Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 12 Recap

Dream lighting. Gun Woo and Jung Joo approach each other. Gun Woo asks, “Where would you go?” He tells her that he’ll give her back the Warm and Cozy. She smiles. And... this is a bonus. The pinky promise, complete with kissing her thumb.

Asleep, Jung Joo laughs happily. Then the alarm goes off. And she’s going to think that it was just a dream. She sits up and stretches and turns off her phone alarm. She doesn’t even notice that she’s wearing his jacket, just throws it off of her. She spots the Lease Agreement, taped back together.

She goes downstairs and asks if he taped the Lease Agreement back together. He says that he did. She looks at it and says that she thought she ripped it up. She must've brought it back home. Gun Woo asks, she did? She says that since she brought back something she thought she threw out, she must have had too much to drink last night. She takes a chug of water.

Gun Woo asks if she even remembers how she got home last night? With certainty, Jung Joo says that she took a cab. What?

Jung Joo thinks back to the evening. Very civilized, she and Mayor chink glasses and drink at a pojangmacha. He goes to pour her another drink and she covers her glass. She tells him they should stop drinking for the night. He smiles a ‘what a girl’ smile and pats her on the arm. Jung Joo’s voiceover says that whenever she’s out drinking, she stops when she’s had enough.

Jung Joo hails the Ajumma and tallies what they consumed. Ajumma is impressed that Jung Joo mentally figured out that it totaled 28,000 won. So she’s not too drunk that she can count. Jung Joo’s voiceover says that she called a cab and got home safely as a cab pulls up and Jung Joo climbs in.

Back to the Warm and Cozy. Jung Joo says that she worked at a company for seven years. When is he going to tell her he loves her! With her perfect homing instinct and those countless team dinners, she always crawled back home quietly and safely. And that makes me wonder who helped her home all those other times. Gun Woo repeats it: 'Perfect homing instinct'? She says that it’s like a salmon. Gun Woo asks if it was a carp he saw last night then?

Monday, June 29, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 11 Recap

Episode starts when it left off. Jung Joo declares that she’ll never, ever lose to him! Him looking at her and daring her to try if she can and then kissing her. Still makes me smile. Her eyes close and eventually he pulls away.

He looks at her, standing there with her eyes closed – because she’s in shock! – and he smiles. She lost, didn’t she? Slowly she opens her eyes. She looks at him and he looks back. She looks away. She doesn’t know how to take what just happened. The boy kissed you. It must mean he likes you. It’s only the 3rd time he’s done something that really says that…

Gun Woo takes a step backward and points at the 100,000,00 RKW rose and forcefully orders her to make sure to throw out that flower in the trash. Then he walks off. And I so want to punch him right now! Oh, my gosh! I so want to punch him right now!!!

Jung Joo looks like she wants to cry right now. She touches her lower lip, wondering what just happened.

Upstairs, Gun Woo takes off his jacket and throws it on his bed. He sits and unbuttons the top button of his shirt, like he’s being choked by it. It’s obvious that he’s frustrated. He glances down to where Jung Joo is and then grimaces. That did not go how he planned at all and now he’s kicking himself. He rubs his lower lip and thinks about what he should do now.

Jung Joo looks at the rose. She asks if she looks that easy to him? She dramatically snaps it in half. Thunderclap as she does.

Later Gun Woo comes down stairs. There’s the sound of a knife being sharpened. He turns around to see Jung Joo dispassionately sharpening a cutting knife. Horror music plays. Gun Woo decides he should just go back upstairs. He tries to sneak away, but runs into a chair. Jung Joo stops sharpening and looks in his direction. It’s like she’s been possessed. Gun Woo winces. He looks over at her.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 10 Recap

Episode begins with shots of beautiful Jeju. We open with the Warm and Cozy hopping with customers. Jong Bae is one of them. He tells Jung Joo that he heard she met the mayor's uncle. She tells him that they explained that they're not getting married. Jong Bae ignores that, of course, since he’s trying to hook her up with Mayor. Jong Bae tells her that Uncle thought she was perfect for Mayor. No pressure there! Jung Joo smiles uncomfortably but remains professional and tells him to enjoy his lunch.

At another table, MA asks his cowokers how much they think they should give to congratulate the mayor on his wedding? They’re not sure.

The Diver trio are there. Hae Shil tells her that now that word is out, she won't be able to marry anyone else. Yoo Ja tells her to marry the mayor and Bok Nyeo adds that Jung Joo can make them noodle soup at the wedding! More uncomfortableness. Jung Joo says that she told them all that it was a misunderstanding. Yoo Ja smiles like she completely doesn’t believe her. More professionalism from Jung Joo.

Poong San and Gun Woo are in the kitchen. Gun Woo isn’t smiling, even though there are lots of people who his food is making happy. Poong San marvels at all the people. Who knew Warm and Cozy would be full of the townspeople one day... He smiles and says that Mr. Mayor's influence is nothing to laugh about. That’s why Gun Woo’s not happy. He tells Poong San that it’s not going to last. Non-plussed, Poong San says that judging from the townspeople's enthusiastic excitement ... Jung Joo’s already become Mrs. Mayor. What is Poong San doing? It sounds like he’s happy about this new development. I thought he wanted Jung Joo and Gun Woo together. Gun Woo grits his teeth and gets on Poong San for how he’s preparing the noodles.

Jung Joo opens the cash register and happily sighs because of how full it is. All the town elders paid in cash instead of using credit cards. Poong San walks up and remarks on how happy she looks. He asks if it doesn’t bother her that she became Mrs. Mayor? She says that she can’t help that. Poong San notes that Gun Woo doesn't seem to like the idea. So that’s what he’s doing… pushing Gun Woo to get more jealous so he gets off his duff. Jung Joo’s listening and no longer counting money. Poong San says that he can't tell if Gun Woo’s annoyed because business is booming or if he doesn't like that she might become Mrs. Mayor. He walks away.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 9 Recap

The episode doesn’t replay the ending – which would have been awesome – but picks up after the hug. Jung Joo and Gun Woo are sitting – not close to each other, I might add – talking about what happened. He thought she was dying, gave her the restaurant, and worked for free. Jung Joo says that he must felt it was really unfair. Gun Woo answers – in a tone that’s a mix of indignant and relieved – he says that he totally does. He couldn't eat or sleep for days... Does she have any idea how worried he was? So it’s not that he gave her the restaurant or worked for free… it’s the worry and toll on his emotional well-being that wasn’t fair. Heh.

Jung Joo says that it feels unfair to her, too. Without knowing the truth, she liked that he did all that. She thought it would all be hers for the rest of her days, so she was truly happy. A little double speak there, since she’s not really talking about the Warm and Cozy. She says she’s talking about the Warm and Cozy. But we really know she was talking about him. And I think he knows it too.

Gun Woo lifts his chin – like he’s aware of but ignoring the double speak – says that Jung Joo found some regulars and promoted the restaurant. She worked really hard as if it was her restaurant. He tells her that there's nothing to feel unfair about. Meaning that the agreement stands. He just told her that he was hers forever, so this makes sense. She just needs to keep it up.

Jung Joo announces that she can't do it. Gun Woo wasn’t expecting that and asks, “Why not?” A sad smile as Jung Joo says that she shouldn't keep liking it. It's not even hers. Again with the doublespeak. Wow, I didn’t catch it the first time around, but she is totally talking about her heart here and her feelings for him. She smiles and tells him that she wants to quit. He doesn’t know why she would have to quit. Just thinking about it is hard. Is he talking about the Warm and Cozy or her heart? Gun Woo says they should say they just went through a near-death experience. They’ll take care of the rest next time. It's hard for him to even sit.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 8 Recap

The episode starts with Jung Joo rolling off the chairs and Gun Woo catching her. He swallows heavily and thinks that it’s uncomfortable. His phone buzzes. He makes a face and gingerly pulls it from his pocket and puts it on the table. Jung Joo snuggles into him. Gun Woo looks even more uncomfortable. He picks her up and puts her back on the chairs. He covers again with the apron. He goes and grabs the blanket and covers her with it. He looks at the sleeping Jung Joo and swallows. He really doesn’t know what to do with how he’s feeling right now.

Slowly, he grabs his phone. Jung Joo groans, uncomfortable. Immediately concerned, he squats next to her and asks if she's sick. Jung Joo gasps, uncomfortable. Gun Woo is really worried. He gives an eotteokay! He remembers her pills. He gets some water and a couple of the ‘fentanyl’. He helps her sit up and feeds her the pills. She coughs on the water. Gun Woo asks if she’s okay. She opens her eyes and just looks at him.

Gun Woo’s face says that he’s really worried. He asks how she feels. Is she really sick? She smiles slightly and falls back asleep. Gun Woo lays her back down and tells her he’ll bring her some warm water. As he stands up, Jung Joo does a wrist grab and weakly tells him not to go. Her hand slips, but he catches it. He clasps it between his hands and sits down next to her. Again, she weakly asks him not to go. He stays.

The next day, Jung Joo is massaging her head. Presumably from her hangover. Gun Woo puts some hangover porridge in front of her. She asks him what's going on? Why is he there? He sits across from her and tells her they need to get her feeling better first. It's spicy beef soup. She says that before she feels better, he should explain why he’s there and making it for her. Gun Woo says that he got caught by Hyung and was kicked out, so he’ll have to stay there for a little longer. Jung Joo points out that if Noona told him to come, didn't that mean Hyung was okay with it? Matter-of-factly, Gun Woo says, “no.” He avoided Hyung at the resort like a coward but Hyung caught him red-handed. Hyung kicked him out right there and then.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 7 Recap

Jung Joo sits heavily onto her bed, after doing one of the hardest things she’s ever had to do: tell Gun Woo to leave. She sighs. There’s a clunk of paper sacks and Gun Woo, because he’s Gun Woo, pushes open her curtain and enters her space. He plops the bags on the ground as he asks, “You're telling me to leave? What are you saying?” To leave. She stand up and looks straight ahead, instead of looking at him. She replies that it’s exactly as it sounds. Get out of her restaurant. She glances at him and then looks ahead again. He has a credit card now, doesn't he?

Gun Woo protests – because he *doesn’t* want to leave the one person who likes him for just him – Where would he go? He already reached his credit card limit for the month. She answers that his limit will soon replenish itself. He protests that she was holding onto him earlier because she couldn't run the restaurant alone with just Poong San. She answers that she did, but Poong San was doing a good job. Gun Woo sighs and shakes his head in disbelief as she adds that from now on, she and Poong San can make it work without him. His poor eyes look so sad. Even as he’s blustering, he’s freaking out. Should have taken her shopping, dude, rather than Dead Face Harpy.

Gun Woo asks if she means that. She turns to face him and says that he opened up this restaurant to appease a girl in the first place. He looks away because it’s painfully, embarrassingly true. Now that they’ve been to Seoul together, isn't it a done deal? Or has she not fallen for him even after working so hard to be her escort? That part stings as it hits a little too close to home. Gun Woo retaliates by saying that he wouldn't have liked her if she was the type to fall for him that easily. Jab at Jung Joo. She's really pretty and attractive. She's different from someone he knows who's all over him just for dukbokki! Jung Joo is appropriately insulted at his implication.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 6 Recap

It only makes sense, but I so don’t want to relive that moment… But since we don’t know if Gun Woo kissed her or not…

Episode starts with the door bell… Gun Woo turning Jung Joo to look at him and declaring that every once in a while, he’s horrible to Dead Face, too. I’m still going to call her Dead Face Harpy, but I can’t see Gun Woo calling her a harpy, hence the ‘Dead Face.’ Dead Face Harpy strolls in and can’t believe that Gun Woo’s about to kiss Jung Joo. Again, if you freeze the frame, it just looks like she has gas, is confused… Gun Woo leans in and Jung Joo closes her eyes. Instead of shoving him off. Dead Face Harpy sneers in disbelief and leaves.

From the opposite angle, we can see that Gun Woo knew Dead Face Harpy was there and that she’s left. He doesn’t kiss Jung Joo. At least he has the sense not to use Jung Joo that much. Still want to slap him. But he's not making the greatest choices, like when Ji Hoo kissed Jan Di in ‘BOF.’ Yes, I went there. He doesn’t smile as he checks that Dead Face Harpy is gone. He steps backward and finally drops his hand from Jung Joo's face. He leans against the counter and says that Jung Joo can open her eyes. Ji Won is gone. He looks away from her.

Jung Joo opens her eyes and looks to make sure Dead Face Harpy is gone. There’s a pause, silent. Then she yells at him: What the heck? He startled her. I want to hit Gun Woo some more as he says: What's there to be startled about? Did he do anything to her? You almost kissed her, dude! How is that not doing something? How is it not using her to hurt Dead Face Harpy? He protests that he was the one who was more startled. Why did she close her eyes? She answers that she was just so shocked. It just happened. Gun Woo, a hand referencing his face, asks if your eyes aren’t usually wide open when you're shocked. Wow, they are both totally deflecting what he just did to argue over this.

‘Saving’ her dignity, Jung Joo says that, no, she closes her eyes when she's shocked. She shuts her eyes tightly so that she won't see anything scary or dirty. Heh. The idea of being kissed by Gun Woo is scary and/or dirty. Gun Woo quickly slides over to put his face in hers. There’s a ‘ching’ sound effect as Jung Joo’s eyes fly wide open. He points and says, “See? Your eyes are as big as saucers!” She glares at him and then head butts him. Yes! Good girl! Gun Woo staggers backward, reeling from the pain. He yells at her, asking if she’s crazy?! She’s indignant now. She asks him if he wants to get beaten up until his eyes are wide open? He goes back to holding his head and not looking at her. She demands to know why he’s using her for his love life?!

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 5 Recap

We left off with Gun Woo being an idiot. After basically inviting Jung Joo on a date, he forgets she exists when Ji Won shows up. Why he likes this girl, I don’t know. She constantly leads him on, giving him just enough mixed signals to think that maybe this time she’ll actually like him. Yoo Yeon Suk has done a great job of making Gun Woo lovable because right now I want to slap some sense into him. Even if Jung Joo didn’t have a long-standing crush on him, I’d still want to smack him.

We start the episode slightly after the end of the last, violins playing ‘Moon River,’ with Gun Woo romantically saying:

Everything that exists here is for you. Do you know how much I looked forward to this moment? Right there should have been the clue. I hope you like it.

We see Jung Joo staring into Gun Woo’s eyes and he smiles and pours the wine.

And then... Here, *Ji Won.* Sound of glass breaking. Dead Face smiles – smugly, since she has Gun Woo right where she wants him, not focused on another woman. It's the only reason she bothered to come over in the first place, because she saw him with another woman. Otherwise, she would have still left him hanging. Gun Woo and Dead Face clink glasses as Jung Joo exhales to not explode. Dead Face is eating her dinner! With the abalone *she* bought!

Jung Joo, the third wheel. She’s sitting, arms and legs crossed. Restraining herself from hitting Gun Woo. At least that’s why I would be sitting that way. To further boost her ego (and probably rub it in Jung Joo’s face): Dead Face points out how she came without calling ahead... did he really have everything prepared for her? Gun Woo says that it was telepathy. A noise from Jung Joo. I gagged a little. At least he's having some wine with that cheese. A look from Gun Woo for Jung Joo not to blow this for him. He continues that he just wanted to light a candle for no reason. What if Dead Face had come a little late, after he had eaten all the food with Jung Joo? Jung Joo can’t believe that he just said that. I can’t either. Not only did you totally snake Jung Joo’s meal for this woman, but then you joke about it? Urg!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 4 Recap

Episode starts with Gun Woo waking up with a smile. The smile quickly fades as he sits up to find himself barricaded behind some wine crates. He’s annoyed at Jung Joo. He hurries to climb out of bed with indignation, but instead hurts his foot. I have to snicker.

Great guitar music plays in the background. It reminds me of something that they play with spirited Latin dancing. Love how it signals that they're about to battle. Gun Woo plods down the stairs, wearing a frown and straightening his hair. Comb? He stops and glares at Jung Joo, who is mopping the floor. She stops and glares back. He pulls up his sleeves, as if preparing for battle. She goes back to mopping the floor.

Gun Woo says that he agrees that they should divide the space, but shouldn’t they adjust the ratio somewhat? Maybe not exactly 50-50, but at least 40-60... In answer, she mops his feet. I am really laughing now. Go, Jung Joo! This makes him step backwards. He protests that she should consider his height! I looked up Yoo Yeon Suk's height and he's 6' tall. The average height of a South Korean is 5'8". Of a North Korean: 5'5". She stops mopping pointedly. He throws out ‘30-70!’ but it’s more fear than bluster. She tells him to sit. He answers: 20-80. No more! 

She puts down the mop and sits at the table. Gun Woo won’t look at her, until she asks her question: Why did he come? Not what he was expecting, I don’t think. Jung Joo tells him to be honest. Falteringly, he admits that he has a little more debt than he said. But Hyung found out about it. How much did you lose with the horse racing? Jung Joo protests that he said he’d pay his debt back with the deposit she gave him. Was there more? Gun Woo shoots back that it just happened that way. Why does he always say that, like he has no responsibility for or control over how things turn out?

Gun Woo says that Hyung took care of the debt but then seized all the rent from his building in Seoul. So he has no money. Hyung even cut off his credit card. All of his funds are tied up, so he has nowhere else to go. The way he’s fiddling with his fingers is killing me. Heh. He’s really not used to having to admit reality. Jung Joo asks why Gun Woo doesn't have anywhere else to go. He has the resort that his rich brother owns and the mansion that his sister lives in. Gun Woo answers that he doesn’t know. Noona told him not to come! He understands that Hyung is doing this to him out of anger – but I don’t think that’s really the reason, it just is coming across like that – but isn't Noona being too harsh? Indignantly, he declares that Noona won't even pick up his calls!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 3 Recap

Episode 3 starts with Jung Joo picking up her new ID. As she smiles and looks at it, she tells herself that now she’ll be voting on Jeju Island. She’s going to die and bury her bones there. She heads back to the Warm and Cozy where Poong San is on the phone. He says that they are closed every Saturday and Sunday. They’re open on the first and third day of the week but closed on the second and fourth day of the week. Gun Woo really doesn’t want to make money if that’s all he’s open. But it fits with him being a slacker. Even with the limited availability, the person calling makes a reservation. Jung Joo says that the place always seems empty. She wondered if they made any money. Not with running things like that.

Poong San asks what brings Jung Joo to the Warm and Cozy. Geon Woo went out for a bit. She says that she came to borrow something. She asks again about how many customers they get because of reservations. I wonder if she's wondering how her business will do, based on how well the Warm and Cozy does. Poong San answers that whenever Ms. Boo Mi Ra talks about Geon Woo's restaurant in her blog, they get a rise in reservations, so he expects that they’ll be busier in the next week. Jung Joo is surprised to hear that the novelist, Boo Mi Ra, comes to the Warm and Cozy. Poong San replies that she’s a regular.

Later, Jung Joo looks at Mi Ra’s blog. She's written all sorts of posts about Sorang Town. There’s a post about Geon Woo. Mi Ra says that Chef Baek at the Warm and Cozy is a romantic guy. He's said that he met his first love in Jeju, on his 19th birthday. Man, the food he’s cooking looks good! And he’s smiling. Squish! Like a gust of wind that runs through Jeju’s beaches, she made an impressive entrance. Uh-oh. How did he meet Jung Joo and Ji Won on the same day? Jung Joo has made the same connection I did. His nineteenth birthday... was the day she went looking for him and claimed to be his twin. As ‘Love is the moment!’ begins to play, Jung Joo chews on her thumb.

Gun Woo appears and Jung Joo tries to act casually. He’s brought a step ladder that Jung Joo had asked Poong San to borrow. Gun Woo asks why Jung Joo didn't come for lunch. Why the interest, Gun Woo?  She tells him that she just had a cup of ramen. Gun Woo sees the insta-ramen and yells at her for eating stuff like that. You are what you eat!

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 2 Recap

Warm&Cozy_E02_001

Our episode begins where last episode left off, with Jung Joo trying to clean her shoe. Phone call; she’s fired; drops the shoe and it floats away.

What a day she’s having: 
  1. Life saving stolen 
  2. Loses best Apartment out of 100 because of #1 
  3. Loses her fantasy prince 
  4. Used by that fantasy prince – so not only did they not have that immediate love connection but he used her instead 
  5. Discovered that her boyfriend has not just cheated on her but married the woman 
  6. Loses her job 
Wow. All she needs now is a death of someone and someone getting cancer and it would be the worst day ever.

Jung Joo is in a daze because of her traumatic day. Gun Woo fishes her shoe out of the stream. He walks over to her and tosses the shoe so that it lands next to her. This gets her attention. He says that he was just going to leave, but he got a birthday coupon from a salon, so he realized that it was her birthday, too. He is totally pretending to casually say this, but he watching her reaction. Other thought: coupon? Did he have time to go back to the Warm and Cozy or is he just making up a plausible excuse for why he came looking for her? I think it’s an excuse. He may be self-centered, but he’s also kind. He tells her that he’s going to treat her to a birthday meal at his beautiful restaurant.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Warm and Cozy Episode 1 Recap

Our series starts with polo. Not something I ever expected to see in a k-drama, polo. It’s something I think of being played in Europe or countries that used to be part of the British Empire. But I guess the writers equate polo with the uber-rich, and that’s what our hero is, uber-rich.

[Jeju Island, 2006]

Baek Gun Woo (Yoo Yeon Suk) is the hero of the match, with his sister loudly cheering him on. His mother practically crows as she sips her champagne.

After the match, the scene moves pool side, where Gun Woo’s pals are having a great time. They even speak English. Apparently, it’s Gun Woo’s birthday because his sister, Cha Hee Ra (Ok Ji Young) announces that his birthday cake has arrived. She strikes me as an airhead. I hope it’s just youthful exuberance. Mom, Baek Se Young (Lee Whee Hyang), is too cool to be exuberant.

A girl approaches, Lee Jung Joo (Kang So Ra). She’s holding a picture of Se Young with a man. Jung Joo reaches out her hand as she says, “Oma.” Uh-oh. It’s a long-lost child. What a way to start out a drama. She starts to inch forward, when someone grabs her wrist and drags her away: it’s Gun Woo, who testily asks why she's looking for his mother. Is she Lee Byung Soo's younger sister? She asks if he’s Baek Geon Woo, senior at International High School. Gun Woo scolds her for wanting to go tattle to his mom over what happened. How can she make a beeline for his mom? Shouldn't she first be taking care of it with him since it's his business? Side note: I like Yoo Yeon Suk with wavy hair. That is all.