Episode 8 of Business Proposal begins with a kiss between Ha-ri and Tae-moo. Ha-ri breaks away and asks that they pretend it never happened.
After work, Ha-ri and Tae-moo talk in his car. She continues to insist the kiss was a mistake, and Tae-moo says it wasn’t fair for her to kiss him; now she owes him. They agree that she will buy him dinner.
Their dinner comes out in courses, and Ha-ri worries about not being able to pay for all of it. At the end of the meal, he ends up paying. He says what he wants from her is even bigger.
Young-seo surprises Seong-hoon with a homemade dinner. She asks for honest feedback, so he gives it, even though it means insulting her cooking.
Later, Seong-hoon surprises Young-seo by taking her hiking, which she’s not so enthusiastic about–and she’s already angry about the dinner.
Young-seo complains about Tae-moo on their hike, but Seong-hoon defends him. They get into a fight, and she walks back to the car.
She causes both of them to get lost and even trips, spraining her ankle. When Seong-hoon carries her back to the car without complaint, she forgives him, and they reconcile.
Tae-moo calls Ha-ri, asking that she spend the day with him at the fair as repayment. They have a fun-filled day in bumper cars, on a carousel, and at gift shops.
When they get corn dogs, Tae-moo reminisces about his parents. He thanks Ha-ri for letting him talk about them so freely.
Ha-ri’s parents then call her to the hospital. Her dad has appendicitis, and there is no private room for him. So, Tae-moo has him moved to a VIP room.
Ha-ri lies and says Tae-moo is a supervisor on her development team. When her mother mentions how Ha-ri has been complaining about the president of the company, Tae-moo becomes indignant.
Min-woo, meanwhile, is at Ha-ri’s house with her brother Ha-min. Min-woo cuts himself when dropping a glass, so Ha-min directs him to bandages in Ha-ri’s room. There, he finds the fake-dating contract.
That night, he overhears Tae-moo tell Ha-ri that he’s changed his mind. Now that he knows she bad-mouthed him, he wants her to pay him back with a kiss.
Min-woo then rushes forward and punches him in the face. Ha-ri steps between them. When she sees the police nearby, she tells Tae-moo to go home and goes with Min-woo.
Min-woo shows her the contract he found. He’s upset Ha-ri didn’t tell him about it. Ha-ri says it wasn’t anyone’s business and that he needs to give Tae-moo a formal apology.
He asks if she actually likes him, maintaining that it won’t work out between the two of them. She leaves, angry.
Ha-ri texts Tae-moo, thanking him for the day they spent together. She promises to pay him back for the hospital bill when she has the money. When he doesn’t respond, she becomes anxious.
At the office, Tae-moo catches Seong-hoon kissing Young-seo. He’s upset Seong-hoon didn’t tell him about their relationship, but he leaves it at that.
Chairman Kang is waiting for Tae-moo in his office. He tells him he has scheduled for him a date with Jo Yu-jeong, Young-seo’s cousin. She is also the daughter of the powerful Director Jin Chae-rim from the Marine Art Museum
Ha-ri sprains her wrist when playing dodgeball during a sports competition between the Food Development Teams. A one-on-one dinner with the president is announced as the prize for the MVP of the competition.
Despite her injury, Ha-ri insists she is fine to keep playing. She wins for her team and wins the dinner with Tae-moo. At dinner with her team, she learns that Tae-moo can’t make it because of a blind date.
She regrets pushing Tae-moo away, so she calls him to tell him to stop his blind date. She says she wants to stop thinking about other people and just think about the two of them.
He says he never thought about going on that date. As they drive to meet each other, both get stuck in traffic. They get out of their cars and meet on a bridge, where they kiss.
The will-they/won’t-they atmosphere surrounding Ha-ri and Tae-moo buoys this episode with considerable amounts of romantic tension. The two have real moments of connection, making Ha-ri’s inner conflict about their situation all the more believable.
This episode doesn’t forgive Tae-moo’s petty nature; it actually highlights other aspects of it. But with Ha-ri committed to ignoring the opinions of others, it looks like she and Tae-moo may finally get to start building a genuine relationship.
Of course, the happy couple still has to worry about everyone they’ve lied to–and about what Yu-jeong will do because Tae-moo stood her up.