The Practical Guide to Love: Episodes 5-6
by Unit
Our show reaches its halfway point this week. But with barely any progress on the relationship front, the show is starting to look like a practical guide to singleness.
EPISODES 5-6
We resume with Tae-seop bringing up the kiss. Ji-soo rushes over to confirm if it’s really true, but Tae-seop shoos him away. Afterwards, Tae-seop apologizes to Eui-young for getting angry about the proposal without hearing her out, and he agrees to do the pop-up booth plus some room furniture for the hotel. After being all matter-of-fact about the kiss earlier, Tae-seop’s jealousy-induced adrenaline wears out, and he becomes too shy to discuss the next steps to their relationship. Meanwhile, Eui-young was totally prepared for him to ask her out, and she’s slightly disappointed. Sigh. Are these two really in their thirties? I’ll probably grow gray hairs before they officially get together.
Moving on, a drunk Do-hyun buys a ton of coffee for the booth installation team, and Ji-soo volunteers for delivery service (in order to see Eui-young). Sae-byeok is uncomfortable with Do-hyun’s forceful attempts to give her coffee, and Eui-young tries to politely diffuse the situation. But Do-hyun embarrasses Eui-young and makes her out to be the person coming in between him and Sae-byeok. Tsk. Do-hyun knocks over the carrier tray in the process of carting away the coffee, and the hot liquid splashes on Eui-young’s arm. Ouch! Ji-soo quickly rushes Eui-young to the hospital, and Sae-byeok gives Do-hyun a verbal lashing. The spilled coffee also stains the booth furnishings, and the HOME employees have to work overtime to fix the mess.
With Eui-young in the hospital and Tae-seop working overtime, their planned movie date gets cancelled. Do-hyun isn’t even apologetic about the situation, and Tae-seop has to warn him to mind his manners around Eui-young from now on. I honestly thought we’d have been done with the Do-hyun arc by now, but perhaps, Show doesn’t want to waste Shin Jae-ha’s appearance fees or whatever. Anyway, Despite Do-hyun’s unintentional attempt to ruin the pop-up booth, the event is a success. The hotel + HOME employees have an after party at Ji-soo’s part-time cafe, and lightweight Tae-seop empties two bottles of jealousy-induced soju. I mean, how much more can a guy take after watching his crush closely interact with his competition on different occasions in a single week?
Eui-young is forced to drag Tae-seop’s drunk ass back to the hotel, but it’s a case of the blind leading the blind, because she’s equally drunk. Ji-soo ends up having to assist the drunk duo to Tae-seop’s hotel room — where Eui-young proceeds to pass out. Tae-seop drenches himself in a bottle of water, and babysitter Ji-soo has to change him out of his wet clothes. Ji-soo also refuses to leave the drunkards by themselves, so appoints himself as a watchman. Cut to: his fatherly looks of disapproval when the embarrassed drunkards wake up the following morning. Lol. Eui-young thanks Ji-soo for his help before leaving, but while Tae-seop is equally grateful, he makes it clear he doesn’t appreciate Ji-soo hovering around Eui-young. Smh.
Eui-young’s hotel welcomes celebrity guest, actress SON JEONG-AH (Moon Jung-hee), after she gets into a scandal and has to hide from the press. According to the rumors, Jeong-ah is entangled with three different guys, including SHIN JI-HOON (Choi Won-young), a top surgeon. Eui-young is tasked with providing concierge services for Jeong-ah, and fan girl knowledge plus research makes her the perfect fit for the role. She even picks up on Jeong-ah’s secret pollen allergy, and Jeong-ah is impressed. Jeong-ah sends a basket of flowers to Ji-soo’s play, and Ji-soo is upset — even more so when he learns she’s close to the wife of the chairman that sponsors his theater company. Perhaps, his animosity towards Jeong-ah is related to Dr. Shin (since Ji-soo’s surname is Shin).
Speaking of animosity, Hyun-min is incensed when Seung-joon sends her money after their night together. She assumes he’s paying her for sex, meanwhile he’s compensating her for accidentally ripping off one of the comic book covers. Lool. The misunderstanding is cleared several handbag hits later, and Hyun-min takes Seung-joon out for apology drinks. She suggests getting to know each other better, and they fix a proper date. But he’s forced to cancel after the AC in his gym breaks down. Nevertheless, Hyun-min thoughtfully pulls up with a box of iced drinks for the sweaty gym clients, and Seung-joon is touched. Awww. These two are so sweet and straightforward. Eui-young and her men cannot relate.
Tae-seop and Eui-young reschedule their movie date, and Tae-seop pulls all the stops. He makes a whole checklist and puts in effort in his appearance — even forgoing his glasses for contacts — but the day doesn’t go as planned. His plan A and B restaurants are a bust, and his contacts start to hurt midway into the movie. Lol. Still, Tae-seop is determined to see things through to the end, so he invites Eui-young to his place. They put on a movie, and the mood gradually turns romantic. The air is thick with tension when Tae-seop says he has something to tell Eui-young, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of his mom — who just so happens to be the owner of Eui-young and Seung-joon’s regular hangout spot. Hehe.
We’re done with the first half of the show, but Eui-young is still single. From all indications, Tae-seop is the lead romantic pick in her heart. But the man would rather confess his feelings to everyone else instead of her. It’s ridiculous and childish to get territorial over someone you’re not officially dating, and Tae-seop needs to stop beating about the bush and ask Eui-young out properly. Otherwise, it’s fair game for other guys. And speaking of other guys, there’s too much drama going on in Ji-soo’s life, and Eui-young doesn’t need that in her own life. Perhaps, what she needs is a third option (or to stay single) because I don’t ship her with either of our male leads at the moment.
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