Fox Bride Star: Episodes 9-10

by LollyPip

The employees at Incheon International face their first life-threatening emergency, and while some don’t show their best sides, others turn out to be quiet heroes. The crisis affects one member of the Terminal Two team very personally, prompting another to risk exposing a secret in order to help. The result may be irreversible, but in the best way possible.

 
EPISODE 9: “Human error”

While still at work, Soo-yeon’s entire right arm suddenly goes lifeless, and he drops the letter of apology (for disobeying the head of Customs) that he was carrying. He tries to make his arm move, but it refuses to respond, and he wonders if something was badly damaged when he was stabbed with the pen knife earlier.

In-woo enters the office and peers closely at Soo-yeon, asking if something is wrong. He picks up the letter Soo-yeon dropped, and as he holds it out, Soo-yeon’s hand becomes responsive again just in time for him to take it back. Seeing the duct tape on Soo-yeon’s sleeve, In-woo asks if he’s okay, but Soo-yeon says it’s too late — that’s a question In-woo should have asked twelve years ago.

Soo-yeon retreats to a storage room where he can check out his arm in private. It’s definitely damaged, and some biological material (at least I hope it’s not part of his actual arm) sloughs off from the spot where he was stabbed.

As a plane approaches the runway, a bird is sucked into one of the engines and causes a fire. The pilots struggle to keep the plane under control, and from the airport itself, it looks like a ball of fire is hurtling through the air. Yeo-reum, excited about her mother’s arrival tonight, gets a text about the emergency and is horrified to realize that her mother is on the damaged plane.

Dae-ki and Young-joo are part of the security team dispatched to be on hand when the plane lands. When Young-joo admits that this is her first emergency, Dae-ki mutters, “It’s my first time, too.”

Soo-yeon is near the tarmac when he gets the text, and then a call from Manager Gong to get to the scene. On the way, he spots Yeo-reum through a window at the terminal, looking stricken as she watches the plane descend.

Every available emergency vehicle heads to the runway, preparing for the inevitable injuries (or worse) when the plane lands. On the plane, attendants rush to get the passengers buckled in and prepared for a rough landing. Yeo-reum’s mother tells the young boy sitting next to her that he’s very brave, and he gives her a tight little smile.

As Yeo-reum watches, the plane plummets out of the sky, and the entire airport holds its breath. Amazingly, the pilots manage to touch down on the runway without too much trouble, and everyone heaves a sigh of relief. The plane’s crew prepares to evacuate the passengers, the fire trucks go to work putting out the engine fire, and Yeo-reum’s mom high-fives her young seatmate in relief.

Soo-yeon rushes to where Yeo-reum is waiting, and he has to stop her from running out to the plane and putting herself in danger. When he sees the look of extreme panic on her face, he asks what’s wrong, and she gasps, “My mom is on that plane!”

Eun-seob is worried since Yeo-reum isn’t answering his calls or texts. He gets in trouble for being on him phone during an emergency, but Manager Park calms down when Eun-seob tells him he knows someone on the plane, though he says they still have to do their jobs.

In-woo reports to Manager Kwon that the emergency landing was a success, and the engine fire is being put out now. They still don’t know how many people were injured, but Seo-koon is setting up an area in the terminal for any injuries to be treated, and for those uninjured to get food and water.

Manager Kwon puts Team Leader Lee in charge of handling the press, and gives In-woo authority over the landing site. The fact that nearly all other flights are delayed causes a lot of unhappiness with the airport’s other passengers.

Soo-yeon calls Seo-koon for an update on the plane that made the emergency landing, telling her that Yeo-reum’s mother is on the plane. Yeo-reum asks for permission to go to the plane, but Seo-koon tells her that she can either get back to work, or go to the family waiting area and wait. She does say it would be good if Yeo-reum came back to the office to help out since all flights are delayed, but adds that she’ll understand if Yeo-reum can’t.

After Seo-koon hangs up, Soo-yeon asks Yeo-reum hesitantly if she wants him to take her to the waiting room. She says she knows where it is, but he asks, “Do you want me to stay by your side? That’s what I’m asking you right now.” Something about the way he says it makes Yeo-reum stop and ask what he means.

He explains that just saying not to worry won’t help her feel better, and he knows she can’t go back to work, so he thought it might help if he just stayed with her. Yeo-reum seems disappointed that that’s all he meant, so she says she’s fine, and goes on alone.

Soo-yeon watches her go, then gasps like he momentarily forgot to breathe. He gets a text from a coworker to come back to the office because Manager Gong is angry, then thinks about Yeo-reum’s face when she told him her mother is on the plane, and he makes a decision.

He calls Yeo-reum and asks her mother’s name, then hangs up again. Claiming to be in charge of guiding uninjured passengers back to the terminal, he goes out to the plane, where passengers are just beginning to be evacuated.

On the plane, a male passenger is trying to get off ahead of the women and children, yelling that first class passengers should be evacuated first. Yeo-reum’s mom speaks up and tells the man to follow orders, but he snaps at her that women always want equality until inequality benefits them. Annoyed, she offers to wait until last with him if that’s what he’s mad about.

In the terminal, In-woo, who’s been told about Yeo-reum’s mother by Seo-koon, finds Yeo-reum sitting on the stairs trying to call her mom. He tells her that no passengers were seriously injured, and she’s grateful and relieved for the update. He offers to walk her to where the passengers are being taken after evacuation.

Outside, Soo-yeon asks the women traveling alone if they’re Yoon Hye-won, but Yeo-reum’s mom is still on the plane with the belligerent businessman. Suddenly the plane lurches, and the businessman jumps up, shoves Yeo-reum’s mom out of the way, and starts crowding his way to the front. Yeo-reum’s mom hits her head on a seat and crumples to the floor, badly hurt.

The businessman continues to push and shove people out of his way until he makes it onto the bus. He draws the attention of Dae-ki, Young-joo, and Soo-yeon, but for some reason, nobody stops him. Soo-yeon hears someone on the walkie-talkie say that a woman was injured on the plane, and Dae-ki sends Young-joo in to help. Before she goes, she notices that Soo-yeon isn’t where he was standing a moment ago.

A flight attendant helps Yeo-reum’s mom into a seat and tells her that he called the emergency team. While she’s alone, the flashing emergency lights start to make her feel sick. She closes her eyes, and someone — Soo-yeon — puts a cold pack on her forehead and tells her to keep her eyes closed.

He leans her back when he sees that her head is bleeding, doing his best to make her comfortable. He hands her a cup of water, and she drinks and hands it back. Soo-yeon’s arm goes limp again when he takes the cup, just as Young-joo and the emergency team arrive.

EPISODE 6 RECAP

When the emergency team come for Yeo-reum’s mom, she’s alone, but Young-joo sees the first aid kit abandoned on the floor. She looks around curiously, but a teammate makes her come with them. Soo-yeon hides in the back of the plane, willing his right arm to work again.

Eventually the fire is extinguished, and all the passengers are safely evacuated with no serious injuries. Seo-koon jokes to Team Leader Choi that the press almost seemed disappointed, and he tells her that he heard Yeo-reum’s mother was on the last bus.

Seo-koon finds Yeo-reum in the passenger evacuation area instead of the family waiting area, running around bringing the passengers water, and Yeo-reum says it’s the best place to find her mother. Seo-koon tells her that her mother is on the last bus just arriving and sends her off.

Team Leader Choi watches Seo-koon fondly as she takes over the work that Yeo-reum was doing, and In-woo comes up behind him and comments that Seo-koon acts strong, but she’s really tender-hearted. Team Leader Choi says frostily that he’s not interested in discussing Seo-koon with In-woo. In-woo asks if Team Leader Choi is still mad after two years, and Team Leader Choi snaps that he holds grudges.

Yeo-reum finally finds her mother being escorted into the terminal by Dae-ki and Young-joo. She runs into her mom’s arms and bursts into tears, and as they hug and cry, Dae-ki looks like he might cry himself (such a squishy bear!). Soo-yeon, his arm still hanging limply at his side, smiles a little as he watches from a distance, and only Young-joo sees him turn to go.

In-woo asks Team Leader Choi about Soo-yeon and his support device, curious to know if it was reported to Security Services and whether someone with a level one disability can live a normal life. Team Leader Choi says that Soo-yeon’s support device helps him, but when In-woo asks exactly what support device, Team Leader Choi thinks about Seo-koon’s request for him to forget what he knows and declines to comment.

While Yeo-reum’s mom watches her daughter comfort passengers, Seo-koon sits and introduces herself. Mom says that Yeo-reum must owe Seo-koon a lot, and Seo-koon just quips, “Yes, well,” making Mom chuckle.

The businessman is stopped by Security for purposely injuring another passenger during evacuation. The man claims it wasn’t him, but the attendant behind him says it was him, and when faced with handcuffs, the businessman submits to questioning.

The delayed planes begin boarding, and work continues as usual. Young-joo finally gets the chance to tell Dae-ki that Soo-yeon was at the accident site, but he thinks she mistook someone else for Soo-yeon, since he’d have no reason to be there.

Mom calls Yeo-reum, who’s been so busy she didn’t even notice her mother leaving for home. She tells Yeo-reum that her friend helped her on the plane — we see that she’d asked Soo-yeon who he was, and he’d simply said, “I’m Han Yeo-reum’s friend.” Confused, Yeo-reum asks at Security, and Dae-ki says it wasn’t them, but Young-joo tells her to ask Soo-yeon.

When Yeo-reum calls Soo-yeon, he doesn’t answer. He waits for Bartender Jang to pick him up, and when he arrives, Soo-yeon tells him that his legs work fine but his arm isn’t okay. Bartender Jang helps Soo-yeon into the car, and as they leave, Yeo-reum tries again to reach Soo-yeon.

She’s at her desk now, where Soo-yeon’s bag still sits in his chair, and Manager Gong complains that Soo-yeon was no help at all in the emergency. Seo-koon tells them that Soo-yeon said he’s not feeling well and went home early.

Eun-seob finally gets Yeo-reum on the phone and asks where she’s planning to sleep, having been kicked out of her apartment a few days early, but she just hangs up without answering. But Eun-seob sees her across the terminal, despite having claimed she’d already left the airport, and she’s carrying Soo-yeon’s bag.

Worried for Soo-yeon, Seo-koon visits the Fox Bride Star bar, but it’s closed. In-woo shows up, looking as surprised to see her as she is to see him. He says he hasn’t been here in twelve years — the last time was with a friend who was like a brother, but he got in an accident and injured his arm and leg, and In-woo hasn’t seen him since.

He adds that he recently saw that friend again, and Seo-koon asks why he’s telling her this. In-woo says he thought she might know why his former friend suddenly showed up in his life again, looking totally normal. Finally using Soo-yeon’s name, In-woo asks if she brought him to Terminal Two, or if Soo-yeon asked to come.

Bartender Jang works on Soo-yeon’s arm, taking it apart section by section until all that’s left is Soo-yeon’s own flesh and blood. He pulls a piece of metal out of the area where Soo-yeon was stabbed, mentioning that it’s good he can’t feel pain, and tells Soo-yeon that he’ll have to go without his device until it’s repaired. He says Soo-yeon will need to take a day off tomorrow, since it will take him a while to fix.

Soo-yeon admits that he was scared: “I was worried about people looking at me.” He remembers how people would stare at him when he was still in casts and a wheelchair, and says that he never wants to experience that again. Bartender Jang promised Soo-yeon that he won’t need to, and warns him not to be late tomorrow.

Soo-yeon thinks that all he’s ever wanted was a normal life. He declines another call from Yeo-reum, so she texts that she has his bag, and that she’s in front of the cafe where they first met. Soo-yeon agonizes over whether to go with his arm like it is, but eventually he shows, his hand shoved into his jacket pocket.

He steps close enough to share his umbrella with Yeo-reum, telling her blandly to hold it while he shrugs his bag over his shoulder. Yeo-reum asks what happened to his arm, but he says it’s none of her business. He turns to go, but Yeo-reum calls out, asking if he saw her mom.

When he stops, she runs out to cover him with the umbrella. She tells him that her mom said a friend of hers helped her, but he lies that it wasn’t him. He frustratingly answers all of her questions in the negative until she tells him that Young-joo saw him.

He asks why Yeo-reum came here, and she says she’s curious, and wonders if he likes doing anonymous good deeds. He says no, and that he also doesn’t like playing hero. Finally Yeo-reum asks, “Then, do you like me?”

There’s a long pause while the world slows down around them, then Soo-yeon answers, “Yes.” He turns to walk away, leaving Yeo-reum staring after him in shock.

 
COMMENTS

A confession so soon! And that was about as unambiguous as you can get – Yeo-reum won’t be able to pretend that Soo-yeon meant anything but exactly what he said. I love that he’s so open about how he feels but I really didn’t expect him to just blurt out the truth like that.

Soo-yeon and his feelings are killing me right now. You know that he hasn’t got much relationship experience because of the way he holds himself apart from people, which makes his willingness to be honest with Yeo-reum about the way he feels that much more touching. His hesitant offer to stay with her while she waited for her mother was so moving because it was the first time he let on that he felt more for Yeo-reum than just as a colleague, and I’m glad that she noticed the moment and what it seemed to mean, even if she did misunderstand at first. I wish she’d seen the way he had to remind himself to breathe, because that moment gave away more even than his question to her. It’s hard enough for anyone to admit that they care about someone, but for Soo-yeon, who’s been hurt badly in the past when he let himself love someone, just saying “I want to stay with you right now” is momentous.

I wasn’t expecting In-woo to be such a jerk, especially since he seemed pretty jovial, if annoying, when we first met him. I know there’s got to be a lot of history between him and Soo-yeon that we’ll uncover over time, but he feels so malevolent and hostile when there doesn’t seem to be any reason for it. He’s pursuing the truth as if Soo-yeon is at Terminal Two at him, and it just feels strange that he’s so angry just at Soo-yeon’s mere existence in his space. We still don’t know what happened the night of Soo-yeon’s accident, but before that, he and In-woo appeared to have a close relationship, so I’m very curious to know why In-woo never even bothered to find out if Soo-yeon lived, and what happened to make him so angry about Soo-yeon’s presence in Terminal Two.

The show is really dragging out the secret of Soo-yeon’s arm (and leg as well, apparently). Now we’ve seen that the prosthetic is not a permanent part of his arm — he still has his original arm, and the metal prosthetic fits on over it. But there’s still some deep, dark secret that he’s hiding that would shock people if they knew, and I can’t for the life of me think of any reason why he would have to guard the fact that he even wears a prosthetic so closely. It’s got to be something universally upsetting, because Soo-yeon is hiding from everyone besides Seo-koon, even Yeo-reum.

I really love the way this drama is filmed and edited, with soft, muted lighting and scenes that carry a lot of weight not so much because of what’s being said, but what’s left unsaid. Lee Je-hoon has a particular gift of subtlety, yet you can tell exactly what Soo-yeon is thinking even when he’s not saying it in words. I was particularly moved by the moment I already mentioned, when Soo-yeon asked Yeo-reum if she wanted him to stay with her, because even though his words were simple and straightforward, his eyes and expression said so much more. It’s as if he was pleading with Yeo-reum to ask him to stay, but she was too distraught to see it. The show is full of such emotionally loaded scenes, and it actually makes it more difficult to recap because you just can’t describe those moments in words, but watching them is such a lovely, moving experience. I’m so happy that Fox Bride Star has settled into itself, and I’m enjoying it so much more than I originally thought I would.

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