First part is here: Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency Ep 8, part 1

Let’s continue with the questions.

4. Isn’t Gaedong the worst female character out there? Whiny, naggy, and flirtatious? Why does she keep kissing Ma Hoon? And I just hate how the writer and director destroyed my favorite actress.

Nope. I disagree with that last statement.

It’s the actress who destroyed the character.

Gaedong is supposed to be this impish, perky, can-do-anything, spunky, irrepressibly cheerful, diamond-in-rough, tomboy.

Somebody like Kim Saeron, or Kim SoHyun (who’s perfect in “Tale of Nokdu”), a younger Park Bo Young or a younger Suzy (whose character is cringe-y in “Vagabond” but whose charms fit this one better) would have done well.

Instead, we get Gong Seung Yeon who’s suitable for prim-and- proper roles. She has brown eyes – which are her claim to fame, I know – but she C.A.N.N.O.T. do aegyo.

That’s why it’s easy for viewers, like me, to be annoyed with her character, Gaedong.

They can’t empathize with Gaedong because the way Gong Seung Yeon depicts her is unlikeable.  Compare her with Suzy’s character, Haeri. Haeri is detestably incompetent but since she’s an expert with this “aegyo” thing, most viewers, especially her fanbase, don’t think Haeri is stupid doing her best interpretation of a dumb blonde in the kdrama. (I’m blonde by the way.)

To me, the reason that Gaedong acts “annoying” is because she likes Hoon more than Lee Soo, but she BELIEVES she has to be faithful to Soo.

Remember: the theme of this episode is “A Love that Cannot be Realized: Magic Lily.”  She was beginning to fall in love with Hoon but her feelings “cannot be realized” because she’s engaged to Soo. Practically the whole episode showed her dithering around, and THAT annoyed me because I prefer heroines who are self-aware and decisive. Gaedong couldn’t see that she was conflicted between her new feelings and her old loyalties.

The word “wavering” would be most appropriate for her.  

So, I’m glad that she had that conversation with Lady Im, at the 45:15 mark or 3/4ths of the show so she could make sense of her dithering.

Like Hoon, she was daydreaming about their kiss or “accident.”  Lady Im walked in on her and she confided in her. I thought that was a nice scene because Gaedong needed a mother-figure in her life, and Lady Im must be used to such girlish confidences as she has a daughter.

Im: Are you worried about something?
GD: Among our customers, there’s someone who is waiting for her fiancé who’s faraway.

Notice how she’s looking straight at Lady Im here because her attention is on Lady Im.

GD: (continuing) But there’s another man who may be prickly but who takes care of her, and she keeps on thinking about him.

Now, notice that as soon as she begins talking about Hoon, she gazes far away. That’s to indicate that she’s seeing a mental picture of Hoon and remembering his actions. She isn’t “seeing” Soo anymore.

GD: (continuing) She keeps forgetting about her fiancé who’s far away.

Her eyes are back on Lady Im as she talks about Soo again.

GD: Noble lady, isn’t that awful of her?
Im: (smiling with understanding) Yes, she’s awful.
GD: Isn’t she?
Im: Her heart is telling her the answer, but she’s not listening to her heart. So, of course, she’s quite foolish. So please let this customer know that if she continues, she’ll become sick like I did.
GD: Really?

Her heart’s been telling her that she’s fallen for Hoon. If it wasn’t her loyalty to Soo, she would have figured all this out on her own because there were so many signs already. I could easily name six.

Let’s see now:

One, it’s the reason she kissed him in the barn in Episode 6 and pretended to be asleep afterward. She couldn’t resist kissing him when he was that close. (I told you that the actor Kim Min Jae had a cheek that was begging to be kissed, didn’t I?)

She gave herself away when she tripped into his arms (again?!!) and covered her mouth. Hoon realized that she was awake because she remembered being kissed.

Hoon: You were awake?! What? I snored so much you couldn’t sleep.
GD: About that?
Hoon: Well, about that?
GD: It was an accident. A total accident. (note here: she was the first one to use “accident” to describe their kiss) And am I the only one who was wrong? We are both to blame! So, let’s not ask the other to take responsibility! (she left in a huff)
Hoon: (to himself) Both to blame? But I’m the victim. Why should I take the blame?

Because he’s irresistible.

Here, I like how he’s left befuddled by her nonsensical arguments but he doesn’t tell her that she’s stupid. He only grumbles about her unfairness when he’s by himself.

GD: (to herself) I didn’t blame him. Doesn’t he realize that I pretended not to know? (She remembers him saying that they’ll share his luck fate so she can share her bad fate with him) So, shall I try trusting you, Mr. Matchmaker? (holding her fist with his good luck to her chest)

Two, it’s the reason she’s smiling happily in Episode 7 at the “Try again” stick. She can’t forget that Hoon gave her the stick to replace the “good luck” she’d used up. Her heart is falling for him because of his small thoughtful and comforting gestures.

GD: (to herself) Mr. Matchmaker, don’t be so good to me. If I only find my Soo, I’ll take my orabeoni and leave. You keep making me not want to leave. My heart is…

She’s wavering.

In comparison, she isn’t when Soo gives her his mother’s hairpin. She looks shocked (or dismayed?? It’s hard to tell with this awful actress Gong Seung Yeon. Ugh!)

And she doesn’t gush about it nor say when he declares, “I shall find a way to come back to you, no matter what. When I come back here, as we promised, let’s get married. Go on in.” She answers, “Uh-huh. Go safely.”

She isn’t moved by Soo’s big gestures.

Three, she compares the hairpin and the “Try Again” stick. After she’s been given the golden hairpiece, she goes inside and looks at the two of them, side by side, on her lap. Only a woman in love would attach value to a wooden stick, that’s worth less than 5 poon and view it as precious as gold hairpin.

She sighs as regards the hairpin, “I finally found Soo whom I was waiting for. But why isn’t my heart happy?”

Four, she picks a fight with Hoon as soon as he enters the house. Come on now! She’s trying to make him jealous.

Hoon: You finally found Kim Soo, whom you couldn’t forget.

lol. I like that they both have a description for Soo. She said, “…Soo, whom I was waiting for.” He said, “…Soo, whom you couldn’t forget.” It’s as if they have to re-establish who this dude is in Gaedong’s life (and why he matters) because they’re trying to forget that Soo exists.

She stands up and talks about Soo. She uses the adjective “uri” to denote possession. Uri is a possessive pronoun meaning “mine” or “ours.”

GD: Did my Soo leave? What did you talk about with my Soo? Didn’t my Soo look so cool in a gentleman’s robe? He was shining so bright.

Now, she’s being petty. To me, she’s rubbing in his face that Soo has come for her and trying to get a reaction from him. She’s pushing his button because it’s good to see him jealous.

Hoon: (scoffing) If he doesn’t cut a decent figure wearing such expensive clothes, then what’s the point of expensive clothing?
GD: (becoming serious now) So Soo came. Then what happens now?
Hoon: What do you mean? You found Kim Soo, now if you find your older brother, you must return.
GD: To where, do you mean?

Huh? Why on earth is she asking HIM where she’s going after finding Soo and her orabeoni? How does this concern Hoon?  She can go anywhere on this good earth in the company of those two other men, Soo and her brother. Of course, she wants to hear him tell her that she should stay with him.

Hoon. Where else? Your rightful place. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear about you becoming a noble lady. So go in and sleep now.

GD: (to herself) What a problem. I keep mistaking this place as my place.

There! She wants him to hold her back, to hold onto her, and to tell her not to go leave him…like in a soap opera. She wants HIM to make the move and stop her from leaving. But of course, he won’t do that. In fact, at the end of this episode, he decides to send her away…for a good reason. hahaha.

Hoon: (to himself) What? “Uri Soo”? I brought her here and fed her, dressed her, and taught her. And she immediately runs to him and calls him “my Soo”? No wonder they say you shouldn’t take in stray animals.

I love his study! I covet this… except I’ll probably remove all those floating, hanging strips of paper.

But here he goes again…complaining how unfairly he’s been treated by Gaedong but he does it privately. He can’t understand her at all but he complains to himself.

Five, she kisses him again.

GD: You said you would stop hiccuping if you were shocked. You said that. I couldn’t think of anything else to do.
Hoon: But still…
GD: In any case, you stopped hiccuping so it’s fine. So you should have promised to make me a noble lady.

Huh? Her last sentence is a non sequitur. Why did she bring it up?

Hoon: (to himself) Is she fearless? Or is she thoughtless?

She goes to her room and takes out the hairpin. She addresses the hairpin, “Soo. I have to marry you. But if my heart is happy now,, that’s very strange isn’t it? Right, I’m really awful, aren’t I?

What she means is she should feel exhilarated that she got to kiss Hoon in the library because she’s going to marry another man. She understand that this kind of thrill shouldn’t be happening.

By the way, I love this shot!

It’s a perfect contrast for the Jihwan-Dojoon kiss scene in the pottery story. Dojoon and Jihwan toppled the shelves (meaning, giving in to the feelings) while Gaedong and Hoon only shook the shelves. Sure, their feelings were stirred but both of them didn’t capitulate and lose their hold on their good senses.

Last, she accepts Lady Im’s coat. lol.

She’s told that it was a gift of the Ma family to Lady Im when she married into the Ma family. It was a part of Lady Im’s dowry. But Gaedong happily wears it outside.

Personally, I wouldn’t accept this robe, much less wear it. There are some hand-me-downs, like an engagement ring, that have a special significance. To me, it’s improper to wear this robe because it’ll appear as if she’s claiming to be part of Ma’s family. That’s why the assassin mistook her to the missing widow/cousin-in-law.

However, Gaedong likes to wear it because it serves as her connection to Hoon’s family. No matter how tenuous the link is, it’s must be *nice* for her to fantasize that she too has been given a gift by the Ma family on the occasion of her dream wedding to Hoon.

That’s why she wears it outside. I think she’s imagining that she’s his anxious wife waiting for her husband to come home.

So, there we have it. Six signs that she’s falling for him. She’s only denying it out of loyalty for Soo.

7. Why does Hoon refuse to make Gaedong a lady? Didn’t he promise to give her a new opportunity? “Isn’t that what he wanted in the beginning?” To make her into a lady?

Three things:

One, we have to remember that this kdrama is thematic. The title of the show is “A Love that Cannot be Realized: Magic Lily.” So all the love affairs here will be shown with their impediments. Jihwa and Dojoon have a class divide, and her endgoal which is also her father’s ambition. Lee Soo and Gaedong have the crown to think about. And now Hoon, who’s very much rule-oriented, has his duty preventing him from making a move. He can only offer a proposal but it’s up to Gaedong to take it.

Two, strictly speaking, he didn’t want to make her a lady. In Episode 5, it was the lady connoisseur, Crew #3 DoJoon, who first suggested that GD could pass off as a nobleman’s daughter.

Remember that? Hoon ordered DoJoon to go to the Gibang and bring him a woman who looked the most ladylike. Disguised as a daughter of aristocracy, the gisaeng could spy and report to them. But Dojoon took a physical scrutiny of Gaedong and said that she could fool everyone – if she kept her mouth shut. Then, Gaedong volunteered herself. She told them to trust her this once.

Hoon only consented to teach her how to act like a lady – just that one time – because they urgently needed a female infiltrator and she volunteered herself.

But from the start, he could tell that she wasn’t of noble birth. Remember this scene?

Back then, he knew that Gaedong was only being used to scam him by the real lady of the house. And he told her three noteworthy things during that encounter.

These were “Liars speak more than needed,” “You think you can become a lady that easily just because you’re wearing nice clothes?” and “And you are so clumsy.”

That’s why in Episode 5 when he prepared her for the tea-making ceremony, he insisted on her saying only the bare essential, “Don’t speak at all, if possible. The only words you need to say are ‘Yes, I shall.’ When you refuse something, ‘No, thank you, but I’m alright.’”

He wanted to limit her speech because he knew that she couldn’t lie very well. She spoke her mind and, since she was only there as a pretend lady, she’d be found out. “Liars speak more than needed.” Sure enough, she attracted the eyes of Jihwa because she answered back smartly.

So, no. Hoon had always been reluctant about transforming Gaedong into something she wasn’t…a lady of noble birth. And it’s NOT because he’s a snob, but because her “conversion” would entail curtailing her natural spirited self. Look, I pointed out that he was never buggered by Gaedong’s bubbliness or tacky-ness. When she ooohed-and-ahhhed over his fine home, he toured her around his house instead of telling her to shut up.

Like when she waved exuberantly, in Episode 8, he only sighed, “Gaedong. I can’t live because of you.” That’s one thing we here all find swoon-worthy about Hoon. Although he exercised self-control, he was indulgent of her excesses.

BTW, this is a nice scene, too. I like that they can exchange their greetings, like this, without being openly stared at by curious passers-by. There’s privacy here to conduct their personal affairs.

Three, and this is most important, when he gave her “Try again” stick in Episode 7, and said, “I’ll give that new opportunity to you,” he had a totally different idea in mind for her. I already said that he was offering himself to her.

He was THE “new opportunity” to replace Lee Soo.

He was confused when she demanded to be made into a noble lady because as far as he was concerned, she DIDN’T need to change into a lady, in order to receive this gift of a “new opportunity” from him. He was already willing to accept her the way that she was. Of course, he didn’t know her real reason for the request. He didn’t know that Jihwa threatened to expose Gaedong as a fraud and sell her and her brother off as slaves.

But, in a flash, he recalled Dojoon’s recommendation to hide Gaedong as a lady so her assassins wouldn’t find her. So, in his mind, he was already amenable to the idea of her pretending to be lady if that was the only way to ensure her protection.

However, he still wanted to hear HER reason for wanting to become lady since back in Episode 5, she was adamant that she didn’t want to become a lady.

Remember this?

Hoon: Gaedong. How about using this opportunity to become a real half-noble lady? I could do that for you.

Remember his character: he only proposes. The other person has to accept/reject his proposal.

GD: (she guffaws) You want me to do this again? (raising her shoes) No, thank you.
Hoon: You could dress well and live richly for the rest of your life.
GD: Then, how will I find my brother or Soo? If I become someone else, how could I find those two? Just in case they search for me, I can’t change my name. Even when I was hunted, I didn’t change my name. My brother told me would come for me. He said he’d make sure to come for me. So I want to live as Gaedong. Just as I am now.
Hoon: (inhaling) Yes. You’re Gaedong. How could you become a lady of a noble family?

But now, she wanted to become a lady. It would be natural of him to wonder why she changed her mind (and heart) about wanting to be FOUND by her brother and Soo.

Did her change of mind and heart mean that she was seeking a NEW opportunity? Thus, he questioned her further.

Hoon: Why?
GD: There’s someone I really want to meet.
Hoon: Who?
GD: That…

It was unfortunate then that Lee Soo arrived at that moment. You see, the way I see it, he was half-expecting/half-hoping she would say that she wanted to change because she was NO longer waiting to be found by Soo.

There! Do you get his point of view? Put yourself in Hoon’s shoes for a second here:

She insisted, “I wouldn’t change into a lady, for Soo and my brother.”
Then she came back to him, saying, “Here’s the stick of ‘new opportunity’ and change me now into a lady.”

If you were Hoon, of course, you’d think she was agreeing to this transformation because of you. She was willing to forget Soo and start all over with this
“new opportunity” with you.

Do you get how he misinterpreted the situation?

That’s why he angrily confronted Soo later.

Soo: Matchmaker.
Hoon: Why exactly did you return here? An Order of Selection will be issued soon and Your Majesty’s marriage will be decided. She is a child who has just got it all together. Please do not make her waver.

He was schooling the King here. (And the King looked like the lowly blacksmith again.) To me, he believed that Gaedong was finally getting over Soo — especially since she just asked him to make her into a lady with the “new opportunity” stick.

But the King’s appearance would make her have a relapse. That’s why he was angry.

Soo: I’m not trying to make her waver. I’m trying to hold onto her.
Hoon: What will you do after holding onto her?
Soo: I will keep her with me.

Hoon: (shouting) Your Majesty!
Soo: I was going to give up. I didn’t want to be the king. But I took on the position. If I keep her at my side, Gaedong would be unhappy. So I thought that I should let her go now. But I cannot. No matter how hard it is, I want to be with her. Even if I shouldn’t travel on this road, I must try. My heart will not change.

Flashback to that night when he told Lee Soo to leave. “Stop coming here; it’s getting cold.” Soo told him, “My heart will not change. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Soo: (continuing) So, please help me.

This whole scene reminded Hoon of his duty again to his client and he was an honorable man. Hence, the title of the show, “A Love that Cannot be Realized: Magic Lily.”

So, that’s short answer to WHY doesn’t Hoon change her into a lady: because he accepts her the way she is. It isn’t necessary for her to become a “lady” because he likes her the way she is.

However, it’s a question of her survival, then yes, he’ll help disguise her as a lady.