Discomfort Index
Episode 8 of Forecasting Love and Weather begins with Ha-Kyung shouting and berating Ki-Jun. Drunk and disorderly, he tries to apologizes to his ex outside. Ha-Kyung gives him some advice regarding his relationship with Yu-Jin but he falls asleep mid-chat. When he rests his head on Ha-Kyung’s shoulder, Si-Woo appears and forces him off. So naturally, they ring Yoo-Jin and have her pick him up. Only, he continues to slur his words on the sofa, saying sorry…to Ha-Kyung. Oof. While Um helps himself to the food and beer on the dining table, Si-Woo confronts Ha-Kyung outside about the article situation. Unfortunately it all ends up with Ha-Kyung and Si-Woo storming back inside and slamming their doors shut. The morning sees drama on both sides, with Ha-Kyung completely blanking Si-Woo while Yu-Jin finds Ki-Jun disregarding him in the morning, wanting some time to think over his current situation. At work the extra humidity causes uncomfortable drama in the office. That’s not helped by the aircon short-circuiting. With maintenance looking into this, the morning meeting looks set to go ahead with some very hot and bothered employees. The most flustered employee happens to be Ha-Kyung, who ends up in a car accident on the way and misses the meeting completely. Ki-Jun shows to try and act like a knight in shining armour but Ha-Kyung scoffs at the notion, as she simply tries to sort out her insurance details. However, she begrudgingly agrees to get a lift from him to the office. In the wake of this, Um takes charge of the important meeting regarding the changing of seasons. Everything is heading toward the rainy season. With Um reminding them all a lot is riding on this, it falls to Si-Woo to try and make a judgement call. Only, he’s not actually paying attention given he’s worried about Ha-Kyung and texting her constantly. The Director general decides to hold a press conference in the afternoon with their decision, deciding whether to delay the warning or not. Back in the office, Si-Woo takes Ha-Kyung aside after not speaking all morning. He’s unhappy about how she’s been choosing him over her and asks whether there’s anything going on. Si-Woo admits he was worried sick about her and the radio silence has only exacerbated this. This much is especially prevalent given he’s falling for her – hard. Ha-Kyung apologizes but Si-Woo tells her to stop, given it makes him feel guilty. Instead, he simply tells her there’s a meeting coming up in the afternoon regarding the rainy season. On the way back to the main office, Si-Woo bumps into Yu-Jin who is having a hard time. She admits she regrets the pair living together, before Si-Woo urges her to actually tell the truth and open up and tell Ki-Jun the truth about them living together. After all, he’s done the same with his girlfriend. This immediately sees Yu-Jin start to question just who he’s dating and whether it’s a colleague at work. Si-Woo is silent, but then when he shows up at the briefing with her, sparks fly between Ki-Jun and Si-Woo on the sidelines. And in doing so, he realizes that Si-Woo is the person she was living with before. Ki-Jin suddenly grabs Si-Woo round the throat and begins wrestling with him. The reporters scramble to record their fight, as the Director General finds himself absolutely furious when he finds out after the drama. He wants written apologies and intends to take disciplinary action. The aircon manages to work but it’s partly thanks to Seok-Ho, who actually showed up and helped the workers by fanning them and bringing them cold drinks. After work, Ki-Jun’s wife gives him a call to check how he’s getting on. However, when she hears that he’s okay, she hangs up. The thing is, Hyang-Rae actually arrived up at the office and learned he’s not there, hence the hurried phone call and hanging up situation. She believes that there’s something more going on here. Meanwhile, Ha-Kyung opens up to Si-Woo and promises not to hide anything from her any more. She also tells him that there’s nothing going on between her and Ki-Jun too. As Si-Woo sighs, he admits he’s falling in love and kisses her on the lips in a bar. Ki-Jun happens to be watching outside and sees them in the bar together. Ki-Jun plays the victim when he heads home, confessing he’s in pain to know that she’s lived with someone before. Ugh, this guy is such a wet sponge. Anyway, he also breaks the news to Yu-Jin that Si-Woo is dating Ha-Kyung. Uh oh, this is going to blow up big time!
The Episode Review
One of the things that Forecasting Love and Weather does incredibly well is tie its various weather patterns with the theme of each chapter. From the unknown and hidden aspect of fog through to the extreme anger and frustration brought on from the heat, each episode manages to tie these emotions into weather patterns that reflect how the various characters are dealing with their issues. This chapter sees anger the main drive and through the hot and sweaty employees, that bubbles up into a big fight between Si-Woo and Ki-Jun. This happens to be the driving point of the whole episode, and yet somehow the show still manages to add in some comedy along the way, perfectly shifting the tone at the right moments. The drama between Ki-Jun and Si-Woo was always going to spill over in this way though and the outcome was perhaps inevitable, right before the aircon is fixed nonetheless! Either way though, the ending leaves things open for next week’s follow-up, with an improved chapter following yesterday’s slight dip in drama. How will Yu-Jin and Ki-Jun react to their exs dating and being together? Will it cause endless drama at work? We’ll have to wait and see.
