With each passing episode, Buried Hearts gets more intense and more worrying for Dongju fans. The K-drama tells the story of a young man who works for a conglomerate and gets embroiled in petty politics and schemes thanks to his amazing skills. But there’s more to the story than just that. It looks like Dongju’s past is a key factor in what he’s going to do next, because this isn’t just an ordinary revenge story. It’s one in which the protagonist loses his memory not once, but twice. This time around, I have a feeling he’s going to remember everything from both times, though. As we predicted, Dongju is able to remember everything after his sister, the nun Agnes, gets brutally run over by a truck right in front of his eyes. This is, of course, Yeom’s doing, because Guho suggested that something as shocking as being shot might bring Dongju’s memory back. Episode 7 begins with Agnes’ funeral, and it’s all about whether Dongju’s got his memory back or not. A game between Yeom, Ildo, and Dongju for the winning prize of 2 trillion won.
Spoiler Alert
Is Dongju’s Memory Back?
At Sister Agnes’ funeral, Dongju meets a woman named Madam Pi, who used to be their guardian back in the day. We then get a flashback to when Dongju was in high school and had a fight with Huicheol. It seems their rivalry began then, when a jealous Huicheol hurt Dongju because he was better than him at rugby. Even back then, it was Yeom who paid off the parents to side with Huicheol, even though they were being bullied by Huicheol, rather than Dongju, who basically saved them. It looks like Huicheol’s dad was a decent man, or at least not a corrupt one, but his older brother made Huicheol the way he is. This is where Yeom saw Madame Pi first. Dongju then went on to become a part of the Daesan group, much to Yeom’s disappointment. So he’s been keeping an eye on him ever since.
At the funeral, Dongju asks Yeom to welcome the guests in his stead, because he needs Madame Pi to get some rest for all the crying she’s been doing. He takes her to a room, and Guho follows to make sure he’s goes with her. It seems Yeom is guilty of having the nun killed because he sees her sitting in one of the seats, jump-scaring him. Moreover, if the plan doesn’t work, he killed an innocent woman for quite literally no reason. It seems Doctor Kang’s father also used to work with Agnes, and I’m a little bit confused about what this could imply later, but maybe Kang and Dongju’s relationship is more real than we’re made to believe.
At the hospital, the man who hit Sister Agnes is getting treated. Wonbae is the one who pretends to be a nurse and brings him out to the basement under the pretense of getting him out of a prison sentence, using Yeom’s name. But Dongju is waiting for him downstairs to beat him up for killing his sister. Yeom gets a video of all of this, and he now believes Dongju’s memory has returned, which is why he’s the one who beat up the guy who killed his sister. However, when Yeom tells Guho to look for Dongju at the funeral, Dongju walks in looking the same as before. Much later, Yeom goes to meet the Elder, but instead, he ends up meeting the Assemblyman that Dongju blackmailed in the first episode. The Assemblyman tells Yeom that the Elder wants control of the funds. At the same time, Yangchun’s boss also sends a threat to Yeom, saying if he can’t find Yangchun, he himself will look for him, which will not be good.
Back in the Cha household, the Chairman asks Gong if she remembers a boy named Seong Hyeon, whom Eunnam’s father brought home back in the day. Gong pretends she has no idea who he’s talking about. On the other hand, Dongju’s already there in the room, and he’s got the alcohol out of the safe, which means he remembers the password. But he pretends his memory is coming back slowly. The previous night, he even wrote down the passcodes on a piece of paper and hid it where Cha had hidden it before the accident but never found it. This means Dongju’s memory is back entirely. Outside, the young boy named Ji Seonu comes to see Dongju, but Eunnam’s mom sends him away from the door because she obviously doesn’t want him in the house. Plus, her son doesn’t know of his secret uncle’s existence.
What Happens To Dongju?
On the other hand, Yeom has stated to act up again, telling Ildo that he needs to sell Daesan electronics and pulling out Yuseong Chemicals from the collaboration with Daesan. Gukhee tells her dad that he needs to compensate her if she loses Yuseong Chemicals, but lucky for him, the funds are back in his possession since Dongju “found” the passwords, so he can open the safe and Yeom can get his money again.
Dongju visits Yeom to give him some gold bars and money to calm him down as a bribe to let Yuseong Chemicals review Daesan. At this time, Yeom asks Dongju if he really doesn’t remember everything fully, because if that were the case, he wouldn’t have cried at his sister’s funeral. Dongju quietly leaves Yangchun’s ring on his seat and walks out. Guho finds the ring and tells Yeom who it belongs to. This makes him furious, so he tells Guho to bring his gun while he rushes after Dongju. He tells the man to stop and calls him a thief. Yeom tells Dongju he stole his money and ran away. Yeom blames Dongju for Yungchan’s death, then Dongju grabs Guho’s gun and points it at Yeom. Yeom tells Dongju that he stole the money that Yeom had saved up for the good of the country and ran away. Dongju then points the gun at his own head, saying he’s tired of this memory game, and since he’s got nobody left in the world, he’d rather kill himself. Yeom apologizes, saying it was a misunderstanding, and lets him go.
Back at home, Dongju cries his eyes out thinking about his sister after looking at a health drink she gave him. The next day, Eunnam and Huicheol visit the Cha family with a feast prepared by Yeom’s wife. When she gets there, Eunnam immediately goes to see Dongju, but he pushes her away, then shows her his bullet wounds, saying that nothing is ever right when they’re together. That it’s because of their foolishness that Agnes died and he lost his memory. Eunnam tries to resolve matters with Dongju, but a phone call interrupts them. Dongju’s being invited for a meal with the family. Eunnam says she’ll join only for dessert.
At the end of Buried Hearts episode 7, it is revealed that there’s cinnamon in the honey cookies that Yeom’s wife packed. This is his plan to get Dongju to reveal that he remembers everything. The cookies are specifically not served to the chairman because he doesn’t like cinnamon. But to Ildo’s shock, Dongju eats all the cookies even after hearing that, and that too at such speed, almost like he’s waiting to die. Eunnam walks in, not knowing there’s cinnamon in the dessert. Just as Dongju is walking away, she tastes one and realizes there’s cinnamon in it. Eunnam calls after Dongju just as he starts to swell up and asphyxiate. In the end, it looks like he’s taking his final breath, but for some reason Ildo holds his wife’s hand, as if giving her some sort of signal. I think it’s meant to imply that he’s scared but also relieved at the same time. Without Dongju’s memories, he doesn’t get any money either. Dongju isn’t afraid of death now. But I thought he wanted revenge, so I’m not sure why he’d be willing to go so far to prove that he’s not got his memory back. This must be a part of a greater plan. There’s a massive chance he’ll die right there in Eunnam’s arms. But this is a K-drama, so he’ll be fine, and Ildo will try to kill him in Buried Hearts episode 8.
