The writer of Smile does it again and gives the viewers a sweet surprise. Sung-joon thinks that Ji-soo is emotional because she misses her family, still thinking that she’s a rich family’s daughter. Seeing her cry, he lends her his chest. When she takes him up on the offer, he’s shocked and a little excited. When she moves back, he stares at her and gives her a kiss.
Sung-joon: I think I need to break up with you now.
Jun Hye Jin (Ji-soo) is a pretty new actress and it shows. Did anyone else think that her crying sounds didn’t match her facial movements? I suspect a little dubbing going on. This scene works because of Lee Chun-hee and the writing. I also absolutely love the fun irony, ending the scene with the song, “Good-bye My Love”, poking fun at itself and other dramas for the grand “I can’t be with you because of XXX” type of good byes. Hee-hee.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. We find Jung-kyung, confessing her feelings to Hyun-soo.
Jung-kyung: Kang Hyun-soo, can’t you like me again? … I’ve finally started seeing the Kang Hyun-soo that I didn’t see before. Am I too late? I guess you can’t change it back.
Hyun-soo: That’s right. Jung-kyung, I’m going to think that you’re like this because of your mood. And I want to do my best to the person who’s next to me right now.
It’s not a big surprise. We all knew that this was going to be his response, right? But still… YAY! He starts out stammering, shocked to hear Jung-kyung’s question and blames her difficulties for her actions. But seeing that she’s being genuine, he tells her flat out that he’s moved on, even heading back to finish his thought.
Hyun-soo: Since you’re my friend, cheer us on. It’s the first time. Even when I make a mistake, she just laughs and lets it go. She listens to me. I know that I’m lacking, but when I’m with her, I feel like I’m a good man. Because she believes that’s who I am, that’s who I want to become. I’m sorry. No matter what you said or how you acted, I wanted to accept it. But I’m sorry I can’t.
Jung-kyung: I know. You’re Kang Hyun-soo. I figured that you wouldn’t, with someone else in your heart. But since you’re the Kang Hyun-soo who liked me for 8 years, I thought maybe, perhaps… I’ll try. If not, I won’t be able to see you even as a friend.
Geum-ja and Sang-hoon walk out of the house together and see them. Geum-ja is livid when she finds out that Jung-kyung is the one who rejected her son and vows to get her revenge.
Sung-joon, who has ran away from Ji-soo, is confused about what he’s feeling and goes up to see Jung-in for some clarification. He hugs her and scratches his head, thinking “That wasn’t the same…” Jung-in thinks that he’s referring to Jung-kyung and gets mad.
Jung-in: Even though both of you are my oppas, you and Hyun-soo are like night and day to me. One person makes my heart flutter every time I see him. When I don’t see him, I wonder what he’s doing and want to see him. And I want to do anything for him. The other [pointing an accusatory finger at Sung-joon] is the complete opposite.
Sung-joon: I feel the same! I’ve never wanted to put a hairpin on that protruding head of yours!
Jung-in: Really… why bother? I didn’t feel it when you went abroad, but when Hyun-soo oppa goes down to the basement room, it’s like he went away to the farthest place in Africa!
Hahaha! These 2 siblings. When Sung-joon finally tells his problem with a girl that reminds him of a ggo-choo-jang (red pepper paste) jar, Jung-in assumes that he’s meeting a married woman and tells him to come to his senses. Hee hee.
Hyun-soo picks up the angel ornament on his way back into the house and brings it up to Jung-in’s room. He sees her sleeping and takes a photo of her with the angel and names it “Hyun-soo’s girlfriend,” completing the photo circle.
When the morning alarm goes off in the morning, Jung-in finds a nice surprise on her pillow, the angel ornament. But she finds even a bigger surprise: Hyun-soo sleeping on the floor! She goes down first to check out the lay of the land. She tries to signal Hyun-soo to come down but is stopped short by Geum-ja, who’s still wrapped up with thoughts about Jung-kyung. She gets Jung-in to spill all of her lovey dovey thoughts about Hyun-soo, which livens her up.
When Sung-joon tells her that Hyun-soo didn’t come home to sleep last night, she tells him to check under the desk. Because he likes to sleep there there when busy to maximize his work time.
During breakfast, Grandpa Man-bok asks everyone to come home early and help with the kim-jang (winter kimchi.) Joo-hee and Sung-joon make excuses but Jung-in quickly raises her hand and offers help, reminding Geum-ja that they were the fantasy pair when working at Joon-bae’s restaurant. (So cute.)
Grandpa Joon-bae tries to get Man-bok to go on a trip with him. He even promises that So-nyu will find him a match. Grandpa Man-bok (and I) burst out with laughter hearing Joon-bae call her, So-nyu (which means young maiden in Korea). Joon-bae sulks, “What can you do? It’s her name.” Man-bok has another bout of laughter when he hears her calling Joon-bae, oppa.
Before Man-bok leaves, he tells Joon-bae to not listen to Han-se. And So-nyu’s ears perk up at the talk of selling a house. Man-bok notices her reaction and raises his suspicions about her.
Han-se follows around Jung-in at the office, saying that his heart flutters even when seeing her back. When she threatens to call his mom, he lets her go. But not without an “I love you” and a wink. (It’s been awhile since Lee Kyu-han’s last drama project, and he’s had a pretty good comeback as Han-se. He brings a certain charm to the annoying character and make you root for him.)
Jung-in heads back into the beat team office and sees Han-se lost in thought. She’s worried about her sister and asks him to meet her again. But he responds, “I don’t want to. Jung-kyung doesn’t know her own feelings and is confused right now. There isn’t much I can do.”
Sung-joon shows up at the dduk-bok-gi restaurant, bringing a smile to Ji-soo’s face. (Lee Chun-hee is looking pretty good in his suit. *giggle*) He has grandiose plans to send Ji-soo back to her house and tells Joo-hee that they’ll have to run the restaurant from now on.
He takes Ji-soo out for a farewell date. He takes her to the richer part of the city and first buys her clothes. He wants to send her back home looking the part. He does a double take, seeing her walk out of the dressing room wearing a dress.
While checking out their newly developed car, Hyun-soo gets a call from the chief. Jung-in looks on, knowing that something is up with her boyfriend. Han-se tries to steal her attention.
Han-se: Look at him. But you’re the only one I have. So don’t worry. Look at me. [Jung-in keeps her eyes on Hyun-soo.] Hey. Look at me!
When she tries to start a conversation with Hyun-soo, he’s pulled away for work and walks away.
Sung-joon and Ji-soo continue their date at the restaurant, and she tells him that it’s the first time that a man has treated her this way. She’s happy to spend time together like this, but Sung-joon proclaims that this is why they need to break up. When she mumbles that they can just forget about the other night, he exclaims, “How can I when my lips remember! Can you promise that our relationship won’t go any further? What will happen when the family disapproves?” Of course he’s talking about her family, but Ji-soo thinks that he’s talking about his own family and agrees to ignore him from now on.
After lunch, he’s ready to send her back home.
Sung-joon: From here, you take the lead. I need to see you go home before I can leave. If your father is a three star general, you must live well. Apkujong-dong, Chungdam-dong, Nonhyun-dong. (Well to do towns) I figured it would be within these areas. I think I need to take you home before I can forget you. I’ll talk to grandpa.
Ji-soo: What are you talking about? I said I was an orphan.
Sung-joon: Why are you like this? If you’ve cried because of a man, you’re now an adult. Do you still not understand your parents?
Ji-soo: Are you still confused and think that I’m the daughter of a three star general?
Sung-joon: What do you mean confused? I know it’s the truth.
Ji-soo: How many times do I have to say that it’s not true!!
She gets angry at this point and tells him this makes her even more pitiful. Sung-joon thinks about it and finally concludes that she must really be an orphan. His face lights up and starts running after her.
Sung-joon: [yelling] Are you really an orphan with no place to go? Then we don’t have to break up. Ji-soo, let’s go together!!
As Hyun-soo and Jung-in walk home, she notices his doleful mood. She thinks that he’s worried about Jung-kyung and says she’ll take charge of his thoughts. Out of the 10 “thinking pockets”, 5 can be filled with cars, 3 is hers, 1 is for the family. When Hyun-soo thinks that the last pocket is for Jung-kyung, she says no way. Jung-kyung needs to be in the family pocket and reminds him that his family is huge – including all of the factory workers he calls family. He responds, “Alright. I won’t think about her.”
Hyun-soo grabs her hand to walk back home, but she runs in by herself saying that Geum-ja is finally being nice to her. She tells him to count to 100 before coming in. He watches her walk away and starts counting with a big grin on his face.
Han-se is back at Joon-bae’s restaurant, trying to buy back the Seo’s house. Han-se tells him that he needs to get the house back to get Jung-in to like him again. He asks Joon-bae to help him love again.
Jung-in and Jung-kil arrive at the restaurant to borrow the equipment for making kim-jang. After hearing Han-se’s confession, Joon-bae asks Jung-in if she has any interest in getting back together with Han-se. But she gets angry at his comment and says that she’ll wish for all of his hair to fall out again if he keeps bring it up. Joon-bae gets the hint.
On their walk home, the father/daughter pair have a sweet conversation. He brings up Han-se, but she’s now thankful for everything that’s happened. Being able to have breakfast together, celebrating Jung-kyung’s birthday together, and seeing her father spend his hard earned money for the family.
Jung-in: I had this thought on unni’s birthday. That I want to marry a man just like my dad.
Jung-kil: Really?
Jung-in: In the past, I liked you, but I didn’t want to marry a man like you. But these days, you’re always on my side, you go to work early in the morning for your family, and coming on the errand with me like this. This is the kind of man I want.
Jung-kil had wanted to talk to Jung-in about marrying Han-se, but can’t bring it up hearing her talk about how much she likes who he’s become.
The whole family work together to make the kim-jang. The men (minus Sung-joon) dig the hole for the urn. And the ladies (plus Sung-joon) are indoors, getting the ingredients ready. Seeing his mom sitting idle, he tells her to go and help Ji-soo at the restaurant. Geum-ja, who’s taken a liking to Ji-soo, comments that whoever marries her will be a lucky man, making Sung-joon listen blithely.
Joo-hee listens and is upset to hear Ji-soo being matched up with Sung-joon. And Geum-ja takes this chance to put down Jung-kyung, still mad at her rejection of Hyun-soo. By this point, Sung-joon gets mad at his mom for talking badly about Ji-soo. And when she yells at Geum-ja to just let Ji-soo marry Hyun-soo, Jung-in gets up in arms over her comment and tells Geum-ja to just ignore her mom. (It is the Kang/Seo household after all, we were bound to have a family fight.)
The whole family then gathers together to make the kim-jang. Even Jung-kyung arrives at Geum-ja’s request to come help.
And she has fully decided to give Jung-kyung hell and tells her to go wash the dishes since she came late. But Hyun-soo says that he’ll do it and heads into the bathroom. Jung-kyung follows suit but he’s visibly uncomfortable around her.
Jung-in comes into the awkward atmosphere, wondering what’s up with the 2 of them. When Geum-ja peers in and sees Hyun-soo doing the dishes, she gives the look of death to Jung-kyung, making the awkward environment even worse.
The whole family sits together after finishing the kim-jang, to enjoy some mak-gul-ri (rice wine) and pork. Grandpa Man-bok passes out the family photo, making Hyun-soo and Jung-in smile, seeing a photo of themselves. And Sung-joon asks about the other family picture, and laughs to himself, seeing him and Ji-soo together. He immediately excuses himself to go help Ji-soo with the store.
Geum-ja looks at the picture and says that Jung-in looks the prettiest from the Seo family in the picture. She turns to ask Hyun-soo, who looks around uncomfortably, and picks his mom as the prettiest. As they continue eating, Hyun-soo looks lovingly at Jung-in, which Geum-ja sees and mistakens for gazes at Jung-kyung.
As Ji-soo enjoys the pin in her hair, Sung-joon arrives at her house. She immediately takes it off, embarrassed to let him see it. He brings the kim-jang and mak-gul-ri and tells Ji-soo to prepare the table. Afraid that Jung-kyung may come home, she drags him into her room. It’s now Sung-joon’s turn to get embarrassed, “But I’m not ready yet.”
Ji-soo: Now that I look at this picture, you’re really tall.
Sung-joon: You only see me?
Ji-soo: It looks like a real family. Right ahjusshi?
Sung-joon: If you want to really be family, how about changing what you call me? I don’t like ahjusshi.
Ji-soo: Then do you want me to call you oppa?
Sung-joon: That’s too common. You call Hyun-soo oppa also. And Jung-in, Jung-kyung, they call me oppa. It’s too confusing.
Ji-soo: Then what should I call you?
Sung-joon: Baby.
Ji-soo: Eh? Oh… disgusting.
Sung-joon: Fine. Then how about simply… Sung-joon sshi.
Ji-soo: Think about how old I am. If I call you by name, it’s to ill-mannered.
Sung-joon: Alright. Then you can call me by what you really want… dear. Dear.
Ji-soo: Dear?
Sung-joon: Let’s not take too much time on stuff like this. Dear. Honey. Darling. You. Pick from these 4.
Ji-soo: I don’t like any of them.
She tries to give him a shove but slips and ends up falling in his lap.
Back at the house, Geum-ja keeps pushing Jung-kyung’s buttons. When the conversation turns to her ideal man, Hyun-soo runs out of the room, with Jung-in on his tail. She’s unable to let things go and this point and demands an answer. When he feigns ignorance, she asks, “Do you still like unni?” Jung-kyung overhears the conversation and comes in.
Jung-kyung: No, Kang Hyun-soo doesn’t like him. But I like him. That’s how I feel. Do I need get your permission for that also?
At that moment, Geum-ja comes in and hits Jung-kyung, pressing to know why she rejected her son when he followed her around for 8 years and leaves the whole family shocked at the revelation.
Comments
I can probably write about Lee Chun-hee forever. But I think my fangirl side has been fairly well exposed, so I’ll just say this. It’s pretty difficult for a love line to be convincing when it’s just one-sided. But even with a fairly lackluster Ji-soo, Sung-joon pretty much carries this couple’s sweet and a little flighty relationship.
Now onto Hyun-soo. He fully puts the nail on the coffin when he tells Jung-kyung that he’ll try harder around her because she’s his friend and more importantly, Jung-in’s sister. I know that he doesn’t have any left over feelings, which made me question why he didn’t just tell Jung-in about what happened. I’m sure it can be argued that he’s trying to shield her from being hurt, but I’m not sure if I would buy that reasoning. The basis of their relationship has been brutal honesty up to this point. (Well, except for the ring. But that makes more sense.) Are we getting into some angst manipulation? I’m not really sure because the episode didn’t show enough to make a conclusion.
I do wonder whether the cancellation of the Saturday episode had any kind of impact on the flow. The episode felt almost unfinished, leaving me a bit unsatisfied. I’ve felt like the drama had made the 2 weekly episodes almost fuse into 1, with the real cliffhanger coming at the end of the Sunday episodes. I guess we’ll just have to see how it plays out.
The rice wine brings out some craziness for the Kang/Seo family which leads to Geum-ja hitting Jung-kyung, wailing by Geum-ja and Jung-in, and everyone confessing their fondness for one another. It’s all pretty ridiculous but funny none the less. The funniest part is when Jung-in raises her hand and says she likes Hyun-soo also, after Jung-kyung confesses that she likes him. The sisters both mean that they really like Hyun-soo, but the family thinks that it’s just friendly affection.
As Jung-kyung leaves, Jung-in follows to ask her out. She admits that she feels uneasy knowing that her sister now likes Hyun-soo. She ends the conversation reminding Jung-kyung that Hyun-soo is the man whom her younger sister likes.
I really like that Jung-in focuses on her own feelings when trying to dissuade Jung-kyung from liking Hyun-soo. In comparison, Jung-kyung told Jung-in to keep her feelings in check because Hyun-soo had liked her for 8 years.
Sung-joon is enjoying his drinks with his new girlfriend, Ji-soo. When she asks him why he likes her, Sung-joon has an honest answer.
Sung-joon: I like you because you’re next to me. Miss Brazil, Angelina Jolie, Girls Generation (Kpop girl group). Why would I like them when I’ve never even seen them before. I like you because I’m able to see you everyday. How did you ever come to the auto center?
He’s just so super cute! They start their oh-so-sweet phase of their relationship, reminiscent of Hyun-soo and Jung-in. They start rattling off all the things they want to do together. He aims high: taking a plane to Italy and she aims low: sitting on a train together.
When Jung-in returns to her room, she notices a slight change to the graffiti on her wall, courtesy of Hyun-soo. It now reads: Idiot x 10000. His way of letting her know that it’s ridiculous for her to worry about Jung-kyung’s feelings.
In the morning, Hyun-soo is the one packing their lunch and Geum-ja comes to apologize for her alcohol induced behavior. He starts yelling at his mom when he notices Jung-in standing by the door.
Hyun-soo: Because I’m in shock from your behavior, I’m going to start dating from today. I’m going to meet a girl who likes me and date earnestly. So don’t be surprised. From this moment, if there’s a girl who likes me, I’m going to immediately start dating her.
Geum-ja: But you can’t just date anyone. I’m sure there are lots of girls who’d like you.
Hyun-soo: Of course, I have to choose. Someone like you with big eyes, a hearty voice, and who can cook, especially someone who can make good rolled eggs.
When Geum-ja leaves the kitchen, he’s left to deal with Jung-in’s anger (for not telling her about Jung-kyung.) She pinches his arm, which immediately gets him to sing a chorus of I’m sorry.
Over at Ji-soo’s house, she wakes up to find Sung-joon asleep next to her. He’s about to leave, but is shocked to see that Jung-kyung is the new mysterious roommate. Of course there are surprises all around as Jung-kyung sees her brother and Ji-soo coming out of the same room in the morning. She asks him to not tell her family where she lives, and in turn Sung-joon tells her not to blow their cover as well. After he leaves, Jung-kyung comments, “I guess you don’t know since you’re by yourself, but it doesn’t always work out because two people like each other.”
Jung-in continues to harbor her anger at the office and Hyun-soo eventually gets upset as well. “Do you still have any interest in Han-se?” When she profusely denies it, Hyun-soo adds, “Then why do you think I would?” Hearing his words quells her heart and the two move in for a little affection. But Han-se watches from the side and jumps right in, seeing the 2 of them too close for comfort.
Hyun-soo gives Jung-in an assignment and starts to give her his new computer password (her birthday) but stops short. She asks to send the info over using telepathy, which he happily obliges by touching her forehead. Han-se tries to get in on the action and follows the same motion, telling Jung-in to guess the surprise present that he’s planning for her. (Haha)
Hyun-soo and Jung-in walk home together, arm in arm, happy to have made up from their fight. When Jung-in gets melancholy, thinking about having to hide their relationship, Hyun-soo decides to take her somewhere special: to the public bath. (MISA flashback anyone?) They spend time alone together but are hit with an unexpected surprise.
It just happened that the Kangs and Seos decide to have an excursion of their own to the very same public bathhouse. When they enter the room with the couple, they are forced to hide their faces by throwing a towel on them. They try to make a getaway but are forced to remain seated. Jung-in eventually takes the towel and runs away alone, leaving Hyun-soo to hide his face using his t-shirt.
The two finally meet at the igloo room. They decide to stay in the cold room a little while longer, figuring that the adults wouldn’t come into such a cold room. Jung-in suggests that they get blankets to keep themselves warm, making Hyun-soo smile and ask, “Does that mean we get to be under the same blanket?” Hahaha.
Unfortunately, their families are sitting right outside and Jung-in gets caught just as she walks out. She’s forced to sit with them and eat hard boiled eggs while Hyun-soo freezes.
Hearing that Man-bok is under the weather, Joon-bae comes to visit, bring his girlfriend, So-nyu. She tells Joon-bae to take care of his friend, thinking that Man-bok doesn’t have much. But changes her whole attitude when she finds out that Man-bok is really the rich one. He just doesn’t like to show it. She looks at him with different eyes and even calls him oppa, fulling raising Man-bok’s suspicious antenna.
Jung-in gives everyone a face mask to create a diversion for Hyun-soo’s escape. But Geum-ja sees him as he tries to leave and they are forced to stay with their parents. The two of them are able to stay alone for a short while, which gives them a chance to play a silly word association game together. (i.e. Your face is red. Apples are red. Apples are tasty, and so on.) But the game leads Jung-in to come up with a plan for bring their families closer, and ultimately for them to reveal their relationship.
They come up with a clever plan to go on a vacation with both families, manipulating the conversation with their parents. They get everyone to agree on traveling together to save money, but play separately once they get there. They sit around trying to think of a name for their vacation group which ends up with the Paradise group. The whole thing is kinda ridiculous and kinda cute, but the goal of bring together the sets of parents works for the time being.
Han-se takes Jung-kil to Joon-bae’s restaurant and asks for his help in convincing Joon-bae to sell back the old Seo house. Jung-kil starts putting the pieces together in his head and comes to the conclusion that the house must be the the last wish that his father had shared with Man-bok. (Oh boy. What shenanigans will he get into now?)
Hyun-soo receives a call from Jung-kyung, and fully discloses the call to Jung-in, making her smile. Jung-kyung heads to the hospital to talk to the chief. She tells him not to take a sabbatical on her account and reveals her feelings about Hyun-soo, quipping, “Isn’t it funny that I like someone who doesn’t like me back at this age?” But the chief answers, “No it’s not funny. It looks like I’ll be doing the same. But I still want to do it.”, and surprises Jung-kyung with his confession.
Han-se’s mom comes into the office and finds Jung-in working at Global Motors. She drags her to Han-se’s office demanding to know what’s going on. When she starts to accuse Jung-in of trying to win back her son, Han-se speaks up to his mom for the first time.
Han-se: I’m the one who called her back. I made her work here by threatening her with the ring money. I’m the one who likes her even though she doesn’t like me back. She doesn’t want money or anything else. So don’t be like this also.
HS Mom: [To Jung-in] You must be jumping up and down on the inside. But I know what you’re really up to. [To Han-se] Kick her out right now!
Han-se: Mom, you leave! I can’t just let Jung-in go like this. I thought I would be able to get her back. I thought she would come back to me if I had Global. But she says she won’t come. Even if I gave her Global, she won’t come. I don’t need Global or anything else, so mom you bring back Jung-in to me!
His mom slaps him, sending both Han-se and Jung-in into shock. Hyun-soo runs over hearing that Jung-in has been dragged to Han-se office and finds Han-se clinging onto Jung-in.
Jung-in: I told you I don’t have any leftover feelings.
Han-se: Do what you want. You said you wanted to meet who you liked. Alright, do what you want. It’s OK. I’ll wait. Come back. Please, Jung-in.
Jung-in: I’m not going to say anything. No matter what I say will hurt you.
Han-se: No. I think I finally know what I should do.
When Jung-in asks for an expensive cup of coffee to liven up her mood, Hyun-soo takes her to ride in the new beat car and hands her a can of ice coffee. When she wonders why it has to be cold coffee, he replies, “There’s a reason. What did you and Han-se talk about?” When Jung-in doesn’t answer, he tells her to hold on and starts swerving around with the car, forcing Jung-in to blab out the conversation with Han-se.
Then they finally have a serious adult conversation.
Jung-in: I think I understand why you didn’t want to tell me about Jung-kyung unni. Honestly, my heart ached. Are you angry?
Hyun-soo: I can take it for now.
Jung-in: Me too. So tell me. Be honest.
Hyun-soo: I was surprised, bewildered, shocked, unbelieving, flustered, and scared.
Jung-in: That your feelings would be shaken?
Hyun-soo: That your feelings would be shaken. ‘It’s difficult to be Kang Hyun-soo’s girlfriend. Even with Global’s heir chasing me, I decided to still date him but what’s with him? I have to lie and be secretive about my relationship at home and my older sister is his first love. It’s giving me too big a headache to continue.’ That you’d leave like this.
Hyun-soo takes her hand and they sit in silence, while Han-se looks on with sadness and acceptance in his eyes.
The parents talk about where to go on their family vacation but have a hard time agreeing on a spot. When Geum-ja mentions just going to a karaoke bar instead, Sung-joon appears out of nowhere and yells, “Karaoke call!” (Hahaha!!! I really missed Sung-joon in this episode.)
When Jung-in and Hyun-soo arrive home together, Joo-hee discloses that they are working at Global Motors together and it’s not a big surprise that they would be coming home at the same time. But Sang-hoon’s suspicions are raised for the second time. (The first time was seeing the two of them together at the public bath.)
Jung-in and Hyun-soo spend the night talking away on their couple phones. When Jung-in mentions that it’s difficult to lie to Sang-hoon, Hyun-soo tells her that his dad will understand why they decided not to tell the family right away. The two of them promise to be good to each other’s families, when Sung-joon pops up out of bed, “Instead of thinking about being good to me later, just let me sleep now.” Sung-joon threatens vengeance by talking on the phone for a long time as well. They are just about to get into a conversation about his new girlfriend when…
the whole family is awaken to: KANG HYUN-SOO! OPEN THE DOOR! A drunk Han-se shows up at their doorstep looking for Hyun-soo.
Han-se: Kang Hyun-soo. I’m so miserable. Kang Hyun-soo. Seo Jung-in. You two. How can you do this to me!!
Comments
Han-se was really terrific in this episode. Lee Kyu-han does a great job of showing Han-se’s serious side, after weeks of being relegated to comic relief. (We knew he had the chops after Que Sera Sera, so it’s nice to see the drama taking advantage.) The relationship between Hyun-soo, Jung-in, and Han-se is shown rather beautifully in the episode with bouts of angst, bliss, and comedy all melded together. It allowed us, the viewers, a chance to glimpse into the lives of people in love and feel their confused emotions in a real way.
I think that’s what the drama wanted us to feel in episode 21 with the Jung-kyung incident as well, but without success. I really believed that the meat of the angst would come from this part of the love rectangle, but that has not been the case so far. I think the storyline is there to develop something of significance, but the more I watch Jung-kyung, the more I think Choi Jung-yoon may have been miscast for this role. I actually like her quite a bit but she’s not coming off genuine to me. She has come out and commented that she doesn’t really understand why Jung-kyung would behave this way, and I think this shows up in her acting. The scene where she cries, holding onto the gloves, was completely forced. Of course, it’s not just Choi Jung-yoon’s fault, as Jung-kyung’s character development has been sketchy at best. Why the writer needs to have her quit the hospital and turn her into a sobbing mess is beyond me.
As mentioned in the opening, the first 2/3 of the episode dragged on for me a bit. I fully expected a bit of a lull with the drama hitting its mid poingt, so it’s not completely disappointing. But I think they may need to add in something a little new to keep things moving. I’m usually not a big fan of throwing in a new character to bring in excitement, so I’m hoping that the something new will be in the realm of character development.
We’re finally here at the midpoint. (Well, just me and the recaps, since episode 27 already aired in the real world.) The middle of a fairly lengthy series is bound to have its draggy parts, and Smile is having its share of them. But all in all, there are enough moments in each episode to keep me entertained and smiling (cheesy I know) as we witness our sweet couple play out their angst-free courtship.
And episode 23 brought extra guffaws from Lee Kyu-han playing the fun and a wee-bit crazy secondary male to a tee. I’m glad to see that the unlikeable Jung-kyung (character and storyline) is taking a back seat to Han-se, atleast for the moment. There’s more “meat” to the Jung-kyung story but when something doesn’t work, you gotta move on.
The whole family is woken up when Han-se crawls his way into their home, crying out for Hyun-soo. He clings onto both Hyun-soo and Jung-in yelling, “You two! How can you do this to me!!” He tries to reveal the truth about the couple’s relationship but his drunkenness isn’t helping his cause. He ends up puking and being pulled away by Sung-joon and Hyun-soo, leaving Jung-in to clean up the mess. On top of the puke, she has to listen to Geum-ja’s nagging about getting back together with her ex-hubby.
Han-se is too drunk to leave the house and need to be put down in the boy’s room. They end up changing his clothes and is left to sleep. (It’s pretty hilarious that Hyun-soo has to help his nemesis put on pants.) When Sung-joon seems to be taking Han-se’s side for pushing forward without any fear, Hyun-soo starts double guessing their decision to keep the relationship a secret from the family. But Jung-in wants to earn some more points with his family before spilling and they come up with a plan to have the big reveal at the family vacation.
Han-se wakes up from his sleep. (He calls for his secretary as he opens his eyes. Haha.) He roams around the house: first looking for some water but drinking bellflower root water, then searching of Jung-in. He goes into each room and finally sees the back of Joo-hee’s head and starts walking to her with a silly grin on his face, thinking that he’s finally found her.
Hyun-soo and Jung-in decide to have a little date in the car instead of going to sleep. (Ah… young love.) They play the blinking game for hits, which Secretary Kim mistakes for lovey-dovey eyes.
When Jung-in takes his face in her hand, his mood changes from play to serious and asks her to close her eyes. But Jung-in is set on getting in her hits and doesn’t realize what Hyun-soo’s asking her to do. When he closes his eyes hoping for a kiss, she thinks he’s playing the game and hits his arm.
It takes a few tries for Jung-in to get his meaning and finally gets on the same page. But just as the two are about to share their first kiss as a couple, they hear a scream from the house.
The scream belongs to Joo-hee, who yells from Han-se’s attack. The whole family is now awake but Han-se is focused on finding Jung-in, believing her to be with Hyun-soo. When she runs in from outside, everyone’s suspicions are risen. But Jung-in is adamant that she was outside alone and reminds everyone about Hyun-soo’s weird (made up) habit of sleeping under his desk. And lo and behold, they find him under the desk when they all head down to the room, making Han-se into a goat. (He sneaks in through the window and lives to keep their secret another day.)
In the morning, the whole family comes out for their usual morning exercise. Han-se is befuddled to find the Seos joining in with the Kangs. He tries to stop them but pretty quickly joins in with the exercising.
When Han-se finds out that his secretary saw the couple in the car together, he gathers around the whole family to listen to the tales of hanky panky. Hyun-soo and Jung-in try to deny it as much as possible (since they didn’t even kiss!), but the family’s ears are perked with secretary Kim’s story. Just as they start to badger the couple, secretary Kim receives a call from Han-se’s mom, causing him to start his lies about Han-se’s whereabouts. This again saves the couple from outing their relationship.
One of the funniest scenes of the episode comes next when Sang-hoon tries to lipbutt Han-se with his secretary for their lies, making Han-se yell, “Stick in your lips!” Hahaha!
The whole family plus the new addition eat breakfast together. And where is Han-se’s place in the family? He sits in between Hyun-soo and Geum-ja! (LOTF!!) Even grandpa Man-bok isn’t all that thrilled with the additions and telsl them to leave after the meal. But Han-se is adamant on staying.
Han-se: Just like the prince who gives up his throne and chooses love, I’m going to forfeit Global for Jung-in.
Everyone basically barfs out their food, except for Joo-hee who is still a teenager at heart and swoons to the words of romance. Han-se even asks for the green tracksuit to fit in with the family theme.
With worries about Han-se’s big mouth, Jung-in decides to stay at home to keep him from exposing them. Hyun-soo is worried to let her stay alone with Han-se but she says that she’ll take care of it. It also gets us to relive a few moments of their courtship: Smile style.
Jung-in: If he doesn’t listen, I’ll use my forehead to…
Hyun-soo: Not the forehead. Did you forget that it was our first physical contact?
Jung-in: Then with my fist…
Hyun-soo: Not the hand. Your hands are my gloves.
Jung-in: Then I’ll kick him with…
Hyun-soo: Not the foot either! I put the band-aid on your foot… None of those are good. Honestly, I was bothered when Han-se put his arms on your shoulders in the office.
Jung-in: Really? Why didn’t you tell me instead of being cowardly and just keeping it to yourself?
Hyun-soo: Coward? Did you just call me a coward?
That gets Hyun-soo all riled up and he avows to makes a big fuss like Han-se. Jung-in apologizes for her words and tries to calm him down, when Sang-hoon walks into the backyard and sees the two of them together, her hands on his chest. Hyun-soo makes an excuse about having no place to sleep and storms out. She then covers her tracks by holding onto Sang-hoon before leaving as well. He initially looks confused but then looks back at them with suspicious eyes.
As Hyun-soo leaves for work without Jung-in, they have a nice, long, and cute goodbye. (It would have been a total barf moment if not for the presence of this episode’s star.) He turns around to look at her one last time, just when Han-se pops up into the window and ruins Hyun-soo’s perfect view.
He turns to head to the office and sees Sung-joon watching. Sung-joon pulls aside his future brother-in-law and gives him permission to kiss Jung-in. (Oh silly man. She’s already kissed him!) The two men have a little bonding moment over the difficulties of kissing a girl. Sung-joon uses the moment to borrow Hyun-soo’s cellphone to call Ji-soo, through Jung-kyung. Hyun-soo is interested and perplexed by the conversation but doesn’t know who Sung-joon is talking to on the phone.
The 2 ladies on the other end of the phone share an awkward moment.
Ji-soo: It wasn’t anything, just something about the store.
Jung-kyung: Do you feel uncomfortable around me? You have every right to like oppa. I’m not saying anything about that.
Ji-soo: You don’t have to say anything. I know my situation better than anyone else.
Jung-kyung: I just said it because I was worried. Why does this always happen? People are always uncomfortable around me and misunderstand me. It must be a problem with me.
It would be nice to see these 2 women get closer and eventually be each other’s vehicle for transformation. Unfortunately, their scenes are as flat as board with no sense of interest or chemistry.
Jung-kil decides that the only way to get what he’s due is to take things into his own hands. He calls the family together for a spring cleaning in order to look for his father’s will (and ultimately the deed to his house.) He tries to get Han-se to help look through all of grandpa Man-bok’s files.
Jung-in tries to spend some quality time with Geum-ja and find a place for their paradise family vacation. She asks about their honeymoon and first kiss, trying to get closer. When Jung-in runs off to do Geum-ja’s bidding, she comments, “Her personality is good just like me…” and smiles to herself. (Seriously, how can you not love Jung-in. She’s the cutest thing ever.)
Hyun-soo can’t get any work done and gives Jung-in a call. Things seem calm as she cleans his room but all goes awry when Han-se jumps her. Hearing their jagged conversation over the phone, Hyun-soo gets completely agitated.
Jung-in: Don’t rip it!
Hyun-soo: What… what’s ripping? What’s going on…
Jung-in: Stop it!
Han-se: Hold on. Hold on!
Jung-in: No, you can’t!
Hyun-soo: Jung-in! LEE HAN-SE, I’LL KILL YOU!!
Jung-in: Oppa. Han-se tried to rip up our family picture so I bit him.
It’s fairly unsophisticated humor but performed so perfectly by Hyun-soo (Jung Kyung-ho) that it’s hard not to cackle.
As Jung-kil and secretary Kim continue to look for the will, Geum-ja learns what they’re searching for. She decides that the best to curtail Jung-kil’s plan is to find it first herself. She and Sang-hoon throw themselves into the search and the four of them work hard on their “spring cleaning.”
Hyun-soo continues to worry about Jung-in and Han-se and try to call again without any luck. He ends up calling Kyung-soo to clear his worries. He asks to talk to Han-se about work but really just wants to see Jung-in’s face and even blocks out Han-se to just look at his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Han-se is working hard to convince Jung-in to come back to him. He reminds her that she can’t live like this forever based on her past interests and love for things like celebrity gossip.
Jung-in: Look closely. I’m not the same Seo Jung-in. The Jung-in who you liked didn’t know how to think about other and liked celebrities, but I’m not like that anymore. You may want to try living this way for fun, but this is my reality and the person who loved me in my new reality is Hyun-soo oppa.
Sung-joon comes to visit Ji-soo with a big grin on his face. (His smile makes my whole face light up. I must really love Lee Chun-hee.) Unfortunately, her expression gets dark and she sends Kyung-soo off on an errand to have THE talk with Sung-joon. But he’s giddy as a little boy as he takes her hand and slips a ring onto her finger. Instead of buying couple phones, he’s decided to spend money on couple rings instead. She’s takes the ring off and says that she doesn’t like him or the ring, but he’s not discouraged easily and throws the ring back at her and announces that he’ll be back tomorrow.
For a playboy, Sung-joon is pretty innocent. He cites their kiss and sleeping in the same room as a reason to solidify their relationship with a ring and says that they should get married in March when the spring flowers start their bloom. But it looks like he’s got competition from Kyung-soo for Ji-soo’s affections. He’s changed his hair style and musters up courage to call her by name instead of showing his usual deference.
When Man-bok goes to visit Joon-bae, So-nyu is there to greet him. Finding about his wealth, she clings to him like glue, trying to call him oppa and holding onto his arm. She listens on quietly on the side as the two men talk about Jung-kil’s house. Grandpa Man-bok leaves but not before giving her a suspicious look, knowing a crook when he sees one.
Jung-in and Han-se buy some sweet potatoes and she brings them to the office as a snack for Hyun-soo and her coworkers. Han-se is wearing the Kang family’s green tracksuit and stays in the car while she drops it off. Hyun-soo is relieved and elated to see Jung-in, and chases after her as she is about to buy drinks and gives her a big hug.
Hyun-soo: Why did you come now? I thought you might bring food so I didn’t even eat lunch. Even if we get caught, let’s come to work together from now on.
Han-se is wondering what’s taking Jung-in so long and comes out of the car, only to see Hyun-soo hugging her in the halls. He gets incensed and heads towards the office to break up the lovebirds. But his mom walks out just at that moment, which forces Han-se to run away as quickly as possible.
Jung-kil sits in the living room, racking his brain over the whereabouts of the will. He stares at the framed family motto and a light bulb turns on. He takes down the frame and ends up playing a little tug of war with Geum-ja, who catches him in action. It eventually is dropped and cracks, revealing the all important piece of paper. Each person tries to take it but Jung-kil ends up with it and runs out of the house. The whole family chases him out and end up in a pile on.
Comments
I’m not that interested in the will or the house, so this whole thing is a bit of a throwaway for me. I wish they would create the needed drama around something that is a bit more interesting, but the whole sisters liking the same guy was handled fairly poorly so I guess Smile is trying it’s luck at the house angle (and the new love triangle.) I’m OK with the foiled attempts as long as they don’t try to infuse drama into the couple’s relationship. It would be nice for once to see a couple get together and stay together through the whole series, instead of break up for some manufactured reason.
I want my Lee Chun-hee!! I’m assuming that the (wacky) addition of Kyung-soo into the Sung-joon/Ji-soo mix will mean more screen time for my favorite actor of the series. It does look like this love story will take the more conventional kdrama route, with breakups, family opposition, and misunderstandings for kicks but still looking forward to seeing more of Lee Chun-hee’s smiling face on my (now large) computer screen.
I’m back from a brief hiatus—huge thanks to dw4p for plowing forward with the recaps for the past month!!!—and I’ve slowly been catching up on Smile. Yes, slowly. I couldn’t believe it at first; I used to be so excited for the weekends to watch these episodes!
The fact that I was fine with leaving them unwatched wasn’t just because life got busy for the past month… Smile has begun to show the effects of its 16-episode extension. I’ll go into this in more detail in the commentary. For now, one more opening observation: It’s interesting that the romantic antagonist / third wheel has become the comic crux of this series! Han-se is again the one to watch—he steals the scenes with his keen comic timing. I especially appreciate that Lee Kyu-han doesn’t force comedy by making Han-se’s character an outright laughingstock, but instead underscores situational comedy in how he reacts and interacts subtly with the other characters. He’s dead-on as the hen-pecked son, and though Mrs. Lee isn’t a particularly likeable or well-acted character, he makes their scenes funny by bringing to life the foibles of their relationship.
EPISODE 24
With everyone tangled in one messy human knot, Grandpa Man-bok decisively grabs the will out of Han-se’s hand, putting an end to the melee.
Once inside, Grandpa says that he will reveal what is in the Chairman’s will, but in doing so, that act will irrevocably cut ties with the Seo family. Han-se gets excited (what a delightfully easy way to cut Hyun-soo out of the love triangle!) and asks if anyone has a recording to get this on record.
Hearing this, though, unnerves Hyun-soo and he grabs the will first, to everyone’s–including Jung-in’s–surprise. He asks how the inheritance can matter so much when the collateral damage of claiming it involves people—and not just people, but families that have known each other for generations? He asks Jung-kil to wait until Grandpa Man-bok reveals the inheritance of his own volition, rather than forcing his hand like this.
But Grandpa continues, revealing that the inheritance was left to himself, not to Jung-kil. He was willing to make the inheritance public in order to help the Seos, but he’s come to regret that decision at seeing how the inheritance ignited Jung-kil’s greed. To reveal the inheritance is tantamount to saying Grandpa Man-bok is as good as dead, since he would otherwise not have allowed it to be revealed until the very last. Given the weight of this decision, Grandpa decisively says that if Jung-kil chooses to open the will, then this is the last fulfillment of the debt he owes to the Chairman.
Jung-kil decides to open it anyway. At this, a sly grin creeps across Han-se’s face. All he needs is a pinky finger to complete the Dr. Evil look (HAHA–gotta love it).
There are two envelopes inside, one with “Kang Man-bok” written on it. Grandpa grabs that one, saying it’s his, and takes it into his room.
When Jung-kil opens the remaining envelope, his eyes widen for an instant. But he quickly says, “I can’t do it. I can’t look.” He gives it back to Grandpa Man-bok, saying that he would rather not look at the will and instead continue to trust in Grandpa, who has been like a guide for the Seo family in the absence of the Chairman.
But afterward, Jung-kil climbs into bed in his own room, seemingly dazed from sticker shock. “It’s too big to wrap my head around,” he says to himself, but to his family and Han-se, he insists that he never read it.
Jung-in tells Hyun-soo over the phone that her father absolutely claims not to have read the will. “There’s no way he read it—he didn’t even look for a second! Could you have read it that fast?”
“Well, it’s possible, since I’m a fast reader,” Hyun-soo replies.
Jung-in retorts, “Oppa. Our family doesn’t read books.” She tells him to keep to the original story if Grandpa Man-bok asks about it.
Since Han-se is still insisting on sleeping over, and it would be less than comfortable for Sung-joon to stay in Grandpa’s room given the current state of affairs, it gets crowded in Hyun-soo’s room. There’s one bed; limited floor space; two Goldilockses who insist they can’t sleep on the floor; and Hyun-soo, the gracious host. Hyun-soo offers to sleep in the living room and tells Han-se to sleep on the floor so Sung-joon can have the bed. Suspicious that Hyun-soo’s real intent is to sneak up to Jung-in’s room, Han-se latches on to him.
Sung-joon asks Hyun-soo to have a beer with him before bed, but Han-se pipes up first that he’s not feeling well enough to drink yet. Hyun-soo raises his hand, saying, “I’m in!”
“That’s why I like you, lil’ bro!” Sung-joon says. Not to be outdone, Han-se says he’ll have a drink too.
Sung-joon goes out to get beer, but Ji-soo is waiting for him outside to give back the couple ring. She tells him to save it for when he meets a good person. He doesn’t understand why she’s giving it back, so she explains:
Ji-soo: “This is something you wear together with a man.”
Sung-joon: “I AM a man!”
Ji-soo: “Not to me.”
With that, she walks away. Sung-joon calls after her, but Kyung-soo pops out of the dark to say, “It’s no use. There’s already a man in her life. You might call him… Kyung-soo.” He rather flatly attempts to toss his hathair.
Without so much as flinching, Sung-joon brushes straight past him to follow Ji-soo. He asks her what the real reason is for giving back the couple ring, suggesting that if it’s because she doesn’t think of him as a man, they should spend a night together so she can find out for once and for all how she feels about him. Ah, oblivious Sung-joon. He totally misses all the serious cues Ji-soo is sending, but her grave tone is unyielding.
“Do you know me?” Ji-soo asks.
At least he’s got his facts right now: “You’re an orphan. You sell ddukbokki. You like me. What more is there to know?”
Ji-soo: “Three Star wasn’t my father’s job; it’s my past. I was taken in three times.”
Sung-joon: “Where?”
Ji-soo: “To jail.”
Sung-joon laughs, thinking it’s a joke. Ji-soo acknowledges that the way she’d lived felt like a joke, with no parents, money, respect or future. But she’s disappointed in his non-response, particularly when he abruptly changes the subject. He remarks that it’s cold and staggers off in shock, supposedly to get something warm to drink.
But he collapses not far away, and she sees; when he looks back, she’s gone, having left the ring behind.
Still waiting for Sung-joon, Han-se is hovering while Hyun-soo tries to get some work done. He wonders aloud why Jung-in would prefer Hyun-soo over himself, when he clearly has the better credentials. The two get in a verbal deadlock as they trade barbs; it’s a surprisingly even matchup. Regarding work, Han-se has more status, while Hyun-soo has more talent; Hyun-soo reminds Han-se that he left Jung-in, but Han-se points out that Hyun-soo is keeping Jung-in a secret from the family; Hyun-soo may have paid for the ring to get Han-se out of the way, but Han-se points out that it still doesn’t remove the obstacles to their relationship—since both their families will almost certainly oppose it.
Sung-joon finally arrives home with the beer, and as they drink, he asks questions to figure out his situation with Ji-soo, while Han-se and Hyun-soo use the conversation to talk about Jung-in:
Sung-joon: Is the past important?
Han-se: Of course! Without the past, there’s no present.
Hyun-soo: Why would the past matter? It’s the present that’s important.
Sung-joon: If you give a woman a ring, and she gives it back, what does that mean?
Hyun-soo: That she wants to break up.
Han-se: “I’m angry”—she’s saying something like that.
Sung-joon: Here’s the last one: I like her, but she’s scary.
Hyun-soo & Han-se: [Simultaneously]- She’s always been scary. / – I think Jung-in’s scary, too.
Sung-joon finally catches on and laughs at the situation, but when he goes upstairs to sleep, the drinking & conversation still hasn’t helped him get over the situation with Ji-soo.
Meanwhile, Hyun-soo has gotten drunk. He suddenly hits Han-se and, slurring his words, speaks informally. When Han-se objects, saying they’re the same age, Hyun-soo says that Han-se was still an underclassman to him in college. Hyun-soo escalates the conversation (though Han-se’s responses are de-escalating, telling Hyun-soo to get it together), talking big about taking it outside, but he collapses at the table and falls asleep.
Only, he’s not actually drunk. Ha. (This was one of the scenes where I thought, Huh? I got a laugh out of it, but where did this scene come from?)
In the morning, Mrs. Lee shows up to bring Han-se home. She says she’ll reconsider allowing him to go out with Jung-in. Han-se basically takes to mean that he and Jung-in are back together (overlooking the fact that Jung-in’s not interested). He and Jung-kil are both happy about this, but Grandpa Man-bok starts to speak his mind. He essentially points out, Hey, remember how you screwed Jung-in over (with a more dignified turn of phrase), and puts Mrs. Lee in her place.
Strangely enough, it seems to inspire a turnaround in Mrs. Lee. When Grandpa does say that if Jung-in wants to get back together with Han-se, he’ll consent to the relationship and calls Jung-in out into the living room, Mrs. Lee is actually nice to Jung-in.
Han-se tells his mother to apologize to Jung-in for hitting her, at which she gasps out “Lee. Han. Se,” like a deflating balloon. Surprisingly, she does apologize to Jung-in and seems sincere enough about it. Jung-in says that there’s no need to apologize, since her connection to Han-se is all in the past and she doesn’t even want to think about it anymore.
Grandpa Man-bok pragmatically breaks up the scene by telling Geum-ja to collect a $30 room and board fee from Han-se, since he’d been allowed into the house as Hyun-soo’s friend, but that has proven not to be the case.
Han-se leaves, blithely bowing and telling his unimpressed audience, “I’ll come visit again! I had a fun time.” At the car, he stands and waves like he’s the president. BWAHAHA.
At work, it’s the day that the Beat model is finally having its official launch. The office is all abuzz, and Han-se announces to the assembled team that he and Jung-in are getting back together—in the official, almost-remarriage sense. Jung-in tells him to stop joking around, but Hyun-soo has had enough. He pulls Han-se aside and tells him never to pull anything like that again.
Han-se says it’s not Hyun-soo’s place to tell him what to do, but Hyun-soo replies: “If, like you, I’d only been thinking of myself, I would already have said this. I’ve just kept it in because I don’t want to make Jung-in cry.”
Sung-joon comes by the restaurant to check on Ji-soo, and he sees the hooligans come back. (If they have names, I missed it, so I’ll be calling them BadGuy, with the blonde streak, above, and the Sidekick).
When she sees them, Ji-soo leaves the restaurant, and Sung-joon comes inside asking Kyung-soo who they are. The sidekick claims that BadGuy is Ji-soo’s boyfriend, and Sung-joon asks BadGuy, “So have you been to jail too?”
Sidekick: “Of course [he has]! What about you?”
Sung-joon: “I intend to go now, with both of you.”
BadGuy: “I’m busy now. I’ll see you next time.”
Sung-joon looked pretty willing and ready to go at it, but after they leave, he looks relieved.
At home, Grandpa Man-bok once again tells Jung-kil to leave the house. But Jung-kil insists that he didn’t see the will, and Grandpa Man-bok presses the point again twice.
Grandpa: You really didn’t see it?
Jung-kil: Yes, that’s right.
Grandpa: Jung-kil, do you want me to believe you?
Jung-kil: Yes, please trust me.
Grandpa: Very well. I’ll trust you once more.
Geum-ja:
(I was speechless too.) Two theories. One: Grandpa is REALLY gullible. Two: Grandpa has something up his sleeve.
But what does he have up his sleeve? He tells Jung-kil that the condition is that he continue to work at the construction site, but also work his off-hours at Joon-bae’s restaurant. (Huh?)
For all her criticism of Jung-kil, Geum-ja is dying to know what’s in the will, too. She finds it in Grandpa’s room in a freshly sealed envelope–which she can’t tamper with.
Or can she? She steams the seal to loosen it, and reads the will in her room with the door locked. Eyes wide, she mutters, “Seo Jung-kil, that bastard!”
At his new job, Jung-kil is surprisingly deferential to Joon-bae, saying that he sees him as a father figure. Joon-bae cuts him off, saying, “I’m a person who found my own kids so annoying that I sent them overseas.” (LOL!)
But Jung-kil suddenly even pays for the meat he’d stolen for Jung-kyung’s birthday party. Putting on an act, his voice cracks as he expresses regretful thanks to Joon-bae for taking Jung-in in after the wedding fiasco. But as soon as Joon-bae leaves, Jung-kil resumes his suspicious demeanor.
The Lee family’s chauffeur shows up at the Kangs’ house to take Hyun-soo’s parents to the launch of the Beat, where Hyun-soo and Jung-in are busy preparing and having a flirty moment. Jung-in takes off when she sees Sang-hoon and Geum-ja out of the corner of her eye, saying that she’d rather avoid the potential scene when Han-se gets there.
But just then, Han-se and his mother show up, and they somehow manage to suck Jung-in into their entourage. When Sang-hoon and Geum-ja see her, they therefore presume she came with Han-se.
Hyun-soo should be enjoying his big day, but he can’t stop scowling at seeing the uncomfortable position Jung-in is in. Jung-in sticks with Geum-ja and Sang-hoon, but Mrs. Lee catches her eye and indicates that Jung-in should stick next to her. Knowing that Hyun-soo is watching, Jung-in smiles reassuringly at him as she cozies up to Sang-hoon and Geum-ja.
But Geum-ja pushes Jung-in off to Mrs. Lee, and seeing them sit together is too much for Hyun-soo. While Han-se is presenting, Hyun-soo stalks across the room in front of the stage (prompting Han-se to yelp, “Kang Hyun-soo!” mid-sentence) to Jung-in. “Come with me,” he says, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the hallway. There’s an audible gasp and a lot of head-turning from the audience.
Hyun-soo: It’s so stupid and idiotic!
Jung-in: What is? I said I was fine!
Hyun-soo: Not you–me! I feel that way!
From the hall, Han-se is calling for Hyun-soo, and Jung-in begs him to go back inside. But he just says, simply, “Seo Jung-in,” and kisses her.
Sang-hoon, who has come to look for Hyun-soo, is stunned to find them kissing. But, eyes closed and lost in the moment, the two of them don’t see him.
Jung-in looks up at Hyun-soo trustingly as he says, “Jung-in, I can’t wait any longer. What can we do? From now on, you’ll have to cry.”
COMMENTARY
Given its title, you’d think the characters would smile a bit more. But in this episode, Jung-in is mopey and Hyun-soo is scowly almost the entire time. Of course, given that this is a drama series and we’re only halfway through, it would be unreasonable to expect our characters to be smiley and conflict-free from start to finish. So to explain, I’m not bothered that Jung-in and Hyun-soo have to deal with conflicts and obstacles; but I do take issue with the fact that the characteristics that have defined them so far, and endeared them to us, have veered to extremes, rather than showing inflections of complexity or maturity.
Jung-in hangs her head, eyes downcast, in almost every scene. I’ve been wondering about this for a while now—she first got all meek and submissive in front of Mrs. Lee early on, but now it’s completely taken over her character. All her brazenness, her spunk, her fly-in-your-face spirit is gone. Yes, Jung-in needed to grow out of some of that—because at times she got downright respectful. But a doormat is a doormat, and Jung-in is letting herself get walked all over, rather than maturing from hot-tempered verve to sincere candor and enthusiasm. Hyun-soo also seems to go to a character extreme. At the workplace, Hyun-soo is a capable professional who stands up for what he believes. He does sometimes let the personal interfere with the professional—like when he chewed out Han-se for dismissing Jung-in after accepting her headlight design—but it seems too extreme here. I can understand that he’s frustrated at seeing Jung-in let herself get pushed around (aren’t we ALL???), but this launch is a big deal—the culmination of years’ worth of work. Can’t he suck it up? Just a little? Hyun-soo, must you scowl so??
Ah, but then I guess the moment wouldn’t be as dramatic and grand, and Sang-hoon would have no reason to come look for Hyun-soo. Thinking through it, I suppose you could argue (and I suspect you’d be correct if you did) that all of this is part of the set-up of the writing: If Jung-in didn’t suddenly shrink into a submissive punching bag, Hyun-soo wouldn’t notice the difference; if there weren’t such a stark and pitiable change, he wouldn’t get mad. If he weren’t mad, he wouldn’t walk out in the middle of the speech; if he didn’t cause a scene, Sang-hoon wouldn’t go looking for him, etc… Even so, something about the execution just isn’t working for me. I think the decelerated pacing, the repetitive scenes, and above all, the change of tone in this series are what’s bothering me. I had such high hopes.
Ji-soo, too, has lost her moorings in terms of characterization. I found Ji-soo to be believable as a tough girl in her tough-girl scenes: when she pinned Kyung-soo against the wall, or clenched her fist while watching the fight by her pojangmacha. But in this episode, it’s hard to believe that she ever had a tough-girl past. Ji-soo becomes more vulnerable because she truly begins to care for Sung-joon, and that manifests in a rather naive, sheltered way. It’s possible to be both vulnerable and tough at the same time—to show Ji-soo’s internal mental/emotional battle—than the flat, dejected way it’s done here. Though in this case, the problem lies more in the acting than the writing.
All told, I think Smile is like a minivan. It’s not the hottest car in the lot, but it’s still new and nice when you first get it, and it’s got some cool features, like, er, sliding doors and lots of leg room. But then you start driving, and you realize you’re puttering around in a minivan. Thankfully, though, the two people in the frontseats, Hyun-soo and Jung-in, are really engaging, so I’m still along for the ride to find out what happens between them. As for the rest of the family crew packed in the backseats making lots of noise, I’m not digging them much.
So, for now I’m inching forward in my seat to overhear the conversation between our favorite couple, and wishing that, like you viewers, I could fast-forward through the less-enjoyable scenes!
This is a little random but I’m on still on a MiSa high after recently watching the 1994 drama, which started Jung Kyung Ho on his kdrama success. He demonstrates his acting chops playing a singer and So Ji Sub’s (*sigh*) brother, even lending his voice to the OST.
When we last left off, Hyun-soo was laying a thick one on Jung-in, smack in the middle of his new car presentation.
Hyun-soo: Jung-in, I can’t wait anymore. I think you’ll have to cry from now on. Whatever happens, promise me that you won’t waver and persevere through it.
At that moment, Sang-hoon walks into the hallway to see the two of them kissing. Being a man with some sense, he leaves the two of them alone, and calms himself down.
Hyun-soo returns to the presentation to unveil the new car, while his proud parents look on and applaud with enthusiasm (love it!) and a girl in love looks on with admiration and devotion.
The tears trickle down from his parents eyes as Hyun-soo talks about developing a love for cars while watching his father and grandfather. It looks like Hyun-soo’s future is bright, but in reality, a storms a-brewing.
Jung-in heads back home with Hyun-soo’s parents to prepare a congratulatory feast, trying to delay the ultimate unveil of their relationship for as long as possible. All the while, Sang-hoon looks on with worry as he sees the two continue to exchange lovey-dovey glances at each other.
With Geum-ja happy beyond belief, the two ladies have a ball while putting together dinner for Hyun-soo and his coworkers. And the family is excited to see Hyun-soo’s success with the BEAT project. When the coworkers arrive, they are surprised to see Jung-in and her family living with Hyun-soo’s family, but all take it in stride.
As everyone enjoys their dinner, including a little Sung-joon and Ji-woo (Hyun-soo’s coworker) teasing thrown in for good measure, Han-se shows up with a slew of chefs to recreate the party atmosphere for the night’s festivities. He tries to clear the table and put out the food prepared by professionals, but scary Sang-hoon comes out and kicks out Han-se’s cronies.
After seeing Ji-soo’s reaction to the teasing at the dinner table, Sung-joon comes out to talk to her and find out about her “three stars” (crimes for going to jail). He even tries to put her at ease by sharing the tales of his life of crime.
Sung-joon: I didn’t want to say this, but I was kicked out after getting into a fight at Las Vegas. You’re not the only one with a past. Fine. If you don’t want to say, let’s go one at a time. Me, getting thrown out. You? Me, I had over 100 traffic tickets. You? Me, skirting the army, public urination, singing boisterously, littering, and more…
He tries his darnest to get Ji-soo to talk, but she’s not interested in revealing such details. When Jung-in comes to the backyard, she interrupts their discussion to Sung-joon’s dismay. Finding out that Han-se is ruining the atmosphere indoors, he heads out for (I’m guessing) some libations when the motorcycle gang from Ji-soo’s past shows up to teach Sung-joon a lesson. Ji-soo sees the gang when she leaves the house and runs to find a bloody Sung-joon. She breaks down and clutches Sung-joon, seeing the man she loves in pain.
Once the BEAT team leaves, Hyun-soo is ready to reveal his secret. He calls the whole family out for a meeting, while Jung-in grimaces in the corner, mouthing, “Don’t do it…” (Hee-hee. So cute.) Seeing her agitation, Hyun-soo decides to announce the family trip instead, causing Jung-in to collapse in a sigh of relief.
The adults get excited about the thought of going away together, even to a humble sled resort. The only person not keen on the idea is Sang-hoon, who’s no longer interested in bringing the two families together. He even tries to keep the two apart by volunteering to do the dishes with Geum-ja, when Hyun-soo and Jung-in say that they’ll do the dishes together. Unfortunately, the two lovebirds have become adept at secret dating tactics and he looks on, perplexed, as the two exchange knowing glances.
The two make their way outside for their nightly date. And Jung-in has a nice surprise for her leading man.
Jung-in: Oppa, you were so impressive today, and charming, and made my heart melt. Team Leader Kang, you did a good job on BEAT. You did well. I give you 5 stars.
[Jung-in gives Hyun-soo 5 pecks on his cheek.]
Hyun-soo: That was kinda weak. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get to say what I wanted… my lips are a little itchy. Father…
[Jung-in gives Hyun-soo a peck on the lips.]
Hyun-soo: You can do stuff like this anytime you want.
It’s hard to deny that these two are a very cute couple, but can you have too much of a good thing? (More on this later.)
As the two of them enjoy their rendezvous, Ji-soo and Jung-kyung carry a broken down Sung-joon home after his beating. He lies that the injuries are from a fall, even though no one’s buying the fib. When Ji-soo tries to head out, he grabs onto her hand and calls for Hyun-soo. As a dense Hyun-soo comes next to him, Sung-joon slaps his hand away and clings to Ji-soo alone.
Hyun-soo and Jung-in look a little confused but Jung-kyung makes up an excuse to leave Sung-joon and Ji-soo alone downstairs. Jung-in is definitely quicker than Hyun-soo when it comes to matters of love and detects that something is going on between the two of them, but Jung-kyung interrupts their conversation to steer the attention back to Sung-joon’s injury.
With the BEAT project closing down, Hyun-soo and team give their final presentation on the success of their project. Han-se can’t stand to see the couple enjoy a shared moment and butts in at every moment possible. Seeing Han-se put his arm around Jung-in, Hyun-soo pushes it out of the way and moves Jung-in away from Han-se, letting him know that the two of will be having a coming out of their own very soon.
When Han-se calls Hyun-soo to his office for another throw down, he’s seems to be ready this time around, citing the Seo and Kang family has reason enough for the couple’s impending problems. Hyun-soo believes that he’ll be able to provide for Jung-in and her family, while trusting that his family will support his decisions. But Han-se fully knows the problems that families can bring to a marriage and tells Hyun-soo to quickly end his chase so that Jung-in can come back to him.
Overhearing Hyun-soo’s conversation with Han-se, Jung-in decides to encourage her love. She calls Hyun-soo out to introduce him to their new car: Mung-goo. Mung for Hyun-soo’s nickname, mung-chung-yi (idiot) and goo for Jung-in’s nickname, gae-goo-ri (frog). And gives Hyun-soo a big hug before sending him back to work.
She then heads to Han-se’s office to dash any hope that he may about their future.
Jung-in: Once you get [the house] back, keep it for yourself. I told you that I wanted to marry you because I liked being loved. But besides that, I have a lot of good memories while we were together. But those memories and that house are just things in the past that I don’t want to return to.
Han-se: Don’t lie. You said that house was your hope.
Jung-in: I have a bigger hope now. It’s to be part of Hyun-soo oppa’s family. It’ll be ten times, no hundreds times more difficult than getting that house back. But I think I’ll be happy even during the difficulty. I’m sorry for saying this to you. But I need to become a bad person to you in order to attain my hope.
Han-se tries to hold onto Jung-in but she walks off. To find solace, he goes to see Jung-kil at Joon-bae’s restaurant, and converse over a little meat and soju (alcohol) while working. Han-se tries to tell him that Jung-in’s heart is now with Hyun-soo, but Jung-kil won’t hear of it and tells him to focus his energy on getting back the house.
As annoying as the character can be at times, I think Lee Kyu-han continues to do a good job of keeping Han-se as likable as possible. I found his crouched position (in the scene with Jung-kil) to be both pathetic and endearing at the same time.
To feed the sick Sung-joon, Ji-soo brings abalone soup to the Kangs. When Geum-ja says that she’ll save it for grandpa Man-bok only, a well-timed groan from Sung-joon gives Ji-soo an excuse to bring him the soup. He demands to know where the motorcycle gang is so that he can get his revenge, and free Ji-soo from them forever. Just as Sung-joon takes hold of Ji-soo’s hand, Hyun-soo walks in to take them upstairs for a family meeting.
The family sits together to discuss the logistics of the family trip. When Hyun-soo says that he’ll meet the adults at the sled resort, Sang-hoon makes a big stink about the need for everyone to travel together and spoils the plans of a romantic drive for the couple.
As a surprise, grandpa Man-bok pulls out bags filled with new clothes for the Seo family, including Ji-soo. The Seos blithely open up the package (and Geum-ja complains on the side) to reveal red uniforms for the family, completely the green and red colors of Christmas. The Seos grumble about being used as an advertising board for the Seung-ri Car Center and the reminder of the “Be the Reds” failure of the last World Cup, but in the end are satisfied with the gift.
The next morning, Hyun-soo takes special effort to butter up Joo-hee and presents her with a poem for the 1st Annual Paradise Vacation. Hyun-soo’s compliment and poem puts her in a good mood. She comments, “The more I see you, you seem like part of our family. Hyun-soo, you are a romantic.”, before skipping off to put some finishing touches on the poem.
Hyun-soo and Jung-in are touched by each other’s efforts to win over the parents and encourage each other with, “Mung-goo couple UNITE!”, while twirling around in a circle and continuing their kindergarten romance.
Before heading to the resort, Jung-in takes Hyun-soo to her old house for a farewell. Hyun-soo’s taken aback by Jung-in’s initial comments, but listens as she talks about her ability to see her grandfather wherever she lives.
Jung-in: So, I like living at your house the best. As long as I don’t get kicked out, I’ll live there forever with you.
Hyun-soo: Don’t say that. Who’ll kick you out?
Jung-in: You will. You’ll kick me out if I annoy you by crying, grumbling, and sighing. I brought you here to make sure that you won’t kick me out no matter what happens after the vacation.
[Hyun-soo hugs Jung-in.]
Hyun-soo: You’re so bad. You selfish Seo Jung-in, only thinking about yourself. But there’s something you don’t know. I’m a selfish person also. Do you think I’ll kick you out because you cry? I won’t. No, I can’t!
[Hugging her tighter]
Jung-in: It hurts!
Hyun-soo: Just wait even if it hurts! You said you’ll endure anything. You can’t even handle this?
The two of them continue their banter before Jung-in runs out to avoid getting caught by the new owners. But Hyun-soo stays behind and promises Jung-in’s grandfather that he’ll bring her back to this house.
While the adults head out, Jung-kil gets a call from Han-se with news about the owner of the house. And he gets the shock of his life when the owner’s name is revealed: Baek Geum-ja.
Comments
As full disclaimer, I’ll say that I’m fully caught up on watching the series, so my comments are probably tainted by the catastrophe of the episodes in the late 20s.
Smile has been on a downhill course for me the past few episodes. Sure the couple’s sweetness is nice and all but I’d really like to see some real growth in the characters and the relationship. After giving us a few episodes of broody faces, they do bounce back to their former cheerful selves in this episode. I just wish that they would have come back with a bit more maturity or development, instead of returning to the same place that they were 5 episodes ago. I can’t disagree that the scenes between Jung-in and Hyun-soo are still cute, but after seeing 20 of such scenes, even they become a little dull and repetitive.
As soyjoy mentioned in her last recap, the 16-episode extension is taking its toll on the lead couple and subsequently on all side plots. As much as I want to love Sung-joon and Ji-soo, they are also quickly loosing my interest with its odd motorcycle gang involvement and the even odder Kyung-soo addition which now seems to be a thing of the past. And what’s happened to Jung-kyung? I know she wasn’t anyone’s favorite, but she was at one point a pivotal member of the story. Besides Hyun-soo and Jung-in, Smile just casts a net and hopes to catch something good when it comes to the side plot. And if it doesn’t work, it just tosses out another net and tries lady luck one more time. Unfortunately, this disjointed approach is disrupting my enjoyment of the series and making me roll my eyes a bit too many times during the course of the viewing.
With the onslaught of new dramas in the new year, Smile is taking a backseat to spiffier and shinier models. But there is a ray of hope as we enter the episodes of mid-30s in the real world – that it might end up as a dependable minivan, no matter how ordinary and boring it might look from the outside. (Sorry for the semi-spoiler but the next 10 or so recaps might not be the most favorable. Just wanted you to brace yourselves.)
EPISODE 26
Jung-in and Hyun-soo, on their drive to the ski resort, enjoy their time alone.
Meanwhile, the parents’ car gets sidetracked by Han-se’s phone call. Han-se repeats that Baek Geum-ja is the owner of the Seos’ house, despite Jung-kil’s insisting that he must have the information wrong. Jung-kil finally blurts, “Baek Geum-ja is Hyun-soo’s mother, you dimwit!”
Jung-kil hangs up, and Han-se’s reaction is typical: “Secretary Kim, you’re dead meat!” Ah, the luxury of the rich… to always have a scapegoat nearby!
Geum-ja figures out that Han-se was on the other end of the line, but they can’t get a coherent answer out of Jung-kil. Han-se calls back, this time with more information, to ask if Baek Geum-ja was born in 1958, and she yells angrily that she was. She grabs the phone out of Jung-kil’s hand and ask Han-se what’s going on. He asks her to sell him the house.
“Huh? Hou—?” she begins, but Jung-kil wrests the phone back.
The cat is out of the bag. But it’s clear that Geum-ja doesn’t know about it, because she says, “What house? The car center?”
They head back home, arguing all the way. Tempers flaring, the truth comes out: both Geum-ja and Jung-kil acknowledge that they read the will, but when Joo-hee asks what was in it, Geum-ja snaps, “If you’re so curious, read it yourself!” So we’re still left wondering.
Sung-joon stops by Ji-soo’s apartment and asks Jung-kyung to let him stay over. She tells him no, but he insists that he really has no place to stay tonight. That’s a funny claim, since the family has gone to the ski resort, but he says it’s because Grandpa Man-bok is having an affair. (LOL–it’s cute when Jung-kyung slaps him on the arm and quips, “Quit lying!”)
So-nyeo has come over to the house to have dinner with Grandpa. She suddenly begins to cry, saying she’s been to fancy restaurants with many men, but never been fed a warm bowl of rice like this. When Grandpa leaves the room briefly, she grumbles about how much she has to eat just to try to get some money off Grandpa, while Grandpa mutters that all he wanted was some peace and quiet.
Trying to stay awake on the road, Hyun-soo asks Jung-in to sing for him. He sets his phone to record, and she does a cute intro as if she were a live radio caller, requesting a song for her “idiot” boyfriend.
She then starts singing “Can’t Sleep” off the Smile OST (Really? Singing along with the soundtrack? I really did not like, or even understand, this production choice. She’s cute and a pretty good singer, but it was really jarring to break the fourth wall this way, especially when the actual song begins to play simultaneously—IN A DIFFERENT KEY. Yeouch.)
Ah, but then we go into a way adorable montage. Seriously, these two are the saving grace of this show. I could forgive most of its shortcomings while soaking in the cuteness of Hyun-soo & Jung-in.
SO. ADORABLE.
Joon-bae comes over to Grandpa’s place; So-nyeo runs into a room to hide, while Joon-bae shares his suspicion that So-nyeo has another man. A younger man, at that. Ha! Poor Joon-bae.
Grandpa tells Joon-bae to go home, but Joon-bae says he’s come to stay the night while the family is gone. While he goes into the room, Grandpa sends So-nyeo off, telling her not to come back.
As for the hoped-for peace and quiet, well, the rabble rousers are back. They ask about the house, which Joon-bae says is his, and that he put it under Geum-ja’s name so that his son wouldn’t try to sell it off.
I love Jung-kil’s sad realization when he finally puts the pieces together: “Wait a second. If it belongs to Joon-bae, then that means President [referring to Grandpa], you haven’t done anything for me.”
Grandpa: “What are you, that I should do something for you?” (LOVE IT. Finally, Jung-kil gets some “No soup for you”!) Grandpa Man-bok cuts the discussion short, saying he’s sick of seeing everyone like this.
Grandpa brings out the will from the Chairman for everyone to see. Sang-hoon, finally overcome by curiosity, reaches to open it. It says that 50% of the stocks for the Seos’ now-bankrupt company—worthless, now that the company is gone–will go to Kang Man-bok.
Grandpa explains that the Chairman never asked him to take care of Jung-kil, but he understood the will as having that unspoken intent. If he had brought out this will when the Chairman died, it would have meant cutting ties with Jung-kil, as the matter surely would have ended up in court. That’s why he kept the will hidden, to protect their families’ ties.
As for the house, it does belong to Geum-ja. He says he used his life sayings to buy it for his benefactress. Geum-ja is taken aback at being called a benefactress, but he explains that he wouldn’t have been able to save up or live as comfortably if not for her fastidiousness and thriftiness.
She’s touched, which quickly leads to regret for how she had been bitter and misunderstood his pragmatism as coldness in the past.
Hilariously and randomly, Joo-hee starts crying too.
With the possibility of getting something from Grandpa Man-bok proven to be a dead-end, Jung-kil has one last resort: Han-se.
But Han-se is out of reach, having come to the ski resort to meddle once again. (He’s the snowboarder above, ruining Hyun-soo and Jung-in’s almost kiss). He steals one of Hyun-soo’s skis, which had come off when he fell. Jung-in gets up to chase the thief down, only finding out at the bottom of the hill that it’s Han-se.
When Sang-hoon calls Hyun-soo again, he tells Hyun-soo that he had seen them together at the Beat launch. “Hyun-soo, you know this won’t work, right?” he asks. “Try not to make it more uncomfortable for our two families. I trust you’ll get over your feelings for her and come back.”
Hyun-soo replies only briefly, saying he’ll explain once he returns home.
While on his forced “date” with Jung-in, Han-se goes off to make a snowman. Jung-in puts her skis on to leave, but he asks her to watch him finish—it’s something he’d never done before as a child. He finally understands that Jung-in isn’t won over by money, so he tells her that he’ll learn to cook, if she wants.
The thing about Han-se is his childlike expectation that he must get what he wants. Though the things he says are deep words—professing his love and the like—his nature is so unbridled, perhaps because he’s used to always having everything the way he wants. But there is a certain innocence even behind his erstwhile manipulations, as though, like a child, he doesn’t realize that what he does in pursuit of what he wants can hurt other people.
In an instance of that wilfullness, Han-se blurts out to Jung-in that Hyun-soo paid for her ring. Hyun-soo, having finally tracked them down, overhears. He faces Jung-in. “Let’s go down and talk,” he says. But she takes off. Both guys follow her on snowmobiles. (LOL, machismo much?)
“Let’s leave her alone for now,” Hyun-soo says to Han-se when they reach the bottom of the hill. He holds Han-se back as Jung-in walks off.
Han-se tells Secretary Kim to make sure that Hyun-soo doesn’t take off anywhere with Jung-in. His solution?
HAHA. So now they’re stuck at the resort overnight.
Hyun-soo approaches Jung-in, who has been brooding in the hotel room, to talk about the ring.
Hyun-soo: Even if you’re mad, it can’t be helped. I still think I did the right thing.
Jung-in: When did you repay it?
Hyun-soo: Let’s see. I think it was the day I started to like you. And no matter how many times I told you, you didn’t understand, so I just paid for it.
Jung-in: Why do you keep making me feel sorry?
Hyun-soo: Isn’t it better to repay me than to repay Han-se?
Jung-in: No, I wanted to repay Han-se and make it up to you at the same time. But what can I do now?
Hyun-soo: Haven’t you thought that you should be sorrier to keep meeting Han-se while you’re repaying him? My guess is, it’d take you 10 years to repay that $86,000, so you’ll continue seeing Han-se that whole time?
Jung-in: No, I mean… why would it take 10 years? If I’m diligent, it’ll just be five…
Hyun-soo tells her not to see Han-se, and if she really wants to, she can start by paying him back for the cell phone.
Incensed that he’s bringing up old news, she reminds him that she tried to, but he wouldn’t accept it.
Hyun-soo: Fine, then. Just pay the $86,000. Since you love me, I won’t ask for interest.
Jung-in: ….
Hyun-soo: What? You don’t love me? Then I’ll need the interest, too.
Jung-in: I’m going to say those words after I repay you.
Hyun-soo: [Gasps] When would that be?
Jung-in: Like I said, about 5 years…
Hyun-soo: Jung-in, in the new year, let’s do about 30 part-time jobs each.
Cute. The track record of honesty between these two pays off; they’re able to get through this situation with a mix of humor and sincerity.
But more obstacles lie ahead. Hyun-soo tells her that his father knows about them. He says it’s time to go and tell their parents.
Ji-soo steals out of her room late at night to check on Sung-joon, which he rather presumptuously, if accurately, was expecting. (D’aw. Their matchy striped sweaters are adorable. Or maybe I just think Sung-joon is adorable here.)
Sung-joon says he’s still looking for the hoodlums, which worries Ji-soo. She says that if Sung-joon continues to carry on like this, she won’t be able to live here. For the first time, she has a place and a restaurant, and she just wants to live quietly.
Holding her arm, he asks, “Are you having a hard time because of me? Am I bothering you? Should I stop? Should I stop, Ji-soo?”
After a pause, she responds, “Yes.” He lets her go.
When Han-se comes out in the morning, Hyun-soo’s car is gone. Secretary Kim is obliviously bringing back four cups of coffee, and Han-se yells at him for his incompetence. “Starting tomorrow, don’t report for work!” he says.
(I haven’t recapped much of Secretary Kim’s antics–both for the sake of time, and also because the moments are funnier when watched than retold–but he completely nails this episode! Hilarious!)
(The car does look pretty sweet, huh?) Hyun-soo gives his father a meaningful look as they arrive home, then takes Jung-in’s hand and goes inside.
Jung-kil comes out to talk to Jung-in, and is so shocked to see them holding hands that he actually moves in closer to inspect. Surely something … must be wrong?
They land the bombshell. Hyun-soo states, “I would like to receive your consent to formally date Jung-in.”
Jung-in hesitantly continues, “I know I am lacking in many ways.”
Hold the presses! Geum-ja stutters, “Hang on. Hang on. What—what did they just say?”
Sung-joon bursts in just then, ready to declare his love for Ji-soo and ask for approval.
But at this point, no one’s listening, especially when Hyun-soo says: “We love each other. Please give us your consent.”
Even Sung-joon and Ji-soo are shocked.
COMMENTARY
Wow. Did anyone catch that “O Fortuna” score at the end? What is with the poor musical choices in this episode??? I mean… REALLY.
That aside, I actually found this episode refreshing. Perhaps because I haven’t watched this series in a while, but it was also nice to get a change of scenery, a change of pace, and finally have some of those big questions answered. I think I am also finally starting to understand Grandpa Man-bok, who’s been rather enigmatic up til now.
Even though uncovering the will was a bit anticlimactic, it felt right. Had it contained anything substantive that Jung-kil could latch onto, the story would have stayed stuck on the same merry-go-round. But the irony of the devalued inheritance hits home, since it’s Jung-kil’s own fault there’s nothing left in the will for him to claim.
I also like how it reveals the motivation for Grandpa’s loyalty to the Chairman. Up til now, I had seen Grandpa almost as sycophantically subservient to the Chairman’s wishes. Had the Chairman asked him to take care of Jung-kil, and Grandpa Man-bok obediently put up with Jung-kil’s crap, it would make him subordinate to Jung-kil in a way that made me rather uncomfortable. But there was no such ask; it turns out that Grandpa Man-bok was acting of his own volition, based on his own principles and sense of personal responsibility to repay the Chairman for such a generous bequest.
There’s a lot of emphasis on debts and repayment in this episode. We find out what was given to Grandpa and what he felt he owed the Chairman. Technically, Jung-kil owes Grandpa half of the company he had lost, but he still feels that he is owed the house. Grandpa gives the house to Geum-ja because he believes he has lived in her debt, and Geum-ja is so full of remorse that she doesn’t think she could repay the gift. Han-se spills the beans about the ring, and Jung-in still insists on repaying Hyun-soo the full cost because she feels undeserving of him. I don’t have anything particularly intelligent to say on this topic yet—but it certainly is interesting that the bonds between these families have so much to do with what is owed, and therefore, accompanied by a sense of guilt. Perhaps it’s up to Jung-in and Hyun-soo to somehow break that cycle, but they really live under its weight too.
I don’t entirely understand why Grandpa Man-bok wants to give the house to Geum-ja. What I do like is that in this episode we get a definitive sense that Grandpa has finally had it up to here with Jung-kil, and there’s no soup for him anymore. But taking the house that Jung-kil believes is rightfully his and giving it to Geum-ja right under his nose seems a bit spiteful, perhaps too much so for the once-doting Grandpa. Was all that care and affection just a front? Or was he truly always planning to give it to Geum-ja? Given the history of the two families, would she even want to live in that house? It’s probably more for the monetary value, that she could resell… but then why not just give her the actual savings so she could invest in a property of her choice, rather than give her a house with baggage? Grandpa does say that he used to live in that house, so in a sense he feels that it’s his, too… but I still don’t see that rationale as strong enough.
EPISODE 27
The parents are shocked into silence at hearing Hyun-soo’s announcement. Hyun-soo repeats, “We’re in love.”
Tempers quickly flare between Geum-ja and Jung-kil, who have always rubbed each other the wrong way. Rather than actually processing the situation at hand, the two begin flinging tangential accusations at each other, using the situation as a dumping ground for their pent-up frustrations.
With the discussion going nowhere, the parents each pull aside their respective kid. Jung-kil still thinks this is Jung-in’s ruse to win Han-se back. Without going into specifics, he tells Jung-in that Grandpa Man-bok can’t take care of them anymore, so she needs to get back together with Han-se. (Oh Jung-kil, will you EVER learn??)
Since Sung-joon wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise, he takes Ji-soo outside. He says this shows that just professing you love each other isn’t enough. Perhaps because adults are old-fashioned, “Whether or not something happened is the deciding factor in winning their consent.”
Ji-soo looks concerned at this, especially when Sung-joon continues suggestively, “Let’s do something very wrong.” Ji-soo is aghast, and she hurries off to work.
Geum-ja feigns ignorance, acting around Jung-in like nothing happened. When Jung-in says that she truly likes Hyun-soo, Geum-ja exclaims, “Of course! There are so many people who like our Hyun-soo.”
As they expected, Jung-in and Hyun-soo face opposition from all sides, but it’s no less frustrating, especially Geum-ja’s silly act. Over breakfast, Hyun-soo expresses concern for Jung-in, and he warns her that she might get indigestion if she eats too much. But Jung-in says she can always eat well, even in the most stressful and saddest moments of her life.
She says, “I think it’s you, not me, who’ll get indigestion. Why are you in such a hurry? Even this much is fine with me. Let’s take it slow.” She hands him a spoon and he digs in, saying he’ll need energy. But he’s worried for her, since she has to take the brunt of the blows, often harsh, from his mother.
And it doesn’t take Geum-ja long to lash out. She returns the clothes Jung-in bought for her in episode 9. Jung-in argues that it was a gift, but Geum-ja says dismissively, “It was nice to wear it for a while. Thanks.”
Jung-in continues to put on a brave front, but the awkwardness in the house, the coldness from Hyun-soo’s parents and the pressure from her own can’t help but get to her. As she leaves the house, she pauses, her eyes welling up.
Han-se stops by the house and is greeted enthusiastically at the house by Geum-ja, Jung-kil and Joo-hee as “son-in-law.” Though he doesn’t know what accounts for this change in manner, he adorably basks in it, chuckling, “To be greeted so warmly overnight is a welcome change.”
Jung-kil whispers to Han-se that Hyun-soo has announced that he loves Jung-in.
Han-se’s reason for coming is to try to convince Geum-ja to sell him the Seos’ old house. She tells him to hurry up and take Jung-in out of Grandpa’s house, and he responds that he can do so as soon as she sells him the house. She’s hesitant, arguing that they have history with that house—it’s where her husband was born.
But he adds that if Hyun-soo finds out the house can become his, it’s like adding oil to the fire; it’ll only give Hyun-soo and Jung-in more momentum. He grabs Geum-ja’s hand. “Ma’am,” he says, “from now on you have to join hands with me.” [It's akin to saying, "from now on we're batting for the same team."]
Han-se and Secretary Kim track Jung-in down at her part-time job handing out samples outside the cosmetics store. Han-se introduces himself to Jung-in’s coworker as her boyfriend, and to his surprise and delight, Jung-in says, “That’s right. He came to help me today.”
She continues with a mischievous smirk, “This guy is ready to help with anything.”
She uses them as street demo models. HA!
When Han-se’s mom calls Secretary Kim, he answers: “The Director is busy demonstrating cosmetics so….” Han-se runs over to grab the phone and claims instead to be on a date with Jung-in.
Jung-in notices and yells for all it’s worth: “THIS IS A CREAM THAT EVEN THE HEIR OF GLOBAL MOTORS USES!”
When Han-se returns to the office, Mrs. Lee is ready to pounce. She blows up at him for cheapening the family’s reputation by doing streetside marketing. On top of that, he’s put company stocks on the market. He explains that he did that in order to buy the house back because he’s in dire straits now that Geum-ja has the house. Mrs. Lee says she’s determined to get that house. (Why? I don’t know.)
Grandpa Man-bok, So-nyeo and Joon-bae are getting their much-awaited checkups. Haha. Gramps looks pretty cute (though I worry for him with all that exertion) when he does the lung test. “You’re quite healthy; you must exercise a lot,” the nurse says.
He sheepishly describes his morning exercise regimen (which we’ve seen—good to know it has some positive effects!).
As they wait for their last examination, Jung-kyung happens to see Grandpa Man-bok. He introduces So-nyeo as Joon-bae’s friend, but she says, “If you say it like that, I’ll be disappointed. I’m [Grandpa's] girlfriend.”
He tells So-nyeo he needs to talk to Jung-kyung, and as soon as she’s out of earshot, he says: “She’s a strange woman”—with the implication that she’s a bit touched in the head. HAHA.
Grandpa is also in an endearingly good mood when he talks to Jung-kyung. She apologizes for having been so cold in the past and thanks Grandpa Man-bok for taking in her family, saying that she’s been able to learn a lot about life, family and love from living in his house.
Grandpa Man-bok asks whether her feelings were hurt when Geum-ja slapped her over the issue with Hyun-soo. But Jung-kyung says, “I had been regretting that I didn’t appreciate Hyun-soo’s feelings for me, so getting hit was actually refreshing.”
Grandpa says his wish is to see Hyun-soo, Sung-joon, Jung-kyung and Jung-in all living as siblings. He thanks her for not reciprocating Hyun-soo’s feelings. (Jung-kyung’s face goes: “Uh-oh.”)
While Sung-joon is helping out at Ji-soo’s store, Kyung-soo runs in breathlessly to say that the hoodlums are back. He tells Sung-joon to hide and avoid trouble, and Ji-soo agrees that he should. Sung-joon wants to have at it with them, but he reluctantly gives in, since it’s what Ji-soo wants.
Ji-soo asks Kyung-soo to watch the store the following day, suggesting that she’s planning to start something with those guys.
Hyun-soo waits for Jung-in at the bus stop. She puts out her hand, but not for her “glove” (thank goodness… it’s cute but overused by now); she wants the red bean cake that Hyun-soo bought for her.
They walk, catching up on their days; Hyun-soo is quite leisurely now that he has no job. Then they do the scarf-glove thing again (darn, just when I was thinking we’d gotten through a scene without it).
At home, Jung-kil and Geum-ja are arguing over who seduced whom.
Jung-kil: What does our Jung-in lack, that she would date Hyun-soo when there’s Global’s Han-se?
Geum-ja: I suppose you’re saying that because you don’t know better, but it’s our Hyun-soo that has a graduate degree.
Jung-kil: Nonetheless, the owner is Han-se.
Geum-ja: As long as he doesn’t lose everything like a certain someone, he’ll be lucky.
Jung-kil: In business, you can lose money and borrow money!
Geum-ja: Why is why a person should have humanity. How depraved could you have been that when your company went down, there wasn’t a single friend or relative for you to call on? How low could you have gone that you’d have to come into your chauffeur’s house?
Just then, Jung-in and Hyun-soo arrive. Joo-hee asks Hyun-soo when they started to like each other; were they shot by Cupid’s arrow at the ski resort? (LOL.)
Sung-joon cuts in, finally able to have his say: “That’s old news. You don’t even know how lovey dovey those two are.”
Jung-kil demands to know how long they’ve been dating. Hyun-soo apologizes for lying to their parents and says he’ll explain. However, Geum-ja dismisses the topic as a moot point; she’s still in denial.
After a few shots of soju, Sang-hoon tells Hyun-soo the full story of his first love—that it was actually Jung-in’s mom.
Sang-hoon says the odds are stacked against Hyun-soo: there’s Han-se, plus the fact that Jung-kyung was his first love and Jung-in’s mom was his father’s first love. Hyun-soo responds, “Father, I’m sorry for being stubborn, but I want to make Jung-in my own.”
Despite the plea, Sang-hoon won’t back down. He points out that he and Geum-ja even went to Jung-in’s wedding. Hyun-soo says he’s willing to wait until they can put those memories behind.
Sang-hoon asks, “Of all people, why Jung-in?”
Hyun-soo exclaims, “And you—of all people, why Jung-in’s mom?!”
Haha—this father-son scene is cute, especially because we haven’t seen too much of their interactions until now. When Sang-hoon hits Hyun-soo, he yelps, “Ow.” But he juts his chest out and says, “Hit me again.”
“You better not regret it,” Sang-hoon says, hitting him repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Jung-in gives Geum-ja a beauty treatment from her store’s cosmetic line. Geum-ja mentions that she’s meeting Jung-in’s “mother-in-law” to find out about setting Hyun-soo up on blind dates.
Jung-in responds that she knows Geum-ja is acting like this on purpose, but Geum-ja doesn’t budge and continues with the act.
Hyun-soo waits outside for Jung-in. While he’s waiting, Jung-kyung comes by the house. After her conversation with Grandpa Man-bok earlier that day, she’s worried for him and Jung-in. She reminds him of his earlier advice to her: Don’t give up on love just because the circumstances are hard.
Hyun-soo finds Jung-in in the backyard. They spend time together, finding some rest in each other’s company after a hard day 2 of their battle.
Geum-ja meets with Han-se’s mom, who asks how much Geum-ja wants for the house. But Geum-ja answers, uncomfortably, that she bought it to give to Hyun-soo when he marries. Mrs. Lee responds that it’s a nice thought, but she’s willing to pay above market price. (In other words, cut the crap and hand it over. Ha.)
Watching these two cats try to be civil is really awkward.
Once she’s home, Geum-ja goes wild with excitement that Mrs. Lee is willing to pay well over market price for the house. Sang-hoon tells her she can’t sell it, since it’s something Grandpa gave her. She agrees, but she can’t hold back her glee at having leverage over the queen of Global Motors.
Inside, Geum-ja hears Hyun-soo’s voice coming from Jung-in’s room. She peeks in to see:
It puts her in a foul mood, so when Hyun-soo later asks her to go on a “date” with him, she ignores him. He’s used to having her wrapped around his finger, so he tries to sweet-talk her, but she suddenly explodes in anger.
“Shut your mouth!” she yells. “I don’t even want to hear your voice! Don’t call me your mother again!”
Later that night, Geum-ja gets out of bed with fire in her eyes. While Jung-in lies asleep, a shadow approaches….
Geum-ja wakes her up to say, “Save me. Please. It can’t work with Hyun-soo. Please, save me. Just once… Just once, do me this favor, Jung-in.”
Sexy gangsta Ji-soo is back. She drives up on a motorcycle and tells Sung-joon to hop on. He holds on for dear life as she takes off.
In the backyard, Hyun-soo has just finished a project:
“Does it look like her?” he asks, with a satisfied look on his face.
COMMENTARY
The episode ends with a lot of dangling threads rather than one cliffhanger. The storytelling as a whole has gotten a bit disjointed, as there are more plot lines to follow and there aren’t neat ways of wrapping their ends together or segueing between them.
A lot of the scenes don’t even reach a natural conclusion. For example, when Jung-kil demands to know how long they’ve been dating, Hyun-soo doesn’t get a chance to answer, and Jung-kil… just leaves. Or when Sung-joon leaves the store because the hoodlums are there—where did they go? Why have Kyung-soo make such a big deal about them coming if THEY NEVER SHOW UP? It’s as though the characters have the attention span of a goldfish. They ask a question and then they just…
You can tell the writer is trying to create filler story to stretch out the series here. One of the clearest examples is in two scenes that put Geum-ja and Jung-in are in similar situations (the kitchen scene and the facial scene). They actually repeat the same exact lines of dialogue. (Argh! nothing! happens!!)
There were two scenes that stood out for me in this episode because they showed character and relational growth: between Jung-kyung and Grandpa, and between Hyun-soo and Sang-hoon.
It’s been a while since Jung-kyung had much screen time, but I’ve kind of had a soft spot for her (when she wasn’t being a total nuisance), because I think Choi Jung-yoon was doing the best with the material she was given. So it’s nice to see her character rounding out now. And it’s also refreshing to finally see a character who’s grown and gotten to a point of being able to realize that growth. (How is it that Jung-kil is still repeating the SAME mistake of trying to sell off his daughter for money??)
The dynamic between Hyun-soo and Sang-hoon was also fun to watch. Chun Ho-jin, who plays Sang-hoon, showed his acting chops in the recently-ended Will It Snow for Christmas? If I hadn’t seen him in that, I don’t think I would have taken him seriously as an actor. Sang-hoon had seemed like a frivolous character because he didn’t have enough substance. He’s passive, a pushover at best, while Grandpa Man-bok dominates the household and Geum-ja dominates the marriage. So seeing him have a few rounds and finally get fatherly with Hyun-soo was, I think, the best part of this episode. His measured disapproval—which does make sense—is more balanced than everyone else’s reactions. Though he’s against the relationship, he’s at least understanding and sympathetic. And, even if his opinion is keeping Hyun-soo and Jung-in apart, at least the man finally has an opinion.
One parting rant. Mrs. Lee… Words cannot describe. I’ll leave it to the screencaps to speak for her histrionics. She even overacts the violence—in the scene above, when she hits & kicks Han-se, it looks and sounds real enough that Lee Kyu-han must have been in actual pain… as much pain as I’m in, having to watch her onscreen.
EPISODE 28
Hands clasped and on her knees, Geum-ja begs Jung-in to let Hyun-soo go. Jung-in doesn’t answer yes or no, and instead they both cry.
That same night, Ji-soo takes Sung-joon to an abandoned lot, and tells him to see for once and for all the kind of person she really is. He hides while she picks a pretty mean fight with the hoodlums, though she’s heavily outnumbered. But Sung-joon runs in and shields her from them, taking the blows instead.
Ji-soo takes Sung-joon to her place to wash up, and she begins to clean his face. But he takes her hands and puts them back in the bowl, saying meaningfully, “I’ll wash it for you, so that it’s over now.” Meaning that her past is now really in the past.
Ji-soo hugs him tightly and says, “I like you.” They kiss passionately (and surprisingly painlessly, considering the beating that Sung-joon just took and his bloodied lip).
HAHA. Sung-joon’s face the next morning belies his bliss as he sleeps next to Ji-soo. They have some cute and slightly awkward morning-after talk, even though, since they’re fully dressed, it seems safe to assume that nothing actually happened.
Jung-in stays in bed the next morning, unwell after having cried all night. Hyun-soo starts to go upstairs to check on her, and Geum-ja glares at him, growing angry with him for ignoring her when she tries to stop him.
Hyun-soo says, “Don’t look at me like that; you remind me of Han-se’s mom.” She retorts that he’s like Han-se—these insults get under each other’s skin.
Jung-in tells Geum-ja to take it out on her. Since Jung-in is committed to seeing her relationship through with Hyun-soo, despite Geum-ja’s approval, it would be better for Geum-ja to do something overtly, even hit her, than to suppress it.
Geum-ja fires back: “I thought you’d changed after coming to our house, but you haven’t at all. You’re the same.” If Jung-in will do whatever she wants, Geum-ja says, so will she.
But Geum-ja acts nice to Jung-in in front of the rest of the family. She heats up abalone porridge for Jung-in, since Jung-in woke up feeling unwell. It puts everyone on edge to see Geum-ja’s sudden change of attitude toward Jung-in. Is her new plot to kill Jung-in by kindness?
Jung-kil tells Geum-ja that he needs to get Jung-in back with Han-se, and Geum-ja begs him to make it happen, stat.
Jung-kil says, “Don’t you know Romeo and Juliet? If they’d been left alone, they might have gotten sick of each other after dating for a while. It was because the parents opposed it that they went off and ruined themselves.”
He says they need a way to split up Hyun-soo and Jung-in more organically, as it were. Geum-ja asks what that method might be, but she should have seen it coming. He says that she should sell the house to Han-se, so as to separate Jung-in and Hyun-soo, at least physically.
Sung-joon stops by to see Jung-in while she’s at work and tells her that he’s with Ji-soo. He says he may as well have it out, but she begs him to hold off so as not to make her and Hyun-soo’s situation worse. Sung-joon shrugs it off, saying that if it gets really bad, he can just leave the house.
Jung-in says Hyun-soo would never suggest doing such a thing against their parents’ wishes. Sung-joon says that’s exactly why what wouldn’t work for Jung-in works for him—since Ji-soo doesn’t have parents around to object to anything.
Hyun-soo calls Jung-in, and she says she feels sorry for getting in between Hyun-soo and Geum-ja (LOL, the weirdest love triangle ever).
Hyun-soo: “Hello? Is this Seo Jung-in?”
Jung-in: “Huh?”
Hyun-soo: “The Seo Jung-in I know chirps like a frog, talks big even when she’s in the wrong, and hits you on the forehead if you tell her to apologize. Don’t change. That’s the Seo Jung-in I like.”
Geum-ja and Hyun-soo go on their “date.” He tries to bring up Jung-in again, but she cuts him off. Turns out, she’s brought him not on a mother-son date, but on a matchmaking setup, arranged by Han-se’s mom. It’s with the daughter of the president of the university where Hyun-soo teaches. She seems sweet enough, but Hyun-soo doesn’t even bother to look at her or participate in the conversation.
In a ballsy move that shows how serious Hyun-soo is about Jung-in—in that he’s not afraid to diss his employer’s daughter—he cuts off the meeting abruptly, saying he was about to die of boredom. Pointing out that he’d never agreed to this setup, he leaves, dragging Geum-ja out with him.
Geum-ja begs Hyun-soo to give the girl a chance—just three dates. A “Winter Sonata”-esque sountrack begins to play as Geum-ja breaks down in tears, accusing him of being a good son in the past only to disappoint her now. She rails on about her hopes and dreams for him. With jealousy and incredulity, she asks, “Jung-in? Jung-in? Jung-in, Jung-in?”
Hyun-soo says he can understand why she’s opposed, and he kneels and begs tearfully, “Forgive me. I love Jung-in.”
Geum-ja walks away, leaving Hyun-soo kneeling in the street. (Emm… kay?)
Sung-joon is actually at little scary here, but at least Ji-soo is happy to see him now. They get adorably physical.
In a throwback to Lee Chun-hee’s Chunderella days on Family Outing, he offers to fix the window but ends up breaking it. “Why is this window so clumsy?” he quips. (Poor Lee Chun-hee, he tried so hard to get away from the Clumsy image.)
Hyun-soo, unable to sleep, goes to Jung-in’s room and falls asleep comfortably, his head in her lap.
Geum-ja is down to her last resort. She offers to give the house to Jung-kil later that night, saying she’ll do anything for Hyun-soo’s sake.
EPISODE 29
At Geum-ja’s offer to give Jung-kil the house, he cracks up. “President Kang Man-bok, you can come out now,” he says, sure that it’s a trap. But Geum-ja begs him in desperation to take Jung-in out of Hyun-soo’s life. To even his own surprise, Jung-kil realizes she’s telling the truth.
He goes inside and checks on Jung-in, who has Hyun-soo in her lap. Jung-kil pulls her aside to tell her she has to let Hyun-soo go, for Hyun-soo’s sake. He suggests that they should leave the house, which immediately sets off a warning signal.
Worried that Jung-kil is going to try to do something regarding the house–although she doesn’t know about Geum-ja’s offer–Jung-in tells Hyun-soo to leave her alone moving forward, since seeing them together upsets the parents more.
The next day, Jung-kil refuses to accept the house, as it’ll make him a blackguard who has twice pawned his daughter off for monetary gain. He tells her to sell it to Han-se instead. She shouldn’t just give away such an expensive house for free.
But Geum-ja explains that she has to sacrifice everything she has in order to (though she doesn’t say it in these words) forever be able to guilt-trip Hyun-soo into staying away from Jung-in. She tells him to make up his mind, and soon, because if her frugality wins out, she’ll rescind the offer.
Geum-ja warns Hyun-soo that women like Jung-in who get nasally (i.e. whiny when they yell) are trouble later on. But Hyun-soo says that Geum-ja gets nasally when she talks too. He points out that they’re similar: “Oh, that must be why I like Jung-in, because she’s like the Baek Geum-ja that I love.”
They begin to bicker and it’s slightly creepy because it is actually pretty reminiscent of how he and Jung-in bicker.
But when he runs upstairs and uses Jung-in as a human shield (make that, a human snuggie) the joviality quickly dissipates. Although Jung-in gets mad at Hyun-soo because she knows he’s deliberately trying to be obvious in front of Geum-ja, she can’t help but smile at his antics afterward.
It’s New Year’s Eve, so the family makes dumplings by hand. While the two families talk as they work, Grandpa begins to notice that there are strange vibes in the room, particularly the way Geum-ja talks to Jung-in.
And it only gets tenser and tenser, thanks to Jilted Mom Syndrome, which Geum-ja has come down with bad in these two episodes. One after another, everyone leaves the living room to avoid the venom Geum-ja keeps spewing, leaving Jung-in making dumplings alone.
Grandpa Man-bok chides Geum-ja for being so hard on Jung-in, when Jung-in is obviously trying hard to please Geum-ja. She bursts into tears again, begging Grandpa to send the Seo family awayyyy *sob*.
Jung-kyung, who came home for New Year’s, gets a letter from the Chief. He tells her he’s taking a month of vacation, and that he misses her. “By the time I get back, I hope you’ll have gotten over your crush,” he tells her, hinting that he wants to start over with her.
Jung-in wakes up in the wee hours to make the dduk mandoo soup, using the rice cakes and dumplings they’d prepared the day before. Jung-kil sees her working, upset to see her put in so much effort that Geum-ja rebuffs.
In the morning, Geum-ja mutters under her breath about the slightly sub-par soup; both Grandpa Man-bok and Sang-hoon good-naturedly say it’s pretty good. Jung-kil digs in wordlessly, and remains uncharacteristically somber the entire morning.
Hyun-soo had wanted to tell Grandpa first thing about his relationship with Jung-in, but she tells him to wait, since Joon-bae is still there. I like the trusting look they share here.
Sung-joon is missing from the New Year’s celebrations because he’s taken Ji-soo to visit her orphanage. He remarks that the place is big, teasing her, “So you’ve really always gone around to big houses, haven’t you?” (Big house = slang for jail).
She walks off, pretending to be annoyed, but he tells her playfully that the face she makes when she’s annoyed is what he likes best. She makes an even more annoyed face.
Ji-soo: “Ahjusshi, when you were in school, you probably got beat up a lot, right?”
Sung-joon: “No, I didn’t really go to school.”
HAHA. He reminds her that she can’t beat him with words.
Sitting on the swings, they share a meaningful moment—one of the first in which she really opens up about her past, and he really listens—when Ji-soo tells Sung-joon that she used to wish she could just stay a kid, since once the kids grew up, they had do leave. “It was scary, thinking of being alone. You don’t know that feeling, do you?”
As a reply, Sung-joon runs about a hundred feet away, then walks back. “What’s your name?” he asks. “You’re pretty. Do you want to come live with me? I’ll be your family.”
He reaches into his pocket and slips the couple ring back on her finger.
Hyun-soo tells Grandpa Man-bok that he and Jung-in are dating, with the intention to marry. He explains why he had asked Grandpa to lend him money (to pay for the ring, though he doesn’t go into detail) and says that though his parents know, they oppose the relationship.
Grandpa is surprised, but he responds sensibly. He tells Hyun-soo that he’s approaching things in the wrong order. First, Hyun-soo should resolve it with his parents, and then discuss it with his grandfather, since Grandpa can’t boss around Sang-hoon and Geum-ja on the matter. However, it is clear to Hyun-soo that Grandpa isn’t exactly happy to hear Hyun-soo’s news, which worries him.
On her way back to the hospital, Jung-kyung tells Hyun-soo that she overheard her father talking with Geum-ja about something–she wasn’t sure what–but it roused her suspicions.
Turns out, they were finalizing a contract regarding the house. Jung-kil has decided to accept it, with all its implication that he will cut off ties with the Kang family.
PUAHAHA. Secretary Kim! He doesn’t even get a holiday off.
Han-se drops by with gifts. With gravitas, Jung-in asks if he brought gifts for his Beat team leader, Hyun-soo. When he says they’re for her, she turns down the gifts and tells Han-se not to come by anymore if it’s for her sake.
Jung-kil pulls Han-se aside, and with them gone, Geum-ja says to Jung-in: “I can tell you’re doing this for my benefit, but it’s futile.”
Once Jung-kil tells Han-se about the house:
Han-se: “How could you accept that? I was going to give it to her as a Christmas present.”
Jung-kil: “That’s long gone now. Christmas is over.”
Han-se asks what Geum-ja’s conditions were, and Jung-kil replies that the only thing she’d asked for was that he take Jung-in away.
“She must really dislike Jung-in, to go that far,” Han-se says.
“Exactly. I was worried Jung-in would shrivel up and die if we stayed longer in this house, which is why I accepted it.” Jung-kil asks Han-se if he really thinks he can win Jung-in over, but says that much as he wants to, he doesn’t have much confidence in Han-se.
On his way out, Han-se eagerly thanks Geum-ja for handing the house over to Jung-kil. Since he had intended to buy the house anyway, he offers to pay for at least part of the cost of the house. Geum-ja refuses again, saying that’s how much she dislikes Jung-in, for having ruined Hyun-soo and making him lie.
Han-se responds, “Wow, how are you even scarier than my mother?”
Geum-ja tells Han-se to make it work with Jung-in, especially considering how much she’s given to break and keep Hyun-soo and Jung-in apart.
Then Hyun-soo, who’d been listening, turns the corner and asks Geum-ja, “Did you tell Jung-in’s family to leave? Didn’t I tell you that I like Jung-in? That I was sorry for upsetting you, that I’d wait. I got on my knees and begged.”
He asks, “Is this how much you dislike her? You absolutely won’t approve? You won’t?”
When she answers as expected to each, he says evenly, “Alright.”
Surprising the whole family, he drives away with Jung-in. In the car he asks her, “Do you really not want to go back to your old house?” She says that she doesn’t intend to go back; she wants to be by his side.
“Keep that promise,” he says.
COMMENTARY
Several times in this episode, characters tell Geum-ja she’s worse than Han-se’s mother. It’s as if the writer is admitting, Yes, I know my script is laced with crap but HELLO I’ve been forced to write an extra 16 episodes and OMG Winter Sonata happens sometimes when you’re desperate.
Song Ok-sook, playing Geum-ja, had to squeeze out so many tears in these two episodes, behaving in a way that seems unnatural and irrational. At least, I’m calling it irrational because otherwise it just gets… creepy and possessive. I don’t necessarily think Song Ok-sook is a bad actress; in Geum-ja’s lighter scenes I think she can be pretty delightful. But the script has not given her much to work with for the last five episodes or so.
Meanwhile, I’ve finally been won over by Sung-joon and Ji-soo’s storyline. I enjoy seeing them off doing their own thing, and Sung-joon’s carefree, devil-may-care attitude is a refreshing, much-needed break from how beholden Hyun-soo and Jung-in are to the adults. He also showed himself finally capable of being serious and meeting Ji-soo at a deeper level, acknowledging how her past has shaped her, but inviting her to move past it now.
Episode 30
Hyun-soo whisks away Jung-in, leaving behind a crew of crazy led by Geum-ja. And what’s his brilliant idea? A deluxe apartment in the skyyy… actually a hotel suite. Jung-in is quite livid over his rash decision and yells at him furiously, but in the end gets dragged up to the room.
Meanwhile, over at the Kang house, the house turnover deal (between Geum-ja and Jung-kil) is now the main focus of the discussion. Grandpa Man-bok is visibly upset about Geum-ja’s decision, but tells her to carry on as she desires. By the end of the conversation, she’s pretty much given up and tells the Seos to just take Hyun-soo with them if he refuses to break up with Jung-in.
Following the aftermath, everyone’s involved in their own worries. Sung-joon teeters between waiting to tell the family about Ji-soo or just spilling the beans while everyone’s already at the height of confusion. (Seriously, how cute is Sung-joon!) Jung-kil is busy mulling over the meaning behind grandpa Man-bok’s words while Han-se is solely focused on getting the Seos out of the house.
Hyun-soo has a spread ready to celebrate the new year but Jung-in only responds with stink eyes. He tries to make a toast, but she cuts him off by downing the champagne in one shot. He makes an attempt to lightening the mood by laughing about the messed up dduk-mandoo (dumpling) soup but she won’t let up on the badgering.
Jung-in: You messed up more. Let’s go home.
Hyun-soo: Froggie, I’m not gonna go back. Even if it’s just to fix your stubbornness. How can you be so stubborn? Hurry up and eat, instead of regretting it later when you’re hungry!
The two of them end up stuffing the food down one another’s throats as they glare at each other.
The Kang/Seo household also “enjoy” their New Year’s lunch with the food that Geum-ja and Jung-in prepared the previous day. Geum-ja has basically given up on Hyun-soo and even asks Ji-soo to be their adopted daughter (which Sung-joon vehemently refuses. His thoughts are exactly the same as mine. You’ve already gone Winter Sonata on us, are you now trying Autumn in My Heart?) Each try to drink their sorrow away with Geum-ja and Joo-hee eventually yelling at each other in their drunken stupor. They basically vow to never see each other again once the kids return.
Working all his might to get Jung-in to stay, Hyun-soo calls home to ask Sung-joon to bring her some clothes. Geum-ja answers the phone and demands him to come home. When she threatens to torment Jung-in, Hyun-soo hangs up on his mom, sending her to a state of shock. She has a defeated look as Sang-hoon and Sung-joon ask about their whereabouts: “No, it isn’t our Hyun-soo. Honey, that wasn’t our son.” She breaks down into tears wanting to see her son come home.
I realize that people are hurt by feelings of abandonment by their children and each other, but is this any way for grown adults to act??
Seeing Jung-in’s reaction to the phone call, Hyun-soo’s next great idea is to develop a plan of action. He draws up a family tree and starts figuring out where everyone stands.
Hyun-soo: Sung-joon hyung is on our side. Jung-kyung, our side. Your parents. Just tell me how to win them over and I’ll do it. My father. He’s weak towards feminine charm, so you do it. My mom. We’ll need to do it together, but I’ll take the baton first… I think you should gain some weight also. She gets jealous easily so you don’t want to be prettier or thinner than her. The problem is grandfather. The Kang men are all weak towards feminine charm, so you take care of it. Why aren’t you answering? Fine, I’ll do it…
Jung-in, for the first time since leaving the house has a smile on her face, and answers, “Don’t drive yourself crazy. I’ll do whatever you tell me to.” She gives in but laughs at him for running away from home with so little in mind and gets even a bigger kick when Hyun-soo reveals that he got the idea from Sung-joon.
Grandpa Man-bok also drowns his sorrows with alcohol and the reasoning is again a selfish one. He’s upset that he wasn’t able to change Jung-kil and feels betrayed that his lifetime savings is going to used to cut ties with the chairman’s family.
He returns home drunk and wonders why Jung-kil is still living at the house. Jung-kil is also disappointed that Man-bok seems to have changed after finding out about Jung-in and Hyun-soo. Seeing his father upset, Sang-hoon takes things out on Jung-kil, accusing him of being the reason for opposing Jung-in.
Just as the mung-goo couple are about to head to bed, Sung-joon and Ji-soo interrupt them at the hotel room. (What’s with the choice of music? When did this turn into a B-rated horror flick?) Sung-joon pulls Hyun-soo into the bathroom and pretends to give him a lashing, but basically has come over at Hyun-soo’s request. He tries to be the protective big brother, but knows that Hyun-soo’s pretty innocent when it comes to affairs of the opposite sex.
Sung-joon: Nothing happened, right?
Hyun-soo: If anything did happen, how would I be able to look at your right now?
Sung-joon: You’re so frustrating. What a waste of a hotel room…
Hyun-soo: Huh?
Hyun-soo assumes that the other couple will leave, but Sung-joon announces that he and Ji-soo will be staying with them. The four of them end up bonding over drinks. The talk eventually turns to their homes and Sung-joon lets the Geum-ja/Jung-kil contract slip out, to Hyun-soo’s dismay. Jung-in doesn’t let on but she definitely realizes that something is going on.
Hyun-soo comes home in the morning to speak with his father, but Sang-hoon only has harsh words to say to him.
Sang-hoon: Is Jung-in the only one important to you? How about your mom and I? Your grandfather really suffered yesterday because of you and Jung-kil… I finally wanted to be a good son to your grandfather but you’re messing it up. Who are you to mess it up?
Understandably, this response frustrates Hyun-soo. He pleads for some understanding and help from his father, acknowledging his own fault in the matter. But he’s unsure of what to do next in order to satisfy his family and hold onto Jung-in. Unfortunately, they’re interrupted by Geum-ja before the two can finish their conversation.
Jung-in tries to dump Hyun-soo off at the sauna and possibly head back home, but he somehow figures out her plans and waits outside for her. She uses getting underwear as an excuse to go back up to the hotel room and works up the courage to call the car center. She tells Sang-hoon that she’ll figure out a way to get Hyun-soo back home as soon as possible. Hearing her voice makes Sang-hoon finally give some thought to Hyun-soo and Jung-in as a couple.
Jung-in and Hyun-soo leave the hotel; he to meet his mystery phone call and she to pick up her free laptop, thanks to Secretary Kim’s scheming brain. Geum-ja and Jung-kil head over to catch Jung-in with Han-se and Secretary Kim. But just as Jung-in is about to open the door to the eager eyed group, she stops short.
Meanwhile, Hyun-soo’s secret date is with Han-se’s mom. He hands over research that he worked on overseas for a contract that meets his demands: for a fairly large sum of money and for Han-se’s family to stay away from Jung-in. Just at that moment, they find Jung-in watching from the cafe.
Jung-in: What did you have to sell in order to pay back the ring? I understand ahjumma now. It’s not my past that’s the problem. I’m messing up your future.
With that said, she runs off, while thinking over what Hyun-soo has done in the past and the implications that has on their future together.
Hyun-soo chases after her and goes back home to find her kneeling in front of grandpa Man-bok.
Jung-in: Please give me permission, grandfather. I’ll leave the house with my family. Please let me.
Man-bok: If that’s what you really want, go ahead. Everyone get out!
Episode 31
The whole house is in a frenzy as the Seos start packing, and Hyun-soo is left completely befuddled. He tries to convince Man-bok and Sang-hoon to force them to stay but doesn’t have any luck. He then turns to Jung-in but she’s in no mood to listen to his whining.
Jung-in: First the ring, and then a house for us to live. Then helping my dad. What next? You’ll need to get our old house back for us for you to be satisfied. And each time, I’m supposed to be thankful for the generous love that you bestow on me. If I wanted to live that way, I would have [married] Han-se. This is the last time that I’ll make things hard for the people around me. I can’t take any more of this. I’m not leaving because things are hard for you. I’m leaving because I can’t live like this anymore.
To be honest, this is the first time in awhile that I felt satisfied by a story development. I love that she takes a stand and even admits that she’s acting for her own benefit. Hyun-soo has been quite misguided in his actions and I’m glad that she stands up for her own thoughts instead of being pulled into something she doesn’t agree with.
After dealing with her boyfriend, she turns to her dad, demanding for the paperwork to their old house. He doesn’t want to give it up, but Jung-in is back in rare form and takes the papers.
As the Seos head out, the Kangs are not in good spirits either. Hyun-soo sulks up in Jung-in’s room. Jung-in gives her farewell to grandpa Man-bok, promising that her family will do well. Even Geum-ja, who’s wish in life was to kick out the Seos seems to be in a doleful state.
The Seos head over to Ji-soo’s house. Even though the parents emphatically argue that they should just go back to their old house, Jung-in insists that they need to either stay here or go sleep at a motel.
The happiest with the outcome is of course, Sung-joon: “Ji-soo, the heavens are on our side! I can’t believe we’re living together even before we get permission from my parents. Awesomesauce!” Have I mentioned how cute Sung-joon is?
The Kangs and Seos finally have their first meal apart, but it’s far from a happy situation. The Kangs are missing their son and busy looking out for grandpa Man-bok’s sour mood. The immature Seo parents complain about the small space and demand to go their old house. When Jung-in erupts at her father for selling her off again for money, Jung-kil slaps her on the head. She then gets teary, telling her dad that she knows he loves him and that they need to stay out of that house in order to show the Kangs that he really does love her. (The smack really isn’t worthy of such a visceral reaction and made me roll my eyes at the scene, rather than feel any empathy.)
The mung-goo couple spend their first night apart: Jung-in with tears and Hyun-soo with slight dementia. Did anyone else think Hyun-soo seemed slightly insane while watching the video and mouthing his lines?
The next morning, both are hard at work with their morning routine. Hyun-soo performs his morning exercises with gusto and Jung-in wakes up the family, even Chunderella, I mean Sung-joon, with a clanging pot. He goes off to start his new project at Global Motors and she announces that the family will go all-in at the dduk-bbok-gi restaurant.
When Hyun-soo returns from work, he beelines up to Jung-in’s room. But Geum-ja can’t stand to watch Hyun-soo continue his sulking ways and chases him into the spare bedroom. Watching his son suffer at the hands of Geum-ja, Sang-hoon decides to use his hidden card: Geum-ja got pregnant with Hyun-soo in order to convince grandpa Man-bok to allow them to get married.
Hearing about the tale of his birth, Hyun-soo does his best deranged joker impression and runs off. By this point, it’s pretty clear that Sang-hoon is fully on board with Jung-in.
As the Seo family acclimates to working together at the dduk-bbok-gi store, Hyun-soo saunters in as a demanding customer. Jung-kil chases him out of the store, but then falls for Hyun-soo’s juvenile tactics and ends up agreeing to buy him a drink.
As Man-bok sits outside and thinks about his possible cancer diagnosis, So-nyu runs into him and takes her scheming ways to the next level. He tries to run away from her, but she seems to have found her way in, when she mentions that her mother died of cancer. Hearing her talk of her family and facing health problems of his own, Man-bok opens up to her. So-nyu advices him to live his life to the full, instead of using his family, age, or anything else as an excuse to hold himself back. The two of them enjoy their time together and even promise to have rice wine on their next date.
Jung-kil takes Hyun-soo to Ji-soo’s place for a drink and even makes his own appetizer, much to Hyun-soo’s chagrin. But Jung-kil retorts that he doesn’t have any money and this is the best he can do. Either way, Jung-kil is only interested in hearing about the demise of Geum-ja, thinking that she’s been kicked out of the house.
When Hyun-soo finally yells out his secret, “I’ve learned about the secret of my birth!”, the Seos think that he’s not really a Kang. But the intrigue fully fades when he reveals that he was a pre-wedding baby, making Jung-kil laugh while telling everyone that Sung-joon was walking around when he married Joo-hee.
Jung-kil: Who cares, as long as you live well afterwards.
Hyun-soo: Oh… Of course… that’s what’s really important.
Sung-joon: Father, you really are cool.
Sung-joon then throws a knowing smile over at Ji-soo before having a drink with Hyun-soo. The two young men share a bond over how they could be living their lives.. basically getting their respective girlfriends pregnant. Hyun-soo’s all smiles with Sung-joon, but storms out when left alone with Jung-in.
Hyun-soo comes home to a worried Geum-ja and reassures her with these words, “Don’t worry. I won’t make the same mistake you made. … Anyways, you should be nice to grandpa. Think about how upset he must have been.” Sang-hoon has handed over gold to Hyun-soo, who plans on wringing every little drop out of this nugget.
Even though Jung-in may have left on her own accord, she still misses the house and the family, and comes back to see Hyun-soo looking out of the attic window. Han-se also comes by the house, hoping to find Jung-in and sees her return.
Han-se: Why did you leave if you were going to come back like this? Isn’t it because you were planning on breaking up?
Jung-in: No. It’s so that I can return. So that when I return, I can come back alone. If oppa can wait until then, I’ll come back.
The gravity of the words seem to have finally sank into Han-se, as revealed by his glum face.
Consistent with the schizophrenic nature of these episodes, Hyun-soo’s anger has now dissipated as he finds Jung-in and hugs her. He chastises tells her for being a moron and asserts that they tackle the problem together from now on. She’s still not ready to make amends and walks away, retorting that she’ll handle things her way.
Oddly, Hyun-soo responds by showing up at the store and announcing, “I’m this store President Kang Man-bok’s grandson, Kang Hyun-soo!”
Back at the hospital, grandpa Man-bok is dealt a fatal blow, finding out that he has third stage liver cancer. He initially walks away but returns to the doctor’s office to ask his first question: “Can this disease get passed down to my family?”
Comments
The one thing that I noticed during the rewatch was how selfish everyone is in the midst of the chaos. They are mostly thinking about their own feelings and pain, rather than thinking about the ones they love. The worst is that even in their selfish state, they believe that they’re acting on behalf of someone else, rather than their own interests. Jung-kil thinks he’s caring for Jung-in by accepting the house. Geum-ja thinks she’s protecting Hyun-soo by separating from the Seos. Hyun-soo thinks he’s loving Jung-in by running away with her. Even grandpa Man-bok is more concerned about his ties with the Seo family than his grandson. Jung-in’s the only one who atleast takes responsibility for her actions but is still selfish in thinking that that she needs to take care of her family by “breaking up” with Hyun-soo.
Initially, I had found everyone’s reaction to be just annoying. But knowing what’s to come (and the change that we witness in everyone), I can see that there is a reason for the madness. I don’t think the schizophrenic craziness is the best way to show the transformation, but I can atleast understand the reasoning behind it. If the writer had allowed the characters to develop organically (which was done so well in the beginning half of the series) and rationally, instead of making them jump from one emotion to another to create a false sense of drama and intensity, it would have been so much more enjoyable to witness the journey. Thankfully, the last line by Man-bok, does signal a change. During a time when he should be most worried about his own health, grandpa’s first reaction is to worry about his family.
As I started the recap with Lee Chun-hee, let me finish with Lee Chun-hee. Even though his character is pretty one dimensional in the drama, he’s really milking it for everything it’s worth. His one-liners really made me chuckle throughout these two episodes and pretty fun to watch the writer play up the Chunderella in Sung-joon. But don’t be fooled folks – his acting is not limited to goofy, which can be attested by everyone who’s watched Conspiracy in the Court. I sure can’t wait until he lands a lead role in a drama.
EPISODE 32
“If you drive a car for 70 years, it costs a lot to fix it up,” Grandpa Man-bok tells Jung-kyung, who is trying to encourage Grandpa that his illness isn’t past hope. She tells him that he can pursue treatment, but he seems resigned to his fate and asks her not to tell the family yet.
At the ddukbokki restaurant, Hyun-soo continues to meddle in the Seo family’s business. He has the Seo family dynamic to a tee, and is able to pull their emotional strings like they’re marionettes. Despite his antics, Hyun-soo’s motives couldn’t be any clearer: he wants to be near Jung-in and is trying to make space for himself within this family.
Hyun-soo lets slip that there’s a bank account for the business. Jung-kil perks up at that, and much to Ji-soo’s anxious dismay, he puts the cash in his jacket.
Though Jung-in is still keeping an emotional distance from Hyun-soo, their arguments have returned to the bickering tone they had back when Jung-in still had her spunk. “I’m Seo Jung-in!” she yells at Hyun-soo. “Do you think you’ll be able to bend my will??”
“I’m Kang Hyun-soo, I’m not a pushover either, what’s wrong with you!” he yells back.
Since the tiff with Jung-in, Jung-kil has been very careful when talking about the house, even sidestepping the topic whenever it comes up. Geum-ja calls him to say she’s heading to the house (since she thinks the Seos are there and Hyun-soo with them). He runs off to meet Geum-ja there.
He brings along some construction workers who claim they’re doing renovations on the house. It seems like Jung-kil is just putting on a show, but the crew really does inspect the house for repairs and rings up a $3,000 bill to do the necessary repairs. Jung-kil hesitates since he doesn’t have enough money… technically, that is; he does have the restaurant money in his pocket.
At Joon-bae’s restaurant, Grandpa Man-bok is buying meat—the very thing Geum-ja so long resented him for never doing. Joon-bae is surprised by the sudden change in Grandpa and jokes, “It makes it seem like you’re about to die.” The unwittingly incisive comment turns Grandpa’s mood serious.
When Grandpa gets home, Sang-hoon and Geum-ja ask about the test results, which he waves off, saying he’s just fine. The hunk of meat that Grandpa Man-bok brought is pretty ginormous, and Geum-ja calls Hyun-soo home to join the meat feast. Grandpa is in a surprisingly good mood, and he cracks a joke or two to the family’s surprise, and earns some hearty laughs.
Jung-kil is on the scent—he’d seen Grandpa leaving Joon-bae’s restaurant with the meat—and he calls Hyun-soo out of the house during their dinner. He tells Hyun-soo to take of his track jacket. Confused but eager to please, Hyun-soo asks, “Why—are you cold?”
To which Jung-kil replies, “No no, just my neck,” and takes off. He shows it to his family as Exhibit A—proof of Hyun-soo’s betrayal. (I’m not too sure I follow this rationale, but it’s cute so I’ll go along with it.)
It takes Hyun-soo a while to figure out what Jung-kil’s intent was in taking away his track jacket, but as soon as he does, he takes off running to the Seos’ halfway home. He yells from outside the window, “I’ll never eat meat again! I’m sorry! I love you Jung-in!”
It’s no Juliet-on-the-balcony moment, especially when Jung-kil opens the door and Hyun-soo love-tackles him, expecting Jung-in. Hyun-soo runs away, dodging shoes, while Jung-in giggles at how Hyun-soo has been hamming it up all day.
The diagnosis seems to have made Grandpa Man-bok a new man. He slicks his hair, puts on a suit and goes out for a date with So-nyeo. He cracks a few more corny jokes, which she says aren’t very funny at all—the family is probably just pretending to laugh at his jokes for fear of getting yelled at. But Grandpa says, it’s good to laugh—it’ll make you live longer.
Over lunch, she speaks to Grandpa more directly about having run into money issues, saying she borrowed money from Joon-bae that she is struggling to repay. She’s beginning to make her move on him (read: his money) in earnest.
Hyun-soo takes Jung-kil back to the construction site to earn back the restaurant money he’d lost. On break, they have a heart-to-heart that shows how far Jung-kil really has come, and that Hyun-soo still has room to grow.
Though Jung-kil is warming up to Hyun-soo, he still tells Hyun-soo to give up on Jung-in. Just as the Kang parents’ main objection to the marriage is Jung-kil, Jung-kil’s main objection is Hyun-soo’s parents, especially Geum-ja. He tells Hyun-soo that sending Jung-in to live in the Kang house is relegating her to a lifetime of doing laundry and delivering ddukboki under Geum-ja’s domain. It wouldn’t be long before the situation would erupt.
“I never thought about that,” Hyun-soo acknowledges.
They’re interrupted by a phone call from Secretary Kim, who agitatedly tells them that Han-se flew in his father’s face, even submitting a letter of resignation. He’s now disappeared, and is in hot water if he doesn’t return by the next day.
Han-se’s mother comes to seek out Jung-kil and Jung-in, and for the first time she’s genuinely subdued, asking Jung-in to contact to Han-se; he won’t answer the phone, but he will if Jung-in calls.
Jung-in refuses; there’s no reason for her to give in to Mrs. Lee, nor to bear any responsibilities for Han-se’s decisions. But it’s actually Hyun-soo who tells her that she should call Han-se. “You’re the only one who can reach him,” he says.
(BWAHAHAHA…. I just thought this was so ridiculous. Han-se’s hideaway is where, in the English countryside, hunting fowl???)
Jung-in has been waiting for Han-se, who comes back with the game he’s caught. He doesn’t seem surprised to see her, but he says he’d thought she would have come with Hyun-soo.
Han-se burns his hand while cooking dinner, and Jung-in runs it under cold water. Han-se steals a glance at her, but the moment is broken off when Secretary Kim turns on the mood music. They’re bemused rather than put off, indicating that Han-se has moved on from trying to win Jung-in back in earnest, or Jung-in from feeling threatened by Han-se’s attempts.
But Hyun-soo does look worried, as though he realizes he’s sent Jung-in off to the wolves. Jung-kil comments as much, but Hyun-soo smiles confidently and says that he wanted to give Jung-in the chance to choose.
Picking up their conversation from earlier in the day, Hyun-soo says Jung-in might end up regretting her choice to live with his family. If he’d had more money, he would have wanted to help Jung-kil get back on his feet and also buy the house back for Jung-in. But instead, there’s so little he can do, and he can only watch as Jung-in goes through hard times on her own. Jung-kil is moved by Hyun-soo’s thoughtfulness.
Over dinner, Han-se says he can’t believe that Jung-in truly can no longer be his. He’s sincere without being pushy, and Jung-in feels comfortable responding in kind.
“I didn’t want to tell you this because it might make your feelings linger, but I did like you,” she says. “When we broke up, it’s true that I was angry and upset. At the time, I didn’t know what to do. But I figured it out when I met Hyun-soo: if you love someone, you can’t break up, no matter what.”
She means these as parting words, and she says she’ll wait outside. But he holds her back, saying, “What will you do if I don’t let you go today?”
“Even so, I’ll still love Hyun-soo.”
FINALLY THE AWW FACTOR IS BACK, YESSSSSS.
Geum-ja has given Jung-kil an ultimatum: if he doesn’t make a decision about the house by the next morning, the option is off the table. Which means it’s time for Jung-kil’s Grand Gesture proving his true change of heart.
He goes to the Kangs’ house and loudly summons everyone, then he takes out the deed and throws it to the floor, saying he doesn’t need it. “If you’re not going to consent to my daughter, you can forget it!”
Having noticed that the deed was missing, Jung-in comes running into the house to find out what her dad is up to. She’s there to hear him say, “A son-in-law is a son, too. I’m taking Hyun-soo with me.” He grabs Hyun-soo and begins to leave.
Geum-ja stops them, saying they have to leave over her dead body. If Hyun-soo leaves, Geum-ja says she will disown him, but Jung-kil says that in that case, he won’t take in Hyun-soo, ever.
But despite the serious implications of these threats, the scene is actually light and heartwarming, which is the charm of this series—family will always be family. Though it may be trying to get through these daily kerfuffles, in the end, there’s no love lost.
Jung-kil’s fed up with how Geum-ja has treated Jung-in, and when Jung-in apologizes and tries to pull Jung-kil away, he yells in exasperation, “What are you sorry for all the time? I’m sick of hearing that, so I’m trying to take Hyun-soo with us. Is liking someone a sin? What’s wrong with my Jung-in that you’re opposed to her?”
He tells Geum-ja to stop insisting that he has to become a human being. Geum-ja can’t claim to be human herself—how dare she wage a war in the name of protecting her own son while cutting someone else’s child to the heart?
Grandpa Man-bok acknowledges that he understands Jung-kil’s intentions, but they should resume the conversation at another time. Jung-kil raises some more hell, leaving Geum-ja positively flummoxed, but he and Jung-in leave without Hyun-soo.
“Thank you,” Jung-in says, finally able to believe in her father. They have some adorable father-daughter bonding.
Grandpa Man-bok, meanwhile, tells Geum-ja to reconsider her opposition to Jung-in. Since the past can’t be changed, he says, the only thing to think about is what to do moving forward. Alone with his thoughts, Grandpa Man-bok is pleased to see how Jung-kil has matured.
EPISODE 33
Hyun-soo stops by the Seos’ place again, and Jung-kil points out that he chose Hyun-soo over a several-million dollar home, so he’d better live up to expectations. Hyun-soo tries to get Jung-kil to go back to the construction site, and they wrestle their way to the door.
Sang-hoon meets with Jung-kyung, and he clearly has something on his mind. Jung-kyung asks, “You come here because of Grandfather, right?”
Sang-hoon explains that Grandpa insists he’s fine, but Sang-hoon wants to know more. Concerned, Jung-kyung replies that despite Grandpa’s wishes, she feels she should tell him the truth: it’s liver cancer, and he likely has only six months more to live..
Sang-hoon is unable to take this news in, insisting, “But this is my father I’m talking about… I’m talking about my father.”
He breaks down in tears before he can go back and face Grandpa Man-bok, but he continues to act as though he doesn’t know.
The moment that follows is understated and touching; sometimes silence says it all.
An interesting thing I hadn’t previously observed was how similar Geum-ja and Mrs. Lee are. Partly because they can both be supreme bitches, but also in that they cling to their respective only sons as their only hope and try to define their futures for them. (Is it a Korean mother thing? Shrug.)
Mrs. Lee tells Han-se to name what he wants—if it’s Jung-in, she’ll bring her—whatever it takes to prevent him from leaving the company.
Hyun-soo walks in at that moment, observing the dynamic as though he is beginning to understand Han-se as well. He asks Han-se if they can talk, but Han-se says, “Maybe later,” and leaves.
Han-se tells Hyun-soo that he’ll be joining Hyun-soo’s new team in the Manager position. Han-se intends to prove himself first in this role, in order to deserve the Director position that his mother had opened up for him. Hyun-soo’s not exactly delighted to hear he’ll be working with Han-se again, and now in the same office no less, but he shakes Han-se’s outstretched hand.
(I thought Han-se’s big rebellion was to get off his father’s coattails by leaving the company, but I guess he decided instead to breezily walk in and claim a new, if slightly more junior, position for himself. Buddy, you’ve still got a ways to grow.)
When Hyun-soo had left for work that morning, he’d told Geum-ja that he’s taken another position at Global. Her suspicions roused, Geum-ja finds out from dragon lady (i.e. Mrs. Lee) that Hyun-soo received a sizeable sum for taking on this next project—approximately $150,000. She immediately assumes that he took this job to give the money to Jung-kil.
When Jung-kil stops by the house that evening with fried chicken he bought for his new “son’s” sake, Geum-ja mutters bitterly about the cost of that chicken, insinuating that it was bought on Hyun-soo’s tab.
But Grandpa Man-bok is pleased with the gesture, and despite the fact that he doesn’t feel well, he begins to eat the chicken. Out of concern for his father, Sang-hoon is willing now to do anything, and he begins to eat the chicken too. But Geum-ja bursts out that she can’t eat chicken that costs $150,000, accusing Jung-kil of taking money from Hyun-soo.
It’s Grandpa instead who explains what Hyun-soo did with his signing bonus: he’d given it to Grandpa as the cost of his graduate studies abroad.
This is the last straw for Sang-hoon, who has already been getting annoyed with Geum-ja and is now shouldering the additional emotional burden of his father’s illness. He bursts out that the only way to get some peace and quiet in the house is to send Hyun-soo off with Jung-kil.
He runs downstairs and starts packing Hyun-soo’s bags, and tells Hyun-soo to go with Jung-kil and not come back until he’s married with kids and there’s nothing Geum-ja can do about it.
Hyun-soo stands frozen outside the house, looking forlorn.
“You’ve been kicked to the curb,” Jung-kil says and gives him a sympathetic hug.
Hyun-soo keeps his puppy face on, but we see his true feelings in that sneaky smile.
The Seo family (in which I’m including Ji-soo now) is surprised to see Jung-kil bring Hyun-soo home. But Hyun-soo continues to play to their pity, as Jung-kil explains that Sang-hoon kicked him out with the stipulation that he shouldn’t come back til he’s had babies.
Jung-in: [shocked].
Sung-joon: [jealously mutters] “Lucky bastard.”
Hyun-soo says he’d like to be alone. Sung-joon closes the curtain to give him “space” – LOL.
That night, Jung-in sneaks out to give the sleeping Hyun-soo some TLC. But he’s not asleep, and he teases Jung-in that they can sleep together—they have his father’s consent! As they’re flirting, Hyun-soo warns her not to wake Sung-joon, but Sung-joon stirs and grumbles, “Don’t mind me—as if you ever cared what I think. As you were.”
HAHA. Don’t rouse a sleeping giant, does the saying go?
Role reversals: while Sang-hoon and Geum-ja continue to argue, the Seo family has a harmonious breakfast with Jung-kil doling out advice and instructions. He relishes the role, saying, “So this is what it feels like! The head of the household must be upright for the household to be upright.”
Same thing that night. Having heard that Ji-soo is considering a new recipe for the restaurant, he calls a family meeting in track suits. He asks Ji-soo for a proposal regarding the new menu item, to which she says, “Um, well, you see, I was going to deep-fry some chicken breast meat and serve it like tang-su-yook.” (She stops herself from adding, “DUH.”)
Jung-kil asks for metrics, but the family settles it the old-fashioned way: a taste test! Even that’s no fun by itself, so they have an arm-wrestling contest to see who gets to eat it all.
And whaddya know, Ji-soo beats Jung-kil, while Hyun-soo loses to him.
Geum-ja, meanwhile, has been brewing some mental witch’s brew. She calls Jung-in out to the pagoda, and tells her measuredly, “If you marry Hyun-soo, you’ll become my daughter-in-law. Jung-in, let’s do this right.”
COMMENTARY
By golly, I’m determined to finish recapping this series along with my indefatigable & fearless fellow recapper dw4p. But I really think this series is meant to be watched, not recapped. The series is most enjoyable and meaningful not in grand gestures or themes, but just in the small moments as the relationships strengthen and the characters grow.
Smile really works because of its ensemble cast. I love watching the families interact, because after 30 episodes these characters have history with one another and can create understated comedy by referring back–for example, when Sung-joon doesn’t even bother to open his eyes while he grumbles at Hyun-soo and Jung-in’s public display of affection. While some of the individual characterizations are problematic or slow or just weird (hello Geum-ja what is your ISSUE), as an ensemble, this cast just jives. If the plot is finally finding its groove again, the actors have long been doing their groove thing together.
I didn’t include it in the recap, but in episode 33 Jung-in gives Geum-ja (she-who-must-not-be-named or recapped more than necessary) a run-down on how her family has been making incremental progress. They haven’t changed overnight, but they’ve made small changes for the better. Jung-kil’s transformation has indeed been gradual, but by the time he makes his grand gesture, the change of heart is convincing and welcome.
And thank goodness he’s finally had his change of heart cuz Geum-ja has reincarnated as Jung-kil 2.0, only too happy to throw other people in harm’s way for her own objectives. I really think the writers have got to move on quickly to their next plot point because this Geum-ja angle is really tired; there’s nothing left to say or convince a woman who is A) Creepella DeVille with her possessive obsessions, and B) impervious to logic or reason. Perhaps Grandpa’s cancer will get through to her, although I dearly hope that the revelation of his diagnosis doesn’t bring mega-angst again.
Episode 34
Geum-ja comes home to share the “good” news about Jung-in and is greeted with delight from Sang-hoon. Grandpa Man-bok tries to reign in his excitement but giggles like a schoolgirl once his less than enthused daughter-in-law leaves the room.
Over at the Seos, a dumbfounded Jung-in tells everyone about her encounter with Geum-ja. Hyun-soo is obviously elated with the news and the two lovebirds hug each other at the thought of their marriage. But the parents are less than thrilled.
Joo-hee: How about me? You don’t care about my approval?
Hyun-soo: It’s alright. I know you like me.
Jung-kil: Wait! Baek. Geum. Ja. I know her best. It could be some sort of a decoy scheme.
It’s pretty funny that Jung-kil is the one that knows Geum-ja best. But then again, they’ve done a bit of a switch-a-roo in their characters so I guess it’s not that surprising.
When Jung-kil heads to the Kangs, he finds Geum-ja moaning with her head wrapped, apparently waiting for Hyun-soo to find her ailing. Jung-kil takes out his own head wrap and then oddly asks her a couple of wedding vows about loving Jung-in. (It’s a little weird.)
Meanwhile, the two lovebirds are back to their lovey-dovy selves, basking in each other presence. If they recited a sonnet, it would have been perfect. The moment, however, is one shared not only by the two lovers but their third-wheeling comic relief, Sung-joon.
Sung-joon: Is this being good [to your family]?
Jung-in: Did I say that I’d be good today? I said later.
Hyun-soo: Why are you home early today of all days when you usually come home late?
Jung-in: If you really loved and cared for us, shouldn’t you pretend that you have diarrhea and lock yourself up in the bathroom?
And as much as Hyun-soo and Jung-in’s affections give me gag reflex, I’d much rather have this than the over the top angst. On top of that, diarrhea. Hee-hee. Why do I still find toilet jokes funny?
Geum-ja gets her wish as Hyun-soo returns home and joins them for the morning exercises. His dad tries to give him hints to be good to his mother, but Hyun-soo can’t get over the excitement of marrying Jung-in. When Jung-in enters into the house as a ray of sunlight, he drops his mother’s hand like a lump of coal to run to his future bride.
Seeing the men of her household fawn over the new woman of the house, Geum-ja is determined to make things as difficult as possible for her. She insists that the two families have a traditional pre-engagement family meeting. (It’s usually where the parents meet for the first time, exchange pleasantries, and give their blessing to the couple.) Everyone else is surprised since the Kangs and Seos pretty much know everything there is to know about each other. It’s easy to see the difficult road ahead…
The torture continues in the kitchen, as Geum-ja starts Jung-in down a ridiculous line of questioning to “test” her knowledge of Hyun-soo. Thankfully, Hyun-soo is nearby to land a helping hand.
Geum-ja: What’s his favorite color?
Jung-in: I think it’s dark blue.
Geum-ja: What about his favorite food?
Jung-in: Bibimbap, one that you mix for him.
Geum-ja: In the 7th grade, what was his class #? You don’t know?
Jung-in: Um… Class #1.
Geum-ja: Then… in High School, what was the worst he ever did on a test?
Jung-in: Four hundredth?
Geum-ja: What?
Jung-in: That was a joke! Fortieth.
Oh… mother-in-laws. Jung-in laughs along at the crazy antics, for now. But her mood changes when Geum-ja gives her a list of things to bring when she gets married. (Traditionally in Korea, the man provides the house and the woman brings everything needed inside the house.) The list is 2 pages long, and not because of big font, because Jung-in can’t believe that it can even all fit in the house.
Hyun-soo decides to take the opportunity to do some good for his in-laws. He buys a new suit for Jung-kil, who is loving the attention from his soon to be son-in-law, even commenting that Hyun-soo looks more like him that his own son. And Hyun-soo gives some money to Joo-hee for a new outfit along with preparation money for the wedding.
Meanwhile, love is in the air for some more couples. Grandpa Man-bok has definitely changed with the knowledge of his illness and not only decides to buy meat (*shock*) for the family meeting but hangs around the restaurant to get a glimpse of So-nyu (*double shock*).
And the news of the wedding has put a fire in Sung-joon’s loin as he hopes to move forward on his relationship with Ji-soo. She promises to grant him a wish if he makes 10 putts in a row, which makes him even friskier.
At the family meeting, Geum-ja is seemingly all prepared, coming to the location early and wearing her pink hanbok. But the Seos one up the Kangs as they enter the room, fully dressed for the occasion.
As they start talk about the date of the wedding, Geum-ja announces that they need to get engaged first (which is traditionally paid by the woman’s family) , shocking everyone at the table. This leads Geum-ja and Joo-hee down the rabbit hole as the two spew venom at each other about the wedding preparations.
Jung-in takes her mother outside and figures out that her mother was talking big because she received money from Hyun-soo. Unfortunately, Geum-ja overhears and all hell breaks loose, breaking up any hopes of a cordial luncheon.
Jung-kyung’s pragmatic nature takes over as she declares that they’ll just have to put together whatever they can with the money they have, if Jung-in still wants to get married. She and Sung-joon decide that they’ll come up with 10,000 won for the wedding.
It’s a far cry from the 100,000 won of Jung-in’s engagement ring and the writer makes the contrast pretty clear by having Han-se return the money to Hyun-soo. Meanwhile, Jung-kil drinks away his guilt and regret as he realizes that he’s unable to provide for his daughter’s wedding. But Jung-in comes to console her dad.
Jung-in: I’m the one who’s sorry. I probably spent atleast half of your fortune. The sports car, all the clothes I ever wanted, visiting every corner of the globe. If I added up all the money that I took from you, saying that I was going to buy books, I could have probably built a national library… Anyways, why did you suddenly give us your blessing, even giving up the house?
Jung-kil: Because that Hyun-soo seemed like he loved you more than me. You say that you received a lot from me. But honestly, I’ve never given you everything I had. But Hyun-soo would give you everything, whether it’s $10 or $1000. It’s not about the money, but the heart and the time. I think he’ll give you everything. That’s what people say… that this is love.
Jung-in: Dad, you’ll give me everything you have now also.
Jung-kil: But I have nothing to give now. I don’t even have enough money to get you married.
Jung-in: I’m not going to get married until you earn back all of your money! I’m going to ask you to buy enough furniture to fill Hyun-soo’s house, and for a new sports car, and even a new house.
It’s a lovely little scene as the father-daughter pair keep their fun light attitude, while fully sharing their heart. I especially appreciate this scene, because it’s times like this when the drama really shines, rather than going the full on angsty route.
Hearing about Jung-in’s desire to push back the wedding, Sang-hoon turns to her for help. He ends up telling her about Grandpa Man-bok’s condition and pleads with her to get married earlier. The news turns her into a teary puddle but also brings about a new Jung-in. One who’s focus is on Operation Shotgun Wedding.
She returns to the Kang house in the morning as cheery Jung-in and immediately goes to grandpa Man-bok for the morning bow (traditionally given after the wedding).
Jung-in: As you can see, I have nothing to give. So there’s nothing I want. I just want to be your family, grandpa. Please give me a green track suit!
It’s as though the broken family luncheon and requests to push back the wedding is a distant memory, as she asks about having the engagement at the deokbokki place on Sunday. Geum-ja is flabbergasted but Man-bok takes the opportunity to declare that Jung-in should get married under the exact same condition as Geum-ja, who basically brought nothing but Hyun-soo in her belly.
Jung-in tries to act coy but she has a plan in place. She put the moves on Hyun-soo and just when Geum-ja walks in on them, Jung-in throws down Hyun-soo for a passionate kiss.
Episode 35
Geum-ja is shocked with Jung-in’s forcefulness but Hyun-soo is more than happy with the chain of events, even trying to play hooky from work and spend the day with Jung-in, wearing his cute little socks. But she won’t hear of it and tells Hyun-soo to go to work. He picks up on the signs that he’s being used as a pawn in Operation Shotgun Wedding, but Jung-in uses her feminine wiles to eventually push him off to work.
With Jung-in and Sang-hoon sharing the secret about Man-bok’s illness, they team up together for Operation Shotgun Wedding, which leads Sang-hoon to the deokbokki store for some convincing. He fawns over them, butters them up, apologizes, and even puts himself down in order to set a wedding date.
Jung-in goes to the hospital to speak to her sister about donating her kidney to Grandpa Man-bok, realizing that it’s the only viable option he has left. Jung-kyung is dead set against it and leaves her sister in a huff.
Hyun-soo is at work in body but his thoughts are focused on Jung-in’s words from the morning, expecting something special when he gets home. Han-se has learned his fate after the English hunting incident and knows that he no longer can get Jung-in back. He tries to make Hyun-soo nervous, but it’s more amusing than anything else.
Much to Hyun-soo’s chagrin, the evening consists of grandpa time as Jung-in and Sang-hoon are solely focused on keeping grandpa Man-bok healthy and happy. With Jung-in in the house, Geum-ja is the odd man out as she listens in their laughter from outside, ironically sitting in front of Jung-in’s stain glass window. It could be cruel fate but her dragonlady face does seem to melt a little as she hears her happy family.
With the men of the households pushing the marriage along, Hyun-soo works on getting the two moms on board. He melts his mother’s heart with sweet words of love: You’re the only one in the world I can call mom. Even though I share my love with someone else, you’re the person I’ve loved the longest in my life.
He then heads to the deokbokki store to melt another heart. This time with a (very very cheesy) poem: You and I are one. We are family. Love. Love. L-O-V-E.
Hyun-soo takes his family to a photography studio for a family picture and for a little surprise for Jung-in.
Hyun-soo: Jung-in. I haven’t actually asked you to marry me yet. Right? Marrying me means you have to live forever with not only Kang Hyun-soo, but with my grandpa, father, and mother. No matter what happens, let’s cry, laugh, enjoy, and persevere together. Marry me. Be my family.
After Jung-in nods yes, the other two men take a flower from Geum-ja’s bouquet for their own proposal.
Sang-hoon: Jung-in. Be my daughter-in-law.
Man-bok: My granddaughter-in-law. Congratulations.
Geum-ja gives some dirty looks over at Jung-in, but stays quiet during the process, which is probably all she can give at this point. It’s a sweet scene and a sweet moment for the family.
After a full day of family, the couple tries to spend a little quality time kissing on the street corner. (Dark alleys are the best places for a kiss. Everybody looks good under the moonlight.) But Jung-kil interrupts them and takes them back home.
Back at home, there is another kissing couple for Jung-kil to interrupt. Sung-joon is excited after completing 10 putts in a row because he finally gets his wish. But when Jung-kil walks into the house and demands to know what’s going on, his first reaction is to ask Ji-soo, “Why didn’t you lock the door!” (HAHAHA!! I’ve missed you Lee Chun-hee!)
When Jung-kil talks about how to choose a mate: good family, good school, good background, Sung-joon immediately brings up Jung-in’s lack of schooling compared to her Ph.D. fiance. Before the conversation can get any harsher, a furious Jung-kyung walks in.
Jung-in’s initial test results must have come back positive because Jung-kyung is upset about the possibility of Jung-in donating her kidney. And Man-bok’s condition is worsening by the minute as he has a hard time waking up in the morning and has bouts of pain during the day. As he heads out of the house, Hyun-soo runs into him and drives him to the hospital. After hearing about the visit to the hospital, Sung-joon follows out after his father. Hyun-soo realizes something’s going on seeing his dad’s worried face, no matter how often Sung-joon tells him nothing is wrong.
Hyun-soo is unable to leave the hospital and decides to wait to get some answers from Jung-kyung, when he sees his fiance walking around in a patient gown. Once he hears that she’s taking tests to donate her kidney, he pretty much figures out that it’s connected to his grandfather.
Jung-in is unable to hold in the information and tells Hyun-soo about grandpa Man-bok’s illness, leaving him dumbfounded and leaving herself sobbing with tears.
Comments
I’ve been glossing over the Man-bok/Joon-bae/So-nyu love triangle quite a bit, so here’s my new cents. It looks like So-nyu is genuinely touched by Man-bok’s change towards her. She’s still happy to receive the money but the warm milk that he offers her seems to have done a number on her. Man-bok and Joon-bae are lifelong friends so I don’t expect their friendship to waver over a girl, especially when Joon-bae finds out that his best friend is dying. I do love a good bromance and like seeing older people falling in love, so I hope they make this storyline a bit more interesting in the remaining 10 episodes. (Disclaimer: I’ve finished watching the series so I know what happens but I’m pretending to not know while I write this.)
While rewatching these two episodes, I fell in love with Lee Min-jung all over again. I just think she develops great rapport with her fellow actors. I had always thought she had more chemistry with Lee Min-ho in Boys Over Flowers than Gu Hye-sun (don’t shoot me) and I think she’s just one of those actors who has chemistry with everyone. Her connection with Jung Kyung-ho goes without saying. But she’s shined on screen with almost all of her other costars: making us believe that she really did like her ex-almost-husband Han-se, that she truly loves her scheming father Jung-kil, that she grew up with her immature brother Sung-joon, and I especially loved her scenes with Sang-hoon in these two episodes as they covered each others’ worries about grandpa Man-bok.
Overall, the quality of the acting has been quite solid in the series. Lee Min-Jung, Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Chun-hee, Lee Kyu-han, and even the two dads (Kang Suk-woo and Chu Ho-jin) have done well with what they’ve been given, giving us the opportunity to empathize and love their respective characters, not matter how schizophrenic or one dimensional they may be.
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