Crushology 101- Episodes 9-10
Love, Lies & Late-Night Jealousy 🌙
Crushologists, we’ve made it to Episode 9, and guess what? We’re not okay. This episode served sweetness, stress, and so much secondhand jealousy, we need an herbal tea and maybe a support group. Let’s break it all down:
We kick things off right where Episode 8 left us — Bunny and Jae-yeol are officially a couple! He walks her home, she blushes, he picks her up the next morning — textbook romance vibes. Their friends are SHOOK when they see them hand-in-hand, but mostly supportive. Even Ji-won musters a congratulatory smile, even though you know that man is dying inside. 🥲
Flash forward a few months, and our couple is going strong. They’re thriving in school, hitting that 100-day anniversary milestone, and Bunny’s family is still the loving rock in her life. Jae-yeol even opens up about trying to mend things with his mom. Honestly, for a second there, everything was suspiciously peaceful.
Of course, peace never lasts in Crushology 101. Bong-soo (remember that loser?) returns, wrongly assumes Bunny is dating chaebol Ji-won, and goes full psycho. He finds Bunny working late and attacks her with a hammer, smashing her sculpture. Absolute unhinged behavior.
Luckily, Ji-won pulls a knight-in-shining-sweater move and stops the attack just in time. Bunny screams. Jae-yeol hears it through the phone. The police arrest Bong-soo, but not before he blurts out that Ji-won is "Bunny’s man" — which hits Jae-yeol like a gut punch.
By the next morning, the campus internet is flooded with hot takes: “Ji-won is Bunny’s boyfriend?” “The Confession Tree worked??” Everyone’s eating it up like free snacks. Bunny’s worried about how Jae-yeol’s taking it — and of course, he says he’s fine. (He’s not.)
She throws herself into fixing her piece for evaluation, and naturally, Ji-won’s right there to help, like the patient, wonderful guy he is. But when Jae-yeol and Dong-ha drop by with snacks, they catch a very cozy scene between Bunny and Ji-won, and Jae-yeol’s fuse shortens.
He pulls Ji-won aside and basically tells him to take his feelings and hop on the next flight to America. Subtle.
Bunny’s stressing about her piece, her scholarship, and now her family’s financial crisis after her dad gets scammed. She's barely holding it together, and both Ji-won and Jae-yeol are trying to support her — in very different ways.
Jae-yeol gets frustrated when Bunny forgets to text him after a long night. He even drops by her house for a surprise breakfast moment, which is cute... but also kind of intense. Bunny promises to check in, but Jae-yeol’s already feeling the green-eyed monster growing.
And then comes the final blow: Jae-yeol ditches a party to see Bunny, only to find her at a restaurant, falling asleep on Ji-won’s shoulder. Cue immediate rage. He storms over and tells Ji-won, again, to back off and stop “crossing the line.”
Snowfalls, Secrets, and a Heartbreaking Goodbye ❄️💔
Episode 10 of Crushology 101 came straight for our feelings, packed with romance, regret, and one seriously mistimed departure. Grab your tissues, because this episode hit us like a slow-motion heartbreak montage with snow falling in the background.
We kick things off with drunk Bunny being gently delivered home by Jae-yeol (boyfriend points +1). Her mom thanks him, but Bunny wakes up the next morning in full cringe mode. She tries to apologize, but Jae-yeol’s still nursing his hurt over the Ji-won situation.
Determined to set boundaries, Bunny meets Ji-won and officially tells him it’s time to take a step back. It's mature... but oof does it sting.
Meanwhile, Jae-yeol throws himself into competition prep with Dong-ha. In a wild twist, Bunny’s dad is now working food deliveries and ends up dropping off lunch — and swearing Jae-yeol to secrecy. (As if this secret won’t blow up later.)
At school, Bunny’s hard work pays off — her professor encourages her to apply for an overseas scholarship and even offers a rec letter. Let’s go, Bunny! Meanwhile, Bo-bae ditches a mystery movie date (after months of anonymous movie-nerd texting), only to realize... it was Dong-ha all along. Surprise! The two meet up, bond over cinema and noodles, and share a kiss that had us cheering. 🍜🎥💋
Back on Bunny’s home front, her dad praises Jae-yeol and apologizes for his earlier mistakes. Inspired, Bunny rushes to find Jae-yeol — only to run into him at her front door. (Fate is clearly a shipper.)
They talk, share feelings, and flip through her old photo album, where Jae-yeol finds a pic of Bunny and her old neighbor. He teases her, nearly kisses her... and then Dad pops in with a classic snow-announcement interruption. But hey, Bunny gets her dream moment — watching the season’s first snowfall with her boyfriend. Cue the fuzzy feels. ☃️
Things take a turn when Bunny gets the scholarship to study in New York (!!!). She plans to tell Jae-yeol over dinner — but her dad, now working as a delivery guy, shows up at the same restaurant and tries to avoid being seen. Jae-yeol helps cover it up (with some light gaslighting, yikes), and Bunny breaks the good news.
But before they can celebrate, tragedy strikes: her dad gets into an accident. It’s bad. The hospitals are full. Jae-yeol makes the hard call — he contacts Ji-won for help. Ji-won pulls some chaebol strings, and Bunny’s dad gets his much-needed surgery.
The moment is tense, but Jae-yeol swallows his pride. He later confesses to Bunny that he knew about her dad’s job and felt insecure. Bunny thanks him for being her emotional anchor anyway. 🥺
As Christmas nears, Ji-won stops by to quietly say goodbye to Bunny — he’s leaving for New York to join his sister and parents. He chooses not to give her a parting gift. Bunny doesn’t tell him she’s heading to New York, too.
Later, her mom casually mentions Ji-won came by. Bunny spills the beans about his departure. When Jae-yeol hears “New York,” his body tenses like a jealous spring. On their evening walk, Bunny assures him: she won’t meet Ji-won in New York. But Jae-yeol’s fears don’t melt that easily.
Bunny, torn, confides in her mom, who tells her to follow her heart. Bunny visits Jae-yeol and asks him to trust her — to support her dream, not fear it. His silence speaks volumes.
She gives him time to think. But when Christmas Eve — her departure day — arrives, he still hasn’t decided. Instead of meeting her, Jae-yeol chooses to attend his presentation. Bunny waits until the last possible second, then leaves. Her final message? A quiet text: “I’m leaving. Take care of yourself.”
DramaZen's Opinion
Episodes 9 and 10 were a lot. One second we’re celebrating Bunny and Jae-yeol’s 100-day anniversary, and the next, we’re dodging flying hammers, handling jealous boyfriends, and sobbing at train station goodbyes. The range! 😭
Jae-yeol is trying so hard to be a good boyfriend, but his jealousy over Ji-won is relentless. Meanwhile, Ji-won continues being the most emotionally intelligent man in this entire universe, and honestly? He deserves a drama of his own. Give him peace and a puppy.
Bunny? Queen of keeping it together until she absolutely can’t. Her scholarship win, her dad’s accident, and that final unanswered question — are we breaking up or not? — had me screaming into my throw pillow. And the Christmas Eve heartbreak? Tragic. Perfect. Painful.
If you didn’t cry when Bunny watched the snowfall or when she texted “I’m leaving, take care of yourself”…you’re lying.
Send help. And tissues. Lots of tissues. 🥹
