by: Raine

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How proud am I of Soon-shin this episode? She did a few things that really made me gloriously happy. I also loved watched the couples progress and the hilarity that went along with said progression.

AGB Nielson Nationwide had this episode coming in at 27.3%. Yeah, it deserves it, y’know, that #1 status.

episode 10 recap

We begin with Mi-ryeong sweetly greeting our little Soon-shin and ignoring annoying Yi-jung. HOORAY! I love the meanness. Well, from Mi-ryeong, not the attitude that Yi-jung gives Soon-shin. She can shove that down her throat. Mi-ryeong informs the girls that they will be studying together and that both girls should call her “teacher (seonsaengnim)” instead of “ahjumma” as Yi-jung has been addressing her.

HA! You getting beat, girl!

Yi-jung complains about working with Soon-shin (who scoffs at her whining), but the whiner has no choice but to SUFFAR! Then Mi-ryeong rags on Yi-jung’s attire, y’know, the dress that looks like a rose garden threw up on it. The girl should come dressed as a student and arrive promptly – Yi-jung was late because she got her hair did. Mi-ryeong says tardiness is also a “no-no” as an actor and so she gets punished!

THIRTY LASHES WITH A WHIP!

No…she just has to clean, in her rose regurgitation dress and heels. Yi-jung hates the idea but she chooses cleaning over being sent home.

Then the most awesome scene:

Yi-jung cleaning with two fingers touching the rag in her getup. The maid ahjumma brings her plain clothes and watches Yi-jung have a total hissy fit.

HEEEEE!

While Yi-jung cleans, Mi-ryeong asks why Soon-shin wants to be an actress. Soon-shin admits she doesn’t think she can even be an actress and that she doesn’t know why Joon-ho signed her. She signed because she made life financially difficult for her mother. Mi-ryeong is surprised by this answer.

Yi-jung stalks in and glares at Soon-shin. She doesn’t get a word in before Mi-ryeong sends her off to clean another room – she’s lucky she doesn’t have to clean the house. Mi-ryeong is going easy on her because it’s the first day. Soon-shin is loving the show and smirks.

When  Mi-ryeong gives Soon-shin a script to read, Yi-jung whines, “Ahjumma” and gets a very stern scolding, “It’s Seonsaengnim!” If she wants to participate, she needs to come on time. Soon-shin raises her chin proudly when Yi-jung glares.

I didn’t see that coming, Mi-ryeong helping Soon-shin’s self-esteem. That’s cool, yo.

Okay, remember I didn’t like mopey Mi-ryeong? I love bossy, confident actress/teacher Mi-ryeong. Of course, I can’t forget that she’s a coward about Chang-hoon’s death, but the whole thing ain’t her fault and she didn’t really see who hit him. In any case, I’m going to consider Mi-ryeong the mopey and Mi-ryeong the actress two different people for my state of mind. Or I won’t be able to reconcile the like and hate.

Jung-ae apologizes to her husband’s photo for harboring suspicions. She puts the old photo of him and Kyung-sook away as well as the scarf.

Soon-shin comes home and finds her mom in the kitchen. She’s unable to tell Jung-ae that she’s really late because of acting lessons. But she does tell her that she went to Mi-ryeong’s home; Soon-shin lies that Mi-reyong wanted a home delivery so she got to see her gorgeous home and experience the actress’ coolness first hand. Jung-ae admits having seen Mi-ryeong as well.

Soon-shin sees her mom’s insecurity about being next to such a glamorous woman and tells Jung-ae that she’s more beautiful in her eyes. Then she gives her a huge hug.

Aww, Soon-shin. You’re so cute. The truth is going to be hard on you, won’t it?

Yi-jung goes home and literally pitches a toddler’s fit at her mother, throwing herself on the ground and sobbing unintelligibly. Soo-jung hurries to complain to Dong-hyuk. How could Mi-ryeong do that to her? The girl has never cleaned before. Soo-jung is incredulous but Dong-hyuk smiles to himself, pleased.

Wait…he smiled…weird… And I’m in awe Yi-jung hasn’t cleaned before. Wow, never? Not even a dish? Honey, send her here. I will teach that snob how to clean REAL good.

Yoo-shin goes into a store where her clothing line is selling and sees a couple fighting. She remembers Chan-woo’s angry confession.

I love that it’s bothering her. It means he means something to her. He’s the perfect guy for her because he can control that nasty temper and her venomous tongue.

She gets a text reminding her that she has an appointment at the hospital and sighs. She doesnt have long to think about it before Hye-shin comes in with Woo-joo. She offers to buy them clothes as a gift, trying to be a good aunt. She picks one out for Woo-joo and then starts to look for one for Hye-shin’s hubby (in the same rack…) Hye-shin immediately makes an excuse as to why Yoo-shin doesn’t need to buy it and Woo-joo’s face falls.

Yoo-shin sends Woo-joo to try on the jacket and keeps Hye-shin back to ask about her husband. She’s suspicious: Hye-shin never talks about him or speaks with him on the phone. Hye-shin quickly lies that she does and walks over to help Woo-joo with the jacket. The little girl’s melancholy expression doesn’t escape Yoo-shin’s notice, though.

Then we get one of the sexiest scenes ever: Jo Jung-seok in a recording studio. *DROOLAGE* He’s look at some sheet music (that has no lyrics?) and listening to a tune. Anyway, he’s giving some comments and listens with the production guy. It’s a theme for a show or album or something.

I can’t tell you how sexy I find a capable man in the studio; plus, that studio is gorgeous. I wanna record there. Jung-seok oppa, do you need a cellist? I play good!

He calls Mi-ryeong to ask how things went with Soon-shin. Mi-ryeong cuts to the chase: Soon-shin doesn’t have any interest in becoming an actress. She only wanted the money. So what did he see in her? Moreover, isn’t courage and determination more important than the potential he sees? Mi-ryeong smiles, thinking of Soon-shin and comments that her fresh-faced adorableness is not what gets one into this field.

Joon-ho is annoyed when he gets off the phone. In-sung comes in with Soon-shin’s resume photo  that has been heavily photoshopped. He gave it to different casting directors, but the response was very bad. Her face is just too ordinary. In-sung suggests he not be so stubborn and make her get surgery – at least that’s what one of the managers suggested.

Mi-ryeong encounters Dong-hyuk at the hospital and he tells her that she worked hard. She promises Yi-jung will soon give up on acting. She thanks him for the opportunity to help him (I.e. make sure he keeps his trap shut) and tells him that Yi-jung is taking class with another girl. That will speed up the process.

Mr. Waiter asks Soon-shin how in the world someone like her got signed. She has no idea. Before he can keep picking on her, Joon-ho comes to steal her for the duration of her break. When he leaves, Mr. Waiter casually mentions to Young-hoon that Soon-shin is actually kinda cute.

HA! I KNEW IT! He’s gonna crush on her. And he’s right, she is frickin’ ADORABLE.

Joon-ho takes Soon-shin to his father’s hospital for a quick consultation. Neither of them is happy to be there. They need to first get a price quote. They meet with Dong-hyuk and Joon-ho asks for natural-looking surgery.

JUST LEAVE HER FACE ALONE!!!!!!!!!! RAWR!

Dong-hyuk isn’t happy to see his son and vice versa. Joon-ho curtly acknowledges his father’s ability and asks for help with the difficult case that is Soon-shin as quickly as possible. She cuts in and says that she is not getting plastic surgery and walks out. His father makes fun of how well he handled that. Joon-ho points out that 90% of Dong-hyuk’s customers are from Gabi – so he should be a weeee bit more sensitive.

As Soon-shin is walking out of the hospital, she sees Chan-woo and follows him. He runs into Yoo-shin who is waiting for her appointment (that is not with him). She quietly admits she’s getting treatment and then stops him. He tries to avoid her, but she won’t be avoided. She thought about what he said and she wants to remain friends. Love is silly and weird between them. She regrets what she said that day and hopes they can be friends – friends is better!

She really sounds like she is trying to convince herself that it’s best that way.

Soon-shin, who is watching, looks absolutely heartbroken. Joon-ho, who has come up behind her, notices how intently she’s watching the conversation. Soon-shin leaves as does a very heartbroken Chan-woo. Yoo-shin spots Soon-shin leaving.

I feel bad that she’s treating it so flippantly. It’s not something light for him at all.

Joon-ho stop Soon-shin on the way out to ask if she likes “that guy”. She doesn’t stand a chance against “that girl” who is very pretty.

I KNOW beauty is important, but damn, do you have to be that harsh, Joon-ho? Beauty seriously isn’t everything.

Soon-shin looks down but Joon-ho won’t quit. He will ask the doctor to do the same look as “that girl” for her, but Soon-shin doesn’t want it.

He stops her from walking out and asks what he should do if he can’t change her name or fix her face. Why can’t she just trust him and allow him to change her life? She tells him that she is the test of his ability, so why can’t he do more than plastic surgery?

Point, Soon-shin.

Joon-ho gets defensive; it’s her fault she doesn’t have the looks…or the passion or any advantages or conviction. That’s why her love isn’t reciprocated.

She agrees: she has no looks, passion, advantages or conviction. Tears start to fall as she admits that she can’t confess her feelings to the guy she likes because of that. Why not have plastic surgery then? At least she’ll be prettier. Doesn’t everyone like a pretty person?

But…will it really change anything? She will still be worthless.

She walks away, leaving him moved and me heartbroken. She has so little faith in herself. She sees herself as utterly worthless. And the more she tells Joon-ho that she is, the more he unknowingly begins to admire her and pity her. She makes him see the world differently.

It’s a strange dichotomy, though. Her strength is in her ability to say “no” and call things as she sees them, even if she’s wrong. When it comes to her worth, she almost always is. But she is so earnest that she can even move Joon-ho, who has been stuck in his ways for years, to start seeing the world in a new light.

Soon-shin goes home and Yoo-shin asks why she visited the hospital earlier. Was it to see Chan-woo? She wonders if Soon-shin is trying to become part of the female competition vying for his attention. Yoo-shin hopes not or Gil-ja will freak out. Soon-shin defends that she never said a word.

When she puts her bag down, her scripts fall out and Yoo-shin snatches one up. She accuses her of wanting to act again and being swindled. If Soon-shin had any virtue at all, she wouldn’t want to be an actor. It’s what led their father to pass away.

And finally, Soon-shin has had enough of Yoo-shin’s bullshit. With tears in her eyes she demands to know why she is responsible for their father’s death. She orders Yoo-shin to stop saying crap like that, which makes Yoo-shin’s mouth fall open.

Impassioned, Soon-shin says:

Why do you treat me this way? What did I do wrong? The fact that I’m worthless and incapable, does that really upset you? I really want to be as successful as you, too. I put in effort as well. But I still can’t so what am I supposed to do?

For the first time we see Yoo-shin really understand what her behavior does to her sister. The way Yoo In-nah shows Yoo-shin’s face crumpling is just pitch-perfect.

Soon-shin rushes out of the room, leaving her sister absolutely floored. Soon-shin’s phone rings and it’s Joon-ho. She rushes back in, snathces the phone from Yoo-shin who has picked it up, angrily takes out the batteries and storms back out.

Joon-ho is left listening to her message machine.

(That red lamp of his is SO creepy…)

He is still troubled by her words earlier that day. I love seeing her affect the people around them so deeply, even if it means seeing how damaged she is.

The next day she leaves work and passes Yeon-ah coming in. She wants food, but gets distracted by Joon-ho arriving to talk to Soon-shin. But she doesn’t want to talk. She bows and leaves him to Yeon-ah’s curious, lording probing. How is the progress? she wants to know.

He is seriously not in the mood to deal with her. She asks if Soon-shin doesn’t need as much time since she’s still working at the restaurant. Joon-ho says the cafe is also good experience. Otherwise she might act like Yeon-ah. then he walks out, leaving her surprised at his harsh words and the fact he wasn’t mooning over her.

Soon-shin goes to take lessons with Mi-ryeong and Yi-jung shoves her aside. They both were asked to read a script and Yi-jung has enthusiastically done so along with providing a character analysis. Mi-ryeong doesn’t care. She has Yi-jung stand over by the wall for an hour for “physical training” so that Soon-shin can read her lines. Soon-shin nervously stutters out her lines but Mi-ryeong seems in awe of her talent. She tells her that she’s really gifted, earning a look of disbelief from Yi-jung.

So…Mi-ryeong really doesn’t think Soon-shin is any good? I she just trying to get Yi-jung back under her daddy’s thumb? My like of her just went down a little. Even so, this encouragement of Soon-shin is what she needs. I just hope is sin’t a total lie. Well, it doesn’t really matter. As soon as Soon-shin finds out the truth, she might not be so in awe of Mi-ryeong. Any number of truths that have been hidden from poor Soon-shin.

At the same time, even if this praise is fake, the boosted confidence will make Soon-shin start to read more naturally, which may expose real talent. Who knows?

Yoo-shin finds Chan-woo in the street and hits him in greeting, but he ain’t happy to see her. She tells him to stop making things awkward between them. They should go for a drink suggests, but he’s got a blind date to get to. She doesn’t care and instead drags him into sexy baker Jin-wook’s shop and orders them orange juice. Jin-wook watches too curiously.

Chan-woo tries to leave her but she wants to give him blind date advice as a “friend”. She even forces him to sit back down when he tries to leave. Ha. You don’t’ want him dating, do you?

She tells him not to be too nice or people will be misled: like Soon-shin. He is surprised to hear that Soon-shin likes him. Yoo-shin scolds him.

Jin-wook slams down their orange juice and then asks Yoo-shin to have a word. He has to ask persistently before he drags her out of her seat to warn her: he’s a married man!

BWAHAHAHAHA.

She is ridiculously confused and he is disappointed by how easily duped she is. But he gets distracted by Hye-shin and Woo-joo heading towards the shop and runs out to stop them: You can’t come in! It’s being renovated. He’ll bring them out their order. But first, he drags them to the side so they don’t encounter the “cheating” couple.

But Yoo-shin sees her sister and the surprised greetings, “Noona” and “unni”, and banmal confuse the hell out of Jin-wook. He puts together that they’re sister and decides to blame Chan-woo for enticing sisters to betray each other. He grabs Chan-woo by the collar and accuses him of hurting a beautiful wife and daughter.

OMG! I’m cracking up so badly here.

Hye-shin tries to stop them and Jin-wook is surprised that she would support her “husband” in this situation. “Who’s husband?” she asks. Jin-wook points out that Woo-joo said that Chan-woo was her father.

Finally, Hye-shin clears the misunderstanding and is embarrassed by her daughter’s lie. Woo-joo runs away and Jin-wook pulls back, wiggling his fingers and body in utter mortification. Yoo-shin orders him to apologize to Chan-woo and he does. Then he runs inside his shop, hollering with embarrassment.

Hye-shin and Yoo-shin run after Woo-joo while Chan-woo is left standing on the sidewalk, a bit stunned by the whole encounter.

Jin-wook agonizes inside and his assistant tries to comfort him with a few shoulder slaps, which are not taken very well by Mr. Cranky baker.

Hye-shin asks why Woo-joo lied but before the girl answers, Yoo-shin asks about what is going on with the husband.

Woo-joo bursts into tears.

Ack, I just started crying. Poor kid.

Woo-joo runs out and Hye-shin has no choice but to tell her sister the shocking truth: she is divorced. He was cheating on her. But she asks Yoo-shin not to tell their mother yet. She’ll do it herself.

Mi-ryeong (who is wearing a ridiculous red bow on her head. It doesn’t befit her age AT ALL) asks Soon-shin about her family. Mi-ryeong wonders  how her father could leave such an intelligent daughter behind.

Soon-shin says she’s not intelligent and Mi-ryeong asks why she doesn’t see herself as special.

At this point I like her again. This is exactly what Soon-shin needs to explore about herself. I do think Mi-ryeong sees something in her. Maybe the intrinsic biological bond. Maybe just the spark Soon-shin has. Who knows? But I really don’t want Mi-ryeong to hurt her now. There will be lots of hurt later.

Mi-ryeong says that the world won’t change if Soon-shin stays this way. How does she think Mi-ryeong got to where she is? Did everyone always see her as a top star? No. Most thought she would fail. She turns to Soon-shin and tells her that life changes only when you make it.

YES! I like that message.

Yi-jung limps out and Mi-ryeong’s tone changes. She tells Soon-shin to have faith in herself – she has potential to make people love her. Then she purposefully ignores Yi-jung until she asks for attention. Mi-ryeong pretends to be pleasantly surprised to see her and gives her permission to sit. She announces a new exercise for pronunciation that they will have to prepare for. The girls give each other competitive glares.

How much do I LOVE that Soon-shin participates in Yi-jung’s competitiveness. Normally I hate that crap, but Soon-shin needs to feel that she is worthwhile competition in order to join in. So I’m grateful (a little) for Yi-jung’s presence. And if Soon-shin’s tongue-twister skills are indicative of her ability in this pronunciation exercise, then I’m also totally in. Heh. I know, I know. I’m mean.

Soo-jung ices and massages Yi-jung’s sore legs and grumbles about Mi-ryeong’s teaching methods. Yi-jung wants her mother to say something to Mi-ryeong, but Soo-jung tells her spoiled brat to just trust the actress and endure. Soo-jung offers to take her shopping and then for massages as Dong-hyuk’s hospital.

Wow, seriously? You just told her to suck it up and then are offering her condolence prizes?

They show up at the hospital where the employees fawn over them. Then she spots Chan-woo and she runs over to talk to him. She reminds him that they met at the club and she freaks out that she gets to see him again. Soo-jung witnesses the entire thing.

She is annoying. Ack. I think I have a headache from that screech.

Joon-ho is mulling over Soon-shin’s words, “Is plastic surgery all you can do to show your ability?”

He calls In-sung to ask for an expensive bouquet and a fruit basket. How do I love that the assistant literally grovels at Joon-ho’s knees.

Soon-shin practices her lines and seems to be really enjoying herself. Woo-joo calls her to dinner where Granny sniffles over eating when her son is dead. They talk about finding an eye witness and their plans to give out fliers. Yoo-shin has asked to see the street’s black box. And Granny wants Hye-shin’s husband to help, but Yoo-shin quietly defends her saying that he’s busy.

Woo-joo suddenly isn’t hungry and leaves the table, worrying Jung-ae. Granny thinks that if Hye-shin’s husband returns, the house will go back to normal.

Guh, not that cheater McCheaterface!

Yoo-shin promises to take on a son’s role in the house to make up for the absence of men. Granny seemingly doesn’t hear her and harps on Soon-shin to come home earlier from work to help out Jung-ae. Yoo-shin starts in on Soon-shin as well.

Then the doorbell rings and it’s none other than Shin Joon-ho with the flowers and the fruit!

O_O

Soon-shin is shocked when Joon-ho declares that he has a request of the family regarding Soon-shin. He sits down admidst the table of estrogen, looking kinda nervous. He introduces himself and the women realize that his name is the same as the swindler’s. Soon-shin quickly tries to cover up Joon-ho’s identity, saying that he is the restaurant manager.

But sharp-tongued Yoo-shin wants to know why he came to their house at night. Joon-ho remembers her from the hospital.

Before he can ask his favor, Yoo-shin assumes he’s there to ask permission to date Soon-shin.

HAHAHA. Yeah right! I mean, I know it’ll happen in the future. But right now, that’s a huge “N-O!”

While Joon-ho is ready to fervently deny it, Soon-shin quickly jumps on the opportunity and agrees. She clarifies that they’re not dating: he just likes her. Granny, however, doesn’t like this. She thinks Soon-shin is working in order to date…just after her father died!

Eeks, grams. Ease off.

Then Granny turns on Joon-ho: how dare he come into a woman’s house without notice. Granny leaves and Yoo-shin approves of the scolding. She’s pretty incredulous herself that there’s a man who would like Soon-shin.

Jung-ae tries to smooth things over by saying that this is not the time to talk about dating matters. Soon-shin quickly ushers him out before he can explain why he’s really there.

Outside, Soon-shin apologizes and then asks why he showed up so suddenly. He throws it right back at her: why didn’t she tell anyone at home about the contract? She explains that she can’t tell her family that she wants to act. He’d get no support from anyone in her family.

After a moment he asks if she gets treated this way all the time. (I.E. Like a worthless piece of shit.)

Aw, you asked! You noticed. Granny, Yoo-shin and Woo-jo really do disregard her. Hye-shin seems to caught up in herself to notice much; not that I blame her.

Anyway, Joon-ho promises that better men than that guy at the clinic today will be available to her once she becomes a successful actress. He wants her to work hard at it and train more seriously.

Jung-ae overhears them and approaches them in shock. “You’re not the restaurant manager?” Soon-shin tries to silence him, but Joon-ho introduces himself.

They relocate to a coffee shop and Jung-ae finds out about the contract. She is unsure how all this happened, but Joon-ho assures her that he will train Soon-shin properly. He came to their home today to introduce himself and ask them for help. Soon-shin seems to lack confidence and conviction.

Jung-ae refuses to let Soon-shin be an actress to the surprise of Joon-ho and Soon-shin. The family was really hurt by this same situation before and Jung-ae won’t put them through it again. She wants the contract terminated despite the fact that Soon-shin probably did it for the money.

She grabs her daughter’s hand and drags her away, asking Joon-ho not to bother Soon-shin anymore.

Plan backfired.

Soon-shin apologizes to her mother and Jung-ae wants Soon-shin to pay the break contract fee tomorrow. Now, Soon-shin should think about what she wants to do most.

Soon-shin looks utterly heartbroken and packs her scripts away along with the dream that she wants to chase the most.

The next morning, Soon-shin visits Joon-ho. She apologizes for being thoughtfless and promises to pay the contract fee. She also thanks him for everything. Her sincerity is heartbreaking. You can see that she feels like she failed and disappointed again.

She rises to leave and he asks if she’ll be able to leave like this and not regret it. She leaves him and In-sung joins him, beaming that they’ve finally gotten rid of her. He encourages Joon-ho to check out the new talent in the auditions, but he aint’ in the mood.

Soon-shin stops in the stairwell, already regretting her decision. She sits there for a long time, brooding and looking over her scripts, regretting. She recalls Mi-ryeong’s praise: she has potential to be loved so she should believe in herself.

And then something snaps in her and she begins to run.

Gil-ja notices her husband zoning out and screams so loudly she scares the crap out of ME. Bok-man quickly runs away to chase the thought in his head. Chan-mi joins her mother who thinks that Bok-man is having an affair. Chan-mi laughs off that idea; no one would want him. Heh.

Bok-man lurks outsides Mi-ryeong’s home and hides when she comes home. Then he spots Soon-shin running up and a look of horror crosses his face.

Somehow, I don’t feel as horrified as he does. This storyline doesn’t much intrigue me.

But I AM intrigued by what Soon-shin is doing at Mi-ryeong’s place.

Soon-shin admits that she will be quitting and wanted to give her goodbyes. But she also wanted to ask a question. She knows that Mi-ryeong praised her a bit excessively in front of Yi-jung. However, she really wants to know if she truly has the ability.

With a kind smile, Mi-ryeong agrees. Soon-shin’s eyes fill with tears and she smiles. It’s probably the first time someone expressed such faith in her.

Comments:

We’re finally into the meat and potatoes of the show.

There were two powerful moments in this episode for me:

1) When Woo-joo burst into tears. I’ve been waiting for this. A divorce is not easy. A divorce PLUS a move PLUS her father ignoring her and her mother is just all too much. Plus all the lying business. Phew. Poor, poor kid.

2) I loved when Soon-shin blew up at her sister. It was the last straw after the fight with Joon-ho and all the stress of her life. It seemed like when Yoo-shin was picking on Soon-shin at dinner, it was way less malicious.

Then we have the humor: poor mistaken sexy baker. Yi-jung being an idiot. The baker’s assistant and his blessedly cute satori accent.

Soon-shin’s birth secret can go two ways for her at this point. She is so dejected she could just take it as part of her miserable luck. Or, it will get her in the gut. I really hope she doesn’t take it too hard, but this is a drama. She idolizes Mi-ryeong and, almost equally, her mother. Those spilled secrets will be a huge blow.

Now for Joon-ho. Loving how Soon-shin is really pushing him to the max. His keen eye is not wasted on her, but his lack of faith in himself, despite his bravado, is making him fall onto tried and true methods of starlet creation. Perhaps he sees himself in her utter lack of confidence and as the object of ridicule by those closest to him.

Yoo-shin…oh Yoo-shin. I know you’re trying to play it cool, but you’re breaking Chan-woo’s ickle heart. So you need to stop. But I have faith in Chan-woo to train you into a good puppy. Too bad it’s illegal to use crates to train humans….hehe.

I’m definitely invested in this show. It’s a solid watch, fun to write about and fun to pick apart.

One thing: WHERE IS MY SINGING?!!!!!!!!!

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Character introductions.

Lee Soon-shin is the Best: Episode 10 Screencaps.