My Lovely Liar (2023) Episode 3

My Lovely Liar episode 3 starts with Do-ha asking Sol-hee what she thinks she is doing. He puts back his mask as Sol-hee tries to explain herself but he leaves without hearing her out. He checks into a nearby hotel and starts questioning Sol-hee’s motive for removing his mask. 

A worried Deuk-chan visits him at the hotel and after listening to Do-ha, figures he is overreacting. Deuk-chan thinks Sol-hee was trying to help Do-ha since he was passed out outside the building. He points out that this is not the first time Sol-hee has come to his aid. Do-ha argues that he is more worried about Sol-hee remembering the bus incident at Hakcheon. Deuk-chan asks him to calm down as she doesn’t know his secret and there is only one blurred photo of him on the internet. 

Sol-hee talks to her pet (I believe it is a turtle) and feels remorseful for invading Do-ha’s space and thinking he was running from creditors. By now, she knows he is Do-ha, the mysterious songwriter working with Syaon.

The following day, she tries to see if she will run into him and is slightly disappointed when she doesn’t see him. She heads to the tarot cafe and Chi-hoon apologizes once again. He is curious to find out more about Do-ha. Sol-hee tells him that he comes off as an honest person and Chi-hoon is pleased to hear this.

Cassandra doubts Do-ha is all that and makes a snide remark that maybe he got lucky with the questions. Sol-hee asks Chi-hoon if he knows why Do-ha never takes off his mask, but Chi-hoon also doesn’t know. 

Back at the hotel, Do-ha orders room service and tries to relax. At the same time, Sol-hee heads out for lunch and runs into some unfortunate guys trying to flirt with her. One of the man assume is because she is in a relationship but she clarifies she is single. Apparently, her last man left her. 

The scene cuts to Lee Gang-min, you might remember him as one of the detectives who arrested Eom-ho. Gang-min is being transferred to Seoul station. The Seoul officers are curious about the famous Hackcheon case once they learn he is from there. However, Gang-min clarifies that he didn’t work on the case and was temporarily based at Hakcheon for a while.

Later that night, Sol-hee starts to worry after realizing Do-ha didn’t return home. Do-ha is still at the hotel, googling for any updates on the Hakcheon case. He tries to sleep at the hotel, but unfortunately, his insomnia is back. 

The next morning, he visits a chemist to buy sleep inducers. On his return to the hotel, he is shocked to see journalists waiting for another star. Luckily, none of them recognize him but he is not willing to take that risk. He quickly gets into a taxi and heads back to the apartment. Sol-hee sees him arrive and is surprised when he tries to hide.  

She apologizes to him about the mask incident and admits she was worried He questions how she knew he wasn’t around and she tells him about the soda package that has been outside his door for days. He asks if she remembers him and what she thought after seeing his face. Sol-hee still doesn’t remember him as the man she saved on a bus a few years back. She only tells him that he is handsome but not his type.

As they talk, a man walks over and explains he lost his phone and urgently needs to make a call. Sol-hee distinguishes the man is telling the truth and gladly helps him with her phone. Do-ha tries to warn her that the man might be a con artist but Sol-hee insists that the man is telling the truth. 

The guy makes his phone call and returns the phone. He then asks for money for a taxi and promises to pay it back. Sol-hee checks her wallet but she has no cash. She asks Do-ha to help and the man leaves after getting the money.  Do-ha starts to wonder why Sol-hee is too trusting but she tells him that she trusts no one. Once Do-ha gets to his apartment, he starts questioning why Sol-hee is a nice trusting person.

In the meantime, Syaon has an accident while she performs her new song and is rushed to the hospital. It turns out to be a ploy to get Do-ha to call her. Do-ha calls her and promises to send her a new song he is working on. Deuk-chan tries to speak some sense to Syaon about her crush on Do-ha. He advises her to confess and get over it. Syaon worries that she will be rejected and decides to ignore Deuk-chan’s advice. 

Outside the hospital, the fans including Chi-hoon protest her tight schedule. CHi-hoon falls asleep during the night and decides to get coffee at the nearest convenience store. He is shocked to see Syaon also grabbing a bite and she shares her egg with him. He is too shocked to say anything to her. 

The following day, Sol-hee’s mom, Hyang-sook send her daughter a picture pretending she is in line getting some food donation. Sol-hee calls her and is adamant she won’t fall for her trick this time. She vows to check out if her mom is lying and refuses to help her until then. 

Meanwhile, Deuk-chan’s brother who also works in the company drops by. He wants Deuk-chan to look into why his paycheck was reduced. Deuk-chan explains that he cut the funds his brother misappropriated from the company. He warns his brother, Jae-chan, to stop playing and getting into failed businesses.

As Deuk-chan turns to receive a call, his brother steals his car keys. He checks the last location on the car’s history and learns that Deuk-chan frequently went to a neighbourhood of Yeonseo-dong. He trades this information with Syaon: in return, she promotes his burger restaurant. 

Elsewhere, Sol-hee gets a new client looking to see if her fiance is lying to her. The client asks if Sol-hee has a boyfriend but the latter insists personal questions are not allowed.

Later that day, Do-ha is surprised when someone interrupts him as she works on his music. It turns out to be ​​Hyang-sook (Sol-hee’s mom) who got the wrong house number. Sol-hee arrives and her mom pretends she can’t speak since she has vocal cord nodules. Sol-hee is aware that her mom is pretending and they get into a fight. Do-ha can’t help but overhear as they argue. Hyang-sook is using Sol-hee’s guilty about something that happened when she was a kid. She wants Sol-hee to apologize by giving her money.

In the end, Sol-hee gives in and gives her some money. She informs her mom that she is only giving in because she wants Hyang-sook to stay out of trouble. 

In a flashback, we learn that Sol-hee took pity on one of her mom’s con victims. She was young and agreed to return the money her mom took. She welcomed the woman her mom conned into the house and together they searched for Hyang-sook’s bank information. On the other hand, the woman found more evidence of Hyang-sook’s cons and took the documents. 

Sol-hee gave the woman her mom’s bank card and asked the woman to take only her money and return the card. The woman lied she would and ran away. Sol-hee tried to chase after her when she realized the woman was lying but it was too late. Her mom never forgave her for the incident. 

Later that night, Sol-hee spots Do-ha as they both stand outside their respective balcony. She apologizes for her mom’s behaviour and explains more about their relationship. Do-ha understands her and admits it is the same with his mom. He comforts her by telling her that every family has its problem. 

The next day, they run into each other at the elevator. Do-ha overhears Sol-hee talking to her client about a blind date and misunderstands. Sol-hee stops by the tarot cafe and asks Cassandra to call back the client and confirm the details. She sees Gang-min, who is on his first patrol of the area. She ignores it since she didn’t see him clearly and thinks there is no way he is in Seoul. 

Night rolls by and Sol-hee meets with her client and her fiance. She finds out that the man is lying and tells her client as much. Her client pays and refuses to give up on the man. She questions if knowing everything is working out for Sol-hee. The question brings back Sol-hee’s memories of her relationship with Gang-min. She was set to marry him and they were deeply in love.

It turns out that Sol-hee was wrong about why the man was lying. He only wanted to surprise the lady with a grand proposal and was secretly working with the lady’s friends. Sol-hee feels bad and returns the payment before leaving. She can’t help but feel overwhelmed with the events of the day.

Sol-hee also can’t stop thinking about Gang-min and why their relationship ended. She caught him lying to her and began to feel unsure about their love and upcoming nuptials. She sought some assurance from him but he didn’t give her any. She ends up having some drinks at a bar where Do-ha is coincidentally playing the piano. 

While at the bar, she runs into Ji-hoon, the guy who had an affair with his girlfriend’s maid from episode 1. He starts lashing out at her as she enjoys the music and accuses her of ruining everything. Sol-hee argues that she is not at fault and her love life is a mess so it is only fair that his ended because of his lies. Ji-hoon is about to hit her when Do-ha steps in and escalates the situation. 

He was in such a hurry to save her, he forgot to put on his mask. He realizes this when driving her back home and asks if he feels comfortable around her. At this point, Sol-hee is drunk and acting cute and shouting at the top of her voice after rolling down the window. She is also playing around and teasing him that she is about to vomit. She finds it fun since Do-ha is so gullible. 

They end up having a meal at a restaurant since Sol-hee claims she is lonely and begs him to stay. At first, Do-ha is hesitant and explains he never eats outside his house. Sol-hee grabs her and makes him sit beside her, away from other people. She knew he was scared of letting people see his face.

On their way back home, she tells him that she doesn’t understand why he is secluding himself. She explains that most people are busy living their lives and don’t care about him as much as he thinks. 

Concurrently, Syaon is driving around Yeon-seo’s neighbourhood trying to find Do-ha’s apartment. She is unaware that the paparazzi are following her. 

As Do-ha parks the car, Sol-hee gets out and finds two men looking around the apartment’s letter box. She asks them what they are doing and they lie, claiming they’re hoping to check on a friend. Sol-hee quickly realizes that they are paparazzi looking for Do-ha. 

At the same time, Do-ha makes his way inside the apartment and sees Sol-hee talking to the two men. She tries to warn him but he fails to pick up on her hints. Sol-hee decides to distract the paparazzi and rush towards Do-ha while calling him her boyfriend. She starts jumping in front of him to block the paparazzi who have already drawn out their cameras.

The Episode Review

In a way, Do-ha and Sol-hee are kindred spirits. They both have restrained relationships with their families and are hiding secrets. They also have trouble trusting people and that has affected how they live their lives. 

It is safe to say that Sol-hee can distinguish between good and bad lies. This is why she paid for the meal for that struggling mom and daughter at the restaurant. Her gift has also not been easy on her. She lost Gang-min because she sensed that he was lying. It is still unclear what he was lying about, but we will uncover more as the series progresses.  

It also makes it hard on her relationship with her mom. Her mom blames her for what happened even though she shouldn’t. Honestly, Hyang-sook is out of line and toxic. How can she blame her daughter for her own mistakes? 

Lastly, Syaon is a frustrating character. So far, she has only thought of her wants and failed to think of the consequences. She should respect Do-ha’s privacy and stop putting him under more spotlight. It is her fault that the paparazzi found Do-ha this time.