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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Personal Taste (the novel): Part 1 - Part 3 dalam Bahasa Indonesia
Personal Taste - the novel - Bagian 1
Novel Personal Taste terdiri dari 14 bab dan satu epilog. Novel ini belum diterjemahkan, baru ada dalam bahasa Korea dan terima kasih banyak untuk Javabeans yang mau terjemahin dari Korean ke English :)
Ada beberapa perbedaan dengan drama, seperti tentang usia, kalau di novel usia pemeran utama 29 dan 31, kalau di drama 28 dan 22. Perbedaan lain adalah munculnya karakter baru dalam drama dan penghilangan karakter yang lain.
Karakter :
Park Woo Min (Yang di drama : Park Kae In, diperankan Sohn Ye Jin), berusia 29 tahun. Dia mendisain boneka dan mainan untuk program TV anak-anak dan itulah sebabnya ia baunya seperti lem. Woo Min sebenarnya cukup manis, tapi kau tidak akan bisa melihat kecantikannya pada pandangan pertama (atau kedua) karena ia jarang berpenampilan manis, ia juga biasa memakai kacamata besar dan jarang memakai make up.
Ayahnya adalah arsitek terkenal yang mendisain rumah yang ia tinggali, tapi karena orang tuanya tinggal di luar negeri, ia hidup sendiri di Korea. Woo Min berbicara dengan ceplas-ceplos, sedikit naif, kepribadian baik dan positif. Tidak seperti 4-D, tapi hampir.
Jeon Jin Ho (Lee Min Ho) adalah arsitek berusia 31 tahun. Tinggi, tampan, dan pintar. Dia sangat pemilih dalam apapun, seperti setelan yang ia kenakan (fashionable), kopi yang ia minum (hanya Blue Mountain!), dan wanita yang ia kencani (itulah mengapa ia tetap single).
JIn Ho mempunyai cara bicara yang kasar dan tanpa ekspresi wajah, ia sangat pandai bicara omong kosong. Dia mempunyai posisi manager di perusahaan arsitektur dimana ia bekerja dengan sahabatnya Sang Joon.
Han Sang Joon (Jung Sung Hwa) adalah teman baik Jin Ho dan juga teman kerjanya. Ia mengenal Jin Ho selama 1 dekade. Sang Joon adalah teman yang hangat dan ramah, ia gampang sekali akrab dengan siapapun. Dia kenal baik Jin Ho dan mungkin adalah satu2nya orang yang akan lolos jika menggoda Jin Ho. (dalam drama ia sunbae tapi dalam novel mereka seumuran)
Seo In Hee (Wang Ji Hye) adalah stylish fashion disainer teman Woo Min. Semua teman kerja mereka berpikir bahwa Woo Min adalah orang yang sembrono, tapi In Hee tahu potensi Woo Min dan ia meminta Woo Min menjadi modelnya saat mendisain busana baru. Tapi saat pria yang tepat hadir, In Hee tidak masalah menyingkirkan teman dan mengejar pria itu.
Na Hye Mi (Choi Eun Soo) berusia 27 tahun, tapi bertingkah laku jauh lebih muda karena ia adalah putri yang manja. Dia bukannya jahat, tapi biasa mendapat apa yang ia inginkan dan ia menginginkan Jin Ho!
Orang tuanya dan orang tua Jin Ho adalah teman baik, dan sudah diputuskan bahwa mereka akhirnya akan menikah. Jin Ho tidak pernah setuju kencan dengan Hye Mi yang ia anggap sebagai adik saja. Maka Hye Mi juga sering kencan dengan pria lain. Tapi biasanya saat hubungannya dengan pria2 itu berakhir ia kembali pada Jin Ho. Ia tinggal di Canada, tapi pulang tiba2 ke Korea dan mendesak kedua orang tua mereka agar Jin Ho melamar dan meresmikan pernikahan mereka.
Tae Hoon (Im Seul Ong), adalah teman Hye Mi dari SMU, mencintai Hye Mi dan menjaganya dengan perhatian dan pengertian. Dia menghormati Jin Ho dan memanggilnya kakak tapi ia tidak berpikir Jin Ho mencintai Hye Mi , dan ia mendesak agar Jin Ho mengakhiri hubungan mereka.
Karakter yang diperankan Kim Ji Suk (Han Chang Ryul) tidak ada dalam buku.
Karakter Jo Eun Ji juga tidak ada dalam buku.
Ahn Seok Hwan memerankan ayah mantan pacar Woo Min yang playboy.
Ryu Seung Ryong memerankan direktur perencanaan dari proyek museum yang ingin didapatkan oleh Jin Ho. Namanya beda dengan di buku.
Ok, now the novel.....
Bab 1 : "Gagal dalam urusan cinta"
Terlihat cantik seperti biasanya, Woo Min datang ke pesta pernikahan. Woo Min bergabung dengan teman2nya untuk minum2 dan perasaannya langsung sebal, salah seorang temannya yang baru bertunangan membanggakan tunangan barunya dan memamerkan dia. Hanya, Woo Min mengenalinya sebagai mantan pacarnya, Jae Wook.
Ini tidak bisa diterima karena beberapa alasan, Woo Min sadar bahwa ini berarti Jae Wook sudah mengkhianatinya! Kalau Woo Min tidak tidur dengannya, maka ia meninggalkan Woo Min. Woo Min berpikir, "Ya tentu saja. Siapa akan berkencan denganku? Aneh jika seorang pria yang terlihat normal seperti dirinya jatuh cinta padaku pada pandangan pertama!" Woo Min mendengus, "Yah, selamat...dan semoga bahagia...dan keduanya akan saling mengkhianati dan terkena AIDS dan mati! Aku tidak ingin pergi ke pernikahanmu tapi aku pasti akan datang ke upacara kematianmu!"
Setelah pesta usai, Woo Min baru sadar kalau ia ditemani teman lamanya Won Ho. Mereka terus saja minum dan Won Ho berkata ia mencintai Woo Min. Ini mengagetkannya. Tapi waktu berlalu dan mereka minum banyak, Woo Min terbangun dan menemukan dirinya ada dalam posisi aneh. Won Ho sudah membawanya ke hotel dan akan tidur dengannya! Woo Min terperanjat, tapi ia sepertinya bersedia karena merasa kasihan bukankah tadi Won Ho dengan sangat tulus menyatakan perasaannya padanya. Tapi Woo Min mulai melihat sekelilingnya, dia menyadari dia ada di atas tempat tidur, tas tangannya masih tergantung di pundaknya, sepatunya masih ada. Woo Min mulai merasa tersinggung, dan lebih buruknya lagi ia merasa dimanfaatkan saja.
Pria itu bahkan tidak ambil pusing untuk melepaskan tas tangannya dan hanya melepas baju dalamnya? Ini bukan tindakan pria yang mencintai seorang wanita bertahun-tahun, ini adalah tindakan bajingan kurang ajar yang akan mengatakan apa saja untuk tidur dengan seorang wanita, yang bahkan tidak ambil pusing bahwa ini adalah kali pertama untuk wanita itu.
Ini menyentakkan Woo Min, bahwa semua pria hanya ingin satu hal darinya yaitu : sex. Mereka mengeluarkan kata2 cinta tapi jika mereka tidak mendapat yang mereka inginkan, maka mereka hanya menyingkirkan wanita itu. Woo Min mendorong Won Ho kesamping dan memintanya berhenti. Won Ho tidak menggubrisnya, ia berkeras mau melanjutkan, maka akhirnya Woo min meraih tasnya dan mengeluarkan gunting, mengancam akan mengebiri Won Ho. Jangan khawatir, kata Woo min, ia juga punya lem. Dengan bijak, pria itu kabur. (Bwa hahaha...)
Bab 2 : "Aku siap untuk pacar gay"
Woo Min benar2 merasa pahit. Ini juga membuatnya berpikir betapa rendahnya semua pria itu. Mereka mungkin akan bersumpah mengenai cinta dan kata2 manis omong kosong lainnya, tapi bagaimana kau bisa percaya mereka jika mereka hanya mengatakan itu untuk masuk ke dalam celana seorang wanita? (sori, aku hanya menerjemahkan hehe..) Woo Min berkata pada In Hee, ia berharap ia punya pacar gay. Ini akan ideal, kau bisa berbicara dengannya dan merasa aman karena ada pria di rumah, tapi juga tidak perlu cemas karena akan dimanfaatkan secara sexual.
Harapan Woo Min tidak sepenuhnya bodoh, ia hanya berharap ia punya hubungan pertemanan dan kepercayaan tanpa dibebani oleh sex.
Jeon Jin Ho merasa kaget, teman lama keluarga mereka Hye Mi ada di kota ini tanpa pemberitahuan dan langsung ke apartemennya. Ia berkata orang tua Jin Ho yang mengaturnya, mereka berkata agar ia datang ke Korea dan tidak kembali ke Canada sampai ia mendapatkan lamaran untuk menikah dari Jin Ho.
Keduanya tumbuh besar bersama dan meskipun mereka sering kencan dengan orang lain, pada akhirnya mereka akan menikah. Jin Ho melihat Hye Mi sebagai adiknya dan sedikit menyukainya tapi bukan perasaan romantis. Jin Ho tidak pernah berpikir Hye Mi mencintainya paling tidak, tidak sebesar perkiraan Hye Mi yang suka dengan ide kebersamaan mereka.
Untuk mencapai tujuannya, Hye Mi mengambil tempat tinggal di apartemen Jin Ho. Karena Jin Ho tidak mau jatuh dalam jebakan Hye Mi, maka ia berpikir jika ia jarang bertemu dengan Hye mI, maka ia akan sadar bahwa Jin Ho serius dan akan menyerah. Makanya Jin Ho mulai mencari tempat tinggal untuk satu atau dua bulan.
Agen Real estate memperingatkan dirinya pada pembukaan tempat tinggal baru, dan Jin Ho heran, ia mengenali rumah di atas bukit itu. Rumah itu pernah ditampilkan dalam majalah arsitektur, dan pria yang mendisain-nya Park Chul Han sangat terkenal. Park sangat protektif dengan rumah itu khususnya. Gabungan sempurna dari tradisional dan modern dengan penghargaan pada alam. Yang adalah karya terbaiknya, dan ia tidak mengijinkan pengunjung yang ingin tahu untuk melihatnya. Jin Ho langsung setuju untuk mengambil kamar itu.
Sayangnya, sebuah suara yang mengganggu percakapan mereka. Seorang wanita yang berpenampilan berantakan, mengenakan celana yang kebesaran, sweater tua, dan kaca mata merah tebal- pulang ke rumah, dan mengoreksi agen real estate itu. Dia sudah mengatakan bahwa kamar itu hanya tersedia untuk wanita.
Jin Ho merasa sedikit tersinggung. Secara logika, ia mengerti bahwa seorang wanita single akan merasa tidak nyaman jika berbagi kamar dengan seorang pria. Tapi Jin Ho juga punya "gengsi yang harus diselamatkan", karena ia seorang pria yang akan menjaga dirinya sendiri dan ia juga suka berpenampilan bagus, dan gengsinya merasa terhina karena wanita yang berantakan ini berpikir bahwa ia dalam bahaya karena perhatian JIn Ho. Memangnya Jin Ho tertarik dengannya.
Jin Ho ingin membalas, "Kau bisa tenang, karena aku tidak menganggapmu sebagai wanita SAMA SEKALi!" tapi tentu saja dia tidak bisa melakukan itu. Malah, dia mendengar dirinya sendiri menjawab, "Kau liha, aku ini gay, jadi itu tidak masalah, iya kan?"
Bab 3 : "Teman sekamar paling buruk"
Dengan segera, Jin Ho menyesali kata2nya yang terburu-buru. Ia sebenarnya ingin berkata, "Jika aku bersamamu, aku merasa sedikit ketertarika padamu seperti seorang gay, jadi kau bisa tenang." Apa yang membuatnya mengatakan perkataan gila ini?
Sementara itu, Woo Min berkata pada In Hee bahwa ia sudah menemukan pacar gay/ teman sekamar gay-nya. In Hee tidak percaya, bagaimana mungkin Woo min minta hal yang konyol ini dan satu orang langsung jatuh ke pangkuannya? Dia pasti salah. Tapi tidak, Woo Min meyakinkan In Hee bahwa Jin Ho sendiri yang mengenalkan dirinya sebagai gay. In Hee ingin melihatnya, maka mereka berencana untuk kerja di rumah Woo Min sore itu karena Jin Ho rencananya akan pindah. In Hee membawa baju2 dan mencobakan baju2 itu pada Woo Min yang menjadi modelnya.
Sang Joon juga ingin tahu dan ingin melihat lingkungan baru Jin Ho. Jin Ho menggambarkan pemilik rumah sebagai bibi yang cerewet. Sang Joon mengira ia akan bertemu dengan wanita paruh baya yang gemuk. Ketika kedua pria itu tiba, Sang Joon yang ramah langsung menyapa kedua wanita itu dan ia kaget karena keduanya cantik. Woo Min terlihat sangat menarik hari ini, ia mengenakan baju2 yang modis dan memperlihatkan bentuk tubuhnya daripada baju sehari-harinya. Sang Joon menggoda Jin Ho, pasti sudah bohong dan ingin menyembunyikan si cantik itu untuk dirinya sendiri.
Jin Ho berkata bahwa Woo Min waktu itu tidak terlihat seperti ini, tapi ia berkeras bahwa Woo Min adalah bibi yang aneh itu dan tidak menarik baginya.
Tentu saja, kedua wanita itu berpikir bahwa Sang Joon adalah pacar gay Jin Ho. Woo Min suka dengan sopan santun Sang Joon (dan Sang Joon lebih mendekati fantasinya daripada Jin Ho), tapi ia memutuskan untuk mengatakan peraturan. Biarpun mereka (ke2 pria itu ) berkencan, tapi tidak nyaman bagi Woo Min jika Sang Joon menjadi nyaman dan akan sering menginap. Ia berniat untuk bertanya pada Jin Ho mengenai hal ini dan ia mengetuk pintu kamar Jin Ho dan masuk dengan ragu-ragu. Dan melihat Jin Ho yang telanjang! Tapi ia tidak mengenakan kacamatanya jadi pandangannya kabur, dan ia meyakinkan Jin Ho bahwa ia tidak melihat apapun.
Woo min mengajukan permintaannya mengenai Sang Joon, dan Jin Ho tidak mau temannya dipermalukan (Sang Joon tidak tahu bahwa Jin Ho menyamar sebagai gay), Jin ho menjawab bahwa itu tidak akan menjadi masalah.
Untuk membuat Jin Ho semakin buruk, ia mendengar Woo Min berbicara diluar dengan In Hee dengan nada berbisik. In Hee tanya apa Woo Min melihat sesuatu, dan meskipun Jin Ho tidak bisa melihat jawaban Woo Min, jelas baginya apa yang dimaksud Woo Min saat ia menjawab, "Kira2 sepanjang ini" Lebih buruk lagi, ia merasa terhina dengan jawaban In Hee, yang terdengar kecewa, "Hanya segitu?" (bwa hahaha)
Jin Ho harus menenangkan dirinya dan menahan diri untuk menarik Woo Min masuk lagi ke dalam dan berkeras agar Woo Min melihatnya dengan seksama dengan menggunakan kacamatanya!
Arrgh, Jin Ho mendengus, ini adalah teman sekamar paling buruk yang pernah ada.
sumber: http://kadorama-recaps.blogspot.com/
Personal Taste - the novel - Bagian 2
Bab 4 : "Kau sudah terjebak"
Jin Ho sekarang tinggal dengan Woo Min, tapi mereka jarang bertemu karena Jin Ho lebih senang menghindari Woo Min. Jin Ho juga belum pulang ke apartemen-nya, maka Hye Yi telp dan ingin tahu mengapa ia tidak pulang. Hye Yi minum2 dan menangis dan berkata bahwa Jin Ho sangat kejam, setelah ia jauh2 datang dari Kanada hanya untuk Jin Ho.
Teman Hye Mi, Tae Hoon (diperankan oleh Im Seul Ong) mengambil alih telp Hye Mi dan dengan hormat memanggil kakak pada Jin Ho. Jin Ho berterima kasih karena Tae Hoon menjaga Hye Mi, Tae Hoon tanya dengan ragu2 apa Jin Ho benar2 akan menikahi Hye Mi. Menurut Tae Hoon, sepertinya Jin Ho tidak menyukai Hye Mi, jika ia suka dengan Hye Mi, Jin Ho akan datang dengan berlari untuk membantunya.
Jin Ho tidak tersinggung dengan pertanyaan Tae Hoon, justru membuatnya memikirkan kembali hubungannya dengan Hye Mi.
Jin Ho pulang malam hari dan menemukan Woo Min tertidur di sofa, sambil mendengarkan lagu dari musisi Jepang yang disukai juga oleh Jin Ho. Jin Ho masih merasa Woo Min itu agak aneh dan tidak mau mengakui bahwa ada kemiripan diantara mereka. Biarpung nyata2 ada beberapa hal yang mirip diantara mereka. Misalnya, saat Woo Min terbangun, dia memperlhatkan sketsa yang ia gambar untuk karakter baru di TV dan tanya pendapat Jin Ho.
Jin Ho memilih yang juga menjadi favorit Woo Min, dan saat Jin Ho memuji gambar Woo Min, Woo Min berkata ia bermimpi menjadi artis manhwa, sesuatu yang juga diinginkan Jin Ho. Tapi Jin Ho tidak mengatakan hal itu pada Woo Min, tentu saja.
Woo Min lapar, dan menyarankan agar mereka pergi ke restoran daging panggang di sekitar situ. Jin Ho mencoba menolak, tapi Woo Min berkeras. Dengan menghela nafas, Jin Ho akhirnya mau perg, meskipun ia tidak bisa menahan diri untuk tidak berkomentar pada sweater jelek yang dikenakan Woo Min, kemudian menegur dirinya sendiri mengapa ia harus pusing. Woo Min tidak tersinggung,dan dengan riang mengikuti saran Jin Ho dan ganti baju.
Jin Ho kaget, ia mengenali seorang yang penting di restoran itu. Kim Sung Han, direktur perencanaan untuk proyek pembangunan museum baru yang sedang didekati oleh tim Jin Ho.
Woo Min jadi ngaco, ia minum soju dan mulai santai, ia mulai mengeluh mengenai pria dan hal yang mereka inginkan hanyalah sex. Woo Min merangkul Jin Ho sebagai sahabat barunya, Woo Min berbicara dengan keras, dan Jin Ho sungguh sangat berharap bahwa Sung Han tidak mendengar Woo Min. Khususnya saat ia mendekati paman di dekatnya dan mulai ngobrol dan menyebut mengenai Jin Ho, tentu saja, ia beda. Jin Ho mencoba membuat diam Woo Min, tapi Woo Min berkata dalam bisikan yang keras, "Dia tidak seperti pria yang lainnya! Karena ia GAY!"
Dalam perjalanan pulang, Woo Min minta Jin Ho menggendongnya di punggung. Jin Ho menolaknya, Woo Min langsung minta maaf, "Aku minta maaf. Aku tahu punggungmu itu hanya untuk Sang Jun ya?" Dengan ngomel akhirnya Jin Ho minta Woo Min naik ke punggungnya dan mereka pulang.
Kemudian, Jin Ho keluar dari kamar dan menemukan Woo Min tidur di sofa. Jin Ho melihat sekilas ke arah wajah Woo Min dan juga kakinya. Jin Ho secara aneh merasa tertarik dan ia ingin menyentuh salah satu tumit Woo Min. Jin Ho sadar ini gila, dan ia meyakinkan dirinya sendiri bahwa ia hanya ingin memindahkan kaki Woo Min. Tangan Jin Ho menggantung dengan kikuk, dan ia menyentuhnya...lalu Woo Min terbangun, ia heran dan grogi mengapa Jin Ho menyentuh kakinya.
Woo Min bisa menerima alasan lemah Jin Ho bahwa Woo Min terlihat tidak nyaman tidurnya, tapi Woo Min memutuskan minta tolong pada Jin Ho dan Jin Ho terjebak, ia akhirnya harus memijat kaki Woo Min.
Bab 5: "Hal-hal yang seharusnya tidak perlu diderita"
Jin Ho merasa terganggu dengan perasaan aneh-nya, ia mencoba mengabaikan semuanya, ia heran apa ia sudah tidak normal, tertarik dengan wanita yang berantakan seperti itu. Jin Ho memutuskan ini karena ia sudah lama hidup sendiri, ini bisa diperbaiki dengan pindah dan cari pacar.
Di kantor, Jin Ho meeting dengan direktur perencanaan museum, Sung Han, yang dengan menyesal mengatakan bahwa mereka sudah memutuskan untuk tidak bekerja sama dengan perusahaan Jin Ho. Jin Ho teringat kejadian memalukan di museum, dan berpikir mungkin ini ada hubungannya dengan itu. Jin Ho menanyakan masalah itu dengan hati2, apa mungkin ini ada hubungannya dengan kejadian semalam? Sung Han meyakinkan Jin Ho bahwa sama sekali bukan masalah itu, ia berkata President museum tiba2 memutuskan untuk menyewa tim Profesor Park (Ayah Woo Min)
Jin Ho tidak bisa menyerah begitu saja setelah semua kerja keras tim-nya selama ini yang dicurahkan untuk proyek ini, dan ia mohon agar diberi kesempatan sekali lagi. Jin Ho yakin bahwa ia sebagai pengagum Prof. Park, ia yakin dapat mendisain sesuai gaya Park dan bahkan lebih bagus daripada rekan Prof. Park, yang mungkin tidak memiliki estetika seperti Prof. Park.
Sung Han setuju untuk memberi Jin Ho kesempatan lain, dan menyalami Jin Ho. Dan kemudian berkomentar, "Tanganmu...cukup bagus." Jin Ho tersenyum tidak tenang, dan ia segera menyudahi meeting itu. Tapi, Sung Han terus berbicara, bahkan mengundang Jin Ho untuk pergi liburan ke villa bersama beberapa rekannya. Jin Ho dengan sopan menolaknya, mungkin lain kali, dan ia bangkit untuk beranjak pergi. Tapi Sung Han berkeras mau mengajak Jin Ho makan siang hanya mereka berdua saja.
Jin Ho merasa waspada, Pastinya...Sung HAn tidak mencoba mendekatinya kan? Jin Ho mulai berkata tegas pada Sung Han, tapi Sung Han meraih tangan Jin Ho dan mengaku, "Sebenarnya, Aku menyukaimu sejak pertama kali aku melihatmu. Ketika aku mendengar kebenarannya kemarin, kau tak tahu betapa bahagianya aku!"
Untungnya, Sang Jun sang teman baik, membuka pintu dan menyelamatkan Jin Ho, Jin Ho berhasil melarikan diri. Sekarang ia harus menjelaskan semuanya pada Sang Jun. Sang Jun geli dan merasa ini menarik, Jadi Woo Min pikir Jin Ho adalah Gay? Jin Ho menghentikan kesenangan Sang Jun dan menambahkan, "Bukan aku saja, kau juga."
Jin Ho merasa untuk mengakhiri kekusutan ini adalah pindah, tapi sekarang proyeknya terkait dengan rumah Woo Min. Jin Ho harus tinggal di sana untuk mempelajari rumah itu secara menyeluruh jika ia mau mendapatkan proyek ini.
Sementara itu, Woo Min menerima tiram segar dari rekan kerjanya, yang mendapat kiriman dari ibunya. Woo Min senang karena ada hal yang bisa ia bagi dengan Jin Ho, Woo Min sibuk memasak tiram dan menyiapkan hidangan. (hehehe...tiram..tiram...)
Bab 6 : "Persimpangan antara benci dan cinta"
Yup, keracunan makanan!
Paginya, di kantor, JIn Ho mulai merasa tidak enak badan. Ia menuju apotik membeli obat untuk perutnya, tapi sayangnya Jin Ho tidak bisa menahannya lagi dan harus ke toilet apotik, ia kena diare. Sialan, ini benar2 memalukan buat siapapun, tapi lebih buruk lagi untuk Jin Ho, yang punya image cool dan chic. Lagipula, ia selama ini menggoda ahli farmasi cantik di apotik ini.
Ketika ia kembali ke kantor, seseorang menunggunya, teman Woo Min, In Hee yang "kebetulan ada di sekitar sini." Jin Ho menerima keramahan In Hee dan menolak ajakannya untuk makan siang bersama, yang menyinggung harga diri In Hee. Kesal, In Hee berkata bahwa Jin Ho cukup kasar karena ia hanya mencoba untuk berteman, tapi Jin Ho menjawab ia tidak berniat berteman dan menyuruh In Hee pergi.
Dan Jin Ho tidak tahu apa yang sebenarnya terjadi! Setelah bertemu Jin Ho di rumah Woo Min, In Hee tertarik dengan Jin Ho dan ia pikir sayang kalau Jin Ho itu gay. Untuk beberapa alasan, Jin Ho tidak sesuai dengan standar gay In Hee. Sebagai orang yang bekerja di dunia fashion, In Hee kenal banyak pria gay. Dan ia belum siap melepaskan Jin Ho, maka In hee harus meyakinkan dirinya bahwa Jin Ho bukan gay.
Setelah meninggalkan kantor Jin Ho, ia melihat seseorang datang, ia menjadi curiga melihat keakraban Jin Ho dengan Hye Mi. In Hee tidak jadi pergi dan mendekati Hye Mi, yang juga heran siapa In hee.
Kedua wanita itu menyatakan klaim mereka atas Jin Ho. Hye Mi berkata ia adalah tunangan Jin Ho, yang membuat In Hee merasa ada sesuatu yang salah. Jin Ho itu bohong pada Hye Mi bahwa ia normal, atau bohong padanya kalau ia adalah gay. Tapi ini membuat In Hee percaya diri, ia dengan berani berkata ia adalah pacar Jin Ho. Tentu saja Hye Mi tidak percaya, tapi Hye Mi juga merasa ada sesuatu yang salah dan ia tidak bisa mengabaikan In Hee begitu saja.
Woo Min mendengar dari temannya bahwa tiram-nya ternyata jelek, karena ibunya salah mengirim. (jadi inget Mr. Bean) Woo Min merasa cemas, karena JIn Ho sudah memakan tiram itu semua. Bagaimana jika ia sakit? Woo Min tidak punya kesempatan untuk mencicipi tiram itu karena saat ia menawarkan pada jIn Ho, ia pikir mereka akan makan bersama. Tapi Jin Ho yang mulai merasa tidak nyaman dengan perasaan tertariknya, memutuskan untuk menghindari Woo Min dan membawa piring itu masuk ke kamarnya.
Ketika Jin Ho pulang sore itu, Woo Min dengan cemas tanya apa ia sakit dan kena diare. Normalnya, Jin Ho akan terlalu bangga untuk mengakuinya, tapi ia terganggu dan berteriak, ya, ia sakit dan ini semua karena kesalahan Woo Min! Woo Min langsung merasa bersalah dan memberikan berbagai macam hal pada Jin Ho untuk meredakan peutnya. Woo Min menawarkan bubur dan segera berlari ke dapur.
Saat Woo Min berjalan ke dapur, Jin Ho tidak bisa mencegah matanya untuk melirik ke arah kaki Woo Min. Sayang, Woo Min mengenakan celana panjang hari ini, dan kemudian Jin Ho mencaci dirinya sendiri dengan kesal, "Apa pedulinya! Mengapa kau kecewa?!"
Jin Ho terbangun dari tidurnya saat mendengar teriakan dari dapur, dan ia lari ke dapur. Ternyata dapur seperti dilanda badai. Woo Min sudah menggosongkan makanan-nya. Jin Ho mengambil alih, dan ia masak. Woo Min terkagum-kagum. Jin Ho merasa Woo Min manis untuk pertama kalinya. Jin Ho menyajikan makan malam enak untuk berdua. Jin Ho bahkan memaksa dirinya minum kopi instan yang dibuat Woo Min, padahal biasanya Jin Ho tidak akan melirik kopi2 seperti itu.
Mereka jalan2 keluar sambil ngobrol. Woo Min berkata, "Pada kesan pertama kau sepertinya susah, tapi sekali kau bicara, kau seperti teman lama, dan kau juga menerima semua canda dengan baik. Itulah mengapa aku jadi nyaman dan merasa akrab denganmu, apa kau tahu itu?" Ini mungkin adalah pertama kalinya seseorang menggambarkan demikian tentang Jin Ho, dan Jin Ho merasa malu dan senang karenanya.
Mereka tiduran di bawah pohon, Woo Min tertidur. Jin Ho mencoba membangunkan Woo Min, tapi karena beberapa alasan aneh, mungkin karena perasaan romantis dengan didukung oleh pemandangan yang indah, angin yang lembut, harum bunga yang tercium di udara, Jin Ho sadar bahwa dirinya membungkuk dan mencium dahi Woo Min.
Dan kemudian Jin Ho kembali sadar, Waspada dengan perasaan-nya, Jin Ho menenggelamkan dirinya ke dalam situasi aman-nya yaitu komik2 manhwa. Jin Ho memborong komik2 Manhwa dari toko buku dan pulang. Woo Min melirik ke judul2 komik itu dan ia mengenalinya. Woo Min berkomentar, jarang menemukan teman yang suka komik itu. Kenyataannya, dulu ia pernah punya teman di sebuah klub online yang menyukai pengarang komik itu, dan mereka sangat akrab. Mereka bahkan punya username yang mirip, dan Woo Min merasa sedih ketika temannya itu berhenti menulis untuk-nya.
Ini membuat Jin Ho terperanjat, khususnya saat Woo Min menyebutkan bahwa username-nya adalah "Spark Boy." Jin Ho tertawa karena tidak percaya dan tanya, "Lalu, Spark Girl? Apa itu kau?" sumber: http://kadorama-recaps.blogspot.com/
Personal Taste - the novel - Bagian 3
Bab 7 : "Ikan Perak VS Kucing Betina"
Woo Min tidak menyadari maksud In hee terhadap Jin Ho. Waktu In hee ingin menginap di rumah Woo Min, Woo Min tidak berpikir macam-macam dan langsung setuju. Woo Min juga tidak terlalu antusias dengan kedatangan In hee, ia kerja lembur, tapi In Hee berkata ia tidak keberatan menunggu, Jin Ho pasti akan mengijinkannya masuk, jadi Woo Min tidak perlu buru-buru. Sejujurnya In Hee berharap Woo Min tidak akan pulang dan menginap di kantornya, maka ia bisa merayu Jin ho tanpa gangguan.
Kemudian In hee mampir ke kantor Jin Ho dan menyarankan untuk pulang bersama. Waktu itu, Jin Ho mengusirnya saat ia datang tiba-tiba, tapi kali ini In Hee punya Woo Min sebagai alasannya, maka Jin ho tidak bisa menolaknya dan berpikir mengapa tidak, ya sudah kita pulang bersama. saat mereka keluar, mereka dihentikan oleh Hye Mi yang marah. Hye Mi mengira In Hee adalah wanita yang tinggal bersama Jin Ho. Jin Ho menghela nafas, mengumpulkan segenap energinya untuk menenangkan Hye Mi. Dan ia kaget sekali saat hye Mi mau tahu dimana ia tinggal dan bagaimana ia hidup selama ini.
Hye Mi berpikir bahwa In hee terlihat seperti ikan perak. Karena ia kurus, sedangkan in hee melihat Hye Mi seperti kucing betina karena licik dan licin.
Di rumah, In Hee bertingkah seolah-olah itu adalah rumahnya dan bahwa dia memang adalah teman sekamar Jin Ho. Tentu saja tanpa sepengetahuan jin ho. Kemudian Woo Min pulang ke rumah, In hee agak kebingungan menjelaskan siapa Hye Mi karena ia tidak mau kalau Woo Min tahu bahwa Jin ho pria normal, maka ia menarik Woo Min dan berkata bahwa Hye Mi adalah adik perempuan Jin ho yang menyebalkan. Woo Min terlalu lelah dan ia mengiyakan saja, dan langsung pergi tidur.
Hye Mi percaya bahwa In hee benar2 teman sekamar Jin Ho, lalu ia tanya pada Jin Ho tentang teman sekamarnya, apa benar Jin Ho pacaran dengan wanita itu. Jin ho otomatis mengira bahwa maksud Hye Mi adalah Woo Min karena Hye Mi menanyakan teman sekamar, dan karena Jin ho ingin Hye Mi pergi dari hidupnya maka, Jin ho : "Ya, teman sekamarnya adalah pacarnya!" (haha cukup memusingkan ya..)
Hye Mi akan bersedia melepaskan Jin Ho jika ia benar2 bertemu wanita yang dicintainya, tapi Hye Mi benar benar tidak tahan dengan In Hee dan ia ingin menyelamatkan Jin Ho agar tidak membuat kesalahan. Ini berarti Hye Mi tidak boleh membiarkan Jin Ho berdua saja dengan In Hee di rumah, maka ia pura2 sakit perut dan minta Jin Ho mengantarnya pulang.
In hee curiga, ia menawarkan untuk menemani mereka ke RS, Hye Mi tidak mau ke RS dan mendesak Jin ho mengantarnya pulang. Sambil jalan ke luar Hye Mi memperlihatkan kemenangannya pada In hee.
Bab 8 : "Orang Yang Tidak dapat Diraih"
Pagi itu, hari Sabtu, tapi Woo Min tetap kerja. Woo Min tidur sepanjang malam jadi ia tidak tahu ada kejadian apa sebelumnya, dia bangun dan rumah kosong. In Hee sudah pergi juga pagi-pagi. Woo Min merasa Jin ho tidak ada karena kencan dengan Sang joon, yang sedikit membuatnya kesal. Woo min terus mengingatkan dirinya sendiri kalau Jin Ho itu gay, dan menyingkirkan jauh2 perasaannya yang mulai tumbuh.
Woo Min sakit gigi, dan ia sulit bekerja. Boss Woo Min menyuruhnya ke dokter gigi segera. Ini membuat Woo Min sedikit kesulitan karena dokter giginya sebenarnya adalah mantan pacarnya, Jae Wook. Alasan sakit giginya tidak sembuh2 ya karena ia tidak pergi ke dokter gigi lagi.
Woo Min mencoba untuk mengunjungi dokter gigi baru, tapi justru ketemu dengan asisten Jae Wook. Ia bilang Jae Wook tidak kerja hari ini, maks Woo Min kembali ke klinik gigi lamanya dengan harapan tidak akan bertemu JAe Wook. Tapi ternyata, dokternya Jae Wook. Tapi Woo Min tidak menyadarinya karena dokter itu pakai masker. Sampai saat dokter itu mulai kerja, Woo Min baru sadar itu Jae Wook, tapi ia tetap harus duduk di kursinya. (Catatan, dalam drama tidak ada karakter dengan nama Jae Wook, tapi sepertinya aktor Kim Ji Sook akan memerankan karakter ini, hanya namanya lain.)
Jae Wook menyelesaikan kerjaan-nya dan berkata pada Woo Min bahwa ia mau kembali pada Woo Min. Woo min tidak mau menerimanya. Jae Wook terus menjelaskan alasan ia memilih Young Sun (Catatan, dalam drama ia selingkuh dengan In Hee) karena ia mabuk suatu malam dan mengira Young Sun itu Woo Min. Setelah itu, Yang Sun terus menelepon dan memburunya dan bahkan berkata bahwa ia hamil. Dan ia benar2 kehilangan Woo Min dan keluarga mereka juga menyetujui pernikahan mereka, jadi Jae Wook hanya bisa mengikuti saja. Tapi ia tidak bisa melupakan Woo Min, Jae Wook bersumpah.
Woo Min mulai melunak, tapi ia melihat foto Jae Wook dan Young Sun diambil di cafe dimana Woo Min kencan dengan Jae Wook pertama kalinya, ini membuat Woo Min tidak mempercayai Jae Wook dan ia berusaha pergi, menendang Jae Wook saat Jae Wook berusaha menghentikannya. Ini memicu kemarahan JAe Wook, dan dengan marah menghina Woo Min, menghina penampilannya, karakternya, nilainya sebagai seseorang dan wanita...
...kemudian Jin Ho masuk.
Jin ho selesai meeting dengan Tae Hoon, yang menantangnya dengan cinta Hye Mi. Jin ho tahu pria yang lebih muda itu suka pada Hye Mi. Jin Ho berpikir ia akan senang untuk bertemu wanita yang bisa membuatnya merasakan hal yang sama. Dalam perjalanan pulang, pikiran Jin ho terus tertuju pada Woo Min, dan saat ia melihat tas jelek yang mirip punya Woo Min, Jin Ho langsung merasa bahwa tas itu mirip punya Woo Min. Ia berhenti dan melihatnya lebih dekat, ternyata memang milik Woo Min! inilah awalnya bagaimana ia bisa muncul di klinik gigi Jae Wook tepat saat ia mendengar Jae Wook menghina Woo Min. Jin Ho tidak tahan mendengar Woo Min dihina, ia marah dan memukul Jae Wook! Beraninya menghina "Wanitaku."
Mereka pergi bersama, mengambil waktu untuk menenangkan diri. Woo Min berterima kasih pada Jin Ho dan suasana hati mereka jadi lebih ringan dan ceria. Karena ini adalah hari yang baik, mereka punya ide untuk nonton film dan manisnya lagi, mereka mengatakan idenya bersamaan, "Jika kau tidak keberatan, mau nonton film ?"
Dan ada yang menarik, Jin Ho mampir ke kantornya sebelum film mulai untuk menyelesaikan sesuatu, Woo Min menunggu di mobil. Woo Min terkejut saat jin ho kembali membawa tas belanjaan - Jin Ho sudah beli kosmetik untuk Woo Min karena tadi saat Woo Min menangis, air matanya merusak dandanan-nya (mungkin merk-nya Etude hehe..), Woo Min tersentuh. Sebagai balasannya, Woo Min memberikan boneka pada Jin ho sebagai hadiah. Sebuah boneka dengan bentuk ular, tidak dinamakan Jin Ho, tapi namanya Ji No. Jin ho diam2 mengakui kalau wajah ular itu memang mirip dirinya, meskipun ia tidak mengatakan apa2.
Woo Min membuat ji No, sebagai karakter baru untuk proyeknya, tapi mereka akhirnya tidak memakai Ji No.
In Hee menelepon, dan untuk pertama kalinya Woo Min mengakui bahwa ia menyesal bahwa Jin ho ternyata gay. Mereka punya banyak kesamaan dan sepertinya ia suka dengan Jin Ho.
Tapi Woo Min sadar saat Tae Hoon menemui Jin Ho dan dengan gembira memeluk Jin ho seraya berkata, "Aku cinta padamu, kak!" Tae hoon sangat senang karena Hye Mi menerima perasaan-nya dan ia pikir itu karena Jin ho mengatakan pada Hye Mi ia tidak mencintainya.
Di mata Woo Min, ini tampak sebagai penghianatan. Jin Ho selingkuh dibelakang Sang Joon, maka Woo Min berkata, ia tidak akan berkata apapun pada Sang joon, tapi ia kecewa ternyata Jin Ho pria seperti itu.
Jin ho tidak bisa membela dirinya, ia hanya kesal sekali pada Tae hoon yang muncul di waktu tidak tepat.
Bab 9 : "Kekacauan"
Hye Mi datang ke rumah Woo Min bersama Tae Hoon. Mereka akan mengumumkan hubungan mereka. Woo Min adalah satu-satunya yang ada di rumah. Ia berpikir mereka adalah adik Jin Ho dan pengagum Jin Ho. Percakapan mereka penuh dengan anggapan yang membingungkan.
Woo Min berpikir karena Tae hoon dan Hye Mi ada di sini, mereka pasti tahu kalau Jin Ho itu gay. Hye Mi, sebaliknya masih mengira ini rumah In hee.
Hye Mi dan Tae hoon membicarakan hubungan asmara Jin Ho dengan nada meremehkan. (maksudnya hubungan Jin Ho-In hee, bingung kan?) tapi Woo Min berpikir mereka bicara tentang Sang joon (bwa haha tambah ruwet..). Woo Min mohon agar mereka mengerti hubungan asmara Jin Ho, karena itu adalah hal yang perlu keberanian besar bagi Jin Ho.
Hye Mi herannya, bisa mengerti pasti ada kesalah pahaman, dan ia berpikir, In Hee pasti sudah bohong, teman sekamar Jin Ho yang ia jadikan pacarnya pastilah Woo Min. cuma Woo Min masih tidak tahu apa-apa.
Sang joon berbicara mengenai proyek museum mereka dengan Jin Ho. Jin Ho berkata ia belum bisa pindah karena ia masih ingin mempelajari rumah itu. Ini membuat Sang joon menebak bahwa Jin Ho pasti menyukai Woo Min. Jin Ho akhirnya mengakui ia memang mulai menyukai Woo Min, hanya ia pikir Woo Min hanya melihat hubungan mereka secara platonis.
Sang joon mengusulkan bagaimana jika Jin ho mengajak Woo Min ke pesta bisnis yang diadakan oleh pihak museum dan Jin ho bisa mengaku dan menyatakan perasaan-nya pada Woo Min dan menjelaskan pada Kim Sung Han bahwa ia bukan gay. Jin Ho takut mengaku pada Kim Sung Han kalau ia bukan gay karena ia takut Kim sung Han tersinggung dan membahayakan proyek mereka.
Jin Ho menjadi pengecut dan datang ke pesta sendirian, justru ia ketemu In Hee yang juga di sana karena koneksi. In hee menggoda Jin ho tapi jin ho mengenalkannya sebagai teman kawan sekamarnya. Jin Ho menegaskan ia tidak tertarik pada In hee. Jin Ho menjauh dari In hee.
Tapi, ia didekati oleh Sung Han! nah lo..yang mau berbicara dengan Jin ho sendirian dan mungkin ehm ..mau mengadakan pendekatan romantis dengan Jin ho (kok jadi inget scene-nya No Regret ya..). Jin ho bergegas ke lift, yang terbuka tepat saat Sung Han tiba dan memanggil namanya. Dan Jin Ho melihat Woo Min keluar dari lift, berdandan cantik. Jin Ho tanpa pikir panjang langsung menarik dan mencium Woo Min! Wow..! (ngga sabar pingin lihat dramanya hehe..)
Woo Min dikirim ke pesta oleh Hye Mi yang lebih senang kalau Jin ho dengan Woo Min saja daripada dengan In hee. Jin Ho sempat minta maaf sebelum mencium dengan tiba-tiba, mereka segera hanyut dalam momen itu. Mereka berhenti untuk bernafas dan sadar, mereka ada di depan orang2 yang melihat dengan rasa tertarik, lalu mereka melarikan diri, dan cekikikan, berniat melanjutkan hal ini di lain tempat.
Semuanya mulai aneh saat mereka berpikir apa yang akan mereka lakukan sekarang. Karena mereka melihat pasangan2 dengan berpegangan tangan melarikan diri dari pesta dan bergegas ke kamar atas. Pesta ini ada di hotel, ini membuat malu Woo Min, dan membuatnya berpikir ke topik itu : sex. Maka ketika Jin Ho berkata ia ingin mengakui sesuatu, Woo Min berpikir Jin ho hanya akan mengaku kalau ia hanya ingin mendapatkan Woo min.
Woo Min memotongnya dan berkata ia tahu semuanya, maka Jin ho tidak perlu melanjutkannya. Jin Ho mengartikan, bahwa Woo Min sudah tahu kalau ia bukan gay, dan Jin ho minta maaf karena telah membohongi Woo Min. Yang semakin membuat Woo Min curiga, apa Jin ho bohong dengan perasaan-nya. Jin ho bingung dengan reaksi Woo Min, bukankah Woo min menyukainya?
Bingung dan kecewa, akhirnya Woo Min pergi, ia hanya merasa Jin Ho itu hanya bermulut manis saja dengannya. Saat keluar, ia bertemu In hee, yang masih kesal karena di singkirkan Jin ho. In hee berkata mengenai gosip tidak sedap mengenai Jin Ho, dia terkenal sebagai playboy dan gigolo (kejam banget...). Kata2 In hee mengagetkan Woo Min, dan ia pulang dengan perasaan kecewa.
sumber: (Terima kasih dan kredit diberikan kepada
http://kadorama-recaps.blogspot.com/
dan semua pihak atas sumber maklumat dan gambar)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Personal Taste (the novel): Part 1 - Part 3
Cast of characters:
PARK WOO-MIN (who is re-named Park Kae-in in the drama and played by Sohn Ye-jin) is 29 years old. She designs dolls and puppets for children’s television shows and therefore sometimes smells like glue. She’s actually quite cute, but you wouldn’t know it at first (or second) glance because she doesn’t dress herself with care, usually wears big red glasses, and hardly ever wears makeup. Her father is a famous architect who designed the house she lives in, but because her parents now live abroad, she’s there alone. She speaks candidly, is a little naive, and has an upbeat, positive personality. Not quite 4-D, but close.
JEON JIN-HO (Lee Min-ho) is a 31-year-old architect. Tall, handsome, smart. He’s super picky about everything, such as the suits he wears (fashionable), the coffee he drinks (only Blue Mountain!), and the women he dates (therefore currently single). With a brusque manner and impassive face, he’s competent with little time for nonsense. He holds a mid-level position (a manager) at the architecture company where he works alongside his buddy Sang-joon.
HAN SANG-JOON (Jung Sung-hwa) is Jin-ho’s good friend and co-worker, who has known him for more than a decade. Sang-joon is the warm and friendly counterpart, the type who makes easy conversation with strangers. He knows Jin-ho well, and is probably the only guy who’d get away with teasing him. (In the drama, he’s a sunbae. In the book, they’re the same age.)
SEO IN-HEE (Wang Ji-hye) is the stylish fashion-designer friend to Woo-min. Most of their friends think Woo-min is a slob, but In-hee sees her potential and uses Woo-min as a fitting model when designing new garments. When the perfect guy comes along, however, she’s got no problem putting friendship aside by pursuing the man. She’s a fair-weather friend with a cunning mind…
NA HYE-MI (Choi Eun-seo) is 27, but acts much younger as a spoiled princess. She’s not a bad sort, but used to getting what she wants — and she wants Jin-ho. Her parents and Jin-ho’s parents are best friends, and it’s been decided for a while that they would eventually marry. Jin-ho has never been keen to date Hye-mi, whom he sees as a cute younger sister, so Hye-mi has often dated other men. It’s usually when her relationships end that she returns to Jin-ho. She lives in Canada now, but has come unannounced to Korea at the urging of both their parents to get Jin-ho to propose and settle their marriage for good.
TAE-HOON (Im Seul-ong), Hye-mi’s friend from high school, loves Hye-mi and watches over her with care and consideration. He respects Jin-ho as a hyung but doesn’t think Jin-ho loves Hye-mi, and therefore urges him to put an end to their not-quite-relationship.
Note that Kim Ji-suk’s character (HAN CHANG-RYUL) is not in the book; he seems to have taken on some elements of Jin-ho’s friend Sang-joon, but is presented more as a standard rival.
Jo Eun-ji’s character is also not in the book. It looks like she’s added in the drama as a more traditional friend type.
Ahn Seok-hwan plays the father of Woo-min’s playboy ex. (I wonder if the playboy ex will be Kim Ji-suk’s character, or if they’ll give those traits to someone else.)
Ryu Seung-ryong plays the planning director of a museum project that Jin-ho is trying to acquire. His drama character has a different name than his book character, which makes me think that they’re changing the character a little.
Chapter 1: “Failed business of love”
Looking uncharacteristically pretty (she attended a wedding), Woo-min joins a group of friends for drinks, and her mood quickly sours — one of her acquaintance-friends has been bragging about her new fiance, and shows him off. Only, Woo-min recognizes him as her recent ex, Jae-wook.
This is unacceptable for a few reasons. Woo-min realizes that in order for the math to work out, this means he was cheating on her! When she didn’t have sex with him, he dropped her. Woo-min thinks bitterly, “Of course. Who’d date me? It was strange that a guy as normal-looking as him fell for me in the first place!” She fumes, “Yeah, good riddance…. And be happy… then both cheat on each other and catch AIDS and die! I won’t go to your wedding but I’ll sure go to your funeral!”
As the drinking party breaks up, she finds herself left with an old acquaintance, Won-ho. As they keep drinking, he confesses his love for her, which shocks her since she’s not the most perceptive girl. But some time and many drinks later, Woo-min wakes up to find herself in a compromising position — Won-ho has taken her to a motel and is about to have sex with her! Woo-min is startled, but willing to go along partly out of pity since Won-ho has so fervently declared his love for her. But as she starts to make sense of her surroundings, she discovers that she’s on a bed, her handbag is still hanging from her shoulder, her shoes are still on. She starts feeling offended, and worse, used. He didn’t even bother to take off her handbag and just removed her underwear? This isn’t the act of a man who has been in love with a woman for years, it’s the act of a horny bastard saying whatever he has to to get a woman in bed, who doesn’t even take care that it’s her first time.
This hammers in the hurtful idea that all men want from her (or any woman) is sex. They spout words of love but if they don’t get what they want, they just toss the woman away. Woo-min shoves Won-ho aside and insists he stop. He ignores her protests, insisting on continuing (of course), so finally she reaches into her bag and produces a pair of scissors, threatening to make him into a eunuch. Don’t worry, she says, she’s got glue too. Wisely, he runs.
Chapter 2: “I’m ready for a gay boyfriend”
In the aftermath, Woo-min is understandably bitter. It also impresses upon her how untrustworthy men are — they may vow love and utter sweet nothings, but how can you believe them when they’re just saying that to get into a woman’s pants? Confiding in her friend In-hee, Woo-min wishes that she had a gay boyfriend. It would be ideal — you could talk with him and feel secure having a man around the house, but not worry about being taken advantage of sexually.
Woo-min’s wish isn’t entirely silly; the book points out that it’s not because she is especially attached to the idea of having a gay friend. Rather, this is a shorthand way of expressing her desire for friendship and trust without the burden of sex. And Woo-min knows it’s mostly wishful thinking, brought on by a movie marathon of Hollywood films featuring gay best friends (My Best Friend’s Wedding, Next Best Thing, ha).
Now we meet Jeon Jin-ho, who wakes up to a surprise: his longtime family friend Hye-mi is in town unannounced and has let herself into his apartment. She gaily announces that his parents put her up to it; they told her to come to Korea and not return to Canada until she’d wrung a marriage proposal out of Jin-ho.
The two grew up alongside each other, and although they have dated other people, it’s been understood that they would marry eventually. Of course, both were always free to break off the pseudo-engagement if they really wanted, but it seems that neither has found a reason to. Jin-ho sees Hye-mi as a cute younger presence in his life. Perhaps he doesn’t feel entirely platonic — she is beautiful and affectionate — but he isn’t moved by romantic feelings. Nor does he think Hye-mi loves him — or at least not as much as she loves the idea that they’re good together.
To achieve her goal, Hye-mi takes up residence in Jin-ho’s apartment. No-nonsense Jin-ho has no desire to become a toy in Hye-mi’s scheme, and decides that the less he sees of her, the sooner she’ll realize he’s serious and give up. Therefore, he starts looking for a room to rent for the next month or two.
The real estate agent alerts him to a great opening that just became available, and to Jin-ho’s surprise, he recognizes the hilltop house. It was once featured in an architecture magazine, and the man who designed it, Park Chul-han, is famous. Park is very protective of this particular house — a perfect blend of traditional and modern with an appreciation for nature — which is regarded as his best work, and has not allowed curious visitors inside to see. Jin-ho agrees to take the room.
Unfortunately, a disgruntled voice interrupts the conversation. A disheveled mess of a woman — wearing oversized track pants, a shabby sweater, and thick red glasses — comes home, and corrects the rental agent. She had specified that the room was available only to women. At her flat dismissal, Jin-ho feels a burst of indignation. Logically, he understands that a single woman wouldn’t feel comfortable rooming with a man. However, he has a “pride cometh before a fall” moment, because he is a man who takes care of himself and bothers to dress well, and his pride feels insulted that such a grubby mess of a woman would actually consider herself in danger of HIS attentions. As if!
He wants to retort, “You can rest easy, since I don’t see you as a woman AT ALLLL!” but of course he can’t do that. Instead, he finds himself irrationally replying, “You see, I’m gay, so that shouldn’t matter, should it?”
Chapter 3: “The worst roommate”
Almost immediately, Jin-ho regrets his rash comments. He had actually wanted to say, “If I’m with you, I feel as little attraction to you as I would if I were gay, so you can rest easy.” What provoked him to make his insane declaration?
Meanwhile, Woo-min exults to In-hee that she has found her gay boyfriend/roommie. In-hee doesn’t believe her — how is it she asks for this very ridiculous thing and one falls into her lap right away? She must be mistaken. But no, Woo-min assures her that it was Jin-ho himself who introduced himself as gay. In-hee wants to get a good look, so the two ladies plan for a working evening at Woo-min’s house on the night Jin-ho is scheduled to move in. In-hee brings her clothes and fits them using Woo-min as her model.
Likewise, Sang-joon is just as curious to see what this situation is like, and prods Jin-ho for details. Jin-ho goes overboard describing his disgust for his totally tacky ajumma landlord, so Sang-joon pictures a fat middle-aged woman. When the men arrive at the house, outgoing and affable Sang-joon goes first and greets the ladies — and sees with shock that they’re actually both gorgeous. Woo-min looks particularly appealing today, dolled up in In-hee’s fashionable clothes that reveal her figure much more than her customary tracksuits. Sang-joon teases his friend for purposely lying so that he could keep the hottie for himself. Jin-ho concedes that Woo-min doesn’t look as disastrous tonight, but still insists that she’s a weird ajumma who is utterly unattractive to him. (Who doth protest too much?)
Of course, both ladies assume that Sang-joon is Jin-ho’s gay boyfriend. Woo-min likes Sang-joon’s pleasant manners (and he’s actually closer to her fantasy than the curt Jin-ho), but she decides to lay down some basic ground rules — even if the men are dating, it may become uncomfortable for Woo-min if Sang-joon gets too comfortable and is constantly sleeping over. Intending to ask Jin-ho to be mindful of this, she knocks on his door and hesitantly enters. And sees naked Jin-ho! Alas, she’s not wearing her glasses so her vision is blurry, and she assures him that she didn’t see a thing. Woo-min makes her request about Sang-joon, and as Jin-ho is hardly eager to have his friend poking around (Sang-joon doesn’t know that Jin-ho is masquerading as gay), he replies that it won’t be a problem.
To Jin-ho’s mortification, he hears Woo-min talking outside in hushed tones with In-hee. In-hee asks if she saw anything, and although Jin-ho can’t see Woo-min’s response, it’s only clear what she means when she answers, “It was about this long?” Worse yet, he feels indignant at In-hee’s response, tinged with disappointment: “Only that much?” He has to calm himself down and resist the urge to drag Woo-min back in and insist that she take a proper look with her glasses on!
Urg, he fumes, this is the worse roommate ever.
Chapter 4: “Caught by an ankle”
(“Caught by the ankle” is a phrase meaning you’ve been ensnared — i.e., he “caught me by the ankle” and used my weakness to threaten me into agreeing. But in this case, it’s true both in the figurative AND literal sense. Ha.)
Jin-ho is now living with Woo-min, but they’ve barely seen much of each other, mostly because Jin-ho prefers to avoid her. He hasn’t been back to his own apartment, either, so Hye-mi calls to demand why he’s not coming home. She has been drinking and bursts out tearily that he’s being mean — after she came all the way from Canada to see him!
Hye-mi’s friend Tae-hoon (played by Im Seul-ong, at left) takes over the phone, respectfully addressing Jin-ho as his hyungnim. Jin-ho thanks him for taking care of her, leading Tae-hoon to ask hesitantly if he’s really going to marry her. In Tae-hoon’s opinion, it doesn’t seem like Jin-ho loves Hye-mi — if he did, he’d come running to help her. Rather than being offended, the question makes Jin-ho think seriously about his relationship with Hye-mi.
Coming home from work late at night, Jin-ho finds Woo-min dozing on the couch, listening to a fairly obscure Japanese musician he likes. He still thinks of Woo-min with disdain and therefore is not eager to draw similarities between them, even when it turns out they’ve got a number of things in common. For instance, when Woo-min awakens, she shows him sketches she’s drawn for new characters on the TV program and asks Jin-ho for his opinion. He picks her favorite, and when he compliments her drawing, she says she used to dream of being a manhwa artist — something Jin-ho also once wanted. He doesn’t share that with her, of course.
Woo-min gets hungry, and suggests they head out to a neighborhood grill restaurant. He tries to decline, but she insists. Sighing, Jin-ho decides to go, although he can’t resist commenting on her ugly sweater, then chides himself for bothering (“So what if she looks homeless?”). Woo-min isn’t offended, and cheerfully takes his advice and changes. (And assumes he paid attention to her style because he’s gay, of course!)
To Jin-ho’s dismay, he recognizes a professional acquaintance at the restaurant — Kim Sung-han, the planning director for the new museum building project Jin-ho’s team is hoping to acquire.
(Note: The character’s name is different, but it sounds like this will be the character played by Ryu Seung-ryong. If so, I LOVE it. You’ll see why in a moment.)
Woo-min gets tipsy drinking soju and starts to air her grievances about men and how they all want sex. Embracing Jin-ho as her new confidant, she talks loudly, and he dearly hopes that Sung-han cannot hear them. Especially when she engages the nearby ajusshi in conversation and clarifies that Jin-ho, of course, is different. Jin-ho tries to hush Woo-min, but she says in a loud whisper, “He’s not like other men! Because HE’S GAY!”
The reason I find Woo-min so adorable is because she’s a little dense, but she means well and she speaks out of a genuine good nature. This makes for hilarious exchanges, such as when she asks him for a piggyback ride home. He balks, and she immediately corrects herself, “I’m sorry. I suppose your back is reserved for Sang-jun only?” Grimly, he orders her on his back and carries her home.
Later, he comes out of his room to find Woo-min sleeping on the sofa. The glimpse of her sleeping face and her bare legs strangely attracts him, and he feels the urge to touch one ankle. Knowing this is crazy, he convinces himself that he’s only going to move her leg, which is dangling over the edge at an awkward angle, and does so… which is when Woo-min wakes, wondering groggily why he’s touching her leg. Thankfully she accepts his lame excuse that she looked uncomfortable — but she takes it a step further and he finds himself roped into giving her a leg massage. (HA! Serves him right.)
Chapter 5: “Things that ought not be suffered”
Disturbed at his wayward feelings, Jin-ho tries to ignore them, wondering if he’s a perv to be attracted to such a mess of a woman. He decides it’s because he’s been celibate so long: this can be fixed moving out and finding a girlfriend.
At work, he takes a meeting with the museum’s planning director, Sung-han from the restaurant, who regretfully tells him that they have decided against working with his company after all. Jin-ho recalls the scene at the restaurant, and suspects this may have something to do with it. He broaches the topic carefully, asking if this has anything to do with last night (implication: Do you have something against working with gay people?). Sung-han assures him that it’s not it, and confides that the president suddenly decided he wants to hire Professor Park’s (Woo-min’s father) team.
Jin-ho can’t give up after all the work his team has poured into the project, and pleads for one more chance. He’s confident that he, a longtime devotee of Park, can design in his style even better than Park’s associates, who may not have the man’s aesthetic.
Sung-han agrees to give him another chance, and shakes his hand. And then comments, “Your hands… are quite nice.” Jin-ho smiles uncomfortably, and wraps the meeting up. Sung-han, however, draws out the conversation, even inviting Jin-ho along to a trip at his vacation villa with other friends. Jin-ho politely says maybe next time, and gets up to go. But Sung-han insists on going to lunch together, just the two of them.
Alarmed, Jin-ho puts two and two together. Surely… he’s not making a move on him? He starts to set Sung-han straight, but Sung-han grabs his hand and confesses, “Actually, I liked you from the first time I saw you. When I found out the truth yesterday, you don’t know how glad I was!”
Thankfully, best buddy Sang-jun opens the door and interrupts this cozy moment, and Jin-ho escapes. Now he has to explain the situation to Sang-jun, who finds this wonderfully entertaining. So Woo-min thinks he’s gay? Jin-ho puts a swift end to his amusement by adding, “Not just me, you too.”
Jin-ho’s impulse is to put an end to this whole wretched mess by moving out, but now his work project is tied up in Woo-min’s house. He must stay there in order to study it thoroughly if he wants to land this project.
Meanwhile, Woo-min receives fresh oysters from a co-worker friend, who shares the batch her mother had sent from her hometown. Excited to have something to share with Jin-ho, Woo-min gets busy cooking them in a gratin dish. Can you see where this is heading?
Chapter 6: “The intersection of hate and love”
Yup, food poisoning!
The next day at the office, Jin-ho starts to feel ill. He heads to the pharmacy for a tonic to settle his stomach, but unfortunately he can’t hold it in any longer and has to use their bathroom to relieve his diarrhea. Dammit! This would be humiliating for anyone, but it’s even worse for Jin-ho, who has his cool, chic image to uphold. Plus, he’s been flirting with the cute pharmacist for weeks.
When he returns to the office, he has an odd visitor: Woo-min’s friend In-hee, who was “just in the neighborhood.” He receives her curtly and declines her suggestion to lunch together, which insults her pride. Put out, she tells him he’s being quite rude when she was just trying to be friends, but he replies that he has no desire to make new friends and excuses her.
And he doesn’t even know the full truth! After meeting Jin-ho at Woo-min’s house, In-hee had felt attracted to him and thought it was too bad he was gay. For some odd reason he doesn’t ping her gaydar, which is usually accurate; in the fashion field, she works with a lot of gay men. Not ready to give up on him until she has to, In-hee is out to confirm for herself that he’s unavailable. Upon leaving his office, she sees someone else arriving, growing suspicious to witness Jin-ho’s friendliness toward Hye-mi. She hangs back and requests a talk with Hye-mi, who is just as curious to figure out who this lady is.
Both women exaggerate their claim on Jin-ho. Hye-mi calls herself Jin-ho’s fiancee, which tips In-hee off that something doesn’t add up. Jin-ho is either lying to Hye-mi that he’s straight, or he’s lying to her that he’s gay. Either way, this gives her the confidence to boldly state that she’s Jin-ho’s girlfriend. Of course, Hye-mi doesn’t believe her, but she can also sense that things don’t add up and can’t completely dismiss In-hee’s claim.
Woo-min hears from her friend that the oysters were bad, because her mother had sent the wrong batch. Woo-min worries, because Jin-ho had eaten them all. What if he got sick? She hadn’t had a chance to taste any because she had offered them to Jin-ho, thinking to eat together. He, feeling uncomfortable with his newfound attraction, had opted to avoid her and took the dinner plate to his room.
When he gets home that evening, she asks if he got sick and experienced any diarrhea. Normally he’d be too proud to admit it, but he’s irritated and barks that yes, he got sick and it’s all her fault! Immediately, she feels contrite and fusses over him, giving him things to settle his stomach. She offers to make him some soothing porridge, and hurries off to the kitchen.
As she walks away, Jin-ho finds himself inadvertently looking at her legs. Too bad she’s wearing long trousers today, and Jin-ho chides himself furiously, “What the hell! Why are you disappointed?!”
He awakens from a nap to hear yelps from the kitchen, and comes out to see it looking like a hurricane hit. Woo-min is not much of a cook and has burned her attempt at dinner. Jin-ho takes over, and as he cooks (and she marvels), he finds her cute for the first time. In no time he’s got a delicious spread prepared, which they eat together. He even forces himself to drink the instant coffee she makes him, which is noteworthy coming from a guy who refuses anything if it’s not his favorite gourmet brand.
They take a walk outside while chatting, and she tricks him by slipping in fake stories as she relates the history of the house, then teases him for being gullible. All in all, the mood is pleasant, and Woo-min tells him, “At first impression you seem difficult, but once you get to talking, you’re like a longtime friend, and you accept jokes well. That’s why I get a very comfortable and friendly feeling from you, do you know that?” This is possibly the first time he’s had someone describe him that way, and he’s embarrassed and pleased by it.
As they lie down under a tree, she falls asleep. He tries to wake her, but for some odd reason — possibly the romance of the moment with the beautiful surroundings, gentle wind, flowery fragrance in the air — he finds himself leaning over to kiss her forehead.
And then he comes to his senses. Alarmed at his feelings, Jin-ho dives into his go-to source of comfort with manhwa books. He picks up a collection from the manhwa store and heads home. Woo-min glances at the titles and recognizes them — it’s a rather obscure series — and comments how rare it is to find a friend who likes this artist. In fact, she once had a friend in an online club who liked this artist, and they’d hit it off. They even had similar user names, and she’d been sad when he stopped writing her.
This is starting to ring a bell, especially when she mentions that his user name was “Spark Boy.” He laughs in disbelief and asks, “Then, Spark Girl? Was that you?”
Chapter 7: “The silver fish vs. the she-cat”
Woo-min remains unaware of In-hee’s designs on Jin-ho, so when she receives a call from her friend suggesting another sleepover, she doesn’t think too much of it. She’s not enthusiastic about a girls’ night — she’s working late — but In-hee brushes Woo-min’s concerns aside and says she’ll be happy to wait up. Jin-ho will be there to let her in, so there’s no need to rush — take her time! Inwardly, In-hee hopes that Woo-min doesn’t come home at all so she can seduce Jin-ho without complications.
Thus In-hee drops by Jin-ho’s office to suggest heading home together. He had dismissed her the last time she dropped by unannounced, but this time she has Woo-min as an excuse so he can think of no good reason to turn her down. On their way out, they are stopped by an angry Hye-mi, who assumes that In-hee is the woman Jin-ho is living with. Jin-ho sighs, trying to muster up the energy to deflect Hye-mi, thinking she’s going to whine about him moving back home. To his surprise, she calmly invites herself to check out his new digs — she wants to see how he’s living.
I have a mental image of In-hee standing off against Hye-mi with exaggerated glares a la High Noon, a tumbleweed rolling by between them. Hye-mi thinks to herself that In-hee looks like a silver fish (a hairtail fish, i.e., skinny and pinched looking), while In-hee mentally calls Hye-mi a she-cat (i.e., wily and sneaky).
At the house, In-hee acts like this is her home and that she’s Jin-ho’s roommate, careful to make these comments out of earshot of Jin-ho. Thus when Woo-min later arrives home, In-hee has to act fast to keep her various lies from entangling. She can’t explain who Hye-mi really is because she doesn’t want to reveal that Jin-ho may be straight, so she takes Woo-min aside to explain that Hye-mi is Jin-ho’s clingy, annoying younger sister. Thankfully for In-hee, Woo-min is tired from work and immediately heads inside for a nap.
Meanwhile, Hye-mi believes In-hee’s lies and asks Jin-ho about his girlfriend-roommate (meaning In-hee). He naturally assumes “roommate” refers to Woo-min. He’s about to say that no, they’re merely roommates, but it occurs to him that this is a way to get Hye-mi to let him go, so he decides to go with the lie. Yes, his roommate is his girlfriend!
Phew, tired yet from all these crossed wires?
Hye-mi would be willing to give up on Jin-ho if he really found a woman he loved, but she really, really cannot stand In-hee and believes she has to save him from making a mistake. This also means she can’t leave the two alone at the house together, so she fakes a stomachache to get Jin-ho to accompany her home. In-hee, suspicious of Hye-mi’s motives, runs interference and volunteers to accompany them to the hospital. Hye-mi insists she doesn’t need the hospital, and urges Jin-ho to accompany her home. And on her way out, she can’t resist sticking her tongue out at In-hee, relishing this temporary triumph.
Chapter 8: “Unattainable person”
The next day is Saturday, but Woo-min shows up at work anyway. She’d slept through the whole night and therefore missed all the action, and woke up to an empty house. It’s a little odd that In-hee insisted on spending the night and then left without saying anything. Jin-ho’s absence she attributes to a date with Sang-joon (har), which is an idea that disgruntles her. She has to keep reminding herself that Jin-ho is gay and therefore off-limits, despite her growing feelings.
However, a toothache flares up and strikes with such force that it’s difficult to get any work done, so her boss orders her to stop working and go to the dentist immediately. This presents a few difficulties, because her dentist was actually the cheating ex, Jae-wook, whom she initially met when she’d gone in for dental work. The reason her toothache is recurring now is because she stopped mid-treatment after he dumped her.
An attempt to try a new dentist in the neighborhood yields a run-in with Jae-wook’s dental assistant, who says that Jae-wook is not working today, so she ends up back at the old place. Unfortunately, it turns out he IS here today, but she doesn’t realize this until the dentist begins work and she is forced to sit through the procedure.
(Note that the drama doesn’t have a character named Jae-wook. It seems that Kim Ji-suk’s character is based in part on Jae-wook, but will probably not be as slimy, so take the correlations with a grain of salt.)
Thank goodness he waits until the procedure is done to throw himself at her and vow his continued love. Given how he unceremoniously dumped her, Woo-min is more than a little surprised and shoves him aside. Jae-wook hastens to explain that the reason he chose her friend Young-sun (note: he’s with In-hee in the drama) is because he had been drunk one night and mistaken Young-sun for Woo-min. That might have been the end of it but she kept calling and pursuing him, and even said she was pregnant. At that point he had already lost Woo-min and their families both approved of marriage, so he went ahead with their engagement. But he couldn’t forget Woo-min, he swears.
Despite herself, Woo-min starts to soften — the explanation does make sense and Jae-wook seems sincere… until she looks over and sees a photo with Young-sun taken at the cafe where she had her first date with him. His words lose their effect on her and she struggles to leave, kicking him in the groin when he tries to stop her. This sets off Jae-wook’s temper, and he angrily slings insults at her, denouncing her appearance, her character, her worth as a person and as a woman…
…which is when Jin-ho steps in.
Jin-ho has just come out of a meeting with Tae-hoon, who challenges him for Hye-mi’s love. Jin-ho sees that the younger man loves her for real, and thinks that he’d like to meet a woman who inspires him to feel the same way. On his way home, his thoughts turn inadvertently to Woo-min, and he catches himself. Surely he’s only thinking about her because of that ugly bag in the window, which looks just like hers. It’s not because he’s actually, you know, thinking about her all the time, right?
And then he takes a closer look — it actually IS Woo-min’s bag in the window. This is how he appears in Jae-wook’s dentist office just as she is being assailed with insults, which provokes his own temper and sends his fist flying into Jae-wook’s jaw for daring to insult “my woman.”
They leave together, taking a little time for both to calm down. She thanks him and the mood lightens as they regain their composure. Noting that it’s a nice day, they hit upon the idea of going to see a movie together (cutely, they both ask each other out — “If you don’t mind, want to see a movie?” — at exactly the same moment.)
And then here’s my favorite part, perhaps of the whole novel: Jin-ho drops by his office before the movie to take care of a task, so Woo-min waits in the car. To her surprise, he comes back bearing a shopping bag — he has bought her some cosmetics to fix up her appearance since the crying has ruined her makeup, and she’s touched at the gesture. In exchange, she rummages in her bag to give him a gift — a hand-puppet in the shape of a snake. (It’s not named after him, she jokes adorably — it’s Ji-no, not Jin-ho! Even Jin-ho has to admit that the snake looks a little like him, although he’d never admit it aloud.) She made Ji-no as a new character for work, but they’d ended up cutting the puppet out.
When In-hee calls, Woo-min gushes that she and Jin-ho actually have quite similar tastes and admits (for the first time) that she’s sorry that he’s gay. She confesses that she likes him, and catches herself arguing that perhaps Jin-ho isn’t exclusively gay, though she has to remind herself that he’s off-limits.
But she gets a cold dose of “reality” when Tae-hoon comes charging up. Ecstatic, he hugs Jin-ho and exclaims, “I love you, hyung!” He is thrilled because he has finally won Hye-mi over, aided by the fact that Jin-ho had told Hye-mi he doesn’t love her. However, to Woo-min this looks like he’s “cheating” on his longtime boyfriend Sang-joon, so she tells him reproachfully that she’s disappointed in him; she won’t tell Sang-joon about this, but she didn’t know he was this kind of person.
Caught in his own lie, Jin-ho can’t quite defend the situation without outing himself, so he’s left cursing Tae-hoon and his awful timing.
Chapter 9: “Troubled waters”
Hye-mi arrives at Woo-min’s house with Tae-hoon, ready to announce that they’re together now. Woo-min’s the only one home and receives the two thinking they are Jin-ho’s sister and his gay admirer, based on her previous encounters. The conversation that ensues is therefore rife with multiple crossed wires, thanks to In-hee’s and Jin-ho’s misrepresentations:
Woo-min assumes that since Tae-hoon and Hye-mi are here together to see Jin-ho, they must both know that he’s gay. Hye-mi, on the other hand, still thinks this is In-hee’s house.
Hye-mi and Tae-hoon talk about Jin-ho’s relationship in disparaging terms. They mean In-hee, but Woo-min assumes they’re talking about Sang-joon. She pleads with them to be understanding of his relationship, because it’s one that has required a lot of courage for Jin-ho to be in.
You can see the cause for confusion.
Thankfully, Hye-mi understands that there’s some wrong information in the mix, and clears a few things up. In-hee must have lied, which means that the roommate Jin-ho said he is dating must be Woo-min. (Woo-min, however, remains in the dark and continues in her mistaken beliefs.)
Sang-joon, meanwhile, talks to Jin-ho about their museum project. Jin-ho makes excuses that he can’t move out yet because he has to do more research on the house, leading Sang-joon to see through his flimsy explanation and guess that he likes Woo-min. Jin-ho has to admit that he has some feelings for her, but thinks that Woo-min only sees him platonically.
Sang-joon suggests that he get everything out into the open by inviting Woo-min as his date to a business party thrown by their museum contacts — that way he can confess to her AND make things clear to Kim Sung-han, the planning director. (Jin-ho fears telling Sung-han directly that he’s not gay because he might offend him and endanger his project. Therefore, he needs a way to let him down easy.)
Jin-ho chickens out and goes to the posh hotel party without a date, where he runs into In-hee, who’s there through her own connections. She sidles up to him flirtatiously, but he introduces her as his roommate’s friend. Making it clear to her that he’s not interested, he excuses himself from her company.
However, he then finds himself being approached by Sung-han, whois on a mission to talk to him alone and — gulp — probably make a romantic advance. Jin-ho hurries away to the elevator, which opens just as Sung-han arrives and starts to call his name. And out steps a most welcome sight: Woo-min, dressed up prettily for the occasion. He grabs her and kisses her.
She has been sent here by Hye-mi (who is happier to pair him with Woo-min than with In-hee), and although he apologizes quietly for the kiss, they soon get lost in the moment. They resurface for air and come back to their senses in front of an amused crowd of onlookers, then escape, giggling, to continue their makeout session elsewhere.
Things are a little awkward as they try to figure out what to do now, just as they witness a handful of couples escaping from the party and hurrying up to rooms above — the party IS at a hotel — with some barely making it to their rooms before getting indecent. This embarrasses her, and brings her mind uncomfortably close to the tricky topic of sex. So when Jin-ho says he has a confession to make — wanting to come clean about his lie — she tenses, thinking that he’s going to say he loves her just to get sex. Hey, it may be a bit of a jump in conclusions but her past experiences have all ended up here.
Dully, she interrupts and tells him she knows everything so he doesn’t have to continue. Jin-ho interprets this to mean that she knows he faked being gay, and apologizes for lying (which reinforces her suspicion that he is lying about his feelings for her). He’s confused at her reaction, though — doesn’t she like him?
Confused and disappointed, Woo-min breaks away, thinking he’s sweet-talking her. On her way out, she runs into In-hee, who is still smarting from being brushed off by Jin-ho. She drives the nail in the coffin by acting the “concerned” friend by warning her of some ugly rumors that are swirling about Jin-ho: he’s known for being a player and a boyslut. The words have their intended effect, and Woo-min goes home feeling dejected.
