When I read something I disagree with in soompi or dramabeans, I typically assess if it’s worth my time to challenge. Most of the time, my response is to ignore and walk away. I’m a Bitch, not Holden Caulfield, aka Catcher in the Rye. It isn’t my job to save people from stupid.

However, this drama is already so confusing with its convoluted script, poor editing and directorial (in)discretion, that I find it best to step in the fray to correct — or to steer the conversation the other way.

Take for example this recent article in soompi about Episodes 9 to 12.
https://www.soompi.com/2018/03/29/4-things-loved-2-things-hated-episodes-9-12-tempted/

 

Frankly, the piece is as silly as me alphabetizing M&Ms. But let’s go ahead and correct a couple of misconception, shall we?  I’ll limit myself to two for now.

Misconception #1. Tae Hee easily forgave Shi Hyun.

The article wrote, “Tae Hee knows that Shi Hyun is bad news and that his feelings for her are possibly not as genuine as she thinks. But she still continues to accept Shi Hyun’s advances and is quick to cave at his sweet talk, and it’s getting annoying. I wish Tae Hee’s character was a bit more emotionally stronger.”

First of all, what did SH do to her that night at the villa that needed to be forgiven? I must have been asleep and missed that part.

Second,  viewers should stop looking at TaeHee as if she’s a green girl or a gullible 15 year old kid. She’s a world class student, partly educated in Germany, who graduated valedictorian of her class, and won scholar attending SNU student.

Really? Did the viewers really think she would flee simply because SJ told her a lie about her and SH? hahaha. These viewers have no concept of how it is to survive middle school in a foreign country. TH is emotionally strong. She could tough out any verbal sparring with SJ, any day, any place.

Just look at their dialogue by the pool.

SJ: We like each other. (stare at each other) There are things we can’t go against in our lives (pretending that they are star-crossed lovers) We’ve been taught that since when we were kids. We can’t stop our parents from getting married. We have to try hard to be like real siblings. And we do. I’m glad that SH found someone first.
TH: So are you saying that SH is seeing me as a part of him trying hard?

See there? She doesn’t mince words. SJ was trying to be sly but TH saw the insult right away and didn’t shy away from pointing it out.

When SJ said that she and SH tried hard to act like siblings, she insinuated that there existed an unbreakable romantic bond between the two. Whoever SH met after her won’t be able to compete with her. And SH will only just be “trying hard” (i.e., faking it) and NOT actually “falling in love.” That was a bitch-y thing for SJ to say but TH didn’t hesitate to confronting her with it.

SJ: I’m sorry that you have to live with that secret now.
TH: Why are you telling me this?
SJ: Because I’m sad. Our story was closed without us barely opening it. It’ll be even sadder if no one knew about that. (TH gets out of the pool.)

SJ was now trying another tactic to neutralize TH. She was sharing confidences.

It’s like when you share “secrets” with your girlfriends, there’s a “girlfriend code” that you don’t backstab each other. When SJ shared her sad story, she expected TH to back off, in the same manner that TH backed off when she MISTAKENLY found out that she and her friend KY had a crush on the same guy.

TH: Don’t be sorry. I don’t mind keeping a secret. Do you know why? Because most of these secrets are a huge deal for them, but nothing for others. It’s just a passing thing like a drama you saw last night.

This was TH smacking SJ down. She was saying, “Nonsense! I couldn’t care less about your secret. It’s got nothing to do with me and my relationship with SH. Your angst are yours alone to suffer. Don’t drag me into your drama.” TH was fierce.

SJ: Okay. Then I won’t be sorry.
TH: But I don’t believe that people can always discern exactly how they feel. Look at how you think that you should be sorry for this. You can be confused between old friendship and affection.

TH was being dismissive of SJ’s confession. She meant, “You’re making such a big deal about your infatuation. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. You’re being hysterical over nothing.”

Savage!!

See that? Judging by their poolside conversation, TH wasn’t at all a shrinking violet or a timid mouse. She wasn’t fazed by whatever SJ threw at her.

Third, really??? You didn’t see through her act?? 🙂

If you believe that TH was running away from a rejection, then I have a beach front property in the Sahara desert to sell you.

I say that TH left the house early – deliberately – to test whether SH would follow her or not.  Her father had done this too to his wife. He ran away to Germany, thinking AND HOPING his wife would pursue him.

Like father, like daughter.

I also say she left that note on the fridge to make sure that SH knew where she was heading to, and where her location would be. She wanted to be found.

And SH did. He came quickly after her. That was why his sudden appearance delighted her and she didn’t protest much. She actually didn’t need to “cave in” to his sweet talk. She was ready to accept him because he “PASSED” her test. She had proof that SH liked her more than SJ.

Aigoo. Didn’t you see her thanking him with a wide smile on her face? “Thank you for coming after me.”

Tsk. tsk. tsk.

Taehee 1. Gullible viewers 0. 

So I urge you NOT underestimate our TH. She can play this “push-pull” as good as any seasoned player.  Remember: she’s got the smarts for it and she’s a quick study.

 

Misconception #2. Shi Hyun’s hot and cold mannerisms towards Tae Hee are annoying.

The article wrote, “Ok, we get that Shi Hyun has baggage and that it’s difficult for him to open up to people around him, but the way he acts hot and cold to Tae Hee annoys me. One second he’s piggy backing her and the next second he’s giving her the cold shoulder. I understand that it’s an act in front of Soo Ji, but it’s still aggravating how he’s confusing Tae Hee in the process.”

Sigh. Where shall I start with this one? How can I berate this writer when it’s evident that she’s in over her head? She doesn’t get the story. Even the character SJ grasped what was going on between TH and SH

— and yet this writer remains clueless. 

I think the key to understanding SH’s seemingly contradictory actions is his cliffhanger declaration in Episode 8. “Inside me, a secret started to grow.”

This meant that SH liked TH but he’s trapped in a game with SooJi from which he couldn’t extricate himself without harming SJ and TH.  He understood that if he reneged on his wager/promise/bet with SJ, SJ would take it personally and would have no compunction ruining his relationship with TH as revenge. SJ was vindictive. Recall that she said this, “Do you know what the best revenge is? Taking the most cherished possession from that person.” 

lol. Her streak of meanness is indisputable from the start.

Thus, to preserve the peace, he was living a double life. He had to do a careful BALANCING ACT of going out with TH while at the same time, not letting SJ discover that he liked TH.

Now, with this “perspective” in mind, let’s look again at this scene. Do you see now what SH was doing here? Do you appreciate SH’s actions here now? He’s not doing a stupid push-pull game here on TH. 

SJ called him to the university to act as her escort. It should have been SJoo really because she called him first and SJoo promised to pick her up. But at the last minute he bailed out and was still soaking in the tub.

Thus, SH was the “default” escort – which worked out well as she saw TH and KiYoung walking in front of her.

Unfortunately for SH, however, he didn’t know that TH was also there. Had he known that TH was there, he could have practiced a better greeting. And unfortunately for TH, she didn’t know about the wager between SH and SJ so she naturally waved at him. Unfortunately for both of them, their encounter was a disaster. He had to lie and stiffly answer, “It’s been a while,” to her chirpy, “Hi, we meet again.”

There was no push-pull going on here.

SH simply didn’t want SJ to know that he had grown close to TH and that he even helped her move out of her old apartment. I said in one of my earlier post to look at his eyes.

His eyes darted to side to check whether SJ was watching them. But he couldn’t say anything lest SJ overheard them, and he literally had to keep on moving before TH decide to confront him about his cold behavior.

He gave her one final glance before he buckled up, and to me, he looked regretful that he had to snob TH.

The point of this scene is NOT the push-pull nature of SH’s relationship with TH.

But his futile attempts to keep his relationship with TH secret. Despite his good efforts, his secret didn’t stay hidden for long because that blabber mouth KiYoung decided to thank him for helping TH out. He dismissed KY’s effusive thanks and downplayed his offer of help on TH’s moving day but he knew that SJ was onto it.

Hence, the awkward silence between the two. SJ must have been seething in the backseat when she found out that she’d been kept in the dark about the move. And he sensed it.

That was the reason he didn’t want to invite TH to the villa

and wanted to drive TH back to Seoul.

He wanted to avoid an encounter between the two girls because he knew SJ would hurt TH. SJ would definitely make it her business to hurt TH.

“You want to break TaeHee’s heart.”

SJoo had addressed that question to SJ. But SH stopped when he heard the question and SJ looked up at him to gauge his reaction.

I thought it was amusing that sentence had three different meanings for them all.

For SJoo, he thought that SH and SJ were still doing the revenge plot. He didn’t know that SJ had made the seduction of TH a pre-condition of her marriage to SH.

For SJ, she wanted a real marriage. She made SH prove to her that he could offer her a real marriage by seducing and dumping TH. Breaking TH’s heart was just a game for her in order to get what she really wanted: SH.

For SH, hmmm…this is still debatable. The romantic in me says that he didn’t want TH’s heart to be broken and wanted to protect her from SJ’s wrath. But he was trapped in this crazy, dangerous game with SJ.

The cynical in me says he’s more in trouble of breaking his heart than TaeHee. Karma is a bitch.

😀