Episode 10 Title: You know it’s a secret.

With only 6 episodes left, and 3 more weeks to go, we’ve reached the pinnacle of the romcom: the couplehood!

This is the stage where our couple allow themselves to be more natural in front of their other half and delight in every little thing she/he does. More and more of their real personalities begin to emerge as they share confidences and spend more time together. And they’re united in conspiracy to outwit everybody and to keep their romance secret. There’s an immense adrenaline rush, not to mention sugar rush, in this episode. What’s not to like?

I definitely enjoyed all the couple scenes that I even forgot to bitch about how cold and snowy it’s been here all week.

Here are little characters quirks that we might have missed in our giddiness.

1. She is definitely hornier than he is. He’s such a prude, considering he’s been married before.

Plus, HE didn’t want her VAMPED up. Eh??! He teased her about turning 30 but he wanted her dressed up like a teen in gym clothes? Ugh! What’s wrong with you, Mr. Clean?

I’m glad that he didn’t see her ogling at his throat as he swallowed beer. He’d really think she was a vampiress drooling after his bloody neck.

Warning: Obvious PPL. I’m not buying you, Day Cyclone.

2. Double standards. As much as he didn’t like her looking sexy for him, he wanted to look sexy for HER. Weird, right?

He overheard her talking about how sexy she found rolled up sleeves and bare forearms were. Next thing we knew, he was showing off his forearms (Hairless! I prefer a bit of hair on male arms.) and he was building muscles with handgrips while multi-tasking.

Served him right that she looked straight at him without minding those bare arms. I say: what’s good for the goose is good for gander. If you want her sexless and amorphous, then it goes the same for you, Sir.

3. Superhero complex.

Did you get why CW did that weird gesture just to glance at his watch (rather unnecessary, IMO)?  At first, I thought he was doing a “Heil, Hitler” salute for YY. 

Then, on second replay, I recognized that look.

It’s the iconic Superman “to the rescue!” stance. 

Often, Superman’s left arm is outstretched to “rescue” his girl. lol. Google it, if you want proof.

In CW’s brain, his daring mission du jour was to save his damsel-in-distress from traffic and get her to work on time. lol.

3. Fact: Her cuteness slayed him.

Like YY, I felt like clobbering him after he declared that he wouldn’t use any terms of endearment. Woookay… He wanted to be chill, so fine! But but but he built up her expectations when those three little words, “Strawberry, chocolate, honey,” easily rolled off of his tongue.

She could swoon every single time he called her strawberry, chocolate, or honey in that bedroom voice of his. Admit it now: if he were to read the oven instruction manual to YOU — upclose, in the dark, in Klingon — you’d melt too in a pool of warm fuzziness. So yeah! I understood YY’s frustration.  She wanted a pet name of her own to signify their intimacy.

But when you think about this again, his chosen pet name, “raccoon” was uniquely hers, so it was in fact better than strawberry, chocolate and honey.

To him, she had always appeared to her as a raccoon. Remember? He described her as a raccoon in Episode 4.

It’s because the way she snooped around and peeked through the blinds and behind car doors brought to mind the critter’s cuteness.

Ooohh. She’s so cute I want to bite her myself.

He also compared her to Tigger. We’d have to be especially obtuse not to notice that her boundless enthusiasm matched that of Tigger’s. Just like the fuzzy tiger unsettled everyone with his unstoppable bouncing, our YY discombobulated prim and proper CW with her endless aegyo.

However, when I think about this seriously for a second, I see another side to CW’s comparison. You see, the characters in the book The House at Pooh’s Corner also resemble the friends of YoonYi. To me,

Piglet, the nervous one, is Jeong-ae
Rabbit, the outspoken one, is Kyung-rye
Eeyore, the pessimistic one, is Bo-na

And of course, Winnie the Pooh is the big boss, CW, himself. Even the color of the sleeves of his sweater matched Pooh’s color.

4. Like vs Pity

Ottoke???! 

CW isn’t 100% sure whether she LIKES him or she PITIES him. — I’m predicting that this will be part of the angsty moments in the upcoming episodes.

When YY confided in him that she found being an office assistant rewarding, he must have wondered whether he was one of her “pet cases” or “pity projects.”  She said she could see people’s flaws and she would want to help them.

Go ahead and watch the scene when she said the next sentences.

Observe, too, how CW was fidgeting beside her, as she said,

“Why are her eyes so swollen today?” (Did you notice how he blinked his eyes?)
“Why is she dressed like that?” (Notice that he glanced at his sweater.)
“Why is she having such a hard time?” (Did he look away?)

To me, his little motions suggested that he was self-conscious and embarrassed that YY could have been studying his little quirks during his unguarded moments, and then, determining that he was an object of her pity — and rescuing, too.

You see, as of now, I’m not 100% sure where he stood on that. Would his pride accept that? His Superman ego? I’m not sure… What do YOU think? 

Then remember too when he told her that his erratic behavior with the cake was due to his being a “loser”?

That struck me as an odd thing to say because CW wasn’t the type to admit to a human flaw. He was anxious that his flaw or phobia, which stemmed from a childhood trauma, would eventually turn her off from him. So, he was giving her the option to go (like a noble idiot) and YY rightfully scolded him for behaving less than a decisive boss should be (and more like a squirmy worm, IMO).

However, by Episode 10, I sensed that CW didn’t want her staying beside him because she pitied him or because he was a “loser.”  Do you see that, too?

Given YY’s kindness and altruism — which her ex-boyfriend gloated about — YY could possibly be feeling sorry him, and he didn’t want that. He actually resented what the ex said at the team dinner, that YY couldn’t sit still if she saw somebody in need of her assistance.

I highly doubt he would be happy being on the receiving end of YY’s pity. Not when he considered himself to be Superman. lol.

 

See that outstretched arm? lol. I told you… 

5. Superman doesn’t get beaten, and CW wanted to make sure YY knew that he won the brawl with her ex.

Look: only the viewers know that CW boxed regularly at the gym. YY had no idea he had those regular sparring sessions.

All she could reasonably conclude about his fighting skills was that whenever he was caught in a fight, he would end up being knocked down onto his back. Not exactly Manny Pacquiao, was he?

The first time CW was in a fight, he lost the the guy, and was scratched on the forearm. YY tried to SALVE, not only his wound, but also his ego by reassuring that HE won that fight. But I don’t think she convinced him much, considering that he only got a clutch of hair from the intruder for all his ruckus he created.

The second time he was caught in a fight (with the same intruder), he again fell flat on his back while fighting. That time, I thought to myself that he was a klutz.

To his chagrin, the intruder turned out to be YY’s younger brother, who was at least 10 years younger than him. He should have been able to subdue the “donsaeng.” So much that boxing training he received, I thought to myself.

If these two encounters were actual boxing contests, it’d be clear that he didn’t score decisive knock-outs. So what was the point of his work-outs then? Lol.

Thus, even in his drunken state, it was very important for him to establish with her that he got two extra punches in, and that he definitely didn’t lose to her ex-boyfriend…of all people!!

Superman can fight.

In his mind, he’s adept at fighting with his fists. Remember his well-delivered elevator punch? He imagined himself as an intimidating fighter for the down-trodden and abused, like his office assistant.

But on occasions, we have to question whether that fantasy meets reality or not. He couldn’t be a superhero if he couldn’t even take down YY’s younger brother who — mind you – had a medical dispensation to cut short his military service.

Go figure! 🙂

6. The cactus family.

lol. Of course, we all noticed that his solitary cactus grew to become a brood of seven (with a cactus imposter or two included in the group).

Another thing we probably noticed in this scene is that HE — not YY — was the one who watered the plants, and he seemed quite accustomed to doing it now.

Which brings to this point…

Before their couplehood, it was obvious that YY was the one being “tamed” to become a perfect assistant to him. She began wearing flats, she was one-step behind him, she followed his wishes, he anticipated his needs….

By now, however, it’s beginning to be clear that he too was adapting to conform to HER needs. There were many things he wouldn’t have consented to do for her before.

For instance, he meekly agreed to YY’s admonition not to buy a necklace for every girl that he’d upset. Only his girlfriend. He didn’t protest this declaration of exclusive “ownership,” that HE was HERS. He just smiled like he relished the idea of having her as his girlfriend.

The other thing was his willingness to participate in something clandestine with her. He wasn’t this audacious before. For instance, exchanging winks with her in the company of the other office workers; they both risked being caught. Or carrying her love note (complete with lipstick mark) with him to the meeting.

 Tsk. tsk. tsk. They were courting trouble.

But the important thing here is the symbolism of the cactus. HE was the cactus. He used to behave like a cactus. Prickly, avoiding body contact.

He wasn’t hands-y with his ex. Watch that scene when they met at the hotel or when they had the mini-reunion at the office lobby. Both times, he didn’t lay a hand on her. SHE touched him.

This contrasted with his behavior with YY. He was all touchy-feely with her. Like this scene when they went home after meeting at the ramyun place. He was gently guiding her with his hand on her back.

Or take the elevator scene when her cheeks were cold.

He was no longer averse to touching and being touched like a cactus …except of course when it was encounters with Yoo.

7. Past, Present, Future.

He didn’t want to hear about YY- nor talk about it. But this must have just been his defense mechanism or his rational brain talking. Because when he was drunk the truth came out that he was envious of her past. In vino, veritas.

YY: Gosh, that jerk. He always becomes either a baby or a jerk whenever he drinks. That annoying jerk. (We assumed that she was talking of her ex.)

He wakes up and stares at her. She realizes that she was ranting about the one person he didn’t want to hear about.

CW: Will you give me 30 missed calls on my cell phone, too?
–Meaning, would she be so concerned and frantic to find him if he went missing

Will you give me $5 to make sure I don’t starve, too?
–Meaning, would she worry that he was having a hard time that she’d willingly do without her share so he could have her more

You won’t tame me like that and then disappear, will you?
–Meaning, would she play around with his heart, making him dependent and needy for her loving attentions, only to leave him in the end

YY: I’ll see how you are.
CW: Just stick to me like glue. Just like you do now.

The remarkable thing about this scene is his words mirrored YY’s words in Episode 3 during HER drunken rant.

YY: That jerk. Who cares if you’re my boss? You’re disrespectful, helpless, inattentive, and cold-hearted jerk.
CW: Are you kidding me? Are you really drunk?
YY: I will…I will… be crazy good to you, and then…and then I will disappear. I’ll disappear. You’ll feel…the void when I’m gone. You’ll realize how important I was…That is…how hard…I will work. That’s what.
CW: Interesting.

She said back then that she would be “so crazy good” to him, that when she disappeared from her life, he would live to regret it. And now, in HIS drunken state, he was telling her not to disappear and remain by his side like glue.

…which was pretty much like how her exBF, Changsoo, had been begging her to come back to him. CS also regretted losing her in the first place. He was the past boyfriend and CW was the present boyfriend. Judging how cold AND FINAL YY had been to CS, CW had better pray that he would remain the future boyfriend and that he wouldn’t make the same mistakes as CS, thus, suffering the same fate. Yool had warned him that he couldn’t find a better partner than YY. And, as the title hinted, that fact isn’t a secret anymore. They both know that YY was the best thing to happen to him.