Protect the Boss Episode 4 Recap

The more dramas one has watched, the less one is likely to be impressed with something just okay, and the more one is likely to see the cracks on the surface rather than gloss over them. I try to keep a comfortable balance between casting a critical eye towards everything I watch (the brain, is good, use it) and yet allow myself to enjoy entertainment that may not be stellar but nevertheless is satisfying to me for whatever reason.

With that said, it’s just mindboggling for me to comprehend just how incredible of a drama Protect the Boss turned out to be. It’s solidly great and I genuinely love it to pieces. Episode 4 continues to showcase the perfect blend of hilarity, tenderness, and storytelling mastery that every episode has thus far delivered. I feel honored to be watching and recapping this drama.

Episode 4 recap:

Moo Won and Na Yoon see Ji Heon standing at the foot of the Viking Ship ride just watching Eun Seol, with a contented expression on his face. Na Yoon starts sputtering once she recognizes Eun Seol as Ji Heon’s secretary. Na Yoon thinks Eun Seol can’t simply be Ji Heon’s secretary. Moo Won says she is definitely not a simple person, and if Na Yoon wants to go up against her, be prepared to find a worthy opponent.

Na Yoon asks what Eun Seol’s family does and Moo Won says he doesn’t know. Eun Seol exits the ride and runs to rejoin Ji Heon. In her hurry, she bumps into Na Yoon unwittingly and Na Yoon’s ice-cream smushes on her own shirt. Eun Seol rushes to Ji Heon, and we see the ride attendant has hilariously locked arms with Ji Heon this whole time per Eun Seol’s request, and Ji Heon shoves him off now. ROFL, I love these tiny little details.

Na Yoon is pissed now and she makes up her mind. She purposely walks over to Eun Seol and then SHOVES HER ICE-CREAM UP EUN SEOL’S BUTT. We cut to OK Corral Shoot Out music and slow mo as Eun Seol, Ji Heon, and Na Yoon stare in horror at the ice-cream that has become butt cream. You can tell even Na Yoon is a little taken aback by what she did, which is so cute, because she totally acted out of impetuousness, and that makes her a little girl that I can feel sorry for.

Na Yoon gets her game face back on and goes “ooopsie, omo, I’m sorry, my hand just slipped” (right up your butt). She offers Eun Seol a napkin and then takes it back. Ji Heon demands to know what the heck Na Yoon just did. Moo Won walks up and Eun Seol spies his ice-cream and takes it, promising to buy him a new one. She walks over to Na Yoon and then SHOVES MOO WON’S ICE-CREAM UP NA YOON’S BUTT.

Na Yoon turns around in shock and distress, while Moo Won stifles his laughter. Eun Seol says she’s sorry, but Na Yoon did it on purpose first. When Na Yoon says “hey you….”, Eun Seol reminds her that she has a name, you know. The two ladies have a stare down. Okay, best bitch fight EVER.

They end up in the bathroom cleaning up. Na Yoon correctly complains that it was Eun Seol that ran into her first, smushing her the ice-cream on her shirt. Eun Seol apologizes for that, but it was an accident and what Na Yoon did was on purpose. Na Yoon tries to insinuate that she’s really close to Eun Seol’s boss, so Eun Seol has to be deferential and polite in the future.

Eun Seol is all like “you’re just someone close to my boss, but you’re not my boss, no?” MWAHAHA, checkmate. Na Yoon throws down her towel at how cheeky Eun Seol is and walks over to grab Eun Seol’s head in her hands and then bitch slap her around a few times. Except this turns out to be Na Yoon’s fantasy, and the real Na Yoon grips her towel tightly reminding herself to not lose her temper (to remember the power of her upbringing of good etiquette). God, Na Yoon is delightful as an antagonist.

Na Yoon asks Eun Seol what her family does? What her family does, Eun Seol repeats curiously? Eun Seol says her dad works off the land, has plenty of disciples, and occasionally hunts pigs in the mountain. Na Yoon takes it to mean Eun Seol’s dad is a real estate magnate and scoffs at that kind of nouveau riche. Eun Seol’s like “errr, what?’

Ji Heon expresses shock at Na Yoon’s uncharacteristic behavior, which Moo Won correctly identifies as caused by running into Eun Seol. Ji Heon concurs, Eun Seol causes people to drop a few notches in proper behavior. Moo Won informs Ji Heon that Na Yoon is jealous of Eun Seol. Ji Heon wonders what she has to be jealous about? Moo Won shrugs and says Eun Seol is very cute.

This gets Ji Heon annoyed and he reminds Moo Won of Eun Seol’s true nature. Rather than say she’s cute, it’s more appropriate to say Ji Heon is cute. Moo Won turns and tells Ji Heon that he’s cute, to which Ji Heon glares at him. They start to shoulder bump each other back and forth. God, they must still be 10 years old.

The ladies rejoin the group and Eun Seol and Ji Heon move to leave. Na Yoon stalls and says Ji Heon has to take her back to the department store or back home. Ji Heon says he’s working so Na Yoon says she’ll work with him since she’ll soon be joining their company’s marketing department. Ji Heon says they will hire based on an open interview, but Na Yoon says the job will be hers in the end because she’s the best at what she does.

Ji Heon says he’ll see her at the interview then and walks away. Na Yoon yells that if he keeps doing this, she’ll lose her temper. Na Yoon says if he keeps doing this, she’ll keep bugging him. Actually, she has a brilliant idea, why not just post a newspaper announcement that they are engaged and to be married. Ji Heon points out that she’s already lost her temper already.

Na Yoon pouts and looks really distressed, telling Ji Heon that he needs to come back to her so that she can return to normal. I really think she genuinely loves him. Poor girl, this is not some power play. Moo Won tells them to talk today, and he’ll borrow Eun Seol for the rest of the day since she has a debt to repay. Ji Heon says he’s not lending Eun Seol because she’s simply useless. To which Moo Won says “great, if she’s useless to you, all the better to lend to me, because I have use for her.” Jesus, this is such awesome dialogue I want to just roll around in happiness.

Eun Seol pipes up in support of Ji Heon, adorably saying that her boss needs someone as useless like her around otherwise he can’t get things done. But Ji Heon snaps out of it and shoves Eun Seol towards Moo Won, saying he can borrow her, he can borrow her forever if he wants. Eun Seol and Moo Won take off and she wonders what debt he’s talking off. He reminds her of the ice-cream incident and she offers to buy him two cones. Ji Heon watches them leave, and notices Moo Won giving Eun Seol his suit jacket to cover up her wet butt.

The Chairman is putting in the backyard while getting an update from his secretary that Ji Heon visited the amusement park today. Grandma pops up from behind a tree and asks why her son doesn’t trust his own son? The Chairman is hilariously startled by her and goes “oh my god, MOM!” and that made me laugh so hard. They are adorable. He asks Grandma if she’s a ninja, wearing black sunglasses and lurking behind trees. AHAHAHA.

She chides him again for not trusting in his own son. When the Chairman asks his mom if she trusts him, she says “of course”. Grandma leaves to eat cold noodles and the secretary finishes his report that the person in charge of the marketing campaign is Na Yoon.

Ji Heon walks into his room and freaks out when he sees his dad inside waiting for him. He tells him dad not to sneak into his room. Dad is like, what sneaking, I had something to tell you so I walked right in. The Chairman asks if Ji Heon met Na Yoon, and whether they reconciled? Ji Heon says it’s none of his dad’s business, and today he went on official work business.

Dad tells him he did well working hard today. The Na Yoon question must’ve really upset Ji Heon, who loses his temper and threatens to quit working or the successor training if his dad asks about her again. The Chairman asks how he dares to threaten him after just one day of work. The Chairman almost reverts back to losing his temper but remembers his vow and decides to just let it go.

But he’s steaming, so when he walks to the door and sees the cardboard cut out of Eun Seol, he hits it and kicks it to relieve some frustration. Ji Heon adorably screams “DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!” The Chairman adorably goes to pick the fallen cut out up and puts it back into position, asking Ji Heon if it’s alright now? But before he leaves, he warns Ji Heon to keep working hard.

Ji Heon is traumatized to see the cut out had a huge rip and the head had fallen over. He gingerly lays it on the ground and screams skyward about the pain his dad hath wrought on him. He flashes back to stalking Moo Won and Eun Seol at the amusement park and Na Yoon demanding to know if he likes Eun Seol? He thinks to himself that it can’t be and tosses his tape on the cut out. But then he gets all worried about his cut out again.

Moo Won’s mom confesses that her stomach hurts because of all the stress and bad vibes. She knows the next step is for the world to know Ji Heon is the anointed successor, which means her Moo Won will be deemed second best. Moo Won says letting the world know is the right thing to do. Which gives his mom the brilliant idea – if the world knows, it’s good for them because it will show Ji Heon’s unworthiness.

Back to what happened at the amusement park, Eun Seol and Moo Won go on a log ride and get a little wet. Moo Won offers Eun Seol a hankerchief to dry herself, and she offers him his suit jacket back. He declines but notices that his white shirt is see through now that it is wet. He asks if it’s awkward for her, and she quickly says no, she’s perfectly good with it. Then her eyes roll over when she realizes how that sounds, like she loves ogling Moo Won, who laughs at her.

Eun Seol tries to explain herself but gives up. She’s totally nervous around him, especially when he fixes her hair and helps her wrap the jacket tighter around her mid-riff. Eun Seol sits in her room, unable to sleep and just staring at Moo Won’s jacket hanging on the wall. She starts berating herself – what if Moo Won thinks she’s a wanton because of what she said?

Myung Ran asks if Eun Seol likes the owner of that jacket? Eun Seol says its more than like, it’s a lot more than like. She explains that Moo Won is Moo God, on the same level as a deity to her. Just like Myung Ran treats her Won Bin-oppa and Hyun Bin-oppa like Gods, that is how Eun Seol views Moo Won. Awwwwww, so cute. Myung Ran chuckles as she understands – it’s liking someone far beyond Eun Seol’s reach.

Ji Heon lays on the floor next to the cut out and keeps thinking to himself – can it be that I like her? How can it be? No, it can’t be? And so on and so forth the poor boy struggles.

Eun Seol is in a packed bus and when she gets off, she accidentally loses a shoe on the bus. She ends up running to Ji Heon’s house with one foot wrapped in a plastic trash bag. She runs into the Chairman outside and personally thanks him for forgiving her transgressions (unaware that the Chairman didn’t actually forgive her that first time around). He acts all stern with her and warns her to do a good job because he’s keeping an eye on her.

Eun Seol enters the house and marvels that Ji Heon is already up. Did he have a sleepless night? He confirms that he did, but then notices she’s wearing one shoe and one trash bag. He asks her which night club did she lose her shoe at. She says the bus, but he tells her it’s quite a talent she has, losing one shoe. Perhaps she ought to apply to a talent company and it might make her successful.

Eun Seol grumbles that Ji Heon doesn’t understand because he’s never taken the bus. Ji Heon snarks that seeing Eun Seol in an embarrassing state immediately brightens his mood. He thanks her, for being so utterly crazy, unkempt, and shameless, implication being it’s a good reminder that he can’t possibly like a girl such as Eun Seol. Oh Ji Heon, you’re already so gone it’s not even funny.

Eun Seol wonders why he’s already making fun of her so early in the morning. He says since they are up so early, they might as well head to work. He offers her any shoe in the shoe rack behind her. Eun Seol opens the shoe rack and grabs a pair of flat lady loafers. The Chairman is informed that Ji Heon’s successor status has become front page news, which pisses the Chairman off.

Ji Heon and Eun Seol arrive at work and are immediately surrounded by the media. Eun Seol goes to protect Ji Heon, which is when another reporter barrels into her. Ji Heon pushes the reporter off Eun Seol and demands that he apologize to her. They go inside the lobby and Ji Heon immediately checks her arm to make sure she’s okay, but he totally grabs it and moves it up and down like she’s puppet.

He realizes what he’s doing and quickly drops her arm. He tells her to get use to this happening from now on and not be so frightened. Eun Seol tells him that now is not the time to worry about her. Ji Heon concurs, now is not the time to worry about Noh Eun Seol. In fact, he won’t worry about her, thanking her for clearing his head.

Eun Seol thanks him for shielding her back there, and in doing so, he was just a little bit cool. Ji Heon, who was stalking off, stops when she compliments him and turns around with a happy little boy expression. He smiles at Eun Seol as she smiles shyly at him. But then he realizes he’s turning moony again around her and shakes his head to snap out of it. He wags his finger at her, telling her that he won’t be enticed by her.

The Chairman watches the news and tells his secretary to turn off his phone. The other executive, Manager Park, thinks back to his conversation with Moo Won’s mom where she asked him to convince all the other executives to back Moo Won. The Chairman asks what the reaction has been, and is told it’s the worst possible scenario. Stockholders, while aware of Ji Heon as the possible successor, nevertheless is completely against it now that it has become a reality. They suggest the Chairman release a press statement denying the news but the Chairman refuses, because that would undermine his entire plan to install Ji Heon as the successor.

The secretaries gossip that Ji Heon and Eun Seol are not just an innocent boss-secretary relationship, and snark that the company X-Man cannot possibly be the successor. Eun Seol overhears and walks over, telling them not to gossip about baseless things. The secretaries say it isn’t baseless, Eun Seol does have an odd relationship to Ji Heon. Eun Seol warns them not to speak poorly about Ji Heon, and confirms there is nothing between her and Ji Heon other than professionally. In fact, she doesn’t even see Ji Heon as a man.

Ji Heon overhears this and goes back to his office to brood. Eun Seol comes in and tries to cheer him up, thinking he’s brooding about the public reaction to him being named the successor. He says this is fine, since all he wants to do is eat, play, and sleep all day long. Eun Seol turns to leave which is when Ji Heon gets up and corners her against the wall. He informs her that his ID card starts with the number 1 (which all males have), so if he’s not a man, then what is he?

Eun Seol realizes he overheard her and chastises him for eavesdropping, which belies her calling him not a man in her eyes. Ji Heon tells her to shut up – first she said he was cool this morning, and now she says he’s not a man. Her words are inconsistent! Eun Seol says that the cool was purely a momentary thing caused by the situation. Ji Heon then presses up against Eun Seol even closer.

She asks what he’s doing, and he says this shouldn’t matter since she doesn’t see him as a man. In fact, he doesn’t see Eun Seol as a woman either. The mood then becomes quiet as they look each other in the eyes. Ji Heon grabs his chest, which is beating wildly. Finally Eun Seol head butts him and grabs him for an arm lock. She warns him that if he dares pull such a prank on her again….

Ji Heon says she was nervous back there, she might as well admit it (that she does see him as man). Eun Seol grabs his arm even harder, which he takes to confirm her agitation. She tosses him on the ground and warns that if he ever messes with her again, she will personally break every bone in his body. Eun Seol runs off and Ji Heon watches her leave with a smile, smirking that she was definitely excited back there. Then he wonders if he’s really going crazy.

Moo Won and Na Yoon sit in the courtyard sipping iced coffee and discussing the signing of the contact where she will handle their marketing campaign. Back to their possible arranged marriage, Moo Won says he declined already, he doesn’t want a loveless marriage. Na Yoon sputters and asks why he declined? Moo Won wonders why she cares since she doesn’t want it either. Oh, I think I understand Na Yoon’s weird flirting with Moo Won. She wants an arranged marriage with Moo Won to upset Ji Heon and get him to want her back. She doesn’t really want Moo Won, she just wants Ji Heon to think she wants him, and that will arouse his jealousy due to cousinly rivalry.

Na Yoon doesn’t want to see Ji Heon today, because that will just hurt her pride even more. Suddenly Eun Seol runs out and starts sputtering. She picks up a can on the ground and the drop kicks it to relieve her frustration at Ji Heon. Moo Won is impressed while Na Yoon is shocked. When Eun Seol drop kicks a second empty can, it flies right into Na Yoon’s forehead. I swear, I love the physical humor in this drama.

Eun Seol looks in horror and quickly runs over, asking Na Yoon if she’s alright? Na Yoon adorably sobs “why are you doing this to me?” Moo Won checks out her forehead and says it looks fine, no damage done. Na Yoon’s eyes almost pop out of her socket as she wails that there was damage done!

Eun Seol tries to explain that it really wasn’t intentional. If it was, there would be no way her aim would be so perfect it’d hit Na Yoon squarely in the middle of her forehead. Oh Eun Seol, small consolation for the person whose foreheard bore the brunt of your Ji Heon frustrations. Eun Seol tells Na Yoon to go ahead and strike her forehead back. Moo Won starts laughing.

Eun Seol and Myung Ran are at the supermarket when they run into Ji Heon’s former secretary. They recognize each other and the guy still remembers the headlock and pretends he doesn’t know Eun Seol. She apologizes for last time and says he can remember now, her identity has become public knowledge. Myung Ran asks who the guy is, and is told the guy getting fired is the reason why she has a job today. He wishes her luck in the job.

Ji Heon comes home and sees Grandma talking to the dog. He’s told that Grandma is upset because she’s missing a pair of shoes, and we hear Grandma adorably asking the dog why someone would take her shoes. Ji Heon, the perpetrator of the shoe loss, tip toes past Grandma and runs into the house. Ji Heon flops on his bed and thinks back to his interaction with Eun Seol, getting him all confused and moony.

He decides to…..work to keep his mind off her. The Chairman opens the door later and sees his son diligently working. He quickly runs to his mom and informs her that he saw Ji Heon working. The Chairman giggles that he initially thought that maybe he was seeing things. He tells him mom to go check for herself if she doesn’t believe him. The Chairman calls his secretary to convey a board meeting.

At the board meeting, Eun Seol runs into Grandma in the corridor. Grandma spies her shoes on Eun Seol’s feet. Eun Seol sees Grandma’s red crocodile Birkin bag and asks if it’s a fake. She can tell because she has so many fakes of her own. The two bitchy secretaries spy Eun Seol talking with the Chairman’s mother and is peeved that Eun Seol seems to be on such good terms with her.

At the board meeting, the Chairman listens to everyone complain about stock prices dropping due to Ji Heon being named successor. The Chairman announces that he will groom Ji Heon to be a worthy successor, and if Ji Heon proves unworthy, he will personally fire him. Moo Won’s mom mentions how her son is already groomed to run this company.

Grandma speaks up and says that since the Chairman has decided already, she will follow his wishes. Twenty-five years ago, when the Chairman was named successor, back then the company was in an uproar about such a guy taking over. Everyone said the company would go bankrupt in one year. Ji Heon is totally laughing his head off to hear about his dad getting no respect back then. Grandma says that he’s proven to do a good job, even when he has made mistakes. She asks everyone to trust the Chairman this time again.

Moo Won’s mom asks what will happen if there are dire consequences. The Chairman says he will put himself on the line, he will put his position on the line and take responsibility if this fails. Ji Heon looks shocked, and Moo Won’s mom reminds the Chairman that he’s already spoken, so he needs to keep his promise.

The two in-laws run into each other in the elevator. The Chairman keeps following Moo Won’s mom until she agrees to speak with him. He asks her not to do this, he will treat Moo Won right. She thinks it’ll entail tossing a little store for Moo Won to run. He reminds her that back then, his older brother (her husband) got his fair share. He asks her not to be so greedy. She asks him the same thing. The Chairman concedes that she is a truly capable business woman, having rescued her husband’s company from the brink of bankruptcy. He asks for a truce, can’t they just have some peace?

The Chairman watches the news about Ji Heon’s succession and later he wakes up in bed because he can’t sleep. Ji Heon sits in his room and thinks back to his father’s job is one the line now for him. He gets up and walks over to the Eun Seol cut out, vowing to at least pretend to be competent for the near term. He can’t have his dad become unemployed because of him. He warns the Eun Seol cut out not to bother him and mess with his head during this time.

The Chairman comes in to talk with Ji Heon, confessing that he can’t sleep tonight because he’s so worried about him. We see the Chairman constantly walking into Ji Heon’s office to offer assistance and encouragement, telling him that he believes Ji Heon can do it.

Eun Seol helps Ji Heon prepare his presentation, and she’s a strict task worker, keeping himfrom flopping around and twirling in his chair. Ji Heon sees the word “memory” written by Eun Seol on the white board, which gives him an inspiration about his presentation. He turns around only to find Eun Seol nodding off on the sofa. Ji Heon stares at her softly with a smile. He slides a pillow behind her and leans her back against the sofa. He lifts her legs onto the table and then takes off his jacket to cover her with it. He’s so pleased with himself, remarking that he sure is a great boss.

Ji Heon works all night on his presentation while Eun Seol sleeps. When she wakes up, he shows off his finished presentation that he did all by himself while she blissfully slumbered. She grabs it to read, asking if he did it himself. Ji Heon looks really nervous, and then lets out a silent fist punch of victory when Eun Soel compliments him on doing a good job. He says it’s child’s play, he is quite creative and can do anything if he puts his mind to it. But then he can’t help but tease her because she looks so unkempt waking up in the morning.

Na Yoon meets with Ji Heon and shows him her marketing proposal. He says he’ll look at it. She asks if that’s the entirety of his lackluster response. It totally hurts her pride because she stayed up all night working on it. Eun Seol goes to return the suit jacket to Moo Won after she had it dry-cleaned. He asks if she has time for lunch since he has no plans and will end up eating a sandwich. Eun Seol says yes, but has to call Ji Heon to get permission. He grudgingly gives her permission but she has to eat quickly and hurry up and come back.

Ji Heon is reading Na Yoon’s proposal and she asks who it was on the phone. He ignore her and discusses the project, but she grumbles that it must’ve been that secretary. I love how NON passive-aggressive she is, which is the hallmark of so many second female leads. Ji Heon says he’ll finish reading the proposal at home and moves to leave. Na Yoon warns that he if gets up, she’ll start wailing and pointing fingers at him to cause a scene. She actually starts to cry until Ji Heon addresses her, then the tears stop.

Ji Heon confesses that he was taken aback when he first saw her after she came back to Korea. She did affect him. Na Yoon listens to this happily. But her smile disappears when Ji Heon says he promptly forgot about it. His brain has a reaction to Na Yoon but then immediately forgets about her. He says he’ll contact her after he reads the proposal more carefully.

Ji Heon walks outside and happens to see Moo Won and Eun Seol sitting down at a restaurant. Moo Won asks about Ji Heon’s project and she says it’s going well. Suddenly Eun Seol gets a call from Ji Heon, who asks if she’s dining with his most hated foe Cha Moo Won. She asks if he has an emergency but he just wants to know who she is dining with. She pretends that their phone lost connection, but we see Ji Heon is watching her from RIGHT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW. Ahahahaha. Moo Won looks at her and laughs as well.

Suddenly Ji Heon pounds on the window and Eun Seo turns and sees him, recoiling in horror. Moo Won tells her it’ll be okay. Ji Heon demands that she come outside right now. He ends up running inside, and we see that Na Yoon has caught up to Ji Heon and also spies the other two dining inside. Ji Heon demands that Eun Seol stay away from Moo Won, and Moo Won stay away from Eun Seol.

Ji Heon says his spidey sense tells him that Moo Won has plotted against him in the past and is up to no good in the future. He wants to know if Moo Won is asking about Ji Heon’s project, while Eun Seol apologizes to Moo Won for Ji Heon’s suspicious behavior. Ji Heon grabs Eun Seol by the collar to drag her out, and Moo Won makes him let go. He smiles and tells Eun Seol they can dine next time, but it’ll be twice. Moo Won says to Ji Heon that each time Ji Heon interrupts, he’ll double it with Eun Seol the next time. So he welcomes Ji Heon’s interruptions. Na Yoon just stands there being completely ignored, and she asks out loud what is going on with these guys, is she invisible?

Na Yoon cries in her office and her mom finds her in her foul mood. Mom chides her for crying and for wearing such an ugly outfit. Na Yoon confesses that neither Cha son is giving her the time of day. Mom asks if they both have a woman. Na Yoon nods that they both treat her like air and only care about “that girl.” Grandma is at home and reads Eun Seol’s resume.

The Chairman dines with Grandma and he moves to leave the table, citing lack of appetite. Grandma asks him what she’s always told him as his mother, that leaving food behind means a loss of prosperity. The Chairman asks why she’s threatening her own son, especially when he needs extra prosperity right now. He takes a big bite of his rice and Grandma tells him that he’s getting his prosperity back right now. She reminds him to eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Oh geez, how awesome can they be. *____* I love Grandma and the Chairman.

The Chairman peeks into Ji Heon’s room to see him hard at work. Ji Heon turns and spies his dad outside, asking if he wants anything. The Chairman enters and asks how the project is coming along. Ji Heon smiles and says it’s almost done, and turns his computer to show his dad, who tells him to keep working hard. The board meeting is the day after, and all Ji Heon needs to do is present it at the meeting successfully.

Ji Heon is flustered and asks if he has to personally present and is told that is how things are done at all such board meetings, but since Ji Heon always ran out early, he doesn’t realize it. The Chairman confirms he has to present and just explain his proposal and vision. Ji Heon stands there with his mouth wide open.

He goes to the board room and remembers the last time when he gave a presentation. He immediately notices so many pairs of eyes trained on him and he gets nervous and flustered. Real Ji Heon calls the nervous Ji Heon in his memory an idiot, for freaking out. He has tears in his eyes as he walks out of the board room.

Eun Seol notices Ji Heon’s down mood and drags him to a small restaurant to eat and drunk makgulli. She tells him to drink it in one big gulp. She wants him to cheer up because her job depends on him. He gives her permission to hit him, and she does. Heh. She asks if he will work hard from now on and not give up. He reminds her that he made a promise in public to do it.

Ji Heon takes another gulp of the makgulli and confess to Eun Seol that he can’t do it – speaking in public, doing interviews, he can’t do any of it. He’s someone who shrinks at board meetings and gets slapped around by his own secretary. How can a guy like him be a successor to the company. Eun Seol asks if perhaps he can give a speech without being present? Ji Heon says there is not such thing as a Chairman who doesn’t show his face.

Eun Seol says they will find another way. Ji Heon says there is no other way. Eun Seol shares a story she read, about a man who though he was an idiot his entire life, because his grade school teacher incorrectly wrote his 173 IQ as just 73. Ji Heon says he must be a moron because she can’t even tell if he’s a genius himself. Eun Seol says that since everyone around him kept saying he was a moron, he ended up believing it.

Ji Heon asks if she’s talking about his potential, if so, then she can save it for someone else. Eun Seol says if she believes she can do something, she makes it happen. Her simple wish for now is that Ji Heon presents the proposal at the board meeting. She promises they will find a way. Eun Seol and the driver manage to deposit a drunk Ji Heon into the car.

Ji Heon pulls Eun Seol into the backseat with him, instead of the front where she usually sits. During the drive home, Ji Heon turns to stare at Eun Seol. She asks what he wants? He murmurs that it feels like he’s totally head over heels. Like a cosmic rock (i.e. the crazy Eun Seol) has lodged itself into center of his brain.

Eun Seol is confused about all this rock in brain talk and he points to her head and says a rock is lodged right here, a place that controls the emotions. He smiles at her and calls her a rock. He leans into her shoulder and rests.

Eun Seol does an online search on brain nerve centers that control the emotion and asks Myung Ran what it means when a rock smashes into it. Myung Ran asks who is talking about this? Eun Seol says it’s nothing. In fact, she knows nothing about it, and she wants to know nothing going forward as well. Eun Seol changes the topic to finding a solution for Ji Heon’s presentation and she hits herself on the head to come up with a solution.

The board has convened but Ji Heon is nowhere to be found. We see Eun Seol get out of a cab and race to the office carrying a big bag. Moo Won gets up and does his presentation first to warm applause. Next up is Ji Heon, and the presentation is about to be tabled for the next meeting when a breathless Eun Seol runs in. She apologizes to everyone and brings a tablet to the front.

Suddenly Ji Heon’s face is projected onto the screen. Ji Heon apologizes to everyone for being late, and asks that they start the presentation now.

Thoughts of Mine:

Can I say how much I am loving all four main characters. Let’s go with the two second leads first. I was fully expecting rich haughty bitch from Na Yoon, who instead is turning out to be emotional, immature, and adorably…..real. With her insecurity, issues with Ji Heon that she hasn’t been able to let go, and her tendency to be so damn expressive about how she feels. She’s like the bitchy second female lead that stands up for what she wants in a way I can accept and understand. Thank god Wang Ji Hye is not being asked to reprise the In Hee Bot from Personal Taste, or go the way of the insane and unreal Yoon Joo from My Princess.

We can all dislike Na Yoon or hope she doesn’t succeed in getting Ji Heon, but at least we can laugh at her attempts and perhaps pat her on the head afterwards and tell her there are other men out there other than a juvenile and emotionally-stunted man-child with psychological issues and a wads of cash. I thought the ice-cream battle between Na Yoon and Eun Seol was priceless, and something I have never seen before in any K-drama. I love how impetuous Na Yoon can be, she’s not cold or calculating. Eun Seol shoving the ice-cream into Na Yoon’s butt was equally awesome, but much more expected. Why do I hope that these two ladies become frenemies and then friends.

Moo Won is still a cipher, at least relative to the other three leads. But I chalk that up to him being genuinely conflicted about what he wants. On hand he must feel shafted because by all accounts he’s the worthy successor to the company, and the one who actually wants the job. Right now Ji Heon kinda wants to just so Moo Won can’t get it, a cut off my nose to spite my face thing. On the other hand, there is probably lots of cousinly bickering and rivalry between them growing up, and that continues to drive them even when they are adults. But I don’t worry about them, because right now they are competing out in the open, and that is something I can respect and appreciate. May the better man win, I say.

I appreciate how quickly the plot moves forward with respect to Ji Heon’s training and progress as the successor of the company. The plot is used to move all the relationships forward, so there are no lags to allow for exposition or plot filler. The Cha family feels like a real, squabbling but ultimately united family, that just happens to be rich. Their characters are not written as rich stereotypes, that’s for sure. The Grandma-Chairman-Ji Heon three generational affection is just brilliantly conceived and executed.

As for the OTP, it’s their friendship that drives this ship. Even if I know the romance will be amazing when it arrives, I’m actually loathe to let go of this early phase where they are engaging in the most basic of all inter-personal relationship formations – using actions to show their true intentions. Ji Heon can see Eun Seol’s true desire to help him even as she doesn’t put up with his bullshit, and Eun Seol actually believes that Ji Heon can be more than what he currently does with his life. I already know that watching Ji Heon mature and succeed is going to be so worthwhile and satisfying.


Comments

Protect the Boss Episode 4 Recap — 88 Comments

    • I checked the ratings. Still solid, but the wrong numbers are being emphasized on Soompi.

      Nationwide: ABG 16.4%, TNS 15.3%

      It only hit 18% for AGB in Seoul, which doesn’t count. Only national numbers are used by the media as benchmarks. Seoul numbers are just for comparison sakes, and are always 1-2% higher than national.

      I hope this drama breaks 20% Nationwide soon. My guess is by episode 10.

      • I forgot to say my thanks as the first poster so firstly thanks a bunch with your beautiful recap Koala Unnie^^

        Then I must say, sorry, out of glee with ep 4 I just mention about the rating that i see in soompi but actually i dont know the details about it :S but I hope it would hit over 20 in future episodes^^

        Your writing is so cute that I also love your comments in the recap:D I am totally in love with this sentence “Oh Ji Heon, you’re already so gone it’s not even funny.?” LOL

        By the way even the flashbacks in this drama is so useful and logical and well-planned, isnt it? First they let us to watch progressed events then they beautifully connect the present time with the flashback events which we have not yet seen before:D, isnt this brilliant? ^^

        The most enjoying scene in this episode was the one between Ji Heon and his dad:D LOL he is so cute being angry to his dad over Eun Seol’s cardboard and his dad is so apologetic picking up and trying to put it right:D LOL
        where can you find such a company owner dad in a drama:D
        and Na Yoon can be the first 2nd female that I may like in a drama:D I am rooting for frenemies then friend plot^^

        Ji Heon is like a 4-year-old-in-love:D all crawling in his bed over whether he likes her or not:D I am sold for his childish behaviors and cute smiles:D OMO *_*

  1. And you said “and we see the ride attendant has hilariously locked arms with Ji Heon this whole time per Eun Seol’s request, and Ji Heon shoves him off now. ROFL, I love these tiny little details”

    I noticed this too, i remember this from your recap yday and was suprised to see the continuity in the scene and the care with which the director has shot this. I still remember the episode where AJ falls down, has her cell phone in her hand and next scene we see her searching for this. Well shot drama i should say and very good story telling in each episode.

  2. Hi ockoala!

    thank you soooo much for the PTB recaps. i’m always looking forward to it that i already become your official blog stalker waiting for the latest update. and the best this is…you don’t disappoint. ^___^

    thank you so much again! all the best!!!

  3. This drama kept being amazing..I love eun sol and that 2female because for once I can see that 2nd female doesn’t win her glory.haha.thanks for recap

  4. What can I say that I love this episode and love the Butt Cream… LOL.. That was a priceless moment for me and I laughed soo much that i cried… ^^ Thank you Koala for this recap while waiting to be fully sub so I can laugh some more… ^^

  5. Thanks so much for the recap, ockoala! They are always so fun to read – a great treat after work.

    Slightly off topic, but don’t you think that the child actress Jung Da Bin (from Manny, most recently) looks a lot like the actress who plays Na Yoon?

  6. I love how this drama takes all these stereotypical character types, the chaebol heir, the poor but plucky heroine, the chairman, the clingy second female lead, etc., and then just turns them on their heads and fleshes them out in a completely non-stereotypical way. Their all just a little slightly off-center, and yet that somehow makes them more relatable. It makes it so fun to watch!

    • They certainly turn stereotypes on their head in PTB

      This is the first chaebol family I’ve seen on a drama that come off like all out gangsters. Usually the rich eviscerate their family and enemies with snobbery and financial (or threat of financial) ruin. In the k-dramas that I’ve seen it’s usually the poorer parents the hit their adult children with all out commitment.

      One thing I think that makes this drama different from most i’ve seen is that the man and woman of the OTP are both in need of improvement. Usually the OTP woman has attained full humanity and the OTP male has some piece of his humanity missing and he only gains full humanity through his interaction with the OTP woman. (See Scent of a Woman) Because of this the second lead males in K-drama and usually initially more attractive.

      But in PTB both Eun Seol and Ji-Heon needs work.
      She is all confidence, energy and drive, but lack resources and the background that make getting on in the business world possible.
      He has access to all available resources, but lacks focus, ambition and confidence.

      So there in a possibility that each will help the other gain what he/she lacks. I like that.

      And the actors are hysterical. I’m not loving the second leads so much but the OTP and their friends and family makes this drama for me.

    • i completely agree with you. like koala, i also like all four characters. it’s so much fun watching how immature they can be, which is not only done for laughs, but because it really suits their personalities–and for the boys the history of their rivalry. this show’s a hoot.

  7. u know Ms. Koala, I decided to come late to office coz 1st thing coming into my mind when I woke up this morning is….READING KOALA’s PTB RECAP, hohoho…thank u so much for ur fast recap.

    Ow..ow…I think my waiting for ep.5 would be crazy, I really hope someone provide a translation of ep.5 preview so my waiting would be a lil bit easier… Ep.4 really great! and I’ve already watched it twice even there is no subs yet, CRAZY!! The feeling when watching PTB is different with when I’m watching other drama. Usually I just want to watched the scene between main character but PTB made me doesn’t want to lose any scene, and I love the “Grandma talking to dog” scene. The dog truly scared when Grandma ask her shoes, hahahhahahhaha. It’s really a solid drama, nice…nice…nice…

    Btw I really curious about the writer of this drama, and it would be great if you could provide us a lil bit bout the writer’s project history. Thank u Ms. Koala

  8. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

    I should call this show “the show that makes my face hurt from smiling.”
    My screen cap folder is filling up fast with this show.
    JJ is simply gorgeous at every angle; it is perfect that ES considers him as reachable as Won and Hyun Bin. But if I were in her shoes, and he approached me with THOSE eyes…omo omo omo… I’m really hoping he tries to kiss her before JH does.
    The PD has found 50 or so JS “adorable” shots. If this show had to do a plush figure, it would have to have JH’s head down turned to slightly to the right, dimples and smile blazing.
    The best part about this killer smile is so far, ES hasn’t seen it.

    Maybe if he shines THAT on her, the resolve she thought she had would dissolve like sugar in the rain. I do love that she reacted to his advances the way she did her last boss. VIOLENTLY. Our heroine is consistent. It’ll take more than a couple close calls before she melts into his arms.

    Thanks again and see you next week!

    • I’m pleased to bits with this drama too, agree to Ockoala I also loved Na Yoon but I’m not ready if this drama will turn me into that pretty Jaejoong fangirl. This noona doesn’t know anything about kpop, so it’s my Jaejoong 1st experience. Omo, his prettiness is out of this world..

      http://en.korea.com/jyj/?p=8117

      Thank you Ockoala.

      • And he sang the ost at episode 3 too XD *the scene where ES massage JH hand and fall asleep*

        And thank you ockoala for recapping this drama. I don’t usually watch kdrama because i prefer jdorama more than kdrama. But this drama is really awesome and different than the usual kdrama and i’m loving it. I can feel myself getting anxious for episode 5..and it’s still friday.. >.<

  9. I started watching this drama because of your recaps, and boy am I glad that I did. Utter awesomeness, this show! I would’ve hated myself for missing out on it. Thanks for the recap! (Which thankfully got backed-up from your computer crash, no? XD)

  10. Thanks for the recap, Koala! I look forward to it every morning. I’m really enjoying the relationship between the Chas…. I think the one between Moo Won and Ji Heon is more ‘friendly, mischievous competitive” than “mean-spirited competitive”. I think the two does have a weird kind of affection for each other. Shoulder bumps! LOL.

    That scene in the boardroom with JH was really touching. It really shows that he DOES care about making dad proud, and he feels so helpless about his condition. I wonder how dad will react if he finds about JH’s anxiety problem? I hate to say this but I don’t think Dad will react very well at first – he’s all temper first – and JH’s fears will be proven right …

    Love how Ji Heon’s relationship with Eun Seol is progressing. It’s very organic and natural. Though personally I wish that JH would take some time falling in love with her and not so early …

    And what the heck is up with Moo Won’s mom? She does appear really greedy. I don’t get it.

    Grandma is so cool … can’t wait for ES to find out who she is!

    • for muwon’s mom, i think she is more of wanting her son to be the CEO than being greedy. If i was his mom, i will be angry too. Her son currently is more competent than Jiheon but the chairman keeps wanting to pass his position to his own son who is not interested in his work and has the disorder.

      • @hmmm
        IA, I mean If I was MW’s mom I probably will feel the same. MW actually is the most competent to run The Company.
        I could understand why Jiheon’s dad want his son the be his successor, but it’s obvious Jiheon isn’t interested, he is very cute but he is too childish.
        Also I really love Cha Grandma but she is also very biased. ..I still don’t understand why she also favored alot Jihun over MW, aren’t both of them her grandsons?? There must be something more that probably I will understand in the rest episodes.

  11. Thanks soooooo much for the speedy recap!!! i love this show…..i’m here every day for the latest scoop on everything in Kdramaland….. i watched it on viikii but translation was not complete so of course i read about it here first then watch…you are the best!!!

  12. Thanks for the recap! I found myself nodding enthusiastically through it and your commentary. You’ve hit on all the things I love about this drama right now. The entire drama is like a refreshing drink of young coconut water ( I’m addicted to Vita Coca these days)!

    I must have replayed the scenes of the dad hitting the cardboard Eun Seol (and Ji Heon’s reaction to it) and of Ji Heon trying to get Eun Seol to think of him as a man (**squeals**) and her twisting his arm (serves him right!) a bajillion times! And Na Yoon is one fun second lead to watch. She is one bumbling character too.

    I still don’t get the whole successor thing though. So was the company originally Ji Heon and Moo Won’s grandma’s? or Moo Won’s dad’s? Anyways, it just seems sad that Moo Won would get passed over just because his dad died before he was too young to naturally succeed him.

    • My take 0n the company:

      It was started by Grandpa (dead) and Grandma (alive and super awesome). They had two sons: older was Moo Won’s dad, younger was Ji Heon’s dad (now Chairman).

      It appears that Moo Won’s dad was passed over for succession even before he died, ergo he was given his company(ies) to run and the Chairman was given to Ji Heon’s dad.

      Which turned out to be for the best, because Moo Won’s dad almost ran his company into the ground, which was only resurrected thanks to the capable hands of Moo Won’s mom.

      I don’t think Moo Won’s dad being alive will net either him or Moo Won the Chairman’s set.

      My take on Moo Won’s mom – I sense some issues btw her and Ji Heon’s dad (perhaps exes that didn’t work out?) and she’s probably very bitter that she married the loser brother, and now her son is the better choice for Chairman and is getting passed over.

      I do not think she’s greedy at all or this is about money. I think there are a lot of understandable issues at play.

      Damn it, I LOVE THIS DRAMA.

      • There’s one thing that really annoys me. Grandma is totally picking sides. It’s great that she wants Jihun to get the chance of showing his true ability in the business world, but isn’t Muwon her grandkid too?Muwon seriously gets the short end of the stick.

      • Yeah, when I think about it MW seems to be like the ‘least liked’ grandkid or something. Maybe because grandma sees that JH needs lots of help and MW is so capable he doesn’t need her support. Still, it is favouritism…

      • but isn’t the grandma jeopardize the company future playing favorite. Also I see no grandma-grandson interaction between the grandma and MW. At first I thought they are not related due to zero interaction.

      • unless.. MW’s dad is a son of the grandad (grandma’s dead hubby) from other women or previous marriage.. reason why grandma is not so adoring MW and reason why his dad was never made successor of the company even if he is older than Jisung’s dad (or my imagination is playing too much kekekeke)

      • SO the grandma seems biased towards Jiheon? I also was thinking the same. So much rivalry and favoritism towards Jiheon it’s gonna awake MW’s dark side..lol

      • As far as Granma’s bias, maybe the unrevealed past will explain some things.
        Before HJ’s trauma, could he have been the brighter of the two grandsons?
        Was his sister’s (guessing) death what caused him to turn inward because of something one of these people did? (a)MW (b) MW father (c) Grandma (d) Grandpa?
        Or, was MW involved early on in some near death experience that makes him more precious to his Grandma? I know this happens with mothers who have very very sick infants, or toddlers. They can’t help but favor them having had to face the possibility that they would lose them.
        Totally digging for some drama-shaped backstory to complete this puzzle.

  13. Thanks for the recaps.

    I hope this drama continue what it’s been doing so far with Na Yoon character.
    We always know that the second lead will never get the man, and we hate her for doing damage for our heroine. What I love about this drama is that I can laugh at loud at Na Yoon and see her resort crumble without hating her.
    She just fight for her love, and like you said, may the best man/woman win 🙂

  14. I’m really confused! According to ViKi subs, NY and MW are more than just “friends” and allies working to make JH jealous…something actually happened between them? When they had their meeting and his secretary left, their conversation made it sound like something happened. (due to her hormones? WTF?) Like she slept with MW?

    GAAHHHH! I need to learn Korean. 🙁

      • I just watched EP 3 again with different subs (KimchiDrama) and they still say sort of the same thing! Something about “sexual hormones” and their relationship becoming a different kind of friendship. So yea…it DOES sound like something went on between them. Which makes me not get on board with the thinking that NY is a nice person.
        Can someone clear this up besides me? (LOL)

  15. Only 4 episodes in and I’m hooked. More so than the plot, this drama gets me addicted because of how it breaks through all the streotypical cliches in kdramas. I had set in my mind how all the characters would be like. And not one turned out to be like how I expected.

    I like how this drama is taking it slow with the real intentions of all the characters, mainly the 2nd leads. What does Muwon really want? Does Nayoon really like Jihun? It’s something to keep us wanting more.

    From the preview of the next episode, it looks like we’ll be able to look more into the character of Muwon. It’d be nice to finally know what he feels. I seriously doubt that he’s malicious in any way though.

  16. Thank you so much for the recap! I watched the first half without any subs or recap, and nearly lost it from laughing so hard. That kick-the-can scene was hilarious! When I got home from work your recap was up so I rewatched the whole thing.

    This is such crack. While I love the other shows I’m watching, this one has me chomping at the bit for more. I will be really, really, really ticked off if the network screws this one up. It has potential to be my favorite ‘drama’ EVER…

    • I know, and I think you misread my sentence. I mentioned her playing In Hee in PT, and then I said that thank god she’s not being asked to play a Yoon Joo in MP type of second lead, without reference to her playing Yoon Joo in MP.

  17. I’m so in love with this series. It’s has funny and sweet moments, the characters are so believable and the plot is interesting. I’m really invested in the relationships between the members of the family. For me, there are just so many little details that elevate this drama from the “great” level to an “awesome” level. For example, the recurring theme of shoes in connection with Eun Seol. Since I’m a Jaejoong fangirl (^_^), I really like his character – Moo Won seems conflicted between rooting for his cousin and standing up for himself to get what he deserves. Plus he’s cute, kekeke.

  18. OcKoala: I want ur advice…i am loving this series, totally thanks to ur amazing recaps but haven’t watched it yet coz am not sure if it is gonna be as interesting as ur recaps…should i watch it? Or just continue with ur recaps?

    • Hi zoe~ Maybe this quote from Ms. Koala’s PTB Ep. 3 recap will help you: I think it’s safe to announce now that this drama rocks so hard, it can put on its own concert at Madison Square Garden and I guarantee it’ll sell out. What are you waiting for? Get. On. This. Ride. Now.

  19. Thanks so much for doing these recaps. Its always more fun when the person recapping also is enjoying the drama as well 😀
    The head butt scene might have been my favorite in the episode so far, right up there with the ice cream fight. I have never scene anything like that in a drama around adults either. I really like NaYoon’s character. Her faces are so funny. She is another serious actor that I would have never imagined being so funny doing physical comedy.
    And the family dynamics is for sure what is keeping me hooked on this drama.

    And Jaejoong(MuWon) in a wet white dress shirt was such great fan service this drama is giving me everything I could want in a rom-com.

    • Waaaiiitttt a minute! What happened to the vest that Moo Won was wearing right before we got the view of his wet white dress-shirt? I don’t know why I even noticed that since the ensuing scene was so cute and funny.

      Thanks, ockoala for recapping this! I do love all four of the leads.

  20. Thanks for your recaps. I look forward to them after every episode.
    After watching Princess Hour and Full House I lost interest in Kdramas
    but Protect the Boss is all kind of different from the usual. The casts all
    have great chemistry. Hope the ratings continue to rise and looking forward
    for more of your recaps.

  21. thanks for the recaps sistah! i love the ice cream scene between the girls… so fuuuuny! PTB just gets better and better each episode.

  22. I don’t like the OTP at all. I think they’re both ugly.
    The girl who plays Na Yoon and Jaejoong are very pretty though.
    Jaejoong is so pretty it kind of bothers me. I think he looks like a pretty boy idol star, not a capable business man, to be honest.

      • @blusocks

        Don’t let the comment bother you in the least. Shallowness may indicate a mental handicap evidenced by the inability to ascertain what it critical in forming an opinion and instead focuses on what is superficial. We should feel sorry for NN.

        Also, NN’s eyesight may be failing as well, otherwise why would NN find ugly what everyone finds truly beautiful (what lovely acting, what wonderful expressiveness).

        NN has my condolences. It must suck to be thus burdened with a surfeit of shallowness AND be going blind.

    • This is so wrong! U shouldn’t be so shallow unless u r like 10 years old…but even 10 years old these days are not that shallow.

  23. Koala…After reading your recaps, started to watch PTB…really like it. Except for his hair (maybe they’ll all get new ‘dos like in LTM), Ji Sung is so good as Ji Heon. Love the interaction with Eun Seol…hope they don’t screw this one up…Thanks

  24. Thank GOD for tablets. Wooot!!!!!! I love how this show is going. I can not believe we are only on the fourth episode. Koala I Love your writing, and its even better when your totes inlove with the show. It becomes so much better for me andeverone else. Because then its not all about watching. Its about enjoying it in its absolute entirety and with others!!! I can believe this is only episode 4. That means there will be enough time for Eun Seol to definitely fall for Ji Heon. Yipppppeeeeeeee.

  25. I know virtually nothing about directing, so I’m really not qualified to even attempt any kind of objective judgment about the directing, but my subjective impression as a layperson is that this drama is one of those rarest of creatures: a drama that hits the stellar writing/acting/directing trifecta. Someone who’s more knowledgeable than I am may be able to point out some glaring flaws that I’m not seeing– but even if they did, that wouldn’t change the fact that I love this drama so much, it hurts.

    Thanks a million, Koala, for your wonderful recap and commentary, and for loving this drama to pieces, too. We’re honored to have you recapping it.

  26. This “drama” makes me laugh, cry and slaps me in the face a few times!!

    Love how this magical relationship is blooming between Kid (Ji Heon) and Kung Fu (Eun Seol) they stay side by side, helping each other, being “there” for the other. Scolding, bickering, laughing and worrying about the other, like when yo truly found some one who can fill you, some one who can feel you, some one who can really, really read you!! Every time Kid protects her I laugh, coz, he do it unconsciously, and how she “punch” him, when he needed to be punch, literally and figuratively speaking LOL! They are so made for each other like a ring to a finger.

    X – you are so pathetic it is freaking hilarious!! And Yes you ARE invisible!! If the man you want in your freaking, totally boring life, plays with a freaking straw and the only thing that says is “what is on the menu”, and he wasn’t even talking to you… Girl get your bags coz that train leave your station ages ago! Jeez!!!

    Cousin-from-hell- I love you, I freaking do baby! You are hotness with legs! Seriously, you are the man I want to wake up next for the rest of my freaking life, with the cute red polka dot bow on your head and all!! Hilarious!! But there is something you most learn… When you focus on something, and no matter what you do, you cant get that, baby, that thing ain’t for you! God knows what you want, but gave you what you need! Give me a call honey, you will always be welcome!! Bring the freaking bow too! LOL

    Granny and Papa Chairman, you are so real, that remind me of my family! We laugh, we fight, we even trow some pots, but at the end, we are family! La mia famiglia, at the end family is the only thing left. Even if they want to take everything from you! *coughs, Cousin-from-hell and mommy, coughs*!!! LOL

    Hey Kid, she did tremble, and get nervous! So keep walking, keep pushing coz you are getting in her nerves! In a good way! LOL

    **BTW I really think that cousin-from-hell is falling for Kung Fu, but as the meanie, he will end up using her, and hurting her… a pitty, coz he is so HOT!!! LOL

      • You asks for my avatar? Nah, it just he looks cute with the red bow polka dot! BTW his smile is dazzling! LOL I think I found a new object of my affection! LOL, just for the time being! LOL

  27. When City Hunter ended, l’ve been thinking which dramas should l replace to my addition towards Korean Drama. Could it be Spy Myung Wol (l stopped watching at Episode 8). Or Heartstring (l have very less interest even with Pak Shin Hye and Jung Hwa as their leads). So l turned to J-Dorama, Ikemen Desu Ne beside my addiction to Scent With a Woman.

    But after l read your recap, l started to watch Protect the Boss and have no interest at all at first (but l still read your recap until episode 4). Have nothing else to watch, l started again watching Ep 1 to Ep 4, and all l can say is this is the drama that make me laugh and smile and relief and crazy onto it. Especially starts from Ep 3, l know that this is so awesome even the leads that l don’t really know and the first male lead that is not so as handsome as Eric in Spy Myung Wol, but l can tell that not even one scene that bored me, l want to see all without skip any scene (l use to forward scenes that l feel bored and no interest).

    The female lead is super cute and have gorgeous body and the first male lead that is so addicted to watch him added with both send leads that so funny and beautiful / handsome, this drama really put me from stupid and bad mood to smile and happy.

    Go Korean Drama.

    • It catch you by surprise huh? I was taking a “drama sabbatical” whatever that means! LOL After LTM and Manny I just stoped with the dramas.

      But then I started reading the Episode 1 recap, and I fall in love, watch the episodes back to back to back to back! It was a freaking Protect the Boss marathon, and I was laughing like a freaking mad cow! I laugh so hard and so much, that I was freaking crying! OMG I’m getting so addicted to this one.

      I found a winner, a drama that hook me and that is a difficult thing, coz, there are one that hook me at first and in the middle run out of gas, and well we die in the freaking desert! LOL So hoping to be on that wagon till the end!!

  28. Dear Chocolatte02, l started to have interest in K-Drama also from Full House. That was when l felt really stuck to K-Drama. By now, l’ve seen quite a numbers of it of which l can tell you which is which are good. Protect the Boss is indeed really make me crazy and laugh and smile everytime.

    But there is still a lot of other K-drama that is good. Why don’t try to watch Lee Min Ho in City Hunter. l’ve recommended it to a few of my friends too. It was rumoured to be best K-Drama for 2011 (or best action drama 2011, at least).

    Anyway, Goong / Princess Hours is kinda good. It is a romance drama. If you like Romance, try Secret Garden with Hyun Bin in it. l watched it 5 times.

    • thanks for the rec
      i will try one of these dramas
      secret garden sounds good
      city hunter has ppl raving but i heard the ending is disappointing?

  29. Just watched this ep for the 4th time.
    Did anyone notice how Na Yoon moves her upper body? She can move her shoulders into positions I have never seen. If you watch her in the bathroom showdown, with her arms crossed, you can see attitude screaming out from her before she speaks.
    I compared the shoulder moving ability to ES’s in that scene. It must be something they teach in beautiful second lead female school.

    • To me, Wang Ji Hye is a bona fide leading lady. Yeouido doesn’t know what to do with her. Na Yoon looks to be a worthy role for her talents bc it’s not a stock second female lead. But her talent is in the details of body language and connection with the camera and her co-stars.

      Watch this:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wjx5VvkmNk

      But a warning that FOL can destroy you. You might need a few days to recover and pick yourself off the floor. I just *think* about Dong Soo (Binnie) and I start crying.

      • Thanks for the YT link…
        Didn’t watch FOL but looks like it’s those drama that will make my heart bleed.

        And you are right, Wang JI Hye looks luminous in the vid!

  30. Wonderful recaps!! Thank you…. Glad to know your blog!

    I love the leading lady – Choi Gang Hee. So natural and perfect.. why on earth I never saw her before. The more I see her, the more I love and adore her. Mind you – I’m no lesbo. I prefer Ji Sung 😛 and I wan to run my fingers through his hair – pull and pull and pull and pull to make it straight!! I’m glad he takes on a nutty role.. which is different from his earlier roles. He can do comedy! 🙂 I have a crush on him but JJ is sooo good looking that my heart also squeeels for him. Haha!

    I’ve gotta say Wang Ji-Hye’s bitchy character makes me smile. Strange that I don’t hate her one bit. Perhaps, I’m biased after watching her in Friend, Our Legend – an unforgettable drama that makes my heart bleed…

    • Wang Ji Hye in Friend, Our Legend is simply……..I have no words that can do justice to her performance, her character, and her chemistry with Binnie AND Kim Min Joon. It was a career-making performance that I will never ever forget.

      I think she glowed from within.

  31. Hello Koala, I’m new here and I have to say I greatly enjoy your site.

    My opinions: I understand that we are all humans of flesh and blood. We all react to good-looking people but some comments here bother me. If you have had problems going through a drama before because of the actors’ looks then maybe the drama isn’t the problem, maybe it is you.

    KangHee, Jisung, Jaejoong and JiHye are lovely people. They have great personalities and they are very good-looking to boot. That is lovely but secondary to the respect they have for each other which translates into great chemistry on the set. They do justice to their roles and if some of you can’t see that then I feel sorry for you.

    I love EunSeol. She isn’t some perfect girl. She has flaws and she doesn’t judge JiHeon, she simpy points out to him his options. It is up to him to decide and whatever he chooses, she’ll support him to the best of her abilities.

    NaYoon is a bit spoiled, she acts on impulse and has her childish/dysfunctional moments. She is pretty funny but is it just me or does this NaYoon seems different from the more mature one in JiHeon’s memories? Don’t you guys think?

    MuWon is a character that I think we will understand more as the drama continues. At the moment his rivalry with JiHeon is humorous/childish but his background story along with his moms’, is missing. A lot of other things haven’t been answered yet though so we have to be patient with him. For now I’m satisfied with Jaejoong’s acting.

    JiHeon, what can I say about him? They couldn’t have picked a better actor for him and he will also give surprises as the story continues. He is hilarious.

    • You say it all, and in variety is beauty! If you are gonna use the same “gorgeous” actors to every freaking drama out there, you will be bored at the first 3 minutes of it, why, coz, you know them all! LOL

      I never saw any of them in another drama, coz I’m a newbie, but they are exploding my freaking brain out! BTW the male lead is hilarious! They way he scream “Dad, what are you doing?” When Papa Chairman was kicking Kung Fu image!!! Priceless! He looks like a kid who was witnessing the destruction of his favorite toy! Unbelievable!! LOL

  32. Thanks for the recap! I absolutely loved episode 4. The 4 leads are amazing and the situations that pop up are hilarious. I laughed so hard during the lunch scene and when Eun Seol kicks the can and hits Na Yoon in the head :] Can’t wait for the next episode. Oh, and I was so happy to see that Eun Seol thought of a solution for the board meeting!! Yes!

  33. Thanks for all the recap Koala…it’s what lure me to watch this drama today and i am not dissappointed!! This show is HILARIOUS! I Love this drama =)

  34. damn you koala ! if i have to declare bankrupcy am taking you down with me . LOL JK how many dramas am i even watching ?? still need to go back and finish best love and 49 days . Sigh .
    anyway Na Yoon has to be my favorite second lead to EVER . i loved the scene where she was all cool and composed with ji heon and then she went off crying in the bathroom LOL that’s something i would do . which is so weird to actually see this kind of second lead character in a Kdrama . They are mostly there to be hated and nothing more . as for Ji heon i thought we had seen the last of crazy chaebols with the ending of SG and LTM but he brings it to a whole new level .
    honestly PTB is everything i wanted BL to be . I for one cannot wait for the romance to hit it’s peak . i think my laptop will explode !!

  35. Marathoned PTB over the last weekend and I LOVE IT!!!

    Love JS in New Heart, love him even more in PTB. He made Ji Heon neurotic and wacky and yet so handsome and smoldering when he wants to be (omo, the scene where JH had ES presed against the wall and alternating stares at her lips and eyes, I had to fan myself too!!!).

    Never watched CKH before… she isn’t a typical korean beauty but she is just so fiesty and cute as ES! Can’t wait to see ES falling in love with JH!

    As for Jaejoong, erm.. he can be good looking in some angles but not really my cup of tea (to each her own). Mu Won still seemed like a mystery to me… I don’t actually get the sense that he is a out and out meanie in this show. There’s competitiveness between him and JH (probably there’s some history between them and also the history between their parents) and he wants the top job but why do I get the feeling that in the end he might just join the “Save JH” camp and help him out?

    As for WJH, I actually find her quite cute as NY! She must be the most likeable 2nd female lead in the show. I’m sure her claws will show at some point, but I don’t think it’s cos she is evil per se…

    The witches of the show? NY’s mom and MW’s mom.

    For me, the OTP is solid, though I have to say that JS edges CKH out in terms of performance, but just by a bit.

    Can’t wait to see ep 5, think JH is going to nail the presentation, albeit done video conference.

  36. This was the episode that made me quite possibly addicted 🙂 I’m already looking forward to the next episode. I was suspecting that they would have JiHeon present through a camera. I’m curious to see the reactions of everyone at the board meeting.

    Also, I’m interested in seeing how the Chairman reacts to JiHeon’s condition once it gets revealed. Will he react with his usual RAWR (fist before thinking)?

    I love all the characters. Moo Won continues to puzzle me; I don’t quite understand what his true intentions are. He doesn’t really come off as evil….yet? I adore Na Yoon! She’s hilarious and does things totally unexpected of female 2nd leads. Eun Seol and Ji Heon are great together. I also want to see more of their friendship before they officially become lovers. Grandma & Chairman relationship is GOLD <3

    I hope the writers can continue the drama's awesomeness because most Korean dramas tend to slow down and drag during the second half.

    MOST OF ALL, I can't wait for Ji Heon to get a new hairdo… ASAP! Please don't become a trend… PLEASE 😛

    Thank you koala for the awesome recaps! 🙂

  37. Just been back from vacay and finally got updated by finishing eps 3 and 4 today. Over in the mountains, I did read your recaps via i-phone, Ockoala thank you very much coz that kept me sane. But I just had to go back to squeal some more over these awesomely hilarious episodes.

    Your recaps read so much better after the watching. They serve to re-live and enrich the experience. How much do I love this show? I just can’t count the ways… the writing, the wit (keh!), the craziness, and you’re right koala, the physical humor is hilarious, the expressions of the actors are a hoot! The characters are funny not because of their actions but because of who they are, that manifest in what they do. That is what genuinely good writing is. Even the cinematography is good, excellent framing of the shots.

    Am loving the actors, especially Ji Sung (of course, have always believed in him), and my newly discovered Choi Kang Hee. Saw Wang Ji Hye in PT, and even then although we just loved to hate In-hee bot, I thought she was a good actress. Seeing her here and in the snippet of scenes via your link for FOL, I am glad to know she is actually a serious actress with the chops. I also like her beauty. Now I have to find more of her to watch…

  38. Hello Ockoala-san!
    This is my first EVER comment on any blog/community, and I’m feeling a little nervous. Although I’ve been lurking around here for quite a while already because I just simply LOVE the way you write (and agree with most of your comments). It all started from reading your Recaps on My Princess, starring the yummy SSH and it was NO TURNING BACK since then!
    I’m from Japan and only RECENTLY, very recently like beginning of this year (!), did I start on this road-to-no-return journey into Kdrama. I used to think watching stuff with subs are so medokusai (troublesome) and refused to budge. BUT after getting bored with Jdramas, I finally gave-in to my friends’ recommenation and started Brilliant Legacy which started it all for me! (just wanted to tell u some background before I go on)
    OK back to PtB!
    I’ve never seen a drama filmed in this manner before (not in English, Chinese, Japanese) and I was amazed and hooked right from the beginning. I’m someone who MUST like the heros and heroines AND the storyline before I can consent to giving up previous sleep/rest time to watch a drama (work late, always insufficient sleep). This is THE ultimate for me! I seriously believe I can go on WITHOUT a wink of sleep just to laugh again and again at the hilarious moments in this wonderful production!
    First of all, WHY do I even like a protagonist who dresses like he’s in the 70s and yes with brocolli on top of his head? But yet I am drawn to the inner fears and struggle this poor brocolli man has coz it’s probably due to some bad experience yet to be clarified in his life. I can feel his insecurity and empathize with his instinct to push people away with his bizarre behaviour. This child-man (Ji Sung’s bod is yumm yes!) is very interesting to me and I can’t wait to find out more about this trauma inside him.
    Secondly, I fell so much in love with CKH’s lovely cute eyes and her somewhat crooked mouth and very very cute and high nose! She is such a cute little thing! (stop it, Jen you are not a LB) And the wonder of CHK? She is not afraid to show the unfeminie side like kicking asses, head-butting her boss, falling down straight on her face to hide her SHOES while exposing her short little dress! Gaaaah this is an amazing performance by an equally amazing actress whom I’ve never seen before! On the other hand, she is soooooo cross-eyed in-love with her boss’ sworn “enemy” Cha MuWon that she just can’t stop smiling and oggling….. Is she CUTE or what!? She is what’s holding the drama together and I can’t wait to see how her relationship with Ji Heon and Mu Won develops!
    Then of coz the prettier-than-a-girl Jae. I’m a JYJ fan (yes, so what? I am still objective!) and frankly started this drama coz I wanted to see how Jae is doing (his first Kdrama blah blah blah). Although a man with few words (PD, can you please include MORE speeches for Mu Won please), his role’s presence alone is quite charismatic. I mean, we ALL wonder WHY he seems so DARKLY quiet at times and yet TOTALLY BRIGHT smiling like a crazy Minnie when he is with Eun Seol right? (and er hem, why he loves teasing Eun Seol asking if she minds his wet BOD gaaaaaaah! Who will MIND?) We also wonder WHAT his agenda is and is he GOOD? BAD? BOTH? WHAT???!!! (ok calm down impatient Jen). I think Jae did a farily good job in depicting the mystery behind it all…. This totally opposite cousin of Ji Heon…. And I hope he keeps up the good job! Way to go Jae!
    And finally the rest of the casts…. I LOVE PAPA CHA!! My gosh his scenes of beating up his own son was just so darn funny to watch (I’m no brutal maniac but its just so funny) and him doing all the charity work is just plain…. hilarious. Grandma is equally hilarious too, talking to a very quiet dog and pretending to be the garden-helper still…. Like what a lot of people said here, the only thing I don’t get is the lack of interaction between Grandma and Mu Won… Another mystery to be solved… hopefully soon! And of coz Ji Heon’s ex…. she is tall and pretty, and definiltey DID IT with Mu Won… but why does she keep hanging around Mu Won still when she knows that their affair will definitely trigger unpleasant memeories with Ji Heon? Just when she wants to come back to Ji Heon, this doesn’t sound logical. I hope they touch on this background soon too this week!
    All-in-all, a great drama and it’s really a DRAMAtic drama with so much action-based comedy moments…. Erm, I can’t wait for Eun Seol to “hurt” Na Yoon accidentally again! The can-kick was so funny!
    Finally, thanks Ockoala-san for your wonderfully detailed Recaps every episode! I am also hungry for your comments every time you finish recapping! Way to go and arigato!
    *sorry for the long comment. Promise won’t be too long the next time >_<

    • @Jen
      Broccoli top? Seriously? Hilarious!! Another name,*coughs* new name for Ji Heon!! LOL I’m loving you already!!!

      You were totally objective with Mu Won, TOTALLY!! LOL yeah right, you were drooling with the wet shirt contest! I know that you know that I know, you drool! LOL

      Papa Cha and Granny are just too funny to be unreal! They looks like my family for real! BTW My mom sometimes transforms in Papa Cha and slaps me a few times! Yeah she does that!! I love her for that, coz, that times I really, really deserved, coz I was being a naughty girl!! LOL *coughs* no comments *coughs*

      X-she is so pathetic that is hilarious!!

      Dont worry about the length of your comment, coz, I used to write essays! LIKE REALLY essays!! ! LOL I’m insane, yeah, I know!! LOL

      Ahh and welcome to the Playground and the drama madness!!

      Hugs!!

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