Serendipity’s Embrace — K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

Episode 4 Recap

The recap of Episode 4 of Serendipity’s Embrace (i.e. Is It Fate) starts where we left off as Hu-yeong pulls Hong-ju’s hand to his chest, asking her to see how worried he is because of her accident. Their romantic moment is cut short when the doctor shows up to check up on Hong-ju and asks her to take an MRI test to ensure that she is okay.

Despite her hesitation, Hong-ju agrees to take the MRI scan and wonders if Hu-yeong is trying to flirt with her. At the same time, Hye-ji rushes to meet the school’s vice principal, i.e. her father – Mr Kim. She tells him that Hong-ju had met with a car accident and asks for a half-day off. Mr Kim insists that Mr Sohn should drive Hye-ji to the hospital. Hye-ji refuses the offer but gets in his car.

Outside the hospital, Mr Sohn puts his spare running shoes on Hye-ji’s feet to save her from tripping in her heels. Hye-ji is touched by the gesture and thanks him before rushing inside the hospital. Meanwhile, CEO Baek arrives at the hospital after the taxi driver calls him to hand over Hu-yeong’s luggage. He runs into Hye-ji and learns that Hong-ju has met with an accident but is relieved to learn that she is being discharged.

As Hu-yeong takes Hong-ju outside the hospital, she asks him to stop being flirtatious with her which leaves the latter confused. Hye-ji tells CEO Baek that she knows about Hu-yeong’s feelings for Hong-ju and asks him to help her in getting the two to spend some time together.

On the elevator ride down, Hong-ju tells Hu-yeong how privileged he is that a girl like Hye-ji likes him. Hu-yeong is about to tell Hong-ju the truth about his feelings for Hye-ji when the elevator door opens and a bunch of hospital staff join them. Hu-yeong and Hong-ju are stuck standing close to each other which makes things awkward for Hong-ju.

After exiting the lift, Hong-ju meets Hye-ji who checks up on her friend. CEO Baek yells at Hu-yeong for missing his flight to the USA. Outside the hospital, Hye-ji tells Hong-ju that she is dating Mr Sohn and asks her to go home with Hu-yeong. According to Hye-ji’s plan, CEO Baek asks Mr Sohn to drop him off at his office as well.

Mr Sohn plays along and apologises to Hong-ju for going on a date with her while he has feelings for Hye-ji. The trio leave as Hong-ju is stuck going home with Hu-yeong. On the car ride, Hong-ju pretends to be asleep to avoid talking to Hu-yeong but wakes up when she gets a work call. At the same time, CEO Baek praises Mr Sohn for his acting as Hye-ji’s boyfriend which makes Mr Sohn smile awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Hong-ju mocks Hu-yeong for playing hooky with his job when he rejects a call from his boss – i.e. his mother. Hu-yeong reminds Hong-ju how she had bunked school to deliver a letter to Jun-ho and claims that she often played hooky in school.

A flashback shows young Hu-yeong and Hong-ju after they missed the last bus back home. Hong-ju suggests that they take a cab to the nearest bus depot. Hu-yeong trips and falls into a pit and Hong-ju rushes to save him but starts laughing when she sees how clumsy he is. Hong-ju tries to get him out but Hu-yeong ends up slipping.

Hong-ju jumps inside the pit, worried that Hu-yeong has injured himself. Hu-yeong gets scared by a frog and hugs Hong-ju but plays it off when she laughs at him.

Present-day Hong-ju laughs recalling the incident and tells Hu-yeong that she has repressed all her memories about Jun-ho. Hu-yeong, disappointedly tells Hong-ju that the memory was not about Jun-ho but about them. Outside the house, Hu-yeong tries to help Hong-ju up the stairs but the latter insists on using her crutches to climb up. She is about to topple off the stairs but Hu-yeong saves her.

Hu-yeong gets her to rest inside his uncle’s house and goes out to buy her medicines and something to eat. At the same time, Hye-ji, Mr Sohn and CEO Baek go to Sang-pil’s restaurant and fill him up on the current turn of events. Hye-ji gets mad at Sang-pil when she learns that he was aware of Hu-yeong’s crush on Hong-ju from back in high school. Sang-pil notices the way Mr Sohn takes care of Hye-ji but does not say anything.

On the other hand, Hong-ju dreams of kissing Hu-yeong and decides to try and calm herself down. She leaves CEO Baek’s house and crawls up the stairs instead of using her crutches. Hu-yeong shows up and carries her upstairs in his arms. He hands the porridge to her and asks her to take the meds before sleeping.

Hong-ju thanks Hu-yeong for helping her and insinuates that Hu-yeong’s help meant a lot to her considering they were never too close in high school. Hu-yeong is offended by the comment and leaves. Hong-ju wonders if she has taken things too far. At his uncle’s house, Hu-yeong thinks about Hong-ju’s comment and wonders just how many times she can dump him.

Hu-yeong gets a call from his friend – Joseph who calls him to Korea. Hu-yeong tells Joseph that he isn’t going to come back. He picks up Hong-ju’s business card that she had accidentally dropped on the floor.

At the same time, Jun-ho reads a fan-letter that Hong-ju has written to him. A flashback from 4 years ago shows Hong-ju accompanying Jun-ho for an interview. Jun-ho is asked who he would like to thank for one of the awards he has received due to the success of his novels. Jun-ho looks at Hong-ju who is dozing off and states that his acquaintance has been a constant support.

He also adds that the said acquaintance has helped refine his stories. After the interview, the interviewer asks Jun-ho if he is dating someone. Jun-ho looks at Hong-ju, who is asleep with her head on the table. He tells the interviewer that he is dating someone, keeping his eyes on Hong-ju.

The episode moves back to the present day as Jun-ho’s publicist – Min-woo finds him watching one of the anime shows that Hong-ju had produced. Jun-ho tells Min-woo that he is worried Hong-ju will not accept the project to collaborate with him. Min-woo tells Jun-ho that he should’ve told Hong-ju the real reason for abandoning her 3 years ago.

The author states that he did not want to tell his girlfriend that he was left penniless when he had writer’s block due to his panic attacks. He is relieved when Min-woo tells him that Hong-ju has accepted the project.

On the other hand, Hu-yeong looks at Hong-ju’s business card and wonders why she had said they were not close. He recalls how the two tried to play a game to avoid dozing off while being stuck inside the pipeline. The two begin spilling their secrets and Hong-ju confesses that he wants to be an animation director but is forcefully studying Math to please his family.

Hong-ju tells Hu-yeong that she will take up animation and fulfil his dream as she does not have many goals for herself. She tells Hu-yeong that she is willing to give him 5% of his salary once she makes it as an animation director.

The episode moves back to the present as Hong-ju wakes up to texts from Hye-ji and Sang-pil, checking up on her on their group chat. Hye-ji invites Hu-yeong to join the group but Hong-ju shares a text saying she is starving before she can register Hu-yeong to be added to the group chat.

Hu-yeong invites Hong-ju for breakfast and prepares a feast for her. Hu-yeong prepares a meal according to Hong-ju’s preferences with help from Hye-ji and Sang-pil. He is happy when Hong-ju likes the meal.

After breakfast, Hu-yeong reminds Hong-ju of the promise she made to him in the pipeline. He asks her to give him 5% of her salary from the last 10 years she has worked as an animation producer. He tells Hong-ju that he will tell her the amount she owes him after running the numbers. Hong-ju tries to make excuses to avoid paying which makes Hu-yeong laugh.

Hu-yeong asks Hong-ju if she likes her job and the latter speaks fondly about seeing her name in the end credits of the animations she produces. Hong-ju asks Hu-yeong to join her in watching one of the anime she produced. Hong-ju is about to go home to get her laptop when Jun-ho shows up there. After going to her office, Jun-ho learns that Hong-ju has met with an accident.

However, when Jun-ho sees Hong-ju with Hu-yeong, he gets mad at her and scolds her for not taking their project seriously. Hu-yeong is about to snap at Jun-ho but Hong-ju stops him. She challenges Jun-ho to cancel the project and asks him to leave her alone. Hong-ju tells Jun-ho that she has changed since their break-up and asks him to stay away.

Hong-ju goes home and sits by the door upset as Jun-ho drives away. Hu-yeong goes to Hong-ju’s house and tries to console her. Hu-yeong shocks Hong-ju when he tells her how happy he is about her relationship failing. Hu-yeong asks Hong-ju to recover quickly, from both her leg injury as well as her heartbreak before kissing her.

The episode ends with another flashback of Hong-ju feeling her heart fluttering when Hu-yeong naps on her shoulder inside the pit. Now that we are done with the recap of Episode 4 of Serendipity’s Embrace, let’s head on to the review.

The Episode Review

The way my jaw dropped as Hu-yeong kissed Hong-ju without a warning! I hope we see a full version of this kiss in the upcoming episode but to think that we have to wait for 6 whole days before that is so unfair. On the other hand, using the story about Jun-ho’s panic attacks and financial struggle is the makers’ copout to get viewers to empathise with him.

It would have been much easier for Jun-ho to communicate with Hong-ju instead of the whole facade of abandoning her at the airport without her knowing what she had done to hurt Jun-ho. I understand Hong-ju’s way of pushing people away before they can hurt. She is suffering from severe abandonment issues and it makes her so much more relatable.

I wish this show was longer so the makers could delve deeper into these issues that Hong-ju suffers from. Addressing all her issues well will not be possible in an 8-episode drama. Since we only have 4 more episodes left in this one, I wonder what happens next now that Hu-yeong’s mother has returned to South Korea to take him back home.