If the first 4 episodes up to now were more introductory episodes meant to get viewers acquainted with the characters and the story, then episode 5 was where the drama began tackling various doors at once.�
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The first issue we deal with in episode 5: the aftermath of Baek Jun's (played by Kang So Ra) anger after finding out that someone gave her mother the 10,000 KRW. Thanks to this event, viewers finally got to see more of Kwon Jae Hoon's (played by Gong Myung) inner emotions come out.�The emotional revelations in Jae Hoon start with his shocked expression when he sees Jun slap Byun Hyuk (Siwon), thinking that Hyuk gave her mom the money. Then comes Jae Hoon's inability to hide his discomfort at the prospect of Hyuk finding out about his very very hidden and bolted feelings for Jun. And then, Jae Hoon isn't able to rest easy that night when he thinks about how Jun's wrath could have fallen on him. He shows fear, insecurity, and a softness for Jun - all vulnerable emotions we viewers love to eat up. This is the hook point for all of you who are desperately prone to second-male-lead syndrome. He's so cold and hard on the outside but so soft and vulnerable on the inside, like a wounded beast, and your aching heart(!) just FEELS for him! Ugh, the FEELS.�
Wait, who turned on Inception?
Moving on, we see Jun and Hyuk finding employment in a brand new workplace - the Kang Soo Group! The two leads and their posse begin working as janitors at Hyuk's father's company, and Hyuk begins experiencing some deep revelations. In the bland, blue janitor's uniform, Hyuk finds himself questioning whether or not he is truly an important person in this world - something everyone does at varying points in their lifetime. He feels the weight of the unspoken discrimination that divides society today; the notion that one's career and "clothes" determine one's worth. I mean, wow, things just got real deep for a romantic comedy. Still, being a drama about today's issues in the workforce also, these scenes appropriately bring awareness to the topic without necessarily pointing fingers at anyone specific. We all do it, and we all should feel guilty about it.�
I see you also have come to learn the secret art of toilet plunging, young jedi.�
Next comes another mysterious figure to spice up the drama. A stout looking chief of the new team that Jae Hoon gets assigned to, who used to work under Jun's father... the chief gives Jae Hoon the stink eye when the teammates welcome him into the crew, but is he really an enemy? And it doesn't help that Hyuk's older brother Byun Woo Sung (played by Lee Jae Yoon) wants Jae Hoon to do some spying on this new character.�
Cute old man alert! Who knew Hyuk's dad was a 'leave every good memory by photo' kind of man?�
After a hard day's work and Hyuk displaying some heroism to his fellow janitors, we see a slight bit of romantic development between Hyuk and Jun. The girl talk scene between Jun and Ha Yeon Hee, with Yeon Hee going all "He totally likes you," did feel a little forced. Hyuk, though, manages to balance that out a bit with his straightforwardness. He rejects the modern, social notions of dating for the sake of dating and relationships for the sake of show, in favor of his honest, raw emotions. And then the most appropriate thing of all to come after that scene was Jae Hoon's entrance, throwing the whole honesty talk out the window and re-establishing the half comfortable, half uncomfortable 3-way friends/love triangle dynamic.�
#FriendshipTrianglesfortheWin
In conclusion, I was very satisfied with the amount of progress that the plot and the characters made in episode 5, compared to the slow start of the last 4 episodes. Keep the goodies coming!
Score
Performance............8
Pacing.....................5
OVERALL..............6.6
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