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Enjoy the show!
59 Comments On “Hometown Cha Cha Cha: Eps 9 & 10 Open Thread”
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The thread is now open for spoilers and discussions.
Gifs from becomeundone’s tumblr
🙂
Enjoy the show!
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Homage to the hand-hair-flipping tic! LOL!
And he does it at least twice in a row.
Let’s enjoy the show!
Nice gifs, @pkml3! My shallow self doesn’t mimd him having this tic, as long as he looks cute doing this😜 He kind of looks like a baby version of LMH (before he matured as an actor). Lol.
In today’s episode of HTCCC, I’m interested to see if the lead pair will finally bw ready to confront their feelings for each other, after that hugging scene at the end of last episode, or will they still make excuses and avoid the topic as they have been doing so far.
Thanks @pkml3. Hi my doensaengs Janey and Phoenix!
Ah the self-conscious pretentiousness of Du Sik. Pushing his fringe back, I guess, is better than the head toss to flick back the fringe? I look forward to the next episode after the hug too @Phoenix! Anyway the hug is right on target at Episode 8 LOL.
Yes @GB, right on target for a rewind-worthy kissing scene in episode 9 😜😜, as per good old kdrama tradition, because we are over the half-way mark already! Bring it on, I say😛 No more push-and-pull! I think the second ML was a catalyst for DuSik to realize his feelings more strongly. I’m also keen to find out what DuSik’s traumatic past is. I’m sure they are storing that bit for the last 3 episodes to build up more drama! For now there is the stalker trope as a filler 😛
KSH is too much of a cute puppy to be my type (I like my men confident, suave and tough, like HB😍) but I have high hopes for KSH maturing like LMH did since his Boys Over Flowers days to his The King version (loved his gravity in that, that epic sword battle scene..sigh❤).
LOL @Phoenix, yes, I’d like a kiss scene too. In Yumi’s Cells, the dating card had 4 squares to bet on in how far the date should progress:
(1) was ‘Nothing’ happens
(2) was Hand-holding
(3) was a Hug and
(4) was a Kiss
Like Yumi’s Cells, we want number (4)!!! It’s just the natural progression from (3) after all!
I like that the 2ML, Seong Hyeon is besting Du Sik in several areas where DS used to reign supreme. DS has real reason to be jealous since SH seems to be good in many things too, but especially in winning over Granny Gam Ri.
Still I find that there’s something about Seong Hyeon which bothers me… he probably has an ulterior motive (an agenda?) for the higher level of his niceness. He may really be be nice enough normally, but I wonder if he’s trying extra hard, just to get what he wants for his show, and now, to get Hye Jin. His staff/colleagues are not exactly in agreement with him most of the time, which is a bit of a warning sign that he’s difficult.
KSH is mostly a pleasant watch from the days of The Strongest Delivery Man. I see no harm in him. His crazy fans have done him a disservice. He’s been only 4-5 years in the business, with time to grow. LOL, I can’t see him in something like TK:EM, but let’s see what roles he gets to hone his skills with.
The second male lead, Seong Hye On, should be invited by the cafe owner to sing. The actor actually sings very well.
Here he is playing the guitar. He could give Chief Hong actor a run for his money. 😈😈
https://youtu.be/x1l5byX_uUQ
Unfortunately for this actor, adoring fangirls and indiscriminate viewers are stuck in “lookism” mode. He may be more talented or skilled than most actors but since he isn’t as good-looking, he gets passed over for those who look handsome or cute.
To me, after watching him in 6 episodes of HCCC, KSH remains overrated. He gets by, however, because:
a. he’s a natural people-pleaser
b. he’s adept at brown-nosing
c. he comes across as modest and self-effacing
d. he has a moon face which makes him look like a little kid even at 36 years old. And critics don’t kick puppies and little kids.
Viewers are rooting for his success, because he’s nice as a person, not because he’s great as an actor.
He’s the opposite of that actress in “Mr Queen” Shin Hye-Sun whose acting skills are admirable but decision-making skills, suspect. 🙂
I remember him from “100 Days, My Prince” (2018) and back then, I wondered why the director and writer were fawning over his character. But I got it now. 🙂
Hi @pkml3! Thanks for the link. I looked up Lee Sang Yi singing, and yes, he does sing well. Actually, I prefer his more angular look to the baby or moon face.
I recall an old kdrama, ‘Marrying a Millionaire,’ where the ML was the handsome Go Soo. His character was trying to get a job as a ‘bad guy’ extra on set, but was rejected because he ‘looked’ like a male lead and a ‘good guy’ himself. He was too handsome to appear ‘next to’ the male lead in the show as he’d make the latter look bad (and arouse unrest among viewers?). This issue of looks is not something that will pass, with time, unfortunately, as long as the media, too, plays the game of giving the majority of viewers what they want.
I am starting to feel bad for our Second Male Lead. It’s not exactly a Second Lead Syndrome, but I think he deserves a happy ending too. I hope he and the schoolteacher end up together.
No kisses in ep.9 unfortunately 😔
But it was hilarious the way they both tried to pretend after the hug that nothing really happened yet couldn’t sleep whole night😝 Hye-jin even put her head inside a refrigerator because she was feeling hot 🤣
At the psychiatrist’s office, that flashback of Du-Sik in a black suit at somebody’s funeral, feeling guilty at killing everyone close to him, makes me wonder if one of his colleagues in the military died in action and he is feeling guilty imagining himself the cause of it.
Btw before leaving, Hye-jin’s father asked Du-sik why he was casually talking to someone – did he mean Hye-jin?
I’m with @Snow Flower in feeling sorry for Seong Hyeon. When he kept saying he didn’t want to be late again, I felt he is still too late as Hye-jin already likes Du-sik.
I think Hye-Jin’s father was perfect. Imagining slights where there are none, competitive, sulky, has no brakes on his tongue, but quick to apologise. So like HJ, as her stepmother pointed out. I think that if he had won the Go game, he wouldn’t have respected Chief Hong. He ended up liking him, however. I like the step-mother. She puts up with him, but she’s no door mat. I think that she and HJ could become close now.
@Snow Flower, yes, I’m feeling bad for Seong Hyeon. But I think that his writer is the one for him. He just doesn’t know it yet. She knows him inside and out, just like he knew Hye-jin.
@Phoenix, yes, it’s that black suit that he now is thinking of giving away. Probably it was bought for the occasion of the funeral and rarely worn afterwards. I don’t know if the deaths were related to his time in the military or afterwards in that 5 year gap.
@packmule3, like @Growing Beautifully, I find Lee Sang Yi more attractive than KSH. There’s something about the way his clothes fit. Do you know what I mean? About 1:08 when his character and Chief Hong are saying goodbye.
@Fern I think Seong Hyeon will end up with his co-director/writer too. I think that lady also has an inkling of his feelings for Hye-jin.
Regarding the YT video, what a beautiful song, @packmule3! So many of the drama stars seem to be multi-talented, don’t they?
His t-shirt is very well tailored, especially the shoulders and sleeves. But I stop myself now; I should look more closely. 🧐
@Phoenix, we wait with anticipation for tonight’s episode, hoping for a kiss!
Show makes it clear why Du Sik will not take steps to become closer to Hye Jin. However with Seong Hyeon in the picture, he may change his mind and start taking care of something that is ‘alive’.
I too was thinking that maybe in those mysterious 5 years, he was in special forces, and sent out on mission for military action or something, and his unit was decimated except for him. I was trying to fathom the degree of his ‘fear’ and guilt over causing death. So that black suit, worn for funerals, is understandably something he’d want to throw away.
Yes, @Fern and @Phoenix, I feel that Seong Hyeon’s lady writer, who is putting up with him, is probably the one suitable for him. She does seem observant and likely, shrewd.
Hong feels guilty and blames himself for losing parent, grandpa and girlfriend (?). In previous episode Hong kept a photo of women and son inside the book, intentionally the camera didnt show who the man standing beside her, i think its a photo of hong and his wife and son. i dont know what title of the book, may be the book itself has special meaning or memory to hong
Thoughts:
Hwa Jeong divorced Yong Guk because he was a weak father figure; the socks were just the last straw. He was that weak he didn’t even fight for their marriage. She’s my favorite among the villagers.
Found NamSook really funny here. Esp when she excitedly told Hye Jin that she didn’t tell anyone (and starts hitting her really hard). But I like when she told Hwa Jeong that just spill it out whatever she’s keeping inside. Of cours,e HJ being sensible, knows better than to open up to NamSook and finally reveal her reason for divorcing YG.
Either police officer or Du Sik won the lottery. I was initially inclined to police officer, until Du Sik said he has someone airlift the boat to the top of the hill.
Could Mr Ban be the sexual predator? Though I was expecting someone more manly.
Saw teasers of tonight’s episode. I’m glad I don’t have to wait too long. So HJ will be the first to admit. I’m guessing DS will reject her… at first. But DS will be more affected over his own rejection of HJ. For all of HJ’s perceived flaws and past, she’s actually made of strong stuff. Losing her mom, losing her job. She’s actually able to pick up her broken pieces… on her own. DS is obviously more damaged.
The opening montage of Episode 9 was postponed a bit by a replay of HJ’s hug of DS after she was frightened walking home. In the montage, we see HJ and DS pursuing a variety of activities because they can’t sleep following the hug. My favorite is HJ practicing her golf swing with a vacuum cleaner wand.
I suspect we’re going to have the predator/women’s clothing stealer mystery drag out as we have characters trotted across the screen for us to guess yes or no. Whoever it is lives alone in the town, because a roommate would probably question the women’s clothing scattered on the floor. My first thought was that since the predator’s behavior started when the filming crew came to Gongjin, it might be someone in the production crew, but the brief glimpse of the predator’s housing didn’t seem like a hotel room. Compared to Teacher Yu, the predator wasn’t much taller, so that rules out a lot of men. When I saw the man, slight in stature, playing go with Yi Jun, I wondered if he could be the one. I’m guessing that since HC3 is being presented as a feel-good story, we won’t have one of our beloved town regulars to be revealed as having a twisted personality.
I could be wrong about HC3 being a feel-good story. When the production crew was watching Director Ji struggle through his surfing lesson, Assistant Director Kim quipped they were creating a comedy with a sad ending. I hope that’s not foreshadowing.
Episodes 7-9 have established that HJ is drawn to Chief Hong, despite wanting to resist. Even SH noticed HJ’s preference for DS when the three of them went out for the naengmyeon lunch. But SH is a competitor. He’s holding his best moves in reserve, like the baseball pitcher analogy he used with DS. But much as SH remembers about HJ and thinks he regrets being too late to date her in college, he had more than a decade to pursue her after she broke up with his friend, yet he didn’t. If he was truly interested in her since college days, she–a practicing dentist–would have been easy to find, but I get the impression he didn’t put the slightest effort into looking for her. It is only after SH saw HJ in Gongjin that his interest was rekindled. That seems shallow to me. And by then HJ already lost her heart to DS, even if she denies it to herself and others.
HJ and DS exchange snarky banter in an effort to keep their relationship light. DS recognizes that HJ grabs his emotions. He has his reason for trying to not be invested in a relationship with her: fear of losing her. I am glad DS regularly sees a psychiatrist to deal with trauma from his past. DS’s loss of his parents at age six, and his grandfather’s dying when DS was in middle school, are not DS’s fault. He isn’t a death magnet: if he were, half the town of Gongjin would be gone by now. Grannie Gam Ri loves DS and he loves her, and she’s living a long life. Geum Cheol and Oh Yoon are DS’s longtime friends, and they’re living full lives.
Oh, shoot! Is DS blaming himself for the death of Oh Yoon’s wife? Is she the woman in the photo in DS’s book, holding JuRi?
In the funeral scene at the end of Episode 9, we see DS wearing a black suit, but the camera angle is carefully done so that when he’s walking down the hallway we don’t see below his shoulders, and when he’s entering the room his left arm is behind the door frame, so we don’t see if he’s got the striped cuff pinned to his sleeve denoting him as a grieving family member.
On a lighter note, I was entertained by the interactions between DS and HJ’s father: frustrated, amused, and touched. Writernim did a good job with Yoon Tae Hwa’s character, with parallels between his behaviors and HJ’s. Even though HJ think’s she’s very different than her father, we can see the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I liked how DS didn’t change his mannerisms in front of HJ’s parents, and made an opportunity to be truthful with HJ’s dad. I wish I knew how to speak Korean, because I think when Papa chastised DS for being informal, he was being informal himself. I think that’s why DS looked gobsmacked after they drove away, because he wasn’t sure if the reprimand was serious or a joke. We know Papa wasn’t too serious, because he was smiling as he drove away.
@Welmaris, I agree with your thoughts about HJ’s father. I think he was being informal himself, beating DS at his own game. He looked so chuffed when he was driving away. It was nearly as good for him as winning at Go.
I also think the man playing Go is a possible predator – but my favourite suspect would be the nasty guy who groped Mi-seon. He had no remorse. Regarding HJ fleeing the ‘abductor’, did anyone else find that hug at the end of 8/beginning of 9 unnatural somehow? -Very prolonged and no explanation from her. I know it served a dramatic purpose, and yet it felt odd to me.
I think that person at DS’s grandfather’s funeral who said that DS is a sort of ‘doom’ did the most damage. I was thinking about that and about what HJ’s father said about him being an orphan. I was so glad that HJ said what she did – ‘If that were true, I am damaged, too.’ I really don’t understand the stigma about being an orphan and the dad’s strong reaction. Maybe someone could explain. Sure, he could be an orphan, but couldn’t he be an orphan with many positive attributes? Is it a superstition, like the person overheard at the funeral; is it a social comment?
As to the lady writer’s comment about the comedy with a sad ending, I think it may be for Song Hyeon, not the show as a whole. The show’s writer said it was a healing, happy show. (I just hope that one of the elders doesn’t go to show the ‘circle of life’.)
Speaking of elders, how sweet that Gam-ri outshines Ju-ri as the biggest fangirl of all? She will really miss the crew when the filming is done.
Has anybody seen the original movie, Mr. Hong, from which this drama is based? Just wondering how it ended….
No spoilers about the original movie, please! Or please mark as spoilers so I may scroll with eyes closed, if that’s okay. 😝
Loving reading the everyone’s thoughts. 😊
And just to add, but about a diffeerent matter. I was so annoyed at Yeong Guk. If he continues to be like this I will completely cancel him in my book! 🙃 Was annoyed at him for 1) thinking that Cho Hui rejected him because of Hwa Jeong; and) actually blaming Hwa Jeong for his rejection to her face!!! The nerve of this man. Does he actually think himself attractive?!?! 🙄🙄🙄
If I were Hwa Jeong I would let go of any romantic feelings for this buffoon. Though of course I expect (hope!) that the show will reveal Yeong Guk’s virtues later on.
Nam Suk was funny this episode. I laughed out loud when she said she hasnt told anyone about the hug etc etc, only to end up being overheard by HJ’s dad and stepmom. 😂
And IRL, I dont know if Du Sik’s attitude given the limited info we know about him is admirable. I kind of agree with HJ(???) Isn’t Du Sik wasting his potential? IRL, is a man who has no ambition a good partner material? 🤷♀️
Sorry about that @pandamilktea. I’ll just look for it elsewhere so as not to spoil discussions here. 🙂
I just needed reassurance I guess. I suddenly felt threatened about HJ-DS relationship.
@pandamilktea: I agree with your last comment. Whatever trauma DS is going through, he needs to overcome it to be able to move on and realize his full potential. Yes, a man having no focus in life is not a good partner and certainly not compatible with someone who is a practicing dentist; they would never be a match. That’s why HJ also went to ask DS if he was taking a break and will get back to doing something with his talent and capabilities, or whatever it is he was doing 5 years back. But DS clearly is still drifting through life aimlessly. If I was HJ, I would be super frustrated too.
My guess is something major happened to DS around that time, which hampered his ability to carry on a normal life. Before that, he did pass out from SNU with great marks, so clearly his parents and grandfather’s death didn’t affect him as much as the incident 5 years back.
Btw I think the stalker will strike in ep.10, and HJ is affected somehow. I felt that watching the preview. Good that we don’t have to wait another week for ep.10. No kisses still though, it seems😔
@pandmilktea, 😂😂 Yes, Yeong Guk gave me yucky vibes (so the actor did his job!) in Ep 5/6 when he tried to romance the teacher… in front of his ex. Ugh! Hwa Jeong deserves better than that schmuck.
The sad part about being Hwa Jeong is that she has no real friend to cry on. One of the Netflix drama series I completed was “Sweet Magnolia.” The plot is so-so but I watched it for the sisterhood of the female leads. They would just hang out together over wine and food and unwind. They commiserated with each other. I realized that I’ve been missing this portrayal of closeness between women in my kdramas.
@Phoenix, I watched til the end of Ep 10 and you should be happy LOL. We got what we wanted, although I felt it was a little lacking, but still, better than nothing!!
It’s love realisations and confessions episode. We have been right on all counts where the romance couplings should be.
Writer Wang likes Seong Hyeon but he does not see it. Pity.
Mi Seon really should have let the policeman speak first since he asked to speak with her. Instead she said her piece and walked off!! What the heck! He probably was going to confess to her as well.
@pkml3 Doensaeng, I like how Hwa Jeong decided to befriend Cho Hui again. Maybe finally she can have a girlfriend to confide in.
Hye Jin and Mi Seon’s friendship is as tight as ever, and yet they leave each other free. That’s sweet. I did feel that having a friend who required that one confided everything to them was a bit stifling, but they seem to be fine with it.
Du Sik was supposed to be a great fighter, however his tackling of the sexual predator left something more to be desired. I was thinking he might have been with secret special forces, but perhaps not.
I like how show has given us many scenes of the OTP together so that it’s totally natural that they should have become tuned in to each other by now (in 3 months). The collage of scenes where DS and HJ were together, was very robust. LOL.
I guess we now get to watch DS’s demons giving us some conflict and then being tamed by HJ and vice versa,… you know, the healing part? I’d like that very much!
I get the vibe of women friends who commiserate from Hye-jin and Mi-seon. They are both there for the other; they know each other’s history. I thought, ah Hye-Jin might not reveal Mi-Seon’s personal reason for going to Seoul to the policeman, but then I thought it was good that she did because she could tell that he wanted to help Mi-Seon as well.
I’m frustrated by Nam Suk. Hwa Jeong supports her, but it’s a one-sided support because Hwa Jeong can’t trust Nam Suk with anything personal. I once had to work with someone who couldn’t keep anything confidential. Unfortunately, she was the HR person as well. I learned to keep my mouth shut and not automatically reply to questions she would ask. Nam Suk isn’t malicious but she is bored.
@GB Thank you for the heads-up! I’m super eager now to watch ep.10 soon 😄 I think our drama intuition by now has become so evolved that many of our predictions come true 😛 Looking forward to the confessions 😊
Omo omo I’m glad I was wrong about DS turning down HJ. They finally kissed. Yay!
As GB said about the collage of scenes being robust, the buildup to their relationship was sweet and steady.
Though w 6 episodes still yet to go, I wonder what other challenges our couple will face.
HJ’s Dad need not worry about her being lonely and wanting her to marry into a family. The Gongjin gang is family. 🙂 How they all prepared something for DS’s grandfather’s funeral. And how they were all concerned about about after the accident. When Gamri offered the calming pill to her, it was more sincere and also respectful that she did not use her bare hands (I had a belated thought that the first time she offered Hj something to eat, she was also kidna testing her.)
Also when NamSook chided them again for being together. HJ’s reaction was different thsi time compared to when they had the village meeting.
Gongjin is safe place. For DS who needed healing from his trauma. for Chon Hui who is also alone now.
Just finished Episode 10 and I am so excited for what’s to come. Thank goodness they didn’t drag on the scene by having her miss DS at home! I love the warm and fuzzy episode preview for Ep 11.
Thoughts on Second Male Lead – I think there’s an evil side to him too as mentioned by another member above. Because we are where we are by Ep10, I think there will be a plot twist in terms of what he will do to try to win HJ back. Perhaps he will dig into DS’s past and try to use it against DS. I hope he ends up with his Writer-Nim friend.
@packmule3, thank you for the yt video of Lee Sang Yi! 😍😍😍 For me, I prefer LSY as well. 🤭 I find him good looking in his own way☺ Him being a talented musical actor is a bonus 🥰🥰🥰
Newsflash today in the musical industry is YYS will be returning as Monte Navarro in the musical Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. And Lee Sang Yi is also casted as Monty! The musical will run from Nov 2021 to Feb 2022. I went to watch the first one with yys in it. I hope Covid situation will get better for oversea travel so that I can go and watch this again next year. 🙏🙏🙏
Wohoo! We finally have the episode where they stop running from their feelings, and two kisses! 😊😊
I think the first person Du-Sik told about hos grandfather must be the person who died. Whether that was a girlfriend, colleague or even wife (I remember someone suggesting that on BoD), we are yet to know.
@CheekyChu I think from ep.12 onwards, DuSik’s past will be revealed and there may be misunderstandings between him and Hye-Jin as to why he kept it secret earlier. It has to be a conflict significant enough to last at least 3 eoisodes. They may close with another warm and fuzzy end episode, this being a healing drama.
I do feel Seong Hyeong is a good person at heart, and I want him to end up with the writer, so that all loose threads are tied up in thd end😛
@Phoenix, yes, I fear that some significant conflict will happen to rock our OTP. But I hope that their love is strong to weather the storms. Agree w healing drama. Gongjin is a healing place. I did mention above how it has been a place of refuge for DS after whatever trauma he experienced. Also for Cho Hui after losing her mother and brother. I forgot to mention that everyone in Gongjin lost something or someone–Hwa Jeong’s marriage, NamSook’s Daughter, Oh Yoon’s career and wife, the grannies’ youth… Hye Jin’s practice.
But everyone has gained something. Hwa Jeong has a very thoughtful son. Namsook has a support group. Oh Yoon has his daughter. The grannies have wisdom. And HJ found love in DS. 🙂
Have yet to find out what brokenness and healing there are for the pregnant storeowner, the hardware store owner and police officer.
I actually have a pipe dream of a beach wedding for HJ and DS. Half of the seats will be the guests from Seoul, all stylish and stiff. The other half will be the colorful Gongjin villagers for contrast.
HJ’s Dad would happily walk her down the aisle, with her stepmom. Pyo Mi Seon as maid-of-honor and Eun Chul as best man. Food c/o Hwa Jeong. Music by Oh Yoon and Bora. 🙂 And a dance by HJ & DS!
@CheekyChu Excellent observation about Gongjin being a healing place and how it helps everyone heal their wounds. This drama advocates a gentle pace of life, small town camaraderie and warmth, as opposed to the modern impersonal environment of a big city like Seoul. So we will not be surprised to see all wounded souls find happiness by the end of it😊
I absolutely love your idea of the wedding- like a merging of two worlds. I hope they do close with a wedding scene like that, and a kiss maybe 😍
@phoenix that’s exactly what I think too. It isn’t “those” deaths. Too young to remember parents, grandfather’s memory fading away. It is something else. Also, he probably wasn’t unemployed for those 5 years. Because his grandfather ran and oil shop. He couldn’t have left him all that money to maintain a well-kept house and things he has inside of the said house.
@Arihsi I too think he wasn’t this aimless 5 years back – after graduating from college, he was indeed doing something productive/working and until that incident which led to a resurgence of his guilt that he is responsible for the deaths of everyone close to him.
I think what will happen in the remaining episodes, once his past is revealed, is HJ helping him to process that pent up grief and move on, as @GB, @CheekuChu and others have mentioned too.
The fact that he is willing to take the emotional risk of allowing HJ to get close to him, in spite to his fear of losing close ones, is a sign that his healing process has begun.
I think that DS values Gam-ri’s opinions very much. She understood his feelings. I liked her advice that life is shorter than one thinks and not to be tethered to doubts and worries. That was one thing that helped. Another was HJ’s listening to his thoughts and her attendance at his grandfather’s memorial service. I liked her thought that his grandfather would have been very cross that he blamed himself continually for his grandfather’s death. It’s such a similar speech to the one given by Ha Ram to Cheong Gi about things that are beyond one’s control. It released him from obsessing on those things that are imponderable.
Yes @Fern, the ‘it’s not your fault, those things are beyond your control’. ☺️
I thought that poem was Dusik’s feelings said out loud. You know, deny, deny. 😁
I was right when I thought he must have seen Hyejin’s picture when she was young and the one where they met briefly. ☺️
Miseon and Hyejin we’re twinning in this episode, both confessing their feelings to the one that they like. I felt though that our Policeman was going to ask her out then but she didn’t let him say what he wanted to say. 😬
My gosh! Those remembrance food for Grandpa all looked so yummy. I was 😋 when Hyejin peeled the snow crab. Then I laughed 😂
It was a good feel episode. I love that last song. This one, credit to the owner.
https://youtu.be/zzLTNSgszgY
@agdr03, I’m waiting for them both to remember that they also met the time she ran away from home. We don’t yet have much about that encounter – they were both in the same area near the water in the last scene of that time. I wonder if they actually interacted more then?
That poem was really good. I found this on the internet just now, with thanks to David Bowles:
“One of the many things I love about watching K-drama is all the wonderful poetry I’ve been introduced to. During episode 10 of Hometown Cha Cha Cha, male protagonist Hong Ban-jang reads the poem “The Gatekeeper” by Kim Haengsook (so that female protagonist Yoon Hye-jin can fall asleep, though he stops at the word “love”).
Here’s my translation of this bittersweet poem.
Gatekeeper
It’s my job to say, “You can’t do that here.”
It’s my job to deny your objective.
It’s my job to deny you the next day, too.
It’s my job to wait for you the following day to deny you again.
It’s my job to wait for you the day after that and fall in love with you.
So it’s my job to deny my love.
“I won’t cry over my vocation,” I wrote.
But while writing in my diary,
I sometimes wept.
—translated by David Bowles
September 26, 2021”
Oh I love it @Fern, thanks! I didn’t get the chance to take screenshots to put the poem together. It’s a good one! 🥰
Yes, they met while she was in high school maybe? Dusik gave her a coin because she didn’t have enough as she spent the day in Gongjin without permission from her Dad.
I feel bad for Sunbae too. ☹️ 14 years of waiting and his still late. Poor guy!
Gongjin has taken over Hyejin. ☺️
@Fern, the poem is so poignant because of the unexpressed emotions. Thank you for sharing it. I liked that scene too, how that poem mirrored Du-Sik’s emotions perfectly. This is one of the reasons I like kdramas so much, and I know many other viewers feel the same – how kdramas use poems from all cultures to demonstrate emotions, rather than the leads actually verbalizing those emotions.
Yes, @Phoenix. The poem speaks of 3 rejections and then love, perhaps never realised. Maybe this will end up being more true for Seong Hyeong than for DS. He couldn’t get the words out to confess, could he? Maybe his subconscious was telling him that it was too late. About up to 14 years too late, right? What was he doing all the time when both of them were in Seoul; when she might have needed his support and companionship? Have his eyes been opened to her now mainly because she is both more healthy and less accessible?
@Fern, the poem is spot on. They have been denying their love for each other for the longest time!
Since I’ve been trying to spot Start Up meta in this show, isn’t the 14 year a reference? Director Ji did not really carry a torch for her or he could have found many ways to keep in touch. Plus he saw her break up with her bf then. Even the confession in front of a bowl of noodles (cold in this case) was similar! Sorry, too late… this time KSH gets the girl.
He is a decent chap though (I hope they won’t make him a nasty person – HJ already made a decisive choice without that bad guy trope) so I would like to see him with the writer, just like the rest of the other posts are projecting.
@GB unnie – the kiss was a bit ordinary, noh? The setting with the one street lamp and then the lighthouse light turning on but it’s red… it felt flat to me, I’m not getting the butterfly feels, the longing and relief in their eyes that they made the tough decision to be true to their feelings.
Compared to Yumi and WG’s kiss, the last tug at the waist made the difference, I think. Not the expert on kiss analysis here but just saying…
@Phoenix, I don’t believe Du Sik has been aimless the past five years. He has set goals for himself and accomplished them by earning a multitude of certifications. He has sought psychiatric help with regular appointments. He works hard, just not at one job. He sets the remuneration for his work as he pleases, and earns enough to support himself. He has enough money to pursue hobbies that require expensive equipment, like surfing and photography. He ensures he has time free to enjoy his hobbies. He is well respected in his community, and they put the skills he’s developed to good use; he’s contributing to society. He isn’t a parasite. I see him as successful, not drifting, because he’s living life on his own terms without being financially dependent on others.
@agdr03, I don’t feel sorry for Ji Seong Hyeon. He may have had a crush on HJ back in college, but it seems their friendship didn’t go anywhere after HJ broke up with her boyfriend. SH even helped HJ by tripping the boyfriend to prevent him from accosting HJ. Perhaps SH felt at that point he couldn’t openly pursue HJ as a romantic partner because her ex-boyfriend was his friend, but his friend and HJ dated only three months. How long does such a short relationship make HJ off limits to friends of the ex? We do see that HJ and SH remained friends after her breakup. But something happened–perhaps just the stresses of school, life, establishing careers–that caused HJ & SH’s friendship to stagnate. In the past and present we see SH trying to build confidence to speak sincerely to HJ. Did his shyness cause him to lose touch with her? He chose not to fight through his discomfort. All the years they were out of contact, HJ kept tabs on SH’s career through social media. I suspect she would have been open to maintaining an active friendship–and maybe more–with SH if he’d reached out to her. It is likely she did not take the initiative because she saw him as her sunbae and the big man on campus, believed she was not in his league, and thought his work was keeping him too busy for her. I consider SH’s estrangement from HJ to be a problem of his own making. HJ didn’t reject SH in the past, because he didn’t work up the courage to confess to her. And then he just let her disappear out of his life. Does that sound like true love?
I think the pervert storyline was used to show the difference between being active and being passive in a relationship.
— Hwa Jeong had rejected Cho Hui’s wish to go back to the friendship triad they’d shared with Yeong Guk. Hwa Jeong wanted Cho Hui to respect the complicated roles they have in the present: HwaJ and YG being divorced, and CH being the teacher of their child. But despite drawing boundaries, when HwaJ saw CH drinking alone, HwaJ chose to keep an eye on CH from a distance to make sure she got home safely. Because HwaJ was proactive, she could step in to protect CH from the pervert. HwaJ’s choices and actions were active expressions of friendship.
— Yeong Guk was attracted to CH on sight, and through his friendship with HwaJ, her landlord, entered a friendship circle with CH. For one year they socialized together, but did he ever take the lead? CH thanked HWaJ for her past acts of kindness. We’ve not heard of YG doing anything to help CH. What we have heard is YG complaining he married HwaJ at her request, divorced at her request, and blames her for ruining his life. We’ve seen that in his City Hall job, until Du Sik pressured him into action, YG procrastinated on filling requests for security cameras to be installed (illegal trash storyline) or replacement of a burned-out streetlight bulb. As for CH’s encounter with the pervert, YG was only reactive, rushing to CH’s side after she was hospitalized and treated.
— Concerned for HJ’s safety after hearing about the attempted abduction of CH by the pervert, SH buys some self-protection items for HJ to carry. Although SH is showing kindness, he’s also being passive. Once HJ has in her possession the expanding baton, personal security alarm keychain, and pepper spray, HJ is on her own. We see that in both instances when HJ felt imperiled, she was too frightened to put the self-protection items to use. Perhaps if SH had spent time training HJ, so use of the items became second nature, his gifts would have provided practical help.
— DS looked for HJ and noticed she was not among the spectators of the nighttime filming of the TV show. He then searched for her, concerned she might be walking alone late at night. His foresight brought him to her vicinity, bright flashlight in hand, when she became frightened in the darkness of the street with the inoperative streetlight. He made sure the next day that City Hall replaced the burned-out bulb in the streetlight. DS thought about HJ, what she needed to be safe, and took effective action.
— When HJ was accosted inside her home by the pervert, I believe she speed dialed DS, trusting he’d answer the call and figure out she was in trouble. Her trust in him was well grounded, as he’d previously run to her office to aid her during the groper incident, and he’d generally demonstrated for months that he’d show up whenever–and sometimes before–she needed him. Whether it was as children while a photo was being taken, as teens in a convenience store, or as adults both residing in Gongjin, Du Sik has been attuned to Hye Jin, perceptive of her needs, had the capacity to help her, and chose to do so.
Well-written piece @Welmaris. I really like Hwa Jeong. I think she did (still?) love Yong Guk, but he must have been a passive husband, a weak partner. He didn’t even fight for their marriage when Hwa Jeong filed for divorce.
Yeah DS was more active than passive than SH in pursuing Hye Jin. Not in words though. But you can see it in his actions.
I think Hye Jin might have liked Seong Hyung too in the past. I’ll have to check this again, but there was a previous episode where Pyo Mi Seon brought up that it took a while for HJ to also get over SH. She might waited for him to make the first move, but he didn’t. Until 14 years have passed and the affections just faded away. So when she finally realized her feelings for DS, she just had to say it, otherwise it might end up the same w SH.
I think DS was really also on his way to HJ, after passing through the spot where he and HJ’s Dad had a talk. Good thing she didn’t change her security code so he was able to get in.
I agree @Welmaris, SH didn’t act on his feelings back then and it still took an ‘acting’ to let it all out. It’s all about that conviction of whether you really like that person or not, if you dilly dally then you won’t ever get the girl.
I think he’s a good person so I just felt bad for him. Hopefully he’ll be able to move on quickly from his loss.
Anyone here can guess what is the role of a foreigner (non-Korean) appearance in the first episode. DS even spoke in a foreign language, talking to him. In episode 4 or 5, DS even randomly took his pictures while he was loading and unloading carts. He must be connected to his missing 5 years.
I believe DS represents a very capable individual (intelligent and very skillful), who believe he can do/achieve anything he likes. He only takes minimum wages and free from constraints of modern living. He pleases himself. This is ideal for a free spirited person. He can do this only in a small village with the support of the community.
I’m really hoping Miseon and the policeman have some good moments in the upcoming episodes! It definitely feels like he was about to confess, as quite a few have commented earlier 😄
I felt heart broken for Seong Hyeon, knowing that his love is not going to be returned. But I wonder why he didn’t confess after Hye Jin broke up with her college bf. He did have a lot of time….. I’m all for writer Wang! I hope she gets noticed soon.
@Hazuar, perhaps the Russian ship hand will play a larger role, but I just interpreted the scene when DS spoke with him as a way of showing off more of DS’s education and skills. In real life, the actor who plays DS studied Russian and French in college and considered becoming a teacher of those languages, so it was also a meta show off of his skills. As for DS taking his photo later, it was a nice wrap up of that little story arc to see that the Russian ship hand was able to overcome his seasickness and continue working.
Annyeong,
i’ve forgotten that we left Ep 8 with the “hug” and imminent danger moment. i was like “oh that’s where we left off” haha it’s like a hug in suspense. i like how HJ looked so safe in the embrace… and DS looked confused, but present. and they could’ve locked in that embrace forever if that guy did not interrupt them hahahaha.
when HJ was attacked and DS came to the rescue… i was so proud. when he revealed he had military experience talking to the dad, that explained his fighting skills. but i wondered why he turned his back from the assailant. seriously. never turn your back. but maybe he was sure he disabled the perpetrator. darn it. good thing he only got a minor cut. i really thought he was stabbed. 🙁
when HJ saw the light installed and talking with “gongjin” in her mind while in Seoul… she’s definitely in love with DS. when she didn’t protest too much about DS’s claim to be her BF… and when she defended DS to her parents… about being damaged… why would she care if DS is just nobody to her. i liked her confession… and interesting that DS kissed her in response then made the same confession in one sentence LOL. men and their few words haha. i actually liked their kiss. there was a tinge of intensity and passion there. and DS eye’s were misty. awwww, such a moving moment. and i’m quiet elated by this ending.
regarding SH – the fact that he still stuttered after 14 years. seriously. you can’t even confess??? so lame. funny how HJ has to say ACTION for him to start. omg. hilarious in a pathetic way. i do like him though but he needs to turn his eyes closer to home, er work. poor Writer Wang… this reminds me of Itaewon class. it took him (Sae royi) til the end of the show to choose her (Jo Yiseo). LOL.
hope HJ doesn’t get sick from walking in the rain and driving in wet clothes to Gongjin. 😁
Hi all, could I suggest that perhaps the warm-hearted “first person” that DS referred to might be teenage HJ? We were showed a scene where teenage DS had offered the remaining won needed for HJ’s milk carton, followed by them both sitting by a breakwater albeit far apart. Perhaps they did have a conversation thereafter, each offering a listening ear to the other (as lonely commiserating teenagers might? :)) Just a thought!
@swiss_postscripts, what an interesting idea! It would mean that he recognised her from her second trip. Didn’t he have a little laugh when HJ mumbled something jealously about the first person he told as she was falling asleep. I thought the laugh was just because he could tell that she was a bit cross to not be the first confident – I just assumed that it was either his doctor or Gam-ri.
I wondered as well if they communicated after he paid for her drink when they were teens. He would be the type to remember her name after all those years.
@Fern: Thank you! I thought it might be Gam-to at first but seeing that she might have practically raised (and fed) him, there would likely be no need for secrets between them (or she would see through them anyway since she can even see through “water” :)) I also considered his doctor, but the doctor-patient conversation may not have ventured deeper into why DS doesn’t wear his blue cleats anymore (DS’ version of Roger Viviers), but focus more on DS’ guilt over his absence.
And yes, I do wonder as well if they communicated more at that teen meeting. Her uniform might have given away that she was not a Gongjin native and he’d ask. Might probably be why he offered the won to begin with, helping out a non-native seems up his alley (cf how he helped HJ’s dad in the petrol kiosk :)).
*Gam-ri (sorry I think my phone autocorrected!)
My dear Doensaeng @Janey IKR! That kiss was lacking, in some way, somehow. But better than no kiss!
My un-substantiated guess as to why we ever had that Russian in the start of the series … a hint that DS has had training in special forces or espionage and was sent overseas to work there. Until we know the backstory we can guess anything we like!!
The time DS was drunk, sitting outside his house and found by HJ, he had a tear running down his face as he said: “Don’t leave me behind,” which suggests that he has been left behind by several who have died or walked out of his life.
The preview has gotten me interested to watch the next episode. Some happy couple times before the next conflict?
@GB, in that scene outside his house when DS was drunk and HJ stopped to help him back inside, she said something that caught my attention. Maybe it was just bad script writing, or maybe it was intentional and a hint of something that will be expanded later. But as HJ looked at DS, she said she knew that face, and it meant he was about to cry. That means she’s seen him cry at least once before. Have we seen a previous scene when they were together and he cried? If so, I’ve forgotten. Those words suggest emotional transparency between them that developed off camera.
@Welmaris, I know the scene you mean. I went back to hunt it down. It was at the end (the epilogue) of Ep 7. I feel it’s the subtitles that may be at fault. There was no prior scene (unless it was edited out) where HJ would have seen and so recognised, the look that meant DS in particular, was about to cry. I thought in the end that it merely meant that she recognised a general about-to-cry look, and not one particular to DS.
Caught half of Ep 10 raw. Great to have all the confessions and face-to-face chats out of the way. Now they can date properly, I hope!
whoops! I forgot HCCC was on today. Let me open a thread.