The Price Of Love
Episode 6 returns to the horrific scene of the accident in the future, where we learn there were 23 bodies and no survivors. All of the deceased had their phones gathered and right now, the cause of death is unknown. Clearly rattled, Sun-Oh talks to his parents about the deaths but they’re indifferent and apathetic to the entire situation. As it turns out, all the deceased committed suicide together because no one rung their love alarm. With each of the victims between 20-30 years old, this comes as a big blow to the credibility of the app, as our characters deliberate over what to do next. Remaining in the future, Gul-Mi and Jojo continue to dislike one another, this time seeing her wind up Jojo regarding Yuk-Jo, Sun-Oh’s new girlfriend. As she hides out at the library, Hye-Yeong arrives to study too, distracting her from her books as she continuously spies on her phone to see if her alarm will go off. Outside, she runs into him with his bike, where he tells her he was waiting for her. This older Hye-Yeong appears to be much more confident than the high school student we saw in the first four episodes too. While working another shift at the shop, Gul-Mi appears and immediately antagonizes Kim, who bites back and asks her just why she’s so picky and what man would actually be good enough for her. Leaving her to her thoughts, Jojo heads back to study, where she runs into Hye-Yeong again, offering up his spot as a gentleman and playing it cool, leaving her to study. She chases after him though and it’s here he tells her the truth – he’s hitting on her the old-school way, away from Love Alarm and digital apps. He tells her to think about his offer and walks away. As he heads back home and tells Sun-Oh he’s hitting on Jojo, Sun-Oh tries in vain to hide his feelings. Instead, he visits Kim Jojo where she turns her app back on and sees the notification that someone loves her. Sun-Oh tells her to stay away from Hye-Yeong which prompts another flashback as we see Hye-Yeong and Jojo later in the evening checking on Sun-Oh at his house. As she eventually does meet up with Sun-Oh again in the streets and things get emotional, she activates the shield on her phone, preventing any notifications from going off on her crushes. In a strange twist of fate, it turns out Duk-Gu is one of the key developers for Love Alarm, the boy who no one loved or cared about except Jojo. Deleting the solitary group photo on his phone, he turns off his computer, sits on the edge of his window and stares at the city below. With one final glance out at the horizon, he jumps. If there’s one thing I didn’t expect in Love Alarm, it’s an ending quite like this one. Duk-Go’s suicide is a surprisingly poignant moment and one of the stand-outs in the entire season. It’s so frustrating at times because Love Alarm has the potential to really double down on its thought provoking ideas and deliver a darker side to the show but these elements are never quite explored in enough detail. Still, there’s enough here to whet the appetite and Love Alarm’s latest episode is one of the best in the series, even if it does put more emphasis on the romance than some of the dramatic elements.
