Brewing Love – K-drama Episode 6 Recap & Review

Episode 6

Episode 6 of Brewing Love begins with Min-ju realising his feelings for Yong-ju. Before going to bed that night, they both look at their fingertips and smile. In the morning, Min-ju hears Yong-ju speaking to someone on the phone very politely. Yong-ju says he is the father of the man that Yong-ju once saved. The team then leaves and Min-ju bids them (Yong-ju in particular) goodbye.

Min-ju returns home and develops the photos that he clicked on their trip. His colleagues then show him a bunch of business cards from wholesalers who want to sell Naro beer. They are excited to sell more of their beer but they wonder if Jisang Liquor will allow Min-ju to spend so much time on this. Min-ju insists that they can trust Yong-ju.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups at the company see an article about a new beer from their rival, Baekmok. They pressure Yong-ju to come up with the new beer in three months instead of six months. Yong-ju argues with her manager that they can’t have Min-ju focus on the new beer and leave Naro aside.

Ah-reum gives the news to Chan-hwi, who ends up telling Min-ju. His colleagues are disappointed and Min-ju tries calling Yong-ju. But Yong-ju is on the roof, contemplating her situation. In return for making the beer in three months, the Busan branch would return to its old status that much sooner.

Chan-hwi tells Yong-ju that he let the news slip to Min-ju. She drives to the brewery, thinking about all the different people at stake here. When she reaches, she meets Min-ju and apologises for not being able to keep her promise. Knowing his colleagues are badmouthing her at the moment, he tells her to leave.

After that, Min-ju works at the brewery on his own and realises he can’t meet the demands of all the wholesalers. He later muses about how hard it must have been for Yong-ju to drive over.

Yong-ju goes home and has a drink. She tells her grandmother how bad she felt breaking her promise. The conversation makes Yong-ju realise that someone from the task force team told the CEO about the launch date. One of them is a spy!

At work, Yong-ju soon figures out that it was Ah-reum who was telling the head of the planning team everything. Yong-ju confronts them and makes it clear that Ah-reum works for her and that the planning team head should talk to her directly if he wants to know something. Later, Ah-reum and Yong-ju talk. Yong-ju tells her they shouldn’t break their promise and work on a solution instead.

Back at the brewery, the Uilhan team is exhausted prepping for all the new orders. A wholesaler arrives and is interrogating Min-ju when Yong-ju and the team arrive to offer more hands. Together, they work to pack all the orders. At one point, Yong-ju tries to get a box that is high up and Min-ju helps her out, making her flustered.

Later, Ra-oh and Beom leave but the others stay behind. Young-ja and Sook-ja feed them a hearty dinner but Ah-reum doesn’t join in on the joyful atmosphere. She walks away from the group and Chan-hwi soon follows with some flowers to cheer her up.

They have a beer while sitting by a river and Ah-reum described the immense pressure on her to not make any mistakes. She says Yong-ju embodies the perfect personality that she tries hard to put on herself. Chan-hwi comforts her and tells her she’s good enough. A quick flashback shows Min-ju telling Chan-hwi to go to her.

Meanwhile, Min-ju takes Yong-ju to the second floor of his house where his meditation room is. She marvels at all his photographs. He gives her a photograph of her smiling, saying it’s his first photograph of a person. She gets a bit nervous that he’s brought her to a part of his home no one else knows. He’s about to tell her he likes her but then says he likes the photograph instead.

The next morning, the beer is sent off and Chan-hwi and Ah-reum head back. Both Min-ju and Yong-ju happen to be going to Busan. Min-ju goes to his family’s house and meets Min-ho. Min-ho’s mother reveals that Min-ju’s father is bringing a guest over — the woman who saved Min-ju’s life six years ago. At the end of Brewing Love Episode 6, Min-ju’s father arrives and the guest is none other than Yong-ju.

The Episode Review

Brewing Love Episode 6 brings a new obstacle in the story and throws the ever-positive Yong-ju a bit off course. She’s usually solution-oriented and jumps into action but it is actually nice to see her slow down and contemplate here.

The episode brings out a more vulnerable side, even in the final scenes of the episode where she shows some nervousness around Min-ju. However, this nervousness does seem a bit sudden. We’ve seen Min-ju’s thought process as he realises his feelings for Yong-ju but does she feel the same?

The end of the episode signals a move into more complex territory. The series will now dive into the past event that connects Yong-ju and Min-ju together. I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of the ‘past connection’ trope. Additionally, the dynamic that these two leads is so fresh that a traumatic past event risks tainting it. We’ll find out soon enough.