Running Man: Episode 288

by gummimochi

One of two things will happen this week: you’ll either drool over all the delicious food or be giddy at the chock full of Monday Couple moments. Our cast will race against the clock in a battle against their own stomachs, hitting up seven different eateries. Twelve hours might seems like plenty of time, but when the planned itinerary spans the entire country, they’ll need every minute of every hour to eat to their heart’s content and stuff themselves until they can’t eat another bite.

EPISODE 288. Broadcast on February 28, 2016.

Gah, today’s food-themed episode looks delicious. Way to hook me in with the upcoming Monday Couple moments, Running Man. Right off the bat, our cast is suspicious about the scrumptious-looking dessert table laid out for them in the opening. Hahaha, Suk-jin digs in anyway.

Prior to filming, our cast members were asked to fill out of survey; one question inquired about their own strengths and weaknesses, and Suk-jin had a LOT of great things about himself… that no one believes—least of all, Jae-suk.

Jae-suk doesn’t believe that Jong-kook’s got a “great personality” but has “problems with decision-making'” either. Gary provided an honest assessment of himself, though gets upset when Haha asks why he didn’t write his ugliness down as a weakness. Gary: “That’s my last bit of pride!”

The guys are shocked to learn that Ji-hyo is aware that she occasionally has a short fuse. You can see the gears turning in Kwang-soo’s head when Suk-jin claims that he doesn’t get angry easily. Cue Kwang-soo giving him a slap to the face and Suk-jin grabbing him by the front.

In fact, Suk-jin dismantles that theory within the next minute, getting annoyed by a little comment or being told that he can’t have any juice right now. And then gets worked up again when told that Ji-hyo’s cousin sent her half-dried herring (which she would normally share with everyone) without his knowledge.

In the spirit of the newly-minted Running Man Wishlist Series, today’s race is called Seven Spoons. Their job is to hit up all seven recommended eateries within twelve hours. If they succeed, they’ll win a golden spoon; losing means punishment.

Because three of them have chosen two places, they’ll draw spoons for one or the other. Gary thankfully chooses one within Seoul whereas Suk-jin is instructed to choose the opposite of what he wants… and gets the further destination anyway. Ji-hyo’s choices are both far (Pohang and Muan County are near the southeastern and southwestern parts of Korea, respectively).

There’s a punishment wheel set up for our cast, who must then individually choose a kind of punishment. Ha, Gary writes down “shave entire head” for Haha, but Jong-kook has a good one too: that Haha will hold a promotion at a rival’s restaurant.

The guys wonder if they should have Gary wear a squid head mask, saying that everyone won’t notice the difference. Jae-suk is particularly hard to choose for since he’s done practically everything under the sun, but Kwang-soo has an idea: “Film an episode wearing contact lenses.”

Jae-suk’s punishment for Ji-hyo would be to have the Monday Couple film a We Got Married segment. Er, have we forgotten her onscreen hubby Chen Bolin?

HA—apparently Jae-suk’s choice is a place in Kwang-soo’s neighborhood they always order delivery from. And since they don’t know the restaurant name, they can go and order the food at Kwang-soo’s apartment, right?

The staff starts the clock, and so the cast plan an itinerary. First stop is Kwang-soo’s rec: spicy beef knife-cut noodle stew in Samsung-dong. They’ve already lost 90 minute by the time they arrive, and before they can chow down, they’re told of the “option” they selected: the owner will choose which one of them won’t be eating.

That sounds like a better option to have for Round 4 or 5, but they’re hungry. The lucky loser? Suk-jin. Watching everyone else eat is an unbearable experience, and he gets his chopsticks taken away for trying to sneak bites.

When asked to provide comments, Haha says it tastes like world peace in a bowl. Gary gives it full marks, Jae-suk wants to shack up with the noodles, and then grabs Haha’s hair for extra “noodles”.

Everyone (except Suk-jin) is in a great mood afterward, then it’s off to Apgujeong for Gary’s rec: cold buckwheat noodles and fried pork cutlet. They have a 2x multiplier option here, which means they could end up ordering between 2 to 14 servings. Yiiikkes.

The group ends up with 8 servings which they split up 5:3 noodles to meat, and that transpires into Jae-suk sharing a joke of how to order two orders of chewy noodles (jjolmyun) and ramyun each: “Jjol-jjol-ra-ra!”

I’m salivating looking at all that yummy-looking food. There’s 9 hours and 38 minutes left on the clock when they wind down, so they decide to use a chance coupon that’ll be used at their next stop.

Jae-suk admits that he needs to take a dump before he can eat any more, so it’s a good thing they’re headed for Kwang-soo’s place. When the latter says people, including himself, usually don’t like their guests to go number two in their toilets, Jae-suk says that’s exactly what he likes to do.

Gary likens this meal to love in its push-and-pull relationship, and Kwang-soo naturally has trouble following up on that poetic description, which earns him a slap across the face. He eventually says it’s like a tattoo, but even he doesn’t know why.

He gets a bit of revenge when Haha says this meal is like war by chucking water at his face. None of Suk-jin’s descriptions seem to fly, and again the guys check in to make sure he’s not getting upset. Suk-jin finally says the noodles are like Jae-suk’s glasses because they hide what one might be ashamed of.

Too bad Jae-suk isn’t at all ashamed of his glasses-free face. Everyone is prepared to chuck something at Jae-suk when it’s his turn… but their shots of water splashes Suk-jin instead. Whoops.

That’s the last straw for Suk-jin, who insists that he’s not mad a minute later. Later in the car, Kwang-soo is worried about everyone coming to his house (again), and the mat hyungs wonder just when they should apply their chance coupon—for Jeju Island? Or Muan County?

There’s a game waiting for them outside Kwang-soo’s place, thanks to the option they selected for this location. Here, they must cross over a bar while blindfolded in order to eat. Kwang-soo chimes in: “So there’s no need to invite anyone inside who fails this mission?”

It’s an easy enough task for everyone, though Jae-suk and Haha don’t miss an opportunity to mess with Suk-jin again. And this time, he DOES get mad and chases Jae-suk around the playground.

HA, Haha says the entire production crew knows where Kwang-soo’s place is. Kwang-soo says they’ve been here six times in the two years he’s lived alone. Jae-suk beelines for the bathroom and Haha says there’s someone in Kwang-soo’s bed.

Turns out it’s just a bunch of pillows, but then Jae-suk says the entire place smells different. Oho, does Kwang-soo have a ladyfriend? Kwang-soo says he’s just been lighting candles, then later keeps his eyes trained on the bathroom door while Jae-suk provides commentary on his bathroom relief.

The Monday Couple hurry to set the table like newlyweds when the food arrives. To Kwang-soo’s horror, the guys takes turn using the bathroom. Jae-suk tells Kwang-soo that he should open his door to all of their colleagues who need a bathroom break.

Jae-suk drops a surprise that it was Suk-jin’s birthday not too long ago, and they all got him something—oven mitts from Kwang-soo’s kitchen. By the time they finish eating, they’ve got 7 hours and 49 minutes remaining.

They decide to use their chance coupon, and it’s a good one: divide into two teams and conquer. Only one team needs to go to Jeju Island while the other heads over to the fifth stop.

They draw straws, and it’s Gary and Ji-hyo headed off to Jeju Island. The others are told that it’s currently snowing over there, but Haha whispers that it’s better that way if they’re stranded there. Jae-suk: “What if they really fall in love there?”

In the car, Ji-hyo asks what they’ll do if they ARE stranded in Jeju, to which Gary pulls out the ol’ classic: “What d’you mean by that?”

At the airport, Gary wonders if they have to bring this many staff members along with them on this brief trip. During the flight, the pair joke about buying swimsuits and Gary says he’s confident in wearing a Speedo.

At the fifth stop, the others are forced to watch Jong-kook grill meat at his favorite place alone. Even though they’re already stuffed, I’m pretty sure watching raw beef sizzling on a hot grill could make anyone salivate.

Jong-kook’s reaction shots while eating the food are pretty funny, and the guys can only watch as he grills the last few pieces of beef. He eats two, then trims off the fat off the last one before that goes into his mouth too. Now that’s just evil.

When presented with a chance coupon, the group declines, opting to reserve both for their last stop. Over at Jeju, meanwhile, Gary looks out the window to see storm clouds brewing. Yep, that picturesque trip he dreamed about ain’t happenin’.

The guys’ sixth stop is Suk-jin’s recommendation: an eel restaurant in Incheon. Their added option here is that they can’t leave until the staff (who will also be joining them) stops eating. With over four hours remaining, the guys are confident that this will be their last stop, but I don’t know—the variety gods love to mess with them…

Haha shares that his VJ will need lots of eel (which is said to be good for stamina) since he’s getting married this weekend. When the owner shares some eel-rich health packs, Jae-suk chuckles that he doesn’t need any extra stamina.

Gary calls in just then to share that it’s colder in Jeju Island than it is is in Seoul. He says it might be difficult to return in time whereas Ji-hyo argues that they’ll make it. Once they arrive at the restaurant, they’re posed with choosing one of seven boxes which will determined what they eat with: toothpicks all the way to a soup ladle.

Gary ends up with thick straws to eat with while Ji-hyo has measuring spoons. Gary: “We have no choice but to work together!” Why does Gary have to work so hard for love?

The grilled eel is so good that the guys break out into two-line poems. Eventually only Haha and Jae-suk’s VJs are left eating, and the guys are burning with curiosity as to how the island romance is going.

Gary and Ji-hyo have got this meal down to a science using their atypical utensils. He wonders if things could’ve been better between them if they had taken this trip earlier. O what could’ve been. He tries placing a piece of meat on her spoon, but Ji-hyo gets fed up and flares up at him.

The PD asks if they’re eating slowly in hopes that their return flight will be canceled, but Gary replies that’s the furthest thing from his mind right now. He’s in no hurry and keeps eating.

A little later, Ji-hyo takes the ring that connected the measuring spoons and puts it on Gary’s pinky. Happy, he asks if it’s an engagement ring, then points out that she’s been toying with him for the past six years now.

He confesses that this the first time he’s ever gotten a ring from the girl, and when Ji-hyo says it fits his ring finger perfectly, he asks, “Are you trying to figure out my ring size? 13!”

Back in Incheon, the guys have to hope their two chance coupons work to their benefit because they’ve got three hours and fifteen minutes left, and it’ll take four hours to get to Muan. They agreeing that the “delivery” chance (where they have to deliver octopus from the region to someone) is out of the question—what they’re hoping for is the one that ends their mission here.

It’s a fifty-fifty shot, and the first one allows them to change their next food choice. As for the second, the guys momentarily forget the awful luck Kwang-soo and Jae-suk have, so Haha finally steps up.

The “unlucky” ones take one each, leaving Haha’s ultimate (and hopefully lucky) choice. Jae-suk breathes when he reveals that he chose the “delivery” chance, proving that he’s unlucky. But if Kwang-soo ends their best choice—the one that ends everything here—that makes him super unlucky…

… and that’s exactly what Kwang-soo gets. Man, the guy can’t catch a break. So this means they can use the “avatar” chance where they must call up someone they know in Muan, eat octopus, and send a photo to prove it. Problem is, none of them know a soul in Muan County.

Alternatively, they can call up someone they know to suggest a different meal instead. Haha knows someone in the neighborhood, so they opt to change their last destination. Completely stuffed, Haha asks his buddy if he knows somewhere great for a quick fix, like ramyun or dessert or even a convenience store.

His friend recommends a fried pork cutlet place, which must be a chain because Suk-jin knows a location near Gimpo Airport. Haha: “They’re known for their large portions.” So with two hours and forty minutes remaining, the guys head out.

Gary calls to check in, showing off his new ring. When he’s told that it’s snowing in Seoul, he wonders if the plane won’t take off then. HA. Haha thinks of a workaround in the car—they could order the kid-size set, which would come in a smaller portion.

They spend the rest of the ride worry about eating one oily food after another. But what luck(?), the restaurant is closed. Suk-jin wonders if they have to throw in the towel, but Jae-suk says they’ll call someone else they know in this area.

So that’s how they get a hold of comedienne Kim Shin-young, who recommends a snail hangover soup place. They need to travel a ways to get there and they’ve only got less than two hours left on the clock…

… but that restaurant is closed too; they’ve missed closing time by fifteen minutes. So they call up Shin-young again, and she tells them about a dumpling place that should open late. She can only let out an absurd laugh when Jae-suk says they’ll need to visit HER house in a worst-case scenario.

Third time’s the charm for the guys—the restaurant is still open. Or not. So they’re forced to call Shin-young yet again, and this time she tells them about a bakery that’s definitely open…

… but that one’s closed too. They call Shin-young again, and she weakly gives another rec. The guys run out out of the car to check… (and this audio that replays their anxiety is getting on my nerves).

Thirty minutes later, the Monday Couple land in Gimpo Airport. It upsets them to see it snowing in Seoul too, and are fully prepared to hear that the others have failed. With 11 minutes left on the clock, it certainly is possible.

The guys are waiting out in the airport parking lot for them, then we turn the clocks back to half an hour ago. The guys arrive minutes before closing time and dig into victory cake and drinks.

This means everyone is rewarded with golden spoons and very full stomachs. All the better to eat their future meals with, I’m sure.

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