King the Land (2023) K drama with Im Yoon Ah and Lee Jun Ho Episode 9

Episode 9 of King The Land gives a recap of the dinner disaster which ends in a kiss. They then dry off by sitting under a blanket and eating the leftovers. Won offers to cook again and Sa-rang says it is her turn. Things are looking up for Da-eul and Pyeong-hwa as well as they hit their target.

King Air celebrates by giving Pyeong-hwa extra cash and promoting…her junior, Mi-na. The celebration turns sour as Mi-na tells her to stop being pathetic. Upset, she leaves and Ro-woon follows her. He comforts her and taking her hand, pulls her up for a walk which surprises her.

At the hotel, Won is grinning ear to ear and so is Sa-rang who even fails to greet Sang-sik as she only has eyes for Gu Won. The three take the elevator to work and Won keeps trying to hold her hand while Sang-sik tries to catch him in the act. On his floor, he kicks out Sang-sik so that he can accompany Sa-rang to work. She stops him at the door of King The Land and he puts his hand on the door and gets close to her.

It looks like they may kiss but he just pushes the door open for her. Once she’s inside, she recreates Won’s hand against the door move and swoons at how cool he is. However, she is forced by the other colleagues to take a difficult decision as Won spends the whole day in the lounge.

They think he is keeping an eye on them even though the only one in his line of vision is Sa-rang. To get him to leave, she raises her voice and he is hurt. But the rest of her shift goes smoothly as she helps out Se-ho with a guest and he thanks her.

Chairman Gu’s core team is discussing the 100th anniversary event and they notice that Won has not invited any government officials yet. Hwa-ran says it will be difficult since he only manages the VIP lounge and Won suddenly decides that Gu should hand the hotel to him then. Their father agrees as Hwa-ran anyway has Alanga and King Air. Sa-rang enters to serve them and Won sulks.

She realises it and as they leave, she pulls him to the side. To make up, she tries to hug him and he is so shocked, he shudders. She misunderstands and storms off. He realises his mistakes and now sulks for a whole different reason.

Sang-sik doesn’t understand why and Won makes up a hypothetical situation of a man shuddering on being hugged by his girlfriend. Sang-sik states that the man must be a fool who doesn’t know anything about dating which just annoys Won more. Meanwhile, Mr. Choi is worried for Hwa-ran but she isn’t. She decides to invite her supporters to the event to show who really is in charge.

Won is driving when he notices a flower shop. He buys a bouquet for Sa-rang’s grandmother who is shocked to see him. She is busy trying to fix a light bulb but falls. He catches her just in time but admits her to the hospital on the safer side. She is annoyed with his fussing but realises that he likes Sa-rang. She tells him to verbalise his feelings and he intently listens.

Sa-rang barges in, in tears as she indirectly reveals Grandmother is her only family. Won drives Sa-rang to the restaurant but refuses to leave. They need to change the light bulb and he offers to even though he never has. Of course, he causes a blackout by touching the wrong switch.

They stumble in the dark and are shocked when they realise they are hugging. It looks like they are moving to kiss each other but they just try to get out of each other’s way. He keeps fidgeting and she scolds him. She finds a torch which lights her up face. Scaredy-cat Gu Won faints at the sight and she wonders why he keeps doing that.

They end up crashing in Grandmother’s room and Won apologises for his behaviour the other day. Sa-rang too apologises and they make up. He also declares that he likes her and so does she. They kiss but she makes him sleep on the far end of the room. She warns him not to mess around but is shocked when he straight-up pulls her mattress towards him.

They recall staying at the inn and how from the beginning he liked her. He stays up all night watching her sleep and in the morning tries to kiss her forehead. Grandmother chooses that moment to enter and is shocked. She starts smacking Won who says he only held Sa-rang’s hand which makes her even more furious. It wakes up Sa-rang who is surprised to see Grandmother out of the hospital.

Grandmother puts her to work and takes Won to the market. The ladies surround them as Grandmother states that Won is just one of the many men chasing Sa-rang. One of the ladies starts flexing that her grandson-in-law even owns a house unlike Won and Grandmother defends him.

She takes him to the bank and opens a housing subscription for him with her money. He is touched and promises to work hard. She refuses to give her approval as he doesn’t even know anything about Sa-rang but at home, she cooks a feast for him.

Back in Seoul, Sa-rang and Won are walking in her neighbourhood with him regaling his adventure with Grandmother and how he is the #1 candidate as her grandson-in-law. Sa-rang is amused and he asks about her favourite food which is spring rolls. As they banter, Pyeong-hwa and Da-eul spot them.

They invite him for drinks and mope over their misfortune. Turns out even Da-eul did not get the overseas trip Alanga promised. It is also revealed that for being the ‘Best Talent’ for 2 years in a row, all Sa-rang got was 2 badges. Won is furious and promises to do something about it. 

He tells Sang-sik to reward the best employee of each department and even though King Air and Alanga fall under Hwa-ran’s jurisdiction, he promises to take responsibility. An invitation to Thailand is sent to Da-eul, Pyeong-hwa and Sa-rang. Sang-sik is suddenly polite and attentive to Won and he cannot figure out why.

He is answered at the airport as Sang-sik shows up in his vacation outfit since he is the ‘Best Assistant’. Won hurriedly shuts him up and introduces him as Department Manager Yoo Sang-sik as he is masquerading as Manager No in front of the girls. Sang-sik takes advantage of this and orders him around as the team leader. Won is annoyed but Sa-rang cheers him as they run to their gate.

The Episode Review

Episode 9 of King The Land is so adorable it will have viewers giggling and blushing. Along with their usual teasing, Sa-rang and Won openly flirting and showing signs of affection has raised our expectations so high.

The scene where the light goes out and we only see their silhouettes as they accidentally hug and almost kiss can be considered steamier than their make-out scene. Of course, leave it to them to turn it into a hilarious moment with Won fainting.

As for the impending tension between Won and Hwa-ran, it is bound to explode into a full-blown disaster any day. His latest decision is worrying as Hwa-ran may sabotage it. She may have previously wanted the event to go smoothly since she was handling the hotel. With Won taking it up, she might try to mess with him since the hotel is not under her control anymore.