The Secret is Out

Dare to Love Me Episode 12 brings us back to Jun-ho who receives a call about Yoon-bok. Soon we see that Yoon-bok forces the guy he’s been chasing through Chinatown to call Jun-ho, confirming their relationship and revealing his next move.

Meanwhile on the other side, Jun-ho hears a loud noise but after the call he finds Hong-do is standing near his closet with a box, apologizing for knocking it over then quickly departing. After she leaves, Jun-ho becomes suspicious and checks the closet, noting the light is on. He chases after her.

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In Chinatown, the police meet Yoon-bok and take the suspect into custody, while Jun-ho follows Hong-do to offer her a ride. She feels compelled to accept and he quizzes her, finding that she was focused on checking out his limited-edition Camille pieces. As he tries to dig further, Hong-do gets a call from Yoon-bok who’s seen her in Jun-ho’s car from the street. She asks to be let out because Yoon-bok said he would pick her up, so Jun-ho complies, not learning whether she’d looked inside the closet or not.

It’s Yoon-ah who meets Hong-do as Yoon-bok races to cut off Jun-ho. But Jun-ho won’t engage, instead speeding off with Yoon-bok in pursuit. At the same time, Yi-bok has a team searching Jun-ho’s house and as finally Yoon-bok arrives, he gets a call about the secret room. Inside he finds boxes, ceramic pieces and a workstation.

At the apartment, Yoon-bok checks around to make sure Hong-do’s safe. As Hong-hak is away, Yoon-bok insists on staying to protect her. He spends the evening in a frenzy, checking after every car passes. And she can’t sleep either so they sit together, he telling her a story about Confucius’ disciple. She can barely get past the first lengthy quote, falling asleep on his shoulder. The next morning, Hong-hak finds them cuddled together on the couch. He passes out a second time upon hearing they’re actually dating.

At the village, Chil-bok insists on helping Yeojudaek by carrying fresh bedding to Leader Shin’s room. Hearing him approach, Chil-bok dives behind a barrier but Leader Shin easily finds him. While in his home, Se-Ryeong’s father considers Jun-ho’s offer but decides he hold back because of the marriage contract with Yoon-bok.

Imprisoned, Chil-bok is grilled by the Leader about Gamjjok. He tells him Yoon-bok hid him there for safety, just as Yoon-bok arrives. Privately, Yoon-bok explains that someone else is behind Gamjjok.

At work, Hong-do explains the situation with Jun-ho and suggests they ask the village to cater the fashion show. Shortly after, she meets with Leader Shin about the change and he agrees to speak to the villagers. He then asks her about Yoon-bok, noting that his grandson will come back to the village eventually and she should manager her feelings. She says she’ll honor Yoon-bok’s feelings, whatever they are.

After considering overnight, Leaders Shin breaks Yoon-bok’s engagement. As Se-ryeong cries in her bed, her father thinks of taking revenge and meets Jun-ho. Secretly, Jun-ho meets him and provides an envelope that’s sure to get him what he wants.

As Yoon-bok checks the secret room again, police arrive and Yoon-bok makes a discovery. They believe Jun-ho is nearby. While at the village, the elders confront Leader Shin about selling out their tradition to his ‘woman’ Camille, effectively giving him an attack with their vitriol. Yoon-bok nearly finds Jun-ho but gets a call that his grandfather collapsed, immediately rushing back to the village. Finding his sleeping grandfather and the envelope, Yoon-bok decides to stay and look after him.

The next day, Camille finds out the show has been cancelled and storms off to the village. Yoon-bok is still there, making his grandfather a remedy. As they the two are speaking, Camille rushes in shouting but then finds the photos of them together in France and begins to understand what’s happening.

Separately, Lee and cronies celebrate how they saved the village from disaster. Leader Shin disrupts their laughter realizing the cancelled marriage proposal plays a part. Yoon-bok overhears the conversation and approaches Se-Ryeong, explaining his feelings. At the same time, Leader Shin and Camille have a heart-to-heart. She understands his decisions from back then.

Camille observes the villagers receiving ‘gifts’ from Leader Lee, saying he needs to share the profits of the village with everyone. She approaches him separately with a contract for the fashion show plus hefty profits for him. While leader Shin leaves a message that he’s stepping down from his post.

When she hears of it, Hong-do goes running to Camille who’s having tea with Leader Lee. Camille states that she’ll do anything for work, effectively shutting her up. Yoon-bok finds his grandfather in simple clothing, sweeping the monastery. While Leader Lee and Camille toast to working with the village and Lee slips that he got the information from Jun-ho.

Still in hiding, Jun-ho celebrates the defeat of Leader Shin but soon gets a call, directing him to a safe. Following instructions, he finds a treasure.

At the village, Leader Lee is congratulated for helping to put on the show. And security is not so sure it’s a good idea to let vehicles into the village but Leader Lee has approved it. Instantly, Jun-ho sneaks out of one of them, entering a prohibited storeroom. There he finds antiquities and Yoon-bok.

The Episode Review

Sadly, no epilogue this week. But plenty to ponder as Camille changes teams for the sake of her fashion show. And possibly to gather enough information to sink the new Village Head, Leader Lee. She’ll save her old boyfy, won’t she? After the show of course. The show must go on.

Well, for those who were on Team Jun-ho – ☹. Ah well, no sweet reunion with her old friend for Yi-bok. But he does prove an intriguing villain who’s built a knowledge of antiques and possibly how to fake them since he’s moved out of the village. And become a successful restaurateur. And he’s in his 20s, no? In the same way, one wonders this about hackers – if you’re so smart and talented, why aren’t you killing it in a great job instead of wasting away in revenge-mode? Surely there are more satisfying pastimes… I guess I’ll never become a criminal mastermind. Sigh.

Onto our couple who spends the night in a (fully clothed) cuddle and are now exceedingly less awkward than previous episodes. Hong-hak will recover from the shock, I’m sure. And have a blast teasing them. But now here it comes, Yoon-bok will once again need to decide what’s most important to him. It’s a tough one for rule-followers, but he seems to like new ‘outside the village’ existence. Let’s see…

What are your thoughts on Jun-ho – reform or throw away the key? Or maybe they’ll do that knee torture we often see in Korean period dramas… Let us know in the comments below.  

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