Heo Jun episode 46 Do Ji’s Demotion

 Do Ji’s mum takes his demotion very badly and becomes ill. But unfortunately for her, now that Do Ji is disgraced the only doctor who is prepared to come and look after his mother is, of course, Heo Jun. Even though she is seriously ill, she refuses to let Heo Jun anywhere near her as she blames him for her family’s bad luck! 

The other doctors congratulate Heo Jun on his big promotion – he is now a level 7  Jikjang official. On the other hand, Do Ji’s luck has taken a turn for the worse as he is now a messenger for Ming China which means he has to walk 2700 KM there and back to the capital (Beijing) (he doesn’t get a horse – just 30 pairs of straw sandals and hemp shoes). It’s a tough journey so many doctors quit as the job has a low status and Do Ji can’t expect any rewards or even respect.

Both Do Ji and Se Hee are in trouble after her plan to trap him backfires

Needless to say Do Ji is desperate to get out of this job and back to his place in the palace. His (useless) right hand man suggests that they must get rid of the source of the rumour -Se Hee. Next we see Se Hee taken away by guards to Lord Yang who decides to deal with the scandal quietly and has her demoted to the welfare clinic. The head nurses are upset with her for humiliating their department, but she just cries – and doesn’t admit that NOTHING happened! (Do Ji is still demoted though so having Se Hee punished has achieved nothing)

At first Do Ji’s mum is pleased that he has been ‘selected’ to serve Ming. She doesn’t realise it’s a demotion! But when she hears the truth she is devastated and immediately blames Heo Jun! Do Ji remains stoic about the whole sorry situation and goes to the palace to bid farewell to Lord Yang. But he gets a cold reception. Then he goes to visit Gong Bin. But she doesn’t even invite him in! Even Do Ji’s right hand man is also ready to jump ship and is sucking up to Heo Jun before Do Ji has even left the palace. What a cold place it is. When Do Ji bumps into Heo Jun he announces that ‘I’ll be back’. He is not ready to lose to Heo Jun yet! (But I think Heo Jun has already forgotten that they are in a competition!)

Before he leaves the palace Do Ji tells Heo Jun that their rivalry is not over

Da Hee is still working at Do Ji’s house and plans to stay there until his wife has recovered from her pregnancy. (Heo Jun’s family is better off now and she doesn’t have to work there anymore). But when she arrives, Do Ji’s angry mother appears (wearing the classic white headache headband) and starts screaming at Da Hee blaming her family for Do Ji’s terrible situation!

Do Ji’s mother is sick after his demotion. Heo Jun wants to make an offering on the anniversary of his teacher’s death. 

Oblivious to what’s going on, Heo Jun is preparing for his teacher Dr Yoo’s memorial day. He gets some liquor, but when he arrives at Do Ji’s house, he realises that nobody seems to know that it is the anniversary of Dr Yoo’s death. (That’s shocking as in a strict Confucian society the family should still be holding rites on his memorial day.) In fact Do Ji’s mother is far more concerned about her son’s demotion than her husband’s death and starts hitting Da Hee blaming her family for Do Ji’s situation. Heo Jun arrives to see it and just stands there watching. (DO SOMETHING!) He is fuming but in the end he just leads his wife quietly away without saying anything. He is also mad (and probably humiliated) because he didn’t know his wife was even working at Do Ji’s house. So now he tells his wife never to set foot in that house again.

Heo Jun tells his wife never to work at Do Ji’s house again

But then Do Ji’s mum is found unconscious and her bed is covered in blood. A doctor is called but he doesn’t know what’s wrong. So Do Ji’s wife tries to get other doctors from the palace to come and see her but after Do Ji’s demotion this is not easy. Do Ji’s right hand man is asked to come but he is ‘too busy’. The only person left to ask is Heo Jun! But at first even he doesn’t want to go – not after the way his wife was treated. (For the first time his feelings are ruling his objectivity as a doctor!) But he starts to feel guilty knowing that she is very sick. And he doesn’t want to let his teacher down either. So finally he goes to see her but she freaks out and refuses to let him take her pulse!

Heo Jun is called to take a look at Do Ji’s mum after other doctors can’t diagnose her illness

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I’m feeling a bit sorry for Do Ji again here as everyone has turned away from him so quickly now that he has been demoted. He has no allies in the palace anymore. But on the other hand he created this situation himself – perhaps this is going to teach him a lesson. 😉 His mother is a complete pain though and I have no sympathy for her. And I don’t really understand why she is so angry with Heo Jun. It seems a bit over the top.

It’s sad that Dr Yoo’s own family seem to have forgotten all about him. Only Heo Jun remembers to prepare for his memorial day. To Do Ji, his father’s memory seems to be more of a thorn in his side and he would prefer to forget about him. The irony is that if only Do Ji was more like his father, he probably wouldn’t be in this mess right now!