When The Phone Rings – K-drama Episode 8 Recap & Review

A New Kind of Fear 

Episode 8 of When the Phone Rings starts with Sa-eon unpacking a few things and coming across an old photo of him and Hee-joo when they were young. We circle back to where we left off with Sa-eon forgiving and confessing his love for her. Of course, we all remember that earth-shattering kiss they shared after the confession.

The following morning, Sa-eon makes breakfast for Hee-joo. They start talking more openly and realise they have been hiding their sincere feelings for too long. Sa-eon admits that he liked coming home to her. He confesses he was harsh with her before because he was scared to open his heart to her. Hee-joo admits that she felt stifled in the house and wanted them to do casual stuff normal couples do. As she eats, she shows Sa-eon the last message she received from the kidnapper.

After breakfast, Hee-joo gives Sa-eon the black phone and says he is sad that there won’t be any more calls. He doesn’t plan to give the phone to the police. He believes the phone brought them closer. He teases Hee-joo for being fierce under her alter ego and brings up her lingerie picture. They end up hugging, and Hee-joo wonders if it is a dream.

Elsewhere, the kidnapper gets a message from his accomplice, asking if he got the phone back. The guy texts back and explains he didn’t. When he went to the hospital, the security was too high. He tried to sneak in, pretending to be delivering wreaths after Sa-eon arrived. However, he could only get a whiff of Sa-eon’s scent in the elevator. Somehow, the fact that Sa-eon smelled good ticked him off. He promises his accomplice that he will take everything from Sa-eon.

The next day, Hee-joo has a bad dream that Sa-eon left her. She wakes up and goes to check for him in his room. She finds him soundly sleeping and caresses his cheeks. This wakes Sa-eon, and he pulls her onto his bed. He informs her that he has taken the day off, and Hee-joo says she wants them to do something. She started fantasising about being a normal couple in love after Sa-eon showed up in an entourage to rescue her. However, Sa-eon confesses he has loved her longer than she thinks. As they talk, Sa-eon gets a call from Young-woo, imploring him to come to the office.

Once he gets to the office, he finds out that Young-woo planned a surprise intervention to encourage him. Do-jae arrives a little later and informs Sa-eon that he has finally tracked down the kidnapper’s location. According to the data, the kidnapper is in Hajeong, Gyeonggi-do. Do-jae asks if Sa-eon is familiar with the location, but his boss takes off. He orders Do-jae to stay behind and not to involve the police.

On his way, Reporter Hyeok-jin calls to check on Sa-eon. He grows worried when Sa-eon says he is on his way to meet with the kidnapper.

After Sa-eon leaves, Yeon-hui drops by to inform Hee-joo that I-na is back. She wants Hee-joo to be wary of I-na, but Hee-joo gets a message from the kidnapper, asking if she knows the real Sa-eon. The kidnapper sends her a clip from one of the Korean variety shows, Live Alone.

In the meantime, Sang-woo visits the orphanage again. The sister brings up Sang-woo’s first love, Hee-joo. She is curious about how Hee-joo is doing and whether You-ri is Sang-woo’s current girlfriend. The conversation leads Sang-woo to text Hee-joo and check up on her. She decides to drop by the orphanage to ask him about the missing orphanage children’s case.

On the other side of town, Ui-yong and Kyu-jin decide to move forward with their TV interview. However, it seems Ui-hyong is worried about something and gives his assistant secret orders. When he shows up for an event the next time, the media hounds him about his statement. They are curious why his statement differs from the one Sa-eon made.

Ui-hyong claims that Sa-eon was trying to protect him and avoid a political issue. As they talk, someone delivers wreaths, claiming to know what Sa-eon did. Later, II-hyeong warns Ui-hyong to get his act together. Ui-hyong brings up I-na and says II-hyeong owes him.

Back in Hajeong, Gyeonggi-do, Sa-eon arrives at the old mansion and finds a video waiting for him. It is the same video the kidnapper sent Hee-joo. The kidnapper accuses Sa-eon of being a murderer and promises to make him pay. Sang-woo arrives to show Hee-joo the house’s location. He promises to bring her back the next day, since it is too late to explore the house. Sang-woo asks why Hee-joo and Sa-eon are so curious about the case.

As they drive off, Sa-eon sees them and goes into a jealous rage. He follows them out and calls Hee-joo. It is at this point that Sang-woo reveals that he knows Hee-joo can speak. Sa-eon manages to cut them off and demands that Hee-joo follow him. Sang-woo tries to stop Hee-joo, but she willingly gets into Sa-eon’s car. Before leaving, Sa-eon tells Sang-woo that he is suspicious of him. He believes that Sang-woo knows the culprit or is working with him. Either way, he warns Sang-woo to stay away from Hee-joo.

On the drive back, Sa-eon pulls over to find out why Hee-joo was at the house with Sang-woo. She shows him the message and video she received from the kidnapper. Sa-eon misunderstands and thinks Hee-joo investigated the tip from the kidnapper because she fears his past. However, Hee-joo explains that she has been there before. She knows how scary it can be to live with a secret. She admits she is scared and anxious because she is worried she might lose Sa-eon.

All her life, no one has loved and accepted her like Sa-eon. She worries that she is undeserving of such happiness, which is why she has been having nightmares recently. Sa-eon embraces her and asks how he can prove he will always be there for her. She asks Sa-eon to reveal his secret, and he worries she will abandon him. Still, he assures her that even if he gave up his name and title, he would never give up the part of him that belongs to her.

At II-hyeong’s house, Yeon-hui overhears I-na’s conversation with her dad. It turns out that II-hyeong knew the truth about Sa-eon and sent I-na the DNA test, proving that Sa-eon is not a Paik a few days before the wedding. I-na is now curious about the deal II-hyeong made with the Paiks.

In a flashback, we learn that Paik Hyong made a deal with II-hyeong to have his family do whatever he asks for. It seems like the real Paik Sa-eon was involved in the accident that killed II-hyeong’s son and left I-na deaf. II-hyeong asks I-na to stop worrying about the past and worry about the fact that Sa-eon’s kidnapper knows the truth about the wedding and Hee-joo’s marriage.

Meanwhile, Ui-hyong and Kyung-jin have their interview with You-ri as the host. They try to portray themselves as a loving couple. Kyung-jin asks to address her son, who has been hurt by the threats on his life. In her message, she asks Sa-eon to remember her promise to him that she will always protect him. In a flashback, we see that she said these words to her real son whenever she locked him up in the basement. She always told him that it was for his own good.

After recovering, Hee-joo returns to work, and the staff warmly welcomes her back. In the elevator, she also gets a chance to subtly flirt with Sa-eon. She is moved by how quickly he is learning sign language. She also takes her former colleagues for lunch, and they all marvel at how Hee-joo is glowing. Simultaneously, Sa-eon continues with his duties. However, the media continues to focus on his personal life. In the end, Sa-eon shows them the last video the kidnapper sent him. He promises that the journalist who figures out the kidnapper’s motive and message from the video will get an exclusive interview.

Sa-eon’s move frustrates Young-woo. The office gets a call from the mysterious old man who figured out the kidnapper’s real identity in the previous episode. The old man leaves a message, warning Sa-eon that someone is still alive. The scene also cuts to Sang-woo driving; it seems he is tailing another car.

Once Sa-eon returns to the office, Young-woo gives him the message from the old man. He also explains that he traced the call to a fishing shop. The name of the shop triggers Sa-eon’s memory. Through a flashback, we learn that Sa-eon knew the owner of the shop when he was young. From the memories, it seems he lived with the old man and witnessed Paik Hyong trying to drown the real Sa-eon. After that, the Paiks took Sa-eon in. Simultaneously, the kidnapper returns to the fishing shop and attacks the old man.

Sa-eon leaves to meet the guy, while Hee-joo unknowingly stays behind at the office. While she looks at the pictures from the retreat uploaded on their official site, she realises that Sa-eon was fondly looking at her in all the photos. This moves her. She later gets home and texts Sa-eon, wondering if he will be late. I-na drops by and reveals Sa-eon’s secret that he is not a Paik. However. Hee-joo says it doesn’t matter. She already realised the truth when Sa-eon talked about giving up his name and title.

The episode ends with Sa-eon arriving at the fish shop and finding it on fire. He tries to rescue the old man, but the fire grows strong, and Sa-eon faints before he can complete his rescue mission.

The Episode Review

Sa-eon and Hee-joo have finally broken the walls between them. They are now communicating their fears, expressing their love, and trying not to keep secrets from each other. It is not easy, but what matters is that they are putting in the work. Of course, the hungry wolves and enemies of progress are still at their throats, but Sa-eon and Hee-joo are putting up a united front. I-na expected Hee-joo to lose it when she learned the truth, but the latter didn’t. She has made up her mind to accept Sa-eon, whoever he might be. Sa-eon is innocent and is suffering because the real Paik Sa-eon killed someone. He might have been involved in the tragic death of Il-hyeong’s child. It is highly possible that Sang-woo was following Sa-eon and might be the one who rescued him from the fire.

A lot of things happened in this episode, but we are no closer to solving the mystery. We can assume that the real Sa-eon is alive and might be working with the kidnapper to hurt Sa-eon. If the real Sa-eo is alive, Kyung-jin might have been the one who saved him. It was clear that she was sending her real son a message through the interview that she would protect him.

We only have four episodes to go. It will be interesting to see how this show will end. Will they be able to tie up all the plot threads neatly?