“Carpe” in Latin means to pluck, to seize, to enjoy. “Carpe diem” means to seize the day. It’s to enjoy the moment. The line is taken from a Roman ode by Horace. According to this dictum, we can never know what tomorrow will bring, so we might as well enjoy the pleasures of life while we can.
To me, the closest imagery I have for this quote is a fruit. If a day is to be compared to a ripe fruit, then we must pluck it from the tree, bite into it with relish, and suck the juice with enjoyment. But after this kdrama, I guess the better imagery is a kiss.
Hari does a “carpe kiss him” instead of carpe diem.
Hari: What would your grandfather say if he knew about this situation? Not to mention the other employees?
Taemoo: I’m not asking about others. I only want to hear what you think.
Hari: It’s the same. I don’t think it’s going to work out.
See there? She’s worried about the future. She doesn’t think a relationship with him will work out in the long run.
Taemoo: Do you really not have any feelings for me.
Hari: (no answer)
Taemoo: (exhaling) I understand. Then let me say this again. I have feelings for you, Ms. Shin. And I won’t give up. If you reject me, I’ll ask you out again and again. Until you finally like me back. So you need to brace yourself.
Stop! I have to address something for the young impressionable readers on the blog.
Hari IS romantically interested in Taemoo but she thinks that a relationship with him is going to be difficult given their background and situation. He’s giving her heads-up that he intends to sweep her off her feet and convince her that it’ll be fine.
If Hari had NOT been romantically interested in Taemoo, then Taemoo’s declaration should be considered as threatening and stalkery. If he continued to pursue her even after she’d said that she found him repugnant, then he’d be a nuisance. Toxic behavior in romcoms shouldn’t be normalized.
Hari: Why do you keep making it so hard for me? Why do you keep being nice to me and make me think about you? You make me wonder if it really might work out, even though I know that it never could. It’s obvious that I’m not the right girl for you. So why…why do you keep making me want more? Stop liking me. Stop trying to get close to me.
In other words, she’s conflicted. Her feelings say, “all go!” but her brains shout, “stop!”
Taemoo: What you’re worried about will never happen. I promise. So stay by my side.
He gazes at her eyes, trying to make her see the sincerity in his intentions. She stares back at him then drops her eyes. She’s looking at his lips.
He blinks, but he remains focused on her eyes. To me, he’s the nervous one because he swallows. Lol.
Then she makes up HER mind to kiss him. Not only does she initiate the kiss, but she also travels more distance to meet him. That is, she moves her lips more than halfway to reach his. All he has to do is move his lips down to meet hers. I say it’s HER kiss. She “owns” this.
That’s why we get that fish-eyed kiss trope. She surprises him. In kdramas, the fish-eye kiss is a stylized action to show that the kissee (usually, the female) is taken by surprise by the kisser. It’s reversed in this scene.
In our kiss scene, Hari goes for the open-mouthed kiss. Since he’s caught off-guard, Taemoo’s lips are still closed. But he quickly reciprocates and kisses her back. However, when viewed from our angle, it’s Hari who devours him with an open mouth, not the other way around.
Gifs from mostlyfate’s tumblr
Her open-mouthed kiss shows that she’s throwing caution to the wind. She’s stopped being careful and worrying about what others might think. She’s carpe diem-seizing the day.
Or as I call it, “carpe kiss him.” 💋💋💋
@Packmule3 …love this! I’m laughing here at ‘Carpe Kiss Him’!!
That’s going to be part of the Bitches’ lexicon: “Carpe kiss him.”
When it involves both male and female leads then it’s “Carpe kiss them” or “Carpe kiss ’em”.
We have:
carpe diem
carpe noctem (seize the night)
carpe kiss him, and
carpe kiss ’em.
🙂
Cackling here… Carpe kiss ’em!
@Packmule3
Spot on as always! I prefer Carpe kiss’em… *winks*
@PM3 – lots of carpe kiss’em in kdrama this week! Squee!
Kalimera @Janey!!!!
I am glad we have those four these days…
Hi @pkml3, I’m actually glad you brought up the rather problematic subject of Ha Ri pointedly saying no to TM, and him not accepting it. When I transcribed it, I added the parts after each sentence of HR to show that she was vascillating, however before that, she sounded quite firm, and I was surprised that TM still insisted that he would pursue her until she relented. I was surprised that when she made a move to leave, he still held on to her and kept her back.
I don’t know if the webtoon was the same, but I felt that there could have been a better way for him to get her to rethink.
That troubled me, but I decided to hold off on that because it would have been a killjoy.
The only saving grace in all that is that we know that HR was attracted to TM, and that if he had not been her boss and a chaebol, she would probably have reciprocated his feelings. 😉
So tonight we see what happens after her initiated kiss. Will she have regrets? Run away? Change her mind? 🙂
@GB and @Packmule3- do you think too that TM – who is very perceptive indeed – may be going, in part, on the evidence he has seen of HR’s being attracted to him? He already have a full account of her motivation for crazy behaviour on their first date etc and seems to understand things that are going on under the surface for her…
I completely agree that if he continued to persist with no evidence to go on …that would be troubling.
In fact, they both notice and retain things about the other (fear of rain for instance) that are surprising to the other person in the pair.
ps This might be reading too much in… but I felt at the time that he was being strong for them both when she had doubts about whether a relationship might become a reality. For me, it felt loving that he told her he wasn’t going away. He was taking a big risk here. I watched this and was so relieved that he didn’t immediately give up.
Same here, @GB. I was cringing when he said that he’d ask her out “again and again. I was mentally going “No! No! No! Don’t go there, dude!”
So the “carpe kiss him” is a good move by the writer. With the “carpe kiss him,” the screen writer and director were able to finesse Taemoo’s persistence.
It put a different light on the dynamics.
If HE had been the one to initiate the kiss, then I’d have no choice but to call him stalker-y. A spade is a spade. He would’ve crossed the line then.
But since it was Hari who kissed him, then it means that Taemoo’s read (or perception) of her feelings is correct. He isn’t mistaken when he thought that Hari had feelings for him but was restraining herself out of fear/anxiety of the backlash.
HR too is full of self-doubt after the 7 years of being tantalised by the possibility of fulfilment of her feelings for MW… she is naturally doubtful both of her appeal and the possibility of someone like TM genuinely wanting a relationship with her.
Is it possible that TM sees this too? He sees her NOT reading into all his thinly disguised courtship behaviours… and must understand some of where this comes from.
I agree, @Kate.
There’s a fine line between what’s acceptable and unacceptable persistence.
I get that “love overcomes everything” theme in romcoms. But we’re aware that this mindset also has an injurious effect in real life when the object of affection does NOT want the affection, and firmly says no, stop it.
That’s why I zoomed in on the carpe-kiss-him.
I wrote it not just for the heart-fluttering moment. 🙂 It was to explain what is inappropriate/appropriate insistence of a suitor without lecturing, and with humor.
@Packmule3 – agreed back… I didn’t see your last message. Had TM gone in for the kiss – it would have moved into the realms of coercive behaviour – especially in view of his status.
Yes, @pkml3, fortunately Writer or PD put in the carpe kiss him. Did @Cleo confirm that the kiss was initiated by Ha Ri?
Yes. Because he’s the boss.
The writer would have opened a can of worms with sexual harassment if HE had kissed her after he stopped her from moving away from him. Ugh!
So hurray for “carpe kiss him.”
I don’t know about the comic strip, @GB, but at least, in this drama, the kiss was definitely initiated by Hari.
I don’t expect much from the comics writer because he/she’s catering to a mostly non-sentient crowd. lol.
But for a kdrama, I’m holding the writer to a higher standard.
Yes, @pkml3, me too. I hope kdrama does not normalize forced ‘dating’ or situations where a woman’s no means yes to the man, and that this is supposed to be romantic.
Episode 8 has dropped!!! Bye!
Oh dear, I was right or rather I asked the right questions. The answer was yes, yes and yes. 😉
@GB Unnie,
I was trying to find the exact chapter on the Webtoon and I found the vital information.
Hari was ALWAYS the one who initiated their kisses at the beginning…
Like @GB, I also cringed at the persistence of TM after HR said no. And I also cringed since they are in the office. Or were they? Pls correct me if I’m wrong. I have not rewatched it to check.
So thanks for calling that out @PM3 and refocus on the carpe dime kiss. I always like the ladies initiate kisses and the guys do the shocked look trope. LOL!
Good and important discussion. I very much like the outcome.
I must add that everything I said about this TM in this instance was in the context of him not forcing a kiss on HR. I don’t believe that ‘love conquers all’… quite the opposite … but was wanting to see some more nuance in the situation than may have been apparent.
Looking forward to episode 8.
@Janey,
They were not at the office.
They were at a studio for the commercial.
Thanks @Cleo for confirming that. Will rewatch that part.
Thanks @Cleo! Enjoy Episode 8. It was the one I was waiting for.
Show has turned the tropes on their heads once again. 😆
Annyeong @PM3 and BOD’s,
Love this post @Pm3… Love Ep 7 and Carpe Kiss or Carpe osculum *per google translate. haha
TM’s passion and his note of warning to HR: Brace yourself. LOL Yes, we’re holding on for the ride OMG.
When HR went for the kiss, it was her confession saying “i like you, too”. my, what a passionate kiss. oooh la la.
No previews for Ep 8 so, can’t wait to see it after work. i feel for HR and what’s gonna happen now, and i hope TM will take responsibility for his promise to her. Here’s looking at you kid TM 💙
@pacimule3, I am so happy that you made 5his post. You covered what to me was an important issue, the fine line between romance and sexual harassment in the workplace. The set up here from the getgo was the difference in status of our protagonists plus the fact that she is his em p loyee(given that the company is a chaebol). Once Taemoo found out Hari’s true identity, given the fact that he seems smart and ethical, he had to temper his initial anger at her with what, in essence was his attraction to her and his emotional and legal 5ies to the company. On the other hand, Hari was always in fear of losing her job and in fact, submitted her resignation. Of course, she could always work in the family business, the chicken restaurant(talk about tropes!) But given her university background it would be acsign of failure.
Taemoo, actually had occasion to sexually harass her, but didn’t. He could have forced himself on her at the hotel but didn’t. And Hari, throughout, was totally aware of her place in the company.
I think that Hari was very brave to allow her feelings to come through and Carpe kiss him. We see that our lead couple had more at stake in that kiss than our second leads. If we compare kisses, our second leads had the most passionate ones because they were not constrained by corporate connections. They also were closer in social status(with her actually being of higher status), but they were also neighbors living in luxury apartments. So we get hotter from those two and entry level from the leads. (The brilliance of this drama is that they have ways to satisfy our kiss cravings in plausible ways).
I also need to add that I loved the fishing contest on the catamaran. And it was a pleasure to hear our former Canadian speak English. It added to his sex appeal.
@packmule3, you gave us a post that we needed and wanted. Looking forward to seeing how this drama is all tied up. I hope they nail it because it has been such a pleasure(and with all the fun, has managed to cover some heavy topics). Am looking forward to reading your comments ant those of the other BODers.They are just sooo good.
Adding my voice to the chorus of those initially concerned about TM’s declaration to pursue Hari until he wore down her resistance. Much as TM seems to deep down to be a thoughtful, nice person, those words set off alarm bells for me. But as you say, @Packmule3, it’s all about context.
I did like how TM, instead of becoming defensive about Hari’s rejection, made himself vulnerable and went back to square one with her. “I understand [her silence after his question, ‘Do you really not have any feelings for me?’]. Then let me say this again. I have feelings for you, Ms. Shin.” He starts by making his position clear. He does not insist she make her position clear first. This demonstrates that TM, a businessman, has respect for Hari, because in business negotiations [TM’s world], it is important you don’t show your cards right away, or you might risk losing out on the best deal possible.
While TM was flexing as Hari’s pretend (but wants-to-be-real) boyfriend, it was clear he was enjoying the role and the opportunity to bring some truths to the surface. The answers he gave for why he was with Hari, his immediate attraction to her and quick decision to pursue her further, felt realistic to Hari because they WERE the truth, as TM experienced it. Hari had difficulty believing TM because she still separated her fake identity from her real self, but in TM’s mind they’re one and the same despite the bad costuming and backstory.
@Welmaris, so true. You’ve explained what was in the unspoken background of why HR reacted the way she did and how TM showed that he’s totally un-businesslike in love, in this Business Proposal, succinctly. I absolutely love that.
He will be businesslike, get returns when they are due, negotiate and make deals with Ha Ri, but in the end, he will jettison his business mode, to continually declare himself and be vulnerable with her. It’s hard, for even me, to not fall in love with a character like that!!!
A good reminder as usual!
I noticed Hari didn’t answer the questions about her own feelings. What seems to worry Hari are: 1) Grandfather, 2) Other employees. I guess in her view, the feelings are not enough to make their relationship works. Whereas TM wants to assure her that “What you’re worried about will never happen. I promise””. That’s the side of TM I like. In a way, he listens to her concerns and if the social expectations are what stop Hari, he wants to work it out.
I felt a bit of a relief when Hari Carpe Kiss him. Seize the moment and love the guy she loves. It’s not Joseon time. I hope they can work it out!
@pm3 in the webtoon the kiss was initiated by Hari when she was drunk. So this very conscious kiss means a lot more, like how @oal said, Hari was very brave.
I’ve been looking forward to this drama ever since I read the webtoon and I like how they’ve adapted it. But i like how in the webtoon the second couple gets more screentime. It seems a bit rushed in the drama.
@Viva, I have the same hopes as you do. Hari is a great company employee. She is aware of the company rules and understands sexual harassment(although it would be fascinating to know how Korean employment law works when it comes to chaebols-given the research done by k drama writers, I’m sure Hari’-s concerns are accurate).Hari has taken a big gamble by showing her feelings for Taemoo with her kiss. She could still be fired, even with Taemoo’s support given his grandfather’s concerns coupled with a hostile board of directors. For Hari, throwing caution to the wind is so much more dangerous, as she has seen during the ravio,radio, episode. 9f course, I love Hari, with her dedication and her joy if food. She and Taemoo have so much in common that they would make a wonderful couple. In the words of the movie Jerry Maguire, they complete each other.
@TY, Would like to see more of the second couple too but they’re only giving us 12 episodes. There are so many v dramas where the usual 16 is too much. In this one, given what we have, I’d love to see more than 12!
“Carpe Kiss Him” – what a great term to coin, @packmule3 🙏 Perfectly describes ‘Seize the moment and kiss him now’🤣
Just as the others here have mentioned, I like how the writer subverted the usual trope of the ML kissing an open-eyed FL out of the blue, to initiate a deeper relationship. Given the boss-employee dynamics here, that would have been quite cringey.
What makes this Hari initiated kiss significant is that this is her confession of her feelings gor him, in spite of her apprehensions about their unequal social and economic status. I think she responded to Tae Moo laying himself vulnerable by confessing and wanted to reassure him that she did care, and her concerns had nothing to do with her true feelings for him.
Oh I forgot that this was just a 12-episode drama and we just have 5 more episodes to go!
Kalimera Ladies!
My agapimenes @Janey and @GB Unnie. You are welcome! 😀
@pm3, I love your Carpe Kiss Him phrase to describe this scene!
In a way HR has the upper hand here in the business of love. TM is appealing to her and while he is higher in status in the company he cannot move on without her agreement. He did “I won’t give up. If you reject me I will ask you out again and again. Until you finally like me back” thing. It sounds pushy like a sales person who doesn’t give up. I am also glad, like you all that, he didn’t initiate the kiss, else he would have crossed the line. HR’s carpe kiss is the signature on the agreement which is why he was able to respond back (like how both parties have to sign on an agreement). Well…she sealed it with a kiss 😛
Actually, I am ok with his pushy words. He was giving the signal that he is serious, a verbal declaration that he will not give up because she matters a lot to him. I wonder if he senses that she has feelings for him already but really wants to hear it from her.
I think that phrase helped her when she was sitting at the bus stop thinking about him going for a blind date. If he had, whatever he said will be nulled. Those words gave her the courage to chase after him and ask him not to go for the date.
@Kate, you say you don’t believe love conquers all. I agree, otherwise we wouldn’t see in dramas so many one-sided crushes, couples that part in the end, someone meeting a tragic end, right people but wrong time, etc. Even more so that goes for real life. Life and love are complicated, and can’t be reduced to certainties (except death and taxes). That’s why I don’t like couples making promises to each other such as “I’ll always be by your side”, “I’ll protect you always”, “I’ll come whenever you need me” and so on. Those promises will be broken, because nobody has full, eternal control of their circumstances.
At the end of episode 7 and beginning of episode 8, did no one else notice the painting on the wall to the left of our carpe kiss ’em couple? It’s of a kissing couple! This show is filled with background metas. Someone else already caught the bus stop advertisement for the Business Proposal webtoon. In episode 8, as Hari sits at a bus stop pondering her feelings for Tae Mu, behind her is an advertisement for “Me and You? A Book for Those Hiding Their Feelings.”
There was one other meta in Episode 8 that had me roaring with laughter. Hari and Tae Mu are at dinner: something Tae Mu requested as repayment for Hari’s accidental kiss. The price of dinner is high, so Hari tries to negotiate the terms of her repayment despite earlier having claimed she’d do anything to make it up to TM. The two of them discuss who is responsible for the kiss, how the mistake should be redressed, etc. Then a waiter shows up with a plate of food, announcing it is a course of amuse-bouche. What is amuse-bouche? It’s a fancy term for appetizer. The literal translation from French is “to amuse the mouth.” Bwahaha!
@Welmaris… so agree with your first point…and so often our hero/heroine has to apologise because they couldn’t – humanly speaking – keep their promise with the best will in the world because of other responsibilities or circumstances. I recently watched Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo and it was full of that dynamic and people kept getting hurt as a result! [I still loved that show, that being said…and will re-watch when I have recovered.] I don’t think we are saying here that commitment is wrong… just not pretending that we are infinitely capable of being there for another person.
The Amuse-Bouche delicacies… yes and, of course she was fixated on his mouth as he ate one!
ps I do want to underline that this is about the avoidance of sentimental or quasi god-like language promises made in the moment about what one human being can offer to another versus what real commitment might entail be that marriage or friendship or partnership. I’m a big believer in marriage for instance.
Ah that’s what they meant! Thank you @Welmaris! I was wondering what it meant because straight after Hari was hypnotised by Taemoo’s lips while eating the food. 😂
I saw the picture of the kissing couple and the reference at the bus stop. ☺️
Sorry to slightly change the subject but have to report this. Today, Business Proposal ranked number 8 on the Netflix top ten. HOORAY! And it’s not dystopian or about zombies…
HOORAY! 🥳🥳🥳
Thank you @OAL!
I hope the ratings will keep climbing until the end. I can’t believe there’s only 4 episodes left. 😢
🎉🎉🎉🎉
At the risk of sounding ornery, I too am glad that it isn’t about zombies, vampires, ghosts, dystopia, politics, death, corruption, war, hostages, guess-who-the-husband-is, cheating, climate change, royal families, noonas-acting-horny, prosopagnosia, revenge, killer disease, judicial branch, and… teenagers. 😂😂
🎉🎉🎉🎉
Hi @Welmaris,
Metas – “At the end of episode 7 and beginning of episode 8, did no one else notice the painting on the wall to the left of our carpe kiss ’em couple? It’s of a kissing couple! This show is filled with background metas. Someone else already caught the bus stop advertisement for the Business Proposal webtoon. In episode 8, as Hari sits at a bus stop pondering her feelings for Tae Mu, behind her is an advertisement for “Me and You? A Book for Those Hiding Their Feelings.” ” – Yes the first 2 metas were noticed, first bus-stop one by me and the other one by I think it was @Viva? But I didn’t catch the “Me and You?” book although I did look at it. We should add this to our meta thread! I think the decor at every bus stop and on every wall or panel behind the actors need to be examined LOL.
Just joining in the fun now!
@Old American Lady, yay for BP being on the top where you are! In Taiwan, it’s currently #2 on Netflix.
Shoutout to Dr. Romantic 2 to those who haven’t watched it yet. It’s one of my favorite dramas of all time. AHS did a great job there. He’s only 26 and Kim Sejong is 25 so they will only get better and get more experienced. I started following their Instagram accounts and am happy to see them increase in the number of followers around the world. 🙂 Glad they are showcasing AHS’ piano and English skills. He’s multi-talented and even plays the violin I heard.
I really liked the song Taemoo was playing on the piano. In BP HR is awestruck and seems to fall for him even more after listening to him play. I didn’t know the name and looked it up and found out that “A River Flows in You” was by Yiruma, a Korean pianist I have never heard of. It was the first time I listened to the song carefully although I must have heard it before. I play piano at church and the music we play during “quiet time” is similar to Yiruma’s music, so I was so excited and shared it with our church pianists/keyboardists group. Since I watched episode 8 yesterday, I have been listening to Yiruma’s music non-stop, even playing it to my students as background music as they entered the classroom today.
What I appreciate about this drama is that the issues don’t drag on, they get resolved fairly quickly. Also, Hari needed time and space to make her decision, and during that time, Taemoo didn’t pressure her or keep asking, he patiently waited until she was ready to reply.
@Packmule3, love the term “carpe kiss him!” It reminds me of the first time I heard the term in Robin Williams’ teacher movie, “Dead Poet’s Society.” The high school kids he taught stood on their tables and yelled “carpe diem” I believe…Thankfully this is K-drama. In real life, if we did this we’d get in big trouble, especially if we are married! ~_~
@Hatlady, I have a real appreciation for Ahn Hyo-seop. Loved him in Abyss with Park Bo-young where he did action/comedy so well. The man is a multi talent. Try he South Koreans have what sports lovers call a deep bench-lots of talent in so many areas. In Business Proposal, we also have Kim Sending, an idol who is great at action as we saw in Uncanny Counter. When you think that this drama had webtoon origins, the K Drama universe uses so many sources to create great dramas from reality to history to manhwas to literature. We, in the west,especially the States are so franchise obsessed that it becomes repetitive. Our K Dramas are trope ridden, but,that being said, there is enough variety and imagination to maintain interest.Anither observation from a western perspective is that when they do professions, jobs,office life, medicine,etc. The writers do their research. So in BP we get the food industry and lots of food references. There is just so much to love.
@Hatlady… loved Dr Romantic so am watching DR 2 at your recommendation. Thank you!
Z@Kate, well worth watching. A worthy successor to Dr. Romantic….
@OAL and @Hat Lady… it’s good indeed – am 2 episodes in and loving it…!
I had forgotten the world Dr Romantic immerses you in. So much richness in this plot and a strong sense of mystical reality and the human journey…
I am having to look away from the screen though a lot during the operations which are quite something!
@Kate, so glad you are watching DR 2! 🙂
@Old American Lady and @Kate, They are going to have DR 3 and Han Seok Kyu and AHS will be starring in it as well! Read its is being filmed this year so I hope we will be able to discuss it here on BoD as well!
@Old American Lady, haven’t watched Abyss but will add it to my to-watch list.
I loved Park Bo-Young in Strong Girl Bong Soon. Strong Girl brought so much laughter to me when I watched it a few months ago during a difficult time at work when I decided to leave my current job when my contract ends to focus on my family and kids more and was writing my boss and supervisor my resignation letter.
@Hatlady, I am so happy about DR3. I love Han Seok Kyu. E is an older actor who nails his roles He is aging like fine wine. Loved him in My Paviroti with Lee Je-hoon. Han is up there with Cha Seung Won.