Bring It On, Ghost: Episode 8

by LollyPip

Awww, this episode is super cute. More secrets about Bong-pal’s past come to light, but they only prompt more questions. And it’s another day, another ghost for the Soondae Soup crew, but they discover that not all spirits have the same intention, and it’s smart to stop and analyze the situation before rushing in guns blazing. Not all ghosts are evil, and not all who are living are good.

 
EPISODE 8 RECAP

Kyung-ja snoops around in Hye-sung’s office, and accidentally finds Hyun-ji’s student ID card from before she was a ghost. Before she has a chance to process it, Hye-sung comes in, and sees the open drawer. He thinks that it’s too bad she got in here, and then turns to look right at Kyung-ja.

He slowly approaches, then his hand whips out to grab her around the neck. He asks what she saw in here, though he already knows she saw Hyun-ji’s ID, and we flash back to see that he’s seen Kyung-ja and Hyun-ji together before. Hye-sung creepily asks Kyung-ja not to resent him for this, then the black mist slithers around them both, and Kyung-ja dissipates.

Hyun-ji is still waiting for Bong-pal at the amusement park after sunset, but he’s at the hospital with Seo-yeon while she gets her injured arm treated. As soon as he confirms that she’s okay he rushes out, but Hyun-ji gives up and leaves just moments before he arrives at the park gates.

Bong-pal runs all the way home, but Hyun-ji isn’t there, either. He thinks to check the roof and finds her there, but he doesn’t tell her why he was so late, not wanting to hurt her feelings any more by mentioning Seo-yeon. He apologizes and offers to take her to the amusement park soon, and Hyun-ji downplays her disappointment.

Monk Myung-chul goes to the police station looking for information about Bong-pal’s father, but the police there don’t know anything. He tries to report him as a missing person, but the cop is reluctant to do anything and just tells Myung-chul to fill out some forms.

We see more of what happened to Bong-pal’s father through Hye-sung’s memory — the blood on the rock is indeed his, and he’d lay there bleeding and clutching his phone as Hye-sung stood over him. Hye-sung had asked him where “it” is, but Bong-pal’s father had refused to say anything, even when Hye-sung reminded him that “Because you didn’t tell me, she died. This time, your son will die.” But his threats didn’t work, and he killed Bong-pal’s father in a fit of anger.

Hyun-ji is still fuming in the morning, and she refuses to accompany Bong-pal to school. Awww, he actually looks disappointed that she’s not coming, but as soon as he leaves Hyun-ji whines that playing hard to get is… well, hard. Bong-pal is also grumpy, complaining to himself that it’s not like he asked her to follow him around all the time. Hmmph.

Just as he tells himself it’s nice to be alone for once, Hyun-ji appears beside him and startles him. They both try to maintain their “I’m totally not glad to see you” attitudes, and both fail spectacularly.

Chun-sang catches In-rang smiling at his “angel” photo, and thinks he’s daydreaming about Seo-yeon. He warns his friend not to crush on the girl Bong-pal likes, but In-rang swears that’s not the case. Chun-sang then hilariously assumes it’s him that In-rang likes, but I’d think it’s more the hand-holding that proves that theory, ha.

Bong-pal shows up and In-rang shows them the picture, and they all gape to see the ghostly orb in the picture. Hyun-ji chirps that that’s her, and grins when In-rang calls her his angel. It’s obvious that In-rang fell for Hyun-ji when he bonked his head and saw her clearly, and lookit that, Bong-pal looks a little jealous.

Later Bong-pal tells Hyun-ji that In-rang isn’t normal, but she says that his reaction is completely normal after seeing her. She skips off happily, and when she turns back to smile at Bong-pal, everything goes a little slo-mo. She catches him mooning at her, and he coughs and grumbles that she’s not really that pretty. Liar.

Seo-yeon approaches Bong-pal in class to thank him for helping her when she was hurt, which is the first Hyun-ji’s heard of why he didn’t make it to the amusement park. Seo-yeon offers to buy Bong-pal lunch to thank him, and he tries to decline when he sees Hyun-ji’s face, but she insists. Upset, Hyun-ji poofs away.

She poofs back outside the school, unfortunately right next to Hye-sung, who definitely sees her this time. He stares at her for a long moment, then heads in to teach class. He announces Hyun-joo’s death to the class, and asks them to attend her funeral.

Hyun-ji goes back to Bong-pal’s place and looks at the pictures from the club trip, admitting at least to herself that she’s jealous of Seo-yeon. She’s alive, and Bong-pal likes her. After class Bong-pal declines Seo-yeon’s lunch invitation again, rushing home instead.

Detective Yang and his partner approach Hye-sung again to ask him where he was when Hyun-joo was murdered, and he says he was at his clinic. Yang doesn’t seem convinced, but they let Hye-sung go for now.

Hyun-ji can’t hide her tiny smile when Bong-pal comes home to eat, and she notices that he even stopped to buy meat on the way. It goes a long way towards softening her annoyance with him, and though she claims she’s not really in the mood, she scarfs the meat down once it’s cooked.

Bong-pal shyly offers to go take her to the amusement park tomorrow, and feeds Hyun-ji even more meat whens he happily agrees. When they finish, Bong-pal gives her a bag, claiming it’s the “work uniform” that she begged for earlier. It’s a cute little matching black suit, so she’ll fit in with the guys when they go to fight ghosts. Their hands accidentally touch, making both Bong-pal and Hyun-ji flinch, but they both seem more relaxed around each other than ever.

Though it’s dark out, a team of workmen rush to finish demolition at an abandoned mental hospital, anxious to get done before the due date. The foreman receives a call warning him to be wary of ghosts, but he’s more concerned with getting the job done.

Suddenly the lights flicker and go out, and in the darkness, he hears a woman claiming over and over that she’s not crazy, all the while sounding pretty batcrap crazy. He follows the voice to an empty hospital room, and sees a woman on the floor, scribbling on the wall in red crayon. She turns and lunges for him, and he screams.

Soon Chun-sang and In-rang receive their first request for an exorcism from their new website, to help dispel the ghosts at the mental hospital. The boys are more prepared this time and plan to film the ghosts while Bong-pal fights, excited to be truly involved this time.

Hyun-ji looks amazing suited up to match Bong-pal, who looks pretty damn good himself. Bong-pal goes a little gaga again, then promises Hyun-ji that they’ll finish up this ghost hunt quickly and go to the park afterward.

On the way, Chun-sang and In-rang explain that this hospital is one of the scariest places in the world, and that they plan to film this ghost hunt. The hospital was shut down ten years ago because a patient ran away, and it was discovered that the doctors were abusing the patients.

When the police went in they found seven dead patients, and though a shaman was hired to cleanse the building, he collapsed dead when he entered the place. Well, that’s not utterly terrifying or anything, though Bong-pal looks nonplussed as usual.

The boys are hilariously jumpy once they get inside the building, making Hyun-ji wonder why they even do this if they’re so scared. Bong-pal takes the lead and heads further down the dark halls, and the sight of some operating equipment triggers a memory for Hyun-ji. Bong-pal notices that she’s shaken, but she says she’s alright.

Bong-pal and Hyun-ji head to the inpatient ward, but Chun-sang and In-rang stop to check out a treatment room. They’re so busy spooking at every little inanimate object that they miss the real ghost watching them from a distance.

Bong-pal and Hyun-ji haven’t found anything interesting, but at one point a bookshelf starts to fall over onto Hyun-ji and Bong-pal quickly shields her with his body. She finds some papers on the floor and asks if Chun-sang didn’t say there were seven dead patients — the record she found lists eight. One patient, Kim Jung-seon, died with a broken leg and without any family.

It just happens to be Kim Jung-seon’s room that Chun-sang and In-rang enter now, looking for Bong-pal, and it’s the same room where the foreman saw the ghost. The room is empty, but a red crayon falls to the floor under the bed. The boys crouch down, and the ghost shrieks out at them. (~SCREAM~ omg…)

Chun-sang and In-rang freak out and run, and suddenly find themselves being chased by a second ghost. Bong-pal and Hyun-ji hear their terrified screaming and Hyun-ji pops over to find them, and flips the male ghost over her head. In his fear, In-rang sees Hyun-ji clearly, and cries, “It’s the angel!”

They jump up and keep running, and Hyun-ji finds her ankle clutched by the ghost of Jung-seon. She doesn’t seem able to speak, but she’s also not trying to hurt anyone — she desperately points at the walls of her room, where she’s written, “Help me. Let me out.”

Bong-pal makes his way to Hyun-ji, but the male ghost attacks him and keeps him from going to her. He starts to fight the ghost, but Hyun-ji yells to him to stop. He looks down and sees that the male ghost he was about to dissipate is crying, and Hyun-ji shows him the pleading words on the wall of Jung-seon’s room. The ghosts aren’t attacking — they’re begging for help.

They call the police, who search the grounds and find the bodies of several patients, that were killed and buried secretly by the sadistic doctors. Nobody ever realized they were gone because they all had no families. Now their spirits look grateful and contented, and they fade away with a wave of thanks.

Once they’re finished, Chun-sang and In-rang ask Bong-pal straight out… does he have a ghost following him? Bong-pal looks like a deer in the headlights, but In-rang has already guessed that his “angel” is Bong-pal’s companion. He tells Bong-pal that he saw her saving them earlier, and even Chun-sang admits that he saw Hyun-ji clearly.

Bong-pal is forced to admit that there is a ghost helping him exorcise, and tells them her name. He introduces them, and In-rang adorably thanks her and even calls her “Hyun-ji-yah,” saying that she’s pretty, which makes Hyun-ji super happy. Bong-pal rolls his eyes until In-rang reaches out to touch the space where Hyun-ji is, and he jealously warns In-rang not to just go around touching girls like that. Hee.

In-rang apologizes and Hyun-ji asks what’s wrong with Bong-pal all of a sudden, but he just stomps off to the amusement park. In-rang waves at them, thoroughly crushing on Hyun-ji, and Chun-sang wonders why Bong-pal got so twisted up.

They arrive at the park late, and the attendant says they won’t have much time before they close. He buys a Ferris wheel ticket, and the attendant remembers him from last night, which makes Hyun-ji smile. Bong-pal takes Hyun-ji’s hand, and they run to catch the last Ferris wheel ride.

He’s still holding Hyun-ji’s hand when they board the Ferris wheel carriage, and they both jump back like their hands are burned. Hee. Hyun-ji asks if Bong-pal really came last night and he nods, too shy to look her in the eye. He’s sorry they only have time for this one ride and offers to bring her back the next time she gets a good quiz score.

He notices how happy Hyun-ji is, and mumbles that he didn’t realize Ferris wheels were her style. Caught up in the moment, Hyun-ji turns serious, and tells him, “Bong-pal-ah. I like you.” Startled, he just stares, so when he starts to say something in return she tells him not to speak. She doesn’t want an answer, she just wanted him to know how she feels.

Embarrassed, Hyun-ji pops away, leaving Bong-pal alone in the Ferris wheel carriage. She goes for a walk and happens to pass Hye-sung’s clinic, noticing the puppies in the window. She yells at herself for confessing like that, wondering how she’ll face Bong-pal again.

Hye-sung comes out of his office and sees Hyun-ji there, but Bong-pal finds her before he can approach. He realizes that Bong-pal can see her, and goes outside to talk to him while Hyun-ji pops away in embarrassment. Hye-sung asks who Bong-pal was speaking to, and Bong-pal says that it’s just a friend. He leaves, and Hye-sung glowers after him.

Hyun-ji pretends to be asleep when Bong-pal arrives home, and he’s disappointed when he tries to talk to her. He goes to his room and heaves a big nervous sigh, replaying her confession in his head.

In the morning he steps out of his room and nearly walks right into Hyun-ji, ha. Breakfast is pretty awkward, and finally they claim to be full just to get away from each other. Bong-pal gives himself a pep talk in the bathroom, saying that just because she likes him doesn’t mean he has to avoid her, telling himself to just act natural. Then he opens the door, sees her and freezes, and slams it shut again. Smooooth, man, very smooth.

Hyun-ji is freaking out equally badly, but a call from Chun-sang with a new job pushes them together so there’s no more time for awkwardness. This time it’s a quick fight with a ghost in a butchery, and Hyun-ji and Bong-pal work together even better than before, if possible.

Chun-sang bows to both Bong-pal and Hyun-ji once they’ve dispelled the ghost, and In-rang rushes in next to ask if Hyun-ji got hurt. Hee. He brought her a gift, a pretty pair of strappy heeled shoes, and she squeals with delight while Bong-pal looks jealous again.

She instructs Bong-pal to tell In-rang that she loves the shoes, and HAHAHA, he mimics her squeaky voice and says she hates them. Hyun-ji insists that she loves them, really, but Bong-pal just keeps saying she doesn’t like heels. In-rang wilts and bursts into tears, poor little peanut.

Detective Yang asks Hye-sung’s nurses about what he was doing on the evening Hyun-joo was killed, and they remember that he closed up a couple hours early that night. They also recall that he stayed out all night (he normally sleeps at the clinic) and tracked in mud when he came back the next morning. Hye-sung arrives then, and the detectives quickly leave.

Hyun-ji complains that Bong-pal wouldn’t let her accept her gift from In-rang, but Bong-pal is unsure himself why he’s acting so childish. He notices that she’s back in her peach dress, and everything gets all awkward between them again.

Hyun-ji suggests they play a game, winner gets a wish. He doesn’t want to, but he feels bad about the heels, so Bong-pal agrees. They play rock-paper-scissors up a flight of stairs, the winner of each round getting to go up a step, and the game eases the tension between them.

Hyun-ji wins, and makes her wish: “I want to take back what I said last night.” She explains that she doesn’t want things to be awkward between them anymore, but Bong-pal seems disappointed that she wants to rescind her confession so soon. He mutters to himself that she’s confusing him, but Hyun-ji pushes that he has to grant the wish.

She says that she can stay with him longer, “… only if you grant my wish.” Bong-pal hesitates, and suddenly Hyun-ji hears a high-pitched noise ring in her ears, and she grows dizzy. She gasps for breath, then realizes that her hands are starting to fade away.

She cries out to Bong-pal that she feels strange, and he runs up to catch her. But just as he reaches out to her, she disappears completely. He runs in circles, calling Hyun-ji’s name, and eventually she reappears nearby, looking confused.

Bong-pal cries out in relief and runs to her, gathering her in his arms. He leans back to ask where she went, but she’s unable to answer. Bong-pal pulls her close again and begs her not to disappear on him, tears filling his eyes.

COMMENTS

Wow, Bong-pal just went from zero to sixty in half a second, didn’t he? Hyun-ji disappearing that way was frightening, but in a way I’m glad it happened, because I think he never would have admitted his feelings even to himself without a push to facilitate things. Even a few seconds of losing Hyun-ji was enough to make Bong-pal realize he doesn’t want to be without her, which goes to show exactly how strong his feelings towards her have grown.

It was nice to see Bong-pal starting to be sensitive to Hyun-ji’s feelings, such as when he didn’t tell her that he missed their amusement park date because he was with Seo-yeon. It’s hard to tell with him, whether he even notices Hyun-ji’s little pouts and comments, because he tends to just ignore things that make him uncomfortable. So while I don’t like seeing Hyun-ji disappointed, his actions showed that at least he did know she’s jealous, and he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings any more than he already has. It doesn’t hurt that she’s starting to affect him too, and he’s now actively choosing her over Seo-yeon, so I’m eager to see their relationship start to blossom.

It’s also fun to see Chun-sang and In-rang officially introduced to Hyun-ji, and her becoming a valuable fourth member of their club. It’s sweet how quickly they embraced her, making sure to thank her and compliment her on a job well done. It makes me happy to see Hyun-ji befriended and included, even if the guys can’t always see her, because it’s true that Bong-pal is a better fighter with her around and she deserves the recognition. Plus, In-rang’s crush on her is flat-out adorable, and I love the little shove the jealousy is giving to Bong-pal’s feelings, as well.

I know I just complained that the show is acting as if information about Hye-sung is a surprise when we’ve already figured it out, but in this episode we were hit with new information that really did shock me. I’ve been assuming that Bong-pal’s father has been chasing Hye-sung (or the demon-thing that’s possessing him) to get revenge for his wife’s death. But it turns out, their history goes further back than that. Hye-sung killed Bong-pal’s mother because he wanted something from his father, and now he’s going after Bong-pal until he gets the answer he needs. It adds another layer of interest and mystery to Bong-pal’s history, and also his future, because with his father gone, it’s now up to Bong-pal to figure out what Hye-sung wants and why. I’m glad there’s more to it than we thought, because my curiosity about Bong-pal’s past is back full-force now. The show has become an enigma again, and I’m feeling the anticipation again that’s been missing in the last few episodes.

Speaking of Hye-sung, I’m getting worried about how much he discovered in this episode in regards to Bong-pal and Hyun-ji. We learned that he’s chasing down Bong-pal to find out where this ~whatever~ he’s searching for is located, now that he’s killed Bong-pal’s father. But Hye-sung learned that Bong-pal can see ghosts, and that he can see, and knows, Hyun-ji personally. I’m convinced that Hye-sung caused her death (… or coma? I hope?), and if he did cause the accident, he could do some serious damage with the information that Bong-pal and Hyun-ji know each other. He probably wants Hyun-ji gone for good, considering that he got rid of Kyung-ja just for finding her ID in his drawer, and I know Hye-sung would have no compunctions with using her to force Bong-pal to produce the ~whatever~ he’s looking for. The fact that Bong-pal probably has no idea what in the world he wants wouldn’t slow Hye-sung down in the slightest.

I really should trust the show more, because really, it’s giving us a fantastic story full of heart and cuteness, lots of interesting dramatic vignettes in the tales of the ghosts that the team is fighting, and a deliciously terrifying villain who is legit scaring me because he’s got no boundaries whatsoever. I’m glad that the mystery is back, because knowing that there’s so much more to be discovered is one of my favorite things about the drama. I’m glad we can sit back and relax, secure that the story is taking us to interesting and surprising places, and that we can trust and just enjoy the ride.

 
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• Bring It On, Ghost: Episode 1