Bo Ra! Deborah (2023) Episode 2

Sang-jin arrives at a restaurant with a woman as episode 2 of True to Love begins. When the host asks for the name of the reservation he tries cutie pie and baby. She throws water on him and leaves.

He gets a call from Su-hyeok, where Su-hyeok is wondering what he did wrong. He put in a lot of effort for her but Sang-jin claims his rookie mistake voice to make his feelings known. When Su-hyeok reveals he couldn’t even take out the ring he bought for her, Sang-jin says things would have been different. All of a sudden, Su-hyeok blames it all on Deborah and says he won’t work with her.

At home, Bo-ra watches a proposal scene on TV while her sister brings her ramyeon. Elsewhere, Yoo-jung and her husband watch the same scene. Yoo-jung asks him why he didn’t pop the question and left it to her. He shrugs and claims he didn’t really think about marriage at the time. It turns out he only said yes to her because he says yes to everything.

Bo-ra wakes up thinking about her impending proposal. She gets a call from Ju-wan, who says they should go out that night, which makes her spirits soar even higher. While getting ready she realises her sister Bo-mi stole a dress from her and storms into her room to confront her. Bo-mi admits she wore it once and brings it out to show Bo-ra stains and a tear on it. They get into a fight and Bo-mi yells at her to wear one of her other many clothes. She ultimately helps Bo-ra choose one and style it.

Sang-jin enters the office and announces that Su-hyeok might be late but he’s right there, cheerful as ever. Sang-jin claims his night was ruined because of Su-hyeok, who had gotten drunk and had to be taken care of by Sang-jin. Su-hyeok seems distracted the entire day.

Bo-ra reaches the radio station to find that Yu-ri has taken the day off. The radio employees flatter Bo-ra – survey, shell do it

The first letter is about a man who doesn’t want to work on his relationship. Deborah advises the woman to break up with him. The second is about a woman whose boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend but is open to forgive him this one time. Deborah says that she would only get more suspicious and the man would end up cheating again. Bo-ra is sprightly and energetic throughout.

The employees invite her out for beef but she has other plans. Ju-wan meets her outside the radio station instead but when the car doesn’t start he asks Bo-ra to check the trunk. She expects a surprise proposal but when she gets there, there’s nothing.

When they enter an empty movie theatre her imagination soars again but it’s just an ordinary movie. Ju-wan even falls asleep. Later, while walking, Ju-wan gets down on one knee but it’s only to tie his laces.

He drops her home and Bo-ra enters to find a mess. Her sister’s phone rings and the contact name is Don’t Pick Up. Her sister runs out and grabs it. Bo-mi asks Bo-ra for money for her cell service and takes Bo-ra’s shoes before heading out.

Outside a club, a group of four men get ready to enter. One of them gives the others tips on picking up girls. They enter and start dancing when one of the others sees Bo-mi. Enraptured by her, he approaches her and tries using various pickup lines but it doesn’t work too well. Still, she gives him her phone number. He calls her immediately because he wanted to make sure it was the right number. In the loo, Bo-mi and her friends talk. Bo-mi admits the boy was cute but she then receives a message from someone named Sang-hyeok, whom the other girls seem excited to see.

At home, Bo-ra figures that Ju-wan might come over later and propose. She hurries to put on her makeup again.

Bo-mi hangs out with a large group of friends as they drink. Looking uncomfortable, Bo-mi gets up to leave. She’s followed by a man, presumably Sang-hyeok, from the group who says he stopped drinking because she stopped too. He asks to give her a ride home.

Later she realises he was lying about the drinking, as Sang-hyeok gets angry and demands payback for all the drinks he’s bought her, at which Bo-mi throws all the cash she took from Bo-ra at him. When he threatens her, the other man from the club turns up and makes sure he doesn’t cause any trouble. He even helps her get a bus home since she’s out of cash.

When Bo-mi gets home, Bo-ra berates her for coming home so late but the former is in a very bad mood.

At the publishing company, Su-hyeok insists on not working with Deborah despite her being on the way for the meeting. Bo-ra and Yoo-jung walk to the meeting, wondering why Ju-wan hasn’t proposed yet. Su-hyeok says he’ll be present at the meeting but nothing further. Yoo-jung tells Bo-ra that Su-hyeok is one of the best in the field and they’ll get along together.

They reach the office and hear Su-hyeok badmouthing Bo-ra, even calling her a fraud. She enters and confronts Su-hyeok. They recognise each other from the jewellery shop. Bo-ra tells Sang-jin she recognises him from his wedding. She and Su-hyeok argue about whether she really is an expert in romance and if dating can really have winners or losers. Despite the banter between them, Bo-ra agrees to do the book with the company. Sang-jin takes them all out for a treat. On the way to the restaurant, Sang-jin tells Su-hyeok to behave and Bo-ra expresses her displeasure with working with Su-hyeok.

At the restaurant, Sang-jin and a reluctant Su-hyeok take down Bo-ra’s number and then go to a karaoke bar. When it’s Bo-ra’s turn, she sings… and directs it at Su-hyeok. Su-hyeok uses his turn to sing a sad, lovelorn song. Yoo-jung asks Bo-ra what kind of a person he is. Bo-ra says he’s predictable. The kind of person who has a cat, is eco-friendly and uses a choptstick to put his hair in a bun. Yoo-jung admits he’s the kind of person you’d want to date.

While waiting for a bus, Bo-ra asks Su-hyeok if he gave his girlfriend the ring. He hasn’t yet and refuses to answer why. He believes it’s not easy for a man to give a woman a ring and if she wants it so badly she should ask for it. Bo-ra takes this advice to heart and decides to ask Ju-wan herself. As she takes a cab and leaves, Su-hyeok realises his phone has switched with Bo-ra’s and he rushes after her.

Bo-ra’s excited to meet Ju-wan and pop the question first. She realises her phone has switched, so she can’t call Ju-wan. She goes to his house and sees a car parked by the gate. Inside is Ju-wan kissing another woman. Su-hyeok comes up behind her, about to give her the phone, and sees her standing in shock.

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The Episode Review

While this episode drags a bit more than the first one, it’s still a fun ride. The slower pace is also expected as the real catalyst for the show is Bo-ra learning about her boyfriend’s unfaithfulness. And now that it’s happened, the show can plunge into its core subject matter.

Yoo In-na and Yoon Hyun-min clearly have some solid chemistry as seen from their banter this episode. Another point of interest was how she actually takes his advice and even thanks him. Their dynamic has a lot of potential for entertainment.

Yoo In-na has also established Bo-ra’s character firmly. We can expect those cutesy exclamations and her vivid imagination to accompany the story through to the end. Overall, a good second episode!