Heartbeat – K-Drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

First Date, Or Not

Episode 5 of Heartbeat picks back up with Woo-hyeol calling In-hae by Hae-sun’s name. She doesn’t understand what he’s saying. When he steps closer, she uses the pepper spray Do-sik gave her.

As Woo-hyeol recovers from the attack, he tells In-hae the story about him and Hae-sun. He thinks that the coffin opened because In-hae is actually Hae-sun. In-hae can’t take the idea of reincarnation seriously and storms off, saying she’s happy with just one life. She even accuses him of stalking Hae-sun across lifetimes.

Woo-hyeol conveys this to his friends. They counsel him to focus on turning human instead. They even promise to help him look for Hae-sun, who might well be someone other than In-hae.

On the way back from the airport, Na Hae-won thanks Do-sik for giving her a ride. She tells him that she came back to South Korea because she wants to buy a mansion — she saw it once and couldn’t get it off her mind. Later in a hotel room, we see her looking at a photo of Woo-hyeol’s mansion. Meanwhile, Woo-hyeol takes out a scroll with a drawing of Hae-sun on it. One he had drawn himself, back when she was alive.

At school, two students ask In-hae if she’s dating Woo-hyeol and she vehemently denies it. They then give Woo-hyeol a gift basket. He gives the basket to In-hae since he can’t eat a lot of the sweets in it. She informs him of the rumour about them and then mentions her upcoming contract renewal, which has been stressing her out. Outside her office, he wonders how to make her fall in love with him. After all, he needs to drink her blood once she’s fallen in love.

Sang-hae advises him to make her feel loved. They try sending anonymous letters with flowers but she reports him to the police as a stalker. Dong-seop advises Woo-hyeol to use audio-visual training. So, he tries asking her to watch a movie with him but she avoids it since that would mean they’re on a date. They’re saved by the bell as Baek Hyun-joo, the local butcher, comes to give Woo-hyeol some leftover ox blood.

When she questions the two of them living together, In-hae says they are flatmates. Once Hyun-joo leaves, In-hae worries about the rumours about them in the neighborhood. Woo-hyeol tells her to prove she doesn’t care about rumours by going with him to the movie. Later on, his friends tell him he should choose a romantic movie. While discussing what he should wear, Rose decides to help him.

In-hae gets up after tossing and turning all night to see Woo-hyeol in chic casual wear instead of his usual suit. Hyun-joo sees the two of them walking down the street together. At the movie, Woo-hyeol tears up while In-hae falls asleep and snores. He gets upset at her and they argue. As they do, they pass by a coffee shop where Na Hae-won is seated. She meets Ri Man-hwi and they discuss the mansion. Hae-won is set on making it hers.

While Woo-hyeol is lost in thought, Ko Yang-nam turns up. He says that sweets and movies won’t be enough to turn In-hae’s blood. He needs to be genuine.

At school, the principal tells In-hae that her contract won’t be renewed. And the reason seems to be her standing up for Woo-hyeol during the fire incident. Woo-hyeol hears about it and asks her about it. She insists it isn’t Woo-hyeol’s fault.

Do-sik sees In-hae step into the same restaurant they had gone to for dinner. She orders the same thing they’d had before. Do-sik is happy to see her there but worries when he sees her gulping down wine. When she tries to pay, the server gives her a free pass as part of a lottery. Do-sik watches her leave the restaurant but doesn’t approach her, knowing she’d want to be on her own.

At home, Woo-hyeol worries about In-hae returning home late. As she reaches, she slips and drops a bag with beer cans. Do-sik, who followed her, helps her and lies, saying he was just passing by. In-hae confesses to losing her job and Do-sik tells her not to drink alone next time.

A flashback shows Do-sik making all the chits in the lottery read ‘Free Pass’. On the way home, Do-sik’s driver says he seems different but happy these days.

At home, Woo-hyeol tells In-hae off for drinking so much. She, in turn, rails against his romantic outlook on life. She tells him that her father was running from creditors and didn’t even come for her mother’s funeral. She laments being alone all her life and even having her hard work wasted. Woo-hyeol comforts her. Realising how drunk she is, In-hae stumbles to her room.

In the morning, Woo-hyeol tries calling for In-hae. When she doesn’t respond, he goes up to her room and finds her shivering from a fever. He takes care of her and later brings out a book from a chest. He begins to cook something outside the house. Do-sik comes by and gives Woo-hyeol medicine for In-hae, apparently, the same thing Woo-hyeol was trying to make from scratch. He gives it to In-hae, saying he made it himself.

Once she’s better, In-hae comes downstairs to see Woo-hyeol passed out on the sofa. He wakes up and is glad to see that she’s better. She thanks him for looking after her since she never had someone do that before. She then gets a call from Do-sik. They meet at a cafe, where Do-sik asks her if she’s considered moving to a more comfortable house. He wonders if she’s fighting for ownership rights with Woo-hyeol but she denies it.

While packing her things, In-hae remembers Woo-hyeol’s words about being proud of her. As she leaves, the student whose hair she cut comes up to her and thanks her for what she did. In-hae tells her she’s proud of her.

In-hae takes her things home but the box falls apart and things scatter everywhere. While picking them up, she ends up at the door to Woo-hyeol’s room (the basement where she found him). She goes inside and finds the scroll with Hae-sun’s drawing. Woo-hyeol comes downstairs and confirms that the drawing is of Hae-sun. In-hae then asks him, if she really were Hae-sun, would he fall for her?

The Episode Review

It is intriguing that while episode 5 of Heartbeat is not very fast-paced, it still keeps things interesting. Woo-hyeol and In-hae’s characters have been developed enough that they can drive the episode, instead of being moved along by the plot.

The first half of the episode has some light humour and antics, but the second half is more poignant. The transition from one to the other is written well, particularly In-hae’s drunken confessions.  And kudos to Rose, because Woo-hyeol’s ‘casual’ wear for the movie actually makes him look quite stunning.

Hae-won’s fixation with the mansion is another point of intrigue, as is her connection with the other vampire. Does this mean that she’s already aware of vampires? Is she one herself? Could she have forgotten her connection to Woo-hyeol? The show is doing well at dropping little hints that compel us to watch more of the K-drama!