Every time I see Jang Ki-Young on screen, I want to go look up how old he is because this man doesn’t age at all. The interesting part is that we’ve seen it for so many years, but Eun-Ji feels like a fresh actress, because, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is her first big main role like this one in a romantic-comedy, and I’m just wondering why it’s taken so long. The chemistry between these two is honestly sizzling, so it is quite disappointing where this story is going. I know, if she had told him the truth, it might seem like there’s nothing else for the show to cover, but despite her desperation, I feel like their connection is good enough that we could imagine she trusts him enough to tell him the truth and still keep the job. In fact, I feel like he’d have reacted much better in that case, especially considering how they both have mums who are sick, even if it’s to different degrees. Anyway, I’m not so sure about this storyline anymore, but I am excited to keep seeing these two do their thing. With that said, let’s jump into episodes 3 and 4 of Dynamite Kiss.
Spoiler Alert
Why Does Ji-Hyeok Want Da-Rim Gone?
In online circles, I’m seeing discourse about how the female lead of this show is annoying and is doing everything wrong, but we’re on the outside looking in, and things would be way different if we were in her place, so cut her some slack; she’s just desperate. Anyway, Da-Rim gets the job because Ji-Hyeok isn’t at the interview. But the next day, when Da-Rim excitedly shows up for her first day of work, Ji-Hyeok is standing right in front of her, deflating her energy instantly. Now, we know that Ji-Hyeok spent days looking for Da-Rim, but she doesn’t know this, so obviously, this energy he has to get her to resign is a bit of a shocker. Ji-Hyeok’s reaction is not only because he’s upset with her, but because he thought this was the real deal, and now he’s learnt she has a husband and a child?! Da-Rim makes excuses about why she kissed him in Jeju, making it seem like she was upset with her husband.
The rest of episode 3 is spent on Ji-Hyeok essentially trying to force Da-Rim to quit by herself. He’s mean to her, plus already his elder sister is dead-set against this team, so it’s really not that difficult to see that the odds are not in her favour. He then forces Da-Rim to work overnight on a baby product that has to be heated for experimentation. There are no labs available, so he makes her do it somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But, while he’s acting like he’s not concerned about anything, the truth is, he’s very much concerned about Da-Rim and watches from a distance to see if she’s okay. Suddenly, the makeshift lab catches fire, and Ji-Hyeok rushes to find Da-Rim, but she’s behind him with a fire extinguisher, ready to fix the problem.
Ji-Hyeok hugs her because he was worried, only later realizing it’s a mistake. Ji-Hyeok ends up dropping his phone, and Da-Rim notices the 4-leaf clover that she’d given him in the back of his phone, but he later lets it go out of spite. Now, despite all of this, Da-Rim needs this job for her family’s sake, so she pushes through with the report, and Ji-Hyeok doesn’t even show up at work. Plus, she learns he’s the chairman’s son, making things way more complicated. On the other hand, when she meets one of her (mom) colleagues out and about grocery shopping, she happens to be with Seon-U, so she has no choice but to introduce him as her husband.
However, the most absurd thing happens at the end of the episode, when, after spending days working hard on a project given to their team, Da-Rim goes to Ji-Hyeok with the report, and he decides it’s unimportant and throws it into the swimming pool, asking her to prove that it’s her lifeline. Da-Rim doesn’t hesitate to jump inside and save it despite not knowing how to swim. This scene is kind of ridiculous because we’re made to believe Ji-Hyeok is a good person, so why would he do such a thing, knowing she can’t swim? He might be petty with his words, but this is the whole team he’s messing with. Then to go save her later makes no sense, because you’ve already done the damage, mate.
How Does Da-Rim Keep Her Job?
Episode 4 opens with the same scene, and Ji-Hyeok feels terrible for what he’s done, so when he sees Da-Rim walking back home in the cold, shivering because she’s completely wet thanks to him (no, keep your dirty minds out of this), he decides to drive her home. On the way, she explains the whole project with a lot of zeal, and he gives her a few pointers to make it better. When he drops her off, he doesn’t realize there’s a couple of people waiting to greet her, the loan sharks. But Da-Rim is a genius, so she pretends she’s not Da-Rim and that she found out that Da-Rim has gone on a really long trip far away and won’t be back for a while. But her plan gets messed up when Ji-Hyeok comes rushing back because she left her phone in his car. Obviously, because he’s calling out her name, the loan sharks realize she’s faking it, so that’s when they start to chase her, which means Ji-Hyeok, too. Now, Seon-U also happens to see this at the same time, so he runs after them as well and deflects the loan sharks when Ji-Hyeok and Da-Rim end up in an enclosed space, practically hugging. Some might even say close enough to be kissing. They make eye contact, but Ji-Hyeok takes a respectful step back, and this is also when Seon-U opens the door.
Seon-U acts like a protective husband, thinking Ji-Hyeok is some random guy, but when he learns he’s her boss, he thanks him for being so good to her. At the same time, Ji-Hyeok immediately steps away and observes the “couple,” thinking he’s missed out on a really good one, but Seon-U seems to be a really good person.
The next day, Ji-Hyeok learns that his mother has had a really bad accident and broken her leg. When he shows up in the hospital, we learn that his sister is his half-sister and his father brought her home when her mother died. This led to his own mother throwing a fit because of how badly it would affect Ji-Hyeok. This is another storyline that’s quite messed up. Also, why make this girl the villain? I don’t get it. His mum even tried to kill herself because of this. Anyway, Da-Rim happens to be in the same hospital to see her mum, and Ji-Hyeok is very nice to her. When the duo leave their mums there and step out, Da-Rim explains the whole loan shark situation and how it led to her mum collapsing. So he agrees to be kinder to the team because it’s genuinely their lifeline.
At work, what presents itself as an opportunity is actually a problem in disguise. Ji-Hye gets the team to host a live broadcast even though Ji-Hyeok is dead set against it. However, this is obviously going to be sabotaged, and Da-Rim will eventually become the butt of this joke. Now, before the broadcast, the team needs some of the baby products from the brand, so Ji-Hyeok and Da-Rim head out to get them. There’s a fancy product which couples can win in a competition, and for some reason, though Ji-Hyeok is the chairman’s son, Da-Rim gets him to participate. I don’t get it. Can’t he just ask for another piece? After standing on a piece of paper and then trying to pass a small piece of paper mouth-to-mouth, Da-Rim and Ji-Hyeok fail because the paper slips, and they end up kissing. How unexpected, eh? Anyway, they don’t even win the product, so this was all just for our entertainment. But like, he buys the product from the winners (huh?).
When it comes time for the broadcast, two of the moms end up having to go home because of a sick child, and a massive wound on the other one’s face because she got too excited and dropped a phone on it (yikes). This leaves Da-Rim and another very young mom. The other one gives an emotional speech about how this diaper is the only one she’s ever used because it gave her strength when her husband died in an accident, and she was too young to look after a baby. But her crying leads to her stepping out, leaving Da-Rim to do a solo demonstration. She’s never changed diapers before.
In the ending of Dynamite Kiss episode 4, Da-Rim ends up doing the job right, but the diaper leaks because Ji-Hye’s assistant has cut it up on purpose, leading to him yelling at her, but Ji-Hyeok steps in to save her again. But when she gets home, in an unexpected turn of events, the loan sharks kidnap her and even promise to take her organs because she’s got no money for them, but this is when Ji-Hyeok shows up with his black card (only a chaebol heir could flex this), to save the day. Now it looks like in next week’s episodes we’re going to see Da-Rim and Seon-U at work with Ji-Hyeok, and he’s going to be mad. But on the other hand, Ha-Yeong has fallen hard for Seon-U, and she knows his son doesn’t have a mum because she picked him up when Seon-U was busy. So with everything that’s going on, that interaction with the 4 of them is inevitable, which will lead to a big blunder.
