Do you remember how I explained Ma Go’s words, “Their fates from a distant past have met. He would have to take care of her so she suffers less” way back in Episode 6?

I wrote that if we followed the SIMPLE train of thought, then we could assume that Ma Gosin was talking about Chansung taking care of Mira. Not Manwol.

That was the general impression created when camera focused on the Captain and Mira as Ma Go narrated, “Their fates from a distant past have met.”  Because the voiceover matched the image at that precise moment, many viewers were led to believe that Chansung was the reincarnated Captain and his ex-girlfriend Mira was the Princess.

Not only that. Because Ma Go told Manwol’s spirit tree that “he would have to take care of her” many viewers also assumed that Ma Go wanted Chansung to take care of Mira. Not Manwol.

I was the one who explained that the popular opinion was a misconception.

I said no. Ma Go was referring to the fates of Manwol and Mira, who were linked because of the relationship with the Captain. Chansung had to take care of Manwol (not Mira) so she wouldn’t suffer so much when she met Mira.

I hate to crow about this, but I was right. In Episode 8, we saw Manwol meeting Mira, and Chansung taking care of Manwol (not Mira who he left in the cold…water). And because he prevented Manwol from harming Mira with a powerful curse, he was able to prevent Manwol from SUFFERING the wrath of the Ma Go sisters. Thus, Chansung fulfilled Ma Go’s prophesy that “Their fates from a distance past have met. He would have to take care of her so she suffers less.”

Now, in Episode 8, we’re given another cryptic moment. Who was Manwol referring to when she said, “Will he come, too?” The Captain or Chansung.

Classy bitch that I am, I tried to be magnanimous and gloss over the suggestion that it was the Captain. I knew 100% that the Captain was wrong. The SCRIPT simply did not support it.

Here again is the dialogue between the Old Woman and Manwol. This time I’m using the subs from Viki to double-check the Kissasian subs I used in the other post.

OW: While you were stuck in your life, (Mira) went through multiple lives and was reborn as a human. You only met her because of your fateful connection from that past life, so just let her pass by.
MW: How could I simply forget about her?
OW: You may have a deep resentment, but, to her, it’s just fate from a past life that she doesn’t remember.
MW: You just want me to leave her alone. That’s why you went as far as having Gu Chan Seong involved between us.

Pay attention to her remark. She believes that CS was called in by Ma Go to prevent her from harming Mira. She thinks that Chansung has been tasked to intervene on Mira’s behalf. She said it PLAINLY when she pushed Mira into the water. She ordered Chansung, “Go take care of that woman! That’s what you have to do.”

She’s enraged because she thinks Chansung had been sent by the gods to take care of THAT WOMAN.

Now, if you pay attention this is EXACTLY the same MISCONCEPTION viewers had when  Ma Go said, “Their fates from a distant past have met. He would have to take care of her so she suffers less.”  The script had planted doubt in both the viewers’ and Manwol’s mind that Chansung is disloyal to Manwol. Viewers misinterpreted Ma Go’s words and assumed that Chansung would protect Mira, instead of Manwol. Now, Manwol also suspects Ma Go of chicanery and believes Chansung is sent to take care of poor, defenseless, helpless, smiling Mira in the event that she bitch-slaps Mira to hell.

Get that? In her mind, Chansung is Mira’s person.

OW: You can never hurt that child.
MW: So that I can leave without a struggle. As per the will of god’s gentle face. I’ll keep myself in the hotel so that you won’t feel uneasy.

She walks over to the car.

MW: Drop me off on your way or you can take me to the Sanzu River.

The Grim Reaper looks at the Old Woman. The Old Woman nods her head almost imperceptibly.

Manwol touches the car door handle and stops, “Will (he) come too?” No answer. Ma Go frowns.

She gets in. The Old Woman muses, “For a flower to blossom, she needs to feel the wind and face the rain, too.”

End.

Now, connect this scene with the scene at the marina. The sight of smiling Mira triggered her paranoia. The gods were out to get her, and they were using Chansung to bring her down. So, in her devious mind, she begins to plot. She’s been ordered not to “hurt” Mira. And in turn, she would stay in her hotel, out of Ma Go’s sight, so she wouldn’t make Ma Go feel uneasy.

That smile should have set off warning bells.

Do you see what she’s planning to do?

She isn’t going to “hurt” Mira but she’s going to make her disappear…in the amusement park. SMILING Mira wouldn’t want to leave the place because Wonderland is the HAPPIEST place on earth. Then, just as she’d promised, she’s going to stay in her hotel, out of Ma Go’s sight. But shhhhh…she’s simply going to move the hotel, out of Ma Go’s sight as well. Ha! Devious, right?

The only hitch in her plan is Chansung. Will he come with her, too?

That’s why she asks the question, “Will he come, too?”

But wait! Don’t be hasty now.  Manwol does NOT want to give Ma Go advance warning of her move. All she wants to know is where Chansung’s REAL loyalties lie. Hence, her vague question.

WE all know that, since that morning at the marina when she first met Mira again, she’s been plagued with doubts about Chansung.  So now, once and for all, before she starts her plan rolling, she wants a confirmation that Chansung is with HER. And she wants to hear the answer straight out of Ma Go’s mouth.

She wants to know:

Is he sent by the gods for her or for Mira? Is he getting involved for her sake or Mira’s? Is he really there to give her beautiful send-off or is he there to entrap her to (in @growing_beautifully’s words) “commit more of the sins that got her into trouble in the first place”? Will he take care of her or rescue Mira? Where exactly is his place in her life?

THAT is the context of the word “come.”

Literally speaking, she doesn’t know whether he’ll come to the Hotel after he’s finished taking care of Mira’s need. Remember: she sent him away to go attend to Mira. Her inquiring mind wants to know: Will he follow her and return to the hotel?

Metaphorically speaking, she doesn’t know whether Changsung will come with her wherever she goes. If Ma Go intended him to take care of Mira, then, obviously, he’s going to stay with Mira. Remember, she’d just quipped, “Drop me off on your way or you can take me to the Sanzu River.” She doesn’t care where she’s going. But her inquiring mind wants to know: Will Chansung come with her wherever she goes?

That’s why she asks, “Will he come, too?”

The word, “come” does NOT mean to “appear” or “show up” as in “Will the Captain appear, too?”  Think about this. Manwol is calculating and plotting her next move. The last thing on her mind is the Captain’s reappearance. She doesn’t give a rat’s ass about him at that moment.

The correct interpretation of the “come” is “to follow,” “to return,” and “to accompany.”

And I’m NOT the one making this shit up. It’s in the darn script…as you shall see.

But Ma Go frowns. She doesn’t respond to her question, “Will he come, too?”

Manwol understands that non-response to mean that Chansung isn’t coming with her. He’s not returning to the hotel. He isn’t following her back. He won’t come for her…because he’s with Mira.

So she returns to the hotel, looking all sad and lonely. lol. If we were to stop and think here with our brains, would it make sense that she’d look depressed when she’d just discovered that the Captain wasn’t coming from Ma Go? Why would she look forlorn? She killed the guy.

She’s depressed because Chansung will not come. But she’s wrong. She doesn’t see that Chansung has come back.

Inside her room, she contemplates Mira’s happy picture. She hears a sound outside and she thinks Chansung has come and calls out his name.

She quickly gets up to greet him but it’s only the housekeeper who’s come with the cart. Her face immediately falls at the sight and she sighs.

See that? Her words earlier, “Will he come, too?” may be ambiguous, but her actions unequivocally show who she wants to come: Chansung.

And the brilliant part about the script is that her anxiety about his coming is MIRRORED by Chansung’s own anxiety about her coming.

Pay attention to the script. Chansung’s conversation with the bartender and the housekeeper ECHOES her question, “Will (she) come, too?”

He’s searched for her in the hotel and he can’t find her.

CS: Do you know where Jang Manwol is?
Housekeeper: The boss didn’t COME back yet. Did something happen outside?

He mentions that she got angry. The housekeeper and bartender reassures him that she’ll go shopping or eat to cool off. But Chansung persists. He wants to know if she’s coming.

CS: If she gets extremely angry, does she disappear and not COME back to this hotel?
Bartender: Boss Jang will have to COME back to the hotel. Even if she runs away, the hotel will FOLLOW.
CS: The hotel will FOLLOW?

They hesitate to tell him the reason but he tells them that he’s come to work permanently at the hotel. The housekeeper reveals Manwol’s terrible secret then.

CS: It’s her punishment to be tied to the hotel. Does the punishment FOLLOW her if she runs away?
Housekeeper: That’s right. Boss JMW can’t get away from this hotel.

She fills him in on Manwol’s curse. In a nutshell:

Her spirit tree = full of grudge = like a curse = Follows her all the time = “Will (it) come, too?”

For Manwol, the tree is something that comes with her wherever she goes. lol. She doesn’t even have to wonder, “Will it come, too?”  It will.

And Chansung understands that she must have been lonely with only that tree constantly at her side for a thousand years. The housekeeper’s final words, “This place is not only a prison but also a fence to Jang ManWol. She’ll be safe if she doesn’t escape” weigh heavily on him.

He waits for her to come home. And he’s given the housekeeper orders to serve her wine. To me, he knows that Manwol will come in search of him when she sees the bottle of wine.

Housekeeper: The manager told me to prepare this for you. He was flustered because you left so suddenly and didn’t COME back.
MW: I went to meet somebody. I had things to think about.
Housekeeper: He was so worried that I had to explain to him that you have no choice but COME back to the hotel.
MW: Is that so? Where’s Gu Chansung right now?

She follows him to the sky bar.

Here’s part of the dialogue in the skybar:

CS: (suddenly changing topic) What were you doing earlier?
MW: What?
CS: What were you doing by yourself after you ditched me? You can’t even spend money on your card.
MW: Do you think I can’t do anything without you or a credit card? I went to a dance party and ate a delicious tuna restaurant.
CS: Dance party-eu?
MW: Yeah, a dance party with amazing dancers.
CS: (crossing his arms in displeasure) You went to such a nice place by yourself and didn’t think of taking me? That’s upsetting.
MW: If you were there, it might have been worth watching.

She says this with irony.

CS: From now on, let’s do fun things together. Watching something or eating is always better if you do it with another person. It looks more beautiful with you here that when I was by myself.

Manwol looks at him.

CS: (turning to her) Whatever you do, remember this: Whether this is your prison or your fence, I will always be here by your side.

Et voilà! Her answer to “Will (he) come, too?”

That’s why I didn’t that the Captain is NOT the answer. He doesn’t figure in her equation.

The script from beginning to end is about Chansung COMING through for her. She doubted his intention, like most viewers (but not us here, of course). She questioned whether he’d follow her. She wondered if he’d return to the hotel. But she didn’t ask him if he’d come with her. He answered her real, unspoken question all on his own.