to Shi-woo’s good morning messages.
Our OTP might be spending time apart, but they still have to clock in for their Home-AI demo. The demo starts out well until Young-hun’s software bug crashes the whole thing. Director Noh and Young-sam are elated while the TF team freaks out. But as it turns out, Young-hun already gave Shi-woo a heads-up about Director Noh’s plans. Shi-woo takes the stage to explain that their Home-AI system, like every other online technology, can be hacked. Which is why he also came up with an anti-malware system to protect the connected AI devices from security threats. Shi-woo fixes the bug with their anti-malware system, and the demo is a success! (But ain’t nobody gon’ need anti-malware if home appliances stay off the internet like the original inventors intended. Just saying.)
Following the success of the Home-AI demo, President Han recommends Ji-yoon for a managerial promotion and Ki-taek for a senior associate promotion. Yay! On the other hand, it’s a very bad time to be Young-sam. First, Director Noh dumped him from minionhood. And now Ji-yoon will be on the same level as him if her promotion clicks? Cue: Young-sam’s freak out session. Everything that makes him sad gives me joy, so I’m here for it. I’m especially happy Ki-taek is finally getting that senior associate promotion, and I love that he didn’t have to bow to Young-scum’s “dig up dirt on Shi-woo” pressure to get it. But that scum just had to overhear a Shi-woo × Soo-jin marriage conversation from Soo-jin’s college alumni. Ugh!
Anyway, back to our OTP. Ji-yoon eventually decides to leave Shi-woo’s past in the past and just focus on her feelings for him. They kiss, say their “I love you-s,” and get back together. Ji-yoon temporarily moves in with Shi-woo after a burglar breaks into her house, and he proposes. This proposal is part a solution to her housing problem, and part his desire to spend the rest of their lives together. But Ji-yoon is hesitant to say yes even though the marriage she has always wanted is now on the table. Marriage is a big deal after all. Living together exposes Shi-woo and Ji-yoon’s lifestyle differences, and raises conversations about adjusting to each other’s preferences. But they’re both willing to make compromises, and that’s always a good sign.
Ji-yoon returns to her place after the burglar is caught. But her dad comes to drop off kimchi and catches her with Shi-woo. Oops! Shi-woo straight up tells Dad that he’s dating Ji-yoon, and Dad isn’t too pleased that Shi-woo kept it from him. He says he’s against the relationship, but I won’t worry too much because it doesn’t seem like a strong disapproval. Later on, Shi-woo drops a drunk Dad off at home and Ji-yoon’s mom wants to pair him up with her daughter on learning that he works at Saeum. Mom doesn’t know Shi-woo is divorced yet, but that’s next week’s problem. As for Shi-woo’s proposal, Ji-yoon says she can’t choose marriage as a housing option. This isn’t an outright rejection of his proposal, though. Ji-yoon just wants to think about it for longer, and Shi-woo is fine with it.
Moving on, Young-sam leaks Shi-woo and Soo-jin’s ex-coupleship news on the anonymous office portal, and alleges that they cheated on Soo-jin’s new husband during a business trip to Busan. Whoa! This guy needs to be sued into the ground. And then sued again! Soo-jin was actually on the trip with the design team, while Shi-woo went to see an old classmate. Shi-woo confronts Young-sam in the lobby because he knows the scum started the rumor, and Young-scum tries to provoke him into reacting violently. Ji-yoon marches up to them and tells everyone she was with Shi-woo on the night of the business trip. (It was the same night her house was burgled, and he rushed back from Busan to be with her.) Ji-yoon also reveals that she’s dating Shi-woo, and he asks if this is her answer to his proposal. She replies with a yes, and the week comes to an end.
Ji-yoon’s defense — and public claiming — of her man is very romantic. But getting involved in the “cheating” scandal doesn’t bode well for her especially since she’s up for a promotion. But once again, that’s next week’s problem. My highlights of this week: 1) Ki-taek finding out about Shi-woo and Ji-yoon’s relationship and panicking that he ruined things by sending Shi-woo and Soo-jin’s wedding pictures to Ji-yoon. Lool; 2) Soo-jin thanking Ji-yoon for letting Shi-woo see her mom (Shi-woo told her about his and Ji-yoon’s relationship earlier on); 3) Shi-woo telling Ji-yoon that he’ll be the one to move departments when they get married because married couples aren’t allowed to work in the same department.
As for our secondary couple, No-ah and Jae-in kick off their relationship with some age gap-induced friction. She’s embarrassed to publicly admit that he’s her boyfriend, and she basically babies him whenever they’re together. Jae-in tells No-ah not to treat him like a child, and she eventually womans up and introduces him to her friends as her boyfriend. No-ah’s remotely controlled cooktop idea was also launched with the Home-AI project, and she has set her sights on a regional specialist role in Senegal. Those French lessons will come in handy if she gets the role. But can her new relationship survive the strain of long distance? We shall find out next week.
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