Ex-Girlfriend Club episode 10 recap

Side dish: If you’re going to cry over a plate of pasta, make it Penne all’Arrabbiata, so you can blame the spiciness for your tears. Here’s a recipe by Mario Batali to get you started.

Episode Recap

Actress Ra Ra (Ryu Hwa Young) waits outside the restaurant for a taxi. It’s not long before the object of her affections, film director Jo Geun (Do Sang Woo) comes along, and asks if she’s not upset that her ex-boyfriend, Bang Myeong Soo (Byun Yo Han) has found a new girlfriend. Of course, Ra Ra isn’t, since she worked so hard to get them together. Apropos of nothing, Jo Geun asks Ra Ra’s real name, and after some hesitation, she reveals that it’s Goo Geun Ryeong. Addressing her as Geun Ryeong, Jo Geun tells Ra Ra that he’d like to see her audition under her real name, and to show him real emotions, in order to become a real actress. He walks away, leaving a confused Ra Ra behind.

Company director, Young Jae meets with his former fiancée, Hwa Young (Lee Yoon Ji), PD Kim Soo Jin (Song Ji Hyo), and Jo Geun, in order to cancel their film project. He rolls over their protests by informing Hwa Young that she’ll be transferred to the boonies, Jo Geun that he’ll be using his contract to make sure that he can’t work for the next five years, and Soo Jin that they’ll be taking the rights to Myeong Soo’s work away from her company.

As he leaves, Hwa Young chases after him, and begs him to reconsider for his own sake, since the company’s loss on the film project will ruin his own future. She vows to leave the company herself so that he won’t have to see her, and to keep his position. Young Jae believes that she’s more interested in his position than himself, and asks whether she had any feelings for him at all. Hwa Young has no answer as he walks away.

Soo Jin wonders why Hwa Young can’t chase Young Jae the way she did with her Myeong Soo when they were dating, and Hwa Young replies that she has no confidence now, because she wronged Young Jae. Soo Jin volunteers to tell Young Jae that Hwa Young really does have feelings for him, but Jo Geun points out that it’s not for a third party to butt in. Frustrated, Soo Jin wonders what will happen to poor, pitiful Myeong Soo, as Jo Geun looks on with his own frustration.

Soo Jin goes to Myeong Soo’s house and the two of them melt my brain with their cuteness, as she tells Myeong Soo that she missed him and goes in for a hug. As he hugs her back, she wishes that the earth would stop, but he disagrees since their relationship hasn’t progressed far enough yet. As Soo Jin laughs, Myeong Soo asks what happened with Young Jae, and she tells him they were all fired. Myeong Soo reassures Soo Jin that she’ll be inundated with job offers, and anyway, he can take care of her if need be. The two of them walk back to Soo Jin’s apartment, where she gives him a kiss on the cheek as a reward for him taking care of his injured arm, and the two of them flirt some more before he leaves for home.

Soo Jin doesn’t even make it into the building before Jo Geun pops up out of nowhere. A confused Soo Jin asks if he needs her to drive, but he informs her that he’s put his car and his house up for sale, to pay off the contract penalty fee with Young Jae’s company so he can leave. Jo Geun asks Soo Jin to work with him, since he’ll be free of his contract soon.

Meanwhile, Myeong Soo is still basking in the glow of Soo Jin’s kiss, and decides to go back to her apartment to see her again. He arrives just as Jo Geun offers himself to Soo Jin. Of course, Myeong Soo can’t sit still for it, and jumps in to the conversation. Myeong Soo is surprisingly aggressive as he gets in Jo Geun’s face and tells him to leave his woman alone. It looks like the two men are about to square off, when Jo Geun tells Soo Jin that he’ll be waiting for her answer and leaves.

Myeong Soo has more to say about Jo Geun when he goes, and Soo Jin suddenly clues in that Myeong Soo is jealous. She teases him until he finally bursts out laughing.

The next day, Hwa Young resigns from the company. As she leaves, the other office workers gossip about her break up with Young Jae. Her humiliation is complete as she runs into Young Jae, and he totally ignores her. Later, at the bar of Ji Ah (Jang Ji Eun), she and Ra Ra berate Hwa Young for the loss of the copyright for Myeong Soo’s work to Young Jae’s company. They demand that Hwa Young figure out a way to get it back.

I guess Hwa Young didn’t have any ideas, because Ji Ah and Ra Ra march their way into the company to meet with Young Jae. It’s a bust as Young Jae wonders why they didn’t just apologize first. Luckily, Soo Jin is the next visitor, and the first thing she does is apologize and explain that Hwa Young really did have feelings for Young Jae. Young Jae is not impressed with this either, and wonders how Soo Jin can be so forgiving of Myeong Soo’s past. He brushes off Soo Jin’s explanation, and ultimately refuses to forgive Hwa Young or return Myeong Soo’s work to him, since his pride won’t allow it.

At Myeong Soo’s studio, Hwa Young drops by for a chat. At first, Myeong Soo’s roommate Jin Bae (Ko Hyeon) won’t leave them alone, but Myeong Soo chases him off, then asks Hwa Young about Young Jae. She admits that she can’t go after him, since she wronged him, but promises Myeong Soo that she’ll get his work back. Myeong Soo has no idea what she’s talking about, and Hwa Young realizes that Soo Jin hasn’t yet told Myeong Soo about losing his copyright.

Back at the production company office, Soo Jin’s co-worker Eun Hye (Kang Soo Jin) laments having to pack up again, after having packed and unpacked once already. When Jo Geun asks what they’ll do, Eun Hye is out of ideas, but Soo Jin promises to find her work when she herself gets freelance gigs. They both agree that things would be different if they could get the rights to Myeong Soo’s work back, but Soo Jin believes that it should be returned to Myeong Soo first. Eun Hye points out that the law is on their side, but Jo Geun suggests that they try to settle the problem as human beings first.

Young Jae is busy drinking himself silly at a bar, when Jo Geun makes his customary abrupt entrance. His attempt to settle things as human beings seems to consist of simply demanding that Young Jae return the rights to Myeong Soo’s work. Young Jae instead points out that he investigated the cause of Jo Geun’s betrayal of their long friendship, and it turns out to be Soo Jin. Young Jae demands that Jo Geun steal Soo Jin from Myeong Soo (presumably to hurt Myeong Soo), but Jo Geun refuses, since he really has feelings for Soo Jin (what?).

Jo Geun thinks back to Young Jae’s words at the production company office, but his brooding is interrupted by the arrival of Soo Jin. She’s there to pick up some paperwork to wind up the business, but Jo Geun takes the opportunity to ask if she’s given his proposal any thought. It seems she hasn’t, and he tries obliquely to hint that he’s the better option of her two choices. His efforts fall completely flat, as does his attempt to rent a room in her house. She leaves, but not before giving some encouragement to hang on. Hell freezes over and pigs fly as Jo Geun cracks a genuine smile for the first time ever.

Soo Jin sneaks up on Myeong Soo, as he sits on a park bench, but ends up being scared by him instead. The two of them joke around, but it’s not long before Myeong Soo admits that Hwa Young came to visit him, and he found out about the loss of the rights to his work. Soo Jin admits that she couldn’t work up the nerve to tell him, and he asks her, in future, to tell him if something bad happens. I can’t even respond to how cute they are as Myeong Soo invites Soo Jin over to the studio the next day to watch movies, since Jin Bae will be going home to visit his parents.

The next day, Myeong Soo hovers over Jin Bae as he works. Jin Bae is not going to his parents, but figures out soon enough that Myeong Soo wants him out. He demands Myeong Soo’s Kara dolls in return for leaving, and Myeong Soo is forced to give in.

Hwa Young and Ra Ra are hanging out at Ji Ah’s restaurant again, much to Ji Ah’s annoyance. Hwa Young admits she hasn’t told her family yet that she quit or that the wedding is off. Ji Ah counsels her to give up her pride and spill the beans to both her parents and to Young Jae, but Hwa Young is still in a muddle. Ra Ra just has nothing better to do, now that she can’t hang around Myeong Soo anymore. Ji Ah missed her flight in the recent kerfuffle, and is now considering travelling around Korea instead.

Myeong Soo and Soo Jin both prepare for their date, Myeong Soo by cleaning the apartment and Soo Jin by doing her hair and makeup. They’re awkward when she arrives, but she’s brought a cake to break the ice. They settle down to watch a horror movie (Killer Toon, in case you’re interested), and are super cute as they hide from the scary scenes. Afterwards, they both fall asleep in the most uncomfortable sleeping posture ever, on the floor between the couch and the laptop. They end up sleeping snuggled together, until the next morning. Soo Jin wakes up first, and after petting Myeong Soo and telling him she loves him, she leaves.

When she gets back to her apartment, Soo Jin is immediately caught by her sister, Soo Kyung (Shin Dong Mi). Her brother-in-law, Ji Hoon (Jo Jung Chi) saves her by telling Soo Kyung that Soo Jin intended to leave early, and Soo Jin hurriedly runs out the door.

Soo Jin ends up back at the production company office, where she wakes up the newly homeless Jo Geun. He informs her that he’s found a new office, and intends to start again. Soo Jin offers him some leftover office supplies, and he asks her to carry them to his new office. She follows him as he leads her in a circle right back to the production office again. Jo Geun has decided to start a production company in the same office. When Soo Jin insists that she’s not ready for a new project, he tells her that they’ll be working on the same one.

Later, at dinner with Myeong Soo and Jin Bae, Soo Jin tells them of Jo Geun’s offer, to hire both herself and Eun Hye to work again on the movie based on Myeong Soo’s work. Soo Jin tells him that Jo Geun has found a way to get the project back, but Myeong Soo doesn’t care: he doesn’t want Soo Jin working for Jo Geun under any circumstances. Soo Jin protests that she trusts Jo Geun, and that this is the only way to get Eun Hye a job, too. Myeong Soo reiterates that he doesn’t like it.

At a café, Jo Geun hands Ra Ra a script. She’s disappointed to find that it’s not his work, but he tells her that it’s a short film by a well-respected newcomer, and this is the way for her to become a real actress. Later, he takes her to the movie production office and sends her into a meeting. Ra Ra agrees to trust him, and goes in.

Hwa Young, Ji Ah, and Ra Ra meet at a café (a different one, I guess). Hwa Young is skeptical of a short movie where the lead actress has no lines, but Ra Ra still trusts Jo Geun. When Ji Ah worries about whether Ra Ra will be okay with a guy who likes someone else, Ra Ra insists that their relationship isn’t like that. Ji Ah announces that she’ll be leaving on a trip the next day, and hands over the keys to her restaurant to Hwa Young.

Hwa Young ends up alone at Ji Ah’s restaurant, where she makes herself some pasta. She sits down to eat, but it’s not long before she’s stuffing pasta in her face and crying uncontrollably. Ji Ah, meanwhile, leaves her apartment with a suitcase in tow.

Back at the studio, Myeong Soo is preparing for his next project while Soo Jin frets over having nothing to do. Myeong Soo proposes that they go on a trip to the beach, since their free time matches up for once. When she tells him that she’ll think about it, Myeong Soo demands inspiration for his work, since he’s troubled, and asks for a kiss on the mouth. The two of them end up kissing back and forth as the episode ends and my head explodes into hearts and flowers.

Comments

To be honest, I don’t know that I’m disappointed anymore that the show has been cut short, because we seem to be running out of plot. From the previews, it seems that next week is going to be taken up with Soo Jin and Jo Geun working together while Myeong Soo gets jealous. Really? Isn’t this kind of late in the game, given Soo Jin seems to have no interest whatsoever in Jo Geun?

I’m disappointed to learn that Hwa Young’s past is actually the problem with Young Jae, rather than the fact that she lied. Seriously? I’m no expert on Korean dating mores, but expecting a woman in her 30s to have no dating experience is pretty ridiculous. I could understand it more if he was scared of her, now that he knows she’s the stalker lioness of Myeong Soo’s comic, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, this seems like an attempt to fill time with some drama. I hope I’m wrong and we get a better reason for Young Jae’s vindictive fit. And, while we’re at it, I hope we get a better reason for why Hwa Young won’t explain herself, now that the truth’s out.

Anyway, at least we’re getting a lot of cute scenes with Myeong Soo and Soo Jin to make up the difference. Having started their relationship so inauspiciously, it’s kind of nice to see them as a solid couple, who’s just happy to be together. Awwwwwww.

Here are some bonus shots of the two of them being cute:

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Ex-Girlfriend Club (구여친클럽)

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