Youths Over Flowers: Episode 7

by girlfriday

javabeans: We start the first episode of the Laos trip with a clip of the Peru trip, labeled the last night of “the old youths.” Lol. Like it wasn’t rubbing it in enough to call Sang, Juck, and Hee-yeol “youths” in the first place.

girlfriday: You just know Na PD was snickering to himself the whole time. Hee-yeol and Juck agree that if they had been sent to Laos, they might’ve died from heat stroke or something.

javabeans: I love how they say, “If we’d been dragged along totally defenseless, man, I would’ve really been ticked off.” They’ve read the stories naming Yoo Yeon-seok, Sohn Ho-joon, and Baro (all castmates from Answer Me 1994, but you all knew that) as the Laos cast, and know this is what the boys will have to endure, but even then I don’t think they know how bad it’ll be.

girlfriday: And in case we haven’t seen the drama, we get character introductions for each of the boys… aaaand now I’m in love with Chilbongie all over again. Sigh.

javabeans: I know. Swoon. I really wish Jung Woo could’ve come too, but he was busy with filming and couldn’t make it. After a brief montage teasing what adventures are in store, we’re told that this trip would have the tiniest allowance of all the trips, and the worst hidden camera.

girlfriday: We start off the day after the “old youths” return from their trip. The staff prepares a dressing room with hidden cameras tucked away in every corner, and then we get a clip of Na PD from two months ago calling the boys’ agents to explain, “They might be kidnapped, and they’ll be shocked.” The fact that he can just call people and say that is hilarious.

javabeans: Baro’s agency president is all confused and concerned: “You mean… I can’t tell Baro? At all?” That’s a much nicer response than Ho-joon’s manager, who says with a smile, “He has to suffer a little.” Then Na PD checks to make sure that Yeon-seok thinks he’s going to England for a photo shoot, then cackles in glee, saying, “Did he like that, huh?”

girlfriday: Haha, he’s SO giddy. Then it’s finally D-day, and Na PD and crew wait and wait and wait until the boys finally start to trickle in for their “photo shoot.” Ho-joon is the first to arrive, and his manager gives an interview about him being rather simple-minded, and that he’s never once left the country.

javabeans: That’s the nice way of saying it, when really you mean dumb, right? Let’s not sugar-coat Mr. Manager, who laughs that Ho-joon believed you needed a passport to go to Jeju until only a few months ago.

girlfriday: Lol, I just know we’ll be seeing the height of his dumbness over the course of the trip, so we shouldn’t start out calling him a total moron.

javabeans: Well I did see a caption calling for a “Dummy Battle” so maybe he won’t be alone! Aw, I love that these guys may be young hot rising stars, but are not so image-concerned that they can’t be made fun of. LOL, and then while Ho-joon is awaiting the “commercial” he believes he’s here to shoot for tvN, he goes over his lines: “Number one channel—OCN!” His manager: “You’re at tvN!”

girlfriday: Pffffft. And then the staff’s hidden camera setup starts going awry, and the one in the hallway gets thrown in the trash by the cleaning lady, hee. Next to arrive is Baro, and his manager interviews that he’s a genuinely nice guy, but then worries that he can’t be filmed without makeup because his skin is dirty.

javabeans: It’s cracking me up how fixated on food Ho-joon is, and the moment Baro comes in the door he’s all, “Hi! Do you have food!” And then Yeon-seok arrives, and he’s all, “Hi! Do you have food? Is that all?”

girlfriday: I love that Yeon-seok arrives in sunglasses and Baro immediately tries them on like a little brother. Apparently Baro’s manager believes that his idol is so well-behaved that he doesn’t even have a personal cell phone. Cut to: Baro taking selcas on his own phone the minute he’s alone. HA.

javabeans: Ho-joon asks if Baro has any more work scheduled for the day, and Baro says he has a CF tomorrow morning—it’s an ice cream CF for Binggeure (thanks to his character from Answer Me)… or so he believes, because that’s the story Na PD provided his agency president, who says that Baro is super excited and nervous to be doing his first solo CF, which he thinks will be in California. HA! And also, aw.

girlfriday: Dude, you wonder why these boys aren’t shooting more food CFs for Haitai and Binggeure brands. It’s a shame the idea isn’t real.

javabeans: Ho-joon wonders why he got no Haitai offers, ha. Then when Yeon-seok comes back he’s all handsy with Baro, and Ho-joon complains, “Have some interest in me too!” He says how he called Yeon-seok on his birthday after getting drunk late at night, because Dohee was the only cast member to call him to wish happy birthday, and the guys are all, “How’d she know your birthday?” Ho-joon: “It’s on the internet! You just search it and it comes up!” Baro: “Why would I search you on the internet?”

girlfriday: Ho-joon says he calls Yeon-seok more than anyone else when he’s drunk, mostly because he answers. Though he admits, “When I’m drunk I think of you most.” Hee.

javabeans: Then it’s time for the fake commercial shoot, and the staff has really gone all-out planning the decoy. We’ve mentioned this before, of how this is Na PD’s genius—he isn’t some lazy mastermind who will fill in the blanks later, he’s the guy who will put all his effort into planning the decoys as though they’re real, with full concepts and storyboards.

girlfriday: Yes, as if he’s really planning Binggeure ice cream CFs and tvN commercials. What he’ll actually do, of course, is use this stuff for the opening credit cartoons.

javabeans: I love this emerging dynamic/narrative of Yeon-seok and Baro being super cutesy buddies, and Ho-joon being the whiny jealous third wheel who’s always trying to get them to like him more.

girlfriday: They are SO HANDSY. I love it!

javabeans: The dancing is adorable. So adorable. Omg adorable.

girlfriday: I want the dancing to be the whole episode.

javabeans: I’m going to cut it and clip it and refer to it on any days I feel bad.

girlfriday: I need to find a way to make it play on my TV every morning when I wake up, like an alarm, but happy. So then the commercial is done, and the boys get ushered into the dressing room and the staffer runs over to get Na PD and head writer Lee Woo-jung (also of the Answer Me series).

javabeans: I’m dying, the way Na PD shuffles into the room pretending he’s just tagging along to say hi. Baro is so excited about his fictional ice cream CF that he tells the writer, “My first one! Alone!” and Na PD captions his own fake-surprised reaction as “shameless.”

girlfriday: God, I can’t wait for the day that somebody (likely Seo-jinnie) stages an elaborate hidden camera prank on Na PD.

javabeans: Na PD is actually really great at acting natural as he brings up the topic of wanting to do a Youths travel show right after Answer Me, but that their management said they were all too busy. Ho-joon pouts, “You didn’t ask me, did you?”

girlfriday: Na PD very naturally asks them about where they’ve traveled and gets them all to agree to do a trip with him sometime in the future, and as soon as they all nod, he reaches for his bag….

javabeans: Aw, I love Ho-joon, who seems kinda sensitive and tender-hearted—unlike the other two boys, he hasn’t traveled, he hasn’t gone abroad ever, he doesn’t get asked to do photo shoots or CFs, and he wants to do this Na PD trip really bad, you can tell. He even says, “If my agency says no, then please just do something [to make them agree]…”

girlfriday: Na PD freaks out for a moment when Yeon-seok mentions Laos, wondering if he knows they’re up to something. But he’s just telling Baro about how he wanted to go there while he was in Cambodia but never made it.

javabeans: So then Na PD sets things in motion, taking out a stack of passports and saying matter-of-factly, “Then let’s do this as quickly as possible…” The boys are flabbergasted when he hands them their passports, but they don’t get it yet, and Na PD hands out their etickets next. Baro is overjoyed to realize that the trip will be real, but the ball hasn’t dropped yet. He wonders, “When are we going? Where?”

girlfriday: They’re staring right at the tickets but still, it doesn’t dawn on them what’s happening. Baro is just endlessly chipper about going, while Yeon-seok keeps re-reading the ticket going, “July 7… that’s today…”

javabeans: I’m cracking up here because Na PD totally has to prod them (I guess they’re still innocent little lambs, compared to his usual crowd of suspicious victims)—he has to ask them what time the ticket says, and what time it is now, and how much time they have left (two and a half hours).

girlfriday: And even after Yeon-seok and Baro have been reacting in shock, Ho-joon looks up and is all, “So, what’s happening?”

javabeans: Aha, Baro’s the first to get the inkling, “Wait! Was that tvN commercial a fake?!” Poor Ho-joon, who looks completely lost, like something out of a cartoon. He calls his president and is flummoxed, saying, “B-but, I have to shoot a drama…” Yeon-seok: “I’m sure they arranged that, dummy!”

girlfriday: Na PD asks Ho-joon if his drama scene count didn’t suddenly go down recently, and he nods, still confused. Na PD: “I asked them to do that.”

javabeans: Omg, it’s hysterical how Baro laughs at Yeon-seok when he realizes he isn’t doing a shoot in England, but then is crushed when he hears his ice cream CF is also a fake.

girlfriday: He looks like someone killed his puppy.

javabeans: Na PD has to honest-to-goodness connect the dots for them, saying that he’s planned the decoys three months in advance and that everyone around them already knows.

girlfriday: Yeon-seok and Baro are so excited that they’re jumping around, despite the shock that all the CFs were faked. Ho-joon looks like Na PD literally blew his mind, and even as they walk out the door to hurry to the airport, he looks like his soul has escaped his body. We rewind to the dressing room before they shot their fake commercial, and the boys are all sighing about how they wish they could go on a trip and just play: “…maybe next year?”

javabeans: In the car ride to the airport, Na PD hands over their allowance, which looks impressive because it’s just these huge stacks of bills. But then they search the conversion rate… and it’s gonna be terrible, isn’t it? I feel like Na PD gave them the equivalent of a backpack of pennies. Cutely, we see that Yeon-seok’s manager tries to sneak a wallet into his bag, but Na PD takes it out and hands it back. Party pooper.

girlfriday: Yeon-seok looks like he’s near tears from the stress (after having lied to Na PD that he had no wallet), and they hilariously have to exchange some money back into won just to buy some food at the airport. Their beggar monikers are going to be literal, aren’t they?

javabeans: Yeon-seok takes charge of the money counting, insisting they need to know how much they have before they can spend any of it. It’s this hilariously arduous task, where Yeon-seok is trying to count and convert mentally while Baro is just confused and Ho-joon is pestering for cigarette money (Yeon-seok: “No! We have to save money! Just quit!”).

girlfriday: Ha, why is this money counting so funny? I feel like they’ll never know how much they have. Baro has to be taught how to even count, and then he finishes a stack only to cry, “I forgot how many!”

javabeans: I think their allowance might be something like 5 million kip, which is like 600 bucks, but don’t quote me. And then Yeon-seok thinks to ask, “Hey, what’s the name of this program we’re doing?”

girlfriday: Lol, what a thing, to be kidnapped and sent abroad not knowing the name of the show.

javabeans: Ho-joon is adorable. In his seat, he finds everything about the plane shiny and interesting, and when Yeon-seok tells him he’s putting his cell phone in airplane mode, he says blankly, “Air… plane… mode?” Then the plane takes off and the second he sees the drink cart, his eyes bulge in excitement. Omg, I know he was Haitai on the show but he’s like Samcheonpo in real life.

girlfriday: I’m already feeling Yeon-seok’s stress, because he’s the only one worried about where they’ll sleep and how they’ll scrimp and save from their measly allowance.

javabeans: I know! Ho-joon wants to stay in nice hotels and do all that traveling like he sees in the movies, saying, “But.. it’s my first trip anywhere!” I can see how Yeon-seok became the Mommy Youth.

girlfriday: He sees how excitedly Ho-joon eats his dinner, and laughs when he finds out it’s his first meal ever on a plane. Man, you’re right, he’s actually Samcheonpo in real life. It’s his first time doing everything, and he’s adorably trying to act cool about it.

javabeans: Except Yeon-seok is all, “Director! Guess what!” And Ho-joon’s all, “Why you gotta say it so loud?” We speed through to their arrival in the Laos airport, where the only luggage they’re carrying is an airport shopping bag full of instant noodles. You know how the first Youths cast was scored by their own music? I can see that this one’s gonna be all Answer Me references.

girlfriday: Yeah pretty much. It’s like no time has passed at all. Yeon-seok sits up front and directs the cabbie to the guesthouse they chose (because it’s the cheapest available), though they never called ahead to book a room.

javabeans: Ack! Have they never seen this show? (Though even if they had, I don’t think it has sunk in yet that they’d be the luggage boys.) It’s already midnight and the neighborhood is dark and scary-looking when they arrive, but at least there’s a dorm-style room open.

girlfriday: I seriously wonder if Baro and Ho-joon would even make it through two days if Yeon-seok wasn’t with them.

javabeans: Dude, Baro would smile happily in the wake of being robbed, and Ho-joon wouldn’t even realize he’d been robbed.

girlfriday: Right? I worry for them. Anyway, Yeon-seok carefully counts out the cash for the three beds, and the show points out how different it is for the youths who just pay for whatever hostel room they might get, while the older youths had to shop around and ask about breakfast and check the condition of the bathrooms.

javabeans: It actually turns out better than expected, because they get to use the six-person room and it has its own bathroom, and it’s only six dollars per person. In interview, Yeon-seok says that he’s quite pleased with the trip so far and he loves his teammates, and it feels like he’s just backpacking with his buddies. The PD prods, “Even though you’re doing everything on your own? Even though Ho-joon isn’t doing anything at all?” Yeon-seok has to pause and laugh-swears in response.

girlfriday: When Baro stops every five minutes to take a selca, he really seems like a little kid.

javabeans: Wait, is that text exchange for real? Baro uploads a pic of himself in the room, and Kim Sung-kyun (Samcheonpo) texts back, “Are you in the hospital?” Jung Woo (Garbage) jokes, “Are you in prison?” and Go Ara adds, “The prison at the hospital.”

girlfriday: Jung Woo: “I’m a little jealous.” Awww, I wish they could’ve all come along. Baro interviews that he’s just so happy to be here and it’s only now starting to sink in a little. The PD asks if the hyungs seem okay and if they aren’t going to fight, and he nods: “I think they’re going to, pretty soon.”

javabeans: The hyungs seem happy enough tonight, and when Ho-joon lies down, Yeon-seok ends up lying down next to him while reading the guide book. (PD’s caption: There are so many beds! Why must you smoosh together there!) And then they cuddle. Well there’s your answer, PD.

girlfriday: Aaaaah, there’s so much snuggling. Lol, the caption: “It’s Okay, It’s Friendship.”

javabeans: Ho-joon interviews that when he first came to Seoul, Yeon-seok was the first friend he made, which is why he may be so attached to him. Aw, Yeon-seok is his mama duck.

girlfriday: Man, they’re actually real-life Answer Me boys. They both came up to Seoul from their hometowns and felt like lonely outcasts, and were both struggling actors who each vowed to try for at least ten years before giving up.

javabeans: And it was nearly at the ten-year mark that they both got Answer Me, which explains why they were so close behind the scenes, since they were already friends. (And Ho-joon had shot his first movie years ago with Jung Woo, too.)

girlfriday: Okay, I’m sorry, I forgot what we were talking about because the shirts start to come off. Why does Baro shower with the door open?

javabeans: Yeon-seok showers next, and Ho-joon actually knocks on the door: “Let’s shower together.” Yeon-seok: “Stay out there!” Ho-joon says that there was nothing to shower with—no soap, no shampoo—so the others just washed with water, but he saw toothpaste and used that as soap. I don’t even know if I find that genius or gross, haha.

girlfriday: A little of both. Yeon-seok goes right back to studying his guidebook (still in his underwear, mind you) and then we get a montage of him basically being the group’s tour guide. Ho-joon says it looked like Yeon-seok was studying for exams, while he took one glance, saw that Yeon-seok was on it, and closed the book forever.

javabeans: Every group’s gotta have that one devoted guide! Yeon-seok says that he wants to show the other guys (who haven’t done this kind of travel before) how fun it is so they can go again with their friends, so it’s like he feels extra pressure to make sure they enjoy it. Although I don’t think he has to try very hard, because Baro’s every other word is “Fun! It’s fun! This is so fun!”

girlfriday: Yeon-seok tells them they have to wake up super early, and already the other boys are like, “But I was gonna sleep in till noon…” They manage to make it out by morning, and wander until they find a marketplace, mostly because they’re wearing dress shoes and can’t walk much more.

javabeans: They pick out some cheap sandals and manage to score a discount. Then it’s on to clothes,and I love that they beeline for the cheesiest flower-print things out there but are all happy about it.

girlfriday: It really does only take a few dollars to dress them from head to toe, in swim trunks, T-shirts, hats, and slippers.

javabeans: …if you have no criteria for an end result other than “clothed,” that is.

girlfriday: I have a feeling they’ll be spending most of the trip unclothed. By now they’re hungry, so they start looking for street food. Yeon-seok says he pretty much eats anything, while we see clips of Ho-joon being much pickier and always wanting to just eat ramyun instead. Yeon-seok really does spend the trip feeding them by hand like a mommy, and it looks like Ho-joon will eventually adapt. For now though, he seems mighty skeptical of new foods.

javabeans: He reminds me of my dad, who just wants rice okay? Rice and kimchi and soup and normal Korean food, why is that so hard in a foreign country, why.

girlfriday: He basically doesn’t eat breakfast, while the other two scarf down dumplings and noodles happily. Baro just eats whatever without much concern, and he seems most interested in the selca pole, taking it out as soon as he’s done and trying to get the hyungs to pose with him.

javabeans: Anytime Baro is selca-ing, he seems like such a baby compared to the hyungs. Yeon-seok suggests going toward the center of the city to see things, but Ho-joon is tired and a little out of sorts. It hasn’t taken him long to be disillusioned, and when Yeon-seok says he looks like a traveler now with his backpack, he says, “But this isn’t the kind of trip I wanted.”

girlfriday: I like the way Yeon-seok needles him, “You’re not mad, are you? It’s the first day!”

javabeans: I like that he says it out loud, because then it doesn’t get a chance to build up or anything and they can laugh it off.

girlfriday: Yeah he’s clearly a little pissy, but being direct keeps it from becoming a thing. These guys are really funny. They pass by huge touristy monuments all, “We saw that, okay, we saw it. Let’s go play! Where’s the water?”

javabeans: Things get a little tense when Yeon-seok (who’s the most interested in seeing the tourist highlights) takes them to see a fountain, only it’s not running and Ho-joon is all, “You brought us here to see that?” Aw, Baro tries to break the mood by saying that they’ll end up in Vang Vieng where they can spend more money and enjoy the water-related attractions, so this is fine.

girlfriday: Clearly Baro tries really hard to always lighten the mood, because Yeon-seok and Ho-joon are the same age and thus tend more towards direct confrontation and annoyed banter.

javabeans: We get a montage of clips from later, where it’s Yeon-seok and Ho-joon bickering and Baro jumping in, “Don’t fight.” Every time, it’s bicker-bicker-don’t-fight. It’s cute.

girlfriday: Baro says even their emotional reactions to weather are totally opposite (one has the better mood in the rain, the other’s mood is better in sunshine): “I would like it if it rained with sunshine.” Ha, poor peacekeeper little bro.

javabeans: When they arrive to take a bus to Vang Vieng, they have an hour to wait so they decide to eat lunch. Ho-joon declines so the other two go off together, but you can see it’s bothering Yeon-seok since he knows Ho-joon didn’t eat before either. So he runs out to buy a bunch of fruit at a stand, and Ho-joon interviews that he was super touched at the gesture.

girlfriday: Aw, who cares if they fight, if they always make up like this?

javabeans: How funny is it that Ho-joon’s mood totally lifts as they feed each other mango, and then on the bus, they start getting annoyed again over the cramped bus space? (Yeon-seok’s shoulder starts creeping into Ho-joon’s space, and Ho-joon tries to push back in annoyance.)

girlfriday: Their bickering is so adorable.

javabeans: Yeon-seok gets out at a stop wanting to buy ice cream, but it’s expensive and he’s not sure he wants to spend the money.

girlfriday: I love how just two seconds ago, he refrained from using the toilet because he had to pay to get in, only to now lick his chops at ice cream.

javabeans: Just then, a couple of producers stroll right up and start pulling out ice cream bars like it’s nothing, and you see this look in his eye, like this betrayed feeling of How can you be so casual with your money while making me suffer? So after staring for a long while, he just grabs one from their pile, thanks them, and runs off cackling. Then he feeds his boys, laughing, “Hurry, eat, I stole it!”

girlfriday: Ha, they scarf it down in about two bites each, as if trying to get rid of evidence. If they’re already resorting to thievery on their first day, who knows what it’ll lead to.

 
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