High School King of Savvy: Episode 2

by dramallama

Love it. Savvy is doing some great things with its likable and wacky characters, and I’m already invested. The hijinks begin as we get our first look into the double life that Min-seok has agreed to lead. Thankfully, he seems to adapt pretty well because he’s got just the right amount of pizzazz and (over)confidence to get through. It’s a pleasure to watch his interactions, as he’s somehow convinced himself that he’s making total sense when in actuality, he’s confusing almost everyone around him. Keep it up!

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP

Min-seok stops on the steps of his team’s bus and thinks back to his hyung’s words. He makes the decision there and runs off, with his coach and Yoo-ah on his tail. While running, he gets a call from hyung and yells that he’s agreeing to his plan. He’s told where he needs to go and rides off in a cab, his coach a few steps too behind.

Star Building, Room 4202, password: hyung’s birthday. Min-seok puts on business attire, fixes his hair, and transforms into his alter ego — Lee Hyung-seok.

In the director’s office, Team Leader Kim gets grilled for Hyung-seok’s absence. Having seen the resemblance between the two brothers, he implies that they could use the brother as proxy for two months. But the scary director grabs his golf club, and Team Leader Kim blubbers a promise to get the real Hyung-seok here as soon as possible.

Min-seok stands in front of the company, and his brother instructs him to find Retail Team Leader Kim but only trust him halfway. Using a metaphor, his brother describes his field of work as a jungle: The surviving hyena is the king. In simpler terms, don’t trust anyone. He hangs up after his curt response, and Min-seok is left to follow orders.

While the retail team ladies are excited for the arrival of their new young chief director, Soo-young is on the roof drowning in her misery. Her mother owns a bungee jumping facility, so she compares her feelings right now to jumping off without the bungee elastic cord, free falling with no escape. Damn those pheromones.

Walking out of the elevator, Min-seok takes a deep breath before stepping in to meet the team. Fortunately, they’re excited to see him, and he pleases the crowd. They all welcome him and his good looks to the team, all except for one Debbie Downer, an older guy who sits there criticizing his lack of professionalism.

Min-seok is escorted into his room, where he barely has time to take a breath before he’s interrupted by a smitten lady employee delivering coffee. The hormonal teenage boy in him is immediately distracted by the flash of cleavage, and his eyes don’t leave the area as he says that he doesn’t like bitter coffee. When asked about his tastes, he says that aside from bitter things, he’s not picky, especially with girls.

Jin-woo uncomfortably ends up in the elevator with his father, President Yoo, who takes off his glasses in frustration while talking to his assistant. He flails the glasses around in front of Jin-woo, who stiffens and noticeably finds something about it bothersome.

In his office, Jin-woo is given a document to sign, but the edge of the folder triggers something in him. Although sweating and clearly nervous, he still manages to sign them and is told that the new retail team chief director has arrived. Once he’s alone in his office, Jin-woo takes pills with his shaking hands and proceeds to look up Hyung-seok’s profile.

Team Leader Kim is still freaking out about Hyung-seok until one of his team members tells him that he’s here. He rushes over to his office and gives him a hug of relief. But Min-seok tells him all is not as it seems and gives him sheepish look. Team Leader Kim is back in freak-out mode when realizes that he’s dealing with Min-seok. With a scary director and a fake retail team director, he’s convinced the world hates him.

Outside the office, one of the team members analyzes this situation. It’s a power competition between retail team director Hyung-seok, who reports to Director Han, and program team director Jin-woo, who’s under Director Nam. It’s a hard call to make.

Having no other choice, Team Leader Kim leads Min-seok to Director Han’s room and explains the complicated situation. Director Han acknowledges the uncanny resemblance but lifts his golf club when Team Leader Kim suggests that they go along with the scam. He can’t take such a risk and brainstorms reasons for why the real Hyung-seok couldn’t make it from Germany.

Their frantic planning is interrupted by President Yoo’s appearance, and Min-seok is forced to meet the man he’s working for. President Yoo has big expectations of him and invites Min-seok to a round of golf. Min-seok admits that he doesn’t know how to play but confidently states that he’ll learn quickly.

After the quick meeting, Director Han pulls Min-seok and Team Leader Kim aside to tell him the revised plan. They’re already knee-deep in this scam, so they better make this a perfect crime. Team Leader Kim is responsible for Min-seok; do not make any mistakes.

Min-seok trails behind Team Leader Kim, who’s still in disbelief. Admiring the building, Min-seok innocently asks what the company does. Team Leader Kim reacts with outrage but proceeds to explain the complexities of the business. Min-seok is not understanding, so he simplifies it to a big real estate company that does a little consulting on the side. The light bulb turns on in Min-seoks head, but he asks, “What’s consulting?”

Team Leader Kim can’t take it and goes out for a cigarette while Min-seok makes a visit to the bathroom. He checks his phone and sees a bunch of text messages from his stalker, Yoo-ah. He calls his friend, who steps aside from the hockey team pretending to talk to his mom. The whole team has been taking punishments for his absence. Where the hell is he?

Yoo-ah can’t believe Min-seok isn’t replying to her messages and wonders why he disappeared. Her friends think it’s a girl issue, but she shuts them up pretty quickly by grabbing their shirt collars.

Soo-young sees Jin-woo walking towards her and instinctively runs into the bathroom to avoid him. As Min-seok walks out of the bathroom, Jin-woo recognizes him and introduces himself. He invites him to his office, and Min-seok reluctantly follows.

In his office, Jin-woo and Min-seok talk. Jin-woo thinks he recognizes him from one of his business trips to Germany, but Min-seok suggests otherwise. The secretary comes in with drinks, and Min-seok downs his soda. He politely turns away for a loud burp as Jin-woo looks at him curiously.

Soo-young is asked by her colleague YOON DO-JI (Chun Yi-seul) to deliver some documents to Jin-woo, and before she has time to refuse, her colleague is off. She convinces herself that everything will be fine.

Jin-woo asks how consulting in Germany was like, and Min-seok answers with a vague “sometimes it was good, sometimes it was bad.” He doesn’t say much else, so Jin-woo asks about the European markets. Captain Obvious replies, “In markets, you have to buy a lot and sell a lot.” HA.

Confused, Jin-woo says that it’s not the amount but how you regulate and analyze markets that’s more important. Min-seok simply replies that he agrees and says some gibberish about how it’s hard to handle excess amounts, like how too much food can also make you too full.

He gets a call from Team Leader Kim, who orders him to get out. On his way out, he recognizes Soo-young walking in, but she doesn’t show any sign of recognition.

Team Leader Kim scolds Min-seok for interacting with Jin-woo, but Min-seok assures him that it’s totally fine. He handled the situation pretty well, and working here doesn’t seem all that bad.

Jin-woo asks Soo-young if there’s anyone else in her team to deliver documents. They have an uncomfortable relationship at the moment, and it would be best to avoid each other for the time being. She stutters in agreement and quickly walks out.

Back in his office, Min-seok is handed a bunch of documents to look over. He’s got to memorize names and faces so that he doesn’t make mistakes in the future. Not keen on studying, Min-seok peeks outside his office and spots Soo-young. He looks through his files and finds her profile. She definitely was the drunken lady making phone calls. He remembers Jin-woo’s voice on the phone as well and figures out their “love story.”

He asks Soo-young to come to his office and orders her to buy him a hamburger as a test to see whether she’ll recognize him, which she doesn’t. She’s confused at the request but complies, and then he orders her to stay and watch him eat, and Min-seok has some fun making references to one-sided crushes. Soo-young gets flustered and escapes his office, while he laughs his head off at her reaction.

After work, Soo-young and Min-seok both get annoyed calls from Yoo-ah. They proceed to board the same bus, fading in and out of sleep throughout the ride. At Soo-young’s stop, Min-seok throws something at her to wake her up. She stumbles off the bus, and he shakes his head at her disorderly life.

Min-seok changes back to his school clothes and heads home. Dad feeds Grandpa tangerines while scolding Min-seok for his absence. He also asks about his hyung, and Min-seok lies that he called that he had to head back to Germany to deal with last-minute job matters. Min-seok yells at Dad for caring and worrying too much, calling him out for his excessive affections. Min-seok collapses onto his bed, exhausted from his first day leading a double life.

At school the next morning, a hockey team senior and Yoo-ah admonish Min-seok for missing out yesterday. And right after his teacher takes attendance, he’s off to become his brother.

Min-seok runs into President Yoo as he arrives and uses jet lag as an excuse for his tardiness. President Yoo doesn’t seem to mind and invites him for a meal or for drinks, to which underage Min-seok shows a strong interest in the drinks.

Min-seok apologizes to his team for being late, and everyone is happy to cut him some slack (except that one sour guy who grumbles). Min-seok notices Soo-young watering her plant and asks if its broccoli (ha), and she corrects him, saying that it’s moss, which he finds extremely odd. In his office, he comments on her unusual nature and finds the utmost joy in discovering the massage chair, which is interrupted by his cola delivery.

Min-seok leaps up to grab his phone when she picks it up in curiosity, and at first opportunity he changes the wallpaper before it gives him away. He swaps out the photo of him and his friends in their high school uniforms to a generic one instead.

Yoo-ah fumes when she finds out that Min-seok has skipped school again, and her friends draw out another scenario about the girl Min-seok must be skipping school for. But Yoo-ah isn’t called a stalker for no reason. She’s got a GPS app connecting her phone to Min-seok’s phone, so she’s going to track him down.

Jin-woo meets with Director Nam, who’s there to propose that they work closer together. Jin-woo has no interest in doing so, but Director Nam clarifies that he’s not here to be competitive. One day, Jin-woo will probably be taking over the company, and he wants to secure a spot. Upon hearing this, Jin-woo gets contemplative, and we’re not sure he’s happy to hear this.

Meanwhile, Min-seok gets briefed on the retail team’s current business, and the words literally come in one ear and out the other. It’s all gibberish in his ears, but he says he’ll think about it. He really needs to get to school for his hockey practice game, so he calls Team Leader Kim to somehow get him out.

Soo-young isn’t having a good day, with the vending machine eating her money and her ripped tights. Then, she sees Jin-woo approaching again and runs to the closest door to stay out of sight.

Following the GPS on her phone, Yoo-ah can’t figure out where Min-seok would be but realizes that she’s heading towards her sister’s workplace. Min-seok comes out the rotating doors of the company and makes eye contact with Yoo-ah. He rushes back in as she chases after him.

Min-seok ends up racing up the stairs with Yoo-ah right at his heels. Soo-young is hiding from Jin-woo in the stairwell, and Min-seok runs into her. He drags her out of the stairwell and covers her mouth to silence her protests, all while yanking the doorknob shut to keep Yoo-ah out. Jin-woo watches this scene unfold, and Min-seok gives him a nervous grin.

 
COMMENTS

Yay! Another great one from tvN. It’s fast-paced, funny, and charming. And that’s pretty much all I need to have a good time watching. Even with the characters and plot figured out by the second (or even first) episode, I’m definitely in it for the shenanigans, which seem quite promising from the looks of this episode. Seo In-gook playing a pretend director/high schooler was a great idea, and I applaud the show for doing a great casting job in general. He does a great job of conveying that high school innocence and youth stuck in corporate world, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of his missteps.

While everyone else seems to have some comic element, Jin-woo seems to be stuck in his state of seriousness. He is an intriguing character though. We’re not told everything about him, and he seems to be the mysterious lonely one who could use a friend. His strained relationship with his father is another interesting component of his character. He seems to fear his father but still shows him respect. But judging from his negative reaction to small unnoticeable things in this episode, he definitely has a secret or a hidden trauma that’s affecting him, possibly something to do with his mother. And despite the awkwardness between him and Soo-young, I definitely want to see more of their interactions. The awkward pheromone couple would be quite fun and amusing to watch.

Soo-young is an interesting one, but her character so far seems to be one to pity. She works hard, but she’s got the worst luck, she’s socially awkward, and the mortification she feels is so real. I sympathize with her predicament, though I wish she would have more confidence. I hope that some of Min-seok’s confidence will rub off on her as they begin to work together. She could use some when dealing with Jin-woo.

The family scenes, although brief, are some great additions to the otherwise purely comic scenes. They add a layer of depth to the characters and the story, and they make me want to root for our hero even more. The whole Dad, Grandpa, and Min-seok scene is short, but it portrays the family dynamic. Grandpa is reliant on Dad, Dad is worried about his sons, and Min-seok is irritated by Dad’s limitless affection and compassion. They all care for and depend on each other, and it’s rather endearing.

But back to the imminent situation, I’m wondering how the relationship between Soo-young and Min-seok will pan out. I think I like the idea of the awkward pheromone couple too much to want these two to end up together, but I can see a fun dynamic: polar opposites, the whole stalker sister situation, and the whole pheromone Jin-woo situation. Oh yeah, and the high school kid dressing up as my brother situation. They can certainly be of help to each other in this quandary.

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