Where to begin with Episode 6?

First, let’s start with Dr. Ye.

I liked Dr. Ye. However, it’s becoming more evident to me that his major character flaw precludes him from “winning” the girl’s heart. His Achilles heel is his rigidity – or as his colleagues call it, his “inflexibility.” He refuses to adapt and change to situations which don’t conform to his tenets in life because he considers his viewpoints SUPERIOR to others.

To me, as long as he gives these condescending advices, the kdrama will NOT end up with him and our heroine, Boyoung as a couple. He behaves pretty much like JH in Reply 1988.  Back then, I’d warned the JH shippers as soon as Episode 9 aired, that the TITLE of the episode indicated who the male lead would be; and it wasn’t JH. Of course, I was booed out of the forum. lol.

But both JH and Doctor Ye exhibit this inflexibility: the former refuses to cross the line while the  latter refuses to unbend. Dr. Ye will share JH’s doomed fate and lose the girl if he doesn’t change.

You see, his advices demonstrates how un-poetic his soul is. True, he reads (or he says he does) her poetry but his advices are cold and unemotional. Sigh. If only the fangirls remove their blinkers, they’ll see that he and BoYoung are diametrically opposites.

The title is the giveaway. A Poem a Day.

BoYoung doles out a poem a day. Sometimes she gives more than one a day. Dr. Ye, on the other hand, gives out – guess what? – an ADVICE a day. 😀  He gives one advice a day. At the minimum. He can’t help it. His character is that inflexible.

BoYoung’s poems and Dr. Ye’s advices are their daily prescriptions for life.

BoYoung occasionally shares her poetry to a patient, like the one who was comforted by the poem, “Pain and Sadness Can Also Become a Path,” by Lee Chul Hwan. She also posts poetry on the bulletin board, and she shares them with people she likes. If you notice, her poems are carefully tailored to fit the needs of the people; she doesn’t give them out willy-nilly, with an intention to hurt people.

Moreover, the poems she narrates to us, the audience, are meant to appreciate and understand life, as well as to understand the meaning of the episodes. Her poems give us CONTEXT.

Her poems are well-intentioned and well-received. Except for MinHo, people like getting her poems. They aren’t offended by them. They find solace, support, and encouragement in them. They’re gentle.

In contrast, we’ve seen Dr. Ye give advices to everybody BUT his patients. lol.

He primarily dictates them to his colleagues whenever he’s offended by their actions. Whether his coworkers and superiors want them or not, he dishes them out.

BTW, did you notice his reaction when tables are turned, and HE’s the one on the receiving end of an advice? pwahahaha.

Except for BoYoung, normal people resent his advices. As our Oli has pointed out to us here, BoYoung is the only one who doesn’t get annoyed with him and accepts his advice graciously. To me, she simply chooses NOT to take offense with him. She, too, is taken aback by his words that her first response is often, “Pardon?”  to express her bewilderment. But like the kind girl that she is, she gives him the benefit of the doubt.

Unlike BoYoung’s daily poems which uplift people, Dr. Ye’s daily dose of advices generates animosity. They trigger people to respond resentfully because his words are passive-aggressive.

As Doctor Park would say, “When you do it, it’s romance. When I do it, it’s adultery.” If somebody other than Dr. Ye gave the advice, people would call him a jerk.

That’s why I was looking forward to seeing how the writer will bridge the gap between her poems and his advices. To me, it seemed as if the writer took her first conscious step to begin linking the two in Episode 6.

Dr. Ye’s words to her, “May I give you some advice? Don’t be so distant. Why can you borrow it from Doctor Kim, but not from me?” echoes the sentiment of the poem, “Family” by Choi Bum Young.

I already discussed the meaning of “Family” by Choi Bum Young in my other post about Dr. Ye’s so-called kindness. Here’s the link.

It’s true that family members don’t need to maintain their distance. Hardships are meant to be shared together en famille.

I know the general perception of this moment is that Dr. Ye lent her money because he likes her “romantically.”

For a second or two, BoYoung too thought the same thing – that he was coming onto her or flirting with her.  She said, “Pardon?” but she was wondering, “What’s this? Does he want to be close to me?” She tried to hide a smile. Then, she dismissed the thought, thinking, “What am I saying? I just borrowed money from him.”

For me, however, he lent her the money because he regarded her a FRIEND like Dr. Kim regards her as a close friend. He wasn’t offering to be her boyfriend. I said the same thing earlier when he volunteered to help NamWon with his dorm problem. He helped out because BoYoung’s suggestion was good, not because BoYoung’s face was attractive. 🙂

Don’t misconstrue his intentions. 😉

With BoYoung’s money problems, however, he must have observed how Dr. Kim embarrassed her by indiscreetly divulging her financial woes. Dr. Kim treated BoYoung like a younger sister; she berated her like an Unnie.

To me, when he said, “Why can you borrow it from Doctor Kim, but not from me?” he meant that if she could approach somebody as nosy as Dr. Kim for money, then she could surely approach him for help, too. Like Dr. Kim, he could be a friend in need, too. But unlike Dr. Kim, he wouldn’t embarrass her with tactless nagging.

I found this whole scene funny because he totally missed the paradox. It was embarrassing for BoYoung to ask money from HIM precisely because he couldn’t embarrass her, or speak in familiar terms with her, in the same way Dr. Kim did.  BoYoung wasn’t embarrassed to ask money from Dr. Kim because Dr. Kim already knew all about her embarrassing details. Dr. Kim’s familiarity with BoYoung made her a comfortable person to approach for a favor. BoYoung could impose upon her without awkwardness and hesitation.

…Which brings me to MinHo, and the car ride.

Remember the dialogue? Dr. Kim was also acting as a go-between or an intermediary for BoYoung.

Dr. Kim: What? You’re going to visit your mom tonight. But you have work tomorrow. How is that possible?
BY: I feel the need to go. I’m going to go straight after work.
Namwon: What, BoYoung, are you going to Anseong? Minho’s going there, too. He can give you a ride.

MinHo side-eyed her.

BY: Really, can I go with you?
MH: Yeah sure… (reluctantly)
Dr. Kim: Yea, that’s a great idea. BoYoung can get a ride with Minho to see her mother tonight.

Minho sighed.

Here, Dr. Kim also helped out BoYoung by pressuring MinHo to give her a ride. But unlike Dr. Ye who blandly acquiesced to Dr. Kim’s cajoling, Minho’s face definitely registered his reluctance to ride with BoYoung. But MinHo’s reaction didn’t stop BoYoung. She didn’t think twice about imposing on him. She was actually the first one to beg for a ride.

Even when he told her to quickly get out of his car, she didn’t take offense. His displeasure was something she had learned to take in stride, and to humor.

Last (and the longest), let’s talk about this poem, “Morning” by Chun Sang Byung

Do you still remember when I wrote that Boyoung’s poems give CONTEXT to the episodes? Well, to me, this episode is a solid example of superb and subtle writing.

The poem “Morning” frames this Episode 6 like a pair of bookends. It props up the story from the start and at the end.

Here’s the poem.

Morning
by Chun Sang Byung

Morning always feel so happy
The day begins
And the starting point is right now.
After I wash my face,
I start my chores
And open a book
Today might be my lucky day.
I hope I hear some good news…
Under the beautiful sky.

From the start of the episode, the poem sets the stage beautifully.

We see BoYoung cleaning Dr. Ye’s room first thing in the morning. To onlookers, MinHo and Namwon, she reminded them of a busy and happy snail bride doing its wifely “chores” of cleaning house – or room – for Dr. Ye.

Then, like bookends, the poem gives us, at the closing of the episode, the CONTEXT in which to understand the whole story movement. You see, at midnight, BoYoung still remained the busy and happy snail bride. She was delivering the “good news” and creating a “lucky day” for MinHo.

Did you see the connection? Pause here for a minute and think about that. Then, continue reading to find out how the poem was actually applicable NOT FOR DOCTOR YE, but for Minho. I’ve said this before: Doctor Ye is a red herring.  🙂

Pause here.

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Let me explain.

From the moment MinHo saw BoYoung that morning, he declared himself LUCKY that he was freed from her. He was fulfilling the words of the poem, “The day begins and the starting point is right now…Today might be my lucky day. I hope I hear some good news….”

Also when they chanced upon her dusting, Namwon called her a snail bride. MinHo pointed out that she had also once done that for him: she cleaned his car in secret.

They both realized that she transformed into Dr. Ye’s snail bride, implying that she had become Dr. Ye’s problem to deal with. No longer MinHo’s.

NW: I guess she still acts like a snail bride when she likes someone.
MH: Do you know how burdensome it is when she does things like that? Thank god she doesn’t like me. I’m so relieved that she’s not acting like my snail bride.

While Minho’s eyes showed that he was bothered, his lips claimed that he had a lucky escape.

 

Then, during lunchtime, he and Namwon noticed that Boyoung only gave the biggest and best portion of the communal dish to Dr. Ye.  Again, Minho pointed out that he too had been on the receiving end of her kind of favoritism before. She gave him kimbab the size of his arm.

Or the size of his face. lol

NW teased him.

NW: But you seem to remember all the nice things BY did for you. Be honest. Were you interested in her, too?
MH: Hey. Fine. I’ll finally tell the truth. I was actually interested in her.
NW: “I’m kidding!”
MH: Why did you even ask? I only remember it because it gave me the chills. She sent me poetry and cleaned my car. On top of that, she made me kimbap as big as my arm. Is that normal? I’m so relieved that I don’t have to be subjected to that again. Yup.

See that? Again, his lips claimed that he had a lucky escape. He was relieved that BoYoung had stopped fawning over him and making him the center of HER attention.

Shortly afterwards, his mom called. He was invited to a dinner buffet with the family. His mom didn’t tell him the occasion for the celebration, but he realized belatedly that it was his birthday.

Right now, it would seem as if his life mirrored that of the poem “Morning.” His day was shaping up to be a lucky one alright.

For one, he escaped the clutches of a looney-bird like BoYoung. For another, his family was giving him a buffet dinner for his birthday.  He was seeing all good news so far. “Today might be my lucky day. I hope I hear some good news…”

See the irony? See the plot twist? See how the poem was cleverly setting up Minho?

Later that afternoon, he and Namwon spotted her gazing at Dr. Ye. When she turned to join them, she tripped over a hospital chair like in a bad slapstick. Minho caustically said that it served her right to be humiliated after gazing at her crush. But in the same breath, he reminded NamWon of a similar incident in college.

The two guys remembered the hilarious incident of BoYoung in a runaway cart.

MH: Do you know how speechless you become in that situation. I’m glad that she’s not acting like that because of me. I’m so relieved that she doesn’t like me anymore.

lol. That was the third time he declared himself lucky to have avoided bad fate with Boyoung. He was glad that he didn’t have to be again subjected to her crazy and embarrassing moments.

But Minho’s greatest problem was that every time his lips moved to express relief at the end of his torture, he lied. Or he was joking…

He was in fact annoyed and jealous. He saw the connection between the past and the present, and he knew his position in BoYoung’s life was being usurped by Doctor Ye. He thought he was being dethroned as the groom of the busy and happy snail bride.

But what he didn’t understand and what most of the audience (especially the foreigners like me) didn’t get is the relevance of story of the Snail Bride. (lol. This is similar to the Apple Story I told you all in Episode 2.)

In the Korean folklore, the Snail Bride was the one who provided the food. That was her role in the story. The story wasn’t about her cleaning up the house but her providing the food.

The Snail Bride appeared before the farmer when he bemoaned that he had no one to eat food with. When the farmer brought her home with him (note: like MinHo did, lol), she began cooking his daily meal for him. When he came home hungry and tired from work, there was always good food on the table ready for him to feast on. It was the Snail Bride who prepared the food.

Do you see the connection?

BoYoung is still MinHo’s snail bride. Sure, he’d been counting himself lucky all day long that he’d gotten rid of her. But the truth is she never left.

If he only stopped for a minute and really took a good look at himself in the mirror,

he’d realize that Boyoung didn’t have the money to spend on a buffet YET she treated HIM out. He joked early that he’d take her to a buffet that weekend (just kidding! he said). However, she ended up giving him his birthday treat, using money that she borrowed from Dr. Ye, money she did NOT have to spend.

Like the Snail Bride, she got him the birthday feast he’d been starving for all day.

Then, at lunchtime, he groused that she reserved only the choicest food for Dr. Ye at their office lunch. But it didn’t dawn on him that he was very much delighted and touched with her surprise birthday cake for him. His unique birthday pancake was as unique as his supersized kimbap.

In the afternoon, he deplored the crazy and embarrassing scenes that BoYoung caused, but that night, he and BoYoung had a great laugh when disaster struck them with the birthday candles.

He couldn’t stop being amazed by her craziness. He told himself, “Cry Baby BoYoung never fails to act crazy. I’m so relieved that a crazy girl doesn’t like me. Yeah, WooBoYoung did treat me really well, didn’t she? But I don’t like her back. Thank god she doesn’t like me. Really, thank god she doesn’t like me.”

lol. MinHo = clueless.

Just like it was written in the poem, he thought it was his lucky day. All day long, he reassured himself that it was good news that BoYoung no longer liked him. But by midnight, he should have realized that he was “unlucky” after all. If we were to use his standards, he was suffering from the worst LUCK ever because she remained his snail bride.  😀

She was still there hanging around him, only now, she was a lot less obtrusive than she was in college.

The funny thing is she probably didn’t know it herself that she was still hanging around MinHo like his snail bride. pwahahaha.

On the car ride to Anseong, she was telling herself, “I wish I had everything in the world so I could live with a happy attitude. If I did, I wouldn’t have had to ask Dr. Ye for money.” lol. She was burdened that she had to ask money from Dr. Ye.

She didn’t realize that she already had everything with her right there.

With Minho at the highway reststop, she displayed that she could indeed live with a happy attitude. Without a care in the world, without anxiety about her debt to Dr. Ye, her main thought was on treating MinHo to an extravagant buffet because it was his birthday and he was lonely.

On this very (un)lucky day, with three minutes to spare before the end of MinHo’s birthday, she was living happily because she already had her “everything” in the world right there with her. Snails carry everything with them wherever they go.

Presenting the happy Snail Bride and the farmer. 

Do you understand now why I said that this episode was well-written? The poem, the story of the snail bride, and the character development were perfectly executed and subtly done. 😀

If you want to read the book, here’s the youtube version. It’s “friendlier” than the original ones I’ve read.