The seventh episode of Absolute Value of Romance begins with Eui-ju reading the readers’ responses to the most recent chapter of her novel. She figures Woo-su wouldn’t want to read the comments, but she quickly learns otherwise. When Woo-su reads the feedback, he realizes that Eui-ju uploaded a version of the chapter that he specifically rejected, and this frustrates him.
The next morning, Da-ju tries again to convince Woo-su to join a documentary the school is filming. Da-ju, Dong-ju and Gi-jeon worry more and more about his reaction. But Woo-su will not even look at him. The principal is in school announcing the filming project to the students, and continues her efforts to persuade Woo-su to cooperate.
The principal is determined that the documentary should be made, and tells Da-ju to ensure that Woo-su’s math class is recorded, no matter what it takes. Da-ju corners Eui-ju and makes her help, threatening that the new teachers could lose their jobs if she refuses. He also threatens to tell her secret and she is forced to secretly record Woo-su in class.
Meanwhile, the principal is taking drastic measures to keep the production going. She drugs her nephew, E-den, with a drugged cup of coffee so he won’t play his flute and interfere with filming. She also tells Ji-a to study by herself outside the classroom, thinking that her presence might hurt the school’s image.
Woo-su is quick to object to the principal’s treatment of Ji-a. He refuses to let one of his students be ostracized and tells her he will pull his whole class out of the documentary if Ji-a is excluded.
When the shooting starts, Da-ju pressures Eui-ju again to keep shooting. In class, Eui-ju asks Woo-su a personal question, asking why a gifted mathematician like him chose to teach at Murim High School.
Woo-su starts to discuss his time as a teacher but everything changes when he sees the camera. When he finds out that Eui-ju has been filming him without his permission, he gets mad and walks out of the classroom.
Eui-ju comes after him outside and says that Da-ju made her do it. Woo-su confronts Da-ju head-on, accusing him of betraying his trust and bringing back painful memories from his past.
Elsewhere, the principal summons Woo-su to her office for a private chat. Meanwhile, Gi-jeon confesses a shocking truth to Eui-ju: Woo-su was kidnapped by a stalker as a child and was captured on camera without his consent while in captivity. It was such a traumatic experience for him, that explains his overreaction to being recorded.
As Eui-ju takes in this realization, she feels a sharp ache in her stomach, but she chooses to ignore it.
In the principal’s office, Woo-su faces another tough choice when the principal threatens to fire Dong-ju who desperately needs his job. Finally, unable to watch his fellow worker suffer any longer, Woo-su decides to join the documentary.
The students are not happy about having to stay behind for the filming, but the production eventually wraps up. The crew leaves and Kim Young-hee, the principal, looks relieved. E-den wakes up and is annoyed at missing the chance to perform for them.
Later that night, Eui-ju finds Woo-su and apologizes for filming him without his permission. Woo-su says he is more disappointed that the first meaningful question she asked in class was only because someone forced her to do it, rather than focusing on the betrayal.
His words hit Eui-ju harder than he had expected. Already her stomach is aching fiercely when she begins to sway and then collapses to the ground clutching her stomach as the episode ends on an emotional note.
Episode Review
Episode 7 gives us the backstory needed to understand Woo-su’s past, and finally, his strong dislike for cameras and being in the spotlight. The reveal of the trauma adds the much needed depth to his character and makes his earlier behavior much easier to understand.
Meanwhile, the story line of Eui-ju continues to feel a little aimless. As the season reaches its halfway point, many of the big questions surrounding her secret novel remain unanswerable. The episode is almost entirely about the school documentary, putting the main story on the back burner for the time being.
The emotional scenes between Eui-ju and Woo-su work, but the pacing drags more than expected. The connection between the documentary storyline and Eui-ju’s writing journey is still unclear, but with her sudden collapse in the final moments, Episode 8 may finally give the story a more meaningful direction.
