The thread is now open.
I’m watching this show for now because of Mr. Gu.
No, I don’t think he’s a serial killer. Since this is kdrama, I think he’s just a stereotypical anti-hero with hyperactive guilty conscience. (Hello, I’m Catholic. I know all about hyperactive guilty conscience.)
Why do I like him?
Well…definitely not for his alcoholism.
But I find taciturn male leads have more potential to be romantic than the talkative ones. Like in this scene.
It’s obvious that he refuses to follow her “demand” because he’s stubborn that way, e.g., no girl will tell me him what to do.
But it’s obvious, too, that they’re more than passing acquaintances if he’s nagging her to run to catch her bus.
I also like how he subtly let her know that he was behind her so she wouldn’t be afraid to walk past the car of the two men. He rattled his soju bottles so she knew he was there.
And I like how he saved her from a long walk to retrieve her hat on other side of the channel.
He told her to “wait here.”
Then he jumped over the channel to get it for her. This action was a gamechanger.
It was his not-so-subtly way of telling her that he was considering taking up her offer to “worship” each other. He was taking a big leap of faith that cheering for each other was all they needed to do in order to become different persons by next spring, wasn’t he?
Let’s enjoy the show.
Oh, Mr Gu is something else all right. He is so quiet that he becomes a blank canvas for the others to colour in with their imaginations. The long jump – I wonder who the stunt athlete was who actually did it? Impressive. The extra glasses when he’s only drinking by himself. The little cross he wears.
I have been admiring this drama along with @Welmaris. It has a different feeling than most. It reminds me of certain stories set in the Deep South of the US. The cicadas, the relentless heat, the hired man. Only Gu sits out in the sun while the others shelter in the shade.
I am really enjoying this one and wish they were all already out.
The two older children are characters I would usually find tedious and whiney, they aren’t annoying me because the writer has given them just the right amount of self-awareness. They both made apologies when they were wrong and didn’t make excuses. When the brother was talking to his coworker at lunch and then it hit him…LMK played that perfectly.
The “pick up girl” explanation and the conversation between friends/family that followed felt so real.
I wish there was a calendar so we can see timeline. Obviously they’re using seasons as markers but I feel like I need to check off day-by-day. Which I’m assuming is because of good direction..they want us to get lost in the monotony.
Mr Goo’s shapely legs aren’t just eye candy. He clearly got them from some type of long jump training. His technique seemed so specific. But how did he end up there. Besides the fact that he looks very extremely handsome in a coat and slick hair, I couldn’t pick up much from the phone booth scenes. There was a woman hitting something/someone shouting ‘get off!’ And someone on the other end of the line that said something like “how did you know to stop running?” Can’t remember the exact phrase. Other than that, I can’t piece together how a probable former National athlete??? Ends up on the run. Before the whole long jump scene I assumed he was a soldier battling ptsd or something similar and the cups were for his comrade friends or murdered wife and child. I really wish they would dole out just a few more nuggets. I also kept waiting for there to be some type of flashback to his conversation with the customer and how he got the rest of the payment.
Question: what were we supposed to get from the scene where he’s drinking beer with the father looking out the window?
Was he sad seeing the school kids?
Grateful for the old man giving him a second to breathe?
Scared? Wanting to sob? I know the shot of his throat had purpose I just don’t know how to interpret it. Someone help.
I can’t wait to see how the sister apologizes to the young girl and explains herself to the girl’s aunt. The thing is, she’s not wrong. If anything to me it makes her seem like a better person, that she would worry about loving someone as much as they deserve-it’s her goodness that makes her worry.
The extra glasses? I imagined he was drinking in memory of a dead friend or two.
Yes, I was eyeing his cross too.
🙂 I noticed the men sweating. Mr Gu’s shirt for instance had sweat stains. But MiJeong doesn’t seem to sweat. Like we say here in the South, “Southern ladies don’t sweat. They glisten.”
I can’t help remembering this trivia about Koreans. Apparently, most Koreans lack a certain gene that causes underarm odor. 😂😂 Unlike us stinky Americans and Europeans, they don’t need to wear deodorants.
My question for you, @birdie007.
Are you also a “pick-up girl”? 😂
If I don’t faint on the spot at the sight of blood, 😂 I think I would want to rescue the decapitated head of my lover too.
Yes, I’m also curious to know how he demanded the full payment from their customer. But did you hear what he told MiJeong? He asked her if SHE also wanted him to get her money back from her cheating boyfriend. Whoa! So thuggish-sounding. But I like it.
As for the drinking scene, the impression I got there was that they had a drink in awkward silence. The dad invited him to drink 🍺 to give him an opening, in case he wanted to talk about how he was injured. But Mr Gu drank without saying a word so they ended up pretending to be interested in the goings-on outside the window.
The schoolboys were just goofing around as they passed by the window. The schoolgirls however were helping an old man haul away the recycled cardboard boxes/junk stuff.
Mr Gu seems to be a city mouse roughing it in for a while in the rural area while MiJeong and her siblings are the country mice dreaming of being Seoulites.
one more note on the brother and apologizing.-
After his outburst to his father you can tell he feels guilty so now he’s doing “acts of service” hoping that will suffice for an apology. It makes me giggle.
Are we to assume he used the “door locked” as an excuse to sit and talk with mr Gu?
both mother and son talked to Gu about MJ, is it because they have each noticed similarities between the two? Is mom trying to match make? And her face after seeing his first jump lol
@pm3 I am 💯 a pick up girl. Blood and gore doesn’t bother me at all…as long as it’s not my own. Now say I somehow had my pinky chopped off….no way I’m picking that up. I’ll most certainly be out cold.
And your take on the drinking scene, yes maybe he was swallowing the words he really wanted to say but could not.
I’m not sure if it’s because we hear it so seldom or if I’m just particularly attracted to his gruff voice, but when he asked if she wanted him to get her money back and also the way the said “run” the the bus I found myself with heart eyes.
After musing on his attractive voice I decided to do a little digging into the actor. The only past work of his I’ve seen is Be Melodramatic and I loved him in that.
Son Seok Koo is a South Korean actor under SBD Entertainment. In 2017, he made his drama debut with his iconic portrayal of Detective Mun in Netflix’s “Sense8”, an American television show. Prior to that, he has appeared in the 2015 Korean movie, “Black Stone”. He speaks fluent English and does boxing.
Son Seok Koo was reportedly revealed to be the CEO of a large machine tool distribution company, GOMT (LTD). While SBD Entertainment has confirmed that he was actively involved in the management of the company previously, they also stated that he has stepped away from his management activities and his current main occupation is an actor.
That’s in his bio on MDL. A ceo? Then decided to become an actor? I need to do more digging. Anyone here aware of his backstory? The actor not Gu, although both are mysterious 😂
Woa thank you packmule for this thread.
I’ve been watching this drama and I love it so far.
@packmule3,
I thought I am weird enough to remember the trivia about Korean people don’t the body odor. 😅😅 it is that I envy them so muchh because of that.. I heard it is not easy to find deodorant there since they don’t need it. Maybe the drugstore have them but the don’t display them in the strategic shelves.. Oh and I heard Japanese also don’t have the body odor, maybe the kinda have the same gene structure or smth..
@birdie007,
I have been eyeing this actor since seeing him in be melodramatic. Saw him in Mother, Designated Survivor 60 days, and he looks promising. So I’ve been waiting for his appearance in this drama. I also read that he was living in US to learn acting.. but very small info I had. Looking at his age, I think that maybe he started to act relatively late than most actors in South Korea.. however, I believe that he will shine on it’s own time..
I was in awe with the long jump scene. Never imagined before that the long jump activity could make my stomach kinda filled with the butterfly, lol. I wonder what Mi Jeong would think of him. Since her eonni-bestie told her to not ask for love, instead set off an explosion with her love.. I am curious whether Mi Jeong would follow this advice and will give Mr Gu so much love.. until he cracked his wall and finally opened up to her. What I am certain is that Mr Gu also think about Mi Jeong so much. He thinks about the “worship me” confession over and over again in his head hahaa.
And why do I think that he has always been protecting her since Mi Jeong ask for help to receive the credit payment notification letter. Or when he follow Mi Jeong walking in the night while there were some suspicious guys looking at, purposely made the sound of the beer glasses that he bought loud enough to ‘tell’ her, “don’t worry I am behind you..”
I saw that his gesture romantic enough to maybe without his realization, he too actually has been caring for her in his own way since the “worship me” confession.. haha
@moonstar512,
😂😂 So…you also know about that body odor trivia, eh?
I rarely check out the drugstores abroad so I can’t say if deodorants are indeed hard to find in SK. 😂 I’m OCD when it comes to packing my personal care products and meds when I travel. In fact, the following morning when I arrive home, I start replenishing my kit because I never know when I’m called out again.
Yes. I’m here for Mr Gu.
I’m underwhelmed by Lee Minki’s character, ChangHee. I thought he was going to be the lead but he seemed static so I fast-forwarded through his scenes. As for Lee El, 😂 yeah, her love affair with the divorced father came as no surprise.
The “worship me” proposal is odd, though. There’s no way that concept will stay platonic as “cheering for someone.” I thought it was a subbing error at first.
Also, did you notice how Mr Gu would often show up right behind her when she walked home from the train station? He never did that with the older sister.
According to their friend (the one who owns the cafe), Mr Gu would buy his two bottles of soju from the train station. But I wouldn’t be surprised if MiJeong was the OTHER reason he bought his soju at the train station.
Ya, @Birdie007! Quit crushing on dudes with gravelly voice. 😂 I’d like to hear him speak English, though.
To me, the actor’s a bit on the short side. He reminds me of that actor in “Sisyphus.”
Okay, share any info you find on him, okay? “Sharing is caring.” 🤪
The comments here are making me change my mind to continue watching. I finished ep1 and was thinking of dropping it. I needed a pick-me-upper and this is not the show. Maybe I’ll just watch the Mr Gu ang MJ stuff. Funny, when I watched DOTS (Descendants of the Sun), I watched the 2nd couple more and that’s Kim Jiwon and partner and FF the OTP. LOL!
I’m delighted BOD has started a space for this drama. I found it slow moving but that’s an appeal that draws me in. The reality and rut that the characters are in seem so relatable. I don’t think this slice-of-life drama would appeal to many. Instead of an escape from our daily grind (like most k-drama), this drama is rather in your face about the hard truths. I have been procrastinating to start My Mister because there are many k-dramas that I can escape to. Taking a short break from work to add this comment. Will be back to read the others later.
@Coffee&Tea, I don’t find this drama slow moving. It seems to be packed with important things – sort of ‘blink and you’ll miss it.’ There is a lot to think about.
The sign on the building that says – Something Good Will Happen To You Today: I don’t know if the brother has seen it, but both sisters have. Normally they are in a ‘glass half-empty’ frame of mind. But in episode 4 the older daughter Ki-jung no longer scoffs at it. I loved her interaction with her senior at work. He had her breathe in and out then asked her if she felt better. Her reply: “I want to shave off my hair. All of it.”😆 Pffft. And then she went into an interesting ramble about exhaustion. Her senior said, “That’s the reason I never stop loving. You never get tired as long as you’re in love.” It’s interesting that she doesn’t think of herself as pretty or attractive. (And I think that this actor nailed the senior. Great facial expressions as he listens to her.)
In episode 3, the younger sister was sitting in a cafe. A sticker on her laptop says joy but she was feeling anything but. She looks outside and saw the same ‘Something Good’ sign and the smaller quote beneath: Immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Mark 6:50.
This New Testament passage refers to Christ’s words to his disciples as he walked across the water to join them in their fishing boat. It also refers to recognition, faith and protection. Peter tried walking out to meet Christ, but got scared and started to sink. Christ rescued him and brought him back to the boat and the winds calmed.
I’m wondering if Mr Gu, while not Christ-like, is being shown as someone who inadvertently gives this family courage to be better. It’s true that his words, because very scarce, carry a lot of weight. He supports the father about the rejected sink cupboards. He supports Mi-jeong. @packmule3, I think that you are right about him purposefully buying his bottles near the bus station. The night when she took the last train home alone, he was nearby nonetheless.
😂 I found it slow and muted in the beginning, @Janey. I was ready to drop it because I was speeding through most of it anyway.
But then Mr Gu made me change my mind. In Ep 1, 28:00 time mark, the brother was trying to convince their dad to allow him to buy a car. 🤦♀️ (He’s a grown man!) MiJeong then gathered her bowls to leave the table. I thought Mr. Gu was eyeing her.
Later, her mom categorically said, “Tell him (Mr Gu, that is) your dad will start at seven tomorrow. But he can come by nine. Don’t just tell him to come by nine. Then he’ll know what you mean and come early.”
So what did MJ do? She put his food tray beside him and said, “They said you can come by nine tomorrow.” 😂
Then, the next morning, she looked at the wall clock and saw it was 7 o’clock. She walked out the house at the same time that Mr Gu was heading for the barn to work.
😂
Welllllll… color me suspicious.
To me, she either wanted to meet him before she went off to work or was perversely testing him.
I wanted to see what she was up to. And Ep 2 didn’t disappoint. She asked him to “worship” her at the end of Ep 2. 😂
In Ep 2, on that day the bank letter arrived, Mr Gu was at the store early. He was buying his soju when MJ walked out of the train station. He spotted MJ.
But on the night, MJ decided to have a night out with her friends, Mr Gu was coming home with soju pretty late at night. He didn’t look drunk so I assumed it was his first and only trip to the store that night.
That’s why I concluded that he was buying them at the opportune time and place to walk her home. 😂
Let me get this straight though. In the morning, she takes the bus to the train station. At night, she walks home from the train station. 🙂 I would dislike the daily commute, too.
@packmule3, I’m guessing that late at night the bus stops running so she has to either walk or take a taxi the rest of the way. If she’s home at the normal time, she may be able to get on the bus depending on the schedule. Or it may be a matter of thrift – she’s in a hurry because there’s a time at which she must be at work, but no strict time for getting home, so might walk a mile to unwind or whatever. No matter then if she gets hot or messy because she’s on the way home anyway.
Gosh the taxi from Seoul must cost a fortune even split 3 ways between the siblings. It sort of begs the question, why don’t they rent an apartment together closer to their jobs within city limits? The mom especially doesn’t think they should still be at home.
As far as the 9am vs 7am, I was just assuming that she was doing exactly as her mother said and yes, Gu did understand. But no helpful, ‘she said you would know what she meant’ or whatever. I thought she was being terse on purpose because she wasn’t feeling generous.
Just for reference, the world record for LJ is 8.95 m/nearly 10 yards or 29.63ft. Gu must have been pretty good back in his day if he could do that jump without warming up, practice and on an injured foot.
I’ve been silent reader but I just wanted to add some thoughts. As some have commented above, I spent some time thinking about that scene, the 9am vs 7am start dilemma.The mum was using tact, obviously wanting him to start early but rather than saying it straight out she instructed MJ to do it in a round about way. I can understand MJ because if my parents asked me to do something like that I would deliver the message needed without the hint just as she did because it’s embarassing and often as adults everyone can see straight though the intention. So the next morning as MJ leaves for work, the drama makes sure to show us it’s 7am lol, she’s taken back that Mr Gu showed up at 7 despite her telling him 9. I think at that moment she realised this guy is considerate and decent despite not knowing much about him. I can’t help but think it was the moment MJ first took notice, maybe even interest in Mr Gu. Seriously Mr Gu is such an enigma and I can’t wait to find out more about him.
@Fern, I winced to see Mr. Gu land on hard asphalt, not in a sand pit. I wonder if the impact would open the cuts on the top of his foot.
This drama has surprised me several times so far. MJ’s fierce speech suggesting Gu worship her was one. I’m glad in later episodes we see he didn’t immediately fold to her demands, but gave her a reality check. It was fair of him to ask her if she’d ever made someone feel whole.
Another surprise, of course, was Mr. Gu’s long jump expertise. We viewers expected the stranger to demonstrate heroism in some manner, but this? How creative! @Fern, you said the cicadas and the heat in this show remind you of movies set in the USA South; Mr. Gu makes me think of the trope of the stranger in Westerns: he rides into town, talks little, is forced into a confrontation, changes lives, then rides alone into the sunset.
The oldest sister is often surprising in what she says, spouting unfiltered, profound thoughts not comfortable for the average person to hear. Her conversations with her boss seemed to amuse, rather than shock, him. I wonder if he’s refreshed to be able talk with her in the same manner.
In her selfishness (she’s not seen helping in the house or in the fields) and unique thinking, the older sister reminds me of the father, Mr. Dolittle (pun intended, I suspect) in My Fair Lady. Henry Higgins ships him off to be speaker at a philosophical society, Higgin’s intentions farcical, but Mr. Dolittle is hailed as a new thinker, earning wealth and great acclaim. I’m suspecting that when the oldest sister finds a man who values the way she thinks, she’ll have found the love of her life. I’m not convinced that will be the divorced dad. Older sister was only drawn to him when she saw him lift the flats of bottles. Appreciate the core…hah! The only core she was appreciating at that moment was muscle, not character or intellect.
Brother needs to move in with the hometown friend who now lives in Seoul: not because he loves her as a woman, but because he loves the cold temperature at which she maintains the interior of her apartment. A match made in heaven!
OH, bravo about the brother and the friend in the freezing basement apartment!
Yes, Gu is like the stranger/hero in a Western, but also he started out like the hired hand who gets fed, but is always an outsider in the family and that was how he liked it. Now he jumped straight out of anonymity by doing not one but two jumps.
Gu is stoic – I wondered how he could sit out in the sun but I understand more now. Athletes are used to being battered, rained upon, scorched in the sun. In RL, the long jump event takes a long time depending on the number of entries. They all have to stay present and wait their turn as the distances are measured, the sand pit is raked and the board is inspected each time.
As to the older sister, I’m with you. I think her boss will end up captivated by her as she is definitely an original. He was trying to keep up with her, but almost each time he thought he had made a constructive suggestion, she went off on a tangent. I found their interaction so very funny.
I also really like the Liberation Club members, especially the man with the glasses and his ‘reasonable anger.’
Welcome to the blog, @Dreamer205.
What do you think about the stone? The stone that MiJeong picked up from the ground when she came home late to avoid having dinner with Mr Gu? 🙂
I think she was going to kill the two men with it because she is secretly a shot-putter. 😆
welcome @Dreamer205!!
glad that you finally out and sharing with us here..
I also thought that the 9am vs 7am was the moment when Mi Jeong started to amazed by Mr Gu. Even though Mi Jeong didn’t say that her parents will start at 7am, but still Mr Gu came. I am glad when someone “understand” without we have to explain much in words. Like “finally, there is someone in this universe who gets me..” kind of vibe. I thought that maybe Mi Jeong and Mr Gu relationship will be developed in this kind of relationship. And after his long jump, I am so looking forward to more surprise acts that he will do to Mi Jeong.
@Fern and @Welmaris,
I’m also in for the brother and and the friend in freezing basement apartment!
@Janey,
I also more into the second couple in DOTS than the Songhyekyo x Songjongki. I hope you will watch this drama too, because I think Mr Gu and Mi Jeong relationship is unique and a little bit different than any other drama.
@Packmule3,
Haha, yaa I know about the body odor trivia.. In fact, I even imagine that maybe in the future there will be genetic modification treatment to make people free from body odor.. they will use Korean People for the object of this research. I also the type who packs my personal care into small bottles for my trips. However, there is this one time I accidentally left my personal care pouch. Everything was in there, my deodorant, my soaps, my skincare etc. And I was crazy.. lol. I go to the nearest drugstore to bought everything as soon as I arrived.
I also think that the “worship me” will be developed into something more later. I think Mi Jeong and Mr Gu will define another type of love in Kdrama through this “worshipping” term.
And OH YES I noticed that. I have been thinking why Mr Gu ALWAYS buy the beers at the same time with Mi Jeong’s arrival. Maybe he was waiting in the store near the station, and then checking out when he saw Mi Jeong.. lol.
@moonstar512, I think that Mr Gu has memorised the schedule of the buses she would be able to catch. The next door friend said that he goes out and buys 2 bottles, drinks them and then buys 2 more later. This could be because if he goes to meet the regular bus but she’s not there, he would perhaps go back later. Also, she would probably call home to say to her parents that she won’t be on the bus that would get her in for suppertime and he might overhear that. I didn’t get the idea that he has been doing this since his arrival, but perhaps since she started the worship conversation?
Do you recall any dialog that said when he arrived to work for her father? I had the impression that it was earlier during the summer. It seems odd to me that the workshop business isn’t operated in the winter when demand might be high. Is it because the space can’t be heated?
@Parkmule3 thank you! ☺️
She picked up the stone after she was having a rant about Mr Gu and before she saw the two strangers by the car. I think she wanted to throw it at Mr Gu’s house to express her frustrations lol. After he rattled his bottles and made his presence known to make her feel safe she threw the stone away, either appeased or plan thwarted. MJ’s mostly silent but she does have a temper, the way she threw the slipper lol.
Mr Gu is always stoic and acting nonchalant it’s almost as if MJ enjoys getting a reaction out of him by saying provocative things. Like the scene where she asked if he’d like to be worshipped, she then walked off all nonchalant leaving Mr Gu in dismay 😂. Poor Mr Gu tries so hard but he’s not as indifferent to MJ as he’d like to appear. I agree with you about Mr Gu picking the opportune occasions to go buy Soju so he could be her silent escort.
@moonstar512 thank you! 😊
Me too, it’ll definitely be interesting to see how their relationship will play out after Mr Gu’s leap of faith haha.
Haha, @Fern. Shot put. 😂 Did she think she could kill two birds with one stone?
I don’t think she intended the stone for the two men, though. She only heard them talking and became aware of their presence AFTER she’d picked up the stone.
The stone was for Mr. Gu. 🙂
She was muttering, “Asshole. Idiot. All he ever does is drink all day.” The more she thought about the situation, the more incensed she became with him. She wouldn’t have been trekking home past midnight if it weren’t for him.
So she picked up the stone.
To me, she intended to throw the stone at Mr Gu while he sat, spaced-out and drunk as usual, on his platform.
If he was already indoors, she could lob it at his door or through his window to release her anger like she did with her brother’s slipper.
She throws things when she’s angry. 🤨
@Dreamer205,
Yes. You and I thought alike. 😂
That’s why it struck me as funny when she threw the stone away. She had Mr Gu’s back of the head in close range. She could have clobbered him, easily. But she couldn’t, in good conscience.
@packmule and @dreamer205, I agree about the stone. I was being silly on a little coffee buzz earlier. No, she couldn’t clobber him after he defused a situation for her benefit.
I wonder if we will see her completely angry. Did you see how the family cringed when she walked towards them with the slipper. Mr Gu was very interested in what she would do. It makes me wonder if she is afraid of her anger – that’s why she doesn’t react much to situations at work and in regard to the debt.
@Fern,
Agree. Mr Gu seemed to be fairly new to the area since he didn’t know about the slow business in winter, and his landlady was fussing about his settling in the rental property.
It must be his first summer there. 🌻
🙂 What MiJeong’s brother said about her temper was funny, too. He said that she was the type to “kick you right off the cliff.”
She has reckless, explosive temper. 🔥
I stand corrected. In Ep 2, the mom (or was it the Unnie?) mentioned that he was drunk all winter, and they “just barely turned him into a decent human being.” So he was there last winter but he doesn’t remember much of it because he was in an alcoholic blackout.
@fern
She couldn’t clobber him after that but I’m sure she wanted to seeing how pouty she was letting the stone go 😂.
@packmule3
The actor playing Mr Gu, Seon Suk Koo, is 178cm in height according to his profile. Maybe because he has a wide build (I read somewhere he boxes) making him look a bit short. Slightly taller than Cho Seung Woo at 173cm. Funny you mentioned him because I actually think they have a slight resemblance. It’s in the eyes I reckon. 🙂
😂 @pm3 I like the actor playing Mr Gu too. I first watched him in Designated Survivor 60days. He isn’t your typical handsome. But he definitely had the X factor. There was an intensity about him that was magnetic? Good but with a hint of danger and wild? 😂. I have been traveling so haven’t really thought about watching anything. The interesting thing about this actor is that there were rumours floating around that he’s actually a self made wealthy businessman outside of the entertainment industry? Acting is a hobby for him? He doesn’t need the money or fame to make ends meet.
@nrllee,
That’s the info @birdie007 dug up too. 😂 He’s a CEO of his family business, something to do with tool manufacturing.
Reminds me of this guy in dated in college. His family had a machinery/tool/equipment business but it went belly up because of cheaper manufacturing cost in China. 🤨
I guess his family must be well-to-do if he was sent here to the US for 10 years in middle school to study.
Oh @Fern, you gave me a good laugh! Mi Jeong, the shot put ninja…hah!! And I think you may be on target with the thought of MJ being afraid of her anger. I suspect she doesn’t just get angry then get over it, but has a chain-reaction explosion that, once started, is indiscriminate in its destruction…herself, included.
The oldest sister, Gi Jeong, likely gets more release of her negative feelings because she’s so mouthy. It seems whatever comes into her head ends up rolling off her tongue with no filters. Several times as she’s been talking I’ve yelled at the TV screen: TMI…too much information! Is it a coincidence that someone so quick to voice her thoughts works for a company that conducts public opinion polls?
The brother, Chang Hee, is also quick to voice his opinion, but his thoughts are less pithy than his older sister’s. He has a victim mentality, shifting responsibility for his disappointments onto others. He’s said that as soon as he starts dating a girl, he anticipates being rejected; he’s so sure of an impending breakup that he’s unaware he’s the one who called an end to his latest relationship. Did it look like his girlfriend was cheating on him? Maybe. Did he listen to her explanations? No. Is there room for doubt? Yes. Did he give her the benefit of the doubt? No. Of course, Writernim provided just enough evidence for us viewers to also assume she’s a two-timer, so we were also being played. It wasn’t until Episode 4 that we are given a window into her mindset and a snippet of her side of the story.
As someone else already mentioned, it is funny watching Chang Hee come to the realization, while having lunch with his work buddy, that he’s overly talkative. Now the question is, will this enlightenment help him grow as a person? I do have hope for him, as I believe he has some capacity for empathy. He regularly spends and hour-plus on phone calls with a convenience store owner who just needs a listening ear; however, he gripes about her to others after humoring her, which taints his kindness.
We regularly see MJ helping in the kitchen at home and in the fields. I was intrigued to learn that since she was a young child, she enjoyed going to the factory with her father and developed expertise in building product. I wonder if she would have preferred working with her father and eventually taking over his business, but was discouraged from doing so because her parents wanted “a better life” for her.
I interpreted the scene after the siblings’ father, Yeom Je Ho, asked Mr. Gu to go with him for a cold beer, when they sat without talking, as companionable silence. Both men are careworn. Papa has worked hard to provide for his family: his three children have enjoyed the benefit of a stable family, a secure home, food on the table, and college educations (I assume, based on their jobs). It seems Mr. Gu has experienced his share of life’s battles: a warrior in retreat. These men of few words may not need to talk to communicate. Kindred spirits. The activity they watch outside the window is what they no longer have: youthful exuberance.
I have noticed that this director and cinematographer stage a lot of pivotal scenes through glass or incorporating reflections. At the end of Episode 2 we see Mr. Gu through his window as he looks up the definition of the word MJ used, then we see his reaction to that definition reflected in the window, then the glass of his coffee table. Another example that stands out is when MJ is riding in the city bus and the camera’s view, in one seamless motion, goes from in front of her inside the bus to looking at her outside the bus window. This is at the end of Episode 3, with MJ thinking about Mr. Gu’s telling her to run for the bus (in lieu of saying “hi” as she’d asked). My guess is that lining up shots through windows or using reflections adds a layer of removal from the subject, or distorts the subject, manipulating our feelings about what we’re seeing. We’re voyeurs. We’re witnessing a private moment.
When MJ was in a tizzy and ready to do some damage to Gu (or his house) with that stone she picked up, I couldn’t help but giggle that she still threw the stone down with a huff. Her anger only got slightly less violent.
I also wonder how she ended up in her field. Graphic design?? It seems she’s actually not that talented at her job, how did she even get it? I wish she had a job like the girl in Just Between Lovers making building models…or at least doing something she is good at and somewhat enjoys.
I’m still confused on the brother and his relationship. I know we are to assume that he broke up with her for texting with the other man and also her lack of interest in his hometown and his struggle with the commute. But then once the sister talks to the girl and hears her side there’s mention of her being stood up at dinner and a movie? Did I miss something? And then it feels like the brother admits to his own self sabotage because of his insecurities that she can do better than him. Was that really her goodbye or do you all think we will see them work it out?
I’m still sticking with my first inkling that he’ll end up with hometown phone booth friend.
Is @OAL watching this one? I can’t remember in the discussion. I know she’s as interested as I am at learning about different occupations.
At Welmaris, when the mother tells Gu about Mi-jeong working straight after school the mother felt that Mi-jeong really enjoyed it but Mi-jeong doesn’t corroborate this. The other went off to meet up with friends, but in episode or 2 we heard that Mi-jeong had no friends her age in their neighborhood. Her brother said that she hung out with ‘the village idiot’ who seems to have been much older than her if he’s nearly 50 now. It might explain a lot about why she has a difficult time communicating with her peers even now.
I am halfway through Ep3. There’s definitely a Christian theme happening and I am curious as to how the writer will use it in the story. Too many references for it to be coincidence. The cross that Mr Gu wears. Joy (?) is the company MJ is working for? Then as @Fern mentioned, the Bible verse. Mark 6:50. Older sis talking about the crucifixion and Mary having to endure the sufferings of her son dying a slow death on the cross.
I noticed also that as MJ was walking home with the 2 men staring at her, the very thing that she was berating Gu about (his drinking) was the comfort and protection she needed to walk home. The clinking of the Soju bottles gave her courage to walk past the lascivious men.
Hello, @nrllee. I thought I was over-thinking the Christian theme. I’m not sure it’s a message as such. Things it made me think of these things whether apropos or not:
Hospitality or kindness to a stranger or person who has heavy problems,
The near miracle at the end of episode 4,
The refusal to worship but not a refusal to be worshipped see below,
The crucifixion and the ‘pick-up-girl’ theme, where the beloved’s body or head is not left behind but collected for burial,
Carpentry (!),
Not being recognised (if in fact Gu was a well-known athlete),
A spell of time being in a deserted/wilderness place. (Mi-jeong as the devil who wants to be worshipped?🤨😉)
while he seems extremely depressed, Gu isn’t suicidal as such, otherwise he would have killed himself already. Is it because of a Christian background and his hope that his self-inflicted purgatory in this country community will be a punishment that will redeem him in the long run?
I’m sure there are more, but these occurred to me. I’m not saying at all that Gu represents Christ or a Christian ideal, but that the Christian themes may be being used.
@nrllee, do you mind checking to see if there’s a crucifix/cross in the house too?
I know there’s no Marian statue.
Definitely no Marian statue. I will take a close look as I continue to watch. So far the room Gu is in is very sparse.
Good catch on the Carpentry. And the wilderness experience (aimless wandering – for the siblings). The reference to worship (that in itself unusual). Not “love me” but “worship me”? Deifying a person? It’s the strangest request of anyone. Especially to someone she hardly even knows? 🤔. The writer certainly has my attention. 😂
@nrllee, wait till you hear what MJ meant by “worship” in Episode 4.
It was nothing close to “revere” “honor” and “adore.” It was more like cheering for the other person, and shouting “Fighting!!”
It was a head-scratching moment for me. lol.
I didn’t see any Christian images in the parents’ house. I did notice a big glass sphere filled with tiny origami cranes which reminded me of the 1000 cranes for a wish legend.
No Christian images but definitely Christian motifs. This is what I am seeing anyway. 🙂
The storm – reminded me of the darkness that came over the earth as Christ was hanging on the cross
The wound on the foot – reminded me of the nails through the feet of Christ
Then the leap of faith in the end of Ep4. Once to retrieve the hat. For himself (Gu) – to prove that he could still do something extraordinary. And then back to her side of the canal (for MJ) to prove that it’s not just some fluke. He didn’t go to the right or to the left (as was suggested by the brother and the mother), he just made a beeline for it and jumped.
MJ “saves him” by ushering him back into the house in the thunderstorm. She cared for his life. It was worth saving. She barreled out there with no thought of danger to herself – the live electrical wire was testament to the danger – she risked electrocution to save him.
Older sister’s version of love is one that stays with the person right to the gruesome end. Even if it meant that she had to pick up her lover’s head at his beheading. She would stay no matter how hard it would get. A good sign seeing she seems to be falling for the single father.
The liberation that all the siblings are looking for is not to be found externally. Not in changing their hair, or jobs, or situation in life. It’s in their outlook. Their perspective. MJ seems to be closer to this than her siblings. I think in part because she’s an introvert and tends to mull more than complain. They are all having “wilderness” type experiences. Wandering aimlessly in the dessert. The languid summer air – oppressive and thick is perfect to reflect their apathy and lack of direction. I guess there would be winter and there’s a talk of spring (by Gu and MJ) where they would emerge different. I am waiting for their individual epiphanies.
@nrllee, you wrote it right. Motifs is a good way of expressing these themes.
Mi-jeong had been indoor mulling over how lightning storms made her calm rather than scared because ‘the world might finally come to an end as I wished. It feels like I’m stuck but I don’t know how to get out. That’s probably why I hope everything ends all at once….I wouldn’t care if the world ended now.’ We see Gu’s face and he is watching the storm passively as if in the same frame of mind – if not more – because he is actually sitting outside in it. I had the feeling that he was thinking, okay, let it be. It would be an accident of nature. But Mi-jeong’s reflections didn’t extend to allowing that to happen to Gu. The lights went out in the farm but on in her brain and she ran to him. What a great scene.
I like the lack of tropes for a change. We had a failed trope when Gi Jeong almost falls into Chang Hee, her own brother and they are both disgusted. 😝
Looking forward to episodes 5 & 6.
@Fern. Yes I think that’s the draw if this drama. It actually has very little to excite us. There’s no grand romance. It’s monotonous in its delivery? Strangely, the “normal” people (MJ’s colleagues and GJ’s boss (?)) stick out as the oddities? It reminds me of the matrix. What’s real and what’s just an illusion? As the girls chatter about holidays and what clubs to join, it almost seems to escapist? The writer seems to have flipped the narrative of what’s normal and how to view the world. The undercurrent of silent suffering. Much like the suffering of Christ. Where Christ knows where he’s headed and his suffering but the people around him are clueless.
The sign that the siblings see as their train returns them back home, “something good will happen today”? Seems to mock their very existence. They lack purpose. A reason to live, to exist. Strangely, whilst they whine about their friends in the countryside, they are the ones who understand. They’ve grown up with each other. Everything is familiar. Does it breed contempt? Is that why they seem to treat each other with derision?
It was interesting when GJ threw CH’s slipper which hit MJ on the head. MJ’s indifference infuriated Gu more than anything. Just like her dad’s response to the unreasonable customer. He reacted on their behalf? What was also interesting was how both of the older siblings stood there petrified by MJ. Anticipating an explosion of anger. The disparity would be too stark when MJ snaps. CH and GJ bicker all the time so it’s almost expected. Not so for MJ though. Still waters run deep.
As @packmule3 mentioned, the definition of “worship” was unconventional. I am still trying to figure it out. MJ intended for Gu to “cheer her on”. Is this more like how fans “worship” their K-pop idols?
Looking forward to Ep5&6. Will wait for both to drop on Netflix before I binge both.
Good points, @nrllee. I agree that the Christian motifs are there, especially when I think of:
a. MJ’s demand to worship. She’s looking for a disciple, a follower, a supporter. I don’t think she’s looking for an amorous or sexual liaison with Mr. Gu ala “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” haha.
b. “Hell Joseon.” The siblings are feeling the hellish situation of their current lives, jobs, love lives, and daily grind. Plus, the heat of the summer, lack of air conditioning, the muggy air, these can be infernal.
c. No heaven in sight.
I agree, @Fern. That was a pivotal scene because it made me realize that MiJeong isn’t all that honest about herself.
She said that she wouldn’t care if the world ended right there and then. Then the lightning hit the generator and she galvanized into action. She ran to save him. Her first thought was that he was outside during that stormy weather, sitting on that stupid platform, and stupid drunk as usual.
There was another time that she showed that she cared. In Episode 2, when she saw her parents running from Mr. Gu’s house. Her dad ran to get the truck, and she started running towards the house too. That’s when she saw him with the bloody nose. The following day, after she came home from work, she asked him to worship her.
There’s another thing that struck me odd but — sigh — I’m having a senior moment and I’ve forgotten what it is already. I’m sure I’ll remember as soon as I turn this laptop off. 🙂
Also @nrllee,
The stone. She’d picked up the stone to throw at Mr. Gu (or his house) because the thought of him infuriated her. But after he safely accompanied her past those male strangers, she dropped the stone.
The stone reminded me of “cast the first stone…” Mr. Gu is a sinner alright but she couldn’t stone him after his good deed.
Oh, I remembered!
In Episode 4.
Mr. Gu returned to the home of their customer who stiffed them out of their pay for the cabinets to demand their money. On his way back, he passed by MiJeong walking home.
Mijeong heard the truck behind her and she smiled faintly. She looked back and saw that it was the family truck, and that Mr. Gu was all by himself. She turned her head again and smiled. This time, it was a full smile because she fully EXPECTED Mr. Gu to stop and give her a ride.
But he didn’t. lol.
When they met up at their house, she gave him a mean look behind his back.
That night, she went over to bring him food because he skipped dinner with them. He was already drunk then. He stood up to get the empty containers for her. She confronted him about being moody.
And he confronted her about being a pushover like her Dad. They both acted guilty like they’ve done something wrong when they should’ve been demanding what’s rightfully theirs. He asked her, “Want me to get it back for you? If you keep being nice, he won’t pay you back.”
Three things:
one, he knew that she learned about the cheating customer and how he dealt with it his own way. He knew that the family would have discussed it during mealtime.
two, he was frustrated with her and her dad for not wanting to stand up for their rights.
three, he was showing that he was unlike her and her dad.
@Fern,
I’ll explain the significance of “carpentry” for others who might not know about Christianity.
Jesus was a carpenter, and he was a carpenter’s son. 🙂
I think you could be right about the K-pop-type definition of ‘worship’, @nrllee. A very casual slang use of the word, if that’s what it means to Mi-jeong. Clearly it didn’t mean that to Gu when he looked it up, and it put him into despair. I still wonder why he had to look it up if it’s in current usage and if he is a reasonably well-educated native speaker.
About Mi-jeong’s anger, I think that the siblings were anticipating her temper. She did throw the slipper rather than just placing it back near the door, but her reaction was pretty tame if we are to believe her brother.
MJ may well be like her father who was literally shaking with anger about the car-buying situation. I was expecting a slap or another sort of physical reaction from him. The brother was aware of it and was trying to keep the discussion as calm as possible. The mother is also constantly trying to diffuse situations to keep the father calm or happy; it makes me think that he has had significant outbreaks in the past.
@packmule3, I’m not convinced that at some level Mi-jeong didn’t mean a physical relationship. I wondered at the time what else she could have meant? She seemed sort of coy about it when discussing it with her workmates. Her best friend thinks she has found someone – she said so twice. Although Mi-jeong denied it, her actions at the lightening strike mean to me that she values his life quite more than her resigned musings about the end of the world would indicate. The moments she spent looking at him after shoving him into his house show her realisation of how she feels about him.
@packmule3, I liked your idea that he had been a priest in trouble. It would explain his fatality, his despair of getting into a relationship with someone who required worship as well as his dislike of people constantly confiding in him. But I don’t think it is what will happen.
Just my imagination – In Gu’s flashback of the train and station, there was a woman yelling into a phone, ‘Get off! Get off!’. Her face is blurred, but it could look like Mi-jeong? Gu told Chang-hee he came to the village because he got off at the wrong stop. But when he was at the pay phone, the person on the line wondered how Gu knew that it was unsafe to go further. It reminded me of a variation on the Indian train/station saying we heard in CLOY. Right train this time but the wrong station turns out to be the right station?
Thank you, @packmule3.
Ah, we were writing at the same time.
There was another time when she was nice to him: when she brought the portion of BBQ pork belly over to the ‘grown-ups’ table. The mother said that they didn’t need any more, but I took it to mean that she didn’t want to take more from the young adults. But Gu is a young adult, as well and I think that Mi-jeong recognised that he might want some more to eat and perhaps as a sort of apology. I actually thought it a bit odd and awkward that the young adults didn’t offer him a place at their table even if they knew he wouldn’t accept. He was within earshot of what they were saying.
There’s a sense of urgency in MJ’s request. She was anticipating a winter of discontent where business at Sanpo Sinks would grind to a halt and there would be less to do at work (?) – everyone would be hibernating. It was almost a last ditch attempt on her part to enact change, to do something, anything lest they all drown in their own torpidity.
I think the Liberation Club was interesting. The 3 of them sat facing outwards watching the rain. And they all had real conversations. Brutally honest in their confessions. Yet it felt liberating to give voice to their inner struggles without being judged by others – therapeutic. It was a strange camaraderie but it worked. At least for them it did. Shared secret struggles which only they would comprehend. MJ smiled to herself because none of the other girls could understand what it was all about. It was their little secret. They did nothing of consequence overtly but it worked for the 3 outcasts. They were alone no more, these 3 unconventional friends.
@nrllee, I like the Liberation Club. I wonder where it will go from here.
“Sorry, I’m a bastard too”.
🙂
This drama isn’t cheap about good lines. 😉
Episode 3 ending:
She say that like she say nothing:
“So do you want I adore you?” … then she leaves!
It makes no sens. 🙂
Nice song during the credits (one surprising chord):
@WEnchanteur,
I know, right?
To me, she dropped a bombshell and didn’t care to stay and find out the extent of the damage her words had on him.
But remember in Ep 2, she was musing on the effects on words?
At 33:20.
Her friend Hyuna told her, “People are so good with words. Once you reach a certain point, you start playing with words. And once you start to enjoy drawing attention to yourself with your words, there’s no turning back. Do you think there’s a single thing coming out of my mouth that’s actually worthwhile? There isn’t. Not one. So I don’t want you to reach that point. It feels like I’m taking a detour because I’m too afraid to walk on the right path. But I’ve come so far away that I don’t even dare to turn back. I like that you don’t try to get attention from people with your words. That’s why each and every word you utter is so special.”
I really HATED the writer and director here. For one, I couldn’t tell who was saying what, because the director filmed the two girls in a dreamy sequence. Because I couldn’t be bothered analyzing the voice, or voiceS as the case might be, I just assumed it was all Hyuna.
For another, the whole monologue sounded disjointed and could’ve been edited for clarity and succinctness. Hyuna only has two major points to share with MJ:
One, to avoid emulating her (Hyuna).
Two, to remain sincere in her words.
Now, if Hyuna’s perception of her friend is true, then WHY is MiJeong acting like this with Mr Gu? In your own words, @WEnchanteur, she said “So do you want that I adore you?” like her words meant nothing at all.
At this point, I’m not sure if MiJeong is written to be a confused character or it’s the WRITER herself who’s confused about her characterization.
But I’m sticking around for now bec of Mr Gu.
@Pm3, I can’t comment on everything, but there is many good voice-over, about meaning. It’s the kind of thing we meet in life and can recognize (well, maybe not everyone).
About the monologue about words. It’s not Mi Jung (the protagonist), it’s the other girl. And not a voice-over I think, the real dialogue. There was a time (wow! at least 20 years), I was playing a lot on words on forums. It was usefull for virtual fights. And also, I improved at writing. But it’s a long time since that, I didn’t do that again. I can say when you are good with words, there is indeed this kind of aura. You become a kind of local celebrity. I liked the conclusion of this monologue that say it’s not worthwhile. I think it’s true. But surely usefull for people working in politic. I’m too tired to do dialogs fights now, and feel it empty. But you are happy when you find a good sentence in a flash with words that hit. I think I can use that now for writing stories, it’s far more fulfilling and creative for a better good.
About Mi Jeong characterisation. I don’t look more at that (of course, if I understand, it’s better). I’m ready to accept the irrationnality of characters. We get some clues in the story. For example, when she throw the shoe. After, someone (probably Yeom Chang Hee) says: there is people used to fight and they don’t go off limits. But her, she’s rather calm, so when she get angry, she loose any sens of the consequences.
Here, it’s a very valid description, realistic.
I can accept when she makes the weird propositions of adoration, she’s in a kind of altered state of conciousness like that, where she send anything piss off and dare to say that. We have another scene where she’s off limit. It’s not on purpose. She say an insult to her smartphone and the chief think she insult him. The feeling of the scene is like she don’t care and could turn the table, and like she did it on purpose. It’s how I got that. Not sure about other spectators. At least for her, it opens this possibility she could dare to do that.
What makes these scenes of declaration of adoration so weird, it’s very cold. Gu Ja Gyeong don’t care the first time (only in the scene, because after, he becomes perturbed). This kind of declaration, I would rather see that in a situation where there is already a lot of passion, something build more previously. But here, aahhh how to say that, there is almost nothing, we obviously don’t feel something like that. Just maybe in a hidden way he have some interest for her (we see him discretly follow her for protection when there is the two gangmen). He’s just around like that, looking elsewhere, crossing path but nothing apparent.
There is another scene where the two are together in his house. It have a feeling a married couple, wife and husband. I don’t remember what they say or do here. I think he get more and more interest for her. Scene when the mother say she was very good at the workshop for example. This scene can give him the feeling she could be a nice wife. We know nothing about this guy (at this point I’m in the middle of ep4), but he look tired to be alone, even he don’t show it. It’s also attractive to meet a woman supposedly common but to find that she’s not so common and dare to say crazy things in a flash, like “worship me”. I would be this guy, I would be attracted, no matter it’s crazy. It’s the feeling to meet someone exceptional.
Maybe the story will end like this: they will get married, she will leave her work at Seoul and work in their workshop with him. I don’t know how it could happen, I suppose some tension in her company, as she free step by step, could end by something explosive when she quit.
I forgot something about the “declaration of adoration”:
The shock value. Of course, we want that in a script. It’s very good and strike the audience. So anyway, once the scene is envisionned, it’s a so strong idea, the screenwriter can’t miss that. If needed, it could be a bit out of the character, or there is some script corrections to twist the character to make it acceptable. Change some scenes before for example, to get to this point.
It’s so good that at this point, I’m ready to forget the absolute realism of the character because if the character is in the stone, it can’t generate something unexpected like that. So I easely accept that. I’m more happy to get a scene like that than to get a kind of “perfect character design”.
@Wenchanteur and @packmule, my understanding of Mi-Jeong’s offer to adore him come about because of their earlier conversation where she asked him to adore her. She also wanted someone to make her whole. He didn’t respond the way she hoped: he got angry and scornful. ‘I’m an asshole, too…Have YOU every made anyone whole?’ He turned the tables on her so she had to think about it to even things up. She asked him to adore her, so for that to occur she had to say that she could reciprocate. She walked away perhaps because she didn’t need his response right then? If she had stayed and stared into his eyes, that would be out of character for her and quite like a Kdrama trope, which isn’t this show’s style.
@Wenchanteur, I agree that some quirky or eccentric behaviour is attractive. I think for that reason, the older sister has become more interesting to her boss as well.
Sorry I mis-spelled both of your names, @WEnchanteur and @packmule3. Apologies.
Episode 4 ended. With a good cliffhanger scene:::
@WEnchanteur, imagine you knowing that much about Van Halen! 😂 Perfect.
I forgot how impressed I was with Eddie Van Halen was back then. He could flirt and play a difficult riff at the same time. Thanks for the throwback.