Smile: Episodes 9-10

by soyjoy

Tee hee! Love the scene above. Episodes 9 & 10 are pivotal (at last!). The episodes are full of fun moments, character developments and building anticipation in the relationship between Jung-in (Lee Min-jung) and Hyun-soo (Jung Kyung-ho). There’s a lot of ground to cover in these episodes, so without further ado…

SONG OF THE DAY

Smile OST – “웃어요” (Smile) [ Download ]

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Episode 9

Jung-in picks up the phone call, but she’s shocked to hear Geum-ja’s voice on the other end. Jung-in hangs up quickly. When she comes out of the bathroom, Geum-ja beckons her to come and asks for help finding a photo on Hyun-soo’s phone, saying that she’s trying to track someone down. Jung-in hears Granda Man-bok’s voice outside and seizes the opportunity to dodge the situation.

Grandpa Man-bok confronts Sung-joon for using the money he’d provided for Ji-soo’s hospital fees to go drinking. He tells him to pack his bags. Sung-joon begs for forgiveness to little avail, but Grandpa relents when Ji-soo, Hyun-soo and Sang-hoon all intercede.

Jung-in pulls Hyun-soo aside and tells him that she almost got caught by Geum-ja because he left his phone at home. Hyun-soo’s still upset about the phone matter and doesn’t want to talk about it, but Jung-in urges him to take the money and settle it cleanly. If Geum-ja finds out about the incident, Jung-in won’t be able to stay in the house. She’s genuinely worried, and Hyun-soo softens a bit.

Hyun-soo: Why would I accept this? I told you, I’m considering that I’ve given it to Jung-kyung.
Jung-in: I’m Seo Jung-in! Take a good look. I’m not Seo Jung-kyung, I’m Seo Jung-in. Seo. Jung. In.

Jung-in moves in close, asserting herself with Hyun-soo. He’s surprised at her reaction and not entirely comfortable with her proximity, so he breaks the mood by pushing her away. “I said that I’m giving my heart to Jung-kyung, so what’s it to you”? he asks.

“Fine,” Jung-in retorts. Forcing the phone back in his hand, she says, “Here. If that’s your wish, take both phones and talk or text with Jung-kyung and do whatever you want, you bona fide sicko!”

Geum-ja tries to wheedle the truth out of Hyun-soo. She asks him whether he’s been hiding anything from her. She’s about to confront him with the evidence (she still has his phone in her pocket), but ever attuned to his mom—and with Jung-in’s heads-up from before—he preempts her. “Oh,” he says, “it’s not a secret, but I got a cell phone because it was difficult juggling work and class. You’re the only one who knows; keep it a secret from Grandfather.”

“It’s in my room, shall I show it to you?” he asks. She pulls it out of her pocket and admits that she’s already found it. She mentions the photo of the hand that she’d seen and asks him who it is. He shrugs it off as spam texting.

In his room, he looks at Jung-in’s phone to find out what photo his mom is talking about. He sees her recent texts and recent calls list, which are all to him. (Seriously, doesn’t she have any friends?) Seeing this stops Hyun-soo in his tracks for a moment.

In the morning, Grandpa Man-bok comes outside and sees Ji-soo up early, packing her wares for the day in an icebox. He’s surprised to learn that she slept in her truck, which she says is her home for the time being. She says she won’t intrude, and that she’s already swept the yard. He’s impressed with her industriousness–she everything the Seo family has not yet shaped up to be. She’s peppy, strong and independent, and she insists on repaying Grandpa Man-bok for his troubles, but he won’t have any of it.

The rest of the family comes out for their break-of-dawn exercises, and she introduces herself, saying that she’ll be sharing the yard space with them. She gives Sung-joon several kimbap rolls she’s made and tells him to share them with his family. Regardless of his behavior, his sister did treat her wound, so she’s giving it to him as hospital fees. She can’t stand to be indebted to anyone, she explains. Jung-in chimes in, underhandedly insinuating to Hyun-soo that she’s relieved to be free of debt now, too.

Hyun-soo goes to the cell phone store to return the Jung-kyung/Jung-in phone, while Jung-in has come to buy a new, identical one. Hyun-soo mutters under his breath, “Why are you buying a phone when there are no calls for you to send or receive?” She replies that she’s flooded with incoming calls, but having seen her call list, Hyun-soo knows she’s fibbing.

Hyun-soo tells her she’s in no circumstance to spend her money foolishly on a new phone. He gives her back the old phone. “Take it,” he says. “Spending your money so carelessly, when are you ever going to leave our house?” She’s miffed that he’s giving her the phone back as an excuse to try to get her out of the house. He responds that he doesn’t expect her to be able to move out with just $800, but was reacting to how careless she is with her money.

Jung-in: What about you? You bought two cell phones in order to seduce a woman. Isn’t that so?
Hyun-soo: Don’t insult a person’s good intentions. Seduce? Who are you accusing? I never once thought of moving someone’s heart with money. I only wanted to buy a cell phone for Jung-kyung because you said hers had broken. Will it make her a bit more comfortable? Will she like it? Although things turned out this way, I have no regrets. For me, it meant something. So don’t say such things again.

For the first time, Jung-in is subdued into silence. She’s been picking on Hyun-soo about Jung-kyung because she actually is starting to care for him, and, abashed at his response, she has nothing to say in her defense.

Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, in this episode Jung-kil is also finally shamed by his own ludicrous behavior. They say sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to face reality, and I’m not sure it gets much worse than, well… read on.

Jung-kil sits down with Lee Joon-bae, Grandpa Man-bok’s buddy who owns the nearby barbeque restaurant. He prods Joon-bae for a bit of insider information, trying to find out what really pushes Grandpa’s buttons. He frames it by saying that he needs to know what to avoid, but really he’s back to his hopelessly facile plan to annoy Grandpa into voluntarily kicking him out (and for some reason, he thinks Grandpa will pay for their new housing). I do believe there are some holes in this logic.

Joon-bae warns him to be very careful; this is a matter that puts Man-bok’s pride on the line. Jung-kil is all ears.

“Alright. I’ll tell you. It’s precisely.. barley rice!” It’s not quite what Jung-kil was expecting to hear. Barley rice?

Joon-bae continues, explaining that during the Korean War, he and Man-bok realized that hunger could be more dangerous than bullets. So they enlisted together in the army in order to eat. But Man-bok was honorably discharged within a month, Joon-bae explains, because he had severe constipation from the barley, ultimately, causing his colon to tear. And to this day, the smell of a barley-fart will flip his lid.

So Jung-kil stuffs himself with barley and runs home, anxious to lay a good one on Grandpa Man-bok. Meanwhile, Joon-bae tells Man-bok about his conversation with Jung-kil earlier that day and laughs about the barley-fart yarn he made up.

Not realizing this, Jung-kil is stuffing his face with even more barley rice to fill ‘er up, so to speak. He goes into Grandpa Man-bok’s room to make his fart attempt. In a scene that is hilariously uncomfortable to watch—I imagine it as what an episode of “The Office” would be like if they let you see what goes on in the bathroom—Jung-kil is really putting effort into passing some gas through his system. But with all the effort and all the barley in his system, something catastrophic… maybe… just… *grunt*… might…

…befall a grown man to make him CRAP HIS PANTS. The sound effects are truly cringeworthy.

“What’s this smell?” Grandpa Kang asks. It’s not the reaction Jung-kil had hoped for, but he’s more concerned about getting out of his poopy pants. (HAHA. Wow. Really. Too old for diapers but too young for incontinence pads. It’s a shame.)

The setup of the next exchange is appropriate: Jung-kil is sitting down, embarrassed enough by the scene to be in a humbled state, at least physically. Grandpa Man-bok stands above him, finally reproaching him directly.

Grandpa: Can’t you see that no matter what schemes you come up with, we can see through you like a lying seven-year-old?… Don’t hold a grudge against me. When I see you, I am more reproachful towards the Chairman. He saved up his fortune to provide for his family, but in the end he only taught you to spend money, not how to make it. Don’t disgrace your parent any longer, but move out when you can.
Jung-kil: I need money to move out! How do you think I can move out of this house!
Grandpa: I went through even more than you! Even after being slapped by someone my son’s age, I waited on you hand and foot in order to feed my son and send him to school. It felt more miserable than when I was starving and nearly jumped before an oncoming train, but, you see, I couldn’t die because of my son. That’s what it means to be a father and head of a household. What will you do if Sung-joon is in your position in thirty years?

Jung-kil closes his eyes and sighs. What could he possibly say to that? He’s lived his whole life without understanding that there are consequences to his actions, and it’s only now that those consequences are sinking in.

It has, meanwhile, been a busy day for the other characters, too. Hyun-soo stops by the hospital to see the Chief. He says that he has moved on, but he asks the Chief to make Jung-kyung happy, so that he doesn’t have to look back.

(I thought these next few scenes used Hyun-soo’s theme song, “Goodbye My Love” by Melo’ Breeze is Blowing, particularly well. You can listen to it in the previous recap of episodes 7-8.)

Hyun-soo runs into Jung-kyung on his way out, and he assumes a bright, friendly tone to indicate that he’s moved on and set her at ease. She warns him not to confuse her sister with her.

Hyun-soo: Seo Jung-kyung, you really don’t know me. Although you probably didn’t really want to know me anyway. Whomever I meet in the future, I won’t meet with her while thinking of you. If someday, I begin to like someone, I would have already erased you from my heart completely. So you don’t have to worry about that.

He walks away, and OMG I don’t know about Jung-kyung, but if a guy gave me a speech like that and walked away… if my legs still held me up, I’d chase him down and say TAKE. ME. NOW. Jung-kyung’s got a look, too, that suggests, “Did I just let something good walk away?”

Back at the house, Jung-in is looking for a way to make it up to Hyun-soo. She looks around his room, and picks up his sweatshirt, thinking she might buy him something new. She shyly catches a whiff of it. Aww!

Meanwhile, Geum-ja and Joo-hee are bickering per usual, with Geum-ja provoking Joo-hee into a mess of nerves. Geum-ja says that love is all a woman needs. Joo-hee says that a man’s ability is more important than love. But really, Joo-hee does hope for attention from Jung-kil, who deflects by pointing out that Sang-hoon really ought to take better care of his wife—look at her clothes!

Geum-ja pretends to be unfazed in the moment, but she later looks through her wardrobe with newfound disappointment. She decides to go shopping, and Jung-in tags along. Remembering what Hyun-soo had said earlier that day, Jung-in wants to make up for her earlier lack of consideration toward him by being attentive to his mother.

Thankfully Jung-in is there to veto Geum-ja’s tacky taste, and she takes her instead to a boutique where they have an unlikely bonding moment. In an endearing twist on the cliched Pretty Woman moment, Geum-ja gets her moment in the sun. The staff are snippy to her at first, but they recognize Jung-in, who tells them to pull out all the stops for Geum-ja, who is “like a mother to her.” Determined to do her good deed of the day, Jung-in insists on buying an outfit for Geum-ja.

(Hehe.. looking sharp, but those clunky clogs definitely won’t do.)

As far as unlikely bonding moments, on his way back from the hospital, Hyun-soo stops by the office, where Han-sae has been looking around. They decide to have a drink together. I guess this is the episode in which anything can happen!

After a few drinks, they talk about women. Han-sae says that Jung-in is special to him, and asks if Hyun-soo thinks she would go back to him. He explains why he still has feelings for her:

Han-sae: She’s very affectionate, and she doesn’t know how to lie.
Hyun-soo: Seo Jung-in doesn’t know how to lie?
Han-sae: Yes. She might seem immature, but you could say that she’s pure, like a child. That’s her charm.

Han-sae: Why are you looking at me like that?
Hyun-soo: Nevermind. After all, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

Han-sae drops Hyun-soo off, but Hyun-soo asks to be dropped off a dew blocks away. He says that he’d like to walk off the alcohol before going home, but also, Han-sae doesn’t know where Jung-in has been living. As Hyun-soo leaves, Han-sae says, “We’ve become a bit closer, right?”

Meanwhile, The Reveal is about to happen. Jung-in tells Sang-hoon to come outside, where Geum-ja surprises him with her new outfit. To her chagrin, he tells her it doesn’t suit her. She’s upset, but bigger trouble lies ahead. Grandpa Man-bok comes outside, and when he realizes how much the outfit cost and that Jung-in blew her money on it; and even worse, that Geum-ja didn’t have the foresight to refuse the gift, he throws them both out of the house.

Up til now, the threat of being thrown out has been only a threat, but amazingly, this time, Geum-ja is so incensed at being thrown out after 30 years of dutiful service that something snaps internally, and off they go.

Hyun-soo arrives just then, and wants to know what happened. He asks where Jung-in thinks she’s going—since she has nowhere to go.

But Han-sae shows up, having finally received a call from the people he’d assigned to locate Jung-in. He tells her to come with him, and confronts Hyun-soo about not having told him that she was living in the Kangs’ house.

Jung-in is nothing but angry to see Han-sae, and Hyun-soo immediately goes back into protective mode. She tells Han-sae to leave, but since he doesn’t, she grabs Geum-ja and walks away first.

Left to their own devices, the two women have to figure out where they’re going. Unfortunately, turns out that Geum-ja has no contacts. They literally have nowhere to go.

Episode 10

After Jung-in and Geum-ja leave, Han-sae pulls Hyun-soo aside for some more man-to-man talk. But the closeness they had just developed in the former scene is gone. Han-sae tells Hyun-soo that he had broken up with Jung-in only because of his parents’ wishes, and asks Hyun-soo to help them get back together. Hyun-soo is unmoved, having seen Han-sae coldly rebuff Jung-in twice in the past: “It was difficult even for me to hear, so wouldn’t Jung-in have been more hurt? Before you make a request like this, you should confirm Jung-in’s feelings first.”

Surprisingly, Han-sae acquiesces. “Very well. I admit that I acted rashly. I will take heed of your advice. But now that you know my feelings, please don’t interfere with Jung-in and me.”

With nowhere to go, Jung-in and Geum-ja go to Joon-bae’s restaurant. He tells them to eat quickly and leave, but Geum-ja has a plan. After they finish eating, she picks up the bowls to start cleaning and says they’ll work at Joon-bae’s restaurant in exchange for housing.

Sang-hoon comes to visit Geum-ja, who is unrelenting and out for revenge. She knows the household can’t go ‘round without her. He’s come to bring her back home, but she tells him instead to leave the house too if he finds it inconvenient. She says, “You go back and tell him loud and clear, in the future, ask not what Baek Geum-ja can do for the family; ask what the family can do for Baek Geum-ja.” (Haha.)

Jung-in gets a text from Hyun-soo saying that he’s worried and asking her to call back. She smiles at getting the text and goes outside to call him. He’s already figured out where she is, and mid-call he turns the corner and sees her.

Just then, she sighs and says there’s no one looking out for her. Looking straight at her, Hyun-soo says, “What do you mean there’s no one?” but says that Han-sae had come looking for Jung-in. But that’s all in the past and she has no feelings for him anymore, she says. She hangs up, saying she’ll go inside. Hyun-soo calls out, “Hey—hang on!” and she realizes that his voice is coming from nearby.

He tells her to quit drinking, and she says that it’s better to use alcohol as a “disinfectant” than to get hurt by someone like Han-sae.

Hyun-soo: Do you think that’ll make it better? It’ll just make you cry.
Jung-in: What? Did you cry over Jung-kyung?

(Hehe… Unfortunately I don’t have time to recount the whole scene between the two, but their interactions are adorable. Especially the following one—worth watching!)

Geum-ja walks Sang-hoon out, so Hyun-soo grabs Jung-in’s hand to hide behind a car. Sang-hoon impulsively grabs Geum-ja in a hug before he leaves. Their interactions are also cute, like a young couple in love; she tells him to leave first, but he tells her to go inside and back and forth.

Ahhhh in cuteness parallel, when Hyun-soo and Jung-in come out from their hideout, they’re still holding hands. Jung-in says cheerily that she envies Geum-ja. She looks down at their hands, and the two quickly pull away from each other.

When Sang-hoon gets home, Jung-kil pulls him inside the room to talk. Again, anything can happen! He doesn’t have an agenda or an ulterior motive, and in fact, he even mentions that no matter how scary Grandpa Man-bok can be, he still envies Sang-hoon for at least having a father.

Grandpa Man-bok, outside, overhears and is encouraged to see some progress in Jung-kil’s reformation.

In the morning, a clanging in the kitchen brings everyone running in to see what happened. Now in charge of preparing meals, Joo-hee has climbed up to the countertop and sent pots clattering to the floor. She says she’d seen a bug (while watching this scene, I was more worried that she’d singe herself on the burner—almost literally out of the frying pan into the fire here!).

Breakfast is looking a lot better at Joon-bae’s place, where Geum-ja and Jung-in are watching TV as they eat. But Joon-bae turns off the TV and tells them to get to work. Hyun-soo shows up (Joon-bae: “Good thing you’re here. Take them with you.”), and Geum-ja is delighted to hear that there hasn’t been any breakfast in the Kang (and Seo) house. He asks her to come home, but she tells him to come eat at the restaurant. She’s loving her independence!

She goes off to get food for Hyun-soo, who calls Jung-in “Runny Nose” and tells her to give him her phone. He turns it on and tells her to answer it; he’d been trying to call her that morning but had to come all the way to the restaurant. Since she’s so good at whining, he asks her to annoy his mother into coming back home.

She gets mad and sticks her chin out defiantly. He mirrors her movement, and they look at each other for an extended moment.

As Hyun-soo’s leaving, Jung-in calls out after him, asking what he’ll do for her if she brings Geum-ja home. He’s at a loss, so she tells him to bring her some squid to start. She needs an idea, and she needs food to think. He says, “Fresh or dried?”

Jung-kyung has had a hard night. She’d had dinner with the Chief and his daughter Yeon-jae, but she worries that she overstepped her bounds. Jung-kyung had followed Yeon-jae outside after she’d stormed out and reprimanded her, but Yeon-jae was, as you might expect, highly unreceptive.

The Chief shows up at the apartment, having set aside the day for Jung-kyung. She’s still upset about the clash with Yeon-jae and the lack of resolution there, so when she gets a phone call from Grandpa Man-bok, she quickly agrees to stop by the house. He’s put off that she’s not making time for him (now that he’s finally made some time for her), but she reminds him that she’s waiting for his lead with Yeon-jae. His hesitance gives Yeon-jae room to push her away.

Jung-in turns up the whininess with Geum-ja, complaining that the restaurant is uncomfortable. Geum-jaresponds by slapping her leg. Clearly, she’s not having any of this. Her mind is made up.

Jung-in texts Hyun-soo recounting her lack of progress and reminds him to bring the squid. Sung-joon sneaks up from behind and tells Hyun-soo that persevering through times like these will deepen their relationship.

Kyung-soo is back. Hehehe. He’s heard that since his departure, the female clientele has dropped off. Jung-kil chimes in, it’s not just the clients—the women of the house have left too. But there is a new addition—Ji-soo—whom he recognizes, eyes wide in fear.

Suddenly, we see a different side of plucky Ji-soo. She tells him that as of this moment, he doesn’t know her. He says he does know her, and she tells him again: Now you don’t. Once she’s satisfied with his response, she tells him to leave. He nervously crab-walks away.

Man-bok sends Joo-hee to the market with a few dollars, telling her to buy groceries for dinner. She asks Sang-hoon to come along to help her find what she needs, especially since she couldn’t do it on that budget.

Jung-in and Geum-ja have also come to the market together. (Uh-oh.) Jung-in is impressed to see Geum-ja’s bargaining skills in action. Geum-ja says she’s doing it to get Jung-in a hot dog (which she had been whining about on her way in). “Ajumma, I love you!” Jung-in exclaims.

Geum-ja and Jung-in run into Joo-hee; Sang-hoon, having seen them from afar, runs off to hide. The Joo-hee/Sang-hoon secret is safe, for now.

Hyun-soo has bought squid for Jung-in, but Jung-kyung catches up with him on her way to the house. She asks him what the squid is for, and he explains that Jung-in and Geum-ja had been kicked out of the house; the squid is his bribe to help her get his mother back to the house. He goes into the restaurant, and she continues to the house. After having spent years turning her back to him, for the first time, she looks back over her shoulder as she walks away.

At the house, Joon-bae has stopped by to see Man-bok. Jung-kil is still fuming over Joon-bae’s practical joke, and in their confrontation Joon-bae attempts to scold and shame Jung-kil, but unknowingly lets it slip that Man-bok received help in purchasing his house.

In case we were starting to think Jung-kil has actually become a new man, he goes back to his old ways of trying to fish for details about the value of the house with Man-bok. It’s no easy task, so he gives up after trying to work a few angles.

Geum-ja sends Jung-in to the house to scout out the mood. Jung-in comes up with an excuse to go—to get some red pepper sauce—as an alibi, in case Grandpa sees her.

Jung-kyung and Hyun-soo come out at the same time to get den-jang sauce and red pepper sauce, so she overhears their conversation while she hides. She’s been unaware of their friendlier tone, and they’ve become comfortable enough to talk about Hyun-soo’s first impressions of Jung-kyung. He says, “We should have gotten along like this sooner. This is the first time you’ve laughed in front of me.”

She does look genuinely comfortable and happy for the first time.

As Jung-in leaves, she runs into Han-sae, who’s been waiting around the house for her to show up. He takes her to a bar, where he tells her he wants to start over. She says it’s too late, and tells him not to come looking for her anymore.

She gets ready to leave, but stops when he says, “I love you.”

Han-sae: I still love you. I mean it.
Jung-in: You mean it? Then have you cried because of me? I haven’t. I cried because I was indignant and felt that I was wronged; but that was for myself, wondering how this could happen to me, Seo Jung-in. ‘Lee Han-sae, that jerk, betrayed me after promising he loved me? You’re dead, wait and see.’ That’s why I cried. I never once cried because I missed you, or didn’t want to let you go. It was too big a wound to call it just experience, but I feel fortunate that I can start over now. I was sincere when I said I liked you, but I never loved you.
Han-sae: Then you were going to get married when you didn’t love me?
Jung-in: I liked being loved. I thought I would be happy to live the rest of my life like that. But, when you left me, I realized how foolish that was. Now, I’m going to date someone I love.

Jung-in is understated, and her emotional control underscores her resoluteness. She walks away, but Han-sae says that if she really wants to break it off cleanly, she should return the ring. Otherwise, she should go back to him.

Sang-hoon goes to see Geum-ja, but on his way, he sees Joo-hee, who is upset at the day’s events and at being brushed aside by Jung-kil. She begins to cry, and he tries to cheer her up. She says she wants to go back to the way things used to be.

Geum-ja, meanwhile, has been waiting for Sang-hoon. Since he’s taken so long, she goes out looking for him and comes upon the scene with Joo-hee.

COMMENTARY

The past few episodes were draggy, but these two episodes picked up the pace and were just fun to watch. So I’ve decided to just enjoy the show for what it is — simple, fun family fare. The interactions between Jung-in and Hyun-soo are delightful to watch, and there was plenty of it in these two episodes.

I think Lee Min-jung did an exceptional job in these two episodes. The nuances in her expression–hopeful for positive signs from Hyun-soo, followed by fleeting evidence of disappointment and quickly transitioning to her tantrums and back–are pitch perfect.

Also, I am loving the development of her relationship with Geum-ja. We can all see that Joo-hee is pretty vapid as a character, and most likely is the same way as a mother. So giving Jung-in a mother figure to respond to has brought out another fun and spunky side of her character.

I read in the comments that episodes 11 and 12 get even better–I held off on watching them so as to be able to write these recaps without prejudging what happens next–so I’m looking forward to getting to watch those and reading dw4p‘s next recap!

 
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