Uncontrollably Fond - Episode 19 Summary

The reality of Joon Young’s illness lands hard for everyone, and they all struggle to deal with their feelings in different ways. To some, that means pulling him closer while they can, while others try to distance themselves from their grief. But while his looming loss may be painful, the ripples he leaves behind could change them all in the most unexpected ways.

The country is buzzing with the news that Shin Joon Young is dying of an aggressive brain tumor, and JY watches the news with interest, wondering if the people have always loved him this much. GY says that at least he’s been cleared of the drug use accusations. He protests when JY asks him to care for Pororo, saying that he sounds like he’s planning on dying soon, and JY reminds him, “I will die soon.” GY bites his lip, he apologizes for calling JY as a jerk, explaining that he didn’t know that JY was sick and not in his right mind.

GY goes outside to collect his emotions, and finds Man Ok and President Namgoong crying on JY’s doorstep. They accuse GY of crying too, and warn him not to go cry in front of JY. GY wails at the unfairness of JY dying so young only at the age of 28, which sets all three of them off again.

Eul calls JY and asks him to meet, and he finds her waiting for him on a bench under the cherry trees. He stops for a moment, feeling the breeze on his face, and suddenly his face goes blank as he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, there’s a certain innocence in his expression that wasn’t there before. He takes off the scarf hiding his face, and a little girl approaches him to ask if he’s top star Shin Joon Young. Confused, JY says that he’s just a student, and though he knows he’s very handsome, he’s not a super star.

He spots Eul and remembers her pretending to be his girlfriend to get rid of a clingy coed, which was just a little while ago in his mind. He does the same thing he did back in school, and approaches Eul with a mischievous grin. He says that the girl really did believe Eul was his girlfriend, and plunks his head in her lap for a short nap. Eul watches JY sleep, all the pain and worry he’s been through lately gone from his face, leaving only youthful peace. The little girl brings her friend back to prove that she saw Shin Joon Young, and they tell Eul that he lied that he was just a student.

She tells the children that he’s really not a star, and the kids decide it must not be him after all.

A cherry blossom lands on JY’s cheek, and Eul softly plucks it off and shields him from the flowery spring flurry.

Assemblyman Choi is stunned by the news of JY’s terminal illness, not to mention Ji-tae’s car accident. Ji Tae is badly injured but he’s out of the woods, and his mother and Haru keep watch at his bedside. Flashback to when Ji Tae had told Assemblyman Choi that he’d wanted to be a good son to him even though he wasn’t his biological child. He’d said that he even did terrible things that he knew were wrong, all so his stepfather would like him. He’d thought that if he didn’t, Choi would abandon him and his mother. But he’d seen that he should have stood up and said those things were wrong, and he’d tearfully asked Choi to keep his promise not to leave his mother because of his rebellion.

Back in the hospital room, Assemblyman Choi answers his wife’s phone when her secretary calls. The secretary doesn’t wait for a greeting and says that they’ve destroyed the black box in Ji-tae’s car, but a black box from another car near the accident recorded everything. Choi shakes in horror, and hands his wife the phone when she re-enters the room. He watches with narrowed eyes as she receives the message, and she knows that she’s been found out. She admits that she’s the one who stopped Ji-tae (by somehow ordering the accident) in order to protect her husband, and Choi looks at her like she’s a monster.

As he sleeps in Eul’s lap, Joon-young dreams about all of his and Eul’s important and romantic moments. When he wakes, Eul plays along with his delusion of being back in school, not noticing Joon-young’s wary expression. He eventually asks if the documentary will air in two days, and Eul realizes that he’s back to himself.

Joon-young says that Eul needs to air everything she recorded between him and Jung-eun, even if people try to stop her. He says that he’ll be gone soon, but she’ll need to go on living, and build a world she believes in. Joon-young tells Eul earnestly not to live in despair, or blame others, and to not make excuses.

Having said what he came to say, Joon-young stands to leave. But Eul reminds him thatshe called him, and she also has something to say. She looks him in the eye, and says, “It’s not your fault, Joon-young-ah.” She says that she’s thought about it, and she thinks her accident is just something that happened, and the two of them just happened to be there. So it’s not his fault. Joon-young stares at her intently. They both cry a little, but no more words are needed.

Joon-young’s fans have been leaving supportive messages on the wall of his mother’s restaurant, and Joon-young finds Ajusshi taping up any messages that have fallen. Joon-young makes jokes about one note that’s badly misspelled, then both men get a bit choked up, so Joon-young goes looking for his mother.

Mom is in the kitchen peeling onions in a swim mask, and Joon-young sits with her and removes the mask. He tries to stay cheerful, but when he sees his mother crying, his own face falls. Mom blames the onions for her tears and goes to yell at Young-deok, but everyone knows that her wracking sobs aren’t about the onions.

Eul walks home to Na Ri’s place, and thinks about JY’s wish for her to build a world she can live in. She finds Assemblyman Yoon’s driver waiting to take her to see him, and she knows that he plans to threaten her if she airs the video of Jung Eun confessing. Suddenly, Assemblyman Choi arrives, and though she’s not thrilled to see him, even she accompanies him to his office, and tells him that the video contains Jung Eun’s confession for killing her father. Eul calmly says that Jung Eun must have told her father about the video, and that she expects Assemblyman Yoon to try to block it from being aired. She gives Assemblyman Choi the USB and tells him to watch it before its broadcast, just to make sure there are no errors. She then informs Choi that the USB is the original, and that there are no other copies. She asks him to return it in time for airing, and Choi looks taken aback that she’d entrust him with it.

Ji Tae finally wakes, and although his relieved mother is at his bedside, the first thing he does is ask his assistant about JY. He breathes a sigh of relief to hear that the drug charges against him were dropped, then winces when he’s told that it’s because his terminal illness was made public. He asks how Joon-young is doing, ignoring his mother, who deflates at his treatment.

JY arrives home that night to find Eul sitting on his couch (aww, he changed his code back to 0000), and she says that she’s hiding from all the people who want to talk to her. She even brought her suitcase and asks if she can stay until things die down. JY just walks out of the room, then comes back and tosses his car key at her head, ha. He asks if she can drive, because he wants to make up for a broken promise.

Assemblyman Choi watches Eul’s recording of JY and Jung Eun, and he chokes up when JY talks about how much he wanted to be a prosecutor like his father. Choi has to pause the video, on the verge of tears, and he takes out a cigarette with shaking hands. He then gets a call, and it’s JY’s mom. They meet in a park, and Mom asks if Choi can save JY. She knows that he must know a lot of prestigious doctors, and promises to do anything if only he’ll save JY.

Assemblyman Choi puts a hand on her shoulder, but she pushes it off. She says that she always told their son to grow up like Choi Hyun Joon — to help people in need, people who are weak and powerless. She cries that she told Joon-young to grow up like his father, and wails that she taught him wrong. She blames herself for raising JY badly, and she believes that JY is paying for his parents’ sins. Her eyes plead with Assemblyman Choi to do something, but he’s as helpless as she is.

Eul and JY drive out to the country, to a beautiful wood and glass cabin in the trees. JY says matter-of-factly that he built this house for the two of them, and Eul says with a smile that they should live here for five hundred years. They visit a local fish market, where they spend the afternoon laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

They walk past a group of local ajummas playing Go Stop, and Eul sits down to nosily tell them that they’re playing all wrong—one of them is taking advantage of the other two. JY gets a call, and steps away to answer.

He goes quiet at the sound of Assemblyman Choi’s voice, then he eagerly agrees to go meet with him right away. As Eul watches, JY fixes his hair and jumps into a taxi, having completely forgotten about her. 

JY arrives, and he looks around Assemblyman Choi’s office with wide eyes, and Choi can tell that something isn’t quite right. JY mentions Choi’s decision to run for public office, which was many years ago, and Choi asks him what today’s date is.

JY says that he’s making good on his promise to visit again when he passes the initial bar exam, and Assemblyman Choi’s eyes fill up with tears. JY innocently wishes that Choi will win his election and make the country a better place, and Choi starts to cry in earnest. JY is confused, but Choi says that he’s just tired, so Joon-young leaves.

On his way out, JY’s phone alerts him that today is Ajusshi’s birthday, and a passerby jostles his shoulder. It shakes JY just enough that he wakes up to the correct day, though he doesn’t remember that he left Eul alone at their cabin.

Eul is still there waiting for JY that night to come back and for a moment she seems to be in pain and clutches her stomach. She calls JY's phone and it's GY who answers JY’s phone when Eul calls, since he’s at JY’s place getting ready for his father’s birthday party.

President Namgoong snatches the phone and yells at Eul to bring in the most recently filmed video so they can edit it, and Eul fibs that JY was too sick to film anything that day.

GY takes the phone back and tells Eul that JY is busy throwing a party, and promises to tell JY that she called. President Namgoong barks that JY hasn’t got time to talk to her, and hangs up the phone. Eul has another bout of stomach pain, and this time it doubles her over for a minute.

Both Ajusshi and Man Ok are wearing sunglasses to hide their swollen eyes, and JY pretends not to notice as he puts the candles on the birthday cake. He does say something when he sees Ajusshi pinching his leg to keep from crying, and Ajusshi is all, I’m a man, I don’t cry!  GY and President Namgoong join them, also wearing sunglasses, so JY pulls out his sunglasses as well. JY falters a bit when Ajusshi says that his mother was too busy to come tonight, but he plasters on a smile. President Namgoong loudly calls her a strange mother, not showing up when her son hasn’t much time left, then realizes what he just said. But JY agrees that his mom is odd, and brightly gets the party started.

He lights the candles, and softly asks Ajusshi if he can make a wish, too. “Please take good care of my mom.” He asks Ajusshi not to let his mother suffer or be lonely, and to stay at her side.

Ajusshi promises to take care of JY’s mother with his life, and JY says that he can leave her now without worrying. By now, the whole table is crying, even JY.

Alone in her house, JY’s mother sits on her bed, and sobs out her pain and grief.

JY’s doorbell rings and GY jumps up, thinking it might be Mom. But it’s Jik, here to apologize on Na Ri’s behalf, though Na Ri is too sad to come inside. Jik says that Na Ri feels partly responsible for their breakup back in high school, because she cheated on JY with another guy. Jik elaborates that Na Ri was so pretty that she looked at guys like bags of chips, available whenever she wanted them. JY laughs and jokes that Na Ri is so dead, but Jik grows serious.

He tells JY that he was once Jik’s hero, “…but now you’re just a jerk.” He says that if JY wants to be his hero again, then he’ll find a way to beat this cancer and live. He says that his dad once said that people die because they’re lazy, because they didn’t exercise their breathing, and JY promises to do his best to keep breathing. Jik asks where his sister is, but JY is confused by the question. Jik says that earlier, Eul told him she was with JY, and suddenly JY remembers going to the cabin with her. He jumps up, calling himself crazy.

Jung Eun visits Ji Tae in the hospital, and tells him that she’s going to the U.S. with the son of a politician — if things go well, she’ll marry him. She says that while he was lying near death, KJ Group reported Ji Tae for embezzlement and malpractice, which he’ll have to face once he’s recovered. She asks why he persisted on his path when even his parents abandoned him, but Ji Tae doesn’t answer. Jung Eun turns to go, and Ji Tae apologizes to her. He says that he shouldn’t have just despised her after her hit-and-run, and he shouldn’t have kept silent, but persuaded her to turn herself in. He continues that she’s getting away with it this time, but one day she’ll realize how wrong she was, and he hopes she’ll punish herself then. “You’ve lived your life very wrongly,” he says.

Assemblyman Choi thinks back to the one and only time that JY called him “Father,” and how he’d said he would be ashamed and embarrassed until the day he died. Recalling the near hero-worship on JY’s face earlier today, and JY’s confession on film that he killed his girlfriend to protect his father, he makes a call to Eul. He asks her why she gave him the video, and Eul says that she wanted him to be the first to see it. Choi asks how she trusts him when she knows what kind of person he is, and Eul says that she just does: “You’re JY’s father.” Her simple words strike a chord, and Assemblyman Choi cries all over again. He gathers himself and calls his assistant.

JY takes a cab all the way back to the cabin and searches the house for Eul. He calls her phone when he doesn’t find her, and follows her ringtone to the second floor balcony. She’s sitting there hunched against the wall, and she doesn’t look up when JY calls her name.

He assumes she’s angry so he apologizes, but she still doesn’t look at him. JY crouches down and angles Eul’s face to his, and he sees that she’s pale and sweating. He’s instantly worried and asks why she didn’t call him, and starts to call an ambulance.

Eul takes his phone away, refusing to go to the hospital. JY argues that she might die, but Eul shakes her head, saying that she doesn’t care.

JY asks softly if she wants to die with him, and Eul finally looks at him and asks why she can’t do exactly that.

JY nods that yes, she can — they can die together. Then he scoops her up in his arms, and carries her inside.

Personal Thought:

It's a new beginning for JY actually that he sometimes forgets his hardship during the past few years and that's really a blessing for him to have that regression time, in which he turns back to the time when he feels content and happy. It's even better for him to die thinking that everything is beautiful rather than remembering the broke up, the guilt even the hardship he endured for the past years.

I really like it when Eul finally speaks up that it's not Joon Young's fault. It's just an accident and it happened when they are both there. Finally, with just that word, Eul is able to lift up the burden from his heart and mind, right before he is going to die. I don't want JY to die, but if something magical happens tonight, then this story would not be a melodrama anymore. There is totally no purpose for us to watch this drama for the past three months, because it's better that JY dies and he leaves Eul with a new beginning, a new strength for her to live in the world she wants.

The case is going to cleared and JY is going to die for sure. That's somehow what I expect to have tonight. So, maybe tomorrow, we will be meeting again for sure to talk about our impression on Kim Woo Bin and Suzy for this drama ~

Cheers!