MaryMeKpop

Typhoons were terrifying for Mok-ha when she was on the deserted island. Even though she’s been rescued and is now living with some great and reliable company, she realizes that the typhoons still exist – just in a different form.

Castaway Diva Episode 8: First Fan vs. First Fan

On the drive to the train station where Mok-ha was last seen, Bo-geol shares with Woo-hak the story of how he was stuck with their biological father while Woo-hak was hospitalized. Their father was called back to their hometown island for work so Bo-geol was forced to go with him while Mommy Kang stayed behind with Woo-hak in Seoul. During their farewell, Mom spoke privately on the side with Bo-geol and gave him instructions on how to run away and find her back in Seoul. She also gave him a stash of money. Eventually, Bo-geol was able to run away during one summer and successfully reunite with his mom as well as his stepdad. He adjusted to his new life with his family and created new memories with them while camping. But the peaceful days and happy memories made Bo-geol feel guilty. He felt guilty for enjoying good times when Mok-ha too wanted to experience the same thing. So Bo-geol waited for Mok-ha at the old Seoul Station everyday for 15 years. He never gave up.

Woo-hak and Bo-geol split ways to find Mok-ha at the train station. Woo-hak suggests that they tell Mok-ha to continue hiding so that they can protect themselves from their biological father but Bo-geol feels otherwise. He’s going to ask Mok-ha to go home with them. And indeed he does when he manages to find Mok-ha. Woo-hak is a few minutes late and catches sight of his brother hugging Mok-ha. He interrupts the moment and comes close to pleading with her to continue hiding. Their father will be relentless in coming after them through Mok-ha and he wants to protect their safety. But instead, Woo-hak changes his mind at the last second. Mok-ha shouldn’t have to hide in order to protect him and his family. She shouldn’t feel burdened with such a thing; it’s not her responsibility. Even when he walks away, Woo-hak is conflicted at his comments. He’s not entirely sure how he feels about the whole situation. But Bo-geol is confident with how he feels and he pulls out a cue card that he grabbed from the monitor room during last night’s filming for ‘Heyday Again’ along with a sharpie. He hands both items over to Mok-ha for an autograph. If she wants to help him and his family out, she should make tons of money and become famous. Similar to the comments that young Ki-ho communicated with Mok-ha on the ferry 15 years ago, Bo-geol suggests that Mok-ha become so famous that no one can come at her. So that they won’t have to be in hiding forever. Mok-ha proceeds to write down a message on the cue card for Bo-geol.

Our trio take a detour to a camping site and are joined by Mommy and Daddy Kang. It was a special surprise planned by Woo-hak who wanted to fulfill his brother’s request of planning a special trip for Mok-ha. So the group set things up in their camping site and enjoy some yummy food. The kids are tasked with washing the dishes afterwards but Woo-hak temporarily stops the operations to address Bo-geol and Mok-ha. He had been paying close attention to them the entire day and there’s something he wants to get off his chest. He lays out some ground rules for Mok-ha to protect their safety. She should still speak formally to them and also should not refer to them by their real names. Also, do Mok-ha and Bo-geol still have feelings for each other? While Mok-ha is thrown off by the question and denies having any feelings for Bo-geol, Bo-geol admits that he still does. He waited 15 years for her, how could he just forget everything and not feel anything for Mok-ha? (EEEEEK! I’m squealing inside!)

Later on that night, Mok-ha puts on a special performance for the family members. As she’s singing her heart out with her guitar, Bo-geol watches (with heart eyes) and he imagines a young Mok-ha sitting in adult Mok-ha’s spot while he’s returned to being a young Ki-ho. Mommy and Daddy Kang are also enjoying the performance but they can’t help but notice just how attentive both of their sons are to Mok-ha. Hahaha. I love the little signals they’re sending each other with their eyes.

The next morning, the group concludes their camping trip and they prepare to head back home. Woo-hak volunteers to head back with his parents while Bo-geol will drive with Mo-hak. The two chat for a bit about Ran-joo who still hasn’t contacted Mok-ha. Mok-ha isn’t so sure what she’s going to say to Ran-joo to make up with her but she’ll figure something out. Nearby, Mommy Kang prays in front of a stone tower that she’s built and Mok-ha joins her afterwards. If there’s anything Mok-ha has learned while being on the deserted island, it’s that prayers aren’t always effective. Even when she prayed for an approaching typhoon to not hit her, it still arrived all the same. But the important part was the aftermath. It was the part where she picked herself up and started all over again. So just like how she did after being hit by the typhoon on the deserted island, Mok-ha doesn’t give up when she gets back to Seoul. She spots Ran-joo’s gift and note for her that was left behind in their room. It’s the dress that Mok-ha wore for her first performance and the note is a congratulatory message to Mok-ha where Ran-joo signed it off as Mok-ha’s first fan. So what about the message that Mok-ha wrote to Bo-geol on his cue card? She thanked him for being her first fan.

Bo-geol suffers from a nightmare where his biological father showed up to their salon and attacked Daddy Kang with a pair of scissors. When he wakes up, he heads downstairs to the salon and glances at the family photo sitting by one of the mirrors. Daddy Kang joins his stepson afterwards and he reassures Bo-geol that he’ll protect them. Though he may not be as tall or big as Bo-geol, they’re safe with him. When the sun rises, Bo-geol heads out early for a solo trip. While Woo-hak is still at home with his parents, they check up on him and his thoughts on Mok-ha. They notice that he’s been paying extra attention to Mok-ha so maybe.. Just maybe.. Does he have any romantic feelings for her? But Woo-hak shares that he does not. When he briefly thought he was Ki-ho for a second, he admits that there was some attraction there. But now that he knows who he really is, he simply perceives Mok-ha as Bo-geol’s friend and that’s it. Woo-hak is baffled at his parents’ line of thinking. Hahaha. They’re all so cute!

Even though Woo-hak views Mok-ha as his brother’s friend, she’s still also his friend too. On the way out of the house to meet with CEO Hwang to discuss Ran-joo’s whereabouts, Woo-hak volunteers to drive Mok-ha to their meeting location. He doesn’t want to eat alone and Mok-ha gets a free ride. So they stop by McDonalds for some food (wow, is McDonalds the new Subway PPL or what? Haha) before driving to the cafe. Mok-ha doesn’t forget to thank Woo-hak for his help. Aww.

It turns out that Ran-joo hasn’t contacted CEO Hwang either but CEO Hwang has some updates for Mok-ha. They’ll only need to sell 20,000 more albums in order for Ran-joo to hit her 20 million mark. Woo hoo! There’s also a list of agencies who are interested in working with Mok-ha, including CEO Hwang’s very own Sugar Agency.

Ran-joo goes on a trip to visit her mother at a nursing home. Her mother – who we saw a few times in previous episodes – is not the older version of Ran-joo. She rather gets confused and forgetful and believes that she’s Ran-joo. Ran-joo chats with her mom about Mok-ha’s situation and also has to remind her mother that she’s the real Ran-joo, not her mom. Haha. Ran-joo receives an update from one of the staff at the nursing home about her mother whose condition is often impacted by articles and feedback about her daughter. The more positive things are written about her daughter, the happier her mom is. Ran-joo feels the pressure to work even harder to make her mom feel happier.

Woo-hak takes a trip back home to his hometown island. His first stop is Yong-gu and Jae-sik’s restaurant and he doesn’t hesitate to reveal himself as Ki-ho to the father and son duo. Of course, Yong-gu is quick to call Ki-ho’s father and give him an update on Ki-ho’s visit. He even suggests that he do a stake-out to capture him. Meanwhile, Mok-ha continues her search for Ran-joo by stopping by RJ Entertainment’s headquarters. Ran-joo never appeared at the building but that’s not the only reason as to why Mok-ha is at the building. She’s also there to meet with CEO Lee.

CEO Lee attempts to recruit Mok-ha to join his agency. Circumstances have changed and she’s rapidly gaining traction. She should take advantage of the opportunity. Though circumstances may have changed, Mok-ha hasn’t. She has no wishes to join CEO Lee. Instead, she’s going to focus on helping Ran-joo sell 20 million albums. As if a meeting with CEO Lee wasn’t enough, Mok-ha bumps into Mo-rae on the way out. Mo-rae attempts to change Mok-ha’s mind by speaking badly about Ran-joo. She has the tendency to “cut ties” with her hoobaes and leave them. That’s what she did with Mok-ha, right? But Mok-ha doesn’t buy into Mo-rae’s lies. For Mo-rae, she was the one who changed, not her circumstances with Ran-joo. Speaking of Ran-joo, she receives a bunch of texts from entertainment industry insiders who wish to meet and work with Mok-ha. But there’s only one thing Mok-ha is interested in: reuniting with Ran-joo. She continues to try to get in contact with her favorite idol.

Bo-geol and his dad play telephone with each other through Yong-gu and Jae-sik. When Bo-geol goes back to visit the father and son duo again, he finds out that his biological father had actually stopped by the restaurant a few days ago. Bo-geol’s dad is well aware of the tricks that Bo-geol is trying to pull off; he’s well aware that Bo-geol is trying to distract him. Bo-geol can stay in Seoul; his dad will make the trip to Seoul to come find him there (wow, his dad is seriously so scary!). Bo-geol continues his research on how to protect him and his family from his biological dad. The statute of limitations for domestic abuse has expired since it’s been more than 5 years so he looks up what the sentence for patricide is.

On the ride back home, Mok-ha and Woo-hak listen to a radio station that replays the call between Ran-joo and young Mok-ha from when they first spoke 15 years ago. Mok-ha is embarrassed to travel back in time and listen to herself freak out about talking to Ran-joo. She can’t give up though and she uses Woo-hak’s phone to contact Ran-joo. Ran-joo may not pick up her phone call but she might answer Woo-hak’s call instead. And indeed, Ran-joo does. Well, her mother does. While Ran-joo steps out, Ran-joo’s Mom answers the incoming phone call from Woo-hak’s phone. Even though Mok-ha can tell that the person isn’t Ran-joo, she invites Ran-joo’s mother over to the salon to meet. Ran-joo panics when she discovers that her mom’s gone missing.

Thankfully, Ran-joo’s mom makes it out of the nursing home in her motorized wheelchair and arrives at the hair salon safely. Greetings are exchanged between Mok-ha and Ran-joo’s mother but the conversation doesn’t last for long. Ran-joo’s mother receives a phone call from Ran-joo and with Mok-ha standing right there, she gladly takes the phone call. This is the longest she’s gone without speaking to Ran-joo. Meanwhile, Woo-hak receives a phone call from Young-ju who asks him for Mok-ha’s contact information. They meet up shortly afterwards and Young-ju introduces herself as Mok-ha’s middle school classmate. She also shares with him a list of locations that Dae-woong last visited before his accident. One of the buildings on the list, Jeongsan Building, sounds familiar to Woo-hak. He knows someone from there. Ki-ho stops by his dad’s apartment to pay him a surprise visit. He introduces himself as Ki-ho, refers to his dad as ‘father’, and shuts the entrance door after entering the place. Ki-ho’s father was so close to finding his sons but it seems like he was discovered first.

Ran-joo returns to Mok-ha’s rooftop room to find her mother asleep and safe. She’s relieved at the sight of her mother but she’s stressed out about Mok-ha. Mok-ha apologizes to Ran-joo for her actions but Ran-joo isn’t patient. She’s had enough; she doesn’t trust Mok-ha. So she calls CEO Lee right then and there in front of Mok-ha and requests to terminate her contract with RJ Entertainment. Forget about the 20 million albums. It’s too much for Ran-joo to look after someone talentless like Mok-ha (umm, hello?? I’m so confused. Ran-joo, what happened to you??). Mok-ha is shocked and confused at Ran-joo’s behavior and actions.

Epilogue

On the night when Bo-geol was researching on the statute of limitations, he was interrupted by a surprise visit from Mok-ha. It’s just the two of them in the living room and she assumes that he was looking at something dirty and illegal. He closed his laptop immediately and panicked a little when she showed up. Haha. Bo-geol plays into Mok-ha’s assumptions so he ends up making a pinky promise with her to never do such a thing again. Anything to cover up the actual reason as to what he was doing.