The Aftermath: "Valid Love" Episodes 13 and 14

Once the dust settles, where does that leave us?

Ah, this love’s gotten complicated. Il Ri’s (Lee Si Young) affair with Kim Joon (Lee Soo Hyuk) has unleashed its destruction and no one knows quite which way to go from here.

Episodes 13 and 14 of “Valid Love” were a strange, weird aftermath of a broken marriage, filled with moments so awkward I could feel the secondhand discomfort. It’s a messy path to reconstruction, this one. Let’s see what’s what now that the smoke has cleared, shall we?

1. Hee Tae Decides To Fight For His Marriage.

I didn’t think he’d ever turn, but he did: Hee Tae (Uhm Tae Woong) wants his wife back. All this time his feet had been firmly planted in the future, hell bent on throwing away his past with Il Ri, their marriage, and their entire history. But ah, those memories have a way of creeping back in, forcing Hee Tae to remember the woman he was losing, the girl she once was.

And the piece of news which Hee Tae didn’t know about his own wife? That she didn’t get pregnant all these years because of Hee Soo (Choi Yeo Jin). He realizes how much his wife cared for his bedridden sister, not awash with bitterness and obligation, but out of genuine love and concern. Hee Tae discovers a video on Il Ri’s phone, one revealing an intimate conversation between the two sisters-in-law – and the fact that Il Ri still loves him.

2. Kim Joon Mans Up.

Our cool and collected carpenter realizes that there’s more to being the man in Il Ri’s life than being some handsome boytoy.  He reads the couple’s torn divorce papers, learns about the hefty son-in-law shoes that Hee Tae’s left to fill, and this is where it gets a little interesting. Instead of moving on, he decides to step it up and take responsibility for Il Ri. He even gets the three of them together – why? He wants closure – for them to put an end to their feelings – so he can start dating Il Ri properly.

It’s Kim Joon who takes Il Ri to the hospital when she keels over from malnutrition. And it’s Kim Joon who saves her when she accidentally gets locked in at a work site.

3. Awkward Moments Galore.

You try introducing the man with whom your wife is having an affair to your mother-in-law’s coworker .

Kim Joon and Hee Tae both get their cars towed; Hee Tae gets a ride home from Kim Joon.

A meal with husband, wife, and wife’s boyfriend.

Kim Joon gives Il Ri a ride home and they find Hee Tae standing outside, waiting for her.

4. Will The Real Criminal Please Stand Up?

Min Ki was the kid guilty of taking the incriminating photos of the affair, last we checked – but it’s his father who was the real culprit. He got them from Min Ki and sent them to Hee Tae, threatening him. Why? Because he envied the couple. Later, Min Ki begs for Hee Tae’s forgiveness for his father.

5. Hee Tae rejects Sun Joo.

At Sun Joo’s (Han Soo Yeon) housewarming party, Hee Tae tells her to forget about him, and not to accept him if he approaches her again; Sun Joo’s crushed.

6. Hee Tae Goes Creeper.

Hee Tae channels a bit of his stalker side (again) and takes a glimpse into his wife’s moments without him – and it’s as if he doesn’t know her at all, this woman he lived with for seven years.

7. Ki Tae Tries To DTR.

Ki Tae (Park Jung Min) works very hard to get Yi Ri to acknowledge whatever it is that’s between them. Or, at the very least, get her to admit to their drunken kiss.

8. In Other News: Wherein We Fantasize About Lee Soo Hyuk – I Mean Kim Joon.

Kim Joon waits in his car for us – I mean Il Ri. Hey, when a man waits on a woman like that…

Grocery shopping with Kim Joon.

Cooking with Kim Joon. Because we simply don’t have enough things to fantasize about.

9. Il Ri Rejects Hee Tae.

Il Ri’s the conundrum now. When Hee Tae asks her to come home, she rejects him. He says he’ll forgive her, but she doesn’t budge. What does she want? Does she not believe him? Does she really think he doesn’t understand her? She spent most of these episodes dragging her feet, wallowing in pity. Il Ri went from desperate to get Hee Tae back to definitively walking away from him.

10. Hee Soo’s Not The Only One Who’s Sick.

Oh, this was a heartbreaking one. Hee Tae’s mother shows signs of dementia, to the devastation of all the men in the Jang family (and Hee Soo).

I must admit I’m beginning to feel emotionally exhausted from all the drama, how about you?

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