I NEED ROMANCE 3, EPISODE 8

Back at work again, Joo Yeon and her team are planning the next broadcast. They all appear to be getting along--well the fierce rivalry between Joo Yeon and Se Ryung set aside--in the spirit of "fighting!" Director Kang enters and walks across the room without acknowledging any of them. Joo Yeon looks at him with adoring eyes, and is crushed when he doesn't return the gaze.

The idea, of course, is that she loves him, and it takes constant validation from him to make her happy. But is it love or infatuation? And given her shut-down state, would she know the difference if anyone asked?� Joo Wan seems to be encouraging this, but I'm not sure why. Does he see this as part of her growth? Perhaps he's hoping she'll see it for what it is, and start understanding herself better.

In the break room Joo Yeon texts back and forth with Joo Wan. Director Kang enters and asks her out to dinner -- they have things to discuss about work. They bump into Oh Se Ryung, and she invites herself along, trying to mark her territory no doubt. He glances at Joo Yeon, and she nods her approval, but it's obvious from her expression immediately following that she hates the idea.

Sitting down to dinner, when Director Kang moves away to answer his phone, Se Ryung and Joo Yeon exchange barbs.� Joo Yeon finally finds which buttons to push to make Se Ryung uncomfortable, coming to the realization that Se Ryung was never a friend. Se Ryung asks her to leave, and even informs their sunbae that she is leaving. Joo Yeon tells her calmly to quit lying, and that her hands are tied: they are there to discuss work. A date night will have to wait.

The tug-of-war between these two young women is hilarious as they constantly try to one-up each other. The mere fact that they can exist for five minutes without fighting is miraculous. Joo Yeon finally gets the upper hand here, and it's refreshing to see. But can she maintain it? I realize when two women fight, it's the most vicious conflict you ever witnessed. But one of them needs to be the bigger person and be the first to say, "You're beneath me," and end it there, rather than rising to the bait and getting into it.� �

Back at the office Hee Jae and Woo Young want to get together, but aren't quite sure how to do this without things getting knotty. After work, he insists she ride with him; it's too cold to transfer multiple times on public transportation. She tries to excuse herself from it -- it's inappropriate. He insists that he's not trying to complicate things; he just wants her to be warm.

This scene really highlights how they've made a byzantine mess of things. Now they can't even work comfortably side by side, and the innocuous offer of a ride gets interpreted as something more. They can't even tell each other how they feel, as they type instant messages to each other, consider what they've written, and delete them again without sending them. �

After dinner, Joo Yeon arrives home.� She talks to Wan about Director Kang and Se Ryung, then realizes that she loves Kang and�that Joo Wan knew all along.

The acting in this scene is spot on. The realization that he knew is not expressed by outrage, but with numb shock. She recognizes that it's her boss that she's in love with, and is also aware that Joo Wan knows and--what's more--knew all along. I see this going one of two ways: 1) This brings them closer together since he knows her heart and would never do anything to hurt her; or 2) She runs away, because he knows her heart, knows the real her, and that can scare anyone with trust issues. And if she grows and changes, she may not want to be close with anyone who knew how she used to be.

Ultimately getting home after taking the scenic route, Hee Jae sees her boyfriend there.� She confronts him about his studies, and he is tired of it and breaks up with her.

This is what it was building towards. It certainly clears the way for Woo Young and Jae Hee to be together, but it begs the question: is this what she really wants? She'd certainly spent a lot of time fighting with her boyfriend, and we know that she was conflicted about her feelings for him. But was this fight really about the future? Or just a culmination of all the stress she was feeling? It's just as well, in my honest opinion. In some ways, Woo Young seems to get her more, anyway.

We are treated to a montage while Joo Yeon narrates, at last coming to the conclusion that love can't be rationalized. Jee Hae's boyfriend leaves, sees Woo Young in his car outside and knows what's going on. Min Jung receives a message from her lover that she's late for their date, and she simply removes the battery from her phone. He resigns himself to spending the romantic night alone. Joo Wan stars at a picture of Joo Yeon as a child, his thoughts his own but his expression tender. In the end, she wonders why she had to be in love with Kang Tae Yoon...

The writers are really putting Min Jung through her paces. I think she doesn't want to be too close to her lover, doesn't want anything serious, but pregnancy is serious business. Perhaps she's still processing it. I'm hoping she doesn't make any drastic decisions on her own. He needs to know, and they need to have a serious discussion about the future.

Kang drops Se Ryung off, and she blows him off for a poker game. He breaks up with her, since she regards everything else more important than him.

He thought she'd changed, but she had not.

Here's where I get confused. I saw the poker game, but I wasn't sure if it was work-related or not. I've hung out with people from work -- I've discussed more work-related issues at these informal gatherings than these guys did: ("My job sucks..." "Man, I had this one person on the phone..." "What did you think of the boss' speech..." "I'm totally going to win the contest..."). She says it's work. I say more likely not.� It's not like she's cheating on him, but still.� I loved how Kang lost his cool while at home drinking. We see him calm and collected at work, but he's really just barely holding it together when it comes to Se Ryung.

Pitching their idea of an online presence at a scheduled workshop with Style Team O (why does that name always make me snicker?) or Se Ryung's team, Joo Yeon's team�decide to hold an impromptu business meeting in the middle of the workshop, under the guise of going for a run. In the cold. At 2AM. They meet by the hotel swimming pool and make plans on their own. Director Kang comes out and tells them that it has been raining. Taking this hint, they dive into the swimming pool to make the charade of a run convincing.

Se Ryung tries to reconcile with Director Kang by giving him tickets to a play, subtly inviting him, then goes to Joo Wan. Kang invites Joo Yeon to the performance instead. Se Ryung attends the same play, and sees the two of them together. Joo Wan sees this, as he was the one who took Joo Yeon there, and immediately turns around to comfort Se Ryung. Wan has figured out what Kang eventually tells Joo Yeon: He was using her to make Se Ryung jealous.

Joo Yeon comes home, and yet another episode closes with her crying in Joo Wan's arms.

That was seriously a dick move on Tae Yoon's part, and my respect for him has gone way down. At least he told her right away instead of stringing her along down a road to nowhere, but that's small comfort. Perhaps that's why he's with Se Ryung, because there's an element of the manipulator he's attracted to? Perhaps he sees something of himself reflected in her? And maybe it's just the desperate move of a man who is too insecure to have any kind of real relationship.

Once again I found myself drawn in. Min Jung was not involved as much in this episode as the others, but I want to know more about her struggles. Joo Wan I'm liking a lot. It almost seems that he's pushing Joo Yeon to feel something, anything, perhaps so he'll have a better shot at her heart? Tae Yoon fell down a few notches in my estimation; he really needs to do something impressive to redeem himself. Se Ryung is becoming more and more human; we see there are things that rattle her and that makes us root for the Ice Queen at least a little.

You can catch I Need Romance 3 on tvN, DramaFever,�or whatever streaming site is available in your country. It airs Mondays and Tuesdays.

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