Bring It On, Ghost: Episode 12

by LollyPip

This episode is everything I’ve been wanting for weeks, and more. Questions are answered, motives are unearthed, and a few new surprises arise to complicate events. Both Bong-pal and Hyun-ji will be forced out of their comfort zones once again, but with danger seemingly around every corner, I hope they can recover their amazing teamwork… and soon.

 
EPISODE 12 RECAP

Hyun-ji just barely manages to tell Bong-pal that she’s live before she starts to flicker and fade. Up in her room, Hye-sung attacks her comatose body with black mist until she flatlines, and Hyun-ji’s spirit disappears from Bong-pal’s arms. But just as Hye-sung smirks that he’s gotten rid of another threat, Hyun-ji’s doctors are able to revive her, and she opens her eyes.

Down in the parking lot, Bong-pal screams Hyun-ji’s name as tears streak his face. The world starts to spin around him, and he drops to the pavement, unconscious. Chun-sang and In-rang find him there and carry him into the hospital again.

Hyun-ji wakes to find a crowd of relieved faces around her — nurses, her doctor, and both of her parents. Her mother tells her that she’s been in a coma for five years, but she doesn’t remember anything about her accident. The doctor tells her parents that it’s normal to have some memory loss, and her memories will return eventually.

Hye-sung overhears Hyun-ji’s doctors talking about her miraculous recovery, and he lurks around her hospital room door. Inside, the entire family is crying — Hyun-ji’s parents for having have their daughter back, and Hyun-ji crying because they’re crying. Hye-sung watches them laughing and hugging, and smirks again.

Bong-pal’s collapse is chalked up to exhaustion — thank goodness, his head x-rays came out fine. Chun-sang mutters that Bong-pal’s had a hard time since Hyun-ji left, and In-rang innocently asks why. He finally figures out that Bong-pal is the guy Hyun-ji liked, and they guess that Bong-pal liked her back. Supportive bro-hug time.

Myung-chul tells his shaman friend that the monk he spoke to at the temple, told him that Bong-pal’s mother had planned another ritual before she died. They never got to perform it, and the monk doesn’t know where the ritual tool is located that they planned to use, and the chief monk at that time has now passed away.

It’s that ritual tool that Bong-pal’s father has been looking for all these years. Naturally, the demon is also looking for it, because whatever it is, it can end its existence. Myung-chul remembers a beaded bracelet breaking when Bong-pal was exorcised the first time, and quickly leaves.

Hye-sung goes back to his clinic and stares at Hyun-ji’s student ID, the one he stole when he tried to run her over. He wonders what to do with her now.

Myung-chul heads to Bong-pal’s place but finds it empty, and grows worried for him. He’s still resting at the hospital so Chun-sang answers his phone, and tells Myung-chul where they are. The monk rushes to see Bong-pal, and learns that it’s simple exhaustion.

Chun-sang and In-rang introduce themselves as Bong-pal’s college sunbaes and business partners, and Myung-chul grows upset at the idea that Bong-pal is actually in the ghost-hunting business. He recognizes the boys from when they ran into each other at the country inn, and blames them for getting Bong-pal into their moneymaking scheme.

Ouch, he nearly yanks Chun-sang’s ears off. He warns them never to rope Bong-pal into fighting ghosts again, then sets them to guard him while he talks to the doctor.

Hyun-ji is something of a hospital celebrity…. it’s not every day that someone wakes up after a five-year coma, and she seems to be recovering relatively well. She’s told to exercise her hands slowly and not to try to walk yet, but it looks like she’ll make a full comeback. The doctor and nurses all give her a little applause, but one man in the back seems unhappy.

In-rang goes on a snack run and sees the crowd gathered around Hyun-ji’s room, and hears everyone talking about the girl who woke up after a five-year coma. He cranes his neck to get a glimpse of the the girl — and immediately recognizes Hyun-ji. He runs back to Bong-pal’s room, where Bong-pal is waking from a nightmare of Hyun-ji’s last disappearance.

In-rang tells Bong-pal that Hyun-ji is here, and Bong-pal runs through the halls to find her. She’s alone when he locates her room, using her paper art to work on her hand strength, and Bong-pal is stunned for a moment to see that she’s alive.

He lets himself into the hospital room, but there’s no recognition in Hyun-ji’s eyes when she sees him. Bong-pal doesn’t notice and rushes in to hug her, but she shoves him away and asks warily who he is. Bong-pal looks stricken when he realizes that Hyun-ji doesn’t remember him, but her mother comes into the room so Bong-pal leaves, saying that he must have been mistaken.

He tells Chun-sang and In-rang that Hyun-ji doesn’t remember him, looking heartbroken and lost. The guys peek into the room and confirm that it is indeed their Hyun-ji, and when her mother wheels her out into the hallway, she doesn’t recognize them, either. Aww, In-rang’s little sadface.

They deduce that her spirit must have left her body for those five years she was in the coma, and only just now came back. Somehow she doesn’t remember anything that happened while she was in spirit form.

Bong-pal wanders out of the hospital, unable to forget the way Hyun-ji looked at him, like he was crazy or dangerous. Myung-chul finds him and fusses at him for hanging out with Chun-sang and In-rang, but he was obviously worried about him and offers to take him home. Bong-pal apologizes for yelling at Myung-chul, and the monk smiles that he’s all grown up.

The boys show up at Bong-pal’s place with his stuff, to tell him that Hyun-ji didn’t just forget him, but she forgot everything. They’d charmed a nurse into telling them that Hyun-ji can’t remember her accident either, but that the memory loss is only temporary. In-rang even says that he thinks Bong-pal should try to be there for her, though it looks like that was hard for him to say. Sweet boy.

Myung-chul overhears, and gapes at the news that Hyun-ji is alive. But he’s puzzled as to why Bong-pal is so upset, when it seems he should be celebrating.

Bong-pal goes to his room and stares at Hyun-ji’s toothbrush and books, which he didn’t throw away after all. He tosses all of her things into a bag, looking determined.

Ever the loyal friend, Chun-sang checks in with In-rang to make sure he was okay with telling Bong-pal to stay by Hyun-ji’s side. He had to know it would make them grow closer, so does this mean he’s giving up on her?

In-rang says that he’s just happy to see Hyun-ji happy, and that he’s got something more important to do… get revenge on the guy who did that to her. He asks if Bong-pal still has the card from the detective they met when their internet stalker died.

Detective Yang looks into the death of Hye-sung’s father, which was ruled a simple accident. He’d fallen from their fifteenth floor apartment balcony and died instantly from head trauma. Yang and his detective friend visit the apartment’s current occupant, and go straight to the balcony.

His friend says that it could only have been an accident, since there were no defensive wounds on the deceased, and his wife’s testimony ruled out suicide. He had been drinking a lot, so they assumed he was smoking outside and lost his balance. When the police had arrived to check out a passerby’s reports of a dead body, the man’s wife hadn’t even known he’d fallen.

The couple’s son, Hye-sung, had been thirteen years old then, and the detective had only briefly glimpsed the boy in his room. Hye-sung had slammed his bedroom door shut, and the detective never gave him another thought.

Detective Kim calls Detective Yang to warn him that the chief is looking for him, and to come back right away. Yang tells him that he doesn’t think Hye-sung’s father’s death was an accident, because the balcony railing is tall enough that it would be nearly impossible to lose his balance and fall — unless someone pushed him.

Hyun-ji goes through extensive physical therapy to gain her muscle strength back, and soon she’s walking slowly. She gets the green light to begin using crutches to walk. On her way back to the room she greets the doctor she saw in her room, but he seems surprised that she spoke to him. Is he a ghost? Can Hyun-ji see ghosts now?

She struggles to push her chair up a ramp alone, and loses her grip and starts to roll backwards. A hand catches her… it’s Hye-sung, nooo! He offers to take her back to her room, and makes pleasant small talk on the way. He asks about her accident, and confirms that she doesn’t remember anything about it, though she mentions that she’ll probably remember eventually.

Hyun-ji is back in her room when Bong-pal visits again, with the bag of her things from his place. He apologizes and explains that he didn’t realize she’d lost her memory, and even shows her his student ID to prove that he’s not some random weirdo. She asks who he is, and he introduces himself: “Park Bong-pal. Your boyfriend.”

That gets Hyun-ji’s attention, and she gapes when he calmly says that they’ve been living together. She reacts with maidenly horror, and he explains that it was when she was a ghost, while she was in the coma. He tells her that she followed him around relentlessly, and just smiles when she says indignantly that he’s not even her type.

He says it’s okay if she doesn’t remember everything yet, and that he’s just happy she’s alive. Then he snatches her new cell phone and gives her his number, hee. He says he came here today to give her stuff back, and when she realizes he means to keep coming every day, she warns him not to dare. Bong-pal just promises that he won’t stop until she recovers her memories. PFFT, he put himself in her phone as “ My Love Bong-Bong.”

Hyun-ji’s mother comments that the toothbrush and cup look exactly like the ones she used to have, which makes Hyun-ji pause. She opens one of the schoolbooks and finds the pictures from the Soondae Soup trip, and recognizes her handwriting on the one she drew herself into. That sparks a small memory, of Bong-pal apologizing to her on the dock that day.

Bong-pal proceeds to hang out at the hospital, opening doors and lurking to smile adorably at Hyun-ji whenever he sees her. Knowing how much she likes to eat, he makes her mountains of food, and soon Hyun-ji gets the news that she can go home in a few days. Awww, she actually pouts a little when he’s not in her room after her physical therapy like usual.

Hyun-ji spots Hye-sung introducing a fluffy little dog to some children, and they nod to each other. Afterward he explains to Hyun-ji that he’s volunteering, doing some animal-assisted therapy with the kids. He lets her hold the dog, but his face goes scarily slack when she’s not looking at him.

Myung-chul decides to visit Hyun-ji now that she’s recovering, but instead he meets her mother in her hospital room. He leaves a message for Hyun-ji that the mean monk who spoke to her harshly came by, and that he’s sorry.

Hyun-ji learns more about Hye-sung, and she tells him that she was planning to apply to the university where he teaches before she had her accident. He invites her to come sit in on one of his classes, which excites her, since she pretty much slept through her college years.

Myung-chul sees them talking on the picnic bench and wonders what Hye-sung is doing here. Bong-pal shows up and sees them too, and wonders out loud why Hyun-ji is with his professor. Myung-chul realizes that that’s Bong-pal’s Hyun-ji, and grows very distracted.

Bong-pal waits inside for Hyun-ji, and he ignores her prickly response to ask if she’s regained any memories yet. He wilts just a bit when she tells him to see a psychiatrist, but he perks back up and mentions that he brought lunch.

Hyun-ji turns it down flat — until he casually mentions that it’s meat, hee. This boy knows the way to his girl’s heart, alright. She accepts the food, though she warns him not to think she likes him now or anything. Okay, sweetie, we believe you.

Hyun-ji scarfs down the food, admitting that Bong-pal is a great cook, though she thinks it’s a little strange that he knows all of her favorites (Hyun-ji: “Are you my stalker??” Bong-pal: “You stalked me…”) Bong-pal just watches her eat, his feelings all right there in his eyes.

Knowing that something is up with Hye-sung, Myung-chul goes to the veterinary clinic and asks the nurse if he can use the restroom. He sneaks into Hye-sung’s office to look around, and finds Hyun-ji’s student ID in his desk. Hye-sung arrives back and hears that the monk is still here, and corners him in his office. Myung-chul just gives him a huge happy grin, totally onto him now.

After eating everything, Hyun-ji has to go meet with her doctor, and she turns down Bong-pal’s offer to walk her to her room. He touches her arm and she swings hard to push him away, but she ends up throwing her crutch and falling to the ground. Bong-pal reacts fast and throws his arm around her waist and himself under her, cushioning her fall.

Their lips nearly touch, just like the first time they fought and accidentally kissed. Hyun-ji jumps up and yells at him that she’s never kissed anyone before, but Bong-pal mutters that she’s already had her first kiss, pointing at his own puckered-up lips. Cute. Then Hyun-ji beats the crap out of him. Double cute.

Hyun-ji meets with a different doctor today, who tells her that her regular doctor is out. She notes that doctor Kim Jung-woo seems to be out lately too, the one who she saw standing over her the day she had her accident, and who was there when she woke. The nurse says they don’t have any doctors by the name of Kim Jung-woo. Strange.

Hyun-ji realizes that she’s missing her phone and goes back to the roof to find it. Bong-pal has it, and he checks to see that she’s changed his name in her contacts to “Crazy Stalker.”

Hyun-ji makes her way slowly through the dark hospital halls, unaware that someone is following her. She senses something and turns around, but the hall is empty. She turns back forward and there’s her follower, his face in shadow, and positively oozing black mist.

At the nurses’ station the doctors discuss Hyun-ji’s strange mention of a Dr. Kim Jung-woo, and one of them recognizes the name. He was a doctor at this hospital who died ten years ago, right here on hospital grounds. He murdered a patient on purpose during a surgery, then went to the commissary and ate a meal with blood all over him like it was normal. The police had been called, but he’d slit his own throat before he could be caught.

We see the face of the spirit following Hyun-ji, and it’s the same man she’s been seeing all over the hospital, the same man we just saw kill himself. He’s soaked in blood from a gash in his throat, and his name tag says “Kim Jung-woo.” ~shudder~

He hisses black mist at Hyun-ji, and she screams. Bong-pal hears her and comes running, just as the ghost looms over Hyun-ji and she shrieks his name: “BONG-PAL!!”

COMMENTS

Great cliffhanger! Though I’m worried about Bong-pal’s ability to see ghosts — I’m concerned that his bonk on the head may have affected his abilities, and we haven’t seen him encounter a ghost since then. What’s Hyun-ji going to do if he can’t see and fight off her attacker? She’s obviously not lost her spunk, but she’s too weak to fight ghosts on her own at the moment after five years stuck in a bed. How am I going to wait a week to find out if Bong-pal still has his ghost-fighting strengths?

On the other hand, I’m not at all surprised that Hyun-ji can now see ghosts — it’s another “twist” that many of you saw coming, and it makes narrative sense that being a ghost for five years would give her a unique ability that carries over after she revives. But somehow, in this case as well as the other not-so-shocking twists, I don’t even mind that it wasn’t much of a surprise because it makes sense within the story, and the universal rules the show has set up for itself. It’s all in the delivery, and Bring It On, Ghost has a way of giving us exactly what we expect in a way that seems fresh and sweet, so that we don’t even mind that we totally saw it coming because it’s exactly what we wanted.

Not that I ever stopped, but I adore Chun-sang and In-rang so very much right now. Chun-sang is just the best, most loyal friend a person could have… he’s always there to take care of In-rang or Bong-pal when they need it, and he’s surprisingly intuitive about what they’re feeling at any given time. He’s definitely he emotional center of the Soondae Soup club. In-rang is more of a go-getter, he’s the one who always gets things done and really, despite Chun-sang claiming to be the boss, In-rang makes all the decisions. In-rang is the muscle of the group, and I love that these two actually have the opposite roles of what we expected.

But when In-rang graciously pushed Bong-pal towards Hyun-ji and turned his attentions to getting the bastard who hurt her, I just melted into a puddle of goo. That’s real love right there, both for Hyun-ji and for Bong-pal, to put their happiness first and be willing to help from the shadows. I’m thrilled that the boys are getting involved in the hunt to stop Hye-sung, though I’m worried for their safety. But mostly I just love them, despite their quirks and craziness. Where can I get a couple of best friends like these two?

Speaking of love, I was so proud of Bong-pal for bucking up and choosing to get honest with Hyun-ji right away. Dramas have trained me to expect a period of angsty separation and secret-keeping, so I nearly cheered when he just flat-out told her that they were living together while she was a ghost. I knew Bong-pal would man up and be the pursuer now that the tables have turned, but with his past of being laughed at for talking about ghosts, I didn’t expect him to be so brave and confident about it. He took a big risk that Hyun-ji would think he was psycho and kick him out, and I just want to hug him for getting past all his social anxiety and deciding to get his girl no matter what. I feel like a proud mama right now.

It’s not often that we get to revisit the fun bickering and snarking of the first part of a drama, when the leads find each other annoying at best, and which was a particularly delightful phase of this show. I keep grinning like an idiot (really, like Bong-pal) every time Hyun-ji snipes at Bong-pal and he just smiles happily at her, because it’s such a reversal of their earlier relationship, when he was the grump and she was the relentlessly cheerful annoyance. I love the switch-up, and it’s just as adorable as I’d hoped. This is one thing I hope the show doesn’t move through too fast, because seeing these two snap at each other is honestly one of the highlights of my summer. Stay strong, Hyun-ji, don’t give him any slack quite yet!

 
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