Business Proposal continues to bring the magic, laughs, and archaeopteryx jokes this week as our leads settle into their fake relationship. And wouldn’t you know it, time flies when you’re pretending to be a couple! Their fake anniversary is quickly approaching, and Grandpa is going to make sure that they celebrate in trope-tastic style.
EPISODES 3-4 WEECAP
Next we see him, he’s complaining about Hari’s hardheadedness as he hands her their official relationship contract. She balks at the penalty fee and objects to the unfair conditions, but he threatens to sue her if she doesn’t comply. Unwilling to instigate a lawsuit that will out her as Tae-mu’s employee, Hari signs the dotted line.
Once the documents are signed, sealed, and delivered, Tae-mu forces her to sit through a PowerPoint presentation of his life’s greatest hits. Cue a series of obvious green screen scenes that are as gloriously cheesy as his cliched perfection. But his dossier isn’t the only things she has to memorize; he’s also upgraded her pedigree in order to optimize her chances of earning Grandpa’s approval.
It’s very Casablanca-esque, capturing both the hokeyness of old timey movies and the absolute romanticism of Hari’s imagination, but — not gonna lie — the scene is visually breathtaking and near cinematic perfection as the yellow from Hari’s rain jacket spreads to Tae-mu’s umbrella and the scene transitions from gray scale to color.
But, of course, a prehistoric bird like Tae-mu would find a fault. He says he hates the rain and suggests they change their fake anniversary date to a day when it wasn’t raining in order to make their story more believable.
Dealing with Tae-mu’s personality must have — understandably — worn Hari out because she falls asleep during the car ride home. As she lists to the side, Tae-mu catches her head in his palm, but before the moment has a chance to turn romantic, Hari stirs slightly. Tae-mu panic-hurls her noggin in the opposite direction like it’s a softball on fire, and — Whack! — her cranium hits the window.
At work, Hari’s team finds themselves scrambling for a new chef to promote their latest product line, and Hari’s team director YEO EUI-JU (Kim Hyun-sook) looks meaningfully at Hari and suggests Min-woo. Hari’s eager to promote her “friend” and puts together a top-tier presentation, but her enthusiastic pimping of Min-woo lands her in hot water. Eui-ju insists that Hari be the one to present her PowerPoint… to Tae-mu. Wuh-oh.
After borrowing Eui-ju’s stylish cat eye glasses and covering her lower face with a mask, she’s unrecognizable, but disguise doesn’t do well to dispel Tae-mu’s current opinion that she’s an absolute nutjob. Luckily, Tae-mu doesn’t hold her unorthodox getup against her, and the presentation goes well.
They arrive at the restaurant, where Grandpa mistakes the smartly dressed restaurant employee as Geum-hee. When he sees the real Geum-hee (a.k.a. Hari), his eyes sweep over her attire and blonde highlights in disapproval. Grandpa, you know you’ve got no business judging other people for their fashion choices!
The introduction starts off rocky — Grandpa wants to know why Hari broke up with Tae-mu — but Hari slowly wins over Grandpa by explaining that she and Tae-mu have come to a mutual understanding about his work-life (im)balance. She continues with the added embellishment that Tae-mu even came running to her in the rain — Gasp! — in order to win her back and repair their relationship. By the time they make a special road trip for Grandpa’s favorite steamed buns, it’s clear he’s now firmly on Team Geum-hee and secretly picking out names for his future grandkids.
After the concert, they wander aimlessly, and Hari suspects that Tae-mu must think she’s an idiot for wasting seven years on a crush. Surprisingly, Tae-mu comforts her, saying he understands. While he doesn’t typically like to waste time in business, there are also instances when long-term investments can greatly pay off.
But later — after Hari stops a foul baseball with her eye socket — she asks him why he’s wasting his time on a pretend relationship with her. Their arrangement won’t lead to a future — Pfft! Oh, Hari, just you wait! — so wouldn’t it be a better investment to try and date someone for realsies? And, you know, maybe that relationship will pay off with marriage?
Meanwhile, Hari and her team have taken a company trip to film promotional videos for their ongoing project, but even on a farm in the middle of nowhere, Hari can’t avoid the trope god’s ire. It just so happens that Grandpa is nearby on unrelated business, and he spots the company bus. Always considerate of his employees, Grandpa stops by to take a peek at their progress and join them for lunch.
While Hari does her best to hide her identity from Grandpa, Tae-mu calls to invite her out to dinner for their faux-anniversary — because that’s what Grandpa wants. Not him. It’s entirely his grandfather’s idea. Mmmhmm…
But if that’s the case, why does he purposely wait to answer his phone when Hari returns his call? And why is he so dang pleased when she remembers the fake anniversary that he forgot? Oh yeah, this boy is smitten, and he doesn’t even realize it yet!
After driving Hari home, Tae-mu realizes that she left her wallet in his car, so he turns back around to drop it off. And this is where things get juicy, folks, because as he pulls up, he sees Min-woo wave hello to Hari, who’s taking out the trash from her family’s restaurant.
The pieces start falling into place: Hari and Geum-hee both have had seven-year crushes on Min-woo. They both have the same ring back tone on their phones. They both know a lot about food. They both look and sound the same…
As the truth comes crashing down on him, Tae-mu takes a peek at the wallet in his hand and sees Hari’s identification. As if all that isn’t enough proof, he dials Geum-hee’s number and watches as Hari answers the call.
Finally our archaeopteryx knows! As much fun as it has been watching him be oblivious to the obvious truth, I’m glad he’s no longer in the dark. I usually hate dramas where the conflict is derived from a lack of communication and honesty, but this set-up and the resulting situations are so damn hilarious that I don’t care. I’ve abandoned all my usual cynicism, and I’m 100% here for the LOLs and romance.
That being said, I do have one gripe: Min-woo. He has absolutely no business looking jealous after Hari admits she took a date to the concert. I know there’s some realism to his jealousy, as there are plenty of people in the world who take advantage of their “friends’” crushes and suddenly feel bereft after they no longer have them at their platonic disposal.
Even so, I’m not sure how I feel about this additional conflict being added to the plot, especially since he’s already “rejected” Hari by getting back with his ex and making a big deal about her going to the concert with another man. By all accounts, those are the actions of a man who knows his friend has a crush on him and is doing everything in his power to hint that she should get over him. So why have him get all weird when she might have a man? It’s downright skeevy — but not as bad as Young-seo’s creepy neighbor, who probably put a spy camera in the lamp he gave her. If anyone needs a slap with a pork cutlet right about now, it’s Min-woo!