Come and Hug Me recap episode – 7- 8
Episode – 7
In the past, Hui Jae is brought by the police to be loaded into a police van but a stream of reporters and victims’ family members are waiting in front of the building to see his face. They wail that they want to see the murderer’s face. A remorseless Hui Jae can be seen smiling despite the mask on his face.
Na Moo, with a mask covering his face, is being escorted by the police in between reporters who grill him about his father. The detectives try to protect him, but one female reporter cruelly asks if he has anything to say to his friend who was with him in the crime scene. At the same moment Nak Won arrives with her face partially covered with a scarf along with her brother, Moo Won.
The reporters now flock towards Nak Won who is visibly affected by their questions. Na Moo removes the mask from his face and announces to the reporters that he’d like to tell his father to do the same thing. This gets the attention of the reporters. One detective tells him not to expose his face to the world but Na Moo continues to them that he would tell his father to kill him just like he did with his victims.
Moo Won glares at Na Moo and takes Nak Won away from the reporters, but Nak Won can’t stop looking at Na Moo as she leaves. Na Moo tries not to look at her directly and the female reporter looks particularly pleased with his answer.
Back at the Police academy shooting, moments before Jae Yi (Nak Won’s stage name) falls to the ground, Do Jin (Na Moo) is asking one of the assistant directors to wrap it up sooner since his colleagues must be tired waiting since the morning. Do Jin is also asked to lead the parade and he does so. Once the parade is shot Do Jin moves starts to walk away but he comes to a halt suddenly. He hears some of his colleagues talking about ‘Yoon Deok’ from their vending machine. They wonder why she is sitting on the ground or if she is hurt.
We see Jae Yi has fallen to the ground and the reporter relentlessly questions her about Hui Jae. She also says that it will be good publicity for her since she wants to become an actress like her mother. Gripping her fist in anger Jae tries to get up and walk away. But once again she loses her footing but this time Do Jin catches and steadies her. Jae Yi looks at him with wonder but Do Jin orders the reporters to put their cameras away and stop recording.
She recognises him but the shock of the whole incident knocks her out and she falls for the third time. Do Jin lifts her up and carries her into the police academy. The reporters’ curiosity is heightened and they run behind Do Jin only to be stopped by the police men from entering the building. Reporter Ji Ho and her camera man are aware of his identity and try desperately to enter the building but they are physically stopped. Jae Yi’s manager, Pyo Taek, too is stopped from entering.
Jae Yi lies in the medical wing of the police academy and Do Jin watches the doctor treat her. He learns that physically she is fine and her problem is more psychological. Do Jin sits with her for a while and when she curls up feeling cold he covers her with his Police uniform. He looks at her more closely and goes to push her stray fringe away from her face. But he stops himself and continues to look at her like the same way he used to when he was fifteen.
Flash back to Christmas many years ago at Nak Won’s house. A song is playing in the recorder and Hui Jae, his face covered with a mask, is walking around the house examining Nak Won’s Christmas cards. He spots the one from Na Moo which reads ‘I like you very much. Nak Won is crying defeated in a corner. The house looks gloomy with only the Christmas lights. Hui Jae remarks that Nak Won’s parents must be very good people. He continues that usually people say that bad people have more enemies but in his experience it’s the good ones who help others that have more enemies.
Hui Jae asks a crying Nak Won if she knows who he is. She shakes her head that she doesn’t. He asks if she doesn’t recognise his voice and she shakes her head again. In a friendly tone he asks if he should let her go but says he is not sure whether she is lying. He says she should follow her parents and that he’ll help her go there. So that she can go there and cry. A terrified Nak Won cries as he lifts his hammer.
As Nak Won readies herself to receive a blow, Na Moo’s voice rings through the house. He runs into the room where Hui Jae is preparing to strike at Nak Won. He takes in the scene with shock and he stands there transfixed. Nak Won asks him to run away in a whisper but when he doesn’t move she says it loudly. But Na Moo determinedly walks towards his father and informs him that he has called the police who’ll reach there in ten minutes. He also says that he has given them the password to this house. A wave of shock spreads through Hui Jae’s face.
Na Moo goes on to sit near Nak Won and holds her in a half embrace protectively. He tells Hui Jae that since he is very good at getting beat up he can definitely stand for the next ten minutes. He resigns himself for what is to come, puts a hand into his coat pocket and turns Nak Won’s face away from Hui Jae. A very frustrated Hui Jae tells Na Moo to move and lifts his hammer again but Na Moo continues to stare at his father challengingly. Nak Won begs Hui Jae to spare them and asks Na Moo to run away.
Jae Yi wakes up in the medical wing screaming for Na Moo. Her manager asks her if she had another nightmare. He doesn’t seem to recognise the name Na Mo and Jae Yi looks at the uniform covering her. It reads Chae Do Jin. She runs out in search of him.
Ji Ho and her camera man are stopped from entering the building by jong hyun and other police men. Ji Ho says she wants to meet the student who carried Jae Yi inside and continues if he wouldn’t be bothered if she wrote an article linking her friend to Jae Yi. Jong Hyun is annoyed but Do Jin shows up and asks her where she is from.
He sees her recorder and asks her to turn It off and continues that he’ll break her camera if they take even a single picture.
Se kyung is annoyed that her movie promotional turned all about Jae Yi. She browses the internet to see all the articles about Jae Yi and her mom. Her make up staff wonder why the reporters asked Jae Yi about the serial killer.
Se Kyung thinks back to the day she made Jae Yi get coffee. Jae Yi delivers the coffee respectfully and thanks Se Kyung for it. Se Kyung asks her if she is testing her. She has heard that Jae Yi behaves quite frankly with their lead actor Yoon Sung, like telling him whatever she feels. Whereas she behaves all meek with Se Kyung. Jae Yi replies sincerely that she likes Se Kyung even though she knows that Se Kyung doesn’t like her. Se Kyung disbelievingly says that Jae Yi is now resorting to cheap tricks by acting all innocent and gets annoyed when Jae Yi insists that she really does like her. Jae Yi tells Se Kyung that she learnt from her mother that when Se Kyung worked really hard when she was a rookie actress and it made her very beautiful. Se Kyung and her staff are startled when they see more media vehicles going towards the police academy.
Do Jin takes Ji Ho and the cameraman to a quiet place and asks them what they want. He informs that if its regarding the Yoon Hui Jae biography then he has nothing to say to them. When he turns to leave Ji Ho asks about his relationship with Jae Yi. When he stops she asks if they were the two kids at the murder scene. She tells him her article will help Jae Yi since she is an upcoming actress and she won’t write gossip articles. She questions if he knows Park Hee Young from Sisa Lane.
Park Hee Young, the reporter who asked young Na Moo about his friend, is seen driving in her car reading about the Hui Jae biography smugly.
Ji Ho asks Do Jin if he read an article written by Hee Young about Hui Jae. It reads that Yoon Hui Jae never received any love as a child so is his inability to love understandable. She wonders what he thinks as his son. She wonders that we blame the environment when things go wrong and may be that’s why Hui Jae says that he is not that different from all the other people.
Do Jin morosely asks if she believes every word he wrote and Ji Ho replies that not all but some of it may be true. Ji Ho continues that Hui Jae ‘s mom died in a car crash and Hui Jae’s dad was violent and abusive to him. She wonders if he had at least someone to help him. Do Jin cuts in and says that assumption doesn’t apply for a violent murderer. He continues in an impersonal tone that once a person commits a crime that cannot be taken back he doesn’t deserve and pity or understanding.
Jae Yi is running around the halls looking for him and comes to stop in front of the vending machine with her picture in it.
Do Jin continues to Ji Ho that none of the victims, whether they had a better living situation than Hui Jae or not, didn’t deserve to die. He tells her that they all had the right to live happily and Hui Jae’s unfortunate upbringing doesn’t mean he deserves any pity.
Else where families of the victims protest the release of Hui Jae’s autobiography.
Ji Ho counters that even criminals desere basic human rights and if not, more criminals may arise. Do Jin very slowly advances towards her asks her to consider another presumption. Since he is Hui Jae’s son he was pointed at and judged since childhood and that qualifies as an unfortunate childhood. He asks if people will be understanding and pity him if he were to hurt the two of them then and there.
The reporting duo are taken aback and crossly ask how he can say things like that. Do Jin questions them if the idea of becoming the victim suddenly changed their mind. He tells them that Hui Jae ruined too many lives and some of them committed suicide out of guilt because they couldn’t protect their loved ones. He asks them to stop expecting anything dramatic from a criminal. He tells them instead of justifying their ideas they should be honest and write gossip like Park Hee Young.
Pyo Taek denies the rumours about Jae Yi to someone on the phone. He tells them not to write anything based on some psycho’s words. He sees the mounting attention on the current situation directed at Jae Yi on the phone. He tells her they should go back. They are still near the vending machine in the police academy. Jae Yi has run around the area looking for Do Jin to return his shirt and to check if he is Na Moo. She came across one guy but it was someone else. The guy tells her that Do Jin can be found near the vending machine as that’s where he goes all the time to rest.
Jae Yi looks at her picture in the vending machine and asks Pyo Taek if they can stay a little longer. Do Jin is outside the police building where Yeon Ji brings him a coat. He smiles at her but proceeds into the building without taking the coat.
Moo Won, who is training as a lawyer, is told by his professor that next year his training ends and he can join any law firm he wants. Moo Won tells that he would like to be a civil servant, as in a prosecutor or a judge.
He and his colleagues are about to go on a visit to the prison. He calls Nak Won but his calls don’t get connected.
Joon Young finds a couple of his juniors gossiping near the cafeteria and finds Jae Yi sitting there. He drops his bottle of water when she smiles at him. Her manager arrives and tells that they need to leave immediately. He says something to do with Hui Jae but leaves the sentence unfinished. He tries to get her up but Jae Yi sits there like a child. She then composes herself and helps her limping manager out of there. Once they reach the staircase Pyo Taek tells her that Hui Jae told a reporter about Jae Yi’s past and now reporters are waiting outside at the gate. One floor above Do Jin looks at the pair of them with concern.
Pyo Taek tells Jae Yi that he’ll bring the car around and they’ll leave through the back gate. Jae Yi leans back on the wall for support but tells a worried Pyo Taek she won’t fall this time. Above them Do Jin tenses at her physical reaction to the information about Hui Jae.
Jae Yi who is waiting for her manager crumples tiredly to the floor. Right behind her Do Jin is in the connecting bridge between the buildings. He watches her, his mind calling out to her (Nak Won) the whole time. Jae Yi notices that her shoes no longer look dirty.
Pyo Taek arrives with her pink car and Jae Yi leaves followed by the media vehicles They follow her relentlessly but come to an abrupt stop when Do Jin stops them by getting in the middle of the road. Pyo Taek wonders what happened and Jae Yi looks out of her window. In a scene very reminiscent of their first meeting she sees Do Jin standing on a street filled with cherry blossom street and confirms that he is indeed Yoon Na Moo.
Come and Hug Me Recap Episode – 8
An angry Pyo Taek tells Jae Yi they’ll sue Park Hee Young for writing about her mother and Jae Yi. He worries that after going through so much to hide her identity Jae Yi might get hurt again. Jae Yi looks at her phone bursting with articles revealing that Jee Hye Won is Jae Yi’s mother.
During the prison visit, Moo Won and a couple of others are shown around the prisoners living situations. They see how they count them and then where they are put to work. They are informed that only death row inmates have a choice whether to participate or not in the work. Moo Won looks at one of the working inmates and recognition dawns on him. He watches him for a while and then walks away. The prisoner notices Moo Won as he walks away and proceeds forward to get a better look but is stopped by the guards.
The families of the victims are protesting everywhere that the Hui Jae Autobiography shouldn’t be released. One protestor gets an alert on his phone saying that Hui Jae’s family has agreed to share the profits from the book.
In Chugae Island, Seo Jin sees on the television news that reporter Park Hee Young, who has the proxy sale rights of the book, will send a copy of the book to all the victims family members despite the protest. Seo Jin wonders what kind of journalist would do that. An old video of Na Moo being escorted is broadcasted along with the news and Ok Hee stares at the TV in distress.
Seo Jin picks up the phone which rings and she drops the call suddenly. Her mom asks why she did that and Seo Jin tells her it was a wrong number. The call comes again and this time Ok Hee picks up. She is verbally attacked for taking the profits from the books. The caller tells that if she hides in Chugae she thought no one would find her. He threatens to burn her house down and Ok Hee tells him to go ahead. She yells at him that neither her Son nor her earned a cent from that psycho’s book and then she hangs up on him. As the people in her restaurant wonder what happened to them Ok Hee asks Seo Jin to call her brother and tell him not to meet anyone or pickup unknown calls until his graduation. But Do Jin doesn’t pick up. Do Jin watches the protests against the book on the cafeteria television.
Moo Won who is getting back from the prison visit hears the news about Nak Won. Yeon Ji waits for Do Jin to practise fighting. When he arrives people around him start gossiping. Yeon Ji looks at his sad demeanour and tells him that she is sick today and wants a day off. Do Jin leaves her with an apology. He washes his face in the bathroom and looks at his reflection in the mirror. His breath sounds are heavier than normal.
He remembers that fatal day on the snowy road after the murders when Nak Won hugs him while she cries. She tells him not to die and stay alive somehow, no matter what. She tells him it is not his fault so he mustn’t die.
She continues that if he dies she’ll never forgive him. He asks him to promise that he’ll endure it like a tree (the meaning of his name) and survive. He holds her hand and cries but Moo Won comes and pulls Nak Won away from Na Moo. She is about to enter the car and she looks at Na Moo who nods that he’ll stay alive. Moo Won shoots an angry look at Na Moo before entering the car. The young couple look at each other miserably as the car drives away.
In the bathroom at the wake of this memory, Do Jin looks up at the mirror to see his father’s laughing face next to his with terror.
His father, however, is still in his prison cell watching TV. He inquires the guard about the everyday happenings. As he watches a movie he tells the guard he misses his family. The guard tells him that at least his oldest son is in prison with him. Hui Jae laughs that he is just like him. They both get hot easily so they don’t wear jackets even in winter. He continues that his wife on the contrary has cold hands and feet as she works a lot. His daughter won’t eat unless there is hot soup on table.
He turns around and tells him proudly that his youngest son Na Moo won’t go to sleep unless Hui Jae comes home. He reminisces how Na Moo would sleepily welcome him home every night without waking up the other members. Hui Jae tells the guard how mush he misses Na Moo’s sweet face.
Do Jin who is in the bathroom looks shocked at Hui Jae’s face. Hui Jae whispers something in his ears and Do Jin asks to stop. Do Jin punches the glass mirror screaming stop. When he looks again, Hui Jae’s face is gone but blood trickles down the broken mirror from his hands.
Hui Jae in prison continues to the guard worriedly that Na Moo doesn’t eat regularly if he gets fixated on something. The guard coughs making Hui Jae to ask him to quit smoking so that he can live a long life.
Moo Won listens to a radio program about how Hui Jae revealed that Jee Hye Won’s daughter followed in her mother’s footsteps to become an actress to a weekly magazine interview. Pyo Taek is waiting for a tow truck in the middle of the highway as the pink car has broken down. Jae Yi takes the light from him and asks him to wait inside the car since he is still limping around. Refusing his protests Jae Yi puts him back in the car. A kind lady with a little girl pulls over to ask her if she needs any help. Jae Yi says they are just waiting for the tow truck. As they leave Pyo Taek notices the wistful look on Jae Yi’s face even though she seems smiling.
Moo Won pulls over shortly and wonders if she is alright. She says brightly she is fine and then they travel back with the hep of the tow truck. Pyo Taek’s patience reaches its limits and he switches off his phone to avoid the calls from the reporters. Moo Won tells her that he put his name too in the injunction for the book. He makes sure she is okay and tells her that they knew this would happen someday if she started acting. She asks her brother why he came so far for her and what if he got expelled. Moo Won just smiles at her. She confirms that it was a very very long day and that her brother brought her back to reality. She says she is really glad to see her and leans on his shoulder tiredly. She asks Moo Won if its okay that they got out alive.
Ok Hee sits on the rocky beach with an envelope from Hui Jae. Seo Jin texts her brother asking if he is okay and that she misses him.
In a voice over Jae Yi continues that they have to go on living each day as it comes. She says that they all survived a fiery pit.
Do Jin is back in the cafeteria looking at the Jae Yi on the vending machine. He slowly turns around to see the school girl Nak Won sitting beside him. She looks at his bandaged hand and grumpily tells him he’s really mean. She caresses his face and asks him if he still likes her that much. Do Jin nods shakily. She tells him he’ll feel sorry for her and be guilty all his life. She continues that because of the guilt he’ll be hurt and suffer on his own. She asks him what more could he want.
Do Jin asks her intently then what about her. He asks if she can still smile at him like she used to. Nak Won smile at him beautifully in reply. Do Jin turns away at that and tears up. When he looks back she is no longer there so he continues to look at her picture on the vending machine.
The voice over continues and Jae Yi tells that for the sake of surviving they go on living.
Thoughts
I am fully invested in the lives of Do Jin and Jae Yi. Do Jin is in a mental strife with the thoughts his father put there and he is trying very hard to be the man his father wasn’t. In about everything he does Do Jin is a gentleman. He worries about is juniors standing in the parade for too long. He is insulted even at the idea of justifying his father’s crimes. He is so straight-laced by nature itself. His eyes do most of the talking and I’d be surprised if Chang Ki Young doesn’t win anything during the awards season.
Jae Yi is affected a lot by the past, but in comparison she seems to be handling her affairs better than anyone. Love her manager for being the one reliable adult in her life. Moo Won is a solid brother role but his past is yet to be revealed. Ok Hee seems to be battling some leftover feelings for her serial killer husband but it wanes in comparison to the love she has for her children. As for the serial killer husband, it’s chilling when he describes the image of the family in his mind. The thing is, most part of what he said about them is true, we see Na Moo up and studying until he comes home. He was quite loving towards his father despite knowing what his father was. But does Hui Jae really love his whole family and not just Na Moo?
Do Jin and Jae Yi. They are in love just like they were years ago, more so if possible. It’s visible even before they officially meet. Let’s hope for good things in their future. Like Hui Jae staying in jail.
Grey Husky
The Writers Room 
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