The “You” in the title is MinHo.

To FORGET implies that MEMORIES of a person, place, experience, or emotion originally EXISTED but were lost in TIME. You can’t forget what wasn’t there to begin with.

If we replace the word “poetry” with BoYoung, who after all is the very personification of poetry in this kdrama, it’s easy to see that “YOU” who forgot BoYoung can only refer to one person, MinHo. He’s the one who’s forgotten his memories of BoYoung and he’s the one now remembering her all over again.

It started from the beginning. He and NamWon received their hospital assignment. The name of the hospital didn’t trigger any trepidation or foreboding in MinHo. He even yawned.

On the way to Seoul, NamWon said that he was going to seek BoYoung’s assistance in getting a position at the hospital. That was the first time MinHo heard of BoYoung’s presence in the hospital. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t sure who BoYoung was.

MH: What? Woo… Woo Bo Young?
NW: Yeah, I heard Woo Bo Young is at that hospital.
MH: What? The Woo Bo Young I know? That disgusting girl, who reads poetry and acts pitifully? That Woo Bo Young?

Then, later on at the hospital, he expressed his distaste of her in no uncertain terms. The interns were curiously asking MinHo if he had a girlfriend. lol. Like Dr. Kim asked Dr. Kim if he had one.

Interns: But why there? (She names a hotspot) You have a girlfriend, don’t you? Are you going there with your girlfriend? Amazing.
MH: Yes.
Interns: Aw. You’re so lucky! (Meanwhile Namwom awaits his next reply.)
MH: I’m kidding. But I’m going to find one today. Gyeonidan-gil. Yeah!!
Interns: I thought you really had one.
MH: If I put my mind to it, I can… (BY walks in)
NW: What’s wrong with you.
Dr. Kim: What’s this? Why the straight face in front of Dr. Woo? Why is it that a sociable guy like you is keeping his distance with Dr. Woo?
MH: The thing is, I’m pretty choosy with people. I only joke and fool around with people I want to be close to.

lol. Minho behaved as rudely as Dr. Ye when Dr. Ye rebuffed Dr. Kim. But you know what they say right? “When you do it, it’s romance. When I do it, it’s adultery.”

Later on, BoYoung overheard Minho saying, “Geez, I finally managed to forget everything but we met again at this hospital.”

And BoYoung became pensive and sat down on the steps to reflect on his words, “That’s right. I finally managed to forget everything but I met you again here.”

See that? This is another reason I say that the title refers to MinHo.

To BoYoung, those college days with MinHo were POETIC DAYS. Poetic in the sense that they were beautiful, idyllic, and romantic days for her. Those days had been forgotten, but her love for poetry continued on.

To MinHo however, those college days were poetic because – lol – they were literally filled with poems. He was getting “A POEM A DAY”from BoYoung…to his horror. Mushy poetry that gave him goosebumps. But those days had been forgotten, and those awkward love poems banished from his memory. Hence, You Who Forgot Poetry. 

Not even Dr. Ye was getting a poem a day. lol. 

But as he continued to work at the hospital, he began to remember bits and pieces about BoYoung. Beginning in Episode 3, entitled, “I Like You,” we see MinHo remembering the things about her.

Like her crying jags.

And her clumsiness or as he called it her body humor or body gags.

The word “clumsiness” indicate a LACK of coordination or POOR motor skills. Most people would consider clumsiness a negative quality, something to frown upon or to ignore as Dr. Ye did when Boyoung’s bag strap got caught in the chair leg.

But for MinHo, BoYoung’s clumsiness is a source of amazement and amusement.

We the audience are mad at him when he caused BoYoung to get stuck in the railings. However, if we replay that scene again, we’ll see that all he wanted to do was play with her. To fool around with her.

Look: he was whining that he wanted to go to that hotspot with Namwon. But then they spotted BoYoung.

He also saw a couple of pretty girls with balloons. Pretty girls just like in that hotspot he wanted to go to with Namwon. For a second, I thought he would chat up the girls. But nope. He was only interested in what they were holding. Their balloons.

He zoomed for BoYoung instead, his playmate. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t expect her to fall in and get stuck in the railing.  Who would have known that she would drop in like an oversize package in a skinny mail slot?

She got stuck and I was laughing, too. BoYoung really did look hysterical. (edited to add this: I must give the actress Lee YooBi credit. Her physical comedy is awesome.)

And he took a picture of it – for himself – because he found the picture amusing. He didn’t say it explicitly, but he thought she was cute. He was smiling at her picture on the way home.

…which mind you, Dr. Ye thought so, too. He saw the SAME picture and thought it was  adorable and cute. It wasn’t hideous at all and he said he’d look at it and laugh every time he felt down. lol. But the fangirls gave him a pass, remember? “When you do it, it’s romance. When I do it, it’s adultery.

But what I DO find most maddening about MinHo is his selective amnesia when it came to abusing BoYoung’s kindness. NamWon had to remind him that five years ago, he had been like Dr. Park abusing BoYoung’s sympathy.

NW: Aigoo. It looks like Dr. Park will get some good scolding today.
MH: He asked for it. Anyway, why does Cry Baby BoYoung keep falling for these things? It seemed like she does everything Dr. Park asks for.
NW: You know how kind she is. She has a hard time turning people down. But don’t you know that best?

MH: How would I know that? (What the heck? Was he abducted by aliens? Was his body swapped?)

NW: Why wouldn’t you know that?

After the flashback, NamWoo scolded him.

NW: How could you not know? Do you really have no idea that BoYoung can’t reject people’s requests?

MH: Hey, why are you bringing up the past?

Like NamWon, it baffles me that he can’t remember all that.

Which brings me to wonder about the point of this kdrama.

Why IS their past being remembered now? Why is it important that Minho, “you who forgot poetry” be reminded of the past?

These two poems in the same Episode 3 made it seem as if the poems were only meant for Dr. Ye.

“First Meeting” by Ha Geum Joo.

and “I Like You” by Kim Yong Taek.

But if you read between the lines,they actually REFLECT on the past relationship of MinHo and  BoYoung.

First Meeting
by Ha Geum Joo

I’m very thankful to you
Who treated me like a flower
When life was the coldest.
I was stepped on a lot
And never got any attention on this journey
By meeting you,
I met a new me.
I’m very thankful to you
Who treated me like a flower.

You see, BoYoung and MinHo’s first meeting changed BoYoung.

He entered her world when it was dreary, and her life was all about work and studies. He came and made her feel special. She didn’t expect him to show up in his car and give her a ride to her job.

And she certainly didn’t expect him to ask jokingly if they could date.

The funny thing was when she did HIS assignment for him, she did it happily because she was doing it for him. She admitted that she too found it difficult as a liberal arts student in a science field. But doing his work, she studied well.

I Like You
by Kim Yong Taek

One spring day, I saw your love
Light up my backyard with happiness
Which was once dark, under the shade.

You, who called me out from the darkness with your love
With bright light that can only come from darkness
You stood in front of me
And smiled like a wild flower.
Ah, even the thought of you makes me happy.

Similarly, MinHo’s encounter with BoYoung at that particular stage in his life called him out of dreariness, too. Just like in the poem, “I like you.”

This line is striking.

Remember? He had been skipping classes. He didn’t want to study anymore. He was there because his parents forced him so he didn’t even know what he was there to study for. He WHINED, like he often did, “I can’t get used to this place. Every single day feels like hell.”

He walked away from her, but when he turned around, he saw that she was tearing up. He was confused at her reaction, then he made light of his situation, “What? It’s not that sad.”

He was lying to himself, of course.

In Episode 6, the episode about his “lucky” birthday, we realized how lonesome he must have been in that family of his, all surrounded by successful people, and how BoYoung must have been the bright thing or the “wild flower” that made him happy during those days at school.

On his “lucky day,” he began remembering how lucky he had been indeed with BoYoung around.

To me, Minho had forgotten about those poems – just like the title of the kdrama.

He’d been successful in forgetting about those poems and – along with those poems – his memories of time spent with BoYoung. He had let go of those memories until they met again.

Now, he certainly remembered those poems.

That’s why he called BoYoung “repeat offender” and “ex-convict of love,” and he said that he hated her.

He hated her now because SHE was trying to forget about those poems she wrote to him when HIS memories of their time together had already come back.

That’s why I say, “A Poem a Day” and “You Who Forgot Poetry” is about MinHo and BoYoung.

🙂

… but hey! I can always change my mind to support Dr. Ye if you bribe me with Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Ice Cream. I can always hypnotize myself and say that Dr. Ye had previous recollections of poems from BoYoung.