Once Upon a Small Town (K-drama), Season 1, Episode 11 Recap & Ending Explained: As things have shaped for good, Netflix’s popular K-drama is slowly growing a niche audience. The latest episode is unique and relatable at the same time, which is why it makes it more heartwarming. The characters are more confident about their feelings for one another and also sure about what they want and do not want in their life. As we get to know the cuter side of Ji-yul and Ahn’s romantic relationship, we also witness the loyalty of a friend despite getting hurt for the very reason.
The following article discusses the 11th episode of Once Upon a Small Town Season, now streaming on Netflix in depth. Spoiler alert – the piece consists of an explanation of the episode’s ending. Hence read at your discretion.
ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN (K-DRAMA), SEASON 1, EPISODE 11 RECAP:
Episode eleven picks right when Ji-yul and Ahn share a kiss. However, he quickly hides Ahn Ja-young when Yeong-suk enters the chamber. One downside perk of being in a small town is how quickly news spreads like wildfire. Both Ji-yul and Ahn don’t want the townspeople to know about them. After somehow getting out of the hospital premise, the new town couple keeps their affair under wraps to avoid people making it a huge ordeal.
At the hospital, Ji-yul’s assistant, Yeong-suk, finds it odd that even though the doctor is leaving the town soon, he has requested new clothes and historical medical records. However, Ji-yul is happy with how his life is shaping in Huidong as he looks forward to spending quality time with his new girlfriend, out on a date. On the other hand, we can see Ahn pampering herself with fresh cucumber and sheet masks rejoicing about the recent turn of events in her life.
As they head together on a date, Ji-yul finds Ahn gushing over them meeting at odd hours. She also finds it weird how fast things changed, considering there was so much tension between them. Since it is difficult to find a safe place to be together where nobody recognizes them in the town, the duo decides to drive to Seoul, which is a four-hour drive on each side.
While driving, Ji-yul shares that he wants to show her around the hospital he works in Seoul. Soon we get to see his intention of going to the city hospital for a date. Ji-yul wants Ahn to understand that the 4-hour journey from the town to the city should not make her worry about their new relationship. However, Ahn seems comfortable with the distance and doesn’t show any indifference.
Seeing Ahn at ease with the distance, Ji-yul assures her that he will do better so that this eight-hour round trip doesn’t feel anything to her. The episode quickly shows the blooming conversation between the young couple as they head back home to Huidong. While dropping Ahn at her place, Han Ji-yul insists she calls him by a pet name instead of addressing him as a doctor now that they are a couple.
In the next moment, we see Ahn at her workplace, smiling about her time with Ji-yul. At the same time, her coworkers find it strange when they learn Ahn avoided a work call to get off work on time. Soon Ahn receives a text from Ji-yul asking if she is in her office. It is weird for Ahn to have a casual text conversation with him; Ji-yul skips her heartbeat by abruptly visiting her in her workplace.
Ji-yul puts an act in front of her coworkers, using a pet-dog food delivery as an excuse to meet Ahn. Ji-yul shares with Man-sung how he needs Ahn to open the doors of her house to drop the heavy packages at her place.
Seeing how odd the two are behaving, Man-sung lets his officer leave right away with Ji-yul. While driving to her place, the couple finds a spot away from the townspeople’s eye. While Ahn is restless about being caught, she feels Ji-yul is incredibly relaxed with how he plays with excuses to see her.
However, Ji-yul assures her that he is equally nervous as her and has never done something of this sort in his previous relationship. He feels that seeing her get awkward in front of people somehow makes him feel in control of his thought about their relationship; hence, he comes out as natural about keeping their relationship a secret.
Unfortunately, their conversation is soon cut short when Seon-dong and his friend see them together in the vehicle. Getting caught out of the blue makes them nervous as Ahn tells the kid that Ji-yul is dropping her home. In the meantime, Seon-dong has news to tell them. He and his friend have decided to date each other and thought to share it with them. Ironically, Seon Dong wants Ahn and Ji-yul to keep his dating life a secret from the townspeople. Soon Ji-yul gets a work call, and both decide to return to their respective jobs.
While helping them with the cleaning, the women association group notices that Ahn is unusually more active and chirpy, and her face is glowing more than ever. While Sang Hye-on’s mother suggests they all go somewhere nice and cool since Ahn has never taken a day off from work. However, Se-Ryeon insists that Ahn should go with Sang Hye-on instead of a large group. Meanwhile, Ahn corresponds with someone over text; everyone sees her smiling while texting.
ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN (SEASON 1), EPISODE 11 ENDING, EXPLAINED:
We then see Mal-geum from the neighboring town visit Ahn asking for a favor. But before she does that, Mal-guem lectures the women’s group to overwork Ahn throughout the day. The conversation soon turns into another brawl between the women as Ahn witnesses the craziness in front of her.
Ahn smiles and tells them she used to love it when people asked for help; however, things have changed. Even though she is happy that Mal-guem came to ask for her help, she is displeased by it. Ahn further shares that she has constantly worried about people disliking her or not needing her anymore, but she is not concerned anymore about who likes her or not. However, she will help her this time but only out of respect for the elders. Soon after she leaves, the women are astonished by the sheer confidence of the way she handled the situation.
It seems Ahn has become more confident about what she wants and the things she wants to change in her life. She no longer wants constant attention and validation from people about her. In the meantime, Ji-yul waits for Ahn to join him for a date. The idea of secrecy and thrill is not enough for them; hence, they decide to eat at a restaurant where the owner knows them. Pretending not to know each other, they share a meal which makes their date fun and adventurous.
Later that night, Ahn and Ji-yul give each other silly pet names making their relationship feel wholesome to us as an audience. Ahn feels she wants to share the news with her best friend as things get better. After learning that Ahn is dating the doctor, Sang Hye-on is sad about getting rejected by Ahn. However, he feels happy seeing his best friend happy.
After sharing the news with Sang Hye-on at the peach farm, Ahn and Ji-yul head back home. Seeing the opportunity to express his love, Ji-yul kisses Ahn; however, the episode ends with the two fearing that someone caught them kissing and their secret is no longer under wraps.
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ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN (SEASON 1), EPISODE 11 SHOW LINKS – IMDB, ROTTEN TOMATOES
ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN (SEASON 1), EPISODE 11 CAST – AHN JA-YEONG, CH YOUNG-WOO, BAEK SUNG-CHUL, JEONG SEOK-YOUNG
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