Search Query: WWW: Episode 14

by LollyPip

Watching these strong, capable women is so much fun, but it’s doubly painful to see them so hurt by love. Thankfully, they’re as outspoken in their personal lives as they are at work, so they’re bound to come to some resolutions, though it may take a little while. Sometimes the answer is to let someone else be in control for a while, which is the hardest thing in the word for our heroines to do.

 
EPISODE 14 RECAP

Brian is back in charge at Barro, and Ga-kyung has been promoted to CEO of Unicon Korea. They’re both presented with the rule change allowing the government to request that items be taken off the real-time rankings, and they both refuse to sign off on it.

The shift in power makes the news, and In-kyung runs to Chairwoman Jang after being removed from her position. She gets on her knees to beg for help, but Chairwoman Jang snaps that she’s too stupid to be of assistance to her anymore, especially now that she’s lost her connections.

Chairwoman Jang is on her way to meet with President Seo, who accuses her of deliberately getting in his way. He threatens KU Group if she is, but she tells him that she’s seen a lot of presidents come and go, but a conglomerate holds power for a long time. President Seo sneers that the people want the government to regulate conglomerates, so Chairwoman Jang backs up and says they need a new plan.

Brian holds a small meeting where he says that he was trying to be responsible by resigning, but now he feels it was irresponsible. He says he expects to be criticized for returning, but he promises to keep a healthy fear of criticisms towards Barro and take them to heart.

In a similar meeting at Unicon, Ga-kyung promises her employees that her decisions will be for the good of the company, and nothing else. She asks them to follow her as she guides Unicon into setting its own pace.

She finds Chairwoman Jang waiting in her office and asks if she’s here to discuss alimony. Chairwoman Jang asks how it feels to be CEO, and Ga-kyung says she’s just taking Chairwoman Jang’s advice and learning what she’s capable of. Chairwoman Jang wonders if Ga-kyung is confident about her past, since CEOs undergo a lot of scrutiny.

Ga-kyung tosses the photos of Jin-woo with his mistresses at Chairwoman Jang and warns her not to try attacking her anymore, or she’ll retaliate in kind. Chairwoman Jang chuckles that she’s here to talk about Unicon approaching KU Group to partner in the development of robotic AI. She knows that Ga-kyung was unaware of this, and gloats that Ga-kyung won’t be able to do her job without KU Group’s help.

As soon as Barro announces their new user-advertising space on the main page, thousands of applications pour in. Brian comes to officially greet Ta-mi’s team, and he compliments Ah-ra on her great idea.

Ji-hwan’s manager takes him for some cake, which he won’t get much of in the army. Ji-hwan says he feels bad for leaving after signing a contract and starting to get role offers, but his manager tells him to focus on spending this last month with those he loves.

Mo-gun is at Da-in’s place working on music for his next game, and he tells Da-in that his girlfriend is learning to play the piano. Da-in is disappointed to hear that he’s seeing someone, especially when Sun-woo teases Mo-gun for making such a fuss over her.

Mo-gun goes to see Ta-mi afterward, and he can tell that she’s already had a drink or two to celebrate Brian’s return. He invites her for round two, but she’s still feeling the effects of her previous drinks, so he pulls her up for a piggyback ride. He tells Ta-mi to nap while he walks, though he quips that he’d rather not let her sleep (rawr).

As she nods off on his shoulder, Ta-mi says that she loves Mo-gun’s jokes and the world he creates. He says that now he’s scared of being punished for being so happy. Ta-mi is asleep, and Mo-gun mutters to himself that he should have carried her princess-style, because now he misses her.

Hyun can’t stop thinking about Ji-hwan, and how he promised not to contact her anymore. She accidentally catches the commercial he made for What’s Wrong With My Mother-In-Law? on TV, and she bursts into loud, ugly tears, wailing, “Don’t go! Don’t gooo!”

Ga-kyung and Jin-woo meet with the divorce lawyer, and as they leave, Ga-kyung says that she’s surprised that divorce is so simple. Jin-woo says it should be, since the road to divorce isn’t. He admits that he’s not sure what his last words to Ga-kyung should be, but she knows what she wants to say.

She thanks Jin-woo for being miserable beside her all those years, and her gratitude embarrasses him. He notes that they’re both dressed up and asks Ga-kyung if she’s going somewhere. She says she’s going to his movie premier, and soon they’re standing on the red carpet together.

Jin-woo watches Ga-kyung during the movie, smiling every time she smiles. But halfway through the film, someone whispers something in his ear, and he takes Ga-kyung’s hand and pulls her out of the theater.

While discussing the launch event for Barro’s new main page, Hyun checks the list of applicants for the user ad space and sees Ji-hwan’s name with a star beside it. He’s requesting an ad that says “Please buy a rose from the lady at Seonnam Station,” and it’s been approved.

Hyun notices that Ga-kyung and Jin-woo are both on the real-time rankings, and Jenny looks it up and sees that the photo of Jin-woo with a famous tennis player has been posted online. Interestingly, Chairwoman Jang isn’t behind this — she instructs her secretary to look into In-kyung’s whereabouts.

As Jin-woo leads Ga-kyung out of the theater, she makes a call to have Unicon’s legal team sue whoever leaked the photo. He spots some reporters and pulls Ga-kyung into an alcove, where they’re both affected by the close proximity. Ga-kyung says that hiding like this feels like they’re the ones having an affair, and Jin-woo smiles a little as he says they can’t be having an affair, since they don’t love each other.

On his way home, Ji-hwan stops at the subway flower lady again and buys all of her roses but one, saving that one for her granddaughter. As he walks away, he turns back to see her lay her last rose on the platform, then pray beside it for a moment.

He takes the rest of the roses to the place where his dog Seol-hee’s ashes are interred — awww, it’s her one-year memorial day. He tells Seol-hee that he’s joining the army and may not be able to visit her next year, and says he wishes she were still here and could help him know what to do.

As he heads home, Ji-hwan is upset to see that his mural is gone. As soon as he gets to the street he catches a taxi, just barely missing Hyun, who was right behind him. He goes to her place but her lights are out, and when he reaches for his phone, it’s not on him.

He calls it from a pay phone and learns that it’s at the subway lost and found. When he gets there, there’s nobody at the desk, but he spots his little flip-phone on a shelf when it starts ringing. Hyun is there, calling it from her own phone, and she grins when she finds it.

Her smile fades when she spots Ji-hwan, and she says she was looking for it since he left it on the subway. Ji-hwan says he’s also been looking for something all day, and he asks why she called him after telling him not to call her. She says she wanted to ask him if she’s just a fan to him: “What do you really think of me? You’ve never told me.”

Ji-hwan says he chased after her because he thought she was angry that he called her, and bought her a gift, and even walked her home. He asks who does things like that for a fan, or stands in front of their house hoping they’ll come back out, but he says there’s nothing he can do if she says she’s only his fan.

Even if she says she’s not just a fan, he complains that he only has a month, and it’s making him crazy. Hyun darts in and kisses him, stammering that she goes crazy when she sees him. She apologizes for kissing him then starts to wail that she should have done it sooner.

Ji-hwan stops her with a longer, deeper kiss. His phone starts to ring, but when Hyun holds it up, he just gently takes her wrist and pulls it down without even breaking the kiss. In fact, they don’t stop kissing for a very, very long time.

Jin-woo gets a lecture from Ga-kyung’s father, who says that in exchange for never discussing this again, Jin-woo isn’t allowed to divorce Ga-kyung. Jin-woo gets angry when Ga-kyung’s father says he’s on Jin-woo’s side, so he informs him that the divorce papers have already been filed and that Ga-kyung’s father is never to visit him again.

Barro’s new main page goes live, and Ta-mi takes the subway to work the next morning so she can peek at people’s phones, noting that most of them are on Barro. Ah-ra’s user ad space works perfectly, scrolling through everything from family business ads, to personal messages, to someone looking for his old army buddies.

After recording some music for Mo-gun’s game, Da-in offers him a ride home. She gathers her courage and confesses that she likes him, and that it hurt to hear he has a girlfriend. She admits that she thought about waiting until he and his girlfriend break up to tell him her feelings.

As she continues, Mo-gun sees Ta-mi standing not far away, but where Da-in can’t see her. Ta-mi hears Da-in say that she doesn’t care about his girlfriend’s feelings and ask Mo-gun to give her a chance, and Ta-mi turns and walks off. Mo-gun tells Da-in that he he doesn’t want to ask his girlfriend if she’s okay with that, and he goes after Ta-mi.

When he catches up, he asks Ta-mi why she didn’t stay and get angry after hearing Da-in’s confession. Ta-mi says that Da-in is her piano teacher, so she already knows that Da-in likes him. She tells him how it was nice to see Da-in happy and in love until she realized at the recital that the object of Da-in’s affection is Mo-gun.

Mo-gun asks why Ta-mi didn’t tell Da-in to back off, or warn him not to see her again, especially when she knows that both he and Da-in want to get married someday. Ta-mi says that she’s confident he won’t waver, but she’s been miserable anyway because one day when he feels ready for marriage, someone else like Da-in will come along and then he might leave her.

In a tight voice, Mo-gun asks if Ta-mi ever thinks about the present, and the fact that they love each other. She counters that love doesn’t solve everything, and can even ruin your life, or the life of the one you love. She says she’s not okay with that, since she’s the destroyer in this scenario.

Ga-kyung talks to her board of directors about the fact that Barro’s new main page is a wild success, and could push Unicon down to second place. Rather than place blame, she says she wants to take initiative, and asks for their help.

The head of the development team reports that KU Group turned down their AI collaboration offer, and is considering working with Barro instead. Another director blames this on Ga-kyung’s relationship with her in-laws after Jin-woo’s scandal, and Ga-kyung asks if he’s suggesting she manage her personal life for the benefit of the company.

Later, In-kyung is in a casual meeting with several industry heavy-hitters, who roll their eyes every time she talks. Ga-kyung shows up, and In-kyung watches incredulously as the others fawn all over her. Ga-kyung calls out In-kyung for avoiding her calls and making her come find her, and she takes In-kyung out with her.

She tells In-kyung that she knows she posted the pictures of Jin-woo online to get back at Chairwoman Jang. She tells In-kyung that nobody will hire her after being rejected by Chairwoman Jang, and asks if she’s ready to serve her now, making it clear that In-kyung is now beneath her and will be required to address her as her boss.

After taking out an ad on Barro telling people about the lady at the subway station who lost her granddaughter in an accident, Ji-hwan looks so happy to see a line of people waiting to buy flowers from her. Hyun finds him there and, grinning, Ji-hwan asks Hyun if she followed him. She’s obviously lying when she says it’s just a coincidence.

She gives him a rose to congratulate him on finishing his drama and invites him to her place to watch the finale. He’s oddly nervous about it, and during the big scene where the mother-in-law confesses that she’s actually thirty years older than she looks, he jumps in front of Hyun and says they should stop watching.

Hyun shoves him out of the way, then full-body squees at the big finale kiss scene (HA, no wonder Ji-hwan was nervous!). She belatedly realizes that that’s her man kissing another woman, and she asks if he liked kissing the actress while he stammers that it’s just his job and of course Hyun is WAY prettier.

Mollified, Hyun asks Ji-hwan when he’s going to stop addressing her formally (he calls her “Cha Hyun-nim” which is so freaking cute). Ji-hwan is reluctant until Hyun mentions that her heart pounded when he spoke informally to her at the bar, then he’s all happy smiles.

Da-in tells Ta-mi that she saw Ta-mi and Mo-gun fighting, and asks how long she’s known that Mo-gun’s her first love. Ta-mi says she didn’t know until the recital, and that she didn’t tell Da-in because it’s not like Da-in would have stopped caring for Mo-gun.

Da-in says that she wouldn’t have confessed to Mo-gun if she’d known Ta-mi was his girlfriend. She remembers Ta-mi saying that she was going to end things with Mo-gun (before they dated), and says she feels sorry for him if he’s not truly being loved. She tells Ta-mi that if the one who loves him more wins, then she’s the winner.

While Mo-gun is visiting with his birth mother, he asks her how it felt to give him up for adoption, and what her reasoning was. She says she felt like anything would be better for him that staying with her, because she was poor and her life was a mess.

She explains that she didn’t want to ruin his future to make herself happy by keeping him, and says she’s sorry. Mo-gun tells her that the woman she saw him with at the mall is actually his girlfriend (and it kills me that the way he says it is as if he knows it’s his only chance).

He goes to meet Ta-mi when she gets off work, and he takes her to the schoolyard where there’s no internet or cell reception. She tells him that Da-in saw them fighting the other day, and that Da-in doesn’t think she loves Mo-gun enough, but Mo-gun says he felt Ta-mi’s love.

Ta-mi admits that she’s jealous of how strong Da-in’s feelings are for him. Mo-gun says that he thought being okay with how things were would make them okay, and he didn’t understand why Ta-mi was so worried about his future when he said he didn’t care about marriage.

But now he says he gets it — even if he’s okay with it, that doesn’t mean she has to be. He says that he was scared to understand because it would mean breaking up, and Ta-mi confesses that she’d hoped he would never understand and would beg her to stay so she’d have an excuse.

Mo-gun says that at least they loved each other, and that it was meaningful, and Ta-mi agrees. He’s fighting back tears as he tells Ta-mi that he’ll let her go now, and he asks her to keep her promise only to come to this place with him. But he apologizes if something happens and she needs to, and he can’t be with her.

Ta-mi walks away without another word, and Mo-gun finally lets his tears fall. Ta-mi makes it to her car before she also starts to cry, and when Bong-ki calls to tell her the exciting news that Barro just passed Unicon in market shares, she lies that she’s crying from happiness.

 
COMMENTS

I finally figured out the one major reason why Hyun has been so adamant that she’s Ji-hwan’s fan and nothing else — when they met, one of the first things he said to her was that he had an old flip-phone because he likes things to be clearly one thing and not several things. No doubt she’s been trying to stay in her lane because of that, and not cross over into personal territory, because she thought he disliked it. What she didn’t realize was that while she was thinking he saw her as a fan and was desperately trying to only be a fan, Ji-hwan has only ever seen her as someone he loves. So by trying to be just a fan, Hyun was actually hurting and confusing him.

It’s so sweet that all Hyun had to do was say she likes him, and Ji-hwan was right there with her. I wish he had said something sooner, but he’s a man of action, not words, and he was telling Hyun with his every action that he loves her. Following her, buying her gifts, calling her when good things happened — those were his confession, and he confessed so many times. But Hyun just wasn’t getting the message, so I’m glad she finally broke and blurted out her feelings so that Ji-hwan could swoop in with his actions and confirm his own (and how awesome was that kiss?? I swooned so hard). Now we just have to watch them try to cram an entire relationship into one month, which I hope is more cute than painful.

And then there’s Ta-mi and Mo-gun, who talk and talk but who can’t seem to come to an agreement on whether their relationship is even supposed to exist. It’s frustrating to watch because they’re both right in their own ways. Ta-mi is right that love isn’t enough to sustain a relationship long-term, that you have to have the same goals and dreams, or at least have goals and dreams that don’t cancel each other out. And neither of them should have to give up what they want or compromise, if that’s not what they want.

Mo-gun said that he loves Ta-mi more than he wants to get married, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped wanting marriage and a family, and Ta-mi can never give him that. But I also feel his frustration with Ta-mi’s inability to just enjoy the now and stop worrying about what might happen someday. One or both of them may feel differently in a few years, and it’s a sunk-cost fallacy for Ta-mi to think that they can’t love each other now just because they might break up later.

However, I think that hearing his mother explain why she gave him up matured Mo-gun a lot in just a few moments. He suddenly realized that Ta-mi cares for him enough to sacrifice her present happiness for his future, and that letting him go is her way of loving him. It’s always been her way of loving him, but as he said, he was willfully refusing to understand for fear of losing her. But now he knows that letting Ta-mi go and freeing her from guilt is also the best way to love her in return, which is heartbreaking, but I don’t think either of them is wrong. They may find a way around this, or they may not, but at least now they’ve found something they agree on, even if it’s that maybe it’s better that they aren’t together.

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