Summary
A light, breezy episode which uncomplicatedly moves things along without complication.
This recap of the Netflix K-Drama series Once Upon a Small Town season 1, episode 7 contains spoilers.
After some mild intensity last week, episode seven returns Once Upon a Small Town to its usual lightness. With a very specific, one-off story in this installment, this was a nice change of pace.
Once Upon a Small Town season 1, episode 7 recap
After re-watching the end of last episode, we cut to see Ja-young admit to Man-sung that something is up, she just isn’t quite sure what. However, the older colleague is wise to the situation, well aware that it could have something to do with the men in the police officer’s life. Elsewhere, Ji-yul looks despondent at the hospital, until he’s needed for the treatment of a 3-month-old rabbit suffering from diarrhoea.
Fortunately, Judy (the pet) does not have any complex issues, though she is dehydrated, so requires fluids and some monitoring, as well as no more fruit being fed to her. However, a wider issue is revealed, as Seon-dong hopes to win over Hui-won (the pet owner), wanting her to forgive him for forgetting the gift she got him a while ago. Ji-yul’s advice is that the youngster should give his crush some space to think things through on her own.
Reflecting, Ji-yul recalls the awkward meeting with Ja-young from the day before and goes to call her, only to be interrupted by Yeong-suk. Nevertheless, it’s all for a good reason, as the vet is required to help out with a cow that has been stuck in labour without giving birth for a whole day.
As the news is confirmed that the national singing competition will be held in Majeong, Ja-young spots a dejected Seon-dong walking along the street. Meanwhile, the Huidong Women’s Association rue the fact their village cannot host the event they coveted, understanding that they need to ensure they can get the specialisation funds to prevent further embarrassment.
Upset at feeling invisible to Hui-won now, Seon-dong seeks further advice. Luckily, Ja-young is on hand to provide it, telling the boy that he should just apologise for his mistake given he knows why his crush is angry. When Seon-dong says that he has already tried the sorry route, the police officer adds that the youngster needs to show his love interest how he really feels.
However, this does not go well, so Seon-dong ends up coming crying to Ji-yul, proclaiming that the vet and Ja-young “ruined everything.” This is because the schoolboy was accused of having a split personality when showing his feelings to Hui-won, meaning his crush no longer wants to hang out with him. However, Ji-yul is more interested in hearing that Ja-young said the vet’s advice is nonsense, perhaps deducing that he needs to apologise to his friend until she accepts it.
After Ji-yul successfully convinces Seon-dong to try his idea again, but remain patiently firm in his distance keeping, we watch as the vet comes face-to-face with Ja-young. Here, the police officer gives thanks for the help she received after the car accident, yet subtly suggests that there’s something Ji-yul should say too, even if it’s late.
When the vet looks set to open up, Sang-hyeon disrupts the conversation. He wants to know why Ja-young didn’t visit the barn yesterday for some beer, flustering his longtime friend, and marking the departure of Ji-yul.
Next, Sang-hyeon sits down to talk with Ja-young. The police officer reveals to her friend that Ji-yul remembered who she was, but appears disappointed by the awkwardness of it all, stating that she’ll never see the vet again once he goes back to Seoul anyway, so why bother dwelling on the past. This all pleases the peach farmer, who is soon set to head to the capital city himself to meet a client.
At the hospital, a deflated Ji-yul talks about the unique situation between himself and Ja-young with Yun-hyeong, and clumsily confesses that she looks different (in a good way) to him now that he recognises her. However, the Seoul colleague does state here that Ji-yul must have been a “jerk” for the police officer to act like she didn’t previously know him.
Worryingly, Hui-won appears in front of the vet with a strange looking text from Seon-dong, who has said he will disappear, and is now nowhere to be seen, or able to be communicated with. As such, Ji-yul, alongside the police, begin a pursuit to find the potential runaway.
While bickering over how Ji-yul’s advice may have caused the young boy’s actions, Ja-young and the vet poke around the village for the nine-year-old. The two also discuss how feelings will get hurt if people don’t talk things out (with both sides disagreeing on the importance of timing, and the weight of an apology), again obviously understatedly referring to the pair’s own history together as secret friends.
When things get a tad personal, and the two discuss their differing romantic successes generally, there seems to be a realisation of joint wrongdoing, with both sides settling down. Then, it’s revealed where Seon-dong is, allowing for the former childhood friends to head back into town, evidently much calmer. As such, Ji-yul subtly admits to Ja-young in the car that he should have apologised more sincerely, by trying to pass off his words as being applicable to Seon-dong and Hui-won.
The ending
With things patched up between everyone, both Ji-yul and Ja-young reservedly smile in the truck, recalling the awkward discussion between the two pertaining to their past as “secret friends,” which only the vet had forgotten. As well as this, it becomes evident that the abrupt ending of the discussion had actually came when the police officer became flustered at the idea of having changed.
Continuing, Ji-yul waits for Ja-young outside when she drops off Seon-dong, ready to open up. So he soon does, stating that she was his only good memory from the year they met, before sincerely apologising for forgetting who she was. With the two looking deeply into each other’s eyes, the episode ends.
What did you think of Once Upon a Small Town season 1, episode 7? Comment below.
