Jugglers: Episode 15

by LollyPip

With their lives separated both at work and at home, Chi-won and Yoon-yi will learn whether their relationship can stand on its own without external support. But they can’t relax, because there are forces gathering that would love to destroy them for good. Hopefully they can find a way to fight back without stooping to the level of their enemies.

 
EPISODE 15: “This seat will always be yours”

Director Bong calls a sudden meeting and announces that the video department is one of the departments being considered for dissolution. Shooting pointed glares at Chi-won, he says that they’ll be evaluated on adequacy, professionalism, integrity, and performance, and that the decision will be made by the end of the month.

Chi-won asks about the departments who survive the dissolution, and whether the department heads will have authority over personnel assignments. Director Bong promises to allow it.

After the meeting, Executive Director Jo asks Director Bong why he agreed to Chi-won’s request, knowing that Chi-won would reassign Yoon-yi back to his department. LOL, Director Bong just removes his jacket to teach Executive Director Jo a lesson.

Chi-won refuses a replacement assistant, telling Team Leader Gong that her desk will stay empty until she’s back. He imagines her at work again, sweetly telling her image that he doesn’t want anyone else sitting in her seat.

The real Yoon-yi sends him a cute little text later, saying that she’ll wait until he rescues her from the villain. She smiles when he responds, then she gapes in horror to get a call from “Misery,” her nickname for Director Bong’s scary wife.

Director Bong belatedly warns her that Misery will be calling, but he says not to worry because he’s told her there was never anything between them. Then before Yoon-yi gets the idea that he’s being nice, Director Bong criticizes her chunky heels, ordering her to put on skinnier heels immediately.

Yul pouts in his office, upset that Jung-ae hasn’t come back to work yet and isn’t answering any of his texts. He thinks wistfully of the times she cooked for him, stood up for him, and even comforted him while he cried for his mother. He has her hundredth day at work marked on his calendar, and he grumbles that he thought she’d be his first assistant to make it that long.

The video department carries on with their plan for the whistle-blowing program, and Bo-na breathlessly reports to Executive Director Jo that their first episode will focus on his department. Furious, Executive Director Jo runs down to Chi-won’s office ready to kick down his door, but Chi-won is waiting for him.

He opens the door, sending Executive Director Jo careening across his office, where he accidentally grabs one of Chi-won’s cacti, hee. His hand (not to mention his dignity) wounded, he bellows at Chi-won and his team. He threatens to fire them all once he’s vice president, and to sue them for defamation for accusing him of unfair work distribution.

Chi-won just says that he has a lot to say about that and tells Executive Director Jo to be on his toes, pushing his glasses up with that cheeky middle finger. HA.

Despite his confidence in front of Executive Director Jo, Chi-won tells his team that they can’t air their story with the shaky evidence they have. He orders them to get out there and get what they need so they can broadcast, and quick.

Back in his office, Chi-won uses the last of his nicely sharpened pencils from Yoon-yi and gives a heavy sigh. The intern comes in with coffee, which Yoon-yi taught him to make like Chi-won likes, then Team Leader Gong brings him fresh pencils, having been taught how to sharpen them properly by Yoon-yi before she left.

Chi-won realizes what Yoon-yi must have done, but he texts her anyway to say, “I still need you.” Awww, sweet.

Executive Director Jo takes Director Bong to dinner to beg him to get rid of Chi-won and his department in the reshuffle, promising to return the favor when he’s vice president. Director Bong’s eyes grow sharp at that, and he makes fun of Executive Director Jo for trying too hard, comparing him to the still-gasping fish they’re in the process of eating.

As Director Bong takes a bite of fish, Executive Director Jo says that he should watch what he eats or he could get sick. He plays the seniority card, only to have Director Bong laugh that he started work sooner because he didn’t go to a real college.

Executive Director Jo snipes back at Director Bong, saying that it’s truly amazing how he always has several women on the hook at once. After dinner, he meets with one of his faceless lackeys and tells them to do a background check on Director Bong, particularly the women he’s dated. He chuckles that he’ll be the one deciding who gets cut.

Desperate to see Jung-ae, Yul goes to her house and calls Gun-woo to let him in. He looks around her modest apartment and jokes that she lives in a palace since she’s a queen (“wang-bi,” his nickname for her), but she’s not amused. Yul asks when Jung-ae is coming back to work, but she says she’s not coming back at all.

She tells Yul that she’s just a fake and a housewife, not a queen, so she’s going to go back to being a mom. He pouts, asking if she’s just going to throw him away, and if she plans to abandon her e-sports youth team idea. He refuses to allow her to resign and flings himself down on her couch in protest, saying that he’ll just work from there from now on.

Frustrated, Jung-ae leaves the house with Yul right on her tail. He stops her and asks her to stay just until her hundredth day, since he’s never had anyone stay that long. Growing serious, he says, “Wang-bi, if you leave too, I don’t think I’ll ever have anyone on my side.” That’s not fair — how can she say no to that puppy pout??

Exhausted, Chi-won lays back in his desk chair and closes his eyes to rest. He’s woken up by a cup of coffee wafted under his nose, and he opens his eyes to see Yoon-yi there, smiling at him. He pulls her into his lap, and when she objects, he mumbles that it’s just a dream.

But Yoon-yi pinches his cheek, convincing him that she’s really there. Chi-won notices that she’s taller, and she shows him her heels, saying that she’s not used to wearing them anymore. Chi-won says sweetly that he’ll have to make is so she can wear the shoes he bought as soon as possible.

Hwangbo Minion was watching Jung-ae and Yul, and he approaches Jung-ae once she’s alone. He shows her the lawsuit that the family plans to file against her. He says that they were going to overlook her identity theft, but Yul keeps blowing things up.

He tells Jung-ae to choose wisely, because Yul is a child who can’t protect her. But Yul finds them and reads the papers, then tears them up. In a strong voice, he tells Hwangbo Minion not to do this again, and that he’ll make the decisions regarding Jung-ae.

Hwangbo Minion retorts that he can’t do anything without the elders’ permission, but Yul sends him back with a message — that he’ll choose his own assistant, and do whatever he wants with his business.

Once they’re alone, Jung-ae says again that she’s not confident she can come back to work. Yul asks her to trust him just this once, promising to protect her and make their project a success.

At the end of the day, Chang-soo invites Yoon-yi to out dinner to talk. The rest of the team lurk outside Chi-won’s office, and a hilarious wrestling match ends with Team Leader Gong being flung through the doorway towards Chi-won. Chi-won doesn’t feel like going out, so everyone just runs in to literally kidnap him, hee.

During their dinner, Chang-soo promises Yoon-yi that he’ll work hard so that she’s not ashamed of the five years she spent with him. He also says that he’ll make sure to bring her back to their department, and she stares at him for a long time before telling him to keep his promises.

Over drinks, Team Leader Gong asks Chi-won if he’s having a hard time without Yoon-yi around. He says that they’ve come here often to badmouth him, which relieves their stress and unites them against a common enemy.

The others say that they know he doesn’t like them, but that he doesn’t need to struggle alone. In response Chi-won pours them each a drink just like Yoon-yi showed him how to do, as a sign of respect.

Later, Yoon-yi sits at home trying on her shoes from Chi-won. She calls him and hears his phone ringing, and she finds him sitting on their bench outside her door. He’s very drunk and says he just woke up here, guessing that his instincts led him to her.

He pulls Yoon-yi to sit beside him and she exclaims over his freezing hands. She invites him to come in, but he grumbles forlornly that if he stays much longer then he won’t want to leave. Yoon-yi asks if that’s a bad thing, and Chi-won says that he promised to fight and win, but if he comes inside then he’ll just want to play with her.

He suddenly remembers something, and he pulls a bandage from his pocket and fumbles it onto Yoon-yi’s foot. He slurs that he saw her rubbing it earlier and thought her shoes were cutting her. Yoon-yi looks like she could cry from how sweet he is right now.

Chi-won yawns and lays his head on Yoon-yi’s shoulder, asking her to let him stay like that for a minute. She breathes on his hands to warm them, and mumbles sleepily, “You’re so warm, Jwa Yoon-yi-sshi…”

Jung-ae goes to Gun-woo’s room to talk to him, telling him not to get any more part-time jobs even if she has to give him less allowance for a while. He asks if she’s going back to work, and she says she’s not sure. Gun-woo tells her to do what she wants and not to worry about him, then goes back to his game.

Once his mom leaves the room, he tells the person he’s chatting with in the game that he said what they asked him to say. HAHA, he’s playing with Yul, who tells Gun-woo that he did well.

When Yul gets to work the following moring, he finds Jung-ae in his office preparing for the day. Yay, she came back! She says she’s just going to finish her hundred days, and Yul overcomes his disappointment to present her with the new employee badge he had made, with her real name on it.

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A new badge with your real name

Director Bong plans to interview the heads of the departments up for dissolution, and he directs Yoon-yi to send in Chi-won first. He doesn’t listen when Chi-won explains that his department’s success can’t be quantified with data, insisting instead that he’s a poor performer.

He notices Chi-won’s affectionate expression when Yoon-yi brings them drinks, so he mentions the lingerie that Yoon-yi bought yesterday and asks her if she’s covering for him with his wife, just to relish Chi-won’s reaction. He tells Chi-won that she’s a pro at handling these situations, patting her on the arm.

Chi-won sees Yoon-yi stiffening up at Director Bong’s touch. He reminds Director Bong calmly that he almost punched him once before, and how he acted like such a coward. He’d told Director Bong then that he wouldn’t miss during the main event.

Once their meeting is over, Yoon-yi wants to go to Chi-won, but she hesitates. Suddenly he yanks her into the stairwell and pulls his coat around her protectively, grinning that he knew she’d come. She says sadly that he must be disappointed in her, but Chi-won says that it’s all in the past, and the future is what matters.

She asks what she should do if Director Bong asks her to do those things again. He says that she shouldn’t do things that hurt someone, but that he trusts her to make the right decision. They both jump when Misery’s ringtone goes off (a screeching horror-movie sound effect, ha), and Yoon-yi gets an idea and asks Chi-won to help her.

Watch the video

I trust you to make the right decision

She arranges to meet with Misery, who walks in looking as intimidating as usual. Yoon-yi starts off by apologizing for lying to her, but Misery stops her, saying that he knows her husband has a different girl for every day of the week. She takes out five cell phones used by the five assistants Director Bong has had since Yoon-yi, all of whom quit after covering for him.

Misery bursts into angry tears, and she tells Yoon-yi that she wants revenge. Yoon-yi says that she needs solid proof, offering to help Misery and asking if she can borrow the phones. She calls Chi-won and they discuss their plan.

She scuffs her heel, and takes it to Bo-na’s father for repair. Bo-na runs into Yoon-yi while bringing her dad lunch, but she hides the food and blurts out that she’s also got a broken shoe.

Bo-na goes inside, but she’s surprised to see the leftovers of a lunch box in her dad’s trash can. When she asks, he says that the young lady who just left brought him lunch, and that in fact, she regularly eats or has coffee with him. That gives Bo-na something to think about.

She sees Yoon-yi in the elevator later and asks her to go for a drink. Yoon-yi reminds Bo-na that she’d pretended not to know about her and Chi-won to keep Yoon-yi from feeling uncomfortable. She confesses that she’s been doing the same thing in regards to Bo-na’s father.

Not only has Yoon-yi been bringing him food and spending time with him, but she’s also taught herself some sign language so they can talk. She tells Bo-na that she hated her a little because she’s so good at everything, but that her father told her that Bo-na never sleeps more than four hours a day.

She says that she couldn’t hate Bo-na once she learned that she gives everything she has to her father. Bo-na wipes her tears and says that Yoon-yi has the right to hate her, but instead, Yoon-yi smiles and says that the first thing Bo-na’s father taught her to say in sign language is “pretty daughter.”

As Bo-na starts to cry in earnest, Yoon-yi tells her, punctuated with signs, “Please return to being the great assistant, Ma Bo-na, again.”

Yoon-yi leaves, and she calls in Kyung-rye, who finds Bo-na still in tears. Kyung-rye remembers that they used to come here all the time to buy Yoon-yi drinks when her sunbaes were mean to her, and today she pours Bo-na a drink.

Chi-won finds Yoon-yi at the bus stop, claiming that he was just wandering by even though he’s obviously out of breath. Yoon-yi teases that he’s a lot nicer to her now that they don’t live and work together, then reminds him that he still has to pay rent for his apartment, hee.

The next day, Yoon-yi gets to work on her revenge plan for Misery. She meets with the assistants who worked for Director Bong since she left, and luckily they were smart enough to get evidence against him in case he tried to frame them, too.

Later Yoon-yi goes to see Chi-won at Yul’s house, and her face at the sight of their matching orange tracksuits is simply priceless. She turns over the assistants’ evidence to Chi-won, who says that he’ll put everything together and send it to a reporter.

When Director Bong gets to work, Yoon-yi tells him that there’s a pretty young woman for him at the front desk. The jerk doesn’t even know which of his girlfriends it might be, but he heads downstairs eagerly.

Only, instead of a pretty young woman, he finds himself mobbed by reporters. They bombard him with questions about his girlfriends, his hotel trysts billed to the company, and the fact that he framed his assistant.

Director Bong denies everything, but he freezes when he spots Yoon-yi getting off the elevator with Chi-won. He knows instantly that this is her doing when she pushes her hair behind her ear with her middle finger, PWAHAHA.

Chi-won steps forward to say that he warned Director Bong he would protect his friend’s dream. He informs Director Bong that nothing newsworthy is happening, so this story should be good for at least a solid week, offering him a sarcastic congratulations.

Director Bong snarls that Chi-won will be sorry for this, but his expression turns to one of abject terror when he turns to see Misery striding his way. She grabs him by the tie and asks if he’s been having fun, and he wisely begs for his life. She says that she won’t kill him, but that he’ll be begging for death by the time she’s through with him.

She pulls Director Bong by the tie past the reporters and YB Group employees. She turns to give Yoon-yi a jaunty salute, then drags her cheating husband to his doom.

Nearby, Executive Director Jo enjoys the show, even taking pictures with his fancy camera. Yoon-yi crows to Chi-won, “Mission clear!” But he says that the real mission begins now, and they both turn to point an ominous finger directly at Executive Director Jo as if to say, “You’re next.”

Epilogue.

On the night the team kidnapped Chi-won, he’d gotten so drunk that he’d started mistaking each of them for his Raccoon. So they took him to his Raccoon, dropping him off on the bench in front of Yoon-yi’s house.

It had been quite an operation, taking three of them to half-carry him up to the house while he bellowed that he was not at all drunk. HAHA, he even kissed anyone who came within range. So that’s how he got there that night!

 
COMMENTS

THAT WAS BRILLIANT. And what Yoon-yi and Chi-won did is nothing compared to the smackdown Director Bong is about to receive at the hands of Misery. His career may as well be over now that it’s out that he was using company funds to meet with his girlfriends, and it was brilliant of them to hand him over to his wife. If anyone has earned the right to issue that well-deserved smackdown even more than Yoon-yi for Director Bong’s slander of her reputation, it’s the wife that Director Bong has been betraying for years.

I really appreciate how Chi-won and Yoon-yi used their time apart to strengthen their bond, instead of letting it pull them apart emotionally. Particularly with Yoon-yi being asked to do reprehensible things by Director Bong again, it was nice to see Chi-won saying, “This is what I believe, but I trust you,” instead of making her feel bad or just sweeping it under the rug. When they first met, he judged her harshly for the things she did for her boss, accusing her of compromising her principles. But now he knows that she was simply doing what she had to do to survive, and he trusts her enough not to judge her for it anymore.

Even Yoon-yi pointed out that the semi-separation has been good for them, because it let them just be a couple instead of letting work and landlord issues get in the way. Those things were great for connecting them in the first place, but it’s been nice to see them become even closer without those outside influences pushing them together. It gives me hope that they can last, whether they continue working together or not.

I don’t know why I was surprised that Yoon-yi already knew about Bo-na’s father, because it’s completely in line with who she is as a person. She’s incredibly observant, and she tends to do most of her caretaking behind the scenes, so that the person she’s taking care of doesn’t even know it’s happening until it’s a done deal. And of course she not only knew about his disability, but she even taught herself sign language in order to communicate with him. It was sweet of Yoon-yi to try to understand Bo-na instead of hate her, and also not to use what she knew to get back at Bo-na for the way she’s mistreated Yoon-yi. She sets such a good example of always approaching every situation with love and compassion — Yoon-yi isn’t perfect, but she gives people the benefit of the doubt even when they’ve wronged her, which is a wonderful way to live.

Now that Director Bong is out of the way — I doubt he’ll ever be able to look Yoon-yi in the face again — I’m guessing that Yoon-yi will go back to working for Chi-won. Director Bong’s takedown was so great, and so humiliatingly public, that I really can’t wait to see what they have in store for Executive Director Jo. Director Bong was mean, but he didn’t have a vendetta like Executive Director Jo has against Chi-won. Executive Director Jo has been consistently devious, and has specifically and repeatedly targeted Chi-won and Yoon-yi, even as far back as getting Yoon-yi to be Chi-won’s assistant because he knew it would upset Chi-won. Executive Director Jo’s schemes may be mostly ineffective, but he deliberately hurt both Chi-won and Yoon-yi,. and he needs to be taught a lesson that he’ll never forget. I’m sure that whatever Chi-won and Yoon-yi have planned, it will be perfectly calculated to hit him where it hurts the most.

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