Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju: Episode 11

by LollyPip

How it is possible that this drama just gets better every week? Several relationships evolve by leaps and bounds in this episode, and not necessarily the ones you expect. Cupid must be working overtime, because romance is out in full force, and everyone’s lives will be changed by his arrows.

 
EPISODE 11: “It’s the end… It’s not the end”

Coach Yoon talks to Bok-ju’s father about Bok-ju missing the meeting with the company that wants to sponsor her. He says that he made excuses and they rescheduled, and that he thinks she disappeared because she’s upset over Coach Choi’s firing. They agree to keep looking for her, and call when they find her.

Bok-ju arrives home just then, looking sad but resigned. She looks at her father with tear-filled eyes and says that she doesn’t want to do weightlifting anymore. Dad is shocked and angry, and Bok-ju says that she’s always loved everything about weightlifting even when people criticized her for being a woman weightlifter.

She starts to cry as she says that she hates it now, and that she’s not happy anymore. She wails that she doesn’t want to do weightlifting or anything anymore, and asks her father what she should do now.

Joon-hyung makes it back to his dorm, still thinking about how Bok-ju had cried in his arms. Tae-kwon whines about how secretive he’s been lately, asking if he’s secretly dating, and the words surprise Joon-hyung. He thinks about all the fun he has with Bok-ju, and how much time they’ve been spending together, even how physically close they’ve gotten.

He picks up the little origami toad that Bok-ju made for him, and laughs to himself. Tae-kwon asks again if Joon-hyung is dating, and Joon-hyung says thoughtfully, “I guess I am… by myself.”

Bok-ju lies in bed that night, tossing and turning. At breakfast Uncle Dae-ho complains that Bok-ju got all the beef in the soup, and Dad just walks out without a word. Bok-ju goes to her room, and Dae-ho complains about the mood in the house.

Dad goes talk to Coach Yoon about Bok-ju’s decision to stop weightlifting. He says that she’s always loved it so much, and seeing her cry that way convinced him that she’s serious. Coach Yoon thinks Bok-ju is experiencing a slump, exacerbated by Coach Choi’s firing.

Bok-ju spends the day in her room, doing nothing, until her father comes to talk to her. He tells her to go to her dorm and pack, but just the things she needs for now. They’ve decided she’ll take a break.

Nan-hee and Seon-ok are upset that Bok-ju is taking a vacation from school, and she tells them she needs time to think. She wants to discover why she does weightlifting, and what meaning it holds in her life. Nan-hee is afraid Bok-ju may decide to quit, and calls her a traitor for not discussing this with them first. Levelheaded Seon-ok tells Nan-hee to let Bok-ju go.

On her way out of the dorm, Bok-ju calls Joon-hyung and tells him that she’s leaving school. She wishes him luck and hangs up, and he goes running to try and catch her. He doesn’t see her outside, so he hops on his bike and heads to her dad’s chicken shop.

He beats her there, and Bok-ju is surprised to see him waiting for her. Joon-hyung takes her to a park to talk, and he gently asks if it isn’t bad to take a break from exercising. Bok-ju explains that she’s lost all motivation to do anything, and that she doesn’t really have any plans for her vacation.

Joon-hyung panics a bit when Bok-ju muses that she might travel, and tells her to stay close where he can see her. He says to call him if she gets bored, or even when she’s not bored, and he’ll come play with her. He rattles off all the times she can call him, like before she eats, and after she eats, and when she goes to bed and wakes up.

Bok-ju grumbles that she’s not having that hard of a time, and Joon-hyung shushes her and tells her to call him at seven o’clock — all of them. Seriously, how are you so cute? He tries to say her trademark “swag,” but he really does suck at it.

Shi-ho intercepts Joon-hyung on his way back to his dorm to ask why Bok-ju left school. He asks if she’s hoping Bok-ju dropped out, but Shi-ho says no, she doesn’t feel that sorry for her, she’s just asking because she’s her roommate. Joon-hyung retorts sarcastically that she’s quite the roommate.

That night, both Joon-hyung and Bok-ju lie awake, unable to sleep though for very different reasons.

Bok-ju’s father refuses to allow her to use her resting time to help out in the restaurant, and tells her to go do the things she wants to do. He goes off alone to his dialysis, ad Bok-ju goes to her room. She decides to make a list of the things she wants to do.

The first item on the list is to study in the library, and the second is to learn an instrument. Third, she wants to go to an amusement park on a weekday so she doesn’t have to stand in line. The fourth item is to get a boyfriend. That list has a sublist — she wants to drink out of one cup with two straws, walk with her hand in his pocket, and receive a bouquet of one hundred roses.

The weightlifting team are curious about why Bok-ju left, and they ask Seon-ok and Nan-hee for details. Seon-ok mumbles something vague before Coach Yoon enters, trying a little too hard to pretend everything is fine. He announces that group training starts today, and urges them to work hard. Aww, the kids don’t respond at all.

Woon-ki follows Coach Yoon to his office, and asks what’s going to happen to Coach Choi. Coach Yoon says that he’s asking the dean to re-hire her, and tells Woon-ki not to worry about it. After Woo-ki leaves though, Coach Yoon complains that Coach Choi hasn’t called him once.

We see that Coach Choi is agonizing over the team as she helps her sister at her salon. She jumps to answer her phone when it rings, and she’s surprised when the call turns out to be from Dae-ho. He asks if she’s free for a drink tonight.

Bok-ju heads to the library to fulfill the first item on her to-do list. She takes a seat across from an adorably bespectacled kid, who laughs at her simple study guide. Bok-ju snarls at him and settles in to study, but soon she’s fast asleep.

Next Bok-ju talks to a piano teacher, but the lessons are expensive so she decides to get a part-time job to cover the fees. She so absorbed in her thoughts that she doesn’t realize she’s wandered near Jae-yi’s clinic, and she hides behind a telephone pole to watch him carrying boxes up the stairs.

She shakes it off and goes to get a job. She tries to convince the manager of a courier service to hire her, but he argues that even grown men give up the job quickly due to the heavy lifting. Bok-ju tells him that she’s a weightlifter and that these boxes are nothing, and proves it by easily taking some heavy boxes from a nearby worker. (Hey, that’s Ji-soo!)

Joon-hyung is disappointed that Bok-ju hasn’t called him, nor is she answering her phone. He about jumps out of his skin when his phone finally rings, but it’s only Jae-yi, who calls him out to talk.

Jae-yi says he might go to dinner tonight with Dr. Go, and Joon-hyung calls him a player. Jae-yi complains that he feels wronged (for being called too nice), but Joon-hyung says that being nice is worse because he can’t even be mad at him.

Joon-hyung stiffens when Jae-yi asks how Bok-ju is doing. He snaps that he’ll worry about Bok-ju from now on, and Jae-yi gets a mischievous look on his face. He points at Joon-hyung triumphantly, and crows that he knew Joon-hyung liked her.

Joon-hyung can’t even hide his sheepish grin, and he says that she’s not even his type. Jae-yi teases that Joon-hyung’s eyes sparkle when he’s around Bok-ju, and tells Joon-hyung to take care of his cute friend.

Joon-hyung blows up again, that Jae-yi rejected her. Jae-yi asks when Joon-hyung plans to confess, and Joon-hyung says it’s not the right time yet — he thinks he’ll wait until Bok-ju gets over her slump. Jae-yi looks adorably proud of his cousin, and Joon-hyung threatens that he’d better not make her cry again.

The rhythmic gymnasts are at practice, and Soo-bin notices that Shi-ho seems to be falling asleep at the barre. Sure enough, Shi-ho nods off as she’s stretching and falls to the ground, embarrassed.

Jae-yi does meet Dr. Go for dinner, and they go to an old college haunt. She mentions one of their college sunbaes who didn’t show up to a meeting, and the name seems to make Jae-yi uncomfortable. Dr. Go asks about Joon-hyung and Bok-ju, thinking that Bok-ju has the perfect personality to match Joon-hyung.

That evening, Dae-ho gets ready for his drink with Coach Choi, and jumps ten feet when he sees Joon-hyung peering through the chicken shop window. He goes outside to tell Joon-hyung that Bok-ju isn’t home, since she’s working late at her part-time job.

She seems to be enjoying the work, and Ji-soo is super impressed with her strength. He offers to treat her to dinner after work, and they playfully banter about how much she can eat until a voice bellows, “Kim Bok-ju!”

It’s Joon-hyung, and it’s hard to say whether he looks more jealous or angry. He levels a death glare at Ji-soo, who looks confused but cheerfully invites Joon-hyung to join them for dinner. Joon-hyung retorts that every time he eats with someone new, he gets social phobia and grows violent. HA.

Bok-ju and Joon-hyung have this hilarious silent conversation that you really just have to see to appreciate, and finally Bok-ju whispers to Ji-soo that her friend is sick. Joon-hyung turns his glare on Bok-ju when she calls Ji-soo Oppa (he’s been dying for her to call him Oppa for a while now), and he’s still glaring when Ji-soo grabs him in a big bear hug to tell him to buck up.

Joon-hyung is still feeling grouchy as he feeds Bok-ju convenience store food, and he asks about that “slick-looking guy” she works with. Bok-ju calls him Oppa again, and Joon-hyung demands to know how he can be Oppa so soon. Bok-ju doesn’t pick up on the fact that he’s totally jealous.

Joon-hyung says she has to be wary of men that aren’t her father or uncle, and Bok-ju blandly asks if that includes him. Hee, Joon-hyung stammers that he’s not on the list of men to distrust. He asks about her job, and Bok-ju says that it’s different from weightlifting, but she likes it.

She tells Joon-hyung that she’s going to use the money to take piano lessons, which she’s wanted to do since she was very young. Joon-hyung notices her enthusiasm as she talks about playing piano, and says that her long fingers should make her good at it.

Bok-ju chirps that she’ll play the piano at his wedding, and Joon-hyung says that instead, she can stand next to him. Whoa, my heart just skipped a little. Bok-ju misses his point entirely, saying that his bride should stand there, so Joon-hyung barks that she better not stand next to him.

He adds for her not to talk to that slick guy anymore, because it makes him feel bad. Bok-ju just muses that Oppa is awfully handsome.

Dae-ho takes Coach Choi to a pojangmacha, and asks what she’s been up to. She says she’s helping at her sister’s salon and taking small side jobs, and he pours them both a shot of soju. It’s not long before they’re staggering down the street, supporting each other. Dae-ho crouches down to piggyback Coach Choi, but instead of climbing on, she plops down next to him and asks if he likes her.

Dae-ho starts to deny it, but one look at her earnest face has him confessing that he does like her. She says something vague about love that probably sounds profound when you’re drunk, and decides to date him. He asks if she’s just saying this because she’s drunk, so she grabs Dae-ho by the collar, and yanks him in for a kiss.

Joon-hyung walks Bok-ju home, and when he implies that she could never take on a male attacker, she proves him wrong by twisting his arm behind his back. Wow, you know it’s true love when taking a whipping makes a boy look even more smitten.

Bok-ju tells Joon-hyung about seeing Jae-yi, and he asks how it felt. She says it felt strange, but the time when she was so obsessed over him feels like it was a long time ago. She compares it to having a cold, and the way you feel when the symptoms start to fade.

They arrive at Bok-ju’s place, and she says that she’ll be working overtime tomorrow, late into the night. That worries Joon-hyung, but she says casually that she’ll be working with that oppa, and Joon-hyung bristles all over again. He’s so frustrated, he tries to beat up a lamppost, hee.

That night, a girl in the dorms is scared badly by a pair of feet peeking out at her from under a bathroom stall. The next day rumors of a ghost fly around campus, the story growing wilder with each retelling.

Bok-ju and her dad sit down to dinner, and she asks if he’s curious about her part-time job. He says that he’s fine with whatever as long as it’s not something bad, and tells Bok-ju that he’s not going to interfere with her life choices anymore.

Coach Choi seems to be regretting her drunken decision to date Dae-ho, judging by the horrified screams. She hopes that he was too drunk to remember, but her hopes are dashed when he shows up with hangover soup and a smile.

Bok-ju’s boss wants to introduce her to his nephew, but Ji-soo says that she already has a boyfriend, that guy with angry eyes (he adds, “I think he looks like me,” HAHA). Bok-ju says he’s not her boyfriend, but Ji-soo teases that anyone could tell they’re not just friends.

Joon-hyung can’t stand the thought of Bok-ju working late with Ji-soo, so he shows up at the warehouse again. He offers to help Bok-ju finish up, and pushes a cart full of heavy boxes with her. She protests, saying that people already misunderstand that he’s her boyfriend, and they don’t believe her when she says he’s just a friend.

Joon-hyung peers at Bok-ju over the boxes, and says softly, “It’s not a misunderstanding. You’re not just a friend.” Ohmygosh, he’s going to confess.

He pushes the boxes away, and adds that she’s a special friend to him. He asks if Bok-ju understands, and she looks at him, confused.

Joon-hyung steps forward, takes Bok-ju’s face in his hands, and kisses her. After a long moment Bok-ju pushes him away, gasping for breath, and asks if he’s gone crazy. Joon-hyung says that yes, he’s gone crazy, otherwise he wouldn’t be doing this.

He calls her an idiot, and says that he likes her, not as a friend but as a woman. He says she makes him curious when he can’t see her, concerned when she’s depressed, happy when she laughs and worried when she’s hurt. He asks, “This means I like you, doesn’t it?”

Back at the dorms, Tae-kwon tries to sneak into their room after curfew but their window is locked. Seon-ok is in the laundry room on the phone with her mother, who wants her to come home to help with the family business. Tae-kwon crawls in through the laundry room window, and assures Seon-ok that he didn’t hear her conversation.

She starts to lead him out before he’s caught, but they hear Nan-hee in the hallway and hide between the machines. They suddenly realize how close they’re sitting, and stare into each other’s eyes for a long minute.

Nan-hee is looking for Seon-ok, and she spots a strange figure in the hallway. She slowly turns to see a girl in a nightgown, and she screams bloody murder, thinking it’s the ghost. The noise brings the whole dorm running, and Tae-kwon uses the distraction to run back to the boys’ dorm.

Bok-ju fumes as she sits on a park bench, refusing to speak to a very chastened Joon-hyung. He can’t stand it and tells her to say something, so she asks him, why her? It makes no sense to Bok-ju that he likes her when until just recently she was pitching fits over Jae-yi.

Joon-hyung says that he can’t explain it, he just likes her, and has for a long time. He says she’s even his first love, and giggles shyly. Bok-ju responds with an incredulous “HA,” and Joon-hyung asks if that means she doesn’t like him back.

Bok-ju says that she actually does like him, that he’s always there and she can rely on him. She adds that he’s handsome, and Joon-hyung can’t hide his grin. But she says she’s never thought of him as a man, only as a friend.

Undaunted, Joon-hyung says that she can just start now. He asks her to date him for a month to see if he makes a good boyfriend, and decide at the end of the month if she wants to continue seeing him.

When she hesitates, he argues that they’ve built up a lot of affection for each other, so can’t she just give him a month? He takes her pause as assent, and hops up to take her home. Bok-ju mutters under her breath, but she doesn’t refuse his offer, and goes with him.

Joon-hyung pouts that Bok-ju is suddenly acting all awkward, and tells her to act natural even if it is her first confession. Then Nan-hee calls Bok-ju to tell her about the ghost and asks her to spend the night in their room, and Bok-ju agrees. She refuses Joon-hyung’s offer to walk her the rest of the way, and heads home to get her things.

As she goes, she drops her wallet, and Joon-hyung picks it up. He takes it with him, intending to return it later. Back in his room he checks out her ID photo, deciding that she’s cute despite her mismatched features.

Then he growls to see pictures of Jae-yi still in her wallet, and he peevishly throws them across the room. He finds her to-do list and reads it, finding the part about things she wants to do with a boyfriend of particular interest. It’s the perfect information coming at the perfect time, which he takes as a cosmic sign of approval.

Bok-ju listens to Nan-hee go on and on about the ghost, but her mind is on that kiss. Her cheeks grow hot and red as she thinks about Joon-hyung’s confession, and her friends notice and ask if she’s running a fever.

She can’t sleep that night, and gets up to refill her water bottle. She hears a sound in the kitchen, and slowly walks over to see what’s causing the noise. She sees a girl in a nightgown sitting in front of the open refrigerator, methodically shoving food into her mouth.

Bok-ju gasps at the sight, and asks, “Wh-who are you?” The girl turns her head, and it’s Shi-ho, looking pale and haggard with food smeared all over her face.

COMMENTS

I’ve been waiting for Shi-ho to have some sort of break from reality, as it’s felt inevitable nearly from the beginning. So it doesn’t surprise me at all that she’s the “ghost.” I’m curious to find out if she’s simply sleepwalking/sleepeating, or if she’s actually had a mental breakdown. I’m guessing it’s the latter, based on her odd behavior in practice, and since she has no friends it wouldn’t be surprising that nobody would notice if she’s been on a downhill slide for some time now.

On the flip side, I was really proud of Bok-ju for making an effort to try new things while she’s taking a break from weightlifting. Elite athletes rarely get to do much besides train, and I’m sure Bok-ju’s simple goals seem huge to her. It’s a big deal that she even got a part-time job to pay for piano lessons, and it’s healthy that that job even netted her a new friend. Bok-ju’s world until now has been very small, and while I hope that she doesn’t quit weightlifting permanently, it does my heart good to see her stepping into life with a positive attitude.

But my favorite thing might just be jealous Joon-hyung — seriously, how cute was that snarl when Bok-ju called Ji-soo “oppa?” I’m so happy that he finally admitted, to himself and to Jae-yi, that he likes Bok-ju. His little lightbulb moment was adorable, and while I don’t think he was entirely unaware of his feelings before, I do think that he thought he just felt a sort of strong fondness for her, and hadn’t realized that they were true romantic feelings. But I love that once he knew the truth, he didn’t try to hide or avoid his attraction to Bok-ju, and really went for it with all the single-minded enthusiasm we’ve come to expect from him.

I also found Bok-ju’s reaction to Joon-hyung’s unexpected kiss to be pretty realistic. We’ve seen that she finds him attractive, and she’s even admitted it to her friends. I don’t think she doesn’t see him as a romantic option, and that was proven when she didn’t immediately reject his confession and was willing to talk about it. I believe that Bok-ju just never considered Joon-hyung that way because of his looks and popularity, and it never occurred to her that someone like him would like her even when he was treating her so well. And I love that yet again, they just sat down and had a discussion about the issue, instead of denying and pretending and ignoring, and hashed things out rationally. Their month-long dating plan is actually a pretty good solution, so that Bok-ju has a chance to see if she could like Joon-hyung as much as he likes her. They’re laying down such a strong, solid groundwork of honesty and mutual respect, that when they do finally get together, they’ll be an unshakable pair.

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