Details
Title: 하이킥! 짧은 다리의 역습 / High Kick! The Revenge of the Short Legged
Also known as: 하이킥 시즌3 / High Kick Season 3 / Counterattack of the Short Legs
Genre: Sitcom, family, comedy, romance
Episodes: 120
Broadcast network: MBC
Broadcast period: 2011-Sep-19 to 2012-???-??
Air time: Monday to Friday 19:45
Related TV shows: Unstoppable High Kick, High Kick Through the Roof
Synopsis
Ahn Nae Sang and Yoon Yoo Sun are middle aged husband and wife. When his business goes bankrupt, this couple moves in to her brother's house and the conflict starts.--Korean Drama
Cast
High Kick 3
Ahn family
Ahn Nae Sang as Ahn Nae Sang
Yoon Yoo Sun as Yoon Yoo Sun
Lee Jong Suk as Ahn Jong Suk
Krystal Jung as Ahn Soo Jung
Yoon Kye Sang as Yoon Kye Sang
Suh Ji Suk as Yoon Ji Suk
Other people
Park Ha Sun as Park Ha Sun
Go Young Wook (고영욱) as Go Young Wook
Park Ji Sun (박지선) as Park Ji Sun
Yoon Gun (윤건) as Yoon Gun
Kim Ji Won as Kim Ji Won
Julien Kang as Julien
Baek Jin Hee as Baek Jin Hee
Lee Juck (이적) as Lee Juck
Kang Seung Yoon (강승윤) as Kang Seung Yoon
Jin Ji Hee (cameo)
Production Credits
Production Company: Chorokbaem Media
Director: Kim Byung Wook, Park Soon Tae (박순태)
Screenwriter: Lee Young Chul (이영철)
source: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/
Episode 1 - 13 synopsis/recap/summary
It’s Yoo-sun’s birthday, and Nae-sang starts the day off by making dinner reservations for the wife (after first bickering with her in their usual fashion). Yoo-sun’s off enjoying a birthday spa day with her friends when Nae-sang receives notice that his friend and business partner has just skipped town, leaving the company completely dry and with loan sharks on the hunt to track him down.
Nae-sang hardly has time to digest this as he scrambles to run from the thugs, grabbing a dying old company van that’s heading for the junkyard. He drives madly around the city, collecting his wife from the spa, plucking Jong-seok out of a hockey-game pile-up, and grabbing Soo-jung at the airport. They barely have time for their special handshake/butt-tap before they’re (literally) on the run, forced to push along the sputtering car when the loan sharks track them down at the airport.
The family can’t go home because the gangsters know where they live, and Nae-sang’s credit cards have been frozen. With only a few dollars in Soo-jung’s wallet to buy them snacks, they find themselves roaming the back roads with nowhere to go.
In an effort to buoy spirits, Nae-sang insists on celebrating Yoo-sun’s birthday with chocopies, assuring the family that this is only a temporary glitch that will be fixed right quick. Soo-jung lights a firecracker as a birthday candle, which flies out of her hands and gives Dad a literal kick in the rear.
EPISODE 2
Yoo-sun suggests calling her brother Kye-sang for some help, but that’s a prospect that Nae-sang firmly opposes. He puts his foot down and decides they’ll travel down to Kyung-ju to his great-uncle instead, only to find upon arrival that the old man has died.
Left without resources or hope, Nae-sang finds himself sunken in despair and rushes into the sea, which feels like a Temptation of Wife parody but for the fact that it’s actually an emotionally charged scene and therefore not much of a parody at all. The family rallies around Dad, telling him that it’s okay even as he hangs his head, unable to bear looking them in the face.
The one upside in the situation is the laughter that bursts out when the family has to change out of their sodden clothes with only Soo-jung’s suitcase to offer in the way of dry clothing. Dad in frilly florals? Oppa in a pink crop top? Instant pick-me-up.
Back at school, second-year Ji-won deals with some obnoxious bullies who pick a fight with her when she stands up for a classmate. They trip her, then crow gleefully at getting a glimpse of her underwear. Unflappable Ji-won just gets up and asks the boys if they’d like more of what they’ve seen, and promises to come to school tomorrow wearing some really cute underwear, which gets them hot ‘n bothered and looking forward to tomorrow. Sigh, boys are so easy.
The next day, she makes good on that promise, though not in the way they’d been anticipating. She lets fly her high kick, knocking them down in one blow and saying cheekily, “I kept my promise.”
Gosiwon drama escalates when Young-wook finds more food missing — his precious beef! — and accuses Jin-hee of taking it, sniffing her shirt suspiciously. She’s insulted, since she’s relegated to eating her very boring rice and kimchi, and insists she’s innocent…until he sets up a camera and proves that she’s the midnight thief. Jin-hee realizes her sleepwalking is back and pleads with him to be understanding, but Young-wook insists on dragging her along to the police station…
EPISODE 3
The Ahn family runs out of gas, stranding them in Kyung-ju, flat broke and weak from hunger. Finally, Nae-sang resigns himself to the idea of appealing to his brother-in-law for help, and Yoo-sun calls Kye-sang. It’s one thing to stand on pride when you’re doing well for yourself, but when you’re essentially homeless, you realize pride won’t feed your family.
A curious local wanders by and asks if they’re beggars. The family takes affront, but Kang Seung-yoon isn’t meaning to insult; he’s just a curious kid with a quirky 4-D personality who hops from topic to topic and keeps the family on their toes and wondering if he’s a little unwell in the head. But Seung-yoon is a friendly, helpful sort; Yoo-sun asks him sarcastically if admitting they’re beggars means he’ll buy them food, and the next thing you know, he’s got them digging into piles of pizza and fried chicken.
Seung-yoon is the son of a local oriental doctor and freely shares about his fascination with ballet, his dream of being president, and his “dilemma” of whether or not to move up to Seoul — because, as you know, “The president lives in Seoul.” Ha. Jong-seok is too proud to accept Seung-yoon’s food (but too hungry not to try sneaking some anyway), which suggests to me that these two boys are just about to start their own beautiful friendship.
Demonstrating her overly trusting nature, Ha-sun becomes victim to a neighborhood “Burberry man,” aka flasher. Shocked and traumatized, she huddles in the street while the pervy ajusshi dances around her flashing his parts to the wind, getting off on her horror.
Ji-seok happens by to witness the scene and jumps into the fray with a failed high kick of his own. It’s enough to send the man running, though, and Ha-sun thanks him for his help. He tells her she’s way too timid, and offers to teach her some self-defense moves, urging her to try stabbing him with a pen so he can demonstrate a counterattack. He’s pumped up on that macho bravado while Ha-sun nervously tries to attack…
Cut to: Ji-seok lying in an ambulance car with a pen sticking out of his head. Pffffft!
Sadly, though, the rest of her day is less sanguine: She’s been put in charge of finding an apartment for the new English teacher, Julien (another example of people taking advantage of her niceness to foist off undesirable duties on her). At the real estate agency, she meets a homeowner who has an apartment for rent, and he convinces her to sign a contract on the premises, earning her sympathy with tales of a cancer-ridden wife. It’s only when she gets home and shrewd Ji-won asks a few additional questions that it begins to appear she’s just gotten hosed by a scammer.
Great news for Jin-hee, who gets called to a job interview. It’s for an internship at a large corporation, Samjin, and she’s thrilled. Alas, a snafu gives her no time to prepare and she fails to capture any interest in her interviewers, who tell her that asking her follow-up questions are a “sheer waste of time.”
But the Samjin president drops in to take a look at the interview process, regaling the room with a story about how very hard he worked when he was in their shoes, taking only 10 seconds to eat a jajangmyun lunch while others took an hour. Jin-hee tells him she can beat 10 seconds, and he’s impressed at her pluck, telling his interviewing team that if she can do it, she’s hired.
She does it, and she’s hired. Ecstatic, Jin-hee calls her mother and assures her that soon their debts will be paid, and Jin-hee will be able to move Mom to Seoul so they can live together.
Kye-sang arrives in Kyung-ju to a loudly bickering Ahn tribe, and he steps in with his usual diplomacy and institutes a rule to get them to explain the situation calmly. The only “talking stick” they’ve got on hand happens to be a prop wig, but who says that can’t work, right?
He hears the family’s complaints, then makes the executive decision: Come home with him, and then they’ll sort it all out. Phew, finally someone steps up to take control!
At the gosiwon, Jin-hee’s sleepwalking kicks in again, but tonight she doesn’t head for the refrigerator to steal food. Instead, she head outside in the dead of night, as though she’s reporting for her new job, and wanders into a gang drug deal. They have no idea who she is but figure it’s better to be safe than sorry, and move to grab her, just as she wakes up, sees the gangsters running toward her, and starts running in a flurry of confusion.
EPISODE 4
The Ahns relocate to the Yoons’ house, where Kye-sang welcomes them warmly and even gives an embarrassed Nae-sang an envelope of money as an allowance, knowing he’s too proud to ask. He tells Nae-sang to consider this his home, and offers that he’ll be calling him “hyungnim” now instead of the more proper “maehyung.” (Maehyung is the term he’s been using, meaning husband of my older sister, and is perfectly appropriate. However, with the formality comes a certain distance, and dropping that term in favor of hyungnim indicates closeness.)
Nae-sang is so moved that he sweeps Kye-sang into the adorablest back-hug ever, feeling grateful for his kindness and maybe a little guilty for their formerly prickly relationship. (Yoo-sun explains that Kye-sang had been initially opposed to their marriage, and Nae-sang has always felt a little miffed by that.) Now, though, Nae-sang sighs, “I love you, brother-in-law.”
But being a generous brother-in-law doesn’t come without its limits, and Nae-sang finds what those are later. He and his family have a few requests to ask of their host, and Nae-sang broaches the subject gently, asking for (1) a loan to get his business back on its feet, (2) some money to send Soo-jung back to LA, and (3) for the Yoon brothers to share one room, so that the Ahns can split the other two rooms.
Kye-sang listens to these requests with an open mind and wide smile, asks for a moment to consider, then comes back with three very warm, friendly rejections. Ha! Kye-sang has very sound reasons for his decision (if he lends additional money by taking out an additional mortgage, they could lose the only home they have, Soo-jung is better off staying here, and he can’t share rooms with his brother because of their differing habits), but this sends Nae-sang back into the sulks. Oblivious to his hyungnim’s change in mood, Kye-sang envelops Nae-sang in a reciprocal back-hug, thinking all is peachy-keen. Hee. I think I love them.
Ha-sun repeatedly calls the ajusshi who scammed her out of the deposit money, to no avail (he’s off gambling his new cash and scoffing at her stupid trust in people). At first she insists she’s going to believe in him and pray for his sick wife, but the longer this goes on, she has to face the facts and admit that he cheated her. She reports him to the police, but they don’t get any closer to catching him than she does. So now she has to contend with the newly arrived Julien, who’s still living out of a motel room while she has to find a new place, now out his deposit money. Gulp.
More bad news for Jin-hee as well, who heads to her first day on the new job with a spring to her step and great hopes for her future…until she’s spotted on the street by one of the gangsters from the night before. With half their numbers arrested, in part thanks to her screaming when they tried to grab her, the thugs are pissed, and they chase her. Scrambling for a hiding spot, Jin-hee jumps into a dumpster and misses her orientation start time.
She races to the office while the president addresses the new interns, and he takes note of the empty seat and asks who dared not show up on the first day. Jin-hee pleads with them to wait as she races into the building, and the president “generously” gives her another 10-second opportunity: Show up within that time and he’ll let this go. She trips just outside the door, misses her window, and is (literally) shut out. Worse yet, when she trudges home, she finds that her exasperated landlady has packed her bags and kicked her out. With nowhere to go, she goes to ask her sunbae Ha-sun to put her up for the night.
The Ahn/Yoon family starts work on converting a storeroom into an extra room when they have unexpected visitors: The loan sharks have tracked Nae-sang down to this house, and try to force their way inside the gates. Ji-seok tries to hold them back while Kye-sang heads out to deal with them, urging Nae-sang to remain out of sight.
Episode 5
The rest of the Ahn family follow Nae-sang into the underground space, which turns out to be an old make-shift tunnel that dates back to the Korean War. Safely hidden, Kye-sang chases out the rest of the debt collecting ruffians out the door.
The next morning, Jin-hee thanks them for the previous night and Ha-sun asks after her situation. After hearing that she doesn’t have a place to stay, Ha-sun mentions that though she’d like to help, she can’t give the okay to let her stay, since the property technically belongs to her cousin, Ji-won.
At school, Ji-won is sent to go retrieve a rogue ball that goes flying over the fence in gym class and spots a lost little boy in the middle of a busy street, crying. Her attempts to calm him down makes the poor kid cry even harder until Kye-sang walks up to them, greeting the boy in adorable jondaemal (formal language). He gives the boy a root to suck on and takes his hand to go find his mother.
Kye-sang notices Ji-won’s gym uniform and sends her back to school, but she insists on seeing the boy reunited with his mother before returning to class. The reunion of mom and child triggers a lingering memory of Ji-won crying for her father.
In her haste, she forgets the ball she was to recover, and Kye-sang tracks her down from across the street. He teases that he has a strong arm, especially useful for dodgeball. She challenges him to give it his best shot, and he scribbles a playful smiley before fireball shooting it straight for her stomach.
The gangsters pay another unannounced visit to the house which entraps the family inside the tunnel all day. Because the space is so humid and uncomfortable, Nae-sang comes up with an idea: they’ll dig an escape route in case the loan sharks come for them again. He’s reluctant to drill it himself (he’s got a rare blood type), so the others take turns drilling through the tunnel until he’s finally forced to by Yoo-sun.
Scammed out of the deposit money, Ji-won allows Julien to stay with them for the time being, and Julien agrees to keep the living arrangements a secret from the school.
The problem is Jin-hee, who returns after roaming around the city all day, chased out of the gosiwon and even shoved out of a spot by a homeless man at the train station. She pleads that she has nowhere else to go to, and asks if they can house her for a few more days. She promises that she’ll remain hidden like a ghost. Poor girl.
Lee Juck narrates that this is indeed how she lives – clinging to the wall to avoid running into anyone, disappearing after making a noise in the kitchen. She even waits for Julien to leave before doing her business. Little does she know that Nae-sang is busy below ground, drilling his way up.
A loud crash calls everyone’s attention to the bathroom where Jin-hee painfully squeaks that something drilled into her bottom. Then, Nae-sang peeks his head through the crumbled toilet bowl.
EPISODE 6
Ji-seok flies off the handle when he hears that Nae-sang has brought upon more trouble for the family, with the neighbor’s damaged bathroom and sending a girl to the ER. Nae-sang takes the brunt of the rage in silence but sets his foot down when Kye-sang offers to pay for the damages: He’ll take care of the situation in any way possible.
Nae-sang gathers the family for a team pow-wow and draws up a plan with three objectives: (1) Offer to repair the bathroom in lieu of paying for the damages (2) Check on the severity of Jin-hee’s wound and have her treated by Dr. Piljoo Kye-sang (3) Convince fake Kim Tae-hee, aka Ji-won, to keep the tunnel in place. Each family member tag-teams with one of the neighbors (apart from Soo-jung, who skips out for a date with Julien) and it’s moderately successful, except for Ji-won who rejects the proposal for keeping the tunnel open.
But a simple no doesn’t deter Nae-sang from trying again, this time with a fancy schmancy powerpoint presentation. His tunnel proposal to the ladies are simple: (1) They can feel free to come over to use their bathroom at any time, (2) The men can come in to save them from burglars and other break-ins (3) They’ll save money by utilizing one bathroom. Alas, the dramatic music and flashy side-effects prove futile and Ji-won vetoes the idea.
That night, Ji-won reflects on the chance encounters with Kye-sang earlier that day and she grows curious to explore the tunnel. She runs into Kye-sang on his way to treat Jin-hee, and is pleasantly surprised to hear that he lives next door. Yes, I’d love for my budding crush to be the boy next door!
The next morning, Nae-sang receives a call from Ji-won saying that she’s changed her mind – they can keep the tunnel. Thinking that the presentation did the trick, he rubs in his accomplishment to Kye-sang, that he should tell little bro-in-law that he can take care of situations himself.
A ball rolls to Ji-won’s feet at school, and the same playful grin from the other day greets her back. She tucks her Wilson safe in her locker and happily heads out to class.
EPISODE 7
Project Repair Bathroom turns out to be an overwhelming undertaking and Nae-sang nearly finds himself buried alive when the tunnel collapses, creating a temporary block between the houses.
Given the loan sharks’ constant unannounced visits, (especially after a close-call with Nae-sang running out of the shower) Nae-sang proposes that they implement a fail-proof evacuation drill: If a thug appears, the person will yell, “Yoon Jong-shin” twice (when asked, Nae-sang explains that one of them resembles singer Yoon Jong-shin, heh) and hit the gong. The rest of the family will hear at least one of these signals to hide underground.
Drill Sergeant Nae-sang runs them through the routine over and over again until they (literally) can do it in their sleep – Ji-seok arrives late one night and hits the gong and the Ahn family rush to the tunnel still in their pajamas.
All their practice goes to hell when the gang actually shows up at their door. Yoo-sun mixes up the code name and the others hide, but poor Nae-sang is stuck on the john, the thugs zeroed in on his position, waiting for him on the other side of the door. Thankfully, Ji-seok arrives and threatens to call the cops on their uninvited guests. The empty threat falls flat on them but they reluctantly leave an obviously shaken-up Nae-sang in their wake.
Meanwhile, Kye-sang drops by to treat immobilized Jin-hee, who is embarrassed to let him examine her. He says cheerfully that he’s a physician and be it butts or arms, they’re all the same. It gets less awkward after some time but she’s left mortified when she forgets to cover herself up afterward. Cute doctor + awkward moment = humiliation.
Things are looking up because Jin-hee receives a call from a college unni who works at a small broadcasting company and scores her an intern position. She heads out the following morning and slowly limps her way to work. Everyone else rushes past her and a grandmother trots past with her walker. Hee.
As per Kye-sang’s orders, she’s clear to walk but not from sitting down to prevent tearing the healing muscle. The staff meeting, however, runs longer than usual and Jin-hee hovers over her seat, enduring each painful moment through her teeth.
She clears out of the office early and heads straight for the hospital, the mortifying moment with Kye-sang still fresh in her memory. In the middle of her examination, he happens to drops by to visit Lee Juck. A quick glance to the table, he recognizes Jin-hee immediately and the nurse asks the question we’re all thinking, “You identify a patient just by looking at their bottom?” Awk.ward.
Kye-sang isn’t offended that she went to the hospital but notes that the wound seems to have gotten worse.
Back at home, Nae-sang slips into full paranoia, fearful that the debt collectors will be back for him at any moment. Each night he moves to a spot closer and closer to the tunnel until he practically lives in it, his wife bringing him food in a tray like in prison.
EPISODE 8
Yoo-sun worries about the kids being unable to attend school and suggest that they finish school around the area. Both brother and sister are against the idea: Soo-jung still wants to return to L.A. and Jong-seok is in his senior year of high school.
Mom knows that the real reason is that Jong-seok still misses his hockey team and asks Ji-seok to convince him to attend the school here. So the two go out for a jog and Ji-seok gruffly explains to Jong-seok that there’s no future for him in hockey. Given their current financial strain, his dad can’t support him should he continue. But Jong-seok has heard enough and speeds ahead, with Ji-seok calling after him out of breath.
The stress and paranoia is enough for Nae-sang to worry about the possibility of stomach ulcers and consults Kye-sang about his health concerns. He suggests that his brother-in-law get an endoscopy performed and if it turns out to be serious, he’ll go under the knife. He says all of this in a wide smile which annoys Nae-sang into asking him how could he say all of this so cheerily. He simply responds that it’s better than telling Nae-sang with tears in his eyes. Hah.
His fear concerning surgery triggers nightmares about incompetent doctors who let him die because they don’t have enough of his rare blood type. I’m sure you’ve got some O negative lying around in dream world, right? Or conjure it up? But I digress.
Soo-jung and Julien’s chummy relationship is another wrinkle in his forehead (it doesn’t help that Julien refers to him as ‘Mole Man’ because of their first encounter via a toilet bowl). He snaps at Julien whenever he comes over, but overhears that he and Julien share the same rare blood type. You can imagine the lightbulb going off in his head – Julien can step in for an immediate blood tranfusion
Begin Operation Bromance as Nae-sang nuzzles up to Julien, spending every waking moment together for the next day. Julien confides in Nae-sang that he appreciates his friendship – it’s been lonely for him since he arrived in Korea. He even thinks that he and Nae-sang can be BFFLs. So Cute.
Seeing exhausted Nae-sang (fake bromances can wear a guy out!) spurs Jong-seok to visit his old hockey team and greets his coach who invites him to tag along to their scrimmage that day. Jong-seok decides to suit up and play just as sincerely as he would in any other match. With a final snapshot, he closes the chapter of his hockey career.
Julien accompanies his BFFL to his endoscopy and jokes that he hopes that Nae-sang didn’t bring him here just to use his blood. Nae-sung assures him that isn’t the case (but tells the doc he brought him for that very reason). Oh innocent, dense Julien.
Once drunk on anesthesia, Nae-sang mumbles that the doctors have to drain every drop of Julien’s rare negative AB blood, much to Julien’s horror. The endoscopy is successful but as Julien leaves first, he trips and falls down the stairs…
Cut to Nae-sang waking up with a needle stuck in his arm. He’s confused – wasn’t he finished? The nurse quickly explains that Julien’s been injured and they need his rare blood type – stat. Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it?
Back at home, Nae-sang returns to his old mean streak towards Julien who regards him as his life savior. They’re not BFFLs anymore?!
EPISODE 9
Yoo-sun compiles her shopping list at home and pauses when she notes to buy tampons. Come to think of it, her period hasn’t come in a while. She couldn’t be…?
The doctor tells Yoo-sun that though she’s not pregnant, her body has entered the initial stages of menopause. She’s baffled at the news: she’s too young at 46, and the doctor continues that extreme stress can set off menopause early.
The news offsets her mood for the rest of the day. She’s quiet at dinner, but Nae-sang works her temper about not buying fish at the market and she finally explodes – the news about her menopause seemed much more important than some silly fish and she leaves the dinner table in a huff.
The rest of the family comments that Nae-sang should be more considerate towards his wife and Kye-sang notes that it’s a sensitive period for his sister. If Nae-sung doesn’t support her through it, she could slip into depression.
So Nae-sang makes an extra effort for the next few days to be nice to Yoo-sun, noting how ‘considerate’ he’s being to her. She sees right through the act, but too tired to argue. While watching TV, she’s nostalgic of happier times when she would go out for a fancy dinner with her friends. Nae-sang doesn’t comment, but notes her longing sigh in the back of his head.
The transition to public school seems to be easier for Soo-jung, who’s already made friends, than for Jong-seok. He mainly concentrated on sports in his previous school, and it seems absurd to him to actually study (Korean children can apply to specialty high schools such as in music or the arts, so it’s plausible that Jong-seok attended a sports school).
He’d rather doodle on his textbooks (converting the titles to more humorous ones) than studying in class so Ji-seok is displeased to hear that his nephew is falling behind. So he temporarily places Jong-seok into Soo-jung’s class, neither happy about the arrangement.
Meanwhile, Nae-sang surprises Yoo-sun to a fancy dinner, just like she dreamed. She’s wary given that they’re strapped for cash, but he reassures her that it’s fine. He assures her that things will get better – he’s in talks about a promising business venture, so they should enjoy themselves.
A call in the middle of the dinner interrupts their short-lived happiness. Nae-sang doesn’t comment but it’s clear to both of them that it’s not good news and they eat in silence.
Later that night, Yoo-sun bids farewell to the final egg leaving her body, her future hopes with it.
EPISODE 10
The two connected households settle into their routine: The Ahns make themselves at home with the Yoons, and the tunnel remains open between the two houses. Ji-won passes by Kye-sang again in the tunnel, and since it’s no great hardship to keep running into the cute doctor every day, she tells Nae-sang that he can take his time fixing her bathroom.
Seung-yoon — that eccentric boy from Kyung-ju — calls to take the Ahn family up on their “Sure, drop by when you’re in Seoul” offer. Yoo-sun considers him a loose cannon and votes no, but Nae-sang is thinking greedily that Seung-yoon’s father operates the biggest Oriental medicine clinic in Kyung-ju…and people with money could become helpful business partners…
Each family member’s stance is depicted with a little meter indicating their position: Yoo-sun is 100 percent against Seung-yoon visiting, Nae-sang is 50 for it, and the kids are both at zero, not caring one way or another.
Ha-sun is taken advantage of yet again by her sourpuss colleague, Ji-sun, who foists another duty on her. She tries to protest but is overruled, and takes out her frustration on a misbehaving student, whom she punishes. That sends his huffy mother to the school yelling at her, and Ha-sun finds herself apologizing when she didn’t do anything wrong.
Hot-headed Ji-seok finds her meekness frustrating and tells her that she ought to toughen up. Insisting she needs to unwind, he drags her off to a baseball game, urging her to have a beer, shout, and relieve her stress. Ha-sun starts getting into the spirit of the game, and ends up drunk enough to speak her mind — like how Ji-seok was a pain in the ass for dragging her here — and throws her empty beer can at the field after a bad play. Oops — that’s going overboard, and Ji-seok ushers her out when they get the evil eye from spectators.
With Seung-yoon visiting, the family members’ point meters go up and down depending on how much they like him. But Nae-sang’s crumbles entirely when he hears that Seung-yoon’s family clinic isn’t actually the biggest hospital in Kyung-ju — it’s named The Biggest Oriental Hospital In Kyung-ju. Ha!
Cheerful Seung-yoon won’t take the hint to go home and wears out his welcome, following an annoyed Jong-seok around. But he saves Jong-seok from getting hit by a car and ends up hit himself, which pings Jong-seok’s sense of guilt. Jong-seok watches Seung-yoon lying in a hospital bed, which sends his care-o-meter shooting up to 99.
Then the next day Seung-yoon shows up at school, having carefully made his way from the hospital to return Jong-seok’s wallet, and that seals the deal: 100 percent. They’re best friends now, like it or not — the kind who hang out together after school and use each other’s belly-buttons as little salt dishes. (So weird, but so adorable.)
EPISODE 11
Julien is content with his living arrangement, but Ha-sun’s feeling a little uncomfortable having a man living with three single ladies. She’s the only one, since Jin-hee’s super-busy with her part-time broadcast station job, and unflappable Ji-won is perfectly content. To avoid scandal, though, Ha-sun and Julien leave for work separately in case someone sees them arriving at school together.
Julien finds a bra lying around and asks who the owner is, which embarrasses Ha-sun so much she practically pulls a muscle leaping for it. Embarrassed, she hears his voice echoing in her head all day, and is so preoccupied she accidentally writes his words on the chalkboard: “Is this bra yours, Teacher Park?” Yeah, she’s going to be teased about that for a while.
Ji-seok finds her stewing in her mortification and takes her side, offering to beat Julien up if he goes around gossiping about her and her bra. He’s so suspicious that he jumps to conclusions when Julien says the word “Brazil” and almost gets into a fistfight at school.
Nae-sang, meanwhile, is bored out of his mind in the house all day. He tries to occupy himself with games and meditation, but he’s got a bad case of cabin fever and jumps all over the family when they come home at the end of the day. He prepares a joke for his tired wife, presenting her with a hard-boiled egg, wanting her to crack it on her head. She won’t play along so he does it for her, splattering her with raw egg, and Yoo-sun blows up at him.
Kye-sang steps in and offers some advice, giving Nae-sang tips on how to be less bored. Playing kickball alone is dull — but it’s a lot more interesting when you pretend you’re playing with others. So Nae-sang draws up a tournament board and narrates like a commentator as he competes with himself (pretending to be the members of his family in turn).
When Ha-sun buys a new polka-dotted skirt, Julien compliments it and adds that he has a pair of boxers just like it. Uncomfortable, Ha-sun asks him to be more circumspect and to not talk about underwear so plainly, and Julien assures her that he’ll comply.
She’s in the shower when a deliveryman rings the doorbell, so Ha-sun hurriedly dresses to sign for the package…and belatedly realizes that she’s put on Julien’s boxers, not her skirt. In her scramble toward the house, she trips and falls in the yard, hitting her head, and lies there unconscious for hours.
Finally, a neighborhood ajumma sees her lying there injured and calls the ambulance, and Ha-sun has to undergo the humiliation of being taken in boxers. Compounding the humiliation, her five-hour sprawl has been photographed by satellite camera and put online (think Google Maps).
Nae-sang’s boredom tournament is successful at keeping him occupied, so Kye-sang adds another tip to make it even more interesting: Make it multinational and pretend he’s in the Olympics. The idea captures Nae-sang’s fancy and he spends all night preparing for it, and even has trouble sleeping because he’s so excited. And when tomorrow comes, he wins his gold medal for Korea in his version of the living room long jump.
EPISODE 12
Ji-seok finishes converting the attic into Soo-jung’s new room…which immediately sparks Jong-seok’s jealousy. Can’t let little sis get away with her own room when he’s still sharing with his uncle. He convinces his parents to his side — he’s older, he’s in his last year of high school and needs to study for university exams — but Soo-jung doesn’t care. She was given the room and she’s not giving it up without a fight. She wins the first round by pulling up the ladder and insisting she’s going to stay put until they all agree it’s hers.
Kye-sang treats one of his poor grandma patients, and reads a letter to her. Sadly, it bears bad news: Her welfare support is being cut off. On his way back from his house calls, he runs into a protest group on the street, of which Ji-won is a member. They’re petitioning for the continued service on old-school cell phones, which the providers are phasing out.
Kye-sang is surprised, thinking that most kids would be fans of the latest, shiniest gadget. Ji-won clutches her old clamshell phone and explains that she likes things that are old and familiar, that have memories — understandable, given that she’s lost her parents and is probably wary of big changes in her life. Kye-sang cheerfully joins the protest with her despite the fact that he’s got a fancy new smartphone, saying that he’s representing his patients, many of whom are still using the old phones.
Ji-won falls asleep while he steps aside to grab coffee for them — her narcolepsy has been mentioned a couple times — and rather than wake her, Kye-sang reads for a while, waiting.
The battle rages on at Ahn/Yoon Central, with Soo-jung preparing to defend her turf like she’s smack dab in the middle of a medieval siege. She pelts her attackers with toy balls, winning this round as well, and sending the boys back to regroup and strategize.
That night, Kye-sang drops by Ha-sun/Ji-won’s house to take out Jin-hee’s stitches, and mentions running into Ji-won earlier that day. Ha-sun explains that she’s attached to her phone because she’d had it before her father died, and it has all her old texts and photos with him. If she changed phones, she’d lose it all, and Kye-sang absorbs this sympathetically.
Ji-won comes home and happens to see a text arrive on Kye-sang’s phone, and the next day she surprises him by joining him in his one-man protest during her lunch hour. She doesn’t even know what his cause is, but she tells him that whatever he’s fighting, she believes he’s in the right. Adorably, she has brought along a sign with a big arrow that says, “This ajusshi is right!”
Kye-sang is touched that she’s here to protest with him, and they spend the hour standing there side by side, him with his sign protesting the welfare cutbacks that deprives several thousand recipients of basic living expenses.
Soo-jung skips school to defend her room, and thus far the boys are unsuccessful, even though it’s one against five: brother Jong-seok, dad Nae-sang, uncle Ji-seok, acquaintance Seung-yoon, and neighbor Julien. The scene takes on a sageuk overtone as the boys march in like generals in wartime, while Soo-jung fights back from the high ground.
Finally, Jong-seok is forced to concede — if she wants it so badly, the room is hers. For now, at least: He vows that one day, the room will be his.
EPISODE 13
Ji-seok, ever the overgrown manchild, teases Ha-sun about her timid personality and pokes fun at her at school. The teachers are assigned to put on a play for visiting guests from Canada, and Ji-seok’s playfulness continues into rehearsals, where he keeps goofing off. He admits that he finds acting embarrassing, which is why he can’t be serious about it.
Ha-sun, on the other hand, is nervous and wants to do a good job. She’s been assigned the title role, to Teacher Ji-sun’s ire, since she’d picked the play specifically wanting to play Myung-sung herself. (In a dick move, a board member pulls rank, swapping Ji-sun out for Ha-sun because she’s prettier.)
Yoo-sun runs out of cooking oil and heads next door via tunnel to borrow some, only to find that the shower is occupied. Julien doesn’t see her so she starts to duck away quietly, but when Nae-sang drops by some minutes later, she’s sitting there, looking on to her heart’s content.
Nae-sang flips his lid and basically accuses his wife of being a perv, derisive at her explanation that this is because of her menopause. Kye-sang patiently steps in to explain that it’s understandable that Yoo-sun’s hormones are all out of whack, but Nae-sang’s in full belligerence mode and orders a family meeting tonight. He wants everyone to weigh in on whether he’s being out of line for not agreeing with the menopause argument.
He argues his position (Mom is using menopause as an excuse) while Kye-sang diplomatically offers a defense (the wild hormone imbalances can cause menopausal women to act out of character, without thinking). To Nae-sang’s surprise, everyone votes against him, and the shock leaves him sputtering incredulously.
Ji-seok continues to treat the play like a silly game, right up until the performance begins: The sight of Ha-sun in her costume, regal and dignified, has him captivated and speechless. He’s not the only one; Jin-hee’s gosiwon buddy, Young-wook, has dropped by to pick up something from her and also looks on in interest.
Then comes time for Ji-seok to “kill” Ha-sun — he’s a Japanese assassin sent to kill the Joseon empress — and he almost can’t do it, freezing for a long moment while his principal hisses at him to stab Ha-sun. With effort, he makes the faux slash, and Empress Ha-sun falls in tears, vowing that killing her will not defeat her country.
Ji-seok can’t understand his own reaction, but for the next several days, he’s upset, confused, and depressed. Every time Ha-sun greets him or comes across his path, he turns and walks away, so finally she finds him drinking beer at a pojangmacha and asks what the matter is. Did she do something wrong?
Like a bewildered little boy, Ji-seok finally admits, “I’m sorry for killing you.” She can’t believe he means the play, since clearly she’s alive and well, but Ji-seok tells her that even though he knows it was just make-believe, he can’t shake this feeling: “I know that, but I keep thinking of it…And when I look at you, I just feel sorry, and I think of stabbing you, and how you cried.”
Ha-sun assures him she’s fine, and tells him to shake it off — but sigh, he’s gone, hook line and sinker, isn’t he?
Meanwhile, Nae-sang goes around griping about everything; he’s so gobsmacked that everyone sided against him that he sarcastically blames everything on menopause: Jong-seok’s school fights, celebrity DUIs, the shaky state of the world’s finances…
Episode 14
Chez Ahn/Yoon, Nae-sang and Kye-sang get in an argument over money. Or rather, Kye-sang politely but firmly declines to shell out cash for a frivolous purchase, and Nae-sang huffily retorts that he won’t accept any more of Kye-sang’s money. Hmph!
The problem? Uh, the Ahns don’t have a breadwinner other than Kye-sang, and they’ve got some bills to pay, like tuition for the kids. Wife Yoo-sun intends to ask Kye-sang for the cash, but Nae-sang puts his foot down: He’ll handle it. That gives him two days to rustle up 900,000 won (about $800).
Jin-hee’s cranky PD boss asks his writing team for ideas on their sitcom, and she hesitantly proposes one: What if the show ends with the girl saying, “I wish time would stop like this,” and a car crash? HA — her idea is the much-maligned ending to High Kick 2, and the PD crushes the suggestion as absurd: “What kind of sitcom ends with the lead characters dying?!” Good question, Mr. PD, but mocking your choice retroactively doesn’t actually mitigate the fact that you put out that ending, does it?
The drug-dealing gangsters looking for Jin-hee harass her old gosiwon-mate Young-wook for information. He plays ignorant, then drops by the house to warn her, and is smitten at the sight of Ha-sun. They decide that Jin-hee should pretend to be foreign if she ever runs into them. Hee, I guess the “No speak English” tactic works whatever language you’re working with. She takes to ducking around her neighborhood, and Kye-sang helpfully joins in her faux-Chinese babble to get her past the gangsters.
Sporting a black eye, Young-wook lies about standing up to the gangsters to impress a sympathetic Ha-sun, who decides that he can stay for a few days because it’s too dangerous to leave the house. Jin-hee’s likewise terrified to leave the house and asks for one day off, only to get fired on the spot.
So later when she hears Young-wook on the phone, bragging about faking the gangster stuff to get close to Ha-sun…well, she loses it. He confesses that he may have “embellished” in front of Ha-sun, and Jin-hee unleashes her outrage on him.
Nae-sang spends all day calling friends about a loan, with no luck. Finally he decides to swallow his pride and ask Kye-sang, imagining ways to do it successfully. One fantasy involves engaging Kye-sang in a tickle-fight (wait, are we in MY fantasy now?), but Nae-sang misses his window and remains penniless.
After imagining robbing a convenience store (and getting arrested — ha, even his fantasies are grim), Nae-sang prepares his last-ditch effort, polishing Kye-sang’s shoes at dawn. The theory goes: Kye-sang would see Nae-sang’s humble position, offer money, and spare Nae-sang’s pride in having to, you know, actually ask. Too bad he’s misjudged the situation: Kye-sang is already out on a morning call, and Yoo-sun goes ahead and asks her brother for the money, figuring that her husband couldn’t.
A few days later, Jin-hee catches the finale of the program she was working for, which has used her supposedly horrible idea after all. “That’s my idea! And he said it was ridiculous for a sitcom!!”
EPISODE 15
This episode takes a different format, going for a thematic cohesiveness (somewhat at the expense of individual plotlines that are a bit more scattered than normal). What we get is lots of plots showcasing all of the main cast, which eventually come together in the end under Lee Juck’s narrated theme: How is culture transmitted? His answer: Via roads, or to be more specific, an underground tunnel connecting two households.
Kye-sang treats Jin-hee’s injury for the last time, and takes a photo with her to commemorate the event and post to his popular blog. When it posts, she gets upset that her face came out huge while his came out tiny, and according to the prevailing standard of beauty in Korea these days, the smaller the face, the more attractive it is. She calls him “kae-manners” (dog manners) and Ha-sun jokes that with his name, he’s “Kye-manners.”
Jong-seok tries to skip out of school, but vigilant uncle Ji-seok catches him and drags him back by the ear. Ji-won smirks “I told you so” since he’d ignored her warning, and then again when Jong-seok is announced as being the bottom of his class, while Ji-won’s in the top.
Ji-won apologizes for laughing at his low rank, not realizing he’s actually sensitive about it; he acts tough, but he’s actually mortified. Jong-seok is scolded further by his parents, which scrapes at his pride some more — the reason he was so attached to sports was because he knew he couldn’t get by on his grades alone — and he broods all day. Watching a movie gives him the idea to run away on motorcycle, and he knows just where to get a bike…
Ha-sun watches baseball with Ji-seok, while Yoo-sun admires her pretty eye makeup. Ha-sun invites her over for makeup tips, and when Yoo-sun admires her pillowcase, Ha-sun offers to send the shopkeepers her way.
Jin-hee runs into Kye-sang and ends up telling him it was bad manners of him to purposely pull his face back to make hers look huge. He’s genuinely sorry, having thought it was polite to let her take up more screenspace. He offers another photo to rectify the matter, this time making himself look huge.
Jong-seok asks Ji-won to borrow her scooter, and she gives him driving pointers. He doesn’t tell her he intends to take her scooter for good, and sneaks into her house later that night to grab the keys. Only, he sees that Ji-won’s crying to herself next to a birthday cake with the word DAD on it, and against his will he finds himself feeling sympathetic. They’re both guarded as they witness each other in a weak moment, and finally he offers a compromise: He’s going to steal her bike and run away, but how about she go with him?
They drive for a while and end up at the beach, not speaking or even sitting with each other, although they end up eventually coming back home. It was more of a symbolic running away, not a real one. (Poor Seung-yoon gets ditched, though, and waits outside all night for Jong-seok to pick him up.)
Nae-sang, meanwhile, gets easily annoyed with Julien and his catchphrase, “Wow, that’s fantastic!” But despite it all, he starts using the phrase himself, while Julien starts to adopt Nae-sang-isms of his own. To cap off the whole theme of cultural exchange, in the morning Ha-sun brings over the pillow traders — who, dressed in their own garb, look like they’re bringing over the Gift of the Magi — and the two households mingle.
To cap things off, Ji-won drives up to Jong-seok on their way to school, and offers him a lift to avoid being late. He declines gruffly like always, but today makes one concession: He asks her to take his backpack for him, then takes off running.
EPISODE 16
When Nae-sang bugs his wife about dinner, Yoo-sun snaps back that they’re so strapped for cash that she can barely stand to look at her brothers out of embarrassment. Not only are they all out of money for household expenses, Kye-sang is going to have to tap into his emergency fund to cover things.
That brings reality crashing down on Nae-sang, who sinks deeper into his seat when Kye-sang cheerfully gives his sister spending money. So when he gets a call that his bankrupted company’s equipment has been auctioned off and will be taken from their warehouse, he jumps to drastic measures: He’ll have to steal from himself to rustle up money for his family.
Ji-seok gives Soo-jung and Jong-seok gift certificates to buy books and supplies, and Soo-jung wheedles an extra one by acting cute, which Jong-seok considers a cheap tactic. Then when he tries to use the attic room for himself, Soo-jung throws a tantrum, screaming and kicking and biting, so Mom urges him to let it go and let Soo-jung have her way.
Jong-seok fumes at his bratty little sister’s manipulation, but Seung-yoon tells him he’s outmatched: Soo-jung is an attention-getter who can pour on the charm in an instant. Jong-seok, not so much.
So when they learn that uncle Ji-seok has ordered a new laptop, Jong-seok vows to claim the old one, no matter what his sister tries. Too bad for him, Soo-jung has the same thought and practices her aegyo tactics, waiting for her moment.
Nae-sang plans his warehouse raid with a trusty business associate, casing the joint and going all Prison Break with his strategizing. The guilt of his future crime weighs on him and he imagines his wife divorcing him and his kids being shamed, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do (I guess). He heads out, hugging his family in one last dramatic display of affection, which they find creepy.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), his criminal turn is short-lived, since one look at the security guards sends him running back home.
Jong-seok makes his case for the old laptop, but Ji-seok is indifferent and tells him to let his sister have it, since Jong-seok can share the new one with him. But Big Bro is indignant at always having to be the one to give in, and he clenches his fists thinking of Soo-jung winning again.
Desperate times call for desperate measures…so he swallows his pride (and his distaste), and brings out the aegyo.
Ji-seok is so shocked at this unseen (and perhaps never-to-be-seen-again) side of Jong-seok that he okays the laptop, but Soo-jung captures his embarrassing moment on camera and posts it online, which everyone and their mother watches (including his own mother), and mocks him for.
EPISODE 17 WEECAP
On their morning walk to school, Ha-sun and Ji-seok hear a dog whining from a neighbor’s yard, and she can’t shake her pity. Thinking it’s hungry, she buys dog food and returns to feed it — which, unfortunately, gets her hand bitten.
Dejected from job-hunting, Jin-hee washes down her disappointment with a lunchtime beer. Nae-sang drops by and clocks her mood. Joining her for a few beers, they bond as she unloads her troubles and he offers words of wisdom. Referring to his recent bankruptcy, he admits that initially he’d wanted to die, but thanks to a book he read, now he’s more willing to approach life with a glass-half-full attitude.
Ji-seok takes Ha-sun to be treated by his brother, and Kye-sang cheerily tends to her dog bite with a wide smile even as he discusses the potentially macabre effects of contracting rabies. Ha-sun is horrified, not sure if the dog matched the description of a rabid one (“Was it drooling normally, or excessively? I don’t know!“), and is a bit miffed at Kye-sang’s smiley face. He replies in his usual way — that smiling’s better than crying.
That’s no consolation to hypochondriacal Ha-sun, who’s increasingly worried that she might die of rabies. The dog’s owner fuels that worry, saying that the dog’s was acting funny before it ran away, and that it was a stray so he doesn’t know if it had its shots. Ha-sun heads online to WebMD herself into a frenzy, now convinced she’s doomed, and drowns her sorrows in soju that evening.
Ji-seok finds her drunk and scribbling into a notebook — a sort of pre-bucket list, if you will, listing all the things she hasn’t done yet: Have a hot romance, travel alone, live in New York, and date date date!!! He jokes that she’s like the heroine in a melodrama, but Ha-sun finds it insulting that the illness that might kill her has to be something so unglamorous: “Rabies?! What the hell!”
Julien invites the Ahns and Yoons over for a barbecue dinner, and a game is proposed, with Kye-sang offering a gift certificate as a prize. With money on the line, the game attracts four of the youngun’s — Jin-hee, Jong-seok, Seung-yoon, Julien — which Jin-hee wins. She’s stunned at Kye-sang’s generous prize, worth $100.
Well, that gets Nae-sang to lightly joke that he should give it a crack, but the prize brings out his inner bad sportsman and he ends up targeting the wrist he knows is injured, knocking Jin-hee over hard — all while his earlier words of wisdom play ironically in voice-over. Heh. Everyone tells him it’s not sporting of him to claim the prize, but what’s a little thing like pride against money?
So the next time he takes Jin-hee aside and offers her some more sage advice, she scoffs to herself, “Whatever, worry about yourself instead of me.”
Ha-sun wakes up with a hangover and assumes it’s the rabies doing her in, and doesn’t relax until the results finally come in from the doctor: She’s clean. And is it wrong that the lesson I’m taking from this episode is “Don’t be helpful or you might die”?
EPISODE 18
Jin-hee squeals about an upcoming interview on the phone to a friend who tells her that their mutual friend is getting hitched because she wasn’t able to find a job.Her friend asks about Jin-hee’s current love life and she flashes back to Ha-sun’s earlier comment if Kye-sang’s follow-up visits suggest that he may be harboring feelings for her, but she says there isn’t anyone.
Odd-ball Seung-yoon drops by to see Jong-seok, and mentions that he’s found a group who shares his opinion who think that the Earth is a cube (with its own website to boot). Mom dampens his mood by not-so-subtly mentioning at her displeasure with his visits. She witnesses the boys engaging in their belly button salt dish routine and considers it the last straw – she vows to tear the two besties apart.
The next time he comes over, she gives it to him straight: to not to visit the house anymore because Jong-seok needs to focus on his studies and he should do so if he cares about his friend. Jong-seok interrupts the confrontation, telling his mother not to blame his friend for his academic failure. Seung-yoon apologizes that he’s too dumb for his friend (aw) but they fist-pump their troubles away.
At home, Jin-hee entertains the possibility that Kye-sang could be interested her after he relays information about an internship opportunity to her. So she puts the idea to the test, sending a text message of thanks to Kye-sang. He replies a moment later, and she registers his immediate reply as an indication that he’s interested. She daringly adds a heart in her reply and when he doesn’t answer for the rest of the night, she gleefully concludes that he must be too shy to reply. Or maybe he’s just not that into you.
The next day, she mistakes his visit to treat Ha-sun as visiting her, and sighs that Kye-sang must be nice to everyone. To top it off, she gets word that she’s failed the first round interview.
At dinner, Yoo-sun again prods that Seung-yoon isn’t right in the head which spurs Jong-seok to defend his friend. So she agrees that she’ll concede and approve of their friendship should he pass a psych evaluation tomorrow.
Seung-yoon is put through a battery of tests by the most incompetent psychiatrist ever (comparing projective tests with an objective ones? Yeah, okay whatever) who asks the Ahn family for their input to psychoanalyze his results. Although Seung-yoon’s confidence and cognitive function is low…he’s normal and the boys celebrate in a hug.
Yoo-sun isn’t ready to wave her white flag just yet and tugs at the thread that Seung-yoon believes the Earth is a cube, which piques the psychiatrist’s attention. It’s a tense-filled moment, their friendship dangling on Seung-yoon’s response as he stumbles, “The Earth is…is…round.” He whispers to Jong-seok afterwards, “But the Earth is a cube…”Ha!
That night, Jin-hee’s fear of being successfully married off manifests itself in her dream. She’s led to take a ‘Yoon Kye-sang Marriage Interview’ by a topless Julien. Here Dream Kye-sang lists her lack of credentials: she’s still in school, in debt, and currently unemployed. He rubs in that she’s not pretty enough to make up for them either. Sheesh. The other two interviewees’ (Ha-sun and Ji-won) answers essentially rule Jin-hee out as a potential candidate. In a rage, she grabs Dream Kye-sang demanding that he marry her…
…to be shaken awake by real Kye-sang telling her she’s been sleepwalking and must be suffering from extreme stress. Gosh, I’ll say.
The next morning, Jin-hee asks how come Kye-sang is still single – he’s a decent catch after all. He answers that he’s not popular with the ladies. As an answer to her demand to marry him, he says that he doesn’t think he’ll marry her with that damning smile and Jin-hee backs away to save face, tumbling backwards into a wheelbarrow filled with trash.
EPISODE 19
At school, Soo-jung finds herself short a dime to buy a drink from the vending machine. Ji-won offers to buy one for her and the girls sit outside to chat. Soo-jung remarks that Ji-won’s parents must be exceptionally lenient to let her live alone and drive a scooter around. She asks what they do for a living and where they are, but Ji-won vaguely answers that they’re, “somewhere else.”
Their friendship is nipped in the bud when Soo-jung accidentally drops Ji-won’s cell phone onto the ground in the classroom. She churns with anger when Ji-won doesn’t accept her apology, unaware of the phone’s sentimental value. It’s not broken, but the thunder and lightning foreshadow something dreadful ahead.
Resident Gosiwon Young-wook offers his umbrella in exchange for Ha-sun’s phone number when she’s stuck in the pouring rain without one (Ji-seok stomped on hers when it wouldn’t open). Evidently exchanging digits with Young-wook means opening Pandora’s Box to frequent novel-long messages, sending her minute details about his life every few minutes throughout the next day. She’s too nice to mention it but my creepy detector is flying off the chart.
Back at school, Soo-jung decides to form an alliance against Ji-won, but her only successful recruit is the top student who’s always studying. Her continued efforts prove futile – she gets caught shooting a water gun at her teacher and gets hit by a ball in gym class.
She arrives home fuming about how Ji-won annoys her and Kye-sang takes a private moment to talk to his niece. Explaining that Ji-won lost both her parents, the outdated phone is the only memory she has left of them.
This news brings tears to Soo-jung’s eyes and she charges over next door to apologize to Ji-won. She’s ready to stay up all night, just like best buds, but Ji-won says they’ll catch up next time because she’s heading out. The pseudo blow-off turns Soo-jung’s melted heart to freeze over in an instant. So much for being best buddies.
Ji-seok can’t make it to a baseball game with Ha-sun that evening (he’s stuck grading papers that night) and passes the tickets along, telling her to bring anyone she likes. She recalls Young-wook’s desperate messages and cautiously invites him to the game.
Later that night, Ji-seok receives word from Jin-hee that Ha-sun has taken her ex-gosiwon buddy to the game and he blazes through the rest of the grades to catch up with them.
At the game, the boys battle for Ha-sun’s attention, the latter completely unaware. She flippantly remarks that she’d like to catch a home-run ball and the two boys clamor to catch the next one flying in their direction. They both fall onto the field in the process, crawling to snag the ball like a shiny trophy.
EPISODE 20
Yoo-sun tries to set up a date for her brother, who refuses with a wide smile, and she mumbles why he wants to volunteer in Rwanda over getting married. Nae-sang overhears the conversation and wonders where they’ll live if he does get hitched, and Yoo-sun scolds him for his selfishness.
Things looks bleak for Jin-hee after a possible internship turns sour. When her mother calls, she tells her that everything’s fine, that she’s eating enough, and things are going well at work. She adds that she misses her mother’s homemade kkotketang (crab stew) while sitting at a convenience store, a rice ball in her hand.
Nae-sang receives word that his defected business partner is back in town so he gathers both households together, asking for their help to track down the weasel. He divides and sends the group to four places he’s likely to show up, while he maintains HQ.
After an all-day stake-out, Julien offers to cook dinner and Jin-hee mentions that she misses her mother’s cooking – she’d cook crab stew to strengthen her daughter. Julien takes a mental note of this and says he’ll figure something out.
Meanwhile, Yoo-sun and her brother are on the swings and she asks him to consider the blind date. He says that he misses this – his noona worrying about his well-being. Since their mother died when they were young, he regards Yoo-sun like another mom and wouldn’t know what to do without her. Yoo-sun replies that she’s embarrassed to rely on her little bro while her family is struggling with finances, but he reassures her that everything will turn out okay. Aww.
Julien calls Jin-hee over to eat and she pauses when she spots tiny crabs in the stew. He apologizes that there weren’t any decent crabs available but promises to make a proper crab stew when they’re back in Seoul. She’s touched at his thoughtfulness and shares about the soup’s significance: her mother would cook her crab stew before she was sent to to her grandmother’s during breaks. A bittersweet memory, she’d savor each bite knowing she’d have to leave when it was gone.
He sweetly tells her that she can eat up – she doesn’t have to go to grandma’s this time and reminds her that tomorrow is another day. She asks after his secret ingredient and he teases, “Ramyun soup powder?” Hehe.
It turns out the whole covert operation was for naught because Nae-sang hears that the business partner is still in the States. Lee Juck narrates that there isn’t such thing as a wasted day: that relationships can change for the better or for worse so today is different from yesterday.
Ji-won runs into Kye-sang studying Rwandan and she picks up a language book to learn alongside him. Now she calls after him in Rwandan every time she sees him, and he adorably runs away in response.
EPISODE 21
Jong-seok’s failing marks at school calls the attention of his entire family at dinner. Mom wonders if he needs to be moved down to study with the first-years (and Soo-jung remarks he belongs in grade school), but Ji-seok says that isn’t necessary yet.
At school, Teacher Ji-sun pulls up an interesting video: someone has captured the baseball game incident from Episode 19 and it’s gone viral on the ‘net. Ha-sun panics – it’s already received over 4000 views.
Meanwhile, Jong-seok’s parents and Kye-sang brainstorm ways on how to help Jong-seok improve his scores. Nae-sang suggests that they trade off, have him memorize the material and he’ll be good to go. But Kye-sang disagrees – it’s more important that Jong-seok understands the concepts than relying on rote memorization. When Yoo-sun sides with him, Nae-sang is miffed, determined to prove him wrong.
The trio pow-wows to do some damage control, and Ha-sun’s gesture to wipe off some egg from Young-wook’s face when some angered fans pelts him, leaves Ji-seok seething in jealousy.
That night, Ji-seok asks via text, “When is your birthday?” and abruptly sends it when he gets interrupted. Little does he know that it sends with a typo and he ends up writing, “When is your period?”
So he’s naturally confused when irate Ha-sun avoids him the next day, saying she got his text all right. She fumes why he would want to know ‘something like that’ and jealous man-child Ji-seok says that her new best buddy Young-wook would already know, adding he’d like to ‘take care of it’ (in this case, do something for her).
Fed up, Ji-seok asks why it’s a topic they can’t talk about amongst friends. So Ha-sun gulps and sheepishly confesses it’s (her period) today and she runs off in embarrassment.
Still in the dark, he gives Ha-sun a present along with his congratulations, thinking it’s her birthday. She’s completely disgusted at this point and stuffs him back into the tunnel, saying that (her cycle) isn’t even something parents would discuss with their child. The dropped card clarifies the situation and she quickly calls after Ji-seok to check his phone. D’oh!
Jong-seok fails his test under Kye-sang’s methods and Nae-sang is haughtily pleased. So he drills his son with rote memorization filled with crazy mneumonics such as memorizing his facial expression when he repeats a vocab word.
Young-wook informs Ha-sun some time later that the video culprit has been caught. She excuses herself for a moment and he takes liberty to shoot some selcas of himself on her phone and discovers the infamous text message. He flares up when Ji-seok arrives and which ends up in another tussle, this time the uploaded video is more popular than the first.
Nae-sang bugs his son about his latest test results when he gets home and lights up when he hears he’s not in last place. Jong-seok is actually second-to-last (to a student who writes ‘Idiot’ for all of his answers), but Nae-sang takes this minor success as a testament to his hackneyed memorization technique and continues teaching his son in it, to an impressed Seung-yoon in the background.
EPISODE 22
Julien brings over some of his grandfather’s special Halloween pie to share with Nae-sang, who is so amazed that he falls into a stupor. He imagines turning the pie to a successful franchise — ha, even in his fantasy, Julien’s a mere grunt-worker while Nae-sang basks in the credit.
He manages to convince Julien to join him in this business venture, but the hitch: Julien’s grandfather refuses to give up the recipe. Nae-sang pesters Julien to try again, then enlists Yoo-sun to re-create the pie based on taste. She gets pretty close, but lacks that certain Texan je ne sais quoi, until finally Yoo-sun gives up in a fit of frustration.
Meanwhile, Jin-hee prepares for the test for the internship at Kye-sang’s health clinic. He gives her a book to help her study and wishes her well whenever they cross paths, smiling in such a friendly, warm way that she melts at the sight. Swoon. We all know how that feels.
So when Jin-hee runs into a college sunbae (Lee Kyun) who’s in search of models for his photography exhibit about smiling faces, she suggests Kye-sang for the part.
Finally, Nae-sang decides to take it upon himself to make the appeal to grandpa. Armed with some English phrases translated by Soo-jung, he racks up the minutes calling and re-calling Texas over and over, even though he gets a solid no and a bunch of hang-ups.
Finally, Grandpa enlists some help of his own: When Nae-sang calls next, he busts out his own prepared speech in Korean: “Don’t call anymore, punk.” His Korean aide gives him a thumbs-up.
On the day of her exam, Jin-hee works her way through the questions while Kye-sang proctors the test. She freaks out over the last question, which she knows she studied, and in a fit of growing panic, she gives in to the impulse to crane her neck…just a little…to eye the test in front of her…
Only, Kye-sang steps in front of her and cheerfully tells her that she’ll have to be dismissed from the test. Jin-hee begs for lenience since she didn’t actually cheat, but he says, with that perennial smile, that she’s out.
On her way home, Jin-hee fumes, saying that Kye-sang was way harsh, given that she didn’t actually cheat. Spotting the photo exhibit — of which Kye-sang’s photo is the centerpiece — and her indignation wells up more and more until she decides to take her revenge by spitting in the photo’s face, and draws up all the saliva in her mouth…
Only to have Kye-sang come up to her and say sympathetically that she must be feeling quite glum. He sends her that trademark smile, and Jin-hee gulps back her resentment.
EPISODE 23
Jong-seok’s perpetual inattention in class causes him to guess at answers when he’s called on. That leads to ridicule, which in turn stirs up his adolescent angst. But he’s not the type to express that outwardly, so instead he bottles it up internally and asks Ji-won for a ride on her scooter. He doesn’t care where they’re going, just that they go away for a while.
Kye-sang invites his sunbae Lee Juck over for lunch the next day, while Future Lee Juck narrates (in his How I Met Your Mother-like voiceover) that this was the day he first tasted his future wife’s cooking. Actually, that’s what the phrase sohn-maht refers to, but it becomes apparent that he means the literal meaning, “taste of the hand.”
Based on that loose interpretation of hand-taste, his future wife might indicate Yoo-sun (who has done the cooking), or it might refer to Soo-jung (who offers a “taste” of her massage skills). Or maybe it’s Jin-hee, who claps her hand over his mouth when he embarrassingly mentions her butt injury.
The entire afternoon is an exercise in patience for Lee Juck, who finds the Ahn family overbearing and unlikable, but keeps up polite appearances, all while his inner monologue tells us how he really feels.
For instance, Nae-sang hears that Juck’s medical practice is doing well and tries to grease the wheels about business investment. Soo-jung butters him up with flattery before hitting him up for some spending cash. When the family decides to have an impromptu limbo contest, Ha-sun accidentally slaps Juck in the face during a round of high-fives, adding to the potential mate count.
The scooter ride takes Ji-won and Jong-seok out to the countryside, and they don’t speak much as they enjoy the quiet. She takes photos of the scenery, and when he’s not looking, some of Jong-seok as well. The mood is pleasant…until Jong-seok swipes Ji-won’s scooter keys and says he’ll borrow them for a while, not too sorry that his getaway will leave her stranded.
Ji-won succeeds in knocking him off the scooter and hits him with her guitar, now fuming at his attempted ditching. Broken scooter, broken guitar, partially broken Jong-seok. Ji-won wheels her scooter along, glaring at Jong-seok when he follows her meekly.
They’re hungry, so Ji-won urges Jong-seok to catch a wayward chicken, but neither of them have the nerve to actually kill it, and they end up just taking it along with them. They succeed in hitching a ride with a friendly ajumma, and as they sit in the back of the truck, Ji-won asks why Jong-seok keeps trying to run away from home. She’s picked up on this aspect of his character that the others seem to be blind to, which is probably why they get along. Sorta.
Jong-seok admits that he doesn’t know exactly why. She replies in her matter-of-fact way that she can’t understand him — after all, family time together is something that could be taken away in a flash. That’s something she knows too well, and Jong-seok looks at her curiously, maybe seeing her in a different light for the first time, and when flipping through her camera, she finds a shot of her that Jong-seok took when she wasn’t aware.
Finally they arrive back in the city and walk home, pushing the scooter along while Ji-won eats the cotton candy that the ajumma’s daughter gave her. And thus Juck gets another taste of a potential mate’s hand when Ji-won offers him some candy.
EPISODE 24
On an errand to school, Kye-sang spots Ji-won working on a rocket in an empty classroom and asks her to let him know when she launches it. She tells him it won’t be lit, though, since it’s for a competition.
Julien insists on giving Ha-sun a payment for living expenses, which makes Jin-hee aware of how little she is able to contribute to the household. The burden is entirely on her end, because Ha-sun doesn’t expect her houseguests to pay, but it’s something they need to offer so they don’t feel like moochers.
Jin-hee gets an unexpected payment from the job she was fired from, excited to finally be able to pay Ha-sun some living expenses. Finally she can hold her head up with confidence… Or at least she can until her mother calls needing money right away. And then she’s launched into the throes of dilemma: Take back that money and go back to feeling like a freeloader, or leave Mom hanging.
Ha-sun is super nice about returning the money, but Jin-hee insists she’ll eat as little as possible and waste nothing until she can contribute again.
Ji-won spots Kye-sang trying to hail a cab and offers him a ride on her scooter. She takes him to see one of his poor elderly patients, and asks to join him on the call. Kye-sang treats the sickly woman and sees that her refrigerator is empty, so he makes an excuse to step outside so he can buy her some food, as though he’s not perfect enough already.
Meanwhile, Ji-won stays and reads for the grandma, who gives her a lollipop in thanks, and even entertains her with a song and dance. Kye-sang is touched when he returns and sees grandma enjoying Ji-won’s company, and tells her at the end of the day that she did very well.
Jin-hee decides that she wouldn’t be mooching if everything she uses is part of the household’s waste. For instance, she only eats leftovers that the others mean to throw away, and insists that apple peel is tastier than the fruit. Appalled, Ha-sun tries to insist Jin-hee doesn’t have to go this far, but this is the only way Jin-hee can justify her life to herself.
Julien jokes that she’s Hybrid Jin-hee — small and fuel-efficient, like the car. Jin-hee goes overboard with the frugality, even whipping up a song, rapper-style, about the merits of thrift. HA.
Kye-sang gets an emergency call about the grandmother, who has collapsed, and rushes to bring her to his old hospital. Ji-won, who’s with him at the time, accompanies him as they wait for her to come out of surgery. Kye-sang watches surgery from inside the OR, so caught up in his worry that he ignores his former colleagues.
Ji-won overhears those same colleagues when they come out into the stairwell to chat, and learns all about Kye-sang’s history at this hospital. He used to be a successful surgeon here, but he’d insisted on performing surgery — which had been cancelled by a superior — on a poor woman. Juck had warned him against it, but helped him along and joined him in quitting after the shit hit the fan for his insubordination.
Ji-won holds her breath for the answer when one colleague wonders whatever happened to that woman Kye-sang lost his job over, and breathes a sigh at the answer: “She lived.”
When Kye-sang steps out of the operating area, Ji-won reads his dejected body language as he sits next to her, then shakes with silent sobs. She’s quite affected by the death as well, since she’d had a moment of bonding with the grandma, and decides she wants to shoot her rocket after all.
Ji-won tapes the grandma’s lollipop to the side of the rocket, and Kye-sang tells her that the light given off by stars is actually incredibly old, meaning that the stars may not even be around anymore. But that light is like the experience of having dead loved ones: Even though they’re not here physically, their presence is still felt.
As the rocket flies into the sky:
Ji-won: “Grandma’s lollipop flew into the night sky in seconds. Like that grandmother and my parents, Ajusshi and I will disappear in a brief flash. Sometimes life seems like a mirage. Compared to the eternal universe, we live such fleeting lives, and it makes me want to tell the universe that I lived. But just as those stars that died millions of years ago become light for us, perhaps our short lives can become a comfort to someone else, many years later.”
EPISODE 25
Ji-won meets Kye-sang fixing a broken lantern in the passageway connecting the two households. There they discover an inscription scrawled on the wall: “I hate Gong San-dong,” and entertain some notions about its origins. A scorned lover? Or an unfortunate man named San-dong? (The name can also be translated to ‘Communist.’)
Ji-won remarks that the author would be insulted to be remembered with their absurd guesses, but Kye-sang wonders if that’s better than becoming a forgotten memory in the past.
He fixes the lantern, but Ji-won falls and injures her ankle. He leaves to fetch a first-aid kit, and Ji-won asks in a worried voice if he’ll be back quickly. The dark encapsulated space triggers her fears of abandonment and drifts asleep. Ji-won dreams about a Japanese invasion in the 16th century, where a man promised to return to an injured woman, but he was shot by an imperial guard and she died waiting for him.
She awakes to find herself fully mended by Kye-sang. She wonders if the tunnel dates back further than the Korean War and if people in the future will remember who they are, to which Kye-sang replies, “Someone will.”
Meanwhile, Ji-seok has the most fortuitous day – he catches the bus in the nick of time, and scores a pair of gift certificates to an expensive restaurant. Ha-sun dreamily marvels at his good luck, and he bucks up the courage to ask her to accompany him, to which she agrees. Finally, a date!
His good fortune is in stark contrast to Young-wook who misses his exam after eating some rotten food and gets a harsh reply (sent by Jin-hee) from Ha-sun to his text o’ misery. He curses Fate at his rotten luck, “Can it get any worse?” and it suddenly downpours. Yes, it can always get worse.
Ji-seok’s lucky streak continues when he runs late to meet Ha-sun that evening. He hesitates, however, when he spots a florist vendor about to close up shop. So he decides that today is the day he’ll confess his feelings, running to buy a bouquet…at the same time Young-wook chases down a pick-pocket in the opposite direction.
You know what they say that love is about timing. Ji-seok arrives at the riverfront, surprised to see the place swarmed by paramedics. The crowd murmurs about two folks who fell into the river and how the man saved the young lady. It’s Ha-sun and Young-wook, being taken away by ambulances, Ji-seok one step behind them.
Back in the passageway, Ji-won scribbles her own mark of history on the wall and covers it with the bandage Kye-sang used to mend her.
EPISODE 26
At the hospital, Young-wook survives from the near-drowning experience. His worried mother rushes into the ER, and he assures her that he’s okay; all that matters is that he saved Ha-sun, calling her his “life’s vitamin.” Aw okay, that’s cute.
Ji-seok hurries into the ER to check on Ha-sun and Young-wook’s mom notes that his ‘vitamin’ already has a boyfriend, to which both parties vehemently deny. The other patients and nursing staff suggest that Young-wook and Ha-sun would make a cute couple, and man-child Ji-seok takes out his frustration on the bouquet.
Nae-sang decides to go to the sauna and runs into ex-BFF Julien. He convinces noobie Julien into scrubbing his back (It might sound gross, but it’s an act of closeness, usually reserved between family and good friends). Julien scrubs carefully at first, wary about hurting his friend, but with Nae-sang’s nagging encouragement that it’s too soft, he rubs harder.
But at home, his wife tells Nae-sang that his back is bleeding and he flips his lid, running to Kye-sang to take a look. Seung-yoon wonders why he’s so sensitive about a little blood and we flashback to when Nae-sang was young and his over-reactive parents would usher him to bed at the mere sight of a nosebleed.
He calls to confirm with Julien who says he bled a teeny bit and Nae-sang construes his answer as sadistic and trains to get revenge, exercising his arms and buying the scratchiest scrubber.
Poor Ji-seok wallows at the headlines concerning Ha-sun and Young-wook, and even the teaching staff encourages them to date. He’s glum for the rest of the day and asks after Ha-sun to Jin-hee. He smiles when she reassures him that women aren’t easily swayed by popular opinion and there’s no way those two will get together.
However, when he arrives to school, the principal enthusiastically puts him to work – blowing balloons and hanging a banner in the auditorium. It’s too bad Ji-seok is too dense to put the pieces together.
Meanwhile, Nae-sang invites Julien for another sauna date, this time determined with bloodthirsty eyes of revenge. Innocent Julien mentions that he’s curious about what it’ll feel like and Nae-sang answers that it’s ‘refreshing,’ and proceeds to scrub and scrub.
During the school assembly, Ji-seok mentions to Ha-sun about the principal’s strange requests, when the lights turn off and the spotlight shines on Ha-sun. The doors open and Young-wook slowly staggers in, bouquet with hand, dragging an IV next to him. He serenades her (and starts hacking halfway through) with an ostentatious banner completing his proposal. The crowd cheer and shout, and good-natured Ha-sun reluctantly accepts the bouquet, along with Young-wook’s heart.
But at home, both Ha-sun and Ji-seok fume, rolling around on their respective beds, infuriated at the entire situation.
EPISODE 27
After another brush with the debtors, Yoo-sun grows tiresome of living in constant fear. She heads out to the market and on her way back, she encounters a mysterious man riding on his bike (cameo by songwriter/singer Jung Jae-hyung) who sweeps her off her feet with his charm.
They sit and chat over a cup of coffee, and he shares that he’s a songwriter along with his love for Edith Piaf. Yoo-sun is captivated by his sophisticated laughter: covering his mouth with a delicate ‘Oho,’ so unlike any of the men in her life.
The Ahn siblings’ rivalry continues in full force both at school and at home with the motto: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Jong-seok mistakenly kicks a desk into Soo-jung’s stomach at school and she vows to get even, yunno, by kicking him in the nuts. Their uncle advises her against it, since it could lead to serious health concerns (like not being able to have kids). Hey Doc, I think that also applies for injuring a woman’s uterus too. Just sayin’.
After coffee, Mr. Charming invites Yoo-sun to listen to music at his studio, not willing to part so soon. She hesitates for a moment, but receives a call from Nae-sang, nagging that he’s hungry. She declines the offer and turns to leave, but he quickly jots down his number, telling her to call him anytime she’d like to come visit.
Later that evening, she daydreams on what-could’ve-been: they might have listened to more Edith Piaf at his studio; she would have been led to tears by his original music, and ended up in a passionate embrace. She quickly snaps out of it and lets the number, along with her fleeting encounter, blow away with the wind.
Soo-jung falls ill, leaving her unable to move and Jong-seok breathes a sigh of relief. But it doesn’t stop her from crawling around the house, still trying to punch him. So Seung-yoon gives him a sports cup to protect his nether region since he sees how determined Soo-jung is to get revenge.
The ruffians pay another visit to the house and Yoo-sun hides under the sink. But she recognizes a familiar voice and yep, the mysterious musician is one of the thugs sent after her family. He laughs the same ‘Oho’ but now it rings with lackluster idealism. When they’re chased out, she crumples to the floor, her romanticized affection shattered into pieces.
Whenever Soo-jung tries to attack her brother, he’s protected and it doesn’t affect him. He takes it off some time later, assured that Soo-jung’s given up by now, but as soon as he walks out, she shoots him where the sun doesn’t shine with a smug smile on her face.
EPISODE 28
Kye-sang runs into Jin-hee on her way home and offers to treat her to dinner with the money from the photo shoot.
At school, Ha-sun gets scolded by her boss about her boring teaching style, adding that the students’ interest is a reflection of a teacher’s capability. Pfft. She simply bows her head apologetically and Ji-seok looks on, unable to intervene.
A new teacher arrives and she gets the entire office rolling in laughter as soon as she opens her mouth. Even the students find her enjoyable and Ha-sun catches a glimpse of her lively classroom.
It’s then Ji-seok drops by to encourage her: a fun class doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any better, and everyone has their own teaching styles. But Ha-sun overhears some students talk about how entertaining their new class is. So Ha-sun comes in early to draw up new lesson plans.
Jin-hee drops by to deliver Kye-sang’s portrait and gets invited to see him at the clinic the next day. She observes his gentle demeanor with his patients and blushes a fierce red when it’s her turn. He worries if she’s coming down with something (and she gets redder) and flashes his trademark smile.
But before she can hop on a train to Dreamy Kye-sang Land, she runs into him on her way to buy some beer. He says that it doesn’t suit her because she looks so young that he mistook her for being younger than Soo-jung. She’s clearly offended by the frank, offhand remark and miffed for looking like a child in Kye-sang’s eyes.
Ha-sun’s revised attempts in the classroom fall flat, and the new teacher says in a lofty tone that kids have such short attention spans nowadays. It’s enough for her to finally snap and she spends the rest of the night researching comedy until she settles on someone to imitate.
Jin-hee dolls up for dinner and bats her eyelashes towards Kye-sang who tells her that he’s wants to take care of her – like a niece. So she tries harder, moving closer to him until an ahjumma moves behind her… and out pops a bra pad. To make it worse, it catches fire and Kye-sang picks it up with his tongs. AHAHAHA!
She’s too embarrassed to face him, hiding anywhere she can, even (literally) hiding in a mousehole, where the paramedics have to drill her out.
Meanwhile, everyone soon finds out that Ha-sun plans to enact ‘Crazy Cow’ (a sketch from a Korean comedy show ‘Gag Concert’) and try to convince her not to go through with it. Determined Ha-sun thinks that they’re worried she can’t do it and declares that she must. So she gears up, getting a thumbs up from the new teacher, and greets her class, fully clad Crazy Cow Ha-sun.
EPISODE 29
The teachers head out to lunch when Young-wook arrives to go on a lunch date with Ha-sun. Ji-seok mutters that she promised to eat with them first, but she leaves when the others give her the okay.
His spirits lift the next day when she talks to him about the previous baseball game, saying that their team has to even the score so the series can continue to Game 7. Ji-seok tentatively asks if she remembers that she’d promised to watch that game together and she jokes if he had someone else in mind. He brightens up when she says of course she’ll watch it with him.
Nae-sang discovers a white dress and a long wig and pokes some fun with the rest of the family, scaring them at any opportunity. They’re all unamused, thinking Nae-sang childish, and poor Seung-yoon literally collapses with fear.
But no reaction is quite like Kye-sang’s, who doesn’t even flinch when Nae-sang tries to scare him. He explains that 1) it’s too bright for a ghost to appear 2) why are they all dressed in white with long hair and 3) he’s too disheveled for a ghost, even if they existed. Yeah, you tell that to Sadako and see how you fare.
Kye-sang adds that it’ll be tough to scare him. Nae-sang takes him up on that challenge and buys up costume gear to scare his brother-in-law, much to Yoo-sun’s dismay. Kye-sang even catches him while he prepares with that same smile.
Ji-seok buys Game 7 tickets as soon as it’s available and shows Ha-sun with glee, like a kid showing off an A. But she receives a call from Young-wook about attending a movie together, and it tugs on her guilt strings.
So she tells a disappointed Ji-seok that she has to cancel. Ji-seok could take anyone else to the game, but Young-wook only has her… because she’s his girlfriend. Oh man, you can almost hear his heart crack.
Ji-seok responds that she made a promise with him first, so he’ll wait for her at the stadium and tells her to keep that promise. Aww.
On the other side of town, Kye-sang walks around the neighborhood and hears a strange rustling noise around the bend. So he takes a look and in terror, “B-b-bear! …is what you thought I’d say, huh?” and gives a lecture to the hairy monster in front of him, thinking it’s Nae-sang.
The Ahn family watches the news at home and they hear about an escaped bear from the zoo…and we cut back to Kye-sang lecturing the bear, oohing over how real his costume looks. He gets swiped by the bear and is headed to the ER.
Ha-sun and Young-wook stroll on the street after their movie date and she spots a TV on the display – her team won the series. She smiles half-heartedly, and says Ji-seok must be ecstatic.
EPISODE 30
I greatly enjoy that Kye-sang goes around this episode wearing a head wrap, reminding us of his bear encounter from the previous episode. Despite Jin-hee running out on him in mortification over the whole my-bra-pad-caught-fire-on-the-barbecue-grill incident, he tells her not to be embarrassed, referencing his own bear-wrought humiliation. There’s another clinic intern test coming up, and he wishes her luck on it.
Nae-sang drops by the neighbors’ house to borrow some green onion for the wife, and takes a few beers from the fridge while he’s at it. So Julien teases Jin-hee about drinking her afternoon away when he finds that he’s missing some cans, and she gets defensive. They belatedly realize Nae-sang must’ve taken the beers when he came by, which leaves Jin-hee fuming at getting blamed for his rudeness.
Ji-won drops by to see the boys watching The King and the Clown, which leads to a discussion of whether the actors actually performed the stunts or whether they were all camera tricks and body doubles. Jong-seok is skeptical while Ji-won argues that those acrobatics can be learned, which ends in a bet: Ji-won will prove she can learn how to walk the tightrope.
At stake? If she loses, she’ll give Jong-seok her scooter. But if she wins… he has to dress up like Madonna, circa “Open Your Heart,” black teddy and all. He’s confident he’ll win the bike, scoffing when Ji-won practices and can barely manage a few steps without falling.
However, Ji-won sticks to it and even sets up her own tightrope to practice on, and goes around mouthing “Madonna” to Jong-seok at every opportunity. The boys watch her improving, and Seung-yoon thinks she just might pull it off, while Jong-seok starts to get nervous.
When Nae-sang drops by again, Jin-hee gets argumentative about the beer and insists on searching Nae-sang to see if he’s making off with any other household items. He gets offended and enacts a new Ahn/Yoon family policy.
The result? A customs checkpoint, where he interviews everyone passing through like an immigration officer. He lets Ha-sun through, but Julien — who has given his pinkeye to Ji-seok — gets sprayed first before being allowed through. Jin-hee gets a more thorough interrogation, and she, unlike her good-natured housemates, finds this whole exercise pointless and calls Nae-sang on it. The breaking point comes when she argues that technically, this isn’t even his house — it’s Kye-sang’s. Denied!
Meanwhile, Ha-sun checks with Ji-seok to make sure he didn’t wait for her at the baseball game, feeling guilty for ditching him to meet Young-wook in the previous episode. Awkwardly, he assures her that he saw the game with a different friend, relieving her worries. Aw. Poor puppy.
Barred from entry to the Ahn/Yoon home, Jin-hee has to face the prospect of missing out on an invitation to dinner, with her favorite crab soup on the menu. Her housemates encourage Jin-hee to just play along with Nae-sang’s little power trip and fill out the “customs application,” which she does, grumbling all the while.
Ji-won steadily practices her tightrope walking and calls Jong-seok out when she’s finally ready. Jong-seok sweats bullets as he watches her not only walk, but jump and bounce confidently on the line, realizing that he’s going to have to make good on the Madonna impersonation.
Horrified, Jong-seok runs away and camps out at a PC room instead, worrying his family until finally Ji-won sends him an email telling him she’ll forfeit her prize if he comes home. He cries in relief, and maybe a little shame.
EPISODE 31
Ji-seok, still bummed that Ha-sun is dating Young-wook because he was too slow to make his move, is not his usual boisterous self and has to pep-talk himself into acting cool around her. Sadly, the reverse is the case and he’s either tripping over things or overcompensating by teasing her, reverting to childish boy tactics. For instance, barking suddenly to scare her, which she finds mean since he’s well aware of her fear of dogs.
His lovelorn situation is mirrored in a boy he runs into at the neighborhood playground, who pesters a girl because he doesn’t know how to express that he likes her. Ji-seok urges him to confess like a man, but can’t quite follow his own advice.
Nae-sang catches wind of a contest being held with a cash prize that makes the wheels turn in his head. It’s a singing contest only open to foreigners, so he eyes his “best friend” Julien with greed.
Nae-sang assumes role of coach, bulldozing over Julien’s protests — and, naturally, keeping all mention of prize money to himself. Merely saying that he’s helping Julien “make memories,” he insists on a memorable selection, picking a song that’s way too hard by veteran ballad singer Yim Jae-beom.
Meanwhile, Young-wook’s gosiwon-mate tells him that girls don’t like when all their dates are done on the cheap, which worries him since he can’t afford to do anything expensive for Ha-sun. Sighing, he breaks open his piggy bank and invites her out to a nice Italian restaurant, putting on a casual face and urging her to order whatever she likes.
Young-wook pretends to be a frequent guest here, but it becomes clear that he’s in over his head. He tries to order garlic bread for his entree, asks for more soy sauce instead of balsalmic, and thinks the pickle is watermelon. Cringe cringe cringe. I don’t even really like Young-wook and I pity him, while Ha-sun sits uncomfortably, trying to let all his faux pas slide as quietly as possible.
Then he tries to argue his way into a double discount, and comes up short when the restaurant will only allow one. Eeeeek.
Ha-sun can tell he’s overextending his budget, and starts feeling burdened, especially when it seems like he’s about to give her a present on top of this. At home, the girls tell Ha-sun to stop dating him if this stresses her out so much, but she feels indebted to him for saving her life. Even if it’s clear that she doesn’t enjoy being with him, and is meeting him out of guilt more than anything.
At Nae-sang’s insistence, Julien takes the stage at the singing contest, reluctantly decked out in a full-on hanbok so as to “stand out” among the ordinary folk. I enjoy that he’s even got his hair in the sangtu topknot, although his is really just a curly ponytail.
Julien is, however, sadly tonedeaf. He even does the dramatic talking portion at the end that Yim Jae-beom does, only he forgets the words and has to be fed lines by Stage Mom Nae-sang, and ends up mishearing.
Not surprisingly, Julien does not win. However, his appearance does attract the interest of a music producer, who thinks there’s a market out there capitalizing on the novelty of an American guy singing trot, and Nae-sang strong-arms Julien into recording an album. Let’s just hope they’ve got the most powerful autotune on the planet, if they want to turn that sucker into music.
Young-woo’s gift to Ha-sun turns out to be a handmade necklace with a paper clip heart. He apologizes for only being able to afford a small token and promises to swap it out for jewels later, but Ha-sun hurriedly accepts, preferring the small gesture to one that would add to her guilty conscience.
Ji-seok happens by the cafe and reminds himself to act cool around them, but ends up overcompensating again and teases them for dating. It’s telling that before his childish antics kick in, Ha-sun brightens and smiles to see Ji-seok, but his weirdness sends them hurrying away.
That night, he runs into her on their way home, and teases her again about going on a date, and pesters her about kissing Young-wook. Harassed, she finally bursts out, “Yes, we kissed! So what?” Aww, there goes Ji-seok’s heart, cracking in half.
He finds the boy on the playground again, who is still harassing the girl. Ji-seok tells the boy to confess his feelings, his anger at his own behavior spilling out as he insists that his behavior is only going to push the girl farther away. Breaking down, he demands of himself, “Why can’t you just be cool?”
And Julien’s trot album, thankfully for all involved, tanks.
EPISODE 32
Seung-yoon brings sweets from his hometown and shares them with the family, but when Nae-sang joins them late, they’re all gone. In keeping with his tendency to blow things out of proportion. Nae-sang has a mini tantrum about people lacking courtesy and not bothering to count him in, while everyone tries to tell him he’s overreacting.
Ji-seok, however, has had a crap day at work — more frustration over the Ha-sun relationship — and loses his temper faster than usual. He calls out his brother-in-law for always making everything difficult, and that they’ve all done their best to cater to him. For once the words get through, and Nae-sang hears the truth in them. Head hanging, he retreats to his room and sinks into a depression.
Ha-sun has an allergic reaction to the cheap metal necklace Young-wook got her, but she feels it would be impolite to take it off and deals with a rash. At Ji-seok’s urging, she at least takes it off so she can teach, and he gives in to his fit of anger on her behalf for putting up with such a bad boyfriend. He throws the necklace out the window and feigns ignorance when Ha-sun freaks out to find it gone.
Worried of hurting Young-wook’s feelings, Ha-sun pulls on a heavy scarf during dinner to cover her neck, but he sees anyway and she admits that it was only today that she didn’t wear it. Young-wook glumly tells her that he understands, berating himself for giving her such a cheap present and then for guilting her into wearing it. As a result, she feels even guiltier.
With Nae-sang deep into his gloom, Kye-sang invites the family out to a nice dinner, but it’s awkward nonetheless because Nae-sang assumes the pose of a meek, apologetic freeloader. He doesn’t want to pick the menu, and when the dinner is over, the waitress hands him the bill, assuming he’s the one paying. With shame, Nae-sang hands the bill over to Kye-sang instead. Everybody feels uneasy at his change, but it’s Soo-jung who feels for her dad most keenly.
The loss of confidence triggers yet more crumbling of Nae-sang’s pride, and he gives up his head at the table to Kye-sang and even reverts to jondaemal with him.
Ha-sun continues looking for the necklace, making Ji-seok wonder why she cares so much about such a cheap trinket. Ha-sun counters that it may have cost little, but was made with a lot of care. Feeling guilty, Ji-seok heads outside to find the necklace where he threw it, only to find that the wire heart has been scratched.
So Ji-seok stays up all night trying to twist new wire hearts — aw, I like the symbolism of that — and now he understands what Ha-sun meant about the present being thoughtful and sincere.
He places the necklace where she can find it, and she perks up immediately. She’s especially pleased to find that the necklace no longer makes her itch, figuring that her skin has gotten used to the metal. Little does she know that Ji-seok had gone out and swapped the chain for an identical one made of gold. Which, awww. That makes my heart pinch a little.
The family tries to urge Nae-sang back to his old self, but he’s so far sunk into his depression that he remains unresponsive. Kye-sang makes him take back his seat at the table, which Soo-jung imagines as a frail king taking the throne.
Seeing Dad slumped over makes her heart hurt and there’s nothing Soo-jung can do, so she envelops him in a hug and tells him, “You know you’re the best dad to me, right?”
Ji-seok still doesn’t like Young-wook but now he understands him a bit better, so he grudgingly offers him a ride home when he spots Young-wook walking home. He sees Young-wook’s gift box and wonders if he’s giving Ha-sun another gift. Sure enough, Young-wook is in the process of engraving Ha-sun’s name onto a grain of rice, and Ji-seok bursts out that a gift like that is gonna be impossible to replace, HA. And wouldn’t you know it, he hits a speedbump and the rice grain goes flying. Oops.
EPISODE 33
At school, Ha-sun hands Ji-seok a wedding invitation, and he freaks out thinking she’s marrying Young-wook. It’s for another teacher, the ex-boyfriend of prickly English teacher Ji-sun, but she assures them all she’s totally fine with it.
The annual college entrance exam is approaching, and Ha-sun takes on monitoring duties. While on the empty third floor, she hears a ghostly sound that sends her running, spooked. Ji-won tells her of the school’s ghost — a top student screwed up her exam and fell from the third floor — which reportedly appears every year around college exam time.
With only a few days till the test, the entire Yoon/Ahn clan is in Help Jong-seok Prepare mode, which is incredibly sweet. Nobody questions the need for anything — if Jong-seok needs something, they’re on it. Even Soo-jung gives up her attic room temporarily, knowing how important the test is.
Jong-seok, on the other hand, wasn’t even aware of the exam until all the fuss (he concedes that his poor marks in school are deserved), and while he doesn’t manipulate anyone for favors, he sure enjoys all the special treatment. Younger classmates shower him with encouragement snacks and gifts, and his parents are tied up in knots in anticipation.
However, Jong-seok doesn’t bother to study and just plays games with Seung-yoon, right up to the exam day. The morning of the exam, the whole family mobilizes to get Jong-seok to school early, with a special lunched packed by Mom. The entire country is aflutter with nerves over the exam, but Jong-seok is wholly unperturbed.
Until, however, the exam begins and the reality sinks in. Going through all the questions one by one, he realizes he doesn’t even know how to start answering them, and the look on his face is heartbreaking. Everyone works steadily at their answers, but finally Jong-seok just puts his head down and gives up.
At lunchtime, Jong-seok slips out and finds Seung-yoon — who is, adorably, praying for him at the gates along with all the ajummas — and tells him that the test is a foregone conclusion. Might as well quit here instead of sticking around all day for the same result. So while Mom and Dad struggle to get down their lunch in an anxious fit, Jong-seok heads off to play pool.
When he comes home that night, everybody has agreed not to pester him about how he did, and just tell him, “Good job” and “Congratulations.” But it’s that show of unconditional support that weighs on him, and he goes to bed with a heavy heart.
Meanwhile, Ha-sun has been freaking out about the ghost, having encountered the female wailing several more times. Ji-seok teaches her a song to ward off the ghost, and although it seems silly to be chanting a Marines song, she gamely gives it a try… and then freaks out anyway, running in terror.
The night the exams are over, Ji-seok joins Ha-sun to help her close up the third floor. But this time it’s Ji-seok who hears the ghost while Ha-sun steps away, and he tremulously sings the Marines song while creeping toward the sound…
…which turns out to be Ji-sun sobbing in an empty room, NOT so okay with her ex-boyfriend marrying after all. She knocks Ji-seok over and out, then dashes away unseen. When Ha-sun finds him there, they huddle together in the dark, singing the ditty, trying to get a grip on their nerves. HA.
That night Nae-sang comes to talk to Jong-seok, who turns his head away out of guilt. Dad tells him gently that he did good today — that he blames himself for Jong-seok not being a good student. Nae-sang sighs that there were a lot of things in his life that he regrets, and looking back, he sees that he hadn’t tried his best. Frankly he had thought Jong-seok wouldn’t go to the exam site today, figuring that failure was imminent.
However, just seeing him take the test and give it his best shot makes Nae-sang proud. Jong-seok listens feeling shamed, tears pooling in his eyes.
And the next day, he works up the nerve to approach Ji-won, swallows his pride…and asks her to teach him how to study.
EPISODE 34
Nae-sang decides it’s time to pull himself up by the bootstraps and try to earn some money again. He overhears the Yoon brothers talking about money, with Ji-seok urging Kye-sang to think of himself for once and buy the computer he needs. If he just asked his in-laws to contribute to the household living expenses, that would help.
So Nae-sang gathers the family together for a meeting and declares that the Ahn family will earn their own living expenses from now on. Because of the debt collectors, Nae-sang needs to work from home, and the only thing available is the extremely low-paying job of gluing teddy bear eyes on, which pay a whopping penny per doll. The kids are exempt from earning money but they pitch in until they can’t glue anymore, and Nae-sang realizes that they’ll never earn decent money this way.
He’s determined to leave the house to work, although Yoo-sun’s more worried about him getting caught and tells him she’ll do the working. A friend has found a decent-paying gig for her, so she sneaks out at night to avoid the suspicious lurkers in the neighborhood.
Ji-won spies Kye-sang in his peculiar thinking mode and wonders at it, trying it herself. When he asks her opinion of a painting he was given by a friend, she says it resembles a piece of cloth, and he says that’s why he likes it. He doesn’t have a particular explanation for why he likes pieces of cloth, but says they make him feel at ease.
Ji-won’s still curious the next day, so she asks Yoo-sun about it. Yoo-sun shares a funny story about Kye-sang once getting drunk in college, seeing a woman with a shawl, and charging it like a bull at a matador. Apparently this is Kye-sang’s drinking habit, and Yoo-sun laughs to recall instances when he’d even charge her laundry basket.
Ji-won wonders at the origin of his liking for cloth, and Yoo-sun’s smile fades a bit as she explains that their mother died when Kye-sang was still very young. There was a blanket she’d made for him that he treasured for a long time after her death, which got lost in a move. Yoo-sun tells the story lightly, but Ji-won is affected by the story and mulls it over, finally pulling out a craft kit to begin a project of her own.
Nae-sang can’t go out in broad daylight to work, so he enlists Seung-yoon’s and disguises himself as a grandma, and finds to his pleasure that people tend to be nice to grandmas, like letting him get on the bus despite a lack of fare, or giving up seats for him.
At the employment office, he asks for any work possible and gets assigned to a construction crew (after explaining, of course, that he’s not a frail grandma). It’s backbreaking labor, but he hauls bricks without complaint — though he attracts lots of strange looks, still dressed in his grannywear — and continues over the next few days.
Meanwhile, Yoo-sun also continues her job washing dishes at a busy restaurant, which is exhausting as well. She takes the bus home after a long night of washing, fatigued, and ignores the strange grandma who hovers over her seat.
It’s Nae-sang, of course, who has seen his wife on the bus and sidled over, teasing her by pretending to be a tired grandma dropping hints about wanting her seat. Yoo-sun finally relinquishes the seat, but laughs when she realizes who it is.
They fall asleep side by side on the bus ride home, and when Nae-sang wakes he finds Yoo-sun so tired he just carries her off the bus on his back — again, earning some quizzical looks from bystanders.
He piggybacks her all the way home, and Yoo-sun tiredly tells him she can walk, but he insists on carrying her. He asks what kind of work she did, and she downplays her fatigue to say it was nothing much. She asks the same of him, and he returns the same answer. Agh, that’s the kind of sweetness that brings tears to my eyes.
Kye-sang comes home to find a box from Ji-won. The sight brings a smile to his face, and when he finally gets online to decide whether or not to buy that computer, he refers to Ji-won’s present to help him through it. The embroidery reads: “Thinking in Progress.”
EPISODE 35
At school, Teacher Ji-sun overhears a curious exchange between Julien and Ha-sun when the latter returns an item he left in her room. Another red flag goes up when she runs into Ha-sun that evening near a neighborhood cobbler, with Julien’s shoes in hand. Flustered, Ha-sun lies that they’re her father’s and slips away.
But the pieces don’t quite match up in Ji-sun’s head: Ha-sun’s father was fairly short, Julien mentioned he needed his shoes fixed, and they talked about being careful not to get caught… Eureka! Something is definitely strange between the two. She warns Ha-sun, “Laugh while you can…” and vows to solve the puzzle between Ha-sun and Julien.
After a foiled plan to follow the two inconspicuously home, she calls out the vice-principal to disclose the scandalous news. He’s uncertain but they head over to investigate and meet Ha-sun in the street, with the pretense of inviting themselves over for tea.
Ha-sun sends an emergency text to Julien and barely has enough time to stuff the grown man into an empty box. Acting on her hunch, Investigator Ji-sun calls Julien over to visit, and scours the place for possible clues. Ha-sun is a frozen awkward wreck distracting her guests while Julien slips away underneath the tunnel.
The house tour in every nook and cranny creates more suspicion as they explore upstairs (to Ha-sun’s frantic screams) and open a spare room only to find Ji-won in it. The room is empty of any telling evidence and as Ji-won tosses a picture out the window; we see all of Julien’s things are hanging off of a tree. Hehe.
Julien comes over, feigning ignorance about visiting for the first time. The vice-principal concludes the claims are unfounded but just as they get up to leave, a slip from Julien is enough for her to drop the bomb – They’re living together, aren’t they?
Ji-sun then begins her cross-examination: How did Julien know which door was the bathroom if they all look the same? (He says this room has a foul odor) What about the dictionary left upstairs with the initials J.K.? (Ji-won claims it’s hers which stands for, ‘Ji-won Kim’) Fine, then what about the shoes – Ha-sun said her father was short but they fit Julien’s feet perfectly! Can she produce pictorial evidence contrary to this fact? (Nothing a little Photoshop can’t fix!)
In a last ditch effort, she gives one more test – the banchan tastes just like how Julien makes it, and refuses to believe that Ji-won made it herself, telling her to reproduce it at once. So she does, and Ji-sun tastes, “There’s no way that it can be… the same.” and continues to stuff more into her mouth in complete disbelief.
It’s a close call, and in an empty classroom the next day, Ha-sun and Julien agree to be more careful about talking about their living situation in public. Once they leave the curtain draws open to reveal another eavesdropper.
EPISODE 36
Nature calls for Jin-hee and before she can do her business, she gets interrupted by Kye-sang who wishes her well for the upcoming clinic intern test, hoping she doesn’t cheat this time, with a smile.
Jin-hee is more focused and determined than ever, studying throughout all hours of the day and night. After another all-nighter, she cocks her head and mistakes a runny nose for a nosebleed, and (literally) crams the information into her head.
Meanwhile, Soo-jung’s relationship with Ji-won is still strained and both girls envy the other, with Ji-won’s independence and modest wealth and Soo-jung’s close relationship with Nae-sang.
So our narrator, Lee Juck, wonders what if they traded places: Soo-jung would twist the playful smile from their first meeting as a romantic overture by Kye-sang (which is still Ew although it’s a fantasy) and throw parties at her house, while Ji-won would spend every waking moment with Nae-sang, even participating in his Living Room Olympics. Aw.
It’s exam day, Kye-sang is the proctor yet again, and he looks in Jin-hee’s direction when he mentions the consequences of cheating, much to her annoyance. She works through the test, but draws a blank at the last question. The temptation to glance at another examinee’s test is great… but she stops herself and racks her brain for the answer. It finally comes to her and she whispers it aloud in delight, almost catching Kye-sang’s attention before jotting it down.
At school, the fantasy continues about the girls at school. They’d both ditch class – Soo-jung would hop on a scooter back to LA and Ji-won would excuse herself to greet Nae-sang. Lee Juck poetically narrates that humans will wonder about the road not taken, but that some things are left within the imagination. We’re snapped back to reality, and the girls take a long moment in the hallway, perhaps with a distant longing of each other’s lives.
Jin-hee is jumpy for the rest of the day, nervously awaiting the test results. She wants to be able to give her part in the household, and Ha-sun sweetly reassures her that thanks to Hybrid Jin-hee, they’ve been saving money. Jin-hee can barely eat anything, thumping her chest to relieve her nervousness and Julien worries that she might faint if she doesn’t eat up.
She decides to get some fresh air and runs into Kye-sang who’s eager to share the test results. He smiles, which makes her more nervous. As he tells her, her anxiety rises to the surface and everything goes blurry…
She wakes to an IV drip and Kye-sang tells her that the all-nighters and skipped meals contributed to her fainting episode. She cautiously asks about her test results, tears brimming in her eyes. He smiles and says, “You fail—”and she breaks down, that she’d hoped she’d passed. But he says with a laugh that she didn’t fail, but passed.
Jin-hee loses it and gives him several deserved hits with her pillow, saying that he shouldn’t kid about something she gave her all to, and how his smile is the cause of so much anxiety. He stops, realizing the gravity of his mistake and sincerely apologizes, telling her a job well done.
EPISODE 37
Jin-hee’s first day at the clinic starts off great, but takes a downward turn after she accidentally breaks one of Kye-sang’s treasured antiques. Being the good-natured person he is, he brushes off the incident, making sure Jin-hee is warmly welcomed to the clinic.
The rest of the day isn’t any better as she mixes up the lunch order, pouring jjam-pong (a seafood noodle soup) over the tang-soo-yook (deep-fried beef/pork). The nurses gripe at her about being so careless, but Kye-sang happily digs in, calling it ‘surf-and-turf’.
Jong-seok continues his private tutor lessons after school, and Ji-won drills him on proverbs. She jokes that they’ll have to review middle school material, maybe even grade school when he doesn’t answer an easier one and looks away. She takes silent note of his reaction. Jong-seok receives a text message sent to ’Ice Prince Jong-seok,’ the name of his fan club back when he was a hockey player. When they arrive home, he mumbles out a “Thanks” to Ji-won.
The ‘Ice Prince’ fan club swarm him the next day at school. However, their initial excitement turns into fury when they learn that the rumors are true: not only has their star player has been demoted a year, he’s last in his class. They declare an immediate disbandment of the Ice Prince fan club, throwing out their posters and gifts in the trash. Jong-seok hangs his head low, silent.
Still defeated from the fan club outburst, he wonders aloud in the middle of their tutoring session, “You must think I’m an idiot too, huh?” and walks out. Ji-won recovers the gifts in the trash, looking at Jong-seok’s pictures from his former days of glory.
After another brutal day at the clinic, Kye-sang takes his staff out that night to lift Jin-hee’s spirits. They head over to karaoke and Jin-hee encourages Kye-sang to sing. He chooses, “You Inside My Dim Memory” (A song he saw Jin-hee dance to at the clinic, and practiced by himself). He starts off okay, but Jin-hee suddenly skips to a faster part and he has trouble keeping in beat for the remainder of the tune.
Jin-hee notices his crestfallen expression and asks him if she’d done anything wrong at the end of the evening. He tries to shrug it off, giving her an awkward smile, but it doesn’t fool her. He spills quickly about the skip and how he’d practiced, and it wasn’t a big deal and runs off in embarrassment.
Ji-won calls Jong-seok outside and he meets her at a skate rink. He’s not amused and turns to leave and Ji-won steps onto the ice anyway, taking a few steps before falling. He berates her, asking why she’d want to skate when she can’t and she matter-of-factly says that she might as well learn. Looks like hockey boy will have to stay to teach her how to skate.
She continues to fall and in his impatience, Jong-seok asks how long he has to support her. She apologizes, “You must think I’m an idiot too, huh?” He scoffs, his own words thrown back at him. Ji-won declares that although she might be a deung-shin (idiot), he’s a bing-shin (dependable, reliant) and marks it as his new fan club name, naming herself as president. It’s sweet and they spend the rest of the evening skating around, having fun.
Some time later, the clinic staff is back at karaoke. Jin-hee insists that Kye-sang sings the Hyun Jin-young song again, whispering that this time she won’t interfere. So he gets up and breaks into dance. Is anyone else getting g.o.d. flashbacks?
EPISODE 38
Jong-seok pulls his sister outside after he finds her begging for change in the classroom. He berates her, upset to see his sister stoop so low. But Soo-jung whines that she needs the spending cash and wonders if she should get a part-time job. He’s not convinced – who would hire such a brat?
But Soo-jung scores a job at a local fast-food joint, and Seung-yoon and Jong-seok drop by to visit. They arrive to see peppy polite Soo-jung happily greeting her customers and Jong-seok smirks, clearly proud of his sister. Seung-yoon’s eyes shimmer, seeing her in a new light.
The teachers notice that tomorrow is Ha-sun’s birthday, and note that her boyfriend will probably have something special planned. But Ha-sun’s phone is oddly silent the next day, and she says Young-wook is studying. Puppy Ji-seok stews that no one would treat Ha-sun on her birthday and contemplates about what to do. He recalls something about a sold-out concert of a famous pianist that Ha-sun loves and he tracks down a pair on an auction site. So begins the bidding war, and the numbers start to climb, 80, 90, past 100, and he comes out the victor. Score!
Now it’s just the matter of duping her to come along, and he practices his fake friend bailout in the bathroom. Ji-seok puts on an awkward dramatic act, fumbling over his words, but it works and Ha-sun bursts in excitement once she sees the tickets. He toys with her that someone else really wanted to go, but Ha-sun pulls out all the stops: we’re friends, we live next door, it’s my birthday…
Ji-seok smiles and says he’ll just have to take Ha-sun instead, who squeals in delight. Commence Victory Dance around town!
When Soo-jung arrives home, Seung-yoon serenades her with a song he’d written about her (puns intended):
Ahn Soo-jung, your smile is cooler than cinnamon
Ahn Soo-jung, your laugh needs no correction, it’s natural born
When you laugh, your teeth sparkle like Krystal
Your Krystal smile is my style
Laugh Soo-jung, Smile Krystal
Your laugh is as beautiful as the cube earth
That laugh bright like Soo-jung
Laugh Soo-jung, Smile Krystal
Soo-jung’s laughter
It’s raining Krystal, my style
Damnit. That is the cutest thing ever. Kang Seung-yoon, where’s mine?
Nae-sang hurts his back from construction work, the injury serious enough to head to the hospital. A concerned and upset Soo-jung who is left behind, mutters “But I have to protect my dad…”
She’s distracted at work, worried, and pesky customer gets in her face when she ignores him, throwing food to her face. This fiasco is caught by Jong-seok, running to come to his sister’s aid in a rage. The customer dismisses him too when he finds out Jong-seok is the oppa and he pelts the guy to the ground in response.
It’s no surprise the incident gets Soo-jung fired, and the two walk back home together. Jong-seok mentions that he doesn’t like seeing his sister pretend to act like someone she’s not and she in turn asks if he’s all right. Aww, the sibling love fire is kindling.
Ji-seok arrives at school to pick up Ha-sun, but he overhears someone singing around the corner. It’s Young-wook, with cake and a gift, wishing her a happy birthday. He explains that he was out of touch because he was earning money to celebrate her birthday properly. Young-wook invites her to dinner, and Ha-sun hesitates for a moment before receiving a call from Ji-seok who bows out.
Later that evening, mopey Ji-seok eats ramyun by himself in a convenience store when Ha-sun walks in. He asks how the concert was and she says they left early because Young-wook fell asleep in the middle. It’s past midnight and he apologizes that he didn’t properly wish her a happy birthday, but perks up when Ha-sun says that actually, today is her real birthday (Her father wrote the wrong date on the legal documents).
They celebrate her birthday in style, with a single cupcake and singing, ‘Happy Birthday’ (but he pauses at the ‘Dear—’ portion hehe). He even pops open a bottle of champagne, and the cork projectiles to hit Ha-sun’s square on the head. Um, oops?
EPISODE 39
At Chez Park/Baek/Kim/Kang, it’s a peaceful morning, eating breakfast in leisure, and Ha-sun gleefully shares that she has a coupon at a seafood buffet restaurant. But those plans quickly turn sour after Ha-sun argues with Ji-won over a previous accident on her scooter, confiscating her keys. Ji-won claims that it’s not dangerous and snaps at Jin-hee when she takes Ha-sun’s side. No seafood buffet after all.
Jin-hee overhears one of Ji-won’s gripes a little later: Ha-sun allowed Jin-hee to live under their roof without her permission and Jin-hee freezes: though she sided with Ha-sun, she admonished the house owner.
So she tries to get in Ji-won’s good graces, mentioning that she’d only pretended to be on Ha-sun’s side… which Ha-sun overhears. Uh oh. Her constant flip-flop between sides only worsens the situation. It only takes a spark to light a forest fire.
Seung-yoon is charmed with Nae-sang’s catchphrase and asks after its origin. Yoo-sun tells him that they were his first words, as well as the words which won her over. That leads to asking after how she and Nae-sang met and their dating life, and she gets interrupted before continuing her story.
Seung-yoon helps around the house, hoping to catch the next chapter of the Ahns’ love story as a reward. She describes their story like one out of a drama: their ‘lovey-dovey’ courtship was filled with cheesy lines (like Nae-sang wanting to put Yoo-sun in his pocket) and a fist-bump greeting, just like father and daughter in present day.
But there were bumps in the road, and Nae-sang ended the relationship prematurely to save her from marrying into a financially broke family. Seung-yoon asks if that’s how it ended and Yoo-sun pointedly says if that was the ending, then her kids wouldn’t have been born.
Seung-yoon has a thought: If Nae-sang’s father went bankcrupt, and Nae-sang did too, then Jong-seok must… and Yoo-sun snaps at him. But before she can give the conclusion, she gets called away yet again.
The kids finally pester Yoo-sun for the conclusion of the love story: Six months after they went their separate ways, they fatefully met at a restaurant Nae-sang was working at, and she was with another man. Because they still loved each other, he asked her to wait for him. A year later, he met her with a bouquet in hand, and they were married a month later.
Yoo-sun discovers an old photo in one of Kye-sang’s photo album and shows her husband. For old time’s sake, they reminisce with a fist-bump greeting, giggling.
Meanwhile, the words ring in Jin-hee’s head: how can she choose between Ji-won and Ha-sun? They literally litter her mind, keeping her up at night until she finally decides.
Her solution is to remain neutral and treat both of them equally with similar compliments, and sitting exactly between them, inching away from one side as necessary. But it doesn’t quite work when both Ha-sun and Ji-sun call for her attention simultaneously, leaving her cross-eyed.
EPISODE 40
The younger generation gathers in the Yoon living room to eat, watching a billiards game on TV. It emerges that Seung-yoon is quite the billiards expert, having logged hundreds of hours of play. Kye-sang counters that merely playing a lot doesn’t automatically mean you’re good, but when he shares his own personal best score, Seung-yoon interjects: “Excuse me. I’m going to laugh at you now.” Ha.
This leads to a bet: Why not pit Kye-sang’s theory against Seung-yoon’s practice? Everyone promptly declares themselves on Team Practice, except Ji-won; Kye-sang adorably asks for her vote by pointing to himself, and she joins Team Theory.
Soo-jung brings home a school uniform that needs to be dry-cleaned, and Yoo-sun is picking it up when she gets a last-minute call to work at a restaurant outside of the city. She goes because it pays double, and on her way back she spots a fallen leaf on the country road. She sighs that it was once pretty but has dried up — like herself.
She accidentally falls down a hillside, getting covered in mud and dirt. With nothing else to wear, she dons Soo-jung’s uniform, and comes upon a boy taking photos of her from a distance. (Jung Il-woo!)
He assumes she’s in high school like himself, and even when he gets a closer look at her he doesn’t realize she’s an ajumma. Il-woo follows her onto the bus, pays her fare (“Two students, please!”) and asks her to eat with him once they’re in Seoul. She treats him with indifference and declines the offer, but he steals her bag to get her to follow.
Yoo-sun can’t believe he’s so persistent, telling Il-woo he’s a student who should focus on studying. He thinks she talks funny (“Just like my mom”), and even wonders if she’s sick with a disease that makes her face wrinkly. HA. He tells her to call him oppa, since he was held back a year due to his health (a heart condition) and assumes he’s older.
For days afterward, Il-woo keeps texting her, which Yoo-sun ignores. The messages ask if she’s playing hard to get and end on a plea to pick up his calls.
Kye-sang studies tactics by the book, explaining to Ji-won that although he doesn’t have Seung-yoon’s experience, billiards is really all about angles and calculations. The group convenes for the pool-off, and Seung-yoon easily kicks butt, almost shutting Kye-sang out entirely. But Kye-sang explains to Ji-won that even with Seung-yoon’s high scores, statistically speaking he’s due to make a few errors, and that’ll be his chance to make his move.
Sure enough, Kye-sang gets his opportunity and calculates the difficult shot, impressing Team Practice with his confidence. He lines up his shot… and totally scratches. HA!
As they walk home, Kye-sang sighs over his near miss, and Ji-won quips that it doesn’t seem so near, actually. He blames it on inadequate chalking of the cue, but by now Ji-won figures that Team Theory is mostly talk. You know what they say: In theory, practice and theory should be the same, but in practice, they’re not.
They encounter a drunk man in the street, who gets belligerent. Kye-sang sizes him up and starts explaining that he can take the guy — the drunkard is bulkier, but Kye-sang’s arms are longer…
Ji-won shuts him up and grabs him, urging him to run away. Heh. Guess Team Practice wins out twice today.
A lovelorn Il-woo can’t shake his feelings for Yoo-sun, and sighs to his mother, “She’s different from other kids.” Hee. So his worried mother calls Yoo-sun out for a talking-to, assuming she’s just a student who looks really old. Yoo-sun finally breaks in to tell her her age, and Mom gasps, “Then you’ve been going to high school for 30 years?” Apple doesn’t fall far from Tree.
Yoo-sun apologizes for the misunderstanding, not guessing Il-woo would take things so seriously, and offers to clear the air with Il-woo. But Mom worries about his weak heart, and asks for a slightly different favor.
So Yoo-sun dons the uniform again to see Il-woo, who is adorably nervous to see her. She uses the excuse that they’re both students who need to study, and tells him she’ll date him once they’re both in college. The promise thrills him so much he sweeps her into a hug as they say goodbye for now.
Il-woo asks if he can text her sometimes, and she says okay. So when he texts later, “I’ll think of you and study really hard,” Yoo-sun writes back in teenspeak, saying she’s, like, totally studying hard and stuff too, omg.
EPISODE 41
Young-wook walks Ha-sun home after a date, and when he makes a move, she steps back nervously, thinking he might kiss her. Turns out he was just asking for a photo together, but because the street light is out, it comes out dark. Ji-seok comes upon Ha-sun and asks about her date, but she counters that it wasn’t a date, just dinner.
Young-wook’s gosiwon-mate tells him he missed his chance to kiss her, and that plants the idea that he should make up for the lost opportunity soon, taking advantage of the darkened street corner.
Seung-yoon’s belief in the earth’s cube shape comes up again, and he insists that satellite photos have been faked by NASA. Over the course of the conversation, the family realizes that Seung-yoon has had completely the wrong idea about the relationships: All this while, the thought Kye-sang and Nae-sang were brothers (their names are similar), that Jin-hee and Ha-sun were sisters (but they live together), and that Ha-sun is married to Julien. He goes home dazed, his world rocked.
Kye-sang says he must be the type of guy who fixates on an idea and believes that through the end, and once his mind is made up, there’s no changing it.
At school, Teacher Ji-sun teases Ha-sun about kissing her boyfriend, which makes Ha-sun burst out that they’re not really that far along in the relationship and that they haven’t kissed yet. The talk freaks out Ji-seok, who is haunted by the idea of Ha-sun kissing Young-wook under the broken streetlamp and puts in a phone call to get the light repaired immediately.
Meanwhile, Seung-yoon’s curiosity about the Ahns grows, now that he realizes he had it all wrong in the first place. He asks the neighbors about the tunnel, and hearing that Nae-sang dug it, his mind starts working — only, in completely the wrong direction. Watching a documentary on TV about an old tunnel built by spies plants the idea in his head that Nae-sang is one, too.
Seung-yoon mentions it to Soo-jung, who is so amused that she says sarcastically, “Yup, we’re spies.” She shares a laugh with her parents, who decide it would be fun to play on his misconception, and deliberately speak in North Korean accents and freak Seung-yoon out so badly that he bolts in fear.
Jong-seok rolls his eyes at his family’s childishness, but wonders if Seung-yoon would actually report them to the police. And since Nae-sang IS on the run from creditors, he can’t have the police knowing where he is. Suddenly worried, the kids are sent to track down Seung-yoon, finding him huddled and shaking and just about to report them to the authorities.
All through their dinner date, Young-wook nervously plans his kiss, avoiding eating for fear of bad breath and accidentally blurting “kiss” in place of random words. He insists on walking her home, and they arrive in front of the house just moments after Ji-seok has climbed up the pole to replace the light himself.
Ha-sun senses what’s coming and interrupts, telling Young-wook that she doesn’t feel ready and needs more time. He’s immediately apologetic and embarrassed and tries to make a hasty getaway. But from Ji-seok’s vantage point, when Ha-sun leans closer to check on Young-wook’s eye (watering when he gets something in it), it looks like a kiss, which thoroughly breaks his heart. As narrator Lee Juck notes, “At that moment, in that dark alley, his only light was Ha-sun. And he felt that light getting farther way, to a place he couldn’t reach.”
The family drags Seung-yoon back home to explain that they were joking, but he’s taken the idea so firmly into his head that he’s convinced they’re all spies. Finally Kye-sang finally proves it with birth records, earning Seung-yoon’s wary acceptance after days of denial…only for his suspicions to come rushing back when he hears Nae-sang call his business colleague, Kim Jung-il. HA! (It’s not quite Kim Jong-il, but it’s close enough to make Seung-yoon’s conspiracy-theorist brain kick into alert.)
EPISODE 42
Ji-won’s narcolepsy has been worse lately, and Ha-sun consults with Kye-sang about it. She’s particularly worried about Ji-won riding her scooter and asks him for his help convincing her to stay off it. Kye-sang has a better (or maybe it’s worse) idea: Steal the key.
He and Ha-sun try the stealth method first, but their stealth skills are nil and Ji-won catches them, so after a brief round of keep-away, Kye-sang pretends to swallow it and tells her brightly it’ll be “out” in a days’ time. Ew, and ha.
Ji-won asks for Jong-seok’s help in finding the key, and they rifle through Ha-sun’s desk after school, ducking under the desk to escape being caught. They find nothing, so they figure Kye-sung must have it and slip into his room when he’s asleep. He wears the scooter key on a chain around his neck, so Jong-seok quickly snaps it off, undetected.
Seung-yoon brings Nae-sang a Spiderman costume to use as a disguise in evading the debt collectors. Nae-sang wears it around the house as a joke, but then sees a woman being assaulted by a kidnapper and races to the rescue. The scene is caught on CCTV cameras and played on the news, where he’s lauded as a hero.
Nae-sang likes playing the hero and goes out again and saves another stranger from a robber. The news reports it again, his story grows, and this gives Nae-sang an added burst of energy: He gathers the family to assure him he’s going to be a good dad now and provide. (It’s pretty damn cute the way Seung-yoon sneaks himself into the family hug.)
Ji-won takes her scooter out for the day and remains out of phone contact, worrying Ha-sun. Jong-seok overhears her talking to Kye-sang about it, and it’s only now that he hears about her narcolepsy and realizes that the adults weren’t just being strict without a good reason. Feeling guilty for enabling her when he can understands now that she might fall asleep at the wheel (er, handlebars), Jong-seok tears out of the house and scours the town for her.
He finally spots her driving along — after one harrowing trip to the hospital after hearing about a girl on a scooter being hit — and takes the key from her. He declares that since he got the keys back for her, he’s got some right in how the bike is used, and takes the driver’s seat telling her that if she wants to go anywhere, she can call him and he’ll drive her around. Ji-won is simultanously annoyed and a little touched at his concern.
Unfortunately for Nae-sang, the Spiderman costume isn’t enough to avoid being recognized by debt collectors, who nab him and turn him over to the police. He’s carted off in a police car, listening sadly as the radio news reports of a fresh robbery and notes, “Where is Spiderman? He’s needed now.”
EPISODE 43
That night, the Ahn/Yoon family is subdued and retreats to their own corners to grieve for Dad’s plight. In the morning, Jong-seok steps up and collects Soo-jung, planning to prepare breakfast to allow Mom some space, but they find her already awake and busy. Yoo-sun has put on her strongest face and briskly goes through her list of things that need to be done, including consulting with a lawyer and talking to the creditors.
At school, the principal announces that they’ll be replacing the school’s old-fashioned song for the upcoming 20th-year anniversary, and appoints music teacher Yoon Gun (who finally gets to speak!) to write the music, with Ha-sun writing lyrics. The stress has both teachers on edge as they frantically write, and discard, and write, and discard. The pressure has Ha-sun half-loopy with anxiety, and she writes long into the night. Taking Ji-won’s advice to try new locations and positions to jog the creative juices, she winds up on top of the kitchen table and sprawled on the stairs, beating her head in frustration.
Yoo-sun asks Kye-sang for money with which she can negotiate with the creditors. She gives him time to think it over with his blanket, but Kye-sang doesn’t need to and agrees readily, to her relief. Then she meets with the angry creditors, who don’t believe her pleas that they’re victims of embezzlement, or that they’re not trying to cheat them. Finally she kneels and earnestly appeals for them to trust that she and Nae-sang will do everything in their power to repay the debt, starting with the loan from Kye-sang.
The creditors are persuaded into agreeing, and with that one obstacle clear, Yoo-sun heads out for another long, back-breaking night of washing dishes. The family is surprised but impressed at how well she’s holding up, and she doesn’t give herself the chance to indulge her tears. She just ties her hair backs and quietly works. It’s kind of awesome, and admirable.
The family is allowed a short visit with Nae-sang in jail, who puts on a quiet smile and tells his family that everything will work out. He holds on to his control until Soo-jung breaks and cries out for her Daddy, and then he’s struggling not to cry and pleading with her to stop sobbing and man, there go my tears as well.
Soo-jung frantically pushes in the grate in the wall to take hold of Daddy’s hand for just a moment, and he assures her that he’ll be out in no time.
Then it’s the day of the school’s 20th-year anniversary, and Ha-sun and Yoon Gun present their masterpiece for evaluation. The reaction is mixed, though, and the principal resists, saying it doesn’t really sound like a school anthem. Both exhausted teachers burst out that they poured everything into their work and refuse to change a thing, so it’s put to a vote.
It passes by one vote (one teacher belatedly realizes he voted for it when he meant to oppose), and at the anniversary assembly, Yoon Gun takes the conductor’s wand to lead the staff and students in a performance.
It’s titled “Already 20 Years,” and the assembled group begins singing along… to an altered version of Brown Eyes’ ballad “Already One Year.” HA! Okay, that’s pretty awesome. As a result, the song takes off and even climbs the music charts. (A student from an entirely different school admits it made him cry.)
Nae-sang is released from jail and greeted by the whole family, minus Yoo-sun, who’s still busy working. She gets home late that night and finds Nae-sang waiting for her. This is a powerfully acted scene — this show benefits so much from having such strong actors — as the two haltingly speak, both trying to be calm and quiet, until Nae-sang tells her he’s sorry and Yoo-sun finally breaks down. She sobs into his arms and warns him never to leave again, and he promises.
EPISODE 44
With the creditors backing off, Nae-sang can now move about freely, which means he’s rarin’ to go and get a job. He hugs Kye-sang in thanks for helping with the loan, then uses his newfound energy to cook for the family and dive into the job search. He’s so bursting with energy that Kye-sang looks at him worriedly, seeing something in his unusual behavior.
Meanwhile, Jin-hee has been employed for nearly a month now, and it’s time for her first payday. Brimming with nervous anticipation, she checks her bank balance, thrilled to see she’s earned 850,000 won, so about $800. It’s more money than she’s had in a long time, and she can finally start repaying her debts, like paying off her school tuition and giving Ha-sun some money for living expenses. Then there are the gifts she should give to the people who have helped along the way.
But when all’s said and done, she’s left with a paltry amount of money and can only afford small gifts, in the range of $20 to $30 per person. Until she gets a toothache and has to have a wisdom tooth removed, which puts a huge crimp in the plans. Plus the collective office wedding gift that she can’t avoid paying. Sadly, she reduces her gift budget.
After observing Nae-sang’s overexertions, Kye-sang tells Yoo-sun that he’s manifesting his stress physically, as though his body is creating this energy to compensate. To get him to relieve that stress in a healthy way, he suggests a half-marathon, and Nae-sang agrees.
On the day of the race, Nae-sang bursts out to the front of the pack, running comfortably along (with Seung-yoon riding Ji-won’s scooter alongside the road and cheering him on). But curiously, he doesn’t stop at the finish line and instead keeps running, and Seung-yoon alerts the family that Nae-sang has decided not to stop until he can use up all this energy and work things out.
Nobody can understand what his reasoning is until Yoo-sun finds a bag of clothes from Nae-sang’s brief jail stay, which includes a book. Nae-sang had used it like a journal, and on the front and back pages, he had written:
“Before coming here, my biggest fear was this place. But now, I start to feel even more fear at leaving this place. What can I do from now on? What can I do for my beloved family? Will I be able to stand confidently in front of my wife, Jong-seok, and Soo-jung?”
As Nae-sang runs on, he imagines Yoo-sun running alongside him and apologizes for making her suffer. Then imagining his kids on the other side, he apologizes to them, too.
His journal entry continues as he writes about how he’d once dreamed of being first place. But now he’s in a lonely race without applause or recognition. Despite the difficulty, however, he vows not to give up, and to give it everything he’s got to begin afresh. His family reads his note with tears in their eyes, understanding the inner turmoil he hadn’t been able to express outwardly to them.
After running for hours, Nae-sang finally turns around, and begins the long jog home (with Seung-yoon faithfully following him all the way on scooter).
Jin-hee struggles with her budget juggling, first crossing Kye-sang entirely off her list (arguing that he didn’t really do that much for her, since she passed the exam on her own merits), then putting him back on when he’s nice to her, reminding her that he’s a thoughtful guy after all. But all she can afford is a cheap pen (costing a few bucks, tops), which she’s embarrassed about and insists isn’t even enough to be called a gift.
Kye-sang surprises her by giving her something too, which he says is a congratulatory gift for landing the job. She opens it to find a new wallet, since he’d seen her old, worn-out one earlier. His note is adorable: “They say red wallets bring you lots of money. Earn lots of money and buy me something delicious later. I’m going to eat A TON!” And inside, there’s a crisp new bill ($10).
Nae-sang finally crawls to a stop and sits in the street, completely wiped out. There’s a long, quiet moment as he sits there dejectedly, at which point he hears his family calling out to him — they’re across the street with pom-poms and a finish line, cheering him on. Their words are bright but their faces are full of emotion as they encourage Dad to make it just a few more steps, so Nae-sang staggers to his feet and crosses the tape to hug his family close.
EPISODE 45
At breakfast, Yoo-sun tries to reel in her brothers to attend a blind date. Both brothers are disinterested, moreso Ji-seok, whose deflated attitude leads her to wonder what might be bothering him.
That dejected attitude stems from his recently broken heart. He barely perks up after agreeing to give Ha-sun a ride to a fellow teacher’s upcoming wedding, and spends a lingering moment staring at the street light.
At school, Jong-seok arranges another study date session with Ji-won via cell-phone. She asks why he’s so secretive about it later that night and he counters that it’s the only way to preserve his last bit of pride. He can’t possibly let on that he needs remedial help, let alone from his junior.
But an unexpected visit from Soo-jung forces Jong-seok to hide and conclude that the classroom is too dangerous a place in case they’re found out. They relocate to location after location, from the bathroom to the bus (to which Ji-won asks: “Is that the best you can do? Are you sure?” for an extra meta-laugh). But Jong-seok is hyper-motion-sensitive and the bumpy ride makes him upchuck right into his backpack.
Teacher Ji-sun tags along, with the intention to congratulate her ex. But as the ride continues, it’s clear that she’s not okay with the wedding and becomes increasingly unruly. Having spiked her coffee, she insists on turning back, even grabbing Ji-seok’s hair.
They stop at a rest stop, and when he pulls away at her touch, Ha-sun asks after why he’s been avoiding her, adding that it’s been a while since she’s seen him smile. He flatly replies that there isn’t much to smile about lately. Aw.
So Ha-sun offers to drive in his stead, and though well intentioned, she’s a nervous newbie behind the wheel – gripping onto it with dear life. She doesn’t notice an animal in the road until it’s too late and she freaks out for possibly killing an innocent life, chanting, “Unni’s sorry, rabbit… Unni’s sorry!”
Ji-seok steps out and notices a curious tag attached to the roadkill. Thankfully, it’s just a rabbit doll and Ha-sun slumps to the ground in tears of relief.
Just then it begins to snow and she smiles, opening her mouth wide to catch a few falling snowflakes in her mouth. Heh, I totally still do this whenever it snows. She tells him that if you taste the first snowfall, your wish will come true and encourages him to join her. He looks on as she frolics around, enjoying the white flurry, until he finally breaks into a big smile.
Jong-seok and Ji-won resume their studies at Ji-won’s house. But once they hear someone’s footfalls coming up the stairs, Jong-seok jumps from the second floor and runs down the street to guard that damned pride.
Seoul experiences its first snowfall while Ha-sun is out on a date with Young-wook. He encourages her to catch the snowflakes but she declines. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Ji-seok sees the same snowfall and opens wide, letting the snowflakes drift into his mouth.
EPISODE 46
Kye-sang runs into Jin-hee at the bus stop waiting in the cold. She accidentally drops her phone and it goes dead. Already strapped for cash, the broken gadget adds to her ever-growing list of expenses.
The Ahn Siblings War rages on at home and at school, with heated hostility on both sides. Their persistent fighting continues in gym class where a direct throw towards Soo-jung hits Ji-seok square between his legs, much to his ire. Traditional punishments don’t work on these two, and they kick each other as they squat around the gym.
Kye-sang impresses Jin-hee with a few parlor tricks at the clinic, masking his secret as “magic.” He claims that he can read her mind, but she’s skeptic. So tells her to pick a number, add and subtract a few digits, and a name of a country and animal associated with the letter in the alphabet. He gets it right and Jin-hee’s left incredulous, starting to believe in his magical skills.
Everyone at home tells her that she fell for the classic, “Denmark, Elephant” trick and Julien even replicates one of them. She pouts, beating herself up for being so gullible. Jin-hee arrives at work the next day, calling Kye-sang out on his bluff. A sunbae cancels on him last minute, and he employs Jin-hee’s help for a children’s magic show.
They practice, and Jin-hee suggests that they create an incantation to get the children involved. She calls his idea too old-fashioned and after tossing a few ideas, they settle for a short ‘YAP.’ He tests it out, turning her five dollar bill into a dollar, but isn’t able to turn it back. Hehe.
The magic show entertains the kids and it’s time for the highlight: the saw-Jin-hee-in-half routine. The problem is the putting her back together because the apparatus gets stuck. The kids start crying, and Magician Kye-sang thinks fast, and encourages the crowd to chant the excessively long incantation, “Shala pompai hakuna matata polei polei YAP!” It works, and a whole-again Jin-hee greets the crowd in a bow.
Ji-seok breaks up yet another fight between the two Ahn kids, taking away their allowance as punishment. This tactic seems to work as both kids need the spending cash, and soon, they’re clinging onto Ji-seok, asking for it back. He refuses, and Soo-jung offers to pretend to get along in front of their uncle, but Jong-seok tells her he’ll see right through the ruse. So Seung-yoon suggests another idea and they’re onboard.
Looks like Seung-yoon’s proposed plan is another staged fight, and while Ji-seok is distracted, Soo-jung swipes the cash from his wallet. This still gets them punished, and though they still fight, they at least team together for a purpose.
Back at the clinic, Jin-hee marvels at the magic of their created incantation. They try it out on Jin-hee’s dead phone and it bursts to life. Convinced in the incantation’s power, they chant for the morning bus to appear. They wait, and wait, until it finally arrives, their noses red from the cold. Maybe not so magical after all.
EPISODE 47
Ji-seok holds up the bus for Ha-sun who climbs in nearly out of breath. Our lovesick awkward Ji-seok is back, stealing glances at her and when an abrupt stop has her falling into his arms, he all but turns bright red.
That same morning, Kye-sang gives his sister a ride to work and tells her he’s worried it’s too strenuous. She reassures him that she’s fine but what troubles her is her frequent memory lapses as of late, like nearly running out of the house still in her nightgown and leaving the stove on. He says that he too often forgets things but she wonders if it may be linked to her menopause.
On her way home, she lingers for a moment in front of a display window. She steps inside, inquiring after the bag. It’s fairly expensive, but she did get paid today, and they’re having a sale…
She gives into impulse and hurries to stash away the new bag before anyone can notice. The purchase weighs on her mind that night, so she gets up to find a proper hiding place, eventually storing it in the tunnel.
Ji-seok is distracted at work for the rest if the day, his thoughts wander about their close encounter that morning. Ha-sun misinterprets his odd behavior as a bad day, so she tries to uplift his spirits by imitating cat sounds, getting really close to save herself from public embarrassment. Oh honey, you might as well just purr in his ear.
His buddies tell him he must really like this girl if he’s acting nervous around her. Ji-seok protests that he just doesn’t want to be awkward around her and the boys chant to ask her out in response.
The bag goes missing the next day and Yoo-sun scours the house, afraid that she’d forgotten where she hid it. Then, Julien visits from next door with the bag in hand, and she takes out her pent-up anger on him. Yoo-sun decides to stuff the bag into a plain ol’ plastic bag to mask the evidence. But in another moment of absentmindedness, she tosses it with the rest of the trash, and chases down the garbage truck down the street, screaming.
Ji-seok and Ha-sun attend a child’s dol (first birthday) party together and they chat about the festivities, Ha-sun asking what Ji-seok reached for when he had his dol ( There’s a common tradition where items are spread in front of a baby and the item will foretell of the child’s future). He doesn’t remember, suddenly feeling more comfortable around Ha-sun. But she’s clutching her stomach, thanks to some raw food earlier, and she needs to go. I mean GO.
They rush into a closed public building, but the bathroom is locked, so Ji-seok sprints to find an open room. He leads her to a deserted office, grabbing at anything and tells her to go on the floor, in a bucket, in the flowerpot – anywhere because he’ll take care of it. Aww so sweet but ew.
He finally seizes a fire extinguisher to smash the lock in front of a confused security guard and exclaims, “Quick, go!” Haha, what a hero.
The bill comes out to over a thousand bucks and Ji-seok teases Ha-sun for taking an expensive dump, much to her embarrassment. She’s confused when Ji-seok tell her that he’s already taken care of the bill, but she insists on paying him back. Soon, they’re adorably chasing each other around the room shouting, “Let me pay you!” “No it’s fine!”
EPISODE 48
Chauffer Jong-seok gives Ji-won a ride home, but she swipes the scooter key when he’s not looking. He gets them back and they’re still fighting inside when Kye-sang walks in.
Time for a household meeting to settle matters on who gets the scooter. Even though Jong-seok agreed to drive Ji-won around, he’s tried to run away a few times – he’s out. Ji-won’s narcolepsy is too dangerous for her to drive and he shushes Soo-jung’s cries of, “Me! Me!” Nae-sang rolls out of bed mid-meeting and Yoo-sun suggests him – he’ll need a safer alternative than a motorcycle for his new job. Ji-won is clearly upset about others making decisions over her own scooter and Kye-sang reasons that he’s worried for her safety.
Nae-sang takes Ji-won to school the next morning, and wonders why she’d ride such a dangerous thing. As a father with a daughter her age, he’s taught his kids to tell the truth. He shares a tale about a kid who always told lies. One day, he fell into the water, and when people asked if he was drowning, he said no. So he died. End of story.
Jin-hee is initially left confused when Ji-seok declines a blind date with her friend but finds out the real reason after she spots him watching Ha-sun from the window. She encourages him to confess his feelings to her, since she feels he has a fair shot, but he vehemently opposes the idea, asking her to keep it a secret.
Ha-sun arrives that evening, tired and relieved from going on a date with Young-wook, and Jin-hee wonders aloud: what if she was destined to be with someone else… She starts, “Actually Teacher Yoon…” and Ji-seok charges in before she can utter another world.
Once they’re out of earshot, Jin-seok reminds her not to plant any seeds in Ha-sun’s head since he’ll confess his feelings when he’s ready. Jin-hee is still eager to help, so she offers to sneak in some compliments about Ji-seok and some Young-wook insults to balance it out. She lays it on thick to Ha-sun, even whispering Ji-seok’s feelings into Ha-sun’s subconscious as she sleeps.
Tomorrow morning’s scooter life lesson is about boundary crossing. Nae-sang recounts another tale of a kid who wasn’t mindful of his boundaries and Ji-won finishes the tale – he died too. Go figure, all of Sage Nae-sang wise ol’ tales are the same. Ji-won notices that they’ve crossed the traffic lines on the road and Nae-sang barely swerves in time to avoid hitting oncoming traffic.
Jin-hee arranges a “fated” shopping outing as another chance for Ji-seok to impress Ha-sun. She gives Ji-seok the 411 on what makes Ha-sun’s heart flutter: when a guy can coolly park into a space in reverse with one hand. She takes another look at his dress and instructs him to change shirts, for good measure.
They search for an available parking spot, and Jin-hee points to a space across the lot where Ji-seok would have to park in reverse. He fumbles, reaching for Ha-sun’s head versus the headrest, and turns the handle. The spot gets taken before they can get there, but Ji-seok refuses to give up and drives, in reverse, to another floor.
Nae-sang consistently picks up Ji-won at school in the coming days, who is excited to hear more of Nae-sang’s stories. Ji-won narrates that Nae-sang’s words weren’t exactly pearls of wisdom, but they stuck with her. Like for instance, how love comes slowly through a gate, but flies out the window, and basically boils down to trust nothing and no one. So she deduces that she shouldn’t trust him either and he tells her that she’s catching on.
Down at the tunnel, Ji-seok thanks Jin-hee for her help in spending some 1:1 time with Ha-sun, relieved to finally tell someone about his feelings, and she gives him some last words of comfort about his one-sided crush. He’s loads better than Young-wook in all aspects, calling Ha-sun dense for not noticing.
She turns to leave, but asks him one final question, “It’s no big deal but you don’t want to date me, right?” He politely says no and she laughs off the awkwardness, taking a tumble before climbing back up. Once Ha-sun climbs down, Jin-hee pushes the washing machine, sealing the entryway.
EPISODE 49
While walking Ha-sun home after a date, Young-wook tries to match his answers to hers to show how similar they are, based on what kind of foods they prefer and the like. She goes home feeling bad because Young-wook is a nice guy, but she doesn’t feel any excitement with him. Determined to give it a proper try, she sends up a prayer asking to like him as much as he likes her, then makes him his favorite beef side dish. She also asks him to meet her friends, which he’s happy to do.
Nae-sang decides to revive his company, and to do so, he needs money. He takes on multiple part-time jobs and keeps himself so busy that nobody in the house sees him for days on end — all they see are traces of him (changed clothes, empty food bowl) to indicate he’s been by.
The overwork sends him collapsing, and the family insists he rest up. Opening his bag, they find his multiple job uniforms and see his jam-packed schedule, feeling touched at his dedication. Dad insists he has to show up for work, so finally Jong-seok grabs his uniform and takes off to fill in for his post as apartment security guard. (The ajummas love him and pat his butt — cheeky! In more ways than one — to his alarm.)
Following Jong-seok’s lead, the family divvies up the schedule amongst themselves: Soo-jung sells food on the highway, Ji-seok acts as gas station attendant, Kye-sang as designated driver, Yoo-sun as newspaper deliverer.
When it comes time to meet Ha-sun’s friends, Young-wook surprises her by arriving in a suit, looking sharp and put-together. He speaks well, too, impressing her friends with his civility and bearing, and they nudge Ha-sun knowingly and comment on how she scored a great catch.
Then it’s on to the karaoke round, where Young-wook picks and old song, saying he’s been out of the loop lately. That gives us an excuse to get him singing along to ’90s hit “Angel That Lost Her Wings” — by Young-wook’s real-life pop group Roo’ra. Hee. Yay for old-school kpop meta.
Ha-sun pays for the karaoke room ahead of time, which Young-wook finds when he tries to pay. He’d prepared money for this special outing, wanting to treat her friends out as a proper boyfriend should, so on their walk home he insists she take the money.
Dejected, he admits that he feels like he can’t measure up, and that he’d been afraid to ask why she’d like a guy like him because he feared the answer: “Truthfully, after I started seeing you, there hasn’t been a day that I haven’t felt ashamed.” He apologizes. Ha-sun: “For what?” Young-wook: “For liking you. I’m sorry.”
It’s a moving moment and Ha-sun is affected by his sincerity — but once home, she confesses to herself that she must be a bad person, because despite her best efforts, she still can’t find that spark.
Nae-sang wakes up after sleeping a full day, and bolts for the door to resume his jobs. Only, he finds his family has taken care of it already, and they urge him to rest a bit longer. So the Yoon brothers and the Ahns continue on their split schedule, and the episode caps off with an adorable group number as the family sings, “We are one, the Noryangjin Six,” moving in formation.
EPISODE 50 WEECAP
At the clinic, Kye-sang enlists Jin-hee’s aid in planning an event for seniors, and she proposes the concept of making it a dating theme. You know, since so many TV shows are about “couple-making” these days. (Best Love shout-out!) Kye-sang likes her ideas and asks her to take the lead, which she does with total commitment.
The scores are out for the college entrance exam, and Ha-sun takes Jong-seok aside to ask if he walked out mid-test, based on his score. He convinces her to keep it between them, although Mom worries about the score being lower than anticipated. But Nae-sang tells him encouragingly that he’s glad Jong-seok did his best, which makes him feel guilty all over again.
His conversation with Seung-yoon goes overheard by Soo-jung, who’s outraged and determined to tell their parents right away. Jong-seok manages to stop her and explains that Dad’s just holding on and he can’t stand to shatter that faith in him. He starts to explain, with difficulty, that he really wanted to do his best but that he didn’t know a thing on the exam. To his surprise, his admission has Soo-jung in tears, who says he must have had a rough time. She hugs him and swears not to tell.
This is a pleasant surprise, but history has proven that Soo-jung’s mood swings are swift, so Jong-seok is wary of trusting her. Deciding he’ll have to keep an eye on her, he pays close attention to her moods over the next few days, alert to the tiniest shift downward.
Feeling uneasy, Jong-seok takes Soo-jung aside and shares a second story, this one about not wanting to let Mom down either, purposely playing up the sympathy factor while Seung-yoon helpfully plays sad mood music in the background on his guitar.
Soo-jung again assures that she’ll keep quiet, but paranoid Jong-seok thinks her mood will only hold temporarily; this story elicited less sympathy tears. He’ll have to prepare a contingency plan.
When Soo-jung slips on his pen and loses her temper, Jong-seok swings into action with another sob story about being haunted by regret, and again, Soo-jung assures him that she’ll keep her word. But when Jong-seok follows her down the ladder from her attic room, his cell phone falls out of his pocket and smacks her in the head, unleashing her temper.
The clinic holds its event, with Jin-hee and Kye-sang explaining the concept to their senior attendees. They don’t follow the complicated explanation and ask for a demonstration instead, so Jin-hee and Kye-sang find themselves acting out their directions — like looking into each other’s eyes, or eating a Pepero stick from both ends (to see which couple is fastest). And it’s here that Jin-hee starts to feel that heart-thumping, pulse-quickening awareness as they playact the couple.
The four clinic employees go out for dinner afterward, and while the other two nurses are on a restroom break, Kye-sang asks Jin-hee flat-out, “Do you like me?” She’s caught off-guard and embarrassed, so she excuses herself quickly, then proceeds to drink the night away. In the morning, she wakes up in bed and hears from Ha-sun that Kye-sang carried her home last night.
A horrifying memory floats back to Jin-hee, who now recalls grabbing Kye-sang in a back-hug and drunkenly slurring that in answer to his question, yes, she does like him. Horrors! She shrieks in mortification.
At work that morning, she keeps her head down, dreading what Kye-sang will say. But then, the nurses share a photo from last night, which shows her hugging the coat rack, which she was apparently talking to all night. HA. So the confession was real, but made to Kye-sang’s thankfully-inanimate coat.
The next time Kye-sang and Jin-hee go back to that restaurant, though, Kye-sang startles Jin-hee again by bringing up that unanswered question from before: “Do you like me?” Flustered, Jin-hee bursts out about his strange question, only to realize upon his clarification that he wasn’t asking, “Do you like me,” but “Do you like that?” As in, that houseplant over there. Haha.
EPISODE 51
It is therefore adorable that at work, Kye-sang teases Jin-hee about being friendly with his coat. He asks her for an introduction (to the coat), and when he has to step outside, he says he’ll have to borrow her friend for awhile. She’s embarrassed and tells him not to tease, but he just whispers to the coat, “Oops, looks like she’s upset that we’ve become friends. Let’s go!” What is it about grown men acting like little boys that is so endearing?
Seung-yoon brings the Noryangjin Six some beef sent from home, so everyone gathers for a barbecue party, including a visit by narrator Lee Juck. But when the lights briefly go out, the party is crashed by a butt-kicker — literally. In the span of seconds, both Kye-sang and Nae-sang are delivered a swift foot to the rear, with no sign of the culprit in sight.
Nae-sang accuses Jin-hee, as he is wont to do, saying he can just sense it. Seung-yoon, on the other hand, has a different theory. Kye-sang and Nae-sang’s names start with the first two letters of the alphabet (ㄱ,ㄴ), so maybe we’re dealing with an A-B-C attacker. The third letter is ㄷ, which means that a D-name is next. For example, Julien, whose Korean nickname is Dagu.
It’s a wacky theory apropros of the offbeat Seung-yoon, but as it turns out, Julien is attacked when he heads to the tunnel to retrieve something. A note is found on the ground with the names Kye-sang, Nae-sang, and Dagu written on it. Could the space cadet be on to something?
The next name alphabetically is Soo-jung, although Ha-sun freaks out thinking it might be her, based on a childhood nickname (Maeng-soon, which meant she was an airhead), but is assured she’s safe since nobody knows about the name.
Kye-sang in particular becomes intrigued with solving the mystery, while Dad and Jong-seok watch over Soo-jung closely to defend her against potential attack. (Aw, that’s sweet.) They apprehend a lurker, only to find that he’s a pipsqueak from school with a crush on Soo-jung, here to deliver his confession and a gift. Okay, that’s cute. But if Soo-jung’s not the target, then…?
Sure enough, Ha-sun is being tracked unwittingly, with the hidden attacker ready to spring. But he’s intercepted by Kye-sang, who has guessed his identity: Lee Juck. In Sherlock Holmes fashion, Kye-sang ticks off all the clues that led him to his sunbae: disinfectant smell in the tunnel, the note written on a Post-it taken from Key-sang’s room, shoes full of the same reddish dirt as the tunnel.
Lee Juck explains that Ha-sun was his real target, because she’d angered him the last time he visited when she slapped him accidentally in the limbo contest. He’d suspected the slap was intentional, and felt she was laughing at him. So he took advantage of the situation to get his revenge — but he assures Kye-sang that he wasn’t the initial kicker. Somebody else attacked Kye-sang and Nae-sang; he just seized the moment, allowing those earlier attacks to provide his cover.
So the question remains: Who was the real attacker?
Cut to: A nurse at the clinic sending Jin-hee on a series of annoying errands. Jin-hee eyes her with scary eyes, vowing to get her revenge at the first opportunity.
EPISODE 52
Seung-yoon shows up at the Noryangjin Six house with newly pierced ears, which are no big deal to anyone but Mom: Yoo-sun (already biased by her dislike of Seung-yoon) thinks it’s awful. Everyone else, though, votes that Seung-yoon is cute and helpful.
Ha-sun has a downer of a day, unable to control her rowdy class. The principal chides her for being too soft and lacking charisma, which is why she can’t command any teacherly respect. Feeling dejected, she ends up at a beauty salon and asks for a new haristyle, wanting a fresh change.
Teacher Ji-sun goes on a dismal blind date, who is disappointed in her looks and accidentally sends her a text message he was intending for a friend, which describes her as a “bomb” of a date. Ji-sun walks out of the date (yay for her), but then has to deal with the blow to her pride. So when she’s invited out for drinks by a friend, she goes.
At the beauty salon, Ha-sun falls asleep in the chair and gets mixed up with another client. At the nightclub, Ji-sun drinks herself nearly to sleep and mumbles an okay to a stranger who offers to jazz up her style.
And thus it is that Ha-sun ends up with a punk-rocker mullet, and Ji-sun ends up with braids. Not exactly the change they were going for.
Both Teacher Parks seek out the same beauty salon to correct their hair disasters, only to be told they need to wait out the weekend. After skulking out with their heads in wraps, Ji-sun proposes that they live it up for a night. If they’re stuck with this hair, might as well try to work it with confidence.
Seung-yoon is left alone at the Ahn-Yoon household when everyone else heads out on errands of their own. He’s bored silly until Yoo-sun comes home (he perks up adorably, like a puppy desperate for company), and when she searches for some medicinal herbs for her upset stomach, he sniffs it out with his “dog nose.”
When she asks why he’s wearing that hat inside the house, he says it’s because she doesn’t like the sight of his pierced ears. (Aw.) She’s unexpectedly touched by that display of consideration.
But Yoo-sun’s stomachache grows worse, and she needs emergency treatment. Seung-yoon carries her to the hospital on his back (double aww), panting at the exertion.
But in his rush, he forgets to lock the front door and Yoo-sun urges him back home, where he comes across a burglar. Seung-yoon takes him down and won’t let go of his hold, growling and biting the man’s pant leg like a guard dog.
Ha-sun and Ji-sun go shopping for some new clothes to match their new attitude, then hit up a nightclub. Their bravado is wearing thin, but they force themselves onto the dance floor and get caught up in the energy, dancing it up. In fact, Ha-sun finds that people start mimicking her moves and she leads them in an impromptu dance sequence, while Ji-sun crooks her finger at a guy who hurries to dance with her.
They dance the night away and marvel at their newfound confidence. They cap off the night with beers, with which they toast each other.
They return to school looking like normal, but Ha-sun now has the authority to inspire an appropriate level of obedience in her wayward students. As she and Ji-sun pass each other in the hall, they give each other a nod of respect, and picture each other as their rocker personas — which, narrator Le Juck points out, offers them the encouragement to make it through their everyday lives.
Meanwhile, Seung-yoon accompanies Yoo-sun on a walk through the park, her attitude toward him now softened. He assures her he’s great at frisbee-catching, and proceeds to demonstrate…by catching it with his mouth. Woof woof.
EPISODE 53
Ha-sun gives Kye-sang some old reference books, and as he takes them, he notices something in her eyes and advises her to stop by the clinic for anemia tests.
Ji-seok overhears the kids mention Jin-hee’s sleepwalking, which worries him because he fears she might say something in her sleep about him liking Ha-sun. She assures him that her sleepwalking hasn’t happened in a while… but later that night, Ha-sun is creeped out when Jin-hee looms over the bed, mumbling, “Unni…it’s so frustrating…Teacher Yoon…really likes you…It’s a secret but he likes you…”
In the morning, Ha-sun asks her about it and Jin-hee plays it off as nonsense. But now that the seed has been planted, Ha-sun wonders if it could be true.
Of course, “Teacher Yoon” could refer to multiple people in this drama, since “teacher” is also what you use to refer to doctors. So it could be Yoon Kye-sang, Yoon Ji-seok, or music teacher Yoon Gun.
Ha-sun rules out Yoon Gun (Jin-hee doesn’t know him) and Ji-seok (Jin-hee’s not that close to him)…which means it must be Kye-sang. HA! I love that this works logically, but is so wrong.
Jin-hee warns Ji-seok about the slip, and he freaks out. After mulling it over, he decides on a plan: For now, he requests that Jin-hee sleep with a mouthpiece to garble any of her unconscious muttering.
Meanwhile, Ha-sun is in the market for a car, and Ji-seok offers to put her in contact with a salesman friend. He asks Kye-sang for the info, so when Ha-sun drops by Kye-sang’s room with more books, she overhears his phone conversation about the car. Only, she only hears his side, and his comments give her the wrong idea: “Next-door teacher,” “pretty,” and “shapely rear end.”
Shocked, Ha-sun imagines Kye-sang in a seedier light, and that he likes her purely for her ass. HA. So when he calls her over to test for anemia, she’s curt and standoffish.
The test results come back normal, but she’s borderline so Kye-sang advises her to eat nutrient-rich foods. Ha-sun can’t wait to bolt and replies sarcastically about his exceptional concern for her health. When she bends over to retrieve something that has fallen, her own bag knocks her on her butt, sending her leaping to the wrong conclusion. With righteous indignation, Ha-sun accuses Kye-sang of calling her over with ulterior motives and having a butt fetish. Haha.
Belatedly she realizes it was her own bag and flushes bright red, beating a hasty retreat. So when he drops by later to give her the car salesman’s information, she hides her face in mortification.
Meanwhile, Ji-seok’s fears about Jin-hee blabbing his secret give him nightmares of Ha-sun finding out, and he ends up mumbling in his sleep. Jong-seok wonders who this Teacher Park is that he’s talking about, so Ji-seok winds up sleeping with a mouthguard as well, to silence himself.
EPISODE 54
Nae-sang has managed to scrape together enough money to set up a new business. Rather than going back to dealing in equipment and props, which requires more money, he launches a service casting extras for dramas. And so, Ahn’s Art — Ahn Ye-seul, not to be confused with Han Ye-seul, hee — is born.
Kye-sang consents to using the extra storeroom for Nae-sang’s (teeny) office, and Nae-sang recruits Seung-yoon, Jin-hee, and Julien to be employees, even giving them titles. However, business is super-slow, and the only messages that come in are constant updates of purchases Mr. Kim makes on Nae-sang’s business card. Most of them come from the convenience store, in tiny amounts, and they wonder what he could be eating.
Young-wook juggles his studies with part-time work, because he wants to treat Ha-sun one last time before taking up residence at a temple for hard-core exam prep. His friend suggests couple outfits, and gives him a tip on a hot trend: Hyun Bin tracksuits.
Ha-sun offers to dress alike for their last date, stifling her embarrassment to show appreciation for his gesture. Young-wook belatedly picks up on the fact that the trend is passé and apologizes, but Ha-sun gamely goes along, saying it’s fine. She also brushes aside a minor shoe issue (her sneakers, worn to match the tracksuit, are uncomfortable) and takes pains to be her usual accommodating self.
Young-wook takes her to an Italian restaurant and urges her to order steak, but she sticks to the cheapest pasta. This time he orders proficiently, having practiced everything to make the date a success.
However, he’s been fighting a cold all night, exacerbated by all the extra work he’s been doing, and finally collapses. At the hospital, he urges Ha-sun to go home right away, but she tells him she’ll wait till he falls asleep.
Yet when he wakes up in the early morning, he finds her curled up on a cot next to his. He spots the bloodstain on her foot, incurred by her uncomfortable shoe. So when his friend calls and says Young-wook must be thrilled to have Ha-sun by his side, Young-wook admits he ought to be happy, but looks at her with troubled eyes.
Later that afternoon, Young-wook arrives at school on his way to the temple and spots Ha-sun laughing freely with her colleagues. She looks much more cheerful than she does in the photo they took together, and with a heavy heart Young-wook chooses not to stop her, instead leaving a note at her desk.
In it, he explains that he’s always been good at gritting his teeth and enduring in times of difficulty — but seeing her do the same for him (or because of him) pains him. He promises to come back and see her after his exam, then boards his bus with a tear in his eye.
Alas, his note falls to the ground with a gust of wind and gets swept up into the trash.
Nae-sang’s new company gets its first job with a call for a number of extras, and he presides over his assembled group at the drama set (lecturing them about maintaining sageuk reality, heh). Filming begins — and hey, it’s MBC’s Kye Baek, with the extras playing citizens on the run during battle.
EPISODE 55
Jin-hee tries one of the nurse’s lipsticks at work, pleased with the color until Kye-sang fails at rustling up a polite compliment; he admits he can’t lie and says the color doesn’t suit her. But, you know, with that trademark Kye-sang smile that is alternately adorable and infuriating.
So when Jin-hee finds the office empty and the clinic blog up on Kye-sang’s computer, Jin-hee rolls up her sleeves to add a few comments of her own, contradicting everyone’s praise of his angelic smile. She gets carried away, chuckling to herself as she rants about his horrible manners, and just barely escapes before he returns.
Ahn’s Art continues chugging along (today’s request comes for ajumma extras for the “MBS” drama Me Only, Flower, haha). Seung-yoon splits his time between the job and singing his song for Soo-jung at her command, like he’s her personal one-song radio.
When Soo-jung’s invited to a concert but can’t afford to go, she hits up Seung-yoon to take her, pouring on the pouts and aegyo. But he doesn’t want to go see a boy band and declines, and in annoyed retaliation Soo-jung tells him his song stinks. He says he’ll give it to someone else, and she snaps at him to go right ahead.
Only, when she actually hears him singing the revised version with Ji-won’s name instead, she grows miffed. She didn’t want it herself, but she doesn’t want anyone else getting the song about Ji-won’s number 1 smile, shining “brighter than crystals” (HA!) — especially when it starts catching on and her own family starts humming the tune. Julien even uses a clip as his ringtone.
Vowing to make a catchier song, she studies pop songs and composes one of her own, all about how her smile is the best. Now to get it to spread: She goes around singing it to everyone and trying to make it catch on. The response is merely amused and dismissive, though — you can’t force a trend.
Jin-hee finds herself in trouble when her silly prank gets out of hand; Kye-sang comes back to his office and looks mighty upset to discover an intrusion. He confides to Jin-hee that this is very serious stuff: Somebody snuck onto his computer and took confidential files, and left some slander on his blog. This is a repeat of a prior incident from a few months ago, and he’s determined to track down the culprit this time.
Gulp. Does she admit she left the slander in hopes of clearing the air? Or does she stay silent, hoping he won’t figure out out?
The clues point at an inside job, so Kye-sang writes everybody’s name down who works in the building, trying to reason out the suspects. Nervously, Jin-hee tries to maneuver her name out of the suspect pile, mentioning her alibi, but Kye-sang reasons that she is still a valid suspect. Purely theoretically speaking, of course — his own name is still in the pile, too, he points out.
Jin-hee gets even more agitated when Kye-sang realizes he’d left on his webcam, which should reveal their evildoer. What he gets is a blurry image of Jin-hee, and she winces to be found out… until he wonders, “Could it be the nurse?” The photo is clearly of her, but she’s not about to point that out and jumps on this excuse and argues that hmm, it could be anybody, who knows?, it’s so hard to tell, whoops-gotta-go!
After she races out, Kye-sang chuckles to himself. A flashback confirms what most of us were probably guessing: That he knew all along. He’d seen Jin-hee at his computer through the window, and couldn’t resist pulling her leg. Now he laughs, admitting that it was just too much fun to pass up.
Too much fun, in fact, not to have one last round. The next day, he shares a breakthrough in the case that eliminates a group of suspects…leaving only Kye-sang and Jin-hee on the list. Jin-hee gasps, now outed… until Kye-sang wonders, wide-eyed, “Was it me?” HA.
EPISODE 56
In the latest exams, Jong-seok scores so much higher — 450,000th place nationally, over his previous 600,000th place — that his family showers him with praise (Soo-jung wonders if he cheated, ha). Jong-seok is adorably pleased at the reaction, while Kye-sang declares it’s a great achievement and surprises him with spending money.
With cash in his pocket, Jong-seok’s eye gravitates toward a display of girls’ hair trinkets, remembering one tutoring session when Ji-won’s clip had broken. He picks out a pretty sparkly pin, only to have Soo-jung discover it among his things and assume he bought it for her. To deflect, he says it was for Mom, who’s so moved that she brushes away tears.
That’s all well and good, but Jong-seok still means to carry out his original gift, so he buys a second pin. This time he keeps it close, but when he goes next door Ha-sun catches him off-guard and spots the pin. Stammering, he lies that he found it and tries to hand it to Ji-won quickly, you know, since it was just lying around and all.
Alas, the conversation veers out of his control and he has to watch in dismay when the girls decide to play a game of rock-scissors-paper for it, and Ha-sun wins.
Speaking of whom: Ha-sun’s new car is delivered, and to celebrate, she takes her housemates out for a drive, much calmer behind the wheel this time. She takes Ji-seok for a spin next, confident that her previous driving anxiety is a thing of the past — until she turns onto the main road. Suddenly she’s hunched over again, driving at a crawl, with other cars honking and flashing their lights at her angrily.
Ha-sun is so dejected at the insults slung her way that Ji-seok opens his window and flings a few insults back at the other angry driver. He tells Ha-sun that these encounters are common on the road, but fleeting. If she just says what she feels, she’ll be able to put the bad mood behind her more quickly.
Back to Jong-seok, who is determined to give the hairclip to Ji-won, even if it means buying two more clips with his rapidly dwindling allowance. He practices his excuse — that since Ha-sun won the clip, he wanted to make sure the other two ladies weren’t disappointed. Hence, one is for Jin-hee (the excuse), the other for Ji-won (the stealth present).
The problem? Soo-jung’s eagle eyes spot one of the clips, and she and Mom assume that Jong-seok, sweet boy, bought his sister one after seeing her disappointment at being left out. Aw. And ha!
Jong-seok takes the one remaining clip next door and tries, again, to give it to Ji-won. But Julien interferes this time, suggesting that she and Jin-hee can play for it. Curses!
That means Jong-seok secretly roots for Ji-won to win the chicken-leg battle, although she gets knocked down by Jin-hee’s push. Jin-hee feels bad and forfeits her win — Jong-seok eagerly agrees — but Ji-won says that fair is fair and accepts the loss cheerily. Thwarted again!
Sadly, Jong-seok has used up all his money and can’t afford any more hairclips. So when he sees all the ladies sitting together, each wearing the same sparkly clip — minus Ji-won — all he can do is sigh. And maybe work on his stealth.
Ha-sun takes out her car again, determined to get over her timidity. Recalling Ji-seok’s advice, when she’s tailgated and honked at again, she screws up her courage and shouts back an insult, then calls Ji-seok in giddy excitement over the rush. How refreshing, how liberating!
Except… she picked the wrong car to mess with. Scary ajummas ride her tail and scream at her, sending Ha-sun’s newfound confidence crashing. Ji-seok advises her to take a side road and escape, but the ajummas cut her off and corner her, shaking her car menacingly.
They agree to let things slide if Ha-sun apologizes face to face, and naive Ha-sun complies… only to find herself knocked around, keys stolen. Ji-seok drives out to find her huddled at the side of the road, locked out and freaking out. She blames him for giving her bad advice and refuses his consolation, a mess of tears.
Ji-seok promises to find the ajummas and right this wrong, which gets her to calm down. He wipes away her tears, drapes his jacket over her, and takes her home.
EPISODE 57
Jong-seok is still defensive about receiving tutoring, rejecting Ji-won’s urging to admit the truth so they can stop sneaking around. Today they’re in his room, with everyone scheduled to be out late. There’s a moment when he finds himself looking at Ji-won, jerking his gaze away nervously when she catches him at it.
To his horror, his parents come home early, so he urges Ji-won into Soo-jung’s attic room to escape notice. She points out that this is a whole lot more suspicious than just telling the truth, but he reminds her about his “last piece of pride” and refuses to give in.
Too bad Soo-jung also comes home early, and now there’s no way for Ji-won to sneak out (Jong-seok: “Jumping out the window… would be impossible, huh?”). Desperate, he convinces her to fit into a duffel bag, so he can carry her out.
Too bad Soo-jung fights him over the bag, leading him to drop Ji-won. Jong-seok opens to the bag to find her unconscious. And, well, this looks suspicious.
The family turns narrowed eyes onto Jong-seok, coming to the natural conclusion: Are they sneaking around because they’re dating? Faced with (1) dating Ji-won or (2) being tutored by Ji-won, he decides upon the lesser of two evils and he mumbles, “Um, yeah, sure.” And adds that it wasn’t his idea to date, no way in hell — which makes it sound like Ji-won was the one chasing him around.
Meanwhile, Yoo-sun picks up extra work selling fruit juicers, which Seung-yoon suggests she sell them online. Julien, for instance, has a popular blog where he posts his recipes.
Julien isn’t keen on opening up his blog to shilling for a product, but Yoo-sun and Seung-yoon assure him that the mixer is solid and that they’ll handle all the work. He reluctantly agrees, and they get to work filming the video.
Seung-yoon takes up the role of creative director, which explains the insistence on weirdly saggy pants and the Sandara Park hairstyle and makeup. I love that Yoo-sun complains about the pants, saying they make you look like you’ve pooped your pants, while Seung-yoon insists they’re trendy. Hee. Yeah, trend or no, I’m gonna stick with not looking like I crapped myself, thanks.
They sing about the mixer’s capabilities to 2NE1′s “I’m the Best” — and contrary to their expectations, the gimmick is a hit. Orders come pouring in and Yoo-sun becomes known as that cool ajumma from that funny video.
Ji-won doesn’t realize until the next day that Jong-seok explained her presence with the excuse that they were dating. Peeved, she marches over next door to tell everyone the truth, and is just barely swayed by a panicky Jong-seok to keep the secret for another day, until he can work up the nerve to tell everyone himself.
As a cover story that doesn’t involve dating, they agree to say they were working on an act for a school contest. The winner takes home a tablet PC, so at least this explanation is pride-salvaging.
However, on Ji-won’s way out she runs into Kye-sang, and when he’s told by his family about the dating news, Ji-won breaks. She can’t have him thinking she’s dating Jong-seok, so she tells the family it was all a lie, explaining the whole tutoring thing.
Too bad for Yoo-sun’s budding mixer-selling career, the product is discovered to be faulty, and all the juice it makes tastes metallic. Julien is furious — his blog credibility was sacrificed for nothing — and races next door. Yoo-sun and Seung-yoon run away, thankfully assisted by the increased mobility of their loose-fitting poopy-pants.
EPISODE 58
Jin-hee realizes too late that she hasn’t finished her laundry, and has nothing to wear to work. With a sigh, she shows up in her pink bunny sweater, which turns out to be an unexpected boon: They’re doing children’s vaccinations for the next three days, and the kids respond well to it.
In fact, it’s such a hit that when she shows up the next day wearing the sweater again, she finds that Kye-sang has found a matching one for himself. (That is adorable.) Together, they make cute jokes and entertain the kids with their playful attitudes.
Plus, well, there’s that whole dressing-alike-makes-you-look-like-a-couple aspect that Jin-hee secretly thrills at. One of the kids asks if they’re married, and at a coffee shop, the clerk gives them free matching phone charms because they look so cute together.
Kye-sang helps her attach her charm, and then on their way back he stops when she looks wistfully at the coffeemaker prize in a couple contest. He encourages them to participate, and joins her in the dancing. There’s just something so extra-silly about watching former pop idol Yoon Kye-sang dancing in character, like a big ol’ dork.
Nae-sang’s business runs into a snag when one of his extras gets chewed out by a drama director for messing up the scene. Nae-sang decides acting lessons are in order and brings the ajumma crew home for rehearsals.
Most of the ajummas are legitimately terrible — looking at the camera, saying their lines awkwardly — but a newcomer shows promise, to Nae-sang’s delight. It’s Park Hae-mi (Mom from the original High Kick), and she is alternately a decent actor and a total ham. Hae-mi is one of those pretentious types, armed with an elaborate backstory for the smallest of exchanges, but Nae-sang loves her and holds her up as an example to the others.
On the next acting job — heh, this time it’s MBC’s Hooray for Love — where Hae-mi has a bit part as a woman slinking into a motel with an ajusshi. The director is dissatisfied with the man’s performance, so Nae-sang steps in and basks in the glory of seeing himself on television.
Yoo-sun, on the other hand, is peevish. First off, that’s hardly a scene to be bragging about, and secondly, she is not a fan of the self-important Hae-mi (who mistook her for hired help on their first encounter).
Nae-sang enjoys the company, though — they’re basically two big talkers, puffing up each other’s egos — and joins Hae-mi on the next shoot. This time they’re an argumentative couple at a police station, whose fighting escalates into shouting and hair-pulling, performed with their brand of dramatic excess.
While getting ready for the third and last day of children’s vaccinations, Jin-hee spills juice on her shirt, and freaks out — not today! She can’t ruin her last chance to bask in a little stealth coupledom!
She hand-washes the stains as best she can and arrives for work in a mostly-clean shirt… only to find that Kye-sang isn’t wearing his today. He’s got a meeting after work, and tells Jin-hee that she’ll have to be rabbit enough for both of them today. Aw. She walks away dejectedly, imagining her rabbit’s ears flopping over in disappointment.
So when she drops by the Ahn/Yoon household sometime later, she perks up to see Kye-sang wearing his bunny shirt, which is comfy for wearing around the house. This perks Jin-hee right back up, her shirt-bunny smiling happily.
EPISODE 59
Kye-sang compliments Jin-hee on her shiny red wallet on the bus and asks if it’s brought her any luck. She shakes her head in response. While he rambles about filling it with some good fortune, Jin-hee gets a text – she’s made it to the second round of interviews.
At the clinic, he chants his magical incantation for good luck over her wallet. Jin-hee gets sent out for an errand and alas, drops the wallet in an aisle in a distracted moment.
Jong-seok continues his study lessons with Ji-won, this time complaining about memorizing Chinese characters. While seeing her out, he fumbles an item thrown by Soo-jung and accidentally sends Ji-won tumbling down the stairs.
It puts her in a cast, and Jong-seok apologizes, offering to make up for it. Ji-won tells him that he can trade in his “long legs” he boasts about for her short ones or let her borrow them. By being her personal human chauffeur.
Jin-hee notices the missing wallet too late and frantically retraces her steps, searching high and low for it. She even lists the wallet on an internet forum but no one reports it found.
Jong-seok spots a set of characters written on Ji-won’s cast and she tells him to figure it out if he’s curious. He recognizes a few, but can’t piece them together. He picks her up the next morning, and relents to a pillow to make the piggyback ride more comfortable, but balks at a headband holding a personal screen. A small guilt tug later, Horsey Jong-seok carries her, fur ears and all.
Jin-hee reaches the final round of interviews and Kye-sang congratulates her, attributing the good news to his magical incantation. She looks away with a twinge of guilt, the wallet still missing.
At school, Jong-seok notices that the characters on the board look mighty similar to the ones on Ji-won’s cast. They whimsically float around as the pieces fall into place. And it hits him: “My leg is fine.” HA!
He chases her out of the classroom as soon as class is dismissed, and the fake cast falls apart as she darts down the field. He catches up soon enough, demanding why she’d tricked him. She explains that she was trying to help him learn and now he won’t ever forget those characters. Hehe.
He calls for an eye for an eye and we cut to Ji-won fully adorned in fur ears, this time giving Jong-seok a piggyback ride, his feet dragging on the sidewalk.
Jin-hee and Kye-sang both head out to buy some supplies. He notes that this could be her last errand run for the clinic, when Jin-hee receives the call about the position. She’s failed and he reassures her that it wasn’t her fault – he didn’t wish the wallet in person.
He offers to do it now, but before Jin-hee spills the truth, an employee knocks an item out of her hands into the next aisle. As she picks it up, she gets a hunch and peeks under the stand… and lo and behold, the red wallet, safe and sound.
She happily hands it over, and Kye-sang chants a new good luck incantation over it.
EPISODE 60
Music Teacher Yoon visits Lee Juck, and his face falls to hear that he’s barred from sitting on cold surfaces, like the windowsill. No more longing window moments.
Meanwhile, our households have taken each other’s mannerisms. Ji-won does a Julien impression during their study lesson, and Jong-seok laughs in response.
But a few seniors crash their session, and ruffles Jong-seok’s feathers, sending him charging outside in a rage. Ji-seok spots the near brawl right away and the bullies run, but not before leaving his number for Round 2.
Ji-won insists that Jong-seok let it go – his studies are more valuable than getting in trouble. He retorts that he’ll take the opportunity as it arises, but she tells him to pinky-swear not to fight him.
Ha-sun worries about Young-wook, who’s gone away to focus on his studies before his exam. Ji-seok pulls up to find her waiting for a taxi, with a packed lunch in tow. He drives away at first, but drives backwards, offering to take her to her destination.
Having stayed up all night, Ha-sun can’t help but keep yawning and Ji-seok sweetly tells her to catch a few winks. She replies that it’d be rude of her to fall asleep… and despite her best efforts; she dozes off in the car.
The senior bully calls Jong-seok out to another fight, and Ji-won overhears the end bit of the conversation. He tells her to stay put, and she threatens to stop tutoring him if he’s going to go fight. With a slightly darkened expression, he heads out anyway.
Ji-seok helps carry the lunches up the mountain, to Ha-sun’s initial protests. When Ha-sun reaches down to retrieve a fallen broach, she feels a sharp bite when she bends down to retrieve it. The leaves rustle around them and she immediately thinks it’s a snake. Ji-seok informs her that it’s too cold out, but Ha-sun insists that it was on the news recently.
So Ji-seok starts to suck the venom out of her hand and Ha-sun starts to teeter, claiming to lose consciousness. In a valiant effort, Ji-seok rips off a shirt corner, bandages her hand with it, and picks her up, running down the mountain.
She’s nearly out of it now and Ji-seok shouts her name, saying that she can’t die – he hasn’t even told her how he feels about her. OMG, she can’t die, she can’t die. He vows to save her, even if it means draining every drop of his own blood.
At the hospital, the doctor tells Ji-seok that the snake wasn’t poisonous and Ji-seok roars why Ha-sun’s still unconscious then. Turns out the lack of sleep had finally caught up with her. Ji-seok reflects on his emotion-high confession, but rests knowing that she couldn’t possibly remember if she fainted.
But Ha-sun confronts him the next morning, claiming she’s recalled something. He gulps, thinking the worst, and she tells him she hit her head on a branch while he was running. Ji-seok apologizes, and she tells him if he’s that sorry, she can let him hit his head once.
He does, and she adorably pops back into the tunnel. Cute.
Ji-won gives the silent treatment to Jong-seok who tells her he turned back without fighting. She doesn’t believe him, and he tells her to see for herself, citing he came back to study with her. He tosses his phone on her bed, and the text messages prove he was telling the truth.
She hands his phone back, and he smiles. Yay more tutoring sessions!
Every time she sleeps, Ha-sun discovers another clue, each getting progressively closer to Ji-seok’s confession. She recalls that he shed tears for her… but the rest of her memory burns up, left forgotten.
EPISODE 61
It’s Christmas season and the Grinch Ji-sun complains about the holiday music and festive spirit. Ha-sun wonders if she should set her up on a blind date.
Yoo-sun wraps up work early and Nae-sang’s stuck on set, working late. He invites her to drop by, and she asks how long he’ll be so she can prepare dinner. He’s not sure, stuck waiting around until the next portion of the script arrives on set. Sigh, the consequences of live-shooting.
Later that day, Ha-sun asks if Kye-sang would be interested in going on a blind date with one of her colleagues. He teases her, “Are you talking about yourself?” but politely refuses with his trademark smile.
Next to him is our narrator Lee Juck, who does a bit of math in his head: a cute personality + porcelain skin + a bob cut + pretty voice + looks young = IU? Hehe. Kye-sang turns the offer to him and he plays hard-to-get at first, but agrees.
The latest scene calls for an ajumma stand-in and Nae-sang grows frantic, his available extras out of town. So Yoo-sun is enlisted to help shoot the scene. She’s stuck playing the possible ‘other woman’ and gets her hair pulled at, take after take.
The new script calls for the ‘other woman from the café’ which means that Yoo-sun will need to reenact her role. She balks, refusing to suffer more for such a ridiculous plotline, but relents when Nae-sang pleads with her.
Lee Juck waits for his blind date, still dreaming about IU, but it shatters once he catches sight of Ji-sun, his mouth open in disbelief. He’s generally disinterested and distant during their date with Ji-sun doing most of the talking. He answers her questions as to keep the conversation short, and ends up piggybacking a drunk Ji-sun home.
He vents to Kye-sang, saying that Ha-sun must really be out to get him, setting him up with someone like Ji-sun. Or maybe you’re just shallow. Just sayin’.
Ji-sun calls him the next day to arrange a Christmas date, and he hastily agrees before hanging up, lifting her spirits.
Nae-sang cautiously approaches the director about the next scene with a worried look. Yoo-sun is set up to be hit with a bag this time, and she endures it. But the next scene and the scene after that require her to get hit again and again all day long.
His eyes grow wide when an alternative ending scene comes in and he ushers his wife out, instructing Seung-yoon to bring back the costume. Surprised, Yoo-sun asks what the next scene is but he tells her not to worry – he’ll take care of it.
Lee Juck offers to meet Ji-sun in person after seeing a text message to confirm their Christmas Eve outing. He cancels, giving excuses that he’s busy at work, but she’s sharp enough to call him out on his lies. She gives him an out – that he can admit he doesn’t like her, and suggests he buy her a drink instead.
Drunk again, she shares about her loneliness on Christmas and Lee Juck informs her that she can’t be the only one in the world, which brings her to tears. She sends him away and he turns to leave. But he turns back and tells her they should spend Christmas together, since he’ll be alone anyway.
To only change his mind as soon as he sends her off in a taxi and tells her that he’d rather spend it alone.
At the restaurant, a few customers comment about a drama airing on TV and this time, the actress judo flips the ‘other woman.’ But that ‘other woman’ has a manly physique… Nae-sang?
EPISODE 62
The Ahn/Yoon residence gathers around the television to catch a glimpse of Seung-yoon and Nae-sang’s fleeting TV moment. Seung-yoon grumbles about not appearing on TV though he filmed all day. If he were to produce his own movie, he’d show everything – until a person stopped eating, until they flushed after doing their business.
Ha-sun arrives home in the evening to spot a stranger lurking outside her home. She pulls away and starts to hit madly when the figure walks towards her.
It’s Young-wook, back to take his exam the next day. He swung by to see her face to give him an extra boost tomorrow, and Ha-sun treats him to dinner, wishing him luck tomorrow.
Kye-sang catches Ji-won trying to sneak out on her scooter. He scolds her for acting reckless, and she protests. He bends over to hide the scooter key when he lets one rip. He awkwardly reminds her to stay away from her scooter and she storms out.
Seung-yoon films his home-movie, pressing on everyone’s annoyed buttons, like trying to follow Nae-sang into the bathroom. He distributes tickets to the ‘Tunnel Theater,’ and encourages everyone to check out his film.
The makeshift Tunnel Theater actually looks quite cozy and he introduces the film like the newbie director he is. The actual movie isn’t quite as engaging, and everyone grows restless as they mindlessly watch Nae-sang eat. Seung-yoon defends that his goal was to capture real-life – not to edit anything out. I’ll say.
Young-wook picks up Ha-sun at school, dressed to impress. The results are out, and he came to celebrate with her. He takes her to the Han River which brought them together. They enjoy a pleasant dinner and Ha-sun buys him a new necktie.
Kye-sang runs into Seung-yoon watching his own movie in the tunnel. He’s passing by, but his earlier argument with Ji-won appears on the screen. The fart makes its appearance (and the tissue blows in the same direction) and Kye-sang bursts into laughter. He invites Ji-won to a screening and they roll on the ground, unable to contain their amusement.
Young-wook drops Ha-sun off at home, noting that it’s nice to see her home by car versus walking. He starts off, “Truthfully…the exam…” but he hesitates and stumbles over his words. He has to relocate far away and he asks, his voice shaking, if she’d like to move out with him.
Astonished, she stutters out that her entire life is here: her job, her family… and Young-wook reassures her that he didn’t expect her to drop everything for him, but their time together is coming to a close. He says that every day with her was like a dream and thanks her. With one last hug, he runs off.
Young-wook’s gosiwon mate asks how Ha-sun took the news of him failing the civil service exam, to no reply. Oh no.
Wearing a solemn expression, he enters his room and breaks down into tears.
It’s nearly Christmas and the fellow nurses suggest Jin-hee to chip in for Kye-sang’s present. Way out of her budget, she stares at a lonely bill in her wallet before that too is handed over to raise funds for the clinic’s holiday drive.
Jin-hee opts to knit Kye-sang a gift, but sadly, nothing at the yarn store is available in her price range and the associate suggests reusing an old sweater. So when she gets home, she snips and starts to unravel her cherished red sweater.
Soo-jung whines for a Christmas tree after she sees the neighbors light their own. Her parents amuse her, but they reject the idea since no one in the family is big on Christmas. But ever the resourceful one, she drags one from a freakin‘ mountain and calls for a gift exchange later that evening.
The recent breakup weighs heavy on Ha-sun, who spends the majority of her time in bed or hanging around the house. Meanwhile, Ji-seok is arguing with his morals, conflicted whether it’s appropriate to give a girl who’s taken a gift. He reasons that the gesture is a simple formality, but thinks she’s out with Young-wook when he doesn’t find her in her room (No one else is aware of the split between Ha-sun and Young-wook yet).
Ji-won helps raise money for the clinic by singing holiday tunes with Seung-yoon. Not to be outdone, Jong-seok joins them and this adorable trio draws in a decent crowd. Jong-seok bucks up the courage to ask Ji-won to grab a bite to eat after their outside mini-concert, but she declines, citing that she’s busy.
Jin-hee neatly packs her finished red-sweater-now-gloves just as the nurses arrive. But her face falls after they boast their gift – they’ve prepared leather gloves. Embarrassed to give Kye-sang a similar gift, she slips away and gloomily adds them to the gift exchange.
Both Jiseok and Ha-sun head out for some fresh air: the former bummed after hearing news Ha-sun should be out on a date with her boyfriend, and the latter pretending to do so to keep up the ruse. What’s cute is that they have parallel experiences, like taking out their anger on a slippery ice patch or sitting at opposite bus stops.
Jong-seok arrives home and spots Ji-won in the kitchen, handing over her raised funds to Kye-sang, which earns her a thankful pat on the head. Now knowing where her affection lies, he hands over her gift (a guitar strap), dejected.
Time for the gift exchange. Nae-sang excitedly grabs Kye-sang’s gift, clearly the largest. It’s a Christmas “punch” (literally). Hehe. And Jin-hee looks in the pile for her number, but she ends up with her own set of gloves. Aww.
Ji-seok spends the night out with his friends, looking at the keychain gift he casually picked up (left by Ha-sun), and Ha-sun tries on the earrings that Ji-seok bought, both unaware that they’ve indirectly exchanged gifts with the other.
EPISODE 64
Jong-seok’s grades keep improving, earning some well-deserved praise from his family. Knowing that the tutoring session with Ji-sun has helped, Yoo-sun wonders what they should give her to express their gratitude. She overhears a conversation between Ha-sun and Ji-won and feels guilty upon hearing that Ji-won’s own studies have been slipping lately.
She consults Nae-sang about paying Ji-won for her services. Should Ji-won’s grades fall, Jong-seok’s future tutoring sessions could be in danger. They calculate how much to give (1/4 of a college tutor) but as expected, Ji-won politely rejects the money, saying it would turn into a formal tutoring relationship. Instead, she says to buy her a yummy dinner if Jong-seok’s grades improve on the following exam.
At the clinic, Kye-sang plays a trick on Jin-hee to lift her spirits, which rustles her feathers. She tries to get back at him in return with a Vitamin-C spiked coffee. But her jumpiness whenever he places the cup near his mouth gives her away and her revenge plan spoiled.
Kye-sang’s been fighting a toothache as of late, and when Jin-hee offers to set up a dentist appointment, he nervously brushes the matter aside. She hears from Ji-seok that Kye-sang harbors a fear of the dentist after a traumatic childhood experience when the drill brushed against his cheek.
Yoo-sun talks to Nae-sang again after seeing that how inconsistent the tutoring sessions are. This time, she suggests they draw up an incentive – if it’s good enough, Jiwon’ll bite. They reason that they’ll start the prizes off small and skip to bigger ones depending on what percentile Jong-seok falls in.
The result is a four-tiered pyramid broken down to the following categories: 80th percentile earns a fried chicken meal, 70th percentile a gold ring, 50th percentile is a trip to Europe, and within that rare 20th percentile, a compact car. The stakes are high and I’m wondering if offering such impossible rewards speaks more to luring in Ji-won or their half-baked belief in Jong-seok’s abilities.
But Ji-won agrees readily, taking them up on the challenge.
Jin-hee tests out Kye-sang’s fear the next day by dropping key words like ‘dentist’ and ‘appointment.’ The numbers on the heartrate monitor he’s attached to increases, confirming it. Kye-sang vehemently denies anything of the sort, but his heartrate races at the sound of a drill.
His fear becomes extremely real later at the dentist’s office: the seat pulls back, the spotlight, and finally the drill… and Kye-sang jumps out of the chair before getting anything done. Jin-hee claims she’ll take responsibility over everything, fear be damned, dragging terrified manchild Kye-sang by his feet.
Jin-hee takes Kye-sang to the children’s dentist (how cute!) to ease his anxiety, even holding his hand during the procedure.
The test results are in and everyone celebrate Jong-seok’s good marks until they realize he’s hit the 49th percentile. Which means… hello Europe! And you can see the ‘Oh crap‘ settle in on their faces despite Ji-won’s protests against going.
Ji-won tracks them down at the travel agency picking out a package, but she ushers them all the way home.
EPISODE 65
Ahn’s Art hits a snag – the broadcasting companies refuse to hire them ever since Yoo-sun went AWOL on set. Nae-sang pleads with his business partner for a project and forced to wait until a job comes in.
The following days pass without a hint of a lead, and the boredom settle in, almost driving them to the point of madness. So they resort to play childish games to break the monotony of waiting.
Ha-sun’s confession about the breakup leaves the teachers gobsmacked. Ji-seok catches up to her, his mind filled with questions but his mouth ends up talking about the weather. He mulls over his niece’s words when she tells him about a boy she likes, but he’s currently taken. Once they’re broken up, she’ll date him right away.
Which is exactly what happens once news breaks out that the boy’s single and they agree to date via text. Thus begins Soo-jung’s Dating Timer.
They meet up, giving each other cutesy nicknames like ‘wifey’ and ‘hubby’ (cameo by boy band member, Tae-min, from SHINee) and doing all the classic coupley activities, like taking selcas to show off their couple rings.
The honeymoon stage quickly blows over, however, when Soo-jung realizes that her new boyfriend is the clingy type, sending her texts every five seconds. He continues to work on her last nerve as the hours tick by. Though excessive, the dating routine works a little differently in Korea, where mutual interest can be gauged by how often they text each other in the beginning stages.
Amplify that with teen love and you’ve got a doomed Romeo & Juliet: The Epilogue.
They snipe at each other the next day, exasperated at each other’s blasé attitude. And as quickly as it started, they end their relationship just shy of 24 hours.
Nae-sang and Seung-yoon find a better way to spend their time, discovering that they can play duets of oldies. They entertain their family and friends with a medley of songs from famous duos like Twin Folio and Silver & Gold, to the more recent 10cm.
Ji-seok gathers the courage to buy concert tickets to a show Ha-sun might like, but hesitates when he spots Ha-sun curled up in her bed, still depressed.
Ji-seok criticizes his niece when he hears that her ‘fated love’ relationship has ended so soon, but Soo-jung tells him that confessing her feelings wasn’t easy but what matters is the fact that she said it at all. Her words about losing the person you care for because you didn’t tell them how you felt particularly resonates with him.
He rushes out and catches Ha-sun at the bus stop, showing her the concert tickets he bought earlier. But she’s on her way to meet some friends and regretfully hands them back over.
But Ji-seok runs up to the bus to shout out a few last words, “Next time I won’t be late! Next time!”
EPISODE 66
Yoo-sun grows increasingly frustrated at Kye-sang’s constant disinterest on attending blind dates, wondering if there could ever be a woman to tie him down. So she’s pleasantly surprised when she discovers that Ha-sun enjoys delicate hobbies like drinking tea and baking, commenting how lucky her boyfriend is.
But Ha-sun tells her she’s single now, and the gears start turning in Yoo-sun’s mind. She employs her kids to help Ha-sun and Kye-sang get together, who jump on board at the sound of an allowance.
It’s no surprise that both parties are stunned at the news, hesitant about being set up together. Yoo-sun and the kids drop a few white lies to nudge them, and they reluctantly agree to meet.
Nae-sang decides to be more proactive about obtaining future projects, since they’re always on the losing end when a job flops. But another task comes in and Nae-sang jumps at the chance to sign up foreign actors.
Hiring foreigners require drawing up contracts which can wipe out their entire budget. But Nae-sang isn’t deterred, assured in the possibility of finding the next Daniel Henney. They dwindle their candidates down to three, formally signing them into Ahn’s Art.
Jin-hee rushes to tell Ji-seok about the date as soon as she finds out. She berates his passive attitude, telling him it’s his last chance to do something should things work out between Ha-sun and Kye-sang.
Speaking of whom, the two are on their awkward date, trying to influence the other to end the date early with Kye-sang rolling out all the corny jokes he knows and Ha-sun awkwardly dancing. The tension finally breaks when Ha-sun asks if he’s trying to turn her off and mutually laugh over the things they prepared to do so.
Ji-seok and Jin-hee hurry to crash the date, the latter more flushed about the entire situation. Ji-seok points out her worked-up reaction, asking if Jin-hee’s interested in his brother to which she denies, telling him she’s trying to help Ji-seok. When they arrive, they miss the other two who’ve already stepped out for drinks.
They head to the nearest pojangmacha, drowning their sorrows in soju. A drunk Ji-seok demands that Kye-sang leave for Rwanda whilst Jin-hee fights back tears in the dark. Even though the date mutually ended without any romantic interest, the others’ reactions are still a little heartbreaking.
The problem with the new actors is that none of them can speak English. Nae-sang screams into the phone: “I thought that everyone who’s blond-haired and blue-eyed knew English!” Seung-yoon suggests teaching them how to speak it instead.
Yet despite all the English lessons, the newbies have a hard time mastering the language saying, “I’m ongry” versus “I’m hungry” and Nae-sang uses them as extras, instructing them to keep their face hidden from the camera.
EPISODE 67
Ha-sun and Ji-won help out as bridesmaids for a fellow teacher’s bridal photo shoot. Ji-seok drops by to deliver some snacks and Ha-sun’s phone, and is left awestruck seeing her in a pretty dress.
Both Ha-sun and Ji-sun end up having one too many drinks at dinner afterwards. It’s past midnight and Ha-sun drunkenly notes that it’s the last day of 2011, taking out her pent-up frustration by downing the rest of her glass.
Needless to say that Ji-seok is left to make sure the ladies return home safely. He watches Ha-sun sleep, entranced, and gently puts a hand to her cheek with a smile.
Ha-sun notices that her wallet is missing the following morning and Ji-seok offers to help retrace their steps to find it. He wonders if someone swiped the wallet while Ha-sun was knocked out, asking to review the recorded video from the previous night.
Ji-seok assures her that they’ll find the wallet thief when it dawns on him – if they see the tape, she’ll see him look at her lovingly which means she’ll find out about his feelings. Panicked, he suggests they give up on finding the wallet, offering to buy another one for her. When she declines, he says there’s a saying that one isn’t supposed to search for something already lost. She asks who said it and he blubbers, “Some famous person!”
He keeps insisting, and I hope that there isn’t some sort of sentimental value attached to the wallet, but there is, as it was given to her by her father. In a last-ditch effort, he lies that he stole it himself, much to her disbelief. But Ha-sun receives a call from the restaurant informing her that they’ve caught the thief on film.
Ji-seok rushes back to the restaurant before Ha-sun arrives. They review the tape, which records the theft and Ji-seok frantically tries to hide the video from Ha-sun’s view. He starts to sweat bullets as he sees himself drape his jacket over Ha-sun, the moment of truth about to reveal itself… then a drunkard appears in front of the camera, hiding the evidence of the crucial moment.
Nae-sang draws up a huge kite so everyone can write down their New Year wishes. Nae-sang wishes for everyone’s health, Jong-seok to do better in school (and in teeny writing ‘better than Ji-won’ heh), and Seung-yoon jots down ‘World Peace.’
Flying the kite turns out to be harder than initially thought, perhaps because of the kite’s enormous size, but Nae-sang continues to run around, determined to let their New Year wishes fly high into the sky.
Julien has been sulking for days, homesick for Texas. Jin-hee knocks on his door with rice cake soup, explaining that in Korea, you gain a year by eating it. She apologizes that she can’t make any homemade comfort food like he did for her last time, but he eats up nevertheless, grateful for her thoughtfulness.
Ji-seok offers to drive Ha-sun to her New Years Eve party, but the holiday traffic is a mess. There’s less than an hour left in 2011 and they reminisce on the past year’s memories. For Ji-seok, he says that this year was topped off by not telling someone something very important.
Ha-sun tells him there’s still time left to tell them, so he shouldn’t end this year left with any regrets.
We survey everyone spend their last few moments of 2011 together: The Ahns busy trying to fly a kite until it lifts into the sky, Kye-sang and Ji-won exchange New Years greetings with each other, and Ji-seok watches Ha-sun walk slowly away from him, then running to catch her.
As the New Year rings in, he finally utters the three simple words we’ve been dying for weeks to hear: “I like you.”
EPISODE 68
Yay for my two favorite couple lines!
After Ji-seok confesses his feelings to Ha-sun, he tells her to think it over before responding. Ha-sun is stunned and worries about it all night, and just the fact that she has to agonize over it gives me a sinking feeling for Ji-seok; poor puppy.
The next day is athletics day for the teachers, and Ji-seok and Ha-sun both search for appropriate clothes. Ji-seok puts on Kye-sang’s bunny sweater because his clothes are in the wash, which Jin-hee sees. Deciding to play Cupid, she urges Ha-sun to wear hers.
Jin-hee means well, but her interference means that both Ha-sun and Ji-seok are embarrassed when they see each other. It doesn’t help that students tease them about them being a couple and urge them to date. The awkwardness skyrockets by a factor of a million.
Worse yet, they’re put together on the same team, and Ha-sun wears her coat over her bunny until the last possible minute. Ji-seok apologizes for her discomfort and offers to flip his shirt inside out, but she tells him it’s okay.
Thankfully, though, an afternoon of playing basketball lightens the mood considerably. They start out playing badly, but after Ji-seok gives her some pointers, they manage to close the gap on Julien and Ji-sun, winning by one basket.
Meanwhile, in tutoring session Jong-seok scores badly in math and Ji-won jokes that at this rate he’ll end up being her hoobae at university. He’s not in a joking mood, though, and says there’s no way they’d end up at the school anyway — she’s smart and will get in to a good school, and he won’t. This idea has him glum, taking all the zest out of his studies. What’s the point? seems to be his attitude.
Ji-won clocks his mood and declares that they’ll take a field trip for today’s tutoring lesson, and with Seung-yoon tagging along, they head to a university. It’s an exhilarating sight, watching college students roaming the campus, embarking on this grand new phase of life, and it brings them a wave of excitement. Jong-seok tamps his interest down, acting like this is such a pain, but Seung-yoon runs around like an eager puppy and says this makes him want to study and go to college, too.
Ji-won takes them to an empty classroom and conducts their lesson there. Afterward she tells him he did better today — must be the change of venue. Jong-seok sticks to his grumpypants line and denies it, although we can tell that he’s not entirely immune to the lure of college life.
The university admissions list has recently been posted, and they comment about how excited these students must be. Ji-won points out a student with the same name as Jong-seok and urges him to take a photo by it.
There’s no student with her name, though, so Jong-seok improvises with an application form (“ji-won” = “apply”), tearing out the letters for her name. Borrowing the Kim right under his name, he tapes her name to the board. This is adorable. They pose for a photo and Jong-seok takes an extra look at the board, as though imagining how it would be if this were really them next year.
Meanwhile, Seung-yoon picks up a crowd of admiring students as he serenades them with his Krystal song, with the words swapped out to apply to the university instead. He ends on “Smile, noonas,” to their delight — boy knows his audience.
At the library, Jong-seok grabs a book for Ji-won and gulps at the proximity, overcompensating by calling her short arms. As they head out, he continues to say that today’s field trip was boring, though she can tell he doesn’t mean it.
They run into Kye-sang on campus, since this is his alma mater. He treats the kids to a snack, offering newly-adult Jong-seok a drink of makgulli. Jong-seok assures them that he can handle his drink… and then passes out on the table. While Kye-sang regales Ji-won with funny stories from his college days, Jong-seok sleeps with a smile on his face:
Jong-seok dreams of going to college with Ji-won, studying with her in the library, grabbing her hand as they head into law school together…
Ha-sun and Ji-seok walk home after school, their friendly vibe restored. But she’s ready to give her answer, and it’s not the one he wants: She values his friendship too much to risk losing it, and wants to keep things as they are. Easy, comfortable, and friendly.
Ji-seok is disappointed, but he tells her that he isn’t just going to watch from afar anymore and be the comfortable guy with her — he’ll keep liking her.
EPISODE 69
With new resolve, Ji-seok takes a more assertive approach, showing Ha-sun that he still likes her. She tries to keep him at arm’s length and maintain that distance, but he’s quietly firm. I like that he’s forward, but not as pushy as to be obnoxious.
For instance, when she turns down his dinner invitation for tomorrow, he can probably tell she’s making up an excuse but accepts her denial graciously. Then later, he tries a different approach.
Ha-sun works out her frustrations with exercise, and climbs a wall. Ji-seok finds her at the gym and proposes a bet with her: If he can beat her to the top, she’ll have dinner with him. If not, she can have a wish of her choosing. Ha-sun’s the pro, though, and Ji-seok has never tried this before so he accepts his defeat. He adds that if she decides she’d like a dinner partner after all, he’ll be around.
Her housemates are amazed to hear of this bet, though, knowing that Ji-seok apparently has a fear of heights. Jin-hee admits that she’s known he likes Ha-sun, and says that she’d felt sorry for him for suffering silently while she was dating someone else.
This is enough to make Ha-sun think again, and she asks Ji-seok out to dinner after all, prompting the most grin-inducing victory dance ever.
Nae-sang receives word of his embezzling ex-partner turning up, and heads off to find him. But the culprit runs off, so when Nae-sang arrives, all he finds are other creditors confiscating whatever they can of value. And so they end up taking home a dog, chicken, rabbit, and goat.
Once the animals are home, though, they find they can’t really do anything with them. Nae-sang declares that the most value they’d get out of them is eating them, but Soo-jung balks — she’s already bonded with them.
The family is split on which animals it’s okay to eat: Nae-sang argues that everything is fair game, while Soo-jung says no to killing anything with a face. Kye-sang approaches this methodically, and it is decided that dogs and rabbits aren’t for eating (except in times of war or if you’re on a deserted island). But the goat is edible, and so is the chicken.
Soo-jung protests vehemently, since she’s already named the animals, and argues that they know their own names. So they propose a test: If she calls their name and the animal responds, they won’t eat it.
The goat manages to turn at the sound of its name, but the chicken remains steadfastly immune, leading Soo-jung to cry, “You stupid bird-brained chicken!” And it’s chicken porridge for dinner that night.
Ji-seok is endearingly nervous as he picks Ha-sun up for dinner, mixing up his words and mucking up the whole pulling-out-her-chair bit. (She approaches a chair, so he hurries to pull it out for her. She assumes he’s claiming that seat and changes her mind, taking the opposite seat instead. Ji-seok pulls out the chair and returns to his own seat… resulting in them sitting side by side with puzzled looks. So cute.)
Ha-sun finds his nervousness cute and smiles to herself all throughout dinner. On the drive home, she look at the setting sun and muses that beautiful things don’t last a long time. The sun soon sets and she says that Ji-seok is the one person she can be comfortable with, joke with, and get upset with — he’s that important to her. Dating would be lovely, but it could be like the sunset and end quickly. She’s afraid that after it’s over, he’ll leave and she’ll be left with painful memories.
Ji-seok says that he has faith that wouldn’t happen to them, but she tells him sorry, sincerely.
A few days later, he gives her a letter saying that he understands how she feels: “But I’ll stay by your side, waiting, always.” Absently, Ha-sun fixes his errors with her red pen, lost in thought.
EPISODE 70
Jin-hee happens upon the letter Ji-seok wrote Ha-sun, and is impressed with his assertiveness. She applauds him for making a move, although he’s alarmed to hear she read the letter. She says she read it accidentally.
Soo-jung is itching to buy a coat that’s on sale, but she has no money and her wheedling powers are no use today. Seung-yoon tells her to try picking up some extra work with Dad’s company, so she hits Dad up for a gig. Too bad the only assignment he has requires one Caucasian and one Indian woman.
With the letter on her mind, Jin-hee wishes that Kye-sang were similarly forward with his emotions — and that said emotions were pointed in her direction. She moons over him at work, and he surprises her by buying her lunch and calling her cute.
Suddenly serious, Kye-sang admits he likes her and asks her to date. She gives him the same answer Ha-sun had given Ji-seok (I don’t want to ruin what we have), and Kye-sang replies the same way his brother did (I won’t stop liking you). To stop her from walking away, he pushes her against a wall (rawr!)… which, of course, is just her fantasy. Hee.
Ji-won pesters Ha-sun and Kye-sang for her scooter key, and they both refuse. She determines to find a way.
Seung-yoon comments that Ji-won’s pretty in a western way and Jong-seok adds that he thinks she looks Indian. This gives Soo-jung the idea to use themselves as the extras, and Ji-won agrees to go along if Soo-jung helps get her scooter key back.
Ji-seok’s love letter gets seen by other people, thanks to Jin-hee’s carelessness, and Soo-jung even takes a photo of it because it’s so hilarious, with the red-marked grammar mistakes. Thankfully Ji-seok hadn’t signed his name so nobody knows it’s his even though his whole family laughs over it.
Ha-sun is mortified and apologetic, but Ji-seok takes it in stride. However, he hastens to assure her that he doesn’t usually make so many mistakes, that he was writing in haste, in bad lighting, and some of it was even on purpose, you know, to be funny. He’s so earnest in his defensiveness that Ha-sun can’t stop herself from laughing. So cute.
Jin-hee’s overactive imagination continues, and now she imagines that she’s in one of those drama scenarios where the hero’s haughty family opposes the match due to the heroine’s lowly status. Kye-sang yells at his family to leave his house if they insist on opposing Jin-hee, sticking up for her in a righteous fury.
Burdened by her love, Fantasy Jin-hee runs away, leaving behind a goodbye note for Kye-sang. He tracks her down in Paris (the Paris tie is spurred by macarons in the office, hee) and declares that he’d follow her to the ends of the earth.
I love that this romantic climax is interrupted by Real-Life Kye-sang, saying his dorky catchphrase, “Just kidding!”
Soo-jung and Ji-won score the extra gigs, aided by Soo-jung’s English skills and some makeup and costume tricks. They wrap the shoot and head off together on Ji-won’s scooter, since Soo-jung has swiped the key.
They make an illegal U-turn, though, and a police car tries to pull them over. Soo-jung eggs Ji-won on to keep driving since they’re disguised by their costumes, but they wind up in the police station anyway.
Both girls stick to their covers; Soo-jung pretends she only speaks English and Ji-won repeats the one Hindi line she was given for the role. The police officers find their IDs and Soo-jung caves, apologizing and agreeing to call her guardian.
Kye-sang comes to pick them up and finds Soo-jung penitent, while Ji-won is stubbornly sticking to her cover, refusing to admit her identity, doing her best attempt at a Bollywood-style dance.
EPISODE 71
Jin-hee works late at the clinic, and to make up for it, Kye-sang promises to buy her a samgyubsal dinner next week, since he’s going away on business for the next few days. He teases her not to miss him too much, and she says she won’t miss him much compared to the barbecue.
But Jin-hee packs him a lunch spread to take on his trip, only to find she’s just barely missed him. Dejected, she finds herself missing him after all, all the zest sucked out of life.
She wakes up with a miserable cold one day and is stuck in bed with a fever. But she overhears that Kye-sang dropped by home for a short while before resuming his trip, and decides she’ll just see him for a moment.
She staggers out of bed, only to miss him by moments. She continues on to the clinic, missing him again. She comes home in low spirits, only to find that Kye-sang actually dropped by with medicine for her, but since she was out looking for him, she missed it. It’s the theme of her day.
Nae-sang gets a last-minute request for an extra who can sing, and Seung-yoon eagerly points to himself. Nae-sang grudgingly agrees, only to have a stranger on the set ask for a chance. He belts out a song then and there, and it’s so impressive that Nae-sang brings him in to contract him. (It’s Huh Gak, the winner of the competitive reality show Superstar K 2, which is also Seung-yoon’s claim to fame.)
Nae-sang gives the part to Gak, to which Seung-yoon argues. They should at least get to audition for the part, leading us to a meta-on-meta segment where the family basically re-creates Superstar K in their living room. Hee.
Seung-yoon goes first. Oh, how fun — both boys pick songs that they’d sung when they were competing on Superstar K 2, while Ha-sun takes on the role of emotional, encouraging judge. Lee Juck is finagled into being a nitpicky judge, and Nae-sang sits as the sniffy Simon Cowell.
Gak’s song happens to be an Lee Juck song (하늘을 달리다), and his performance earns him some super-picky critique from the original singer himself. Hehe. Both earn strong marks (and both are pretty damn good performers), which means this hinges upon audience vote. MC Jong-seok builds up the moment… and then pulls the infamous “We’ll have scores in 60 seconds” fakeout. This is cracking me up.
Jin-hee stumbles along, determined to catch Kye-sang before he leaves again, finally seeing him at the bus stop. But she’s caught at the light and the bus comes roaring up, and she’s about to cry in disappointment, as Loveholic’s song “Flower Pot” narrates, “From far away… from far, far away, you come.”
But he doesn’t take the bus, and Jin-hee manages to make it to Kye-sang’s side. She slaps him, then collapses in his arms.
Jin-hee awakens with her head in his lap, and gives him the gloves she’d knitted. Finally, she’s been able to accomplish this small thing — she’d heard his destination was cold and wanted to give the gift — and he gets on his bus. At peace now, Jin-hee makes the heart sign with her arms, and to her surprise, Kye-sang turns and sends her a heart right back.
Which turns out to be her dream — she actually lies in bed, smiling as she imagines this last part. It turns out Kye-sang brought Jin-hee home after she collapsed, and he wonders at the slap.
Meanwhile, Seung-yoon is declared the winner of the competition, and a bitter Huh Gak runs off, declining to sign with Nae-sang. Some time later, they see him on TV, basking in the glory of finally making it as a singer — and he says right into the camera smugly, “Kang Seung-yoon — are you watching?”
EPISODE 72
Kye-sang receives a painting from a friend, and Ji-won comments on the image of a girl looking off into the snowy distance, finding it sad, like she’s lost something. Yet Jin-hee sees the painting and says the girl looks like she’s looking off toward love, and their different responses prompts Kye-sang to suppose that they’re projecting.
Furthermore, Ji-won reacts strongly when Kye-sang suggests they go out and play in the new snow. So when Kye-sang meets with Ha-sun regarding Ji-won’s narcolepsy, he asks if there are details he ought to know. With a hesitant sigh, Ha-sun decides it’s time he knew something about Ji-won.
Kye-sang drops off a book for Ji-won and sees her wall of photographs, marveling at her skill. She says it’s her hobby, although she can’t do it these days because he refuses to let her take her scooter out. Kye-sang offers to take her on her photo trips, and suggests she accompany him on a work trip today.
Ahn’s Art is doing well, having found its foothold in the market for managing Westerner extras. The family congratulates Dad, and Nae-sang is feeling so confident in his excellent skills of judgment that he decides to lecture the kids on the secrets of good judgment.
His tenets: Decide objectively, without emotion, be bold, and see the forest (big picture) rather than trees (details).
Feeling puffed up on confidence, Nae-sang decides to take the boys on a hike and lecture them along the way on the rules of making good decisions. But they lose their trail and Nae-sang starts to panic, violating all of his rules as he loses all reason. Haha.
Nae-sang slips down a small hill, twists his ankle, and freaks out: “We’re going to die here!” Jong-seok manages a brief cell phone signal and in the short phone call before they cut out, Nae-sang cries to Soo-jung, “Daddy loves you!” Deciding that they’re done for, he tells the boys go save themselves, decrying their attempts to calmly find a solution by declaring, “It’s all over! It’s no use!” (The boys head off and find campers in about thirty seconds, ha.)
On their photo excursion, Ji-won clenches her fists throughout the car ride as she looks at the snow. As Kye-sang notes her reaction, we hear Ha-sun’s explanation: Some years ago, Ji-won and her father, who were especially close, were on a trip together to New Zealand in the winter when their car broke down.
After waiting for help without success, Dad had headed out and ordered her to stay put, saying it was too cold for her. Ji-won was left in the car for two more days, alone, before she was rescued.
And her father? “That was the last time Ji-won saw him.”
Kye-sang watches Ji-won snap her photos, his heart heavy with sympathy. When they return home that night, she thanks him for the trip today, unaware of his extra emotional burden.
Jin-hee finds Kye-sang at the empty clinic, happy to see him. But there’s something about his mood today, and he looks at that painting again with tears in his eyes. Now the painting is sad for him, too, as he imagines that the girl in the image is Ji-won standing tearfully, looking out into the great white vastness of what she’s lost.
EPISODE 73
Can we call this episode ‘Death of the Kyeongsang Dialect?’
After Seung-yoon finishes serenading us on stage (swoon!), a fan approaches him asking if he’s doing anything later aka for a date. He tells her that he’s free and someone declares “Cut!” The camera pulls back to reveal the disgruntled staff and director who berate him for speaking in his country dialect.
Seung-yoon hates that he’s ordered to change his speech to talk like a Seoulite since Korea is made up of more than just Seoul. If it were up to him, he’d create a network that would strictly speak in the Kyeongsang dialect. In his head, he imagines a newsgirl reporting the weather in that accent. I feel like we’ve seen this before. But Nae-sang demands that he change it, pulling in Soo-jung to help.
She’s a harsh instructor, drilling him in his intonation and pitch (such as using “-ni” in Seoul instead of “-no,” which makes him shake in horror).
Kye-sang offers a ride to a Ha-sun when he sees her on his way home. She’s drunk and tired, but declines when Kye-sang suggests she nap in the car. His “just kidding!” catchphrase prompts her to ask about his humorous nature. So he tells her that he’s more playful when it will elicit a bigger reaction in the other person.
The next morning, Ha-sun groans when she hears that Kye-sang carried her home and recalls making cat noises in the car. She meets him on her way to work and apologizes for her behavior last night. Scurrying away to save herself from any further embarrassment, she suddenly slips on an ice patch, splitting her pants and runs back home, mortified.
The news that Ha-sun will be running late spikes Ji-sun’s radar again – how come Julien is so well informed? Music Teacher Yoon tries to grab her attention about their living arrangement, but she shuts him out before he gets the chance.
Ha-sun meets with Kye-sang alone after he nearly spills about an ‘entertaining, embarrassing story’, asking him to keep the morning’s incident under wraps. He complies (and assures her that he was referring to a different story), but wonders about how someone so demure could have such exaggerated reactions, even purposely prodding her to prove his point.
Seung-yoon successfully perfects the Seoul dialect with Soo-jung’s method of matching his spoken pitch with musical pitch since his accent isn’t present when he sings. He gets an earful, however, when his noona calls – she’s horrified to hear that he’s on his way to becoming a Seoulite. She hangs up in a huff, and poor, confused Seung-yoon slumps into the couch, dejected.
His flawless delivery at the following shoot earns him praise from both the staff and Nae-sang. He catches his reflection in the bathroom mirror and scolds himself for betraying his upbringing… then realizes that now he’s thinking in the Seoul dialect and scruffs up his hair in frustration.
He comes home tipsy later that evening, perplexed about who he is. Alternating between city and country dialects with Nae-sang and Jong-seok respectively, he sighs that he’s neither from Seoul nor from Kyeongsang before falling into his buddy’s lap.
Lee Juck narrates that Kye-sang continues to push Ha-sun’s buttons, finding the temptation to see her go from proper to crazed in a split second totally irresistible (His constant egging ends up with her smashing kimchi paste into his mouth. Serves him right).
At school, Music Teacher Yoon confronts Ha-sun about the living arrangement, but before he can utter “Jul—” she sends him flying out the window… of the second story.
EPISODE 74
Ji-seok helps out with Ha-sun’s flat tire at school which tugs at her guilt strings again. It’s only made worse at home when Jin-hee criticizes a TV character for playing on a guy’s heart, asking him for a helping hand when she doesn’t feel anything for him. She adds that it’s better off cutting ties cleanly to avoid further heartbreak.
By a moment of serendipity, Ha-sun spots the scammer ajusshi who conned her out of Julien’s housing deposit on the street, but loses him at the last moment.
Ha-sun decides to plan a stakeout to corner the swindler. Ji-seok warns her of the danger of pursuing the man by herself, offering his help. She declines his insistence, telling him he needn’t bother since Julien will be accompanying her. A little hurt, he asks if she finds him burdensome, and she stays silent, unable to tell him that she doesn’t want to take advantage of him.
Ji-won is plenty excited when Kye-sang invites her to see his friend’s art exhibition together the next evening. She dresses up, borrowing Ha-sun’s clothes and heels, in order to look older in front of Kye-sang’s friends. The heels cause her grief, but she slaps on a brave face throughout the night.
Meanwhile, Jong-seok stares at a pair of sneakers gifted to him by Seung-yoon and recalls that Ji-won recently tore her old pair. So when she comes by to study earlier than usual, he sneaks outside to draw an outline on his shoe sole to measure her shoe size. Too cute.
He goes to the store to exchange the sneakers and lifts up his own shoe to show the sales associate the appropriate shoe size. Hehe, how adorable.
The first all-night stakeout turns up nothing and Ha-sun returns the next day, this time by herself. Preoccupied with Ji-seok worrying over again that morning, she hilariously mistakes a stranger for him, thinking that he followed to keep an eye on her. Fiddling with her phone, she wonders in silence how Ji-seok hasn’t called to check in with her.
Conman Ajusshi finally shows his face and upon recognizing Ha-sun, makes a run for it. He’s chased down the street until he realizes that she’s alone versus him and his men. She confronts him about the deposit, her words no weight against four grown men. Her henchman start to drag her towards the car but out of nowhere, Mr. Piggy comes to her rescue.
He stands his ground pretty well delivering some punches and kicks but not without suffering some blows himself. The scoundrels drive off, and Ha-sun pulls at Mr. Piggy’s headpiece, knowing full well that it’s Ji-seok.
Mr. Piggy shakes his head, running off with a slight limp. When he’s out of sight, however, he removes it, revealing Ji-seok indeed. Soon afterwards, he receive a text from Ha-sun that says she’s grateful but prefers that he doesn’t bend over backwards for her anymore.
Kye-sang’s friends invite him out to Round 2 to a wine bar and Ji-won asks if she can tag along, saying it would be a waste to dress up for a few short hours. Kye-sang registers a deeper sentiment behind her words and tells her gently that although she looks very pretty tonight, the clothes would look prettier when she’s 20 (aka an adult). He adds that for now, her school uniform fits her best.
Jong-seok runs into Ji-won on the street, jokingly calling her short legs. She suddenly cries out in pain over her heels and he kneels down to help. Jong-seok scolds her for wearing shoes that don’t suit her and slips on the new sneakers instead.
She sighs, saying that she’d like to become an adult soon. Suddenly she gets up and starts running to turn 20 faster and a confused Jong-seok chases after her.
Ha-sun runs into car trouble and left stuck on the road. She imagines a worried Ji-seok coming for her and waits outside, thinking that he’ll be taking the same road. But she waits for hours until Teacher Yoon arrives – that is, a bus named, ‘Teacher Yoon Math Classroom.’
EPISODE 75
Kye-sang is enjoying lunch with a friend when he overhears the manager arguing with a woman who can’t pay for her bill. So he steps in to pick up her (expensive!) tab.
The woman (cameo by Shin Se-kyung) is grateful for the gesture. She’s immigrating to Taiwan soon with her father, who left to attend to some business, and her money was swiped. Seeing as she doesn’t have a place to stay, Kye-sang opens up their home to her.
The Ahn/Yoon household has no qualms about the situation, apart from princess Soo-jung who gripes at first, but comes ’round when she hears that Se-kyung has no one else to turn to. Seung-yoon compliments how pretty she is, busting out in spontaneous song that carries a slightly gloomy tone.
Se-kyung offers to help around the house in exchange for giving a roof over her head. She finds herself sometimes too helpful at times, like preparing breakfast or delivering soup to the clinic. In a particular instance, she waves to Nae-sang, shouting that she washed his underwear so he doesn’t have to go commando anymore. HA.
Ji-won tries out a new method to help Jong-seok memorize English vocab by playing a game. The person who answers first gets to bop the other on the head. He’s confident in at least two, but ends up getting creamed anyway.
Kye-sang learns that Se-kyung has dropped out of school. In his concern, he reels her in to sit in Ji-won’s tutoring sessions. Se-kyung teaches them some nonsense phrases to help Jong-seok remember which words are important, but Ji-won’s narcolepsy kicks in and Jong-seok watches her sleep with a smile on his face. Cute cute cute.
A tumble down the stairs sends Se-kyung to check out her injury at the dentist. She runs into Kye-sang on her way there and he buys her a scarf so she stays warm. Touched, a lone tear runs down her face in the chair and when asked, she says, “I’m so relieved that I don’t have to pull [the tooth] out.”
Jong-seok is amazed at Kye-sang’s wealth of knowledge, so he asks about his study methods. Kye-sang says it’s simple: memorization is easier if you find it interesting. So at Julien’s English study group, the students ask him questions.
He stammers at first, but gains a foothold when they ask about a girl he might like. He tells them about how a girl who makes his heart flutter – he’s concerned about her narcolepsy and wants to take care of her. It’s absolutely adorable – a gold star for your work today.
Some days later, Kye-sang gives Se-kyung a ride to her destination. It’s raining and Se-kyung looks out the window wistfully, reflecting on how this moment seems like yesterday, or some time ago, and adds, “I wish [it] would stop…” Kye-sang asks what and she says, “…my motion sickness…” and ready to hurl in the car. LOL. And just when you thought we steered clear of the High Kick 2 meta-reference, a truck approaches them from the opposite direction…
And we see a tragic car crash. On TV, of course – our two characters are safe and Kye-sang gives her some water to prevent her from upchucking in his car.
At the harbor, she promises to keep in touch to repay his blessings and graciousness. A month later, Kye-sang receives a letter from Se-kyung, telling him that she and her family are doing well, she’s studying hard, and hopes that one day she’ll return to Korea.
EPISODE 76
Soo-jung excitedly runs in to tell her mother about an upcoming family badminton tournament; the grand prize is a family ski trip. Yoo-sun suggests teaming up with her oppa – he was a star athlete after all, and Jong-seok puffs up, confident in everything sports-related.
Too bad that Soo-jung switches him out with Ji-seok later which leaves Jong-seok enraged – he’s already bragged about his abilities around town. When his family asks to whom, he leaves out Ji-won’s name. He calls for a try-out so that the better man can play for their family.
Jin-hee is sent around town to run errands for the clinic. Suddenly, an old man reaches to grab a snack out which she gripes about. He calls her ugly, stealing the entire bag after asking for one, and yells at her when she talks back at him.
She spots the same elderly man wandering around the streets a little while later. He calls her ‘kiddo’ much to her displeasure (although I think the bunny earmuffs given by Kye-sang DO make her look younger). She tries to help him find his way back home “ooovverrr therrree.” With a poor memory and giving irrelevant answers to Jin-hee’s questions, she grows tiresome and leaves in a huff.
But she remembers how cold it is outside and worries that he might get sick. So she hurries to find him and wraps her scarf and earmuffs around his ears, promising him to bring him back home safely. Taking her hand in his, they set out together.
Ji-seok the pro, but he’s disinterested in winning against his nephew and getting in between the family’s argument. The problem is that Nae-sang is a biased judge, calling fouls against Jong-seok even though Ji-seok says otherwise. In the end, Ji-seok wins and the family flocks to his side. Betrayed and furious, Jong-seok stomps out of the gym.
Seeing his family’s team uniforms sends him over the edge and hotheadedly declares that he’ll compete against them with Ji-won. Nae-sang argues that he’s an Ahn to which he retorts that he’ll just change his residency. He follows through, and an irate Nae-sang tells Seung-yoon to relay that Jong-seok is barred from stepping one foot in the house.
The elderly man stumbles into an abandoned house and Jin-hee tells him he can’t just walk in anywhere. Kye-sang discovers them there a short time later. He tells her that the man is a dementia patient and figured that he might find him at his former residence. Jin-hee says that this place must hold special and happy memories for him, seeing that he came back here. Though it’s the dead of winter, they sweetly join him digging the earth, the reason to grow his son’s favorite food.
However, they learn from his caretaker that his son died 3 years prior in a car crash, but continues to hold on to his son’s memory. He steps out to return the earmuffs, but Jin-hee tells him to keep them. Animated, he exclaims, “You’re the prettiest in the world!” which makes her blush until he adds, “Not you… the earmuffs.” Pfffft.
He gives her a few seeds to plant, instructing her to take good care of them, and waves goodbye.
Tournament Day. The Ahns sneer at their rivals, calling their traitorous son, “Kim Jong-seok.” Their teams, “Ahn & Yoon,” and “Long Legs & Short Legs” face off in the semi-finals (Ha, and I love it how Seung-yoon calls after Jong-seok longingly but Nae-sang pulls him back). They’re close for the majority of the match and it’s down to match point. An impressive strike hits Soo-jung square on the forehead, securing the win for his team.
He revels in celebration (a little too much) which gets him effectively thrown out of the house. He waves his change of residency form like a white flag of surrender and kisses the ground when they finally let him back in a week later.
At the clinic, Jin-hee calls Kye-sang over when the seeds start to sprout. They look at the budding shoot lovingly, and like any parent, hope that it will grow strong and healthy.
EPISODE 77
One of Kye-sang’s patients turns out to be a boxing gym director. Since he can’t pay for the medical fees, he offers Kye-sang and his family to come work out at his gym anytime. Kye-sang invites Jin-hee to spar with him during lunch, giving her a chance to release any stress she might harbor against him. Yeah if by stress, you mean adoring crush.
He gives her some pointers, but she’s too entranced and distracted, and goes down in one punch. She laughs like a fool which makes him wonder if he hit her too hard.
Seung-yoon lavishes the Ahns with gifts and sweets after he visits his hometown. They’re reeled in shock with such expensive gifts and Nae-sang wonders if it’s okay to keep accepting these gifts – if he could afford all of these valuables, he must really hail from a rich family. Yoo-sun dismisses it, trying out her new mink shawl, saying that even Seung-yoon said they were things lying around the house.
They receive an unexpected visitor however – it’s Seung-yoon’s mom who is appalled that the family have accepted such gifts from her son. Her bewilderment escalates with every gift that she sees from the shawl to the sweets.
She explains that Seung-yoon is different from other children (and Yoo-sun starts to confirm how strange he is but Nae-sang hushes her). His altruistic nature caused problems since he was a babe – he would give his bottle over to another crying baby, do all of his classmates’ work, and nearly brought down the house (literally).
She’s worried that people will continue to take advantage of his giving heart and Yoo-sun immediately apologizes. Seung-yoon’s mother takes back the mink shawl (to Yoo-sun’s hesitation) and leaves.
Soo-jung continues on her immature rampage, from picking out the olives on her pizza to the poor boxing instructor. She sternly explains that she likes hitting, but hates getting hit. So every time the instructor lightly taps her helmet, she punches him back tenfold.
Ji-won and Jong-seok take a turn at the boxing rings for themselves with Jong-seok flexing his emcee muscles. Ji-won protests at her poor record (1 win and 8 losses, all K.O. keh) and objects at his perfect win record.
The results show Jong-seok to be the ultimate victor and she calls for a rematch. Jong-seok narrates how her punches fail to score any points, which bubbles her anger further. She sends him down with a light punch. She’s surprised and adorably, he quips if she isn’t going to start the countdown and then passes out again. She counts to 9 before he gets back up, much to her annoyance.
He calls out the results again which declares him champion again. Ji-won argues that she didn’t fully go down for the count whereas he did. On the verge of tears now, Jong-seok narrates that the results were incorrect (twice) and announces Ji-won as the champ. She addresses the invisible crowd in quick thanks, and then slugs Jong-seok in the gut.
Ji-won gets chased out of the ring, but they both get caught in the ropes and Jong-seok topples on top of her. Both reacting to the close proximity, he bolts up, coughing the tension away.
Seung-yoon is stunned to hear that his mother dropped by and took back the gifts he brought. Arguing that his family usually doesn’t react that way, he calls home to confirm. Determined to bring it back, he gets up to leave straightaway to Yoo-sun’s half protests.
The next day, she overhears Jong-seok speaking with Seung-yoon on the phone. Thinking that he must be close by, she uses the laundry as an excuse to delay leaving the house. On the veranda, she pulls out a pair of binoculars to scan the neighborhood until she sees it – a large bag that could be holding her precious mink shawl.
EPISODE 78
During a tutoring session, Ji-won gets milk on her upper lip. As Hyun Bin so emphatically informed us, the foam-on-your-lip maneuver is clearly an invitation for a kiss, and that mental association is enough to distract Jong-seok from the lesson. For days. It’s adorable.
Jin-hee wonders why Ha-sun keeps the cheap necklace Young-wook gave her, since it gave her such grief with the metal allergy. Ha-sun tells her that after a while the metal stopped bothering her, but this conversation sets off her suspicions when she later sees another necklace in Ji-seok’s room. Putting two and two together, she realizes he must have swapped out the chains.
The teachers go out for dinner, and Ji-sun urges the men to set her and Ha-sun up with blind dates. She wants a guy who isn’t flashy but quietly looks after you, warm and dependable, and Ha-sun doesn’t miss the fact that Ji-sun has basically described Ji-seok as the perfect boyfriend.
After dinner Ha-sun suggests a walk, and although she starts to ask him about the necklace, she cuts herself off at the last minute. They stop to hit a few balls at a batting cage, with Ji-seok showing her how.
Over the next few days, Jong-seok finds himself grinning goofily over his crush at random moments (so cute), like when he walks by a bus stop with a milk ad plastered over it. The song “Holding Hands and Humming” (posted below, in the Comments) plays, doing double-duty as thematic narration as the lyrics go, “As I wait for the bus…I’ll take the hand you hold out to me.”
Soo-jung watches mixed martial arts on TV and discovers that Julien knows some moves. (Trivia! Julien’s real-life older brother, Denis Kang, is an MMA fighter.) He demonstrates the guillotine choke, which she eagerly tries out on various men in her family, only to have them easily disarm her. Jong-seok tickles his way out, while Kye-sang easily turns the hold around on her.
Frustrated, Soo-jung goes back for pointers, and this time Ji-won joins in on the chokehold lesson. So in the next lesson when it’s clear that Jong-seok is yet again distracted, Ji-won declares that she’s got to punish him — and pounces to grab him in a chokehold.
But the hold doesn’t have the effect on him that she intended, and it’s adorable how enthusiastically she applies her hold while Jong-seok blushes furiously and makes absolutely zero effort to work his way out of it. As a result, he passes out from lack of oxygen. Hee.
Kye-sang has the results of a physical exam Ji-seok took, and says that a polyp showed up, which they’ll have to remove in a simple surgery. When Ji-seok takes a sick day, Ha-sun wonders at the cause, and hears about the surgery he’ll be undergoing.
Worried, she checks online for information, seeing that it’s a very safe procedure with a low death rate, but she can’t shake off her fears. Then at the convenience store, she hears that the woman who usually works there passed away during heart surgery, hammering in the fear that people can die without warning.
She runs to the hospital right then and there, and finds Ji-seok in the hallway, pre-surgery. Ha-sun tells him she knows about her necklace, which he apologizes for. She tells him she’s not angry, and says in a confused string of broken phrases that she doesn’t even know what she wants to say.
Ha-sun: “Since you’ve always been by my side, I thought you’d always be with me, that we could be like yesterday, hitting baseballs together. But to think that you could suddenly leave without a word — since nobody knows what will happen tomorrow — why am I feeling this way? They say your surgery is a safe one, but still, if you leave my side, then… I… really…”
Ji-seok tells her that he’ll be fine and assures her again that he’ll wait by her side. Brushing away her tears, he promises, “I’ll always be with you, no matter what happens.”
And then, he kisses her. Finally!
EPISODE 79
Ji-seok wakes up from a successful surgery to worried family members, who tell him he slept longer than expected. His first question is about Ha-sun, but his siblings haven’t seen her around.
He’s up and running in no time, and when he runs into Ha-sun outside their houses he tells her he missed her and goes in for a hug. She shoves him away, though, completely offended — she’d told him she just wanted to be friends!
Startled, he reminds her of the hospital kiss, but she says he must have dreamed it up. WHAT? She leaves in a huff, and Ji-seok’s heart sinks as he realizes that must have dreamed everything that happened around surgery-time.
This makes things awkward between them, even though he apologizes. Then Ha-sun gets a call from her father in the U.S., because her mother, who suffers from weak health, has been ill again. She prepares to visit her parents immediately, but Dad adds the suggestion that perhaps she move to the States to live with them permanently.
After some thought, Ha-sun decides to make the move, putting in her resignation with the school and discussing with Ji-won what to do about her future plans. This worries Julien and Jin-hee, who may soon find themselves without a home. Jin-hee tries to convince Ha-sun not to move, and when that fails, she turns her attention to Ji-won, arguing that she’ll need companionship in this big empty house. Too bad for her that Ji-won decides to follow Ha-sun to the States.
Ji-seok hears the news with alarm and asks Ha-sun to meet, taking her to the spot by the river where he was supposed to meet her for dinner, all those months ago. He gives her a bouquet of red flowers, telling her he’d planned to give her flowers then and confess his feelings that night (when, instead, she’d fallen into the water and Young-wook had come to her aid).
Ji-seok explains that he doesn’t want to be left with regrets, like he was back then, and asks her earnestly not to go. Ha-sun gets a little choked up but she stays firm, telling him she’s sorry.
Ha-sun packs her things up and readies to leave, with Ji-won planning to follow next month. Everyone comes by to say their goodbyes, except Ji-seok. At the last moment, he changes his mind, though, and speeds to the airport, wanting to make one last-ditch effort to keep her from leaving.
He races to the terminal, calling her name, but she doesn’t hear. He calls her on his cell while running, but in his hurry he isn’t able to dodge a car and gets hit, falling to the asphalt near the curb. So Ha-sun heads into the terminal without seeing him, and Ji-seok lies in the road, watching her go. His phone lies out of his reach as Ha-sun answers his call, only to get silence on the other end…
And then, Ji-seok wakes up. In a mirror of the opening scene, Ji-seok wakes from surgery and it takes him a moment to register that he hasn’t died. AHH, High Kick, you big tease! I knew we weren’t getting rid of Ha-sun and her departure did seem awfully swift so I’m not entirely surprised — but I swear I was thisclose to yelling profanities at the “It was all a dream” turn. Thankfully, it was all a dream… within a dream.
A short while later, he runs across Ha-sun in their neighborhood, and she’s happy to see him. Weighed down with the emotion of his dream, Ji-seok silently pulls Ha-sun into a hug and tells her, “I was so scared I wouldn’t see you again.”
He thanks her for staying with him, and they stand there in the street, holding each other.
EPISODE 80
With their feelings confirmed, both Ji-seok and Ha-sun get used to this shift in their relationship. They’re adorably bashful, in that giddy way of new lovers, as Ji-seok confirms that she’s really his girlfriend now, and she nods shyly. To mark the moment, Ji-seok asks her out for their first official date, and even belatedly offers to re-ask the question properly later (aka, not in the bathroom sticking out of a hole in the ground). Hee.
On the other end of the relationship spectrum are Yoo-sun and Nae-sang, due to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary tonight. Yoo-sun is expecting him to take her out, so she’s miffed to realize he forgot. But worse is the way he dismisses the day, telling her to let this year slide since he’s remembered so well every other year.
Yoo-sun blows up at Nae-sang, saying should’ve been especially mindful this year, after all the suffering they’ve been through. When he gives in and agrees to go out, it’s too late and Yoo-sun rebuffs him with annoyance.
By contrast, Ji-seok stays up late looking up date spots, and even picks out jokes. The next day he gets ready for the big date, trying on multiple outfits, changing his mind at the last moment and swapping jackets. So cute. Yet also so sad, because he forgets to swap his wallet out of the jacket pocket. Oh noes! I cringe for you already and nothing’s happened yet. You know you love the characters when you almost don’t want to finish the episode, just because you don’t want to witness their embarrassment.
He tries to be the perfect date when he picks Ha-sun up, although he doesn’t quite pull it off. He pulls her hair when trying to help with her seatbelt, and his corny pun-jokes fall flat. He turns on the radio to cover the silence, only to have Kim Dong-ryul singing, “It’s so awkward, I can’t look at you in the eye…” (It’s “Truth in Wine” or “취중진담,” posted here.)
At their lunch at a fancy Western restaurant, Ji-seok suggests changing the names they call each other. They’ve gotten used to calling each other Teacher Yoon and Teacher Park, but that’s a bit formal for a dating couple.
Just then, a nearby couple cute-gush to each other with their pet names jagi and aegi (honey and baby), which is too lovey-dovey for comfort. They decide to go with Ji-seok-sshi and Ha-sun-sshi.
Ji-seok belatedly registers his cash problem, and with deep chagrin he tells Ha-sun that he left his wallet at home. Without hesitation she offers to pay, cheerily turning down his insistence that he’ll pay her back.
They watch a movie (Wonderful Radio, it looks like), and Ha-sun laughs so loudly she snorts. Ji-seok snorts to cover up her embarrassment, but that annoys the other theatergoers. She spills her soda in his lap accidentally, and tries to pat at the spill, realizing too late where her hands are (ha, and rawr).
An annoyed viewer yells at them to quiet down, and Ji-seok’s temper rears its head as he defends “my girl” and all but challenges the guy to a fight. Ha-sun has to drag him away, and the date ends with embarrassment and awkwardness on both sides.
Yoo-sun stays peeved throughout a drama shoot, where she acts as one of the extras at a wedding ceremony. They’re short on men so Nae-sang takes the seat next to her, and she mutters at him through gritted teeth that it’s his attitude that ticked her off, not that he forgot.
She shoots eye-daggers at Nae-sang all throughout the shoot, at one point almost ruining things by getting too heated. But then a character gives a wedding speech, and his words strike the warring couple as he describes how falling in love is easy, but that staying together and loving each other for a lifetime is “a miraculous thing.” Marriage, he says, is about the joy in growing old with someone who remembers your youth.
That softens the mood, and then in the reception scene, the song choice makes a strong impression. It’s the same song that played when Jong-seok was born, when Nae-sang had sat at his exhausted wife’s bedside and told her she’d never been more beautiful.
They keep dancing even after the shoot ends and the song cuts out, hearing the music in their memories.
Ji-seok heads out to drown his first-date woes in soju at a pojangmacha, and Ha-sun spots him in passing. They’re both dressed in comfy clothes and out of their stiff date demeanors, and Ha-sun suggests that they continue acting casual with each other. Officially dating doesn’t mean they have to suddenly try too hard or stick to formalities.
He agrees, and they toast with a comfortable, unremarkable shot of soju as
Jung Yong-hwa’s “Banmal song” (aka “For First-time Lovers,” from We Got Married) plays, describing the awkwardness of a new couple gradually melting into familiarity.
EPISODE 81
At the clinic, Kye-sang overhears Jin-hee calling a plant “Kye-baek,” taken from their names (Kye-sang, Baek Jin-hee). That’s the name of the famous general (and MBC drama), so it has connotations of strength and vitality. He counters that a different arrangement of their names is better, Jin-sang, and gives a long-winded, convoluted explanation of the metaphor. Jin-hee doesn’t entirely understand, but agrees to it.
The next day is the Lunar New Year, and that means traditional morning rice cake soup, bowing to your elders, and (for the younger generation) receiving lots of spending cash. Kye-sang gives his employees New Year’s gifts, although they’re hard-pressed to hide their lack of enthusiasm for the canned tuna set. Oh, fish, yay. I love that he thinks it’s a nice gift, and they’re about as impressed as if it were… well, cans of tuna.
Soo-jung has her eye on a coat, which she’ll pay for with the loads of cash she’s anticipating getting with her New Year’s bows and aegyo tricks.
However, Mom finds out that Soo-jung took tuition money for her academy lessons and blew it on a ski trip, which means both parents are in no mood to pay out any allowance money. She manages to outrun Dad through the neighborhood, then takes refuge next door.
Jong-seok sends her a gloating text showing her all the allowance Ji-seok gave him, adding that Mom and Dad are gonna kill her if she comes home now. She’s not going to let that stop her, so she enlists Ji-won’s help — and asks her to deliver her New Year’s bows to Uncle Ji-seok, by proxy.
So Ji-won dutifully goes next door and conveys the message, using Soo-jung’s exact words and mannerisms. Ji-seok calls it ridiculous and sends back the message that proxy bows are invalid. Soo-jung then sends him a video clip, but he counters that it’s gotta be in person. Trying to find a technicality, she then tells him to look out the window and bows from the street, which he also declares null. It’s gotta be face to face, within 2 meters, and for 5 seconds. Otherwise no allowance money.
New Year’s Day also happens to be Jin-hee’s birthday, and her housemates surprise her with seaweed birthday soup. She’s in for a backup shift at the clinic despite the holiday, and Kye-sang offers to take her to a nice lunch since it’s “a good day” for her. Ji-hee wonders if he found out it’s her birthday, and eagerly anticipates his birthday wishes.
A lunch, she finds a ring in her soup, which spins her off into a brief fantasy of Kye-sang telling her that it’s another one of his metaphors, indicating her deep heart. To her disappointment, it’s just the restaurant ajumma’s ring, accidentally swept into the pot.
Jin-hee then sees a gift box on Kye-sang’s desk and tries to figure out if it’s for her. Yet he makes no indication of knowing about her birthday, and eventually Jin-hee deflates, figuring he’s just not going to say anything.
She can’t help herself from perking up when he calls her to make a last-minute request for her to go back to the clinic to take care of something he missed, though, and she fantasizes about him surprising her with a cake and balloons.
Alas, the clinic is empty and Kye-sang is nowhere in sight. Sigh.
As it turns out, Kye-sang gives that gift box to his friend for his child’s dol birthday, and explains that “good day” is in reference to the New Year’s bonus.
Soo-jung vows to claim her New Year’s money and sneaks home through the tunnel, making it to Ji-seok’s room undetected by her family. She fulfills his requirements and bows for a full five seconds… only to have Dad grab her by the ear and haul her away for punishment.
Soo-jung cries bitterly, angry at Ji-seok for turning on her and alerting Dad. He comes to give her the cash as promised, though, saying that she deserved her punishment but also fulfilled the bow.
Soo-jung sniffs in disdain at the cash, saying she can’t be bought… but as she counts the cash, her resentment fades, and around 10 bills into the count her anger is entirely gone.
That night, Jin-hee glumly thumbs through all the text message birthday wishes she receives from her friends. She doesn’t want much from Kye-sang, just one word of congratulations in acknowledgment. It’s a little sad but true to life that she likes him so much that despite the outpouring of love from her friends, the absence of that one person totally dulls the day for her.
So when she gets a last-minute text from Kye-sang, one minute before midnight, she cheers up considerably.
He says he dropped off a gift for her, and she races to find it, although the sight of all those tuna cans is mighty puzzling. Assuming this is for her birthday and not for New Year’s (not that it makes it a better gift), she wonders if this could possibly be another of Kye-sang’s convoluted metaphors (HAHA). What could it symbolize? Love? Travel? Youth? Marriage? Totally confused, she turns to the internet for help.
A gray-haired Julien sits with his granddaughter in the future. She asks after an old photo of him and Nae-sang in a photo album. Julien tells her that he’s an old friend, and his go-stop instructor…
Back in present day, Nae-sang walks in on Julien losing at go-stop, a Korean card game. He offers to teach Julien, drilling him in shuffling and the various hands he can make with his cards. I’m not too familiar with the game but it sounds like Nae-sang’s doctrine breaks down to (1) Don’t show your best hand first (2) Observe what the other players put down (3) Don’t go for the big scoring hands.
He dominates the next game against Seung-yoon and Nae-sang’s business partner, fist pumping in victory.
Lee Juck stops by the house and is again miffed by the women of the house. There’s Ha-sun, who mentions that it’s too bad his blind date with Ji-sun didn’t work out, and Soo-jung who calls him “stupid uncle” for mixing up astrological signs. That’s the last straw for him and he burns with rage, shaking Soo-jung and calling her “stupid” times 100.
Too bad it’s all in his head, and he’s left to stew in his anger. He fakes modesty when they ask him to play guitar for them. The only people paying attention to him are Jin-hee, who compliments his singing, and Ji-won, who tells him that he lacks depth in his singing. It spurs another fantasy raging Juck to go after Ji-won this time.
Julien spots a group of ajusshis playing go-stop at the local real estate office. The sound of the cards hitting the mat, and the colors draw him in. The ajusshis scoff at his request to join them, telling him that this is the big league – no room for amateurs as this table. So Julien asks Nae-sang to help him beat the best of the best.
He takes a deep breath before stepping in the epic battle of the ages… or just an afternoon game.
Juck invites Jin-hee out to lunch, figuring her for the best lady out of the bunch. He pours her with compliments and just before he starts to talk about himself, Jin-hee asks him questions concerning Kye-sang. Like what he was like in college, if he was popular among his patients, who he finds attractive.
The more questions she asks, the more it annoys him. Then Fantasy Juck strikes again, telling Jin-hee to spit out her food if she’s only going to talk about Kye-sang on the lunch he bought for her. Leaving in a huff, his mind spins over all the women who irritate him.
Julien starts off weak, but picking up one card turns his luck around. One go, two go… and he runs home shouting ecstatically that he placed third. In a big hug, they take a souvenir shot, sealing Julien’s win in history.
EPISODE 83
At the clinic, Jin-hee and Kye-sang wonder what kind of plant they’re growing (it’s aptly named “Jinsang” which takes a part of both their names). She turns to the internet for answers and the community tells her that it’s likely a cherry tomato plant. She shares the news with Kye-sang who tells her they’ll have to split the harvest.
She talks to the plant, and gets a little carried away in her head, dreaming about feeding each other with cherry tomatoes.
One of Nae-sang’s hoobae is heading to the States, particularly L.A., a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by Soo-jung. They’re looking for a sweet and demure babysitter and Soo-jung jumps at the opportunity. But Dad has already told him that Soo-jung is the exact opposite (much to her ire), but she’s determined to transform into the perfect embodiment of innocence.
She consults her family that evening with possible ideas from kdrama heroines, (heh and Jong-seok knocks out her Shin Mina My Girlfriend is a Gumiho idea saying that she’s a gumiho who’ll eat other people’s girlfriends) but they’re uninterested and unconvinced that Soo-jung can do a successful 180.
Imagine their surprise when Soo-jung walks downstairs making a Victorian era woman look like a street gangster thug. Her modest laugh and polite mannerisms cleverly mask the death stares she occasionally shoots to her family. She keeps up the act throughout the night, taking up painting and knitting, true to her fake well-mannered persona.
So when she offers herself for the open babysitter position, the family friend says he’ll consider it.
Kye-sang invites Jin-hee out to see a musical (200 Pound Beauty, looks like), as a thank you for her hard work. Jin-hee borrows one of Ha-sun’s outfits and wonders if it’s a date. Kye-sang is the perfect companion, covering her with his jacket to make sure she isn’t cold. While he runs to the vending machine to get coffee, Jin-hee speaks to Jin-sang aloud about if she should be this happy, with tears in her eyes.
They run into one of Kye-sang’s old schoolmates, who ask him about his upcoming trip to Rwanda. This is news to Jin-hee and she stays quiet in the car. She asks to drop her off early and at the clinic, ponders alone in the dark. The tomato plant won’t bear fruit for another three months, after Kye-sang leaves.
She talks to Jinsang once more:
Jinsang, up until a little while ago, I thought that today was the happiest day of my life. Now, I’m so sad. It’s weird, right? Before, I thought I might cry because I was so happy, but now I might cry because I’m so sad. What if none of us are here when you bear fruit? It’s okay… it’s okay… it’s okay…
Jinsang, in voiceover, tells us that she wishes she could tell Jin-hee that no one knows about the future, like how she’s a kumquat plant, not a tomato one.
Soo-jung is enraged to hear that the ajusshi chose to go with an older college student in the U.S., fuming that he led her to think she was in the running. So Jong-seok pokes a little fun with his sister, lying that the other girl has pulled out. When she finds out the truth, she comes after him with a canvas in her hand.
Jin-hee finally gifts the knit gloves to Kye-sang the next morning, telling him not to forget them. He corrects her, saying he won’t lose them. But she explains that he shouldn’t lose them nor forget them, since she made it herself.
EPISODE 84
Nae-sang’s business partner is out of town and sent a replacement to fill in his absence – a sharply dressed man (cameo by Jung Bo-seok) who shares that it’s always been his dream to be an actor. Something is a little off, however, because he mistakes Nae-sang to be older when he himself is the hyung.
Ji-won uncovers a baby photo of Jong-seok by accident. But this is no ordinary adorable photo of yore – it’s one of those embarrassing nekkid ones you stash at the bottom of your photo albums. She gleefully takes a photo with her camera before running off.
Seung-yoon draws the conclusion that Ji-won must like Jong-seok. After all, girls like childhood photos of their crushes and boyfriends and Ji-won admitted to liking someone earlier on a lie detector toy. Jong-seok brushes the idea aside, but the thought lingers on his mind, slightly hopeful.
But Ji-won hands him a notebook later that night, filled with notes for him to study for the next few days – she’ll be volunteering over at the clinic to fulfill her volunteer requirements. Seung-yoon drills into his buddy that no girl would have gone to such lengths to provide such detailed notes with cutesy expressions.
So Jong-seok oh so casually meets Ji-won the following morning, offering to give her a ride to and from the clinic. Over the next few days, Ji-won comments that she’ll have to make it big one day so that Jong-seok can be her driver. He can’t pick her up that night since a friend is in town and he can’t help but note her slight disappointment. Adorable.
It looks like Bo-seok’s major weakness is math, as he fumbles with the time zone differences, and counts out how much he’s eating to the penny (by literally placing the bills and coins on top of his plate). The Ahns are puzzled, and a bit disgusted at the sight.
When Bo-seok gets wrangled to fill in for an extra as a math professor, Nae-sang is reasonably worried at the mere volume of variables and mathematical lingo. He catches Bo-seok scribble notes under the script to help him memorize, noting that it’s not “x two” but “x-squared.”
It actually shocks Bo-seok, who gets caught at another roadblock, this time with fractions. HA! He sweats during the shoot, the pressure of the numbers slowly suffocating him. His vision blurs, and he passes out.
The doc is baffled at his scans – the area responsible for math and problem-solving seems to be…a tiny dot in his brain. BAHAHA! And poor Bo-seok solemnly writes the fraction which broke him down on the window, forever to haunt him.
Jong-seok’s friend cancels plans and he heads to the clinic to pick her up. Strange then, that Ji-seok tells him that Ji-won was the first to complete her hours…
Inside, he catches a glimpse of Ji-won and Kye-sang laughing in his office and the pieces start falling into place: the Christmas carols, the admission, volunteering at the clinic. He angrily takes her phone when she comes out to greet him and deletes the photo despite her protests. His sudden outburst surprises Ji-won. Jong-seok drives off, fighting tears.
EPISODE 85
Music teacher Yoon Gun is still upset with Ha-sun for pushing him out the window (to prevent him from talking about her living situation), so she seeks him out and explains about the housing scam that led Julien to move into her house.
Yoon Gun is edgy because he’s working on a new song, and Ha-sun encourages him to give the teachers a preview. But he gets offended when everybody only pays half-attention, storming out and calling his song trash. Ha-sun is the only one caught up in the song, and she assures him that it’s beautiful — it was like hearing his soul.
Jong-seok reels from the discovery that Ji-won likes Kye-sang, and seeing them chatting together chafes further. Therefore he lashes out releases her from tutoring duty. He ignores her calls repeatedly as he takes out his frustrations on basketball.
Ji-won finds him at the pool hall, tipped off by a meddling Seung-yoon. She urges him to resume tutoring and gives him one last chance, counting down to five. When he doesn’t relent, Ji-won gives up and leaves.
Ha-sun’s encouragement sticks with Yoon Gun so much that he finds himself unable to concentrate, which he blames on her. He meets with her to explain in his confusing way how she’s messed everything up for him — by being so nice. He never associates with the other teachers, holding himself apart and calling them hyenas eating rotting meat. Yet because Ha-sun appreciated his song and encouraged him, he’s happy now: “I can’t write sad songs anymore!” He fumes that she should have hurt him instead.
Jong-seok drinks at a pojangmacha that night, only explaining to Seung-yoon that a guy like him has no shot at winning. Kye-sang runs into Jong-seok in the street and tries to steer his drunk butt home, but Jong-seok insists he doesn’t need help.
And then he squints at his uncle and slurs, “You’re not even that good-looking. Plus you’re shorter than me.” Ha. He challenges him to a race and runs off, leaving Kye-sang looking after him worriedly.
Jong-seok ends up outside Ji-won’s house and shouts up to her window, demanding that she not ignore him. What starts out sounding angry shifts to earnestness as he insists that although she may think he’s a loser now, he’s young and his future is bright. “Can’t you see my pounding heart?” He declares that he’s healthy and athletic and even good at English — which prompts him to recite the English conversation he learned for study group — about why he likes her. Aww, that is so sweet.
Too bad Ji-won doesn’t understand what he’s doing and hushes him. He continues yelling, “Nobody can know what I’ll become! I have endless potential! So, Kim Ji-won! Be nice to me. I won’t collapse over something like this!” And then he falls over drunk. Haha.
Ji-won rushes to help him, and he mumbles, “Just wait and see. I haven’t even begun.”
In the morning, a hungover Jong-seok remembers his display last night, mortified. Ji-won arrives for tutoring and gives him five seconds to join her, and this time he does.
Ha-sun explains to Ji-seok what happened (while eating ice cream cones in the bathroom, ha) and he gets upset on her behalf. The next day Yoon Gun demonstrates how he can only write cheerful songs now; music used to be his friend when he was lonely, but now he wants to call her and talk to her. I love that Ji-seok immediately guesses that Yoon Gun must like her, but the man himself can’t make the connection and just treats it like an affliction needing curing. Ji-seok drags him off and offers to show him some pain.
Ha-sun hopes that Ji-seok didn’t hit Yoon Gun to make him stop bothering her. Ji-seok says he only used nice words, and they hear Yoon Gun working on a new song. It’s beautiful and sad, and he sheds a tear as he plays.
EPISODE 86
Ji-seok and Ha-sun’s relationship is progressing happily, and he wonders if it’s time to tell other people that they’re dating. Ha-sun assures him that she’s not embarrassed of him but wants to tread carefully, so for now they continue sneaking around.
Ji-seok hides his dating status from sharp-eyed Yoo-sun, but he can’t help from puffing up in pride when she calls Ha-sun perfect bride material.
During tutoring session, Ji-won has trouble with a math problem and asks Kye-sang for help. He solves it for her and she marvels at how smart he is, which ruffles Jong-seok’s feathers. And then Kye-sang sees that Ji-won’s nursing a bit of a cold and gives her medicine.
So that night, Jong-seok dreams that he’s the all-knowing doctor Ji-won looks up to, and his uncle is the slacker loser. HAHA!
Dr. Jong-seok is chic and smart, and Ji-won gives him due respect. What’s particularly funny is that while the men have swapped places, their age relationships are still the same — so Jong-seok is still the nephew, and Kye-sang is the uncle who’s been trying to get into college for the past fifteen years.
Seung-yoon finds the old hockey fan cafe and reads some of the gushing praise for Ice Prince Jong-seok. The club disbanded in a previous episode when the girls found out he’d been held back a year and Jong-seok dismisses it, saying that’s all in the past. But Seung-yoon tells him he’s still the same guy — he’s still cool. Plus, he’s the type of bad boy all girls love.
That revives Jong-seok’s flagging self-esteem, and he gives himself a pep talk in the mirror, saying he’s just as cool as his uncle. And then he holds out his fist to the mirror for a self-bump. HAHA. He’s so cute.
At school, Ji-seok and Ha-sun sneak away for a private lunch, and Ha-sun even feeds him a bite. But when a couple of teachers enter their room, Ha-sun overcompensates by faking anger and storms off. She later apologizes and offers to cook him dinner at her house since everybody will be out, and he happily heads over.
Too bad Julien and Jin-hee come home earlier than expected, so Ha-sun panics and shoves Ji-seok in a cupboard, left to munch on raw radish in the dark instead of dinner. She feels so bad that she gives him a kiss, and that wipes away all of his disappointment.
When Kye-sang gives the kids some allowance money, Jong-seok glares and tells himself not to be discouraged: He’s taller, he has a better voice, and a more charismatic laugh. Ha, I love Jong-seok’s self-help commentary.
So when he finds Ji-won baking cookies for Kye-sang in thanks for lending her books, Jong-seok takes her up on the offer to sample some cookies… and eats the whole batch. Except… Ji-won has baked two batches, so his stomachache is all for naught.
Ji-seok decides that the safest place to meet with Ha-sun is the tunnel, and to alert them to passing traffic, he rigs up a new tunnel lid with a bell tied to it.
EPISODE 87
The thought of Kye-sang leaving for Rwanda in March has Jin-hee sad, but she tells herself to enjoy the time left before he leaves. He only has a couple days till he has to re-contract with the clinic for another year, so he’ll have to make his plans concrete soon. Jin-hee takes extra-special care with Jin-sang the plant.
Nae-sang becomes a local official for their neighborhood, kind of like a village leader, and jokes that he’ll be moving upward on the political ladder soon. Determined to do a good job, he makes the rounds to visit people at the senior center, and brings Yoo-sun along. Soon she’s earning special treatment and praise for her looks and for Nae-sang’s budding good reputation, and she enjoys the first lady treatment.
Kye-sang organizes a sledding day for the employees as a bonding activity, but two nurses cancel so it’s just him and Jin-hee. They have a blast, and on their way back he stops to meet with a contact about his Rwanda trip. The person there now wants to stay longer, so perhaps Kye-sang can go in a few months, or even a year.
Nae-sang heads to the community center for a meeting with other local neighborhood council members. He has a few minutes with the computer and checks his email, one of which is sent from a friend and contains a porn video… which he opens. Oh, buddy, you’ve just earned whatever is coming your way…
Unsurprisingly the computer freezes, and Nae-sang panics and pulls the plug. The employees call in an IT specialists, who declares that porn was the culprit, and they wonder who used the computer last. They’re all willing to buy Nae-sang’s denial, but when they decide to check the security camera to find out who it was, Yoo-sun sees her husband’s nervous reaction and blurts that she did it. Aw, that’s so sweet.
Of course, she lets him have it when they’re in private, thoroughly peeved to have her good named ruined. Especially since now the neighborhood ajummas gossip about her as the porn-watching lady with that poor husband.
Jin-hee, meanwhile, is thrilled at Kye-sang’s probable delay. Then as they’re walking along, she spots the gangsters who were chasing her in the first week of the show and hurries to avoid them. Kye-sang goes with it and picks her up to speed their escape, since she twisted her ankle, and then insists on piggybacking her home.
She wonders if she’s dreaming, because she has found that all good things end up being dreams. What a heartbreaking thought. That night she can’t sleep and goes out for a late-night walk as our narrator explains that she wants to enjoy this day, which would later be remembered as a happiest time amidst a difficult period in her life.
EPISODE 88 WEECAP
When Nae-sang asks for Yoo-sun’s citizenship ID number, she balks that he doesn’t even the most obvious thing about her after two decades of marriage. How can he have so little interest in knowing things about her? He says the same of her, and Soo-jung proposes they settle this with a quiz.
Yoo-sun scores well on the couple quiz, while Nae-sang keeps getting questions wrong. But this makes him see his wife in a whole new light, and he marvels at her — was she always this pretty? He stays up that night analyzing her face from different angles, seeing her through fresh eyes.
On the other end of the couple spectrum, Ji-seok and Ha-sun go out on a date and ask each other questions to get to know each other better. For instance, what does Ji-seok like about Ha-sun? And when did she like him?
Ji-seok asks about Ha-sun’s first love, and that kills her smile for a brief second before she waves it aside, saying it’s boring and she’ll tell him later.
She runs into a college sunbae soon thereafter, however, which spins us off into a flashback:
Ha-sun had first met Yoon Shi-yoon at university, where he’d been her sunbae. Immediately attracted to him, she’d joined his rock-climbing club and spent her days sneaking looks at him, too shy to make a move.
One day he’d given her an mp3 player and told her to take a listen, but she’d lost it before getting the chance, and when he asked about it she’d lied and said she listened to it.
Soon after, Shi-yoon had headed off to army duty, and during the two years he was away Ha-sun had thought of him often. When he returned, she resumed her longing from afar — until the day she found the mp3 player while the clubroom was being cleared out.
Only then did she realize that Shi-yoon had recorded a message, conveying his feelings to her via song, Yoo Jae-ha’s “You in my arms.” Ha-sun had run after him, catching him just before he’d boarded a bus for a climbing trip to Mt. Jiri. She’d admitted that she’d lost the player before and only heard the message now.
Shi-yoon had smiled in relief and promised they’d talk upon his return, sending her a text message thanking her.
Except… he’d died — he’d fallen on his climb. Shortly thereafter Ha-sun had received a letter in the mail with a photo Shi-yoon took from the mountaintop, enclosing a note he’d written on his Mt. Jiri climb.
Shi-yoon: “Have you ever stood in front of the twilight in winter? Whenever I did, I thought of you, smiling and blushing, and those short memories got me through my two years in the army. At the bus terminal, my heart felt full and I thought, Ah, I didn’t wait in vain all this time. When I get back to Seoul, let’s see the sunset together. From Mt. Jiri, Shi-yoon.”
Now in the present day, Ha-sun tells her college sunbae that she’d once thought she’d never forget Shi-yoon, but now as time passed, she found that the hurt eased, little by little.
Ji-seok arrives at the cafe to see her crying as she talks to her sunbae, so he guesses her mood on the drive back. A song on the radio — the one Shi-yoon had sung for her — prompts Ha-sun to offer her story of her first love, but she has trouble calming her emotions. Ji-seok recalls the words Ha-sun had said when she initially rejected him — that love might not last, and beautiful things tend to end quickly.
So now he tells her that it’s okay, that she doesn’t have to share, because knowing more about a person doesn’t mean you love them more: “Even if I don’t know you perfectly, I feel confident I can love you perfectly.”
EPISODE 89
Nae-sang throws out his back and takes a trip to Kye-sang’s clinic, where he’s taken with the pretty Nurse In. He compliments her and talks up his job in showbiz, making it sound like he’s a bigshot, and offers to hook her up with contacts if she ever wants to act.
Ha-sun and Ji-seok arouse suspicions from their co-workers because of their coupley behavior, and their exaggerated denials only make them more suspicious.
So Ji-seok suggests inventing signals to talk to each other rather than texting all the time (and getting suspicious looks from Ji-sun). He spends all night working on them, chuckling privately as he makes signs for coffee (fist to mouth), thank you (touch your nose), and I love you (tap chest twice with a fist).
Nae-sang and Seung-yoon go on a short shooting trip to China, and when they get back Nae-sang brings Nurse In some tiger balm, again talking himself up. To be fair he’s not really sending cheating signals, but he’s definitely enjoying feeling like big and important, using the pretty nurse to stroke his ego. Even though she’s not that impressed with him.
Ji-seok eagerly shows Ha-sun his new sign language, but she thinks it’s probably more conspicuous than texting, which disappoints him. But when Ji-won accidentally brings home the wrong notebook from tutoring session, Ha-sun sees how much work he put into making the signals and is touched.
Seung-yoon mentions the tiger balm to Yoo-sun, who’s nursing a tired wrist, and when she asks her husband for it she realizes he gave it to Nurse In. He makes lame excuses about how much she helped him, etc etc, but she’s got a sharp bullshit meter and calls him on his behavior. He apologizes and begs for her to let it go, and she agrees — if he gets the balm back.
It’s humiliating, but less humiliating than letting this get even more out of hand, so Nae-sang goes to the clinic with head bowed and asks for it back. Problem is, he gave her two jars, and she already sent one to her parents in the countryside.
Yoo-sun refuses to let this slide, though, telling him that this kind of behavior is exactly the kind of thing women hate most in husbands. Gotta say, I’m with her on this one.
Ha-sun is being given a teaching award tonight, and Ji-seok skips out of a training seminar early to bring her flowers. He arrives as she takes the stage for an acceptance speech — so she intersperses her thanks with little gestures meant just for him. AW.
First she thanks him, then wiggles her shoulders to mean, “I’m happy to be with you.” Adorably pleased, Ji-seok signals, “I love you” and she signs back, “I love you too.”
That gets him so excited he jumps up right there in the audience to repeat the message, beating his chest like an adorable, excitable monkey.
And Nae-sang takes the bus to Nurse In’s parents’ house in the countryside, wondering where things went wrong.
EPISODE 90
The Yoon brothers run into Ha-sun and Jin-hee in the neighborhood and walk together. Ji-seok and Ha-sun have gotten used to signing each other, which is pretty adorable, and sneak messages back and forth.
Kye-sang can’t resist teasing Ha-sun about that time she fell on the ice and split her shorts, knowing she’ll react with her usual exaggerated expression. He’s the only one amused, and gives his usual “I’m just joking” excuse.
That annoys Ha-sun, who complains about his bad manners to Jin-hee at home. Jin-hee, on the other hand, thinks Ji-seok is dumb for misspeaking the word for cholesterol, and this leads both ladies to leap to the defense of the men they’re dating/crushing on. The mood gets increasingly tense, and they go to bed in a huff. That passive-aggression spills into the next day, with Ha-sun nagging Jin-hee and Jin-hee responding like a sullen teenager.
It’s graduation season, and that includes Jong-seok; it’s a happy occasion, though Yoo-sun sighs that he’d be going to college if he was still playing ice hockey. Kye-sang offers to buy Jong-seok a netbook as a present, but Jong-seok still feels the sting of losing his crush to his uncle and declines.
Ji-won agrees to act as graduation photographer, but she falls asleep on the bus and misses the event. Jong-seok distractedly keeps an eye out for her, which Kye-sang seems to pick up on. He gives some uncle-like advice, about how even though he may feel like he’s lost a year — he’ll have to wait till next year to attempt college admissions — sometimes you think you’re late only to find you’re early. Jong-seok says sometimes you feel late because you are late, and Kye-sang agrees that that’s also true.
Ji-won apologizes for missing graduation, and to make up for it Jong-seok brings her along on a scooter ride to the beach. She gives him the glass-half-full encouragement about having time to work hard for the future, but he sighs that he feels too far behind already, like starting a 100 meter dash late: “So I’m just going to die. Have a nice life.”
Jong-seok walks right into the ocean, to her alarm, and she dashes in after him to pull him back. He’s not actually suicidal, but he grabs her in a hug and thanks her; he doesn’t specify why, but I’m guessing he’s glad she bothered to try to stop him.
At home, the passive-aggressive battle continues. Ha-sun nitpicks Jin-hee’s cooking, and Jin-hee bangs Ha-sun’s feet while vacuuming. They snipe at each other, with a hapless Julien caught in the middle, trying to appease both sides. Finally things erupt and Jin-hee storms out with bag packed, saying she won’t live where she’s not wanted.
Ha-sun lets her go, ignoring Julien’s pleas to make up, but as time ticks by she starts to worry. She ends up scouring the neighborhood for Jin-hee, finding her huddled in the cold by the curb, and they both break down into tears, apologizing for their behavior. Ha-sun admits she started dating Ji-seok, and Jin-hee admits she likes Kye-sang. They cry, “I love you Jin-hee” and “I love you unni.”
Jong-seok explains his dip in the sea was just his graduation ritual — like how students douse each other with flour at the ceremony — and starts to explain something. He’s too cold so he borrows a wet suit while his clothes dry, but every time he starts to talk, Ji-won bursts out into laughter — he looks pretty hilarious in the full-body suit.
It’s only on the ride back that Jong-seok explains what he’d been trying to say, though it’s only in voiceover:
Jong-seok: “This is what I wanted to say to you at the beach. To me, graduation meant graduating from the feeling that I was already too late, and the feeling of liking you but knowing there was someone else. That’s what graduation meant to me. That’s what I wanted to tell you. And the moment I held you, it felt like I had graduated from those feelings.”
EPISODE 91
At school, Ji-seok brings coffee to Ha-sun, buying Ji-sun and Julien drinks as well to cover his real intentions. Then at a teachers’ dinner, he makes sure to serve Ji-sun along with Ha-sun, to deflect suspicion.
The plan works too well, because Ji-sun confides to Ha-sun that he must like her (earning a spit-take from Ha-sun). Ha-sun tries to suggest that it’s not true, but can’t press too hard without offending Ji-sun.
Ji-won’s narcolepsy continues to crop up, and Kye-sang decides to bring Ji-won in for treatment with a colleague. When he suggests the idea, though, she declines. Sensing that she can’t be persuaded, Kye-sang offers to take her to a Chagall exhibit… and then reveals he’s taking her to the doctor.
Ji-won is thoroughly peeved that he tricked her, and the session is a waste because she refuses to talk to the doctor. Angry at his betrayal, Ji-won declares that she’ll do the opposite of everything Kye-sang says — he tells her to get in the car, so she’ll take the bus. He tells her to take the bus, so she takes a taxi.
Ji-seok surreptitiously gets Ha-sun to hold her hand out while actually feeling her fingers, and buys them couple rings. Ji-sun discovers them by accident, and is even more convinced that he bought them for her. Ha-sun tries to reveal the truth, but can’t bring herself to when Ji-sun says it’s been a long time since she felt appealing as a woman, after all her heartbreak.
Ha-sun tries to fake surprise when Ji-seok gives her the rings, but he catches on and she admits that Ji-sun told her and fills him in on the misunderstanding.
Ji-seok asks to meet Ji-sun to clear the air. However, he feels that same pang and can’t crush her feelings after she admits that men don’t like her because of her appearance, and she has tried to tell herself it doesn’t matter even though it hurts. Still, she isn’t attracted to him and turns him down gently, and Ji-seok goes with that as his graceful exit, telling her he’ll give up readily to spare her feelings.
Haha. It’s the perfect way out of a tricky situation… only Ji-sun posts a consolation message via a twitter-like service. Which means that everybody at school knows he got “rejected,” and make him a subject of teasing.
Ji-won continues to be upset, even saying sentences backward to emphasize how much she refuses to communicate with Kye-sang. When he urges her to be careful crossing the street, she actually walks straight into a busy road just to be contrary, and this gets Kye-sang genuinely angry. He declares that he’ll do the same, then, and warns her that he’s going to fall backward into the road. It’s up to her to catch him.
Ji-won warns him that she won’t, but when he falls, eyes closed, looking like he’ll hit the ground head-first, she darts forward and catches him. He thanks her, and with that backwards-ritual broken, the tension eases a bit.
Later Ji-won overhears Yoo-sun talking to a friend about her mother’s death, and how young Kye-sang had played the backwards-falling game with her. Only, she had been so sick she couldn’t catch him and he’d gotten hurt, and Mom always felt sorry about it, even apologizing to him on her deathbed.
Kye-sang takes Ji-won to the museum after all, and she asks why he fell backward. He answers, “Because I had faith.” In her, he means.
He reminds her of that painting of the girl and the snowfield, and tells her that her reaction — that the girl was looking at something she’d lost — mirrored his. He says that nobody can understand how she felt about her father’s death, but he had hoped to help her by opening her closed heart a little. She’d once asked how he was at 19, and now he answers: “I lived thinking there was no comfort in the world. Sometimes, I see that me in you.”
He offers to be a listener for whatever she might have to say in the future, adding, “And next time, I’ll catch you.”
So on the drive home, Ji-won tells him that after Dad left and she was left in the car alone, she was terribly scared.
EPISODE 92
Kye-sang has decided to go to Rwanda after all, at the end of next month. While straightening up the clinic, Jin-hee tells the plant Jin-sang that she’s having trouble letting go, even though she has to.
Inspired by his sing-off with Heo Gak, Seung-yoon goes on audition, wanting to be a singer. He passes the first round and wants a piano-accompanied song for the second round. Soo-jung offers herself for his services — in exchange for a steak dinner. He buys it for her, but she brushes aside his attempts to practice together, saying they can practice separately.
Jong-seok and Nae-sang both tell him he got conned again, because Soo-jung doesn’t know how to play the piano, and they don’t even have a keyboard. (She’s practicing the song on a paper keyboard.) Seung-yoon has his misgivings, but he wants to believe her and accepts her answer that she learned while she was in LA. Still, he wants a demonstration before he’ll fork over any more cash, and she offers to go to the piano store to show him.
The shop is closed, though, and Seung-yoon’s doubts return — did she know it would be closed? She’s offended at the lack of trust, while he refuses to believe her and calls the whole thing off.
Ha-sun sees what a hard time Jin-hee is having and offers to take her out. Over drinks, Ha-sun encourages her to confess her feelings to Kye-sang, to get them out. A song starts playing on the radio request line — “Love Starts With a Confession,” posted above.
Seung-yoon shows up at his audition nervous, having had trouble practicing “Piano Man” on guitar. At the last minute, though, Soo-jung bursts in to accompany him — and it turns out she’s great, just as promised.
Jin-hee and Ha-sun wake up in the morning hungover, and Jin-hee realizes that she’d confessed her feelings drunkenly to Kye-sang last night, freaking out in mortification. She goes to work on edge and apologizes to Kye-sang, playing it off as a joke.
Alas, she accidentally squeezes a teddy bear — the kind with a recording device, which had recorded her sad confession to the plant about liking Kye-sang. She frantically tries to shut it off, but it plays the message in full, right in front of him.
In flashback, however, we see that Kye-sang had already heard it play last night. Plus there was the radio request line he’d been listening to, where Jin-hee had texted her own request. He’d recognized the description of a health clinic employee asking him not to leave — that he doesn’t have to like her back or do anything for her, if he would just not leave.
EPISODE 93
Following the teddy bear confession, Kye-sang is a lot more serious and burdened, so Jin-hee puts on a brave face to tell him not to worry about her. She calls herself easily infatuated and assures him it’s not serious, so he can act comfortably around her.
Jong-seok accompanies Seung-yoon to the bakery, and picks up a package of cookies for Ji-won. He hands them over carelessly, all, “I got them for free, whatever.” She’s off to visit relatives for the week, so their tutoring sessions will go on hiatus. He brushes it off, but finds himself frustrated with how slowly the days crawl by.
He leaps for the phone when she calls, and she offers to help with homework via phone if he has trouble. He plays it cool, saying he won’t call at all… and then ends up calling incessantly with trumped-up excuses.
Math turns out to be hard to explain over the phone, so Ji-won sends Jong-seok a video explaining the problem. He’s first disappointed that only her hand is visible, then admires the hand, and then perks up adorably at the brief greeting that shows her face. He replays those last three seconds over and over, long into the night.
Kye-sang invites Jin-hee to join him for dinner. His sunbae Lee Juck mentally grumbles, since everything makes him cranky, but he soon cheers up because Jin-hee heaps praise on him — his fashion sense, his music skills, his looks. His ego enjoys the bolstering, while Kye-sang seems to key into the fact that Jin-hee’s trying to prove she’s over him, as she insisted.
Kye-sang asks to talk, and he wears the gloves she knitted him, telling her that he won’t lose, or forget, them. Just as she had requested. He admits that he must have confused her with his consideration, because he’d wanted to take care of her like a sister, and apologizes for leading her on. Jin-hee tells him she understands, and that she’d confused her own feelings, so he needn’t take it to heart.
Teasingly, she says they’d better not be awkward after this — she’ll be sure to punish him if he acts weird around her because of it. He jokes back that he’ll cut her wages.
She cheerily salutes a goodbye, but once alone, both sit in moody silence for some time.
Ji-won calls Jong-seok to check in, and eats the last of his cookies. So he runs out to buy several more packages, and drives all the way to Daejeon — hours away — on scooter. He calls her out of her aunt’s apartment and says he was just passing by and gives her the cookies. Rather than staying to chat, he acts as though he’s busy and that he really only dropped by since she was on his way, leaving right away.
But once she goes back inside the house, he creeps back quietly and snaps a photo through the window of her eating his cookies.
EPISODE 94
Seung-yoon surprises the family by telling them he has a girlfriend now — a girl named Cassie he’d met at his last audition. She’s a gyopo and can’t speak Korean, but he says that they get by on love and Konglish. Hee. That should be a band name, Love and Konglish.
Still, English would be helpful so he asks Soo-jung for lessons. The two most important phrases he needs? “What do you want to eat?” and “What presents do you want?” Ha, he should just date Soo-jung and cut out the middleman. Annoyed, Soo-jung says Cassie’s just dating him for his gifts, but Seung-yoon’s happy to buy her things. That’s what boyfriends are for, right? He requests a third translation: “Don’t worry about money, just choose whatever you want.”
He brings Cassie to the house, who is apparently played by an idol named Tia from a group called Chocolat. She is terrible, so the less said about her the better.
At dinner, Cassie explains that Seung-yoon bought her loads of new stuff at the department store, and Soo-jung is the only one who finds this distasteful. She urges Seung-yoon to break up with Cassie and date her instead, if he’s so intent on buying a girl presents. Or at least make her No. 1 in line to date him after they break up. Seung-yoon laughingly agrees, but says they probably won’t break up since he really likes her.
Ha-sun finds out that Jin-hee’s confession didn’t end well, and she feels bad for her. To cheer her up, she cooks Jin-hee’s favorite crab soup, but Jin-hee has an upset stomach and can’t eat it, which Ha-sun attributes to heartsickness. So when she sees Kye-sang next door in a good mood, she glowers at him for having the audacity to be cheery while Jin-hee can’t even choke down dinner. Aw, that’s sweet.
Kye-sang brings home beef, which they share with the neighbors. Jin-hee still can’t eat much and excuses herself early, so Ha-sun glares at Kye-sang, offended at how heartily he’s eating. When the others propose a mook-jji-ppa tournament with forehead-flicking as a punishment, Ha-sun leaps to join in, to avenge Jin-hee, and easily beats the others one by one, giving them light flicks on the head. She gets to Kye-sang determined to take him down… and loses.
Fine, then she’ll try again. But all she gets is a sore forehead and a seething temper as Kye-sang beats her, over and over, and she’s left to stew in defeat.
Ha-sun adorably climbs into bed next to sleeping Jin-hee and apologizes for failing in her revenge. When Ji-seok hears about the tournament (he’d been out), he feels indignant at his brother’s behavior toward his girlfriend and urges her to take her revenge now, rather than letting the anger fester.
Ji-seok leads her to Kye-sang’s bedroom while he’s asleep, and she takes her revenge flick. She runs back to her room before he can wake up and assures Jin-hee that she made sure Kye-sang felt pain (and then regrets her lack of flicking technique, wishing the pain could have been greater. She’s so cute).
Soo-jung is out teaching Seung-yoon how to ask, “Do you want a notebook or a tablet computer?” when he spots Cassie in a cafe. He runs toward her excitedly… then sees her ignore his phone call and cozy up to another guy.
He’s crushed. Soo-jung tries to cheer him up, but she sees that he’s devastated and looks at him with sympathy. True, he seems better in a few days (they joke that they won’t date now, but maybe later after he becomes president) , but Soo-jung still feels sorry for him.
So when she spots Cassie walking in the street with her new man, she swoops in, grabbing Cassie by the hair and shaking her furiously for a few good seconds, then darting off before the boyfriend can retaliate.
Continue reading: http://www.dramabeans.com/
Special thanks/credits to/source: http://www.dramabeans.com/
source: (Thank you and credits to
http://www.dramabeans.com/
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/
and all sources for the information and pictures)
0 comments:
Post a Comment