Me Too, Flower: Episode 4

by orangy911

We’re four episodes in and everything just keeps getting better. The plot is chugging along nicely, seeds of jealousy are planted, and the gray shades of our side characters obtain some color. Who would’ve thought Pink actually serves a greater purpose?

Episode 4

Hwa Young asks to have a chat with Bong Sun, but Bong Sun turns her down and corrects the term she used — she’s not “police lady” but “Officer.” However, before she leaves, Bong Sun informs Hwa Young that she’s cool and impressive. Hwa Young lets out an awkward laugh as Jae Hee looks on in curiosity.

As Bong Sun waits for her bus, Jae Hee drives up on his motorbike and points to the seat behind him. He tells her to get on, which makes Bong Sun roll her eyes. Jae Hee attempts to apologize for his harsh words from the day before but Bong Sun cuts in, saying that she’s already forgotten about yesterday. She asks snidely, “Who are you?” and looks away.

In return, Jae Hee says that she didn’t do anything morally right that day either. He tries further to make amends, but Bong Sun shrugs him off.

Jae Hee asks about her conversation with Hwa Young, but Bong Sun refuses to give a straight answer. Jae Hee then gets a phone call that requires him to reply in English. He abruptly leaves Bong Sun at the bus stop and later shows up at a snazzy club dressed in fancy clothing. He tells the hostess that he just wants to have a drink, but she insists that he can’t leave before meeting some girls at the club. A parade of girls walk in but he turns them all down until Dal shows up. He recognizes her but can’t figure out where they met.

Dal plays coy until they both recall their meeting in the parking lot. She assumes that he borrowed his clothes from someone and asks what exactly he does for a living. His entire month’s salary as a parking attendant probably couldn’t buy the tie he’s wearing. He says he runs a business selling happiness which causes her assume that he’s a male escort. She chomps on ice and walks away before he can clear up her misunderstanding.

One of Dal’s friends points out Jae Hee, excited that he came today. Her friends explain that he’s not even thirty but owns a huge business already. Dal’s head spins as they go on to say that even chaebols want to become buddy-buddy with him. She follows Jae Hee out and sees him get into a shiny car.

At that moment, Bong Sun calls to let her know that she’s moved Dal’s luggage outside. Dal rushes home to see Bong Sun eating chicken; she yells at Bong Sun that the $3000 hasn’t been paid off and Bong Sun gestures at the envelope of money on the table. She deducted money for all the rules Dal broke over the past couple days, and the rest of the debt is in the envelope. Dal calls her a pig and sniffs that she’ll leave. She has plenty of other options besides living with sulky Bong Sun.

Jae Hee comes into Hwa Young’s apartment and informs her that he wants to sleep with Ah In tonight. Jae Hee plays with Ah In and asks him if he complimented the girl that he hit before. Ah In replies that he followed Jae Hee’s orders and called her pretty, even though she’s still fat. In return, the classmate gave him a hairpin. A camera allows Hwa Young to observe their interaction from her tablet.

Jae Hee asks Ah In what the girl looks like and Ah In describes her as fat with defined eyebrows and big eyes. Jae Hee exclaims that the little girl must be very pretty then. Ah In disagrees, which causes Jae Hee to explain that whether the girl is pretty or not isn’t important. A kind heart is better than just being pretty. The girl’s gift to Ah In shows that she thinks that he is a special person.

Ah In nods his head in agreement and replies that being special is good thing. He asks if Jae Hee thinks of him and Hwa Young as special. Jae Hee pauses before informing him that Hwa Young is as special to him as the leader of the Power Rangers is to the superhero team.

Bong Sun sees a tent in her yard as she leaves for work and shouts at Dal to get up. If she doesn’t leave her property by the end of the day, she’s going to report Dal for trespassing.

That same morning, Hwa Young has an office meeting. Jae Hee observes the meeting from a small room protected by a one-way mirror. He occasionally sends suggestions via text to Hwa Young’s phone. During the meeting, Bong Sun’s classmate stands up to give her opinion about luxury brands. She says that people don’t like to buy luxury goods from Korea because they don’t seem exotic. Hwa Young agrees; local products don’t seem to have an interesting “story” behind them.

After the meeting, Hwa Young calls Jae Hee from her side of the mirror and asks if he’s working on the “story” for his products. He replies that it’s hard because of the lack of history in Korean fashion, which prompts Hwa Young to say that his own history can be the story of his products.

She urges him to come forward; his company needs its owner. He asks why she wants him to reveal himself so badly and she answers that she wants to live in the same world as him. He’s worked hard and lived an interesting life. His story is something people want to know about. In 10 short years, he’s turned the fashion world upside down with his talent and passion. Everyone will want to know more about him, which will lead to higher interest in their products.

At the police station, Bong Sun presents a birthday cake to her supervisor. The other officers scold her for sticking only one candle into the cake. She snaps that getting older isn’t a good thing; what’s the point of reminding the man how old he is with a bunch of candles? The old man’s smile falls and he half-heartedly blows out the candles. Bong Sun rams the cake into the supervisor’s face and her colleagues share looks of horror.

Later, the chief asks Bong Sun’s supervisor how Bong Sun is doing in therapy. He replies that she’s attending therapy sessions and is working hard to keep her cool. He sees a present on his desk and opens it to find a wallet. He remarks that Bong Sun’s going to have a hard time getting married; a girl should have some aegyo and leave a cute card. Aw.

Jae Hee sees Maru and Bong Sun on duty and strolls up to them, tossing an apple at Bong Sun, which she fails to catch. He complains that she can’t accept an apology (which is spelled the same as apple in Korean), saying he wants to make amends because they’re neighbors. She mumbles that his apology is probably rotten and insincere anyway. He says they can call it even, since he hurt her with words and she hurt him physically by kicking him and bashing his head with her baton. She unwillingly accepts the apology.

Maru accusingly asks why the two of them drank together. Jae Hee’s supposed to help him, remember? Jae Hee tells him that he’s interested in Bong Sun, so the deal’s off.

Dal attempts to wheedle some information about Jae Hee from the club from last night but gets rejected. Luckily, she spots him playing tennis with Hwa Young, curious at their relationship. She turns to see Dr. Park staring at her derriere and flips out when he informs her that her skirt is riding up.

Dr. Park then gets his butt kicked in tennis by Jae Hee. He brings up the topic of Jae Hee not driving his own car, which immediately fills the air with tension. Hwa Young shoots eye daggers at her cousin, Jae Hee avoids the subject, and they move on to why Dr. Park isn’t getting married.

Dr. Park says that he doesn’t want to take responsibility for someone else, which is when Jae Hee pointedly asks if that’s why he got divorced. Dal eavesdrops on their mundane conversation and later receives confirmation that Jae Hee is rolling in money.

Bong Sun shops for groceries, and on her way home a grandmother on the street asks Bong Sun to buy some crabs. She initially refuses and explains that she can’t eat all those crabs herself. The old woman pleads that she needs money to buy her grandson a nice meal and Bong Sun gives in.

She trudges towards her house but stops when she sees Jae Hee and Hwa Young get out of the same car. She puzzles over his expensive clothing and his close relationship with Hwa Young, and tries move past them without being seen.

Unfortunately, a biker cuts her off and she drops her groceries. Crabs rain down and Bong Sun winces in embarrassment. Jae Hee recognizes her and moves to capture the crabs, while Hwa Young shrieks as crabs approach.

After collecting the crabs, Bong Sun gives an apologetic bow to Hwa Young, who has a leaf in her hair. Jae Hee gently pulls it out in a familiar gesture. Hwa Young lies to cover up their acquaintance; she explains that she asked Jae Hee to run errands for her.

As Bong Sun and Jae Hee head home, Jae Hee rambles on about Hwa Young’s explanation, but Bong Sun cuts him off. She points out that Jae Hee and Hwa Young spoke in banmal to each other. Jae Hee tries to cover up their relationships but Bong Sun tells him that she’s not stupid.

She comments on his expensive clothes and says Hwa Young must have bought it for him. Jae Hee asks her if she thinks he’s the president’s boy toy and laughs when she doesn’t respond. She says she has no reason to not believe her assumption so he might as well just confess. His smile slips off his face and he reminds her that she has no right to ask about his private life, because they are strangers to each other.

After the conversation, Bong Sun sits in front of her gate. She compares the nice, playful Jae Hee to the harsh, cold guy she just dealt with and sighs in confusion. That crazy bastard.

At home, Dal begs Bong Sun, who’s in the bathroom, to let her stay, promising to do everything on the contract. But a random man opens the door, and Dal runs out screaming right into Bong Sun. The man turns out to be Bong Sun’s father.

He asks who Dal is, and Bong Sun flatly informs him that she’s the kid his ex-wife took care of when she got remarried. She asks him to kick Dal out, and for him to leave too. She reminds him that she’d always have to come home early to make his dinner and that she had no friends because of that. She’s not a maid, and she has her own life now.

Except….she didn’t actually say that. The dream sequence dissolves and we see Bong Sun frozen in place. She shakes her head and tells him that Dal is her junior from college and that she’s staying over for a couple nights before she moves into her new apartment. Dal breathes in relief, because he would flip if he knew who she really is.

Jae Hee works in the factory and gets scolded by Mr. Bae for using ruining a nice piece of material. Jae Hee reminds ahjusshi that he’s the one who ran around for days trying to secure the leather; he knows how valuable it is.

He shows Mr. Bae his designs for the upcoming launching show. One of the handbags requires thousands of diamonds to be attached to the front, its total price tag at 2 million dollars. Mr. Bae throws the designs back and voices his disgust at the extravagance. Offended, Jae Hee tells him not to come to the launching show then. After he leaves, Mr. Bae picks up the designs and grudgingly admits that the bag would be one of a kind.

Bong Sun cooks dinner for her father and they eat together, and she says Dal is on a diet to explain why she’s not invited. Dal calls Mom, who gasps in fear when she learns that Bong Sun’s dad is home. At the dinner table, Dad rips on Bong Sun for failing to obtain a promotion. She bitterly tells him not to worry; she’ll make sure to obtain a larger salary than he did at her age.

He asks her what her problem is. She replies her problem is being born as his daughter. He knocks over the dishes in anger and leaves. Bong Sun receives a call from Mom who tells her to make sure her dad doesn’t find out who Dal is. She also scolds Bong Sun for mistreating Dal and that she needs to feed her precious baby. Bong Sun throws her phone in anger and storms upstairs to kick Dal out.

As Bong Sun cleans up the broken dishes, the lights dim and candles magically appear. Pink walks towards her and sings “You Are So Beautiful,” then leads her outside and hands her a rose on bended knee. But the lit lamps soon disappear and she comes back to reality, crying as she looks up at the stars.

Bong Sun:He says I’m pretty. That he’s happy because of me. That I’m like a light on a dark road. But…who would think like that? That I’m a gift from heaven? Who would call me that? It doesn’t make sense. It’s all a lie. I’m nothing. Nothing…

The next afternoon, Jae Hee eats lunch with his fellow employees in the company cafeteria. He asks why the store’s parking lot is so small and his boss informs him that it’s because of one of finance employees. He hates spending money to the point of cutting down the salaries of the parking attendants; he cuts costs from below to look good to the people on top. That specific employee comes down to the cafeteria for lunch and Jae Hee gives him a long, hard look.

Outside, Bong Sun tells Maru to announce that a certain car is blocking the driveway of a private residence. Maru sings into the microphone and Bong Sun sighs in embarrassment. She tells Maru that he looks a lot like someone she knows. Just then, the owner of the car shows up, who turns out to be Bong Sun’s ex-boyfriend (cameo by Park Ki Woong).

Bong Sun turns to leave but her ex grabs her arm. He asks to have a chat as Maru looks on helplessly. Jae Hee saunters over to ask what’s going on while Maru panics over the height difference between the ex and him: Bong Sun noona must like tall men. ::cries:: Jae Hee asks if he’s actually decided to go for Bong Sun, which makes Maru hesitate again. (Maru = Mr. Wishy-Washy.)

Nameless ex calls Bong Sun’s number and her cellphone rings in response. He marvels that she hasn’t changed her number and says that he’ll call her for coffee. It’s at that point that Jae Hee walks over, slings an arm around Bong Sun’s shoulder and states that he’s the new boyfriend. If you want to meet with her, than you also have to meet with me. He drags her away as Bong Sun fumes at his brazen attitude.

He asks if Bong Sun really went out with that guy. He continues to throw out questions about their relationship until Bong Sun cuts him off. He has no right to know. They’re strangers, remember?

Jae Hee’s face hardens and he turns toward her. He pulls her in for a kiss as Bong Sun struggles. Afterwards, he states that they’re no longer strangers.

Comments:

The old “I’ll pretend to be your new boyfriend in front of your ex” trick has long lost its romantic overtone with me. I’m not a fan of the narrative crutch and I actually wish it wasn’t used here. I’m disappointed that Park Ki Woong didn’t have a bigger part, and I’m not saying this just because I like the actor. I think a conversation between Bong Sun and her ex would’ve been intriguing. I want to know what happened between them. How did they meet? Who liked who first? Why did he cheat? Wah. Tell me. I’m hoping he’ll stick around for a bit. I want some actual competition for Bong Sun’s affections. What if we replaced Maru with the actual Pink…

Also, Jae Hee’s man-handling of Bong Sun in the last scene was uncomfortable to watch. It’s probably a combination of Yoon Shi Yoon’s lack of manly-manliness that Korean boys earn only after they come back from the army as well as the misplaced logic behind the kiss. I’ll have to wait for episode 5 to see if there was a real reason for the scene other than it being an instant cliffhanger. I have a feeling it won’t really be explored further though. Hm.

Bong Sun and Jae Hee are different from the cookie-cutter hero and heroine and they can carry out their romance without all of these rusted clichés. They intrigue me and all their relationships with the side characters have so much meaning. Mr. Bae especially is imperative to understanding Jae Hee because he knew Jae Hee from the beginning. Hwa Young’s suspicion towards Jae Hee and Bong Sun’s relationship is definitely portrayed, but I’m thinking that the upcoming conflict between her and Mr. Bae will be more engaging.

Jae Hee’s diamond encrusted bag is ostentatious and has international appeal, which fits into Hwa Young’s plans for the company. Yet the design also seems a little out of character for Jae Hee. His fixation on the price of the bag is worrisome and I’m glad that Mr. Bae adamantly rejected the idea. The bag would be beautiful, but what would make it stand out besides the expensive ornaments? Would it be as special as the hairpin that Ah In’s classmate gave him? What would be the “story” of the bag? I feel like it’s missing the “heart” that Mr. Bae puts into his bags. Why is Jae Hee so obsessed with flashiness all of a sudden?

I know I’m kind of abusing the quotation box but I’ll justify myself by saying that the characters are so blunt and honest about their emotions that it’s hard not to point out certain phrases. Bong Sun in particular has a lot of voiceovers that are important because she’s usually so closed off about her feelings. So when she does let her emotions flow, a lot of unspoken thoughts rise to the surface and I come running to soak up the narrative development.

I’m pleasantly surprised to find that Pink actually has a significant role in the series. I found Bong Sun’s random dream sequences a little odd but I figured those scenes were just there for some fan service for Lee KiKwang fans/B2Tys. It’s not until this episode that you realize how important Pink is to Bong Sun. He’s not just a cute idol singer that she likes; he embodies an ideal guy for her. He’s young, good-looking, and loved by thousands of people. Despite all the fame, Pink chooses to “love” Bong Sun in her dream sequences. She clearly wants to feel wanted and cherished, both by her parents and by a man.

Bong Sun’s life is boring, unfulfilling, and empty. Her family is dysfunctional, her promotion fell through, and her love life is nonexistent. What is there to live for when nothing really goes her way? With Pink, she’s a better person because she’s loved. She’s worthy of love and she’s capable of loving back. It’s in the real world that her feelings of self-worth plummet. Someone bring her an Lee Ki Woo stat.

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