Search Query: WWW: Episode 12

by LollyPip

I always thought that a good solid bromance was the best thing a drama could offer, until this show came along. The relationships between the women are so fascinating – one friendship has finally died, another is beginning, and a third is in the process of redefining itself based on the friends as they are and not as they used to be. I’m happy that our heroine has at least one good girlfriend to rely on, especially since other parts of her life are proving difficult to figure out.

 
EPISODE 12 RECAP

Hyun sees Ga-kyung unfairly attacking Ta-mi for leaving a loose end at Unicon, and she shocks Ga-kyung by standing by Ta-mi’s side and saying that she’s starting to think that Ga-kyung was like this all along. Hyun leads Ta-mi away, but she questions whether she did the right thing almost immediately and yells at Ta-mi for looking so pitiful. Ta-mi snaps back that she didn’t ask for Hyun’s help, and Hyun says that she’s the only one allowed to beat up on Ta-mi, ha.

Ga-kyung sends Jin-woo a text, and he drops everything to go to her. She simply asks him to get her out of there, and she takes his hand when he offers it. They sit to watch the sunset, and Ga-kyung says without emotion that it makes her want to die. But she admits that the sunset’s an excuse, as she thinks about the look of disappointment on Hyun’s face.

Ga-kyung says that she wanted to disappear, but instead, the things she cares about are disappearing from her life. Jin-woo asks when it started, and Ga-kyung says she’s not sure, but she’s terrified that her very existence is the cause.

Over a game of golf with President Seo, Chairwoman Jang apologizes again for not being able to get his article on Unicon’s site and for causing trouble for his friend. She says she’s not lobbying because she hasn’t given him anything, and he asks if she’d be interested in lobbying for real.

Ta-mi’s team finally decide which links to remove from the new Barro front page, but Ta-mi says that she feels like they’re missing something. Hyun recalls the advice Brian gave her about making the right impact at the right time, and she throws out the first thing that occurs to her, “Let’s get rid of the real-time ranking.”

She’s expecting the team to push back, so instead she suggests they change it from a static top ten list, to a rolling list that shows one rank at a time. Jenny worries that their index (their ratings) will drop, but Hyun says that the future of web portals isn’t about the index, but about providing a core image.

She looks up Ji-hwan online later, and grins to see tons of articles about him and how popular he’s growing. She asks Jenny what kinds of gifts fans usually send to actor celebrities, and Jenny says that these days they go big, like sending food to the staff of their dramas or take out billboards.

Ta-mi comes home after work to find Mo-gun cleaning her apartment and jokes that she’s got a giant house fairy, hee. She climbs up to ride him piggyback as he finishes vacuuming,and he tells her that he’s got a new project so he won’t be over as often. Ta-mi says casually that he should just bring his work materials to her house and live there.

Mo-gun freezes and asks, “Did you just propose?” Ta-mi says she’s just talking about living together, reminding him that she has no intentions of getting married. Mo-gun admits that he was hoping she liked him enough to change her mind, then quickly changes the subject.

They run errands and stop for an ice cream break,a ad Mo-gun catches Ta-mi heaving a huge sigh. She says she’s dreading talking to Kevin about the main page tomorrow because he’s going to reject her idea, and that she’s not enjoying being a grownup. Mo-gun quips that at least a handsome guy keeps hitting on her, but Ta-mi says that he wants to get married when she doesn’t.

Mo-gun asks when she decided against marriage. She tells him that it was when she realized marriage is the only thing she can’t do on her own.

As Ta-mi predicted, Kevin is against changing the real-time rankings to a scrolling list, but she argues that the rankings will die out eventually because the younger generation doesn’t care what other people find interesting. The head of the Search team tells Kevin that their index will drop, but Ta-mi says that they can use the extra space for advertising.

Surprisingly, Kevin agrees, but in return he wants to get rid of the entire My Homepage service (and its employees) since it’s no longer popular. Ta-mi says they can’t just delete all the history recorded there, but Kevin won’t take no for an answer. Ta-mi tells her team about the decision to remove My Homepage in two months to give people time to back up their data.

The Games link is also being removed from the new main page, mostly because most users have a direct bookmark to their gaming page, and gaming creates its own sales. Joon-soo sulks about it until Ta-mi tells him that games are being bundled with hobbies so the new games will still be featured on the new page, and he perks right up.

Ta-mi is surprised to run into Mo-gun at Barro, as he still hasn’t told her about his new contract, and he enjoys her shocked reaction. He pulls her into the break room and almost kisses her, but Ta-mi hides when they hear people approaching.

Mo-gun blocks the women from going into the break room, promising to make coffee for them. While he does, Ta-mi makes Are you kidding me right now?? faces at him, but he just joins her in her corner and kisses her senseless. One of the ladies asks his opinion on a song, and he stares deeply into Ta-mi’s eyes as he says, “I like it. I really, really like it.”

Hyun sends a coffee truck to the set of What’s Wrong With My Mother-In-Law? from “Seol Ji-hwan’s Fan Club,” and LOL, he’s so confused. Later he calls Hyun to tease her that she’s an entire fan club now, and when he mentions he’s on his way home, Hyun hangs up on him.

She finds him and gets in the same subway car, and she follows him off the train. She’s giddy with excitement when Ji-hwan sees the wall-sized mural of his own face, with a supportive message from “Seol Ji-hwan’s Fan Club.” Ji-hwan suddenly takes off at a run, but he soon comes back to look again, and he almost starts to cry.

He knows it was Hyun so he calls her, and he hears her phone ringing, so she sheepishly comes out of hiding. She says she was watching him from afar like a real fan does, and again at the word “fan,” Ji-hwan’s shoulders slump. Hyun says she just wanted to see his reaction to the mural, but Ji-hwan says that it’s such a huge gift, he can never repay her.

Hyun says she can repay him with his acting, which he’s already doing, looking unsure of herself now. She takes the rose he bought on the way home and says it’s enough. Ji-hwan walks Hyun home, their hands almost touching, and Hyun says happily that she became a successful fan today.

Ji-hwan asks if she’s really no more than a fan. She says she’s been his fan from the beginning, but she struggles to hold her smile steady. Ji-hwan stands outside her building until he sees her lights come on, and he says softly, “If you thought about it, you’d come out. I’m still here waiting.”

When Mo-gun gets home after work, he finds Da-in talking to Sun-woo, who asks why he’s been ghosting Da-in’s invitations to her recital. Sun-woo goes to put some of their music on a thumb drive for her, and Da-in asks Mo-gun if he plans to get married. He says wistfully that he wants to, but that’s why he can’t.

As she leaves, Da-in stops to calm her racing heart. Sun-woo suggests to Mo-gun that they have Da-in play one of the game tracks — he tells Mo-gun to go to her recital and check out her playing, and that it’s only business.

Ta-mi takes the employee-signed petition to Brian to show him how many people at Barro want him to return. Brian says again that resigning was his way of being responsible, so she asks why he called her out.

He tells her that Kevin from Barro is meeting soon with In-kyung and Chairwoman Jang, and Chairwoman Jang’s involvement unsettles him because it means it’s about the government. Ta-mi says she knows someone who can find out what the meeting is about, though she’s not confident of their loyalty.

Michelle, the head of the My Homepage department, asks Hyun to go with her to talk to Kevin. But Hyun says regretfully that it’s not Kevin canceling the service, it’s the fact that times have changed.

She says that Michelle is idealizing the past when they created the service — they were actually very difficult, and Hyun’s health even suffered, and that sometimes things are best left in the past in order to maximize the present.

She finally composes the notice announcing the My Homepage shutdown, and on her way out she runs into Ta-mi, who invites her out for a drink. Hyun is determined to get drunk, and later, Ta-mi deadpans (as she eyeballs the table full of empty soju bottles) that they can’t do this often because getting Hyun drunk is expensive.

Hyun falls asleep on the table so Ta-mi piggybacks her to her place, which is hilarious as Hyun’s feet drag on the ground behind her. They flop onto the bed and Hyun throws a leg over Ta-mi, and she grins when she finds out where she is.

Ta-mi tries to leave to sleep on the sofa, but Hyun pitches a kicking toddler fit and calls Ta-mi “Peanut,” begging her to stay. Ta-mi snaps at her to go to sleep because she’s going to kill her tomorrow. Hyun switches tactics, this time batting her eyelashes at Ta-mi and calling her “unniiii” in a plaintive voice.

Ta-mi caves, and once they’re tucked into bed, Hyun complains that emotions change too fast, and it’s exhausting. Ta-mi says that life goes on regardless. After a long pause, Hyun says that Ta-mi should sign the consent form to allow Ga-kyung into her Unicon email account.

Ta-mi half-complains that Hyun is lying in bed with her and talking about another woman, ha. Hyun rushes to the bathroom to throw up, breaking Ta-mi’s razor in the process but promising to pay her back.

Arriving at Barro in the morning, Ta-mi learns that the announcement about My Homepage being taken down has gone live, and it’s made it onto the real-time rankings. Hyun’s lovingly-worded announcement makes a lot of people at Barro grow emotional as they look back on old photos:

Don’t forget about all the amazing moments in life, and cherish them with all your heart. We’re sorry that [My Homepage] cannot continue to be your lifetime companion. However, we hope My Homepage will be a part of your memory when you look back and think of the past.

Ga-kyung comes to Barro and asks Hyun tentatively if she can say hello, unsure if Hyun would rather ignore her. She asks how Hyun is feeling after the My Homepage announcement, and admits that she was always jealous that Barro offered such a service. Hyun says she both loved and hated it.

Wistfully, Ga-kyung says you can only hate passionately when you love passionately. She asks how much Hyun liked her back in school, hoping it will tell her how much Hyun hates her now. Hyun says she doesn’t hate Ga-kyung and never has, then hurries away.

Ta-mi signs the email consent form, and Ga-kyung says she owes Ta-mi a favor. Deciding to cash it in immediately, Ta-mi asks why Chairwoman Jang is meeting with In-kyung and Kevin, but this is obviously the first Ga-kyung has heard of it. Ta-mi requests that she find out, and Ga-kyung says that they’re even after this.

Jin-woo gets a visit from Ga-kyung’s parents, who have received some documents from him that they don’t understand. He explains that he’s offering half of everything he owns to them and Ga-kyung in the divorce, enough for them to live on without relying on his mother.

Ga-kyung’s mother accuses him of ignoring Ga-kyung for ten years, but he fires back that they ignored her all her life. He tells them firmly to stop using Ga-kyung’s weakness against her, and they hang their heads as Jin-woo asks them not to tell Ga-kyung yet about the division of assets.

Mo-gun goes with Ta-mi to buy a new razor, and he insists on paying (HAHA, he holds her credit card over her head without even stretching). She fusses at him for spending money on her until he says she sounds like his mom, so she just thanks him with a pout.

He asks why Ta-mi seems down, and she sighs that she’s just worried about problems she can’t solve. She thanks Mo-gun for cheering her up, and in return for buying the razor, he says he wants to hear her play piano, pointing to a display of pianos for sale.

She balks, but he knows how to handle her — he says she must be terrible, so she tells him to just watch. The song she plays is simple, but Mo-gun applauds and whoops when she finishes. She rushes him out of there, both of them laughing.

They run into Mo-gun’s birth mother, who asks who Ta-mi is, and Mo-gun nods encouragingly. But Ta-mi says she’s his colleague, and his expression stiffens. Their drive home is awkward and Mo-gun says he’s not staying the night, so Ta-mi asks if they’re really going to act like he’s not upset.

He says he needs time to think, and when Ta-mi asks if she should have said she’s his girlfriend, Mo-gun says wearily that he doesn’t want to fight. He tells Ta-mi that he understands why she said she’s a colleague, but it still hurts.

Mo-gun says that he thinks Ta-mi just wants to avoid complications since they won’t be getting married, and he doesn’t understand why she’s okay with living together but not marriage. Ta-mi explains that if they live together, it’s because they love each other and no other reason, and she doesn’t want their relationship defined by the law.

He argues that those laws also provide security, which Ta-mi doesn’t disagree with, it’s just not what she chooses for herself. She tells Mo-gun that his choice is considered better by default, and the fact that she’s the only one having to explain her position proves it. Mo-gun apologizes for hurting her, but Ta-mi says that they’ll always feel sorry, and goes inside.

Jin-woo stops by the apartment and asks Ga-kyung if he can stay the night on the couch to make sure she doesn’t die, since the sunset tonight was beautiful. He settles in, but he’s obviously uncomfortable, so Ga-kyung lets him sleep next to her in bed.

They remember that they used to share a bed as newlyweds, trying to make it work, though they failed. Jin-woo says they can be more successful with the divorce, but Ga-kyung asks him to wait while she takes care of something first. He doesn’t ask what it is, but she says he’ll know.

On the day of the meeting between Chairwoman Jang, In-kyung, and Kevin, Ga-kyung shows up and surprises them. She sits down and tells them to continue their conversation, then listens with alarm as Chairwoman Jang tells the others that President Seo is concerned about how much money the web portals cost to run. She mentions how much they could save if the were only charges industrial rates for electricity… the catch is the real-time keywords.

Later, Chairwoman Jang confronts Ga-kyung and asks what she plans to do with the information she learned today. Ga-kyung asks if she’s scared, or maybe lonely now that everyone is her enemy and nobody shares her values anymore.

Chairwoman Jang sneers that she’s not fighting the changes of time but watching those who are, like Ga-kyung, who she’s been watching for ten years. She challenges Ga-kyung to try and use today against her, when only one word from her got Ga-kyung suspended before.

Mo-gun goes to Da-in’s recital, but instead of listening to her playing, all he can think about is Ta-mi. Unsurprisingly, Ta-mi is there too, and she sees Mo-gun sitting nearby in the audience. She remembers Da-in talking about her first love, and puts all the clues together.

 
COMMENTS

I really hope Ta-mi doesn’t have a jealous fit over this, mostly because I think she’s better than that, but also because she should know Mo-gun better than that. It’s not his fault if an old classmate still nurses a crush on him, nor does it mean anything for him to attend the recital of a colleague and someone he may wish to work with in the future. I do think Mo-gun knows how Da-in feels about him, which is why he keeps such a careful distance from her, but he’s made no secret of his feelings for Ta-mi, so she has no reason to be jealous.

That said, I will understand if Ta-mi is a little testy about seeing Mo-gun at Da-in’s recital, so long as she gives him a chance to explain and doesn’t fly off the handle at him. They’re in a weird place where they want to take their relationship to the next level, they just disagree on what that level is, so they’re naturally going to be sensitive. The hard part is that they both have good points to back up their position — Mo-gun is correct that marriage offers protections and security that living together doesn’t, but Ta-mi is also right that being together because they want to be, instead of because they have to be, offers its own kind of personal security. She has the right not to want to get married, but Mo-gun isn’t wrong or bad for wanting marriage for himself, especially considering his own family background. The problem, as Ta-mi pointed out, is that there’s no way for both of them to be completely happy. Either Ta-mi caves and they marry, or Mo-gun caves and they don’t, but either way, someone isn’t getting what they want out of life. I really have no idea how, or even if, they can solve this problem and still stay together.

This whole episode was sad, because now even Hyun and Ji-hwan are at an impasse, and it’s a lot harder to figure them out because they haven’t had the hard conversations like Mo-gun and Ta-mi have had. I’m still not sure why Hyun keeps insisting she’s only Ji-hwan’s fan, unless it’s that she doesn’t want to tie him down just when his career is taking off, which is a valid concern in a culture where even a dating rumor can kill a career. I do think she’s aware of his feelings — he hasn’t stated them explicitly, but he also doesn’t hide his disappointment every time she calls herself his fan. I think that Ji-hwan just needs to tell Hyun straight how he feels, and get a straight answer from her, and put all of us out of our misery. I just want all the puppies and kittens to be happy, is that too much to ask?

REMINDER: I know the finale has aired and I’m still way behind, but I’m catching up as quickly as I can. Please be careful not to post spoilers in the comments!

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