Lee Soon-shin is the Best: Episode 19 Recap

by: Raine

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We got some cute, some infuriating and a whole lot of truth.

AGB Nielson Nationwide had this episode coming in at 22.0%.

episode 19 recap

Mi-ryeong breaks the news that Yeon-ah still likes Joon-ho, which has him shifting uncomfortably. Then Mi-reyong calls Yeon-ah to tell her about meeting Joon-ho. She also wants Yeon-ah to be nice to him and make him happy in order to make him a loyal puppy.

Wait, that would require, y’know, being nice. I don’t think Yeon-ah knows how to do that.

At Gabi, Soon-shin receives a lot of nasty looks, gossip and attitudes from the employees who think she’s dating Joon-ho.

Joon-ho gloats in his car over the fact that Yeon-ah finally fell for him. He heads straight to his hyung, Young-hoon, to tell him that Yeon-ah wants to date him again. Joon-ho can barely stop smiling as he asks what he should do. Should he date her?

Young-hoon is doubtful (as he should be) and brings up Soon-shin. What will happen to her? Joon-ho is a bit stilted in his reply: she’ll keep doing what she’s been doing. Young-hoon points out that the bet is over and if he’s not going to take responsibility for Soon-shin (and using her), he needs to take care of it so her feelings won’t be hurt.

At dinner, Jung-ae doesn’t bring out Soon-shin’s rice bowl and tells Soon-shin to get her own. Granny gapes and Yoo-shin wonders how she can treat her daughter like she doesn’t exist. When Hye-shin offers to get the rice, Jung-ae distracts her with a question about her mother-in-law.

Soon-shin trudges off to the kitchen for rice and is joined by Yoo-shin.

I kinda feel like Yoo-shin is finally starting to regret her treatment of Soon-shin. That, or she doesn’t want Jung-ae messing with her verbal punching bag.

Yoo-shin tells her to do well with the music video and make their mother happy. She fears the storm that is coming. The comment confuses Soon-shin, but I think it’s about the divorce.

In-sung hands Joon-ho the script for the music video. Then he very carefully breaks the news that rumor has it that Joon-ho is dating Soon-shin. Joon-ho orders him to stop the rumor from spreading. With a sigh, In-sung hopes she won’t get bullied.

Uh, too late. The nasty commentaries have started.

Proof. Soon-shin is walking to a practice room and getting stared at by everyone. When Joon-ho comes to give her the script for the music video, they get stared at. Soon-shin tells him that she heard another actress was supposed to be in the video, which immediately puts Joon-ho on edge. He asks if she’s being bullied because of it. She denies it and asks to be pulled from the video. She doesn’t want to steal someone’s spot. She wants to do something she earned with her own ability.

Frustrated, he leads her to a practice room away from prying eyes. He scolds her, telling her that ability in this field is winning. It’s not about fairness. Taking this opportunity will open up another for her. Soon-shin still doesn’t want to steal a position from someone else. “You idiot,” he snaps. Then he childishly tells her not to shoot the video and leaves to pout in his office. He murmurs about how she has no talent, but then worries that she’ll actually quit.

Oh. You. Child.

Sexy baker Jin-wook meets Hye-shin and Woo-joo in the street. Woo-joo glares at him while Hye-shin thanks him for the Children’s Day gift (the doll). Woo-joo leaves in a huff and Jin-wook makes a face as Hye-shin chases her child.

When they get home, Jung-ae asks if Hye-shin has called her mother-in-law for her birthday and Hye-shin lies that she did already. Then she heads upstairs to confront her cranky daughter about her behavior. But he’s interrupted by a call from her ex who wants to know about Hye-shin’s meeting with his mother. Hye-shin is flabbergasted that he didn’t call Woo-joo on Children’s Day.

Hye-shin forces him to talk to Woo-joo who doesn’t want to talk to him. But, when the phone is handed to her, she explodes:

Dad, it’s me. Don’t call us ever again. Don’t call us ever again! We’re going to live just fine without you. You have fun with that woman. You think I don’t know why you guys broke up? You fell in love with that woman and forgot about us. That’s why you don’t answer the phone when I call. Don’t ever call us again. I’m not going to see you anymore.

Woo-joo storms out of the room only to encounter Jung-ae who has heard everything.

The divorce news is out! Hye-shin sits and formally apologizes to Granny and Jung-ae for not telling them about the divorce. Granny is blown over and Hye-shin apologizes again. She just didn’t want to shock them. Jung-ae coldly asks if it was because of a woman and Hye-shin confirms it.

Granny is against divorce; she wants the family together for Woo-joo. But Jung-ae thinks she did the right thing. Unfortunately, this praise comes from her own wound.

Jin-wook comes home and finds Woo-joo crying in the garden. He kneels in front of her and she explodes, crying and hitting him. Of course, this is when Yoo-shin comes home. It really looks like he’s assaulting the poor kid and Yoo-shin scolds him. Heh.

Jung-ae broods and cries in her room where Granny finds her to scold her. Granny bemoans their family’s sad state. (All caused by Jung-ae, mind you.) Granny wants Jung-ae to make Hye-shin get back together with her ex (which is dumb), but Jung-ae just cries and has a pity party.

Soon-shin comes home and Yoo-shin immediately tells her the news. Jung-ae ignores Soon-shin and goes up to see Hye-shin to collect her ex’s number.

The sisters gather around as Jung-ae dials the cheating ex. She immediately demands how he could do that to her daughter? Granny comes in at the noise. Jung-ae scolds him for his betrayal and gets even more hyped up as she continues to yell. The ex hangs up on her and Jung-ae wants to get on a plane and beat the crap out of him.

Normally, I’m all for a defensive mom, but I KNOW she’s defensive because of her own selfish reasons. I can’t stand this woman, even if she’d defending her daughter.

(Look at the utter hatred on Jung-ae’s face. You should NEVER show that face to your child. EVER!)

Granny wonders how Jung-ae is going to get them together at this rate, but Jung-ae has no intentions of doing so. (Good!) Then she SUPER angers me: if Hye-shin takes a cheater back, she might end up raising someone else’s child.

No. You. Didn’t. Stop this ‘someone else’s’ child B.S. You adopt a kid and that kid is YOURS. You are not worthy of parenting Soon-shin.

Granny runs after an upset Hye-shin and Soon-shin tries to comfort Jung-ae who blows up at her. Then she goes upstairs to cry.

Okay, I’ve made a decision readers. If you want to see Jung-ae’s picture, you will have to take it yourself. I’m not posting it anymore. Or it will be severely altered.

Stalwart as ever, Soon-shin visits Hye-shin to see how she’s doing. She feels better after telling the truth. Soon-shin wonders if it was hard to live with him; it was. She tried, but it didn’t work. Looking back, she realizes her whole life has been like this: trying hard to be perfect in front of everyone. She didn’t really want to marry him; she did it to fulfill expectations. Then she looks at Soon-shin and advises her to not care about what other people think. She encourages her to do what her heart tells her. Live and love how she wants. Hye-shin begs her not to make their mother disappointed.

Okay, the whole speech was great until that last bit. Can’t you see how deranged your mother is?

Joon-ho asks In-sung if Soon-shin came to practice and then changes his mind. He doesn’t care. In-sung rolls his eyes at his emotionally juvenile boss. Then Yeon-ah invites Joon-ho for a meal and they meet in Young-hoon’s restaurant. Joon-ho braces himself to meet her and they’re slightly awkward with each other.

Mr. Waiter brings them menus and Joon-ho asks about Soon-shin, who’s been sent out on a customer’s errand. Joon-ho doesn’t like that one bit and Yeon-ah doesn’t like that he mentioned Soon-shin at all. She quickly orders for them to get rid of Mr. Waiter and starts in on plan, “Make Joon-ho happy.”

Yeon-ah starts talking about their impoverished dates way back when, how they had cup ramen and instant coffee. Pasta was for specials days. She misses those days when she was really happy. Joon-ho smiles and reminds her she always complained about it and now she misses it.

Yeon-ah asks if he still plays guitar and when he says “no”, she asks him to play for her anyway. He says his hands aren’t as deft as they once were, but she still encourages him. He is a downer though, saying that some things can’t be done after time passes. Yeon-ah tries to fix her smile into place and encourages him again.

Soon-shin comes back from her errand, which was for the boss. Mr. Waiter comes over to point out the weird vibe between Yeon-ah and Joon-ho. Soon-shin stares sadly at the pair and Young-hoon sends her to get sugar to distract her. Her feelings are obvious.

Yay! Finally, we’re seeing some real feelings on her part. Well, romantic ones.

Joon-ho turns and sees her watching him. She darts off and he scowls, muttering that she’s a stubborn girl. Yeon-ah asks if she’s shooting the video, and she says that Soon-shin is not. He’s awful cranky about it, too.

Hwang’s contact can’t find Mi-ryeong’s baby’s records at any orphanage. Mi-ryeong catches him acting all shifty and wonders if there is news on Chang-hoon’s case. He denies it, of course.

Yeon-ah shows up to tell Mi-ryeong about her date and says that it went fine. But, she doesn’t look too sure. Mi-ryeong is really happy. Still, she wonders what will become of Soon-shin and is pleased to hear that Soon-shin quit the music video. Then she declares it’s time for a dinner party at her house so that Yeon-ah can win Joon-ho’s heart through his stomach. Mi-ryeong will make sure they get back together.

Guh. Gross.

Joon-ho gets a text with an invitation to the party. And his mom  and Yi-jung an invite, too. Soo-jung is stoked that Yeon-ah will be there. Joon-ho looks exasperated by the situation and tells his mom not to go. He goes up to his room, wondering what Mi-ryeong’s up to now. He pulls out his phone to text Soon-shin, but gives up. Why should he stop her? he asks himself sadly (and rather pathetically.)

He remembers Soon-shin confessing how happy acting made her and thanking him for the opportunity.

Yi-jung shows up at the hospital to harass Chan-woo and he’s annoyed she’s there. He curtly replies that he left her phone in the lobby and leaves. She follows him and asks if he really has a girlfriend. He tells her it’s none of her business.

Dong-hyuk shows up and she hangs onto his arm, calling him “appa” and revealing her daughter status. She admits she’s there to see Chan-woo and goes to her father’s office to beg him to help her with Chan-woo. They were meant to be together! Chan-woo’s girlfriend doesn’t matter when her father is the director of the hospital.

But Dong-hyuk refuses to help his immature daughter. It’s embarrassing to set her up with anyone. Haha.

Yoo-shin is at dinner  with her co-workers who wonder why their boss is mean to Yoo-shin – it’s because she’s a woman. She’s a little wasted so when Chan-woo calls he hears a man in the background and she gives sketchy answers.

Jealousy!!!!!

He arrives to pick her up, all smiles, and embarrassing the crap out of her. She goes with him and angrily reminds him about the rules. He says taking care of his drunk girlfriend is okay. She doesn’t know how to face her co-workers in the morning. When he asks why she drank, she tells him to mind his business. But he keeps at it anyway.

Yoo-shin admits life hasn’t been easy; her family is having a hard time; her sister got divorced. She doesn’t know why people get married. She refuses to get married and lose everything to marriage (and divorce)  like her sister did. He gapes at her as she declares she will only date and never marry. Chan-woo espouses the benefits of marriage, but soon realizes it’s useless arguing with a drunk person.

He stops the car some ways from her house so no one sees them together. She cutely asks him if he’s angry and tells him he’s no fun. When he sighs sadly, she kisses his cheek and tells him not to be mad. Then she kisses him bunches on the cheek, wondering if he’s still mad. It makes him smile.

Chan-woo leans in to make a move, but she suddenly shoves him into the driver’s door- she’s spotted his mother. He drives away, confusing his mother

Gil-ja tells her husband and daughter about the incident and thinks she saw a woman in her passenger seat. They are interrupted by Chan-woo and Chan-mi immediately asks where he came from; didn’t you see mom in the street? The family amicably quarrels while Chan-woo breathes a sigh of relief when they don’t question him further.

Joon-ho stares into Soon-shin’s practice room forlornly and In-jung catches him. Soon-shin comes in just after Joon-ho leaves and In-sung warns her to do well with the music video. He is shocked to hear that she won’t be doing it. She admits she doesn’t want to steal someone’s spot. In-sung yells at her, telling her that it’s because of her mom that Joon-ho did that. He promised her mother to make her a star in a month and taking the other actress’ spot was the only way.

In-sung continues to scold her: Joon-ho is put in a tough position because of her. He’s the center of false rumors because of her and had to pay the cancellation charge to the other actress. This is news to Soon-shin.

Also, In-sung doesn’t believe Soon-shin can be successful in a month. He thinks her mom made the condition so that Soon-shin would give up. But Joon-ho is supporting her by sacrificing his position. What will other people think of Joon-ho if she quits?

Soon-shin trudges home, torn. Chan-woo drives up to her in his new car. She admires it and he tells her he’s heard good news about her from Yoo-shin. Of course, this is when Joon-ho is driving through the neighborhood to go to Mi-ryeong’s dinner. He sees Chan-woo put his hand on Soon-shin’s shoulder and mutters about her dating rather than practicing. Heh. He forces himself to drive by as if he doesn’t care.

We get some food porn shots (of course I happen to be starving atm) and Joon-ho walks up to an elegantly decorated table prepared by Yeon-ah. He is surprised, but not happy, by the impressive spread. His mother and sister come and he glares at them for showing up.

Chan-woo and Soon-shin sit on a bench for a chat. He mentions the video and she sighs heavily. She’s worried about the video and explains the circumstances to him. She wants to take the opportunity for her mom’s sake and feels like she’s being greedy. Chan-woo asks if the usurped actress can be in the video now. The answer is obviously no, so he suggests that she do it to avoid making things complicated for those who have supported and trusted her.

Chan-woo says that Joon-ho is more loyal than he thought he’d be.

Speaking of, Joon-ho’s silent at the table of gabbing women. Yi-jung is no longer mad at Mi-ryeong because her new aspiration is to get married to a doctor at her father’s hospital. Joon-ho glances up, probably realizing that it’s Chan-woo. His mother confirms it, but sadly says that “Doctor Park” has a girlfriend. Yeon-ah says that’s not a problem: men love aggressive women nowadays.

Uh, well I don’t. It’s lame.

Mi-ryeong notices that Joon-ho is lost in thought (wondering if Chan-woo’s girlfriend is Soon-shin, no doubt.) Soo-jung says she heard that Yeon-ah and Joon-ho are old friends. Then Mi-ryeong and Yi-jung start suggesting past dating and future dating. Joon-ho begs his leave to make a phone call.

He dials Soon-shin and Yeon-ah comes up behind him to listen. He demands to know where she is and why she didn’t go to the practice room. Is she with a guy? Is she really doing to quit? She’s out of her mind!

He tells her to stay where she is and turns to make his parting greetings. Yeon-ah is already there and they are joined by Mi-ryeong. He begs his leave to conduct some business.

Joon-ho drives to where Soon-shin is sitting in front of her house and storms over to her. He tries to ask something, but can’t manage to make himself speak. Instead, he quickly asks her to dinner, to the sundae restaurant that she took Mi-ryeong to. Aww. Sundaeguk with Soon-shin! I want sundaeguk with Joon-ho.

He turns towards his car, but she calls him back and he does the CUTEST SMILE HAPPY FACE THING EVAR! AniGIF’d for your viewing pleasure:

(This little smile thing makes up for all shittiness prior. I’m for serious. I’m watching it for the 1,436,643,124th time now.

Soon-shin apologizes for only thinking about herself and he gruffly accepts the apology and tells her that she’ll do well. He believes in her. She smiles and sincerely thanks him. I’m thinking her smile is too much for his little boy heart to handle because he declares he’s hungry and turns away from the radiance.

At the sundae restaurant, Joon-ho is stuffing his face and Soon-shin is watching him happily. It really is a contract. At Mi-ryeong’s table, he barely touched anything. With Soon-shin, he’s comfortably eating.

Soon-shin heard that Joon-ho used to be a singer. (YES!!!!!!!!) He asks who told her and guesses it was Young-hoon. She wonders why he quit and at his flippant answer, she guesses that he quit. He gets defensive and says he was a famous guitar player and singer. Soon-shin shakes her head. She’s never heard of him and he defends that he was ahead of his time. She asks him if he can play guitar and she pretends to doubtful.

Then she purposefully goads him: Chan-woo oppa can play guitar well. Immediately he replies, “I’m better than him. You’re saying that because you don’t know how good I am.” Show me, she says. He promises to show her if she does well at the music video. He warns her not to fall in love with him when she sees it. Then he compliments the pepper and stuffs his face, making her laugh. And then they laugh together and it’s so cute.

Omg, how much do I love this playful flirting? Oh yeah, and musician Jo Jung-seok possibly coming out next episode (well, hopefully.)

Soo-jung and Yi-jung leave and then moment their car pulls away, Yeon-ah and Mi-ryeong’s smiles fade. Mi-ryeong asks if Joon-ho went to see Soon-shin. Yeon-ah says it was for business, but Mi-ryeong looks suspicious.

The next day, Joon-ho is really happy and is going to see Soon-shin shoot. In-sung warns against the rumors, but Joon-ho doesn’t care.

Soon-shin is getting super prettyfied in a white dress. She runs into Mi-ryeong who takes one looks at her gorgeously made up appearance and knows somethings up. Soon-shin says she’s shooting a video and she promises to work hard.

The look on Mi-ryeong’s face means trouble. And trouble she causes. She stops Soon-shin to have a short chat.

Oh no, you’re not. You wouldn’t. Would you?

…

Mi-ryeong wants to tell Soon-shin something before her feelings get hurt. She asks Soon-shin why Joon-ho was nice to her. The young girl is confused. Mi-ryeong warns Soon-shin not to be fooled. Joon-ho is using her. He likes Yeon-ah. If she knows that the truth will be easier to understand: Joon-ho had a bet with Yeon-ah. If he make a poor girl a big star, Yeon-ah would sign a contract with his agency.

EEEK!

Comments:

I can’t wait ’til that hateful Mi-ryeong gets what’s coming to her. So selfish. That’s my big peeve with this show. The selfishness is overwhelming. I’m marathoning Ojakgyo Brothers right now (hence why this recap is so late…hehe. Joo Won…). Although there is selfishness in it, it’s undercut by humanity. I feel like the selfishness in this show sucks the life out of any good parts. Like Chan-woo with Yoo-shin. Or the sexy baker with Woo-joo and Hye-shin. OR Joon-ho and Soon-shin.

This I blame on the writing. It’s long and drawling and ineffective. I get why mom had to have a hissy fit. But this is one long fit that needed to die out episodes ago. We’re almost on episode 20!!!

Also, if Jung-ae wasn’t such a cow, Hye-shin would’ve felt more comfortable telling her family about the divorce. If Jung-ae wasn’t such a rat, she could make herself and everyone else around her happier. If Jung-ae wasn’t such a butthole, I’d actually like this show more.

Yeon-ah is such a Fakity McFakerson. For serious. She doesn’t care about Joon-ho. She just cares that he became disinterested in her.

I’m actually interested to see how this fracture between Joon-ho and Soon-shin will play out. It is a serious break of trust that he will have to mend and not run away from. But his tendency is to run away, so we shall see. I have a feeling Soon-shin will feel broken with all the liars and cheaters around her.

Show, can you please skip anything that involves a mother? PLEASE?!

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Character introductions.