High School King of Savvy: Episode 12

by purplecow

What do you do when you’re in love with your director who’s actually a high school student whom your sister also loves? Quit your job and move house! Well, that’s the best Soo-young can come up with, though it’s pretty clear that she’s not dealing with the root of the problem. Meanwhile Min-seok faces a new tragedy that tears his world apart, and he doesn’t even have his Secretary Jung to help him weather the pain. Jin-woo finally feels the worth of what he’s thrown away, while Yoo-ah struggles with a choice that could cost her happiness. It’s an episode of pain and growth as our characters discover that in life, as in love, there are rarely any easy answers.

 
EPISODE 12 RECAP

Min-seok grabs Soo-young by the wrist, leading her away so they can talk. Jin-woo counters with a second wrist grab, saying that he has no right to act this way. Soo-young tells both boys to leave since they’re making such a ruckus. Jin-woo warns Min-seok that he’s going to act as he pleases from now on and drenches Min-seok when he drives through a puddle. Min-seok swears up a storm as he watches the car drive away.

Jin-woo goes to the hospital to visit his mother, who has passed the critical stage after her suicide attempt. He calls his father and lets him know about Mom’s condition, saying that it’s up to his father whether to visit her or not.

Min-seok’s dad cooked breakfast for them all, but has to leave early for work. Min-seok wolfs down his food, but he’s still haunted by the memory of Jin-woo and Soo-young embracing. He mutters various threats against Jin-woo (“that shitty-looking weasel” is probably my favorite description), getting so worked up that he doesn’t even notice when Gramps sneaks away.

Soo-young has returned to Seoul, driven by her Mom’s nagging and accusations that she’s been fired. She runs into Gramps, who invites her back to his house. He assures her he’s not lost, and he’s so proud of remembering his home address that you can’t help feeling happy for him. We feel less happy for Soo-young a moment later, when she and Gramps run into Min-seok outside of the house and he finally finds out that she’s Pretty Unni. She still doesn’t want to speak with him, but she can’t argue with Gramps when he insists that they all go inside and eat watermelon.

Min-seok asks about Jin-woo, but when Soo-young immediately begins to leave he knows the subject is closed. He gets her to stay a little longer and urges her not to quit her job. “Aren’t you a modern woman who knows how to draw a line between personal and professional matters?” he asks. He lets her know that he covered for her with Team Leader Kim, and that she shouldn’t quit because of what happened.

Soo-young arrives home and puts on a calm and collected face for Yoo-ah, who seems a little uneasy about what her sister will choose to do. Yoo-ah quickly calls Jin-woo to inform him of her sister’s return. Meanwhile, Soo-young watches her reflection and remembers Min-seok’s words about not quitting. She tells herself in voiceover that he’s right, and she needs to go to work with her head held high and end things cleanly with him once and for all.

Soo-young is greeted warmly by the Retail Team — they even missed her nagging, and Assistant Manager Yoon adorably worries that she’s skinnier than she should be after staying with her mom. Dae-han and Yoon-ju rush in late, with Yoon-ju in the same clothes as yesterday and Dae-han sporting some intense dark circles. Their coworkers wonder what could have kept them up so late, when the World Cup is already over. That may be true, but it seems like they still want to score… rawr!

Min-seok arrives and sees that Soo-young has come to work. No sooner does he enter his office than his face lights up. But when Soo-young joins him in the office she’s all business. She updates him on his schedule, then tells him pointedly to call her noona. That kills his mood in a hurry.

For the rest of the day Soo-young follows him around and mixes her secretarial work with reminders that Min-seok should call her noona. He finds excuses to ignore her until they’re stuck in the elevator, when he can’t escape. He grudgingly calls her “noona” repeatedly, then demands what difference it makes. “Did my love really seem that childish to you?” Soo-young reminds herself that he’s a high-schooler and asks if his teachers taught him that before walking out.

Min-seok follows her outside, intent on continuing the conversation. Soo-young is in flight mode, however, and hops into Jin-woo’s car as he happens to be driving by. He chuckles about being used by her, then asks for a favor in return for helping her get away from Min-seok.

Soon Jin-woo and Soo-young arrive together at the hospital where Jin-woo’s mother is staying. Soo-young has a container of homemade red bean porridge, since Jin-woo told her his mother was having trouble eating the hospital food. Mom seems to be taken with Soo-young’s ways, telling Jin-woo that she is cute. Jin-woo admits that he messed up his timing and now Soo-young doesn’t like him back. This actually encourages Mom, though, because she was worried that her own issues might have pushed Jin-woo to give up on love altogether.

As Jin-woo walks Soo-young to the exit, he admits that the red bean porridge was just an excuse — he really only wanted to introduce her to his mother. As Soo-young leaves through the hospital door, she spies President Yoo entering the hospital. Jin-woo doesn’t see his father coming in. President Yoo looks through the window for a long moment, but he leaves without going in.

Min-seok is kicking ass as usual in the hockey rink, when a particularly rough check sends him into the boards at a bad angle and he falls to the ice writhing in pain. His father and his friends pace at the hospital where he’s undergoing shoulder surgery. There’s an adorable moment when he comes out of surgery and his father scolds him for acting like his body is indestructible, and Min-seok snipes back that he’s embarrassing him by making a big fuss out of nothing.

Unaware that Min-seok was hurt, Soo-young makes a call to her landlady and expresses a wish to move somewhere else. Aw, Gramps is going to be so sad if Pretty Unni moves away!

Team Leader Kim hears about the injury and lies to the Retail Team that Director Lee has come down with the flu. Assistant Manager Yoon asks Soo-young if she knows what’s wrong, and if she hasn’t made up with Min-seok yet after what he presumes to be a lover’s quarrel. Soo-young only makes an X with her fingers in reply.

Soo-young composes a message to Min-seok asking if he’s all right, but closes her phone before she can send it. Later that day she follows up on the search for a new house, locating an affordable place that doesn’t currently have anyone living there. She tells Yoo-ah about the move, phrasing it as though it’s a spontaneous decision that will be good for both of them. Yoo-ah doesn’t seem all that excited.

When she’s alone, Yoo-ah calls Tae-seok to find out how Min-seok is doing. The boys are visiting him at the hospital, where they can watch television. Yoo-ah leaves Tae-seok with an overbearing but sweet warning not to tire out her Husband Lee.

Tae-seok and Duk-hwan mess around while visiting Min-seok, who scolds them for being rowdy when the elders in the room are trying to sleep. He takes out his phone while his friends look at dirty pictures. He looks through the selcas he took of himself and Soo-young and basically stews in sadness.

Soo-young walks home from her errand, Min-seok’s mysterious illness foremost in her mind. Is he really sick, or did her insistence that he call her noona make him too frustrated to come to work? She stops worrying abruptly when she realizes that she’s walked to Min-seok’s house. She hits her rebellious legs indignantly.

Then Gramps and Dad come out of the house, ready to visit Min-seok in the hospital. Soo-young rushes to hide, while Dad fruitlessly tries to convince Gramps that he doesn’t have to go all the way to the hospital. Gramps merely insists that Min-seok is hurt, and keeps on going. Dad bows to the inevitable.

Soo-young breathes a sigh of relief when the two pass by without noticing her. She then reflects that she’s still far from wrapping up her feelings for Min-seok. Right away she takes out her phone and calls the real estate agent, asking if she can inspect the new apartment right away. Move house if you want to, Soo-young, but you’ll still be living in denial…

Gramps and the boys are having a grand old time in the hospital. Gramps hits Duk-hwan over the head for giving Min-seok a hard time when he’s injured, while Min-seok reassures him that he doesn’t mean any harm. It’s so sweet to see Gramps getting all protective of his grandson, even fanning him nonstop to keep him from getting overheated.

The doctor has bad news for the coach and Min-seok’s dad, however. The surgery went well, but it revealed that Min-seok should no longer play hockey. He can lead a normal life, but if he persists with strenuous exercise and sports he may lose the use of his arm. Dad knows this news will crush Min-seok, for whom hockey is a crucial part of his life. He begs the doctor to save his son, but there’s nothing that can be done.

Coach asks to see Min-seok alone, confusing the boys with his serious demeanor. Min-seok follows him out, still joking and smiling. Coach can’t even look at Min-seok as he shares the news from the doctor.

Soo-young meets with Team Leader Kim to give notice. He tells her to think of him as an oppa and speak comfortably… “except don’t bring up money.” Pfft. Soo-young informs him of her intention to quit at the end of the week. She admits that she really liked her work as a secretary, and that it was the first permanent position she’s ever had, but she’s still determined to leave.

Team Leader Kim is surprised to learn that Min-seok hasn’t come into work, even though he said the surgery went well. Over the phone Min-seok sounds completely dejected and drained, but Team Leader Kim isn’t immediately convinced. He accuses Min-seok of rebelling, but Min-seok only apologizes and hangs up.

Min-seok’s absence requires an emergency rooftop meeting between Team Leader Kim and Director Han. The team leader suspects that Min-seok is lying about his arm in an attempt to stop coming to work, which would leave our two co-conspirators out to dry. Director Han sends Team Leader Kim on a reconnaissance mission to Min-seok’s house, telling him to buy a fruit basket as a cover story. “With a melon?” asks Team Leader Kim. “He’s not even a real director,” Director Han snorts. “A melon is too much for him.”

Min-seok cleans out his locker, offering his old gear to Duk-hwan and Tae-seok. He tries to treat it like it’s no big deal, but his friends’ worried expressions say otherwise. Min-seok’s sunbae enters, gruff and abrasive to the very last. He says that Min-seok should have been more careful, and even though he hates everything about Min-seok, he hates his carelessness the most. Then he puts a hand brusquely on Min-seok’s shoulder before walking out, expressing what his bravado won’t let him say out loud.

Yoo-ah joins her boys as they’re leaving the locker room. She wants to treat Min-seok to some nice food, but he would rather be alone. He tells them he already took the day off work, so he’s going to go home, eat comfort food, and sleep.

President Yoo dreams about Min-seok’s father, who looks angrier than we’ve ever seen him. He’s yelling at someone who sounds an awful lot like the president, saying he deserves to die. He puts his hands around the person’s throat and tells him to die… which is when President Yoo comes back to his senses in the back of his car. He rubs his neck with both hands. Then he gets a call about “Chauffeur Choi,” which clues him in to his current whereabouts and the fact that he adopted both of Lee Jung-soo’s sons.

Duk-hwan and Tae-seok are at a restaurant, figuring out a plan to help Min-seok. They want to keep him busy, feed him, and just generally stick by his side like burrs so that he has no time to feel depressed. They leave for Min-seok’s home with a carryout bag of food.

When the boys arrive at the house, Team Leader Kim is already there with his fruit basket. He asks about Min-seok — ah, Director Lee’s younger brother — and learns the truth from Min-seok’s dad. Duk-hwan and Tae-seok learn that Min-seok isn’t at home where he said he would be, but they cover for him by claiming that he went to a PC-bang.

Team Leader Kim follows the boys outside to get more information. They recognize him as the Team Leader Kim that Min-seok told them about, and they’re so excited they pose for a selfie. They share what Min-seok told them about him: that at first he was like a crazy dog, but now Min-seok realizes he’s actually nice. They say he looks older than he actually is, to which Team Leader Kim retorts that Duk-hwan looks like he’s 32, not 18. Pfft. The actor really is 32, although he certainly had me fooled. Team Leader Kim asks them to let him know where Min-seok is and then leaves, muttering that he really hates high-schoolers.

Duk-hwan and Tae-seok restart the search for Min-seok, meeting up with Yoo-ah to comb the neighborhood. He’s nowhere around, and Yoo-ah hesitantly wonders if he might have gone to a bridge over the Han River to commit suicide. Tae-seok shoots that thought down immediately, saying that Min-seok isn’t that weak. They run to the school and finally find Min-seok: He’s been running laps all this time.

Yoo-ah urges him to stop aggravating his injury, but Min-seok gasps that he’s not “dead tired” yet. He’s going to run until he feels like dying, and he shrugs off Yoo-ah when she clings to him and asks him to stop. Tae-seok is the one who tells her to let Min-seok be, as this is something he needs to work out for himself.

Yoo-ah is reluctantly walking home when it starts to rain. She’s worried that her Husband Lee will get rained on, so she rushes back to school. When she gets there, umbrella in hand, she sees Min-seok sitting in the middle of the field in the rain, with Duk-hwan and Tae-seok standing behind him like silent sentinels.

With the rain pouring down, Min-seok finally gives in to his grief. Tears streak down his face as he relives all of his memories playing hockey. Matches and training camps and messing around with Duk-hwan and Tae-seok flash through his mind’s eye as he sits in the rain.

Min-seok finds his father drinking soju and eating at a roadside stall. His smile is back now and he calls out cheerfully, joining dad for a meal. Dad urges him to eat a lot, saying when he was Min-seok’s age he could even digest stones. He says that hockey isn’t everything, and that Min-seok can do anything he wants. “You sing well,” he points out. “You could become an idol!” Pfft.

Dad also suggests that Min-seok could start studying diligently — “Nah, that’s not it,” Min-seok immediately replies. Whatever Min-seok decides to do, Dad will support him. He says that Min-seok is a great guy, and Min-seok responds that more than anyone, Dad is the person who comforts him when he’s feeling down.

Next thing we know Dad, Gramps, and Min-seok are in a noraebang, singing their hearts out. Min-seok demonstrates some of his rapping and singing skills, cheering when the machine gives him full marks. “I could really become an idol!” he exults. We believe you, buddy.

Soo-young rocks out to a version of Bruno Mars’ “Runaway Baby” as she packs up her things. Yoo-ah asks her if she really wants to move, to which Soo-young responds that nothing good ever happened to her here. Yoo-ah walks away looking disappointed, while the lyrics of the song Soo-young is listening to pretty much say it all: “You better run run run away, run away, baby.” Maybe you can fool yourself, Soo-young, but you can’t fool Bruno!

Min-seok, Dad, and Gramps walk home from the noraebang. Dad muses that King Solomon was right when he said, “This too shall pass.” Nothing is so terrible that time won’t dull its painful edges. Meanwhile Gramps is falling asleep on his feet, so the other two support him while trying to get him home.

The sisters are about to move, when Yoo-ah finally speaks out. She tells Soo-young about Min-seok’s injury and how he’ll never play hockey again. She hates that she can’t make him feel better, but she thinks that Soo-young might be the best person to comfort him. “So go see him,” she says. Aw, Yoo-ah… in the words of Soo-young, you’ve grown up a little!

Soo-young rides along in the truck with her belongings, remembering all the good times with Min-seok. Eventually she tells the driver to turn back, gets something from her apartment, then runs away on foot. The driver calls out to her, and she shouts over her shoulder that she won’t be moving after all.

Min-seok leaves for work from school, but without his usual out-the-window maneuver. He walks by himself to the school exit, his expression dejected and sad. Then he sees Soo-young by the gate. Her arms are spread wide, and in one hand is the hockey puck with a happy face drawn on it that she got from Gramps. She pulls him into an embrace, telling him that when she is feeling sad, she just repeats the spell, “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He says he missed her, and Soo-young tells him that she’s done running. She doesn’t care if he’s 28 or 18, or if he’s Lee Hyung-seok or Lee Min-seok. “I love you like crazy.” They embrace again, in front of the gates of the school.

COMMENTS

I’ve pretty much run out of positive superlatives for this show. Back when the zany hijinks were front and center, Savvy surprised me by never losing sight of the emotional cores of each character. Now that basically everyone is miserable, the show inverts that trend by finding the humor amidst the angst. But the comic moments scattered throughout, like Team Leader Kim and his ridiculous fruit basket mission, seem to add poignancy to the emotional moments instead of detracting from them.

Many dramas seem to think that more tears equals a stronger reaction from the audience, but too often excessive wailing and waterworks actually harm one’s ability to empathize with a character. Savvy accomplished so much more with its lighter touches, showing how laughter and tears are inextricably intertwined.

How great was Min-seok this episode? His efforts to contain his grief and appear fine in front of his friends and family just killed me. We’ve seen this from him before, when he ran himself into the ground trying to contain his growing affection for Soo-young. But when Min-seok loses both the person and the sport he loves, he still tries to smile. No one was fooled — not us, not Yoo-ah, and definitely not Duk-hwan or Tae-seok. It’s only when he’s alone in the rain that he can’t hold back the tears… and mere hours later he’s back putting on a brave face for his Dad at the pojangmacha.

In the beginning of the episode Soo-young puzzled me a bit. I mean, using Jin-woo to escape from Min-seok? That seems kind of shortsighted to me, just based on her past history with both of them. After all, which of the two directors fired and then sexually assaulted you before, Soo-young? Hint: it wasn’t Min-seok!

To be fair, Jin-woo seemed to improve a lot in terms of his attitude towards Soo-young. He introduces her to his mother and freely admits that he screwed up, and that he sincerely likes her. He recognizes Soo-young’s worth as a person now, rather than seeing her as a way to attack Min-seok. That being said, I don’t think Jin-woo has any right to expect anything from Soo-young, given the way he has acted. Then again, worse people than Jin-woo have changed for the better, and he certainly seems to be trying.

The ending was all kinds of satisfying, not just because of the reconciliation but because it was only possible thanks to Yoo-ah’s actions. She was caught between her desire to help Min-seok and wanting to keep him to herself, and in the end she triumphed over the petty side of herself. She put Min-seok’s needs above her own, sending Soo-young to see him even if it meant losing her chance to split the two of them apart.

I was worried that Yoo-ah’s conspiracy with Jin-woo would lead her down a darker path, but instead she showed a surprising and altogether admirable maturity. This week’s happy ending was entirely thanks to Yoo-ah — I only hope that she gets a happy ending of her own. She certainly deserves it!

Now most of the secrets are out, at least between Min-seok and Soo-young. They’re honest about their feelings and determined to fight for them, which means we can look forward to some very satisfying developments in the near future. We still need to learn exactly how President Yoo was involved with the death of Min-seok’s biological father, and whether Hyung-seok’s plan is in any way connected with the president. Then there is the relationship between the sisters, which is bound to become more tense now that both admit to liking Min-seok. Whatever happens, I’m confident that Savvy will keep that mixture of sorrow and humor, laughter and tears, that has kept us all riveted since the beginning.

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