A guy getting thrown over the railing at Incheon Airport.  How come I didn’t see anything this exciting during my layover?!?

Ji-ho lifts Attorney Choi farther over the railing to his impending doom, all the while asking if he knows how injured that little blow on her head made Yeong-rang.  Attorney Choi mumbles back that her injuries are all because of Ji-ho – if he had not come back from the States, Boosung would be his by now!!

Ji-ho lifts Attorney Choi even farther over the railing, as In-ha runs up and orders him to stop.  Ji-ho doesn’t hear a word, until In-ha yells out ANDWAE, HYUNG!!!  (And this time, In-ha finally sounds sincere about calling him ‘big brother.’  PHEW.)

In-ha tells Ji-ho what would it solve if he killed Attorney Choi and then also because a criminal like him?  Does he think their mother would want he to take revenge like that?  HUNH?  Ji-ho doesn’t care, because Attorney Choi is not worth forgiving and killing him would be best for everyone!

In-ha still goes on don’t do it he’s only a waste of space Ji-ho you’ll be a criminal, etc. etc. etc… but what finally makes Ji-ho stop is In-ha telling him he’s going to live the rest of his life feeling as bad as In-ha.  With one tear falling, he pulls Attorney Choi away from what would have been a much-celebrated death.  (DAMMIT.  I was SO praying for a Railing Death!!!)

Yeong-rang gets a call from Jung-wook that both Ji-ho and In-ha are at the police station for threatening Attorney Choi.  (WTFH?!?)  Yeong-rang demands to be taken there, but Jung-wook orders her to stand down and he’ll report back what he knows when he knows it.

But Yeong-rang isn’t much on following orders and attempts to head over to the police station.  EvilStep intercepts her with Jung-wook’s admonition to not let her leave the premises, but Yeong-rang says how can she stay put when this is all about her?  Attorney Choi has nothing to be afraid of, so he may do something bad to Ji-ho!

EvilStep says she’s worried too, but Yeong-rang would just be wasting time going over there when she can’t see one foot in front of her face.  Is that how she wants her children to find out she’s going blind?

At the police station, In-ha tells Ji-ho that Attorney Choi is the one in the hot seat now; he’s not going to spill any beans against him.  Ji-ho is still mad at himself for letting that bastard live… and Inha-ya, why did you tell him to stop?  He said he would take responsibility for everything, dammit!

In-ha tells Ji-ho that he still hasn’t caught a clue, right?  Staying by their mother’s side is taking responsibility; killing an asswipe like Attorney Choi is not.  By the way, In-ha filed an appeal against his impending conviction, but he’s prepared for the worst in going to jail.  Once he’s away, what will happen if Ji-ho gets in trouble too?  Ji-ho may hate the sight of Yeong-rang, but he’s better than having a stranger look after her.

Ji-ho reminds In-ha that he is still her child, so how many times does he have to say that he DOES NOT have a mother, eh?  With tears in his eyes, In-ha orders Ji-ho to not abandon Yeong-rang, because if he does, In-ha will never ever forgive him.  Jung-wook finally arrives to see the brothers sitting side-by-side (and not wanting to kill each other for once).

The investigator asks Attorney Choi if it’s true that Ji-ho was trying to kill him, as Attorney Choi recounts the whole balcony scene again.  The investigator says so what, dude – you kidnapped Ji-ho first and tried to kill him, and inflected great bodily harm on Yeong-rang!  Attorney Choi reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key to a locker at the Sillim subway station.  Open it up and you will find something really interesting!

Jung-wook explains to Our Boys that an agreement was made that it was a mutual assault.  In-ha surmises that Attorney Choi made a huge mistake by making such a fuss in the first place, and thanks Jung-wook for all his help.  So those two should go see their mother, right… RIGHT?!

Ji-ho just stomps off, as Jung-wook stops In-ha from going after him telling him to just let him be.  Ji-ho is having a hard time accepting that Yeong-rang became blind because of him.  But as Ji-ho returns home, Yeong-rang is waiting for him…

… to give him a piece of her mind over tea and cookies.  She reminds Ji-ho that if he’s feeling even the tiniest piece of guilt over her injuries and tried to kill Attorney Choi, then he needs to pull his head out of his hinder.  Ji-ho asks how it could NOT matter; will him forgetting everything make it something that doesn’t matter?  (Diagram that sentence, please…)

Yeong-rang reminds Ji-ho that it was her misfortune and fate that led to the accident.  She does not want Ji-ho to use that as an excuse to feel sorry for her.  Ji-ho demands why she went after him like that since she’s never cared whether he lived or died before… and she keeps making him suffer regardless!  And why all of a sudden she’s purchased a season pass for the Noble Idiocy Bus, as she reminds him that it wasn’t his fault she got whacked, so he shouldn’t act like a hypocrite and go back to hating her guts.  Going blind is just a piffle to her.

Ji-ho asks that if Yeong-rang is so freakin’ strong, then she should have just stayed the hell home and let him take all the beatings instead.  She must atone for her sins now, so get the hell out of his house.  Yeong-rang agrees, because she’s sick and tired of looking at Ji-ho looking at her with pity in his eyes.  And she’s outta there!

In-ha gets off the phone with Ji-ho telling him to go after his mother, but of course In-ha rails on her for not making Ji-ho come to see her instead.  EvilStep tells him to not hate Ji-ho, since he’s the one hurting the most right now.  Bad enough that poor boy grew up without a proper parental unit, she’s sure his heart is about ready to explode.

In-ha crabs that he knows how Ji-ho feels, but what should he do when he still hates Ji-ho’s guts since he was the cause of everything that has gone wrong with their family?  EvilStep reminds In-ha that at least he grew up with parents, and Ji-ho never had that at his disposal… at least cut him some slack, okay?

Ji-ho gets a little visit from the FSS investigating fraudulent loans, and since he’s the acting president of Geumdan Construction, he will be investigated as well.  The blue boxes are pulled out over at the Geumdan HQ, with the requisite books and papers being thrown inside.  Jung-wook and Assistant Guy watch from their car down the street.

Prosecutor Boy is back, and he is pissed at Ji-ho for continuing to play innocent.  Apparently the key to the Sillim subway locker contained damning documents supporting illegal loans and slush funds.  Ji-ho explains that Geumdan is a conglomerate which secured its funds from apartment and resort rentals.  The Boosung contract was not procured using any sort of coercion or pressure!

Prosecutor Boy states that the interest rate in and of itself was of such a high amount as to make it usurious.  So where is Elvin Kim while all this is going on?  What did that 92-year-old Korean-American order Ji-ho to do under his direction?  (*snerk*)  Ji-ho will have to take the fall if something goes wrong if Elvin Kim doesn’t appear… and soon!

Prosecutor Boy orders the appearance of Yeong-rang and In-ha to his office so he can question them directly about the Geumdan loans n’ stuff.  Jung-wook tells Assistant Guy that he must go and tell the truth about Geumdan’s inner workings, but Assistant Guy is totally against that idea.  Geumdan will go down in flames if he spills the beans!

Jung-wook says he can’t let his son Ji-ho take the fall for something he was responsible for, but Assistant Guy says it sounds like Jung-wook doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the rest of the Geumdan workers who will be affected by his decision to turn state’s evidence.  Jung-wook ponders that thought for a while.

As Ji-ho leaves the interrogation room, he runs right into Yeong-rang and In-ha, following orders to appear in front of Prosecutor Boy.  All three look mighty uncomfortable to be in this situation.

Prosecutor Boy asks Yeong-rang if she knew that illegal goings-on were happening at Geumdan; wasn’t she worried that Boosung would lose their shirts if something went wrong?  In-ha is asked basically the same question regarding Geumdan’s involvement in the Boosung bankruptcy.

Yeong-rang tells Prosecutor Boy that Boosung had no option but to accept the terms laid out by Geumdan because the banks stopped communicating with Boosung, not because Geumdan threatened them to sign their lives away.  In-ha says the exact same thing, saying that he executed the contract knowing there was a high interest rate and short term for repayment.  He had no choice but to do so to save Boosung from the creditors breathing down their collective necks.

Prosecutor Boy tells In-ha this may be his last chance to take back Boosung from Ji-ho… so tell him the truth.  Did or did not Ji-ho illegally take over Boosung?  In-ha says no, there were no problems involved with his acquisition of Boosung and Ji-ho should not be held at fault.

Yeong-rang is told she can leave the premises since In-ha’s testimony squared with hers that there was no illegality with the Boosung contract.  Prosecutor Boy wonders if he’s just covering up for his hyung, or if In-ha is outright lying.  Whatever the reason, In-ha had the chance to recover Boosung fair and square… and just threw it away.

Yeong-rang wants to know what’s going to happen to Geumdan now, as Prosecutor Boy says an allegation was made that Geumdan Construction funds were illegally raised for their capital.  Their investigation is far from over.

When In-ha catches up with Yeong-rang, he explains to her that he didn’t help Ji-ho because he suddenly likes the guy; he helped out because he was worried she might cry over him again.  In-ha leaves her in the hallway… crying.

Attorney Choi looks like he’s going somewhere all packed up and walking fast in his parking garage.  All of a sudden, Yeong-rang runs up and grabs him, asking where the bastard is going after hanging Ji-ho out to dry.  Attorney Choi reminds her that Ji-ho tried to kill him, as Yeong-rang says that if she was there, she would have wrung his neck herself!

Attorney Choi is not moved by the new motherly side of Yeong-rang, as she reminds him of that and she would rather see Attorney Choi rot in hell than have him touch another hair on Ji-ho’s head.  Don’t worry; she’s already been to hell and back because of Attorney Choi.  She’s not afraid of dying anymore, so leave Ji-ho alone!

Attorney Choi throws her off and chuckles over Yeong-rang’s sudden growth of stones over calling him out like that.  Fortunately, the cops heard everything and are right around the corner to haul him in for blackmailing both Boosung and Geumdan.  Yay!

Yeong-rang stomps into Jung-wook’s apartment and tells him he should have ruined her with his own hands if he hated her so much.  Why is he being such a coward letting Ji-ho take the fall for his missteps? Jung-wook says he’s worried himself, but he’s trying to figure out a way to be even more ineffective fix everything.

Yeong-rang isn’t impressed with his non-action and excuses so far.  Who’s more important in his life – Geumdan Construction, or his own son?!?  He has no right to show himself in front of Ji-ho, especially since he was so hell-bent on revenge against her.  How could he be that child’s father?!?

That just sets her off, as Yeong-rang beats on Jung-wook saying since she was such a hell-beast, he should have been the honorable one in the family.  Why is he making him suffer like that – at least ONE of them should have acted like a real parent!  When Ji-ho found out that Dead Burnt-Up Dad betrayed him, Jung-wook should have been there to set him straight!

Jung-wook tells her to stop messing up his suit jacket as he’ll figure out what to do soon.  Yeong-rang rails at the heavens for giving Ji-ho to a mother such as her!  Wae wae wae??!?!?!?!?!

Prosecutor Boy tells Ji-ho he didn’t realize that Geumdan was such an upright company – their investigation turned up gangster activity in running illegal bars and shaking down other companies for hush money.  Since Ji-ho is the acting president of Geumdan, will he accept all the charges?

Prosecutor Boy gets a wee bit upset and demands that Ji-ho cannot weasel out of something so serious.  Who is the real Elvin Kim pulling his strings?!?  Ji-ho says there is no such person, so he’ll take responsibility for everything Prosecutor Boy says is illegal.

A bailiff comes in and says that Elvin Kim is here in person, which throws Prosecutor Boy for a loop.  Jung-wook enters the room and apologizes to Ji-ho for arriving so late.  Ji-ho stumbles down the stairs to Prosecutor Boy’s voiceover that Yeong-rang and In-ha testified in his favor, and that Elvin Kim confirmed that he had nothing to do with any Geumdan incidents, so Ji-ho is free to go.

Yeong-rang pokes around for a lotus root, so In-ha obliges with a piece of his own.  EvilStep wants to know if they’re going to have to move after all; she’s having a hard time living with everything stuck with seizure labels!  Yeong-rang says that they should just move out of the house since it’s just too big to take care of for only the three of them.

EvilStep says it’s best to stay in a place that she’s familiar with because of her failing eyesight.  A strange new place may be a burden on her recovery, but Yeong-rang insists that they move quickly so her eyes can get used to a new place before they completely fade out.

In-ha passes his CV to the director of a music school, who recognizes his name and snottily tells him that it’s not hiring season right now so don’t call us; we’ll call you.  In-ha says that he’ll be waiting, but as he turns away, Snotty Director says In-ha has some nerve to apply at their school, being a plagiarizing bastard and all that.

Sad In-ha Music plays underneath, as he walks up Apgujeong Street with voiceovers of several other music school directors saying they don’t even dare hire a musician who caused such social upheavals.  Stopping and sighing, In-ha happens to look up at a flyer on a restaurant saying it is looking for part-time piano players.  Gee, what a coinkydink!

EvilStep asks how Ji-ho is getting on, as he states he’s not sick or anything.  She is amazed that Jung-wook made such a difficult decision against the wishes of his own workers, and ran to the Prosecutor’s Office to save his child.  She concludes that no matter how shitty one acts in life, once a parent always a parent.

Ji-ho tells her that the seizure on their house will be withdrawn tomorrow, along with the hold he put on all their credit cards.  EvilStep is over the moon to learn they can stay in their house!  Ji-ho reminds her that he’s forgiving them at all; he still isn’t sorry or feels pity for them… he’s doing this so he can feel more at ease now.

EvilStep tells him that if he feels it’s too hard to forgive them, then just let it go.  Even if he feels a tiny bit of remorse towards his mother and brother, holding it all inside will just eat him up.  Ji-ho says the only way he could possibly go on is to remember all the good times they had in the past.  But… he has no good memories whatsoever.

EvilStep reminds him that Yeong-rang still went through labour and gave birth to him – doesn’t that count for anything?  Ji-ho begs to differ that fact makes them parents, since they found him burdensome and just banished him to Jebu-do.  If they decided they needed another child, they went and brought him back.  Ji-ho feels more like a bouncing ball than a son… so please tell him, what was it that he did so wrong to be treated like that?

EvilStep tells Ji-ho to treat her as his therapist.  Spill out your guts and stop hating on his mother so much.  And move your gorgeous butt back home, because Yeong-rang doesn’t have much more time before she completely loses her eyesight.  At least let her study his face before then… but Ji-ho says he doesn’t want to.  EvilStep says that if Ji-ho doesn’t return to her side soon, he will definitely regret it.

Back to the Celina Restaurant, where we see In-ha auditioning for the part-time piano player position noted on the flyer.  In-ha has chosen the Chopin Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor for his performance.  With Yeong-rang and EvilStep’s voiceovers ringing in his ears over him needing to step up his Adult Game, In-ha does an admirable job of making the lunch crowd stop eating and start listening instead, all the while tears are streaming down his face.

Y

eong-rang had the text recognition feature installed on her Samsung Galaxy III, so she writes out the Hangul for Ji-ho (지호) and dials his number.  But EvilStep pushes her way into the bedroom and she hangs up.  EvilStep is pleased that Yeong-rang could stay by herself without incident, and has brought bags with her containing vision supplements and fresh blueberries.  (BTW, blueberries contain lutein, which is needed for good eye health.)

EvilStep hems and haws over where she got the money to buy all this stuff, and then finally fesses up that Ji-ho gave her a credit card and told her to go wild with it.  Yeong-rang calls her out for going begging to Ji-ho, but EvilStep said he gave up the card willingly.  Besides, he knows they don’t have two nickels to rub together now – why can’t her grandson help out every now and then?

Yeong-rang orders EvilStep to not burden Ji-ho any longer; after all she’s done to him and she goes asking him for help?  NO.  EvilStep says yep, they really do have nothing but she needs to stop with the vain pride.  If Yeong-rang is truly sorry to Ji-ho, just say so.  Why is it so hard for those words to escape from Yeong-rang’s lips?

Yeong-rang says she can’t offer Ji-ho any sort of apology until she is forgiven for her actions.  And all the crap she pulled on him isn’t going to be forgiven anytime soon.  EvilStep says there isn’t a crime in the world that can’t be forgiven, but Yeong-rang is not swayed.  She cannot ask to be forgiven with just one word.

EvilStep says so what; they’re still parent and child.  Yeong-rang’s head may say andwae, but her heart says it’s possible.  Yeong-rang begs to differ, since if her son ever ended up with a stepmother like her… Yeong-rang would have killed her herself.

Oh hiiiiii In-ha!  When did you arrive home?  He hears that entire conversation from the other side of the door, and takes off for parts unknown.

Back at Product Placement Headquarters, Nam-joo crabs at Da-mi for helping her out at the store after her long day at Gloria… erm, Boosung now, I guess.  Da-mi tells her that having two jobs is all the rage these days.  (Ha. Tell me about it.)  Woo-jin arrives to escort them home after they clean up.

Woo-jin has some good news for them for once – he’s been reaccepted into his last year of medical school!  Da-mi is more excited to see him dressed in hospital whites, as Nam-joo still cannot believe the news.  Woo-jin says things are finally back on track again.  Yeong-rang and In-ha are going to prison, their father’s honour has been restored, and he’s back in school.  They only have things to laugh about now!

Ji-ho sits and mulls over EvilStep’s request to move back home since his mother doesn’t have much time left before going completely blind.  The Hong Family returns home after closing up for the evening, but who’s that at their front gate?  Well, that was unexpected.

Nam-joo is gobsmacked to hear that Ji-ho is asking for mercy regarding his mother’s sentence, and rails on him about his misplaced loyalty.  Now that he’s returned to Boosung, do their wounded hearts mean nothing to him?  Woo-jin orders Ji-ho out of their house since they haven’t the slightest chance of showing any mercy.  Yeong-rang and In-ha both received one-year sentences; how can Ji-ho claim that’s too much?

Ji-ho moves to his knees and says that Yeong-rang is going blind from protecting him against Attorney Choi’s attack.  He can’t imagine her being imprisoned under those conditions, so that’s why he’s there to beg for forgiveness.  Nam-joo doesn’t believe that Yeong-rang is going blind and it’s all a diversion to keep her from going to prison.  And Nam-joo is disappointed with Ji-ho as well for going to bat for his mother and trying to force their family into doing something they don’t want.

Woo-jin says that even if Ji-ho is not lying and Yeong-rang is going blind, that fact still will not change their minds.  Yeong-rang and In-ha will pay for their sins and be punished to the full extent of the law.  Ji-ho gave it a try at least, and leaves quickly… only to be followed out by Da-mi.

She asks if he’s okay and reaches towards him, as Ji-ho apologizes and says to leave him alone.  Da-mi says she can’t do that, but Ji-ho demands her to do since he cannot show his face to her anymore because of his family’s actions and he’s going crazy because of Yeong-rang’s blindness.  Ji-ho admits that he really did like her and she helped him through all the bad times he suffered.  But now…

Ji-ho heads off down the road leaving a sobbing Da-mi in the street.  She returns inside to beg Nam-joo and Woo-jin to go easy on Yeong-rang at her sentencing.  Nam-joo wonders if he daughter was whacked upside her head, reminding Da-mi what that family did to her father and brother?  Woo-jin says that no matter how much Da-mi likes Ji-ho, it still isn’t right for her to ask for such a favor.

Da-mi ups the ante by saying she’ll quit Boosung and stop seeing Ji-ho as she wished.  Even though she’s a bad daughter and sister, please just grant her this one last wish to ease Ji-ho’s suffering just a little bit.  That is the only way Da-mi will be able to remove Ji-ho from her heart.  Jebal?

Ji-ho has moved back home and Yeong-rang doesn’t waste any time crabbing at him for doing so.  EvilStep said it was her idea to have him return, so welcome home!  In-ha just stares at Ji-ho… until he walks over and grabs one of the suitcases and carts it upstairs.

Yeong-rang stops Ji-ho from going upstairs as Ji-ho tells her to stop being such a bitch.  He knows she’s doing it on purpose, so cut it out since he’s never leaving this house ever again!  Ji-ho heads up the stairs with Yeong-rang still not giving her approval for him to move back in.  She’s too uncomfortable with seeing his face day in and out!  Ji-ho has had enough and orders Yeong-rang to just bear it for once.  He moved back home because HE wanted to; not on some orders from some random family member. (*cough*)

Yeong-rang says well then fine okey dokey… if Ji-ho is doing this because he stole their house out from underneath her, then SHE’LL be the one that leaves.  She will NEVER live in the same house with him ever again!  But as Yeong-rang turns around, she slips off the stairs and lands with a thud at the bottom.

EvilStep, Ji-ho and even In-ha rush over to make sure Yeong-rang isn’t hurt badly, but she attempts to waive them off saying she’s fine.  Ji-ho yells at her that she’s NOT fine since she can barely stand up.  For once she should throw away her pride and admit she’s hurt, and then throws Yeong-rang onto his back to piggyback her to the hospital.

In-ha starts to go after them, but EvilStep stops him in mid arm-grab.  (*drink*)  She’s worried that since she was the one that insisted Ji-ho move home, that it’s just going to get more noisy around their home.  She apologizes to In-ha for not consulting him sooner, but In-ha goes all soft and says EvilStep did the right thing.  If it helps out their mother, then he’s fine with that.  She needs to see him as much as possible before she loses her sight. (Awww… *sniff*)

Yeong-rang is still protesting that she doesn’t need to go to the hospital, as Ji-ho tells her to shut up and do what he says for a change.  She insists THIS is why she doesn’t want him to move back home, so leave ASAP before she gets even more miserable!

Ji-ho asks why she thinks she’s so miserable?  So what she fell down in front of him – it doesn’t matter because… they’re a FAMILY.  That finally shuts up Yeong-rang, until they get to the hospital and she’s pretty badly scratched up and bruised.  The ER doctor tells Ji-ho that’s not the only bruises on her – Yeong-rang has them riddled up and down her whole body.  With her failing eyesight, she’s going to fall down more often.

On their way out of the emergency room, Ji-ho tells Yeong-rang that he’s arranged for a second opinion on her eyes just to make sure there truly is no way to cure her blindness.  Of course Yeong-rang is against that idea because she has already been told there is no hope, so Ji-ho should just accept her fate as it is.

Ji-ho asks why she’s giving up so easily – even if there is a 1% chance of a turnaround, shouldn’t Yeong-rang take that chance?  Or is she accepting her loss as a way of not being able to see his face?  Yeong-rang tells Ji-ho he hit the nail on the head – she does not want to see his face anymore!  So he needs to hit the road so far away in order to not think about her anymore!!!

Yeong-rang hobbles off with Ji-ho telling her fine… take your stupid pride to the end.  Ji-ho will never give up, and she WILL see his face again!  (Um… is that the best choice of words right now?)

In-ha is done with his piano gig for the day and packs up his sheet music.  (Hee – one of them is the Liszt piece from the first scene of Episode 1!)  A strange gentleman in an overcoat requests an audience with In-ha, and explains that he is a music producer who has followed him for quite some time.  He appreciates In-ha’s playing and wants to sign him to a recording contract.

In-ha thanks him but admits he’s not qualified to do so – there’s that little disciplinary action from the plagiarism charge still hanging over his head.  Not to mention his going to jail soon for his criminal activity, so who would listen to music performed by someone like him?  The producer says it looks like In-ha has yet to be contacted by the Composing Society; they’re re-investigating the plagiarism charges.  Checking the look on his face, apparently In-ha had not heard that news flash!

EvilStep and Yeong-rang wander around the E-Mart (I recognize the signage) and asks Yeong-rang what she wants for dinner.  Yeong-rang asks for spicy fish stew and stir-fried octopus, as EvilStep claims she’s an expert at making those dishes, so good choice!

EvilStep tells Yeong-rang to stay put as she goes looking for the seafood department, but some ditzy ahjumma runs into Yeong-rang with her cart and knocks her down without even uttering a ‘boo’ in apology.

EvilStep goes all Kill Bill on the lady, calling her Fish Head and grabbing her hair and throwing her into the Choco Pie display.  (YOU GO, EVILSTEP!!!)

They leave the store with EvilStep fixing her hairstyle and tears running down Yeong-rang’s cheeks.  She admits that what EvilStep did back there really made it feel like EvilStep was truly her own mother for taking her side like that.  She didn’t have that growing up herself, so Yeong-rang always wanted to be the best mother in the world.  But then she ends up like this?

EvilStep tells her to only trust EvilStep in the future.  If another person ever makes Yeong-rang cry, she will break them in two with her own hands.  But in the meantime, she’d better hold on to EvilStep’s hand just in case she trips and falls again.  A sweet little stepmother/daughter bonding moment is not lost upon the viewers.  *sigh*

The girls sit by the lake again and talk about old times.  Yeong-rang explains that when her birth mother died when she was 7, she never had the chance to be a child since she had to take care of her younger siblings while their father worked.  EvilStep agrees, but when they first met, she was amazed that Yeong-rang was so standoffish.  But that’s old news now.

Yeong-rang doesn’t remember those days, but EvilStep offers an old saying that once you complete all the tasks given to you in life, that is the time you die.  Yeong-rang wouldn’t let EvilStep even hold her hand when she was younger, but now all that has changed with her blindness.  So don’t worry that she will let go of Yeong-rang’s hand ever.  She will always keep watch over her Ji-ho and her In-ha.

Yeong-rang thanks her, but EvilStep apologizes for not being a better mother herself.  Back then, she had no clue on the concept of “mother” because how would she know never having given birth herself.  But she understands why Yeong-rang was so obsessive over her own kids due to her not giving Yeong-rang her own love while she was growing up.

Yeong-rang tears up and asks if she can call EvilStep eomma from now on (instead of the more traditional sae-eomeoni)… eomma?  EOMMA!!!  (Nothing further needs to be said… *sniff*)

In-ha returns home with the music producer’s words hanging over him – Ji-ho was the one that submitted a petition to have his plagiarism changes dismissed.  Didn’t In-ha know about that?  He walks into Ji-ho’s room and as we’re expecting In-ha to go all ballistic, but instead he pulls a money envelope out of his coat and gives it to Ji-ho.

Ji-ho asks what now with all this why, as In-ha tells him it’s the money he’s made from working some part-time jobs.  It’s far from enough, but In-ha will keep working to pay back Ji-ho.  Ji-ho knows that he will never pay him back, but In-ha should keep the money for his own use.  In-ha says that compared to what his mother and he put Ji-ho through, all the money in the world will never be enough to pay him back.

In-ha tells Ji-ho to take the damn money, since he finally is accepting responsibility and he would be insulted if he didn’t.  Tossing the envelope on Ji-ho’s desk and leaving, Ji-ho sniffs over his dongsaeng finally not acting like a brat for once.  Well, maybe…

EvilStep tries to keep Yeong-rang from leaving the house by herself for a follow-up at the hospital.  Yeong-rang says she’s fine and can see pretty well today; she’ll lean on EvilStep once her eyes go bad at the end.  EvilStep nags to have the taxi driver drop her off at the door… watch for the stairs… watch out for cars… and oh crap, what if the boys find out she’s on her own?!?

Yeong-rang ventures out of the house just fine, but then has another attack of the blurries.  She is startled by horns and horrified to realize that she’s in the middle of the street with cars whizzing around her.  Eventually reaching the other side without bodily harm, she grabs on to a nearby tree to steady herself.

In-ha meets with the music producer, who tells him not to worry.  Yes, it will take awhile for him to recover his reputation, but his piano pieces are good enough to slowly gain an audience.  In-ha is still not comfortable yet, and tells him that he may regret signing him to a contract.

The music producer says he will give him all the time he needs to make a decision, and shuffles off to get a copy of the contract for In-ha to review.  The producer’s phone then rings, and In-ha leans over to see that it is Ji-ho calling.  DUN DUN DUNNNNN!

Next thing we see In-ha in Ji-ho’s office at Boosung and tossing the envelope containing the recording contract at him.  Calling out Ji-ho to stop having so much misplaced concern about him, is he now insisting that In-ha cease wanting to get Boosung back under his control and just live earning money as a musician?  In his state, where people will point and stare and not buy a single recording he puts out?  Malandwae!

Ji-ho puts In-ha in his place by saying it’s not HIM who wants In-ha to record music… it’s his mother.  Right now, all Yeong-rang loves is her one son and she wants him to get back into his music before it gets too late.  So get rid of that useless inferiority complex and start playing his music again.  There’s nothing Ji-ho can do for Yeong-rang now.

EvilStep asks what’s up with In-ha?  He’s staying home and playing his piano more and more these days.  Isn’t it nice to hear music in their house again?  Yeong-rang leans against In-ha’s bedroom door listening to him playing (what else?) the Chopin Valse in B minor.  Ji-ho opens his own door to keep an eye on Yeong-rang while she listens.

Returning to her own bedroom, Yeong-rang has a flashback to crossing the street the day before.  It scares her enough to clamp her hands over her ears in panic as she hallucinates back and forth between her bedroom walls and the street crossing.  All in Blurry-Vision, of course.

Running into Ji-ho’s bedroom, she finds him asleep but sits on the side of his bed staring at his face.  Ji-ho must be a heavy sleeper, because she brushes his eyes, nose and lips with her fingers, all the while wondering how long it will be before she can’t remember his features with her own eyes and can only use her hands instead.

Yeong-rang wails over not meeting him sooner; how could she not recognize her own child’s face when he is so pretty?  (WORD.)  She hurries out before Ji-ho awakens, but it seems he was awake the whole time and heard everything.  He turns towards the wall and can’t hold back his tears any longer.

The next day, Yeong-rang and In-ha are off to their respective sentencing hearings.  EvilStep tells them not to worry, since everything will work out.  Yeong-rang and Ji-ho lock eyes for a brief moment before she leaves.

In-ha looks around their house (fortunately, now seizure-tagged-free) because he knows the authorities will take him into custody right after the hearing.  EvilStep says he’ll be back and she’ll be waiting with a plate of the halibut sushi he so loves.  That gets a wan smile out of In-ha as he’d been craving some for a while now.

Turning to Ji-ho, he tells him to take care of their mother and with one last look around, leaves for the courthouse.  EvilStep tells Ji-ho to not feel guilty, because none of their troubles happened because of him.  It’s part of the process for them to receive their just punishment.  But Ji-ho is still troubled because he was the one that brought them to trial in the first place.

EvilStep says that no matter what, when his mother and brother return home, just greet them warmly and with a smile.  Tell them both you have forgiven them for everything.  Tell Yeong-rang that he will call her eomma, since doesn’t he know she is longing to hear that from Ji-ho’s lips?  And by the look on Ji-ho’s face… he knows.

Woo-jin and Nam-joo return from the sentencing hearing and tell Da-mi that both Yeong-rang and In-ha received prison sentences.  Da-mi asks what happened with the appeal they presented to the prosecution, as Woo-jin says Yeong-rang was initially sentenced to 8 months in jail but was then reduced to 2 years probation, and In-ha received a one-year jail sentence.

He explains to Da-mi that because of the appeal they submitted, Yeong-rang received a reduced sentence.  Da-mi thanks them both profusely, as Nam-joo says that finally their troubles are over.  She observed Yeong-rang and her eyes are really bad now, so more than the prison sentence, it appears that heaven’s punishment is much harsher.

Ji-ho walks the shopping mall with his managers in preparation for their Founders’ Day sales.  He gets a call from EvilStep with the results of the sentencing hearing.  Yeong-rang returns home, but by herself this time.  Can’t really read anything from her face, but she starts cooking up a meal of stew and salad.

Next off, Yeong-rang irons Ji-ho’s shirts and then makes up In-ha’s bedroom while placing a picture of young Yeong-rang and Baby In-ha on his nightstand.

Ji-ho returns home to find no one home and gets a chill down his spine.  He runs from one room to another freaking out while looking for Yeong-rang.  In his bedroom, he finds his ironed shirts… with the Magic Handkerchief laying on top of the stack.  Ji-ho runs downstairs muttering over and over EOMMA, WHERE DID YOU GO?!?  And that’s where we end Episode 29!

Air Date: 24 November 2012

Ratings: AGB Nielsen Nationwide 12.5% (5th) / Seoul 13.3% (5th); TNmS Nationwide 12.0% (5th) / Seoul 12.4% (6th)

Flowers and Brickbats

Penultimate episode is in the bag!  And not a moment too soon, as I think my tears from recapping Episode 28 have still yet to dry up.  The production did an amazing job with portraying Yeong-rang’s descent into ocular darkness to give us her POV and attempts to come to terms with her impending blindness.  Of course the character remains the Queen of Denial, and you wouldn’t want anything less out of Chae Yeong-rang.  A small detail not widely reported was Chae Si-ra’s request that she be provided darkened contact lenses to wear for her going-blind scenes to get a better feel of what it would really be like in real life.  This just further proves that she is a consummate professional, and this episode also proved that even though Yeong-rang was the character you loved to hate, you start to feel a teeny bit sorry for her instead.  I’m not saying that if ‘you do the crime; you shouldn’t do the time,’ since everyone I discussed this show with around the water cooler agreed with me that she should have gone up the river for a LOT longer than In-ha’s sentence due to her complicity in more than the average criminal activity, but the Korean act of contrition played a huge part in her reduced sentence.  But it is through Si-ra’s amazing acting that forces us to feel her angst finally learning of Ji-ho’s ties to her, how it may affect In-ha and the rest of her family unit, accepting her blindness as her fate in life, etc.  It was almost too tragic to watch at times.

I almost want to rewrite the old adage to read “Redemption is a dish best served cold,” as we see In-ha slooooowly coming around to the fact that he HAS lived like a fool all these years.  Admitting it to Ji-ho at the beginning of this episode by making sure Ji-ho didn’t fall into the same emotionally-driven trap that In-ha did further reinforced that he’s thrown his hands up in the air and accepted his own fate, just like his mother has with her loss of eyesight.  In-ha still has his small moments of conflict, but can finally see the Big Picture looming.  He IS the breadwinner of the family now; he needs to put food on the table to survive.  I did snicker a bit over him accepting a ‘play-for-pay’ position at the Celina Restaurant, because that is what ALL us starving musicians have done in our lives at one time or another.  (I even did the ‘singing telegram’ gigs in college… but that’s a story for another time.)  Now if he can finally get over that whole inferiority complex thingy and become less emotional like Ji-ho ordered him to… but then we would not witness Ji Chang-wook’s epic crying scenes.  If there’s one thing that boy knows how to do well is open the floodgates.  *sob*

EvilStep, you freakin’ ROCK, woman!  I laughed SO hard at the scene where she showed her Tiger Mom Face on the inattentive lady who knocked down Yeong-rang in the grocery store.  Sure took her long enough to come around and actually see her step-daughter as a true family member (and on the inverse, Yeong-rang as well), because it wouldn’t be a makjang without someone confessing they done their son/daughter/mother/father/whomever wrong for so long.  She has cemented her place as the Family Matriarch now.  Kudos to Cha Hwa-yun for being amazing as usual!

Only two scenes featuring Da-mi?  YAY.   Wasn’t buying it one bit when she broke down after Ji-ho finally said goodbye to her — her lack of training was on full display in that scene.  Your First Love is rejecting you outright?  I would have been on the ground sobbing into the puddle I made with my own tears.  (BTW, Jin Se-yeon  has not been casted in another drama since 5F wrapped on 25 November 2012.  Cause and effect?)

And Jung-wook dude… you remain as inefficient as you have been over the past few episodes.  We can’t blame Jun Noh-min for having another job pulling at his workload, since he hadn’t yet started filming his scenes for “The Horse Doctor” until after 5F wrapped.  Did the Writer-nim run out of steam with his character?  “Oh dearie me, I’ll just turn myself in on behalf of my son since it’s basically all my fault anyway, and then get some sleep at night.”  As soon as Jung-wook found out Ji-ho was his flesh and blood, he went all wishy-washy on us; granted, he had less to lose than Yeong-rang did, but wouldn’t you have figured for him to get his own DNA test to be abso-posi-lutely sure?

The Public Relations Hype Machine went into overdrive just prior to this airing, with the PD-nim stating on several news portals that the set went into lockdown to keep details of the scripts from leaking out.  That didn’t stop Little Miss Jin Se-yeon, who tweeted from the set (while holding up a copy of Episode 29’s script) that she was done filming on that date (20 November)… AND THEN AGAIN tweeted a picture of her at Incheon Airport holding a copy of the Episode 30 script, saying that “all there’s left for her to do is watch.”  YOU.  EEEDIOT.  My Precious also tweeted from the set himself, but it was more benign in just showing his extremely tired face and members of the B Team (the second-tier film group that is in charge of actor-free background shots).  Well how could he NOT be when the filming for Episode 29 finished on 21 November and the filming for Episode 30 started on 22 November?  Cutting it a little close with the live-shoot system, eh Yein Entertainment?!?  But then he posted a picture of his own script for Episode 30 and another picture of him and Jin Se-yeon saying she was done with filming.  Ah, these youngsters… whadda gonna do with them? *smack*

Music Nerd Ramblings:  About freakin’ time the Music Director woke up!  Only one more episode to go, and he finally dribbles out two new pieces for our listening pleasure.  Wish I could say they were NOT Chopin-related, but alas.  The first piece that In-ha played at his restaurant gig was the closing stanzas to the Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor, Op. posth., written in 1830.  ‘Posth.’ is music shorthand for ‘posthumous’ since it was not published for performance until 26 years after Chopin’s death.  The piece is also referred to as the Lento con gran espressione, as you can tell the slowness in the piece as In-ha plays away.  This is also another good teaching piece because of that same slowness and for its overt usage of high-key trills (playing two successive notes together rapidly).  And due to it being written in a minor key, I believe the piece successfully underscored the pain In-ha was going through.

The second piece we are treated to when In-ha is up in his bedroom practicing is the moderato portion of the Valse (Polish for ‘waltz’) in B minor, Op. 69, No. 2, written in 1829.  This solo piece was also published posthumously, and Chopin left explicit instructions to have any unpublished works burned upon his death.  That didn’t go as planned, now did it?  We would have been the losers in that battle, since the Valse turned out to be one of Chopin’s better-known and widely-performed pieces due to it not being too technically demanding on a pianist.  But is it my ears failing me, or did the recording that accompanied the show sound like it was taped underwater and not on a piano with richer sound?  The pianist hired for this snippet also sounded a little too heavy on the keys, since I heard a few clinkers during the audio.  Was it around this time that the production had run out of money for special effects?  I guess we’ll never know.

ALRIGHT PEOPLE!  This is it.  Laying in supplies, a large amount of caffeine and a comfy chair.  The Finale is on its way, and the big guns are gonna be brought out after the end credits roll.  WOOT!