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The Producers: Episode 9

We’re finally at the point in the story where push comes to shove—either you remain exactly as you are and sit back as the new kid on the block takes your place, or you step up your game and stake your claim, be it as the marquee variety program, the top singer, or the best friend. Today’s episode is all about Old vs. New, and the inevitable war that brews when two people fight for one title.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

IU – “마음” (Heart) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 9: “Understanding Preemptions”

With two women waiting for him on a rainy evening, Seung-chan angsts over what to do: Go to the movies to meet Ye-jin, or go home to meet Cindy. Both of them wait and wait and wait, as Seung-chan sits there in his car, frozen with indecision. You could’ve picked them both up in the time it took you to decide!

Finally Ye-jin turns around and smiles… just as Cindy looks up and sees someone approach. But Seung-chan has arrived at the movie theater after all, to keep his date with Ye-jin.

She’s disappointed to hear that they can’t see the movie though, and Seung-chan tells her about Cindy waiting in the rain for him on their way back home. Ye-jin worries that maybe Cindy had another fight with CEO Byun and ran away.

Seung-chan makes a sudden stop at a light and instinctively reaches out to hold Ye-jin back, and the strong protective gesture suddenly makes her a little flustered. She’s clutching his arm and doesn’t even realize it, and suddenly the air is very awkward between them.

Meanwhile, Cindy looks up to find Joon-mo standing over her with an umbrella, and he asks if she’s waiting for someone. She says shyly that she just had something to say to Seung-chan, and Joon-mo seems to understand what’s going on.

He offers her a hand to help her up and take her inside, and promises to call Seung-chan to come to his place so that she doesn’t freeze to death. Hm, looks like I’m on Team Joon-mo today.

Inside, he scrounges the kitchen looking for tea, and Cindy has to tell him where it is since she now knows his kitchen better than anyone who lives here. Cindy asks Joon-mo if he thinks that she’s acting all the time too: “Someone said that even my sincerity seems like an act.” She wonders if it’s true because she can’t really tell the difference anymore, and she guesses that Joon-mo can see exactly what she’ll be doing in ten years. But she can’t.

That suddenly triggers Joon-mo’s memory of that mystery girl from five years ago. She was a singer on a show he was producing, and CEO Byun’s big starlet before Cindy. In a flashback, Joon-mo tells her not to do anything she doesn’t want to. He can see how much she’s suffering because she’s not eating or sleeping, and tells her to fight CEO Byun and just leave.

She’s worried about the fallout and asks if Joon-mo will take responsibility for her, and he says with absolute certainty that he’s a PD and she has nothing to worry about—he’ll take responsibility and will cast her in his show.

Cindy breaks him out of his reverie and tends to the scrape on his arm from the soccer game earlier that day, and he deflates to hear that she’s so good at first-aid because there’s no time for hospitals if she gets hurt while doing concerts abroad.

Ye-jin and Seung-chan arrive together, and Cindy’s face falls to hear that they were meeting up to watch a movie. She immediately calls her manager to pick her up, and becomes very distant as she says that she just came by to apologize for the last shoot, since he’s the PD on a show she’s doing.

She adds that she doesn’t know how often they’ll be running into each other from now on, but didn’t want to leave things unsettled. Seung-chan FINALLY opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him off and gets up to go.

Seung-chan just keeps standing there like a statue, and Joon-mo has to tell him to follow her outside and at least wait with her until her manager arrives. I cannot believe he was just going to let her go like that.

Seung-chan pauses on his way out to tell Ye-jin in that lingering earnest way of his that he really regrets not being able to see the movie tonight, and Ye-jin starts to wonder: “You felt that too, right? Baek Seung-chan… really likes movies.” Pfft. Joon-mo shakes his head but doesn’t correct her.

Seung-chan joins Cindy out in the rain and apologizes if what he said to her at the last shoot caused her any grief. She says it’s okay because that’s who she really is anyway—fake, rude—that’s what people call her, so there must be some truth to it.

He says he heard this somewhere—that people’s words about you are like poison-covered arrows. They can’t pierce your heart if they’re spoken in hiding, but the most immature thing to do is to pick up those arrows that are lying on the ground and pierce your own heart with them, getting shot by arrows you needn’t be shot with, getting wounds you needn’t get. He says that he’d like it if Cindy didn’t do that to herself.

She lets that sink in for a moment, and then lightens the mood by asking what movie he went to see. He doesn’t know, since Ye-jin bought the tickets and he didn’t get to see it anyway. Cindy thinks about that and notes that he didn’t go to see a movie then, if he didn’t even know what was playing—he went to see Ye-jin.

It’s written all over his face that she caught his crush on Ye-jin, and Cindy muses, “It must be nice, to be caught so easily. Because you have sincerity that can be caught even when you’re trying to hide it.”

She sighs that she can’t get caught no matter how much she tries. Oof. Won’t somebody see her crush? Though to be fair, she happened to pick the most obtuse boy on the planet to like, which is her own bed to lie in.

Ye-jin starts to nag Joon-mo about his terrible bill-paying system (in that he has none), and lays out all of the things he needs to set on auto-pay and fix around the house. He wonders what she’s doing, and she points out that she only has three more weeks until she moves into her new place.

She marvels at how quickly the time passed, while Joon-mo is taken aback and insists that three weeks is totally a long time, and it’s way too early to talk of moving out. Urg, you and your denial!

Two weeks later, CP Kim delivers the bad news to the 1N2D team that they’ve been preempted this week, in favor of a pilot that he’s producing. Joon-mo flails and pouts that they’re just picking on his show because of the low ratings, while Seung-chan asks with hope-filled eyes if this means that he gets some days off.

The married PD interviews that he likes work better than home, but the entire country knows when he’s got time off so he can’t lie to his wife, while the writer says that it’s bad news for her because she won’t get paid for the week. Joon-mo seems like he’s trying to comfort himself during his interview, and says that it could be a chance for people to realize how much they miss 1N2D, and to prove their worth.

Cindy is met with a new trainee at her agency, and CEO Byun fills her time off from 1N2D chock full of variety appearances. Cindy realizes right away that she’s supposed to take this new girl with her on these shows and help pave the way for her career, and threatens to go elsewhere when her contract is up. CEO Byun doesn’t miss a beat and says she’ll have some things to reconsider as well, when it comes time to re-sign her.

Joon-mo spends his days off lying around on the couch, and pouts when Ye-jin and Seung-chan come in happily chatting about the things they’ve prepped for her new place without him.

She tells Joon-mo all about how Seung-chan helped her out, from getting the building to give her the model unit with curtains installed, to gathering a gaggle of ajummas to go in on a cleaning service to get a discount.

She’s beaming at all the helpful ways Seung-chan has saved her money, and Joon-mo just watches them sitting knee-to-knee in their own little world with a dark cloud over his head. When Seung-chan shoots down his suggestion to call a packing service and offers to help Ye-jin pack, Joon-mo snaps at them to do it without him and stomps out.

Seung-chan stops to look through one of Ye-jin’s photo albums as they pack, and at first he’s sobered by all of the pictures of her with Joon-mo, until he finds one that gets him yelping in excitement.

He runs out to her and exclaims that they met long before he became a PD, and shows her a picture of her and Joon-mo in the playground outside, when they were high school students. And there in the background is little Seung-chan, photo-bombing them. How cute.

She laughs and calls it a plausible coincidence since they lived here at the same time, but Seung-chan puts way more meaning behind it and calls it fate. He asks her for the picture, and is over the moon when she gives it to him.

Joon-mo broods by himself on the playground outside, remembering all of the times he was the one to help Ye-jin move, from her tiny college apartment to her first place after getting a job, moving on up every time. He was there for all of it, until now.

Seung-chan goes home and gazes at his picture with Ye-jin for a long time, then decides that he doesn’t like Joon-mo in it and folds him out. Ha. He places the picture in a keepsake box along with a drawing of a girl.

Ye-jin and Joon-mo share a drink that night, and he congratulates her on finally getting her own place. She wonders how many times she’s moved and he tells her it’s fourteen. She sighs to remember everything she’s done to chase down apartments and move, and thanks him sincerely.

As always, he brushes it off and tells her not to be in such a hurry to say goodbye. She admits that she has a lot of regrets about moving in here, including getting drunk and confessing things: “I’m sorry, for shaking our 25-year friendship.” She supposes that once she moves out, they’ll go back to their rightful places.

And then, shocker of all shockers, Joon-mo actually responds with WORDS. I KNOW. He asks hypothetically, if they each marry other people and their spouses don’t like their friendship with one another, what will she do? She thinks about it and says that it’s probably a given that their future spouses wouldn’t like their relationship, and figures that it’d be difficult to be the way they are now.

He looks hurt as he asks if that means she’ll stop seeing him, and she says that they’d see each other at work, “But it couldn’t be the way it is now.” He sighs that she’s probably right, “But… I don’t like it.” She laughs and says that’s just the limit of friendships between men and women.

Her attention turns to the TV, where they’re surprised to see Cindy on another variety show, and running on top of it. Eep, she just sprained her ankle! It’s a grueling day of games and sports, and she struggles to keep a smile plastered on her face.

She’s exhausted by the end of the day, and Manager Oppa cringes to remind her of the radio interview she has to do over the phone. Ever the professional, Cindy brightens up on cue and lies about how much she loves her hoobae that she’s being used to promote.

Joon-mo sighs that this is all CEO Byun’s doing, and Ye-jin remembers him talking about that other singer Yuna years ago. He says that CEO Byun did the same thing with her, threatening not to renew her contract and using her to promote Cindy’s group when they were new, and then dropping Yuna the second she became useless to her.

Ye-jin doesn’t think she’d do the same to Cindy, who’s inarguably a top star. But Joon-mo doesn’t look so convinced. Ye-jin asks if he knows why Yuna dared to go head-to-head with CEO Byun back then, and he gets quiet and shuts himself up in his room.

Flashback to five years ago, after Yuna’s image has taken a nosedive, thanks to CEO Byun. Rumors run wild about her having a sponsor, and Joon-mo meets resistance when he wants to cast her as an MC on his show. He argues that they’re PDs and can change public opinion, but CP Kim argues that they have no power against what the audience wants.

Joon-mo cries that he’ll take responsibility, but CP Kim asks how, when none of the broadcasters will cast her. And just like that, his promise to take responsibility for her ended up going unfulfilled.

Ye-jin realizes that she forgot her phone on her way to work and turns around to get it, and Seung-chan’s busybody mom happens to see her parking rear-first on her way in. Mom stops her and nitpicks over their building’s rule to park head-first, complaining about the exhaust fumes from the car damaging the lawn.

Ye-jin has to grit her teeth as she explains that she’s just here to pick something up and will leave soon, but Mom insists that she re-park right now. Ye-jin argues that she’d grab her phone and pull away by the time she’d be done re-parking, and Mom physically stops her from going in because she doesn’t trust her to come back down.

They go in circles like this, with Ye-jin asking if she ought to write up a contract that she’ll come back and un-park, when Seung-chan ambles up with a big smile and introduces Mom to Sunbae, who both shriek and cringe.

Now they’re arguing about who’s sorrier and who was more in the wrong, and they take turns bowing at the waist repeatedly and apologizing. Seung-chan just watches them cluelessly with a smile on his face.

He catches a ride with Ye-jin and explains that his mother is known for her busybody tendencies, and gets called the Yeouido OG Rapper (ojirap-er, which means she gets carried away with other people’s business). She sighs at the bad impression she made on his mother, while he just grins, calling it no big deal.

They make plans to head over to Ye-jin’s new place tonight to move some things, and she asks if it’s okay that he’s helping her so much. He says that he’s doing it because he wants to, and Ye-jin misinterprets that to mean he likes moving and decorating.

Seung-chan steels himself and answers, “No, I mean it’s because I like you.” Omo. But Ye-jin just keeps chattering away as if he didn’t just make a big confession, likely hearing it as, I like you as a sunbae, not the other thing.

She says she asked everyone else at work to help out, but feels extra bad for using up all of his time off, especially since he’s her favorite hoobae PD. Seung-chan is instantly happy again and asks if she really means it, and she laughs that of course he’s her favorite hoobae. It kills me that this makes him so happy. Poor puppy.

Mom comes home and tells Seung-chan’s noona all about her terrible run-in with Ye-jin, and noona confirms that Mom just ruined Seung-chan’s career. But then she remembers that time that Seung-chan came out of the building across the way after sleeping at a sunbae’s place, and she wonders if that was Ye-jin. Mom refuses to believe that her precious son would do that, and says there must be another sunbae in that building—a male one.

The male sunbae in question is currently loitering outside his conference room, which is currently occupied by the pilot show Star Wars that’s preempted his. Joon-mo saunters in to let the PD know that his show is the one being pushed, and asks about the cast. The PD says he had a hard time getting anyone, then names Suzy and Taeyang. Ha.

Joon-mo complains to CP Kim about losing his conference room on top of the broadcast timeslot this week, and declares that new show a failure. Of course that just makes CP Kim sure it’ll succeed, since Joon-mo’s predictions are always exactly the opposite.

Joon-mo stops paying attention when he sees Ye-jin walk into the lobby with her arm around Seung-chan, just as CP Kim tells him to shape up before losing his spot to the other show. Joon-mo blurts angrily, “Who’s gonna get what stolen?! That’s MY spot! I won’t get it taken! I won’t!” Awww.

At his desk, Joon-mo mutters to himself that it’s not the first time something like this has happened, but he can’t seem to get his head clear. Hm, is he talking about the show now, or still Ye-jin?

Seung-chan comes by with tea because Joon-mo looks tired, but he just gets the brunt of Joon-mo’s anger and gets yelled at for looking too happy to have days off. Seung-chan retreats to the storeroom to talk it out with his FD sunbae, who explains that a PD with a low-rated show is obviously going to feel threatened by a pilot testing in his timeslot.

He tells Seung-chan to focus on turning Joon-mo’s mood around instead of spending all his time with Ye-jin, and Seung-chan recounts his earlier attempt at cheering Joon-mo up (with a spot-on impression of Cha Tae-hyun’s delivery, heh). The FD insists that Seung-chan’s loyalty to Joon-mo is most important, only to admit that he’s currently two-timing with the pilot show.

Hong-soon spends the day off-kilter because his nemesis Office Nazi isn’t at work today, and he goes from thinking that she faked a sick day to worrying about her. He hovers around the substitute office manager, and at first he’s delighted to ask for a ream of paper and be told to just take some.

He clutches the paper like it’s treasure, but then a writer comes by and takes as many reams as she can carry, and Hong-soon gets his panties in a twist over how this wouldn’t fly if Office Nazi were here.

Ye-jin sighs to see her bratty writer in a short skirt again as usual, but it turns out to be useful when she goes to pick up posters on her own and returns with a posse of drooling men carrying everything for her. Ye-jin sighs that she’d never do that, completely missing the fact that Seung-chan is bending over backwards to do the same thing for her.

They head up to her new apartment with a few boxes, when her new neighbor comes out to complain about the construction that’s going on too late. Seung-chan apologizes and the ajusshi assumes that they’re a newlywed couple, and Ye-jin’s protests go ignored while Seung-chan smiles like a goof.

Mom is sick with worry that noona’s assumptions about Ye-jin and Seung-chan are right after all, and she’s now decided that Ye-jin has seduced him. Mom wails that it’s her fault for giving birth to such a perfect boy, and as she describes all of his wonderful traits, we cut back and forth to Seung-chan using said traits to clean Ye-jin’s apartment spic and span.

They sit on the floor to eat when Joon-mo arrives and lets himself in. Seung-chan is surprised since he’s the only one who knows the lock code other than Ye-jin, but Joon-mo’s all, “What do I need to know the lock code for? It’s always my birthday or yours.” He notes that this one is his birthday, and Seung-chan’s face falls.

The next morning, Hong-soon lights up to hear that Office Nazi is back. He’s delighted to see that she’s ordering everyone to return all of the supplies that they took in her absence, until she makes him return his one ream of paper. He wants credit for only taking the one, but she shakes her head in disappointment.

Seung-chan is assigned to help out on Music Bank for the day, and when he goes to put Cindy on standby, she’s back to being the ice princess and doesn’t even meet his eyes when she answers.

CEO Byun comes in with her new starlet, who’s actually being referred to as Cindy 2.0 now, and Cindy refuses to share a dressing room with her. She points out that she was Yuna 2.0 once… and now there’s no Yuna, just her.

Cindy tells the new girl to get out and not to go around calling herself the next Cindy, but CEO Byun tells her that the name Cindy belongs to her: “You’re nothing but an image I created.” Wow. CEO Byun finally remembers that Seung-chan is standing there, and he manages to get some petty revenge by putting the newbie in a dressing room that isn’t private.

CEO Byun even crashes Cindy’s rehearsal to introduce her new singer to Ye-jin, and asks her to pay special attention and care to her new protégé, who’s making her debut.

Cindy’s head hangs low, but Ye-jin tosses back that she’s going to put all of her care and attention on Cindy, not Cindy 2.0, and cheers Cindy on to do well for the final performance of her album. Aw, that was awesome.

We skip ahead to the end of the show, where Cindy is announced the winner, as expected (cameos by Park Bo-gum and K.Will). Ye-jin cues the cameras for Cindy’s usual clipped “Thank you,” but suddenly she takes the mic and starts giving a long thank you speech.

Cindy’s voice starts to shake as she thanks her group members and says that she never got a chance to tell them how much she likes them, and mentions her parents who are watching from a distance. The sincerity is suddenly pouring out of her in waves, and Ye-jin wonders what the hell is going on, trying to get Seung-chan to cut her off so that they can cue the song.

But then Cindy thanks Ye-jin for looking out for her even when she made so many mistakes, and thanks her sincerely for complaining to her face but protecting her behind her back. She starts to thank Joon-mo, and Ye-jin tells Seung-chan to cut her off already.

From the stage, Cindy makes eye contact with Seung-chan as he’s gesturing for her to wrap it up, and everything goes still as she says one last thank you: “And finally, to the person who held up an umbrella when I was standing alone in the rain—thank you. I wanted to say that it was really warm.” She begins to sing her encore, and Seung-chan is mesmerized.

Joon-mo watches her performance on TV and sighs when CP Kim asks if Cindy’s time is up, now that CEO Byun is making the rounds with a new starlet. He wonders if 1N2D will have to recast, and Joon-mo just walks away without a word.

Cindy holds her head up high as she walks backstage past CEO Byun introducing her new star, and Joon-mo takes out an old Yuna album, deep in thought.

Hong-soon and Office Nazi go to town making out on top of the copy machine, ironically wasting paper AND toner in the process! Chapter 9 is “Understanding Preemptions: It’s war between what you’re used to and what’s new.”

Seung-chan drives past a field of lighted flowers and contemplates them for a moment before running off somewhere. Joon-mo heads home with a look of determination on his face, having come to some sort of conclusion.

Ye-jin answers her phone and tells Seung-chan where she is, only to have Joon-mo find her first. They walk home together and she asks about the show that preempted his, and he calls it fresh and interesting, wondering if he should be nervous. Heh, he’s not talking about shows, is he?

Ye-jin ponders it and says that his is an old established show, but it’s also on the rocks lately, and a fresh new show is probably something to be nervous about. She wonders why he didn’t try to block the preemption from coming when he didn’t even get anywhere yet (you’re telling me), but he sighs that she’s right: “A preemption is a golden opportunity for someone else and danger for me.”

She asks why he’s taking it so hard, wondering if the pilot is that good, but then he stops and turns to her. He starts to say that she didn’t spend all that much redoing the interior of her new place because it was the model home… “Let’s give the deposit back. Because I don’t want you to move there.”

She stares dumbfounded, and he adds, “Do you not get what I’m saying? Stay at my house. I don’t want you to go.” Eeeee! And from a distance, Seung-chan clutches a lighted flower in his hand and looks crestfallen to be one step too late.

 
EPILOGUE

We go back to the playground on the day that photo was taken, when Little Seung-chan was captivated by the pretty noona. And then on the day she moves out of the building, she drops a drawing—the one of her that he kept all this time—and he returns it. She tells him to keep it and pets him on the head the same way she does now.

 
COMMENTS

Okay, I could’ve done without the childhood first love bit, because really, not eeeeeverything has to be fated, dramaland, and I’m pretty sure we covered our bases with Joon-mo and Ye-jin as first loves (and would guess that Joon-mo is the one who drew the sketch in the first place). But Seung-chan’s reaction to the discovery is cute, because he didn’t know she was the same noona from the playground until finding that picture. It makes me sad for building up his hopes though, because it’s getting harder to watch his happiness grow if he’s going to be crushed. Not that there isn’t still a chance for a twist, but I’ve always thought that Ye-jin never wavered in her feelings for Joon-mo. And Seung-chan being so perfectly sweet and adorable is great, except now it’s a blow every time he’s reminded of what Joon-mo means to her.

I’m just glad that Joon-mo finally FINALLY stepped it up and said something sincere, because he was thisclose to losing from sheer inactivity. I can’t believe he had to ask if things would stay the same between them if they married other people, but then again, I’m just relieved he even asked at all. For me the connection between his fear of commitment and failing to take responsibility for Yuna doesn’t hold that much water—I see what the writer is going for, but it’s more realistic to me that he’s just plain scared of losing what they have now to risk a relationship and lose her as a friend too. And as obvious as it is, working through what might happen if he sat there and let Ye-jin marry another man is useful in getting him off his ass to do something about it.

Of course it’s really Seung-chan’s obvious crush on her that starts to get Joon-mo acting instead of thinking, because he realizes at a certain point that he could be replaced by someone. Perhaps he’s never actually been afraid of this happening before, but the preemption theme worked perfectly in this case, where the danger of losing his timeslot actually made him think of Ye-jin and his established spot as her best friend. It became abundantly clear that Seung-chan had already started to take up some of that real estate while he was busy playing it safe, and he certainly needed to be jostled out of his complacency to realize that he might lose her altogether this way. Joon-mo is just plain lucky that Ye-jin is dense enough not to realize Seung-chan’s feelings by now, because it’s not due to anything he did that he even has this chance now to confess.

I’m going to give Joon-mo the benefit of the doubt here and assume that this first huge step means that he’s not going to be so chicken-shit as to say he just meant “as roommates” or something lame like that. I’ll throw something if that’s the opening scene tomorrow. I do expect Ye-jin to interpret this as fear of losing her rather than love, which I would accuse him of as well—it’ll just be up to Joon-mo to prove otherwise, because I do believe that he loves her, and just needed a humongous kick in the pants to get here. Prove me right, Joon-mo! I need you to be awesome to lessen the blow of puppy’s pain.

What really moved me in this episode was Cindy’s storyline, because her fear of being replaced was a different level entirely compared to Joon-mo’s timeslot worries. She would actually be replaced and cease to exist on some level—CEO Byun goes so far as to claim Cindy’s name and identity as her own creation. It’s no wonder that she feels so unsure of who she is. Cindy killed me with her moments of vulnerability today, first when she was actually jealous of Seung-chan being so easily caught in his crush (more jealous that he’s a terrible liar whose sincerity can’t be misread, not that his feelings aren’t for her), and then when she finally let her true feelings show through in her speech.

It was a beautiful breakthrough for her character, and I was really moved by how much she’d grown and how much our three other characters had influenced that change in her. Those are the moments that really get me in the heart, and Cindy has grown on me so much that now I’m angrier at Seung-chan for not noticing Cindy’s feelings than I was at Joon-mo for ignoring Ye-jin’s feelings. C’mon, Baek Seung-chan. Is a serenade on live television not enough to open your eyes?

 
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Thank you for the recap GF!

This episode solidified my love for IU's character Cindy. The way her story unfolded was like slowly peeling an onion and finding layer after layer of hidden emotions that we never would have thought to come from The Ice Princess. The way she let it all hang out in her thank you speech got me straight in the heart. Ye Jin siding with Cindy while Byun-pire tried to peddle her new startlet made me realize that Cindy has been accepted in their inner circle and that they have her back which made Cindy's thank you speech to her all the more sincere.

I am too exhausted to root for any love-line at this point. I just wish they end the show with all four of them as friends playing a rousing round of DANGYUNHAJI.

My respect for IU's acting has gone up considerably since this episode. IU Fighting!!

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IU has really surpassed herself. Yayy RJM!
And was I the only one who found BSC super annoying in this episode?

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Cindy putting herself out there like that and BSC acting so uninterested felt borderline mean. And Ye Jin being so oblivious to BSC's intentions isn't any better either.

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YJ will never see SC as a love interest, she's just too attached to JM and that can't be undone, then will finally realize that, and once his heart is broken, when he stands alone in the rain, guess who will be holding an umbrella for him?

This episode settles it... it may be predictable but that's how it has to be, that's how I would like it to end.

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ThAnkuuuu sooooo muchhhhh fr da recappp ... u guys rockin yaaaaarrrrr.....

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Three more episodes, and I will finally know who will end up with who. Then I can get my drama-gears on and continue this show. Hahaha. I left it after episode 4 due to ambiguity of the OTP. Next week palli palli please

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Kim Jong Kook! That kiss! Who would think to see such a kiss? And with the paper/toner natzi? I was laughing so hard I think I missed half of it. The hands at the door jamb at the end, ha ha. So many good comments on all the mess with the rest of the storyline. I think this kiss was spectacular and I never thought Mr. Capable had it in him. He should do more acting, I was really surprised how he seems just natural.

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It sucks because I keep crying for Cindy. Iu is doing an amazing job but the freaking writers want to write this messed up love line where the boy just doesn't get the clue of who he should be with, I mean I'm starting to hate his character what a jerk they made him seem like. If it wasn't for Iu I wouldn't even keep watching this drama!

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by the way, what is the song title in the end of the drama, i just only can hear saranghae saranghae twice

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Perhaps it's "Is This Love" by Coffee Boy?

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no it's not.. the song played in the end of the epilogue..

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I still find BSC's reason for becoming a PD too shallow. I hope writer Park pulls up something from her hat to give him a much better motivation. He's a smart, athletic and talented guy, who studied for several years to become a prosecutor, only to become a PD for a noona crush (pretty Hae Joo) that he quickly moved on from. Seriously, Dramaland? Can't help but scratch my head on that. But, anyway...

For BSC's development, I kinda think that he will be made into a better version of JM in that he will be able to "man up" and take responsibility for something. Or he could very well turn out as jaded and pessimistic as JM is and leave the entertainment world altogether. Puppy Chan deserves a much better story line.

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I do so love that this show started with so much criticism for both IU and Cindy, about how no one could identify with her and how IU was terribly miscast, and now, 60% or even more, of the comments are about people just wanting Cindy to be happy and successful in whatever she wants; whether professionally or in love, and identifying the most with her. I also love that she grew so much as a character, and yet that didn't entail changing her fundamentally, because she's been shaped by all the things that have happened to her. She's still awkward and prickly on most occasions, but yet her sincerity is unmistakable. That's really indicative of a good character arc. I've been stanning her since the very first episode, so I'm so glad that the writers, at least in this respect, justified all my expectations of her narrative. I hope it continues in the final stretch! (I also hope she becomes President of her anti-fan cafe, it's one of my absolute favourite running gags; so hilarious and poignant simultaneously.)

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+1

Writer Park was said to have created Cheon Song-Yi with Jeon Ji-Hyun in mind. I'm wondering if she did the same for IU. Like what I mentioned in a post last week, I never really cared for IU until The Producers. Not really surprised when there were initial criticisms since singers-turned-actors seem universally panned and looked down upon, not just in Korea. It also didn't help that the pacing of the story, at least for her character, was slow in the earlier episodes. I'm really glad that IU stepped up to the challenge in showing a relatable vulnerability to her character. Like you, I also immensely enjoy the trolling that she does on her anti-fan cafe. It cracks me up every time despite how bored or serious Cindy looks.

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I also really like that feelings for IU and Cindy have gone from hate to love (although maybe all the haters just stopped watching and commenting?). I think IU is doing a great job and she has brought me to tears more than once in this show.

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Squee
What a satisfying episode!! :D it was heart wrenching but so full of growth! Ye-Jin is awesome as usual (how can a character by this amazeballs actress not be hehe), Cindy is growing (so yes she's in a terrible place with that monstrous CEO Byun, but she's coming into her own and will be able to be happy and genuine), Joon-mo finally speaks up and we see how he's become the way he is, and finally Seung-chan is sigh a sad puppy but also so underserving of Cindy....
I'm rooting for YJ and JM 100%.
I feel mixed about Cindy and SC, they need to grow, become their highest selves, then see how it goes with romance.

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I will throw something too if JoonMo give a lame answer.

I wish they did an epilogue for Hongsoon and Office Nazi instead.. it'd be funny if they actually were together for a longgg time.

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I didn't think Cindy (IU) would be able to wrest an ounce of sympathy from me, but in this episode she did. This marks a substantial milestone in how her character has been handled so far. Sometimes understanding what motivates people to act like they do is enough to shift your focus and see things in a different light. The writers "humanized" Cindy in a way that is easy for a lot of people to relate to.

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Well said. I was about to give up on her after eps. 8. But she showed growth in eps. 9, with believable backdrop.

You see a different aspect of Ye-jin too, the way she responded to CEO Byun shows how awesome a person she is - probably part of the reason why BSC likes her, you can see that from BSC's eyes when camera cuts to him.

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For the first time ever, Joon Mo have finally broke the mold and at last, he actually said something when he should have done it a long time ago *so frustrated when he did not, but I know it is for the plot to be interesting and there should be conflicts*. Joon Mo is a character that I find to be really frustrating as he is always laid back and he do not/little attempt to do anything but that factor made me really happy today for the fact that he actually did something that is different from his usual which is similar to a hype train I guess, expectation of him changing as the drama progress increases and it is slowly leak out.. I expect this to be the beginning like a preview first of how he would be like and soon, DA BOMB will drop down..*BOOM*
Moving on to Tak Ye Jin, this is my first post for this site and I have not express my opinion at all so I would take the opportunity and spew it all out at once but it is mainly going to be using this eps as guidance. Tak Ye Jin, act by a fav actress of mine, highly veteran Gong Hyo Jin. Honestly saying, I think she have been doing great and she fit the character she is doing now really well, everything she do seems in place and it is very natural for her similar to Joon Mo character for Cha Tae Hyun, I do not know why but the roles given to these character seems to fit their personality and lifestyle alot, though the umbrella couple will not win against the childhood older couple in terms of natural levels.They are putting up a good fight and let's stop being distracted and allow me to express. Tak Ye Jin, the female PD character that I personally find to be not my type. Before you get angry which you might not be, I don't dislike the character nor hate the character, but the feelings I get when I see her in the drama isn't too good, I always find that she have a longer screen time than the two other character (other than BSC who is obviously the main of the main). I find her segment to be less interesting than all the other character's one because she does not have a backstory or hidden secrets similar to Cindy and RJM, BSC does not have any too but his the main main so he always have someone accompanying him and his personality of being pure is interesting to watch. Tak Ye Jin does have much going on for her and throughout the drama, she only have a few purpose of being a PD, being in a love triangle of JM and BSC and a few minors one. To summarize, she is the least interesting one out of the 3 main characters and I always wish there would be more screen time for other especially Cindy. Cindy cindy cindy!! OMG, cindy!! OMG, IU!! She is really f* gorgeous, like I just can't take my eyes away from her(plus since she is getting lesser screen time than all 3 other characters, I just can't miss it) Cindy, I would say is my fav out of the 4. But don't think I like her just because of looks. Although, she is pretty, her character really shows alot of personality even though she kept saying that...

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For the first time ever, Joon Mo have finally broke the mold and at last, he actually said something when he should have done it a long time ago *so frustrated when he did not, but I know it is for the plot to be interesting and there should be conflicts*. Joon Mo is a character that I find to be really frustrating as he is always laid back and he do not/little attempt to do anything but that factor made me really happy today for the fact that he actually did something that is different from his usual which is similar to a hype train I guess, expectation of him changing as the drama progress increases and it is slowly leak out.. I expect this to be the beginning like a preview first of how he would be like and soon, DA BOMB will drop down..*BOOM*.Moving on to Tak Ye Jin, this is my first post for this site and I have not express my opinion at all so I would take the opportunity and spew it all out at once but it is mainly going to be using this eps as guidance. Tak Ye Jin, act by a fav actress of mine, highly veteran Gong Hyo Jin. Honestly saying, I think she have been doing great and she fit the character she is doing now really well, everything she do seems in place and it is very natural for her similar to Joon Mo character for Cha Tae Hyun, I do not know why but the roles given to these character seems to fit their personality and lifestyle alot, though the umbrella couple will not win against the childhood older couple in terms of natural levels.They are putting up a good fight and let's stop being distracted and allow me to express. Tak Ye Jin, the female PD character that I personally find to be not my type. Before you get angry which you might not be, I don't dislike the character nor hate the character, but the feelings I get when I see her in the drama isn't too good, I always find that she have a longer screen time than the two other character (other than BSC who is obviously the main of the main). I find her segment to be less interesting than all the other character's one because she does not have a backstory or hidden secrets similar to Cindy and RJM, BSC does not have any too but his the main main so he always have someone accompanying him and his personality of being pure is interesting to watch. Tak Ye Jin does have much going on for her and throughout the drama, she only have a few purpose of being a PD, being in a love triangle of JM and BSC and a few minors one. To summarise, she is the least interesting one out of the 3 main characters and I always wish there would be more screen time for other especially Cindy. Cindy cindy cindy!! OMG, cindy!! OMG, IU!! She is really f* gorgeous, like I just can't take my eyes away from her(plus since she is getting lesser screen time than all 3 other characters, I just can't miss it) Cindy, I would say is my fav out of the 4. But don't think I like her just because of looks. Although, she is pretty, her character really shows alot of personality even though she kept saying that she...

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she is just an image and she don't know who she is or what her real personality is what makes her character even more interesting. Being able to see her growth really put tears in my eyes especially that one part(Thank You), *sobs... I am always going to be in the the umbrella couple ship though I find TYJ and BSC moments a bit cute but Umbrella couple is too romantic to each other. Cindy is the character that started as heel but slowly, she is changing face due to that one guy, Baek Sung Chan. Honestly, I don't have to say much about the purest guy of all and how good his acting is because looking above and under this comment or any other episode will probably be resulting in full of great comments about him.
Lets dive deeper into this episode. As I began to watch this episode, This episode in general I feel is dedicated to TYJ and BSC Relationship and the part where he went back to TYJ and then bring her to Cindy is really heartbreaking(I know, it is not so easy for him to immediately pickup Cindy because that would ruin the love triangle). From BSC perspective, he like TYJ as a woman but TYJ like him as a junior or little brother instead, in addition, she did not discover his liking for her after so many place where it is easily discoverable, but I thought the writer was slowly leaning towards BSC and TYJ relationship to be real as the first few parts is mostly dedicated to them with the moving stuff scene and lots of cute moments.. I was also expecting the possibility of RJM with Cindy being a couple due to the rainy scene but everything change after the final scene and cindy's emotional scene which brought light and hope is not lost.After those two final parts, YESS!! My hope starts to grow stronger and brighter I can go on and on but lets stop here, I think its enough for today. Thank You for reading through my thoughts, took me a long time to type(probably 1 hrs) hahaha, Love this drama right now!! #Fanboy #UmbrellaCouple

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[SPOILERS BE GONE! -jb]

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Oh for pity's sake, please hold episode 10 comments FOR EPISODE 10.

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I think BSC knows Cindy's feelings towards him, it was pretty obvious, she told him!
Ye-Jin should know BSC's feelings too, because he told her... Ye-Jim misinterpreting is not believable IMO, she seems very smart... so maybe she is subconsciously not blocking herself from recognizing the feelings.

Love absolutely needs sincerity, but sincerity alone does not always leads to love. Sometimes, he/she is just not that into you for various reasons...

It is a good episode... nice development for Cindy and Ye-Jin...
KSH again showed how amazing an actor he is.

This show should have been called "Guess who will end up being together".

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Hahahaha to your last sentence. Yeah! Kind of like Answer Me series that keeps viewers guessing about couple pairing:D

This episode has got to be one of my favourite episodes in this drama thus far. Cindy's speech is SO sincere that I almost teared (and I am hardly that emotional when watching dramas). Also, KSH's imitation of CTH is pure gold;had a good LOL session and repeated the scene a few times. Looking forward to the ep 10!:D

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also, does anyone know what song cindy sings in her serenade on tv?

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I think you're looking for Heart by IU. :)

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please..jebal..i really want yj n sc together...

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[SPOILER DELETED -jb]

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Omg so much happening with the ships but all i cared about was uri cindy. Im in a puddle of mess. I dont even care if her storyline was cliche. Iu did so well. I just wanna hug her.

Cindyya hwiting! You dont need seungchan!!!
(I found him a little annoying this ep! But i hope the ending he will be like the hyung in reply 1997.)

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OI PEOPLE NO SPOILER PLEASE

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Thank you for the recap GirlFriday. Like you, Cindy's storyline of sincerity, vulnerability, and the way she expressed and let her true feelings show this episode really moved me. Hwaiting (Fighting) Cindy! :)

Still hoping for the Umbrella ship to sail but if it doesn't at least let the drama end with Cindy finding happiness in both her personal and professional life.

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At this point, BSC doesnt't even deserve Cindy. She's too good for him. I never liked BSC's character. To me, he's self-centered and immature. I t's also too obvious that in the end it will be RJM and YJ. They have always loved each other. YJ just looks as BSC as a friend and dongsaeng. I don't like how they styled KSH in this drama as BSC. Every time I see him, he reminds me of his stupid town idiot character in secretly greatly. In this drama, he does not need to have that bowl hair cut. Just because he's supposedly smart fron SNU, doesn't mean he has to look funny and dumb.

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Someone liking you does not mean you have to like them back. Up until this point, before we knew why, Cindy has been ill-tempered, bratty and unlikable. She has been self-centered and immature, and SC has been kind to her and supportive of her even despite all of that. He doesn't feel that way about her, there's nothing wrong with that, or with him because of that. Cindy should focus on her future and filling her life with more warmth, friendship, love and the sort of family you make for yourself.

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whoa, harsh words.

but i do agree with you, BSC was annoying this episode. i liked his earnestness and innocence. and i have grown to care about all the characters that i want them all to be happy, even if that means my #umbrellacouple is not endgame. if he likes yejin and she likes him then fine.

but this ep... im worried if they got together its gonna be a dysfunctional relationship? he does everything to please his noona and i personally dont like this kind of relationship. sure, cindy did everything to please bsc too, but lately she's changed and she does things to make HERSELF feel happy. and maybe he feels happy when yejin is happy, which is ok too. but i wish writernim gives him more motivation in life and make the relationship less of a "madly in love innocent hoobae with a noona that needs a lot of help".

i wish there are more moments like when bsc hugs yejin at the park bench, he looks mature and for once i can believe hes on the same level with yejin.

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But SC did a lot of things misleading her (or at least the audience), we can see and feel this from his eye, facial expression and body movement, also he did say something hurt Cindy much when he questioned Cind's sincerity on her kiss to him.

In the drama, Cindy's character developed very well, she just expressed her love to SC, and when she knew about SC's fault, she did not force anything and also thanks for YJ. Hope the writer can give her a happy ending: know and love herself well, stand up on her own to against Director Byrn, but not the love from SC as he does not deserve it. Also same to JM!

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He didn't mislead Cindy though. Everything he does is what he would've done for his sunbaes. It's just that everything BSC does is important to Cindy. That's why every kind deed he makes to her is elevated, zoomed in, and in slow mo. For her, his small gestures are grand gestures.

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Typo on the above, should be "SC' thought" not "fault"

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I'm so happy! I got to see more of Cindy! love her to bits!!! <3

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Somewhat off-topic, but I noticed My asian tv no longer has episodes for this show. Wonder if that person fussing about licensing and pushing dramafever on here a few episodes ago actually reported them. That kind of makes me want to watch anyone OTHER than drama fever.

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Too much tears coz of Cindy in this episode. I can never look at idols the same way again. They're probably going through this much pain if not more.

Kim Soohyun is a really good actor and no one can tell me otherwise. That impersonation of Ra Joon Mo is so damn accurate!

Thanks for the recaps, girlfriday!

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The scene between Yejin and Seung Chan's mom - just about died laughing. Such a funny scene!

Did anyone else notice how much Yejin's arms were moving up and down the steering wheel while she and Seung Chan were driving to work? She's going straight the whole time but moving her arms so much ... such strange little things distract me.

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Oh, Cindy, you made me cry today...

And I loved how Yejin stood by her...

Burn, CEO Byun.

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I cried during Cindy's arc. At first, I *LOVED* Ye Jin so much, and was surprised at how much I liked her and RJM and BSC. Yet, at first, I didn't love Cindy.
It's funny because now I watch this show like 95% for Cindy. IU isn't the strongest actor, but she's really been nailing it. I mean, seriously. I knew the other 3 were already top actors, so I was nervous for IU, acting alongside them, but she's been stealing the show.
I can really relate to Cindy. I mean, it's scary how much I relate. The feeling of being alone is something we all relate to. But what really gets me is how confused she is about who she is. It's such a "normal" problem, but because of her situation, it's on a much bigger scale. She's literally someone who was turned into a doll by CEO Byun. She literally had her identity warped and changed and stolen. Cindy, all alone, doesn't even have herself, because she doesn't love herself because she doesn't know who she is.

Because of that, I am extremely angry at Baek Seung Chan. At first I liked him and couldn't stop raving about how cute Kim Soo Hyun was acting as the naive boy. But now....I just feel so outraged whenever he goes off and smiles like a goofy boy around Ye Jin. Because he doesn't care about Cindy.

To me, Cindy is the best character. She's come so far. I liked Tak Ye Jin, but she has everything. She's got a good job, as a producer of Music Bank. She has friends, obviously, who'll stick with her through thick and thin. She has two boys in love with her. She knows who she is. She's got a nice personality. She's even pretty. The only problem she ever has is money, and being "rejected' by RJM, but since he actually likes her back, it's not as bad.

But Cindy? What does she have?
She has money and fans. But that's nothing that a human needs. A human person needs love, friendship, warmth. Cindy doesn't have friends- she's started to make some, thankfully - but she's struggling so hard.
To me, Cindy is like a parallel of Taekwang from Who Are You- School 2015. Both are second leads who are suffering. Even though they're rich, they are lonely and in pain. Han Yi An, to me, is like Tak Ye Jin.
I can't help but root for Cindy. For me the whole show has become about her. I even skip the scenes between Ye Jin and Seung Chan because I care so little compared to Cindy's struggles.

I feel like the thing I want the most now is not even for Cindy to end up with Seung Chan, but rather for her to find happiness. I want her to be able to find herself, and recover her identity, deepen her friendships with RMJ, TYJ, and BSC, and then find a way to love herself and be content.

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I skip the Seung Chan+Ye Jin scenes too 😂. IU has really been stealing the show lately. I really don't like it when people say 'oh this person can't act' because it's very distracting. I didn't know who IU was when I watched the show I first saw her in but I'm glad I didn't. If I had I would have kept doubting my own perceptions of her acting. Having thoughts like, "I mean, if people say she can't act then there must be a reason right"...
I really like IU's portrayal of Cindy. In the beginning it was a little hard to relate to her, partly because she got soooo little screen time. I'm glad she's coming out more now. Cindy, Fighting!!!

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i think Cindy deserves better than SeungChan

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Hi, i want to know who sing the song which played in this ep, when seungchan is confuse in his car, try to decide pick yejin or cindy.

Thanks before

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What's the song IU (Cindy) sang towards the end of Episode 9, after all that gratitude speech towards U-san PD?

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I'm really not a fan of Baek Seung Chan and for one reason. Why on earth are you so blind to Cindy's feeling, for chrissake??!!!!! When he said her sincerity felt like she was acting, that really hurt. (Yes I'm taking it personal. Let me have this please.) She's someone who hadn't felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable for so long and to say those words. It's a different thing if he just didn't like her but he just glosses over her feelings like they're not important. He's not obligated to reciprocate or anything but at least he shouldn't be so disrespectful about it.
I'm really not a fan of his little crush on Ye Jin either. Still, I like it every time Ye Jin misses a hint from Seung Chan. A very satisfying taste of his own medicine.

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P.S. I'm really loving IU's "Heart" and Coffee boy's "Is this love".

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