Law of the City in New York: Episode 5

The family spent their first weekend in NYC and their first Law Day was filled with the activity to bring them closer to the citizens of New York that was the family marathon at the Central Park. Ailee had invited her friend to come over, hence the family would have their first guest! New people, new things to be learned, and probably..new twist in their fate?

Episode 4 (09.07.2014)

Episode 5: Dream City, Manhattan

Since they were planning to have a guest later in the Sunday evening, the family, after finishing the marathon, decided to make some preparation for the dinner. They wanted to organize a rooftop party and it’s time for them to spend what they have earned for the whole week. Jin-hee reported that the money in their possession was a total of $144.28 (that’s a lot!) so it had been decided that they went to the mart to do some shopping. The maknaes, Ailee and Jin-hee, together with Kyung-ho, were sent to the mart, and the two girls teased Kyung-ho to be a fashion terrorist, because he’s so laid back a dressed very casually, while they even wore caps for the shopping trip. Fashion Terrorist in New York? Nothing better to describe Kyung-ho! LOL

They passed by a McDonald’s and saw a promotion for Big Mac: 2 for $5, but the meticulous Jin-hee decided that it was too expensive for them and eating burgers were a luxury for them at the moment. It’s cute how the older Kyung-ho and Ailee were like children who had to ask permission from Jin-hee, because she’s the family banker! They decided to so the shopping at a grocery shop instead of a mart. Jin-hee is really like a mother, thinking that they should buy grapes because it came in large quantity but at the same time comforted Ailee, promising that they could buy the expensive strawberries next time. Grocery shopping had never been more difficult since they had to be watchful of the price and according to Jin-hee, everything was pricey!

They got to pick up a few things and Kyung-ho and Ailee managed to sneak off to the meat section, asking for the price of pork belly. It turned out to be cheaper than the price in Korea, so they decided to buy it. Kyung-ho mixed up the price conversion, thinking that it’s 70,000 won instead of 7000. Hahaha! They went to pay for their grocery and Jin-hee was suddenly confused about the money they spent and the changes they should have received. To make it worse, they shop didn’t give them any receipt! Later, she admitted that she’s still confused about the coins since there were so many, compared to South Korean coins. Others were still clueless about the truth and Jin-hee was totally utilizing her ability to act. LOL. Anyway, they finished the grocery shopping part and walked back home while talking about the phrase ‘keep the change’. Kyung-ho’s ‘calm down’ sounded like ‘cam down’, which seemed to be a phrase used to tell the cameramen to put down their cameras. Kekeke

But then, the scene switched to a pavement negotiation about something they wanted to eat…and they were actually tempted with Jo PD’s chocoball. You know that they were hungry when the meticulous Jin-hee was the one who decided to buy the chocoball from the PD but suddenly, one of the chocolate fell down onto the ground! Guess who was the first to pick it up? Yup, no other than Kyung-ho! He was set on eating it and the others laughed at him, but they continued to bargain the price with the PD. In the end, they decided not to but the chocoball since the other guys back home won’t get any…and Kyung-ho was contemplating on whether to eat the one that he picked up or not. The girls urged him to eat it and Ailee noticed something on the chocoball but Kyung-ho insisted that it was just a scratch from the fall. In the end, he ate it without thinking much about it.

As for the other three gentlemen…they went up to the rooftop to prepare the place for dinner…but why were they wearing sunglasses?! According to Sung-soo and Chun-hee, it’s because that those sunglasses were part of their lives and since they’re New Yorkers now, they had to dress up a bit. Hahaha! They did look their parts, save for those gloves! They wanted to make the rooftop as a presentable one and put a wooden lawn fence there, as well as constructing a table from what they had. Sung-soo added his finishing touch to the interior, putting the flowers and a statue as decorations. Chun-hee put a light bulb on the statue and a Statue of Light Bulb was born!

Kyung-ho was assigned to be the chef of the day, cooking Korean food for them. The menu for the dinner were Rooftop Durichigi (Korean red pork dish, where the pork would be marinated with gojuchang/red pepper paste and stir-fried) and Hobakjeon (zucchini fritters with chicken meat in the center and dipped in eggs before being pan-fried). The rooftop was decorated and the food was ready to be cooked, so the only thing left to be done was to wait for the guest to come..

Ailee’s friend Hannah Witt arrived there as the house’s first guest and Sung-soo was introduced as the father of the family. She found the rooftop incredible with the awesome view and the family welcomed her with wide smiles. Hannah was a graduate student at NYU and she’s working at Sony Entertainment. She listed out the famous artists under the company’s label: Beyonce, Chris Brown, and Miley Cyrus, but Sung-soo teased that she couldn’t have encountered them every single day. Kyung-ho was so immersed in his duty as the Masterchef and he did look like a pension’s owner who cooked for the kids staying there overnight. Hannah was amazed that their kitchen was just made up of a big can, just like at a campfire.

Kyung-ho served the appetizer, hobakjeon and reminded them to put some ketchup on it, but Hannah was laughing at his words. Did she understood what he said? Yes she was, because Hannah complimented the food in Korean, much to everyone’s surprise. Ailee told them that Hannah was good in Korean since she loved Korean culture and she could spoke decent Korean. Moon joined the party slightly late since he headed out to buy some drinks for them and blurted out “So beautiful!” in Korean, without knowing that Hannah could understand it. The girls pointed out that Moon put extra effort to dress up since someone was coming and the Casanova Moon nonchalantly put on his sunglasses. Hihihihi!

While waiting for the main dish to be cooked, Sung-soo suggested that they play Ideal Type World Cup (it’s something common in the entertainment industry and featured in the drama The Greatest Love) with Hannah. The three gentlemen: Moon, Chun-hee, and Sung-soo opened the contest with their serenade. Well..it’s started out funny but in the end, Moon seized the chance to turn the favour on his side, utilizing his ability to sing. But then, he tried to imitate Robert De Niro and Batman..so there goes his heartthrob image. Sung-soo tried his luck, serenading and dancing at the same time before it’s time to eliminate one person among the four men. Hannah made her mind and eliminated Moon. Awww I thought the maknae would last longer in the contest! Next, Chun-hee was out because she didn’t like him that much. LOL I’m dying each time Chun-hee was upset and his wife’s picture was shown!

Kyung-ho and Sung-soo were the finalists and Ailee thought that they should have a staring battle. Just like what Ailee said, Sung-soo’s stare could melt women’s hearts! Hannah had to give a backhug for the winner and she approached Kyung-ho…and then gave a hug to Sung-soo. Hannah later explained the reason why she chose him: she liked matured guys. Yeah, they did look good together!

Next was one of the highlights for this episode: Ailee suggested Hannah to rap because could do it very well. They got into the mood and Hannah begun the rapping session with her impromptu rap. Moon was second, complaining that he was too busy playing guitar to come out with a good rap and it’s hard, while Chun-hee just said, “I’m hurt!” Kekeke! Ailee’s rap part was, “Chun-hee’s hurt, Sung-soo’s bad (guy), Kyung-ho’s busy.” while Jin-hee was admitting that she’s bad at it. Sung-soo’s lines were along his new friend Hanna and he passed the baton to the last man standing, Kyung-ho. I totally thought that Kyung-ho would just belt out random sentences but he pulled off his amateur rap rather nicely. Seriously, just go and watch the episode. The main dish, duruchigi, was served and they started digging in the food (thank you so much, I’m so hungry over here..).They were glad that Hannah made their night more enjoyable and took a commemorative picture for the rooftop party.

The weekend ended and Monday means working day for them! The production team had given them an offer on the day before: there would be an aerial filming of Manhattan, and they needed two more people as they’re short in numbers. Everyone was excited upon hearing that they could earn money as well as go on a sight-seeing of the Manhattan city view from the sky, and they all offered themselves. But then, the team pointed out that the weight was important and they had chosen Chun-hee and Kyung-ho for the task. Look at that proud smile on Chun-hee’s face! They would be paid $8 per hour for the job, but they had to wake up early in the morning and go to the staff’s base next door. Jin-hee and Ailee packed some food for the guys since they won’t be able to have their breakfast at home.

Chun-hee and Kyung-ho were to become cameramen for the filming, thus they were given the cameras to get used with. Kyung-ho seemed comfortable with his camera while Chun-hee was particularly clueless about handling it properly. Well, Kyung-ho’s father is a PD (Jung Eul-yong) and he spent his childhood playing with video tapes and scripts instead of children’s storybooks. Chun-hee, on the other hand, had never used any camera even during the family trips and he found the task hard. He wanted to ride the helicopter but he somehow started to regret his decision on that morning. Awww fighting!! The girls went to see how they’re doing and they couldn’t help but to notice that Chun-hee was still having trouble with the camera. They were quick to draw an express contract, stating the job and the pay for the PD to sign. LOL good one, family attorneys!

They went to the helicopter base and Chun-hee felt inferior when Kyung-ho started talking about photography and cameras. The latter teased him, telling him that they could face problems if he continued to be like that. Awwwh someone give him a hug! They traveled on the George Washington Bridge and entered New Jersey. Their destination was Essex County Airport and they’re taken aback with the different types of aircraft there. The helicopters there were also amazing, with one of them containing a self-filming camera. Chun-hee stated that it was also common in South Korea especially for movie shooting but he was still amazed with the technology on display. Kyung-ho and Chun-hee did some practice but sighed afterwards, knowing that it would be totally different once they got into the helicopter.

The production team was ready to depart after confirming the route they would be taking and the area to be filmed. There would be two teams for the filming and the first helicopter left first to check the area. Chun-hee and Kyung-ho sat on the helicopter and felt that the space was too small. As for the other four back home, they were waiting on the rooftop to see the helicopter but noticed that the weather was pretty bad. The two amateur cameramen were waiting for the helicopter to depart…but sadly, the filming had to be cancelled because of the bad weather. Ouch, the disappointment was written all over their faces but nothing could be done!

The day continued to be murky and Sung-soo suggested for them to do the laundry. I thought that they’re going to wash their clothes themselves but they’re actually going to a laundromat. Sung-soo asked Jin-hee why she was putting on lipstick when she’s only going out around the neighbourhood but she just chuckled. He got worked up when Moon was putting on his sunglasses. I can’t stop laughing at this scene! Sung-soo looked like a protective father who find it curious when his children started acting suspicious. Moon and Jin-hee were sent out to the laundromat and they laughed at themselves for putting on the sunglasses when the day was cloudy (“I can’t even see the road well..” LOL).

They reached their destination (was that a date mode pulled by these two?) and focused on doing the laundry but soon switched back to their photoshoot mode: taking pictures inside the place. Hmmm…suspicious, suspicious! They headed out to the nearby church, sitting in front of the place while enjoying the view. Moon called Jin-hee ‘honey’ to her surprise but he said that he meant ‘you’ (the Korean word ‘jagi’ can be translated as both). To make it funnier, a couple approached them, asking if they’re on their honeymoon. The woman thought that they shouldn’t get married and suggested that they just date first to see whether they suit each other. LOL it turned out that the couple had been engaged for five years! Moon wondered if they really looked like a married couple and Jin-hee thought that it’s impossible. Yeah, right…especially when you’re feeding each other like a real couple!

Ailee was putting her makeup on when Sung-soo approached him, thinking that he should come clean with her…and brought her to the fourth floor. He told them that he liked her..whoops, are we going on the makjang route of secret love affair?! He told her that he had something else to confess..and it had something to do with his love for baseball. He’s a baseball mania and he wanted to go to the Yankees’ stadium more than to visit the Lady Liberty. He wished to experience the feelings of sitting together with the New Yorkers, cheering for the players. A South Korean athlete, Yoon Suk-min would also be there in the game, so it couldn’t be any better! Hence, the production team helped him to secure seats for the cast during Yankees vs Orioles but he had to pay for the tickets. Sung-soo agreed to earn money as long as he got to materialize his dream. Ailee was so happy to hear that since she’s a Yankees’ fan but she’s surprised to learn that Sung-soo secretly worked to pay for the tickets.

Since the first day they arrived, Sung-soo had been planning it with the production team and he would leave at night, heading to a place. He was actually going to Times Square, bringing along a large bag with him. The place was full of people sight-seeing and cosplay actors walking around to entertain the passers-by. Sung-soo went to the washroom and later, he came out dressed as Korean’s hero Vectorman! It was his costume from a project he did in the past, something like Power Rangers, and it’s been 17 years since the last time he wore it. He figured out that Americans loved superheroes and it might be a chance to introduce the superhero to them. Times Square is a place where street performers are gathered together and Sung-soo was just one among the countless famous characters.

He found out that it was hard to actually make money and the weather’s not helpful either. The people started to confuse him with Power Rangers, so the production team put his name on display to make people clear about the character. He started to receive attention (and of course tips) and even the monks were taking pictures of him! Although he stayed there until late night, the tips weren’t that much. Time for an emergency help!

Ailee and Sung-soo headed out, dressed to the nines but they’re actually being hired as dog walkers. They met the first dog, Mikey, which they had to walk until it went to bathroom. Sung-soo said that the dog seemed meek and tame but he didn’t know the truth yet..Mikey’s an energetic mixed bred that enjoyed running around, thus causing Sung-soo and Aille running to catch up with it. Ailee was just like, “I just did the marathon yesterday!!” and I can’t stop laughing. It’s just the beginning! Mikey suddenly pooped on the pavement and Sung-soo had pick up the poop but he’s happy since they didn’t have to concern themselves with the matter anymore. While Mikey was too happy dragging Sung-soo around the car park, Ailee the dog walker agent received a call and she’s off to fetch another dog.

She thought that this time, it would be a tiny puppy for her..but nope, it’s a two year-old Doberman, Apollo. Even for a dog-holic like her, it’s still scary to handle such a big dog..and that dog was powerful. Pull Ailee was dragged around and she could only scream for Sung-soo to switch with her. The dogs didn’t fight with each other, thank God, but they really loved running around at full speed. Ailee said that they’re not the dog walkers; instead, the dogs were human walkers. LMAO! She was almost dragged off across the street that Sung-soo had to grab her jacket to stop her. Even Sung-soo couldn’t keep up with Apollo’s strength and gave up, while Ailee had to deal with Mikey climbing on her and stepping on her hat.

They switched Apollo with another smaller dog and later got the chance to watch over a cute dog, Stella. They didn’t have much problem handling three dogs at a time, just like real and seasoned dog walkers. But then, Stella suddenly pooped and Sung-soo had to sacrifice his resume’s cover to be used as a scoop to pick up the poop. Anyhow, they finished the job!

If they thought being dog walkers was hard enough, they’re totally wrong. They had to babysit a three year-old boy Paul next, and it wasn’t easy at all. Sung-soo even dressed up as Vectorman and Pikachu to play with the children, including Paul’s two friends who came over. It’s like a battlefield but he’s putting his best effort into it and Ailee said that they’re working so hard for the sake of a baseball match! At least their hard work pays as they earned a total of $137 for everything they did.

The Law family sat down together with the production team on the rainy evening for a meeting and the team told them a breaking news: they had to vacate the house on the following day since the contract would end. Sung-soo thought that they’re just kidding around but the PD was dead serious. The PD told them where they would be moving to: Manhattan! They were relieved and couldn’t be any happier but the new place meant new experience for them. It’s time for second part of the adventure in NYC, where they would be living closer to the city and its people.

They started packing while musing over the memories they had there at Brooklyn, starting from scratch until they could make the place felt like home. They took a picture with the Brooklyn House before leaving it for good this time. Chun-hee was the driver and they traveled to the city with excitement. Ailee pointed out the Flatiron Building and their new house turned out to be quite close to the building, situated in the Union Square. They were awestruck at the sight of the lavish building and it had an elevator, to everyone’s relief. They moved the things upstairs first and met with a neighbour, who was a drama fan. So lucky!

They finally got to see the house and it was unbelievable at first, considering that it was a suite but they started running around the spacious place, excited to have a new and better house to live in. New life and new people..but it didn’t mean that everything would be different, considering that they still had to run here and there for their jobs. Maybe they need a helping hand to get used to Manhattan?