The thread is now open for spoilers and discussions.
As much as I’m going to miss Woong (and his sexy back), I’m looking forward to seeing more of this actor.
Park JinYoung!!!!!! Welcome back to the blog, Jinyoungie.
Let’s enjoy the show.
24 Comments On “Yumi’s Cells: Eps 9 & 10”
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Mmmmm. Thank you for the introduction, @packmule3.
Thanks @pkml3. Yes, I like Jin Young too.
Hi @Fern! Catch you later!
I liked Ahn Bo-hyun’s long hair and look here, but knew that the romance wouldn’t last. He just had too much history with his colleague and too much in common. Besides, Yumi’s rival had a long spell of unrequited love. I liked Ahn in this role because it was a nice change from Itaewon Class where he terrified and showed off a different side of his talent. He can do subtle and I’m happy he wasn’t type cast as a thug.
@packmule3, I also thought that when one comes off a long period without a relationship, the first one after that spell is fraught with all sorts of insecurities that we saw so well played out by Yumi’s Cells. She needs to feel better about herself and to be true to herself to have an adult relationship. I don’t know if it will play out with the new guy but at least Yumi will be able to find someone better suited to her. I fear that shemight meet a cad along the way because I think we’re getting another season of this drama. I’ll be happy to see it for more of a lighter Kim Go-eun role and her cute hairdo, as well as what I hope are pair I ngs with some handsome young guys,who are interesting actors.
Sometimes, the one who is more desperate and determined wins the game. But Woong seemed honestly to love Yumi, so I find it sad and stressful that Yumi couldn’t overcome her insecurities and that Woong couldn’t communicate better with her. Still, the only way to exorcise the rival would be to fire her and make her move out, which wasn’t going to happen, right? *Sigh*
Yes, I heard about another series. I’m not sure…
Yes, I wouldn’t mind Woong to end with her but… if we’re following the manga, then he isn’t. But who knows the screenwriter can alter the ending.
Yes, @Cleopatra (was it @Cleo?) said that the season 2 had a green light already.
Ah. Well I guess we’ll see then, if there’s a manga in place… Still I can’t see Woong in a healthy relationship/marriage with the 2nd FL. I didn’t pick up on the last umbrella clue pointing to Jin-Young’s character being a player. Thanks, I’ll keep my guard up. He is toothsome, though. Looks-wise Yumi has been lucky, imo
Let’s hope. Season 2 doesn’t turn out like HPL. Director Shin had been doing a lot of publicity lately justifying his choices, with a lot of yuck factor.
@Fern, the umbrella doesn’t make Bobby a player. It’s the “leave her after paying her a compliment” scene. 🙂
Hello Ladies!
You have written already! Yes @Packmule3 that is correct! I have read that Season 2 has already taken the green light. You can also check on MyDramaList.com.
What I liked in tonight’s episode, which was the highlight of Episode 9’s for me, (trascription):
Yumi: I don’t have the power to get rid of Seo Sae-Yi.
I can’t control Woong either.
But choosing not to see something I don’t like and continue seeing things that I do like is my choice.
Of course that applies to Woong as well.
Yumi: SELF-LOVE mode ON! <3
Happy Weekend to all!
It’s so rare that I get to watch the new eps on time. Lol
So before I get swamped with work again, I’ll share my thoughts here.
I really like this series, it makes me experience a spectrum of emotions.
I felt really irritated with Sae-Yi’s slyness.
I felt worried about Yumi’s insecurity.
I felt baffled that Woong said he doesn’t have to say sorry.
I laughed out loud when Yumi was trying to do aegyos & etiquette cell reminded that it’s bad manners to slap someone on bare skin. (I feel like etiquette cell in me is a lot bigger than many other cells hahaha) — Also we were just talking on the other thread that we’re hoping Yumi won’t do any aegyos in this series. The coke incident was really funny. Go Eun has good acting skills. I was so amused by her facial expressions.
I also felt sad when the flashback was shown regarding her feeling that she’s not meant to be a writer or so. The way the drama portrayed the cell shoveling soil to bury herself was so on point.
This drama also makes me put myself in the shoes of the characters.
I often reflect on my life as they go through aspects Yumi’s life – from being single for too long, from gaining courage from people, from the fake compliments, the endorphin concert (stress eating is layf! haha) etc.
But ~ in the ep preview, it looks like Yumi really accepted the Marketing post so she and Babi will be working more closely this time. Ooh~ Also Babi has his way of speaking/ responding to Yumi’s queries makes me wonder more. Like, when he said she’s a great writer because it’s so like her. And when Yumi asked, he just answered that (whatever the reason is) it’s good. When Babi said the general manager wants to meet her on a Monday, Yumi again asked why, he just replied I don’t know. I forgot the other one but Babi made me think “What does he mean by that? How do I suppose to feel with those words?” kind of feeling and thinking.
As for Woong, when Yumi was looking forward to gain more courage… Woong has a point but he was too (?) rational about it? I mean, I get his point. His response was like an action that would depict one staying in a ‘comfort zone’. He should get some clues that when Yumi asked, she was hoping he’d encourage her. He didn’t even ask Yumi if she likes the idea or if she’s considering the job post.
Anyway, still looking forward to the eps. And others’ thoughts here too! 🙂 Again, hope you’re all safe and fine. Happy Weekend!
Thanks for the review, @Jhans.
I saw a gif of Sae Yi standing behind Woong as Yumi warned him about her. 🤪 She scared me. With her long black hair, Sae Yi looked like a maleficent spirit in a horror movie. (Is it Sadako?)
I’m enjoying this kdrama. It reminds me of 1990s sitcoms here in the US about dating and social faux pas like, “Friends,” “Sex in the City” and “Seinfeld.” It’s purely entertaining.
Oh dear! I’ve just started watching Ep 10 and the cringe factor is HIGH! LOL. Ruby, Ruby, Ruby… when explained by her, ‘aegyo’ (I thought I heard … pronouced by the cells as a-e-gyo) sounds practically complicated and every step so intentional. It requires effort and application! Practise, practise, practise!!! Sounds like we need to go to a school of aegyo the way one can go learn etiquette! LOL.
The guys must know that they are being played but they probably go along with it.
LOL Yumi’s right hand cell!!! And she was cute although it was the opposite of aegyo.
Episode 10
Manhwa Episode 17: History of Cuteness (Aegyo)
LOL Lee Yoo Bi hamming it up as the aegyo queen! I wonder if she cringed, watching herself act!!
I’m wondering why Yumi suddenly thinks that she needs to be cute for her relationship to progress. Did she think she failed in her previous relationship because she was not putting on the cute? Contrary to what she thinks, it’s more troubling to an ahjumma like me that so far Woong and Yumi have been on the cute train for all this time. They should be progressing to more serious discussions.
However, it seems a cultural thing that a person is expected to do aegyo on demand. And it’s accepted that it is used to soften up and manipulate the other party. Sheesh. And on the other party’s side, in this case, Woong’s side …he actually pinched her cheek like she was a chubby baby in approval of her being cute! Double sheesh, because obviously this means that aegyo is encouraged.
KGE was great at acting as someone who can’t do aegyo. And then she comes up with her own version, which is only slightly less cringe-worthy, where instead of acting entirely like a baby herself, she turns the tables on Woong, indulging him like he’s the baby, and then combines that with lots of caresses. And what does it say about Woong (and I think quite a lot of guys) that this works on him? LOL. Might work on girls too. It’s sometimes nice to get all that attention!
Manhwa Episode 28: Compliment Package and Cinderella’s Potion
I was afraid that Bobby Yoo was praising Yumi’s writing in order to make use of her and take the credit. I’m glad it didn’t turn out that way. Yeah, I’d like to get a compliment package but not an empty (fake) compliment.
LOL the Cinderella potion … yes it’s real. Wanting to impress and live up to the compliment gets us started with loads of confidence, but it may not carry us through until the end. I loled that it took the motivation of compensation, on top of the compliment to get Yumi past her brain freeze. Compensation was acknowledgement of her effort.
Poor Yumi loses confidence and Writer Cell became tiny while burying herself. Again true to life.
Manhwa Episode 29: We Need Courage
Oh dear we are back to Woong with a beard and with his bad jokes. Fortunately it didn’t go beyond their first meeting, and hopefully only lasted 3 days!
About changes…not the kinds of changes like New Year resolutions that only last 3 days (again this is so true to life), but real changes which impact us for the long term like being transferred to a new department, we get divergent viewpoints.
The tit-for-tat balance: Yumi considered Woong growing a beard a drastic change (in his appearance) and seeing it, didn’t like it. She didn’t insist that he should shave, and he remained stubborn about it anyway. It was not a drastic change in his life, but going back to how he looked before he met Yumi. Then we have Woong throwing cold water on Yumi’s enthusiasm for what would have been a much more drastic change in her work life, without any evidence that Yumi would not have thrived in Marketing.
Yumi had obviously more or less made up her mind on what she wanted to do, but she wanted unanimous support for her decision (not sure if it was courage per se or actually encouragement). This, actually, Yumi could manipulate, since she only asked those most likely to support her. Which probably explains why when Woong did not support her transfer, it was like a slap in the face for Yumi. She’d judged wrongly that he’d have confidence in her or see things the way she did.
He did raise a couple of salient points for her consideration, and although it’s good to get both points of view in making a decision, Yumi didn’t like to hear any opposition to her wishes. This is so relatable, it’s scary LOL.
However, Woong was a lot more negative than I expected. There was no room in his thoughts for trying out something new. Instead he was focused on sticking to what was known, so as to avoid possible unknown challenges. He was surprisingly discouraging, as if he lacked trust in Yumi’s judgment or ability to adapt. It is because of this, that I’m considering him not good boyfriend material. This together with the fact that he’s not telling Yumi the truth (again), ie that he’s pretending to be fine but is actually in some difficulty.
That being said, however, I’m wondering if Woong could be having a hard time at the current juncture and this could have coloured his point of view.
I wish Yumi had more confidence so that Woong’s words would not affect her quite so much, but I did like that she had those questions: “Be prepared? How? Is not even trying being ‘prepared’?” She has to answer them for herself.
I loved the Endorphin Cell concert!
The song lyrics:
I’m so angry
I want to cry
The frustration is driving me insane
When you want to feel joy and the epitome of pleasure
And lose yourself in it
Call me (2x)
Shout it out loud (2x)
Leave behind the sadness and anger
Lift up your head
Look up at me
I’m singing a powerful song for you
Sing it, oh
Throw away the stress and
Replace it with excitement
Oh
I’m not being tested
It’s all in my head
I could do with endorphin concerts too!
My agapimeni @GB unnie!
Kalimera! You nailed it again!
About Woong and his stance on the marketing trasfer. I think just because he is facing hardships in his work at the moment, he is not in the right mind to give advice. If he took a new road that led him nowhere, he was adamant that Yumi shouldn’t pursue that position change because it could hurt her.
What I dislike about Woong:
Although he is a genuine good person and cares pretty deeply for Yumi, he doesn’t say anything when he is facing something unpleasant.
I don’t know if that is a mechanism where he doesn’t want to burden anyone or a cultural thing. Are they supposed to be perfect and such? Being a human being means we are imperfectly perfect and that’s okay.
For how long he was struggling but put a smile on his face in front of Yumi? He is not opening up and Yumi feels that he doesn’t trust her that much.
My Agapimeni Cleo, I trust you are well!
Interesting point about guys not revealing that they are having a hard time… when it comes to men, I suspect it is because they are usually the problem solvers. They generally want to fix their own problems and don’t want to ask for help (or reveal that they need it). That’s my guess.
Yes, it’s also something to do with their image. They might not want to be thought of as having made a bad decision. Admitting difficulties might include admitting errors made, and be humiliating.
I’m not sure about the cultural aspect of it. Perhaps more in some societies than others, revealing one has a problem is considered bad form?
However in a relationship, I feel that there should be more openness: more willingness to be vulnerable. This couple has to go beyond simply thinking that the other party is cute.
Annyeong,
These two episodes were so entertaining with a bit of mixed emotions, but enjoyed overall. Looks like Woong has another secret. and Looks like our couple will be living in together. Hmmm. Looks happy. Looking forward to the next episodes. The subs came really late this time. omg.
compliments and Cinderella drug plus endorphin cell concert. loved how these are portrayed. what a visual concept! i’m kind’a imagining my own cells having a party in my body haha. love how the individual cells get them (spirit and non spirit). boo on fake compliments. but how true. fake compliments doesn’t do any good. poof. gone. nada. sigh.
@pm3,
welcome to jin youngie indeed. i do like his acting. i watched “he’s psychometric” coz of BOD blog. 🙂 he’s very mysterious here. he plays his character well. i keep feeling there’s more to this guy. every move he makes seem calculated. like that elevator scene. who poses a question when the door can close at any moment? and he left her hanging? oooooh he has hidden agendas i feel in all their encounter. i see a lot of question marks with this guy. but i like how he has a part in resurrecting the writer cell in Yumi. challenging her. pushing into the wider horizon.
@AOL,
i’m also glad that ahn Bohyun is not typed cast a a thug. i really appreciate his acting her. makes me root for him really.
@Fern,
the rival has moved out. yay. kudos to Woong for standing up for himself and making everything clear finally to SaeYi that he knew all along of her feelings. and now everything’s in the open. it hurt her and just like Woong, i can understand his disappointment that they can’t just be friends and the trio to stay in business together. so sad. but it’s for the best that SaeYi left altho not good for the business 😥
@GB,
the episode on Aegyo was hilarious esp as @pm3 just posted that mandate on Aegyo. i’m like, oh no, Yumi’s in trouble haha. but i’m also glad Aegyo is not Yumi haha. i think her own version of Aegyo is fine. and i think that’s why i like that Woong already acknowledge her cuteness way before she suddenly has the angst for aegyo. weird. but i did enjoy watching the queen of aegyo work it. omg. wow. such hard work to be ultra cute. wow. i love seeing the face of Choi minho when Ruby was doing her aegyo. too funny. hahaha. i think Ruby can get away with it. Yumi’s cutness is natural. she owns her aegyo. nothing fake to it. haha. nothing over the top.
i think it was interesting that the NY resolutions only lasted 3 days. i guess some don’t even last a day hahaha. made me think of what resolutions i should have and praying for courage to move forward with them haha. coz truthfully, i can’t LOL. in my head, and reality, i need to lose weight. but i love food too much esp. after work. so i can’t even imagine having that resolution lasting 3 days right now. i’m still working up the muscle to get this started haha.
from the preview, i now see that Woong is having a hard time also and that’s why his advise to Yumi was on the negative side. so sad. i’m kind’a glad though because i think Yumi needed to find her own courage or motivation (getting compensated is all that it took really haha). so practical of Yumi.
thanks for sharing the lyrics to Endorphin’s song. haha. my go to’s are spicy ramen and spicy pho noodle soup haha. noodles and broth, baby. 😀 but i may need to try that spicy teeokbokki next time.
@cleo,
i like that – we are imperfectly perfect. yes we are.
My favorite cells so far: the rock band, Endorphins! They bumped Yumi’s Guards off the #1 spot in my list. And I was amused that Yumi employed super spicy food to get her endorphin surge. There’s science behind the phenomenon:
“When capsaicin – the chemical in spicy foods that makes them so hot, Hot, HOT – hits your tongue, your body registers the sensation as pain. This in turn triggers the release of endorphins, otherwise known as “happy” chemicals that give you an instant head-to-toe feeling of pleasure. (https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/why-spicy-foods-hurt-good/)
I also remember how the mom in You Are My Spring suggested standing on a particular cliff in her seaside town, because there was always a strong wind blowing there guaranteed to make eyes tear up. How many of us felt emotionally wrung out after watching some of the scenes in episodes 15 & 16 of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha? Who likes to go for a long run or exercise hard to counteract a foul mood? Yes, indeed, endorphins rock!
Yu Babi seems a tad disconcerting, and I think Writernim has intentionally created his character that way. Considering all his conversations and interactions with Yumi, it is clear he is watching her, and he chooses his words for maximum impact. He’s told her at least twice he’s made her unique tartar sauce recipe, once on Christmas when he dined home alone. (Cue sad violin.) His underlying message here is that he values her advice and turned to thoughts of her for comfort. He noticed the change in her hairstyle, he noticed she was no longer exercising in the park. I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t currently have a girlfriend who’s a reporter. I think for some reason he’s set the challenge for himself to win her over, weaseling himself into her life and biding his time until he can exploit a rift between Yumi and Woong. If he truly is that calculating, then once the goal of winning Yumi has been achieved and the challenge is gone, his attraction to Yumi will dissipate. I could be wrong. I’d like to be wrong; unfortunately, people who think like that do exist.
I suspect others are correct that Woong’s thoroughly negative response to Yumi, when she turned to him for encouragement, was based on disappointments he, himself, was experiencing and hiding from Yumi. That’s two big strikes against the continuation of their relationship. He should not be hiding important things in his life from Yumi. After all they went through before, almost breaking up because of Sae Yi, he should know better than try to sweep things under the rug or gaslight Yumi. It seems he didn’t learn and grow from crossing that hurdle in their relationship. And when Yumi turned to him for advice, he needed to listen to her and help her dig out her true feelings and aspirations, not just see her as a mirror of himself.
The focus on Yumi’s development and use of aegyo was funny and informative. I’m curious why she doesn’t see that the texts she and Woong exchange (sometimes ending in ㅋㅋㅋ), as well as her learning to appreciate Woong’s puns and make comebacks in kind, are a form of aegyo. Yumi seemed to think that as their relationship progressed and they settled into familiarity, she needed to add spice. But why aegyo, when it is so out of character for her? It seems she might be much better at pulling off dominatrix (ㅋㅋㅋ). I think Naughty Cell would be all for that.
Speaking of Naughty Cell, the source of the crotch-chopping move Naughty Cell is shown doing is an iconic move of comedian/actress Jang Do Yeon. She talked about it (and demonstrated it, on request, to a famous Buddhist nun/chef) during her stint as hostess on Lee Dong Wook’s 2019-2020 talk show, Because I Want to Talk (later known as Wook Talk). I found a clip on YouTube of her doing it on a different show. It’s at around timemark 2:18 (https://youtu.be/mWVZYYE9j-8). There was a meta reference in Yumi’s Cells when Yumi is watching TV and laughing while Jang Do Yeon is onscreen, dressed in a tightfitting leopard print onesie, doing the move.
Hi Everyone, Am avoiding reading this whole blog because I’m woefully behind. I’ve skimmed the comments and know I’m in for fun. I wasn’t a f an of Woong’s friend and business partner, so I don’t mind the spoiler. Just want to add that I love how clever the animated cells are. This makes the drama different because we’re getting a visual view of Yumi’s and others inner life. I think this is done well and takes animation that us not animals to an adult level. One caveat, this program pr I badly is not appropriate for children;)
Kalimera my agapimeni @GB unnie!
I am okay. I do hope the same applies to you too! <3
I agree with you about that. Openness and trust are major ingredients in a relationship! There are some people who cannot be open from the beginning, but after such a long time in their relationship Woong should open up to Yumi about his problems!
@HK_Lady I like that too! I said it because I believe it. 😀
I even have the t-shirt that states it! *winks*
Who is doing the vocals on endorphin? The voice sounds familiar p
You’d think that at his age, with several years of adult experience behind him, Wung would be able to tailor his reactions and responses to situations. But instead, he retreats behind his impassive barrier. In real life, people who do this are not only irritating but also potentially damaging to whatever relationship they’re in.
In another thread I described Wung as a “dill”, an Australian-used adjective to indicate that a person is inept, generally on a practical or emotional (or both) level. Wung is still behaving as a dill, and I have the feeling that he needs to change – or else.
This is such a good series. I am delighted there will be a second season, and I do hope Jin Young will be part of it. His acting range is impressive; in ‘The Devil Judge’ his character carries a huge burden
of hopeless hero-worshipping pathos, yet here he is, playing an elegant, and possibly successful, foil to the male lead in a romantic comedy. He’s good.
At the moment I’m going through the next two episodes, approaching the series end. That Ruby is a brilliant character, and her wine-pouring technique – stellar.
The pitfalls often of men, I feel, but there are women too who suffer this, I guess.
Pride and the inability to communicate clearly.
Pity Woong thinks too much. His Reason Cell’s over-thinking and need to come up with multiple choice answers to every question is doing in his relationship with Yumi. Worse of all, he chooses the wrong answer to give her, always by-passing the fuller answer or the clearer one, and opting for sitting on the fence/delay.
Pride is a hard nut to crack. Woong is too proud to continue free-loading off Yumi before others, but especially in front of Bobby. And he’s too proud to admit to Yumi that he’s humiliated to be living off her. He’s fearful that he will really fail and drag Yumi down with him, but he won’t admit this either.
All this unfortunately, is coupled with not being able to give Yumi a clear, decent answer. The breakdown in communications is starting to spell the end for this couple.
I think our Woong has an occupational hazzard that creates his indecision. As a game designer, he regularly deals with decision making charts like Popkins and various algorithms. He gets lots of choices and his cells are kind of thinking out loud for him Then, even though he has good intentions he ends up blurting out what he is programmed to think of as logical but ends up sticking his foot in his mouth.
As someone with a creative bent, Yumi, the wannabe writer thinks differently and will probably be disappointed because she needs the emotional, not logical support.
I want the relationship to work out because I love the Kim Ahn visual. Ahn’s look here, with his long hair softening his features is a revelation. I’m also so pleased with Kim Go Eun who is in a romcom where she reminds me of the old Meg Ryan characters. Both actors show how delightfully versatile they are. And one last comment about their pairing, unlike the leads in HCCC, they are evenly matched. They are great scene partners, where aegyo is mainly used to show false notes(not either of their styles). I’ll be sad to see a Yumi Woong break up, but can see it as a plot point. Unless the universal Roscommon trope applies; boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl in the end.
@OAL, your comment reminds me that I once thought I’d never be able to get on with Engineering guys, because they were tongue tied and unable to give ‘simple-to-me’ answers. However, I ended up marrying one of those guys LOL. Given the chance, they can talk a lot, but not necessarily what artistic people want to talk about.
I guess it is a pity that such a nice relationship falters on this aspect of communicating without calculating so much. I feel a quick, assurance by Woong that he really values Yumi and their relationship, with a further admission that he’s kind of stuck in his way of thinking would have been sufficient to keep her from thinking the worst.
It’s good that Woong’s Cells seem aware that Yumi is upset, but they may know how to un-stick their way of working out his reactions/responses, or even be aware that they could change this part of the thinking process when it comes to romance and relationships.
I’m not sure I want Yumi to end up with Bobby, but I am interested to see how far his character gets developed.