Recaps: The Witch’s Diner Episode 3

~Chicken soup for the youth~

The episode starts with a boy celebrating his birthday with his parents. When his parents ask him what he wants to be in the future, he says “I want to be a doctor and treat dad. Also will make my parents proud”. His parents seem to be proud when he said that.

The flashback returns to the present and that boy is the man (the weird man who breaks match stick into two) and he introduces himself as “Bae Yoon Ki” sitting in an interview with 4 more candidates. On the contrary of his flashback, he explains how he always wanted to be an archaeologist. He tries his best in the interview, but unfortunately, he happens to have stomach upset and it disturbs his course.

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After the interview, he sits in a washroom and thinks to himself how he could have performed well if not for this stomach upset. He then hears the interviewers talking about how the CEO son came for the interview and every other candidates wasted their time when the result is predefined.

He gets frustrated and again takes a match stick from his matchbox and breaks them into two. (I really want to know what this exactly means to him. He is definitely creepy)

In The Witch’s Diner restaurant, Jin sits across the mandrake tree and remembers how it talked yesterday. And decides to check it again 😂, then she tries to pluck another leaf and the mandrake asks her not to touch him as he is taking a nap. Jin gets startled and says it actually talked.

Hee-ra sees her playing with the mandrake and asks her to clean the kitchen.

When Jin cleans the kitchen, she looks at the bottles placed there and reads the labels on them. “The first tears of a newborn baby”, “Last day of the terminally ill patient” and asks Hee-ra what are those stuff.

Hee-ra, who is confused, asks her if she can see those letters. Jin nods and asks if they are the price of the people who had their wishes fulfilled.

Hee-ra says yes and sometimes the price they pay becomes the foundation of other people’s wishes.

She then takes away the bottles when Jin asks what Gil-yong wished for. Hee-ra turns around and asks if she is interested in him. Jin gets defensive and says that doesn’t make sense and Hee-ra leaves.

Yoon Ki works at a construction site lifting heavyweights of cement. When he drinks coffee with his seniors they say how it is difficult to get a job these days. This hits him.

He then sneakily returns to his room. He makes sure not to make any sound and not to get caught. But when he is in the room, the owner decides to check the room (‘timing’ playing its game). Yoon Ki gets caught and the owner kicks him out.

When he is homeless and tries to settle on a bench in a street, his mother calls. He unsuccessfully consoles her and breaks his second last match stick from his matchbox. He then, with lots of emotions, goes to a street shop and steals a knife.

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He then, breaks his last match stick, after stalking for some time, decides to go in The Witch’s Diner restaurant holding the knife. (I think it means his hope!.. I feel like whenever his hope broke, he broke the sticks. When his last hope broke he decides to steal.. let me know what you guys think about it!)

Jin, inside the restaurant, says(slightly disturbed)that she even had a bad dream after seeing the lights flutter.

Hee-ra narrates “Unexpected things happen all the time. What choice you make determines the end result.”

When Jin and Gil-yong see a new customer, they welcome him. But to their surprise, he holds the knife across Jin’s throat and asks her to take all of her cards and money. But his method is clumsy and it is too evident that he is scared ( I could see his innocence and frustration behind his creepy mask).

He accidentally cuts Jin’s hand and startled by it he goes to examine the wound asking if she is ok. When Jin’s hand contacts Yoon Ki’s hand, she sees Yoon Ki in his phone consoling his mom, and wonders if it’s his memory and how can she see them.

Hee-ra comes down and asking why it’s so noisy. Again Yoon Ki gets alert and asks Hee-ra to take out her money as she is the owner. Even in this situation, Hee-ra gets irritated with him for calling her ‘you’😂 our witch has her priorities.

Then Yoon Ki with his clumsiness manages to disturb the Mandrake. And the Mandrake becomes red and shouts “why are you shoving me. I should just whack you” at him. Our poor Yoon Ki gets shocked and faints😂.

After waking up, he goes to his knees before Hee-ra and apologies for his doing. He says it’s difficult for him to get a job even though he lowers his standards, he is not able to compete. Jin agrees that it is difficult to get a job these days. Yoon Ki says he has a loan to pay, his mom’s surgery to pay, and also he is homeless now that he lost his mind.

Hee-Ra says life is tough and that’s a default setting. And also asks him to order. Confused Yoon Ki asks if they want him to order. Gil-yong explains how they will provide a wish for a price.

Hee-ra without any patience asks him what his wish is. Scared and confused Yoon Ki says he wants a decent job and place to go to.

Hee-ra comments ‘it’s nothing at all’ at his wish and heads in. Jin stops her and goes to her knees to talk with Yoon Ki and asks him to think about it carefully as wish cannot be taken back and also he has to pay the price no matter how big it is.

Hee-ra says to Jin that it’s up to them to pay the price and she is not gonna live their life for them. Jin gets distracted and complains that’s not what she is saying and follows Hee-ra to the kitchen.

Gil-yong takes Yoon Ki (who is even more confused now) outside and explains about it. Yoon Ki who obviously doesn’t believe him asks him not to prank like that and call the police. Gil-yong explains that the owner already accepted him as a guest so she won’t call the police.

Yoon Ki recognizes Gil-yong and asks him if he is a student. Gil-yong nods and says he is planning to drop out. Yoon Ki agrees that teachers, school everything is worst and says he himself is the worst of all.

He says you need to be courageous to take future responsibilities. And calls himself a loser in this society.

When Hee-ra cooks Jin assists her. Jin looks at the ancient recipe book and wonders which recipe needs so many ingredients.

Hee-ra asks her to keep the book in place and when she lifts the book, she feels a sharp pain in her head and the book slips from her hand and the letters in the book disappear. Hee-ra orders her to be careful. Jin excuses saying she had a headache for a while.

Jin asks Hee-ra what price she is going to ask for Yoon Ki. Hee-ra says she will have his one arm. Jin says it will be too much as he won’t be able to lead a normal life without his one arm. Hee-ra asks if her arm is stuck and she should cut it if she needs to live what will be her decision. Will, she chose her arm or her life. Jin thinks about it and says ‘but here I am not the one who is making the decision (whose arm is stuck) but you are taking the decision’. Hee-ra thinks about it.

Hee-ra presents the dish before Yoon Ki and Jin says it is chicken soup (but why the chicken is in black?🙄). Yoon Ki says he has no money for it, Hee-ra says she just needs his 2 fingers. When Yoon Ki hesitates Hee-ra, with no patience, asks him to already eat it and says that chicken used to lay golden eggs and she had to use that costly chicken just for his ordinary wish.

Yoon Ki imagines Jin and Gil-yong holding him in a chair while Hee-ra comes with a saw to cut his fingers and he screams. Then asks how she will get his fingers while Hee-ra says she has her own way to do things.

Yoon Ki finally eats it when Hee-ra threatened to take the food back. Just like everyone else, he eats one bite and mesmerized with the taste, gulps down everything on his plate.

He says it is the tastiest thing he has ever eaten in his life

When Hee-ra leaves, Jin sits and says it must be hard for him (Yoon Ki), and also he must have heard it from everyone. But he says he just now realized that sharing deep thoughts can actually make him feel better.

Gil-yong remembers what Jin said back in the police station (when they first met) and tells Yoon Ki that he should live for himself as you won’t get anything even if you sacrifice for others. He should live his own life without worrying about being acknowledged by others. Gil-yong also says Yoon Ki is not weak but unlucky. This touches Yoon Ki’s heart and he says thanks and leaves with tears in his eyes.

Jin realizes how she could comfort someone just by listening to that person.

Yoon Ki walks down a street with his heart content and hears a man harassing a young girl. Yoon Ki goes to look at them and he sees a man is hurting a girl by pulling her hair and smashing her head to the wall.

Hee-ra narrates “Whether your decision comes from fear or out of hope.. all the decisions come with a price”

Yoon Ki gets terrified and thinks of what Gil-yong said back in the restaurant and mutters up the courage and tries to call the police but the man confronts him with a knife and in the process, Yoon Ki loses his two fingers when tried to hold the knife which is killing him. The man runs off as they hear a police siren in the distance.

Yoon Ki screams in pain and a purple fog from the fingers makes its way to Hee-ra and she gets them in a jar. She narrates, ” Just like two sides of a coin, a price has two sides, light, and darkness. But people only tend to look at the light since that makes it easier to make their decision.”

Gil-yong, in his school, confronts the bully in his own way. He sees the bully beating his friend and asks the bully if the principal who is also his grandfather knows what is he is doing asks if he is proud of it. In the class, the girl (who talked to Gil-yong on his first day) comes to him to ask if he is ok, as they talk, the bully cuts in and the girl leaves abruptly. ( The bully seems to like that girl actually). Gil-yong then asks if he knew that every choice comes with a price.

Jin, in her home, eats her food while wondering how she got to see Yoon Ki’s memory. She then goes to the restaurant sighing at the fact that everyone is heading home right now. (The Witch’s Diner restaurant is from sunset to sunrise)

She then meets Mr. Oh in front of the restaurant. He has bought chocolates for Hee-ra as a customer who likes sweet with a devasting wish is coming.

Mr. Oh tells Hee-ra that she should not rush anything when Hee-ra says she got Jin and she will not be bored. Mr. Oh leaves.

Jin asks Hee-ra why she needs chocolate. Hee-ra explains how a woman who was happier seven years ago is going to come as a customer. She also says “there is a time for everyone when they fear nothing in the world. They think they can clinch their dream and their love so they believe they can make any choice. They are made to believe they have all the options in the world. That woman lived in those times is going to be their customer”

They show us a girl who is good at singing and his boyfriend promises to marry her after his test results are out.

Hee-ra informs Jin that her customer is going to come tomorrow and they are not opening today. Jin demands that she came to work just now. Hee-ra says she will do whatever she feels like to and leaves nonchalantly.

Jin comes out of the restaurant and notices a woman who is absent-mindedly crossing the restaurant. Gil-yong comes behind her and shows her news where Yoon Ki saving a girl became super hit and also the nation calls him a hero now and the government is going to reward him for his great doing.

They both start walking, talking about Yoon Ki. Jin says he got his two fingers cut off while he didn’t even get a big wish and suddenly asks Gil-yong if his wish came true. Gil-yong smiles playfully and says ‘maybe’ and runs away. She happens to stand before the owner’s (who scammed Jin ) restaurant and thinks about it. This thought devastates her and she walks away.

When she is near a crossing, she sees the woman (who Jin encountered before The Witch’s Diner restaurant) crossing the road. Jin pulls the woman to her side before she is almost hit by a car. But when she got in contact with that women Jin experiences a sharp pain in her head and she falls down and also she could see the woman’s memory where the woman finds out that her boyfriend cheated on her.

When Jin finally pulls herself together to look around, but the woman is nowhere to be seen.

That night, Jin has another nightmare, where she sees someone and tries to approach him. To her surprise, he is Yoon Ki and he demands ‘if this is what it is called to be a wish granted’ and Jin runs away from him.

She gets lost in a forest and suddenly she is not her older self but her younger self is running through the forest. She gets tripped and a women’s hand wearing long black laces sleeve, black nail paint approaches for help. Jin holds her hand and suddenly wakes from her dream.

She doesn’t seem to move, lightning is bolting, all her things in her room falling down and the owner all the veins almost burst is beside her. The episode ends.

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At first I thought of that Yoon Ki character to be creepy but he turned out to be a brave one. I am really looking forward to the next episode with that women as a customer. I am really wondering what her devastating wish could be and what will be her price to pay.

Epilogue scene: They finally show us what was Gil-Yong’s wish. He says he wants to be near Jin as long as possible. And he doesn’t want any revenge as it won’t change his life and what he wants is meaningful when he works towards it, not through a wish.

When Hee-ra tries to convince him that she can make Jin fall for him this instant, he says ‘but that’s not real. I should win her heart fair and square. That should be her choice to make.

And the price is him. He has to work part-time there.

Woww… I didn’t know how sweet, practical, mature, earnest our Gil-yong is. What he said is true. Revenge is not gonna change anything for us.

To read previous recaps of The Witch’s Diner… Click Here.