June 13, 2024

My Sweet Mobster | Recap and Review

A reformed mobster is captivated by a sweet vlogger. 
Notable Actors/Actresses
Uhm Tae-goo: Seo Ji-hwan
Han Sun-hwa: Go Eun-ha
Kwon YoolJang Hyeon-woo
Hangul Title Translation
A Woman Who Plays
Year2024
Episodes: 16

RecapperFanFanX
Recap Grade: B/C
First Impression: 3/5


Jump to: Review | Comments
Recaps: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16


Cast


Uhm Tae-goo:
Seo Ji-hwan
Han Sun-hwa:
Go Eun-ha


Romcom / Romance Checklist


How much of the plot is angst/romance?
0.25 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
The ML
Cold–Lukewarm–Warm / Timid / Tsundere / Falls in Love First / Noble Idiot / CEO / General /
The FL
BoldCute / Cool & Independent / Falls in Love First / Better than ML / Noble Idiot / 
Describe the Relationship (the tropes):
Annoying Love (F/M) Rival+++ / Bickering Start / Childhood Connection / Cohabitation / Contract Marriage or Fake Couple / Enemies to Lovers / Friends to Lovers / Harem / Hidden Identity / School to Adulthood / Love Triangle / Married Couple (Real) / Secretly in Love (F/ML) / Star-Crossed Lovers / 
Relationship Progress (officially togetherfirst (official) kiss; breakup*):
Ep 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 
# of CPs (including main CP):
0 / 1 / 2 / 3
Ending:
Happy / Sad / Open Happy / Open Sad / Bad / Rushed+++



FanFanX: Converted from Open Thread to Mini Recaps. Slightly more in depth (with screencaps) in the comments (but there are typos / wrong names. Oops.) 😉


Mini Recaps



[Ep1[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Seo Ji-hwan and Go Eun-ha don't have a great first meet as he makes her choke on her candy, thinking she's taking these street drugs (that look like these candies). So he has to help dislodge it.
  2. Ji-hwan is the CEO of Thirsty Deer, with his motley crew of "brothers", who are all bickering idiots. 
  3. Eun-ha accidentally injures him twice, and he ends up in the hospital the second time.
  4. He falls for her as he watches her blow bubbles for the kids at the hospital.
[Ep2[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. The brothers are getting planning for Ji-hwan's funeral - even though he's perfectly alive in his hospital room. 
  2. Jang Hyeon-woo has a crush on Eun-ha. 
  3. She notices his name, and thinks of the boy she once knew with the same name. 
  4. Eun-ha ends up in a bad situation with angry parents who are about to pelt her with tainted milk cartons. 
  5. Ji-hwan blocks the attack.
[Ep3[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Ji-hwan romantically carries her out over his shoulder like a sack of rice.
  2. Eun-ha is forced to take a break from work.
  3. Ju Il-yeong meets Koo Mi-ho [Eun-ha's bestie], which seems to be lust-at-first-sight for both.
  4. Eun-ha and Ji-hwan end up getting drunk together. 
  5. She discovers that he has watched her Mini videos even though he'd said he doesn't watch videos for kids. [Children's educational / entertainment vlog]
[Ep4[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Ji-hwan is exhibiting very drunk behavior after... a single drink. The way he runs around this playground and plays. lol
  2. Eun-ha and Hyeon-woo finally meet as he remembers her for offering him her umbrella that day. 
  3. Ji-hwan wakes up remembering his drunk behavior and starts panicking with embarrassment. (~15:00)
  4. Eun-ha gets fired and subsequently homeless. 
  5. Ji-hwan finds her out in the rain, brings her to his home where he lives with his brothers. He invites her to stay for ramyeon.
  6. Gwak Jae-su (his brother) is incensed about this rat [her] being in their home. Ji-hwan's growl here. (~46:10) lol!
[Ep5[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Hyeon-woo condescendingly asks Eun-ha about her interactions with that mobster.
  2. Ji-hwan learns that her full name is Go Eun-ha.
  3. Eun-ha and Yang Hong-gi (another brother) have issues at the jjimjilbang. Ji-hwan saves them with his mere presence. The way these two hide behind him. lol
  4. Eun-ha is now going to live with them as his brothers' live-in tutor. 
  5. Ji-hwan pats her on the head but when he realizes what he's done, he stares at his hand in horror. (~46:15) Sure, it betrayed him! 
  6. Later, after drinking with his brothers, she kisses Ji-hwan. And then promptly passes out onto his shoulder.
[Ep6[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. The next morning, Jae-su is very hungover and blames the "rat". 
  2. Eun-ha is embarrassed about last night. Ji-hwan can't stop thinking about that kiss.  But then she tells him that she doesn't anything from last night. So he talks about an unpleasant situation which makes her very mad. 
  3. Kang Ye-na is here to see Ji-hwan, and she continues being rude to Eun-ha. 
  4. When asked to describe Ji-hwan in two words, Eun-ha replies "Shoulder thug". Eavesdropping Ji-hwan is sad to hear the word "thug" used by her. But she has the tiniest hint of a smile as she says it.
  5. Later they talk, and he sulks about being called a thug. She tells him to look up what the phrase actually means. (~20:00) 
  6. Il-yeong and Mi-ho share a passionate night together. 
  7. Elated with knowing what she meant, Ji-hwan starts doing a heavy shoulders-only workout at home. (~26:00) Afterwards, he and Jae-su run into Eun-ha, who stares as his body in the tight-fitted white shirt. Jae-su quickly covers up Ji-hwan's pecs with his hands and yells at her to stop looking. 
  8. While helping them deal with an emergency, Eun-ha ends up gets locked inside the freezer by Jung Man-ho (another brother). He just wants to nudge Ji-hwan and Eun-ha together. 
  9. Luckily Ji-hwan finds her and gives her warmth via hugging. He tells her to think of him as a penguin. 
[Ep7[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. The doors finally open and our shoulder thug man carries her out tout de suite.
  2. Ji-hwan had told her all about the emperor penguins while they'd waited in the freezer. 🐧
  3. Eun-ha wakes up in the hospital and sees an asleep Ji-hwan by her bedside and starts tracing his face until he wakes up. 
  4. Another evening, Ji-hwan does the dishes (for the first time?) and manages to get soap into her eyes. (~46:00) He's so sweetly apologetic and worried about her. They're being spied on by his brothers. 
  5. Hyeon-woo learns that Ji-hwan's previous name was Yoon Hyeon-Woo. !!
[Ep8[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Ji-hwan does indeed have the time capsule that Eun-ha and her Hyeon-woo had buried back then. 
  2. Go Yang-hui [mobster] wants Ji-hwan dead but he ends up threatening to harm Eun-ha instaed. 
  3. Eun-ha is worried about Ji-hwan but he pushes her away as he says they're nothing but landlord and tenant. (~48:00) Noble idiocy.
  4. To complicate matters further, Eun-ha remembers her Hyeon-woo wanting to become a prosecutor some day.
  5. Ji-hwan's Eun-ha's brothers are now ignoring Ji-hwan.  The "rat" has successfully infiltrated the household.
  6. Later, Hyeon-woo tells her that he's found the person she's been looking for. 
  7. After having a few drinks, she returns home with the time capsule tin, and then tells Ji-hwan that they shouldn't see each other anymore.
[Ep9[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. One day, young Hyeon-woo had suddenly vanished Eun-ha's life.
  2. Prosecutor Hyeon-woo had told her that he'd found him and would tell her who it was if she wanted to know.
  3. Now, the brothers all dote on her while totally ignoring Ji-hwan's words, wishes or whims. (~7:45) 
  4. She later goes on a blind date with one of the brothers' friend, as they're trying to help her make Ji-hwan jealous. Well, he ends up complaining about a broken showerhead and her singing. Alone, he berates himself for even mentioning these things. His face!  
  5. Eun-ha ends up at the police station and Hyeon-woo arrives before Ji-hwan. So the latter runs away and "hides" very poorly. (~52:00) lol
  6. Later, Eun-ha tells Ji-hwan that she's signing the new lease tomorrow. 
  7. The next day, he pretends to not care, until he can't stand it anymore and ends up running out of the house to go meet her.
  8. When he arrives, he ends up finding her Hyeon-woo, who is telling her how much he likes her.
[Ep10[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Hyeon-woo notices Ji-hwan standing nearby, who is finally prompted into action... by saying she needs to come clean the house! *facepalm* 
  2. Mi-ho may be looking at a different lifestyle after her one-night with Il-yeong. 
  3. Later, during a group outing, Eun-ha goes for a walk on her own. After a couple of hours, plus being unable to reach her, a very worried Ji-hwan runs around looking for her.
  4. When he does find her, he's so happy to see her that he rushes over to her and makes her trip and fall. Together they roll down the hill [henceforth dubbed "Hillary"](~33:00) 
  5. Afterwards, he fusses over her for disappearing, and accidentally blurts out that he likes her. As he's carrying her on his back due to her ankle injury, she whispers into his ear that she also likes him... and he promptly drops her. (~37:43) ㅋㅋ He apologizes and then sweetly checks for any further injuries, but she gives him a tiny kiss which makes him faint and fall backwards. (~38:55) ㅋㅋㅋ He manages to make a quick recovery and then continues carrying her all the way back to the house. 
  6. Commence possessive Ji-hwan mode: He swats at Man-ho's hand as he touches Eun-ha's leg to check out her injury. (~40:00) Yet he gives her the cutest smile. 
  7. Another day, Eun-ha sends Ji-hwa a video message asking if he'd prefer to go by "oppa" or "jagiya" or bunny? Now he's totally distracted and practicing all religious rites in an effort to not think about this. (~55:35)
  8. Il-yeong finds out about Mi-ho's positive pregnancy test. 
  9. That evening, when Hyeon-woo tries to shake Eun-ha's hand (as friends), Ji-hwan yells "Let's go, agi-a! Oppa will make you ramyeon!" (~1:03:40)
  10. She privately teases him for finally choosing one. He replies that he doesn't like seeing her with another guy and then kisses her. (~1:04:50)
[Ep11[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Today, they're both spending a long time looking for the perfect outfit. If she's a flower wearing a pretty curtain, [then he must be the sun!] (~2:45)
  2. Ji-hwan then spends over an hour saying goodbye to her, as he makes the brothers wait and wait... (~6:30) ㅋㅋㅋ Par for the course. 
  3. Hong-gi tells Mi-ho that Il-yeong is anti-family and anti-children, thereby anti-committment. 
  4. During a blackout at the mall, Ji-hwan cheers up the scared children with a hand shadow show. Eun-ha is reminded of her Hyeon-woo who cheered her up when she was very scared. 
  5. Il-yeong asks out Mi-ho on a proper date but she rejects him. 
  6. Eun-ha has a new channel and her two biggest fans: Emperor Penguin [Ji-hwan] and Justice [Hyeon-woo] start a comment war with her video. 
  7. Hyeon-woo ends up getting interrogated by the brothers. Ha!
  8. Eun-ha lets Ji-hwan know that Lee Dong-hui (another brother) and Hyeon-woo know each other as she'd seen them together. 
[Ep12[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Yang-hui approaches Eun-ha outside of her part-time job and Ji-hwan appears to grab him by the throat. 
  2. Il-yeong has a drunk and embarrassing night at Mi-ho's place with her parents. Mom is excited and Dad pretends to not care for him.
  3. Ji-hwan meets Hyeon-woo to talk about his father, mob boss Seo Tae-pyeong. It took Ji-hwan ten years to cut him out of his life, and ten more to get away from him. He wants nothing to do with him. Unsurprisingly, Seo Tae-pyeong is having tabs kept on Ji-hwan. 
  4. Our new couple can't spend the day together alone in the house. (~32:00)
  5. Yang-hui tells Hyeon-woo that he intends to harm Eun-ha, which makes the latter to lose it. 
  6. Eun-ha takes the brothers along with her to visit an orphanage. 
  7. Ye-na confesses to Ji-hwan about her longtime crush on him. He replies that long before her, it's only ever been one person, Go Eun-ha, for him.  
  8. Ji-hwan tells Eun-ha about losing his mother, finding out who his father was, and then forcefully taken by his father. [This is why he has two different names.] 
  9. Chair swivel kiss! (~1:01:15) I melt at the way he looks at her. 🌞
[Ep13[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Dong-hui's past comes to light: In high school, he'd caused the death of a female friend, and her brother wants him to pay for the rest of his life, with his life. Heartbreaking scene with the dead friend's mother. ㅜㅜ
  2. Hyeon-woo ends up at their house, and the two men boys fight over which drink she should have. And then Jae-su gets shoved into the room by the other boys. So he starts doing the moonwalk dance. 
  3. Later as Ji-hwan watches Eun-ha fix her ponytail, he says "You're so pretty, my Eun-ha." (~22:08) She remembers her Hyeon-woo saying this to her before.
  4. Ji-hwan's father wants him to return to the fold.
  5. Il-yeong lets it slip to Mi-ho that he knows about her pregnancy. He also says he wants to be a family with her, because it's her, and just because of the baby. She looks very unconvinced.
  6. After confirming with Hyeon-woo, Eun-ha desperately looks for Ji-hwan as she realizes all the signs were there indicating who he was. (~57:27)
GEH: Did you think that I would never find out? I’ve been looking for you forever. I told you I’d find you. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I relied on you like I did before. Why didn’t I recognize you? [Tears slip down her face.] I missed you, Hyeon-woo oppa.
SJH: [Takes a few steps towards her and then stops.] She sobs.
GEH: I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. He hugs her.
SJH: I missed you so much, too... Eun-ha a. She continues sobbing in his arms.
 
[Ep14[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Early on, he'd suspected who she was, but he'd been worried she'd be disappointed in who he was now. She's glad that he's her Hyeon-woo oppa as both Seo Ji-hwan and Hyeon-woo oppa have always been good to her. 
  2. Elsewhere, Hyeon-woo struggles to get over Eun-ha. 
  3. Eun-ha feeds Ji-hwan and calls him Ji-hwan oppa. (~9:25) The man stutters at this. 
  4. Il-yeong tells everyone that he's going to be a father/ Everyone thinks it's a joke at first. He then says he's getting married to Mi-ho. Now they're all properly shocked. Later, our trio visit Mi-ho's parents. Guess who ends up getting drunk and falling asleep? (~18:56) ㅋㅋ He's very consistent.  
  5. Eun-ha takes him home and tucks him into bed. Before she leaves, she asks about getting married and he says he's never thought about it. Besides, he needs to get the others married off first. She's mad. 
  6. The next morning, Eun-ha finds out that she has more than 10k subscribers now. She happily celebrates with everyone, except Ji-hwan. 
  7. Ji-hwan buys his angry girlfriend a necklace. Later, he returns home and starts undressing in his bedroom. But Eun-ha is hiding and waiting for him with a cake. When she pops up from the back of his closet, he becomes a shirtless, stuttering mess. (~41:30) *snicker* He has also forgotten the present and gives her something better - his fingerhearts! (~43:42) Halp. I'm ded. 
  8. The next day, Seo Tae-pyeong crashes the Thirsty Deer meeting, which causes his executives to turn in their resignations, as most employees are former mobsters from his father's gang. They're now too scared to go up against him knowing that he's out of prison. 
  9. Yang-hui makes good on his promise and sends henchmen to harm Eun-ha.
  10. Hyeon-woo arrives in time to intervene and gets injured in the process.
[Ep15[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. Ji-hwan arrives late and starts pummeling on Yang-hui. The two end up at the police station, and Yang-hui tells him that "Once a thug, forever a thug." 
  2. Il-yeong and Hyeon-woo both arrive for Ji-hwan. The latter vents his anger at him for failing to protect Eun-ha. 
  3. Eun-ha arrives to fuss over him but Ji-hwan shakes her off when he sees his father is waiting nearby. 
  4. She asks Il-yeong about Ji-hwan's father. She's left to wonder why he'd make his own child suffer like this. She still wants to stay by Ji-hwan's side. 
  5. The next day, Ji-hwan pushes her away again and tries to take her back to Mi-ho's. But she pushes back this time.

    GEH: Why do you keep telling me to go? Do you hate seeing me that much? You told me I could stay here. You told me I was family. Are you never going to see me again? Can you live with that? You said you’d always be by my side. You just said that. I’m scared. I pretend like I’m fine in front of others, but I’m scared. Not because of what happened to me. Because you’re not by my side when I’m scared. I’m scared you’ll never be by my side again.
    SJH: Let’s go. [Grabs her hand to lead her to the car.] She pulls away.
    GEH: I don’t want to be somewhere safe alone. Why don’t you get that? I want to be with you wherever it is. Why don’t you get that? He closes his eyes in anguish before finally turning around to pull her into his arms. [She quietly cries in his arms.]

    Now they're sitting inside the car as they're parked outside Mi-ho’s place.

    SJH: The incident at the park was really scary, right?
    GEH: It’s okay.
    SJH: Never again. That will never happen again. I promise.
    GEH: Oh, yeah. I have ointment. [He reaches over and places the necklace around her neck.] She looks down at it and then looks at him curiously.
    SJH: I think I was fearful and anxious that you’d get hurt because of me. That I might lose you. Do you think you could wait a little longer for me?
    GEH: [She nods.] I’ll wait for you.
     
  6. Eun-ha has come up with a new kids' sausage challenge to save Thirsty Deer - with Ye-na's help. 
  7. Jae-su goes to Seo Tae-pyeong to beg him to leave Ji-hwan alone, and to take it out on him instead. 
  8. Ji-hwan shows up to save him and ends up getting beaten by his father's goons.
  9. Yang-hui who has just gotten out of jail also shows up and tries to stab Seo Tae-pyeong.
  10. Ji-hwan blocks the attack. As he's writhing on the ground, he thinks about his promise to return to Eun-ha. 
[Ep16[Jump to: Top | Comments]
  1. At home, Eun-ha's necklace suddenly slips off her neck. Feeling uneasy, she calls Ji-hwan who is unreachable.
  2. Hyeon-woo arrives at the warehouse and hears Yang-hui yelling inside. 
  3. The cops arrive and Ji-hwan is rushed to the hospital.
  4. He makes it through surgery but remains in a coma. Eun-ha tells everyone to return to work as that's what he'd want, for all of them to continue living. She stays and waits by his bedside.
  5. Yang-hui continues loudly denying everything. When he tries to threaten Lee Gang-gil, [Seo Teo-pyeong's lieutenant], he's quickly put in his place as he has zero authority now. Meanwhile, Seo Teo-pyeong continues refusing to say a single word. 
  6. One day, Jae-su decides to groom Ji-hwan by plucking his grey hairs, and failing. (~17:50) ㅋ Wae?  Ji-hwan finally wakes up from this unpleasantness. 
  7. Later, Eun-ha returns and is concerned to see his empty bed. She becomes overjoyed when she sees a smiling Ji-hwan standing by the window. 
  8. Upon hearing that Ji-hwan woke up, Seo Teo-pyeong finally talks to Hyeon-woo.
  9. Ji-hwan later visits him in prison, and surprisingly, Seo Teo-pyeong finally releases him forever from their father-son relationship. 
  10. Back at home, after making the excuse of needing his dressing changed, Ji-hwan asks Eun-ha to stay the night in his room. (~28:30) 😏

    Time Jump
    .
  11. Today is Yoon-byul's baegil party! [Mi-ho and Il-yeong's son.] Seeing Eun-ha with the baby makes Ji-hwan daydream and malfunction again. Jae-su and Man-ho just cart him off as usual. (~31:00) 
  12. Il-yeong lives with his family, Mi-ho, their son, and his in-laws. His FIL has no regard for boundaries. Yet Il-yeong doesn't seem to be bothered by any of this. 
  13. Ji-hwan wants to propose to Eun-ha and every time he tries to talk to her about it, he gets interrupted. Finally, Il-yeong wisely tells him to not go empty-handed. *snort*
  14. On a different day, Eun-ha calls Hyeon-woo to see if he's free for a date tonight. ?? To her disappointment, Ji-hwan says he's busy. Awww. He's her Hyeon-woo oppa.
  15. Man-ho and Jae-su's double blind date does not go well. (~47:40) 
  16. One night, Eun-ha returns home to a darkened courtyard. Just as she starts stepping inside, all of the lights come on. She then notices their time capsule in the ground, with a new note inside.

    Eun-ha. Thank you for always playing with me. Play with me always from now on.

  17. Behind her, Ji-hwan softly says her name. In a pink suit with a white bow tie, he walks towards her.

    SJH: You said before that I led you down a good path, right? It’s the other way around. You always make me want to become a better person. She beams at him. From now on, no matter what happens, I’m never going to leave you. [He walks closer and then stops right in front of her.] I want to subscribe to you for the rest of my life… and I want to like you, always. [He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a heart-shaped ring box and shows her the ring.] Will you let me?
    GEH: [Nodding.]
    SJH: [Places the ring on her finger.] It fits perfectly.
    GEH: It fits perfectly. [She grins at him.] He hugs her. Thank you.
    SJH: Thank you.... [He kisses her.] 

  18. From behind them, the brothers gleefully cheering for them from the balcony. 
  19. Later, Eun-ha is gifted with a car that the brothers picked out, and purchased by Ji-hwan. 
  20. Our gang return to the orphanage to play with the kids! 🐘

The End.

[Jump to: Top | Comments]


Remarks

by FanFanX

Trigger Warning: Assault, Violence

[First Impression (Ep1-4)] Instant fan of the leading actors. 

[Cast & Crew]

Uhm Tae-goo: Seo Ji-hwan
Han Sun-hwa: Go Eun-ha
Kwon YoolJang Hyeon-woo
Kim Hyun-jin: Ju Il-yeon
Yang Hyun-min: Gwak Jae-su
Lee Yoo-joon: Jang Man-ho
Moon Dong-hyuk: Yang Hong-gi
Park Jae-chan: Lee Dong-hui
Moon Ji-in: Koo Mi-ho  
Im Chil-soo: Go Yang-hui
Kim Hyun-joon: Lee Gang-gil
Kim Roe-ha: Seo Tae-pyeong

[Behind the Scenes

[OST] See Comments.

[Ending] Sweet like our 🐧 CP [and zany brothers].

[A Highlight] When Ji-hwan unexpectedly gives fingerhearts!

[Footnotes]


[Review & Rating]

Aesthetics: A
Acting: A++
Plot: B

Quick-paced series about choosing a family and leaving the past behind.

Eun-ha ends up becoming jobless and homeless, so she starts living with poker-faced Ji-hwan and his brothers (who are all reformed former mobster members) in this great big house. Prosecutor Hyeon-woo doesn’t trust Ji-hwan or his brothers as he harbors a crush on Eun-woo, who is looking for the Hyeon-woo of her youth. 

Main CP is adorable, especially because Ji-hwan nervously struggles to put his growing feelings for Eun-ha into proper words. His well-intentioned brothers try to help, which only makes it worse (or better with hilarious results). I love this series because of its cast, and the story is a heartfelt one about people living with trauma, moving forward by helping others, and finding love as one’s true self.

Random Recommendation

Rating: 4/5

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