Last week, A Pink washed away all their built up stress by riding their way through various water park rides. Now that they’ve had their fun, it’s time for them to head back to work. What does that entail you ask? Well it involves a lot of eating, partying, eating, going to Japan to eat, and finally going on a late night food tour. Oh, there might also be a Japanese showcase somewhere in that schedule.

Dull And Important Disclaimer Stuff: Lordbordem is the official penguin of the Soompi team, and as such Lordbordem talks of himself in 3rd person. As a penguin, Lordbordem does not see the world in the same way that those dastardly human editors do. Lordbordem’s opinion definitely does NOT reflect the opinions of the rest of the human Soompi Team or Soompi itself. Seriously, don’t trust a penguin.

Chapter 1 – A Pink begins their conquest of Japan

This week, we find the A Pink ladies heading to the airport for their long awaited Japanese showcase. Bomi gets us started by mentioning that she is “unfortunately” sitting next to Chorong, who is quick to note that she should be the one saying that. Hayoung, meanwhile, has become very sentimental while listening to Boohwal’s “Never Ending Story.” Of course, this being A Pink, that period of sentimentality doesn’t last very long and a full blown dance party breaks out in their van.

A Pink has finally landed in Japan and we meet a large crowd of Japanese A Pink fans waiting to enter their showcase. Compared to the uplifted mood outside, the atmosphere within the A Pink waiting room is strangely tense as they all prepare in their own ways for the showcase, with Chorong getting some final Japanese revision in while Naeun fills up her tummy (Very important!).

We then get the all too familiar ding of the Showtime question time. Their first question overseas asks them who speaks the best Japanese within the group. Anyone who has seen A Pink News would know that the last time A Pink was in Japan, Chorong bumbled her lines on stage much to her annoyance. However it appears that she has learned from that incident(?) since Eunji mentions that Namjoo and Chorong are the best Japanese speakers.

Eunji, however, is feeling a bit left out since everyone’s Japanese skills have improved immensely while she was away being the lover of trot. Bomi also picks Chorong but only because she doesn’t want to get a beating from their passionate leader. Hayoung and Naeun go for the diplomatic approach and pick each other, which seems to annoy Chorong somewhat. As a way to test their Japanese skills, Chorong proposes that they ask one of the local staff to judge them.

Funnily enough, there just happens to be a local staff nearby. Naeun is quick to make an impression, volunteering to carry the staff’s heavy(?) luggage. Chorong calls cheats but it falls on deaf ears. Ignoring this minor setback, Chorong begins to introduce herself to the staff and seems to be doing a fairly good job of it. Hayoung, on the other hand, takes lessons from master lobbyist Naeun and brings out a chair for their friendly judge to sit on, much to Chorong’s annoyance. Chorong, meanwhile, continues her Japanese test and asks the staff what she thinks about A Pink, who says that they are really cute.

Next in line is Naeun (Who is still carrying the microphone tray), who introduces herself without too much issue but then strangely asks if the staff is aware of the fact that A Pink is a K-pop group. Seems like a silly question to me but I’ve never been great at judging the knowledge level of others. Naeun’s disciple Hayoung is next to test her Japanese skills. However, she seems to get a bit of stage fright and is rendered speechless halfway through her introduction. She finally breaks the silence by asking if the staff member had anything to ask them. She does not and the interview comes to a screeching halt under the spying eyes of Bomi.

With the others gone, Bomi steps out from behind the door to give her introduction. Bomi however is taking the tactical route, telling our dear confused judge that she is the best Japanese speaker in the group. Bomi then somehow manages to get our judge to pinky promise that she would say Bomi is the best Japanese speaker despite her somewhat broken Japanese. Bomi tells the rest of the group that she danced in front of the judge. Clearly lobbying and strategic deception is fair game in this competition.

Poor Namjoo however seems to have believed what Bomi said because she proceeds to start performing the Japanese version of “No No No” in front of our rather bedazzled judge.

Finally, Eunji steps out to take the test. Lobbying, once again, is the name of the game as Eunji tells her she loves her while getting our tired judge a nice drink. But what about her Japanese? Lets just say that body language is the universal language no matter where you go.

Test over, it’s finally time to hear who the winner is. The winner is……Bomi! It looks like her promise paid dividends here along with all her Japanese studies, signs of which were seen last week scattered around her bed.

Next – Time to revolutionize the Birthday Party industry

Chapter 2 – It’s Showtime

It’s now time for the much awaited Japanese showcase. The ladies gather behind stage for one last cheer before heading out on stage to entertain their extremely eager fans. They start their showcase with their debut song “I don’t know” and their familiar hand butterfly dance. Having successfully completed their first performance, A Pink proceeds to greet their crowd of fans in Japanese and in pretty good Japanese I might add; it looks like that lobbying of the judge wasn’t really necessary.

The showcase continues and it’s interesting to hear the Japanese fans also use the Korean fan chants (I think that’s what it’s called? I’m not really up to date on the world of fan lingo). Their first showcase finishes successfully and Eunji notes that it doesn’t matter where they go, music makes everyone become one.

Successful showcase out of the way, it’s time to head back to the hotel room where we see the bored duo of Chorong and Bomi doing some late night sit ups. Bomi however gets tired of it then starts to randomly flap around on the bed.

Unlike their older compatriots, the younger and more energetic Hayoung and Namjoo are burning away their excess energy with an impromptu performance of HyunA’s new song, “Red.”

Suddenly the familiar ding dong of the Question Camera breaks up the silence in the Eunji/Naeun room. Eunji makes up for missing last week by showing her bare face this week while Naeun takes the look of a ghost. They are then asked about how they take care of each others’ birthdays. Why the sudden birthday question? Because it’s Bomi’s birthday in a few days time despite how Eunji jokingly feigns ignorance.

We now have a birthday, but what do we need? The most important items are a cake and Miyeok(sea mustard) stew. The first is easy enough to get but the latter? A bit trickier given that they are many many miles away from Korea. However, Eunji has planned ahead and brought along some three-minute instant soup. It’s now time to prepare for Bomi’s party. Bomi, incidentally, has fallen asleep after all that flapping around in bed).

The soup team break up Hayoung and Namjoo’s dance time so that they can use the room to prepare Bomi’s soup. Naeun in the meantime goes over to the next room to secretly bring out Chorong, which she does without a problem. Now that the members are gathered, Eunji explains that they should do this today because it’s highly likely that she won’t be around on Bomi’s actual birthday.

Birthday Planner Eunji then sets about determining what needs to be done for the party. She lays out three jobs that need to be done, and says she needs a shopping group, a birthday song group, and a room decoration group. The shopping team will need to get some triangular kimbab and bread. Who better to do that then the self-proclaimed bread lover, Chorong, and assistant Hayoung. Namjoo gets the task of making a birthday song, while Naeun will be responsible for decorating the rooms. Jobs given, it’s time for the members to get moving. They also discuss ways of hiding this from Bomi, which is rather pointless owing to the fact that birthday girl is in a deep slumber.

Chorong and Hayoung head out to find the closest 24-hour convenience store while pretending to be in a documentary. Meanwhile, back at the room, Eunji basks in the magnificence of her own writing while Naeun quietly continues her work. Namjoo is still raking her brain for a suitable candidate song to modify.  Namjoo decides to pick K-Hunter’s “Lets Marry” since it featured Bomi. Namjoo immediately thinks of modifying the lyrics to say “I think of you when I see food.” (It’s always food ain’t it~). Namjoo is amazed by her own genius but Naeun brings her back down to Earth by reminding her that she has only done one line so far.

Chorong and Hayoung have arrived at the convenience store. Stretched before them is a wall of bread of various types. A roll cake catches their eye and they contemplate whether to use it as a birthday cake with candles. Chorong, however, gets other ideas. She describes how they should make a cake using a bunch of Triangular Kimbab and some candles. As for the roll cake, they can eat it for themselves. With that decided, the team heads for the Kimbab corner, filled with various types of kimbap (No, I’m not jealous about this at all…okay maybe a little…).

There is a problem though! Everything is in Kanji. They decide to leave it to fate and just randomly pick a bunch off the shelves. So everything is sorted now? Not quite. This is A Pink we are talking about here, and there is food as far as the eyes can see! There is no way they would stop there. Chorong and Hayoung proceed to fill their basket with a wide range of snacks and food stuff.

As Chorong and Hayoung proceed to get enough food to last through a nuclear winter, the rest of the team is busy decorating and song writing back in the hotel. But has Eunji forgotten about something? Yep! The Miyeok soup isn’t done yet. As Eunji hurriedly gets that ready, the shopping team returns with their bag of loot.

As they prepare the rest of the party items, Naeun remains fixated on the roll cake on the table. Unable to hold back any further, she opens up the prized possession and takes a bite of the sweet delight. Roll cake eliminated, Chorong heads back to her room to go fetch Bomi. She tells her that there is some last minute items they need to still record.

In the dark room, the remaining members wait for the birthday girl to appear. The door bell rings and they carry their tray of assorted birthday goods to the door (But not before dropping every candle). The door opens and a flummoxed Bomi is told to pretend that the candles are still lit. Once in the room they relight the candles and Bomi completes her birthday wish.

Next on the list is Namjoo’s amazing(?) birthday song. Chorong has a hard time keeping a straight face throughout Namjoo’s performance, even going so far as saying “You call this lyrics?!” It’s now finally Miyeok soup time, straight from the bowl. Chorong confesses that they have no idea what flavor the kimbab is. So how was the soup?

Bomi doesn’t say it directly but instead talks about how Eunji would be tearfully thankful of Bomi if she had eaten this soup as well. Eunji is so thankful(?) about Bomi’s honesty that she threatens to kill her. Ah true friendship~

Soup done, Bomi is asked to rap in response to the birthday party. Bomi uses this opportunity to show off her spectacular rapping skills. She picks out a random kimbap and proceeds to take a bite. Unfortunately it’s mostly empty and Bomi continues her rapping performance and the party continues deep into the night.

Party over, they all head to their respective rooms for some much needed sleep (There is still time for one last dance though).

Next – Free time and Food DO mix 

Chapter 3 – The Hongdae Food Tour

It’s another normal day at the House of A Pink, the silence only broken up by the sounds of Hayoung messing around with a hula hoop. Then it’s ding dong time. They are asked what they would do if they could go out secretly for a day. Namjoo immediately suggests going out for some BBQ but then Hayoung suddenly decides she wants a new, more thought provoking image and picks the library. This answer is met by laughter from the rest of the members.

Bomi, however, cleverly notes that this wouldn’t really be a secret outing because the cameras are recording everything. Hayoung suggests they get signed contracts that promise that they won’t get scolded no matter what they do. They then decide to head to Hongdae to sample the various dishes present there. Location decided, the ladies get ready for a girls night out. Chorong is the first to appear again, with her big black hat. She then berates the members for not hurrying up.

Dressed up for a night out, the ladies leave for Hongdae but how will they get there? Chorong has prepared for that in advance and has managed to source a Mini Clubman from somewhere. Their first port of call will be a chicken feet restaurant (Jeez why am I NOT surprised?). With Chorong at the wheel, the ladies head out.

However, as we all know, Chorong isn’t the best of drivers. Nam Joo talks about the last time she was in a car with Chorong, saying that the driving experience wasn’t quite as smooth as ice cream. This has the effect of making our dear leader somewhat cross but they all agree that the driving experience is much improved today. The front row then starts to sing a random Hongdae song with an accompanying dance, but is mostly ignored by the back row.

The group finally arrives in Hongdae. Namjoo begins to dance and rap on the street much to Chorong’s embarrassment. Being good polite juniors, they courteously greet a cardboard cutout of their senior celebrity Haha. After hurrying through the rain, the group finally arrives at the chicken feet restaurant, where they proceed to order nearly everything on the menu. Already, you can see their eyes glitter with excitement.

The group then decides to leave a message on the wall, with Bomi making sure to write “Bomi is the best” amongst the sea of customer writing.

The food finally appears and the group is quick to dig in. Nam Joo then wonders why they like chicken feet so much. They all pretty much agree that it is because of their resident chicken feet evangelist, Chorong. The evangelist then gives a lecture on the proper method of eating a chicken foot, one claw at a time. With all this food in front of them, how can they best describe this joy and excitement to the viewers?

They decide to hold a competition to see who can eat the most tastefully. Bomi is first to go but immediately forgets to say her line. She then proceeds to dunk the – already sucked on – chicken foot back in the bowl, much to the chagrin of the rest of the group. Bomi then comforts them by saying that they won’t die from this.

Naeun is next and goes for the pretty picture approach. She is lauded for her naturalness while Bomi regrets her exaggerated form of taste expression.

Chicken feet evangelist Chorong is next but is immediately eliminated. Hayoung steps up to the plate as Bomi reminds her that no one has yet to create any big laughs. With the weight of the whole group on her shoulders, Hayoung takes her first bite and is immediately chastised for not eating it properly.

Hayoung quietly complains about her misfortune but is immediately drowned out by the sounds of Naeun asking who wants rice balls. Chorong and Hayoung both answer back at the same time and Naeun is briefly frozen, not sure who to give it to. She eventually gives it to Chorong first, much to Hayoung’s disappointment. The lesson to take from this? Young people always make way for the older generation~

Bomi starts to talk about how they shouldn’t eat chicken feet and Soondae stew in front of their future boyfriends. The rest of the members aren’t exactly sure why they can’t eat these dishes in front of their boyfriends even if the meals are somewhat messy to eat. Chorong, however, agrees that Soondae stew shouldn’t be eaten with a partner after seeing what Bomi was like during their last meal together. She doesn’t explain in depth but just simply says the one must avoid opening their mouth while they eat.

Filled to the brim, it’s now time to burn away those excess calories. The group plays a game of table tennis, and proceeds to get a round of drinks. The group then heads for their 3rd location, a cafe picked out by Chorong. On their way there, the ladies break out in rap again much to their embarrassment. They finally arrive at a rather elaborate looking cafe.

Bomi mentions that this outing also has a sad element to it, mainly because there are so many couples having a date on the street. Namjoo then says she prefers being with the members. Chorong points out that this might be the first time they’ve gathered together in a cafe. Namjoo mentions that Chorong has been talking about going to a cafe for ages. Chorong’s explanation for her cafe obsession was because she was jealous of the people that would gather in cafes and just chat.

Bomi being Bomi breaks up this brief period of sincerity with a round of songs. They then begin to talk about Eunji, with Bomi mentioning how she was rarely at home and would just drop by briefly to shower. Hayoung also says that Eunji had prepared a meal for her birthday even though she hasn’t slept in days. They finish their secret outing by talking about the highlights of the day, which includes the chicken feet restaurant and the fact it was the first time they’ve gone on an outing with Chorong at the wheel. The episode ends as they make plans for a future outing along the seaside with Chorong at the wheel.

Tune in next week for an A Pink cooking extravaganza and a mysterious guest who is most likely Eunji’s brother, Min Ki.

Next – No ratings makes Bomi a very sad panda

Will A Pink Run In A Marathon?

No one knows because they stopped reporting ratings for the show

This makes Bomi very sad!