Woohoo Waikiki 2: Episode 15

by LollyPip

Jealousy is the order of the day – what causes it, what fans the flames, and what it means. Jealousy can complicate relationships, but it can also be a powerful clarifying agent when feelings are murky or unclear. More than one of our housemates are viewing their feelings through the green-tinted lenses of jealousy, but how they will react to their revelations is still anyone’s guess.

 
EPISODE 15: “Can I Love You?/One Day, Suddenly”

At play rehearsal, Jun-ki and his costar Seung-hyun (cameo by Jang Tae-sung) have some trouble with the forbidden love aspect between their characters (they’re doing a story similar to The King and the Clown). To get over it, the director orders them to spend every minute with each other from now on.

Jung-eun is practicing her alphorn when Jun-ki comes home with Seung-hyun and says he’ll explain later. He shows Seung-hyun to his room, and when Jun-ki would leave while Seung-hyun changes clothes, Seung-hyun points out that he should probably stay, though it makes them really uncomfortable.

Soo-yeon is called in to the office on her day off to talk to her PD, and one of the writers complains that she’s having trouble thinking of a segment idea. The writer loses her hairband, which gives Soo-yeon an idea — a segment where they conduct experiments to answer audience questions like where missing hairbands go, or why you can only ever find one sock.

Jun-ki and Seung-hyun snuggle while watching TV, while the other housemates wonder if they really have to go that far, ha. Woo-shik has been so busy that he hasn’t been home much lately, but Min-ah is still being very clingy, insisting on hanging out at Waikiki Guesthouse instead of going home.

When Woo-shik goes to take a shower, Min-ah asks Jung-eun if he’s dating anyone. Jung-eun says that he’s perpetually single, and Ki-bong explains that it’s because he’s only ever liked Soo-yeon, his first love, but it didn’t go well.

Soo-yeon arrives home but turns down the pizza that Min-ah bought, which her friends find strange since she loves pizza. She goes to her room to wonder why Min-ah hanging around bothers her so much, but she lectures herself to focus on the segment proposal instead, which the writer invited her to help with.

Jun-ki and Seung-hyun aren’t feeling any less weird at bedtime, but Seung-hyun still suggests that they sleep cuddled up. Jun-ki reluctantly agrees, though they both look pained and tense.

The next morning, Ki-bong offers to put together the new table and chair that Yu-ri bought herself. He brags that he can get it done in half an hour without the instructions, and Yu-ri watches, excited to have a cute boyfriend doing things for her.

Not only is the closeness experiment between Jun-ki and Seung-hyun not working, but Seung-hyun gets neck spasms from their awkward position during TV cuddle time. They try to think of another way to foster closeness and settle on complimenting each other. Jun-ki says that Seung-hyun has a warm, trustworthy voice, and Seung-hyun returns that Jun-ki has a charming smile and attractively slanted eyes.

It seems to be working, and Soo-yeon wanders through the room while they’re chirping about each other. She witnesses Jun-ki caressing Seung-hyun’s strong chest and overhears them complimenting each other’s sexy lips. They tell Soo-yeon not to get the wrong idea, but of course she gets the wrong idea.

Ki-bong finishes putting the chair together, but it’s incorrect and wobbly. He thinks it’s fine, but Yu-ri wants it assembled properly, so Ki-bong starts again, a little less enthusiastically this time. He calls Yu-ri fussy, then gets upset when she asks him to at least read the instructions, so he asks her not to watch him working. LOL, as soon as she’s gone, he grabs the instructions.

Seung-hyun wants to go to the sauna to soak his sore muscles, which Jun-ki sees as a great bonding opportunity. They skip off happily, but when they get home later, things are worse than ever. Evidently, Jun-ki slipped and fell on Seung-hyun when they were both naked, ha.

No matter how many times Ki-bong assembles the chair, it comes out different every time. Yu-ri brings him a drink and he snaps at her when she asks if he’s not finished. She offers to do it herself, but he grumbles that he just wants her to be more respectful of him.

After agreeing to take the sauna incident to their graves, Jun-ki and Seung-hyun discover that they both drink their yogurt from the bottom. They start to feel a little closer, especially when they learn that they also eat their ramyun the same way, and they both do that little seal-clap when they’re happy.

Seung-hyun prepares to serve the ramyun, but he trips and almost spills it all over Jun-ki. At the last second, he reaches out an arm to shield Jun-ki, and ends up burning himself instead. His act of self-sacrifice seems to bring them even closer.

Woo-shik and Min-ah spend their day working on Woo-shik’s song, and Woo-shik sends Min-ah home early so he can get some rest himself. Min-ah asks if he was thinking about Soo-yeon when he wrote the sad song, admitting that she knows Soo-yeon is his first love.

Woo-shik skirts the question and heads home, where he finds Soo-yeon still working on her segment proposal. He has some ideas for questions, and Soo-yeon thanks him for the help. She says he’s probably tired and wants to go to bed, but despite having been exhausted earlier, Woo-shik is suddenly full of energy. Awww, the way Soo-yeon looks at him, it’s so obvious she loves him.

It’s getting late and Ki-bong is still trying to put Yu-ri’s chair together, but he’s determined to stay up all night if that’s what it takes. He asks in an annoyed tone why Yu-ri didn’t just buy an assembled chair, so she says she was trying to save money. Ki-bong calls her a cheapskate, and in the morning he refuses to go work at the food truck until he finishes the chair, though he seems more than a little bit out of it by now.

Yu-ri says she needs him to drive, but he growls that she can hire a driver with the money she saved on the chair. She somehow manages not to lose her temper at him and leaves him talking to chair parts.

Seung-hyun wakes up in Jun-ki’s bed, sleeping on Jun-ki’s arm with Jun-ki grinning at him. Jun-ki says he looks like an angel when he sleeps, and they realize that they really have grown closer. At rehearsal, they’re so close that it makes the director a little uncomfortable so he orders them not to even talk to each other for a while, hee.

That evening, Yu-ri returns home to find Ki-bong in the fetal position on her bedroom floor, utterly defeated. He’s put the chair and table together, kinda, but they’re still not right. He whines that he only wanted to impress her, but that he’s stupid and useless.

But Yu-ri says he did a good job and that she likes how they look, cheering up Ki-bong instantly. She tells him to go get some sleep, then moans that she’ll have to use the broken chair as it is so as not to hurt Ki-bong’s feelings. HAHA, the chair is higher than the desk and the drawer knob is on the inside.

Soo-yeon learns that the PD loves her segment idea and wants to pitch it to the station director. The writer even wants to name the segment after Soo-yeon since it was her idea, so on her way home, Soo-yeon calls Woo-shik to see if he wants her to buy some hotteok as a thank you for his help.

He says he’s already at the hotteok stand, and when Soo-yeon looks, she does see Woo-shik there — with Min-ah. In a fit of pique, she snaps at Woo-shik to bring her five hundred hotteok, then turns and stomps away in the opposite direction. Woo-shik is confused, but awww, he asks the hotteok lady how long it will take her to make that many.

Soo-yeon goes straight home, wondering why she got so mad at Woo-shik. He brings Soo-yeon as many hotteok as the hotteok lady had ingredients to make, but it just makes her even more frustrated regarding her feelings towards him.

The guys prepare to share a big pot of ramyun, but Jung-eun offers to make Jun-ki something less spicy so he’ll be healthy for his first performance tomorrow. Both Woo-shik and Ki-bong apologize that they’ll be working and can’t make it to the show. Jun-ki grins at Jung-eun and says that she’s his best friend, and promises to save seats for her and a friend.

He’s uncharacteristically nervous when Jung-eun brings him flowers before the show. He admits that he hasn’t performed in front of a live audience in a while and is scared he’ll mess up his lines. Taking his face in her hands, Jung-eun tells Jun-ki that he’s a very good actor, so he should go out there and show everyone what a real actor looks like.

Jun-ki seems a bit unnerved by how close Jung-eun is, but he just complains loudly that she’s messing up his makeup. Her friend comes to take Jung-eun to their seats, and Jun-ki looks even more unsettled by the good-looking young man.

The play goes well, and BWAHAHA, it doesn’t end anything like The King and The Clown. Jun-ki’s character turns out to be a scientist from 2019 who traveled back in time, and who goes back to his own time at the end. During curtain call, Jun-ki sees Jung-eun’s cute friend lending her his hankie and hugging her, and he frowns.

Woo-shik missed Jun-ki’s play to work, but his assistant and Min-ah both show up at the studio sick — his assistant from staying out drinking, and Min-ah from eating bad clams after last night’s rehearsal. Woo-shik snaps at them angrily for staying out partying, calling them unprofessional.

Soo-yeon is still struggling with her confusing emotions whenever she sees Woo-shik spending time with Min-ah. She’s at work with the writer, who says they need to pull an all-nighter, so she tells herself that she can’t afford to dwell on Woo-shik right now.

At the guesthouse, Jun-ki has worked himself into a tizzy by the time Jung-eun gets home. He grows even more upset when she says that her friend, Min-joon, asked her on a real date. Jun-ki snarls that she has low standards, so Jung-eun asks why he even cares who she dates. Jun-ki says he’s worried she’ll get taken advantage of again. He tells her to bring Min-joon over and he’ll decide if he’s a good guy or not.

Woo-shik is still spitting mad when he comes home, having left the studio in a fit of anger. In the morning, he’s feverish and sick himself, but he has to go to work so he says he’ll stop by the hospital for medicine then go to the studio.

Unfortunately, he only feels worse after going to the hospital, so he decides to cancel today’s shooting. But Min-ah and his assistant are bright-eyed and apologetic, and after the way he yelled at them yesterday, Woo-shik doesn’t feel like he can cancel for his own illness. He’s forced to pretend that he’s fine, and push through his discomfort.

When Jung-eun brings Min-joon to meet her friends, Jun-ki enlists Ki-bong’s help in sizing up the guy. Jun-ki questions poor Min-joon like he’s conducting a job interview, and when Min-joon says he likes Jung-eun because she’s pretty and kind, Jun-ki bursts into laughter.

He tells Jung-eun in private that being friendly and handsome aren’t enough — a man has to be competent. Jung-eun informs Jun-ki that Min-joon is a game company CEO whose company made millions last year. Gulp. He’s also a triathlon gold medalist, eliminating Jun-ki’s objections based on health.

Jun-ki says that to truly know a man, you have to drink with him. He invites Min-joon out for a drink, and Min-joon ends up piggybacking a very drunk, very loud Jun-ki home later, HA.

As the day goes on, Woo-shik grows sicker and sicker, until he’s shivering and has no idea what’s going on. He can’t remember what Min-ah’s last take sounded like so he just says it was the best one. She notices him shaking and his runny nose and asks if he’s sick, but he says it’s just from concentration.

Jung-eun asks Soo-yeon to borrow a dress for her date with Min-joon. She advises Soo-yeon to take a break from work and get some rest, so Soo-yeon decides to take a short nap before her presentation, setting an alarm to make sure she doesn’t oversleep.

By now, Woo-shik is randomly passing out, but every time he tries to cut the recording session short, the others want to keep going. Min-ah can see that he doesn’t feel well, but he says he’s fine, even though he’s now hallucinating a grim reaper in the doorway.

Woo-shik finally admits that he might be coming down with a teensy cold. He tries to tells Min-ah that even professionals can get sick, but he squeaks when he sees the grim reaper looking over Min-ah’s shoulder. Min-ah tells him to stop being stubborn and call it a day. She even takes the blame and says she feels sick again, then helps Woo-shik to the taxi stop.

When he gets home, Soo-yeon is rushing out the door, late for her presentation. He offers her a ride in Rebecca so she can practice on the way, and he gets her there just in time. But as soon as Woo-shik drops Soo-yeon off, he has a bad dizzy spell and passes out right in the street.

Later, Jun-ki wakes up on the sofa after sleeping off his drinking binge with Min-joon. Ki-bong asks if Jun-ki is jealous over Jung-eun or something, but Jun-ki is horrified by the suggestion.

There’s a picture missing from Soo-yeon’s presentation, so the writer tells her to call home and have someone email it to them. Woo-shik doesn’t answer his phone, so Soo-yeon calls Yu-ri. She tells Soo-yeon that Woo-shik fainted and is in the hospital, and without another thought for her presentation, Soo-yeon runs.

Woo-shik eventually wakes and finds Yu-ri at his bedside. He asks her how Soo-yeon’s presentation went, but Yu-ri just calls him stupid for worrying about Soo-yeon right now. He feels better and says he wants to go, while a short distance away, Soo-yeon searches the emergency room for him.

But it’s Min-ah who pulls back the curtain by his bed, having heard about his collapse from Yu-ri. She hugs him, relieved that he’s okay, ignoring Woo-shik’s attempts to push her off. Min-ah suddenly confesses that she likes Woo-shik, which is all that Soo-yeon hears when she finally finds him.

 
COMMENTS

If this doesn’t wake up Soo-yeon, nothing will. She needs to figure out her feelings soon, or she’s going to lose her shot at being with Woo-shik. Not that I think his feelings will change — she’s the only girl he’s ever loved, after all — but he’s an attractive, sweet man and women are going to be interested in him, and sooner or later one of them will turn his head. As they always say in dramas, timing is everything. Woo-shik might decide to date Min-ah after all, thinking that Soo-yeon is out of his reach, or he might meet someone else… any number of things could happen that might keep them apart. He’s been very respectful of Soo-yeon’s wishes to focus on her career, so she’s going to have to be the one to speak up, and she’d better do it soon.

I’m not sure how much I believe that Soo-yeon doesn’t recognize her own feelings, especially since she’s had feelings for Woo-shik in the past, but I can understand her desire to sort out her own life before trying to date someone. I do think that Soo-yeon is smart to want that for herself, and if that’s her choice, then more power to her. But I don’t subscribe to the attitude that you can only do one thing at a time… it’s possible to work on your career and be in a relationship at the same time. You just have to want both things badly enough to be willing to put in the time and the effort. Soo-yeon knows she’s ready to put in that time and effort for her job, and that’s admirable. But she would be equally smart to open her eyes and see everything that Woo-shik does for her, and realize that he’s worth that same effort and commitment.

Speaking of waking up and realizing your feelings — Jun-ki’s jealousy over Jung-eun is so cute. It feels a bit abrupt, while at the same time I was starting to think that the show wasn’t going to pair up Jun-ki and Jung-eun after all. But I think that Jun-ki has liked Jung-eun for a while, because he’s shown small signs of his feelings before, but he’s always had his career taking center stage (pun intended) and just hadn’t noticed. Sometimes it takes a little jealousy to bring latent feelings to the forefront, and Jun-ki is definitely jealous now that another guy is showing interest in Jung-eun. Again, jealousy is an excellent catalyst, so maybe this new guy is the kick in the pants that Jun-ki needs to realize that Jung-eun is more than just a best friend – she could be his Best Friend, in every sense of the word.

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