My Happy Ending (2023) K Drama Episode 5

The Korean drama My Happy Ending is anything but happy. The overdose of drama is definitely not doing my heart any good, and I’m glad I didn’t end up binge-watching this show. My Happy Ending does a fantastic job of setting the tone for a show about a woman being successful and how that affects the people around her in the most dramatic manner possible. It speaks to two of the big taboos in Korea: feminism and mental illness. Both of these have been huge themes in recent years as public opinions have become more open-minded. It is still awful to watch Jae-Won be treated like dirt when it is those around her who deserve that treatment more. Additionally, since we’re seeing the show from Jae-Won’s perspective, it’s a little difficult to separate reality from hallucination, considering her illness. With this mix of unreliable narrators and absolutely disgusting supporting characters, there’s only so much one can hold back before having a meltdown. Things are getting more intense as we go further into this pit that Jae-Won’s husband and friend have created for her. Let’s quickly get into episodes 5 and 6 of My Happy Ending.

What Happens In Episode 5?

At the end of episode 4 of My Happy Ending, Jae-Won notices Soon-Young continually receiving calls from someone. In a fit, she reveals that she knows the truth about everything and tells him to stop seeing Yoon-Jin. In episode 5, to her utter surprise, Soon-Young doesn’t even bother defending himself. It’s a battle of egos because Jae-Won doesn’t know what she’s done to deserve to be treated like trash by her partner and best friend, whereas Soon-Young makes petty complaints about how Jae-Won never cared about her family and climbed up the ladder selfishly, without once wondering how her family is doing in all this time (oh, so he’s suddenly bored of the luxurious life she’s given him). Jae-Won goes feral and throws a glass rather close to Soon-Young’s face, which causes a little cut. On the other hand, Yoon-Jin gets a visit from Te-O while she’s trying to finish up the painting for Jae-Won’s company. He wonders why Yoon-Jin would do such a thing to her best friend; however, Yoon-Jin doesn’t answer him; instead, she wonders if Jae-Won knows why he works for her company right now. What is with this guy being the most suspicious of them all, despite being so obviously on Jae-Won’s side?

Jae-Won meets with a lawyer, and although she can get divorced rather easily, Ah-Rin’s custody is a big problem. Since their lives are so public, everyone already knows that Ah-Rin is looked after by Soon-Young. Jae-Won looks for any evidence of Soon-Young’s wrongdoings at home and only finds his sex tape with Yoon-Jin (ouch). Jae-Won decides to actually get divorced and has a conversation with Soon-Young; however, in the morning, it appears that the whole scene had been in her head because she had supposedly fed him pesticide. Jae-Won’s condition seems to be worsening by the day, and she’s rather dejected when her father arrives, making him worry. It’s revealed that he is guilty of being the reason Jae-Won was bullied in school. So he later told her that her mental illness would be a secret between the two of them. Now he realizes that he might be the reason Jae-Won is getting divorced, because her erratic behavior would’ve given Soon-Young cause to leave her, not knowing what she’s really going through.

How Does Te-O Know Everything?

In another flashback, we finally learn about how Te-O knew about Jae-Won’s medication and what it was for. It turns out that at the launch party of Jae-Won’s company, Te-O was working as a server at the event. Jae-Won had been anxious at the event and tried to rest by herself when Te-O barged into her room. She had asked him to bring water for her, but when he did come back, so did Yoon-Jin’s father, to check on his favorite scholarship student. Jae-Won had dropped the pills, and Te-O had pretended it was his doing to save her from the embarrassment. Later, he told her that he too took that medication for depression, being the only Asian kid in school in America. He too had been bullied, so he had gone to therapy and taken drugs to get better. According to Te-O, it’s no different than catching a common cold, and it was the first time Jae-Won had heard that from anyone. Ultimately, Jae-Won had said she’d be sure to repay Te-O for his kindness in the future, but he had made it so that it would be a promise. However, Jae-Won hadn’t remembered the guy three years later, when he had met her at the art exhibition. But it seems Te-O knew Jae-Won from back when she was Yun-Jin and has her school name tag with him, so what is he really after? I suppose they met in therapy together or something along those lines? Still, Te-O is a bit of a strange case; nobody is so nice for no reason. Without Jae-Won’s knowledge, it seems Yoon-Jin has been visiting Ah-Rin in school and telling people that she’s going to marry Ah-Rin’s father (eww). This is the last straw for Jae-Won because they can do what they like with Jae-Won herself; however, they should not be messing with Ah-Rin.

Jae-Won decides to publicly humiliate Yoon-Jin by splashing black paint on the woman in the painting that Yoon-Jin had worked on for one year. This was supposed to be a gift for Jae-Won; however, it’s obviously much more than that at this point. At the same time, Jae-Won also gives the police evidence that her husband tried to sell company secrets, i.e., their designs, to a competitive company, so he will now be investigated. After the debacle, Jae-Won calls Soon-Young in front of Yoon-Jin, so she can hear her too, and tells them both to stay away from Ah-Rin or things will get much worse for them.