Ji-yul, a veterinary student, is lost in thought as she walks into the animal hospital. Seon-dong, a high school student with a friend Hui-won, brings her pet rabbit with diarrhea. Ji-yul promises to take care of the rabbit and the vet and nurse notice that Hui-won is angry with Seon-dong. They wonder if the two friends were in a fight. ..
Ji-yul tells Hui-won that the rabbit was better now and that it will have to stay at the hospital for a while. Seon-dong tries to talk to Hui-won but she stares him down meanwhile, Ji-yul senses something is wrong. After Hui-won has left, Ji-yul talks to Seon-dong, the child reveals that there was something Hui-won had given her as a present and that he had forgotten what it was.
Ji-yul recalls her awkward interaction with Seon-dong after he had revealed to her that his memories had returned. Just as he is about to call her, Ji-yul gets called due to an emergency.
Ja-young is near the police station when she sees a sulky Seon-dong walking by. She calls him and learns about Ji-yul’s advice to the child. Ja-young scolds Seon-dong for ignoring Hui-won and now the girl is further furious with him. Ja-young offers Seon-dong some advice herself and tells him to sincerely apologize to her. Seon-dong agrees to take the advice. ..
Meanwhile, Ji-yul is just back at the animal hospital after his house call when a crying Seon-dong comes running toward him. Seon-dong reveals that after following two contrasting pieces of advice given by Ja-young and the vet himself, Hui-won was further angry at Sean-dong for constantly changing his attitude towards her. Ji-yul is shocked to learn what Ja-young’s advice was and tells him to firmly follow his own advice.
Ji-yul feels that it was wise of him to listen to Ja-young when she expressed her gratitude for saving her life during the car accident. Ja-young thanks him for his help and they say their goodbyes.
She uses suggestive words to instigate an apology out of him, but as he is about to say something, Sang-hyeon joins them. An uncomfortable Ji-yul leaves after watching Ja-young interact with Sang-hyeon. She tells Sang-hyeon how she feels now that Ji-yul remembered her and states that she will move on from the incident in her childhood now. Sang-hyeon states that he is leaving for Seol for the next few days. ..
Ji-yul and Ja-young come across a small boy who has been kidnapped. They quickly realize that the child is not from their area and they start to search for him. They find out that the kidnappers are from another town and they soon find out where the child is. They also find out that the kidnappers are angry with the child’s father for leaving them behind. Ji-yul and Ja-young work together to find the child and eventually bring him back to his family.
Ja-young and Ji-yul argue about who is to blame for their child going missing. After wandering around the town, Ja-young gets a call that their child was found on a bus. Ji-yul and Ja-young realize they were both wrong and apologize to each other using Hui-won and Seon-dong as examples. ..
They finally reach the bus stop where Seon-dong was waiting for him and they take him back home. On the drive home, Ji-yul keeps looking at Ja-young from the rearview mirror. A flashback shows Ji-yul and Ja-young’s conversation from the lake when he insincerely apologized to her. After she had dropped Seon-dong home, Ja-young and Ji-yul meet when he grabs her hand and apologises seriously for not remembering her sooner.
The Episode Review
I’m excited to see what happens between Ji-yul and Ja-young in the upcoming episodes. It’s clear that they have feelings for each other, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Their interactions with Seon-dong were particularly funny, and it’s clear that they understand each other well. ..
The show at this point is rather slow for a short web drama and I still wish the makers progressed the plot faster to show the development of feelings between the main couple. The other characters seem unnecessary to the entire story and the world of Once Upon A Small Town only revolves around Ja-young and Ji-yul’s connection.
I would like to see the makers show us Ji-yul’s grandparents before he leaves town as they seem interesting. I can only imagine how it will be if Ji-yul and Ja-young end up living with their grandparents. I would like to see Sang-hyeon find a partner as soon as he can because he is far too beautiful to be left alone after Ja-young eventually dumps him!
