Witch Amusement: Episode 9

by javabeans

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Kara – “Don’t Be Shy” aka “the new FinKL.” I’m not being glib; they were really called FinKL 2 before someone wisely came to their senses and assigned them a new moniker. [ zShare download ]

EPISODE 9 SUMMARY

Having overheard President Ma telling Mu-ryong to stop dating Yoo Hee, Seung Mi rushes out of the restaurant. Mu-ryong follows her outside and explains that he’s not really dating Yoo Hee. It’s a misunderstanding — or to be more specific, he and Yoo Hee need to lie to the President for a while.

Seung Mi’s tired of all this — she doesn’t want to keep feeling suspicious of him — and begs Mu-ryong to please move out. He feels bad seeing Seung Mi’s tears and bleeding hand (cut from the broken glasses she dropped), although he doesn’t say anything.

Johnny happens to witness the scene… and if they’re going to make Johnny interested in Seung Mi, they really shot themselves in the foot with the whole being-in-love-with-Yoo-Hee-for-years detour they took. I think Johnny and Seung Mi make a good pairing, but it would’ve been better had they stuck with that from the start, instead of trying to insert him into Yoo Hee’s love life. But as the situation is yet unclear, I leave that here for now.

Upset at this latest turn of events, Mu-ryong and Seung Mi both walk along deep in thought, pondering their dilemmas. Mu-ryong comes to a decision (finally!) and asks Yoo Hee to meet him at the bar. Yoo Hee, on the other hand, finds herself smiling when thinking of Mu-ryong, though she doesn’t seem ready to admit it’s because she likes him.

At the bar, Yoo Hee turns down a drink because she drove. Mu-ryong wonders why she’d bring the car when he asked her out for a drink, and she says it’s so she could drive him home. At that evidence of her thoughtfulness, Mu-ryong hesitates to tell Yoo Hee that he wants to quit, while she assures him not to feel too touched by her gesture, as she invokes the phrase both of them seem to be hiding behind, “It’s all fake anyway.”

But Mu-ryong forges on, telling Yoo Hee they’re going to have to end their agreemnent — he’ll find another way to pay her back. She guesses that he’s having troubles with with Seung Mi…

…who happens to arrive at the bar and runs into Yoo Hee, who invites her to sit down. Mu-ryong should be back from the restroom—

And hearing Mu-ryong’s name, Seung Mi flings a glass of water into Yoo Hee’s face. I’m guessing it was one of those spontaneous, uncontrollable impulses, because almost immediately, Seung Mi looks shocked and sorry that she did it. Mu-ryong arrives then, and, assessing the situation, moves to help Yoo Hee wipe the water from her face.

Yoo Hee turns down his aid and leaves. Mu-ryong starts to follow Yoo Hee, but Seung Mi grabs his arm and pleads, “Don’t go.” So Mu-ryong doesn’t leave Seung Mi to chase Yoo Hee, but he’s frustrated with the situation nonetheless, prompting Seung Mi to envelop him in the infamous kdrama back-hug.

Mu-ryong tells Seung Mi that he’d come out tonight to end his agreement with Yoo Hee, but Seung Mi’s action just made everything worse. Seung Mi seems to realize that she’s inadvertently ruined things, and looks on in sadness as Mu-ryong leaves.

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Mu-ryong and Johnny talk over drinks — and I like seeing them bonding more and more — and Johnny hears with some disbelief and amusement about the “fake boyfriend” agreement with Yoo Hee. Mu-ryong asks if Johnny would give it another shot with her, but Johnny says no, he doesn’t think so. When pressed to explain why, he says he’d rather stay good friends as they are.

Mu-ryong wonders, “Friends? Yeah… things were nice when we were friends.” Without explaining who he’s referring to, Johnny asks, perhaps a little more interestedly than necessary, “Do you regret it? Dating Seung Mi, I mean?” Mu-ryong says that’s not what he means.

(1) This is why I wonder if they’re going to pair Johnny and Seung Mi, which I have no problem with except for the fact that switching Johnny’s feelings from one woman to another so quickly (IF that is what in fact they intend to do) makes him seem very fickle, and (2) Dennis seems to have improved his enunciation, so yay! Maybe someone told him he was half-mumbling all his lines and was driving everyone (meaning me) crazy. His accent isn’t improved, but at least the syllables are clearer.

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In a different bar, Joon Ha drinks himself into near-unconsciousness, thinking of how messed up things have become with his ex-fiancee, and also remembers how the President sent him abroad years ago to get him away from Yoo Hee. I’m a little curious at the extent of Joon Ha’s personal torment, because honestly I don’t feel that bad for him — those are all decisions he made on his own. But perhaps he’s feeling the self-loathing backlash at having sold out his true feelings for material gains — schooling, career — and still ending up empty-handed in the end.

He ends up drunk-dialing Yoo Hee, who finds him slumped over at the bar, and drags him to a hotel. And I get an unexpected laugh out loud here, because the contrast of the melancholy background music and the quick series of jump cuts below combine in such a ridiculous way, you can’t help but laugh.

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The next morning, having heard of her father’s visit to Mu-ryong, Yoo Hee tells him they aren’t dating — it was all a lie — so there’s no reason to bother Mu-ryong. The President reminds her of her upcoming blind date, and Yoo Hee surprisingly doesn’t put up much of a fight. She agrees to go.

Arriving at her office, she finds that Mu-ryong has arrived to supply everyone with breakfast, and is keeping up their pretense of dating, calling her “honey” and feeding her (and providing me immense relief at the lovely improvement in his hair! Sorry for being so shallow, but a guy as talented as Jae Hee should never be overshadowed by horrible elfin hair!). Her employees marvel at Yoo Hee dating her housekeeper — that’s just like in the movies! Manager Lee scolds (secretary) Hee Jung for being rude — how dare she speak so informally, calling him housekeeper? That should be Mister Housekeeper! Heh.

When they’re alone, though, Yoo Hee wonders why he’s there — he’d wanted to quit. Mu-ryong has come to apologize for Seung Mi’s behavior the night before, though Yoo Hee says that Seung Mi didn’t do anything wrong. Still, he figures they’ve only got one more week left, so he’ll work hard these last few days before they call it quits. (Note: I still don’t quite get anyone’s reasoning anymore, but I’ve decided to let it go and just sit back and watch. Logic? Continuity? Who needs that? Just enjoy the pretty people being pretty. It does make the viewing experience more relaxing not to wonder about everyone’s motivation anymore.)

So of course Manager Lee reports back to President Ma that Mu-ryong and Yoo Hee are in fact dating, which at first confuses the President, then makes him believe that Yoo Hee lied to him (about lying to him).

Seung Mi asks Mu-ryong if he’s going to keep living with Yoo Hee, and asks him again to move out. She can give him the money — what’s there for him to feel bad about? He doesn’t have to enforce his pride with her. But Mu-ryong just asks, “Can’t you trust me? It’s not because of the money that I’m doing this. You acting like this makes me feel worse.” Which… okaaaay. But remember, self: I am not questioning motives. I am not questioning motives. I am not questioning motives….

But that chastens Seung Mi, who tells him, “I didn’t mean it like that.” And somehow, Mu-ryong has emerged blameless in this exchange. I bet a lot of guys would like to know how to do that. But I can’t really offer much advice aside from “Be Jae Hee.”

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While Yoo Hee’s in a meeting, she gets the following video message from Mu-ryong (which is all the cuter because he speaks in a funny accent):

“Yoo Hee, do you know who I am? I’m Ma Yoo Hee’s Superman! Whenever you need me, I’ll go flying over! Superman~!… Anyway, I think I’ll be late tonight, because we started our cooking contest. Yoo Hee, I love you!”

Her co-workers smile, overhearing the message, and Yoo Hee laughs and loses track of their agenda. She then goes off and sends him a message of her own:

“Mu-ryong, if you’re Superman, what does that make me? Wonder Woman? I’ll be your Wonder Woman. Mu-ryong, I love you.”

Johnny overhears the message, and Mu-ryong explains that it’s all part of Yoo Hee’s dating practice.

In any case, it’s time for them to continue with the cooking competition… Each cook is assigned a specific meat, and Mari has secretly sabotaged Mu-ryong’s fish with salt. But unluckily for her, at the last minute, Johnny tells each cook to switch ingredients: In cooking, you can find yourself in unexpected situations, and you’ll have to be able to adapt accordingly. (It’s kind of messed up that Mari isn’t the one foiled by her own plan, though. Oh well.)

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Mu-ryong and Yoo Hee go on another fake date, where Mu-ryong has prepared a surprise. Initially, Yoo Hee expects a grand gesture, kind of like this:

…but instead ends up with a simpler one:

The food — kimbap, soondae (blood sausage), ddukbokki (spicy rice cakes) — is all simple, cheap fare, and the restaurant’s not what you’d call extravagant. But it’s just for practice, and Mu-ryong tells her she can have the fancy version with her real boyfriend. He also gives her a present, which is a new night robe to replace her old one.

Seeing her reluctance to accept, he guesses that it was given to her by Joon Ha, but she admits that it’s her mother’s. It’s the only thing she’d left behind after divorcing her father, and Yoo Hee couldn’t even see her before she died, when Yoo Hee was in high school, because her mother had moved abroad.

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Mu-ryong hears that Yoo Hee’s planning on going on another blind date, which she’s only doing to appease her father. Mu-ryong asks about the guy, worried that he’ll be another rotten apple like the last one.

Yoo Hee: “Then you can come save me, like last time.”
Mu-ryong: “We’ll see… But if you need, call me right away. Like I said, I’m your Superman.”

So Yoo Hee meets her date, who has her completely bored… She gets up to leave, but her date restrains her and says he has more to tell her. Yoo Hee thinks to herself, “Superman, help me!” and imagines Mu-ryong arriving, dressed in full Superman regalia. Disappointed to see it’s just the waiter, she sits back down, while the real Mu-ryong imagines that Yoo Hee’s decided to marry her blind date, and rushes off to find her.

Yoo Hee tries extricating herself from the date by saying she’s already seeing someone else, but her date informs her that he knows it was a lie — the President already told him about it.

And just then, Mu-ryong appears: “It’s not a lie. I’m her boyfriend.” He keeps up the fa�ade by telling her, “I thought I said not to meet other men. Are you that afraid of the President? Come with me.” And he drags her out. (Somebody’s been watching Samsoon!)

Seemingly annoyed, Yoo Hee asks what he’s doing, and Mu-ryong tells her he thought she wanted his help. But if not, she can go back to her date and fix the misunderstanding. Yoo Hee stops him from going back to “apologize” for his mistake, and instead just changes the subject: “Forget it!… I’m hungry! Let’s go eat.”

Hearing his employee report the results of the date, the President reacts with ire.

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Mu-ryong takes Yoo Hee to his family’s restaurant for jjajangmyun, and accidentally leaves behind his phone, which Seung Mi finds when she drops by. She takes the phone to return to him, and smiles as she looks through to see pictures of herself. Flipping through the gallery, though, Seung Mi starts to see pictures of Yoo Hee, and watches the video Mu-ryong sent Yoo Hee.

She arrives in front of Yoo Hee’s place to see the fake-couple leaving to go to the grocery store together. Seung Mi: “Are you going to say it’s another misunderstanding? That there’s nothing between you two?” She hands him his phone: “I saw everything. So don’t say anything about misunderstanding anymore. I’m sick of this now. Trust you? You want me to trust you?”

She runs off, and Mu-ryong breaks his phone in half and throws it to the pavement in anger. I bet that made everything better.

The next day, Mu-ryong tries to smooth things over with Seung Mi, saying she has every right to be angry, but she cuts him off saying she has to go into work. Mu-ryong: “Then should we talk after work?” Seung Mi: “I don’t know. I don’t think there’s any need to.”

Ooh, snap.

Distracted, Mu-ryong doesn’t do such a great job in the dessert competition, and gets eliminated.

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Also upset is Joon Ha, who’s been forced to quit the hospital by his ex-fiancee’s father. He’s summoned by Yoo Hee’s father, who asks him cryptically, “So. How do you feel about dating Yoo Hee again?”

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that although Yoo Hee’s father isn’t a big fan of Joon Ha dating Yoo Hee, it’s the lesser of two evils — the doctor’s better than the housekeeper, and at least Joon Ha is someone the President can control.

So, on the last day of their dating agreement, Yoo Hee goes to buy Mu-ryong a new cell phone and is met by Joon Ha, who takes her out to an art-slash-car-show. However, rather than being excited about her date, Yoo Hee’s distracted, recalling how Mu-ryong had suggested, in a previous episode, that they commemorate their last day by meeting at the fountain park at 5pm — where, sure enough, Mu-ryong is waiting.

At the time, Yoo Hee had scoffed at the notion — but now she remembers and rushes out to go to the park. By the time she arrives, though, it’s raining, and she doesn’t see Mu-ryong anywhere…

…until he appears out of nowhere, holding an umbrella over her head.