Motel California episode 6 recap: Is Yeon-soo getting married to Nan-woo?

The MBC drama Motel California, starring Lee Se-young and Na In-woo, premiered on January 10, 2025. Directed by Kim Hyung-min and written by Lee Seo-yoon, the 12-episode series airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 pm KST. The story 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 ridicule due to her mixed-race heritage and family struggles. Leaving at the age of 20, she built a successful career as an interior designer in Seoul. However, her return brings unresolved emotions and unexpected challenges to the surface.

In this episode of Motel California, as the rumors about Yeon-soo getting married to Nan-woo start affecting Kang-hee, Yeon-soo clears them by denying it in front of Kang-hee. Meanwhile, Kang-hee's tragic past is also revealed.

Motel California episode 6 recap: Why did Kang-hee start calling her father by his name?

Episode 6 of Motel California starts with Yeon-soo telling Kang-hee that he will forget about her and needs some time to do so. After this, Kang-hee gets a call from Seok-kyung informing her that Chun-pil is at the police station with Yeon-soo's mother and her husband.

When Kang-hee comes back to Motel California, she finds Yeon-soo's mother, Yeon-soo, Nan-woo, Chun-pil, and the rest of the country folk sitting and having a laugh about her recent divorce and the marriage of Yeon-soo and Nan-woo. When Yeon-soo goes to escort Nan-woo back to her home, she tells him that she will put a stop to the rumors if he confesses to Kang-hee.

When Yeon-soo comes back to his room, he can hear Kang-hee speaking to herself in her room and complaining about him moving on but he mistakes it for her talking to someone on the phone about Seok-kyung.

Next day, Kang-hee goes to visit Nan-woo. However, Yeon-soo comes then and she asks Kang-hee to ask him directly whatever she has to ask. After confirming that both of Nan-woo's parents are alive and well, Kang-hee tells Yeon-soo that she wants to visit his grandfather with him.

At his gravestone, she tells Yeon-soo that grandpa had given her a pair of rings to give to Yeon-soo when he finds the right person to marry, someone who has grown up in a normal family with a lot of love.

She takes out the rings and tells him that the real reason behind her coming to Hana-eup was the rumor that he was going to get married. She tells him that Nan-woo would be a good match for him, hands him the rings, and walks away.

However, Yeon-soo runs to her and hugs her from behind. As they sit to talk, he finds that his grandfather's request is one of the reasons Kang-hee pushed him away from her. He pulls out the rings and throws them into the pond. As Kang-hee tries to look for them, Yeon-soo tells her that he is not going to marry Nan-woo.

Next day, Jeong-gu shows up at the construction site since she has now recovered. Oblivious that Kang-hee is Chun-pil's daughter, she talks about seeing him in a romantic light and reveals that she was the one who got the teddy bear for his daughter.

Later, while speaking to Yeon-soo, Kang-hee tells her why she started calling Chun-pil by his name. When her mother was pregnant with another child, Chun-pil was absent to take care of her during her labor.

As a result, she lost the child as well as her life. She also tells Yeon-soo that Chun-pil had gone to Seoul to help Yeon-soo's mother look for the conman who had conned her.

She can never forgive the two for the death of her mother. When Yeon-soo asks about himself, she asks him if he can abandon his mother. Just as she comes out of the room, Jeong-gu tells her that she is going back. Kang-hee decides to drive her since she wants to go home for a while.

In this episode of Motel California, as Kang-hee drops Jeong-gu off, Jeong-gu tells her that Chun-pil wished she would stay for longer and that he is sorry for many things. Kang-hee goes to her home.

After a meeting with Jeong-gu, Esther takes her along to an art museum to cheer her up. While talking about Seok-kyung, she tells her that friendship is more valuable than love. This gives Kang-hee an idea.

When she goes back to Hana-eup, she asks Yeon-soo to stay friends with her and invites him to her room to have some ice cream.

Yeon-soo follows and uses the same spoon to have the ice cream. Yeon-soo then kisses Kang-hee and asks if she can stay friends with him. This episode of Motel California ends with them kissing passionately on Kang-hee's bed.

The next episode of Motel California is scheduled to be released on January 31.

About the author

Prachi specializes in covering K-pop and K-drama as a popular culture writer at Sportskeeda. A graduate with triple majors in Psychology, English, and Performing Arts, Prachi has previously written for Essentially Sports.

For Prachi, maintaining accuracy, relevance, and ethical reporting is of utmost importance. She prioritizes extensive research by delving deep into primary sources to ensure the information she provides is comprehensive and trustworthy. Prachi supplements her research with her own knowledge about the topic and cross-checks every fact as part of her reporting process.

A K-pop fan and cultural studies enthusiast, Prachi is deeply familiar with the Hallyu landscape and its global influence. It was BTS' Blood Sweat and Tears music video that piqued her interest in the group and their culture. Thus, when the opportunity arose to pursue her interests and write about them, Prachi seized it.

When not writing, Prachi likes to dance and is professionally trained in the art form.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande