A family emergency halts our couple’s fairy tale in Dynamite Kiss episode 2. Darim scrabbles to make ends meet, while Jihyeok desperately searches for the woman he fell for.
Entitled “Disappeared with a Kiss,” Dynamite Kiss episode 2 gives us a heart-fluttering date before cruelly separating our lovers. In their time away from each other, Darim and Jihyeok’s complicated relationships with their families are revealed. They both face new challenges before they meet again as employer and applicant in the interview room of Natural Bebe.
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True colors
Dynamite Kiss episode 2 begins with Darim and Jihyeok recuperating from their intense kiss. Under the excuse of “continuing to fool Jeonggwon,” the two of them take the dance floor, but their closeness only intensifies their attraction.
Sleazy ex-boyfriend Jeonggwon corners Darim and tells her if she sleeps with him “for old time’s sake,” he’ll consider Jihyeok’s offer. Just in time, Jihyeok arrives to strike Jeonggwon in the face. Never trust an AI programmer.
Jihyeok and Darim sit by the beach. Jihyeok asserts that Darim saved him from potential complications that could have arisen from working with Jeonggwon. He watches her spin in her beautiful dress, playing in the waves lit by bioluminescent plankton, and falls in love with her a little more. He tells her he kissed her not for work but for personal reasons and asks her out on a date.
Seoul problems
Back in Seoul, Jihyeok’s older sister is trying to get into their father’s good graces. Their family owns Natural Bebe, the top company that manufactures and sells baby products. While discussing their next move, their father says that he plans to marry Jihyeok off to Hayeong, the daughter of the head of a distribution company.
We learn that Hayeong is an art curator who wants to make art less of a luxury and more accessible to the public. Hayeong eventually finds the peaceful vibe she’s looking for in the work of Kim Seon-u, a photographer and Darim’s upstairs neighbor.
First date
On their date, Darim avoids talking about her employment situation and instead finds a “Grandfather Tree” in Jeju. She shares a story about her Grandfather Tree that she visits when she’s stressed. She finds a four-leaf clover and gives it to Jihyeok, saying she’s already found her luck because he was able to help her get revenge on her ex.
Their date leads them to a boat ride in the ocean, where Jihyeok tells her about the strength he built up to make his own company. It’s a silly moment, but it impresses Darim, who doesn’t have any work experience at 30 years old.
Darim sees dolphins in the water, and Jihyeok offers his hand to help her up to a spot where she can get a better view. The waves shake the boat, and she falls off, but Jihyeok jumps in to save her. Once they’re back to safety, she kisses him.
They head back to Jihyeok’s hotel room and share an intimate moment. Before things go further, Darim stops Jihyeok and tells him they should shower first. He heads off to the bathroom while she tries to calm her nerves.
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Emergency situation
At Darim’s sister’s wedding, thugs show up looking for the groom. It turns out that Dajeong’s fiance lost a lot of money doing crypto. He flees with Dajeong, who uses her family’s life savings and takes out loans on the house to help him get out of debt. Darim and Dajeong’s mother gets word of the situation and collapses from a heart attack.
Seon-u calls Darim, and she hurriedly leaves without saying goodbye. (Honestly, how hard is it to leave a note?) Jihyeok tries to chase down Darim, but they keep missing each other. He returns to Seoul, heartbroken. He decides to search for all the Grandfather Trees in the area in hopes of finding her again.
With her sister gone and their mother in the hospital, Darim is saddled with all the expenses. She remembers the promise she made to her father under the Grandfather Tree—that she’ll grow up strong to protect their family. She takes several part-time jobs to pay for her mother’s hospital bills and save their house from foreclosure. Her nails, still done up from her makeover, are the only thing she has that reminds her of Jihyeok and her time in Jeju.
Jihyeok finds Darim’s Grandfather Tree. He sits there and waits for her, but she doesn’t come.
The Gong family
While looking for Darim, Jihyeok gets a call that his mother was taken out of the psychiatric hospital where she had been staying. (Trigger warning for self-harm, for those who have not yet watched the episode.) His father wanted her to appear at an interview to sell the image of a happy family, which would help him sell baby products. At the interview, Jihyeok’s mother is clearly uncomfortable and has a nervous breakdown.
Jihyeok begs his father to divorce his mother so she can be free of the pressures he puts on her. His father agrees, as long as Jihyeok agrees to join the company and marry Hayeong.
TF team, assemble
Jihyeok’s older sister, who seems to want the company for herself, decides to make a team of unqualified workers for Jihyeok to lead. She calls it a task force, or “TF” team, and sends out a call for mothers who have no work experience.
Desperate to pay off all her family’s bills, Darim lies on her application to Natural Bebe, saying she is married to Seonu and has a son. Meanwhile, Jihyeok is completely uninterested in his new job, still preoccupied with finding Darim. He is surprised to find her walking in for a job interview for the TF team.
Dynamite Kiss Episode 2 Reaction and What to Expect Next
Even in Dynamite Kiss episode 2, the chemistry between the two leads is evident in their make-out scene in Jihyeok’s hotel room. Sadly, the K-drama snake strikes again with a forced separation that could have easily been avoided if the characters had exchanged numbers or if Darim had just left a note. But if she did, then we wouldn’t have the next episode. Dynamite Kiss episode 2 is also a nice peek into their family lives, with both characters feeling responsible for taking care of their mothers and having complex relationships with their sisters.
Next week’s episode will introduce some tension between the two, as Jihyeok feels understandably betrayed by Darim, who told him she didn’t have a boyfriend. Darim maintains her position, believing that a wealthy man such as Jihyeok would never comprehend her circumstances.
Hopefully, we can also get to know the other members of the TF team, as the idea of hiring mothers who lack work experience but have actual lived-in childcare experience sounds promising.
Dynamite Kiss episode 3 will be released on November 19 at 10 pm on Netflix.
Source: SBS YouTube, SBSNow Twitter/X
