Our Chocolate Moments: Episodes 1-2

by starrygazer

It’s time to snuggle up with your chocolate and indulge in SBS’s short drama Our Chocolate Moments. The chocolate team at the center of our drama might be very different, but they all struggle with emptiness and loneliness in their own way. In this gentle story, we see them grow and heal through their love of chocolate.

 
EPISODES 1-2

To open, we meet our leader of the chocolate team JOO SEUL-GI (So Joo-yeon), who is extremely upbeat, positive, and loves snapping her chocolate bar at the bus stop every morning on her way to work.

Seul-gi is well aware that everyone at work doesn’t like her; in fact, she goes by the “seven-two-one” rule. In other words, she thinks that for every seven people who dislike her, two hate her, and only one likes her. Seul-gi hears her co-workers bad-mouthing her in the bathroom for working too hard — it makes them look bad that they aren’t as enthusiastic as her.

It would appear that the one person who likes Seul-gi — according to her ratio rule — is her dad (special guest appearance by Sohn Hyun-joo). He leaves her fruit and sweet notes for when she gets home, which she pins on her board along with her positive affirmations. Seul-gi can remain positive because she has a reliable cheerleader in her dad, and I loved this little touch to her character.

Seul-gi remains the butt of everyone’s ridicule when she insists they do a Valentine’s Day pop-up store. She claims it’ll be fun, but her co-workers just see it as extra work and they aren’t up for it.

While looking for a shop that can fix her watch, Seul-gi comes across a clock shop run by MR. HONG (Choi Won-young) — but he doesn’t fix watches or clocks, even though it is a clock shop. He makes chocolate and pairs it with all kinds of things… like whiskey. Uh oh.

The next day, after consuming some chocolate and a lot of whiskey, Seul-gi has a bad tummy. She sits at the bus stop to snap her chocolate, and she gets a double snap, which she considers a bad omen. And oh my was it a bad omen. In her drunken haze the previous night, Seul-gi got on the work group chat, and had a go at everyone for not wanting to do the Valentine’s Day pop-up store. Be careful what you wish for, Seul-gi, because now her boss has told her to pick a team and she can take responsibility for the pop-up store on her own.

Seul-gi had briefly met KIM HYUN-NAM (Gong Sung-ha) before, and even though Hyun-nam wants to quit the company and doesn’t want to join Seul-gi’s team, she follows her around trying to get her to help. Seul-gi goes back to Mr. Hong’s shop that night, and just as she is complaining about the chocolatier who refused to help her, Hyun-nam walks in. *Clears throat*

Seul-gi and Hyun-nam end up getting a little intoxicated at Mr. Hong’s shop, and he encourages them to be friends. Hyun-nam is a bit of a loner, and seems very despondent about everything. (I find Seul-gi is a nice balance to Hyun-nam’s morose character.)

Now that Seul-gi has Hyun-nam on board, they go looking for a design/marketer within their company. Hyun-nam suggests JEREMY (Song Ji-ho), who is enthusiastic and over-the-top. With no real friends, and looking for companionship through his followers on social media, it doesn’t take long for Seul-gi to recruit him. (They all have their own reasons for feeling empty and alone, and I already have high hopes for the budding companions!)

Now to learn a little more about Mr. Hong. He doesn’t say much, but he has a knack for pulling out of people how they are feeling and comforting them with chocolate and drinks. We learn that the clock shop once belonged to his parents; they went to visit his sick grandma one day and never came back. In a flashback, we see a very upset younger version of Mr. Hong crying in his black mourning suit outside of the store. He’s being comforted by an older gentleman who gives him chocolate and encourages him to find happiness in the taste.

The older gentleman (Nam Myung-ryul) visits again in the current timeline, and Mr. Hong offers him some chocolate and soju. It’s worth noting that Mr. Hong doesn’t remember at this point that this is the same man who comforted him as a child. The older gentleman has a bite of chocolate and pushes it away claiming that “the chocolate is like the clocks in this place.” Then the older gentleman asks Mr. Hong why he makes chocolate. Does it make him happy? He implies that Mr. Hong lives in the past and is missing out on the happiness in front of him right now.

Our chocolate team of Seul-gi, Hyun-nam, and Jeremy, love going to Mr. Hong’s shop. They ask him to collaborate with them on their Valentine’s pop-up store event… to which Mr. Hong answers with a resounding “No.” Seul-gi doesn’t push Mr. Hong, but she makes him some chocolate at home. When Seul-gi takes the chocolate to him, asks her why. Seul-gi says it isn’t a bribe — she just wanted to return the favor and offer him some of the happiness and comfort he gives to others through his chocolate. (She is sweet.)

Another snap of chocolate at the bus stop for Seol-gi and another bad omen that comes true: the presentation on her team’s chocolate has been moved up to next week, putting everyone under more pressure. This causes an argument between Hyun-nam and Seul-gi, as Hyun-nam feels like Seul-gi is judging her skills. It takes Mr. Hong arriving and taking the team for food to start thawing the girls out a little. But good news — Mr. Hong has changed his mind and starts teaching the chocolate team how he makes his chocolate.

Seul-gi and Hyun-nam make up and admit they were both having a hard time with the extra pressure, and I love that Hyun-nam highlighted Seul-gi’s “sweet person’s courage” to never give up.

At the presentation for their new chocolate, the founder of the company and honorary chairman is none other than the older gentleman who frequents Mr. Hong’s shop! And even though he likes our team’s chocolate, it doesn’t meet the quality standards for the company, so they are told it’s not good enough.

Good at putting on a front, Seul-gi has managed to keep it together until she goes home, but her dad knows there’s something up. Dad tells Seul-gi that he liked the chocolate she made — he could feel his daughter’s warm heart. Dad continues that he will always support Seul-gi’s dreams and if she wants his help, she has it. If she wants to rest, he will wait for her. With this, Seul-gi’s floodgates open and she lets out all of her disappointment from the day. (I’m not crying – honest.) *Sniffs*

Our team of three go to see Mr. Hong and he makes them realize that the criticism about their chocolate was probably right. And even though at work they have all gone back to where they were before — Jermey in design, Seul-gi back to her unpleasant team, and Hyun-nam turning in her resignation — they decide to give their chocolate one more try.

They make their final batch, and when our older gentleman visits Mr. Hong again, he tries their chocolate and thinks it’s marvelous. Mr. Hong admits he made it with his friends. (Side note: They do end up using our chocolate team’s chocolate at the pop-up store – yay!)

The older gentleman pats Mr. Hong on the shoulder and tells him today is just the start, and as the older gentleman disappears into the night, Mr. Hong remembers him from when he was a child and is overwhelmed with gratitude for the comfort this man gave him. (I’m starting to think that the older gentleman is some sort of angel there to guide Mr. Hong — there’s almost something ethereal about him.)

At the end of our story, Seul-gi visits Mr. Hong and explains that there is something he is better at than making chocolate: he’s good at reading people and how they feel. Seul-gi has learned that she never wanted to step out of her comfort zone and that her positivity exhausted her co-workers, ruined Mr. Hong’s solitude, and hurt her friends. Mr. Hong sees things differently: because Seul-gi showed up, he ate noodles with friends for the first time, made memories in his workshop, made friends with young people who love chocolate, and the happiness she gave him made his time that had stood still start moving again.

As Mr. Hong takes a now-unemployed Hyun-nam under his wings and enjoys chocolate and drinks with his new young friends, I am left with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Whether it was learning to look at themselves differently, making new friends, or finding comfort in others, it was lovely to see the healing through their connection to chocolate and each other. And now, I am suddenly craving a large bar of chocolate… I just wish Mr. Hong’s shop was closer.

 
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