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Level 7 Civil Servant: Episode 9

Dating’s hard enough without having your whole workplace in on the details, isn’t it?

Based on today’s ratings, the new shows are still shifting and settling into their places, but this is more what I expected (and what I suspect will remain the order): That Winter shook off IRIS 2—both were co-first place last episode—with a 13.4%. Civil Servant climbed from the rear to 12.5%. And IRIS 2 fell from first to third place with 10.8%.

 
EPISODE 9 RECAP

Gil-ro arrives to see Seo-won locked in a hug with Do-ha, which brings his frowny face out.

Seo-won gives Do-ha the chance to retract the moment, telling him that if he backs off now they’ll be able to remain good friends as usual.

Seeing that he’s not letting go, Seo-won shoves him back with a few self-defense moves to show him that she’s capable of taking care of herself, warning him that he’s barking up the wrong tree.

Do-ha replies that today will mark either the end for them, or the beginning. Which is when Gil-ro steps forward to interrupt.

The big question: Does he jump to the obvious conclusion, or is he going to be open-minded about this? We don’t quite get a read yet, but he does say sarcastically that they make a pretty picture, acting like he doesn’t care. He heads inside to get his phone without bothering to make this into a confrontation.

Seo-won gives Do-ha her answer: This is neither the start nor the ending for them, because she wants to keep being his pal. He begs to differ: “If it’s not the start, it’s the end. I won’t be stuck in a one-sided love.” Well, points for that. Do-ha storms off.

Seo-won waits outside for a long while, and Gil-ro finally emerges a while later smelling of liquor, courtesy of her mother. She starts to explain the scene he witnessed, then asks if he wants the excuse. He just says, “Don’t. You don’t have to.”

Gil-ro tells her he isn’t plagued with suspicions about whether she was playing both guys, or whether she had something going on with Do-ha: “I don’t distrust you enough for doubts like that.”

With relief, she says taking this way more coolly than she’d thought, and he assures her that he’s the king of cool. But then he ruins that effect by pouting that the hug was unnecessarily lengthy: “Isn’t 32 seconds too long?”

Gil-ro says that he totally understands that hugging can occur, platonically, between friends or colleagues. Still, anything over ten seconds is too much. Then he rethinks: “No, ten seconds is too long. Wait, five seconds. No, three seconds.” Ha, “cool,” suuure. Cool like a volcano.

Then he leaps up and bursts out, “Don’t do it! Don’t do anything, ever! Not with a friend or a co-worker or anything biologically male!” Pout-whine-sulk.

She admits that if he’d stuck to his cool line, she would’ve been a little disappointed.

They keep sitting there for a while and he lays his head in her lap. She starts to explain about Do-ha again, but he stops her, not wanting to hear about how good a guy Do-ha is.

Mom finds them there, and she’s happily tipsy as well, enough to invite Gil-ro back inside for another round. So in they go for more soju and merriment as Gil-ro plays the doting boyfriend/son-in-law role, feeding the parents and singing for them on request. They dance along to his singing, looking like a happy family of frogs. Loud, drunk frogs.

The lovey-dovey vibe lingers at the office as well, with the two of them sneaking little gifts to each and drinking their juices in unison. They can’t drink together, so they’ll drink simultaneously, I guess.

Gil-ro is dissatisfied with the “investigation” of his father’s attacker, and presses Won-seok for updates. He’s still under the impression that he’s Dad’s protector, not surveillance monitor, and requests that a new agent replace him—Gil-ro’s identity has been compromised, so he’ll settle back into analyst mode behind the scenes.

It’s what he’d do if he were really an NIS spy, but Won-seok can’t afford to clue him in or lose their mole, so he just barks at Gil-ro to keep his attention on protecting Dad.

Mi-rae provides President Han with the USB device, disguised (poorly) as a credit card, to be used to steal the secret files on cavitation technology. He’s to convey the credit card to their inside man, Director Park, which should allow him to slip out even if the leak is detected.

President Han wants out of this partnership after the job, and while Mi-rae tells him coldly that she’ll be the one to decide when he’s done, she agrees that she’d like the same thing.

At least the NIS doesn’t suspect Gil-ro of being part of the axis of evil, since his presence the other night was to monitor Dad, not conduct the secret meeting. This means their main person of interest is Mi-rae, and they turn their attention toward finding more about her. This leads to a tangent on how Young-soon and Sun-mi dislike Mi-rae… for being pretty. No, really. They trade compliments on how Young-soon and Sun-mi are totally pretty too, puffing themselves up on self-flattery. Thanks for being all empowering, careerwomen spies who are supposed to be independent and awesome and instead spend a lot of time mooning over men.

Mi-rae and JJ use a gym visit as a cover to trade info, and Mi-rae tells JJ to back off from Gil-ro now. JJ enjoys his little cat-n-mouse games and counters that there’s nothing to fear since there’s no link back to him. But Mi-rae has identified one weak link in their history—Woo-hyuk (Uhmforce) had used a bank account in the past that could trace back to JJ.

JJ warns that it’s Mi-rae who’s in greater danger and that the NIS is likely to be on her trail. Interestingly, she sounds completely blasé as she says she doesn’t care if she dies in the line of duty—as long as she keeps JJ safe.

Having met her parents, Gil-ro tells Seo-won it’s time to meet his mother tonight (his one-track mind is firmly on the promised overnight trip—the faster they meet Mom, the faster they get to go on vacation).

So she reports to Young-soon that she’s heading in tonight, and they head over armed with a gift. Despite protesting beforehand, Seo-won reluctantly goes with the lie that she’s a Tiger by zodiac (though she shoots Gil-ro a glare for necessitating the lie) and answers the rest of Mom’s questions honestly, like what her parents do for a living.

Mom greets her with all appearance of friendliness, but it’s clear she doesn’t much care for Seo-won; she sniffs at her answers and slips in backhanded comments. Then Gil-ro, wanting to salvage the situation, trots out the old diplomat lie—Dad’s a retired diplomat and only farms as a hobby—and Mom is suddenly all warmth and light.

Seo-won falls back on her old cover story, whipping up believable answers about being based in Chile, and Mom laps it up eagerly.

Seo-won takes out her gift—a Roomba-like vacuum—and sets it in motion… so that the NIS headquarters has a rat’s-eye view of the Han residence.

Seo-won whips out her camera and starts taking pictures of the house, making Gil-ro pout that she should include him in some of them. So she takes a few couple photos… which get beamed back to NIS. Ha.

Thus the first trip Chez Han is a success, though she’ll have to go back to actually bust into the safe once it’s found. The plan is to send the parents to a show over the weekend, then sneak inside while the house is empty. Young-soon advises her to do it quickly since dragging it out will only hurt herself, and gives her a week.

Watching Seo-won conduct her mission has Do-ha brooding, and he requests reassignment, which Won-seok flatly denies. Do-ha has a somewhat credible-sounding excuse prepared, that he doesn’t trust Seo-won’s methods and therefore has no right to be on the same team.

But both Won-seok and Sun-mi (who overhears via the comm) understand that he’s distancing himself because he likes Seo-won. Won-seok refuses to let him go regardless, telling him that ditching his team is betrayal.

That night, Seo-won’s feeling guilty over her latest batch of lies and gets snappish with her parents when they bug her to help Dad in more of his business ventures. She barks at Mom, saying, “You don’t even know what you’re talking about!”—and those words are particularly hurtful since Mom knows she’s not educated.

Huffy and insulted, Mom and Dad pack up and start to leave right away, saying they’re sorry to have made their daughter so ashamed of them. Seo-won manages to stop them before they leave, apologizing in tears and taking back her words. Sadly, it doesn’t make Mom feel any less ignorant and stupid, but she changes her mind and decides to stay.

With Won-seok feigning ignorance on any attacker news, Gil-ro goes to Mi-rae for info about his father. Is he involved in anything dangerous? Perhaps he has enemies out for blood?

Mi-rae laughs off his concerns and tells him to worry about himself, treating him with enough dismissiveness that he backs down without feeling too suspicious. But as soon as she leaves, Mi-rae gives President Han a call, insinuating that they could always include Gil-ro in their plans, since he seems so interested in finding out what they are…

Seo-won returns to the Han house with Gil-ro and has a beauty session with his mother, which makes Gil-ro rather adorably huffy. First off, she’s rattling off more lies without batting an eyelash, and secondly, she’s totally ignoring him in favor of his mother. Heh. All the while, the bugged Roomba makes its rounds, sending video back to HQ. Figures a tiny robot is the most effective spy on this show.

Mom orders Gil-ro to cut fruit for them and bring tea—okay, this I like. He actually goes and does it, while Mom shows Seo-won baby pictures and laughs about how Dad cut her out of all the photos because he only cared about getting the baby in the shot. One picture has burnt edges, saved from the house fire that almost killed Gil-ro. It was Dad who raced inside the blazing house to rescue him.

Speaking of whom, Dad comes home and Gil-ro proudly presents his girlfriend for the introduction. But Dad’s just had the threatening phone call from MI-rae and rips into his son for poking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. Completely ignoring Seo-won, he orders Gil-ro to move out and go abroad.

This time, Gil-ro complies and packs his bags. Aw. More crossed wires.

Well, at least one parental relationship is on the mend, with Seo-won and her mother back to normal. Mom apologizes again for their fight, saying that it’s frustrating to be called out for knowing nothing. Poor Mom.

Mom gives Seo-won some typical motherly advice about watching her health—and keeping men out of her bedroom. Ha. It’s basically “Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile” advice, and Seo-won promises.

The NIS’s close watch on Director Park means that they know practically the instant he heads in to his company and uses the secret USB to download those trade secrets. Granted, it’s the most low-rent secret USB ever, but let’s assume this show didn’t have the money for James Bond-ian gadgetry.

At work, Seo-won asks how Gil-ro’s doing, wondering if he’s holding up after Dad’s outburst. Gil-ro assures her that she got a taste of a normal interaction at the Han house, but also tells her that he moved out.

Seo-won has a minor freakout—this means her route to completing the mission is cut off—but tries to contain herself and argues that it’s for his own good that he return home. She speaks so forcefully that he concedes that he’ll go back tomorrow, but he does lean in to pout, “Put me up tonight.” Ha.

He adds that he doesn’t actually have a home—he’s never felt at home in that house. She doesn’t know how feels to go “home” to that house every day, he says. And when he says, “See you at home later,” he’s referring to her place.

Gil-ro meets with Won-seok to declare that he really can’t continue this mission—being with his father all the time, to him, is something he can’t handle. Won-seok, like Seo-won, has to find a way to argue that makes it seem they’re concerned about Gil-ro more than their mission, and he points out that they need him to protect Dad. He even reminds him of something he said the day Gil-ro got kicked out of the NIS… which has Gil-ro pointing out, “But you said I wasn’t kicked out.” Oopsie. I wonder if that slip will come back to bite Won-seok in the ass.

Right now, though, he’s spared explanation because he gets an emergency phone call. Gil-ro assumes this is a spy mission and adorably gets suuuper excited to be called to duty, thinking he’s getting his Bond moment. Only to find that they’re heading to Won-seok’s daughter’s school for a personal matter.

Won-seok’s daughter is something of a budding thug, and she’s in trouble for bullying another student and taking her money. Trouble is, the other girl’s father is a cop and he’s blazing mad, determined to take this as far as he can to get her expelled.

So Won-seok does the only thing he can and asks meekly for forgiveness, father to father, and kneels at the officer’s feet. This is the scene Gil-ro witnesses, and the display of family sacrifice has him flashing back to Won-seok’s words about protecting one’s family—it’s the most important work in the world.

Seo-won worries about Gil-ro’s broken relationship with his father, and fears for how he’ll react once President Han is carted off for his crimes. She sends him a photo of his baby picture, asking if he’s ever been focused on one person to the exclusion of all else, “Like a father looking at his son…”

And so, Gil-ro shows up at her door that night, without his bag. He barges inside, and Seo-won’s immediately on the defensive (thinking of Mom’s advice, heh), warning him to stay out of the bedroom.

But he’s really here for comfort, and he hugs her, saying, “Thanks for everything.”

At a pojangmacha, our two lonelyhearts have drinks together, with Do-ha brooding in silence and Sun-mi chattering on as she gets drunker and drunker. She’s hurt at the realization that he likes Seo-won but keeps her cheery face on, even as she scoffs at herself for indulging in a one-sided love.

She asks if he likes Seo-won so much that he feels he has to quit to get away from her. “But you have me on your team,” she says, though I suppose the sad thing is that Sun-mi is no Seo-won.

When they leave the pojangmacha, she encourages him to lean on her since he’s so drunk (methinks she’s projecting), and he ends up piggybacking her instead. She tearily asks him not to quit, but he says he’s already made up his mind to go.

Back at the apartment, the tender moment turns awkward as they sit there on the bed, totally aware that they’re separated by little more than self-discipline. From what I know of these two, that is not encouraging.

Gil-ro shuffles closer, and she scoots away. He moves again, and so does she, until they’ve done a whole circuit around her bed. I know these guys can act thirteen sometimes, but you’d think they actually were thirteen.

Finally Gil-ro brings up a fun fact he picked up somewhere, about locations where couples have their first kiss. Popular entries include the car and the front door, and Seo-won relaxes at that suggestion that he’s on his way out.

Until he adds that location isn’t important, of course, and then her eyes bug out. Ha. I guess it says something that I hadn’t even realized they hadn’t had their first kiss yet.

He leans in for a kiss… and she jumps up again. Arg! Lordy woman, if you keep doing that I’m going to stop wanting you to GET that kiss and start wanting to hit you for being so ungrateful. Seriously!

Her fidgetiness makes him suspicious that she’s hiding someone in the closet, which I suppose is only understandable given her history. She proves that the closet is empty, and he declares, “Then I want to sleep over.”

 
COMMENTS

Phew, at least they finally get to the point and do the damn kiss already! If only because they’ve done this whole nervous-dance fake-out way too much before, and you can only do it so much before we stop caring. If you can’t muster the interest to actually kiss, then I’m going to stop caring whether you do.

It’s something that really bugs me about this show, which I am trying to take in stride because it’s not like this romance is the only thing about this drama that’s juvenile. The entire plot is, and so is the tone and the execution. So maybe it fits. Although in that case, you really should have cast teenagers and turned it into a Disney show. Or even young adults in their early twenties, fresh out of college with no life experience. I’m growing weary of the “Choi Kang-hee is too old” refrain (although I do agree—still, there’s only so many times you can say it before you’ve said it enough), but for this story in particular the age makes a difference, making their emotional immaturity stand out more glaringly. Joo-won looks like a baby so it’s somewhat believable that he’s in the throes of puppy love, but I wish the show weren’t so simplistic as to push the idea that a kiss is somehow a gateway to a woman’s downfall. They’re adults. They can kiss.

Do-ha’s character is interesting for the way that I find his predicament interesting only on an intellectual level. By which I mean: I care about him in theory, but not in actuality. His angst is not interesting to me, and therefore Sun-mi is also a non-factor.

I really wish the show had put Seo-won and Do-ha together as a fake spy couple for a while, and thought that the year-long time skip was the perfect opportunity to do it. Thus you have Do-ha developing feelings while they’re “acting” as a couple, while she remains strictly professional. And when she encounters Gil-ro again, he has greater reason for jealousy because he thinks Seo-won is dating Do-ha—and because of her mission, she has to act like she’s dating him. Then she gets the new mission to romance Gil-ro, and we get a whole messy set of questions asking what’s real, what’s fake, and what’s to be trusted.

So many what-ifs, flattened into cartoon cut-outs. I guess it could be worse—at least it’s still funny. See? Glass still half full.

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Thanks so much for the recap, I've been looking forward to reading this! ^___^

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But Javabeans, where's the song?

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Thank you very much

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Yes yes, I agree. The second relationship should have been a little more complicated to make us want to root for Do Ha and be a little bit torn all around.

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Thanks! ^^

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From what I understand, news of the "big kiss" in this episode was making the rounds on the net lately, so that may very well explain the upward tick in the ratings. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised to see the numbers sink down again tomorrow - this romance certainly isn't enough to keep me riveted.

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The so-called kiss is not helped by the fact that, in shot after shot, Joo Won looks like he is playing a girl pretending to be a boy. Think Rosalind passing off as Ganymede in As you like it, with the exception that it is not an actress but Joo Won who acts Rosalind/Ganymede.

And maybe that should be Joo Won's niche.

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Ah..your hatred for Joo Won brings you here again. What a life, LOL

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+1

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I don't know if there are two of you going around dramabeans, but sometimes you make okay remarks that contribute to the discussion but other times you make such comments that are obviously intended to piss people off, I'm sure much to your pleasure (and I wouldn't play innocent here, you know what you are doing).

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I only read dramabeans' recaps of dramas that I watch so I didn't know about these people who go round like you said. I am quite familiar with Dominique though because he/she makes hateful remarks about Joo Won whose dramas I follow. It's almost as if Dominique has a personal score with him. Or maybe this is what they call anti-fan. I didn't think I would find this sort of thing on dramabeans, it's prevalent on those kpop or teen idol type of forums. But Dominique is kind of different from those types in that he/she writes well and sometimes make so called useful discussion. But when you delve deeper like this comment above or when his/her hatred for Joo Won rears its ugly head, then you know there is something not right about this person.

I am the type who seldom comment so I am also surprised that people keep ranting episode after episode on a show they hate or seemed to have given up many eps before. Do they even watch?

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You are spot on about the ratings! I think they have been trying to boost the image of the lead pair.... after being complained about the lack of chemistry?!

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Thank you!
I think the kiss was hot :-)

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..Pout-whine-sulk..
Hmm, I thought only babies and young'uns do that... Oh! JW is considered a baby too, I almost forgot.. ^^

Thanks for the recap JB!

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Thanks for the recap, javabeans! You've definitely hit on what really bugs me about the show - everything that is played out is just too juvenile, and not in a cheeky or ironic sort of way. I think even Joo-won may be a bit too old for this drama. I don't think he's as young-looking as many think he is. There is something Daniel Choi-ish about him. If this drama had been a teen/idol drama, I would cast Lee Min Ho the younger and Kim Ji Won (from What's Up).

I do like how this drama focuses on the two main characters and doesn't waste too much time on characters I don't care about (ahem Do-ha and Sun-mi) and I love how the conflict between the couple does not involve some unwanted third wheel- so we're really getting more rom-com out of a rom-com. Thank goodness! However, I'm sad that Kim Min Seo doesn't have much to do in this drama. And what's with the lack of action scenes? In the movie, I feel like the characters were always running or getting into fights (with other people).

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I was just waiting for when IRIS would go down...i watched the 1st ep and yet to continue with the 2nd one...it is still too early to tell though...I like the fact that 'that winter' did not go up because of that double header tactic...but because of the develpment of the story...so no cheating there...

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There been so much hype and build up around Iris 2, I am guessing that now they seen episode one its..is that it? kind of feeling thus the drop this week. But they do have a nice cast on the whole, many are also very good actors, so maybe once the expertations have died down, it can cilmb back up in the rating with more story and acting and less hype.
That Winter, well what can you say pretty much a sure hit as there can be in Korean TV drama land, its almost cheating and it should be aired in the weekend time slot rather than a weekday.

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Thanks. spot on as usual.

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Thanks for the recap Javabeans! I love your ideas about how this drama could have gone with a fake Seo Won/Do Ha coupling and then introducing the catalyst Gil Ro again after the 1 year time jump. You should be a k-drama writer or at least help the writers develop more interesting plots. Also, did anyone else think that Won Seok and Young Soon could have been paired together as a couple, had they not written his character to be a married family man?

I like the cuteness of L7CS, but I agree for late 20-30 year olds these characters are a bit immature and relationship clueless. That also seems to be a ongoing thing with k-dramas that I've noticed and as annoying as it is I just try to ignore it, enjoy the cuteness and don't dwell on the unreal characteristics of the characters.

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Btw I can't believe I forgot to mention something about the kiss scene, which I thought was cute and fitting for the two of them and about time. If I were Seo Won I would have kissed Gil Ro after the birthday sky dive surprise. I hope we get more kissing and cute couple moments before the inevitable betrayal and break-up.

Also, I am glad that they actually kissed and where a little touchy and didn't do that whole stiff standing, weird lip press thing that K-dramas often portray as kissing (which to me is even more unrealistic).

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booooooooo, show.

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Yay for the Kiss!!!

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[spoiler]

SQUUUUEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLSSSSSS!!!!!

the lie-on-lap-at-bench scene! the hug! the kiss! the pout! the childishness! the piggyback!

i was squealing so loud that my mom scolded me. LOL! they're so cute together! i admit i first watch the show coz of chansung/doha, but joowon/gilro made me totally fall for him!!!! i even backtrack up to Bridal Mask just to see him with his great acting skills, and adorableness and manliness.... /breathless

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If they wanna boost the rating even more, they should make Joo Won do the kiss while stripping. Wooott !! :D

Btw, thank you for the recap javabeans!

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definitely! or maybe just strip and lounge around his place, her place? im there!

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agree 1000%. lol.

hopefully, Gil Ro & Seung Won go on vacation and have some boom chicka wah wah moments. :-P

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Thanks for the recap. And I'm glad that Civil Servant and That Winter shook off IRIS 2.

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Her hairstyle is making her look like some Ahjumma..

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"So many what-ifs, flattened into cartoon cut-outs. I guess it could be worse—at least it’s still funny. See? Glass still half full."
I do agree that the writing is sloppy in many areas but let's face it JB, the drama is supposed light hearted slapstick :) thank you again for the recapping even though the drama situations do become incomprehensible later :D

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i love joo won to bits, but i dont want to see them kiss, maybe cos i heard the "age gap" refrain too many times, thats all i see when they get all touchy feely...
of course i will-lah, since i plan to see this episode soon. and i love joo won in whatever he does...

but i do agree with you, jb, your plot line seems much more viable and interesting, less juvenile... wish the writer had done a better job, though the comedy parts were funny at times. man, i miss the movie, way crazier!
that said, im so happy for TWTWB, my new favourite show, so sorry L7CS! unexpectedly gorgeous, soul-stirring drama...

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thank you for the recaps :-)

i had such high hopes for the anticipated "first kiss". as usual, Joo Won delivers good kisses onscreen..but why oh why must the actresses on the receiving end be so wooden? this seems to be common in KDramas. why can't all kisses be like the Coffee Prince kisses of Gong Yoo & YEH or City Hall's Cha Seung Won & Kim Sun Ah? so passionate....so real. *sigh*

Gil Ro & Seung Won are adults. i wish the powers that be would stop making them look ridiculous. if anything, since everything else is bordering on WTF?....atleast keep the romance between the two leads realistic. is that too much to ask?

that said, i'm with this drama til the end. i'm still yours Joo Won :-)

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Yes, a realistic romance is too much to ask for...

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the age thing..what can i say it dosnt really bother me all that much. She is after all playing someone younger than her real age..I mean that is what acting is all about..isnt it?
Plus what is the worry anyway if she was ten year older, if she was a guy no one would even raise an eyebrow. Heck it even makes good sense for woman to date younger men, after all woman live longer on the whole.

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hi bjharm :-)

i'm with you on this. the age gap doesn't bother me either. but i think much could still be done to make CKH look the younger part. i'm no fashion expert, but man, what the hayl was she wearing during the kiss scene? CKH is pretty and sexy imo, they should capitalize on that just a bit more.

but i did like the fact they got rid of her curls and ponytail. she looks really nice with straight hair :-)

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Choi Kang Hee is what I call : M.I.S.C.A.S.T

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Yeah.... I like CKH's much better now. Sun-Mi should follow suit and lose that pony tail.

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I just thought the same thing. What was the yellow top that she was wearing? Her role here always reminds me of her other role in Protect the Boss. Somehow in the other drama I could understand why she and Jisung ended up together....here, still a bit hard.

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Your story is so much better, javabeans! I'm completely giving up on watching this drama, it's just so lame! I'll probably keep reading the recaps, if i have time.

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Thanks for the recap, JB. Still watching, but starting to lose interest...loved the movie, however.

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It's not so much to me that she is too old- but that she is supposed to be his age- why not gave her be her age? She was quite funny in that other movie where she was sleeping with that young kid and then ended up with the guy who was second man from coffee prince . Can't remember his name.

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Since L7CS is not top priority for subbing (TWTWB, IRIS2 take the lead) your recap is helpful to watch the raw episodes. Thanks JB! Keep it up.

I liked the fact that they changed CKH's hairstyle,,,, time to change her wardrobe too.

I hope that the drama learnt its lesson and capitalizes more on the romance between the lead, in order to stay ahead.

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TK...i'm curious...how does a drama become top priority in subbing? is it the ratings?

btw i agree with you...CKH'S wardrobe needs a major change. especially considering how JW always looks so well put together...so very handsome.

she doesn't need to wear expensive clothes (i get the whole she's not well off bit), but atleast something age appropriate for her role.

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Yes, I guess so (rating, viewership, fan demands, whatsoever). Or it could be simply because even the sub-ers don't find this drama interesting any more :-/

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makes sense. if the fans/viewers are NOT enjoying the show....then the subbers sure as hell won't be inspired to sub it.

but i do hope that JB & GF will continue to sub this show. pretties please :-) *crossing my fingers*

oh btw, thanks for the response TK :-)

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May be Seo-Won's feeble attempts to slip away from the kiss was because of her--- what happens when Gil Ro finds out I'm a spy---- guilt. And not because of coyness? I mean how much more can we curse the PD for feeble direction?
Anyway it was still enjoyable if not exciting... :-/

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if that's the case, then can we hear her thoughts please, so it's clear for viewers like me. LOL.

it was enjoyable in a sense that Joo Won was hot as hell...acting all predatory. heehee! in addition, i find his thighs are sexy and he's really good at delivering those kisses.

honestly, sometimes i find myself skipping to their scenes. all the other parts are starting to bore me.

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Me too.... I pretty much space out at other trivialities (Seo Won's parents, villains, even NSS).... :-P

I like JW too... but the chemistry? :-/
Protect the Boss and this drama has a lot of parallels,,,, but not the chemistry b/w CKH & JS.

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i'm going to sound so vain. but here goes. i really liked CKH in Protect the Boss, but i couldn't overcome the male lead's hairstyle. so after a few episodes, i stopped watching. lol.

the main problem that i now have with the chemistry b/w JW & CKH is that it's not consistent. often times, i sense a disconnection between the two. not sure if it's because of the PD or the age gap that the viewers keep harping about (which could have a hand in CKH being self conscious and awkward)...or maybe a little bit of both. i mention only CKH because in my opinion, JW is doing a credible job of showing his interest in CKH. sadly, the chemistry isn't as natural as i would like it to be.

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okay,i just want to drop my 2 cents here..actually I love Joo Won and CKH (joo won especially) and for the first 4 episode I admit that the story is quite interesting although I still cant stand looking at CKH and joo won pairing,especially CKH's hair. but then, I have to admit that I just can't picture these two are acting as a lover,I keep thinking that CKH is his older sister or even his aunt..this is just doesnt work for me no matter how hard I try to picture them. It is kind of depressing since I love both of them individually..I keep watching the following episode (episode 5 and 6) but yeah I just feel sorry that now I watch it not too serious anymore, to the extend that I might drop it soon.the comedy is still there but the romantic scene is zero for me. I still regret that they go with this pairing,because I feel it will be so much more interesting if they didn't go with this choice. Dear Joo Won, you know I love you so much but for this one maybe I need to pass..

p.s. I try to watch TWTWB since I couldn't continue with this anymore, and what a twist! I found myself hooked with melodrama!

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I really dont know how to receive this show. I want to like just because of Joo won. I want to continue watching it so that he will win in the ratings game:) or maybe I am just so disappointed that It is not subbed in Eng ....unlike his previous shows in KBS!!!!

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Btw, thanks for the recaps!!!! I enjoy your commentaries. I agree on most points. But i hope you would not stop doing the recap for this no matter how the story goes. Just watched the raw 10th episode!!!! The kiss is more age appropriate for them. Hahaha!!!! Isnt it the director instruct the actors on how to go about a scene? Maybe that is what they just want Joo won to do. Just really have to finish this...go go go go Joo won

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The"why" factor for the romance rivalry between Do Ha and Gil Ro over Seo won isn't quite convinding enough for me. That's not to say that i don't like all 3 main characters in the story. I do. But L7CS isn't going down as top chart anything for me.

Tthe camera in the self-vacuum - haha it's so stupid it's funny.

Your "glass half full" reference says it for me too, javabeans. In kdramalandia, that's pretty much a yes for continuing to watch .

Addiction doesn't always demand top shelf.

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She looks so suspicious when she took out the vacuum and even more suspicious when she starts to take pictures. I just laughed it off and continued to enjoy the show! :)

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As a cougar in training, I find nothing wrong with a nuna romance. NOTHING. In fact if Joo-Won sat on my bed, I would have torn his clothes off. But I digress.

One of the things that has bugged me about this show is the "dance" around the skinship and the will they / won't they kiss. The way the showrunners have handled it seem like a tacit agreement with the audience that they miscast Choi Kang Hee. "Hey fangirls, we get it. As a favor from us to you, we will make the skinship as awkward as possible and prolong the kiss scene." I think that is what was the let down for me in terms of the kiss. Usually there is this payoff, of ah ha consummation of feelings, yippee. Here it was more like finally, now that this is over with we can get back to the spy hijinkery.

Also the editing of this drama is off right? Like when Kyung Ja aka Seo Won aka Jung Won went off on her parents I was like where the hell did that come from? Granted I kind of nodded off and did not care to rewind the 20 seconds, but still. Hi people, stories are supposed to have a beginning, middle, and end. Take that principle and apply it to the scenes.

On the plus side Sun-Mi is so cute. "I don't like one-sided loves, they make my toes curl." Preach girl, ain't nobody got time for that.

Also I need the point of the Seo Won's parents are to be the forefront of episode 10. Why do we as an audience care about the square meters of their farm and that their cow died of hoof and mouth disease? The fact that those details are with me now is disturbing me.

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Im totally anticipating for the kiss. Swooooon~

The spy thingy might be the downside of this show but the romance keeps me tuned in. Joo Won, how do I love thee? <3

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i rewatched with the English subs. gosh almighty... inumerable flaws aside, Joo Won makes everything bearable. everytime he's onscreen, he commands my attention with his captivating little nuances. oh and can anyone else pout & sulk better than him? frickin' adorable.

i sense the chemistry between JW & CKH improving. but methinks it'll be a while before we witness some adult skinship. fudge.

i need to mention this..... fudge fudge fudge...the scene when Seo Won's parents packed up to leave...OMG, i was so annoyed @ Seo Won's behaviour toward her parents. how ironic was it, that one minute she's preaching to Gil Ro about respecting parents no matter how high the children get, then the next minute she's turning psycho on her parents? fudge....i was SO irked by hypocrisy. i almost wished Gil Ro wouldn't kiss her @ the end of the episode. bad girl didn't deserve it. oh well...there's my kdrama vent for the day.

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Thanks for the recaps, this show always puts a smile on my face! I'm definitely enjoying it for what it is.

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They still ended up kissing at the closet "door"... lol

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All the image links are broken :(

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