Misaeng: Episode 16

by odilettante

The newbies are excited to finally submit their own proposals, but if you thought getting a project approved is a cause for celebration, think again: this is One International, and nothing is ever as simple as it seems. No one is thrilled with the office protocol, especially Chief Oh, who’s once again forced to make difficult decisions as Geu-rae finds himself unwittingly caught in the middle of a battle of integrity versus office politics.

 
EPISODE 16 RECAP

Geu-rae gets ready for work, and yay, he knows how to tie his own necktie now! As he enters the One International lobby, he says hello to Seok-yul. Whoa. I barely recognize him with his new haircut. In a voiceover, Geu-rae notes that Seok-yul’s become quiet and withdrawn as a way to survive.

Much like his new hair style, his new personality is barely recognizable to the other newbies (and to us viewers) who miss his annoying chatterbox ways. But it’s not like they can really give him any advice, because in the year and a half they’ve worked there, they’ve come to realize that you have to endure your hardships on your own. Still, Geu-rae wishes he could tell Seok-yul that even if a baduk stone is lost, the game continues.

We’re now in October, which means months have passed since the last episode. Geu-rae flips through his calendar and writes “YES! YES?” on today’s date. Dong-shik and Chief Chun arrive, and they rattle off all the projects Geu-rae’s worked on in the intervening months. Geu-rae’s been a busy bee! He finds out that his latest project has been approved, and he happily circles the “YES!” on his calendar.

Baek-ki tries to focus on other work as he distractedly wonders if his project will be approved today, too.

In the ladies room, Young-yi chats with Deputy Director Sun, who puts on her makeup after pulling an all-nighter. Young-yi gets a message telling her that her credit card payment is late. Seeing Young-yi’s deflated expression, Deputy Director Sun suggests a friendly coffee break.

They run into Chief Oh on a coffee break as well, and he notes that she’s no longer the resource team scapegoat. When Deputy Director Sun teases him for paying such close attention to Young-yi, he jokes that he hasn’t given up on her transferring to his team.

The resource team return from their meeting, sighing over the fact that Young-yi’s item was selected for the team to pursue. It’s going to be a headache for them, and that headache is named Manager Ma, who’s pissed that headquarters selected Young-yi’s proposal. He orders Chief Jung and Young-yi to tell headquarters that they can’t do her item and to push for the other resource team’s project instead.

Geu-rae is bewildered by this, since Manager Ma is the the head of the resource department, and therefore should be fine that one of his team’s items was selected in the first place. But Dong-shik explains that the team that supports Manager Ma (and therefore he supports them in return) had their project rejected and the new female employee had her project selected. That puts him at a disadvantage because it’s not a project he controls. In the end, it’s all about office politics and what will be more likely to get Manager Ma promoted.

The new (and not-so-improved) Seok-yul quietly goes about his business as Assistant Manager Sung reaps the praises of making an impressive deal for a huge fabric order. Chief Moon is a little concerned that their factories won’t be able to produce the amount required, but Assistant Manager Sung reassures him they’ll be able to meet the demand.

Seok-yul heads to the break room for a cup of coffee, and Chief Moon remarks on his calmer and less talkative attitude. But Seok-yul brings up his concerns about the factory not being able to fulfill the contract without hiring the use of subcontractors — they just don’t have the capability to meet the demand. But Chief Moon reminds him that Assistant Manager Sung had gotten the factory’s reassurance they could fulfill the order, and he trusts Assistant Manager Sung.

Preparing to take the lead on his project, Geu-rae is busy researching everything he can about Kazakhstan, impressing Dong-shik with all the little facts he’s learned. But Chief Oh gets a call from the department head who tells him that he needs to find someone else to take over the project — Geu-rae’s just a contract worker with a few months left, and it’s pointless to have him as lead.

Chief Oh defends Geu-rae and his ability, but the department head reminds him that’s not how things work around here. They can’t have a contract employee in charge of a project per office protocol. Chief Oh tries to figure out a way around it, asking the head of the planning department if it’s possible to set a precedent, but gets immediately shut down.

It doesn’t matter that Geu-rae is the one who put all the time and effort into this project, they can’t have him as the lead on the paperwork. Despite Chief Oh’s fervent protests, the head of the planning department tells him point-blank that there’s no point for the company to spend any time developing a worker who will just leave in a few months.

Chief Oh breaks the news to Chief Chun and Dong-shik, the latter who’s astonished and irate on Geu-rae’s behalf. He refuses to have his name replace Geu-rae’s, but Chief Chun knows that this is just how the company works. Chief Oh seems surprisingly resigned as he tells Dong-shik that it’s not like Geu-rae saved the world — he’s just fulfilling his duty to get his paycheck. But does that mean Chief Oh is just going to hand over the project like that?

Young-yi’s lost in thought about her own project woes, and is shaken out of her reverie when Assistant Manager Ha stops by, telling her to just do whatever Manager Ma asks. It’s about picking her battles and finding the easiest way to get by. Of course, he’s not saying this because he’s worried about her, no siree — it’s just because he doesn’t want Manager Ma becoming a headache for their team. Uh-huh, sure.

Focused on his project, Geu-rae’s oblivious to the rest of his department watching him work, knowing all his effort will be in vain. Aw, but Dong-shik and Chief Chun still give him help when he asks for it, eager to make sure his pet project is done perfectly. Chief Chun in particular is reminded of a time when he had submitted a project that had been dismissed to favor the other more “elite” employees in his team.

Chief Oh broods over a cup of coffee, and Chief Go commiserates with him. But the only advice he can give Chief Oh is to just try and comfort the disappointed Geu-rae, because it’s not like there’s anything Chief Oh can do to change things. Baek-ki just happens to be around the corner making a cup of coffee, and overhears everything.

Geu-rae meets with one of the business owners there to drop off a proposal, and the man is visibly nervous as he hands it over to Geu-rae, telling him how crucial it will be for his company if they win the bid.

As Geu-rae gets back on the elevator, the executive director is already onboard. He bids a nervous Geu-rae to join him, and as they ride up together, the director verifies that he’s the one who had been referred by the Youngsung CEO. As Geu-rae steps off the elevator, the executive director tells him to stop by his office sometime for a game of baduk.

Baek-ki’s been anxiously waiting all day to hear back if his project has been approved, becoming so distracted that it’s been hard to focus on his regular work. Assistant Manager Kang finally calls him out on all the little mistakes he’s been making, telling him to stop fretting about his project and instead focus on his work.

As he’s headed to the supply room to make copies, he passes Young-yi, who’s so lost in thought she doesn’t even notice him approaching. She asks him about his project, but he turns it around to compliment her on her project being recognized by headquarters. Seeing her unenthused expression, Baek-ki starts to mention Geu-rae, but then stops.

Young-yi drafts an email to headquarters, letting them know that she’ll need to withdraw her project due to personal reasons. Chief Jung watches her as she slumps at her desk, head in hands. He seems just as thrilled about this as she is.

Chief Oh meets an old work sunbae for lunch, and is surprised to find out that the sunbae’s business venture ended in total failure. The department head stops by Sales Team 3 looking for Chief Oh, and chides Dong-shik and Chief Chun for Chief Oh’s refusal to switch the lead name on Geu-rae’s project, telling them one of them needs to take it over. Geu-rae happens to overhear this and walks away, utterly crushed. It’s not just that his project will be taken from him, but another reminder that he’s just an unqualified temp.

Meanwhile, Chief Oh listens as his sunbae describes his regret over the way he left his old job at One International. Maybe he should have tried harder to toe the line when it came to office politics. They laugh over his ambition and unwavering perseverance when he was younger, and he says that kind of spirit is gone from the business world now.

Sunbae asks if Chief Oh still thinks the office is a battlefield, telling him not to give up and get pushed out — because the outside world is hell. Chief Oh offers to escort his tipsy sunbae home, but he shrugs him off, instead slipping an envelope into his pocket, telling him to buy some snacks for his kids.

But when Chief Oh opens the envelope once he returns to the office, he sees that tucked inside with way too much money is a note from Sunbae, practically begging him for work and a foot back in the door.

Dong-shik reports that Geu-rae overheard about the order for him to hand over his project to someone else, and he’s not sure where Geu-rae’s gone. He isn’t answering his phone and businesses bidding on the project are trying to get a hold of him.

He’s sitting gloomily in the stairwell, which is where a breathless Chief Oh finally finds him. He chastises Geu-rae for leaving his position when he’s the person in charge of this project. Does he think the rest of the team are his backup staff?

Geu-rae quietly returns to his desk and focuses on his work as the rest of the team watch him knowingly. Chief Chun leaves for a meeting, running into the executive director in the lobby. He stops to ask Chief Chun how Sales Team 3 is doing these days, and Chief Chun ends up going to the executive director’s office to give a full report.

The executive director is surprised to hear that Chief Oh is so furious about Geu-rae being forced to hand over his project, but dismisses Chief Oh’s determined effort to find a way around it as just his bizarre quirk. He adds that Chief Oh never seems to learn, but admits that his passion is admirable. Chief Chun hesitatingly asks the executive director if there’s a way he could support Geu-rae.

Manager Ma gets a little bit punchy (literally) when Chief Jung asks for more time for Young-yi to send her email, demanding to know if the department chief has grown soft because he’s now working with a woman. Manager Ma reminds him he’s up for promotion soon, so if he wants to climb the corporate ladder, then he’d better comply.

Chief Jung takes Young-yi aside and gently asks if she’s able to give the project up as a favor to him. She stands outside, lost in thought. Across the way is Geu-rae, similarly lost in his own work worries. They smile knowingly at each other as Geu-rae repeats his words from the beginning of the episode: “Hardships must be endured alone.”

Her mind made up, Young-yi tells Manager Ma that she agrees her project was short-sighted and that she’s already sent an email to headquarters, letting them know she won’t be able to proceed with it. It’s pretty infuriating to see Manager Ma’s smug face as Young-yi stumbles over her words, admitting that he was right after all.

The textile team is surprised by a visit from some angry factory foremen, who insist it’s impossible to complete the fabric order. As they voice their complaints, Assistant Manager Sung sticks to his guns, yelling that the factory manager promised to fulfill the order, so they should blame him instead. He threatens to hold them all responsible if the order isn’t completed, telling them to do whatever it takes to make sure it’s done in time.

The factory workers walk out, telling the textile team that they’re going to go on strike. Assistant Manager Sung just yells that they’ll be responsible for any added costs for hiring subcontractors. But Chief Moon is worried and asks Seok-yul to see if he can reason with them, since he has a connection to the factory so perhaps they’ll listen to him.

Seok-yul promises Chief Moon that he’ll do his best, but the men won’t listen to him. They accuse him of forgetting what it’s like in the factory now that he’s grown accustomed to his cushy office job. One of the men angrily pushes Seok-yul hard against the wall before they walk out, and Young-yi rushes over in concern as he slumps against the wall, watching the men leave.

Geu-rae works late on his project until it’s finished. He pauses a moment before he hands it over to Chief Oh, and then formally asks him to change the person in charge of it. There’s a long beat as the two men stare at each other before Chief Oh finally agrees. Geu-rae bows and returns to his desk.

Baek-ki is still distracted over not hearing back about his project, and continues to make little errors. As he’s busy fixing mistakes in a report, Assistant Manager Kang notices that Baek-ki’s pet project has been approved, and casually mentions it to him, adding that he did a good job. Aw, it’s cute how utterly happy Baek-ki is to hear it, and he stumbles over his words as he thanks Assistant Manager Kang.

But he also notes that Geu-rae’s project has been officially handed off to Dong-shik, and Baek-ki actually looks concerned as he watches Geu-rae work as though nothing had happened.

Seok-yul is beating himself up (er, figuratively speaking, despite the nasty bruise on his cheek from earlier) because he wasn’t able to reach an agreement with the factory workers, especially since Chief Moon had such confidence in his abilities. But one of the foremen calls him to meet one-on-one.

He explains that the man who threw Seok-yul against the wall and gave him the bruise on his cheek is his brother, who lost a couple of fingers after using the old equipment. The reason the men are going on strike is because they don’t want to risk more accidents. Their hands are their livelihood — they can’t risk damaging them and being out of a job just to fulfill one contract. Remembering his blue collar roots, Seok-yul starts to cry.

After work and over drinks, Baek-ki admits to Geu-rae that he’s never been more ashamed of his qualifications as he was today. He tipsily tries to explain that it’s not their fault — it’s not Geu-rae’s past or Baek-ki’s qualifications. But he stops himself and instead does a cheer with a glass of beer. Aw, I smell the promise of bromance.

Chief Oh finds his work sunbae drowning his sorrows in soju. He returns the envelope of cash, adding that if his sunbae continues to drink, he won’t be sober enough to take advantage of any opportunity that comes his way. He describes his new employee (aka Geu-rae) as reminding him of Sunbae when he was younger.

But there’s an important difference between Sunbae and the newbie: Even though the newbie works hard, it’s natural; even though he’s passionate, he knows when to be restrained; even though he’s young, he’s not drunk.

As they leave the restaurant, Chief Oh gives Sunbae a card for a small company looking for new employees (aw, it’s the CEO who referred Geu-rae to One International). Sunbae tells Chief Oh to make sure the newbie doesn’t turn out to be just like him, and he hopes everything turns out well for him.

Chief Oh walks home, lost in thought. He pulls out his phone to call Geu-rae, who’s also on his way home. Chief Oh tells him to not stay drunk, and Geu-rae agrees. He thinks back to how he and Young-yi had to to surrender their projects. Even if a baduk stone is lost, the game continues.

In the morning, Seok-yul reports to Chief Moon, letting him know he wasn’t able to reach an agreement with the factory workers. When he says he’ll contact subcontractors to help make up the difference, Assistant Manager Sung leaps up to rub in the fact that Seok-yul’s confidence was all for naught.

But Seok-yul’s pride in the factory has been reawakened, and he tells Assistant Manager Sung to not look down on the factory workers. He informs Chief Moon that it’s physically impossible for them to complete the order and that they, the office workers, should have given them a feasible work order to accomplish. He adds that even Assistant Manager Sung should have known this order would have been impossible to complete, but Assistant Manager Sung continues to play the blame game.

Chief Moon seems to understand the severity of the situation, though, and gives Seok-yul his approval to do whatever it takes to find subcontractors to help out the factory — if nothing else, the textile team will take the blame and shoulder a loss. Seok-yul immediately gets on the phone to the factory to get things moving, and he slicks back his hair, wondering how long it’ll be before it grows out again. Yesssss! Our Seok-yul is back!

The resource team is in crisis mode when one of the companies they work with is reporting bankruptcy. Manager Ma snatches the phone from Chief Jung, yelling at the other company while Young-yi verifies that they have insurance to cover themselves. Manager Ma literally shoves the phone into the guys’ chests as he yells at them for not doing their jobs properly, and just as he’s about to poke the phone into Young-yi’s forehead, Chief Jung interrupts to tell him that the insurance will take care of it.

He then takes the phone from Manager Ma before he can use it to poke anyone else, calmly informing him that he’ll take care of it. After he hangs up with the other company, he tells Manager Ma to not touch his or his staff’s bodies again. Whoa. Everyone stands in tense nervousness as Manager Ma silently stares them down and then leaves.

In the stairwell, Chief Jung tries to catch his breath, shocked by the way he just confronted Manager Ma. They’re all assuming the worst, but as Assistant Manager Ha says they’re all in it together, Young-yi’ gives a small smile. Aw. Talk about your team building.

Chief Oh is surprised when the department head hands him a couple of projects that have passed review on the executive level. That means these are “sure bets” that will look good for a promotion, and Chief Oh verifies that that they were sent down by the executive director. Indeed, as the executive director was looking through Geu-rae’s personnel file, there were a few projects on his desk that he decided to pass down to Sales Team 3.

 
COMMENTS

It always seems to feel like it’s two steps forward, one step back for our newbies, but it feels like things are finally starting to turn around for them. Baek-ki finally gets his name on a project and a “good job!” from Assistant Manager Kang; Young-yi’s team finally steps up for her — and themselves — in order to stop Manager Ma’s abuse; and Seok-yul finally gets to prove that Assistant Manager Sung doesn’t know what he’s doing after all.

Of course, it only took him almost a year and the total loss of his spirit and personality. Perhaps it would have happened sooner (and not so painfully, at least to his pride) if Seok-yul had taken the other newbies’ advice and just waited for Assistant Manager Sung to dig his own hole. But I’m so thankful that Seok-yul is back and able to stand proud for everything he believes in — and hopefully this means he’ll return to his cheery, talkative self! I greatly missed our constant ray of sunshine in the office this week, and while I did appreciate the new haircut, Seok-yul just isn’t Seok-yul without without the longer hair and center-parted bangs.

This is also the perfect time to gush about Byun Yo-han, right? Obviously we all adore Im Si-wan, Kang So-ra, Kang Ha-neul, and (most importantly) Lee Sung-min. But Byun Yo-han is truly showing off his skills as an actor. Remember when we first met Seok-yul, back when he seemed like a slick opportunist out to use Geu-rae? There was an instinctive sensation of distaste and revulsion, especially when it was revealed that he was a total “wall dog.” But Byun Yo-han convincingly transformed Seok-yul into the comedic sidekick that we grew to love, and then into the tragic creature these past couple of episodes that I wanted to fiercely protect — yet just like Geu-rae, I knew Seok-yul was going to have to endure his hardship alone.

His character arc has been the most interesting of the newbies. We’re gradually learning about Young-yi and her family struggles as she spends all her money making sure her parents aren’t out on the street; of Baek-ki and his growing realization that qualifications aren’t everything; and, of course, Geu-rae, who continually goes through all the ways that life tries to bring him down by maintaining his sense of calm dignity.

None of the newbies is perfect, though. Even with just a few episodes left, I’m not expecting amazing leaps forward. That’s not the realistic world that One Inernational’s given us. But at least I finally have hope that their lives won’t forever be dreary and beat-down, and that they’ll be able to prove to their team members — and the rest of the company — how worthwhile they are.

I just want everyone to finally be happy and feel like they truly belong. Is that too much to ask?

 
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