Let’s Fight Ghost: Episode 1 Recap

Episode One opens with a young, tallish man, PARK BONG PAL (Ok Taecyeon), walking along a nighttime street when he senses something down a nearby alleyway that causes him to stop in his tracks. He looks to his right and sees a man run across the alley on the next street closely followed by a pair of young policemen giving chase. Bong Pal springs into action joining the pursuit. He quickly gains and passes the policemen and pursues the other man they are chasing while he does a little narrative exposition explaining how there are a variety of people in this world including “thieves” (a quick glimpse shows the man running from the police has a red purse under his arm), “cops” (the two men chasing the thief) and, as the thief stumbles and falls, about to surrender to Bong Pal when he leaps over the bewildered thief to continue his chase for his real target: a ghost, as he mentions that “ghosts” also inhabit this world.

The ghost invisibly knocks people out of the way as it flees and Bong Pal stares intently after him causing the ghost to come into focus, appearing as an angry middle-aged man with the aura of death about him. He stops to turn back at Bong Pal while snarling malevolently at him with greenish fumes coming out of his mouth (nice makeup Bro). He tracks the ghost to what appears to be an abandoned warehouse where the ghost tries to surprise Bong Pal by dropping on him from the ceiling only to be met with an epic knockout punch.

After this initial introductory fight, the next morning we see the exterior of the apartment building that Bong Pal calls home before seeing the exhausted hero awoken by his phone. Time to start a new day. As he begins brushing his teeth the bathroom door creaks ominously and he spots a young female ghost floating past. The ghost stops immediately and their eyes meet. “Damn. She saw me” he sighs as the ghost is suddenly right beside him trying to get him to react to her. “You saw me didn’t you?” she smiles then breathes out with the same noxious fumes the last ghost had. “Your breath STINKS!” he yells as he lashes out at her connecting with the ghost’s face causing her to tumble into the bathtub, whimpering about how he had dislocated her jaw. He tells himself he didn’t just punch a girl in the face – he hit another ghost. She begs for no more and says she won’t trouble him ever again and quickly vanishes into thin air.

Bong Pal is presumably off to school next as we see him wearing his backpack but we see that he makes money by helping those who are troubled with ghosts by fighting and punching them out of existence. We see one humorous scene where he runs into a truly MASSIVE ghost (actually Choi Hong Man who towers over Bong Pal – actually he towers over most people with his great height. In real life, Choi Hong Man seems likely a nice guy from what I’ve seen of him on other shows, so it was awesome seeing him here). Bong Pal runs away before the ghost could squish his head like a grape, deciding that, for now, he’d be smart to only fight those ghosts who are weaker than he is. We see a quick montage of Bong Pal disposing of troublesome spirits almost like something out of a video game as gold coins pop up like he was in a Super Mario Bros game.

We see that he has been able to save 1.27 million Won but his ultimate goal is to have 100 million Won, meaning he would have to keep this up for another 12-13 years unless he can find a way to increase his fees for getting rid of the ghosts. As these problems run through his mind he heads to class where his teacher reminds the class of a report due next week and that he has divided them into groups. As he’s leaving the class a young girl mentions to Bong Pal that they’re glad he’s in their group and rely on his help. He looks at his name on the board before removing it from their group saying he “only works alone” as the girl mutters about how arrogant he is, implying it was unfortunate that he is a good student who doesn’t work well with his fellow students.

The Veteran Exorcist: Monk Myung Chul

We get to see another of the main characters in the show as MONK MYUNG CHUL (Kim Sang Ho) is riding around on a city bus writing something on his hand he is have trouble trying to memorize. He notices a little girl looking at him intently and tries to make her laugh but only causes her to start crying loudly. He quickly exits the bus to get out of the embarrassing situation.

He appears at a funeral offering spiritual prayers and songs when it turns out he is at the wrong funeral and entirely out of place. While eating in a nearby room he sneaks a drink from a recently vacated table as the funeral parlour owner comes over to pay him for his services and Myung Chul asks “same again next time?” but the owner politely says no, they won’t be needing him again. He hears some older women gossiping about him and how he was once a man of renown in his youth and “even performed exorcisms” but these days he has become useless. The monk smiles towards the women and they politely smile back at the him. He continues eating uncomfortably.

Meanwhile back at school, Bong Pal is eating alone as well but keeps looking off wistfully towards a pretty student nearby, IM SEO YUN (Baek Seo Yi), who is under a tree in the courtyard reading a book. As the music slowly soars, the wind playfully moves her long hair in slow motion and yeah, I was thinking the same thing Bong Pal was thinking: Damn, what a pretty girl.

His revelry is swiftly interrupted by the sudden arrival of two male students CHUN SANG (Kang Ki-young) and IN RANG (Lee David) who sit down beside the solitary figure eating by himself. The taller of the two remarks about how romantic this part of the campus is and that he shouldn’t be eating alone like this. Maybe someday he will be able to enjoy all of college life with, I don’t know, maybe a girl like that pretty one over there in the blue dress? Ah, perhaps some day.

They try to tell Bong Pal that there appears to be “a certain darkness” that surrounds him. And in that darkness lurks ghosts. The Chun Sang whispers that in fact, there’s one standing behind him right now. As he starts to turn to look, they yell for him not to look as he’ll be forever haunted by the nearby spector. They offer to lead him out of his darkness simply by joining their club and hand him an application to GhostNet with the address for their meetings on campus. In unison they shout “Lets fight through this darkness together!” while looking at Bong Pal expectantly. He returns their application then glances at the pair disdainfully and wordlessly gets up and leaves. The would-be recruiters realize he left most of his lunch so at least that’s a win in their books.

The GhostNet Boys

We see the pair returning to their base of operations only to find an eviction notice taped to the door. Then Chun Sang tears it off the door and they enter complaining that although they’ve been recruiting for a while now they remain empty handed as far as new members go. At this rate they’ll lose their club. In Rang shrieks, startling Chun Sang & he says “Chun Sang, we’ll probably have to sell off our camera equipment to make ends meet”. Chun Sang replies “No way! That’s our most precious item”. Then In Rang shouts out his name (again startling Chun Sang) saying “What use does the camera have? We’ve only videoed crap so far. Can we really catch ghosts on film?” Chun Sang tries to convince him that all they need is one good picture, one video showing a real ghost and they’ll have all the money they need as well as all the new members they need to survive. The shorter GhostNet member asks when will that ever happen? And is told the time is now! Let’s do this thing! Let’s get some videos of REAL ghosts tonight on a live broadcast! “Where?” asks a skeptical In Rang. And, without removing his gaze from his friend’s face, Chun Sang points to the wall stating emphatically: “Over THERE!” as he points to a newspaper clipping stuck to a bulletin board with the headline: “Ghosts At Seoyi Girls’ High”.

Seoyi Girls’ High School / Or, “Boy Meets Ghost”

On a night filled with lightning and thunder, we find the GhostNet Boys seriously reconsidering their options as they’re outside of the reputedly haunted Seoyi Girls’ High School. Don’t they know that no good can come from going to a place well-known for harboring ghosts on night such as this? Well, they are motivated into action because they could soon lose their club if they don’t find the proof of ghostly happenings. Chun Sang applies makeup sheepishly saying he has to look good on camera and then quickly dabs some on his partner. In Rang mentions that at least six girls had died at this school and he was worried whether or not they’d be okay doing this. Chun Sang looks a little worried hearing that six people had died so he downs a few sedatives to steady his nerves but tries to relieve his friend by telling him he had been “in the marines” (in what world? Playing video games?) He quickly jumps over the fence leaving In Rang unable to jump over with him as we cut to Bong Pal taking a break after studying for a Seoul Civil Exam.

Bong Pal logs onto his laptop to find the GhostNet site up and running of the live broadcast with the two ghost-hunters entering Seoyi Girls’ High. We see the boys discussing the history of the school’s haunted past when one regular viewer writes that the two are not at the haunted school but faking all this by going to a different school. The viewer is named “Mr Sadako” which was the name of the ghost in Ringu (clever tip of the hat to the genre). They prove they are at the right school by showing the school name on a banner on the wall. Several viewers tell them they’re crazy for going there at night and to be careful which shows the school does have something of a rep in the ghost-hunters community.

They walk slowly through darkened hallways with Chun Sang giving In Rang a jump scare by pretending to have seen something but then laughing it off but apologizing for scaring him. As they continue walking and scaring each other, as they leave one shot we see “something” lean into the hallway to look at them from a distant doorway. (A minor jump scare the boys hadn’t noticed but alert viewers did).

They enter the laboratory which has been the scene for several ghost sightings so with some trepidation they enter and nervously scan the rooms. The shorter GhostNet member asks that Chun Sang interview him and as he is speaking, over his shoulder Chun Sang sees himself reflected in a glass case containing a skeleton used in the class frightening him and they run out of the room. When they run back into the hallway they think they see something in the darkened distance moving towards them down the hallway. They turn the camera into the darkness and Chun Sang says “I’ll zoom in to see it” as we flash back to Bong Pal intently watching the broadcast when he is startled by loud banging on his door and someone calling his name (another minor jump scare).

As Bong Pal leaves the laptop to answer his door we see that the two GhostNet guys didn’t really see anything after all and are moving down the hall. Bong Pal opens his door and Monk Myung Chul rushes in to use his bathroom. The mood lifts from the unnerving ghost hunting to the unnerving sounds of Myung Chul relieving himself in Bong Pal’s bathroom.

When he finally exits the bathroom Myung Chul berates him for being so slow to answer his door while Bong Pal says he’s noticed the monk’s trips have been getting progressively shorter and shorter and perhaps its time to retire. Myung Chul replies that he is still in demand for his services and a great many people search him out as Bong Pal serves him some food he was cooking. He tastes it and compliments Bong Pal on his skill with cooking and reminds him to stay away from ghosts and to pretend not to hear them if he ever wants to live a normal life. Bong Pal wearily agrees but smiles while telling the monk to eat some more.

Monk Myung Chul suddenly remembers that Bong Pal’s father gave him another letter for him but he doesn’t take it saying he never visits anyway so what’s the point. (There’s obviously some ill will between father and son but from this brief exchange its difficult who to pin the blame on). Bong Pal gets a text interrupting their meal and as he leaves the room he tell Myung Chul to just leave the letter on the table. The monk sighs knowing Bong Pal likely won’t read this latest letter like he hasn’t read the others his father has sent.

The initial text is from a young woman (named Help Me) reading:
“Sir, are you the exorcist? Sir, can you get rid of a ghost? There is an evil legendary ghost at our school. Is it possible?”
“Okay. What kind of ghost is it?” Bong Pal replies.
“A high school girl. Is it possible?”
“Piece of cake” he types.
“But is there a price?” Help Me asks.
“Two million won” he replies, smiling while thinking about his expanding bank balance.
( Silence…)
Bong Pal types “Hello?”
Help Me replies “Are you sure you can get rid of it?”
“100 percent”
“Can you come this instant?” she asks.
“Location?”
“Seoyi Girls’ High School” Help Me texts. “Seoyi Girls’ High? Where did I hear…” he thinks to himself then remembers the GhostNet guys are there now.
“If you come right now, I’ll give you 10 million won. Deal?” As he sees money signs in his eyes he hastily replies “Deal. Deal! Deal!! I’m on my way right now.”

Meanwhile Monk Myung Chul has discovered Bong Pal’s stash of the other letters his father has sent him and all remain unread. “Stubborn punk” he mutters as he returns to the dining area and Bong Pal emerges from his room. He asks where he is going at this late hour and not wanting to tell the monk that he is going to fight a ghost he half-convincingly tells him he is going to the study hall to study for his civil exam. Myung Chul tells him to watch out for ghosts and to buy some sausages as Bong Pal runs out the door.

Back at the school sirens wail in the gloom of night while the camera pans to a computer where the texts between Bong Pal and Help Me are displayed. We see the GhostNet boys are still at it with the live broadcast and they are at the site of multiple sightings of the ghost: the restroom. They feel nervous but enter the restroom while someone or something watches them from down the hall. They notice they keep getting messages from that same avid viewer, Mr Sadako, who calls them perverts for going into the girls’ restroom and that he is going to call the cops on them. Chun Sang tries to reassure him (and any others who are watching) that the only reason they are entering is to find ghosts. Not to spy on girls. They check a couple of the stalls but both are empty. Then they notice one door move on its own which sends chills up their spines as they were sure they were alone in this restroom. As Chun Sang slowly opens the last stall door (creaking creepily as it opens) a cat suddenly runs out squealing as it darts away from them. Frightened by this latest jump-scare the pair bolt. Running down the hallway yelling in fear we see them leaping over the outside fence (the shorter guy had no problem scaling the fence THIS time).

Just after the GhostNet duo made their hasty escape, Bong Pal arrives at the same fence and looks around for Help Me who had texted him for assistance. Seeing no one there he texts her asking where she was but receives no reply. He figures maybe she was inside the school so he sneaks in to try to find her. He wanders through the hallways whispering “Help Me? Help Me?” but gets no response. He hears a noise and peeks in a deserted classroom seeing a young high school girl standing at a far desk. She slowly turns as she seems to feel someone is watching her but Bong Pal quickly hides. We see a close up of the pretty, young girl KIM HYUN JI (Kim So Hyun) looking towards the window where he had been watching her a moment before. Bong Pal decides THAT was the high school ghost Help Me was asking him to help her with so he looks back into the room but the girl has vanished.

He thinks to himself “Where did she go?” and looks around and she is suddenly right behind him. He takes a quick swing at Hyun Ji but she easily moves out of the way. She asks him who he is and he says who do you think I am? He tells her that she is the ghost he was called in to remove and that he doesn’t go easy on girl ghosts so she better be prepared. As he lunges at her Hyun Ji tries to say she is NOT the ghost he is looking for but he grabs her and tosses her to the ground. They bicker a bit and she asks how could he hit a girl? Bong Pal says you’re a ghost so don’t pretend like you’re weak. Hyun Ji whimpers that even though she’s a ghost she’s STILL a girl and it hurts. He tells her to get up and fight but she acts like she is having a heart attack pleading that she died from a bad heart. As Bong Pal falls for this ploy and tries to help her up a quick smile flashes across her face before she pokes him in the eyes and springs to her feet. She asks him “Who the heck he was to be beating up ghosts?” and promptly tosses Bong Pal around like a rag doll and he can’t lay a finger on her. She jumps on him, slapping, and hitting him repeatedly finally biting him on the forehead and we hear his cry of pain from outside the school.

As we see a victorious Hyun Ji looking at one of Bong Pal’s books from his backpack she laughs realizing he goes to an elite school and sees him through the window. As Bong Pal limps away from the school he gets hit in the head by his own text book thrown at him from an open window as she laughs at her good aim. He looks up at her angrily, bruised, bleeding and soundly defeated. She bellows at him “If you ever come back here I’ll really kill you!” She watches him limp home thinking how could he call himself an exorcist when he can’t even fight.

As he gets home, Monk Myung Chul is sleeping peaceably on his couch only to be awoken by Bong Pal slamming doors in anger for having been beaten so badly. He remembers getting hit by his book and the girl ghost laughing at him as he angrily (and painfully) brushes his teeth.

Figuring Things Out With Oh Kyung Ja

After her fight with Bong Pal, Hyun Ji starts wandering the streets until she finds her friend OH KYUNG JA (Lee Do Yun) at a local restaurant and jumps through the window to talk with her. Kyung Ja is a pale ghost who has been trying desperately to make the man she’s become infatuated with, die, just so she can introduce herself. After exchanging greetings, Kyung Ja mentions that Hyun Ji’s face looks off and she explains she got into a fight but didn’t kill him (she just beat the crap out of him). She’s reminded that she won’t make it into heaven if she actually kills someone. Hyun Ji asks how much longer Kyung Ja will be following this guy she’s been clinging to as its already been two years but Kyung Ja replies that he just won’t die quickly. Kyung Ja asks if she had any success finding info about herself at that school to which Hyun Ji says nothing yet but she’ll return there tomorrow to look again. She says she has been dead five years but still doesn’t know how she died or who her parents are.

She has no memories from before she was a ghost besides her name which is on her school uniform (a quick peek at her name tag “Kim Hyun Ji”) but she is not even sure if that’s her real name. Kyung Ja reminds her that there must be one of two reasons why she hasn’t gone to heaven yet. Either she has unfinished business on earth (as Kyung Ja hungrily eyes the man she’s clinging to) or… she was killed by someone. She says that they met when Hyun Ji went to take her SATs not knowing she had died, so maybe by taking her SATs she will finally accend to Heaven or at least get her memories back. Kyung Ja announces that she has to leave and go to church to pray that this man finally dies and turns and vanishes leaving Hyun Ji to ponder how she can take her SATs as a ghost.

The next morning at Bong Pal’s apartment, a disheveled and hungry Myung Chul awakens asking if breakfast was ready while complaining about the lack of sausages. “Didn’t I tell you last night to get some sausages?” Bong Pal replies that the monk needs to eat more vegetables because he’s losing his senses. The monk looks over the meal with a disappointed expression then glaces at Bong Pal noticing the bruises on Bong Pal’s face. As he tells Bong Pal that he needs to eat more sausages so he can get stronger so he can prevent these types of injuries in the future, Bong Pal grabs Myung Chul’s breakfast away but he snatches it back saying its okay, he’s eating (despite the lack of sausages).

Bong Pal tries to change the subject by asking the Monk why female ghosts are so strong (thinking of the butt-whupping he received the night before). Myung Chul reflects a moment then says that most female ghosts linger for some kind of vengeance but as he starts to talk about “their one weakness” he hesitates, looks at Bong Pal and realizes he must have been beaten by a ghost which made him as these questions. “Didn’t I tell you to run away if you see a ghost?” Bong Pal says he needs to be able to defend himself if they chase him, implying that’s why he’s at the breakfast table sporting a black eye.

They bicker back and forth with Bong Pal telling Myung Chul if he had handled it right Bong Pal wouldn’t be able to see ghosts and Myung Chul excitedly says that ghost was “too strong” while Bong Pal asks if maybe the monk had been “too weak”. Myung Chul sighs, saying this is all his own fault and wavers as Bong Pal asks him to show him how to defend himself so this doesn’t happen to him again (as he gestures at his face with his chopsticks). Side note: a little bit of back story here?

You can see it on Myung Chul’s face that he’s going to give in and teach him a bit of Ghost-busting, so the next shot is of a decrepit, abandoned building. Myung Chul hands Bong Pal his sack of belongings as they enter the house with the monk whistling but falling silent as they walk inside. The inside looks pretty shoddy with broken doors leaning against walls as Myung Chul casts an eye around the room. He spins around looking for any wayward ghosts, flinging open a door to peek inside. Suddenly he notices something and smiles at Bong Pal who wonders what the monk has found.

In a corner, lying against the wall (with an empty booze bottle in front of him) sits a middle-aged ghost who wearily gives Myung Chul a bleary look before resuming his nap. Bong Pal can clearly see the ghost but Myung Chul mistakes him for a small child mentioning the calm, divine energy surrounding the ghost. The ghost gives him another look, like he’s thinking “Give it a rest buddy”. “Rice works best for kid ghosts” remarks Myung Chul and starts throwing rice at the face of the increasingly irritated ghost as a disinterested Bong Pal wanders off. The rice hits the ghost’s face with what looks like a burning electrical shock and he turns toward Myung Chul angrily snorting black smoke out of his nose. We see the outside of the building again and hear Myung Chul cries for Bong Pal to help as he seems to have underestimated this particular ghost.

The GhostNet Guys Try Again

We go back to the GhostNet guys in their club room as Chun Sang angrily deletes multiple posts on their website from Mr Sadako about their failure to document any ghosts at the reportedly haunted school for girls. So when In Rang asks Chun Sang what they should do, the club president raises his fist declaring they have to “show what they’re made of” and go back to the school. Hopefully succeeding this time.

Next we see them once again outside the fence at the school after dark, backpacks jammed with ghost-busting equipment and the boys jammed with fear. Just before scaling the fence they try to steady their nerves with Chun Sang’s tranquilizers. Inside the school they start placing cameras on the ceiling in selected spots before going online to announce to any viewers (I wonder if Mr Sadako is watching) that they were in the bathroom stall and would wait until the ghost appears. No cat to be seen to startle them this time. Chun Sang advises viewers to go get some snacks to tide them over as they have no idea when any ghosts will wander past.

As Chun Sang and In Rang settle nervously into position, outside of the school we see Bong Pal stride confidently towards the gate (with an eiry flash of lightning in the night sky). He pulls Myung Chul’s ghost fighting sword from his own backpack with an air of quiet determination. While staring at the building Bong Pal remarks to himself that “Its a perfect night to fight ghosts” (Our boy has his game face on and it looks like he is planning on giving Hyun Ji a world of hurt).

Meanwhile, in what looks like the library, Hyun Ji is leafing through an old yearbook, disappointingly noticing she is not in any of the pictures realizing she probably didn’t go to this school. This ghost is too cute. Bong Pal continues walking purposefully through the halls expecting a quick showdown with the ghost who embarrassed his the last time they met. He gets to the same hallway where Hyun Ji beat him bloody yelling “I am here! Ghost!” Hyun Ji rolls her eyes thinking I can’t believe that fool came back. She says that she’s not in a good mood so Bong Pal’s timing couldn’t be better as she slams the yearbook closed. (Um, Bong Pal? Remember what happened last time? Maybe you should rethink this fight).

Bong Pal Vs Hyun Ji 2.0

Suddenly, Hyun Ji is in the same hallway as Bong Pal. He looks at her like he’s surprised she had the guts to show herself but Hyun Ji is having none of that attitude as she stares down Bong Pal with her own determined, angry look. She motions him forward and Bong Pal rushes down the hallway, sword raised for a killing blow. Hyun Ji just snorts derisively and vanishes when he strikes leaving Bong Pal wondering where she disappeared to this time. She’s behind him and boots him in the butt causing him to squawk but he tries to hit her again with the sword although she disappears again in a puff of smoke appearing behind him again kicking him hard enough to send Bong Pal sprawling twenty feet away (and losing his sword). Hyun Ji rushes towards him and springs into the air as Bong Pal goes wide-eyed in fear but she vanishes before landing on him leaving him somewhat confused. She appears crouched beside his shoulder whispering “Hey” in his ear (breaking into a smile when she startles him).

Bong Pal runs a few steps turns to face her again as Hyun Ji warns him that she told him not to come back. He rushes back at her to resume the fight by throwing a punch but Hyun Ji easily counters with an arm lock before kicking him in the chest, flinging him forward and chopping at his upper chest. (This girl’s got some GAME). She pommels him with several heavy body blows and as Bong Pal lurches forward he grabs her around the waist and they tumble down some sidesteps landing with Bong Pal lying on top of Hyun Ji.
And then it happens. They accidentally kiss as Hyun Ji goes wide-eyed. Bong Pal leaps off her with a “what the heck just happened” expression plastered on his face. Hyun Ji remains on the ground, motionless, as she is suddenly flooded with fragments of memories.

She remembers lying on the ground in an intersection in the rain, with the school nearby called “Academy For Language Arts”. We see her momentarily from above with what appears to be blood pooling around her head as voices could be heard screaming in the distance. Again from above we see several umbrellas as people rush over to help her. Then she is back in the school stairwell as she blinks her eyes and raises her hand to touch her lips.

Bong Pal stammers that kissing her was an accident and that he didn’t mean it and that he “wasn’t that kind of guy” (What? The kind of guy that kisses pretty female ghosts?) Hyun Ji was still lying there trying to comprehend what had happened and to make some sense out of the confusing memories as Bong Pal starts to become concerned for her as she wasn’t moving suggesting her reaction couldn’t have been caused by the kiss because “You’ve probably kissed people many times before” (Dude. WRONG thing to say). She gets up instantly and says “WHAT?” while giving him the stink eye. Bong Pal asks if maybe, perhaps, it was her first kiss after all? She shrieks that “Yes it was, you BASTARD!” before launching herself across the floor, grabbing Bong Pal by the shoulders while delivering a well-placed knee to his groin as he cries out loudly in pain.

Back in the girls’ washroom, Chun Sang awakens with a start hearing Bong Pal’s distant cry asking In Rang if he heard that noise? In Rang says he didn’t hear anything but he has dug up information about the six people who had died there. While Chun Sang congratulates In Rang on his computer prowess neither notices something strange moving towards them through the halls although their cameras pick up the ghostly figure of a smoky woman as the creepy music swells. As they check and recheck their equipment they’re startled by lightening and think maybe they’re in for a quiet night without any ghosts (think again boys) so they try to relax and get some sleep.

Just as Chun Sang rests his head against the stall wall we see some of that infamous black smoke and he jumps a bit feeling something had touched his neck. He slooowly turns his head to look up and BOO! there’s that female ghost looking at them flailing her arms like she’s trying to climb into the stall. Needless both cry out in terror grabbing their equipment and try to bolt but the ghost seems to be clawing at them from under the door AND from above as well (Were there 2 ghosts?!) Somehow they get out of the restroom screaming down the hallway with a scary ghost in hot pursuit. They drop equipment (but run back to snatch it up again!) while turning back to look as they sprint for any exit but the ghost just keeps coming after them.

Chun Sang and In Rang run between Bong Pal and Hyun Ji who both watch the pair scurry past down the hallway but then turn to see the ghost closing in on them. Both scream and run away from the ghost but Hyun Ji runs in a different direction. Chun Sang and In Rang get to an elevator, pushing buttons in a panic with Bong Pal and the ghost close behind. The elevator doors open and Chun Sang, In Rang and Bong Pal run inside and the door closes just as the ghost gets there.

A moment of silent, eyes-closed relief sets in for the three but NOPE! The ghost sticks her arm through the metal doors grabbing Bong Pal by the throat as Chun Sang pushes the open button which shows the gleeful ghost looking at Bong Pal as she strangles him. Bong Pal summons up enough energy to land a massive punch to the ghost’s face sending her backwards and releasing her grip.

The ghost shakes off the punch and looks back at Bong Pal who sees that its NOT a female ghost after all, but a long-haired male ghost with a thick mustache grinning back at him. We see the ghost glance over his shoulder at a frightened Hyun Ji peeking into the hallway having taken in the fight. You can almost read the wordless plea “Help me” on Hyun Ji’s face her eyes meet Bong Pal’s as the elevator doors slowly close.

The boys run outside where its now raining with Chun Sang breathlessly shouting “Who was that guy?” And In Rang remembers part of the school’s story about how he was the English professor who died there 18 years previously. We see a flashback to a female student looking up to see the teacher grinning down at her from above the stall. She screamed throwing a waste basket at the pervert who loses his footing, hitting the back of his head on the sink and dying on the spot. Now we know why that restroom is so haunted. As Bong Pal listens to the story, he doesn’t say a word but grimly turns back, rushing back into the school, presumably to help Hyun Ji. The GhostNet guys look around wondering where their car has disappeared to before getting frightened by the lightning.

Meanwhile, in one of the classrooms, Hyun Ji is being thrown around helplessly. She looks at her attacker and spots the teacher who rushes up to her licking his lips and brushing her hair from her face which causes her to cringe at his touch. The teacher growls and grabs her by the throat lifting her off the ground before body-slamming her through a table. A severely weakened Hyun Ji looks up at the ghost who now is sitting on her when the lights come on in the room and Bong Pal appears yelling “You pervert!” before throwing Myung Chul’s sword at him. The ghost ducks and the sword breaks a statue behind him as Bong Pal rushes towards the ghost. At first the ghost easily grabs Bong Pal tossing him around the room and kicking him in the ribs.

We see that the GhostNet duo hasn’t left yet and are still arguing about not getting any footage of ghosts before deciding to re-enter the school. But as soon as they move towards the door they see Bong Pal pushed out a window and pulled back inside again so they rethink their strategy and run away.

Hyun Ji is shown trying to hide behind a chair as Bong Pal negotiates with the clearly stronger ghost. “Let me go and continue with what you were doing, okay? She’s right over there” he points to where Hyun Ji is hiding much to her chagrin and the ghost looks over to Hyun Ji. At this point Bong Pal tried landing a kick to the ghost’s nether region but he slams his knees together blocking the kick and grabbing Bong Pal’s throat. While airplane spinning Bong Pal above his head the ghost doesn’t see Hyun Ji run up to him landing a tremendous groin kick from behind causing the ghost to shriek so loudly that the security guard outside wakes from a sound sleep with a start. (Hey security guard. Can’t you keep an eye out for kids jumping your fence to break into your school after dark?)

Both Hyun Ji and Bong Pal seem to be getting the worst of this fight but then Hyun Ji spots the red glowing mark on the back of the ghost’s head (where he hit his head when he died) and runs over to rescue Bong Pal from being strangled. Both deliver kicks sending the ghost into a table but he tosses them aside one by one. Together they seem stronger than the ghost but in single combat the ghost seems to be winning. When the ghost grabs Hyun Ji, she locks her foot on the ghost’s throat and holds him steady with an arm lock (didn’t I say this girl’s got game?) and shouts to Bong Pal to hit him in the back of his head. Bong Pal grabs the sword leaping over to where Hyun Ji is holding the ghost and strikes. The ghost disappears in a puff of fiery smoke. And relief sets in.

As the pair exit the elevator, a tired Bong Pal says “You’re not so bad after all.”
She wearily replies “I’m not so bad. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“What’s you name?”
“Hyun Ji. Kim Hyun Ji. And your’s?”
“Me?” he asks sheepishly, “Park Bong Pal” as she giggles at his name laughing that its a good thing his name isn’t reversed while Bong Pal sluffs it off as if he hadn’t heard this joke a million times already.

Then his thoughts turn back to his reward as he asks her if she knew who “Help Me” was because that girl owes him a lot of money. Its Hyun Ji’s turn to look a little ill at ease as she mumbles about not knowing who “Help Me” is but Bong Pal is quick to realize she is “Help Me” and she better give her his ten million. They bicker back and forth with denials and “How can a ghost have any money”. Finally they argue more and threats are passed that if she ever shows up, oh man there will be trouble (Um Bong Pal, she’s kicked your butt twice already).
They turn and storm away from each other in mutual disgust. (Already getting the “I hate you/I like you” vibe from these two.)

As Bong Pal walks out of the school he’s confronted by a flashlight in his eyes and three suspicious policemen. As they ask him what he’s doing prowling around a girls school at night, they all hear glass fall from a broken window in the upper floors. Bong Pal can only grin embarrassingly. (Presumably he’s taken in to the station for further questioning).

Figuring Things Out With Oh Kyung Ja, Again

Meanwhile, Hyun Ji is sitting in a restaurant painfully trying to untangle her hair when her friend Kyung Ja walks up to her asking if she got into another fight. Can’t she go one day without fighting? Hyun Ji tries to change the subject asking what Kyung Ja has been up to. She replies, with a flip of her hair that she’s been praying (probably for that guy she likes to die) but she asks her who she fought this time. “Just some weird guy” Hyun Ji says, but her friend notices that her lips appear flushed and somewhat redder. Kyung Ja eyes her suspiciously as Hyun Ji says she bumped into something which triggered some random memories and Kyung Ja suggests “bumping” into that thing again if that was what brought back some of her memories (Hyun Ji was probably thinking of the kiss with Bong Pal with this comment).

Down at the police station, Bong pal is being interrogated by a detective, OFFICER YANG (Yoon Seo Hyun), asks him why he’s hanging around a high school if he’s a college student. Then he pulls Myung Chul’s sword out of his backpack asking if he was studying at a Sholin School. Bong Pal just says he had borrowed the sword. Another officer walks over to Officer Yang showing video of the girls’ washroom (Uh oh) and Bong Pal denies the video is his, but the policeman doesn’t really believe his claim. Finally he pulls out Bong Pal’s bank book (Uh oh again) asking how he got so much money as a student unless he’s selling videos of young girls. He tries to explain that he’s not a weirdo but on the surface Bong Pal looks very sketchy in the eyes of the detective and he’s put into lockup.

While Bong Pal cools his jets in the jail, Officer Yang gets an update from his partner, OFFICER KIM (Jung Ji Soon), who tells him that Bong Pal’s mother is dead although his father is around but there’s nothing on his phone, no pictures, no video, no contact info for his father at all. Only one contact which turns out to be Myung Chul’s phone number.

Hyun Ji has been walking around the streets of Seoul and noticed a couple seating on a bench kissing and she puts her fingers to her lips remembering the kiss from earlier. She flashes back to her and Bong Pal falling down the stairs and her memory of lying in an intersection in the rain. She’s says his name with a sigh, “Park Bong Pal”.

The next morning Myung Chul arrives at the police station calling out “Park Bong Pal! Park Bong Pal!” He turns to a couple of officers asking if they know a college student named Park Bong Pal and gesturing that he was very tall (as if this would help). As we see Myung Chul and Bong Pal emerge from the police station Myung Chul asks why they called him and not his own father? Bong Pal says evasively that he must have deleted his father’s phone number somehow. Myung Chul hands him his bank book while asking where the money came from. “Are you going around exorcising?” as Bong Pal looks a little faught being found out. “HEY!” Myung Chul yells, making Bong Pal jump. “How many times have I told you not to do this?” he asks, explaining that it was dangerous. Bong Pal tells him he needs ten million to get his eyes fixed (so he doesn’t see ghosts anymore). He says he’s leaving but promises Myung Chul top quality sausages next time he stops by and walks away. Myung Chul watches him leave with an air heavy with concern.

So now she’s in search of Bong Pal, so what does Hyun Ji do? She goes to his campus of course. We see her walking the grounds on a beautiful sunlight day (she’s still wearing her high school uniform and name-tag but she’s a ghost so no one can see her right?) She stops for a moment to watch students sitting cross-legged in the yard laughing and enjoying themselves and smiles to herself as a couple in love walk past her. In the distance she hears a small dog yapping in some distress and she goes to see what is wrong. A group of students have gathered around the dog who seems to have fallen into a sewer.

She climbs up on a nearby bench to have a better view and hears a man saying the dog appears to be a little malnourished. A security guard warns that Mr Kim was bitten earlier so the man trying to rescue the dog should be careful but the man assures the guard he knows what he’s doing. He speaks to the dog in a reassuring voice that everything is going to be okay but still gets bitten but does retrieve the dog. He talks to the dog saying “You were probably scared weren’t you? ” and one student notices the professor’s finger is bleeding and gives him something to stop the bleeding. Hyun Ji sees his name-tag on his coat pocket murmuring “He’s Professor JOO HYE SUNG (Kwon Yool) in the Department of Veterinary Medicine. Isn’t he too young to be a professor? Wow, even the professors at this school are cool” she’s giggles to herself.

As Professor Joo Hye Sung says he’ll look after the poor dog, Hyun Ji decides she likes this school, but has something to do (finding Bong Pal) and disappears. As she does, Hye Sung notices a broom fall over from where Hyun Ji was watching and he looks over at where she was just standing. (Hmmm…. did he see her?)

Bong Pal Gets A Stalker

Hyun Ji reappears at the Student Services Center and as an employee leaves her desk she walks right through Hyun Ji who then notices the employee had left herself logged into her computer so with a happy “Yes!” Hyun Ji jumps into her desk to do some searching of student IDs. Quickly finding Bong Pal’s address she’s smiles to herself thinking “Now I’ve got you Park Bong Pal”.

Outside of his apartment, Bong Pal looks like he’s heading home after a long day when he hears “Hey!” from off screen. He looks over to see Hyun Ji waiting for him. “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting so long!” she peevishly admonishes him. “How did you find this place?” he asks. With a very unfrightening ghost impression she says “Did you forget? I’m a ghost” implying she found his address through ghostly means rather than a little computer work. Bong Pal is a little short with her so pointedly asks Hyun Ji why she came there and that he wasn’t in the mood to fight any more. She tells him that she doesn’t want to fight either and to just “hold still” a moment while she tries to figure something out. Before approaching him she tell Bong Pal “not to get the wrong idea about her because she doesn’t WANT to do this”. Bong Pal asks what this crazy girl is up to now and she closes her eyes to steel herself for the job. With that she slowly floats over to Bong Pal and his eyes widen as Hyun Ji draws closer and closer. And with her eyes closed, she leans in to land a lip lock on the startled ghost fighter but just before their lips meet, the credits roll ending Episode One.

COMMENTS

Gotta admit that I liked this more than I expected. The leads were both pretty good although personally I wasn’t very familiar with either of them. A quick look online shows that Ok Taecyeon has done some drama work and been seen on several TV shows such as “We Got Married” with Taiwanese actress Emma Wu, (known as Gui Gui) and of course he has been a member of the KPOP group 2PM. He lived in the U.S. from age 10 until about age 17 which helped contribute to his facility with English (he speaks Japanese too apparently).

Kim So Hyun although quite a bit younger than Taecyeon has an impressive resume herself (a quick cameo in “The Girl Who Sees Smells” which I’ll be reviewing later) and a TON of dramas and film work as well as some singing – she sings a track from an upcoming episode. I’m going to have to go back and watch a fair bit of her previous work because she’s been that impressive in this series.

Speaking of other cast members of this show I’ve spotted elsewhere, I noticed Kang Ki-young (GhostNet’s president Chun Sang) popped up in “W” as Doctor Kang Seok-beom. Little facts like that make me the worst person for mentioning trivia about film and TV actors because I always seem to say “That’s ‘so & so’ who was in (insert film or TV show here) and he was in (other TV show or movie). His sister was in (TV show or movie) where they played (another character)”. I’m good for trivia but annoying for watching a TV show with at times.

The age gap between Taecyeon and Hyun Ji is something that grates on the nerves of some (he’s 10 years older) but I just remember that they’re playing characters in a TV show. If they’re comfortable with their ages in real life I can be comfortable with it too although some viewers may cast a side eye when they engage in a kissing scene.

The story itself is a bit of fun and the special effects are pretty good so far and the make up for the ghosts has been awesome. The misty smoke that envelopes some of the ghosts is well done and although some scenes are a touch creepy, they not particularly scary but a bit unnerving when a ghost pops up with red eyes and the image jump cuts as they move towards one of the characters in a somewhat unnatural manner. I like that there’s a mixture of scary horror laced with a mixture of humour all through the show. So far I like most of the characters and look forward to seeing how the storyline progresses.

I’ll be posting a review of Episode 2 shortly and also I am working on several recaps for shows that are currently airing such as Jealousy Incarnate, Drinking Solo (aka Let’s Drink), Moonlight Drawn By Clouds and several others. I will also post reviews for several previously aired shows I have watched in the past that I enjoyed such as Cheese In the Trap and the previously mentioned The Girl Who Sees Smells. Obviously there would likely be more interest in shows that are currently airing as opposed to those that ended months ago, but I think some readers might enjoy what I have to say about older shows too. Or not. Maybe you liked/disliked those older shows and want to chime in with your own opinions which is of course what the comment section is there for.

Meanwhile, we left a surprised Bong Pal about to get kissed by a floating Hyun Ji and we need to see where their story goes. And will Monk Myung Chul ever get his sausages?