Who Are You: Episode 10

by javabeans

I don’t think I can overstate how much I LOVE JEALOUS SEUNG HYO.

I think the whole jealousy thing is one of those common female fantasies — a pain in the ass in real life, but for some reason so much fun in fiction.

And, the rules evolve yet again!

SONG OF THE DAY

Beautiful Days – “소년소녀 만나다” (Boy meets girl) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 10 RECAP

Seung Hyo adds himself to the party without asking permission. I think he’s actually enjoying how his normally rude personality allows him to be extra-rude to Jae Ha here. Conversely, Jae Ha has the opposite problem — if he doesn’t want to ruin his nice-guy image in front of Young In, he has to keep his cool.

I love how these guys talk to each other because it’s such a macho showdown but they’re so “proper” on the outside. Seung Hyo in particular is totally rude to Jae Ha, and yet at the same time his words are so formal that it’s a funny mix.

Jae Ha asks for Seung Hyo’s destination so they can drop him off first, which traps Seung Hyo, who doesn’t know where Young In is headed. She prods, “Where do you want us to drop you off?” and Seung Hyo takes issue to the reference to herself and Jae Ha as “us.” Seung Hyo gets Jae Ha back by “politely” offering to disembark at Young In’s destination, so there’s no need for an extra stop.

Il Gun explains to the Reaper that Young Ae figured out that he’s (sometimes) Seung Hyo; plus, Seung Hyo can see him and knows the truth. Therefore, he asks, would it be okay to come clean about his situation?

The Reaper doesn’t deny him permission; he merely reminds him that Il Gun is already dead. For his forty-nine days, he’s borrowing Seung Hyo, and even when he’s in the body, he must still be Seung Hyo. Would he selfishly tell his loved ones he’s back, then hurt them when he leaves again? The Reaper advises him to entrust Seung Hyo to carry out his family-related issues, and cautions: Il Gun can do whatever he wants with his three daily hours, but it’s Seung Hyo who will decide what to do with the forty-nine days. Il Gun doesn’t understand what that means, and the Reaper doesn’t explain.

Some time later, Seung Hyo is still peeved over Young In’s use of the word “us.” Jae Ha starts to find the situation amusing, and asks Young In if the guy she was talking about earlier is who he thinks it is. (In Episode 9, he teased her about a boyfriend, and she responded that he was “just a guy.”) Jae Ha tells her that the guy’s not great boyfriend material — let him remain “just a guy” to her.

That gets Seung Hyo’s attention. Not knowing Jae Ha is referring to him, Seung Hyo tells her, “You shouldn’t have a boyfriend right now, or ‘just a guy’ either. Don’t meet anybody.”

Jae Ha suggests doing something fun tomorrow after their trip to the police station, and Seung Hyo listens in aggravation as Young In excitedly agrees. She suggests a trip to the beach.

Seung Hyo asks to bum a cigarette, to which Jae Ha responds that he doesn’t smoke. Seung Hyo answers that he doesn’t either, but the cigarettes on the dashboard look unusual. Without missing a beat, Jae Ha answers that they must have been left behind by a friend, although he starts to look nervous.

Arriving at their destination, Jae Ha surreptitiously signals to Ho Joong (Gangster #3), who’s lurking in the shadows, to stay back. It’s not clear what’s going on, but whatever it was, Seung Hyo’s unexpected presence has thrown a wrench into their plan.

Seung Hyo stays outside while the other two go in, loitering without a definite plan. Ho Joong approaches him for a light, pretending to be a random stranger. Seung Hyo doesn’t recognize him, but he does notice the black cigarette he smokes.

Young In is welcomed to her new space, which is Deok’s rented room (I think Sooki lives with her own family). They’ll be sharing the space, with Deok either sleeping on the floor or outside.

Sooki asks in a loud whisper what her relationship to Jae Ha is; Young In answers that it’s nothing. Jae Ha told her straight out that he doesn’t even see her as a woman. Jae Ha comments that he didn’t know she felt so put out by his statement, so if she wants, “I’ll start seeing you as a woman from now on.”

When Young In walks Jae Ha back to his car, they’re surprised to see Seung Hyo still there. It’s obvious he’s determined to stick around till Jae Ha leaves, and he does.

Unfortunately for him, he blurts the wrong thing, which is, “What’s your relationship with Shin Jae Ha?” Not bothering to answer, Young In tells him good night, and goes back inside to her friends, who ask if she’s all fluttery from what Jae Ha said (about seeing her as a woman). Young In answers, “I dunno. It was good to hear, but I’m not feeling butterflies over it.”

Just then, Seung Hyo bangs on the door and enters. And immediately notices Deok and asks who he is. Deok answers, “I live here,” prompting Seung Hyo to jump to the conclusion that he’s the one Jae Ha was referring to. Seung Hyo scolds her for her recklessness in going from one man’s home to another. Doesn’t she have a girlfriend she can stay with? Sooki explains that Deok IS one of the girls.

Sooki and Deok leave to give the two some privacy, while Young In grows annoyed at Seung Hyo’s continued presence. He tells her he has five things to say:

Seung Hyo: “First. I wasn’t hugging her earlier. I was only holding her arm to help her up. Second. I really didn’t get you fired from your job. Third. I’m saying this again, but I think you should be careful with Shin Jae Ha. Fourth. In keeping with that, don’t go to the beach tomorrow. If you look at it for a long time it’s just half water. Why go somewhere like that anyway? Do you have that much free time? Lastly. I see your father. I’m the only one who sees him, and he follows me around.”

At that, Young In spits out her food all over Seung Hyo. Not only is she shocked, she’s offended, thinking he’s making it up. She throws food at him and orders him to leave.

Apparently, Jae Ha’s thwarted scheme was to have Ho Joong pop up when he arrived with Young In and fake-assault them so that Jae Ha could play the hero. Then, Young In would’ve been frightened enough to be persuaded to go back to Jae Ha’s place.

Jae Ha can’t believe Ho Joong was audacious enough to walk right up to Seung Hyo and show his face. Ho Joong tells him to relax; he wasn’t recognized. He asks why Seung Hyo’s always around; Jae Ha answers that he hasn’t figured out if Seung Hyo is following Young In, or him. He hands Ho Joong the address from Il Gun’s letter and tells him to find the paintings there.

Not surprisingly, Seung Hyo, washing off in the bathroom, proves to be a demanding guest. Young In instructs him in manners: He’s not in a position to demand, so he should make polite requests. Seung Hyo looks like he’s going to have an aneurysm trying to choke back a demand, and does his attempt at a polite request for a fresh shirt.

Young In picks out something he’ll hate, lying that it’s the only shirt available, and laughs to see him looking so silly. (Seung Hyo: “Tell your friend to change his fashion sense.”)

Young In teases him, saying he’s just wearing it wrong, and proceeds to pull up the hood and draw the drawstring closed. But as she ties the string, a moment of awareness springs up between them and they pause, staring at each other for an extended beat.

The next day, Seung Hyo and Il Gun discover yet another new development — now, Il Gun can talk.

Following the Reaper’s advice, Il Gun asks for Seung Hyo’s help. Seung Hyo responds: “Why me? I’m someone who can’t give or receive help from anyone. Find someone else.” Il Gun answers, “I didn’t do enough for her. I want to be a good father to Young In just once before leaving. I won’t be able to see her again after this.”

Seung Hyo seems to soften at Il Gun’s earnest plea until Il Gun brings up fatherhood as an appeal to his sympathy. Seung Hyo answers that he has no parents: “Whatever you say, I have no intention or desire to understand you.”

Looking to do anything to be rid of his ghost, Seung Hyo gets a psychiatric evaluation. But he quickly grows frustrated at the unhelpfulness and irrelevance of the session.

Il Gun follows him out to his car, telling him, “I may have grown up in an orphanage, but I’ve never thought I had no mother or father. … There’s nobody in this world who has no parents.”

Seung Hyo loses his temper, shouting for Il Gun to leave him alone. Il Gun answers matter-of-factly:

Il Gun: “You’ve never once lost anything to anyone in your life, have you? Try it now. How can a person win over a ghost? Get in the car, I’ve got to meet Young Ae. Let’s go.”

SeungHyoDad arrives at dance class to see Young Ae twist an ankle. Immediately, she can tell it’s him. Not able to deny or confirm it, SeungHyoDad changes the subject and suggests going to the hospital. She understands.

Young Ae: “I won’t ask who you are. I won’t ask anything….”
SeungHyoDad: “If you want, let’s meet ten times. Just ten times.”
Young Ae: “I should’ve asked for twenty, or thirty times. If I’d known, I’d have asked for a hundred. We can’t meet a hundred times, can we? Even twenty or thirty times would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”

Jae Ha sends the thugs to the orphanage where Il Gun’s paintings are hidden, and they proceed to ransack the entire building. The director becomes visibly nervous when they head toward the warehouse, but thankfully, the gangsters aren’t able to find any traces of the paintings. The director vows he knows nothing about it, and they leave angrily. (We see just how close they were to finding the hiding place before they stopped searching.)

Over lunch, Young Ae sees how enthusiastically SeungHyoDad eats his jajangmyun and mentions how he must have been craving it:

Young Ae: “I guess they must not have jajangmyun in heaven.”
SeungHyoDad: “I’m not sure. I haven’t gotten that far. I suppose they’d have it, since it’s heaven. But the best jajangmyun is on this earth— uh, in Korea. What would the angels know about jajangmyun?”

It’s like they both know the truth of SeungHyoDad’s identity, but saying it aloud somehow makes it that much more painful, so they’re content to know and not talk about the elephant in the room.

SeungHyoDad: “I’m sorry.”
Young Ae: “For what?”
SeungHyoDad: “Just everything. All of it.”
Young Ae: “Thank you.”
SeungHyoDad: “For what?”
Young Ae: “Just everything. All of it.”

When Seung Hyo misses a bunch of important meetings that day, he’s not even angry anymore, just resigned. His secretary had canceled his afternoon meetings, not knowing what to expect, and he finds his office newly decorated with her tools of exorcism.

She nervously tries to explain their presence, but he’s willing to try anything, and asks if it would really help. He’s even willing to let her throw the red beans at him. Excited, she springs into action and rushes out to buy the beans.

Mr. Yoon brings something to his attention — the building’s security system has caught a suspicious figure on camera numerous times. Is this the man who assaulted him?

Seung Hyo says no — the man is too old and not strong enough — and has him brought to his office.

There, the man (Choi Chul Soo) reveals what we’ve known all along — he’s Seung Hyo’s father. He’d been jailed a couple times for violent behavior, and when he got out the second time, he’d found that his son had already been adopted by a wealthy family. He’d tried everything to beg and threaten the adoption service for information, but they wouldn’t tell him anything.

Greatly stunned, Seung Hyo retreats into silence for the rest of the day. After Choi Chul Soo leaves, he gives strands of his hair to Mr. Yoon for DNA testing. Then, with no appointments left in the day, he goes home early.

Seung Hyo wanders around his huge, empty apartment in a funk. Il Gun has learned by now to respect Seung Hyo’s privacy, and leaves him to his solitude.

Seung Hyo remembers how Young In had forced his feet to touch the floor, and tries it again, this time even going so far as to remove his socks. Tentatively, he takes his first steps around his apartment in his bare feet, and finds it’s not so bad after all. His gloomy mood lightens, and he even smiles when he sees the shirt he’d borrowed from Deok.

(Young In has also been thinking of their moment together, although her recollection came unexpectedly — she was thinking happily of Jae Ha when the memory of Seung Hyo popped up, disturbing her peace of mind.)

Young In and Jae Ha are leaving her place to embark on their day’s plans when they run into Seung Hyo, who’s just arrived. Seeing the two together, Seung Hyo takes in the scene silently. Surprised, Young In asks why he’s there; he holds out the sweater.

Jae Ha leads Young In away while Seung Hyo broods, as though he’s trying to make a decision. He’s silent for an awkwardly long spell, which strains the atmosphere, but finally, as she bids him goodbye, he speaks up:

“Hey. I’m hungry. Let’s eat. Are you deaf? I said, let’s have lunch.”

His words are as curt as always, but his tone is no longer so gruff. Young In takes a long moment to think over her answer, obviously torn….

 
Additionally…

There’s a moment at the end where Jae Ha looks at Young In sorta meaningfully — one moment he’s smiling normally, the next he’s all thoughtful and conflicted. I’m reading that as an uncomfortable realization that he’s starting to like Young In despite his ulterior motives. But whatever the state of Jae Ha’s romantic interest, his “jealousy” over Young In isn’t nearly as cute (or at all) as Seung Hyo’s, probably because Jae Ha’s annoyance toward Seung Hyo is a proprietary, smug sentiment. In contrast, Seung Hyo’s attitude toward Jae Ha is mostly related to Young In’s well-being.

I’m a little bummed that Jae Ha’s character is going down the path of overt villain, because the actor is totally capable of subtext and subtlety. But I dig everything else about the romantic triangle, because for once these guys are both evenly matched in terms of competence and smarts. So many times, the balance is really skewed, so I like seeing Seung Hyo and Jae Ha clash head-on. It’s fun.

 
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