Namgoong Min risked his life to save Eunjin Ahn.
According to Nielsen Korea, a viewership rating research company, on the 22nd, the 14th episode of MBC's Friday-Saturday drama 'Lovers', which aired the previous day, recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 11.7%, up 1.5%p from the previous episode. This is the 1st place on all channels in the same time zone and the 1st place on all channels for Friday-Saturday dramas. At the moment, the highest viewer rating soared to a whopping 13.4%. The 2049 viewership rating, a key indicator of advertising and channel competitiveness, also rose 1 percentage point from the previous episode to 4.3%, breaking its own record and taking first place among all programs broadcast on Saturday.
On this day's broadcast, Lee Jang-hyun (played by Namgoong Min) saw Yoo Gil-chae (played by Ahn Eun-jin) on the auction block at the captive market and screamed, "Why?" At that moment, the beating began and Lee Jang-hyun held on to the hem of Yu Gil-chae's skirt even though he lost consciousness. After a while, Lee Jang-hyeon tried to take Yoo Gil-chae out of the captive market. However, Yoo Gil-chae tried to push Lee Jang-hyeon away with harsh words. This is because he did not want to show his miserable side and did not want Lee Jang-hyun to be harmed because of him.
Nevertheless, Lee Jang-hyun took Yoo Gil-chae out of the captive market. That night, Lee Jang-hyeon headed to where Yu Gil-chae was. Lee Jang-hyun couldn't open the door and regretted his past inability to hold Yu Gil-chae's hand tightly, saying, "I don't know where it went wrong." Yu Gil-chae, who knew Lee Jang-hyeon's feelings better than anyone else, could only shed tears. The two people missed each other in front of their eyes, but could not get closer.
The next day, Lee Jang-hyeon tried to repatriate Yu Gil-chae and send him to Joseon. However, Gak-hwa (played by Lee Cheong-ah), who was watching Lee Jang-hyeon, moved. She bought Yu Gil-chae as a prisoner. Lee Jang-hyeon, who found out about this, went to see Gak-hwa a month later, but Gak-hwa had no intention of handing over Yu Gil-chae to Lee Jang-hyeon. Accordingly, Lee Jang-hyeon asked Crown Prince Sohyeon (played by Kim Moo-jun) to redeem Yu Gil-chae on the condition of resolving the military rations requested by the Qing.
Yu Gil-chae, who became Gak-hwa's maid, went through another harsh ordeal. Yoo Gil-chae, who knew that Gakhwa cared about Lee Jang-hyeon, was worried that Lee Jang-hyeon would get hurt because of her. So he told Lee Jang-hyun not to do anything for himself. While Lee Jang-hyeon was away, Gak-hwa threatened to sacrifice Yoo Gil-chae to his father, Hong Tai-ji (played by Kim Jun-won). Yu Gil-chae, who was no longer afraid, answered yes.
A few days later, Lee Jang-hyeon resolved the issue of military rations and returned to Shenyang. But Yu Gil-chae had disappeared. Meanwhile, Gakhwa offered Yu Gilchae to Hong Taiji. Yu Gil-chae did not feel intimidated in front of the Qing Emperor Hong Taiji and told him in Manchurian that she was not a prisoner and that many Joseon women were being cruelly persecuted. As a result, Gakhwa imprisoned Yu Gil-chae.
Gak-hwa then told Yu Gil-chae to leave for Joseon without looking back. Yu Gil-chae hurried on his way, thinking that returning as he was was the way for Lee Jang-hyeon. However, it was a trap set by Gakhwa. Gak-hwa proposed to Lee Jang-hyeon that he risk his life to hunt for Yu Gil-chae. If he wins, Yoo Gil-chae will live as his maid for the rest of her life, but Lee Jang-hyeon will live. On the other hand, if Lee Jang-hyeon wins, Yoo Gil-chae will be returned to Joseon and Lee Jang-hyeon will die. Janghyun Lee chose the latter without hesitation.
Lee Jang-hyeon runs with all his might toward Yoo Gil-chae, shouting “Gil-chae!” Lee Jang-hyeon saved Yu Gil-chae even though he was hit by an arrow fired by Gak-hwa. In the end, the winner of the bet was Janghyun Lee. Lee Jang-hyun said, “I won,” and fell into Yoo Gil-chae’s arms. Yu Gil-chae was sobbing. And he stood up to Gak-hwa, who shot Lee Jang-hyeon with an arrow.
The next day, Lee Jang-hyeon opened his eyes in front of Yu Gil-chae. Yoo Gil-chae, who stayed by Lee Jang-hyeon's side all night, shed tears, saying, "Nari. I have been rescued. It's all thanks to Nari." Lee Jang-hyeon was relieved that Yu Gil-chae was alive and had been rescued, and carefully placed his hand on her head. Episode 14 of ‘Lovers’ ended with the two people finally looking into each other’s eyes. The ending of episode 14 recorded a viewership rating of 13.4% per minute, making it the 'best minute' of the day's broadcast.
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr