Running Man: Episode 303

by gummimochi

What starts off as a simple loyalty test for our cast will quickly spin into a massive manhunt where gold and oodles of money are on the line. This week will be no easy feat for the chasers and their targets, as they run around the city collecting hints to locate the locked safe. It’s time to let out the hunting dogs and let the never-ending chase commence.

EPISODE 303. Broadcast on June 5, 2016.

We’re thrown right into the action in today’s preview, as Kwang-soo runs from an unknown pursuer. The opening, however, takes place six hours earlier, as each of the members are blindfolded upon their arrival at Yeouido Park.

Led into separate rooms, the cast take off their blindfolds to see a chest and a card before them. Seven million won is hidden in a safe somewhere in Seoul, which will be divided equally among them if no one opens their chest within eight hours.

If someone does open their chest, however, then they can try and steal the loot for themselves. But that decision comes at a price—there will be consequences if they fail to steal the loot. Both Haha and Jae-suk tell Kwang-soo and Suk-jin not to open their chests, but the temptation is great for everyone.

Time to meet our guests, who checked in with the staff 24 hours ago: actors Ahn Sung-ki, Jo Jin-woong (eep!), Kwon Yul, and actress Han Ye-ri.

As stars of the movie The Hunt, they’ll appropriately be hunting down the cast members who betray the others. Their prize: a fancy gold badge. Ahn Sung-ki: “What percentage [of gold] is that?” Ha.

Jin-woong remembers he failed in eliminating anyone in his last appearance, but he’s more than ready to become a Hunter.

Hahaha, Sung-ki tries his hand at ripping off nametags that night. It’s downright adorable how he thinks of offensive and defensive maneuvers at home, sizing up his opponents. In his car, Jin-woong swears that he isn’t nervous.

Our four Hunters watch the opening through a monitor and guess who might open the chest first. Kwang-soo? Gary?

But it’s Suk-jin who opens his first. There’s another missing card inside telling him that he’s now on the run. However, if the Hunters are eliminated before the safe is opened, he and the other eliminated RM members can divvy up the seven million won among themselves.

Suk-jin loudly declares that he did open the chest, which prompts Jong-kook to ask if he can’t read. Then Kwang-soo opens his, followed by Gary. Eventually everyone opens their chests, and Jae-suk says the Hunters will be on their tails as soon as the siren blares.

The clues to find the safe are old-timey photos and a license plate. The Hunters get up once the siren blares, following the dot tracking Suk-jin (the rules tell us that the targets are in order of who opened their chests first and can be trackable for the first 20 minutes).

Kwang-soo finds the right car as everyone climbs in after him. They immediately start brainstorming in the car, while Ahn Sung-ki knows exactly where he’s going without a GPS. He and Jin-woong make a deadly combo.

Eagle-eyed Gary guesses their first location by the unchanging riverbed. Turns out he’s right as the cast spots the crew’s cars. The Hunters have access to one camera as they try to identify where the cast is now.

Gary spots a flag that indicates their mission here: Find the three clues hidden in this area. There are 9 life vests that are stickered as R2, and a clock stopped at 8:00 indicated as R2.

Meanwhile, our Hunters decide to divide and conquer, and ha—Jin-woong asks a group of boys where the cast members are. Jae-suk finds R3: a photo of twins. With that, the Unlucky Trio heads down to the dock.

As they speed past the bridge, there’s a mathematical equation using the R stickers behind them: the square of R1 (64) minus the square root of R2 (3) minus R3 to the third power (8). So their first hint is 53.

The others realize they can’t leave because they don’t have the car key, while the Hunters try to stay low. Something doesn’t feel right to Jong-kook… who catches Jin-woong crouched in a corner. LOL.

They all gasp to see Ahn Sung-ki, and Jin-woong says these four are totally useless to them right now.

Yul rips off Gary’s nametag in a flash, only for Jin-woong to slap it back on. Jin-woong rips off Jong-kook’s nametag, thinking that means Jong-kook is on their side. But Jong-kook tells him that’s not how it works, and he slaps it back on again. “I just wanted to rip off Kim Jong-kook’s nametag.”

We learn that this was all part of the Hunters plan, by trying to win over some of the cast members and ousting two members. Haha runs for it, and this time Ye-ri gives chase until she can’t follow him anymore. Ji-hyo waits it out in a staff car until she climbs into a taxi.

The Unlucky Trio travels around like a small herd and receives one character of the safe’s location. They can see a tiny grocery store in one of the old photos, which points them to a specific neighborhood.

Ji-hyo calls in to tell them that both Gary and Jong-kook have been eliminated. She tells them who the guests are today, adding that she and Haha don’t know where to go from here.

So Jae-suk tells them to meet them at Hongje-dong, but then Kwang-soo sends her to another location to pick up another hint. She doesn’t believe him, but she’s convinced when Jae-suk sends her there, much to Kwang-soo’s annoyance.

The Hunters split up, thanks to Ahn Sung-ki being able to identify the locations of the photos. Jin-woong can track the Unlucky Trio near Hongje Station, where they’re met by a locked gate.

They start arguing about how the Hunters can easily find them, though most of the blame is placed on Kwang-soo. Jae-suk says he should thank his lucky stars that he’s on screen with the star of the group right now: “Look all the cameras are on me!”

Suk-jin (to his VJ): “Why are you filming [Jae-suk]!”

Jae-suk and Kwang-soo immediately start running when they spot a car nearby, only to be told that it isn’t the Hunters. They’re able to hitch a ride with a resident, who takes them to Hongje-dong Ant Village.

They need to find someone named Kim Jae-pyung here, who will give them a clue. They find the man, who gives them a book and they figure out the next number is 27.

Jong-kook, Jin-woong, and Ahn Sung-ki arrive at the former administrative building of Seoul National University. They smile to see that Haha is heading towards them, but are confused when he doesn’t show up right away.

Haha’s GPS dot isn’t moving, and when Jin-woong asks some passersby whether they’ve seen Haha, he’s told that Haha took the subway. As it turns out, Haha had planned to take the subway as soon as he got out of the taxi in order to lose the Hunters’ scene while he went to another location.

We skip through Ji-hyo obtaining another hint to check in on the Unlucky Trio, who are headed to where Jong-kook is. Jae-suk thinks of checking the hashtags on social media to find out where the others are (smart!) in Daehak-ro.

Meanwhile, the Hunters—who have since regrouped—get into position. Kwang-soo gets a call… from a telemarketer.

Ha, Jin-woong locks himself inside by accident, but Yul takes caution as he heads down from the roof. Jin-woong backs himself into a bathroom, as the Unlucky Trio heads downstairs. Hee—Jin-woong couldn’t be more pleased… and then his phone rings.

It’s Yul, telling him the obvious that the trio is headed downstairs. Kwang-soo peeks his head but then bursts upstairs, having seen the Hunters. Jin-woong pins Jae-suk and rips off his nametag.

Yul eliminates Suk-jin while Ye-ri runs after Kwang-soo. (Ye-ri: “Let’s say hello to one another!” Kwang-soo: “Hello!” *runs*) She does tell him when he’s reached a dead-end, and Kwang-soo immediately offers to give her all the clues in exchange for leniency.

All she wants is his nametag, so Kwang-soo makes a run for it… into the women’s bathroom. He exits moments later, and then the chase starts all over again.

Kwang-soo finds shelter in a tent, then calls Haha who’s busy slurping down noodles. Haha agrees to meet up, but then tells Ji-hyo that they’ll just drive past Kwang-soo once he shows them the remaining hints.

Little does Kwang-soo know that Jin-woong has locked on to his precise location. The Hunters approach in their car just as he climbs into a taxi a few blocks away. Kwang-soo starts to sweat when he realizes that The Hunters are on his tail, and hears from Gary that Jin-woong is ready to pounce.

Jin-woong: “You’re on a bicycle that has no bikes headed downhill!” Both cars stop at the red light, and Jin-woong and Yul stand in front of the taxi, smiling. Kwang-soo pleads with the driver not to unlock the doors and encourages him to lose the other car while they still have a chance.

While Kwang-soo thinks he’s lost them in a parking lot, we see that that’s not the case—the Hunters pull into the same lot and surround the taxi. He tries offering to lead the Hunters to Haha, but Jin-woong is wisely reluctant to believe him.

Kwang-soo calls Haha to reassure him that he hasn’t been caught yet, then bides his time to find a suitable escape route. He heads for the stairs, but then runs right into Yul once he exits to the street. Yul gives chase but loses him in a main road.

There’s no way to track Kwang-soo now since the timer on his GPS location has expired and he’s left his VJ behind, too. Haha snorts when Kwang-soo tells him that he got away, and tells Kwang-soo to give up the hints—he’ll make sure Kwang-soo gets his share.

After they hang up, Ji-hyo reviews their options: risk their own lives with this rescue mission or pursue the safe on their own. Upon hearing that their destination isn’t far, Haha chooses the latter.

Kwang-soo makes sure to keep filming himself while he runs, then spots Jin-woong walking along the sidewalk. He leaves what could be the last video message in this hunt that will continue next week.

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