The Liar and His Lover: Episode 11

by SailorJumun

Though our two lovebirds have comfortably fallen into their new romance, tensions are still running high as Mush & Co. try to secure their own place in show biz. Unfortunately, they weren’t entirely prepared for what would happen after stepping into the spotlight. It’s a cutthroat business out there and, as they’ll learn from their sunbaes, you just have to find a way to trudge through it all. But what happens when it becomes far too much to handle?

 
EPISODE 11 RECAP

After Han-gyul admits how much he likes her, So-rim smiles against his back, saying that she liked him from the start and likes him even more now. That makes Han-gyul stop the bike as he gently takes her hand and turns around to face her. And then, ah, that kiss. Not gonna lie – I squealed louder than I should have.

So-rim quietly enters the house and tiptoes her way to her room, but she jumps to see Jin-woo waiting in the living room. He narrows his eyes and questions why she was out so early when everyone else peeks their heads from their rooms. (Whoa, hold up – did Shi-hyun just come out of Soo-yeon’s room?)

So-rim insists that she was taking a walk by herself just as Han-gyul comes waltzing in, and the others smile suspiciously. And then Chan-young waltzes in, which just confuses everybody. The three lie that they all took separate walks.

Crude Play and Mush & Co. pack their things and head to the cars to return home. Before Han-gyul can lead So-rim to his van, Chan-young glares at the smiling couple and grabs So-rim’s hand.

He pulls her away from Han-gyul and says that he has to talk to his band on the way back. So Han-gyul and So-rim reluctantly go separate ways.

It only takes about a minute in the van for the boys to start accusing Han-gyul of being with So-rim that morning, which he fervently denies. Instead, he turns it around to Shi-hyun and Soo-yeon, questioning how close they’ve been acting lately. Shi-hyun denies that just as hard, heh.

At the same time, Jin-woo is accusing So-rim of walking with Han-gyul. So-rim clams up, so Chan-young jumps in and says he saw So-rim actually walking alone. That pleases Jin-woo, though So-rim stares at Chan-young, surprised by his save.

Jin-hyuk and Yoo-na attend a meeting to discuss the Music Sketchbook lineup, though Jin-hyuk is hardly listening. He thinks back to his conversation with In-woo, who had rejected his offer of publicizing his stolen songs: “Because someone will get hurt.”

After the meeting, Yoo-na asks if Jin-hyuk is spacing out because of what CEO Yoo proposed. She reassures him that she would never leave Sole since she feels so at home here. He wonders if that’s thanks to Han-gyul, and she answers that it’s thanks to Jin-hyuk for recruiting Han-gyul in the first place. Jin-hyuk mutters, almost to himself, that he’s no longer sure if he brought Han-gyul in or if Han-gyul tumbled in on his own.

CEO Yoo meets with In-woo to see if he’s thought about putting out an album with her. He doesn’t think his music will sell, but Yoo tells him to let her worry about that. She’s sure she can make it happen since she also likes In-woo’s music. With a smile, he gives her the okay.

Jin-woo and Gyu-sun scurry home, but So-rim hangs back to ask Chan-young if he saw her Han-gyul this morning. He cuts her off and says they should hang out for a while longer. He leads her over to a railing to admire the view, sighing that he doesn’t get much leisure time like this.

He says that in exchange for achieving a position people work so hard for, they have to give up the simpler things normal people get to have. “People always want what they can’t have,” he concludes as he looks at her.

With a strained smile, Chan-young asks if she’s dating Han-gyul. She gives a shy little nod and apologizes – she couldn’t heed Jin-hyuk’s orders because she liked Han-gyul too much. His voice now hard, he asks why she had to like Han-gyul of all people. She apologizes again, thinking he’s upset that she lied, but he just waves it off.

He assures her (or himself, really) that it’s okay since her relationship with Han-gyul doesn’t change the fact that Mush & Co. is his band. He reminds her of their three-year promise and shows some relief when she nods.

Once So-rim gets home, she gets a call from Han-gyul (who’d been saving pictures of her from the trip while waiting, hee). She says that she got home late since she was talking to Chan-young, though she doesn’t divulge about what since he’d asked her not to tell Han-gyul that he knew about them.

To her surprise, Han-gyul doesn’t pry her for more answers. He sweetly says that he’ll only listen to her and trust what she says. Then he goes on to say that he’s totally getting his driver’s license so that she doesn’t have to ride with Chan-young anymore. Ha! He may be trusting, but his jealousy is still strong.

Gyu-sun excitedly tells Se-jung about his trip, handing over his phone to show her pictures. But when he bends down to tie his shoe, he doesn’t see her quickly find the code to hack into his new phone.

She returns to her computer to access the rest of his photos, and she’s thrown off to see Han-gyul included in them. She recalls him being the boy So-rim seemed so close with and wonders if he’s the band’s manager.

Se-jung travels over to Sole the next day, just in time to catch Han-gyul buying snacks for the Mush & Co. trio. Gyu-sun waves her over, though as he talks to her, she strains her neck to get a better look at So-rim’s mystery boy. Gyu-sun calls out Chan-young’s name as he arrives, snapping Se-jung back into focus.

As they all head back inside, Se-jung can’t help but notice Chan-young doting on So-rim, making her mouth form an irritated frown. She at least hangs back while the rest of them go to the practice room. Han-gyul tries to follow them in, but Chan-young quickly shuts the door and urges him to go on his merry way.

Chan-young knows Han-gyul just wants to hear So-rim sing, and he suggests that Han-gyul stop being so greedy. He heads inside, making sure to wave Han-gyul off through the window.

Han-gyul almost goes in after him, but seeing Chan-young’s smile as he overlooks the band performing stops him. Han-gyul turns on his heel, cursing under his breath.

So-rim comes into school the next day to discover that photos of her and Chan-young have surfaced online, along with rumors of them dating. Se-jung angrily confronts So-rim about this, demanding to know why she’s messing around when she already has a boyfriend. So-rim rightfully says it has nothing to do with her and hurries off to meet with Soo-yeon.

Se-jung watches her go and then pulls out her phone to log into her Twitter account. Ah, crap.

Soo-yeon assembles the trio to settle the matter, and though So-rim is afraid she’s just ruined their image, Soo-yeon assures her that the company will take care of it. But when So-rim goes off alone to read the online comments, she’s shaken to see all the angry remarks from Chan-young’s fans.

A hand shoots out and grabs her phone, and she looks up to see Han-gyul. He half-jokes that she should be looking at him instead of her phone, but she just asks if he’s mad about the rumor. He takes her hand and reminds her that he only trusts in what she says. However, he does warn her that these kind of incidents will happen again and that she’ll most likely get hurt.

“So just trust in my words and listen to me,” he says. “You’ll do that, right?” So-rim nods with a smile. From afar, Yoo-na watches this exchange with a dejected look.

Jin-hyuk calls Chan-young in to inform him that they’ve handled the rumor. Just to make sure, he asks if he and So-rim really have no special relationship. Chan-young confirms that they don’t. “Not with me,” he mutters, which Jin-hyuk notes.

Soon after, there’s another rumor quickly spreading online. Se-jung had posted all of Gyu-sun’s photos from the trip, claiming that Han-gyul is So-rim’s real boyfriend. And now everyone thinks So-rim is a two-timer.

Jin-hyuk and his team can’t figure out how all those personal photos got leaked (Se-jung posted with a private account), but they immediately take action, changing their passwords and making sure to protect Han-gyul’s identity. But there’s one more problem: among the photos, there was a video of In-ho playing the drums.

Gyu-sun admits to Soo-yeon that he did take the video as well as all the photos, but he never showed it to anyone outside of Mush & Co.’s chatroom. Assuming his phone must’ve gotten hacked, they check to see the PC that it’s connected to. Gyu-sun laughs dryly, clearly recognizing the username. Gyu-sun tries to rush out on his own, but So-rim and Jin-woo insist that this concerns all of them.

They call Se-jung out to the school that night and confront her about the account. Se-jung tries to play dumb, but So-rim tells her not to lie anymore. She understands that Se-jung hates her but thinks that hurting their band just to hurt her is wrong. When Se-jung still won’t fess up, Gyu-sun steps forward and reveals that he knows she likes Chan-young. “That’s why you hate us, right?” he says.

Se-jung completely breaks and yells that they’re all so annoying – why do they get to have it all when they don’t even study or work hard? Why do they get to be close to Chan-young? “So what is it that you want?” a familiar voice says from behind.

Se-jung recognizes it as Chan-young’s, but she’s too scared to turn around. She tries to escape, but Chan-young demands that she look him in the eye. She slowly turns around, but she can barely look at him before running away.

Gyu-sun goes after her and grabs her arm, but she pushes him away and yells that she never liked him. Gyu-sun says that he knows – but still, he wants to stay with her. So when she bursts into tears, he just takes her in his arms. Oy… He really is too sweet for his own good.

Jin-hyuk rounds up Mush & Co., Han-gyul, and Chan-young, amazed that they’ve all gotten themselves into this mess. He tells Soo-yeon to confiscate the band’s phones and to have them placed in a dorm where they can be watched. He then asks to speak with Han-gyul and Chan-young alone.

He firmly states that the two are no longer allowed to see So-rim. They try to argue, but Jin-hyuk throws back that they handled this all wrong – Chan-young shouldn’t have been so careless in public and Han-gyul shouldn’t have made his relationship with So-rim so obvious.

Grandma is horrified to see So-rim getting so much negative attention on the entertainment news, though she quickly shuts it off when So-rim arrives. So-rim keeps a smile on her face, though she reports sadly that she’ll have to move out for a while.

Since So-rim has to leave tomorrow, she and Grandma get right to packing. A thought strikes her, and So-rim lies her head in Grandma’s lap, suggesting that they go out on a little date before she takes off for the dorms.

At home, Han-gyul listens to So-rim’s track of “I’m Okay,” happily scrolling through her pictures. In-woo sneaks up on him and asks what he’s looking at, making him jump. In-woo wants in on the happy train and asks that he let him listen to the song. Han-gyul hesitates before saying he can only listen if he doesn’t make any comments.

In-woo doesn’t see why not, so Han-gyul explains that it’s because his dad isn’t just anyone. He admits that he’s grateful to his mom for making him so different from In-woo.

But to Han-gyul’s annoyance, when it comes to the most important thing – music – they couldn’t be more alike.

“Gyul-ah, I think differently,” In-woo says, walking over to Han-gyul’s poster of his K persona. “It’s fine if you resemble me in other ways, but I really hope you don’t resemble me when it comes to that important thing.” Once In-woo leaves him alone, Han-gyul finds himself staring at his K poster as well, his eyes heavy with emotion.

Now all packed, So-rim pulls out her beloved Jeje for some comfort. She tells Jeje that it’s tough with everyone criticizing her and then mumbles that she misses her mother. As she rests her head on her pillow, a tear escapes her eye.

The next day, So-rim takes Grandma out to have some fun in town. They have a blast playing games and eating street food, but when So-rim runs off to grab some change for a crane machine, she gets noticed by some students.

The students don’t even try to keep their voices down as they laugh at the supposed singer who’s two-timing Seo Chan-young. Each word is hit after hit for her, and at a certain point, their voices seem to fade. So-rim’s hand shakes as she turns to look back at Grandma, who definitely heard the whole thing.

So-rim immediately pulls Grandma out, but Grandma stops her, saying she left her phone inside. She tells So-rim to stay put and heads back, marching right up to the mean students. She demands to know if their parents raised them to speak so harshly, but they just dismiss her and walk away.

Grandma turns around to find So-rim, who’s mad that she confronted them when she should’ve just let it go. Grandma tries to apologize, but So-rim runs off into the crowd, leaving Grandma behind, struggling for breath. Oh no! Please don’t be sick!

Thinking better of it, So-rim runs right back to Grandma and pulls her into a tight back hug. She cries that she’s sorry and that she was just upset. Grandma turns her around and assures her that it’s okay to cry or get angry in front of her.

Once So-rim is calmed down, Grandma sends her off with Jin-woo and Gyu-sun, watching them run off together like the three dorks they still are. In their new dorm, Gyu-sun nudges Jin-woo, telling him to go for it with So-rim since Han-gyul won’t be around.

Jin-woo is surprised, since he thought Gyu-sun liked Han-gyul. Gyu-sun does, but he says that Jin-woo is his friend, so of course he’d root for him. Jin-woo beams and high-fives him. And then he hilariously leans against the doorway and asks So-rim if she needs any help. Oh boy. This should be fun.

Jin-hyuk visits CEO Yoo to apologize for the recent scandal, though Yoo just finds it amusing. She tells him that she’ll be keeping a close eye on So-rim during the Music Sketchbook performance, making him uneasy. Meanwhile, So-rim’s grandma starts feeling woozy as she works outside and collapses on the street.

Jin-hyuk finds Chan-young next and asks if he has any other songs besides “Shiny Boy.” Chan-young is offended, but Jin-hyuk says that the song has already dropped off the charts and that they need to give Mush & Co. a boost.

Chan-young retorts that he knows what Jin-hyuk is thinking, but he won’t back down. Before Jin-hyuk can answer, Soo-yeon bursts in with news of So-rim’s grandma. So-rim rushes to the hospital, her friends and Chan-young close behind. According to the doctor, Grandma fainted from shock and exhaustion, but thankfully, she’ll be fine after a day of rest.

Soo-yeon sends Jin-woo and Gyu-sun home and then makes sure to text Han-gyul the situation. Chan-young, however, stays with So-rim in the hospital room. He watches her face, telling her it’s okay to cry at a time like this. So-rim looks down at her sleeping grandma and says that strangely, she can’t bring herself to cry. She wonders if it’s because she’s too scared.

Chan-young places a comforting hand over So-rim’s and notes that she feels cold. He goes out to get her a warm drink just as Han-gyul runs into the hospital and locates Grandma’s room.

So-rim is shocked to find Han-gyul suddenly standing in front of her and she barely gets out his name before her face crumples in tears. He doesn’t say a word – he just pulls her into a tight embrace and lets her cry.

Behind them, Chan-young slides the door open, only to slide it closed after seeing the two together.

Han-gyul stays with So-rim all day, holding her hand until she falls asleep by Grandma’s side. He untangles their hands and places a blanket over her before heading out, where he finds Chan-young sitting in the hallway.

Han-gyul tells Chan-young to go on home since he’ll be staying with So-rim, and Chan-young practically rolls his eyes. He wonders why Han-gyul should care if he worries about So-rim, to which Han-gyul responds that he has every right to care: “Tell me. Who are you worried about? Your singer? Or Yoon So-rim?”

He promises not to interfere with Mush & Co., so he wants Chan-young to promise not to interfere with his relationship with So-rim. Chan-young heaves a big sigh and stands up to face Han-gyul, asking why he should do that when Han-gyul has already messed up everything else for him.

 
COMMENTS

Chan-young, I like you – I really do – but you’re making it harder and harder for me to want to defend you and your increasingly unreasonable actions. In fact, I find it ironic that Chan-young is always warning Han-gyul to keep his personal feelings out of business matters when Chan-young is doing the exact same thing. His determination to keep Mush & Co. as his band with only his songs and his guidance hinders the trio’s chances of growing as musicians. It was nice to see him excited to have something apart from Crude Play, but he’s almost acting like a child who refuses to share his toys. And that just bothers me – that he views this group as a shiny new toy that Han-gyul can’t have.

But now that he knows that Han-gyul has officially “stolen” So-rim away from him, he’s only gotten more obsessive and territorial. It’s clear that he does like So-rim as a person (it’s hard not to love her), but I honestly believe that if he liked her on a deeper level – like Han-gyul and her friends do – he would find a way to be fine as long as he could see that she was happy. That’s the one thing I can appreciate about the noble idiocy trope. A noble idiot will step back if they believe the one they love will be happier without them or, in certain circumstances, with someone else. In retrospect, it may be stupid, hence the “idiocy,” but we often tolerate it because it’s still a rather sweet and selfless act.

Thankfully, Han-gyul eventually understood that he made So-rim happy and rightfully took advantage of that. Then we have Chan-young, who, lately, only seems annoyed with her happiness because it doesn’t include him. Or more specifically, because it includes the one person he can’t stand. And that way of thinking is just unfair of him. For one, Han-gyul does have the right to be greedy. He’s So-rim’s boyfriend now, and after spending so much time repressing his feelings, I’d say he’s earned his right to be a little greedy with her.

Chan-young’s one saving grace in this episode was telling Se-jung off. Being a top idol, I’m sure he’s had his fair share of sasaeng ordeals because he really put that girl in her place. The way I see it, there are adoring fans and then there are straight up obsessive fans. Referring back to my point earlier, Se-jung falls into the second category simply because she disregards her idol’s happiness. That possessive quality that sasaengs carry only shows that they’re in love with the concept of their idol, not the actual idol. Let that sink in, Chan-young – I just compared you to Se-jung. I want to hate Chan-young’s character like so much, but like Gyu-sun did for Se-jung, I just get the urge to hug him. He seems to be getting more desperate with every episode, and I fear that if he doesn’t let up, he may truly ruin himself.

But it was So-rim who really needed a hug (and thank goodness she got one). She’d been warned time and time again about the negatives that come with celebrity life, but she couldn’t quite understand what that was like until she was living it. Becoming an entertainer means putting your name and face – your entire life – out there for the world to see. And just as Han-gyul said, it can be brutal. Crude Play has been in the business for years and it still gets to them. Heck, the pressure even gets to be too much for the supposedly suave Jin-hyuk, as we’ve seen when he’s in the presence of CEO Yoo. So I can only imagine how tough it is for a couple of newbies like Mush & Co.

Amidst all the pain and suffering of our favorite puppies, I was surprisingly pleased with how easily Han-gyul stepped into his new role as So-rim’s boyfriend. He’s proving to be a great support system by showing so much trust and in turn, asking her to trust that in the end, everything will be okay. When he says things like that, it’s hard not to believe in them. Just don’t take Grandma away from So-rim, Show. That’s where I draw the line.

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