3 Times Emotions Ran High In Episodes 7-8 Of "Pump Up The Healthy Love"

Emotions are running high in “Pump Up the Healthy Love.” Mi Ran (Jeong Eun Ji) has been an emotional wreck and is struggling to let go of her feelings for her ex-boyfriend. This leaves her feeling helpless and out of sorts. Her only solution seems to be quitting working out. Hyeon Joong (Lee Jun Young) tries to encourage Mi Ran, reminding her of how far she has come. A recurring theme in the latest episodes is the importance of perseverance—you don’t always know what you are capable of until you push through. As Hyeon Joong zealously tries to motivate Mi Ran, it seems he needs to put into practice what he is preaching to her first. Here are three times when the emotions ran high in last week’s episodes!

Warning: spoilers from episode 7 and 8 ahead.

Mi Ran’s emotional slump

Mi Ran has been experiencing elevated levels of oxytocin lately. She has succeeded in hosting a live trading TV spot for her company. She has gained strength, her fitness levels have improved, and the calluses on her palms are the ultimate badge of honor. However, she has been unable to find a resolution to one of her biggest issues: overcoming heartbreak. The sight of her ex-boyfriend has led her into a downward spiral. She tells Hyeon Joong that even though her body has changed, her mind never did. And the only solution to the malady is to quit exercising. Eating her emotions is her way of not dealing with the unhealed parts of her.

Hyeon Joong tells her it is nothing but a fitness rut, and he will not allow her to give up on herself. To motivate her, he takes her to a shooting range and is surprised and impressed to see that she is an ace shooter. The second activity he plans for her is basketball. Mi Ran leaves him stumped as she shoots hoops with the finesse of a pro. She tells Hyeon Joong she had pursued these activities to impress potential love interests. She had applied the same logic when she began working out, hoping to get her ex-boyfriend to notice her. Even though she had succeeded in each of her endeavors, she always failed when it came to winning the affections of the men she liked.

Hyeon Joong asks her: when was the last time she had done something for herself and for her happiness? He says to Mi Ran that she has a very misjudged sense of belongingness. She credits her confidence and victories to her failed love interests instead of celebrating her own abilities and strengths. What if the problem lay with the men and not her as she was made to believe? She has given away her power due to her emotional dependency on others.

Mi Ran has always downplayed herself. She seeks validation from her environment. If she is not laughing along at her boss’s lame jokes, she is ready to play small in front her colleagues, and in relationships, she thinks it is okay to let the men walk all over her. Is she ready to seize the moment and stop people from walking all over her? Is Mi Ran ready to take bold decisions for herself? For that, she needs to step out of the inertia that has been enveloping her.

Hyeon Joong’s abandonment issues

Hyeon Joong is the type of person who does not give up on people. He is committed to getting Mi Ran back to the gym. If he is not messaging her nonstop, he turns up at her office to cajole her into returning to the gym. He tells Mi Ran to never give up on herself or the people who believe in her and to endure whatever comes in between. She asks him if he has actually managed to tie up all the loose ends of his past, or is he just making tall claims? Hyeon Joong, being the upright person that he is, is compelled to face his past deep-seated issues.

Hyeon Joong has had a falling out with his mentor as well as the owner of the 24-hour gym, Director Dong Han Chul (Choi Moo Sung). Han Chul had trained Hyeon Joong and helped him transform not only his body but his mindset as well. The two had a misunderstanding when Han Chul dismissed Hyeon Joong as a weakling who had compromised in a competition after experiencing heartbreak. The two have not spoken to each other since. Han Chul’s heart attack and subsequent coma has made Hyeon Joong think it is Han Chul’s way of abandoning him. Though he has been taking care of the gym, he is unable to muster the courage to face his mentor, who has now woken up. Taking up Mi Ran’s challenge, he faces Han Chul. Though overcome with emotion, he gruffly shows him his trophy from the bodybuilding competition and tells him he is neither giving up on Han Chul nor the gym. One wonders what the history is between these two very similar men.

Though he has managed to cross this one hurdle, he faces another confrontation with the arrival of his ex-girlfriend, Kang Sol (Park Hae In), at the gym. Hyeon Joong is not pleased. He has never forgiven Kang Sol for breaking his heart and abandoning him when he thought he had his life together. He blames her for making him miss the first spot in the competition, which was also the cause of his mentor forsaking him. There seems to be a crux in the tale: could Hyeon Joong’s abandonment issues stem from his own fears of not being good enough? In spite of his strength and physical fitness, the scrawny little boy within him constantly feels invisible and excluded. It seems Hyeon Joong tries to compensate the unhealed parts of himself by working out and striving to excel in fitness.

The beginning of a love triangle

Things are getting intense at the 24-hour gym. Kang Sol is a bestselling author and influencer with a tremendous fan following. Her entrance brings excitement to the gym. Why has she returned to the basement gym over the swankier options available to her? Hyeon Joong is hostile toward her but is unable to take his eyes off her, and it seems like there are some unresolved feelings there.

Meanwhile, Mi Ran is flustered by her feelings towards the unassuming Hyeon Joong. He takes her for a hiking trip to help her rejuvenate and even prepares a lunchbox for her, sweetly confessing that after meeting her he enjoys food more. The two have developed an easygoing friendship, but it’s Mi Ran who has started feeling a lot more. She returns to the gym soon after and can’t help but feel attracted towards Hyeon Joong. Constantly reminiscing about his efforts to win her over and how he helped her get back to fitness, she is smitten. It is adorable how Mi Ran’s face turns crimson and her heart rate shoots up every time she sees Hyeon Joong.

Mi Ran is unaware of Kang Sol’s plans and her relationship with Hyeon Joong but gets flustered seeing them together. Kang Sol had previously confessed to Mi Ran that her ex-boyfriend was a fitness-obsessed individual. It is just a matter of time until Mi Ran figures out the ongoing dynamics between the two.

Plus, Kang Sol has set Mi Ran up on a blind date. Could this be her plan to get Mi Ran off her back? There’s also Mi Ran’s ex-boyfriend, who witnesses the exchange between her and Hyeon Joong outside their office and experiences pangs of jealousy. He ends up confessing that he wants to get back together. Now Mi Ran finds herself the object of affection for not one but two men. And while this is just the scenario she had always wanted, now it doesn’t matter. Mi Ran rejects her ex-boyfriend’s confession and tells her blind date she is not interested.

However, when she sees Kang Sol and Hyeon Joong close, Mi Ran is stunned and hurt. As she quietly turns her back and walks away, her pain is obvious. She feels as though history is repeating itself once again. Had she misinterpreted Hyeon Joong’s attention toward her as something more? On the other hand, will Hyeon Joong realize that his concern for Mi Ran could be something deeper, and can he muster the courage to confess his true feelings this time? And what is the purpose of Kang Sol’s return? We can’t wait for the next episodes to answer these questions.

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Hey Soompiers, have you watched “Pump Up the Healthy Love”? What do you think of the latest episodes? Let us know in the comments below!

Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.