Cinderella at 2AM: Episodes 3-4
by DaebakGrits
Now that our chaebol prince and his pragmatic Cinderella have ended their relationship, they have to navigate the awkwardness of working with their ex. Seems hiding an workplace romance is tough — whether or not you’re nonetheless collectively or navigating the complexities of a breakup.
EPISODES 3-4
We start this week’s episodes with a flashback to when Joo-won first returned from abroad and infiltrated his household’s firm as an undercover chaebol. After being picked up on the airport by his brother, we’re handled to some playful, good natured banter between the 2 heirs. Ahhh… it’s so good to see a drama depicting wholesome sibling relationships, particularly between two chaebols who’re stereotypically opponents for both their dad and mom’ consideration or the CEO place of their household’s firm — or each. On this case, although, there’s an apparent affection between Joo-won and Shi-won, who’re fairly amusing collectively as they focus on the likelihood of Joo-won passing for a commoner.
Lower to: Joo-won’s confidence being ripped to shreds by his supervisor, Yoon-seo, as she corrects all his errors in his newest project. Seems, this couple had a little bit of a one-sided enemies to lovers relationship as a result of Joo-won admits he was not initially a fan of his strict perfectionist of a boss. As he commiserates with Jang-hee and Ye-young, he learns that Yoon-seo was a legendary beginner who speedily climbed by means of the ranks due to her exhausting overachieving work ethic. As compared, Joo-won, who can’t even work a copier, is humbled by his personal inadequacies, and Shi-won is delighted — in a completely smug, massive brother sort of method — to see Joo-won’s spirit crushed by the tough realities of the widespread workplace employee’s life-style.
Joo-won, nonetheless, comes round to liking his job and Yoon-seo after an organization dinner. It begins with Yoon-seo overhearing his telephone dialog with Shi-won, who requested him to play a spherical of tennis over the weekend. When Joo-won tells his brother that he desires to give up the game, Yoon-seo misunderstands and assumes Joo-won plans on handing in his resignation. She encourages him to remain, and although Joo-won had no intention of leaving, her pep discuss he’s nonetheless moved by her phrases. Then, once they rejoin everybody on the desk, Yoon-seo steps in as Joo-won’s white knight, and deftly intercepts to obtain their boss’s beneficiant soju pours. It was on this second that Joo-won felt his emotions for Yoon-seo shift and set him on the trail to loving her.
Within the current, we return to the second {that a} drunk Joo-won leans in to kiss Yoon-seo, emboldened by her confession that she nonetheless likes him. On the final minute, she blocks his lips and pushes him away, reaffirming that they’ve damaged up. Joo-won reacts poorly to the rejection — in a publicly embarrassing, additional cringy yup-he’s-definitely-going-to-have-one-sided-conversations-with-himself-in-the-shower-later-when-he-mentally-repeats-every-humiliating-second-in-his-head sort of method. (Spoiler: He does, and I’ve by no means associated to a Okay-drama bathe scene extra in my life.)
Yoon-seo is equally appalled by her confession and the close to kiss, though I’d argue she has far fewer causes to really feel humiliated. In spite of everything, having a second of weak spot and admitting one’s emotions is nothing in comparison with Joo-won’s public intoxication that drew the eye of passersby. Regardless, each she and Joo-woon spend the next work day awkwardly dodging one another and avoiding eye contact. (This proper right here, people, is why workplace romances are higher left to the fictional characters.)
Clearly, Yoon-seo doesn’t want one other complication in her life, however the universe decides to ship her a little bit of a actuality examine by the use of her youthful brother, HA JI-SEOK (Kim Tae-jung), who will get into hassle at college. Though Ji-seok didn’t actively have interaction at school bullying, he turned a blind eye when his pals beat his classmate and took his cash. Yoon-seo, nonetheless, doesn’t see his passiveness as an absence of culpability, so whereas the moms of the opposite bullies attempt to persuade the sufferer’s mom to drop her criticism with the varsity, Yoon-seo bows, apologizes, and insists that the varsity proceed with a disciplinary listening to.
Yoon-seo isn’t mad; she’s disillusioned, which Ji-seok — and anybody who’s been in his sneakers — is aware of is worse. Yoon-seo explains that his inaction reminds her of the bystanders who didn’t intervene after witnessing her being abused by their father. If Ji-seok had been scared or too weak to beat the bullies, she may have understood his passiveness, however he’s massive, robust, and totally able to interceding.
Ji-seok is appropriately ashamed of his conduct, particularly after being confronted by the total pressure of his sister’s disappointment. In spite of everything, Yoon-seo was the one who shielded him from their father’s beatings after which took him together with her when she was accepted right into a college and will reside independently from their father. Given their childhood, he is aware of he ought to have had extra sympathy for the sufferer and defended him.
In the meantime, Joo-won has a dialog with Shi-won that helps him notice that his post-breakup pursuit of Yoon-seo selfishly ignores her causes for ending their relationship. Sure, she nonetheless loves him, and whereas having affirmation of her emotions could appear purpose sufficient to maintain wooing her in hopes she’ll finally agree that love conquers all, it additionally doesn’t take into accounts her different emotions. Like, unbeknownst to him, her want to construct a contented, loving household to make up for the one she didn’t have whereas rising up. You already know, one thing she will be able to’t receive when her potential mother-in-law disapproves of her. Greatest case state of affairs, Joo-won choses her at the price of his relationship along with his mom, and Yoon-seo doesn’t need to put him in that place.
And so, impartial of each other, Joo-won and Yoon-seo come to the conclusion that their 27 dinners concept was — to place it frankly — dumb. They meet up, and Yoon-seo apologizes for sending him blended indicators and tells him that they need to cease dragging out the breakup. Joo-won agrees that they need to discontinue their meal meetups, however he asks that they meet one final time to correctly finish their relationship on a much less unhappy notice — which is why he asks her to fulfill him at a theme park.
Their final date — for an absence of a greater phrase — goes by means of the identical motions of a classically romantic Okay-drama theme park date, however there’s no disguising the very fact there’s an absence of permanence to their actions. They trip the merry-go-round, however take no selfies. They struggle on headbands, however they don’t purchase them. This outing will not be about making recollections; it’s about saying goodbye to them. And as fireworks shoot up into the sky on the finish of the evening, Yoon-seo and Joo-won announce the top of their relationship and half methods… till they see one another at work, that’s.
Yoon-seo and Joo-won do their greatest to navigate their post-breakup existence whereas nonetheless orbiting each other within the office, however — shocker — it doesn’t go nicely. For starters, it’s almost not possible for them to keep away from each other whereas working collectively on such a small workforce, making workforce lunches and carpooling for his or her in a single day work journey awkward for each of them. And when they’re backed into conditions the place they can not keep away from each other, echoes of their earlier relationship (just like the causal dropping of a nickname and the very fact Yoon-seo’s telephone syncs with Joo-won’s automobile) crop up and arouse the suspicions of their coworkers. That’s proper, even clueless Jang-hee and Ye-young are SLOWLY choosing up on the very fact there’s extra to Yoon-seo and Joo-won’s relationship.
If that isn’t unhealthy sufficient, Yoon-seo retains receiving texts from a improper quantity. As a result of the mysterious painter (performed by Lee Hyun-woo) on the opposite finish of the road goes by means of his heartbreak, his lamentations are one other unwelcome reminder of Yoon-seo’s personal breakup — and disappointment that the texts weren’t really from Joo-won. Given how tough it’s for her to recover from their relationship whereas having to see Joo-won each day, Yoon-seo decides it’s greatest for each her and Joo-won if she quits her job.
After wrapping up an enormous undertaking, she informally tells Joo-won that she plans on handing in her resignation, and instantly his face falls. Clearly, the a part of him that’s nonetheless in love together with her most likely clings to a masochistic want to maintain her close to, however he can also’t let her give up a place she’s climbed and clawed her method to get. It could even be an amazing loss for him and his household’s firm to lose her as a colleague. On the identical time, although, he can’t deny that their private historical past will not be helpful for his or her work setting.
He seemingly accepts the logic of her argument, however after some thought he drives to his mom’s home the place he asks that she ship him overseas as she’d initially meant. Nevertheless, Chairman Kim says it’s too late for that. Shi-won’s spouse LEE MI-JIN (Sojin) has returned, and he or she not solely stripped Shi-won of his favourite home equipment and freedom to comfortably stroll round in his boxer shorts. Mi-jin’s presence additionally expedites Chairman Kim’s long-term plans for the corporate and her sons, and he or she tells Joo-won it’s time for him to take over Shi-won’s place. He pleads together with her, begging her to be his mom as an alternative of the chairwoman for as soon as, however she stays silent although she seems affected by her son’s tearful eyes.
Joo-won storms out, and, unsurprisingly, once we subsequent see him, he’s ringing Yoon-seo’s doorbell. With a decided expression on his face, he tells her that he left his household behind, and he or she’s the one one he has now. He envelopes her in a hug, and the OST swells as he stoops to bury his head in her shoulder, clearly overcome by his should be together with her once more.
Briefly, a really passionate and pivotal second for our character — or it could have been had Ji-seok not rounded the nook and caught his sister hugging her “weakling” boyfriend. Proper behind him are Jang-hee and Ye-young, however simply to guarantee that they — of their perpetual state of obliviousness — determine it out, the universe sends in Yoon-seo’s greatest good friend, KIM YI-RAE (Hong Bi-ra), who rounds the nook and excitedly asks, “Are you two again collectively?” So, yeah, within the span of 5 seconds, Ji-seok learns Joo-won is a 3rd technology chaebol, and Jang-hee and Ye-young notice that Yoon-seo and Joo-won had been as soon as a pair.
Discuss a temper killer, however I, for one, welcome the chaos — if solely so the story can put to mattress the operating gag that Jang-hee and Ye-young are too silly to determine that Yoon-seo and Joo-won are an merchandise. Apart from the workplace secondary characters’ cluelessness, although, the comedy of Cinderella at 2AM has tickled my humorous bone, particularly any scene involving Shi-won. Admittedly, I used to be anticipating a bit of extra spunk out of his character when his spouse confirmed up. I hoped for some verbal sparring just like what he dishes out whereas round Joo-won, however as an alternative I simply felt unhealthy for him — what with him having to placed on pants and say goodbye to his beloved Sebastian and Alberto. Right here’s hoping the sparks between them are a bit of extra feisty subsequent week.
And talking of recent characters that had been launched this week: we now have Lee Hyun-woo’s mysterious heartbroken painter. I don’t know what to make of him but, particularly since this character is giving off the identical sus vibes as his earlier function in A Good Day to Be a Canine. Given how heavy the story has gone with the breakup plotline in these final two episodes, part of me virtually wonders if our story may pull the rug out from beneath us and have Hyun-woo’s character be the shock endgame for Yoon-seo. However yeah, all indicators (and promotional content material for this drama) level to Joo-won and Yoon-seo finally discovering a method to make their relationship work.
Nevertheless, one of many issues I take pleasure in most about this trope-filled rom-com is the truth that it hasn’t totally overlooked realism. Yoon-seo, for instance, is a well-rounded character whose thought processes and actions comply with a logical development given her historical past as a sufferer of home violence and because the major caretaker of her youthful brother. It is sensible that she would keep away from a relationship with assured obstacles, and make choices primarily based on an intuition to guard herself and her brother. So what if this story actually is about Cinderella saying no to the prince and discovering happiness with a person rather less fantastical and extra suitable? (I imply, it most likely gained’t occur, however nonetheless… that may be one helluva a twist.)
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