Shining Solo, Episode 1: Can I date the house?

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(Written August 23, 2024)

We’ve got a LOT to unpack in this first episode, so let’s just get started.

We open with bright, poppy credits and pictures of the TREASURE members we’ll be meeting:  Jihoon, Junkyu, Yoon Jae Hyuk, Asahi, and Haruto (not the same Haruto from Boys Planet).  And that’s it.    I checked online, and we’re getting these five members for Part 1 of the series and the other five in Part 2.

We get some clips from TREASURE videos.  They look like a beast idol group.  Screen text tells us the group sold one million albums in just five months after their debut.  Their tours have sold out and packed stadiums.  They’re very cute, and I don’t understand why they would need a reality show to help them find girlfriends, but proceed.

We cut to the band members doing confessionals in a YG Entertainment conference room.  They’re acting like this reality show is news to them.  “I thought it was a prank,” says Yoshi. 

“I’m really nervous,” says Hyun Suk.  “The only women I’ve met in a non-work context are my sister, mom, and grandma.”  Hyun Suk is 25.  He’s a rich, handsome K-pop star.  I find this very hard to believe, but again, proceed.

We’re told that TREASURE has been famous for four years, but now they will be evaluated as men by women their own age.  Honestly, this now strikes me as a good idea.  They’ve spent their lives being cheered on and screamed over by young girls.  Now they’ll be meeting young women who are not so easily impressed.  It would be even better if these women were in their 30s and had mastered the art of the “you’ve got to be kidding me” stare, but I’ll take what I can get from this show.

We see the huge house where our show will be filmed.  The show calls it the Treasure Castle, a magical place where fantasy romance comes to life.  A female voiceover tells us that from now on, our idols will no longer be the dazzling young men from the K-pop stage.  They will now be ordinary men in their 20s.  Ordinary men with stunning looks and dyed hair and designer clothes and jewelry, but sure, I’ll roll with this. 

We see our five ordinary men reading the instructions for the show.  They are to try their best to become the most charming “Mr. Treasure” for four days.  Every night, when a bell rings, the women in the house will vote for the most charming man. 

Okay, I know I’m overthinking this already, but if these guys want to be someone’s serious boyfriend, they don’t have to be “Mr. Treasure.”  Just be a good, decent person and take out the trash and get along with her family and friends and don’t cheat on her and be sure to remember her birthday.  I know, I know.  That would make for a very boring reality show premise.  Fine.  Proceed.

The boys get flustered when they realize they are competing in a survival reality show game, which I find hilarious.  We cut to a room in the house called the Treasure Room, which opens every night at midnight.  This is the room where the women will choose the “Mr. Treasure” of the day.  After they vote, they will disappear from the castle.  The man who wins the vote will find a jewel in his locker.  The ones who lose the vote will get voice recorders.  The show doesn’t say what they’re supposed to do with them.

Honestly, I’d rather get a voice recorder than a fake jewel.  That would come in handy, especially if I were in a K-pop group and needed to remember ideas and melodies that popped into my head.  If I were these guys, I’d try to lose the vote.  I’d ignore the girls, play video games all day, and leave my socks and used Kleenex lying around.

I’ve left the viewer comments on, and one just popped up from dollydunit.

Dolly, these guys get to hang out in a really nice house and try to impress beautiful women for four days.  They’re not being chained in a basement.  This should be a pretty easy assignment, and I’m sure I won’t change my mind once I see what they’re actually going through. 

So now that we sort of know the rules, Episode 1, called “Hello,” officially begins.

We start off by meeting 24 year-old Junkyu.  He says his innocent smile is his most charming feature.  If I roll my eyes any harder, I’m going to get a migraine.  He’s amazed by the house.  He does kind of look like a sweet little puppy.  And to be fair, this is an amazing house.  It’s more like a mansion.  It even has a swimming pool.

Twenty-three year-old Jae Hyuk is the next to arrive, followed by 23 year-old Asahi.  They all look amazed, like they just landed in Oz and have never seen the world in color before.

Our three ordinary guys sit in the living room, and they notice a vase with four roses in it.  They assume there will be eliminations because there will be five of them in the house.

Our fourth member arrives.  It’s 20 year-old Haruto.  He’s followed by 24 year-old Jihoon.  We’re told Jihoon is the group Leader.

The guys settle into the living room and wait for the ladies to arrive.  As the first woman approaches the house, Junkyu is so nervous, he has to go to the bathroom and flees the room.  They’re all nervous.  Their hearts are pounding, and their hands are sweaty.  Haruto says they don’t have much experience with women.  At first I’m skeptical, but now that I think about it, they’re mostly faced with screaming teenage girls.  It must be hard to have a conversation with a girl who is constantly freaking out at the sight of you.  

The first young woman arrives.  The guys are all shy and awkward.  Everyone sits down, and none of the guys can seem to form a sentence.  It doesn’t look like any of them are acting.  These idols really don’t seem to know how to have a conversation with a woman.

The girl, trying to break the ice, says they got quiet when she arrived and asked what they were talking about before she got here.  The guys seriously don’t know where to look, even when she’s talking to them.  Jae Hyuk offers her some water.  Haruto actually jumps out of his chair and runs to get the water.  Junkyu is still not back from the bathroom.  I’m guessing he’s barricaded the door and is curled up in the bathtub, whimpering. 

Junkyu finally creeps out of the bathroom.  I feel so sorry for this girl.  When are the other girls arriving?  These guys are tiptoeing around her like she’s a live grenade.  She keeps trying to start conversations.  She asks if they’re always this quiet.  Jae Hyuk responds by saying the weather is a bit hot outside.  This is absolutely tragic.

Wait a minute.  Oh my God.  This is Femme Factor, the very show I pitched back in the Hot Blood recaps!  Someone finally heard and is using my idea!  I’m kind of bummed that Wonho isn’t hosting, but I checked online, and he’s wrapping up his military service and won’t get back until September.  That’s fine.  I just glad someone in K-pop Land was listening to me.

Anyway, when Jae Hyuk blurts out that it’s hot outside, the girl, whose name we still don’t know, looks confused and says it’s cold out.  They’re filming this in winter.  They’re all wearing sweaters and jackets.  Jae Hyuk, come on.  Breathe, buddy.

The boys all go back to staring at the floor.  This is so painful to watch.

Seriously, we still don’t know her name!

THANK GOD another young woman enters the house.  When she walks into the room, Haruto looks absolutely smitten.  The boys offer the second woman some water.  She politely declines, and then the boys go back to staring awkwardly at the floor, the walls, anything that doesn’t have a face.  They don’t ask her name either.  

Do they know that girls have names too?  And hometowns, hobbies, jobs, favorite TV shows … somebody please say SOMETHING.

After a few moments, the second woman asks, “Was it this quiet before I came in?”  The boys laugh nervously.  Jae Hyuk, the only one making any attempt at conversation, says, “No, we haven’t really talked about anything yet.”  He then brings up the weather again and says it’s nice out, and this is excruciating.

Remember when I told dollydunit that this was an easy gig, and it’s not like these guys were being chained up in a basement?  I’m willing to bet all five of them wish they were chained up in a basement right now instead of doing this show.

Finally, Jihoon blurts out, “DO YOU LIKE PLANTS?”  Can we give him bonus points for effort?  Yes, it’s an out-of-nowhere question, but at least he’s trying.  

Girl #2 says yes.  Then she asks the guys what their favorite flowers are.  Now we’re off and running!  They talk about cherry blossoms and trees, and yes, it’s a very stilted conversation, but they’re talking.  And things continue to look up when a third woman shows up.  At least things WERE looking up.  Now the guys are shy and anxious again.  Oh, for the love of …

After standing up to bow to the third female arrival, the boys suddenly all move away, cramming themselves on the end of the couch on the other side of the room.  They’re afraid to get close to the women.  God, I wish Wonho were here.  He would have pulled up a chair by now and already gotten the women’s names, phone numbers, and which side of the bed they like to sleep on.  These TREASURE idols can’t even sit within five feet of them.

Woman #2 says, “It seems a bit cramped over there.  Are you guys okay?”  Jihoon says, “Not at all.  We lived in a dorm like this.”  OH. MY. GOD.

Jihoon, still the only one making any effort, offers Woman #3 some water, and she says, “yes, please,” desperate for any kind of human interaction.  Haruto, the one closest to the kitchen, jumps up and maneuvers his way through the women without touching them.

Things are picking up.  A fourth woman arrives, and so far she’s my favorite because I love her style.  Maybe she’ll be the one to get more assertive with these guys.

Poor Asahi is getting frustrated because he just can’t bring himself to speak.  We get confessionals with the guys in other parts of the house.  Junkyu tells us he’s rarely been in such situations in life.  I get what he’s saying, but has he really never had to introduce himself and ask someone else their name?

At long last, the showrunners must be getting desperate, because suddenly classical music starts playing throughout the house.  Asahi mutters, “are we in Squid Game?” and I laughed.  Thankfully, the girls also hear him and laugh.  Asahi’s personality is starting to make itself known.  

The camera pans through the house, and we find a mailbox in a stairwell.  It opens to reveal an envelope.  So when the guys hear the music, they are supposed to go to the mailbox, open the envelope, and find a mission.  I’m hoping the first mission is FIND OUT THEIR DAMN NAMES ALREADY.

Jihoon grabs the first mission envelope and brings it back to the living room.  Now that they have something to focus on, everyone is less tense.  The mission is to have a self introduction.  About time.  I can’t believe they actually have to be told to introduce themselves, but here we are.

So each guy will have one minute to introduce themselves and be charming, and the four girls will each take a rose from the vase and give it to the one they find most appealing.  Because apparently, THEIR names STILL DON’T MATTER.  Jeez, already with this show.

Jihoon goes first.  He stays seated while bowing and introduces himself as the Leader of the group, vocalist and dancer.  He tells the women his age and his Myers-Briggs type (ENTJ), and at first I couldn’t believe he was an extrovert.  On the other hand, he’s the only one who’s been making an attempt at conversation, so yeah.  Okay.

As little importance I assign to the MBTIs, I’m so glad Jihoon brings his up because it actually starts a conversation.  If I were in the room, I’d start by saying, “Hey, you’re ENTJ?  Did you know that people with sadistic personality disorder have that same type?”  So it’s probably a good thing I’m not in the room.

Woman #2 says she’s never met anyone with that MBTI.  Jihoon adds that he likes going to see art exhibitions.  In fact, he went to one the day before.  That also opens a door, as now Woman #2 wants to know more about that.  Jihoon likes pop art, and now I’m the one who finds him charming.  He has good taste in art, for a sadist. 

Jihoon’s minute is up, and he gets applause.  Next up is Jae Hyuk.  He says his personality type is INFP.  He struggles to find more words and says he likes to take walks.  That’s all he can think of, so he says, “Let’s have fun for the next four days!”  The women applaud, and Jae Hyuk looks like he’s trying to disappear into the couch.  This is agonizing to watch, and we have three more introductions to go. 

Junkyu goes next, and he’s so nervous, he starts over again and again, stammering “hello” several times.  He’s 24 years old and literally cannot physically talk to women.  He finally gets past the hello’s and says he likes Shin-chan.  I had to look that up.  It’s a Japanese manga series.  Woman #2, who seems to be the best conversationalist out of the group, is familiar with Shin-chan.

Junkyu says his personality type fluctuates between INFP and INFJ, and I didn’t know that was allowed.  We can fluctuate between personality types?  He finishes by saying he’s someone who laughs a lot.

Now for Asahi.  He’s the one struggling the hardest to speak.  This poor guy.  The others have to encourage him.  They ask for his personality type, and he says, “I…N…F…P,” wrenching each letter out with such effort, I want to grab the entire K-pop industry by the throat and yell, “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO THIS GUY!”

Now they move on to Haruto, who seems the most confident out of the group right now, which still isn’t saying much.  He’s talking directly to the floor.  We get his age, his height, and that he hopes everyone will get along well.  Everyone applauds, and we cut to him in a confessional, agonizing that he messed up his introduction and can’t even remember what he said.  These guys are going to need so much PTSD therapy when this show is over.

The women now get to introduce themselves.  They are confident and make eye contact when they speak.  We start with 25 year-old Lee Ji Yeon.  She’s a college student about to graduate, and she works as an actress and model.  She has a puppy.

My favorite, the style girl, is 20 year-old model Kim Ye Won.  Her personality type is INTP, and her hobby is making sculptures.  I knew there was an artistic vibe about her.

Next up is 21 year-old Yoo Mi Ho.  She has a cat.  That’s all we get about her, which is interesting.  She doesn’t mention school, a job, or hobbies.

Last up is the first girl who arrived, 23 year-old Lee So Won.  She’s Canadian.  She loves fish and has bettas and guppies at home.  She has about 50 of them.  She must have aquariums all over her house.  That’s an expensive hobby.

These women are relaxed and well-spoken.  I like them.  Hopefully, they can help these guys come out of their shells.

With introductions over, it’s time for the girls to give the roses to the guys they found the most charming.  The guys leave the room for this part and gather in one of the bedrooms.  This is a really nice house.

Back in the living room, the girls place the roses on the seats of the guys they have chosen.  It will be a secret which girl voted for which guy.  Since the guys were smashed together on the couch, I don’t know how they’ll be able to tell which person each rose is for.

The boys return.  Haruto and Asahi got zero roses.  Junkyu got two, and Jae Hyuk and Jihoon each got one.  The one with the best first impression is Junkyu, who is too embarrassed to even look up.

Ye Won, who chose Junkyu, seems attracted to him.  She tells us in a confessional that she likes his smile and his enthusiastic response when she said she made sculptures.  She says, “He has an energy like a full moon,” which is now officially one of my favorite compliments.  She then adds, “It’s almost as if a cute little dumpling came to life.”  Okay.  We’re talking about a 24 year-old man, but sure.  (On the other hand, I called him a sweet little puppy at the beginning of this recap, so I’ll let it stand.)

Mi Ho, the one who has a cat and that’s all we know about her, gave her rose to Jihoon.  She tells us that when she was talking, he responded “wittily” to everything she said.  He did?  I’ll take her word for it, since all we’ve seen these guys do is stammer and avoid eye contact.

As for Ji Yeon, our puppy-owning college student, she gave her rose to Jae Hyuk because she prefers a more reserved person like him.  I thought they were all extremely reserved, but I’m fine with whatever moves this show along.

Haruto and Asahi look bummed over not getting any roses.  In a confessional, Asahi says he wasn’t expecting any, but he’ll try to be more charming in the future.

Haruto goes back into the bedroom and crawls into bed.  Junkyu goes in and tries to talk to him but Haruto needs alone time.  Junkyu leaves him buried under the blankets. 

Back in the kitchen, Ye Won offers snacks to Jihoo and Jae Hyuk.  Jihoon actually starts a conversation, asking her how long she’s been making sculptures.  Atta boy!  He asks follow-up questions and learns that she wants to go back to school to study art.  She works with clay.  I picked a good favorite.

The other guys join them in the kitchen and get snacks.  Jae Hyuk, the reserved one, is trying to figure out how to join the conversation.  He finally gives up and steps outside in the courtyard.  I keep getting distracted by how much I love this house, so I Googled it.  It’s one of the biggest detached luxury houses in Gwangju, South Korea.  It’s called “Blanc de casa” and has indoor golf, a movie room, a swimming pool, and a sauna.  It costs 2.9 billion won, or $2.1 million USD.

I’m usually not into big houses, but I do love this one.  Okay, back to Jae Hyuk in the courtyard.  He wants to escape from the social situation because he finds it difficult.  I get this guy.  After getting some air, he goes back inside.  He bows awkwardly while walking past Ye Won and keeps going.  He makes his way upstairs to another patio, and I really, really love this house.  You know what it is?  How simply and tastefully decorated it is.  No gaudy paintings or overdone décor meant to show off how rich the owners are.  It feels like a comfortable home.

Sorry – back to Jae Hyuk.  The patio has a lovely view of the mountains, and he stands alone, enjoying it.

Junkyu comes upstairs looking for him, and is that another small kitchen upstairs, off the patio?  I want to marry this house.  Junkyu finds Jae Hyuk on the patio, and they link arms and head back downstairs.

Evening rolls in, and it’s dinnertime.  The girls are dressed more casually now.  They look in the fridge and are excited to see nak-gop-sae.  I have to know what this wonderful dish is, so I look it up.  It’s stir-fried octopus, beef small intestines, and shrimp.  I could never live in Korea.  Then again, I do eat hot dogs.  There’s also extra fermented kimchi in there, and I already know what that is, so let’s move on.

Our group splits up into cooking teams, and Ye Won’s hair is fabulous.  She will team up with Jihoon to make kimchi stew, and So Won will grill meat with Junkyo.  Nobody chooses the nak-gop-sae at first, and as a Western picky eater, I don’t blame them.  Is there a McDonald’s anywhere nearby?

Haruto volunteers to do the plating, which I think means setting the table.  It must sound funny in Korean as well, because the others laugh at how he used such formal words.  It sounds like he’s trying to be cool in front of the girls. Now that they have activities to focus on, the guys in general are having an easier time talking to the girls.  This is much better than everyone just sitting around.

Junkyu and So Won are laughing and talking, still a little nervous, but it’s a huge improvement.  Asahi comes in hesitantly to help.  For the first time, he’s trying to initiate a conversation.  He’s really trying, but he’s clearly uncomfortable and hating this.  I want to pull up in a getaway car and drop him off at a studio where he can dance and write music and let his stomach untangle itself from all the stress of having to be social on camera.

Junkyu is having a much easier time of it.  I think he and So Won are clicking.  Behind them at another counter, Asahi is preparing the nak-gop-sae like he’s dismantling a bomb at the airport.  He’s not the only one stressed out.  In a confessional, Jae Hyuk says he’s used to just cooking for himself, but now he’s cooking for others, so he’s really anxious about everything turning out well.

Asahi is also in a confessional.  He tells us, “It’s my first time cooking with a woman.  I’m not good at cooking.  I’m not really confident.  But I’ll still give it my best shot.”

Out of curiosity, I went to YouTube and searched Asahi fancams.  This is our socially petrified boy when he’s onstage.  

It’s fascinating how idols can be so confident and dynamic onstage and so awkward and shy in person.  Onstage, you’re in front of a sea of faces, and you’re playing the part of an idol.  Offstage, you have to just be yourself and talk to actual people who aren’t screaming your name, and you may not even know who you are because you’ve been spending your life training to play the part of the onstage idol.  Viewed with that in mind, this show is an indictment of the K-pop trainee system.

But suddenly, our boy comes out swinging.  Asahi returns to the kitchen, starts stir-frying vegetables, and starts a conversation with So Won.  They talk about cooking at home vs. takeout, and she tells him about a cooking class she took in school in Canada.  Even when he doesn’t know what to say in response, he manages a “really?” which encourages her to keep talking.

Gaining confidence, Asahi moves around the kitchen, helping with other parts of the meal.  He cleans up and organizes in the background.

They sit down to eat, pausing first to take a group selfie.  The food seems to have turned out perfectly, and this is the most relaxed I’ve seen this group all episode.  These guys are feeling confident enough socially to make more of an effort.  Junkyu tries speaking English with Canadian So Won.  One of other guys asks her in English, “mouth okay?” and the translation tells us he’s asking her if it tastes good.  I am SO using that phrase next time I’m eating with someone.  So Won responds in English, “mouth very okay!”  She is now my second favorite of the girls.

Haruto is nervous because no one is touching the  nak-gop-sae that he and Jae Hyuk wound up cooking.  Ye Won finally tries it and blinks several times as she chews.  Then Ji Yeon tries it and shows zero reaction.  Now Haruto and Jae Hyuk are REALLY anxious, whispering to each other that it must be terrible.  Finally, Haruto asks the girls how it tastes, and they immediately say it’s good.  Their politeness can only go so far before poor Ye Won, who’s still blinking like she’s trying to communicate in Morse Code, admits it’s really spicy and runs to get some orange juice.   I imagine the only thing worse than stir-fried octopus is really spicy stir-fried octopus.

After dinner, they clean up the kitchen together.  Asahi starts washing dishes.  I refuse to believe that huge house doesn’t have a dishwasher.  Ji Yeon goes back to help him and tells us in a confessional, “He seems to be someone who quietly does what needs to be done.”  I’ll admit, that’s my type.  Someone who quietly works behind the scenes and gets things done.

So Won also comes back to check on Asahi.  He seems perfectly content to wash dishes by himself, and again, I totally get this guy.  Have I just found my bias in a K-pop group I didn’t know existed until yesterday?

Back in the main kitchen (on this floor, there’s a main kitchen and a prep kitchen in the back, and did I mention I really love this house) Jihoon puts on rubber gloves and unclogs the sink.  Ye Won tells us in a confessional, “Jihoon told us he gets disgusted easily, but he took the initiative to clean up the scraps.  I could feel his thoughtfulness at that moment.”

As they’re finishing up, the house fills with music again.  Time to go to the stairway mailbox and get a mission card!

The card reads:

I have questions for the discussion.

1. How can a chat be both “secret” and “open”?
   
   
2. Why wasn’t this group activity introduced at the beginning, when we desperately needed an icebreaker?
   
   
3. What more will we learn about cat-owner Mi Ho?  Does she have a job?  A trust fund?  Or does she just crash on couches in different reality show houses?

This should be enlightening.  See you next episode!

Episode 2:  So “quiet” can’t be “charming.”  Got it.

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