Twinkling Watermelon (2023) K Drama Episode 8

Episode 8 of Twinkling Watermelon starts with Yi-chan trying to get up after he was thrashed by the goons in the middle of the street. He finds a blank sound in his ear, suggesting that he may have lost his hearing.

Meanwhile, Eun-gyeol comes to a realisation that he is finally back in the present time. He runs back home and is delighted to meet his father and Eun-ho. He learns that his mum was out with her friends and that she will be back in a while.

At dinner, Eun-gyeol tells his father and Eun-ho how he saw a dream from 1995 and met his father who was 18 at the time. He reveals that his father was poor in studies back then and how he gave Grandma a hard time.

Eun-gyeol also reveals that his father was in love with someone else and tells Eun-ho how he lied to them when he said that their mother was his first love.

Just then, his mother shows up at the house and Eun-gyeol is shocked to see Se-kyeong in Chung-a’s place. Eun-gyeol wakes up from his sleep and realises that he had a dream and that he was still in 1995. He recalls being electrocuted and being taken to the hospital. He leaves his room and finds a family portrait in its place.

From the portrait, he learns that he was at the house of the owner of Jinsung Musical Instruments. He also spots Chung-a in the portrait and recognises her as the girl he saw crying by the phone booth. Joo-yeob, the organizer of the auditions, stops Eun-gyeol from running away from his hospital as well.

In the meantime, Eun-yu waits for Yi-chan to show up at the restaurant. However, Chung-a finds an unconscious Yi-chan in the alleyway and gets scared when she sees blood on her hands. Chung-a starts panicking and cries, running around to get help.

Chung-a finds Eun-yu and assumes she is Se-kyeong. She drags Se-kyeong to help Yi-chan and sees how she was able to save his life. Yi-chan wakes up and tells Eun-yu that his head is hurting. Chung-a leaves, seeing how she is no longer needed in this situation.

On the other hand, Joo-yeob introduces himself to Eun-gyeol and asks him to sign a document. The document details a waiver which mentions that Jinsung Musical Instruments hold no responsibility for what happened to Eun-gyeol. After some argument with Joo-yeob, Eun-gyeol finally signs the document.

However, on his way out, Eun-gyeol runs into Chung-a and reads her nametag, finally recognizing his mother. He tries to talk to her but the guards kick Eun-gyeol out. Eun-gyeol struggles to get to Chung-a and finally manages to enter the house.

Joo-yeob tries to stop him from seeing Eun-gyeol but he snatches the waiver letter and tears it up, threatening to sue Joo-yeob for what happened. Joo-yeob gets angry and knocks Eun-gyeol unconscious. The guards take Eun-gyeol to the guest room where Eun-gyeol wakes up and tries to look for his mother.

Just then, Chung-a’s stepmother Ji-mi and her step-sister Sang-a return from their shopping trip. Ji-mi yells at Joo-yeob for causing chaos when their father Mr Yoon was away on a business trip. She asks Joo-yeob to solve the issue before Mr Yoon returns. Sang-a goes to her room and runs into Chung-a on the way back.

Sang-a notices Chung-a’s blood-stained uniform and teases her. She tries to bully Chung-a and steals the watermelon keychain that Yi-chan put in her jacket pocket. Chung-a asks for her keychain but Sang-a mocks and teases her. Chung-a gets angry and pulls Sang-a’s hair, causing her to yell.

The two sisters have a fight, with both pulling on each other’s hair. Eun-gyeol overhears the noise from the neighboring room and tries to go out but Joo-yeob’s lawyer forces him to stay put. Eun-gyeol punches the lawyer and goes outside to look for Chung-a.

In the meantime, Ji-mi shows up and finds Chung-a and Sang-a fighting. Sang-a lies to her mother and tells her that Chung-a stole the keychain that Se-kyeong gifted her.

Ji-mi forcefully takes the keychain from Chung-a causing her to start screaming. Ji-mi tells her to stop acting like an animal and communicate verbally if she has something to say. Eun-gyeol finds Ji-mi assaulting Chung-a and stops her. He asks his mother if she is okay using sign language and learns that she has no idea what sign language is.

Eun-gyeol yells at Ji-mi for keeping Chung-a in such adverse conditions that she has no idea what is going on in the outside world. Ji-mi asks Eun-gyeol to stay away from the family business but Eun-gyeol threatens to expose Ji-mi and the entire Yoon family for treating a disabled person badly.

Just then, Mr Yoon showS us early from his trip and asks what’s going on. The episode moves to the following day with Ma-joo waiting for Yi-chan as he gets an audiology test. Yi-chan comes out of the test and tells Ma-joo that he was perfectly fine post the incident. Ma-joo notices how well Yi-chan is getting along with the rest of the patients in the hospital. 

Yi-chan asks Ma-joo to keep the incident a secret from his Grandma as he does not want her to worry. He reveals that he lied to her and told Grandma that he was at Ma-joo’s house, studying for their exams. Grandma cooks delicious food for Yi-chan and Ma-joo, before asking Bal San to take her there.

Bal San tries to force Grandma to stay back but when she insists on seeing her grandson, Bal San intentionally trips, ruining all the food that Grandma had prepared. Grandma scolds Bal San but the latter is glad he was able to keep Yi-chan’s condition a secret from the elderly woman.

At the hospital, Yi-chan meets bandmates, Si-guk, Se-bum and Hyun-yul, who are all concerned for him. The band is now united and want to collectively look for Eun-gyeol. The members ask Yi-chan what happened in the alleyway and he presents a fairytale story of how he fought so many goons with ease after he was sneakily attacked by a goon and rendered unconscious.

He adds that Se-kyeong saved his life but Se-kyeong/Eun-yu shows up at the hospital and tells Yi-chan that it was Chung-a who saved him. Yi-chan tells her that she is friends with Chung-a and that the latter has a hearing disability. Eun-yu is shocked to learn that her mother was close friends with someone who had a disability.

The rest of the bandmates and Eun-yu leave the hospital to have something to eat. However, Eun-yu runs away when she sees her father, Jin-hwan, at the hospital. She spies on her dad and notices how he has always been a flirt even when he was dating her mother, Se-kyeong. 

Eun-yu goes outside and keys Jin-hwan’s car for flirting with the nurses when he has a fiancee abroad. She thinks about Se-kyeong’s first love and is reminded of Eun-gyeol.

On the other hand, Eun-gyeol goes back out of the Yoon house to collect his bag from a locker nearby. He tries to call Master, hoping for clues after his dream. He tries to call Master but is not able to get through to him. He notices Se-kyeong threaten someone on the phone and shows up in front of her.

Se-kyeong/Eun-yu is actually warning Master on the phone, threatening him to tell her the truth about her mother’s first love. Eun-yu and Eun-gyeol look at each other and wonder if the other was their parents’ first love. While Eun-yu worries that Eun-gyeol is Se-kyeong’s first love, Eun-gyeol wonders if Se-kyeong is his mother in the future.

Eun-gyeol is scared and fights with Eun-yu, calling her Aunty. He tells Eun-yu that he will definitely ruin her relationship with Yi-chan no matter what. Eun-yu forces Eun-gyeol to join her for a meal and orders a spicy dish for him to eat. Eun-gyeol refuses to eat the dish until Eun-yu (Se-kyeong) tells him the truth about her true feelings for Yi-chan.

Eun-yu is confused and wonders if it would be right to tell her mother’s true love that she has feelings for another guy. Eun-yu refuses to answer the question and Eun-gyeol refuses to eat the spicy food. He tells Eun-yu (Se-kyeong) that he has a roof over his head as well as a part-time job and that he does not need to go back to the boarding house.

Eun-gyeol tells Eun-yu (Se-kyeong) how much he hated her when she was around Yi-chan and the latter wonders how her mother put up with such a snobby guy. That night, Yi-chan sneaks out of the hospital to thank Chung-a for saving his life. He tries to meet her and learns some sign language to try and communicate with her.

The receptionist tells Yi-chan that Chung-a does not want to meet him. Yi-chan is dejected and goes back to the hospital, hoping to meet Chung-a soon. At the same time, Eun-gyeol goes back inside the Yoon house, moving past Yi-chan without noticing him. Eun-gyeol goes into Chung-a’s room and starts teaching her sign language.

A flashback shows Eun-gyeol talking to his paternal grandfather, Mr Yoon, in private. He tells Mr Yoon that Chung-a was treated badly by his second wife and adds that he’s willing to introduce Chung-a to the world by teaching her sign language.

Present-day Eun-gyeol gets emotional when he tries to teach Chung-a sign language just as she did with him when he was younger. Chung-a is confused and wonders who Eun-gyeol is and why he is so empathetic towards her. The following day, Eun-gyeol accompanies Chung-a to school and acts as her translator.

Mr Yoon had allowed Eun-gyeol to attend school with Chung-a as he had no existing guardian. Outside the school, Eun-yu spots Eun-gyeol with Chung-a and tells Yi-chan all about it. Yi-chan and the band get ready to perform at Seowon Arts High School in order to convince Eun-gyeol to rejoin the band.

Meanwhile, Eun-yu sneaks into the school and asks Eun-gyeol if he is dating Chung-a now, wondering if he has moved on from Yi-chan. Eun-gyeol clarifies that he isn’t homosexual and he just dislikes her for no reason. Eun-yu tells Eun-gyeol all about Yi-chan’s accident which causes Eun-gyeol to worry.

Just then, Yi-chan and the band show up at Seowon Arts High School and perform on the school grounds. The impromptu concert is dedicated to Eun-gyeol and the students gather around to enjoy the show. Eun-gyeol is touched by Yi-chan’s performance.

After the performance ends, Yi-chan asks Eun-gyeol to rejoin the band as he really needs his lead guitarist. Eun-gyeol agrees to join the band on one condition; Yi-chan has to stop pursuing Se-kyeong because he has feelings for her.

The Episode Review

The show is halfway over and has taken such an interesting turn. Ever since it was revealed that Eun-yu was also from the year 2023 and came to the past to change her mother’s life, I have been hopeful for her to end up with Eun-gyeol. It is clear that Yi-chan actually does not have real feelings for Se-kyeong but only likes her because she is popular. 

Chung-a’s family life is extremely convoluted and I can’t comprehend how someone can force a person with a hearing disability to refrain from communicating with the rest of the world just because they aren’t able to do it the conventional way like the rest of the population. 

I am hoping to see Eun-gyeol introduce Chung-a and Yi-chan to each other and teach them both sign language at the same time. This could lead the two to start a romance and Eun-gyeol will also be able to witness his parents fall in love right in front of his eyes. 

As for Se-kyeong and Eun-yu, I am certain that the person Se-kyeong is talking about is neither Yi-chan or Eun-gyeol. It won’t be shocking to learn that Se-kyeong’s true first love was someone different altogether. I can’t wait for that secret to be revealed as the show progresses!