Education is one of the most competitive fields in South Korea, and the university entrance exam tests not only students but their parents as well. Parents can do anything to get the best private instructors for their children- from queueing up at dawn at the academy to get a seat to paying huge amounts of fees. In “Crash Course In Romance,” Choi Chi Yeol is a celebrity math instructor known as the “One-Trillion-Won-Man” because of his wealth. He is a workaholic, which leads him to have many health issues. He gets entangled with Nam Haeng Son, a former athlete and now the owner of a side-dish shop, who is also a passionate mother who would do anything for the happiness of her daughter. The unexpected romance between the two brings laughter and some heartwarming moments as they fill up the void in each other’s lives.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Real Relationship Between Hae Yi And Haeng Son?
Nam Haeng Son crashes into a standee of the star teacher Choi Chi Yeol while on her way to make a delivery. The parents, mostly mothers, have lined up to get their children a seat in Choi Chi Yeol’s class, who are preparing for the university entrance exam. Choi Chi Yeol is the most popular math instructor in South Korea, and he even shoots an advertisement to promote his class where he shows off his famous high kick that he often exhibits while teaching in his class. Chi Yeol is enthusiastic about his work, but he is also very particular about his time and the value attached to it. He is a competitive person and can’t bear to see anyone else stealing his spotlight. His obsession with his work has more to do with his anxiety and insecurity about losing what he has gained so far than his ego.
Haeng Son has a daughter named Hae Yi, who is also a high school student but insists on studying on her own instead of joining any private academy. However, when Hae Yi gets low marks in Math on the mock test, her friend Sun Jae suggests she join Choi Chi Yeol’s class, as it will guarantee her good marks. Until now, Hae Yi didn’t think that she needed a private class but seeing others excel, she feels she is falling behind them. She takes a pamphlet from Chi Yeol’s class home but hesitates to talk about it to her mother. Her mother is always busy, and when Hae Yi finally makes up her mind to talk to her mother, her uncle, Jae Woo, falls ill and has to be admitted to the hospital. Hae Yi drops the topic of the private class because her mother cannot afford it as she has many other responsibilities on her shoulders. Chi Yeol’s class is popular among the students not only because of his intelligence but also because of his charming personality and engaging way of teaching. Outside the classroom, he might come off as arrogant, but with his students, he talks like their friend while also maintaining discipline.
Chi Yeol often receives gifts from his students, who call themselves his fans. He can’t even throw them away because someone might get offended and write a hate post against him online. One such student is crazy for Chi Yeol and fantasizes about marrying him. When Chi Yeol leaves the class without accepting her gift, she stalks him to his home and barges inside. Chi Yeol grabs her by her bag to avoid physical contact and calls a taxi for her. That’s when someone clicks Chi Yeol’s photo with her and makes it viral on the internet that Chi Yeol is dating a student of his. Chi Yeol wakes up from sleep the next day to this news, and his entire team is panicked. They take down all the defamatory posts and answer calls from reporters. It’s just a rumor, and most of Chi Yeol’s students support him by leaving comments that they trust him. Chi Yeol goes to the office but collapses as soon as he enters. Chi Yeol has an eating and sleeping disorder, which affects his health very badly. More than the rumor, the director of his academy doesn’t want the news of his health condition getting out.
Haeng Son’s brother, Jae Woo, is at the same hospital as Chi Yeol. Jae Woo is mentally disabled, and if there’s one thing he is obsessed with, it’s animals- especially tigers. When he sees a tiger on Chi Yeol’s jacket, he clicks some pictures, but Chi Yeol mistakes him for another stalker who clicked his photos without his permission. He tries to take Jae Woo’s phone to delete his pictures from it, but when Haeng Son tries to resist, Chi Yeol grabs Jae Woo’s phone quickly and runs away. Haeng Son runs after him, and Chi Yeol realizes soon enough that he cannot outrun Haeng Son, given her speed, so he makes a quick turn and hides in a men’s restroom. He comes out after some time passes, only to find Haeng Son waiting for him. He panics and throws away the phone, only to run away again. Haeng Son cannot follow him now because she needs to pick up the broken phone, and she is more worried about how to tell her brother that his phone is broken than catching Chi Yeol.
Haeng Son is so busy handling her brother’s illness and tantrums that she doesn’t see that Hae Yi also needs her attention. Hae Yi has scored poorly in Math once again and is frustrated because she cannot do anything about it. She finally lashes out at her mother for not paying attention to her education, as she doesn’t even have the basic information about how the entrance exams work. Hae Yi cannot tolerate it anymore and asks Haeng Son if she doesn’t care about her because she is her stepmother. Hae Yi quickly realizes that she shouldn’t have said that, but she has already made the mistake. Haeng Son feels upset, not because of what Hae Yi said to her but because she made Hae Yi feel unseen and unheard. Hae Yi is not her daughter, but her niece. Haeng Son’s sister left Hae Yi to her and never came back to get her. That’s why Haeng Son feels more guilty about Hae Yi. After some time, they talk calmly, and Hae Yi first apologizes to Haeng Son and then tells her that she wants to join Chi Yeol’s private Math class.
Chi Yeol has an eating disorder that makes him unable to digest almost anything, so his manager, Ji Dong Hui, is always looking for new food items for him. He finds out about Haeng Son’s shop from the internet and buys some side dishes for Chi Yeol. Unexpectedly, Haeng Son’s side dishes don’t make Chi Yeol nauseous. Rather, he finishes them all in one go, and even he is surprised.
Is Haeng Son Married?
Haeng Son’s side dishes remind Chi Yeol of his college days when he barely used to eat one meal a day. The owner of a small restaurant used to care for Chi Yeol like his own mother and would always tell him to eat more if he wanted to become a good teacher. Chi Yeol wanted to become a teacher because it was the dream of his father, who could never get an education. Chi Yeol was working hard, and suddenly his father passed away because he didn’t get treatment for his illness. He wanted to save money to use for Chi Yeol’s education and ended up losing his life. Chi Yeol had lost hope, but the restaurant lady, who turned out to be Haeng Son’s mother, gave him strength. However, on the same day, Haeng Son’s mother met with a tragic accident. Haeng Son had just returned from a tournament, and her sister had left Hae Yi at their doorstep. Haeng Son’s mother rushed outside to look for her daughter and got hit by a car. She died on the spot, and Haeng Son, who was still young back then, had to take responsibility for Hae Yi and her uncle Jae Woo and had to quit playing handball. However, neither Haeng Son nor Chi Yeol remembers each other.
Haeng Son sent Hae Yi to school, but it bothered Hae Yi that she had no one to call her mother, so she asked Haeng Son one day if she could call her mom, and since then, Haeng Son has become Hae Yi’s mother. Except for giving birth, Haeng Son has done everything for Hae Yi that a mother would, and the passionate mother inside her is awake again to enroll Hae Yi in Chi Yeol’s class. However, Haeng Son is not aware of how warlike the situation is going to be. She wakes up early in the morning and doesn’t even open her shop, but Chi Yeol disturbs her. He wants to buy her side dishes, but she tells him to come at noon. Haeng Son reaches the class late, and there is already a huge line in front of her. She is afraid that she will not get a seat, but luckily, she gets the last remaining seat. All the parents, including Haeng Son, informed their children right away that they got a seat. Hae Yi is extremely happy, but her classmate, Bang Sua, is not. Sua is a class topper and already attends Chi Yeol’s classes. She thinks that Hae Yi will surpass her if she takes Chi Yeol’s class.
Chi Yeol’s therapist is happy to hear that he has found something he can eat without feeling nauseous or throwing up. She tells him to continue eating what he likes and to check if he still feels better after eating, so he can try different food after some time. As Haeng Son told him, he goes to her shop at noon and buys the side dishes he wants. However, he tries to hide his face by wearing glasses and a cap. He doesn’t want Haeng Son to notice that he is the one who broke Jae Woo’s phone. Haeng Son’s friend and business partner, Yeong Ju, thinks that Chi Yeol has a crush on Haeng Son because of the way he keeps gazing at her. He comes again the next day, and this time he brings a new mobile phone for Jae Woo and gives it to Haeng Son. He makes an excuse that his friend runs a shop and has given him this phone for free. Haeng Son misunderstands and thinks that he bought it for her because of what Yeong Ju told her. Yeong Ju wants Haeng Son to go on dates and eventually get married, but she is the one who spreads rumors that Haeng Son’s husband works in the Philippines because she doesn’t want people to call Haeng Son a single mother.
‘Crash Course In Romance’ Episode 2: Ending
Sua gets caught solving Chi Yeol’s assignments during her classes at school, and her teacher confiscates them. Coincidentally, the teacher runs into Chi Yeol in a bookstore, and they turn out to be acquainted with each other. However, they do not share a pleasant relationship. The teacher calls Chi Yeol a terrible person who cannot think of anything other than money. He also mentions Chi Yeol’s student, who died not too long ago, and holds him responsible for it. Chi Yeol often sees this student named Jeong Su Hyeon at random moments, and his doctor is concerned about that as well.
However, at least Chi Yeol’s eating disorder seems to be getting under control after eating Haeng Son’s side dishes. He is a regular customer at Haeng Son’s shop now. He returns to her shop two days after he gives her the phone, and Haeng Son shyly tries to return the phone by saying that she would like their relationship to be nothing more than shop owner-customer. Chi Yeol is confused and doesn’t know how to respond. That’s when Jae Woo recognizes Chi Yeol and tells his sister that he is the same man who broke his phone. Haeng Son takes off his glasses and recognizes him as well. They are about to start a fight when someone breaks the glass of Haeng Son’s shop with a metal ball. This is the second time the metal ball has appeared near Chi Yeol.
“Crash Course In Romance” has a cute and fresh beginning. Choi Chi Yeol as a teacher, is easygoing and adaptable to Gen Z. He acts mature when it comes to his work but needs to be taken care of when it comes to his personal life. Haeng Son is a strong woman who can do anything for her family; however, she never had a chance to live a life for herself because of all the responsibilities. Chi Yeol and Haeng Son’s encounters so far haven’t been anywhere close to romantic, so it’s going to be a fun ride watching them grow close to each other through their humorous fights.