I’m Not a Robot: Episodes 5-6

by TeriYaki

Jia causes one crisis after another as the robot stand-in, but Min-kyu is so taken by the novelty of a companion that he bears with the mounting inconveniences. He seems convinced that if he can train Aji-3 properly, she could become a source of much happiness. And since more happiness equals more smiles, that’s a good thing.

 
EPISODE 5: “I am glad you are a robot”

Min-kyu declares that he’ll create a room of his own inside Aji-3 where no one else is allowed. Pointing to her head, he explains that he will train her himself and that she’s to follow no one but him.

Jia’s training begins with an introduction to the household’s hierarchy, led by the items that Min-kyu calls “pretty.” They include his backscratcher, an older robot vacuum, and the newer one that just had a birthday party.

From the lab, Aji-3 responds, “I will become Pretty too,” but Jia ignores her to clarify that she’s at the same level as household items. Min-kyu laughs that they’re her seniors and describes how points are earned by making him happy. He explains that when an item reaches the top level, he celebrates its birthday (purchase date), while Jia thinks he’s crazy.

Watching from the scientists’ house, Baek-gyun laughs at Min-kyu until his stomach gurgles. He heads to the bathroom, but there’s already a line, and he’s alarmed to hear the curry is the culprit because Jia ate some too.

Sure enough, the same pain strikes Jia while Min-kyu explains which areas must never to be touched: the house of cards, his cabinet, and the action figure that Jia purchased. Min-kyu is about to go over the house’s layout when Jia doubles over.

When Ssan-ip emerges from the bathroom, Baek-gyun wants him to tell Jia “to hold it no matter what,” but he can’t deliver the message because he has to use the bathroom again.

Jia wiggles in desperation, relieved when she sees the bathroom. Min-kyu notices her fidgeting so she distracts him with a question about a set of closed doors and is solemnly told, “It’s a room only I can enter.”

Min-kyu pauses in front of his family portrait and instructs Jia to input his parents into her memory. Jia recognizes the necklace around his mother’s neck, which he explains was stolen. Jia nods uncomfortably as Min-kyu tells her to remember, “If anyone deceives me, I will make sure they pay the price.”

With the Santa Maria team in gastrointestinal hell, Jia is left to manage on her own. She can’t help but wince in pain when Min-kyu confesses that he’s grateful that she’s a robot because she can never deceive him.

Min-kyu instructs Jia to input a childhood photo of him and a girl, and Aji-3 asks what to name the folder that will store the information. Min-kyu looks nostalgic as he recalls his first love but is interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a fart. Jia mutters, “Damn it,” which is what Aji-3 names the picture folder.

Min-kyu whips around with his baton and asks what that was, so Jia innocently tells him, “Master, you farted.” Based on the smell, Jia suggests that Min-kyu might want to change his underwear and when it reaches him, he runs off. She’s darts to the bathroom, so when Min-kyu returns, he’s puzzled at her disappearance.

Baek-gyun crawls back to command central to warn, “Jo Jia, hold it in, even if it kills you.” In the bathroom, Jia clutches toilet paper in relief, while outside, Min-kyu is spooked to hear the toilet flush.

Min-kyu throws open the bathroom door and finds Jia cleaning the toilet with a bottle of perfume. A short rewind shows that once Jia finished, she panicked over the smell and grabbed a bar of soap before she tossed it away for the perfume. Jia confirms that she flushed the toilet even though Min-kyu never asked her to clean the bathroom.

When Min-kyu wonders if it’s all right for her to get her hands wet, Baek-gyun says into the comm line that Aji-3 can even wash dishes. Jia relays the information, but is stunned when Min-kyu accuses her of lying. He snatches the perfume and shows her the French label, worried that her language sensor is broken if she mistook perfume for soap.

Thinking fast, Jia says perfume can be used for soap, and Min-kyu balks at her using an absurdly expensive perfume as cleaning material. Then Min-kyu notices sweat running down Jia’s face, and she freezes nervously as he moves closer to inspect it… and slips on the bar of soap, sending both him and the perfume bottle into the air.

Min-kyu smiles when Jia reaches out with outstretched hand, reaching up to grasp it… only to have her save the perfume bottle instead. Min-kyu falls with a thud and when Jia lands on top of him heavily. They stare at each other briefly until he yells at her to get off.

Min-kyu screams in anguish under the weight of her titanium corset, while Baek-gyun smiles to himself, muttering that he deserves it, ha. The scientists are pleased that after this latest encounter, Min-kyu will never doubt that Jia is a robot.

An irate Min-kyu tries to soothe his aching body in a massage chair until Jia offers to massage his shoulders. Jia praises her usefulness but can’t overcome Min-kyu’s annoyance that she saved the perfume instead of him. She points out that he was very concerned about that expensive perfume, and he tries to explain how his safety trumps an object’s.

Min-kyu tells her that because Aji-3 is made of metal, she hurt him when she fell on top of him, and thus she should have calculated how to fall without hitting him. Aji-3 cites physics to help Jia explain why he should have avoided her first, but he’s more concerned about her disregard for his safety.

Min-kyu shows Jia a video of a dog rescuing a human (wearing a dog mask) and explains that she should be loyal like that dog. Jia argues that the human probably showed the dog love and agrees to be loyal as long as Min-kyu shows her half the love that the dog received.

He finds it interesting that she recognized the person as human despite wearing a dog mask. Getting an idea, he runs off and then calls for Aji-3 to save him while he lies on the floor with a cat mask, meowing. Jia rolls her eyes when Min-kyu sits up with the mask and asks, “What am I?”

 
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Cat or human?

 
Min-kyu is upset that she recognized the human in the video but doesn’t make the same connection with him. Jia suddenly exclaims, “Oh, it’s my master,” and when Min-kyu raises the cat mask, “Oh, it’s a cat.” She struggles to keep up as Min-kyu raises and lowers the mask, and when he laughs, she’s awarded twenty points.

Min-kyu shares that he hopes that Jia will recognize him no matter what he looks like. He pats her head and tells her that he would adore her very much if she could do that, words that make her heart skip even though she feels like a dog.

Min-kyu adds that if he ever changes so much that he’s unrecognizable, she should go into the off-limits room to get a syringe and follow the emergency manual to give him a shot. He promises five hundred points and an automatic promotion to “Pretty” status if that ever happens.

The Santa Maria team is finally back at their posts after their digestive nightmare, and already Ssan-ip is hungry again when he sees the inside of Min-kyu’s refrigerator. Expecting a fresh shipment of beef, Min-kyu tosses out the beef in his refrigerator while Jia and the team bemoan the waste.

Butler Sung uses an X-ray machine to inspect packages, only to have the scanner break. On top of a nearby pile sits the package from Jia with Min-kyu’s necklace.

Jia watches in awe as Min-kyu expertly prepares himself a meal. Min-kyu asks what she thinks of her master and Jia blurts out, “You look delicious,” but quickly corrects it to “cool.” Min-kyu tells her, “Input me as unbelievably, outrageously cool.”

Jia and the team watch longingly as Min-kyu enjoys his food and Baek-gyun mentions how much Jia loves food. Jia barely contains her drooling, and to rub salt in the wound, Min-kyu sighs that it’s too bad Aji-3 is a robot who can’t share his food with him. Deciding to hurry up the mission to put an end to her pain, Jia calls for classical music and video of a beach to suit the meal, then quietly Aji-3 to pull up the ad for KM Financial’s business competition.

When Min-kyu notices the ad, Jia insists that he’s unbelievably, outrageously cool for organizing the contest. She urges him to see it through for the good of the company, but Min-kyu dismisses it as a trivial event. Jia quietly fumes that she bet her life on that trivial event, offended when he refers to the participants as con artists.

Frustrated, she asks, “ As someone who doesn’t do such trivial things, what kind of person are you?” Min-kyu explains that he’s ridiculously wealthy, but Jia points out that’s not who he is, so he tells her that he’s the boss of KM Financial. When his response doesn’t satisfy her, Min-kyu struggles for another answer until his notices the robot vacuum and scolds Jia for chatting while her sunbae cleans. When she leaves to clean, Min-kyu is clearly bothered by her question.

Jia vacuums angrily near the house of cards while muttering to herself about just what kind of man Min-kyu is. When she gestures with the vacuum, it knocks into the massive house of cards, sending it collapsing in one fell swoop.

Min-kyu screams as cards flutter to the ground, and the scientists gape in horror. Baek-gyun prompts Jia to report that her batteries are low, so she goes into “standby mode” and closes her eyes, leaving Min-kyu to fume alone.

 
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RIP, house of cards

Min-kyu meets with Baek-gyun to discuss Aji-3’s mishaps, saying that while she technically does what he asks, she does what she wants in the end. Baek-gyun understands the feeling, and they simultaneously agree that when it comes to disasters, “She’s the absolute best.”

As Jia and the team prepare to eat cup ramyun, she thinks of the beef that Min-kyu threw away and has an idea.

Baek-gyun can’t hide his surprise when he sees Jia and Ssan-ip sneak into Min-kyu’s house, and does his best to hold Min-kyu’s interest to keep him from noticing. Jia fills a cooler with the meat, while Min-kyu confesses to Baek-gyun that he doesn’t feel a connection with Aji-3.

When Jia and Ssan-ip emerge and launch into a victory dance, Baek-gyun keeps Min-kyu’s attention by suggesting that what he wants is a relationship. Baek-gyun encourages Min-kyu to input his emotions along with the information that he gives to Aji-3.

While the team enjoys the meat for dinner, Jia asks who came up with Aji-3’s cheap pink uniform. Baek-gyun can’t believe that she doesn’t remember, and a flashback shows that it was what Jia wore the first time that he saw her.

They’d been at a busy restaurant and Baek-gyun was struck by how much Jia enjoyed her food. He’d sent more meat to her table and watched from a distance as she ate it.

Disappointed, Baek-gyun encourages Jia to eat but scolds her when she stuffs her mouth. Ssan-ip and Hok-tal guess that the bickering pair are getting back together, but Jia calls the thought awful and suggests it would be better if they could erase each other from their memories. Baek-gyun asks why, seeming hurt at her reaction, and she replies that they represent dark times for each other. I’m thinking he doesn’t agree.

Recalling Baek-gyun’s suggestion to input his emotions into Aji-3, Min-kyu looks up “relationship,” and reads, “A relationship is planting roots in someone’s heart.” Min-kyu wonders exactly how that works with a robot.

 
EPISODE 6: “You brought back the sunlight”

Min-kyu wakes with a smile and summons Aji-3 with an app on her phone. When she arrives, Min-kyu asks for the weather report and learns that the forecast is sunny. Noting the sun streaming through the window, he asks what used to be there. Jia recalls that the house of cards was there until he cleared it away, but Min-kyu reminds her that was because she caused a mess.

When Jia offers to build another one, Min-kyu explains that it took him fifteen years (!!) to build that one. In flashback, we see Min-kyu building the house of cards over the years, and he explains that he started it with his father, which is why he was angry when it fell.

Still, he concedes that the sun now shines through that window and his home doesn’t seem so dark. Min-kyu asks her to input his face and emotions because he’s very pleased that she brought the sunlight back to his life. Jia wishes to herself that he’d stick to being a psycho jerk, because she can’t get used to this other side of him.

Min-kyu motions Jia to come closer, then hits her on the forehead and tells her she ought to be careful when cleaning. He starts to bark that these things are more expensive than she is, only to realize that Aji-3 is actually the most pricey.

A car pulls up to the gate, and when Min-kyu sees that it’s Yoo-chul, he orders Jia to hide, and the same for the Santa Maria team.

Yoo-chul reminisces on how often he came to play when they were children, but Min-kyu urges him to get to the point. As CEO, Yoo-chul wants to know why the deal was canceled. Min-kyu reminds Yoo-chul that acquisitions should be sold at a discount, but Daeyang Shipbuilding was to be sold for way more than its value.

Yoo-chul points out that the buyer offered double the sales price. Min-kyu notes that the more Yoo-chul speaks, the less he deserves to be CEO. Yoo-chul warns that his patience has limits, and Min-kyu retorts that he never told Yoo-chul to hold himself back.

Jia peeks out a window just as Yoo-chul looks up at the house on his way out. Min-kyu returns indoors and shows Jia photos of Chairman Hwang and Yoo-chul, calling them his archenemies. He warns Jia to hide if she ever crosses their paths because if they’re aware that she’s a robot, she could be in danger.

Min-kyu’s phone alerts him to Jin-bae’s arrival, and he asks Jia to bring coffee. Jin-bae reports that Yoo-chul plans to select the new head of the Social Contribution team but Min-kyu has plans to disband it. Jin-bae updates Min-kyu on his secret assignment and reports that Chairman Hwang visited the hotel where the buyer of Daeyang Shipbuilding is staying.

Carrying in coffee, Jia freezes when she sees her brother, and manages to keep her back to him as she serves him. When Jin-bae peers at her face curiously, she thinks fast to cover it with a curtain of hair.

Jia blames it on the wind and is introduced to Min-kyu’s head of investigations. Jia tries to walk away when Jin-bae comments on how familiar and lifelike she is, but Min-kyu orders her to stay. He asks about the lawsuit against President Jo, but Jin-bae mistakenly thought that it was dropped.

Min-kyu wonders how Jin-bae will last in his position with that kind of performance, and Jia has to watch as her brother bows deeply in apology. Min-kyu explains that President Jo has something that belongs to him and that he’ll sue if it’s not returned. On his way out, Jin-bae bows so low that he hits his head on the table and then stumbles down the stairs.

At their lab, Butler Sung calls out to the Santa Maria team to ask if they can fix something for him.

Jia seethes with anger as she follows Min-kyu and makes a threatening gesture at his back, which she passes off as pointing when he catches her. Jia asks how to categorize Jin-bae, as friend or foe. Min-kyu isn’t sure yet, but Jia declares that it’s obvious that Jin-bae is honest, hard-working, and determined.

Min-kyu agrees, since that’s exactly what was reported on Madame X’s file, along with a warning that he could be a spy or reporter. Min-kyu explains none of that tells him what Jin-bae will be like around him.

Min-kyu suddenly orders Jia to change her clothes because they’re going out. He stands there expecting her to change in front of him, but does leave when Jia sends him away. It gives her a chance to call her friend Sun-hye and tell her that she’s on her way.

Jia navigates Min-kyu on an unfamiliar route with the excuse that it’s a detour because of an accident. He complains that it will take longer, she snaps back, and he notices that his robot is getting testy with him.

Jia’s directions take them to KM Financial, where a protest over the cancellation of the entrepreneur competition is underway. When Min-kyu wonders why security hasn’t done anything, Jia reminds him that in a democracy people have a right to voice their opinions.

Min-kyu notes that a robot should side with her master, but she claims that robots side with justice. But she’s stunned when Min-kyu explains that the team leader of the Social Contribution team used the competition to embezzle funds and asks if she calls that justice.

In a restaurant, Min-kyu meets with DIRECTOR YEH, whom Aji-3 identifies as the father of “Damn It,” aka the girl in Min-kyu’s photo whom he’d called his first love.

Director Yeh asks if Min-kyu reviewed the investment for Geumho Steel, but Min-kyu reminds him that he doesn’t invest in companies, but buys them. Min-kyu thanks Director Yeh for his support at KM Financial but reports that Geumho Steel must either be sold or file for bankruptcy.

Director Yeh charges that while Min-kyu’s father expanded his company, the son preys on it. When Min-kyu expresses confidence that his father would support his decision, Director Yeh changes the subject with news that Ri-el is scheduled to return to Korea the next day.

On the drive home, Min-kyu is lost in thought and when Jia gently asks if his father is dead, she learns that his mother died too. When Min-kyu tells her that they were killed in a car crash fifteen years ago, it’s Jia’s turn to be pensive.

Jia slips into “friend mode” and jokes that she needs to iron out Min-kyu’s frown. When he laughs, she encourages him to smile more, telling him that smiles can’t be saved for later.

His spirits buoyed, Min-kyu agrees to smile only for her and when Jia asks why, he explains that he needs to look intimidating so that no one messes with him. Jia promises to beat up anyone who messes with Min-kyu and the two share a lighthearted laugh.

 
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Friend mode activated

At KM Financial, a director shows Yoo-chul a video of Santa Maria’s research featuring Aji-3, who learns that Daeyang’s late chairman met with his father to arrange funding. The director confides that Yoo-chul and Chairman Hwang are the only others who know of the research. Yoo-chul wants to know if Min-kyu knows anything and is assured that he wouldn’t keep that kind of information to himself because it would be a powerful weapon against them.

The Santa Maria team successfully restores Butler Sung’s X-ray machine, but Baek-gyun asks why he needs something like that. Butler Sung explains that it’s for Min-kyu’s safety and we see that in the past packages contained rotten food, broken glass, an ax from a company that he sold, and even a voodoo doll. With the scanner, no package enters the house unless it’s been cleared.

Min-kyu can’t sleep and clutches his chest as he wonders if something’s been planted in his heart. He removes a box from his cabinet and goes through his postcards from Ri-el, smiling at a cute mug.

The next day, YEH RI-EL (Hwang Seung-un) is in a taxi, and shares over the phone that she’s on her way to surprise someone.

Butler Sung drops off a stack of cleared boxes (including the one with the missing necklace) just when Ri-el pulls up to the gate. Min-kyu lights up to see his visitor and warns Jia not to come outside. When she asks who his visitor is, he tells her, “Ri-el. My first love.”

Min-kyu finds Ri-el on a bridge overlooking the garden and she marvels that nothing has changed. Jia peers at the pair, and Aji-3’s system lists all of Ri-el’s professional accomplishments.

Ri-el matter-of-factly shares that she’s the new leader of the Social Contribution department and Min-kyu assumes that Yoo-chul recruited her. Ri-el admits that she came back for a different reason: Her father wants her to marry Min-kyu for his money.

Despite being glad to see Ri-el, he steps back quickly when she moves closer to clasp Min-kyu on the shoulder. She tells him her answer: “Why not?”

At her touch, Min-kyu suffers a mild reaction but keeps it contained as Ri-el admits that she’d rather marry him than a stranger. Ri-el proposes a deal: “Give me your money and honor. Then I’ll promise you my father’s company shares for life.”

Ri-el grabs Min-kyu’s hand and suggests that even though it’s an arranged marriage, they should date. This time the skin-to-skin contact causes a more severe reaction, and Jia watches curiously when Min-kyu jerks his hand away. While his monitor turns orange, Ri-el reasons that three dates should be enough for her to decide on the marriage.

Min-kyu keeps his face averted and manage to hide his spreading rash from Ri-el, promising to call as he runs back to the house. He beelines for his off-limits room and fumbles with a drawer, reaching for the syringes inside. But he’s too weak to grab them, and by the time Jia finds him, Min-kyu is collapsed on the floor, struggling to breathe.

Jia sees the blisters on Min-kyu’s body and remembers what he told her to do if he ever became unrecognizable. As Min-kyu’s monitor turns an ominous red, Jia steels herself and raises a syringe into the air.

 
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If I ever become unrecognizable to you…

 
COMMENTS

Friend or foe. That simplifies Min-kyu’s predicament pretty succinctly and other than Butler Sung, it doesn’t look as if he has anyone squarely in the friend category. Everyone in his life wants something from him and so Min-kyu is understandably suspicious of anyone who crosses his path, which is why Jia as Aji-3 is such a breath of fresh air. Here is one being that Min-kyu wants to believe exists for him alone, without any ulterior motives. Interestingly, Min-kyu seems the most taken with Jia when her unpredictable personality invades her robot efforts. As much as Min-kyu is convinced that he’s training Aji-3, he’s the one being trained by Jia on how to live with a real live woman.

Ri-el’s re-entrance will of course complicate Min-kyu’s life, but rather than be an impediment to his relationship with Jia, I think that it may push them closer together. He can’t have any contact with Ri-el, which of course thwarts any marriage plans, but he doesn’t experience that limitation with Jia, so who will he spend time with and pour his heart out to? Ri-el may ultimately serve to make Jia jealous, which would clue her in to any burgeoning feelings for Min-kyu because for now, Jia falls in the foe category. I’m curious to see what Ri-el is really up to and where her loyalties lie. So far, I really like how honest and practical she is and that she’s the one connection to Min-kyu’s childhood that hasn’t been tainted, yet. But if she’s like everyone else from his youth, Ri-el is sure to break Min-kyu’s heart.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the comedy that resulted when the very human Jia had very human bathroom needs because I don’t usually like that kind of thing. Yoo Seung-ho and Chae Soo-bin have good comedic chemistry and it’s so much fun to watch the two of them that the bathroom humor didn’t bother me for a change. The household hierarchy, that cat mask, Jia going into standby mode after the house of cards was no more… There were so many laughs in this episode that I lost count. I know that there is angst on the horizon, but for now I appreciate the laughs, even the bathroom ones.

The insight into Jia’s past with Baek-gyun really tugged at my heart. It’s obvious that he’s not over her and that she had more of an impact on him than he had on her, especially because she wishes that she could forget him! It’s going to be torture for him to have to watch Jia and Min-kyu grow closer and develop feelings for one another. Baek-gyun’s dilemma is unique because he wove together his life’s work with his heart’s desire and there’s no way to separate them. He’s not a bad guy — like Min-kyu, he needs that one woman who can appreciate him — but it’s too bad that Baek-gyun wants that woman to be his ideal version of Jia.

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