Blame my twinge of conscience on my Catholic upbringing. Here’s the half-a-point I promised On Being a Couple.

4.5. Eating

If Yulmo wasn’t the second lead, I would fall for his gift-bearing ways in a big way. Hey, I’m the bitch who can be bribed with virtual chocolate chip cookies, right?

So, it’s very sweet of him to bring DongJu those shaved ice concoction and okchundang candies. But they were hilarious fails because both sweet treats went down tummy of Nokdu/Lady Kim.

From Episode 2, the patbingsu:

From Episode 3, the okchungdang:

I would say that Nokdu successfully obstructed (slang word: cockblock) Yulmo’s attempts to woo DongJu with food both times. And he “intercepted” in a rather unobtrusive manner, don’t you think? Yulmo didn’t think to suspect Nokdu of interfering and competing for Dongju’s affection, because he only saw a widow with a voracious appetite.

Meanwhile, Nokdu got DongJu to eat easily.

From Episode 3, the seaweed soup

DongJu didn’t like the soup but she’d rather gulp it down than let Nokdu have her bowl.

From Episode 4, the dumplings

Dongju had no intentions of eating one. She was too busy nagging him about spending too much. Nokdu didn’t ask if she wanted one. He just stuffed it in her mouth.

This is a cat-and-mouse relationship. In this relationship, one person (the designated cat) chases the other (the mouse) as the other person frustrates all attempts of capture. With Nokdu and Dongju, it’s difficult to tell which one is the mouse outwitting the cat because they take turns. Neither of them really intends to harm or overwhelm and gobble up the other person’s distinct personality. Both enjoy the thrill of pushing their partner’s buttons and being the center of his/her attraction.