Rats!  My Ye Line just got roadkilled by the MinHo clown car in Episode 5.

Lol. The other Ye Liners will undoubtedly wonder, “What is that bitch smoking? Didn’t BoYoung give him the poetry book, ‘It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me’? What more proof does she want that’s it’s BoYoungDoctor Ye?”

The episode started strong.

Like Mr. Fix-it, Dr. Ye entered the room and offered to talk to the director himself to solve NamWoo’s lodging problem. I agree with Dr. Kim, he did it tacitly as a favor to BoYoung. BoYoung suggested it and he stepped in to make it happen.

However, unlike Dr. Kim, I don’t view his gesture as romantic. 🙂

Sure, he may have done it because he likes her. But it can also be that he “trusts and relies” on her judgment calls. In this sense, he likes her as a professional. BoYoung’s suggestion was an excellent one so why wouldn’t he act upon it?

Dr. Ye is THAT type of guy to move decisively and help someone in trouble. Remember how, according to rumors, he spoke up for an patient suing his former hospital for malpractice? He proved himself to be an admirable guy that time.

An aside: I also expect him to arrange for the surgery of the poor grandmother in Episode 4. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t arrange a surgery behind-the-scene with that doctor who bellowed at BoYoung.

Whatever it was that spurred him to help Namwoo, be it attraction or professionalism, the Ye Line had an early lead on Team Minho in the Game of Romance.

Moreover, the occasions when he saved her from being hit by a Segway rider,

and when he noticed her limping then applied bandage on her injured foot,

are your typical romantic tropes so it’s good to get them off our checklist.  These romantic deeds certainly rack up points for Doctor Ye. If we have scorecards, he should have a sizable lead over MinHo midway through the episode…

which leads me to observe the following about the scriptwriting in this kdrama: 

 1. the romance between BoYoung and Dr. Ye appears clichéd and contrived,

2.  MinHo’s appearance seems to have been delayed or “withheld” till the second half in order to get the Romance established and revved up for Doctor Ye, and

3. Dr. Ye’s story is only a plot device to segue into the real story, MinHo’s. 

My suspicions that the Ye Line would sustain a major hit by Minho’s clown 🤡 car happened in this scene.

See? That’s MinHo’s head. (Please! I too wanted to bop his crown several times in this episode.)

You see, BoYoung was NOT thinking of Dr. Ye when she witnessed the breakup scene with the paraplegic patient and her fiancé.

She heard the explanation from a nosy ahjumma. The lovers had split up but he continued to visit every day, causing a ruckus. The ahjumma continued in disapproving tone, “He should know when to stop. But he just does whatever he wants regardless of how she feels.”

This comment must have struck a chord with BoYoung. She had been (or still was?) in the same boat as this man “who didn’t know when to stop.” As she walked down the stairs, she spotted the devil himself, Minho, at his favorite spot in hell…errr… the hospital.  The steps.

She stopped in her tracks and shrank back against the wall, not wanting to be noticed. She reflected, “That’s right. If the other person is struggling, it’s selfish to do whatever I want. I should just give up.“

The parallelism is clear here. Minho resembles the patient who wanted her persistent suitor gone, and BoYoung is the guy who kept on coming back and clinging to the girl despite the rejection because he “didn’t know when to stop.”

The venues are different, but the rejection and lingering attachment are the same. The hospital rejection scene mirrors hers and Minho’s campus rejection scene.  To me, her pained face as she leaned against the wall showed that her feelings for MinHo hadn’t ended yet. Hence her resolution, “I should just give up.” 

In contrast, she has no problems cutting ties with Doctor Ye.

She avoided having long conversations with him at the elevator, 

the escalator,

and the cubicle.

She can exercise self-restraint and not seek Dr. Ye’s company. She can sit and have her foot bandaged while staying quiet as a mouse. She knows when to stop interacting with him.

It’s with MinHo that she cannot seem to help herself.

She invited herself here.

And she invited herself to go out for drinks with him. NamWoo and JooYoung were in the library, but she waited for him. MinHo mentioned wanting to go out for drinks with the guys at Gyeongnidan-gil and she offered to go with him.

She doesn’t seem to WANT to avoid him. Despite MinHo’s open reluctance to go with her and constant rejection, she STILL seeks him out. Like the guy in the hospital. 

To me, then, there’s a double reason for her tears up when she witnessed the proposal.

First, she teared up because she knew the sad backstory of the couple. The man explained to her, “JinAh’s not acting like that because she hates me. We were going to get married this fall but she got into a car accident last month. And she’s been pushing me away ever since. I know she’s acting that way because she doesn’t want to burden me. But I can’t leave JinAh like this. I need to stay by her side when she’s struggling and in pain. I won’t give up until her heart opens up to me again.”

Second, she teared up because she identified with the man’s persistence and found inspiration in his actions. He didn’t give up on his feelings. That must have resonated with her.

To me, Dr. Ye didn’t at all enter her thoughts until she took a painful step and saw the bandage. Only then did she remember his words of praise the other night about serving her patients well. She had done good service to that paraplegic patient and the fiance, hadn’t she? Then, conveniently, Dr. Ye passed in front of her as she was reflecting on her good deed for the day.

It’s in this context that that I understood the poem,  “It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me”?

People say that Dr. Ye scored big when BoYoung gave him the book. It was her love declaration.  But I say, yes and no.

To me, there are (at least) two ways to interpret this poem.

One: That she’s admitting to having an unrequited love for him. For sure, the book can be taken to mean she’s confessing HER feelings for Dr. Ye and that she has decided to love him despite his declaration that he isn’t interested in dating a coworker. The book’s title is her HER MESSAGE of love for him.

Here’s their dialogue:

Ye: What’s the matter?
BY: Doctor, this is a book of poetry.
Ye: Why are you giving this to me?
BY: I thought you’d enjoy it too. Why? Do you find it burdensome?
Ye: No, I just didn’t expect this. I thought you were disappointed in me for some reason.  It seemed like you were avoiding eye contact with me so I was worried.

** To me, “disappointed” is a weird feeling to express. I take this to mean, that he wants to stay in her good graces and good opinion. Usually, people cite ANGER as the reason for avoidance. But here, he said disappointment. And I believe it’s because he knew that what he had said at the Dr. Park’s party might have dashed her hopes or disappointed her. He said, “I have no interested in dating anyone in the medical field. And if they work at the same hospital, I’m really not interested.” 

BY: Pardon?

**Notice too that she often says, “Pardon?” when she’s with him. This indicates that she doesn’t grasp what he’s trying to say, or is often surprised by what he says. She can’t read his mind.

Ye: I’m not the type to worry about others but I was worried about you. It seems like I trust and rely on you quite a lot.
BY: I see. I wasn’t disappointed in you. I just didn’t have the confidence to face you. But I won’t act like that anymore. I’ll get going then.
Ye: (smiles at he reads the title, “It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me.”)

But there’s another way to interpret this poetry.

Two: That she meant the poem as a friendly encouragement that HE too can survive his hardship and endure the heartbreak. In this sense, the poetry isn’t a confession of unrequited love, but a message of healing and inspiration. 

It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me
by Lee Jung Ha

It’s okay if you don’t acknowledge me.
A new leaf will sprout, even under the cold rain.
And the stars will come out, even if clouds cover it.
It’s okay if you don’t offer me a hand.
I blazed up like a dry leaf
As someone who couldn’t say a word
I’m okay with being in one-sided love.
And then becoming love myself.
My love,
It’s okay if you don’t love me.

To me, the literal understanding of the poem is the acceptance of a one-sided love. But the DEEPER MEANING here is the choice to love for love’s sake. The poem is telling us to stop asking for love or looking for love in return. What’s essential is to continue to love and be a loving person. Just like a plant still grows despite the rain and a star still shines despite the clouds, we must still love despite the rejection. In fact, in continuing to love, even when it seems hopeless, we’re transformed into WHO we are meant to be: truly human.

Like the guy in the hospital. It was okay if his girlfriend rejected him because he’d continue loving her. It was his steadfast love that finally made her realize that “in sickness and in health” are part of the human condition.

Similarly, BoYoung’s words, “That’s right. I should be happy that he trusts and relies on me,” can be understood in two ways.

a. she’s consoling herself that, although she’s in a one-sided love, he trusts and relies on her. This is the common understanding.

OR

b. she’s grateful to be THERE FOR HIM, serving as a trustworthy and reliable person in his time of need. He may be enduring ostracism from his colleagues and heartache from his former flame, but she’s there to encourage him. This, to me, is the deeper context and it ties in beautifully with his praise for her innate goodness in the previous episode.

He had said, “I already saw a lot of your good side. As I already said, there’s no Ye Line, but if really looked after you like everyone said I did, then this is probably why (because he’s seen her in action, doing good for others.)” 

To me, that whole scene – beginning with the paraplegic’s fiance’s gratitude and ending with gift to Dr. Ye – can be seen as one story arc showcasing BoYoung’s caring instincts, rather than her romantic side.

She feels pity for Dr. Ye after she’s learned from the two interns that he had a PAINFUL incident in his last hospital involving both his colleagues and his girlfriend. As a matter of fact that is WHAT she was talking about in the elevator. Feeling sorry. 

But didn’t you get WHO she was talking about here when she made that comment? Who was she referring to when she said “Wait, who am I feeling sorry for right now?” That was so out-of-the-blue. Hint: It’s not Dr. Ye. 😀  😀

Here’s Minho’s clown  car coming to crash the Ye Line. This is the point in time when I sensed doom for Dr. Ye. 

Here’s the dialogue, for background.

Kim: Oh no, does your head still hurt? You should have gone easy. Why did you drink so much?
BY: I know right? Ugh! My head.
Kim: Was it because you were upset about Doctor Ye? Did you like him that much?
BY: It’s not like that.

**lol. It’s an odd comment. BoYoung couldn’t tell Dr. Kim the truth but she WAS also telling her truth. She wasn’t upset about Dr. Ye. She was upset about… MinHo. Getting drunk and saying that bit about loving somebody she wasn’t supposed to.

Kim: I hope not. I was worried about you. Why would he want to date within the hospital after what happened? It seems pretty impossible, but you seem to like him a lot. Oh, I almost forgot. I have to pick up a document from the general affairs team. Go ahead without me.
Ye: Hello.
BY: Hello. (inner monologue) I can see why he feels that way. Doctor Ye must have had a hard time. Wait, who am I feeling sorry for right now? It’s not right to like him. I should control my feelings.

lol. She was thinking of MinHo here. Not Dr. Ye.

True, Dr. Ye is having a hard time. Not only is he burdened by the incidents in his previous hospital but he’s also the subject of gossip by his colleagues in the present hospital! His dating life is even fodder of amusement for Dr. Kim. It’s no wonder that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the past by avoiding dating coworkers.

But when she INTERRUPTED herself at that moment and asked, “Wait, who am I feeling sorry for right now?” she was thinking of MinHo.

Because of her, he is burdened by the past, and gossip follows him in this hospital. BoYoung herself cringes every time Dr. Kim brings up the topic and accuses him of doing BoYoung wrong. She SHOULD feel sorry for MinHo. 😀

From Episode 3: 

Plus, he’s STILL being embarrassed by her unwanted attention. He sure as heck was embarrassed last night when she drunk-talked.

See that? Because she can’t help herself, she continues to embarrass him with thoughtless actions.

So, when she was telling herself in the elevator, “It’s not right to like him. I should control my feelings,” she was only continuing her inner monologue earlier at the staircase, “I should give up.” Both times, she was referring to MinHo and her one-sided love for him. Not Dr. Ye, as is commonly believed. 

Lastly, the title of the Episode.

Titles are used to direct our attention to the plot movement. And here, throughout the episode, we see the characters ACCEPTING the title’s premise, that it IS okay to have a one-sided love affair. That is, all of the characters except for MinHo.

And that’s because MinHo understood the title literally.

He reasoned out that since BoYoung accepts full responsibility for her feelings then she, only she, can say when to end it. He doesn’t need to do anything, like turn her down again. He doesn’t need to hurt her feelings again.

I find it intriguing that he wanted to reject her “kindly” now after hearing her drunken confession and feeling guilty about causing her pain. He’s learned his lesson.

But still in his mind, she loves him at her own risk and HE is absolved of any burden should she suffer a heartbreak.

But to me, the ironic thing about Episode 5, is that he was the one most disconcerted by the poem.  For somebody who wanted to reject BoYoung easily, his gut reaction when he discovered that poem has become a REALITY for him was a NOPE, it is definitely NOT okay if she doesn’t love him. 

The title of the episode spotlights MinHo’s reaction because it’s a complete reversal. As always, he’s late to the game. Just like he’s always the last person to arrive in the hospital, he discovers that he’s way behind a formidable Dr. Ye in winning BoYoung’s heart. He hasn’t done anything at all to gain her love. Metaphorically, he’s the “cold rain” falling on the plant and the “cloud” covering the stars in the poem. Literally, it’s been okay that he doesn’t love BoYoung because she still loves him. The audience is right to feel that he doesn’t deserve BoYoung because he hasn’t done anything to deserve her love.

But as the poem says, real love doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t ask for love in return or for love to be reciprocated. It just is. Like BoYoung’s love.

Thus, in this episode’s Game of Romance, MinHo cruises to the finish line in his clown car because he’s BoYoung’s first love and she still cares for him. Sadly, the “worthy” and “deserving” Dr. Ye and the Ye Liners bite the dust.  🙂

Episode 5 Scoreboard:
MinHo and his never-ending clown antics: +100
Ye Line: +40