Finding Your Seoulmate
Episode 12 of My Liberation Notes starts with a big smile on Gi-Jeong’s face. She’s growing closer to Tae-Hun and the pair are messaging one another a lot. At the same time, Mi-Jeong heads out with Mr Gu. The former speaks nonchalantly about befriending a goat in the past… and then eating it for dinner. Lovely! Tae-Hun returns from church but Gyeong-Seon has still not forgiven Tae-Hun. Hui-Seon tells her to leave them alone, eventually snapping at the woman. The big drama here, of course, stems from Yu-Rim. They’re worried that if Gi-Jeong marries Tae-Hun that that will take her away from the women. Tae-Hun speaks to Mi-Jeong at work about her ties with her sister, as she admits she has been told about their relationship. Back home, there’s drama with Mr Gu when his “friend” shows up at Je-Ho and Hye-Sook’s house. Gu tries not to let his rage get the better of him as they eat food together. Apparently this guy was actually part of Gu’s gang, warning him that Chairman Shin is going to come after him now. Even worse, he’s figured out that Gu is there for a girl (that being Mi-Jeong of course.) Back at work, the Liberation Club join together as So Hyang-Gi appears and admits that she’s not as happy as she first seems. The smile she makes is just something that comes naturally to her, as she sadly mentions that funerals are the worst. The others welcome her in, giving her the ground rules, including not pretending to be happy or unhappy – and to always be honest with herself. Hyang-Gi admits that it’s hard for her but hopefully the team have another valuable member on their roster now. Mi-Jeong is certainly taken aback by this development, especially when she realizes that Hyang-Gi isn’t as happy as she first thought. That night, Gu is walking along as Mi-Jeong steps off the bus. The pair walk home together, where Gu chuckles and admits that she’s so open with him now that she can say anything. Elsewhere, Chang-Hee heads out and ends up seeing Da-Yeon. She’s pretty forward and flirts with him, eventually heading out for dinner. All of her friends end up teasing the pair but everything goes awry that night when his car ends up stuck in the parking lot thanks to an obnoxious driver. Unfortunately, it turns out Chang-Hee wrote down the number incorrectly too, which doesn’t help, When Da-Yeon grabs a taxi back because of this, it seems to blow his chances with Da-Yeon. At work, things are only made worse by A-Reum moaning and constantly causing drama. There’s also car trouble too, forcing him into trying to fix up Mr Gu’s bumper. Tae-Hun speaks to Mi-Jeong and talks about what it’s going to be like dating someone with kids. He confirms that plans may be cancelled at short notice and holidays are off-limits too. Gi-Jeong is actually okay with this though. Through some flashbacks, we see that Tae-Hun has already spoken to Yeol about his new relationship, including how Gi-Jeong lets him relax and be himself; he doesn’t always have to be fun and outgoing all the time. Back home, Je-Ho learns from Chang-Hee that the car he’s driving around belongs to Gu. He’s certainly shocked and eventually tells Chang-Hee not to drive it anymore. “Can’t I just enjoy this moment?” He asks. Je-Ho slams his fist on the table, demanding that Chang-Hee listen. Je-Ho is a proud man, and believes in toiling away and working for one’s accomplishments rather than using other people’s money. In the middle of this big fight though, Gu heads over and everything is awkward and silent. Mi-Jeong has had enough and thinks about leaving the table to eat elsewhere to get away from the suffocating tension. A look from her mother though is enough to stop that as she stays where she is. That afternoon, Gu checks out his car and realizes that Chang-hee has had it fixed up. Gu chases after him, running all the way past the fields, the rolling hills and along that familiar stretch of road. Du-Hwan stops by with a drink for them both on his motorbike, as if they’re in a marathon. They run so far that Chang-Hee makes it onto the train heading for the city. The thing is Gu has actually made the exact same train too. Gu-‘s destination is very different from Chang-Hee’s though, as he decides to make moves to get back to the club. Police raid the club looking for drugs. This is Gu’s doing and Gu’s doing. He’s made his choice and speaks to Mi-Jeong about it later on. She’s silent and processes this news as Gu heads back home. Mi-Jeong wants to meet once a month or so but for Gu, he wants to live a clear life. Gu admits he knows Mi-Jeong knows what his past is like but unlike the others in her family, MiJeong doesn’t care about his money or fame. “I’m not angry” She eventually says. “I’m just sad.” Mi-Jeong promises to call though, even if Gu answers angrily, but concedes to say she’ll do so infrequently. Another character this effects is Je-Ho, who’s obviously disappointed in losing the guy who had such an influence on his life. On his way out the wilderness, those wild dogs from before are caged up and taken away. Back in Seoul, police continue to chase after Mr. Baek who escapes from the club and rushes away. However, in his escape he ends up impaled on a bunch of metal poles and bleeds out, dying right there. Mi-Jeong’s sadness understandably manifests itself into a lot of tears that night. As for Gu, he shows up at Baek’s funeral and can’t help but smile. He starts chuckling, admitting that he’s happy when someone dies. As the scene flits back to Mi-Jeong again, she repeats the Liberation Club mantra as she heads to work.
The Episode Review
My Liberation Notes bows out with another very good episode this week, with all our characters coming so far since the opening chapter. Gu heading back to Seoul was perhaps obvious and seeing him amongst all those other men, chuckling at Baek’s death, is testament to how much power he clearly wields over them all – especially as no one dares speak up. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, but it comes at the expense of poor Mi-Jeong, who’s left without Gu and clearly going through the motions because of that. The series has done well to keep things flowing between the different siblings and although there isn’t an overarching theme like episode 13’s loneliness idea, there’s a lot of interesting themes and ideas here. Most notably is that including the new member of the Liberation Club, with the age old adage of not judging a book by its cover. The other siblings get their own drama this time around too, with Gi-Jeong and Tae-Hun starting their journey while I’d imagine Chang-Hee and Da-Yeon will eventually get together in the end as well. My Liberation Notes has a way of keeping things suitably mellow and dramatic in equal doses. With 4 episodes to go, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen next.
