Asian Addicts Anonymous

You have to love the convenience of having everybody in dramas being interconnected without themselves even being aware of this fact. Soo Im’s college sunbaes are Tae Kyung and Hyun Woo and Tae Kyung’s father is Jung Nam’s hoobae and friend…so how come Deul Im doesn’t know him at all? It’s all very odd since the Han family and Gong family have such a deep connection. But we wouldn’t have a drama if everybody knew everyone else and their specific connections to that person I suppose.

In order to shut his wife up in front of their daughters, Jung Nam quickly puts his hand over her mouth. She does shake it off and tells the kids that Jung Nam went to that man’s grave again. This makes Deul Im and Soo Im angry. How could their father go to visit the grave of the man who ruined their family? All the yelling eventually brings in Granny Jo and Jung Ja. The girls and Jin Soon leave and now his mother and sister try to get him to stop going to the gravesite. Jung Ja reminds her brother that it is all because of his friend scamming them that she ended up like she is. Right. It’s quite a trope in Asian dramas, not just in Korean, you know. You are responsible for your own actions in the long run, but most drama characters either push responsibility off on everyone else or take it all on themselves (when they don’t deserve to).

Anywho, Soo Im and Deul Im talk about just how softhearted their father is. Soo Im is against him going as is Deul Im. The younger Gong daughter complains that it is all that conman’s fault that’s he failed to go to college. Soo Im laughs and teases that it was Deul Im’s low scores that were the true reason. Deul Im asks if Soo Im can meet with he and Hyun Woo the next day to finally get the accident settled, but Soo Im replies that she has something else to do and cannot spare the time. Soo Im then gets all happy as she calls Hyun Woo. This makes Deul Im suspicious, but Soo Im just says it is a college sunbae and nothing else. Right. We all know that Soo Im has quite the crush on her college sunbae.

Soo Im asks Hyun Woo if he is going to a seminar the next day. Hyun Woo replies he isn’t interested, but Soo Im says she’s on the committee for the lecture and that it will be good for him to actually make connections and friends in the law world to help him out and to see it isn’t all that bad. This is enough to persuade Hyun Woo and he decides to go for Soo Im’s sake.

After hanging up with the older Gong sister, Hyun Woo then decides to call his “stalker” to settle once and for all. Deul Im is in the bathroom brushing her teeth when she gets the call. Hyun Woo is grossed out by the sounds on the other end of the phone, wondering just what on earth she’s doing. Anyways, he wishes to meet tomorrow. Deul Im replies tomorrow isn’t a good day for her lawyer, but Hyun Woo insists on meeting no matter what. He’ll give Deul Im and her lawyer 10 minutes and 10 minutes only. He hangs up and his mom enters the room. He assures her his back is doing all right and tells her about his attending the seminar the next day. Meanwhile, Deul Im bursts into Soo Im’s room where Soo Im is happily choosing an outfit. What to do? Soo Im insists that she can’t go since the seminar starts at 1 and she must be their early since she’s part of the organizing committee. Deul Im insists Soo Im write everything down and she’ll defend herself. What results will Deul Im get?

At the Park household, everyone is talking about the arrival of Ji Young’s nephew—Sang Hyun. Judge Park clearly favors his nephew over his son. When Grandpa Park interjects about how clever and good Hyun Woo is to have passed the bar on the first try, Judge Park has to point out that was because he pushed his son to the bar. Sang Hyun is a clever and driven young man who needs no prodding from his parent to do what is needed. I have a feeling that even if Hyun Woo was the prodigal son, he would still be worthless in his father’s eyes. In all of this talk, Judge Park brings up Soo Im. It’s obvious that he wants the talented young woman for his daughter-in-law which makes Ji Young and her son rather unhappy. Oh, she’s happy to finally meet Soo Im, but she doesn’t want anyone forced down her son’s throat—friend or not.

At the Han household, Mi Ok is continuing her lavishing of affection on her new puppy Ho much to the annoyance of her husband and daughter. Tae Kyung doesn’t seem to care too much about this matter. Se Joon seems more concerned when his sister starts snapping at him for trying to feed the puppy fruit. Mi Ok storms into her room saying she will sleep with Ho and her husband can sleep on the balcony. Wow. Se Joon pulls Tae Kyung aside and asks what is wrong with Mi Ok. Tae Kyung responds with Soo Im’s answer—the age thing. Se Joon then says that Mi Ok will be put into a much better mood if her only son can marry. Tae Kyung smiles and says there is no way he can marry before his uncle. Doesn’t Se Joon have any prospects? None whatsoever—not even any female teachers at the school. Seems he doesn’t know that the restaurant lady has a crush on him!

I am only mentioning the golf outing between Dr. Han and Judge Park as it brings more and more hinting that Hyun Woo just might not be Judge Park’s biological son as Dr. Han was praising up Judge Park’s son and makes a comment about how alike the boy is to him and that caused a very awkward atmosphere. What the what. Soooo frustrating. All this hinting and dancing around the subject. I have no idea why, but with Smile, Donghae within the first few episodes, I already had the whole plot put together and knew the birth secrets and everything else. I can’t quite do that with this drama for some reason.

Meanwhile, Deul Im meets with Hyun Woo. She has her eonni’s carefully written information at hand, but Deul Im quickly loses her steam, and the upper hand, when Hyun Woo starts citing laws himself and using them to refute Deul Im’s claims. The frustrated younger woman threatens to send her pictures to the police, but Hyun Woo won’t budge. He does admit he thought about giving her the money at first, but because she is like this, he refuses to do anything that he’s not legally obligated to do. Deul Im is really silly as she cannot figure out that the reason Hyun Woo is so knowledgeable of the law has nothing to do with last minute cramming to avoid getting in trouble, but because he is a LAWYER!

Hyun Woo arrives at the conference and immediately greets Soo Im who is happy to see him. His boss and other lawyers arrive as well. It turns out that one of his coworkers is a sunbae of Soo Im’s. Her reputation in the legal world is quite good and I wonder if they see Hyun Woo in a better light at all since he associates with Soo Im. Probably not, but you never know.

After the conference, Hyun Woo takes Soo Im out to dinner. She complains about how he yawned through the conference which had something to do about law and the spread of Hallyu (Korean Wave—meaning how Korean entertainment and culture is becoming popular in other countries). Hyun Woo really doesn’t see the benefit of attending such things. He then notices the earrings. She’s wearing them again! Yes, because she sees them as good luck charms. Hyun Woo worries that people will think they are from her boyfriend and not a school chum. Soo Im replies that she does tell people exactly that. She does try to confess, but Hyun Woo tells her he sees her as one of the guys…but then proceeds to tell her that any boyfriend of hers must be vetted by him first. That kind of could me misconstrued…but I think Hyun Woo is making it very plain and clear that Soo Im is a friend and only a friend and he probably won’t see her as something more. Take a hint.

At the Han household, Mi Ok is busy playing with her puppy, Tae Hee is heading off to school…or to study or something since Se Joon hasn’t changed or anything… He made a lot of food which no one wants to eat again, so he’s delivering some to May Zuri (restaurant lady who has a crush on him). She happily accepts the food. Jung Ja then comes in after Se Joon leaves and makes a huge commotion about May not doing her job properly. Nothing like taking out your jobless frustration on someone who doesn’t deserve it. Poor May. Sung Hoon and Lee Ja Hye [Jo Su Min] see this and walk on by the restaurant.

Ja Hye throws her school stuff down and says that she’s angry. She then starts dancing. Sung Hoon watches in admiration of her skill. He then happens to see Tae Hee walk by. She is approached by three guys who won’t leave her alone. Tae Hee keeps insisting she wants nothing to do with them and they keep picking on her for thinking she’s so much better than them just because she’s got the best grades in school. Sung Hoon intervenes and a fight breaks out. Ja Hye watches in disbelief as Tae Hee flees the scene leaving Sung Hoon all alone…not that he needs help or anything. Se Joon doesn’t call him “Fighter” for nothing. The boy is good.

Deul Im arrives at the theater and meets Tae Kyung. He asks after the posters. She tells him she has successfully hung all 100. He then tells her to go help out to prepare for the production. Deul Im goes to do his bidding but stops and asks when she will start doing vocal training and the like. This really upsets Tae Kyung. Who said she’d step foot on stage? She’s just a lowly trainee right now. If she doesn’t like that then get out. Deul Im apologizes and rushes off to start helping get things set up. She is upset, but will continue to work hard until she gets her chance. She is immediately mesmerized by the star of the show. That would be the arrogant biotch who seems to think she can call all the shots Geum Na Ri…I think.

Hyun Woo drops Soo Im off, without mentioning the invitation from his father still, and just as he leaves, Deul Im arrives. Figures. The old famous narrow misses that dramas love. A few is okay. Tons…just annoying at times. Anywho, seeing Soo Im’s expression, Deul Im asks who dropped her off, a boyfriend? Soo Im wears a shy and happy expression and says she doesn’t know. She then switches the topic to the Deul Im’s meeting with Hyun Woo. Deul Im says it didn’t go all that well and asks if her sister is free the next day for one last try. Soo Im replies she is busy, but will make time in her schedule to get this settled once and for all. Soo Im then notices Deul Im’s dour expression. What’s wrong? Deul Im talks a bit about what happened at the theater and how she is losing confidence. Soo Im encourages her not to do so as Deul Im is not Deul Im with out her spark and her confidence.

The sisters run into Sung Hoon on their way in and are immediately concerned by his appearance. Did he get into another fight? Jung Ja who was soaking her feet jumps up and launches into her son for fighting and eventually the argument evolves to Sung Hoon yelling at his mother for also being a fighter and not thinking of him or Jin Ah before getting divorced. Jung Ja says that she did think of her kids and that is why she did what she did and if Sung Hoon doesn’t like it, he can go live with his dad. Aigoo. Really… this is a bad situation all around. Being a product of divorce, too, I know all too well these kinds of arguments and the pain they cause for the whole family.

The next day Deul Im is cleaning the practice room. She texts Hyun Woo to set up the meeting and demands he not be late. She then catches sight of Na Ri’s costume and can’t take her eyes off of it. She recalls Na Ri singing on the stage and then imagines herself doing the same thing. Her fantasy is cut off by Na Ri’s arrival. The diva is horrified that Deul Im is wearing her costume and she calls for security. Deul Im apologizes for trying it on and asserts she is not a thief, but a trainee. This horrifies Na Ri. She storms into Tae Kyung’s office where he is discussing financial difficulties and demands he get rid of Deul Im, NOW!

The angry Tae Kyung then storms into the practice room and tells Deul Im to get out. We then cut to Hyun Woo is at the usual café waiting. He tries calling the late Deul Im and is surprised when she doesn’t answer. Having no time, to waste, he leaves. Soo Im is at the meeting place to in a different seat working on cases so she doesn’t see Hyun Woo and he doesn’t see her. She also tries calling Deul Im to no avail.

We then end the episode with the arrival of the “perfect child” Sang Hyun. He and Hyun Woo happily greet each other at the airport. I do wonder how long their good relationship can last if Judge Park will be constantly shoving how perfect and great Sang Hyun is down Hyun Woo’s throat? And will Deul Im be able to convince Tae Kyung to keep her? We shall see.