The Musical: Episode 7

by kaedejun

Wahoo! We left the retreat!

Life becomes so meta for Ock Joo Hyun here, as Kang Hee even considers a role on “Count of Monte Cristo,” a role she had already performed in Korea. And then she even sings the song in the episode. I felt gypped they didn’t put more of the song in.

SONG OF THE DAY

“When the World was Mine” (The Count of Monte Cristo) – Ock Joo Hyun [download]

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Yoo Jin puts it out there that “Chungdamdong Gumiho” may not get made, which scares Eun Bi for a bit. If he abandons the project, she just might die! And it’s not because she’s the lead or anything; she gets a thrill out of being in a musical production, practicing, dancing, singing alongside other musical actors and actresses. It’s the experience of creating a show together that she also hopes Yoo Jin will enjoy.

On the ride back to Seoul, Kang Hee shows off her mad English-speaking skillz, yo. She calls up Frank and thanks him for considering her to headline the Korean production of “Count Monte.” Once she hangs up though, she informs the car of some slightly worrisome news: the Japanese are lobbying heavily for the rights to the production, so they need to act quickly if they want to snag producing rights throughout Asia.

Back in Daegu, Jin Young serves up breakfast for his wife. She thanks him graciously, and then starts wondering where her mother is. She starts to treat him like a stranger, which hurts him more than he can bear. They visit the hospital, and the doctor informs him that Sun Hee’s condition is getting worse. He should put her in a facility, especially since his own health is declining, but Jin Young stubbornly refuses. When they get home, Eun Bi’s grandmother is the one to put Sun Hee to bed, as she has begun to fear Jin Young and not recognize him.

After practice with the band, Jae Hee gives Eun Bi a lesson on love at a cafe. He tries to describe to her what love is, but it’s clear that Eun Bi’s more passionate about musicals than she is about an actual guy. He tries to impart some wisdom: love for a person can be more painful than joyful, and is not as romantic as what she sees onstage. Eun Bi: “Is that worth it then? There are other things that can make you feel alive. Like wiping a dead body.”

Haha. Jae Hee gives up and lets her eat the wonderful desserts on the table. I love that he’s holding desserts as hostage for lessons.

Gu Jak finds it odd that Jae Hee would go to such lengths to teach Eun Bi how to love. In fact, ever since Jae Hee went to Daegu for her, he’s been acting somewhat strange… could it be – he likes Eun Bi!? Jae Hee vehemently denies it, but Gu Jak isn’t going to just drop the subject. Suuuuuuuure Jae Hee likes Eun Bi for her acting and singing, suuuuuuuuure! He notes that Eun Bi can get plenty of practice by being in a love triangle with Yoo Jin and Ra Kyung; he’s got glasses – he can see the sparks between Yoo Jin and Eun Bi.

Yah – Gu Jak, go wipe your glasses. It’s a love square, with Jae Hee in one corner.

Yoo Jin heads off to meet with one of the investors from Amour Fund. Mr. Park Jae Hyun informs him candidly that rumors are spreading about Yoo Jin risking a big musical with a rookie actress. Yoo Jin assures him that Eun Bi is just as talented as Kang Hee. But Jae Hyun thinks Yoo Jin is acting out of character by opting for a musical production from scratch, rather than importing an already-successful one. Ha – as if Yoo Jin needs more reminders about responding to Frank’s offer…

As for Sang Won, he doesn’t really care which musical they do first; the only thing he will consider is whether or not the musical will allow Kang Hee to shine or not. If they can do “Count Monte,” it’ll be great for her career. If they do both, it would be ideal. The only way to do that is if they do “Count Monte” first and then “Chungdamdong Gumiho” the following year.

It’s the first day of practice since they returned to Seoul, and Eun Bi wakes up bright and early, super excited. She arrives at the practice room first, and greets her reflection in the mirrors: “Hello Do Hwa (the gumiho). Pleasure working with you today!”

The cast goes through rounds of warm ups in choreography and voice, and practice one of the musical ensembles centering around Bok Ja’s character. Kang Hee practices alone in her own practice room, singing the solo her way, while Eun Bi practices the solo in front of everyone else, belting it the “Kang Hee Way.” It’s not the greatest, and there are mixed reactions from the crowd, but Eun Bi doesn’t mind. She’s enjoying the experience now, and no longer afraid to make mistakes – and that’s the attitude Jae Hee encourages.

Since the workshop, Ra Kyung’s mind has been uneasy, as she can’t shake off a latent fear that she might be losing Yoo Jin. It’s visible enough that her coworkers are wondering if something is wrong with her, and if something happened at the workshop. They review the footage that she shot, and see that she mostly filmed Yoo Jin as if hoping he would look at her and acknowledge her. Rather, he’s busy staring at the crowds dancing. We know he’s concentrating on Eun Bi, but her coworkers can’t figure it out.

On the other hand, she still has Joon Hyuk on the side, checking up on her to see if she’s OK.

Unable to contact Jae Hee for a “chat,” Kang Hee meets up with Yoo Jin for drinks instead. She wants to know why he’s taking so long in accepting the offer for “Count Monte.” Yoo Jin wants them to convince Frank to wait until “Chungdamdong Gumiho” is over, and to give them the rights to perform in Asia. She’s curious as to what has changed within him, that made him think of this method, but then refuses to hear his answer. After all, he might not even be able to explain how he truly feels right now.

Jae Hee heads home quite late, and finds Kang Hee hanging out right outside his door. He freezes, and she’s impressed; he’s been ignoring her and her calls lately that she thought he’d walk right past her. It’s a line uncharacteristic for Kang Hee too, as she rarely loses control of herself. She’s even jealous of his relationship with Eun Bi, and that’s something new coming from her.

And then, she leaves with a puzzling statement about him feeling more comfortable soon. Kang Hee calls up Grandfather right away – asking for dinner with Yoo Jin and Ra Kyung and him.

The next day, Yoo Jin surprises Ra Kyung with a day-long date. From morning, when he gets her breakfast, to evening, they’re going to be together. Ra Kyung is super excited that he remembered about her simple wish, and suggests they head to the zoo together.

Gu Jak and Eun Bi are also at the zoo because she’s asking him for some character help. Though her character Do Hwa is a nine-tailed fox, she wants to know what kind of fox it is. Trust Eun Bi to be super scientific in analyzing her character, whereas Gu Jak doesn’t really care. A gumiho is just a gumiho!

Jae Hee arrives in time to hear them talk about writing up a song that introduces the legend of the gumiho. He came to the zoo because Gu Jak called him over, knowing that Jae Hee only ever thinks about Eun Bi. (Everyone with me now: OOOOooooOOOOhh!) At least Jae Hee offers more help in character analysis.

Ra Kyung and Yoo Jin then bump into Jae Hee and Eun Bi. While Yoo Jin wants to just walk away and pretend they never saw them, Ra Kyung quickly drags him up to them to say hi. They all grab a drink together, and Jae Hee snarks that Yoo Jin must go on dates too.

Turns out, Ra Kyung and Yoo Jin are high school sweethearts! I can’t believe Yoo Jin would have had a high school sweetheart; I’m barely adjusting to the idea that he must have been a softie before working in the family company. After some light teasing, they part ways. In the car, Yoo Jin wonders if Ra Kyung perhaps had some insecurities, or regrets dating only one person her entire life. He finds it too weird that she coincidentally wanted to go to the zoo and look at the foxes, and that they should meet Eun Bi and Jae Hee there.

He’s a sharp lad. Ra Kyung in fact knew that Eun Bi was going to be there because Joon Hyuk had called her earlier that day, asking if she wanted to go to the zoo with him to look at foxes. (Joon Hyuk’s pretty aggressive; I would think he’d know about Ra Kyung and Yoo Jin’s relationship.) Ra Kyung later admits that she wanted to show off that they were dating to Eun Bi, especially since she thinks he didn’t want to give up “Chungdamdong Gumiho” because of Eun Bi.

They get called to dinner by grandfather, who’s already been informed about Frank’s offer for “Count Monte.” Kang Hee lets drop that Yoo Jin isn’t sure about taking on the project just yet, which makes Grandfather question his motives. Kang Hee: “But this is the first time he’s actually felt some affection for the people he’s working with.” Oooh she just keeps on fanning the flames. Yoo Jin is already glaring daggers at her, but she just makes Yoo Jin look worse for being more emotional than rational.

With little choice, and greater pressure, he makes his decision.

That same evening, the cast gets their scripts for the musical, and Eun Bi glows with happiness. Jae Hee hands her a pen, and she marks her book – her very first script! – with her name. As the cast sings and drinks, Jae Hee gets a call from Yoo Jin for a late night meeting with Gu Jak. They hurry over to his office, only to be greeted with bad news.

“Chungdamdong Gumiho” will be postponed until next year, and they will keep the same cast – unless those actors want to go to “Count Monte.” But Gu Jak is crushed – “Gumiho” was his pride and joy, and he isn’t of high caliber enough to go on “Count Monte.” Of all people, it’s Yoo Jin who tries to appease his hurt feelings while Sang Won and Kang Hee just stare. Kang Hee coldly wonders if Gu Jak seriously thinks “Gumiho” is better than “Count Monte,” and Jae Hee finally understands Kang Hee’s parting words. She knew this was going to happen, and so he gets up pissed off.

Gu Jak runs off first, and Jae Hee finds him crying out on the building steps. Poor guy. They have the cast, the script, the production plan, the music, everything! All they’re missing now is the budget.

Jae Hee gets up… all they’re missing is the budget!

Dun dun dun!!!!

Comments:

Yeah! Produce the musical yourselves! That’s more fun, more scrappy, and more awesome! I’d love to see Yoo Jin find out and be all torn up about it. Kang Hee can just go and play Mercedes in “Count Monte,” and her husband will be happy because she’s far from Jae Hee.

This entire episode seemed to be about acting out of character. For Yoo Jin and Kang Hee, they both act out of character by showing that they actually have a heart. For Jae Hee, he acts out of character by showing interest in another woman besides Kang Hee; a focused, intense interest. And for Eun Bi? Well, she doesn’t really act out of character, so she’s still pretty stagnant in that regard. (Sigh*…) I find it interesting that both Yoo Jin and Kang Hee have gotten to where they are by displaying a more selfish, business-like exterior, and yet Jae Hee wears his heart on his sleeve and manages to be just as successful. You can’t even say that “Businessmen are different from artists,” because Kang Hee is an artist as well.

I usually end up rooting for the person who is more outgoing and emotional to eventually triumph, and therefore am more invested in their story. If I follow that credo, I would be rooting for Jae Hee and Eun Bi, and wish for Yoo Jin and Kang Hee to die a thousand deaths. However, it is not the case in this episode. I’m hoping Yoo Jin will act against his rational mind and choose to help “Chungdamdong Gumiho.” I love seeing him struggle; it’s like he’s discovering emotions for the first time and doesn’t know what to do with them, and so he falls back to his “default personality” – which is, to act like a robot and make calculated decisions like he’s always done.

I also really appreciate the moments where we get to see the A-capella group sing, or the musical cast just get together and sing and dance. It just reminds me that I’m watching a drama about musicals, especially when we get enveloped in the lives of the characters.

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