Producer ep 7: Feet Firmly Planted Back on One Ship

Remember how a couple of episodes ago, I was unsure of which "ship" I was sailing in regards to Seung Chan? Whether I was all about the Noona Ship with Ye Jin or the Umbrella Couple with Cindy? Well, I am here to let you know, unequivocally, that I am fully on board the.....

Ha! Did you think I was going to give it away already? Pssh. Nah. We still have an entire episode to discuss first before that. You so silly. We'll get to that soon enough, but first, how about we take a look at some of the finer points of this episode?

We start off with Seung Chan pulling a sad Ye Jin into him in what has to be one of the more awkward hugs in all of dramadom. Forget the real estate that her face was planted in on his body even and it was still awkward. They are at a park in public and she's leaning in in a way that looked quite uncomfortable. And they're in this odd psuedo-friend/boss kind of relationship that really can't be defined at this point. It was sweet yet, well, awkward. Really no better word I can think of other than that. Lucky for him though, it seemed to do the trick and Ye Jin cheered up. *pats Awkward Puppy on the head*

Oh look! She actually does pat Awkward Puppy on the head! bwahahaha!

Joon Mo, meanwhile, is sitting at home trying to figure out how to cheer Ye Jin up. He flashes back to moments in their long history together how it used to be so easy - how he always knew how to help her feel better. Except this time is different since this time he is the reason behind her heartache. His solution? Get her to rush home by threatening to cut her favorite bag. That's just plain cruel right there. What did that bag do to deserve such a threat? The man may as well be pulling her pigtails and chasing her around the playground for the childish way he is showing he cares. Good gravy. Immature or not, it works, and Ye Jin comes running home to save her bag. Yes, I'm sure there was a big part of her that was just grateful for the handy excuse to go running back home to Joon Mo. Joon Mo offers up a corny apology (in the form of an apple) and the two of them are left to ponder on the complexity that is now their relationship. While a sad puppy watches from across the street.

In other news, Cindy is on the lam. She has been checked out of the hospital far too early in order to travel to Japan for some engagements there. The poor girl is going through a major re-eval of her life and being forced back to work before she is physically up to it (as if this happens in real life with idols - ha. ha. {she said sarcastically}) is not helping. Conveniently enough, she sees Seung Chan and Ye Jin coming out of the hospital at the same time and getting into Seung Chan's car parked right next to her van. It doesn't take her long to figure out that this is the perfect opportunity for her to make her escape, so, while her geeky manager is distracted on a the phone, she slips out of her van and clandestinely climbs into Seung Chan's car. Aw look! Puppy has picked up a stray!

After some debate and a whole lot of sympathy/guilt, Cindy is brought to stay at Chez Joon Mo, boarding house to the rich and famous and poor and infamous alike. While there, our Cindy starts to flourish. She is able to rest and organize and be a normal girl. Not to mention, she gets to spend some quality time with her crush away from prying eyes and camera lenses. By this time, word has started to spread that Cindy is MIA. Rumors are flying, the favorite one being that she has run off to Paris with a chaebol heir. Imagine Joon Mo's shock when he returns home and finds the missing starlet cleaning his bathroom!

Only three people on the planet now know the truth of where she is, and so a lovely little consortium is born.

Anyone else pick up the parental-esque vibe here? Like Joon Mo/Ye Jin's son has just brought home his pregnant girlfriend or something like that? Or was that just me? They look like two annoyed, concerned parents and two scolded, nervous kids.

One big happy family

Let's talk now about that interesting game of "Of Course". Our awesomely awesome ragtag team is sitting around Joon Mo's apartment imbibing on some adult beverages. Joon Mo and Ye Jin start in on this game they always play together called "Of Course". The rules are simple. No matter what one says, the other must reply with "of course". Basic enough for even the most toasted to follow, right? Kinda actually seems like a pretty dull game at first if you ask me. Except it certainly turns out to be not so dull after all. After Cindy and Ye Jin have their own little "of course" back-and-forth cat fight, Seung Chan and Ye Jin end up getting a little flirty with each other, much to the chagrin of Cindy and Joon Mo. But hey! Check it! Joon Mo - jealous! Yay! That's wonderful to see! He's been tough to read up until this point when it comes to things with Ye Jin. At least now we see him finally phased by a little competition. Competition that Ye Jin says herself she likes more than Joon Mo (DUDE! That was seriously gutsy of our Puppy to ask such a bold question! "Do you like me more than PD Joon Mo?" Dang boy! You are either brave or stupid or a mix of the two.) Poor Cindy looks like her heart is breaking though as she watches the banter back and forth. Especially at the part where Ye Jin asks Seung Chan if he likes her and Seung Chan replies, in a very significant and meaningful tone, "of course". Yeah, in his mind, I'm sure he thinks that he has just confessed. You know that that is what it meant to him. Of course, Ye Jin didn't take it that way, but still....

The fun and games end at that point and the drunken women come out to play. Cindy is bemoaning her life, repeating over and over how she debuted at 13. Ye Jin launches into her aegyo-heavy temper tantrum. Both men are each trying to corral the women - Seung Chan with Ye Jin and Joon Mo with Cindy. Ah, sweet domestic bliss at its finest!

The next day is Cindy's birthday. Her request is to go to the amusement park that Joon Mo is planning on going to for work related business later that day. By this point, the rumors surrounding her disappearance have rounded their way to Ye Jin. It would seem as if CEO Byun has had a role to play in diverting attention and responsibility to Ye Jin's doorstep. She becomes the scapegoat, with the story being that she intentionally injured Cindy on stage and that is why Cindy is now recovering from her injuries and unable to make her appearances as planned. Things escalate with Ye Jin's car being damaged by angered fans and a threatening flood of hate texts coming in to her phone.

She's Public Enemy #1. This worries Seung Chan, who goes into super protective mode. And overdoes it just a tad.

Fast forward to the amusement park that evening. Joon Mo, Seung Chan and Cindy are all there. They are waiting for Ye Jin to join them later as well. Joon Mo goes to work while Seung Chan wheels Cindy around.

She confesses to him why she wanted to come. 10 years prior, she had gone to that same amusement park with her parents for her 13th birthday. It was then and there that CEO Byun scouted her and her career began. She moved away from her family to work in Seoul, and her parents would come to visit a couple of times a month. I guess it was on one of those trips that her parents were in an accident and both died. From that time on, she was raised as CEO Byun's "daughter".

10 years later, Cindy is bemoaning that fateful day that she visited the park, wishing that she hadn't. Wishing her life had been different and that she hadn't, in her eyes, been the cause of her parents' death. Seung Chan is listening to all of this and then tries to console her, doling out his own bits of wisdom. It is a touching and bonding moment between the two of them, and our Cindy, already completely smitten kitten that she is, decides to get a little bold herself and goes in for a kiss!

She tells Seung Chan that now when she thinks of the amusement park, she will think of him and not of her regrets of the past 10 years. She also tell him that now he will think of her.

Puppy is just standing there completely bug-eyed and in shock. He was just kissed. By a superstar! A superstar that is very much a real girl with her own struggles and pain. It is such a totally Notting Hill moment - I love it! All aboard the Umbrella Couple/Puppy-Kitten ship!! Oh yeah, that's right, I am full sail on these two now! I was an idiot to ever waver even just a smidge. These two are a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e together! I hope for the sake of both of them that he quickly gets over this whole noona silliness. I love Ye Jin. I love seeing him get that big goofy grin on his face whenever she's around. I love watching Joon Mo get jealous. But yeah, she's not right for him. And Joon Mo is not right for Cindy. Our little love square can break down into their parallel lines now, thank you very much.

I very much love seeing the two youngsters interact. Like when Seung Chan was in bed with explaining to Cindy his interpretation of an underlined segment in the book he lent her.

Or the hand-holding. Oh, so much glorious hand-holding!

Omo! That boy and his hand!! *fans self*

Or the tear-wiping.

Or even the part where Cindy and Seung Chan's mother meet and bond over recycling. Mom is in love, completely oblivious that this wonderful young lady she is so smitten by is in love with her son (and, you know, a superstar in hiding).

So many little reasons that add up to the big reason why these two are just the cutest thing you've ever seen and why they are so perfect for each other. This whole Ye Jin thing had best just be a passing phase. If the boy has any real brains, and not just his book smarts, he should be able to do the math. Ye Jin is clearly in love with Joon Mo and has been for a long time. Their history is too strong for an outsider to come in and destroy. Shake it up a bit? Sure. Joon Mo needs that. Plus it's fun to watch, but ultimately, we are going to need to have our Seung Chan/Cindy couple, and the sooner Seung Chan realizes that and sees things the way they really are, the better.

Our episode ends with a possibly scary/dangerous incident involving Ye Jin and a mysterious caller in a dark parking lot. Have the rumor mills incited a psycho netizen that is now hell-bent on going after Ye Jin? We'll have to wait for episode 8 to know that for sure.

My final thoughts on this episode? Uhm, yay Cindy!! You're my hero! As messed up as you feel your life is right now, you are the one that has things mostly figured out when compared to the other sides of this foursome. She knows what she wants and she's going for it. I suppose the same could be said for Seung Chan, except that right now he is misguided and is wanting and going for the wrong thing. Joon Mo and Ye Jin need to get their 'stuff' together or I will duct tape them to one another soon. Consider yourselves warned you two. It was a great episode filled with awesome character and relationship development - what's not to love?

And, on a side note, before signing off, I just have to mention this odd couple.

I feel bad that I don't spend a lot of time on the supportive characters, because there is a lot there I could be talking about. These two for example are in the weirdest little mating dance right now and they are cracking me up. They are so freaking bizarre that they rock. I couldn't not mention them after this fun little exchange in the elevator.

Anyway, another totally daebak episode in a totally daebak drama. Can't wait to see what Kmuse has to say about episode 8, so make sure you come back to check that out once it's up. Other than that, I will see you around the cyber water cooler. I will be returning with this week's recaps of Ex-Girlfriend Club sometime in the next couple of days, give or take a couple of days, if you're into that kind of thing, otherwise I'll see you next week for my next installment of Producer recaps. Thanks for stopping by!

Back hugs and fish-kisses,
Dongsaeng