Episodes 5 and 6 of “Our Universe” really leaned into the rom-com tropes and clichés that make watching K-dramas so fun and comforting.
They’re the kind of moments every longtime K-drama fan knows by heart: catching a cold after getting caught in the rain and the caretaking segment that follows (a bowl of water and a towel are absolutely required), the classic slip-into-his-arms, and love triangle shenanigans.
But while these moves have been done before, “Our Universe” gave them their own spin rather than making them feel like boring carbon copies. Things just hit a little different when you’re juggling office drama, a curious toddler, and unresolved feelings with both your boss and your co-parenting roommate.
Read on to see if you caught these five moments in episodes 5 and 6 of “Our Universe” that are quintessentially K-drama:
Warning: episodes 5 and 6 spoilers ahead!
1. The lost-and-stranded side quest
The show has a little search‑and‑rescue moment in the woods last week, and it starts with a camping trip that Hyun Jin (Roh Jeong Eui) and Woo Joo (Park Yu Ho) are invited to by a neighbor. After the recent hospital scare and the doctor’s suggestion to support Woo Joo’s mental health, Hyun Jin thinks it will be good for him to get outside and be around other kids.
At this time, Hyun Jin and Tae Hyung (Bae In Hyuk) are once again on rocky terms ever since her manager, Yoon Seong (Park Seo Ham), found out about their living arrangement in a slightly embarrassing scenario. But their fights rarely last long. Because she feels bad about how it all played out and her hiding the truth, she invites Tae Hyung along to mend their relationship.
The camping trip puts them on good terms again, but it doesn’t last. The miscommunication trope strikes: Tae Hyung overhears Hyun Jin talking about how awkward things have been living together, and it sounds like she’s almost relieved he’ll be moving out soon. He only catches the worst part and leaves before she gets to all the good things she actually says about him.
This fuels another argument between the two. Hyun Jin proceeds to walk off, and it isn’t long before it is dark and they haven’t heard from her. As it so happens, Hyun Jin was on the phone when she went down a path that wasn’t meant to be taken and must have gotten lost and fallen along the way.
After some running around and nearly having a heart attack, Tae Hyung finds Hyun Jin curled up on the ground with a minor leg injury.
As if things couldn’t get worse, it immediately starts storming, so the two find quick shelter and wait out the rain before returning to camp.
The search and rescue was quick and without serious injuries, but it definitely showed Hyun Jin just how reliable Tae Hyung is. If they’d been holed up together a little longer, it wouldn’t have been the worst thing for their relationship, but all’s well that ends well.
2. The rain-cold-care arc
Getting caught in the rain can only mean one thing.
After the bumpy end to their camping trip, the co-parents call it a night and head home early with Woo Joo. The next day, Tae Hyung develops a nasty cold, but he acts like it isn’t a big deal.
Tae Hyung is so used to being left on his own that he says he is fine and tells Hyun Jin to just go out and continue with her normal plans, though she leaves very worried about him. It’s on this day that she has plans to meet with Yoon Seong for a work thing that is really more like a date.
As his cold worsens, Tae Hyung unconsciously ends up waiting for her to return home. He thinks he’s been left alone again when he wakes up to see Hyun Jin has already been by his side.
It’s at this point that Tae Hyung finally realizes his feelings for Hyun Jin. And he actually breaks a K-drama trope by not waiting to tell her. Tae Hyung confesses in such a simple and honest way, and it feels very on-character for him. It probably caught viewers off guard, just like it did Hyun Jin.
3. The dark alley scare
Getting followed by a creepy guy in a dark alley is practically a K‑drama genre requirement at this point, and it’s a box last week’s episodes checked.
If young adult life and parenthood weren’t already scary enough on their own, at the co-parents’ apartment complex, there has been a man targeting women living alone. He’s been said to tail them in the dark, and there was a break-in at their place just the other day, so the danger is real, and it’s close.
Tae Hyung, being the reliable, quietly protective guy he is, tells Hyun Jin to head home on time and avoid wandering around alone, but she fails on day one.
Hyun Jin accidentally falls asleep on the bus, forcing her to get off at a different stop and end up doing the exact thing she shouldn’t be doing: walking down a dark alley alone with a predator on the loose.
She feels someone behind her as she is walking, but right before anything can happen, Tae Hyung steps in front of her. Thankfully, what starts as a scary moment ends in a cute one. Tae Hyung makes her promise to call him when she’s in need, and he’ll be there.
4. The slip-and-catch
The K‑drama catch reflex might be overdone, but how these two get there is ridiculous in the best way. With the predator lurking around the apartment complex, Tae Hyung gives Hyun Jin a pepper spray just in case. He plays it off nonchalantly, but he’s clearly put a lot of thought into her safety. The problem is that neither of them really knows how the thing works.
One wrong press and Tae Hyung ends up pepper-spraying himself in the eye. Cue the two of them sprinting upstairs like absolute clowns, trying to rinse it out while Tae Hyung is dying from the sting.
Once they finally get it all out, all that water on the floor turns into the perfect setup for more chaos. Hyun Jin slips into Tae Hyung’s arms, and it definitely stirred up some feelings now that he’s openly confessed how he feels.
5. The love triangle
There have already been hints that something might be happening between Yoon Seong and Hyun Jin after reconnecting as co‑workers at BS Foods. They liked each other back in college, but they never made it to the “let’s date” stage.
Their reunion feels like a possible second chance: Yoon Seong keeps sending very obvious crush signals, and Hyun Jin’s effort to impress him shows she hasn’t totally let go of those old feelings. But there’s also Tae Hyung, who’s acting more and more like a good dad and, unlike Yoon Seong, he’s made his feelings for Hyun Jin crystal clear.
Now that Yoon Seong knows about Hyun Jin’s living situation, all doors are open for him to get closer to her and scope out the competition.
Right after the camping trip, Yoon Seong ends up paying her hospital bill for her leg injury, and they agree to grab dinner over the weekend with Woo Joo. After the main meal goes well, Yoon Seong asks if Hyun Jin wants to go for a second round at a cafe, but she’s worried about Tae Hyung, who was at this point sick from the camping trip. Instead, she returns home.
With Tae Hyung’s confession and Yoon Seong being more forward, Hyun Jin has a lot to think about. But there’s no stopping this love triangle, especially now that Yoon Seong’s team is going to be working on a project with Amy Chu (Jin Seo Yeon), whom Tae Hyung now works for.
And because this show knows how to make timing part of the comedy, their first company meeting is when an earlier misunderstanding decides to make a comeback. The side effect of Tae Hyung being at the office is that Hyun Jin’s coworkers quickly recognize that he is the “lobby guy” from the viral office clip when he surprised Hyun Jin at work with Woo Joo.
The team goes out to dinner for team bonding, but that’s not exactly what happens for the leads. Yoon Seong and Tae Hyung spend the dinner pretty much sizing each other up, and Hyun Jin is stuck in the middle. The whole thing ends in a totally unserious bowling face-off while everyone else is blissfully unaware of the unspoken battle taking place.
The petty rivalry is in full swing, and it’s fun watching these young adults be a little foolish in love after weeks of Hyun Jin and Tae Young healing from their loss and having to be responsible co-parents at the same time.
Start watching “Our Universe” now:
Asya’s a BL-biased Soompi writer with a love of K-pop and all types of Asian dramas. Some of her favorite shows are “Psychopath Diary,” “Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!,” “Light On Me,” “The Untamed,” “Go Go Squid!,” and “Cherry Magic!”
Currently watching: “Our Universe,” “Positively Yours,” “Undercover Miss Hong,” “Countdown to Yes,” “Dare You to Death,” “Peach Lover,” and “Duang with You.”
Looking forward to: “Magic Lover,” “Mr. Fanboy,” “The Love Matter,” and “Be My Player Two.”