Series begins with a girl, Na Bong Sun (Park Bo Young), walking – staggering really – down the street, asleep on her feet. She walks by an ambulance that starts its engine and drives with its siren on. We follow the ambulance – fuzziness and floating over the ambulance implies that the person inside might be half dead right now – to the hospital. As the EMTs unload the patient, they report that he’s a 25-year old male who was found unconscious on the stairs of a club in Itaewon. His vitals are unstable and his body temperature is 25 degrees Celsius (77*F). They say it seems like he has hypothermia. Response? Another one?
Two of the interns comment on how it’s another person with hypothermia. They’ve lost count for the month and during a heat wave, too. Hypothermia during a heat wave? Must be a ghost! Everyone knows (at least those of us who watch ‘Supernatural’) that when ghosts are in the room, the temperature plummets. Intern1 wonders if it's a similar virus to Ebola. Ebola? Seriously? I cannot believe that they just threw out Ebola. Come on, writers! Do a little research. There’s no way that hypothermia is related to a disease that you contract from either contact with bodily fluids or drinking tainted water. Talk about latching on to the alarming disease of the day. I sure hope that this thing stops being stupid really quickly. Intern2 scoffs – as would I. The other guy needs to study some more – and says that he thinks that it’s drug related. He asks what the police said.
Switch to police. Cop-1 says that the victims were all with women before the incident. But? Their ID's and jobs all check out okay. There’s nothing connecting these women. They’re chatting over lunch. It looks good. Cop-2 wonders what mystery woman’s true identity is. They have no idea. Cop-3 says that there was one common trait between the women. All of them are exceptionally beautiful and have a well-proportioned figure. Way to put that she had a chest. They wonder who she is. It’s not like she's a ghost or anything.
Switch to a man and woman making out in a car and him suddenly gasping for breath. Then to ambulance driving away and the same woman muttering, “Gosh, that bastard. Getting me all hot and bothered. That was a letdown.” Pouting, she yells at herself to leave and we see a ghost emerge from the woman’s body. The look on the woman’s face says that she has no idea how she ended up there. We don’t see the ghost’s face yet, but she’s dressed like a frump. As ghost walks away and by some flowers, they freeze. Confirming that the cases of hypothermia are, indeed, caused by contact with a ghost.
People walk through her like she’s not there. Except for Bong Sun. She stops right before they collide, bows a deep apology and walks around the ghost, hitting her head to wake up. Slowly, ghost – Shin Soon Ae (Kim Seul Gi) – turns around, surprised that Bong Sun could see her.
[Oh My Ghostess: Episode 1]
Scenes of busy Seoul. DJ voiceover says that once again, today's high will be north of 30 degrees Celsius (86*F – which is what the temperature is where I am today and it is gross). DJ says that on this hot summer day, everyone is sure to have their own way of dealing with the heat. Turning on a fan or the AC is a given. Although, they won’t run the fans at night – superstition says that it will kill you. DJ suggests that a horror movie could help, too. Ghosts... scary, right? DJ read in a book that, even though people usually think of a ghost in a white gown with long black hair – a la ‘The Ring’ – and only appearing in places like a deserted house. But the truth is, ghosts exist right now. Next to us. In our daily lives. Chatting away.
End up on Soon Ae walking next to some guys who are complaining about the weather making them lethargic. They wonder about lunch. Soon Ae wants bibimbap or bean paste soup. Not them. They’re in the mood for cold noodles. She shakes her finger at them and tells them to eat rice. Koreans get strength from rice. She runs in front of them and chats ‘Rice! Rice! Rice!’ They walk right through her.
Soon Ae mutters after them that they should've taken her along. She wanted to go along and enjoy her eye candies, but no. They think they’re all that because they’re handsome. Annoyed, she walks by a couple and hisses at them. They react to the sudden blast of cold air.
Soon Ae now sits on a park bench, bored. Her voice over says that she’s a ghost. A virgin ghost at that. The ghost with the most bitter grudge of all ghosts. Imagine how painful it must've been to die as a virgin, to decline the heavens’ invitation and roam around this 'other world.' She’s known as the ill-natured libertine queen of the ghost world. But she wants to be understood. We see that she’s trying to get a soda can pull tab to move, but it won’t. Soon Ae sighs, frustrated, as her voiceover says that she’s a pitiful love song, a soul full of regrets. And she’s So. Very. Bored.
Baby in a stroller coos at her. She slides over with a smile and talks to him. She asks if he wants to play with her – because he can see her. And they play – it’s short but very cute. Guys playing basketball lose control of the ball and it’s going to hit the baby. Not thinking, Soon Ae reaches up to bat it away – and does. She can’t believe it.
Soon Ae lays on the bench. She sighs and says that the sky is ridiculously high. So blue. Very pretty. She sits up and sighs that this is depressing. She should find some funeral food and get some energy. What does that mean?
Switch to Sun Restaurant. Girl at the counter is reading a book and it just looks like one of the other staff pocketed some money. That staff member is Heo Min Soo (Kang Ki Young), Sun Restaurant’s sous chef. He enters the kitchen and immediately starts yelling that Jo Dong Chul (Choi Min Chul), which gets Min Soo a glare. But the guy can’t really say anything, because Min Soo is his boss. Min Soo tells him that he looks like a manager at some corporation. And Min Soo has a green and a blue hair clip in his hair. Okay. Who would see Dong Chul as someone that's a year younger than Min Soo is. So, not only boss, but sunbae. Ai.
Min Soo turns to the other kitchen staff and says that Dong Chul’s face discourages anyone from talking to him informally. He pinches Dong Chul’s face as he says that Dong Chul’s so dull. Choi Ji Woong (Oh Eui Shik) protests that Dong Chul isn’t dull. He does look older than his age, it’s just that Sous Chef looks way younger than his age. People think he’s in his 20's, right? Which is an inside joke, because Dramawiki says that he’s really 27, but playing someone 31. Min Soo nods and says that he’s even gotten high school before. Ji Woong says that he almost spoke informally to Min Soo at first.
Min Soo reaches over and slaps Dong Chul on the butt several times as he apologizes – and I think this is normal behavior in Korea, boys slapping each other on the butts when they’re not playing sports. My theory is because it’s annoying and affectionate at the same time. Don’t get me started on the game of ddong chim aka poop (shit) needle (in Japan it’s called kancho) – drilling your index fingers up your friend’s rear as a joke. It’s especially popular for school children to do it to their teachers. Then he moves on to Joon – and misses Dong Chul drinking a little of the cooking wine from the bottle – and yells at Joon for how he’s cutting up the meat. It’s too thick. Is he making steamed galbi?
Galbi Jjim (갈비찜) or Korean braised beef short ribs is yummy.
Here’s a recipe from BeyondKimchee.com.
Another recipe from the Official VisitKorea website.
The meat for the stock should settle nicely in the soup. Doesn’t he know these things? Le Cordon Bleu didn't teach him these things? Joon studied at the Cordon Bleu? Wow. Joon starts sharpening his knife, muttering his reply that they don't teach those things. Like he’s so tired of this guy yaking at him but he’s a sunbae, so he can’t say anything. Min Soo snaps back: does Joon think he doesn't know that? He was being snarky. Doesn’t Joon know what metaphors or satires are? And what he just did was neither.
A metaphor is a figure of speech that highlights the similarities between two unrelated things for rhetorical effect. A simile compares two items and typically uses the words “like” or “as.” A metaphor, on the other hand, directly equates them. Example of simile: crazy like a fox, shrewd as a snake. Example of a metaphor: someone being the black sheep of the family, that idea is music to my ears.
Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize stupidity, foolishness or vices of an individual or society.
Like I said, what Min Soo was just doing was neither satire or metaphor.
Joon puts down the sharpening steel and examines the knife he was sharpening – like Min Soo isn’t even talking to him. I like this kid. Min Soo, on the other hand, is coming off as a bit of a jerk. Joon ignoring him is not lost on Min Soo. He comments on how he's busting Joon’s chops, but Joon’s not even fazed. Maybe he should just fire Joon… which still doesn’t get a rise out of Joon, even with Min Soo glaring at him.
Ji Woong asks Min Soo if something’s burning? Min Soo says that it’s him. His heart is burning. He has heartburn! Implying that it’s because of Joon. Min Soo mutters that this is why he doesn't like people who studied abroad. He picks up the chopsticks he was carrying and repeatedly smacks the table by where Joon is working to emphasize his irritation, as he asks what good is it to have top qualifications when your character sucks? From where I’m sitting, it’s not Joon’s character that sucks. Dong Chul chimes in that it does smell like something is burning. Min Soo looks down at his apron to check if it’s him.
Joon exclaims that it’s coming from outside. He hurries outside where Bong Sun is sitting, asleep, as the sauce she was cooking burns. Joon yells “Ya! Ya! Ya!” at Bong Sun to wake her up while he pulls the sauce off the fire. The other three come out after him. Min Soo immediately starts yelling at Bong Sun, with her profusely apologizing. Is she out of her mind? Who falls asleep while cooking sauce? Who does that? Does she think an apology is enough? She almost caused a fire! Why doesn't she even have the bare basics? He should just fire her. Whose restaurant is she trying to burn down?
Shoes come around the corner – are those Crocs? – and Kang Sun Woo (Jo Jung Suk) says that it’s not Min Soo’s restaurant. His voice is very Zen. Everyone immediately straightens up, standing to attention. Sun Woo comments that he thought this was the Himalayas. Such a thick layer of fog. The scenery here is epic. Don't they think? With that last sentence he looks pointedly at Min Soo and smiles as he asks. Bong Sun can only stand there, hanging her head. She covers her face, mortified.
Now inside, Joon watches as Sun Woo, ever so calmly, dresses down Min Soo. Bong Sun is standing next to him, but Sun Woo doesn’t address her.
Huh Min Soo, what is your role in this kitchen? Sous Chef. Then he’s number two. Before Min Soo was acting like this was his restaurant. Taking so much care. Threatening to fire people. And yet, he left someone like this in charge of sauce? Sun Woo stresses the last part of that sentence with a yell. Bong Sun grimaces again with embarrassment. Min Soo stutters that he, honestly, was on the sauce the whole time, but asked Bong Sun to watch it for 10 minutes. She couldn't last such a short moment. That’s not the answer that Sun Woo was looking for. His voice still raised, Sun Woo asks if any moment in the kitchen is not short? Those moments are life and death. Doesn't he know? Min Soo, of course, apologizes. It was his mistake. Bong Sun chimes in, sincere as she apologizes, saying that it was her fault.
Sun Woo ignores her and says to Min Soo, “You go around bad mouthing me, right?” He reaches over and takes the chopsticks out from where Min Soo has stuck them in his apron. Sun Woo looks at them and says that it's okay. His voice is unreasonably reasonable right now. I am scared. He continues that the work there is crappy and difficult. It's heavy labor. At least, Min Soo needs to bad mouth his boss. Min Soo immediately replies that he doesn’t. No way, Chef. How could he even dare? Poking Min Soo in the stomach with chopsticks, Sun Woo continues that Min Soo then delegates his work to someone else. The shove pushes Min Soo out of line, and Min Soo has to step back to his spot.
Sun Woo keeps pushing Min Soo with the sticks as he says that lacking professionalism is something he can't tolerate. That's part of Min Soo’s nature and character. Not something learned. Min Soo can barely whisper as he says that he’ll keep that in mind, Chef. Sun Woo tells him, like he’s pleading – but he’s so not. The feeling right now is that Chef really wants to bust those chopsticks over Min Soo’s head but is holding back, even though Chef is talking ever so calmly. – that they should do well. Min Soo agrees. Sun Woo repeats himself: Do well, okay? Yes, Chef. Sun Woo promises to keep an eye on Min Soo. Yes, Chef. Sun Woo reaches over with the sticks again and Min Soo winces, expecting another poke. Instead Sun Woo tucks them back into their spot and walks away. Bong Sun and Min Soo bow respectfully as he goes.
They straighten up and Min Soo pulls Bong Sun by the neck around the corner. He stands over her, leaning with his arm against the wall she is cowering against. He sucks some air through his teeth and says that he’s in his 30's and he’s being disciplined like a child. It’s so degrading. He should leave and start his own place. Bong Sun apologizes. Controlling his temper, Min Soo asks her why she can’t sleep at night. Why is she falling asleep during the day? Why? Why! That last one comes out as a hiss, where it’s obvious that if Chef wasn’t here, he would have screamed it in her ear. Bong Sun cowers.
Min Soo pulls out his sticks and waves them at her as he says they should do better, huh? She barely answers, ‘okay.’ He clenches his fist around the sticks and shakes them at her as he gives her a ‘sheesh!’ and walks off. Bong Sun covers her face with her hands again.
Later, Bong Sun is scrubbing a large metal pot and falling asleep while she’s doing it. She catches herself and pulls out a gadget. She pats under her eyes with it, wincing, and a black hooded ethereal thing floats by – emphasis with sound effect. Bong Sun notices it. She starts saying the Lord’s Prayer. So she’s Catholic. Interesting. A creepy, ghostly blackish hand reaches up and puts itself on her shoulder as she prays, more and more pleading and terrified. It leaves.
Bong Sun gets a call from her Halmeoni, who asks why she sounds so weak. Has she eaten? Halmeoni wants to know if Bong Sun’s sleeping or are the ghosts still bothering her. Bong Sun shakes her head and says that she’s been sleeping well and the ghosts haven't been coming lately. So Halmeoni knows about her problem and Bong Sun is lying to her about it. Halmeoni believes her and says that that’s good. Bong Sun shouldn’t live like how she lived as a shaman. Halmeoni tells her to make sure she burns incense where she sleeps. Okay? So Bong Sun gets it from her grandmother.
And for those of you who might not be familiar, in Feng Shui, you burn incense to cleanse a space and to drive away bad things. It’s prevalent in other cultures, too, but that’s the idea behind Halmeoni’s suggestion.
Bong Sun starts to cry as she hangs up and then starts fanning her face, since she just rubbed the stuff under her eyes into them.
Sun Woo is with his sister, Kang Eun Hee (Shin Hye Sun), who is in an electric wheelchair. She compliments him for the day. He replies that there's nothing he’s bad at. He’s good at cooking, good looking, and witty. The heavens are being unfair. Giving him everything. She rolls her eyes – although we don’t see it – Eun Hee replies – not annoyed – that he would be perfect if he didn't always compliment himself. He smiles.
Sun Woo grabs his cup of coffee and walks over to her as he says that it’s a weakness he intentionally created. If he’s too perfect, then he’d be hated. Eun Hee laughs and then notes that he’s so friendly like this, but she wonders why he’s hostile towards two women. Sun Woo doesn’t know who she means. Bong Sun. Sun Woo freezes, which makes me think there’s something going on here. She's becoming more diffident since he’s being hard on her. He glances back at the kitchen and mutters that Bong Sun’s just not good enough. Who's the other one?
In answer to his question, Oma – Jo Hye Young (Shin Eun Kyung) – arrives. Sun Woo stiffens. Eun Hee greets her. Sun Woo does not. Instead, he glances back at the kitchen - like he wants to escape there, sighs and sips his coffee, not looking at Oma.
Now Sun Woo is sitting at a table. With body language like he’s just waiting for the lecture and hammer to fall. He’s still not looking at her. Oma is humming, fussing at things around the restaurant. He asks – with a voice that is impatient – if she’s there check? He snaps that she’s making him dizzy. Can she sit? Definitely no love lost between them. What’s the story there? She doesn’t. He mutters that he told her not to come to the restaurant. Oma asks – her voice in full-on guilt trip mode – if he’s embarrassed by her? Why can't she come to her son's restaurant?
Sun Woo replies that the customers say stuff. This makes Oma stop. Sun Woo says that they ask if she’s his aunt. Or if she’s his secret older lover. Total nonsense. He mutters about her having him when she was only 19. Indignant, Oma asks who’s saying this stuff. Sun Woo snaps at her that that’s why she should live her life. Why come to his restaurant? Oma sighs loudly and walks over to Eun Hee as she says that Sun Woo must get lessons on how to speak in hurtful ways.
Oma sits down and says Sun Woo’s name several times before he looks at her. Wow, he is really disrespecting his Oma. It’s something I might see in America, but it’s not as acceptable in Korea. She pulls out a talisman. She says that he has the fortune of two arms. He has intense vitality and this year, his fortune says that there's a ghost that will become attached to him. Eun Hee laughs to herself as Oma says that it’s scary, right?
Sun Woo is unphased. Who is saying that? Guru Tae? Oma shakes her head and says that it’s from Mr. Jang’s from Sungbuk. Sun Woo kind of laughs as he tells her that he’s fine. She knows that he doesn’t believe in ghosts. He’s talking to her like she’s stupid. Oma snaps that she’s not saying that he should! Just keep the talisman with him. She shoves it at him as he protests that he really doesn't want to. He doesn't like this. She’s a professor. So Oma is smart and respected, but Sun Woo doesn’t treat her that way. Hmm. Why is she into this superstitious stuff? Do her students know she’s like this? She glares at him. They’re interrupted by a phone call from PD Lee.
Soon Ae has arrived at the funeral home. She greets some other ghosts and sits down to eat. It’s immediately apparent that they pick on her. Ghost-1 sarcastically comments that Soon Ae must be so hungry since she can't even get her own sacrificial rites. Ghost-1 continues that it's actually funny, if you think about it. She’s never heard of a ghost with a memory problem. I have. In really traumatic cases. Being Human’s ghost had that problem, too. Ghost-2 – wearing hospital pajamas – chimes in that it’s not common. Ghost-1 nods and says that if you died from a sudden trauma, it might be possible.
Ghost-1 tells Soon Ae – as Soon Ae ‘ignores’ her – that she shouldn’t eat other people’s sacrificial rites like that, just because she can’t eat her own. Even ghosts should have manners. She adds that they say appetite for food and sex usually go hand-in-hand. Soon Ae really can't hide the fact that she’s a virgin ghost, can she? Ghost-1 laughs. Soon Ae smacks her chopsticks on the table and tells Ghost-1 to give it a rest. Even a dog is left alone to eat. Ghost-1 asks if Soon Ae thinks she’s better than a dog. She's still possessing women to go around seducing men. Glare from Soon Ae.
Ghost-1 says that she hears that Seo Bing Go is out to catch her. Soon Ae starts to yell that it has nothing to do with Ghost-1. Ghost-1 answers, as a woman starts walking down the hall, that she’s saying it because it does have something to do with her! Because of Soon Ae, they’re all getting in trouble. The higher-ups said not to; why does she keep possessing people? And I can understand Ghost-1 being snotty to Soon Ae. They’re not supposed to be possessing people and Soon Ae is ignoring the rules, which is causing problems for everyone. I would be ticked, too.
Soon Ae spits back, asking if Ghost-1 never did anything wrong. Soon Ae recalls that Ghost-1 used to possess people quite often. It’s about to escalate into a girl fight when the woman we saw before enters. It’s Seo Bing Go (Lee Jung Eun). All the other ghosts spot Bing Go and run. So does Ghost-1, with Soon Ae yelling after them, full of bluster. She yells at them to come at her! She can take them all on!
The other ghosts don’t come back, so Soon Ae decides to look behind her. Bing Go is staring at her. She calls Soon Ae a little wench. Soon Ae immediately starts trying to be pleasant, greeting her and calling Bing Go ‘Unnim.’ Bing Go begins to yell at Soon Ae which makes the funeral guests start looking at Bing Go (because she’s talking to empty air). Soon Ae runs, with Bing Go chasing her, which causes a big stir, because Bing Go is waving around a big cane as she runs through the mourners. And could possibly club one of them in the head, the way she’s waving it around like that.
Bing Go almost gets detained by some people, but is able to run out of the Funeral Center and, screaming at Soon Ae, chases Soon Ae down the street. Soon Ae yells that Bing Go is scary fast! Which makes me laugh. As Bing Go chases Soon Ae, she wonders where Soon Ae is getting all her energy.
Soon Ae leaps into a bus. Bing Go grabs a taxi and follows it. Soon Ae jumps off the bus. Bing Go runs after her. Soon Ae runs through a crowd and we see through Soon Ae’s eyes – it’s black and white. But Soon Ae spots a girl with a bluish aura and jumps into her to hide. Bing Go mutters that Soon Ae’s just not following the rules, seriously. She starts to wander among the movie guests, telling Soon Ae that it'd be best for her to come out. Come out now.
Sun Woo enters the theatre, where, apparently, he is meeting a PD Lee So Hyung (Park Jung Ah). As he walks by the girl that Soon Ae is possessing, Soon Ae is forcefully ejected out of the girl. Soon Ae falls to the floor. Immediately, she tries to re-enter the girl, but can’t. That’s interesting. This causes Bing Go to catch her – and look crazy in the process, as she struggles to drag off Soon Ae with her cane.
Inside, Sun Woo pulls out the talisman and mutters about his mother. As So Hyung returns, he crumples it up and tosses it onto the tray she’s carrying. She’s brought him a lukewarm Americano, since he doesn’t like hot food because of how it messes with the taste buds. Sun Woo replies that that was when he first started working in the kitchen. He’s not a beginner anymore. He asks why she called. He doesn't have much time. She says that she’s working on a new program. It's a cooking program where he’d receive missions from the viewers. She wanted him on the first episode with Chef Marco.
Sun Woo scoffs about Marco doing another one. He thinks he's a celebrity. So Hyung replies that Marco has star quality and an interesting career. Sun Woo will do it, right? Sun Woo, with his arms crossed, shakes his head and says that he doesn't do pilots. He’ll think about it if it becomes a regular program. It’s obvious that they’re good friends as So Hyung sags across the table, dejected. She asks if he still won’t despite her asking for a favor. He answers that he has to cut back on his TV appearances. It caused his restaurant to go downhill.
So Hyung makes a face at him and says that he’s such a show off. Sun Woo replies that he’s not a show off; he’s really that great. How many times has he said it? So arrogantly said in such an unarrogant manner. Heh. She asks if he’s really turning her down. He says that he is. She sighs and says that she’s sad. Rejected by a friend she trusted. It’s a life lesson. Definitely good friends, what with the ribbing happening right now. Smiling, he says that he’ll be going now.
Sun Woo gets up to go. So Hyung says that she’s going there this weekend. Does he want to go? Sun Woo says that he’ll see. He'll (not Sun Woo) wants it to be just the two of them anyways. She sighs and waves goodbye, her face saying that she tried. Outside, Sun Woo looks at a picture on his phone of him with So Hyung and another man. They must have had a falling out that she’s trying to repair.
Bing Go drags Soon Ae back to her house. Bing Go yells at Soon Ae for watching her put in her code. Soon Ae yells back that it’s not like she can use it! Inside, Soon Ae immediately acts like she’s in terrible pain. Bing Go isn’t buying it. She tells Soon Ae to cut it out; the talismans won't hurt her. They just keep her locked in. Soon Ae stops and asks why Bing Go is picking on her. Bing Go says that Soon Ae’s been possessing people and causing men to collapse. It’s caused quite a ruckus upstairs. Until Bing Go locks her up, the folks upstairs won't even reveal fortunes anymore.
Flippantly, Soon Ae asks what she can do. She likes men. Bing Go says that that’s only logical. She’s a virgin ghost. Then she clucks at Soon Ae for taking over another body and seducing men that she was never able to while she was alive. Bing Go tells her to keep trying. There's no man out there that can overcome the chill of a ghost. Soon Ae has heard that there is: Sunshine of two arms. A man of vitality. Hmm, isn’t that what Oma was just calling Sun Woo? Bing Go laughs because Soon Ae’s daring to look for a man who is one in a million. And I find it ironic, because Sun Woo seems like the kind of guy who would, with no irony whatsoever, admit that he *is* one in a million.
Soon Ae says that she has to try. If she passes the 3-year mark as a ghost, she'll become an evil spirit. Oh, so there’s the time limit part that will come up later in the drama. She has to do this or become an evil spirit. She has to resolve this grudge before then and leave this place. Bing Go replies that that’s what she’s saying. Soon Ae needs to resolve her feelings. Forget this grudge, find peace, and go on up. Soon Ae mutters scornfully, asking if Bing Go thinks she can control it like that.
Bing Go yells at her, concern evident, that if Soon Ae keeps going around like that, something will go wrong! If she happens upon a body whose frequency matches hers perfectly, she could get trapped and not be able to get out. Does that mean that she would lose herself? Or that the possessed would disappear? Bing Go cries at the thought of that.
Soon Ae notices Bing Go’s genuine concern and says that she supposes that it's nice to have someone worry about her and it's nice to have someone to talk to, as well. Bing Go calls her a wench and, starting to cry again, calls Soon Ae a ‘poor girl.’ She starts to hug Soon Ae. Soon Ae complains but it’s obvious that she likes it. Bing Go says that she has such a pretty neck, as she pushes Soon Ae’s hair aside. Soon Ae asks why Bing Go’s so sensitive when she cries. Bing Go says that she loves Soon Ae and Soon Ae says it back.
Bing Go steps back, pokes Soon Ae in the arm and says “perfect.” (Which in Korean is ‘per-pect.’) Soon Ae looks down and notices bells tied around her neck. She’s livid. Laughing, Bing Go says that she had no choice. She can’t trust Soon Ae. She has to put bells around Soon Ae’s neck. Soon Ae protests that she’s not a cat or a dog! Soon Ae tries to pull it off, but it shocks her. Bing Go tells her not to even try. Only Bing Go can take them off or touch them. Soon Ae starts to throw a fit like a little kid, but Bing Go completely ignores her, complaining about the bill she’s looking at.
Sun Restaurant. Everyone’s at work. Dong Chul suggests they eat, since it looks like they’ll be working late today. Min Soo suggests rice, since Sun Woo’s not there. The others hesitate, because if Chef arrives, he won't like it. He really dislikes rice and side dishes. What’s up with that? Min Soo doesn’t care. What's with the Chef, seriously? So what if he doesn't like rice? Do we always have to eat noodles, too? Is he Nero or something? He's like a dictator.
Joon chimes in that Chef has never enforced it. They just followed along. Min Soo mutters that Joon is a Cordon punk. Ji Woong says they should order quickly before Chef comes. He’s really craving leek bibimbap. That sounds good to Min Soo and Joon. Dong Chul wants dried radish stew. Min Soo gets Bong Sun’s attention and gives her their order, telling her that she’ll have kimchi stew with no soup. Nice, not only does she have to order it, but she doesn’t even get to choose what she’s eating. I really don’t like how arrogant this guy is.
Almost not audible, Bong Sun asks if they’re really ordering. Min Soo says that, yes, they are really ordering. The Sous Chef says to, so who cares? Today, they should sit here (in the dining room) like human beings and eat their dinner. I see a shape of someone walking past the windows. Ah, Chef coming. Bong Sun has pulled out her phone to order. Min Soo says that they shouldn’t stand and eat like a bunch of bums.
Sun Woo enters and says that they haven't eaten yet, right? They should go in and make spicy noodle soup. Everyone, but Min Soo immediately says, “Yes, Chef!” Min Soo hangs his head. So close! Reluctantly he adds his “Yes, Chef!”
Everyone standing around the kitchen, eating. Sun Woo asks if the salmon has arrived. It has. Sun Woo proceeds to cut the head off one and slice it in half. Using tweezers, he pulls out a bone and groans, tossing the tweezers away with disgust. Where did they bring this from? Looking at Min Soo, he asks if the customers are alley cats? He can't feed them this. He mutters to himself that they must be crazy and then orders Min Soo to return this fish, adding to tell them they’ll stop doing business with them if they keep this up. Min Soo is all too happy to do it; he’s great at threats like that.
Dong Chul asks about the scallops from yesterday; they can't leave them much longer. Sun Woo mutters, remembering that they ordered too much. He thinks a moment and then asks if they have spinach. They do, so Sun Woo makes the special scallop and spinach pasta. Interesting. He tells them that he’ll be responsible for the taste so they should tell the customers it's really good. Advise them, don't force.
Lots of people, smiling, entering Sun Restaurant. Sun Woo announces that orders are coming in! Let's make it so delicious that the customers think it's to-die-for. Lots of cooking. And I want to go. It looks so good. Bong Sun is calling the dishes as well as cooking.
Bing Go is chanting. Soon Ae is making her bells jingle. Bing Go is annoyed. Soon Ae smiles and asks who told Bing Go to put bells around her neck? Bing Go gets up and smacks Soon Ae hard on the back of the head. Soon Ae protests loudly that it hurts.
And in the restaurant, Bong Sun grabs her head with pain.
Dinner service is over. Min Soo invites Sun Woo to come have a drink with them. Sun Woo turns them down, saying they shouldn’t say things they don’t mean. He leaves to go work out. Min Soo chuckles and adds that at least Sun Woo knows he's not wanted. That’s sad. They leave Bong Sun to do the dishes and get cleaned up. Which means we get a scene where the 3 have no shirt on.
As they get dressed, Min Soo complains about all the servings of pasta he made that day. Why do customers keep coming? So annoying. Someone chimes in that if the business does well, their pay might go up, right? Min Soo doubts it. Chef’s not half as good to them as he is to his sister. Ji Woong reminds them that Eun Hee is no ordinary sister. She used to be so lively and then she lost her legs in a hit and run. That really sucks. How must Chef feel seeing her? And I notice that Joon is pretty quiet.
Min Soo says that that’s why they say the heavens are fair. In return, Eun Hee has a good husband and great brother. That gets a glare from everyone. Because that’s a stupid thing to say. Min Soo starts to yell at Joon for it, asking if they taught him that at Le Cordon Bleu? Joon’s done. He yells back that, no, they don't! He actually looks like he’s going to do something like shove Min Soo into his locker or punch him. Ji Woong sees it, too. Ji Woong jumps in and distracts Min Soo with going for a drink.
Dong Chul kicks the lockers and complains to Joon about Min Soo. He just can't stand it! That guy is much younger than me. Sous Chef's no big deal. Is he a king? And Joon has put on a Kevin Garnett Timberwolves jersey, complete with official NBA logo. Dong Chul wants to beat Min Soo up, at least once. Joon asks him why he lied about his age to begin with. Dong Chul did it because he couldn’t get interviews because of his age. He should've kept fixing cars and not started cooking. Min Soo yells in at Dong Chul, asking if he’s coming. Dong Chul immediately changes his tune and acts like he loves Min Soo and hurries out.
Bong Sun has been waiting for them to clear out of the locker room. Without looking, Joon tells her that they’re all dressed. She can come in. He leaves. Slowly, she walks to her locker and opens it.
Now changed, she leaves the restaurant. She rides the subway and buys something to eat. She heads into Joongang Study Hall. It’s where she lives. She starts cutting up the cabbage she’s bought. A guy – without knocking – comes in and starts yelling at her for the noise she’s making. She meekly apologizes and says that she’ll try to be quiet. I would have told the guy to get out and put some headphones on.
Once her soup is finished, she takes a picture of it on her table, nicely displayed. Her voiceover says that because she was a weak child that often had digestion issues Halmeoni often made her this cabbage porridge. It’s part of her blog post about the soup. She says that Halmeoni would threaten her with acupuncture if she didn't eat it, so, she’d often drink it down in fear. Thinking back to her Halmeoni who relieved not only her stomach but her heart, she’s posting this cabbage porridge recipe.
Someone knocks and says that she has a delivery. She quickly blows out her incense.
Sun Restaurant. Annoying child running around. Food blogger has been taking pictures – with a really fancy camera, why the zoom lens when you’re *that* close to the food? She yells at Bong Sun to warm up the soup she’s been taking pictures of. The soup got cold so the pictures aren't coming out well. Bong Sun meekly replies that the noodles will get overcooked, so it won't taste good. Blogger arrogantly says that she's been running a foodie blog for five years now. She knows about these things. So when she says to warm it up, Bong Sun should just do as she says. Bong Sun complies.
Annoying child is Blogger’s son. He asks when she’s going to be done. Whines it, actually. Still using that zoom lens – which is completely not necessary for taking pictures in a restaurant. And no wonder her pictures aren’t coming out. There’s no way the lens would focus with how close she’s holding it to the food! Stupid woman.
In the kitchen, the boys are just standing around. When Bong Sun enters and heats up the soup, Min Soo briefly asks what she’s doing and then tells her to get on with it. Sun Woo watches the whole thing. His face says he’s not happy.
Bong Sun brings out the reheated soup. Boy runs around the corner and, protecting him, Bong Sun burns herself with the soup. Boy is not hurt at all, but Blogger starts yelling a Bong Sun. How can she be so careless with a steaming hot bowl? What if he got burns?! Bong Sun, her hand burnt so that she’s shaking it because of the pain, apologizes. Blogger says that kids run around because they are kids. Grown-ups should be the ones being careful, not the other way around! This woman makes me mad. I’m sorry. Your child shouldn’t have been running around the restaurant. Can’t you control your child? I wish I was there so I could say this to this stupid woman’s face. Her and her rude, unruly child. Blogger asks what kind of employee training is this? Bong Sun apologizes some more.
Sun Woo walks up to Boy and, squatting down so they’re face to face, he asks Boy how old he is? In kindergarten, right? Didn’t he learn that he shouldn't run around in public places? Boy says he did. He did? Then did he do something wrong? Boy says he did. And I like Sun Woo so much, just for this. Affectionately pinching Boy’s cheek, Sun Woo says that he did, didn't he?
Blogger asks what he’s going right now. He asks if she’s upset because he’s disciplining her son? He smiles and says that he, too, was upset because she was disciplining his employee. Blogger laughs and asks what kind of a ridiculous situation is this. Sun Woo smiles and answers, “I know, right?” It is a ridiculous situation. Asking for the soup to be reheated when the noodles will get overcooked. And when it ends up being not tasty, she’ll–
Eun Hee is there now and she pulls at Sun Woo to stop. He tells her to let go. Talking to Eun Hee now, he says that that (reheating the noodles) alone was alarming on its own. But then – turning back to Blogger – she blames an innocent person when she couldn't control her kid? Blogger can’t believe that he’s speaking to her like that. Does he think he’s all that because he was on TV? He looks down and laughs. Eun Hee asks that everyone calm down. Blogger starts to yell at her, but she’s in a wheelchair, so Blogger stops. At least she has that decency, not to be rude to a woman in a wheelchair. Blogger makes a crack about how there isn't anyone normal there. I spoke too soon.
Uh-oh. Wrong thing to say. Sun Woo looks at Blogger, stunned. Eun Hee is hurt and embarrassed. Sun Woo’s done being nice. Next thing we see is him forcibly dragging Blogger out of his restaurant. As he tells her to leave – with her protesting – he says that they only serve normal customers, so just leave! Blogger declares that she’s not going to let this pass. Bong Sun hurries out with a card that Blogger dropped. Blogger snatches it, doesn’t even say thank you. She walks away, asking if Sun Woo doesn’t know who she is?! Bong Sun apologizes again as Blogger leaves.
Sun Woo looks at Bong Sun – his expression asking why Bong Sun is apologizing when she shouldn’t be. Bong Sun apologizes to him. Sun Woo looks up at the sky – like he’s asking heaven to give him strength – and then stares at her, at a loss for words. After a moment, he tells her to come inside. Following him, she whimpers, asking what she should do.
In the back, Bong Sun stands in front of Sun Woo, shaking, head down. She stutters her apology. She should've been more careful. He asks her if she knows why he dislikes her? Wow. He’s going there. She’s so surprised he just said that, that she momentarily meets his gaze. He says that her attitude irritates him. Whether she did or didn't do something wrong, she’s always sorry, always at fault and always wrong. That attitude... He says that it’s not even being nice. She doesn't even know that the way she behaves makes others around her look bad. She starts to stutter her apology and he sighs loudly. She stops.
After a moment, calmer, he tells her that the kitchen isn't an easy place to be. It's a battlefield. Only the strong and powerful can last. She has no chance if she keeps making herself the weak one. There's a pause. He steps slightly closer and, his voice lower, says that he’s going to give her some sincere advice. She should think long and hard about whether she belongs in a kitchen or not. Don't be foolish and stubborn, get hurt, and be a nuisance to others. As he turns to leave, he tells her to go put on some cream. Girls' hands shouldn't have burn scars. He walks away. She looks at him go, her hand, and then starts to silently cry.
Inside, Eun Hee asks if he just gave Bong Sun a hard time. His face answers her question. Eun Hee says that it wasn't Bong Sun's fault this time. Being nice isn't a crime. Sun Woo answers that it is a crime to be nice. Eun Hee asks if they’re going to be okay. The woman is an influential blogger. Sun Woo snaps at her, asking if that’s some sort of official rank? These days, bloggers are more annoying than the reporters. Who are they to give ratings? Based on what kind of standard exactly? He mutters, Who is Blogger trying to fool?
Sun Woo gets a text. Eun Hee asks what it is. Sun Woo says that it’s spam. And the Korean word for spam is ‘spam.’ We see that it’s not. It’s a text announcing [Dae Myung Junior High Reunion July 15th 18:30 Royal Hotel]. This must have something to do with the falling out he had. Sun Woo deletes the message.
Flashback, Junior High. Obnoxious student runs into Sun Woo, knocking him to the ground. It makes kid drop the trash he was carrying. Kid yells at Sun Woo and Sun Woo apologizes and starts to clean it up. Another boy comes up and asks what Obnoxious is doing. It was Obnoxious’s fault. Obnoxious tells him to shut up. It's this idiot Kang Sun Woo's fault.
Sun Woo goes home and there's a note from Oma saying that she won’t be home until late. She feels bad since it's his birthday, so order some kimbap with this money. He puts the kettle on and makes himself some instant ramen. What a sucky birthday. He goes in and washes his face.
Switch to Bong Sun washing her face. She looks at herself in the mirror and sighs. She starts to leave the bathroom but doesn’t because Sun Woo walks by. Instead, she hide in the bathroom, looking miserable.
Small restaurant. Policeman pays and tells Caller that he’ll be there in about 10-20 minutes. Owner apologizes for his lacking side dishes and Cop tells him that they were good. Owner almost gives him too much change, but Cop Mo stops him. Cop asks where Kyung Mo is. This must be Soon Ae’s father. Dad says that he’s out out with friends. It's better for Dad when Kyung Mo’s not around. Cop smiles but as Dad gets distracted by the coffee machine not working, Cop stops smiling. He must know them all. And feel bad that Soon Ae is dead.
Sun Woo is helping Eun Hee down the ramp. Cop arrives and gets out smiling. Oh, Cop is her good husband, Choi Sung Jae (Im Joo Hwan). He announces that they had to resolve a civil case. His partner gets out and greets Sun Woo and then acts blinded momentarily. He cries, “Oh my goodness, you shocked me! Who is this goddess? She completely stunned me.” Aw, Partner is a nice guy, too. Calling Partner ‘Officer Hwang,’ Sun Woo gives him a hard time for not coming by for the seafood noodle soup. Hwang is disappointing him. Sung Jae chuckles, appreciating his brother-in-law and his Partner. Hwang replies that he always craves the seafood noodle soup from there, but there’s way too many people in line. It's not his type of thing. Sun Woo pretends to be put out as he shakes his head.
Eun Hee tells Hwang that when he comes by, they’ll give him a special table. Hwang declares that he knew his loyalty would bear fruit. He tells Sung Jae to be good to his wife. Sung Jae notices that Sun Woo is dressed to go out. When he asks, Sun Woo says that a hoobae from school is opening a restaurant so he should go congratulate him by giving him a lecture. Heh. Sun Woo leaves and so does Hwang.
At the new restaurant, Sun Woo is giving his hoobae a hard time, saying that it’s an exact replica of his kitchen. They sit at the table and all eyes are on Sun Woo as he tastes the food. He throws down his fork – since it’s pasta – with a frown and declares… that they won’t go bankrupt. Hoobae does a fist pump, because from Sun Woo, this is high praise. Sun Woo says that the pasta has good texture and flavor. Hoobae asks if that means that he's now at the level of the dirt under Sun Woo’s heels. Sun Woo scoffs (playfully) and asks how Hoobae can compare a god to humans? Just a little prideful. I think a fall is coming. Sun Woo declares that his cooking is the profound secret of the heavens.
The group groans good-naturedly. Sun Woo stands and says that not everyone gets to hear his advice. So they should listen carefully. Don't ever play with food. What you put out on a plate isn't food. It's your face. Crowd groans (and cheers) again. Wang Joo arrives, smiling. She and Sun Woo are introduced.
Bong Sun arrives back at the gosiwon. She lights her incense. There’s a knock on the door. She immediately extinguishes it. Guy enters – without her telling him to – and says that he knew she’d be burning incense again. She stutters her apology. He says that it’s not the point. How many times does he have to tell her? He must be the manager. There’s no windows. It can easily start a fire. And there's no proper ventilation. People can suffocate. She apologizes again, but Manager is through. He tells her to find some other place to live. The incense is one thing. There are all these strange items – crosses, garlic, prayer beads – on the wall. It's giving him the creeps. She needs to move out as soon as possible, okay? He leaves.
Bong Sun sadly sits at the desk. She opens her scrapbook, filled with recipes like Tomato Bacon Salad. Flips more pages and there’s some devoted to Sun Woo, with hearts doodled there. Ah, so she’s been nursing a crush as well. Poor girl. He just told her that he hates her. How horrible. She sadly caresses his picture as he thinks about his words. Bong Sun rips out a page from her scrapbook and starts to write. We don’t see what it says, but I suspect that it’s her resignation letter.
Bong Sun sadly walks down the street. A guy isn’t watching where he’s going and runs into her. She apologizes and he yells at her to watch where she’s going. Her face says she’s thinking of Sun Woo’s words again, how she apologizes when it’s not her fault. She sadly trudges on.
Back at Hoobae’s restaurant, Wang Joo asks Sun Woo to cater her birthday party the following week. All her friends are fans of his. He sighs and asks what he should do. He’s quite pricey. Friends laugh. She says that cost is no issue – he won't be asking for a building, right? Sun Woo’s smile becomes a bit forced. His eyebrows twitch – and something is definitely going on. I don’t like the look on his face at all. Hoobae tells Sun Woo that he can can ask for a lot. She's a daughter of Young Chang Group's owner. Sun Woo acts like he didn’t know that. He says that he was going to do it because she’s pretty, but, he thinks he has an appointment on that day. He apologizes and Wang Joo smiles less.
Sun Woo looks at his watch and declares that he forgot he had another meeting. He quickly makes his exit. Hoobae follows him out and tells him to stay. Sun Woo says that he’s meeting someone for coffee. Hoobae asks if it’s a woman and Sun Woo responds that isn't it more weird for him to meet up with a man at this hour? He pulls out an envelope. Hoobae doesn’t want to take it. Sun Woo protests that he didn't even bring a flowerpot - he's referring to the tradition of bringing a gift to a new business owner, so hoobae takes it and bows with gratitude, saying that he’ll do his best. Sun Woo tells Hoobae not to get too close to that daughter of Young Chang or whatever. His face is very earnest. Then he tells Hoobae to work hard.
As Sun Woo walks away, Hoobae looks at how much money is in the envelope. Seeing how much, Hoobae says, “Sarang Hyung, I love you, Hyung.’ Heh.
Sun Woo’s appointment is the fish market. The ajummas love him there and he compliments one on her incredible coffee. So how did he end up with crappy salmon? He gives one of the ajummas a hard time about her stock and then, when she points out the shrimp, which is *really* fresh today (where the other things weren’t and she just said they were), he likes them and buys 5 kilos. Ajumma smiles.
Bong Sun arrives at the restaurant. Giving it one last sad look, she puts her resignation letter on the hostess stand. Sun Woo arrives to find her there and asks why she’s there so late. And with the lights out. He asks if she’s arriving for work or leaving work? He flips on the light. She sputters that she’s arriving... no leaving. He goes for the fish carton (which is sitting on top of her resignation letter) but she grabs it and carries it for him.
Later, Sun Woo makes himself some of that same ramen he ate when he was younger and Wiki’s (Googles) his name. He’s annoyed that he’s gone down in the search engine rankings, behind Marco now. He click on Marco’s page. Wow, Marco must love to eat his own cooking. Sun Woo sighs with disgust. Marco has blogged pictures of himself with celebrities. This guy. He can't do it with his skill, so he's always doing this. So why is he a rival then, when he’s not really good? He sighs and tells Marco to go ahead and do that.
He flips over to a food blog titled, “You are my sunshine.” The latest entry is how to make cabbage porridge. Isn’t that what Bong Sun last posted about? He reads the logo: “Joys of daily life. Dreaming of a warm table...” and comments that it’s really nice. He looks at the recipe and comments that cabbage is a good ingredient. This person has a lot sincerity in her cooking. He can feel the true sincerity through the blog. He decides to post a comment:
Sunshine, your recipes always contain a happiness that one can feel through taste. I'm a fan. Fighting!!!
It’s quite ironic that he just told the author of the blog that he hates her and here he is, encouraging her with ‘fighting!’ With 3 exclamation points. He wonders if the blogger is a chef.
We hear what Bong Sun wrote in her resignation letter:
Chef, I want to thank you for everything. You were right about what you said. Wanting to do something and being able to do it are different. I was too ambitious. Sorry to everyone at the restaurant. Goodbye to you all.
Bong Sun stands outside the restaurant, looking at it and saying her goodbyes. Her voiceover (of her thoughts) says that this is something she couldn't write in the letter. She learned one more thing thanks to him. A person's feelings are like a cold. Once it starts, no matter how much you try to resist being ill. It will only end once you go through the necessary pain.
Flashback to when Bong Sun started at the restaurant. Sun Woo tells her that he doesn't know if her dream is to be a chef or not, but they should work hard nonetheless.
Sun Woo yells at Dong Chul for his crappy food and tells him to make it again.
Bong Sun thinks that she wanted to become a chef like him.
She’s trying to slice onions and gets her thumb. Sun Woo comes up behind her and shows her how to slice them – by putting his arms around her and demonstrating, his head leaning over her shoulder. Bong Sun is a little bothered. As I would be. He’s kind as he does it.
She says that she was excited because of him. She was happy because of him. She was in pain because of him... again and again. And she’s making me want to cry. She’s gone through the necessary pains, so now she’s going to leave. For an abnormal person like her, Sun Restaurant was like a home, and the world may push her away again. But, she will leave anyhow. Goodbye, Chef.
She bows deeply one last time and leaves.
The next morning, Sun Woo gets a phone call which rouses him out of his sleep. Min Soo has called and says that it seems that Bong Sun has left. That wakes him up.
Now at the Sun, he’s squatting on the floor, looking at her resignation letter. Eun Hee sadly says that Bong Sun didn't even say goodbye. It's a bit much. Sun Woo replies that Bong Sun probably didn't have the nerve to, with her personality being that way. He tells his sister to give her three months' pay. He looks like he feels a little bad. Well, you were really harsh dude. Min Soo comes running in – with the other boys right behind him – and says that the key for the back storage room is gone. Bong Sun might have taken it.
Sun Woo remembers her at the restaurant the night before. He asks if they looked everywhere? They checked all the drawers. Joon asks what they should do. It’s a special key. It takes time to cut and it’s already ten. Sun Woo tells them to call her, but Ji Woong is trying and she's not picking up. Sun Woo mutters to himself, that right till the end, she's... He tells Ji Woong to keep calling until she picks up. He tells Joon to look into cutting a new key and for Dong Chul and Min Soo to prep the dough.
Bong Sun is trying to find another place to live. a room with a window is 300,000 won per month and 50,000 won maintenance. She sighs that rooms with windows are expensive. Ji Woong calls and she declines the call, telling him sorry. We hear Soon Ae loudly moaning. Bong Sun grabs her head and whimpers that it hurts. Soon Ae is still at Bing Go’s, bored out of her mind. Bing Go tells her to be quiet! Her poop went back in because of Soon Ae! Arguing back and forth. Bing Go gets a food delivery and Soon Ae is able to sneak out.
Bing Go chases Soon Ae down the street. Soon Ae comes Bong Sun and she has the right aura. Soon Ae possesses her. Joon rides up and asks her if this where she was? She points to herself but Joon pulls her onto the back of his scooter and drives away with her. The bells alert Bing Go that Soon Ae’s in Bong Sun, but they are gone.
They arrive at the Sun. She asks where she is. He doesn’t understand what she’s saying. He grabs her wrist, since there isn’t time, and pulls her inside, yelling to Sun Woo that he found Bong Sun. Soon Ae protests the whole time. The boys come out, with Sun Woo in the lead. He waves them silent. Soon Ae looks around, asking what’s going on? Sun Woo, looks at her, annoyed – and I love that her entire body language has changed to be like Soon Ae’s. Wordlessly, he holds out his hand.
Soon Ae looks at it. Sun Woo sighs at her, more annoyed. Soon Ae thinks he’s saying hello, so she shakes his hand and says that it’s good to see him, too. Which makes me laugh. He flicks her hand away. Which anyone would think was rude. He tells her to hand it over. Stop playing around. She asks what he means. He repeats it, with a yell: Hand over the key! She answers, asking what key. Soon Ae thinks, “What's up with this rude jerk?”
Sun Woo mutters, at her, and starts groping through her pockets. In what planet is that even appropriate? Soon Ae thinks, “Seriously, this guy!” and twisting Sun Woo’s arm backward, she flips him onto his butt on the floor. Everyone reacts with a gasp and Sun Woo looks up at her, shocked. Episode ends.
Americanese
I thought I would add a section where I explain some of the slang that I use during my recap. American English is brimming with slang and idioms and I don’t think that most people realize just how many of them they use without thinking about it. Some are based on proverbs, old wives tales, literature… Here’s some that I used in this episode:
- to yak at (someone) - to talk incessantly with idle or gossipy talk
- snarky - (1) testy or irritable, (2) having a rudely critical tone or manny
- to be fazed - to be shaken, disturbed or disconcerted
- (something) sucks -- an expression meaning that something is really awful, discouraging and/or depressing; one might say that 'that sucks' when expressing sympathy for another's misfortune, 'this sucks' when complaining about how bad the food tastes, 'he sucks' when commenting on someone else's character (adj - sucky)
- to chime in - to speak, add to a conversation
- to bad mouth (someone) - to speak badly about someone
- crappy - terrible, uncomfortable
- to roll one's eyes - to use one's eyes to express disbelief, annoyance, or impatience; often it involves looking upward without moving one's head to look up and eyes end up moving in a clockwise manner
- to fuss over someone/thing - to handle and/or deal with someone/thing in an overly attentive or nervous way
- full-on - unrestrained, complete
- guilt trip - a manipulation tactic which attempts to give the recipient a feeling of guilt and/or responsibility about something, in order to get the recipient to do something and/or act in a certain way
- bluster - inflated talk; noisy, empty protests and/or threats
- downhill - in this context, it means to be in a worse or inferior condition; sometimes it can mean the opposite, where something is free of problems or obstacles
- show off - a person given to pretentious display
- to turn (someone) down - to decline an offer from someone
- to rib (someone) - to tease (someone)
- to cut (something) out - to cease, stop doing something
- ruckus - commotion
- to cluck at (someone) - to fuss over (someone)
- to be done - to be finished, reach the limit of something
- to give (someone) a hard time - in this situation it means 'to tease' because it's in a positive context; in a negative context, it means to make difficulties for someone, especially needless ones, to hassle
- to give (someone) the creeps - to cause (someone) to experience uneasiness and/or fear
- to be pricey - to be expensive, high in price/cost
- to get close to (someone) - to develop an intimate (not necessarily physical) relationship with someone
- to flip on (something) - in this case, it's talking about turning on the light switch; the description refers to the physical motion of turning a switch to the on position, since typically, on is in the the up position on a switch
- to be bored out of one's mind - to tire or make weary by being dull, tediously repetition and/or uninteresting to the point that one wants to scream
Thoughts
Well, I think I’m going to enjoy this. It was a little slow getting started… well, a lot slow. Bong Sun stumbling, wordlessly, down the street… following the ambulance around… I found myself really hoping that it wasn’t going to drag like this… But once we met Chef, Sun Woo, it picked up.
I really like Sun Woo’s character, even if he is a little cocky. He’s not falsely humble, but he’s still kind and he won’t be bullied. Bong Sun, on the other hand, will be bullied and apologize to the person beating her up for her face hurting their hand. Soon Ae, our virgin ghost, doesn’t let anyone push her around and will stand up for herself without hesitation, which is the one thing that Sun Woo hates about Bong Sun, that she doesn’t. Her weakness reminds him of what he hates in himself, which is why he can’t stand her… or his mother, because her being a single mom at 19 caused him all kinds of ridicule growing up.
We met our cast of characters:
- Sun Woo – the confident chef who’s very popular and talented.
- He was picked on when he was a kid and he was a wimp back then
- Stands up for himself now and won’t let anyone make him feel inferior
- Bong Sun bugs him because she reminds him of himself when he was a wimp
- Has never looked at Bong Sun as a woman, since he had no problem putting his arms around her and showing her how to slice onions
- His Oma had him when she was single and 19
- His rival is Chef Marco, who is inferior in talent, but a fame whore.
- He’s had a falling out with an old best friend that we haven’t met yet – I suspect that the kid that stood up for him in the flash back might be this person, but at some point, abandoned Sun Woo to ridicule in a way that was really painful. Their mutual friend, Lee So Hyung, is trying to repair the rift, and I suspect that it might be her husband, since she’s very familiar with Sun Woo but in no way is there any attraction there.
- He doesn’t get along with his Oma at all, but Oma keeps trying. Oma wasn’t home much growing up, even leaving him alone on his birthday with no seaweed soup.
- His Oma is overly protective of him and gives him a talisman, since he’s a man with two arms and lots of vitality and a shaman told her that a ghost was going to attach itself to Sun Woo this year
- He doesn’t believe in ghosts and threw away the talisman
- Even though he’s a master chef, he still eats the instant ramen he had as a boy
- He looks up his name to see where it sits on the search engine list
- He doesn’t like food bloggers at all – except for the food blogger, Sunshine
- Didn’t cower to the Blogger that came in and was obnoxious – and I’m concerned that that’s going to come back and bite him
- Wasn’t obnoxious to Blogger’s son, even though he easily could have been harsh
- For some unknown reason, he didn’t like Wang Joo, or someone that Wang Joo knows. There was something definitely off about his reaction, when he found out that she was a chaebol’s daughter. There’s got to be a story there, especially since he warned Hoobae to be careful.
- He doesn’t like rice or side dishes, for some mysterious reason.
- He's not harsh without reason and only to make his point.
- He doesn’t lose his temper, either, even when he’s mad.
- He co-manages his restaurant with his sister, Eun Hee, who he is very close to and protective of.
- Gets along great with all the fish monger ajummas
- Good at charming people – wonder when he learned that?
- Bong Sun – the mousy, defeated heroine who can’t catch a break and who sees ghosts.
- She inherited the gift from her Halmeoni and lies to Halmeoni about it not being a problem any more.
- It seems like she has no one else, since she’s living in a gosiwon.
- Seeing ghosts makes her so afraid that she doesn’t get enough sleep, so she’s half awake all the time and will fall asleep on the job.
- Because she can see ghosts, she saw Soon Ae.
- She’s embraced lots of religions to try to ward off the ghosts – saying the Lord’s Prayer, burning incense, hanging garlic, crosses, and prayer beads.
- She’d had a big crush on Sun Woo, even though he has no idea.
- Keeps a scrap book of recipes and of clipping of Sun Woo, complete with hearts
- Sun Woo told her that he hated her, which was crushing in and of itself.
- She’s going to be kicked out of her gosiwon very soon.
- She’s actually a good chef and has her own blog – which Sun Woo is a fan of.
- She’s overly meek and apologetic and defeated
- She continues to practice, to try and improve, even when she feels like an absolute failure
- She gets really picked on by the Sous Chef
- Sun Woo told her to quit, so she quit the one thing in life that she loves and where she felt at home
- She’s on the same frequency as Soon Ae, which means that she can hear Soon Ae scream, which causes her pain, and that Soon Ae was able to possess her easily
- She accidentally walked off with the back storage room key
- Soon Ae – died a virgin and feels bitter about it, so she’s trying to not be a virgin anymore
- She’s been possessing beautiful women and seducing men to try and lose her virginity
- Her seduction causes men to go into hypothermic shock, because there’s not enough of their yang to her yin.
- There is a mystery man she’s looking for: Sunshine with two arms and lots of vitality, who has enough Yang for her Yin (and who we know is Sun Woo)
- The talisman Oma gave Sun Woo worked, because when he walked by Soon Ae, she was expelled from the body she was possessing.
- Her body possessing antics are catching the attention of the people upstairs and they are not happy
- She doesn’t care if anyone is happy, she just wants to resolve her lingering grudge at being a virigin
- If she doesn’t resolve things before her 3rd year as a ghost, she will turn into a malevolent spirit.
- She doesn’t remember her past life or family and goes to other people’s funerals, since she can’t go to her own death rites ceremony.
- She doesn’t get along with the other ghosts, because she can’t remember who she is, and because of how she acts and doesn’t play by the rules, causing all of them trouble
- She can’t interact with things on the physical plane. Except if it’s a basketball about to hurt a nice and friendly baby.
- She knows how to flip someone.
- Bing Go – a shaman who can see ghosts and is out to stop Soon Ae’s possessing people
- She can physically interact with ghosts and with Soon Ae.
- The people upstairs aren’t going to let her have any more visions until she stops Soon Ae.
- She can run really quickly.
- She put a necklace of bells around Soon Ae’s neck that Soon Ae can’t take off.
- Eun Hee – Sun Woo’s sister
- She loves and gets along well with Sun Woo
- She gets along with Oma and wants Sun Woo to be nicer to Oma.
- She manages Sun Woo’s restaurant
- She’s in a wheelchair after being paralyzed by a hit and run driver
- The accident was relatively recent, because the restaurant staff remember what she was like before it and people around her (as well as her) are still sensitive about it
- She feels bad for Bong Sun and wants Sun Woo to be nicer to her – she probably remembers what Sun Woo used to be like and knows that’s why he acts the way he does
- She is only a couple of years younger than Sun Woo, but in his flashback, she wasn’t there for his birthday either
- Sung Jae – a kind, friendly policeman married to Eun Hee
- He’s a doting husband who doesn’t love his wife any less now that she’s in a wheelchair
- He’s honest – he gave back the excess change that Soon Ae’s father gave him
- He knows Soon Ae’s family – because he’s friendly with her dad and asked about her brother
- He told Sun Woo and Eun Hee that he had a civil case to take care of and I think that it’s Kyung Mo’s case, since he wasn’t too happy to hear that Kyung Mo was hanging out with his friends again
- He has a really cool partner named Hwang
- He gets along with Sun Woo well
- Min Soo – the Sous Chef
- A jerk who enjoys lording over people
- Thinks he’s as good as Sun Woo, or at least acts like it
- Is lazy, complacent, and rebellious by nature
- Is threatened by Joon’s culinary background
- Joon – one of the chefs in the kitchen
- Ignores Min Soo for the most part, but hates the bully that Min Soo is
- Trained at the Cordon Bleu but isn’t arrogant about it
- Patient and self-controlled
- Observant and kind, sees things that others miss (like Dong Chul’s real age or Bong Sun waiting to change)
- Doesn’t play games and says things like they are
- Isn’t afraid of Min Soo in the least
- Probably a better chef than Min Soo, which is why Min Soo picks on him so much
- Min Soo’s disrespect of Eun Hee is the one thing that pushed his anger too far and he was going to do something to shut Min Soo up
- Dong Chul –the oldest chef in the kitchen
- Hates how Min Soo acts and talks about him behind his back, but sucks up to Min Soo when Min Soo’s around
- Is older than Min Soo, but still has to act like he’s a maknae
- Lied about his age to get the job and now won’t fess up
- Ji Woong – the other chef in the kitchen
- Good at diffusing Min Soo
- Seems to get along with everyone
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