Dare To Love Me Episode 1 Recap

The first episode starts with Kim Hong-do expressing his love to Shin Yoon-bok directly. Things do not go smoothly for her, she is rejected right away. She continues to stay in the café despite the staff’s attempts to make her leave. Hong-do, who is 30 years old, wishes that her former student would stop being so formal towards her and instead accept her love, despite the six-year age difference between them.

The scene transitions to a private auction where wealthy attendees are placing bids on stolen artworks. The standout piece in the collection is a folding item. A man dressed in traditional Joseon clothing outside the building incapacitates the security guards and secures the entrance by locking the door. He then goes on to cause disruption at the event. It is Yoon-bok who is accusing the guests of stealing. He knocks them all out using a paper fan and his bare hands after locking everyone inside. In the end, the police arrive to remove the suspects while Yoon-bok searches through the stolen goods.

Transition to Seongsan Village, a designated World Heritage site known for offering tourists a glimpse into the Joseon era. Nonetheless, nestled within this location is the authentic village where residents reside in isolation from the rest of the world, removed from modern influences. Yoon-bok, dressed in traditional attire, warmly greets  the villagers who continue to uphold traditional practices and beauty. Yoon-bok introduces himself as the main character of the town in a voiceover.

The village chief, Yoon Bok’s grandfather and a representative from the Cultural Heritage Administration are talking about the total number of artworks that have been stolen in the past three years by an unknown thief known as Gamjjok. Yoon-bok informs them about a counterfeit he had discovered. It appears that the stolen truck of goods was taken by Gamjjok and did not end up at the auction as intended, instead heading towards Seoul. Yoon-bok is tasked with bringing back the original documents, and he is accompanied by a young female fighter named Yoon-ah.

At her job, Hong-do works as an assistant designer for a demanding senior in the fashion industry, occupying the lowest position. She struggles at work. Nevertheless, Do Yeong, her attractive co-worker, is her sole reason for tolerating her job, showing her kindness in a subtle way that sets him apart from the rest. She has a board in her home covered with photos of them together, as well as cutouts from fashion magazines. As her brother grumbles about having to eat the leftovers Hong-do brought from work, she walks over to her vintage sewing machine, staring at a competition entry poster. She creates a handmade bag as a present for Do Yeong, believing he would appreciate it more than a designer one, but her brother is skeptical.

However, the following day at work, Do Yeong is excited about receiving a designer item from the head designer. Hong-do attempts to discreetly give him a handmade gift, but they both conceal themselves when the lead designer emerges. Do Yeong insists that the bag must have been mistakenly left behind by someone.

Yoon-bok arrives at Seoul displaying kindness by giving his ticket to a young girl who had lost her bag and needed to urgently get home to her sick. He is clueless when it comes to operating modern machine much to Yoon-ah’s embarrassment.

Yoon-bok meets a police officer who is his contact for the stolen artifact in Seoul, but he needs to confirm the authenticity of the piece. He and Yoon-ah go to a club to see what it’s like, but he is refused entry at the door because of his clothes and is humiliated. Yoon-ah discreetly changes into stylish attire and, with his approval, sneaks in to look around.

In a café, Hong-do presents Do Yeong with a Celine branded T-shirt as a birthday present. She suggests going out for dinner with him. However, since he has plans with his family, she agrees to let him be. Instead of going with him, she decides to take her brother to Seongsan restaurant to try a rare Joseon-era specialty. Jun-ho, the restaurant manager, offers them a special treat and shares the backstory of the dish.

Yoon-ah tells Yoon bok that she has looked everywhere for clues, except for the VIP area, which is inaccessible. They conclude that they need to visit that area frequently in order to thoroughly examine it.

In the restaurant, Hong-do, who is intoxicated, eavesdrops on her designer, Hyang-gi, and Do Yeong at the adjacent table. Do Yeong is repeating the same lines he used on Hong-do at the café. He is wearing the shirt she purchased for him, stating that he bought it to impress his date. Hong-do couldn’t control herself and peeked over the divider, surprising the two. As Do Yeong ushers her out the door, Hyang-gi, her senior designer pleads with Hong-do not to reveal to anyone that they are dating in secret. But, Hong-do quickly finishes her soju, proceeds to follow them, and grabs Do Yeong by the shirt she had purchased wondering why she is being treated so poorly by everyone. While they were struggling, she stumbled backwards and was caught by Yoon-bok.

The following day, Hong-do awakens in her bed and believes that what happened was just a dream. Arriving late to the office, the couple has revealed their relationship. They had been in a relationship for three months. While everyone is congratulating the couple, Hong-do aggressively vacuums, pushing people out of the way. Do Yeong makes an effort to steer clear of her throughout the day.

At the same time, Yoon-bok and Yoon-ah relocate to a temporary living space, which is a furnished rooftop apartment. In a different area of the city, Jun-ho, the manager of the Samseong restaurant, is giving gifts to an orphanage.

That night, Hong-do confronts Do Yeong, who shows no remorse and denies ever being in a romantic relationship with them. She goes back home to drink and sing melancholic songs while clutching the t-shirt that was given back to her. She is even more upset to find out that he has blocked her. In a state of disarray, she goes out to purchase more beer and the seller is shocked by her unkempt appearance.

She comes across Yoon-bok wearing his typical clothes. In a flashback, she realizes that he is her ex-student who she hasn’t seen in seven years. At that time, he left home and enrolled in school without permission. He was constantly teased by everyone for his clothing and behavior, even the teachers found him strange. However, Hong-do had been kind and supportive. He presents her with flowers outside the corner store as a thank you for the care she showed him in the past. Seeing her terrifying reflection in the glass door fills her with panic, but just before she falls, he reaches out and catches her once more.

At that moment, she remembers him assisting her outside the restaurant as she attempted to remove his hanbok. He inquired about how he could improve her mood, and she suggested that he purchase flowers for her.


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