If a guy like WonDeuk was holding out his arms to you like this, what would you do?
a. hug him
b. sink into his arms
c. wrap your arms around his neck
d. snuggle and giggle
e. burrow your head in his shoulder
f. all of the above, duh!
I must say that cheap thrills in kdramas such as this scene brighten my day. I liked that he teased her gently. I didn’t think he meant to complain about his uneven sleeves until she looked hesitantly at his open arms. I think he was expecting an embrace but her pause and uncertainty made him change tactics.
I liked that he told her, “HongShim. It’s not that I don’t understand you. Since I was away for four days, you must have missed me a lot. I know you want to see me, touch me, talk to me, and be with me, but if you don’t plan on sleeping here, I think you should return to your room.”
And I like the way he motioned to the door with his eyes.
It’s vastly differently from what he told CPrincess in Episode 2 when she went to visit his room to ask him to consummate their marriage. That time, he told her, “It must have been so difficult to bring yourself to say this. But it’s a shame. My heart won’t let my body do anything with you.”
It was obvious that both the women wanted to stay with him but his reaction to them was different.
With HongShim, he humored her. Because she was innocent (lol in kdramas, innocence is mandatory), she wasn’t aware that she was behaving unusually excited and jittery. She was oblivious to her nervous chatter and she didn’t realize quickly enough the implication of lingering in his room.
But WonDeuk understood and so he hinted at it in a formal and roundabout way in order to minimize her embarrassment. I thought his euphemism was sweeter than the French version, “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”
In contrast to HongShim, the CPrincess had entered his room with a set mission to accomplish. She bluntly informed him of her objective (i.e., create an heir) for that night, and naturally, WonDeuk was disgusted.
He might have used a formal language, but there was no concealing the insult behind his words. For him, there was only one correct answer: Heck, no! And seductively touching her lips when he knew he was going to dismiss her anyway, was cruel and degrading. He could have flick a finger toward the door to signal her to leave or motion with his eyes like he had done with HongShim.
If he could reject his wife, the CPrincess like that, then it was clear to everyone within earshot, (that is, the CP, the CPrincess, the spies, and the court stenographer, lol.) that this relationship was beyond redeemable.
So, yes, WonDeuk pretended to return home to make good on a promise he made to MukGoo (instead of her), threatened to take a bath together with her, and chided her for her imperfect sewing, but to us, he was teasing her out of affection. In kdramas, these moments are swoon-worthy.
All of the above of course 🙂 And there’s no way I would have left the room. It’s not because it’s “a guy like WonDeuk”, that would be and has been me with any guy I’m seriously interested in.
I mean WonDeuk’s words seem to say go but he’s really inviting her to stay if she wants to. He’s just making her aware that she must choose it actively not just linger there.
Anyway, I find all the wasted time people that end up together anyway use to get there very frustrating. I mean.. this is peanuts but all those 1,2,3/whatever years separation that dramas love to throw at us drive me insane. Life’s too short to waste all that precious time stupidly like that
You’re right of course!
He didn’t want her to go; he wanted her to stay but he also wanted her to make the decision to stay, knowing that it would mean their honeymoon or “initiation” if she did stay around.
But just like in kdramas, she surmised incorrectly that he wanted her to leave.
Justin Bieber’s catchy song “What do you mean?” would have been an appropriate background music here.
Really, if a girl was interested in a guy and a guy opens his arms wide like that, she should look at him like he was the Best Christmas Present she’d ever set her eyes on and begin UNWRAPPING him. Take off his top, then help him with his pants, then his underpants. Lol.
And I agree with you. Those 2, 3 year separation periods bugged me, too. But from what (very little) I understand of Korean culture, this trope conforms with their expectations of atonement whenever a misdeed is done. The wrongdoers and offenders are expected to lay low for a couple of years, REFLECT on their errors and become better persons. In kdramas, the separation signals a reboot or restart of the couple’s relationship with their “better” and improved selves.
I think in the western world, this trope appears like a waste of time because our concept of atonement and forgiveness is different.
For me, at least, when somebody does me wrong, I expect him to apologize quickly. When I forgive him, I’m ready to “let bygones be bygones” and start all over again. I don’t expect that person to exile himself in guilt or to avoid all encounters with me out of shame or to rehab himself for an indefinite period of time.
Because as you said, time is too short. We’re human and we’re bound to make mistakes. If every time we make a mental lapse in judgment, we have to sit out on timeout chairs or in penalty box, then we have less time to simply live and learn. 🙂