My Sweet Mobster- Episode 1-2 Recap
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a couple more at odds than the leads in this drama, and our sparkly, cheerful leading lady and our monochromatic leading man are off to a rocky start. But in drama-land, the adage “opposites attract” is proven correct more often than not, and romance is definitely in the air, whether this OTP realizes it or not.
Objectively, My (Lovely) Sweet Mobster is not a top shelf K-drama. From the tropes to the comic inspired animations, everything about this show would suggest it’s on the path to mediocrity, and yet this silly little rom-com speaks to my inner goofball, who is a hopeless romantic for hard on the outside, but sweet on the inside male leads. For the right audience, this is escapism at its finest, and right now, I am loving it.
I wasn’t fully on board right out the gate, though. In fact, I was initially a wee bit concerned that this drama was going to be too cheesy when our story opened with a campy introduction to our leading man. SEO JI-HWAN (Uhm Tae-gu), the former leader of the Bulldog Gang, is a caricature of what most people would think a gangster looks like: all black clothing, slicked back hair, and resting gangster face.
The key word here is former gangster because, even though he still dresses like he’s cosplaying a Matrix character, he metaphorically hung up his trench coat after defeating his rival GO YANG-HEE (Im Chul-soo), the leader of the Kitty Gang.
I don’t know which is more ridiculous: the fact that Im Chul-soo is portraying a I-only-got-this-job-because-of-nepotism type gangster or that these gangs seemed to have randomly picked their mascots from a list of college football teams and Sanrio characters. Either way, it’s clear that we shouldn’t take these gangsters too seriously, not even when they’re supposedly being serious.
After retiring and taking up the more honorable (and legal) position as the CEO of his own meat production company, Thirsty Deer, Ji-hwan’s decision to hire reformed criminals inevitably leads him back to his old rival when one of his employees, a former druggie, goes missing. Ji-hwan begins his investigation at Kitty Gang headquarters, a nightclub that doubles as a front for their more sketchier activities. While searching the club for clues to the whereabouts of his missing employee, Ji-hwan bumps into, "literally", our leading lady, GO EUN-HA (Han Sun-hwa).
It’s definitely not love at first, or second, or third sight for these two, because a series of coincidental run-ins and misunderstandings leaves our OTP thinking the worst of each other. Eun-ha mistakes Ji-hwan for a (practicing) gangster because he still dresses and carries himself like one, and because Eun-ha was toting around candy that looks suspiciously like the new drugs that the Kitty Gang is pushing, Ji-hwan suspects Eun-ha is in cahoots with his former foes and is trying to drag down his reputation, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Eun-ha is actually a children’s content creator, and because she genuinely loves kids, she puts a lot of effort into creating videos that are engaging for them. Her whole persona (online and in real life) seems modeled after the ideal kindergarten teacher or theme park princess (sweet, effervescent, and too perfect to be real). However, like all Disney princesses, Eun-ha works for a larger company with a bottom line. Her idealism is at direct odds with the company’s push to promote their sponsors’ toys and kid-friendly products in her videos, which is why she’s deemed the company’s worst performing creator.
Among her peers, she’s often the butt of jokes and gets stuck with assignments everyone else avoids, like the upcoming children’s food festival. But Eun-ha, ever the optimistic and kind-hearted soul, is thrilled about it. In fact, she’s so enthusiastic that she already has a fun and engaging pizza-making class planned, hoping to bring joy and excitement to the festival.
Guess who else is at the kids' food festival? Ji-hwan's Thirsty Deer team! They’ve developed some adorable kid-sized sausages and are eager to see if their fun packaging wins over young customers. But trouble brews when skeptical parents, wary of the booth run by reformed criminals, suspect the food might be tainted. The situation spirals out of control when one of Ji-hwan's employees accidentally bumps into a hot-headed father, leading to a heated argument and a chorus of crying children.
Eun-ha heroically steps in to defuse the chaos, and by the time Ji-hwan arrives, the crowd has dispersed. Eun-ha has already left to teach her pizza class, leaving Ji-hwan's remorseful yet defensive employees to clean up the mess. They’re painfully aware that their criminal pasts still haunt them. Ji-hwan, ever the tough-love mentor, reminds them, “Paying for your crimes doesn’t erase them.” He urges them to go the extra mile to prove their redemption.
At the festival, fate ensures Ji-hwan and Eun-ha cross paths again, but this time, it’s disastrous. Eun-ha accidentally jabs Ji-hwan in the ribs with a mop handle, sending him tumbling down the stairs. The once unbreakable former gangster ends up in the hospital with a mild concussion and broken ribs. His loyal employees, suspecting Eun-ha might be linked to the Kitty Gang, are itching for revenge on Ji-hwan's behalf.
By this point, Ji-hwan has already done his homework, scouring the internet and binge-watching Eun-ha's videos. He's convinced she’s not a Kitty Gang spy. But now he’s facing a new threat… to his heart. After marathon-watching her content, he can’t get her out of his mind. She haunts his thoughts so intensely that his concussed brain imagines her by his bedside. Then, miraculously, there she is in his hospital room, ready to apologize and return the sunglasses he lost during his fall.
Just as Eun-ha is about to apologize, Ji-hwan’s minions burst into the hospital room, cursing her and threatening violence. Thinking quickly, Ji-hwan hides Eun-ha under his bedsheets, True Beauty-style, and desperately tries to calm his enraged employees before they notice the suspicious lump beside him. It takes longer than he’d like, but he eventually gets them to leave, allowing Eun-ha to escape.
But her troubles are far from over. Just as she thinks she's in the clear, her phone starts blowing up with comments on a video she didn’t post. Her boss had taken footage of her de-escalating the fight at the kids' food festival, edited it to sensationalize the situation, and slandered Ji-hwan’s employee. The video goes viral, racking up millions of views, but Eun-ha’s reputation takes a nosedive as it appears she posted the very un-kid-friendly content.
The video hits Ji-hwan’s company hard. Business partners back out of deals, and stores pull his products from their shelves, unwilling to associate with a company run by "violent criminals." Ji-hwan can’t believe Eun-ha posted the video, it’s completely out of character for her, but the fact that it came from her account leaves him conflicted.
Refusing to take the hit lying down, Ji-hwan suits up in his most intimidating black attire and storms into Macaroon Soft, scaring Eun-ha’s boss senseless with legal documents and a promise to sue for defamation. Meanwhile, with everyone distracted by the menacing former gangster, Eun-ha sneaks in and steals the hard drive containing the original footage from the festival.
Though intimidated by Ji-hwan and his crew, Eun-ha realizes they are the real victims here. They were simply trying to promote their product, not start a fight. Determined to set things right, Eun-ha uploads the unedited footage from the festival, exposing the truth and clearing Ji-hwan’s name.
It's unclear if Eun-ha's anonymous video post completely salvaged Thirsty Deer's reputation, but her brave act certainly melted Ji-hwan’s heart. Feeling guilty for doubting her, he begins to watch her volunteer at the hospital where he’s staying, becoming utterly smitten. Known for being a man of few words, direct and methodical, Ji-hwan is now a mess around Eun-ha, stumbling over his words and even his feet. This newfound awkwardness is both endearing and amusing, especially for Eun-ha, who finds herself even more baffled by the tough gangster’s sudden transformation into an awkward penguin in her presence.
Hyun-woo’s hero moment arrives just as Eun-ha hits rock bottom. The soy milk she showcased on her channel has made hundreds of children ill, and now she faces the fallout of promoting a product without proper research. It’s a gritty and real issue for online influencers that the drama tackles head-on. While it’s a tough break for Eun-ha, who has always been driven by genuine passion rather than fame, this crisis could be a crucial turning point for her. Watching her learn this hard lesson firsthand, instead of witnessing it happen to a less sympathetic coworker, underscores her journey from naïve idealist to a more seasoned and resilient individual.
Eun-ha’s pure heart is on full display when she rushes to the hospital after hearing the news about the toxic milk. Determined to protect the children she’s volunteered with, she scrambles to retrieve the cartons she distributed. While she’s relieved to find that none of the kids she knows were affected, her relief quickly turns to horror as she faces the overwhelming number of sick children flooding the emergency room.
When parents recognize Eun-ha from her videos, their anger erupts, blaming her for promoting the toxic milk. The tension escalates quickly, and one furious mother hurls an open carton of milk at Eun-ha. But just in time, Ji-hwan rushes in, taking the hit and shielding her from the onslaught. Unfazed by the milk staining his trench coat, he crouches beside her and whispers urgently for her to close her eyes and count to ten. As the episode ends on this cliffhanger, viewers are left on edge, wondering what Ji-hwan is hiding from Eun-ha, and what dramatic twist is about to unfold next.
DramaZen's Opinion
Despite thinking the ML might have been too over the top and cheesy, I’ve grown to love Ji-hwan’s character. This ex-gangster has already become all warm and gooey on the inside for our FL. However, he will really have to put in the effort if he is ever going to charm Eun-hwa, because what neither of them realize just yet, is there is a love rival on the horizon in the form of the second male lead, Jang Hyun-Woo (Kwon Yul).
This week, Hyun-woo may have had limited screen time, but he’s already one step ahead of Ji-hwan in several key ways. As a prosecutor, he’s far more approachable and less misunderstood than the former gangster. He’s also a natural with kids, effortlessly turning his office into a makeshift daycare for his colleagues. But the biggest twist? Hyun-woo might just be the childhood friend Eun-ha has been searching for all these years, making him the most intriguing and pivotal figure in her quest for lost memories.
Geez, will I end up having second lead syndrome, or end up liking both men equally the same? So far, I’m still shipping our leading lady with the ever so gruff, but soft and silly mobster!