Noonas Over Flowers: Episode 3

by javabeans

EPISODE 3. Broadcast on December 13, 2013.

girlfriday: On the morning of the second day, Mi-yeon and Hee-ae come down early to breakfast, after having woken up at 3:30. I hope that’s because of the jet lag. Yeo-jung comes down to join them and tells the staff that “something happened” to their camera last night… Rewind to Yeo-jung wondering if they can’t shut off their room camera last night, and Ja-ok suggesting she throw a towel over it. So Yeo-jung climbs up on a chair to cover the camera, and knocks it over in the process. Heh. That’s one way to get rid of it.

javabeans: Seung-gi is the latest to join the others downstairs and says he slept well, though a flashback to 6 am shows him reading guidebooks in the dark in his bed. Somehow with Seung-gi, I don’t think more effort yields more success.

girlfriday: Yeah he’s so the kid who put in six hours of studying before class anyway, regardless of what the end result was.

javabeans: I suppose if I were hilariously prone to messing things up and determined not to be that way, the only thing I could do was try harder too… it’s just that he’s so at odds with the thing he’s bad at, like it just trips him up even more. Maybe it’s because he’s so good at so many things that it’s hard for him to be less than competent?

girlfriday: Ha that’s probably true, like he’s not used to being this bad at stuff. Relatively. Yunno, minus the cooking and the directions.

javabeans: Seung-gi and Mi-yeon decide to go over their accounts, and sit down with calculators and money envelopes. A flashback to dinner last night shows Seung-gi telling the others they can order whatever they want tonight without worrying too much about the cost… just as today he realizes that their remaining budget isn’t very generous. Especially since it includes lodging. Gulp.

girlfriday: Mi-yeon tells Seung-gi that their only recourse is for him to stop Yeo-jung from ordering wine or coffee during meals. Double gulp. She coaches him on saying “No,” which cracks me up, especially since it’s the same phrasing he used to mock Na PD with. But right now he’s so terrified of saying no to Yeo-jung that he can’t even say it.

javabeans: I don’t even think the noonas will take it badly—Yeo-jung was the one who asked him last night how much they should confine their dinner to—but he’s SO not the guy who wants to be a hardass about money. I think it’s hilarious how Mi-yeon seems to have zero problem with any of this, but somehow it’s Seung-gi’s role.

girlfriday: Haha, and then the pair of them rush off to meet Hee-ae, and immediately start spending money on fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice on the way there.

javabeans: Seung-gi caption: “Time it took to ask for money: 0.87 seconds.” Mi-yeon caption: “Time it took to turn around: 0.0071 seconds.”

girlfriday: Mi-yeon and Hee-ae get all wrapped up in touring the palace and decide to have coffee on the terrace overlooking the ocean, as we get a replay of Mi-yeon just minutes before, telling Seung-gi that they have to stop drinking coffee everywhere they go because it’s expensive.

javabeans: How amenable do you think Na PD will be to offering cash for dips in the ocean? Or beating him in rock-scissors-paper?

girlfriday: I know, right? They’re gonna have to 1N2D the second half of this trip to make it back.

javabeans: Because seriously, I can’t see them lasting on their budget. I feel like maybe they’ll get the money to last through their last day, and then not be able to pay for the hotel, which the show will have to pony up for.

girlfriday: Who knows, maybe the noonas will be better at Go Stop than the halbaes were.

javabeans: Can you just see Ja-ok hustling everybody? “How do you play this game? What is this card called? MUAHAHA.”

girlfriday: LOL. *flips hair*

javabeans: I feel like the halbaes were crankypants about needing certain things and they wouldn’t stand for going hungry, say, or thirsty. But the noonas are more like, “Okay, Imma be good… well maybe one more. Last one I swear! Wait, where did all my money go?”

girlfriday: Seung-gi goes back to the hotel to pick up Ja-ok and Yeo-jung, and proudly tells them that he’s already made plans for a shuttle bus to take them to the airport later. He says that they’ll be spending the rest of the trip in comfort, which of course the show points out in that ominous famous-last-words way.

javabeans: Seung-gi gets so adorably proud of the things he does right, and he totally sounds like a travel guide (which Na PD points out). Thing is, I feel like everyone would totally be fine if he were like the fifth traveler who maybe did a little extra work. But to Seung-gi, he has to be The Best Travel Guide In the World, the five-star concierge who doesn’t allow any of his noonas to lift a finger as he treats them to luxury… on his tiny tiny budget.

girlfriday: Yeah, this is where the Expectation vs. Reality trips him up. But he is SO adorable when he gets praised, so you just want to pat him on the head and say good job, and not tell him about the massive cliff he’s about to dive off of. Why ruin his moment?

javabeans: Of course, he’s the one who suggests that they stop for more fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, just after it was his secret scheme to prevent them from drinking anything more than necessary. When I see Seung-gi, I think of a toddler straining himself to push a couch… and behind him his father is pushing quietly and letting the boy think he’s doing all the work.

girlfriday: Totally. Oh man, and then two steps later, Ja-ok wants to buy roasted chestnuts. They are going to be so broke before they even leave their first city.

javabeans: Seung-gi keeps running to the PDs to borrow a lira here, a lira there. Are they keeping track? Is he accruing debt?

girlfriday: Oh you KNOW Na PD is keeping tabs.

javabeans: All five meet up and take some time finding cheesy ways to pose for photos before continuing with the sight-seeing.

girlfriday: While the group waits in the giant line to get into the Blue Mosque, Seung-gi decides to go hunt for a lunch place on his own. He finds the restaurant he was looking for and then for some reason has to ask like ten different people for a reservation (at one point he’s just wandering aimlessly and repeating “I would like a reservation” like a robot), only to make his way through the whole place before they tell him they don’t take reservations. Ha.

javabeans: Story of his life, isn’t it? All that preparation, gone to waste.

girlfriday: I love that it’s Day 2 and Seung-gi’s already skipping the sight-seeing to figure out lunch and dinner. Do you think that was his take-away from watching Seo-jinnie?

javabeans: I almost feel like he shouldn’t have seen Grandpas, because it just gave him ideas that aren’t necessarily going to help.

girlfriday: There’s this side bit where he stops to buy a Coke and for some reason does this really convoluted math to figure out how much he spent and got back in change, and it doesn’t even add up a little bit. Math skillz: Seo-jinnie > Na PD > Seung-gi.

javabeans: He seems to think the math works, but I’m just confused. Then he jogs back to meet the rest, just in time to escort them to lunch (which is hilarious, because he just went there and back and is now going back again), having left his VJ there to hold a place in line.

girlfriday: Hee, I love that Ja-ok is still scoping hot guys at her age. She sees someone good-looking at the next table over and tells the girls to get their peek. After lunch they stop for ice cream and get a fun show from the cheeky vendor.

javabeans: Mi-yeon is the best audience for that, because she’s amazed at everything. Then it’s back to their hotel so they can head to the airport for the second leg of their trip. Eep. Even without the preview of the travel horrors in store, I always get so nervous when people on this show are in transit.

girlfriday: No kidding. It doesn’t help that Seung-gi messes up just getting the right bags into the car, and I’m half convinced they’ll get to Croatia and discover they have the wrong luggage.

javabeans: In the shuttle van, the noonas ask Seung-gi all about the arrangements for their next city, and the tone is super jokey and lighthearted but the answers (or Seung-gi’s lack of them) do not inspire confidence.

girlfriday: And then as soon as they arrive at the airport, Seung-gi goes for an empty luggage cart just assuming for some strange reason that it’s free. He watches a porter load all their luggage and then is all shocked that he can’t push the cart himself and that this is a porter’s job, for which he will be paid. Pffft.

javabeans: It cracks me up that even then he doesn’t get it, until Yeo-jung informs him that the porter will be wanting a tip. Aw. But I guess if you’re Seung-gi, how would you know that free carts and luggage service isn’t just the way airports work? The caption: “Every day, Seung-gi learns a little more of the world.”

girlfriday: While in line, he tells Mi-yeon that he’s going to be really nice to his manager from now on. Aw. She agrees and very sweetly tells him that he’s really doing a good job, “Even though, to be honest, I thought you’d do as much as Lee Seo-jin did. But that was my mistake.” HAHAHA.

javabeans: I love that she means it as a compliment, sort of. She tells him to use this as study opportunity and treat his girlfriend well in the future. Yeo-jung quips that his future girlfriend will really benefit thanks to the noonas. It’s a short flight to Zagreb in Croatia, and Mi-yeon has thought to take the last of the wine with her… which leads to her slurring to the others later that she has low tolerance.

girlfriday: Yeo-jung hilariously points out the oddity of the sweet girl who used to be in those chocolate commercials twenty-some years ago, now drunk at the airport.

javabeans: The noonas have a little fun ribbing Seung-gi at his limited knowledge of, say, the local landscape or weather. Yeo-jung whips out her smartphone and shows him how she can track the weather and asks what he’s done. He laughs, “I’m just here in body.” She notes that he’s obsessed with their money calculations, and almost feels sorry for his obvious money stress.

girlfriday: It’s adorable how determined he is not to repeat his mistakes at the first airport arrival, and this time he’s running around at warp speed with a Plan.

javabeans: Seriously, it’s really sweet how he jumps to get everyone’s luggage, for instance, after watching all the noonas beating him to it the first time while he stood around in confusion. Also it proves that he really is good at things by studying, not by, say, inherent common sense. But by god, teach him once and he will practice the hell out of it later.

girlfriday: This time he’s racing against the clock to catch the last bus into the city, which totally lights a fire under his ass. Thankfully he’s on top of the luggage and even thinks to divide and conquer by asking Mi-yeon to exchange their currency while he finds the right bus to take. So far, so good.

javabeans: His English isn’t quite so panicked, either. I mean, HE’s panicked, but last time when he got nervous he just started spitting out made-up words. He tells everyone that this is the bus, then darts inside while the caption tells us “But he should have left more concrete explanation…” Ack! Don’t do that!

girlfriday: The currency exchange takes a while, but Seung-gi is convinced he has enough time (with ten minutes to spare until the bus is set to leave). Meanwhile the noonas are standing there in front of the bus not knowing where their luggage is (for instance, is it on the bus or in the airport?) and running out of time.

javabeans: Aie! He’s waiting for Mi-yeon to finish the exchange, while Yeo-jung confirms that the bus accepts Euros anyway. Please tell me the bus will still be there when he arrives. I’m so nervous.

girlfriday: Yeo-jung gets so nervous that Hee-ae runs in to look for Seung-gi, which just makes me more nervous that the group will get split up or something. But she finds them as they’re coming out, so they run to the bus together… and phew, it’s still there!

javabeans: Once they make it on the bus, they can breathe a sigh of relief. I love how somehow Mi-yeon became his partner in this, and the other noonas joke that they should just marry. Seung-gi jokes that they can go to Croatia on their honeymoon, and Ja-ok corrects, “You’re on your honeymoon now.” Yeo-jung adds that if he wants to make the headlines, he should try wooing her too, “I’m available.”

girlfriday: This time he’s really done his homework, and answers all their questions about where they’re going with assurances that he’s looked into each leg of the transfer. He sure sounds confident, but honestly that just makes me worry more. The airport bus drops them off at the tram terminal, and the captions tell us this is where things start to go horribly awry…

javabeans: This is starting to echo that first airport experience, isn’t it? Everyone starts asking various employees and tourists on their own, each getting their own answers, while the noonas wait for Seung-gi to come back and Ja-ok sits their placidly snacking away.

girlfriday: He spends forever trying to buy tickets on the wrong side of the terminal, and then finally comes back to lead the group over to the trams. He’s got that lost look in his eye again, and when Yeo-jung asks which number tram they’re taking, Seung-gi says, “Around 6ish?” Hahahaha. I don’t know why, but it’s so funny. He says in a confessional later that that was the dumbest thing he said the whole trip.

javabeans: They make it on the right tram, though Seung-gi notes that he’s not quite sure of their stop, because he couldn’t understand it. I’m just about to get even more stressed out on his behalf, but there are people on the tram who direct him with clear directions, phew. I just want them to make it to the hotel! Is that too much to ask?

girlfriday: Oh god, and then once they make it to the big square, they have to figure out the next tram to take. (In his haste, Seung-gi accidentally calls Mi-yeon “hyung” instead of noona, and she’s just like, “Call me hyung.” Heh.) What Seung-gi finds out is that they have to get BACK on tram 6, which is the one they took to get here, to go maybe one or two stops. Maybe? Eee.

javabeans: Ack, I don’t want to be the one to tell the noonas that they have to backtrack. You know, it’s funny how you can now really compare Seung-gi and Seo-jin’s styles of guiding, both stressful in different ways. Seo-jin would keep all his concerns to himself, and you could see the stress sort of eating away at him but he didn’t want to let on to the halbaes that he was unsure. Seung-gi, on the other hand, is like the guy who wants to make transparent how sure or unsure he is about something, so he’ll explain every detail, including all his concerns about things that may or may not be a problem. It’s all, “They said it was two stops, but I’m not positive I trust that…”

girlfriday: Later Na PD gets a peek at Seung-gi’s insanely detailed handwritten notes about his transit plan and dies laughing.

javabeans: He literally falls over laughing. We see brief clips of him studying his notes like he’s preparing to take the bar. When they get to the vicinity, he calls the hotel, whose manager/owner agrees to come out to meet them in the street, and Seung-gi even asks what color clothing he’s wearing, which is certainly weirdly odd. Then Seung-gi stands apart to play lookout, and of course the guy right comes up to the noonas first.

girlfriday: Lol. It would be tragic if it weren’t so funny, the amount of sweat and tears Seung-gi pours into every tiny detail, only to have it all derailed when things are just so much easier for the noonas.

javabeans: I think Yeo-jung may even have the best English, plus the most common sense. There’s a brief montage of horror-music-scored clips that makes me think they’re heading into a hellish pit of despair, but thankfully we soon arrive and the apartment is actually spacious and nice.

girlfriday: Oh thank goodness. That elevator ride up put me on edge.

javabeans: The noonas rave about it, and Seung-gi puffs up right away. They all balk to realize there’s only one bathroom for the five of them, although all things considered I feel like they lucked out. Don’t look gift horses in mouths! And is Na PD rubbing it in, saying that this is the place Seung-gi reserved so he doesn’t know anything about it? Next Seung-gi goes up and down the stairs lugging bags, and now he understands the importance of asking which floor they’re on. (They’d asked him before and he hadn’t thought to ask.)

girlfriday: Caption: “He learns another thing.” Upstairs they’ve had time to let it sink in that there’s only one bathroom, and so they just start taking turns like it’s summer camp.

javabeans: Hee-ae beelines for the kitchen, and if I remember correctly she’s got quite the cooking skills (and eating skills). I’m still amazed that they got all that kimchi here, ’cause anybody who’s traveled with that knows how much it can smell, fifty layers of plastic notwithstanding.

girlfriday: I know, right? They all happily dig into their first Korean meal in three days, which I suppose is impressive compared to the halbaes who could barely go two meals without something Korean. Hee-ae really does have a massive appetite, which I thought was a little exaggerated in previews. But she keeps eating and eating and eating.

javabeans: The mood is jokey and pleasant, but then suddenly things turn dire as we preview the next episode, starting with the whole group moving all their luggage out of these spacious digs… and into a tiny, cramped box of an apartment. What gives?

girlfriday: Huh? Did they get evicted? In the middle of the night?

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