Localized Heavy Rain
Episode 5 of Forecasting Love and Weather begins with Ha-Kyung racing out the door while Si-Woo receives a call. He’s flustered, telling whoever it is on the phone never to call again and that he can’t help anymore. Who is he talking to? That’s something Ha-Kyung is wondering too when she heads upstairs to pick up her USB which she left behind. ..
Shin Seok-Ho calls Ha-Kyung while they’re driving and asks if he can come over for a drink. Ha-Kyung is hesitant, but Shin tells him that he’s just a friend and that he won’t be bothering him again.
Ha-kyung tries to make excuses for why they’re together but he actually doesn’t seem to be that bothered.
Ki-Jun and Yu-Jin start their day by bickering with one another. The former is angry at her for lying and soon leaves, intent on cleaning up the mess she caused with her newspaper report.
Senior Um is late to the meeting, but when he arrives, Director General Go takes him aside to talk about the forecast. The atmosphere is unstable because of unusually high temperatures, and there’s a good chance of localized heavy rain happening. ..
Go asks Um what’s wrong, and Um seems to be struggling. Um doesn’t want to talk about it, but Go is persistent. ..
Um leaves the factory after drinking by himself and the workers gossip about his behaviour. The truth is that Um is not promoted and he is probably just trying to get away from the factory.
That afternoon, Si-Woo is confronted by Ki-Jun, who calls him out for talking to the press. He reminds him that all of this needs to go through the Office of Spokesperson first. Si-Woo bites back and claims the issue happened because of internal miscommunication and suggests he come to the Situation room and monitor everything in real-time instead.
Ki-Jun believes that Si-Woo’s hostility and attitude – not to mention being Yu-Jin’s ex – is all a ploy to make him jealous. He believes Ha-Kyung is not over him but a swift kick to the shin is enough to stop that nonsense. When she heads back inside, she takes Si-Woo aside and looks set to scold him… until Si-Woo leans forward and hugs her (in private of course!)
Ha-kyung eventually admits that she’s not angry with Si-Woo but actually annoyed that she missed the weather front. While these two patch up their differences, Ki-Jun is still hot under the collar and tries to make amends with Yu-Jin, being all nice to her at lunch but obviously hiding a more rattled edge, given what happened with Si-Woo.
The reporters are called to their stations as a rumble of thunder outside paves way for heavy rain to torrentially fall across the region.
The office begins to receive a whole litany of calls about the rain after it comes out of nowhere. The KMA has failed to report it, raising suspicion among the office staff. ..
Ha-Kyung blames himself for this and as Ha-Kyung begins reprimanding him, Su-Jin and Seok-Ho both speak up. After all, they’ve been going over 10 years worth of data and they remind her that if they had been checking the radar instead, they may not have missed it.
Ha-Kyung’s brash attitude and stiff upper lip eventually leads to Su-Jin leaving the team, while the rest of the team are left fractured and conflicted.
Director General Um brings in Um and Ha-Kyung to discuss the devastation caused by the rain. Not only have there been power cuts and localized flooding, there are also 2 workers that have gone missing too. Um takes responsibility but Ha-Kyung is furious, pointing out that it’s not his place to speak up – she’s the one to blame.
Meanwhile, Si-Woo speaks to Su-Jin and gently reminds her that Ha-Kyung’s decision was one made with the best interests of the people. After all, analyzing all this data would have helped them come to a more rational and accurate prediction. It’s just a shame that the heavy rain has interfered with that.
The workers are concerned about Ha-Kyung’s confidence. They’re worried that she doesn’t have enough of it to lead the company. They also hand over a USB with all the data they’ve asked for, encouraging her to look into this and also reflect on what she’s said.
Myung-Joo and her husband meet to discuss taking a year off from work to save money. They decide that it would be best if they took a year off, but they have to figure out how to make ends meet while doing so.
That night, the search for the missing people begins. Um and Ha-Kyung, both employees at the emergency area, show up to find out what’s going on. They are relieved to find that the two workers have been found and head out to get some food. ..
Ha-Kyung is on her way to visit her friend Um, who has recently left home. She learns from Um that he has lost motivation and is stuck in a rut.
Si-Woo tries in vain to get through to Ha-Kyung but between rings, he continues to receive a call from that strange number. Holding his head in frustration, he rushes outside and withdraws a whole stack of cash.
Si-Woo puts the cash inside an envelope and heads to a motel. On his way out, he runs into Ha-Kyung who is with a very drunk Um by his side. Another heavy rain downpour interrupts them both, as the episode comes to a close. ..
The Episode Review
So what is Si-Woo’s connection to the people he’s giving money to? This is a big point of contention and it’ll be interesting to see exactly what’s going on with this. I’m sure we’ll see more in the coming episodes. ..
The chemistry between Si-Woo and Ha-Kyung is undeniable, while Ki-Jun’s comedy relief is a nice touch. There’s a lot of levity in the episode, which works well to offset some of the more dramatic moments.
Ha-Kyung’s attitude toward her Director duties and the other workers is causing the team to lack confidence in her, which is reflected in their performance.
The ending to this story leaves things on an ominous cliffhanger, leaving the door wide open for where this one may go next. ..
