In-ha continues to lust after his brother’s girlfriend, even though she’s already put him in his place.  Yeah, this is gonna end well.  NOT.

As if Episode 12’s cliffhanger wasn’t enough, we’re gonna get a repeat of its last two minutes.  In-ha telling Ji-ho that he will never lose Da-mi to him, since he has enough goodies in his life already.  Stop getting in his way, and then In-ha lands a punch to that gorgeous Ji-hoon face.  Da-mi yells at him to stop, as Ji-ho says it was a mistake for him to come over to the restaurant today.  Telling Da-mi that he will call her later, he glares back at In-ha and stomps away.

Yeong-rang witnesses this whole exchange from her car, asking if that that’s why he’s acting like a nutcase these days?

Da-mi yells at In-ha for punching Ji-ho and acting like an all-around pabo.  Doesn’t he remember that she doesn’t have any special feelings for him; why did you say all that in front of Ji-ho?  In-ha complains that his life is about ready to fall apart since he’s lost both the successorship and the woman he loves, so why can’t she comfort him instead?  Da-mi tells him that if he keeps acting like an idiot, then she will refuse to meet him… even as friends.  In-ha asks why she can’t hear his heart right now, since he has nothing in life except for her.  Realizing that she’s fighting a losing battle, she says she has nothing more to say and that he should go now.  As she turns to leave, In-ha grabs her arm (*drink*) and says that if he ended up winning the competition, he was going to propose to her that day.  But since he lost instead, even if she had the tiniest bit of interest in him, In-ha could then put up with the losing.

Not sure if Da-mi is looking at In-ha with disgust or empathy on her face, he pulls out a jewelry box and opens it to show a silver-plated necklace with a replica of the dolphin keychain that he held onto for 14 years.  Telling Da-mi that he likes her so much, he will not give up on her… anie, he will NEVER give up on her.  Da-mi tells him that he really doesn’t like her for reals… In-ha just doesn’t want to lose to his brother, either through his music or through her.  If he really really liked her, he wouldn’t have acted like such a moron and should have taken into consideration the other person’s feelings first.  Da-mi calls him out for being self-centered, which makes her very uncomfortable and she doesn’t like it!!!  In-ha’s brain wheels start turning, but those puppy-dog eyes do not stray from her face for a nano-second.  She finally confesses to In-ha that she really likes Ji-ho a lot and turns to walk away, leaving him there alone.

Anger rising as usual, he takes the box with the dolphin necklace and hoists it into the woods.  Driving home in his John Cooper Limited Edition Mini, we get about 30 long seconds of watching Changwook-ssi drive and drive and drive.  (Not complaining, people.  Not at all.)

It’s dark now, as Da-mi walks up to her house to find Ji-ho standing there.  (I wonder if it’s still there?)  Greeting him warmly, he asks if she’s okay.  She says she’s fine, but was quite stunned that In-ha would do such a thing.  Ji-ho says it’s not her fault, since In-ha is really really pissed off at him right now.  But he’s glad she returned home safely so he can stop worrying now.  Da-mi says that she clearly told In-ha that she like Ji-ho instead, as he walks over and grabs her in a bear hug.  Saying that things will be fine, since he’s gonna run interference for her from now on.  Just stay beside him, arraso?

Da-mi heads inside, as we see Woo-jin come boppin’ around the corner on his way home from Geumdan.  Ji-ho walks right by him on his way home, as Woo-jin turns around and a chill comes over him, as he flashes back to the biography page on the Boosung Group website.  Not sure if that was him or not, he still asks himself if that was Yoo Ji Ho.

In-ha returns home in a snit and attacks the maid carrying towels down the stairs.  EvilStep yells at him to stop stomping so hard that he’ll break the floor, and then turning back to Yeong-rang, reminds her that his people skills are not good enough for him to become the successor anyway; why take his anger out on the poor maid?  Yeong-rang just glares at her, as EvilStep demands Yeong-rang put a stop to In-ha’s behavior right away; why don’t you send him back to the States so he can calm down?  Oh, and EvilStep gracefully volunteers to accompany him on his trip to make sure he stays on the right path.  Yeong-rang jumps up and tells her not to say anything to In-ha — he’s already suffering enough, and one more word out of her mouth will send him over the edge.  EvilStep tchtches and wonders how long Yeong-rang is gonna baby that boy; she needs to raise them like she did in order to have a comfortable retirement!

In-ha stomps into his room, slamming the door and then slamming his phone into the speaker dock.  Listening to a tune that always calms me down, the Prelude No. 7 by Rachmaninoff, Yeong-rang follows him in and yanks the phone out of its slot.  He tells her to leave him the hell alone, but all Yeong-rang has to do is asks if he likes Hong Da Mi, and In-ha stands at full attention.  She says if he likes her that much and if it means taking her away from Ji-ho, she’ll do everything in her power to get her glued to In-ha’s side.  If that’s what it will take to have In-ha return to his senses, she will do anything.  Asking for verification that she’ll take Da-mi away from Ji-ho, she says she can do that very thing if she’s going to play along as his mother!

In-ha scoffs at the very mention of her being his ‘mother’… leaving him behind twice with the fire and the successorship.  Ji-ho has already surpassed him in everything over the past 14 years, and she wants to be his mother now?  Yeong-rang asks him why he can’t let her do this one thing for him, as In-ha tells her no.  He’s not living as his Mom’s puppet anymore, and he leaves the room.  Yeong-rang gasps for air, and cursing Ji-ho for him being the reason her life is so messed up.  SO IT’S ON, Ji-ho; don’t blame her for what’s going to happen next, since he started all this in the first place.

Nam-joo and Woo-jin sit outside (and away from Da-mi’s tender ears), as Nam-joo finally spills her guts in saying that it was Yeong-rang that killed Chairman Yoo.  She overheard a maid who used to work there say that statement, but for right now, she’s the only witness.  But there’s a tape recorder out there that has this maid’s confession on it, in Attorney Choi’s possession.  Woo-jin is flabbergasted to hear that, since he’s Yeong-rang’s right-hand man, but Nam-joo further explains that he’s only after her wealth in revenge for what she did to Chairman Yoo.  Nam-joo tried her best to get her hands on the tape recorder, but she epically failed and Attorney Choi does not respond to threats from her at all.  Woo-jin wonders if Attorney Choi plans on using that tape for blackmail, there’s no freakin’ way he’s going to give it up so readily.  Besides, that fact is still only a secret right now because it sounds like Attorney Choi has his eyes on even bigger fish in the pond.  Nam-joo tells him that before Attorney Choi makes a move, they need to get their hands on that tape recorder first… but why is Woo-jin injecting himself into something so dangerous?  He says that there’s a more complicated situation at play here… (And that sound you just heard was the collective head-desking of several million viewers.)

Ji-ho is looking over the Composition Contest flyer that Professor Ha handed him in their last meeting, voicing over his request to enter since it’s so prestigeous and his first outing as his succcessor.  Ji-ho needs to prepare well and take on this challenge… Flipping through his score book, he settles on a piece he wrote ages ago entitled “Fate”  (“Unneyong”).  Should he… or should he not?

Back in his room, In-ha is making good progress on his own bottle of Balvenie, until Yeong-rang comes in and yanks the glass out of his hands.  She asks him why he’s drinking so early in the morning (why not indeed? *hic*), as he mumbles it’s either that or him going crazy first.  You pick, Mommy!  Yeong-rang wants to know how long he’s going to be mooning over that girl; is she worth that much so as to ruin his life?  In-ha yells back WHAT SHOULD HE DO THEN?!?  Does his precious mother want In-ha to remain second-best to the Genius Yoo Ji Ho, HUNH?!?  Yeong-rang reminds him that he should at least be preparing for the Composition Contest coming up.  In-ha wonders why Professor Ha didn’t tell him about it, but what’s the point of entering anyway?  Yoo Ji Ho will win it all anyway.  Yanking the bottle of scotch away from him, Yeong-rang grabs In-ha by the shoulders and tells him if he wants to win over Ji-ho, then he needs to listen to her completely.  Using the old saying “an accomplished swimmer could still drown,” they need to find Ji-ho’s weak spot and exploit that for their own gain.  Throwing her off him, In-ha just downs the rest of his glass and stomps out.

Attorney Choi has somehow gotten his hands on the papers from Ji-ho transferring 30% of his shares to In-ha.  As Yeong-rang wonders if Ji-ho has finally seen the light in asceding to his brother, Attorney Choi reminds her that Ji-ho is still the largest shareholder, even after this transfer.  Yeong-rang tells him they need to hurry up; with Ji-ho in the company now and she without any stock standing, it’s now time to get CrazyGran’s shares transferred to In-ha.  Attorney Choi snake-charms Yeong-rang by telling her she’s not to worry… he’ll be by her side every step of the way.  (HA.)  Yeong-rang then tasks him with finding out more on this girl that In-ha likes, as Attorney Choi is amazed that In-ha even had a girlfriend.  She says that her name is Hong Da Mi and she works part-time at a restaurant… as Attorney Choi kinda remembers that name somehow.  Yeong-rang passes him a copy of the menu from the restaurant that shows its location, just as at that time Nam-joo texts him to say she’s waiting for him at the coffee shop right across from Boosung HQ.

And that’s where he ends up, as he chastizes Nam-joo for meeting in such a public place.  SO public, that when the camera pans back, we see Woo-jin sitting a few feet away from them using the old ‘hide behind a newspaper’ trick.  Nam-joo tells Attorney Choi she’s there to give him one last chance to turn over the tape recorder.  Saying that he’s already given his answer to her before, Nam-joo says that there’s nothing else to do except to meet with Yeong-rang.  Attorney Choi then pulls out his trump card and asks her if she knows someone by the name of Denny Hong, which makes Woo-jin’s ears perk up accordingly.  She claims she doesn’t, as Attorney Choi says it’s her own flesh-and-blood son.  Her son approached Yeong-rang with a fake name; their fixation on finding out about her husband’s death makes Woo-jin step closer to his own death.  He cannot guarantee what will happen when Yeong-rang finds out his true identity.  Getting in her face to make his point, he tells her that they each now hold a trump card — think about who will be in the most danger when that card is played.  He will only lose money; she will lose her family members one by one.

As Attorney Choi returns to the office, his arm is grabbed by Woo-jin (*drink*) as he turns to greet Denny Hong.  Woo-jin tells him he’s not there as Denny Hong… here’s there as Woo-jin this time.  And of course, they both go down to the usual K-Drama Spot by the Han River to discuss their respective plights.  Attorney Choi is amazed that a little snot-nosed kid like Woo-jin wants to negotiate with him, as Woo-jin says that they both have the same goal to ruin Yeong-rang and then get what they both want.  But Attorney Choi has a different take on things, because even though they have the same goal, it doesn’t mean they are on the same team.  Woo-jin snorts and says au contraire, mon frere… he has some conclusive evidence that proves he’s on Attorney Choi’s team for sure.  But Attorney Choi asks isn’t that evidence destroyed now… the piano delivery receipt?

Woo-jin is taken aback and asks if it was him that sent the receipt to the Hong Residence, as Attorney Choi says he doesn’t have much more to say to some smart-ass who went to medical school.  But since he’s now been labelled as a Benedict Arnold at Boosung, his place in the company has become weakened.  If his Holy Evil Revenge Plan is to come to fruition, he’s going to need the help of Geumdan Construction.  Woo-jin says that he’ll think about it if he gives him the tape recorder, and also if Attorney Choi can prove most definitely that he is on Team Woo-jin.  Attorney Choi says he can do much better than that… but Woo-jin better be on his toes, because she’s got spies on her entire family, especially his little sister.

Yeong-rang visits Ji-ho in his office to wah-wah about In-ha, saying he’s emotionally reverted back to where he was 14 years ago.  She’s not going to beat around the bush, and orders him to give up on Hong Da Mi.  Give her up for In-ha, because Ji-ho can always get plenty of other girls with his talents and skills.  (Say!)  Ji-ho tells her even though he was pained to hear that In-ha liked her too, Yeong-rang can go pound sand, because he loves Da-mi too much to let her go.  Yeong-rang reminds Ji-ho of how much pain In-ha is in, and he can’t do this one thing for his brother?  Ji-ho reminds her that In-ha is still his precious brother, but Yeong-rang tells him if that is so, give up Da-mi to In-ha.  End of story!

Ji-ho says he just can’t put his heart away like that, as Yeong-rang jumps up and yells back that he’s going against a direct order from his mother?!?  Ji-ho stands up as well, and tells her he will never give up on Hong Da Mi.  Yeong-rang asks him if this is how they’re going to end up, after she raised Ji-ho those 14 years.  She must have been so stupid to rear a wolf that will eventually end up eating her own child.  Stomping out of Ji-ho’s office, Ji-ho whispers that she needs to stop this madness now, because if she doesn’t, he’s going to have to leave her for good.

Returning to his desk, Ji-ho pulls out a wooden box which contains the handkerchief that Man-se gave him poolside the night of the fire, and a brown piece of paper.  Picking up the cloth, Ji-ho flashes back to the night Man-se described his birth mother as really pretty and popular, and he fell in love with her at first sight.  Thinking back to seeing his father borne out dead on the stretcher after the fire, all Ji-ho can do at that moment is shake his head.

So-yeol and Da-mi pull up to the Yoo Mansion, as So-yeol said she promised to show Da-mi the Butt-Ugly Piano, remember?  This is the place where it resides… but has Da-mi given any thought to joining Team So-yeol on assisting with the production yet?  Da-mi is reserving her decision until after she looks at the piano first, as So-yeol says once she looks at that monstrosity, she’ll want to make one immediately!  (Like hell!)

They walk inside and Da-mi wonders how there can be such a beautiful piano in all the world?  (She’s high as a kite, right?)  Can she play something on it?  So-yeol says sure, because she’s already received permission from the owner to do that very thing.  EvilStep then appears and says they got permission from who again?  So-yeol jumps because she didn’t know anyone was home, and then says that the ahjumma (Yeong-rang) gave her permission.  EvilStep counters that their home is not like a museum where they’ve sold tickets for anyone to come and play this thing.  But who is this interloper anyway?

Da-mi introduces herself and says she begged So-yeol to show her the Butt-Ugly Piano because she was curious about what sound such a masterpiece would make.  Handing over a box of juices, Da-mi apologizes for her gift being really small, and EvilStep agrees with her gift being really small.  But at least she came with something, as others who come over to their house usually bring nothing.  So-yeol just smirks back, as EvilStep says that for the price of the juices box, she’ll allow Da-mi to play the piano once.  JUST ONCE.

Geez, there’s that damn dolphin keychain again being held by In-ha.  (Da-mi didn’t take it back?  WUT?)  Looking all broody and pensive and everything, all of a sudden he hears the same tune that Da-mi played at the restaurant where she and In-ha first met (and the same tune that Ji-ho put in the crystal piano music box as well).  Rushing downstairs, In-ha calls out to her.  She asks what he’s doing there, as he does the same — what is she doing in his house?  His house… so the piano that So-yeol wants to produce will be a Boosung piano?  So-yeol confirms that, but apologizes for not telling her sooner.  And how do you two know each other anyway?  No matter… So-yeol says that she brought Da-mi over to look over the piano, and wants to hire her to assist in the reproduction of the Butt-Ugly Piano for the company.  In-ha wonders about bringing Da-mi into Boosung, but Da-mi says thanks, but no thanks.  She bolts for the door with In-ha right behind.

He grabs her arm (*drink*) and asks why she’s running away like that; is her plan to never see him again?  She demands that he let go of her arm by claiming that she doesn’t want to see his face right now.  Grabbing her by the shoulders instead, he demands that she look in his eyes and tell him… In-ha will do everything for her — buy her a house, send her to college, even go abroad together to study.  Whatever she wants, so please at least give him a chance. Da-mi pulls his hands off her and asks what the hell is wrong with him; he wasn’t like this in the past.  In-ha spits that she and Ji-ho made him into this, but she orders him to not place blame on others, because Ji-ho treasures him more than anything!

In-ha still ain’t getting it through his thick skull as he asks why she likes Ji-ho and not In-ha?  Da-mi sighs and tells him it’s not that she doesn’t like him… she’s already given her heart to Yoo Ji Ho.  In-ha’s heard enough, as he forces a kiss on Da-mi.  And as expected, she slaps him hard and asks if he’s gone crazy!  As she walks away, In-ha says that if she leaves him alone… he will kill Ji-ho!!!   She wheels around and asks him to repeat himself, as In-ha says that her precious Ji-ho will be put through the wringer if they stay together.  Da-mi tells him too bad, so sad… she’s going to remain by his side no matter what.

In-ha watches her walk down the hill, about ready to collapse.  Leaning against a light pole, he decides to go all Joe Frazier on it, repeatedly punching the pole with his non-burnt-up right hand.  Bruised and bloodied now, In-ha returns to his bedroom to think about his next more.  Grabbing his Galaxy Note tablet out of its dock, he suddenly remembers about the Composition Contest that Professor Ha didn’t tell him about.  Pulling up the requirements, he mutters to himself that he can’t lose any longer to Yoo Ji Ho.  Out comes the Trapper Keeper again, as In-ha thumbs through it looking for a suitable piece to submit… and he stops dead in his tracks, obviously coming up with some sort of fiendish plot again…

EvilStep is still hacking away at the driving range, all the while looking for Jung-wook to show up again.  But he sneaks up from behind, almost giving her a heart attack.  He tries to make small talk about EvilStep staying away because he’s been such a bother.  She pooh-poohs that idea with a why I never… as Jung-wook brings her a gift from a sunbae in the States: a specially-made driver!  (Although the club head looks flat, so it can’t be a driver.  LAME.)  EvilStep asks if he’s hit the jackpot and also wonders why he would do such a thing for her, because they didn’t exactly part on really good terms back then.  Jung-wook says aw heck, that’s all in the past now since he never had the chance to gift anyone since he lives alone.  EvilStep finds that strange; is that because he still has feelings for her Yeong-rang?  He says he doesn’t have the standing to do so; at least she met a good guy after he left her… and then asks how Yeong-rang is doing these days?  EvilStep voices over that if she plays her cards right, her old age insurance will be guaranteed now!

Ji-ho is flabbergasted over the news that Saerin Piano is trying their hand at reproducing the Butt-Ugly Piano, and Yeong-rang is more worried that they’ll copyright their production before Boosung does, then her position as President flies out the window because she couldn’t bring their work into the commerce stream first.  Ji-ho states that they need to find more Alaskan Spruce to make the soundboard, but the US Government has put a stop on the export of the wood.  So-yeol says they need to find another wood to substitute in for the spruce, but Yeong-rang is against that idea since it takes time to cut and dry and season the wood.  Ji-ho says that if it takes time to find another supplier, then so be it… but Yeong-rang calls him out for being too lackadaisical in his approach.  Ji-ho says that music doesn’t create itself overnight; he learned that from his father.  Yeong-rang yells how dare he bring up his father’s name, as Attorney Choi and So-yeol look away in embarrassment.

Yeong-rang asks Ji-ho if he is purposely delaying things because he wants to take away her control in the company?  He says that if he wanted to be President, he would have taken it outright, instead of asking to be the Executive Manager instead.  Yeong-rang still doesn’t understand why he wants to remain by her side, but Ji-ho is determined to follow in his father’s footsteps and make great pianos.  Yeong-rang comes up with the brilliant idea of asking Ji-ho to protect her position in the company, in exchange for her saving his life 14 years ago.  That’s not a huge favor to ask, is it?  Ji-ho apologizes and tells her he doesn’t think he can make such a promise.  Yeong-rang jumps up and demands why he can’t — he doesn’t want control, but he can’t protect her control over the company?

Ji-ho says that he made a promise to his father, but he cannot tell her what it is… just yet.  It was his father’s last will that he must uphold, which makes Yeong-rang go pale to hear that there’s YET another will that she doesn’t know about?  ANDWAE!!  Ji-ho just sighs and tells her he’ll be back with a full report after he investigates the piano proposed by Saerin Instruments.  After Ji-ho leaves, Yeong-rang curses Man-se up and down, asking why is he protecting that bastard child so much… did he EVER consider In-ha to be his son at all?  And then the desk contents go flying, as she asks his nameplate how much longer is she going to have to hurt his son so he can feel like his vengeance has been satisfied?!?

An all-bandaged-up In-ha reads Ji-ho’s nameplate, as Ji-ho arrives to see him all bandaged up.  In-ha calls him out for being a snooty-pants more than when he was going after the successorship, but all Ji-ho can ask is what happened to In-ha’s hand… how did he get hurt?  In-ha deflects that question by saying he wants to learn about the company business now.  He can’t return to Hanguk because he’s being treated as an outcast, so why not live off the salary his small pittance of stock generates?  Ji-ho asks if he’s serious, and what work would he like to do at Boosung?   In-ha tells him not to laugh at him, but he wants Ji-ho’s job!  Ji-ho just stares at him, as In-ha says he’s not kidding — make him the Managing Director instead.  Maybe his extreme anger will go away if Ji-ho just remains the successor and In-ha becomes the director instead.  He’ll wait until Ji-ho clears out his office first.  Putting his bandaged hand on Ji-ho’s shoulder, In-ha leaves Ji-ho exasperated at best.

Then In-ha goes running off to Mommy to say the same thing; the position was his all along until Jerkwad Ji-ho took over.  Yeong-rang tells him to just settle down and she’ll give him any position at Boosung.  In-ha reminds her that she wanted to play the Mom now, right?  Make this happen… and by the way, make Da-mi his secretary too.  Yeong-rang sputters, but In-ha is resolute in his wish to have Da-mi next to him.  It doesn’t matter if she loves him or not; he can still forgive her just as long as he can keep his eyes on her.  Yeong-rang tries to talk him down off the ledge by telling him that’s no way to impress Da-mi enough for her to become In-ha’s property.

In-ha screams that HE DOESN’T CARE… if he can’t have her, then no one can.  Especially Yoo Ji Ho!!  In-ha doesn’t see a problem in stalking her like that; in fact, he kinda likes the idea because when Ji-ho finally has nothing, she’ll eventually come running to In-ha instead.  There is no woman in the world that will stay by the side of a man who possesses nothing… and he can wait until that happens.  Yeong-rang voicesover that In-ha is getting closer and closer to being just like his father, so please don’t do that.  He and that girl will become nothing but unhappy.  Glare glare glare…

Bitchy Manager Girl and Do-ri are fighting over who is going to wait on Woo-jin, as he sits there waiting to be waited on.  Bitchy Manager Girl asks Do-ri why she stopped her — that guy is totally her type, guh!   Do-ri says he asked her for a menu first, so obviously she’s got dibs on him!  At that moment, Louis walks up behind them and crabs that they do this every time a cute guy comes into the restaurant?  Turning to Bitchy Manager Girl, Louis asks if a newly-divorced woman has the right to drool over any guy like that?  Do-ri is horrified to find out that Bitchy Manager Girl was married before — geez, she had no idea!!  Bitchy Manager Girl slugs Louis and asks if he’ll take responsibility for her if he spreads rumours like that so she can’t get married?!?  Louis protests that he would do nothing of the same!  She can’t cook, so she eats out all the time; she doesn’t do laundry, so she buys new underwear instead.  Not to mention taking out bank loans to go on shopping sprees; because of her Gangnam Style Ways, Louis doesn’t even get the chance to eat soybean paste stew!  Do-ri is confused now, and asks how Louis knows all that about Bitchy Manager Girl throwing away her used underwear, and they don’t even live together?!?

Da-mi arrives and greets her brother by telling him he looks so nice in his business suit, as the Three Stooges mouth “OPPA?!?”  Woo-jin doesn’t waste any time and tells Da-mi that he heard from their mother that she has a boyfriend now.  Da-mi shyly says yeah I guess, and Woo-jin wants to meet the bastard… I mean, the lucky guy who’s dating his dongsaeng.  So what is it that she likes about her namjachingu, ne?  Da-mi says she likes everything (and rattles off a list of Ji-ho’s good and bad features), but eventually settles on that she just wants to take care of him.  But enough about her; isn’t he there to say something to her?  Woo-jin tells her he got a job, but it’s not at a hospital since he quit the medical school.

Woo-jin hopes that she’s not too disappointed in him, but she knows from where he comes, and tells him it must have been a very difficult decision.  She’s doesn’t give a fig whether or not her brother is a doctor, because he’s cool beans no matter what he does in life.  And of course, Attorney Choi is at the restaurant listening over his shoulder.  Thinking that Yeong-rang’s precious son is in love with Woo-jin’s precious sister, things are working out better than he ever expected!

Secretary Oh arrives with the dossier on Alvin Kim of Geumdan Construction.  Yeong-rang pops it open to read that he’s Korean, lives in the States, and is 82 YEARS OLD?!?  She’s amazed to hear that he’s 82 years old and has an illness, so that explains why he’s left the day-to-day business in the hands of Executive Chief Denny Hong.  Yeong-rang asks for confirmation on the rumour that Mr. Kim has an adopted son, but Secretary Oh hasn’t confirmed if that son is Denny Hong… or someone else.  Staring at the picture of Woo-jin in the folder, she asks it if he really does know the secret to the Butt-Ugly Piano after all?

There must be an echo in here, because we’re back at the Gangster Bar where Woo-jin asks Jung-wook the very same thing?  Saying that he never leaks lies, Jung-wook explains that when Chairman Yoo was making the Butt-Ugly Piano, he secretly searched out investors because of the huge cost in undertaking the manufacturing.  Jung-wook just happened to be the main investor, but Woo-jin asks if Man-se was aware of who Jung-wook was?  Jung-wook says he couldn’t have, because he borrowed the name of his sunbae, Alvin Kim.  Man-se died before finding out that his largest investor was in actuality him, and he has the secret documents that were provided only to the joint venture partners back at the time of the funding.  No one else knows about this, as Woo-jin says that if Yeong-rang found out, she will do anything to get her hands on a copy.  Because of the rumour that the Saerin Company will be acquiring a copy of the plans, Yeong-rang must be besides herself with worry right now.  It’s almost time to hook her into the net… so let those two boys drink to that!!  *hic*

Ji-ho hurries out of the Boosung offices, with So-yeol hot on his heels.  Pleading for him to buy her dinner or something, he begs off because he’s already got plans.  As he walks off, she wonders out loud why he’s busy all the time… when from down the hall, In-ha asks her if she’d rather have dinner with him instead.

Da-mi looks over the menu at a fancy Chinese restaurant, as Ji-ho chides her to just pick something; don’t study it like a book!  Da-mi tells him she doesn’t see anything she likes, so she’ll just have a bowl of jajangmyeong instead.  He sniffs and tells her she should order something expensive… but then orders two bowls of jajangmyeong just to make her happy.  Da-mi snorts because Ji-ho called her unsophisticated, but he ordered jajangmyeong too; Ji-ho says that his IQ is dropping because of his hanging around Da-mi all the time.  They share a cute little giggle, until they see So-yeol and In-ha show up outside their private dining alcove.

I guess they’ve seated themselves there, because In-ha says he’s thrilled to be seeing Da-mi so often these days… here at the restaurant, and then earlier at his house.  Didn’t you tell hyung that, as Ji-ho says she did, coming over with So-yeol to see the Butt-Ugly Piano.  In-ha thinks he’s got the upper hand by reminding Ji-ho that he and So-yeol were a couple in college, but Ji-ho flatly denies that.  So-yeol says that maybe it appeared so to others, but it was a one-sided love — Ji-ho was never interested in girls back then.  In-ha twists the knife a bit deeper, saying that he’s sure Ji-ho liked So-yeol after they spent school vacations together and practicing for concerts together well into the night.  He wouldn’t have been a ‘real guy’ if he didn’t develop any feelings after that.

Ji-ho tells In-ha to stop, but he goes on asking if it’s wrong to talk about his first love like this?  Or is there some sort of secret that In-ha is not privy to?  The girls look more and more uncomfortable, and Ji-ho has finally had enough.  They get up to leave, but not before Ji-ho tells them to take their time… a LONG time.  In-ha asks So-yeol why she’s not going after him; was he wrong in thinking she’s the type that wants everything her way?  So-yeol asks why the hell did In-ha bring her there if he was going to humiliate her like that, but In-ha has an ulterior motive: to help both of them get back the person that they like.  She gets Ji-ho, and he gets Da-mi… and finally, he has a need for So-yeol now.

An extremely drunk Woo-jin is brought home by Jung-wook and dragged to his room.  He hands Nam-joo his business card, and introduces himself as Woo-jin’s boss at Geumdan Construction.  And after having deposited Woo-jin in his room, he makes his goodbyes.  Turning to leave, Jung-wook notices something out of the corner of his eye…asking if it’s okay if he looks at their piano, he gives it a big long stare and then lifts the lid to see his initials on the nameplate.  Looking rather confused, Jung-wook thinks how did THIS get here?

Sitting outside after that little debacle at the restaurant, Da-mi asks Ji-ho if there’s something he wanted to say to her, but Ji-ho remains clueless and asks what?  She brushes it off, but Ji-ho wonders if she’s jealous of So-yeol after all that?  She says she’s not, but you can see a little something in her face belying that statement.  Ji-ho tells her that he became close to So-yeol because she is Professor Ha’s daughter.  She’s nothing more than a hoobae (junior) at their school.  Suitably chastized, Ji-ho asks why she doesn’t call him oppa, but Da-mi asks why? When they were kids, they were the same height so she thought they were the same age as well.  Ji-ho snorts and says he’s several years older than she!  (You don’t say!)

He orders her to call him oppa, but she hems and haws and doesn’t, so some good-natured pushing and nudging and giggling ensues, until Ji-ho wraps his arms around her and says he didn’t have a single thing to laugh about all day.  But even though he feels better now, he bets she doesn’t because their meal got ruined by In-ha and So-yeol.  Da-mi asks him if he wants to go eat the most delicious food in the world… as we see them both arrive back at the Hong Residence!!  Da-mi announces Ji-ho as the pianist she likes, and Jji-ho is bearing the standard welcoming gift and flowers, as Nam-joo tells him she’s been wanting to meet him for awhile now.

So with a reprise of the “Fur Elise” mashup playing in the background, Ji-ho tucks into his meal like he hasn’t eaten in days.  Nam-joo apologizes for not having much on the table; if she’d had a little bit more time, she would have put out more banchan (side dishes) with the stew.  Da-mi asks wasn’t she right– her mom’s cooking is the best!  Ji-ho asks if he could visit more often; in return, he’ll do the dishes!  Nam-joo scoffs at that, saying how could she make someone’s precious son do that — wouldn’t his mother be upset?  As a cloud comes over Ji-ho’s face, Nam-joo tells him that she’ll properly prepare a meal for him in the future.  Teasing her by saying he’s going to come every day if he can eat like this, and she agrees as he is a friend of Da-mi’s and always welcome.

Woo-jin stumbles out of his room in search of the bathroom, when he comes across the Happy Family Tableau and stops short.  Wondering why Yoo Ji Ho is at their home, he overhears Ji-ho asking Da-mi to make some time for him the next day.  When she asks, Nam-joo gives her special dispensation to go ahead since she likes Ji-ho as her boyfriend.  Listening to that newsflash, Woo-jin just about has a cow… a quiet cow, but a cow nonetheless.

Ji-ho arrives home to see a text waiting from Da-mi, thanking him for a nice night… Ji-ho oppa.  Grinning like a clown, he sits down to the Butt-Ugly Piano and plays a piece that I don’t recognize.  hearing the music, In-ha comes downstairs to investigate.  Standing on the stairs, In-ha voices over asking if he really can’t win against Ji-ho?  If only Ji-ho would just disappear…

The next day, In-ha is working on his score for the Composing Contest when Ji-ho arrives with drinks, as he heard that In-ha was up all night working on his piece.  In-ha tells him to scram, but Ji-ho wants to talk with him for a moment instead.  In-ha tells him not to be worried, but Ji-ho cannot do that… as much as he hates the notion, In-ha and he are still brothers.  In-ha jumps up from the piano bench and isn’t sure that they can even be called brothers, since Ji-ho has never ever given up a single thing to In-ha.  He spent over half his life in the hospital, and what did Ji-ho do for him then?  Did he think he was lucky to have escaped such a misfortune, and now he wants to call In-ha his brother?  In-ha stomps out, as Ji-ho looks over the flyer for the Composing Contest.

Returning to his room, Ji-ho pulls out the score for “Fate” and thinks back to his conversation just three seconds ago with In-ha, and to his prior conversation with Young-rang over not giving up anything voluntarily to In-ha.  Ji-ho crumples up the flyer and puts the score away, thereby making the decision not to enter the competition after all.

Yeong-rang is creaming herself up with some sort of luxury brand, as EvilStep barges in demanding to use some of her toiletries since she’s all out.  Yeong-rang hands her an envelope with her monthly allowance, telling her that if she isn’t going to work for a living, try to stretch this money accordingly because this is all you’re gonna get.  Oh and by the way, she’s frozen all of EvilStep’s credit cards as well.  EvilStep is horrified to see that the envelope only contains 300,000 won (about $275 USD in today’s rates), as that money would be all spent even before she leaves the house!  Yeong-rang tells het that without EvilStep having a job, she’s tired of paying the 10,000,000 won every month in credit card bills.  How could she even buy a new golf club — what was she thinking?  EvilStep starts to protest, but stops short by saying she didn’t buy that with her own money.  So make some time next week, because she’s inviting a guest over for dinner; make sure the hired help orders in some luxurious sushi for their meal.  Yeong-rang asks who EvilStep invited without asking her permission, as EvilStep says she’ll be most happy to see this person.  Grabbing the cosmetics away from Yeong-rang, EvilStep makes her escape.  ZOINKS!!!

Da-mi returns home to see Woo-jin is up and about from the night before.  She tells him that it’s her day off and she’s going to spend it with Ji-ho.  Apologizing for not introducing him when Woo-jin was sleeping off his bender, Woo-jin tells her not to bother and to stop seeing him… that pianist is not proper for her to meet so just give him up.  Da-mi asks if it’s because he’s rich and that’s why he doesn’t make a good match?  Woo-jin tells her to just stop; it ain’t gonna work between their families.  Da-mi goes on to say that she wouldn’t have met him in the first place if all he did was throw around his money (like In-ha does), but Woo-jin orders her to stop seeing him or he’s gonna get really really really angry!

Da-mi waits at the Seoul Garden Hotel lobby for Ji-ho, but when he arrives, he can tell from her face that something’s wrong.  Da-mi asks him why he didn’t tell her mom that he came from a rich family, as Ji-ho asks can’t anyone tell by just looking at him?  Aniyo, he’d rather be treated comfortably and that why he clammed up… he doesn’t want everyone to treat him any differently.  So get ready — they’re off to look at some trees today!

Denny Hong visits Boosung again to give them the update on the apartment complex construction.  Apparently all the residents have been relocated, so the demolition will start and the construction should proceed shortly.  Yeong-rang is happy to hear that news, but grills Denny more on how he knows about the Butt-Ugly Piano.  He tells her that his President has the construction notes for the Butt-Ugly Piano, which sets Yeong-rang back a bit.  She tells him that her husband didn’t leave behind any construction notes, but Denny says that he sure did… two copies in fact.  One copy was kept by Yoo Man Se, and the other was given to his boss, Alvin Kim.  Yeong-rang wonders if the rumour of Saerin Piano acquiring said knowledge is true then, but Denny hedges his bets and says he cannot comment on that because it is outside the scope of their contract.  (Oooh, lawyer-speak!)

Yeong-rang asks how Denny could be so cavalier about knowing the origins of the construction notes, and demands that he give them to her.  Money is not object, if that’s what Geumdan is after.  Denny says he will discuss the construction notes with his boss and get back to her… but he can’t promised anything because they dropped a huge wad of bills on the notes.  Yeong-rang reminds Denny not to forget that Geumdan and Boosung are joint developers; they’re practically one big happy family, remember?  Denny looks across the table at Attorney Choi, who looks like the cat that swallowed the canary.

In-ha is looking over his score that he’s submitting for the Composing Contest called “Love Theme” (oh so original not) in A major.  He suddenly remembers that he still has Professor Ha’s Magic Composing Pen in his possession, so he brings it into Ji-ho’s room to leave it with him instead.  Slamming it down on Ji-ho’s desk, In-ha notices the crumpled-up flyer for the contest in Ji-ho’s wastebasket.  Flashing back to when Yeong-rang told him to find Ji-ho’s weak spot, he picks up the score for the “Fate” song.  In-ha believes this has to be Ji-ho’s Achilles Heel… he has to make it so Ji-ho cannot return to the music world… for the rest of his life!

Sitting outside the post office, In-ha stops a homeless person and requests that he go inside and send this envelope by registered mail, and hands him several thousand won to do so.  He rushes off to do that very thing…

Nam-joo is meeting with Jung-wook, because they both apparently had something to say to each other.  Jung-wook wants to know exactly what is her family’s relationship with Yeong-rang’s family, as Nam-joo tells him that if her precious son chose to work with his company, then she should be able to trust him too.  Doodley doodley doodley… and desserts are sitting on the table now.  Jung-wook wants to know if it’s really true that Yeong-rang killed Chairman Yoo, and she confirms that to be the truth; there’s a witness and evidence and everything!  Jung-wook is floored that Yeong-rang seems to be such a dangerous person, and Nam-joo is concerned that Woo-jin is so hell-bent on revenge that he will not listen to reason.

Jung-wook tells her that he’s not going out for revenge; he’s just focused on clearing his father’s name.  Both he and she should trust Jung-wook and use the services that he offers… because he hates that woman even more than she does.  Returning to his office, Jung-wook wonders if it wasn’t enough trying to kill HIM — you also killed your husband as well?!?  Is there nothing that woman can do to stop her bloodlust?

Ji-ho and Da-mi are at an arboretum looking for replacement wood for the Alaskan Spruce, and he presents the sample to the owner.  He tells them that this wood grew in a very cold region, so it’s impossible to come up with a look-alike with the Korean climate they have.  Handing back the sample, Ji-ho asks her what should they do next?  He really needs to find replacement wood first to put together the soundboard; they can’t use expensive imported wood and a good sound cannot be made with native tree stock.  Da-mi complains that it would be nice to make a quality piano with native woods so the prices were reasonable and poor kids who wanted to play could do so eventually.  (GEEZ.  Concentrate on the matter at hand, whydontcha?)

Ji-ho gets a call from So-yeol looking for him; his secretary said he went out to look for wood.  He wouldn’t happen to be doing that with Da-mi now, would he?  He tells her he is and he’s busy at it, so they will talk later.  Hanging up, So-yeol is quite miffed that Ji-ho’s out with Da-mi, when she remembers In-ha’s words to her at the restaurant to help each other get the lovers they want.  You can tell that she’s giving that request some serious thought.

Ji-ho and Da-mi wander around the park some more, as Ji-ho takes pictures of the surroundings and Da-mi just stands there and looks cute.   (And the viewers let out a collective YAWN.)

The Composing Contest Committee is meeting to go over the submissions.  Attorney Choi slams some papers down on Yeong-rang’s desk, crabbing that the Boosung stocks are dropping like a stone.  The Board of Directors are strongly suggesting that a change in management should be discussed soon.  Yeong-rang knows that, because then Ji-ho would be elevated to her position.  But has the document where Ji-ho is transferring the 30% of his stock to In-ha finalized yet?  Attorney Choi doesn’t think so, as Yeong-rang orders him to change the names on the document immediately.  Change it to read the recipients are the directors who are attempting to push her out of her position.  If it becomes known that he’s trying to bribe the directors to push out his precious mother who raised him for 14 years, that’ll put Ji-ho into a world of hurt and get rid of the directors who are giving her headaches as well.  One-stop shopping!

Yeong-rang stands up and says it’s time for her monthly visit to see CrazyGran.  If what Denny Hong said is true, the manufacturing schematics should be somewhere close by her.  Attorney Choi asks if CrazyGran is willing to give up that information so easily, and Yeong-rang says she has a knack for getting people to say what she wants them to say.

Ji-ho gets a phone call, and he asks what plagiarism?!?  Running off to the building where the Composing Contest Committee is meeting, he runs into In-ha who asks him with tears in his eyes why Ji-ho copied one of his songs!  Ji-ho says that makes no sense, because he has no reason to do that.  In-ha ain’t letting up, asking him why since he already has everything at his disposal.  Ji-ho yells at In-ha to stop talkin’ smack about him, especially with all those reporters around taking notes.  Glare-Off counts down in three… two… one… and we end Episode 13!

Air Date:  29 September 2012

Ratings:   AGB Nielsen Nationwide 8.9% (8th) / Seoul 9.4% (9th); TmNS Nationwide 10.6% (9th) / Seoul 12.2% (6th)

Flowers and Brickbats

Yeah, I was up at 4:50 AM on a Saturday to live-stream this… what I won’t do for My Precious.  This was the first of two episodes back-to-back that aired on 29 September due to the special Chuseok Holiday Programming being aired by SBS on Sunday night, thereby pre-empting Episode 14’s airing.  Even though this practice is normal over the Chuseok Weekend for the Big Three + One-Half Networks, SBS didn’t decide until two days prior that they were going to do this, and boy did that reflect in the ratings.  Granted, no show did extremely well over the weekend at all, because a Saturday night before Sunday Chuseok ain’t gonna make people sit in front of their televisions.  Pfffft.

One good thing about these recaps and putting a few weeks between the initial airing is that I’m catching a lot of tiny details that flew over my head while I was still half-asleep.  I have no memory whatsoever of the whole Ji-ho/In-ha scene where In-ha tells him he wants to join Boosung, and then when he slips further into madness while trying to convince Yeong-rang to play matchmaker with him and Da-mi.  So yay for me to see these scenes again with fresher eyes than the first time.

I’m appreciating more and more the little wink-and-nods the PD-nim is giving us with the dialogue.  The scene in which Ji-ho tells Da-mi he’s ‘many years older than she’ has to be a direct retort to the netizens’ flamewar at that time which pronounced Ji-hoon way too old to be acting next to Se-yeon as a love interest (there is 11 years’ difference between them in real life).  Mostly that vitriol stemmed from her just finishing “GAKSITAAAAAAAAAAL” and her (uncle) fans were not ready to see her jump into another ‘relationship’ like the one she’s having in this show.  Geez, just get over yourselves already!

Episode 13’s sub-theme should have been named “How To Piss Off Yoo In Ha,” as we saw major character development how he was not going to be one-upped anymore by Ji-ho by any stretch of the imagination.  Yeong-rang may have planted the seed into him of how to overtake his hyung, but it was all In-ha’s brilliant (in a twisted way) idea to come up with the plagiarism method of humiliation (which I’ll discuss further in Episode 14’s recap).  On the inverse, though, where he learned to obsess over Da-mi pretty much came from left field; it’s not like he saw that behavior even growing up with those warped parents.  Da-mi puts out a pretty good point, though… everything In-ha attempts seems to be in his eyes a direct competition with his brother.  This is not going to end well for My Precious; the emotional madness has already taken root.  Strap yourselves in for a bumpy ride, chingus!

The Best Scene Ever (at least so far in these 13 episodes) was the one where In-ha attacked the poor maid carrying the towels.  There’s an awesome BTS video that I put on my Tumblr page showing the different ways the PD-nim tried to block that scene, as Chang-wook said he was going to play it like In-ha was going through puberty again.  That little foot-stomping tantrum in the video was awesomesauce, but it was decided to be way too over the top to keep in the scene.  In-ha may act like a 12-year-old most of the time, but that scene wasn’t the place for it.  Too bad; I really need to make a .gif of that sometime.  LUV.

Music Nerd Ramblings:   Note to Self:  I really need to dig out my theory books, because a lot of the key signatures in the scores that are shown on-screen are escaping my quick recognition.  When In-ha shows off his score for the Composing Contest, I had to stare at it for awhile to ensure it was actually in the A major key.  I don’t think the Music Director would have had him craft a “Love Theme” in a minor key (of which F# minor would have been the inverse of A major).  I wonder if there’s some other music nerds out there that are capturing the sheet music shown on screen and actually printing them up for performing. Wish I had that much disposable hours at my beck-and-call!

I’ve also noticed that the production jumps back-and-forth between episodes that offer a ton of music… and then to an episode that barely plays any, like this one.  The only recognizable tune to me was the Prelude in C minor (No. 7) by Sergei Rachmaninoff that In-ha decides to listen to after his little towel-busting move early in this episode.  A very showy portfolio piece, it was written in 1903 and is one of the most-played works from his Ten Preludes (Op. 23).  But that’s about all I can say about it, as I never ever approached any of his scores in my playing days.  Just too freakin’ hard!

Episode 14 coming up next — stay tuned!