Coffee Prince: Fourth Cup

by javabeans

Male bonding is too cute. (Now if they could just get rid of that manipulative Yu Ju… I don’t think she adds much.)

Btw, I know Coffee Prince is based on a novel, and I was curious to see how the drama and novel differ, so I picked up a copy of the book today. I’ll let you guys know if I find anything interesting. 😉

SONG OF THE DAY

The The Band – “Bang Bang Bang” [ zShare download ]

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EPISODE 4 SUMMARY

After Han Gyul blows up at Eun Chan for messing up the order, Yu Ju takes him out to cool off. Despite losing his temper, she tells him it’s nice to see him worked up about something, since he’d always been rather apathetic. To cheer him up, she grabs his hand and swings it like a kid, which succeeds in making him smile.

Eun Chan scolds Min Yub for ordering the wrong amount — she’d delegated the task to him. Min Yub honestly can’t remember what he ordered, and he feels sorry that Eun Chan got the brunt of Han Gyul’s anger — but he’s too wimpy to step up himself.

Mr. Hong roasts the beans with the idea of selling them. Han Gyul gets the idea to give out 1kg bags of roasted beans in a promotional gesture, and sends everyone out on deliveries.

Eun Chan’s still upset over being unfairly accused, and Han Gyul gets annoyed when she refuses to respond to him. Annoyed at the nonreaction, he wants her to admit she was wrong, but she won’t. He blows up at her again, telling her to leave if she’s going to be uncooperative, and she stalks off angrily.

As Han Gyul is really about to lose it, Min Yub speaks up in remorse. He kneels in apology and owns up to his mistake, and Han Gyul feels like an ass. As well he should.

Yu Ju joins Eun Chan outside to commiserate, telling her a story of when she was unjustly accused (back in high school, involving a teacher she liked and a flasher). Eun Chan compliments Yu Ju for being pretty, good at art, and having a good personality. Yu Ju agrees. (Seriously. I know she’s joking, but…)

Eun Chan says she used to like art in school — or rather, she liked her art teacher — prompting Yu Ju to surmise that the teacher must’ve been good-looking. Eun Chan affirms he was — then stops in embarrassment at the implication that she (as a guy) liked another guy. Yu Ju gives an easygoing answer that it’s okay, she’s liked her female teachers too. (Good answer.)

Feeling apologetic but not actually apologizing, Han Gyul tells Eun Chan that Min Yub might’ve made the mistake, but it was her responsibility too. He grabs Eun Chan playfully, but she doesn’t like the way he disregards her own feelings — “You think everything’s fine just as long as you’re not mad!”

One her way home, Eun Chan runs into Han Sung, and they stop to chat over beer.

Eun Chan confides that she’s feeling down because she feels wrongly accused. The hypothetical scenario gets confusing, so they nickname the story participants Guy K and Girl N (the equivalent of the first two letters in the hangul alphabet). Guy K, the boss, used to be nice and appreciative to employee Girl N, but then suddenly lost his temper and accused Girl N of being useless.

Han Sung: “Does Girl N like Guy K?”
Eun Chan: “No, they’re like friends. And boss and employee. It’s not really a love relationship, just…”
Han Sung: “Just? What does ‘just’ mean?”
Eun Chan: “Just…”
Han Sung: “So, what does ‘just’ mean?”
Eun Chan: “It doesn’t mean anything. The reason for that is… To Girl N… there’s Guy A…”

Embarrassed, Eun Chan stops and changes the topic, but Han Sung laughs along, understanding what she means.

He walks her home, and she thanks him: “Actually, this is the first time anyone’s seen me home.” Han Sung tells her, “Call me anytime. I’ll see you home.” In good spirits, they part ways, and Eun Chan watches him go off. Han Sung tells his dog, “Seeing that girl makes you feel great, doesn’t it?”

The waffle guy comes by to reluctantly ask if the job offer’s still good, and introduces himself as No Sun Ki. Min Yub comments on the guy’s pretty looks: “Are you a girl or a guy? It’s hard to tell.”

Eun Chan retorts: “You shouldn’t talk, it’s hard to tell with you, too — whether you’re a gorilla or a human.” Sun Ki talks to himself in Japanese, muttering disgruntled things like “I can’t believe I have to work with these guys.”

Han Sung gifts Yu Ju with a serenade, at the end of which Yu Ju says, bittersweetly, “It makes me sad, wondering if hearing this song will bring me pain later.” A bit of advice, Yu Ju? If you don’t want that, how about maybe you DON’T BREAK HIS HEART? ‘Cause we’re all pretty sure you’re gonna.

The Coffee Prince guys go out for dinner together, where they marvel at Eun Chan’s appetite. To prove how yupgi (bizarre, quirky, slightly disgusting but somewhat cute) Eun Chan is, Ha Rim tosses a piece of cooked meat on the floor — which Eun Chan then eats.

Ha Rim (who calls her “My Chan”) says the behavior really is Eun Chan-like, and they start using her name as a verb, adjective, and adverb: “Eun Chan-like,” “Eun Chan-ly,” pulling an Eun Chan. She retorts that “Han Gyul-like” or “Han Gyul-ish” can be used similarly to describe someone with a fussy personality and bad temper.

Actually, the whole group is a little yupgi, really, with Min Yub mixing beans into his soju and going around trying to drunk-kiss everyone. The guys deflect his unwanted attention, but Eun Chan’s distracted by food, and doesn’t see him in time to prevent him planting a kiss right on the lips. Ha Rim: “Hey, Eun Chan’s mine!” and Han Gyul automatically responds, “Why is he yours? He’s mine.”

She’s disgusted, hitting Min Yub in retaliation and stuffing peppers up his nose. They are so weird. But it’s cute.

Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be” plays as our Coffee Princes prepare for the grand opening, which draws a fairly decent crowd. Eun Chan’s family arrives, and we see that her mother has a little flirty thing going on with both Mr. Gu (the butcher) and Mr. Hong (the cafe manager).

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When Han Sung arrives, Eun Chan’s alarmed to realize he knows Han Gyul. She desperately waves him aside and begs him not to act like he knows her. She hurriedly explains that Han Gyul believes her to be a guy; she lied to keep the job.

Vastly amused to realize she and Han Gyul are Girl N and Guy K, Han Sung wonders how anyone could mistake her for a guy — “Anyone can see right away you’re a girl.”

After closing, Han Gyul offers Eun Chan a ride home, but when he gets a sudden call from Yu Ju, he leaves in a hurry, leaving Eun Chan to find her own way.

Yu Ju invites Han Gyul in, but he declines, saying he’s so exhausted he can’t think straight, and might find himself suddenly taking hold of her hand. Running her fingers along his face, Yu Ju tells him, “Don’t do that,” and sends him off with an early birthday present. It’s a toy that makes him laugh, and the accompanying note reads: “Laugh just like that! Happy birthday.” So Han Gyul returns to her apartment and does a silly dance in appreciation.

Sigh, mixed signals. Yu Ju knows how he feels (he’s not exactly subtle about it) but doesn’t choose him. She runs her fingers along his face and then pushes him away. She’s flirting, then hiding behind a facade of innocence. But she can’t be unaware of her effect, which makes her at the very least inconsiderate. (At worst, she’s manipulative, cold-hearted, and enjoys toying with men, but I’m not going that far. I just think she’s thoughtless and hurtful.)

In the midst of a boring day with no customers — they only turned out for the opening because it was free — Min Yub accuses Eun Chan of still meeting with Eun Sae (his “angel”) and challenges him to a fight. First up is a digging match, but he’s too dim to realize that while he’s “racing” to dig as fast as he can, Eun Chan’s just sitting back, observing. Then, they have a water-drinking contest — but Eun Chan doesn’t participate, leaving Min Yub to drink the entire bucketful alone.

Han Gyul arrives to find Mr. Hong taking a nap and the rest of his staff goofing off, and punishes them.

He makes Eun Chan and Min Yub play a basketball game against him, two-to-one. They’re to play for an hour straight with no breaks, while the other two guys remain in their upside-down positions. Eventually, Min Yub tires and can’t continue, and crawls over to the sidelines. Eun Chan keeps playing despite her exhaustion, and Han Gyul finally calls an end when time winds down.

He tells her, “You’re cool, Go Eun Chan. For sticking through to the end without giving up, you’re cool.”

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They cool off in an outdoor fountain while The Wannadies’ “You and Me Song” plays.

In a grumbly mood, Mr. Hong bristles at the way Han Gyul orders him around despite their equal status. He says the only reason they’ve done any business is because of his coffee-roasting ability, and Han Gyul shoots back that they wouldn’t have had any business if he hadn’t renovated the place to begin with. The others try to smooth things over and keep them from fighting.

Han Gyul’s grandmother hears the cafe isn’t doing well, and orders Han Gyul to start reporting sales figures to his father… which is probably not going to go well given their current rift.

The two cousins chat, and Han Sung asks about Eun Chan, wondering what “his” deal is. Han Gyul: “That guy’s really funny. He’s definitely not an ordinary guy.” Han Sung laughs knowingly.

Han Gyul returns to the cafe later that night to see Eun Chan still there, and gets a lesson in pouring coffee. Telling Eun Chan he needs to get some work done, he sends her off, declining her offer of help. Han Gyul: “I said go home, I can’t focus with people around.” Eun Chan: “Fine, I’m going. I’ll go even if you ask me not to. I have things to do too… I’ve got to brush my teeth, wash my hair, go to sleep, dream some dreams.”

She takes off, but first rattles off a quick rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Han Gyul may face an opportunity to go abroad to New York, but it’s contingent on how well the cafe does. If things don’t go well, he’ll stay, but if they do, he’s off to the States. At home, Eun Chan wonders to her sister which option is better.

Eun Sae asks about Sun Ki (whom Eun Sae has a crush on, since he’s so purty), and Eun Chan tells her it’s not cool to string along Min Yub if she’s not interested. Eun Sae says two-timing is a family trademark, citing their mother’s flirting with both Mr. Gu and Mr. Hong, and Eun Chan wonders, “Am I two-timing too?” (Note: the word doesn’t necessarily imply cheating, it means more that one is indecisive and stringing two people along at the same time.)

Eun Chan explains that there’s a certain guy who always makes her feel good when they meet — he’s warm, welcoming. Then there’s another guy who’s sometimes okay, sometimes not. He’s not an awful person, but he’s not great either. Eun Sae tells her that’s two-timing, and tsk-tsks that she’s got two cases of unrequited affection going at the same time, with neither guy aware of it.

Eun Chan arrives in the morning with milk for Han Gyul, who’s spent the night working at the cafe. Seeing him sleeping on the couch, she waves at him, then prods him, and blows air into his face. He awakes to see her poised like that, hovering above him.

 
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