[KD] Best Love: Episode 3

Jin would love to turn away from Ae-jung in her moment of misery, but
as he does, her cell phone rings, setting his heartbeat racing. Such a
cute tie-in to link his heart to her KBSN song. Make no mistake, I’m
pretty sure I’m going to get sick of it by Episode 10 (and with the Hong
sisters writing this, no doubt they’re going to run the heartbeat
metaphor into the ground — heart? beat? LOVE? get it??), but for now,
it’s sweet.
I love how utterly gobsmacked he looks at his reaction to her.
Brother-manager Ae-hwan comes shouting her name, and Ae-jung can’t bear
for him to see her in this state with palm mark on her face and nose
bleeding, so she hurries to Jin and asks him for a ride. She jumps in
his car and ducks to avoid being seen, and calls her brother to say that
she ran into someone who offered to buy her dinner.

In the car, she makes small talk to avoid the awkward silence. Jin
thrusts a water bottle at her reddened face — better to address the
elephant in the room car than pretend it’s not there.
But when he sees her rubbing the part of the label with his face on it,
he gruffly orders her to turn it around since it looks weird, keh.
Pil-joo meets with his sunbae to decline the spot in Couple Making 3,
citing prior plans. The sunbae PD presses him to reconsider, pointing
out all the great date prospects they’ve lined up (including Park Shi-yeon, who’s got a cameo), and flips quickly past Ae-jung. Her profile briefly piques Pil-joo’s interest, but he sticks with his decision.

Upon leaving, he entirely ignores Se-ri, who was expecting some kind
of star treatment and follows him out. She’s offended when he only now
realizes she’s Se-ri, which is such a perfect way to take down the vain
star a peg or ten. He promises to be more careful in the future — that
if he sees a beautiful woman around, it may end up being her, so he’ll
take care.
The thing is, he isn’t using this as a line — it’s just his dorky,
earnest way — and Se-ri’s peevishness dissipates. After he leaves, Se-ri
tells the writer that they must get Pil-joo on the show:
“People call me beautiful every day, but just now I felt a flutter. That
man will be the perfect man to make our viewers’ hearts flutter, too.”
Ae-jung asks Jin to drop her off so she can take a taxi, but it turns
out that both stars are without cash, since they’re constantly reliant
on their managers. So Ae-jung can’t get her taxi, and Jin is all out of
gas, and they’re stuck till his manager can find them.

While they’re waiting, Jin suggests that Ae-jung leave, but he can’t
withstand the sad puppy-dog look she sends his way, and gives in. She
pops out to use the restroom, and sees that the handprint on her face is
worse than feared. She asks an ajumma to borrow her makeup, and the
woman gapes, immediately jumping to the wrong conclusion: “Why are you
getting knocked around? Dump him!”
On her way back to the car, Ae-jung finds herself the object of the
ajummas’ curiosity, all of them assuming she’s a battered woman. So when
Jin moves to visit the bathroom, she shoves him down out of sight,
saying that they think he’s the guy who beat her.

Ae-hwan wonders if Ae-jung’s lunch date is with Jin, but Jenny
dismisses it, saying that everyone has their own level, and those two
are too mismatched. Ae-hwan would like to believe optimistically that
being linked together might raise Ae-jung’s status to Jin’s, but Jenny
tells him that it’s more likely that the guy on top gets knocked down to
the lower level.
Cutely, Ae-hwan coaches his son to address her as “Mom Jenny” rather
than “Aunt Jenny” in hopes that she’ll eventually become his mother.
Jenny reminds him of the whole “level” issue.

When manager Jae-seok arrives, Ae-jung’s sleeping in the car. For the
briefest moment, even he wonders if Jin hit her, and even after getting
back a denial, he asks why Jin didn’t find out who did it to her. Jin
grumps back, “If I ask, I have to listen. If I listen, I get involved.
And then that’ll link us together!”
Jin gives Ae-jung money for a cab, which she promises to pay back. He
snaps at her not to call, then checks her phone just in case. Not
finding his name, he demands to know what nickname she input, ignoring
her protest to do it herself, and finds what he’s looking for: Instead
of Dokko Jin, she’s written Ddong-ko Jin, which makes me bust a
gut laughing. Not only is it punny (hee), it’s the kind of thing a
grade-schooler would call someone, as ddong-ko literally means
butthole. And on yet another level, it’s the perfect thing to call him,
because he’s so immature and also an asshole. HAHAHAHA.

I love that she giggles — no profuse apologies here — and says she
can do what she wants with her phone. Annoyed, Jin hits delete and sends
her off. But when he’s back in his car, he tells Jae-seok not to drive
off just yet, and watches Ae-jung waiting curbside, feeling unfamiliar
pangs of humanlike emotion as she self-consciously touches her face. He
starts to open his door, but just then a taxi pulls up and she gets in.
She keeps up her lie at home, not wanting to worry her brother, but
confides about the slap with Jenny, who worries over the condition of
her skin, with Ae-jung’s upcoming poster shoot and all.

Jenny takes Ae-jung with her to a fancy acupuncture clinic — which is
where Pil-joo is introduced to his mother’s posh ajumma friends. Jenny
oohs over the dreamy hospital director, whose mother brags that he’s
about to go on a television program called Couple Making. That
gets their attention, but they didn’t get a good look at him, so they
decide to try to steal a glimpse of the fellow contestant another way.
His mother hears from an employee that Pil-joo turned down the
broadcast opportunity, so she entreats him with one final deal: If he
does the show, she’ll back off completely and let him handle his career
however he likes.

Ae-jung gets herself signed up for a treatment with Pil-joo and finds
him good-looking… until she realizes where she recognizes him from and
freaks out in mortification. She hides her face when he comes to treat
her, but he recognizes her name on the patient form, and that further
embarrasses her. She hurriedly rushes out of the room, grabbing Jenny,
and makes a break for it, just as Pil-joo rushes out calling her name.
The ladies fret, figuring that if Pil-joo goes on the show, Ae-jung
will be cut in the first episode. They’re assuming that he’ll harbor a
grudge like a normal person would after being doused with water, and
have no idea that his interest is actually piqued. (Ooh, twisted. What
do you suppose that says about Pil-joo, hmm?)

Jin perks up as Jae-seok talks with the agency president about
Ae-jung getting slapped by her former manager Jang. He tries to appear
nonchalant but his ears twitch tellingly as President Moon muses that
the two will be bumping into each other quite often since Harumi, one of
Manager Jang’s current idols, is also on Couple Making.
Jin casually rolls his chair closer just as Jae-seok explains that
they’re whispering because Jin supposedly hates hearing about Ae-jung.
Ha. Foiled by his own self.

Ae-jung decides to smooth things over with Pil-joo before the
broadcast, and comes to see him again. She’s embarrassed at her
behavior, though his teasing is completely light-hearted, and apologizes
for mistaking him for a lowlife at the bar. He says that because she
never returned, he wondered if she continued to think him a bad person,
and is relieved that their misunderstanding has been cleared up.
He tells her that his appearance in the show isn’t a done deal, and
that relieves her so considerably that she can’t hide her glee. He’s a
little surprised at her level of happiness as she warns him that life
would be easier if he didn’t do the show, and advises him to think very
carefully on it.

Jin tries on clothes with a designer, who has agreed to also style
Ae-jung since she’s affiliated with his agency now. But as he’s on his
way out, he hears that Harumi is here to pick out clothing — and she
beelines for the dress set aside for Ae-jung. Manager Jang overrides the
designer’s protest, saying that Ae-jung has so little status that she
has no right to be upset at being bumped for a bigger star.
I love that Jin steps in and turns the situation around on them by
claiming the dress — no explanation, just using his star power to pull
rank over Harumi. She pouts but picks another dress — which he also
takes. And a third dress as well. And so on and so on.
I love that Jin doesn’t explain himself, even though I think most
people’s initial desire would be for the assholes in the scenario to
know immediately why they’re being treated this way. But it heightens
the anticipation for when they DO find out, preferably in a highly
public setting when Ae-jung arrives all dolled up. Plus, their
bewilderment is amusing to behold.

Jin gives him a hint by telling Manager Jang, “Your red face reminds
me of a face that’s been slapped. But yesterday I saw such a pained face
that I’m not too interested in yours.” He throws Jang’s own words back
at him, saying that even if he takes all these clothes, Manager Jang has
no right to be upset, given their difference in status.
That leaves Jin sitting on his couch, surrounded by women’s designer
clothing, wondering why he brought them all home. Clinging to pity as
his reasoning, he calls Ae-jung to come pick up the clothes. But he’d
just ordered her to not talk to him anymore, so she ignores the call —
and he grumbles, “You won’t answer? Gu Ae-jung, you’re going to regret
obeying me so well!” HA. I love Jin and his nonsensical reasoning.
(Drive slowly, carefully, and fast!)

Ae-jung is called in for a meeting with producers, who regretfully
tell her that she won’t be able to go on the show anymore. With Pil-joo
out, they’ve had to go to a backup, and that guy refuses to participate
with any women who’ve been embroiled in scandals. Because no names are
named, Ae-jung jumps to the conclusion that Pil-joo must have spoken
against her.
She stews for a moment, muttering to herself, “Jerk.” Hilariously,
the apologetic PD thinks she meant him, and acknowledges, “I was a bit
of a jerk, I’m sorry.” Hee! But just then, he gets a call and steps
outside to take it — and it’s Pil-joo, agreeing to do it after all. He
looks at a photo of Ae-jung and figures, “It might be fun.”
So Ae-jung is back in, to everyone’s relief.

Jin won’t accept being ignored, and heads over to (Jenny’s?)
restaurant to find Ae-jung, where he’s greeted by nephew Hyung-kyu, who
identifies Jin as his aunt’s friend. Jin gruffly rebuffs his friendly
comments, but is gratified when Hyung-kyu peers at him saying, “It’s
amazing.” Naturally assuming the boy is starstuck, this provides an
ego-boost — until the boy clarifies, “How come your mustache is in the
shape of a so?”
PFFFFFFFT. I just about choke on my spit laughing — it’s a comment
made of Cha Seung-won in the past, that his facial hair forms the
character for 소 (so), which also happens to mean cow. HAHAHA.

Jin laughs it off…until he glimpses himself in the reflection and sees it. LOL.
What’s even more hilarious is how, when Ae-jung finds him, he
self-consciously covers his chin while asking why she’s ignoring his
calls. He guesses she re-entered his number into her phone, and she
protests that she had to program it to remind herself not to answer it.
Keh.
Hyung-kyu pops up to comment on the state of Jin’s facial hair, so
Jin hurriedly hushes him and says it’s a secret. Ae-jung recalls the box
of tonic she’s holding and offers it to him in thanks for the taxi
money he’d told her not to repay. She doesn’t want to drink it herself,
thinking of the jerky doctor who gave it to her.

Ae-hwan and Ae-jung drop by Jin’s home to pick up papers from
President Moon, and see the pile of women’s clothes lying around.
Ae-jung supposes there was a woman here, and Jin quickly denies that,
saying they’re his clothes. They smirk and nod, “Ah, I didn’t know you
had that kind of taste.”
He barks that they’re his but that doesn’t mean he wears them, and
they both smile and nod again, while imagining Jin sitting around
wearing women’s clothing and makeup, giving himself pedicures. HAHA.
Defensively, he insists that his own clothing — which today is
unfortunately gender-ambivalent — isn’t women’s apparel, but rather the
height of fashion. Snicker.
While Jin goes off to find the documents, Ae-hwan can’t resist
fiddling with the expensive games, and gets his head stuck in a helmet.
Knowing Jin would throw a hissy-fit, Ae-jung races up to stall while her
brother breaks free of his confines, grabbing at anything she can to
prolong their conversation. Like asking where he got his mattress and
bouncing on it. Ha, you might want to be careful with the signals you’re
sending…

Jin is just confused, though, and she grabs for distraction #2 — a
football helmet, which she asks to borrow for the show’s first taping.
She says she’s supposed to do a sexy dance and thinks it would be much
funnier to do it with the helmet on, to which he asks if she really
wants do behave like that on TV. She may have started the conversation
to stall, but she’s completely frank as she replies, “That’s how I’ll
get edited in.” As in, nobody would care about her if she wasn’t funny
or mockable. She says without rancor, “If only just a minute more, I
have to be seen onscreen to make my living. I’ve risked my life on this
show. I can do anything.”
Her words get to him, but he tells her with mild sarcasm to try
sticking it out when she’s being trampled by hoobaes and old colleagues.
She thanks him for his support sweetly.

Ae-jung arrives at the designer’s studio to pick up the dress they’re
offering her, and is shocked when the designer tells her that the
entire rack is hers. Jin explains it by saying that (supposed)
girlfriend Se-ri wears another house’s clothes, so he’s handing them off
to Ae-jung, since they’re with the same agency and all.
Ae-jung tries on a dress and is so happy that she has her own “I Feel
Pretty” moment, singsonging her old hit while going through old dance
moves. Jin overhears and is immediately captivated by the familiar song,
his heart starting to pound, strangely moved. (Gah, he plays this
moment so well — with the perfect mix of confusion, hurt, and anger at
himself for not understanding.)

He can’t stand it anymore and bursts forward to stop her, but his
wrist monitor goes off, signaling his rising heartbeat. He asks, “What
is this song? Who are you?!” He touches hand to heart and asks
confusedly why this is happening.
Time for medical tests, which turn up nothing. He tells the doctor
that his heart rate increase is linked to a strange song, and that it
was accompanied by pain on one occasion, thinking of the parking lot
slap he witnessed. (I love that he assumes the pain is medical, rather
than suspecting a pang of sympathy.)
The doctor assures him that he’s fine, saying, “Isn’t that a simple
symptom experienced by everyone?” — hinting he’s just feeling normal
romantic pangs. Glad to see someone earned his medical degree.

President Moon presents a stack of scripts for Jin to read, which
contain “everything but those melodramas you hate so much.” Jin wonders —
purely because it might be helpful to his acting, of course — whether
the stuff in those movies, like thumping hearts (which he calls
“cheesy,” “childish,” and “exaggerated”) happens in real life. He asks,
“When your heart races when you see someone smiling or crying, does that
mean you like them?” What, Jin, are you a robot? I know you think
you’re above all other people, but not because you weren’t, yunno, one of them.
He’s greatly relieved when she says that it can happen because you
find someone funny, or pitiful. That he can handle. But she adds that
there are cases when your heart races only when you like a person. For
instance, if it races when that you see that person with another member
of the opposite sex, you’re definitely smitten.
Jin laughs it off, saying he’s fine then. Suuure.

Couple Making holds its press conference, where Se-ri and
Ae-jung receive a fair share of the attention. They deflect the
questions well, saying that meeting again after all those years feels
just as comfortable as when they broke up ten years ago. Well, that’s
not a lie….
Asked if they’d consider reuniting, Ae-jung jokes that they could
rename themselves Kukbo Jamae (national treasure sisters) instead of
Kukbo Sonyeo (national treasure girls), earning a laugh from the crowd.
It’s another bit of meta, not just because Jin had called them Kukbo
Jamae erroneously in Episode 1, but because the word jamae is
basically what the Hong sisters are called — I’d venture to guess that
the term Hong Jamae (Hong sisters) is better known than their individual
names. Plus, it’s a way of jokingly advancing their age from young
girls to older women.
Se-ri grouses with the PDs at being linked with Ae-jung, feeling it
an insult since she’s so much higher now on the fame ladder. The writer
reminds her that she’d wanted to include Ae-jung for publicity reasons,
so Se-ri agrees to put up with it through the first taping — she’s sure
Ae-jung will be cut right away.
The PD wonders if it’s strictly necessary to cut Ae-jung at all,
saying that she’s built up a variety persona as the unlikable one. If
she survives the first cut, she could be in it for the long haul. The
writer reads Se-ri’s displeasure and nervously suggests that it could
add tension to the first elimination, and Se-ri likes that idea — as
well as jazzing up the third season with a twist.

Jin sees the promo materials for the show, and laughingly ranks the
five ladies, picking Ae-jung as Number 1 — for worst looking. He likes
to mock her himself, but it’s a different story when Jae-seok says she’s
Number 1 online as well, in the poll for who will have the best first
impression and who’ll get booted first. Jin smiles to hear that she’s
first, until he finds out it’s for being booted.
He leans forward, trying to look uninterested when Jae-seok whips out
his tablet to cast his own vote. Jae-seok wonders aloud who he’ll vote
for, supposing he’ll vote for Ae-jung. Or will it be Harumi? Jin’s
expression undergoes an exercise of facial gymnastics until Jae-seok
casts a positive vote for the pretty young Harumi. Jin grimaces and
orders Jae-seok to change all the highlighting in his scripts from
yellow to blue. HAHA.
Ae-jung takes a positive attitude toward her first taping, saying
that even if she’s eliminated on the first day in the “first impressions
cut,” at least she’ll get to be on the program for 20 or 30 minutes.
Except…not if Se-ri has her way, insisting that it’ll add to the
suspense if the first cut is in the first five minutes. The producers
feel sorry for Ae-jung, knowing she’s the most likely to get the boot.

Ae-jung is thrilled that she finally gets to use the company’s best
van for her first taping…until Jin steps in and forbids it, saying it’s
his car. The president has granted its use to Ae-jung, but Jin pulls
rank and orders the van reserved for his exclusive use first thing in
the morning — so he can drive once around the city. Heh.
Well, he gets his deserts when he’s woken unceremoniously by a loud
honking, and finds Ae-jung in the van. She jabs a rolled-up poster out
the window like he’d done with her, mocks him, and drives off. Serves
him right.
Ae-jung arrives in high spirits, only to be knocked down immediately
by Manager Jang, who says snidely that she’s sure in a good mood despite
the script. She’s hurt, but she takes a positive attitude, even though
everyone assumes that she’ll get cut first. Ae-jung says firmly that
she’ll last long enough to show her personal talent and do her sexy
dance.

Jin hears from Jae-seok that Ae-jung’s likely to get tossed
immediately, and he calls her to say, “Gu Ae-jung, don’t do that and
just leave. I’ll get you CFs, movies, whatever, so tell them you can’t
do it and come back.” Awwwwwwww. That’s so sweet!
He barks that she shouldn’t proceed when humiliation is imminent, and
asks if she can’t see that. She answers that she does, but that she can
handle. She hangs up, so Jin turns his attention to preventing her
demise the only other way — by meeting the bachelor to get him to agree
not to cut Ae-jung.

Before being introduced on the show, Pil-joo is given instructions to
cut the first woman based on his gut first impression, and that
everyone’s a pro so that no feelings will be hurt.
Jin arrives at the station as the taping begins, just as the mystery
man is unveiled. Ae-jung’s face falls to recognize Pil-joo (still
thinking he’s the one who hates her), and Pil-joo is given three seconds
to form a first impression, after which he is instructed to hand out
four roses. The one without a rose goes home.

The first three ladies get one rose each, leaving only Ae-jung with
Park Shi-yeon (playing an actress named Kim Hee-jin, not that that’s
significant — what’s significant is that Park Shi-yeon has been pointed
out as the prettiest, and is most expected to stay). Ae-jung keeps her
eyes averted while Hee-jin looks expectant.
So it’s to everyone’s shock that Pil-joo holds his rose out to Ae-jung. There’s an audible gasp from the audience.
And that’s when Jin’s heart starts acting up again.