Back before Ye and Boyoung dated, Paperclip wrote this:
I am not going to speculate on who she is going to be dating the next episode based on those previews, because they definitely troll us week after week.
What I am left wondering about most is why haven’t we got anything about how Dr.Ye CLEARLY feels about Boyoung.
•Take when in ep9 before he went to the cafe to reject BY, he flashbacked to all the instances that Boyoung indicated that she liked Dr.Ye.
•Afterwards in ep10, at the conference when Boyoung comes up on the screen, he just stared at it.
•When he got drunk he said I declined because it’s the right thing to do, why does my heart hurt.
•He goes back home and thinks about the conversation BY has with him where she tells him she’s going to get over it and not to treat her well from now on, all the while looking at the poetry book titled “It’s okay if you don’t love me”.
• When he looks at Minho’s profile pic he only wonders whether they went there together.
• In ep11 he sees the poems she uses to send him every morning or when she liked a particular one, those have now stopped.
• When he sees her laughing with Minho, he thinks back about when he rejected her by saying he couldn’t accept her heart.
• Near abouts the end, when he spots BY sitting forlorn in the cafe, he goes to comfort her but holds back because she wished him not to treat her well.
• Then finally at the end when he received a text from Gyumin saying he’s not going to be captive to his wounds, Dr.Ye grips the stirring wheel and gets a determined look in his eye and sets off to go see BY.
Nowhere in the above instances where we see Dr.Ye thinking about/ looking at BY, do see a feeling of love or anything romantic. They could be easily explained by how he felt guilty that he should have seen she liked him and maybe lead her on, and then had to reject her which cut her up. Even the text from Gyumin, the young patient, about how he will hold Dr.Ye to his promise on not giving up on him and that he will not let his wounds hold him captive, which spurs Dr.Ye to drive to BY, have no romantic inclination whatsoever.
Also must note how Dr.Ye parallels his mentor this episode. Both Gyumin and young Dr.Ye had to give up something they love and we’re passionate about. But just like his mentor Dr.Ye tells Gyumin he might not be able to give him what he loves to do, but will help him thrive at something else.
*****************************
My short answer: He had a Robotic Love.
He had calculated that it was in his best interest to keep BoYoung at his side because of all women, she was the one who liked him sincerely, and who he could like sincerely in return. Remember what his previous colleague said. It was ABOUT time he started dating and if he found a woman to fit his ideal, then he should “hold onto the without hesitation.”
In this sense, you could say their relationship was based on “mutual” liking, with an emphasis on MUTUAL because there’s reciprocity in feelings, or a one-to-one correspondence.
The script had lots of examples of his Robotic Love.
1. He offered to pick her up ONLY because they were dating.
I found this very HYPOCRITICAL of Ye. Remember? That night he drove away despite seeing her waiting for the bus by herself.
He did NOT care about her safety enough to bother OFFERING her a RIDE HOME. Had that been MinHo, he would have driven her home in a heartbeat.
And to pile on his asshattery, this jerk Dr Ye then instructed her to meet him at another location. He’s the one with the car?? Why couldn’t he pick her up? (Wow! What a boyfriend material, isn’t he? /sarcasm).
That wasn’t something MinHo would do to her. He offered to walk her to the bus stop that morning despite him being injured by the @#$@#$ motorcycle accident.
2. Then, on the way to work, Ye advised BoYoung to act like “nothing has changed.”
Ye: I mean, may I give you some advice out of affection.
Oh, brother!! I saw some nutty fangirls going crazy over that additional qualifier, “…out of affection.” I don’t give a shit if the advice is out of affection or out of his hat. It was still a dumb advice. To continue –
Ye: Act the way you’ve always acted. “Today is just like yesterday. Nothing has changed.”
??!! You just started dating. And you tell the girl that “nothing has changed”?? Facepalm.
Ye: That’s how mind control is done.
BY: Okay. Then I’ll start having mind control and keep a poker face. Poker face mode.
lol. See? What did I tell you about CHANGING her to FIT him? She thought having a poker face = robotic face is a good idea??
I told y’all to keep an eye on Boyoung’s costumes because they’re a good indicator as any, of her mental and emotional development. She’s now wearing monochromatic, boring blue outfit to his Ye’s drab personality. Ugh!
3. Then, throughout the day, he was acting out of character. His actions were “robotic” in the sense that they were done without ORIGINAL THOUGHT. It’s as if Ye was pre-programmed to behave like a loving boyfriend so he performed these things because these are what boyfriends are expected to do.
Like compliment her,
treat their colleagues out,
and carry things for her.
These were things that were UNNATURAL for him so they aroused other people’s suspicions.
Furthermore, he had no self-awareness that some of his actions were inappropriate. Like when he drew hearts. Really? A grown-ass man doodling heart?
Or when he shouted at Dr. Park for accidentally bumping Boyoung.
His lack of self-awareness is due to his being robotic.
4. Last but not the least, his last words are cold comfort to me.
Ye: I only started this because I’m ready to face whatever might come our way. That’s how much I like you, Dr. Woo. So you don’t have to try so hard because of me. As long as you’re okay with it, I’m fine with people finding out. Let’s just do whatever we want and be natural with each other.
lol. I know that the writer wanted this to be a romantic declaration. He willing to face any complication arising from their relationship, and so on.
But what struck me as creepy here was the relationship was begun UNDER HIS TERMS. By his estimation, HE was ready for it. Did he even stop and consider whether SHE was ready for it or whether she was willing to enter a relationship with him after he’d hurt her? Nope.
Although he had hot and cold about his relationship with her, and made her endure emotional duress the past couple of days, he simply assumed that SHE’d be grateful if HE changed his mind. What an effing jerk! … Or robot.
And the icky part is Boyoung WAS grateful. She said, “THANK YOU.”
It didn’t dawn on him to protest, “No, I should be the one who should thank you.”
There’s a reason why ETIQUETTE requires wedding guests to say, “Best Wishes!” to the bride and “Congratulations!” to the groom. The bride shouldn’t be made to feel like she was the LUCKY one to “nab” the groom, and that she was the one who did all the pursuit to “win” the groom.
Welllll…. when BoYoung said “Thank you” to Dr. Ye, she made herself look she was the lucky one for “winning” his love and attention. To me, she had never looked any more pathetic than she was at that very instant.
I finally watched ep 12. Whew!
At first, I didn’t see anything wrong when he asked her to meet him somewhere, coz that’s natural, right. You designate a place if you want to meet a person. But then, I remembered, HE SAW HER IN THAT BUS STOP. A normal person would ask her if she’s still there, to stay put and pick her up in his CAR.
To me, the whole episode is not romantic at all. I’m not sure if it’s the actor or the writing, but it just looks like Dr. Ye is trying hard to act cool in front of her, but see how she’s having a hard time worrying the entire time that she’ll lose him if it becomes hard on him because of the rumors. It seems like she’s happy to have a boyfriend, but the way she acts is like she finally got her prize (Dr. Ye) but is afraid of losing it. It’s all about the win and not the love. See how she kept thanking him like she’s not worthy. I think, that’s why the relationship could be on thin ice.
Btw, I don’t think Lee Joon Hyuk successfully pulled off the in love tsundere act this episode. It did not look sincere or romantic to me, but it all seemed awkward and phony. I’m not stating it because of the Minho ship. It’s just what I felt, watching the episode. In the first place, I dived into the show because of Lee Joon Hyuk, it’s just that I was sold by the Minho character.
And pm3, you mentioned in one of the post that the second lead kissing the female lead just isn’t done in kdrama, but it happened in Reply 1994 twice.
My love for this show had a moped collision this week. I watched ep12 after my exam for which I had stayed up all night and basically then my brain was turned off. It looked like I was watching another show altogether!
Anyway just wanted to say thank you Packmule3, for very “timely” lifting our spirits up and assuring us of the smooth sailing and good weather ahead.
So robot Ye, he actually reminded me of Tinman from the wizard of Oz. You know who is looking for a heart because he doesn’t not have one..That’s why he was doodling it. I mean he even creaked when he looked up when Dr.Park called him. Then suddenly I was reimagining the characters where Boyoung is Dorothy who wants to go back home go back to being herself, where she can write her poetry. And Minho is Scarecrow who is young and ignorant, who wants brains and then turns out to be the wisest of them all. Pretty sure there is a poem on ‘the path’ also ala the yellow brick road. I don’t know who the Cowardly lion is yet, Namwoo? Daebang?…
Basically this is my coping mechanism while I wait for tomorrow…
Right! Are we back on again? Are we in fighting spirit now? 😂
Usually I don’t paid attention when the guy doesn’t pick up the girl. But since MinHo is so solicitous about BY’s transportation, offering her a ride everywhere (one of the posters even mentioned it), it’s unusual to have the male lead just leave her there at the bus stop and not even offer a ride, THEN instruct her to meet him in another area all by herself WHEN he has the freaking car.
Minho, if you noticed, told her to meet him at the hospital cafe, not an unknown spot.
That struck me as odd because my brothers, husband and sons would never do that. They would NEVER leave a girl alone and unattended at night, and they would drive her home even if it meant going out of their way.
Oh? Chilbongie kissed the girl?? Twice? I must have missed that. I gave up as soon I saw the episode about the package being delivered to the present day husband and a package that the male lead was looking for, in the past. I knew that the package connected the two. And since the male lead’s relationship with the girl grossed me out, I didn’t stick around.
Let’s just say that the male lead and the girl were raised like bro and sis. Puke.
The actor LJH looked uncomfortable doing comedy. I don’t think he’s got the spontaneity or comedic timing to pull off a funny guy. The heart episode should have been funnier if he emoted the character’s discombobulation better.
Gong Yoo can do it. In Goblin, he looked cool, dignified or melancholic in on scene, then quickly changed to goofy or hen-pecked the next. LJH isn’t at that level yet. He can’t even do an “indignant” look properly.
The actress Lee YooBi is a lot better than him.
At least it’s just a moped collision, and not the truck of doom. 😂
I’m relying on your apple and pear (Sorry, Ship!!) sweater, and the homage to the Lala Land dance. 😂 It would be very interesting if Bo-ho’s the endgame bec this meant the writer and director trolled the YeLiners really hard.
And the Daniel tshirt? I think it refers to choding Daniel. She gave Minho a poetry book for choding, didn’t she? 😂😂
I do think the writer and director are trolling hard. This episode, it was Dr Kim, who saying, “I feel like something is missing. What can be missing?” When she realized it was her bra, she scolded herself saying she must be crazy to buy beer without bra. She saw BY afterwards and said that BY must be crazy, too, squealing like that by herself.
And yes, BY was crazy.
Or maybe LJH is actually doing an amazing job because it’s meant to feel forced and awkward? Because Dr Ye’s not really feeling it but trying to make himself feel it. He hoped doodling hearts will make him fall in love, like faking a smile makes you feel happier.
And PM3 are you suggesting that Dr Kim’s comment is a hint to what’s going on? That in Dr Ye/BY’s relationship something is missing as well? A relationship without love is like buying beer without a bra. I can roll with that comparison 🙂
If Yeline is indeed end game I just have to say the writer put more waaayyy more thought and wit into the red herrings than the reality. 😒😒
PS. Did you see the preview?
Is Boyoung hero worshipping the new section chief in EXACTLY the same way she did Dr.Ye, and he catches that?? Again not that previews mean anything…but did these writers just troll Boyoung?!
there is alot of male character who i dislike to be with the lead girl. but their love story still makes sense for other shipper to accept, as they are destined to be together.
like hyeri drama with jisung. i dont like him with her because i love kang min hyuk character. but i know there is spark between jisung and hyeri character.
too bad in this drama i have nothing to feel for dr ye and by.
even if their relationship just a troll from writer, i still be mad. because writer lets the lead girl kiss dr ye two times. and there is no spark between them.
Yes. I thought Kim’s comment was like a … what the literary term again?? An aside ?
It’s like when an actor breaks the “fourth wall” on stage, in a play or a musical, and actually talks to the audience to let the audience know what’s happening or going to happen. Like the witches in Hamlet.
So when Kim was saying “what’s missing here? Where’s my bra? I left the house without my bra?! I’m crazy!!” you could take it to mean that she WAS talking about being a gasp! braless.
Or you could interpret bra to be a metaphor of something else.
Like as you said, love.
What’s missing here? What’s missing in this picture? Where’s the love? We can’t have this relationship without love? You’re crazy!
Or about MinHo.
What’s missing in this episode? Where’s MinHo?! We can’t have this without MinHo. (Seeing Boyoung) ah! She’s one crazy girl.
😂🙄😂
Is she? I only know that she was going googoo-gaga over somebody who was “cool” because he looked professional AND KIND.
And I know the word “kind” can’t be associated with Ye so he’s eliminated.
(But Defcon called MinHo “kind”….)
At this point, Boyoung is trolling herself. 😂🤣
Re the section chief actor, isn’t he that actor in “Strong Woman Do Bong Sun”? That employee who had a “crush” on Park HyunSik’s character?
🤣lovebangwon, you know, I did kiss more than two times (and not the same guyS, mind you) before I married my husband.
But yes, there’s no spark between the two of them. I’m not sure if it’s the character or the actor. He was like that too during the press con. He looked stiff as a board.
I think of him as a vampire. He would suck the life out of BoYoung’s youth. But if that’s what the writer thinks is acceptable romance, then 🤷♀️ (shrug), what can we do but boycott him/her next shows?
Or Boyoung could be trolling herself.
She described the man as cool because he was professional and KIND, so that eliminated Ye. Righteous, yes. Kind? Doubtful.
But if she was indeed referring to Ye as kind, then she’s missing a few screws and there no remedying that in four episodes. 😂
“the section chief actor, isn’t he that actor in “Strong Woman Do Bong Sun”? That employee who had a “crush” on Park HyunSik’s character” Yep, he is 🙂
PM3, did you see this writer’s previous show: Drinking Solo? I quite liked the OTP in large parts of that and thought they were well-matched until ***spoiler*** Noble Idiocy struck hard (because my brother also likes you, I’m now going to dump you… as if that makes any sense whatsoever)- ***end spoiler *** and then I just got bored with them. But the student side characters in that were great and that’s what carried me to the finishing line.
If in this drama the Ye-line sails, I’ll just have to accept that this writer and I are not on the same page with regards to relationships. Her list of dramas seems to indicate she’s been writing for 20 years, so I don’t think her style will change much lol. I can accept that I’m not her core audience 🙂
In another drama, with another focus, I might have been okay with two lonely people settling for one another. But here, in a show about writing and poetry, that would just be all kinds of wrong.
Actually, I can picture a horrible future where they got married, and BY finally picked up her pen again, and Dr Ye would say: can I give you some advice? Stop wasting your time.
The fact that he’s always tying patients down has to be deeply symbolic, hasn’t it?
(sorry, this got a bit long)
Yes Chilbong kissed the girl, once infront of Trash in a game of truth or dare, she’s wasted but she knows what’s happening, and it was a long kiss and not a ppo ppo kiss), second was when he confessed to her, again she didn’t stop him and it was a long kiss.
We might be getting a truck of doom soon. Written preview states that Dr. Ye tries to console MH.
Hahaha. 😈 You’re such an innocent babe, I feel guilty corrupting you.
“The fact that he’s always tying patients down has to be deeply symbolic, hasn’t it?”
Impediment was the last thought that crossed my mind. I was thinking more like 50 Shades version of tying down. 😂😱😈
If I were MH, I’d punch 🤛 him on the nose if he consoled me.
But I can see “kind” MH doing that because he would ask Boyoung “is he the one you really like?” and he would accept it and walk away.
🤦♀️😒🙄
The truck of doom is better than the motorcycle 🏍 of doom.
Pwahahaha. The one with the doppelgänger. He killed that role.
“My brother likes you, so I’m going to dump you”? Gee… only in kdramas.
This is where my ugly Westerner/ugly American bitchy side comes barging in. I won’t tolerate this whole “let’s respect the elder/senior” philosophy. As far as I’m concerned, once I hit 21 (like 40 years ago), I earned my spot to be treated equally, like any adult at the table, when there’s an adult confab going on. None of this “I’ll defer happiness to my hyung or to my unnie” because they just so happened to come out of the birth canal first.
And if I were the girl, and he dumped me because his brother liked me, I’d be furious about that, too. Was I some kind of Amazon package that he could shunt off to somebody? Didn’t I have a say which brother I’d want to live with?
Gee… if this is how this writer thinks and she’s been in the business for 20 years, then nope. she’s definitely a “one and done!” for me. No second chances.
~ Shudders ~ I don’t want to imagine how many young minds she’s INFLUENCED to think in that warped way, too.
Anyway, let’s focus on the bright side. I can imagine Ye saying to his wife:
Can I give you some advice? Out of affection? Please cry somewhere else because you’re ruining my soup.
Can I give you some advice? For good taste? Can you stop using flowers as metaphors, they’re getting too boring.
Can I give you some advice? Please stop hanging out with Dr. Kim. She’s too loud.
Can I give you some advice? Please always put your hair up in a chignon? It’s less messy that way.
Can I give you some advice? Don’t wear gym clothes at home? They’re only for the gym.
Can I give you some advice? Please stop giggling all by yourself.
Can I give you some advice? Don’t spend your money on books.
Can I give you some advice? Keep the baby quiet while I’m working on my lecture.
Can I give you some advice? Please be yourself and act natural with me.
I don’t think this stupid writer even noticed the irony of giving an advice to someone to act natural.
lol. if we talk about real life relationship, then me too. hahahahaha..
even with our taeki who looks paboo infront Deoksun but he also can do serious role like when he play baduk. but still we can feel there is spark between their relationship..
or the nerd se hee (because this is my first life drama) still can makes me feel heart fluttering by his long talk theory before kiss scene..
i think there is problem with dr ye character or the actor doesnt match with this type character.
since i feel minho character more charming and stole the show in my opinion.
Yes. That SeHee guy from Because This is My First Life was something else.
I don’t find the ACTOR attractive at all. He reminds me of a gecko 🦎 and I’m scared of those things. But when he was lecturing his roommate for eating his cat’s expensive tuna, I thought “Heyyyy! He’s good!” He made me sit up and listen to him because he has that commanding presence. He’s really a Male LEAD.
But this actor playing Ye??? 👎 His acting is flat. He’s got more acting experience than the MinHo actor but without speaking lines of his own, he just blends in with the background. Lol. He doesn’t have “presence”.