Entourage: Episode 14

by gummimochi

Sometimes the smallest change can be enough to turn the tables, but it’ll take more than a simple desire to change in order to rectify the mistakes Young-bin has made. Because as much as those closest to him act in his best interest, he’s the one ultimately responsible for his own career. It’s time for him to pay the piper and hear the truth he may or may not be ready to face.

 
EPISODE 14 RECAP

At a skate park, a girl slows to a stop upon seeing Young-bin. She snaps out of her daze when Turtle approaches to ask for a skateboarding lesson. Declining any potential interest, she advises him to seek some other girl’s help.

Eun-gab, meanwhile, sits with CEO Jo, who initially plays dumb about trying to pull Young-bin out of Im Hwa-su. When asked who’s most difficult to work with during a movie’s promotion period, he ventures, “Your ex-husband?”

CEO Jo snaps back that she’s never been married and firmly clarifies that it’s the actors. She hated dealing with their irresponsible approach to the work, but she acknowledges that she’s tired of mentioning that anymore.

Claiming that she’s not a bad person, she chose to invest in Im Hwa-su because she believed solely in the movie itself—there’s no way she can trust Young-bin.

Eun-gab returns to the office to find Young-bin and Ho-jin waiting for him. Young-bin can tell that the meeting with CEO Jo was unsuccessful and wonders if it’ll help if he apologizes to her in person.

He’s told that CEO Jo doesn’t want to see him, and unfortunately for them, the investors are the power players in the movie industry. Eun-gab is certain that CEO Jo still has a personal grudge against Young-bin, who blames himself for quitting War Terminator.

He stubbornly refuses to give up on this movie, even willing to beg if it means CEO Jo will change her mind. Both he and Ho-jin feel awkward when Eun-gab asks for a team hand-stack, which fails miserably.

Joon and Turtle head out to the studio, and the latter couldn’t be happier about being unemployed again. He tsks at how meek Joon is to his new manager, but they’re soon greeted by a cheery Lee Joo-yeon.

She compliments him on his variety show, but he isn’t as happy to see a former agency member. He still remembers the premium treatment she got whereas he didn’t; plus, she used to never even give him the time of day. He believes that the only reason she’s acting friendly now is because they’re in a public space.

Joon is greeted by a group of fangirls when he arrives home, only to be disappointed to learn that they were waiting for Young-bin. They giggle over how Joon is the one with the problem “down there” — words that only stress him out even more — and he has Turtle pick him up some meds.

Turtle runs into the girl from the skate park, who asks if he’s good friends with Young-bin. He plays off their close friendship in case she’s a stalker fan, and she’s forthcoming about her reason for being in the neighborhood: to see Young-bin.

She swears that she’s no sasaeng fan, but Turtle says her desire to get a glimpse of Young-bin is the very definition of one. She says she was crouched here to feed a stray cat, and they both insist that the other be on their way. Turtle does, however, look back in her direction and drops his lollipop when she looks at him. Lol, someone has a crush.

Back at home, Joon worries that his role is in danger if Young-bin isn’t in Im Hwa-su. Turtle says this all stems from the butt-grabbing incident at BIFF and lectures Joon’s butt for getting themselves into this mess. The boys can’t help but giggle, and Young-bin figures that things will work out eventually.

Young-bin is invited to another movie premiere just then, and he decides to go when he realizes that CEO Jo’s company is an investor. Eun-gab doesn’t believe showing up will change CEO JO’s mind, but Ho-jin adds that talking to Young-bin about all the other available projects won’t work either.

They both know how stubborn Young-bin is, and while they don’t see CEO Jo anywhere, they do say hello to actor Oh Dal-soo. Eun-gab wishes him well to his face but criticizes the movie afterward. Although Young-bin personally shares in that sentiment, he sings the movie’s praises when he’s approached by reporters moments later.

Eun-gab and Ho-jin are quick to tease him for giving the terrible film two thumbs up, and the trio chases after CEO Jo, who quickly walks away from them. She manages to slip away into an elevator, but then they all turn their backs upon spotting CEO Kang and her daughter.

Both Young-bin and Eun-gab claim to have no reason to avoid CEO Kang, and when Eun-gab asks if Ho-jin knows Ji-ahn, the latter denies it. Their plan to coolly slip away is foiled when Ji-ahn spots Ho-jin, and CEO Kang isn’t afraid to voice her honest disapproval of the film they just saw.

Eun-gab declines taking the same elevator as her, but he does notice Ji-ahn silently gesturing at Ho-jin to call her. He warns Ho-jin that Ji-ahn is just like her mother. When he calls CEO Jo the next day, she vehemently denies that she saw any of them.

It doesn’t matter to her that Young-bin showed up at the premiere just to impress her, and she confirms that she’s in the midst of re-casting. Eun-gab has looked into that too, adding that there currently aren’t any other A-listers available for Im Hwa-su. He asks that she meet with Young-bin just once, offering to do the CEO a favor in return.

CEO Jo readily takes him up on the offer: have Lee El sign on to a new film she’s looking into. If Eun-gab manages that, she might reconsider. But Eun-gab and Ho-jin are both left unimpressed by the script, which has Ho-jin wondering if CEO Jo will actually keep up her end of the bargain if Lee El takes this small role.

Eun-gab figures she’ll grant Young-bin a meeting at the very least, but then they’re interrupted by Lee El, who shows up to have lunch with Ho-jin. Making sure she’s out of earshot, Ho-jin suggests that they just act as if Lee El has agreed in order to secure that meeting.

He adds that that’s usually Eun-gab’s style, and even though Eun-gab knows it, hearing those words still upset him.

Joon is busy trying to remember the choreography from his Sugar Boys days when Joo-yeon drops by to see him. She teases that he was the worst dancer in that group, then asks if he’s free tonight. Joon says he is, so she asks if he’d like to go out to dinner.

It takes him a few seconds before he realizes that she’s asking him out, and she brightens upon learning that he’s currently single. She promises to call, and the female staffers in the room ask if Joo-yeon might be interested in him.

Joon replies that she couldn’t, especially when she ignored him in the past. He can’t help but wonder if she’s acting nice just to get close to Young-bin. Oh how little you know about women.

Turtle hangs out by the skate park and sees the skater girl, who now gives her name: MIN-AH. She says she’s been waiting here for Young-bin all morning, and can afford spending hours here because she’s on leave from school.

She asks if Turtle is unemployed, then doubles over… in hunger. They chat while they eat, and we learn that Min-ah left her home in Daejeon to get away from the nagging at dead-end part-time job. She thanks him for treating her, adding that she doesn’t have a dime to her name.

She doesn’t want to go back home and she can’t get a job as a dropout; in fact, she’d just like to win the lottery. Turtle laughs at that and explains that they share a lot in common: neither of them has jobs nor any aspirations.

Just then, he gets a call from Joon asking him to tag along to dinner with Joo-yeon tonight. Min-ah asks if she can come too. Cut to: Turtle and Min-ah picking the meat off the grill at lightning speed.

Joo-yeon doesn’t mind though and asks them how long they’ve been dating. They both deny it, and when Min-ah wonders how Turtle is somehow friends with Young-bin’s cousin but not the actor, Joon clarifies that they all live together.

She gasps at that fact and says that she envies Turtle for always being surrounded by celebrities. Turtle changes the subject by asking if they’re intruding on Joon’s date with Joo-yeon. Joon says it’s no such thing and directly asks if she’s trying to ask him a favor.

Joo-yeon says it isn’t the case, but she remembers how Joon used to attend church and asks if he’d like to come out to a prayer meeting with her. Turtle and Min-ah are quick to invite themselves, and they both involuntarily make the same hand gesture.

Joon draws away when Joo-yeon tries feeding him, and after she excuses herself, Turtle says it seems like Joo-yeon likes him. Min-ah can tell that Joon has never dated anyone, which only annoys him further. He’s convinced that it’s all an act because he remembers the days when she was a bully.

Joo-yeon is asked by the restaurant owner for an autograph afterward. She invites Joon to join in, which leads to an awkward moment because the owner has no idea who he is.

He’s still worked up about it when they leave the restaurant, and Min-ah takes this as her cue to leave. She tells Turtle that she’ll call, then turns back to tell him that he seems like a good guy. Aw.

Ho-jin arrives home to find Young-bin writing a character analysis on Im Hwa-su. When Ho-jin says Director Yang will be impressed, Young-bin says he’s doing it for his own pleasure. Since CEO Jo hasn’t called, he wonders if he should do it himself, only to be told that she wouldn’t like that either.

Ho-jin assures him that he and Eun-gab are on it, but Young-bin hates this waiting game. Their attention is diverted to Joon’s robotic dancing skills, but Ho-jin slips away to call Eun-gab. He’s scolded for not mentioning his relationship with Ji-ahn earlier, and Eun-gab asks if it was a ploy to join CEO Kang and if Ho-jin is a spy.

But Ho-jin directs the conversation back to Young-bin’s plans to meet CEO Jo himself, adding that he’ll have Lee El sign on to the other film. Eun-gab asks if he’s selling her out for Young-bin’s sake, reminding him that he’s responsible for Lee El too. Ho-jin understands that, but Eun-gab can’t shake off the feeling that Ho-jin is too biased when it comes to his friend.

Eun-gab has been working on his daughter’s art assignment during this entire conversation, and Yoo-bin frowns at the end product. His wife finds the rudimentary sketch adorable, and Eun-gab adds that he would’ve done a much better job if the assignment were to draw her body instead of her face. Lol.

He gets a call from his colleague at CJ, who would like Young-bin to do a cameo appearance for an upcoming film. Eun-gab gives the equivalent of flipping the bird at that request, but he reconsiders upon hearing that CEO Jo is one of the movie’s investors.

Young-bin and Ho-jin watch the series Narcos at home, much to Joon and Turtle’s annoyance. Both Ho-jin and Joon get a call, and just as Ho-jin tells Young-bin about the cameo, Joon yelps that he scored a commercial with Joo-yeon. It doesn’t matter to Young-bin what the cameo entails if it means getting a shot at currying favor with CEO Jo.

Joon’s expression darkens when he learns that he’ll be playing a pair of dice in the aforementioned commercial. He rolls around in the costume over and over again, as Joo-yeon looks on. He rips off the costume as soon as he gets the chance and curses Joo-yeon for attaching him to such a humiliating project.

Turtle nods along to his rant about Joo-yeon until he can no longer take it. He opens the door to leave, only to find Joo-yeon on the other side. She excuses herself, and Turtle stammers that she heard everything.

Young-bin films his cameo appearance where he plays an asshole who steals his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend’s money and admits to sleeping with her friends. He gets slapped over and over again until the crew gets the right take.

Ho-jin takes issue with that afterward, pointing out to the CJ colleague that the slap wasn’t in the script. But the CJ employee assures them that he’ll put in a good word with CEO Jo, which is all that matters to Young-bin.

Turtle gets a call from Min-ah, who has all her stuff in tow because she’s decided to go back home. She admits that she’s here to see him instead of Young-bin, and Turtle is so surprised that his voice cracks. She doubles over again, but this time she needs to use the bathroom.

He allows her to come inside and even offers one of Young-bin’s shirts as a souvenir. He has to leave Min-ah alone to talk to Joon and tells him to stay because Joo-yeon likes him.

He hangs up and finds Min-ah lying on Young-bin’s bed. He tells her to get up immediately and tries pulling her up, only to fall on top of her. Their faces remain inches apart for a few seconds before Turtle pulls away and is unable to steady his balance.

Joon seeks Joo-yeon out in her dressing room to speak with her alone. He apologizes for speaking badly about her earlier, saying that he was still jealous that her former idol group was successful while his group tanked.

She breaks into a chuckle, adding that she can’t help it when he’s so sincere in that costume. She knows that she was difficult to work with when she was young, especially since her schedule was so packed and she felt stifled by their management agency.

She clarifies that she never once mocked him: “If anything… I liked you.” She couldn’t say anything back then since they weren’t allowed to date. Now, she tips the die costume toward her and softly kisses him.

Joon is taken aback for a few more moments before he whips around the costume and tries swooping her in for a deeper kiss.

Turtle drops Min-ah off at the bus station, where she says she’s happy to have met him. When she calls him a good guy again, he says he’s just a bum. “So what?” she returns. “You have a bright personality, you’re kind, and we fit together.” She compliments his appearance too, which only makes him more bashful.

They both promise to call one another, and Turtle keeps looking back every few steps before holding up the “I love you” hand sign. So cute.

He gets a call from an exuberant Joon, who exclaims that he and Joo-yeon are dating now. Joon is surprised to hear that Turtle has sent Min-ah off since he thought they were a match made in heaven.

So Turtle doubles back toward her and stammers that he has something to say. But then he learns that Min-ah is auctioning off Young-bin’s shirt on social media, and asks her not to do it. She doesn’t see what’s wrong with the idea since the shirt belongs to her now.

Turtle says he’ll be reamed out for giving her the shirt in the first place and begs her to take it down. But she flatly says she plans on selling this, to then acquire Kim Woo-bin’s autograph.

She asks if Turtle is friends with Kim Woo-bin too, and you can see the heartbreak clearly on Turtle’s face. She picks up on his darkened expression, and he says he once saw her in a positive light, but now he simply finds her pathetic.

She points out that he’s jobless, but he fires back that she’s worse for being a crazed sasaeng fan who ran away from home. He tries taking back the shirt, but then Min-ah screams that he’s a thief, so he runs away.

While Ho-jin and Lee El wait for the director, he remarks how surprised he was when she agreed to do this film. She points out that he thought it was a good project, and she’d like to trust him on this one.

Those words stir at Ho-jin’s conscience, so he comes clean with her about this film: It’s not bad, but the role isn’t that significant. She asks why he asked her to take on this project then and immediately picks up on the idea that doing so would only benefit Young-bin.

She rises from her seat, refusing to do this movie anymore, and adds that she’ll ask for a new manager. Eun-gab assures him that it isn’t his fault when he calls to apologize. In regards to Young-bin’s cameo, it turns out that CEO Jo has asked for him to be edited out of the movie.

Believing that there’s another solution, Eun-gab invites CEO Kang to his office to ask her for a favor. Ho-jin returns to the office just in time to overhear their conversation in the next room and sees Eun-gab pleading with his former business partner.

But that tactic works in scoring a meeting with CEO Jo, and Young-bin is surprised to hear that Eun-gab begged for CEO Kang’s help. Young-bin speaks with CEO Jo alone, and he honestly tells her that he’d like to work on Im Hwa-su and apologizes to her about War Terminator.

But that apology is too little too late for her, she says—she agreed to see him today to break the bad news to him in person. Young-bin won’t be a part of this film, so he needn’t waste his efforts trying to change her mind.

“What can I do so that you won’t be angry with me anymore?” Young-bin asks. But CEO Jo replies that she isn’t mad at him; she simply doesn’t want to work with him.

She says her entire career is about movies, and she takes her job very seriously, whereas Young-bin is an actor who films movies in order to date his co-stars. He can try to deny it, but they both know that it’s the truth, she says.

She knows that Young-bin slept with Ahn So-hee, but that’s not the real reason she won’t let Young-bin be in Im Hwa-su: “I don’t ever work with actors who can’t act. You can’t act, Cha Young-bin.”

Meanwhile, Ho-jin and Eun-gab wait at the bar, where Ho-jin mentions that he saw Eun-gab bow before CEO Kang. Eun-gab says it wasn’t a big deal; he knows Ho-jin acted as a loyal friend to Young-bin too and makes sure that things will be patched up with Lee El.

Young-bin emerges on the brink of tears, which has Eun-gab wonder if he argued with CEO Jo. While Eun-gab leaves to give CEO Jo a piece of his mind, Ho-jin prods Young-bin to tell him what’s wrong.

Ho-jin reminds Young-bin that he was the one who wanted this meeting, but Young-bin replies that he didn’t know that CEO Jo would only talk about War Terminator. Ho-jin isn’t at all surprised, noting how Young-bin should’ve put up with it because they all thought he wanted to work on Im Hwa-su.

Furthermore, Ho-jin says, Eun-gab and Ho-jin have been working their butts off for him, believing that Young-bin would grovel to CEO Jo if he had to. In his opinion, Young-bin should’ve stayed and pleaded with her; he’s sick of Young-bin’s capricious attitude toward his craft because it makes other people’s efforts look pointless.

Young-bin tells him to give it all a rest then, to which Ho-jin agrees and tells him to get lost.

 
COMMENTS

How great would it have been if we got this much-needed confrontation weeks ago when Young-bin’s whims and selfishness were a pivotal plot point? As much as I’m relieved that someone finally put Young-bin in his place, it saddens me that it comes at a time when the entire narrative arc of Young-bin’s career has been nothing more than lather, rinse, repeat.

I’m glad that it was Ho-jin who finally told his buddy that he can’t always get what he wants, and yet, Ho-jin has also allowed Young-bin to keep acting immature about his career by patching up his mistakes for him. We’ve seen Ho-jin struggle with himself about being Young-bin’s manager and friend, and we’ve also seen him grow into becoming a capable manager and handler, but yet the writing failed us whenever we needed him to be the bitter pill of truth in Young-bin’s life.

But of course, Ho-jin can’t be held fully responsible when Young-bin has done little to nothing about his own career. His proactive attitude to meet with CEO Jo was a nice change of pace, though I can’t say I was altogether surprised when he ran away the instant his pride was pierced. Did he honestly think that just because he finally wanted to take hold of his career that he would be rewarded for his efforts? Unfortunately for him, trying to appease CEO Jo indirectly through cameos and praising her other projects paled in comparison to the legwork from Eun-gab and Ho-jin, and when he was actually given the floor to put his pride aside, he couldn’t handle the pressure.

I can’t help but wonder if he realizes how lucky he was in getting off nearly scot-free for breaking off a contract with someone as influential as CEO Jo in this industry. And unless we see Young-bin make more of an effort that doesn’t involve Eun-gab or Ho-jin stepping in for him, I can’t see anything positive for Young-bin’s future. That is, unless the writers decide to sweep everything under the rug for him in the final two episodes.

To think that could be a real possibility is what makes Young-bin’s arc so insignificant and frustrating at the same time because I’m afraid that even when the end does come, he’ll have learned nothing from his behavior and the industry will continue to tolerate his ever-changing decisions. Adding insult to injury would be the blossomed love stories for Joon and Turtle. I was rooting for them both at first, since I found both Joo-yeon and Min-ah’s approaches cute, but then changed that opinion as the hour went on.

If Turtle hasn’t gone through enough already, his match made in heaven was nothing more than a sasaeng who wanted to profit off of his connection to Young-bin. His heart was sincere, he approached her with caution, and yet it all backfired on him. There is the possibility that Min-ah felt guilty for using Turtle, but I would rather have him find love with someone who appreciates him for who he is.

 
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