Love in Contract: Episodes 5-6

Love in Contract: Episodes 5-6

by Unit

As our professional wife officially begins to juggle her men, some sides of this equation fall into a crisis of feelings. It’s easier to take a step if they can identify the unknown emotions swirling around their insides, but what happens when they are absolutely clueless about what it is that they’re feeling?

 
EPISODES 5-6 WEECAP

As always, we begin the week with more insight into our mysterious judge, and this time we learn about his previous marriage. His ex-wife (who happens to be his first love) made him out to be the party at fault in their divorce, and while he might indeed have had his own share of the fault, it’s obvious the split hurt him badly. I wonder if that’s why he’s so closed off now, or if that’s one of the reasons for the divorce.

Anyway, fault-finding among spouses is something Ji-ho sees regularly in his line of work, and Sang-eun was the first spouse to admit that her divorce was solely her fault. She caught his eye immediately, and after a little digging to be sure that she wasn’t a victim of marital crimes thanks to her recurring presence in his court, he discovered that she’s a professional wife. And that’s how their love story marriage arrangement began.

But Ji-ho needs to walk me through the thought process that resulted in his bright idea of giving the money from a person who blames others (alimony from his ex) to a person who takes the blame for others (Sang-eun’s fees). Anyway, this eventually gets him into trouble with Sang-eun when he offers to pay her to extend their contract so she doesn’t have to accept Hae-jin as her client.

I would have been busy reciting the “he loves me, he loves me not” mantra while plucking the petals off a flower, but Sang-eun is much braver than I am, and she straight up asks Ji-ho if he doesn’t want her to accept Hae-jin because he likes her. Ji-ho denies it and tells her it’s a goodwill gesture as he thinks she’s not retiring because of money, and Sang-eun gets upset. Because why does she need to hear that from the guy she likes – even if she hasn’t realized she likes him yet.

Ji-ho can be so dense sometimes, because this has nothing to do with goodwill. He doesn’t want Sang-eun around Hae-jin as he clearly has feelings for her, and just because he can’t see it doesn’t mean the rest of us are blind. It’s in the little things like wanting to cook salmon because she likes it, or watching tons of CCTV footage to track Helmet Man. At some point, he even attacks Sang-eun after mistaking her for Helmet Man when she wore a helmet to his house to evade the paparazzi.

Ji-ho also gets adorably upset when one of his staff badmouths the “gold-digger lady” dating Hae-jin. But on the bright side, he has been interacting with his staff more often now – even if it’s to interrupt their gossip sessions and send them on errands to stop them from talking about his wife and her new man. Heh.

As for the new man, I found it very rude how Hae-jin practically ambushed Sang-eun into the engagement announcement. Would it have killed him to get her consent first before brandishing her on national TV as his fiancée? Pfft. He’s definitely not winning me over with his methods, even if Sang-eun eventually relents and enters into a contract relationship with him. The only thing flashy about their relationship is shots from paparazzi and fan cameras, and I just want to fast-forward their scenes together, so I can move on to Ji-ho.

Needless to say, I’m fully team Ji-ho right now, even though Sang-eun is still mad at him and refuses to show up on their last Friday together. By then, Ji-ho’s frustrations have reached an all-time high, and it culminates in a mini explosion. First, he blocks the paparazzi outside his apartment building with a “I’m Kang Hae-jin’s neighbor, and that woman you’re chasing is my wife!” And then he shows up outside Sang-eun’s house with a “Why didn’t you come on Friday? I’ve been waiting for you.” Swoon!!!

I’m totally loving this new side of Ji-ho, who now has a valid reason to extend his marriage contract with Sang-eun: his boss has introduced him to a married couples club for legal professionals, and has also invited his staff to Ji-ho’s housewarming party. They even added Ji-ho to a group chat; also Sang-eun needs to take responsibility for charming the pants off his boss the other day. Thanks to his antisocial nature, his boss is the only person who supports him at work, and Ji-ho cannot afford to lose that support.

It’s hard for Sang-eun to turn Ji-ho down when he tells her that he needs her to coach his social skills, and she is delighted to hear that she is needed and it’s not about goodwill. Awww. Taking responsibility for Ji-ho means rearranging her schedule again, and Sang-eun calls for a board meeting with the stakeholders involved in her professional life.

Ji-ho and Hae-jin come to a grudging understanding, and Ji-ho gets to keep his usual days of the week. In exchange, he agrees to host Jamie the cat on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (which are Sang-eun’s days with Hae-jin) — because Sang-eun’s allergies aside, Jamie is the biggest anti-fan of Hae-jin’s relationship, and made her dissatisfaction known by jumping and clawing at her human namesake. Oof! She is so territorial!

Ji-ho is clearly the winner in this arrangement because he already has a rapport with Jamie the cat, and he even renames her Amy. I swear, petty Ji-ho is doing this on purpose to upset Hae-jin, and it’s totally working lol. Ji-ho even gets to go on actual dates with Jamie the human — yes, shopping for household and couple items, and having a photoshoot with Sang-eun definitely counts as a date. Never mind that those are just props to create the illusion of a married couple’s home.

Speaking of homes, I don’t like that Sang-eun brought Mi-ho home from the detention center. Why did she have to bring that fussy woman into the space she shares with Gwang-nam? The guy isn’t having a swell time living with Mi-ho, and it’s annoying how she looks down on him. Like he doesn’t already have enough on his plate after his sexuality was turned into gossip fodder by a scorned middle school girl with a crush on him at the studio where he works as a taekwondo instructor.

Gwang-nam’s colleagues initially defended him, but then withdrew when he came out to them, and I just want to hug him because he deserves better. Work colleagues can be a pain sometimes, and Ji-ho can testify to this considering his boss and colleagues show up at his housewarming party with their plus ones. Like their individual presence wasn’t enough already. Lol.

The guests are charmed by their lovely home — which Ji-ho doesn’t even recognize after Sang-eun has worked her magic in the space — and the evening runs smoothly until the drinks take over. They engage in fun activities to win a prize, and Sang-eun even volunteers Ji-ho (who is the only sober one among them) for one of the games, which his competitive self wins. But the prize goes to someone else, and Ji-ho argues against the unfairness of the process. It’s not about the prize money, he insists, it’s about acknowledging his wife as the true number 1. Jung Ji-ho, please!

Sang-eun dozes off at her appointment with Hae-jin the next day, but her hungover nap is rudely interrupted when she recalls the latter part of the previous day’s party. During a spin the bottle session, Sang-eun was egged on to kiss her husband, and boring Ji-ho immediately started on the legalities of a forced display of affection. But an undeterred Sang-eun had cut him short with a firm kiss to the lips, before telling him that he is her first love. Squee!!!

Hae-jin really never stood a chance, did he? Poor guy is so happy his first love is napping beside him — an indication that their relationship is a snooze fest — meanwhile, her dreams are plagued with the images of her own first love. Hehe. Anyway, I hope Sang-eun doesn’t chalk up their kiss to a drunken mistake because from all indications, it has already turned Ji-ho’s world upside down. As if he wasn’t already having a hard time processing his feelings. Lol.

As we approach the halfway point, I already know this drama will give me the drama, so just bring it on. Serve me the denials, the jealousy, and the pining with a little less of the angst, and more of the fun, and you’ve got yourself a happy camper.

 
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Love in Contract: Episodes 5-6
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily