Once Upon A Small Town – K-drama Episode 10 Recap & Review

Episode 10

Episode 10 of Once Upon A Small Town picks up where we left off as a shocked Ja-young drops the corn from her hand after watching Min kiss Ji-yul. Ji-yul is startled too and runs to help the cop who is embarrassed. He is trying to get Ja-young to look at him but she leaves without saying much. Ji-yul runs behind her and returns the bicycle to her.

He tries to explain that it was a misunderstanding but Ja-young claims that he need not explain anything to her. On her way back, Ja-young seems down. She takes a detour before going back home and sees Min’s car outside. Inside her house, she finds Min waiting for her. Dr Choi is exhausted after the appointment Ji-yul sent him to but he notices the sad look on Ji-yul’s face.

He asks Ji-yul what the problem is and asks him to confess his feelings to Ja-young if he was feeling so troubled. At her house, Min tells Ja-young that she realises Ji-yul has feelings for the cop but Ja-young claims that she does not feel the same way about him. She cheers Min on to continue to pursue Ji-yul.

Dr Choi is going back to Seoul and asks Ji-yul to talk to Min and let her know his true feelings before confessing to Ja-young. Ji-yul is outside Ja-young’s house to talk to Min but she texts him that she will meet him at the clinic the following day. Ja-young is at the cafe where she politely turns Sang-hyeon’s proposal down by claiming how she truly felt about him.

She is worried she will be losing her best friend and starts crying but Sang-hyeon claims that he will always be there for her and be her best friend even if she does not reciprocate his feelings. He adds that he will not let things between them change which helps reassure her. The next morning, Min and Ji-yul have a chat and he turns her down for good.

He hints that he is in love with someone else but Min claims that Ja-young does not reciprocate his feelings. Ji-yul asks Min to stay out of his personal life. She apologises for being unreasonable and finally gives up. She leaves to go back to Seoul. After a while, Yeong-suk calls him to let him know that Nurungji’s puppies were in for their vaccination and he rushes to the clinic hoping to see Ja-young.

He is sad when she is not around but still goes through with the vaccination. Ji-yul takes the corn to the police station as an excuse to see Ja-young but the officers claim that she was at the peach farm. He runs into Sang-hyeon at the farm before finding her. Sang-hyeon interrogates Ji-yul about his finances and investments.

The vet is sure that Ja-young had rejected his proposal which is why he was acting like her older brother. He puts Ji-yul to work as he waits for Ja-young who is running an errand. Once Ja-young arrives, she tries to avoid Ji-yul but he follows her to the shed. Ji-yul tries talking to her but she storms out. After hearing villagers in the shed, Ji-yul takes her to a corner.

The two talk about their circumstances as well as Min when Ja-young asks him to stop crossing the line. Ji-yul claims that he had not done so yet and confesses his feelings for her. The two share a moment when Ji-yul shields him from peaches falling down on them. Ja-young thinks Ji-yul misunderstands their friendship for love but the vet is sure that he actually likes her with true feelings.

Ja-young claims that he had hurt her once in the past and she will not let Ji-yul do it all over again as she leaves. On her way back to the police station, she runs into Yeong-suk who tells her that Ji-yul’s grandparents are set to return soon which means that the vet will be going back to Seoul. Ja-young is dejected and finds Sang-hyeon outside the police station.

He is shocked at the fact that Ja-young rejected both him and Ji-yul on the same day. He tries to knock some sense into her and tells her to face her true feelings instead of worrying about the future. Sang-hyeon jokes about how this could be a win for him. At her house, Ja-young meets Min who is leaving the town for good.

She apologises to Ja-young and the cop apologises to Min for lying to her. Ja-young confesses that she actually has feelings for him. Min claims that she knew it and leaves town hoping to be able to move on. Ja-young runs to the clinic worried that Ji-yul was leaving to go back to Seoul. She asks him how much longer he was going to be in town and he claims that he only would be there for another 15 days. He is still talking about how confused she would be about his confession when she pulls him in for a kiss.

The Episode Review

It finally happened, Ji-yul and Ja-young finally kissed and we can all rest in peace. After so much chaos, we can see Ja-young finally accept her feelings. I really wish the show was longer with 16 episodes like a regular K-drama because there could be a lot left for us to see when it comes to Ji-yul and Ja-young’s long-distance relationship.

Ja-young turning to Sang-hyeon to vent is really sad for him and I am manifesting a sequel for him to find love because he is too cute to be left alone. I love the comedic elements in the show. Despite the many unreasonable plot sequences, the show is actually healing and seems like a shorter version of Hometown Cha Cha Cha.