Radio Romance: Episode 10

by LollyPip

Su-ho really does seem to be enjoying the radio show these days, and he even gives Geu-rim some good advice about her writing. He’s still encountering a lot of opposition, but he’s discovering for himself what he wants to do, and rather than discourage him, those outside pressures only serve to convince him that he’s tired of living for others.

 
EPISODE 10 RECAP

After Geu-rim witnesses Su-ho’s mother slapping his father’s mistress, she apologizes to Su-ho for not understanding him better when they were kids. She says that she knows that he’s saying the most when he’s not speaking at all, and that it makes her want to give him a hug. She does, and he lets himself cry on her shoulder.

He kicks himself for it after he gets home, and he’s surprised to find his mother sleeping on his couch. She doesn’t know where his father is, and Su-ho comments that every time something happens in their family, he and Mom are the ones left behind. Mom tries to ask if he was with Geu-rim, but Su-ho just tells her to leave once she’s rested.

He goes to his room and calls Geu-rim, who hesitates before answering. She jokes that she thinks her hands are the reason she keeps hugging him, and Su-ho deadpans that she was like that twelve years ago, too. Unwilling to let her off the hook, he asks why she does it, so she compares him to a shivering puppy, ha.

Su-ho says that he called Geu-rim to thank her for hugging him. She tells him to stop thinking and get some sleep, and after they hang up, they both wonder what’s wrong with them.

The next day, Su-ho’s mother holds a meeting at KBC, where she threaten to withdraw all of JH Entertainment’s stars from KBC shows unless they let Su-ho out of his contract for the radio show. Station Manager Kang asks if they can pre-record Su-ho’s radio shows instead, but Mom refuses, saying that he’ll be too busy with his next drama.

Next, Mom visits Writer Ra, who complains that their idol DJ isn’t showing up for their shows anymore. Mom just notes that Writer Ra stopped reporting to her on Geu-rim, and asks why she should help when Writer Ra isn’t holding up her end of their bargain to get rid of Geu-rim.

Su-ho cooks a simple, clumsy breakfast for Jason, then informs him that he cried. Jason is thrilled and proud to hear it, and he says that the person Su-ho cried in front of makes a difference, because it means that that person understands him.

Su-ho loiters outside Geu-rim’s building, and when she comes downstairs, he makes her drive him to the station. Only, once he gets her in the car, he tells her to take him home instead. When she gets mad at him for making her late to work, he tells her to borrow his car today, and by the way there’s a gift for her in the back seat. Hey, when did he get so cute?

When she finally gets to the station, Geu-rim calls Su-ho to come get his car back. He tells her he’s too busy and to just borrow it for now. Did he… just give her a car?

She shows PD Lee her next script, which he says is terrible. He tells Geu-rim that she quotes books too much instead of writing her own thoughts. He refuses to accept excuses, reminding Geu-rim that he gets rid of writers who make excuses, and says that her career will be over if she becomes a lazy writer.

Su-ho walks in on Hoon-jung complaining to a buddy over the phone about him again, and he asks about a video that Hoon-jung mentioned. It’s a video that PD Lee recorded of Geu-rim, who’d obviously had too much to drink. PD Lee asked her what kind of radio she wants to make, and Su-ho turns up the volume to hear her answer: “I don’t want to do a show about celebrities. I want to do a show where the listeners are the stars of the show.”

PD Lee gets in the video to promise on camera that he’ll produce that show and make Geu-rim his main writer. The video ends just as PD Lee whispers something to Geu-rim, and Su-ho goes nuts when he can’t hear what he says.

Geu-rim and PD Lee walk in on Su-ho, who looks pretty guilty, ha. In private, Geu-rim asks Su-ho how he has so much free time lately, and he says that he’s just following her advice that a writer and DJ should live in sync. He asks her what PD Lee said to her in that video, but an employee catches them together so he doesn’t get his answer.

She says that she can’t talk now, because she has to rewrite her script. Su-ho has a flash of jealousy, asking if radio is all she cares about. Geu-rim complains that he keeps showing up everywhere and distracting her, and she gives him the car key back as she leaves.

Meanwhile, PD Lee reads an old news article about a teenager who was killed in a car accident outside the KBC building (Ji-woo’s accident from years ago). Hoon-jung wonders if Su-ho was involved and if JH Entertainment manipulated the media reports, and PD Lee makes a call to Joon-woo.

Unhappy at the lack of results from her efforts to blackmail Su-ho’s mother, Tae-ri confronts her. Mom says that Su-ho will be in the drama, but that he’s refused to act with Tae-ri. She asks what Tae-ri did to make Su-ho so adamantly against working with her, but Tae-ri just storms out. She tries to call both Su-ho and Joon-woo, but neither answers.

At the same time, Joon-woo is meeting with PD Lee, who asks if he’s been Su-ho’s manager since the year of Ji-woo’s accident. Joon-woo ignores the question and says that Su-ho will be in a drama soon, so he won’t be able to continue the radio show. PD Lee asks if Su-ho said himself that it’s a done deal.

Su-ho approaches DJ Moon to ask him some questions about radio, and how to be a good DJ. DJ Moon thinks that Su-ho is really here to ask about Geu-rim, and that he’s doing this whole radio thing because he likes her. Ha, Su-ho doesn’t even deny it.

DJ Moon sighs that radio is just like life… when you’re on the radio, you show your listeners everything, and trust in them. In return, the listeners will trust you. He gives Su-ho a stack of papers, saying that they’ll make Geu-rim fall for him.

Su-ho asks if it’s normal for a writer to be together all day with their DJ in order to write. DJ Moon chuckles that his wife is a writer that he used to work with, and ended up marrying. Su-ho looks adorably hopeful, and DJ Moon gives him a cheeky wink.

After the news from Joon-woo, PD Lee asks Su-ho if it’s true that he’s leaving the radio show to do a drama. Su-ho gives him a firm “no,” so PD Lee says that he’ll trust him.

Tae-ri tries to call Joon-woo again while sitting outside his apartment building. He comes outside, and she screams at him for ignoring her calls. They end up at a bar, where Joon-woo tells Tae-ri that it’s her fault that Su-ho’s mother didn’t put her in Su-ho’s next drama.

She whines that she wants to act, but she doesn’t want to have to get a sponsor (usually a rich man who expects payment in physical favors) so she had no choice but to try blackmail. Joon-woo says sadly that he’s powerless to help her, and that he would have stopped her if he could have. Tae-ri snaps accusingly that he has the recording of Su-ho saying that his “mother” isn’t his real mother.

As Su-ho grows annoyed again at Geu-rim’s failure to answer his calls, Geu-rim meets with PD Lee to show him her revised script. She’s written an opening about how dramas have their characters meet for the first time in interesting ways, but that regular people can have such meetings, too. She explains that it’s about the people you meet in your life, but PD Lee says that it’s unclear.

He tells Geu-rim why he hired her in the first place — a few years ago, he’d been napping in the sun outside the station and overheard her on the phone describing the sky to her mother. She’d repeated something her mother often says: “I should enjoy one thing a day that I can’t buy with money.”

PD Lee had been moved by her words, and he says now that he wants to be moved by her writing. He says that Geu-rim talks as if she’s painting, so she should try writing her emotions the same way. She begins that night by writing about the times she’s hugged Su-ho, exploring what it means when you hug someone.

She calls Su-ho, and he finds her in her hideaway, looking over the city. She says she has something to tell him, but he complains that she always wants to talk here. She counters that he always wants her to come to his place when they aren’t even dating.

Su-ho has an easy answer for that: “We can just date. Go out with me. Date me.” He steps close and tells Geu-rim again that he likes her, making her grumble that he’s starting to get to her. He smiles at that, and asks if she dislikes him. Geu-rim mutters that she doesn’t not like him, which is good enough for now.

He takes her to his house, where she teases him for bringing her here just for ramyun. Su-ho falls back on his usual excuse of being too famous to go out, and Geu-rim asks if he’s always dated at home and in cars. He chokes, then admits that Geu-rim is the only girl he’s ever dated. Awww.

Jason meets with Su-ho’s mother again, who complains that there’s nothing about Geu-rim in his report. She hands Jason an envelope of money and asks if Su-ho has mentioned the drama, and he says that he’s looking forward to the emotions Su-ho will display when he discovers that his mother still expects him to do it.

Su-ho’s dad bursts in, furious at his wife for slapping Da-seul when she’s been threatening him. Mom informs Dad that he got himself into this mess, and Jason decides it’s a good time to leave. But he pauses in the hallway, listening as Su-ho’s mother screams that her husband has hurt her enough with Su-ho.

After dinner, Su-ho gives Geu-rim the papers that he got from DJ Moon and asks when his script will be finished. She tells him that PD Lee told her to write about her feelings, but admits that all she could think about all day was Su-ho, silly things like how many doors there are to get into his house.

She adds that she’s been wondering why she hugged him twice, so she thought that seeing him would help her figure it out. Su-ho jokes that they ended up on a date instead, and he states confidently that he thinks she likes him. Geu-rim’s lack of denial is a pretty clear answer, so Su-ho tells her to write the script using that feeling. He asks her to go on a date with him after the show tomorrow, and Geu-rim smiles.

Watch the video

All dolled up for date night

She shows up the next day, dressed to the nines with new, sleek hair. Drought asks if she’s dating, and when Geu-rim asks if it’s obvious that she dressed up, she says that it’s extremely obvious, hee. She asks who it is, but before Geu-rim can whisper the answer in her ear, PD Lee pops up and scares all three of them half to death.

He takes Geu-rim to Station Manager Kang, who asks about Su-ho, relieved to hear that he says he’s doing the radio show. His own superiors have told him that if Su-ho leaves the show, then he’s to get rid of the rest of the team as well.

As soon as Su-ho arrives at the radio station, his mother calls to summon him to her office, reminding him of meetings and work he’s behind on. He interrupts, repeating that he wants to take a break. He goes inside to find PD Lee and Geu-rim with their heads together over her script, so he yanks PD Lee away and demands a private discussion.

They go to the roof, where Su-ho tells PD Lee for the umpteenth time to stop touching Geu-rim’s shoulder and calling her “Maknae.” In fact, he orders PD Lee not to even make eye contact, ha. PD Lee says that he’s been treating Geu-rim like a real writer for a while now, and with a mischievous grin, he notes that Su-ho only said not to touch her shoulder.

The team convenes to discuss the last month’s shows, and PD Lee says that while the broadcasts from the school and the hospital were successful, they were unplanned. He tells them that he wants to plan something new, which Geu-rim understands to mean that they’re having a meeting after the show, and Su-ho thinks Hey, what about my date?

PD Lee tells Su-ho that he wants him to be more involved, to which Su-ho retorts that he’s doing the best he can. They bicker about exactly how much would constitute “enough effort” on Su-ho’s part, as Geu-rim and Hoon-jung try not to roll their eyes right out of their heads.

When it’s time for the show, Su-ho seems touched that Geu-rim’s script is about him. She wrote, “Hugging a person is a way of inviting that person into my world. It’s hoping you forget your sadness in my arms… it’s hoping you stop crying in my arms.”

The show goes smoothly, and one female listener calls in to chirp that she’s a fan of Su-ho’s. She says that today is her birthday, and asks him to say “I love you” to her for her birthday. Su-ho suddenly looks very uncomfortable.

The fan begs and cajoles, but Su-ho looks like he’s really struggling to say the words. Geu-rim nods encouragingly, and he never takes his eyes off hers as he stammers, “I lo… I l-love you.” There’s a long moment as Su-ho and Geu-rim stare at each other.

Eventually Su-ho recovers and continues the show, and as he reads Geu-rim’s words about what a hug means to her out loud, she’s reminded of all the times she’s hugged him and how they each meant something different. Once the show is over, they head out together for their date, but PD Lee bounces after them to invite them to eat.

Su-ho says he’s got plans, but when PD Lee turns to Geu-rim, she just looks guilty. Su-ho is upset that she’s choosing to stay and work instead of go out with him, but he gives her the key to the car back, telling her to go home to sleep no matter how late it is. Geu-rim refuses the use of the car, which just makes Su-ho more upset.

He seems hurt to learn that she didn’t even open the gifts he left in the car for her, and he insists that what he gives her isn’t a burden, but his heart. He asks why she didn’t even bother to look at them, and Geu-rim apologizes, saying that she didn’t think of it that way.

She promises to open them, which deflates Su-ho’s anger. Geu-rim asks him to take her on a date tomorrow instead, saying, “I want to go on a date with you.” That’s enough to put him in a good mood again, and he even does a happy fist-pump once he’s alone.

He goes to meet with Joon-woo, who tells him of his mother’s plan to force him to do the drama. Joon-woo alerts Su-ho that there will be an official announcement that he’s starring in the drama tomorrow, and he stops Su-ho from driving off in anger, offering to drive him instead.

Su-ho goes to Mom’s house, where he yells that she’s not listening when he says he’s not doing this drama. He spits that she must think he’ll obey since he always has before, but he firmly refuses this time.

Mom claims that she doesn’t want to do this, and she shows him the photos she has of him kissing Geu-rim after the remote broadcast at the school. She won’t tell Su-ho who took the pictures, only saying that if he doesn’t behave then Geu-rim will suffer.

Mom reminds Su-ho that she stopped things the first time, and he recites, “If you want to protect Song Geu-rim, do as I say.” Mom tells Su-ho not to ignore the weight of the life he chose.

The next day, Hoon-jung overhears rumors that Su-ho is leaving their show and their team will be disbanded. He runs into the office to gasp the news to PD Lee and Geu-rim, who both look shocked.

Just before the press conference for the drama, Su-ho asks Joon-woo for help. PD Lee bursts in demanding to know why Su-ho is breaking his word, saying that he regrets ever starting the radio show with Su-ho. He spits that Su-ho is just living a script that others write for him.

Geu-rim worries as she watches Su-ho at the press conference on her laptop. She texts him, asking if he’s really quitting radio, but gets no answer. When PD Lee returns, all he says is that they don’t need Su-ho.

She’s still at the station late that night when Su-ho starts trying to call her. She goes up to her hideaway, where Su-ho finds her. He whirls her around and hugs her, reminding her of her promise not to ignore his calls anymore. Still holding her, he tells Geu-rim that he knows what she wants to say, and how she felt as she’s been waiting for him.

He says that she’s thinking that he’s quitting the radio show, and hating him for it. But he looks her in the eye and tells her, “I’ll do it, I’ll keep doing it with you. You just have to trust me.” On the verge of tears, Geu-rim says that she wants to, and Su-ho replies simply, “Then trust me.”

He leans down to kiss her, and this time, Geu-rim kisses him back.

Watch the video

Sealed with a kiss

COMMENTS

Now that was a well-timed kiss. I thought that the first time Su-ho kissed Geu-rim (well, the first time as adults) wasn’t so much a romantic moment, as a desperate measure to encourage her to remember hi. But this kiss was was a pure, uncomplicated, and most importantly, mutual confirmation of their feelings for each other. Geu-rim has agreed to date Su-ho, and she’s admitted her feelings for him (albeit in a sideways sort of way), but she was losing faith in him because of the rumors that he planned to leave the show to do that drama. Not being a man of words, I thought it was the right time for Su-ho to show her how he feels. He can say “I like you” over and over again, but sometimes you have to take action to let a person know that you’re sincere. A kiss won’t prove that he’s going to stay in radio with Geu-rim, but it will help her understand that Su-ho means to stay by her side no matter what that entails.

I have to stop here to indulge my excitement that Su-ho told Geu-rim he loves her! Okay, maybe not directly, but they were looking right at each other, and his nerves and the look in his eyes plainly showed that he was saying the words to her. From the way he was acting, I’m guessing that that was the first time he’s said those words to anyone in his life, and that the fact that he was technically saying it to a listener is what enabled him to force the words out. I loved the way he and Geu-rim got all shy after that, averting their eyes and smiling to themselves. Oh yes, they both know exactly what he meant, and it was wonderful that it didn’t make Geu-rim back away at all. She enjoyed hearing Su-ho say those words. And it’s nice timing for it to happen after they mutually decided to date, because it always bothers me when one half of a couple confesses to being that serious before the other has figured out if they even like the person.

I haven’t mentioned Jason in a while because I was hoping we’d get some more information on him, but it looks like we’ll be waiting a bit longer. All we really know is that he says he’s known Su-ho since high school, and that JH Entertainment put him through medical school. In return, he’s paid to keep Mom apprised of Su-ho’s activities and who he’s spending time with. Jason does seem to enjoy seeing Su-ho’s progression as he becomes more independent, but he also gives Mom detailed reports on Su-ho’s progress. That sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t tell us whose side Jason is on and whether he has Su-ho’s well-being at heart. I really don’t think I’ll be able to stand it if Jason turns out to be working against Su-ho.

It’s strange, because he seems to be genuinely happy whenever Su-ho makes a breakthrough, he actively urges Su-ho to pursue a relationship with Geu-rim even though he knows that Su-ho’s mother hates her and her influence on him, and his advice is always sound and professional. I’m bothered that he’s still taking money from Mom, because that could indicate some pretty bad motivations. But I want to believe that he’s only reporting to Su-ho’s mother because he has to, since she put him through school, but that he’s also doing everything he can to help Su-ho get healthy and break away from his toxic family. In fact, based on the things he says to Su-ho’s mother, I think he’s even hoping that her recently escalated manipulations will spur Su-ho to rebel even harder, and if that’s the case, then he’s doing a good job playing both sides for Su-ho’s ultimate benefit. I’m just worried because Jason also has moments where he seems to take pleasure in Su-ho’s pain, but I can’t tell if he’s enjoying the fact that Su-ho is struggling, or just gleefully anticipating the fireworks that will happen when Su-ho and his mother have their inevitable showdown.

On the other hand, now that Joon-woo isn’t under Mom’s influence anymore, he seems to be fully coming around to Su-ho’s side. It’s obvious that he’s always cared deeply for Su-ho, but that he’s always felt obligated to obey Mom’s wishes, since she was his employer. I’m still not entirely sure where Joon-woo fits into the events of Ji-woo’s death, because he deliberately ignored Su-ho’s calls the day of the accident, but he also visits Ji-woo’s ashes and seems to have cared for the boy. The one time they discussed it, Joon-woo seemed to regret his actions back then, even while still acting as a spy for Mom in the present. But now he’s actually helping Su-ho out by giving him a heads-up about his mother’s plans, and I hope that they can mend their friendship and stop fighting the love they clearly feel for each other.

We have a lot of heavy issues to deal with in the near future, and I’m most concerned about how Su-ho plans to keep his promise to Geu-rim to keep doing the radio show, while also protecting her by obeying his mother’s orders to do the drama. He keeps saying to trust him, so I hope he knows what he’s doing. But for now, I’m just going to bask in the sweetness that is Su-ho and Geu-rim’s new relationship, and enjoy how cute and off-balance Su-ho is as he navigates through his very first romance.

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