Asian Addicts Anonymous

Looks like Tae Jeong is jumping the gun to ensure that the Heos and Seon Yu are out of his life for good. Nothing like a preemptive strike. And I know that Ji Seok has had a bad life. We all know this…but must he run away from this and act out like a rebellious teenager whose only solution to a family problem is to run away from home? Oh…and how adorable is our OTP when they are together? Notice how both their faces brighten up so much. Can they hook up now? Please? It would make the drama SO much more enjoyable than watching Tae Jeong plot and scheme his way up the L Foods ladder.

Time for a song dedication. This episode just really made me think of Brandi Carlisle’s “Throw It All Away”…if you think about it…in this drama people are throwing a lot of things away for various reasons.

Mrs. Gong wishes that Ji Seok would calm down. Ji Seok isn’t having any of it. He wants to know NOW why his grandmother lied to him about his mother. She went missing after an accident. So Mrs. Gong is forced to tell him that her promise is more like a wish…what she hopes will happen. She believes that Ji Seok’s mother really will come back some day. Of course, this isn’t good enough for Ji Seok. He doesn’t like to learn his suspicions are right about his grandmother lying. Ji Hui should take this as a warning, don’t you think? They both decided to trust people they love and Ji Seok was ultimately betrayed. Won’t she be, too?

Oh, and there was a scene I didn’t cover that well in episode…22…I think. After Ji Hui denounced Seon Yu, the former nun went to L Foods to see Wu Aran. But Ji Hui kicked her out and had her thrown to the ground. Ji Hui vowed that she won’t stand still and let Seon Yu continue her craziness. Seon Yu picks herself up off the ground and says that Ji Hui has lost the right to complain or regret now since this was the choice she has made even after knowing the truth (which Ji Hui still believes is a lie). Seon Yu then says she knew a woman who believed and trusted Tae Jeong completely and look at what happened to her—she and her baby were thrown away for Ji Hui.

Okay, back to this episode. Ji Seok gives his grandmother one more chance to redeem herself. Will she take it? No. Looks like Granny has a LOT of secrets so she won’t even tell Ji Seok the name of his birth mother or exactly what happened leading up to the accident. I’m really curious as Mrs. Gong keeps saying she is very sorry to both her living son and her grandson. Ji Seok’s mother disappeared after an accident…for Wu Hyeon to go to a testing center all of the time…was he in the same accident as Ji Seok’s mother? Is his uncle really his father? I’m sure I can’t be the only one with these thoughts. So…since Granny failed the test, Ji Seok has no other recourse but to pack up his bags (well, like one bag and grabs Seon Yu’s shoes) and leave even though the agitated Wu Hyeon keeps trying to stop him. Aran, of course, is over the moon that the hated son is leaving once more. She tells him that leaving will be easy, but coming back will be impossible. This makes Samchon cry. Awww. Poor samchon. Another victim.

Meanwhile, Seon Yu is enjoying her reunion with Jeong In and Gyuri. When Gyuri goes to call Ji Seok to let him know Seon Yu has reappeared, Seon Yu stops her and lets her know that they have already met again and are supposed to be meeting at that restaurant. Jeong In then motions Seon Yu in closer and says “that ahjussi” likes you. Seon Yu quickly waves this off as not being true. She then sits…and waits…and waits. She tries calling, but Ji Seok is brooding by the river with his phone in the car. Thus she leaves him a message and leaves the restaurant.

Oh…Aran calls up Tae Jeong and tells him to hurry home as this his chance to steal Ji Seok’s position. Tae Jeong, after telling his wife that she is more important than work to him, says he will get on the first flight back to Seoul. Ji Hui comes out of the bathroom and he tells her about her brother leaving home for some reason and that he has to go back to work things out at the company. Ji Hui agrees to accompany him as there is no point in being in Jeju alone…especially when her beloved oppa has gone MIA. Unless Ji Seok really does something that Ji Hui hates (oh…maybe like hooking up with Seon Yu), if Tae Jeong continues to pursue his destruction of Ji Seok for his own personal gain, I don’t think Ji Hui will stand for it.

The next day Bong Hwang finds out that the woman she begged for help, took their club money and left town with her family. What to do now? Bong Hwang begs her landlady for a loan, but the landlady was swindled too and has nothing to give. Dal Nyeo offers money for the surgery, but Bong Hwang snaps and refuses. Dal Nyeo and her son is the cause of all of this, aren’t they? Dal Nyeo then calls up Tae Jeong later and begs him for some money to save the Heos as they owe them that much. Tae Jeong refuses. Helping the Heos and Seon Yu will only hurt himself and his mother. He tells her to cut off all ties. He then puts in a call to his friend…his name is something like Hyeonu I think. He says it’s  time to implement their plan since the Heos are in desperate need of money right now. Thus, Hyeonu’s workers flood Bong Hwang’s store at lunch. Oh, they don’t do anything at the moment—it comes later.

While Aran is instructing Tae Jeong to NOT rescue Ji Seok’s Rosine Kim deal as that is what will really kick the man out of his place, the man in question has gotten his passport and a plane ticket back to the States. But he can’t just leave, you know? He seeks Seon Yu out at the hospital and the girl positively beams to see him. Of course she still calls him formally which hurts Ji Seok because he really wants to hear Seon Yu call him by his name. The two have a very long conversation which I’ll post on tumblr later today. But the gist of the conversation is that they are both little lost lambs who don’t know where they belong right now. When Ji Seok says he was wanting to leave with nothing, he couldn’t leave the shoes behind and he couldn’t leave without seeing Seon Yu because he missed her. Awwwww. OTP squeeable moment…except for the fact he keeps on insisting he’s leaving back to where he cam from. Stupid boy. Anywho, when he bids her farewell and walks away, Seon Yu calls out to him…using his NAME! Seo Ji Seok-ssi!!! He turns and she tells him that he is a person who does good to others, that is why he was born. If he didn’t have a good heart, he would never have stopped and helped Seon Yu’s uncle. Awww. For some reason I’m recalling You’re Beautiful when Mi Nam hugged Tae Kyung and told him she was happy he was born on his birthday that he hated so much.

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We end with Ji Seok returning to the office to see Tae Jeong skulking out with papers regarding the Rosine Kim deal. I thought Ji Seok would find this suspicious and pursue the matter…but he just goes into the office and grabs his beloved compass. Seriously? Some dude is seen at your office way late into the night and all you care about is that compass? Even if you’re angry at your grandmother, alarm bells should start ringing in your head. Sigh. Oh…and back at the restaurant, the workers return demanding retribution since they all got sick after eating Bong Hwang’s food. Typical.

You know what irks me? Whenever Ji Seok talks back to Aran, she’s all shocked and offended. Yes, I know, there is a lot more weight given to respecting your elders in Korea than you can find in the US today…but…I don’t think Aran has the right to be upset and offended. It’s not like she gave that boy any love or respect throughout his existence. Just listening to Ji Seok recount his miserable life in that house…how can she act all shocked? Shakes head. Bad woman. I’m also dying of curiosity to know just what it is that Grandpa Park is hinting at. When Grandma Gong meets him with money to send him abroad, he tells her that money can’t solve everything and that she is a bad woman who accepted money and basically destroyed lives. Granny keeps her ice mask, but does seem rather more affected by his words than her facial expression belies. Just WHAT is going on? And how many episodes must we endure before we learn the truth? Quite a few, quite a few.

As always, you can find more screencaps and drama quotes on AAA’s tumblr account, AAA Randomness.