Recap: Queen In-hyun's Man Episode 2

We have two parallel universe in QIM, both seemingly in tandem, even if they are 318 years apart. Thus far, these two universe have something in common - Kim Boong-do, and now perhaps even Choi Hee-jin.

Episode 2

Ja-soo (the lead assassin) remains preoccupied by Kim Boong-do's disappearance - he claims that something swept by right before Kim vanished. Eunuch Hong (Kim Won-hae) is impatient with his nonsensical talk and orders him to find Kim, musing to himself that Kim is not a useless scholar after all.

Cut to Boong-do in present day Seoul, expressionless at Hee-jin's joke. Hee-jin tries to explain but they're interrupted by the assistant Director who informs her that the Director will see her in 10 minutes. Hee-jin glances back but Boong-do is already gone.

Boong-do heads back to the library, trying to figure out what happened. He finally removes the amulet given by the gisaeng girl and reads aloud the words. The hanja refers abstractly to a life saving time tunnel. After reading aloud the words, he closes his eyes in thought. When he reopens his eyes, the room has reverted back to its messed up form - overturned racks, sword and candle. Only, he's alone. Wait! Hes back into the past?!

He seems to think the same, and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the familiar palace guards. The danger is not over though as he overhears the eunuch giving orders for his capture. As he leaves the palace, he warns the two guards to keep mum on his visit, if they wish to remain safe.

In the present, Hee-jin celebrates her good fortune in securing the meaty role of Queen In-hyun with her buddy cum manager, Jo Soo-gyung (Ga Deuk-hi). Their celebration is cut short by a surprise guest - Han Dong-Min. Han threatens to cause trouble for Hee-jin so Jo convinces Hee-jin to meet him and be nice. 

Hee-jin reluctantly shows herself. Han claims he has doubts over her acting ability. With that as a excuse, he insists that she rehearses a scene with him to gauge their compatibility. Han uses the opportunity to get closer and proposes suddenly that they should reconcile. Because he has no scandals at the moment and it's HER fault that he's distracted all the time by her smile. Heh. She tells him off for assuming she's still naive and gullible but he swoops in for a kiss. Whoah. Before she could react, he declares he's satisfied with their compatibility, taps her on the shoulder encouragingly and runs off. Why - you rascal! LOL.

She belatedly runs after him in anger but he's already in the car and instructs his assistant to drive off. He pops his head through the roof of the car and declares that the role of Queen In-hyun is hers. Furious to be taken advantage of, Hee-jin shouts back at him, declaring that the role is hers even without him saying so. Han's assistant warns him against creating another scandal but Han happily announces that he feels the stirrings of love, just like in the past. His assistant warily remarks that Han's feelings are equivalent to cold sweat to him. Heh. He's so boyishly giddy that I'm gonna cut him some slack for being a brat earlier. LOL.

That night, Hee-jin spends a longer time brushing her teeth and laments that her good luck comes along with bad luck. She thinks back to Boong-do, curious about his identity and funny sageuk speech but eventually dismisses him as just another pitiful actor who's gone cuckoo.

Back in the past, Minister Min is being updated by two of his henchmen on the Kim Boong-do situation. Kim's whereabouts are still unknown and they wonder if Kim is acting directly on the King's order. They express regret that he was allowed to live. Flashbacks show that Boong-do's family have all been killed. The fact that a scholar like Boong-do possess such skilled martial arts is also a cause for concern. Just then, Ja-soo arrives, bearing interesting information.

Boong-do is currently recuperating from his wounds at a temple, where he's on friendly terms with the monk, who also seems to be acquainted to Yoon wol (Jin Ye-sol), the gisaeng girl. Boong-do asks about the amulet, but the monk could not decipher the amulet which was written by his master who is currently away. Boong-do tells the monk of his unusual experience. Monk thinks he's gone to a heavenly place and encountered a goddess. Boong-do laughs aloud, thinking of Hee-jin's makeup and accessories and concludes firmly she's no goddess. Heh. Boong-do plans to leave tonight but begs the monk not to inform Yoon-wol he's come by. He does not wish to alarm her.

Yoon-wol is playing her gayageum, wrought in worry. Minister Min shows up and asks that she plays for him. Oh-uh. In the middle of her performance, he casually brings up the name Kim Boong-do. She holds up pretty impressively and lies that she's met him a few times with some other noblemen. Minister Min discards all pretense and expresses his surprise in learning that she once serve as a maid to the deceased Kim's wife. He calls her out for being a cunning woman and orders her captured, as hostage to lure Kim out. Yoon-wol panics and tries to explain but Minister Min is unmoved.

Alone, Minister Min reminisces about the past. Flashback shows Kim along with several others subjected to torture. It was Minister Min himself who pleaded to the King to show mercy and spare Kim's life. Queen Jang is unhappy with his interference but Minister Min explains the rationale behind his actions - Kim is much favoured by the King. If he was killed, the King might harbour a grudge towards them. Kim is like a wingless bird without his father's power and if appointed an insignificant governmental position will pose no threat to them. Moreover, their "compassionate" gesture would only consolidate their power and image.

Minister Min grows uneasy as he recalls Kim's pledge to return his "favour". His mind wanders next to the first time he met Yoon-wol and he fumes as he remembers how he foolishly fell for her charms.

A young girl rushes to the temple to inform the monk that Yoon-wol has been captured, Boong-do also learns of her fate and inquires about the letter. Err...shouldn't you be worried about her too?

Back to the present, Hee-jin is getting ready for a pictorial shoot but her co-star, the more famous Yoon Na-jung (Park Young-rin) who plays the Jang Hui-bin role has yet to arrive. And when she does, she waste no time in establishing the fact that she's a b****. Yoon Na-jung totally ignores Hee-jin and put on airs.

During the pictorial shoot, Hee-jin is uncomfortable shooting in proximity with Han. Han has no such qualms, enjoying himself and gleefully work the situation to his advantage. Gah...he just loves teasing her. LOL.

During Hee-jin's photoshoot with Na-jung, she insinuates that Hee-jin's role is obtained through special favours. Hee-jin is indignant and upset but their palpable animosity makes for a great picture.

Hee-jin is confused by Na-jung's accusation and decides to confront Han right before their drama's press conference. Title of drama - The new Jang Hui-bin. Han admits to swaying the jury's vote, much to her exasperation. What's more, the rascal is totally unrepentant, believing that he was doing her a favour. 

As the time for the press conference draw closer and closer, Hee-jin gets exceptionally nervous. She takes a walk to relax herself. Out of nowhere, a man on a horse rides straight at her. Alarmed, she turns around and braces for impact. The man reins in his horse and they stop just in time. The man is non other than Boong-do and he checks on her and they're both surprised to see one another. Suddenly a man attacks him and Boong-do deftly kills him and blood splatters on Hee-jin's skirt.

Boong-do deduces that it couldn't have been a dream since it's the second time they've met. Hee-jin asks worriedly if the blood is fake and he's actually filming. This time, Boong-do asks her what she means by "filming". He's given a lot of thought to what she said previously - about him being muddle-headed (she used a term which also implies of food which has gone bad). Our clever scholar deduces that she must have meant that he's crazy, which he denies matter-of-factly. LOL. Since he's not dead, not dreaming and not crazy, where are they now? Hee-jin looks at him in a daze.

The press conference begins, but Hee-jin is still missing. Han is mildly concerned but Na-jung is irritated that Hee-jin is causing trouble for everyone. 

Back to the woods. Boong-do is still trying earnestly to make sense of the situation when a certain breeze leads to the dead body and the blood splatters on Hee-jin's skirt suddenly vanishing into thin air.  Boong-do asks the dazed Hee-jin if that's normal occurrence in her world. It's Hee-jin's turn to be shocked speechless and she could only manage a weak "no" before fainting. Boong-do grabs hold of her as she collapses to the ground.

Thoughts:

 I'm actually enjoying this episode more because of the mysterious time travelling element. It's interesting to know that Boong-do would be weaving in and out of the past and the present. And that the parallel universe continue to operate in his absence. I wonder how he's going to juggle the two universe - simultaneously foil Minister Min's plans and fall in love with Hee-jin. Hihi. Can't wait to see how things unfold...

I'm also warming up to Boong-do. He seems like a smart chap, and I look forward to see him in the present day setting. Dong-min is also shaping up to be quite the adorable second male lead, though he has a lot of growing up to do. Guy is just so immature. LOL. If she's the second female lead, Na-jung is so boring - your run-of-the-mill bitchy character, with no depth at all. At least Yoon-wol's character is much more interesting.