by: Raine

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I found a plot thread I like: Daddy Cha and Psycho-jo. I actually want to see where that goes. I’m done with Se-kyung being bad and lying. I don’t really care anymore. Give me more father/son!

“Sorry” – Lee Seung-won featuring Yozoh (from the Cheongdam-dong Alice OST)

episode 12 recap

In-hwa discovers that both Se-kyung and Coach Tick are gold diggers and gets an evil look on her face.

Se-kyung tells Psycho-jo he did well today and he asks for a reward. He pulls her close for a short kiss, embarrassing her. Then it’s her turn to receive her reward and they drive off.

Daddy Cha is laughing over a teenage photo of Se-kyung and remembering his son who only moments before joined him for the memorial rights.

I love that Daddy Cha realizes what Se-kyung’s doing isn’t bad for him. It’s the one thing she’s doing that isn’t bad even though she’s doing it as part of her plan.

In-hwa is really pissed that Coach Tick and Se-kyung played her for a fool.

Coach Tick thinks In-hwa was acting fishy and looks worried when Min-hyuk comes home and asks for In-hwa. She has something to tell him about her “unni.” He met her when she was delivering for Sera Boutique. In-hwa wants to know how much he loved her and he thinks she’s asking because of Psycho-jo. He tells his sister not to worry and to steel herself because their father is coming.

In-hwa leaves and glares at Coach Tick who had been eavesdropping moments before. In-hwa leaves without a word, but is obviously furious. Min-hyuk comes out and tells Coach Tick to find someone much better than Psycho-jo for In-hwa to marry.

Psycho-jo and Se-kyung arrive home as In-hwa is leaving. She watches them go inside together and notices that his apartment is directly across from Coach Tick’s.

In the apartment, Psycho-jo presents Se-kyung with her passport. He promises to fill it together. Then she asks if he wants to eat with her family tomorrow. She tells him her father will accept him depending on how well he does. Psycho-jo says he will be patient until her dad accepts him. He’s stubborn enough to withstand it.

Then they have a super awkward moment and she cops and and says she’s gonna go home. He grabs her and demands, “where are you going?” and spins her around.

Omigosh, do they sleep together? Well, if you’re going to date someone that hot…heh…Go Se-kyung!

Reporters want to write about Psycho-jo being Daddy Cha’s son so he releases it to one media source. The news comes out and Tommy reads it and admires Se-kyung’s work.

Se-kyung meets with Coach Tick and tells her about Tommy Hong, how he accepted her offer because they all came from the same place. Coach Tick wonders if he can be trusted and Se-kyung asks if she should get a contract from him. The video has been deleted so the two women feel relieved over that. We know better. I’m actually excited to see how this plays out.

The next step is for both families to meet and for the wedding plans to progress. Coach Tick warns her that Daddy Cha treats his relationship with his son as business. Se-kyung doesn’t have the qualifications In-hwa has. He won’t like Se-kyung so she has to prove she’ll be good for business. She has to do well because they both depend on her.

Coach Tick tells her brother, Ho-min, about Tommy Hong. She thinks Tommy Hong is acting strangely; he’s not the type to just go along with a few words and risk so much with Se-kyung. She thinks there is something else going on with him.

Se-kyung goes to visit Daddy Cha again. She invites him to dinner with Psycho-jo and her parents. She’s not doing it for herself, but for Psycho-jo who struggled with going to the memorial rites. He held onto his father’s hand first. So can Daddy Cha reach out to his son?

Oh my, the daddy’s are going to meet. This is going to be fun with their history.

Se-kyung goes to beg her father to attend the dinner. She asked Psycho-jo’s father to attend, too, and that surprises her dad. Dad is dubious, but she guilts him by convincing she’s happier. She acts all cute and he gives in.

In an interesting twist, Daddy Cha visits Se-kyung’s dad for advice. Daddy Cha asks about meeting the parents and Se-kyung’s dad says he’s hesitant because the disparity between the social classes is too great and the relations in the family aren’t good. Daddy Cha agrees that’s the worst headache.

Heh.

Daddy Cha is worried because her family has nothing. Se-kyung’s dad guesses that Daddy Cha would never approve of that kind of marriage. He also guesses that Daddy Cha must’ve eaten with his son. He wonders how Daddy Cha got to the point where he wasn’t sharing meals with his son. Daddy Cha explodes and then stops himself. Se-kyung’s dad advises him to accept his son. There’s no point in winning against him.

Se-kyung helps Psycho-jo pick an outfit for the dinner and he looks super nervous. She puts her hands on his cheeks and assures him, in French, that everything will be fine. And, her father will definitely come.

And he does show up as does Daddy Cha. They are the first ones there and are definitely shocked to see each other. They don’t put two and two together for a few minutes but definitely look uncomfortable when they figure it out.

The rest of her family arrives with Psycho-jo and walk in on a very tense meeting between the dad’s. They start throwing words back and forth. “Your family is a mess.” ” Your family has nothing.”

Psycho-jo drags his father out. Se-kyung’s family wonders why she didn’t tell them that Psycho-jo was the son of Royal Group. Dad wants to call the wedding off because she will never meet Daddy Cha’s expectations. He doesn’t want her to get hurt. Then he leaves.

Apparently Se-kyung didn’t tell her lover that she invited his daddy. Psycho-jo wonders why Daddy Cha decided to have it out with Se-kyung’s father. Daddy Cha gets pissed that Psycho-jo is blaming him again. They start fighting and are interrupted by Se-kyung who apologizes for making them fight. She was just trying to help, but went about it badly.

She also apologizes to Psycho-jo, then asks him to apologize to his father, who came on her behest and with concern for his son. Psycho-jo looks stunned. She continues and says that it’s not right for him to state that Daddy Cha is wrong. When Daddy Cha agrees, Se-kyung turns on him, telling him that although he experienced indignity, he did, in fact, ruin the gathering. Psycho-jo rubs it in his face and Se-kyung says that her father left after they’d both apologized to each other.

Ha, she’s a ballsy wench. I’ll give her that.

She wonders why they won’t apologize and tells Psycho-jo to apologize first. When he protests she gives him a death glare. With no small amount of difficulty, he says, “Sorry,” in English. HA! Dad says, “Me, too,” in English.

SO CUTE! Finally, a moment I truly enjoy!

With a goading look from Se-kyung, Psycho-jo asks his dad if he’s going to an event he’s hosting for the chairman of Artemis. He is. So they’ll see each other then. Psycho-jo hurries off and Daddy Cha tries to stop him and fails. Se-kyung thanks Daddy Cha and also apologizes.

I guess she is proving her worth.

In the car, Psycho-jo asks her if she’s still mad at him even though he did everything she asked him to. She asks him to understand that his father made an effort today despite the fact that it was hard. Psycho-jo admits that his father is a difficult person and that he’s afraid that she won’t be able to endure it.

Se-kyung takes his hand and reminds him of her promise never to run away. He says she’s obsessive, too and they smile and hold hands.

Tommy Hong meets Coach Tick. He thinks she’s the biggest Cinderella story he’s seen. What about him? she asks. He didn’t even go to college.

She double checks that he deleted the video and then asks why he made the deal with Se-kyung. The whole situation is sketch. The reason she is helping Se-kyung is obvious. He admits he’s trying to figure out why he agreed: respect for her cleverness or resentment because they came from the same place or…

…that you like her, Coach Tick finishes for him.

And there, twelve episodes in, we have some affection from the second male lead. Guh.

He denies it, but Coach Tick smirks and says they’re in the same boat regardless. He warns her that In-hwa came twice to ask about Se-kyung and that Coach Tick should be constantly vigilant. On her way out, she notices that Tommy’s tablet cover is like In-hwa’s.

In-hwa is picking up clothes from the boutique Coach Tick used to work at and is gathering information on her. When Coach Tick goes to wait for In-hwa, a fax with her resume comes in. She notices it after a moment and is about to grab it when In-hwa comes in. In-hwa quickly grabs the fax. Coach Tick tells her that Min-hyuk asked her to arrange another marriage match for her. She reminds In-hwa that her father is coming in.

When Coach Tick leaves, she peruses Coach Tick’s resume and sees that she was recommended by Daddy Cha. She is pissed that Daddy Cha was in on the tricking as well.

Daddy Cha happily thinks of Psycho-jo’s apology and then remembers the encounter with Se-kyung’s father.

Then he heads to Tommy Hong’s place. He asks what kind of woman Se-kyung is because he’d investigated her. Tommy admits that they both genuinely like each other. Daddy Cha guesses that he’ll have to accept Se-kyung to make things right with his son. Tommy says that in his experience, forcing people who love each other apart never yields good results. And Han Se-kyung isn’t so bad…

Daddy Cha points out she’ll never be as qualified as In-hwa. He liked her. Tommy asks him to wait and see. Psycho-jo is bringing Se-kyung to meet Chairman Robert of Artemis, which is news to Tommy.

Min-hyuk picks up his father and discuss Chairman Robert who has confirmed to take over the Loehmann outlet and agreed to write an MOU with GN Fashion. He tells his dad about the relationship between Psycho-jo and Daddy Cha. If GN brings in Loehmann, negotiations will be led by Psycho-jo.

Oh the business is all twisty and makes my head hurt. I don’t like business. That’s why I’m a musician.

Min-hyuk’s father is greeted by Coach Tick and In-hwa. They sit down to each and Coach Tick notices In-hwa come back with the tablet – it has the same cover as Tommy’s.

Tommy calls to thank someone for the painting, but the person didn’t send it. He calls Se-kyung to ask if anything strange has happened. She gets suspicious but he says it’s nothing.

Oh yeah, she’s still working at GN Fashion.

In-hwa is looking at the tablet and Coach Tick is looking at her. Then In-hwa says she has something to tell her father (let’s call him Daddy Shin), but they are saved by the ringing of Min-hyuk’s phone. Chairman Robert has arrived and Daddy Shin informs the table that Robert has agreed to sign the MOU.

Also, Artemis rejected GN’s proposal until Royal Group got involved.

That puts a damper on In-hwa’s big reveal because Royal Group is necessary in the merger. Her reveal could jeopardize relations with Daddy Cha who will be handling the new company. They need to secure this outlet and find land to open it on. Daddy Shin tells In-hwa to forget everything but work. Mama Shin says that In-hwa isn’t the type to hold on to Psycho-jo, but she is so wrong. So says the stolen video on her tablet.

After dinner, In-hwa finds Coach Tick brooding and asks how she likes living with their family. For In-hwa, work took priority and she plans on marrying for business, too. She’d been taught from birth that business took priority over everything else and she believed it until now. That belief is uncomfortable now, she says, while glaring at Coach Tick. She wonders how long she’ll be able to hold it in and Coach Tick gets her implication. In-hwa knows something.

Psycho-jo says that he will introduce Se-kyung to Chairman Robert at the gathering. The man is like a father to him. Se-kyung looks nervous. Psycho-jo then explains that Robert is coming to Korea because of the outlet being built by not only Artemis, but GN Fashion and Royal Group. He wants Se-kyung to get on better with Robert than Daddy Cha. She doesn’t look happy and he thinks it’s because she’s nervous. She promises to try her best and makes him promise to help her. He affectionately calls her a country bumpkin and then takes her on a tour of Artemis.

He teaches her that it’s a global distributor with more than fifty brands under it. The chairman likes contemporary art and only wears Artemis brand stuff. Turns out Se-kyung knows a bit about him as well. They stand in front of a picture of people kissing, his favorite and kiss a bunch and act cute. He shows her the chairman’s favorite wine, some super expensive one, and she shows off her wine taste buds. She goes home and researches the chairman and his likes.

Se-kyung gets a call from Tommy Hong and meets him in an Artemis book store. He guides her in business meetings and tell her feelings are not important, but balance. She asks again about what happened earlier, but he tells her to focus on her work.

Coach Tick meets Tommy and tells him about the tablet cover. Seriously? It comes down to a tablet cover. Guh…

Anyway, they realize that even if In-hwa knows about Coach Tick’s secret, she can’t say anything because too many things are riding on Royal Group. She would never do anything to get in her father’s way, but after the outlet is done, they don’t know what she will do.

Secretary Moon is meeting with Psycho-jo and gets a call from Se-kyung, who he calls “Madam.” It drives Psycho-jo bonkers that Moon won’t tell him what the call was about. Moon runs away before he’s further questioned. Then Psycho-jo gets all blushy thinking about Se-kyung as his “Madam”.

He hounds Se-kyung about it while they’re shopping for her and when she goes to try something on, he spots a wedding dress.

I get an icky feeling inside when I think about them marrying right now…

So she comes out in a tasteful black dress and greets Psycho-jo in French, showing off her prepared speech. He thanks her for putting in so much effort and she says it’s a given. She won’t shame him. And she’ll look good in front of her father. He has to help her. Then she forms his hands into fists and says, “Aja! Aja!” He realizes she wasn’t asleep that time and is very embarrassed.

It’s so cute, but I can’t enjoy it with all the background tensions!

They goof off and when she gets home and her sister ogles over the dress. Se-kyung ignores them and practices for the party.

At the party, Psycho-jo in terrible French, introduces all the key players: Daddy Cha, Daddy Shin, Min-hyuk and In-hwa. The French seriously makes me cringe. Is that president actually French? It sounds…weird.

Whatever, so Secretary Moon hands Chairman Robert a bottle of his favorite wine, but the label is different. Se-kyung drew it. (This was the favor Se-kyung asked Secretary Moon for.) Each petal is a different Artemis brand. Robert likes it and will show the picture to reporters. Se-kyung arrives looking very elegant and Psycho-jo greets her and brings her to greet Chairman Robert. She greets him in French and he tells her he loves the label. He tells Psycho-jo he’s lucky to have her and she gets glared at by the Shin family.

In a conversation with the Shins, Daddy Cha, Se-kyung, Psycho-jo and Robert, Robert asks why Min-hyuk presented the outlet idea and not Psycho-jo. Se-kyung jumps in and says that Daddy Cha’s company was still too new and he didn’t want to inconvenience his son, so he worked on it in secret.

Okay, Se-kyung is quick on the uptake. Why couldn’t she have just ridden in on that quality? Oh yeah, because this is a hodge podge k-drama of epically confusing proportions.

Se-kyung continues that Daddy Cha wanted a fair evaluation from Robert. (I.E. Not riding on his son’s coat tails.) That pleases Robert and Daddy Cha jumps on the explanation. Royal Group is fifth in the industry but has potential that he wants to prove. Psycho-jo is proud of her but In-hwa looks ready to shoot laser beams out of her eyes. Robert proposes a toast to the business stuff and then another for the marriage.

Crisis averted.

Reporters take their photo opportunity. One hounds the Shins who deny marriage talks. Se-kyung brings Daddy Cha into the photographs and it’s actually a sweet moment. I wish it happened without the unnecessary drama.

Now In-hwa looks like she’s just going to be an annoying second lead plotting revenge for her pride.

Daddy Shin compliments Daddy Cha on his future daughter-in-law who is very quick and clever. They part ways and Daddy Shin says that even though she is a part-timer she is smart and has good business sense. Min-hyuk agrees that she isn’t nothing. In-hwa thinks she has the skills of a gold digger.

Coach Tick sneaks into In-hwa’s office and searches for the tablet. She finds a drawing of the tablet cover in a sketch book. Assistant Manager Kim comes in with tea and she asks him about the drawing. He tells her that In-hwa asked for that design to be made for her tablet cover. The realization hits her hard.

In-hwa watches Psycho-jo and Se-kyung act cute and gets all jealous. She pulls out her phone and calls Tommy Hong. She says she doesn’t care what kind of situation he created, but he has failed. He hangs up and hears that GN Fashion bought it. He puts two and two together.

Tommy calls Se-kyung and asks if anything happened and nothing did. He tells her that he thinks In-hwa knows something.

Se-kyung slips her phone into her pocket to try on a wedding dress.

Coach Tick meets with her husband and when he leaves, she grabs his phone and sees that the video has been texted to him. She quickly deletes it, but we’re not sure if he’s seen it or not.

Meanwhile, In-hwa is waiting in her car and looking furious. Then she begins to message the video to Psycho-jo who is waiting for Se-kyung to come out in the wedding dress.

Coach Tick calls Se-kyung, but her phone is in her jacket pocket. Then Tommy calls her and she tells him about the message sent to her husband. Tommy realizes that this isn’t good and he runs to intercept the message.

Psycho-jo is still waiting and receives the message. He’s about to open it when Se-kyung comes out in full bridal regalia, blowing his mind away. Meanwhile, the video is playing on his phone, which is on the table.

Tommy arrives and enters the room. He sees the phone on the coffee table playing the video. When Se-kyung spots him, her face falls. And then it’s a three-way staredown.

Dun, dun, dun!

 Comments:

It’s interesting how the three ladder climbers have banded together. I suppose I should’ve seen that coming. I wonder if they’ll all fall together. At least that would be more fun than the show has been lately. Also, I kinda want this video plot thread out already. It’s run it’s course. Let’s say bye to it now.

I like how fathers could be friends since they do turn to each other, or at least Daddy Cha turns to Se-kyung’s dad. What isn’t cool is  that they’re going on with the wedding without her father’s approval. Strange since Se-kyung is so big on Daddy Cha’s approval. what about her own dad?

The short kisses they share are so awkward, too. They don’t linger at all…it’s weird. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re cute. But definitely don’t seem like kisses between two people who’ve slept together.

This whole thing is disjointed and bizarre…

Oh yeah, is anyone gonna find the Wonderland journal?

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (final)

Character introductions.

Cheongdam-dong Alice Episode 12 Screencaps.