Misaeng: Episode 18

by odilettante

Sales Team 3 throws its heart and soul into the executive director’s China project, but when it starts to feel like something’s not quite right about the deal, they wonder if they should continue. Failure could mean the end of Sales Team 3, as well as the end of Geu-rae’s career at One International, and Chief Oh must decide if he’ll meekly follow the orders from the higher-ups or find a way to keep his integrity intact.

 
EPISODE 18 RECAP

As he stands in his bedroom Monday morning, Chief Oh remembers his wife’s encouragement to do what he feels is right. He gets dressed in his best business suit and, with his wife’s blessing, heads to the office to meet with the executive director to inform him he’s taken on the project.

The executive director is pleased and immediately starts discussing the deal. But Chief Oh has an important question: “Why me? Why Sales Team 3?” The executive director just chuckles and says it’s because he’s Oh Sang-shik — why should he need any other reason?

Chief Oh informs his staff that they’re going to be working on the executive director’s projects. They’re surprised, but immediately start discussing strategy. Dong-shik’s still worried that Poshin, the company they’re relying on, won’t win the solar energy bid. Even though Chief Oh admits it’s still not guaranteed, they can help Poshin win the bid by sourcing more solar panels.

He sets out tasks for Chief Chun and Dong-shik, and orders Geu-rae to do whatever they ask of him, adding that this won’t be the time for him to turn into “Team Leader Jang” and start philosophizing or coming up with crazy schemes.

Geu-rae’s still confused by what Chief Oh means when he says they’ll use their “connections” set up by the executive director, and Dong-shik and Chief Chun explain the concept of guanxi, or the use of connections and reciprocal favors, which is incredibly important when doing business with China. Even though it’s not Chief Oh’s style, he’s accepted it in order to (as Chief Chun would say) “move away from the stench of toilets.”

Young-yi discovers that her old project (the one Manager Ma forced her to give up) has now been taken up again by the head office, and Chief Jung is happy to tell her that she’ll be working on it again. The assistant managers are still a little worried about how they’ll be treated by Manager Ma (even anticipating that they’ll be the ones moving into Sales Team 3’s poorly located cubicles by the restrooms, ha!), but Young-yi’s delighted, and offers to make everyone a cup of coffee as a way of saying “thank you.”

She runs into Baek-ki on her way to the break room, and points out that he’s wearing the shirt she bought him. Seok-yul joins them, and as he’s making his coffee, he realizes the water jug is empty. He authoritatively tells Young-yi to replace it, but when she gives him the evil eye, he just laughs and tells her he’s just reminding her of what it was like when she was first working with Assistant Manager Ha.

Seok-yul struggles to carry the water jug, and Baek-ki finally takes over, smoothly lifting it into place. As Seok-yul pats his back in gratitude, his encyclopedic knowledge of all things textile kicks in and he points out that Baek-ki’s wearing a shirt made from some quality — and therefore super expensive — fabric.

Baek-ki tries to deflect, asking why Seok-yul is always in their break room when his office is on another floor, but Seok-yul cheerfully says it’s because his floor doesn’t have the fancy coffee machine or Baek-ki and Young-yi. Haha! Young-yi reassures the worried Baek-ki that she didn’t pay that much for the shirt, but their conversation is interrupted by the number saved as “…” calling on Young-yi’s phone.

Back at his desk, Seok-yul sees that they’re still working with the company that routinely is late on deliveries, and worriedly asks Chief Moon about it. But Assistant Manger Sung cockily informs him that they’ve already taken care of the matter by adding a clause to the contract, which states that late deliveries will incur a fee.

In the stairwell, Seok-yul privately asks Assistant Manager Sung why he didn’t tell him about the change to the contract earlier. Assistant Manager Sung taunts him, reminding him that he has more experience than Seok-yul and there’s nothing Seok-yul can do to beat him.

The executive director, sales department head, and Chief Oh have a lunch meeting, and it looks like Chief Oh is the only one who doesn’t want to be there. He initially declines the offer of a drink, until the executive director insists, pouring out a cup for him. The executive director fills him in on the connections he’s made in China, reassuring Chief Oh that they’ll support him.

He adds that it’s important for Chief Oh to make lifelong friendships, and not just dump a contact once their profitability is used up. He even shows that he has Chief Oh on speed dial, telling him they should talk on the phone like they used to.

The rest of Sales Team 3 is busy working on the China project, but when Dong-shik notices that Geu-rae received a text message from the kindergarten teacher, he tells him to answer back right away, because it’s obvious she likes Geu-rae. He sighs that it’s too hard, and relates what happened after they met up with Dong-shik after his blind date dumped him. She had happily followed him home, despite his annoyed reaction, and when he told her to stop texting him meaningless things, she cheerfully told him she’ll only text him useful messages from now on.

Dong-shik laughs at Geu-rae’s woeful expression and tells him to be nice to her because it’s difficult for a woman to be so forward. But Geu-rae looks over at his “contract employee” nameplate and wonders if it’s really the right time to pursue a relationship. Dong-shik tells him of course it is, because if he waits any longer, he’ll turn into a useless old bachelor like Dong-shik.

Chief Oh arrives and Dong-shik informs him that they’ve discovered that Poshin doesn’t have a middle manager; the number they have on file goes straight to the CEO. This concerns Chief Oh, and he reports to the department head, who seems to think it’s actually a benefit because it means they have direct contact with the business owner. Besides, the project’s practically taken care of — all they’re waiting on is the official paperwork to be signed and approved.

But Chief Oh still feels like something’s off, and when he runs into Geu-rae headed out to get sandwiches for the rest of the team, he tells him to work on this project cautiously. At the obvious product placement sandwich shop, Geu-rae runs into Baek-ki, who wryly wishes for the day when they will no longer be the newbies and sent out on such errands.

As they walk back to the office, Geu-rae fills him in on the China project, and Baek-ki’s surprised to hear Chief Oh willingly took it on, knowing how Chief Oh and the executive director don’t get along. He surmises that Chief Oh isn’t just thinking of himself, but he’s doing it for Dong-shik and Chief Chun and — Baek-ki stops himself before he mentions Geu-rae, but he suddenly starts to realize something.

Back in the office, he asks Assistant Manager Kang what happens when a team gets larger or when their position changes. Assistant Manager Kang says that if the team needs more manpower, then the department head can assign more people. Including transferring contract workers to full-time status.

It looks like Baek-ki’s figured out one of Chief Oh’s major motivations, and he carefully watches Geu-rae work diligently alongside the rest of his team. When Baek-ki leaves for the evening, he happens to be heading out at the same time as Chief Oh. Cautiously bringing up the new project, he offers his assistance should Chief Oh need it. Aw.

As Geu-rae works late on the China project, he keeps trying to figure out what exactly bothers him about it. He finds it strange that Chief Oh not only took on a project that isn’t his style, he’s ignored the fact that Poshin didn’t have any middle managers, and instead focused on obtaining solar panels for them. All that’s left is the final approval.

When Chief Oh receives the commission agreement, he’s surprised to see the request for a higher-than-usual commission percentage, as well as the demand that this project be assigned to a specific agent within Poshin. It wasn’t in the written contract they’d originally sent, but the Poshin CEO said it had been a verbal agreement with the executive director — which makes Chief Oh realize that this must be why this project was given to his team.

As Sales Team 3 tries to figure out the logistics of losing so much commission to a company that should be grateful for all they’ve being doing to support it, Geu-rae can’t shake the sense that something still doesn’t feel right. Chief Oh explains his concerns to the department head, who tells him to just approve the contract and let it go, since the company will still make enough of a profit to cover any loss in commission.

Even so, Chief Oh doesn’t feel comfortable about the entire situation, especially since if something goes wrong, it’s the end of Sales Team 3. He tells his staff to hold off on the China project for now. In the meantime, they should record all phone calls and get in touch with one of their representatives in China to find out more about Poshin.

Seok-yul discovers that the company they’ve been having issues with has been previously sued for delivery delays, and asks why Chief Moon still uses such an unreliable company. But Chief Moon is confident in Assistant Manager Sung’s assurance that this company is trustworthy, and besides, they can just fine the company for any delivery issues per the revised contract.

Aw, Baek-ki bought Young-yi a new pair of high heels, and he awkwardly tries to find a way to give them to her in the office before resorting to a text message, telling her to meet him outside. He tries to hide his nervousness as he hands over the shoes, explaining that it’s “repayment” for the shirt. Seok-yul the moment-killer arrives just as she’s trying them on, and he blithely tells her that he’d wanted to buy her shoes, too, since he’d noticed her wobbly heel, so he’s glad Baek-ki did it for her.

But he’s actually there for a purpose, which is to get their opinion about the situation with the unreliable company and Assistant Manager Sung. They give him blank looks as he rattles off the issues he’s having, but it doesn’t matter that they don’t really know what he’s talking about, because he’s come to his own conclusion: Assistant Manager Sung must be getting a kickback — it’s the only explanation why he’s so determined to keep using such an unreliable company.

Chief Oh calls the One International representative in China and finds out that Poshin’s never had such a high commission or assigned a special commission agent to a project before. Because it’s such a small company, they should be happier with a smaller profit margin since working with One International would mean a reliable contract.

When he informs Dong-shik and Chief Chun about this situation during a private rooftop meeting, Chief Chun asks if this means that the executive director is getting a kickback. Dong-shik thinks that they should drop the project because it’s not worth losing their jobs over, and doesn’t understand why Chief Oh is hesitatant. Is there something else about this project that makes him willing to risk everything? Chief Oh quietly admits that Geu-rae’s future is on the line.

Geu-rae’s at his desk, lost in thought, when Baek-ki walks by. He asks what Geu-rae’s so worried about, but Geu-rae says it’s nothing. Baek-ki tells him that he doesn’t exactly know what’s going on, but he encourages Geu-rae to keep working hard on this project and trust Chief Oh. As he walks away, Geu-rae calls out after him, asking him why he should.

Baek-ki reminds him that he said this project would mean Chief Oh could be promoted and build up the team. Hesitating, he adds that if Chief Oh becomes the department head, he could make Geu-rae into a full-time employee.

Geu-rae is stunned by this realization, as is Dong-shik, up on the roof, where he’s just found out the exact same thing. If Chief Oh decides to stay on with the project, it could mean trouble for the team — but if he decides to give it up, it means losing Geu-rae. Chief Chun points out that they don’t know for sure if the executive director is receiving a kickback, and Dong-shik also agrees that they should continue, for Geu-rae’s sake.

Determined to get to the truth of the matter, Geu-rae finds Chief Oh on the roof, and he immediately asks if Chief Oh is doing all this because of him. If so, he requests that Chief Oh stop. Chief Oh scoffs at Geu-rae’s arrogance, telling him to knock it off and get back to work. But Geu-rae’s figured out what has been bothering him about the project, and why Chief Oh has been acting out of character: “Please stop trying to save me!”

He doesn’t want to put the team in danger just so Chief Oh might have a chance to make him a full-time employee. But Chief Oh yells at him, angrily telling him that he’s able to put aside his personal opinion of the executive director to get his work done. Does he think that the executive director is less invested in the success of One International than Geu-rae, who’s only been here for such a short time?

Chief Oh tells him that he’ll find a way to make this project succeed so that no one will be troubled. And if that means a chance to save Geu-rae, then he’ll do that, too, because he doesn’t know if he’ll get another opportunity — or if he’ll have the determination to try so hard if that chance comes around again.

Baek-ki’s pleased to see Young-yi admiring her new shoes, and as they walk out of the office together, Young-yi suddenly stops short at the sight of an unfamiliar man. It’s her father, and Baek-ki politely excuses himself when Young-yi’s father asks her to get some dinner with him.

Young-yi sits stiffly at the table as he slurps down his supper, catching her up on life back home. She’s irritated that he figured out where she works, and becomes even more annoyed when it turns out he went to talk to Team Leader Shin. He tells her that he went to pay his respects to someone who had leant him so much money. She’s not at all surprised to learn that her father only tracked her down to ask for more money. She quietly asks him what can she do to escape him, and he simply tells her to wire the money. Ooof.

Baek-ki walks past the restaurant, watching her father leave while Young-yi hangs her head at the table. He offers to buy her a drink, and they sit outside in silence until she shows him that the mysterious caller is her father. She explains that her father had been disappointed that she wasn’t a son, and nothing she had done could ever please him. But when she got the job at Samjung, her father had jumped on the opportunity to help his constant financial insecurity by having her take out loans.

That still wasn’t enough, and unbeknownst to her, her father went to Team Leader Shin to ask for more money. When she found out, it was shattering to her, especially since she respected Team Leader Shin for teaching her that being a woman wasn’t something to be ashamed of, and that she was worthwhile — both as a person and employee.

After she quit her job, she stayed at home, utterly depressed until she saw a documentary about office workers, and realized she wanted to be back in that world — to live her life again. Once she finishes telling her story, Baek-ki senses the awkwardness behind her moment of vulnerability, and tries to lighten the mood by offering to see a horror movie with her, telling her that he’s getting better at handling them. Awww.

Geu-rae stays late in the office, thinking about everything Chief Oh had told him on the rooftop. Chief Oh sits at his dining room table, drinking beer in the dark, also thinking over what he told Geu-rae.

Seok-yul’s still convinced that Assistant Manager Sung is being bribed, and when he heads downstairs to talk it over with Geu-rae, he sees Geu-rae looking serious and deep in thought. Deciding it would be better to leave him be, he heads to the break room to make a cup of coffee, and when Young-yi and Baek-ki enter, he yells at them for not taking care of “our Geu-rae.” Young-yi has no idea what’s going on with Geu-rae, and Baek-ki lies that he doesn’t know, either.

Chief Oh snaps Geu-rae out of his reverie by asking him what he’s thinking about, and then reminds him that their conversation from last night is over, so he should just focus on his work. But Geu-rae still has more to say, and he tells Chief Oh that if he or the team end up endangered because of this project, then it’s all useless. His voice breaks as he tells Chief Oh that just the thought Chief Oh wanted save him is enough for him.

He tries to compose himself outside, and his mother calls him, asking what dry cleaners he left is neckties at. Before she hangs up, he asks if she regrets that she was never able to take part in the public service job she would have received if he hadn’t passed his internship test. Mom is as blunt as ever when she tells him that of course she does.

When Geu-rae returns to the office, Chief Oh is gone. His phone starts ringing, and Geu-rae hesitates a moment before going over to Chief Oh’s desk to answer it. It’s the One International representative in China, and Geu-rae explains that Chief Oh is away, but since they’re recording the phone calls, he can give him the recording as a message.

The representative explains how strange it is for Poshin to have those conditions in their contract, especially since One International is the reason that Poshin will likely win the solar energy bid in the first place. Geu-rae asks him if it seems like they should be the ones receiving the respect instead of giving it to the other company, which is how the executive director has currently set up their “guanxi” relationship.

But before he can get any further, Chief Oh returns and roars out Geu-rae’s name as he catches him on his phone.

 
COMMENTS

Ahhh! Geu-rae’s gone rogue! I get the feeling he’s doing this to force Chief Oh’s hand, since it seems like it’s almost a suicidal mission to make sure that Sales Team 3 proves there’s something shady going on, even though he knows it means he won’t be able to stay on as a full-time employee.

Or as Chief Oh’s faithful puppy. My heart totally broke during that scene on the roof. I know Chief Oh was trying to knock some sense into Geu-rae, to show that what they do here isn’t all about him (even though it totally is, right? Right?!?). But it still hurt to see a fracturing of what has been the most important relationship of this show. Even though all the characters have won me over in some way or another, the heart of this show has always been the bond between Chief Oh and Geu-rae.

So to see that heart broken — even if it’s for a just cause — totally kills me, and I’m probably not going to get over it any time soon. True, it’s important to see that Geu-rae is growing up and taking action, even following in the footsteps of Chief Oh by doing what he believes is right, even if not everyone agrees with him. Maybe that’s why Chief Oh was so angry with him. After all, Chief Oh isn’t exactly the poster boy for success, and I’m sure he wants better for Geu-rae than to be trapped in the vicious tyranny of office politics, stuck in the office next to the bathroom just because he won’t play the game by an executive’s rules.

It’s like Geu-rae’s reached the teenage stage in their relationship, where he’s rebelling to prove that he’s capable of making his own decisions, and that Chief Oh isn’t the boss of him (er, well, except for the fact he totally is, but you get the idea). And it’s a different rebellion from his “Team Leader Jang” stubbornness from before. There, he was still seeking Chief Oh’s approval. Now, he’s determined to make sure Chief Oh doesn’t ruin his own life in the attempt to save Geu-rae’s.

Speaking of ruining lives, I’m glad we finally learned Young-yi’s story. It was easy to surmise that she didn’t have a good relationship with her father, but ooof, it was hard to realize that he could barely stand to look at her (literally!), treating her only as a means to pay for all his financial failures — even if it meant destroying her own life. Knowing how much her father hated having a daughter and wished he’d had a son instead, also sheds a much more painful glow on all the misogynist awfulness she had to take from Manager Ma and in her early days as part of the resource team. She’s had to endure such treatment ever since she was born, which does perhaps make it easier for her to deflect, but I can only imagine the constant wound on her heart to know that, for all her life, people have wished she wasn’t a woman.

Which is why I’m also happy to see her warming up to Baek-ki, trusting him to a point where she felt safe enough to tell him about her father and her past. Actually, I’m just happy to see Baek-ki’s reached a point where he’s no longer so awkward and aloof when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Not just with Young-yi, where he seems to be finding the balance of being interested but respecting her silently-communicated boundaries — but also with Geu-rae. I wanted to cheer when he offered his services to Chief Oh, because it’s his way of helping Geu-rae (without stepping on Geu-rae’s pride, or even Geu-rae knowing about it, but hey — it’s totally proof he cares!).

But that only reminds me that Geu-rae and Chief Oh will be facing one of the biggest challenges of their lives next week, and now I’m sad. Not just because of what it could mean for their relationship and careers, but also because that means the show will be ending. *pouts*

 
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