Episode 9 of "When The Stars Gossip" kicks off with the harrowing revelation that Ryong and Eve have been marooned in space for a grueling 40 hours. As the Space Station looms on the horizon, poised to glide over Seoul, a dire issue with its power system ensures that it remains invisible to the unaided eye.
Despite the dire circumstances, Jae-Ryong's spirits lift when he discovers a signal emanating from the freezer. With bated breath, he rushes to the lab, where Min-jeong is already engrossed in the scene. Inside the freezer, the fertilized egg has miraculously divided into 16 cells, forming a morula, and the freezer transmits real-time images, confirming this remarkable development.
However, the challenge now lies in bringing this precious cargo back to Earth. In their current predicament, this proves to be easier said than done. Jae-Ryong is willing to offer any sum of money, but as is often the case, monetary compensation cannot replace the safety of astronauts. He finds himself powerless to intervene.
Meanwhile, Go-eun storms into Mission Control, her fury evident as she learns of Ryong's abandonment. Dong-a dismissively tells her to go home and await further news, but Go-eun stands her ground, refusing to budge until she speaks with someone of higher authority. Enter Tae-hui, who finds himself on the receiving end of Go-eun's fiery tirade for breaking protocol. The astronauts, as per regulations, should have prioritized allowing the tourist onboard before anyone else.
As for the astronauts themselves, they are rescued from the ship and whisked away aboard a plane destined for Korea. While they have an abundance of water, the astronauts find themselves feeling dizzy and struggling to adapt to Earth's gravity. Fortunately, their muscles haven't atrophied, and they appear to be physically okay. Nevertheless, the guilt of leaving Ryong behind lingers, casting a dark shadow over their return.
Aboard the space station, Ryong and Eve find themselves with a perilously low oxygen supply—just 13% remaining—while the rescue ship remains grounded, not even close to reaching them in time. The crux of the matter is that any supplies launched from Earth would take up to seven days to arrive at the space station, a timeline far from ideal.
Determined to cut this time down to a single day, the team devises a daring plan: to launch the rocket directly at the space station as it passes overhead. If executed with precision and the right velocity, this bold maneuver might just enable them to arrive in time. However, the G-force involved would be enormous, propelling the rocket through space at breakneck speeds. These extreme conditions, compounded by the space station's malfunctioning electronics, render the mission fraught with risk and necessitate manual docking. Nonetheless, the addition of two robotic arms could slightly alleviate their predicament.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Ryong's mothers create a scene by accidentally setting their kitchen ablaze. In a moment of sheer stupidity, they attempt to douse the stove fire, where chicken was hissing and crackling, with water. Fortunately, the entire house didn't erupt into flames, but they stood helplessly watching the flames until Go-eun arrived to rescue them. Nobody had called the emergency services, and Go-eun ended up with burns on her arm while putting out the fire. As she receives treatment, she conveys the good news to Ryong's mothers: a rescue ship is being dispatched, and Ryong may still be alive.
Dong-a, the man tasked with bringing Ryong and Eve back to Earth, shares a heartfelt farewell with Tae-hui. During this tender moment, Dong-a confesses his deep love for Eve and admits that his constant cheating, including kissing Tae-hui in her apartment, was a colossal mistake.
As the other astronauts return to Mission Control, they all wait anxiously, fingers crossed, as Dong-a races towards the space station. Along the way, one of the robotic arms gets lost, but despite traveling at an incredibly high speed, Dong-a somehow manages to attach the remaining arm and instantaneously halts the shuttle's motion. Dong-a successfully docks the craft and ventures inside the station.
Dong-a eventually locates Eve and Ryong, who miraculously remain alive despite the odds. As he tears open the insulated tent, he discovers them both nude and entwined, a scene that is unfortunately relayed to everyone watching back home. The sight shocks everyone to their cores. Despite the bitter cold enveloping them, Dong-a somehow manages to wrench the tent away and bring them both aboard the rescue shuttle. He swiftly dresses them in suits, complete with oxygen tanks, to ensure their survival.
The Maru sets its course back to Earth, but disaster strikes when the control system malfunctions during the descent. The trunk detaches, and they frantically deploy the parachute, yet the entire rocket is engulfed in flames. Fortunately, they crash-land in the water, which instantly extinguishes the blaze and brings the temperatures down. Unfortunately, the impact also temporarily shorts out their communication systems.
Despite these setbacks, all three characters manage to survive, as fate would have it. The rescue mission is ultimately deemed a success.
