Romance Town: Episode 14

by kaedejun

Episode 14 serves it up in style! We have an arrest, lottery tickets exchanging hands, a greedy set of maids, the formation of a “happy family,” and one super crazed fan stalking her celebrity lover.

Tae Won willingly goes with the police, even though he maintains his innocence about evading taxes on his personal income. The investigator asks if he ever bought lottery tickets, and Tae Won lies that he never did – although a salon madame did give him a losing ticket once for fun…

As for the maids, all of them are ready to cut Hyun Joo out of her share… except Soon Geum. She’s the only ethical person in the room and argues that Hyun Joo has played go-stop with them so many times, so why are they nitpicking over her skipping out once? Soo Jung puts it up to a vote – all those in favor of splitting 10 billion four ways say aye. Of course, everyone says “Aye,” outnumbering Soon Geum; an extra 500 million Won is no chump change.

Soo Jung: In this situation it’s not good to be kind. The three of us don’t agree with you, so if you act on your own, you’ll pay for it, understand?
Kaedejun: OK – but can I also punch you in the face?

But Soon Geum is concerned about the fall out that will happen if Hyun Joo discovers the truth. She’s also angry that they would so easily betray a friend over money. Da Kyum just doesn’t want to share the wealth, and Zar Lin maintains that just because they’re not sharing doesn’t make them bad people.

Suddenly, Soon Geum’s phone rings – it’s Hyun Joo, asking to be let into the house. She’s feeling quite blissful after being hired by Hwang Yong, and doesn’t want to see Yoon Joo open the door if she rings the bell. Soo Jung whispers for Soon Geum to send Hyun Joo home, but Soon Geum says she’ll let Hyun Joo in. Standing up to the other maids, she says she’s going to tell Hyun Joo the truth – that they won the lottery, but because Hyun Joo didn’t participate in the pool of money she can’t claim her share.

Soo Jung: Are you going to ignore the three of us to the end?
Soon Geum: Throw away your greed, Soo Jung!
Soo Jung: *SLAAAP*
Kaedejun: Oh no you din’t! You get an extra kick in the ass for that!

I’m not kidding by the way.

Soo Jung is seething as she spits out her despise for Soon Geum’s betrayal over the 50/50-share plan, and now possibly over this.

Hyun Joo wonders what’s taking Soon Geum so long, so she finally rings the doorbell. Yoon Joo is drinking shot after shot of liquor, distressed at seeing her husband arrested. She yells for Soon Geum to open the door, but there’s no answer. That’s because the maids are all busy making sure Soon Geum will comply with their plan.

Soon Geum meekly agrees, and Da Kyum raises the issue over how to carry the money out. They decide to pack the three maids’ shares into garbage bags and lug it outside. Just after they leave the room, Yoon Joo bursts into Soon Geum’s room to yell at her to open the front door. She notes the large black luggage bags and two stray 50,000 Won bills, and wonders if the maids are preparing to leave too, further breaking up the household.

The maids all struggle with the garbage bags and bump into Hyun Joo outside. Soo Jung makes up the excuse that Soon Geum had been procrastinating in taking out the trash, so they’re all helping her with it. Hyun Joo offers to help carry, but Soo Jung is all, “No no no! I can take care of it!” They try to send Hyun Joo back home, and continue on their way to the trash receptacle area.

Hyun Joo stops them – she has something to say about money! All the maids are frozen still; lies just make you that more scared all the time eh? But Hyun Joo only wants to reassure Zar Lin that she’ll be working alongside her at Hwang Yong’s home, not replacing her. She’ll treat them all to dinner after she gets her first paycheck too.

The ladies all watch Hyun Joo return happily home, and Soo Jung has a momentary pang of guilt. She reminds herself – and all of them – that Hyun Joo’s winning ticket will be Hwang Yong, so all is well.

They pass by Gun Woo and Young Hee, who are outside Young Hee’s home. Gun Woo asks Young Hee to just give up on Soon Geum; ever since he was fat he never won anything over Young Hee, but this is his one chance. He doesn’t want Young Hee to go after Soon Geum for her money either. Young Hee is sick of all this talk about what he might do now that he’s poor, and tells Gun Woo to just mind his own business. He won’t ask for help from him, nor will he give any.

The maids discuss what to do with the money, and decide to go to a hotel to store it. It would be more secure than a public location like a sauna. Soon Geum wants to go back home and check on the family since Tae Won had been arrested, but Soo Jung begs her to help carry the heavy bags. “And I’m sorry for hitting you before,” she adds.

Nothing pisses me off more than someone who’s only nice so they can get something from you.

Gun Woo arrives home to see his room in disarray, and a stepmother drunk in the living room. He checks Soon Geum’s room, but she’s nowhere to be found. He does see the two large bags and smiles in relief that her money wasn’t taken.

The maids arrive at the hotel and manage to get a room after reassuring the concierge that they won’t be throwing their “garbage” in the hotel. Right behind them, the father’s friend Bong Yi walks right by with lottery announcer Son Jin Pyo. Soo Jung hides her money in the TV cabinet, Da Kyum’s in the dresser drawers, and Zar Lin under the bed. Happy that their money is safe for the time being, they put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the knob and go down to the nightclub for a round of dancing.

Soon Geum returns home to see Yoon Joo asleep on the sofa. She covers the madame with a blanket, while Gun Woo watches his kind girlfriend from the floor above. As he cooks ramen for her, he is surprised to find out that she is actually worried about his father, even though he insulted her the day before. But he reassures Soon Geum that he’ll go to the police and beg them to free his father. At the end of the day, the guy is still his father. Though they may become bankrupt, Gun Woo doesn’t think Tae Won will like Soon Geum any more. He tells her that he’ll help out more in the chores and watching San.

At the nightclub, Soo Jung, Zar Lin, and Da Kyum are having a blast (in ahjumma dresses). Suddenly, Zar Lin spies Son Jin Pyo out of the corner of her little eye, and immediately the three ladies pounce. Zar Lin declares her love for him, while Bong Yi and Jin Pyo ask that they leave them be. After all, they’re humans who want a private life too. Soo Jung – with her big mouth – divulges that the three of them are the 1st place lottery winners… and they’d like to buy the boys a drink. The two men scoff and reject them.

The three maids later stumble out of the club, still miffed that Son Jin Pyo had the nerve to reject them. Zar Lin spots Jin Pyo coming out of the club super drunk as well, so she decides to follow him up his elevator while the other two go to the room and check on their money.

Zar Lin watches Jin Pyo shyly, even though he has no idea she’s next to him. He stumbles around the hallways of the hotel, and just as Zar Lin is about to help him up, Da Kyum and Soo Jung appear to drag her away (to her senses).

Jin Pyo continues struggling to find the hotel room Bong Yi had reserved and receives a call from some viewer who wants to know how to win the jackpot. He drunkenly and angrily cries that he has no idea; he must deal with those calls a lot. He falls on a doorknob and knocks down the “Do Not Disturb” sign – the one for the maids’ room. He picks it back up and puts it on at the “Please Make Up the Room” side. Bong Yi opens the door across the hall, and they drunkenly go in together.

The next morning, Yoon Joo wakes up with a splitting headache on her bed. Beside her, she sees a sleeping San. Though she’s initially shocked at how he got on her bed, she is touched by his adorableness and resemblance to Tae Won, and covers the blanket around his sleeping body. She sits up and sees Gun Woo sleeping at the foot of her bed on the lounge chair. Now it’s really like, “Huh?!”

Then she is about to step out of the bed – but Soon Geum’s sleeping on the floor beside her. Double “HUH??!?” Gun Woo awakens, and he suggests that maybe they should sleep together like this until Tae Won is released. He had never believed that this house could become one family, but last night, he realized that everyone had one common feeling – they were all worried about Tae Won.

Yoon Joo is quiet. In agreement.

Meanwhile, Hyun Joo prepares to go to work at Hwang Yong’s house. Soo Jung and Da Kyum wake up after she leaves, feeling guilty that everyone else’s life is set while Hyun Joo must continue working.

Hyun Joo takes out the trash, and she realizes that none of the other ladies’ trash bags are at the receptacle area. They also couldn’t have been taken away because yesterday was a Sunday. Something’s suspicious! Meanwhile back at the hotel, a maid cleans up the room and finds all the garbage bags.

KARMAAAAAAA!

Hyun Joo prepares breakfast of soy bean stew, which is very much to Hwang Yong’s liking, but not to his daughter’s. Zar Lin lazily comes into the kitchen, obnoxiously asking if everyone slept well while yawning. Hyun Joo tries to knock some sense into Zar Lin, but the girl’s too lazy now that she has 2 billion tucked away. She asks about the garbage bags, which alerts Zar Lin immediately.

Joo Won leaves the table, disgusted that they’re talking about garbage bags, and so Hyun Joo chases after her, promising to make another breakfast. Amazing Hwang Yong immediately interrogates Zar Lin about the garbage bags.

Hwang Yong: What kind of garbage is it?
Zar Lin: It’s mine.
Hwang Yong: The garbage is yours?
Zar Lin: It’s mine.
Kaedejun: *Sigh* You sound like an idiot… Oooh here comes Hyun Joo listening in!
Hwang Yong: I won’t steal your garbage, so think of Hyun Joo as not here even though she is, and take good care of Joo Won. If you don’t and wake up late, then I’ll take your garbage.
Zar Lin: It’s mine!

Yoon Joo, Gun Woo, and Soon Geum visit Tae Won in prison. He only has eyes for his wife though, so he’s very snappy at his son. Gun Woo reaches into his pocket, where the lottery ticket resides. He promises his father that he’ll get him out soon enough and has something for him, but Tae Won thinks Gun Woo can’t do anything. He tells Gun Woo to just keep it; he expects and wants nothing from him. Gun Woo: “Alright – don’t say something else later. I’m keeping it!”

Gun Woo and Soon Geum are sent out so that the husband and wife can have a word with each other. Tae Won knows his wife can’t be happy without money, and that she’s close to Hwang Yong. He promises to make her more happy; in her car (not Gun Woo’s), he’s put an extra key to the safe deposit box. The password is their wedding anniversary, and in the box is everything that belongs to her – both the gold bars and the lottery ticket. She’s the heir to his inheritance.

She sends Gun Woo and Soon Geum home first so that she can go to the bank right away, but Gun Woo is suspicious enough to follow her all the way to the bank. But no matter – he has the real lottery ticket.

Da Kyum sips on some iced tea in front of Young Hee’s lawn, and brazenly asks Young Hee how much his front lawn costs. Money is not a problem for her! Young Hee pffts, and goes off to buy a burger. Da Kyum offers to pay – even if it’s a really expensive burger. In fact, she’ll take him out to lunch, and then buy some expensive fruits to share. Young Hee thinks she must be having a crisis because she’s unemployed, but Da Kyum cheerfully chirps that her life’s comeback has just begun!

Gun Woo and Soon Geum have jajjangmyun for lunch, and the entire time, Soon Geum is fretting over Tae Won and Young Hee. Tae Won because he’s in jail and might not be eating properly, and Young Hee because he no longer has Da Kyum to take care of him. She asks if Young Hee can stay with them, but Gun Woo says absolutely not. She can go buy him a house then.

Soon Geum declares she will. Gun Woo calls her out on that – she’s been saying she had no money this entire time!! But Soon Geum says Gun Woo has everything – a house, a job, a family. Young Hee has nothing! Gun Woo refuses to let Soon Geum go to Young Hee and say that she has money – he can’t lose her to him! He takes a swig of tea and says to Soon Geum, “You pay. I have no money.”

Da Kyum and Young Hee go for some fast food burgers. He refuses to let her pay, not wanting to leach off a tiny flea like her. But Da Kyum insists that she’s just feeling indebted to him, so he tells her she can buy dessert.

Dessert = two overripe bananas in the park. HAHAHAHA. Da Kyum complains over how black the skin is and how sour it is; Young Hee: “If you keep provoking me, I’m going to kill you.” She brings up purchasing the front lawn again, and he tells her to go buy it just to shut her up.

He watches couples walking in the park and comments that most people are like him in bringing dates to the park. Da Kyum: “So is this a date?!” Young Hee doesn’t think so, especially when the girl is offering to pay all the time. A man in love should want to give his all – money and heart, so he warns Da Kyum to not offer to pay the next time she goes out with a man. She also can’t love the man more than he loves her, hold his hand, kiss him, agree to go anywhere with him overnight, and never admit that she’s not a virgin. Hahaha – he’s such a big bro.

Hyun Joo comes out to where Hwang Yong is gardening to encourage him to rest after being in the hot sun. She also wants to know what his food preferences are so she can better serve him. Hwang Yong likes spicy, sweet, and flavorful foods, as well as soju and smoking. Oh and he doesn’t know what sunscreen is. Hyun Joo tsks at the state of his health, and like a Mother Hen, she clucks that she’ll purchase all the necessities for him tomorrow so that he can live better.

Yoon Joo drives up to them, seeing them getting chummy. Hwang Yong asks after Tae Won, but Yoon Joo sizes up her competition and then invites him over for some drinks at her home. Of course Hwang Yong agrees. He tells a pouting Hyun Joo to bring an extra set of cold dessert soup for the both of them.

Soon Geum recounts her share of the money, and finds that she got less of her share. She later exits the house with garbage bags, and encounters Hyun Joo. Though they greet each other with a smile, Hyun Joo wonders how the Kang Residence could possibly have so much trash. Soon Geum is so nervous she can’t even throw out garbage calmly anymore.

As for the Jang Residence, Boon Ja suggests that they sell the couch; they’re going to have to start selling their possessions if they’re about to be bankrupt. Soon Ok scolds him for being such a player and a liar, and yet gets hoodwinked by his own son. She also wants to sell the kitchen counter that Boon Ja loves, and Jang Chi Gook wonders how they’ll cook if they sell the counter. They’ll starve to death! Soon Ok: “Having one less mouth to feed would be a good thing at this rate.”

Hehe. Revenge of the wives.

Hyun Joo goes into Zar Lin’s room, looking for her. She then spots a signed coaster from Son Jin Pyo on Zar Lin’s vanity mirror. She goes to Soo Jung’s, but no one is there either. She helps clean up the mess, and that’s when she sees some travel brochures carelessly left out under the table. Why does Soo Jung have travel brochures?

She follows Soon Geum out of the neighborhood, thinking that the maids are up to something without her. Soon Geum goes all the way to the hotel, calling Soo Jung and telling them to meet up at room 1004 so that they can recount the money and then bring it to the bank.

Hyun Joo overhears the conversation and makes her way quickly up to room 1004. She sees a hotel chambermaid’s cart and quickly steals the “Please Make Up Room” card from across the hall. When the chambermaid comes by, she gives her a tip and says that the room needs some extra cleaning. With that, the chambermaid opens the door for the both of them.

The room is absolutely empty, but Hyun Joo distracts the maid by requesting she clean the bathroom again.

The three maids finally arrive – late – and Soon Geum rushes them up to the room. She wants them to call up Hyun Joo and tell her the truth. Soo Jung says that Hyun Joo was just unlucky that time; it was her fate to be left out. Everyone refuses to let go of their newfound wealth, and how could they give it up when they’ve already tasted the feeling of having just a little bit more? They all feel guilty towards her, but they’re not giving up their money.

They all enter the elevator, and that’s when Bong Yi and Jin Pyo come down to the lobby. Bong Yi immediately spots Soon Geum and chases her up the hotel. Soon Geum is shocked to see him there, and he’s equally shocked to see her with the other ladies from last night, who claimed to have won the lottery. So – did she win it too?!

AIEEE! Soon Geum freaks out when she realizes he knows that the ladies won the lottery. He congratulates her, and Soon Geum fearfully grabs his arm.

But before she can say anything, Zar Lin notices that their “Do Not Disturb” sign is gone! Bong Yi takes his leave while the maids have a shared freak out session – was their room cleaned?! Is their money gone?! Maybe nothing happened!

They cautiously enter, and everything seems to be intact. Suddenly though, they hear someone in the bathroom. They wonder if it’s the maid, but the door opens – and it’s Hyun Joo! They’re SO CAUGHT!

Hyun Joo is pissed – so did they have fun hanging out without her? The maids are unable to answer, more out of fear for their money than anything else. She targets Soon Geum, expressing her disappointment in her. The rest of the maids quickly go over to their money’s respective hiding places, not-too-subtly protecting their money.

Hyun Joo turns on Soo Jung – why is this big mouth being so quiet all of a sudden? And what is she protecting?! She pushes Soo Jung aside and opens the TV cabinet. There’s nothing.

THERE’S NOTHING!!!

Soo Jung faints.

Da Kyum opens the drawers – there’s nothing! She faints.

Zar Lin checks under the bed – there’s nothing too! She faints.

Hyun Joo screams – WHY IS EVERYONE FAINTING?!?!?!

Soon Geum: “It’s all over.” And she faints too.

Hyun Joo: “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT’S GOING ON!? WHAT TO DO!?”

Comments:

HAHAHAH – oh my goodness that was a hilarious ending. It was perfect and comedic at the same time. Four fainted maids and one freaking out maid. Awesome.

I’m so excited – Karma’s a bitch, baby! I’m especially glad that Soo Jung, Da Kyum, and Zar Lin all received their comeuppance for being so horrid towards Hyun Joo. I don’t believe Soon Geum brought her money to the hotel, so I think her wealth is safe. However, everyone else’s is gone, and so basically the whole fantasy is over. This is excellent! Draamaaaa! Soo Jung can just go die. Sorry – I really love to hate her. She’s so good at being unlikable!

I think that’s one thing that continually impresses me. Even if the story flags at some point, I still can’t help but be impressed at the actors. I am annoyed at them, I love them, I cheer for them – all because they actually make me feel those feelings. As horrid as their characters can be, or as weak as the plot can be, these actors are really selling it. I have a secret wish that they can grab another veteran actor to spice up the mix by being Soo Jung’s houseowner. Kim Gab Soo anyone? He needs to maintain his streak of appearing in at least one drama every single quarter of the year.

I have nothing more to say except, I can’t wait for episode 15! I’m really hoping this week’s episodes 15 and 16 won’t be a downer, thus creating this series into a roller coaster of good and bad weeks. But episode 15 first few minutes are definitely going to be good. After all, what is one maid to do with 4 unconscious maids?!

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