As they say, the past epilogue is prologue, so let me begin with the epilogue for this post.

1. The epilogue 

Ex #1: Yoon Seri. I think –
Seri: Let’s break up.

Ex #2: I was going to say that.
Seri: Let me make this clear. I broke up with you. I dumped you. You can tell people that you dated me, but don’t even think about spreading rumors of how you dumped me. You know how scary rich people can be, right? I could end you.

Ex #3: You are always like this. You push people away before you get hurt. You leave before you’re in for a wait. I hope you meet someone like you. Someone who makes you wait endlessly.
Seri: (to herself) That won’t happen. I’ll never make a fool out of myself by waiting for someone.

Next scene: Seri was waiting for Ri Jung Hyuk.
Seri: (drunk rambling) Ri Jung Hyuk! What’s taking him so long? Crap.

A viewer has got to be especially obtuse to miss the point of this epilogue. For the first time in her adult life, Seri found herself doing something she vowed never to do: wait for somebody. If EX #3 could see her then, she’d be eating crow.

Seri would be like “Crap! I will not be doing this again. Never ever.”

What I like about this epilogue is that it ties in nicely with the beginning scene when Jung Hyuk told her that he was coming back. That’s THE reason she waited up for him. She thought they had an understanding.

To keep up with their fake story of being “innocent” military colleagues, she pretended to walk away as if she was lodged in another civilian’s house. But Jung Hyuk was having none of that. He took her elbow and led her to his front gate.

SR: I guess I should go home now. Give a safe ride to your fiancée!
JH: (grabbing her) It’s not as if your home is elsewhere. It’s dark outside so lock the door and stay inside. I’ll be right back.

To be quite honest, I would have sided with the fiancée here. Meaning, if I were in Dan’s shoes, I would have gone ballistic to see that he’d gotten involved with another girl in my absence.

That’s why the conversation in the elevator later on in the episode was uncomfortable for both of them. Dan’s uncle was extolling Jung Hyuk’s faithfulness. “Jung Hyuk may look cold, but he’s sincerer than any other man. He’s different from any other man. You haven’t met for over seven years. Other men would have cheated already, two-timing, three-timing, some assholes would have even taken a woman home and lived with her.”

lol. But this was exactly what Jung Hyuk did: he’d taken Seri home to live in his house.

However, as an impartial viewer (I’m totally impartial here),

I know there was no emotional attachment between him and Dan. That’s why I wasn’t upset that he was more concerned about ensuring Seri’s safety that he walked her over to his house, than protecting Dan’s feelings who was looking oddly at his display of attentiveness. All’s fair in love and war…..

Anyway, to him, his words “I’ll be right back” served merely as a reassurance so Seri wouldn’t be afraid to sleep alone at his home. But for Seri, she heard a promise from him. Ha! We all know that there’s a biiiiiiig difference between a comforting statement and a promise. With a promise comes an expectation of a performance to be fulfilled.

She expected him to keep his word to return quickly.

But to be fair, he did pay attention to the time. He glanced at his watch while having dinner, didn’t he? And he realized that he wasn’t going to make it back on time. He was unavoidably detained and there was nothing he could do to return quickly.

Her cold treatment of him when he returned home the following morning was to be expected. It reminded me of two things:

a) that old quote, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” and

b) he was lucky that she wasn’t waiting to bash him on the head with a vase, like last time.

Poor dude! He doesn’t know what to expect whenever he crosses the threshold of his own house.

BTW, did you notice that she had her eyes closed while talking to him? I’m sure she didn’t want to look at him because she wouldn’t be able to hold back her anger.

SR: You slept out.
JH: I didn’t sleep outside, so I didn’t sleep out.

Tsk tsk tsk. Wrong answer! He obviously was trying to avoid her wrath by parsing her words. But how would he have known that being literal only made her seethe in anger? He’d never live with a female like Seri before.

SR: You spent the night outside, so there’s no difference.

Jung Hyuk knew he couldn’t win this one so he stopped defending himself. He stepped inside.

SR: Would you not cross the line? Think of it as the 38th parallel and let’s not cross the line. That’s what you want, too. You stepped on the line. As long as we don’t cross the line, there won’t be any war. So please be careful.

I thought this was funny because it appeared as if she booby-trapped the place. Those empty beer cans were as dangerous as the landmine he’d stepped on in Episode 1. Remember that one?

JH: Are you angry?
SR: No. Why should I be?
JH: If you’re not angry –
SR: I said I’m not.
JH: Could you put down that knife first?
SR: (stabbing an apple) I couldn’t sleep last night so I did some calculations. You left here a bit before 8 pm so you should have arrived in Pyongyang by 10 pm. Let’s say you had a cup of coffee, then you would’ve left around 11, and you should’ve been back by 1 or 2. And what time is it now? Omo! It’s 7:30 am. (NOW she looked up at him) You said, “I’ll be right back” and you didn’t come.

Note: she looked at him at last. Typically, when a person accuses somebody, she/he looks at the wrongdoer straight in the eye. I thought Sheri’s action here was deliciously theatrical but I understood what she was doing. 😂 She was accusing him of the worst crime in her book: breaking a promise.

Now…let’s go back to what Ex #3 told Seri at their break-up scene.

I thought Ex #3 was on the right on the money when he analyzed Seri’s character. By being abrasive and breaking off a relationship prematurely, she was indeed pushing people away. But Ex #3 didn’t understand that her action was her defense mechanism. Also, Ex #3 assumed that she had never waited for anybody. In reality, she already experiencing waiting for someone. Remember her mother’s flashback in Episode 4 when she was counting at the beach? She had been counting endlessly.

She had counted all the way to 99, then started counting from one again. Who knew how many times she reached 99 and restarted?

Thus, that trauma of being left alone waiting hadn’t yet healed.

That’s why she dumped her boyfriends before she became attached. To protect herself from being caught in that unbearable situation again of waiting interminably, she decided to be the one to walk away FIRST.

She wasn’t going to count, “one, two, three…” all by herself again.

And to me, if Jung Hyuk hadn’t found her in the marketplace, she wouldn’t have waited for him. She would have gone off to bed. But his reappearance with the scented candle made her see him in a different light and made her trust again. She thought he was going to be unlike the others who left her waiting.

2. Negotiations

Another thing I found unique about Seri is that she liked to negotiate her exit strategy. I thought this is ironic in any kdrama involving North and South Korea. Those two countries don’t have an exit strategy to extricate themselves from their impasse, right?

We saw her drive a hard bargain with her Ex #2. She threatened him.

We saw her do the same thing with SungJoon. When he tried to court her, she turned him down flat.

SJ: The chef here is pretty good too but I’ll take you to a better place next time.
SR: You don’t have to. There won’t be a next time.
SJ: Your oppa didn’t tell me this so I didn’t know you’d be this pretty. I wish there’s a next time.
SR: I heard you had a perfect academic background and had a good eye for your age. I heard you made clever investments. My second brother seemed to have fallen in love with you.
SJ: You’re flattering me.
SR: (going for the jugular) But Mr. Gu, I won’t fall for you. I can see everything. You’re just laying the groundwork now for a bigger purpose. It looks like you want to marry me so you can have it all. And I don’t think it’ll happen. I grew up in a tough family so I’ve very sharp eyes. Take some pocket money from my oppa and wrap it up. (sipping the wine) Even the wine is lame.

lol. Did she first plant the seed in his mind to con her brother? She did advise SungJoon to give up the charade because she could see through his schemes.

And then in Episode 3, she dictated her terms of break-up with Jung Hyun. She didn’t want to be the subject of gossips by the neighborhood ahjummas.

Episode 3, at 10:03.

SR: Mr. Ri, what is the most important thing when talking about a romantic relationship? “Why did they break up? And who ended it?” Those are the most important questions.
JH: What are you trying to say?
SR: Anyone can probably guess what happened, but I want it clear. If anyone asks you why we broke up, say you got dumped.
JH: I don’t know why that matters, but sure.

I liked that he didn’t bother to question her. He didn’t care one way or the other (even though he was the one who was going to deal with their fall-out anyway) because she’d already be back in Seoul. She would have no way of enforcing this.

SR: And you got dumped because (thinking…) let’s just say our personalities were too different.
JH: (appeasing her) Sure.
SR: And let’s make it six months. You can’t date anyone for six months after I leave. Should we call it a period for post-breakup condolences?

lol. Again, this stipulation was unenforceable.

JH: (sighing because he knew this was silly)
SR: That’s itttt! Let out deep sighs like that. Don’t eat or smile. You know, you’ll look all haggard and listless. “He obviously got dumped ruthlessly after clinging to her like crazy!!” Anyone should be able to tell.

She was creating her own drama scenario here. Jung Hyuk tried to hide his laughter. He didn’t bother to correct her preposterous ideas because she amused him. Although she was acting like a spoiled child, her self-absorption entertained him.

SR: Did you just scoff? You won’t say, “Sure”?

This was the moment I figured out that he was actually her “style.” She didn’t need a “yes, man.” All her life, her suitors and boyfriends have tolerated her being a “picky princess” because they were aware of her family’s wealth. But Jung Hyuk had no idea of her social status in Seoul. Nor did he care.

He could smile at her when she gawked at the sight of Pyongyang, then scold her for looking like a country bumpkin.

JH: Stop looking wildly around. You look like a country bumpkin.
SR: Wait a second. What did you call me? A country bumpkin? I’m the exact opposite of a country bumpkin, okay? You aren’t listening to me again. Wait for me.

He smiled again.

He definitely was “listening” to her. All her life she had to put on airs, and lived up to her moniker, the “picky princess.” But deep down, she had simple tastes: clam bulgogi, soju, brewed coffee, hard-boiled eggs, soda, corn, sweet potato, and hot water.

Thus, when she has to negotiate the terms of “surrender,” I think she’ll be on the losing end here. Jung Hyuk will have the final word.

3. Clinging to him

On the way home from the market place, she admitted to him that he made her heart flutter, just by standing with the lit candle. She continued blabbering that it was a rare skill to make a girl’s heart flutter. “You know, we call that pickup skills.”

Understandably worried that she might be falling for him, he had to disclose that he had a fiancée.

JH: I doubt that’s the case (meaning, he wasn’t trying to pick her up) but…
SR: What?
JH: Since you said that your heart fluttered… Just to make sure there’s no confusion, there’s something I need to tell you.
SR: What’s so complicated? What is it? Just tell me.
JH: I’ve a woman in my life.
SR: (stunned) What?
JH: She’s my fiancée.
SR: (blinking) Wait a second. What did you just say?

She began to walk back her earlier admission that her heart fluttered.

JH: I have a fiancée.
SR: No, before that.
JH: I have a woman.
SR: No, even before that.
JH: Just to prevent any fluster you might go through…

Hahaha. This is so like a good husband. He remembered exactly what he said so when he was interrogated, he answered verbatim.

SR: Yes, that one!

Note: if you listen carefully to this moment, Jung Hyuk actually exhaled in relief. He was terrified of saying the word thing!

SR: That sounds very offensive. Flustered? Who? Me? Why? I’m not confused at all. There seems to be a misunderstanding here.

He was speechless. He couldn’t figure her out because she was the one who claimed being flustered by his gesture. He didn’t light the candle to send her heart a-flutter; he didn’t want her to think that he was leading her on.

SR: Whether you have a woman or not, (bursting out in laughter) I don’t care at all. Do you understand? I have a man too. I have many men in Seoul.
JH: Many? (he’s sounding a bit jealous here, of course)
SR: Yes. I’m sure they’re all crying their eyes out now. Which is why I need to go back in a hurry.
JH: Are you saying you’re going back for men?

The way he phrased this sounded weird. It sounded she was some sort of nymphomaniac with a harem of men.

SR: Partly because of men. I have to go back anyway. It’s not like I will live here.
JH: (mumbling) That’s not what I mean to say.

He didn’t come clean about his fiancée because he was eager to see the back of her. The reason he told her about his fiancée was simply because he didn’t want her to become attached to him and hurt her feelings when she left for home.

SR: Even if you tell me to stay, I won’t. Anyway, this is offensive. You just drew the line, Mr. Ri, because you don’t want me to cross it.
JH: (nodding) That’s a nice way of putting it.

lol. That’s where she got the idea about the 38th parallel line.

SR: Don’t worry. I’m very good at not crossing lines. I’ve never even been fined while driving. I never cross lines. I keep my eyes to the front and never look sideways.
JH: Don’t you have to look sideways a little when you drive?

Nooo, dude. That’s NOT the point. Stop being so literal.

SR: Is that important right now? Didn’t you get the point?

In my opinion, this argument was frustrating for Seri as much as it was bewildering for Jung Hyuk.

On one hand, Jung Hyuk was hesitant to say the wrong things and enrage her further. But on the other hand, she was upset with herself, too. She knew she was digging herself a hole, and that the more she claimed to be indifferent to him, the more dubious she sounded. If Jung Hyuk was less naive, he would have realized that her strong denial was a sign of her budding attraction.

Remember this from “Extra-ordinary You”? “Strong denial means strong affirmation.”

This scene, plus the scene when she took her passport picture, indicated to me that she was the one clinging to him, even though she denied it.

SR: You know, why don’t we get our photo taken? I mean, we won’t see each other again after I leave. It’ll be a memento.
JH: (after pausing for a second) There’s no need for us to remember or keep a memento of each other.
SR: You have a point. (lamely) I was just saying.

What impressed me here about Seri’s personality is that she’s pretty much “on point.” Things have to make sense for her to believe in them, because she isn’t one who’ll act without forethought. Her upbringing taught her to be calculating.

Falling in love with Jung Hyun — and clinging to him — will probably end up to be her most brainless adventure.

4. The theme

I’m beginning to understand the way this writer thinks. It seems to me that in every episode, there’s a general theme or a quote that will resonate in that episode and beyond.

In Episode 1, it was Seri’s proud comment, “Why does the wind blow? It’s blowing to move on, not to stay. The wind has to keep moving for me to fly.” Yes, she crash-landed on Jung Hyuk because of a strong wind.

In Episode 2, it was Jung Hyuk’s observation after he extinguished the candle. He told her that she didn’t need to feel embarrassed crying in front of him because he couldn’t see her in the dark. He reassured her, “Fortune and misfortune are like twisted rope, so they come by turns. Everything will be fine soon.” She asked him if he was sure, and he said yes.

In Episode 3, it was Jung Hyuk again when he told her that “A second feels like an eternity when you don’t know if your family member is alive.” I suspect this is a foreshadowing. In the future, when they’re apart from each other, every second of their separation will feel like forever. They’ll have to cope somehow.

You see, to miss a loved one is inevitable. Sooner or later, Jung Hyuk and Seri will have to separate. But to endure their yearning for each other is a choice. They will have to consciously decide. Or not.

And remember now what I said about Seri’s choice…

In Episode 4, it was the line from that song, “I’m worried about you.” Seri cheekily teased Jung Hyuk on their evening bicycle ride home. She was trying to get him to admit that he was worried about her but all he did was blame her for being bothersome. Seri said, “That means you’re worried about me.”

Then, in Episode 5, Seri brought up an Indian proverb.

Jung Hyuk had finished creating fire and piling hay for them. Sighing, he sat down beside her to rest.

JH: Aigoo.
SR: (spotting something in the neighboring camp) Huh? Those people have blankets. Did they buy them? Did they bring them?

He looked at her and she smiled up at him expectantly.

The next thing we knew, she was rearranging blanket on her knees.

SR: This is nice and warm. I can stretch my legs, too. I feel like I got an upgrade from economy class to business class. (gleeful) I’m glad I came outside. (he doesn’t say a word) Mr. Ri, sit down. It’s warm.

But as soon as he sat down, she spotted something else.

SR: Oh! Corns and potatoes!

He immediately stood up with a sigh.

SR: Where are you going?

She smiled up at him. Of course, she knew where she was going!

He bought corn and potatoes, and roasted them by the fire.

SR: It looks delicious! Mr. Ri, you should eat.
JH: You said you weren’t hungry.
SR: This is so delicious. By the way, Mr. Ri, I saw people over there buy water to wash their faces. 50 won for cold water and 100 won for hot water. Although hot water costs twice as much, it would be better, right?
JH: Are you thinking about settling down here? Do you want to live here? How could one be so greedy?

The funny thing about his comment is that he didn’t know how PRIVILEGED he was to see this “greedy” side of her. If only he knew! Seri was the “picky princess” who refused to take more than three bites of any dish, even a dish concocted by Michelin star chef. But here she was gobbling down corn on the cob.

SR: (stunned) Unbelievable! Don’t act like I’m the greediest person on earth just because I wanted the 100-won water to wash my face. I have money, you know. I’ll pay for my own water.
JH: (suspicious) Where did you get that money?
SR: I pawned my watch. They weighed my designer watch. Buying all the clothes I wanted left me with 500 won. (he shook his head) There was a really nice men’s watch at the pawnshop. Are you listening to me? People here don’t listen to me. They don’t even try.

Oh, this is rich! He had been listening to her *unspoken* demands when he bought her blankets, and corn and potatoes. With Seri, her unspoken words are actually yelled out the loudest.

She reached out for a sweet potato and yelped out loud.

SR: Oh gosh. It’s hot!

She blew her fingers, looked at him, and said again, “It’s so hot.” Listening to her *unspoken* words then, he picked the sweet potato up and began peeling it for her.

Let me stop here for a second because I think people missed how sad this scene was.

There was steam rising from the hot potato.

Jung Hyuk once had pianist hands. This meant that his fingers would have been very sensitive to touch. (I played the piano and even now, I’m very protective of my hands. I once touched a “hot plate” — or a sizzling plate, as they call it — and I fainted in extreme pain. The ambulance was called because my people thought I had a heart attack or something. As it turned out, I just burned my fingers.)

Anyway…to continue with the hot potato.

The potato must have been very hot since he picked it up straight from the fire. But did you notice that he touched it bare-handed? This told me that he’d become immune to pain. He’d learned to ignore the burning sensation and perceive it as nothing more than a temporary uncomfortable feeling.

In a way, this hot potato could be regarded as a metaphor to his approach in life. When he returned from Switzerland, and followed his brother’s footsteps in the military, he put away all the things that were associated with his past life: his piano sheets, the coffee maker, the camera. He stored them all away in shelves and in the closet as if that chapter of his life was all finished. And now, he had to solve a very controversial problem regarding his brother’s death.

SR: Mr. Ri, you’re a good man.
JH: That was sudden.

Meaning her comment was out of the blue. He couldn’t tell where she was going with this…if she had an ulterior motive for saying this.

SR: Well, that thought suddenly came to me. Later on, you’ll be a good husband and a good dad.
JH: I don’t know. I haven’t thought about the future.
SR: Why not? (he handed the potato to her)
JH: When things don’t go as I thought, I get disappointed.
SR: Has that happened to you?

He’d a flashback of his recital, and hanging around friends in Switzerland, then his brother’s funeral. In his mind, he doesn’t want to plan because things won’t turn out as he expects them. He doesn’t want to get disappointment. Ironically enough, his instinct for self-preservation is causing him to shortchange his happiness and live an unfulfilled life.

JH: Yes.
SR: I can see it broke your heart.

She started patting his shoulder. This reminded me of their goodbye scene when she wanted him to display affection and pat her hair.

SR: There is an Indian proverb that goes, “Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right station.” It was like that for me, too. Throughout my life, I always felt like I was on the wrong train. One time, I wanted to give up. I didn’t want to go anywhere. So I thought about jumping off the train.

SR: Look where I am now. (laughing) I took the wrong train again, and a very wrong one at that. It even got me across the 38th parallel. (he sighed) Nevertheless, you should think about the future even if things don’t always go as you wish. I wish you could be happy even after I leave, Jung Hyuk. I want you to arrive at the right station no matter which train you took.

Now, we can see how this proverb applies to Seri’s dating life. All her past boyfriends were like “wrong trains”.  Although those relationships derailed, I’d like to think that each one moved her closer to her final destination. Meaning, she learned enough from those bad relationships to recognize what she really wanted from a real relationship.

Note: it can also be argued that finding Jung Hyuk is similar to getting on board the “wrong-est” possible train there is. 🙂

But the train ride is the most apt metaphor to their romance.

The train was full of passengers, but they made a choice to embark on the whole journey with each other as companions.

There was an unannounced train stop and their train ride ended up taking as long as 17 hours.  This could allude to their unconventional situation. Both Seri and Jung Hyuk thought she could easily return home, without hitches. But one misfortune followed another, and now they were stuck together. They had to make the best of it.

Their journey then became a beautiful moment of discovery. They bonded because they were both resilient people. By the light of their campfire, they looked so cozy together and Jung Hyuk looked so chivalrous,

that the sight of them moved SungJoon to give up his blanket to his handler. lol.

Of course, the bitchy side of me wonders whether this writer intends to cover all the modes of transportation before Seri can finally return to Seoul. So far, we had the attempts to escape by boat and by paragliding. There were also a Jaguar ride down to the harbor, and the bicycle ride down a tree-lined lane. Now, we get this train trip through the countryside (of Mongolia, I hear).

There’s still the airplane to Europe. I wouldn’t be surprised if our couple were to end up in Switzerland where it all started.

********

To all the newbie posters, welcome to Bitches. I’m sorry I won’t be able to respond to your post individually.

I’m running a fever but I’ll try to post soon. 🙂

lol.