Asian Addicts Anonymous

Well…I won’t lie and say I was thrilled by how they handled the time jump, but, oh well. And I am really disappointed in Hae Joo’s family. I was hoping that with what happened they would have changed for the better, but not so much. Sure, Dal Soon is treating her daughter like a human being now, but at the same time, her biological children have received all the benefits while poor Hae Joo has been slaving away.

Also, I am not quite sure as why, but the transition seems rather awkward and I’m not talking about the younger cast morphing into adults, but the adults that were adults to begin with. Geum Hee’s actions seem rather fake in this episode as if you can tell she is acting. And Jang? His attitude doesn’t seem to fit 100%. Same goes for Gi Chul’s and even the aunt and uncle. It’s weird. I just can’t pinpoint what, but there is definitely an awkwardness to the older adult class in this episode.

So we open with Hae Joo in the water and she recalls her father’s speech about even when all you can see is darkness, there is still some light. She opens her eyes and struggles to the surface and she’s mysteriously safe and sound (far from the cliff) with no sign of the goons. This…seemed WAY too convenient for me, but I suppose it could happen. And when she turns around, there lies the bright lights of the city in the nearby distance and she starts swimming [it’s really far for a girl her age]. So, I gather she gets to the city and manages to meet up with her family. This isn’t shown as the time jump happens right after this scene.

We then cut to 15 years later (putting Hae Joo at 28?) where the adult Hae Joo (Han Ji Hye) is doing welding. She is brought in when one guy who proclaimed to be an expert botched the job he was working on. Hae Joo quickly fixes his mistake and bawls him out. Her boss praises her as being the welding master and Hae Joo quickly asks for more money, which he says isn’t up to him to decide. Lunchtime rolls around and her boss complains about her always leaving during the break (I gather because she never really rests, nor does he see her eat).

Hae Joo rushes to a market to pick up seafood. She takes a few “extras” from the lady selling to which the ahjumma complains. Hae Joo kisses her on the cheek as payment for the freebies and heads home to find that her mother has been asleep all morning instead of going into work. To make matters worse, so is her older brother [Moon Ji Yoon—he was the PE teacher in Big]. Apparently ever since Sant Tae graduated from college [an idiot like him got into college?], he’s been floating from one job to the next and he is now an salesman [insurance or something like that I think]. Sang Tae tries to play off that he only came home for lunch, but who’s he fooling? No one.

Hae Joo then complains about a car in front of their food stand. It turns out that it’s Sang Tae’s. Hae Joo is livid. Where the heck did they get money for a car? She goes and checks it out and it’s a complete dump. Before she can continue griping she gets a notice on her phone and runs off. Dal Soon hits Sang Tae and says she told him not to trust the man selling the car. In her room, Hae Joo checks her email where there is an acceptance letter for a final interview at shipbuilding plant Cheon Ji. She happily hugs her father’s picture. She’s finally made it.

We then cut to the adult Chang Hee [Jae Hee]. He’s now a prosecutor and he isn’t afraid to bend the law a wee bit. When the people interfere with the prosecutors trying to collect company information and data, Chang Hee throws a fire extinguisher through a glass door. That gets everyone’s attention. One of the men with the business points out that is technically illegal. Chang Hee smirks and says that they can sue him. He then says that since the owner failed to cooperate, that’s why they had to do this. If the owner still fails to cooperate, then Chang Hee will just take his team and call the cops. This gets the owner to give up the documents and go quietly.

Chang Hee goes home and…it’s still the Jang’s house! Say what? I cannot believe he’s still there 15 years later. Gi Chul has changed and seems more carefree and relaxed. How the heck did that happen? Then again, if he doesn’t know that Hae Joo is alive and well, I guess he’s be living happier as he doesn’t have that ghost hanging over his shoulder any more. Chang Hee goes to shower when his father tells him he’s got a call from his chief. Chang Hee quickly takes the phone and heads outside as it’s for work. NOT! To fool his dad, “Chief” is really Hae Joo! She complains about her always being the one calling him and she then tells him she might be moving back to Ulsan if she gets a job at this shipbuilding plant there. She was surprised she made the final cut, but happy that it means she could be back in Ulsan where her love Chang Hee is. Oddly enough, Chang Hee doesn’t seem to thrilled at this news. Odd.

The Jangs then arrive home. Il Moon still seems as bad tempered as ever [played by Yoo Jong Hwa] and it looks like In Hwa [Son Eun Seo] might be worse now than when she was a child. Jang actually happily greets Chang Hee and they go into the house where Jang tells Chang Hee that the man arrested today is integral to Jang’s business, thus he can’t do jail time. What the? Great. Now Chang Hee has become Jang’s dog. I’m disappointed. I don’t care if he has some master plan for revenge, it just doesn’t suit him to have grown up and stayed in that environment. Oh, and to add to Il Moon’s already horrible complex, Jang is now openly comparing and finding his son lacking. It was one thing for him to do this slightly to his son’s face when he was younger and then behind his back, but NOW he’s openly doing this in front of both young men. What an ass.

Looks like Il Moon is investing in a project that has eaten up a few years and quite a bit of money with no results. We then learn that Jang is trying to do business with a business from the US. The business sent out Ryan Kang who’s apparently a genius with several degrees from the illustrious MIT. Hearing the name Ryan Kang immediately sparks In Hwa’s interest. And we can all guess why. Apparently (since this a drama anyways) first love’s run rampant and are never once forgotten.

We then cut to the adult Kang San who now goes by Ryan Kang (for revenge purposes). He’s on a boat with four girls clad in bikinis who are too stupid to know that he keeps insulting their looks and intelligence. When one goes to touch him, he yells “Don’t Touch!” (in English). Kim Jae Won’s English is pretty dang good, but still has a heavy accent. I wonder if there would still be a heavy accent if he was really in the states for 15 years? [At least it’s more believable than in Smile, Donghae where Ji Chang Wook’s character was supposed to be a Korean American (meaning born in the US and not Korea), but he still had thickly accented English].

Having enough, San gathers up the quartet of scantily clad girls and takes them back to Cheon Ji [and I had to laugh when they played Psy’s Gangnam Style here]. He takes them into the office where he finds Bong Hee [I admit shock to know that she’s actually working for her brother-in-law] and demands to know why his original blueprints aren’t being followed for the drilling ship. Bong Hee has no idea what he’s talking about and looks to Jo Min Kyung [Baek Seung Hee]. Min Kyung admits that Il Moon did make those changes. San tells her that he can easily take away the huge amount of money his company is investing and just walk. He then says he’s returning Il Moon’s gifts (the girls) unused. He says Il Moon needs to beef up on what constitutes a beauty. He then leaves and Bong Hee is livid. Where is her idiot nephew?

Hae Joo gets home and offers to spell her mother at the stall. Dal Soon asks if its really impossible for Sang Tae to have a car and Hae Joo asks for the night’s earnings. Dal Soon hands them over and Hae Joo counts it. With what she and her mother make, plus tutoring fees, and Sang Tae’s debt, there is no way they can afford a car. Enter Jin Joo [Yoon Jung Eun) who shows up carrying a huge kettle of broth. Hae Joo scolds Dal Soon for making the young girl do such work. Jin Joo was the one who insisted on doing it, besides she makes better broth. LOL. Jin Joo tries to calm her unnie down, but makes a mistake when she says that Young Joo [Jung Hye Won] isn’t at the tutoring center. Hae Joo is livid and rushes off on her motorcycle [which she hand built from spare parts] to track down her errant sister.

San is at a club full of foreigners and girls are hitting on him left and right. He only accepts one drink from one foreign looking girl. We then focus in on Young Joo who catches sight of him and starts making her moves on the dance floor. She sachet’s up to him, grabs his tie and pulls him out on the floor. San misunderstands and thinks that she was sent by Il Moon. Young Joo doesn’t get this, but she does get it when he says she’s pretty. Enter our angry unnie. Hae Joo grabs San by his tie and dresses him down for playing around with a minor. This shocks San. Young Joo quickly asserts she’s a college student. Hae Joo yells she’ll burn the club down if they admit her sister one more time and tries to drag Young Joo out by her hair. Young Joo’s wig comes off and San tries to cool Hae Joo’s gangster attitude which earns him getting thrown to the floor by Hae Joo who then grabs the back of Young Joo’s dress and yanks her out of the club.

Outside, Hae Joo runs into In Hwa who is angry, but she can’t say anything and just watches Hae Joo’s rough discipline of her little sister. In Hwa then catches sight of San in the club talking to a foreign woman (who happens to work at Cheon Ji). Egads. English conversations in dramas tend to be so, so…horrible. Kim Jae Won’s reactions are much like Park Ji Bin’s when he caught sight of In Hwa. It’s priceless to see. Of course San is not happy to see his ghost again. She goes up to the Cheon Ji lady and tells her to get lost as San is hers. She hasn’t changed when it comes to him at all. I*n Hwa tries to find out where he lives, but he makes a quick getaway (not before requesting that she doesn’t reveal that Kang San and Ryan Kang are the same people). In Hwa’s disappointed at his rapid departure. Get. A. Flipping. Clue. This girl.

San gets dropped off at the docks where Kang is drinking soju and eating ramen. San urges his grandfather to come live with him, but Kang refuses. Once must always be hungry if they want to take their company back. San complains that his grandfather is making him appear unfilial with his determination to remain there. Kang points out that if San is around him too much, the Jangs will know. San doesn’t really care since In Hwa knows already. Plus, Jang won by fighting dirty. San will win by fighting his way—fair and square. Kang points out that Jang has changed and is even worse now. How does his grandson plan to win over him? Kang just smirks and says “who knows.” Comforting. San gets back to his place where there is a board covered with news articles about Jang. He sits down and pulls out Hae Joo’s headband. Yep, he still has it. He recalls the day he took it before smiling and putting it back.

At the Chun house, all is chaos. Hae Joo is sternly reprimanding her little sister for her actions. Young Joo doesn’t want to wind up like Hae Joo, right? So that’s why Young Joo should finish her schooling. Young Joo says she refuses to go to college. All she needs is the right man to land her a comfortable life. She’ll keep going to those clubs and if she can’t land a rich Korean, she’ll get a foreigner (NOT all foreigners are rich, sweetheart). She’ll sell her body and lead a respectable life. Oh, wow. Talk about something completely illogical. Once you sell yourself, even if you land yourself in a respectable circle, you will never truly lead a respectable life. I hadn’t really expected the sniveling Young Joo to turn out quite so rotten, but rotten she is. Hae Joo goes for Young Joo and Sang Tae steps into the mix (Hae Joo insulted him). He whines about how he’s above her and how he’s the breadwinner. Say what? Dal Soon then comes out and gets the kids to stop fighting. Hae Joo then complains that Dal Soon isn’t at the shop and rushes out.

Dal Soon goes to find her daughter drinking at the empty stall. Dal Soon understands Hae Joo’s had it really hard. I find it out that Dal Soon told her just a few episodes back to stay in school so she can have a better life, and yet we find out that Hae Joo had to drop out of high school in order to work to support her family. Hae Joo cries and wonders how her mother could have kept her from getting an education and sent Sang Tae to college. Dal Soon replies she had no idea her son would end up like that (how could she not? But then again, the mother’s in this drama are HOPELESS when it comes to their kids—look at Geum Hee). Hae Joo sobs and wonders when they will finally live a decent life. Two customers come and the tears and bickering stop. You know Dal Soon feels guilty towards Hae Joo, but what can she do now?

It’s 4 AM and Hae Joo cleans up and closes up shop. She wakes the sleeping Dal Soon up who says that Hae Joo needs sleep as well. But Hae Joo doesn’t go to bed. Instead she tucks her two sisters in and starts studying. She then goes and tucks her mother in before getting the rice ready for that morning. Day breaks and Hae Joo’s off to work (did the girl sleep at alll?). If she keeps these hours up, she’ll run herself right into the ground.

Meanwhile, Chang Hee tells the man arrested earlier what he needs to do in order to stay out of jail. Pay back all this money, give up some of his properties to the company. Oh, and buy his ships domestically instead of in China. Oh, how could you? Chang Hee calls Jang and lets him know that things went as planned. However, he needs Jang to talk to the chief prosecutor as the deputy one will not let the man go without jail time. Chang Hee then goes to the deputy chief’s office and it’s Yoon Jung Woo! Jung Woo is livid to know that Chang Hee went over his head to ensure the criminal didn’t do time. Bong Hee comes in at this tense moment and wonders what’s up. Chang Hee leaves and Jung Woo says it’s an “internal” matter. Bong Hee then cuts to the chase. How can Jung Woo rent out her room? Jung Woo says it isn’t her room to begin with—she stays in it uninvited. Bong Hee threatens to climb into bed with him if he dares rent her room out. I have a feeling that Hae Joo actually might end up with that room if she moves back to Ulsan. Oh, and totally off topic, but Lee Hoon looks smexy with shorter hair and clean-shaven. Oh, and I love that Bong Hee’s and Jung Woo’s relationship is still much the same. They are so cute together.

Hae Joo is preparing to go to her interview in Ulsan when Young Joo storms in and throws a dress on the floor. She heard her big sister has a job interview. Well, even though they are fighting, they do care about one another…I think. Hae Joo is happy to receive the dress, though I don’t think she’s too thrilled with Young Joo’s attitude. She then heads into Ulsan and is met by Chang Hee. She calls out and goes to rush over, but her heel snaps. Chang Hee rushes to her and massages her ankle.

He then takes her shopping for her interview. He buys her new shoes. Hae Joo is worried about the expense, since she doesn’t wear dress shoes often. Chang Hee says she can always wear them when she meets him. Hae Joo then makes a crack about how if you buy a person shoes then they might run away. Chang Hee smiles and says he’s an expert on finding and catching people. LOL. He then picks out clothes for the interview. Hae Joo feels sorry for this and doesn’t wish to accept the clothes, but he insists as it’s the least he can do—besides, he has the money being a prosecutor (do they make that much? Because most lawyers associated with government jobs in the US don’t make nearly as much moolah as private firm lawyers). Hae Joo goes to try on the clothes and Chang Hee gets a call from his dad—which he ignores.

Gi Chul is eating with the Jangs at In Hwa’s restaurant. He says that Chang Hee is too busy with work to attend. In Hwa asks how he likes the food and Gi Chul compliments it. In Hwa is dabbling in the restaurant business as she wants to earn her own money and try as many ventures  as possible. That’s…somewhat surprising, but I’m happy to see she isn’t the typical wasteful leech of a rich kid. In Hwa excuses herself and Geum Hee takes this opportunity to bring up a marriage between Chang Hee and In Hwa. Il Moon is livid, Jang doesn’t look 100% happy (but he surprisingly agrees to the match) and Gi Chul does his best to tamp down on a big grin. Their dynamic is too confusing. Since when did Geum Hee like Gi Chul again? They had been awkward together ever since Yoo Jin’s death 28 or so years ago. Now she’s all friendly with him (and what’s more it looks like the families basically get a long on a bit more equal footing now than 15 years ago).

While the Jangs eat steak at In Hwa’s restaurant, Chang Hee is personally cooking Hae Joo beef at a restaurant. She is mowing down the food. When she tells him to have some, too, he smiles and said he ate already. He then tells her Cheon Ji is run by Il Moon which could mean she won’t get the job. Hae Joo is confident that brat wouldn’t remember her. Why? Is Chang Hee worried about their relationship coming to light? Chang Hee doesn’t care about that. In fact, he wants his father to know. But Hae Joo is insistent on not letting Gi Chul know until she is more on equal footing. Status doesn’t mean anything to Chang Hee, but it means something to Hae Joo and his father. I do feel bad that their relationship has to be kept hushed up.

Chang Hee then takes Hae Joo to a hotel where he booked a room for her. How…indiscreet. I know she’s not his mistress and there are no ill intentions in his head, but a male booking a rather luxurious room for a woman? Doesn’t that just smell bad? And what’s more, Chang Hee is a public figure as a prosecutor. He goes to leave, but Hae Joo insists he stay and talk awhile. Chang Hee agrees and then Hae Joo goes and bounces on the big bed. Um…yeah. The intelligence. The atmosphere does become a bit charged and awkward here. Chang Hee then gets a call from his dad. He leaves to take it while Hae Joo curls up on the bed. She doesn’t know when next she’ll meet Chang Hee. Gi Chul tells his son there’s major news and Chang Hee agrees to go home right away. He goes to tell Hae Joo, but she’s dead asleep. He kisses her forward and smiles as he leaves. She is his everything.

**NeeNee’s first experience with Jae Hee was with the movie Bin-Jip. The bed scene where he leans down to kiss her forehead reminded me of that ultra disturbing end of the movie. Just saying this because of the angle as he bends in to kiss her. Kim Ki Duk has some pretty twisted and deep films. Definitely check it out some time**

Chang Hee gets home and is shocked to hear the news that the Jangs would like to set him and In Hwa up for marriage. Chang Hee is not happy by this arrangement and neither is Il Moon. He goes into the house and drinks some water before slamming the glass repeatedly down. Anger issues have not changed at all. Geum Hee comes in and wonders if he’s worked up over his father’s scolding. It’s all for his own good, you know (actually, that’s probably the reason he’ll never each his real potential). Il Moon then angrily says that a match between In Hwa and Chang Hee is just wrong—he’s the son of a servant after all. Geum Hee doesn’t care about such social rankings (she did when she talked down to Hae Joo being “lower class” and “ill bred.”). Il Moon then leaves her with a really harsh blow. Would you marry Chang Hee to In Hwa if she was your biological daughter? Ouch. I’d like to think yes, but who knows?

They day of the interview arrives and when Hae Joo goes in for hers, Il Moon is shocked to see she only has a middle school diploma. How can she have made the final cut? The other interview members explain she scored the highest on the practical test (beating out their best), plus she has like over 10 certifications. Such an over achiever. Il Moon still doesn’t like her lack of education. How can she be a go-between between the design team and the building team? Hae Joo pipes up and says she can read blueprints and even use auto-CAD. She just can’t create her own blueprints. She asks to be tested when an angry San walks in. He needs to talk to Il Moon who is notfollow his blueprint and is also using inferior piping. He throws papers and Hae Joo quietly gets up and gathers them, earning her the Il Moon and San’s attention. She hands the papers back to San who recognizes her from the club. She then recalls him and that’s where we end.

Previews have San discovering who Hae Joo is. I think in the long run, Hae Joo would be detrimental to any plans of revenge that Chang Hee would have, but she just might be what San needs to keep him going. There has been speculation about maybe Il Moon becoming involved with Young Joo. I wonder if that will happen. If it does, I can only see Il Moon ruining the younger girl, but we’ll have to see. There’s 32 episodes after all. I am also curious how Geum Hee & Hae Joo’s meeting will go in 10? Will watch and get it up tomorrow.