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The MBC drama Motel California, featuring Lee Se-young and Na In-woo, made its debut on January 10, 2025. Directed by Kim Hyung-min and penned by writer Lee Seo-yoon, the 12-episode series airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m. KST.
The plot follows Ji Kang-hee, who returns to her hometown after 12 years and reconnects with her first love, Cheon Yeon-soo, who now works as a veterinarian in the village.
Raised at Motel California, Kang-hee faced constant gossip due to her mixed-race background and family struggles. After leaving at the age of 20 to build a successful career as an interior designer in Seoul, her return brings unresolved emotions and new challenges to the surface.
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In episode 3 of Motel California, Kang-hee breaks it off with Yeon-soo only to meet him again after having to go to Hana-eup, her hometown on a project.
Motel California episode 3 recap: Kang-hee takes up a new job
The third episode of Motel California starts with a flashback. Yeon-soo used to visit Seoul, looking for Kang-hee. Finding Seoul men to be much more handsome and smart, he decided to lose weight. With the help of Han-woo and Seung-eon, he sheds the extra weight and gains the confidence to meet Kang-hee.
In the present, as he shakes hands with Seok-kyung, he remembers where he saw him and tells him that he knows him as he had seen him at the convenience store. Kang-hee leaves, followed by Seok-kyung.
He asks why she pretended not to know him, and she explains she dislikes working with people from her past. He offers her a spot on his team and gives her his business card. Seok-kyun is the heir to Elitree Hotels.
After calling Chun-pil to say he ruined Christmas, she returns to the room, hugs Yeon-soo, and says she didn’t expect him. Yeon-soo makes her chamomile tea, gives her a pendant, and tells her he’s ready now, having caught ten falling snowflakes. He even offers to move to Seoul for her.
After she puts on the necklace, Yeon-soo leans in to kiss her but receives a call from his mother. All the memories of the taunts that she has had to hear from people back in her hometown come back. When Yeon-soo comes back into the room after the phone call, she tells him that she remembers why it did not work out between them.
She returns his pendant and asks him to give it to his future girlfriend. She ends it with him, asking him to live well and leaves, trying hard to stop herself from going back in this episode of Motel California.
Yeon-soo visits the police station after his mother’s call. Despite being beaten by her partner, she tries to get him released and asks Yeon-soo for money, which he hesitantly gives her.
The next day, Kang-hee visits Jeong-gu at her office. Jeong-gu proposes working on motels instead of hotels, but Kang-hee finds the idea absurd and leaves. She calls Seok-kyung, only to see him outside her office.
Jeong-gu and Seok-kyung try to convince Kang-hee to join their team but Kang-hee refuses, telling them the story of how she was raised in a motel. While at her home, she receives 50,000,000 won from Seok-kyung. As she leaves her place to go meet him, she finds Esther waiting.
Chun-pil speaks to Han-woo's father to let him have Hon-woo by his side in the farms instead of getting some big job.
While working, Yeon-soo talks about his plan of working in his deceased grandfather's hospital. He finds out that his mother is trying to sell the hospital building and rushes there. Soon-ja, his mother, who is ready with the contract, asks him to sign it but he refuses and sends away the buyers.
Worried about where she will live, he offers her his house and decides to go live in Motel California. Han-woo also comes in with his bags.
In episode 3 of Motel California, Kang-hee accepts the job and starts working with Jeong-gu and Seok-kyung. While doing the recce of a motel, she bumps into Heon-yeol in the elevator. Back in their hometown, Heon-yeol bad-mouths Kang-hee in front of Han-woo, Seung-eun and Yeon-soo. Infuriated, Yeon-soo pins his head against the table and warns him.
Jeong-gu, Seok-kyung, and Esther bet on who got Kang-hee to get on board. As Kang-hee arrives, she clarifies that it was Esther who cleared her doubts. Kang-hee is asked to be the site manager for the branding project. However, the project is at Hana-eup, her hometown. She seems reluctant to go there.
Ah-reum comes to visit Kang-hee in her new house which has been provided by the company. Seok-kyung keeps trying to help them. Seeing him, Ah-reum says that she is happy that both Kang-hee and Yeon-soo have met someone.
Nan-woo asks Yeon-soo to teach her to drive. During her lesson, she panics seeing a car in front of her, and presses the accelerator instead of the brake. However, they do not crash since Yeon-soo intervenes. As Yeon-soo picks her up from her seat, Kang-hee and Seok-kyung come out of the car.
The next episode of Motel California is scheduled to be released on January 18.
