My Lovely Boxer (2023) Episode 8

Episode 8 of My Lovely Boxer starts with Kwon-sook at the apartment when Ho-hoong texts asking how Tae-young is doing while getting ready for her run. She knocks on his door to tell him she is going out, but Tae-young does not respond. He is cooped up in the room with alcohol bottles scattered on the floor, thinking about his brother and Mr. Kim. 

Next, Ho-hoong and Kwon-sook are preparing breakfast when Sun-jae knocks on the door. He has come to check on Tae-young. Kwon-sook tells him that Tae-young has not left his room for three days. He has come to inform Tae-young that Hee-won’s body has arrived from Taiwan.

Tae-young exits his room, ready to attend the funeral, but Sun-jae tells him that their team manager, Young-ae, requested him not to attend. Tae-young insists and leaves for the funeral. He forgets to wear his shoes, and Kwon-sook runs after him. Kwon-sook wants to accompany him, but he insists on going alone. She calls a taxi for him.

Reporters wait for Tae-young at the funeral hall. Young-ae tries to distract them while Soo-yeon pulls Tae-young aside to convince him to return home. He says he must check that Hee-won is dead with his own eyes to confirm; otherwise, he will not believe it. He wonders why Hee-won died and thinks he had no reason to commit suicide. Soo-yeon tells him that a reporter had told her Hee-won was pressured to participate in match rigging until the day he died.

The reporters camp at the funeral hall not because Hee-won is dead but because they want to capture the person behind the game rigging on camera. Tae-young thinks back to when reporter Park told him he had seen Hee-won with Mr. Kim’s men before he left for Taiwan. The reporters believe he must be involved in the rigging and are waiting to connect him to the scandal. Tae-young does not go into the funeral hall.

He instead goes to Mr. Kim’s office at Paran tour. He bribes the security guard, who lets him in, but the office is empty, with just a photo of his brother in one of the lockers. There is a hidden camera in the office. 

Tae-young wanders back to his house, and at first, he wants to go to Ho-hoong’s house, but Kwon-sook hears him. She insists that he stays at the apartment. He goes to the wall with his athletes and furiously smashes them on the floor. Kwon-sook wants to comfort him, but he tells her to stay away or she will get hurt.

A-reum and Kwon-sook pose for promotional photos for their match. Kwon-sook is down and worried about Tae-young and, hence, has no energy to cheer up and radiate the aura of a champion. After the photoshoot, Soo-yeon calls Kwon-sook aside and tells her to call when Tae-young becomes too much to handle. She might be able to help.

Chul-yong visits Kwon-sook at the gym, pretending Tae-young asked him to bring short-rib soup. However, he wants to know how Tae-young is doing, and Kwon-sook tells him he is barely surviving. He also wants to ask if Tae-young’s condition will affect Kwon-sook’s match, but she does not want to discuss boxing with him. 

Tae-young’s mother visits Soo-yeon to ask about Tae-young since he is not answering her calls. She declines the offer that Soo-yeon take her to Tae-young’s house, but she promises to ask Tae-young to call her. Kwon-sook calls Soo-yeon, and she heads to Tae-young’s apartment later that night. 

Tae-young has locked himself in his room and has not come out for days. He barely eats the few times he comes out when Kwon-sook sleeps, and he does not answer when she knocks on the door. 

Soo-yeon finds a way to get into the room, and Tae-young allows her to comfort them. Kwon-sook seems to dislike it, and she cries in her room. The following day, during her run, she runs into an old couple of friends; the man asks about her boyfriend, Tae-young. She says he is not and wonders where they got the impression.

The couple informs that her runs felt forced before, but after she met Tae-young, she seems happy when they jog together. She talks about her desire to do something for Tae-young but says she feels there is nothing she can do since she is young. The man tells her that she should go ahead and do anything so long as he does not object.

Kwon-sook forces Tae-young to leave his room and takes him to the ring. She encourages him to vent and release his anger in the ring. She tells him about her experience losing her mother and how she uses the ring to let her feelings out. She asks him to let go and talk, and she is willing to listen. He opens up about Hee-won, and he lets himself cry. 

The following day, Tae-young seems to be doing better. He wakes up early to bring Kwon-sook her meal and joins her during the morning run. She is excited to be running together again and tells him what the old man with the candy said; when she ran before, it was like she was doing homework, but when she runs with Tae-young, it seems like she is having fun. 

A-reum is not in her best state when practicing. Hye-jin and Coach Song are worried about her, but she convinces them she is okay. However, alone in the locker room, she struggles to move her right arm and is in pain. 

Tae-young asks Soo-yeon to meet. He tells her he is taking a break and Sun-jae will handle the upcoming match. She thinks taking a break is his way of dumping her since she asked that they get back together after the match. 

In his office, he received a response from a reporter he had emailed requesting corrections on an article published about Hee-won. The reporter says a correction can’t be published since there is no evidence to back up the correction request. Later, he goes to the gym and privately talks with Ho-hoong.

While walking home, Kwon-sook complains that he is keeping things from her. They get friendly, and Reporter Park takes a photo. Tae-young asks Kwon-sook to go home. Reporter Park suggests that there might be something going on between them that he should not have seen. Tae-young admits that he adores Kwon-sook since she is a talented boxer. 

Reporter Park offers to write a correct article on Hee-won so long as Tae-young offers him an exclusive interview with Kwon-sook. Tae-young leaves a note for Kwon-sook, telling her he will not accompany her on the morning jogs again. Kwon-sook seems affected by his absence during the run as she is distracted and bumps into people. 

Tae-young goes to see Cheetah’s coach at the playground. Tae-young asks the whereabouts of Mr. Kim and threatens to tell his granddaughter what he did. Coach has no idea where they went since they shut down the betting site. They will send him a new link; he says he will send it to Tae-young when they do. It turns out though that he’s secretly recording the coach.

Kwon-sook arrives home in the evening and sees that Tae-young has not responded to her texts. She is typing a rant message when he asks her to meet at the gym, and her angry face turns into a smile. However, he asks her to meet with reporter Park for the interview. He manages to convince her to talk with Reporter Park.

Reporter Park asks about relationships and then starts asking about any strange offers Tae-young made when he got her back to the game. Kwon-sook thinks back to Tae-young’s words but does not talk about losing the match and running away together. Instead, she says he promised her the most significant match and takes her to where she wanted to go. She praises him for keeping his promise, and Reporter Park ends the interview. 

Outside the restaurant, reporter Park thinks that the reason why Hee-won never mentioned anyone In his suicide note must have been because the person involved must be someone he is willing to protect. After the interview, Tae-young takes Kwon-sook to her family home instead of the apartment. He tells her that Sun-jae will be taking over the match.

He tears the contract, signifying the end of their agreement since he held up his end of the bargain and gave her the most significant match. He says the reason is that she is unwilling to go to the US with him, so she is free to retire after the match. 

The Episode Review

 We have been waiting to see if Tae-young will fight back against Mr. Kim and the rigging gang, and in this episode, it seems like he is starting to. They are responsible for pushing Hee-won to a corner and forcing him to commit suicide. Reporter Park seems convinced Tae-young is involved, so he no longer wants to be involved in the match.