Recap: What's Up Episode 11

This episode deals with ambition, and the price you pay for fame.

Episode 11

Director and Tae-hee is in his office, where he tries to help by offering some analgesic spray, his only knowledge of first aid. When he proceeds to unbuckle her boots, Tae-hee stops his outstretched hand, offering to do it herself. He notes her long slender fingers and asks if she plays the piano. When she replies in the affirmative, he asks if she sings. Tae-hee remembers the purpose of her visit and introduces herself, like a well-trained freshman and explains she’s here for an audition. Director belatedly realizes she’s the girl he’d asked Chae-young to bring over and strides to his desk, standing beside his nameplate. He asks her to sing, and introduces himself as the Director of the company – Kang Min-ho.

Jae-hun is still on the way, thoughts of Tae-hee spurring him on as he makes his way to her, completely forgetting his phobia and fear, with a wide silly smile on his face. Awww… On the other hand, Tae-hee’s audition is smooth-sailing as she wows not only Kang but Secretory Oh and another staff as well.

Jae-hun reaches the front of the building just as Tae-hee is done. Tae-hee is excited when Kang invites her for a camera test, because it meant she’d passed the first test. Kang is amused by her child-like earnestness. Jae-hun calls but Tae-hee informs him she’d done well for her audition and they’ve arranged for her to be sent back by car, so he and everyone else can stop worrying about her.

Jae-hun turns back just in time to see Tae-hee clinging onto Kang’s arm as he leads her into the car. Secretary Oh is the only who clocks his curious presence…Jae-hun watches the scene with an uneasy expression, looking from the posh car to his comparatively humble motorbike. Well, technically it’s Tian-ji’s. J

Next day. Prof Yang’s class. All the students practices script-reading, in which they try to persuade someone against committing suicide. Prof Yang picks on Do-sung who mouths the script so softly, one can hardly hear him. Even when he reads aloud, he’s so nervous his voice quivers. Tae-hee glances back at Jae-hun who is abnormally quiet.

After class, Tae-hee seeks out Jae-hun after some prompting from Do-sung. In the hallway, she shuffles through the crowd and calls out to him, arm outstretched. But Jae-hun ignores her, hastens his steps and Tae-hee is left grabbing at air, disappointment written all over her face, while Do-sung looks on.

Their next class is with Prof Sun who enters the class and describes the following scenario without any preamble – “I am a rich man’s son. My father owns hotels, supermarkets and various other buildings all over the country. In other words, even without lifting a finger, money flows in every month. I’m the only son so all that eventually belongs to me.” Byung-gun interrupts adorably asking naively if it’s true. LOL. Anyway, the scenario continues – “Problem now is I want to be an actor, but dad opposes, declaring that if I persist, he will disown me. No more inheritance and I’m kicked out from home.” Byung-gun shakes his head, completely caught up in the scenario.

Sun’s assignment for the day is to convince dad to accept son’s ambition, without forgoing his inheritance. Sun picks a Kim Seung-jae who voices his doubt over the “rationality” of said scenario – why would the son want to be an actor if he has loads of cash?

The twins chip in by adding that the son could probably create a production company of his own or buy a theater and only become an actor after dad dies. LOL. Touche.

Jokes aside, he asks for volunteers and one by one hands are raised, an obvious departure from the old days. Tae-hee, Do-sung, Byung-gun all raise their hands while Doo-ri just shoots cupid arrows at him with her eyes.

Tae-hee goes first, facing her classmates who would be her make-believe father. Sun reminds her that the most important thing during a persuasion is sincerity.

Meanwhile, Chae-young confronts Soo-bin in the library about his decision to consider composing for a musical produced by her company, starring Tae-hee. On his part, Soo-bin confirms that the company sent him a recording of her singing through email which he recognizes right away as Tae-hee’s. Tears stream down her cheeks as she contemplates the injustice of it all. (well, in her opinion anyway…)

In class, Tae-hee is busy convincing her “father” cum audience how money means little to her. It’s not like you can eat 5 times a day or wear 5 hats at a time. It’s ok if she doesn’t get the money but she wants dad to see her perform on stage, to see for himself how blissfully happy she is when she performs – . Jae-hun interrupts her, accusing her of lying. He assumes the role of “father”, with blessings from Sun who encourages the interaction.

JH: You’ve gone on and on about this and that…In the end, it’s just your vanity speaking isn’t it?

TH: Wanting to be onstage…that is vanity?

JH: Attaining delight and happiness onstage…even if you say so, it’s not really true isn’t it? To sit in a posh car, meet someone handsome once you achieved fame…isn’t that the kind of grand life you’re aiming for? If that is the case, you don’t have to be an actress, I have loads of money. I can do anything for you. Expensive imported cars? Sure. A man? Who do you want? A second generation chaebol?

Sun has noticed the curious turn of the conversation but lets it unfold. Tae-hee is also looking a little hurt but bravely continues the “act”.

TH: Even if you get me an expensive car, I wouldn’t know how to drive. And a chaebol isn’t something you can pick up at a supermarket, even if you have the money…

JH: So, do you want to be something in a supermarket? With heavy make-up and revealing clothes, you get onstage to sing and dance. And say, please pick me!

TH: Make-up is a show of manners to your audience…because you are an actor. (Oh…this line came from Chae-young)

JH: What manners?! Wearing a skirt so short your thighs are revealed…and clinging to the arms of a man, that’s manners??!  How useful, this so-called manners! Is that the kind of actor you wanna be?! !

(I know this part is really serious and all, but really, Jae-hun is kinda prudish J I’m hard-pressed to find one artist who don’t wear revealing clothes). The class is engrossed, sensing the tense undercurrent. Well, Doo-ri is smiling as if she’s enjoying herself though and Sun is looking mighty amused too.

TH: Why are you saying that? (She looks really shocked by now…)

JH: Because I’m dad.

TH: If it’s dad, you can’t say things like that…

JH: (with a smirk) Your dad must only say things you wanna hear?

Do-sung senses Jae-hun has gone too far and tries to stop him…

JH: That is not a dad. There’s no such dad in this world. WHAT KIND OF DAD IS THAT?!!!

TH: What do you know about my dad? Have you even met him? I know you’re mad at me right now.

JH: What are you saying?

TH: That’s why I’ve been wanting to apologize. But you’ve been avoiding me.

JH: We’re in the middle of class! (Good of you to finally remember Jae-hun shi…Too bad you started this!)

TH: Why didn’t you say it clearly on the phone? If you’re coming to pick me up, just say so! I will call you again, just wait there…you should’ve said so! That why when that man offer to send me by car ---

Jae-hun shouts her name and she stops her outburst, finally realizing they have an audience.

Jae-hun is first to leave when class is over. Tae-hee looks dejectedly at his back and takes the other direction. Doo-ri asks Do-sung what he plans to do with his roommate – to be a bystander or to meddle in their affairs. Do-sung asks eagerly if she means to help them reconcile. Doo-ri thinks it’s no fun if they reconcile that easily. Do-sung is angry that she’s having fun at their expense but she reminds him that it’s more beneficial to him if they are in discord. Do-sung accuses Doo-ri of not explaining the situation properly to Tae-hee. Now Doo-ri is pissed, displeased with his accusations and shoos him away. Heh.

Meanwhile, Byung-gun has stayed behind, seeking out Sun who correctly guesses that he’s still having trouble singing. Byung-gun still insists he’s very good when singing alone. Sun thinks he’s only singing for himself, alone or otherwise. Before an audience, he’s only thinking about how others listen to his song, how others perceive him, how much points his song deserves. It’s all him, him, him. Byung-gun is unsure, not entirely convinced…

SWY: Why do you speak?

BG: To convey my thoughts…to convey my heart (feelings)..

SWY: What about singing?

BG: Err..

SWY: Singing is to convey things you can’t put in words.

Byung-gun is speechless, suddenly comprehending. Sun brags that the awesome-sounding saying is from a woman he loved. Sun asks curiously why Byung-gun keeps talking to himself, because that does not make him a singer, but a crazy man. LOL. Sun equates talking to singing, so because Byung-gun only sings for himself – he only talks to himself, which is what the crazy does. Geddit. Heh.

It’s lunchtime. Tae-hee continues to hang out with Chae-young’s clique – Ka-young and specky girl sans Chae-young, who the girls think has gone on a date with Soo-bin. Tae-hee looks longingly to Jae-hun’s table where the atmosphere is comparatively merrier. She smiles hesitantly when she catches Jae-hun’s eye but he turns away and ignores her. Sigh. She’s looking pretty lonely and empty. Sigh.

Doo-ri finally decides to “meddle”. Yay. She asks Tae-hee if her dad always yields first whenever she’s angry. She would be angry even if she’s at fault, and dad would come running, cooing to her. Tae-hee looks at at Doo-ri with her puppy-dog eyes, asking if she’d done anything wrong. Doo-ri remarks that her puppy-dog expression is sure to let her get away with anything. Doo-ri tries to explain the situation to a blur Tae-hee, and not succeeding very well…

Byung-gun’s next victim is a grouchy Jae-hun who complains it’s cold outside. Byung-gun explains he’d tried and failed indoors so he wants to try it outside and gradually move indoors if he succeeds. Heh. It’s an unfortunate choice of place because it’s the exact place where he and Tae-hee had a memorable night singing and dancing about her parents previously. Byung-gun starts to ramble endlessly and takes offense when Jae-hun impatiently hurries him to just get on with it and sing. Properly chastised, Jae-hun sarcastically pledges to wait. LOL. Well, Byung-gun tries but fails, finally asking if Jae-hun has ever felt like he wish to convey through a song, feelings he can’t put in word, which strikes a chord with our grouchy hero. J

On their way back, Byung-gun candidly admits that he thought he would succeed with Jae-hun, seeing that he’s definitely better than him in every aspect. Ooppss. Jae-hun pauses…..but it’s not because of what he said. Tae-hee is before them. Byung-gun chatters excitedly about her being scouted before belatedly registering the tensed atmosphere. LOL. He then excuses himself grumbling adorably how Soo-bin is messing up the room, making it a harrowing experience to enter his room every day. Haha.

Jae-hun starts to walk right past her but Tae-hee stops him by declaring she’s been waiting for him. She apologizes and he accepts, somewhat indifferently. Tae-hee does not understand why he’s so mad. She can understand how frustrating it was for him to have made that trip but she inadvertently left him in the dust. However that doesn’t explain his extreme anger.

Jae-hun is frustrated, she’s totally missing the point and that only serve to flame his anger. Tae-hee’s upset – she’s apologizing but he’s still angry. She’s not the kind to apologize; it took a lot of courage for her to apologize. Why couldn’t he accept her apology. What was she to do, she didn’t even have money for taxi fare, so of course she’d accepted the offer for a ride. How was she to know he’d come for her?

She starts to cry…which alarms Jae-hun who asks tentatively if she’s going to cry. Of course she is, you idiot! J Tae-hee sulkily retorts that she’s not crying, not over him she won’t. And…the situation is reversed. LOL. Anyway, she apologizes again and hobbles off. Jae-hun shouts after her, asking where she’s going and she angrily replies she’s off to ride in a posh car! J

Jae-hun is walking back to his room grumpily when Byung-gun marvels aloud at how inept Jae-hun is at speaking, having obviously overheard the whole exchange. Haha. Jae-hun ignores him and Byung-gun returns to his room or more accurately a warzone. J He groans at the mess and starts to clean up while grumbling aloud how Soo-bin’s sloppiness could actually be a special capability. But as he collects the scattered music sheets, he couldn’t help but be impressed by his genius, applauding him in silent. J So cute.

Well genius musician is with Chae-young in a bar, as she unloads her disappointments.  The company had implied they would consider making her the lead in a musical if she takes lessons in musical, which explains why she’s here. She reflects on how she used to be really popular when she was 10, to the extent that the ones who don’t recognize her are surely spies. Soo-bin confesses he doesn’t, and she jokingly accuses him of being one. Soo-bin is so cute. J

Tae-hee is thinking about her audition AND Jae-hun, with only her conscience / dad as company. She’s simultaneously excited about her star prospects but couldn’t help thinking of bad guy Jae-hun. Hah. She’s worried if she becomes a star, she might lose her friends. She seeks assurance from dad that he would stay by her side no matter how she changes and dad plays the theme from Autumn in my heart while she sits quietly, lost in thoughts.

A disgruntled Prof Yang confronts Sun, questioning his intention for fielding another team in a competition, besides the one she’s in charge of and demands that he cancels their participation. She’s fielding a team comprising of seniors and graduates while he wants to involve the first years. Yay. More singing and dancing. When pressed for his true intent, he concedes that he just wanted to accomplish something before he dies. Prof Yang is just worried he’ll embarrass the school with the inexperienced bunch, but Sun stands firm and cheekily flashes his tummy to annoy her. LOL. A lurking Chae-young smiles ever so slightly at this piece of news…

The ever “resourceful” Chae-young wastes no time and shows up in the company seeking a private audience with Secretary Oh. She senses his ambition and makes the following proposal – Oh will prepare a musical starring unknown newbies of his own in addition to the one Director Kang prepares which commonly stars a girl to his liking. Of course, she is to be included as one of those “unknown newbies”.

Tae-hee receives notice that she’s being offered a contract. Over the moon, she runs up to Do-sung and Jae-hun, bear-hugs Do-sung while exclaiming in glee about her contract, barely heeding Do-sung apprehension about signing the contract indiscriminately and hardly sparing a glance at Jae-hun. Aww…they’re still not talking? By the way, Do-sung’s expression when Tae-hee hugs him? Priceless. J Do-sung looks torn as he watches Jae-hun walking away and decides to follow Tae-hee after all.

Tae-hee informs Miss Secretary that she has to skip the afternoon class to sign her contract. Do-sung manages to catch up with her as she’s about to leave, reminding her to read the fine prints before she signs. But she’s so excited she’s hardly listening and leaves excitedly, promising to read the contract carefully. Why am I worried?

Step two in Chae-young’s plan involve telling a surprised Prof Yang that an acquaintance of hers plans to make a donation to the school, with the condition that the students must participate in the Nymph Competition (I’m not entirely certain of the name…it sounded like that).

Anyway, Prof Yang is wary of the sudden windfall and asks if the donation will be withdrawn if they do not get ideal results at the competition. When Chae-young implies that results is important, Prof Yang admits that their previous records have not been stellar, with the consolation prize being their best achievement, the reason being that many other teams are supported by established stars. Chae-young suggests that they recruit stars from the outside with the funds they have. Yang exchanges nervous glances with Prof Kim, obviously not comfortable with the idea of recruiting outside help for a competition in the school’s name. Chae-young asks innocently, “Is the name that important?”

That’s not all, Chae-young has done research on Tae-hee during the time she had her under her thumb and while she’s not sure what was it that drew Director Kang to her, she’s confident that his plans for the musical will evaporate just as soon as he loses interest in Tae-hee.

Do-sung asks his uncle to make enquiries on DCS Media, the company that Tae-hee is signing and on the contents of contracts for new artists. Jae-hun pretends not to care, but he so obviously does.

Tae-hee hesitates before signing the contact, still unsure about the clauses pertaining to the money. Secretary Oh explains that a lot of money will be spent to groom her into a star and she’s expected to put in efforts worthy of all that. Nothing is free in the world and she’s expected to bring in profits in return for all those investments. Tae-hee pledges her best and signs….

Uncle calls back with news. First off, the company is in good financial status and a good place to bleed newbies. However, there is one worrying news….the Director in charge of musicals is renowned for being a newbie-killer…the women associated with him are –

Jae-hun processes the information with a determined look on his face. He accosts Chae-young who’s on the phone, bluntly telling her he needs to ask her something, asking when is her phone call gonna end. Woo-hoo. I love cool Jae-hun.

Jae-hun asks about the director, admitting his ignorance of how things are done in her circle.

Tae-hee is being brought before a group of men, Kang bragging that she’s his new signing and untouched by plastic surgery. Tae-hee looks warily at the gang.

Chae-young explains it’s Thursday. And it’s Director Kang’s hobby to bring his new signing to show off during his poker game with other similarly privileged chaebols. But what happens from there depends on Tae-hee…She was invited last year but she refused the invitation which is why she lost the lead role to a newbie. Jae-hun asks for the location of the poker game. Chae-young advises him to stay out of it, to let Tae-hee decide herself, because in his own words –he’s not her dad, only a friend. But Jae-hun is freaking out and shouts at her, demanding to know where the poker game is held.

Jae-hun strides into the seniors dressing room, grabs Tian-jin’s motorbike key and helmet and runs for it, all the seniors reacting a fraction too late to stop him. Jae-hun bumps into Tian-jin himself, but before Tian-ji gets a hold of the situation, Jae-hun speeds away on the motorbike with everyone else trailing behind. LOL.

Thoughts:

Tae-hee is still her bumbling clueless self and oh dear what a mess she’s gotten into. Let’s hope Jae-hun gets to her in time. By the way, that’s the second time Jae-hun rides a bike in a cliffhanger. Broody, sulky Jae-hun is great but I’m missing my cheeky smiley Jae-hun, so here’s hoping the conflict between Jae-hun and Tae-hee is over soon. I mean they still haven’t figure out their feelings for one another and there’s still that big deal about him causing the death of her father.

Chae-young is a difficult character to sympathize with. Granted, we’re given more insight on why she’s how she is…but I’m still waiting patiently for her to overcome her insecurities and realizes she doesn’t necessarily need to climb on others to succeed…In a way, she’s smart and shrewd like Doo-ri, just maybe more unscrupulous, which makes them such entertaining opponents.

By the way, Do-sung is such an angel. I love that he isn’t the least jealous of Jae-hun and wants to patch things up between him and Tae-hee! At this point, I’m fairly confident Byung-gun and Do-sung will get their respective arcs but I’m doubtful of Soo-bin getting his, which will be kinda sad. A mini arc will do. Pretty please?

p/s: I'm cutting down on the pics...because uploading pics take more time. Will upload more in the weekends when I'm free. Cheers.