I’ve been focused on Mr. Gu and MiJeong that I’ve forgotten about GiJeong’s dating problem. Although she isn’t dating a club owner (a mob boss? I still haven’t figured out exactly what Mr. Gu’s career is), I think GiJeong’s guy is just as problematic as Mr. Gu because of his complicated family.
First, he has a daughter who resents GiJeong. Second, he has a noona who’s declared open war on GiJeong. And third, he’s a divorced man, dependent on and living with his older sisters. Ugh. He isn’t a momma’s boy but a noonas’ boy (note the plural noonas). And to an American like me, that’s a major turn-off. I prefer a 30-something-year old man to be his own person.
Thanks, @Welmaris for putting this together.
@Packmule3, I think the story starts to guide viewers’ thoughts about Tae Hoon’s family situation as far back as the scene where GJ and her friend are griping about going to the mall, that they become angry with other women: those who have money, husbands, family, beauty, etc. [And these may be the same feelings that fuel CH’s anger at AR.] GJ asks, “Will the family you have be the same as the one you came from?”
Next we see Yu Rim (Tae Hoon’s daughter) get off her school bus, met by her older aunt, Hui Seon. As they stroll home with the aunt talking, YR asks why she’s always saying “auntie did this” and “auntie did that.” HS’s response: “Just in case people think I’m your mom, and that makes you upset. You’re mom’s much prettier than me, you know?” This answer bothers me because the adult is trying to blame the child for the wall the adult has chosen to build between them. She gaslights her niece by making it all about protecting the child’s feelings. But I suspect both Hui Seon and Gyeong Seon, raised by an aunt in Sanpo after their parents died, have issues from their own youth that they’re projecting onto Yu Rim.
In the next scene, which you mention above, a drunken Gyeong Seon starts talking about her sister and herself in comparison to their aunt. Tae Hoon shuts her down, so I suspect they hear these complaints often from Gyeong Seon. We’ve previously heard GS complain that the food her aunt fed her siblings and her was substandard, in her opinion, and she believes the immediate family members ate better than them. She suspects her aunt who took them in was less than loving. She overcompensates, and pushes guilt onto Yu Rim: “Aunties are all you’ve got. Your aunties have decided to give up on being women…” I understand that Tae Hoon is in a tight spot as a single father, but I believe living with his sisters is putting Yu Rim into a toxic environment.
I imagine GS fears that TH will take YR away if he remarries, so is defensive and jealous at the thought the he might enter into another romantic relationship. “What about me? I’m an auntie. And I’ll be forty very soon!” When she starts howling like this, YR stops eating her snack, sets it on the table, and leaves the room. This kind of emotional blackmail must be hard for her. Her aunties have issues they need to deal with, their own lives to live, yet are hiding behind YR and blaming her for it.
I agree, @Welmaris, that the noona, Gyeong Seon, is a big red flag.
Before GiJeong dates that guy or marries into that family, she should first understand that as the girlfriend or wife, she ranks only third in TaeHoon’s hierarchy of priorities. Of course, his child Yurim comes first. But his noona Gyeong Seon will insist on being treated as #2 as the de facto matriarch of the family.
Can GiJeong deal with that reality? To me, she’s looking for trouble. The other guy, her boss, seems to be a better proposition right now.
@packmule3, I completely agree with you after watching the most recent episodes. Tae Hoon has NO privacy. His sisters seem to watch his every move, even to the point of reading his phone messages and going through his trunk (maybe that’s a mis-translation for wardrobe or dresser?)
Gi-Jeong would have to be voted into that family and I’m not sure she’s strong enough to stand up to them. Small wonder Tae Hoon is in the liberation club! I would have thought that any number of other characters here are in a damnable position, but he might have risen to number 1. Family counselling is needed. I think the only way she would be okay there is if Yurim says she wants Gi-jeong to date Tae Hoon for his sake and hers.
@Fern,
Since we’re given what seems to be a glimpse of the future — Mr Gu walking past the 2022 New Year’s Eve at his club — I’m assuming that we’re getting a time jump soon. I’m open to it because that’s a good way to see if:
a. Mr Gu has recovered from his alcohol abuse
b. TaeHoon has liberated himself from his noonas and his loser attitude
c. Mijeong has learned to stand up for herself
d. Gijeong has gotten over her desperation to be married.
e. ChangHee is a leader in the company.
We only have 6 more episodes (or three weeks) to see growth and character arc.
If I had to choose between the two scenarios – Gu back at the club or with Mijeong looking at a flock of wild geese, I would believe the club. The geese scene looked like a fantasy.
In addition to your list, I want to see if:
Gu has kept his car or if he actually gave it to Chang-hee;
Mi-jeong loses her temper in a spectacular way;
Doo-hwan gets a girlfriend and stops following Chang-hee;
Any or all of the Yeom children move away from home;
Hyuna gets together with someone decent, even if it means she moves back to the egg white.
@Fern, if the subber was using American English, trunk probably meant the boot of the car. Remember, Tae Hoon and his family went on a driving vacation, stashing their bags in the back. She would have seen the Chanel bag as she loaded and unloaded their luggage.
Tae Hoon had written in his liberation club notebook, “Don’t be afraid.” Then he scratched out the word afraid, because he was afraid someone would see it. Who? His co-workers? I doubt it. He readily admitted to the others at the club reading, including the club coordinator, the original wording. I imagine he wouldn’t want Yurim to see it. I also suspect he didn’t want his sisters to read it without context. That fear could come because he knows his sisters, or at least one of them, don’t respect his privacy. He later must’ve talked about it to some extent with Gyeong Seon, because we saw them sitting at a table discussing their fears on behalf of Yurim.
Of the three Cho siblings, Gyeong Seon is the hot-headed one. I think Tae Hoon is both afraid of her, and for her. She can be biting in her criticism, and is quick to judge. And she’s made it clear her niece has become the sole focus of her life. GS claims YR is the only reason she’s still alive. “I’ll die without you” is emotional blackmail.
Tae Hoon is showing signs of emotional attachment to Yeom Gi Jeong: thinking of her when they’re not together, being concerned about her feelings and welfare, having objects remind him of her, feeling happy in her company. During their after-rejection get-together for drinks and octopus, GJ was able to talk to him like she talks with her boss, sharing about her emotional lessons and development. As she thanked him for helping her surmount a mountain–her recovery after her denied proposal–and giving her courage to face more in the future, he looked like her words caused him to think. I just wish he’d listened to all she had to say, instead of cutting her off to ask why she felt embarrassed. He’s invalidating her feelings.
Gyeong Seon’s tantrum after listening to her niece’s reason for disliking GJ is similar to GJ’s behavior after hearing TH’s fight story. The offenses had nothing to do with either of them, were in the past, and forgiveness had been tendered (by TH in GJ’s case, with TH vetoing GJ’s direct apology to YR). Both women adopted feelings of righteous indignation despite not having suffered the injustice, and wanted to wreak revenge by proxy. But GS had another motive for fomenting and releasing her rage: to drive away someone who could come between her and Yurim. Neither the older sister or Tae Hoon condone GS’s behavior, but GS refuses to discuss it with Tae Hoon and physically uses her niece to shield herself from her brother.
I don’t want to overlook that GS had invited GJ to her home as a guest. Although her hospitality didn’t stem from pure motives–everyone knew she was using GJ as an excuse to eat octopus–in attacking her guest she abandoned etiquette.
I’ve no idea where I could post that, so I do it here, sorry for the disturbance!
I sympathized with an old guy like me, via a social network. He is a photographer and has a good eye regarding the making of kdramas.
His blog:
https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/p/k-dramas-and-movies-index-of-synopses.html
Go after the episode summary, to the “shooting” section, to read his analysis of the filming of Bussiness Proposal:
https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2022/04/a-business-proposal-synopsis.html
I’ll suggest him to pass on the BOD blog.
@Pm3, it should remind you some comments you do sometimes, about how the image composition give a meaning to a scene.
@Welmaris, I think that the thing I like most about this drama is that the characters have motives, emotions and reactions that are multi-faceted and often unexpected like people in real life. Even the side characters pose questions or act in non-standard ways. It’s not a simple, straight-forward story with stock characters. The tropes, where they exist, are either subverted somehow or are very necessary.
Trunk = Boot. Gosh, I still often say trunk for cars. I was imagining a steamer trunk or foot locker type of thing. D’oh.
Tae Hoon put his foot down a bit when he told GS that Gi-jung was his guest. He remembered his manners at least. I think that he tries to get along with his sisters because they live together. I agree that GS is very deluded and I think all three siblings there are bound by guilt of some sort or other to protect Yurim. I wonder if Yurim will understand that this is unhealthy or whether she feels entitled with the way they *seem* to put all of her needs first before theirs in such an exaggerated way. It gives more meaning to the word spoiled. She could become an awful adult if she stays in that situation.
I suppose that he moved in with the sisters after the divorce so that someone would be home when Yurim comes home from school when she was younger. It’s a savings, I suppose, but he should consider finding another place for him and Yurim. Surely he can afford an apartment since he doesn’t seem to be obliged to give custody payments to his ex-wife?
@packmule3, please could you open a new thread for this week’s episode of My Liberation Notes? 🍪🍪🍪 advance thanks.