The Storm Baby
Episode 13 of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha begins with Hye-Jun preparing for Du-Sik’s birthday by making homemade food. The trouble is, Mi-Seon knows how bad her cooking is and skips out on trying it. With Hye-Jin’s seaweed soup safely tucked in a flask, Hye-Jin heads out to see Du-Sik, where she finds the whole village has gathered for his yearly celebration. When Du-Sik does finally get to try it though, he enjoys the taste. Only, it would appear that Mi-Seon actually tampered with the dish and helped spice it up. While the pair flirt, Hwa-Jeong notices and decides to let them have some privacy. All the villagers flamboyantly decide to call it a day, with some pretty bad acting in truth, as seaweed soup is exchanged for wine. The two have a lovely evening, which eventually paves way for another day in Gongjin to arrive. This day is graced with Du-Sik meeting Seong-Hyeon again, who’s down in the dumps about what happened to Hye-Jin. The thing is, it’s clear that Ji-Won likes him and it would appear her absence is causing Seong-Hyeon to reassess the way he looks at her, especially if Du-Sik’s little quips are anything to go by. It takes a while but there’s a nice moment during the latter period of this chapter where the pair end up sitting and eating together. Meanwhile, Hye-Jin’s friends shows up in town to check out her dental clinic. Given it’s so unannounced, Hye-Jin is caught off-guard and scrambles to put on better clothes to meet them out at the bar. Once there, Du-Sik shows up and he’s invited out to play golf, which he hastily agrees to. After playing a few rounds, Hye-Jin questions Du-Sik about his past, determined to find out what he did back in Seoul before moving to Gongjin. He has no plans to return but remains quiet and reserved about what actually went down, refusing to divulge much beyond telling Hye-Jin it was a “desk job.” She senses there’s more to this story than that but doesn’t pry further for now. Future flashbacks in the episode do hint that it involves a fancy event of some description, especially when he reminisced over a suit in his closet that he’s been unable to throw out. Meanwhile, Hwa-Jeong continues to work hard, dozing off while waiting for more customers late at night. When she awakens though, all the dishes have been done and everything is cleared up. Now, given Yeong-Guk was there earlier, realizing how much he’s taken her for granted and how much his ex cares for him, he’s actually the one responsible, which we find out later in the episode. Elsewhere, Eun-Cheol continues to take big steps with Mi-Seon, deciding to skip out on taking it slow. He leans forward after their dinner date and gives her a big hug. All of this is the calm before the storm though – quite literally. There’s a typhoon bound for Gongjijn and all of our residents prepare for the storm. Yeong-Guk decides to head over and help Hwa-Jeong, catching her when she’s about to fall and helping to touch up the windows to prevent big draughts getting through. When the pair do sit down to have a coffee together, Hwa-Jeong apologizes whole-heartedly and tells her she should find someone that treats her right. Well, he’s in luck (or not, given his reaction) as Hwa-Jeong has a blind date coming up. Another big storyline in the midst of all this involves Yun-Gyeong and Geum-Cheol. Now, given Yun-Gyeong is pregnant, she’s not happy that Geum-Cheol isn’t helping and isn’t particularly receptive to her needs. After a big argument, Geum-Cheol leaves, just as Yun-Gyeong’s water breaks. Du-Sik and Hye-Jin work together to help take her to the hospital, but with the rain hammering down around them, Songjin is blocked thanks to a rockslide. With little other alternative, they decide to take her over to Hye-Jin’s place, suggesting she give birth there instead. While Yun-Gyeong starts to go through labour, Bo-Ra wakes up sobbing, worried about her Mum. I-Jun is there for her though, encouraging the girl to pray and make a wish on the lightning for good health. She does too, and Yun-Gyeong eventually gives birth to a beautiful child. As the sun comes out and the storm passes, Du-Sik and Hye-Jin hold Yun-Gyeong’s beautiful child and welcome him into the world. With her house taken up, Hye-Jin heads over to Du-Sik’s where the pair lie in bed together and discuss the future and what it may hold for them. As Hye-Jin mentions children to him, Du-Sik falls asleep and tells her he’s never really thought about it. Hye-Jin though decides to look through his bookshelf and finds a photo of two people with Du-Sik. He’s very standoffish and gives vague answers about his past, struggling to open up again. Hye-Jin calls him out for this too and questions just why it’s so difficult for him. Will she manage to get some answers?
The Episode Review
What’s happened in Du-Sik’s past? This is the question that’s hanging over the story now like a dark storm cloud and if the suit is anything to go by, it would seem like it’s something serious. Could it be that it involves a wedding; maybe Du-Sik got stood up at the altar or found his wife with another man? Whatever it is, it does appear to be pretty serious. Away from that though, this episode helps to heal some of the wounds that have been festering for a while, including those involving Hwa-Jeong and Yeong-Guk. It now seems like the pair are going to patch up their differences and live their happily-ever-after after all. At least, that’s how it seems anyway! There’s also a new arrival in the village too, with Yun-Gyeong and Geum-Cheol welcoming their beautiful baby into the world. While the storm passing so quickly is a little cliche, it does the trick to heighten the tension during that moment. Besides, I think it’s fair to say this isn’t that sort of show! With Du-Sik’s tepid attitude toward his past threatening to unsettle his relationship with Hye-Jin, will we find out the truth about his past before it’s too late?
