Doctor Slump (2024) K Drama Episode 2 with Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Shik

Episode 2 of Doctor Slump begins with the unlikely meeting of our two rivals – Ha-neul and Jeong-woo – on the rooftop. Since the controversy, we see that everybody around Jeong-woo is busy gossiping about him. Even his parents are more worried about their image than his well-being as his mother asks him to sort out the mess he is in.

At this point, Ha-neul and Jeong-woo meet at the rooftop and realize that they are to live in the same house – their greatest nightmare. 

In a flashback, we see Jeong-woo and Ha-neul in high school with Jeong-woo being nervous and concerned about Ha-neul’s arrival as his rival. His friend explains the difference in of their study styles. Jeong-woo is relaxed and laid-back while Ha-neul studies like a “bulldozer”, headbutting her way to the top student place. 

Listening to such explanations, Jeong-woo becomes concerned and tries to feign ignorance. Consistent with his laidback attitude, he tries to believe everything will be as status quo. Alas, life had something different in store for him.

For the first time, he loses to Ha-neul as she scores the highest and comically drops to the floor. He is further rushed to the medical room and rumours spread about him fainting due to losing to Ha-neul. 

From that day onwards, his latent competitiveness rises like a dragon in the most childish and simultaneously hilarious ways possible. While Ha-neul runs to reach school, he teases her with his kick scooter. While she eats a pack of dry instant coffee, he gulps two at the same time. He flaunts as he solves a math problem seconds faster than her, smirks at her and leaves. 

Back to the present, Jeong-woo wants to move out but if he violates the contract, he has to forgo his deposit. He catches Ha-neul as she’s coming back home and explains to her the situation in which she has the least interest. At night, an unknown figure follows Jeong-woo home. He goes on a house hunt but is rejected from everywhere due to the ongoing court case. 

Jeong-woo meets with Min Kyung-min, his friend and Ha-neul’s senior, and they talk about a suspicious anesthesiologist who worked with Jeong-woo when the incident took place. He later spots Ha-neul with her junior and imitates her actions and they enter into yet another banter about who defeated whom at school – insulting each other in the process.

Ha-neul is scolded, yet again by her incompetent Professor and has to participate in a high-profile surgery. During the surgery, the professor is unable to perform the most basic task of inserting a catheter and blames the weak blood vessels of the patient. Due to lack of time, Ha-neul takes over and is successful in one go. 

After the surgery, she feels uncomfortable and visits the mental health clinic. She learns that what she felt were the physical symptoms of depression.

Back at the hospital, the chairwoman is chewing out the doctors about the catheter mishandling and the residual scars on her daughter’s body. The professor puts the entire blame on Ha-neul and proceeds to tell her to kneel in front of the chairwoman and beg for forgiveness in his office. 

Ha-neul finally breaks her silence and confronts him directly, exposing his incompetence, kicks him on the leg and quits saying “I won’t sacrifice my health for this”.

On the way home, her mother overhears her quitting the hospital and they have an argument where Ha-neul reveals that she has depression. Jeong-woo accidentally comes across this conversation. She storms out of the house. Her family finds her hidden stash of depression and anxiety medications. 

Later, she meets Jeong-woo on the way back home and they both decide to go to drink. They enter a barbecue restaurant and find their class reunion taking place. At the reunion, a drunken classmate bashes Jeong-woo about the whole surgery fiasco and he argues with his former school friends about the business. He confronts them about taking more share out of the ad revenue. He leaves while Ha-neul follows him.

While on the way home, they decide to stick to their original plan and go drinking. They compete for who can drink more and engage in a cheerful childish banter. Ha-neul expresses that she has been working like a dog while keeping her happiness at the backend to cherish at a later time which has lead to her depression. 

On the way back home, both are extremely drunk. Jeong-woo suddenly flinches as a passerby brushes past him. He explains that he is terrified of people in black suits, believing that somebody wants to harm him. Ha-neul and Jeong-woo then decide to enter into a finger-flicking contest where each gets a turn to flick on the other’s forehead.

Right when it’s Ha-neul’s turn, she receives a message from her mother that says she wants her healthy rather than successful. Reading the text, Ha-neul breaks down. Watching Ha-neul cry, Jeong-woo also starts crying. They hug as they comically bawl their eyes out but each gets comfort from the other at their lowest point in life – the slump. 

The Episode Review

This episode was a tearjerker for more reasons than one. We learn how the characters are struggling in their ways. While Jeong-woo is completely alone, Ha-neul is mentally ill and feels miserable. On the contrary, their cheerful banter and interactions are hilarious which takes the steam off of the serious issues that the show conveys. 

The chemistry between Shin-hye and Hyung-sik is phenomenal. This is probably why they’re both such popular actors! Both of them express and portray their characters beautifully while staying true to the comedy of the show. Their range of expression – especially for Park Hyung-sik in this particular episode as he taunts and teases Ha-neul is fantastic.

The cinematography, slapstick and shot composition in this episode were expectedly aesthetic and enjoyable. It looks like Doctor Slump might be the kdrama to pull some of us out of a slump, doesn’t it?