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(Written September 4, 2024)
We have a LOT to cover today,
so let’s get started. First of all, I am
happy to report that Wonho officially completed his military service and immediately
went on a livestream to greet his fans. Welcome
back, Wonho! You have been missed. Seriously.
Wait until you get a load of this show.
Okay. On with Episode 7. When we last left our boys, we had what passes for a love triangle in K-pop world, between bandmates Yoshi and Jung Hwan and dancer Ji Soo. I predict the show will wisely drop this storyline before the fans revolt and Ji Soo has to quit dancing and enter witness protection.
Dinner is over, night has fallen, and everyone is
gathered in the living room. Before we
can hear their conversation, classical music fills the house. Wait, another mission? I was expecting the midnight clock chime for
voting.
Nope, the Stairway Mailbox mission tells us it’s time for the “Secret Open Chat.” We know the drill. Everyone grabs a question from the box. Jeong Woo has the first question: “What is your charm and your biggest weakness when appealing to other people?”
Everyone goes silent. Jeong Woo is pushed to answer first, but he doesn’t want to speak. Why is everyone suddenly so awkward? They were doing great at dinner. Finally, Doyoung speaks up, saying he’s a good listener, but when he talks, he tends to overshare.
Jeong Woo tries again. He says his charm is singing, which is kind of what I expected all the guys to lead with. They should all just say, “I’m an idol,” to the first part of the question. Jeong Woo says that downside is that he struggles to speak in front of women. I do find that kind of self-awareness charming.
Out of curiosity, I went on
YouTube to find videos of Jeong Woo singing solo. I found a cover of a ballad he recorded about
a year ago called “Weight in Gold.” And
wow. He’s an incredible singer. I expected a deeper voice, but instead, he
has a heavenly tenor voice. I see what
the viewer comments are raving about.
Jung Hwan says he also struggles to speak, but he enjoys having meals with people. Yoshi says his charm is his eyes, and while I don’t think this was the kind of charm the question was referring to, he really is stunning. He also says his downside is shyness. He adds something sad but understandable. He says sometimes he gets misunderstood by people he meets for the first time. I believe him.
Ha Yul reads the next
question. I like this one better. “If you could have a superpower when dating,
what would you want it to be?”
Jung Hwan says he’d want to teleport and take his date on trips all over the world. Okay, that’s cool. But again, I think the question wanted something deeper. Hyun Suk says, “Mine might be silly, but watching Spider-man, I became jealous about how they could watch the night view from the top of the tower.” He wants the ability to fly so he can take his date to the top of the Empire State Building.
While I like his answer, I wonder what the women would say. We didn’t get an answer from them on the first question. Ji Soo does speak up on this one. She wants the ability to read minds. She says it would help with “reading the other person’s feelings when they’re mad and making them feel better.”
Oh God. She’d use that power to manage a man’s emotions for him. She’d take responsibility for his anger. Min Ji agrees, saying, “Knowing what they’re upset about and acting in a way to make them feel better.”
I didn’t expect this from such a fun-sounding question. Their answers actually made me incredibly sad, and I had to take a couple of minutes to shake it off before moving on.
I was honestly about to skip the rest of the “Secret Open Chat,” but then came the next question, “What give you butterflies,” and I want to cover this because it involves Yoshi, and it’s incredibly sweet.
One of the girls reads that question, and Yoshi perks up immediately. Everyone looks at him expectantly, and he’s suddenly embarrassed and doesn’t want to say it. The others encourage him, so he whispers it to Jeong Woo first. Upon his bandmate’s insistence, Yoshi starts again and then says it might be weird. Jeong Woo insists it isn’t. What could it possibly be?
Yoshi finally says it. He gets butterflies when a woman does that thing of sliding her hair back behind one ear.
Yoshi is a sweet, romantic
soul, and he must be protected at all costs.
The women love his answer. The online viewers love his answer. His bandmates teasingly start tucking their hair behind their ears. Ignore them, Yoshi. There is an innocence to his answer that I was not expecting from a K-pop idol, and I actually got a bit misty-eyed. Feminism may be dead, but romance is not.
The others give good answers too, like when someone cares for them in small ways, helps out without being asked, wants to make sure they’ve eaten. I like these answers. Seung Ji says she used to fall for rational types, but now she’s more drawn to “those with rich emotions.” Kudos to the Viki translation team for that one.
Suddenly, it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for. The clock chimes midnight. Time for the first round of voting! Once again, we have four jewels and four voice recorders. The women do their thing and then disappear from the house.
Downstairs, the guys make
Doyoung go first because they think he’ll win “Mr. Treasure” tonight. “No, they usually go last,” says
Doyoung. “The last one is the main
character.” Wow. They paid close attention to Part 1. He finally agrees to go first.
Doyoung opens his locker. He has a jewel. The girl even left it on the stand so it photographs better. He’s surprised and happy. A producer asks who he thinks gave it to him, and he guesses Ji Soo. We the viewers see that it was indeed Ji Soo, our ballad-loving dancer. Interesting that she didn’t give it to Yoshi or Jung Hwan after the conflict the show tried to set up before, but I’m over it.
Ji Soo tells us she chose
Doyoung because of the way he helped her in the kitchen without being
asked. They were also partners in a
group game we didn’t get to see.
Doyoung goes back downstairs
and tries to look sad, but his bandmates aren’t falling for it. He won’t tell them what he got, so Jeong Woo
addresses one of the cameras to ask. He
says, “Hey camera, did Doyoung get a jewel?”
The camera moves up and down to nod, which is pretty funny.
He whispers his thanks, and viewers find out Ha Yul gave it to him. She was his partner on the grocery shopping trip, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if any of the other women had given it to him. He’s the ultimate charming introvert.
It’s Jeong Woo’s turn. He opens his locker to find …
… three voice recorders. Oof.
Poor guy. Let’s assess the
damage.
Recorder 1: It’s Seung
Ji. “He seems introverted, so I guess
the vibe wasn’t comfortable for him.” (Again,
“introvert” does NOT equal “shy,” but proceed.) “When we spoke, it was hard
to continue the conversation. I want to
speak with him in a more comfortable environment.
Recorder 2: It’s Min Ji. “Today, the least charming guy was Park Jeong Woo. The reason for this is that this is a place to show charm, right? But to do that, you have to talk about who you are. He was a bit shy at first, so it was hard to know what kind of person he is. So I initiated the conversation and approached him. And then he started joking around and speaking to me first. Seeing that, I figured he had a lot of charms within him, but he hasn’t shown it yet, and that was a bit disappointing.”
Well. There’s a LOT to unpack here, thanks to the lack of time limit on these recorders.
Min Ji called him the least charming because she had to approach him, but once she did, (she says) he was talkative and funny, but (again, she says) she still didn’t learn anything about him. What was he talking about all that time that revealed nothing about him? Was he just reading aloud the ingredients on the jars of kimchi? Min Ji is all over the map with this, and I’m pretty irritated with her. Something tells me she’ll be the So Won of Part 2. Steer clear of her, Jeong Woo.
Recorder 3: This one is Ha Yul. “I wish he made the initiative to help out in certain situations, like cooking, or just do things together as a group. I feel like he wasn’t really proactive, and that was a bit disappointing.”
Okay, but … he DID help with cooking. He was pretty much Min Ji’s sous chef. In fact, he and Min Ji worked together to spice up the kimchi stew. Did these girls get Jeong Woo confused with someone else?
We should have been warned by
Ha Yul’s dark-themed sketches. She’s
really not nice. And I don’t like Min
Ji, either. If I were Jeong Woo, I’d
focus on trying to sweep Ji Soo off her feet.
Let Min Ji spice up her own damn kimchi stew.
Jeong Woo tells us he feels a bit regretful about not initiating conversations, and I hate this. Being charming does not mean having to start every conversation. And he probably can’t defend himself by saying he did help with the cooking, or he’ll come off looking like a whiny jerk. I am side-eyeing the hell out of Ha Yul and Min Ji.
Jeong Woo comes downstairs and
tells his bandmates the news. He’s
laughing it off, and they’re also laughing, so hopefully this means they’re not
taking it too seriously. There are two
jewels left, and Jeong Woo just doesn’t want to be the only one who doesn’t get
one. I think he won’t be. I predict Hyun Suk gets two.
Jung Hwan’s turn. He opens his locker to find … one jewel. Poor Jeong Woo will be the only one who doesn’t get one.
Jung Hwan guesses the jewel
came from Seung Ji, and we learn he’s right.
She likes how helpful and cooperative he was today.
Now for the fake-out. He also got a voice recorder. It can only be from Ji Soo. “Today, I felt Jung Hwan was a bit
disappointing. When it was just the two
of us, I wish he had led the conversation.
I think the conversation would have lasted longer that way, but it ended
up being short. And a lot of times, his
answers were quite vague.”
Tomorrow, I want the guys to do nothing but initiate conversations. I want them to lie around in the living room and not help with anything but just yap away about anything that enters their minds. See how charming the girls find them then.
Last up is Hyun Suk, and we already know what our fearless Leader has in his locker. He gets a jewel. We already know it’s from Min Ji, probably because of their hip hop connection. She tells us, “He had the best first impression today. Just that was charming enough for me.”
She leaves Jeong Woo a confusing ramble on how he’s a loser, but Hyun Suk gets a “charming enough” award. I do not like this woman.
Now we cut to the next
day. The boys are leaving the house and
getting onto a big red bus. They were
given mission envelopes the night before with an address to report to the next
morning, and that’s where the bus was waiting.
This is a really nice bus. BTW,
I’m loving Hyun Suk’s jacket and pendant.
The boys count the seats and
figure they’re going to meet at least one new girl today. At least they all get to go out today instead
of leaving three guys stuck at home.
Sure enough, a new mystery woman approaches the bus. She gets on and takes a seat next to
Yoshi. I didn’t recognize Yoshi at first
because he’s in full adorkable mode.
The new girl is Lee Min Ye. She graduated from Seoul National University, where she majored in Chinese. She’s currently on break from law school.
The bus departs, and we don’t know where it’s going. The boys talk about where the other girls must be, which I’m sure makes Min Ye, who’s sitting right there, feel just great. But then Yoshi starts a conversation with her by asking her if she has a favorite food. Atta boy, Yoshi! She likes simple foods, like egg dishes. Yoshi is responsive and friendly, way more outgoing than yesterday.
The bus pulls up, and the other four girls are waiting on the sidewalk. They hop on and greet the new girl. Min Ji grabs the seat next to Hyun Suk. I’m watching you, Min Ji.
The bus drives on, and the girls are talking nonstop while the guys try to get words in edgewise to prove how charming they are.
The initial conversational frenzy dies down. Min Ji and Hyun Suk are talking, and right next to them, Jeong Woo and Ji Soo sit in awkward silence.
Finally, Jeong Woo speaks up and asks if she stays at her house while filming the show. She says she lives nearby and then asks how yesterday went for them after the girls left. We know he doesn’t want to tell her he got three voice recorders, so he just says he had trouble yesterday because everything was awkward, and he hates awkwardness.
The bus finally comes to a
stop, and they arrive at a site for glamping.
This is camping with all the luxuries of home. This, for example, is one of the tents:
Here, the group is going to do another Field Day. I’m surprised we have the same number of boys and girls this time. We need one more girl, or the Mr. Treasure vote could end in a 5-way tie.
Everyone changes into
sweatpants and shirts, and Hyun Suk even manages to sparkle up
athleticwear. It may just be some
jewelry and a scarf, but fashion-wise, he understands that it matters. As they gather on the field, the classical
music starts playing. The Stairway
Mailbox is here!
Hyun Suk reads the mission. He announces a TREASURE hunt. Everyone must find the hidden treasure boxes scattered around the glampsite. What they find will determine who gets paired up for a one-on-one lunch. Finally! One-on-one dates! Part 2 feels like the showrunners are trying to fix things that didn’t go well in Part 1.
Ten boxes are hidden. Five green ones for the women, five pink ones
for the men. The boxes contain
keywords. Those who pick matching keywords
will have lunch dates together.
Once the boxes are found and couples are paired up, we have:
Jeong Woo and Seung Ji. She’s the one who left him a voice recorder message saying she wanted a chance to speak with him in a more comfortable environment. Here’s her chance.
Doyoung and Ha Yul. These two don’t have much of a connection yet. His jewel was from Ji Soo. She gave her jewel to Yoshi and left Jeong Woo a recording saying he didn’t help with the cooking when he totally did.
Yoshi and Min Ji. I’m glad this separates her from Hyun Suk for a while.
Hyun Suk and Ji Soo. She gave Doyoung a jewel. She also gave Jung Hwan a voice recorder saying he wasn’t charming because he wasn’t the one to start conversations. I hope Hyun Suk talks her ear off.
Jung Hwan and our new
girl, Min Ye. She seems nice so far. Let’s see how this pans out.
We have our five lunch dates. We start with Jung Hwan and Min Ye. The lunches look really good. I love sushi. Min Ye wants to take a picture, but they’re not allowed to have their phones on the show.
Jung Hwan says there’s something he’s a bit upset about. “Why do I only have two sandwiches?” (She has three in her bowl.) They start laughing. She tells him she really likes TREASURE’s new song “B.O.M.B.” Oh – was THAT why we had an episode with that name? I check online, and yes, the cryptic episode titles are just names of TREASURE songs. That’s confusing if you’re not already a fan, but proceed.
These two are cute together. He tries to get her to sing. She refuses, so he proposes a game of rock paper scissors so she has to sing if she loses. Again, she refuses. A hornet is buzzing nearby, and she says if he catches it with the chopsticks, she’ll sing. He leaps out of his seat, off to do battle. She has to convince him she’s kidding.
Moving on to Doyoung and Ha Yul. Right away, we have some viewers who like their drink choice, Bundaberg Blood Orange Sparkling Fruit Drink. I’m amazed the label isn’t blurred.
Ha Yul tells us in a confessional she likes that he remembered details about her. She found it touching, and okay, did Bundaberg pay for promotion, because they’re still not blurring the labels. I’m not used to seeing unblurred product labels on a Korean show It’s stressing me out, because I’m pretty sure someone is going to get sued.
Now he switches it up and asks for her first impression of him. She said he was wearing glasses, which she’s kinda into. Is this a regular turn-on for women in Korea? It might explain why so many idols do photo shoots with glasses on. She adds that he had a church boy vibe. He is kind of wholesome-looking.
She adds, “When you were
cooking, your clumsiness showed a lot.”
Okay, so she noticed he was helping with the cooking. That’s interesting. She says that rather than the intellectual
image, she felt more comfortable with his clumsy side. That’s sweet.
Ha Yul might be okay. I’m still
side-eyeing her, but she’s not the biggest problem among the women.
Now we go to Jeong Woo and Seung Ji in their very nice tent. Like the others, they start off awkward and nervous, especially since they’re aware of the cameras and production crew staring at them. Social interaction is hard enough without that kind of pressure.
She says that he reminds her of someone, another singer. She can’t remember the name. He laughs and says he’s been compared to an Onix. I look it up. If he’s talking about the Pokemon character, yeah, I kinda see it.
Our chiseled Onix Jeong Woo then asks Seung Ji about her vote yesterday. He had to have recognized her voice on the recorder. He asks her who got her jewel. Are those questions even allowed? I know they can ask about the recorders because their voices aren’t disguised, but I thought the guys weren’t supposed to know about the jewels until the final night.
Seung Ji hesitates, probably wondering if the production team is going to intervene. She asks, “Is it okay to talk about that?” The editing team on this show is doing a STELLAR job.
Feeling bold, Jeong Woo says,
“Why not?” He tells her that yesterday,
he received “a” recorder. She pretends
(poorly) to be surprised, and he laughs and says, “You’re pretending like you
don’t know.” She keeps trying to pretend she doesn’t know, and I wish the women on this
show would just stop it. Don’t leave
criticism if you’re not willing to say it to his face.
“How many recorders do you think I got?” asks Jeong Woo. (A reminder to our studio audience: the answer is three.)
“None, I guess,” Seung Ji says.
“You know I got at least one!” he challenges her. She digs her heels in and still pretends not to know, and the gaslighting is actually working. “Really? Am I wrong?” he asks.
He tells her he got three voice recorders, and she is not going to win any reality survival show challenges for face acting. I am so done with this.
Finally, she does cop to
it. She says she gave the recorder to
him because out of the five, she wanted to give it to the one she wanted to
talk more with. Interesting save. Let’s see how it works.
It does seem to work. He’s flattered. I bang my forehead on my desk a few times, and then we move on.
Time to check in on Yoshi and
the loquacious Min Ji. Yoshi starts the
conversation. He says, “Initially, I
thought you were the coolest at first sight.
You seemed easygoing.”
She’s pleased. If I roll my eyes any harder, I’ll be looking at my brain.
She asks him what his Korean name is. He’s a bit shy to say but eventually opens up. His family name is Kim, from the Gyeongju Kim family, followed by “Bang” from the word for “escape,” and “Jeon” from the word “electric.” So his Korean name is Kim Bang Jeon. I’m missing a lot because it’s a cultural thing, but I appreciate the Viki translators for trying.
Min Ji says the name is cute
and asks if she can call him Bang Jeon from now on. Yoshi is reluctant, because “Bang Jeon”
literally means “losing power.” Before
we can see how this gets resolved, the show realizes it’s running out of time
and cuts to Hyun Suk and Ji Soo.
I’m not surprised that this date is going fine. Hyun Suk has no trouble keeping a conversation going. They talk about their families and how they both get along with their siblings. If I were Hyun Suk’s sister, I’d also make sure to get along well with him so I could borrow his clothes.
He asks her about dancing. She says something interesting. She’s been doing Korean dance her whole life, and because she’s been walking this path for so long, she’s afraid to try something new. At first, I think she means she’s afraid to try a different style of dance, but then she says, “So, if it’s not dance, I’m like, what should I do?”
Hyun Suk says he considers her a Master, which is a kind thing to say, and she changes the subject to his singing. But I want to hear more from her about her fear of taking a new path. Unfortunately, this is where the episode ends.
Questions for discussion:
- Did you assume
there was a time limit on those voice recorders? There should be, right?
- Should the guys
have attorneys to defend them against some of the accusations they’re getting
on these recorders?
- Hey, wait. Isn’t the new girl in law school? (checking notes) Yes, yes she is. How can we get her to help with this?
Your answers are due next
episode. Class dismissed.
Episode 8: Everything is terrible.
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