36

Radiant Office: Episode 4

With only one more chance to prove that she deserves to keep this job, Ho-won faces her biggest challenge yet. She must learn how to stop being a victim of her circumstances and take control instead of just going along with the status quo. Help comes from the most unlikeliest of places, if Ho-won can only recognize that help when it presents itself.

 
EPISODE 4 RECAP

Ho-won decides that she’s not going to accept her unfair firing, so she goes back to the office and tells Suk-kyung that she accidentally sent the email to the entire company because nobody bothered to teach her how to do it correctly. She says that it’s not right that permanent employees are carefully taught while temps are ignored.

She insists that she can do a good job if they only bother to teach her. She says that she’s just started to realize that Hauline is a great company, but Yong-jae sneers that this “great company” doesn’t want her after she slandered her boss with a lie.

Ho-won smugly offers to prove that she wasn’t lying — all they have to do is check the restaurant’s CCTV cameras to see who paid for dinner that night. Yong-jae backpedals and tries a different attack, insisting that nobody in the office feels comfortable working with Ho-won now. Gu-dong, the new transfer, mildly says that he’s just fine working with her and proposes that they take a vote.

Both Ki-taek and Suk-kyung are okay with that idea, so Yong-jae is forced to agree, though he tells Ho-won that she must accept the result. Nobody else objects to the plan, and when Ho-won looks at Woo-jin again, he’s actually smiling, like he just can’t wait to watch her be humiliated.

Yong-jae has a mild panic attack, remembering that he also took a fat wad of cash from the supplier on the night of the dinner. He assesses the likelihood of which way each employee will vote and cheers up when he figures that only two of them will vote to keep Ho-won.

Slips of paper are handed out for everyone to write their vote on, but Ki-taek asks why the temps didn’t get a ballot. Ji-na sneers that temps don’t get a vote, but Suk-kyung argues that they work here, too. Surprisingly, Woo-jin agrees that Ki-taek and Kang-ho should get a say, but Ho-won is told that she can’t vote.

Ballots are cast, and Ji-na stands to count them. The first four votes are split evenly, but then the next two votes swing the tally in Ho-won’s favor (and ha, what do you want to bet that itty-bitty “o” is Kang-ho’s scaredy-cat vote?). Two more votes tie the score again, with one vote remaining.

And it’s a yes! But Manager Park no longer wants Ho-won on his sales team, so he tells Woo-jin to take her. Woo-jin refuses, so Manager Park offers to give him complete control over marketing new products. Woo-jin reminds him that he already has that authority, ha.

We see that Woo-jin has an ace up his sleeve — Gu-dong nabbed a hard copy of Ho-won’s email before it was deleted. He’d told Woo-jin that it’s good to know his enemy’s weakness and had told him to keep the email until the time is right to use it against Manager Park. Now Woo-in tells Manager Park that he’ll take Ho-won, but he wants something in return.

He goes out a few minutes later and announces that Ho-won and new permanent hire Jae-min will be switching teams. Jae-min and Ji-na both object, but Woo-jin pulls rank, and they have to accept the decision. Ki-taek sends Ho-won a congratulatory fist-pump, happy that they’re on the marketing team now.

Woo-jin pulls Ho-won into his office to ask how she pulled this off after getting in trouble with both general managers in one day. She says it’s because he discriminated against temp workers, and she repeats that she can do a good job if he just teaches her how. Woo-jin puts her on warning — one more mistake, and she’s out.

Ho-won asks him why he agreed to let her on his team when he dislikes her so much. Woo-jin says that even though she claims to have a future, he thinks her future will be meaningless, and he wants to see that.

Word of Ho-won’s success gets around the office, and secretary Kkot-bi corners Ki-taek in the break room to ask how she did it. She thinks it’s strange that Woo-jin would trade his permanent employee for a temp, then mutters that this wouldn’t have happened if Kang-ho hadn’t betrayed Ho-won.

Well, that little tidbit is news to Ki-taek. He flies into a furious rage and drags Kang-ho to the roof to confront him. Kang-ho says that he had no choice, and we see that on the night of the dinner, Yong-jae had “strongly advised” him to forget everything he saw at the restaurant.

Kang-ho says that he’d just have been fired too if he’d told the truth, but Ki-taek yells that he should have told the truth anyway. When Kang-ho scoffs that Ho-won is just a temp employee, Ki-taek grabs him by the collar, demanding to know how he could do that to her when he knew her situation.

Kang-ho shoves Ki-taek away, yelling that Ho-won doesn’t have many days left to work, anyway. Stunned, Ki-taek decks Kang-ho with a right hook. He says that although it may be true that Ho-won won’t be around long, he himself will never get the permanent job at the end of their contract because he lacks the qualifications, so the job is Kang-ho’s either way. Disgusted, Ki-taek leaves Kang-ho alone on the roof.

Calling a meeting of his new team, Woo-jin gives a depressing pep talk outlining how he’s the only knowledgeable member of the team. He gives them a responsibility chart for the new product launch, then instructs Ji-na to begin training Gu-dong in marketing.

Ji-na complains that she can’t possibly handle all of this work plus training someone. Ho-won volunteers to handle online marketing, but Woo-jin tells her and Ki-taek to just be support for the others.

Insulted, Ho-won asks how he knows what she’s capable of when he won’t give her any tasks. Woo-jin angrily tells her to give it a try then, and she imagines him throwing his pen at her, and her catching it with her upper lip. HA.

Curious to know who cast the fifth vote to keep Ho-won, Yong-jae waves Jae-min aside to get some intel. Jae-min voted no, so Yong-jae approaches Ji-na next. Her strident response proves that she also voted no.

Ki-taek and Ho-won are also curious about who voted to keep her. They know that Ki-taek, Gu-dong, and Suk-kyung voted for her, and guess that Kang-ho did as well. Ki-taek is positive the fifth vote wasn’t Ji-na, but both Manager Park and Woo-jin hate Ho-won, so it remains a mystery.

Ho-won is willing to go on not knowing, because regardless, she has the job she’s always dreamed about. Ki-taek tries to tell her that he and Kang-ho have gotten clean bills of health, but Ho-won stops him to say that she already knows.

Ki-taek offers Ho-won money to get a physical, but she says that in her whole life, she’s never gotten the results she wanted in any situation. She anticipates a bad result since it’s the opposite of what she wants, and says that knowing for sure would just kill any hope she has left.

In a meeting with Manager Park and Woo-jin the next day, CEO Han complains about Woo-jin’s methods, particularly his request to replace their outsourced online marketing company, K Communications. Woo-jin explains that it’s not cost-effective, and that the company is no longer doing a good enough job.

When Ji-na brings Woo-jin the new online marketing contract she drafted for K Communications, she can’t answer any of Woo-jin’s questions (such as why their fees increase by ten percent every year) except to say that that’s how they’ve always done it. He yells at her for just going along with their terms without knowing why they exist and refuses to accept the contract.

Ji-na expertly turns on the waterworks, whining that she’s sooo busy and sooo exhausted, and complains that Ho-won isn’t much help. She leaves his office, immediately turns off the tears, and attacks Ho-won for just copying her report from last year.

Ho-won goes into research mode, looking into the online marketing records of previous years. She takes her findings to Woo-jin, telling him that K Communications has been doing the exact same things for years with no changes or improvements. But Woo-jin isn’t impressed with just data — he tells Ho-won that if she thinks the subcontractor is suspicious, it’s her responsibility to find a solution.

So she buys a variety pack of energy drinks, deliberately going to the store where she used to work so her old boss can see that she has a fancy office job now. But all that bravado deflates when she gets to the K Communications office only to be practically ignored. When someone finally sits down to talk to her, he’s rude and dismissive when she asks to see the files on the work they do for Hauline.

He laughs in her face when he finds out she’s a temp, and says he’ll email the files to her. Attempting to reclaim her power, Ho-won tells him that Hauline isn’t happy with their work and that there could be a problem if he doesn’t comply, but he just blows her off.

Yong-jae sends Ho-won to Hyun’s hospital again, this time to deliver flowers. Ho-won finds Hyun’s office empty, so she lingers to get a better look at a human body model. Hyun sneaks close to greet her, scaring her into a wild flail, and she tilts off-balance.

Ho-won’s fall knocks the flowers off his desk, but Hyun catches her in his arms before she crashes to the floor. It takes Ho-won a minute to regain her composure after being so close to his pretty face, then Hyun gently bandages her hand where it was cut by the flowerpot.

Hyun teases that he won’t charge her for the bandaging if she doesn’t ask for compensation, but all Ho-won wants is for him to keep this a secret from Manager Park. He asks if everything is okay, but just as she’s about to confide in him, he interrupts her. He says that his hospital treats Hauline employees for free, so she confesses that she’s only a temp.

Hyun explains that Hauline wants healthy employees, so they pay the bills and get to see any medical test results. Ho-won insists that she’s very healthy, so Hyun sighs dramatically and says she’ll have to buy him a meal instead.

Woo-jin is annoyed that CEO Han hasn’t read his online marketing proposal, which he can see on the company website. He discusses things with Gu-dong, who informs him that K Communications is run by CEO Han’s nephew.

Woo-jin hates nepotism more than anything, so he decides that they definitely won’t be using that company anymore. Gu-dong tells him that he can’t fire them without a reason, but they refuse to release their work-related documents — and even if they did, they could very well falsify the information.

Ho-won comes to report to Woo-jin what he already knows: The subcontractor wouldn’t give her their documents. She’s indignant that they treated her rudely because she’s a temp, but Woo-jin says that she can’t keep using that as an excuse before telling her to quit if she can’t do the job.

Ho-won complains to Ki-taek in the cafeteria, telling him that the subcontractors won’t talk to a temp employee. As they work their way through the line, one of the servers seems familiar to Ho-won over her face mask — is that Kkot-bi? Whoever it is, she switches places with another server when Ho-won isn’t looking, leading Ho-won to think that she imagined it.

At home that night, Kang-ho overhears his mother calling her friends, bragging about how her son is the new “top marketing employee” at a furniture company. (He’s been lying to her about the job, hasn’t he.) He goes to his room and flops on the bed, beating up his mattress in frustration.

When Ho-won arrives home, she begs for her roommate’s dinner leftovers, and Hyo-ri hands them over like this happens all the time. Hyo-ri asks about Ho-won’s job, saying that a three-month contract is a long one, but Ho-won blows up, yelling that for her, three months is a very short amount of time.

She sinks back to the floor, explaining that she overreacted because she’s been keeping things bottled up for too long. She tells Hyo-ri that the subcontractor looked down on her for being a temp, so Hyo-ri orders her to go back in there and demand respect.

Woo-jin refuses to leave the office until CEO Han signs off on his subcontractor proposal. CEO Han admits that his nephew owns the online marketing firm and refuses to sign the papers that will effectively fire them.

The standoff continues the next day, with Woo-jin emailing the report to CEO Han, and CEO Han rejecting it. They do this over and over, until they’re both snarling at their computers and spamming Send-Reject-Send-Reject several times a second, hee.

CEO Han asks Manager Park who hired Woo-jin, and Manager Park figures he must be related to someone to be this fearless. Since the company chairman’s family name is also Seo, they wonder if Woo-jin is related to the big boss.

Woo-jin finds an arrogant stranger swaggering around the office, who turns out to be Dae-man, CEO Han’s nephew and the owner of the online marketing company. He’s heard that Woo-jin is trying to cancel their contract with Hauline, but Woo-jin has no interest in discussing it with this jerk, so he tells him to scram.

Woo-jin tries to make a smooth exit, but Dae-man suddenly recognizes him, which brings back some bad memories. They used to work together at the same company, and Woo-jin isn’t shy about the fact that Dae-man was hired on his connections.

A flashback shows that when they were first hired, the best candidate was allowed to choose his department. As the acknowledged best candidate, Woo-jin expected to be put on the marketing team as he requested. But to Woo-jin’s shock, Dae-man was given his coveted marketing job.

Dae-man lays it on thick to his uncle, saying that he feels like their companies are practically one entity. But Woo-jin calmly says that he doesn’t want to work with a company that doesn’t bring in a penny of profit, and brazenly informs CEO Han that this kind of nepotistic outsourcing is illegal.

Ho-won “borrows” an outfit while Hyo-ri sleeps, and she and Ki-taek head to the K Communications building. They stroll in like a pair of badasses, and Ki-taek pulls up a chair for Ho-won before going to stand next to the rude little manager who dismissed her before. Heh, they look like low-level thugs.

Ho-won pulls the Do you know who I am? act, and Ki-taek whispers to the manager that she’s the Hauline chairman’s crazy niece. Ho-won tells the manager haughtily that he made a big mistake by treating her rudely, while Ki-taek hilariously acts like he’s too terrified to even look at her.

Ho-won suddenly rushes at the manager, who hits his knees, quaking with fear. Ki-taek gives her a thumbs-up, and she goes back to Hauline with the needed documents in hand.

She works late, but when she presents the contract to Woo-jin, he’s confused, because it’s exactly the same as before. Ho-won tells him that this document is what Ji-na told her to turn in as is, and that she obeyed because Ji-na is her supervisor.

But she pulls out a second folder, explaining that as the person in charge of this project, these are her own findings. She discovered that Dae-man’s company actually out-outsources Hauline’s work to a smaller company, Nanda Communications. Woo-jin doesn’t offer her any compliments, but he looks a bit impressed.

He presents his proposal to the board of directors, explaining how hiring new outsource companies can strengthen their bottom line. He addresses the problem of hiring companies whose owners have relatives working for Hauline, and though he doesn’t name anyone specific, CEO Han sputters indignantly.

Woo-jin must have convinced the board, because the first thing he does after the presentation is to have Ho-won contact Nanda Communications to arrange a meeting. Ji-na actually congratulates Ho-won on a job well done, which is kind of sweet.

Ho-won answers a phone call from Kang-ho’s mother, who hasn’t been able to reach her son all day. He’s not at his desk either, so Ho-won tells her that he’s on a short business trip.

Gu-dong treats the marketing team to dinner to celebrate, but Woo-jin wants to split the bill. Then he sees Ho-won’s happy face at the thought of a free meal and decides that he’ll pay after all.

Ho-won struggles with the decision of who to hand a set of cutlery to first between Woo-jin or Gu-dong (this is a custom of respect – it’s a conundrum because Woo-jin is her boss, but Gu-dong is the elder at the table). Woo-jin settles the question for her by getting out his own cutlery. When the waitress brings the side dishes, Ho-won stands to help, but then her former-waitress muscle memory kicks in, and she nearly gets all the way to the kitchen before Ki-taek calls her back. HA.

Yong-jae, Jae-min, and Kang-ho return to the office late with a lot of work left to do. Yong-jae pawns it all off on Kang-ho while he and Jae-min head home, and Kang-ho just meekly takes it. He sees a note on his desk from Ho-won telling him that his mother called while cheerfully adding that he worked hard today.

At dinner, Woo-jin suddenly realizes that he doesn’t remember seeing Ki-taek at the interviews. Ki-taek confesses that he didn’t actually interview because he was late, and that he thinks Manager Park hired him because he used to work for a furniture company that often dealt with Hauline. Okay, that’s definitely suspicious.

The next morning, Ki-taek sits Ho-won and Kang-ho down and tells them that it’s time for them to make up. Kang-ho offers Ho-won a sincere apology, and they shake hands. Ki-taek joins in a three-way handshake, and they toast to their renewed friendship with their coffee.

Woo-jin gets copies of Ho-won, Ki-taek, and Kang-ho’s resumes from Human Resources, curious as to why they were hired if it wasn’t because they did well in their interviews. He learns that they were handpicked by Manager Park, and his eyes widen in horror as he realizes that all three got their jobs through the thing he hates most — their connections.

 
COMMENTS

I’m not sure that I agree with the logic of the way the Hauline office runs — Ho-won has already done several things that would get her rightfully fired, not the least of which is accusing her own boss of taking bribes. In the real world, no boss who was accused of such a thing (guilty or not) would go along with his office taking a vote on whether to keep that employee. I guess we just have to chalk it up to drama logic, even if it makes no sense. I have no problem doing that, because the show is otherwise fun and zippy with a pretty earnest heart at the center of it all, though I’m sure it will cause some more head-scratching moments in the future. Having a vote just seems like a cop-out though, when there are more plausible ways to have Ho-won be allowed to stay.

I can almost understand now why Kang-ho betrayed Ho-won the way he did, because he believes she’s terminally ill. So in his fear-filled mind, she won’t be around for long anyway. Obviously, lying about the bribes was just plain wrong, but Kang-ho wasn’t looking at the situation with a calm, rational state of mind. He’s under so much pressure from his mother that he was willing to die to escape her, and he’s lying to her that the job is permanent, so he’s probably desperate to make it true and escape her constant criticism. What Kang-ho doesn’t realize is that people like his mother never change — even if he gets the permanent job, she’ll just shift focus to some other way he’s disappointing her, and it will go on forever as long as he keeps trying to live up to her standards. The way to make it stop isn’t to comply with his mother’s wishes, but to stand up and tell her that he’s not going to take her abuse anymore. I’m not sure Kang-ho has that kind of strength in him, so I’m glad he has Ho-won and Ki-taek on his side again, because he’s going to need them. I’m very worried that he’s heading for another crisis.

On a positive note, I think I finally found something to like about Woo-jin in this episode. His abrasive attitude and mile-high ego still annoy me to no end, but he does seem to work as a pretty effective motivating force for Ho-won, even though I’m sure it’s unintentional on his part. Woo-jin seems to know exactly where Ho-won’s hot buttons are, and every time he pushes one it just makes her that much more determined to prove that she can do the job. He’s inadvertently teaching Ho-won about persistence, excellence, and personal responsibility by refusing to believe that she’s capable of any of those things. By going out of her comfort zone in order to show him that he’s wrong about her, Ho-won is also learning to take responsibility, think creatively, and push beyond what she thought were her limits. And I do believe that Woo-jin was the fifth vote to keep Ho-won, because as much as I think she irritates and frustrates him, there have been moments where I caught him looking at her with what seemed to be a grudging admiration. He may not think she’s capable of much, but I think that he respects her belief in herself.

I also respect that Woo-jin doesn’t just talk the talk, he also walks the walk. He may demand the best from his workers, but he expects it of himself as well, so he’s actually setting a good example if you can overlook his nasty personality. Woo-jin is unafraid to rock the boat if it’s what’s best for the company — for example, learning that the CEO’s nephew is the subcontractor he’s trying to fire didn’t even faze him, when most people would back down in that situation. He sticks to his conviction that letting this subcontractor go is what’s best for Hauline, and he’s willing to stand by that decision even in the face of strong opposition.

But the way Woo-jin treats people is still hurtful and unkind, and in a way, he can serve as both a mentor and a cautionary tale for Ho-won. You can see how her life experiences could turn her jaded and angry, just like Woo-jin has become, so that (assuming she’s not actually dying) while she might learn to be successful in business, she could easily slip into the bad habit of carrying that anger and disillusionment around with her, the same way Woo-jin does. I’d like to see Ho-won learn the positive things that Woo-jin has to teach, and hopefully her belief that she only has a short time left to live will keep her from giving in and becoming apathetic to the feelings of others. Hopefully they can learn from each other and become better people in the process.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , , , ,

36

Required fields are marked *

Ahhh!! I'm loving Go ah Sung.. discovery of another talented actor! After discovering PHS (after 100 k dramas) here comes another... I am reminded of Javabeans' eternally optimistic statement that there will always be good dramas. I am starting to believe ( after watching numerous actors who can't act) that there will always be good actors if we keep watching... This girl reminds me the joy I had when I discovered Park Bo young, Jo Jung seok, Seo Hyun Jin, Park Eun Bin etc....

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

♥️ So so agree! There's something so disarming and lovable about her even when she's at her worst. And I ♥️♥️ her friendship with Lee Dong Hwi's character.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Go Ah Sung is really talented and have a good eyes in picking project. Her drama may not hit in rating, but the type of role and projects she picks quite interesting. She won me over in Heard It Through The Grapevine. I will recommend for you to watch her movies too, such as Office.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

She goes bach and forth between movie and drama but she is a Blue Dragon winner. She is quite same to Chun Woo Hee, very attractive.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Is it just me shipping Kkot-bi with Ki-taek?

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

No me too. Even their names sound cute when you put it together. heh.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I alternate between shipping them and shipping Ki Taek with Ho Won. Except for obviously still pining for his ex, he's such a caring guy. Looks out for Ho Won and like a good hyung, scolds Kang Ho when Kang Ho has done wrong. And then gets them to all be friends again.

And I really like it when Ho Won calls him oppa.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

To me Ki-Taek and Ho Won are a case of well-written platonic love. I guess if the swoony doc wasn't in the picture, Ki-Taek would have been the lovely and kind second leave. As things stand, I am going to enjoy their platonic friendship!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The poor guy needs a new love in his life. I hope he sees Ji-na for who she really is - shallow and selfish.

And kudos to Ki-taek for scolding and punching Kang-ho. I think he deserved it. Though I pity him. Hope that Ki-taek and Ho-won will be able to help him be more assertive.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am really enjoying this drama...this one and Perfect Wife remind me why I watch Korean dramas. They are not perfect, but I'm totally invested in them at this point.

I will gently disagree about firing the gal over the e-mail. Now in the US (perhaps not Korea) if you have a female employee that candidly told of sexual harassment to the entire company the absolute worst thing a company can do - and Hauline is a large company with their own building with lawyers working there I presume - is fire said employee because that would be retaliation. They would move her, let her finish her contract, start an investigation of the matter and wait it out. Again that is the US and if you have smart people in Human Resources because to let her go is to just ask for a law suit.

I've forgiven the poor guy for turning on her. He is so sad to me that it is obvious he is just miserable. The editing of them getting together and saying bygones and let's start over was a little odd.

I like Woo Jin. He's not perfect and can expect a bit much. However, he's not the cookie cutter jerk that he was in Let's Drink. We are getting much more character development in this drama.

One final thing I like about this drama....the secretary. I worked in offices for years, and I always give this advice to people starting out: be nice to the front desk receptionist. The company I worked for threw away resumes after interviews if the party involved was rude to the receptionist. And always always always realize that is not "just" a secretary. They know EVERYTHING.

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

The whistleblower law in the US offers an employee protection, although that usually applies to reporting misconduct through an official process, often a third party agent to add a layer of protection. And even then there's still retaliation.

Buuuuuuut in my now 20 yrs of corporate life I have never seen anyone fired for a Send All screw up, or even for intentional Send All emails that were meant to air grievances. And I have never seen temps or contractors just thrown onto vendor relationships with no guidance. I do realize that many Kdramas take liberties with portraying how things are in real life in order to tell a story, because portraying most corporations would bore everyone to tears.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I once stood watch as a co-worker went into a Sr. Partners office and deleted an "oops" e-mail that probably wouldn't have gotten her fired but would have caused her much embarrassment. She had been employed there for years and knew the system but it's amazing how fast we all push send.

I have a few k-drama worthy stories, but 90% of my work life is just nose to the grindstone. That's not exciting.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Most IT departments should be able to assign specific email permissions to certain groups of people. Like the president and vps and their executive assts get send to all. I can't imagine giving a temp send to all.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Seo Hyun and Seo Woo Jin are brothers?
They touched on the chairman Seo Tae Woo and dismissed it but there is something ther i think.

Also if memory serves Seo Hyun mentioned before that he went to medicine and left the company stuff to the brother.

Im liking him alot and he resembles the main actor from Heart to Heart Chun Jung Myung.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Did anybody else notice that it was her Ho Won's roommate working the lunch line? That's why she was being nice after work and asking about HW's contract.

0
7
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree! The lunch worker was totally the roommate. That's why she said that the three-month contract was so long - because she's worried about getting found out.

Also, I disagree with Lollypip about Ji-na's reaction to Ho-won's research that led to the outsourcing change. Ji-na did congratulate her, but NOT sincerely. She said something along the lines of "You didn't listen to me and now you have more work to do, so congrats on that." She was basically telling Ho-won that she was stupid. IMO, at least.

1
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thought the same about Ji-na – I didn't interpret her words as a compliment at all. I don't think she's yet shown any glimpse of her changing. I do keep hoping that Ki-tae staring at her when she's being mean/lazy, is him realising that she's not such a great and nice person after all...

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Ji Na definitely did not congratulate Ho Won sincerely. She was being sarcastic and congratulated Ho Won for bringing more work onto herself.

Ho Won is way smarter than Ji Na. She knows that Woo Jin isn't just simply giving her more work but is entrusting her with more tasks and responsibility. Ji Na is too dumb to realize that or she never thought of anything other than skiving and delivering sub par work. Boy, this woman really got on my nerves!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yes, I was pretty sure it was the roommate too!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I thought that was who she was too! It'll be interesting to see what develops in that area - her roommate will probably have some good info about the company that Ho Won will need in the future.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yes, though i wonder why the room mate is then so shifty about her work. Has she been lying to ho won about her work, and if so why? I am intrigued by it.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I guess it's because she thinks being a cafeteria server is something to be embarrassed about. I won't be surprised if she lied and told Ho Won that she has some glamorous job.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

<<<I can almost understand now why Kang-ho betrayed Ho-won the way he did, because he believes she’s terminally ill.

I don't think it's just that. This is a guy who has been cowering all his life, in a society that still very much represses people rather than encouraging them to stand up and fight. It's not just that she's ill, it's not just that it's his first (and probably in his mind only real) chance at a job, but he is in a society that values group mentality, rather than individuality. Even Woo-jin risks a lot with exposing the nephew contractor, Ho-won is literally insane to become a whistleblower (precisely why she's every kind of awesome).

Some of the transitions are a bit abrupt and I do agree also that some things don't quite make sense – the voting is of course not very realistic, but even more so how much time they actually take out of their work day to do it... (they don't do it immediately, but Ho-won has time of a chat with Ki-tae???)

I also don't get how Woo-jin is such a 'hireable' person when he apparently didn't stay at any of his companies for any significant length of time. He might have amazing skills, but how can companies know that if he keeps quitting? And why doesn't he set up his own company?

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I also don't get how Woo-jin is such a 'hireable' person when he apparently didn't stay at any of his companies for any significant length of time. He might have amazing skills, but how can companies know that if he keeps quitting? And why doesn't he set up his own company?

Very good question/observation. Hopefully we will get some info on that later on. I would laugh my butt off if he's had an angel this whole time. I see him eating crow somewhere along the way.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Love Ho won's perseverance skill.....though not kind Woo jin might be a lot of help into pushing her to success..

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I was SO glad the three musketeers were back together by the end of the episode!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I didn't really get why Ho-Won blamed the company/coworkers/manager for being fired unfairly due to a lack of training.

Would she really have avoided sending an email to the whole company, if she had a training? First, do we still train new hires about email skills? Second, let's say that Hauline email system is complicated. Then wouldn't it have been better to handwrite a (personal) letter to your friends/coworkers? Last, mistake can happen to anyone, regardless of training.

Would she really have not fallen asleep in a company/store bed, ruining a whole exposition, if she had a training? She should have been aware of being physically and mentally tired by the end of the day.

Would she really have not been fired for bringing up the corruption, if she had a training?

I wish the Show writing was a bit more creative. Ho-Won succeeding at the end of the episode and gaining back respect for her, through a disguise, was not original in my opinion. That would have been an instance when a mentor or training would have helped her.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

In a previous scene, Ji-an was showing Jae-min how to use the company email and specifically told him to make sure that he didn't hit "send all." So while basic email might be universal, Hauline's system seems to require training.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The doctor is just gorgeous. I completely understand why ho won is a little stunned around him. I know woo jin and her are probably the end game, because kdrama, but I really want her to end with the doctor already - he's rich, good looking, successful and so far, kind. Basically a complete prince charming. sigh. Also, although this episode had some ridiculous moments, it was nice to see Ho won doing some proper work. I was a little embarassed by some of her mistakes. I know a drama can't be completely realistic in an office setting - because lets face it, office life is fairly dull and routine but I don't want too many hijinks such as her sleeping in that bed (come on!) I was trying to understand her because of her diagnosis and suicidal feelings, but its nice to see her start to turn her misfortune into strength. I also love kitaek - he's so kind. i feel for kang ho too, though I don't trust him. Also how pretty and awesome is kkot bi? Really think this drama did a great job casting.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

There's a part of me that thinks this is one of those dramas that actually would work very nicely without a loveline at all.

I do think she'll be paired with Woo-jin though (in that case, I hope it's Woo-jin who falls for her first, as that would surely come with some hilarious scenes).

Ki-taek is kind (and I'm glad he's been keeping his distance from Ji-na). KKot-bi is such a cool (and smart) girl – I don't think she's a kind of character we get a lot either. Personally, I just feel sorry for Kang-ho. Unlike Ho-won he has not an ounce of gutsiness in him, and he needs to find that, his self-confidence and trust in himself so he can shine, rather than being a person who cowers and just does what he is told by everyone like a puppet.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Of course the doctor is handsome, he's a Coffee Prince after all! I, too, am shipping them, although we know that's not gonna happen.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am actually loving this series right now, I always end up loving the low-key dramas anyway. Even though half of the actions of Ha-Won and other employees, hopefully - wouldn't be accepted in any other business, I like the dynamic that's going on. I think it is mostly because the cast is really doing a great job here (with the exception of Han Sun-Hwa, sometimes I find her acting a little lackluster). I definitely think Go Ah-Sung and even Lee Dong Hwi are actually acting their butts off and pulling the show right now, because they are both so great. I love the bond that they have, and how supportive and caring he is of her.
I don't know, I hope this drama continues to really focus on character dynamics, and doesn't get to over dramatic!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

If corruption exists in every organization and at every level, then someone like Woo Jin won't last in any of them. Like you said in another post, he's better off being a business owner. However, he still has to fight corruption because I'm sure he will have to deal with other parties other than consumers.

I wonder how is the drama going to tackle the fact that the trio got into Hauline through connections a.k.a Doctor Seo. It didn't rankle us much because it's the trio we are talking about and we felt that this would be their lifeline. But it's still wrong. In the preview, we see Woo Jin finding out the truth about the trio's hiring. Let's see how the will resolve this.

I don't find Ho Won's actions and behavior hard to understand, from outing Manager Park to disguising as CEO's niece. As what her roommate pointed out, she has nothing to lose. Of course her roommate meant it from perspective of a temporary worker but Ho Won was thinking about how short her life is going to be. If Ho Won didn't know about her terminal illness, I am sure she would only be dreaming and having her little fantasies, none of which would actually take place. She is sometimes acting like her 'imaginary mini' and that's often funny to watch.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love the entire outfit that Ho Won stole from her roommate to put on the angry niece of the CEO act!

episode 3 was a little bit frustrating, but I'm glad episode 4 ramped it up and Ho Won is starting to take some responsibility for her work. I also love how she waffles between her sort of reserved, shy self (the self she is used to being) and the brash self she wants to be as she lives out the last months of her life.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Weighing in on this drama. I am also loving Go ah sung here. She really naturally dives into her characters. I only seen her a little as teen mum on Heard Thru the Grapevine but she shined there as well.

This drama I am loving Ha suk jin bringing a character he plays in his sleep as the lead guy and not the usual 2nd lead or supporting ones he usually plays. Since when, Kim dong wook looked this handsome.He has been flying under my radar.Lee dong hwi is back to his scene stealer self and Jina totally does not deserve him.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Can I ask for more Doctor Hyun screen time please? :D

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *