Asian Addicts Anonymous

I have to say that I got a kick out of Se Joon’s and Jung Ja’s letter exchange. Jung Ja was sooo touched by Se Joon’s poetic letter and Se Joon was just as touched that she responded with a handwritten letter as well. I had to laugh when he took his red pen and marked the whole thing up for spelling and grammar. You just can’t put the teacher behind you.

I am pleasantly surprised by Jin Soon and how she treats Deul Im. I mean, when Jung Nam was complaining about Deul Im and how he can’t stand her doing musicals instead of something better with her life as he won’t be able to face his friend after he dies. He also comments on how Deul Im isn’t like Soo Im and Jin Soon comments on how she never thought of Deul Im being different at all. For as much as she dislikes that friend who royally screwed their family over, she at least doesn’t see Deul Im as not being her daughter. That’s always good.

Okay, so onto the recap. These three episodes really go hand-in-hand as the main focus is really on preparing for Deul Im’s understudy role. Hyun Woo feels very pleased as he feels it is partly thanks to him that she got the role, but Deul Im not knowing his relationship with Tae Kyung would have no idea why she should be grateful to him that she got her job back and got a role to boot. Even though she gets to go onstage, Deul Im must not forget she is only a trainee and still must put up posters and clean the practice room and stage.

While she is putting up posters, Deul Im gets covered in water when Sang Hyun drives by (after a suspicious meeting with Na Ri who asked if he’s interested in being introduced to a different musical company for possible investment) and hits a puddle. She rushes after him and yells at him. Sang Hyun doesn’t even apologize and just hands over money…a $100 bill! You’d think he’d have some Korean money on him by now. When Hyun Woo stops by to chat, he tells her to throw the posters out, but she refuses. He does get concerned when she starts sneezing and says she must be getting a cold. That’s not good with her going on stage in a day!

The entire time at work when he should be focusing on his case, he focuses on Deul Im. He’s really worried about her getting sick. Awww. Well, it’s cute that he is so concerned about her, but at the same time, do concentrate fully on the job at hand. His father has already got a bajillion reasons to hate him without adding inattention to the important things like this. And, of course, since he’s distracted and more concerned about Sang Hyun’s investment and Deul Im’s health, he completely basically ignores Soo Im who constantly goes to his office making Ji Young very unhappy. I get that Soo Im isn’t from the best of backgrounds, but, seriously? She is a good girl and a hard worker and well-known in the law field, so what gives? Is money and breeding really everything?

Meanwhile, the Gong household is in an uproar since Deul Im called saying she got her job back and she is going to stay out all night. Deul Im then finishes ironing out her posters happily. Hyun Woo cannot believe she ironed the posters back into existence. He brings her medicine and she thanks him. He does ask if she wants his help to practice, but she declines, what can he possibly know about musicals? She goes out and finishes hanging up the posters and goes back to the theater to practice.

The next day Soo Im promises to find out the theater and see Deul Im and Granny Jo makes Jin Soon promise to ask Mi Ok for help since Tae Kyung is a musical director. Mi Ok, Jin Soon, and the rest of their group go to volunteer at a shelter for single mothers. Judge Park is livid that his wife volunteers at such a place and exploded when Grandpa Park tried to get Hyun Woo to volunteer there offering legal advice. Mi Ok greets Ji Young and Jin Soon wonders just how important of a person Ji Young is. I’m sure Jin Soon would be livid if she knew what Ji Young thought of Soo Im.

Anywho, after the volunteer work is done, Jin Soon buys an expensive lunch for Mi Ok, but can’t actually get around to asking for the favor when Mi Ok brags up Tae Kyung and his company up and down. Granny Jo scolds her for doing such a thing and letting pride get in the way. It’s not pride. After the way Mi Ok talked, it would look bad and you know Mi Ok would probably refuse the favor since she doesn’t really think highly of Deul Im at all.

Deul Im is trying to practice her duet with Min, but since Na Ri is a no show, all the other people are art searching for her so Deul Im is left alone to clean the stage and do everything. She starts singing when Hyun Woo finds her. I guess he’s watched the musical enough because he knows the duet by heart and he starts singing it with her. Deul Im starts looking around, but doesn’t see the hidden Hyun Woo. When the dong ends, Sang Hyun steps out on stage. Deul Im immediately thinks he must be the owner of the voice. Sang Hyun asks after Na Ri, but then gets a call and heads out. Hyun Woo then comes out of hiding expecting thanks, but getting none. He’s also horrified to learn that Deul Im didn’t take the medicine since she was afraid of getting drowsy. This girl.

Na Ri does end up showing back up with Sang Hyun as if nothing had happened at all. She then heads out and send Deul Im to clean up so the girl can’t practice the duet with Min. In the changing room, Deul Im practices by herself, but she’s sweating heavily and coughing. When show time nears, everyone is ready, but Deul Im is nowhere in sight. Hyun Woo freaks out and finds her passed out in the dressing room. He gets her up on his back and runs like a bolt of lightening to the exit to get her to the hospital (which Min witnesses).

The hospital scene is so funny as Hyun Woo is technically Deul Im’s guardian since he’s the one who brought her in. But he doesn’t know her name or her age. He only calls her kiddo, so they actually write kiddo on her admittance papers. Unfortunately, Hyun Woo can’t stay as his client has set up an appointment with the plaintiff against Hyun Woo’s command. So Hyun Woo has to rush out of the hospital to meet with the gangster. It’s at this time that Soo Im calls Deul Im phone and gets the ER nurse. Soo Im calls home and relays the news to her parents who rush out of the house with Granny Jo.

When Deul Im comes to she  quickly comes back to her senses when she learns what time it is. She pulls out her IV and runs out of the room with her parents giving chase. She’s too fast for them and she manages to get newly arrived Soo Im to give her a ride to Tae Kyung’s theater. Soo Im is shocked that theater is the one Deul Im is going to. She goes and parks while Deul Im apologizes and quickly changes. Deul Im arrives inside in time to see her sister’s performance and she can’t help but have tears in her eyes. Tae Kyung spies her and rushes out after her. Soo Im doesn’t tell him that she was there only to see her baby sister’s performance, but she does compliment the understudy and say that it was the best show yet.

Hyun Woo arrives back at the hospital and is horrified to learn that Deul Im just took off like that. He is told to make sure the girl comes back for a checkup and takes some medicine. Hyun Woo arrives at the theater where Sang Hyun is. It looks like Sang Hyun enjoyed Deul Im’s performance. He tells her the singing was good and that makes Deul Im’s day, though she still gets scolded for causing so much grief and worry by being late. The theater troupe then goes out to dinner to celebrate the successful performance.

Deul Im sneaks home only to be caught. Soo Im defends her sister and how well Deul Im did, but Jung Nam doesn’t want to hear any of it. Soo Im sends her sick sister off to bed and tucks her in. Jin Soon comes in and tells Soo Im she’s kind of relieved as Jin Soon doesn’t think she’d like Deul Im to be in Tae Kyung’s company and have Mi Ok lord that over her head. Soo Im decides then and there it is best to keep the secret from her mother that Deul Im is already in Tae Kyung’s company.

The next day Deul Im and Min practice their duet together and Min is impressed with Deul Im’s skills. Deul Im asks if he was the one who took her to the hospital. Min days he wasn’t. Then who was it? The director’s friend. Deul Im immediately recalls Sang Hyun. Does he also have a nice voice? Yes, Then it must be him! You can practically see the stars in Deul Im’s eyes. Too bad she doesn’t realize that it isn’t Sang Hyun who took her nor is he the possessor of the great voice.

Sang Hyun is at the theater again and Deul Im thanks him for the other day. Sang Hyun is confused by this, but then equates it to him complimenting her performance and says it was nothing. He then asks if she is okay as she didn’t look good the other day. This clinches it in Deul Im’s mind that he really was the one. So she invites him out to a meal and Sang Hyun, confused, does happily accept while Hyun Woo sees this and looks unhappy. That’s technically where episode 13 ends, but since I’m not going in very good chronological order, here are some other happenings.

Ever since learning that Se Joon is Sung Hoon’s teacher, Jung Ja has been going out of her way to be extra nice to him. She’s also going out of her way to keep her job a secret from both Se Joon and her family (she tells her family she’s a manager of an upscale restaurant that serves steak). Then when Se Joon, who is sick of trying to get Jung Ja to meet him in person and gives Sung Hoon a letter, Jung Ja really seems to start seeing him in a new light. She even rights a letter in reply which also makes Se Joon happy. The entire time he reads the letter, he’s got out his red pen making corrections. Cute. I used to do things like that…maybe I still do. Hazard of being an English major. So…what letter did Se Joon write to Jung Ja? He knows that things must be difficult and she must be very busy, but she needs to spare Sung Hoon some extra attention. I think that is true in a way.

It’s rather amusing to see Jung Ja running around like crazy and lying just to ensure that Se Joon doesn’t find out that she’s Sung Hoon’s mother and that she’s also working at the same barbecue place as May, whom Ja Hye finally confides to Sung Hoon is her mother. Speaking of the kids, Tae Hee really doesn’t like it that Jae Hye and Sung Hoon spend so much time together. She even asks her uncle to stop Jae Hye’s private dance time (that Sung Hoon always sits and watches). LOL. Does Tae Hee have a crush on Sung Hoon? And does he like Tae Hee? I don’t know. He does protect her from bullies and when she rushes out of the house in slippers, he gives her his shoes and takes her slippers so she doesn’t get into trouble. But then again…those are almost like the actions of a protective older brother instead of a potential puppy love interest.

In all of this we also have Mi Ok worrying over her husband’s behavior. Dr. Han is acting kind of strange of late. He dresses up to go to the office and has been spritzing off the cologne. Then one time when Mi Ok goes to see him, she learns he left work early to go home, but then he wasn’t home when she got there. When he does get back home he says he just came from the office. Right. Definitely suspicious. Whether or not he’s doing anything bad with that one woman, who knows?

Let’s see…anything else major happen? Well, going back to Ji Young volunteering at the unwed mother home, Judge Park really got irate when it was mentioned that Hyun Woo volunteer so I think that has something to do with Judge Park and the whole “blood” thing that throws him off whenever people talk about Hyun Woo being like him. So…was Ji Young a single mother when he met her? Is Hyun Woo really their son or is he the son of some single mother who may have abandoned him? Time will tell.

Ah, and the other lawyers at Shinhwa are hoping to use the fact that Hyun Woo is Judge Park’s son to help them win a case when they go before Judge Park. That…however…doesn’t seem likely to do any good. One, Judge Park is really down on Hyun Woo and his abilities as a lawyer, and two, Judge Park is the epitome of fairness. He doesn’t like using connections or any underhanded methods that could give someone an edge in court. That’s not bad, though. Soo Im wins her paternity case and to congratulate her, Judge Park invites both her and Hyun Woo out to lunch. It’s so obvious he’s marking Soo Im for his daughter-in-law—even to Hyun Woo’s cohorts.

That’s pretty much it for these three episodes, I think. I am curious as to why Soo Im isn’t telling Tae Kyung who Deul Im really is. She has the chance at the show and again when she took Tae Kyung to lunch, but she keeps mum. She does asks his opinion of the understudy. Tae Kyung acknowledges Deul Im is okay, but still has a long way to go. That makes Soo Im happy.

How long will we dance around the full truth? If this show is anything like Smile, Donghae, then a very long time indeed.