Witch Amusement: Episode 6

by javabeans

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Ivy – “Antonio’s Song” [ zShare download ]

EPISODE 6 SUMMARY

Yoo Hee and Johnny clasp hands for a moment after she spills wine all over him, and after an awkward moment of not knowing what to do with themselves, Johnny goes to change out of his stained shirt.

Yoo Hee calls Mu-ryong while he’s on his date with Seung Mi, and tells him to hurry home. Automatically assuming the worst, he books it out of there, leaving Seung Mi behind, disappointed. Mu-ryong rushes in wondering what the trouble was, only to see all’s well. The only odd thing is that Johnny’s wearing one of his shirts.

When Yoo Hee wonders what Mu-ryong could’ve possibly been imagining, Mu-ryong doesn’t tell her he’d imagined them kissing and instead says he thought perhaps Johnny had gotten hurt. As nothing’s terribly amiss, Johnny heads home, but not before witnessing Yoo Hee and Mu-ryong’s friendly bickering with a strange look — my interpretation is that Johnny senses being left out of their intimacy.

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After work, Mu-ryong asks Johnny about Yoo Hee, and suggests that Yoo Hee might like him. He asks, “What do you really think of Yoo Hee?” Johnny answers, “I like her.” Mu-ryong: “I don’t mean as a friend, but as a woman.”

And this is where I am supremely annoyed at Dennis’ inability to e-nun-ci-ate his Korean, because this is a rather significant conversation and I can’t make sense of the most important line. Arrgg. I said before I’d lay off the Dennis-mocking as long as his Korean didn’t get in the story’s way, and yes I realize I’ve already broken that intention. But really — I almost think they need subtitles for Johnny’s lines in Korean.

In this scene, for instance, Johnny displays some insight into Yoo Hee’s character, explaining that she puts on a strong front because she’s masking her fear. And that he’s never thought of Yoo Hee *mumblemumble* as not being a woman. Or maybe he’s never thought of her AS a woman. Who knows?? No amount of repeated listening at varied volume levels will reveal the true answer. I’m inclined to believe he said that he does see her as a woman (and the rest of the episode tends to support that), but I can’t bet on it.

In any case, Mu-ryong tells Johnny, “You may already know, but Yoo Hee’s not that good at this relationship thing. What do you think of taking her hand first?”

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But sorry Johnny, timing is everything, and today, ti~i~ime is not on your side. (Extra points if you get the reference.) Joon Ha visits Yoo Hee at work and asks her out to dinner. On their way out, they run into Johnny, who’s taken Mu-ryong’s advice and come to see Yoo Hee. But she’s too excited at the prospect of her dinner date, which Johnny picks up on, and he makes the excuse that he’s in her office building for a different appointment. So Yoo Hee goes off happily, and Johnny watches her leave, returning alone to his car to face his rejection in the form of a flower bouquet intended for Yoo Hee. Aw.

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At dinner, Yoo Hee asks about Joon Ha’s upcoming wedding, having heard that his engagement was called off. He confirms it, and Yoo Hee wistfully wonders to herself if she could take the place of his ex as his bride. They have a nice dinner, and Joon Ha drops her off at home saying, “Let’s do this again. I’ll call you,” which makes Yoo Hee happy.

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At home, Mu-ryong accidentally burns a hole into Yoo Hee’s favorite robe, and imagines his punishment at the hands of an irate Yoo Hee. He shows her the burned robe expecting to get beaten up…

…but Yoo Hee’s too excited over her dinner date to get upset. She just tells him to clear it away, and retreats to her room, where she does the happy dance:

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Mu-ryong and Yoo Hee go grocery shopping, and on the way home, Mu-ryong notices Yoo Hee constantly checking her phone. He assumes her date was with Johnny and that he’s the source of her anticipation, and tells her to go ahead and call him first.

Yoo Hee wonders what she would say if she called first, and Mu-ryong gives her tips: “Did you get home safely? I had fun tonight. Thanks for dinner. Next time I’ll buy.” Yoo Hee scoffs that it’s childish, and Mu-ryong tells her love is childish.

So Yoo Hee goes home and works up the courage to call Joon Ha. Using Mu-ryong’s advice, she tells him: “I was just wondering if you got in all right. I had fun today, and thanks for dinner. Next time… I can buy.” Joon Ha just says, “No, that’s fine.” Yoo Hee’s disappointed for a moment, before he continues, “I should be the one to buy.” Excited, Yoo Hee asks when he has time to meet again. He suggests tomorrow, and they make a date…

…which is at Johnny’s restaurant. Johnny takes special care into providing a sumptuous meal, but Joon Ha isn’t only cold-hearted, he’s also stingy on the compliments. He says he doesn’t really know this kind of food — he prefers Korean — so he can’t tell if it’s good or not.

Mu-ryong takes Yoo Hee aside, and wonders why she’s on a date with Joon Ha. He thought he was engaged, and wasn’t she interested in Johnny? Joon Ha interrupts their talk, and the two men again face off.

Joon Ha, with a smirk: “That restaurant uniform suits you. It looks like you’re in the middle of work, so see you next time.”

Mu-ryong: “No, I’d rather we didn’t see each other again. I have a favor to ask. Don’t meet Yoo Hee in the future either. She’s got a boyfriend, and you’re getting married.”

Yoo Hee tells Mu-ryong the engagement was called off, and chases after Joon Ha to clear the air. Mu-ryong isn’t really her boyfriend; he was a fake. She felt she had to keep up the act because of what Sara said. She apologizes, but Joon Ha coolly says: “Why apologize to me? So what? The relationship between you two has nothing to do with me.” He stalks off. Ah, such a sweet guy, isn’t he?

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At home, Yoo Hee angrily turns on Mu-ryong, ordering him to leave. He says fine, he’ll go, but before he does, she should remember this: “Get your act together. That guy’s feelings are just your fantasy. He’s not someone who thinks of you that way. I’m a man, and men know men the best.”

Yoo Hee asks him what happened to her burned robe, and he tells her he threw it out, since she told him to clear it away. In a flashback to her youth, we see the robe’s significance to her, as it was one of the only things her mother left behind when she left the family, and Yoo Hee orders Mu-ryong to find it.

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Johnny takes Mu-ryong shopping for seafood at the markets, and it’s nice to see the two of them bonding. (Although — dare I say this? — if things continue in this vein, Johnny and Mu-ryong just may overtake the main couple in becoming my new shippy pairing. And I say this as an avid hater of slashfic. Seriously, don’t they make a nice-looking couple?)

Mu-ryong asks what Johnny intends to do about Yoo Hee, and he answers that he doesn’t know. Johnny seems to be considering backing off, because they started off as good friends, but Mu-ryong assures him not to give up, because he’s going to push them along.

Meanwhile, Joon Ha appears to be looking to switch hospitals, and runs into Yoo Hee’s father in the lobby of an office building. They only exchange a few greetings before the President collapses due to heart pains. Joon Ha rushes to him and performs what appears to be the most ill-performed act of CPR I’ve ever seen

At the hospital, Joon Ha and President Ma have an interesting conversation seemingly loaded with meaning: the President asks Joon Ha if he’s seen Yoo Hee recently. Joon Ha has, but he assures him not to worry, he hasn’t told Yoo Hee “anything.” Just what that means, we are left to wonder, as Yoo Hee arrives and interrupts their cryptic talk.

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Mu-ryong’s brother (Song Hwa) passes by Paran’s school on a delivery and checks in on him.. As Song Hwa is about to leave, Paran stops him and asks him (calling him “Steel Case Hyung!” — the steel case referring to the jjajangmyun delivery box) where he’s going — would he be going back to the jjajangmyun place?

Song Hwa guesses the reason: “Why, do you want to eat jjajangmyun?” Paran answers, “Well, if you want me to, I can eat some.” Hehe. He’s so cute.

Mu-ryong uses Paran as an excuse to drag Yoo Hee out — he tells her to meet Paran at a certain cafe, only to have called out Johnny instead. While Mu-ryong and his brother entertain Paran at the park, teaching him how to skateboard and ride a bike, Yoo Hee and Johnny are left alone.

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Even if the whole thing was merely a ruse set up by Mu-ryong to force Yoo Hee and Johnny together, they figure since they’re already out, they might as well go eat. And so they do all manner of dately things, like eating ddukbokki at a vendor’s stand, walking the streets, going shopping. When a store clerk tells them they should buy a matching couple set of phone accessories, Yoo Hee tells her they’re just friends. Johnny puts his arm around her shoulders, though, and asks, “Don’t we make a good couple?”

At the end of their “date,” Johnny drops Yoo Hee off at home. She apologizes that Mu-ryong misunderstood the situation. Johnny smiles and tells her, “Nah, it’s okay. Because of him, I had fun today. I enjoyed it… but was it not fun for you?” Johnny then surprises Yoo Hee by kissing her goodbye on the forehead. Mu-ryong happens to be walking home and sees from the distance, and observes the kiss with satisfaction.

However, on her way in, she gets a call from Joon Ha, and tells him sure, she has time — she’ll be right over to see him. She rushes over to the hospital, too happy at the news to even see Mu-ryong, who follows her in a mix of concern and curiosity.

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Unfortunately, also at the hospital is Joon Ha’s ex-fiancee, who’s there to tell him to change hospitals, because it’ll be awkward with her father’s as the director. (In the previous episode, her father did tell Joon Ha that even if the engagement’s off, there’s no need for Joon Ha to quit.) Joon Ha’s insulted to hear her say it, though, and tells her that whether he stays or goes is his business. He’ll decide that matter, rather than being told by her.

However, from Yoo Hee’s perspective, she arrives to see the two talking together and imagines that the exchange is more tender than it actually is. Upset at the sight, she turns and walks away, hurt and disappointed. Mu-ryong continues to follow her along the streets at a bit of a distance, ignoring Seung Mi’s ill-timed phone calls.

He looks on in alarm as Yoo Hee blindly walks into traffic against a “Don’t Walk” sign, and runs after her to jerk her back out of harm’s way…

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General thoughts:

You know, I didn’t think this episode was as good as Epiosde 5 — although, to be fair, Episode 5 was pretty excellent. Aside from being more serious — we’re heading into the middle of the series now, with all the relationship tangles become more complex and messy — this episode felt strangely disjointed, scattered over the place.

I’m not sure if some scenes were shown to establish future plot issues, but there seemed to be a few things that stuck out as irrelevant. And not swimming-scene irrelevant, because at least the reason for including half-naked Dennis is obvious. But rather, I’m not sure what the point of some bits were. Whatever happened to the robe that Mu-ryong threw away? Did he get it back? Why was the purpose of having Team Manager Lee and the secretary eating jjajangmyun at Mu-ryong’s family restaurant? Why did they have a scene where Sara visited the restaurant to eat Johnny’s famous cuisine if there was no follow-up?

I don’t know. It’s a little puzzling… Plus, I find it ironic that my affection for Johnny is growing… but in inverse proportion to that for Dennis. People might say it’s unfair to criticize his Korean, given that he’s new to it and he’s trying, et ceteraaaaaa… But, he is an actor. He is being paid money to convey a character in a convincing fashion, and he has managed to bypass many, many hurdles to attain his level of fame purely because he is a beautiful man and he has a Western exoticness, and yes I am aware of the irony of East Asia’s fetishization of Western culture just as much as the Western world fetishizes East Asia. I am not saying he is wholly undeserving; I am merely saying that he is, in my book, entirely fair game for criticism. I just don’t think he was ready to take on a role speaking entirely in Korean.

Bah, rant aside, these are just my opinions. Feel free to disagree. I thought Episode 6 was still good fun… but I think I’ll be rewatching Episode 5 instead in preparation for next week.