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Radiant Office: Episode 8

Ho-won is finally earning the respect that she wants from her boss and coworkers, proving that she can do the job despite her lack of experience. A new project gives her the chance to show how she’s grown as an employee, and she’s not the only one showing growth and newfound maturity. But not everyone has the company’s best interests at heart, and desperation may be pushing a trusted team member to push their own agenda at the expense of the others.

 
EPISODE 8 RECAP

By the time Ho-won is asked by the journalist to give her opinion of Hauline from the temporary worker’s point of view, she’s fed up with everyone else’s fake, canned answers. She decides to be honest and says, “These people are all lying.”

Referring to Manager Park’s description of them as a family, Ho-won asks if families hate and hurt each other. She recites Hauline’s claim to offer equal opportunities to women, but says that she’s learned it’s not true. She leaves the room, and immediately Manager Park orders the journalist to edit out her comments.

Manager Park calls Ho-won into a meeting with the senior team members, and both he and Woo-jin take her to task for being irresponsible in her interview. Ho-won counters that the others were lying to make the company look better, when they all know they’re struggling because of the recent low sales numbers.

She asks Manager Park to call off the evaluation of the temporary employees based on their sales performance, and everyone exchanges confused looks. They ask Ho-won who said that, and she says that Yong-jae told them that they had to make sales to qualify for the permanent position. Woo-jin barks at her to leave the room, now.

Woo-jin is furious with Manager Park, assuming he manipulated the temp hires into selling for his team. But Manager Park insists he knew nothing about this, and Suk-kyung backs him up. Woo-jin backs off, though he makes it clear that he will evaluate his two temps in his own way.

He goes out to inform Ho-won that what she said in her interview was inappropriate, and she admits she was just upset. Woo-jin makes it clear that that’s no excuse, forbidding her or Ki-taek to make any public statements or follow anyone else’s orders without consulting him first.

Just as Ho-won is convinced that she and Ki-taek are in deep trouble, Woo-jin changes directions and assigns them to finish up the new Hauliz line catalog. Ji-na argues that they’re not ready for such an important project, but Woo-jin says they’ll never learn if they aren’t allowed to do anything.

Manager Park seems to think that Yong-jae’s little stunt is amusing, and he tells Suk-kyung proudly that he got his own position by kissing up to his bosses. She tries to say that what Yong-jae did to the temps was wrong, but Manager Park interrupts to remind her that she joined his team in the hopes of getting a promotion.

He tells her that in order for her to get his job, he needs to be promoted first. Suk-kyung promises to help him, but Manager Park says that’s not why she hasn’t been promoted yet. He bluntly says that it’s because she’s a woman, so using her old methods won’t work.

He reveals that he has a connection to Chairman Seo’s second son, but that he intends to use that connection to his own advantage. So he tells Suk-kyung that if she wants her promotion, she needs to stay on his good side and make sure Woo-jin doesn’t discover any of this.

Suk-kyung takes Ho-won aside to berate her for making a huge fuss over a miscommunication, and tells her to stop spreading rumors. She’s pretty harsh, though she also tells Ho-won to have Kang-ho cancel the order he made with his personal credit card.

Kang-ho gets a text from Ho-won as he’s stocking the employee fridge telling him to cancel his order, adding that she thinks Suk-kyung called the store about him. When Suk-kyung comes in to make some tea, he offers to do it for her, grateful for her intercession on his behalf.

He and Ki-taek go to the convenience store for a beer after work, where Ki-taek apologizes for letting Kang-ho’s mother into the office. Kang-ho mutters that it’s his fault for lying to her, and Ki-taek says to just tell her that he’s doing his best.

They’re approached by a scary-looking trio of high school girls who want to buy their beer. Ki-taek delivers a hilariously weak lecture (“Don’t drink underage or you’ll turn out like me!”), and the leader angrily calls him “Oppa” like it’s an insult. When he asks what school they go to, she slaps him upside the face for treating them like kids. Kang-ho runs for the store owner, who chases off the girls before they can beat Ki-taek to a pulp.

On her way home, Ho-won runs into Woo-jin in his sweats and slippers. She apologizes again for her behavior today, but he interrupts and asks her to pretend they don’t know each other when in their neighborhood and not to tell anyone they live near each other.

He’s probably just trying to avoid more nasty rumors cropping up about him and Ho-won, but he ends up just leaving her confused. She watches him walk toward home, then sees him literally jump out of his shoes when a cat meows at him. PFFT, what a chicken.

Too scared to go home, Kang-ho hangs out in a park near his apartment building, ignoring his mother’s phone calls. Jae-min runs into him on his way to visit a friend, and he mentions that he met Kang-ho’s mom today. Kang-ho asks if it was Jae-min who told her he’s a temp, and when Jae-min nods, Kang-ho punches him right in the mouth.

Kang-ho questions whether Jae-min is really his friend, since he’d already asked Jae-min not to tell his mother the truth. Jae-min argues that she’d already seen Kang-ho and figured out something was off.

He sneers that this is why Kang-ho never passes his interviews, and he calls Kang-ho an embarrassment to their school, which earns him another punch. This time, Jae-min fights back, and they roll all over the playground, hitting and kicking each other.

Ki-taek sits in his tiny gosiwon room rolling an egg over his swelling black eye. He answers a knock on the door to find Kang-ho standing there looking pitiful, sporting a matching black eye. Awww.

Secretary Kkot-bi and Ho-won stare at them the next morning, both boys in eye-patches, ha. It gets even funnier when Jae-min walks into the break room also wearing an eye-patch, then just turns and walks back out again.

When Woo-jin is ready to head home after work, he finds Ho-won asleep at her desk. He takes off his suit jacket to cover her, and when she starts to rouse, he hides in the only place he can find — under Ji-na’s desk. HA, the moment he’s under there, he’s all, Why did I hide??

Ho-won is surprised to find Woo-jin’s jacket over her shoulders, and she takes out her phone to call him. Of course his phone rings not five feet away, and instead of coming out, he adorably sits under there poking at it to make it stop.

Eventually, he emerges with as much dignity as he can muster, claiming that he was just looking for something. Ho-won laughs, reminded of the time she hid in his closet. Woo-jin insists that this is a totally different thing from her thing, then shoves Ho-won when she tries to see what he was looking for. HA.

When she offers him back his jacket, Woo-jin yammers that she was coughing in her sleep, and if she gets sick she might faint again. He snatches his jacket back and oh-so-casually saunters to his office, but once he’s there, he cringes with embarrassment.

Kang-ho is staying with Ki-taek in his gosiwon, and because the wells are paper-thin, he and Ki-taek resort to made-up sign language to communicate. Ki-taek asks when Kang-ho will go home, then they have a silent discussion about who’s going to pay for dinner. This whole scene is super cute.

The next day, Ho-won presents the project she and Ki-taek have been working on. Manager Park gets a bit high-handed with Woo-jin over the products available for sale, but Woo-jin neutralizes his snark by offering to try it his way if his own plan doesn’t work after two weeks.

The sales team leaves, and Woo-jin asks Ho-won and Ki-taek to double-check their prices carefully before sending everything to the catalog printer. Gu-dong tells them they did a good job, and Ki-taek and Ho-won exchange triumphant little cheers.

They stay up late that night making sure all the prices are correct. When they’re finished, Ki-taek sends Ho-won home, saying that he’ll do one final check. He declares everything perfect, ready to send the numbers in, but a call has him stepping out for a bit. While he’s gone, a mysterious figure goes into the file and lowers many of the prices, then sends the file.

Ki-taek finds Ji-na nearby, drunk and pleased that he came when she called, like he always does. She tells him that her friend accidentally took her purse so she has no way to get home. Ki-taek gives her some money for a taxi and says that this is the last time he can comed to her rescue.

The new Hauliz line is launched the next day, and everyone celebrates the fact that the sales numbers are great right off the bat. Woo-jin particularly thanks Ki-taek and Ho-won for their excellent work. But in the middle of their little party, Suk-kyung gets a call, and her horrified reaction makes everyone freeze with dread.

She tells them that the catalog contains the wrong prices, and both teams go into damage control mode. They simultaneously attempt to stop the vendors selling at those prices, convince the customers who’ve already bought to cancel their purchases, and figure out who made such a huge mistake.

Ho-won and Ki-taek look through the catalog, mystified as to how the prices could be wrong when they were so careful. They have no adequate explanation for Woo-jin when he screams at them for not checking everything correctly.

Manager Park informs everyone that as a result of this huge debacle, the chief director has decided to merge the sales and marketing teams. He’s terribly smug when Woo-jin objects to such a decision being made without him, telling him to worry about fixing his current problem first.

That evening, Ho-won is still calling customers to explain the mix-up and indulging in small crying bouts between calls. Woo-jin sees her, and instead of approaching, he tries to call her. But she doesn’t answer, since she’s too ashamed to face him even on the phone.

Ki-taek is also crying and drinking in his room with Kang-ho. He sobs that he checked the prices so many times, wanting so badly to do a good job and be proud of himself.

Hyun shows up at the office the next morning with coffee and donuts, and right away, he notices that Ho-won isn’t there. Manager Park gets excited to see Hyun and brings him into his office to officially meet Suk-kyung. Manager Park tells Hyun about the marketing team’s huge mistake, then they send Suk-kyung out of the room. That seems strange.

Woo-jin arrives back at the office just as Hyun is leaving, and Hyun wishes Woo-jin luck dealing with his problem. He offers to help Woo-jin in any way he can, which makes Manager Park and Suk-kyung look nervous, and maybe a little jealous.

Anxious to find some way to mitigate the damage done by the misprinted prices, Woo-jin flips through the catalog looking for any hints. He notices that on the very first page is this sentence: “Sales of certain items may be limited.” He heaves a huge sigh, having found his solution.

Ho-won comes back from a trip to the local store, and Ji-na blows up at her for not following her directions and just copying last year’s catalog. Ho-won says that she did, and Woo-jin comes in to agree. Luckily that includes the text informing customers that items may be limited, but he says they should call the customers personally anyway.

When he sits down to make some calls, the customer says that Hauline already sent them a letter, personally written by the employee who made the mistake. The customer adds that they placed their order again at the correct, higher price.

The team leaders report to CEO Han that the crisis is over, and all the incorrect orders have been canceled. Since many of the customers re-ordered at the correct price, Woo-jin considers the situation under control.

Manager Park points out that their company reputation has still been tarnished, but Woo-jin tells him about Ho-won’s handwritten letters of apology, which seems to have satisfied most of the customers. CEO Han says that that’s certainly impressive, but he still tells Woo-jin to fire Ho-won and Ki-taek. Woo-jin argues that they can’t blame it all on them, but he’s informed that either he fires them, or he’s fired.

Ji-na complains to Ki-taek, accusing him of taking the fall for Ho-won because he likes her. He says that it really was his fault, and he decides to tell Woo-jin that. Ji-na wants to know exactly how many times he checked the prices, and he yells that he checked them over twenty times that night before she called him, so he doesn’t understand why it wasn’t enough.

Something about that makes Ji-na curious, and when she checks, she realizes that at the time the file was sent, Ki-taek was out of the office giving her taxi money. She calls down to security and asks for the names of the people who left the building during that time.

Woo-jin fights hard to save Ho-won and Ki-taek’s jobs, citing their passion and their ability to learn, but CEO Han says that temps are a dime a dozen. Woo-jin refuses to accept this and says that he’ll take full responsibility for his team’s mistakes.

Ji-na hears back from Security, and she’s shocked when she learns the name of the person who left the building last on the night before the launch. She whirls around to confront the culprit… Jae-min.

In front of the entire office, Ji-na asks if Jae-min edited the price file for the catalog. She points to the CCTV camera over their heads, informing him that everything that happens after the office closes is recorded. Busted.

Jae-min is brought to CEO Han’s office to explain to the team leaders why he altered the file. He says that he was angry that the temporary workers were being assigned jobs he felt he should be doing, but that he thought it was just a prank. He assumed they would have checked the numbers again.

CEO Han wants to know who hired “this punk who doesn’t know the basics,” and those words flip a switch in Jae-min. He loudly asks if the company even knows how to identify talented people, then criticizes Manager Park for the way he yells at his team every morning.

He even complains that sometimes he’d just like a simple hamburger for lunch, instead of the loach soup Manager Park always makes them eat (that makes Woo-jin laugh, ha). He throws down his resignation letter and tells the team leaders that instead of looking for talented people, they should work on being good enough to hire people like him.

In Woo-jin’s office, Ki-taek and Ho-won apologize for not doing a final check, but all he says is that he’s sure they learned a lot by this experience. He even apologizes for scolding them without finding out the truth, though he also asks them to each write an apology letter for not doing the final check.

They leave in a bit of a daze, having expected to be fired. Ho-won squeals that she’s never been so happy about having to write an apology letter, and Ki-taek giggles that he nearly cried when Woo-jin apologized.

Ki-taek and Kang-ho get a tiny apartment together in Ho-won’s neighborhood, which is exciting for Kang-ho, though he’s a bit nervous about living in such a small place. They hit the street market with Ho-won, spending their day eating delicious food and enjoying each other’s company. They get ice cream for the walk back, and on the way, a car honks at them.

Ki-taek impulsively throws his ice cream at the car, which screeches to a halt and backs up, revealing the driver as Woo-jin. Whoops. He asks who threw the ice cream, and Kang-ho and Ho-won hold up their cones, throwing Ki-taek right under the bus. Woo-jin offers them a ride home, then orders them not to tell anyone they all live in the same neighborhood.

Hyun is surprised when his father visits him at his hospital. Chairman Seo is in a terrible mood, having heard that Hyun has a mole inside Hauline. Hyun doesn’t deny it, reminding Chairman Seo that if he wants Hyun to prove he’s qualified to take over his position, he needs to learn about the company.

We flash back to their dinner the other night, when Chairman Seo had told Hyun to just plainly say what he wants. Hyun had said that he wants Hauline, and for his father to stop comparing him to his brother.

Chairman Seo growls that if this is Hyun’s way of securing his share, then he’s going about it wrong, because he wanted to see Hyun’s personality, not how well he uses people. He says with a sigh that Hyun has already proven that he doesn’t qualify to inherit Hauline.

Hyun retorts that he just never truly saw him as a candidate, and Chairman Seo admits that may be true, since he’s never liked Hyun’s jealous, selfish nature. He spits that Hyun is just like his mother, then leaves. Hyun mutters that his father didn’t even remember that it’s his birthday.

Ki-taek, Kang-ho, and Ho-won have some drinks at the boys’ new place, and when Ki-taek accidentally mentions Ji-na, Ho-won quickly covers for him. She asks Kang-ho if his mother knows he’s moved here, and he says that she does, but it’s okay because she doesn’t want to see him anyway.

Ho-won heads home, and Kang-ho tries to stop Ki-taek’s drinking. Ki-taek resolutely downs several more cups of soju, obviously fighting tears, and eventually he says that they really should take Ho-won to the hospital. Crying hard now, he tells Kang-ho that just thinking about her being sick breaks his heart.

Kang-ho thinks they should respect Ho-won’s wish for time to think, but Ki-taek yells that she doesn’t have time. He decides to call her, even though Kang-ho says she left her phone at work.

Someone answers her phone, and Ki-taek starts to ramble before the person even says anything. Thinking he’s talking to Ho-won, he offers to pay for everything if she lets them take her to the hospital, because they need to find out what she has and how much time she has left.

He screams that there’s still time to save her life, as on the other end of the line, Woo-jin’s eyes go wide with horror.

 
COMMENTS

I’d almost forgotten that Ho-won is supposed to be dying. I sort of agree with the theories that she’s not really sick, that Hyun was probably talking about a different patient entirely that night in the emergency room. But what matters is that Ho-won thinks she’s dying, as do her two closest friends, and as time (they believe) grows short for Ho-won, it’s going to start affecting everything. I also wasn’t expecting Woo-jin to find out that Ho-won might be sick so soon, and I think this is going to change everything for him in how he deals with her at work and in private.

I’m suddenly seeing a lot of growth in Woo-jin, how he’s becoming more willing to be a leader instead of just quitting when things get difficult. Aside from his (probably) developing personal feelings for Ho-won, he also sees that she’s not whining about life being unfair anymore, but standing up and taking the blame for her mistakes. Not once did she make an excuse for why the prices were printed wrong, or defend that the last time she saw the figures they were correct — she just quietly took it upon herself to write letters to the customers and apologize. I think that her evolving maturity is impressing Woo-jin, and when he sees her taking responsibility, it makes him want to protect her as a team member that he trusts to do the right thing. It’s no wonder that he’s never figured this out, the way he always bailed on a job the moment someone showed an imperfection. Now that that’s not an option, he’s learning that what matters isn’t having people on his team who never make a mistake, but having team members who can be relied upon to make it right when they do make mistakes.

Speaking of team members, I’m surprised to find Ji-na actually growing on me. I don’t find her nearly as horrid as I did when we first met her. I still don’t think she’s a nice person, but it’s obvious that a lot of her attitude springs from her desire to get ahead in life. She dated Ki-taek for years waiting for him to pass the civil service exam and only broke up with him when it became clear that he might never be able to offer her a stable future. And she’s only mean at work when someone does something that threatens how her own job performance is viewed. I also think she may still have feelings for Ki-taek, though I’m not sure that she truly cares about him for himself, or only feels the loss of not having him at her beck and call. His breaking away from her for now will be good for them both, whether they get back together or not.

I’m totally thrilled to see Kang-ho getting out from under his mother’s thumb and being independent, even if he didn’t exactly do it by choice. The important thing is that he’s on his own and doesn’t have to dread going home every night or explain his choices to a mother who only cares about him as a reflection of herself. I don’t think he’s out of the woods yet, because he’s just so sensitive, and I fear that a confrontation with his mother is looming that could potentially send him into a downward spiral. But I’m happy that for now, he has good friends who genuinely like and support him, don’t criticize him for having intense feelings, and are there to tell him that he’s a good person. He’s going to need them.

I felt that Ho-won’s experience with office sabotage was a lot more believable than the previous challenges the show has given her, and for once, the mistake made truly wasn’t her fault (though I don’t believe a large company would let something so important go to print without someone more experienced double-checking their work). Ho-won was actually doing a very impressive job when Jae-min decided to ruin everything, and unlike her other mishaps, there was nothing in her task performance that allowed the sabotage to happen. It could be argued that Ki-taek shouldn’t have let himself be distracted by Ji-na without sending the file first, but if there hadn’t been a saboteur, nothing would have come of his stepping out for a few minutes. So at least the conflicts Ho-won is facing are becoming more realistic, and she even got to solve the problem herself, and in a professional way. It’s a step in the right direction, so it’s sad that just when she’s finally finding her place at Hauline, her supposed terminal illness is about to rear its ugly head.

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This episode in particular I was trying to piece together who Seo Hyun's brother could be. I am starting to harbor a suspicion that his brother is dead, which would explain to me why he would be more upset about being compared to him... If someone has reason to deny this theory, let me know, because I think it would be really sad if true.

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I agree I think he is dead too. The fact that they never show him lends credence to that theory. I love all the characters so much although I didn't expect to, which makes me a happy K-drama watcher.

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yooo what if he's dead, and died by suicide? which prompted him to want to help the suicidal trio

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The "older brother" set up still looks wide open, unless they pull a birth secret and it's Seo Woo-jin. Anything could be possible, even a dead older brother.

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Omg! Your theory sounds possible! I have been wondering who is the brother for so long! Who is he?

Hyun is so mysterious as of now, and the plot seems to be depending on him mostly. 3rd secret of how he will react to his father (and brother). 4th secret of how he will come out as the doctor who saved the trio and gave them the jobs, OR I might say his 4th secret is his feeling for Ho Won?

Imho, the rest of this drama will develop to answer those secrets of his... The whole chaebol politics + love triangle...

Btw I don't think he understands what Ho Won meant for "not having much time left to live", since Hyun will not be aware that the trio all think that Ho Won is the one who has terminal illness. And if he knew from begining she is the one, there's no way he can be at ease by her without telling her to treat her illness asap.

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I don't understand chairman seo.... He wants his son to be capable and good.. which he is both.... I love Kim dong wook btw.... But he won't care about or love his son.... Is he oly seeing him as a heir who would inherit the company or what.... How can a father forgot his son's bday..... When he doesn't even know his son's allergy what right he has to say that Hyun is not a good human being... The father is partly responsible for Hyun being this way.... Hyun's interactions with Howon tells me he is good guy deep inside.... With proper friendship ( hoping for bromance with woojin) he could become better.....

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Yes.. I dont undrstand chairman seo too.. He is soo upsetting. If i were on Dr. Seo shoes i would feel the same. I love him haha he deserve much more love though.

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Have a feeling that Chairman Seo is not that bad a father, but him and Hyun is just a lot of crossed wires. Like Ho-won said, sometimes dad are hard to get. He might be actually coming there to give Hyun a surprise happy birthday, but the altercation with his son upset him so he just left...

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Even if that's the case, which father would want to make his child unhappy on his bday... And also wat abt not knowing about his allergies....

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After sub-sub-sub comment, there is no more reply button..?
@darcylove the not knowing about allergy is definitely inattentive of Chairman Seo, but Hyun chose not to remind his dad, and showing his rash after that comes across as passive-aggressive to me. Am thinking they both are at faults here...

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I don't think the brother is dead. Why then did Dr Seo said to Woo Jin "I thought my father hid us well"?

Dad has also decided that Dr Seo wouldn't be the one inheriting Hauline. If not the older brother, who else could it be?

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Yeah, I realize my theory has holes, but among the characters we have met so far, I cannot reasonably believe any of them are "hyung". The show could always bring forward a new character to fill this role, but I just feel like they wont this far into the show (could totally be wrong). The other option I could see would be a birth secret, but if this was the case I would be severely disappointed with the writers.

I cannot figure out the "I thought my father hid us well" into my theory. But as for Dr Seo not inheriting the company, maybe Dad wants to put forward the best candidate, instead of just relying on nepotism? Dad reprimanded Dr Seo for discussing hospital before discussion of the people it was helping. I felt this pointed to Dad's priority of the internal well-being of a business before it's profits. But once again, I welcome doubt on my opinion, because a dead son is just plain sad.

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I concur with you. In the 1st or 2nd episode, Dr. Seo said the reason he went into medical was because he did not want to compete with his older brother. Which means his older brother is into business but like everyone, I am also curious who the older brother could be.

I looked up the age of Seo Woojin in the drama and he is supposed to be 38 while Dr. Seo is 34. Both of them have the surname "Seo" so, it is possible that Seo Woojin is the older brother. It's also possible that he himself may not be aware of his real identity.

Another reason why I think Seo Woojin could be the older brother is that the chairman had entrusted his old friend (the old man in the marketing team) to assist Seo Woojin and help steer the company in the right direction. The chairman is putting his trust on Seo Woojin which makes it all the more plausible that he is the older son.

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LOL Hauline deserves to be a last place company if they don't even have a production process that includes reviewing a print proof of their catalog before it prints and ships. And leaves it up to the temps.

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At ep 5 I decided to quit this drama for its unrealistic work-related problems. Then I miss the Trio so much to let them go, so I picked up this drama again, though giving up taking it seriously on how they come up with problems/crisis/solutions at Hauline...

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But if we quit every show for unrealistic situations, there would be no kdramas left to watch! I really like this show, perhaps all the more because of the way Introverted Boss fell apart.

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I love Misaeng but even that show had things that I thought were ridiculous going on. I think every drama involves suspending reality. I know people in medical, law, police, and - yes - office work must get driven crazy but it is what it is.

Having said that, every once in a while I can't do it and have to walk away so I get it.

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Frankly, I'm surprised that Ho Won and Ki Taek took the blame for the catalogue so quickly. They knew that they had checked numerous times and it was not just one or two mistakes. There were quite a number of errors. And BOTH of them checked. They should have realised that there was some foul play. Same for Woo-jin. He knows how important this task was for them, and they did a good presentation. How could they have been so careless.

A good worker should be confident of their work and should be suspicious enough if something out of the ordinary went wrong. They should investigate further after resolving the problem.

I was rather disappointed with Woo-jin initially. He should have checked the catalogue before it was sent for printing cos HW and KT are only contract workers and new at the job. But I'm glad that he took responsibility for them and even apologised.

I wonder if this is what working in Korea is like. Many dramas show the corruption and sometimes ridiculous hierarchy they have.

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I also wonder if bosses are more free in the way they talk to their subordinates. In America, you could never get away with yelling at your staff like that - HR would have a fit.
I do understand that this is exaggerated but this happens in EVERY drama and even the way Woo-jin - our hero - yells at them is more than what I would expect working at an office in the states.
I think it might just boil down to the fact that work places in America tend to be more casual - even for major corps. Everyone is expected to work together, while in Korea that kind of work environment is seen as nuanced and cool rather than standard practice .

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In countries like Korea where heirarchy is very important.... Things happen this way...
In India, HR don't rescue the workers they usually side with the managers... Managers and HRs would be close and normal employees are left alone to fend for themselves....

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I'm glad you brought this up because I was thinking about it last night and then - BAM! - today at lunch in the elementary school I work at, my friend talked about how the former principal got right in her face and yelled at her about her second grade students losing their lunch account id cards. Can you imagine?! And we have a union! And I said to her, I saw that happen in a drama last night and wondered about it in the real word. I know many offices can be brutal, but the fact that it even happens in my own school, right in the northeastern US, shows...it can happen anywhere!

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I could see it if just one item had been changed but so many changes should have been a red flag. I don't think it was on Woo Jin to double check; I mean he's the boss, but he should have had someone experienced go over it. I do love how the gal figured it out and took care of business. The drama is having character growth of the office staff, and I like that.

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I reallllllly want to know what the heck is going on with the doctor. My gut instinct has me believing he is really shady but I hold out hope that it's a misunderstanding.

Either way, I am enjoying this show way more than I originally thought I would. Granted there are some unrealistic plot points but I find myself being able to easily overlooking them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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I have a crazy theory of who the brother could be. What if it's not a brother? What if they're trolling us, and it's a sister instead? What if it's Manager Jo?

It makes sense in a way. She's always referred to as the "Ace." She's the only competent one on the Sales team. She was transferred because she needed that promotion. What if she needed it to prove to her father that she could do it on her own?

It would make sense then why Hyun purposefully approached Park and got his three moles in that team. That would let him keep an eye on his sister and what she's doing.

There seems to be a reason why Park gave her that whole, "Women can't be promoted" speech. And, later, when Park introduced her to Hyun, he told her specifically not to come to hospital and then sent her out.

I've seen Kdramas where the girl is so strong that her younger sister calls her oppa (Coffee Prince). Maybe, because of her strength, Hyun calls her hyung? I don't speak Korean, so I'm not sure what the labels actually are and if the dad referred to the older child as my son, so there's that.

But wouldn't it be awesome it was Jo? Imagine the look on Park's face when he realizes he's been sucking up to the wrong sibling. Ahhh, that would be awesome!!

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I don´t think so, she seems like the kind of lone wolf who has only herself to depend on

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Doesn't seem plausible that it'll come true, but what a super theory!

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From the experience of watching k-drama for almost 10 years( sadly i still rely on subs when watching dramas) , i could have easily just dropped this drama from the second episode, because this show wasnt as *Radiant *as the title Radient Office.

The show was gloomy, depressing with just teeny little bit of hope, which kind of got faded at the end of the episodes.

But somehow, the direction, the story telling, the character development took a step forward from episode 5 , and i swear this just became MY FAVOURITE wednesday-thurday drama and i keep eagerly waiting for it.

The development in Woo-Jin's character is something pleasant and i keep waiting for his scenes to come up.

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YASSSS!! I don't know exactly why, but this drama has somehow been the one that i look forward to the most in the whole week. Strange... but i'm not complaining, kekekeke. <3 <3 <3

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Ditto! 100% so.

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I think the drama's colors are "radiant" as in the title. :)

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I thought "they're all lying" was going to be another one of Ho-won's imaginary adventures. (And I wish it was. I miss her little alter ego.)

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Oh, and I also thought that Jae-min was going to turn out to be Chairman Seo's unknown heir, Hyun's older brother. (Even though he doesn't look older.) The way he was telling off his "superiors" I just figured he was the boss's kid. So I was wrong twice.
BUT I have to say, after being kind of luke warm towards this show in the beginning it is turning into one of my "must sees."

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All i can say is that, bulk workloads and daily troubles the temporary employees have to face each day which is caused by the co-workers ,could give a person so much stress which could result in heart attack and they could really die. Ho Won does not need a 6 month time limit to die. She could literally die, if she stay in that office for another month. *Stress in Kang Gary style*

This episode's daily office trouble the price editing fiasco by Jae Min was much handled in a better way. And it is weird to say that Ji Na really deserves a huge round of applause for trying to find the truth , with hint of Ki taek telling her he checked that for 20+ times, and using her brain to actually find something, which made the *triple trouble team* getting a not guilty verdict at the end of the episode.. *Phew*.

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Wow, Jae-min sure went out with a bang! Doesn't really care for his character, but loved it when he flustered the bosses cos he did have some truth in his rants.
Am enjoying sweetie Woo-jin and Ki-taek so much in this episode. Woo-jin apologising to his subordinates speaks volume on his decency, and him hiding under, omigah! Am realising also how sweet Ki-taek is, he seemed to always see the bright side of things, like saying it's good the girls who hit him are strong so they'll be safe roaming at night, and only commenting "I met my lover from previous live" about the grandma whi accosted him. If I don't ship Ho-won with Woo-jin, will totally ship her with Ki-taek, they made a gud couple.
Am glad Woo-jin knows about Ho-won predicament this soon, was expecting this to be dragged a while. Surely he won't let her (and us viewers!) hanging around in uncertainty long, yea?

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Hyun is suspicious but I feel bad for him more than anything, especially when his dad got so angry comparing him to his mother. His family situation seems awful. But I really love the way he opens up and relaxes around Howon. It's not SLS, but I could ship it. His interactions with Howon also make me think she couldn't be sick; however, maybe she is, and Hyun has dealt with enough dying people to know she doesn't want to be dragged off to the hospital and instead be allowed to live out the last few months of her life.
I am very unsure about Howon's illness. This is a rom-com so I doubt she dies--i dont care what BS the drama has to pull to get her to live, BUT SHE BETTER LIVE. However, that time she suddenly fainted really scared me and made me think it's possible she is dying. However, maybe she fainted from exhaustion. We don't know anything about the illness, only that it is fatal and that it is in it's advanced stages (remember when Hyun said in the hospital "Wow it's already gone this far?), so we don't know what symptoms to look for. The chances that there was another young person in the hospital who attempted suicide that night are really unlikely. But this is also drama world, where a contracted employee can come back from being fired 2 times, so anything is possible.

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Thanks for the fast and wonderful recap LollyPip!

I will admit that I started this show for Ha Suk Jin but now I love it not only for him, but I'm loving Ho-won and the rest of the suicide squad.

She was so mousy and broken down at the beginning but it's great to see her grow more confident and strong.
The same with all three temps - their growth as people has been done nice and slow and makes sense - even if the situations at the office don't.
Can I say however that I'm loving Woo-jin! I like that HSJ isn't playing the same stuffy curmudgeon that he's played in his past two shows, but now he is kind and full of weaknesses that we can see already. But most especially his fears of little things and sounds - oh I'm enjoying him so much.

I'm with the rest of you thinking Ho-won isn't really sick with a terminal disease, but why they would talk out loud like that in the ER. That doctor is really puzzling to me.

All in all - after the last two weeks this is now my second favorite show after SWDB.

Looking forward to when all the suicide squad finds their footing and confidence and that head of sales gets what is coming to him - he is such a jerk!

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There is a lot more character development for HSJ in this drama than in Let's Drink or 1%. I know he's gotten a lot of grief from viewers for taking another role like this, but it's nice to find out there is more nuance to it than the other two. I love that he's so skitish.

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i'm a fan of go ah sung but didn't realize it would turn into my favorite drama of the week. as many have mentioned, it's really the trio that keeps me coming back. i'm so glad they have each other. AND everytime i look at lee dong hwi, i'm reminded of reply 1988.

the show has been less centered on kang ho, which is understandable being he is on a different team. i would love to be able to see more character growth from him. i hope that his moving out on his own will lead to that.

I WILL NEVER TIRE OF SCAREDY CAT WOO-JIN. every time he jumps or screams from the tiniest sound, i can't help but laugh.

also, i've seen kim dong wook here and there, but i've never noticed him until watching him here. can he be genuine? i want so much for the character to be genuine because i like him so much when he's with ho won.

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glad you pointed out just HOW Woo Jin has changed cause I had begun to think he has no character development. I´d forgotten about the "quitting when shit hits fan" part. but his growth is still so.... silent?

Hoya is doing a GREAT job. My jaw has dropped somewhere, this is grad level acting.

and I have started to care for and like all of the women in that office. is it too much to hope for a female trio of friends...? they all get the message that they are on their own now, so I think they should band together.

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korean dramas never fails to give really brilliant reference to real situations about korea or people. And in this episode , Jae Min made a reference about whats happening in the country , Lol

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Hahahaa yeah.. It makes me laugh so hard. Lol

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Let me just say Suk Kyung got the worse from this episode. She was not only humiliated by her manager, but she was also reminded that her hard job doesnt mean a thing bc she is a WOMAN ??? He threatened her and warned her not to fight him if she wants to be promoted.

Now, my younger self would have been very dissapointed with her character for not standing up to the jerk and follow her ethics.

But I totally can understand why she has initially accepted this unfair behaviour and jumped on the unethic and jerky train.
Being young and carefree makes it very easy to follow ideals and principles, but having to put food on the table might bend your limits and pride. I really feel bad as I can see how she is struggling with the new circumstances.
All in all, i dont think she can pope with it for long as she is a principled woman and obviously dislikes unfair treatment.
Kuddos for her performance, such an interesting character!

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I can feel them leading us towards the bullshit "she's not really sick" "plot twist" and it's upsetting me. I want her to legitimately be sick and have to go through treatments or whatever. Surprise me, Show! Don't just cop out of the cool character development and plots!!

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I feel the opposite. I don't see it as a plot twist if she isn't really sick. It was ambiguous from the start.

Rather than makjang and seriously, I hate terminal illness tropes in kdrama, this show is about the characters, slice of life and their growths. People need a 'wake up call' in their lives to live vivaciously, do things they otherwise won't and speak up when they usually keep quiet.

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God I love Lee Dong Hwi and Hoya's acting in this. I have some qualms about this show but I need more trio scenes because those tend to be my favorite. They're just so heartwarming and I just want to buy them all dinner and give them a hug, especially the two sad boys. I'm not terribly invested in the romance at this point but I am very excited to see more roommate hijinks between the two boys. I've always been a fan of Ha Seok Jin but after seeing him play basically the same character just with varying degrees of warmth is making me disconnect with his character here more on a meta level. I loved him in 1% of Something and honestly hope that he and Jo Seon Min are low key dating because man, the two had great chemistry there. While there is no doubt that he plays the clean cut cold career man with a slightly goofy side really well, I just wish he wasn't so type casted.

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Ok, Ho Won and Ki Taek are my crack ship/friendship goals. Ki Taek is as precious as they get and I find his brotherly caring for Ho Won so heartwarming. I can tell that Kang Ho considers them good friends and comrades, but Ki Taek is naturally affectionate and sweet with all of them. He's the oldest, too, which makes his habits of taking care of them all the more sweet.

His drunken call made my heart hurt. Even though no one talked about it, I think thoughts of Ho Won's illness have been eating away at his mind for a while. Especially now that they're finally proving themselves and having fun together. I never loved his character when he was around Ji Na but with Ho Won and Kang Ho? Easily ties with Woo Jin.

(Is it bad that I'm happy Woo Jin found out? I need some of that angst, because there was so little interaction between them this episode. It's like me with Marriage Contract, a repeating mantra of "WHEN WILL HE FIND OUT")

Also, anyone else slightly upset that the show just threw away the conversation Woo Jin and Ho Won had before she fainted? I can understand Ho Won not remembering but Woo Jin must remember. He's so quiet now that I'm worried.

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Yes to everything here! I love the trio and their friendship and need more. I loved Marriage Contract and looved the ending to that drama even if my heart did break too many times throughout it. And like what IS up with Woo Jin just breezing over the entire "Did I cause your suicide?" conversation because it's a little hard for me to buy that romance if they don't work that part out.

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Agree about the "did I cause your suicide" conversation just flopping right there. I'm hoping they will go back to that! I mean that is a huge component of the story, in my opinion. He needs to recognize how he treats people affects them deeply. That is one part of his character that needs to be explored!

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am i the only one shipping ki taek and ho won???

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i mean i get that hes just a really really sweet oppa and i really like their cute platonic friendship but i really wouldn't mind if it were to become something more. honestly after seeing lee dong hwi in this, i just want him to get a lead role in a cute rom com

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Seo Hyun is the key person for the Musketeers of Eun Do Jang. He just like the uncle long legs who support them behind the curtain. He save them, he cure them, he laughed when those Eun Do Jang runaway from hospital without paying and at then end he used his power to bring Eun Do Jang into Hauline.

He is still a mysterious for me. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? But the way he treated Ho-won moves me. I love the scenes when they stress out their problem by eating 4 levels of Hot and spicy rice cake (Tteokbokki). I should try one day, hahahaha

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Kang Ho and Ki Teak in their matching sport suit cohabitation was everything.

Woo Jin's nerdiness is everything else. The way he keeps embarrassing himself in these semi-subtle, yet hysterical ways somehow feels refreshing to me. The portrait curtain. The absurd music preference. The bestowing of the cell phone. The jacket-cover-and-hide. The blinds peek-through and the deep, faraway voice fabrication. I feel like in other dramas, the fellows are embarrassed/in denial about either things that are very cringe worthy and giant, or something like having feelings and actually doing nice things for a gal. Yes, the latter describes some of Woo Jin's behaviors, but the music, the curtain, and the way he acts when he realizes he really isn't cool or smooth, and perhaps Ho Won is finding that out, just break me into teensy little pieces of glitter that flutter all around and to the ground. And that's how I'm dead. Such fun moments.

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Oh! And his fear of creatures like cats and eels!

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Thanks! I didn't know that the deep voice was supposed to sound like a far away voice, what a joke! Woo Jin's dorkiness is all the more funny because of Ho Won's reactions. She is so quick to catch them and she never lets him off the hook even though she does it in the nicest possible way.

Kang Ho and Ki Taek are even funnier when they are together. That dinner charade really cracked me up.

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It's decided with this episode.

Ki Take is this show's darling and my absolute favorite character.

And I'll say it because it's true. Ji Na got some major points in this episode. I foresee her movin' on up.

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I keep remembering more things I wanted to say!

THAT FIST FIGHT between Kang Ho and Jae Min was probably my favorite fight ever in my kdrama experience. Loved it even better than any fight in Strong Woman DBS. It was such long time coming. It was full of emotion, yet hilarious. And when the fight scene cut to Ki Taek nursing his wounds, I just knew we were in for a treat with the three of them showing up at the office all beaten the next day! And so it happened. I thought they'd be bruised but instead had matching eye patches. The brilliance was blinding!

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the story is getting better nd more interesting :D as the first comment says ..yes I think hyun's brother is dead ...and now I can't wait to know how is he going to use the three contractors ....

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As a religious person I do find the topic (which comes up quite often in Korean dramas) of suicide disturbing. I tend to think there is a purpose for everything, even in the worst moments of our lives. And I've had my share of suffering and tragedy over the years, too, so I don't say this lightly. But the way this drama takes the depressed, suicidal characters and slowly gives them hope (or trying to) has me glued to the screen. I truly enjoy the acting of all three main characters and the boss, in particular, reminds me of real life managers who honestly treat you like crap and don't care (they only see themselves for the most part). I also like how we are learning about Woo-jin's past to see more why he behaves the way he does, but also that he isn't as different from Ho-won (that part I really like--both of them lost parents, both of them grew up poor). Anyhow, this is my new favorite drama right now and I can't wait for the next episodes!

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Chairman Seo appears like a divorced dad who wasn't really involved with his son after the divorce or was just more involved with work, but of course, from Dr. Seo's perspective his dad failed him too many times. The only thing I don't like about this drama is Dr. Seo's oddly character. He seems benevolent, helping the three main characters get a job, but then he has this dark side where he barks at the managers or threatens them. He just seems a bit scary like that.

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