In Episode 11 of “Once Upon a Small Town,” we see Ji-yul being pulled in for a kiss as Ja-young finally confesses her feelings for him. They hear someone approaching and immediately scatter around as he asks her to hide away. Nurse Yeong-suk is giving the vet a daily run down and Ji-yul manages to sneak her out from the rear exit without letting Yeong-suk know. ..
Ji-yul and Ja-young were once secret friends as kids. They would talk about their love for each other and how they felt about the villagers knowing about their relationship. However, after Ja-young’s family moved away, they stopped talking to each other because they were afraid of the villagers gossiping. Now, they are secretly dating and are excited about it.
Ji-yul and Yeong-suk are dating in secret and they are driving around late at night. Ji-yul thinks that Seoul is safest for them to date in secret because it is closer than she thinks.
Ji-yul, a doctor from Seoul, takes Ja-young, a resident of the town they visited earlier in the day, on a tour of his clinic. Ji-yul claims that the city is not as far along as the town; Ja-young counters that it only took them four hours to drive there. The two flirt and end up going out to eat at Ji-yul’s favourite spot. ..
Ji-yul and Ja-young drive back home in a chaotic flirtatious ride. Ji-yul eventually drops her off at home and asks her to stop addressing him as “Doctor” and asks if Ja-young could call him “honey” instead. She laughs at his comment but once back home, she considers calling him honey. Ja-young is very animated at work and the officers are concerned about her behavior. ..
For the first time, Ja-young puts off work for her personal life and the officers are further shocked. She is texting Ji-yul when he suddenly breaks into the police station because he missed Ja-young. The couple has awkward small talk with the officers watching them in shock but Ja-young gets an excuse to hang out with Ji-yul during the work day.
The two are spending some romantic alone time in Ji-yul’s van and are about to kiss but Seon-deong interrupts them asking what they were up to. The child tells Ji-yul and Ja-young that he was dating Hwi-won but has decided to keep it a secret from the villagers. Ja-young finds it ironic that the kids were dating in secret but Ji-yul does not worry much about being found out by the kids.
The couple gets back to their respective jobs and Ja-young is in a chirpy mood despite the hot weather. The villager women wonder why Ja-young is laughing to herself but she lies that Seon-deong sent her a funny text. The neighbouring villager, Mal-geum joins them and starts mocking them for overworking Ja-young but proceeds to ask the cop for help.
This causes a fight to erupt between the villagers but Ja-young does not stop them and only laughs to herself. Ja-young explains that she used to want people to seek her help which made her appease them but that is not the case anymore and claims that she will not be helping people who do not think well of her, especially Mal-geum.
The couple has been dating for a few weeks and they are both excited about their date. They try to find restaurants all around the village but nothing seems discreet enough for them to eat at. The couple comes up with a plan where Ji-yul makes it to the restaurant before she and Ja-young follow behind, pretending the two has a co-incidental run-in. After the meal, the couple spends some romantic time in Ji-yul’s car.
The couple is discussing nicknames for each other and they settle on “Dot” and “Spot” based on the beauty spots on each of their faces. Ji-yul is at the cafe when he sees Sang-hyeon too has a beauty spot on his face. He tells Ja-young that they will not be using nicknames for each other. Ja-young has a chat with Sang-hyeon and thanks him for being supportive of her relationship with Ji-yul despite his feelings for her.
Ji-yul walks Ja-young home later that night and they talk about how keeping their relationship a secret could be taxing but Ji-yul claims it is also very thrilling. Ji-yul, the girl who lives in the same village as Sang-hyeon, is grateful that Sang-hyeon understands where she is coming from and wanted to be the first person to tell him before the villagers found out. That night, Ja-young walks Ji-yul home after work. They chat about how keeping their relationship a secret could be taxing but Ji-yul claims it is also very thrilling. ..
A group of villagers approach Ji-yul and Ja-young, brandishing torches. Ji-yul instinctively protects Ja-young with his body, and the two are startled when they hear a loud noise from the villagers. ..
This episode was a great example of a wholesome K-drama. Ji-yul’s personality took a complete turn, and it made him much cuter. Ja-young’s defense of herself and prioritization of her time over worrying about the village were great examples of character development.
I could go days watching Ji-yul and Ja-young sneak around the town hiding their relationship but I am putting my money on the fact that the village already knows about the relationship. Someone give us a compilation of jealous Ji-yul because he is so chaotic and hilarious. I am sure the ending to this episode will lead to the long-distance aspect of their relationship.
Ja-young and Ji-yul’s relationship could be further explored if the show were longer. The season finale is coming up, so we’ll see how things play out. ..
