There is a daily soap opera that airs every day in India and is currently topping the charts. It is named Anupamaa, and we are convinced that Doctor Cha is definitely inspired by it. Anupamaa is the story of a housewife who starts discovering her independence after she finds that her husband has been cheating on her for many years. We would have said that this concept is a happy coincidence, as it is not the first time it has been shown on screen. But when we saw In Ho and Roy Kim getting drunk and singing karaoke together, we were sure the writer had written that scene after seeing a similar event happen in Anupamaa, where Vanraj and Anuj (counterparts of In Ho and Roy Kim) do the exact same thing. We are not complaining. Anupamaa or Doctor Cha, or their original inspiration, which is the Bengali series Sreemoyee, deserve to be told as many times as possible. Here is a detailed recap of Doctor Cha Episode 9.
Spoilers Alert
What Happened To Seung Hi?
In Doctor Cha Episode 8, we saw both Jeong Sook and Seung Hi show up at the restaurant. Seung Hi had certainly shown up to reveal the truth, having had enough of the whole double life thing, but when she saw Jeong Sook and In Ho, along with their children and their elders, as a family, she lost the courage to interrupt them. Seung Hi can’t help but feel sad, as this is what she has always wanted: to be a part of a family that could just be out and about without constantly hiding from each other. As she leaves the scene, she cannot help but burst out in tears at what she wants but can probably never have. When Kwak Ae Sim, In Ho’s mother, visits her a few days later and asks her to let go of her son, Seung Hi cannot help but break down. Ae Sim acknowledges Eun Soo and says that she is a beautiful girl who must have had a good upbringing, but Jeong Sook is her only daughter-in-law, and she will not allow that family to break up. The reality that Seung Hi has been avoiding for so long—that just clinging on to In Ho will not guarantee her a happy family—is becoming more and more clear to her. Maybe that is why she skipped her meals, or it was probably the stress of it all (we don’t know better; we are not doctors) that caused her to experience a lot of stomach cramps and she had to be rushed to the hospital. Eun Soo tries calling In Ho, but he is unable to take her calls as he is already on a trip with the hospital team. It is payback in a way that Seung Hi is left alone, just the way Jeong Sook was when she was in the hospital during Doctor Cha Episode 1. Maybe it is the hurt pride of that realization that doesn’t allow Seung Hi to be admitted to her own hospital, but she asks to go somewhere else.
What Happens On The Volunteer Trip?
Back at the birthday dinner, Jeong Sook is understandably subdued, but she has a moment of revenge when she smashes In Ho’s face into the cake and laughs it off as a long-desired execution of a birthday tradition. Nobody is able to say anything to her because they are trying to keep her happy. But looking at Jeong Sook’s overall attitude, the family starts suspecting whether she already knows about the affair, but her silence is confusing them. Meanwhile, Jeong Sook visits a lawyer to inquire about the divorce process. Back at home, she informs her family that she wishes to move out into the residents’ wards. Jeong Sook puts her foot down by only bothering to ask I Rang whether she can manage and making it clear that she is not going to seek her husband’s or her mother-in-law’s permission. When Jeong Sook leaves, Ae Sim mentions how it feels as if she won’t be returning.
Jeong Sook has agreed to go on a medical volunteer trip with the hospital at the suggestion of Roy Kim, and In Ho joins them on it. In all of the previous episodes, we saw how he was completely paranoid about people discovering the relationship between him and her, but now he does not mind being a little close to Jeong Sook. He wanted to sit next to her on the bus, and even during the trip, he was the one who approached her to be close, and when she was offering a bit of a dish to Roy Kim to taste, he got in between them. Of course, his growing insecurity regarding her emotions is compounded by his jealousy towards Roy Kim and Jeong Sook’s friendship. This felt like a bit of a payback for In Ho, who had to perform one of the worst parts of his job with a patient, and since then, all the food has made him nauseous.
Does Seo In Ho Reveal His Connection To Jeong Sook?
So Ra and Jung Min are continuing with their affair in secret, though Jeong Sook always knows what they are up to, and she mightily disapproves of So Ra. So far, Jeong Sook has not said anything to her because she feels her own abilities are lacking. It was also a lifetime of being grateful for the bare minimum where she did not demand more respect for herself. But now that she doesn’t care anymore, she might not put up with So Ra’s rudeness anymore. However, she is not interfering in her son’s relationship.
When Jung Min and So Ra sneak off to spend some time together, So Ra accidentally watches the video from Jeong Sook’s birthday on Jung Min’s phone. She now knows that Jeong Sook is Jung Min’s mother and Seo In Ho’s wife. Jung Min knows she has discovered the secret, and whether he owns up to it or tries to come up with an excuse remains to be seen. Additionally, how will So Ra react to this new knowledge? Will she remain confident in her behavior, or will she try to act more complacent? We know that So Ra has not exactly been unfair, but her insensitivity and harsh way of treating people are a little too much. When she told Jeong Sook off for cleaning her room, wasn’t she lashing out for being blamed in part for not letting a patient get a psychiatric evaluation?
On the other hand, at the end of Doctor Cha Episode 9, Seo In Ho has broken his rule to never drink beyond his limit, and he is now doing karaoke with Roy Kim. When he sees Jeong Sook walk past, he cannot stop himself from calling her “honey” in front of everyone. Their secret might just be revealed in Episode 10, though it is likely that Roy Kim will handle the situation as he still seems to be in control of his senses.
Final Thoughts
Doctor Cha has been so addictive, and we expected nothing less from East Asian Anupamaa. We suspect that in the coming episodes, Jeong Sook is going to discover the exact extent of In Ho’s betrayal and probably the fact that her family was hiding his affair from her. It’s going to be a really emotional time, and maybe we will see what happens when Jeong Sook unleashes the full force of her rage and ambition without anything to hold her back.
