[Drama Recap] Fashion King Episode 9

Here we recap and discuss episode 9 of Fashion King.  Caution, spoilers below.  Don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens.

Young Gul is rudely awakened from his sleep, but is happy to find out that it’s Michael on the phone.  Ga Young gets awoken by his excited voice and goes to investigate.  He agrees to a meeting and is on the verge of tears after hanging out.  Ga Young expectantly confirms her suspicions and quickly follows Young Gul out of his office.  He looks around at the clothes that Ga Young has designed and turns around to hold her by the head.

She’s shocked, obviously, but listens as Young Gul tells her that the first thing he wants to do after they get rich is to get her a room of her own so that she doesn’t have to stay in the factory.  Ga Young is apparently very touched by this and gives him a passionate kiss.  The two awkwardly separate and Young Gul stutters out that this can’t happen between a boss and his employee.  However, after he goes to his office, Young Gul still can’t believe what just happened and has to lie down with his hand over his head.  Ga Young seems surprised at her old boldness and sits down on her own bed while clutching her blanket.

Meanwhile, Jae Hyuk is watching Titanic of all things by himself in an empty theatre.  He thinks back on Ga Young and his drunken debate with Anna as to whether he should file the paperwork to sue Ga Young.  Midway through the movie, he leaves to go visit Anna who is working at one of the boutiques I guess that J Fashion owns.

Lunchtime I guess and we cut to the two eating in a fancy restaurant.  Anna asks him how he’s feeling and he responds by asking if they should get married.  Anna doesn’t seem to like it any more than I did and asks if he’s actually proposing.  However, he’s just posing it as a question and not a serious proposal.  Whatever you want to call this, I guess it works as Anna thinks they should and asks when they should set the date.  However, just then, Jae Hyuk’s dad and the head designer, Director Kim, walk in and spot them.

As they sit down and talk, Director Kim brings up the rumors that Ga Young copied Anna’s designs.  Dear old dad apparently hasn’t heard about this yet and asks Jae Hyuk to explain.  Jae Hyuk says that the issue’s been resolved, but Director Kim keeps pushing the issue.  Dad intervenes on Jae Hyuk’s behalf and stops any further questions, but shoots his son a look making it clear that this isn’t over yet.

Back at the office, Jae Hyuk has asked Director Kim to see him.  Now that Dad’s out of the way, they can dismiss the formalities and talk freely.  Director Kim is interested in Ga Young and wants to hire her onto his own team, saying that he’ll need people like her to survive in this business.  Jae Hyuk, of course, has no desire to give her up to him.

Later, Jae Hyuk’s assistant is at Young Gul’s factory and asks to see Ga Young.  He tells her that Jae Hyuk wants to meet with her, but Ga Young says that she’s busy preparing for her business trip to the US and doesn’t want to meet with him.  Jae Hyuk’s assistant starts to follow her in, but Young Gul pops his head out and basically tells him to get lost.  Jae Hyuk’s assistant then goes to the cafe where his boss is meeting and reports back all this.  He thinks Jae Hyuk is going to lose his temper again and flinches when Jae Hyuk picks up his cup, but he just sips it and ponders what he’s just found out.

Meanwhile, everyone inside Young Gul’s factory is busy packing up the designs.  As Young Gul is moving about, his face gets close to Ga Young, making her feel shy.  The other workers say they’re going to be rich when the two come back, while Bong Sook laments the fact that she’s not going.  Meanwhile, Young Gul and Ga Young are busy in a world of their own and are just busy packing.  They tease the two of them about going on a honeymoon, and Ga Young can only awkwardly smile.  Il Gook also stops by and gives Young Gul a $100 bill as a present from Tae San.

On the plane, Young Gul notices how nervous Ga Young is and places his hand on hers.  Not exactly easing her tension there, buddy.  She’s completely frozen, but smiles and starts crying when Young Gul thanks her.

Back in Korea, Jae Hyuk is drunk once again and is trying to get a hold of Ga Young.  He’s yelling at her about her being selfish for not giving him a chance to apologize.  After he hangs up, he takes another swig out of his bottle and then calls his assistant to book the earliest flight to New York.

At Michael’s studio, Young Gul happily greets him and introduces Ga Young as his chief designer.  Afterwards, Young Gul is preparing for their next meeting and sees the ring he’s wearing around his neck on a string.  It obviously has a deeper meaning to it, probably related to Ga Young, but it’s not elaborated on at this time.  Meanwhile, Ga Young looks amazing in her strapless pink dress and hears a knock on the door.  She opens it and is surprised to see Jae Hyuk standing there.

After she invites him in, Ga Young asks what he’s doing here and he says that he’s on a business trip.  I guess that’s one way of putting it.  That’s not what she means though, and asks how he found her at her hotel.  He just says that he heard about it somehow and asks her where she’s going all dressed up.  Ga Young tells him that Michael invited them to dinner and introduced them to a buyer.  Depending on how the collection goes, they might do collaboration next time.  Awkward silence ensues, and Ga Young asks him what business he’s on here.  Jae Hyuk lies and says he comes here often and asks her if she ever intends to go back to New York Fashion School.  She says nothing and just smiles sadly at him.  Cue more awkward conversation and Jae Hyuk finally decides he can’t take it anymore and leaves.

Right as he opens the door to leave, though, here’s Young Gul who’s jumping to all sorts of conclusions.  He quickly hides the ring that he took off earlier and asks Ga Young if she called him here.  Ga Young denies it and just says he was here on a business trip.  Young Gul, still without any answers, just looks at Jae Hyuk curiously as he walks away.  When Jae Hyuk gets back to his hotel, he tells his assistant to rebook his return flight to match Young Gul and Ga Young’s the next day.

The next day while they’re on the plane, Ga Young says she wishes they had more time so they could see their old place.  Young Gul, however, has no interest in going back, and tells Ga Young to wake him up when the food comes around.  As soon as he closes his eyes, a flight attendant comes by and says someone in first class wants to talk to Ga Young.  After she reluctantly heads over, Young Gul opens his eyes again and watches her for a bit before closing them again.

After Ga Young awkwardly sits down next to Jae Hyuk, he tells her that he mentioned her to the dean of New York Fashion School and they told him that they’d review her file if she was interested.  If you really cared, you should’ve helped her more back then, friend.  Ga Young says though that while she would like to, now’s not the best time because she’ll be busy helping Young Gul with their business.  More awkward silence ensues and Ga Young says she’ll be leaving now if he has anything else to say to her.  Jae Hyuk tells her she can stay in first class with him if she wants, but she politely declines.  Before she leaves, though, Jae Hyuk asks Ga Young if he can see her in Korea.  She says sure if she has time and he just awkwardly says okay and waves goodbye.  As the camera pans out, we see that Jung Ah is just a few seats away.  Damn, I thought we were rid of her for good.

As Ga Young goes back to her seat, she looks over at Young Gul and covers him with a blanket.  He’s awake, though, and asks her if she went to see Jae Hyuk.  He scoffs and sighs when she says yes, but says nothing else.

At the airport, Jung Ah pushes a cart with way too much luggage and is surprised to see that her mom is waiting for her.  Madam Jo asks her why she brought so much luggage for a short vacation and Jung Ah panics a bit but quickly says she did some shopping.  Uh oh, someone got kicked out of school…  As the two walk out of the airport, Madam Jo spots Young Gul and Ga Young.

Back at J Fashion, Jae Hyuk plops down on his mom’s couch and asks why she wants to see him even though he’s so tired.  Mom’s not happy with Junior, though, and wants to know why he was in New York and why he’s asking the staff at the local branch to find Ga Young’s location.  Mom wonders why Jae Hyuk doesn’t meet normal girls and even says that Anna’s better.  She then says she won’t stop them anymore and gives them permission to marry.  Jae Hyuk just stares at before walking away.

At Young Gul’s factory, Bong Sook and the other factory workers are gossiping about what Young Gul and Ga Young’s actual relationship is.  They then start gossiping about the night that Young Gul beat up Jae Hyuk and kicked him out, saying that it’s a love triangle.  At this point, Young Gul and Ga Young arrive and are greeted by strange looks.

In his office, Young Gul pulls out the ring from his pocket and stares at it.  He then puts it to the side and pulls out a handle of what looks like Johnny Walker.  Not a whiskey fan, myself, but to each his own.  Meanwhile, Ga Young is out on her bed and checking her voicemail.  She hears Jae Hyuk drunk calling her and feels a bit sorry.  Young Gul walks out with the whiskey in hand and says they should celebrate their successful business trip.

After the two share a shot, Young Gul mentions that it’s the first time they’ve drank together, but Ga Young points out that their first time was the night they got arrested.  She reminisces about him making her steak and says that it was so delicious.  Ga Young once again regrets not going to see their old place and Young Gul says they’ll go back next time, even if he doesn’t want to think about it.    Ga Young then tells him that she found out that it wasn’t Jae Hyuk who reported them, but it was actually Jung Ah.  We’ll just assume Jae Hyuk told her otherwise I have no idea how she might’ve found out.  Young Gul does not want to hear it hear that right now and asks her why she’s telling him this.  He asks her why it bothers her that he doesn’t like him and just stomps off.

While Ga Young is regretting killing the mood, Young Gul stares once again at his ring and angrily puts it in his desk.  He then lays down and thinks about all the times that Jae Hyuk has looked down on him in front of Ga Young.

The next day, Jae Hyuk’s assistant confirms that Michael is helping out Young Gul launch his YGM brand.  However, YGM now stands for Young Gul and Ga Young Mode.  Jae Hyuk scoffs at him for trying to launch a global brand without a domestic presence, but his assistant points out that if Young Gul succeeds in America, he can then use that success to promote the brand in Korea.  He then advises that they should be the first Korean brand to side with Young Gul in case he actually does succeed.  Jae Hyuk does not take kindly to the suggestion, but before he can continue yelling at his assistant, his secretary tells him that his dad wants to see him.

Time to confess what happened with Ga Young to Dad.  His dad also asks him why he went to New York, and Jae Hyuk says that he was going to check on a new designer who was going to be working with Michael Lauren and that he’s in the process of trying to establish a relationship with him.  When dad asks for a timeline, Jae Hyuk says he’ll have something to report within the week.  Dad seems to accept this and says nothing more.

Now that he’s trapped himself in a corner, Jae Hyuk retreats to the restroom to think about his next step.  He then receives a text from Ga Young apologizing for saying that she doesn’t want to see him anymore.  After reading that, a grin breaks across his face.  Sucks to be Anna, I suppose.

Back at Young Gul’s factory, he’s handing out business cards to everyone.  To Bong Sook, he gives her ones that say Co-Chief Designer.  To Il Gook, he gives ones that say Financing Manager.  To Ga Young, he gives ones that say Chief Designer.  They all then ask him how much money they’ve made so far, but are not impressed with the returns.  Young Gul tells them to be patient and that it’s more important that they’re launching their business right now.  At this point, Ga Young receives a call from Jae Hyuk and goes outside to take it.  Only Young Gul notices it and looks sad as she leaves.

When Ga Young finally answers the phone, Jae Hyuk just thanks her for the text message and hangs up.  She’s puzzled by the call, and the factory workers and Bong Sook all pop their heads out to see who she’s talking to.  Back at J-Fashion, Director Kim comes across Jae Hyuk and asks him when he’s going to bring in Ga Young.  He then mentions the incident where Young Gul pinned Anna to the wall of the elevator and made it look like they were making out.  Jae Hyuk goes to check the security footage himself and is clearly furious.

He decides to go back home, only to find Anna waiting for him.  She asks him if he really went to New York to see Ga Young, but he says he’s tired and they should talk tomorrow.  Anna asks him why he’s making her look so pathetic after bringing her back to Korea and asking her to marry him.  Jae Hyuk doesn’t understand why she’s being like this and they start arguing.  As Jae Hyuk storms off to his bedroom, Anna is left in the living room to cry by herself.  She then stands up and looks at him forlornly and walks out.  Jae Hyuk immediately regrets what he said to her, but the damage is done.

At Young Gul’s factory, Ga Young is busy packing clothes into boxes while Young Gul is nearby filling orders.  She asks him if he’s mad at her and why he’s not saying anything to her.  Young Gul says he’s not and Ga Young decides to drop the subject.  Young Gul then tells her if she’s tired, she can go sleep while he handles the rest.  Ga Young decides to take him up on his offer, but angrily closes the curtain that’s surrounds her bed.

At this point, Young Gul receives a call from someone who says they’re out front.  Ga Young overhears this and is curious, but doesn’t say anything.  She does follow him outside though and sees him get into Anna’s car.

As she’s driving, Young Gul asks Anna where they’re going but she tells him that if he doesn’t want to go, he can just get out.  He calls her bluff and tells her to pull to the side and asks once again where they’re going.  Anna admits to him that she realized that she’s wasting her life and that she had nobody else to call.  Young Gul says she shouldn’t be doing this if her goal is Jae Hyuk, to which Anna retorts that Young Gul was the one who requested that they meet without talking about Jae Hyuk.  Back at the factory, Ga Young can’t sleep and waits up for Young Gul.  She thinks back to seeing him get in the car with Anna and covers herself with her blanket.

Seems Anna brought Young Gul back to her place and are in the process of getting wasted.  Anna thinks it’s a joke that she’s a high class designer and that her staff talks about her behind her back about how she just got her position due to Jae Hyuk.  She then asks him about his meeting with Michael and Young Gul says that it went well and that they’re going to work together.  Young Gul then asks her what happened with Jae Hyuk and Anna tells him that Jae Hyuk wants to marry her.  Young Gul scoffs and tells Anna how Jae Hyuk came to see them in their hotel in New York.  He then asks her if this was the real reason why she called him out: to find out what happened in the States.  Young Gul then tells Anna that she should marry him and she finally breaks down into tears.  She wonders how things turned out like this even though she loved him so much.  As she cries with her head buried in her arms on top of her very nice legs, Young Gul just sits in silence next to her drinking.

The next morning, Ga Young wakes up and looks at Young Gul’s office, wondering if he actually came home.  She peaks in and sees that he’s not there.  She realizes that he stayed out all night with Anna and starts crying as the episode ends.

Final Thoughts

I honestly don’t know where to begin with for this episode.  I’m not sure if it’s the scenes or the script, but to me it just seems so choppy and lacks flow from scene to scene.  Honestly, I think the biggest problem is the complete and utter lack of chemistry with the main cast.  If it’s supposed to come off as being that awkward then kudos, job well done.  If I didn’t know otherwise, there’s no way I would’ve thought any of any of these characters liked who they claim they do.  Jae Hyuk and Anna are supposed to be in love; don’t see it.  Ga Young is supposed to like Young Gul; eh, okay kind of.  Jae Hyuk half liking Ga Young; hey if I could be friends with Shin Se Kyung I’d like her too, but as far as the drama is concerned, their relationship is just so so awkward.

As I think back on this episode, I’m trying to think of what purpose it served and I’m coming up with a blank.  But they went to New York and met with Michael and are succeeding you say?  That’s already implied with the end of the last episode.  Jae Hyuk proposed marriage sort of and his mom even approved of it?  Sure, but doesn’t seem like he’s acting on that.  Actually I take back my earlier statement; there was one thing that happened of importance.  The only plot point that I actually felt did something for the overall storyline was Ga Young kissing Young Gul and letting him know how she feels.   I guess you can maybe make a case for Ga Young forgiving Jae Hyuk, but let’s be honest with her personality there was no way she was going to stay angry at him.  I still don’t see what the point of bringing back Jung Ah was as she’s just going to be an extension of Madam Jo anyway.

Long story short, you’re really not missing much by not watching the episode.  Except Shin Se Kyung looking amazing in her dress, of course.