This is to my eight readers of “Bossam” on this blog —

I skipped talking about her worldly possessions in my previous highlights because it was too long. Here it is.

Nanny: Your Highness, what’s all this?
SK: My only possession used to be my mourning clothes. It seems my luggage has grown since then. Even if it’s just a single outer garment, a pair of socks, and one fine comb. Oh, and I got a hairpin, too.

1. The pair of shoes and socks were the first items he brought for her. I already said why I thought the shoes were romantic in my review of Eps 3 & 4.

The shoe-buying scene is romantic for a number of reasons.

One, it’s personal. I love shoes.

Two, thanks to Cinderella’s glass slippers, it’s ingrained in our minds that true love is finding the right fit. It augurs well for BaWoo that he got the right size.

Three, he put some thought into buying the shoes. At first, he was just about to grab-and-go a pair. But then, he began inspecting the shoes and measuring them based on his memory of her foot size. This tells us that he was paying attention when he was bandaging her foot.

Four, the shoes were expensive, but he still bought them (and a free pair of socks). Although he skimps on things for himself, and they barely have money to feed themselves, he bought the luxury shoes for her. What a guy!

Five, he learned that the pair was intended to be worn by the Princess herself at her wedding. I’m assuming that her fiancé, the Prime Minister’s son, died before the actual wedding rite could take place, and that the pre-ordered shoes were never delivered to her.

To me, buying her wedding shoes back indicated that he’s a sentimental sort of person despite his gruff manners. I also thought it was foreshadowing. He’s going to be her “rightful” husband.

And six, he pretended to be cool about the shoes. He sneaked behind the Princess to lay the shoes beside her, then he seated himself on the other side.

Bawoo: Try them on. They will fit.
Princess and ChaDol looked around him for the shoes, and he signaled her to look beside her.
Princess: (eyes widening) They are really pretty.
Bawoo: (muttering) Pretty? Shoes are just shoes. Hurry and try them on.
Princess: (studying the shoes) They look so precious. These are expensive.
Bawoo: Precious? It’s not even worth a few cents.

He was playing it down. He actually shouted in disbelief when he heard the price of the shoes: 5 nyang. That was equivalent to the payment he got for the bossam he did: 5 nyang.

Princess: That’s not so. From a glance, a master artisan worked with all his skill—
Bawoo: (interrupting her) Hurry and put them on.
Princess: How can they fit so perfectly? (looking at him) Thank you.

Bawoo is a romantic character. He wants to see her happy but at the same time, he pretends that her happiness doesn’t matter to him. I guess, he’s a Joseon style of “tsundere” and he needs his son ChaDol to soften his edges.

source: https://bitchesoverdramas.com/2021/05/12/bossam-eps-3-4-review/

Now, I think there’s another meaning to the shoe-buying scene. I think when we add up all the things he brought for her thus far, we shall see that he’s slowly taking the place of the groom. The socks and shoes were only the first step. He brought her the wedding finery she would have had if the marriage ceremony had gone through.

2. The binyeo was the second thing he purchased for her. (Episode 4)

He’d rescued her from drowning, and gave her a lecture about living for herself. Then, he went back to collect her things that she’d left on the cliff. On his way, he saw a couple. He immediately stopped and turned around. He asked, “That hairpin. How much do you want for it.”

This tells me that he had noticed that her long braided hair was down. He offered it to her the same time he gave her back her clothes and shoes.

BW: Thankfully, no one touched it so I brought it here. It’s your only possession, so don’t lose it. Also, I picked his up on the way.

He handed her the binyeo without looking at her. She looked at him, curiously. ChaDol urged her to try it on.

Now, to us viewers with a 21st century sensibility, a binyeo is a binyeo. It’s just a hairpin. What’s the big deal??

During the Joseon times, the binyeo was a symbol of love given by the man when he proposes to the woman.

Binyeo also held another special meaning to Korean women. Doing one’s hair in a chignon with a Binyeo for the first time was an important coming-of-age ceremony for young girls. It meant that the young girl was now a woman, thus ready to be wed. Offering a Binyeo to a woman was asking her for marriage. Breaking it meant betrothal. Dreaming of losing it was bad luck and finding one meant fortune. A tradition was also born from it. At the Dano festival, it was custom for women to wash their hair in water with lily extract, and wear a Binyeo made of lily roots. It was a wish for a long life of happiness.

source: http://annals.yonsei.ac.kr

I think that’s the reason BaWoo avoided looking at her when he offered the binyeo and Sookyung looked curiously at him. ChaDol wouldn’t know the significance of his gesture because he was a child. But the adults, both of whom were previously married, would have known the significance of the binyeo.

For practical purposes, BaWoo gave her the binyeo because her hair was undone. But to me, the binyeo signified another step towards his becoming a groom. If not by rite, at least by actions.

3. The comb

We weren’t shown him buying the comb, but I’m assuming he bought it her because they were heading back towards their home. (He walked behind them on the way to the market but he walked in front of them on the way home.)

The story behind the comb was cute. ChaDol was massaging his dad’s shoulders to butter him up. He wanted to go to the market again because they had so much fun last time.

CD: (massaging BW’s shoulders) Father, the market is held today.
BW: No! here are a lot of people out. It’s dangerous if someone recognizes us.
CD: It’ll be alright if we go around in secret, Father.
BW: I told you now.
CD: (disappointed) Yes….
SK: (chiming in) What will we have for dinner? We’ve run out of food.

BW looked back. He suspected a conspiracy here. The two joined forces to beg him to go to the market.

BW: Chadol!
CD: (excitedly) Yes!
BW: Go in and get me some water to drink.

Hahaha. He was splitting the two up so they couldn’t connive together. ChaDol pouted. Sookyung sighed and saw the look on the disappointed child.

So she decided to help ChaDol out.

SK: Oh right! I need a fine-toothed comb. If I go to the market, will I find one?

BaWoo knew what she was up to. She was getting him to change his mind because ChaDol really wanted to go. So he countered.

BW: If you really need one, I’ll go out and buy one for you.
SK: You don’t even know how to pick items.

He was about to protest but ChaDol came back with his water.

SK: (persisting) ChaDol’s socks are starting to get holes. If I’m to fix them, I need thread. (sighing) And we’re out of thread too. What shall we do?
BW: (giving up) Argh! Let’s go. We’ll go, all right? We’ll go to the market.
SK: (smiling)
CD: You said we couldn’t when I asked!

ChaDol got that right. BaWoo could resist him (and his massage) when he asked to go to the market. But he easily gave in to SooKyung’s excuses, like running out food, needing a comb, and lacking thread. Despite knowing that her excuses were all trumped-up so they could have a day in the market, he gave in to her.

BW: Quiet, boy! Just get ready to leave.

He darted a look at SooKyung who was smiling.

SK: ChaDol. Let’s get ready to leave, before your father changes his mind.

BaWoo was smiling at their excitement because they got him to yield to their demand. So, he pretended to be annoyed at them.

BW: Aren’t you coming?

SooKyung beamed at him because she knew that his impatience and gruffness were all just an act.

I think that SooKyung found his weak spot, that is, BaWoo liked to provide for his family. Although he didn’t want to show it, he was a pushover that way.

To me, even if we weren’t shown how SooKyung got her comb, the fact that she had one in her possession signified that BaWoo remembered her needing one, and getting it for her. And that’s a very husbandly thing to do.

So yes, on one level, it could be interpreted that she was taking care of her things because these were her only possessions now that she was no longer a princess.

But on the deeper level, I’d like to think that she was bundling these things because they held precious memories of BaWoo’s generosity and attention towards her, and she was grateful for them.

If I have time, I’ll post on the theme of loyalty. But I need to get moving on the other dramas on my list.

Updated:

Here’s the family tree…because a picture is worth a thousand words.