Call It Love (2023) Recap Episode 16

Episode 16 opens with Woo-ju standing outside somewhere. Inside the house, Hyun-ju tells Dong-jin that Woo-ju had everyone leave the house to make him less uncomfortable. Dong-jin tells her she doesn’t need to worry about him or do anything for him now. Any more would make him feel guilty. She tells him to call her if he ever feels like eating anything. As she heats up the soup, she tells him to start eating.

Afterwards, he calls Woo-ju and meets her. He tells her he quit his job because he wanted to take a break. After a few moments of silence, she tells him she didn’t think this moment would come and she isn’t ready. She asks him for some time.

How does Dong-jin resolve things? 

Hee-ja thinks about what the lawyer said, telling her to get a letter of non-punishment from Chul-min’s children as that would help her avoid imprisonment in the trial against Kang Nam-il. Hee-ja approaches Woo-ju’s aunt but she doesn’t entertain her.

Jun asks Woo-ju about her meeting with Dong-jin. She says she was ready to tell Dong-jin that breaking up was the right thing to do but she couldn’t do it. She says she regrets going dressed inappropriately to her father’s funeral. Jun encourages her to let it go.

Sun-woo looks at the share transfer agreement in front of him and sighs. Dong-jin calls him from outside the building but Sun-woo tells him to just come up. He signs the letter of resignation as Sun-woo keeps giving him a report of what’s happening in the office. He still has hope that Dong-jin will come back. He tells Dong-jin to stop by his office. He does and finds that the employees have thrown a small farewell party for him, cake, balloons and all. He says a few words and thanks the employees for everything.

Ms Baek tells Dong-jin that she didn’t move companies to escape CEO Shin but to follow Dong-jin, who was someone she respected. Nearing the office exit, Dong-jin tells Sun-woo that he won’t be coming back to work as he wants to live a different life. He apologises but Sun-woo understands.

What does Hee-ja do?

Hee-ja tries approaching Woo-ju’s aunt again. The aunt calls Woo-ju and lets her know. Woo-ju comes by her aunt’s salon where Hee-ja recognises her as the girl from Dong-jin’s office.  They have a drink in a restaurant where

Hee-ja accuses Woo-ju of having more than enough of her revenge. Woo-ju blames her for years of unhappiness but admits that she should have hated her father as much as Hee-ja. She then reveals she likes Dong-jin and therefore decides to not hate Hee-ja anymore. She says she’ll send the non-punishment letter as well.

Dong-jin comes home where his mother tells him she met Woo-ju and asked for the letter. She asks Dong-jin if he is in love with Woo-ju as well and he says yes.

Jun sees Ji-gu packing his stuff and tells him to not rush it. He sees the guitar and Ji-gu explains that it was a gift from Dong-jin.

How do Woo-ju and Dong-jin break up?

Woo-ju calls Dong-jin and reminds him about the long forest trail he had once told her about. She asks if they can go there the next day. He says yes. The next day, they walk through the trees and Woo-ju explains that she wanted to do something nice before breaking up. She admits to feeling like she was walking backwards all the time but it all changed when she met him. Dong-jin tells her that the love she gave him was far bigger than the pain. He thanks her for loving him. They return and Dong-jin hugs Woo-ju before finally letting go of her.

Meanwhile, Jun’s house has been cleared of all the siblings’ things. He seems dejected at the emptiness in the house.

What happens after the time skip?

One year later, Jun continues to work in the pharmacy but now his phone lock screen has a picture of him and Hae-sung. Hae-sung is working at the bank where a colleague tells her she’s getting married. They go for a celebratory lunch where the colleague tells her she learnt to pursue love thanks to Hae-sung. She makes a comment about Hae-sung catching the bouquet but Hae-sung isn’t sure about getting married.

Later, Hea-sung and Jun are walking with their arms around each other and she narrates what happened to him. She tells Jun how her colleague was proposed to at the top of the N tower. He then casually asks her if she wants to get married. The house is quiet and he wants her to move in. Hae-sung gets upset at his casualness and asks if he was joking all the times he said he didn’t want to get married. If she knew, she would have proposed to him herself. He later tells her how quiet things have been at home once they all moved out. But it’s not just because he’s bored, he wants to hear her voice in this house and be with her. She ultimately agrees to marry him.

A voiceover talks about Native American horses who stop running to look back and wait for their soul. At Best Fairs, Yuri tries to set Min-young up with a friend. Sun-woo overhears and asks her to come out for lunch with him. She says she won’t go on the blind date as she’s enjoying her life and her daily lunch with Sun-woo.

Where are Woo-ju and Dong-jin? 

At the Sim house, now rightfully theirs, Ji-gu makes breakfast for Woo-ju and Hae-sung. Woo-ju comes out, has a sip of water and leaves for work. She now works at a fair company responsible for the walls used at fairs and tells someone off for using double sided tape on the walls. Baek Soo-hee comes to meet her and they chat over lunch. Soo-hee was the one who introduced her to this company and now Woo-ju is happy working there. When Soo-hee asks if Woo-ju heard about Dong-jin, she says she hasn’t heard a thing.

Later, Woo-ju walks down what used to be her usual route, past the grocery store and the Best Fairs building. Soo-hee told her that Dong-jin moved out of his home and now lives in Gyeonggi-do. Woo-ju goes to her and Dong-jin’s usual restaurant and has noodles. She then visits Jun at his pharmacy. He asks her if the neighbourhood has changed and she says no.

Meanwhile, Dong-jin drives a campervan through the countryside. While his friend Kang tries to sell the campervan to a man, Dong-jin shows camping photos to the man’s young son. Later, Kang asks him to have a drink with him but Dong-jij can’t. He’s been going camping every week and doesn’t tire of it. He goes to the same restaurant he and Woo-ju used to visit. Kang berates him for getting him to the same place each time he’s in Seoul. When someone enters, he expectantly looks up but it’s not Woo-ju.

Dae-hong, whose contact is now saved as Father in Dong-jin’s phone, calls him and asks him to get something from Seoul.

Do Dong-jin and Woo-ju get back together? 

Ji-gu comes home to see Woo-ju up working late. Hae-sung takes a beer from the fridge and sits by Woo-ju. She tells Woo-ju that their mother offered Dong-jin food whenever he wants. If their mother can feel that way, Hae-sung says there’s nothing stopping Woo-ju and Dong-jin from being together.

Dong-jin camps out under the rain and sips on coffee.  He gets a text message from Ji-gu about an event he’s performing at. Their texts show that they’ve kept in touch all this while.

Woo-ju gets a message from Ji-gu about his event and says that Dong-jin may or may not turn up.

Dong-jin arrives at the event and then seems to leave. Woo-ju arrives just as Ji-gu begins his performance. Dong-jin returns to the event with flowers in his hand. He spots Woo-ju in the crowd. She sees him as well and they smile at each other before Woo-ju runs to him.

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The Episode Review

Episode 16 was a good finale although it sticks to the standard finale structure a little too closely — the one year time jump, the marriage proposal between Jun and Hae-sung, the last-second reunion. It’s standard but it’s not as incredible as it would have been to really see the main couple reunite and talk through things. A little more time with them, now that all the issues are resolved, would have been invaluable. Similarly, with Jun and Hae-sung, the proposal is cute but we simply haven’t spent enough time with them as a couple.

Apart from that (and the general slowness of the series which persists), the episode faired well. It’s satisfying to see Dong-jin out and about, truly living his best life. Kim Young-kwang brings Dong-jin to life and embodies the change in his personality so well. Woo-ju, too, shows signs of joy. It’s heartwarming to see these two characters finally at peace. Overall, a good finale that ends the show on a warm note!