My Lovely Boxer (2023) Episode 2

My Lovely Boxer episode 2 starts with a flashback to what made Kwon-sook flee from boxing. Her father, Chul-yong, used her training to be abusive. Kwon-sook still has nightmares about her training days with her dad. She narrates how her peaceful world as Lee Hyu-ri was shattered by the appearance of Tae-young. 

Through a flashback, we learn what happened the day she met Tae-young. She asked him to leave her alone, but he followed her. He thought she was still in great shape as an athlete and introduced himself. She almost punched him because he was so insistent on talking to her.  

He made it sound like he was there to help and save her from the swarm of reporters and sports agents about to knock on her door. She kept his business card just in case. She denied being Kwon-sook, but he didn’t buy that. As days passed, he showed up every morning to join in her run. 

Presently, Tae-young meets with Mr. Kim and informs him of his plan to use Knwon-sook to get him back his money.  They plan to rig Kwon-sook’s second fight and make money. However, all these depend on whether  Tae-young can convince Kwon-sook to sign up for only two matches. Already, Young-Ae is against that idea. She wants to profit off Kwon-sook, and  Tae-young sways her by saying he can make Kwon-sook sign the deal without receiving the total title match amount.

Mr Kim thinks this is a good plan but argues whether it is implementable. He fears his dad won’t agree to Tae-young’s plan. He also worries that they will ruin Kwon-sook’s reputation as an athlete if they rig her game. She is still young and has a bright future; ironically, this is a risk he is concerned about.  Tae-young argues that she already quit once so they can use and discard her.  Mr. Kim is surprised by his savage response, but the deal is too good, and they agree to proceed. 

Meanwhile, Kwon-sook continues her life as a teacher, blissfully unaware of the storm coming her way. She is more concerned about her dating life, which barely exists. All her blind dates have ended up being jerks.  She turns her sights to her original crush, Jae-Min, the school director’s son. He is a typical chaebol, living off his mom and good looks. He occasionally drops by the school to give the semblance of working. Most would consider him incompetent, and one teacher warns Kwon-sook not to fall for his good looks. 

This proves to be challenging as she spends more time with Jae-min. He comes off as a sweet guy who has various passions. He even takes her suggestion and plants flowers in the school playground.  The other teachers are not pleased, but the gesture touches Kwon-sook. She likes the flowers because they remind her of her mom. Based on Jae-min’s actions, he seems to like her, too. 

Elsewhere, A-reum works as a waiter at a cafe. She keeps inviting the men interested in her to the boxing gym. It is her hobby and the quickest way to see if the guy is serious. 

On the other hand, Tae-young is still working on his plan. He recruits Reporter Kyung-soo to help him. They set about writing an article on Kwon-sook and drafting it, waiting for the perfect time to publish it.  He later heads home and finds a drunk Soo-yeon on his doorstep. Ho-hoong brought her because she insisted on going to Tae-young’s place. Here, we learn that Tae-young is her ex, and she is not over him yet. Tae-young allows them to stay at his place, but he leaves. 

The following day, he meets Kwon-sook for her morning run. She doesn’t like having him around as he tries to convince her to box again.  He won’t give up no matter how many times she says no. Every day, he ran with her and watched her pattern. He notices she is friendly with an old couple that waits for her along the street and gives her lollipops. 

Kwon-sook even offers him money to leave her alone, but he demands 2.5 million, which she doesn’t have. She remains adamant she won’t box again because of what she went through. She claims her mom died because of boxing. Tae-young looks into what happened to Kwon-sook’s mom but only finds out she died in a hospital after a short illness.  Soo-yeon drops by Sports & Passion and overhears that Tae-young is looking into Kwon-sook.

In the meantime, Tae-young continues to pester Kwon-sook on her morning runs.  Soon, she becomes accustomed to seeing him in the morning. She, however, maintains she won’t box again. He doesn’t give up and starts nagging her about watching her weight and overeating sweets.  She threatens to punch him, but he is resilient. 

After hearing about Tae-young’s pursuit of Kwon-sook, Soo-yeon approaches Reporter Kyung-soo. They make a deal, and he tells her where to find Kwon-sook.

Elsewhere, Hee-won continues playing for his team and tries to do his best. Hee-won feels guilty about his actions and even considered confessing to Reporter Kyung-soo. He, however, changed his mind. He figured it would do more damage than good. He is frustrated that Tae-young has to pay Mr. Kim, and he can’t help. Tae-young asks him to stay calm and focus on his son. He promises to clean up his mess and help him retire in style. 

Days pass by, and Kwon-sook still works as a teacher. She is also getting close to Jae-min, and one-day Tae-young finds them. He lies that he went on a blind date with Kwon-sook and embarrasses her in front of Jae-min. Kwon-sook quickly agrees to leave with Tae-young before he says any more damaging things. 

They head to a cafe, and Tae-young argues that Jae-min will work harder if he sees a competitor. He also shows Kwon-sook the contract he would like her to sign. She insists she won’t, and he brings up her mom, saying he looked into her death. He doesn’t believe that Kwon-sook quit because of what happened to her mom. Kwon-sook is pissed and leaves. Tae-young sends a message to Reporter Kyung-soo, asking him to publish the article. 

The article goes viral and shakes the sports world in Korea. Reporters surround the kindergarten where Kwon-sook works. They also bombard the school with questions on the phone. The kids end up being scared by the commotion. Kwon-sook is angry that Tae-young’s actions wrecked her haven. She asks the reporters to be mindful of the kids. Her colleagues are also shocked to learn her real identity, but most are kind and supportive. 

Later, Kwon-sook is asked to take her leave until things come down. She is not the only one worried about the news of her return. A-reum’s coach worries about how this will affect her, but she plays it cool. Kwon-sook’s actions nearly destroyed her career and bankrupted her coach three years ago. 

At night, Kwon-sook arrives home and finds a hoard of reporters waiting for her. She chooses to run, and Tae-young ends up helping her escape the media vultures. She is still angry with him, and he admits he is why the article was published. He insists he will make her sign the papers. He explains his life is on the line, and she has no way out either. He pleads with her to consider his offer, and she knocks him out. 

He reports her at a police station and threatens to sue her. He enlists Reoprter’s Kyung-soo’s help to frighten her. She is, however, too pissed and walks away.

Another problem rears its head when Hee-won is ousted by his club. Ta-young confronts the coach, and he insists it is time to cut Hee-won. Hee-won packs his stuff and heads home. Tae-young encourages him to fight, but the man has given up hope. This hurts Tae-young because he remembers their promise to look after each other when they were young. Watching Hee-won walk away felt like his last dream was slipping away. 

Kwon-sook is also sad about the end of her life as Lee Hyu-ri. Tae-young finds her running in the rain and asks her where she wants to go. He promises to help her quit boxing for good.  Kwon-sook doesn’t believe her, but he promises her and reveals his plan to rig her fight. He argues no one will care about a loser if she loses the fight, and they will be helping each other. 

The Episode Review

This episode showed us more about the resilient nature of Tae-young. He is ruthless, and his main concern is saving Hee-won. He fails to see how his plan hurts Kwon-sook, who is running from her past. A past he is determined to drag her back to and leave her to fight the wolves on her own. 

He is not helping; he is using her to save himself, and it is sad to see Kwon-sook lose her life as Lee Hyu-ri. He definitely deserved that punch. Kwon-sook must decide if boxing is something she can run away from and if Tae-young’s plan interests her. Is this her only way out?

As the show progresses, it would be nice to see more about A-reum. She looks like a fun character and has been through a lot. What is her story?