by: Raine

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Episode 4 eeked .2% higher to 9.6%. It’s still beating Love Rain, which I have yet to watch.

This episode was sooooo much better in terms of plot. After four episodes of some serious wandering, it’s starting to settle in. And I can’t decide who I’m shippin’.

“???” –  ??? (from the Fashion King OST)

Coming out as soon as more of the OST comes out!

episode 5 recap

After Young-gul leaves Ga-young to the malicious, violent mob and becomes the number entry on my hit list, his conscience threatens him with torture and death. So Young-gul hurries back to Young Girl, but he is too late. Only her luggage is left. The mob ate her.

Young-gul is finally learning to fight for something, but too bad Ga-young had to pay the price for it.

At Jo Boutique, Madam Jo the Dragon Lady reminds Miss Go about the magazine interview and then is greeted by the ghost of Ga-young’s past – a rather bloody ghost. Well, not really a ghost. But by Dragon Lady’s expression you would think she was.

Madam Jo stupidly asks if Ga-young was beat-up. Why yes. Yes, she was. How about offering some first aid? No, that’s too much. Dragon Lady has to blame Ga-young’s failures at the New York Fashion School (NSF) all on our poor heroine. As if you had nothing to do with it DRAGON LADY!

But our heroine is quite ballsy. She asks to stay at the Boutique as she once had – that or, if Madam Jo hates her that much, for some money. Ga-young tells Madam Jo that she knows why she has to stoop this low, but the Dragon claims ignorance.

Can I beat her with an angry mob and claim ignorance?

When Ga-young realizes she’s getting no money out of her heartless former guardian, she decides to stay despite the Dragon’s threats to call the police. Oh, that will be wonderful to report during the magazine interview tomorrow, Ga-young retaliates.

YES! Point Ga-young. Fire pit for the Dragon.

Ga-young heads up to her old room and throws together a make-shift bed. Gathering a comforter around her, she finally has a chance to look into the mirror. The face that stares back at her is pathetic: covered in blood, tired eyes, and dirt-covered cheeks. Tears cut small rivulets in the grime on her face as she cries out her misery.

Aw, she needs a hug. I’ll give you a hug and we shall plot revenge on Dragon Lady together.

Now we get to find out a bit more about Young-gul. He’s at his aunt’s house and she’s nagging him about never contributing to the household and yet he comes to leech off her. She jabbers on how about he is embarrassing for quitting school and pursuing fashion. That’s why his mother left – he should’ve gone to find her when he was in America. Young-gul is immediately on the defensive.

“You let my sister die because you never took her to the hospital!” He cries.

His aunt is furious. His family imposed on her and it was all she could do to survive, much less take care of someone else’s sick kid. And what did Young-gul do? He went off to make money and never came back. If he was worried for his sister, he should’ve come back earlier. Young-gul, hurt, slaps an envelope of money down and leaves.

Outside, he hears his little sister call “oppa”. He turns and sees a vision of his sick sibling calling to him, telling him to make money and come back. Young-gul looks an absolute wreck.

Young-gul puts himself together and goes to meet the friend he sold Ga-young’s designs to in the first episode. He shall known be known as Glasses. Oh yeah, Young-gul also steals his lunch. Haha.

Glasses informs him that the loan sharks are searching for him but Young-gul is more concerned with the fact that Glasses watched his female employee get beat up and didn’t do anything about it.

Glasses replies as we all want to: Well, you didn’t either, you jerk!

Young-gul decides to face the music, borrows Glasses’ phone and calls Il-gook. Time to see Tae-san.

In her old workspace, a cold and hurting Ga-young designs a jacket and drinks soju to warm herself and probably numb the physical and emotional pain. She searches the trash for scraps to make the jacket, which is a total throw back to Michael Jackson.

I am sooooo not a fashion person, but that jacket is Michael Jackson, which looks pretty good for being made in one night out of scraps.

Oh yeah, there is a ROCKIN’ cello solo during this part. Go take a listen, ’cause cello rocks. If my new readers don’t know this, I’m a cellist by passion and trade. So yay cello!

Back at Jae-hyuk’s very white, sunlit office, he peruses An-na’s sketches and doesn’t look impressed. Before he can give her his opinion, Ga-young calls, hoping to meet him. At first he thinks it’s to talk about the fact that she got kicked out of school, but she assures him it’s about something she prepared.

He’s busy. Then, can she have his e-mail? He tells her he’ll contact her when he has time and she hangs up. He glances at the phone in shock and then smiles.

I’m totally suffering second-lead syndrome right now! Lee Je-hoon smiles and I *squee*. He likes her tenacity and I like him. An-na, however, doesn’t like him smiling on the phone with another woman. I predict drifting apart, how about you?

An-na asks Jae-hyuk if she should redo her clothes and he gives her an indefinite answer. She declares she’ll do it again and stalks away. Suddenly, Jae-hyuk has some time so he calls Ga-young for a meeting…tonight.

Yessir. That’s right. You call her. And then tell her you’re going to Miami to meet a young cellist name Raine. You’re soooo sorry you can’t help Ga-young with anything, but you have to go smile at Raine.

The magazine interview at Jo Boutique is underway and Dragon Lady is bragging about how fashion is in the family; her daughter is at NSF. Then Ga-young, channeling Michael Jackson, interrupts the interview to ask the Dragon for some money for transportation. Somehow the Dragon manages not to spit fire and hand Ga-young ten thousand won (about $10).

Can I just say I LOVE this move even though I KNOW it’s going to backfire? Ga-young doesn’t put her pride first; she puts survival first. And that was a pretty big “fuck you” if I’ve ever seen one.

Oh yeah, Ga-young, point two.

To make things worse, the magazine reporter LOVES the Michael Jackson jacket and the Dragon grudgingly takes the credit for it.

PUNCH! Young-gul goes rolling away in a swivel chair only to be wheeled back to Tae-san for some more facial abuse. Tae-san is finally getting his revenge for Young-gul stealing and sleeping with his woman, Soo-ji. The way Yoo Ah-in wails and begs for mercy seriously cracks me up. I know his character is bleeding and is probably about to die, but it’s too funny. He squeals for mercy then gets punched, and rolls away…and gets rolled right back! BWAHAHAHA!

Jae-hyuk is walking into a fancy bar and checks his appearance with a smile. *SQUEE* Honey, you look good enough to eat. And with that smile, she’s a fool to let you go. Second-lead shippin’. Second-lead shippin’.

Since Young-gul is fresh out of Lorax’s Rolex’s, he pulls out the Rolex’s replacement, the coat that he designed for the world famous brand designer Michael – his new gimmick. He desperately explains to Tae-san that the fashion industry makes lots of money; millions.

Wow, can this man weave a yarn or WHAT? Tae-san is understandably skeptical until Young-gul declares Jae-hyuk to be his best friend *snerk* If Tae-san let’s him go, Young-gul will come up with a plan to make Tae-san lots of money in the fashion industry.

In the bathroom, Young-gul enlightens dumb Il-gook to the fact that he doesn’t really have a plan. Il-gook also calls Young-gul “friend”.

I want to call him toilet head…so I can flush his head down the toilet. I’ve always wanted to do that. While I’m at it, I’ll teach Il-gook the REAL definition of the word “friend”.

At least Il-gook had his cronies find Ga-young and her contact number.

Jae-hyuk and Ga-young’s meeting continues. He asks after her well-being and she avoids the hidden question: What happened to your face? She wants to thank him for all his help, but he doesn’t need that kind of thanks.

Well, excuuuuuuuse you.

When asked what she wants to show up, she rises and does the cutest little runway strut, turns around nice and sexy and smiles hopefully. Jae-hyuk has to scrape his jaw off the ground. I’m not sure he actually noticed the garment….

Does he want her to do it again? NO! Hahahahahaha!

Ga-young explains she didn’t have much to work with and when she has better materials the style will be different. Unfortunately, this is all she can show him today because she has to pay back a debt first. Her luggage is being held as collateral (again the debt Young-gul owes Young Girl). If he lent her money or paid for samples in advance, he could show her sooner.

So she wants money again? Ga-young looks ashamed.

A waitress comes with drinks and Ga-young throws one back. It’s strength makes her cough and Jae-hyuk is amused. How much money does she need?

SHOCK!

Ga-young walks him to his car and thanks him, but he tells her to get in. On the way back to the boutique, he questions why she has to stay there. Is there no where else she can go? Her luggage is in Dongdaemoon in Kang Young-gul’s former factory?

Jae-hyuk isn’t pleased by any of these answers. I wonder if he remembers Jung-ah in the crowd just after the arrest and if he distrusts the Dragon and Jung-ah. I hope so. As for Young-gul, we know why Jae-hyuk isn’t happy.

Outside in the rain., Young-gul is walking to Jo Boutique to see Ga-young when Jae-hyuk’s car splashes him. When it rains, it pours. Hehehe. Hahaha. Raine, you‘re so funny!

…

*Ahem*

The car stops and Ga-young gets out. Young-gul’s face lights up when he sees her. Awww! Can I switch to first lead shippin’? But then Jae-hyuk gets out of the car and offers her an umbrella. Can I switch back?

The Dragon sees Jae-hyuk hand Ga-young the umbrella. She doesn’t ship anyone except perhaps the grim reaper so that he can take Ga-young’s life.

Young-gul doesn’t seem too happy to see them together either.

On his way home, Jae-hyuk finds Ga-young’s change purse with a couple thousand won ($2) in it.

Upstairs, the Dragon confront Ga-young about being with Jae-hyuk, but the young woman is evasive. To retaliate, the Dragon makes her take off the jacket even though it was made out of thrown away scraps, claiming that she still owns them. Also, she wants the change from the money she lent Ga-young for transportation, since she got a ride home from Jae-hyuk.

Uh-oh.

Or not!

Young-gul shows up, bloody and wet, asking how much money is owed. Both women are shocked as Young-gul pulls out a wad of cash and throws it at the Dragon’s feet. Is this enough? he asks as I cheer loudly!

FINALLY he’s standing up for Ga-young! YAY! Hooray!

He asks if Ga-young is going to keep staying there and she’s says “no”. I think she meant “hell no. Not in a million years. Get me the hell out of here.” He offers her his hand and she takes it. The dragon is so shocked that she drops the jacket as Young-gul, with a pointed look at the Dragon, leads poor Ga-young away.

On the bus, Young-gul begins to ramble to assuage his guilt. He heard she got beat up. She probably thinks it’s because of him.

She doesn’t.

Why was she lurking at the factory? To make him feel guilty for getting her kicked out?

She starts crying.

WOW, you turd. You sheep turd. You rat turd. You goldfish turd. You ANT turd. She missed you, you turd.

Why did she take responsibility for his factory? Is she dating Jae-hyuk? Why is she trying to get orders from Jae-hyuk? Is she the boss? Should he be thankful? (Yes, he should.)

He keeps ranting at her, but the guilt he feels is finally starting to make him realize he needs to start taking responsibility for his actions and for what’s happening to her. He pulls out the couple thousand won ($2) he has left and again realizes that she is saving his ass.

Character growth means you have to start from somewhere, and this guy is starting at the bottom rung…

Using some skillz, Young-gul picks the lock to Young Girl and they go inside to get her luggage and for him to get a change of clothes. He also picks up his notebook of transactions from a dusty, messy office. When he comes out, Ga-young is changing and he quickly turns, but something catches his eye (besides her changing.) It’s a bottle of soju and the polaroids they took in New York when he promised her meat every day and a better life. The guilt eats at him and he snaps at her. Why does she still have crap like that?

Are you seeing it now uri Young-gul?

Young-gul seeks out Glasses and tells Ga-young to watch the savvy businessman work because fashion isn’t just about design. It’s about designing things that the consumer wants to buy. Glasses stands there stunned as Young-gul consults his book of transactions and hurries off to collect some money.

At J Fashion, Design Director Kim is putting the heat on An-na. She came from a hot shot brand name designer so she must be feeling pressure. But it’s okay. She should just relax.

To make matters worse, President Jung shows up and takes her to dinner, questioning her about her family background. Divorced parents who she doesn’t speak to. Married sister. Grandma who raised her is dead. And why did she follow Jae-hyuk here when she had such a good gig with Michael? Oh, she loved him. Jung laughs heartily at that.

Douche.

Madam Jo takes apart Ga-young’s jacket and throws it away. Jae-hyuk comes looking for Ga-young, which pisses the Dragon off. She snorts steam from her nostrils. When she invites Jae-hyuk to sit for some Earl Grey, he spies the jacket in the trash. The Dragon tells him about a bloody beggar grabbing Ga-young’s hand, her calling him “president” and whisking her away. Is she a prostitute? After raising Ga-young like her own daughter, the Dragon “can’t believe it”…

Jae-hyuk sits absolutely stunned and quickly begs his leave. Alone, he scoffs…so hot when he does that.

He goes home and Rich Lady mommy is there reading the bible and ready to pounce on him about An-na. He ignores her and turns on the t.v. as she demands to know why he did all those things for An-na. Don’t embarrass me, he tells her. He doesn’t even want to say why it’s embarrassing because it’s so pitiful. Rich Lady mommy thinks she can do whatever she wants because she’s his mother. What is there that she can’t do?

However, Jae-hyuk has a ‘tude and threatens to register marriage with An-na. He’s her son, what is there that he can’t do? Smirk.

BOO YAH!

The maid brings a fancy medicine, which Jae-hyuk gulps down to shut her up. She tries to be a mom by telling him to take his medicine and not to skip breakfast, but his heart is unmoved and neither is mine. When she leaves, he checks his phone and sees An-na called a load of times. But he can’t reach her.

Young-gul tries to apply for a business loan but is told he doesn’t qualify because he doesn’t have a guarantee. He tries his newest version of the Rolex, his Michael J. Lauren jacket, but it only annoys the loan officer even more.

Poor Young-gul is absolutely dejected. He heads back to Glasses shop and counts the money he collected, but it isn’t nearly enough for start up capital. I’m not sure if he’s kidding, probably not, but Young-gul asks Glasses for the loan but Glasses is distracted by a beautiful woman peruses the racks. He thinks she’s a part of a large company.

Young-gul stands to take a peek and recognizes An-na. It takes her a minute, but she recognizes him as well, which shocks the hell out of Glasses. And then….An-na smiles. WOW, she can smile?

Ga-young is hauling a heavy garbage bag full of clothes up the stairs when she sees Young-gul taking An-na out. The look on her face makes me want to cry. Young-gul you jerk! Stop being all moony-eyed over the pretty…wait…I get moony-eyed over pretty…

ANYWAY, he takes An-na out for a drink and some snacks and starts questioning her about money. How much will he get paid for having his coat in Michael’s show? How much does Michael make? How can he contact him? An-na offers her help and Young-gul is thrilled. He thinks it was a miracle that they met in Dongdaemoon of all places. They cheers and Yoo Ah-in makes the most adorable drinking face.

An-na thinks that although he has too much interest in money, it’s refreshing that Young-gul is so open about his interest. Obviously, this is a masked jab at the very reserved Jae-hyuk. She even calls him cute, which makes Young-gul all smile-y and even more cute. They also discover they’re the same age.

A few hours later, and very drunk, An-na tells Young-gul she envies him. Michael acknowledged his talent right away and never looked at her once despite all of her work. Has YOung-gul been so disappointed he wants to die? No, he hasn’t. Well, she has.

Let’s drink more!

He watches her, love struck, and tells her she’s very attractive, which makes her light up. I think she likes a man actually taking interest in her. He giggles like a girl and then her head hits the table.

THUNK.

Jae-hyuk can’t reach her and he gets up. Hrm, I wonder where he’s going.

(SHEEEEEEP!)

Here we have the requisite piggy-back, a drunk carrying a drunk. At first he can’t figure out her lock, but manages and hauls her inside to her bedroom.

SHEEEEEEEP! The sheep are still there. I don’t think she needs to count you as she is passed-the-hell-out. Baaaah.

Young-gul sweetly takes off her shoes and watches her sleep. A tear slips down her cheek and he watches her quietly before leaving. He smiles at her shoes and when he glances up, there’s Jae-hyuk!

Yoo Ah-in’s surprised face is HYSTERICAL! HAHAHAHA!

However, Jae-hyuk is less than amused.
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‬You! What are you doing here?

 Comments:

So I have some plot to analyze. And some romance. And some cute.

The romantic coupling has truly gotten underway. Jae-hyuk digs Ga-young and is drifting from An-na. An-na’s eyes are wander towards Young-gul because of Jae-hyuk’s neglect. Ga-young is jealous of An-na and only has eyes for Young-gul. Young-gul is gaga for An-na with secret love stirrings for Ga-young.

Phew. It’s a lot. But way easier to keep under control than that CRAZY setup this show had going. Honestly, each guy has their perks. I actually like Jae-hyuk with Ga-young and An-na with Young-gul…I KNOW. How could I? But right now, they sort of fit each other. The pairings allow extreme growth for all characters. I could change my mind tomorrow. I’m fickle like that.

Ga-young gets a little space here, too. She’s finally starting to catch my interest. How sassy was she this episode? When put under pressure, she’s AMAZING. I hate to say it, but I hope she’s under a lot of pressure, ’cause she’s like Wonder Woman. Or, Young-gul teacher her how to loosen up a little. Or, as she teaches stiff-collared Jae-hyuk how to dream, she opens up more in a relaxed state.

We also saw some decent storywriting. Ga-young and Young-gul’s stories parallel a bit. They are both broke and searching for an out. They both find a source of money and use their skills to try and procure it.

The difference is, Ga-young has faith in her skills and Young-gul thinks he needs a gimmick. They can each ground the other: she can give him faith in himself. He can give her the street savvy she needs to push her product.

If you  notice, Young-gul only tries to push the jacket he’s already made that’s successful, he doesn’t really say that he can make more original pieces that can be just as successful or even more so.

I love Jae-hyuk’s little crush. He knows something about her intrigues him and he’s just going with the flow. Not so good for An-na, but she IS a total downer. Not that ignoring her is right, but still. I also love how he took care of mommy dearest.

THAT will come back to bite him in the ass.

An-na is a whiner. Although I said I like her with Young-gul, it’s for one reason: he can teach her to appreciate all that she has. She sits quietly and sucks stuff up and doesn’t REALLY try to change them. Not even under pressure like Ga-young. No wonder Jae-hyuk is drifting.

I liked seeing Young-gul as this bottom-dwelling creature who is finally starting to crawl out of the muck. He has the farthest to go in terms of development and I’m actually looking forward to it.

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Character introductions.

Fashion King Episode 5 Screencaps.

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(A present for Lee Je-hoon lovers. Stills from the Vogue Girl photoshoot, The Frontline, FK character stills, Officiel Hommes and Elle. I’ve also posted a photogallery.)