My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho: Episode 12

by girlfriday

It’s time for the ultimate showdown: Libido vs. Fox Bead. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will make girlfriday cry?

You know which horse I’m backing, but it looks like Show might have a mind of its own. Gah. What’s a girl gotta do for some smoochies ’round here?

Oh, Show, you big tease.

SONG OF THE DAY

My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho OST – “지금부터 사랑해” (Love starts now) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 12 RECAP

Dae-woong sings Mi-ho the gumiho song and pulls her in ever so gently by the hand for a kiss. Girls and their mothers swoon together. Grandmas join in. Mi-ho smiles at him brightly, and he takes out her ring. He tells her that it’s for real this time, and slides it on her finger.

And then, he puts his hand behind her head and goes in for another (omo!) kiss…but is thwarted by the fox bead, pounding away in his chest. Damn you, fox bead! You have the worst timing ever!

He grabs his chest in pain, and Mi-ho assesses the damage. She says that the fox bead isn’t done healing from the time he shared his ki with another woman, and it’s acting up now because he’s “genuinely thinking about mating.” HAHAHAHA. If only all men came with such supernatural indicators.

He lurches back in shock and embarrassment, spitting out that he wasn’t thinking about THAT, nope, not him! Mi-ho smiles at him devilishly, saying that he doesn’t have to lie—the bead tells the truth. She then frowns, realizing that until the bead is done healing, they can’t mate. She pouts, like someone just took away her candy. God, I love her.

Dae-woong holds his chest as the disappointment registers on his face. “Why does the bead have to do that?” Oh. My. God. I think I just fainted.

Dear Fox Bead, I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns. I was thisclose to recapping heaven, and then you snatched it away from me cruelly. Twice. But as a plot convention, I concede that I like you, because you set up a roadblock, making their sexual tension build and simmer. I admit that you’re useful. But I still hate you.

Mi-ho whines that it’s because he’s been defiled by another woman. He balks at that, insisting that he was attacked. Heh, he makes it sound like a wild animal came at him like a snack. Her eyes get wide, as she deduces that if the fox bead isn’t healed yet, he must’ve “done it for real.” Dae-woong: “I pulled back right away!” Keh. And what a great use of the ki / fox bead as a metaphor for sexual experience, or even past loves.

Mi-ho pauses for a moment, and then says, “Woong-ah. If you can take it [the pain], then we can…” Seriously, I love her. Girl wants her lovin’. Whatchoo gonna do?

He nods, bracing himself, and goes in for another kiss. Thwarted again. Mi-ho pouts, then lures him back in for another try, with her best come-hither smile. He goes again, but reels in pain, and finally tells her to sit further away. Ha. It’s like watching a teenager try to initiate foreplay without getting too…excited. Comedy!

Needless to say, Fox Bead: 4 / Dae-woong: 0

Emo Hair turns out to be quite the stalker, having followed Mi-ho and Dae-woong earlier that day, when they met in front of the chapel. He says to himself that he wanted to protect her from Dae-woong’s death and save her the pain, but he can’t stop it now.

At home, Mi-ho writes down a life plan, a list of goals for when she becomes human. They read as follows:

1. Mate with Dae-woong [when the fox bead heals]
2. Marry Dae-woong [when the 100 days are up]
3. Have child with Dae-woong [one year later, then one every year]
4. Live a long and happy life with Dae-woong

Haha. Dae-woong smiles at first, but then when she gets to the kids part, especially at the rate of one a year, the fear sets into his eyes. He starts imagining the progression, ending with a row of kids chanting “Daddy, buy us meat!” He breaks out of his reverie shouting, “NO!” He tells her that he can’t abide by a life plan that has him married at 21 and a baby daddy by 22, and runs away to his room. He secretly thanks the fox bead for putting the breaks on Mi-ho’s life plan.

The next day, Mi-ho asks the chicken shop ajumma about it, who tells her to take it slow on the ten-year plan. She hears that nearby construction tore down a giant tree last night, and Mi-ho wonders what the tree’s inhabitants will do. Cue creepy little boy who sees Mi-ho walk past, and immediately sees that she’s a fox. He follows.

Mi-ho goes to see Dong-joo, who isn’t the least bit happy to hear about her reconciliation with Dae-woong. He sighs that she’ll stop listening to him now, and tells her that he can’t stand by and watch anymore. He’s stayed too long in one place, and is preparing to leave.

She asks if it’s because of her. He admits it outright, adding that because of her, he’s broken a lot of his own rules, getting involved where he shouldn’t. He apologizes for not being able to watch over her till the end.

When he says that he’s thinking of going somewhere remote, like an island, she sighs that she can’t visit him then, because of her fear of water. He’s surprised to hear that, wondering why when other animals are afraid of fire, she’s afraid of water. She tells him that the Samshin Grandmother made her out of fire, which is why her tails glow blue like flames. She tells Dong-joo that before they say goodbye, she’ll show him her tails, by moonlight. She calls moonlight “dal gil,” which you’ll remember is his past love’s name in reverse. He doesn’t react, but I’m thinking that can’t be a coincidence. When they part, he sees the boy follow Mi-ho, and puts on his serious face.

On set, Dae-woong hears that the funding might come through for the movie to shoot his action scenes in China. He frets over the possibility of being separated from Mi-ho for two months.

Hye-in has grown a giant red zit overnight (karma’s a bitch that way), and Mi-ho relishes the coincidental victory. Hye-in tells her she has no shame or pride, sticking to Dae-woong again when she said she’d leave, and Mi-ho responds matter-of-factly that she doesn’t have those things, which is why she’ll marry Dae-woong and live happily ever after. She adds some more hocus pocus and leaves Hye-in stewing.

Dae-woong invites Mi-ho to his grandfather’s house for dinner that night, and the little kid sees right away that Dae-woong is keeping Mi-ho’s fox bead. He does a bump pass, and discovers that the bead smells of goblin fire. He licks his chops at the thought of stealing such a delightful treat. He trails Dae-woong, but Dong-joo nabs him mid-hunt, saying he knows what he is. The kid says, “Then you know I’m a goblin?”

Dong-joo pulls him aside to kill him, but the kid pleads for his life. He insists he was just trying to befriend the gumiho, since her bead smelled of goblin fire. Dong-joo reels at his words. It’s the first concrete proof he’s given that Mi-ho and Gil-dal are linked. The kid sees his chance and runs, while Dong-joo stands agape, wondering if it’s possible that their sharing the same face isn’t a coincidence. Dude, you’ve lived centuries. Have you ever met a coincidental doppelganger?

At Grandpa’s house, Mi-ho plays the flute and does a traditional dance, to the utter delight of everyone. It’s the perfect audience for her old-school talents, as Grandpa especially enjoys traditional culture and artifacts.

She eats well, but only sticks to beef, which makes Aunt Min-sook a little upset, as she worked really hard preparing the rest of the dishes too. She insists that Mi-ho try the vegetables and rice, so Mi-ho picks up a pickle, looking at it like it’s poison. Dae-woong comes to the rescue, distracting Aunt and Grandpa, and Mi-ho feeds him while their heads are turned. Gah. Cute.

Upstairs in Dae-woong’s room, Mi-ho is really pleased that she got to use the things she learned when she was waiting for a husband centuries ago…on her future husband’s family. He takes stock in the fact that she really has lived for hundreds of years, making his twenty seem like a blip on her radar.

He asks if she isn’t scared, at the thought of aging, and eventually dying. He says that these are things that she’s never had to face since she’s lived for five hundred years, but that human beings are universally afraid of. Mi-ho says, “I wasn’t living…I was just existing. I want to change, and fill my time as I live.” She tells him that when she was trapped in that painting, she heard so many people’s wishes, and all she ever wanted was to have wishes like theirs. She admits that her life plan may seem trivial and ordinary, but it’s what she’s witnessed as the things that all people ask for.

Dae-woong promises to make new memories with her, and they take a picture together.

Dong-joo visits the Samshin temple, and asks the Grandmother in the painting if she made Mi-ho out of Gil-dal’s goblin fire. Angry tears form, as he asks desperately if he’s repeating his mistakes all over again. He cries as he remembers having to kill Gil-dal. Ooh, I like this development in his character. Much better. I like the dilemma it poses for him, and now he has to factor in his responsibility in the mess. The tortured emo thing is a better fit now, because it’s got some weight behind it.

On their way home, Mi-ho and Dae-woong pass by a couple with their arms around each other, and Mi-ho pouts that even though they’ve become a couple, nothing’s different for them. She accuses Dae-woong of using the fox bead as an excuse to keep her away. Ha.

Dae-woong decides that they’ve started now, so he’s got to up their level (of physical contact). He puts out his hand, and she gives him hers. He checks, and the fox bead seems okay with that, so then Mi-ho links arms. That seems okay, so then she pulls his arm around her shoulders.

He feigns the fox bead’s unhappiness with that, just to mess with her, and keep from over-doing the PDA. She pouts, but when he takes her hand again, this time interlocking their fingers, she smiles, and they walk home swinging their hands back and forth in their usual explosion of adorableness.

Dae-woong stops at the store to get something, and sends Mi-ho home ahead of him. When she arrives, Dong-joo is there waiting for her. He loses himself for a moment, talking to Mi-ho as if she were Gil-dal, saying that it’s been a long time, and that he’s missed her. Mi-ho wonders if he’s here to say goodbye, but no, he’s here to say hello, and says he’ll be staying, to watch over her. He touches her face lovingly, tears in his eyes. Oh dear. Get ready for the angst, people! This isn’t going to be confusing at all.

Mi-ho says that he needn’t worry. She’ll become human and live happily with Dae-woong. That brings more tears to Dong-joo’s eyes, and he says that this time, he’ll protect her till the end.

Dae-woong develops their first photo and buys an album to put it in. He says to himself that they can fill it together, starting now. Okay, I need a new word for adorable. Woongtastic.

On his way home, he runs into Dong-joo, who tells him that his plan to leave has been delayed. Dae-woong cuts to banmal, telling him that’s fine, as long as he still leaves. Dong-joo tells him to keep the fox bead safe, and Dae-woong scoffs, thinking he’s over-stepping his bounds. Dong-joo adds, “And when it comes time for her to leave, let her go.”

Dae-woong: There won’t be a time when Mi-ho wants to leave, and I have no intention of letting her go. From now on, Mi-ho and I are going to live happily, for a long, long time.

Dong-joo watches him go, wishing that someone else were keeping the fox bead, to protect Mi-ho from the inevitable heartbreak. Yeah, you me both, buddy. He realizes that he’ll have to protect Dae-woong while he carries the bead, so he decides that the little goblin must be killed.

The next day, Mi-ho and Dae-woong eat at home, and Dae-woong tries to get her to eat a more balanced diet. She says she’ll start once she’s human, and eyes the veggies suspiciously. Dae-woong tells her that she can eat like this now because she’s a gumiho, but if she keeps this up, “you’ll go straight from a fox to a pig.” Hahaha.

He tells her that eating vegetables will be good for her skin and make her prettier. Mi-ho: “How could I possibly be any prettier? I’m satisfied now.” HAHAHA. Her blatant acknowledgement of her own beauty just cracks me up. And Dae-woong’s reaction just makes it all the better.

Dae-woong gets the call that the China shoot is on, which means he’ll be abroad by himself for two months.

Hye-in spills the news to Mi-ho, telling her that Dae-woong is hesitating because of her. Dae-woong finds Mi-ho, as she’s pouting, “Wooooooong-ah, Wooooooog-ah” by herself. Sighing, she tells him to go, and not to worry about her.

He sees how dejected she is, so he makes up a list of his own: Nine Reasons Why It’s Good to Have a GU-miho Girlfriend. 1) she’s unique in all the world; 2) you can wander around at any time of night because she’s strong; 3) she doesn’t play coy because she’s frank and honest; 4) if she likes you, she shouts it wherever she wants; 5) this one makes him nervous too, “but have you seen a girlfriend so pretty?” she’s confident; 6) she’s considerate; 7) she knows that two-timing equals death; 8 ) he can trust that she’ll never leave his side; 9) “I just…really, really, really, really, really like you.” He adds the finger guns at the end. How cute that he confesses the same way she did, which is exactly what she wanted. Belated, but all the better for it.

Mi-ho swoons in utter bliss, and as the camera pans, we see that they’ve had not one, but two eavesdroppers. Dong-joo looks pained, while Hye-in just looks pissed. She doesn’t want to keep meddling anymore (it injures her pride), but Dong-joo insists they have to keep them apart.

When Mi-ho visits Dong-joo later, asking if she could maybe go along with Dae-woong if she used her new passport, Dong-joo uses the goblin as an excuse to send Dae-woong away and keep Mi-ho here.

It’s time for Dae-woong to leave, and Mi-ho shows him that she’ll be eating her vegetables like a good gumiho. He gives her the photo album, and tells her to fill it with lots of pictures, so she can tell him about everything she did while he was away.

He leaves, and turns back to say one last goodbye. She looks so sad that he comes back and swoops her for a kiss on the cheek. He promises that once the fox bead is done healing, he’ll kiss her properly. Atta boy!

The look on her face, anticipating that real kiss, is just perfect.

While Dae-woong is gone, Mi-ho documents her time, playing with Ddoong-ja, bonding with Grandpa, Aunt Min-sook, the chicken shop ajumma, Sun-nyeo, and eating her vegetables. After yet another plate of veggies, she declares to herself, “Ah, so tasty…NOT.” Heh.

Dae-woong arrives home on a four-day weekend, excited to surprise Mi-ho. Meanwhile, she’s at Dong-joo’s house, where he shows her the house he’s prepared in Japan. He tells her that he’s going to move there…with her. She sighs in exasperation, asking if he’s going to tell her to leave Dae-woong again. She says that she has lots and lots of life plans with Dae-woong, so he can just forget it. He tells her that because of the goblin, she has to stay away from Dae-woong until the hundred days are up.

While Dae-woong waits outside for Mi-ho, the goblin finally finds his opportunity. He pretends to be hurt so that Dae-woong will come close, and then he whammies him unconscious.

Just then, as Dong-joo drives Mi-ho home, he senses his magical knife start to act up, so he pulls over to go catch the goblin. He tells Mi-ho not to follow, since the knife’s power will affect her too. She realizes that Dong-joo really is a hunter, who catches things like her.

In the gym, the goblin wonders how to get the fox bead out without damaging it. Dae-woong stirs awake, surprised to hear the kid talking about his bead. The goblin surmises that he got tricked by a fox to carry her bead, and tells him that if he carries it, he’ll eventually die. Why thank you, Exposition Goblin.

He asks for the bead and when Dae-woong refuses, he starts to attack him. Dong-joo appears just time, putting his own blood on the dagger, and then throwing it at the goblin. He misses, but he does knick him. The goblin manages to get away.

Dae-woong returns the dagger, asking Dong-joo what that was. He asks about what the goblin said—is it true that he’ll die?

Outside, Mi-ho catches the goblin, who’s too injured to squirm out of her grasp. He tells her the same thing, calling her evil for using her fox bead to steal the ki of a human being. He not only tells her that the human will die when she takes the bead back, but that Dong-joo knows all about it.

She stands there frozen, letting it sink in that if she takes the bead back to become human, Dae-woong dies.

In the gym, Dong-joo LIES to Dae-woong, telling him the goblin meant that if he refuses to give the bead back after the hundred days, Mi-ho will die. He warns him one more time to keep the fox bead safe. Dae-woong spits back that he needn’t ask for things that Dae-woong already said he’d do.

In the park, Mi-ho thinks back to Dong-joo’s cryptic words about living in a world without Dae-woong, and she starts to cry. As her tears come flowing out, it starts to rain, and she asks, “Woong-ah, what do I do?”

At home, Dae-woong catches up on Mi-ho’s days without him, and he looks at the 100-day calendar now with hope, smiling that they’re almost halfway there, till she’s human. Heartbreaking. He sees “Mi-ho’s Life Plan” glued to her bed, and adds “Dae-woong and—” with a heart to the top. Aw.

Mi-ho goes to see Dong-joo. She doesn’t reveal what she knows, but asks what happened to Gil-dal to keep her from becoming human. He says bitterly that she mistook betrayal for love, and he’ll never let that happen to Mi-ho. He admits that he told Dae-woong that if he doesn’t return the fox bead that she’ll die.

Mi-ho looks down at his dagger, asking in a haunting tone if it would kill her. He says it will, and moves it, thinking nothing of her question. When he leaves the room, she decides, “I have to disappear.”

She comes home to an excited Dae-woong, who wonders why her reaction is so muted. He admits to coming home because he missed her, and asks why she didn’t tell him about the fact that she’d die if he didn’t return her bead.

He says that he’ll be faithful and return it on the hundredth day, as promised. Mi-ho looks up at him in tears, “I’m sure you would.” Thump. Heart? Meet floor.

Dae-woong wonders why she’s crying, and she says it’s because she likes him so much. He wipes her tears, saying, “When you’re near me, it stops hurting, right? I’ll never leave your side.”

He places her hand on his heart.

Dae-woong: I’ll protect you.
Mi-ho: And I’ll protect you.

COMMENTS

Aaaaack! How can my heart be torn in two directions by one turn of phrase? His declaration to protect her is the ultimate manly declaration of love, the perfect bookend to his squee-worthy “You take responsibility for me” in Episode 11. But then her use of it is soul-crushing, because she knows that to protect him, means to give up her life.

This is the kind of dramatic tension that I love. It’s mundane on the surface, but epic in consequence.

How can one mother-frakkin’ fox bead do this much damage to two hearts?

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