Youth Over Flowers In Africa: Episode 4

This episode’s Youth Over Flowers in Africa focuses mainly on the boys and crew relocating to Etosha National Park and watch wildlife from their car. We also get priviledge insights to short clips of their auditions for Answer Me 1988 as they spent a night sipping wine, and engage in heart-to-heart conversation.

Ahn Jae Hong holds a farewell ceremony to his orangy pink pants by ‘burying‘ it in the hotel’s rubbish bin, and we see a re-run of Park Bo Gum colliding the car. Poor boy. He feels so terrible that when Ryu Jun Yeol asked him to get behind the wheel again, looking dejected, he shakes his head fervently and refuse. LOL. So Jun Yeol is back on the wheel, and he gets pass checkpoint without any hiccup.

At the petrol station, Bo Gum sighs loudly as he checks the state of the wounded car; he tries knocking the protruded bumper in, but he realises no matter how much he tries, the bumper would not bulge. He sighs again in defeat and walks away exclaiming: “Ahhh…it’s so upsetting”. Thankfully Jae Hong and the upbeat music cheer him up immediately upon hopping back into the car. He really is an optimistic boy.

After lunch, Bo Gum is seen applying something on his sexy bare legs (for mosquito’s bites?). He tells his Hyungs he’s been eating so much bread, and it seems to make him gassy. Go Kyung Pyo: “Let it out. Let it out, Bo Gum-ah. Don’t hold it in or else it will make you want to shit.” Kyung Pyo tells them he has been farting, lots. Jae Hong jokes: “He’s farting and saying this right now.”

HAHAHAHA! After the shocking scene of him wiping his face with his undies, now he’s openly telling us he farts freely. I can so see Kyung Pyo as Homer Simpson 20-30 years later, LOL. Way to kill the fangirls’ imaginations.

When they reach Etosha National Park, but before they arrive at the actual lodging (I think, can’t tell with the messy editing), they have to drive through the park. Cameras all up waiting to see if they can spot any wild animals, but to their surprise, the first thing they see is a dead giraffe. Not a good omen. The sight of death affects the atmosphere around the boys for a short while, the camera zooms in on Bo Gum’s bothered face. However, the boys are back to normal in no time; scanning around and eventually they see lives Zebras.

At the campsite, Jae Hong worries the meat will go foul, but thankfully a Chinese family came to the rescue by letting them store the meat in the ice box. Later in an interview, Jae Hong expresses his  gratitude to these people; they have been friendly and helpful throughout their trip, and he isn’t sure that if it was him, he would go to that extend to help.

Next we see Bo Gum washing his sock in the sink, and looking quite satisfied at how white the sock is becoming. However, Mommy Kyung Pyo disapproves: “Is that what you called washing? Give me one.”He starts scrubbing vigorously, and few minutes later, the socks look as if it has been bleached—baby Bo Gum is amazed. His reaction is so cute, so much admiration at his hyung over a pair of washed white socks. Hahaha!

The sun is scorching hot at Etosha, the boys and Na PD concluded it will be best to chill at the restaurant. There they find 2 big swimming pools where the Hyungs decided to cool themselves down in the pool. At first Bo Gum quietly sits on the side watching them, but as soon as Jun Yeol calls out to him, he jumps into the pool, fully clothed though. Damnit. I haven’t seen any real flesh since episode 2! Why suddenly become so camera shy? 😦

La Traviata’s Drinking song is back!—We see in slo-mo Kyung Pyo and Jae Hong spin-dive into the water for fun. Kyung Pyo’s fans are in luck again because all he has on is his undies, unlike the other 3. *Sulk* At one point, Kyung Pyo is unsatisfied with the dive that he decides to do it again. Not sure if it is the way he tip-toes further away from the pool, but Bo Gum tells him he looks raunchy, LOL.

Back in the water, unsure if his undies fall out or…, Kyung Pyo suggests they take off their undies and swing it in the air. Bo Gum softly whisper to them, “To tell you the truth, I am not wearing undies.” WHAT?! Reaaaaalllyyy? 😀 Okay, okay. I’m not that byeontae, but at that split second I do admit my eyes light up. 

…and so they take off their undies (and shorts); the slo-mo and the BGM makes them look like they are doing water ballet, LMAO. Jun Yeol thinks it is funny throwing his undies at Bo Gum’s face; we then see Bo Gum retaliates by running away with it. Hahaha, serves you right. Bo Gum climbs out of the pool and the 3 boys toss Jun Yeol’s undies around with Jun Yeol begging:”Bo Gum-ah, Hyung is sorry. Hyung will treat you better next time.” PWAHAHAHA.

After the swim, they relocate to the waterhole enclosed inside the campsite. As the sun is setting, a giraffe approaches the waterhole for a drink. Soon, more animals file in. After the sun set, Jun Yeol is the only who stayed behind because the other 3 haven gotten hungry. Half way through preparing for dinner, Jun Yeol steals Jae Hong away because a baby elephant has appeared. Just watching the scenery at the waterhole, the live animals and the stars made both boys feeling sentimental.

Tonight’s dinner is BBQ meat with Chikalaka pasta by Jae Hong, and roast butter potatoes prepared by sous chef, Bo Gum. At first the Chikalaka pasta tasted off, but once Jae Hong sprinkle the magic seasoning which called MSG, all the food taste like heaven for the boys. They make the food look delicious than they should be, I reckon! Watching them eat makes me hungry.

After dinner, the boys gather around for a drinking and chatting session. Bad Hyungs. They encourage Bo Gum to drink more, and getting him drunk again. They first talk about Bo Gum’s less than 3 minutes driving incident at the checkpoint. Kyung Pyo commented that Bo Gum was plain bad luck because they would have done the same if it weren’t for the cars that stopped before them. Jun Yeol agrees whilst Jae Hong adds he saw the taxi driver stopped. Jun Yeol encourages, “You will be fine tomorrow.” and they joke if anything is to happen, Bo Gum will run into the oryxes. LMAO. Way to go in consoling the boy, hahaha.

Since Kyung Pyo and Bo Gum did not see the elephant drinking at the waterhole, Jae Hong describes to them how beautiful the whole picture is in his eyes.

Jae Hong: When I saw the sky, the tree on the side of the waterhole and the animals, I feel small. My desire and my worries mean nothing as long as I live well and kind-heartedly.

The sentimental atmosphere is then ruined when someone farted. My bet is on Jae Hong as he tries to pass it off as the fault of a frog, which is no where to be seen. The boys joke so much that Bo Gum is laughing hysterically at this point, mostly due to the wine—as he belatedly finds out how tasty it can be.

Then we arrive at the most informative part concerning the boys. They start talking about their journey in acting, and their auditions with Answer Me 1988. It is revealed that Kyung Pyo already knew Jun Yeol before Answer Me, that they were in the same acting group (and we also find out Jae Hong has known Kyung Pyo for 7 years).

Audition began as early as March 2015, but at that time Kyung Pyo is a whole lot chubbier, so PD Shin and writer weren’t very impressed with his physical appearance. They think he is too ahjussi-looking, but they were happy to see Kyung Pyo shed some weight at the second and third audition, which they tell him he looks younger. By the third audition, PD tells Kyung Pyo there is only one role left, and that’s Sun Woo. Kyung Pyo: “Then please pick me.” And so uri Kyung Pyo got the job. 🙂

Jun Yeol tells Kyung Pyo he actually wanted Sun Woo’s role. Kyung Pyo puts his hand on Jun Yeol’s shoulder and says: “No. Sun Woo needs to be good-looking.” “That’s what they (production team) told me too.” said Jun Yeol. Woah, that’s blunt (the producers, I mean). As we all know, Jun Yeol plays Jung Hwan, which he thinks is a difficult role. He tells the boys that he received a lot of help—from all the actors who played his family and friends, and that Jung Hwan’s character is not achieved by just one person.

Contrary to Kyung Pyo’s audition, Jun Yeol gets told to beef up. His cheeks are sunken in, and he did not look healthy. Jun Yeol was still a newbie at the time, without an agency. It seems like PD & co. have already set their minds on offering him the role of Jung Hwan, as seen of him reading Jung Hwan’s lines and asking if he can pull a straight face like Jung Hwan does in Answer Me. When he is told he got the part, he cries and can barely say a word. Don’t ever forget that feeling, Jun Yeol-ah, the gratefulness of being given an opportunity.

Jae Hong really likes Answer Me 1994, that’s why he decided to audition for a role in Answer Me 1988. He does not think he performed well in the first audition, he was too nervous and hence, mucked up his lines. However, he must have passed the first audition that we see him in the second, and this time, he is calmer. He was asked to read Jung Bong’s lines, yet not really understand the content he’s reading. I just love how clueless he looks reading them, and in the background everyone is laughing their ass off. PD explains that Jung Bong’s character is difficult for them to explain too, but Jae Hong has breathe life into Jung Bong, and they love how Jae Hong interprets the lines.

Turns out all of them have been asked to read Chilbong’s lines (from the scene where he called his mother to give his best wishes for her wedding). Bo Gum tells his Hyungs he cried a river when reading that. Cut to Bo Gum’s personal interview where we have previously seen him said he doesn’t have a family photo. Holding back tears, Bo Gum continues: “Although there was one that was captured at the same place, but there was none of those where everyone is dressed neatly and taken at the studio. I realised later when I got older, these photos are memory, but I don’t have it. Because I don’t have one; (I) feel regretful.”

Bo Gum is excused after the interview; the subtitles on-screen tells us he went off crying alone for awhile. In the next scene, his manager tells us when in Europe, he visited all the places he once went with his mother and took photos. And then we find out from Bo Gum’s audition—the same one that was aired before, but without the part about his mother.

In this version, PD and writer ask Bo Gum what type of person he is. To which he says he is an optimistic person and is always thankful. PD then asks if he is this gentle and soft to his parents as well. “Yes, I do (to my parents)”. Up till this point, I am pretty sure the viewers didn’t expect what came next.

PD: Do you tell them everything?
BG: Yes, I do. Most of it.
Writer: How to you address your Omma?
BG: My mother has passed away.
Writer: Oh, I am sorry.
BG: No, It’s okay.
Writer: Is it recently?
BG: No, it was when I was in grade 4.

OH MY GOD, what a shocker. No one knows behind his sunny smiles and bright personality, there is such sadness. Many fans were under the impression that for him to grow into this optimistic person who possesses a polite demeanor, he must have received lots of love, care and getting spoilt by family. Little did any of his fans realised he is the real life Choi Taek.

Needless of further elaboration, he can barely contain his emotions whilst reading Chilbong’s lines to his mother. So this is the real reason he regrets not having a properly taken family photo, and the main reason he broke down in tears talking about it. Sigh… I need a minute.

The heart-to-heart chatting session comes to an end with Jae Hong asking Bo Gum if his sister is pretty and married. “No, only my brother is married.” answered Bo Gum. He didn’t really answer if he thinks his sister is pretty, and he seems to want to say they all look different. Kyung Pyo cuts in: “Isn’t there a saying the younger ones get the best of everything?” To which, Jae Hong disagrees because he thinks his hyung is way better looking them him. Hahaha.

Next morning, the boys decided to have their breakfast at the café. On their way there, they bumped into Youth Over Flowers’ female PD, and set their eyes on the light brown shirt she is wearing. She promises she will give whoever that spotted the lion first. The bet is on, but I already know who won the shirt.

They set out to explore the park with Bo Gum as the first driver. Na PD expresses his concern, but the boys are determined to let Bo Gum try again. Na PD says it feels like they are doing a challenge show instead, and the boys joke: “The challenge is breaking down the park’s gate.” Jun Yeol: “Destroy the main gate.” LOLLL. The beginning is a bit worrisome as Bo Gum keeps heading towards the wrong directions, but once out in the wide open space, Bo Gum’s driving is completely fine. The boys got all their eyes out for the lion, but by the end of this episode, no lion has been spotted.

Preview Trailer for Episode 5: