Recap Korean Drama "If You Wish Upon Me" Episode 2

Moments before their epic clash, episode 2 of If You Wish Upon Me sees Yeon-joo walking toward the Hospice as she chats up with a patient’s kin. Suddenly Gyeo-re’s car zooms by and Yeon-joo tries to protect the lady beside her. Both women fall into a ditch, ruining Yeon-joo’s scrubs which leaves her furious. 

After Gyeo-re arrives, Yeon-joo runs towards his car and breaks its mirrors off leaving him angry. He yells at her and the two bicker. She walks away, asking Tae-sik to not let Gyeo-re be their driver. However, Tae-sik invites an angry Gyeo-re inside. 

At the Hospice, Tae-sik shows Gyeo-re around when he states that he initially wanted to be their driver but Yeon-joo’s antics have convinced him not to. Tae-sik meets a patient – Pyeon Yong-Ho who is on the last leg of his life. Tae-sik tells the nun that Team Genie will make his wish come true soon. He takes Gyeo-re out on a mission in an old car. 

Gyeo-re makes a fuss about the condition of the car as he seats Sonny in the back seat. In the car, Gyeo-re and Tae-sik bicker as they drive off to Mr. Pyeon’s old house. Tae-sik has a hard time finding the house but Gyeo-re helps locate it from the persimmons tree in the front yard. 

Gyeo-re is angry that the owner spoke badly to Tae-sik so he jumps the fence of the house. He looks at the woman and assumes she is attempting suicide and runs out in fear. He rings the doorbell incessantly to stop her from killing herself. Tae-sik stops him and they wait outside for the rest of the day. 

The new family that lives in the house consists of a mother – Hye-jin, her husband, and her two sons. Tae-sik notices that the family only lives under one roof but does not interact with each other.

At the same time, the men that are looking for Gyeo-re beat up a man in order to find the money Gyeo-re stole. The gang boss threatens to kill Gyeo-re if he does not get the money back. 

The next day, Tae-sik talks to Hye-jin and his wife asking them to let Mr. Pyeon die in the old house as per his wish. The new owners do not think this is a good idea and refuse the offer. They state that the entire neighbourhood is moving due to redevelopment and they still have to pack so they do not wish to be bothered. 

Gyeo-re offers them money but Tae-sik stops him. Tae-sik tells the couple that the Hospice would provide them with alternative accommodation for their help if they consider it. Hye-jin’s husband declines the offer but she asks about Mr. Pyeon. 

As she enters the house, a flashback shows how she had gotten scammed and lost the family’s house. The loss ruined their family and they were forced to move. Now, none of the family members talk to her. 

After their chat with the owners, Tae-sik and Gyeo-re return to the hospice. Tae-sik forces Gyeo-re to join them for dinner. Soon-ja makes bibimbap for dinner but Gyeo-re critiques the meal and refrains from eating. Team Genie force him to eat but he still refuses despite eagerly watching them eat. 

He leaves the lunch room. Meanwhile, a cancer patient Se-hee gets into a fight with the family member of another patient. The latter yells at Se-hee for singing in a shared room but Se-hee argues that the room is shared between patients and not their families. After the fight gets too loud, Gyeo-re intervenes and tries to break them apart. 

Gyeo-re is upset with Se-hee’s temper and he leaves. He finds that the broken mirror from his car is taped together and Team Genie members come to him with some boxed meals that he refuses to take. 

He drives off with Sonny and Team Genie argues about whether or not Gyeo-re is rich. On his drive, Gyeo-re thinks that the friendliness amongst Team Genie members is all an act. He notices that Sonny is crying and hates living in the hotel despite the luxury. The next day, Gyeo-re sells his car back and gets very little money back. 

He calls the dealer out for sending Seok-jun behind him. Later that day, Tae-sik and Gyeo-re try to impress Hye-jin’s husband by cleaning their front porch and his car. They also offer Hye-jin a meal prepared by Soon-ja that she is excited about. 

Yeon-joo notices Gyeo-re clean the ambulance and they two bicker about the broken mirror again. That night, Sonny seems restful at the hospice so Gyeo-re unwillingly decides to stay. Tae-sik shows him a text from Hye-jin agreeing to let Mr. Pyeon stay in their house for a week. 

The next day, Yeon-joo leaves the hospital to fulfil Mr. Pyeon’s last wish. Team Genie sets up his old house for Mr. Pyeon. Yeon-joo is with Mr. Pyeon and Sonny in the back seat of the ambulance while Tae-sik is with Gyeo-re who is driving the vehicle. 

Tae-sik notices that Gyeo-re is being rash with his driving despite being told to drive safely. Gyeo-re states that the patient is about to die anyway. Tae-sik asks him to stop the ambulance and takes him outside to reprimand Gyeo-re. 

Gyeo-re mentions that he was on his way to kill himself when Tae-sik stopped him. He asks why Tae-sik did so and Yeon-joo overhears the conversation. Yeon-joo asks Tae-sik to stop and they continue on their route after a while. 

Team Genie places Mr. Pyeon at the house, and Tae-sik regrets yelling at Gyeo-re. Yeon-joo asks Mr. Pyeon if he requires any pain medicines but he mentions that he was free of pain at his house. Gyeo-re notices how the old man is attached to the persimmons tree. 

At Hye-jin’s new house, she uses the spice mix provided by Team Genie’s Soon-ja and the family is happy with their meal for the first time. When her older son disrespects her again, her husband defends her. The son leaves the house enraged. Seok-soon is still looking for Gyeo-re and he arrives at the police station asking for him. 

At Mr. Pyeon’s house, Gyeo-re sits away as Yeon-joo and Tae-sik eat. Yeon-joo asks him to join them but he refuses. As Tae-suk goes to his room, he apologizes to Gyeo-re for yelling at him. Gyeo-re asks Yeon-joo if Team Genie charges money to grant wishes. She tells him it is volunteer-run and mentions his wealth. 

Gyeo-re clarifies that he is not a rich man but Yeon-joo states that he talks, dresses, and behaves like one. She offers him a sausage to eat before going to her room. In his room, Mr. Pyeon recalls his life in the house with his late wife and his daughter. 

Gyeo-re who is on the night shift, asks Mr. Pyeon if he is scared of dying. Gyeo-re states that he too used to be afraid of death at first but now, life scares him more. Yeon-joo overhears his conversation with the patient. Mr. Pyeon calls him close and grabs his hand, thanking him for his help. Gyeo-re gets emotional and tears up. 

The next morning, Team Genie’s youngest volunteer Seo-jin notices that Sonny is chirpy and happy. She finds fake persimmons below the persimmon tree. When Mr. Pyeon is placed by his bed across the tree, he is ecstatic to see the many persimmons. 

Yeon-joo mentions to Tae-sik that it was Gyeo-re who sat up all night to make it happen. That night, Gyeo-re is sent back to the hospice to collect Mr. Pyeon’s items. On his way out, he spots Sonny near a locked room. He grows curious but Tae-sik suddenly warns him against looking into the door. Gyeo-re states that something is fishy with the room and Tae-sik draws closer to him to tell him something.

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The Episode Review

I am sure when I say “Yoon Gyeo-re best boy”; no one can fight me on it. Gyeo-re clearly has had a troubled life. With no family, no home, and other demons that have haunted him in the past, he is finally trying to overcome them under Tae-sik’s wing. The chaos his misunderstood character brings around Tae-sik and Yeon-joo is fun to watch.

He needs to be reprimanded and Tae-sik is doing a good job at it. I am sure Tae-sik is one of the men working under Gyeo-re’s father. It is evident that his father used to assault him. We also know that his sister tried to kill herself and him which means that he possibly lost his sister and a house if he had one.

I wonder why he asked Yeon-joo about Team Genie granting wishes for the dead. I hope he is not going to attempt suicide again. Gyeo-re is sceptical about accepting the love from Team Genie. He probably worries that once he gets too close, it will only hurt him in the future.

The show is a healing drama but every episode makes you cry as the stories of the patients unfold. I hope we have more funny scenes with Yeon-joo and Gyeo-re. I also really want Sonny to miraculously get better because dog deaths on TV are way sadder than human deaths.