I’m consolidating here the comments @Growing_Beautifully and I have written back-and-forth on the Bellhop. I dislike having to search all over the place for them

@GB said:

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.

I answered:

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.”

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…

@GB’s reply:

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.

Your second scenario, the one with the sister having dementia and the hospital founder playing along with being the “oraboni,” was also my first impression. But I changed my mind since.

As a founder of the hospital, Ji Hyun Joong, his family members and his associates will be given special treatment in the hospital. If the granny is a fake sister, that is, he’s only attending to her out of the goodness of his heart, then there are less time-consuming ways to show compassion and care. Like, hire somebody else to pretend to be the brother. He doesn’t have to be physically there because, on the strength of his name alone, the fake sister/granny can be given the best care. To me, the fact that he’s there at her side means their time together is precious and their relationship is real.

But then, if the grandpa Ji Hyung Joong is the real one, and that is his sister, then who’s this Bellhop?

You’re right, @GB.

The Bellhop seemed to have been educated well, like the master’s son. He knows English (although there’s something unctuous about it when he spoke to Manwol). He knows idioms like to be born with a silver spoon (not golden spoon), He knows to spell “onion.” He remembers how to play the piano.

But one thing I find peculiar about the Bellhop is he remembered the detail about staying late in school, and the BUTLER picking him up, and the butler fighting the chauffeur over the nanny who took care of his sister. From Ep 6.

Yuna: School isn’t fun.
Bellhop: Why isn’t school fun? When I went to school is was really fund. Study, work out…Because I stayed late at school, the housekeeper (I think he meant the butler) often came to fetch me and take me home.
Yuna: The housekeeper?
Bellhop: (smiling) He lived in the employees’ house (or servant’s quarters). He dated the nanny who took care of my sister. And he always fought with my dad’s chauffeur.

That is so odd, considering in his flashback, his hat looks like a chauffeur’s hat. lol.

From Episode 6

He was definitely called, “Young Master.”

It reminded me of the blind ghost who remembered the baker’s touch. She didn’t remember being killed by the baker in a hit-and-run accident. She only remembered the good thing about the baker, instead of the bad. On her send-off, Chansung said, “That’s probably because of the kind of person you were. You were probably the kind of person who always tried to remember happy memories no matter how small they were, rather than the great tragedies.”

This description of a good person fits the Bellhop, too. He seems to be the type to remember happy memories instead of bad.

Then, in Episode 3, he “transported” Chansung back to the hotel. lol. Like a chauffeur.

He seemed happy to be in somebody else’s body.

He even begged to say in it for a little while so he could go out a bit more, “While I’m in a human form, can I go outside for a little bit more?”

He didn’t want to come out.

He only came out once he got a good smack on the head.

lol. That’s why I like your theory that the Bellhop could have been the Chauffeur’s son. That works, too.

The other thing we know about the Bellhop is that he appeared at Manwol’s place as soon we heard a plane crash. We assumed that he died in it. But his face wasn’t mangled and his body was intact (i.e., no severed limbs).

There wasn’t any sign of blunt force trauma. His blood splatters were “too” clean. He didn’t look he died from a plane crash. But a wound was visible on his chest, as if he’d been stabbed.

He was wearing a uniform though so we assumed that he was pilot of the plane that had just crashed.

The Bellhop recounted this shortened version of his life to Chansung (Ep 3 at 36:59 mark). He said he died during the Korean War. And at that time, the hotel was called the House of the Full Moon and things were difficult here. He ended with, “I’m still staying here waiting to leave together with my younger sister.”

The bartender then said, “If you dig deeper, we’ll have more complicated stories.”

To me, it’s also possible that he is the original Ji Hyung Joong. But because he died during wartime, and there were many casualties, his body could have slipped through the cracks and been misidentified. He was the real Ji Hyung Joong but, after his death, somebody claimed to be him.

I suggested this earlier.

Anyway, the Bellhop seemed to avoid his own complicated story. He disappeared from Yuna’s side after Yuna informed that he and the founder had the same name, and the founder turned his head to look at who’s calling him.

This told me that he was avoiding an encounter with Ji Hyung Joong. It also reminded me of what he’d told Chansung in Episode 7.

Bellhop: It wouldn’t have changed anything even if you’d arrived earlier. What could you do about God’s decision
CS: Everyone here, is it possible that you end up like that?
Bellhop: Ceasing? (nods head) Yes. We’re spirits, too. If we stay on earth when we should go to the afterlife, there’s danger to end up like that.
CS: It’s dangerous. Why are you still here? Did you die with sorrow and pain like that guest? Is everyone who’s been here for long like that? Scholar Kim and Mrs. Choi, too?
Bellhop: (nods) Yes, but still, because going back would be risky for us, we don’t cause trouble or hurt anyone. Don’t worry.

He knew the risks involved in staying outside and he wanted to avoid causing trouble.