My Absolute Boyfriend: Episodes 11-12

by LollyPip

More about the past is revealed, explaining a lot about certain characters’ actions and motivations. A lot that was murky and confusing now begins to make sense, but the revelations also open up even more questions. Meanwhile, our cheerful lovebot learns about life from his “Girlfriend,” but he seems destined to teach the humans around him what it truly means to love someone.

 
EPISODES 11-12 RECAP

When Da-da giggles at Young-gu and calls him cute, he insists that he’s not cute — he’s a man. She asks what that’s supposed to mean, so Young-gu leans very close and asks her, “Do you really want to know?” Yet again, Da-da backs out of range and scoffs that she most certainly does not, but Young-gu smiles, knowing better.

Wang-joon goes to his meeting about the second season of his popular android drama, and he’s asked why he changed his mind after originally declining. Eun-dong lies that they were worried about Wang-joon getting typecast, but then the first season became such a hit. Wang-joon tells the director to watch his temper this time around, and he says he’ll only do it on one condition.

Da-da wakes to find Young-gu powering her electric kettle, and he says she can save on electricity by using him as a power source, so she jokingly called him “Ninekachu,” after the electrically-charged Pokemon, Pikachu. She asks teasingly if they’ll become rich this way, and Young-gu has a fit of the giggles over her use of the familiar “we.”

Young-gu spots a sale on bean sprouts in Da-da’s junk mail and fixates on buying some to save more money. They head to the store, Young-gu warning Da-da very seriously not to do any impulse shopping. There’s only one bag of sprouts left, and Young-gu grabs it at the same time as a shopping ajumma.

She starts to yell that she grabbed it first… until she looks at his face and simpers at him. When Young-gu returns with the sprouts, Da-da asks if his face is a weapon, but he says in confusion that his face isn’t sharp, hee.

Da-da keeps trying to put her favorites in the shopping cart, but Young-gu blocks her every time. He overhears an employee being threatened with firing if her product doesn’t sell out, and he asks Da-da why the employee was nice to her boss to his face but cursed him out after he left. She just says that people have to do that or they’ll die of frustration.

They pass two women gossiping nastily about a husband who’s out of work, calling him a “baeksu” (jobless in Korean) and sneering that he’s leeching off his wife. Young-gu listens, looking like their judgmental comments upset him.

He finds Da-da staring at a life-sized cutout of Wang-joon advertising coffee and asks her why she looks unhappy. She says it’s nothing, but Young-gu notes the cutout of Wang-joon and flips it backwards, ha. As they leave the store, Young-gu tells Da-da how much she saved by not impulse buying, but he hands her a box of her favorite snacks, saying that they can afford a few things she likes.

He asks what a baeksu is, so she explains that a voluntary baeksu eats but doesn’t work, while an involuntary baeksu does the same but doesn’t want to. Young-gu asks which one he is, and Da-da quips that he’s a born baeksu, ha. He asks if she wants to live with a jobless boyfriend, but she only says that she’s also a baeksu at the moment.

She gets a call from the Doctor AlphaGo director, telling her to come to the station quickly. Young-gu wants to go with her, but she says that only authorized employees can get in the building and sends him home. The director called in Kyu-ri and Yoo-jin as well, and they all wonder what kind of trouble they’re in.

Yoo-jin notices that Da-da looks a lot less depressed today, and Kyu-ri brings up her ring again. Yoo-jin almost screams in shock when Da-da uses her phone without needing her gloves, and he asks if she’s cured of breaking electrical devices.

The director arrives, looking very grouchy, but it’s good news… he asks them to work on Doctor AlphaGo 2, which starts filming right away. Da-da and her team are confused, and the director says he doesn’t understand either, but that Wang-joon insisted. Wang-joon himself walks by, and he gives Da-da this look, all sweetness and hope.

On his way home, Young-gu is asked to participate in a promotion where the winner gets a new car. He has to throw a dart onto a spinning wheel and hit a very tiny target area, and after carefully making the calculations, Young-gu throws the dart. He misses the free car by a millimeter, but grins that the tickets he wins for a Han River cruise are the prize he was really after.

Da-da speaks to Wang-joon privately and asks him why he’s doing this sequel when his character died at the end of the first season, but Wang-joon just says there are lots of special effects in the second season. He asks her to dinner at their favorite restaurant, saying that he needs to talk to her about something important. Da-da declines, but Wang-joon says he’ll be waiting.

Young-gu surprises Da-da when she leaves the station, and presents her with the tickets he won. The cruise is at the same time that Wang-joon said he’d wait for her, but she leaves for the cruise with Young-gu.

When Yeo-woong takes Wang-joon home, she suggests that they call the police about the black boxes. Wang-joon says he’ll handle it, and that he’s going to tell Da-da the truth tonight because he’s afraid they’ll drift apart. Yeo-woong asks why he broke up if he was just going to change his mind, and Wang-joon admits that he was a coward, but vows that he won’t be one anymore.

He shows up at the restaurant, wearing his couple ring again and bringing along the engagement ring he bought for Da-da. Meanwhile, she’s about to board the riverboat, but Young-gu notices that she’s upset and distracted. She tells him that she’ll be back soon, and hurries off.

Bo-won stumbles down the sidewalk, calling feebly for Zero-Nine. He’s suffering through the pain of injuries caused by dodging a car, but unable to go to the hospital for fear of being caught. He gets dizzy and ends up in Yeo-woong’s headlights, and passes out even though she stops just in time.

In a cute recreation of Da-da and Young-gu’s first encounter, Yeo-woong drags Bo-won into the van and goes frantically searching for a hospital. Bo-won wakes and gasps that he can’t go to a hospital, making Yeo-woong scream and curse him out for scaring her. She nearly gets in an accident, spinning the van in circles and setting off the airbags, ha.

While Wang-joon waits for Da-da, he gets the call that Yeo-woong was in an accident. He rushes to the hospital, creating a stir among the nurses, so when Da-da arrives at the restaurant only a few minutes after the arranged time, he’s not there.

Yeo-woong sobs to Wang-joon that the “homeless guy,” who’s unconscious again, jumped out in front of her, but that it’s not too serious. Wang-joon fusses at Yeo-woong for worrying him, making her think he actually cares about her, but he makes it sound like it’s all about his image.

Da-da waits at the restaurant until the waiter informs her that they’re closing soon. Wang-joon calls her as she’s leaving, but she says there’s no need to apologize, lying that she didn’t show up and claiming that she never will. She asks him not to seek her out on the drama site, then hangs up on him.

She goes home, but the house is empty. Young-gu is still waiting for her at the river, and when an employee tells him they’re closed, he says stubbornly that he was told to wait here. Da-da finally shows, but she’s not at all happy with Young-gu — she yells at him for waiting until after closing time, saying that if the person doesn’t return, you’re supposed to go home.

Young-gu just says sweetly, “But we could have missed each other on the way. Are you mad at me, Girlfriend? I’m really sorry.” Da-da says that he’s the one who’s supposed to be mad at her for breaking her word, but he points out that even though she was late, she did return for him. Realizing that he’s right, Da-da apologizes, and Young-gu wipes her tears away.

Still at the hospital, Yeo-woong takes another look at Bo-won and wonders if he’s actually homeless. Eun-dong comes to see her about the accident, and they argue over who should drive Wang-joon and his nasty temper around while Yeo-woong recuperates. Yeo-woong says that Eun-dong should do it, and he caves despite his dread of Wang-joon’s complaints.

They learn that Bo-won woke up and took off, but HA, he left behind a dirt smudge on the sheets in the shape of a heart. He vaguely remembers Yeo-woong princess-carrying him into the emergency room screaming for help, and yay, I’m shipping it!

Young-gu tries to cheer up Da-da by making her a nice candlelit dinner featuring the bean sprouts they bought on sale. He even surprises her with something sweet for dessert, and Da-da’s mood instantly lifts.

He asks what they should do tomorrow, but Da-da tells him that she’s gotten a new job working on a drama. She doesn’t seem sure about whether it’s a good idea, but she’s determined to do it anyway, and not run away.

Da-da feels bad about the river cruise tickets going to waste, so she shows Young-gu a little toy cruise ship she made with her dad when she was young. She says it was the first time her dad complimented her on being good with her hands, even though it doesn’t really float.

Young-gu turns on the computer and finds an ocean scene, and he holds up the little boat so that it looks like it’s sailing, Da-da apologizes for missing out on the cruise, but he says that being with her now is enough for him. They realize that they’re sitting very close, but Da-da still pulls away, saying that he’s so kind even when she’s mean to him.

He says of course he is, “Because I love you.” Da-da goes to her room to calm her pounding heart, where she notices that the stone in her ring is glowing pink, for love. She goes back to Young-gu and tells him the ring is broken, because she doesn’t love him — she just likes that he’s near when she’s going through a hard time.

She tells Young-gu to stop being nice to her, because she can’t love anyone again and she doesn’t want to be hurt by love. She says he should stop liking her and goes back to her room, and Young-gu almost knocks on the door, but he changes his mind. He sees the script for Doctor AlphaGo 2 in her bag, which lists Wang-joon as the lead actor.

Over at Diana’s mansion, Diana reminds her employee, Director Park, why she doesn’t like humans — because they lie. She says that the men from Kronos Heaven lied to her, and when Director Park asks why she didn’t punish them, Diana says that it’s more fun to torture them slowly.

She wonders what really happened to her toy, but she tells Director Park not to look into it. Instead, she suggests with a smile that they have a surprise party.

The next morning, Diana saunters into the Kronos Heaven office, chirping that she came to see her toy. Playfully, but in a manner that makes it clear she’s not taking no for an answer, she demands that Director Go open the box that Young-gu should be in.

She slams her prosthetic fist down on his hand and starts to open the box herself, but Director Go thinks fast and redirects her attention to a television screen. He says they took the picture of the boy she sent and aged him up, and the screen reveals Young-gu’s face, which Director Go says isn’t finished yet.

He promises to deliver her robot as soon as possible. Diana tells him ominously that the clock is ticking, and that if he fails to meet the deadline… then she pretends to shoot him and laughs like it’s the funniest thing ever. On her way out, Diana stares at a construction crane near the building, as if something about it upsets her.

Young-gu insists on taking Da-da to work, and she’s surprised that he doesn’t seem upset by the things she said to him last night. She says that a normal person would be avoiding her or angrily pushing her away. But Young-gu says he’s not angry and he doesn’t want to avoid her, because it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t love him — he loves her anyway.

On the ride home, Diana gets on her fancy tablet and pulls up Young-gu’s picture again, musing, “This must be what he would look like right now.” Just then, Young-gu and Da-da walk past her car, but luckily Young-gu’s face is turned towards Da-da so Diana doesn’t get a good look at him.

Young-gu takes Da-da all the way to the TV station, where she reminds him that only authorized employees can go inside. He goes, but he doesn’t seem happy to be leaving her for the whole day.

Eun-dong is working as Wang-joon’s temporary manager while Yeo-woong recovers. Even though he tries to pull rank and make Wang-joon carry some of his own stuff, Wang-joon just tells him to act like a manager and stop slacking, HA. Eun-dong bumps into Young-gu in the lobby, and wonders if he’s a rookie actor with a strong aura like that.

Wang-joon also sees Young-gu, and he finds the river cruise tickets that Young-gu dropped. He scoffs, assuming that Da-da went on the cruise with Young-gu instead of meeting him for dinner. Young-gu realizes that he lost the tickets and goes back inside, where Wang-joon pulls him aside for a talk.

He asks Young-gu if he took Da-da on the river cruise last night, and Young-gu says truthfully that they went there together. Wang-joon grumbles that they “played with a boat,” and again Young-gu takes him literally and says they did play with a boat. Wang-joon reluctantly returns the tickets, and Young-gu leaves.

He passes Eun-dong and overhears him on the phone trying to find someone else to act as Wang-joon’s manager for a month. By the time Da-da gets out of her meeting, Young-gu has a new job that he reports will let him stay with her all day… as Wang-joon’s manager.

 
COMMENTS

Oh, this should be loads of fun, I love me some good healthy jealousy! I keep forgetting that Young-gu doesn’t actually know that Wang-joon is Da-da’s ex – he only knows that she’s had her heart broken recently, and that Wang-joon tries to talk to her a lot, but he hasn’t made the connection yet. It’s going to be hilarious to watch Wang-joon alternately tie himself into knots and act all petty to Young-gu, who will just be his usual, sunny self because he just thinks he got a well-paying job that will let him be near Da-da while she works.

I really find Diana a fascinating character and want to learn more about her. We only get a tiny bit of information each episode, and what we know seems to be painting a picture of a very disturbed, very vindictive young woman. We know she demands loyalty and obedience and absolute truthfulness, and that if she even perceives one of her rules to be broken, she relishes doling out creatively cruel punishment. Last episode we saw that she is missing her right hand and wears a robotic prosthetic, and in this episode we learned that Young-gu’s appearance isn’t a coincidence – he’s an aged-up version of a boy she once knew. My theory is that Diana knew and trusted this boy when they were both young, and that he somehow lied and betrayed her, somehow leading to the loss of her hand. So now she’s ordered a robot that looks like him that she can abuse, because for some reason, the boy himself isn’t available. But why? What happened to him, and what happened to her to make her like this?

One of the changes I really like about the Korean remake of My Absolute Boyfriend is that the second lead was changed from an old friend with a crush, to a long-term former love. It makes the story much more interesting for me that our heroine isn’t simply choosing between a guy she’s never been interested in, and a robot who’s very attractive and interesting, because that never seemed to be much of a choice to me. But Da-da is faced with a pretty big emotional conundrum, because on the one hand, she’s got the handsome, attentive, caring guy who’s perfect other than the fact that he’s not human, and the man she’s loved and planned a future with for most of her adult life. Even after the way Wang-joon treated her, and even though she says she wants nothing more to do with him, it’s pretty clear that Da-da’s resistance to Young-gu’s charms isn’t because he’s not wonderful – it’s because she’s scared to care and get hurt again.

The hard part is that I do think Da-da cares about Young-gu, and she definitely finds him attractive. But her heartbreak is so recent, and Wang-joon keeps popping up and confusing her, so it’s no wonder the poor girl is so angry. Her anger at Young-gu for waiting for her was obviously misplaced anger at herself for weakening and waiting for Wang-joon all night, because although we know he had a good reason for not being there, all Da-da knows is that he flaked on her yet again. It’s interesting that Young-gu is the one who said that not waiting might mean missing each other, because that’s exactly what happened with Da-da and Wang-joon. I have a feeling that his comment about showing up even though she was late will turn out to be prophetic, since Wang-joon may not have realized what he did wrong initially, he knows now and is trying to make up for it.

I know how the story ends in the original, but I think that we’ll get another twist on that in this version. All of the foreshadowing seems to point to Wang-joon learning how to be better about making Da-da feel loved, and Young-gu teaching Da-da how to see situations from different angles and forgive. Every time she gets upset, Young-gu shines a light on the problem and explains how it can be interpreted in a different, more loving way, which I think will end up benefiting Wang-joon in the end. I said previously that Young-gu’s way of loving feels artificial because he has no choice in who and how to love, but I think it would be really meaningful if his ultimate purpose isn’t to love Da-da himself, but to model and teach her and Wang-joon how to love each other better.

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