Summary
As the tension keeps growing between our leads, the mysteries of our Doo-sik’s past trauma are yet to be revealed. Will it become a hindrance to their relationship?
This recap of the Netflix K-Drama series Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha season 1, episode 8 contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
So we start today’s episode with the word “grumpy.” After Doo-sik getting all grumpy with Sung-Hyun questioning Hye-jin’s availability, on the other side, Hye-jin is getting grumpy because Joo-Ri, Bo-ra, and Yi-Joon visiting her house one moment at a time on her precious Sunday, turning her house into a child cafe. To add everything, Mi-seon spills that Ms. Cho has started a new rumor about him hooking up with Sung-Hyun. Another grumpiness comes from our divorced couple. Mr. Chang happens to pass in front of Hwa-Jeong restaurant where she quickly stops him to ask about his condition. Mr. Chang invites her to talk instead about pursuing Cho-hui once again which she quickly disagrees with.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha season 1, episode 8 recap
Under a clear blue sky in Gongjin, the bromance continues to slowly wash all the crankiness. Doo-Sik teaches Sung-Hyun how to surfs and both of them enjoying the time of their life together. After all the fun, both of them arguing over a meal to eat. Doo-Sik later bid farewell since they did not reach an agreement over the meal choices. Just before he walks away, Sung-Hyun encounters Hye-jin and Mi-seon who is on their way to grab lunch. Not wanting to lose his chance, Sung-Hyun invites them to have a meal together. Mi-seon intentionally refuses the invitation so that her bestie can have a lunch date together. Pushing Doo-sik to walks back in with his “We’re just friends but I’ll not let you be alone with another guy” agenda.
After refusing to eat, he suddenly got the appetite to join both of them. He even take the initiative to lead the way to the restaurant before Sung-Hyun got a chance to decide anything. At the restaurant, Sung-Hyun is preparing the sit next to him for Hye-jin but she naturally sits beside Doo-sik. Marking Doo-sik’s first victory smile on his face. The waitress brings the menu to the table where Doo-sik initiates that Sung-Hyun should look at the menu by himself, as he will shares the menu with Hye-jin. Sung-Hyun sense something different between them as Hye-jin comfortably referring the term “we” to represent her and Doo-sik.
After the delicious mandu is served on the table. Doo-Sik starts to lose his proclaimed victory as Hye-jin and Sung-Hyun share their past stories. So it turns out Sung-Hyun is the one who approaches her first on their first meeting at college days. But the interesting part of the scene is how Doo-si reacts to everything that shows his inner feeling of jealousy. From stealing the mandu that Hye-jin offers for Sung-Hyun to intentionally spills the water on Sung-Hyun to stops the two of them from talking to each other.
Sung-Hyun stealing the heart of Gongjin
Who would have thought that there will come a day where the people of Gongjin will not call Doo-sik for help? Yup. The town’s hero popularity is slowly replaced by the existence of our excellent PD-nim, Sung-Hyun. From helping Yoon-Kyeong’s market, giving our delicious dessert for the grandma, to fixing Geom-Chul’s POS. Sung-Hyun takes over all of his jobs for free which later agitates him. Logically, it’s natural for Sung-Hyun to be doing all the favor as a way to engage with the local communities. Since he’s an outsider who comes with the mission to produces something which may cause inconvenience to them. But still, our Chief Hong pride is hurting inside.
Hye-jin encounters Doo-sik who is in charge of a cashier at Yoo-kyeong’s market. She buys all the snacks and her favorite sausages. Doo-Sik gets rids of some of her snacks and sausage since it’s not good for her health. He also notices the supporting neck that she’s using and asks her what happens. Hye-jin explains that she’s been suffering from a herniated neck due to her work. Later, she takes it off and suddenly, Doo-Sik world stops spinning. Our Chief Hong is whipped and charmed by her beauty. I mean, who wouldn’t fall for Shin Min-ah anyway? Hye-jin quickly snaps him back to reality and later. Doo-Sik seems puzzled by his feelings. But action always speaks louder than words. At night, after knowing about her neck condition, Doo-Sik pulls the night to cut Achrantropanax woods for her.
The kidnapper and the hero drench in rain
At the beginning of the episode, Yoon-Kyeom and Ms. Cho complaining about their dress and underwear that go missing. It turns out, there’s a mysterious kidnapper in town. After Ms. Yeo bravely saves Cho-hui from being kidnapped, the town is raising all the awareness, especially within the women and child communities. Sung-Hyun rushes his way to Hye-jin and buys all the safety kits for her including a cute llamas keychain that he receives as a gift.
But as you know, it is not only the only issue that going around at Gongjin. Out of all people in Gongjin, we all know how Hye-jin despises Ms. Cho for her flying rumors and for influencing her clinic patient on illegally getting inlays on a dental technician to save money. Due to the issue, Ms. Cho is putting her clinic at great loss and hurting her dentist’s dignity. The two women got into argument by the street where Hye-jin is asking Ms. Cho for an apology due to damage she cause to her clinic since it’s illegal. Doo-Sik butts in, but this time, he is siding with Hye-jin and asking for Ms. Cho to apologize. Unfortunately, Ms. Cho holding her pride and choose to walks away from the argument.
After all the buzz, Doo-Sik accompanies Eun-Cheol to patrol around the town till night. Suddenly the rain falls. Doo-Sik stops by Hye-jin’s house and notices the empty house. He later grabs the healthy kit that he’s been chopping all night for her and intend to leave it on her post box. As the rain starts to pour heavily, Hye-jin and Sung-Hyun appear walking side by side while sharing the same umbrella that Doo-sik dries all night. Both of them quickly notice Doo-sik’s presence. He later runs into them and quickly gives the package to her and walks himself in the rain to continue his patrol.
At home, Hye-jin is sorting out all the things she receives. Sung-hyun’s safety kit and Doo-Sik healthy kit. She later opens up Doo-sik packages and searches for the uses of the pack full of Achrantropanax woods on the internet. She’s surprised after knowing that the wood is effective for the herniated neck. She tries to calls Doo-Sik but he is unable to answers because he falls ill due to being drenched in the rain.
“Thank you, Chief Hong.”
The next day, Sung-Hyun notices that Doo-sik looks unwell but Doo-sik still insists to help him with the shooting preparation. Meanwhile, despite all of the tension, Hye-jin quick-witted notices the trouble that comes for Ms. Cho. During her morning jog, Hye-jin encounters Ms. Cho who is speaking with a stranger while handing out an amount of money. It turns out she’s been tricked by her trusted banker which leads her to a phishing scam. The thief forcefully takes her money and runs away.
Hye-jin tries to runs after him, where she passes with Doo-sik and Sung-Hyun. Both of them automatically run after Hye-jin shouts “Chase after him!” without knowing anything. Doo-sik successfully caught the thief and once again claiming his hero title back in town. We can see Sung-Hyun impresses by him and keeps on sensing something between him and Hye-jin throughout the episode. Meanwhile, Hye-jin can’t help herself being worry after noticing Doo-sik’s wounds and paleness.
It’s lonely to be sick all alone.
After running for his life, Doo-Sik is now lying helplessly in his bed. Hye-jin comes to visit him and the first thing she does is checking his temperature. A simple gesture that surprises Doo-sik since he’s always the one who does it for everyone. Hye-jin insists to take care of him because it’s devastating to be sick all alone. Her lines seem to affect Doo-sik since ironically speaking, Doo-Sik has no one to lean nor take care of him while he is out there saving everyone’s life.
She gently treats his wounds which not only sting his nerves but also his heart. His eyes are full of longingness while looking at her. She thinks that his fever runs higher. Well, dear Hye-jin… it’s his feelings, not his fever. After the treatment is done, Hye-jin asks him if there is anything he wants to eat. Doo-Sik not knowing what to answer so he just answers with tangerine. Hye-jin thinks it’s not good for his stomach so she attempts to cook him porridge instead. And that’s when his kitchen turns into a datastore.
After several noises here and there, Hye-jin successfully cooks her first-ever porridge. Too bad, Doo-Sik falls asleep on the couch. She later leaves a message behind for him but before that, Mi-seon’s words start to pop in her mind. “Is Doo-sik a good kisser?” Subconsciously, Hye-jin slowly approaches the sleeping Chief, and little did we know, she attempts on kissing him before reality snaps her back and she begins to slap herself. Hye-jin quickly leaves his house. On her way back, she passes Yoo-kyeong’s market and sees a bouquet of fresh tangerines. She buys it and leaves it in front of his door.
Meanwhile, Doo-Sik wakes up to Hye-jin’s homemade porridge and a little message: “Eat it till the last drop!” Again, I’m smiling from ear to ear by just watching Doo-sik being all smiley eating a homemade porridge. He complains that the taste is disastrous but in the end, he willingly finishes everything till the last drop. Well, of course since the effort has taken a toll on his precious kitchen that turns into a mess. There’s so much uwuness in the entire scene. It’s the little thing that counts when it comes to this couple.
The hidden story of our gossip queen
Ms. Yeo inviting Hye-jin for a cup of morning coffee at her restaurant. She expresses her gratitude for her bravery in helping Ms. Cho chasing down the culprit. Hye-jin asks her why is everyone seems to be put to her troubles, especially with the flying rumors and all… And this is where Hwa-Jeong (a.k.a Ms. Yeo) makes all of us sob. If you remember, at the beginning of episode 2, Ms. Cho is seen holding a toy while crying her heart out. It turns out, the toy belongs to her daughter who passes away because of cancer.
We’re seeing a glimpse of memories where Ms. Cho lovingly takes care of his daughter at the hospital, even until her last day. The last moment they share is how her late daughter wishes to live longer with her and they happily cast a spell “Abracadabra, A-ram power!” with her favorite toy– a heart-shaped magic stick– and holding each other to sleep. The next thing we see is Ms. Cho crying in grief by herself at her late daughter’s bed in the hospital room. It’s heartbreaking.
Ever since her daughter passes away, Ms. Cho has loses touch with herself for over a year which worries all the villagers. But, she begins to rebuild her life and finding herself once again after making a yearly donation to a cancer foundation under A-ram’s name. It’s her way of carrying out her daughter’s legacy and keeping her alive within her heart. “She’s just lonely,” Hwa-Jeong says. Ever since what she’s been through, the villagers decide to just let her be with everything as long as that makes her happy because it’s better than seeing her being all troubled.
Knowing the grief of losing someone, Hye-jin begins to open her heart for Ms. Cho. On her way back, both of them awkwardly encounter each other. Hye-jin approaches her first. She asks for a free dumpling and taksugyu for her next orders. She also asks her to come to the clinic to check on her inlays since the dental technician may put it poorly. But she warns her that if she ever does it again, she’ll report both of them to the police. Nam-Seok being all obedient and finally says the magic words that heal their relationship: “Thank you. You look exceptionally beautiful today, Ms. Dentist!”
The ending: a safe haven.
A wise man once says, “Love is the best medicine.” Well, thanks to the porridge and pack of tangerine, our Chief Hong is finally regaining his power and ready to serve Gongjin once again. Perfect timing because it is also the start of Sung-Hyun’s TV program shooting schedules. Everyone gathers at Gam-ri’s house. While everyone is enjoying the view, Doo-Sik is searching for his favorite dentist who happens to works overtime.
It’s past 10 p.m., Since, the beggar is not yet to be arrested, Hye-jin anxiously walking down the empty road where some of the lights are off. She tries to turn her phone flashlight but ends up dropping it instead. Hye-jin realizes there’s a shadow of someone following her behind. She begins to run for her life where suddenly, a light strikes within her eyes. It’s Doo-Sik, holding a big flashlight, calling her, and starts to rants about her being home so late at night.
Hye-jin runs to him and hugs him out of fear. Doo-Sik is bewildered by the situation. She tightens her hug and Doo-sik slowly responds and hugs her back. They are indeed each other’s haven. The scene is followed by the Epilogue of their “almost kiss”. The day where Hye-jin tries to kiss the sleeping Doo-sik when he is sick. Before their lips touch, she snaps back to reality and leaves his house. As soon as the door closes, Doo-Sik quickly opens his eyes and dazed by everything. At least, we get a hug that melts our hearts, right?
What did you think of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha season 1, episode 8? Comment below.
