Just because I got caught up with the thriller “theories” of the show doesn’t mean I was blind to how cute Lee Ahn had been in these episodes.

I’ve currently no room for the actor Park JinYoung in my top List of Top 4 Idols-turned-Actors, consisting of Do Kyungsoo of EXO, Siwan of ZE:A, Yoon DoJoon of Highlights/Beast, and Ok Taecyeon of 2PM (Yeah,  I’m aware of criticisms that Taec doesn’t really act but plays “himself” in his roles. — But so does George Clooney).

But perhaps I can temporarily shelve and mothball DoJoon from my list since he’s fulfilling his military service. Let me think about this….

Here are the scenes that had me braying like a donkey (it isn’t the most ladylike sound, by the way) at Lee Ahn’s antics.

1. His sneakiness

When he got upset because Jaein asked for his Hyung’s number and not his.

Jaein: My aunt really wants to treat you out to some food.
Ahn: What about my number? Hyung! Write my number down beneath yours too.

His indignant look was so funny but also his smug look directed at Jaein fter his Hyung followed his request.

2. The aegyo

I understand the appeal of his aegyo. For instance, he waved her goodbye with unrestrained enthusiasm.

Then, even with grimy face and a tissue up his nose, he looked cute when he greeted her. It was obvious that he liked her from the way he lit up whenever he saw her. She was like the best thing that he’d ever seen…or the puppy he wanted when he was kid. Naturally, if you were Jaein, you’d feel flattered by his cheerful attention.

Best of all, his aegyo was infectious. In Episode 6, when he waved goodbye with such aegyo, she couldn’t resist waving back at him.

Too bad, Lee Ahn didn’t even wait to watch her wave back at him.

She looked disappointed that he missed her goodbye and that she was too slow to return his wave.

Even when he was saying things that induced eye-rolling from Jaein, his aegyo would get him off the hook.

When it came to aegyo in this kdrama, the guy was more at ease openly showing charm than the girl.

3. Those suction lips

Gosh! My stomach hurt from laughing so much at those lips. Anybody would be repulsed, too, if he tried to kiss her with those fish lips.

4. The skinship

First, there were his quick-action back-saves. I like how he caught her without hands.  He’s literally got her back.

His first concern was, of course, if she was okay. Then, he read the ahjumma the riot act.

Then, in Episode 6, he saved her again with his back. Despite being in pain, he pretended  that he wasn’t hurting. He didn’t even yelp.

Of course, he was trying to “man up”. It could be said that she brought out the best in him because she made him behave and think maturely.

With his Hyung, he got away with whining and badgering.

But there was one skinship that both Jaein and Lee Ahn didn’t even notice. In Episode 6, Lee Ahn was surprised by the student and he hid behind Jaein’s back.

The weird thing here is the director must have taken a couple of attempts to film this scene because in one angle, Lee Ahn’s hand wasn’t resting on Jaein’s shoulder.

5. The time with the kid

This isn’t an LOL moment but an “Awwww” moment.

I like this moment because she was looking proudly at him. It’s hard to play Jaein’s character because, while she’s supposed to be a know-it-all, bossy-boots, she’s also falling in love with an intellectually inferior Lee Ahn. So occasions like this when she could exhibit some admiration and pride for Lee Ahn would make her affection for him more credible.

6. He’s got pride.

He didn’t like it that she requested time to think about helping him with his psychometry skills so HE too said he needed time to think about their working together.

Of course, he was trying to show her that he wasn’t at all affected or hurt that she didn’t jump at the chance to spend time with him. But the fact that he had to feign nonchalance was amusing.

7. The manchild

A manchild, as the name implies, is an immature man. The attraction of a manchild like Lee Ahn to a bossy-boots like Jaein is understandable. While she was taken aback at his antics, cheekiness, and aegyo, she was also impressed with his kindness and occasional coolness.

She knows he’s a good person at heart and she thinks she could easily train him. That’s what she meant when she joked to “wipe him down and keep oiling him.”

8. Waiting for Lee Ahn

I like this scene when she waited for him to show up at her police station/security station after office hours. They had already spent that afternoon talking about whether she should take on the “project” that his Hyung had asked her too or not. But despite all that time together, she was still expecting him to show up after her work hours to talk to her some more.

When her friend asked her, “Are you waiting for somebody?” she denied it, replying “Ani.” We know that “Ani” is the casual way of saying “aniyo.” 

However, “ani” also sounded as if she was saying Lee Ahn’s name with the diminutive suffix “ie” added to it. When the suffix “ie” is attached to a name, it shows affection and closeness, like “Taek” is “Taekie” or “Jonghyun” is “Jonghyunnie” to people who are dear to them.

Jaein really couldn’t protest too much because she was indeed waiting for him. She changed topic instead. hahaha.

9. The curtain burrito

For me, this was hands-down THE cutest moment in Episode 6.

Although I do find it weird and highly unlikely that Lee Ahn would prank Daebong by wrapping him in the curtain, this moment was nevertheless cute.

It was cute because we understood the double meaning. “What took you so long? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you?” was exactly the kind of thing a lover would say to his beloved whom he’d been waiting for for ages. And in this kdrama, Lee Ahn had certainly been waiting for Jaein to give him a response. He’d already been waiting for her to come asking for his help for two years.

Again, Lee Ahn’s face when he realized who it was wrapped in the curtain was amusing.

10. The handshake

This is sweet: he accommodated her refusal to shake hands with him by pulling down his sleeves.

Despite Lee Ahn acting like a petty manchild, there were admirable times when he stepped up to the plate. Take for instance this scene Ep 5 when he told Jaein that he’d do what must be done.

Jaein: Even if we have a million reasons to do it, I have no clue how to help you improve or why Prosecutor Kang wants me to help.
Ahn: If you were me, what would you investigate? Think about that. I’ll do what must be done.

I like this scene because it tied up nicely to Episode 1 when he admitted to his Unnie Jisoo that the famous maxim “with great power comes great responsibility” mystified him.

But now with Jaein, he finally understood that he could use his power to help others. He wouldn’t hesitate to do what needed to be done.

He didn’t mind that Jaein agreed to help him for her “selfish reasons”.

Jaein: Come to the Security Center when you’re better and in the meantime, I’ll think about how to help you improve.
Ahn: Yoon Jaein.
Jaein: Don’t thank me, even if you want to. It’s not for you, I’m doing this purely for me.
Ahn: I don’t care. I’m doing this for you, too.

I seldom see a kdrama where the girl is the “tsundere” one and the guy is the cutie-pie in the relationship. The role-reversal is refreshing.

11. His crush on Jaein

Normally kdrama viewers get the point-of-view of the girl fangirling over her crush so it’s fun to watch Lee Ahn remember their encounter, like a fanboy.

He envisioned Jaein’s startled reactions and he giddily wrapped himself in the curtain.

12. Visiting her at the security center

Jaein told him to drop by at the station as soon as he was able. So sure enough, he went straight to her workplace the second that he discharged himself from the hospital,

And he burst into her work place with the most seductive pose ever (not!).

13. His naivete and trusting nature

He saw the rice cakes she made for him and he was touched.

His “thank you” was heartfelt.

Too bad, he didn’t expect her to start his psychometric education on his first day out of the hospital. His facial reactions as he tried the mustard-filled rice cake and the fish sauce drink (this prank reminds me of 2D1N! Sniff!) were priceless.

But what me really rolling in laughter was his comment. It was spot on!

The actor said it was the right combination of indignation, ridicule, and disbelief. “Yah! What do you want from me? Did you expect that I’d be reading Africans picking coffee beans if I touched this or what?”

Lee Ahn was right, you know. It was 100% insane to expect him to see “Africans picking coffee beans”.

14. The 10,000-hour Rule

She said the rule as it relates to his psychometric skills. She calculated, “In order to become an expert in one field, you’ve got to invest 10,000 hours of effort. It could be for love. It could be for work. Either way, 10,000 hours of effort can make you an expert in any related field….It takes 10 years, investing 3 hours a day, 5 years for 5 hours a day, and 3 years for 10 hours a day. Say you invest 24 hours solely in your goal, it still will take 416.6667 days.

Ahn mocked her for bragging, “Does rounding it off to 417 days make you seem less smart?”

To me, there are two reasons why this rule doesn’t apply to Lee Ahn.

First, anybody who read the book where this rule originated from, “Outliers: The Story of Success,” would know that the author Malcolm Gladwell was talking specifically about outliers — or people outside the norms.  He proposed that a good athlete or violinist could become the Greatest Of All Time or GOAT if she/he was to practice 10,000 hours.

However, Lee Ahn is already an outlier. His special skill made him an outlier. He didn’t need to practice 10,000 hours; he simply needed to cultivate, advance, and hone his abilities day by day.  What he needed from her is guidance and perspective.

For instance, the most profound thing he learned from their trip to the library wasn’t to be found in the books. It was her advice to him not to use dead people to test his abilities on.

lol. However, Jaini’s big character flaw was that she didn’t follow her own advice. She told Lee Ahn not to use people as “tools” but look at how she referred to Lee Ahn after their session in the autopsy.

 

A machine. To her, Lee Ahn was a tool that she could use to get to Special Victims Unit.

Lee Ahn knew it but he didn’t mind.

In fact, between the two of them, Lee Ahn was the one solely curious about the dead person without ulterior motive. “Who this person is. Why they had to be lying here. Let’s find out. Together.”

Second, the 10,000-hour rule doesn’t apply to Lee Ahn because the ultimate goal or the endgame of his psychometric skills is HER. He’s training in order to help HER. He didn’t want to become the best for personal reason. He only wanted to do psychometry well enough to help her and his Hyung. And it’s constant exposure to Jaein not the time studying it, that would make him better.

15. The post-it note

The yellow sticky notes were the proof that Lee Ahn didn’t require 10,000 hours to learn psychometry. He only needed to be attuned to Jaein.

I thought he wasn’t aware that he had post-it notes all over him because he ran outside the library to take his Unnie’s call, without a care that they were falling off.

But he cared enough to catch the very last sticky note hanging on him.

But the real reason I laughed at this moment was because I thought it was fitting. For so long, she’d been at the back of his mind (literally, like the post-it note was on the back of his head), that not only was he keenly aware of her sticky-note detaching from his hair, but he could also catch it before it fell to the ground (just like he saved her a couple of times from hitting the ground).

In short, he got her. He got her back.