Summary
When the Phone Rings delivers big on romantic payoff in Episode 7, but there’s still plenty of mystery left to solve.
Romance makes an interesting pairing with anything. You can graft a bit of kissing and canoodling onto any other genre and it morphs instantly. Some fit like a glove – romantic comedy, for instance. In the specific case of When the Phone Rings, I can’t tell if it’s a mystery first and a romance second or the other way around. Either way, both aspects are better for the union. The earnestness of the romance keeps the mystery from feeling too ridiculous; the twists and turns of the mystery keep the romance from being overbearing and saccharine. Episode 7 is a good display of all this.
It’s the first kiss episode, though “first kiss” is a weird idea in this context of a long-term sham marriage and fake kidnapper scenario (with a very real kidnapper scenario layered in.) But it’s romantic, is all I’m saying. It’s a turning point in the relationship between the lead characters that should redefine the remaining episodes in this 12-part season. And it’s a nice payoff for the many – apparently very many – fans who have become rather invested in this show’s story and characters.
We’re picking up from the end of the previous episode, when Sa-eon had to come to Hee-joo’s rescue again, and it seems that the savior role has always defined their relationship. When she wakes up, she wants him to stay with her. They’re funny, these two. It’s like they have all the ingredients of a functioning marriage except the willingness to admit they love and need each other.
But the accident – even though it wasn’t an accident – has some unforeseen effects, and the conversation comes up about how best to frame it to spare peoples’ political careers. Sa-eon’s dad is particularly invested in the narrative. He’s mightily suspicious, this guy. He’s perhaps too suspicious to be taken seriously as a suspect, but you never know.
Sa-eon decides to frame the attack as a failed attempt on his life, keeping Hee-Joo and his father out of it and pushing the narrative of a personal grudge. He also plans to reveal the face of the kidnapper on the news, thanks to reverse-engineering the tracker on his phone. Again, this feeds into the whole idea of Sa-eon-as-saviour. He’s willing to put himself in the crosshairs and risk his reputation to protect others. This is a crucial part of his romantic development with Hee-joo.
I really like how When the Phone Rings Episode 7 weaves the phone plot into this. Of course, we know that Sa-eon knows Hee-joo is the one who has been calling him. But she doesn’t know that, and the way he chooses to reveal it is played for maximum romance. He allows his reaction to finding out about this ultimate deception to double up as the confession of his feelings. No, he’s not mad – he’s in love. It allows him to lay his cards on the table and exonerate Hee-joo for what she had convinced herself was going to be the ruin of them both. It’s a smooth play.
This is how the episode ends, but it’s not really the thought we’re left with. Now that the real kidnapper’s facing exposure, he’s fuming, and someone’s going to be held responsible. Pushing Hee-joo for swapping sides and not playing ball anymore was an effort to make Sa-eon feel the pain of losing something precious to him. The more precious she becomes, the more serious that threat is. And When the Phone Rings is clearly pointing a finger at Sang-woo, who spends this episode looking for the former owner of the villa, Jeong Jin-seok. I’m skeptical about this, but stranger things have happened.
Either way, the long-awaited romantic payoff is far from the end of the story.
