Without further ado.
1. Book club reading
There were three excerpts in this episode. First was a little poem.
“A Little Love Song”
by Hwang Tong Gyu
I received a letter that froze our yesterday into a still frame.
The path on which I used to follow you every day is now gone.
And other things are gone as well.
I see the pebbles that used to be like our toys when we were kids…
stuck in the ground, with their faces covered.
I love you, I love you.
In the cold evening sky,
I see slowly formed crevices,
Snowflakes flutter down from the sky.
A few of them can’t land on the ground.
Instead, they keep fluttering around,
Shivering with their eyes open.
Next up was an excerpt from a popular children’s book, “Owl at Home” by Arnold Lobel. This is a book that young children can read aloud to their parents, just like the little boy did to the book club members. Mr. Lobel was most famous for his Frog and Toad stories. If you have a young child, I highly recommend the collection. They’re gentle humorous stories with a timeless lesson on friendship. You can either read the stories to your child at bedtime or your child can read them to you to practice his reading skills. The words are children-friendly, too, unlike “Wind in the Willows.”
Here’s the complete story of Owl. Owl and Winter were personified and given human characteristics. Winter was considered a rude guest because of his blustery ways.
Owl was at home. “How good it feels to be sitting by this fire,” said Owl. “It is so cold and snowy outside.” Owl was eating buttered toast and hot pea
soup for supper.Owl heard a loud sound at the front door. “Who is out there, banging and pounding at my door on a night like this?” he said. Owl opened the door. No
one was there. Only the snow and the wind.Owl sat near the fire again. There was another loud noise at the door. “Who can it be,” said Owl, “knocking and thumping at my door on a night like this?” Owl opened the door.
No one was there. Only the snow and the cold. “The poor old winter is knocking at my door,” said Owl. “Perhaps it wants to sit by the fire. Well, I will be kind and let the winter come in.”
Owl opened the door very wide. “Come in, Winter,” said Owl. “Come in and warm yourself for a while.”
Winter came into the house. It came in very fast. A cold wind pushed Owl against the wall. Winter ran around the room. It blew out the fire in the fireplace.
The snow whirled up the stairs and whooshed down the hallway. “Winter!” cried Owl. “You are my guest. This is no way to behave!” But Winter did not listen. It made the window shades flap and shiver. It turned the pea soup into hard, green ice.
Winter went into all the rooms of Owl’s house. Soon everything was covered with snow. “You must go, Winter!” shouted Owl. “Go away, right now!” The wind blew around and around. Then Winter rushed out and slammed the front door.
“Goodbye,” called Owl, “and do not come back!” Owl made a new fire in the fireplace. The room became warm again. The snow melted away. The hard, green ice turned back into soft pea soup. Owl sat down in his chair and quietly finished his supper.
Last was the poem that Jang Woo had planned to read for the group, but was distracted. It’s “Natasha, the White Donkey, and Me” by Baek Seok. This is actually a famous Korean poem so I’m surprised that Hwi didn’t know about it. Lol. She should brush up on her literature if she planned to connect with her crush.
“Me, Natasha, and a White Donkey”
by Baek Seok
Tonight, the snow falls
because poor me has fallen
in love with the beautiful Natasha.
I love Natasha,
the snow falls endlessly,
and I sit sadly alone drinking soju.
While drinking soju, I think:
the night the snow falls endlessly
I would like to ride a white donkey,
Natasha and I,
and go to a remote, mournful mountain
and live in a hut.
The snow falls endlessly.
I love Natasha.
Natasha must be coming.
Sometime, she comes in already
and quietly tells me,
“You throw away such a thing as the world because it’s muddled,
but going to a remote mountain doesn’t mean you lose it all.”
The snow falls endlessly.
The beautiful Natasha loves me.
Somewhere, the white donkey too will cry out
with delight at the night.
credits: https://cardiacslaves.wordpress.com and
https://jaypsong.blog
As you all know, I don’t speak Korean so I found two translations of this poem. and, like an editor, I combined both for simplicity and clarity.
I thought this poem would be more appropriate for Eunsub since he had his own hut in the mountains where he could run off to if he wanted to disappear from the world. He could take his Irene there.
BTW, the “Natasha” mentioned in this poem isn’t a foreigner. Just like Eunsub gave Haewon the name, “Irene,” it’s the name the poet Baek Seok gave to the great love of his life. Mr. Baek had fallen in love with a gisaeng named Kim Yeonghan. In real life, he called her Jaya but, in the poem, he referred to her as Natasha.
pic
Their love affair was ill-fated and it bore similarities to “Crash Landing on You.” Because of Jaya’s gisaeng background, Mr. Baek’s parents wouldn’t allow their marriage and arranged for him to marry another. He married but fled his bride on his wedding day, and went back to Jaya. I believe he asked her to go with him to China, but she refused. So he left for China. She thought he’d return to her but the Korean War happened, and they would never get back together again. You see, he was from the North, and she was from the South.
She lived the rest of her life pining for him. She grew rich in South Korea, and dedicated her own poems to him. He was thought to have died in a collective farm in North Korea.
If you want to know more, here’s a link about her life, and here’s a six-minute video about him.
Youtube video on their love affair.
2. EunSub’s secret blog post
EunSub wrote on his blog:
At today’s book club gathering, we chose our favorite quotes from poems and novels that fit with winter and shared them. She’s adapting quite well to this book club. She sometimes reads the books that our members have already read. I began to wonder whether she gets curious about the person who read the book. Then what type of book should I choose?
I like keeping notes of his secret blog posts not only because they give us insight into his rather inscrutable feelings for her, but also because he does these small unobtrusive acts of charity for her that can be misconstrued as nothing important when all along they a big deal for him. lol. His blog posts remind me that he had secret intentions all along, and I shouldn’t miss them.
For instance, his admission here, “I began to wonder whether she gets curious about the person who read the book. Then why type of book should I choose?” puts his legend of the “Wolf’s Silvery Eyebrow” in a different light. To me, it would appear as if he chose that version of the tale, and that pitiful ending purposefully to tug at her heartstrings. lol. EunSub’s actions don’t indicate that that he’s disillusioned with people, just like that little boy in the legend. In fact, his heroic act here in this episode showed the opposite.
He immediately went to assist in the mountain rescue. If he’d felt any disenchantment, then he would have viewed the request for his help with cynical eyes. “Oh, sure! Requesting my service again and taking advantage of me again!” It was his mother who was upset because in her eyes, his skills were being exploited and his kindness abused. She railed against Jangwoo for involving Eunsub.
To me, Eunsub’s rescue effort proved that he didn’t believe in the boy of the legends living and dying a lonely life. In the same way, he believed that his mother, father and sister could save him, if necessary.
3. Jangwoo
Another episode, another Jangwoo-induced crisis. He actually caused two emergency situations here.
First, of course, was the mountain climbing incident. Although he called on Eunsub to help out his colleague, he admitted to Eunsub’s sister that he hesitated to burden his friend. “Do you know how desperate and urgent it was for me to end up looking for EunSeob?” He knew he was causing trouble but he felt he had no choice.
Second was the date. From Haewon’s blunt “Why?” he sensed that she didn’t like the idea of Eunsub meeting alone with the girl.
But he still dithered when giving a reply to girl.
JW: That is, hmmm… He said okay but not now. That is…
Girl: He doesn’t want to have a meal with me?
JW: No! No. No no no. No. That’s not it. He says a meal is fine.
Girl: Really?
JW: Yes. Sometim—
Girl: That’s a relief. I’m really so thankful.
JW: Right, I thought you’d be very thankful. (phone rings) Ah wait. Someone’s calling me.
Because he hemmed and hawed, the girl got the wrong answer. He should have directly said that his friend wasn’t interested. But he was too eager to please the girl.
I’m not sure whether Jangwoo’s character is a plot device to move the story along or he’s really shady, but yes, I’m attributing four crises to him. Although he seems to be a nice sort of fellow, he keeps on accidentally digging a hole for his friends.
I understand why EunSub’s mother would be angry with him, and why Haewon would cut in and asked him why the girl wanted to meet with EunSub alone. Not only was she jealous, but she probably distrusted EunSub and suspected a scheme here somewhere. Both women’s protective instincts were turned on for Eunsub.
4. The shoes
I’m sure viewers thought it was sweet of him to buy him shoes, but I was surprised that he’d never heard of the Korean superstition about buying shoes for your loved one. It’s considered a taboo to give shoes to your special someone because he would run away from you…perhaps even wearing the same shoes you gave him. lol.
Hmmm…I guess, one way to get around this superstition is to ask for a small coin in return for the shoes. That way, you’re not technically “giving” a gift, but “selling” the shoes for a small fee.
5. The mountain
In a roundabout way, Haewon admitted to feeling uneasy when she couldn’t find Eunsub. She feared that he left her, so she went to the mountain after him. She explained to him that she felt the same anxiety when she was a child, waking up to find her mother missing.
HW: I felt the same when I was looking for you earlier.
ES: You shouldn’t go to the mountains at night though.
Here, instead of empathizing with her like he normally did, he insisted on one thing: no mountain-trekking at night
HW: I was just going to go to the entrance and head back.
ES: It’s easy to get lost even with just a few steps in the mountain. Finish the rest of your drink and sleep.
He didn’t care to hear her excuse; he stuck to his point: No mountain at night for her because she could get lost even with a few steps.
He was like the Mountain Nazi.
I’m glad though that he didn’t shout at her. Although he wasn’t the type to bellow, it was easy to see that he was fuming that she risked her life. He didn’t even stick around to drink his tea. He left before he lost his cool.
But Haewon persisted.
HW: But you…How do you go around there like that? Can you see in the dark?
ES: It’s because I’m used to it. I’m familiar with it. But since you’re not, you can’t ever go again to the mountains at night like that.
He kept returning to the same subject. He didn’t want her to go to the mountains at night. EVER.
From this short encounter, we see that Eunsub was laying down the law as if he was Moses of the mountains. The First Commandment: Thou must not go to the mountains at night.
If he weren’t so incensed, he could have offered to bring her to the mountain the following day, when there was light, to show her the dangers of the woods up-close. He could have walked her all the way to his hut and come back down again. But instead of doing that, he focused solely on the danger of going to the mountain at night.
His single-mindedness would make anyone curious. What secret was he hiding up there? It seems to me that we’ve found his “taboo.” If Haewon’s taboo was her mother’s imprisonment, his was his mountain retreat. Nobody could go to his old house of his dream. Whoops! Unlike Baek Seok, he wouldn’t dream of bringing his Irene to mountain hut at night.
By the way, the title of this episode according to Kissasian was “My Old House in My Dream” while Viki had “I’ll Go to You When the Weather is Nice.”
6. The church transition scene
I have to consider EunSub’s passive-aggressive stance on the mountain when I view the transition scene involving the Catholic church (Oh, stop it, kdrama writers! Stop using Catholic churches as props!).
To me, it was a foreshadowing of a secret. He had a secret he was hiding from her, and it involved the hut in the mountain.
It was most likely a family secret, like a birth secret since Eunsub’s sister already found a picture in his wallet of a young boy with an male adult. That man in the picture could be Eunsub’s literature teacher who instilled in him the love of nature, his Boy Scout Troop Leader who taught him mountaineering, or his second uncle on his mother’s side. 🙂
But I’m going with the simplest answer: his dad.
@nrllee, you asked here what the relevance of the church was.
To me, it was hinting at a family secret. You see, the birth of Jesus was a secret too, right? If you aren’t Christian, this whole idea of Mary conceiving Jesus without a male sperm sounds ludicrous. If you aren’t a believer, Jesus’ real father would be a birth mystery, just like EunSub’s real parentage is in question now because of the discovery of the photograph.
Also, Eunsub’s family could be a foster family like Jesus had St Joseph as a foster father. If his real home was the hut in the mountain, it wasn’t a place accessible to his mom, dad, and his sister. Lastly, Eunsub had the mountain in his blood (or the “call of the wild”) because he was born and raised there, just like Jesus has divinity in him because He is the Son of God.
I disliked the inclusion of this Catholic church in this transitional scene because it was vague and ambiguous. Why bother include it then?
Incidentally, I also disliked that scene when EunSub’s sister had his wallet. To me, it appeared contrived. She just happened to steal his wallet and that picture conveniently fell out of it. There was zero subtlety that the director needed to show Eunsub with a mysterious man.
But we shall soon find out what secrets are.
7. On waking up
Young Haewon felt strange and uneasy whenever her mother went missing when she woke up. Her first instinct was to look for her. She worried that her mother might never come back.
Eunsub must have felt the same thing at the end of this episode. He woke up, saw the blanket on him, and wondered where Haewon was.
If you noticed, it was the “normalcy” of the situation that looked ominous.
Young Haewon woke up to find that the rice was cooking and laundry machine was left on. It was as if her mom had just stepped out. Nothing looked out-of-the-ordinary.
Same with Eunsub, he woke up to find the blanket on him. The lights were left on. And a dog barked outside. It was as if Haewon was simply in another part of the house.
That moment of disorientation must have been frightening for them. Everything seemed normal on the surface, but they would have felt an inexplicable fear and helpless panic that everything was far from normal, beneath the surface.
To me, what this director does excellently is to set up the mood; the show is sweeping and expansive. There’s a wide range of topic that can be discussed and explored.
However, the story itself seems to be lacking in depth and heft. We can feel the angst everywhere (that’s the breadth of the show) but we aren’t getting anything deep or heavy. So far, there’s only an illusion of character turmoil and a hint of personal struggle but there’s no serious conflict to make the drama compelling for me to watch. The two main leads are just coasting along, skimming the surface and avoiding a real confrontation. I was glad of that scene with BoYeong because Haewon finally cleared up the “misunderstanding” but I wish she had let it all out and screamed at her for catharsis.
Hopefully, the arrival of the Haewon’s mother is the catalyst that I’m looking for.
“To me, what this director does excellently is to set up the mood; the show is sweeping and expansive. There’s a wide range of topic that can be discussed and explored.
However, the story itself seems to be lacking in depth and heft. We can feel the angst everywhere (that’s the breadth of the show) but we aren’t getting anything deep or heavy.“
I agree. I think that’s why it feels highly cerebral right now (once you peel past the beautiful veneer). My brain has to work extra hard to tie up the links in the main plot and the literary interjections in the form of poems, folklore. It is clever but also very laborious.
As for your explanation about the Catholic Church scene, that makes sense. Although personally I find it strange that the writer would opt for something so cryptic to hint at a birth secret. This is where I have a problem with the writing/directing. It just feels like they are trying too hard to be clever. Thus far, the formula has been a narration (whether in the book club or voiceover for his blog)…they should’ve stuck to the formula? That would’ve made more sense. But then it would’ve made ES seem “religious” for knowing all that background about Jesus…so the writer/PD opted to have bells toll and lingering shots of a quaint church and holy family in the background. The backdrop of the drama characters are mysterious enough…adding another layer of mystery by cloaking with arcane scenes/legends excessively makes it very hard for the general populous to really engage with the characters? I feel like I am doing a book review rather than just investing in the characters. We can’t really dig deeper into the different characters or invest in them fully because they are buried under folklore/legends (which we are trying to dissect). We are doing character studies and this drama has thus far stimulated my brain but has yet to hit my heart.
Thank you, @packmule3. I’m sorry that Jang Woo didn’t read the poem, but then a Korean audience would have known about it. What an extraordinary true story behind it!
The church transition scene made me think at first of the daffodil poem that said even the bells ring because they are lonely. Being culturally Catholic, this scene didn’t bother me as much as some, but made me curious about why it was included. I’m sure it will come to light. I agree that it’s about family. I was impressed that ES told his mother that she, his dad and Hwi could join forces and save him together, almost as if it had happened before or that he had thought it through. He doesn’t say that he trusts anyone else to save him.
It wouldn’t fit in with the story, but if I were HW, I would have woken ES up and told him to go to bed. 😏 Just practical, I guess.
On waking up, do you think ES imagined that HW had gone up the mountain despite his warning? To me, his anger on the night she went up the mountain was so subtle that I really didn’t get it until you pointed it out. No, he didn’t yell, but ever so calmly repeated that she shouldn’t go up to the mountains alone at night. I wonder if it went over her head as well? She’d had her scare, so it seemed like he was preaching to the converted. Clueless or overly romantic, my interpretation was that he wasn’t ready to discuss her explanation that him being absent made her panic like when her mother left her alone. To me her explanation meant that his presence had increased greatly in value to her; nearly a confession. But no reaction to this, instead more talk about the mountain. He tells her to drink up and go to bed. He leaves the room and she has such an odd expression on her face. Was HW expecting a rapprochement and instead got a telling-off about something completely different? I’m probably just dense. Did he have a tear in his eye when he was at the window looking out?
The story of Natasha is good, right? 👍
Same! I wouldn’t have left ES sleeping like that. Can you imagine his stiff neck in the morning?
Yes. I’m with you. If I were ES and couldn’t find her, I would suspect that she went to the mountain at first light just because I’d been adamant that she didn’t go at night. 😂
Yes, I too initially thought that he was simply evading her after she confessed her growing attachment. But he repeated his warning not to go to the mountain at night three times after she shared her story. He brushed it off. He didn’t pay attention. It was as if he had tunnel vision. All he could see was that she endangered herself.
He poured himself a cup of tea but he didn’t drink it. He went to the sink and disposed of it. To me that wasn’t the action of a flustered man. A flustered man would have brought his mug with him to the bedroom. 😂
And that’s the problem when a quiet man gets angry and doesn’t express anger in the normal way, i.e., yelling, wild gestures of hands, frowns, teeth grinding, volatile responses, grim voice, etc. Since the anger signs aren’t noticeable, it’s not easy to tell that he’s already enraged.
And then he entered his room, closed door, leaned against the door and listened for her footsteps as she headed to her room too. At first, I also assumed that this action meant he wasn’t ready to deal with her admission of growing attachment and that he was blocking her out…for now.
But if that was the case, then there should have been a glimmer of a smile. In the privacy of his room, he should have shown happiness or satisfaction that she was thawing out for him.
But he didn’t. Instead, he looked serious. He looked out the window and the church bells tolled. Then we had the transition scene with the church scene.
🙂 I’m typing this on my iPhone and I can barely see what I’m writing. Will transfer to my laptop now.
@pm3 thank you. I am not watching this drama so I’m unable to comment on that, but thank you for your book suggestions for children! My child has so far been more interested in eating books rather than reading them but I suppose we’ll get there. One day. We shall.
On a side note, the owl story is so great. Personification of winter and winds would probably help eliminate fear as well? I was very afraid of winds rattling the doors as a child. I still am. I have to continuously give myself logical arguments not to be irrationally afraid if I’m alone, it’s dark and there’s a sirocco blowing outside. Further, I just hide my fears in the hope that I will lessen the burden of baseless fears for my daughter. 🙂
For the church scene, the Church and the mountains house have a light on at night, you can find refuge there even the night and it can guide you like a lighthouse. I don’t know if it’s a direct connection with ES’s family.
A mother who killed her husband, it’s a pretty dark subject in a Kdrama. There are only 4 episodes, I like the fact we learn things step by step.
@packmule3, I thought ES had a couple of sips, but wasn’t in the mood to relax and enjoy a hot drink. I accept that he was worried, too. Compare his reaction to that of JH in CLOY. JH might over-react, but at least you can guess what’s going on in his brain. ES is bloody hard work.
Now at last we have HW with her lightbulb moment first and next coming down with a big case of hero worship during the mountain rescue. I hope that her affection in real life won’t scare him off. She has been idealised in his mind for 10+ years, but reality will be different.
@Sayaris, I have been wondering about the church and the house lights as well. In one scene with the house, it looked like there was some paperwork and a small propane torch, like the one the aunt used on the pipes. If the lights are on, could someone be there? Is ES the one leaving the lights on and things around and if not, who?
@Arihsi, my daughters’ favourite book when tiny was one called Messy Baby. It was a board book that was simply photos of different babies being VERY messy. Think noodles everywhere, flowerpot emptied out, baby food all over everything including baby, etc. They thought it was SO funny. There were only a few words if any; it was up to the adult to react to the photos. The last few pages were babies enjoying getting clean in the bath. Not great literature, but for very young babies a book they could relate to. There’s something about actual photos of other babies that they really liked.
@fern, yes in real life, ES would bug me because I’m not a mind-reader. Unlike court hearings or dramas, I cannot look back at transcripts and pour over the words during a real-time spousal argument. If I ask “Can you please repeat what you just said?” I sound insulting, confrontational when I actually only want to understand better. 😂 So yes I prefer direct men.
But I like their car trips. That’s when HW gets to ask ES questions and he has to answer because he can’t go anywhere.
Yes the propane torch is interesting. I don’t think however that ES meant that hut to be a lighthouse for *all* since it’s inaccessible and dangerous to get to at night. The light he leaves on isn’t meant to be a beacon for everyone.
Maybe for *one* person, sure, he meant it to be a safe place to return to. Who that person is, that man in the photograph, we don’t know yet.
You see, what’s the point of lighting a lantern in the middle of the woods when nobody can see the light, or if somebody can see it, he has no path to reach it. The lighthouse only works because it shines on the water so the dangerous rocks and the shores are exposed. The light in the hut doesn’t reach far enough to guide people through the dark woods.
The person for whom ES lights the place up must be like him. He knows his way around the dark forest too.
I can relate to the car trips. I hear the most astonishing things from my daughters then. Although with us, it’s less a matter of inability to escape, but more like a secure place for throwing ideas around.
I wondered if someone (the man?) comes to the old house secretly on occasion. But wouldn’t that person know the way there without lights? Unless the lights are for a welcome rather than guidance, or the person has an infirmity and mightn’t arrive without.
Can’t help sighing over the electric bill. Practicality again. 😉
@Fern thank you for the suggestion ! The book isn’t available on Amazon in my country but thank you for the idea ! 🙂
The story of Natasha will make a great drama! It reminded me of Hymn of Death, a good mini drama (3 episodes), but depressing. One has to be in the right mood to watch it…
That’s what I assumed. That the man or whoever ES was waiting for (if he was indeed waiting for somebody) knew the way to the hut in the dark like ES.
The cinematography added to the viewers’ confusion here. 🙂 Since we had to see the characters moving in the forest, the scene was filmed with light. But in REEL life, when ES and HW were walking the forest, their path would have been lit by the moon alone — *if* moonlight even reached the forest ground. If you notice, the trees were all tall and the tree canopy could be blocking the light.
That’s partly why ES’ mom angrily asked if the townsfolk thought ES was an animal. She was (also) referring to the night vision. 🙂 Animals could see better than humans in the dark. If you rewatch the forest scene, all the other rescuers had flashlights, flares, and cellphones out, but ES was walking higher up in the mountain all by himself, without any flashlight. 🙂
Which brings me to this…
The reason you didn’t notice that he didn’t need flashlights was because he always brought out the flashlight for HW. hahaha. First, he escorted her home with the flashlight. He told her it was dark. SHE was the one who needed the flashlight. He could have walked that path to her home and back, blindfolded.
Then, he had the flashlight when he walked through her house with her. She was looking for medicine and he shone the flashlight for her.
In your mind, flashlight = ES.
But he could see in the dark.
If you rewatch the scenes in Ep 3 and 4 when he was walking through the forest, he had no flashlight with him.
Oh yes. The electric bill!
But I wonder if the lights inside the house (and around the perimeter it seems?) were powered by a generator or solar-power bank or battery. That was a waste of energy…to leave on all those lights on the off chance that somebody would visit the hut at night!
“Hymn of Death” was on netflix, wasn’t it? I skipped it. 🙂
For some reason, I don’t mind reading depressing stories, but I don’t like watching them. I can detach myself from the angst when I’m only reading the story. But when I’m seeing the sadness in pictures, it leaves a mark. What did they say again? A picture is worth a thousand words? Yes. The visuals have a more immediate impact than words. They go for the visceral reaction first, then the intellectual reaction has to catch up to the feelings.
When I saw Baek Soek’s old picture, I thought he was more handsome than some current kpop idols. (And he didn’t have any plastic surgeries. lol)
http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2012/09/05/20120905000947_0.jpg
I agree. I couldn’t understand why the director or writer chose to insert that church view for the transition. It’s like the Sesame Street game, “one of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong.”
All I could up with was it was a foreshadowing, a teaser that Eunsub had a strange, secret connection to the mountain hut and it related to his family. He was a wolf, but his family wasn’t at all a wolf pack.
Then HW started talking that she envied his family because his family was warm-hearted while hers felt like a freezer drawer. But what if ES used to have a freezer drawer for a family, too, or worse, would she see him any differently?
Thanks for this @pkml3.
The thought that ES was angry over HW’s trek in the mountain did not strike me until you mentioned it. Now the question is if he was angrier over the fact that she almost discovered his hidey hole, or because he just did not want any intruders, or because HW getting hurt bothered him.
I tend towards his not wanting her to intrude into his space (yes the title for me is ‘My Old House in My Dream’ too). My guess is that he leaves the light on for that 1 man in the photo, and will not take kindly to anyone else walking into the house.
I believe in this paragraph you meant Jang Woo was not trusted …
That’s interesting, because I did not notice that HW distrusted JW at all. Were you thinking that HW felt that JW, being one of the ‘kids’ of marriageable age, whom parents wanted to marry off, was trying to drag ES into the dating game so that he (JW) would not suffer alone?
I do agree, though, that JW is pretty sharp and noticed at once HW’s discomfiture over Girl wanting to meet ES. His inability to say anything that might upset the Girl, by telling her truthfully that EX had not said he’d meet her, might have more to do with JW’s liking her himself, than with any other nefarious reason.
I have heard of the Korean superstition about shoes. However, there’s the reverse of it too, but of course ES being the wooden stick that he is, did not vocalize it, at least the time is probably not yet right to say it … ie he could have told her to wear the boots and come to him as a sign that she’d be his girlfriend.
A bit edited from what I wrote on DB: On the title which I have for this show … I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day
– ES can move around the mountain in the dark. He can, like the show title says, find the house, but he does it at night time without even a light. He does not need a beautiful day.
– He hears HW running around on the mountain and is able to find her.
– He is the one relied upon to find Min Jeong. So far he finds people just fine in the dark of night.
It’s interesting that he leaves the house with a light on, waiting, perhaps to find a person who will return to it. That day, I guess, will be beautiful for ES if he is really waiting for/pining for a loved one.
I like the hugs in this show … last episode HW’s voice over said that for the poor lonely boy looking through the Wolf’s Eyelash and not finding a ‘real person’, he should be hugged. Hae Won hugs ES out of fear and relief, and then later his mum hugs him too. I want ES to get many warm hugs from real people.
I wonder if ES peoples his night time with real or imagined online readers as he blogs. I thought at first that he was addressing all the insomniacs of the world, but perhaps he’s only writing to himself.
Into this rather bland environment, HW’s troubling mother now steps, with an insult as the first words we hear leaving her mouth. LOL. Interesting times ahead!!
Pm3,
Yes, Hymn of Death is on Netflix. I too prefer stories and dramas with happy endings, but I have to give credit to kdrama for making me appreciate tragedy and melodrama. It seems to me that what passes for tragedy in the West is just despair, futility, and nihilism, utterly devoid of any hope or catharsis. I still cry at tragic drama endings, but also feel better afterwards. The story of Natasha and Baek Seok has all the ingredients of a classic tragedy: the handsome poet, the impossible love, the cruel fate, but also endurance and hope. This fits perfectly with the Korean concept of Han, which was discussed in another post here.
@GB
“The thought that ES was angry over HW’s trek in the mountain did not strike me until you mentioned it. Now the question is if he was angrier over the fact that she almost discovered his hidey hole, or because he just did not want any intruders, or because HW getting hurt bothered him.”
O he was angry alright. Seething and holding it back. He was terse and sharp. Practically seething that she put herself in danger. I don’t think it was about being scared that she would find his secret out, it doesn’t fit with his MO. If he were that particular about his “private time” he would’ve been snappy with her every time she intruded at the Bookstore unannounced.
“His inability to say anything that might upset the Girl, by telling her truthfully that EX had not said he’d meet her, might have more to do with JW’s liking her himself, than with any other nefarious reason.”
That was my thinking too.
“ It’s interesting that he leaves the house with a light on, waiting, perhaps to find a person who will return to it. ”
I interpreted that to mean that his door was always open (but for me this applies only in the Bookstore). Not just for HW but for everyone. I am not entirely sure if we should read too much into the hut in the mountains having a light on as meaning anything. It could just be for practical purposes? There are no street lights or any sort of light bar moonlight in the woods. In Korea there are self timers on lights and sensor lights (which conveniently come on as you enter somewhere)…so it could be just that rather than a beacon for someone to return home (ie mystery man in photo). But I am open to the possibility that it could mean that he is waiting for someone to come home in the mountains.
@packmule3 I thought the flashlight was just his convenient excuse to walk her home (spend more time with her) 😂. In his bumbling awkward way. And being the Macgyver type mountain man he would have his flashlight handy…and a Swiss Army Knife surely? 😂.
Will reply on the blog. 😂
MacGyver? Did you say MacGyver? I took me years to realize that all the kdrama guys I’ve ever loved were just a pale shadow of my #1 ideal guy, MacGyver.
😍🤪🤩
“ MacGyver? Did you say MacGyver?“
Aye. The original one though…Richard Dean Anderson…not the remake which hubby is watching. I watch it with him on occasion but it doesn’t have the same allure as the original 😂.
I’m sorry to butt in but I’m with you ladies with the one and only MacGyver! I grew up watching him with my cousins when I first came here to Oz.
His name alone, Richard Dean Anderson elicits dreamy smiles for me. What a hunk and a very reliable and dependable man! 🥰😂
That’s my fangirling for the day. 🤣
People used to say that my youngest brother looked a bit like MacGyver. Way back when. I haven’t thought about that for ages. 😀 It was on when I rarely watched TV.
JW reminds me of this same brother. He had a job for a while at the ticket counter for an airline and he learned a sort of ‘can do, no problem, we’ll make each of you happy’ sort of charm. He got bonuses from positive customer feedback.
@nrllee, ‘I don’t think it was about being scared that she would find his secret out, it doesn’t fit with his MO.’ I agree, unless his secret place or the person who may or may return there could be dangerous or frightening for her, or should not be seen by others for some other reason?
You are so much better at reading his mood than I. I’ve looked at the section several times. I saw that he changed the subject from her being scared/lost to the cold and returning downhill. After he disengaged her grip on his sleeve, he held her by the wrist rather than the hand, but had let go and was walking ahead of her by the time they were on the road into the village.
Are there any optometrists/opthamologists out there? I wonder about ES seeing in the dark – I know that some people are ‘night blind’ while for others their eyes adjust well in the dark. I would imagine that he’s on the high end of the range for ability to see in low light conditions. I saw one article where a person claimed that he/she saw well in the dark, but that they also were a night-owl (like ES), someone who stayed up late at night, therefore exposing their eyes to less daylight. I know someone a bit like that – awake at night and they are very sensitive to bright light during the day.
Is anyone else surprised by the lack of gossip about ES and HW staying in the same building? This is village life and I’d think no one could breathe without everyone knowing. I’m sort of surprised that ES’s mother isn’t coming around or locals aren’t teasing them about it. We’ve already seen that sort of awareness in the larger town’s pharmacy, the Aunt and the other adults knew small details about Min Jeong; her family, where she lived, her exam grade and degree, her job.
Speaking of Min Jeong, I think that if JW was sweet on her, he would have paid more attention to her, even covertly, than he did. She’s new to the job, so maybe it’s still to come. If JW liked someone called Eun Sil in high school, I wonder if she will be at the 10 year reunion?
@Fern , I’ve always wanted an older brother but it didn’t happen for my parents as we are 4 girls and I am the eldest. 🙂 When my eldest was born I wanted a younger sister for him but it didn’t happen again but all good. hehehe It is how it is. 🙂
Did your brother agree with the comment about him looking like MacGyver? hehehe My boss’ eldest brother is very similar to David Duchovny from the X-Files. I always give him a longer look when he’s not looking. LOL.
@Fern
“ unless his secret place or the person who may or may return there could be dangerous or frightening for her, or should not be seen by others for some other reason?”
Maybe. We will have to wait and see.
“ Is anyone else surprised by the lack of gossip about ES and HW staying in the same building?”
Yup. Plot hole. 😆
The other thing that wasn’t “revealed” was who stopped her in her high school days when she tried to drown herself? That scene stopped abruptly as she was wading into the lake. I can’t remember hearing someone call out for her to stop or did she do that of her own accord? Her face didn’t seem to register any regret or fear which would’ve forced her to turn back of her own volition? If anything, she seemed determined to go through with it?
@agdr03, I have one older and 3 younger brothers. They had to share a large room but I had my own, so that was great because they were ANNOYING as when we were young. As to looking like MacGyver, I think my brother probably didn’t see it in himself. I googled him just now. He wasn’t the beauty of the 3, but still good looking. Lol.
@nrllee, ‘who stopped her in her high school days when she tried to drown herself?’ Someone screamed her name. It sounded to me like a feminine voice. HW looked so determined, I’m surprised that she stopped but perhaps she didn’t want a witness. Another wait and see.
I was also thinking how could that have been filmed in this weather?
@Fern , wow! If the brother that looks like MacGyver is not that of a beauty but still good looking then I’m guessing all of you are all handsome and beautiful. ☺️
It’s definitely great to have your own room when your young. I never had my own room till I was 16. 😄
About walking in the dark without flashlight in the forest, honestly it’s better (if the moon is shining at least a little bit) than with a flashlight. The issue with the flashlight, it’s you can see a limited part very well but all around is very dark. At the opposite, without flashlight, you can see all your surroundings well enough to walk. It depends on the moon, but personaly, I didn’t always use my flashlight.
Off topic. @agdr03, he was cute but the eldest was the sort of baby the old ladies cooed over. He would get extra tips on his paper route for his naturally wavy hair, green eyes and rosy cheeks. Girls used to ask me if he was my brother bc he was 6’+ by the time he was 14 and I was one of the shortest in my year. (Yes. And?) Worked as a part-time waiter while at university and made a fortune in gratuities. Hehehe. But best of all, he’s a good man. 😊
Intermittent internet here on the Duchy side of the river. ☹️
‘He would get extra tips on his paper route for his naturally wavy hair, green eyes and rosy cheeks.’
I was about to sleep when I read this. I was right that you’re all good looking. 😉 I mean green eyes is just wow. 🤩 But the good man stands out more. ☺️ I hope you’ve caught up with the height though? 😬 I’m glad my boys are both taller than me now. I’m only about 5’1. 🙃
Sorry for the off topic Everyone. 🙇🏻♀️
Thanks @Fern ☺️
Well off topic
@agdr03. Bro no. 1 got ticks in all the boxes. MacGyver bro got the greenish eyes, though and middle brother got the most organised brain of all with his more devilish charm. I’m not tall and don’t stand out. That’s fine with me. 😉. My elder daughter uses MacGyver as a verb.
@Sayaris ooo… Yes! It’s a strange response to write in a comment but I’d like to think of it as a conversion 🙂 ooo.. yes is a moment where I understood why I feel very insecure climbing poorly lit rickety stairs of old buildings with cellphone flash light. You can’t see the whole stair and you eyes aren’t adjusted to darkness so you can’t see the rest of it at all.
P. S. In case you question as to what am I doing in poorly lit old buildings, my answer would be my sister. She’s an architect (an Ivy league graduate. I’m a very proud). She used to drag me to these horrid places in the name of study.
Arihsi> I was scout (for 20 years actually) and I walked a lot in the forest during the night, so it’s why I shared my little experience here :p
You’re nice sister! In the night and alone, she’s lucky to have you 🙂
There’s a new bts video on Soompi mostly featuring Lee Jae Wook getting a lot of stick from his fellow actors. I can’t copy it to here for some reason.
Oh it’s not always good to be a stand out anyway. 😁 I’d prefer it that way too. You’re brothers must have had a lot of attention. 😊
Well I learned something today. 😀 I didn’t even know that MacGyver is in the Oxford dictionary. That’s cool. ☺️
Poor Lee Jae Wook. I can’t get the donkey image out of my mind now.
https://www.soompi.com/article/1387670wpp/watch-lee-jae-wook-keeps-making-the-cast-laugh-behind-the-scenes-of-ill-go-to-you-when-the-weather-is-nice
https://giphy.com/gifs/movie-shrek-ZNRozCvq94rDO
Bless.
Oh they kept teasing him. Lucky he was still game. Meanwhile SKJ wasn’t really in the teasing mood. 😄
@agdr03, The donkey comment was in the drama as well. I was surprised.
Maybe SKJ was trying desperately to stay in character. 😂 I wouldn’t have been able. They were laughing so much. I’m hoping that there will be more trailers or bts videos this week since the drama isn’t on.
Either that or he didn’t really find it funny. 😬😂. I mean I would be laughing too because at some point the laughter would get to me. 😆
I’m not following this drama but I’ve watched episode 2 and I thought the book club was nice and the reunion was interesting. 😊
It almost seemed like their bts personalities are similar to their characters’. Do you think SKJ was seething?
I followed this drama because of the setting as much as anything else. Silly me. I think it will all ramp up in ep. 5. What else are you watching? I had a look at The Big Boss with Huang Jung Jie when he was younger, but could only find it on YouTube. I’m having a hard time getting the episodes in order, so will probably stop.
@Fern “ It almost seemed like their bts personalities are similar to their characters’. Do you think SKJ was seething?”
He looked annoyed to me. 😂. Or maybe ticked off that LJW seemed to be getting all the attention. Or probably just tired and wanted the scene over and done with. Too many takes with laughing can get tiresome. Who knows? I always felt SKJ comes across cold as a person. LJW on the other hand is a mood maker and warm.
@nrlle> SKJ is not cold, he’s quiet. You can see in the other BTS of his dramas. He was playing with the kid during this scene. Maybe he prefer just staying in the mood his role. LJW is very young and he’s the “clown” of the casting, it was the same in Extraordinary You.
I think it’s more annoyance than anything else like @nrllee said. 😊 I’m not familiar with SKJ but he does look like the quiet type.?
I’m not watching anything at the moment really besides Dr Cutie. I’m hoping to see Memorist because of YSH and Hospital Playlist because of Yoo Yeon Seok.
I was interested in The Big Boss too but if you can’t find all of the episodes then that’ll be hard. I’ll check it out tomorrow. 😊
I shall have to check out the Memorist and Hospital Playlist.
Big Boss is cute and enjoyable, in the sense of it being a high school drama. The leads have contrasting personalities, so it’s a rather like a modern day, youthful Dr Cutie without the angst and deeper emotions. It seems like the sort of thing that would air after school where I live. I thought I was watching the episodes in order, but then started Season 2 episodes. Some seemed to fit in between Season 1 episodes and a person who died was still around! Other episodes were missing, which can happen on YouTube due to copyrighting. (I can’t find it on Dramacool, which would have had it in order.)
Okay. Tell us when you’ve found the whole series. I don’t want to start something that’s incomplete. Ugh.
The Big Boss episodes are listed on Kissasian, but when I try to open any of them, it says that the connection has been reset. Hopeless. May not be your thing, anyway, @packmule3. Fairly juvenile and probably out of date already.
@packmule3, apologies if you have already written about this. Will you do ep 5 and 6?
Still thinking about it. 😂
Ta! Other sites are a combination of meh and gushy.
What do you mean that the other sites are “gushy”? 🙂 Did you mean that the posts were weepy, sentimental, romantic? Or overly enthusiastic?
But that’s my exactly dilemma. I don’t know if I should be critical about these last two episodes or let them pass. lol.
Overly enthusiastic, as in ‘the fangirl gushed over him.’ I quite liked the last 2 as some background came to light.
Haha, fell down a Cdrama wormhole until 4am yesterday. Even my husband is scratching his head. Good news was that Huang Junjie showed up as a minor god-like character, looking very toothsome in white.
Cdrama wormhole – Is it Three Lives, Three Worlds: The Pillow Dream, @Fern ? 😄
Pingback: When the Weather is Nice: Any Updates? – Bitches Over Dramas