Subbers are human so I don’t blame them when they occasionally flub the translation, especially in a Hong sisters kdrama. The ambiguity is purposely built into the script.

So, I’ll try to explain the ending of Episode 5.

This is the Viki sub (at 97%) of the dialogue between Manwol and Chansung after the wannabe-bride’s send-off.

CS: When I saw guests off at the old hotel, I felt proud. Here, I feel lonely.
MW: Because you’ll never see them again. Gu Chanseong… you did well. God picked very well. You are deserving.
CS: You know that I met her? I told you to take good care of yourself so that you can have leaves and flowers, too.
MW: You…you keep seeing me in your dreams, right?

Dream sequence. (I’ll explain this in a bit)

CS: Yes.
MW: Look carefully and take care. Try to send them off well…as God wishes. I will be your last guest. Because you please me. Gu Chan Seong…Don’t feel lonely when you send me off.

Now, this is the Kissasian sub.

CS: At the previous hotel, I felt proud to see the customers off. But I feel lonely here.
MW: That’s because you won’t ever see them again. Gu Chan Sung. You’re doing a good job. Ma Go did well by choosing you. You deserve the love you get.
CS: Did you know I met with her? She told me to take good care of you so that leaves will grow and flowers will bloom.
MW: You…Do you still see me in your dreams?

Dream sequence.

CS: Yes.
MW: Keep on taking good care of me in your dreams, then…try to see me off. That’s what Ma Go wants. I’ll become your last customer because I like you. (pause) Gu Chansung, when you see me off, don’t feel lonely.

If you notice, there are two places where there’s a difference in the subs. The difference changes the direction of the plot.  The first one is Chansung’s statement after eliciting surprise that Manwol knew of his meeting with Ma Go. And the second one is Manwol’s response when she found out that he was still dreaming of her.

Now, as y’all know, I’m not Korean but this is my Bitch Blog. (“This is my party and I’ll whine if I want to” and all that.) I’ll write about MY understanding of what was said between Chansung and Manwol. I looked at both subs, picked the one that made the most sense, and interpreted the parts which didn’t make sense.

Here we go. My Bitch take. 

CS: At the previous hotel, I felt proud to see the guests off. But I feel lonely here.
MW: That’s because you won’t ever see them again. Gu Chan Sung. You’re doing a good job. Ma Go did well to choose you. You deserve it. (meaning he deserves to be chosen.)

CS is surprised that she found out about his accidental meeting with Ma Go on the train.

CS: Did you discover that I met her? She told me to take good care of you so that leaves would grow and flowers would bloom.

Actually, the Old Woman confided in him that she planted the tree but it had been wayward. “It was just nastily standing there. You should look after it for me.” Note: the Old Woman considers the tree as Manwol’s spirit-tree. Manager Noh said the same thing. It’s her tree.

MW: You… do you still see me in your dreams?

At the word “dreams,” he’s suddenly transported to her dreamworld. I’m beginning to think that the word “dream” is a trigger word to activate some sort of self-induced hypnosis so he can enter her world. He doesn’t need to sleep and dream. He can conjure the dream anytime by saying “dream” – kinda like daydreaming, right?

Anyhow…

In his dream, she’s wearing a Chinese bridal outfit, waiting in a room and facing a gauze-covered doorway. Note: Her face is unveiled. I take this to mean that she is unafraid to show that her face is bruised up. She probably wants the other person to see her face before she kills him. Kinda cold-blooded of her, if you ask me.

Blood trickles from her finger and splatters on the floor. Of course, it’s possible that she’s injured and bleeding inside but to me, the image of blood on her hands is symbolic. It means that she has caused the death of someone. To have blood your hand = to be responsible for death or injury

She’s teary-eyed but she glares at the doorway. Then, a man pushes apart the curtain at the doorway. Only his hand is visible. Meanwhile, her hand slides to the sword’s hilt tucked under her gown. I don’t think the man anticipates her to attack him.

From this brief vision, Chansung knows that she intended to kill. By now, he must have suspected that this is the evil deed that Manwol is being punished for. He must have also realized that this vision is part of her “unresolved feelings” which he was tasked to solve and deal with.

(I’ll post pics here when I get home tonight.)

CS: Yes.
MW: Examine my dreams well. And tend to me carefully so you can send me off to the afterworld well. That’s what Ma Go wants.

That’s true. In Episode 4, Ma Go had told her, “When the leaves sprout, the flowers bloom and wither, the time between life and death will flow again. Shouldn’t you also leave prettily like this (looking at the flowers at the foot of the tree)?” That time, Manwol replied, “I don’t have anything so colorful to leave behind.”

To Manwol, send her off well = prettily, colorfully, gaily, lovely (with perhaps the emphasis on LOVE, lol)

It’s also noteworthy that she no longer resents that he can see her in his dreams. She’s allowing him to pry into her affairs. She wants him to see her clearly.

MW: (continuing) I’ll become your last customer because I like you. (pause) Gu Chansung, when you see me off, don’t feel lonely.

There’s dramatic irony here.

When she says that she’ll be his LAST guest, she actually means that she’s his FIRST and primary reason for being there. She’s only “last” in sequence but she’s “first” in priority.  Moreover, when she says, “don’t be lonely” I think she secretly wants him to miss her. She doesn’t want to be forgotten.

But calm your hearts! When she says “I like you,” I think there’s a double meaning there. She CAN be saying that she likes LIKES him, like, romantically like him. (hahaha. see what I did there?) But she can also be saying that she likes or approves of the manner he attends to business.

Get it? Does that make more sense?

That’s it for now. Don’t get mad at the subbers. Consult at least two different sites. Three sites if you count recapping sites too. Dramamilk does a good job. (cough. I wasn’t paid to say that, okay?) Dramabeans? It’s spotty. Depends on who does the write-up. (I have my favorites but sniff…they seem to be writing less frequently or they went AWOL.)

Remember: the ambiguity is intentional.

************************

I’ll give you my take on the significance of King ghost tomorrow. It’s NOT all meta, you know.  🙂

The write-up on “Go Go Squid” Ep 8 is next. I can write on the flight, provided that nobody’s looking over my shoulder and reading my screen.

I haven’t decided whether to review Rookie Historian. The male lead’s face is giving me “heart-flutters” but his facial expression is giving me angina. Plus, the heroine is the Meghan Markle of dramaland. So much virtue-signaling, I want to flip her the birdie…errr…raise the pinkie while sipping tea.

Ciao!