My Royal Nemesis: Episodes 5-6
by Unit
Our chaebol male lead unlocks peak levels of downbadism in his effort to woo our transmigrated heroine. But she’s determined to guard her heart fiercely against romance-related side quests in this new life. It’s a battle of determination, and may the strongest resolve win.
EPISODES 5-6
We resume with our OTP-to-be’s check-for-feelings hug. Afterwards, Se-gye — with all the confidence and self-assurance that comes from being a handsome chaebol heir who has never been told no in his life — tells Dan-shim he has decided to pursue her. But she replies that she feels absolutely nothing for him. Ouch! Rejection #1. Cue: thunder and lightning as Se-gye goes through all the stages of grief. Because what do you mean Dan-shim did not feel what he felt from that hug?? He even attempts a do-over of their dynamite hug in case one wasn’t enough, but she tells him to take his L and move on. Pfft. But Se-gye doesn’t do “move on” rather well, and he ends up projecting his misery onto Jae-han and the other Biojei staff. Lool.
Via a quick peek into Dan-shim’s past, we learn she was sold at 12 years old to pay off her father’s gambling debt. One of the slavers was nice to Dan-shim and made her believe she would be sold to a noble house as a slave. But she soon learnt the slaver had plans to sell her to a courtesan house. This incident made Dan-shim realize that free kindness always comes with a price, and she swore she would never trust anyone but herself. Admittedly, not everyone who shows her kindness is out to harm her. But Dan-shim would rather not take the risk. Her main quest in this new life is to be rich, and she has no plans to get entangled in romantic affairs — which is why she rejected Se-gye’s advances even though her heart is doing flipflops for him. It also doesn’t help that Mun-do is out there shipping her with Se-gye for his own nefarious reasons.
Moving on, the ex-boss of a company Se-gye recently acquired accuses him of using intimidation tactics to acquire the business. Our leading man undergoes another round of media onslaught, but he has bigger, more important fish to fry. He simply exposes the ex-boss as a fraud, and diverts his attention back to wooing the love of his life. Se-gye is humiliated but not humbled by Dan-shim’s rejection, and he concludes she’s playing hard to get. But it’s fine. Love is warfare, and he has never lost a battle yet. A soldier is only as good as his armor, and Se-gye goes to tailor new suits for his wooing quest. It’s mating season, y’all. The male birds are out there performing for the female gaze, and I am no better than a female bird because Cha Se-gye in a black suit is attractive as hell! *fans self*
Meanwhile, the object of Se-gye’s affection has been upgraded from a no-name extra to a court lady in the sageuk Seo-ri was filming before the transmigration. Dan-shim is appalled by the historical inaccuracies in costumes but no one takes her seriously. They really learnt nothing from the criticism of a recent monarchy-related drama. Smh. Dan-shim becomes a pariah on set after Ji-hyo tells everyone her role upgrade was achieved by nepotism. But she goes back to being a set fav when Se-gye sends a coffee truck in her name. Okayyy, chaebol money flex! Se-gye also drops by the set in a supercar, but Dan-shim is not impressed. In fact, she’s wary about his intentions. Se-gye straight up says his intention is to steal her heart, and she asks if he truly harbors affection for her. “I do,” he replies. Not a single stutter was stuttered. But Dan-shim reiterates she doesn’t have feelings for him. “Not now, not ever, until the end of time.” Damn! Rejection #2.
It’s soon time for the Biojei endorsement shoot, and Dan-shim gets on a plane to Jeju Island. I was low-key expecting some drama from our patron saint of motion sickness, but the show had better plans. Se-gye collapses on the plane after taking some suspicious insomnia pills (courtesy of Mun-do buying off a nurse at Jung-hyun’s clinic), and Dan-shim — who’s certified in amateur Joseon acupuncture — volunteers to treat the medical emergency onboard. Cue: her shock when she sees Se-gye is the patient. Lol. Dan-shim’s treatment includes: 1) violently shaking Se-gye and hitting his head on the floor while sobbing and begging him not to die; 2) baptizing him with water and slaps; 3) grabbing his hand at the moment the defibrillator that’s attached to him is turned on, and getting shocked alongside him! LMAO!! This whole scene had me tearing up from laughter.
Thankfully, our OTP wakes up safe and sound in the hospital. A couple that gets shocked together stays together or something like that. Heh. Se-gye’s blood work indicates digitoxin poisoning, and Jae-han advises him to request an investigation or at least tell Jung-hyun about the bribed nurse. But Se-gye doesn’t even trust his doctor friend because he’s suspicious of everyone around him by default. But our chaebol with trust issues has since erased Dan-shim’s name from his suspicion list, and he defends her to Jae-han when the latter brings up all the chaos Dan-shim has brought into his life. Lol. He even ensures she gets a full body checkup — but behind her back, of course. It’s very steeze-reducing to let your crush know you’re worried about her. Dan-shim also disguises her concern for Se-gye by saying she’s only worried her source of income will dry up if he croaks. But ain’t nobody buying this excuse.
Even without evidence, Se-gye knows Mun-do is behind his media onslaught and the attempt on his life. Mun-do also knows that Se-gye knows, and he hopes it serves as warning as to how far he’s willing to go for Chail group. Se-gye’s poisoning is coming after Mun-do learns from Grandpa Cha’s lawyer — who’s also in Mun-do’s pocket — that Grandpa intends to transfer all his shares to Se-gye. It doesn’t matter that Se-gye is charting his course away from the family business. Mun-do’s gloves and mask have come off, and he’s ready to face Se-gye head-on from now on. Meanwhile, Dan-shim would rather have a glove and mask on because she has concluded — based on Se-gye’s chest pain and his fainting on the plane, and Jae-han’s lactose intolerant toilet needs — that they’ve contracted the plague. LMAO!
Se-gye and Dan-shim take a stroll on the beach after her plague suspicion dies down, and he’s surprised to hear it’s her first time seeing the ocean. Jeju Island used to be a place of exile back in Joseon, and Dan-shim can’t believe the famously desolate place actually looks like paradise. Se-gye is smitten as he silently watches her marinate in the view, and I’m pretty sure he’s crunching the numbers in his head to buy her an island. Lol. Dan-shim steals Se-gye’s breath away again on shoot day, and he soaks in her beauty until he notices other admiring eyes on her. Suddenly, she needs to change outfits fifty-eleven times because he cannot accept that she stands out more than the brand she’s shooting for. Sir, you cannot hide her beauty from the world. And you don’t have to yell at us because “she’s the only thing I can see right now!” Looool.
After the shoot, Dan-shim gets lost in the woods in the process of helping a grandpa with dementia. Thankfully, Se-gye finds her and envelopes her in the biggest and tightest hug ever. Phew! They both needed that hug. And I did, too. Se-gye proceeds to lose his mind when he sees a bruise on her hand, and he explodes at her in worry-induced anger. Dan-shim is a little hurt by his words, and she assures him she’ll stop being a nuisance. But in turn, she tells him not to come looking for her next time since they’ve decided to separate their personal lives from their professional ones. And on this awkward note, they return to the company dinner.
Dan-shim gets the party started with her wine and makgeolli combo a.k.a the Chaos Wine of Joseon, and ends up getting royally wasted. “And you wonder why I can’t take my eyes off you,” Se-gye says. Whoosh! The dialogue, his line delivery, and that swagger up to her, hands in pocket and everything…that was so, so very hot of Cha Se-gye. *ducks head in the freezer* Se-gye takes Dan-shim back to the beach to sober up — because she liked the beach earlier, aww — and she can see it on his face that he’s sorry for losing his temper with her in the woods. But Se-gye replies that he’s not sorry at all because if he had to go back, he would do it all over again. It doesn’t matter if she’s disappointed in him, he’ll be relieved as long as she’s okay. Aww.
Se-gye leans in for a kiss after laying his feelings bare to Dan-shim, but she gets up. Rejection #3? Third rejection’s finally the charm for Se-gye and he starts to leave. But Dan-shim stops him with a wrist grab. *gasp* There are countless reasons she must not fall for him, but none of them matter in this moment. “You grabbed me first,” Se-gye says. *gasper* Then he kisses the wrist she used to grab him — *gaspest* — before going in for the ultimate kiss. *dead and buried until we return for next week’s episodes!* We’re still in Q1 but I already found my rom-com male lead of the year!
In our weekly Joseon bits, Grand Prince Cheongheon stumbled on Dan-shim making a grave for the stray dog the crown prince killed, and he plucked flowers for the grave. He commiserated with Dan-shim on her loss and wished for the dog to rest in peace and be reincarnated as human in its next life. (And I bet Gwang-nam is the reincarnated dog. He’s already Dan-shim’s road manager and he keeps complaining that she treats him like a mutt. Heh.) The grand prince also plucked a flower for Dan-shim and volunteered himself as her human companion in light of the dog’s death. *swooning at his Joseon rizz* And the next time we see them, he addresses her as “my companion.” Awww. Companionship in the past, chaotic ship in the present.
Unfortunately, Grandpa Cha doesn’t see Dan-shim as a prospective partner for his grandson. His preferred choice for Se-gye is chaebol heiress, MO TAE-HEE (Chae Seo-an) — who appears mild-mannered but is quite calculating. Tae-hee also seems to have business with Mun-do, but we’re not sure what it is yet. By the way, I’m not even surprised Mun-do had the bribed nurse “taken care off.” Thankfully, Se-gye’s people found her early and took her to the hospital. Hopefully she survives and lives long enough to testify against Mun-do.
In other news, Seo-ri’s grandmother’s “Who are you?” to Dan-shim last week might have been dementia symptoms and not a realization that Dan-shim isn’t Seo-ri. Halmeoni was on the phone with Dan-shim this week acting like nothing happened. Then there was that quick cut to her waiting for Seo-ri to return from after school classes while Dan-shim was with the dementia grandpa in the woods. Hmmm. I don’t think this dementia plot is necessary, but let’s see how it goes.
RELATED POSTS