The Best Hit: Episodes 25-26

by gummimochi

There’s a sweet scent in the air this hour when even stronger bonds are formed between family and friends. It’s hard to imagine that anything can go wrong when almost everything is going right, but little do our characters know that everything they’ve worked towards is in jeopardy and that the string of lies holding their happiness together is about to unravel.

 
EPISODE 25 RECAP

After Hyun-jae holds Woo-seung close under her umbrella, they retreat to a cafe to get out of the rain. Her concern for him brings a warm smile to his face, and he assures her that seeing her has melted away all of his worries. Calling her “Part-timer,” he confesses, “I must like you.”

He shares how he tried to ignore his feelings and keep her at arm’s length, but because of his inability to lie, he has to tell her: “I like you.” Woo-seung is speechless.

Outside a nearby convenience store, Ji-hoon is filled in on the unbelievable tale of how Hyun-jae traveled to 2017 via a timeslip. Even though it sounds absurd, Dad believes Hyun-jae is the real deal, though he doesn’t know for what purpose. He says he meant to tell Ji-hoon about his biological father, but Ji-hoon cuts in: “I only have one father.” Aww.

When Ji-hoon points out that this Hyun-jae doesn’t remember fathering a child, Dad carefully explains that this Hyun-jae jumped through a wormhole before his relationship with Mom began. Even so, Ji-hoon asserts that he only has one mother and one father in his life. He asks Dad to keep his knowledge about the truth a secret from Hyun-jae.

On the walk home, Hyun-jae breaks the silence between them, saying that he hopes she understands that he’s someone who must always speak his mind and express his feelings. He isn’t worried when Woo-seung says she isn’t sure about her own feelings, and replies, “Just follow my lead until you think you know.”

It occurs to Hyun-jae that he wanted to ask why she always kept her hair tied up when he thought she looked prettier with it down. Just as she stammers that it’s convenient in the summer, a car draws near, so Hyun-jae takes her hand and pulls her out of the way.

He doesn’t let go of her hand when they’re in the clear, so they keep walking holding hands, and soon he interlocks their fingers. Smooth. Chuckling, Hyun-jae comments that rainy days are still romantic in the future.

Once Woo-seung returns to her room, she reflects on Hyun-jae and Ji-hoon’s confessions. She sighs, worried about not having the money to move out of the rooftop apartment. Ji-hoon arrives home later that night and heads straight for bed, but stays up to process tonight’s revelations.

He’s still sorting through his thoughts on his morning jog and returns home to see Hyun-jae sitting outside. Tossing him a water bottle, Hyun-jae asks if Ji-hoon has given up on his dream of becoming a singer. He’s impressed to hear that Ji-hoon will pursue his dreams even if it leads to a dead end and assures Ji-hoon that even a dead end will lead him somewhere in life.

Ji-hoon heads out as soon as he finishes breakfast whereas Woo-seung heads into her room to take a call from her ex-roomie and boyfriend stealer, Eun-ah, who informs her that she and the Cheating Bastard plan on getting married. In the living space, MC Drill fills Hyun-jae in on the details of Woo-seung’s falling out with Eun-ah.

Later that day, Hyun-jae drops off a pile of clothes in Kwang-jae’s room, where he spots a photo album containing pictures of Ji-hoon. He giggles at Ji-hoon’s baby photos and pauses at the group of photos of Ji-hoon and Woo-seung playing together as kids.

In the office bathroom, Woo-seung lets her hair down, remembering Hyun-jae’s comment about how much prettier she looks that way. She does a hair flip just as another female employee enters the bathroom. Slightly embarrassed, she ties her hair back up.

She’s sent on a coffee run and runs into Hyun-jae in the lobby, where he gripes at the idea of her fetching coffee on this blistering summer day. But then he remembers that Young-jae has an expensive espresso machine in his office and believes that one person’s sacrifice will bring happiness to many.

So when Young-jae looks to have a coffee, his machine is gone. LOL. That’s because Hyun-jae has dropped it off in Woo-seung’s office and pointedly notes that “no one has to buy coffee in this heat.” He checks in with Woo-seung through a strained smile, and they do a tiny celebratory dance together.

While Woo-seung happens to overhear her coworker talking to her friend about a possible sublet, Kwang-jae and his idol group girls clean up the old World Agency office. Feeling a sense of nostalgia, Bo-hee is happy to see this space being used again.

She’s eager to know who Kwang-jae’s major investor is, but he doesn’t give a name and asks how her contract with Star Punch is going. That’s when Bo-hee reveals that she never officially signed with Star Punch, and Kwang-jae wonders who paid off their debt then.

Downstairs in the bakery, Ji-hoon notices Mal-sook’s forlorn expression and asks if she’s sad that Grandpa went to visit his hometown without her. But she sighs that there’s a boy she likes and her problem is that she looks too adorable instead of being pretty. Aw.

Bending down to her level, Ji-hoon assures her that she’s doing a masterful job at being both pretty and adorable, words which lift her spirits. Ji-hoon then takes a call from a hoobae who asks if MC Drill also quit the agency because he hasn’t been showing up to practice lately.

His calls to MC Drill goes unanswered because he’s busy working at a warehouse. Not used to going by his given name, he re-introduces himself by his stage name to his boss. Hearing the word “drill,” another employee offers his boss an actual drill. Ha. His boss is impressed by MC Drill’s work ethic and that he’s a former Marine.

After straining his eyes over contracts, Hyun-jae visits his online fan cafe where there’s a new video post. Entitled “Has Yoo Hyun-jae Returned?” a fan writes how the doppelganger in this performance of “Say It” at an outdoor singing competition reminds her so much of Hyun-jae that she momentarily thought he came back from the dead.

Hyun-jae reads the comments from other surprised fangirls and notes how observant they are. He adds a comment under his alias “Da-bong,” saying, “I miss [you], too.” MJ walks into the office looking for Young-jae just then, only to turn on his heel to find that he isn’t there.

But Hyun-jae won’t let him leave that easily and sits him down on the couch. MJ pays him half a mind until Hyun-jae reveals that he wrote all of MJ’s hit singles. Chucking his phone aside, MJ says he was always curious because Young-jae never told him the name of their ghost songwriter.

Hyun-jae wonders if the idol is completely shameless, but MJ confesses that he’s honestly embarrassed. He even thought about coming clean to the public, and when Hyun-jae tells him to do just that, he asks if Hyun-jae can teach him songwriting.

He promises to work hard and doesn’t care if the world doesn’t listen to his music because they consider him a liar. He hangs his head when Hyun-jae doesn’t readily agree, so he goes for a different approach and addresses Hyun-jae as “Master.”

That gets Hyun-jae to agree on the condition that MJ won’t order Woo-seung around the office anymore. They share an adorable fist bump to seal the deal.

Woo-seung is none too pleased to find ex-roomie Eun-ah waiting for her in the Star Punch lobby. Hyun-jae happens to be walking past when he sees the two ladies and overhears Eun-ha asking how Woo-seung can be an intern here instead of studying for her exam and living with Ji-hoon, at that.

But Woo-seung isn’t interested in getting an ounce of her sympathy, and then Hyun-jae sneaks up behind Woo-seung to join the conversation. He pointedly notes that Eun-ha must be that friend and invites her out to eat. Eun-ha guesses that he must be Woo-seung’s boyfriend and shamelessly agrees to being treated to an expensive meal.

Cue Operation Gentleman where Hyun-jae acts like a doting boyfriend to Woo-seung while leaving Eun-ha to her own devices. He opens the car door for Woo-seung and even pulls her seat out for her at the restaurant.

Woo-seung says through a strained smile that this is an expensive restaurant, to which Hyun-jae reminds her under his breath that this meal is on the company dime. When they get their food, Hyun-jae cuts up the steak for Woo-seung, and she returns the favor by feeding him a piece of meat.

At the end of their meal, Eun-ah thanks him for bringing her to such a fancy place. He smiles and tells her to be in touch, but then his face quickly turns stern, realizing that they won’t be. He then offers his hand to Woo-seung and leads her outside, where they both peek in through the window to see if Eun-ah is jealous.

Hyun-jae pumps in celebration, and though Woo-seung calls him childish, there’s a hint of amusement in her voice. But Hyun-jae is willing to be immature if it will lift her spirits because it upsets him to see her so sad. Woo-seung smiles at that, and he happily leads her away.

That evening, MC Drill struggles to put a pain-relieving patch by himself at home, then bolts up when Ji-hoon walks through the door. Noticing that Woo-seung and Hyun-jae aren’t back yet, he remarks that those two have been spending a lot of time together lately.

He asks Ji-hoon about turning down Ssen Entertainment, and Ji-hoon asks him if he hasn’t been showing up at Star Punch. MC Drill quickly lies that he got the company’s permission to work offsite on some gigs. Ji-hoon accepts that answer, but doesn’t buy it.

Kwang-jae finally gets some good news when a chairwoman agrees to be an investor, and he practically skips home. Hyun-jae helps Bo-hee put away some boxes at the bakery and agrees to a drink inside.

Bo-hee can’t help but remark on how much he resembles the Hyun-jae she knew in the ’90s. For many years, she hoped for Hyun-jae’s return, and when Hyun-jae asks if she still feels that way, she takes a few beats before saying no.

She acknowledges that a lot of time has passed, and neither she nor Hyun-jae are the same people they once were. While she initially thought he really was the same Hyun-jae, she now recognizes that he and Hyun-jae only share a physical resemblance—his personality and the vibe he gives off are completely different.

 
EPISODE 26 RECAP

Woo-seung finds Ji-hoon waiting for her outside of the Star Punch building, here to follow up on their movie date. Outside the theatre, he tells Woo-seung of his plans to make his debut with Dad’s help at World Agency. She’s heard that Dad was a famous road manager back when Jay-2 was active, then notices Ji-hoon staring at her.

He says it’s been a long time since he’s looked at her this way. She hits him for another cheesy line and soberly notes that it feels like ages since they’ve been able to joke around like this. He insists on buying her favorite snacks, and she smiles that he knows her better than she knows herself.

He spends the entire movie sneaking glances at Woo-seung, and while they wait for the bus afterward, he suddenly asks how she feels about Hyun-jae: “Do you like him?”

Flustered, Woo-seung says she isn’t sure, but then amends her reply to: “I think… I might…” Ji-hoon wonders how different things could’ve been if they weren’t childhood friends but met by a chain of chance encounters like she and Hyun-jae did.

He sighs, “I really regret… having met you as a friend.” The bus arrives moments later, and Ji-hoon looks at Woo-seung during their bus ride home.

The next day, Hyun-jae treats Kwang-jae to iced coffee made just how he likes it and asks about his new investors. He’s worried when he hears that half the seed money will be coming from Young-jae’s rich wife Cathy, but Kwang-jae assures him that he’s treading those waters carefully.

They both know the song is the biggest factor, which Hyun-jae guarantees will be great. That prompts Kwang-jae to confront him about whether or not he asked Young-jae to pay off his debt, and Hyun-jae defensively says he never begged—he demanded that Young-jae pay it off. Kwang-jae thinks that was a foolish move, but Hyun-jae argues that it’s totally fine because there’s something he doesn’t know.

Upon hearing that Ji-hoon will debut under World Agency, Hyun-jae smiles that Kwang-jae helped him and Ji-hoon make their debut. However, Kwang-jae calls the first debut “the biggest mistake of my life” and the second “the best hit of my life.”

Then Hyun-jae changes the subject to his 1994 disappearance, saying that the primary suspect is someone who benefitted the most from it: Young-jae.

Speaking of whom, Young-jae calls his wife Cathy to complain about investing in World Agency. He claims they don’t have money to burn because they need to renew MJ’s contract, and he agrees to call off Bo-hee’s contract if Cathy retracts her investment.

His secretary gets Kwang-jae’s other major investor on the phone to entice her about his preparations to work with an American music company to release MJ’s next album. He slyly comments that if the chairwoman hasn’t signed on the dotted line with Kwang-jae, that she should take him up on this deal.

Woo-seung swings by the recording studio to drop some papers off for Hyun-jae, and they quickly check to make sure that they’re alone. Remembering that Woo-seung used to be in a band in high school, he asks her to record the guide version of a song because it’s in a higher key.

She initially refuses, but soon, she’s standing inside the room. Heh. Hyun-jae gestures at her to put on the headphones, then presses the button to tell her that she really looks like a singer. She gets bashful, and he turns on the music and instructs her to sing normally.

Woo-seung does as she’s instructed, singing lyrics of the heart-fluttering moments of the early stages of love. Hyun-jae smiles from the other side of the glass, but when she looks back inside, his chair is empty.

She looks around and finds Hyun-jae standing next to her. Because the melody is still playing through her headphones, she’s unable to hear him as he tells her: “I wrote this song while thinking of you.”

She still can’t hear him, though, so he repeats himself, enunciating his words. But she still can’t hear him, so he swoops in to kiss her instead. Point taken.

MC Drill is spooked when Ji-hoon unexpectedly shows up at the warehouse and flashes the work log he accidentally left at home. He scrambles and claims this is just a part-time gig he scored after quitting Star Punch like Ji-hoon did. But Ji-hoon asks for an honest answer, so he admits, “I was fired.”

Unable to find the right words to say, Ji-hoon embraces his buddy in a consoling hug as they both hold back their tears.

Hyun-jae puts the finishing touches on a song stored in a USB drive labeled “Lee Ji-hoon.” Next to it is another USB drive labeled “World Agency,” and Hyun-jae prides himself in on his amazing songwriting talents before grabbing the “Lee Ji-hoon” USB drive and heading out for lunch.

Little does he know that a sound engineer slips into the studio a minute later. That engineer peels off the “World Agency” label and places it on a similar white USB drive, then takes the original to Young-jae.

Young-jae orders the engineer to tweak this song and release it as MJ’s next album’s title track. His plan is to release this song before Kwang-jae can so that people will think that Kwang-jae plagiarized them. He smugly says they have nothing to worry about since Kwang-jae will have a hard enough time scraping the funds to record a song.

Meanwhile, MC Drill assures his friend that the warehouse gig is tough but it pays well. He claims he was getting too old for Star Punch, but he still plans on performing whenever he can. Asking if MC Drill trust him, Ji-hoon encourages his buddy to take one last stab at pursuing the music dream with him at World Agency.

He makes MC Drill promise not to keep any more secrets from him, but that’s when a hoobae Marine greets MC Drill with a salute. That hoobae doesn’t get the hint to leave, but calls over their sunbae.

MC Drill immediately pops up to greet his superior and chants the Marine’s motto until the other men leave. He tries to explain that he met those men at a training camp, but Ji-hoon sees right through his excuse: “You lied about your age too? When did you serve in the military?” MC Drill softly replies, “Sorry.”

Woo-seung agrees to sublet her coworker’s friend’s available room, then treats the boys that evening to grilled pork belly and drinks on the rooftop. The foursome enjoy the food (and at one point, MC Drill offers Woo-seung a lettuce wrap before eating it himself, heh), and Ji-hoon silently watches as Woo-seung and Hyun-jae tease each other with food.

As they eat, Woo-seung remarks that this night will be one they remember for years. Hyun-jae points out that the mood suddenly feels serious, and she proposes that they take a commemorative photo together.

The four friends take a series of silly and adorable photos on the rooftop, and later, Ji-hoon finds Woo-seung lying in her hammock. It’s only now that she confesses this will be her last time in it because she’ll be moving out tomorrow.

He asks if it’s because of him, and she says yes. She clarifies that she doesn’t want to keep being a burden and that a place happened to open up nearby. She declines his help in moving, saying that everything she owns fits into one suitcase.

She then gets out of the hammock to thank him for everything. She offers a handshake, and Ji-hoon takes it, telling her to come back anytime.

Downstairs in the bakery, Hyun-jae waits with bated breath for Kwang-jae’s opinion on his latest composition meant for Ji-hoon. He’s relieved to hear that it’s relatable to the present times and tells Kwang-jae to let him know if he ever needs another song on the condition that he doesn’t get upset with him.

He remembers how bored he got the last time Kwang-jae got upset and left him temporarily: “You were my only friend, after all.” He lights up when Kwang-jae treats him to a triangle kimbap as a reward, and Kwang-jae points to a large newspaper ad (bearing Park Bo-gum’s face), declaring that Ji-hoon will be just as popular someday.

Hyun-jae doesn’t recognize the famous face on the newspaper, but acknowledges that the person is handsome. He agrees that Ji-hoon will be widely successful, and that comment earns him another triangle kimbap… because it’s buy one, get one free. LOL.

Hyun-jae finds Ji-hoon printing out copies of the photos they took earlier that night. He’s so amazed by the technology that the next day, he takes a half-day so he can take selfies in the rooftop apartment. That’s adorable and where can I get a copy?

Unfortunately, Woo-seung is unable to get a hold of him on the phone either. She heads back to her new place after work, only to stop short to see her front door slightly ajar. She approaches the door cautiously and peeks inside to see someone rummaging through her things.

She quietly reaches for a frying pan while her reflection pops up in a mirror beside the intruder. Just as the man turns his head, Woo-seung hits him full in the face. It’s only then she recognizes Hyun-jae, who yelps in pain.

She pouts, asking him what he’s doing here, and he explains he heard that she moved out here and took a half-day so he could clean the place up for her. She looks around to see her apartment furnished and tidy. He grumbles that he isn’t the type to brag about doing nice things… and then brags about buying her new blinds, a mattress, and cleaning her bathroom.

Touched, Woo-seung offers to make him dinner. She lets her hair down in the bathroom, and after they eat, Hyun-jae says this is the first proper homemade meal he’s had in a long time. It spurs him to tell Woo-seung the story about “his friend” whose parents died in a car accident when he was in middle school.

He lived alone, didn’t have any friends, and his only passion in life was for music. Since he had no interest in college but wanted to pursue music, he went to the closest entertainment agency by his house. He then lived his life with a devil-may-care attitude and had many a relationship, but he was still extremely lonely.

Tears well up in his eyes as Hyun-jae haltingly says, “He must’ve… caused all kinds of messes to those around him.” Woo-seung carefully asks if that “friend” is still living that way, and Hyun-jae says he doesn’t think so because that friend gets to enjoy a homemade meal.

Woo-seung invites him to come over often, but Hyun-jae swears that he’ll come whenever, unannounced. Noticing her crestfallen expression, he asks what’s wrong. She admits she’s happy these days, but that only makes her nervous because it’s usually the calm before the storm.

She laughs when Hyun-jae tells her never to worry while he’s around, and as she gets ready for bed, she finds a picture of Hyun-jae in her bathroom cabinet. She keeps finding more pictures of him hidden in random places, including one beneath the toilet seat cover.

Meanwhile, Hyun-jae giggles to himself in Woo-seung’s old room, amused by the thought of Woo-seung discovering the many photos of him. He tsks that he should’ve taken a photo of her.

The next morning, Woo-seung visits the World Agency building to pick up her books. Up on the rooftop, Hyun-jae mentions to Ji-hoon that he knows of his plans to debut through World Agency, then writes it off as if he heard it in passing.

Hearing Hyun-jae chuckle that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Ji-hoon asks him what that’s supposed to mean. Hyun-jae tries to blow past it, but Ji-hoon won’t let it go: “I know you’re Yoo Hyun-jae,” he says accusingly. “But I want to make it clear to you—I have one dad, and he’s in charge of World Agency. So I hope you’d mind your own business.”

Hyun-jae looks at him, surprised, but there’s someone else who’s even more astounded than he is: Woo-seung.

 
Epilogue

Kwang-jae is cleaning out Grandpa’s old desk when he finds a pile of letters stuffed in a drawer. He has no idea that one those letters is addressed to Grandpa… sent to him by Hyun-jae.

 
COMMENTS

Now here comes the storm. Woo-seung was bound to learn the truth about Hyun-jae sooner or later, but timing is a real bitch when it comes to dramaland. Hearing her talk about how the good times in her life are a precursor to the bad felt like a meta moment since that’s the traditional course a drama takes by this point in the series. Even though I knew that we’d be headed into treacherous waters by the hour’s end, I still enjoyed watching Hyun-jae acting like an adorable puppy and doting on Woo-seung.

I particularly loved Operation Gentleman because Hyun-jae wasn’t even present for all the drama Woo-seung went with Eun-ha. A part of him may have wanted to get back at Eun-ah for being a boyfriend stealer, but his ultimate goal was to just make Woo-seung happy again. Furthermore, I’m of the belief that everyone should be treated like royalty on a date at least once in their lifetime.

Now that Young-jae is on the move again, I can’t help but be a bit worried about him. He was sly enough to think of stealing songs from Hyun-jae himself this time, which is why I’m really hoping that Hyun-jae had enough forethought to leave behind a fake USB drive. I mean, neither that engineer nor Young-jae took the extra five minutes to check what song was on that drive. And while MJ and Hyun-jae’s alliance is still new, I’m hoping that Hyun-jae can still teach him an important life lesson or two before the end of this series. I also appreciated Bo-hee’s acknowledgement that this Hyun-jae before her (whom she knows as Da-bong) is not the same man she once knew. It’s telling that the times and relationships have shaped Hyun-jae into someone more generous with both his time and money.

As for Ji-hoon, I thought it was so sweet of him to declare that the only people he regarded as his parents were the people who raised him. If anything, it solidifies an already strong father-son relationship between him and Dad. Hearing him place distance between himself and Hyun-jae makes me wince because his anger toward Hyun-jae is clouded by his own feelings for Woo-seung. Even though Kwang-jae might soon be hit with a roadblock in re-establishing World Agency, I’m hoping that Ji-hoon can make his debut soon, because it’s so much easier to root for him when he’s actively pursuing his dreams than watching him be bogged down into the love triangle. I loved how he quickly patched things up with MC Drill, and was simply there for his friend in his most vulnerable moment thus far. Draw from those life experiences and give us another amazing rhyme, Ji-hoon. We’re ready to hear it.

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