Would You Marry Me- Episodes 1-2
Episode 1 Recap – Would You Marry Me
Episode 1 kicks off with Me-ri, a talented product advertisement designer, pitching her ideas at the 2025 Blue Crab Festival Design contest. Things go south fast when one of the male panelists makes a rude joke, and the others pile on. But Me-ri isn’t having it, she plays dumb at first, asking him to clarify, but when it turns into a full-blown argument, she stands her ground. In the end, she boldly pulls Merry Design Studio out of the competition.
Back at her studio, Me-ri updates her assistant, Song-hee, on what happened. Their company is clearly struggling, rent is looming, but Me-ri reassures Song-hee she’ll figure it out. She then heads to the mall to run wedding errands, picking up rings and finalizing hotel and honeymoon plans. Meanwhile, her fiancée, Woo-ju, is caught in a scandalous moment, making out with another woman, Jenny, while lying to Me-ri about being at work.
Later, while unboxing at their new home and chatting with her mom, Me-ri discovers strands of hair on her pillow. After a quick social media check, she tracks down the other woman and confronts Woo-ju. Predictably, he’s indifferent, brushing Jenny off as a fling, until Jenny texts him in real time, leading to a dramatic public breakup. Me-ri doesn’t hold back, tossing an iced coffee in his face before storming off.
Meanwhile, across the country, Woo-joo, heir to the chaebol bakery Myungsoondang, is flying back from New York. On the flight, he shows unexpected kindness by refusing to give up his seat to a passenger trying to force his elderly mother to sign over land deeds. Woo-joo even politely declines his grandmother’s invitation for home-cooked meals, insisting on a solo month-long vacation first.
Back to Me-ri, her divorce from Woo-ju is finalized one month later, but life doesn’t get easier. She’s called to the police station after discovering that the rental she moved into was a scam. She has just one week to vacate or risk legal trouble. Her ex-fiancée? Blissfully on vacation with Jenny, completely unhelpful. Heartbroken and frustrated, Me-ri heads out for drinks and ends up stumbling through the streets drunk, right into Woo-joo’s car.
The collision sets off a hilarious and awkward chain of events. Mistaking Woo-joo for her ex, she starts hitting him, even confusing a cactus for a stool. Eventually, she ends up at the hospital, where Woo-joo’s friend, Doctor Jin-gyeong, removes the cactus needles. Woo-joo kindly drives Me-ri home, and despite the chaos, he’s quietly looking out for her.
Meanwhile, Me-ri’s luck takes a turn when she wins a grand prize home through a rigged lottery at Beaute Department Store. The catch? Proof of marriage is required, but she hasn’t officially filed her divorce yet. After some scrambling, she submits her certificate and secures the win, but the company tries to block her, adding conditions she can’t meet, like needing her husband to attend the award ceremony.
Just when she thinks she’s out of options, Woo-joo texts to check on her hospital visit, sparking an idea. By the end of the episode, Me-ri meets Woo-joo with a bold request: could he pretend to be her husband?
Episode 2 Recap – Would You Marry Me
Episode 2 opens with Woo-joo haunted by a dream about the car accident that killed his parents. He vaguely remembers someone at the scene, but the face won’t come to him. His thoughts are interrupted when Me-ri calls, and they meet at a coffee shop where she makes a bold request: could he pretend to be her husband? Unsurprisingly, Woo-joo immediately rejects her, calling it a scam and threatening to report her if she tries anything fraudulent.
Meanwhile, family drama unfolds. Woo-joo’s grandmother announces that he’ll take over as head of marketing at the family company, replacing Jang Eung-soo, much to Mi-yeon’s fury. She’s convinced her mother-in-law is biased, but her husband Han-gu tries to calm her down with a simple promise of dinner.
Back in town, Woo-joo runs into a touching moment at the hospital while walking with Doctor Jin-gyeong. A young girl falls and starts crying, and he instinctively comforts her with words from a childhood memory, showing a gentler side amidst all his seriousness.
Life for Me-ri isn’t getting easier. Her apartment renovations begin abruptly when workers show up unannounced, leaving her to wander the park and call her mother, struggling with the truth about her broken engagement.
At work, Woo-joo dives into his new role, meeting the marketing team and quickly facing challenges. Sun-hee presents a marketing plan, but Eung-soo points out a copyright issue, ironically connected to Me-ri’s design company. When Se-jung calls to purchase permanent rights, Me-ri sets a sky-high price, partly curious about the odd instructions from Eung-soo earlier.
Meanwhile, at Beaute department store, tensions rise as Sung-woo tries to manipulate the home giveaway. Me-ri waits anxiously for updates, realizing that to claim the prize, her husband must be present, a problem since Woo-ju is out of the picture. After ruling out Song-hee’s brother, Me-ri even tries appealing to Woo-ju’s family, only to be insulted and dismissed.
When the bakery’s marketing team schedules a negotiation, Me-ri is stunned to find Woo-joo is in charge. He’s hesitant at first, but after weighing his work pressures and a bet with Eung-soo, he reluctantly agrees to help.
By Saturday, the award ceremony at Beaute brings more complications. Woo-joo and Me-ri manage to keep their identities under wraps during the press event, using masks and fake names. Me-ri realizes they can’t sell the house for 90 days, so she plans to live there in the meantime.
The episode closes on a tense note as Woo-joo bumps into his aunt Mi-yeon and Eung-soo while on the phone with Me-ri, cutting the call and sending Me-ri scrambling to find him.
DramaZen's Opinion
Just finished episodes 1 and 2 of Would You Marry Me and wow, I am hooked!
Me-ri is such a badass, she stands up to her cheating fiancé and doesn’t let anyone walk over her. I loved seeing her juggle the chaos of work, love, and a messed-up rental situation all at once.
And then there’s Woo-joo. At first, he’s so serious and unapproachable, but little moments, like how he comforts that crying girl at the hospital, show there’s more to him than meets the eye. Their dynamic is so fun, Me-ri bold and fearless, Woo-joo hesitant but slowly warming up.
The twists with the home giveaway and the corporate drama keep things exciting, and the chemistry between Me-ri and Woo-joo? Definitely giving me all the “will-they-won’t-they” vibes. Can’t wait to see how they navigate pretending to be married while everyone around them is adding pressure.
