King the Land (2023) K drama with Im Yoon Ah and Lee Jun Ho Episode 5

Episode 5 of King The Land begins with a disappointed Gu Won walking out when two employees smile at him. It triggers him and he remembers the time his mother went missing. While he is the only one grieving, the rest of the staff smile and act as if nothing has happened.

Upset, he goes to the park only to see a tearful Sa-rang. She turns to leave, trips and falls in his arms. He pulls her into a hug, telling her that for a moment he will allow her to find comfort in him. She tries to go home on her own but he throws his umbrella and runs after her. 

While he drives her, he asks what happened to her umbrella. She ends up using it as a metaphor to talk about her ex-boyfriend and how she is glad she finally let the umbrella go. She falls asleep and he puts a blanket on her. He ends up waking her up at a restaurant as it is her birthday. He gives her new clothes and shoes to freshen up. When she comes out, she is stunned to see him wearing a similar grey tracksuit.

The waitress mistakes them for a couple and takes a polaroid photo of them. Won claims their couple’s outfit was unintentional and he just bought whatever he found. However, it cuts to him using his hands to measure her shoulders and shoes from afar and doing his best to find the perfect outfit. He also orders everything on the menu and says in order not to waste time she should just tell him all of her favourite things.

She is amused and says she otherwise doesn’t celebrate her birthday as it makes her feel inconsequential. The only way to get over it is to not have any expectations. He calls her fake for it and she is upset. She tries to pay the bill but with it being over a million won, Gu Won sweeps in with his black card. He tries to make a cool exit only for the cashier to call him back to sign and take his card back.

Gu Won finally takes Sa-rang home and gives her a cake, claiming he called the head chef to bake it at that moment. She is mildly annoyed that he inconvenienced the chef after his shift and Won acknowledges his mistake. However, the moment is broken as Yu-nam arrives. He assumes she has been cheating on him with Won and Sa-rang declares she should have broken up with him long ago. She tries to call the police but he stops her.

Before Won can intervene, she threatens him and walks off. Yu-nam tries to go after her but Won twists his hand and warns him too. After he leaves, Won double texts Sa-rang happy birthday and that it is his number. He immediately calls her after wondering why she hasn’t responded and she points out that he didn’t give her time. He wishes her again and tells her to call him if Yu-nam troubles her again.

Meanwhile, Pyeong-hwa’s team gets a cake too but it is for coming last place as Manager Soo-hyun sarcastically celebrates their downfall. She is furious that she was humiliated by their outcome and says that if they fail again the whole team will suffer. Later, she tries to motivate Pyeong-hwa to bring up the sales in exchange for getting her promoted so that their batchmates don’t look down on her.

Pyeong-hwa is greeted at home by a scared Sa-rang and Da-eul watching a horror film. Movie night ends in a twist as she finds the outfit Gu Won gave Sa-rang. She and Da-eul are sure that he has feelings for her and try to sell their products in a bid to have Sa-rang gift him something in return.

At work, Won barely cares about Hwa-ran’s schemes as he rejects her proposal of having the King The Land staff attend Farmer’s Week as it is not their responsibility. He is more interested in staring at the polaroid of him and Sa-rang when he is interrupted by Sang-sik who thinks he is trying to sabotage his sister.

He is impressed as he believes Won is finally fighting back but is shocked when he finds the polaroid. They start running around as children as Sang-sik takes the photo and teases Won. At that moment, Sa-rang texts him asking if he is free after work. Gu Won is ecstatic but he tries to play hard to get by saying he is busy and it backfires. She stops responding and he keeps texting her. Frustrated, he personally heads to the lounge to ask her.

She reveals she didn’t respond only because she is not allowed to use her phone while working. Annoyed, he finally asks why she texted him. She says she wanted to meet him and he is in disbelief. He tries to act cool by saying he is busy but for her, he can make time. The rest of the staff are swayed by his charms as they are glad he fought for them to skip Farmer’s Week.

After work, Sa-rang sneaks up to Won as she doesn’t want anyone to see them together. She gives him a gift and at first, he rejects it but when she tries to take it back, he holds on to it. She turns to leave and he is surprised at their short meet-up. He says he is hungry and Sa-rang scoffs but agrees to a meal. 

She takes him to her favourite restaurant and while he is confused due to the long line, lack of expensive wine and the cooking being done in front of them, he starts enjoying it. After dinner, he starts planning their next outing. Sa-rang refuses as she doesn’t want to eat with him alone. He gives her permission to be comfortable around him and she is amused.

Elsewhere, Hwa-ran doesn’t have much luck in the romance department as her husband asks for a divorce on their wedding anniversary since he is in love with someone else. She refuses till she is the owner of King Hotel as she doesn’t want to give Gu Won any ammunition. Chairman Gu also learns of the divorce and tells her to keep it under wraps as he doesn’t want to waste money silencing the media if the news is revealed.

Da-eul is having a tough time at work as well, as the Nation’s Mom, Mo Seong-ae decides to visit her shop. She lets her dog poop in the shop and refuses to clean it. She causes a ruckus and leaves which annoys the staff. As for the King The Land staff, Se-ho orders Sa-rang to call past VIP guests to increase their revenue. While she goes through the list, Won walks in on her. He ends up insulting her by asking why she works hard for a meagre bonus.

He thinks that the staff only cares about money and decides to approve Farmer’s Week which pays 200k to the staff. They are, however, sad as they need to pack last minute due to Won’s late decision. Sa-rang needs to take an overnight bus, hike up a mountain, do the farmer’s chores to show appreciation, take the night bus back and come to work at the hotel the next day.

She doesn’t mind as she does her research on her farmer’s produce which happens to be ginseng. Won keeps fretting as it seems it is about to rain. Sang-sik wonders why he is giving Sa-rang a hard time if he likes her and tries to assure him that it won’t rain.

But at that moment it starts to rain heavily in the mountain where Sa-rang is hiking. Won calls her and tells her to return but she refuses. Turns out the farmer is loyal to First Royal Hotel and she hopes to sway him by personally giving him King Hotel’s hamper.

She suddenly spots wild ginseng near a cliff and digs it out. In her excitement, she slips and falls to a ledge below. Won tries to call her all day but her phone is beyond her reach. She starts crying and wonders if this is it for her. Suddenly, she sees a helicopter and Gu Won jumps towards her.

The Episode Review

Gu Won looks so suave and charming “allowing” Sa-rang to hug him. We bet he was screaming on the inside the whole time. You can even see his happiness in the small things like hanging out with her and seeing their photos. But with 11 more episodes to go, it would be too easy and quick if everything is resolved in episode 5 itself. Despite his best efforts, he still doesn’t understand her.

Even if he doesn’t mean to, he ends up hurting her with his callous words which goes with his personality of being a chaebol who has never had to think about money or anyone else. And she might not be impressed by the bare minimum of him protecting her but viewers will be giggling and rolling like a bunch of teenagers at how cute he is as he keeps texting her but tries to play it cool.

We thought his entrance in a helicopter was dramatic but the rescue is on another level. It can be a little childish to see him fawning over their photo or counting minutes to her replies but his antics are so hilarious we forgive him for it. The way his eyes light up when Sa-rang asks him to meet her is so delightful, if she is not up for it, she can give him to us.