In the second episode of Sold Out On You, Ye-jin and Matthew are in a tense standoff as their cars block a narrow road in the village. Ye-jin doesn’t want to, but she tries to back up, but her car gets stuck in the dirt. She gets mad and leaves the car behind to walk into the village, leaving Matthew behind. He finally gets through the tight space, but in the process, he breaks his sideview mirror.
Later, Matthew drives his tractor and catches up to Ye-jin. She thinks he’s following her and is rude to him until she sees the white mushrooms he’s carrying. She suddenly changes her tone, introduces herself, and asks to meet the owner, but the door is shut in her face.
Matthew works with a few people he knows from town at the greenhouse. He runs into Ye-jin again on his way out. This time, she asks for something as simple as slippers, which show that her high heels have given her painful blisters. He gives her a pair of old, worn-out shoes, and she reluctantly takes them.
When Ye-jin gets back to her car, she is shocked to see the broken mirror. She calls roadside assistance, and they tell her it will take three hours. To make sure she doesn’t miss her show, she decides to take the bus back to Seoul. She runs after Matthew and others to get a ride. At first, he ignores her, but he has to stop when she falls. She gets a ride and makes it to the bus station.
Ye-jin gets on the bus with a group of older women at the station, but the driver suddenly pulls away, making one of them fall. Matthew steps in, making the driver stop and scolding him. Ye-jin respects him a little more.
At the same time, Eric’s secretary finds out more about Ye-jin’s past, such as her relationship with Song Myeong-hwa. Director Dong talks about bringing Myeong-hwa back to HIT and asks Ye-jin to make a deal with L’Etoile. Myeong-hwa leaves because she is still mad about something that happened in the past.
A flashback shows that Ye-jin and Myeong-hwa used to sell a cream called Good Morning that had toxic ingredients that made people’s skin react badly.
Ji Yun-ji goes to a high-end store to find things, but she’s upset to find out that Ye-jin has already taken the best ones. She sees ads at work that say Ye-jin is working with L’Etoile, even though Ye-jin hasn’t agreed to it yet. Director Dong puts pressure on her by reminding her that the team needs her to do well.
Eric’s sister, on the other hand, sends him vinyl records. Hearing one brings back memories of a rainy day when he and Ye-jin shared an umbrella. They were supposed to meet again, but she never came, so he waited.
In Deokpung, Mrs. Yang sees Ye-jin on TV and convinces Matthew to buy a portable bathtub she’s selling. Using the information he got, he unexpectedly wins an extra unit in HIT’s lottery.
Ye-jin is given an address for the second bathtub when she returns to deliver the product. This takes her to Matthew’s house. She thinks the buyer is his father because she doesn’t understand what’s going on. Matthew doesn’t explain anything and tells her to go.
Later, Ye-jin stays at Mrs. Yang’s house. That night, a problem with some chickens that got away makes her chase one all the way to Matthew’s house. He calls the police when he sees her trying to climb the fence. But she has video proof that his tractor damaged her car. They agree in writing that he will pay for the repairs if she promises not to go to his house.
That night, Mu-won goes to see Matthew and tells him to forget about something that happened in the past and start using the mushrooms again. Matthew says no.
The next day, Ye-jin goes to the farm and is surprised by how beautiful it is. She is inspired by watching Matthew work with the mushrooms, so she calls Director Dong to let him know that she will go through with the L’Etoile deal.
That night, Ye-jin has a hard time sleeping, and Matthew gets a lot of messages from Mu-won telling him to “try again.” He changes his phone number, but he still gets a call from Ye-jin, who is crying and trying to reach her mother by mistake.
Review of the Episode
Episode 2 moves at a slow pace and focuses a lot on character development. Ye-jin’s determination is sometimes too much, even though it’s meant to be cute. It’s clear that she’s determined, but there are times when it comes off as more awkward than charming. Matthew’s stubborn and secretive personality, on the other hand, makes the story more interesting.
The episode goes into more detail about Eric’s past relationship with Ye-jin, suggesting that he missed a chance at love. Characters like Mrs. Yang add warmth and humor to the story, which helps to balance it out.
But Ye-jin’s choice to go after the L’Etoile deal doesn’t excite me very much. Since she was already connected to Eric’s story, her sudden change of heart doesn’t have much of an effect on her. Also, the fact that she got ideas from Matthew’s work with mushrooms doesn’t seem fully developed.
Even with these flaws, the main mystery is still interesting. Unresolved trauma from the past clearly affects both leads. We learn some of Ye-jin’s story, but Matthew’s story is still a mystery. It could be connected to L’Etoile. The episode ends with a strong hook that keeps the audience interested in what happens next and sets up more interactions between the leads.
