Secret Garden: Episode 12

294 December 20, 2010January 24, 2016

by girlfriday

We’re kicking it up a notch this week, as the love square starts to get going in earnest, thanks to Seul the Master Feeling Denier. Although I guess we can’t really call it a love square, can we? It’s more like an arranged-marriage-with-cousins-and-a-MerMistress-square. Yeah. I just grossed myself out.

EPISODE 12 RECAP

Joo-won declares in his ever-so-magnanimous way that he’ll be the Little Mermaid then, and proceeds to toot his own horn about how cool and awesome he is for deigning to put himself at a disadvantage to be with her. Oh, god. I just realized it. You’re THAT guy—the guy who wants so much to win the race that you don’t even notice that you killed your horse to get there first. Tsk, tsk. You really know how to make a grand gesture all about you.

Ra-im just rolls her eyes at his cluelessness. She points out that in his grand scenario, either way, one of them has to disappear. “You like me that much, but a future with me…turns into bubbles?” And therein lies the problem. It’s made extreme here by way of Joo-won’s outlandish ego, but at the crux of the matter is the most common debate between men and women since dating began.

Joo-won acknowledges that it’s the only way their story can end: that’s their reality. He lays out the enormity of what his marriage means, to his business and his family. He even posits the fantasy scenario: let’s say he gives it all up, for Ra-im, and they run away to go live in a tiny house somewhere. Sure, they’ll be happy, but for how long? Will she be happy knowing what he gave up? He doesn’t have the confidence to never resent her for it. Does she? Damn, well now you’re starting to make sense and it’s annoying me.

Suffice it to say, this is NOT the romantic speech Ra-im needed to hear to sway her.

Ra-im: I’ll say it again: you’re right. Everything you’re saying is right. But hey, Stupid, where on earth is a woman who’ll jump at the chance to happily and beautifully cultivate a love that’ll just turn to bubbles? Nowhere in the world is there a woman who will start a love, giving up the ending. That’s why we’ll never work. We have no answer.

Joo-won counters that there IS an answer…HE’ll be the MerMistress! Did you not hear a word that she just said? Gah. He tells her that not everyone who dates gets married, so why should they let that stop them? Ha. Haha. Just because she didn’t marry every guy she dated does NOT mean that she’ll jump at the chance to be a MerMistress simply because the outcome will be the same. Do you know nothing about girls? I’d like to body swap with his therapist to knock some sense into him.

Ra-im tells him to get it through his thick skull—she doesn’t like him, so he can take his MerBubbles and shove them up his arse. Or I’m paraphrasing. Whatever. At that, he pets her on the head, changing her expression in an instant. He calls her out for denying her feelings when it’s abundantly clear that they’re mutually attracted to each other. Well, he’s got you there. He tells her to think about it sincerely before answering, and leaves.

Meanwhile, Ah-young and Secretary Kim remain at the dinner date, as they try to suss out the meaning behind Joo-won’s concern over Ah-young’s very intimate habits. Secretary Kim is in tears, hilariously having a fit over whether or not his boss and his girlfriend are having some secret affair.

She comes home and starts eyeing the chandelier in her apartment strangely, and declares to Ra-im that Joo-won must’ve put a secret camera in the light fixture. Otherwise, how on earth could he know the things he knows? Ra-im’s eyes widen, as she asks if Ah-young went about her life as usual, sans underwear and all that, when she expressly warned her to be careful. Yeah, you warned her cryptically, as Ra-Him, so how is she supposed to know?

Joo-won’s mother comes by his place to be debriefed by the housekeeper. She sees Ra-im’s map of the complex, hilariously assuming that Joo-won made it, and wonders if he actually calls Oska “oppa.” AHahahaha! I’d die happy if I could see that. It’d be better than the kiss.

She hears that Joo-won wears Oska socks, talks to himself, and gets frequent visits from Ji-hyun (his shrink). All causes for concern, of course, but the Oska socks shock her the most, heh. She also spies the fruit basket that Ra-im had brought to her house, sitting there. She orders it disposed of, but Joo-won comes home in time to save the tangerines from an untimely death.

Mother reminds him that this is still HER house, and that she can kick him out at any time. She tells him that she poured the best of everything into raising him; therefore, he ought to live up to that. If only raising children were like following a cake recipe. You can’t put all the best ingredients in and then expect Perfect Child Cake.

She pushes him in the right direction with a little threat: either start going on blind dates again, or Gil Ra-im will end up in another country. He agrees to the blind dates.

He meets a new woman at the art gallery of course, and soon after Seul calls Ra-im to meet her there as well. She tells Ra-im that Joo-won was just here, and that either way, he’ll meet and marry someone like herself. She’d rather that it be her. Oh, okay then. She acknowledges that Ra-im and Joo-won’s feelings are sincere, and thus apologizes, as if she’s already marrying the guy.

Ra-im wonders why she’s doing all this when the man she really loves is Oska. Seul admits that she did at first, and that she even started all this to return to Oska. But now she doesn’t even believe that he has a memory of their love, so she plans to do whatever she can to hurt him. So you admit that this is still ALL ABOUT OSKA. How is the wrongness of this whole plan not abundantly clear to you? I suppose you don’t care is the point.

She tells Ra-im frankly that if Joo-won is back to going on blind dates, then both she and Ra-im them are as good as out. She adds that they’ve chosen a difficult target. Well, I’d say you’ve chosen a difficult target, whereas Ra-im is the target, from Joo-won’s point of view.

Ra-im starts work on her audition tape for Dark Blood and ignores all of Joo-won’s calls all day. Don’t you know that’s just going to send him to your front door later?

And sure enough, there he is, waiting for her to come home. He demands to know why she’s been ignoring all his calls, and doesn’t take, “Because it’s annoying” as a hint to get out of her face. He whines that he couldn’t get anything done all day because she wouldn’t answer her phone, but she throws back that he apparently managed to go on a blind date just fine.

He’s surprised that she knows, and she asks all the things she learned from Seul that day, about what he gleans about a woman’s perfume use and whatnot, on a museum blind date. He counters with a glint in his eye, “Are you jealous? Does it make you angry? Should I stop going on blind dates?”

It’s actually adorable how much he wants her to admit that she’s jealous, but she doesn’t oblige, walking right past him. He calls out that he came all this way, “Because I missed you.”

That stops her in her tracks as he comes around to face her, wanting to stare at her face a little longer. Okay, that’s cute. He tells her it’s her fault for deleting the pictures of her on his phone, and makes her pose for another one. She makes an angry face, which of course just makes him hotter for her, since he said she’s prettier when she’s angry.

He tells her to hurry up and give him an answer, (to the letting him be the MerMistress question) otherwise he’ll be back tomorrow. You guys do really have the strangest relationship.

Mom has a pow-wow with Oska’s mom about how to get rid of an unwanted girlfriend. Oska’s mother, who has lots of experience in this arena, says that you have to fight fire with fire; you can’t go head to head with her, like Mom vs. Girlfriend. That’ll never do. The answer is to pit her against another woman, one who’s going to be a fierce opponent.

Enter Seul.

Mom brings her unannounced to the next family dinner, where Joo-won and Oska sit side by side, both stunned into silence by her appearance. Grandfather asks if Joo-won intends to marry her. He squirms for a second, then meets his mother’s challenge: a spring wedding will be fine. Oh geez.

Mom introduces her to Oska, who she pretends to meet for the first time. Joo-won cries foul at that, prompting her to lie to cover it up, and for Oska to walk out. She goes to find him, and he asks her what she wants him to do, so that she’ll drop this charade. She tells him to think about WHY she’s doing all this.

Seul: The thing about women is, the most common of women can become a queen, and the most rarefied woman can become a maid…according to how she is treated by the person she loves.

Nicely put. But the statute of limitations on a broken heart only goes so far, honey. After a certain amount of crazy behavior, the rest can only be blamed on you.

After the meal, Joo-won tries to talk his mother out of the match, insisting that Seul is in love with someone else. He doesn’t mention that the other person is his cousin, which he really should, although I suppose that’d ruin Oska’s chances of marrying her. But, then, what’re the odds of that going down now? Mom decides that she’s just perfect, (on paper, of course, which is what matters to her) and that’s that. Joo-won leaves in a huff.

He goes to see his hyung, rushing to try and clear up the misunderstanding. He insists that he didn’t invite her there, and that it’s all his mother’s doing. Oska knows but stays mad at him, making Joo-won whine, “why?” like a little puppy. I do love that Woo-young is the level-headed hyung to the ever-petulant Joo-won.

The reason he’s mad isn’t what he thinks: he’s mad that Joo-won insisted on being rude to Seul and giving her a hard time in front of their family, by letting it slip that she knows Oska. He chastises Joo-won for always thinking only of himself, and never how his actions might hurt anyone else.

Ra-im happens to call him at that moment to move their training session around, and he takes the opportunity to rub it in Joo-won’s face, and asks to see her. Joo-won’s sparkly panties get in a bunch, as Oska says that Ra-im is the only person who can make him feel better right now, and runs off to meet her. Burn.

Joo-won retaliates by calling Seul and asking her to meet. Heh. He asks her what the real deal is between her and Oska, and she coolly replies that they’re past lovers, nothing more. He doesn’t think it’s so much in the past, and tells her that Oska is still in love with her.

She’s unmoved, declaring that she’s over that hormone-driven era of her life. She doesn’t see a problem with their marriage even with Ra-im in the way, as she isn’t the type to meddle in a husband’s “private life,” making Joo-won’s jaw drop at the extent to which she is a cold and heartless high society Bride Bot.

Over an open grill and pig skins, Ra-im and Oska have a chat, and he admits to having her meet him just to piss off Joo-won. HA. He tells her that he’s dated a LOT of women, but still doesn’t understand them in the least. The first and last woman he ever loved has returned as his worst demon, and he’s at a loss for how to deal with it.

Ra-im tells him that all demons are wronged beings in some way, and that some women continue to show their love through their intense hatred. Well, that’s certainly a true statement about Seul, although the spectrum of love/hate is all relative, eh?

There they sit, the four of them on each other’s dates, opposite the wrong person, and brooding over the other.

Joo-won’s sister heads to the department store lost in thought about her last encounter with Jong-soo, when she gets into an altercation with a guy who tries to smoke in a non-smoking area. He raises a hand like he’s going to smack her (dude, take a chill pill) and Jong-soo appears out of nowhere to block the guy’s hand and be the big hero. She swoons, and he exits, in a hurry to go yell at Joo-won.

It turns out that the action school was in a whole bunch of debt, and when Joo-won was Joo-wonda, he happened to intercept a debt collection call, and paid half of it off. He did it to keep Ra-im from finding out about the debt, and only paid half because he knew Jong-soo would have a fit about it anyway.

Well, you thought right, because Jong-soo ain’t havin’ any of your pity/help/investment or whatever. He demands that Joo-won take his money back from the bank and storms out.

There’s other drama at the action school, as two newbies decide to drop out because the training just got too tough. Ra-im sends them off with good wishes, but fights back tears, as she feels personally responsible for not being there to help them stick through it.

Ra-im’s sunbae Jung-hwan comes to see Joo-won and tells him about the action workshop coming up. The location hasn’t been decided, so Joo-won volunteers to take care of that himself. Joo-won asks why he’s helping him get close to Ra-im (because he has lots of money, of course) and also why he uses banmal with him. Jung-hwan: “I’m going to be 31 this year.” Joo-won: “I’m 34.” Whoops. He sits up straight and switches to jondae right quick.

Oska plans for his Christmas concert, and finds Tae-sun at Seul’s studio to tell him that he’ll be a guest performer onstage. He asks after Seul, but she avoids running into him, and watches him leave.

Joo-won heads to the mountains to do an inspection of the new resort that he’s building, and the action school pulls up to the villa for their workshop. Joo-won greets them with a smile, while Ra-im and Jong-soo both look at him with the classic at-Joo-won look: surprise peppered with much exasperation. Jung-hwan uses the opportunity to switch right back to banmal with Joo-won, and takes the blame for planning the workshop with him.

Joo-won pulls Ra-im aside, asking her what her answer is, and why she’s playing so hard to get. He asks what she did with Oska the other day, making mock cooing noises to simulate what the two of them sound like when they’re flirting. Ha. She says it’s none of his business, to which he shouts, “But WE’VE KISSED!”

Hahaha. You really are a five-year old about the kissing. She covers his mouth in a big hurry, and they go inside. Jong-soo announces to everyone that his post as the team leader will go to Jung-hwan next year, since the rule is that it rotates every year to make sure that the action school is never without a leader in case of injury or death. Well that’s morbid.

Joo-won joins Jong-soo outside to say that he’s a little bit cool, since as a leader himself he knows that giving up a position of power is difficult. Well, it’s harder if you’re a control freak.

He asks if it’ll ever be Ra-im’s turn, and Jong-soo replies that she has the potential, as he’s been saying about her all this time. Joo-won asks if he can’t just fire her then, before she dies some fiery death. Jong-soo says that he’s thought about it, but action is everything to Ra-im, and he has no right to take that away from her. Joo-won decides that he’ll have to do it himself then.

He heads back inside to find Ra-im already asleep on the floor, amidst all the other guys, some of whom are sleeping, while others stay up to drink. He steals blankets for her and himself, kicking the guy sleeping next to her to make room for himself. Heh.

He lies down next to her, just quietly watching her sleep, with the happiest look in his eyes, at just being able to look at her face. It kills me, that look.

As he watches her sleep, she starts to have a nightmare, and he puts his finger on her forehead to wake her up. She stirs awake and they lock eyes, suspended in the moment.

They have a conversation in voiceover, so essentially one-sided for both, although they answer back and forth as if they hear each other.

Joo-won: Why is it always so grim in your dreams?
Ra-im: Because in my dreams…you’re there.
Joo-won: With me…even in your dreams…are you not happy?
Ra-im: Come anyway. Tomorrow. And the next day.

COMMENTS

Aw. So. Sweet. Hey, a girl can’t help how she feels, no matter how much her head is saying no. Sometimes that just fuels you in the wrong direction, which is, as anyone can attest, the perennial problem with bad boys.

What’s funny about this couple is that they’ve dug their own stubborn graves, and now they’re totally stewing in their own feelings. They’re falling ever so precipitously in love with each other, all the while declaring how it’s never going to work out. Well, when you make it so difficult to even begin, how will you ever find your way out?

The best part about this episode is that it makes one thing very clear: words bad, silence good. Their banter is almost always a hindrance to them, as they usually end up saying the worst possible things to each other if given the opportunity. Joo-won especially has the WORST case of foot-in-mouth syndrome I’ve seen in a while. But when given a moment of silence, their feelings are undeniable, and no amount of babble can cover over that kind of sizzle.

Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

294

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101 We Yumi

December 20, 2010 at 9:17 PM

In episode 12, Joowon's mother says he is 34, and he also tells the guy from the Action School that he is 34.

It seems to be significant, as well as a change.

The character relationship chart at ViiKii list he as 31.

I wonder why they decided to add years to his age and if that is a significant plot point.

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Jomo

December 22, 2010 at 1:15 PM

JW also makes it a point that he is "4 years older than Key Lime."

Her dad dies when she was 17 + JW was 21 + that was 13 years ago + something wicked that way went + memory loss + clausterphobia = Oooh! I can't wait to find out!

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We Yumi

December 23, 2010 at 4:58 PM

I thought RaIm was 28, not thirty. Ah well.

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102 j2

December 20, 2010 at 9:45 PM

waaahhhh!!! more! more! wish another episode is already out!!! some moments are just too sweet although by the time the next episode comes around, i might be getting annoyed at joo-won for showing signs of the foot-and-mouth disease you've been talking about.

again, thanks for the great recap!!!

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103 Laya

December 20, 2010 at 9:55 PM

Dear Dramabeans, I love you. You've got me hooked on this drama now and I'm just reading your recaps!

Love, Laya

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tariattanahjawa

December 20, 2010 at 11:20 PM

meaning that you don't watch the show??? Laya you should meet Mr. Park.

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SG-addict

December 21, 2010 at 1:37 AM

tariattanahjawa,

I love your replies to these comments! :)

The same thought crosses my mind too when I read them: "Serious? They are watching SG? Why not? Only reading the recaps? Geez, they have no idea what they are missing." :D

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104 nad

December 20, 2010 at 10:33 PM

tq for this!! i cant get enough of this drama...

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105 fp

December 20, 2010 at 10:53 PM

Weeeeh! I'm enchanted with Secret Garden. I thought I'll try it first (test the waters), see if I will like it... little did I know that I'm being drawn by each episode.

Now, I'm hooked, and always looking forward to it - not expecting but just trusting the SG production/team to make it happen ~ halfway in the series, they surely did not dissappoint.

SG must have weave some magic ~ I love it.
Appreciate the recaps ~ thank you.

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106 elisa

December 20, 2010 at 10:55 PM

lol i don't know how come when i read your recap i feel like the episode was a little bit better.

honestly i thought it was kind of boring compared to all the slapstick they gave us earlier... i've never been one to deal well with all this angst and bickering and ugh i just miss the cuteness. and it feels like joowon/raim moments are slowly depleting..............

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107 kimberly

December 20, 2010 at 11:29 PM

Why is Joo-won so adorable no matter what he does.

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sparkly blue tracksuit

December 21, 2010 at 7:34 AM

bcoz he's hyun bin?~

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kc

December 21, 2010 at 7:03 PM

exactly but the hyun bin in SG is a little off. Hes got this V shaped face and it seems not right.

Skinny binnie creeps me.

I know for sure its not just me

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luv_KimRaeWon

December 22, 2010 at 10:48 AM

am a big Binnie fan but yeah, i second your thoughts on his weight loss..keep watching Worlds within just to watch super cute Binnie again.. he looked gorgeous in tht 1.. i watched it onlz to see him

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We Yumi

December 21, 2010 at 10:21 PM

I give Joowon a pass on some of his atrocious behavior that I would never accept in real life because the drama gives us insight into his feelings that RaIm never sees.

During his meeting with Sectary Kim (the choosing art scene I think) we saw him reflect on his encounter with RaIm in the dressing room and it is clear he felt bad about hurting her feeling.

Every time he is not interacting with another character Joowon is in his glass sanctuary reflecting on his interaction with RaIm or studying up on RaIm to figure her out and to understand why she moves him so.

No matter what he tells himself, RaIm, his mother or Oska, this is not the behavior or someone looking for a short term sexual relationship.

It's the behavior of someone caught in something overwhelming and unexpected who either doesn't know what it is or is in denial about what it is.

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hartofseeker

December 22, 2010 at 11:11 AM

Thank you for pointing out so well why he acts so erratically ^__^

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108 Tippy

December 20, 2010 at 11:37 PM

I'm only on Episode 4 and I know that this is a drama 'n all, but does Philip Lee smile even once?? Just one time??

So far, I've had some LOL moments and a lot of "Oh no, he di'nt"! Thoroughly enjoyable thus far!

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izzie

December 21, 2010 at 6:00 AM

I think I saw him smile in one of the episodes... or was I dreaming? ;)

*re-watching from episode 1*

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Jomo

December 21, 2010 at 10:11 AM

I think you had better watch them a few times.
Just in case you didn't notice him in the background, or something. Especially that shower one.
Definitely the shower one.

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izzie

December 21, 2010 at 3:51 PM

but I always get stuck at the shower scene. :(

you see, my video player's rewind button has this problem where [insert excuses here to mask fangirling over Philip Lee].

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samgetang

December 21, 2010 at 11:53 PM

izzieeeee, hahaha! you are so funny! ;-)

tippy, i think he smiled distinctly when he handed that english recording of the 'dark blood" script to ra im (i had that filed in my brain...just incase there are need for such info like this...but i forgot which episode was that...awww! sorry)

jomo and izzie, shower scene, you bet ;-)

izzie

December 23, 2010 at 2:05 AM

As an archivist, I'm having the urge to make a detailed index/catalog of these dramas, esp the part where the yummy guys smile. If ever I'll start with Yoo Ah In in SKKS. ;)

109 zj

December 20, 2010 at 11:51 PM

it's very interesting how my interpretation (from watching Chinese subs) is ever so slightly, but significantly, different from your recaps. Just for certain parts. Makes it so much cooler (and cheats me into thinking that my endless stalking of this site is actually worth it).

"Joo-won’s sparkly panties get in a bunch, as Oska says that Ra-im is the only person who can make him feel better right now, and runs off to meet her. Burn."
This line killed me.

Thanks so much for recapping what must be the best drama of 2010 or .. of all time. :)

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110 I Feel for you

December 21, 2010 at 12:29 AM

First of all, Thanks Gf for the recap. I actually look forward to reading you recaps because believe it or not it suffice my hunger and addiction for this drama until the subs are available. I have to say though you do an excellent job recapping the scenes. Its like reading the book version, so detailed, with your own witty side comments, I love it. It doesn't lose the excitement, in fact i look forward to watching the episodes with sub after reading your recap. Its kinda like reading a very good book, now lets watch the movie version, I love it.
I really really like this drama, and I am very thrilled, moved, by the couple, in real life does anybody know how it feels like to love truly & deeply and not be able to express it because of this reasons? rich-poor status in life? it hurts, you wanna die each time you can't confess your feelings, it sucks. I feel for Ra-im, hang in there girl. I just hope that this drama will have a happy ending and not a tragic or sad one.

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111 Vendetta

December 21, 2010 at 12:31 AM

I LOVE,love,love,love this drama so much. I love the leads I love the story, everything about is right and full of emotion.<3
Ah, can't wait for the next episode.

Thank you for the recaps!

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112

December 21, 2010 at 1:35 AM

I CAN'T BELIEVE JOO WON IS 34 EITHER! hahaha thats so oldd!

i think him fixing ra im's frowning eyebrows with his finger is soo adorable, since it brings us back to episode 1 <3

i really hope from now on, things start working out for the two of them! and im really not looking forward to a sad ending, and with all the foreshadowings ( ra ims dad, ah young's dream, etc.) im scared! :(

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113 jennnnn

December 21, 2010 at 1:35 AM

I CAN'T BELIEVE JOO WON IS 34 EITHER! hahaha thats so oldd!

i think him fixing ra im's frowning eyebrows with his finger is soo adorable, since it brings us back to episode 1 <3

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114 w

December 21, 2010 at 1:40 AM

I loved the ending where they had the dream conversation.

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115 HJWlover

December 21, 2010 at 2:06 AM

Perhaps I'm the only one among dramabeans readers who don't like Hyun Bin, and it's not because the JW character he's playing is an ass. Never seen him in anything before and the first time I saw him in this drama I thought his triangular face with is kinda weird. My 10 year old little sister even thought he was an alien, because of his face and eyes. I tried to like him because I like this drama and everyone seems to adore him, but I just couldn't. So I just watch this drama to see Ha Ji Won. I love her a lot, she is such a badass and a fine actress. I guess this is the first time I like the female lead more than the male.

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Fasha Mamat

December 21, 2010 at 3:03 AM

u really need to repair your eye

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Dyandra

December 21, 2010 at 3:56 AM

I think it's ok for someone to like or dislike something or someone. We are all entitled to our own opinion right ? No need to be so rude like telling HJWlover here to repair her/his eyes just because she/he doesn't like HB. After all it's natural for people to perceive things differently and we can't expect someone else to see things the way we do.

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buhdoop

December 21, 2010 at 8:16 AM

I also thought he had an interesting looking head/face. Not handsome, just different.

But for some reason he has a little boy type of charm to him, the more I see him the more I like him and those dimples keep pulling me back in time and time again.

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i feel for you

December 21, 2010 at 4:08 PM

HB is not strinkingly handsome, hes not adonis but he sure has his cvharm, i find it sexy.its okay not to like :)

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Jo

December 22, 2010 at 4:25 PM

when hes an arse, he pisses me off and Phillip Lee is the only man I can see, LOL.
But when they "traded" souls, he was so cute and ASDLFKAJSLFKJASFLK IT WAS SOOO CUTE.
I srsly thought he was Ra-im and aslkdfalkfjalkfjalkjf;lakflaf

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Jomo

December 21, 2010 at 10:16 AM

If people weren't in love with her before, this episode would do the trick.
Her rope stunt work was off the charts cool. I hope she gets the part.

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izzie

December 21, 2010 at 7:57 PM

he's got good angles - in my eyes - though. not much of a looker, but he's charming, especially when he smiles. and the way I see it, he's great at taking on the Joo-Won character. well, it's sad if you don't see or feel that charm. but it's okay. no need for eye repairs. :D that's your taste. ;)

nevertheless, I too, am bothered by the way he is skinny. I miss Hyun Bin's jaws. he used to have a jawline, it went on hiatus with the 3kg. that he lost.

but then again, I couldn't imagine him as a funny jerk any other way or in any other form. somehow the skinny binnie fits that character like a glove.

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We Yumi

December 21, 2010 at 10:34 PM

Hyun Bin is perceived by most as a gorgeous piece of humanity.

It's been mentioned that he dropped about 16-18 for the series and I think the did it too close to the start of shooting and his body/face hadn't adjusted to the weight loss.

Now that he's been shooting for a while and the schedule seems very grueling, I doubt that he'll have the chance to rest. We may have to wait a while before be get back to the classic Hyun Bin pretty.

below is a link to some Hyun Bin pretty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3F9Kuwf5Go&feature=player_embedded

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samgetang

December 22, 2010 at 12:03 AM

HJWlover, here's more HB pretty...pre-secret garden:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4hwE6Jsgbs&feature=related

yea, agree with you izzie, the skinnie binnie fits his role for SG like a glove...

thanks, we yumi, for the link...his dimples are cute!!! yea :-)

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Nikki

December 23, 2010 at 2:18 PM

What a difference! I miss his MNIKSS cheeks! I hope he gains 6kg after this. That might sound like a lot, but it'd
be perfect if half of it is in muscle.

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116 Fasha Mamat

December 21, 2010 at 2:59 AM

OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!
cutest episode ever...
i love each moment in this episode
i wish this drama got extend
i love when they silent,bickering and KISSES

i laugh when the secretary cry...soooo damn cute

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117 Kaboozie

December 21, 2010 at 3:03 AM

Hey girlfriday ... ive been reading your recaps for a year but ive never left a comment. Today is the first ... because I think you deserve a pat in the back...ok make that thousands, millions of pats !
I think the SBS, KBS, MBC.. the korean government or, or, or the academy awards or someone ...whatever! should give you an award for the "BEST KICKASS DRAMA RECAPS". What did you parents feed you to produce such a genius writer? I need to get some of those for my little girls....

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i feel for you

December 21, 2010 at 4:12 PM

Agree kudos to gf and jb. Both of you are awesome talented writers. The recaps make the characters alive. Excellent.whoot!

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118 Omega

December 21, 2010 at 3:55 AM

Hey Qwenli , thank you for correcting my hanyu pinyin,btw did i use it right?

Did JW's granddad asked, was it his decision to get married with Seul? So may be he will accept Ra-Im to be his grand daughter in law, because he found true love with his fourth wife now.

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119 tryingtoberesponsibleworkingadult

December 21, 2010 at 4:52 AM

anyone noticed that joo won seems to be calling oska "hyung" more frequently in the past 2 episodes? Prev he was mostly "Choi Woo Young?!" instead of "Oska" and definitely don't recall much of "hyung".

btw Seul's acting is really quite good.

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izzie

December 21, 2010 at 6:06 AM

he's been doing good in enclosed spaces too. notice how he crammed up in the van with the entire stunt crew? he squeezed in with the crew no problemo, odd since he had a huge problem getting into an elevator with only Ra-Im.

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120 hannah

December 21, 2010 at 5:22 AM

*swoon*
last part is so good.
ty for the awesome recap!

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121 dian_drina

December 21, 2010 at 5:47 AM

OH, my..

why Saturday and Sunday feels like centuries now?
I enjoy the Recaps, Both of you are my goddess!

and Wish to see this couple become one someday... and I hope neither of them turn into bubbles, amien...

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122 Francesca

December 21, 2010 at 6:12 AM

The look in his eyes, when he's watching her sleeping...Swoon!!

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i feel for you

December 21, 2010 at 5:56 PM

Yes, thats his charm he is tactless and eccentric in his ways, but he has a good heart and knows how to love.

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123 chel~

December 21, 2010 at 6:25 AM

tnx tnx for the recap.,..

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124 orbittle

December 21, 2010 at 6:26 AM

just an aside, that will totally veer away from the general discussion...i think that there probably will be another body switch in christmas eve or whatever...i remember him saying something like the probability of it raining that day is very slim and in the two body switches that did happen it was raining...i think rain will be the trigger for the switches up until whatever problem the switch was needed for is resolved...so if my assumption is correct, there may be a switch next week...though on the other hand seeing that they're both going ahead with this relationship (according to the last scene) maybe it won't happen again, but hey it doesn't hurt to assume right?

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125 nill14

December 21, 2010 at 7:02 AM

When will they put english sub for episode 11 and 12?
I cant wait and how many episode does it have?

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December 21, 2010 at 6:54 PM

It has 20.

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126 tetsi

December 21, 2010 at 9:53 AM

OMG SG what have you done to me. I even dreamed about the characters a few nights ago and that got me startled when I woke up because I never had this kind of attachment to any other drama before.

And HJW and HB. Gosh these two. I half expect them to start the horizontal tango right there in front of the camera. Watching these two on screen just reminds me of watching Brangelina as spies dancing to that spanish song in a Mexican Bar (I think) in 'mr and mrs. Smith.'

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127 Sharron Clemons

December 21, 2010 at 1:34 PM

Perfect! Then she kicks him in the shins and says "Michen nom!" (I don't know how to spell crazy.)

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128 Myxale

December 21, 2010 at 1:37 PM

Yay, so cool! Can't wait to see this.

Cheers and thanx!

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129 Startulle

December 21, 2010 at 5:17 PM

Im sooo addcited with this drama now....so cute chemistry.....the silly lines sounds so sincere and funny! It sooths my stressfull days! Thanks for recapping!

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130 syp

December 21, 2010 at 6:32 PM

Finally... we are moving forward in plot and character development! I really enjoyed this episode. Thanks for the lovely recaps :)

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131 kanthi

December 21, 2010 at 7:20 PM

12 episode's ending is scratch my heart . .ouggh
:D

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132 Bsl

December 21, 2010 at 7:25 PM

I really love to want Korean drama too. Since I can't understand Korean, your web is really helping me to understand the parts. Yesterday I watched EP12. I love the last scene, even I couldn't understand the Korean speech.

Thank you very much, and keep going ^^

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133 tikagecin

December 21, 2010 at 9:16 PM

i love this drama right after watched the first episode.

i think it's kinda new, when the lead male actor has so much desire to the female actor in their first meeting, even if he denial it in obvious and strange way.

while waiting the 11th and 12th episode are subs in dramacrazy.net , i couldn't help to ask about it:

what is it with SBS drama and The Little Mermaid? In My Girlfriend is Gumiho, it was mentioned too right?
i guess MGIG is the happy ending version of it ;p

oh, i hope both Joo woon and Ra Im are finnally be completly true to their feeling and stop arguing each others.

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We Yumi

December 21, 2010 at 10:38 PM

Of course the drama ends, when all obstacles are removed and the arguments end.

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dian_drina

December 21, 2010 at 10:48 PM

Maybe because Mermaid has the most tragic ending among fairy tales, not happily ever-after like the others.

In MGIG it's obvious that the ending suppose to be the tragic one, since the main female character is a nine-tailed fox, not a normal human like the lead male character.

In SG, the Joo Won said that he couldn't give up all of his to become Ra Im's husband someday due to his social class and his mother's objection towards Ra Im... there's no happy ending for them in the future, just like the Ending of The Little Mermaid...

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134 dian_drina

December 21, 2010 at 10:41 PM

I love The dialog in the last scene...
That's unspoken dialog, isn't it?

Is that meaning that Ra Im had open her heart for Joo WOn and give a chance for both of them to date for real?

OMG! OMG! OMG!
Superexcitednow!

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135 Stephanie

December 22, 2010 at 5:52 AM

"Joo-won especially has the WORST case of foot-in-mouth syndrome I’ve seen in a while."
haha

Joo-logic>Mary-logic

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136 margret

December 22, 2010 at 7:12 AM

i love reading your recap. i don't really watch korean dramas till its finish coz i hate waiting for subs. good thing there's recap i still can join the SG craze. i'll just wait for it to be available in my country. it always imeediately gets available with subs through pirated DVD's keke

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137 Francesca

December 22, 2010 at 10:03 AM

Binnie's scruffy look in Snow Queen was my fave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24C00G_jK8U

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138 absothe

December 22, 2010 at 11:42 AM

The last scene was soo beautiful, intense and romantic. It's almost better then a kiss. Almost.

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139 Omega

December 22, 2010 at 6:00 PM

"tariattanahjawa"
i like your second scenario ,too!! :) so it’s assuming that Joo-wanda got hurt in Ra-Im’s body at the start? I like how the granddad hushes evil-mom !

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140 yogic

December 23, 2010 at 9:28 AM

Did no one else notice that Joo-won had highlighters again?! The scene when he goes to her house right after she filmed her audition tape for Dark Blood he had two highlighters in his coat pocket. OMG, I am cracking up. Green and pink. Hehe.

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141 Don't want to miss a thing/Katey B

December 23, 2010 at 11:37 AM

Hiya all.

I'm just watching the subbed version of Ep. 12 after watching Ep. 11 last night.

Once thing that sticks out after everything else is that Hyun Bin seems to be walking bandy-legged.

I haven't noticed this in any other of his dramas.

I wonder is this is supposed to be part of Joo Won's character or if Hyun Bin's recently taken up horse riding...

Anyone else notice the funny walk?

(BTW I'm like Hyun Bin bandy legged or not.)

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Jomo

December 23, 2010 at 12:27 PM

Ooops> I didn't hit reply. I responded at 142.

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We Yumi

December 23, 2010 at 4:53 PM

I had noticed his walk.

I find it cute and sexy.

His legs look very long in this series.

He might have always walked that way but the combination of weight loss and body conscious clothing (if his pants were tighter they would be obscene) might have made his bandy walk more pronounced.

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142 Jomo

December 23, 2010 at 12:27 PM

I noticed, too, especially when he goes up the stairs

I think the pair has these idiosyncrasies so we recognize them better when they body switch.
Like the hilarious, "Sorry" HJW does as Joo Wonda. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

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143 Arabian gurl

December 23, 2010 at 2:22 PM

Don't u think they would switch in order not to do the car stunt cuz Joo-woo will be in her body and won't be able to do the stunt.

Thanx for the recap i really do hope that ra-him gets a chance to be famous and dress up it will make it intresting i read somewhere that ep 14 will be oskas concert and she will be his date and we get to see her all glamed up !!! can't wait

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144 Jinsight

December 23, 2010 at 3:48 PM

Oska is SOOOO annoying. I get most of you hate Joo-won, but for me Oska is about 2000x worse. He can't make up his mind about which woman he likes more so he sits there pouting about Seul and then goes and uses Ra-Im to make himself feel better. Also, he chastised his cousin about the stupidest thing possible- I mean duh, he knew Seul already, is it that big of a deal to have such a menial fact pointed out? Boohoo for her "I don't know him" plan being spoiled, since of course that's what will make her sleepless at night, not their stupidly overdrawn heartbreak background.

As a sidenote, Oska has wayyy more chemistry with Han Tae-san than with Seul, at least in the few scenes they've had together. Pity it probably won't happen due to social norm issues :(

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Fay

December 24, 2010 at 12:04 PM

I was also annoyed that he was jumping on Joowon about seul's lying. He was probably taken back by her saying that she didn't know Oska. It's not like they'd all come together and decided to cover for each other. He was probably bewildered, and anyways he doesn't like her so why should he cover up for her?? It's not about morality, and he sure as hell shouldn't even bring that up seeing as it's seul we're talking about here.

I'm getting increasingly annoyed by their side-story because it's taking time away from what i'm really interested in->ra im and joo won. They just need to ~move on~

Yes, han tae sun and oska would be so much better. I think sun deserves better (and hotter/younger), but their interactions are hella adorable. I keep shipping them even though I know the chances of it happening are extremely unlikely. I mean Oska flinches everytime Tae sun makes a small move. dude, come on. It surreptitiously perpetuates homophobia, that is, if the writers are not somehow going to use that as Oska and Tae sun becoming closer sometime soon.

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145 eekitsinax

December 23, 2010 at 8:11 PM

what song was playing when oska, joo-won, ra-im, and that girl were sitting across from each other and remembering what happen?

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146 We Yumi

December 23, 2010 at 8:34 PM

After doing a re-fresher on Hans Christian Andersen's version of the little mermaid- and looking at the official poster of our couple happily ascending the sky via an umbrella I began speculating.

1. I think the series will hold Joowon to his word and he will become the Little Mermaid/Skinny Merman (but not Ethel Merman)

a. I think he will lose (or be in danger of losing) status, family and job and he will choose RaIm over his privilege and lifestyle.

b. I think RaIm's life will be in danger and the only way to save her is for Joowon to sacrifice or be willing to sacrifice his life for her.

c. I think ultimately they will be okay, because the writer does not want her husband to divorce her, so the ending will be more Walt Disney than Hans Christian Andersen.