What’s Up Fox? – Episode 8 Recap

Recap by Jomo

Being a boy man has its challenges. How do you handle trying to be adult about things when everyone insists you are still a child? You never know which personality will reveal itself under pressure. Sometimes you fall back on old habits just to survive.

❁ ❃ ✿ ❊ ❊ ✿ ❃ ❁

We open with Bulldog playing Lord of the Manor with Jun-hee, who is eating breakfast with him. He offers to buy her a car so she agrees. They bicker over using banmal, he orders her around, so she asks how much he loves her. He denies even liking her.

They shop for really expensive things including a 100K fur coat. I can’t help but think I could buy a house with that money…

Something is amiss with page 27 of C’est Si Bon’s magazine. The whole staff scrutinizes it and realizes “it” is just a mole, not hair…I guess there are rules here.

Byung-hee tells the boss they sold 4,000 copies that month, this doesn’t please him.

Byung-hee is shopping at a book-store and pulls out more copies of her magazine than are currently displayed, but then shoos away cute high-schoolers are happy to see them.

She browses a camping magazine – day dreaming of cruising along the highway not a care in the world with Bae at the wheel

–  only to realize all 14 of his ex girlfriends are back in the trailer, too. They call “I love you, Oppa!”

Byung-hee is having a hard time with this, we see.  She talks herself into being “cool” with that when Bae arrives.  She tells him about her dream of traveling around the world, getting a dig in about his 14. He drags her out to a movie.

While her inner voice admits the 14 ladies do actually bug her, she finds solace holding his hand and snuggling on his shoulder and the fact that he is with her right here right now. That is what is important.

After their date, Seung-hye receives them in the sitting area of her video store. Chul-su arrives loudly announcing himself and firmly grasping his rival’s hand.

He also asks for food, and he won’t be ignored so he sits down next to his sister.

Next thing we know, Byung-hee is driving him with Bae to her house, Baby Chul-su frowning in the back seat at the lovers’ flirting.

Bulldog gets “caught” dropping off Jun-hee – with her stash of shopping bags and everything.  Bae is surprised to see him, but nobody is more surprised than Mom.

The kids sit respectfully on the living room floor before her. Who is with whom isn’t clear, and she looks quizzically at them wondering if Bae shouldn’t be with Jun-hee?

Bulldog has to count the years of difference on his fingers, which doesn’t win him any points. He struggles to say anything coherent to her about his relationship, his company, and when he calls her “Omani” she hates it.  Bae, the doctor, she likes, of course.

Chul-su peers over his shoulder from the kitchen eating the rice he demanded, where he has been quietly and closely listening to Mom’s interrogation.

Bae and Bulldog come out to their cars – completely discombobulated and sweating from the encounter. Bae tells him how scared he was seeing how much she looked like his wife, and insists Bulldog come clean and tell Jun-hee.

Bulldog asks about  Chul-su calling him “that guy there who’s like an acorn? Just keeps eating…” LOL

Inside, Mom and the daughters debrief on the men.

Chul-su and Byung-hee trade silent disapproving looks. Jun-hee admits the guy isn’t really her boyfriend, she was just pulling his leg by introducing him that way.

When Byung-hee pulls her sister out of the room for an aside, Mom asks Chul-su what he thinks of Bae, while listing all his charms: right age, handsome, doctor.  She pulls reluctant agreement from the younger man that he is the perfect son-in-law.

It is heartbreaking, sort of, that Chul-su can see how out of his league Oma thinks he is. He even congratulates her.

He goes out the door onto the street, and turns to face the house and his chances,  dismayed, spirits low.  Byung-hee sneaks a look at his departing figure. She understands why he acted the way he did and feels for him.

The next morning, the sisters argue over the gifts Bulldog gave Jun-hee, who is making her sister all beautiful with make-up.  Byung-hee spills the butt beans  – letting her know something is wrong there, but not sure what.

Chul-su, wearing his shiny new helmet, passes an expectant Byung-hee, pretty in a skirt for a change, waiting for a bus.

Slightly disappointed he didn’t stop to tease her, she asks “What’s up? He’s not bullying me today?” Suddenly he reappears and orders her to “Ta.” Get on. He tricks her into getting on the bike with him then forces her to hug him at the waist by wild driving.

She buys him breakfast in exchange for the ride, and starts to scold him for skipping meals. He seems to like that attention.

He hands her car brochures to show her mother, and tells her she doesn’t look bad, “Who did you think you were with no make-up?” She takes the compliment, smiling, “You think this is nice, too?’ genuinely pleased to hear his words.  Rather than agreeing, he says, “Yeah, people won’t think you’re my aunt,” which kills the mood.  “Can’t we get along peacefully for one day?” she complains.  Her phone rings and Bae and she discuss the details of their date that evening. Wine at his apartment sound just fine. She smiles coquettishly and squirms a little.

Chul-se says she’s entering a wolf’s den and she should remember to use good contraceptives, otherwise her wedding dress will be a maternity dress.

Byung-hee goes after him yelling “Hey!!”

He gets away, and in a teasing voice says “Should I buy you a whole box?”

Which she lets get to her, she runs after him kicking the bike.

Sung-ha comes up and she squees ‘”He’s so handsome!”

Chul-su rides along, unhappy face on, reflecting on how Byung-hee may be slipping away.

Mom shows up at her office. Worker isn’t there, and she waits for him, feeling his absence.

Jun-hee admires her reflection wearing the $100,000 fur thinking back on Chul-su’s words “I can’t fail if don’t concern myself with the small stuff. I do what I want because I love it and it’s interesting to me.”

But she can’t accept that. She HAS to succeed.

Bulldog buys her a sports car, and lots of other fancy things. They have another power struggle when she brings up “that woman.” He doesn’t like her being talked about.

AT ALL. He also doesn’t like to be referred to as her boyfriend. The “What’s worng with your butt?” question pops out, but he doesn’t answer.

Byung-hee is hard at work imagining her latest column. The man is dressed as a devil Elvis, and she is a dominatrix in leather.

They play with some light up horns. It’s actually cute. When the lights come up, her man has turned into Bae.  Waking from her revery, a little excited, she comments “This is why men have wet dreams…” She imagines herself with her boyfriend, sitting near him, kissing…she can’t wait. We find out she is not alone, but her boss and Sung-ha watch her, disapproving.

Boss wants to know if she is losing her mind. Should they put a flower in her hair like a crazy person?

Bae and she meet up for her date. He appreciates the effort she put into dressing up for him. They are sweet together. He kids that he can’t even see her double chins, so she counters that none of the fourteen had them either, did they?

In the car, she strategizes about brushing her teeth before kissing him, and whether she should draw the line there, or let him touch her breast.

Chul-su is doing shots at a bar when Busty shows up.

Byung-hee continues her nervous self-talk going down the hall to Bae’s apartment.

Should she let him touch her breast? “No just lips.” An animal roars when he opens the door. Once inside he leads her to the living room, but she escapes to powder her nose brush and floss her teeth, use mouthwash and fix her hair.

Chul-su is getting hammered, looking despondent.

“Joo-hee-ah,” he says serioiusly, “Sleep with me.”

She laughs it off saying he should have just asked her sooner, instead of making all this fuss and wasting money.  He grabs her wrist and takes her away.

Our less direct couple sit and watch the film, sipping wine on the sofa.

Byung-hee shifts in her place, nudging closer, but Bae pays little attention to her.  They talk about Bulldog and her sister and agree they do NOT make a good couple.  She tries to get close again, but he asks if she is uncomfortable.

Joo-hee showers while Chul-see calls someone who has their phone off – ($100 says it’s Byung-hee.) Joo-hee comes out and finds him  – head down, but he’s not drunk. He takes her over to the bed, just about to kiss her when he pictures Bae and Byung-hee before his eyes.

Every feeling revolts that those two would get together. He caresses Joo-hee’s face, not seeing her, but the choice he has to make. He says he is sorry and leaves, the girl calling after him.

He causes a ruckus, banging on Byuug-hee’s green door. Jun-hee opens it up, but he screams that the needs  her sister and she needs to go find her!

Jun-hee’s “WTF?” gets a “Hurry up!”

Movie date couple watch the credits roll, Byung-hee stands up to leave, but he pulls her down, preparing to kiss her FINALLY!

He smiles at her face, eyes closed, lips pursed. But his phone rings. She doesn’t want to appear too eager and ready, so she lets him answer.

Jun-hee got the number from Bulldog. She yells at her sister for having her phone off. Chul-su has been screaming for her. She has to come home.  We can hear him in the background,

“Noonaaaaaah!” They cannot budge him.

“Go Byung-hee!!” we see him outside jumping up and down impatiently.

Bae wants to know what’s up with Chul-su, offering to drive her home, but she tells him a taxi’s fine.

By the time the taxi drops her off, Chul-su is passed out sitting leaning against her cement wall.

She charges at him, and kicks him.  She curses him, “You driving me nuts. Why today of all days?”

She orders him to get up, which he does, then says “Noonah…” She asks him what is wrong. He pats her hair and paws her face. “Don’t go out with him. I’ll take responsibility. Don’t date him.”

She stares at him, then he falls onto her. She can hardly bear the weight of his large gorgeous body all over her….(Gulp!) Looking over his shoulder, Mom and Sis are open mouth shocked at what they see.

Back in the house, they bring up all the suspicious things that have happened and that he said. What is she crazy being with a younger kid? Her mom keeps hitting her arm.

They insist they will find out the truth. Byung-hee fabricates a story that he must have confused her with another woman. What does he mean he’ll take responsibility?

They don’t buy it. Byung-hee takes her anger out on his sleeping body, hitting him with her purse. They tell her she is over-reacting.

Tearfully, she whines she was just about to have her first kiss.  I love the disparate reactions. Jun-hee says, “You haven’t kissed yet?” and her mother doesn’t want to hear anything about it.  Byung-hee insists that she wants Myung-hee and doesn’t reciprocate Chul-su’s one sided crush.  Was there any sign before that he liked her?

And why her? (I love that is a repeating refrain with Jun-hee. Why HER and not me?)

Byung-hee turns the tables on her sister and asks if she returned the expensive clothes, which scares her sister off. Mom tells a sleeping Chul-su, how dare he do this to Byung-hee? Then leaves.

Byung-hee is going to hit him again when the phone rings. An angry Seung-hye is looking for her brother. Byung-hee fills her in that Chul-su got drunk and came to her house again.

Seung-hye wonders “Why does he always go to your house when he gets drunk?” (Hmmm… I wonder, how many times has he done this?) Byung-hee informs Seung-hye it’s because they feed him a good breakfast, unlike his sister.    Seung-hye is like a dog with a bone, and asks once again, “Did anything happen between you two?”

Once again, Byung-hee denies it, hanging up.

The sisters share Jun-hee’s bed. Byung-hee asks her what she thinks of Bae as a brother in law, and warns her off of Bulldog. But Jun-hee’s denials are starting to sound less sincere.

The morning after, Byung-hee looms over a waking Chul-su.

He is disoriented and wants to know what she is doing in his room.

He takes in his surroundings and asks,  “Why am I here?” Through a tightly clenched jaw, Byung-hee asks, “Don’t you remember?”

He looks at her, “Did we have another accident?”

Byung-hee doesn’t laugh like I do, however.

She hits him with the pillow and threatens her. “Use words!” he says. She falls onto the bed trying to hit him.

They sit across from each other at the breakfast table. Her arms are crossed. He eats her soup.

He admits that he does remember what happened, that he never forgets what happens when he drinks.

She asks, “Why are you doing this? We agreed that what happened was a mistake. Why are you doing this?”

He looks up with a hang-dog expression and says, “Well it’s not totally unexpected.” Which Byung-hee certainly was NOT expecting. She is speechless.

“Don’t see that guy anymore.” He tells her.

She closes her eyes, asking the heavens for patience, and very sarcastically asks, “So I am supposed to see you?”

“Yep. Like a man sees a woman.”

No words from her.

“Don’t state the obvious. I’ve heard it too many times.”

Is he even thinking straight? Jumping in front of the car, and what he did  yesterday were impulsive.

“But that is how I feel.”

“I don’t care how you feel. I don’t see you as a man.”

He tells her, “Don’t lie.”

But she argues that is what he wants to believe and she will NEVER change her mind about him.

“There’s no such thing as ‘never’…” Nobody knows her as well as he does.

“I know you well, too. That is why it’s a no.”

“Don’t see him.”

It’s my business, she says.

“Now it’s my business, “ he echoes.

She tells him he’s crazy, but he keeps his gaze steady on her. THIS ends here now. She tells him he WILL apologize to her mother and sister, and say he thought she was some other girl.

She takes her bag and leaves him there.

He follows her out then grabs and hugs her. She tells him to let go.

“If you don’t see me as a man, then it wouldn’t matter if I hold you like this.”

He hugs her tighter and she complains even when she is 70 years old she won’t see him as a man.

Seung-hye crashes through the door, “What is going on here?”

Jomo’s Comments

I use the last photo up there as a reference when I ponder this couple. Do they look like they could date? Do they look good together for lack of a better expression?  But I can’t see past the idea that he is going to be in for a scolding next for trying to play with the grown-ups. This IS how his sister sees them for sure no matter how much of a man he claims to be with Byung-hee.

What is up with Bae? Why isn’t he pouncing? This frustrates me to no end when one of the rivals acts passively. Is he that polite, or over-confident, or clueless to Byung-hee’s HINTS she wants some action? Arrrrrgh! I am mad at Chul-su for interrupting their almost kiss, but I am madder at him for not getting to it sooner.  Why didn’t he ignore the call? If it were important enough, he would have gotten a voice mail.  He had time to smooch her and then listen.  Come on, Doc! Don’t make it more difficult for me to pull for you. Chul-su may not have the edge for smarts or maturity, but he knows how to get and keep Byung-hee’s attention. Byung-hee is yours if you bring up your game, Alleged Player.

EE’s Comments

It’s the long standing tradition of officially meeting with the parents in this episode. While the Western version of this is less formal, both cultures signify this as a serious point in the relationship. Mom is presented with the bona fides of each suitor: Dr. Bae is charming, educated, successful, and every mom’s dream A DOCTOR! Bulldog, however, is within throwing distance of Mom’s age (and he DARES to call her Mother?). Mom has a pretty good idea of what a man that old would want with her younger daughter. And poor Chul Soo opts to listen to the whole thing. He tried to drown his sorrows in Busty because being with Byung Hee is not the easy road (avoidance and bailing out has pretty much been his response to challenges like college and military service). How important is Byung Hee to him? Given the dynamic of both their families AND her current relationship, this is not something he can do easily. Additionally, Seung-hye is like his “parent”. If Chul Soo was serious about Busty, there might have been a formal meeting with Seung-hye and a need to make a good impression. Judging by her reaction at the end of this episode, vague suspicion makes Seung-hye a difficult path to cross too. Chul Soo has his work cut out for him.