My Lovely Boxer – K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

In Love and War…

Episode 4 of My Lovely Boxer starts when Tae-young finds Kwon-sook and Jae-min in a compromising position. Tae-young gets angry that Kwon-sook took a break from training to meet Jae-min. He also reprimands Jae-min for making an unannounced visit and drags Kwon-sook back into the gym. Inside, Kwon-sook and Tae-young argue about him pulling her away from the person she likes. She doesn’t want boxing, but instead what she wants is to date. 

Kwon-sook and Ho-hoong start their evening training, but Tae-young pulls him aside to talk privately. He tells him to start practising how to lose and not worry about the first match. Ho-hoong insists on practising to win since A-ra is a formidable opponent. Ho-hoong convinces Tae-young to trust his opinion on the training routine. 

Tae-young drops off Kwon-sook at home and strictly asks her to rest on time, but she calls Jae-min and asks to meet. Jae-min brings her flowers and promises to come watch her match in the ring. Tae-young comes back and sees them together. His first instinct is to interfere, but he remembers her words and lets her be. He helps with her laundry, brings her food, and accompanies her jogging the next morning. 

Tae-young visits Ah-reum’s coach to arrange a championship match between Kwon-sook and Ah-reum. The coach is against the idea, but Tae-young knows all the important people to make it happen, and the coach might not have a choice. Regardless, Tae-young promises to help out the coach by arranging a match for Park Hye-jin, an ex-champion who had to give back her championship belt since she could not find an opponent for two years. 

Tae-young’s plans to use Ah-reum and Hye-jin in his matches’ halts since Soo-yeon had already approached the coach and signed as their agent. Therefore, Tae-young has to talk to Soo-yeon if he wants a match between Ah-reum and Kwon-sook. They meet up, and Soo-yeon wants to know why Tae-young is involved in a game that makes no money. She thinks Tae-young has a crush on Kwon-sook since he has a thing for sporting geniuses, which is why he fell for her.  

Soo-yeon and Tae-young visit Ah-reum to talk about a match with Kwon-sook. Ah-reum has no interest in fighting Kwon-sook since she thinks she is a traitor. When she went into hiding three years ago, she created the notion that female boxers are not to be trusted, making it difficult for them to survive. Tae-young uses a different tactic to convince Ah-reum: money. He promises to pay her a hefty amount that will go down in Korean boxing history if she fights Kwon-sook. She still does not agree to fight.

Next, Tae-young visits A-ra at her home address. He tells her that her coach and fans are interested in her match with Kwon-sook and promises an eight-figure payment. He asks her to get back to him with a decision within 48 hours. 

Mr. Kim asks Tae-young to meet up. He seems interested in keeping the arrangement between them going, even with other athletes under his management. He tries to make Tae-young an offer to become friends and use other athletes he manages to rig matches. Tae-young says he does not intend to become part of the rigged matches, and Mr Kim must stop wasting his time. 

Tae-young arrives at the gym and sees Kwon-sook in a good mood and smiling. She is thinking about Jae-min, and when he texts her, she is happy, and neither complains nor disagrees when Tae-young asks her to concentrate on practice. Tae-young worries that it might be a sign that she wants to quit boxing. He visits her father to discuss his fears.

Her father offers to pay her penalties if she breaches the contract and does not want to do boxing. He insists that Tae-young needs to let her go when the time comes and she no longer wants to be in the ring. 

Tae-young asks Mr. Lee about Kwon-sook’s weaknesses. He tells him that Kwon-sook has none, since she is the monster he raised, but she will lose a match if her counterpunches are rusty. Tae-young finds a way to help Kwon-sook lose the second match by using her counterpunches. They start training on how Kwon-sook can dodge punches and fail to counterpunch. She gets frustrated and gives up the training. She says she will lose by letting the opponent keep punching her.

Tae-young talks about respecting the ring and losing honourably, but Kwon-sook thinks he should be the last person to talk about respecting the ring since he is helping her throw a match. They get into an argument, which reminds Kwon-sook of her father. She storms out of the gym. Kwon-sook meets up with Jae-min. She breaks down, and Jae-min offers her a shoulder to cry on. Later, they go on a date. Elsewhere, Tae-young cleans up the house as he waits for her until she comes back.

The next day, Tae-young discusses with the agency the issue of Jae-min. Jae-min had applied to work at Sports & Passion three years back but was not hired. Ms. Lee thinks he might be a spy hired by a rival firm. Managing a spy would be easier than managing the risks if Jae-min and Kwon-sook were simply dating. 

Lee Chul-yong calls Tae-young to ask about his daughter’s progress, and he tells him about Jae-min. They both go to spy on him, and Tae-young has to hold Mr. Lee back from confronting Jae-min. They secretly follow him, and he meets Kwon-sook outside the gym. Mr. Lee thinks that they are dating since he is Kwon-sook’s type. Jae-min and Kwon-sook have the pictures from their date as their screensaver, and Jae-min says he wants the other teachers to notice.

Jae-min asks Kwon-sook if she will still keep Tae-young as her agent after the opening match since he bothers him. She tells him they are signed for two matches, after which they will never work together again. Jae-min asks if she could be together with him all the time after the second match, and she agrees. They hug, and Kwon-sook goes back to practice. 

Mr. Lee goes ballistic when he sees them hugging, confronts Jae-min, and punches him. Tae-young takes Jae-min out for a drink. He seems interested in knowing who Kwon-sook’s opponent is for the comeback match. He even suggests he arranges a revenge match with Ah-reum since she lost her championship when Kwon-sook went into hiding. He also tells him that he will be representing Kwon-sook when her contract with Tae-young ends since she will feel more comfortable around him. 

A-ra goes to Kwon-sook to bargain her payment for the comeback match since she wants to be paid more. She asks for 10,000 dollars more than Kwon-sook to agree to have a match with her. Kwon-sook accepts the deal, and the match between Jo A-ra and Kwon-sook is set. 

While jogging, Tae-young and Kwon-sook talk about why she hates boxing. She says that her father told her boxing was like life and the most important step in boxing is to be the last one standing. She hates the life where she has to ensure she is standing even when exhausted since sitting down to rest would mean she lost. That kind of life is exhausting and miserable since life is not all about winning. 

Match preparations are finalising, and Kwon-sook passes the Bantamweight for the match. While taking promotional photos, A-ra instigates Kwon-sook, and she pushes back, making the public think she is still unstoppable. Tickets for the match are sold out. 

On the match day, Jo A-ra is super confident in her dressing room, blasting music as she prepares for the match. Elsewhere, Kwon-sook is freaking out, and Tae-young is concerned. However, Kwon-sook tells him she always feels sickly and scared before all her matches, and it gets better once she is in the ring. 

When they are left alone, Tae-young holds her hands and comforts her. She tells him that when she was young and training with her father, she had to swing her fists to survive because otherwise, her father might have punched her to death. Tae-young tells her that she could tell him anything and he will listen.

At the end of the episode, Ho-hoong calls her out since the match is starting. She confesses that she is afraid of boxing but promises to win the match. Before she steps out, Tae-young pulls her back into the room and locks the door. He holds her shoulders and looks into her eyes. 

The Episode Review

It was clear that Jae-min had a hidden agenda for getting close to Kwon-sook, especially when he asked whether she would stay with her current agent after her return match. Plus, he had applied for a job at Sports & Passion, which is a talent management company. His facial expression looks suspicious when she tells him she is working with Tae-young for just two matches.

Even though it is unclear whether she will quit boxing after the second match, Jae-min has no idea what she wants and is convinced she will be willing to let him be her agent. The episode also offers some more understanding of the reason why Kwon-sook hates boxing. She was forced by her father to swing her fists to survive. Otherwise, he would punch her to death.

She fought her father, a professional boxer, because she was afraid of dying. She was forced to become a professional boxer; she is talented but doesn’t like the sport. This certainly helps us to empathize with her plight.