While episodes 3 and 4 of “My Girlfriend is the Man!” were packed with laugh-out-loud moments and lighthearted chaos, episodes 5 and 6 take a far more emotional turn.
The story dives deeper into the characters’ hearts, delivering scenes that tug at the heartstrings and leave a lingering ache. From Ji Hoon’s (Yoo Jung Hoo) heartbreaking realization that she may no longer have a place in Yoon Jae’s (ASTRO’s Yoon San Ha) life to Yu Ri’s (Park Joo Won) unexpected feelings for her best friend Ji Eun (OH MY GIRL’s Arin), the drama perfectly balances tender vulnerability with poignant storytelling. Here are four unforgettable moments from episodes 5 and 6 that had us reaching for the tissues.
Warning: spoilers ahead!
Just comic relief
Episode 5 picks up right where episode 4 left off, with Ji Hoon desperately trying to convince Yoon Jae’s parents and Min Joo (Chuu) that Yoon Jae already has a girlfriend he loves so much that he can’t live without her. Her goal is to make it clear that Yoon Jae and Min Joo could never become a couple. In the heat of the moment, she blurts out at the top of her lungs that she knows all of this because she is Yoon Jae’s girlfriend.
It’s only after the words leave her mouth that she realizes the problem: she’s still in her male form. Trying to quickly defuse the situation, she laughs it off, claiming she only said it to lighten the mood because everyone seemed tense. Surprisingly, all three believe her. However, when she later looks at them from a distance, Yoon Jae lying in bed with his parents doting on Min Joo, it hits her. She feels like she no longer has a place there, reduced to nothing more than a comic relief, someone who can’t even openly acknowledge her relationship with Yoon Jae without drawing stares and questions.
From Ji Hoon’s perspective, the moment is already heartbreaking. But it gains another layer of poignancy for the audience, serving as a reminder that even in 2025, outside the fantasy of a K-drama, there are still people who face this kind of bigotry and are unable to speak openly about their love for fear of judgment.
Yoon Jae no longer gets flustered by Ji Eun
Getting help from one’s partner is sweet, but with a slight change in context, even the sweetest action can turn painful. At the beginning of the episode, Ji Hoon goes to the university to clear out her locker and heads to meet Yoon Jae. From a distance, she spots him sitting with Min Joo, sharing coffee. When Yoon Jae accidentally and comically spits coffee on Min Joo, Ji Hoon can’t help but laugh. However, the mood shifts when Yoon Jae begins wiping the coffee off Min Joo and quickly grows flustered before stopping.
Fast forward to the end of the episode. Ji Hoon accidentally spills water on her shirt, and without hesitation, Yoon Jae starts blotting it. To some, it might seem sweet that he immediately jumped in to help, but for Ji Hoon, it’s another painful reminder that Yoon Jae no longer sees her as a woman, just like everyone else. Just as she can no longer use a women’s bathroom without being labeled a creep or share the same bed with Yu Ri, she also can’t make Yoon Jae flustered anymore, even when they are in close proximity. To her, it feels like the end of Yoon Jae’s attraction toward her.
Yu Ri’s drunken confession
When Yu Ri gets drunk after a failed blind date and, in a seemingly joking manner, proposes to Ji Hoon while piggybacking on her, the moment is played for laughs. Yoon Jae walks alongside them, and at first glance, it feels like nothing more than a tipsy girl telling her best friend she can treat her better than her good-for-nothing boyfriend. However, the exact words Yu Ri uses in her proposal turn this lighthearted scene into something unexpectedly emotional.
Ever since Ji Eun transformed into Ji Hoon, she has constantly questioned Yoon Jae’s love for her. They even broke up once, deciding to remain friends, because how could Yoon Jae love Ji Eun when she now looks like a man?
But that’s not the case with Yu Ri. She tells Ji Hoon to date her instead because she will love her no matter what she looks like. Yes, Yu Ri is attracted to Ji Eun’s male form, but it’s hard not to believe she would have said the same thing even if Ji Eun had never transformed.
In romance stories, platonic love is often placed a tier below romantic love, but Yu Ri proves once again that friendship is in no way lesser. While a boyfriend might question his feelings after you’ve transformed into a man, your best friend will keep loving you without hesitation or conditions.
Ji Hoon avenging Yu Ri
Ji Hoon avenging her best friend Yu Ri was easily the highlight of the recent two episodes, and the scene was so epic that it turned a large portion of “My Girlfriend is the Man!” viewers into YuJi (Yu Ri x Ji Hoon) shippers.
After Ji Hoon learns that Yu Ri’s spiteful rival is planning to humiliate her at her birthday party for being “forever single” and “undateable,” she dresses in her finest outfit and crashes the event, pretending to be a friend who has been in unrequited love with Yu Ri for 10 years. When someone snidely asks if Yu Ri hired a handsome man to pose as her boyfriend, Ji Hoon steps in and delivers the line that makes the room erupt: “How can you see the way I look at her and use words like ‘hire’ and ‘pay’?” Cue the screams.
But when the swoon-worthy, doe-eyed acting fades and Yu Ri quietly asks Ji Hoon if she ever considers what her actions might do to her heart, the tone shifts. In that moment, it becomes clear that Yu Ri may actually be falling for Ji Hoon, someone she knows she can never be with.
Throughout episodes 5 and 6, Yoon Jae makes several choices that leave viewers frustrated, particularly his inability to set clear boundaries with Min Joo. However, there are also moments that remind us why Ji Eun fell for him in the first place. Despite being sick, he gets out of his hospital bed to rest his head on Ji Hoon’s shoulder, offering silent comfort while she questions her place in his life. Later, he admits that even though she no longer looks like the Ji Eun he first loved, seeing her kiss Yu Ri made him jealous, which is a raw confession that speaks volumes.
Start watching “My Girlfriend is the Man!”:
Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring entire K-dramas in one sitting. Good screenwriting, beautiful cinematography, and a lack of clichés are the way to her heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to multiple artists across different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You can talk to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.
Currently watching: “My Girlfriend is the Man!” and “My Lovely Journey“
