Woohoo Waikiki: Episode 10

by LollyPip

Dong-gu has a lot on his mind these days, and between his currently nonexistent career and his problematic love life, the poor guy can barely hold himself together. In fact, nearly everyone in the Waikiki guesthouse is falling apart for one reason or another, but luckily their distress is as hilarious for us as it is horrifying for them.

 
EPISODE 10: “My love, Olivia/A simple confession”

Drunk, and moved at the lengths Joon-ki went to to get her to her job interview, Seo-jin kisses him on impulse. Joon-ki blinks in confusion, but he also doesn’t pull away.

At the house, Soo-ah finds Dong-gu morosely cleaning his camera. He tells her that he can’t figure out the answer to her question of whether he’s ready to deal with Yoon-ah’s issues, so she invites him to drink with her.

Seo-jin and Joon-ki stumble home, and when Joon-ki tries to direct Seo-jin to her room, she shoves him away. He careens into the Information desk, knocking Dong-gu’s camera to the floor and breaking it. Oh nooo. Terrified, he shoves the pieces under the desk.

In the morning, Soo-ah learns that the detective who’s trying to track down the guy who swindled her is getting nowhere. Doo-shik says that to get over Mal-geum, he plans to start writing his web novel again since his fans have requested “The President is Bruce Lee — Season Two.” LOL, I highly doubt that.

Dong-gu and Soo-ah wander to the kitchen for breakfast. Joon-ki and Seo-jin are still sleeping, and Soo-ah notes that they seem pretty tight even though they constantly fight. She thinks they’ll end up dating, but Dong-gu loudly objects that Joon-ki isn’t good enough for his precious baby sister.

They finally come to breakfast, where Dong-gu peppers them with questions about their evening. They both groan that they blacked out and can’t remember much. They work through the events of the night, which mostly seem to consist of, “We drank soju, then we drank more soju, and next we had some soju,” hee.

Simultaneously, Seo-jin remembers the kiss and Joon-ki recalls breaking Dong-gu’s camera, and they both gasp in horror. Dong-gu is suspicious, but both Seo-jin and Joon-ki swear that nothing at all happened last night. Joon-ki goes to check, and sure enough, there are the pieces of Dong-gu’s camera under the Information desk.

He finds Seo-jin to ask if she remembers what happened last night, and she confirms that she does. Seo-jin asks if they can keep it (the kiss) a secret, but Joon-ki worries that Dong-gu will find out about it (the camera) anyway. Seo-jin argues that Dong-gu didn’t even see it (the kiss), and she talks Joon-ki into keeping quiet.

Doo-shik works on his web novel at his convenience store job, wondering how to write Season Two when he killed off the main character in Season One (The answer: He becomes a zombie, because of course he does). He helps a customer find a particular brand of Thai ramyun, and the way the man pronounces the brand name reminds him of Soo-ah’s boyfriend, who could speak Thai.

Yoon-ah asks Dong-gu to watch Sol again while she goes to class. He notices the mess at the Information desk and finds the pieces of his camera and starts screaming at everyone. He accuses Joon-ki, then Seo-jin, of breaking the camera, then he calls Doo-shik to accuse him. Seo-jin and Doo-shik say it wasn’t them, but Joon-ki just stands there looking like he’s going to throw up.

Seo-jin goes to her room to wonder what on earth possessed her to kiss Joon-ki. He comes in to say that he wants to tell Dong-gu about it (the camera) because he’s scared to death he’ll find out on his own. Seo-jin argues that it doesn’t matter how Dong-gu finds out about it (the kiss), because they’re dead either way. I’m cracking up at how they’re talking about two completely different things.

Soo-ah rushes to the convenience store when Doo-shik calls her, but she’s frustrated that the detective handling the case doesn’t seem very interested that they may have seen the swindler. She decides to keep a lookout herself, so she dresses in the store’s employee uniform to blend in.

Doo-shik leaves her at the counter while he goes to organize the shelves. A customer comes in and demands that she fetch him a soda and candy bar, but Soo-ah objects. Jerkface snaps that she has to do what the customer says, calling her a rude part-timer.

Soo-ah looks ready to leap over the counter at Jerkface, but Doo-shik gets the guy his items and smooths things over. Jerkface throws some money at Soo-ah and drops his candy wrapper on the floor, saying that her pay includes cleaning. Okay, now I’m ready to punch his lights out.

After he leaves, Doo-shik tells Soo-ah that Jerkface owns a restaurant across the street and that he’s always like that, so it’s best to just avoid him. She exclaims that Doo-shik is a pushover.

At school, Yoon-ah runs into Handsome Dad Hyung-joon, who notices that she’s a bit down. She says that she’s behind in class, and that she has nowhere to practice. Hyung-joon takes her to his own bakery, leads her to the kitchen, and asks her to make the donuts they learned in class.

Dong-gu shuffles home sadly after learning that his camera is too damaged to be fixed. He tells Joon-ki that the camera’s name is Olivia, and that he worked construction for a year to buy her. He starts to cry, which sets off Joon-ki, and they both sob Olivia’s name.

Seo-jin is watching Sol in her bedroom, wondering if she was passed over for the job again. Joon-ki comes in to insist that they need to tell Dong-gu about it (the camera) because he’s out there crying, but Seo-jin doesn’t understand what his crying has to do with it (the kiss). Joon-ki calls her heartless, especially when she says that it was just a drunken mistake.

Doo-shik answers a call from Jerkface, who instructs him to bring five servings of ramyun to his restaurant. Soo-ah follows Doo-shik into the restaurant and witnesses Jerkface yelling at Doo-shik for being late then tossing some cash on the floor. Seeing Doo-shik forced to kneel is more than she can tolerate, so she parks Doo-shik at a table and requests service.

In a sugary-sweet voice, she orders their meat cooked, even though they’re supposed to grill it themselves. Jerkface balks, and she repeats his words that he’s supposed to do as the customer says. He objects to her use of banmal, but Soo-ah just trills that she thought customers were supposed to talk down to employees.

She blows her nose into a tissue and drops it on the floor, giving Jerkface an angelic smile as she says that cleaning is included in the cost of the meal. She fakes great offense at the way he speaks to her, and when she starts to draw attention from other customers, Jerkface reaches out to touch her shoulder.

Soo-ah gasps loudly, clutches her shoulder, and accuses Jerkface of hitting a girl. She pretends to be terribly injured, and she wails at the top of her lungs as Jerkface flounders. HAHA, I think I love her.

She gets Jerkface to mumble a nervous apology to her and Doo-shik, complete with deep bows. She informs him that Doo-shik may seem like a fool, but he’s his mother’s precious child and shouldn’t be treated badly. She warns him not to do it again, and her shoulder makes a sudden, miraculous recovery.

Doo-shik can’t thank Soo-ah enough for what she did for him, and she tells him not to let people take advantage of him anymore. She sighs that her purse is heavy and tells Doo-shik to carry it for her, then orders him to buy her some ddukbokki. Poor Doo-shik can’t figure out how she can tell him not to be taken advantage of, then take advantage of him, all in the same breath, ha.

Hyung-joon declares Yoon-ah’s donuts delicious, and he asks why she wants to be a pastry chef. She confesses that she’s sloppy and makes a lot of mistakes, but that people always praise her pastries. She says it’s her dream to open a bakery like his, so that Sol can do whatever she wants in life. Hyung-joon offers her the use of his kitchen any time she wants to practice, beaming at her excitement.

That night, Joon-ki has a nightmare that Dong-gu’s broken camera, Olivia, is sitting on his stomach crying. Olivia sobs that Dong-gu loved her and Joon-ki ruined everything, and she asks how long he can hide the truth. She creeps up his tummy towards his face as blood begins to seep from her lens. Well, that was creepy as hell.

Joon-ki understandably freaks out, and he runs to Seo-jin’s room to tell her that he’s going to confess. She follows him upstairs, where Dong-gu is lovingly cleaning Olivia’s broken lens. Seo-jin stops Joon-ki from confessing, but Dong-gu gets curious and asks what they’re fighting about.

Joon-ki gives Seo-jin one last chance to come clean, so she blurts out, “Yesterday we drank, and Joon-ki and I kissed.” Joon-ki is all, “Yes, we kissed… wait, what?” PFFT. It’s impossible to tell who’s more scandalized, Joon-ki or Dong-gu.

Joon-ki yells that he was talking about breaking Dong-gu’s camera, and Dong-gu screams. He looks like his brain is melting as he sums up — they got drunk, then they kissed, then they broke his camera. HA, he can’t even process so much badness all at once.

He chases them downstairs where they lock themselves in Seo-jin’s room, which definitely doesn’t help Dong-gu calm down. He pounds on the door for a few minutes, then everything goes quiet.

Seo-jin and Joon-ki relax, and Joon-ki asks Seo-jin if it’s they really kissed. He accuses Seo-jin of getting him drunk on purpose, then they flee for their lives when Dong-gu bursts through the bedroom window.

Once he catches them, Dong-gu makes them kneel, and he almost has a stroke just thinking about Joon-ki kissing his sister. Seo-jin promises it was a mistake and says that Joon-ki isn’t even her type. Joon-ki snaps that she’s not his type either, and they start bickering again until Dong-gu orders them not to go near each other again.

Later, Yoon-ah asks Dong-gu if he’s mad at her, having noticed how distant he’s been with her lately. He says there’s nothing wrong, but he’s not very convincing.

He tells Soo-ah that he can’t stop liking Yoon-ah even though he tried, confessing that he just keeps liking her more and more. She asks what he likes about Yoon-ah, and he says with a sigh, “I don’t know. I don’t know what I like about her, or why I like her.”

As he walks past a bus stop, Dong-gu notices some movie posters (there’s “If Only” again…), and he wonders if he can really be a director or if it’s only a pipe dream. He runs into a director acquaintance, who tells Dong-gu that he’s hiring staff for a movie he’s making. He offers Dong-gu a spot on his team, but Dong-gu feels uncertain and says he’ll think about it.

When he gets home, he tells Seo-jin and Yoon-ah about the director’s offer, and Seo-jin yells at him for considering taking the job. She snaps that he won’t earn much money, worried that they’re in danger of losing the guesthouse again. Dong-gu fires back that he won’t do it then, and Yoon-ah seems worried about him.

Seo-jin gets a call, and she announces in a stunned voice that she got the job. It takes a moment to sink in, then they all jump up in excitement. Joon-ki walks in and hears the news, and he runs at Seo-jin to hug her. Dong-gu intercepts him, so he settles for congratulating her from a safe distance, ha.

She goes in the next morning for her first day at work, where she’s told that she’ll be working in the entertainment department. She announces her name to the room, but only one reporter speaks to her. She sneers that Seo-jin isn’t working yet, and mentions that there’s a contestant currently on King of Masked Singer (a show where celebrities sing wearing masks in order to be evaluated purely on their talent) whose identity nobody can discover.

With a sneer, she orders Seo-jin to find out who he is. She’s obviously setting up Seo-jin to fail, especially when she adds that Seo-jin has to get a picture of the contestant’s face.

Seo-jin heads to the studio where the show is filmed, but the bouncer refuses to let her in. She hears a familiar voice and spots Joon-ki in the lobby, arguing with a PD over the fact that thought he was going to play opposite the lead in a drama, but instead he’s currently wearing a large pink octopus costume.

She asks if Joon-ki knows the real identity of “Blushing Webfoot Octopus” on King of Masked Singer, but the PD says that nobody is allowed to know.

Dong-gu heads to the photography studio where he’s been working, and his friend asks him to work on a project for a client who wants a video about their child’s growth since birth. Dong-gu jumps at the chance to make the video however he wants, and he wonders how to best tell the story.

He decides he needs more footage, so he has the parents bring the baby back in. But his attempts to make the baby smile are no more successful than before, so he calls in the expert — Yoon-ah. He dresses her in a green screen outfit and has her lay on her back holding the baby in the air, and although it’s exhausting, Yoon-ah can’t help but notice how happy it makes Dong-gu to be behind the camera.

Joon-ki takes a bathroom break, and while he’s in there, he runs into a guy dressed in a giant crab costume. Yay, it’s Mutant Man! I was wondering where he’s been. It turns out they’re in the same kids’ show, and they agree to have drinks later tonight.

Seo-jin finally gives up after the bouncer threatens to call the police on her. Mean Sunbae shows up, and she has to admit that she couldn’t learn the singer’s identity. Mean Sunbae chews her out anyway and says that she’s not allowed back at work until she finds out. Seo-jin hangs her head, tearing up, unaware that Joon-ki and Mutant Man witnessed the whole thing.

Joon-ki cooks up a plan and enlists Mutant man’s help. Mutant Man taunts the bouncer with a weird crab-dance, goading him into grabbing him. Joon-ki runs out with a water gun full of “octopus ink” and sprays the bouncer into submission.

He runs to the dressing rooms, finds the one marked “Blushing Webfoot Octopus,” and confronts the singer, who’s already wearing his mask. Joon-ki tries to convince him to tell him who he is since they’re both octopodes and should stick together, but the singer is smarter than that.

Joon-ki tackles him, but the singer easily pushes him down, pulling off one of his tentacles in the process. Just as he’s about to get away, Mutant Man arrives to help. He and Joon-ki wrestle the singer to the floor and Joon-ki pulls off his mask, gasping when he sees the singer’s face.

Afterward, he finds Seo-jin sitting dejectedly in the lobby. She tells him to leave her alone so he turns to go, all, Okay, but I was planning to tell you who the singer is… Seo-jin grabs him, but Joon-ki walks away like she told him to do.

She gets a text from him seconds later, revealing that Blushing Webfoot Octopus is Kang Kyun-sung, complete with photographic proof. Joon-ki shuffles back to Seo-jin and tells her not to let Mean Sunbae get to her. He shoots her a bright smile and a jaunty tentacle-salute, and as he goes, Seo-jin blushes bright pink. And that, folks, is why she kissed him.

She goes back to work and presents Mean Sunbae with her proof of Blushing Webfoot Octopus’s true identity. She says that an octopus told her who he was, describing the octopus as “silly, but sometimes amazing.” Accurate.

Soo-ah has been lurking at the convenience store all this time, but she hasn’t seen the swindler again. Doo-shik complains that she’s driving him nuts, and she accuses him of having no loyalty after what she did for him.

Dong-gu comes home, having been told by his friend that his video is terrible. He shows it to Doo-shik, Yoon-ah, and Soo-ah, who look alarmed at the first scene of sperm traveling towards the egg. The next scene shows the baby bursting out of a pregnant belly like something from “Alien.”. LOL, even Sol shakes her head like Oh honey, no.

Doo-shik agrees that the video is terrible, and Soo-ah suggests that Dong-gu shouldn’t be a director. Yoon-ah just looks on sadly as Dong-gu slumps in disappointment. He goes to the media room, and Yoon-ah joins him a while later.

She says that she liked his video, but he says that he’s worried he’ll end up filming birthday parties for the rest of his life. Yoon-ah tells him to take that movie offer, adding that she thought he was always irritated and angry, but when he was filming his video, she was surprised at how much he smiled.

She tells him to start over, but he hesitates. Yoon-ah continues, “If you can’t do what you like because you’re worried about this and that, will your life be happy? Won’t you regret it later? What’s wrong with failing and stumbling? You can start over, right?”

Dong-gu stares at her, and she apologizes for being nosy. She heads back downstairs, leaving Dong-gu with the cutest “Fighting!” you ever saw. He goes straight to his director friend and accepts the job.

On his way home, Dong-gu runs into Soo-ah, who asks why he looks so happy. He says he’s decided to go into the movie industry, and that he’s discovered why he likes Yoon-ah. He tells Soo-ah, “I just like her, without a reason. I just like her.”

Soo-ah asks about Yoon-ah’s situation with Sol, and Dong-gu says that all he knows is if he loses Yoon-ah because he’s trying to consider everything, he’ll never be happy, and he’ll regret it for the rest of his life. He says he’s going to confess to Yoon-ah right now, and sets off at a run.

Yoon-ah gets a ride home from Hyung-joon, and she heads up the walk as he drives away. She realizes that she left her phone in his car, but as she turns back, she sees Dong-gu walking towards her with a giant smile on his face. He takes her by the shoulders and tells her, “I like you. I really like you, Yoon-ah-sshi.”

As Yoon-ah tries to process what Dong-gu just said, Hyung-joon comes back with her phone. He stops at the sight of Yoon-ah standing with Dong-gu, as Dong-gu waits breathlessly for her answer.

 
COMMENTS

Dong-gu said it, he confessed! I really thought it would take longer, since he’s spent so much time flailing about his crush without really doing anything. But it says a lot about how much Dong-gu has already matured that, as soon as he realized that it’s not realistic to solve every problem before they even happen, he went straight to Yoon-ah and ‘fessed up. At the same time, I’m glad that Dong-gu gave real thought to the reality that being with Yoon-ah also means being a father to Sol. It enabled him to go to Yoon-ah fully confident that this is what he wants, and that he cares for her enough to truly change and accept everything about her, not just the fact that she’s cute and sweet but also the difficult things like parenthood.

I really thought that this whole situation would go a different way, but I’m pleasantly surprised at how it all happened. I thought Dong-gu would find out about Handsome Dad and get jealous, which would spur him to confess to Yoon-ah. I even expected that Dong-gu would be the one to walk in on Hyung-joon’s confession, so I wasn’t expecting it to happen the other way around. But I actually prefer the way it turned out — instead of fighting against a love rival, Dong-gu’s primary conflict was with himself, and whether he felt he could be what Yoon-ah and Sol need.

I love that it was Yoon-ah’s belief in him that gave Dong-gu the confidence to admit his feelings, and not some immature jealous fit. We still have to deal with the fact that there are now two men hoping to win Yoon-ah’s heart, but at least we know that they’re both aware of what they’d be getting into, and that they’ll be competing on an even playing field. I like this set-up a lot, because while it makes Yoon-ah’s choice a lot harder, it will also mean that she’s evaluating the men on how she truly feels about them and not just whether they can offer stability.

Soo-ah is really growing on me — she’s still a selfish brat, but she’s also got a wickedly creative mind and a loyal streak a mile wide, not to mention the fact that she gives some pretty solid advice. I fully believe that she was trolling Doo-shik and Dong-gu in the previous episode when she kept foiling their plans to give up on the model, just because it seems like something she would do out of boredom. It was mischievous and annoying, but ultimately harmless, which is basically her mode of operation. Her defense of Doo-shik in this episode was great, but the way she immediately turned around and totally manipulated him just sealed the deal — she’s pretty brilliant. Brilliant in a bratty, irritating, don’t-take-your-eyes-off-her way, but brilliant nevertheless.

I’m pretty sure that the show intends to give Soo-ah and Doo-shik a love line, and until this episode I couldn’t see how they would possibly make that make sense. But now I see it — Doo-shik is a beta male, and Soo-ah is a total alpha female, and it works. He needs someone to protect his sweet self from the jerks of the world, and she’s more than willing to go to bat in defense of someone who can’t defend themselves. Between Badass Soo-ah and Cinnamon Roll Doo-shik, if they don’t mind a little role reversal from the traditional idea of a relationship, I think they’ll be pretty wonderful together.

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