Plus Nine Boys: Episode 12

by LollyPip

The honeymoons are over, and real life starts to hit our plus-nine boys as they try to navigate the rocky waters that come with their new relationships. Friendships are at stake, feelings are hurt, and more than one couple starts to unravel under the pressure. But there’s hope that maybe they won’t all crash and burn, and maybe they could even come out of this stronger if they can only hold tight and believe in each other.

 
Track 12: “Lean on me”

After their tickle fight the mood turns more serious and Jin-gu leans in to kiss Se-young, but her doorbell rings with exquisite timing. It’s Jae-bum, and Jin-gu wants to man up and go talk to him but Se-young convinces him to hide and let her deal with it this time. To his credit, Jin-gu looks extremely unhappy about handling things this way.

Se-young steps outside with Jae-bum, who’s brought her some herbal medicine since she’d claimed to be feeling unwell that day. It’s unclear whether he heard a man’s voice inside, but he definitely picks up that something is off. For a moment Se-young looks like she might come clean about dating Jin-gu, but Jae-bum stops her and leaves. Se-young and Jin-gu watch Jae-bum walk away sadly, both of them looking miserable for having deceived their friend.

Jin-gu gives Se-young his patented bear hug and tells her not to think so much. He reminds her that there are two of them in this relationship and that she doesn’t have to struggle so hard by herself, and says again that he’ll be the bad guy and talk to Jae-bum. Aw, he’s so sweet. Se-young relaxes into his comforting arms while Jin-gu thinks that if you can’t dive into love, you don’t deserve it.

At the park, Su-ah orders Min-gu to sit and listen to her, but he stands his ground. She apologizes, saying that it was never her intent to fool him and that she wanted to tell him about her past so many times. Min-gu turns his back so she yells at him that he created this illusion about her all on his own, and that he kept chasing her, so why is he running away now?

Min-gu denies that he’s running away, it’s just that he’s a simple person and can only think of one thing at a time. All he can think of now is that she deceived him — he just wants to go home and think.

Back at home, Mom (Noona) follows Kwang-soo into his room to call him stupid for dating a single mother, the one type of woman she told him not to date. She orders him to straighten up before things get too deep, but Kwang-soo only says that his relationship with Da-in isn’t what she thinks.

He tells her that Da-in was the one he almost married ten years ago, and she’s even more upset now, knowing that he’s seeing her again after the way she devastated him. Kwang-soo stays calm and asks her to just support him, but Mom is beyond reason and just tells him again to break up with her.

Not even bothered, Kwang-soo calls up Da-in to apologize for the surprise encounter in the elevator. He tells her that he always regretted losing her, and that he promises never to let go of her hand again, asking her to do the same. Da-in, as usual, says very little.

The instant Jin-gu wakes up the next morning he sends a sappy text to Se-young, who must have been waiting for it since she texts right back. She sends a selca of herself still in bed with an “I miss you” message to someone she calls “Dummy,” but they both freak out when they realize that she accidentally sent it to the office group chat. Oh no, I’m cringing for you!

Everyone at work now knows that Se-young is seeing someone and they’re all wondering who it could be. The only person who knows is Gossipy Sunbae, who looks like she’s about to burst into flames with the information, and Jin-gu shoots her “don’t you dare” glares.

When Se-young gets to work she plays it off like she meant that text for a friend, but her denials are so over-the-top that Jin-gu starts glaring at her too, to signal her to shut up. During all this, Jae-bum texts Jin-gu to meet him for coffee, and they head to the roof to talk.

Jae-bum wonders out loud who it was that Se-young meant to text, and tells Jin-gu that he went to her place last night and she was acting strange. Jin-gu starts to say something, but he’s interrupted by a call from Se-young frantically calling him to their stairwell.

She immediately starts thinking up new inventive ways to hide their relationship, but Jin-gu still thinks they should just come clean. He wants to tell Jae-bum because keeping this secret isn’t right, but Se-young is too chicken. Jin-gu says that by putting it off she’s just lying, and that hits home so she reluctantly agrees to let Jin-gu tell him they’re dating. Jin-gu invites both Jae-bum and Go-eun out for a drink later, deciding to make a clean sweep of the news.

Min-gu is listless and quiet at practice, moping over the truth about Su-ah’s rough past. His friends (who are eating sausage dipped in marshmallow fluff, which is so disgusting) ask him what he plans to do, sure that Su-ah didn’t intend to lie to him. They wonder if he’ll call her noona now, which has Min-gu rolling his eyes.

Su-ah fingers her wish bracelet from Min-gu and declines her friends’ invitations to go clubbing, telling them to grow up and study. She’s in no mood to talk, and when she gets to the street and sees that Min-gu isn’t there waiting for her as usual, her face falls.

Min-gu and Su-ah both go for walks, each thinking of the other, and when Su-ah climbs the stairs to the library she sees Min-gu standing at the top waiting for her. He asks her simply, “Do you like me?” Su-ah says that she never regretted being a bad girl until she met him, because she didn’t want to disappoint him. Min-gu asks her to date him again, and holds out his hand — after a long moment, Su-ah takes it.

She asks if he’s going to keep calling her by name, asking him to call her “noona,” but he flatly refuses. She in turn refuses to call him “oppa” anymore. These two are so cute.

Kwang-soo and Da-in enjoy the sunshine by the river, and he decides to teach her to ride a bike. She’s awful at it, so he compromises by taking her for a ride on a tandem bike. She misses a call from Eun-seo’s school while riding, and when she discovers that Eun-seo was hurt at school, she feels terrible that her daughter was crying for her while she was out having fun.

On their way home they run into a nosy neighbor lady, who notices that Kwang-soo is carrying Da-in’s things and says that people will gossip because he’s a bachelor and people will think he’s dating someone he shouldn’t. And that’s your business how…? Kwang-soo just grandly says that she can think what she likes because he doesn’t care, and ushers Da-in and Eun-seo inside.

In the elevator Kwang-soo is proud of how he handled that situation, but Da-in looks uneasy. She pushes the button for his floor against his protests that he’ll take her to her door, and he notices that something’s off (I honestly don’t know how he can tell, since she’s just not talking as usual). He drops her off and says to call him if she needs anything, but he’s noticeably worried.

Later Da-in’s doorbell rings, and this time it’s Mom with more food for her and Eun-seo. But the food is just an excuse to talk to Da-in about dating Kwang-soo, and Mom pulls no punches as she tells Da-in that she likes her but she thinks a previously-broken relationship can’t be mended again. She makes it clear that she doesn’t consider Da-in to be an appropriate wife for her brother. And again I say, that’s your business how…?

Da-in tucks Eun-seo into bed and cries, while at the same time Kwang-soo looks at the matching rings he bought and smiles to himself. He’s so happy, it’s breaking my heart.

Jin-gu, Se-young, Jae-bum, and Go-eun go for drinks, and Jin-gu texts Se-young that he’s going to tell them that they’re dating now. She stalls him multiple times, until Go-eun gives her the perfect opening by asking her who she meant the text for that morning (and poor Jae-bum looks a little sick), but Se-young again lies that it’s nobody. Jin-gu sits there getting more and more frustrated that she won’t let him tell the truth.

Seeming to be honing in on something, Jae-bum asks Jin-gu in front of everyone why he rode Se-young’s bus all that time, and again Se-young lies about it just as Jin-gu is about to confess. Jin-gu’s face darkens and he kicks Se-young under the table, then he excuses himself while using their “I need to talk to you” code.

They meet outside and he tells her to stop, and she says nervously that she decided to wait and tell them tomorrow. Jin-gu says he’s telling them tonight, right now, but Se-young continues to interrupt every time he starts to talk. By now even Jae-bum is trying to find out what Jin-gu is trying to say, but Se-young is frantic and out of control.

When Jin-gu stops to pay the bill on their way out, Se-young takes the chance to grab Jae-bum and take off, leaving Go-eun to wait for Jin-gu outside. Go-eun invites Jin-gu to another restaurant, just the two of them, but he turns her down. No fool she, Go-eun asks if he’s the person Se-young meant to text that morning, and he just says, “I’m sorry,” and runs.

He catches Se-young just as Jae-bum is putting her in a cab, and this time he ignores Se-young’s pleading and talks directly to Jae-bum: “Jae-bum-ah. I’m really sorry. I like Se-young.” Jae-bum looks to Se-young for a denial but she can’t meet his eyes, and the expression on his face is crushing as the truth dawns. To make things perfectly clear, Jin-gu takes Se-young’s hand and tells Jae-bum that they’re dating. Jae-bum turns and walks away from them, ignoring Jin-gu as he calls after him.

Jin-gu hugs a devastated Se-young close as he thinks that at twenty-nine years old, even though there were many reasons not to, he chose love (over friendship). Meanwhile Go-eun walks home alone and cries, and Jae-bum takes a taxi as he processes his friends’ betrayal.

Da-in thinks over Mom’s words at work the next day, completely distracted, and gets a text from Kwang-soo to meet him outside. He sits her in his car to show her pictures of his friend’s trip to Machu Picchu, saying they should go someday, not noticing that she’s (somehow managing to be) quieter than usual. He natters on about the trip and finally notices she doesn’t seem excited.

Da-in says that she remembers now how hard it was for her back when they dated before. She tells him that she feels lonely with him now like she did then, because she hasn’t felt like she could show her feelings. I’m sorry, but whose fault is that? Certainly not the guy who’s been begging you to talk to him for months.

Kwang-soo swears that she won’t feel lonely anymore, but she’s too scared to start relying on him again, having felt strong and independent for the first time without him. Kwang-soo matter-of-factly says that he loves how he feels now, and that he wants her to feel like she can rely on him. Da-in simply says that she’s sorry and goes back to work.

Min-gu dresses up after practice and fixes his hair to be all suave and mature-looking, and his friends joke that he looks like he stole his uncle’s clothes. They’re impressed that dating a noona has made him so adult, and he just breezes past them and dismisses their childish antics.

He takes Su-ah to a nice restaurant, even paying with his own credit card instead of Mom’s this time. He catches Su-ah’s longing looks at some guys drinking at another table, and hilariously thinks she wants a soda instead of the alcohol she was really craving. I guess the clothes don’t necessarily make the man.

They go to see a movie but Min-gu is stopped, as he’s not old enough to see it. Su-ah tries to console him but her efforts only make him feel smaller, and they start to head home. They’re stopped by some wrestling sunbaes of Min-gu’s, and the leader of the group is a jerk to Min-gu while Su-ah suspiciously tries to hide behind her hair.

The leader notices her anyway and recognizes her, calling her “Bong-sookie noona.” His whole demeanor becomes deferential whenever he talks to her, then switches to meanness again when he talks to Min-gu. He laughs when Su-ah says they’re dating like it’s the funniest thing ever, offering to teach Min-gu a lesson if he doesn’t respect her. Just when Min-gu thinks they’re leaving, the ass turns back to tease him about pooping himself during the match before.

Min-gu is silent on their walk home and it’s Su-ah’s turn to try to charm him out of his black mood, saying that she barely knows that guy and they can see the movie later. She cheerfully says he’s cute when he sulks and she doesn’t care what happened during the match, but Min-gu snaps at her and lashes back by mentioning her graduation album. Oh honey, this is not how you try to look mature in front of your girl. Su-ah says that she was trying to cheer him up, not make fun of him, and that he’s obviously just a high-schooler. Ouch.

Go-eun is cold to Jin-gu at the office, and he notices that Jae-bum’s workspace has been cleared out. He gets an email that there’s a new executive director being announced today, and he puts the pieces together. Sure enough, Jae-bum is ushered in as the new executive director, looking like he’s made of ice and stone, and he carefully avoids eye contact with Jin-gu and a very shocked Se-young.

The two of them sit in their stairwell just taking turns sighing, and Jin-gu admits that he knew about Jae-bum’s family connection to the company, and how he hated the idea of not working his way to the top. Se-young wishes this were all a joke, adding that she feels bad for Go-eun too, and Jin-gu sweetly strokes her hair and apologizes. He takes the blame for everything, and reverts back to his standard adorable teasing until they both end up smiling.

Jin-gu offers to take some reports up to the new executive director’s office, giving Se-young an encouraging nod on his way up. Jae-bum still refuses to look at him and Jin-gu asks if he’s okay anyway, but gets no answer. He says that he wanted to tell Jae-bum, but Jae-bum interrupts to say in a very stern and formal voice that they can’t stay the same. He gives Jin-gu stone-cold look of hate, and with that, their friendship is over.

Jin-gu thinks to himself that love doesn’t always go as planned, that you run up against obstacles or get caught in traps. We see Kwang-soo standing alone as Da-in walks away, and Min-gu snarling at the bus computer when it announces him as a minor. Jin-gu says that that’s why love is difficult, as he and Jae-bum stare at each other with nothing, and everything, looming between them.

 
COMMENTS

First of all, I have an announcement to make — I officially wash my hands of Da-in. I’ve been hoping for several weeks now that she had a good reason for still being closed-off and uncommunicative with Kwang-soo in the present, but I’m tired of making excuses for her. She’s had plenty of chances to talk to Kwang-soo about what happened in the past, and about what she’s feeling now, and yet she continues to shut him out. I no longer think Kwang-soo had any real responsibility in their breakup ten years ago; or if he did, it was negligible and mainly that he just didn’t know he was doing anything wrong because Da-in kept saying everything was fine. His only mistake was believing her when she told him she was okay, and you can’t convince me that trusting your partner’s words is a bad thing.

And now she’s done it to him again, led him to believe everything was great then slamming the door in his face without giving him a chance. I feel that he would have back then, and would now, listen to her if she would bother to open her mouth and talk to him. But she refuses to do that, even while she admits she still feels uncertain about their relationship, and even though he’s practically begging her to be honest with him. It’s too hard to watch him learn from his mistakes and try so hard to reassure her that he wants to be the man she needs, and have her just turn away. She doesn’t deserve him, and I’m done with her.

I have more hope for Min-gu and Su-ah because, while he’s definitely got good reason to be upset about many things, Su-ah is finally showing him her true self and that true self is pretty damn awesome (and I gotta say, I called it, I knew she’d be great!). Su-ah isn’t a gangster girl anymore, but neither is she the demure little sweet thing she’s pretended to be. She’s something in between — a girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t want and is willing to do whatever is needed to get it, yet who is understanding enough of Min-gu, and patient enough, to give him the ass-whooping he needs to grow up. And he may not know it as he mourns the loss of the perfect girl he built her up to be in his mind, but in reality she’s the absolute perfect girl for him. She can get him to wake up from his fantasy world and see that who she really is, is about a million times more amazing than the princess he created in his mind.

But I’m mostly hopeful for Jin-gu and Se-young, because even though she lets her fear take control far too often when it comes to Jin-gu and their relationship, he knows her well enough to know exactly how to tease and hug her out of her own head. He constantly reminds her that she’s not alone — she’s one of a set now, and she can trust him and rely on him to be there for her. It’s so swoony and romantic, I don’t know how she doesn’t melt into a puddle every time he says it. But he’s not even saying it to be swoony and romantic; he truly feels that way about her and he’s committed to making this work, which is way better.

Not that their obstacles are behind them, because this thing with Jae-bum just got so much worse on them than they could have possibly imagined. Not only has he shut them out emotionally, but now he’s put himself into a position of authority over them at work, and I feel like he’s doing it for all the wrong reasons. The timing is too perfect for this decision to be anything but revenge on his part. He’s lashing out at them in the only way he can, by putting them in a subservient position to him, and if he wanted to he could make their lives miserable. I just hope Jae-bum remembers that they love him so much that they lied to save his feelings, and however misguided that is, they did it because they wanted him not to be hurt. I don’t want him to do something unforgivable and completely destroy their friendship, and I just hope they can get through to him before it’s too late.

 
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