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

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(Written August 25, 2024)

Last night, I went on YouTube and found several fan videos of Asahi, showing his goofy sense of humor.  He seems perfectly comfortable in front of a camera, joking with his bandmates and striking funny poses in public.  So maybe the women on this show should attach cameras to their faces with duct tape.  Just an idea.  Anyway, welcome back!  Time for the “secret open chat.”

I think he’d prefer all the Xanax in the world, Kira.  He’s got four more episodes in this house, so he’ll need all the pharmaceutical help he can get. 

Everyone picks a question out of the box.  Asahi goes first.  His question is, “Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and thought, ‘you are good-looking or pretty’?”

It’s a trap, Asahi.  RUN.

Thankfully, it’s a question for open discussion.  They agree that it’s normal for everyone to think that at least once.  (Of course, we’re in a house full of models and K-pop idols.)  There’s laughter as they go around giving their answers, but Asahi is quiet.  He can’t bring himself to speak in front of this group.  He looks like he’s in physical pain, and when the others press him for an answer, he asks that they just skip him.

They skip to Jihoon, who says he likes what he sees in the mirror after he’s had a workout.  “The bathroom mirror at the gym makes you look good!” he says.  Now they go back to Asahi and try to get him to answer.  I’m so uncomfortable seeing him struggle like this.  His bandmates tease him, saying he must like seeing himself in the mirror all the time, and he quickly denies it.  I feel a knot in my stomach when it occurs to me that maybe the exact opposite is the truth.

Asahi finally says, “It feels a bit too much for me to think that I’m good-looking.”  The others are surprised by his answer.  Jihoon says, “Maybe that’s his secret to looking good.”  I just want to airlift Asahi out of there and get him to a safe space.

Thankfully, they move on to the next question.  “What makes you fall for someone?”  We get answers like looking into someone’s eyes and being able to talk about little things, but now I’m wondering if any of the band members have ever even fallen for someone.  Maybe they can talk about having a crush, but if they can’t even talk to women, they couldn’t have been in love before.

They start giving funny answers, which thankfully lightens the mood.  Even Asahi is laughing.  Jae Hyuk says something interesting.  “I fall for someone rough and tough with me.”  As the group unpacks that, he explains that he likes an assertive woman who will take the lead.  That’s what makes him feel butterflies.  Jae Hyuk is now my second bias in this group.

Our sculpture artist Ye Won says she likes when a guy calls her name in a very low voice.  When the guys respond, I can’t help noticing their voices have suspiciously gone down an octave. 

Mi Ho speaks up, and I’m interested to hear her because all we know about her is that she has a cat.  She says she likes guys who wear glasses and are a bit nerdy.  She adds that they don’t actually have to be intellectual.  She just likes the vibe.  I’m willing to bet ten bucks and a bag of Masitdak Chicken Snacks that at least one of these guys will be wearing glasses by the end of the episode.

Next question:  “Who would you rather date, a person with 100 opposite-gender friends, or a person with one opposite-gender friend of ten years?”

This is my favorite question so far.  My immediate response would be the one friend, but the more I think about it, a ten-year friendship is a special bond.  I might feel threatened by that.

Junkyu would choose someone with 100 guy friends.  “I don’t think I’ll like it if there’s someone who already knows her better than I do,” he says, and I get it. 

Haruto disagrees.  He would choose the person with the ten-year friendship because “one hundred guy friends is too much.”  He adds, “I think it would be hard to develop romantic feelings after ten years of friendship.”  I don’t know if I agree with that, but that’s why this is a really good question.

Our Canadian So Won says she has a male friend of fifteen years, so she knows that that feels like and doesn’t feel like anything romantic could happen because they’ve been friends for so long.  (In other words, he’s been friendzoned.)

Asahi speaks up and says he would choose the ten-year friendship.  When asked why, his courage runs out, and he just mumbles, “The reason is the same as the rest.”  Jihoon agrees, saying that in life, it’s not easy to meet 100 people, and that would be a bit overwhelming.  “It means I have to worry about 100 potential situations.”

I’m really surprised I’m not seeing any viewer comments pop up during this discussion.  I imagine the viewers keep pausing to turn around and ask their friends or family members about these questions, and that might lead to some arguments.  We may not be hearing from kiraaquino_573 for a while.

Next question:  “Would you sing at an ex’s wedding for 50 million won [about $38,000 USD] or would you rather not?”  This strikes me as a strange question.  Unless there’s bad blood between you and the ex, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t.  That seems to be the immediate response of the women in the room.  Interestingly, Jihoon strongly disagrees.  “But it’s a wedding!  It’s not their first baby’s birthday or something!” he says.  Is this a Korean cultural thing I’m not getting?

Our artist Ye Won asks if the rest of the guys feel the same way.  Junkyo and Asahi both say they’d never do it.  Asahi says it might make the groom uncomfortable.  Okay, maybe if he were singing a song called, “Please Don’t Marry This Jerk, Seo-Yoon, I Want You Back.”  But otherwise, I don’t see the problem, and it’s very interesting that these answers are split down gender lines.

Haruto then says, “Fifty million won is sweet, though.”  He decides he would do it if paid in advance.  This is my favorite answer so far, and Haruto is now my third bias.  He adds, “If you think about it, ruining that wedding could be more valuable than fifty million won.”  His grand plan for revenge would be writing a diss rap about his ex and performing it at her wedding.  I love this guy.  (Hey, if the bride was dumb enough to hire him …)

The girls also love his answer.  “I would love to attend that wedding!” laughs Mi Ho.

Next question.  “Would you choose a relationship that always gives you butterflies or a relationship that feels comfortable like friends?”

Mi Ho, our cat owner who’s into nerdy-looking guys, says, “I can’t do these exciting relationships.  I can only do comfy, friend-like relationships.  It’s just too cringey, and I’m not into it”  I’m right there with her.  Butterflies are overrated. 

Haruto also chooses the comfortable relationship, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s the Japanese male version of me.  “Feeling the butterflies all the time makes you exhausted.  It will drain you eventually,” he says.  Asahi agrees, again for the same reason.  He can only bring himself to say a few words each time, but man, is he trying.

The only one who disagrees is Jihoon.  He wants butterflies every day. “I want to feel my heart skipping a beat every day,” he says.  “There are plenty of people you can have a friendship with.”  Okay, so he’s a hopeless romantic.

Night falls outside, and a narrator tells us the conversation has evolved to talking about their lives.  Suddenly, a clock chimes midnight throughout the house, startling everyone.  It’s time for the women to choose “Mr. Treasure.”  Too bad none of these guys have time to run and get a pair of glasses.

The women go up to the Treasure Room, one by one, to vote.  The room has five lockers, each with the name of one of the guys on it.  On a desk are four jewels and four voice recorders.  The women are supposed to place a jewel in the locker of the guy they found the most charming.  As for the man they found least charming, they will speak into the voice recorder and say what he was lacking.

Wait, won’t the guys who get voice recorders recognize the voices of the woman talking?  Unless those things come with voice disguisers, they won’t be anonymous.  However, that might not even be a problem, because after they leave the jewels and the voice recorders, the women leave the house.  Are they not coming back?

And another thought.  What if you open your locker and find four voice recorders?  I would just leave.  Leave the house, leave K-pop, leave the country.  Haruto and Asahi are Japanese, so they probably have family in Japan they can go back to.  The others can smuggle themselves into other countries in shipping containers.  

The guys wake up the next morning, anxious about what’s in the lockers.  They go in one by one to check.  Haruto goes first. He finds a voice recorder.  I demand to know who left it.  Let’s hear that voice.  He hits play.

Canadian So Won’s voice says, “It’s not so much that you lacked charm, but it seems like you’re pretty shy, and we didn’t get to talk much.  Maybe if we talked more, your charm could have shown through a bit more.”

Haruto processes the feedback, telling us, “Honestly, the recorder was more shocking than I thought.  But what she said is true, so I have to accept it and reflect on it.”

Again, this must be a cultural or a language thing.  Her feedback didn’t sound shocking to me.  She was saying he needed to come out of his shell, not to stop yelling obscenities at the neighbors.

We get an earlier scene we didn’t see before, where everyone is playing Jenga and laughing while Haruto waits quietly for his turn.  Haruto does tell us he did try to avoid conversation with the women.  So I guess I get it.  I’m just a little annoyed because he’s being taken to task for not being more sociable, and I don’t consider it a fault.  Then again, these guys were all petrified and unable to speak when the girls arrived, so he does need some help in this area.  So that’s fair.  In the end, Haruto decides to make more of an effort to open up.

Now he has to go back to the living room and tell his friends.  (Jihoon’s first question:  “Is the voice modified?”)  It’s Asahi’s turn, and I’m nervous for him.  He has also been painfully shy, but he’s trying so hard, and he found a way to work with the group while they were preparing dinner.  I found a quiet charm in the way he went around helping everybody.  Please don’t let him get a voice recorder. 

Initially, we don’t get to see Asahi open his locker.  We stay on the guys talking downstairs, and suddenly Asahi come back.  He sits on the couch with his arms wrapped and around himself and is quiet for a long time.  Which girl gave you a voice recorder, Asahi?  Tell me who it was, and someone hold my root beer while I cut a bitch.

Now we flash back and see him checking his locker.  He opens it and finds TWO VOICE RECORDERS. 

My heart may actually be broken.

Asahi hits play on the first recorder.  It’s Mi Ho.  “You didn’t talk much.  It seemed like you had a nice voice, but I couldn’t hear it much, which was a shame.  I hope to hear it more, and louder, tomorrow.  You will let me hear it, right?”

Now for the second recorder.  It’s Ji Yeon.  “I think Asahi could have done just a little bit better.  You were pretty shy at first, and I hope we can get closer and have more conversations tomorrow.”

Like Haruto, Asahi says he saw this coming.  He looks like he’s struggling not to cry, and again, I don’t think this is as bad as he thinks it is.  Both women clearly want to get to know him better.  But Asahi tells us, “The disappointing part was that I couldn’t raise my head, couldn’t speak, and my voice was small.  And I couldn’t participate in cooking, either.”

Wait, what?  He was participating by helping with prep, stir-frying vegetables, and cleaning up afterwards!  He may not have been talking much, but he was definitely participating!

Asahi says he will try harder to win a jewel, even a piece of one, even if it’s a rock from the yard.

I’d give him a jewel, too.  I understand what the girls were saying about him needing to open up more, but  I definitely see the charm in Asahi.  The world is full of people who talk too much.  The silent types have always appealed to me more.

Back in the living room, Asahi predicts that Junkyu, Jae Hyuk, and Jihoon will get at least one jewel each.  Maybe, but my math is mathing differently.  There’s still one more voice recorder in one of those lockers, and either Junkyu or Jihoon (or both) will get more than one jewel.  And since “outgoing” seems to equal “charming” in the eyes of this show, my money’s on Jae Hyuk getting the voice recorder.

Based on his anxious look and wish hands, I think Jae Hyuk’s math is coming out the same.  It’s his turn to go upstairs.

I hate being right about this one.  Jae Hyuk’s locker contains the last voice recorder.  In a confessional, he tells us he thought he would have gotten at least one jewel. 

This is heartbreaking and frustrating.  In the previous episode, I found charm and wisdom in the way he took a break from all the socialness to go up to the second floor patio and look at the mountains for a while.  I’d give him a truckload of jewels just for that.  But again, that’s not what this show considers charming, so he gets punched in the gut for the world to see.

Okay, let’s hit “play” on this thing and see what our quiet guy with the poet’s soul did “wrong.”  This one is from Ye Won.  “The person I found a bit lacking was Yoon Jae Hyuk.  He seemed passive at the beginning, so it was hard to get a read on him.  At dinner, Haruto and Jae Hyuk were whispering to each other.  I think it would have been better if they had talked to everyone when in a group, especially when trying to show their attractiveness.”

Okay, she does have a point.  We know these guys were whispering to each other because they were worried that no one liked the dish they prepared, but there was no way for everyone else at the table to know that, so it came across as rude.  This is the first piece of valid criticism these guys have gotten so far.

tomdjt_912 is usually the harshest critic of these guys, but the show re-plays the clip of the two guys whispering, and I have to agree.  They’re sitting directly across from Ye Won, whispering and laughing, and she looks uncomfortable.  Even if they had a legitimate concern to discuss, this was still rude.  They look like they’re making fun of her. 

Jae Hyuk actually takes this criticism well.  He returns to the living room and tells Junkyu about it.  I don’t know where the other guys are.  While talking to Junkyu, he pulls up a pillow so the camera can’t see his face.

So all that’s left is to see how the four jewels have been distributed between Junkyu and Jihoon.  First up is Junkyu.  I’m surprised that there’s only one jewel in his locker.  Does this mean Jihoon actually got three?

It’s a bit of a letdown that there’s no feedback with the jewels.  Junkyu just says “thank you” to the camera.  One of the show’s producers asks him from offscreen who he thinks gave him the jewel, and he thinks it’s So Won, because he interacted with her the most that day.  But then he says it could also be Mi Ho.  We the viewers get to see who it was.  It was indeed our Canadian girl So Won.

She tells us, “I think his bright energy is so powerful.  He’s always so genuinely cheerful.”

First of all, you guys, Junkyu is clearly the J-Hope of the group.

This shouldn’t even be up for debate.

Secondly, we now have our first potential love connection between So Won and Junkyu.

Last up, we have our final TREASURE member, Jihoon.  He opens his locker to find three jewels.  He’s the Mr. Treasure for the day.

The girls tell us how kind and considerate he is and how he’s always offering to help.  I can’t help thinking that he’s used to being this way because he’s the group Leader.  But regardless of the reason, the girls are right that it’s easy to get to know him, and he’s a helpful and kind person.

Jihoon seems overwhelmed to get three jewels and says thank you to the camera, adding, “I don’t deserve this much.”

It’s interesting what he says next.  “I’m very grateful, but receiving three jewels from the start gives me a huge burden.  People say when you hit a career high, the only way left is down.  I’m not sure what to do from now on.”  I’m getting flashbacks to Shownu in No Mercy, when he was ranked Number 1 in the first episode, and it almost gave him a nervous breakdown.

A true K-pop group Leader, Jihoon finishes by saying, “As we go on, I think more of our members’ charms will shine through.”  He bows and leaves the room.

We’re now halfway through the episode, so it seems like a strange time to finally get the episode title, which is simply, “U.”  We also get another great exterior shot of the house.  I’m seriously in love with the place.

We see our boys returning to the house – wait, they don’t get to sleep there?  How many bedrooms does that place have?  Anyway, they return to the house for what is supposed to be Day Two, but I’m pretty sure they’re at least on the third day by now.  The previous day felt at least a week long.

The boys walk into the living room to find five notecards on the coffee table.  The cards read, “Shopping,” “Activity,” “Park,” “Movie Theater,” and “Amusement Park.”

Right off the bat, I don’t think “Movie Theater” is a great idea.  How are you supposed to be charming and social in a dark room where you’re supposed to be quiet and watch the screen?  Unless the assignment is to work the concession stand, in which case, proceed.

The guys wonder how they can be going on dates if there are five of them and only four girls.  I’m sure Asahi would happily volunteer to stay home.

The women arrive, and the guys are more comfortable with them now and more enthusiastic in their responses.  Our potential lovebirds, So Won and Junkyu, greet each other in English.  Our sculpture artist Ye Won looks fabulous, as always.  I need to know where she shops.

They all take their seats and look at the notecards, and suddenly the classical music plays.  Mailbox time!  The guys fetch the envelope, and Junkyu reads the mission aloud.

Today is a 2:1 group date day.  So Won and Mi Ho are one team, and Ji Yeon and Ye Won are the other.  Please choose one of the date courses prepared by the men.

Okay, so does that mean only two guys are going on dates?  And wait – these men prepared the dates?  In a confessional, Haruto answers the second question – the guys planned the dates the night before.  He was the one who planned the “Activity” date.  So now I really need to know if Asahi planned the “Movie Theater” date in an attempt to avoid conversation.

We find out Junkyu chose the amusement park, Jae Hyuk chose the park, and DID I CALL IT OR WHAT Asahi chose the movies.  I think this was subversively brilliant on his part.  Oh, and Jihoon chose the shopping date.

Ji Yeon and Ye Won consider the movie date but eventually decide on the amusement park instead.  Mi Ho and So Won choose “Activity,” thinking it might be something exciting like paragliding.  Jihoon points out that the activity might be playing Gonggi (a popular children’s game similar to jacks).  But the women are curious to see what the activity is, so they stick to their guns.

So here are the dates, and please note that our potential lovebirds, So Won and Junkyu, are on separate dates.

Here’s the thing.  Junkyu already has a jewel, so he really doesn’t need this date.  Haruto does need the social experience, and since he and Jae Hyuk were the ones acting rudely by whispering at the dinner table, Jae Hyuk needs to be on a date as well.  This whole mission should have been set up better.

We cut to Asahi in a confessional, looking smart in glasses.  I get why Mi Ho gets butterflies over the nerdy look.  He’s feeling bummed and decide his movie idea was a weak one.  Oh, you sweet boy.  I would sit quietly with you and watch a movie anytime.

So our two date groups say goodbye.  After they leave, Jae Hyuk asks Jihoon if his “going to the park” date idea was really that bad.  Jihoon likes walking, so he liked the park idea.  He says, “Don’t be heartbroken.  It’s not that your park date idea was bad.  It’s just that the showrunners botched this whole mission.”  (checking notes)  Wait, okay, he didn’t actually say that last sentence.  But Jae Hyuk’s feelings are hurt.  This whole mission is kind of mean.  What are these guys supposed to do back at the house?  Jae Hyuk is depressed and doesn’t feel like doing anything.  This poor guy may never try talking to a woman ever again.

Asahi comes in and asks if he wants to play badminton.  That brightens up Jae Hyuk, and they go outside. I would be perfectly fine if the camera stayed with them for the rest of the episode, but no, we’re off to the amusement park with Ye Won, Ji Yeon, and the already-jewel-having Junkyu.  For some reason, they’re all dressed in traditional Korean hanbok.  Is this normally how Koreans dress on dates, or just at amusement parks?

Okay, so this isn’t an amusement park like Disneyland.  This is a Korean folk village.  The hanbok makes more sense in this setting, but the one guy/two girl setup is still awkward.  Junkyu can’t help laughing out of nervousness.  “People passing by think we’re filming a drama,” he says.  I would agree, since everyone else at the park is wearing jeans and sneakers.  They certainly are attracting a lot of attention. 

They stop at a snack bar, where they find a wish plate.  The woman at the counter tells them to write a wish and hang it on a fence in the park.  This is actually pretty amazing.

They put up their wishes and take pictures, and there really is something magical about the whole thing. 

Okay, now to see what Haruto’s Activity Date is.  Aaaand … it’s BOWLING, which I am immediately 100% on board for.  I haven’t been bowling in ages.  I miss it.

And wow, this is a nice bowling alley with leather couches.  Are all bowling alleys in Korea this nice?  Haruto tells the girls he got them bowling shoes in sizes 230 and 240.  Thankfully, the translation tells us that in South Korea, shoe sizes are measured in millimeters.  I did not know this and was waiting for at least one of the women to knock Haruto upside the head with her purse.  Turns out he guessed their shoe sizes correctly.

The three make a bet that the loser has to buy snacks for everyone back at the house.  The vibe between the three of them is easy and relaxed, probably because they’re in a less formal setting than walking through a folk village in traditional clothing.  This kind of date is WAY more my speed.

So Won turns out to be a demon on the lanes, throwing spares and strikes right and left.  This group is having so much fun, I’m pretty sure So Won has forgotten who Jungku is.

We cut back to the house, where it’s lunchtime.  Jihoon is making kimchi fried rice, and even though I’m not a fan of kimchi, it looks pretty amazing.  I can smell the pork and onions cooking through the screen.  Jihoon turns out to be an amazing cook on top of being Mr. Treasure, earning rare praise from tomdjt_912:

The boys enjoy lunch and wonder when the others will be coming back.  Is the show really going to have them waste a day like this?  How are they supposed to have any chance at improving their social skills?

As the boys wash the dishes (seriously, no dishwasher in that $2.1 million USD house?), the doorbell rings.  The guys check the security monitor, wondering if it’s the homeowners.  (The house has a state of the art security system and NO DISHWASHER?  Okay, I looked it up.  Only about 13% of houses in Korea have dishwashers.  You’d think this house would be one of them, but I promise I’ll let it go.)

We see a mysterious woman enter the house.  We can’t see her face.

With that, the episode ends.  We are left with several questions:

1. Who is the mysterious woman?
   
   
2. Will So Won leave Junkyu for Haruto and his mad bowling skills?
   
   
3. If she does, will this break up the group?
   
   
4. Who will tell the fans that TREASURE broke up over a woman on a reality show designed to teach them how to date?  And how would that complaint fit on a protest truck sign?

Let’s hope the show addresses these very serious issues in the next episode.  See you then!

Episode 3:  Attack of the Perfectly Nice Women

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