Mic Check
In the second episode of Hometown Cha Cha, we follow Hye-Jin as she moves to her new home. She is sceptical at first, but eventually comes around to the idea of setting up her dental clinic there. We see her work on the clinic and it seems to be going well. However, we are left with a question: why did Chief Hong show her around her potential new home?
The woman who Du-Sik met at the bar is Hye-Jin, and she is moving in with him tomorrow. Mi-Seon is disappointed that she will be moving in with him, but it has been decided and she must go through with it.
Hye-Jin moves into her new home with her family and friends, all of whom are welcoming and excited to have her in the community. There are a lot of tasks to take on, but Du-Sik does a great job of completing them quickly and efficiently.
The next day, Hye-Jin is encouraged to get involved in the elderly party going on in town. Although she’s initially hesitant, when Hye-Jin realizes it’s a good opportunity to promote her dental clinic, she heads in and makes herself at home. Or at least she tries too anyway.
The woman at the restaurant has refused to eat kimchi because it’s not good. She’s also been pretty rude, mentioning all the flaws and issues in the town. Du-Sik refers to her as a “Seoulite.”
When Hye-Jin heads off to make a private phone call, she does so right next to a live microphone. Unbeknownst to her, everything she says is broadcast out for the entire town to hear. When Hye-Jin realizes what’s happened, she’s immediately overcome with guilt. The damage has already been done though and our Oh-Yoon begins to doubt himself after Hye-Jin’s horrible words about his coffee house and singing.
Mi-Seon, an assistant in Gongjin, has a break-up with her boyfriend and decides to move to Hye-Jin. The townspeople are not happy about this and treat her poorly. However, she manages to get help from the kids in the town. ..
Du-Sik cautiously gives out rice cakes as a peace offering to Hye-Jin, but soon realizes that she needs to go one step further and really show that she’s serious about making amends. And what better place to do that than the neighbourhood council meeting.
Du-Sik volunteers to cover for her, bringing boxes of snacks and handing them out to the grateful residents. Hye-JJin pays for this generosity by wiring 125,000 won to Du-Sik at the end of the day. ..
The next day, Du-Sik forces Hye-Jin to head out and clean up the streets with the other residents. Despite her hesitance, it’s the right move given the clinic receives its first few customers on the back of this! Hye-Jin finally starts to understand and heads back to see Oh-Yoon, apologizing for her hurtful words and pointing out that another of his songs was more her style.
Down by the shore, Hye-Jin heads off to say thanks to Du-Sik but falls on the rocks and ends up in Du-Sik’s arms. I sense romance on the horizon! And as we soon find out, Du-Sik and Hye-Jin have known each other before, having seen each other as kids. Is it fate? ..
The Episode Review
This week’s double-bill of episodes features a great follow-up, one that sees an equal amount of highs and lows for our characters. This week’s episode begins with a high as we see our main character, Cha Cha, finally win the lottery and become a millionaire. However, this is only the beginning of her troubles as she soon finds out that she has to deal with her past and the consequences thereof. Meanwhile, our other main character, John, is struggling with his personal life and how to move on from his past.
Hye-Jin vents publicly about how she feels regarding the “country folk” in Chapter 3. She manages to make amends by the end of the chapter. Seeing Du-Sik help her out and stick up for the girl gives a feel-good vibe to this one, something that helps keep the show’s lighthearted tone front and center. ..
This chapter also introduces us to Oh-Yoon, the singer and the old ladies around Gongjin. This helps to give the show more depth and certainly promises lots of enjoyable subplots in the foreseeable future.
Either way, this weekend’s drama is shaping up to be quite lovely, with both romance and suspense hinted at. ..
