Recap Korean Drama "Yumi’s Cells season 1" Episode 9

Jun 18, 2022

In episode 9, emotions run hot (and cold) as Yumi confronts Woong about Sae-yi, and their relationship hangs in the balance. This drama’s not a thriller, but I caught myself holding my breath many times throughout the episode and I couldn’t relax until near the end.

There were also a few triumphs that I’ll get into in my Yeses and Noes.

Yes to Yumi stating the facts

She tends to hod things in, so when she finds the courage to express herself, I’m always proud. Her argument with Woong after Sae-yi’s departure broke my heart, but I understand why she’s upset. I can see where Woong’s coming from too, because he does constantly rebuff Sae-yi’s advances, but at the end of the day he doesn’t make his rejection clear and he doesn’t set any boundaries. Simply put, she acts the way she does because she knows she can get away with it. In fact, she’s been getting away with it for decades. And this isn’t me putting all the blame on Woong. He clearly looks uncomfortable when she comes on to him, so she should respect that and stop. But it’s not like she’s a stranger. She’s a friend, so he does allows her to be close. He just needs to clearly state some boundaries, and let her know how close they can be. Especially since he has a girlfriend. Because Woong doesn’t do this, it allows Sae-yi to pretend that how she’s behaving is fine. It allows her to keep holding up that shield of ignorance.

As heart-breaking as this scene was, it’s interesting to see how Yumi and Woong react when they’re mad. Yumi burn up and Woong freezes over. It was cool seeing the visual representation, and how their cells interpreted things.

Yes to Yumi putting herself first

It was so satisfying to see her call Sae-yi out on her shady behavior, but beyond that it was nice to see Yumi put herself first. Relationships are important, but like the drama points out, there’s only so much you can control. The only person you can control is yourself, so there are times it’s best to remove yourself from a situation for your own mental and emotional health.

But I’m still glad Woong went after her this time, and that it eventually leads to him having an honest conversation with Sae-yi. One that’s long overdue. Sae-yi ends up quitting his company, but that just shows her maturity level, and how much she really values her relationship with Woong. If she can’t keep him on the back burner or manipulate him, I guess she doesn’t want to be friends at all.

Yes to Writer Cell’s resurrection

I’m so glad Yumi’s writing again. I love a good romance, but it’s nice when the heroine has passions and goals outside of that. It makes her feel like a real person that’s living a real life.

Review: Yumi’s Cells Episode 9

No to Sae-yi denying everything

She doesn’t own up to her feelings or bad behavior at any point in the episode, and that’s just sad. I’m glad she quit Woong’s company. An enemy is better than a friend like her who is ready to wreck your happiness just so she can “settle” for you if she changes her mind.