My Lovely Boxer (2023) Episode 5

Episode 5 of My Lovely Boxer starts with Tae-young and Kwon-sook in the locker room. Couch Ho-hoong calls Kwon-sook to go to the ring, and Tae-young pulls her back. He tells her that if she is scared of boxing, she should not let Jo A-ra hit her even once and do her best. Both Jo A-ra and Kwon-sook enter the ring, and the match starts.

In the first few rounds, Jo A-ra does better and lands many punches on Kwon-sook, but in the later rounds, Kwon-sook gets her rhythm and wins the match on knockout. While everyone else is celebrating, Kwon-sook is worried about Jo A-ra and Tae-young, understanding Kwon-sook’s feelings at that moment, and worries about Kwon-sook. 

After the match, Jo A-ra is carried out of the ring on a stretcher. Mr Kim comes to talk to Tae-young, excited that the first match goes as predicted. Kwon-sook does not want to pose for photos yet and do the press with reporters but goes to check on A-ra. A-ra takes Kwon-sook’s concern as a ploy to humiliate or gloat after the victory and chases her out of the room. 

Tae-young waits for Kwon-sook outside Jo A-ra’s room. She does not want to do the press interview, and Tae-young gives in and helps her run from the arena. He takes her out for doughnuts. He wants to know why she is scared of boxing, and she tells him the story of her friend Yeon-kyung. She was the first person she spurred with since her father coached her. She knocked her out and hurt her, making her quit boxing.

Kwon-sook thinks she is a monster who goes berserk whenever she is in the ring. Her father made her so; she was not his daughter but a tool to achieve his ambitions. He even hurt her mother, making the boxing ring the cause of Kwon-sook’s misery. Regardless, she trained every day since she thought her father would hurt her mother if she quit boxing. She hid after her mother’s death since she had no reason to continue with the game.

 Later, she takes him for a meal at her father’s restaurant. Tae-young is afraid she will find out he has been talking to her father, so they pretend to have seen each other for the first time. He makes them short rib soup.

Chul-yong texts Tae-young to meet outside, and they have a confrontation. Kwon-sook comes out and realizes they know each other. Tae-young thinks she is angry and would want to punch him, but she says that she does not care about what he and her father are up to and asks him not to betray her. 

He promises that he will never betray her. She tells him not to talk to her for a while until her anger goes away. She says she will not go to the gym the next day since he promised to give her a day off after the match. Her father overhears the conversation and wants Tae-young to find out where Kwon-sook will go on her day off. Tae-young refuses, saying he is not a stalker, and asks Chul-yong not to contact him for a while. 

Jae-min picks up Kwon-sook from the apartment the next day, and Tae-young and her father stalk them. Jae-min takes Kwon-sook out camping, and they follow them. Jae-min is well prepared and knows the how-to’s of camping, but Tae-young struggles to set up a tent. Her father joins Jae-min and Kwon-sook for a meal and invites Tae-young.

Elsewhere, A-reum’s coach has a problem promoting A-reum’s championship match since the promoter stopped contacting and promoting the game. Back at the campsite, after the meal, Tae-young and Jae-min take care of the utensils together while Kwon-sook and her father take a walk along the beach. 

Chul-yong talks to his daughter about Tae-young’s lousy reputation and wants her to terminate the contract. He is willing to pay the penalty for her. He tells her that the industry is full of vipers waiting to make a big score, but Kwon-sook tells him that he is that viper in her life. He ruined her life, and she warns him never to meddle again. 

Later that night, Jae-min and Kwon-sook enjoy time together outside a campfire. Kwon-sook apologizes for ruining his day off, and Jae-min asks that they come out together after her next match and stay longer to celebrate their starting over. Kwon-sook wonders what he means by starting over but does not think much about it.

Chul-yong watches from a distance as Tae-young and Kwon-sook talk about something. When he gets back to the car, Chul-yong asks Tae-young about it, and he says that Kwon-sook does not want to see her father again and will not tell him about whatever else they talked about. Tae-young and Chul-yong leave. 

A-reum’s defense match is cancelled, and Soo-yeon tries to find the reason. Coach Song and A-reum are angry at Soo-yeon and ignore her when she visits their gym. Tae-young meets with Coach Song and gives him complete data on Lee Kwon-sook’s skills and statistics. Coach Song wonders why Tae-young is offering the information but says it is because they have more than enough information on A-reum.

Tae-young admits that he got to A-reum’s opponent for the previously scheduled defense match and offered her a better deal. He also got the Southeast Asian promoters to back down to ensure Coach Song does not find a replacement. He ensured that Coach Song and A-reum would be left with no choice but to fight Kwon-sook. 

Tae-young asks Coach Song to get A-reum to fight Kwon-sook and win. He wants them to put up a good fight for the boxing industry in which Kwon-sook will not be the only survivor. He wants stars to rise, for people to pay to watch matches, and to gather funds for even bigger matches. That dream is more of Coach Song’s than Tae-young’s. He offers to foot the expenses for the match. 

A-reum confronts Kwon-sook at the gym. She tells her about Tae-young cancelling her title match, and Kwon-sook insists that she fight her for it. A-reum is adamant that she will never get into the ring with Kwon-sook, saying she is not a real boxer and does not deserve to be there. 

Tae-young goes to see her later in the night. He wants to apologize for getting her into trouble with A-reum, but instead, she asks him to make sure the match with A-reum happens no matter what. She won’t allow A-reum to lose the title again. He leaves her a meal with a note saying she can cry but not forget to eat since she cannot lose muscle mass. He also tells her she will be training outdoors for a few days.

Soo-yeon visits Sports & Passion and sees Tae-young escorting two men. She approaches them and asks for an introduction. They are the managing directors of The Rumble Hunters. Elsewhere, Ho-hoong and Kwon-sook prepare for the outdoor training next to an ocean. Kwon-sook asks when Tae-young will arrive but also hopes he will not.

Kwok-sook wonders why Ho-hoong still works with Tae-young despite people calling him a son of a witch. He responds that he is highly indebted to Tae-young and owes him his life. Tae-young helped him pay off his father’s debt and open a boxing studio. Tae-young may be ruthless in his methods, but he cares for his athletes and never lets them starve. He makes sure his athletes can earn a living even after they retire. 

Tae-young arrives and brings food. He asks Kwon-sook to accompany him, and he gives her the clothes he bought for her. He says he bought her more clothes so she would not have to do laundry often. She says she and he are scumbags, and she hoped to blink and wake up the day after the match. Kwon-sook asks if she still has only one more match to go, and Tae-young does not respond.

Elsewhere, Soo-yeon asks someone to look into The Rumble Hunters and finds out that it is an American Sports company recruiting rising stars overseas. They might have been involved in cancelling A-reum’s defense match. She wonders what Tae-young used as a bargaining chip, and the man suggests possibly a US debut.

At the beach, Kwon-sook asks if she has one more game and then retires, but Tae-young still does not respond. He instead carries Kwon-sook and throws her into the water. Since they are at the beach, they might as well play in the water. 

At the end of the episode, the man with Soo-yeon suggests that Tae-young might have cut a deal to help Kwon-sook start competing in the US. However, for the deal to be successful, Kwon-sook has to beat A-reum first. Soo-yeon says that she has a great plan for A-reum and will not let Kwon-sook defeat her in the ring.

The Episode Review

The episode highlighted Tae-young’s capabilities as an artist manager. He can cancel a match to ensure he keeps his word to Kwon-sook. He seems to have many connections, even from overseas. However, if he did cut a deal for a boxer to debut in the US under The Rumble Hunters, is the deal for Kwon-sook or A-reum? 

When they went camping and had a private talk with Kwon-sook, what did they say to each other? Why does he not respond when Kwon-sook asks if they are still sticking to her retirement plan? Ho-hoong says that Tae-young always cares for his athletes; what is he cooking in the background to help Kwon-sook? I have so many questions and curiosity for the next episode and am still looking forward to figuring out whether Jae-min really likes Kwon-sook or is in it for possibly becoming her agent after the second match.