Warm and Cozy: Episode 6

by javabeans

Today’s an improved outing from yesterday, mostly because She Who Must Not Be Named doesn’t actually have to be named that much. Instead we have two sweet guys running around trying to make our heroine happy, and that’s a dynamic I could watch for days. Of course we can’t leave out the inevitable conflict that throws wrinkles into proceedings, and our hero still has a ways to go in growing up and learning to think about people other than himself (and hateful people who don’t deserve to be thought about). But: baby steps!

 
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Ukulele Picnic – “바다” (Sea) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 6 RECAP

Gun-woo tells Jung-joo about his frankly effed-up relationship with Ji-won, where the two of them are terrible to each other but keep coming back because they can’t let go. Then he leans in to kiss her purposely so Ji-won will see them, which she does and then leaves with a huffy glare. Couldn’t you two just work this out in therapy?

Gun-woo pulls back since he got what he wanted, and chides Jung-joo for closing her eyes. Rattled, she lies that she was shutting them out of alarm, and they bicker back and forth about him using her, and her giving Ji-won wrong ideas about their living situation. Jung-joo argues that it was upsetting to see him being treated so badly, and he exclaims, “Why would that upset you? Do you like me?”

She freezes. He looks stunned at that idea, but stammers, “Since that’s not true, why are you overreacting?” When she starts to leave, he grabs her arm and tells her to deny it, or kick him. And if she doesn’t, I will.

Jung-joo warns him not to use her like that again, “Or else I really will like you.” She gets suddenly intense, grabbing his shoulders and saying that she won’t stop at pretending, leaning her face in closer… closer… then slamming a knee into his thigh. I’d have aimed a few inches to the left, but Jung-joo’s a nicer person than I am.

She goes to bed upset with him and herself. Gun-woo is less perceptive and doesn’t understand why the whole exchange was so upsetting, though it bothers him enough to keep him thinking about it. Poong-san assumes he’s upset over Ji-won, but Gun-woo actually isn’t—he explains unconcernedly that Ji-won will send a signal when she’s ready to smooth things over, he’ll “take the bait,” and their peace will be restored.

Gun-woo assures Poong-san that he has nooooo romantic interest in Jung-joo whatsoever, and that he can placate Ji-won by explaining Jung-joo’s serious illness. Poong-san looks a little nervous at that, especially when Gun-woo says he’d never have given Warm & Cozy to her if she weren’t sick.

Gun-woo checks on Jung-joo, offering to make her ddukkbokki if she’s hungry. She bursts out, “Stop tempting me!” She has no interest, she says, but if he keeps trying to tempt her thoughtlessly, she might just fall for it. She calls him just as evil as the food he’s enticing her with, and Gun-woo, clearly missing the doublespeak, is left baffled.

He snaps, “If I’d offered ddukkbokki with cheese, I bet you’d have called me a murderer! And if I wanted to add dumplings, you’d have called me a psychopath serial killer!” He storms off, and they both go to bed angry.

In the morning, Jung-joo sees villagers making their cleanup rounds and offers her crew to join in. The ajummas are impressed with her attitude, especially when contrasted with Gun-woo’s habit of paying the fines instead of participating. Jung-joo prods, cajoles, then forces Gun-woo awake to join in, which he finally does, albeit grudgingly.

While out sweeping the street (or in his case, loitering while waving a broom aimlessly), Gun-woo gets hit in the back of the head with a BB pellet, shot by a little boy with a toy gun. The boy ignores his scolding and keeps shooting around the neighborhood, until a pellet takes out a lamppost bulb. He looks scared at what he’s done, and Gun-woo crows that the boy is in soooo much trouble now, which makes the boy cry.

The boy’s grandmother, one of the diver ajummas, assumes that Gun-woo is harassing the boy and blames him for the broken light bulb. Gun-woo defends himself, but does so badly and is relieved when Jung-joo joins in to defend him (hiding behind her like a child, which he kind of is).

Jung-joo tries to be diplomatic about “our Gun-woo” not being the culprit, and the ajumma seems willing to see reason, but for Gun-woo’s angry defense that raises her hackles. The ajumma storms off angry at the both of them, muttering about Jung-joo banding together with her fellow Seoulite. Feeling wrongly accused, Jung-joo clucks sympathetically and checks on his head.

Mr. Gong witnesses this and sighs that the two city kids should have held their tongues even if they weren’t in the wrong, because that ajumma can hold a grudge. Jung-joo’s application to the diving school is sure to be rejected now, since she’s one of the judges.

This bums her out, because she’d really wanted to get accepted—then she could dive for her own menu items and, more importantly, get in the good graces of the diver ajumma crowd. Gun-woo hadn’t realized it meant so much to her and proposes that she blackmail the underwear mayor into backing her, which earns him a hard pinch. Jung-joo grumbles, using the mayor’s own words at him (Jeju dialect for “So frustrating, he must be stupid”).

But she does drop by the city office to see Wook, ready to butter him up. Wook has already heard of her encounter with the ajumma and guesses at her intentions, and Jung-joo very briefly considers Gun-woo’s blackmail suggestion. But she thinks better of it and gives up, per Wook’s suggestion.

But that makes him call her back, protesting that she gave up so quickly—is she really not going to blackmail him? For honoring her promise to keep the secret, he agrees to help.

Gun-woo tries to help too, deciding to apologize to the diver ajumma, though he struggles to actually do it. Mr. Gong offers helpful tips, such as softening the mood by singing a song, offering makgulli, then losing at cards to her. Gun-woo whines that he doesn’t know how to do any of that, but at the warning that Jung-joo will be rejected for sure, he sucks it up to try. Good boy.

The ajumma urges the other divers to score Jung-joo’s application poorly, although Hae-shil reminds them that they ought to be fair. They point out that she asked for special consideration for that Mr. Song guy (Jung-geun), and she says pityingly that he needs the help. At least with diving, he can learn to support himself. Heh, I love this misunderstanding about Jung-geun, because his determination to prove how awesome he is (which just makes her think he’s bluffing) is the best thing.

And the next best thing is his tactic of appealing to her pity: He texts Hae-shil sounding extra pathetic about how she promised to help him and how he has no confidence in his interviewing ability. He sits in his luxurious resort office impatiently watching his phone for a reply, worried that he’s been blown off, and bounds up triumphantly when she finally replies. “I wasn’t blown off!”

Hae-shil gives him advice on his interview, which he scoffs at because he’s better suited to princely roles than humble ones. In fact, in school, he only ever played prince parts in plays, and insists with all earnestness to Hae-shil that “I’m doing an incredibly cool thing right now!”

He blusters that he won’t study for his interview—he’ll just face failure if it comes and consider it his fate. Hae-shil reads his speech as more proud bluffing, and tells him kindly that it’s okay to study and pass, and not feel ashamed.

Gun-woo makes his way to the diver ajumma’s house ready to do the whole literal song and dance, armed with makgulli and cards, and overhears the family as they eat in the yard. Two grandsons complain about eating at grandma’s house where everything smells and tastes fishy, wanting to go to the fancy resort instead. Grandma’s hurt but says that it’s fine, telling her daughter-in-law to take the boys elsewhere if they want.

That’s when Gun-woo comes up and announces that he’s here to take the lady and her family to their luncheon reservation at his restaurant. The daughter-in-law is impressed, and Grandma goes with it quietly while Gun-woo presents them with an impressive spread and describes her as a regular. He serves the boys fresh seafood pizza made with their grandmother’s catch, and they give Grandma a proud thumbs-up.

Mr. Gong praises Gun-woo for being a good friend, saying that Jung-joo will be pleased to hear what he did. Gun-woo says he didn’t do it for the credit, and that real friends support each other quietly, like Daddy Long Legs, which I believe not for a second.

Mr. Gong calls him really cool and promises to keep the secret from Jung-joo, which makes him pout in disappointment, though he can’t exactly admit that all that modesty was false. Haha, serves you right!

Wook takes Jung-too to a diving museum and urges her to read up on the materials. The divers are proud of their work and tradition, he advises, so don’t go in talking about it just as a money-making venture.

Gun-woo pouts at the restaurant, wondering what’s taking Jung-joo so long to return home. He sees her arriving in Wook’s car and hovers jealously, then thanks him (mostly sarcastically) for being such a gentleman. He almost calls him “hwangto man” (in reference to the underwear), but Jung-joo claps a hand over his mouth to shut him up in time.

Gun-woo asks sulkily if she’s taking the mayor’s side over his, and she answers readily that if he’s making her choose, “Then right now, yes.” When she orders him back to work, he grumbles about all the effort he put in someone who isn’t even taking his side.

Wook approaches the diver ajumma with similar intentions of smoothing things over, armed with makgulli and cards. But she’s already bragging to her friends about everything Gun-woo did for her family, and he notes that he’s a step behind.

That night, Gun-woo comments on Jung-joo’s diligent studying for her interview, saying she’s already armed with plenty of fighting spirit. She offers to give her first catch to him to cook up, saying that it’ll feel rewarding to be contributing to the team.

He asks if they’re on the same team, still grumpy about her taking Wook’s side. She laughs that she works here, not at the mayor’s office, and that’s enough to restore his good mood. Just then Jung-joo notices that he’s been using her moisturizer behind her back, exclaiming that she saves that for special days only, to which he complains about his meager allowance. She tries to wrestle the bottle away from him when he uses more, and really, you know you’re in a Korean drama when you have the hero and heroine fighting over the same cosmetics.

Interview day rolls around at the diving school, and Gun-woo drives Jung-joo over and wishes her good luck. He insists on waiting outside so they can go buy diving equipment afterward, though he sighs to see the prices online.

Jung-geun arrives (wearing a sparkly tracksuit, beloved by ridiculous chaebols everywhere) and stops short to recognize his brother right in front of the school and hurriedly ducks out of sight. Crouching around the corner with the clock ticking, Jung-geun scrambles for a solution and ends up calling his sister and asks her to call Gun-woo over immediately. He barks at her to offer him a credit card, totally reneging on his earlier words about cutting him off.

Jung-joo impresses in her interview, earning approving looks from the panel. Jung-geun almost misses his interview slot waiting for Gun-woo to leave, but just barely makes it in time.

Jung-joo is disappointed to find that Gun-woo isn’t waiting outside as promised and takes a bus. He calls to insist that she not go equipment shopping without him, wanting to buy the diving mask for her, and tells her to wait so he can meet her.

And then we cut to Ji-won at the resort. Ugh. You. She hears that Gun-woo is on his way to meet his noona at the cafe and gets an idea, which can never be a good thing coming from her. Bleh.

Ji-won finds noona first and excuses herself before Gun-woo arrives, saying that they’re not on great terms right now. But she wears an evil smirk on her way out, telling us she’s got some scheme in the works. UGH, I hate youuuuu. STOP EXISTING.

Gun-woo gets his credit card from noona, who comments on his fight with Ji-won. That’s when he finds the cell phone she left behind, and both brother and sister know her well enough to guess that she did it on purpose. What I don’t understand is why they know this, and yet don’t find it appalling. Gun-woo even smiles, understanding that this is his signal to approach Ji-won.

He catches up to her outside to return the phone, saying teasingly that she’s always losing things and how he’ll have to make sure to always stick around to get them for her. Ji-won thanks him and sorta-apologizes for the other night, saying she was oversensitive, and drops hints that she wants him to join her shopping. Of course he jumps to take her, because he is an idioooooot—and then Ji-won suggests they go shopping in Seoul.

Meanwhile, Jung-joo waits at a cafe for Gun-woo to meet her, having bought him a fancy moisturizing cream (it’s an exchange for the diving mask he’s buying her, she rationalizes), and also a large shaved ice to share. She waits in anticipation, but the longer she sits there, the more droopy she gets, until finally the dessert sits in a puddle.

Jung-joo gets up to leave just as Gun-woo shows up, but deflates again when he tells her he has to go to Seoul to help Ji-won buy things. He offers to buy her mask next time, and almost involuntarily, Jung-joo’s arm shoots out to hold his back. She just says they have work to do and reservations at the restaurant, and request weakly, “Don’t go.”

Gun-woo has already made flight reservations and promises to fly back tonight, and is dense enough to be confused at her dispirited response. He follows her out of the cafe calling her name, but Ji-won keeps him from going after her and he’s left to watch Jung-joo walking away glumly.

Jung-geun waits outside the diving school for Hae-shil, and asks for a ride to the bus stop. He reminds her that she said she’d “take responsibility” for him (since she saved his life) and gets on her bike, somehow managing to be imperious even when asking for a favor. Oh, these brothers. Maybe if you tallied their emotional maturities together, they’d add up to a real adult.

Mr. Gong sees them riding off together, and the sight is so suspicious that he goes looking for Jung-geun’s diving application. Diver ajumma fills him in on the details, about how Hae-shil fished him out of the water and has been taking care of him ever since, which Mr. Gong interprets as mooching.

As they drive, Jung-geun makes a show of saying he’ll have to call the governor to fix up the roads, which Hae-shil interprets as more big talk. He insists he does know the governor, and as he reaches for his phone, the bike hits a bump in the road and he lurches in his seat, grabbing her for balance… only he accidentally grabs her by the breasts. HA.

He’s so shocked he tumbles off the bike and insists it was an accident, and in his haste to make her believe him, he blurts that he doesn’t like her so much that he’d go through this whole show just to touch her. Which… then means that he does like her somewhat, and she startles to register that.

He stops with the bumbling defense and tells her he’ll leave their fate in her hands, and if she wants to be rid of him, she can reject him from the school and he’ll stop coming by. He heads off on foot, looking pitiful clutching his scraped hand, and she watches him go.

The town blogger gathers stories on Gun-woo’s mother (“Woman of ill-fortune or happiness”) and explains to her friend that she’s ready to start writing her novel—it’s a love story set here, about “that person’s” mother. Among her clippings is a familiar picture of Gun-woo’s mother with the man who we presume is Jung-joo’s father.

Jung-joo’s still in her funk when Wook finds her outside the restaurant, and gives a muted reply when he says he’s having his office dinner at Warm & Cozy. He’d expected a more enthusiastic response and scratches his head a bit, then explains that the office is sending away an employee to the Seoul office, where he can be with his girlfriend.

Rather than agreeing that it’s good news for him, Jung-joo sighs that he’s a traitor for leaving his co-workers behind. Wook says it’s not like they begged him to stay so it’s not a betrayal, but Jung-joo asks what it would be if they had begged.

Clocking her mood, Wook asks if that’s what happened to her, and she nods. So he admits that he had actually asked the employee to stay, but if someone’s going to leave, they’ll leave in any case, and it’s easier on yourself to accept that and let them go.

Jung-joo sits there a good long while, mulling over Wook’s words.

It’s night when Gun-woo and Ji-won return to the resort, and it’s telling that while Ji-won says it’s “only 9 o’clock” and suggests dinner, he says it’s “already 9” and excuses himself in a hurry. I suppose the sour look on Ji-won’s face is almost worth having to see her face in the first place…

Gun-woo bursts into the restaurant all chipper and cheery as usual, chattering about shopping being harder than it used to. Jung-joo tells him calmly that since he’s got a credit card back, he can leave now, which confuses him—where would he go? She answers pleasantly, “Don’t stay here anymore. I’d rather you not be here. I think I’d feel more comfortable sending you somewhere else.”

His face falls. Jung-joo tells him, “So Gun-woo-ya, go.”

 
COMMENTS

Definitely a better ending moment to go out on than yesterday, which was pretty aggravating. Gun-woo still did things to disappoint me this episode, but I am glad that we end at basically a reversal of the last episode; this time, he leaves Ji-won to go to Jung-joo and finds himself on the end of rejection, rather than being the one to shove her aside. More than that, I at least appreciate that this time Jung-joo’s the one making the decisions, rather than being jerked around.

Gun-woo’s an interesting case where he infuriates me constantly, and sometimes I’m peeved enough at him that I find myself rooting for Jung-joo to see the adorable mayor in a romantic light, because if she could love him, they’d have the cutest, heartwarming relationship. It’s the kind of romance that you’d imagine for characters if they could be real people—happily uneventful, with a minimum of drama—though I suppose watching a whole series of that would make for a pretty boring drama.

But even when he pisses me off, I find Gun-woo a genuinely decent person—just really really childish, with the attention span of an ant. If not for his obsession with Ji-won, he’d be really easy to root for, and frankly her inclusion in his story taints his character by association. I don’t want to harp on her too much (because it feels too much like going off on the obvious), but really, I don’t understand why Gun-woo likes Ji-won, and why anybody thought she was a good addition to this story. Sure, I can see the value of adding a rival and first love, and don’t even mind the love-to-hate types, but she’s just so… WHY? Why are you here? Why won’t you go away?

She’s just one example of why I feel like the writers are getting lax, and I don’t say that because Warm and Cozy’ story is loose and casual. That’s totally fine by me, and I enjoy the breezy ambiance and warm, summery feel. It’s the laziness of the writing that feels disappointing—the Hong sisters have always had flaws in their writing, but they’ve always been part of the package, and their dramas have been fresh and funny enough that I could accept the flaws, since the rest gave me such enjoyment. This drama’s plot and emotional trajectory, though, is going through all the steps of their early dramas—the heroine feeling left behind; the hero being dense and running around after his first love, unaware that his feelings are shifting; the second lead being on hand to help her quietly; the hero ditching the heroine multiple times; and finally, the tables turning when he opens his eyes. Very Chun-hyang/My Girl/Fantasy Couple.

That said, I’m not giving up on Warm and Cozy, mostly because I felt going in that it wasn’t going to have me as emotionally invested as other Hong sisters dramas that did. Maybe it’s a case of expectations measuring up to reality (which mitigates disappointment considerably), and it’s a pretty easy watch despite its flaws. I actually did feel that this episode showed a glimmer of their comedic style—toned down, but familiar in its love of metaphors (princes and princesses, fates, acting) and word-based humor. It felt nice and familiar, and reminded me that I’d missed that.

Plus, despite the occasional stupid plot turns (mostly relating to Ji-won, ugh, her), the main three characters are quite endearing. It’s to Yoo Yeon-seok’s credit that I still find Gun-woo adorable even though he pisses me off frequently, and Kang So-ra is so grounded that I’m just with her. Ultimately I’m still rooting for the main pair, because even when I feel a ping of satisfaction when she hurts him, I also realize that it’s not really very satisfying after all, because hurting him doesn’t get the two of them any closer to where I want them to be. Which is back to the whole warm and cozy ideal, where good characters being happy can still make for interesting drama. I know it’s possible! Make it happen!

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