When the Devil Calls Your Name: Episode 4

by LollyPip

Our wayward musician has a lot on his plate these days, between his career, the annoying waif who keeps showing up whenever he lets his guard down, and that pesky deal with the devil. He knows what he’s looking for now, but it’s like looking for a needle in a thousand haystacks. And even if he finds it, will he be able to trade in another soul to save his own?

 
EPISODE 4 RECAP

In a flashback, we see Kang Ha staggering down the street in the pouring rain. He’s nearly hit by a car and collapses, and Ha Rib gets out and tries to revive him. In the present, Kang Ha tells Yi-kyung that Ha Rib is a good person who found him nearly dead and took him in, and even gave him his name.

Yi-kyung said she didn’t want a pity job, but Kang Ha assures her that Ha Rib needs a housekeeper, though he advises her to stay out of sight for her own mental health. He’d even offered to pay her quadruple the regular wage, but she’d declined, until she found herself on the street with nowhere to live.

She thinks about all the cruel, callous things Ha Rib has said to her about her music, but since she’s given up on music, this is a good chance to test her resolve. She calls Kang Ha and accepts the job, only to end up scrubbing Ha Rib’s bathtub while he stands over her naked with his foot on her head to keep her from looking up.

When Ha Rib is decent again, Kang Ha fibs that he called a housekeeping service and they coincidentally sent Yi-kyung. Ha Rib doesn’t believe it for a second and tells Yi-kyung to leave, and when Kang Ha stands up for her, Ha Rib says he can leave, too.

Kang Ha proceeds to pester Ha Rib over his reluctance to hire Yi-kyung, and he even says he thinks he’s regaining his memory since meeting her. Ha Rib says that’s awesome since Kang Ha can move out once he remembers everything, so Kang Ha petulantly pounds on his keyboard just to be annoying.

He also stops cleaning anything in protest, even refusing to flush after himself, which is the last straw. Ha Rib gives Yi-kyung a detailed list of his picky preferences, including that he never wants to actually see her, and she manages to comply perfectly (with the quadruple pay as a strong incentive).

At the park, Manager Kang walks two people through selling their souls, a man who wants to grow hair and a woman who wants to lose weight (cameo by comedienne Lee Gook-joo). Tae-kang thinks to himself that false hope brings out the ugly side of humans, then he makes the man and woman jump into the pond. The man comes out of the water with a luxurious head of long hair, and the woman emerges with a perfect face and body.

At the Soul Entertainment building, idol Ra-in asks Tae-kang if she offended him on their dinner date, though she admits that it felt good to honestly express herself for once (he did his “standby” trick on her). Tae-kang thinks that humans like her with “innocent” brains baffle him, and nearby, Seo-young walks into a wall trying not to look like she’s staring at them.

She and Tae-kang end up alone in the elevator, and she warns him not to get involved in a scandal. He says he only had dinner with Ra-in, but Seo-young says that’s all it takes. Tae-kang invites her to eat with him, and though she maintains her stern expression, she does a little happy-hop on her way to her office.

The young man who borrowed Yi-kyung’s guitar shows up to audition as a rookie composer, and his pretty looks cause a stir among the female employees. Seo-young listens to his demo and is surprised by his Serbian name, LUKA ALEXIEVICH (Song Kang). He explains that his father is Serbian and he grew up in Montenegro and studied business in college.

But he continues that he’s always loved kpop and is a big fan of Ha Rib, so he came to Korea to learn from him. Seo-young doesn’t seem too impressed, but she gets a call from Chung-ryul, who tells her to hire Luka no matter what.

Ha Rib sits down with all of his songs and tries to remember who visited him on each night that he was “inspired.” He marvels that in ten years he hasn’t written one song of his own, and wonders where his own music went.

Luka shows up in his yard, and Ha Rib goes after him angrily, thinking that he’s another fake inspiration until Luka yelps that he’s a fan. Inside the house, Luka goes on and on about Montenegro and his father, who was also a singer and descended from an old, noble family. He can’t seem to shut up, hopping from topic to topic, but Ha Rib finally stops him when Luka starts to go into his private music room.

He accuses Luka of being a spy for Tae-kang, or maybe Chung-ryul, but Luka just looks at him closely and asks if he’s ever been told that he looks like Seo Dong-chun. Ha Rib wonders if Luka has the grade one soul Tae-kang is looking for, but he doesn’t seem desperate, so Ha Rib tells Kang Ha to feed him and send him away.

Luka brightens when he spots Yi-kyung, and he eagerly helps her wash the windows as Ha Rib and Seo-young look on. Ha Rib is annoyed that Seo-young made Luka his personal assistant, while Seo-young is annoyed that Yi-kyung is still hanging around, but they both say that the jobs are just temporary until they can get rid of the youngsters.

It turns out that Chung-ryul made Seo-young hire Luka because he wants to make a business deal with a company in Montenegro, and Luka’s father just happens to be the prime minister. Ha Rib thinks that’s nonsense, but Seo-young says it checks out, and that Luka is cute and his demo isn’t bad. Ha Rib refuses to be Luka’s babysitter, but when Seo-young pinpoints that this is really about his grudge against Chung-ryul, he backs down.

Luka has adorably nicknamed Yi-kyung “Kelly,” from the K on her guitar. They leave together that evening, and it turns out they’re staying at the same sauna (Luka: “This is my house!” He’s so adorably dim, hee). Yi-kyung is amazed that Luka just picked up and came to a strange country with no plans, so he shows her a book he found in the locker room that mentions microhabitats.

He says that in Montenegro, he lived in a large house but mostly spent his time in a tiny attic room. He calls music his shelter and Korea his habitat, because that’s where he can meet the person he wants to meet and realize his dream. They return each other’s suitcases, and Luka insists on giving Yi-kyung her guitar back.

During Tae-kang’s next voice lesson, Ha Rib puts a bucket over his head and tells him it’s so he can hear his voice better. It doesn’t help, and Tae-kang warns Ha Rib that he’d better not be messing with him. He asks if Ha Rib has found a grade one soul yet, and Ha Rib complains that everyone around him is overly positive and begs Tae-kang to lower his standards.

Ra-in lets herself in, wanting Ha Rib to help her with a song for a performance tomorrow (Tae-kang throws the bucket back over his head, LOL). Ha Rib is all See, all positivity and no despair! but Tae-kang whispers back She’s a terrible actor! All the guys watch appreciatively as Ra-in gyrates to her song, except for Ha Rib, who just looks annoyed.

On his tablet, Luka runs across a video of Yi-kyung singing her favorite Liver and Gallbladder song at the coffee shop in Hongdae. He finds Yi-kyung cleaning Ha Rib’s music room, and he helps himself to the keyboard and plays the song, hoping she’ll sing for him. She says she’s given up music, but Luka aegyos at her until she relents.

Ha Rib walks in while she’s singing, but Ra-in follows him and yells at her for daring to sing here. Ha Rib says she’s his housekeeper, Luka protests that she’s a singer, and Yi-kyung just collects her cleaning supplies and shuffles out.

On his way to dinner with Seo-young, Tae-kang suffers a bout of insecurity since he doesn’t really know her, while she obviously knew the original Mo Tae-kang very well. Manager Kang advises him to act his rear off, which means not just eating in silence like he usually does.

Seo-young runs late, which reminds Tae-kang of her saying that she canceled a lot of dates last year because she was busy, and he wonders if he’s being stood up. She finally shows up and their food is served, but Tae-kang just stuffs his face without talking to her. He finally remembers Manager Kang’s advise that humans like compliments, but she doesn’t respond when he praises her professional drive.

Finally Seo-young says he’s eating too heartily to be feeling the least bit uncomfortable, which just tells her that it’s really over between them. She stands to make a dramatic exit and her stomach growls, but she gathers the tatters of her dignity and sails out, head high.

Kang Ha tries to tell Yi-kyung not to worry too much about Ra-in, but she changes the subject, noting that he paid her even more than the quadruple he promised. She goes to see her mom, but the restaurant is closed. Yi-kyung runs home, knowing that it means her stepfather isn’t well and her mother borrowed money to take him to the hospital again.

She fusses that the ajumma her mom borrows from may as well be a loan shark, and says that she’ll give her money. Her stepfather groans when he sees her, and Yi-kyung slaps down her entire pay, snapping that he must be feeling better.

On her way out, she passes the window she likes to sit under, and it reminds her of Luka talking about microhabitats and how a person can also be a shelter. She rests there for a while before taking the bus back Ha Rib’s place to do some more cleaning. Later she sits in his backyard and sings her song softly to herself, which is where Ha Rib finds her.

He listens for a while to Yi-kyung’s clear, sad voice, and he suddenly realizes that tears are streaming down his face. Yi-kyung sees him and stops singing, and she asks him if she’s really not talented enough. Ha Rib keeps his back turned and says harshly that getting a chance to sing today must have swayed her.

Yi-kyung says that she thought quitting music would be easy since she never really started, and that it would make her life easier, but it’s not. She adds that now she’s starting to think that music was what kept her going all these years, like shelter from the sun and rain.

Ha Rib says that she should just build a house if she needs shelter, because, “Your music makes me feel rotten.” In spite of his ugly words, Ha Rib can’t get the sound of Yi-kyung’s voice out of his mind, and it makes him tear up again.

In the morning, Yi-kyung tells Kang Ha that she’s quitting soon, her excuse being that it’s too hard to stay out of Ha Rib’s sight. He can tell that’s not the real reason, so she confesses that being here makes her want to make music, and she’s determined to quit music for good.

Ha Rib complains that Yi-kyung is in the kitchen while he and Kang Ha are eating breakfast, so she leaves. Kang Ha calls Ha Rib heartless, but Ha Rib snaps that if Yi-kyung can’t stay out of sight then she shouldn’t have agreed to his terms. Kang Ha wails that it’s because of her landlord’s fraudulent contract that she’s even working for them, calling her a desperate soul with no place to stay.

The words “desperate soul” get Ha Rib’s attention, and he realizes that he’s found his desperate, grade one soul. He finds Tae-kang and drags him to the coffee shop, wanting him to do his “standby” mind trick on Yi-kyung and hear if her deep-down feelings are pure. Tae-kang reluctantly lets himself be convinced, so they go in and order drinks from an annoyed Yi-kyung.

When she brings their drinks, Tae-kang taps her and says “standby,” and Yi-kyung freezes. Her eyes flash white, then she tells Ha Rib to hurry up and leave. She leans down and says, “Whenever I see your face…” and Ha Rib and Tae-kang brace themselves for the expected cursing.

But Yi-kyung finishes, “… I want to go back to making music.” HAHA, Tae-kang literally almost falls out of his chair in surprise. Shocked, Ha Rib asks if she’s not going to curse at him, so she yells, “I want to make music, darn it!”

Tae-kang snaps Yi-kyung out of her trance, and Ha Rib stares at her like he’s found an honest-to-goodness saint. He imagines her saying that she’ll be the savior of his soul, and he doesn’t realize that he’s actually nuzzling her hands until she asks him to let her go, hee.

But Tae-kang says her soul isn’t acceptable because she swore. Ha Rib argues that it’s a very mild swear and that her other words were what’s important. Tae-kang plays the old “your shoe is untied” trick to distract Ha Rib so he can run away, refusing to admit that Yi-kyung is a grade one soul. In the car, he half whispers that grade one souls don’t even exist, but he looks rattled by the encounter with Yi-kyung.

Later, at the rehearsal for Ra-in’s show, Ha Rib thinks back to that afternoon when he’d cornered Tae-kang and argued that even if he says grade one souls don’t exist, he found a person who didn’t curse when “poked,” so he has to keep up his end of the contract.

Tae-kang calls Ra-in to invite her to dinner, and she literally runs to meet him. He leans close to wipe a smudge from her cheek and she puckers up, thinking he means to kiss her. But his eyes flash demonic red, and Ra-in screams and passes out, so Tae-kang low-key panics and tells Manager Kang to take her to the hospital.

The music show starts with an appearance by idol group EVERGLOW (cameo as themselves). Backstage, Ha Rib tries to decide what to do about Yi-kyung, and he envisions a dark version of himself that argues that he’d be helping a girl who’s wallowing in despair to have a good life. His better nature frets that if he does this he’ll become evil, but Ha Rib banishes his good side and welcomes in his dark side.

Back at Ha Rib’s house, Yi-kyung finds the door to the basement workroom. She’s been expressly forbidden to enter, but she’s eaten up with curiosity, and she can’t resist taking a peek. Yi-kyung finds an old guitar that’s been repaired with tape, and she seems to recognize it. Ha Rib calls her and orders her to bring him his sunglasses.

At the same time, Seo-young calls Ra-in to see why she’s not getting ready for the show. Ra-in is in the hospital with an injured leg, and somehow the failed musician Joon-geon pops up out of nowhere and offers to perform.

Yi-kyung arrives with Ha Rib’s sunglasses,and he tells her not to leave yet. He goes onstage with a guitar, and as Luka plays the intro to Yi-kyung’s song on the piano, Ha Rib tells the audience that he’s found his new muse — Kelly. He goes backstage and tells a surprised Yi-kyung that this is her chance to sing.

She protests that she’s giving up music, but Ha Rib says that he’ll be her elevator, and all she has to do is ride to the top. He promises that she can quit after this if she wants, but he makes it clear that this is a one-time offer. He walks back onstage, thinking, “Hold my hand — you’ll rise to the top and won’t ever be able to come down. You’re a grade one soul. You’re my soul.”

Yi-kyung takes a deep breath, then she follows Ha Rib onto the stage.

 
COMMENTS

Whoa, I had forgotten all about the whole muse thing. I’m really enjoying this drama so far as a whole, but I have to admit that the second week’s episodes felt a bit like they were wandering around without much to say. The first two episodes were crammed full of world-building and character establishment, but it’s like the story got ahead of itself and then needed to kill a little time before the next major plot point. I’m willing to overlook it because we still got some funny moments and an interesting new character, but I hope that the next episodes pick up a bit. I have high hopes, because that last scene brought back some of the tension from the first two episodes, and it was chilling to see Ha Rib taking on Tae-kang’s role as tempter and become a danger to Yi-kyung’s soul.

Yi-kyung’s determination to give up music has been really painful to watch, because while she actually has some solid justification for making that decision, it’s obvious that music is really essential to her mental and emotional well-being. I’m glad that she realized that, rather than being the thing that held her back, music is what kept her going during the hardest times. Her song is so much prettier and more haunting as a ballad, and I think Ha Rib could hear the pain and longing in it when he heard it the way it was meant to be sung. I think that when he said it makes him feel bad, he doesn’t mean that her music is bad, he just can’t admit to her yet that he’s stolen her songs (even if by accident).

In fact, I think that Ha Rib’s reaction to the truth of where his “inspiration” has come from shows that, despite selling his soul and trying to procure a replacement, he’s still a good person. He feels guilty enough about taking what others created that he’s risked his own soul to re-write his contract with a demon, and he’s trying to remember where he got each song, hopefully with some plans to make things right with their true owners. It speaks well about him, too, that he’s not taking lightly the promise to find Tae-kang a new soul, but I’m ready for him to stop acting like he doesn’t care about anything or anyone. He also has valid reasons for acting that way, but Jung Kyung-ho is so good at it that he makes it difficult to watch Ha Rib isolate himself and push people away. All that aside, though, I didn’t expect him to so easily go dark on us once he found his grade one soul, but now that I’ve seen him in the role of the “devil,” I kind of want to explore that side of him for a while before he starts having doubts.

After my theory that Manager Gong may be a benevolent being watching over Yi-kyung, I’ve seen some theories that Kang Ha may also be a similar being, and I’m intrigued. It certainly makes sense — he came out of nowhere with no memories, and he seems to be an innocent creature. He can be annoyingly stubborn, but always for Ha Rib’s good, and I can certainly imagine him as a sort of guardian angel. In fact, I think it may be Kang Ha that Tae-kang mentioned trying to find in the previous episode — his memory loss could be why Manager Kang hasn’t been able to find him. Whatever he is, I’m positive that there’s more to him than simply a lost amnesiac, and I don’t think he’s the only character with secrets by a long shot.

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