[Drama Recap] Fashion King Episode 10

Here we recap and discuss episode 10 of Fashion King.  Caution, spoilers below.  Don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens.

Jae Hyuk is preparing himself for another day of work and stares into a mirror while recalling his conversation with Anna as well as the surveilance footage he saw with her and Young Gul.  Speaking of our other main lead, he’s just now getting back in and sees Ga Young cleaning up.  She’s mad at him and doesn’t respond even when he asks her a question.  He asks if she’s mad and she sarcastically replies why would see as an employee get mad over his personal life?  LOL, gotta the love the girl’s sass sometimes.  She hits him with the broom while sweeping and Young Gul turns to go to his office only to find Bong Sook and the other workers staring at him.  Awkward…lol

Meanwhile, Anna is late for work and is sprinting down an elevator.  She eventually meets up with Jae Hyuk who is with his dad and some of the other directors as they’re looking through a beauty store.  Jae Hyuk asks her why she’s so late and she just uses the default excuse of bad traffic.  Dad doesn’t approve, obviously, but says nothing and moves onto the next store.

Back at her office, Anna changes into different clothes and tries to clean herself up a bit.  Jae Hyuk walks in and asks why she walked in wearing the same clothes as she was last night.  He gets mad at her for not only showing up late, but smelling like alcohol on top of it.  He then has the gall to ask if she’s having an affair, which even she smirks at and starts to walk away.  Jae Hyuk then violently grabs her and asks why it has to be Young Gul.  Anna is not intimidated, though, and tells him to back off.  Now alone in Anna’s office, Jae Hyuk calls his assistant and tells him to ruin Young Gul’s factory and stop any business deals he might have in place.

Back at the factory, Bong Sook is speaking in broken English to an American customer who has just ordered 50 new pieces.  Il Gook apparently has nothing gangster related to do these days and just hovers around Bong Sook like a lost puppy, just being happy that she’s happy.  Meanwhile, in Young Gul’s office, he’s already starting to feel the effects of Jae Hyuk’s interference and it sounds like the person who owns the property wants more rent.  Il Gook then comes in with more bad news and says that Tae San wants his money back all of a sudden.  The day gets even better when Ga Young comes in saying one of their fabric suppliers won’t give them anything unless they pay in cash now and not credit.  Young Gul is annoyed at all the problems but tells them he’ll fix it somehow.

Meanwhile, Jae Hyuk is on the phone with one of Young Gul’s former suppliers who tells him that he’s not doing business with him anymore.  His assistant brings in all of Ga Young’s designs and he’s picking between all of them.  We then get a look at the tag and in big letters we see Ga Young’s name.  Oh Anna’s not going to like this when she finds out.  Which actually isn’t much later as the next scene shows her picking up one of the clothes that Jae Hyuk’s assistant drops.

Young Gul is determined to fix the problem and tells everyone he’s heading out while they’re eating their ramen for lunch.  After he leaves, they all ask each other if any of them have money, but of course the answer is a glaring no.  One of the ahjummas then asks Ga Young why Jae Hyuk hasn’t been coming around lately and to give him a call to see if he can help.  Right on cue, Ga Young gets a call from him.

Jae Hyuk really likes this theater because this is where he calls Ga Young out to.  As soon as she sits down, the lights dim and a movie starts playing.  As they watch the movie, Jae Hyuk starts tearing up and turns to see Ga Young fast asleep.  She wakes up right as the movie ends and is embarrassed that she fell asleep and quickly turns her head to wipe the drool from her mouth.  Jae Hyuk smiles at her and asks what she wants to eat.  Ga Young says bossam, which is apparently a form of steamed pork lettuce wrap.  Jae Hyuk gives her a weird look and away we go to the restaurant.

When they sit down, Jae Hyuk pulls out a box and gives it to Ga Young.  She opens it and sees that it’s her design.  Jae Hyuk says that it’s going on sale soon and to check the label.  Ga Young is surprised to see her name there and Jae Hyuk says it’s thanks for giving him the monogramed shirt back in New York.  I guess he’s not actually crazy enough to put out the clothes under Ga Young’s name and says that they’re actually going to go out under the J-Fashion label but made this specially for her.  He then asks her once again if it’s possible for them to work together even though she’s still with Young Gul.  If she won’t betray her boss, she should convince him to work with him.

A waitress brings them their food and Jae Hyuk asks Ga Young how business is going as he if hadn’t issued the kill order on them.  Ga Young says it’s going fine and that Young Gul is taking care of everything.  The two of them start eating in silence when Jae Hyuk spills some sauce on his jacket.  He then calls his assistant to bring him a new jacket from the car.  He then asks Ga Young’s opinion of his style and she calls him average.  Jae Hyuk is clearly not happy with the answer and asks her to then help him not dress so average.

Ga Young quickly goes into stylist mode and picks out a full ensemble for him.  After several tries, she finally picks a few suits that she likes on him.  As she’s adjusting the collar of his shirt, Jae Hyuk gets a bit embarrassed about how close she’s getting to him and awkwardly looks around.  Like that wasn’t your plan in the first place, buddy.

Later, Young Gul is busy looking at his account book trying to figure out what to do.  Ga Young comes back to the factory and sees him.  Young Gul asks her where she’s been and Ga Young tells him she’s been with Jae Hyuk.  She tells him not to get mad and that after listening to his proposal, she thinks they should work together.  Young Gul glares at her and asks if she has any pride to just come and go as Jae Hyuk wishes.  Ga Young says that’s not why she went and Young Gul sees the shopping bags that she brought back with her.  He gets mad and then storms back into his office.

Ga Young can’t sleep that night and lays awake in bed thinking.  She looks over at the light that’s still on in Young Gul’s room and then opens the box that holds the jacket that Jae Hyuk made with her name on the label.  Meanwhile, Young Gul is awoken by someone who gives him some bad news.  Seems like he’s found out about Jae Hyuk’s kill order.  He quickly gets dressed and walks out of the factory.  Ga Young had closed her eyes for a bit, but wakes up after Young Gul leaves and sees the door to his office wide open.

The next morning, Jae Hyuk is staring at himself in the mirror again and trying to look less average.  As he goes into the office, Young Gul confronts him about interfering with his business.  He apologizes for everything he’s done and says he won’t get involved with him anymore.  He then asks how he can be so petty as to try to cut off their livelihood even though he’s finally got legit.  Jae Hyuk calls him trash and ties to cut off their conversation.  Young Gul is fired up again and he’s now back in fighting mode, and insults Jae Hyuk’s fashion before he goes.  I’m glad someone said something about that because it looks stupid.

His employees, however, are sucking up to him and say how good he looks.  Anna, however, looks at him like he’s crazy.  After their ends, she pulls him into his office to speak to him.  He’s being petty again and decides to not look at her while they talk.  Anna then says that things have gotten too far for them to go back to the way they were.  Yeah, that was pretty obvious from the start.  He tells her that she’s the one with the problem, not him, which forces Anna to use her trump card and say they should end things.  Jae Hyuk has the gall the look surprised here, but says nothing and starts to walk out.  He still thinks she’s bluffing, but when it’s clear she means it, he asks her what she’s going to do because everything she has right now is because of him.  She says she’ll keep everything except she’s not his woman anymore.  Jae Hyuk then says that’s not her decision and walks out.  What is he like 6 years old or something?

Meanwhile, Young Gul is still crunching the numbers to try to figure out what to do.  Ga Young walks into his office and hands him her bank account book.  He refuses to take her money though, saying that she needs it.  Ga Young points out though that while she’s living at the factory she doesn’t have much in terms of living expenses.  She tells him he can pay her back later and just when we think his pride might win out, he asks her what the password is before she walks out.  LOL.  One of the workers then comes in and says that at reporter is here to see him.

The reporter gets right to the point and asks how a small factory like this managed to work with one of the most famous designers in the world.  Young Gul asks her how she found out about this and the reporter says Anna told her, causing Ga Young to roll her eyes.  Young Gul then spins a story about how Michael was impressed with his work from the first time they met.

Jung Ah finally manages to tell her mom that she flunked out of fashion school.  Madam Jo is worried about what people will think, but Jung Ah says she’ll just inherit this place anyway so who cares.  She calls her assistant and wants her to call Ga Young, but is told that Ga Young went to the US on a business trip.  At this point, Anna shows up once again to cause some more trouble.

We then cut to Madam Jo walking into Young Gul’s factory.  She asks to see Ga Young, but Ga Young isn’t exactly thrilled to see her.  Neither is Young Gul, who spots her as he walks out of his office.  Madam Jo, for some reason, feels the need to play the gracious foster mother act and says she’s sorry for leaving Ga Young with him and for not offering him tea when they met before.  Both of them roll their eyes at her and Young Gul asks her to get to the point.  Madam Jo proposes that they work together, which Ga Young is adamantly against.  Madam Jo politely tells her to butt out, but Young Gul says she’s entitled to her opinion as Chief Designer and Vice President.  As Madam Jo lays out her proposal, Ga Young scoffs at her audacity.

Young Gul is out having drinks with Il Gook and Chil Bok again and is told that Madam Jo is actually famous in Korea.  Meanwhile, Il Gook is going on and on about how good Bong Sook’s English is.  Young Gul wonders to himself though how Madam Jo found out about them.

Back at the factory, Ga Young is recalling the night that she got kicked out of her home.  When Young Gul gets back, she asks him what he’s going to do.  Young Gul says he’s thinking about it, but Ga Young says he doesn’t know what kind of woman she is and that she’s against this partnership.  Young Gul knows her true nature though, but there’s no such thing as friends and enemies in the fashion world.  Ga Young then points out that if that’s the case, then why not work with Jae Hyuk.  Young Gul says he’s the President so he’ll decide.  He does offer her an olive branch though and says that maybe after all this they’ll be able to get her parents’ store back.

The next day, Young Gul flips through Madam Jo’s business proposal and seems to like what he sees. He decides to pay the boutique a visit and is immediately greeted by her.  Apparently, he already agreed to the plan over the phone because she’s called some reporters to document their partnership.  Jae Hyuk sees the news of their new relationship in the paper and is not happy.

Dad now calls him into his office and asks if Young Gul was the person that Jae Hyuk mentioned he was scouting in New York.  He asks Jae Hyuk what happened, but interrupts him before he can utter an excuse.  He lectures his son on the finer points of business and says they need to find a way to capitalize on his mistake.  He then makes note that Anna must be good at golf because she has a nice swing.  Not her first asset that comes to mind, but sure let’s roll with that.

Back at the factory, Young Gul calls a very unhappy Ga Young in his office.  He tells her that he did this for them and gives her a new cell phone as a gift.  The phone starts ringing and he tells her to pick it up.  Of course, it’s him on the other end and shows more restraint than I did by not rolling her eyes at him.

As Young Gul and the other celebrate with shots, only Ga Young is not in a festive mood.  They then head to a karaoke bar to have some fun, but Ga Young only stays at the side drinking non-stop.  As they’re singing, Young Gul finally notices that Ga Young is by herself and drunkenly stumbles over her to drag her up for a dance.  She refuses at first, but he’s too strong for her.  He then pulls her into a hug, half out of concern for her, and half because he can barely stand on his own power at this point.  Ga Young tries to fight him off, but eventually lets him do as he wants.

Ga Young is surprisingly sober for how much she drank and as they’re walking back to the factory, Young Gul asks her if she sprained something and that’s why she’s walking so slow.  Ga Young asks him once more if they have to work with Madam Jo.  Young Gul doesn’t want to get into it right now, but is forced to when Ga Young threatens to quit.   He reiterates that she’ll never have to see her, but Ga Young doesn’t care.  She points out that Jung Ah was the one who got them arrested and deported, but Young Gul says that was in the past.  Ga Young isn’t done though and says that that might’ve been one instance for him, but she had to endure it for 10 years.  Young Gul says everyone has scars like that and drags her back to the factory where they see Anna waiting.  Oh this can’t end well.

Anna turns and sees them holding hands and asks where Young Gul went.  Young Gul motions her inside so they can talk, but Anna says she doesn’t like it here.  Ga Young takes offense at her comment, and Young Gul tells her to go inside while he talks to Anna.  As they walk by Ga Young, Anna snidely mentions that she has a temper, causing Ga Young to ask Young Gul if he’s not going to come back again like the night before.  He turns to her and asks what business it is of hers and walks away.  Ga Young’s completely crushed at this point and breaks down in tears.

Young Gul is apparently not done drinking and Anna comments that Ga Young seems upset about her showing up at the factory, despite Young Gul’s denials.  Anna then tells him that she sent Madam Jo there to help him.  She says she’s partially to blame for what Jae Hyuk’s doing to him so this is her way of making it up to him.  Young Gul asks her why it had to be someone with a history with Ga Young, causing Anna to ask why a boss is so cautious about an employee.  Probably because the boss is nothing without this particular employee, but you know, I’m just guessing and all.  Young Gul admits as much himself, at which point Anna tells him that she broke up with Jae Hyuk and that she has a new goal in mind.

Right on cue, Jae Hyuk calls again and Anna asks Young Gul if she should pick up.  He tells her to do what she wants, and so she lets it go.  Young Gul’s phone then starts to ring and she picks it up and answers it.  Jae Hyuk is surprised to hear her voice, and she makes it a point to say she’s sober right now and knows exactly what she’s doing.  She tells him to come find them if he wants, causing him to hurl his phone in anger.  After she hangs up, Anna apologizes to Young Gul for using him.  He just smiles drunkenly at her and pours himself another shot.

Back at the factory, Ga Young finally has had enough and is writing Young Gul a letter saying she’d rather die than work with Madam Jo.  She doesn’t want to get in the way of his future, though, and says she’s leaving now even though she doesn’t have a place to stay.  For good measure, she takes another swig of soju.  As tears fall down her face, she says she hopes they can meet again someday and thanks him for everything he’s done for her.

Just then, Jae Hyuk bursts into the factory and asks her why she’s crying.  He asks her where Young Gul went, but she doesn’t know.  Jae Hyuk then tells her to call him, but he doesn’t pick up.  He sighs, and asks her if he can drink some of her soju and eat some of her ramen.  She offers to make a new one for him, but he’s fine with her leftovers.  After another swig of soju, he sits down and asks he’ll work with him.  When Ga Young says no, he angrily knocks over her ramen and asks if she’s going to continue wasting her talent in this dump.  Of course, Young Gul walks in at this point and asks him if he’s going to keep bothering her like this.

Final Thoughts

First off, I would just like to note that watching this right after watching the latest episodes of “The King 2 Hearts” was a bad bad idea.  After seeing witty dialogue, fantastic music score, chemistry between an entire cast, and heart wrenching scenes filmed to maximize emotion impact, this episode felt so very lacking in comparison.  That’s currently my crack drama of the moment and I highly recommend it.

That out of the way, other than Ga Young, I really could care less about any of the characters in this story.  She’s the only real constant so far in the entire series, and I do think Shin Se Kyung is doing a pretty good job under the circumstances, even if she’s basically just rehashing her character from the sitcom “High Kick Through the Roof”.

Let’s start with Young Gul.  Once again he says he’s doing all this for her, and yet once again he pulls some dick moves that he knows she’s not going to be happy about.  He does have some talent, sure, but Ga Young is the real money maker among the two of them.  And his spiel about no friends and enemies in business is such a crock knowing that he refuses to work with Jae Hyuk.  He might’ve hurt Young Gul’s pride, but Madam Jo tormented Ga Young for years.  What on earth could possibly make him think she’d be willing to go through that again?  He’s concocted this whole relationship between Ga Young and Jae Hyuk that doesn’t even exist despite her staying loyal to him all this time.

Jae Hyuk’s the same way with Anna.  He supposedly loves her, but all his actions point to him liking Ga Young instead.  He gave Anna a house; congratulations, but you’re the one who brought her back to Korea in the first place knowing she has no family here.  On the other hand, for Ga Young he makes a custom jacket to celebrate her first design, flies to New York just because she won’t talk to him, and countless other examples of what he SHOULD be doing for Anna if he actually does like her like he claims.  All he seems to know how to do is act like a spoiled brat.  At least when Lee Seung Gi does it as his character of Lee Jae Ha in “The King 2 Hearts”, he still has redeeming moments.  Jae Hyuk at this point has no redeeming qualities.

Anna, I don’t even want to even begin talking about.  I take back what I said earlier about Ga Young being the only constant.  Anna is consistent in her using Young Gul to make Jae Hyuk jealous and being jealous herself of Ga Young’s talent.  That being said, I just don’t care for her.  I don’t know what slight Jae Hyuk’s family caused her in the past and I really don’t care at this point.

I thought after Dream High 2 there could not be another drama that could reached that level of stagnant character and plot development.  After watching this episode, Fashion King is well on its way to being just as terrible.  Even their moments that are supposed to be comedic relief don’t even do their job.