Aw, father and son’s bonding moment!

Note: Summaries are not recaps, they’re not as detailed. Contain spoilers! Read at your own risk.

Summary – Episode 4:
— Standing before his agitated father, Tak Gu explains that he woke up and followed the good smell to the workhouse. Manager Han attempts to take the boy away, but the President tells him to leave the child with him. Managar Han watches from a distance and recalls what Ma Jun told him earlier, “I have never seen that kind of expression on father since I was born! Things that I can’t do, that country boy did it.” Does anyone else think that the father suspects that Ma Jun is not his son? Or are men/husbands very careless when it comes to this matter?

Tak Gu stays with his father, eats breakfast, and has a little chat as well. Father finds it a bit odd that Tak Gu can smell the bread even before he starts baking, to which Tak Gu replies, “I’m not sure, it smells sweet like white sugar, with a hint of rice wine, and a little bit sour. I naturally thought it was bread.” This meeting aggravates Ma Jun’s jealousy further when the family discovers that the two had breakfast together in the workplace. Grandma is pleased with this. Father returns to his room to change and remember his Teacher’s words, “…That is the so called smell of fermentation. People who can distinguish the dough composition by its smell, I have only met one so far.” Well,  Father’s teacher is about to meet Tak Gu, I’m sure of it!

Father (President Il Jong) takes the boys to the bread factory and runs a little test to confirm his belief about Tak Gu. On the counter is four containers, each containing a type of dough. He wants Ma Jun and Tak Gu to tell him which dough is suitable for making bread. Ma Jun touches the dough lightly with this index finger and decides it’s Dough #3. Tak Gu, however, smells each dough and gives an unsure look. He explains that none of these dough is feasible to make bread with. Everyone is surprised that Tak Gu can tell the fermentation progress merely by smelling.

President Il Jong recounts his painful memory of losing a friend to malnutrition, in other words, hunger. He vows to make the best bread and to prevent hunger in the Republic of Korea. Here we see the president in a new light. No, he still isn’t a good husband, but as a career man, he’s devoted and optimistic.

Mad woman a.k.a Seo In Sook barges into the factory and demands to take Ma Jun with her. She will not allow her precious son to stand next to this lowly child (Tak Gu) or let his hand touch flour! This public embarrassment causes Ma Jun to be angry at his mom for disgracing his father. Talk about taking sides. You know, Seo In-Sook is the product of a loveless marriage, and from years of negligence, and pressure. She is hateful, but not entirely deprived of reasons. But then again, how far can her reasons justify her actions?

Father is hungry and asks Tak Gu to take him to the best place for noodle, and naturally, Tak Gu guides the president home. Mother Mi Sun is fidgety at the unannounced visit, and rushes around to buy ingredients.

Tak Gu spends some time catching up with his old friends. One of them is his crush, Shin Yu Kyung, who lives with an abusive and alcoholic father, while her mother has recently eloped with another man. Yu Kyung learns that Tak Gu has moved to Seoul where his father lives, and while she asks curiously, Tak Gu appears to have nothing more to say about his new family. This little meeting is seen by Yu Kyung’s father who chases after Tak Gu to give the boy a good beating. Like always, Yu Kyung races to Tak Gu’s former house and seeks for help. With a bleeding face, Tak Gu shows his courageous side, stands his ground for Yu Kyung, his mom, and his identity. Mr. Shin is about to land another blow when Father (YAY!) grabs the man’s wrist and announces, “I’m the father of this child!”

Since Tak Gu is hurt, President Il Jong leaves the child with his mother, and he returns home. Agitated, In Sook asks, “What did you do there? Just talking? Or rekindling the flame from years ago? Are you planning to live a dual family life? to which the President challenges, “If I am, what are you going to do? She gave birth and took care of my child all this time. Regardless of the methods, a compensation is a must.” Whoa. Intense.

While everyone is sleeping (Erm, except for some), Ma Jun and grandma wake up to the sound of closing door. I don’t know about you guys, but the raining makes the night ominous. Grandma takes a look outside the yard, and sees Managar Han accompanies In Sook to President Il Jong’s workshop. In short, In Sook is frustrated that Manager is not doing anything to eliminate Tak Gu and his mother. She reminds him of his promise to not have her hurt because of these events. Hurt, Manager Han asks why she is hurt because of Il Jong visiting Mi Sun? In other words, he wonders, in anger, why she is clinging on to someone who neglects her. Then he asks the main question, “Who am I to you?”

To regain his confidence and loyalty to her, In Sook quickly hugs him, “You are my man. The father of my son! Is that not enough?” The camera zooms out to Grandma’s stunned expression. In Sook continues, “I only have one goal, to let our Ma Jun inherit Koo Seong family. Whenever that comes true, I will become yours.”
When they are about to leave the workshop, Grandma shows her face (bad move!) and promises not to let them get away easily.

And as fate has it, Ma Jun is outside the window. Did he hear the truth or not? Maybe the rain makes it hard to hear from the outside? Although Ma Jun isn’t likable, but to put such cruelty on a small kid is unhealthy towards his mentality and development.

Summary – Episode 5:

— Grandma hurries off to tell her son the shocking news, with In Sook following and clinging to her hand, begging for mercy. Manager Han can’t bare to watch her pleading helplessly, so he goes over and flings her hand away. This causes grandma to lose balance and hit her head on the wet, hard concrete. In Sook crawls to Grandma’s side and attempts to wake her, but Manager Han tells her otherwise, “Don’t do anything. Listen to me. You have never met me tonight. You have never been here tonight either. BLAH BLAH BLAH. If something does happen, it will happen to me. Nothing will happen to you and Ma Jun….” They leave the scene.

Father Il Jong is sleeping in his room until someone alerts his door with a knock. He notices that Grandma isn’t in her room, and rushes outside to find her lying on the ground. At the hospital, Il Jong sobs at her bedside, pleading her to wake up. She does and looks up at Tak Gu, reaching a hand out to him, saying “My…My child…” which I translate out to be “My blood/biological grandson…” and passes away. Mi Sun waits outside anxiously and meets a pale-looking In Sook who says grudgingly, “Ultimately, fate was on my side.” No remorse lady?!

The funeral is held and while everyone is inside to bow to the guests, Ma Jun is outside, melancholy clouding his face as he remembers what happened during THAT night: After the couple left, Ma Jun approached his Grandma and found his mom’s golden bracelet on the ground. He picked it up and intended to leave when Grandma stirred in pain. He went back to her and asked, “Grandma, do you think you can stand up? I will help you up, but in return, you must promise me something. Please forgive my mom. What mom did was wrong, but please forgive it all.” Okay, can I have a moment please? This breaks my heart. On the other side of the balance, the boy has already developed a give-and-take mentality. Sigh. When Grandma didn’t answer, he made the decision, “So you have promised me. Okay?” and tried to move her. And of course, that tiny body of his failed to save her, and therefore he went to knock on his dad’s door secretly. The boy has a heart – that’s all I’m going to ask for right now.

Tak Gu looks around for Ma Jun and finds the latter vomiting on the steps. He comes over and pats Ma Jun on the back, with the thought of soothing his cough. Ma Jun glares at Tak Gu, shooing him away, and when Tak Gu doesn’t, he asks, “What does a bum like you know? Who do you think you are?!” In a matter-of-fact tone, Tak Gu replies, “What do you mean? I’m your hyung (older brother). The older brother has the job to take care of his younger sibling when things get tough, right?…..Our mothers may be different, but we have one father, one blood.” Dismayed, Ma Jun reveals the truth, “Don’t try to make me laugh. How could we be of the same blood? It’s not true! It’s not true!” Naturally, Tak Gu takes these words as part of Ma Jun’s tantrum, unaware of the real deal behind. Poor boy, he heard everything.

Manager Han meets up with Mr. Shin (Yu Kyung’s father), hands him some money, and asks him to “handle” a woman – Mi Sun. From afar, Yu Kyung hears the exchange between them. She hurries home to find a small amount of money that she has and sends a telegram to Tak Gu, stating “Mom’s in crisis at Ulmokjae.”

Worried, Tak Gu hands the telegram to Father Il Jong, seeking his urgent help. Father dismisses Tak Gu, promising to take care of it. Tak Gu is uncomfortable and nervous at his father’s relaxing composure. Father takes this chance to tell him that once the mourning period is over, he will add Tak Gu to his family registry, then Tak Gu will be officially known as the eldest son of the Koo’s household, Koo Hyung Jun. In response, Tak Gu’s face is hilarious (below) as the information doesn’t make any sense to him.

Late that night, Tak Gu sneaks around the house, in a mission to escape to Cheongsan. Surprisingly, a company joins his trip – Ma Jun. These two are adorable, I’m digging their hate-and-love brotherhood. Let see how this bond will develop as they grow older.

Tak Gu: “Thanks to you, we were able to escape. But are you really going to Cheongsan with me?”
Ma Jun: “Have I ever played a joke on you before?”
Tak Gu: “You can’t! If you disappear too, the president will be worried. Not only the president, imagine how much panic your mother will be in. Stop playing around and go back.”
Ma Jun: “I’m not going back. I’d never return to that house. To me right now, I don’t have a mom nor a dad.”
Tak Gu: “How could you say something like that with wide eyes!”
Ma Jun: “To me they’re dead. Grandma passed away. Mom and dad also died.”
Tak Gu: “Are you still sick?”
Ma Jun: “Stop wasting time! Your mom is in danger.”
Tak Gu: “Fine. Okay. Although I don’t know why you’re like this, come with me for now. But when we’re coming back, we have to come back together. Promise me this. Okay?”
Ma Jun: “Why? Why are you doing everything to take me back there?”
Tak Gu: “Because the president will be worried. Do you what is the most embarrassing thing for a man? Is making his parents worried.” I like how he calls himself a “man” all the time. hehe

I think this is one of those few moments where Ma Jun feels like he can believe in Tak Gu’s words.

At home, Mi Sun is attacked, blindfolded and taken out of the house by Mr. Shin. Yu Kyung quickly runs to look for help and luckily, the boys have arrived at Ulmokjae, standing on the bridge. Together, they follow the path Yu Kyung noted earlier.

Mr. Shin is all up on Mi Sun, ready to do his “business”. You disgusting moron! Suddenly, the door slams opened, and a mysterious man enters to beat down Mr. Shin. We don’t get to see his face, but he has a tattoo on his arm. Did the president send him? Cause the adults at home (President, Manager Han, and Seo In Sook) are all uneasy awaiting for something.

Summary – Episode 6:

— A lot of moving happened in this episode, so I’ll be quick (cause I can’t wait to see the adults!). The kids arrive at the scene to find an unconscious Mr. Shin, yet Mi Sun is no where to be seen. Tak Gu stands at the doorway and screams for his mom, who responds by calling out his name. She is shoved into the car by the mysterious man while Tak Gu runs helplessly behind. Tak Gu sends Yu Kyung home, promising her he wouldn’t report her father’s crime, and directs Ma Jun to return to Seoul on the first bus. He is going to find his mother by myself. At the Koo’s household, President Il Jong sends Manager Han to look for the kids, and he emphasizes to bring them both home.

Without much of a choice, Ma Jun follows Yu Kyung home. He calmly asks her for a local restaurant and hotel because he can’t stand living and eating in such a place. Yu Kyung answers bitterly, “One, you can eat the food here and sleep for a while. Or two, you can starve yourself and wait outside until the bus comes.” The girl has an attitude I like!

No matter how much Mi Sun pleads, the mysterious man maintains his goal, “I can’t let you go. You won’t be able to meet him (Tak Gu) anymore.” If the mastermind behind is the President, then that’s just mean! Why would he want to separate Tak Gu and Mi Sun? To keep Tak Gu by his side?

President Il Jong recounts the story years ago when Grandma convinced him to marry Seo In Sook for one reason, she stated, “If you marry her, your dream will come true,” to which Il Jong protested, “But how can I marry someone I don’t love?” It’s also revealed that Seo In Sook at the time didn’t mind that they weren’t in love….

When the car comes to sudden halt, Mi Sun jumps out, and runs into the woods. The mysterious man chases after her. She reaches a cliff, misses her step, and falls in the water. WHAT? A cliff-falling scene in a modern drama? I thought this only happens in ancient dramas. Decades later, the character shows up, adept in martial arts skills. Oh boy.(the middle screencap creeps me out! The Leprechaun!)

Yu Kyung finds Ma Jun sitting on the ground, after the latter has been mugged. Ma Jun tries to act big and tells her to get out of his face, he’s not scared of anything. Yu Kyung strips his mask off, unveiling, “You are really a coward. You’re afraid people might catch on so you’re acting like that right? Right?” Having no other reasons to complain, he comes home with her and eats the food he rejected earlier. Ma Jun asks, “What is your relationship with him? Do you like him?” She repeats his question, “What about you? Why did you follow Tak Gu all the way here?” Ma Jun can’t explain…so she answers for him, “Isn’t it because he has moved your heart? That’s Tak Gu. He has that quality.”

Early in the morning, Mr. Shin wakes up and discovers his missing money. Like a daily routine, he hits Yu Kyung, accusing her. Ma Jun remains outside and ignores her hopeful look. Manager Han arrives to pick up the boys. Tak Gu insists that he stay to look for his mom, but Manager Han holds his goal strictly, not because he likes Tak Gu, but the mission was given by President Il Jong. Yu Kyung stumbles into the police station, half-dead. Her father is taken away charging of abuse while she is sent to an orphanage. Before she goes, she sends another telegram to Tak Gu (with the money she stole from her dad). In the telegram, she bids him goodbye, hoping that they would meet again when they’re adults and by then she would truly be happy. Yu Kyung also gives him a clue, “I heard that the person who kidnapped your mother has a windmill tattoo on his arm. There’s also another man, Manager Han, who also gave my dad money asking him to kidnap your mom.”

You know sometimes Tak Gu’s calm expression agitates me. Here he is standing before the man who ordered to kidnap his mom, yet he appears composed. This kid is too kind.

Manager Han rids of Tak Gu’s presence by aiming at his weak point, “If you want to see your mom again, never show up around this house again. It’s only then can you and your mom stay alive.” Without hesitation, the loving boy agrees and gets into a car of Manager Han’s man. The man drops Tak Gu off at a dock and instructs his people there to arrange the boy some place outside of Korea. Naturally, Tak Gu asks where his mom is to which the men have no idea of. Suspicious of their intentions, he picks up his feet and dashes away.

An old man saves Tak Gu from the hands of evil and shares a moment together. Tak Gu discloses that he’s looking for his mom and will continue to look for her no matter what. He shares his mom’s sentiment, “The most compassionate person can conquer the world.” Oi, is this the theme of our drama?

12 years later, we see the adult Tak Gu teaching the local gangsters a lesson. During the fight, he conveniently checks for the windmill tattoo on their arms – to his disappointment, none of them is THE one.

Frankly, I didn’t expect the older Tak Gu to be this scrawny. The younger actor definitely has more roundness and flesh to his build. Tak Gu also lost his accent! Bahhh. Will miss that characteristic for sure. Aside from the fast-paced storyline, I think the housewives at home must be touched by Tak Gu’s devotion to his mom. 12 years! Betcha they all want a son like him. teehee!