Roommates Episode 4- Where Did Wookie (and the Laughs) Go?

Episode 4 was narrated by Mama Shin, which should have been a promising start, but his words were rather prophetic as he told the other guys "After Dong Wook leaves it will be really boring." You got that right, Mama Shin! I found this episode not only a little boring, but also more than a little sad.  Good thing we had your cutie face to look at every now and then!
JoAnne:  I didn't think it was laugh out loud funny but I wasn't bored, either - it was interesting to see them go off in their little groups and start getting to know each other better.  PS Mama Shin I love you.  I love you.  I love you.
bcook: Back off lady! Jeesh! no respect for property.

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Soo Hyun and NaNa are still in the kitchen trying to make a meal out of store bought items. The fact that neither of them knows how to make rice amazes me, since I'm pretty sure I could make it "deliciously" just from watching dramas.
JoAnne: I find that completely unbelievable, as well.  Are you trying to tell me a broke-ass trainee (NaNa, back in the day) living in the dorms was eating out all the time?  No, they had a ricemaker.  Soo Hyun never helped her mother make a meal in 34 years of living?  I call major bullshit.
bcook: It is possible. I have seen it. Remember Nana would have been living with 4? 5? other people one of whom might have known how to cook rice. Plus sometimes when you live at home and mummy wants to do everything for you...there's no need to learn. Not like I would know tho. :( 

We spend a LOT of time watching those two flailing around the kitchen. Mama Shin gives the girls a thumbs up on the dinner and the viewers a lesson in positive reinforcement--since it was their first time, he admitted it would be rude to tell the girls that their cooking wasn't good. Ah, Mama Shin, what a sweetheart!  But what's with the hair on your face and one side of your head mysteriously appearing then disappearing in the middle of the interview?
JoAnne: He is a time traveller.
bcook: somebody needs to smack the continuity person on the back of the head. However I was so enthralled with Oppajusshi that I didn't notice that one detail. 

Mama Shin also comes to the rescue when he realizes that Wookie can't eat the high fat dinner the girls have prepared, so while Miss MMA gives us a little insight into her life, he cooks up a meal for Wookie. It seems Ga Yeon studied homeland security and was planning on going into the special forces. At a ratio of 140 guys to 12 girls, the guys assumed she had had boyfriends. I had to laugh when she openly admitted that her agency told her to say she never dated, and then goes on to tell of the boyfriend she had and how she broke up with him after he decided to follow her into the military.  Of course the punchline is that she never went into the military, while her ex-boyfriend became a career soldier.
JoAnne:  She becomes more charming by the minute.  And Shin.  The only reason you aren't married and father to a passel of babies is clearly because you haven't wanted to be, because you are either acting a perfect role or you are perfect.  I'm staying in my bubble and going with you are perfect.
bcook: Of course he's perfect! and don't worry Oppajusshi! We will make little blasian babies and teach them how to build stuff and play the guitar and there will be singing and cooking and *bliss*.
Ga Yeon is pretty awesome and my new girl crush.  

When Mama Shin brings out the buckwheat noodles he made for Wookie, the look on Wookie's face is sheer ecstasy.
JoAnne:  No one stops to wonder why Mr. I'm on a Diet can't get off his admittedly cute ass and make himself a meal he CAN eat.
bcook: Maybe he's afraid if he attempts to cook he'll just make something fattening?

He invites the others to try it. I'm wondering how happy Soo Hyun and Na Na are feeling now that everyone is diving into the noodles and singing their praises.  Makes me think that maybe they didn't eat quite as much of the dinner as we originally thought.
JoAnne:  They heated up frozen curry to serve on crappy rice and cut up some cucumbers.  It probably wasn't GOOD but it probably wasn't horrible either.  Oh and fried spam. You cannot screw that up, so that was fine.

After dinner, Se Ho and Soo Hyun have a heart to heart talk, interrupted as Wookie comes to say he's leaving. No! Don't leave us! He goes around saying goodbye and So He tells him to leave a comment at least once a day.  Once a day?  Wookie, how long are you going to be gone????? I think everyone in the house is also sad about him leaving!

JoAnne: Well, I guess there goes the Bookie couple.

bcook: Why does he have to leave? Is his drama filming on location or something? Will he come back? :(
 
A few of houseguests gather around the table as Bom returns. She's put on the hot seat as everyone wants to know what the tarot card reader told her about her possible love interests.  At this point I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for Bom.  

JoAnne:  You and me both.

bcook: psh. She wants to talk. 

She asks Min Woo and Pretty Eyes to leave, at which point they go hide behind the potted plant so they can eavesdrop.  Good espionage there, guys.  Should have asked Ga Yeon for a little advice.  Bom explains that she originally picked 3 guys, but was told one was not a good match at all. Then the tarot reader said Wookie was the perfect match, but she was surprised and had not really considered him in that way.  NaNa tells how she was interested in Pretty Eyes, but heard both he and Min Woo picked Soo Hyun as their ideal in the house. Ouch. At this, Pretty Eyes starts to feel bad and decides he's heard enough. 

JoAnne:  I liked him right there.  Well I like him anyway.  But I liked him right there especially.  Oddly, the fact that he stayed did not diminish my liking for MinWoo, but I just like Kang Joon more.

bcook: Why should Min Woo leave? He's not the one who crushed Nana's dreams.  

Se Ho asks if they ever thought about him, and Bom and Na Na burst out laughing.  Honestly, this is starting to make me feel really bad.  We all know the smart, funny, slightly chubby guy who was repeatedly overlooked in favor of the good looking guys. This is one time I'm not really liking how the producers are playing this up, but then he's a comedian, so I guess it's OK. Bom needs to leave again, and Se Ho walks her out. Why am I suddenly hoping that he gets to go on the trip? I'm always a sucker for the underdog.

JoAnne:  Well, if they encouraged him to play this up, I guess...but if they treated him like that in real life that's just cruel.

bcook: I think they (by they I mean koreans and by koreans i mean the small sample size of mykoreanhusband.com's Mr Gwon's story) actually do stuff like that. ref Mr Gwon and how some random korean girl scoffed loudly when his wife called him handsome. (and He's hella cute)

Chan Yeol comes in at 7:25 a.m. Wow, I could never be an idol because the circles under my eyes would  be down to my chin. No wonder they need IVs all the time.

JoAnne: That face.  That face of a 14-year-old boy.  It is so cute.  It's not possible to not like him.

bcook: So like just him and leave Shin Ajusshi alone! 

Not long after Chan Yeol goes to bed, Mama Shin gets up and makes breakfast.  As soon as Pretty Eyes leaves for the day, I know this is going to be a boring day, especially when the projects include laundry and bench making.  OK, I know some of you like the idea of Mama Shin working with tools, but even with SeHo trying to goof around and give them vinegar to drink, it was just pretty dull stuff. The others made a plan to get street food for snacks and meet back at 3:30 to watch Bom and NaNa compete on Inkigayo.  So Miss MMA and Min Woo go one way to get food, while So Ra and Soo Hyun go another.

JoAnne:  I like the way untreated lumber smells, very much, and I like when men work with lumber because then they smell like that, too.  And I'm impressed that both he and ChanYeol seemed to know what they were doing.  I mean him, ok, he's 45, maybe he took up a hobby.  But where did this kid learn this stuff, among all the OTHER stuff we're discovering he knows?  He's very accomplished for someone so young.  Se Ho deserved to get his ass beat, and I was actually very surprised not to see even a second of anger in Mama Shin's eyes.  He was so lowkey.  Sure, they can edit, but did that look edited to you?

bcook: Oh there was anger. I think he held back coz the camera. That 

Obviously, knowing Korean would be helpful in understanding some of this, but I'm assuming that Ga Yeon, due to her training in homeland security, speaks to everyone in formal (or possibly one of the many levels of polite) language. Min Woo suggests he be her boyfriend for the day so that she gets in the habit of speaking informally. (I love how without a second of hesitation she nixes that idea, lol!) They devise a plan where she gets a wrist slap if she forgets and speaks formally.

JoAnne:  They really take this stuff seriously, Koreans.  Talking formally after being invited to speak comfortably routinely is portrayed as hurtful and even insulting, and not just in dramas.  I giggled that she didn't hesitate to put the kibosh on the boyfriend bit, too, but they make REALLY great buddies, don't they?

bcook: Yeah, Ga Yeon usually speaks high level formal (-imnida) vs regular formal (-yo). He basically asked her to drop two levels. Luckily she got her revenge. 

Since Min Woo believes in fair play, he agrees to get a kick if he's recognized on the street by anyone. They then spend a majority of their time beating each other up. I'd like to see the back of Min Woo's leg in a few days.  His advice to Ga Yeon's future boyfriend:  Don't ever cheat!  She's strong!

JoAnne:  And then she laughs and tells the camera it wasn't even that hard, right? I think that was then. I kind of liked that he didn't think anyone would recognize him that much.

bcook: It was pretty awesome. You can't walk around anonymous anymore Min Woo. Welcome to Hallyu!

Elsewhere, the building crew works on the bench and So Ra and Soo Hyun talk about So Ra's difficult times trying to sell her own brand of something and how, because of the Korean retail system, it was so stressful she became sick.  Brings to mind the whole Lotte employee suicide scandal--some things I'd rather not know.  So Ra said she pulled herself out of it by going to church. At which time Soo Hyun said she used to go to church, too, but would cry every time she went to a prayer meeting.  Something about this strikes me funny and yet I totally understand.

JoAnne:  My first introduction to Soo Hyun was in a drama where I absolutely would have stabbed her character in the eye without hesitation, and she has NEVER played someone that I liked...it just continues to amaze me that she's an actual person with feelings.  Her far more than anyone else, because my negative feeling toward her characters was so high.  

bcook: I haven't seen her in a drama before (I don't think). Does she do mostly sageuks? She musta had some problems.

I'm thinking this would be the perfect time to introduce Shuk's drinking game, but I can't remember the rules.  I just know that one of the things we drink for is Soo Hyun crying. I love that she's so sensitive and all, but it definitely makes me feel like hitting the soju bottle! Although if you are really in the mood to get fall down drunk while watching this, have a shot for every time you see Se Ho in his silk pajamas.

JoAnne: I would much rather drink soju with Mama Shin while I wear the top to his silk pajamas and he wears the bottoms...

bcook: Hush! Do not use my ajusshi's name in vain. 

Shuk: Here it is, eonni!

(Thanks, Shuk, for the game rules.  However, it looks like I would be eating the entire show so I think I'll just stick to shots of soju, hehe, supplied by none other than you!)

JoAnne: Can't I just drink?  This is too complicated.

bcook: Drink! drink! This game will make you fat! 

Shuk:  I just wanted to be sure there was something for everyone!

At the set of Inkigayo, Na Na stops in to visit Bom.  I guess this is unprecedented due to the competitiveness of the business and also because 2NE1 is the senior group.  I'm not really sure how the group members are taking this whole intrusion and new friend of Bom's.

JoAnne:  It struck me as a little bit of genuine awkward  but mostly because they didn't know the girl.  I did read that the idiot netizens were in an uproar because 1) she dared to call CL by her real name (Chaerin, at that spot right there where she hugged her - but she was making a JOKE about calling her by her name so loosen up, you nimrods...and 2) at the end, when NaNa said to Bom that she thought 2NE1 should have won, that was considered very disrespectful to 4Minute, who did win.  Give me a freaking break, you no life-having idiots.

bcook: I don't understand #2 (chock it up to cultural differences? and having a life?). But yeah it was really awkward but kinda cute. CL is really not into pda eh? 

The bench is finished and the snacks are back so they all gather on it to eat.  When Se Ho asks Na Na what she likes best, she says intestines, which prompts Se Ho to ask her if she'd like to go with him to a really good place to get some. The look on Na Na's face says it all, and I wish she'd have stopped at the look instead of blurting out No, not with you!  Only if you bring someone good looking along! Yikes. Is honesty really the best policy here?

JoAnne:  It smelled fake to me.

I'd talk about Chan Yeol making fire, but actually I have no idea what that was even about.  The whole thing looked like a CG to me, so I'm open to an explanation in the comments section if anyone has any! I think they were just getting desperate for some kind of action.

JoAnne:  It was CG.  He was just making a joke and they all played along.  It was...weird.

bcook: I thought it was really cute! He must have said something at some point about how he could make fire (some video game reference most likely). I loved how everybody played along. It made me smile. 

Later that evening, Mama Shin goes to the final performance of The Three Musketeers, and Chan Yeol, the ever faithful and sweet-spirited dongsaeng, shows up at the after party with cake and champagne.  Na Na and Se Ho play around on the piano.  Yeh, I'm thinking that's definitely not going to happen.  Instead they devise a plot to once again attack Bom on arrival with a surprise interview, this time asking, in front of almost everyone, who in the house she would like to date.  Not seeing Min Woo behind the door, she reveals it's him, and then things seem to go awry.  We leave the house for the evening with the sound of Bom crying in the bathroom.

JoAnne:  I wonder what that's all about.  Guess we'll find out.  And if Se Ho and Na Na hooked up that would freaking AWESOME.  Of course, she's not allowed to date, so it wouldn't ever happen. But I LOVE the really good looking person who falls for the not-good looking person (I mean, he's not ugly, he's just normal) who is completely awesome in other ways.

bcook: Yeah....that was all kinds of levels of awkward. 

Final thoughts:  I have not watched the next episode yet, but I think I understand the pain Bom is feeling. (Thank God they weren't doing this to Soo Hyun or we'd have to put waders on for all the tears she'd be shedding.) After the exhausting day that she's had, this whole situation was probably just too much to take.  If she really is interested in Min Woo, which I suspect she is, I'm sure this is NOT the way she'd want it to come out.  I really hope (although I do suspect) the producer's are not putting the roommates up to these kinds of things.  There could definitely be some hurt feelings. I've seen too many good rom coms turn to melos - I really don't want that happening here! We shall see where this goes next episode.

JoAnne: This kind of thing used to happen in school, too, where you'd see kids force each other to make confessions before they were ready, or see confessions be refused out of embarrassment because they were done publicly - they're too old for this shit, Lo.  I will not be happy if feelings honestly get hurt.

bcook: I have no words. It was just awkward.