I don’t know if I’m happy that the only thing that’s happening on Dynamite Kiss is a back-and-forth of Ji-Hyeok wondering if he’s a bad guy or not. I know that the big worry everyone has is that some major “dark” development will ruin the show, and I sympathize with that fear, but I also feel like this misunderstanding thing has gone a bit too far, especially because Seon-U isn’t telling Da-Rim how he feels. His character has just been really frustrating, and he’s almost acting like a kind of villain in this situation, because he’s like a wedge between the two main leads, right? It’s also more annoying that he is kind of leading Ha-Young on, too. The only thing he tells her is to “think about what she wants,” and then he proceeds to comfort her. I don’t get it? He’s also seen how she is with his son, and he liked what he saw, so why is he doing this? I get being afraid of rejection, but making up your own little love scenario isn’t helping anyone, especially the person you’re obsessed with. Anyway, that’s enough of my rant for now. Let’s jump straight into episodes 7 and 8.
Spoiler Alert
What Happens In The Cave?
In Dynamite Kiss episode 7, Seon-U already feels like Da-Rim’s husband when he visits her mother in the hospital, and the other women think he’s her son-in-law. The guy clearly likes it, but even Da-Rim’s mum knows he’s only meant to be a friend (oop). On the other hand, Ji-Hyeok turns Da-Rim’s phone off so he can spend some time with her, but he also realizes at the same time that it’s not very wise. Finally, she wakes up with him sleeping by her bed the next day, which is very sweet, considering the context, of course. Meanwhile, Ha-Young’s brother returns from the US, and it looks like he’s been divorced, and he’s got some villainous traits already. Throughout the two episodes, we get glimpses of him and Ji-Hye, who was clearly hurt by him when he married someone else. The guy has the audacity to tell her that she’s not as weak as she used to be, which means he can consider being with her now. Fortunately, Ji-Hye doesn’t pay him any heed and does her own thing (finally doing something right).
I still don’t understand why Ji-Hye and Ji-Hyeok couldn’t have been on the same side. Now, what Ji-Hyeok wants is essentially to break up a family, kind of like what Ji-Hye’s mother did. The parallels are clear, and maybe Ji-Hyeok should be a little more understanding, but at the same time, the thing that doesn’t make any sense is Ji-Hye’s hatred for her brother. Her dad has literally always been biased towards her, which is so weird because not only is she a woman, she’s also the illegitimate child.
On the other hand, the tree planting campaign begins, and everything is going smoothly, but one of the mums’ sons has to be at the location because there’s nobody to look after him. He’s a cute kid who mostly keeps to himself and isn’t a bother at all. But, unfortunately, he goes missing, putting everyone in a frenzy. Da-Rim is obviously the one who finds a path that he might’ve gone down, but of course, it says no trespassing. When Da-Rim goes in, the clouds come out too, and when she notices the kid’s toy, she slips and rolls down a hill, losing consciousness (two times in two episodes? Tsk tsk).
The next thing you know, Ji-Hyeok is running to find her and rescue her, but by the time he gets there and wakes her up, it starts pouring, so they have to shelter in a cave. When he informs the others about this, his phone conveniently dies too, so while they know he’s found her, they’re not entirely sure she’s fully safe. So they call her husband, i.e., Seon-U, who drops everything (leaving Jun with Ha-Yeong) and comes rushing to find her too. By the time Seon-U gets there, though, Ji-Hyeok’s burning up with a fever, and like in a fever dream, he tells Da-Rim that he’s also being “shaken” by her and that he’s not a good guy. This is just an excuse for him to look hot while trying to kiss Da-Rim, obviously, but just in that moment, Seon-U shows up, grabs his “wife,” and tries to take her away before Ji-Hyeok grabs her. Seon-U can’t understand why he would do this, but when the others show up, Ji-Hyeok lets go.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Ji-Hyeok’s father tries to get a press photo of his mother, but she tries to hide; fortunately, her new friend, whom she pushed away, ends up helping her. I wonder how long it’ll be till the mums know who they are meant to be to each other. By the time Ji-Hyeok’s back to his senses, still a little bit sick, Da-Rim has received her salary, so she wants to thank him in person. She goes to his place, where he lives alone, bearing gifts, and his immediate reaction is to send her away, claiming it looks bad for a woman to visit a single man like this. This is his only excuse to get Da-Rim out of his sight, or he might remember how obsessed he is with her again, sigh. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping for a non-regressive take, but here we are.
Does Ji-Hyeok Know Da-Rim Isn’t Jun’s Mother?
Episode 8 begins with the shocking news that Ji-Hyeok wants to marry Ha-Yeong. The worst part is that he hasn’t even asked her about it, never mind warned her about how he’s going to throw this information out at the lunch table, where he invited his mom to join too. Ha-Yeong tries to tell her mother later that she likes someone else but didn’t think it’s the right time to tell her about it. However, her mum says if now’s not the right time, she should just go ahead with Ji-Hyeok (ouch). In the meantime, for some reason, everything seems to be going wrong for Da-Rim, whether it’s a plate breaking while she’s washing the dishes or her heels giving her trouble when she’s walking. Even Ji-Hyeok essentially calls her a nuisance at work (uff).
But at the same time, Ji-Hye is desperate to get a scandalous picture of the duo together and gets her assistant to make plans. He decides to take them on an adventure out of town on the excuse of work but makes it as if they’re stranded there at night. There’s only one inn-like place in the small town, and Ji-Hyeok and Da-Rim have to share a room. Still, none of the pictures the guy can take are scandalous enough, but on the other hand, at night, Ji-Hyeok is so mesmerized by Da-Rim he needs to run out of the room in fear he might do something wrong. Dude’s absolutely smitten. Next thing you know, when Ha-Yeon is trying on dresses for the engagement, Ji-Hyeok imagines Da-Rim in her place.
Ha-Yeong then lies to her mother that he’s invited her to dinner and goes to see Seon-U. She tells him about what’s happening and asks him to rescue her, because she’s kept his secret long enough. But by the time Seon-U can tell her that she’s not really the girl for him, Ji-Hyeok shows up and punches him in the face. Ha-Yeong is immediately ready to tell Ji-Hyeok the truth. However, Seon-U stops Ha-Yeong from saying anything out loud and asks to speak with Ji-Hyeok alone. The dude can’t admit to Da-Rim that she’s the love of his life, but he finds it super easy when it’s an ego battle with his rival, the guy she’s genuinely in love with. But this means Seon-U’s done the opposite of what Ha-Yeong wants and doesn’t even care that he’s basically ruining her life too. At night, Da-Rim tends to Seon-U’s wound, caused by Ji-Hyeok, but he STILL can’t tell her the truth. Yeah, this is when I’m turning my back on this guy. The next day, Ji-Hyeok lingers with the grandpa tree and sees Da-Rim, Seon-U, and Jun play a perfect family, making him more certain that he’s made the right decision to try and forget her.
However, at the end of Dynamite Kiss episode 8, Ji-Hyeok notices Da-Rim walk into the engagement venue and Jun calling her “aunt.” This is something I’m unable to figure out about this show. The first thing you would do in such a situation is tell the kid his role in this charade. No? I mean, just look at “Just Go With It”; there’s a negotiation with the kids, who ask for exorbitant gifts in return for playing the doctor’s children. It’s common sense, isn’t it? Anyway, it turns out it was easier for Ji-Hyeok to find out the truth than for Seon-U to admit to Da-Rim that he likes her. So what’s next? Well, there are still 6 episodes left in the show, so I can imagine this is going to get dragged out at least a little bit.
