Recap "A Business Proposal" Episode 4

Episode 4 of Business Proposal begins with Ha-ri running into Tae-moo on the elevator. She quickly turns around and puts a bandage over her eye.

At GO Food, Min-woo helps Ha-ri’s team at the company’s tasting event. Tae-moo attends and commends Min-woo for his white kimchi ravioli.

Later, Ha-ri eats with Min-woo at his restaurant. He says he hopes she brought a guy to the MeloMance concert. But when she tells him that’s what she did, he says she’s too naive to get a good read on men. He’d like to meet this guy, but she says she can take care of herself, and that he should focus on his girlfriend. 

Tae-moo and Seong-hoon then turn up at Min-woo’s restaurant, which causes Ha-ri to crawl away to hide. When Min-woo calls her, Tae-moo notes that her ringback tune is the MeloMance song that was dedicated to “Geum-hui” at the concert.

Ha-ri escapes with Young-seo and later tells her that Tae-moo isn’t as bad as she thought. Young-seo wonders if there’s more to her feelings than that.

At the restaurant, Tae-moo asks Min-woo how long he and Ha-ri have been friends (seven years), and whether either of them ever developed feelings for the other. Min-woo seems put on the spot by the question.

Tae-moo recalls “Geum-hui” telling him about her crush of seven years. Seong-hoon tells him that some restaurant employees were talking about how Ha-ri had a crush on Min-woo. Tae-moo remarks that Ha-ri and Geum-hui are similar.

At her flat, Young-seo confronts Seong-hoon. She asks, even if they can’t be friends, why they can’t be cordial neighbours. He’s still resistant to speaking with her at all. She later flirts with another neighbour in front of Seong-hoon in order to make him jealous. 

Tae-moo and Seong-hoon later have dinner with Chairman Kang. The chairman complains of being lonely. He asks Seong-hoon to move back in, referring to him as his grandson.

The chairman sneaks a peek at Seong-hoon’s calendar, which shows that Tae-moo’s and Geum-hui’s one-year anniversary is on Saturday. Da-goo insists that Tae-moo cancel everything on his schedule to take her on a date.

Ha-ri and other GO Food employees take a trip to Namhae, where they shoot a commercial for the company. 

The chairman himself stops by their location. Ha-ri does her best to hide her face and sneaks off to the bathroom to accept a call from Tae-moo.

Tae-moo tells her his grandfather found out about their fake anniversary, so he asks her out. He also remarks that her ringback song is popular. (Despite this, he doesn’t seem to have figured out her identity.)

The chairman later approaches the stall Ha-ri is in. When she comes out and sees him, she goes back in and shuts the door. Fed up with her, he tries to force the door open and ends up falling backwards.

Later, Tae-moo views behind-the-scenes footage of the commercial, which shows Ha-ri without her eye-patch on. He decides to use the footage of Ha-ri for the official commercial.

Chairman Kang has no idea of Geum-hui’s real identity, even remarking that Ha-ri is nowhere near as bright a young woman as “our Geum-hui.” Tae-moo defends Ha-ri to him.

That night, Tae-moo shows up in front of Ha-ri’s house. She goes out to see him comically wearing a bear suit and helmet over her head. She almost blows her cover by making a statement about his grandfather’s fall, but saves herself. He shyly gives her an ointment for her eye.

In her room, Ha-ri reflects that Tae-moo has a sweet side to him. Tae-moo is baffled that he wanted to see her just to check on her injury.

On Saturday, he picks her up for their fake anniversary. His grandfather planned the whole date to copy a scene from his favourite TV show, so Tae-moo takes her shopping.

Ha-ri models several outfits in front of him. He ends up buying her an expensive dress she has trouble fitting into. After shopping, Tae-moo and Ha-ri get dinner together at a private place. 

Young-seo meanwhile goes to work out at her flat’s gym, where she runs into both Seong-hoon and her new neighbour. The neighbour helps her work out. Young-seo is frustrated that she’s not interested in him. She instead can’t stop thinking about Seong-hoon, even though he’s been expressing no interest in her. She doesn’t realize that he’s currently watching her with jealousy.

In the gym’s bathroom, Seong-hoon notices that the neighbour can read a clock from the opposite side of the room without his glasses. He’s suddenly extremely suspicious of him.

The neighbour later gives Young-seo one of his designs, a standing lamp. She seems uncomfortable with the gift, but he insists.

At their dinner, Ha-ri’s dress feels uncomfortably tight. When she bends down to pick up her purse, it rips in the back. The chefs come out to congratulate them on their anniversary, so Tae-moo steps behind her, hiding a smile.

When they walk outside, her shoe falls off. He slips it back on, telling her to be careful. Fireworks go off in the sky, over the Han River. Looking at her, Tae-moo remarks the fireworks are “very pretty.”

He brings her home, and she tells him she had fun on their fake anniversary date. He reiterates the sentiment, except with the “fake” descriptor.

On his way home, Tae-moo is smiling about their date. He notices that Ha-ri left her wallet behind in his car. He returns to her place, calling her without an answer. It’s then that Min-woo shows up at the shop.

Tae-moo is confused as Min-woo calls for Ha-ri and she answers. Recognition settles in his eyes as he opens up the wallet to see the ID that “Geum-hui” left behind. It belongs to Ha-ri. The episode ends with him calling Geum-hui on the phone. Ha-ri answers, not realizing that Tae-moo stands just a few metres from her. 

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The Episode Review

Well, Ha-ri and Tae-moo are obviously crushing on each other at this point, but Tae-moo especially has it bad.

I’m enjoying the progression of their romance, but I don’t love how he has to spell out all of his emotions outright. He has a feeling; he speaks it out loud… to himself. Ahn Hyo-seop already does an admirable job portraying all these emotions on his face. We don’t need all the clarifications!

One thing the show is getting better at is its pacing. It still has its unnecessary moments (essentially any scene between Ha-ri and Young-seo is filler). But overall, the story is moving along at a steady and interesting pace.

I love that Tae-moo has figured out Ha-ri’s secret so early in the series. Ha-ri’s desperate attempts to hide have become a little old already, and this should spice up their dynamic.

Do you think Tae-moo will confront Ha-ri about his discovery or keep it to himself? Either course of action should make for an exciting episode 5!