Heartbeat (2023) K Drama Episode 6

Episode 6 of Heartbeat starts with the scene where In-hae finds the portrait of Hae-sun. She asks Woo-hyeol if he would fall for her if she really was Hae-sun’s reincarnation. He admits he did feel Hae-sun in In-hae’s blood but there’s one problem — In-hae’s blood is poisonous to vampires. Which means she couldn’t possibly be Hae-sun. In-hae is frustrated at his reply but suddenly realises he should be at work. Woo-hyeol reveals that he quit.

A flashback shows Woo-hyeol in the school toilet, overhearing the principal tell someone on the phone that he fired In-hae. Woo-hyeol throws a bucket of water on him and then leaves. In-hae bursts out laughing but then says that they both can’t be jobless. Woo-hyeol then tells her how this mansion used to be the Shaded Oasis, a hot spot for people.

Later at night, In-hae keeps thinking about her conversation with Woo-hyeol when she should be looking for a job. He, too, thinks about her question. Meanwhile, Hae-won gets a call from a lawyer informing her of the mansion’s ownership details. After two failed job interviews, In-hae then gets a call from Do-sik.

Woo-hyeol tells Sang-hae he needs a job but Sang-hae’s contact at the employment agency doesn’t trust him anymore. They then come across a vampire tteokkbokki shop with Dong-seop staring at the long line. He’s dejected since the shop opened in the same building as his shop. The owner of the building comes by and Dong-seop complains to him but to no avail.

In-hae meets with Do-sik, who proposes a business partnership by renting out the rooms in her mansion. She decides to consider it. At home, she puts forth the idea to Woo-hyeol who seems set against it.  She finally convinces him by saying that Hae-sun might turn up as a guest.

Hyun-joo, the butcher, meets Young-ki, the tailor while closing her shop for the day. She asks about the upcoming neighbourhood patrol and decides to use it to teach Woo-hyeol and In-hae a lesson.

Woo-hyeol tells his friends about the guest house and Do-sik’s offer of help. Rose deduces that Do-sik likes In-hae and Woo-hyeol figures that she likes him back. If she falls for him, Woo-hyeol can finally drink her blood!

In-hae tries drafting texts to Do-sik but keeps deleting them. He calls her and asks her if she’s made a decision. She says she wants to go ahead with it and even asks him to help her, which delights him to no end. He arranges a meeting with her that day itself, despite his assistant’s reservations. In-hae arrives and is taken aback by the task force of people involved in the project.

On the drive home, Do-sik asks In-hae when he can visit. She mentions discussing it with Woo-hyeol, which ticks him off a bit. Woo-hyeol watches Do-sik drop her off and is more convinced of the two of them falling in love.

Later, Woo-hyeol calls In-hae and tells her to come downstairs. He gives her permission to go ahead with the guest house and is surprised to know it’s already in motion. When he hints that there might be more going on between In-hae and Do-sik, she vehemently denies it.

When In-hae texts Do-sik to come to the house whenever he is free, Do-sik cancels his appointments for the next Friday. We then see Sang-hae clicking photos of Do-sik. Turns out, Woo-hyeol instructed him to look into Do-sik and make sure he’s a decent fellow. But while doing so, he gets caught by Lee Man-hwi. In their ensuing conversation, Sang-hae reveals that Woo-hyeol is awake again which seems to unsettle Man-hwi.

Hae-won meets Do-sik and tells him she wants to buy the mansion. He says that it belongs to his friend and she can’t sell it yet. Instead, they’re opening a guest house.

Sang-hae comes home to the house he shares with Dong-seop and complains about their poor lifestyle. They discuss the gold bars below Woo-hyeol’s coffin which disappeared. Just then, the landlady comes by to tell them she’s increasing the deposit. Sang-hae insists that they have to find the gold bars now.

In a dark alley, Lee Man-hwi gets ready to attack a human but is interrupted by Ko Yang-nam who warns him of the consequences.

While measuring a part of the house, In-hae drops the tape and nearly hurts herself. Woo-hyeol begins to help her and she says she’s not just doing this for herself. They need to keep the house in their possession so he can meet Hae-sun. As they go about taking measures, Woo-hyeol sees his reflection in her eyes again and marvels at his appearance.

Do-sik then calls In-hae for dinner and tells her he wants to introduce her to someone. She goes to the restaurant and is introduced to Hae-won, who owns a real estate investment company. Hae-won says she wants to invest in the guest house as she’s interested in the mansion. She describes being pulled towards it.

Back home, In-hae can’t help but wonder why Hae-won looks familiar. She relates the conversation to Woo-hyeol who agrees to let Hae-won see the house.

Afterwards, Sang-hae tells Woo-hyeol that Do-sik is a workaholic. He also informs him about Man-hwi and how he and Dong-seop are going to look for the stolen gold bars. Woo-hyeol agrees to split them in half, should they be found.

Do-sik turns up to see the mansion the next day. Woo-hyeol sees him and In-hae chatting and laughing and seems annoyed. Meanwhile, Hyun-joo sees Do-sik’s assistant waiting outside the mansion and gets even more suspicious.

After the house tour, Do-sik asks to see the basement but In-hae makes up an excuse. While In-hae makes tea, Do-sik asks Woo-hyeol about his relationship with In-hae. Woo-hyeol, in turn, asks him what he thinks of In-hae. Do-sik admits she is someone he wants to protect. Later on, Woo-hyeol narrates the whole thing to his friends. They wonder why he looks angry when Do-sik and In-hae seem to be falling in love.

The doorbell rings and In-hae opens it to find Hyun-joo and Young-ki who inform her about the neighbourhood security patrol. On set days, she must patrol the neighbourhood with them. Woo-hyeol arrives and they are allotted an area to patrol. Hyun-joo wonders how long they will last.

While walking, Woo-hyeol tells In-hae how he used to protect humans from vampires. As he didn’t want vampires to be hunted like he was. She then brings up Woo-hyeol’s bad mood when Do-sik visited. She assumes he’s upset about the changes being made to his house since he’s had it for hundreds of years. She apologises for the same. Woo-hyeol smiles and removes a speck of dust from her hair.

When they reach the mansion they find Hae-won standing outside, much to Woo-hyeol’s shock. He pulls her into a hug and calls her Hae-sun.

The Episode Review

I’m actually surprised that the show is bringing Hae-won and Woo-hyeol together this soon. As per the usual K-drama speed, I would have expected them to have near misses for the next episode or two at least. Needless to say, this makes things a lot more interesting. Particularly since this episode is the first time we have seen hints of Woo-hyeol having feelings for In-hae.

In fact, it’s Woo-hyeol’s emotions that maintain the flow of this episode. While the pace is fairly slow, the story is kept engaging thanks to his need to have In-hae fall in love (with anyone) which further conflicts with his growing feelings for her and the remnants of his love for Hae-sun.

I have to say, the supporting characters do not feel as compelling as the others. Do-sik and Hae-won do have a certain mystery to their stories and a charm to their characters. Even Ko Yang-nam is an excellent version of the wise old wizard.

But Hyun-joo and Young-ki, however, are clearly there to just put a wrench in everybody’s plans and nothing else. It’s not just that their role is so painfully obvious, but also that the scenes with them offer no entertainment at all.