The Trunk – K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

Episode 4

Episode 4 of The Trunk begins with a flashback 5 years ago. In-ji picks up Do-ha from a gay bar. It seems that she is his beard. But they genuinely care for each other as he is ready to marry her to pacify her mother who wants a son-in-law. He is lonely and she promises to take care of him so he doesn’t have to hide.

At present, she goes kayaking while Jeong-won drags Hyeon-cheol to fish. Both of them think about the kiss, and Jeong-won reveals to Hyeon-cheol that he might be attracted to her. Hyeon-cheol wonders if it is lust or love which confuses Jeong-won further and he asks her out for a meal.

Meanwhile, she learns that his pills are over-the-counter pills but he is likely addicted to them. She drinks a beet smoothie while observing the new chandelier and Seo-yeon watches her from the spycam. Ji-o gives her his necklace in hopes of replacing Jeong-won’s that she wears but she makes an excuse.

In-ji meets with Si-jeong and they are worried about Tae-song. However, Si-jeong is glad that Jeong-won is normal but wonders why In-ji took up his case. In-ji claims she wants to give him the perfect divorce.

Later, In-ji runs into Ji-o and turns out they are co-workers and he is in a contract marriage with Seo-yeon. However, he is in love with her and wants to work with In-ji to get Seo-yeon for real. In return, he will help her get Jeong-won. In-ji is evasive and he recalls the incident – someone falls off the stairs and In-ji is standing nearby.

As for the meal date, she and Jeong-won have seaweed soup, Mr. Han’s favourite in front of him. Jeong-won is amused as she tells him to think of it as revenge. Satisfaction turns to rage as Jeong-won recalls how Mr. Han would beat Mrs. Han for not being able to make it the way he liked and never letting her eat it.

In-ji comforts Jeong-won which surprises him. She explains it is protocol, like sitting together on a rollercoaster and they laugh. Like soldiers vowing to kill their comrades’ fathers if they turn traitors, she offers to kill his dad if he kills his mother. He agrees, and as they head home, he confesses that she makes him comfortable. He ruins the moment by trying to explain that that is why he kissed her.

But the camaraderie remains as they fold laundry at home. He asks about her mother and she claims that Mrs. Noh killed Do-ha. The whole time, Seo-yeon watches them.

Elsewhere, Tae-song brings Yun-a’s order to Hyeon-cheol. He tries to make small talk on how he is Jeong-won’s fan but Hyeon-cheol rushes away. At In-ji’s, Do-dam replaces the fish she killed. Si-jeong catches her and knows she cares for In-ji. They hear that Do-ha is alive and wonder if he will return.

We learn about the NM P.I., In-yeong as well. She is a North Korean defector whose siblings are all likely dead. She is pregnant but her husband doesn’t want the kid. She cannot have any more kids and In-ji vows to support her. As for Do-ha, In-yeong reveals that he is doing odd jobs like selling fishbowls. He is probably homesick and will return soon. Similarly, In-yeong wants to go home.

At work, Jeong-won keeps thinking about In-ji and asks her out on a movie date. Hyeon-cheol tells him about Tae-song but they are interrupted by Seo-yeon who asks Jeong-won out. She notices he is happy as he awkwardly rejects her and runs off.

No other movie is available and the squeamish Jeong-won is forced to watch a horror movie. To avoid the gore, he keeps looking at In-ji who is amused. Seo-yeon notices that no one is home and his phone is switched off. Frustrated, she gets drunk and lashes out at Ji-o, claiming that he is the only one she can fully control.

After the movie, In-ji and Jeong-won walk home. She comes clean that Do-ha is alive and is scared that she may see him. Jeong-won wants to be honest too and tells her all about his love vs lust dilemma. She is stunned but agrees to consider his request to sleep with her.

A flashforward shows that the dead body is Tae-song’s. He has a criminal record and was arrested for stalking In-ji. At present, he sneaks in and feeds her fish when Do-dam is away.

The next morning, Seo-yeon tries to patch up with Ji-o and he is nice to her. She heads out as the elderly lady, Lady Baek invites her and Yun-a to her Heritage Lounge for tea. The crafty Baek invites In-ji at the same time and claims the overlap was accidental. Seo-yeon is her snarky self as she brings up beet smoothies and switches focus so In-ji isn’t able to try Baek’s exclusive tea.

As they leave, Seo-yeon crashes into In-ji’s car, pretending there is a cat. She gives her a lift and requests to keep the crash a secret from Jeong-won. When In-ji claims she has no secrets from him, Seo-yeon agrees that there are better secrets to keep. Like how she was delighted to see In-ji working at NM and asked for her to be Jeong-won’s fake wife. In-ji is shocked and wonders why she is torturing Jeong-won. Seo-yeon simply claims it is in her nature to sting people close to her. 

That night, In-ji has a nightmare in which she wonders how Seo-yeon knew about her beet smoothie. The new chandelier falls on Jeong-won and she wakes up. She stares at the new chandelier but it is unsure if she spots the camera. 

At the end of Episode 4, she heads to the bedroom and sees that Jeong-won is awake. She claims that she is done considering and they kiss as she takes off her clothes.

The Episode Review

And the Jeong-won In-ji ship is sailing! Sure, she probably isn’t thinking about him in particular and most likely wants revenge on Seo-yeon by sleeping with her husband. But we will take what we get. It is also fun to see In-ji’s cold exterior crack as she gets close to Jeong-won and her hate for Seo-yeon becomes more visible.

Probably why it is satisfying that she knows that Seo-yeon hasn’t truly moved on and Ji-o is just a contract spouse who is in love with her. We didn’t see that twist coming. By the way, it is pretty impressive that the Netflix K-drama is still able to fill each episode with surprising plot twists even though we are at the halfway mark. 

The Trunk Episode 4 works well in clearing up most of the mysteries and creating new ones. Such as who killed Tae-song? Was that Ji-o who was at the crime scene? What happened between In-ji and Seo-yeon in high school? How is Jeong-won going to react when he learns about Ji-o? Why is In-ji searching for Do-ha?

Though we can guess that last one. She probably feels guilty since her mother outed and humiliated him and wants to apologise. But that means we are going to get a reunion soon. Which means more drama… Bring on the next episode!