On Air: Episode 8

On Air is a really good show. It does a great job of mixing romance (which is still rather ambiguous) with the complications and commotion of drama production. I was getting annoyed by some of the characters though but I found them all so interesting all the same. This post is absurdly image heavy!

Episode 8 begins with Young Eun and Seung Ah arguing over Seung Ah’s request to read the script before it is publicly released. Young Eun is furious of course, saying that if Seung Ah wants to read her script then she should be able to go to Seung Ah’s home and check her acting before they shoot. More arguing ensues and then Kyung Min and Ki Joon start arguing. Kyung Min yells that the script is the scriptwriter’s pride and they have no right to ask to check on it. Ki Joon and Kyung Min leave the room and Seung Ah berates Young Eun. Young Eun says that Seung Ah has no loyalty or ethics. Seung Ah challenges this bringing up all the things that the PD’s did behind her back, regarding Sang Woo and Cherry. Young Eun is silent and hurt. She looks on the verge of tears.

Since they will be shooting overseas, the producer meets with a rep from a production company from Taiwan. She says that they will fund all of the shooting they do in Taiwan if Seung Ah will be their representative. The producer is nervous as to whether or not Seung Ah will agree to this. She relieved, though, after Ki Joon agrees to it.

Seung Ah agrees to do it and they give her a family voucher to go to Taiwan for free. Seung Ah claims not to have any family in Korea, asking instead to go when she gets married. Ki Joon is alarmed. He looks at her and asks if she has someone in mind. She replies in the affirmative, confusing Ki Joon even further.

Kyung Min and Young Eun meet with Sang Woo, his production partner (both of whom are corrupt jerks), his client, Yoon Woo (who won the Dae Sang in episode 1) and Cherry. Young Eun is still uncivil to Cherry, Sang Woo tries to be civil though, even though Kyung Min knows his true nature. Yoon Woo is a douche bag of an actor (sorry for the vocab), and unattractive so there is nothing redeemable about his character. Young Eun and Kyung Min leave quickly not wanting to be sharing company with a room full of morally inept people

Outside, Sang Woo’s production partner makes it clear that he no longer feels threatened by Sang Woo, which makes Sang Woo uneasy as he sees he is losing control over the people around him.

Kyung Min and Young Eun are at the airport on their way to Taiwan to do some location scouting and talking with the production company over there. At the airport they bump into Seung Ah and Ki Joon, of course being followed by a torrent of fans.

In Taiwan the fans are even more intense, I could have sworn I saw a poster for Young Eun but I could be wrong. Anywho, they get to the cars and to Young Eun’s dismay she sees that she and Kyung Min will be in white van while Seung Ah and Ki Joon get a black Lincoln with tinted windows. Kyung Min tells her she’s childish and then he says that maybe they don’t have a nice car because he is not yet on Young Eun’s level, which makes Young Eun feel bad.

Young Eun unpacks all of her things, she goes out on her balcony and realizes that Ki Joon is right next to her. She sees him but doesn’t say anything because she is still mad at him about allowing Seung Ah to continually insult her intelligence.

The gang (Seung Ah, Kyung Min, Young Eun, and Ki Joon) eat lunch with the Taiwanese production company rep, and Seung Ah’s assistants. Young Eun and Seung Ah have a little fight over food, continually spinning the turning table in the middle back and forth between them. Young Eun mentions Jiufen, a place they might go location scouting.

Seung Ah: Do you think that we should go there to film, director?
Young Eun: Don’t you fell that it’s enough that you’re checking the script? Why do you like to involve yourself in picking the location?
Seung Ah: When filming starts, the director and the actor will have many things to discuss. If the script has left the scriptwriter’s hand, all the authority will belong to the director and the actor. Last time, while I was filming My Tutor Friend, my ideas were accepted by the director.
Young Eun: That was when you filmed the movie, but for me, I hate a person who changes every single word in my script.
Seung Ah: For me, acting is also dependent upon the feeling, it isn’t like for the scriptwriter who only knows how to make good dialogues. I really hate that.

Later, all of them go on their individual endeavors.

Seung Ah bumps into Kyung Min. Seung Ah does more of her flirting.

Seung Ah: Have you taken a picture of me already?
Kyung Min: Me? [laughs] I was taking the picture of the store, and you passed right at that moment. Don’t misunderstand.
Seung Ah: Why did you do it at that moment?
Kyung Min: Why do I need to take a picture of you? I will erase it. Keep looking.

Kyung Min walks to the door, and he is about to leave but he stops and turns back to Seung Ah. “Do you want to walk with me?”

So Kyung Min and Young Eun go walking together. They look like they’re on a date, which I can only imagine is on purpose. There is a scene where they’re at a food vendor and Seung Ah offers to feed Kyung Min.

But he pushes the food away. But she insists.

So finally, he relents.

But Seung Ah eats the food herself instead

—-

Ki Joon is also walking around in the rain. He notices a couple and he watches them happily. Then he notices Young Eun above him, a few moments later Young Eun sees Ki Joon through the viewfinder of her camera.

They have some tea. Young Eun is still mad at Ki Joon until she realizes that he’s been checking in on her through out her career, always knowing how she was doing. She is visibly touched.

“Looks like I should forgive her,” Young Eun says of Seung Ah.

Later, Young Eun buys Ki Joon a charm. It’s supposed to help someone find love with one eye closed, Young Eun has one too. Ki Joon wonders if it works but Young Eun doesn’t know yet.

-

Kyung Min and Seung Ah are walking when Kyung Min raises his camera to take a picture; Seung Ah jumps in front of the camera just as he takes it. A few moments later, Seung Ah gets noticed by two young girls. “Is that your boyfriend?” she asks but Seung Ah responds that he’s her driver. Kyung Min is not happy. Eventually, Seung Ah and Kyung Min get ambushed. Kyung Min grabs Seung Ah and they run…

Holding hands…

-
Everyone returns to their hotel thinking about their day. Kyung Min looking at and smiling at the picture of Seung Ah.

Ki Joon looking at his trinket.

Young Eun looks at her Minnie Mouse pen.

Seung Ah looking at Kyung Min’s baseball cap.

–
Kyung Min and Young Eun are out looking at locations. They argue of course and Kyung Min mistakenly brings up Young Eun’s engagement ring. Things get slightly awkward but their normal nature returns and they eat lunch together.

Young Eun: “You went to Jiufen yesterday didn’t you?”
Kyung Min: Yes.
Young Eun: Alone?
Kyung Min: [After a moments hesitation] Yes.
Young Eun: Why didn’t you take me with you?

Over at Seung Ah’s room, she is practicing her Chinese. Ki Joon asks Seung Ah the same questions that Young Eun asked Kyung Min. But Seung Ah, of course, doesn’t answer them. Ki Joon sees that she bought a cat sculpture thing. He laughs saying that Young Eun has a Minnie Mouse pen. Cat and mouse, Seung Ah and Young Eun were born to be rivals.

The next day Seung Ah does promotion. It appears she’d practiced her Chinese all night because “she is quite fluent” (ahem…right). Ki Joon looks at her.

-

Kyung Min and Young Eun are going to drive five hours out to beautiful locations. Young Eun is happy to see a Lincoln with tinted windows. But when she asks how Young Eun is getting there she’s told it’s by airplane. In the car Young Eun gives Kyung Min a cup of instant Korean noodles. “Aren’t you touched?!” She exclaims. Kyung Min, however, is not.

Kyung Min asks Young Eun why or how she came to be so familiar with Ki Joon.

She tells him the story. Ki Joon used to give Young Eun coffee whenever he saw her in the supermarket. One day they decided to eat lunch together at the production place. Young Eun didn’t know who Ki Joon was, didn’t know his name, just thought that he was a driver or something.

So she decides to gossip to him:

Young Eun: That guy named Jang Ki Joon… From the company that maintained the TV station’s survival. Do you know him?
Ki Joon: [nodding] Yes, I do. But what’s wrong with him?
Young Eun: I heard that guy, is living with one of our actresses!

Ki Joon looks shocked…

But then laughs abruptly.
Ki Joon: According to what I know, it’s not like that. He likes another girl already.
Young Eun: Really? Are you sure?
Ki Joon: Yes! I already have somebody that I like.

Young Eun slowly realizes what has just happened.

Back in the car, in the present, Young Eun is excitedly explaining that from that day forward they didn’t use formal language with each other. Kyung Min wonders who the girl Ki Joon was talking about was. “Me, Of course!” Young Eun says excitedly before explaining how she used to be very attractive back in the day.

Exhausted from talking so much I assume, Young Eun falls asleep and falls onto Kyung Min’s shoulder. At first it looks as if he’s pushing her away.

But he was just rearranging her head and he let’s her stay.

They reach their destination, which is absolutely beautiful.

Kyung Min sneaks a pic of Young Eun after she panics about falling rocks.

She fights him for it…

But ends up falling on top of him.

She grabs the camera awkwardly saying, “You dare to take pictures of my unique beauty?” She looks at the camera hoping to delete her picture when, Kyung Min looking over her shoulder, she sees the picture of Seung Ah.

Awkwardness ensues as Young Eun looks surprised and slightly hurt.

Kyung Min: Ah…. This is… Just a coincidence
Young Eun: If you two me at Jiufen, something might happen between you two.

Young Eun returns the camera, their fingers touching slightly.

Young Eun walks ahead and then notices Seung Ah, Ki Joon and the motley crew coming toward them.

Seung Ah is wearing Kyung Min’s hat. She touches it and raises an eyebrow (I swear this girl can not be subtle about anything).

Young Eun remembers Kyung Min wearing the hat.

Oh, Suh-nap….

~~~ Awkwardness~~~~~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Well. This was an interesting episode. We see more than anything the dynamic of relationships of our four leads. It seems that Young Eun and Ki Joon will end up together and Kyung Min and Seung Ah will end up together. But then there was that look Ki Joon gave Seung Ah… does he like her? Or is he just starting to respect her? And the way Young Eun reacted to seeing Seung Ah’s picture on Kyung Min’s camera and seeing his hat on her head… Does she like Kyung Min? Or does she simply feel as if some allegiance has been broken? So many questions and short on the answers but I’m liking how things aren’t super obvious at the moment. It all seems very natural and deliberate in it’s pace.
I really like this show. It’s very different from Hong Gil Dong and I’m taking something else from it. It’s enjoyable but the characters are more interesting than they are lovable. But all of these characters have something good in them, and if not wholly likable you still want to really understand them.