Ex-Girlfriend Club episode 7 recap

Side dish: I have a mountain of rhubarb in my fridge, ready to be turned into something delicious. I haven’t decided what to make yet, so here are some options from Serious Eats.

Episode Recap

Webtoon writer, Bang Myeong Soo (Byun Yo Han) desperately tries to wave a taxi down. The words of his ex-girlfriend, Ra Ra (Ryu Hwa Young) echo in his head, that PD Kim Soo Jin (Song Ji Hyo) is being used as bait to seduce film director, Jo Geun (Do Sang Woo).

Back at the studio set, Soo Jin is waiting alone in the dark when Jo Geun drives up, throws a tantrum, then shoves the car keys into her hand, demanding that she drive him back. As Soo Jin blinks like a deer caught in the headlights, Myeong Soo shows up in a taxi, and attempts to take Soo Jin away. Jo Geun gets in his face, but the two of them stop arguing when a baffled Soo Jin demands an explanation. Jo Geun seems to have some idea of what happened, and spots all three ex-girlfriends, Ra Ra, Hwa Young (Lee Yoon Ji), and Ji Ah (Jang Ji Eun) hiding behind boxes in the corner. Having already been caught, they reluctantly come out into the open. When it finally dawns on Soo Jin that she was being used to seduce Jo Geun into not scuttling the movie, she angrily drops Myeong Soo’s hand, climbs into the waiting cab, and takes off.

Myeong Soo looks on the verge of explosion as he sends his ex-girlfriends back to Seoul. Ra Ra makes a brief attempt at riding with Jo Geun before Myeong Soo roars at her to leave. Instead, Myeong Soo asks Jo Geun to talk. Jo Geun informs Myeong Soo that he has no intention of doing the movie with him on board. Myeong Soo is happy to hear this, and warns Jo Geun to stay away from Soo Jin instead of giving her hope, and tells him to go back to the US where he’s wanted.

The three ex-girlfriends are sitting in front of a convenience store, discussing Myeong Soo’s angry face. Ji Ah theorizes that Soo Jin must be more of a dating expert than she seems, having left both Jo Geun and Myeong Soo hanging. Undeterred, Hwa Young is still determined to get Soo Jin and Jo Geun together, despite Ra Ra’s opposition to the idea.

Jo Geun is annoyed, but thoughtful, as he poses on the hood of his car, and thinks back to Soo Jin’s words that he wasn’t taking things seriously.

Back at Ji Ah’s bar, Myeong Soo lectures his three contrite ex-girlfriends, and instructs them to apologize to Soo Jin when she arrives. The thought of being told to apologize to Soo Jin is too much for Ji Ah, who protests that she was only ever dragged into this mess for Myeong Soo and Soo Jin’s sake. The conversation devolves into an argument between the women over Myeong Soo’s feelings about Soo Jin. They demand a definitive answer from Myeong Soo, but they’re interrupted by Soo Jin’s arrival.

Instead of demanding an apology, Soo Jin wonders how easy a target she must have appeared if they thought it was okay to sell her to Jo Geun. Since she’d been left out of the all-important club of Myeong Soo’s ex-girlfriends, Soo Jin announces to them that maybe she’d just date Myeong Soo herself to even things up. Ra Ra claps in response, while Ji Ah looks upset.

As Myeong Soo and Soo Jin walk away from Ji Ah’s bar, Myeong Soo asks why Soo Jin took off in the taxi without him. Soo Jin was too embarrassed to face Jo Geun, after having told him off previously. When Myeong Soo asks why they were holding hands, Soo Jin explains about the car keys. As an excuse to hold hands with Soo Jin, Myeong Soo demands a demonstration of how the car keys were passed off. All unawares, Soo Jin shows him, but stops when she sees his grinning face, and orders him to go home. Myeong Soo refuses, since they’re supposed to be dating now, and pretends to be offended when she tries to shove him away. They finally part on a handshake, which Myeong Soo takes advantage of again.

The next day, Soo Jin packs up her office as Hwa Young hangs around apologetically. When Soo Jin’s co-worker, Eun Hye (Kang Soo Jin) goes to buy more packing tape, Hwa Young proposes the idea of making the movie with Jo Geun, but minus Myeong Soo, thus saving both the movie and Hwa Young’s marriage. When Soo Jin angrily refuses, Hwa Young tries to play if off as if she’s suggesting it for Myeong Soo’s own good. Soo Jin leaves without bothering to respond.

Hwa Young, instead, goes off to drink by herself, but somehow Myeong Soo appears to rescue her. Hwa Young drunkenly informs Myeong Soo that she’s going to confess all to her fiancé, company director Cho Young Jae, and probably end up single and jobless as a result. This is obviously a play on Myeong Soo’s sympathies, as Hwa Young throws in the bonus of an unemployed Soo Jin on top of it. She starts weeping profusely at the thought of Soo Jin’s pitiful future, but by the time Myeong Soo gets her into a cab, she seems much recovered. Myeong Soo, on the other hand, looks exhausted. In the cab, Hwa Young wipes the last of the tears off her face, and grins at her own cleverness.

Myeong Soo drops by Soo Jin’s office, to find a pensive Soo Jin taking a look at the place. With tears in her eyes, she tells him that working with him seemed like a dream, and that she wonders if such a day will come again. As she starts crying, Myeong Soo awkwardly holds her, while suppressing his own tears.

The next day, Myeong Soo meets with Jo Geun to apologize and ask him to come back to the movie, and to keep Hwa Young’s secret. Myeong Soo offers to step aside from the film, leaving all control to Jo Geun. Jo Geun adds the condition that Myeong Soo never appear in front of him again.

The next morning, Soo Jin, Hwa Young, and Eun Hye are packing up the office, when the real estate agent shows up with a potential buyer. The viewing is interrupted by the arrival of Jo Geun, who tosses the real estate agent out, and installs a new chair for himself where Myeong Soo’s chair used to be.

Meanwhile, Myeong Soo talks to his editor about a new idea for a webtoon, now that his previous one has wrapped up. The new webtoon will be about a man and a woman developing complicated feelings out of a friendship. Myeong Soo proposes that the female be the lead character, and that she be a bear. The editor looks doubtful at being presented with such a trite scenario.

Jo Geun, meanwhile, informs Hwa Young and Soo Jin that he has signed a contract with Young Jae’s company to direct the movie. Soo Jin tells him to get lost if he’s not interested in the scenario itself, and he admits that he’s back because someone (i.e. Soo Jin) told him that he is incapable of being serious. Hwa Young is overjoyed at her plan coming to fruition.

Myeong Soo meets with Young Jae and Hwa Young in order to bow out of the movie, with the explanation that he has two new projects coming up and won’t have time to write the movie. When Soo Jin comes running in, they end up going for a walk, and he repeats his explanation in the face of her disbelief. Soo Ji asks Myeong Soo if there’s something she doesn’t know, but gives in when he tells her that they can still meet if they miss each other. For obvious reasons, he refuses to come by the office for updates on the movie.

That night, while working, Myeong Soo gets a series of self-serving texts from Ji Ah, Hwa Young, and Ra Ra. Annoyed, he puts the phone down. Meanwhile, Ji Ah, Hwa Young, and Ra Ra are meeting again at Ji Ah’s bar, discussing the outcome. Ji Ah hopes that Jo Geun and Soo Jin get together (leaving the way clear for her and Myeong Soo), while Ra Ra wants Soo Jin to get together with Myeong Soo (leaving the way clear for her and Jo Geun). When the other two point out that Ra Ra herself didn’t want Myeong Soo to date anyone before she herself got married and had a baby, Ra Ra reluctantly relents.

Back at the office, by coincidence, Myeong Soo shows up to get the last of his things while Jo Geun is there, and Soo Jin is away. The two of them engage in immature fighting, but Myeong Soo eventually leaves with his box of stuff, shown out by Eun Hye. On the stairwell, he runs into Soo Jin, who is carrying a box of stuff in the opposite direction. He’s upset that he can’t help her carry it, and curses Jo Geun for not doing his work himself. Soo Jin puts the box down, so she can see him off, but he tells her to go back to work. But, first, he hands her a pair of couple shoes, which he bought for the workshop (what?). She promises to wear it once and they part glumly. As he goes down the stairs, Myeong Soo perks up when Soo Jin calls out to him, but it’s only to wave goodbye.

Back at his studio, Myeong Soo’s roommate Jin Bae is unimpressed with his lack of energy. He points out that since Myeong Soo is unemployed, he should help out with the housework, instead of lying to people about how much work he has to do. Myeong Soo can’t move his head off of his desk, but turns it to look at his couple shoes.

At Soo Jin’s older sister, Soo Kyung’s (Shin Dong Mi) apartment, Soo Jin naps on the couch while the rest of the family does yoga. Soo Kyung can’t take it anymore and whacks Soo Jin to wake her up, since she needs to get in shape to help her find a man. Soo Jin is convinced that it’ll happen if it was meant to happen, and refuses to get up. She’s finally moved when her brother-in-law, Ji Hoon (Cho Jung Chi) brings her back the Kara t-shirt that Myeong Soo lent her. Soo Jin takes it back to her room, and thinks back to when Myeong Soo gave it to her.

Some time later, Soo Jin and Myeong Soo meet up, so that Soo Jin can return the t-shirt. She’s late and constantly taking phone calls, but seems happy to see him. When she asks what he’s doing, Myeong Soo mentions that he wants to take a vacation after wrapping up the series, and seems to be ramping up to asking her to come along. Before he gets there, though, her phone starts ringing. They try to ignore it, but it proves impossible (because there is no mute button, obviously), and Soo Jin takes the call. It turns out that she has to go to the office, and she leaves, with promises to call him later.

As Myeong Soo sits there, looking lonely, he gets a call from none other than Ji Ah, who is apparently incapable of working a screwdriver. When he fixes the wobbly counter hatch at her bar, Ji Ah tries to be flirty and even goes so far as to invite herself on his vacation. Myeong Soo is unmoved and just leaves, forgetting the Kara t-shirt on her counter.

Back at the office, Eun Hye is super excited to inform Soo Jin that Son Kyung Ho has called, ready to take any role in the movie so he can work with Jo Geun. Eun Hye drags Soo Jin off to look at audition lists, and Soo Jin leaves her handbag with her phone in it on her desk.

Meanwhile, the unemployed Myeong Soo texts Soo Jin to find out what she’s doing. When she doesn’t answer, he keeps sending texts to her handbag.

Later that evening, Soo Jin and Jo Geun have dinner at Ji Ah’s bar, with Ji Ah, Hwa Young, and Ra Ra staring at them. When Jo Geun comments how they always seem to be together, both Ji Ah and Hwa Young point out that they’re not really close, while Ra Ra admits to liking the other two ex-girlfriends.

There was no chance of a peaceful dinner, and it’s not long before Ji Ah starts in on Soo Jin for discarding Myeong Soo from the movie in favour of Jo Geun. Before Soo Jin can defend herself, Jo Geun points out that if the webtoon is correct, Ji Ah has no right to comment since she also discarded Myeong Soo, in order to get married to someone else. He wonders if, now that she’s alone again, she’s trying to get back together with Myeong Soo. Ji Ah takes this shot across the bow surprisingly well, and doesn’t let up on Soo Jin, who is too busy choking on her food to comment.

Of course, it’s not long before Myeong Soo shows up to the party, called in by Ra Ra. For once, Myeong Soo does the sensible thing when he sees them all together, and just leaves. Ra Ra is disappointed, but not for long, as Soo Jin gets up to follow him.

Out on the sidewalk, Myeong Soo is pretty unhappy to see Soo Jin, and wonders what she’s doing having dinner with Jo Geun, when she didn’t even have time to return his texts. She tells him that she’s been up all night, but he cuts her off, telling her that it’s just like three years ago, when he would smile and be considerate, because she was so busy. She thought they dated, but he figured they hadn’t, since they had only gotten this far together. Soo Jin is too shocked to respond, as Myeong Soo walks away. Suddenly, it turns into an episode of “Dawson’s Creek” as Myeong Soo sits by the river to a soundtrack of innocuous indie music.

Back at the office, a tired Soo Jin takes work calls late into the night.

The next day, Myeong Soo leaves for his trip, where he wanders the coast of Korea, taking pictures of pretty scenery. While sketching a boat, he thinks back to the flip book he made for Soo Jin, and then tries to draw her, but fails. Before he can get properly melancholy, a group of kids comes running, and he plays soccer with them instead.

That night, he tries and fails to draw her again, before he’s interrupted by a slew of text messages from Ra Ra, Ji Ah, and Hwa Young. Meanwhile, Soo Jin creeps on his website, then tries and fails to send him a text message saying she likes him.

The next morning, Myeong Soo is waiting at a bus stop when inspiration suddenly strikes. He starts drawing, and is so absorbed that he doesn’t even notice the bus go by. As he draws, he flashes back to all the moments he’s had with Soo Jin. He finishes the drawing as the episode ends.

In the preview, Myeong Soo leads Soo Jin into a dark room, and tells her that he wants to become a real couple. A loud sound startles them, and in the next scene, both of them are looking miserable in ridiculous party hats.

Comments

Why so much moping, Myeong Soo? Sure, you’re unemployed and the girl you like is busy, but is that any reason to do nothing, but look sad onscreen for so long? Dropping a bombshell like telling Soo Jin that they didn’t date, because she was always so busy needs to be followed up with some action, not moping in beautiful countryside. If anything should keep these two apart, it should be Ra Ra’s antics, or Jo Geun making a move, not postcard-worthy scenery.

Regardless, I’m glad that Myeong Soo actually said something about what happened in the past from his side, and his words throw a lot of their interactions into a new light. The two of them do act like a couple, but it’s easy to see where things could get mixed up, with no words exchanged and nothing else happening. On the upside, Soo Jin baselessly assuming they were dating is as ridiculous as Myeong Soo being too considerate to make a move. They were obviously meant to be; good thing they’re so cute together.

I only wish that Soo Jin had managed to respond to this surprise with something other than unsent text messages and radio silence. Myeong Soo was practically begging for some kind of signal from her, and even if she couldn’t bring herself to tell him she liked him via text, she could have just as easily started a conversation. If this were a real world scenario, it would be pretty unlikely for Myeong Soo to go back and try again. Lucky for us, this is a K-drama and Myeong Soo is a persistent kind of guy.

I have no other bones to pick with this episode, aside from the fact that it didn’t feature enough Ra Ra. More Ra Ra, please!

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Ex-Girlfriend Club (구여친클럽)

 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 || series review