The Sleepover
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay returns with another interesting episode as both Moon-Young and Kang-Tae are slowly starting to reveal their feelings and the pain they have been through. It has definitely been an intense and dark series so far and has managed to build its characters and story very well. Episode 5 of It’s Okay To Not Be Okay starts where we left off with Kang-Tae putting his jacket around Moon-Young. He takes her on his bike to a motel where things get a little awkward when the receptionist ask them what room they want. Kang-Tae wants to leave and suggests getting a taxi but soon realises that neither brought any money. Moon-Young confronts him about his feelings when Kang-Tae gets annoyed about her decision to walk in the rain with nothing. With no other choice, they both leave on the bike and head to his house. As they are drying themselves off, Kang-Tae warns Moon-Young against seeing Sang-Tae. She provokes him again so he stops her and suggests that she tries learning to read the emotions on people’s faces. He then mentions the Zombie Kid and tells her that he really wanted to feel warmth. She claims that he is wrong and that all he wanted was to eat food. Meanwhile, Sang-Tae is still upset after his brother yelled at him earlier in the day. Kang-Tae tries to apologise but Sang-Tae keeps on hitting his head on the wall. Kang-Tae manages to distract him though when he makes him believes he has a lump on his face after being slapped. Sang-Tae tells him off for lying though then Kang-Tae heads back upstairs to eat with Moon-Young. In the OK hospital, Ju-Ri discuss Dae-Hwan’s outburst with Haeng-Ja and wonders if he attacked his daughter in order to survive. Haeng-Ja tells her that it could be a side effect from the operation and to not let her past relationship with Moon-Young affect her judgement. Back home, Kang-Tae is having second thoughts with Moon-Young staying and desperately tries to keep her hidden from his family and friends. When Kang-Tae gets locked out of his room, Moon-Young manages to blackmail him into letting her stay. After watching him lie to Jae-Su about having a burst pipe, Moon-Young tells him he is a very good actor. Kang-Tae explains that his brother always studies his face for his emotions so he has learned to hide them to make sure Sang-Tae thinks that he is always happy. She asks him if he used to put on a fake smile and acted the same around the girl he used to like. He replies that he wants to forget her as he wasn’t nice to her even after she saved his life. In the morning, Ju-Ri arrives home and is surprised to find Moon-Young. After finding out that Ju-Ri lives there, Moon-Young realises that she is the one who suggested that Kang-Tae stay with them and that she indeed likes him. Moon-Young confronts her and calls her a thief as she claims that he is hers and that she loves him. Ju-Ri doesn’t take it though and tells her it is not love but obsession. This confrontation ends with a fight between the two which is quickly stopped by Kang-Tae. He angrily takes her out of the house and gives her money to get home. As he heads back inside, Kang-Tae finds his brother upset that he lied to him. Kang-Tae does his best to apologise and explains what happened. Ju-Ri cries to her mum about how Kang-Tae only speaks to her in a polite way but lets Moon-Young wear his clothes and sleep in his room. Her mother tries to reassure her though and mentions that her time will definitely come but she should confess her feelings. Meanwhile things are not looking good for Mr Lee in the publishing company when they find out that the book reviewer has recorded his conversation with Moon-Young before he fell down the stairs. He is asking for a huge amount in compensation and with all the demands he is getting from everyone, Mr Lee collapses on his seat. At the same time, Jae-Su asks Kang-Tae if he has slept with Moon-Young and warns him against her especially as their first meeting involved using a knife on him. He shows him his scar and tells him that it should serve as a reminder. Kang-Tae tells him that he is starting to forget his scars and asks his friend to remind him about them from time to time. He later returns home drunk and hugs his brother in his sleep, telling him he is his everything. Mr Lee and Seung-Jae arrive at Moon-Young’s mansion the next day. Mr Lee explains that after paying the compensation and the employee’s severance pay, he is now broke. He then begs her to publish more books with him but she just turns him down and tells him to leave. In the hospital, Sang-Tae is trying to start painting the wall but has trouble with it. The director arrives and tries to help by putting the first touch which in turn causes Sang-Tae to chase him around the place with paint buckets. Ju-Ri speaks to her patients about the ghostly voice they have been hearing then heads to the rooftop where she finds Kang-Tae. He tells her not to waste her emotions on him as he doesn’t deserve any. She wants to carry on liking him though but hopes that he won’t run away and stay in her mother’s house as she likes having them there. Moon-Young decides to take Sang-Tae back home and tells him they are going to have some fun together. Once they get there, she asks him if he wants to live with her and gives her an illustration contract to sign. At the same time, Kan-Tae wonders where his brother is and calls Moon-Young who tells him that Sang-Tae is with her in the cursed castle if he knows where it is. Kang-Tae reveals that he knows from the day when he ran away from her when she saved him. While she waits for Kang-Tae, Moon-Young narrates to Sang-Tae the story of a little girl who lived in a cursed castle. She was never allowed out as her mother always told her she was too special to see other people. She prayed everyday to the moon that a prince would come rescue her. We then see a flashback of a young Moon-Young overlooking her balcony as a young Kang-Tae arrived to the gate with flowers. A smiling Moon-Young ran down the stairs to greet him but found a dark figure (probably her mother) standing in her way. As she reaches the gate, she took the flowers, stepped on them and told Kang-Tae to get lost. The episode ends in the present as Moon-Young looks over her balcony as Kang-Tae walks towards her, both looking intensely at each other. This latest episode of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay has shown a few more clues into what happened between the two protagonists in the past. It looks like Moon-Young was desperate for a friend but it is always the looming shadow of her mum who broke her wings and stopped her from being loved. This has, of course, resulted in her actions as an adult as she behaves very cold and anti-social towards people. This series has definitely been interesting so far and I am looking forward to see our main two characters develop as the weeks go by. There is also the mystery surrounding patients seeing a ghost in the hospital which adds more tension to the show. The addition of different fairytales told by Moon-Young is a nice touch too and makes this drama quite original and worth the watch. Roll on the next episode!
