The Musical: Episode 6

by kaedejun

Oh my God Ok Joo Hyun is sexy.

To be frank, I didn’t like this episode as much. For one thing, we’re still stuck at the retreat. It must be an insanely long night for all those characters, because people just keep talking and talking, and daylight never comes. However! If you like Yoo Jin (like meeeee) then you’ll appreciate this episode for his character’s revelations. And there’s a crap-ton full of Meaningful Glances all around.

SONG OF THE DAY

“My Man” (내 남자는) – Beige from The Musical OST Part 2 [download]

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It is Eun Bi who reaches Ra Kyung first, and she helps tamp down the flames. Immediately, she goes into “doctor mode” and ties a piece of fabric around Ra Kyung’s burnt arm. Yoo Jin reaches them when Eun Bi and Joon Hyuk are pulling his girlfriend up to her feet, and they rush back to her room.

Eun Bi quickly douses Ra Kyung’s arm in ice cold water, and she thanks Joon Hyuk for carrying her over. Though Eun Bi has managed to help the swelling, they need to head over to the hospital immediately. She orders Joon Hyuk to get the car, Sang Won to get ointment, and Gu Jak to get towel and ice. Her efficiency and no-nonsense manner impresses both Jae Hee and Yoo Jin.

Jae Hee sends Yoo Jin, Ra Kyung, Joon Hyuk, and Eun Bi off in the car, and immediately Kang Hee pounces. It’s a shame that Ra Kyung got hurt… by the way can he come up to her room to discuss the songs? He doesn’t want to, but she pressures him into it, saying that they’re just discussing as actress and songwriter. Little does she realize Sang Won just witnessed this entire exchange. It makes him uncomfortable that Kang Hee could very well be cheating on him again right in front of him.

So while Jae Hee wants to bring Gu Jak along for this meeting as a buffer, Sang Won also seeks out Gu Jak to “get to know him better.” He listens to Gu Jak’s crazy stories about the military in an attempt to forget that Kang Hee and Jae Hee are meeting up in his room.

At the hospital, they bump into one of Eun Bi’s sunbaes, who’s still skeptical that she gave up a promising career in medicine for musicals. He prods Yoo Jin to fire her if she’s less than stellar; that way the medical field might be able to regain a bright star. Ha – wrong person to say something like that to, because he very well could!

The doctor advises everyone to let Ra Kyung rest for now. Yoo Jin grasps his girlfriend’s hand briefly and assures her he’ll be waiting outside. Joon Hyuk is the last to leave, and he helps wind down the back of her bed so that she may rest better. He notices her burnt sweater, and heads out to purchase another. Actions speak louder than words!

Eun Bi and Yoo Jin sit outside in the hall, and he comments that she must have been a smart girl to have done one year of med school and yet reach a residency level. Eun Bi laughs nervously, embarrassed but not denying it either. Her sole motivation to being a doctor was helping her grandmother. Although her grandmother’s lungs aren’t the best, she’s still energetic, and Eun Bi zestily describes how her grandmother drove like a madwoman to get Eun Bi on the train with Jae Hee.

Place Granny in front of a computer with a virus, though, and she won’t know what to do. She would need Jin Young to help for that.

Yoo Jin catches on that Eun Bi doesn’t seem to have a mother, and she admits that her mother left the family when she was very young. She doesn’t hate her mom for it, and reasons that her mother must have had a very good reason for abandoning the family.

It’s a little different from how Yoo Jin feels. Confession time! He isn’t on the best terms with his father, as Jin Young had decided to leave the family business before Yoo Jin even finished school. Grandfather was uber-pissed that Jin Young practically abandoned thousands of lives in the company who looked to him for guidance. He promises that Yoo Jin’s education would be paid for, and he’d have a job in the company, if Yoo Jin promises to stay by his side. And – he can’t see his dad anymore.

And would you look at that – both find out their families live in Daegu. Eun Bi asks if he could just visit his parents in secret and then lie to his Grandfather about it. Yoo Jin: “Like what you do in taking a leave of absence from school and lying to your parents about it?”

They share a good laugh, and it’s this newfound chummy attitude that Ra Kyung catches them in as she walks out of the ER. Ah – but never fear! There’s still one person who’s thinking of you and your injury: Joon Hyuk returns with a red sweater to help cover the hole in her sweater. But Ra Kyung is too caught up in catching the softer smiles that Eun Bi and Yoo Jin now share.

Meanwhile Jae Hee tries to talk all business with Kang Hee. However, she starts getting close and reminds him of their dream of working together on a musical. He didn’t forget, but he believes she left him first. She chose her marriage over him and musicals, and that’s why he left for the States. The immediacy of how he puts the blame on her suggests that that is how he copes with her betrayal, and what helps him move on from her.

Kang Hee wants everything though – and she sidles up to him, saying she never left him. She practically insists that it’s impossible for him to have already forgotten her, and goes right in his face, about to kiss him. Jae Hee backs off; he’s moved on. He knows he can move on. Atta boy, Jae Hee!

A little flustered, he leaves the room quickly, and rushes past Sang Won, who’s heading to the room with coffee. When Sang Won enters the room, Kang Hee is nowhere in sight, and Jae Hee’s laptop is left on the sofa. He imagines that the two of them were making out (thus forgetting work), and when he sees Kang Hee come in from the balcony and leave brusquely, it only confirms his fears.

Poor guy – I don’t blame him for thinking it, even though it’s not true. He makes a call to a Frank in the States. He wants to acquire the rights to the musical “Count Monte” (which I’m going to assume has to do with “The Count of Monte Cristo”).

Kang Hee calls up Eun Bi first to check up on her and Ra Kyung, and asks to meet. She’s on the phone for a while in the car, so Joon Hyuk gently chides her for being on a call with everyone else just sitting there in the car. So when Jae Hee calls her up, she quickly hangs up on him. He texts her instead, wanting to meet her as soon as she comes back.

However, Kang Hee gets to Eun Bi first. Ohs Wells. We finally get to the heart of the matter – Kang Hee wants Eun Bi out.

When Kang Hee was engaged, Jae Hee came into her life, and swept her up with his passion and intensity. She very nearly gave up everything to be with him, as she was his muse… very much like how Eun Bi is his muse now. Sang Won stopped her from leaving, but she still loves Jae Hee. Right now, Jae Hee’s using Eun Bi as the buffer between them so that the two will never get back together. So Kang Hee asks that Eun Bi step aside; the two gals can be great mentor-mentees to each other, and Jae Hee and Eun Bi can be a great musical team. But in terms of love, she wants Eun Bi far away from their personal lives.

Not like Eun Bi was really planning on getting between them, but now that Kang Hee has planted the thought in her head, Eun Bi can’t help but get muddled in it.

So during the final party (because this night is just. so. long!) Eun Bi does her best to avoid Jae Hee, leaving when he arrives and never looking at him in the eye. Yoo Jin watches this “dance” from afar, and Ra Kyung watches Yoo Jin watching that dance. ROUND OF MEANINGFUL GLANCES!

At another party in a karaoke bar, Jae Joon is taking out a few of the investors for drinks. He softens them all up and keeps bringing up that Yoo Jin might be making a mistake with this “Chungdamdong Gumiho” musical he’s producing. After all, what crazy person would have a 5.5 million Won budget with an unknown as a lead? This idiotic cousin is only smart when it comes to messing with Yoo Jin.

During a group dance (and how I love they’re dancing 1950s style), Jae Hee and Eun Bi end up switching partners and dancing together. Eun Bi largely ignores his attempts to clear up any misunderstandings, but when he tries to explain how he feels about her, she sets off for the bottle of makgulli.

ANOTHER round of meaningful glances as Kang Hee and Yoo Jin watch the events unfold. Jae Hee tries to stop her from drinking, but she won’t talk to him unless it’s business. She grabs the drink again, finishes it, and goes for a bottle of soju. Now this is a bit much, and she stumbles. Yoo Jin is quick to his feet and catches her before she falls.

Bok Ja hurries over and helps Yoo Jin bring Eun Bi back to her room. She plops on the bed horizontally and starts screaming “Go away Jae Hee!” Haha. Awkward for Bok Ja and Yoo Jin. He asks Bok Ja to get some meds and water, and then sits Eun Bi up on the bed.

Eun Bi: [All this,] It’s difficult. I just want to do musicals. It’s hard enough doing musicals. No matter how hard I try, I think it’s only getting harder. Even if I try harder, there are problems that I just can’t deal with. I don’t know why it’s become like this…

Yoo Jin quickly understands her meaning, and puts an arm to comfort her. (!!!!!)

He leaves her in Bok Ja’s care (and wondering whether this love triangle just became a love square), and bumps into Jae Hee outside. He stops her from visiting Eun Bi. She’s suffering because of him and Kang Hee, and if he has a heart, he should stop pressuring her or putting her in burdensome situations.

Jae Hee is ready to dismiss Yoo Jin’s words, but Yoo Jin sincerely means it. He has experienced being burdened with things he didn’t ask for, and to have the happy-go-lucky Eun Bi complain means that it’s truly difficult for her.

In a better mood, Kang Hee goes back up to her room while Sang Won heads out to meet with Yoo Jin. They finish up a conference call with Frank from the States, and while it’s a fruitful opportunity, Yoo Jin is stressed. The timing couldn’t have been worse as it coincides with “Chungdamdong Gumiho.” Getting funding for both musicals will be difficult, and on top of that they want Kang Hee as the lead. Sang Won says they can either 1) give up on the “Count Monte” production in Korea, 2) have Sang Won and Kang Hee go over to “Count Monte” while everyone else works on “Chungdamdong,” or 3) they postpone “Chungdamdong” and do “Count Monte” first. The decision stresses out Yoo Jin terribly, and he doesn’t respond to Ra Kyung’s calls or texts.

This is Sang Won’s way of getting Kang Hee as far away from Jae Hee as possible. When he later tells Kang Hee that this big Broadway musical wants her for the lead of their Korean production, she becomes visibly excited. But then what about Jae Hee…?

Eun Bi awakens and goes for a midnight walk. She sees Jae Hee moping in the auditorium at a piano, and visits him. He’s so happy and hopeful that she actually found him here. Eun Bi apologizes for the things she said while drunk, and clarifies that she only wants a composer-actress relationship. She still admires Kang Hee, but Kang Hee told her outright that she wants to be the only one in Jae Hee’s heart.

Ha – thank you! Everyone knows the truth! Jae Hee says that no one can decide who will be in his heart but himself, and whatever Kang Hee is talking about is all in the past. He points out that if he and Kang Hee were so close, then why is Eun Bi acting like the messenger? He’d rather Eun Bi just focus on the musical: “If you just sing my song, you will fall for me one day.” So cheeky!

And they’re back on good terms. Yay.

Eun Bi walks back to the dorms from the auditorium and bumps into Yoo Jin, thinking on one of the benches. They go on a walk together, and Kang Hee spots them from afar as she stands on her balcony. She’s thinking, “HMMM – INTERESTING…” before heading back inside. Eun Bi thanks Yoo Jin: though he was the villain in her story at first, he has taken her this far with the musical.

It’s so nice to see Yoo Jin’s smile more and more.

He poses a question to her: What if they couldn’t do “Chungdamdong Gumiho”? Then what?

Eun Bi: “Say whut?”

Comments:

OK – Eun Bi didn’t really say that particular line, I took some liberties there, but that’s the feeling you were supposed to be left with at the end of this episode. However, it’s obvious Yoo Jin isn’t going to give up “Chungdamdong Gumiho,” so we’re good.

The relationship between Ra Kyung and Yoo Jin is starting to remind me a lot of the relationship between Suk Hyun (Shin Sung Rok) and Eun Hee (Kim Sung Eun) in Thank You. While Suk Hyun got caught up with his ex-love Young Shin (Gong Hyo Jin), Eun Hee was steadfast beside him, until she finally broke down by covering up her miscarriage in an attempt to keep him. Nevertheless, Suk Hyun was also loyal to Eun Hee. I think it’s similar here: while Yoo Jin is definitely interested in Eun Bi, it doesn’t mean he’s falling in love with her. He still clearly cares for Ra Kyung because he soothes her and holds her hand; even if he does it mechanically, some credit must be given to him for the fact that he doesn’t shy away.

I only feel bad for Ra Kyung because it’s likely she’s going to put more meaning into his interest than there is reason to. She clearly loves him more than he does, which leads to a bit of imbalance in their relationship. It’s just like Sang Won and Kang Hee’s relationship, though I am more impressed with Sang Won because he knows exactly how to hook his wife and get her away from Jae Hee. The person who loves more will simply be hurt more…

Isn’t it insane that the main coupling (Daniel Choi and Gu Hye Sun) are probably less interesting than the side characters?! At least, that’s how I feel. Even their relationships with the other characters are far more interesting than their relationship with each other.

Shout out to the cinematography: I love the whole placement of the actors to show the depth and distance between them, and how they close that distance physically as the characters become closer. For example, in the hospital the space between Eun Bi and Yoo Jin is quite far, but by the time we get to her bedroom, Yoo Jin is right beside her on the bed. Example 2: At the auditorium, Jae Hee sits far away from Eun bi on the piano bench, as both are on strained terms with each other. Then he closes that distance by sitting near her on the edge of the stage, and they resolve their issues. And example 3: when Yoo Jin confronts Jae Hee about burdening Eun Bi, Jae Hee is in the foreground, and Yoo Jin is in the far background. And both men stay distant like that for the entire conversation – since they don’t like each other.

And one more smile:

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