Hoon is a giver.

If you’ve been paying attention, then you know that he doesn’t give Gaeddong material things. He gives her intangible things.

His hyung believed in the power of the love knot. Remember? “This is the Dong-shim-gyeol knot. It means it’s tying two hearts together as one. To live together well as if they shared one heart? If you tie it this way, it usually doesn’t unravel.”

Hoon still keeps the knot with him, but when he looks at it, he thinks, “Just because you tie it together with a cord, like this, a person’s heart cannot truly be tied down. A person’s heart is so cunning.”

However, he hasn’t realized that he’s been giving her his own version of a “love knot” and, more importantly, each time the “love knot” breaks, he gives her another one.

What do I mean?

The first “love knot” is the raindrops. He holds out her hand so she can feel the splatter of rain on her palm. He reassures her, “It’s a sun shower. Since you’re getting married, the rain clouds are dropping by like a good guest should. Don’t be scared.” Thus, he gives her raindrops, so she won’t fear the rain anymore.

But the rain brings her bad luck anyway and her groom is abducted on her wedding day.

So he gives her his good luck instead. Since she fears she’s bringing her brand of bad luck to the scholar’s wedding, he shares his “disgusting” luck with her. He’s always been lucky, he says. “Let’s share our fortune and misfortune with each other. You take my luck so nothing bad will happen.”

Luckily, the wedding takes place without hitches, but she soon discovers her long-lost brother who can’t recognize her. Her bad luck has returned.

So he comforts her by giving her another opportunity. He snaps the sticks she lost in a game of chance and he makes her pick out “Try again” stick. He tells her, “If you feel like your life is so unlucky, use this. I’ll give that new opportunity to you.”

But remember what I said? The new opportunity he’s really thinking of giving to her is himself. She doesn’t get that he’s offering himself.

When she’s harassed by a spiteful lady and is threatened to be sold off as a slave with her brother, she goes to Hoon. She asks for a second chance to become a noble woman. She takes out her “try again” stick and uses her “new opportunity” to become a lady.

But remember what I said again? Hoon is willing to accept her the way she is. She doesn’t need to become a lady like that spiteful woman.

And now, Hoon gives her a new name, the name of Lady Yoon Soo Yeon. To complete her transition to becoming a lady, she needs an noble family to belong to. Hoon finds her one. With a piece of paper, Hoon gives her an identity, a family name, and a history. She’s no longer a nameless person, a runaway slave.

With that name and pedigree, she can now become the King’s woman, and marry the groom she was supposed to marry on that day it rained.

See how the story comes to (almost) a full circle? And see why @agdr03 and I were laughing at the hand shot? We thought the director had a hand fetish or something. hahaha.

I’m sure Hoon will give her more “things” in the future. He says he doesn’t believe in love. But if this isn’t love, then what is? He doesn’t need the love knot that his Hyung gave him to bind two hearts. He’s given his own kind of love knot, again and again. Every time his “love knot” dried up, ran out, disappeared or just failed, he just made a new one, patiently.

So, to the folks who were whining about Soo’s miserable life in the palace, please cry me a river and tell me what he has done for her lately.

Soo’s and Gaeddong’s paths diverged on their wedding day. He’s running out of time to convince her to take him back again.