Running Man: Episode 263

by gummimochi

Enjoying life can be difficult when every day requires a careful balancing act between work and play. This week, our cast will channel their youthful sides, taking up part-time jobs and enlisting the help of college students to celebrate the joys and hardships of being young. You only get one shot at life, so it’s time to seize the day and make the most of it.

EPISODE 263. Broadcast on September 6, 2015.

We jump right into the action in today’s preview with Jae-suk going undercover at a convenience store. The mission: How long can you go without being recognized? Innnteresting.

Then we jump back to today’s opening where our cast sits down for a lovely picnic by the Han River. Jong-kook is again reminded of how he picked up the staff dinner’s bill last week, and when the group is told that they’re college student youths today, Kwang-soo says, “I’m the only youth here!”

That comment is met with a parade of rebuttals: “You’re 31!” “You don’t have a youthful face!”

In accordance with the “Beautiful Youths Race” name, we meet today’s guests: actors Lee Dong-wook and Park Seo-joon, along with Girl’s Day Yura. Seo-joon is practically part of the Running Man family with today being his third appearance, and the last time we saw Dong-wook was in the Macau special over two years ago.

He remembers how he mustered up the courage to do the bungee jump (because he thought it’d make him look cool), only for Han Hye-jin and Ji-hyo to outshine him moments later.

The team breakdown: Blue (Jae-suk, Suk-jin, Gary, Ji-hyo, Dong-wook) vs. Red (Jong-kook, Haha, Kwang-soo, Seo-joon, Yura).

On the bus, the group shares their part-time job stories including drinking spots, shoe stores, and coffee shops. Ji-hyo had been scouted while working at her part-time job, and Yura was scouted after posting her selca on an ulzzang (a term for physical beauties, literally “beautiful face”) internet forum.

The guys melt when Yura shows some aegyo in her satoori accent, pointing out how it’s far more natural than Ji-hyo’s stilted attempt. The group heads inside the convenience store for their first covert mission, the same one we saw in the preview.

Here, they’ll go undercover and work at the register until a customer calls them by their names. Jong-kook is told no, he cannot use force, and it doesn’t count if someone calls them by the wrong name. If five customers come and go without recognizing them, that person succeeds.

They decide that variety nicknames (Big Nose Hyung, Giraffe, Grasshopper) should count as well as “Girl’s Day” for Yura. But then they realize that they’d need to count Gary’s former groups too, like X-Teen and the dance group Smurfs.

And then Jae-suk asks if “Lee Sung-kyung” (Kwang-soo’s character’s love interest in It’s Okay, It’s Love) counts, too.

They figure it might be easier because customers usually don’t look at the employee directly in the eye, but their voices might give them away. Gary, for one, practices his pronunciation (since he’s usually mumbling the ends of his sentences).

Dong-wook is convinced that no one will get his name exactly right: “They think it’s ‘Lee Dong-kook.'” Oh man, now I want somebody to identify him right away with the correct name.

Despite being told that Jong-kook’s biceps are a dead giveaway, he heads down first and takes his position. The others point out how awkward his stance is, but maybe the customers won’t recognize him—who would think to run into a celeb at a neighborhood store, after all?

One customer looks up but then turns away, and Jong-kook silently finishes the transaction. The worker next to him does all the talking, and the second customer leaves as well. When a foreigner walks in, the group can’t believe his luck, but who’s to say that he won’t recognize Spartakooks.

And maybe he does because when Jong-kook confidently readjusts his hat, the guy smiles. But it’s only when the customer says he knows Korean does Jong-kook tense up again. And then he asks for a picture. D’oh!

At the PD’s claim that he failed, Jong-kook said he didn’t say his name. Which is when the guy comes back, “You’re Kim Jong-kook, aren’t you?” Double d’oh!

When Jong-kook comes back upstairs, telling everyone that he had no idea he’d be caught, Gary tells him that it’s safer to assume that any foreigner in Gangnam probably knows Korean.

Suk-jin is up next, and he actually lets out a disappointed sigh when he isn’t recognized right away. But that customer returns… to buy more food. Another customer does a double-take, and everyone waits in bated breath for those magical words… that he doesn’t say.

Suk-jin’s feeling a bit more confident now, but maybe he shouldn’t because his next customer keeps his eyes fixated on him. Everyone reels when Suk-jin drops obvious hints like how today’s his first day and his trademark manner of speech. And then his final group of customers recognize him.

Haha worries that he’s a bit too recognizable, but he’s the most natural out of everyone so far. Still, the customers take a long moment to look back before walking away. Yet Haha is so immersed into his role that he gets his five customers in a flash.

Dong-wook is faced with a lot of female customers, and even though he briefly hides, he too succeeds. Conversely, Jae-suk gets recognized right away and can only let out an awkward laugh.

Kwang-soo looks like half-ape with some tissue stuffed under his upper lip, giving him a good disguise and a sight gag for us. Kwang-soo even spreads his legs to appear shorter, and then someone asks if his back is hurting him.

He soon completes three transactions, then stops to drink some water… with that tissue still in his mouth. He completes the next transaction without it and without bending his legs. But then the last customer peers over… to look at the tiny screen. Win!

For the remaining team members, the group heads over to a cafe in Cheongdamdong, where Gary dons a bob wig. The glasses help his disguise, and the others joke that even the employees don’t recognize him. The best part? It’s true, as the other part-timers whisper to ask who that is.

Not only does he go unrecognized, Gary even brings the customer’s orders to the table. He gets through four orders as well as the last one. Seo-joon is up next, and while the glasses help, it still can’t hide how handsome he is.

Inside the bus, the group points out that the four girls whom Gary served minutes ago are now staring at Seo-joon. Kwang-soo: “People only pay attention to you if you’re good-looking!”

Even though the girls talk amongst themselves, Seo-joon gets through his five orders in a snap. Then a female employee with a bob pops inside—it’s Ji-hyo, followed by Yura moments later.

The girls immerse themselves into their roles as more customers pass through, and the guys remark how Yura dancing in place right now is an attempt to be recognized. Haha: “She’s like Ji Suk-jin of the idol world.”

In the end, both hit their five orders mark, and with the total count of 22 (Blue) to 19 (Red), the Blue Team wins.

For their next mission, each team will tackle three campuses on the west (Blue) and east (Red) sides of Seoul. In the car, the Blue Team wonders what today’s final mission will be, and Dong-wook says he hails from the same hometown as Suk-jin, who asks, “Is that right?” Dong-wook: “We’ve talked about this before.”

The Red Team, meanwhile, talk about how Yura’s legs are so pretty that they’re insured. Seo-joon seems really excited about that, and gets so happy about their four-year age difference. The conversation naturally steers towards exchanging contact information, and how heck, they should have a collective chat room.

The Blue Team arrives at the Ewha Womans University campus and is already met with a crowd. The neighborhood brings back fond memories, but their mission at hand is to recruit a student willing to participate in the final mission.

The Red Team arrives at Sungshin Women’s University, where they recruit a student to play a game with them. Here, all six of them must roll their boards and successfully stick their stickers onto their eggs within one minute to succeed.

Jong-kook starts it off, but then his egg flies off. He manages it to save it though, and a little later Haha gets close, but his egg drops to the ground. On their second try, Yura spins her board around, and the team completes the mission in a cool 45 seconds.

After instructing the student to join them for the final mission later tonight, they ask what Running Man cast member resembles the type of guy she likes. When she says Kwang-soo, he flushes pink. But when they mention that Seo-joon counts too, she changes her mind.

At the same time, the Ewha student helps the Blue Team succeed in the same mission. Both teams gather five people at the next campus, and the Red Team even picks up a CC (a “campus couple”). The girlfriend plays it cool when her boyfriend says Yura is prettier than her, but she has her revenge by happily squealing that Seo-joon is much more handsome.

It’s another relay race, this time with passing the wreath down the line without using their hands within sixty seconds. Both teams pass with flying colors.

At their third campus, the teams recruit ten students each to participate in their next game. The Red Team plays a t-shirt relay race and fail their first attempt. Jong-kook jokingly asks if he should scold them.

Coach Kookie gives out instructions while Kwang-soo nags alongside him. Under Kookie’s watchful eye, the students are much faster and the team succeeds. The Blue Team does too, and they all head back for Yeouido.

Once everyone arrives, the Blue Team gapes at seeing the nine sturdy guys the Red Team has recruited. Whereas everyone for the Blue Team has arrived, the Red Team are missing two, so they use their chance to recruit one more (for winning the undercover part-time job mission). Haha brings over a fellow who studies in the States.

Here, the teams will attempt to push their bar and make one full rotation to win it. Jae-suk tries to boost his team’s morale while Jong-kook talks strategy. As soon as the whistle blows, something weird happens: two opposing sides close together. Hahaha, is the collective strength too much for the set to take?

So the staff come up with an alternative: the classic tug of war. The Red Team’s missing two additions finally arrive, and best out of three wins it.

It’s a struggle for both teams in the first round, but then the Red Team starts getting the upper hand. The center of the rope hovers over the yellow line for a few moments before the Red Team wins the round.

The Blue Team starts to get pulled in during the second round, but in the end, the Red Team wins it anyway. The winning team’s students are given a monetary reward, and Jae-suk offers to take the kiddos out later. Aww, I’m sure the memories made today must count for something.

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