A little bit of angst and misunderstanding to make the heart stronger, at least that is the gist of this episode. And there’s the good ole, ever-present forgiveness message as well. Although we haven’t taken a full step forward- as far as Cha-aim revealing her true identity- there’s still plenty of fan service amid situations that threaten to tear the two apart, as well as a resolution to the robbery. And I’m sure clarity is reserved for our finale, which is just as well.

Cha-aim decides that the only way to bail Pong out of his predicament is to find the real Ti Yai. She pretends to be Ti Yai’s pregnant wife and goes in search of Mutdang’s minion. Causing a scene by crying fervently in the public that Ti Yai is trying to leave her, the motorcycle minion finally gives in and takes her to the front of Ti Yai’s house.

Meanwhile Mr. Tum and the professor are watching the scene from the van, Mr. Tum is in a state of nerves on Cha-aim’s behalf but impressed by her acting nonetheless. Things got messy however, upon entering Ti Yai’s domain, the girls get into a fight with Ti Yai’s real wife. The funny fighting scene ensues as Cha-aim knees the other woman and Nong gives the woman a bath. Mr. Tum and the professor decide to lend a hand. Ti Yai appears (and everyone look at him in shock, he’s a replica of Pong!) and he thinks they are cops and runs away. Everyone made chase and more hilarity follow.

They corner Ti Yai and he desperately grasps Cha-aim for collateral, aiming a knife at her throat. All Tum knew at the moment is that he couldn’t let anything happen to her. He wrestles the knife away from Ti-Yai and they go into combat. The cops finally appear but stand on the sideline, watching. Tum is able to fend off the knife attack until the final one stabs him in the stomach. He goes down on his knees, the blood oozing from his shirt. Cha-aim screams his name and catches him before he hits the ground. The cops arrests Ti Yai (so much for protecting the citizens!)

Cha-aim hugs him to her and cries at the pain she has caused him. Even when the doctor says that he is safe after they patched him up, she’s still in tears. In the ICU room, Cha-aim held his hands, telling him that she is sorry. She couldn’t stay much longer when she notices Khun Cheun and Khun Phi in the hallway. She’s not quite ready to face them now.

Pong is cleared from his accusations and released from jail. His resemblance to Ti-Yai is uncanny.

Mr. Tum finally gains consciousness the next day and he utters Cha-aim’s name as he wakes up. Instead, he sees Khun Aon who is watching over him, probably because her mother told her to. She is bored (even social media couldn’t entertain her) so Tum tells her that she should go shopping or something and return later this evening. He promises not to tell Khun Cheun. Khun Aon’s face lights up at the idea and thanks him profusely before she leaves.

Ah, our Cha-aim is still very tight lipped about a lot of things. You and I, and even her best friend know her better than she knows herself. She tells everyone that she is worried about Mr. Tum because he had saved her life and she is indebted to him. She dare not think about the alternative that perhaps starts with the letter L.

She prepared soup for him and he couldn’t be happier when he saw her face. This man has so much affection for her and it’s so infectious when they’re together. He pretends that his wound hurts so she could feed him. I like how they are reciprocating the hospital scene, taking turns taking care of each other. Only this time, things get a little more angsty.

Pong appears with a fruit basket, he’s peeved that Cha-aim went to see Mr. Tum without him. He’s very jealous and decides to show Mr. Tum that he is the “boyfriend.” Funny thing is, when he held Cha-aim’s hand, she soon released it. But the effect of his possessiveness was not lost on Mr. Tum. His face fell. Cha-aim is reluctant to leave Mr. Tum’s side so when Pong steers her away from the hospital, she finds her way back. Little gestures like this makes Mr. Tum so happy. She spends some time with him until Khun Cheun and family return to visit Mr. Tum. He thought it would be a good opportunity to come clean but Cha-aim wasn’t yet ready to face them- and worse- wasn’t yet ready to explain the reasons why to Mr. Tum. She hides in the closet and made her escape when the family isn’t looking. This bugs Mr. Tum but he let’s it go for now.

Cha-aim returns to see him again, it is the day he will be released from the hospital. Unfortunately another deterrence made her way to his hospital room- his mother. She recognizes Cha-aim to be the girl who was in Mr. Tum’s office and whom Mr. Tum is smitten with. She scolds her son when Cha-aim said she was leaving, reminding him that he needed to select a prospective wife based on suitability. Tum starts to tell her that Cha-aim is not a maid when Cha-aim enters back into the room abruptly by telling them that she had forgotten her tubberware. His mom pulls her aside and tells her that Tum has a bright future and he must choose someone who not only looks well but can represent him well too. Furthermore she doesn’t want Tum’s future to suffer because of a particular “someone” and that Tum already has the “right” person for him. Ok m’ame, you’ve made it crystal clear! Cha-aim nods her head in understanding.

Tum returns back home with his mom and she is adamant that she will be the only nurse for him (heh, not Cha-aim, lol.) But you gotta love Mr. Tum, he sneaks out of the house to see Cha-aim because there is something still lingering in his mind: why is she still hiding the truth from Khun Cheun’s household? Determined to get the truth out of her, he ends up walking into a conversation between Pong and Cha-aim, which broke his heart. Pong asks Aim how she really feels about Mr. Tum and does she have any feelings for him? Aim responds in her tight-lipped way that she doesn’t feel anything for Mr. Tum. Pong assumes then that their relationship is still the same. He hugs her, happy for the confirmation. What he fails to see is that her facial expression doesn’t match her words. But this was enough to break Mr. Tum’s heart. As he leaves, he gives her a call and tells her that he needs to talk to her.

They meet up at a quiet restaurant. He tells her that he knows why she doesn’t want to tell the truth to everyone: she needed to leave him. Mr. Tum tells her that he won’t bother with her again, that he will stop seeing her. Cha-aim tries to tell him that that is not the case but he has already said what he needed to say and left. Dejectedly she confesses to her friend Nong that Mr. Tum is misunderstanding her. She couldn’t tell Khun Cheun’s household because she can’t face them. She is afraid that they would be very angry at her. Nong advises her to tell Mr. Tum what she told her.

Cha-aim makes her way to Mr. Tum’s family home but spots Mr. Tum and Khun Aon at the dining table eating. She remembers his mom telling her that Mr. Tum already has the “right” person for him. She assumes she meant Khun Aon- when in actuality we all know that his mom’s trying to match make him with Amika (hah small world!) But Cha-aim doesn’t know this and decides against explaining herself to him. As she walks out, she sees Nark and figures out the best way to uncover the true snitch, put the thieve behind bars and repay the kindness that Khun Cheun has given her. She contrives for Nark to steal Banjong’s phone and text Mutdang. Then she gave Banjong a note from Mutdang to meet in the same spot.

Cha-aim tells her plans to Nong but doesn’t want anyone to risk their life on her behalf again so she opts to go alone. Concerned for her friend, Nong phones Mr. Tum (funny how she only thinks of him instead of Cha-aim’s “real” boyfriend). Despite promising never to bother with her again, Mr. Tum couldn’t help but go to her aide. He is too worried about her safety. Isn’t that sweet? He has always done everything for her.

That night, Cha-aim follows Banjong as Banjong rendezvous with Mutdang. Unfortunately Banjong takes a motorcycle taxi, leaving Cha-aim stranded on the road. Luckily Mr. Tum’s car appears and she jumps in. They bicker in the car, both so tensed after all of the misunderstandings and debacle they’ve been through. He scolds her for pretending to be a maid and now pretending to be an investigator. She answers that both professions are legit. He stops her from talking further, telling her that he wasn’t here to argue with her. They finally found the motorcycle taxi and ask the man where he had dropped off Banjong.

We should give it to Cha-aim, she’s pretty daring and willing to endanger herself to find evidence. The two creeps closer to where Banjong and Mutdang are congregating and videotape their conversation. Cha-aim records the incriminating part where Banjong says that he was the one who robbed Khun Cheun’s house and Mutdang confirms that Banjong was his snitch. As Cha-aim and Mr. Tum inch back to their car, Cha-aim blows their cover and Mutdang makes chase. By the car, Mr. Tum gives her his keys and tells her to make a run for it. He will distract Mutdang. During this dangerous time, they both reveal at least briefly that they are worried about each other. Mr. Tum makes a run in the opposite direction, thinking Mutdang is following him. But Mutdang is smart and he trails Cha-aim. When he catches up to her, he claims the phone and smacks her to the ground. Before he could do further damage though, Mr. Tum returns and hits him in the head with a thick branch.

Mr. Tum pulled Cha-aim in his arms, comforting her from the close call. As he examines her face and sees the blood trickling from her lips, he was ready to beat Mutdang up again. Cha-aim reminds him to call the cops and get the man arrested before he gains consciousness. Cha-aim calls Nark in time to apprehend Banjong who was prepared to flee the scene.

At the police station, Mutdang is put behind bars and Banjong is repentant. She tells Khun Cheun and Khun Phi that she truly realizes that she is wrong. She confesses that she was overly jealous at Cha-aim and the attention she received from everyone in the household. It was all due to ignorance. Khun Cheun feels sorry for her and offers her a second chance if she truly is repentant. This forgiveness is beyond Banjong’s wildest dreams and she hugs Khun Cheun’s leg, never realizing in a million years that she would be forgiven. This experience taught Banjong how lucky she is and that moving forward, she is prepared to repay the kindness.

As Mr. Tum takes Cha-aim back home and he thinks that she has fallen asleep, he pulls over to adjust her seat. He mutters softly to her why he can’t seem to forget her. Little did he know that she had heard what he said. He drops her off at Nong’s home and thinks that this might be the last he would see of her.

Mr. Tum tells Khun Cheun’s household that it was Cha-aim’s idea about uncovering the real thief. He is prepared to tell them about Cha-aims identity when Cha-aim appears in the house. She thanked them for the kindness they have given her but still, she doesn’t tell them that she pretended to be their maid. Mr. Tum’s eyebrow furrowed in consternation. I’m sure he- as well as all of us- are still wondering why she won’t come clean. Cha-aim tells them that she never imagined that being a maid would bring her to meet such good people. She won’t be able to continue to be their maid because she must go home now and won’t be returning to Bangkok. Khun Cheun looks regretful of losing a good maid but she relents. Cha-aim bids farewell to the household.

We get a poignant scene where Cha-aim walks down the driveway one last time as Mr. Tum slowly drives away. They look at each other but neither saying a word. Both thinking that it will be their farewell too.

So.. what think you of this episode? I find Cha-aim’s character contradiction interesting- the fact that she is brave to do anything risky to her life- but she is too afraid to confess her own feelings. But to make it more compelling, I hope there is more to it and I hope she can somehow verbalize or write it in order to express her feelings. Secondly, I’m going to attribute Banjong’s easy forgiveness to this lighthearted rom-com theme. I’m glad though that at least finding forgiveness didn’t take too long. This lakorn is fast paced through and through. And with 12 episodes, there’s no time to waste.

And Mr. Tum. He really couldn’t stay away could he? So sweet. We’ve plenty of fan service moments between our Cha-aim and Mr. Tum to satisfy my fangirling. I’ve quite liked this episode- mainly because they’ve tied up most of the loose ends, leaving only one last problem to contend with- Cha-aim’s true identity- and we have all of the finale to bask in it.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely am not ready to say goodbye. Can’t this series go on and on?

 

*pic credit to Thong Entertainment FB, asianfuse discussion forums, tost78 YT