Meanwhile, Jae Hun leaves a letter on his mother’s doorstep. He apologizes to the door, as she is not home, and then gets on the floor and bows deeply. And with that, he runs off to the police station.
After the lady leaves, Tae Hee spends a moment looking at her father’s picture. She knows that the lady she just met is really her mother. “Why didn’t you ask her then?” Tae Hee turns around to see her Angel Daddy beside her again!
He’s finally back!
Even though the lady had not acknowledged herself as the mother, she still came to see Tae Hee, and so Tae Hee can’t hate her completely. Angel Daddy admires at how much his daughter has matured. But Tae Hee is more preoccupied with the yellow piece of paper – she recognizes it from Jae Hun’s wallet, when she thought it was a love letter. How did Jae Hun get it? Was he at her father’s accident? These questions scare her so much that she’d rather not think about it.
But it just leads to more questions – if the slip was with her father, and it led to her mother, then was her father searching for her mother? Was Jae Hun the cause of the accident? Angel Daddy can’t say much else, but advises her to go see Jae Hun. She should seek her answers there, no matter how scared she must feel. Only then can she know what she truly fears.
As for Jae Hun, he records his testimony with Detective Cho. He was racing down the alleyway when Mr. Park had appeared out of nowhere. He swerved and hit the wall to avoid Mr. Park, but Mr. Park must have stumbled backwards anyways. He fell on the road and got hit by the truck.
He remembers seeing Mr. Park’s face, but ran away at the shock of the incident. He didn’t know if Mr. Park died, so he eventually went back and asked the cashier lady in the supermarket about what happened. The cashier lady said nothing happened; Jae Hun believed it. Little did either know at the time that Mr. Park had actually died.
Detective Cho acknowledges for the tape that Jae Hun made a very immature mistake, but if he reached a settlement, he could get away with a suspension. Jae Hun says he couldn’t ask for forgiveness. It would be too selfish to ask for forgiveness over killing someone.
So Detective Cho takes matters into his own hands. Outside the interrogation room, he calls up Tae Hee. It had come to his attention that she went to the same school as the suspect in her father’s accident. Would she like to come in and meet him? He is to be prosecuted the next day at 9AM, so she can come anytime before then, before he is taken away in handcuffs.
Silence at the other end.
I feel like Detective Cho is like their indirect matchmaker/destiny-maker…
The freshmen all gather in their classroom to discuss the script for “What’s Up Vol. 1,” just like Doo Ri had predicted. Sung Jae is in denial that he ever said things like, “Why become an actor if you have money?” so his classmates graciously act out the entire scenario that went down in Sun-Man’s class. Byeong Gun then does his impression of Sun-Man, to the delight of all. Ka Young also gives it a shot, but then her buddy Glasses Girl tells her to tilt her chin up higher so that she can look like Professor Yang! (Do I detect a faint smile on Chae Young?!)
And amidst all this fun and teasing, no one notices Prof. Yang standing at the doorway, watching them all.
In his office, Myung Hwan admires the music Soo Bin and Do Sung wrote together, while Sun-Man laughs at the script. Doo Ri even included the bit about some girls being in love with Myung Hwan!
Prof. Yang arrives, wanting to talk, so Sun-Man invites her to sit. He can’t stand, being in too much pain, but he hides it from her. Prof. Yang wants him to stop his musical from happening; she called up NYMF and they said one university cannot enter two teams. Sun-Man remarks that she must have called NYMF up personally to tell them to make up such a rule. Heh. I wouldn’t put that past her.
She boasts that her team is already doing run-through rehearsals, and will soon do a dress rehearsal. What have Sun-Man’s kids done? She turns to leave, but he gets up and stops her, clutching his abdomen. Can’t she just read his kids’ script once? And listen to their music? If they are to send only one team, how about they send the best team?
He believes in Doo Ri and his kids because they wrote an honest, original musical that’s about themselves. Didn’t Prof. Yang want to direct original musicals herself? If so, perhaps she can lead his kids to victory. Prof. Yang scoffs – this is all too ridiculous. She heads for the door and Sun-Man calls out that he’ll be her assistant director, and clean the stage.
Suddenly he collapses, and Myung Hwan freaks out. “Hyung! Are you ok?!” Myung Hwan yells. Prof. Yang orders Myung Hwan to stop fussing – Sun-Man is just playing a trick on all of them. It’s just a trick! Sun-Man can get up now! It’s just a trick!
Except…Sun-Man isn’t getting up. And Myung Hwan keeps yelling. He even orders Prof. Yang to call the ambulance, and that’s enough to unsettle her. Sun-Man…isn’t pulling a trick?
The ambulance whisks Sun-Man away in front of everyone, and Doo Ri races over. The EMT’s won’t let her get on though, and so she resorts to chasing after the ambulance, with everyone watching. Suddenly a car drives up to her – it’s Soo Bin, and he’s giving her a ride. (OHMYGOD this is awesome…)
Byeong Gun is puzzled, and asks Prof. Yang if Sun-Man is really sick. She’s in denial, thinking that Sun-Man had one too many bottles of alcohol.
As Do Sung plays the piano by himself, we see Jae Hun at the station, refusing to see Tae Hee. Detective Cho has no choice but to send her back, as Jae Hun has the right to see – or not see – whomever he wants. He admits he would like to submit documents of a settlement for Jae Hun, and let him go. Tae Hee: “Does settling mean that I forgive him?” Detective Cho: “You want to forgive him?”
Back in the piano room, Do Sung suddenly hears a voice: “Number of people crying, one.” He turns around – it’s the Red Tracksuit Ghost! Wait – the Red Tracksuit Ghost SPEAKS!?!?!?!
Give me a minute until my world stops spinning upside down…
OK – so yes, the ghost speaks: “Number of people playing the piano, one.” Do Sung asks who he is, which apparently is the wrong question to ask. (Really!? ‘Cause, uh, I’d like to know who he is, and whether he’s a real ghost or not right now…) The right question is apparently “Who is the person crying? Is it in the room next to us?”
The ghost replies: “In the room next to you, there is someone always crying.”
Do Sung goes to check it out – and it’s Ji Eun. She’s singing “Remember My Name,” the song that used to be hers before it was brutally snatched away by Chae Young. Do Sung doesn’t know how to approach her, so he just takes a seat and listens quietly.
When she reaches a point where she can’t go any further, Do Sung picks it right up for her. She looks up at him in wonder, and he smiles as he sings, “I’m going to live forever / I’m gonna learn how to fly!”
So fitting for Do Sung…
She smiles back at him, and the two slowly start singing together. Is this our new couple!? [download]
And then, we see a glimpse of the “Fame” cast practicing the routine for that song. Disappointingly, Chae Young is not dancing, and Prof. Yang doesn’t look as proud as you would think. We see Tae Hee writing up a petition for a settlement. We see Soo Bin in the hospital waiting area, bringing a warm drink to Doo Ri. Instead of accepting, she breaks down into bigger sobs, and he quietly sits down next to her.
As Tae Hee writes her letter, Angel Daddy asks her, “Do you remember asking me when you were younger if I ever hated your mother?” His answer then had been “No.” Tae Hee assumes this means her father forgave her mother. Angel Daddy: “How can I forgive her when I never hated her?”
It’s a logic she can apply towards her feelings for Jae Hun.
And so when Detective Cho settles in at his desk for the night, he sees a handwritten statement from Tae Hee asking for Jae Hun’s release. She wants him back, and directing the musical. She just made Detective Cho’s life easier!
The next day, Prof. Yang arrives at the hospital. She knocks on his room door twice, but there’s no answer. She reaches for the handle, then thinks better of it and turns to leave… ‘cept Sun-Man is standing RIGHT THERE! Haha – “Two knocks and you give up?” He must’ve come back from the potty…
She wants to know if he’s really sick. “You mean, my cancer?” Sun-Man smiles. Oh yeah – that’s guilt written all over her face right there!
He’s disappointed she has no flowers for him, or juice. “Flowers are not allowed in patient rooms!” she cries defensively. “And I didn’t know what juice to bring because I didn’t know your condition!”
Sun-Man: “I was just trying to say thanks. For coming to see me. Now can you do me a favor?”
He opens the door – Doo Ri is sprawled over half his bed! Hahahaha – he wants Prof. Yang to take away this little pest. Prof. Yang tsk-tsks his ability to continually break women’s hearts, and Sun-Man is surprised. Of all the people who know he’s dying, she is the only one who refuses to be nice to him and grant him his wish!
Grudgingly, Prof. Yang says, “Say it. If you have any wishes.” Sun-Man’s face lights up in pure joy. But! She has conditions – he only gets one wish, and he can’t use the kids’ performance as a wish.
Sun-Man: When you were in a play, you came out as a drummer once, right? I want to hear you play the drums once.Prof. Yang: You’re crazy right?Sun-Man: It’s a dying man’s wish.Prof. Yang. It’s been over ten years since I stopped playing the drums!Sun-Man: Even though I’m dying?Doo Ri: (Raising her hand sleepily from the bed) I want to be a part of this too.Kaedejun: (Raising her hand through the computer screen) Me three!
Sun-Man is discharged from the hospital, and escorted by Do Sung and Byeong Gun back to the school. Doo Ri is waiting for him in the hallway, and they share a special smile.
They host a special performance of 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up” for Sun-Man. (How freakin’ appropriate is this song title…) Vocals: Doo Ri. Guitar: Byeong Gun. Bass: Some other student I don’t care about. Drummer: YANG SOO JUNG! I love that she rocks big, bushy hair as well! [download]
(Is this really Im Joo Eun‘s voice? Because shivers just went up and down my spine… She sings the song with someone else though, someone unseen for the soundtrack.)
Comments:
I started out episode 17 with a feeling of dread and sadness. I ended it with anticipation. I started episode 18 feeling hopeful. I ended it with absolute happiness – and dread. Sun-Man’s mortality is becoming all the more clear with each passing hour.
The themes pounded into our heads with these two episodes is, “What is the path to happiness?” For some, it’s a career in entertainment and musicals. For others, it’s to be happy. For some, it’s to be able to perform and act upon one’s passion. For others, it’s to see others be happy. A lot of our characters have grown so much, going from selfish students thinking about themselves and their futures, to adults who have realized that seeing others happy and safe is like being happy themselves. It’s pretty obvious where Tae Hee, Sun-Man, Doo Ri, and Ji Eun find their path to happiness. What I love is seeing Prof. Yang and Chae Young being challenged by that question.
Chae Young is still her self-involved self, though she knows that she’s slowly losing control, and therefore is only grasping at her path of fame and fortune even more desperately. The two episodes’ mini arc is centered around her. She acts out a scene with a hoobae, played by none other than Hwang Sun Hee. (Did she and Oh Man Suk meet while doing this, because yunno, it just makes the Six Degrees of Wild Romance game so much more fun…)
Hwang Sun Hee’s character slaps Chae Young in the scene, because Chae Young is playing the bitchy second-female-lead, but when the director calls “Cut,” Sun Hee doesn’t bother apologizing. She just waits for the make-up artist to come do touch-ups. What’s worse is, the director then asks Sun Hee to slap Chae Young harder! More realistically!
Suffice to say, Chae Young is a grumpy gal when the shoot is over. But the day isn’t over yet because when she arrives at the parking lot – she finds her luxurious van has been replaced with an old, ratty one per director’s orders.
Her life as a movie star is starting to suck. Wait til she gets found out as a fraud onstage.
As for Prof. Yang, she doesn’t believe happiness comes from creating something that you’re passionate about. She thinks happiness comes from tangible, monetary success. It’s so sad, especially since Chang Jin still dreams of directing all original musicals. It’s interesting that later, Sun-Man calls her out for having the same exact dream. It just shows how jaded she is. I hope that seeing the kids have fun with “What’s Up Vol. 1,” and facing Sun-Man’s mortality might be a good wake up call for her. Life is too short to think about monetary success. If only she did what she loved, she could probably die a little happier.
On another note, we get Tae Hee’s backstory with her mother. It doesn’t end on a happy note, and is quite open-ended. I’m glad they didn’t try to stick a neat bow on it, but it definitely helped tie her past back to her present conflict – that of Jae Hun killing her father. I also loved seeing Soo Bin’s moment of tenderness towards Doo Ri. I’d like to think that working with her on the musical has made him a lot warmer towards her, and also more human-like… instead of sleeping and composing all day.
From: Dramabeans
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