Shi Hyun Ahn's TV Treat

Finally, the game started. They all picked spoons to decide who sat where. Shi Hyun got spoon #1, and so had to sing the first line. And she promptly messed it up, causing everyone to get bonked. They spent a minute or two trying to figure out the correct lyric, then tried again - and she screwed up again! POW!

Finally on the third go round, she got it right, but the second guy messed up, so they got hit again.

In case you're wondering, her singing was not exactly on key. But that's OK, she gave it her best shot!

They tried several more times, but were not able to make a lot of progress. By the sixth try, Shi Hyun stopped paying attention, and when one of the panelists messed up, she got hit really hard. She rubbed her head for several seconds after that one!

Round about this point, the hosts decided to pick a Chance Card. This happens a few times during the game to help the panel in their quest. Shi Hyun selected one and read it: it allowed the panel to hear the entire song in sped up form. They listened intently, then were ready to try again.

Shi Hyun's belly button was a topic of
discussion early in the show

Shi Hyun in her schoolgirl's outfit
from 'Happy Together'

But though their seventh try was a good one, they screwed up the 8th line, provoking another session with the pans. So now another panelist picked a Chance Card. But I didn't understand what it said, and they didn't seem to do anything. Strange.

Shi Hyun helpfully suggests that the line they were messing up is 'tonight'. But suddenly, Santa Claus (or a Korean facsimile) emerged from another room, carrying a big plastic golf club with an inflatable ball attached to it via a string. He swung the club repeatedly as the panelists tried to grab the ball. Something is written on the ball, but I couldn't tell what it was. After several swipes, he shouted, 'Try again next year!', then left just as suddenly as he had come. What a random interlude!

On their 8th try, they made it to the questionable line. Turns out Shi Hyun was correct: it was 'tonight', and they got past it for the first time. But the next guy screwed up. They only had two more tries to get it right!

One more Chance card. This time, Shi Hyun got to pick two panelists to be punished by bonks from the pans. The two then played an accelerated version of 'rock/paper/scissors'. The loser got bonked. Then they did it again and again, each time the loser getting nailed.

Finally, the game came down to an argument between one of the hosts and Shi Hyun. She was sure that the line they messed up on their 9th try was 'gets elated', while the host thought it was 'speaks with excitement'. They could not agree on which was right, so the host made a bet with her: they will use her version, but if she's wrong, she has to kiss him. She agreed.

So they got to that line, and guess what? Shi Hyun was wrong! Bonk! And thus, the panel lost, unable to complete the song in the allotted ten tries.

But of course, the best was yet to come, for now Shi Hyun needed to pay up and kiss the host. The one host eagerly tried to get next to Shi Hyun while the other host restrained him. Shi Hyun was incredibly embarrassed. The crew and the other panelists started to clap in unison. A bet is a bet!

Shi Hyun was asked how she feels, and she replied, 'it's complicated', meaning she had mixed feelings about this. But the host wanted his 'victory trophy'. So everyone counted '1-2-3', and Shi Hyun leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Romantic music swelled up, and the sarcastic words 'Finally!' appeared on-screen. They replayed the kiss several times to comical effect. The host fell over as his cronies clapped and cheered. Then the other host stepped up and claimed he wanted his 'second place trophy' (meaning a kiss, of course)! But Shi Hyun was not biting!

But they applauded her for being a good sport, and thus ended Shi Hyun's appearance on 'Happy Together'. Hopefully it did not do too much lasting mental damage to her!