In the previous episodes of “Thirty Nine,” Mi Jo finds out that Chan Young has stage four pancreatic cancer and has a limited time to live. This comes as she prepares for her sabbatical trip to the USA. She dreamed of growing old with her friends, but now she is going to lose one of her friends while she is only ‘thirty nine.’ Mi Jo has not been able to talk to Chan Young or anyone else about it as she is still in shock herself, but she has to get herself together if she wants to help her friend now.
See More: ‘Thirty Nine’ Episode 1 & 2: Recap & Ending – Who Among Them Is Going To Die?
Why Does Mi Jo Assault Jin Seok’s Wife?
In episode 3 of “Thirty Nine”, Mi Jo decides to go and talk to Chan Young after she is done shouting at Jin Seok, but she is not in her right mind. Seon Woo has been seeing everything, and insists that he drive her to Chan Young. He drops her off at Chan Young and pretends to leave, but he is waiting outside. Just when Mi Jo is about to enter Chan Young’s office, she hears a conversation going on between Jin Seok’s wife, Seon Ju, and Chan Young. Seon Ju is bad-mouthing Chan Young, calling her Jin Seok’s mistress, and Chan Young is hearing everything calmly while trying to tell Seon Ju that it is a misunderstanding.
Mi Jo has been listening to everything as well, and she loses her mind when Seon Ju says to Chan Young that life is short and asks her how long she will keep living pathetically as her husband’s mistress. This infuriates Mi Jo, and she slaps Seon Ju. Seon Ju calls the police on a case of assault, and Mi Jo grabs her by her hair.
The police take three of them to the station, and Mi Jo is not ready to back off. Mi Jo has never slapped anyone in her life before, nor has she behaved recklessly like this. Chan Young is surprised by her behavior. It is as if they have interchanged bodies. Chan Young is the calm one here, and Mi Jo is total chaos. Seon Ju leaves them at the station to get a physical examination done, and Chan Young calls Jin Seok. He comes to the station and assures Chan Young that he will persuade Seon Ju to drop the charges. Mi Jo is irritated to even see Jin Seok and leaves the station first.
Both Chan Young and Jin Seok wonder why Mi Jo has been acting strange. Jin Seok leaves to go and talk to his wife. Seon Woo, who has been watching everything from afar, shows up next to Chan Young and asks her for a drink together. Seon Woo expresses his concern towards Mi Jo to Chan Young and also admits his feelings towards Mi Jo.
After a few days have passed, Mi Jo finds the courage to talk to Chan Young. She asks her why she didn’t tell anyone about the CT scan and its results. When Chan Young asks Mi Jo if it is anything serious, Mi Jo takes her to the hospital to make it clear to her. The oncologist explains everything to Chan Young and tells her that her chance of survival is 0.8%. She can live for approximately six months without chemotherapy and about a year with chemotherapy. Now, Chan Young has to make the torturesome decision of choosing her time of death.
Will Jin Seok Divorce His Wife?
Without knowing what was bothering Mi Jo, Seon Woo has been taking care of her in any way possible. She finally opens up to Seon Woo about Chan Young, which gives her relief. After hearing this sorrowful news, Seon Woo starts looking out more for Mi Jo. Joo Hee has been feeling left out because she has sensed that Mi Jo has been hiding something from her. Mi Jo has been avoiding telling her because Joo Hee’s mother is already a cancer patient.
Seon Ju drops the charges against Mi Jo when Jin Seok reveals to her that he isn’t ignorant and knows her secret. Jin Seok had married her because Seon Ju got pregnant with his child, but when their son was 4 years old, Jin Seok found out that he was not the real father of his son and Seon Ju had lied to her. This explains his indifferent behavior towards Seon Ju. He has lost his trust in Seon Ju, but he loves his son all the same, regardless of whether he is his biological father or not. He has raised him so far, and that’s what matters to him.
Jin Seok kept his marriage with Seon Ju even after knowing the truth, only for the sake of his son. However, after what Seon Ju did to Chan Young and Mi Jo, he could not bear her anymore. He asks Seon Ju for a divorce along with their son’s custody. Seon Ju never loved their son and always looked at him like he was a mistake in her life. Seon Ju gets nervous and asks Jin Seok to reconsider for the sake of their son, but he is adamant about his decision.
Chan Young has returned after visiting her parents in her hometown. Her parents still have no idea of her illness. Joo Hee gets the news when three of them have gathered to celebrate Joo Hee’s lottery win. Chan Young didn’t want Joo Hee to know about the illness when she was happy. However, Mi Jo has not been able to keep a smile on her face ever since finding out the diagnosis. Joo Hee notices it and breaks her silence. She asks them to not hide anything anymore because she is always the last one to know about something important. Joo Hee is appalled after hearing the news but doesn’t show it. She later cries it out in solitude.
‘Thirty Nine’ Episode 4: Ending- Try To Survive Or Try To Live?
It’s time to make a decision for Chan Young when the doctor gives her an option to undergo the treatment or not. Chan Young refuses right away without thinking. She knows how chemotherapy works. As for Chan Young, she would rather enjoy the final six months of her life, doing everything that she loves, than stay bedridden and hospitalized and eventually die. For her, a 0.8% chance of survival is equal to no chance of survival.
However, Mi Jo wants to stay hopeful. She wants Chan Young to start the treatment. They argue in the hospital itself, but Chan Young makes it clear to Mi Jo that it is her life and only she will decide what to do with it. Mi Jo tries her best, but to no avail. Joo Hee had won a large amount in the lottery that she would never win again. According to her, it was the luckiest encounter she had ever had. Instead of claiming her money, Joo Hee shreds the lottery ticket. She asks Chan Young to take her luck and live for four more years.
Jin Seok still doesn’t know about Chan Young’s illness yet, and Chan Young doesn’t know about his divorce either. He tells her the truth about his son and also about the divorce. He feels bad for his son but is happier about separating from his wife, who is also not a good mother. Chan Young feels as if it is her fault and starts apologizing to him for asking him to get a divorce. She is not going to live longer and, hence, does not want Jin Seok to break up his family. She has to tell Jin Seok about her cancer, and he breaks down in tears. He has more to regret than Chan Young. He should’ve been there for her when they had time. It is easy to take one’s life for granted, to believe that someone will be in our lives forever. Jin Seok took a step towards her, but now it is too late.
Mi Jo visits her parents all of a sudden to share important news, and they are all in hope of hearing the news of her and Seon Woo dating. Instead, they get the heartbreaking news about Chan Young. Mi Jo cancels her sabbatical trip to the USA as expected. She is still going to be on a sabbatical, but in a different way. Mi Jo never had a family. For her, family is defined by people who love her conditionally, and that includes her adopted family and friends all the same. She will be taking care of Chan Young for the time that she has left. She is not going to let Chan Young go without fulfilling her every wish. To begin with, they fulfill their long-time wish of going to a nightclub together. In the next episodes of “Thirty Nine,” we can expect to see some emotional drama when Chan Young breaks the news to her parents, but most importantly, Chan Young is going to have the time of her life as her best friends vow to make her remaining time beautiful and the happiest she ever had.
See More: ‘Thirty-Nine’ Episode 5 & 6: Ending And Recap – What Are Chan Young’s Final Wishes?
“Thirty-Nine” Episodes 3 & 4 are streaming on Netflix.
