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Mary Stayed Out All Night: Episode 2

Is it strange that despite the fact that I find the premise beyond ridiculous, all I want is to watch Jang Geun-seok and Kim Jae-wook fight over Mary like a couple of petty dogs? It’s a sickness, I know. But I can’t get the image out of my mind, and now I can’t let it go. Does that mean that I’m hooked?

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP

Dad flips his lid over the strange young man standing in his living room. Mary tries to explain, but it doesn’t help matters that she and Dad are freaked out, while Mu-gyul is weeble-wobbling about in his drunken state. To add insult to injury, he is of course the EXACT kind of guy every dad universally hates: rocker dude with long hair and eau de beer. Add motorcycle, and that’s pretty much Dad Nightmare Number One.

As Mary hastily ushers Mu-gyul out of the apartment, Dad mutters, “That long hair…is he a boy or a girl?” Hahaha. You’re not the only one who’s wondering, buddy.

Mu-gyul pauses on his way out to toss a drunken, “Mary Christmas!” with a sheepish smile.

Before they can even iron out the he’s-not-my-boyfriend-I-swear conversation, Dad’s debt collectors are back at the door, and father and daughter dejectedly saunter over to the window, tired of living this way day in and day out. Dad promises to call, and climbs out the window yet again.

He goes to see his hyung Jung-seok, who has by now seen Mary’s picture and discovered that she’s an exact replica of her mom, for whom he’s been carrying a lifelong torch. The dads set up a blind date for their kids, and the next day Mary sits and waits in the hotel lobby, not knowing why she’s been called there.

While sitting in the lobby, she sees a famous drama actor, so she goes up timidly to ask for an autograph and a picture. He obliges with an autograph, but declines the photo, so Mary sits back down. She starts to call her friend to tell her she scored the autograph, but the manager thinks she’s sneaking a picture anyway, and sends someone to snatch her phone away.

This is right when Jung-in walks up, seeing someone from his production company accosting Mary for her phone. He puts a stop to it and then, assuming that she’s trying to milk them for money, hands her an envelope of cash. She declines it, offended at the accusation, and then balks when he asks her to sign an incident waiver. Haha. What’s with everyone and their incident reports? That triggers a memory of her drunken night with Mu-gyul and how hard she had to work to get his signature, so she sighs and agrees to sign the document.

Jung-in manages to insult her the entire time, calling her a teenager and looking at her like a crazed fan. His demeanor is condescending and demeaning but not outright rude, and she remarks to herself, “That guy is annoyingly polite.” She calls him a polite bastard behind his back.

She realizes that he left the envelope anyway, and finds a boatload of money inside. Meanwhile, Jung-in returns to the reason why he was at the hotel in the first place: to score actress Seo-jun as the lead in his drama. She agrees to do it, and wishes him luck on his blind date, calling him old-fashioned for agreeing to an arranged marriage.

That reminds him that he’s late, but when he calls Mary, her phone’s broken, so she doesn’t answer. They sit at different tables in the same lobby, waiting but never meeting up. Mary finally finds out from Dad that she’s there for a blind date, and she hightails it out of there, shocked and angry.

She finds Dad at a wedding dress shop, where he insists she find a dress for her engagement. She’s like, engagement what, now? and guesses correctly that her dad’s rushing to marry her off to repay his debts. Although he denies it of course.

She can’t believe her dad wants to marry her off to some guy whose face she’s never laid eyes on, and is doubly wary of his faith in that family’s promise to cover his debts. She ends up packing a bag and leaving home, with a hilarious recitation of a typical drama-sageuk speech from a maiden escaping an arranged marriage. Ha. I love all the drama meta in this series, from Mary the drama addict to people’s throwaway remarks, like all drama heroines are the same.

She’s about to leave, when she notices Mu-gyul’s guitar case sitting in her living room. She can’t believe a rocker is without his guitar, but opens it up to realize that it’s just stuffed with clothes inside. She finds his cell phone too, so she decides to take his stuff along.

Mu-gyul performs with his band for a new potential manager, who just wants to sign him solo. He declines, preferring to stick it out with his bandmates. Mary calls one of them with Mu-gyul’s phone, and tracks him down to return his stuff. His friends immediately call her jae-soo-sshi and hyung-soo-nim, both variations on what you’d call your brother’s wife. So cute.

She insists they’re not a couple, but they know that Mu-gyul’s been sleeping at her house, so they jump to conclusions, and Mu-gyul doesn’t help matters, finding her cute and fondling her face like she’s his new pet. He even finds it adorable that she’s run away from home, laughing at the ridiculousness of a 24-year old leaving home for the first time. He deduces correctly that she even left a dramatic letter for her father, and dies of laughter at her sweet innocence.

I sort of love how Mu-gyul is constantly drunk. It’s both hilarious and perfect for his character.

Mary ends up hanging out with the band until her friends come to pick her up, and then the girls stay for another round, despite Mary’s insistence that they go. Things start to go south, though, when the drunk band members start a fight that leads everyone into the street for some fisticuffs. (It’s fueled by the band’s jealousy at Mu-gyul’s relative popularity with girls and their continual shadow-status.)

Mu-gyul just sits by indifferently, drinking a beer and waiting it out. This seems pretty routine, and he barely registers any concern. Mary sits down next to him, and he drunkenly asks if her name is Mary Christmas. Exasperated, she tells him it’s just Mary, to which he decides she needs a new nickname. This time he decides that it’s Mary like a puppy, so he starts barking at her, grinning like an idiot. [In Korean, “mung-mung” is the equivalent of “bow-wow.”] She responds by meowing at him, calling him a kitty then.

The cops arrive to break up the festivities, so everyone takes off running, and Mu-gyul grabs Mary, and they run, wrist-in-hand, through the streets of Hongdae. Mary notes that crazy stuff happens to her every time she steps foot in Hongdae, but I’d say it’s more like, crazy stuff happens every time you’re with Mu-gyul.

For instance, they’re just walking along, and two crazy guys get all upset at Mu-gyul for bumping into them. They shout all manner of insults at him, from the “are you a man or a woman?” (which I’m beginning to see is so common a thing for him to hear that it doesn’t ruffle his feathers) to cursing at him outright. He initially walks away, but can’t take it anymore and goes back to punch the guy, landing them at the police station after all.

She tries to apologize to the guys on Mu-gyul’s behalf to get him out of any liability, but he refuses to be of any help, even starting a new fight in the police station. Mary stops him by yelling, “Jagi-ya! [honey/dear]” and takes him aside. She’s got an idea for how to get him out of it. She tells him to make a fist, and hold it close to his face…and then she pops him in the nose with his own fist. Hahaha. Now that he’s got a bloody nose, both parties are injured, and he’s not liable unless they are too.

The band and her friends cheer Mary for her brilliance (all learned from years of getting her errant dad out of such scrapes), and head out for more drinks. Oy, people. Even I’m like, more drinks? And that’s saying a lot.

Mu-gyul asks Mary why she helped him, and she says it’s because she was there when he fought. She’s speaking to him in banmal now, which he notes and says that she must feel comfortable around him now.

At his friends’ insistence that Mu-gyul needs to marry someone like her, Mary tells him that whoever he does marry is in for a rough life. He says he won’t marry, and she replies that he really shouldn’t, because it would actually be wrong to the other person, since he’s such terrible husband material. He’s: a drinker, a playboy, a musician, good-looking, lazy, and has a bad personality. Hahaha.

Meanwhile, Mary’s dad has responded to her escape by skipping the engagement altogether and barreling on through directly to the wedding. Mary frets over what to do to get out of this situation, and her friends come up with a plan: tell him that she has a boyfriend. That’s clearly not going to be a strong enough roadblock for Dad. Then they decide that she should just get married first, and that way she can’t marry anyone else. All they need is “proof,” enough to deter Dad from forcing her into the arranged marriage.

They all turn and look at Mu-gyul, who is blissfully unaware of what’s been put into motion while he’s had his headphones on.

Cut to their mock wedding photo shoot, with Mary in adorable red sneakers and little wedding dress, and Mu-gyul yawning away in his tux. Her request to the photographer: “Can you shoot us from far away so our faces don’t show?” Hahaha. Their friends join in with ridiculous costumes, and Mary sends her dad a photo, with a text that says she loves this man, and has married him.

She and Mu-gyul then part ways, amiably agreeing not to see each other ever again. They each turn back to glance as the other walks away.

Dad gets the photo while he’s with Jung-seok, who calls Jung-in right away. Jung-in has just signed the drama deal with Seo-jun, who is inexplicably dressed like she’s working the streets later that day. She continues to belittle his decision to marry whomever his father chooses for him, but he doesn’t seem to care much one way or the other.

Dad calls Mary home, pretending to be defeated. She apologizes for making him worry, and asks expectantly if the marriage talk is off the table now. He silently hands her a document…

…notifying her of her marriage registration to Jung-in. What the…?

She heads to a lawyer, who explains that she needs to furnish proof that her father registered this union without her knowledge, which then would turn her dad into a criminal. The lawyer tells her that if she doesn’t want him to take the fall, then the easiest way out is to divorce. She shouts out, “How can I divorce someone I never even married?!”

This is getting ridiculous. It’s taking farce to a new high, even for k-drama standards. But I’m rolling with it, since this double-marriage is the premise, after all. I just wish it made more sense.

Jung-in meets with his father, who explains the circumstances. He doesn’t see why it has to be this girl, if all his father wanted was for him to be married. But Dad is dead set on Mary, and gives it to him straight: in order for Dad to continue investing in his business, he must marry…Mary.

Jung-in decides that he needs some time, to test the waters and to make sure that she’s not rushed into this marriage either. So he decides that a year is too long, but a hundred days is just right. Oh REALLY, Show? Are we just going to arbitrarily throw every single k-drama cliché in the bag? Couldn’t we at least have come up with some flimsy excuse why it needs to be a hundred days? Sheesh.

Mary tries to reason with Dad, and asks him again if the real reason for all of this is to clear his debt. What’s infuriating is that the debt is the real reason, but he’s convinced himself that this is what’s best for Mary (to provide her with a rich husband who can take care of her in his stead, since he’s such a lousy father). Gah!

She’s taken to drowning her tears in a bottle of soju, in the middle of the afternoon. That’s a cry for help if I ever saw one. She calls Mu-gyul out as a drinking buddy, but he refuses to drink. He finally takes a shot to keep her from drinking too much, and sweetly feeds her soup, like he did instinctively the first time they drank together. I love how this kind of little stuff is so natural between the two of them, because they just feel comfortable and drawn to each other.

They walk outside, and Mu-gyul pats her on the head and says goodbye, but she follows behind him. She asks what his dreams are, and if he plans to just spend his life playing music. He says he plans to live this lifetime that way, and asks what her dreams are. She just wants to live a normal life—one where she comes home to Mom, where Dad doesn’t worry about money, where she goes to school without worrying about how to pay tuition. He smiles, realizing that she’s had quite a rough life, if those are her big dreams.

He leans in, “Mung-mung.” She leans in, “Yow-eng-ie [meow].” So cute.

She shows him the marriage certificate and starts to ask for another favor…but he inches away from her, with a resounding, “No.”

She follows him to the park where he plays a song for a small crowd, and she tearfully thinks over what her dad proposed: that she try being married to Jung-in for a hundred days, and then at the end, she’ll get to choose, either Mu-gyul or Jung-in.

She pleads with Mu-gyul to help her out just once more, asking to borrow his name for the duration of her contract marriage, but he refuses, telling her coldly that it has nothing to do with him.

She ends up following him around all day, until she finds herself down a dark alley and face to face with a couple of thugs who look at her like a tasty treat. Mu-gyul swoops in for the rescue though, appearing from behind and putting his arm around her. Her feet are all torn up from following him around (in tennis shoes? Whatever, Show), so he offers her a piggyback ride.

Okay, I’m pretty sure that’s a record number of k-drama clichés in one episode. That’s TWO contract marriages, one piggyback ride, an alleyway rescue, a wrist-grab-and-run, six turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Mu-gyul agrees to help her out, and says the one thing that people entering into a contract relationship always say: Don’t fall for me. She reassures him that she doesn’t like him in the least—he may be cool, but not as…a man. He agrees that she’s cute, but not at all a woman in his eyes. So that’s settled then. You two will NEVER fall in love. Nope.

Mu-gyul asks who she’ll choose at the end of the hundred days. She says that she’ll choose nobody. The contract will clear her father’s debts, saving their house, and at the end she’ll be free to choose whomever she wants…and she’ll choose no one. Or herself? Like Kelly Taylor?

She goes home and signs the contract, which actually divides her days between the two boys, by the hour. Hahaha. Jung-in gets her 9 to 5 and Saturdays, while Mu-gyul gets her 5 to 10, and Sundays. They’re time-sharing a bride!

She calls Mu-gyul to tell him about the schedule, and promises not to bug him. Dad comes into her room, blowing a gasket that she’s calling Mu-gyul. She quickly adds into the phone, “Jagi-ya, sleep well. Dream of me!” to keep up the pretense that they’re in love.

The next morning, Mary heads over to Jung-in’s place, and stands agape when she finds herself staring up at the ginormous house in front of her. The first thing that gets her excited when she looks around is the big-screen tv. “It’s going to be so fun watching dramas on that!” Heh. Girl after my own heart.

Jung-in arrives to find her asleep on the couch, mess of curls covering her face. She falls off the couch and wakes up, and they greet each other for the first time. After their introductions, Mary finally looks up at his face, and instantly recognizes him. “The Polite Bastard!”

COMMENTS

While the setup is as crazy as crazy can be, I do love the characters, and particularly find Mary and Mu-gyul refreshing. Moon Geun-young is so unbelievably cute and emotive that it amazes me how effortlessly she does everything. Mary is in many ways the standard sweet daughter, trapped by filial piety, but she’s also spunky and random, and has such a sunny disposition that you can’t help but love her.

Mu-gyul’s infuriating laissez-faire attitude towards life is also perfect, and I really like this Hongdae-street-rat-free-spirit vibe he’s got going on. As far as dramas go, it’s nice to make the characters feel organic to a certain neighborhood and a space, which is maybe why I’m responding to the fun and fresh all-night hijinks with Mary and the band more than the marriage-debt arrangement, which feels staid in comparison.

Well, it’s certainly not wanting for any more tropes to recycle and regurgitate, but I find the show charming overall in its dogged simplicity. They know they’re going with the standard clichés, but the tactic seems to be to overload us with so many that it actually becomes a commentary in and of itself. It’s ridiculous to the Nth degree, but that’s sort of what they’re banking on—our foreknowledge of every single cliché. It’s part and parcel of what we bring when entering into any k-drama—it’s like our own contract relationship with Show. The problem is, they’re not quite commenting on it outright, a la Hong Sisters parody, so it’s a hair shy of being meta enough to be brilliant.

So then I’ll do what Mu-gyul did. I’ll agree to the contract, but warn Show not to fall in love with me. Don’t do it. You’ll only get hurt.

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Yay!! Been refreshing this page for an hour!! Thank you!

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thanks...even though i was not able to watch it live on tv....at least i was able to read it...thank you very much

jang geun suk is such a wonderful actor....together with moon geun young...they display cute chemistry that is hard to fake....hope the ratings will be higher and even tops the overall ranking.....

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YOU ARE MY SAVIOR!!!:)
thanks for the recap!!

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Omg the partridge comment had me rolling.

Seriously, I couldn't even take in how ridiculous the premise of this show was as I watching this episode. It proves how much I love the actors and characters to be able to stomach it all.

Basically, I'm just gonna shut off my brain and try to enjoy the impossibilities of this drama. Common sense, go away!

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THANK YOU!!!! omggg JGS is sooooo different in this role than as tae kyung!

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yey!!! ive been on the look out, waiting for the recap. Thank you so much!!!!

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AH. Love it (: thanks for the recap.

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just reading your &JB's recaps are enough to make me watch MSOAN!!! thanks!!
absolutely LOVE ALL the actors & it'll surely help alleviate my PK & SKK Scandal withdrawal pangs!!!!!!

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I love how this is unraveling.

It's so much better than how they made it out to be. The way they were summarizing everything I thought they were going to get married while in a drunken state but this just makes it better for me personally.

The promos and summaries were so misleading... but then again... when aren't they?

Thank you so much girlfriday!! Love you!

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Thanks for the recap girlfriday...been stalking this site tonight...lol

Episode 2 is cute but I am waiting for the time when JGS and KJW will be competing with Mary's attention. that will be soooo much fun to watch...:))

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Ooh this drama looks really good. Can't wait to watch during Thanksgiving because I don't trust myself to watch it now. LOL.

And damn. JGS. . .your hair is amazing. I wish my hair could be so wavy and smooth looking. Sigh.

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he's the drunken master i ever saw with those fluffy, soft maine! sigh.

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Just watched the 2nd ep, the chemistry between Mary and Mu-Gyul is so strong and sweet. When Mary used Mu-Gyul hand to pop one him in the nose I was roaring with laughter.

Can't wait to see how the 2nd lead react to seeing Mary as his 100 day wife. I'm already addicted to the show, Monday please come faster....

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something tells me she used his hand so he couldn't hold her liable. lol.

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LOLZZ the whole thing about that scene cracked me up in half: from the jagi-ya, his dumbfounded face, the shocked and stressed expression as he saw the blood, her satisfied smile for finding the way out without implicating herself... ingenious Mae Ri ^o^ I really love this couple!!

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OHHHHH GREAT! I READ ANOTHER RECAP .....BUT I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO WATCH THE COMPLETE FIRST EPISODE! I WISH I COULD SPEAK KOREAN!

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Oh how I wish that too...waiting for softsubs ^

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LOL at "record number of k-drama clichés in one episode" !! Well at least this drama will be different!!! Loved the tone till now ^^

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Bloody noses, JB!

I was so excited to be ticking off the cliches as they passed over my screen.

If someone doesn't get plucked out of a pool, lake or even puddle, I will be sadly disappointed in Show's level of meta.

Looking forward to the stuffed animal, jewelry as keepsake, demanding mother (may be a grandmother), vacation at Jeju island, shopping date, etc.

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Thanks for the recap GF! This show is so awesome! I was worried it wouldn't live up to my standards, but so far so good! I'm eagerly awaiting episode 3!

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I'm pretty sure the only k-drama tropes they haven't covered in the first 2 episodes is cancer and the 'they're actually siblings' thing. I give it time.

I haven't actually watched it yet, but from the recaps it seems similar to Playful Kiss. It's light, fluffy and you won't get too invested in their relationships. So I'm in, if only for the cast.

Speaking of which, how sidelined is the 2nd lead girl?! I mean is she even in the posters?

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"Okay, I’m pretty sure that’s a record number of k-drama clichés in one episode. That’s TWO contract marriages, one piggyback ride, an alleyway rescue, a wrist-grab-and-run, six turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree."

haha! am giggling all the way while reading this. but it's working perfectly on the bus cover, aight? ^_^

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hahaha! same here...loved that line, girlfriday! LOL!

after SKKS' comparatively more serious, angsty and intellectual bent, this kdrama promises to just freeze our brains out and just fill our days with an overload of giddiness. KBS sure knows how to pace their viewers, if that is what they are doing. if not for the 3 lead actors I would not have bought this storyline hook bait n sinker. But who say's we only get fooled without our knowledge. Seems like we get hooked in so many ways and for so many purposes...

it helps a lot that you people, javabeans and girlfriday, have so much fun recapping it for us that we don't mind the rollercoaster ride at all :-)

on with it :-)

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Here, here!! I was ROTFL so much after reading that phrase...haha

You are truly a GIFTED writer, Girlfriday!! So is Javabeans!! Both of you really need to consider becoming Kdrama writers yourselves...

I am so thankful that both Javabeans and yourself are recapping this dramas cos both your recaps for the all the dramas you've recapped are so detailed, unfailingly hilarious, personalised, unique and thoroughly entertaining...

in fact, I find myself going through withdrawal symptoms if both of you don't do recaps for the dramas that I am religiously following...like SKKS...

God bless you Girlfriday for doing the recap...

I am looking forward to this drama precisely because JB and GF are recapping it...

And samgetang, once again, I have to fully agree with your insight -

after SKKS's relatively cerebral take on the human psyche, KBS probably wanted to give us a light-hearted ride to balance things out...

just nice, cos I am feeling somewhat drained emotionally and intellectually after MGIAG and SKKS (I didn't follow Playful Kiss)... :)

Let's go on this fun ride together!!!

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hi there, kdl!

agree w u! jb and gf should try their hand writing kdrama themselves...or any drama at all....where they are based if in US.

if we go by their recaps here...it would be a fun ride indeed!!!! jb/gf, whaddya say???? hahaha!

btw, i did not follow MGIAG -- did not seem interested at all in the gumiho slant of the story...maybe one of these days...

thanks, kdl! ;-) fun to have u here with us in db! ;-)

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Hi there, samgetang!

Thanks so much for your kind words! :)
I really appreciate them.
God bless you for your kind words! :)

Btw, I followed MGIAG for 2 reasons :

1. JB and GF did the recaps

2. the drama may have the gumiho slant but surprisingly, the way the story unfolded, the writer/s managed to highlight the humanistic aspects of the gumiho character, contrasting it with the REAL humans surrounding her,

resulting in a refreshing take on how we humans view one another and other creatures around us;
questioning the meaning of being human;
evaluating and re-evaluating the qualities and values that make us humans in the first place;
and finally checking to see if we possess those qualities and values to make us human, etc...

This drama has ultimately challenged me to reflect, evaluate, question and judge myself as a human being
- and what I should and can do to be a better human being in order for me to feel that I am deserving of being called a HUMANE human being...

for what would be the point of being an INHUMANE human being?

In addition, the rich, nuanced and layered portrayal of the characters by the outstanding actors in unfolding the drama plotlines were both entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

Just thought of sharing with you my takeaway from MGIAG since you have yet to watch it... :)

To echo your sentiment, it has been such a joy to have you commenting in this blog because I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your intelligent, interesting and highly entertaining insight into the dramas you have commented on so far...

Each time I enter this blog, I look forward to reading your comments... :)

Well done, samgetang!

Please do continue with your rich and intellectual contribution to the discussion in this blog for I have benefited greatly from your contribution - and I am sure I am not the only one among the commentors and readers of this blog to have benefited from your contribution!! :)

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kdl! thanks so much! did not know my comments have had any influence on anyone at all. let alone positive ones. so thank YOU for your kind words!!!!

and thank you for taking the time too to share with us yr take-aways on MGIAG. wow! that made me truly want to watch that kdrama next.

your sharings here have also been a joy to read as others would also attest to, im sure. it is great to know that people watch drama series and they come away not brain-dead, as others would imagine people watching tv for long hours (or online as it is more often done nowadays), but full of insights on how to live their lives much better and wiser.

as antoine saint exupery would say "we see what we carry in our hearts" and so our perspectives on what we see reflects, in a way, the things we already carry in our souls. we either come out stronger, wiser and richer or we come out in despair, poorer, or bitter. our choice, i guess.

i choose to enjoy all of you here ;-) thanks for making my time here worth my precious while...you all rock! ;-)

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omo don't miss MGIAG for the world...I was on the same boat as you...didn't like the gumiho story at the beginning, but eventually found my way to something I'll never forget :)

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I need to ask you something :

May I know - Are you Korean? Or American? Or Korean-American?

Your command of the English language is just impeccable;

your insightful take on the issues in the dramas you have commented on (those that I have the time to read) reflects a deep intellect;

your message is truly profound and inspiring;

and yet you managed to come across as so unassuming and down-to-earth!

that what I found myself doing everytime I read your comments is nodding my head vigorously in agreement with EVERYTHING you say!!! :)

Wow! You are truly blessed with so much potential, samgetang! :)

In fact, I think you should start a blog of your own seeing as how IMO you have so much potential to helm your own and start another revolution of inspired and inspiring discussions among readers and commentors such as those found here in Dramabeans with our inspiring and remarkably talented Javabeans and Girlfriday!!

And I would be one of your first and most loyal of readers/commentors... :)

How about it samgetang? :)

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kdl, wooahhh! :-) so many kind and nice words. i am much humbled by such praises which i don't think i deserve at all. but i appreciate them all, coming from one whose meaty discourse here provide fun, weighty and inspired discussions for all. thank you, is all i can say.

about the blog, that is a thought. who know's... maybe i would in the future. if there are readers who are a joy to write for such as you, then maybe :-) i would sure to credit you for encouraging me in that direction. i just wish i had even an ounce of the wit, gab, and brilliance of jb and gf and all the recappers here and just maybe i would consider going in that path.

no im not korean although i am by heart and no im not american although i am by mind...im filipino by citizenship here on earth - a global and royal race: asian and european by heritage, american by upbringing, filipino by destiny. samgetang because i loved the dish when i had the privilege to visit SK some years ago :-)

how about you, kdl? :-)

on a side note to the other readers here. sorry for the slight off-topic. i guess our love for kdrama and what it represents leads us to build deeper friendships here in the net. it is a joy to find kindred souls, right? :-)

thanks to MSOAN and to dramabeans here....

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kdl, wooahhh! :-) so many kind and nice words. i am much humbled by such praises which i don't think i deserve at all. but i appreciate them all, coming from one whose meaty discourse here provide fun, weighty and inspired discussions for all. thank you, is all i can say.

about the blog, that is a thought. who knows... maybe i would in the future. if there are readers who are a joy to write for such as you, then maybe :-) i would sure to credit you for encouraging me in that direction. i just wish i had even an ounce of the wit, gab, and brilliance of jb and gf and all the recappers here and just maybe i would consider going in that path.

no im not korean although i am by heart and no im not american although i am by mind...im filipino by citizenship here on earth - a global and royal race: asian and european by heritage, american by upbringing, filipino by destiny. samgetang because i loved the dish when i had the privilege to visit SK some years ago :-)

how about you, kdl? :-)

on a side note to the other readers here. sorry for the slight off-topic. i guess our love for kdrama and what it represents leads us to build deeper friendships here in the net. it is a joy to find kindred souls, right? :-)

thanks to MSOAN and to dramabeans here....

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@tisha - thanks for the add'l push ;-) will watch MGIAG soon... will have to thank you and koreandramalover for opening to me the beauty of this kdrama. kamsahamnida! :-)

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God I'm dying to get the episodes with subs, I can survive on the recaps but I need to see to live, for my heart to continue beating.

Thanks gf for the recap. I'm hooked already!

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Thanks for the recap!
Anyone know who is subbing this?

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love your recaps! not so fond of her hair though.

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Thank you!!! i love you guys!!! that was fast!!!

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im waiting for the raw to be sub so i just browsing with the recap and see the pictures oh i love jgs faces i cant wait but i need to control hahaha i just really a jgs fan ... jgs jgs he getting better as he get older and with any hair he looks so hot ... some actor are not so hot with any hairstyle but jgs is the best whatever

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Episode 1 was so disappointing.

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First the "Mary Christmas!" and now the barking and meowing. Yeah, Mary and Mu-gyul are almost too cute for words. If they keep this up they might displace Mi-ho and Dae-woong as cutest couple of the year.

I'm hoping that since everything's set up now, the drama will be more interesting. Right now, it just feels like Mary, Mu-gyul, and their crazy shenanigans are enough to keep me amused and everything else is just there or had me rolling my eyes. I mean really, was that the best way they could think of getting Mary into a dual-marriage contract? Really? This might end up like Smile, You, where everything besides the scenes with LMJ and JKH were sort of boring/nonsensical.

"I sort of love how Mu-gyul is constantly drunk. It’s both hilarious and perfect for his character."
-Haha, this is exactly how I feel about him.

Anyway, I'm glad you and jb have decided to recap this series since my Korean is minimal and it will be a while before subs come out. Thanks for the recap, gf!

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I agree with you, I absolutely love the interaction between Mary and Mu-gyul.
After MGIAG was over, I missed the Miho/Woongie interactions that kept me grinning like an idiot at the screen!

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so after Hoi-Hoi, we've Mong Mong now...totally made my year...love 'em ♥

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thank u!!!

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Thanks for recaps

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Yea, in the beginning of Episode 1, I actually found Mary a bit annoying - in the way that she's too persistent, and not going about it the right way. But as it went on, I just thought... well that's just the way it's going to go, so I might as well roll with it. And I find her to be absolutely endearing.

I can NOT wait until next episode!!! New Monday-Tuesday crack! wheeeeee!

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Thanks for the recap. Cant wait either when both guys start to fight to get Mary's attention.

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Thank you....I so so love it....this early I love it already......Thanks again......

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geun geun are effing cute together. ^^

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I had to laugh when she was sitting alone at the bar and "All by myself" was playing... I had a major flashback to Bridget Jones Diary.

Great Drama! I'm really enjoying the chemistry and light feel!

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*I guess it's more of a restaurant than a bar haha

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i thought the exact same thing and almost had tears in my eyes from laughing.

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I haven't found subbed version yet, so i'm super glad for your recaps DB...i think i'm gonna love this drama...

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thank you for the recap!

I love how they bring in the meta about how JGS looks girly. Mary should have just passed Mu-gyul off as a punk rocker GAL PAL and shoved him out the door before he got a word in.

I always wonder abt drama characters with bad single father or mother. Aren't they ashamed before their spouse in heaven? Mary's dad, aren't you ashamed to be selling off your daughter like that?!

But if i were in her shoes, I really wouldn't mind being forced to marry Kim Jae Wook! Dream come true! good looking, rich, and you know he's got a heart buried in there somewhere!

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Saw ep 1 & 2. I'm totally drawn in to this fun/crazy/romantic drama. Mu-gyul is pretty but manly sexy at the same time and his voice is nice. Why is Mary's hair so very full??? Bet someone got over zealous with clipping on extension.

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MGY has a small face. Those hair extensions are terrible. They don't even look like they are put on properly. Surely the hair stylist can do better than that. It make her look like a witch

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Don't we start with wild and crazy hair, a la Princess Diaries, so her eventual transformation allows us to see her as beautiful on the outside as on the inside?

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thanks javabeans for recapping!!! love ittt!!!

^^,

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Girlfriday wrote the recap!!!!!
:O }

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i love that patridge on a pear tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROTFL!!!!!!!!

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Mong- mong ...Yreow

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By 'da Geun-Geun! It's our new chant!

mong-mong, yreow
by 'da geun-geun!

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Dear girlfriday,
To answer your question no, i don't believe you are crazy wanting to watch the guys fight over mary because in my sick twisted way i want to see them fight it out also. the story just started and i'm loving all the characters and now the twisted plot line.
I look forward to your recaps.
Fighting! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! hahahaha! LOL

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Watching this drama is like watching Heat (the movie) - who the frak cares about plot, writing, or directing when the Geun-Geuns are sparking up the screen.

Did I just compare Geun2 to Pacino and De Niro. Yeah, I did, but I'll end it right there. A mung-mung to you all.

Mu Gyul makes me wish I could swish through my life drunk and happy like me. He's like a non-piratey version of Jack Sparrow.

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I am of the opinion that without these two particular actors playing the leads, this would be a TERRIBLE show.

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totally agree!

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Me Too...... I love the actors, but the whole drama as a package is not holding up for me. I am sticking with it all because of the 3 amazing young cast.

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yes me too..totally agree

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very interesting!

why would decent n intelligent human beings desire to waste their time away on a kdrama with a storyline that doesn't hold up for them just because of the two cute lead actors. maybe this is also what happened with *beep* playfulkiss *beep* ;-) the two lead actors there were also too lovely for words :-)

clearly human beings are not entirely logical after all and we just do stuff because it sure does feel good doing it, haha! and we sure get a kick out of these "merry christmas" and "happy new year" and "mung-mung" and "miaow" (btw, i have not even watched the subbed episodes yet and are just going by jb and gf's recaps here).

perhaps if we had better things to do, bigger stuffs, like change the world, feed the hungry, stop an avalance or something of the same magnitude or grander then maybe, just maybe, we would not even think of touching this kdrama with a 10-feet pole. :-)

but since i have nothing remotely better to do in my spare time now, soooooo.... :-)

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I've only read the recaps but I agree with you. As it is, I'll put off watching the show until it shows more depth.

JGS really has the most beautiful hair and skin. gosh, the things a girl has to be envious about a boy these days......

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Moon Geun Young has my heart.

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you went from a 12 days of christmas reference to a beverly hills 90210 reference.. you're kind of my idol now. OH NOES!! :D

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i really and truly had to stop when i got to the 90210 reference i was laughing so much. i second the idol status.

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i knew that was a BH 90210 reference....i thought i was imagining it! i must be getting old!

gf, reading your recap had me laughing so much what will watching it do to me?

thanks so much!

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MGY and JGS definitely have such an overwhelming chemistry with each other. Enough to keep me wanting to watch the drama even when the plot is not too enticing to me. You are right girlfriday, I will keep watching (even if I don't understand Korean and in seriously need for help from your recap). They have to keep it together or the two leads (MGY & JGS, not sure about KJW) won't be able to help save the show.

Thanks so much for the lightening fast recap!!

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I've found my new fix! Oh yeah

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agreed!

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Thank you for the recap!

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"Okay, I’m pretty sure that’s a record number of k-drama clichés in one episode. That’s TWO contract marriages, one piggyback ride, an alleyway rescue, a wrist-grab-and-run, six turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Mu-gyul agrees to help her out, and says the one thing that people entering into a contract relationship always say: Don’t fall for me. She reassures him that she doesn’t like him in the least—he may be cool, but not as…a man. He agrees that she’s cute, but not at all a woman in his eyes. So that’s settled then. You two will NEVER fall in love. Nope."

Loved that bit! the first para had me laughing (which I tried to stifle into a laugh because my family was looking at me like I was crazy) and the second had me nodding like "I know, right?"

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*stifle into a cough

not stifle into a laugh *facepalm*

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And though the premise does seem wacky, I'm going to love the characters, I think. It'll be a real squeal-fest.

I noticed something odd. I told you guys earlier that I was putting Jang Geun-suk on my college apps as "favorite performer" and I thought "if I were a college admissions person and decided to google this person, what would I see?" And all the pictures of him on google images are MANLY!!!!! (for him, anyway) It made me laugh because everyone's biggest beef with him is that he's too pretty!

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i just had to try this myself. yeah. those pics from Google Images are pretty dated.. he used to be manly.. nowadays... 'nuff said.

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Girlfriday, I gotta say, love your shoutout to the Twelve Days of Christmas especially since it's Christmas season now!

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does anyone else think the photo to the right just above this line: "Meanwhile, Mary’s dad has responded to her escape by skipping the engagement" is an absolutely gorgeous screen cap?

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-- That’s TWO contract marriages, one piggyback ride, an alleyway rescue, a wrist-grab-and-run, six turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree. --

You need to have a warning on your recaps: "please to NOT be drinking tea while reading. thank you!"

(Also, I am completely boggling over the notion that this storyline was written by the same woman who wrote the most angsty, brutal, vicious, and violent boy's love manhwa ever, Let Dai. The idea that both stories came from the same brain is making my own brain spin like a top.)

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Girlfriday -- recapper and mind reader! When Mary said she'd choose herself after the 100 days, I was totally yelling, 90210!!!!! If MSOAN follows the 90210 trajectory, Mary will choose herself, then Brandon/Jung-in, then possible lesbian storyline, finally Dylan/Mu-gyul. Sprinkle in some back hugs and wrist grabs, VOILA -- 9021-Hongdae. *Mung mung!*

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haha! love your writing style :)

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i jst finished watching ep1. i LOVE it! i love hearing MGY's speaking voice. it's so mellow but cheerful [a contradicting description, i know, but i cant put it into words. heh].

Geun-squared is really my dream kdrama couple. i love watching them onscreen, both as individuals and as a couple. KJW isnt bad either. this is gonna be fun. i dont care at the crazy premise [for now] and i hope when the angst-factor kicks in, the drama will still remain bubbly/bright with its overall tone.

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IMO what I m doing ! I have not watched a single episode ! Sucker me ! :-(

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