Looking for the movie associated with this Episode took a lot of time. I went on YouTube and saw mini-clips of a kdrama with the same title, but to my horror, it featured that ignoble “Good” Boy, Kim SeonHo. Well, those YT videos were actually taken from scenes of Euchalala Waikiki 2. Lol. I had to scroll down the comment sections to discover the original Taiwanese drama called “You Are the Apple of My Eye.” According to wiki, it was a big hit in 2011.

The movie is about first loves.

It opens with a close-up of a red apple.

The camera pans then through several objects on a messy table and lands on a page of a notebook filled with scribbles. Since I don’t understand Chinese, the English words, “Fight!” and “Action to be action!” were prominent.

The camera shifts to a school uniform shirt with blue stains.

Then the hero gets dressed in formal clothes. He looks at the titular apple again. His friends barge in to tell him to hurry up. They say that he shouldn’t keep the bride waiting. He picks up the apple and bites it with a roguish glint in his eye.

According to my research, there’s a Japanese remake of this drama. There also seems to be a Korean movie “On Your Wedding Day” starring Park BoYoung and Kim Young-Kwan with the same plot.

But then the plot is cut and dried. The male lead reminisces about his first love, from the time they first met in high school, through the budding romance and eventual break-up, and finally to their reunion and lasting friendship. Reviewing the past ten years, he accepts that they aren’t simply meant to be a couple.

So, on her wedding day, after creating a big commotion, he smiles cheekily at her and tells her that he isn’t going to change his childish ways. She smiles back and agrees.

He leaves a congratulatory note for her, simply writing, “Happy Wedding! To the apple of my eye.”

That’s the summary.

Now, let’s go take a deep dive and see how the original film helps us understand the key points in this episode.

A. The Title

In my view, the episode’s title is connected to JiUng because he introduced the idea that Yeonsu was chased by many. Here’s the conversation – with my usual commentary – between JiUng and his assistant Chaeran. He was driving her home after an afternoon of unfruitful filming with Ung and Yeonsu.

Chaeran: When did you first meet Mr Choi?
JU: At the elementary entrance ceremony. He was standing beside me. He shouldn’t have been there.

What on earth did he mean by that? Was Ung a year too young or too old? Did Ung just move? Or was Ung in the wrong line? To my ears, JiUng resented that Ung was at his side. He seemed to imply that Ung’s presence beside him was a blight on him. This passing comment sounded similar to Ung’s passing comment to Yeonsu, “You ruined my life. You caused havoc.”

Chaeran: He seems quite charming. He must have been popular in high school.
JU: I’ll take back the compliment. You’re a terrible judge of character.

Two things:

One, her comment can allude to the title. She suggested that Ung was a boy who was well-liked back then in highs school.

Two, JiUng is passive aggressive. I already pointed this in my First Impressions.

When it comes to Ung, he can’t seem to make up his mind whether to dote on him or diss him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was envious and jealous of Ung but had to repress these negative emotions because they weren’t socially acceptable. So he masks his real antagonism toward Ung by sublimating them with good deeds. Unfortunately, though, his mask slips in these passive-aggressive moments: he bad-mouths Ung behind his back, steals attention from Ung’s parents, scrutinizes Ung’s behavior for faults (the peach incident), and stays close to Ung to be ready for his “discards”. It looks to me that he’s hanging around Yeonsu so he can lend her a shoulder to cry on should Ung fail to show proper affection toward Yeonsu. JiUng has serious friend-issues.

He quickly shifted conversation to YeonSu.

JiUng: Yeonsu was the popular one.

Sigh. His judgment is also impaired. Let’s me break this down.

Yeonsu is “popular” depending on JiUng’s criteria for popularity. What does he mean by popular? Does he mean a person who’s well-liked by man or a person generally DISLIKED? Does he mean a person who’s famous or infamous? Does he value the approachability, friendliness, and social skills of a person or the status, influence, or competence of a person?

I agree that Yeonsu is popular but hers is negative popularity. She’s generally disliked. Her personality is infamous. And she’s praised for her competence rather than her likability.

Ung is correct that Yeonsu is lacking in social skills. His college friend pointed out that she was pretty, but her personality was…unspeakable. The friend thought Ung was strange for dating someone like her. This third party presented an unbiased opinion of Yeonsu. In contrast, JiUng’s opinion of Yeonsu is compromised because for one, he has a crush on her, and for another, he was never really close enough to her to know her well… like Ung does.

Let’s continue. Where was I?

JU: Yeonsu was the popular one.
Chaeran: Ms Kook? I could tell although she looked cold in the documentary.
JU: That’s why the boys found her unapproachable. She probably doesn’t know this but many guys had a crush on her.

Again, two things here:

One, JiUng’s comment directly refers to this episode’s title. In the introduction of that Taiwanese movie, the boy narrated in a voiceover, “the only thing that these boys shared in common with was that they all had a crush on the honor student in the class. Shen Chi-ya. From my point of view, Shen Chi-ya was only slightly prettier than the other girls.”

Two, Chaeran’s quick glance at JiUng indicates that she was well-aware that he was one of the boys. However, she was surprised by JiUng’s own lack of self-awareness that his crush was obvious to onlookers like her.

Chaeran: Were you a friend of Ms Kook too?
JiUng: (admitting) I’m not sure. I think I’ve always been just an observer.

I say that, at best, he can call himself an observer. At worst, he should consider himself a hanger-on. That is, he hangs around Ung for his personal gain, and he also hangs around Yeonsu in the hopes that one day, he’ll be called in as substitute for Ung. In baseball, there’s a term for JiUng; he’s a pinch runner. When the star player gets injured at a critical point, a pinch runner steps in as sub. In theater, JiUng would be called an understudy. In monarchy, he’s the spare heir. In life, he’s a stand-in. But in kdrama, he’s the second male lead who’s waiting to be noticed by Yeonsu.

To continue…

JiUng and Chaeran arrived at her destination. He told her she didn’t need to show up early the following morning. Apropos nothing, she talked about their colleagues.

Chaeran: Our colleagues think you’re very cold and unfriendly.
JiUng: I know I’m not popular. That’s why nobody wants to work with me.
Chaeran: You are popular. It’s just that you seem unapproachable. You probably don’t know this, but I bet many women have a crush on you.

And they laughed.

Three things:

a. That’s how the title of this episode relates to JiUng. The original Taiwanese film is about first love, and JiUng’s first love appears to be YeonSu. If the ending of the Taiwanese film applies to him, then he needs to accept that he’s the spare wheel but he can continue to be a good friend to both Ung and Yeonsu.

b. Chaeran’s indeed an “ace” because she quickly and accurately sized up the situation between the three former high school friends. Not only that, she knew to deliver the words JiUng needed to hear. However, as much as she crushes on him, he’s already friend-zoned her. Chaeran is to JiUng what JiUng is to Yeonsu.

c. If Chaeran can tell who JiUng’s crush is, then the Head Director definitely knows that JiUng still has unrequited feelings for Yeonsu. I suspect that’s the reason he was assigned this documentary to JiUng. He couldn’t be so blind as to miss JiUng’s presence here in this pivotal moment, and in many of the footages of Ung and Yeonsu’s documentary, right?

To give the Head Director credit, he didn’t air this Rain segment to sensationalize or profit from it. He wisely gave Yeonsu and Ung the space and privacy the teenagers need.

Moving on…

B. The parallel characteristics of the Leads

The girl in “You’re the Apple of My Eye” (“Apple”) was a popular student. Not only was she smart, she was well-liked by her classmates. She socialized well with others. In comparison, the boy was a troublemaker in class. He was also poor. He was instructed to sit in front of the girl so she could tutor him. One day, she forgot her book. To spare her from getting in trouble, he secretly passed her his own book then lied that he’d forgotten his. He was severely punished for this infraction. Although I’ve only watched bits and pieces of this film, I think this was the pivotal moment in the love story. The girl changed how she felt for him because she was moved by his selfless act.

Now, how does this relate to our couple in this episode?

1. The girl in “Apple” is considered a standout in school.

While JiUng raved about Yeonsu’s popularity in high school, Ung saw her differently. He knew Yeonsu was smart and driven to succeed. But he also personally experienced (e.g., the library when she asked for his class rank) and witnessed (e.g., she ripped the notes to avoid sharing them) how unlikeable she could be. Unlike JiUng, Ung is under no illusion that she’s angelic. He sees her as she is. He resembles the boy in “Apple” who grudgingly described the girl as only “slightly” prettier than the others.

More importantly, Ung doesn’t care if she’s popular or not.

b. The boy in “Apple” is poor.

Ung isn’t impoverished. He has no money worries. It’s Yeonsu who has financial difficulties. Her grandmother said that poor people had to be hot-tempered. In other words, in order for the poor to survive in the world, they need to be fighters. That’s why, in high school, Yeonsu was extremely determined to excel and top everybody. She was very competitive because she thought she needed to be to get ahead in life. In contrast, Ung preferred a laidback life. The two have opposing views of life because of their family circumstances.

c. The boy in “Apple” was a troublemaker in school.

He told the girl, “I dare to make a bet with you, 10 years later, even if I don’t know what is meant by LOG, I still could live my life well.”

But Ung wasn’t a troublemaker in school. He was forced to sit beside her because of the documentary, not as punishment. In fact, judging from his parents’ complaints that they heard nothing about him from school, Ung didn’t get in trouble often. Otherwise, the school wouldn’t recommend him to the TV show as it would ruin the school’s reputation too.

He was slacking in school because he wasn’t interested in the subject matter.

Yeonsu: (looking at his artwork) This is really unexpected.
Ung: What do you mean?
Yeonsu: Back then, when you were always drawing, I thought you just didn’t want to study.
Ung: Hey, everyone has their own forte. Yet you nagged me to study day in, day out. Do you finally realize how sadistic you are?
Yeonsu: Thanks to my nagging, you attended university.

But without nagging, he read more books than she did. He was a voracious reader because he loved to read, and not because reading was an assigned task. I guess that was the first hint about his personality. He was selective in the activities he wanted to devote his energy on. When he’s passionate about something, he works hard on excelling at it. Unlike Yeonsu, he doesn’t see excellence as a competition, but as a personal goal. This is the reason he ignored the copycat’s Nu-a’s accusations of plagiarism. He wasn’t competing with Nu-a. For one, he knew Nu-a wasn’t in his league, anyway. And for another, Nu-a was just a distraction from his art.

d. The girl in “Apple” was moved by the boy’s unexpected gesture.

She started to like him after he took the punishment for her. This selfless act made her see him in a different light.

Similarly, the pivotal moment in Yeonsu’s feelings for Ung happened during the rain moment. She saw him clumsily offering his shirt uniform although he was shivering in the cold. She thought he was awkward, but she saw his good intentions. From then on, her perception of his immaturity changed. Yes, he was still childish in her eyes, but she could be forgiving and patient with him.

C. The Rainy Day

One of the quotable quotes from “Apple” is said by the girl. “People always say that the most wonderful time of a relationship happens before it really happens. When two people are together, the magic vanishes easily.

I think this observation is also true for Yeonsu and Ung. They couldn’t describe the highlight of the rainy day because they were still caught up in the wonder of the moment.

Yeonsu: I’m sure it’s obvious. He liked me first.
Ung: Is that she said? Is she ill or something?
Yeonsu: He followed me around even after the documentary had ended. I believe he asked me out.
Ung: Gosh. I should’ve snapped out of it and run away when she threw herself at me.
(it’s cute how he pinched the bridge of his nose then peeked at the camera. He wanted to see if his performance was working.)
Yeonsu: Well, I don’t remember. It’s not anything worth remember after all.
Ung: She doesn’t remember. Gosh. I remember clearly. It was that day when everything started going haywire.

Flashback: It was the final day of the shoot, and they were caught in an unexpected shower. The Director noticed that they ran out of battery and scurried away to get the batteries.

Unknown to Ung and Yeonsu, he left the camera running. And there was still 32 minutes of battery life left after Ung and Yeonsu’s conversation.

When Ung reflected on that moment he was left alone with SangUn, he remembered offering her his shirt because he noticed that she got wet. He draped it on her shoulders, and she thanked him.

Ung: How should I put it? Everything felt awkward that day. It was just very awkward. I started worrying about her all of a sudden. Everything felt a bit different. Maybe it was because it was our last shoot. And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. She also.

But Yeonsu’s recollection differed.

Yeonsu: Don’t make me laugh. Is that what he said? He’s fabricated his memory again. It wasn’t like that at all.

Then, Yeonsu gave her version. Ung fumbled with the buttons. She didn’t want to take it, but he insisted. Then, he wrapped his shirt around her. In her version, Ung looked like a callow boy, inexperienced and unconfident.

Yeonsu: Choi Ung was still dumb as usual. And he was still an idiot.

Lol. Yeonsu called Ung an idiot but I’m sure she must have been touched by his action. She saw Ung couldn’t unbutton his shirt because he was shivering in the cold. He was trying to be considerate and gentlemanly.

And although she called him an “idiot,” I’d like to think that she has the wisdom of hindsight to view his gesture in an endearing way. Back then, he was just a young boy, inexperienced at doing these things.

Ung: The minor details may be different but… (clearing his throat in embarrassment)

This was indication that Yeonsu’s version was closer to the truth than his. lol.

Yeonsu: He must remember himself as some really amazing guy.
Ung: She must remember herself as being all nonchalant, but she was the one who was odd that day.
Yeonsu: I was just being my usual self that day.
Ung: It was unlike her to do that.
Yeonsu: He was the one –
Ung: She was setting the mood.

Then, they both refused to proceed with the interview.

Ung: I need to move the cabbages. You’re not going to mention how she and I dated, are you?
JiUng: I’m not sure. That’s up to me.
Ung: Are you insane? You can’t.
JiUng: As the producer, I have the right.
Ung: Nike, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Samsung, Volvo, Louis Vuitton, Chanel.

On her end, Yeonsu wasn’t listing brand names. She was cursing instead. They all ended in “ae-kki” which sounded like word for “baby” in Korean.

Yeonsu: Air it if you want but you’ll have to censor everything I say.
JiUng: You guys are like twins.
Yeonsu: Don’t you dare mention anything about us dating. Are we done? (stands up to leave)

And that’s the magical moment. Both Yeonsu and Ung knew that something wonderful was happening and they felt awkward discussing it. Sure, they were shy and embarrassed to talk about it. But the main point people are often at a loss for words when they’re experiencing something magical like falling in love for the first time. It’s a magical, wonderful, indescribable, dumbfounding feeling. It’s perfectly understandable that Yeonsu and Ung were carried away by the mood of the moment.

And the funny thing to me here is that they both insisted that the other person started it when it was clear to me that the Head Director started it when he left the two alone in the shelter.

D. Three Love Lessons from the film and this episode

1. First love is unforgettable.

It’s unforgettable because the feeling is new, exhilarating, confusing, and bewildering. We saw it in the epilogue when the rain scene was reprised. Yeonsu and Ung again were talking about that fateful rainy day. This time, however, their commentaries were done as voiceover. I’m hoping that this is similar to that “When Harry Met Sally” scene when the couple are happily together at the end.

Yeonsu: I was just being my usual self that day.
Ung: It was unlike her to do that.
Yeonsu: He was the one who— (and she stopped)
Ung: She was setting the mood. On that day, she –
Yeonsu: He looked serious which was unlike him. He also asked a strange question.

In the flashback, he wanted to know if she still thought that being with him was a waste of time. He looked pathetic (remember how she said she disliked pathetic people?) so she reassured him that she was going to change her opinion of him. She would tell the director that her time with him wasn’t wasted. She smiled at him as she said that.

Ung: She even smiled at me.

In the flashback, she was curious, too, about the feedback he’d give the director. He started to joke that he’d say that she was annoying and all. Annoyed, she interrupted him and said she knew anyway that he didn’t like her. She sounded disheartened so he corrected her.

Ung: That’s why I blurted out something so ridiculous.

In the flashback, he confessed that that he didn’t dislike her at all.

His admission momentarily disconcerted her then she thanked him for not disliking her.

Note: This scene is similar to scene in “You Are the Apple of My Eye.” The girl thanked the guy for liking her.

The only difference is the way that Ung did not directly say that he liked her. Instead, he downplayed his liking for her, and used a negative wording (“I don’t dislike you”) for his positive sentiment. That’s why Yeonsu on Day 50 still had to ask him, “Do you like me that much?” lol.

Yeonsu: He kept staring at me. It was so strange.

He kept staring at her because he wanted to know how she felt about him. She didn’t answer. At first, I thought she was merely deflecting when she observed that his face was flushed. But her concern was real when she realized that he was running a fever. She tossed his shirt back at him and nagged that he was such a weakling for getting sick after being caught in the rain a few seconds. He threatened to take back what he said about not disliking her.

I thought it was telling that his threat to take back his feelings for her made her pause. She looked worried.

She wondered if that meant he hated her. He said no. He realized he was in trouble because he said, “This isn’t good. I think I like you.”

lol. Again, he didn’t outright say that he liked her. Instead he implied that he was in a pickle or bad situation, (“This isn’t good”), and that his brains were telling him that he liked her (“I think…”). And remember, he was an “idiot” so his brains weren’t exactly a good judge of his feelings.

Yeonsu: The person who made things weird was Ung. Or was it because of the weather?
Ung: Or was it because of my fever?
Yeonsu: Or was I running a fever as well?
Ung: I’m certain that it was because of the unpredictable weather.

It was neither because of the weather or the fever. They just didn’t understand the feeling because they were falling in love for the very first time.

2. Regrets could be avoided if sorry was said as needed.

In the film, the breakup could have been averted had the boy and girl said sorry after a misunderstanding. The guy had organized a boxing match (or Fight Night) because he wanted to impress the girl. Instead, he girl became furious with him because he could’ve gotten hurt. She called him “idiot” and “moron” and he walked away.

This singular event altered the course of their love story.

Upon reflection, the boy realized that had he gone back and said the simple words, “I’m sorry,” he could have been the one standing beside her at the wedding ceremony, instead of across from her with the expanse of the banquet hall separating them.

That was his biggest regret.

“Sorry. I was the immature one.” He knew those words could have made all the difference.

In this episode, there was a scene when Ung realized that an apology was required of him, yet he balked. They were discussing the sketch that Yeonsu accidentally messed up.

Ung: This isn’t the only thing you ruined.
Yeonsu: Hey, I only messed up your drawings once. No…twice. That’s all.
Ung: You also ruined my life. You caused havoc.

There! As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew that he shouldn’t have said that. He regretted the remark right away.

I wonder if this was a Freudian slip. His comment could have been his subconscious feelings and unexpressed resentments…just like when JiUng grumbled that Ung shouldn’t have been beside him Kindergarten Opening Day.

Yeonsu: Yah! That was a bit harsh. What did I ruin?
Ung: (silent because he was mentally berating himself) Why did I say that?
Yeonsu: What’s this? Are you not going to explain yourself?
Ung: (sulkily) It’s true though. (then thinking to himself) Why do I get so upset like this at times?

I think he became easily upset because he bottled his feelings up.

Yeonsu: (aggressively) How long will you keep this up? How badly did I ruin your life? Look at this. You’re doing very well. Where’s the havoc?
Ung: (referring to the sketch she messed up) Maybe it’s hard to tell at a glance just like this drawing.
Yeonsu: (sighing) How long are you going to keep guilt-tripping me?

Here, Yeonsu revealed one of the things she hated. (refer to “10 Things I Hate about You”) She hated people who bore grudges. She set herself up as an example of someone who didn’t bear grudges because he wanted to differentiate herself from Ung who childishly did.

Yeonsu: (Taking the high road) We’ve agreed to do this documentary so can’t we please just get along?
Ung: (inwardly) That was my intention, too. (aloud) I’m sorry I can’t be as nonchalant as you. (inwardly again) So why am I being so pathetic?
Yeonsu: You think you’re the only victim here since I’m not saying anything. You’re ridiculous.
Ung: Then speak your mind.
Yeonsu: Do you think I’m solely to blame for our breakup?
Ung: (speechless)

Three things:

a. I thought it was weird that the camera focused on his left ear.

b. This moment was regrettable. He should have said sorry to her, instead of sulking and throwing digs at her. He was being passive-aggressive here.

c. The background music that played in this moment was the “Maybe If” song by Bibi. This was a missed opportunity for them for reconciliation. Just like in the film, had the boy apologized after the Fight Night, the ending would have been different. Here, had Ung apologized for blurting out she was the bane of his life, she would have felt at ease calling him after the news of the plagiarism broke out.

But because he blamed her for all bad things in his life, she thought it was better for her to stay out of it and work on his defense on her own, behind-the-scene. Meanwhile, he was expecting her to call him up to offer support.

3. If you love her…

Here, I thought the movie’s love lesson can go two ways:

a. If you love her, go after her with all your heart. This message was explicitly shown in the opening scene with the words, “Fight!” and “Action to be Action.” The latter means that you have to take action for something good to happen.

b. If you love her, let her go. That’s what the boy did in the end. He convinces himself that all’s well despite failing to get the girl in the end.

As of Episode 4, I think Ung is willing to let her go because of his pain avoidance. The adage “Once bitten, twice shy” is operational here.

E. Last, the visual metaphors

In the Taiwanese movie, there were two visual metaphors of the relationship: the apple and the uniform. The apple was obvious from the start, and needs no explanation. But the uniform was unexpected, and I liked it.

The boy kept the shirt of his high school uniform as a keepsake. It was sweet because he remembered how the stains got on the shirt. It was the girl. She kept poking him on the back with her blue pen every time he slacked off in class.

On one hand, the stains could mean that she had marked him for life.

But it could also be a reminder that “you don’t expect returns from everything you do.” He loved her and, even if she married someone else, he didn’t think their time together was in vain.

In this Episode 4, the visual metaphor FOR ME was the completed illustration.

Yeonsu had accidentally jostled Ung arm while he was drawing, and she created an ugly gash on his work. He was upset. Later that night, while he was sleeping, she made amends by erasing the black line.

Afterwards, without her knowing, he completed his illustration. He left the white-out space she did, blank.

Yeonsu: You said you threw it away.
Ung: I thought I did. Why was this in there?
Yeonsu: You caused a scene and blamed me for ruining it. See? If you just glance at it, you can’t even tell.
Ung: It’s true that you ruined it. And it does show if you look closely.
Yeonsu: Come on. That’s not too bad. Yet you were so petty and sulked for days.
Ung: This isn’t the only thing you ruined.
Yeonsu: Yah! I only messed up your drawings once…no, twice. That’s all.

I have to agree with Ung here.

You have to be blind not to see the mess that she made. In a way, it’s similar to the blue pen markings on the boy’s shirt in “Apple.” Symbolically, the marks left by the girls on the boys were indelible. They couldn’t be erased or ignored.

But on another level, the fact that Ung worked over her mess gives us an insight on his attitude in life. Yes, things get ruined but he can overlook a mistake, and create something beautiful and something unique from everything else.

Imperfections are a part of life, and growing up means learning to live with them.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

That’s it. I stop here. Next, Episode 5. I’ll watch it tonight.