God of Study: Episode 5

by nokcha icecream

Newbie recapper nokcha icecream here, and I’ll be recapping “God of Study”! I hope y’all enjoy reading my posts, and thanks to Dramabeans for letting me have this opportunity to blog!

*If you forgot what happened in the first four episodes, please refer back to Dramabean’s recaps on those episodes! (Episodes 1-2 and 3-4.)

My favorite moment of the entire episode.

So we start back where Kang Seok-ho declares that all the teachers at Byung Moon High School are fired. Naturally, none of them are too ecstatic about hearing that.

Teacher Kwi-nam points out how Seok-ho barely glanced at each paper. How could he decide everyone was fired? So Seok-ho reads the fist sentences of some of the papers. “This is a strange school”, “What could the teachers live for here?”, “It’s like doing 30 pull-ups.”. While they didn’t receive diplomas in the Korean language, “the context of their answers belong in the bottom of a pit.” Haha. But he can give them a second chance. If they agree to follow his plan, they will not be fired. This doesn’t go along with them well.

Soo-jung follows him out and chastises him for being too harsh. Even with their violent reaction, he knows they have to calm down eventually. And when they do, he’ll be ready to help. As for Soo- jung, he has a glimmering ray of hope for her. For the time being, as the assistant home-room teacher, she is free from any threats of firing. She sarcastically graciously thanks him. Rather than responding to her thanks, he simply tells her to do a good job and leaves her.

Cha Ki-bong is next to question Seok-ho’s methods. Teacher Ki-bong advises him to stray from being too rough and to be wise, saying Seok-ho “is not there yet”. This ties in with Seok-ho’s rough childhood background when dealt with problems with his fists rather than his heart. They move on to talk about the upcoming English teacher. Seok-ho has already mentioned an idea to Ki-bong, who is adamantly against it. So adamant that if this new person was brought to the special class, Ki-bong would leave it. No!

Soo-jung enters the classroom ready to review for English while Seok-ho is twiddling with a camcorder. Today is the final day of boot camp, and Seok-ho has let the kids go home to eat with their families. He warns against the kids losing momentum in their studies, and she responds with her usual, amusing facial expressions. Seok-ho finds her unnaturally calm about the other teachers rioting, thinking she would be the leader of them. He secretly hits the record button while she says,

Soo-jung: “I know now that getting angry only hurts myself. Plus, I have learned some wisdom spending time with you. “
Seok-ho: “Wisdom?”
Soo-jung: “Puppy, go ahead and bark, the train is leaving anyways.”

He purposefully closes the camcorder instructing her to record tonight’s class. And then he’s off on another mission.

As for Seok-ho’s mission, he walks into what looks like a sauna/indoor paradise room. A man is sitting on a pool chair with an extremely leathered lady standing next to him. Pool chair-man instantly recognizes Seok-ho, refusing for a second time to do what he was asked. Pool man clearly is not happy. However, his attitude takes a 180 when Seok-ho says the magic words. “Cha Ki-bong teacher’s request.” Now Pool man is interested.

Finally! The kids are here!

Soo-jung is reviewing English with the special class, and its obvious they’re having trouble concentrating. She warily stares at the camcorder, knowing everything is being set in stone. Baek-hyun (it feels so good to finally type a kid’s name!) is fighting fatigue, trying to actively participate. But…he doesn’t know what page they’re on. Cute. And Chan-doo suddenly falls out of his chair.

After class, Soo-jung rewards the tired students with some delish Chinese food, proudly given by Baek-hyun’s boss. When she asks them if they really like her English class, they’re quick to say a little white lie to not hurt her feelings.

As they leave, they quietly say how they really feel about the class and feign innocence while waving good-bye. Soo-Jung, on the other hand laughs at them for being afraid to tell the truth. But through all this, it’s easy to see that both sides, teacher and students, genuinely care for each other.

Seok-ho’s back in his new office, a tiny literally one-room place. A friend comes in bearing a USB, *secret information hidden? And Seok-ho opens it, saying it was exactly what he needed. Something about the Wong Bong Group? Suspicious…

The kids head back to school, and we see the Chan-doo/Pul-ip one-way love relationship. Hyun-jung gets onto Chan-doo for messing with Pul-ip too much, but Pul-ip assures her that there are no feelings between the since-kindergarden friends. While he reluctantly agrees, a girl pops up out of nowhere and nearly tackles him in a hug. Her name is Ye-ji, and she just got back from a foreign language course. She greets Chan-doo warmly but turns on the brat for Pul-ip, eyeing her with distaste. I do not have good feelings about her in the future. Ye-ji whisks him away, leaving the other two girls dumbfounded. But soon after, Hyun-jung spots her “Sobah” and runs towards him. He however, is looking somewhere else. At someone else.

It looks like Pool man has accepted the teaching offer as he runs into Soo-jung in the school, who immediately says, “Omoniem!” (mother) with a smile. No, he’s not a mother. Nor is he a father. He is simply…solo. Seok-ho told her another teacher was coming, and Soo-jung assumes he is there to teach Korean, as Cha Ki-bong is the math teacher and she is the English teacher.

But to clarify, he states HE is the English teacher. Seok-ho nods confirmingly and Pool man introduces himself as Anthony Yang. Ki-bong sees Anthony, glares, and walks off. Soo-jung is noticeably confused and hurt.

Anthony begins his lesson and the kids are wary, wondering where Teacher Soo-jung went. He starts by explaining that English is not something to be afraid of, and not something to be ashamed of if you only know a little. The answer to their English problems -no it’s not ping-pong- is….dancing?!

He takes no time slowing down as he gets in the groove, startling the watcher the students. What a strange man. Perhaps I spoke too soon about him being fully dressed.

The atmosphere dramatically changes when we find Soo-jung crying by herself. She tells Seok-ho she followed him only because of the school’s situation. But he never intended for her to be the class’s teacher. She was asked to be their homeroom teacher. He hands her the camcorder and she watches the review session they had. The recording clearly showed bored students and a weak teacher. She is angry at his attempt to humiliate her and she storms out while he tries to console her. She escapes in the bathroom and he states the truth. She is not good enough. She may be ready in the future, but the class does not have time to wait for her. Just to satisfy him, she grimly agrees to everything he said. Her heart obviously shows otherwise as she continues to think about what he said.

She watches the class, and sighs in disbelief at Anthony’s methods. Baek-hyun’s eyes catch hers and he’s obviously not having fun. She continues to think Anthony is ridiculous, but Seok-ho believes in his methods. She disagrees with Seok-ho now, and challenges Anthony’s methods. Anthony may be the more fun teacher, but he isn’t teaching properly.

Baek-hyun was suspicious all along, but he abruptly exits the classroom and states that he refuses to learn without Teacher Soo-jung. He angrily leaves and the other kids reluctantly follow him.

They brood in the gym, clearly torn about their feelings. While Pul-ip and Hyun-jung say they enjoyed the class, Baek-hyun shoots them a dirty glare. Teacher Soo-jung finds them and is not happy. She scolds them for their rudeness and tells them to go back to class. She has a plan.

Back in the classroom, she confronts Seok-ho and suggests a competition. She will select two kids, and Anthony select two kids to have a duel between them. While Soo-jung at first asks to take the special class, Anthony instead insists he take them. Even though the kids argue that the rules are not fair, she has no choice but to agree with them.

The kids resume class, rebel Baek-hyun still angry. Hyun-jung doesn’t understand why Teacher Soo-jung can’t just let Anthony take over. Baek-hyun shoots her another dirty glare. As self-proclaimed ringleader, he tells them, “let’s make this turn out right. You know what I mean?” Even if they tried their hardest, Bong-goo didn’t think they would win anyways. Baek-hyun chuckles at that statement, but Pul-ip looks uncomfortable with the idea.

The test will be formatted as so; each student starts out with 100 possible points. For each mistake that is made, one point will be deducted. Soo-jung will select her two students, while Anthony will select his.

Later, without Seok-ho and Anthony around, Teacher Soo-jung shares her real feelings about the competition. She assures them she can win. She has worked hard in the past to be a good teacher and she believes in herself. All she asks is that they believe in her too.

She fondly reads the student’s personal notebooks, interrupted by the annoying Teacher Jung-hee who assumes that Teacher Soo-jung was already cut from the special class. But Soo-jung shouldn’t feel bad about it, as the other teachers formed the Kang Choo Wee Group, the official Let’s-get-rid-of-Seok-ho protest group. She has a petition going around the teachers, and there’s even a spot for Soo-jung to sign. Seok-ho suddenly enters and Soo-jung hides the petition.

On a lighter note, Hyun-jung and her “Sobah” are in a shopping center and Hyun-jung wants to show off her noraebang (karaoke) skills to Baek-hyun. He fakes seeing his grandma, (at which she immediately jumps off his arm) and he takes off. Haha. She desperately searches for him and sees a boy walking off with a familiar haircut and bag, and she runs to catch him. But that was not her Sobah. Her Sobah was hiding behind a mannequin and he grinned in delight at seeing her tricked. Success.

Oh, but what’s this? Baek-hyun himself spots someone on his way out. It’s Pul-ip, trying on some cute headbands. She shyly asks where his owner is, and he tells Pul-ip that she went home. She plays with Baek-hyun, calling him and Hyun-jung wads of gum stuck together. He tries to disagree, his face showing how he doesn’t like her talking about it. She finds a headband she likes, but it’s too expensive so she puts it down. After she leaves, Baek-hyun eyes it.

Hyun-jung is still lost in Sobah-land frustrated at herself for losing him. But she sees something. Pul-ip is running and Baek-hyun is playfully chasing after her and they’re laughing. Baek-hyun is laughing. Something Hyun-jung hadn’t seen when he was with her. Uh-oh. Hmmm. Teenage love triangles.

Doesn’t Chan-doo’s smile just make you want to bake brownies for him?

The next school day, Chan-doo runs up to Pul-ip. He pretends a bug is stuck in her hair, and reaches to grab it. He adorably shows off what he “found”. It’s a cute little hair clip! Ooooh… the irony. Right as he’s putting it in her hair, the little Brat spies them. Pul-ip is pleased with his gesture, and while she obviously thinks of him as a brother, little Brat is suspicious. She finds Pul-ip in the bathroom and warns her to stay away from Chan-doo. Pul-ip is astounded and tries to assert her seniority over Brat. But Brat doesn’t budge. And Pul-ip is left bewildered.

As the kids wait for class to start, Hyun-jung carefully asks Baek-hyun where he went after he ran away left her. What did she expect? He simply went home. Knowing this may only be half true; Hyun-jung doesn’t press the situation any harder.

Pul-ip enters, and Bong-goo immediately notices the new hair clip. Chan-doo announces that he gave it to her and Bong-goo playfully teases them. Hyun-jung pulls out a notebook she bought for Baek-hyun, and she immediately goes down to put it in his bag. He panics all of a sudden and tries to stop her, but to no avail. She finds something. The headband Pul-ip saw at the mall. Baek-hyun uncomfortably exchanges glances with a surprised Pul-ip, and Hyun-jung asks him if he bought it for her. To avoid any more awkward situations, Baek-hyun lets her believe it was for her. Bong-goo thinks having two couples in the class is so cute, but Pul-ip is quick to deny any relationship of that sort with Chan-doo. Poor guy. Pul-ip obviously recognizes the headband, but doesn’t say anything about it.

As for the English competition, Teacher Soo-jung is having difficulties finding students to compete for her. Ma-ri sees this, and has an answer. She agrees to help Soo-jung to better represent the school. Here are her choices:

Student A) Kim Sang-hoon. A transfer from a foreign high school, a kid who transferred just to improve his rank.
Student B) Yi Ye-ji. Brat girl? Ha. She is an aspiring actress and has dreams to become a celebrity. She is working to go to Chun-ha herself to become more known before pursuing her acting.

These students are obviously at the top of their class, but one problem exists. They’re juniors. Is this legal? But Ma-ri asks, did the requirement say they had to be seniors? It didn’t. So Seok-ho lets Soo-jung have them. Soo-jung is ready to win.

Now that she has her two students, its time for Anthony to pick his. The kids will randomly draw papers to get picked. First chosen is Baek-hyun, then Pul-ip. Hmm. Love triangle teenagers put together. Baek-hyun immediately refuses, implying that he wants Pul-ip to pull out too.

Anthony asks to see them separately for a moment to tell the two how moved he was by their loyalty to Teacher Soo-jung. He asks them to believe in him too and to try their best at the competition. Baek-hyun starts to get defensive, -“lelax, lelax”, (really, couldn’t they have chosen an English teacher that didn’t have such a bad accent?)- but Anthony decides to make a pact with them. After this competition, even if they win, he will leave. Pul-ip agrees while Baek-hyun is still suspicious.

As they walk out, Pul-ip is excited about the class, completely believing Anthony. Baek-hyun is still cautious, and his stare goes to the clip in her hair. He arrogantly walks off. But in the background…

Seok-ho called for a teachers meeting, and all show up. But as it’s about the start, someone shouts, “HOLD ON.” Teacher Kwi-Nam stands. He looks at the Gym teacher and Teacher Jung-hee, and they pull out…headbands…bearing their name “Kang Choo Wee” Soo-jung didn’t get the memo, and she is in shock at their actions. They boldly state their purpose and demand he leave.

While the teachers are gathering, Principle and Diector hear that their school has become the first school listed for overhaul by the Wong Bong Group. If that is the case, the removal meeting is unnecessary. They race to tell the other teachers.

Teacher Jung-hee hands the petition to Seok-ho and he briefly looks through it, but there is a blank next to one name. Han Soo-jung. She didn’t sign it! He sees it, but doesn’t say anything about it. The leaders of the meeting state their claims, and are ready to send their claims to the Department of Education. No matter what, they will work to remove him. The Gym teacher holds up a laptop ready to hit the send key; Seok-ho as solid as a rock.

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