Summary
A breezy installment with a particularly sweet ending.
We recap the Netflix K-Drama series Crash Course in Romance Season 1 Episode 9, “The Butterfly Effect of Our Relationship,” which contains spoilers.
Although the crime element of the story took a firm backseat here, there was still plenty of drama to be found in episode nine of Crash Course in Romance. Chi-yeol’s scandal was a fun way to dominate this chapter and helped us re-establish where each character stands as we begin the second half of the show.
Crash Course in Romance Season 1 Episode 9 Recap
The All Care mothers take a stand
With the truth about Hae-e’s private lessons revealed, Chi-yeol takes the concerned All Care mothers to his office so they can hash things out. “I think you’ve stepped over the line,” the star tutor says, wanting Su-hui and co. to know he’s doing nothing illegal nor anything that would compromise his contract with Pride Academy. Still, the justifications of these free sessions (mistreatment) become compromised when Haeng-seon barges in, alleging she “begged” Chi-yeol to teach her niece.
After Haeng-seon departs alongside a frustrated Chi-yeol, who knows his friend’s lies might land him in “bigger trouble,” we move to the next day. Here, Su-hui gets ready to talk to Pride’s director regarding Hae-e being privately tutored, and Seo-jin worriedly quizzes Hui-jae on his whereabouts. Yet no answer is afforded, and the shut-in actually looks rather disturbed.
As Chi-yeol gets side-tracked in his quest to reach out to Yi-sang when called in for a meeting with Jun-sang, Haeng-seon decides she’ll stick a pin in Hae-e’s private tutoring, well aware the All Care mothers will continue making a fuss. However, such a seemingly polite request is instantly rebuffed, given the star tutor has already decided to take the latter option of his ultimatum to stop his personalized teaching or face being boycotted by Su-hui and co.
The Scandal begins
While Hae-e begins to face animosity from her peers for the exclusive help she’s received from Chi-yeol, Su-hui entertains the idea of the star tutor “having a thing” for Haeng-seon. So much so, the overinvolved mother believes this may be the reason the All Care Programme is being risked for the sake of one student and starts rumors of the two being intimately involved once the CCTV of the academy instructor’s apartment has been checked.
READ: Will there be a Crash Course in Romance Season 2?
With Su-hui’s online post about Haeng-seon having an affair with Chi-yeol for the sake of private tutoring going viral, consequences come thick and fast. For the irate star tutor, it means looking into legal responses, particularly against those who identify names involved in “the scandal of the century.” Haeng-seon, however, adopts a different approach, standing up to Su-hui face-to-face in the hope she can explain her frequent visits to Chi-yeol are only for the sake of lunch box deliveries. That claim, naturally, falls on deaf ears.
The impact of Su-hui’s actions
Next, we see the full impact of Su-hui’s post. Hae-e is unable to focus at school (she handwaves Geon-hu for the first time here), Chi-yeol finds himself on the backfoot with his students in his academy teaching, and Haeng-seon is left entirely without customers. There is one visitor, though, the streamer Mr. Popular, who travels to Nation’s Best Banchan purely for the sake of exposing the owner’s face to the public.
At school, Hae-e finds herself the center of attention when some bullies flag her down to watch Mr. Popular’s stream. What follows is a rather tense physical altercation involving Sun-jae, Geon-hu, and the agitators, resulting in everyone needing to pen an apology letter. Yet perhaps surprisingly, Jong-ryeol has no interest in hearing about the speculation involving his adversary, Chi-yeol.
As Sun-jae and Geon-hu start striking up a friendship due to the former’s helping hand in writing the latter’s apology note for him, the dejected Hae-e is comforted by Dan-ji. With that being said, there is an ominous air between the two friends when allusions to more untold secrets are made.
Concurrently, Chi-yeol rushes to try and speak to Haeng-seon when hearing about what happened with Mr. Popular, only to become more concerned when made aware of Jae-woo’s hospitalization for a panic attack he suffered when entirely overwhelmed by everything going on around him at the side dish store.
Reflecting on how she was once sidelined for being an orphan, Hae-e opts against writing an online post to clear Haeng-seon’s name. Instead, she confides in Yeong-ju, who reassures the student nothing is her fault and that she isn’t selfish for being unable to tell the world the truth about her aunt and Chi-yeol.
Discovering feelings (but failing to deal with them properly)
Once Chi-yeol is reassured about Jae-woo, he drives Haeng-seon out for a bit, allowing her to recoup as well as get some well-needed food. Here, the star tutor self-admits he harbors feelings for the side dish shop owner too, with this kind of understanding cemented through kind acts of physical affection (and jacket sharing) when his crush is fast asleep.
Unfortunately, Chi-yeol deals with his newly discovered romantic feelings by deciding to stop tutoring Hae-e. Haeng-seon, dejected, understands the reasons why the academy instructor may wish to end their arrangement, so simply thanks him for his kindness when it’s established he doesn’t want any other meal deliveries either. “It’s a shame that I’ll never get to repay your kindness,” she adds before exiting Chi-yeol’s car.
After Chi-yeol delivers the remainder of Haeng-seon’s food, failing once again to confess his feelings, the two officially part ways, and we move to the next day. Here, Su-hui and the All Care mothers celebrate the fact the star tutor has agreed to return to the programme as long as the posts relating to his scandal are removed. Seo-jin, on the other hand, is not impressed at all with her petty acquaintances.
As Dong-hui delivers materials to help Hae-e continue her studies now she isn’t being privately tutored (a recommendation is made for her to sign up for another academy or online classes), life goes on for everyone else, albeit in a less enthused way. That night, however, Haeng-seong coincidentally ends up in a talk show led by Chi-yeol, something which causes great distress when she has to listen to the academy instructor field questions on the scandal they became swept up in and hears herself referred to as a “gold digger.”
Crash Course in Romance Season 1 Episode 9 Ending Explained
Shockingly, Chi-yeol defends Haeng-seon when seeing her exit the room. “I’m the one at fault,” the star tutor states, explaining it was he who offered to tutor Hae-e, and he was also the person with feelings, not his counterpart. Then, with more compliments afforded to Haeng-seon, the episode ends.
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