Playful Kiss YT Episode 1 Recap

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I say absence makes me a cranky and irascible koala. But I won’t hold it against Playful Kiss for taking a short break and returning to my embrace with the first of 7 new episodes (plus 2 BTS specials) broadcast solely on Youtube. All good things come to those who wait, and today we got our first good thing!

These recaps for the Youtube episodes are likely going to be short on the recapping if the trend holds based on this first episode. Not much stuff happens, but because very much cute happens, it’ll be heavy on the screencapping.

Honestly though, if these little interludes weren’t between our Ha Ni and Seung Jo, I would be checked out of these episodes so fast it’ll set a world record for speediest koala getaway. Because it is our beloved newlyweds, I soak up every frame and every charming moment, smiling the ENTIRE time. My cheeks hurt, but man was it worth it.

Youtube Episode 1 Recap:

A new day dawns and sunlight filters through the bedroom window of a familiar backdrop. We see picture after picture of the happy couple hung on a decorative screen, and all the accoutrements of a newlywed couple strewn about. Its 7:30 a.m., and Ha Ni and Seung Jo are still sleeping. Seung Jo must really love Ha Ni, because he’s allowed the entire room to be decorated like a pink fairy on acid dropped by and exploded the color everywhere.

Ha Ni voiceovers: when she opens her eyes in the morning, she can see a content Seung Jo by her side. Even though they have been married for over a year, she still can’t quite grasp it. Does Seung Jo feel the same way?

Seung Jo awakens and looks at Ha Ni, who greets him with a tender “Good Morning.” He tells her that her gaze is as piercing and hot as the sun. Since it’s a Sunday, they should sleep in a little more. Ha Ni says the entire family is on vacation except for them, so she needs to get up and make breakfast for Seung Jo. No wonder he’s trying to keep her in bed. Bed = more Ha Ni snuggling + no Ha Ni-made food to eat. It’s a win-win situation!

Seung Jo hugs her tighter in his embrace, saying she can spare 5 more minutes. Ha Ni consents, just 5 more minutes. And then a persistent ringing interrupts the mood. It’s dark inside their bedroom, and Seung Jo sits up and turns off the clock. Ha Ni remains inert and dead to the world. We are now in a less pink bedroom, and it’s clear (as if we couldn’t tell) that the earlier scene was all Ha Ni’s happy dream.

Seung Jo is annoyed that Ha Ni set an alarm for so early in the morning. The sun isn’t even up, and he’s the one to be awakened by the alarm set for her. He tells Ha Ni to stop staring at him with that look, and harrumphs back into sleeping position. Ha Ni sits up, likely with a little annoyance that her hubby didn’t appreciate her attempt to start her day early so she can create the perfect day with him. Sweetheart, men just want to SLEEP, that is their idea of a perfect day. Don’t worry, you’ll understand sooner or later.

Ha Ni, dressed like a mini-Mom (it’s both adorable yet potentially Oedipal from Seung Jo’s point-of-view, I must say), is off to the supermarket to shop for the day’s groceries. She voiceovers: it’s been a long time since she spent a weekend with Seung Jo. She wants to be just like the newlyweds in movies (ROFL, Ha Ni darling, you kill me with your ridiculous concepts of marriage) – eating breakfast together, then cleaning the house, and finally going out to see a movie. She wants to be a good and proper new wife.

As she swans through the market, she is stopped by an attendant who calls her “newlywed wife”, and she’s so giddy that she buys a boatload of vegetables from that lady. Before she leaves, she’s gifted with two apples which are promised to be as sweet as honey.

When Ha Ni returns home lugging the groceries, she sees Seung Jo about to bite into a piece of toast. She quickly intercepts said toast and tells him he cannot eat just that. Breakfast is important, and she’s back to make it for him. He asks her where she went, and what she’s intending to celebrate coming home with all this food.

Ha Ni asks him to not be like that, she’s been anticipating this weekend with just the two of them. He asks her whether she’s fine making breakfast by herself, and not to let him go hungry. She grins and tells him that she’s a new wife, she would never let her hubby go hungry. Seung Jo parrots back “new wife”?, “husband”?, clearly understanding that Ha Ni wants to construct her little fantasy of a weekend day for a newlywed couple.

She pushes him out of the kitchen and upstairs, asking him to clean the room and do the laundry whilst she cooks. Seung Jo bursts her bubble by revealing that he knows she’s trying to emulate what the newlyweds do in the movies.

Ha Ni replies that they ARE newlyweds, and pushes Seung Jo to just go do the cleaning chores. He makes one final push for them to just go out to eat, but Ha Ni cajoles and pouts him up the stairs. Her smile and the accompanying “un un un un” sounds of pleading are so adorable even I would not be able to resist her.

We cut to a cross-montage of Ha Ni setting the table and making breakfast, while Seung Jo makes the bed and cleans the room. When he heads to do the laundry, he pulls his pants out of the washer and discovers that Ha Ni put it in without taking out his keys, wallet, or money. He shakes his head, uttering only the long-accepted understanding that this is typical Oh Ha Ni behavior.

Ha Ni has googled an English breakfast recipe, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that the end result will resemble nothing like the pictures. Even Ha Ni is dejected at the food she made. When Seung Jo comes down, one look is all it takes. He gives a big sigh, and asks her whether this was some unintelligible (to her) English breakfast recipe? He is braver than me, as he sits down and actually takes one bite of the food.

He tells her that everything looks like an unrecognizable disaster, but the veggies are okay. She replies that she cooked it first, but Seung Jo tells her it needs to be soaked for a few hours beforehand before cooking. He looks at his wife and comments that this appears to be the breakfast made by new wife Oh Ha Ni.

He requests some coffee, and Ha Ni tentatively brings it with a niggling worry that it’s also undrinkable. Seung Jo takes a sip and tells her that it’s delicious, which brightens her up considerably, but she still apologizes for the breakfast debacle. She remembers the apples, and gives one to Seung Jo, explaining that the market ahjumma gave them to her.

He takes a bite and confirms that the apples are as delicious as the market ahjumma has promised. He tells her to eat the other one (after she initially thought he was offering her a bite from his apple, heh). Seung Jo says that having some coffee and an apple for breakfast on a weekend is not bad. Ha Ni replies that she’ll do better tomorrow.

Seung Jo tells her that since he already did the household chores, aren’t her next tasks to pick out an outfit for him to wear, to wash the comforter, and to go watch a movie? He tells her they should wash the comforter tonight then. Ha Ni is surprised that Seung Jo knows her grand plans for this weekend!

We cut back to the night before. Ha Ni is on the computer searching for English breakfast recipes. She writes down what she wants to make, and starts talking out loud to herself. She’s planning to make him breakfast after a trip to the market to pick the freshest produce, then they will clean the house together. She wants to be a daughter-in-law that is loved by her family.

She continues on about washing the comforter under the sun, using lots and lots of bubbles, and then hanging it out to dry. Afterwards, they can go watch a movie. But not before she picks out the perfect outfit for Seung Jo, something autumnal. She goes to get it ready for tomorrow. It turns out that Seung Jo was in bed, but not asleep, and heard every word. He smiles his patented Seung-Jo-Is-Secretly-Happy-His-Ha-Ni-Loves-Him-So smile and goes to sleep.

Back to the breakfast table of inedible English breakfast food, Seung Jo tells Ha Ni that he knew everything she wanted to do since she spoke it out loud last night. Isn’t their next move to go watch a movie? And she has to pick out his clothes? Ha Ni jumps up and runs off, telling him to wait a moment. He looks at his darling wifey as she scampers off to pick his clothes, and smiles at her enthusiasm.

They head out to watch the movie, and of course Ha Ni has dressed them in identical couple outfits. As they stroll through their neighborhood, folks turn to stare at their silly couple ways. Seung Jo grumbles, asking what kind of outfit she put him in since everyone is turning around to stare at him. Ha Ni tells him that he looks great.

He suddenly tells her to hold on a minute, and bends down to tie her shoelaces. Ha Ni is utterly in bliss. After Seung Jo finishes and stands up to keep walking, she runs and grabs his arm. She calls him the Korean term for “husband/hubby”, and he responds by asking “what is it, wife”. It was nothing she wanted from him, but something she wanted to give.

Ha Ni gives Seung Jo a quick kiss on the cheeks and runs ahead, giddy as a school girl. She beckons for him to hurry up and catch up, and then she entwines her arm around his again and together they walk off to watch that movie.

Thoughts of Mine:

The PK Youtube special edition finally arrived, and not a moment too soon. I’d posit that the lag was just the right amount of time to whet everyone’s appetite, but not too long to make people lose interest in this drama and story. We finally get an understanding of what the episodes will be about – all Seung Jo and Ha Ni! I am not complaining here, no sirreee. Happy as a clam.

With such a short length per episode, we get all the good (the adorable little moments between the couple) without the bad (side stories and bad editing). I love how the two major moments in this episode mirrored what happened in the drama itself, but like looking into an alternate universe it has morphed in the most meaningful of ways.

Seung Jo and Ha Ni’s breakfast was just like the night Mom dragged Eun Jo out so that she could leave them alone in the house, and Ha Ni made the ridiculous Hawaiian food for Seung Jo. On that day, he insulted her cooking and then chucked the food away.

Today, he tried to eat something, and was neither saccharine nor indifferent in his response to her. He acknowledged her effort and her heart, but didn’t force himself to pretend the food was good. He remains Seung Jo (no pretending or coddling his Ha Ni), but his love for her shines through in how he allowed her to indulge in her fantasy plans for the day.

The second moment was their walk to the movies, which mirror the walk they took the morning after Ha Ni first moved into the Baek house. Seung Jo’s walk is the same, but his treatment of Ha Ni could not be more different. He still gripes at her for picking out silly couple outfits, but he wears it nonetheless. When he bends down to tie her shoelaces, it’s a million miles apart from when he told her to walk a certain distance from him so people won’t know they are living together.

This is what I love about having these YT episodes – to bridge the gap left by a hurried ending and allow us the satisfaction of watching Seung Jo really treating Ha Ni right. It also allows us to enjoy all the funny interludes between them, because they wouldn’t be Seung Jo and Ha Ni if they didn’t tease, bicker, and annoy each other underneath a canopy of love that stands firm between them.

[Credit: screencaps from Baidu Playful Kiss bar, soompi.com and hyunniespexers.wordpress.com]