High School King of Savvy: Episode 14

by purplecow

Oh, this drama… it hurts so good. Jin-woo’s discovery of Min-seok’s secret ends up opening a whole new can of angsty worms as he debates about what to do. Meanwhile, Min-seok and his allies work desperately to find some way out of their predicament. It’s fascinating (not to mention highly entertaining) to see Jin-woo gain the upper hand for some of this episode, especially since it only seems to make him suffer more. Min-seok’s jealousy rears its head more than ever, with unexpectedly hilarious and even heartwarming results. With all of the maneuvering, blackmail, and counter-blackmail between our two directors this episode, it doesn’t seem possible that we could fit in any development of the overall plot — but we do. And boy, do we ever.

 
EPISODE 14 RECAP

Jin-woo has done his research and is now 100% sure that his least-favorite director is actually the high school student Lee Min-seok. He tells Min-seok that he’ll have to end his fraudulent role at Comfo. Min-seok runs after him, trying to get him to talk it out, but Jin-woo only drives away.

Min-seok calls an emergency meeting with Soo-young, Team Leader Kim, and Director Han. He tells them the bad news, drawing on a mixture of clichés and English: “The water has been spilled. The bus has already departed… Game over.” Team Leader Kim suggests that they prepare for the worst-case scenario, which is Jin-woo going directly to the president with the truth. “Shall we… write our resignation letters in advance?” Pfft.

Director Han gets a ride home from Team Leader Kim, and the discussion moves to Min-seok and Soo-young. Team Leader Kim was getting some weird vibes from them, but Director Han scoffs at the thought that she would date a high-schooler. Then they see Min-seok and Soo-young walking along the street holding hands, and gasp in unison when they think the two of them are walking towards a motel.

Min-seok and Soo-young continue walking, wondering what to do. Min-seok gripes that this is Hyung-seok’s fault, wondering how long he’s supposed to hold on when he doesn’t even know if his brother will show up to set things straight. Soo-young jokes that her high-schooler has to suffer through so much at such a young age, while Min-seok says that he feels better when she’s with him.

Then Soo-young remembers her ban on skinship and hurries away, leaving Min-seok to grumble that she’s really strict about this. He hurries after Soo-young with a smile on his face, calling out “noona” in a goofy voice that absolutely cracks me up.

Min-seok encounters Jin-woo and President Yoo in front of the elevator the next morning. He puts on a brave face and joins them, and Soo-young arrives a second later. The doors are just about to close when Team Leader Kim and Director Han race to catch the elevator. So… awkward.

President Yoo asks if the newcomers saw the Angel of Death or something, because they react with pure terror upon seeing the occupants of the elevator. Cue the most awkward journey ever, as Jin-woo taunts Min-seok by saying that he looks very young.

When President Yoo and Jin-woo leave, Director Han sinks to the floor and Team Leader Kim very nearly has a nervous breakdown. They guess that Jin-woo hasn’t said anything yet, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. Team Leader Kim calls on Buddha to protect him, while Director Han begins a round of Hail Mary’s.

Min-seok barges into Jin-woo’s office, demanding to know why Jin-woo hasn’t spilled the beans yet. Jin-woo freely admits that he’s toying with him while waiting for the best moment to reveal the truth. He playfully reprimands Min-seok for speaking impolitely to someone older, and then invites Min-seok to sit in his chair when Jin-woo leaves: “Since pretending to be a director seems to be your hobby.” He comes back again to say that Min-seok is actually really cute, and adds that he has games on his computer. I’m dying here.

Soo-young meets with Jin-woo to request that he keep what he knows a secret. She has to explain about her relationship, and how she couldn’t change her heart even after discovering that Min-seok is in high school. Jin-woo is understandably shocked, and asks if there is any good reason for him to keep their secret. If he finds such a reason, he says, he’ll rethink his position.

The president calls an important meeting in which he reveals a plan to execute a huge business deal with a German company called Pavo. He gets angry at Jin-woo for wanting to carry out more research into the company before committing. Jin-woo knows that the risk attached to the deal is huge, but the president thinks Jin-woo is just being cowardly. Interestingly, the president asks Min-seok what he thinks, since Pavo is a German company and he (supposedly) worked in Germany, but Jin-woo cuts in and deflects attention.

After work, once the Retail Team leaves, Soo-young gets a call from Jin-woo. He wants to go somewhere with her, and Soo-young can’t refuse because of Jin-woo’s leverage. She lies to Min-seok that her mother is in town. After Min-seok accepts her cover story and leaves, Soo-young sighs that it’s really hard to protect her high school boyfriend.

Soo-young meets Jin-woo in the underground parking lot. As they drive away, they’re spotted by Dae-han and Yoon-ju. Dae-han muses that they’re an odd couple, to which Yoon-ju laughs that people will say that about them, too. Aww, you two are so cute!

Once again Jin-woo brings Soo-young to visit his mother in the hospital. She gives Soo-young a gift, overriding her polite protestations. Soo-young looks to Jin-woo for assistance, but he only tells her that he’s on his mother’s side. Jin-woo’s mother notes that he looks very tired, sharing with Soo-young that her boy has always been a bit on the delicate side. Then she urges Jin-woo to take Soo-young out for dinner.

Since Soo-young can’t really say no, she commits to dinner with Jin-woo. He tells her that just for today, he doesn’t want to talk about Min-seok. He helps her when the meat is too tough to cut, and remembers something Soo-young said back when she still liked him. Jin-woo excuses himself after noting that eating with him must be uncomfortable for her, and watches her from outside the window. It’s less stalkerish than it sounds, simply because of the obvious turmoil in his expression.

On the drive home, Soo-young gets drowsy from the wine she drank and eventually falls asleep. Jin-woo pulls over and places his jacket gently over her like a blanket. He gazes at her for a long moment, reaches out his hand as if to touch her cheek, then pulls back with a sigh. He exits the car and paces back and forth in the street.

Min-seok finds the Retail Team gossiping about the upcoming deal with Pavo Asia. It would mean new offices in different countries and a real step forward for Comfo. Then Min-seok hears from Yoon-ju that Soo-young was in Jin-woo’s car the evening before, so he knows that she lied about her mother coming to town.

The Retail Team figures out that if Dae-han and Yoon-ju saw Soo-young with Director Yoo, then the two of them must have been together. Dae-han stands up and declares that he loves Yoon-ju and the two of them are dating. Stunned silence… then Yoon-ju’s coworkers ask her if anything’s wrong, or if she has a problem at home. Yoon-ju says quietly that Dae-han is a great kisser, which prompts our suave Office Romeo to apply some chapstick. Smooth, buddy.

Min-seok pulls Soo-young into his office, ignoring poor Team Leader Kim who wants to talk to him. He confronts Soo-young about her dinner with “Mom” last night, letting her know that the cat’s out of the bag. He’s brimming with adolescent jealousy, until his intuition tells him that Soo-young went with Jin-woo to protect him. When Soo-young confirms this, Min-seok is so angry that he doesn’t care about protecting the truth any more. He marches out of the office ready to tell the president the truth (and possibly punch Jin-woo’s face in).

Soo-young and Team Leader Kim grapple with Min-seok down the entire length of the hallway. Director Han joins them and once he knows what Min-seok intends to do, he joins in the wrestling. The three allies manage to carry Min-seok up to the rooftop, with him struggling the whole way. Soo-young declares that she will take care of this, so the others leave them alone. Soo-young faces Min-seok like a matador staring down a bull.

“Don’t you trust noona?” she asks him, and then tries what I can only guess is supposed to be a cute pout to dissuade him. Min-seok is as weirded out by this as I am, asking if she’s trying to use aegyo on him. He tells her to stop because it’s only making him angrier. He asks for a hug instead and Soo-young runs away. Most bizarre persuasion I’ve ever seen, but hey — whatever works, right?

Jin-woo meets with a subordinate about the deal with Pavo Asia. He wants to look deeper into the company’s financials, working through an affiliated company. His subordinate notes that Jin-woo doesn’t look very good, and Jin-woo admits that he’s leaving early because he’s not well.

When Jin-woo gets home he takes a few pills and falls into bed with his work clothes still on, but he can’t fall asleep. He tosses back a generous glass of whiskey, which considering those pills earlier is a Bad Idea. He goes back to bed, still in his clothes from work.

Soo-young is on the bus when Min-seok calls her, urging her to go straight home and ignore any men who try to talk to her. She hangs up and takes out the gift that Jin-woo’s mother gave her. It turns out to be a necklace, so expensive-looking that Soo-young feels uncomfortable.

Soo-young meets Jin-woo at his apartment to return the gift. She explains that it’s too much for her to accept, but that’s when Jin-woo’s vision starts to go blurry. He collapses against her, and then falls to the floor in a faint.

At the hospital the doctor explains to Soo-young what Jin-woo should have known already: heavy-duty meds and alcohol don’t mix so well. His stomach has been pumped and he should recover, but he’ll need someone to make sure he rests well and massage his arms and legs. As Soo-young staggers with Jin-woo out of the hospital, Min-seok arrives to help, although he doesn’t stop sniping at Jin-woo.

They arrive at Jin-woo’s home, and Min-seok is not happy to find out that Soo-young knows where everything is. He stops her from fixing porridge, saying that he’ll do it himself. His jealousy is in full swing, so he insists on being Jin-woo’s nursemaid instead of Soo-young.

Yoo-ah eats at Tae-seok’s restaurant, still grieving over losing Min-seok. When Duk-hwan leaves for the restroom, Tae-seok asks if she’s okay — not just pretending to be strong, but really okay. “I’m not crying because I’m sad,” she sniffs. “It’s because these noodles are so bad.” Tae-seok strokes her hair and tells her to eat up.

Back at Jin-woo’s place, Min-seok’s porridge is boiling nicely. He’s quite the dedicated caregiver thanks to his jealousy, not even letting Soo-young give Jin-woo his meds. Soo-young gets a call from her sister telling her to come home, and Min-seok offers to stay with Jin-woo in her place. He says that his jealousy is boiling over, and he’d much rather spend the night at Jin-woo’s than have to think about his girlfriend looking after his rival. Soo-young steps out, leaving Min-seok alone with his patient.

Min-seok changes into some of Jin-woo’s clothes, noting that his pants are long and tight like a girl’s. Next he tries on a slim, form-fitting sweater with sleeves that stretch a good foot beyond his hands. Now dressed in Jin-woo Chic, Min-seok cares for Jin-woo until he falls asleep.

Jin-woo awakes to find Min-seok in bed with him — rawr. He asks why Min-seok didn’t just sleep in the guest bed. It’s a valid question, but let’s not question the cuteness. Min-seok uncovers the porridge that he left out for breakfast and urges Jin-woo to eat. Jin-woo walks away, prompting Min-seok to reflect that he really is a punk with no manners.

Just then a call comes in on Jin-woo’s cellphone. It’s from President Yoo, who talks right over Min-seok to scold his son for looking deeper into Pavo’s financials. Min-seok is shocked to find out that President Yoo is Jin-woo’s father. Jin-woo snatches the phone away soon after, but now the cat’s out of the bag.

Later, at Comfo, Min-seok saunters along with Jin-woo. He’s found a secret he can use to counter Jin-woo, so now the status quo has been restored. Min-seok is insufferably smug as he says that he’s not normally the kind of person to blackmail another, but he can’t just let Jin-woo destroy him, can he? Haha, these two are so cute when they’re fighting.

Min-seok calls his team together to give them the good news. He now has a card to use against Jin-woo, so the crisis has been averted. They all want in on the secret, especially Team Leader Kim, but Min-seok refuses to reveal it. “It’s a promise between men,” he insists, even when Team Leader Kim pouts and throws an adorable tantrum.

Later, Min-seok and Soo-young eat lunch together, and Soo-young wonders if the secret about Jin-woo is something she already knows. They say their secrets at the same time, and Min-seok is peeved to learn that Soo-young already knew about Jin-woo’s parentage and never revealed it. He understands why she did it, though, and only says that if she pulls something like this again he’ll scold her. “How will you scold me?” Soo-young asks impishly. Down, girl — no role play at least until he graduates!

The Retail Team is still fixated on the deal with Pavo, which seems to be preceding apace. The team members show off their language skills as they dream about moving to a foreign office and getting a pay raise. Dae-han wonders if he could go somewhere with Yoon-ju, and the other team members hilariously continue their efforts to get Yoon-ju to raise her standards.

President Yoo is at a fancy dinner with some other businessmen, who congratulate him on the upcoming deal with Pavo. The president says that this is just the beginning, but one of the men mentions a weird rumor about President Yoo having an illegitimate son working at his company.

Later that night, the doorbell rings at Jin-woo’s apartment. He finds his father standing there, extremely drunk, and ushers him inside. President Yoo lets everything out, saying that his life is more pitiful than Jin-woo’s, since he has been forced to live his life in fear after a single mistake. He asks Jin-woo to leave with his mother, offering to give him as much money as he wants.

Soo-young calls Min-seok, although she pretends to be talking to a friend when Yoo-ah walks in. Yoo-ah immediately calls out her sister for her terrible acting, saying that she doesn’t have any friends in Seoul. It’s funny even as it’s heartbreaking, but Yoo-ah seems to have her emotions under control. Then Soo-young gets a call from Jin-woo, who is extremely depressed after his father’s visit. He’s wondering if he even has a purpose on this earth, since he was born by accident, and asks to see Soo-young for a moment. She tries to refuse, and he says he’ll wait until she comes out.

Min-seok is about to step out into the rain to bring an umbrella to his father. Meanwhile Gramps talks on the house phone to “Hyung-seok.” Min-seok thinks Gramps is just pretending, but we’re not so sure…

Yoo-ah finds Soo-young pacing back and forth, not sure what to do about Jin-woo. “Do you have to poop?” Yoo-ah asks, startling her sister. The story comes out, and Yoo-ah is the one who finally brings an umbrella out to Jin-woo, who’s just standing in the rain.

When Yoo-ah says her sister won’t come out, Jin-woo just walks away. Yoo-ah yells at him to take the umbrella since he’s been sick. She understands how he’s feeling since she’s been there too, and she shouts after him that he won’t die from it. Jin-woo makes his way through the rain, remembering all of the moments he shared with Soo-young.

The deal with Pavo is about to go down, and President Yoo assures his department heads that putting his personal stocks on the line for the deal is a worthwhile risk since he’ll soon gain ten to twenty times the amount back in profit.

In Min-seok’s office, Team Leader Kim explains the magnitude of the deal while Min-seok continues his physical therapy for his shoulder. He says “My Popcorn” asked him to do it, and it scares Team Leader Kim because he thinks Min-seok is referring to Soo-young, and that relationship still creeps him out. Min-seok seems amused at his squeamishness. Then a call comes in that sends Team Leader Kim into even more of a tizzy: The boss over at Pavo wants to meet with Director Lee Hyung-seok in person.

Jin-woo gets a call from the subordinate he asked to look into Pavo’s financials. He discovers that they actually didn’t have any connection with Japan, which makes him even more suspicious given how upset Pavo supposedly was when he wanted to investigate further. The wheels turn in Jin-woo’s head as he suspects foul play.

At the same time, a shifty-looking businessman named Hans enters President Yoo’s office with the deal. They sign both copies and shake hands, and I’m getting a bad feeling about this.

Min-seok and Team Leader Kim enter a swanky hotel to meet with Pavo’s CEO. Team Leader Kim is told that he can’t go into the room with Min-seok, which upsets both of them. He gives Min-seok one last pep talk, and Min-seok adorably calls him “Uncle” and says he’ll do his best.

He enters the hotel room and introduces himself to Pavo’s CEO: “I’m Director Lee Hyung-seok from the Retail Team.” Pavo’s CEO turns around to face him, revealing none other than his brother Hyung-seok. “It’s been a long time, Lee Min-seok.”

COMMENTS

This was Jin-woo’s episode all the way. I don’t mean that he stole the show or that the other characters didn’t do a fantastic job, but Jin-woo and his emotional tailspin formed the core of this episode and set the stage for some fantastic developments.

After finally figuring out the secret behind Director Hyung-seok, Jin-woo gets to play a little bit with his high school rival. Finally he feels in control of something, and it was only natural that he would choose to draw it out, like a cat toying with a mouse. It was kind of charming to see Min-seok get so frustrated, reduced to adorable stuttering in his anger, and I’m sure Jin-woo felt the same way.

Then Jin-woo used the secret to gain some leverage over Soo-young, but he didn’t actually abuse it all that much. Sure, he used it to get her alone for a dinner, but the Jin-woo who kissed Soo-young without permission didn’t make an appearance at all — I hope that version of Jin-woo is gone for good. This Jin-woo knew his efforts were futile, that Soo-young loved another man(-child), but he couldn’t resist using his leverage to spend time with her for the space of a meal, a car ride, a few stolen glances.

When Soo-young falls asleep in his car and Jin-woo just stares at her, longing for what he threw away, my heart ached for him (I’ll be honest, I was also getting kind of a vampire vibe, what with Jin-woo’s Cullenesque paleness and his driving off with her while she was getting drowsy. Thankfully the actor did a fantastic job of making his character’s genuine emotional turmoil take precedence). As the song says, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone, and Jin-woo has never faced that stark truth so bluntly until now.

Even Jin-woo’s accident with the pills and the alcohol drew my sympathy. Obviously it wasn’t the smartest move, but the poor guy only wanted to get some sleep and quiet his inner demons for a while. I remember when I accidentally popped some cold medicine after drinking a hot toddy… bad idea. But I didn’t have an adorably grumpy best friend to make me porridge or grumble at me until I felt better!

And that brings me to arguably the best part of this episode, and the development I’ve been waiting for since around episode six: the BROMANCE! Because even though it was reluctant and brief, with Jin-woo drug-addled and Min-seok driven by jealousy, it was so. Damn. CUTE! I swear I saw it coming when the doctor told Soo-young that she would have to “massage his arms and legs often,” and I even thought about that episode of Friends when Joey and Ross nap together — and then Min-seok and Jin-woo fell asleep together! I didn’t squee. That’s not what I do. But I may have made a high-pitched noise indicating the warm and fuzzy feeling I was experiencing.

Let’s face it — Jin-woo desperately needs a friend. Personally I don’t think he needs a love interest, maybe not even a magical reconciliation between his parents, but he does need a loyal buddy who has his back against the world. Min-seok would fit that bill perfectly, just as Duk-hwan and Tae-seok do for him. And if you think about it, Jin-woo has never really had a friend of any kind. So if we’re gonna be technical, Min-seok is now Jin-woo’s best friend (not the other way around, at least for now). Jin-woo might not be ready to acknowledge that yet, but we’ve still got a few episodes to go. I am fully onboard with this bromance, now that the main romance has weathered its rough patches and emerged stronger than ever. Jin-woo certainly won’t come around immediately, but I have faith. I mean, could you resist a grumpy-yet-sincere Min-seok cooking you breakfast and ready to tuck you in at night? I didn’t think so.

As if we didn’t have enough to look forward to, it also seems as though Big Bro is about to put his plan in action. Now that the joint venture is imminent, it feels like a fairly straightforward plot: get President Yoo to risk everything by expanding the company, then stab him in the back so he loses it all. At least, that’s what Jin-woo’s new information seems to point to, and it would certainly accomplish Hyung-seok’s as-yet-unconfirmed desire for revenge.

But now things are about to get interesting, and all because of Min-seok’s time at the company. Maybe Hyung-seok thought of his little brother as nothing more than a useful doppelganger, but during the time he’s been at the company Min-seok has formed strong bonds with so many of his colleagues. I doubt he’ll be happy to see Soo-young lose her job, or Team Leader Kim, or any of his allies on the Retail Team. If this turns into a fight between brothers for the sake of saving Comfo, I foresee Min-seok and Jin-woo being forced to team up in order to protect the people they love. You know what they say: The enemy of my enemy is my friend… and sometimes my cuddle-buddy. Can’t wait for next week!

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