[Recap] Twelve Men in a Year Ep. 2 – 일년에 열두남자 2회

Before Mi Roo can get the opportunity of a lifetime, she’s got to hit rock bottom.  And rock bottom isn’t pretty.  It’s fuckin’ hilarious.  Mi Roo spends a lot of this episode not being confidant in herself.  She needs a little bit of nudging from Tan Ya which makes me love her.

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Tan Ya tries to wake Roo up, who fell asleep at the desk.  She wakes up trying to remember what happened.  Did she actually press send?  But she did.  Mi Roo sneaks into the office to see the situation there.  Unable to face Michelle, she retreats away.

Instead, she joins Tan Ya at her photo shoot.  Mi Roo wonders if Michelle would just throw away the article.  Tan Ya asks what’s the worst that could happen.  Kill you?  “She may kill me.”  Mi Roo calls the office and Min Joon answers the phone, her office nemesis.  Mi Roo asks about Michelle and Min Joon just hands the phone over to her.  As Michelle listens in, Mi Roo gives the excuse that she’s come down with a very bad cold and fever.  Michelle tells her to rest.  Forever.  Oh and she’s still going to attend the Double X’s 20^th Anniversary party, right?  With her resignation letter.

Tan Ya tries to cheer Roo up.  She just did what was in her nature.  She wrote what she wanted to write and sent it in.  That’s who Na Mi Roo is.  Tan Ya tells her not to deny her true feelings of the moment.  Trying to get Roo to see the bright side of things, she tells Roo that she’s lucky.  She could have gone to jail for impersonating Sofia.  Mi Roo agrees.  Yup, she’s lucky.  She got dumped, fired and could have gone to jail but only 2 of those things happened so she’s lucky girl.

Michelle checks her email and realizes that there’s one from Mi Roo that she hasn’t seen yet.  It’s the article that she sent the night before.

Tan Ya tells her that they should go to the Double X Anniversary party and just let loose on the company’s dime.  Meanwhile, Mi Roo’s article goes to print and hits the store shelves.

Jin Oh is preparing for the Double X party at his hotel happening later that evening.  His manager asks him to check over the VIP list.  He recognizes a name on the list: Oh Hae Ra.  She’s from J Hotel.  Checking with reception, they report that it’s been 4 days and she hasn’t left the room nor ordered room service.  He has the guy call up and when there’s no answer he takes the master key to check on the guest.

Passed out in the bed, banana peels littered across the floor.  She’s even clutching to a banana in her hand as it looks like she may be dead.  He tries to shake her awake and checks if she’s breathing.

He then picks her up and she opens her eyes.  “Are you okay?”  She quickly rolls over and puts a mask and sunglasses over her face.  She doesn’t know the date or how many days she’s been sleeping.

Running into the bathroom, she checks out her face in the mirror.  She screams in horror??  No, it’s tears of joy.  I guess the plastic surgery was a success.

Amidst clothing racks filled with clothes, Mi Roo wonder why the get-up?  Especially if she’s going alone.  But she’s not going alone.  Tan Ya wants to go, too.  She’s shot many pictures for Mi Roo’s magazine over the years so it’s only right that she get to go.  Mi Roo frets about Jin Oh being there since it’s where he works but Tan Ya doesn’t understand why Mi Roo is still hung up on him when he kicked her out of their home.

Hae Ra nibbles on a banana as she sits at the VIP table at the party.  She greets another guest there, the magazine’s president, but he doesn’t recognize her.  She’s thrilled that he doesn’t.  Jin Oh comes over and asks if she’s gone to the hospital.  He’s worried and brings over a plate of healthy food.  She’s touched.  (I’d be more touched with a plate of dessert… or booze.  I’m flexible.)

To the tune of Gwen Stefani’s “Great Escape,” a fishnet stocking, high-heeled foot steps out of a cab.  Mi Roo’s in a biker chic attire and Tan Ya’s glammed up fur and a leopard print dress head up to the hall for the party.  They catch the elevator with hotel manager, Goo Young Ho (Kim Jung Min) who ogles over them.

Tan Ya stares right back and says, “Like?”  Lol.  This is why I love her.  She dishes other people’s bullshit right back at them.

Michelle greets all the guests as they arrive but Mi Roo and Tan Ya sneak by without being noticed.  The Double X female co-workers see Mi Roo and talk behind her back wondering how she could show up to a work party dressed like that.  But Mi Roo and Tan Ya don’t care because they’re gonna drink and be merry.  The male co-workers have a different opinion; they like Mi Roo’s new look AND her hot friend.

Young Ho sits at the VIP table and sees Hae Ra.  He tries to talk to her but she just politely smiles back.  So he hands her a business card with a room number on it.  She just laughs in his face.  “Uncle, do women fall for this?”  Bwahaha!  Serves him right.

Mi Roo is tossing back the drinks and her male co-workers are interested in her friend.  She introduces herself as Tan Ya and a photographer.  Tan?  She explains that it’s Tan as in to be born and Ya as in field.  Her parents were camping when they came up with her name.  Mi Roo also wants some attention so she explains her name.  Because her mom and dad wanted to postpone having her, Mi Roo: to put off.  Oy, she’s had one too many drinks.

Young Ho asks when she got back and why she didn’t tell anyone.  She doesn’t want anyone to know so her uncle has to keep her secret.  She’s got a new face and she wants a new life.  So if a rumor leaks out, she’s know that it came from her uncle.  “So how much work did you get done?”  “A little?”  Yeeeeah, sure.  So did she get liposuction too?  No way.  She worked hard to take off the fat.  (Pffft.  Oookay.  K-Dramas and their morals.  It’s totally okay to fix your entire face but it’s not okay to do liposuction?)  Seeing Mi Roo, Jin Oh gets embarrassed.  Spying Jin Oh across the room, Hae Ra asks her uncle to get her a secretary.  She wants Jin Oh.

Michelle walks up to Mi Roo and ask to speak with her privately.  There goes the party mood.  Alone, Michelle demands that Mi Roo change.  Tan Ya steps in to back Mi Roo up; the party doesn’t have a dress code, does it?  Trying to remain calm, Michelle threatens that it’ll be the end if she returns to the party in that outfit and walks away.  What does that mean?  Mi Roo’s already been fired, right?

The party’s formal festivities get underway with a speech by the magazine’s president.  However, Mi Roo is completely drunk and laughs audibly during it.  Tan Ya tries to quiet her but to no avail.

Then, Mi Roo starts to feel nauseous and she heaves several times before escaping to the bathroom, knocking into the table along the way.  Unfortunately, she’s run into the men’s bathroom where several men including Jin Oh are at the urinals.  He’s just trying to remain unnoticed.  Like a good friend, Tan Ya pats her back and tells her it’s time to go.  But Mi Roo still wants to party.

Back in the hall, the band asks the room if they are any requests.  It immediately perks Mi Roo up and she suggests Nami’s “Sad Union”.  The band hesitates, not because they don’t know the song, but Mi Roo’s making a spectacle of herself.  To everyone’s horror, Mi Roo takes the stage to sing it herself.  Very off key.

The president can’t take it anymore and leaves.  Some find the sight of Mi Roo pitiful, others find it humorous.  Michelle returns to take the mic away from Mi Roo and yell at her in front of everyone.  Tan Ya gets up on the stage and takes the back the mic.  She finishes the song while Mi Roo sobs.  Unable to take it anymore, Jin Oh walks out.

After Mi Roo and Tan Ya leave the party, they head to the river to look at the stars.  Mi Roo wonders which star is hers.  Amongst the many stars in the sky, so many are fighting to be discovered and named.  Yet, the reality is that many stars will die nameless.  At one time, Mi Roo dreamt of becoming a famous journalist but it seems like her dreams are fading.

Mi Roo is moving on.  She packs up her old place throwing out Jin Oh’s things and memorabilia of their couple status.  Picking up his Gundam robot, she remembers that it’s one of his prized possessions.  Feeling that it was probably more important than her, she picks up the hammer ready to smash it but then refrains.

She tosses out all the trash and takes one last look at the apartment.  It reminds her of all their good times but she knows now that she’s got to move on and live for herself.

Mi Roo puts down a resignation letter on Michelle’s desk.  She tells Michelle that she meant to hand it in before.  Apologizing for her behavior, she thanks Michelle for the opportunity.  Michelle asks Mi Roo if she’s seen the magazine.  Mi Roo hasn’t.  Sofia’s column has become a huge hit.  Complimenting Mi Roo on getting a flake like Sofia to actually deliver on a promise, Michelle will forgive Mi Roo if she can get Sofia to continue to write the column and rips up the resignation.  So whose idea was it to write about the Capricorn man?  Was it Mi Roo’s since she’s the astrologer?  Michelle likes the concept and Sofia should continue to date different men of the zodiac calendar and write about her experiences.  Sofia’s Erotic Men of the Zodiac.  Twelve men in a year, one for each sign.  Mi Roo doesn’t think it’ll be possible.  If she can’t, then Michelle will accept her resignation letter.

Tan Ya is in full support and tells Mi Roo that this is her chance.  Since Sofia is in Africa, she won’t be able to see the column.  But Mi Roo’s also worried about the reality aspect of the column.  No fiction, write only about her real life experiences.  Tan Ya’s unfazed but understands that Roo might be too much of a prude to commit to the assignment.  Mi Roo’s got Tan Ya.  She’s a black book of men from across the zodiac calendar and she’ll show Mi Roo what romance is.  The guy from the other day sees them and he’s amused but Mi Roo’s embarrassed and tries to quiet Tan Ya.

Jin Oh gets called to the hotel lobby and when he gets there he learns that Hae Ra hired him to work as her secretary.

At Tan Ya’s loft, she pulls back a curtain to reveal her masterpiece.  It’s a wall of photos of various men’s body parts with a butterfly tattoo in each of them.  After sleeping with a guy, she inks them and sends them off.  So no matter where they are, who they’re with, it feels like a little part of them is still with her.  Mi Roo thinks they just look like meat.  That’s exactly what they are.  No emotion, no strings attached.  That’s all Tan Ya is looking for.  Sure, love might be better but there’s no need to put all your eggs in one basket.  She tells Mi Roo that she’s pretty but lacks the confidence needed to believe that she’s a real catch.  Since no one knows that she’s Sofia, she can meet various men and write the column.  It’s a win-win!

Jin Oh texts Mi Roo to meet.  He’s looking for his Gundam but she tells him that she hasn’t seen it.  Pouting, he asks her about the Double X column about the Capricorn.  Is that him?  He’s never read her articles before.  What’s with the sudden interest?  Since the manager of his hotel also owns the magazine, it’s his job to keep up.  She pretends not to know anything about the article.  He supposes that she told Sofia about him and their breakup.  Instead of putting the blame on him, she should take a look at herself.  She doesn’t want to hear it and starts to leave.  But then she turns around and starts to follow Jin Oh.  She needs a ride to office.  He says he can’t because he’s going in the opposite direction.  He starts to walk away when he suddenly turns around.  “Hey.  Let’s be accurate about this.  Why am I only 10 minutes?  No matter how much I think about it, the fastest was… I don’t know.”  Haha, hitting men’s soft spot.

Jin Oh returns to his car and Mi Roo takes a sneak peek.  She sees another woman in Jin Oh’s car, Ha era, and she thinks he’s moved on.

In retaliation, Mi Roo throws a traffic safety cone at the car.  Hae Ra’s started but Jin Oh brushes it off as a neighborhood kid pulling a prank.  So where does Hae Ra want to go?  She requests to be taken to a Korean-Chinese restaurant because she’s been craving it.

Mi Roo agrees to take on working with Sofia but she’s got some stipulations.  Sofia must remain anonymous.  Absolutely, Michelle has no intention of ruining someone’s reputation.  She just wants the story.  And Mi Roo doesn’t want to take on other assignments except for the food column.  Michelle wasn’t planning on that.  She just needs to take care of Sofia.

Tan Ya is happy that Mi Roo agreed to continue doing the food column since they can work and eat delicious food for free at the same time.  Tan Ya’s got something for her.  A business card for her “new” business.  It says: “Whatever you want, call me whenever, I’m already feeling you.  FonTanYa.”  She’s even got a separate cell phone just for this.  Mi Roo doesn’t like it.  If Tan Ya’s so desperate for money, she can find her a different line of work.  She doesn’t need work, she just needs money.  Plus, it’s only a service that Tan Ya can provide.  ROFL.

And she’s got a gift for Mi Roo, too.  A business card for her.  It says: “A person who can tell you about the stars and your heart.  Astrologer Mi Roo.”  Since it’s better not to give her real number out, Mi Roo happily accepts the gift.

Back at Café Star Space, Mi Roo see the guy that Tan Ya was trying to pick up for her.  He waves her over.  He’s Jo Hyun Woo (Kim Da Hyun).  The 2^nd guy: Aquarius, a man who invites women over his home where he lives alone.

She greets him and she apologizes for Tan Ya’s forwardness saying it was a joke.  She what did her friend say to him?  He replies calmly that she said Mi Roo wanted to sleep with him so he should strike up a conversation.  Mi Roo’s exclamation says it all.  He tells her that Tan Ya just said it as a joke.  He thought that Mi Roo was interested but she never attempted to talk to him.  Was he alone in liking her?  Then maybe she should go.  She scoffs but he laughs it off saying he was just teasing.  She asks what he does.  He’s a physics professor at the nearby university.  She admires that he’s so accomplished at a young age.  He says that if she’s curious about quantum mechanics or molecular structure, she should give him a call.  She flirts back saying then she’ll have a frequent need to contact him.  Hehe, I like this mating dance.

He noticed that Mi Roo comes to this café frequently.  Does she work nearby?  She’s about to spill all the details but then pauses and pulls out her new business card.  Looking at it, he asks if this is joke.  (Uh oh.)  She was greatly interested in it when she was little.  She even had a reputation for her hobby and did it for her teachers as well.  Hyun Woo: “Teachers, too?”  “Of course, they’re all the same.  They loved it.”  “By phone only?”  Nope, she also does it in person.  He gets up telling her he’s got a class to teach but he promises to call her at night.  Mi Roo calls Tan Ya to tell her all about the encounter but was picking up men always this easy?  Is it because she’s pretty?

Mi Roo goes home to visit her mom but her dad is off on another photo shoot on some island somewhere.  She later calls her dad because her mom is lonely.  She suspects that he’s lying about his whereabouts.  She tells him to come home quickly and stop making her mom’s life difficult.

Seeing her bus coming, she digs in her pockets for the bus pass and finds her own business card.  It’s dawning on her.  She gave Hyun Woo the wrong card.  Thinking back to their conversation, it takes on an entirely different meaning and she freaks out.

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I liked this episode better because it was less about the characters setup and more about getting to the heart of the year-long project.  The drama didn’t fuss around too much with Mi Roo getting on board the project.  Sure, it’s not going to work out the way she planned it but that’s the comedy part of it.  And I can’t wait to see the parade of men they’ve got lined up for Mi Roo’s project.

Truth be told, I like Tan Ya a lot more than I like Mi Roo.  Tan Ya’s not as whiny and she’s all about having fun, no strings attached.  Now, I’d like to see where they are going to take this character.  While she’s a great sidekick, I’d also like to see what happens if ships passing in the night become something more.

The drama is relevant to the 20-30 age group.  These characters are people who have some knowledge of adult relationships but they’re still trying to figure their life out.  From the music choices like Jason Mraz to Gwen Stefani, it’s trying to stay hip to the pop culture generation.  Soulmate was more indie music which I liked but other than the main characters the supporting characters were caricatures.  I found them more annoying than anything else.  The characters here seem a bit more down to earth.  The way these women view relationships, work and dreams is something straight out of the quarter-life crisis.  It’s when you become aware that you’ve reached adulthood and it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.