There it is, written very plainly in the title. Yoo Baek is the “top star,” the leading man in this romcom.

Everybody in the island, except for the second male lead MaDol, calls him Top Star. It intrigues me that the writer must reinforce the idea that he’s the unrivaled “top star” and ensure that the viewers never forget who’s fated to end up with the girl in Episode 11. It’s the leading man, Yoo Baek, of course.

But as of Episode 7, with four more episodes to go, I’m beginning to question HOW our heroine KangSoon can end up with him or WHY he’s even the right man for her. MaDol taunted him by calling him unicorn and, to me, that was a more fitting description of him than “top star.” He was a unicorn through and through.

MaDol obviously meant the unicorn as insult to Yoo Baek’s look. He overheard KangSoon refer to Yoo Baek as a unicorn and misinterpreted it. Thanks to joonminfan for the translation! From Episode 4:

YB: Do you think I’m someone who eats just anything?
KS: Seriously. Then can I ask what this person who is like a unicorn eats?
MD: Unicorn? (looks at the goats in the shed) You look more like a goat.
KS: Haha! Yes yes! They really look alike! (KS laughs too and YB walks back angrily to his room)
MD: WAIT A MINUTE! (walks up to YB) I have something to say to you.
YB: What do you want to say?
YB: What do you want to say?
MD: Whether it’s the arms wrestling contest or other things, you are really… something… I specially asked the boat captain to come and fetch you, and you let him come in vain. One should not break a promise. It’s not gentlemanly.
YB: Regarding this, I will thank the boat captain personally.
MD: But you said you were leaving. Why did you change your mind suddenly?
YB: I just needed to confirm something.
MD: Confirm what?
YB: Are we so close that I have to share this with you?
MD’s mum (shouting from afar): MD ah! There’s a call for you!
MD: OK!!!

But looks wasn’t exactly what Yoo Baek was referring to when he referred to himself as a unicorn. From Ep 3, 43:44. Thanks to @joonminfan for the translation!

The next morning, KS sits outside her secret hideout, looking at the cosmetics. YB walks by and sees her.
YB: What are you doing? Will a Frozen Pollack turn into a Ribbonfish by putting on makeup?
KS: Seriously! Although I don’t use makeup, but nobody has ever said I’m ugly.
YB: You’re right. It’s not an ugly face.
KS: What? What did you say?
YB: Out of 100 people, probably only one person with special preferences for a face like yours will confess to you.
KS: Then how about you, with your face? Out of a hundred people? 100%?
YB: Nope, not one of a hundred. None of them will dare to. They can only look at me, because I’m impossible to reach, impossible to surpass. I’m the Top Star among all Top Stars, the brightest star among all. I’m a STAR.
KS: Seriously.
YB: Don’t you like to fantasize? Just being in the same place with me is like achieving the impossible dream of meeting a unicorn.
KS: Unicorn? Seriously. I would like to break open your skull and see how your brain is wired. You only know how to praise yourself.
YB: Self-praise? Then do you want to confirm for yourself?
YB leaps up to where KS is, places his hand against the wall and leans in really close to her.
KS: What.. what are you doing?
YB: Come, tell me honestly.
KS: Tell you what?
YB: Don’t you think I’m good looking?
KS starts to deny it and looks back at YB, but she is mesmerized by how he is looking at her. She can’t even speak and can only open and close her mouth. YB looks amused.
YB: I got it. (“Chop su”) Your expression has told me everything. (struts away)
KS: Argh! I should have said he is ugly! Why didn’t I say that? (YB looks back at her in amusement)
KS (yelling after YB): YOU ARE UGLY! I should have said that! I’m such an idiot!

In legends and myths, unicorns were believed to have magical powers. Their body parts like their horns and their blood were thought to purify water and cure poison. Also, unicorns were supposedly attracted to purity and innocence so only a virgin could command a unicorn to stay by her side and tame it.

Similarly, with his fame, wealth and vast resources, Yoo Baek had his version of magical powers. He could make flowers bloom in the winter and the nightsky light up with fireworks. KangSoon’s innocence fascinated him and he endured his primitive accommodations in the island to be at her side.

Moreover, like a unicorn, Yoo Baek considered himself a creature of fantasy. A unicorn and a “top star” have this in common: elusiveness. They’re both out-of-reach for a mere girl like KangSoon, and as unattainable as plucking a star from the sky. That’s why he told her, “Just being in the same place with me is like achieving the impossible dream of meeting a unicorn.”

Later on, in Episode 4, he would refer to unicorn again. Thanks again to joonminfan for the translation!

KS: He’s already leaving, and yet still losing his temper! I ought to knock him again on his head before he leaves! (pulls the second sheet away and sees YB. YB stares at her and his bracelet glints in the sunlight)
YB (walking up to KS): OKS. Its you! You were the one who barged into my world.
KS: What? What do you mean?
YB: At first you seemed to have barged in successfully, but I still need to decide whether to kick you out.
KS: What do you mean your world? What do you mean by kick me out? What nonsense are you saying?
YB: Hand
KS (holds out her hand): What’s with my hand?
YB takes it and clamps it over her mouth.
YB: No more questions. You know, it’s an honour for you to have someone like me, who’s as unique as a unicorn, to stay in your house. (points at the jar of sea urchins) You said that’s a present for me right?
YB picks up his present and goes back to his room.
KS: Again! I’ve been fooled again! How dare you compare yourself to a unicorn? BS!

lol. To me, it’s most unfortunate that he used “unicorn” to describe himself because in Episode 7, I can only see the drawbacks of a relationship between a virginal island girl like KangSoon and a unicorn like Yoo Baek.

For one, KangSoon’s simple life in the island is poles apart from his lifestyle as a top star. Given that only four more episodes are left in this romcom, the writer will have to work hard to convince me that KangSoon can fit in Yoo Baek’s scary world where the media hounds him relentless and people will pry and shame her for every social faux pas she makes.

If we were honest with ourselves, we’d acknowledge that the future doesn’t look good for KangSoon in the company of the “unicorn.”

If Yoo Baek himself, a veteran in showbiz, isn’t immune to the stress of living under the cynosure of all eyes, then how can she with her cloistered upbringing survive this newfound world? As a critical viewer, I won’t be satisfied with the writer glossing over their disparate lifestyle and her overwhelming challenges for the sake of a Happily-Ever-After.

For another, Yoo Baek is primarily attracted to KangSoon for her innocence, a unique trait cultivated by her sheltered life in the island. She’s unlike anybody he’s seen before in the city because precisely she’s born and bred in the island.

Since her charm stems from her isolation from the outside world, we can predict what will happen if he transplants her into his frenetic world. If he uproots her from the side of her loving grandmother and her idyllic surroundings, then she will inevitably lose her appealing naivety and purity. Sure, she can “survive” in his manic world, but I highly doubt that she can thrive and flourish far away from everything and everyone that she’s loved and grown up with all her life.

Again, as a critical AND discerning viewer, I won’t be satisfied with the writer giving me that same-old drivel that love conquers everything and that her love and Top Star Yoo Baek’s love will magically erase all the inherent problems of living in the unforgiving entertainment world and living apart from what really sustains us all: family, community, home. The way I see it, this island is intrinsically linked to who she is as a person, and if Yoo Baek truly loves her, he must respect and acknowledge that.

At any rate, I’m too old for outlandish fairy tales…even in my kdramas.  That’s why I want the story to move forward and depart from the island scene. I want to see KangSoon’s perspectives, that is, her needs, her desires, her future and HER FRAME, define and shape the remaining four episodes. Unless Yoo Baek is willing to give up his life in Seoul and move to the island as her husband, it’s her turn now to adapt to his life as a Top Star in the city. She needs to give his life a try before the story ends in Episode 11.

If she can’t hack it, then at least she knows with certainty and FROM EXPERIENCE that living with a unicorn is an impossibility.