When last we left our fated lovers things were going well, except the tragic past lives thing. Moving forward, their sunny college romance continues to be threatened by things way beyond their control.
Past Lives Can Drag Down an Evening
In’s father slaps him, and yells about what people will say. In feels his father should maybe care about him more than other people. His father orders him not to see Korn and slaps him again.
We see In and Korn promise to meet again if they die, in case anyone has forgotten the premise of the show.
Back in the present, everyone is staring at Pharm and Dean with concern. Dean makes an excuse to cover. Things return to normal and Dean gives Pharm a ride home. Pharm talks about day dreaming about a granddaughter, I think my subtitles are wrong and it should be niece. Dean thinks maybe Pharm wants kids. We know it’s In’s niece Pharm’s thinking about.
Dean goes in for a kiss but only kisses Shy Pharm’s forehead. But Shy Pharm comes back for a real kiss, go Pharm!
Once he’s gone, Dean is looking up In’s name, gun, and accident on his phone.
The Past Really Sucked
I enjoy angst, but the easy, happy times with Pharm and Dean make the In and Korn flashbacks that much more painful.
While Dean and Pharm enjoyed the freedom of hanging with a supportive group of friends for dinner, In and Korn have to sneak away to spend time together. They’re talking about their condo and In gives Korn a handsome leather keychain.
Korn and In are obsessed with being together, but it makes sense with everyone trying to drag them apart. They can’t even celebrate In’s birthday without In’s father showing up. Korn gets in the way of In’s father’s abuse, and then they run away together.
Poor In and Korn.
And Poor Pharm
He wakes up in another sweating, crying panic. The closer he and Dean get, the harder the flashbacks hit him.
Thankfully for our hearts, it’s silly college interlude time. Pharm goes to his neighbor’s with some food, where incidentally Dean’s younger brother, Don, is hanging out. No one can resist teasing poor shy Pharm.
Don gets Dean to show up. It turns out Dean’s friend who owns the restaurant is boyfriend’s with Pharm’s neighbor. Still, the invasive sex jokes are icky, no matter how close everyone is.
The Past and the Present Overlap
Dean and Pharm escape the neighbor’s terrible wig and bad sex jokes to Pharm’s place. There they have some sweet moments accompanied by some nicer past life flashbacks. Pharm tells Dean about his nightmare, and they’re both crying.
Pharm wants to know if Dean knows the name Korn. Dean wants to know if Pharm knows the name Intouch (the longer version of In’s name.) They don’t.
Dean gives Pharm his dogtags. In an echo of the painful earlier past life stuff, Pharm easily gives Dean the key to his place.
College BL Tropes Strike Again
I can’t remember where this goes, but right now the creepy guy hitting on Pharm is annoying.
He shows up again as Pharm is sitting with his friends and Team is about ready to physically remove him. Yes please. Win shows up to restrain Team and Dean gets into a staredown with Creeper. Creeper pretends he’s being reasonable when really his behavior means someday he might end up on a true crime show.
Later, Dean’s sister convinces Pharm to come to her place to teach her to make Thai dessert.
We Learn a Little More About Korn and Dean
Korn’s family is really in the violent debt collecting business and Korn doesn’t want to work in that industry. His father is in line with In’s father’s attitude, complete with slapping Korn.
Korn is a quiet, bookish type. In finds him at school and cheers him up by force feeding him. When he learns that Korn has never been to the beach, it’s decided that’s where they’ll go. Poor sad Korn.
In the present, everyone shows up at Dean’s except Win. After doing some cooking and eating, Pharm is sent to wake Dean up. He sees Dean’s family photos hanging in the hallway. One of them is familiar to Pharm, it’s In’s niece all grown up.
Pharm wakes Dean and there are cute couple moments. Dean comes downstairs and is confused about what everyone is doing at his house. There’s a weird silence when he hears Del is learning to cook for their parents.
In the kitchen, away from Dean, the siblings explain a complicated history. Dean’s grandmother didn’t approve of his parents’ marriage and took Dean away. He’s only lived with them since she died, about 2-3 years ago. Dean and his father don’t get along, but his siblings say this is because they are so alike: cold, quiet and moody.
Thank Heavens for Supportive Parents
Pharm goes to give his cold, quiet lover some warm, quiet company. Then his brother calls.
Pharm ends up introducing Dean to his mother. He’s terrified but his mother is super supportive. She’s so supportive that it feels like Pharm fear is unfounded. Or maybe it’s In’s fear worming its way into Pharm’s life again? Which doesn’t mean you can’t have supportive parents and still be afraid to tell them things, but in this case, I suspect it’s a Past Life Thing.
Their friends too, are all super supportive and encouraging.
Again, it’s in stark contrast to In and Korn’s experience with their fathers
Both after and during the call, Dean makes up for being such a cold fish by being sweetly supportive of Pharm. He admits that he was tense too.
The Dessert of the Episode
We kinda get two for one this episode, as Pharm talks about Khanom Tom but they make Kanom Ko, which seem to be similar but different. I will eat either.
Dean wants to be hand fed again and Pharm says he’s used that line already. Pharm, everyone has used that line.
Dean is obsessed with the wedding dessert that got him so aggressive the other day.
But Dessert Can’t Save Them From The Past
We see Korn and In’s day at the beach. Which looks wonderful but is so sad knowing how their story ends. Korn too can’t help but punctuate the happiness with his worries.
Still, he asks In to be his boyfriend. In says yes, of course. There are more desperate, sad and tragic promises to be together. No one should be that afraid of being pulled apart from the person they love.
We get a kiss from our Past Life couple!
And we see Dean talking to Pharm’s neighbor. Dean earlier asked him to find out about In and Korn via his policeman father’s connections. He has info, but will only tell him in person.
On that note of dread we’re out! I love the slow build of this show. So much sweet and cute! But also so much anticipation of what our couple will learn about the past!