Que Sera Sera: Episode 5

by javabeans

SONG OF THE DAY

Loveholic – “My Dear,” which plays in the opening portion. [ zShare download ]

EPISODE 5 SUMMARY

At work, Eun Soo sees an announcement that interviews are going to be held for special company interns at the department store, and takes note. She’s also a little more conscious about her appearance, in anticipation of her date with Tae Joo.

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Joon Hyuk gets a call from Hye Rin letting him know she’s going on a matchmaking blind date, and asks what he should do — should she marry him? Joon Hyuk can tell she’s needling him on purpose, and tells her to go ahead, marry the guy: “What were you expecting from me? From now on, don’t drag me into your affairs.” Hye Rin: “You really are a mean bastard.”

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Eun Soo and Tae Joo go on their dinner date, and it is TOO CUTE.

Tae Joo: “Do you really like me?”
Eun Soo: “Yes.”
Tae Joo: “Why?”
Eun Soo: “I’m not really sure about that either.”
Tae Joo: “You fell for me because I’m good-looking.”
Eun Soo: “I don’t really think you’re that good-looking. I’ve seen lots of men better-looking than you.”
Tae Joo: “Must be great to have such high standards.”
Eun Soo: “No matter how much I like you, I still have to be objective.”

He tells her she’s got too little pride, and she tells him she actually has a very strong sense of pride. He asks how she can just tell a guy she likes him to his face, then.

Eun Soo: “When you like someone, does saying so hurt your pride?”
Tae Joo: “Generally, yes.”
Eun Soo: “Then… my feelings for you are stronger than my pride.”

Tae Joo acts like it’s nothing, but he smiles at that.

Eun Soo: “But… are we on a date right now? Is this a date?”
Tae Joo: “Think whatever makes you happy.”
Eun Soo: “It’s a date.”

As they’re walking home, Eun Soo takes hold of Tae Joo’s hand, saying it’s something she’s always wanted to do with a guy at the end of a date. She starts swinging their arms back and forth like a kid, and he tells her to stop, but doesn’t let go.

Eun Soo: “Let’s just start dating, Ajusshi. Even if I’m not your type, we only live once. — it’s good to try all sorts of different things.” Tae Joo tells her that he has trouble dating a woman for a long time. If she really wants to go out with him, that’s something she should know — that it won’t last long. He hates a girl clinging to him at the end.

But of course Eun Soo surprises him by saying, “I don’t intend to go out with you for a long time, either. How can you only like one person all your life? I want to date lots and lots.” Tae Joo likes her answer, and Eun Soo tells him that means they’re dating, then.

And as they walk into their apartment building holding hands, they run into Eun Soo’s mother.

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Eun Soo’s mother (whom I recognize as having played the fake mom role in Bad Family) demands to know what Eun Soo’s doing, ignoring her sickly younger sister to go out on a date late at night. She gives Tae Joo the third degree, and we learn the following about him:

He’s 28 years old. His father was a grade school teacher who passed away two years ago, and his mother has been dead for some time. He doesn’t have much in the way of money, and wasn’t left any sort of inheritance to speak of. He’s an only child, but when offered sympathy as a poor orphan who’s lived a lonely life, he replies matter-of-factly, “Life is lonely to begin with. We’re all alone anyway.”

When Eun Soo’s mother asks how deep their relationship is, he answers, “It’s fairly shallow.” She’s happy to hear it, telling Eun Soo she should be more discriminating if she doesn’t want to lead a hard life. Tae Joo asks to be excused, and leaves.

(Btw, I have NO IDEA what Ji Soo’s doing in this scene, but for some inexplicable reason, she seems to be packing a mannequin head into a bag.)

Eun Soo follows Tae Joo to his apartment, and asks him if he’s free next Monday, since she has a day off work. He asks if there’s anything in particular that she wants to do. She doesn’t have a ready answer, so he tells her to think about it, and let him know.

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Hye Rin goes on her matchmaking date at a hotel restaurant and gets along reasonably well with her date. She asks him up front if he’s heard about her unsavory past, and he has heard she used to live with a man when she was abroad. Hye Rin marvels at the speed of flying rumors. Her date doesn’t have a problem with her past — the first blind date who’s said that — saying someone with a pristine past holds no interest. She guesses correctly that he’s not bothered because he’s more interested in her connection to World Department Store, and if she just gives him the role of husband, he won’t mind if she plays around with whomever she likes.

On their way out, the guy suggests it would be fun “talking” with her all night long. “What do you say to having a drink in one of the rooms? It seems we get along well — let’s have a drink in a quiet place.” Hye Rin asks him to wait a moment, and makes a phone call:

“Mom, the guy you set me up with wants to sleep with me. What should I do? See, this is why you should stop spreading those rumors about me. Guys think I’m easy.” Hye Rin hangs up, and tells her date: “My mom says not to sleep with you.”

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Tae Joo gets a text message from Eun Soo saying she thought of something she wants to do on her day off — ride one of those boats on the Han River.

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Eun Soo goes on her job interview, following an impressive candidate who expresses her views on brand-name consumption patterns and sales volume in English. When it’s her turn, one interviewer asks what skills she has: “Anything’s okay — a dance or a song would be fine. Show us something.”

So Eun Soo gets up and sings a children’s song, complete with hand motions and off-key intonation. The interviewers look irritated, except Joon Hyuk, who’s amused.

However, when she’s asked about the concept of the company’s No Brand Shop, she provides a thoughtful answer that impresses the interviewer. While one concern is that the sale of lower-brand or lower-price products would hinder the sale of the luxury brands, Eun Soo says she doesn’t think that would be a problem. When goods are sold at a low price, people are more likely to buy two when normally they’d buy one, and people who buy luxury brands would buy them regardless, so the two issues are not at odds with each other.

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Hye Rin and her associates take out Tae Joo and his hyung for an expensive dinner in appreciation for their work on her show, and then to a club. Now on friendlier terms, Hye Rin asks Tae Joo how things are going — is living life fun? He’s got no complaints, and wonders about her — does she find life fun? She responds, “Not really. What’s your secret?” Tae Joo tells her there’s no use in getting torn up about things like arranged marriages or whatnot. And if she really can’t stand it, she could try dating.

Hye Rin: “Does that make life more enjoyable?”
Tae Joo: “Of course.”
Hye Rin: “How can you be so sure?”
Tae Joo: “Don’t you know about the joy of love?”
Hye Rin: “Is joy all there is to it?”
Tae Joo: “Just as long as you don’t get in too deep. Getting too involved gets you hurt.”

This may be the first friendly conversation they’ve had, and probably marks a turning point. Hye Rin is, for once, honest and simple. She tells him, “I envy you… I mean it.”

She walks off to dance, and as Tae Joo walks around, she catches his eye. It may just be me, but I got the feeling he’s started to regard her in a different light…

Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweetest Escape” plays as Eun Soo works, and isn’t a very important song in the scheme of things, but hey, it’s a fun song. [ zShare download ]

Eun Soo tries to get in touch with Tae Joo over the next few days, but with no luck. She finds herself waiting for Tae Joo and glued to her cell phone (I can feel her pain; I’ve totally been that girl) and finally leaves a pleading voicemail message (but thankfully I haven’t done this):

“Ajusshi, why aren’t you answering your phone? Please call me. It’s so frustrating, I think I’m going crazy. Surely nothing bad has happened, right? Where have you disappeared, without a word? Do you remember the date you made with me? If you don’t keep our date, I’m really not going to forgive you.”

Meanwhile, Tae Joo has been ignoring her calls, and takes his new shiny convertible (bought courtesy of Hye Rin, it seems) for a spin…

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On date night, Eun Soo’s relieved and ecstatic to see Tae Joo arrive at the dock and throws herself at him with a hug. She was worried he’d gotten into trouble, or died.

Keane’s song “Bedshaped” plays (you’ll recognize it after the long 30-second intro), as they run to catch the boat… [ zShare download ]

Unfortunately, they miss the boat (literally and figuratively), which was the last one of the night.

“Sweet Is the Melody” by Aselin Debison [ zShare download ]

Instead, they watch the boat from a restaurant overlooking the river. Eun Soo’s disappointed, and Tae Joo tries to play it off, saying the boats are no fun anyway. Eun Soo asks why he left, and he answers that he was busy thinking over a lot of things.

Eun Soo: “What kinds of things?”
Tae Joo: “That this just isn’t going to work out, you and me. We haven’t even done anything, and it’s a bit sudden to say this now, but in any case it seems we ought to stop here.”
Eun Soo: “What are you saying?”
Tae Joo: “Let’s treat this like it never happened. You can’t force a person’s feelings. Because you said you liked me so much, I thought I’d give it a try, but ultimately it won’t work. So from now on, don’t leave messages asking why I’m not calling, and don’t worry about whether I’m okay. Got it?”

Eun Soo objects, saying they’ve barely even dated — how can they stop now? Tae Joo tells her that’s why it’s better to put an end to it now, before her feelings grew stronger.

Eun Soo: “What do you dislike about me?”
Tae Joo: “I don’t dislike you.”
Eun Soo: “Then did I do something wrong?”
Tae Joo: “No.”
Eun Soo: “Then why…”
Tae Joo: “I don’t see you as a woman. You only need that one reason for a relationship not to work.”

She asks why he agreed to date her then, and he says it’s because she was bothering him so much. After taking a moment to digest that, Eun Soo tells him: “Okay. Let’s treat it like it didn’t happen. I’m sorry for bothering you.”

Tae Joo looks uncomfortable — I’m not sure if it’s merely because he feels bad for hurting her feelings, or if he’s lying to her about not feeling anything for her, in order to make his decision easier.

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Eun Soo takes her lunch break in the quiet backstage area of one of the store’s big halls. In a really great scene of silent acting, which I don’t want to ruin by over-explaining, Eun Soo texts her sister that she was accepted as an employee, gets a “congrats!” text back, and cries when she should be smiling.

Joon Hyuk happens to hear her, and asks her what she’s doing there, when a light falls from the rafters. It’s headed for Joon Hyuk, but Eun Soo pushes him away and it hits her square in the head. Honestly, it looks incredibly painful. She’s knocked down, but surprisingly, she doesn’t seem hurt.

He takes her to the hospital anyway for a CT scan, which she says was unnecessary. She has an incredibly strong head — she even used to break bricks as a kid. Joon Hyuk’s just relieved she’s okay — his head isn’t nearly as strong, and he’d have been seriously injured, so he owes her a debt of gratitude.

However, he’s distracted by a newspaper, whose front page is splashed with huge headlines stating: “Second Generation Chaebol Designer Cha Hye Rin! On Secret Love Vacation!” Accompanying it is a picture of Hye Rin and Tae Joo, poolside, cozy and lover-like.

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At the resort itself, Hye Rin and Tae Joo appear to be happy lovers, while paparazzi hide in the bushes to take pictures. However, the moment they step inside an empty elevator, the two split and barely look at each other.

The reports are all over the Internet, and Hye Rin calls Joon Hyuk to pretend to be sorry it happened. She tells him now that she’s becoming more famous, she’ll have to adjust to this level of inquisitiveness into her private life. She also asks him for a favor, on behalf of the guy she loves.

On the other end of the line, Joon Hyuk listens, and I think there’s a very deliberate reason they don’t give us a clear shot of his face. All we have is this blurry image to reflect how he feels:

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At home, Eun Soo goes all Felicity and has her mother perm her hair. Oh, honey. It didn’t work for Felicity, and it’s not going to work for you.

At the office, Hye Rin brings in Tae Joo to meet with Joon Hyuk about a job. She praises his skills and he answers Joon Hyuk’s questions pretty well. Eun Soo is sent to supply tea for the guests, and as she’s uneasy with seeing Tae Joo there, she drops the tray and spills the tea everywhere. Tae Joo’s surprised and tries to talk to her, but she doesn’t answer him. Hye Rin dismisses her, and shortly after, Joon Hyuk asks to speak to Hye Rin alone, so he can express his disapproval.

Joon Hyuk suspects this is all a lie, but Hye Rin tells him she’s merely fallen in love. That’s all this is. Joon Hyuk had Tae Joo checked out, and he’s not suitable for her. Hye Rin: “You can’t always fall in love with people you think are suitable.” She says she loves Tae Joo, and she won’t let go of her love so easily this time.

Tae Joo waits outside, and sees Eun Soo in her new cubicle. He calls her on her cell phone, and uses the same joking/gently mocking tone he used to use, making fun of her hair. He asks her a string of questions, but she remains silent.

He continues: “In any case, it seems we’ll be seeing each other often from now on. I’m going to be working here now.”