Changing Address
Episode 7 of My Liberation Notes picks up back on the farm. Gi-Jeong ends up doing the washing and notices her sister and Mr Gu sharing a bottle of water. She scoffs, claiming they’re on a date. It’s a scorching day, but that night, as Gu joins the family for food, Je-Ho quizzes him over why he won’t accept payment for doing the work. “I enjoy it.” He says. One character who’s largely been on the periphery here is Oh Du-Hwan. This episode we see him meeting a few friends. He also learns that Ms Kwak (a long-time crush of his) has broken up with her boyfriend. Chatting to Chang-Hee about this over dinner, he admits that his heart fluttered fast when he found out. Mi-Jeong is there, and she listens to this, interjecting and admitting that she’s never experienced that. The only time her heart has beat fast is when bad things happen. For her, her heart beats slower when she likes someone, like she’s been freed. Remember Mi-Jeong changing her address to Gu’s in order to hide her post? Well, her father finds out when he heads to the post office. Je-Ho obviously doesn’t know about the mail and instead, suspects that things are more serious than he initially thought between her and Mr Gu. There’s definitely some tension at work but Gu receives a message from Mi-Jeong, telling him that she’s going to be late and missing out on their dinner. She has a meeting with the Liberation Club. Hyang-Gi is there to oversee, and she checks their notebooks. For Tae-Hun he writes “stop feeling weak” but when he steps outside, Gi-Jeong happens to be there and the pair end up chatting. In fact, because Gi-Jeong is so enamoured with Tae-Hun, she stops her initial hostility on the phone to her sister and decides to let the Liberation Club continue. In fact, she head inside herself and keeps moving tables until she’s within earshot of their conversation. She overhears Tae-Hun talk about his life and, specifically, how he felt when he lost his parents. The next day, Mi-Jeong is confronted by her father about changing her address. She spins it as her helping a friend who filed for bankruptcy but both her mum and dad tell her to change her address back. The thing is, there could still be letters sent regarding her loan payments so that’s incredibly problematic. Mi-Jeong is struggling and knowing that her parents could well find out soon about her money woes, she messages Gu and asks him for help. She even decides not to go home until she can talk to Chan-Hyeok. Mi-Jeong does manage to get through to him on the phone but it’s his partner, Se-Young, instead. She admits that they’re currently living hand to mouth. In fact, Chan-Hyeok is actually on the verge of selling his organs, given he owes money to a lot of people and not just to Mi-Jeong. Mi-Jeong doesn’t want to tell her parents and bemoans how she’s going to become a delinquent borrower now. It’s an impossible situation, and something tht sees Mi-Jeong continue to spiral. When she heads home, she tells Gi-Jeong that she was the one who asked Gu to worship her. Gi-Jeong is taken back. Mi-Jeong eventually makes her decision and decides to shut her bank account, four months before it’s due to mature, until the pretence that Chan-Hyeok is going to pay her back. The bank worker is clearly disappointed but she tells her to cheer up. That night, Gu answers the phone, where it’s revealed tat the mystery voice actually belongs to his brother. He curses Gu for hiding and tells him that Sam-Sik ran into Chairman Shin at a funeral. Gu asks how Ssaebi is instead, but apparently Gu’s brother hasn’t seen him in a while. It would appear that Gu could also be having money problems but we agonizingly cut the scene before we find out. Mi-Jeong catches up with Gu on the bus and tells him she’s changed her address, remaining hopeful that Chan-Hyeok will pay her back. Gu though, decides to help her and asks for the guy’s address and number so he can “persuade” him. Mi-Jeong eventually speaks to Gu over at his place about how she feels, imploring her not to get involved and fight. Part of the reason Mi-Jeong wants Gu to worship her is so she can build up her self-esteem and confidence. In doing so, she may even confront her ex and get the money back from him. Gu eventually agrees, in his own way, and sets out to make her some food. “Water.” She says after he drops the saucepan in front of her on the table. Gu gets her a bottle from the fridge. Gu admits that he’s a scary person and wouldn’t even flinch if he was stabbed in the stomach. However, when he’s around Mi-Jeong he gets scared and nervous. “Keep going, I like it.”Mi-Jeong says. It’s a really nice moment between the pair, and something that sees Mi-Jeong start to grow in confidence. Unfortunately, Gi-jeong doesn’t share that same enthusiasm. She sits in the bar, pointing out that she’s broken because she likes Tae-Hun. She’s conflicted over whether to tell him this but Gi-Jeong’s boss encourages her to be honest and ask him out. This is, obviously, something made all the harder by Chang-Hee’s earlier chat back home where he was talking about his sister behind her back, pointing out her erratic behaviour. On the way home, Gi-Jeong listens to sad music, sings out of time (but still much better than this reviewer’s singing!) and eventually heads home. In the morning, Mr Gu gives Mi-Jeong a lift to the train station, but Gi-Jeong urges him to move over so she can get in too. Chang-Hee eventually rocks up later, and asks how they got there so fast. “Her boyfriend gave us a lift,” Gi-Jeong says matter-of-factly, smiling weakly and walking up the platform. Chang-Hee thinks it over and realizes that it’s Mr Gu.
The Episode Review
Even during its slower episodes (like this one) My Liberation Notes still continues to deliver enthralling and gripping drama. The romance brewing between Mi-Jeong and Mr Gu is so well written and the fact that this may well be the catalyst for the other characters to start making changes in their own life is a great hook. It’s interesting to see the juxtaposition of fate between Gi-Jeong and Mi-Jeong too. While the latter appears to have found her love and is just now starting to grow more confident, Gi-Jeong is despairing over her own feelings and unsure where she stands with Tae-Hun. There’s also the subject of Chang-Hee, who doesn’t get a lot of time this episode. Instead, we get a bit more of Du-Hwan, who has his own issues. He’s been on the periphery for a while but it’s great to get some time with him in this chapter. The ending is perfectly poised for more drama to follow, so we’ll have to wait and see where this one goes next.
