I NEED ROMANCE 3, EPISODE 9

This episode changes things up yet again. It starts with Joo Yeon sleeping, and an intercepted phone call. Joo Wan blows off her boss, and turns off her phone. Of course this turns into chaos. What was Joo Wan thinking? I imagine he thought he was keeping her healthy. But ultimately when she's stressing about a missed phone call and waking up late, that's not healthy at all. Not to mention the potential damage to her career. I will admit to being up at 5 AM, poring over an email my boss sent me at 2 AM, and generating a report to be placed on the CEO's desk a half-hour after my shift starts. No warning, just bloody lucky to be up that early. I'd be very upset if my wife deleted that email, for example, because I'd have to explain this to my boss, who wants results, not excuses.

Can things get any worse? Yes, yes they can. Kang is not happy, having lost any hope of sleep preparing the report he intended for Joo Yeon to complete. He grips her hand hard enough to leave marks and practically drags her to the cafeteria. He claims it's because Joo Wan told him she didn't eat, but it seems more vengeance-tinged than anything. I'm not sure Kang can sink any lower. Her feelings toward him may well be changing, given their conversation. He tells her that she's dependable because she's not weakened by emotions, which she no longer takes as a compliment. She thinks to herself things feel different with him, it's not as comfortable as it once was.

And, of course, what episode would be complete without a scheme by Se Ryung? She knows Joo Yeon likes Kang, and asks Joo Wan to stop her from dating Kang. Se Ryung is overcome with jealousy and hatches a plot to be Joo Yeon's "friend," "knowing" that she won't date someone her friend likes. At first it seems like she's succeeding, but at the end of the episode, Joo Yeon reveals to Wan that she knew about Se Ryung's plan from the beginning, and benefitted from it. Se Ryung is a more complex character than I've given her credit for. She has chinks in her armor that Joo Yeon is able to use against her. And she is visibly heartbroken when Kang accepts Joo Yeon's invitation to go on a date. Perhaps she schemes because she is a broken person? I'd love to see more of this in the future.

Min Jung has more to think about than just grey hairs. With a baby on the way, she has tons of fears. Fear that she will get fat. Fear that her coworkers will talk behind her back. Fear that she won't live to see her kid grow up. Joo Yeon, in a move that even surprises Min Jung, comforts her, saying that she will deal with anyone spreading nasty rumors and tells her not to worry about things that haven't happened yet.  Joo Yeon's shell is cracking, it seems, and is at long last realizing what it's like to care.

Min Jung changes her phone number, much to the distress of her lover. Being a smart man, he researches her. He finds her real name on a social networking site, and does more research through search engines, etc. Then, he finds she works at CJ Home Shopping. In the preview for the next episode, this looks like it's heading for an explosive conclusion, though it really appears she doesn't want him that close and he's hurting more than she is about the relationship. But of course, she's in a bind: how does she tell him she's been deceiving him all this time, and now she's carrying his child?

Hee Jae and Woo Young take a step back in this episode. Not much is made of  their love affair here, but Hee Jae gets a shocking revelation. She discovers her ex has passed the civil service exam, and did what most every guy does before they ship off to training camp: they break up with their girlfriends. She texts him "How could you?" breaks down, and cries. It remains to be seen whether this clears the way for another relationship or she needs time to mourn the breakup. I thought they made very little use of Woo Young's having grown up in a household full of women until now -- he has pads in his drawer and knows the timing, cravings, and moods of his co-workers having their menses! He even has stockings in the drawer in case of emergencies.

Joo Yeon's life is very different than it used to be. She thinks how nice it is that she doesn't come home to a dark house, that she doesn't have to watch home shopping channels alone, and doesn't have to struggle with taking off her dress. She cooks things she's never bothered with before. She's even able to cry more easily now. She now she now realizes that she was lonely before Joo Wan came back. She wants Director Kang, but she also wants to hurt Se Ryung -- she comes to the conclusion she can have both by dating him.

Joo Wan's inner peace, by contrast, is now shaken. He doesn't really approve of Director Kang. And now, he definitely doesn't approve of what Joo Yeon has become. He explains to Joo Yeon that she's exactly like Oh Se Ryung, and then redacts that, saying Se Ryung is more innocent, because she knows how bad she is. He leaves with "Don't make me regret coming back to you." I believe Joo Wan wants her to love without thinking about whom it benefits or whom it hurts. He may have second thoughts about what he's awakened, but in my opinion he needs to fix it. He appears to bail here, but he's the one who meddled with her heart and her life in the first place; he needs to be the one to guide her back down the right road to emotional maturity.

If the formulas were getting a little tired, then stir things up. When we thought we knew where things were going, I Need Romance 3 gives you a new take on the situation, a new obstacle. The INR series typically takes more risks than other dramas because of the accelerated pace of relationships. The first two installments, INR and INR 2012 contained at least one make-out scene per episode. This drama dials that back a lot, but that doesn't mean the pace is slow. The restrained romance serves the story better here, allowing it to tell a mature tale that plays more to the tender emotions.  I can't wait to see what's next.

You can see this on tvN on Monday and Tuesday nights, or on DramaFever.

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