Swimming pool. Cairo and Isla are swimming. She beats him. He tells her she’s become faster. She asks him if he thought she’d go easy on him since he’s a man. She slides out of the pool. So does Cairo. He looks at what he’s set up and declares that it's a $10,000 date, so he tried. She replies that he’s the one who doesn't like accepting love. She goes to grab a robe. Both of them wear one to eat. She remarks that it’s nice and quiet there. She says that she thought his taste had changed to rowdy and loud. Now there’s a dig. He asks if she means Natalie. She tells him that if he’s bored, he should hang out and play with her. She shouldn’t fool his mom.
Cairo puts down his silverware loudly and asks who said that he’s fooling her? Isla says that they agreed with each other three years ago, when they cancelled their wedding, that they’re bad at building deep relationships. Not just ex-girlfriend. Ex-fiancée. Oi. And I bet that she went along with it, giving up on marriage, so that she could still have a relationship with him. So that’s where Mom gets it… That whole idea. She’s seen it before. They agreed that they should stay single instead of ruining others' lives. Cairo actually looks a little uncomfortable with that. This whole thing with Kelvin treating Natalie that way… that’s what Kelvin would say and I don’t think that Cairo wants anyone to think of him like Kelvin. He tells her they should go. She replies, asking if it’s time for Cinderella to go home. So precise with his time.
Cairo abruptly stands up, pushing his chair back noisily. She hit a nerve and she knows it. She asks if she can go to his house? He doesn’t answer and he doesn’t want to meet her eyes. That’s interesting. He’s uncomfortable with her coming into his sanctum, but not Natalie. Very interesting. She smiles and tells him not to worry. She won’t. He loves being home alone. She’s totally settling so she can hold onto him. Wow. She walks off and he watches her go.
Natalie is drinking a juice drink while walking. She enters the house and it’s dark. No one is there. Her smile fades and she says that she doesn’t want to be home alone. Flashback to Natalie as a child, about 5, home alone, weeping and holding her stuffed bunny, calling for Mom.
Cairo lays in his bed, thinking. Isla’s voice asks him why he likes his apartment so much? Is he hiding something there? Cairo switches to his young self, lying in the bed with his toy car. He rolls over, a smile on his face and his eyes closed. Adult Cairo also has his eyes closed. The doorbell rings. Several times. Urgently. He mutters Mom’s name and gets up to answer the door. He doesn’t even look at the camera feed, just opens the door and demands to know what the person wants.
Natalie stumbles into the apartment, slurring that she brought ramen. Drinking again? He has no food. Cairo hurries after her and grabs her arm. He tells her that she acted like she was never coming again. What's this? She laughs and says that everyone has those days where they don't want to be alone. Cairo replies that he doesn’t have that type of day. She smiles glumly and says, “Of course.” She leans in to talk into his face, saying that he doesn’t even let mom come there... so rude! She stresses the rude part and he cringes from the smell of alcohol on her breath. She wanders off to find the kitchen while he tries to block the smell from his nose.
She finds the kitchen but can’t find a pot. As she finds him in a lower cabinet, he squats next to her and says that he’s sorry but could she please leave. She grabs the pot and says that she’s the sorry one, since she’s soo drunk. She starts to fill it with water. Cairo yanks it out of her hands, dumping out the water and then turning off the faucet. He tells her that he’ll call her a taxi. And just happens to have his phone in his pyjama bottom pocket.
Natalie sees the fish tank and gets an idea. She bounces over to the tank and smooshes her face into the glass, asking Cairo to make her seafood stew with spicy peppers. She reaches in and starts trying to catch Nemo. Cairo sees her and tries to get her to stop. It’s quite a fight since she grabs a hold of the tank like her life depended on it. She was able to catch Nemo. Cairo pulls her hand out of the tank and Nemo flops to the floor. Cairo freaks out, calling Nemo’s name. Even though he protested that his name is not Nemo. He picks Nemo up and puts him in the tank. Then he screams at Natalie to leave with such intensity that she falls backward onto the floor.
Natalie sits there, looking pathetic, as she looks at Cairo’s glaring face. She sounds like she’s going to cry as she tells Cairo that he’s so mean. She didn’t even get to eat and she had beer on an empty stomach. Cairo rubs his head with frustration. Natalie begins to bawl. He mutters that he didn't ask for this. Natalie gasps that she’s so sad! Cairo sighs again with frustration.
Switch to the kitchen where Cairo is measuring out water for the ramen. Natalie opens up the container with the kimchi in it. Cairo methodically sets his timer for the cooking ramen. Natalie is sitting at the table, stewing on Rocco’s behaviour. Why'd he bring her shoes? Why'd he ask to eat together? Cairo looks over at her, annoyed. Why'd he say he'd call? Dang! Cairo asks if she really wants to know. Should he enlighten her? He grabs the Korean translation of ‘He’s Just Not That into You.’ Natalie looks at it and smiles with annoyance.
Natalie stands up and goes over to look at the ramen Cairo is cooking. She turns off the power to the burner and goes to get the ramen. Cairo protests that it’s not ready; it needs 2 more minutes. She ignores him, grabbing the pot and putting it down on top of the book. She tells him that life doesn't have a manual. Cairo sighs, annoyed. He snaps that she should not be so rash and at least try to understand where Rocco is coming from. Natalie responds that theory and practice are different. If you learn love through a manual, terrible things happen. He answers, saying, “Look who's talking.” Heh.
He sits opposite her at the table. She asks him why he hates marriage so much. He immediately says that he doesn't want to ruin his life with a girl like her. She asks about Isla, that Isla isn't just a friend. Natalie asks what happened between them. Coolly, he says that they know each other very well and care about each other. Natalie declares that kind of relationship is perfect. Cairo responds that they don't want to waste it on marriage. She’s amazed. Smart people just complicate things. She grabs some ramen out of the pot and stuffs it in her mouth. He clucks at her about how dirty she is. Get a bowl! Natalie stuff in some of Mom’s kimchi. She mumbles, mouth full, that Mom’s kimchi is awesome. He tells her to take it. He'll throw it out anyway.
Natalie goes to take another bite from the pot. Cairo pushes her forehead backward with his index and middle fingers. Then he shakes his finger at her and tells her not to cross the line. That’s her problem. He puts a bowl in front of her and says that her emotions are hers and his are his. She shouldn’t get worked up because they're different. She should just take care of her own emotions. She should keep it clean.
Natalie replies that she just trusts people. He replies that it wasn’t that. She just believed what she wanted to. Cairo says that Natalie should have seen it. Rocco's SNS photos are all food. He couldn't have eaten them alone. He looks at her phone and groans. She should buy a Smartphone for her love life at least. Natalie protests that smart phones make people lonely. It's… modern man's solitude. Cairo points his chopsticks at her and tells her she needs some solitude. She just got dumped and she’s… He starts to put some ramen in his mouth but stops to protest that she shouldn’t be using a man as a way of forgetting her ex. He puts down his chopsticks for emphasis. She should try to enjoy some time alone!
Natalie replies that Cairo loves it so much, yet he could die of loneliness. He tells her that she’s a burden to others. She replies that a human is human because it communicates. Communication is key for humans. Cairo asks what communication she’s talking about, calling her a stubborn dumb phone user. Natalie’s phone buzzes. She laughs and declares that her phone works just fine! She answers it.
It’s Rocco. He asks to get together. Cairo tells her to spend some time alone. Rocco hears through the phone and asks if she’s with someone. It sounds like a guy. She says that it’s the TV, motioning for him to be quiet. Cairo protests, saying that she’s treating him like an electronic product! She gets up from the table, though, and says that she’s alone. Cairo sighs, angry. He thinks, raises an eyebrow and declares that the ramen's getting cold! Natalie goes into Cairo’s huge bathroom and shuts the door.
Rocco asks Natalie if she’s curious about who he was with. Date's rich and kind. Date gave him $5,000 to use for charity. Natalie realizes that he was with the charity auction date. It sets her mind at ease. She tells him that she’ll be right there. She hangs up and goes to leave the bathroom, except the door won’t open. She calls for Cairo, saying that the door won't open. He's standing right outside the door, holding it closed. He tells her to spend some time alone. She realizes he’s locked her in. They fight over the door as he tells her that you can only be happy as a couple if you can be happy alone. It's on or off for guys. A guy either likes Natalie or doesn’t. If he seems ambiguous, it's just off.
Natalie yells at Cairo that he doesn’t know that for sure. Cairo tells her that if she runs out right away when Rocco calls, Rocco will never like her! He yells at her to listen to him! Her yanking on the door handle makes the screws come loose and the door knob falls off. He looks back and forth between her and the door, not believing that she just broke his door handle. She jumps up, still holding onto the handle and using it to accentuate what she’s saying. He watches the door handle warily. She asks him about 'on.' Can he find someone to be 'on' with when he’s home alone 24/7? He starts to answer but she cuts him off, telling him to be alone if he wants. She never wants to be alone!
Natalie throws down the handle as she stomps past Cairo. She grabs her purse and the kimchi and goes. He sighs and looks at the broken pieces of his door handle.
Natalie meets Rocco. He’s brought some food. He made it himself. She realizes that Rocco’s SNS is full of pictures because he likes cooking. The thought that this is the reason, rather than him being a player, makes Natalie happy. Cairo is at home, eating the ramen. He slaps down his chopsticks, muttering to himself that Natalie comes and leaves anytime she wants. Always making him waste his time. He thinks a moment and then goes back to his ramen.
Natalie takes a bite of Rocco’s food. It's amazing! He smiles like he’s glad that she likes it. She pulls out the kimchi. He says he doesn’t like kimchi. Which is rare: a Korean who doesn’t like kimchi. She tries to get him to eat it, since it’s homemade. She mixes the kimchi with his food and says it’s a great combination. Rocco is horrified. She makes him try the wonderful combination. He eventually does, even though he protests. He discovers that he likes it. She proposes they be food friends. They can eat together when he doesn't want to stand in the corner and eat alone. He agrees and they smile at each other. She thinks to herself that she’ll take her time. She doesn't need to hurry.
[ Day of the Incident ]
Aunt is showing Mom and Grandma pictures of Natalie at work. She's a department store sales associate. Mom asks what he’s thinking. Grandma supposes that Cairo could be attracted to someone not like his mom. Grandma totally understands that. Nice little dig at Mom. She doesn’t miss it. Grandma wonders what kind of family they are since they blackmail and stalk each other. She says that she stayed silent for the sake of family peace but Cairo can't take it anymore. She can’t look at it anymore. This is why Cairo wants to live alone.
Aunt tries to get Grandma to stop, but Mom pipes up that it’s all her fault. Mom asks Grandma for her help, since he'll open up to her. Grandma immediately likes that idea, since Mom is right about Cairo talking to Grandma. Nice little pride stroke there.
Grandma gets out of the taxi out in front of Bon Café and looks upward at where Cairo’s office is. She calls Cairo. She asks if they can meet. He tells her he can’t. She replies that she’s on his side. He just needs to listen. Instead, he hangs up on her. It starts to downpour. Grandma runs for cover.
We find out why he could meet Grandma just then. Mom has stopped by his office for a visit. He hangs up and turns around to face Mom, plastering a huge smile on his face. Mom apologizes for bothering me. He’s gracious and asks why she came by. She was curious how things were going for Cairo. She asks him about his business; is it doing well? He smiles and nods. Mom tells him that his skin looks dry and his eyes are puffy. Heh. Cairo puts his hand to his cheek as he says that he had ramen last night. Mom asks if it’s not really because Natalie is making him suffer. It takes Cairo a second but he plays it up, saying that it’s all because of Natalie. Which it is, in one sense, she did burst into his apartment uninvited late at night and demand the ramen.
Mom declares that she’ll make Natalie change her mind, so Cairo shouldn’t worry. Mom reaches up and strokes Cairo’s face, making him a little uncomfortable as Mom says that a plastic surgeon's skin should be better. Then she reaches down and puts her hand on his. Even more uncomfortable for Cairo. Which I can totally understand, although Mom’s trying to be motherly right now. Mom tells him not to eat ramen if at all possible. He agrees that he’ll try.
Cairo steps out of his office to call Natalie. She didn't tell her mom? Natalie says that she had something going on. He wants to know what the situation was what made her tell Mom where his office was. He grabs the cheek Mom stroked as he says that Mom came to visit. Heh. Natalie whispers into the phone that she’ll tell him everything later. Right now she has a visitor, too. A shot of Grandma’s wet feet. Natalie hangs up the phone.
Natalie goes over and fusses over Grandma. Zoe helps dry, too. Grandma asks if Natalie can make some time for her. Since Natalie’s at work, she hesitates. Grandma declares that Natalie promised to make some pancakes for her. Natalie should keep her promise. Awkward smile from Natalie.
Natalie and Grandma are now at Cairo’s apartment. Natalie worries if it’s okay, since Cairo isn’t there. Grandma thinks it is; besides she knows that Natalie visits him there often. Natalie admits that she doesn’t know the passcode. Grandma takes that as a sign the pair aren’t that close yet. Grandma declares that Cairo used to stick to me like gum, so the passcode should be her birthday. Nope. Grandma tries the last 4 digits of his cell. Nope. Wow, Grandma has a high opinion of herself in Cairo’s eyes. Natalie says that Cairo loves himself so Grandma should try his birthday. That’s the one.
Natalie is cooking her pancakes. She shakes out her limbs and dramatically flips the pancake. Grandma loves it. I’m really surprised it didn’t get stuck on the ceiling. Cairo would have flipped at that. Heh.
Aunt calls Cairo at work and asks him if he met Grandma. She left in a taxi to see him. Aunt says that she hasn’t heard from Grandma since and Grandma’s not picking up her cell phone. Cairo looks a little worried. Or frustrated.
Back at Cairo’s apartment, Grandma and Natalie are drunkenly singing and drumming with chopsticks. They chug another drink. Grandma asks Natalie what she thinks of Cairo. Natalie thinks and declares that he’s a rude bastard who doesn't know anything but himself! She laughs. Grandma doesn’t. Natalie immediately regrets it and apologizes. Grandma tells her that Cairo seems sold, but he's really affectionate and loving. Natalie isn’t buying it. Grandma tells her that Cairo needs an honest girl like her. Grandma tells Natalie to take good care of Cairo. Natalie replies that Cairo prefers to be alone. If I was Grandma, I would think that she’s in a relationship with Cairo. Grandma says that she knows. Cairo’s not low-maintenance and neither is their family. Grandma declares that it’s all her fault, why Cairo left.
Cairo leaves his office. He has an umbrella to protect from the rain. He looks for where Grandma could possibly have gone.
Grandma says that the reason why Cairo left, why he wants to live alone, it’s all her fault. She says that she feels so guilty she can't sleep well. And if she falls asleep, she has nightmares. Drunk Natalie begs Grandma not to say that. Grandma takes another chug of drink. She declares that she should die! Then she passes out, her face falling into her food.
Natalie freaks out. Grandma won’t wake up. She anxiously calls Cairo, who is driving in his car, looking for Grandma. He answers and tells her they should talk later. She tells him to come to the house, now! He tells her to stop ordering him around. Why should he go to her house? She protests that she means his house. He wants to know what she’s doing there. Natalie whimpers that Grandma collapsed. He immediately races home.
Cairo runs into the apartment, calling Grandma’s name. The EMTs are there and they’ve loaded Grandma on a stretcher. Natalie mutters ‘okay!’ The EMTs take Grandma out to the ambulance. Natalie grabs Cairo’s hand and tells him she’s sorry. It’s all her fault. He sees the food and booze on the living room coffee table. Cairo starts to yell at her, but she interrupts saying that Grandma came to the department store dripping wet. She couldn't send her away. She’d promised to cook for Grandma. He tells her that it’s okay and says she should go. Then he runs to hurry to the hospital.
As Grandma is being unloaded from the ambulance, Aunt and Mom arrive at the hospital. Aunt starts to freak out. Mom is less frantic, but she’s concerned. She asks Cairo what happened. Cairo says that Grandma drank too much. Mom wants to know who with. He tells her it was with him. That’s interesting. Covering for Natalie. I thought you wanted Mom to hate her… Interesting. He hurries inside. Natalie arrives shortly after, by taxi.
Doctor examines Grandma. He tells them (Aunt, Mom and Cairo) not to worry. Grandma’s respiration, blood pressure and temperature are fine. Aunt worries that Grandma is in a cmom and begs Grandma to open her eyes. Grandma lets out a big snore. Heh. She starts snoring some more. Doctor asks if she’s been sleeping well lately. Mom says that Grandma has insomnia. Doctor tells them to let Grandma sleep and leaves.
Aunt moans that she almost had a heart attack! Grandma’s still snoring. Mom asks to talk to Cairo. The three leave the hospital to encounter a pacing Natalie. She immediately asks Cairo how Grandma is. Did she wake up? Aunt sniffs and says that Natalie reeks of alcohol. Aunt can’t believe that Natalie drank with Grandma. Mom looks down because Cairo lied to cover it up and she knows it. Natalie meekly apologizes. Aunt is not appeased. She calls Natalie an alcoholic.
Mom asks for an explanation. Aunt demands Natalie tell them what she was thinking. Cairo grabs Natalie by the wrist and walks off with her, leaving Mom sitting there with her mouth open in shock. Once they’re out of Mom’s earshot, Cairo asks Natalie what she was thinking. He told her to go, but she followed instead. She replies that she was worried. He yells at her that he told her she should know her boundaries. Crossing the boundary is cute once or twice. It gets ugly after that. He tells her that she became a stalker with Kelvin. She hasn’t changed. Ouch! That was harsh.
His words hurt her. She gasps that they were too harsh. He sighs and asks why she thinks he worked with her to begin with. He wants to live quietly alone! How is it that it gets more and more complicated and louder every time he sees her? She protests that that wasn't her intention. He snaps back, asking what her intention is. Does she want to marry him now? Is that why she broke into his place and made Grandma drink like a fish? And force Mom to come to the hospital?
Natalie apologizes for not being able to tell Mom the truth. Cairo coldly tells Natalie to wake up. He has no intentions of getting married and he hates girls like her. Natalie blinks, hurt. She tells him she’s got it. She apologizes for the ugliness and for annoying him. She’ll get lost. She leaves. He lets out a big sigh, because he knows that’s not what he wanted to happen. Natalie walks away, trying not to cry.
Cairo returns to his apartment and surveys the mess. He cleans it up, making sure that everything is immaculate. Then he goes to relax in his tub with a glass of wine. He sighs and declares that now, he’s finally alone. He tells himself that it’s nice. He gets out of the tub, puts on his aftershave, and goes to leave his steamy bathroom. Which has no windows that can open. The door handle doesn’t work.
[ Cairo's Bathroom Lock-in Incident ]
Natalie flops face down on her bed. She sits up and mutters that she hopes he lives happily ever after, being alone.
Cairo’s frantically trying to get out of the bathroom. He pounds on the door and yells for help. No one hears him, of course. He kicks the door and hurts his foot. He begs for anyone to just come. He laughs because they won’t.
Natalie is at work, declaring that she’ll never go there again. She’s pacing, annoyed. She taps her foot. She really wants to know how Grandma is doing. She’s really worried. She texts Cairo, asking. His phone is sitting on his coffee table.
[ 15 Hours After the Incident ]
Natalie checks her phone, riding on the bus after work. She makes a face when there isn’t a reply from Cairo. She flips it shut. She thinks of how he told her to go, Aunt yelling at her and Cairo pulling her away. She wonders if he was trying to protect her. I think so. Even if it is subconsciously. She tries to call him, with no answer.
[ 24 Hours After the Incident ]
Cairo is still stuck in the bathroom. He’s pacing. Exercising. Reading his book. Messing with his face. Doing pushups.
Natalie stops by Cairo’s office. One of the nurses is telling a patient that their surgery will have to be cancelled today. Something came up with the doctor. She gets the nurse’s attention and asks if Cairo didn’t come into work. Nurse says that they haven’t been able to reach him since yesterday. This makes Cairo wonder what’s going on. Later at work, she tries calling him again, only to get voicemail. She of course doesn’t leave a message, because people in k-dramas never leave a message. She tries calling again. Like he was just ignoring her call, rather than he couldn’t’ come to the phone.
Isla enters the store. Natalie sees her and bows deeply, greeting her. Isla asks if Natalie works there. I can’t decide if she already knew that before she came into the store, based on her seeing Natalie’s face. I suspect she already knew… Natalie asks if Isla has been able to reach Cairo. She says that she’s worried; his cell is off and he's not at work. She worries that something happened. Isla tells Natalie that she went through this once with Kelvin. Doesn’t she get it, why men disappear. That was harsh. Throwing Kelvin in her face.
Isla declares that Cairo drops out of sight that when he wants to be alone. But to blow off his patients? I don’t think so. He's too professional for that. Isla says that it’s better to leave him alone during times like this. Natalie, embarrassed, says she understands.
Cairo slumps onto the steps by his tub. He looks terrible. His lips are all chapped and there are circles under his eyes. He tries to think of someone that might rescue him:
Mom? He shakes his head. She won't come.
Isla? Kelvin? They won't come.
He scratches his head, despondent. He thinks of Natalie. He starts to get hopeful. But then he remembers how she said that she was sorry for the ugliness and would get lost. He dejectedly sighs that she won't come after all that. He lies down on the tile and loses unconsciousness. The arm drops dramatically.
[ 36 Hours After the Incident ]
Natalie is at home, alone, turning on the lights. She accidentally knocks a glass to the floor. Shocked, she remembers being that little girl, with bleeding feet and a bloody hand from a shattered glass, crying for Mom. Natalie picks up the pieces of the glass and gets a bad feeling. She leaves it behind.
Isla is driving and she thinks of what Natalie said. She decides to check on Cairo.
Natalie is at Cairo’s door, ringing the bell. She pounds on the door, calling his name. She uses the passcode and enters Cairo’s apartment. She cautiously enters and remembers him yelling at her about knowing her boundaries. She yells for him again. Cairo is unconscious.
[ 48 Hours After the Incident ]
She apologizes for bothering him but she’s so worried! She says that she nearly died home alone when she was 5. Which would explain her fear of being alone. She says that why she can't be alone and gets worried about people who are.
Cairo starts to wake up. She says out loud that her folks have become closer at the thought of her marrying a plastic surgeon. She’s never seen them like that so she couldn’t tell them. Anyway, she’s sorry about everything! She gets a little annoyed and tells him that he should talk to her by now! Is he sleeping? He needs to answer her. She’ll leave him alone after hearing that he’s okay. There’s a very weak “Here…” from the bathroom.
Isla arrives at Cairo’s building.
Natalie fights with the door handle. She rushes into the kitchen and grabs a knife to jimmy the door open. Finally she gets it and sees him lying weakly on the bathtub tiles. She drops the knife and rushes to him, accidentally flopping him onto the floor. She tries to help him sit up and he grabs her and holds onto for dear life. Because she came. Even after he was so mean, she came. She tries to push free, but he won’t let go.
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