People find this episode a bit of a downer because the first half is spent showing DanOh looking for Haru, then second half is about Haru returning with no memories of DanOh.

But this is a good time to look at Kyung and other things.

1. The rehabilitation of Kyung

As to be expected, the manhwa writer (and by proxy, the screenwriter lol) attempts to re-create personality while Haru is gone from the picture. This is what we know about Kyung.

A. Previously, we saw that his mother died in the hospital. We saw a young Kyung attending to her. In the screenwriter’s warped logic, this justifies his aversion to DanOh’s display of weakness because it’s his unconscious self-defense mechanism to painful memories. Unlike Haru whose scar is visible on his palm, Kyung’s emotional scar is hidden. Ergo, more pitiful.

Whatever. You’d think that his experience with his mother’s death would make him commiserate with DanOh’s illness or instill kindness and tolerance for her DanOh. But noooooo… it’s about his feelings with this jackass.

B. He sees DanOh left her hospital without telling him, and he returns to their classroom only to find another classmate sitting at Haru’s desk. He finds Haru’s sketchbook and he rips the pages one by one, and throws them into the water to dissolve. However, when he sees a drawing of DanOh, he decides to pitch the whole book into the pool.

Look: I know he’s upset because he failed to bully Haru and Haru threw him into the pool. But to destroy somebody else’s private property? Yeah, what a model hero is this?

He witnessed Haru jumping into the water after DanOh during the fire alarm. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the @#$ manhwa writer were to re-write this (just like she rewrote the scenes with NamJoo and DanOh) to make it appear as if Kyung was the one who really saved DanOh from the water.

C. He blames DanOh and Haru’s meddling for Haru’s disappearance, and he warns DanOh that she can disappear next because one, she’s only an extra in the story, and two, her heart condition is the built-in excuse for the writer to eliminate her. Unlike with Haru, who brings sunshine and breeze with him, Kyung brings the darkness and thunderstorm.  I’m writing down his tirade for future reference.

KY: Are you looking for this?

He shows that book “Secret.” Note the pathetic fallacy: thunder and lightning outside the window.

KY: (cont) I guess you were in a rush to come here like that. (in her hospital gown)
DO: You!
KY: Has it been fun for you?
DO: How did you—
KY: You said you had a crush on me for 10 years! Do I have to spell it out for you? Eun DanOh. I know it’s just your character set-up (to have a crush on him), but it’s still disappointing. (meaning, he’s disappointed that she can betray him like this. Flashback of Haru punching him before taking her away.) At first, I don’t have any idea what he’s talking about. (Flashback of her breaking off announcement) You suddenly call it off after annoying me for 10 years? You were talking nonsense about character, set-up, and how it’s fake. But absurd things started happening. I understood everything once I read the book. Do you know what’s even funnier? There was someone else that was aware of this. (Flashback of him grabbing Haru’s polaroid from him) It was amusing to see that extra trying his best. (Flashback of Haru at NamJoo’s bday party)
DO: You know about it all this the whole time and you kept it—

She meant to say “secret” just like the title of the book. But now Kyung’s secret is revealed.

KY: Who’s the one who made a fool out of me first? He disappeared because you and that nameless extra acted out of line.
DO: Don’t talk about him like that.
KY: You’re just an extra. Did you think you could become the main character by acting however you wanted? (yelling at her. Thunder and lightning) What if you disappear, too? Eun DanOh, don’t be delusional. (He approaches her. She steps back.) You’re just an extra, too. You’re just a character that can disappear at any time because of your heart condition.
DO: (doesn’t answer him. She picks up the book and walks away)

If you look at his rant, he mentioned Haru’s appearance by her side more than he mentioned DanOh’s illness. But Kyung’s fangirls can argue that he only yelled at her out of fear and anxiety that she’d disappear on him, too.

D. Just like Haru appeared to have recognized NamJoo’s mother when she visited the school, Kyung eyes NamJoo’s mother suspiciously when she brings up DanOh, Chairman’s Eun daughter (Ch 13 at 10:47).

Ha! I’m sure this will have some special significance later on, like he’ll protect DanOh from NamJoo’s mother’s influence or something but whatever.

E. He spots DanOh sitting on the steps by herself and approaches her. DanOh hears his footsteps and thinks it’s Haru.

DO: Haru?
KY: Aren’t you going to the music room?

He hands her favorite strawberry milk and when she doesn’t accept it, opens it for her and places it on her lap.

KY: Drink it.

First, he doesn’t know that the best way to drink strawberry milk is with a straw. hahaha. Even NamJoo knows that. Second, he really must be insensitive. Can’t he see that she’s holding a recorder? This was the instrument Haru played so well in class to the amazement of everybody, including the teacher. Of course, she doesn’t want to go to music class.

Sure enough, she breaks down when everybody in class can’t remember Haru. Kyung steps in to and grabs her wrist to drag her into the hall.

KY: (shouting at her again) Eun Dan Oh, are you crazy?
DO: (begging him) You remember him, huh? Please…please tell me you remember him.

He must have been moved by her tears.

KY: Yeah. I remember him. So stop it. Stop it, Eun DanOh.

This moment is noteworthy because he swallows his ego and comforts DanOh. DanOh is going crazy because her grief isn’t acknowledged. She already lost Haru but she was losing him again for the second time when he’s erased from people’s memories.

She clutches her heart. But the heart monitor doesn’t trigger. Weird. That’s the weird thing about all these heart-breaking scenes. Her heart monitor never beeped when she was clearly emotionally distressed.

F. Kyung thinks that she’s over her grief after their encounter in the hallway. But he walks into the classroom and hears her call out Haru’s name. He doesn’t know that she’s daydreaming of Haru. She’d been resting at Haru’s desk when she heard him calling her name. She opened her to see Haru sitting at the windowsill with the curtains billowing around him. That’s when she calls out his name.

To Kyung, she’s just searching for Haru again like she’s been doing all day. He doesn’t know that his vision actually appeared before DanOh.

KY: Are you looking for that bastard again? (She glances at Kyung for a moment, then looks back at Haru. But Haru’s disappeared) Why don’t you scream like how you did earlier?
DO: Go away.
KY: You’re making such a fuss over one missing extra. Yah! Eun DanOh! (Pulling her arm to make her look at him) I’m talking to you.

This is one major irritant for Kyung: DanOh never seems to look at him when she’s talking to him. She’s always looking at Haru.

DanOh shakes of his grip on her. He lets her go when he sees her teary eyes.

This is another noteworthy moment because he’s moved by her tears. He doesn’t shout at her to stop or accuse her of fake tears, as he normally does.

Meanwhile in that secret room in the library where Haru’s drawings of DanOh are hanging, a blackhole has appeared. The sketches and the curtains are flapping in the wind.

G. He offers a lift to DanOh, but she refuses. So he follows her in his chauffer-driven SUV. He finally gets out and tells her to get in. Her clutches her chest and her heart monitor goes off. He hands her a bag because she’s “been crying all day,” he says. But she ignores it again. He takes out the cold pack and tells her to put it on her eyes. Again, she ignores him so he does it himself.

Awwww…should this melt my heart? If a psycho gives shows five minutes of tenderness after 10 years of ignoring her, should she relent? Only in a crappy kdrama.

When she gets home, he begins to ask her why she’s feeling this way.

KY: Are you that upset? You don’t even eat properly, and you cry all the time.
DO: Mmm. I’m so upset that I might die. It feels like it’s all my fault.
KY: I could do everything that jerk did for you. I’ll help you change the story.
DO: (shakes her head) That’s something only Haru can do.
KY: We’re talking about him again. Did he say that? Did he ask you to change the world with him?

Huh? Didn’t he bring him up first? lol. He wants to know whether Haru fed her lies and said that he was the only one who could change the story for her.

KY: (continuing) You can still live comfortably without doing that. You have a suitable house, a harmonious family and even friends who like you. (But notice? He forgot the one thing important here)
DO: I’m dying. If the writer draws my death here, I’ll die immediately. That’s my set-up. (He knows this already. He shouted at her in the library that this was the writer’s built-in excuse to kill her off.) A terminally ill female student who can die whenever and wherever. But all my remaining time…is only used for the benefit of the main characters or supporting characters like you. I’m Baek Kyung’s fiancée, and Oh NamJoo and Yeo Jooda’s classmate. But before that, I’m Eun DanOh. You won’t even understand how desperately I want to spend my time for myself. (exhales) Goodbye.

To sum up, in the first half of this episode, the kdrama screenwriter attempted to give the backstory to make Kyung palatable to us viewers, but I wasn’t sold. If Haru had been a mediocre hero, then I’d say yeahhhh, maybe Kyung could steal DanOh from him and become the male lead. But Haru’s hitting the right notes even when he has amnesia. lol.

2. “No means no”

Despite my supreme enjoyment of the ingenuity of the kdrama, I’m still on the fence with this screenwriter. I’m reserving judgment until I see how he/she deals with Kyung’s recurring coercive behavior.

There’s one particular scene that bugs me in this episode.

On Stage:  Sitting in the stands, DanOh carries her banner, “Baek Kyung loves DanOh.” She thinks it’s unfair of the writer, considering that she doesn’t like him at all.

Kyung approaches her and their class tease him about joining the 3-legged race with his fiancée. They cheer him on as “Husband Baek” as he sits behind DanOh. I can’t help noticing that he uses a gentle voice with her. His gentle voice is creepy since I know how abusive he can be off-stage with her.

This happened in the Shadow = reality.

This happened on Stage = fake.

KY: Why did you prepare that?
DO: Because I was happy.
KY: About what?
DO: I’ve never participated in a sports day before. I’m happy. My time with you has become even more special.

Ugh! Since he’s secretly in love with her, he must be delusional right now, imagining that she actually meant these sweet words about him.

Stage ends. She throws the banner at his lap and stands up to leave.

KY: Eun DanOh, where are you going? (sounding a bit anxious)
DO: The stage is over.
KY: You didn’t care about it when you were with him. You’ve no choice but to stay by my side like now.

He thinks that since Haru’s finally been erased from their story, things should return to the original setting. But she corrects him.

DO: Because that’s the writer’s intention.
KY: No. That’s just who you are. You liking me is the real you. (throws the banner) Don’t you think our relationship changed so much because of that one extra?
DO: Nothing has changed. The real me never liked you.

Ugh. I don’t know where the manhwa writer — and this kdrama screenwriter — intend to go with this plot. This is the second time that DanOh has told Kyung that she doesn’t like him. The first time was at NamJoo’s birthday party.

In my book, when the heroine firmly declares that she has no feelings for the guy, it’s never romantic to show the guy insisting that he knows the girl’s feelings better than the girl herself.

“No means no.” and “‘No’ does not mean ‘Convince me’.”

Should the screenwriter twist this kdrama around so that DanOh ends up with Kyung because Kyung’s been a poor “misunderstood” character all this time, I’m going to give this kdrama an F for romanticizing his abusive behavior.

3. Haru’s Concept

Previously, Haru’s set-up was unknown because he’s an extra. Now, his secret, hidden set-up is revealed.

On Stage: despite DanOh’s weak heart, DanOh and Kyung enter the three-legged race. The referee asks DanOh whether she’s sure that she can run. She answers, sappily, “Of course, I have Baek Kyung.” The referee gushes, “Indeed, the power of love is strong.”

His statement proves to be disastrous because in no time at all, Kyung demonstrates that his love is rather weak.

DanOh loses a shoe, but Kyung ignores it. He frowns and keeps marching on, practically dragging her with him.

Inwardly, she’s protesting, “This is really cruel! I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be here. I hate everything that’s going on.”

Then she trips, triggering her heart monitor, and Kyung scolds her, “Are you starting that (meaning, her fake sickness)”? She asks him to wait for a second but he rips off their ankle ribbon and storms off the field. She cries.

Stage ends. She stands up. Then she falls down again. She cries – for real this time – at the sight of her shoe lying on the ground at a distance from her.

The image here is that she’s Cinderella who’s lost her shoe, and her Prince Haru is missing, and his poor substitute, Kyung, just ignored her.

But Haru reappears and walks her shoe over to her. He drops it in front of her, and walks away without responding to her surprised, “Ha Ru?! Har Ru.” He too walks off the the field.

To me, this whole scene solidifies Haru’s role in DanOh’s life. He’s her secret protector.

Just like in Episode 2 when he showed up to save DanOh from falling down the stairs and breaking her leg, in this episode, he shows up at just the right moment when DanOh is suffering from despair. Her shoe symbolizes her unattainable goal to free herself from her manhwa’s set up, and Haru is the one person who will come to her aid.

In a way, too, both Haru and DoHwa are the “guardian angels” of the girls they love.

Jooda is bullied by the mean girls and all Dohwa can do is give her strawberry milk as soon as her Stage ends. As for DanOh, her own fiancée bullies her and Haru comes in to give her the pink sneakers. Although he cannot remember her, he mysterious reappears out of nowhere in her time of need.

This also explains why he can’t hit her hard with the ball at dodgeball. In his subconscious, he knows that he cannot let DanOh be injured.

Kyung, on the other hand, watches idly as DanOh slowly loses hope. At first, DanOh was full of enthusiasm as she chatters nonstop to jog Haru’s memories. But as Haru steadily ignores her and focuses only on defending Kyung, DanOh grows increasing dejected.

She finally accepts that Haru can’t remember her when she becomes the last person standing and Haru moves to eliminate her hard.

Unlike before when Haru moved in to save her, Haru aims to hit her without mercy.

With eyes shut tight and arms raised, she braces herself for impact as Haru winds up.

But he balks and bounces the ball off her hips instead.

DanOh is shocked because she remembers how he saved her before. Kyung frowns. To DanOh, it seems as if Haru has totally lost his memories of her. To me, however, this is a sign that in the deep recesses of his mind, he understands that DanOh isn’t someone he can’t injure.

4. Kyung tests Haru

Kyung is unconvinced of Haru’s amnesia after that dodgeball game so he keeps testing Haru after that.

For instance, he uses Haru as his “shuttle” to give a bag of sweets to DanOh. The old Haru wouldn’t have agreed to that but the new Haru complies without a second thought.

A classmate is overheard saying that Haru will probably pretend to die if Baek Kyung told him to die.

lol. When Kyung said the same thing of DanOh (Ch 11 at 14:10), Haru nearly punched him.

This time, Haru doesn’t react one bit when Kyung badmouths her and lies that he has to give her something once in a while, so she’ll bother him less. Her fainting annoys him, he says. Kyung’s testing whether Haru will get angry but Haru doesn’t comment.

He asks him about the dodgeball earlier, but Haru can’t remember a thing. Kyung realizes that Haru is not self-aware anymore since he remembers nothing of the actions that take place in Shadow

Later, Kyung brings up Eun DanOh again.

KY: About Eun DanOh…
Haru: Yeah?
KY: You know her, right?
Haru: Who doesn’t know her at our school? She’s your fiancée.
KY: (pretending nonchalance) Weren’t you close with her?
Haru: Me?!
KY: Yeah.
Haru: Why should I be? You should take care of your own fiancée.
KY: You’re right. No one but I should take care of her.

He looks at Haru and finally accepts that Haru has returned as a completely different person. He approves of this version of Haru because Haru’s no longer a rival for DanOh’s affection.

Have you ever seen such selfishness in a hero? He knows that DanOh is heartbroken because Haru can’t remember her. But all he cares about is that he now has a clear path to win DanOh’s affection with Haru sidelined.

5. The Squid guy

While Kyung accepts the new Haru, the Squid guy is more cautious about this version of Haru and his effect on the story. To me, the Squid guy is different from the others, because he’s not so much concerned about the individual characters of the manhwa as he is about the manhwa itself. He wants the manhwa completed.

Squid: (pondering) His name and face are the same, however, he only lost his memory. He now has a set-up. On top of that, he has lines on Stage, too. I wonder if he’s pretending not to know or really doesn’t know. I wonder if the change is someone’s set-up or somebody’s story.

By that last sentence, I think Squid guy doubts that the change is merely about Haru acquiring a new character role or set-up. I think he suspects that Haru’s new version will change DanOh’s story, too, and in effect, the whole manhwa. He must have remembered Haru’s desire to be the only person who can change DanOh’s fate and his vow to create his own answers with DanOh.

So he approaches Haru who’s picking up a red flower from the ground. He says, “Waiting. That’s what that flower means.”

The Squid guy tugs his cheek and declares, “You’re really Haru. Your personality has changed a bit, but actually, you’re more like your old character now.” Then, he asks about his hand. Since it doesn’t have a scar, he must have assumed that it doesn’t hurt anymore. (Too bad that Haru doesn’t have a memory of DanOh asking him about the scar, too, since that moment happened in the Shadow.)

The Squid guy says, “I’ve never seen this happen before. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not. I guess only time will tell.”

And I think that’s the point of the flower. The Squid guy has to wait, too, for the good things to bloom in their proper time.

A sidenote on the flower:

The Old Haru once wondered why his memories of DanOh were always associated with the red flower, as if the flower was reminding him that DanOh was significant to him…that she would bloom for him.

From Ch 5, 24:40:

And now, the New Haru finds himself sitting in the arbor, under the red flowers. The flower falls at his feet, this time to remind him that he’s dropped someone from his memories. From the Squid guy, he learns that the flower means “waiting.”

My guess is that’s the theme of the manhwa, “Flower.” It was about “waiting.” The ending for them probably never finished because he’s still waiting for DanOh in this manhwa “Secret” to reach him… just like when he waits for DanOh to walk by his side because she’s lost swooning over him.

 

6. Haru and DanOh

The thing is Haru cannot help but be aware of DanOh. Even if he doesn’t have a memory of her, his subconscious is searching for her.

For instance, DanOh can easily spot him in his hot pink shirt.  When he first reappeared, she was excited that he wore a hot pink shirt because that made him easily to spot in a crowd. But now, she’s sad because the color makes him stand out; she wants him to stay out of his sight.

Now in contrast, she doesn’t have to wear hot pink for Haru to spot her. He sees her anyway. Like here. He’s talking to the boys and he sees her and stops.

Then when she passes, he can’t help looking at her.

This drives Kyung jealous. Haru and DanOh unconsciously look for each other even when they aren’t supposed to.

7. Kyung’s proposal

In the Shadow, Kyung is dragged by his father to visit DanOh’s house. When his father claims that that they were there because of his desire to see DanOh, he looks visibly uncomfortable. He blows up when his father pretends to care for DanOh’s ill health. He confronts HER dad, “Sir, I’m asking you this because I’m really curious. Can’t you see that he’s using your sick daughter to somehow maintain connection with you?”

He doesn’t care because this is all happening in the Stage anyway. His father asks if he’s lost his mind. He shouts that he’s the one in the “right mind.” Because he’s self-aware.

To punish him, and clear up the “damage,” the manhwa writer immediately switches to Stage and suddenly, he’s behaving like the doting fiancée.  DanOh opens a present and his father mentions again his desire to visit DanOh late at night.

Instead of spouting rebellious words, he can only mouth a cheesy line, “I wanted to see her happy as soon as possible.” Then, when her dad claims that he’s a romantic, he says another cheesy line, “I’m planning to only look at DanOh from now on.”

See that? The manhwa writer corrects his damaging words to advance his/her agenda and move the plot along. Kyung’s father urges them to set a date, but DanOh’s dad deftly evades saying it all depends on DanOh. “As long as DanOh wants to, I’m fine whenever. I should do everything for her.”

Stage ends.  DanOh drags Kyung to her bedroom. She tells him that even if their parents can’t remember anything, he should at least feel apologetic that his family is using her.

I agree with her. Since he’s self-aware, he should treat her nicely off-stage. He SHOULD feel remorseful and act kind to her AFTER the Stage…like after the three-legged race when he left her on the field without her shoe. But Kyung blames DanOh for greedily wanting to change her set-up. After she’s already explained to him why she wanted her set-up changed, he still doesn’t get it.

KY: So what? Unlike you who’s trying to change things, I’m just doing things the way it’s drawn. However, you’re making me feel annoyed, angry and irritated.

He means that he’s fine with their original set-up, but now he’s upset that she’s trying to change their story. Wow! Jerk alert.

He used to be fine with their set-up because he was NOT the aggrieved party. Now that she’s seeking to redress the unfair situation, he’s the one who’s up-in-arms. He doesn’t like being replaced by an upstart, nameless guy like Haru. For him, the new set-up will be unfair to him.

DO: What?
KY: Let me ask you something, Eun DanOh. What is it that you want? Do you want to be more than an extra or do you want to change your terminally ill set-up…or is that jerk?

Answer: D. All of the above. Why can’t he see that the girl wants to have it all?

KY: (continuing) He can’t change your fate. I’m the one who can. It’s Baek Kyung, your male counterpart who’s not an extra in a romantic comic.

Sigh. If the issue is only about her being a minor character or her terminal illness, then she’ll surely take up his offer. But she wants Haru, too. And she knows that as long as he’s her *partner* in the manhwa, then she can’t have Haru.

KY: I’ll help you. I’m being serious.

And that’s the equivalent of his marriage proposal right there. He’s telling her to marry him and he’ll change her fate. But any thinking girl will say, “Prove it first, then I’ll marry you.”

However, I must point out that, in his own way, he loves her. It’s not at the same level of selfless and sacrificial love that Haru has for DanOh, but he loves her in his own way. That’s why he finds this new arrangement, with the new version of Haru, very convenient. He doesn’t mind this change because it reverts everything to the old status quo. He can then become her hero by changing her terminally-ill status to make her live forever with him.

Back in Stage with his dad: His father is proud of his convincing act with DanOh’s dad. He threatens him, “Don’t ruin everything because of your rebellious spirit. You have to marry her, no matter what.”

I’m actually amused by this makjang Stage. On one level, I don’t know which act is more despicable: that he’s using DanOh or his own son for his own business purposes. But on the other level, I think this is a brilliant use of a trope in melodramas: the evil parent.

As soon as the Stage ends, Kyung throws the money and tussles with his father. He walks on his own.

8. On Kyung’s awareness

I’m beginning to SUSPECT that there’s a flaw in Kyung’s awareness. He doesn’t actually KNOW when the Stage actually ends unless he spots the visual cues.

The floating chairs here:

made him realize that he’s already in the Shadow.

Unlike Dano who hears a click to announce the beginning and end of a Stage, he doesn’t hear the same “click.”

9. “Secret”

Towards the end of this episode, it seems as if the manhwa writer won. All the past events will truly become a secret because it will be hidden.

A. Haru doesn’t remember anything.
B. Kyung who does remember doesn’t want the past resurrected. He doesn’t want to give up the advantage he has now.

Haru: What is that? (pointing at book)
KY: Oh, this? (then decides to test him one last time) I left an important book here. Have you ever seen this book before?
Haru: (looking at it) No. Should I have seen it?
KY: No.
Haru: What’s wrong with your face? What happened to your face?
KY: It’s just…
Haru: Are you alright?
KY: (sneers) This is weird.

No. This isn’t weird, really. Haru also stopped him from punching the glass window, remember? He thought it would hurt him, so he stopped him. And twice in a Shadow, DanOh showed concern: once with his cut lip after Haru punched him in the theater, and another time when Haru threw him in the water.

Haru: What is?
KY: You’re worried about me. It just had to be right now and you of all people. I thought everything was decided in this world but there are these variables (he holds out the book).

He comes to the same conclusion as Squid guy earlier, that the story can be changed, but with a different nuance. Here, he’s being ironic on several levels. I’ll name two.

For one, he’s saying that he thought he had no control over his life (i.e., he has to follow his abusive father) but he realized that they were just being controlled by an  extraneous force like this book…which he calls, ironically, a “variable.” He change THAT variable.

For another, he’s threatening Haru. He thought everything was set up already (i.e., Haru’s getting DanOh) but then he realizes that there are variables, or *extras* like Haru who had thought that HE could change things. To Kyung, it’s ironic that Haru should worry about him when Haru should worry about his own self. For Haru can’t remember anything while he can. He has Haru under his control now.

See that? It seems like the manhwa writer won. Haru can’t remember, and Kyung isn’t going to change that. He benefits so much from getting this set-up. He can rebel against his father and he also gets DanOh.

C. DanOh isn’t going to change anything anymore either out of fear for Haru.

She had searched out the Squid fairy earlier to tell him that she no longer was going to ask her story to be changed.

DO: Haru came back.
Squid: I know.
DO: However, he can’t remember me.
Squid: Didn’t you say you’ll do anything for him to come back? Eun DanOh, you’re very needy.

Meaning, that all she had asked for before was Haru’s *return.* She didn’t say anything about his memory but now she’s whining about that.

Squid: (continuing) Why? Are you going to run after him like last time and make him self-aware again?
DO: No. I really loved it whenever Haru and I changed the story together. I had hope that I might be able to live whether the story twisted or not. I thought that changing my fate as a terminally ill patient was the answer I could create in this world. However, I’ve become afraid of everything ever since Haru disappeared. I keep telling myself that I should just live life as an extra in a comic. But then I get really scared. I don’t want to die. Haru was the only one who helped me find my answer. But it’s…but it’s all ruined.

She’s stuck. She doesn’t want to die but at the same time, she doesn’t want Haru to disappear either. Thus, she isn’t going to make him become self-aware anymore.

D. The Squid fairy doesn’t seem to want to upset the current direction of the story.

He remembers Haru’s optimistic promise, “If there’s no answer to how I came to this world, I will make my own answer with Dan-oh.” He sighs.

But he also remembers DanOh crying to him. “Haru was the only one who helped me find my answer. But it’s all ruined.”

X. However, the only real variable X that can ruin the manhwa writer’s planned ending and reveal the secret is Haru. And he does that with the help of the flower.

The flower is the one that calls out to him to remember. He passed by the arbor on the way out of the school, and he hears the click that DanOh hears. At first, it’s the sound of a page being turned, then another page, then pages being flipped rapidly.

He goes to the library because, lol, that’s the only place where one can hear pages turned so loudly with the enforced rule of silence in libraries.

He sees the room with curtain flapping and his previous sketches of DanOh flapping against the wall.

However, I don’t think he sees the blackhole opening to a vision of Haru and DanOh back in the Joseon period, or hears DanOh saying, “I will my own answer with you.” Because as soon as he enters the room, the curtain and the sketches stand still.