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High Kick 3: Episodes 40-44

What a heart-wrenching, awesome week for High Kick 3, which just gets better and better. (Also: This is the week with Jung Il-woo’s cameo appearance.)

I’d thought the show hit a high two weeks ago with some really solid episodes, but this week tops that with even more heart. I’m really loving all these characters, all of whom are drawn with such completeness; somebody might be annoying in one episode, but then the next one will show you a new side to them that completely punches you in the heart. The show has officially surpassed the first two seasons, in my book, both of which had their shining moments but never quite got to me as this one does.

SONG OF THE DAY

Shin Hye-sung – “Special Love” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 40 WEECAP

The younger generation gathers in the Yoon living room to eat, watching a billiards game on TV. It emerges that Seung-yoon is quite the billiards expert, having logged hundreds of hours of play. Kye-sang counters that merely playing a lot doesn’t automatically mean you’re good, but when he shares his own personal best score, Seung-yoon interjects: “Excuse me. I’m going to laugh at you now.” Ha.

This leads to a bet: Why not pit Kye-sang’s theory against Seung-yoon’s practice? Everyone promptly declares themselves on Team Practice, except Ji-won; Kye-sang adorably asks for her vote by pointing to himself, and she joins Team Theory.

Soo-jung brings home a school uniform that needs to be dry-cleaned, and Yoo-sun is picking it up when she gets a last-minute call to work at a restaurant outside of the city. She goes because it pays double, and on her way back she spots a fallen leaf on the country road. She sighs that it was once pretty but has dried up — like herself.

She accidentally falls down a hillside, getting covered in mud and dirt. With nothing else to wear, she dons Soo-jung’s uniform, and comes upon a boy taking photos of her from a distance. (Jung Il-woo!)

He assumes she’s in high school like himself, and even when he gets a closer look at her he doesn’t realize she’s an ajumma. Il-woo follows her onto the bus, pays her fare (“Two students, please!”) and asks her to eat with him once they’re in Seoul. She treats him with indifference and declines the offer, but he steals her bag to get her to follow.

Yoo-sun can’t believe he’s so persistent, telling Il-woo he’s a student who should focus on studying. He thinks she talks funny (“Just like my mom”), and even wonders if she’s sick with a disease that makes her face wrinkly. HA. He tells her to call him oppa, since he was held back a year due to his health (a heart condition) and assumes he’s older.

For days afterward, Il-woo keeps texting her, which Yoo-sun ignores. The messages ask if she’s playing hard to get and end on a plea to pick up his calls.

Kye-sang studies tactics by the book, explaining to Ji-won that although he doesn’t have Seung-yoon’s experience, billiards is really all about angles and calculations. The group convenes for the pool-off, and Seung-yoon easily kicks butt, almost shutting Kye-sang out entirely. But Kye-sang explains to Ji-won that even with Seung-yoon’s high scores, statistically speaking he’s due to make a few errors, and that’ll be his chance to make his move.

Sure enough, Kye-sang gets his opportunity and calculates the difficult shot, impressing Team Practice with his confidence. He lines up his shot… and totally scratches. HA!

As they walk home, Kye-sang sighs over his near miss, and Ji-won quips that it doesn’t seem so near, actually. He blames it on inadequate chalking of the cue, but by now Ji-won figures that Team Theory is mostly talk. You know what they say: In theory, practice and theory should be the same, but in practice, they’re not.

They encounter a drunk man in the street, who gets belligerent. Kye-sang sizes him up and starts explaining that he can take the guy — the drunkard is bulkier, but Kye-sang’s arms are longer…

Ji-won shuts him up and grabs him, urging him to run away. Heh. Guess Team Practice wins out twice today.

A lovelorn Il-woo can’t shake his feelings for Yoo-sun, and sighs to his mother, “She’s different from other kids.” Hee. So his worried mother calls Yoo-sun out for a talking-to, assuming she’s just a student who looks really old. Yoo-sun finally breaks in to tell her her age, and Mom gasps, “Then you’ve been going to high school for 30 years?” Apple doesn’t fall far from Tree.

Yoo-sun apologizes for the misunderstanding, not guessing Il-woo would take things so seriously, and offers to clear the air with Il-woo. But Mom worries about his weak heart, and asks for a slightly different favor.

So Yoo-sun dons the uniform again to see Il-woo, who is adorably nervous to see her. She uses the excuse that they’re both students who need to study, and tells him she’ll date him once they’re both in college. The promise thrills him so much he sweeps her into a hug as they say goodbye for now.

Il-woo asks if he can text her sometimes, and she says okay. So when he texts later, “I’ll think of you and study really hard,” Yoo-sun writes back in teenspeak, saying she’s, like, totally studying hard and stuff too, omg.

 
EPISODE 41 WEECAP

Young-wook walks Ha-sun home after a date, and when he makes a move, she steps back nervously, thinking he might kiss her. Turns out he was just asking for a photo together, but because the street light is out, it comes out dark. Ji-seok comes upon Ha-sun and asks about her date, but she counters that it wasn’t a date, just dinner.

Young-wook’s gosiwon-mate tells him he missed his chance to kiss her, and that plants the idea that he should make up for the lost opportunity soon, taking advantage of the darkened street corner.

Seung-yoon’s belief in the earth’s cube shape comes up again, and he insists that satellite photos have been faked by NASA. Over the course of the conversation, the family realizes that Seung-yoon has had completely the wrong idea about the relationships: All this while, the thought Kye-sang and Nae-sang were brothers (their names are similar), that Jin-hee and Ha-sun were sisters (but they live together), and that Ha-sun is married to Julien. He goes home dazed, his world rocked.

Kye-sang says he must be the type of guy who fixates on an idea and believes that through the end, and once his mind is made up, there’s no changing it.

At school, Teacher Ji-sun teases Ha-sun about kissing her boyfriend, which makes Ha-sun burst out that they’re not really that far along in the relationship and that they haven’t kissed yet. The talk freaks out Ji-seok, who is haunted by the idea of Ha-sun kissing Young-wook under the broken streetlamp and puts in a phone call to get the light repaired immediately.

Meanwhile, Seung-yoon’s curiosity about the Ahns grows, now that he realizes he had it all wrong in the first place. He asks the neighbors about the tunnel, and hearing that Nae-sang dug it, his mind starts working — only, in completely the wrong direction. Watching a documentary on TV about an old tunnel built by spies plants the idea in his head that Nae-sang is one, too.

Seung-yoon mentions it to Soo-jung, who is so amused that she says sarcastically, “Yup, we’re spies.” She shares a laugh with her parents, who decide it would be fun to play on his misconception, and deliberately speak in North Korean accents and freak Seung-yoon out so badly that he bolts in fear.

Jong-seok rolls his eyes at his family’s childishness, but wonders if Seung-yoon would actually report them to the police. And since Nae-sang IS on the run from creditors, he can’t have the police knowing where he is. Suddenly worried, the kids are sent to track down Seung-yoon, finding him huddled and shaking and just about to report them to the authorities.

All through their dinner date, Young-wook nervously plans his kiss, avoiding eating for fear of bad breath and accidentally blurting “kiss” in place of random words. He insists on walking her home, and they arrive in front of the house just moments after Ji-seok has climbed up the pole to replace the light himself.

Ha-sun senses what’s coming and interrupts, telling Young-wook that she doesn’t feel ready and needs more time. He’s immediately apologetic and embarrassed and tries to make a hasty getaway. But from Ji-seok’s vantage point, when Ha-sun leans closer to check on Young-wook’s eye (watering when he gets something in it), it looks like a kiss, which thoroughly breaks his heart. As narrator Lee Juck notes, “At that moment, in that dark alley, his only light was Ha-sun. And he felt that light getting farther way, to a place he couldn’t reach.”

The family drags Seung-yoon back home to explain that they were joking, but he’s taken the idea so firmly into his head that he’s convinced they’re all spies. Finally Kye-sang finally proves it with birth records, earning Seung-yoon’s wary acceptance after days of denial…only for his suspicions to come rushing back when he hears Nae-sang call his business colleague, Kim Jung-il. HA! (It’s not quite Kim Jong-il, but it’s close enough to make Seung-yoon’s conspiracy-theorist brain kick into alert.)

 
EPISODE 42 WEECAP

Ji-won’s narcolepsy has been worse lately, and Ha-sun consults with Kye-sang about it. She’s particularly worried about Ji-won riding her scooter and asks him for his help convincing her to stay off it. Kye-sang has a better (or maybe it’s worse) idea: Steal the key.

He and Ha-sun try the stealth method first, but their stealth skills are nil and Ji-won catches them, so after a brief round of keep-away, Kye-sang pretends to swallow it and tells her brightly it’ll be “out” in a days’ time. Ew, and ha.

Ji-won asks for Jong-seok’s help in finding the key, and they rifle through Ha-sun’s desk after school, ducking under the desk to escape being caught. They find nothing, so they figure Kye-sung must have it and slip into his room when he’s asleep. He wears the scooter key on a chain around his neck, so Jong-seok quickly snaps it off, undetected.

Seung-yoon brings Nae-sang a Spiderman costume to use as a disguise in evading the debt collectors. Nae-sang wears it around the house as a joke, but then sees a woman being assaulted by a kidnapper and races to the rescue. The scene is caught on CCTV cameras and played on the news, where he’s lauded as a hero.

Nae-sang likes playing the hero and goes out again and saves another stranger from a robber. The news reports it again, his story grows, and this gives Nae-sang an added burst of energy: He gathers the family to assure him he’s going to be a good dad now and provide. (It’s pretty damn cute the way Seung-yoon sneaks himself into the family hug.)

Ji-won takes her scooter out for the day and remains out of phone contact, worrying Ha-sun. Jong-seok overhears her talking to Kye-sang about it, and it’s only now that he hears about her narcolepsy and realizes that the adults weren’t just being strict without a good reason. Feeling guilty for enabling her when he can understands now that she might fall asleep at the wheel (er, handlebars), Jong-seok tears out of the house and scours the town for her.

He finally spots her driving along — after one harrowing trip to the hospital after hearing about a girl on a scooter being hit — and takes the key from her. He declares that since he got the keys back for her, he’s got some right in how the bike is used, and takes the driver’s seat telling her that if she wants to go anywhere, she can call him and he’ll drive her around. Ji-won is simultanously annoyed and a little touched at his concern.

Unfortunately for Nae-sang, the Spiderman costume isn’t enough to avoid being recognized by debt collectors, who nab him and turn him over to the police. He’s carted off in a police car, listening sadly as the radio news reports of a fresh robbery and notes, “Where is Spiderman? He’s needed now.”

 
EPISODE 43 WEECAP

That night, the Ahn/Yoon family is subdued and retreats to their own corners to grieve for Dad’s plight. In the morning, Jong-seok steps up and collects Soo-jung, planning to prepare breakfast to allow Mom some space, but they find her already awake and busy. Yoo-sun has put on her strongest face and briskly goes through her list of things that need to be done, including consulting with a lawyer and talking to the creditors.

At school, the principal announces that they’ll be replacing the school’s old-fashioned song for the upcoming 20th-year anniversary, and appoints music teacher Yoon Gun (who finally gets to speak!) to write the music, with Ha-sun writing lyrics. The stress has both teachers on edge as they frantically write, and discard, and write, and discard. The pressure has Ha-sun half-loopy with anxiety, and she writes long into the night. Taking Ji-won’s advice to try new locations and positions to jog the creative juices, she winds up on top of the kitchen table and sprawled on the stairs, beating her head in frustration.

Yoo-sun asks Kye-sang for money with which she can negotiate with the creditors. She gives him time to think it over with his blanket, but Kye-sang doesn’t need to and agrees readily, to her relief. Then she meets with the angry creditors, who don’t believe her pleas that they’re victims of embezzlement, or that they’re not trying to cheat them. Finally she kneels and earnestly appeals for them to trust that she and Nae-sang will do everything in their power to repay the debt, starting with the loan from Kye-sang.

The creditors are persuaded into agreeing, and with that one obstacle clear, Yoo-sun heads out for another long, back-breaking night of washing dishes. The family is surprised but impressed at how well she’s holding up, and she doesn’t give herself the chance to indulge her tears. She just ties her hair backs and quietly works. It’s kind of awesome, and admirable.

The family is allowed a short visit with Nae-sang in jail, who puts on a quiet smile and tells his family that everything will work out. He holds on to his control until Soo-jung breaks and cries out for her Daddy, and then he’s struggling not to cry and pleading with her to stop sobbing and man, there go my tears as well.

Soo-jung frantically pushes in the grate in the wall to take hold of Daddy’s hand for just a moment, and he assures her that he’ll be out in no time.

Then it’s the day of the school’s 20th-year anniversary, and Ha-sun and Yoon Gun present their masterpiece for evaluation. The reaction is mixed, though, and the principal resists, saying it doesn’t really sound like a school anthem. Both exhausted teachers burst out that they poured everything into their work and refuse to change a thing, so it’s put to a vote.

It passes by one vote (one teacher belatedly realizes he voted for it when he meant to oppose), and at the anniversary assembly, Yoon Gun takes the conductor’s wand to lead the staff and students in a performance.

It’s titled “Already 20 Years,” and the assembled group begins singing along… to an altered version of Brown Eyes’ ballad “Already One Year.” HA! Okay, that’s pretty awesome. As a result, the song takes off and even climbs the music charts. (A student from an entirely different school admits it made him cry.)

Nae-sang is released from jail and greeted by the whole family, minus Yoo-sun, who’s still busy working. She gets home late that night and finds Nae-sang waiting for her. This is a powerfully acted scene — this show benefits so much from having such strong actors — as the two haltingly speak, both trying to be calm and quiet, until Nae-sang tells her he’s sorry and Yoo-sun finally breaks down. She sobs into his arms and warns him never to leave again, and he promises.

 
EPISODE 44 WEECAP

With the creditors backing off, Nae-sang can now move about freely, which means he’s rarin’ to go and get a job. He hugs Kye-sang in thanks for helping with the loan, then uses his newfound energy to cook for the family and dive into the job search. He’s so bursting with energy that Kye-sang looks at him worriedly, seeing something in his unusual behavior.

Meanwhile, Jin-hee has been employed for nearly a month now, and it’s time for her first payday. Brimming with nervous anticipation, she checks her bank balance, thrilled to see she’s earned 850,000 won, so about $800. It’s more money than she’s had in a long time, and she can finally start repaying her debts, like paying off her school tuition and giving Ha-sun some money for living expenses. Then there are the gifts she should give to the people who have helped along the way.

But when all’s said and done, she’s left with a paltry amount of money and can only afford small gifts, in the range of $20 to $30 per person. Until she gets a toothache and has to have a wisdom tooth removed, which puts a huge crimp in the plans. Plus the collective office wedding gift that she can’t avoid paying. Sadly, she reduces her gift budget.

After observing Nae-sang’s overexertions, Kye-sang tells Yoo-sun that he’s manifesting his stress physically, as though his body is creating this energy to compensate. To get him to relieve that stress in a healthy way, he suggests a half-marathon, and Nae-sang agrees.

On the day of the race, Nae-sang bursts out to the front of the pack, running comfortably along (with Seung-yoon riding Ji-won’s scooter alongside the road and cheering him on). But curiously, he doesn’t stop at the finish line and instead keeps running, and Seung-yoon alerts the family that Nae-sang has decided not to stop until he can use up all this energy and work things out.

Nobody can understand what his reasoning is until Yoo-sun finds a bag of clothes from Nae-sang’s brief jail stay, which includes a book. Nae-sang had used it like a journal, and on the front and back pages, he had written:

“Before coming here, my biggest fear was this place. But now, I start to feel even more fear at leaving this place. What can I do from now on? What can I do for my beloved family? Will I be able to stand confidently in front of my wife, Jong-seok, and Soo-jung?”

As Nae-sang runs on, he imagines Yoo-sun running alongside him and apologizes for making her suffer. Then imagining his kids on the other side, he apologizes to them, too.

His journal entry continues as he writes about how he’d once dreamed of being first place. But now he’s in a lonely race without applause or recognition. Despite the difficulty, however, he vows not to give up, and to give it everything he’s got to begin afresh. His family reads his note with tears in their eyes, understanding the inner turmoil he hadn’t been able to express outwardly to them.

After running for hours, Nae-sang finally turns around, and begins the long jog home (with Seung-yoon faithfully following him all the way on scooter).

Jin-hee struggles with her budget juggling, first crossing Kye-sang entirely off her list (arguing that he didn’t really do that much for her, since she passed the exam on her own merits), then putting him back on when he’s nice to her, reminding her that he’s a thoughtful guy after all. But all she can afford is a cheap pen (costing a few bucks, tops), which she’s embarrassed about and insists isn’t even enough to be called a gift.

Kye-sang surprises her by giving her something too, which he says is a congratulatory gift for landing the job. She opens it to find a new wallet, since he’d seen her old, worn-out one earlier. His note is adorable: “They say red wallets bring you lots of money. Earn lots of money and buy me something delicious later. I’m going to eat A TON!” And inside, there’s a crisp new bill ($10).

Nae-sang finally crawls to a stop and sits in the street, completely wiped out. There’s a long, quiet moment as he sits there dejectedly, at which point he hears his family calling out to him — they’re across the street with pom-poms and a finish line, cheering him on. Their words are bright but their faces are full of emotion as they encourage Dad to make it just a few more steps, so Nae-sang staggers to his feet and crosses the tape to hug his family close.

 
COMMENTS

The writing is really holding strong for this show, isn’t it? Even little storylines that seem thrown in for humor can end up surprising you with an emotional punch, and regularly there are little insights thrown into scenes to give them an added dimension, which I appreciate.

Take for instance Jung Il-woo’s cameo, which could have been a total fluff piece banking on his star value and cute factor. But the show still works to bring out character truths even with minor side stories like this, and I loved the bit about Yoo-sun walking along and looking at the fallen leaves, musing that she’s dried up too, past her prime. And then we follow that with a number of episodes demonstrating that she’s so much more than “just a mom” as she pulls herself up by those bootstraps of steel, being strong and resourceful and useful.

I also appreciate the juxtaposition of Yoo-sun’s wistfulness with Il-woo’s youth, because here’s this fresh young thing with his whole life ahead of him, except he’s been plagued with a health problem, held back in school, and missed the college entrance exams. And it’s Yoo-sun who gives him the renewed motivation to get back in the game, devote himself to college, and re-enter the ranks of the living. What a lovely comparison.

Then there’s the budding Jong-seok/Ji-won connection, which takes another step forward. There’s a brief moment when they’re looking for the scooter key that he looks at her up close and freaks out a little at the proximity, which seems to bring him new awareness. She remains oblivious, and I’m not sure he recognizes his feelings for what they are yet, but it’s a hint of things to come.

More than that, though, I loved the way he handles the scooter incident and manages to get her to give up the key. Not that he gave her a choice, but she doesn’t protest or fight him like she does Ha-sun or Kye-sang, which bespeaks a certain acceptance of his decision. They have enough of a rapport that Jong-seok can get her to listen to him in a way that others can’t, which is noteworthy given how stubborn and independent she can be.

At the outset of the episode I thought Kye-sang would be the one to figure out how to handle Ji-won’s stubborn resistance, because he’s established his own special connection with her. It’s pure speculation on my part, but I think the fact that it’s Jong-seok who changes her mind marks the turning point in the triangle, and we’ll start to see her rapport with Kye-sang step backward while Jong-seok moves up a step. I like that he didn’t frame the point in terms of “You need to be protected, stop riding your bike” and instead took the stance of “You owe me.” The first one diminshes her pride, while the latter doesn’t. When he tells her to use him as her personal chauffeur (so sweet), it’s not said in terms of “You need my help.” Rather, it’s “I’m gonna take this bike, but if you need it I’ll let you use it…by driving you.” Aww.

The Spiderman bit is an example of a storyline that I started out thinking was silly, but surprised me by packing a punch. It starts out as a comedy bit, but the writers manage to tie it into Nae-sang’s own struggle to be useful and needed… and then they stick a knife in your heart by adding the cruel irony of pumping up Nae-sang’s feeling of agency, and then taking it away and actually arresting him. I had no idea they’d actually go that far, but it really takes the story into a richer place.

That leads us to the marathon sequence, which probably made me bawl more than anything in recent days. It’s particularly stirring when he imagines Yoo-sun and the kids running alongside him, at the same time that they’re reading his thoughts and joining his race in the emotional sense. And then they find him in the street and cheer him on to finish the race, and it just about melts me into a puddle of goo. And tears. Lots of tears.

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Thank you JB. I cried more this week than any other previous one.

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thank you!! i'm a huge fan of high kick.
it's getting better now.. :)

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I almost cried by just reading the recap. family storylines always get me more than love ones. love the cameo from jung il woo, hes come such a long way and jongseok is really lovely, hoping he gets the girl :)

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I would never think I would cry for a sitcom , but the last episodes really got to me! Especiallywhen soo jung was crying for nae sung at the prison.

Ah, thanks for the link for the song! It sounded pretty good, but I guess really not suitable for a school anthem haha.

HOpe they show more of the musicteacher! He looks kinda cute.

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omg I was just searching up who yoon gun was and he was part of brown eyes! *slaps fore-head* sorry, not too familiar with korean music

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Thank you for the recap, javabeans! This recap has made me both LOL and get teary!

And the whole writing the school song storyline- which ended up being a not-so-original song- reminds me of Community when Pierce was coming up with a new school song for Greendale and ended up plagiarizing Bruce Hornsby's "the way it is" but with different lyrics!

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I. Friggin. Love. This.

this high kick kicks the others by far. i'm loving all the characters and relationships oh so much. ji won and jong seok totally have me won. i love, love, love jin hee. and the others are just so awesome, gah, i LOVE IT!

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DUDE. teared up watching ep 44, which i missed because i went through the eps too early the other day. guhhhh. so goooood. i love HIGH HICK 3!

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This was really touching to see and read. I quite like the Ji-won/Jongseok/Kye-sang triangle. Jung Il-woo's cameo was cute as well!

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I'm totally enjoying this series, but it kills me that the English subs are so far behind. I'm still back in the 20s range, and reading these amazing recaps really makes me wish I was fluent in Korean.

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Wow. For once, I actually feel sympathetic towards Naesang. Not by a whole lot, but by enough. I can't wait for Jiwon and Jong-seok, and Jiseok and Ha-sun to realize any sort of feelings for each other son. But man, family stuff get me all the time.

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Can Il-woo get any cuter than he is right now? Love him in Flower boy Ramen boy and now as a lovelorn high-schooler in High Kick! Gah! Love that boy!

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Season three finds the delicate balance between soul and comedy that it lost in season 2 which tried to take delicate family issues and make them into jokes. In these we get to see humor and comedy through side characters but also some real heart by seeing nae-sang's family grow together. I love it. Well done. Season three almost beats season one. :)

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Thank you for the recap!

I always had a feeling that Jong-Seok and Ji-Won would "end up together" but before this week I had been rooting for Kye-Sang and Ji-Won despite the age gap because of the chemistry they had in their scenes (in particular; the scene where he joins her in the cell phone protest followed by the scene where she joins him in his one-man protest, the scene where he cries after one of his patients dies and the following scene where they shoot the rocket). It always seemed like Ji-Won harbored a crush/admiration/respect for Kye-Sang and that although there were no hints of romantic feelings Kye-Sang may have had for Ji-Won, he did have a respect for her that none of the other adult characters showed her which was what I enjoy about their relationship. However this week there was a change in direction and it's pretty clear that Kye-Sang sees her as a kid (ex. when he swallows the key) and that their relationship will most likely remain platonic. While Jong-Seok and Ji-Won's relationship is clearly headed in a romantic direction. I think he's already developed romantic feelings for her based on his actions (ex. helping her steal back the keys and roaming the streets to find her when he thinks she may be in danger) but I'm not sure if he accepts that he feels this way yet because they're pretty much in friend territory now and if he were ever to act upon these feelings and she rejected him then that would seriously hurt his already injured pride and he could potentially lose a kindred spirit. I really like these two after this week's episode and I can't wait to see how the writers carry out their story or if they'll change directions and have Ji-Won and Kye-Sang somehow falling in love in later episodes.
As for Jin-Hee and Kye-Sang, the amount of scenes that they have together and the mini stories that their characters have make me think they will "end up together" in the end but for some reason I have a feeling that Jin-Hee is actually Lee Juck's future wife. Ji-Won and Soo-Jung haven't had many scenes with him and I don't see how or why they would have any further significant interaction with him and although Ha-Sun is more age appropriate she'll most likely end up with Ji-Seok or the glasses guy. Jin-Hee now works with Kye-Sang and I can totally see her having her heart broken over Kye-Sang for any number of reasons and Lee Juck could just happen to be at the clinic one day and comfort her. I like Jin-Hee but the fact that she's so pitiful makes it difficult for me to love her. I find her character so frustrating sometimes just like Ha-Sun who makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes. I feel sorry for Ji-Seok but I have a feeling that he will end up with Ha-Sun just because of the emphasis that was placed on the heart necklace.
I love Nae-Sung and Yoo-Sun's relationship, especially after this week. I cried a lot when she was begging the creditors to help her, when they reunited, and when she was reading his journal. I also cried in that scene where Soo-Jung tries to hold on to Nae-Sung as he's being dragged away it was so heartbreaking and it was the first time that I really felt something for her character.
I also liked that Il-Woo's cameo wasn't just pure eye candy and that he had his own story line that was also touching. You're right, the writers are really great at what they do. I wonder why the ratings for the show haven't been so hot. they're not terrible but I don't think they're on par with the previous series.
Anyways, It was a good week for everyone and I can't wait to see how next week develops.

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Oh wow, what a comment! I agree with everything you said.

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great recaps!! thanks!

and great week!

Il-woo is just as cute in FBRS!!!!

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thanks for the recap! what a good week for nae-sang, it feels like he'd just come out of a long struggle and won over the dark side. also liking the ji-won and jong-seok development - i did ship her with kye-sang, but i'm good with her ending up with jong-seok too. still don't like jin-hee much though.

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Yay! Thanks Javabeans for this great recap, I always look forward to reading your high kick recaps.

I have so much to say about this week's episodes, but I have homework so I'll keep it short, heh. 

Loved Jung Il Woo's cameo. It was laugh-out-loud funny and poignant- the perfect blend. Yoosun is also one of my favorite characters so it was a hoot seeing her interact with him!

I was firmly on the Kyesang-Jiwon ship since their previous interactions together were so sweet. So you could say I was slightly disappointed with the way he handled Jiwon's scooter incident this week. Instead of talking to her, he decides to "steal" it. What happened to the respect for her that was established in the past? 

And Jongsuk really stepped up this week. His tutoring sessions with Jiwon are cute, and I really (really, really) enjoy the scenes of them riding on Jiwon's scooter. They're always so pretty (with good music too)! 

Anyway, I totally jumped ship to Jongsuk-Jiwon this week, ever since Jongsuk went running through the streets searching for her, worried that she got into an accident. While Kyesang and Hasun just discussed their worries, Jongsuk took action. 

Love the Soojung and Naesang father-daughter relationship too. Never fails to bring me to tears, even though its kinda obvious that's what they're trying to do. Yoosun and Naesang too!

I feel really bad for Jiseok. I understand why he might not act on his feelings, because from his POV it looks like Hasun and whatshisname are much closer than they really are. We know Hasun doesn't really like her boyfriend because we get to see her expressions/interactions with him up close, but it's easy for these interactions to be misinterpreted by Jiseok. :( poor him. 

Oops I think I wrote more than I intended to, haha. Ok gtg. Thanks again Javabeans :)

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aaah..thank you.keep it up.seriiously i hv a high hope for jiwon/jungseok. gah, only god knows how much i love em two...lol

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I am a Trinidadian and I can speak only on language which is English.....
But I watch this drama in its raw version without hesitation or regret because I am always able to understand what is being said from there acting....
I laugh when something funny is said and this week I cried and cried and cried on Que.....
The characters and acting are so outstanding.
I just love this Drama

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I love this series!

It's the lone drama that made me sad because it's only 20 minutes per episode and the only one that made me glad it's 100+ episodes long.

Wonderful characterization!

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I watched the first and second seasons of High Kick quite regularly too but neither had me tuning in every single day. After a shaky beginning with Nae Sang's character, I can now say that I like all the characters in the show and am actually invested in what happens to them.

I've been crying buckets for the past two weeks especially during the NaeSang and Soo Jung scenes. And omg the acting by Yoon Yoo Sun this week was stellar! i was scared of her in Goong, so entertained by her in Gumiho and in Hick Kick, she's really making me respect her.

I think the Kye Sang, Jiwon, Jong Seok triangle doesn't bode well for Jong Seok at least in the beginning. Because I remember there was that scene where the two houses really bond for the first time and we see Jiwon smiling at Kye Sang while Jong Seok looks on from the back. Kind of in the trend of Jung Il Woo and Yoon Shi Yoon maybe? but I'm still hopeful for them.

I'm also becoming fond of Kye sang & Jin Hee and JiSeok-HaSun are my favorite couple (although i got a little annoyed that HaSun couldn't see the troubled look on JiSeok's face on Thursday's episode and kept rattling on about her own problems. Hope she starts showing the boy some love

and from all the side characters, Seung Yoon's getting a lot of airtime! no complaints from me though - the boy is absolutely adorable

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Wow, this week really hit home. It was a great week. During the episode where Naesung played spider man I was like what the hell this is so childish and woah never expected to get arrested. Than the series just took off.

This season, I actually sympathized with the characters A LOT faster than the previous season.I felt like in HK2 it wasent until like around ep 65 ish when I first started to feel for the characters. And than I think when Se Kyung played the piano for Yoon Shi Yoon is when I first shed tears for the characters. But this season I started crying real fast. I love all the characters sooo much.

Oh at the end of episode on Friday during the end when the Ahn family where hugging and Seung Yoon was watching them.....Why do I have a feeling hes going to play the guardian angel of the family.

As for the couple Ohemgeeeeee I really hope that the Ha Sun and Ji Seok get together soon. I mean we already that their going to happen.....speed it up a bit.
And of course Ji Won-Jong Seok soooo cute :)
And I feel like Kyesung-JinHee-LeeJuck are going to be in a love triangle sooner or later.

Now that I am like fully invested in all these character I really hope the pd does not pull a HK2 ending on me anytime soon.

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does anyone know the song that plays when ji-seok is hanging on the lamp post?

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It's Nell, "멀어지다" (Growing Farther Apart).
http://www.mediafire.com/?ccbw19ij7iv1o7w
Love how it ties into the theme of Ha-sun moving away from Ji-seok.

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Ah! I thought it was vodka rain and it was driving me crazy. Thanks so much db :)

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Thanks javabeans.

Do you know the song played when Jongseok drives Jiwon on scooter?

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I loved this week's episodes! My heart broke in half for Ji-Seok and then it broke again for Nae-Sung and Soo-Jung, and just when I thought I couldn't feel any sadder, my heart broken into even tinier pieces for Yoo-Sun.

Side note, does anyone happen to know what song was playing in the scene where Jong-Seok and Ji-Won are riding on the scooter at night in the end of episode 42?

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I just read this because of JIW's cameo, but that WAS his mom in ROI, right? Yoo sun?

That pair made me cry my face of during that show, btw. Fun that they were together in this again.

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Thankfully, no -- that would've added a whole layer of icky to the storyline, yikes. I'm relieved it's not, since I can think of the plot as sweet rather than slightly creepy. (His Iljimae mom was Jung Hye-young.)

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These are such good episodes. They tell realistic life problems, realistic people with their own struggles who rise above when situation calls.

Despite their bickering, Anh family is so solid. The marathon scene is really touching. The jail visiting scene is also another tearjerking moment.

When we love, we want to be the pillar for our loved ones. Especially mother, they are the pillar of a family. That's what Yoo Sun did in time of trouble. I am not surprised she holds back her tears and become so efficient when her husband was in jail.

I love Jiwon-Jongsuk storyline. I think they understand each other very well. Jongsuk is such a sweetie and good hearted.
I think even if he does not like Jiwon romantically, he would still protect her... because he is such a protector.

Jinhee and Kyesang are so cute together.

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Thanks for recapping this drama. I look forward to reading it every week. The JIW cameo was so cute I went on to watch it online. I usually hesitate to start long serial dramas but High Kick 3 seems very well scripted and acted that I'm tempted to start …

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I love this drama as it makes me laugh and cry!

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At 20 episodes, I remember that I still had little interest in Yoo-sun, Nae-sang, and Soo-jung, and I thought the characters were just annoying and bickering as usual. I'm glad that I've come to realize how much I actually like the three characters now. I think Soo-jung's closeness to Nae-sang helps ground her to reality and helps her to grow up even though she's still got a lot to learn. And I loved how Yoo-sun decides to take matters into her own hands and prove that she has the strength to help her family and also find meaning back in her life. And Nae-sang, who once seemed like a hopeless case, has become so endearing and makes me sympathetic toward his hardships. I think the reason why I couldn't really enjoy High Kick 3 in the beginning was that the characters were dealing with turbulent times whereas the first 2 seasons had a pretty stable foundation on which to develop their characters further through situations. I'm really pleased with how season 3's characters are developing now that things are more settled. I'm so rooting for the Jong-seok/Ji-won pairing. It's so cute how he drank all that milk for her. And I hope we get to see more interested stuff from the Ji-seok/Ha-sun/Young-wook triangle. Looking forward to the next episodes!

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All I can say is I love Nae-sang and Soo-jung!!!
They both made me teared up a lot this week.
Love their father-daugther relationship.....

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Last week's episode is great. This is especially so for episode 44's marathon scene. It's so moving and well written.

But I still this puzzling -- why does Kye Sang's character seem different from the rest? what will be his counterattack of short leg? He seems to be the only one who does not have his own story, instead, he's more like a problem solver and initiator of other people's story. His character behind the smiling face is more or less a mystery to me even after 44 episodes. I really hope the scriptwriter will dig deeper into it.

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it makes me laugh , cry, sad , happy........all kind of feelings...........love u HIGHKICK 3 ^_^

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What a great, emotional batch of episodes. I was laughing one minute and bawling the next. I like how the show uses new story lines and fits the characters into them. I especially liked Nae-sang's story line this week. It was so touching. When Soo-jung is at the prison and starts calling for her daddy.... man, that was so sad. I like all the characters in High Kick 3.

I loved Jung Il-woo's cameo and I wonder if he'll be back? That would be good. The way they left his character I hope keeps that possibility open.

Thanks for the recap, Javabeans!

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I'm catching up, but the "Already A Year" reference won me over with this week's episodes! So darn cute. Hope to see more Yoon Gun. <3

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I finally got to watch these episodes nad I really think this was the best week so far, I can't wait to see how the story turns now that the Ahn family is no longer "on the run".

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Even though I have to wait weeks and weeks for the subs to appear, I'm really grateful to whoever is doing the subbing-- this drama is such a gem! I'm also grateful for the recaps (as always).

It is remarkable how consistently good the writing is. My only disappointment about this week's episodes is that I would have liked to have seen Nae Sang be locked up a tad longer, giving Jong Seok and Soo Jong a chance to "step up to the plate" and mature. That would have been a great opportunity for some really rich character development (which Soo Jong, in particular, is in dire need of). Love where Show took Nae Sang's character in this last epi (44).

Ahhhh.... more often than not, this drama leaves me with a profound sense of satisfaction. I'm happy that there's still lots of HK3 goodness to savor in the weeks ahead.

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