After almost losing her life to liver failure, “Doctor Cha” made a big decision after miraculously getting a liver transplant. She made her mind to follow her incomplete dream of working as a doctor after 20 years. Her family was unaware of it until she passed the medical residency exam and appeared for interviews. She is excited about her new beginning, but her age and health could hinder her dreams.
Spoilers Ahead
How Does Jeong Suk Get The Residency?
Jeong Suk fails the residency interview because a younger doctor gets preference over her. Her son, Jung Min, gets the residency as well, and he tells her not to lose hope and apply to other hospitals. Jeong Suk is hopeless anyway and decides to go on a trip with her friend, Mi Hee, to get a break from everything—her sudden surgery, her sudden decision to work again, and her failing to do so. Jeong Suk has been seeing more miracles happen for her lately, and yet another one has happened. When she is at the airport, she gets a call from the hospital that she has been selected as a resident because another resident enlisted in the military spontaneously after breaking up with his girlfriend. Both Seung Hee and In Ho are surprised to see Jeong Suk at the hospital. Seung Hee is frustrated that Jeong Suk has been assigned to her department. Ho is worried about others finding out about his relationship with Jeong Suk, and to add to his worries, Jeong Suk’s doctor, Roy Kim, also joins their hospital. In Ho requests that he not reveal their relationship for the sake of Jeong Suk, but Roy thinks that In Ho is just embarrassed that his wife is a first-year resident.
Jeong Suk tries to fit in with the young doctors, but most of them mistake her for a senior doctor. Jeong Suk expected difficulty fitting into the environment, but Seung Hee is making it especially difficult for her because she wants her to quit. When a vacancy opens in In Ho’s department, Seung Hee purposely transfers Jeong Suk to his department to make her feel more uncomfortable, as her son works in the same department as well. Jeong Suk surely finds it uncomfortable, but she is not going to give up. Not only does In Ho not support her, but her mother-in-law and her daughter also give her a hard time at home. They are used to her presence in the house and find it inconvenient without her helping them. However, she surprisingly finds a friend who supports her. She is happy to see Roy Kim at the hospital, and Roy assures her that he will take care of her health as her doctor, so she should focus on her work. However, he is surprised that she hasn’t divorced her selfish husband yet. While Jeong Suk has just joined the hospital, there are people trying to hinder her progress. Jeong Suk’s mother-in-law talks to her mother and asks her to try to dissuade her daughter from working in the stressful environment of a hospital. She doesn’t mind if Jeong Suk works in a small clinic where she can clock out early and return home to help her family. However, Jeong Suk’s mother declares that she will support her daughter’s dream more than anyone else’s opinion.
Why Doesn’t In Ho Like Roy Kim?
During the team dinner, Jeong Suk’s senior asks her about her husband, and to avoid further questions, she tells her team that her husband passed away a long time ago. In Ho and Jung Min are at the dinner as well, and they are startled after hearing her answer, but Roy enjoys seeing In Ho’s flustered face. After the dinner party, In Ho, Jeong Suk, and Jung Min go their separate ways, but once again, Jeong Suk surprises her family by asking Roy for a lift on his bike. In Ho gets particularly jealous of seeing Jeong Suk close to Roy. Jeong Suk’s spontaneous decision gave her a sense of joy as she felt freedom for the first time in a while. She drinks coffee with Roy at the riverside at midnight and wonders why she never enjoyed small moments like this in the past when she had enough time and money. She opens up about her true feelings toward her husband and tells Roy that he is a good person and she understands him because many years of marriage can change the dynamic of a couple.
Household matters still bother Jeong Suk while she is working, and it affects her work. She makes a mistake while administering medicine and gets scolded by her senior. Jung Min doesn’t feel good seeing his mother getting scolded and tries to console her. Jeong Suk doesn’t mind getting scolded for her mistake, but she doesn’t like the senior because she has often seen her scolding Jung Min as well. Jung Min later talks to his senior, Dr Jeon, who also happens to be his girlfriend. Jeong Suk already hates Jung Min’s girlfriend, and Jung Min doesn’t have a good feeling about it. On the other hand, In Ho can’t stand Jeong Suk and Roy Kim together, as every time he runs into Jeong Suk, Roy is always with her. Ho and Jeong Suk don’t see each other often as Jeong Suk is busy with patients, and some of her patients are too difficult to handle. She is not yet confident about performing many procedures and asks Jung Min for help all the time. Jung Min is busy and gets frustrated. He asks Jeong Suk to learn by herself. Initially, she gets upset at Jung Min, but later she understands him and starts learning the procedures from videos.
‘Doctor Cha’ Episode 4: Ending
Jeong Suk finds a payment receipt for an expensive bracelet in In Ho’s clothes, and when she asks him about it, he lies to her and says that it is an early birthday present for her. Jeong Suk feels touched by his gesture and asks him a question she is hesitant to ask. She asks him if he knows that Seung Hee works in the same hospital, and he lies to her again, saying that he knows, but they only share greetings if they ever see each other. The next day, In Ho buys another bracelet for Jeong Suk and goes to play indoor golf with Seung Hee, who is the owner of the original bracelet. Jeong Suk is spending time with her daughter on her day off, and from her daughter’s friend, she hears that indoor golfing is a hot place for affairs. The thought doesn’t leave Jeong Suk’s mind, and she becomes skeptical about her husband. While trying to save a patient from cardiac arrest, Jeong Suk sees In Ho and Seung Hee together and gets distracted. All kinds of thoughts go through her mind, and while using a defibrillator on the patient, Jeong Suk gets a shock as well.
Jeong Suk has taken on a new challenge in “Doctor Cha,” and it is changing not only her life but her family’s life as well. Her husband had it easy before Jeong Suk joined the hospital. Now, he cannot hang out with Seung Hee easily. Jung Min has to walk on eggshells to not let anyone know that he is Jeong Suk’s son. Jeong Suk feels guilty for not giving her daughter enough time, but she tries her best to give her as much time as possible. However, in the process of changing her life, Jeong Suk gained a good friend in Roy Kim. At an age where it is difficult to make friends while working around people of a younger age, Jeong Suk has found Roy Kim, who understands her and supports her. Jeong Suk’s new journey has been full of miracles, and meeting Roy Kim as a doctor and then as a friend are two of them.
