Second Shot at Love- Episodes 9-10

Beach Dates, Blame Games, and a Gut-Punch Ending

Episode 9 of Second Shot at Love opens with literal waves of dread—Geum-ju wakes from a nightmare of Ui-joon drowning, only to find herself not in Bochun, but at Daecheon Beach. Lost phone, zero idea how she got there, and suddenly—Ui-joon appears. Like magic. Or fate. You decide.

While Geum-ju processes her mysterious beach sleepwalk, the news drops a delicious bit of karma: Chief Kim has been arrested for DUI, and his investors bailed. Geum-ju finally spills everything to Ui-joon—how her promotion was paused, how she had to win a drinking contest to shut Kim up. She expects judgment. Instead, Ui-joon reassures her: relapse isn’t about one drink, it’s about fighting every day. Geum-ju promises to keep fighting. We swoon.

Since they're already seaside, they lean into it and go on a cute beach date. But—plot twist—Seon-wook also brings Hyeon-ju there for their second “date.” Hyeon-ju's still unsure about him and hasn’t told anyone yet. Too bad Geum-ju and Ui-joon crash the party and suggest a group hangout. Ui-joon teases Seon-wook about his crush, and when Seon-wook says Hyeon-ju is a star, she blushes. We see you, girl.

During a chaotic clam-digging event, both women get stuck, and Seon-wook runs to save Hyeon-ju, completely ignoring Geum-ju. Offended, Geum-ju assumes he’s just using her for her money and throws some serious side-eye.

Back in Bochun, Jeong-su’s feeling low, so Gwang-ok drags him out for fresh air. They run into Nurse Baek and sing her praises as a mother figure to Ui-joon. She looks very uncomfortable. Later, she gets a call—Seoyeon Hospital wants to send volunteers. She shuts it down, terrified Mr. Seo will be discovered.

Meanwhile, the beach double date spirals. Ui-joon and Geum-ju finally connect the dots: Seon-wook is clearly crushing on Hyeon-ju. So do Young-woong’s sister and Seon-hwa, prompting full-scale crush investigation mode.

Back home, Geum-ju confronts Hyeon-ju and accuses her of hurting Seon-hwa by dating Seon-wook. Hyeon-ju claps back—she’s tired of her sister siding with everyone but her. Oof.

As tension rises, Gwang-ok learns about Geum-ju’s promotion and wants to celebrate with a trip—but Geum-ju’s sulking over sibling drama. At work, Mi-yeon is thrilled for her and throws some shade at Ui-joon for ghosting years ago. Geum-ju realizes she’s been supportive of everyone except Hyeon-ju.

Even the town aunties start celebrating her promotion, but just as the celebration begins—Gwang-ok collapses.

Ui-joon rushes her to Seoyeon Hospital. Turns out, she has hepatitis—despite never drinking. She’s been in pain for a while, but never said anything. The Hans are wrecked with guilt.

Hyeon-ju tries to visit the kids and finds Seon-wook already took them home. Overwhelmed, she lashes out, blaming him for distracting her with dates instead of prioritizing her mom. Our man’s heart breaks in silence.

Meanwhile, Ui-joon’s mentor checks on him. We learn Ui-joon hates Seoyeon Hospital—he only returned because it's the best place for liver treatment, and Gwang-ok is family. The mentor brings up Mr. Seo and urges him to find closure.

Flashback time: Mr. Seo nearly killed Ui-joon with a scalpel. He was dragged away, but not before a nurse—Jeong Seon-mi—died in the chaos. The blame? It fell squarely on Ui-joon.

Back to the Hans—Gwang-ok needs a liver transplant. Jeong-su and Hyeon-ju aren’t matches. And Geum-ju? Her liver’s still recovering from years of alcohol abuse. She’s devastated, convinced it’s her punishment. Ui-joon reassures her—she can heal and try again.

Seon-wook even volunteers to get tested. Young-woong is floored by the gesture. The whole town, even the gossipy aunties, start praying for Gwang-ok.

Hope arrives: a donor is found, and Gwang-ok is prepped for surgery. As she’s wheeled in, she imagines the mother-daughter trip she never got to take with Geum-ju.

And in the final scene, the truth is revealed: Geum-ju is the donor.

Epilogue: We flash to the funeral of Nurse Jeong Seon-mi. A younger Nurse Baek watches, seething. “I’ll make himpay,” she vows. Chills.

Liver Donations, Birthday Blues, and Long-Buried Guilt

Episode 10 of Second Shot at Love takes emotional intensity to a whole new level. Between emergency surgeries, broken family ties, and some seriously overdue healing, this episode isn’t just heartwarming—it’s heart-wrenching.

We start with a gut punch: the anonymous liver donor backs out. Geum-ju, determined to save her mom, works out nonstop until her liver fat levels are finally clear. She’s now a match—but Gwang-ok refuses to let her daughter go under the knife for her. Jeong-su spirals, convinced he's a burden to the family.

Enter Ui-joon, who steps in as voice of reason and emotional translator. He tells Gwang-ok this is how she and Geum-ju can finally forgive each other—not with words, but with action. Gwang-ok finally agrees. The surgery happens. Gwang-ok survives. Geum-ju recovers. Cue: collective sigh of relief.

With her mom safe, Geum-ju mends fences with Hyeon-ju and gently nudges her toward Seon-wook. But Hyeon-ju, feeling the weight of responsibility, decides to stay single and run the family B&B instead.

Back in town, things get juicy. Turns out, Ms. Nosy’s restaurant was almost robbed—by none other than her own son, Instructor Kim. Ui-joon catches him in the act. The irony? It’s the same “like father, like son” dynamic Ui-joon’s terrified of repeating with Mr. Seo. Thankfully, the men agree—Ui-joon is nothing like the man who raised him.

Meanwhile, Ui-joon’s search for Mr. Seo continues. A retired nurse returns a photo and says she used to care for Mr. Seo. Ui-joon says he wants to help his father get better, and the nurse is stunned. What he doesn’t know? This whole encounter was staged by Nurse Baek. That nurse still works for Baek, and when she vents in front of Mr. Seo, he has a brief, terrifying moment of lucidity—he remembers who Ui-joon is.

It’s Ui-joon’s birthday, and Geum-ju goes all out: a mountain day trip, home-cooked cake, and a sweet video message. He tries to enjoy it, but that night, he’s haunted by a nightmare of Nurse Jeong—the woman who died on his birthday.

Meanwhile, Nurse Baek stops by with birthday wishes and, more importantly, hope. She tells him to move on, to let himself be happy. But it’s easier said than done.

As if we needed more family drama, Seon-hwa takes over Gwang-ok’s care and proudly declares that she sees Gwang-ok as her real mother. She even tries to set Hyeon-ju up with an older divorcee to “fix” her life. Hyeon-ju agrees to meet him—just to reject him in person.

But Seon-wook doesn’t know that. Drunk and heartbroken, he begs Hyeon-ju not to go through with the date. Seon-hwa overhears and goes ballistic. A flashback shows she found out by eavesdropping on Seon-wook and Young-woong’s convo. Feeling betrayed, she tries to drown herself. Hyeon-ju stops her and promises to stay away from Seon-wook.

Ui-joon meets Nurse Jeong’s mother, who coldly returns the money he gave her and says she’ll never forgive him. At the hospital, Geum-ju overhears gossiping nurses mocking Ui-joon and finds an online comment thread filled with hate, branding him a murderer’s son.

Elsewhere, Mr. Seo has regained his memory and is demanding to see Ui-joon. The caretaker assures Nurse Baek that he still doesn’t know.

A flashback shows that Nurse Jeong died on Ui-joon’s birthday. At the funeral, Mrs. Jeong screamed at him, and Nurse Baek—who was close to Jeong—dragged her away, shooting Ui-joon the coldest glare.

Now, in the present, Ui-joon visits Jeong’s columbarium, wracked with guilt. Geum-ju finds him, insists the tragedy wasn’t his fault, and holds him while he finally breaks down.

Epilogue: Geum-ju tries to record a birthday video for Ui-joon. But as she thanks him for loving her, she breaks down in tears.

DramaZen's Opinion

These episodes wrecked me—in the best way.

Episode 9 had me hooked from the moment Geum-ju woke up on the beach. Her journey from self-blame to stepping up as her mom’s potential liver donor was so raw and powerful. The double beach date? Hilarious chaos. And the town showing up for Gwang-ok (pitchforks and all) made me love this quirky village even more.

Then Episode 10 hit like an emotional freight train. The liver transplant drama, Ui-joon’s birthday trauma, Nurse Jeong’s backstory, and that heartbreaking scene at the columbarium? Devastating. Also, Seon-wook’s drunk confession and Seon-hwa’s breakdown had me yelling at my screen. These characters are so flawed and real—it hurts to watch them struggle, but that’s what makes it so good.

The show keeps deepening its emotional stakes without losing the warmth, humor, and hope. And now with Mr. Seo regaining his memory? Things are about to explode. Bring on the next episode—I’m not ready, but I need it.