Frankly Speaking – K-drama Episode 7 Recap & Review

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Frankly Speaking episode 7 starts with a flashback to 8 years ago when Woo-joo and Jung-heon were dating. Jung-heon’s mother showed up out of the blue on his birthday. She found Woo-joo preparing a small celebration and they got to talking. Apparently, Jung-heon had mentioned that he wanted to get married.

At present, Cha-yeon and Ha-young are discussing what to do after Yu-yeong left. Jung-heon steps up and asks them to consider making Woo-joo part of the cast. At first, Cha-yeon disagrees, but Woo-joo accepts Jung-heon’s suggestion. The team talks it over with the cast, and as expected, they all have questions. One of them asks why it has to be Woo-joo and Jung-heon mentions she is her ex.

After voting, the cast agrees to welcome Woo-joo, but  Cho-hui is indifferent. Later, Ki-baek offers Woo-joo a few advice on how to fare as a contestant on the show.

The next day, Woo-joo steps into her new role as a cast member of the dating show. However, the transition proves to be a challenge as she navigates the unfamiliar environment. The day commences with a game of luck to determine partners, and fate pairs Woo-joo with Ki-baek. Their victory sparks joy in Woo-joo but also stirs a hint of jealousy in Jung-heon as he observes their celebration, hinting at the unresolved feelings between them. 

In a typical reality TV show twist, the staff give Ki-baek only one card to share among themselves. The card gives one the chance to go on a date with the person they like. As they both want to do well on the show, Ki-baek and Woo-joo play a game for the card. Ki-baek wins and decides to take Chi-hui on a date.

While on the date, Ki-baek turns off their microphones and confronts Cho-hui in her role to chase Yu-yeong away. Apparently, he overheard Choi-hui threatening to out Yu-yeong’s relationship with a DJ. Choi-hui ordered her to leave the show or face the consequences. Even after being confronted by Ki-baek, Choi-hui refuses to back down. She turns her attention to Woo-joo in an effort to intimidate her.

On the other hand, Woo-joo’s mom, Bok-ja, visits the island with Gu-won. It is then revealed that Gu-won is Cha-yeon’s son and not Woo-joo’s. Why did they go to great lengths to trick us about this in the previous episodes? Anyway, Un-baek is heartbroken, thinking Cha-yeon is taken, while Ki-baek is relieved that Gu-won is not Woo-joo’s son. This scene is a bit cringe but we will try to overlook it!

Sadly, Un-baek doesn’t make a good first impression on Gu-won after denying the little kid sandwich. Later, Un-baek learns that Cha-yeon is a single mom, and he quickly asks for her number. As for Bok-ja, she gets excited to meet Jung-heon and is pleased when he agrees to give her an autograph. Jung-heon realises she is Woo-joo’s mom and tries to introduce himself, but Woo-joo stops him.

That night, Woo-joo makes her first appearance in the night games, and she looks angelic. Jung-heon and Ki-baek are unable to take their eyes off her. The cast plays a Jenga game of truths, and one of the contestants asks why Woo-joo and Jung-heon broke up. The latter lies that it was because of his broken microwave. However, the truth is that Woo-joo learnt that Jung-heon had been lying to his mom about her background and ended the relationship. She felt that Jung-heon was ashamed of the real her.

When it comes to Ki-baek, he is asked to talk about his first impression of the ladies, and he brings up the poop incident that happened the first time he met Woo-joo. Even though he doesn’t explain in detail, Woo-joo smiles at the memory, and Choi-hui notices that Ki-baek really likes the writer.

With only a few hours left before the contestants choose who they like, Jung-heon takes Woo-joo on a date, and they collect trash on the way to the beach. Jung-heon shares the history of the trash boulder with Woo-joo. It turns out that back in the day, widows would collect trash and dump it at the trash boulder. It helped them forget their pain and meet people with the same plight. Jung-heon asks Woo-joo to dump the pain of their relationship there and let go of the past. Jung-heon is under the impression that Woo-joo hates him especially after he revealed their past.

Elsewhere, Ki-baek goes on a date with Choi-hui. This time, she threatens him, saying she will ruin the show if he doesn’t choose her. Ki-baek thinks about all the hard work Woo-joo and her team have put into the show and is caught in a dilemma.

With only a few moments before the final selection, teh contestants take some time off-camera to think of their decision. Ki-baek uses this opportunity to confess his feelings to Woo-joo and apologies for what he is about to do. Woo-joo is confused about what he means and is shocked when Ki-baek chooses Choi-hui in the finale. 

A month later, we meet Ki-baek and Woo-joo after wrapping up the show. They have been actively avoiding each other but Woo-joo argues that Ki-baek is the most guilty one. The two watch the show with their families on the rooftop, and everyone can sense the awkwardness between them. After finishing the show, they both coincidentally run into each other at the park. This time, Ki-baek apologises and explains what happened. Woo-joo is angry since he didn’t tell her about Choi-hui before. She points ot that she felt confused and also missed him during the one month apart.

She is flustered and tries to change the subject after admitting to missing him. She gets on the slide, and he waits for her on the other end. He admits that he missed her too, and he moves close. She then closes the distance between them and kisses him lightly on the lips. Ki-baek pulls her closer and kisses her more deeply. 

The Episode Review

The show keeps disappointingly moving forward, and at this point, there is no way to salvage it. The kiss between Ki-baek and Woo-joo just proved there is no chemistry between them. The lack of chemistry makes it hard to watch the show or invest in this love story.

The same goes for her and Jung-heon; it feels awkward to watch him and Woo-joo. They supposedly dated for five years, but there is nothing, not even a shred of emotions, between them.

Jung-eon doesn’t look like a man trying his best to get his ex back. It also felt unnecessary for the writers to make it look like Gu-won is Woo-joo’s child while he is actually Cha-yeon’s son. The show also pointed to Ha-young as this villain, but so far, she has been okay. The dating show storyline was also poorly executed and didn’t manage to create any sparks. It also felt incomplete because what happened to Choi-hui?