Full House Take 2: Episode 3

by kaedejun

I’m jumping ships with every (half-)episode! First I like Kang-hwi, then I like Tae-ik, then I like Kang-hwi, then I just throw everyone overboard and keep Man-ok for myself. The zany continues and the rivalry gets dangerous, but it looks like it’s a very good reason for the love triangle to even form.

Part 1

Oh hilarity. Kang-hwi actually snuck Man-ok in with her luggage to the house first, but before either of them had expected it, Tae-ik found her in the living room. Thankfully Kang-hwi arrives in time to explain that she’s “Abshela” from another country, and because no Korean stylist ever wants to work with Tae-ik, he had to look to foreign countries for one.

Tae-ik is skeptical on how a foreigner for a stylist could work, but Kang-hwi explains that she can speak a bit of Korean and English. So they’ll get by. For added measure, Man-ok even speaks in stilted Korean. They head out for the day, and opt to decide later on whether they’ll really hire her.

Man-ok is thrilled to be riding in the huge van, but boy is it stifling in her dress. She flips her veil over and tries to catch a breath, but quickly hides it when Tae-ik turns around curiously. In broken English, Man-ok tells Kang-hwi that Tae-ik can’t ever look at her; if a man in her country set his eyes on a woman, “I die, you die, we die!” I wonder how much of it Tae-ik really believes, but he puts on his eye mask and takes a nap. Freedom! Now Man-ok can take off her veil and breathe!

They arrive at the studio for another music performance, and Man-ok hands Tae-ik a jacket. He grabs it from her instead of letting her put it on him, for fear of looking at her and dying. But he immediately shrugs it off – it’s not 100% wool. Turns out the jacket was left by the ex-stylist. Before the jacket is thrown out though, Man-ok sees that the outside is 100% wool, and the inside is 100% polyester. If he wears it inside out, it should be fine. Inside out!? Tae-ik is incredulous until Man-ok forces it on him, and it actually looks good (like it’s meant to be worn this way): a flower motorcycle-like jacket.

Tae-ik looks good, and with a slick comb of his hair, he knows it.

And soon after the musical performance, the world knows it too. Newspapers are now calling him a “fashionista” instead of “fashion terrorist.”

Kang-hwi comes by with an agreement – they need Tae-ik to sign it saying that they’ll hire the stylist for three months and not fire her. Whoever breaks the agreement first pays the other. Tae-ik is a little warmer to the idea of hiring her, but he’s still dismissive over signing the contract. He doesn’t have to do it right away, right? But Kang-hwi complains that she’s in high demand. What if she signs with someone else? He walks away with the contract dejectedly, and so Tae-ik grabs it and signs it right away, his competitive streak getting the best of him.

Kang-hwi takes the contract to Lee Joon and Man-ok, where they’re signing confidentiality agreements and the real contract. A monthly fee will be taken from her pay for the lowered negotiation fee of 10 million. Lee Joon is impressed that they got Tae-ik to agree, considering the whole poster fiasco. Little does Tae-ik know… Well, he won’t be able to do anything once the contract is notarized. But until then, Man-ok is going to have to tread carefully and wear those heavy, suffocating veils.

Since it’s Tuesday, Kang-hwi shows Man-ok around some of the secret hideaways in the house because Tae-ik is at the gym. He first shows her a secret entrance to the living room through the shed; it dislocates a wall panel for easy access. From there, Kang-hwi leads her to Tae-ik’s personal sauna. He uses it sometimes when Tae-ik isn’t around, because that guy is quite cheap. Since Man-ok’s been suffering under that heavy veil, she could relax in the sauna. She’s got an hour before Tae-ik gets home.

Man-ok enjoys the sauna immensely, but little does she know, Tae-ik’s on his way home, his personal trainer having not arrived for their session today.

First thing Tae-ik heads for is the sauna, and Man-ok is startled when she looks through the blinds and sees Tae-ik changing before her very eyes. She quickly grabs the door handle to stop him from coming in, but Tae-ik has already suspected that Kang-hwi is inside. He sees strange clothing lying around the tub and starts pulling at the door hard. “You’re not giving in? You’ll suffocate in there!” he yells.

Man-ok is persistent, but eventually the heat wins, and she loosens her grip. Tae-ik pulls the door open wide, and as Man-ok falls out, she grabs Tae-ik’s towel. Stare. Then scream.

Man-ok uses the towel to cover her face, and Tae-ik grabs her dress/veil to cover his privates. She starts searching for her clothes, except he’s using them, so no dice. She starts pulling them back, but do you really think a guy is going to risk nudity for this?! She gives up and reveals herself: “Give it to me! Yeah, I’m your stylist!”

Tae-ik: “Did you see or not?”

HAHAHAHAHA. Of course Man-ok says she didn’t. Of course she did.

Tae-ik can’t believe Man-ok and Kang-hwi tricked him, and he wants to fire her ASAP. Contract be damned – it hasn’t been notarized yet! Man-ok takes out her phone and shows Tae-ik a text message from Kang-hwi: “Man-ok, it’s been notarized. Congratulations! Take off that robe.” Haha – she dares Tae-ik to get rid of her the legal way… by paying the fee. Man-ok won’t leave without a fight, and Tae-ik’s gonna give it – he’s gonna show her why he’s every stylist’s worst nightmare.

Early early morning the next day, Man-ok gets an aggravating call from Tae-ik requesting she bring all the clothes needed for the day as he wants to review them now. If she can’t do it at this early hour, she must be an inadequate stylist. Challenge accepted – Man-ok brings everything she’s got… and Tae-ik rejects all 30 outfits. Ridiculous, I know. The red shirt looked fine!

Even Man-ok says he could just wear anything since he only has a radio program, but a man’s gotta look good for every location. Tae-ik belittles her taste, even refusing to call her by name until they both compromise on him calling her “Stylist Jang.” He makes her go to his favorite stores and find some clothing that they’ll sponsor for him. Easy enough – or so Man-ok thinks.

Not a single store wants to sponsor clothing for Tae-ik because every time they do, Tae-ik ends up never wearing them. So why would a store want to give him free clothing? It becomes increasingly difficult for Man-ok to get clothes for him, and of course, Tae-ik seems to know this fact well. He is still holding a grudge against Kang-hwi as well for tricking him into employing Man-ok. But they have work to do – Lee Joon has told them they have a fan meeting to attend where fans from all over the world will be coming. He also warns the two singers that he doesn’t like being betrayed if they’re planning on going to other agencies once their contracts are up. Kang-hwi mutters, “You wouldn’t sit back and let yourself get betrayed anyways.” Ooh – fighting words…

This exclusive fan meeting is the one Ga-ryung and Super-rich Fangirl want to attend. Both of them are sitting in a PC cafe, chatting using their fan club IDs about how they’ll purchase a ticket when the clock strikes noon.

And at exactly noon, just as they’re clicking on the “Purchase tickets” button, the power goes out. ACK! A fan’s worst nightmare.

The two of them end up in front of a convenience store together, crying over their now elusive fan meeting tickets. Super-rich Fangirl purchases a bottle of wine for them to drink together, and her mannerisms and accent reveal that she’s from France. The two of them discover each other’s online identities and squeal like little girls, causing the reporter behind them to stare sideways weirdly as he eats his ramen.

Money is no problem for Super-rich Fangirl, so she’s determined to find a way in to the fan meeting. When the reporter passes by them to leave, he drops his ID accidentally, and they discover that he’s part of the press. Sure, he works for a not-so-famous web magazine, but he’s press! Can he get them VIP passes?

Meanwhile, Man-ok visits the last store on the list. She asks if they could sponsor clothing for Take One, but when the saleslady asks specifically which Take One member, suddenly a helpful voice pipes up: “It’s for me, of course! Kang-hwi!” He’s here to save the day again! The saleslady is only happy to oblige since Kang-hwi’s so fashionable, so he asks a favor if they can also provide clothes for Tae-ik. Man-ok assures the saleslady that she’ll make Tae-ik wear the clothes this time, so that he will help promote the brand. But first, she’d like to make sure the clothes are 100% natural fabrics.

The shopping is finally a success. Kang-hwi helps Man-ok bring the clothing home, and he worries that Tae-ik may be treating her too harshly. Man-ok knows he can’t fire her since she’s got the contract notarized, but suddenly Tae-ik is standing in front of them, waiting at the door.

It’s quite suspicious to him that Kang-hwi seems to be very close to Man-ok. Do they know each other from before?

Part 2

Instead of responding, Kang-hwi realizes he’s late for a vocal lesson (ha!) and leaves Man-ok behind to do all the explaining. Well that’s great help. Of course, Man-ok can’t reply either, and she asks Tae-ik for help instead carrying the bags inside. Tae-ik: “Are you crazy? Do your own work!”

Tae-ik naturally rejects every piece of clothing Man-ok got for him, even though she got him clothes that were 100% pure. Man-ok: “I really don’t want to say this, but you look good in anything you wear. You’re tall, and you have a nice build.” Though she’s exasperated when she says this, Tae-ik is stunned into silence by the compliment. I bet he says this to himself every morning when he looks in the mirror, but I guess there’s a difference in hearing it from someone you despise.

Tae-ik is called out to go to Lee Joon’s office, so he tells Man-ok he’ll wear the third outfit. Man-ok doesn’t have the memory of a goldfish, but she doesn’t remember which was the “third outfit.” How could anyone when Tae-ik tries on 30-plus outfits?

She goes off to pick up more pieces of clothing, and gets some expensive luxury brand watches from a store. The saleslady is only lending them out because Lee Joon had specially requested for it, but stresses for its safety and wants them returned after the fan meeting. Man-ok assures she’ll take care of them and then heads back to the gym to sort out the clothing for each Take One member. The reason’s she’s at the gym is because she’s expecting Grandpa’s call, and when he does call she plays a pre-recorded session on her laptop to give it some ambient sound as if she’s teaching a class. Girl’s got it all thought out.

Unfortunately her next call is from Tae-ik, who demands she come over in 30 minutes with all the clothing. Considering the distance she has to travel, she’s of course late, and she finds Tae-ik complaining about his dry skin while Kang-hwi’s applying a facial mask. Tae-ik has no patience for her excuses, especially since she could forward the calls from Grandpa to her cellphone so that she doesn’t have to wait at the gym.

Naturally, Kang-hwi loves every piece of clothing Man-ok gives him, while Tae-ik is left dissatisfied. Instead of meekly saying that she’ll find more clothes for him to wear, Man-ok tells him to wear it to the fan meeting or go naked! Ha – that shuts him up!

Man-ok goes back home to organize their clothing, and by the tie she’s done, it’s well past midnight. She belatedly remembers to have Tae-ik try on the watch to make sure it’s good to wear, and heads back to his house. There, Tae-ik’s already begun his facial regimen: slicing cucumbers and putting them all over his face. When she knocks on his door, he quickly peels them all off so that no evidence is left of it.

Evidence my butt – Man-ok stifles her laughter as she hands him the watch to try on, looking at the two pieces of cucumber slices stuck on his head. For a guy who extols about having luxurious skin, he sure does use old-fashioned and cheap methods of treating it.

The watch provides a nostalgic memory for Tae-ik, who remembers seeing his father wear a similarly large watch when he was younger. His father let him try it on that day, and it was a fond memory of his parents for him. As Tae-ik reminisces, and doesn’t get an allergic reaction, Man-ok prepares a cucumber puree for him that’s better than the slices.

Tae-ik: Who said I want to do this?

Man-ok: *points at his forehead*

Tae-ik: *finds two pieces of cucumber slices* What is this?!

Man-ok helps him apply the puree on a facial mask on his face, and then reminds him to remove it 15 minutes later. But Tae-ik’s already fallen asleep. Man-ok takes pity on the sleeping jerk and decides to wait out the 15 minutes to clean it up for him, noting how much more handsome he is when he shuts up.

The day of the fan meeting arrives, and Ga-ryung meets Super-rich Fangirl outside of the arena. They’re both carrying VIP passes under the guise of Weekly Entertainment reporters, but Fangirl – who introduces herself as Song No-ra later – is dressed more like a rich fangirl than a serious reporter. They stride up to the front door and introduce themselves to the security guard. He goes inside to check on their names and comes out informing them that Weekly Entertainment closed down a week ago. Moreover, there are a bunch of fake VIP passes going around…

Ga-ryung feigns surprise over the news and steers No-ra away. On the count of three, they’ll make a run for it! And at three – they brisk walk away. Brisk walk is not running… aaaaaaanyways…

Inside, Man-ok, Go-dong, and Take One look over the presents they’ve been given. Some of the fans donated gifts to the needy on their behalf, while some others donated rice. Tae-ik’s excited for the rice – they’re running low in the house, so this is a useful gift. Kang-hwi doesn’t want to appear cheap, so Tae-ik says he’ll take all of the rice for himself. Uh-oh, the game of one-up-manship has begun, and Kang-hwi takes back his statement and wants to donate only his half of the rice, thus making Tae-ik look bad. Thank goodness the fan meeting is about to start so that they can’t fight any further.

Take One goes out to perform their one hit (and only?) song to the screaming fans. They do a quick wardrobe change, and with Man-ok’s approval, are once again sent out for the talk show portion of the meeting.

The host presents the two of them with gifts from the fans, and the first one is a bejeweled vintage microphone. Tae-ik eyes the gift hungrily, but to his great disappointment the gift is actually for Kang-hwi. The fan comes up and expresses her wish to take a picture with Kang-hwi and the microphone, while Tae-ik seethes with bitter jealousy. Interestingly, Kang-hwi’s vision gets blurry. (Drama – don’t give me a blindness storyline!) The next gift ends up being for Tae-ik, so he takes revenge by gloating as he opens the present…

…And it ends up being a furry cat pajama onesie! The Japanese fan who gave it to him handmade it and wishes Tae-ik could wear it for her. Unfortunately, Tae-ik begins sneezing; he’s allergic to it. Man-ok senses an emergency and heads out to the pharmacy to buy some ointment. Kang-hwi on the other hand goads the crowds into cheering Tae-ik to wear it.

So Tae-ik has no choice but to don the ridiculous costume, and he starts sneezing and scratching away. Kang-hwi draws even more attention to the scratching by showing that the fur is causing rashes on Tae-ik’s sensitive skin. The Japanese fan is overcome with guilt and begs Tae-ik to take it off. Not wanting Kang-hwi to win this moment, or to disappoint the fan, Tae-ik says that he’s just pretending he’s allergic, and that the redness is from his hitting it. Uhhhh – okay…  So with that, Kang-hwi gets the whole crowds cheering for Tae-ik to wear the costume for the duration of the fan meeting.

Kang-hwi then takes the opportunity to thank the fans for the gifts and announce that he will donate a portion of all his gifts to the needy. Crowd: “AWWWWWW – oppa’s purrrrrfect!” Tae-ik won’t let Kang-hwi get away with that, and he quickly announces he’ll give away all of his gifts to the needy! Cue bigger “Awwww!” He dares Kang-hwi to do the same, but Kang-hwi is loath to part with his bejeweled microphone. Can’t he keep the mic, and Tae-ik keep the special cat costume?

Ha! Tae-ik can’t really win this one. But boy is Kang-hwi a jerk!

Back in the dressing room, Man-ok is quickly applying the ointment on Tae-ik’s itching arms while Kang-hwi yells at Tae-ik for the donation dare. It’s all because of the microphone, isn’t it? Tae-ik was coveting it, wasn’t he? But Tae-ik points out that Kang-hwi started it by not protecting him from the furry costume, even though he knew about the allergies.

Man-ok can’t stand their fighting and yells at them to stop, or else she’ll record their fight and post it online. That shuts the two of them up. She wants the watches back now, and then they can fight later. Tae-ik hands over his right away, while Kang-hwi begs to wear it for another day. He starts running off with it, and Man-ok gives chase, tossing Tae-ik’s watch on the table. It lands right under the horrid cat costume.

Bum-soo leaves last-minute instructions to Go-dong before he boards a plane off to somewhere, telling him to help Man-ok clean up because she’s new to the job. Go-dong goes to the dressing room to find it empty, and some crew people ask if there’s any gifts left for the donation. Go-dong points out the remaining boxes, and then he puts the cat costume in a shopping bag… along with the watch.

Man-ok returns to the room just after Go-dong leaves, having successfully retrieved Kang-hwi’s watch. However, now Tae-ik’s watch is missing. She calls up Go-dong to see if he saw a watch, but he didn’t (because it was hidden under the costume). Growing worried, Man-ok goes to check with the donation guys to see if they accidentally packed it up. She ends up having to drive all the way to the donation center and look through all the gifts.

The watch is not there.

Man-ok returns to the dressing room to see if perhaps the watch is with Take One’s other belongings, but the room is clean. Go-dong had already sent everything else ahead to the house. So Man-ok rushes over to the home to search through everything, causing a mess in the living room.

Go-dong’s big mouth accidentally reveals to Tae-ik that Man-ok lost an expensive sponsored watch, while Kang-hwi goes inside to find Man-ok near tears amidst the mess. Tae-ik storms into the house to yell at Man-ok, but freezes when he’s greeted by the following scene: Kang-hwi hugging Man-ok.

Oh the emotions – what do they mean?! Ah – one more thing to one-up with Kang-hwi on.

Comments:

Ahhh – an obstacle that messes with Man-ok’s job stability! I’m not particularly keen on this storyline and definitely hoping it’s resolved by episode 4. I don’t like stories where the solution is right under people’s noses but they don’t realize it until the end. Nevertheless it did prompt Kang-hwi to comfort Man-ok, and make Tae-ik realize that the scene before his makes him feel very awkward. While it may not necessarily mean he’s starting to like Man-ok, he certainly seems uncomfortable over the fact that Kang-hwi has already become the favorite of the stylist yet again. And if they’re going to be rivals and continually one-upping each other, then Man-ok is fair game for that.

I found myself really disliking Kang-hwi in this episode, but I appreciated the balance that the drama is going for between these two characters. On the outset, Kang-hwi is sociable, cheerful, and much more likable than Tae-ik. However, he showed his bratty side in the fan meeting, refusing to hand over the watch right away (what gives him special right to keep it longer?) or helping Tae-ik get out of wearing the cat costume. It’s not like Tae-ik had done anything outwardly bad towards Kang-hwi before the cat costume moment, so why was he so spiteful in getting him to wear it? On top of that, it goes against his attitude when he saved Tae-ik from near death by kissing him on the lips and removing the scarf in episode 1! I felt that Kang-hwi was being evil for the sake of being evil.

At the same time, I found growing sympathy for Tae-ik, who has a harder time connecting to people. His shock over Man-ok’s reluctant compliment cracked me up because it was as if no one had ever said kinder words to him, no matter what the tone of voice was. Seeing his memory with his parents helped as well because it showed that he had a loving family; had they not been ripped away from him at a presumably early age, perhaps he would have been a nicer boy.

My last request is that Take One writes up a new song. I like their one hit single, but it’s used all the time. One inspired by Man-ok would be just great.

Aaaaand finally – I won’t be the only one joining this Full House 2 recap bandwagon for the next episode’s recap! 😉

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