I got it.
I’d been scratching my head over tvN’s rationale for another husband-hunting kdrama. Did the producers just want to start another tiresome Fan Armageddon ala Reply series which will then raise viewership? How unscrupulous!
But now after watching four episodes, I think I found the whole point of the show.
The show is rehashing the same old argument between life partners vs soulmates. Remember “You’re Beautiful” with that whole love triangle involving the tomboyish girl, the mean guy and the caring guy? lol. This “Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter” is the fairy tale version.
To me, this whole kdrama makes sense – and becomes more palatable to viewers averse to fanwars – if we view the Fairy’s conflict as her attempts to determine whether it’s better to be with her life partner (literally, a HUMAN life partner) or her soul mate (an eternal being like her).
As I’d written earlier, from the onset, the kdrama pushed hard to establish the Professor as the reincarnated husband. I cited four instances back then: his sleeplessness due to nightmares, his urination, the cat’s name, and the vision he had of the Old Woman as a real Fairy.
Here’s the link for your review.
And now, to add to this list, we have seen more evidences from Episodes 3 and 4 that he’s the reincarnation of the human husband.
1. He recognizes the tiger as his daughter.
This convinces me that he is the father. Unlike Geum who relates to the cat because he’s naturally empathetic, YH relates to the tiger through his PERSONAL memories of her. He remembers its name, JeomSoon, because as the father, he would have named his own child. He scolds it for drinking his coffee because as the father, he probably disciplined his own child in the previous life. Now, he apologizes to it for not being there when it grew up because he disappeared and died early in his previous lifetime leaving his child an orphan. This kind of sadness and regret CANNOT be duplicated by Geum, even if he’s an empath, because he isn’t the father. All Geum can offer is kindness but he doesn’t have the memories.
2. He gets angry whenever he hears the Fairy being bandied about as a demented person.
This is a very human reaction. We don’t want to hear gossips about our family members and we try to stop it by a) deflecting, b) counter-arguing c) changing behavior that’s causing talk, or d) suing the heck outta the rumormongers.
In contrast, Geum doesn’t see anything wrong with this. He receives gossips like this with equanimity. To me, his response to malicious rumors isn’t visceral because a) he’s been there himself. He understands how it is to be unlike other people, and he accepts her “oddity” as he accepts his, b) as the Fairy herself said, why should they mind how other people perceive them when they are being true to their selves?
3. His daydreams/nightmares are his repressed memories of his former life.
He saw her as a fairy because he had the same vision of her in his dream.
And that butterfly charm ornament (is it some sort of norigae?) is also something he dreamt of before in Episode 1.
However, while the Prof YH possesses the memories of a reincarnated husband, it’s hard to ignore that Assistant Geum fits the IDEAL of a loving husband better. He acts more loving and devoted to the Fairy than Prof ever has.
The only thing that disqualifies him as the woodcutter is that he matches perfectly the description of an immortal that the Fairy said in her voice-over.
from Dramabeans:
“Immortals serve deities in nature. They go with the flow of the universe, connect the deities with humans, and create harmony between the corporeal and incorporeal. They sometimes live in the fairy realm and sometimes in this realm with people. They have no greed for fortune. They’re free of desire for money, power, and honor. Instead of being swayed by the illusions of the visible world, they see the truths inside. They live around people without anyone knowing. Some of them aren’t aware of their true identities as they exist in this realm.”
We know that this description does NOT at all fit the Prof. For one, he’s very much aware of his academic reputation (e.g., doesn’t want to do the interview because the show’s lightweight). For another, he’s money-conscious (e.g., he doesn’t want to end up paying for the bill at the restaurant again).
Also, he resists seeing the inner truths when he relies on science and logic to explain the unexplained. The Fairy rebuked him for precisely this “blindness” at their encounter at the Moon Lantern Festival. She said, “For you, what you can see with your own eyes is all there is. How shameful.”
On the other hand, Geum measures up to the characteristics of an immortal.
Let’s put it this way: If in the fairy-realm world, she had a husband, then Geum would have been perfect for her.
They can both talk to plants and animals. He’s gentle with her. He’s kind to her daughter, JeongSoom. Like the Fairy, he has magic powers that can crack open the egg. Having lived in the mountains with his mother, he’s used to the Old World beliefs in the supernatural. The Fairy’s superpowers don’t faze him. They’re both “old souls.”
To me, he’s her SOULMATE.
That’s why he was instantly attracted to the Fairy when he saw her at the festival whereas the Prof YH stopped her to question her about her transformation from old woman into a young woman. He intuitively understood the Fairy’s embarrassment at being seen bathing and he apologize to her sincerely.
Also, he looked out for her welfare and made sure that her needs were met, like having a place to sleep and needing night clothes. When people mocked her oddity, he bought his own rose hair ornament to match her. He didn’t mind that he walked with couple flowers in their hair. In contrast, YH scoffed at the idea of wearing couple items at their age.
I could see Geum supporting the Fairy’s anachronistic lifestyle. He wouldn’t have been offended, like the Prof YH was, if he had been given a gourd as a coffee mug. And he would have worn the embroidered tshirt that the Fairy made for Prof YH. He wasn’t fastidious with clothing, remember? He had to be reminded by his fellow research assistant to vary his shirts.
lol. Yes, it takes a special kind of guy to wear this embroidered shirt. 
So, there you go.
I think this is the twist that the kdrama has put into the original source material. It adds depth to the comic strip and it gives the kdrama writer artistic license to recreate the story as she/he deems appropriate.
On one hand, there’s the Assistant Geum who acts like the Fairy’s soulmate. They complement each other like peanut butter and jelly, knives and forks, and hugs and kisses. But on the other hand, there’s the Professor who’s very much human (like the woodcutter) in his interaction with the Fairy. More importantly, despite his denials, he’s the one, not Geum, who retains the memories of the dead husband.
To me then, the deciding factor for the Happily Ever After ending is the Fairy’s happiness. With whom will she be happy? Right now, the identity of the husband she’ll choose to live with for the rest of her existence here on earth (or in the afterworld) is still up in the air.