[Drama Recap] Fashion King Episode 6

Here we recap and discuss episode 6 of Fashion King.  Caution, spoilers below.  Don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens.

Jae Hyuk is none-too-pleased to see Young Gul walk out of Anna’s room and punches him right in the face.  Young Gul doesn’t want to fight though, saying that Anna’s sleeping.  He asks for some water, but Jae Hyuk refuses so Young Gul decides to walk out.  Right on cue, Jae Hyuk tells Young Gul to tell Ga Young to come to his office tomorrow.  Young Gul gets in the last shot, however, and tells Jae Hyuk to tell Anna that he’ll call her tomorrow.

By the time Young Gul makes it back to his friend’s stall, he finds Ga Young already fast asleep.  He sees her worn out heels and feels sorry that she can’t have nice ones like Anna’s.  He then lays down next to Ga Young and falls asleep.  As he does though, Ga Young wakes up and puts the blanket that she had been monopolizing over both of them before going back to sleep.

The next morning, a hung over Anna stumbles out of her room and sees Jae Hyuk sitting on the couch.  Jae Hyuk tells her to be careful not to cause any misunderstandings and Anna thinks he’s talking about his father and reveals that the two of them met.  Jae Hyuk doesn’t want to argue anymore and tells her to take her time going to work.

Meanwhile, Young Gul and Ga Young are having breakfast in the stall.  Young Gul is all giddy about meeting Anna last night, but Ga Young isn’t happy.  She asks him what he’s going to do about the store and he gets mad, saying that he’s the president and has a plan.  Young Gul then asks Ga Young about what Jae Hyuk wants from her, but she says it’s not his concern.  He then chides her for meeting him without a plan, and in response Ga Young pulls out her design book and shows him what she’s been working on.  Young Gul is impressed with what he sees and imagines a fashion show of all the finished products.

To prepare for her interview with Jae Hyuk, Young Gul has Ga Young try out different outfits to meet his approval.  He even helps her with hair and makeup.  As Ga Young reaches the elevator of J-Fashion, she runs into Anna who doesn’t seem to recognize her.  However, As Anna gets off on her floor, she turns around and gives Ga Young a look that causes her to flinch.

Jae Hyuk happens to get to his office right as Ga Young arrives and escorts her in.  As they sit down, he looks at her outfit and can’t help but be drawn to her unbuttoned blouse.  That makes 2 of us.  He then gets straight to the point: he’s interested in her designs but he can’t hire her formally because of her lack of education.  He tells her she can have whatever manpower and materials to make the samples and that they’ll pay her regardless of whether or not the samples she gives is actually used or not.  However, Ga Young takes offense at this because this way she only gets paid for samples but doesn’t actually get to be the one who produces them.  Jae Hyuk is angry that she’d turn down this opportunity, but he knows he can’t fail again and so agrees to Ga Young’s terms, saying let’s see how far her confidence will take her.  Doesn’t say much for his faith in Anna.

Ga Young happily reports back to Young Gul, who asks her if Jae Hyuk likes her since he’s giving her money without even seeing any of her designs yet.  She says it’s not like that and he’s just giving her a sample fee and money for materials for now.  Since Jae Hyuk needs their business ID to send them the money, the two brainstorm as to what to call their new business.  Young Gul suggests Young-Young Apparel.  Ga Young happily thinks it’s a combination of their names, but Young Gul says it’s because he’s a fan of a certain actress and it’s a play on words with her name.  Aww, she looks so crushed by his little white lie to save face.  To add further insult, he even asks her if she saw Anna, to which Ga Young does not respond.

Now armed with Jae Hyuk’s money, he goes back to his factory and settles the debts with those working there.  He then calls his friend and asks him to tell Anna to meet him at a Chinese restaurant that they used to meet at so he can buy her dinner.  We then cut to the  ahjummas that used to work with Ga Young who are already at the restaurant gossiping.  They’re being loud and disturb Bong Sook of all people, who I guess is also back in Korean now.  Random.  Young Gul then arrives at the restaurant and his old workers are happy to see him.  Bong Sook then recognizes him and grabs him by the collar, saying that he got her deported.  This eventually leads to a catfight that nobody wanted to see between her and Young Gul’s workers.

Once everything has calmed down, Bong Sook reveals that because of her association with him and Ga Young, she had to pay some hefty fines and use up all of her savings.  And because of her age, she hasn’t been able to find a job either.  She apologizes for overreacting earlier and asks if he’s hiring.  Young Gul does have a heart and invites her to work for him.  Bong Sook then asks about Ga Young, and right on cue, she walks in and the two happily embrace each other.

At Young Gul’s factory, everyone’s cleaning in silence except for Bong Sook who’s loudly complaining.  Young Gul pulls her aside and asks if Ga Young can stay with her, but she says she’s already staying with a friend.  Bong Sook asks if she can stay at the factory, but of course since Ga Young and Young Gul are already going to be there, there’s no room for a third.  Regardless of the situation, if my roommate was Shin Se Kyung, I’d want to be alone too.  We then see a happy Ga Young moving back into the room she stayed at before, carefully unpacking the pots and pans from their apartment in New York.

Jae Hyuk is in his office when he gets a package.  He opens it and it’s Ga Young’s sketchbook.  As he flips through the designs, he’s as impressed with it as Young Gul was, who also happens to be flipping through them as well.  Young Gul then picks up his cellphone and tells the person on the other end that their plan is a-go.

We now cut back to Anna who is giving a presentation about her designs.  The Head Designer, of course, isn’t impressed and says it’s a little boring and seems stubborn.  He then turns to Jae Hyuk to ask for his opinion.  He hasn’t been paying attention at all and just agrees without actually having heard what was said, something that does not get lost on Anna.  The Head Designer then says that she should change it a bit before the final meeting, something that Jae Hyuk also agrees to and pisses off Anna yet again.

For working so hard to get her back, Jae Hyuk seems very good at making Anna angry.  After the little fiasco in the boardroom, he asks Anna to come with him and he shows her Ga Young’s sketchbook.  Anna demands to know who it is and asks why Jae Hyuk doesn’t trust her work.  Jae Hyuk is evasion of who it is, and says he’s just asking for Anna’s opinion.  She sees through the lie and just when you think Jae Hyuk can’t say anything worse, he throws out that it should be a good thing to find someone to pick up the slack in areas where Anna’s weak.  Smooth talker, this one.  Anna is understandably hurt, but Jae Hyuk doesn’t seem to care and is only concerned with making sure this latest collection is a success since he knows his career is on the line here.  After she storms out, Jae Hyuk calls someone on the phone and asks them to check in on Ga Young.

Back in her office, a furious Anna glances over her designs and thinks back to Ga Young’s.  Realizing that this random person is better than her, she sweeps off the items that are on top of her desk in a fit of rage.  Oh Jae Hyuk, you sir are in trouble now.

Back at Young Gul’s factory, he’s talking on the phone trying to convince someone to lend him money to produce Ga Young’s clothing.  Ga Young chides him for using all the money to pay off his debt and so they don’t have money for the fabrics that she needs to make her designs.  Young Gul shoots back and says that the fabrics she needs are too expensive.  As the two argue about it, Bong Sook and the other workers are darting back and forth between the two.  He then tells her that they have no choice now and that she should go to Jae Hyuk’s factory and ask for the materials there.  Ga Young is hesitant to do this, however, after taking so much money from him already.

Right on cue, Jae Hyuk shows up at the factory to check in on Ga Young.  He’s not impressed with Young Gul’s base of operations and they go into his office to talk.  He’s not convinced that Ga Young can hold onto her end of the bargain, but Young Gul stands up for her and says that Jae Hyuk shouldn’t just barge in whenever he feels like.  Jae Hyuk then asks Ga Young to leave so he can talk to Young Gul alone.  He proposes that Ga Young be lent to him for the duration of time it takes her to make the samples.  Young Gul knows he really has no choice in the matter, but does get some additional money out of it by saying that by taking Ga Young, Jae Hyuk now has to pay her benefits.

When Anna gets back to her apartment, she sees an additional set of shoes in the hallway and finds Jae Hyuk making her dinner.  She glances at his extensive preparations, but says that she’s not hungry.  Anna does indulge his whims however and sits down at the table when everything is done.  As she’s swirling her wine, Jae Hyuk surprises her by proposing that they live together.  You might want to take that knife that you planted in her back earlier out first, buddy.  He then goes on to say that he thinks his father might like her because he had expectations for her work.  Anna shoots back that what does it matter what his father thinks if Jae Hyuk himself doesn’t believe in her.  Jae Hyuk then gets mad and says she shouldn’t be mad like this and that he was only trying to help by showing her the designs.  Anna snidely says that she knows that was his intention, and this is the final straw for Jae Hyuk and he storms out.  Before he leaves though, he says not to worry about other designers because he’ll make sure it looks like Anna did it all from start to finish.  It’s only after he leaves, that Anna allows herself to break down in tears.  In the hallway, Jae Hyuk seems to regret lashing out at Anna and looks back at her door with a pained look.

The next day, young Gul is busy producing Ga Young’s designs with materials he has on hand.  We then cut to Ga Young, who is preparing to go to Jae Hyuk’s factory as she’s all dressed up and putting on makeup.  She does stop by Young Gul’s office though to ask for some lunch money, interrupting the nap he was taking.  As she leaves, Young Gul mentions to her that she should try to steal some fabric from J-Fashion’s warehouses.  This offends Ga Young’s sensibilities so Young Gul doesn’t push it and goes back to sleep.  However, he’s interrupted by a phone call from Tae San.  As soon as he hangs up, he has an idea and goes out to try to catch Ga Young but he’s too late.  He then remembers his worker’s idea about using materials people have thrown away and seems to have come up with another crazy idea that just might work.

At J-Fashion, Ga Young is met by Jae Hyuk’s assistant, who is not happy to see her since he already warned her back in New York about getting involved with Jae Hyuk.  He gets mad at her, saying that that’s how Anna started and look what happened.  Seems like he doesn’t have anything against her personally and pleads with her to just get the job done and not get romantically involved with Jae Hyuk so that he doesn’t have to put out more fires.  He also warns her not to say anything to other people and leads her to Jae Hyuk, who is sitting down at a fancy-looking restaurant.  After giving his assistant instructions to make sure Ga Young gets everything she needs and to check security, Jae Hyuk calls her over, gives her outfit an once-over, and tells her to get to work.  He sure does enjoy checking her out.  After she leaves, however, his cool exterior breaks and he smiles at her.

Back at Young Gul’s factory, he’s busy motivating his workers because they’re under a deadline.  Bong Sook pops into his office to show off a completed dress and asks him if they’re making all these clothes for a party.  Not exactly.  We see him meeting with Tae San with a badly written business plan.  Young Gul then suggests to Tae San that he should make a fashion brand and weaves a tale about how this could be the start of Tae San’s fashion kingdom.  Tae San gets swept up in the romance of the idea, but isn’t entirely convinced.

To give him one final push, Young Gul snaps his fingers and in walks a dressed up Bong Sook with a suit on mannequin.  I gagged at her appearance, but Young Gul’s friend Il Gook seemed smitten by her.  Young Gul then introduces her as their fashion producer with 10 years of experience in New York.  He then says that Tae San should try on the first product for their brand YGM: Yellow Great Mountain, which is the literal translation for Hwang Tae San.  Tae San seems moved by the gesture and does eventually try it on.

Meanwhile, Jae Hyuk is on the phone trying to convince the person on the other end that this next fashion show will be much better than the New York one.  I gotta admit, his English is actually much better than I expected.  After he hangs up, he gets a visit from Anna, who looks to be in a much better mood than the night before.  She apologizes to him and says that she thinks he’s right and that she was too sensitive about the issue.  I smell hidden agenda here.  Anna then lays it on even more and asks him where he found treasures like Ga Young’s designs.  He asks her if she wants to work with her, but to treat her as more of an assistant.  Anna shyly asks if she shouldn’t be the assistant since she’s not as good, but Jae Hyuk says that this will be Anna’s collection so she should take the lead.  Jae Hyuk then asks her if she wants to meet her and presumably leave to go get Ga Young.

I knew it.  As soon as Jae Hyuk leaves, Anna’s mask drops and you can see she’s still stewing about last night.  She quickly joins him in the elevator, but Jae Hyuk is still oblivious to this.  She asks him if he really was sincere about moving in together and he says of course.  When Anna and Ga Young Meet, Anna mentions that she saw Ga Young once in New York.  Jae Hyuk is still clueless about Anna’s intentions and encourages them to work together to make a good product.

The fool actually leaves the two of them alone.  As soon as he leaves, Anna starts grilling Ga Young about who’s idea it was to work under this arrangement and if she’s still working for Young Gul.  Ga Young answers truthfully and Anna postures some more before leaving in a rage.

Madam Jo is up to her usual petty ways and is once again meeting with Jae Hyuk’s mom, who again does not look pleased to see her.  Madam Jo recounts about how Ga Young bothered her son before and that Jae Hyuk went to see Ga Young back in Korea.  His mother doesn’t care about her little squabble and instead asks Madam Jo to help her find a way to keep Jae Hyuk in line and away from Anna.  However, Madam Jo is persistent in her grudge and says that Ga Young is the true problem, not Anna.

After her meeting, Madam Jo is muttering to herself about Ga Young in the bathroom when lo and behold, Ga Young gets out of one of the stalls.  The two are surprised to see each other and Madam Jo demands to know why Ga Young is there.  Ga Young just says she’s here to work and leaves without another word.  Guess you need to step up your game lady if you’re going to keep her down.

With working hours now over, Jae Hyuk decides to go down and check in on Ga Young.  She’s nowhere to be found, however, but sees some half-eaten food.  At the same time, Young Gul is talking to one of his contacts about some work he’s having had done when he hears a noise outside in the factory.  He thinks it’s Ga Young, but is surprised to find Anna there instead.  She asks him if this was the headquarters that he talked about last time, but it obviously doesn’t live up to his description of it back then.

Back at J-Fashion, Ga Young seems to have taken Young Gul’s advice to heart and is raiding the materials warehouse for supplies.  As she’s about to leave though, she spots one last fabric that she has to have and so stands up on her little cart to get it.  The wheels on the cart slip and Ga Young is headed for a rather nasty fall when Jae Hyuk shows up out of nowhere and catches her in his arms, ending our episode for the week.

Final Thoughts

Well the gang’s all here now with Bong Sook showing up in Korea.  Not that I really cared for her character mind you.  I’m sure she’s just there for comedic relief and to pair with Young Gul’s gangster friend.

I do like how they set up Anna’s hostility towards Ga Young.  She’s the young upstart who her supposed boyfriend has recruited.  Speaking of that particular relationship, but I don’t see a spark between them.  Whether it’s a byproduct of how the characters are written or their respective actor’s portrayal of the character, but I’m not seeing this rekindled love relationship that they’re supposed to be having.  In fact that’s true about all the characters in this series.  Maybe it’s because I’m watching King 2 Hearts, which I highly recommend by the way, but seeing the chemistry in the characters on that drama and then watching Fashion King, I just don’t see the same thing here.

I also do like that they’re keeping focused on the main storylines instead of drifting off like Dream High 2 was prone to doing.  However, it’s still so predictable what’s going to happen that this drama just feels so stale to me.  The moments where I actually connect with the characters or laugh at something in the drama have been few and far between.  Hopefully this will change as the story progresses.