Recap: Queen In-hyun's Man Episode 4

Love love love the episode. Boong-do is still awesomely clever (and he knows it…hihi) but who knew he could be so charming and suave too. Lots of cute and swoony moments – and looks like we’re not the only one to fall for our gentle scholar…

Episode 4

Boong-do smiles in relief to find himself in Joseon again – finding the whole business amusing. Even his beloved horse appears before him and he strokes it fondly (lucky horse!) before galloping away.

Minister Min-am looks worried as he shows up in the palace after being summoned by the King.  Eunuch Hong whispers that Boong-do is currently in audience with the King. This is news to Min-am who blames Hong for not preventing that. Dissatisfied, Hong points the finger back to Min-am who had claimed that Boong-do would definitely seek him out before meeting the King. Hong did not learn much – only that Boong-do brought a letter. Min-am pales – is this the end for him? Hong sends a greeting from the Queen and Min-am assures him the Queen would not be implicated.

Minister Min trembles lightly as he slowly enters the King’s chamber, observing the King, Boong-do and the surroundings warily. King happily announces the Boong-do they’ve been searching high and low for is finally back, and suddenly showed this (the letter) to him…Min closes his eyes and waits anxiously for the axe to fall. Boong-do watches his every reaction, his expressionless stare making Min uneasy. But, the axe never fell… Min listens in confusion as the King explains how Boong-do composed a lovely poem when he made an excursion to Min’s hometown. The nervy Min reads the poem at the King’s request and with much difficulty, makes the appropriate praises. Boong-do thanks his appreciation pointedly, drawing a glare from Min.

A young man waits anxiously in the woods. Suddenly two men deposits a tied-up Yoon-wol nearby and leaves. The man rushes to Yoon-wol’s side worriedly. Yoon-wol looks up at him, dazed. The man explains that he’s here on the master’s order – who said they’d release her.

Min-am and Boong-do have a private meeting of their own. Min-am gloats, convinced of his victory – laments insincerely at how Boong-do forsake the ex-Queen’s life and his own for that of a servant girl; such a waste of a glorious opportunity! Boong-do rises from his seat unperturbed and smiles. Min-am is uneasy and Boong-do explains – “In war, if you discard your universally-known best card, what do you think the reason is? There might be a better card, isn’t that so? What you should fear is – the card in my hand. It might be difficult for you to imagine that, but think about it…” He smiles again and leaves Min to his thoughts. (Squee! Hurray for a hero smart enough not to fall into the usual political trappings and instead excel in political stratagems)

Boong-do leaves the palace to find the young man (his servant most likely) waiting for him. After making sure that Yoon-wol is safe and unharmed, he instructs the servant to follow him somewhere…

In modern Seoul, Jo finds out from the Director that Dong-min never really influenced the decision on Hee-jin’s casting. She calls up Hee-jin to reassure her and promises to confront Na-jung’s manager.  Jo is curious about the man who manhandled Na-jung but Hee-jin explains that it’s just a male nurse who stood up for her.

Alone, Hee-jin mutters to herself that even if she tells the truth, no one would believe her. She checks the bathroom, still unable to figure out how Boong-do vanished. But as she changes her clothes, she has second thoughts – who is to say he wouldn’t reappear at the same place just as suddenly? LOL.

Na-jung’s manager informs her that Hee-jin has decided to let the matter slide and keep mum over the incident. Manager implores Na-jung not to create any more problems. She’s visibly relieved but not exactly grateful, still thinking that there is something amiss.

Boong-do leads his servant, Han Dong into the woods, looking for something. Han-dong grumbles that Boong-do should have visited Yoon-wol first, she who has sacrificed so much for him. Boong-do chides him for the suggestion, aware of the Han-dong’s devotion to Yoon-wol. Han-dong gripes that he should have married them before Yoon-wol decided to be a gisaeng. Boong-do shrugs off his complain, it’s out of his power since Yoon-wol never liked Han-dong.

Boong-do looks at the amulet, flashbacks shows the moment before he was stabbed by the sword in the library and the yet to be shown chase in the woods which led to his second reappearance in modern Seoul. In the second incident, Boong-do was almost shot by an archer when he vanished. He concludes that the time-travels always happen when he is in perilous situations.

To prove his theory, he instructs an incredulous Han-dong to shoot an arrow at him from a distance, to aim for the heart and shoot to kill. Han-don falters at the last moment, worried that Boong-do might have lost his mind. Boong-do assures him he will dodge the arrow but Han-dong is not convinced. Boong-do throws his sword at him…which falls right in front of Han-dong, threatening to kill him if he disobeys him.  They try again, Boong-do counts to three and Han-dong reluctantly releases his arrow. The arrow flies straight at Boong-do and he disappears at the last second! (I know you’re smart Boong-do, but man that sure is risky…wipes sweat!)

He reappears in the bathroom again (LOL, Hee-jin was right to be suspicious!), thus confirming his theory that if he thinks he’s going to die, he will live. He opens the bathroom door and cautiously moves into the room but jumps back in reflex when the room’s door opens. It’s Dong-min, coming by for a visit and he notices the bathroom door wavers. Hee-jin is not in, her handphone is on the bed though. Dong-min instructs his assistant to ask the nurses for her whereabouts and settles down on the couch to wait.

He pretends to leaves but grabs the umbrella he instructed his assistant to leave behind and attacks Boong-do in the dark. Boong-do easily disarms him and tries to leave. 

But Dong-min is surprisingly persistent, fist fight ensues! Dong-min somehow manages to corner Bong-do into the glass shower and locks the door with the umbrella and a towel. Then he turns on the light to check on his prisoner, surprised to see a Joseon-garbed Boong-do. He thinks Boong-do is a psychotic stalker and runs out to confront the nurses for their lax security. During all this, Boong-do is the very picture of calmness, hardly even sparing Dong-min a glance as he rants. But once Dong-min leaves, he checks the “lock”, and sighs. Disappointed to be defeated by a towel perhaps? Hihi. He is supposed to be a martial art expert.

While Dong-min tells the nurses to call the guards, Boong-do smiles disappointedly to himself – all his efforts for naught, since it wasn’t easy returning to the same spot in the first place. Hmmm….he came back for Hee-jin? He reaches for his amulet, and genuinely gets alarmed when he finds it missing. The amulet has fallen off during his scuffle with Dong-min.

Night falls, Hee-jin finally returns to her room which is now chock full of people; the security guys denies ever seeing someone dressed as such entering the premises through the CCTV, Dong-min tells Boong-do to speak up if he wants to be freed. Boong-do, on the other hand, is the epitome of patience and calmness. He turns around and smiles when he sees Hee-jin. Gah …so cute! While Dong-min continues to rant, he tries to signal something to her through his eyes but Hee-jin is slow to catch on and he smiles.

Dong-min gets his wound treated, whining like a baby to Hee-jin while everyone decides what to do with stalker Boong-do. Calling the cops would be too messy since they’re celebrities. Hee-jin tries to sneak into the bathroom but was stopped. She explains she needs to get something from the bathroom and heroic Dong-min volunteers to accompany her. Thinking quickly, Hee-jin elaborates it’s not too convenient since she wants to get her undies.  He relents, since he’s pretty confident he locked up Boong-do real good.

Hee-jin enters the bathroom and quickly closes the door. She walks up to Boong-do, asking why he’s here AGAIN? He remarks that they have fate after all, since she always shows up when he’s in a bind. At the moment, HE’s putting her in a bind. Boong-do lowers his body so that they are speaking face to face (aw…..so sweet!!!!) and asks if the fierce lady (Na-jung) from before is finding fault with Hee-jin again because of his interference. Hee-jin assures him that that problem has been settled, touched by his concern.

He’s here again to look for her specifically this time, he needs her help and she’s the only one he knows in this universe. And because she’s such a kind-hearted person, she’d definitely help him. (LOL. Gosh, he’s good! Flattery always works) She’s no match for his sweet but convincing words and agrees to help. Boong-do explains he’s looking for a book – Joseon Dynasty Annals, which Hee-jin says should be in the library. Not that it make any sense to Boong-do who asks if it’s too difficult a task. She sighs to herself so Boong-do withdraws his request, asking instead that she passes the amulet back to him. He explains how the amulet enables him to travel in between their time, but requires a certain life-threatening risk. Hee-jin appears to be deep in thought as she slips the envelope through the door. She comes to a decision and tells him she will help him if he can make it to a park situated north to the hospital.

Boong-do reappears before a sleeping Han-dong, who is relieved and distraught to see his master. Boong-do is in an upbeat mood, feeling fortunate to have this ability to travel through time. He quickly orders Han-dong to find out the north direction, anxious to meet up with Hee-jin.

Hee-jin also sneaks out from the hospital for their rendezvous. Flashbacks show Hee-jin giving a detailed instruction to the exact location of the park, which is 4000m away or equivalent to about 10 miles. Split screens show the contrasting methods both used to reach their meeting place – Hee-jin in her car, and Boong-do on horseback.

In the hospital, Dong-min’s assistant and the nurses freak out when they find the bathroom empty when the police came.

Hee-jin arrives first and waits in her car, unsure of what to expect. Still, she reclines in her lowered seat and waits. Boong-do shows up, all dressed in modern garb – sweater, beanies and bag – LOL is that going to be his standard attire for this era? He knocks on her window while she gazes back at him in surprise and I suspect, some other feelings. He lets himself into the car, boasting adorably that he knows how to do that now. Gah…why so cute. He comments how the weather is different and asks if Hee-jin is sick when she remains unmoving in her seat. Hee-jin snaps out of her reverie and tells him she thought he is not coming because it’s so late. He explains that horses are no match for cars and the roads back then were not as smooth.

He laments how he’s becoming quite the thief as he explains the origin of his clothes. Hee-jin warns that he might get caught the police, which he quickly deduce is equivalent to their constables. She praises how quickly he catches on, and he admits that it’s his only virtue. He buckles up himself while Hee-jin looks in surprise. And admits he was pretty scared when they accelerated previously. Hee-jin mischievously accelerates and reverses the car, much to Boong-do’s alarm. She sticks her tongue at him, but had to explain its significance to a clueless Boong-do. They share a laugh and the atmosphere in the car turns a little awkward.

At the library, Boong-do marvels at the amount of books they have, willing to stay there for life. Now there’s a bookworm. LOL. Hee-jin shakes her head at his weird hobby. They enter the lift, where Boong-do immediately presses the level 3 button. Hee-jin is surprised how he knew the numbers and he explains how he managed to deduce it when they went on the lift in the hospital previously. What can I say – he’s bloody smart! She praises his intelligence and he admits casually to being top scholar. She doesn’t like smartypants so he asks what she does.

She’s an actress of some repute and only the pretty ones can be one. Boong-do stops in his tracks with a weird expression. He asks if Hee-jin’s considered pretty here. Pfftt!!!Muahaha. Hee-jin’s offended since she’d actually won something at a beauty pageant previously.  Boong-do remains unimpressed, much to the frustration of Hee-jin.

Hee-jin wonders what he’s looking for in history. He’s only concerned about destroying the Queen’s clan, reinstating Queen In-hyun and restoring his family honour. Hee-jin recognizes that he’s talking about Jang Hui-bin, the famous Queen in history. How she rose from a palace maid to a Queen, the eventually banished and sentenced to death by poison. Boong-do reads the annals and discover that his objectives will be realized in a few months in his time – the fate of Queen In Hyun, his nemesis Min-am and Jang Hui-bin. Hee-jin deduces that he must be from the western faction since he supports Queen In-hyun, and congratulates him on his good fortune. He must have suffered a lot in the past 5 years and it was on the tip of his tongue to say it, but he stops himself from elaborating.

BD:  What do the people here do at this kind of moment?

HJ: What?

BD: How do you share your happiness with another?

HJ: Happiness? Err…hugs and all.

BD: In this place?

HJ: Yes of course.

BD: Even between a man and a woman?

HJ: What does it matter?

BD: What a nice world…

Boong-do wraps his arms around Hee-jin for a hug, catching her by surprise. After the hug, he thanks her for sharing in his happiness. Hee-jin is quietly embarrassed, and Boong-do asks if he’s done anything wrong. He did confirm it by her. LOL. Hee-jin suspects he may be a player in his era too. But of course our innocent Boong-do has no idea what that means as well. Hah.

Hee-jin takes a cold drink to calm herself. Haha. Chiding herself for being attracted to him. She returns to find him still engrossed with the book, even finding an entry with his name. Hee-jin drags him away when she realizes she’d been recognized. But she is mobbed by fans at the entrance of the lift. Boong-do manages to enter but Hee-jin is stuck as the crowd grows bigger. Boong-do grabs her hand and pulls her into the lift, shielding her from the cameras (his tall stature sure helps).

He remarks that he’s really getting the hang of the lift, but she stares at their clasped hands, entranced. He quickly releases her, apologizing. Again, she remarks he’s definitely a player, which piques his curiosity but she does not explain. He apologizes for causing her problems since he had not realized she is really famous. He takes out the amulet and prepares to leave, thanking her for helping him.

She realizes he’s going to leave there and then, and impulsively grabs his forearm to stop him. She closes the opened lift door, then accuses him of having bad manners for not performing goodbye greetings. She grabs him for a kiss and pretends that it’s the normal way to say goodbye here. He asks if it’s truly a normal greeting manner here, to be done among anyone at anyplace…and she could only force herself to say yes. LOL. He stares at her leaving back with an amused smile….surely our very clever scholar can figure THAT out. Squeeeeeeeee!

Thoughts:

It’s such a nice feeling to root for a smart and pleasant hero. I love me some angsty jerk on the outside, soft in the inside kind of hero, but really, once in a while, a nice romantic hero is such a breath of fresh air. And he’s really smart to boot. Love how he outsmarted Minister Min. Often, I sigh at how “innocent” our heroes are for falling easily into the enemy’s trap so it’s a nice change to see the opposite here. What’s more, I think it’s adorable that he knows he’s smart and prides himself for it.

Now that he learns the fate of his era, I wonder if he’s going to do anything about it. It’s an interesting situation and in the time-travelling Chinese dramas I’ve watched, the protagonists usually make use of their knowledge of the history. But Boong-do finding out about the history does sap some of the tension of the Joseon storyline. I hope the writer does not forgo the Joseon’s story entirely even though I understand it’s necessary that our OTP spend time together in the same era. Why not make Hee-jin travel back as well? LOL. I actually thought that was possible when Hee-jin grab his hand…I thought whatever that transported Boong-do might suck Hee-jin in as well. But I suppose that might get too complicated.

Hee-jin might not be the smartest bulb, especially in comparison with our smart-ass hero, but she’s growing on me little by little. Love how she took the initiative and kissed Boong-do, then cover herself by declaring it’s the norm here. LOL. I wish!

The preview looks good. Seems Boong-do may “die”. Yikes. Will the amulet help?