This episode was so quiet and low-key, which stands out especially in stark contrast to the typical mile-a-minute narrative progression we’ve been getting in each preceding episode of Best Love (The Greatest Love). But it was a completely mellow episode like this that is the most memorable for me.
I know it’s the calm before the storm, but I loved how we get a glimpse into how sweet and normal Jin and Ae Jung dating each other could be. They are like every other couple-in-love, enjoying the stolen moments together, and missing each other terribly when apart.
Episode 12 Recap:
After doing the noble gentlemanly thing and giving Ae Jung the text message and picture from Jin, Pil Joo walks away. He stops and looks over his shoulder, sad but a realization that he did the right thing. He gives a tiny but lonely smile and keeps walking.
Ae Jung and Jin sit in the parking garage of MBS Studios, discussing what to do next. It’s too late to watch a movie, or go out to eat. Jin suggests heading back to his place, where they can watch a movie and eat. He can also show Ae Jung the potato plant properly. When she’s a little confused, he teases her about whether she thought he was offering to show her himself properly.
He could do that as well, and Jin opens his shirt a little for a sneak peek. Ae Jung suggests they just go for a drive and enjoy the night view. Jin mutters that it’s no fun and an uninspired suggestion. Ae Jung then slowly puts her hand on his hand, which is on top of the gear shift. She asks if he really said it was an awful idea, but Jin immediately takes it back and says it’s an inspiringly great idea.
Suddenly Jin realizes the car is almost out of gas, so Ae Jung suggests they fill up on the way back to his place. She grabs a blanket from the backseat and completely covers herself under it, finding it more comfortable that Jin’s suggestion that she just duck. She doesn’t want to be seen and cause Jin any complications for either of them.
At the gas station, Jin is of course recognized, and the attendants peeking into the car think the person under the blanket is Se Ri. Jin feels terrible about Ae Jung needing to hide herself this way, so he reaches under the blanket and holds her hand. God they are so sweet together. It’s really these tiny little gestures that mean so much.
Afterwards Ae Jung pulls the blanket off and thinks she ought to get a bigger blanket for next time. Jin keeps his hand on hers, telling her he’s still upset about this so she needs to be still. Ae Jung ask Jin to pull over so she can buy some groceries, she wants to have a picnic with Jin at his house.
Back at Jin’s place, he proudly shows her the potato, and she wonders if it really was the one she brought over. If so, why’d he grow only one? Jin confesses the other potatoes were executed. Mwahahaha, so cute. Ae Jung thinks the potato will likely flower. Jin answers with a “ding dong”, and then leans over to pretend to look into the bags of groceries, but it’s really get close to Ae Jung. He holds her hand and leans in for a kiss, when suddenly the doorbell rings and disrupts the moment.
Jin opens the door to let in a completely drunk Jae Seok. The poor boy is so distraught about Jin’s medical condition that he got drunk, and came here today because he needs to let it all out. Jae Seok grabs Jin in a backhug and starts touching him because he’s so upset that he has to hold it inside and can’t tell anyone. Jae Seok tells Jin to never leave his side, otherwise he’ll be so upset. But to Ae Jung, it looks like Jae Seok is groping Jin and they are having a homo-erotic moment right before her eyes.
She hilariously points at the tableau before her, asking if Jae Seok is in love with Jin? Ae Jung thinks Jae Seok got drunk and bravely came here today to confess his feelings for Jin. Jin hops around, hitting Jae Seok’s hand to get him to let go. Jae Seok tells Ae Jung that he didn’t want her to see him like this, but Ae Jung says it’s hard to have feelings that he can’t talk about. Jae Seok ends up grabbing Jin’s leg and rubbing his cheek against it.
Jin tells Ae Jung that Jae Seok has another issue that he can’t let the world know about, and it has nothing to do with a secret love for Jin. Jin manages to drag drunk Jae Seok up to his bedroom and allow the boy to sleep it off. Out of Ae Jung’s hearing, Jae Seok keeps mumbling that he loves Jin, and he can’t die. Jin is touched by Jae Seok’s sadness for him.
Ae Jung looks at the potato once more, and then gets up to leave. She tells him to take care of Jae Seok and not be mean to him. She’s happy he showed her the potato, so now it’s time for her to go. Jin leans down from his bedroom and apologizes to her. She wonders why, and he tells her that there was something else he wanted to show her other than the potato. After Ae Jung leaves, Jin starts to tear up, calling himself the world’s most selfish guy.
Pil Joo sits in his house and looks at a pot of cooked ramen, not eating it and looking all mopey. Ae Hwan and Jenny sit at her restaurant, wondering why Jae Seok drank so much tonight? Jenny thinks it’s because of her, and considers whether she should treat Jae Seok like a man from now on? Ae Hwan gets upset, reminding her of that snowy night three years ago when they got drunk. Jenny doesn’t want to discuss it, but Ae Hwan wants her to know that he’s been waiting for her this entire time.
Jae Seok wakes up all hung over, with no real clear recollection of what happened last night. Jin says Jae Seok did his manager job properly, and stopped Jin from doing something he shouldn’t be doing. Jae Seok vaguely recalls seeing Ae Jung here last night, and Jin confirms it was her. Jin tells Jae Seok that Ae Jung doesn’t know about its condition, and reminds Jae Seok that it’s not time to reveal his condition to the world yet. But it’s time to tell Agent Moon, so she can handle his work.
Agent Moon looks like she is about to cry as Jin discusses his upcoming surgery and all his confirmed projects. Jin tells her if she’s going to cry, he’ll come back later. She tells him that she’ll take care of all his contracts. She compliments him on handling even this situation with such aplomb. She pushes on what’s going to happen with Ae Jung? If their relationship were discovered, they’d both be destroyed by the public. Jin wants to take on all the scandal and leave Ae Jung with everything he has if he were to die. He thinks if he died, then it would leave Ae Jung a great image if the world were to find out he liked her.
Jenny and Ae Jung have a girl talk, and Jenny scolds Ae Jung for starting a relationship with Jin when Ae Jung is so close to a career revival. Ae Jung knows it doesn’t make sense, but she can’t help it, she likes Jin. Jenny thinks Jin’s request that they date for a month means he’s refusing to commit for longer than that, but Ae Jung is fine with it. Ae Jung is only upset by how sorry she feels towards Pil Joo, and how to explain everything to him.
Pil Joo is at home assembling the puzzle when Ae Jung unexpectedly comes, having gone to the clinic first and found out he was home sick. She brings in a fruit basket and they sit down to talk. Ae Jung tries to give him some fruit to eat, but Pil Joo suddenly sees a missing puzzle piece near the fruit basket. He upends the basket to grab that final piece, which makes Ae Jung think he’s horribly upset at her, when really he’s just got a one-track mind.
Pil Joo uses the misunderstanding to pretend to be angry with Ae Jung like he’s going to toss the basket of fruit on purpose. But then he smiles and tells him that watching drama with his mom has come in handy now. He asks that they take care of show matters one at a time until it’s all resolved, because they can’t leave the show hanging.
Ae Jung thanks him for everything and leaves, asking him to please get better. After she leaves, Pil Joo’s face falls again. Pil Joo cleans up his messy house and looks around. He murmurs that everything has been resolved properly, just like inserting the final puzzle piece into the puzzle.
Ae Hwan is told that Ae Jung has been selected as a reporter for Section TV, and he promises she’ll do great since she’s done reporting before. Jin hears about Ae Jung’s new gig, and wonders how she went from creating news to following news. Ae Jung wants to do well, because she’s about to quite Couple Making.
Jin’s face lights up, and Ae Jung explains that she can’t keep stringing Pil Joo along. Jin thinks Pil Joo got famous doing the show, so he should be happy. Ae Jung says Pil Joo doesn’t care about fame, unlike Jin. Jin says she must really like him if she knows him so well. Ae Jung says yes, I really like you.
Jin wonders why Ae Jung brought Ding Dong along, and is told that the kid is Jin’s close friend, right? LOL, I love this new version of the bromance. Jin wants to go places with Ae Jung and is sad they can only hide in his house. He tries to lure Ding Dong to go outside and play with other kids so that he can have privacy with Ae Jung.
Once Jin hears that Ding Dong is on episode 1 and wants to watch all 30 episodes, Jin sits on the remote and turns off the TV. Jin makes a funny face to distract Ding Dong, but relents and gives him back the remote. But Ding Dong doesn’t turn the TV back on because he knows what Jin wants. It’s Jin’s turn to be understanding, telling Ding Dong to go ahead and watch. He wants the kid to do what he loves when he has the chance, like what Jin is doing right now.
Jin and Se Ri sit in a meeting with their respective managers, to iron out the details of how to announce their breakup. Jin will be heading abroad to shoot a photobook, but Se Ri thinks that’ll make her look too pathetic. Jin tells her to stop acting so aggrieved. Jin’s side agrees to take care of the CF matter.
Once the two agents leave the room, Se Ri thanks Jin for raising her popularity by being his public girlfriend. Jin agrees they collaborated well during this time. Se Ri doesn’t want to see Jin’s popularity plummet because of Ae Jung. Jin doesn’t think it means they will plummet, maybe they will end up in Heaven together.
Se Ri wants to hug Jin once more for old-times sake. Jin says no, he’s needs constant recharging, and if he hugs Se Ri, he’s afraid his battery will leak. Jin makes a gesture like he’ll hug her, but then moves her arms so that she ends up hugging herself. He tells her to recharge sometimes, that’ll help with her situation.
Pil Joo meets with PD Kim, explaining that he doesn’t want to continue doing Couple Making anymore, apologizing for his withdrawal. Jin calls Ae Jung and finds out that her first assignment is a Star Date. He tells her that he wants to go on a date with her. Jin quickly hangs up on her and then calls Section TV, telling them Dokko Jin wants to do the show, but he only has time today.
Fans are lined up to watch the Section TV filming. Jin arrives and waves to all his fans. Ae Jung gives him a choice to either go to an arcade or have some dukbokgi. Jin chooses to eat first, and they head to a small joint to eat. Jin jokes that eating here is just like his low-key image.
Jin is asked what he likes to eat, and he says kimbap without any cucumbers. Ae Jung takes a bite of the dukbokgi herself, and Jin maneuvers the interview so that Ae Jung ends up feeding him a piece of dukbokgi. He happily eats it, and then he feeds her one to even out the score. They both smile widely, and I’m just melting inside with how happy they are.
Next stop is the arcade where Jin shows Ae Jung how to toss a basketball into a game hoop. They continue the date and interview while browsing on the street. Jin goes into an accessory store, where he picks out a heart-shaped necklace and puts it on Ae Jung, his gift to her. At the final sit-down portion of the interview, Jin calmly reveals to the world that he and Se Ri are just friends, and have been just friends for a long time now.
Se Ri finds out Jin did his portion of the interview, and she composes her response. The public doesn’t like it, and Se Ri does her teary routine in front of the media. Pil Joo hears the news as well. Ae Jung is asked by Section TV if she already knew since she’s in the same agency as Jin. Jin calls Ae Jung and warns her not to come to his house since it’s surrounded by reporters again.
The manager is seeing his entertainers off at the airport when he coincidentally runs into Mina, who is here to send off her husband. The manager approaches Mina and calls out her name, revealing to her Korean-American husband that he was Mina’s old manager when she was a singer. He exchanges business cards with Mina’s husband, and manages to insinuate that he’ll initiate contact with the husband. Mina agrees to contact the manager.
Pil Joo gets a call from Se Ri, who informs him that she’s getting drunk and wants him to come. Se Ri stops herself from drinking more and is about to leave when she sees Pil Joo arrive. She runs back inside and pretends to be drunk, but Pil Joo saw everything. Se Ri immediately stops her damsel-in-distress act. He tells her that he can’t take care of her, and asks her to take care of things herself.
Se Ri asks how he’s doing, is he pretending everything is fine so he doesn’t feel stupid. She says he’s lying, he’s just pretending to handle everything by himself. She tells him to leave. She starts crying but can’t find any tissue. Pil Joo wants to grabs her a box from outside, but doesn’t end up following through.
Pil Joo sits outside in his car and looks at the completed puzzle. He tells himself that he can keep saying that he settled everything, but the truth is he settled nothing at all. He thinks back to all the time he spent with Ae Jung, and he starts to cry.
Jin is on the phone with Ae Jung, complaining that he’s like a princess locked inside a tower and can’t escape. She thinks he’s more like a caged beast. He asks her to come save him no matter what he is. If she won’t come save him, he asks her to sing her song for him so he can recharge. She reminds him that he’s over her song spell, but he says that if she uses magic she can make miracles happen.
Ae Jung casts her spell, changing Jin from an awful potato growing beast into a nice princess. She promises to come and check to see if her spell worked. After hanging up, Jin holds the potato and touches his heart, and praying for that to happen.
Jin treats his doctor to an expensive dinner, asking him whether he’s the best doctor around and has certainty he can successfully perform the surgery. If there is someone better, Jin will go to that doctor. His doctor says he’s the best around, 10 years ago and today. The doctor says that the success rate for the surgery is double what it was 10 years ago. Jin stops him from drinking any wine, telling him that he has to be at his peak performance. His doctor tells Jin not worry, he’ll fix the problem. Jin begs his doctor to please fix him, because he wants awfully bad to keep on living.
Pil Joo is also having dinner at the restaurant with his mom and another doctor. He tells them that he’s getting his affairs in order to go abroad to study in China. Jin’s doctor runs into Pil Joo’s doctor friend, and reveals that he’s planning a big surgery. The doctor reveals to Pil Joo and his mom that said doctor has a top celebrity client. Pil Joo’s mom remembers that Jin revealed he had heart surgery.
Pil Joo meets with Jenny, who tells him that Ae Jung is only dating Jin for a month. After that, Jin needs to go fix something is that broken. Jenny thinks Jin is bad for Ae Jung, and asks Pil Joo to please hold on to Ae Jung. Ding Dong hears this and speaks up, saying that Jin is a good person. He says Jin is like Ironman and has a mechanical heart.
Pil Joo goes to ask Jin’s doctor about the upcoming heart surgery, asking what are the odds of success. The doctor says it’s just 50-50, to live or to die. Ae Jung’s dad asks about Pil Joo, putting it together with Se Ri and Jin recently announcing their breakup, and realizes that Ae Jung has joined Team Jin. Ding Dong adorably chimes in a “ding dong.”
Ae Jung wonders if she should go over to Jin’s house to sing him the song now that the reports have finally decamped from his place. She tells her dad that she’s heading out. Jin is thinking the opposite, telling his potato that he needs to escape from here and go recharge.
As Jin is walking out the doorbell rings, and he sees through the intercom that it’s “that anyone Oriental doctor.” Jin lets Pil Joo in and the two men sit down to have a man-to-man chat. Pil Joo breaks the silence and explains that he’s here to confirm something. Pil Joo asks about the heart surgery, wants to confirm that Ae Jung doesn’t have a clue about this situation.
Pil Joo wants Jin to openly confirm that there is a chance he can die during the surgery. Jin clearly tells Pil Joo that he will live, unless Pil Joo wants to hear something else. Jin fixes Pil Joo a deadly look, telling him that if he were to tell Ae Jung about this, he’ll be dead.
Thoughts of Mine:
This episode was all about the Ae Jung and Jin fan-service cute galore, and I couldn’t be happier. I love how their first public date was held in such a meta-way, and meant so much to both of them. I enjoy all their quiet time at Jin’s place, and every conversation between them is terribly sweet and funny at the same time. I wish Jin just told Ae Jung about his upcoming heart surgery, and let her decide how to handle it. He’s been so honest with her up until now that I wish they didn’t have this big issue looming ahead that one party doesn’t know about (yet).
I hope the drama continues to progress without the creation of a bad guy to add tension to the narrative. We worried that Se Ri would sabotage Ae Jung, we worried that Agent Moon would be an obstacle, but neither has materialized. Other than Manager Jang, everyone remains relatable and realistic in their thoughts and actions. I don’t even see Manager Jang as a big bad either. I think once he finds out the truth from Mina about what happened 10 years ago, he’ll feel really shitty about how he treated Ae Jung and make amends.
Truth be told, I’m a teeny bit losing interest in this drama. Not because it isn’t good, but because for whatever reason it doesn’t leave me with that anxious pit in my stomach feeling of dying for the next episode to come. I also think that hell will freeze over before the Hong Sisters will let Jin die, because this ain’t no sageuk or fantasy story, and because Jin dying would add no narrative purpose to the story.
Unlike in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, where I know they considered killing off Mi Ho only to back off in the end, but where her death would have left a rich meaning, here Jin and Ae Jung’s love story needs him to live to have a greater impact. They need to become the ultimate power couple in K-ent, their love and mutual respect for each other redefining the media and public fixation with fame and popularity.
I’m also pretty uninterested in Se Ri and Pil Joo at this point. Like their characters a lot (even Se Ri’s brand of bratty is rather honestly amusing), but they along with everyone else is starting to fade into the background as Jin and Ae Jung’s story barrels towards a date with heart surgery. I don’t have a care if the Hong Sisters allow them to be a secondary OTP, I’m good either way.
Which I suppose explains it all – I’m just starting to be indifferent with respect to how I connect with this drama. I enjoy every minute of it, appreciate how well-made it is, but in the end, it doesn’t leave me an incoherent ball of nerves. I know it’ll all end well, and likely in a very creative and satisfying way, so I’m just happy to be along for the ride.
don’t know what to do without your recap…..THANKS A MILLION.
hey great episode thanks so much!!
have you dropped recapping romance town? i have been looking forward to it for a whole day to no avail…and the eng subs still aren’t out ep 9 ='(
My next victim!! I love Jin, he can be an adorable jerk!! LOL
4 episodes to go, and I’m still curious to see how The Hong Sisters will wrap this one up: I hope they have some delightful surprises in store!!
first?
I hope they do not end this up as a tragedy.
Omo.. Love it!! Thanks Koala!! \(^^)/
thank you so much for the super fast recaps….
Eww eww Mina ran into the annoying douche bag dirt face horrible manager. I hope he doesn’t try to do something to ruin Ae Jung &Jin.
I really hope the past secrets will finally come out in the opening &all the misunderstandings will finally be resolved. I really hope that Treasure Girls can probably do mini reunion. I don’t like how Se Ri is sorta the outcast when clearly Ae Jung was close with her &helped her with her secret dating. I hope things just resolve already xD
Thanks koala
what a heartwarming episode…love is in the air ..just love how sweet and loving DJ is outside his celebrity world….i still love the flow of the story as i always believe on the hong sisters’ talent in writing….
Thank you!! please continue recaping PLease PLEASE PLEASE!!!
I haven’t been having a hard time getting into this drama, but after this episode, I’m in! I’m going to start watching episode 11, and then this one. Thank you my Koala!
Its only 8 am in Malaysia and ur recap is the 1st thing I read every Thurs & Fri!
CSW 4eva!
I kind lost interest of the thrilling,maybe by making phil joo the way he is now but that just add it but still love it.thanx for recap
Thanks for the quick recap Koala. I know what you mean about the angst. I was all for this drama when Jin clutched his heart and felt like he was dying because I was waiting for the suffering he should be made to endure since he was such a jerk to Aejung for a bit there, but it seems like that was smoothed over rather quickly. Seri is becoming less of the hindrance that I thought she would become and though I love Piljoo to death, since he is the guy we should all end up with, I feel like he let go too easily as well. It seems like they keeping faking out on us. They start to build a certain character to be what blocks the couple and they just kind of wither away instead of leaving us anxious and wondering what is going to happen next. Don’t get me wrong, I still love this drama and I love the OTP because their story just seems so believable. However, it really would be a better drama if they would just bring the angst and let us suffer a little more.
Why…?
WHy….?
WHY…?
WaE..?
WAeYo…?
HONG sisters…
WHy make My PILJOO cry like this…
I get it, DoKko Jin is the Hero, I get it he need Ae Jung more than My PilJoo, I get it he get the girl..
I get it…
I get IT…!!!
I am even falling for him…
BUt WAe…?
Why do you have to make wuri PilJoo cry…?
WHY…?
the Kdrama gods are cruel…
Hong sisters are CRUEL…
MY PILJOO Jaebal…
MY PILJOO ANDWi….
MY PilJoo Dont cry!!!!!
LMAO!!!!
OMO!!
WHY??
Y_Y
They are so cuteeeee… But pleaseeee dont let Jin die.. hiks hiks.. I miss him already..
Kind of random, but AJ’s hand is really skeletal and veiny-looking, so when I first saw the picture of her hand on top of J’s in the car, I thought it actually looked kind of menacing. Yeah, I know, totally random thing to focus on …
Thanks as always for the recap! 😀
Man I was actually thinking the same thing! a tender moment made a little awkward by the extreme close up..
Calm before storm….I think I will have to shut my eyes down for next episode…you know, it’s scary…..
IKR….I FEEL THE SAME WAY OMGGGG
thanks for this!
I actually feel the same way about losing a tiny bit interest in the drama. I still love it, but I find myself not so overwhelmingly connected with it compared to the earlier episodes — it’s probably because I recognize some congruences in the formula of MGIAG. Even then, I’m not saying this is going bad… but i have to say, this doesn’t give me the same amount of high I get from Lie To Me : )
… but what do we know, Hong sisters might surprise us all and kill DKJ in the end, what with that bible passage of dying for another being the greatest love, lol.
really?? Must we get another Lie to Me reference? (being quite hypocritical here as I totally spaz about Bet Love on Lie to Me posts, but still. I really do think that drama pales in comparison to this. I guess we Kdrama addicts really are v. opinionated and differ greatly in our opinions).
Why do I keep feeling like Ding Dong is Mi Na’s hidden kid? (Yeah, I know this is not a makjang but still) What could Manager hold over Mi Na that she’s be afraid to tell her husband? What could be such a big deal that Ae Jung took the fall for everything and just let Mi Na change her identity and hide? I’m seriously really curious.
And I don’t think Jin will die. That’s not the Hong Sisters’ style and this is not a sageuk (fusion or otherwise). But ze angst generated by it is slowly killing ME, not Jin. 4 episodes to go!
hehehe…NICE!
How about if PJ gets in a car accident and dies and they find out that he is a perfect DNA match for DJ and they give DJ a transplant with PJ’s heart! Then AJ gets a bit of both the boys!
OMFG THAT’S JUST FRICKEN BIZARRE AND TWISTED YET LIFE-SAVING! OMG.
NO!!!!
HOng sisters cant do that,,,
they already made him cry ones time too many…
they cant take his heart also….!!!
if that happens i would literally ship my self to korea and stop that car coming to PILJOO!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAH!!! LOL
The idea came to me when driving yesterday and I thought, “No way they would do that!!!”
It was a crazy random thought.
But isn’t dingdong Ae hwan’s son?
I mean, if dingdong is rrly Min Ah’s son….i’m sure AJ would have taken the responsibility as a good friend to take care of dingdong as her own son (she wouldn’t dump dingdong to her brother right?)
the thing is, it would have been sufficient if we predict that dingdong is actually min ah’s son if aj had actually made dingdong her “son” and not “nephew”.
man, im getting confused.
AH says Ding Dong is his son, the age is wrong, AH has no idea about the Treasure Girl break up and if Ding Dong was MiNa’s son then AH would know what happened with MiNa.
My personal feeling is the MiNa either put the baby up for adoption, or more probable is that SeRi’s joke caused MiNa to have a miscarriage and emotional issues causing her quit the group and break it up.
MiNa was suicidal and maybe went to America for treatment.
Well said indeed. I guess I enjoy this ride but just ain’t anxious (or emotionally invested) about what’s next because we know there’ll be happy ending (1. Jin won’t die and 2. He’ll be with AJ) for sure, maybe at some wacky way, I dunno.
I even had the thought of “wow this looks like an ending” for the first part of this episode when Jin and Ae Jung started their Star Date. The “function” of Pil Joo as the second lead wooing for AJ’s love basically ended in this episode so no more angst from that either. Am also indifferent with whether Se Ri or Pil Joo would pair up or not (sometimes in other dramas you would want to ship the second leads a lot as they’re cute together and whatnot). Se Ri is never a strong enough factor to break the OTP up; and the Mina mystery is not a huge pull factor either, because AJ never really whines about her unpopularity and somehow we also side with her to be contented with her current status (unpopular all the while due to bad luck) and true, redeeming AJ from the bad image is all good but not like “WOW Great that’s what I’ve been looking forward to for 15 episode”, no.
Oh czak Please…Take a chill pill.
Just enjoy the show will you?!
looks like she is enjoying the show. That’s why there’s so much emotion there.
“I know it’s the calm before the storm, but I loved how we get a glimpse into how sweet and normal Jin and Ae Jung dating each other could be” Exactly what I was thinking. The calm before the storm before the shiz hits the fan. I suspect some angst coming from Jin’s heart condition, and maybe even the public finding out about the romance and not accepting it. And I say bring it. It’s about time for some angst in the story!
I also have to agree with you about the lack of pull from the other story lines. I actually like SeRi’s character. She isn’t your typical bitchy second lead, just a bit whiny. I know the HS are probably gonna try to pull a SeRi/PilJoo story line but I wish they would hurry it up! I thought the scene where SeRi ends up eating all of PilJoo’s ramen was cute but they just don’t sizzle like AeJung/PilJoo. And besides that I don’t really remember any other scenes of SeRi/PilJoo. However, I really appreciated the scene in this episode where PilJoo tells SeRi that she has to help herself before putting herself out there to date again. Wise words!
As for the MiNa story line. I was really interested in the beginning but I think they don’t bring it up too often so I’m not terribly excited about it now. And besides, it was pretty clear even in the early episodes that Mina was probably the real cause of the breakup. At this point, I’m just waiting for the sisters to throw something to spice that storyline up.
Frankly, as far as secondary storylines go….it is gonna be Jae Sook/Jenny or AeHwan/Jenny…hahaha 😛
Thanks for this recap. i’m loving this drama so much!!!! this epi was so cute and yet a little sad my brain tells me he won’t die (and i’m pretty sure it’s right) but my heart just aches everytime jin is gloomy.
iwish aj find about the surgery soon, ironman needs full support!!!
Read this http://stillhereyaar.tumblr.com/
My Prediction for BEST LOVE/THE GREATEST LOVE
Here is the preview for episode 11 Best love:
English Translation by alexus posted via TGL Soompi Thread:
Fortunately due to the reporters that gathered at the house AJ can’t go anywhere and is captive at Dokko’s house AJ is puzzled by Dokku’s words telling her to try to avoid him carefully and runaway which to her seemed totally absurd. PJ feels bitter when he finds out the truth that Dokku had beaten up Manager Chang for AJ’s sake, SeRi confesses to Dokku that she likes Yoon Pil Joo.
Needing to be recharged, Dokku visits AJ’s place and infiltrates(!) her bedroom, but gets caught by AJ in a not so attractive appearance…
[Original text source: iMBC website posted by Dorothy Yap via TGL Soompi thread]
NOW MY ANALYSIS:
So I’ve been watching Best love for the past few weeks and I’ve become a huge fan of this drama. Probably is going to be one of the best korean dramas of this year, ( I can’t decide about City hunter or Lie to me yet, although I find both of them interesting and love them so much). But Best love pretty much is great, it not only has many funny scenes, romance, some cute moments with Ding Dong and Dokko Jin, the chemistry between the leads is great, the writing is awesome ( obviously, its the Hong sisters, one can expect that), and it is also visually appealing ( it gets visually appealing from Episode 9 onwards).
From my observation of Korean Dramas, (don’t get offended by this, because I mean it in a good way), they are very much like Bollywood movies, (except the dancing sequences), because about 95% of Bollywood movies are romantic comedies. BUT STILL I PREFER KOREAN DRAMAS, because they are closer to reality and don’t exaggerate.
I may be utterly wrong in saying this but this has been bothering me ever since I watched episode 10, you know how Dokko Jin has a problem with his heart right, some of you may or may not know,that in the famous Bollywood movie called “KAL HO NA HO” ( There May Be A Tomorrow Or Not), the character of the main lead also suffers from a heart condition which means that he is about to die, he loves our main heroine very much but because he knows that if he was to ever be with her he would eventually die and that would hurt her so much. So because of these “ethical” reasons he decides to sacrifice his love and play matchmaker so that she can end up with the second lead. And by the end of the movie he convinces to get married to the second lead quickly since he won’t be staying in this world for long. A short while after they get married, our main hero dies with them and his family by his side.
In my opinion (once again I may be totally and utterly wrong in saying this), Dokko Jin is utterly and deeply in love with Ae Jung, and he is ready to risk anything to protect her,( career, fame, money as you know he punched her old manager in episode 10). Along these 10 episodes, we have seen Dokko Jin grow into a better person and as someone who has learnt to value her now (maybe even Ding Dong =p). In episode 10, the doctor informed him that they have to carry out another open heart surgery on him and that he has only a fifty fifty chance of survival. So maybe he would realize that although he loves her, he might have to sacrifice his love ( since if they were to end up together and then he were to die, that would be too cruel as she would be totally devasted by his death), and maybe let her go to Pil Joo even if that may cause a lot of pain to him.
Another reason why he might die is because in episode 10, after having met the doctor he sits there with a hopeless expression on his face and throughout the episode he keeps on saying he has to look and awesome so that people remember him that. Also when he hugs Ae Jung he sighs and also said about wanting to protect her etc… May be a way to foreshadow and make the audience ready for his death.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT REASON, my prediction is that when SeRI tells Dokko Jin that she likes Pil Joo he’ll probably try to keep SeRi away from Pil Joo as once again he knows that Ae Jung likes Pil Joo and if SeRi were to get Pil Joo,Ae Jung would be deeply hurt. Dokko Jin might accept that he is going to die and would put Ae Jung’s happiness as his firs priority and would conspire and do everything (and risk everything) to get Pil Joo and Ae Jung together so that he can die at peace. Once again Dokko Jin is purely, madly deeply in love with Ae Jung and as we know going to the extremes is always dangerous and always has its own sideeffects… ( In most love stories, when someone is utterly in love and that is to the extreme extents then the ending is always tragic)
REMEMBER THE DRAMAS NAME IS GREATEST LOVE…. as in maybe an unattainable love…
OKAY OKAY THIS STORYLINE is too pessimistic and wrong for the reasons:
1) It’s a Korean drama, we need happy endings. Plus its a romantic comedy, dude!
2) Even though he may have changed, he still is Dokko Jin, I mean he would still get jealous and sad whenever she is with Pil Joo ( in episode 10, when he had this hurt expression on his face when he guessed that she was with Pil Joo)
3) It is really stupid to assume that Best love would follow a tragic storyline of a very very heartbreaking Bollywood. I mean the Hong Sisters could never do such a thing ( they wouldn’t even have heard of this movie)
4) Dokko JIN IS IMMORTAL!!!! ( okay this is an exaggeration but he survived the earlier open heart surgery, and hopefully the doctor would be playing the Treasure Girls song in the second surgery!!!)
If this doesn’t happen I wouldn’t be surprised but if this does I’ll be sad…(and imma crush my popcorns and Cola can and go on strike!!!!
Hmmm what would be nice hmmm??? if the doctor dies from an accident and gives JIN a new heart wahaha BITTER AND CRAZY I like the doctor Ani Ani Ani!!!! Don’t listen to me MICHIN!!!! Yah!!!!! Better yet Hong Sisters why not let the audience decide the ending hahaha!!!!!Text the ending of the story, again a crazy IDEA!!!!
😉 NO POPCORN FOR ME I’M ON A CHEETOS DIET wahaha!!!! NO COLA, HOKKAIDO MILK TEA I’M IN LOVE WITH YAH!!!!! 😉 What a snack!!!!! And my husband the treadmill is all for a good ending!!!! Jhuwa Jhuwa!!!! 😉
I’m basking in the AEJIN-LOVIN tho i have to admit the manchild rrly NEEDS his “alone time” with AJ… Too much cockblockers going on LMAO.
WHY DO I HAVE A DREADFUL FEELING THAT SOMETHING BAD IS LOOMING IN THE WAY? This episode is too mellow and sweet to be truthful though I’m enjoying seeing team AEJIN having such a normal “relationship” (though their first “real” date is actually done while they are working? how interesting..)
I’m using too much air-quotes. LOL
This drama i quite atypical…I think the angst will come from Jin heart (what a pain) and from the collision between OTP public image and their love story…maybe AJ manager will cause some trouble as well.
Concernig SeRi and PJ I am very happy with them and I like we don’t have in the classical Kdrama bitch and the classical petty or nagging or wimpy second male lead(another shin woo-sshi should have killed me!!!)… and I think they both will be useful in the storyline to support a real angst (disease/death) and not a useless one (jealousy/greediness). As for the final I’m not sure…I don’t know if Jin will die or will live (I don’t know why… but I’m not certain about this)…but I’m expecting something unpredictable ’cause this drama is unpredictable itself as well.
I’m very happy till now ^^
PS: Now PJ knows that Jin could die…do you think he will leave AJ alone???I don’t think so…
Am I the only person that thinks that Ding Dong is actually Mi Na’s child? And that is why Ae Jung took the blame for the breakup of the National Treasure girls 10 years ago?
Ding Dong is 7 years old. It’s mentioned during one of the episodes.
AE says Ding Dong is his son. Plus, AE knows nothing about the breakup. AJ won’t tell him. He would have to know to be raising MN’s child. So I don’t think the scenario works.
aw I’m kinda dissappointed you’re losing interest in the drama, Koala. Oh well, I guess we all have different opinions.. *runs over to Dramabeans. lol jj*
ya,..I agree with you…I think this drama is the good one,..I love this drama so much,..
hahhaha,…*run over to dramabeans too…lol*
I love this drama sooooo much,….
When i watch this episode, i cry,..(pil joo, dokko don’t cry please T__T)
I love pil joo si and dokko jin,..BOTH OF THEM HAVE A GREAT LOVE WAYS TO LOVE ae jung
And anyone know the prew for next episode???
I want ae jung, dokko and pil joo happy, I don’t want to see sad ending
T_______________________T
PLEASE READ:
Still Here, Yaar
Ae Jung’s serious accident in episode 13!!!!
Okay, okay I take back about what I said about Dokko Jin dying. After watching episode 12 of Best love ( which in my opinion, I think a better episode than episode 10 and 11, not the best but hilarious and amazing on an get-the-audience-emotionally-attached-kind-of level … I ship Jae-Jin) I now can see that a serious accident might endanger Ae Jung (yikes!!) Here are the reasons why:
First of all endangering Dokko Jin’s live is too predictable for episode 13 and in order to give the plot a twist, having our dear Ae jung, who was on her way to Dokko Jin’s house to do a magic/miracle to save dokko jin sing.
get into a fatal accident might help to turn up more tension, more angst in the plot and twist and pull our hearts and activate our tear glands when we see our two men in sadness and in tears.
Second, when Ae jung was leaving, Pil Joo was asking Dokko Jin about his heart and when Dokko Jin threatened Pil Joo. Here are some snapshots for my lovely readers:
The music in the background was the music that is always played at crucial and plot twisting moments in the drama. Therefore suggesting a twist….
I think it would be the best punishement and shocker to these two men who are fighting over Ae Jung. I think its a punishment to Dokko Jin for all the rudeness and arrogance he displayed from the beginning of the drama. It might help Pil Joo to question himself whether or not he really is over Ae Jung (which he isn’t) and how significant of a role does Ae Jung play in his life…
We need tension, there are only 4 episodes left, the final episode would have to solve the conficts, tension etc.. and for a sucessful final episode we need to build it up!!!
I may be wrong but I think there is a big possibility that this will turn out this way. (sigh) I wish they’d extend it to 20 episodes…Here is my Best love fan art (something to help me wait till we get the Best Love episode 13 preview on Monday..)
c/o
http://stillhereyaar.tumblr.com/post/6431112702/ae-jungs-serious-accident-in-episode-13
PLEASE READ:
Still Here, Yaar
Ae Jung’s serious accident in episode 13!!!!
Okay, okay I take back about what I said about Dokko Jin dying. After watching episode 12 of Best love ( which in my opinion, I think a better episode than episode 10 and 11, not the best but hilarious and amazing on an get-the-audience-emotionally-attached-kind-of level … I ship Jae-Jin) I now can see that a serious accident might endanger Ae Jung (yikes!!) Here are the reasons why:
First of all endangering Dokko Jin’s live is too predictable for episode 13 and in order to give the plot a twist, having our dear Ae jung, who was on her way to Dokko Jin’s house to do a magic/miracle to save dokko jin sing.
get into a fatal accident might help to turn up more tension, more angst in the plot and twist and pull our hearts and activate our tear glands when we see our two men in sadness and in tears.
Second, when Ae jung was leaving, Pil Joo was asking Dokko Jin about his heart and when Dokko Jin threatened Pil Joo. Here are some snapshots for my lovely readers:
The music in the background was the music that is always played at crucial and plot twisting moments in the drama. Therefore suggesting a twist….
I think it would be the best punishement and shocker to these two men who are fighting over Ae Jung. I think its a punishment to Dokko Jin for all the rudeness and arrogance he displayed from the beginning of the drama. It might help Pil Joo to question himself whether or not he really is over Ae Jung (which he isn’t) and how significant of a role does Ae Jung play in his life…
We need tension, there are only 4 episodes left, the final episode would have to solve the conficts, tension etc.. and for a sucessful final episode we need to build it up!!!
I may be wrong but I think there is a big possibility that this will turn out this way. (sigh) I wish they’d extend it to 20 episodes…Here is my Best love fan art (something to help me wait till we get the Best Love episode 13 preview on Monday..)
c/o
http://stillhereyaar.tumblr.com/post/6431112702/ae-jungs-serious-accident-in-episode-13
Read this from…
http://stillhereyaar.tumblr.com/post/6450306817/best-love-and-its-similarities-with-kal-ho-na-ho
Still Here, Yaar
Best Love and its similarities with Kal Ho Na Ho
Was just going through a bunch of my favorite Bollywood songs and came across a song. As I have mentioned before, I feel that the Greatest Love/Best Love has so many similarities to Kal Ho Na Ho’s ( a Bolly wood movie) story…. I will deal with the similarities right at the end of this essay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDbOgeHeKCI&feature=related
Basically this song is about how one should enjoy and live life to its fullest for there may or may not be a tomorrow. The guy who is singing this is the main hero who has a heart condition and sets up the second lead and the main girl together since he loves her very much and he knows he is about to die. This is a great movie which can make you cry, make you laugh, make you dance on its amazing songs, it provides some eye candy as in the amazingly shot dance sequences and New York as the background, and helps one to reconsider their family values and raised questions on the consequences and ethical decisions that are needed to make in one’s lives.
Here is a trailer of the movie, I have translated it a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tArLLmV1IU&hd=1
Naina: They say that when relationships are under pressures then they become even more stronger and some relationships come and leave behind their own effects on the seasons. Laugh, smile who knows there may or may not be a tomorrow.
( a montage of the best moments of the movie, that is pretty much the whole movie)
I am Naina Catherine Kapur
(then you see this guy other guy…)
Rohit Patel, Rohit lives alone in New York and for the last 3 years he has had absolutely no sucess in the field of advertising.
Rohit: Thank God, you’re not like the other New York girls, you’re not pretty, you’re not sexy, and always have a lot of time on your hands. Thank You
Naina: However, he wasn’t as cool as much as he thought he was. Still he never stopped trying.
( then you see a new guy, the famous Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan)
Aman, (and everybody says Aman, AMan aman…)
You just came out of nowhere and you changed everything..
Aman: For the first time in my life, this heart has loved another with all its might.
Naina: Why do I love him? Why do I love him, mama?
Rohit: NO FOOL would ever love you!
Aman: Nobody can love you like I do.
Rohit: What would you have done if you were in my place?
Naina: For God’s sake, please leave me alone.
If you’ve never seen this movie, this is a must watch. And if you are a Best Love fan, then this movie would definitely help you to gain more insight on Best Love.
Similarities:
Both of our heroes have a serious heart condition.
There is a love triangle in both of them ( well in best love its supposed to be a love square, but the main focus is on Ae Jung, Jin and Pil Joo)
Both are romantic comedies and are simply hilarious ( however Kal Ho Na Ho has a tragic ending, we don’t know about Best Love)
Both the second lead are good natured people.
Both the heroes seem annoying at first but they really are nice persons inside.
There are a lot of small characters that add more fun to the plot.
In Best Love, we know love to say Ding Dong and in Kal Ho Na Ho, we say kantanben ( its the name of a servant in the movie)
Both have amazing cinematography.
There are jokes made about Rohit/ Aman and Jin/JaeSuk
Differences:
Best Love deals with characters from the entertainment industry whereas Kal Ho Na Ho is a story of a bunch of working people in New York.
Kal Ho Na Ho has many dance sequences…. ( still you’ll love them..)
Best Love might have a more upbeat tone comparatively.
I couldn’t agree with you more…
Who is the actor who plays Mi Na’s husband, Alex Kim? (Where have I seen him before?)
Here in Episode 12 of “THE GREATEST LOVE” when Dokko Jin showed to Gu Ae Jeong the potato he’s growing the background music is “Take my hand” but it has no lyrics but only lalalalala (like lalalalalala lalalalalala) in the tune of Take my hand, I love to have that song. Does anyone here know where I could download it, even if it’s not free that’s fine I’m willing to pay for it, I just really want to have a copy of that song. I knew it’s IU singing there even the lyrics were only lalalalala, please help me. Thanks. The song I want is the one with only lalalalala as the lyrics not the real Take my hand. Please help me. Thanks.