The family welcomed an additional member, Ailee, in the previous episode, and she proved to be a great help to the new citizens of NYC. They also found out the secret of their neighbourhood, Greenpoint, which turned out to be a popular filming site for various television series as well as housing the indoor sets for the series. They also continued their quest for jobs and this week, they were about to experience several things that might be familiar to most of them..or not.

Episode 4 (02.07.2014)

Episode 4: Central Park’s Family Marathon

Sung-soo and Jin-hee were the last to leave the house to follow Anthony, the building manager, to meet his aunt. The young Anthony was familiar with the people around the neighbourhood and while following after him to greet his friend, Sung-soo spotted a dolly cart usually seen at the filming sites used by the cameramen. They asked for a job and the guys wondered if they could lift heavy things, so Sung-soo showed off his strength. Hehe! He left his contact number with them and went to a production office to meet Anthony’s aunt. Posters of various television series as well as movies were lined up along the hallway.

They entered the office, in which everyone seemed busy with their work and they were introduced to Anthony’s aunt, Gina. She said that the production house had been in operation since 30 years ago and produced a lot of TV shows, movies, reality shows, and even music videos. Gina was the current president of the company and they were in need of assistants at the office. She introduced them to one of the workers..and the staff was actually a Korean immigrant, Michelle. The company actually needed someone who’s good at Maths (but the one who’s actually good at it, John Park, was not there yet!) and the PD asked whether it’s okay for them to film the working environment (probably due to copyright issues) but Gina said that there’s no problem with it.

Sung-soo and Jin-hee started working afterwards since time was so precious for them and the first task entrusted to Jin-hee was to head out to somewhere with an equipment order. She’s to bring the equipments to a shop and the guy from the dolly cart shop earlier, Louis, would show her the way. Jin-hee met with a lighting director, Frankie, who seemed scary at first and Jin-hee was careful around him at first. Heee~ The director showed her the task to be done, which was spraying the sandbags. It was difficult for Jin-hee initially and she constantly apologized for the mistakes she made, but she got the hang of it eventually. She followed after Frankie into the place and found out that her next task was to stack the sandbags against the wall. She sighed that it was supposed to be a strong man’s work, like Sung-soo, but she’s willing to destroy her perfect image to be the strong woman of the day. On her way back to the office, Jin-hee realized that she loved her work as an actress, thanks to those heavy sandbags.

Sung-soo was left in the office, still standing while obediently waiting for any task to be given by Michelle. She handed him an envelope to be delivered somewhere and gave the address to him, but Sung-soo was having difficulty to use the navigation to find the place. Jin-hee helped him in few minutes and he sighed, thinking that those digital things were completely new to an analogue guy like him. LOL! He left for the destination, confident that the place was not that far considering that it would only take 9 minutes to reach there by walking. After all, delivery service was something that’s popular even in Korea…but it’s a different story for Sung-soo, who’s doing it for the first time in a foreign country. Would the representative of the ordinary people Kim Sung-soo be able to discover the ‘law of the address’ aka the art of locating a place?

Somehow, the sight of Sung-soo looking for the name of the streets was similar to that of a young child sent out to run simple errands. He thought that the postal code was the building number but the PD explained to him that it’s the other way around. He saw an address of the building nearby and compared the address he had with it. Sung-soo realized that the system was different than the one being used in South Korea: USA begins the address with the smallest unit (house/building number) to the largest unit (postal/ZIP code and state) while South Korea was vice versa. It seems like we’re getting to know more about Sung-soo’s nature from this task: 1. Substituting any information recently learned with his own for better understanding, for instance using his home address to compare with the USA address; 2. Picking up everything he learned, like the difference between an avenue and a street; 3. Having sharp eyes, for example noticing that the buildings with even numbers were situated on the right side while the odd-numbered buildings were placed on the left; and 4. Never letting the any chance go, like what he did to enter the building.

Instead of 9 minutes, the walk actually took half an hour and Sung-soo hurried up to deliver the documents. He found the right place and met the person, but he found it hard to explain what he brought for the man, blurting out quick service (Konglish for express delivery service). The man did not understand and luckily, the PD helped him with the explanation. On his way out, Sung-soo said that finding the place was not easy, but the biggest obstacle for him was the language barrier. The PD encouraged him, saying that he did a good job trying to convey his intention earlier and that was the beginning of a language. Don’t worry, big hyung…you did well!

We’re then brought back to the carpentry workshop, where Chun-hee was heading to early in the morning. The boss was already there and Chun-hee was half an hour late since he got carried away with his New Yorker cosplaying stint earlier. He could only work for 30 minutes since the boss would leave at 10 and started working at once, sanding a door made by the boss himself. Chun-hee proved to be skilled at getting close with new people, engaging in simple conversation with his new boss. The boss, Phillip, said that the next day was an off day since he wanted to spend the time with his child. Chun-hee worked hard at his task and Phillip praised him for his speed, plus he’s not afraid to ask anything.

Chun-hee was asked if he was a student back in Korea and Phillip was so suprised to learn that he’s actually an actor. Chun-hee showed him his resume and Phillip said that he’s actually a good looking guy. Haha! Phillip was very glad to find out that Chun-hee’s hobby was doing carpentry and he offered to see if there would be any job next week. Chun-hee was in a good mood, leaving his contact details and even giving his boss a present. Good job, Chun-hee!

What about Kyung-ho and Ailee, who were about to meet with Jamie in the previous episode? Kyung-ho was super nervous when he’s introducing himself and Ailee was the one who did most of the talking and explaining the show’s concept to Jamie while wondering if they could be hired. They were willing to do anything and Jamie asked if Kyung-ho was a member of Screen Actors Guild (SAG) but he had never heard of it before. Since the production she’s working under was unionized, Jamie didn’t think that they could be included as extras in the production but Kyung-ho, as an actor, really wished that they could enter the filming set because it was his wish to see the set himself. As they entered the place that looked like an ordinary warehouse from the outside, the drama set hidden inside the place appeared in front of their eyes.

Jamie showed them the snack bar where the staff would go to refresh themselves in between the shooting and thought that they could work there as part-timers, making coffee and providing snacks for the staff. Being an actor himself, Kyung-ho witnessed how the production staf would be the people who worked tirelessly before and it’s the same even in USA. He felt happy to be able to help the staff a bit and enjoyed the time spent there. The rest of the family also concluded their jobs, and headed back home.

The evening at the Brooklyn house was filled with the sound of guitar and Chun-hee said that it felt like they’re at a cafe. Moon was the one playing his guitar while Ailee lent her voice as the singer of the evening. The duo performed in front of others, relieving their stress for the day. Ailee even ad-libbed to Moon’s guitar sound and the rest didn’t believe that it was the first time she sang it, but she proved that it was a new song. Sung-soo and Kyung-ho chimed in one after another, singing something like pansori and rap respectively while Chun-hee and Jin-hee were laughing at them. They decided to go on with jamming using whatever they had as the musical instruments. It’s so funny seeing Chun-hee trying so hard to find something for him..and ended up with pot lids as cymbals. Hahaha! They were having a great time among themselves there.

They replaced the old family picture with a new one and later, they were informed that the upcoming weekend would be their ‘Law Day’. It’s a day where they would be spending time among the citizens of NYC to experience their way of life. The PD hinted at Kyung-ho’s plan for that day…and he suggested for a family marathon at Central Park. It’s so sudden for them and Jin-hee said that she had never thought of doing marathon when she first arrived there. It was something planned way before they departed from Korea and they’re going to participate in the marathon, which would take place on the day after tomorrow. Kyung-ho used his bargaining skills, trying to persuade all of them into agreeing with the plan. They eventually agreed to participate because of several reasons: they might be given towels (since they really needed more) and they wanted to go to Central Park. The girls were a bit worried that they might not be able to finish the marathon..and I feel them.

The weekend was the first weekend they were about to spend in NYC and this time, they could see what the busy New Yorkers would do during the weekend, away from the usual hectic weekdays. Law Day would be a day where they would be able to experience the real lifestyle of New Yorkers. Central Park was a popular spot for family to spend their time together, running around the park and the marathon they were going to participate in would involve a total distance of 6.4 km. Before the actual day, NY family was to explore the location for the marathon beforehand and they were dropped near Brooklyn Bridge. It was a famous spot for the citizens of NYC as well being featured in several movies. They took a walk on the bridge alongside the people of the city, walking towards Manhattan on the other side of the long bridge. It was also the bridge they crossed on their first day and the bridge could be used by pedestrians, bicycles, and even cars.

Sung-soo was amazed with the architecture of the bridge and it was still sturdy even at the age of more than 100 years. It was written on a plaque there that the bridge was built by 600 people and 27 of them died during the process. Meanwhile, the maknaes Moon and Jin-hee were enjoying the weather while taking a stroll and Moon suggested that they recorded the video with Statue of Liberty as the background. They looked like a young couple..and Sung-soo the big brother approved, thinking that they looked good together. He teased Moon for serenading for Jin-hee and those two didn’t leave each other’s side. Hehehe! Moon suggested that they put a love lock on the bridge…well, wasn’t that similar to a confession?! Jin-hee continued to tease Moon, who’s already blushing (LOL!) while Chun-hee suddenly missed his wife after hearing those two’s love talk. Hihihi~

Their Saturday was filled with new things learned and found, as well as meeting new people and discovering new places. With that, Sunday came over…

And it’s Law Day aka marathon day! They were already on their way to Central Park at 7, with sheer excitement that they got to be in Manhattan as well as going to Central Park for the first time. It was filled with people exercising and bringing their pets out for a morning walk or simply strolling around with family, friends, and lovers. Ailee was so excited to see so many dogs around and they were so adorable (Jin-hee thought that the poodle looked like a teddy bear because it’s so fluffy!). The starting point for the marathon was divided into several groups according to the numbers of each participant and it was estimated that there were more than 10K participants on that particular day alone. Kyung-ho was very excited to be participating in that event.

The six of them did some stretching before starting the marathon and Chun-hee was the only person who couldn’t touch his toes with his hands. Ailee and Jin-hee tried to push him but to no avail and wondered why he couldn’t do so. His legs are long but his arms are short, that’s why! Heeee! Even the production team and VJs were participating in the event and they also did some warming up, including Kyung-ho’s VJ who was doing his stretching diligently. He was actually worried that he won’t be able to catch up with Kyung-ho and that’s why he’s taking his stretching seriously this time.

Kyung-ho moved further to the front since he wanted to achieve a decent ranking while the rest were just excited to witness so many people gathered there. The people were mostly there to have fun instead of competing with each other. One of them took the opportunity to prepare for a bigger marathon later. Jin-hee suddenly had the drive to win and she was confident with her own strength, while Ailee was worried that she might not be able to complete it, since she didn’t really like running (same here!). The race started and Kyung-ho disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving behind the VJs. Jin-hee picked up her speed right from the start while Ailee maintained her pace, afraid that she might pass out. She admitted that she hated jogging and running..and she even hated moving around. Ailee is my twin!

As they covered more distance, Jin-hee begun to fell behind and Chun-hee kept encouraging her not to stop running. Her stamina had decreased abruptly! Poor baby…but there’s someone who’s suffering more at that moment..that’s no other than Kyung-ho’s VJ. Kyung-ho didn’t even reduce his speed and continued running while his VJ  was looking for him everywhere. I can’t stop laughing when the PD waiting for him at a place couldn’t even record his face since he was so focused on the marathon. Chun-hee had swapped places with Sung-soo, now running with Ailee while cheering for her. He felt like a coach watching over his athlete, Ailee. They approached a water station but Chun-hee prevented her from drinking, much to her disappointment. He did not want to cause her stamina to decrease from drinking water.

Sung-soo was with Jin-hee but her condition didn’t look so well. She stopped for a while to enjoy the view of the city as she wished that she could live there. Soon, dear…soon! Moon was nowhere to be seen and it turned out that he had picked up his speed and decided to catch up with Kyung-ho. At 20 minutes, the first place winner crossed the finishing line and the VJs waiting there was looking out for Kyung-ho,,,but he was nowhere to be seen. Finally, after 900 people had reached the finishing line, he appeared and recorded 35 minutes for the whole run. He was on the 997th place overall with an average time of 30 minutes. He was upset that he couldn’t do better since there were too many people around, but that was great for him to conclude the run among the top 10%! He still loved the experience, after all.

Kyung-ho decided to go back to look for the rest of the family and met Moon, who was approaching the end. He walked down further and saw Chun-hee, together with Ailee. She didn’t give up and even Kyung-ho was impressed with her! Jin-hee was nowhere to be found but she appeared with Sung-soo patiently staying beside her, watching over his little sister. Awww…Jin-hee was touched that Kyung-ho went to find her and they ran together towards the end. Moon laughed over the fact that Jin-hee ignored his attempt to give her high-five since she was more excited to claim her bagels. LOL! They all completed the marathon without giving up and I personally think that they did well, ranking among the top 6K participants out of a total of 10K people on that day. That’s impressive but the most important thing they learned: no matter where they were, family was more important than anything.

Next chapter: moving out from Brooklyn, the family’s first guest, and Sung-soo’s double life’s exposed~

Till next time!