Full House Take 2: Episode 14

by gummimochi

One is the loneliest number. No one said that making a fresh start would be easy. Tae-ik learns the kindness of a stranger and that to make it in this industry, he’ll need more than just his own singing chops. The former Take One boys go head to head to prepare for their respective comebacks: Who will be the first to stand on that stage again?

SONG OF THE DAY

Take One – “Touch” Full House Take 2 OST [ Download ]

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EPISODE 14, PART 1

In the dressing room, Kang-hwi and Man-ok go over some last-minute runway tips. Man-ok presents him with an array of sunglasses, explaining that the harsh lighting could be too much for his eyes.

Kang-hwi picks up on the intention but gently assures her that he’ll be fine without them. Plus, his fans would be upset if he didn’t show off his charismatic eyes.

A Hallyu star waiting in line? Well, that’s a sight to behold. He nearly gets recognized by Nora but she literally faints at the sight of Oppa. So he carries her inside and slips past security to gain entry.

The fashion show kicks off and Hwa-ming gives a word of encouragement before her two shining stars take the stage. Tae-ik holds his breath as the two walk down the walkway confidently and breathes a sigh of relief when Kang-hwi finishes his walk glitch-free.

Unfortunately for him, he gets caught lingering outside Kang-hwi’s dressing room after the show by Se-ryung.

Once they’re outside, Se-ryung tells Tae-ik that he’s insane if he traveled to China because of Man-ok. She snaps that Man-ok is no different than any woman attracted to a man with “money, authority and power.”

Tae-ik turns round at that statement and seethes, “Don’t think all women are like you.”

But Se-ryung dangles the curiosity carrot in front of his eyes – doesn’t he want to know why Man-ok left him to see Kang-hwi? Why it’s because he’s a chaebol and Hwa-ming is his half-sister.

This truth stirs at him and he tries to leave before it sinks in and Se-ryung calls out if it makes any difference if Man-ok knew about Kang-hwi’s past. “Don’t you know what this means? She’s abandoned you.” Ack! Don’t believe a word from that witch!

And if it didn’t hurt enough, Tae-ik opens the dressing room door and sees what seems to be Kang-hwi and Man-ok mid-kiss. In actuality, their faces are inches apart as Man-ok stares at Kang-hwi before breaking away to see Tae-ik’s astonished face.

She moves to chase after him but in a desperate voice, Kang-hwi tells her not to go. “Can’t you stay by my side?” She apologizes and runs out.

Tae-ik hails a taxi, instructing the driver to take him “anywhere, far away.” Turns out the driver happens to speak Korean and he contemplates a moment before asking brightly, “Then can I take you anywhere I like?”

Why do I get an uneasy feeling about this ride? Please don’t be a kidnapper, please don’t be a kidnapper.

Who knew that the furthest place on Earth would be at the mahjong table? Tae-ik is initially hesitant but after some encouragement, he totally gets into the game. Aw, you’re so adorably persuadable.

They grab some grub afterwards and the driver attempts to convince Tae-ik to dig in. At Tae-ik’s sombre mood, he wonders what worries weigh so heavily on a handsome young man. Money troubles? No? Then what about girls?

He laughs when Tae-ik stares back like a deer caught in headlights. There isn’t a man in the world who hasn’t had lady troubles in his lifetime, he continues. The crowd of men murmur in agreement, save for one who rises from his chair and reveals himself to be a she. “I’ve never cried over a woman!” Ha.

Tae-ik breaks into a smile and they clink their bowls of soup like glasses. Cute cute.

The taxi driver takes him back nearby the hotel and Tae-ik tries to pay him extra as a token of his gratitude. The driver kindly returns most of it back to him and admits he had fun today as well.

He shares that because a stranger showed kindness to him when he was younger, he was able to rise up from a period of despair. “There are times in life when you can’t take a step forward because it’s so dark. But as time passes, it could be nothing at all. So then your present situation may not be as bad as it seems, Tae-ik.”

Tae-ik stares back at the driver in surprise (and maybe a little fear. I mean, I would be.) and he explains that his daughter is a fan. He sends Tae-ik off with a cheer to buck up.

The smile on Tae-ik’s face disappears when he sees Man-ok sitting outside, waiting for him. When she runs up to him, asking to talk things through, he curtly retorts he has nothing to say.

Man-ok tries to tell him that it’s all a misunderstanding and Tae-ik barks that he hasn’t. He stops mid-sentence and sighs, knowing that Man-ok doesn’t recall the night in the tent. He tells her to leave.

Man-ok calls after him and confesses, “I like you, Lee Tae-ik.” It’s true that she doesn’t remember that night all that well but she likes him and doesn’t want to be misunderstood.

But those words are too late now. Angry and confused, Tae-ik sighs, “I don’t know. I don’t know who you are. Whose words are right. I really don’t know.”

He starts to walk away from her and Man-ok calls after him again. Tears streaming down her face, she asks why he never listens to her and does and thinks whatever pleases him. Tae-ik looks back and her tears shake him.

They relocate to a bar and he asks why she left without a word. He doesn’t buy that Man-ok can’t give him an explanation at present and scoffs when she reminds him that she sincerely likes him.

He throws those words back at her – if she sincerely liked him, she wouldn’t have left him at his darkest moment. He makes the dig that she’s the same as the others but Man-ok doesn’t blink an eye. She replies matter-of-factly, “No, I’m different. I’m not Jin Se-ryung.”

Just then, Man-ok’s phone rings but she doesn’t pick up. Tae-ik rises from his seat and tells her that Kang-hwi must be waiting for her. Once he’s gone, she pouts, “You dummy.”

After a round of brooding, Kang-hwi finds Man-ok on the steps outside. He dangles the kitty keychain in an attempt to get her to smile. After securing it onto her phone, he keeps the topic light, saying how much it resembles their Chaton at home.

With a sigh, Kang-hwi wishes that the three of them could live a happy life together. He makes faces at Man-ok until she laughs.

Meanwhile, Tae-ik drowns his brooding in beer and gets a worried and irritated phone call from Bum-soo. Se-ryung’s words come back to haunt him as Bum-soo asks if Tae-ik has any intention to make a comeback.

He’s about to hang up when Tae-ik answers, “I’ll do it. The things I wanted to protect. I won’t let them be taken away from me again.” He’ll get it all back.

In an almost robotic but remarkably sober sounding voice, he tells Bum-soo that he’ll return to Korea the next day with new determination in his eyes.

Back in Korea, Lee Joon rallies his team to focus their efforts on Kang-hwi’s comeback. His secretary informs him that Kang-hwi visited Hwa-ming’s house and her family are among the richest in China.

Furthermore, rumor has it that there’s an illegitimate son who’s Korean. Lee Joon puts the pieces together in his head and his eyes grow wide.

Elsewhere, Reporter So praises Nora for a picture of Kang-hwi but admonishes her for not investigating more about the lavish house. Nora recounts that it was a dangerous situation – the “dark thugs” were confiscating cameras. Ga-ryung wonders, “Dark thugs? Gangsters?”

And then Nora suggests that Ga-ryung’s “poor friend” aka Man-ok might know more.

Back at Man-ok’s gym, Go-dong sings his heart out and his voice carries in the distance. Oho, new idol in the works? Bum-soo compliments him on his singing ability, but right now, they’ve got to clean up before Tae-ik arrives.

And a voice says, “That won’t be necessary.” Both of them happily greet him, “Tae-ik!”

EPISODE 14, PART 2

Tae-ik sits down with Bum-soo and tells him that he’s ready to get to work and ready to do anything asked of him. Bum-soo is glad to hear it and calls Go-dong inside before dropping the bomb, “You’re going to debut as a duo.”

Tae-ik gives his best Manager hyung, say what? face and firmly opposes the idea. Hilariously, Bum-soo says with a straight face that with Tae-ik’s talents alone, a solo debut is out of reach. HA.

Poor Go-dong sits there silently and Bum-soo takes out an mp3 player. Once Tae-ik hears their voices mixed together in this file, he’s sure that Tae-ik will understand.

Kang-hwi lights up when he sees Man-ok’s scooter parked at Full House. He carries Chaton around with him and finds Mommy Man-ok in the greenhouse, singing brightly. But he stops when Man-ok talks to the plants, complaining about “Daddy” aka Tae-ik.

Brokenhearted, Kang-hwi shares his woes with Chaton, “Mommy says that she likes those plants more than you!” Aw, it’s sad but also kind of funny at the same time.

It’s with some reluctance before Tae-ik listens to the file. His eyes flicker in wonder and at that moment, Go-dong comes by the tent, asking if Tae-ik’s asleep. He doesn’t answer and Go-dong mentions that they have vocal practice tomorrow.

He doesn’t want to stir up trouble, but the industry told him that he was too ugly and tacky to become a singer. (Lies!) But Bum-soo hyung believed in him and that’s why he can’t pass up on this opportunity.

He vows to work hard and asks for one chance.

Go-dong exits the gym alone the following morning and he murmurs that Tae-ik must still be angry with him. But when they turn to the car, they see Tae-ik already waiting for them. Aw, you big ol’ softie.

With a smirk, he compliments Go-dong on his voice and agrees to give him a shot. Then Go-dong hug-attacks him. Gah, I love it.

They head over to the recording studio and Tae-ik works hard, much to everyone’s surprise. After his session, he asks Sang-dae if he got into the zone with his singing… and where to improve. Even Sang-dae lets out a laugh, impressed.

They celebrate over drinks and they imagine what a hit the song will be. Go-dong thanks Tae-ik for hearing his plea but Tae-ik says that he didn’t agree to it because of him. Go-dong’s face falls.

The thanks is really for Bum-soo who happily says that he’s been thinking of a name for the new duo. Wait for it – Take 2.

HA – I love that they hang a lantern about the name as Go-dong mentions that it’s similar to Tae-ik’s old group. So how about “Take Go-dong”? Hahaha.

We catch up with Man-ok who downs shot after shot in a nearby pojangmacha. Her calls to Tae-ik goes unanswered, so she calls Bum-soo. He asks if she’s drinking because of Tae-ik and then why she decided to work for Lee Joon again.

He lends a sympathetic ear as a drunken Man-ok rambles that she wants to tell him why but she can’t. Why can “he,” meaning Tae-ik, just trust her and wait a bit? Pointing to the food in front of her, she mutters that one of them doesn’t know how she feels and she can’t ignore the other.

She passes out momentarily just as the Take 2 boys arrive after they received word from Bum-soo. They leave Tae-ik with Man-ok as they head for the pharmacy.

Tae-ik slams a hand onto the table which gets Man-ok to lift her drunken head at him. She barks that he’s been ignoring her calls and calls him awful before breaking down into tears.

Tae-ik stutters in surprise, ’cause now he just looks like the bad guy. The tears keep coming and she wails over and over how awful he is. He eventually leads her out of the pojangmacha and piggybacks her (with some difficulty, heh) back to the gym.

He puts her down in her bed and her phone rings just as he’s about to leave. It’s Kang-hwi and Tae-ik shortly tells him that Man-ok is asleep.

Kang-hwi’s surprised to see Man-ok in the kitchen bright and early the following morning. He meets with Lee Joon and asks to have the best team behind his upcoming album, since “It could be my last. And I don’t want to lose to anyone.”

Lee Joon smiles and agrees.

So Kang-hwi throws himself into album preparations and Man-ok worries that he’s over-exerting himself. She asks him when he’ll start getting treatment and Kang-hwi tells her that he will after he stands onstage. “So for as long as I can see. As long as I can.”

Grandpa returns to the gym after a short trip and sees the Take 2 boys practicing inside. He says that one requires strength to sing properly and takes them out for a meal. Aw.

The others start to dig in but Go-dong belatedly realizes that Tae-ik has a sensitive palate. Sure enough, Tae-ik is looking at the bowl like a foreign object. He thinks back to when Man-ok took him out to eat and then he starts to eat, earning praise from Grandpa.

Bum-soo runs into Lee Joon outside the broadcasting company and I love that he speaks to his former boss in banmal now. He’s here to promote his up-and-coming idol boy group so Lee Joon doesn’t have to worry about his employment.

Lee Joon snides that it’s because Bum-soo uses recycled idols that he’s still driving a beat-up old car. But Bum-soo puffs up with pride and pointedly says that Lee Joon’s luxury car can’t get out because of his old beater. Ha.

He leaves him with a final word: “Just you wait. My boys will be a formidable rival against Kang-hwi.”

Take 2 continues to practice and Kang-hwi prepares for his solo album, “Only One.” Bum-soo writes the date of their debut stage on the calendar and Go-dong jumps in excitement. But Tae-ik realizes that Kang-hwi’s comeback falls on the same day.

Kang-hwi worries over the same news but Lee Joon tells him not to worry. Unfortunately for them, they’ve got a bigger problem on their hands – Kang-hwi’s song has been leaked.

Now Lee Joon’s shouty performance is reasonable and he barks that Kang-hwi’s comeback must be delayed. Man-ok is relieved to hear the news and tells Kang-hwi that it gives him some time to rest.

It’s good news for Take 2 who sweeps the music charts. In their dressing room, Go-dong notes that it’s terrible for Kang-hwi but hopes that he’ll be encouraged after he sees them on stage. You’re so wonderfully optimistic, Go-dong; don’t ever change.

But it’s bad news bears a minute later as Bum-soo walks in with a defeated expression on his face – their debut stage is cancelled.

Through an expository round of drinks at the pojangmacha, Bum-soo gripes that this is definitely Lee Joon’s doing, using his puppeteering strings to make sure that Take 2 doesn’t debut before Kang-hwi.

Tae-ik says that he expected it wouldn’t be easy and is glad to hear that they won’t give up. Bum-soo declares that if he did, “I wouldn’t be Hwang Bum-soo but Lee Joon’s little brother, Lee Bum-soo!”

He vows to get them back onstage.

Later that evening, Bum-soo gets a call from CEO Kim from the broadcasting company we saw him visit earlier. The CEO apologizes for the sudden cancellation and adds that he did it to prepare a “special stage” for the new group. Uh-oh, I don’t get a good feeling about this.

We don’t get to hear the details, but Bum-soo’s eyes grow wide with excitement.

The next day, he takes the Take 2 boys out but remains playfully tight-lipped about their destination. Tae-ik convinces him to fill them in and learns that their “special stage” is a music show where two groups duke it out in a live broadcast.

The fact that no one is exactly sure what the name of the show is or its format (Go-dong: “Is it one of those music survival shows that’s popular these days?”) leaves Tae-ik suspicious and he asks who they’ll be going up against.

Bum-soo doesn’t know and he laughs that CEO Kim isn’t someone who makes a generous offer like that. And you trust him why?

So you can imagine the surprise on their faces when they introduce themselves to CEO Kim and meet their opponent: Kang-hwi.

Kang-hwi rises from his chair and asks in disbelief, “Take 2?!”

 
COMMENTS

Two against One? Once bromusicians and now rivals. This is the setup that we knew would be inevitable but dying to see. Both of them have different motivations and both of them want to stand on that stage.

Like kaedejun mentioned in the previous recap, I’m not a fan of the noble idiocy act of the heroine withholding the truth and creating the Big Misunderstanding. I’m proud of Man-ok to stand up to Tae-ik and tell him that she’s different from Se-ryung. However, her choice to keep Kang-hwi’s condition from him says otherwise. Se-ryung had a more selfish motivation to live her own life (either to advance her career or leave the showbiz industry, we’re not sure) but what shakes Tae-ik’s trust in both women remains the same: that they can’t entrust him with the truth. Sure, we’d be without much conflict without this misunderstanding but I can’t blame him for what seems like the same kind of betrayal twice in one lifetime.

As we approach the final week, I’m excited to see both of these men take the stage and see what they have to show us.  Plus, I want to see Go-dong on stage. If the man can dance as well as he can sing, then I’m sure we’re going to be in for a fantastic performance ahead.

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