5 Moments Of Romantic Tension From Episodes 3-4 Of "Doom At Your Service"

It’s official. “Doom at Your Service” is shaping up to be one of the most thoughtful, addictive dramas of the year. It makes no apologies for its grim outlook and weary protagonists but somehow manages to convey yearning that’s both tender and wistful. Both Dong Kyung (Park Bo Young) and Myul Mang (Seo In Guk) fight fate and each other as hard as they can in an attempt to save themselves pain. But the walls between them are crumbling fast, and in a world where all is suffering, will there be a happy ending?

Here are the best moments from this week’s episodes that manage to be both tense and romantic.

Warning: spoilers for episodes 3-4 below.

1. The cohabitation

Dong Kyung’s offer to cohabitate last week felt out of the blue, but her reasoning behind it is practical and sad. We delve more into our heroine’s psyche this week and discover that she’s more severely depressed than we imagined. Forced to be strong at a young age, Dong Kyung has internalized pain to the point where she thinks she’s numb to it. But it comes out in other ways. When Myul Mang shows her kindness, her first thought is that he’s going to leave. All good things leave her, so something will happen to take him too. It’s horribly sad.

But the result of this cohabitation is adorable. Rather than awkwardly sharing one space, he merges their houses, so he gets his dark, gloomy corner and there’s her cheerful spot with bright yellow walls and pastel furnishing.

Another side effect of Dong Kyung’s severe depression is that she tries to be understanding. She warms up to Myul Mang post-rescue from her useless ex. Gone is her previous anger, and she pokes fun at him and tries to humanize him. But as Myul Mang proves, this is a bad idea.

2. The rooftop scene

It’s easy to hate Myul Mang for this but his reasoning is surprisingly understandable. He’s clearly found Dong Kyung fascinating from the start, but also seen her as a tool to enact his grand plan of destroying the world. He’s believed his actions are of his own free will, that he was defying Sonyeoshin (Jung Ji So) this whole time. When Dong Kyung remembers him from the funeral home all those years ago, he’s slightly peeved at her memory of him crying, but also delighted that she remembers him.

It’s no wonder, then, that he’s furious when he discovers that Sonyeoshin set their meeting in motion years ago, before he even knew it. Sonyeoshin tells him that he was the one who chose Dong Kyung and got close her. But this is cold comfort to him. It feels like he has no free will. He can’t end his life of suffering. And even when he tries to escape fate, he plays right into its hands.

If he has no free will, then nothing he does matters. So, Myul Mang tries to be cruel to prove a point: that he is in control, but the man literally can’t go through with it. It’s even worse because Dong Kyung doesn’t cry, doesn’t beg, but just stares like she hates him and needs him at the same time.

Dong Kyung’s attempt to jump is so powerful for this reason. Where Myul Mang throws his hands up and says “oh well, guess nothing matters,” she takes control of her time and her life. She would have died right there if he hadn’t caught her. That snaps him out of his self-pity real quick, and it’s evident that he’s in awe of her resolve and how she defies fate. It’s just as evident that she hates his guts all over again. Thus, in a moment of anger, they vow to fall in love for all the wrong reasons.

3. The decision to love

It’s almost amusing that she’s vowed to love him so that he dies and she lives, and he’s resolved to make her love him so much that she destroys the world for him. Their contract has spiraled out of control into something greater than the two of them.

And the resulting shenanigans of this vow to fall in love are amazing. We see them attempting cheesy romantic storylines and every cliché in the book to literally force themselves to fall in love.

But as always, this drama keeps the romance realistic. It’s only when Dong Kyung sees Myul Mang’s inner world that something stirs in her. It still isn’t love. She takes his hand with compassion and the urge to comfort him. But that’s enough to frighten Myul Mang into pulling back.

And that’s when she forgives him for being cruel, because she realizes that they’re the same. Neither of them are numb to pain, they block it out in different ways. She blocks it by focusing on tasks: her job, folding laundry, whatever needs to be done next. He blocks it by hating himself, hating humans and telling himself they all deserve it. It’s ironic, then, that the two people who understand each other more than anything hurt each other the most.

4. They care too much

What’s fascinating about these two is that they’re quite calm, depressed people in their daily lives. Yet, they bring out the most violent, intense emotions in each other precisely because only they know how much the other is hurting. It’s gloriously painful and makes for incredible tension.

They know each other’s weak spots so well. He points out how her brother takes advantage of her and suggests killing him. She hits where it hurts by literally using her one wish by asking him to die (only he can’t grant it because he can’t kill himself or he would have done it eons ago. Ouch!).

They’re so determined to fight this kinship between them. Her because she doesn’t trust him (understandably so) and him because he fears getting close to people who end up leaving him anyway (understandably so). He says he wants her to love him enough to destroy the world, but panics the moment she shows any indication of caring. She says he wishes he would suffer every day but throws herself in front of an immortal god to save him. Oh you two.

5. The slow and steady side romance

We’re still seeing bits and pieces of our side characters. Amusingly enough, Cha Joo Ik (Lee Soo Hyuk) and Lee Hyun Kyu (Kang Tae Oh) are roommates who both pine for the same girl: Na Ji Na (Shin Do Hyun), Dong Kyung’s writer friend. Ji Na’s ill-fated history with Hyun Kyu has clearly affected her to the point where every story she writes features him. Joo Ik rightly points out that there’s nothing attractive about a man who runs from a relationship whenever it falls on hard times (Yes! Preach!), and clearly harbors some feelings for Ji Na despite saying he pities her. Ji Na, on the other hand, seems to only have Hyun Kyu on her mind. Given how much we’ve seen of Joo Ik (and his icy perfection) and how little we’ve seen of Hyun Kyu (who seems quite wishy-washy), here’s hoping that Joo Ik’s our romantic lead. Because the better man really should win. Aka Joo Ik.

With Dong Kyung and Myul Mang burning up the screen every second together (seriously, that tension) it’s only a matter of time before things come to a head. Myul Mang won’t forget Dong Kyung throwing herself in front of him any time soon, and Dong Kyung won’t forget Myul Mang protecting her almost like he cared. Here’s hoping they stop fearing fate and start fighting it, because maybe the only way out of the tragic path they’re on isn’t to destroy the world or destroy the god of destruction, but to destroy fate itself. Because look at how adorable they are together; surely they deserve happiness!

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What did you think of this week’s episodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Shalini_A is a long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she works as a lawyer, fangirls over Ji Sung, and attempts to write the greatest fantasy romance of all time. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to ask her anything!

Currently Watching: “Kairos,” “Beyond Evil,” “Dark Hole,”, “Bossam: Steal the Fate,” “Sell Your Haunted House,” “Law School,” “Doom at Your Service”
Looking Forward to: “The Devil Judge”