On a lighter note, Yoona’s dating misadventures with Bellhop are too funny. She has illusionary ideas about imaginary dating a ghost.
1. He “ghosted” her. (Ep 6)
They were becoming close with each other when suddenly he disappeared and stop communicating with her.
2. He didn’t friend-zoned her… he ghost-zoned. (Ep 8)
3. He guilt-tripped (or ghost-tripped) her into staying in school. (Ep 6)
4. For a ghost, he strode out of the room with her in his arms, like a badass. (Ep 7)
5. And of course, what is a ghost love story without an homage to the real “Ghost”? (Ep 6)
lol. This “Ghost” pose is so iconic, the Hong sisters have used this trope multiple times. It’s as if it’s on their bucket list of things to include in a romcom.
Addenda.
One, I’m curious to know how the Bellhop and his family are associated with the Americans at that time.
Two, we’re bitches with trivia.
The name of the piano music the Bellhop played is “The Grandfather’s clock,” a music composed in 1876 by Henry Clay Work. lol. I bet some of you thought he was going to kpop, right? hahaha.
The music starts playing at the 0:50 mark. I thought this version was sweet, a grandfather playing “The Grandfather’s Clock.”
Briefly, it’s about a grandfather’s clock that kept perfect time until the owner, the grandfather, passed away. Then, the clock, just like the grandpa’s heart, stopped ticking. However, if you read the lyrics, the clock stopped working because people forgot to wind it up.
The lyrics from YT.
My grandfather’s clock
Was too large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half
Than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn
Of the day that he was born,
It was always his treasure and pride;But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.In watching its pendulum
Swing to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood
The clock seemed to know,
And share both his grief and his joy.
And it struck twenty-four
When he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.My grandfather said
That of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time,
And had but one desire,
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place,
Not a frown upon its face,
And its hand never hung by its side.But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.It rang an alarm
In the dead of the night,
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit
Was pluming his flight,
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time,
With a soft and muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side.
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.–from a YT poster
I know that melody from my father’s playing it when I was a kid. I thought it was sweetly appropriate for an ‘old-fashioned’ piece that Bellhop could probably have been exposed to as a kid, learning to play the piano. There’s a poignancy, linking that melody to this show and to Bellhop. The melody is melancholy, though Bellhop smiles a lot, they are often smiles over circumstances that cannot be helped. And he is waiting for a melancholy event to take place, so that he can move on. Like the clock that keeps on going until it’s master died, Bellhop was continuing in the world until his sister (real or faux) dies.
Of course if we want to make more of this song, we can say that it reflects one of the overall themes of this show. Just as the clock continues unchanging, rooted to one spot, neither dead nor alive, so too does Man Wol with her tree. Clock continues as longs as it’s wound up once a week. MW continues on to feed her grudges, instead of letting go of the clockwork spring mechanism, to let it come to a halt, in order to move on.
I love your interpretations, @GB. They’re spot on! He’s like the grandfather’s clock, passing time in the hotel and waiting for the little girl (his sister??) to join him. And the grandfather’s clock does fit in well with the themes, as you said.
The music is a perfect choice. I don’t think it was random.
Me? I was looking for clues on who the Bellhop died. I do NOT think he’s the real brother. He must have amnesia when he died.
To me, he looked more like the chauffeur. When he took on the human shape, he looked like a chauffeur than the master’s son, with his uniform and hat.
And then he mentioned in passing that when he was stayed in late in school, the housekeeper (or I’m assuming this was translation error. It should be a butler.) would pick him up. The butler dated the nanny who took care of his sister, and he fought with the chauffeur over the nanny.
Plus, there’s something about the way he spoke English. “Please give me chocolate. Thank you very muchy.”
https://i.imgur.com/eL49F1w.jpg
It sounded a bit servile and rehearsed. I expected the master’s son to speak a bit more arrogantly, confidently.
But lol was there a chauffeur who could play piano, at that time? Hmmm…
If we stick with your scenario of Bellhop not being the real brother, then he might have been the child of the Chauffeur who grew up with the little master and mistress and was afforded the same opportunities to be educated together with them up to a point. At least, he must have been allowed piano lessons. His father might have been allowed to drive him about in the boss’ car from time to time as well.
Other scenario – I was thinking that the sister was not only blind but demented and took the hospital owner as her brother because he had the same name. The latter was willing to play along with this out of compassion.
The scenes with the little girl that he recalled were ones where he took her riding on his bike or piggy-backed her home. It’s sad that he sees her now riding a wheelchair pushed by someone else and walking beside another man whom she calls brother. His dismay made him vanish without a word.
When Chan Sung was professing his loyalty to Man Wol in saying that whether the Hotel was fence or prison, he’d always be with her, she gave him that look, conflicted and resigned, instead of happy acceptance. She was silent, knowing that she planned to vanish without warning and that she’d never give his good intentions a chance.
Re. Manwol’s reaction to Chansung’s skybar declaration
I’m still on the fence. I think she is conflicted. But she’s probably 60% willing to bring him with her.
Had he not seen her curse Mira, she might have kept him in the dark. But since he witnessed it, she then gave him the choice to walk back his declaration and go. She was letting him go. She told him to Run away! Go!
*This moment is why I’m on the fence. If she had been 40% set to give him up after his declaration at the sky bar, then she wouldn’t have this whole conversation with him.
You see, @GB, this Mira Scene is exactly a REPEAT of Episode 1’s Mayor encounter. She too sent Chansung away (get me coffee now!) so she could deal with the Mayor without him seeing her nastiness, her dark side. But he came back too soon and saw her on the ground. She then told him she was giving him a chance to leave him so “Go!”
Both times, she gave him the choice AFTER he’d seen her “catastrophe.” If he hadn’t seen her bad messy evil side, she’d keep him with her. But since he saw this heinous side of her, she wanted him gone. Because SHE hated herself too… if she could run away from herself (the tree, remember?) she would have. She CANT forgive herself, so she thinks somebody as weak-hearted and pure like Chansung will be appalled by her actions, too.
She would have brought him with her to the new hotel had he not witnessed her in her full evilness.
But he didn’t change his mind. He held his ground. He said, “I’m not leaving. Protect me.”
And her brain replayed two things that Chansung told her: that whether the place is fence or a prison, he’d stay with her, and that he wasn’t afraid because he’s got her protecting him.
Seeing him suffer her curse brought home that her REAL curse was waaay bigger and more catastrophic on him.
Her hesitation, or her wavering heart finally became resolved then. In her drawing room, she decided to leave him. She could undo her wicked curse on him. She could protect him from that depression curse, and ghosts and the everyday things. But she couldn’t protect him from this Full Moon curse she had on her. Lol. She couldn’t even free herself from it for a thousand years.
That’s when she decided to leave him. If he wouldn’t go, because he insisted on coming with her, then SHE would be the one to leave him.
🙂