This is the review + recap page for episode 9 & 10 of the 2024 kdrama Wedding Impossible.
Air Dates: Feb 26 - Apr 2 2024 - [Mon/Tues]
Genres: Romance, Comedy
Main Tropes: Best friend's brother, Fake relationship, He falls first
Synopsis: Na Ah Jung (played by Jeon Jong Seo) is a struggling actress with a heart of gold and a strong sense of justice. When her best friend from high school, Lee Do Han (played by Kim Do Wan) is called back to Korea by his family, she meets up with him again but hides the fact that she still hasn't made it big. It turns out that he's got secrets of his own, though; secrets that he thinks could jeopardize the relationship he has with his family. Together they decide to fake a marriage to help each other out, but not everyone is happy about this! Lee Do Han's brother, Lee Ji Han (played by Moon Sang Min) does everything to stop the wedding, but this has some unintended consequences.
Quick review: After Marry My Husband ended, I needed something else that was just as good. Searching around to see what else had the Monday/Tuesday timeslot, I came across this drama and started watching. And got hooked. The meet cute felt like it happened so fast. And then the pressure just kept adding and adding - it was intense in all the right ways. So if you're looking for something exceptionally cute, with great acting and a swoon-worthy male lead (plus some exploration of serious topics in a less serious way), this is a great drama to choose!
Episode Recap
01 & 02 (coming soon) - 03 & 04 (coming soon) - 05 & 06 (coming soon) - 07 & 08 - 09 & 10 (you are here) - 11& 12
SPOILERS BELOW
Episode 09 Recap
Now that Ah Jung and Ji Han have decided they definitely like each other, they're feeling a little selfish. They want to spend time together and not think about anyone or anything else. So that's exactly what they do. They catch a bus to somewhere far away and spend 24 hours completely together.
When they get there, they cutely decide to pretend they're strangers who just met. They even change their names (slightly), and get new clothes. Then, near the end of their day, they happen across a struggling elderly woman, and decide to help her out with her field. Ji Han doesn't know what he's doing and gets a small cut, which activates his pouty-whiney side. Ah Jung indulges him and blows on his finger so that he will feel better.
The elderly woman invites them back for dinner, and then offers them a place to stay for the night. Enter the "one bed" trope, except it's one room. Ji Han seems a bit shocked at the turn of events, and Ah Jung calls him out on it. They had shared a hotel room previously, so he shouldn't be shocked by this. He plays it off and tries to go to sleep, but can't.
He goes outside to think, and Ah Jung follows after she wakes up. They decide that they want to stay together, and that it's going to be painful...but they have to tell Ji Han's brother and sort it all out. When they arrive back, they plan to do this.
Meanwhile, things haven't been going great for Do Han. He's worried about his ex, who was contacted by a reporter. He faces the ex, but the ex is acting cryptic about what he wants and why he's doing bad things to Do Han. Do Han goes to sleep at his studio for a while to sort out his thoughts.
Ji Han calls him once he gets back from his day trip, but Do Han says he needs some time to think before they talk. Ji Han says okay, and relays that he has something very important to tell him.
Then we see that the reporter has captured evidence of Ji Han and Ah Jung kissing, and submitted it to Do Han's sister. She's extremely happy to see the evidence, and is planning to use it against them. She takes it to Do Han before he has a chance to talk to Ji Han. Do Han calls Ah Jung right away and wants to talk about it.
Yoon Chae Won finds out that the sister is planning to expose them, and hurt Ji Han's reputation, so she finds the sister to give her a warning that it won't go well for her. She threatens to use the company reputation to spin the news in a different way. The sister says nothing, but smirks as if she has some secret hand to play anyways.
Do Han and Ji Han are both promoted at work, too. Their grandfather started his move to help them take over the company. Ji Han feels conflicted about it, but he's also willing to give all of it up for Ah Jung if things go bad. She's okay with that as long as he is.
When Ah Jung goes to meet Do Han to talk, though, Ji Han walks in on them at the worst timing. He finds out they've been faking their marriage the whole time, and he doesn't look happy about that revelation!
Episode 10 Recap
Do Han has a flashback to when he and Ah Jung were in high school. They pretended to be a couple for two years, and then drank together as their fake breakup. Throughout the episode, Do Han reflects back to what they talked about that day. Because of it, he realises some things about friendship and love.
Ji Han is upset. He storms off after he learns that Ah Jung and Do Han had a fake relationship. He won't listen to any of their attempted explanations. The two of them had promised not to keep things from each other. So he sees this as a betrayal of that trust.
Do Han continues on as if nothing happened. He even suggests that maybe they should elope and go to New York instead of waiting for a proper wedding. Ah Jung asks to be let out of the agreement. She wants to be with Ji Han. She keeps trying to talk with Ji Han, but he's not ready to talk yet.
Our cute side character love has blossomed, meanwhile. Ji Han's boss, and Ah Jung's friend, are getting cozy and cute. Ah Jung asks if her single friend wants to drink, and she says no. But at the same moment, Yoon Chae Won calls and asks to meet. They meet up. Yoon Chae Won finds out that Ah Jung does like Ji Han back (aka, it's not one sided).
Ah Jung calls Ji Han one more time and this time he picks up. She says she's wasted. He comes running to help her. While waiting, she had tried making a paper crane and complained that she wouldn't be able to do 1000 of them. Ji Han asks what her wish would be. She finally gets to explain why she didn't tell him...and that she wants him to feel better.
He forgives her, and they talk. They decide to try to be together for real, and he promises that he won't let go of her first in the future. Ji Han begs his sister not to reveal the scandal. In exchange, he promises that him and Do Han will leave and let her take over the company peacefully.
Meanwhile, Do Han's grandfather finds out that his granddaughter is looking into her mother's death. She hears him talking about it, and bursts in. They fight, and he promises that she will never get the company. She decides to leak the photos anyways because of this!
The media blame Ah Jung and call her a siren that seduced two brothers. Do Han decides to be brave, and calls a press conference to reveal his secret. But so does Ji Han. Do Han shows up to a room with only one person: his grandfather, who already seems to know the secret.
Ji Han's press conference is full, though, and he breaks his promise to Ah Jung. He walks away first by telling the press that the scandal is fake, and Ah Jung never loved him back.
My TMI for this recap:
Oof. The preview for 10 - I think it's going to be an episode full of heartbreak. And I know it's the right timing (I think this is the "bad guys close in" part of the 2nd act, where things get bad). But I always struggle with this part in books. I think I just like to see everyone happy and getting what they want. In reality, everyone wants different things. So I guess it makes sense that some people *are* getting what they want (the bad guys). Sigh.
It's going to be painful according to the preview but...eagerly awaiting episode 10 tomorrow!
03/26/24 - Now that 10 is released.... It definitely was painful, but I think the preview for 11 is even more sad. This is what you call the "all hope is lost" story beat, I think. It's basically a really low point where it looks like the bad guys are going to get everything they wanted.
My suspicion, though, is that the grandfather is hiding a REALLY big secret. AND his granddaughter is about to get a shock from figuring it out. It seems to relate back to her dad because he seemed freaked out that she was looking into it. Maybe he's the one who had something to do with his ex-wife's death? I guess we'll find out soon! It's sad that next week is already the end of our time with these characters. But it's been a cute story so far.
If you're also watching this drama, let me know what you think over on X (Twitter)!