I Am Legend: Episode 15

by kaedejun

WHEEEE! This series reminds me of Stars Falling From the Sky, where the cute and happy parts were winning, the melodrama kind of odd, the story meandering, and the drama overall a fun roller coaster ride. I know there’s still one more episode left, so for now I’ll just keep my judgments to: WHEEEE!!!!

SONG OF THE DAY

I Am Legend OST – “I Love the Rain Like You Always Do” by Kim Jung Eun [download]

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CD in hand, Jin Bae announces that he has new evidence that will prove Mujeong Development forced the owners to give up their lands in Song Hwa Market. MoaE, Uncle, and Seung Hye are quietly freaking out – how could they possibly get the CD as evidence? This time, instead of knowing that the CD in question contains the truth, Seung Hye adamantly believes that it is fake.

The judge is kind enough to give the defense a chance to prepare their case with the new evidence at hand, and the trial is postponed.

The stall owners crowd around Seol Hee as though she were a hero, amazed that she got her hands on such incriminating evidence. Their confidence bolstered, they leave the Insufferable Threesome + Ji Wook, and Jin Bae and Seol Hee behind.

MoaE wants to privately talk to Seol Hee. Ji Wook tries to get his mother to let it go, but she won’t have it, so everyone has to file out.

MoaE attempts to get some sympathy by saying that she too is suffering from this “evil fate” of continually seeing Seol Hee when all she really wants to do is to forget about her. She wants to know how Seol Hee will ruin her family this time (as if divorcing her eldest wasn’t enough), and assumes the video is fake and can’t change the tide of the trial.

Seol Hee counters with, “Have you seen the video? If it gets revealed the consequences will be huge.” She tells MoaE to prepare herself, so that the shock won’t be so hard. MoaE feels threatened, and so she replies, “If your life goes further downhill from here, don’t blame me.”

Seol Hee: “My life is as free as flying. It’s really strange that you think it’s gone downhill.”

(MoaE – you do know the phrase, “to assume makes an ASS out of U and ME, right? First, you’ve assumed that the CD is fake, and second you’ve assumed that Seol Hee is suffering because she has no money.)

Back in Ji Wook’s office, Seung Hye convinces Uncle and MoaE that Mujeong Development could not have sent the video to Seol Hee; it would put them in a lot of hot water too. Ji Wook remains impassive and tells his family that he will find a way out. MoaE: “When I think about your father finding out the truth about this, my blood curdles.”

(HAHAH – that line made me laugh with glee, because the fearless Mother of All Evil is actually afraid of Benevolent Father to All.)

Later on, Seung Hye wonders aloud how Seol Hee could have gotten the CD, and what happened to the CD she gave Ji Wook. He claims to have destroyed it, and has no reaction whatsoever when Seung Hye frets that the CD could ruin him and his entire family.

On the other side, Jin Bae also wonders how Seol Hee got the CD. Seol Hee has no definitive answer, as the man who handed it to her would not divulge who ordered him to give the CD to her. Overall it is very suspicious, much like the incident with Park Ki Chul, so Seol Hee asks Jin Bae to look up the man’s license plate number.

That same night, Tae Hyun has a big announcement for the girls. He waits until the very late Seol Hee arrives (much to impatient Hwa Ja’s annoyance) to announce this: there is a movie music festival in need of an opening act… and the spot is open for the Comeback Madonna Band! Agape, they ask how Tae Hyun could have snagged a gig like that for them. Apparently, playing for them a couple times led to the producers giving him license to find a new act for them. They would be performing in front of thousands and raise their profile even more.

The girls are so shocked that no words or sounds come out. They stare at each other until finally (finally!) they let out SCREAMS of happiness and cheer! (Gosh, even I felt so suffocated and yelled at the computer, willing them to just scream out loud!)

Of course, such a high profile gig requires plenty of practice, and the gals play their theme song over and over again through the night.

Ji Wook comes up with a solution to their problem: he wants his Uncle and mother to give up on the Song Hwa Market. The other side supposedly can link Mujeong Development to Shin Hwa, and so a bigger mess will come out if they continue with the case. However, if they back out and settle, the other side may be more lenient on them.

The girls get ready to head to the festival, which is outside of Seoul. Hwa Ja runs late, but once she finally arrives, Seol Hee gets a call from Jin Bae; the man who handed her the CD is Park Ji Soo, and he works for Ji Wook. Jin Bae wants to meet with her to figure out what Ji Wook and Seung Hye’s motives could be for sending them this CD.

Conflicted between the case and the concert, Seol Hee chooses to meet Jin Bae. She tells Tae Hyun that she’ll drive to the concert herself and catch up with them later. (Uh oh – I sense that she will ruin this for her band…)

Jin Bae suspects that Ji Wook and Seung Hye have an underhanded reason for giving them the evidence, so Seol Hee arranges to meet Ji Wook at his law office’s cafe. However, just as she gets to her car, two gangsters/hoodlums approach her. Unwilling to go with them, they forcibly pick her up and dump her into the back of their car. (Wow. A kidnapping attempt in the second to the last episode?)

They confiscate her phone, which results in worried Comeback Madonna girls unable to reach her and wondering if she’ll make it in time. But the “kidnapping” isn’t as nefarious as it initially appears – it’s more tedious. She is dragged into a private bar room to speak with Uncle.

Uncle wants to know one thing – who gave her the CD? Seol Hee notes that he’s just kidnapped her, but he doesn’t care about the legal ramifications of his actions. He used to be her uncle, so how could she so easily betray him like that? Unfortunately for him, Seol Hee doesn’t have an answer to his question. She was just about to find out who “who” was when he conveniently kidnapped her.

Meanwhile, Ji Wook is waiting for Seol Hee. He even calls up Jin Bae to find out where she is, but he doesn’t know either. She is lost somewhere between Jin Bae’s office and the cafe. Ji Wook then remembers his Uncle asking him to help set up a meeting with Seol Hee to find out who the “traitor” was. He puts two and two together… it’s not too difficult.

Seol Hee is trying to bargain her way out with Uncle when suddenly Ji Wook appears. (TADA! The hero has arrived! Although you’re more like a knight in tarnished armor…) Uncle is like a little boy caught by his father for doing something naughty. Ji Wook orders for Seol Hee to be let go, because if word of this meeting is leaked out Uncle will definitely go to jail.

Outside, he asks for Seol Hee’s forgiveness for what just transpired, but Seol Hee is in a rush. “By being here, I’m late for something important. I’ll have to talk to you later.” And then Ji Wook (surprisingly) says: “I understand. Go now.”

Seol Hee rushes to the concert, where Tae Hyun has managed to get the girls to perform last to buy some time. However, it starts raining, and by the time Seol Hee arrives, the girls’ moods is as down as the weather. Because of the rain, the concert has been canceled, so they never got to perform at all. Though they’re bummed, they are also forgiving towards Seol Hee.

All of a sudden, a bunch of their fans led by the Goth girl Tae Hee come running to their tent with their rain coats. They’re all wondering why the girls won’t take the stage; all of their fans came out to see them! To them, the concert is still not “canceled” – they’re all just waiting for their stars to come out! Supremely touched, the girls take the stage.

And it is quite the crowd they perform to! The Comeback Madonna Girls take the big stage, and they perform the song that they stole from Ran Hee:

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Right afterward, it’s a performance of “We Will Comeback.” The crowd is wild and even Min Kyu sings along (ah so cute). What I liked about some parts of the performance sequence was how sometimes I could hear the echo of the microphone, and the dull thuds of the drums (instead of a crisper sound), thus indicating that the performance is all live. Not to mention the look of pure enjoyment on Hong Ji Min’s face as she jumped up and down.

Let’s give a hand to the men in their lives who made it possible! Sorry Duk Soo wasn’t there.

Tae Hyun is off to the side, ready to high-five the girls as they get off the stage while the crowd screams “Encore! Encore!” He exuberantly greets Ah Reum, Soo In, and Hwa Ja, but when it’s Seol Hee’s turn, she just gives him the widest smile ever, claps his hand, and they grasp briefly as she goes down the steps.

Now that the good stuff is done, back to Ji Wook. He tries to convince his uncle to settle, but Uncle is unwilling to go down without a fight. He wants another lawyer immediately, causing his sister to tell him to pipe down and listen to Ji Wook. (Tehehe.) Ji Wook states that if the case continues on, Uncle will be faced with criminal charges. Even in the current state of things he may not get away with it completely, but giving up Song Hwa Market would be the best first step.

Ji Wook meets with Seol Hee and Jin Bae and hands them a settlement agreement. Everything will go back to status quo. In just a simple transfer of an envelope in a simple office lit by sunlight, Seol Hee and Jin Bae have won.

As Ji Wook leaves, Seol Hee runs out to ask her one question – did Ji Wook send the CD?

For the first time, Ji Wook looks at ease, even with a small smile in his face, as he says, “That’s not important…What my uncle did to you, thank you for not making the situation worse.” Funny how it works out – he had told her not to get involved in the case, but Seol Hee’s involvement helped him become a better person and realize the evilness and greed that runs in his own family. She opened his eyes once again; he definitely owes her big time.

Now he has to face the music with Seung Hye, who’s not too pleased to hear about the settlement. He confirms with her – although in not many words – that he did send the CD to Seol Hee, because if he had not done it, he would not be able to stop his “family’s boundless avarice.” But there is something more pressing to say: he wants to end his relationship with Seung Hye.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although I can’t say I’m too surprised…)

Ji Wook admits that after much soul searching he cannot think of a future with her. He doesn’t want to take advantage of her by dragging things out, but Seung Hye immediately jumps to her favorite reason in the world: is this all because of Seol Hee? Ji Wook sighs – it’s a matter solely between him and Seung Hye, and Seol Hee has nothing to do with it.

Seung Hye refuses to accept it. She runs to her car, but she can’t even start it, bursting into tears. She must have truly loved Ji Wook to be acting like this. All I can think is, “Lady, I thought you were stronger than this.”

Comeback Madonna Band is really hitting it big time, and they go in to record a radio segment with Lee Soo Kyun. In the hallway, they spot Heechul (in his cameo appearance!) and Hwa Ja turns to pudding. She flails around for her notebook and becomes an embarrassing fan girl in front of Soo In, Ah Reum, and Seol Hee.

Hwa Ja approaches Heechul for an autograph – actually two, one for her and one for her son – when he takes a second look at all of them. Aren’t they the Comeback Madonna Band? Turns out he’s a fan! He invites them to be on his radio show next time, and Hwa Ja gushes on how handsome he is. Ah Reum, being the youngest and ever so “cool”, nudges Hwa Ja for being such an embarrassing ahjumma. Heh.

The girls are nervous as they go live on radio, and Seol Hee even mistakenly introduces Hwa Ja by her nickname “Fa Ja”. But all goes well, and Seol Hee takes the time out to thank Tae Hyun for everything.

Tae Hyun and Min Kyu are listening to the broadcast in the guitar store. At the mention of his name, Min Kyu gives Tae Hyun that *wink wink nudge nudge* look. HEHEHEHE. Min Kyu – you are the best!

As soon as the radio broadcast is done, Kwang Yul is there to meet them at the lobby and rush them off to their next event – a gig at a cafe in Hongdae.

They perform to a large audience singing “A Million Roses” – and it’s almost reminiscent of the ending to episode 4. Tae Hyun watches from the audience, his eyes only on Seol Hee. She, on the other hand, scans the audience, and spots an unexpected guest: Ji Wook.

WHOOOAAAAAAAAA.

Ji Wook watches from the back, smiling as his ex-wife’s face falls into complete shock, even though she continues to sing. Tae Hyun sees the change in her expression and looks in the direction that she is. Yep. It’s definitely Ji Wook.

Comments:

Wow – so much happened in this episode that I still feel like I need to process it.

First off, I can’t believe how much angst and time had to be devoted to this marketplace case, because it was a losing battle from the start (for the Uncle). I guess it was possible for Seol Hee to lose this case, but that thought never crossed my mind once. I think the stakes weren’t high enough or difficult enough. However, whenever I start wondering, “Just why did we go through all that?” I remember – it’s so we could see the growth of Ji Wook! While the first part of the series may have been the growth of Seol Hee (as she becomes an independent and capable woman on her own terms), Ji Wook got his chance to shine in the latter half proving that he is not the a**hole that he seemed to be.

I am amazed at the way he dealt with Seung Hye too. He seemed far more mature in dealing with Seung Hye because he broke it off first knowing that they were in an unequal relationship. He had used Seol Hee to his advantage too, parading her around as his trophy wife for his own political ambitions. However, here he told Seung Hye that he didn’t want to lead her on, and that their problems were solely between the two of them, no third party involved. That echoes what Seol Hee had said, when she refused to blame the divorce on Seung Hye. It is possible that Ji Wook does love Seung Hye a bit more considering the way he treated her, but I think it took Seol Hee to help him develop a greater awareness of himself and his impact on others, rather than thinking selfishly.

The ending was awesome. Beyond awesome. Everything is really coming together for the band, and this episode tied up a lot of loose ends efficiently (thank God). Now to the last episode, which I hope will focus on the romantic comedy aspect and each character in the band.

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