High School King of Savvy: Episode 9

by dramallama

The workplace romance hijinks are here! Our new couple’s romance pretty much spans the whole episode, making it an irresistibly adorable watch. Our leads really outdo themselves with their budding romance, but it’s a pretty accurate representation of being head over heels for someone. Through some hilarious and mortifying hijinks, we’re given a confirmation of why these two belong together and a slight foreshadowing of why they don’t. But put that all aside to ponder about later because this episode requires some proper squealing and cringing from the cuteness.

 
EPISODE 9 RECAP

Having affirmed their feelings, our couple makes out with no care for the passersby or the barking dogs. When Min-seok takes off his arm sling, Soo-young looks worried, but he assures her that he’s totally fine. Then, he swoops in for some more smoochies, a panacea for heartbreak and apparently injured arms.

The two walk hand in hand while Soo-young worries nonstop about Min-seok’s arm. Is it because of the earthquake? It’s not broken, is it? But Min-seok smiles and says he’s happy. He likes how Soo-young worries about him and regrets that he should have just broken it. Soo-young calls that nonsense and lightly punches him, but Min-seok overreacts. She doesn’t believe him at first, but his continuous cries of pain fool her. When she gets close to check his boo-boo, Min-seok grabs her and sneaks a kiss on her forehead.

They continue to walk together, and Min-seok thanks Soo-young for accepting his confession. In reply, Soo-young apologizes for making him wait. And because he’s on a roll today, Min-seok sneaks in another one with a peck on the cheek.

When the two lovebirds reach Soo-young’s house, Min-seok says he doesn’t want to leave. They adorably argue over who should leave first, so Soo-young proposes that they leave at the same time on the count of three. But of course that doesn’t work out either, as they both look back at each other and laugh. A man awkwardly passes between them complaining about the noise, and they finally decide to part ways.

Soon after his farewell, Min-seok gets a call from his coach, which can only mean one thing: punishment time.

The whole team watches Min-seok suffer the consequences of his absence, and his friends shake their heads, unable to understand Min-seok’s behavior. After his punishment squats, Duk-hwan and Tae-seok go to collect him, but he collapses. He giggles like a mad man on the ground, and Duk-hwan presumes that he’s lost his mind from the hour-long punishment. Min-seok shares the love and giggles but can’t get up because his legs have gone weak from the squats.

Min-seok calls Soo-young, and when he admits that he misses her already, he swings his legs like an excited little boy. Soo-young seems flustered but continues to worry about Min-seok’s injured arm. Behind her, Yoo-ah sends Min-seok a supportive text, but he brushes it off as a message from a friend and continues his phone call with Soo-young. He asks her out for their first date after work, and she agrees to think about what she wants to do.

After Soo-young gets off the phone, Yoo-ah confronts her sister about her very obvious dating. Soo-young confirms that she is indeed dating the Chief Director, and Yoo-ah tells her to introduce him sometime. She agrees to (but I strongly object).

Even after the call, Min-seok is still in love mode and kisses his phone… only to be caught by his two friends. The three of them sit on the field to talk about the situation. While Tae-seok lies on Min-seok’s lap, Duk-hwan tries to knock some sense into him, saying that Popcorn Sister doesn’t even know that Min-seok is Min-seok, not Hyung-seok. How will she react when she figures out he’s actually a high-schooler?

After a bit of hesitation, Min-seok says that he’s decided to only think about his feelings for Popcorn Sister and nothing else. His friends grab him and excitedly comment on how romantic he is right now. They ask eagerly about the “chupa chupa,” or better known as kisses, and chase him around with more embarrassing questions.

Back home from a good weekend, Min-seok is extra excited during breakfast and tells Dad that the food is especially good today, though Dad claims that it’s just their everyday breakfast. Min-seok also comments on how handsome Grandpa looks today, which just makes his day. He gives Gramps and Dad a kiss on the cheek before heading off to school/work.

Soo-young and Min-seok walk to work together being all cutesy, but they’re interrupted by the retail team ladies. They comment on how Soo-young looks so dressed up today; does she have a date? Looking embarrassed, she rushes into the building while Min-seok smiles.

It’s just another day at work, but it’s a start of a new workplace romance for Min-seok and Soo-young. Through the blinds of Min-seok’s office, Soo-young sends him a sign to meet her up on the roof. Assistant Manager Yoon looks at them suspiciously as they carry out their secret romance.

President Yoo asks Director Nam about the guy who used to chauffeur for the late Lee Jung-soo. Director Nam remembers him as Choi something and says that he hasn’t heard from him since Lee Jung-soo’s accident. President Yoo thinks back to the day when he saw Dad on his bike and says that he saw someone similar to Chauffeur Choi recently.

As Min-seok and Soo-young share a meal on the roof, he comments on how good the food is. She playfully slaps his arm in response, and Min-seok overreacts in pain. But Soo-young’s not fooled this time and feeds him more food. They discuss the possibilities of a vacation together, all while Min-seok talks with his mouth full, but they’re interrupted by Ji Dae-han and Assistant Park who are heading towards them.

They immediately jump into the role of boss and secretary, with Min-seok scolding Soo-young for bothering him with his work schedule when he’s eating. She runs off, and Min-seok takes his leave as well while the two retail members make up excuses for being on the roof.

Min-seok catches up to Soo-young and tries to hold her hand, but she refuses: “I am a confident modern woman who knows how to separate work from personal life.” So Min-seok orders her to hold his food and lead the way. But he quickly links arms with her, and they skip away arm in arm under the watch of Jin-woo.

Jin-woo runs into Soo-young by the restrooms, and he comments that she and Min-seok look good together. He also adds that she seems to take matters pretty lightly, seeing that she quickly changed her feelings for Min-seok. Just before she walks away, Jin-woo asks if she really likes Min-seok. She turns around and says that she does because he isn’t two-faced, unlike someone. Oof, Jin-woo looks affected by that.

Back in the office, Ji Dae-han mentions to the team that it’s Assistant Park’s birthday today. Sang-hee offers to sing him a song if he buys lunch for the team, so the retail ladies sing him a simple happy birthday and look at him expectantly. Looking a little bitter, Assistant Park agrees to take them out but buys them all the cheapest noodles on the menu.

Dae-han suggests that they all go out for a team trip sometime soon, and they all agree to go on a hiking trip. We catch him breaking into a smile when Yoon-ju says that she’d be up for the trip. Assistant Park says that he can’t make it, and Min-seok and Soo-young both give excuses as well. Assistant Manager Yoon proposes they go on the hiking trip with the people available and smiles knowingly at Soo-young.

In the bathroom, Sang-hee tells Yoon-ju that she senses something different about their Chief Director nowadays. She thinks that he’s dating and wonders who gets the honor of dating such a young, handsome, perfect guy. Soo-young sits on the toilet listening to the conversation and happily raises her hand, saying “Me, me, me!” in her head.

Sang-hee goes on to reminisce about her past dating life. She recollects one time when a past boyfriend took her on a trip and stalled to miss the last train back. He obviously was looking to spend the night with her; men have ulterior motives when they take their girlfriends on trips.

Having heard this, Soo-young thinks back to Min-seok’s proposal to go on a trip. She walks out of the bathroom and jumps back in surprise when she runs into Min-seok. He tells her that he’s been thinking about their trip and suggests that they go to Nami Island. His suggestion to go to an island raises more red flags, and Soo-young rushes away.

While preparing herself some coffee, Soo-young thinks about Min-seok’s motives in taking her on a trip. Dae-han approaches her and starts a conversation that she doesn’t hear, as she’s too busy in her own head. She walks away without acknowledging him, and he nods that he’s once again ignored.

Soo-young resorts to the internet for the answer to her question, and people respond saying that the guy must have other reasons for taking her on a trip to an island. They warn her that all men are wolves and advise that she go out to get some lingerie. She gasps in surprise and looks back to Min-seok, who’s drawing hearts on his window for her. Ha.

Min-seok gets an email from Coach with a detailed analysis of their upcoming opponents, but he slams his laptop closed when Jin-woo unexpectedly walks in. Jin-woo hands him some files for work and tells him to look them over. Before he leaves, he asks Min-seok to delay their meeting next week, and Min-seok quickly agrees, wanting Jin-woo out of his office.

Jin-woo meets with Director Nam to discuss his progress on investigating Min-seok. He updates that things didn’t go as planned, but he’s sure that Min-seok is hiding something. It’s only a matter of time…

Min-seok and Soo-young go out for some street food, and they have a cute moment where Min-seok wipes the ddukbokki off of Soo-young’s face. As they reach Soo-young’s house, she quickly tries to send him off, saying that he should rest up for their trip tomorrow. She pretends to head home, and as soon as Min-seok is out of sight, she’s off…

To the lingerie store, where she checks out some of the lacy undergarments because they’re “interesting.” She stands in front of a mirror with one and takes off her glasses with flair, only to hide away in embarrassment when someone pops out of the dressing room. HA.

Min-seok tells his friends that he’s going to an island, and they automatically assume that he’s got some other motives going on. Their eyes drop down, and Min-seok hits them for their obscene thoughts. But they claim that they’re the normal ones and continue to tease Min-seok.

Continuing their conversation as they eat, Min-seok assures them that he’s 18 years old; he couldn’t even if he wanted to. Duk-hwan continues with his fantasies and plays girlfriend-boyfriend with Tae-seok. Min-seok shakes his head at their representation, and they quickly laugh off the conversation like the immature boys they are.

At Comfo, Team Leader Kim complains to Director Han that he’s canceling their arrangement to get drinks today. Team Leader Kim says that if he cancels, he has to go home and take care of the kids. So Director Han hands him an envelope, which appeases Team Leader Kim until he realizes that it’s a mere 5,000 won coupon.

Jin-woo watches this whole interaction from behind and thinks back to what he overheard by the bathrooms – Min-seok assuring that he won’t get caught. Jin-woo slyly invites Team Leader Kim for drinks, saying he was canceled on last minute as well.

Soo-young packs her new lingerie and proceeds to wax her legs just as Yoo-ah walks in. She hides her bag, but Yoo-ah looks at her suspiciously. She’s not going to spend the night, is she? Flustered, Soo-young shoos Yoo-ah away and runs to the bathroom to take care of the waxing.

Team Leader Kim takes Jin-woo out for drinks and tells him that he’s honored to be invited by Jin-woo, who asks him to drop the formalities. As Team Leader Kim reaches his drunken state, he addresses Jin-woo informally and pinches his cheeks; on the other hand, Jin-woo begins his investigation.

He asks what Hyung-seok was like in high school, and Team Leader Kim starts giving him unclear and conflicting descriptions because he’s switching between thinking about Min-seok and Hyung-seok. Thankfully, Team Leader Kim doesn’t give away any secrets but he throws a fuss about how frustrating Hyung-seok is.

Jin-woo’s plan goes awry, as he ends up piggybacking a drunk Team Leader Kim to grab a taxi. Team Leader Kim bites Jin-woo’s head and insists on a second round, but Jin-woo sends him off.

In his room, Min-seok looks up places to go on the island. Dad walks in and assumes that he’s watching porn but nods in understanding. He asks Min-seok to go grocery shopping with him tomorrow on his day off, but Min-seok claims to have hockey training again.

Soo-young struggles to sleep through the excitement for the next day, and she even sees Min-seok in her dreams, where he approaches her seductively. Soo-young wakes up a couple times, slapping herself, laughing, and eventually falling asleep. Thanks to her inventive imagination, Soo-young wakes up late the next morning, but nevertheless, the two are off on their first trip.

Once they arrive at Namiseom, Min-seok asks what Soo-young wants to do first. She still seems pretty sensitive about this whole trip, but soon enough, they’re running to their first destination hand in hand.

Min-seok is asked for his ID at the bike rental station, and he begins to take his out until he realizes that he can’t – that would reveal his true age. He claims to have forgotten his at home and grabs Soo-young’s ID. In her picture, she looks chubbier, and after a moment of silence, Min-seok laughs that she looks cute.

And so their date begins with bike rides, frolicking, and taking pictures. They roam around like any other couple, freely enjoying the pleasures of the landscape and running around for their cute mini photo shoot.

As they walk through the trees, Min-seok notices the pensions. He comments on how cute and similar they all look while Soo-young’s mind races about why he’s mentioning pensions. Min-seok wants to take a picture of them with his phone, but he can’t find it.

Soo-young’s mind automatically goes to Sang-hee’s conversation in the bathroom about how her former boyfriend pretended to lose his wallet, buying time to stay on the island. She looks at Min-seok with dubious eyes as he tries to remember where he lost his phone.

They end up running back to the restaurant where they ate, but the employee tells them that his phone is nowhere to be seen. Soo-young offers to call his phone just in case, and sure enough, Min-seok’s phone is in his backpack. This confirms Soo-young’s suspicions, and she’s sure that Min-seok will find another reason to stay behind.

Min-seok drags her along to take one last picture with a couple statue, and he comments that the guy approaching them looks very similar to Assistant Park. Lo and behold, it is Assistant Park! He lives on the island and walks around them, thankfully not noticing the two. Min-seok cannot believe the coincidence and walks away alone in shock.

Realizing that the last boat departure time is nearing, he grabs Soo-young and runs. They make it onto the last boat, and although Min-seok looks relieved, Soo-young looks pretty disappointed. She thinks back to Sang-hee’s conversation and the internet advice, which both reach the same conclusion: If the guy doesn’t try to stay behind, he doesn’t find you appealing as a woman.

On the train ride back, Soo-young sits with her sunglasses on and doesn’t interact with Min-seok. He tries to rest his head on her shoulder, but she rejects that as well. At the station, Min-seok tries to figure out what’s wrong, but she doesn’t tell him.

Duk-hwan and Tae-seok are hanging out at Tae-seok’s Chinese restaurant, but they’ve ordered Chinese delivery from another place. Haha, what?! Speaking in Chinese, the delivery guy says that this restaurant looks like it’ll close down pretty soon.

Just as they’re about to dig in, Duk-hwan gets an S.O.S. call from Min-seok, who still can’t figure out what’s wrong. Duk-hwan seems to figure it out just as Soo-young walks out of the bathroom. Min-seok follows her out and apologizes. More specifically, for taking the last selfie with his face pulled back to look much smaller than hers. Ha, if only the problem were as simple as that.

Soo-young begins to walk away, but Min-seok grabs her bag. It falls, and he discovers her secretly packed undergarments. She claims that they’re just scarves, but Min-seok finally realizes what’s going on. It doesn’t make it any better that Soo-young is confirming all of his suspicions as she’s trying to explain that she did not prepare to stay overnight.

Min-seok is speechless and stares at her, frozen in shock. Soo-young tries to defend her claims but eventually tells him the truth. She prepared to stay the night because that’s what everyone told her. She asks Min-seok is she’s even a woman in his eyes. “Why do you like me? Why are you dating me?” Mortified at her confession, she walks off.

Only after she walks off does Min-seok break into a smile. He chases after her and assures her that he does like her. He’s been controlling his nerves the whole trip and jokingly asks if he should just lose control.

He opens up his arms, and Soo-young jumps in. She cries out in embarrassment, but Min-seok reassures her that he’s crazy for her. Soo-young gets out of the hug, claiming that she’s hot, but Min-seok sneaks in a back hug before leading her to a cooler place – the ice rink.

As Min-seok skates around in his natural habitat, Soo-young comments on how he’s good at everything and that he should try hockey. Min-seok lies that he doesn’t really like hockey and proceeds to teach Soo-young how to skate. They have a nice little date at the ice rink, enjoying each other’s company.

Afterwards, Min-seok brings Soo-young a warm drink and they talk on a mat set up on the ice. Why they don’t just sit on the bleachers is beyond me, but I guess it does look nice with the ice rink in the background. Soo-young compliments Min-seok and says that he’s pretty savvy, and in response, he tells her that she’s pretty tiring. He always needs to look out for her. Aww.

Min-seok notes that Soo-young seems pretty good at skating. She explains that her father taught her when she was young. That brings up the topic of family, and she says that Dad passed away when she was in high school and that she’s been living with her sister in Seoul for the past eight years.

Soo-young asks about Min-seok’s family and the hyung he mentioned. Min-seok confirms that he has a hyung and adds that although they look alike, their personalities are completely different. He lets it slip that he misses his hyung but quickly corrects himself, saying that he wants to introduce him to Soo-young.

He then asks about what Soo-young was like when she was younger. Was she odd like she is now? Or was she cute and pretty like she is now? She says that she was just an ordinary girl with no special talents, but she also didn’t really work hard in school. She kind of just spaced out. Min-seok agrees that he can see that and gets asked about his younger self. He hesitates, but she assumes that he was cute back then (or technically, now).

It’s the next morning, and the two seem to have fallen asleep on the ice rink. They wake up shivering and sneezing, so Min-seok takes Soo-young out to get some warm soup.

Jin-woo arrives at work on a Sunday to take care of business, except it’s not his business. He heads to the retail team office, ready to dig in.

At the restaurant, Soo-young says that she has to head home to her sister, but Min-seok tells her to sit down. He notices that she seems to be quite careful around her sister, and Soo-young admits that although her sister is younger, she seems like an unni. When the food comes out, the lady gives them salted shrimp, but they both refuse because of allergies. They’re amazed at this similarity and bond over the allergic reactions they get.

Meanwhile, Jin-woo is snooping around in Min-seok’s office. He sits in Min-seok’s chair and opens up his laptop. There’s nothing special in his email, except for the hockey opponents analysis sent in recently by Coach, which throws Jin-woo off. He assumes it’s a hobby, but just as he’s about to close the laptop, the notification bell rings. It’s a new email from the real Hyung-seok, titled, “It’s been too long, hasn’t it? It’s hyung.”

Jin-woo’s hand hovers over the mouse, while Min-seok happily steals food from Soo-young’s bowl. He looks confused but intent on solving this mystery. And he’s only one click away.

 
COMMENTS

Oh man, things are going down. If Jin-woo doesn’t find out now, he’s at least going to have a fine-tuned radar to catch all of Min-seok’s mistakes. Now that we’re here, I wonder how Jin-woo will react to the secret. Use it to his advantage? Kick him out? Flip a coin? Either way, it’s time for our doe-eyed rival to step up his game in both his work and personal life. And maybe even disturb his cool professional demeanor by overlapping the two.

That’s exactly what our main couple is doing and it’s freakin’ adorable. But I’ve got to admit, they are so unrealistically cute. And while that does bother me a bit (I criiinge), I think that the mawkishness is intended. It’s only fitting that our strange and quirky mashup gets the weirdest factor of cute. Or the intention could be to cover up the elephant in the room that only started to get addressed in this episode: the age gap. It’s news to nobody that the age gap has been the one strikingly uncomfortable factor in this whole romance. And while nothing illegal was done, the elephant still hasn’t been properly addressed because just like smoochies can cure injured arms, cutesy romantic hijinks can cover up the elephant. We’ll have to wait it out to see how this whole matter unfolds.

Regarding the whole island trip fiasco, I don’t necessarily agree with how Soo-young reacted, but these things are to be taken lightly – it’s a rom-com after all – and it was quite humorous to see the progression of the reactions. The bigger the expectations, the bigger the disappointment, and though her fall was far from graceful, Min-seok was still there to embrace her in the end. I’m really enjoying how this love line is playing out, since we’re seeing many more similarities between the two. Their talk at the ice rink revealed that they understand each other emotionally, as they’ve both experienced loss.

They also seem to be at a similar mental age. It’s funny yet sad that Soo-young admits that Yoo-ah seems like her unni because although it’s ironically true, that makes Yoo-ah one step farther from being at Min-seok’s level. The scene with Soo-young’s call and Yoo-ah’s text to Min-seok basically revealed to us that Yoo-ah is pretty much out of the running. Again, the bigger the expectations, the bigger the disappointment, and I can see Yoo-ah falling hard. Ouch.

Now about our love triangle… I think it’s safe to say that a case of Second Lead Syndrome is creeping up on me right now. Maybe it’s the age thing that’s still bothering me with the main pairing, but I still want to see Soo-young and Jin-woo work out. It’s entirely Jin-woo’s fault for being an ass, but I want him to fall for Soo-young again, this time with genuine interest. He has so much potential to grow throughout the show, and I hope he’s not wasted as a flat jerk character with family issues. We’ve already seen the depth he’s capable of, and if anything, he has so much pretty. I mean, look at him, he’s so adorable you just want to pinch his cheeks.

This is the first time I felt a bit of absence from our minor characters, but I understand the trade-off. More romance means less character time, which has both its benefits and downfalls. While I want the romance game to stay strong, I’m hoping to see more of our very important minor characters as we go forward. Where was Gramps? I need more of Gramps! It was telling that the romance was taking over Min-seok’s priorities in the scene where Dad invites him to go grocery shopping; the excuse is always “hockey training.” Despite the absence, I feel that we’re coming back around to the focus of family, especially with Hyung-seok’s reappearance and Dad’s looming storyline. Maybe it’s a sign that Min-seok can return to his normal life soon, though I would argue that it’s too late for that. The damage is already done.

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