The thread is open.
I’m still working on my Ep 5 review. There’s a delay because it isn’t one of my “Quick Takes.” I’m planning on explaining the flow of the story as I understand it.
But go on ahead without me. I’ll post when I’m ready.
Gifs from liveasbutterflies’ tumblr.
lol. Is that a BUTT? Did Right Hand Cell on the left cheek of Babi’s butt? 🫣🤣🤣
Let’s enjoy the show.
Mission Control (@Packmule3), touchdown is affirmative.
😂 @Welmaris.
I guess you could say she touched rock bottom. It must be hard.
@Packmule…it?
In Episode 7 we see Yumi presenting herself to BaBi as Woong presented himself to Yumi: hiding the struggles and trying to always appear upbeat. Such a lack of transparency must be exhausting for both parties. BaBi, with high emotional intelligence, both knows that Yumi is not in the good place she pretends to be, and that she’s keeping him away from that part of her.
I’m clearly over invested in this show – watched Episodes 7 and 8 and went to bed feeling really unsettled.
I’ll be interested in what people think of the Ep 7 to Ep 8 storyline!
Here is what struck me and stayed with me overnight from both episodes.
[Some light spoiler content ahead if you haven’t watched both episodes]
Episode 7
Some very sweet moments and some difficult to watch moments in the Yumi-Babi romance.
It is the half way point in the show and things are getting shaken up with a new love rival in Ba Bi’s work place. We see into the new intern’s star struck thinking about Ba-Bi. So she’s presented as a more serious and sympathetic rival than, say, Ruby.
The key juncture was at the end of the episode when Yumi, whose hunch cell is on high alert following a series of insightful moments (signalled by the appearance of a mystical aurora borealis) asked Ba Bi point blank when he first knew he liked her.
As the audience we know that she is trying to see what his pattern of attraction is and whether that pattern has been activated by the new intern.
We don’t get an answer from him until Ep 8.
Episode 8
Ba Bi’s answer is bland and clearly not accurate – even his Love Cell is in disagreement with what Ba Bi tells Yumi.
He mentions her ‘shoulder’ dancing at work when she was listening to the Ska CD he gave her. We have to assume he fell for her much sooner than that when she was with Woong. Was it the moment he gave her his coat? What does this mean for what will happen with the new female intern and potential love rival?
The topic of ‘when I first fell for you’ is then used as a slightly confusing segue into the story – beginning 14 years back – of a new character’s first sighting of Yumi. Chief Editor Dayeong Ahn falls in love, Woong-style, at first sight with Yumi.
I was feeling unsettled by the Ba Bi story so wasn’t always quite sure – watching the remainder of Episode 8 – how significant he is. I am also puzzled by the significance of his buff, tall super hero handsome cells. Are they just for comedy value? Or do they tell us that his outer slightly bumbling and aloof manner belies this inner hero world? Is this meant to be in contrast with Ba Bi?
Certainly and surprisingly to me – he is making some impact on the gateway to Yumi’s village when he takes her for an editor-author meal.
Looking forward to other people’s thoughts and impressions.
ps @Welmaris – I hadn’t seen that Yumi was mirroring Woong at the start of Ep 7. Interesting!
and… I’ve just read something in a viewer review comment of this show that makes sense to me at least of how odd that segue seemed (to me at least) to the first meeting of Chief Editor Dayeong Ahn. The tv show writers made a key change here from the Webtoon. Saying no more now but perhaps we can do a compare/contrast with the main thrust of the Webtoon at the end of the show when we have all seen it? I’m adding this comment as a marker.
Aha!
Final, breakfast coffee inspired, comment on the puzzling segue to 14 years back.
Ba Bi was telling Yumi when he first had feelings for her and and his Love Cell is unpersuaded … wasn’t there an earlier point?
Then, bam, we at a point 14 years earlier and expecting to see an explanation of Love Cell’s question and an earlier Ba Bi – instead we see Dayeong Ahn at university with Yumi.
But… I am now remembering Ba Bi’s slightly awkward response when Yumi tells him about this guy, she never knew his name, who behaved oddly around her at Uni.
Why was Ba Bi looking uneasy when she mentioned this…? We can guess why. The backstory is only half revealed in Ep 8.
@Kate I’m also wondering why BaBi is feeling uneasy upon Yumi mentioning the guy. Did you notice his expression when she showed him the donuts editor gave her? Was he jealous? or feeling insecure? I couldn’t read it.
Babi was always without fault till the point with the intern when he was swayed by the intern subtly telling him she likes him. Prior to that he was so perfect, so attentive to her. Too perfect.
But I did find something missing about their relationship, like what @Welmaris said, that she is not revealing enough of her inner herself to him. I wonder if Babi is like that too.
We didn’t see much about how Babi was after his breakup with the reporter gf, but even before that he has been really friendly with Yumi. If they didn’t show he had a gf, I would have thought he already had feelings for her even before he broke up. And this might be a pattern for how he is…with the intern. Just that he is such a considerate person and he knows how to navigate the social situations, he knows when it is the right time to say stuff.
I have read parts of the webtoon so not sure if I should put any spoiler here so I may be writing with hindsight
Hi @Grace,
Agreed on ‘too perfect’. Something had to happen to shake this up!
When I mentioned Ba Bi being uneasy… I was thinking more of him being personally embarrassed by Yumi’s mention of an unnamed guy she met at Uni who was keen on her…
My GUESS from the sequence on the show is that there is a hint here that he was also around at that university 14 years ago that time and may have had a crush on her then.
The sequence was Ba Bi saying his heart first fluttered when she was enjoying his SKA CD in the office kitchen – to the Love Cell raising doubts about that being the first time – to 14 years back where I was expecting to see Ba Bi and instead we see the student Dayeong Ahn.
But what if Ba Bi is also around 14 years ago and the TV show writer is playing some tricks with us again with a later reveal?
If Ba Bi did fall for Yumi all that time ago – then there is something deeper here to his attraction to her compared with the intern.
Although what the story writers will do with it I don’t know.
ps @Grace – yes agreed – the doughnut gift from Chief Editor was a warning signal to Ba Bi. Yumi seems to be clueless at times about what is going on.
Episode 7
New visual trick: a rotating text strip around Yumi’s head.
When she remembers famous quotes. The one from Diderot “only a great passion can elevate the soul”. All true, but the difficulty is when it must also serve as a breadwinner!!! Yumi’s inner conflict between her aspirations and her failures continues. Will the famous quotes be enough?
She thinks she has written an interesting story. But it doesn’t work. I think you have to feel like you’re writing a great story, to at least have an interesting story… and certainly stuffed with flaws on second reading. What I find strange is that Yumi doesn’t have a reader to get feedback from, before sending her stories for contests.
The ” Cheap ” cell attacks with famous quotes!!! You can notice around the cell, the text is in a rotating banner, like the visual trick I mentioned earlier.
And on the 7th failure… Yumi doesn’t have the means of her ambitions… unlike Wong (next scene) whose game with the dog is successful with Ruby.
Finally, Yumi gets feedback from the manager of the bookstore where she works part-time (finally a rational decision!).
I spoke a little quickly earlier, in fact, she does have feedback, it’s just that it’s shown now. Her writing teacher for example.
BaBi transferred to Jeju, that’s why we didn’t see him. Wow… the romantic story has a serious dent in it…
Yumi realizes that she won’t make it. Surprisingly, there was not what I anticipated…the increasing difficulty in writing under pressure. She stayed positive until the last moment. Perhaps because her cells are finally functioning quite well and she doesn’t envision the situation dragging on. So, she doesn’t fit the example I had given of people having more and more trouble writing.
Amazing stroke of luck!!! Yumi gets the opportunity to go back to her old job. The “pride” cell is no match for the “cheap” cell.
Yumi warns everyone… but by the way… She hasn’t given her answer yet?! The section chief proposed her, but she didn’t answer! What is she waiting for to send him a message? To forget?
Quick product placement of a stick on the plane. At least, a product that is not difficult to place in a drama. (It’s harder for massage chairs).
Oh, damn-it! I forgot that this drama was written as a suspense series. Plot-twist! Finally the job goes to someone else. Of course, Yumi finds out just before joining BaBi, so her morale is at zero! The limit is pushed back!
Very good subtext, when Yumi says she is fine, but about to cry.
BaBi is very warm to comfort her, but suddenly… message on the smartphone??!
Another twist?!
Publication proposal!!! Like in a dream…
Restaurant, they drink beer and a big mound of food. I do not know what it is but it looks so appetizing! Shrimp fritters.
She offers to pay the bill… but realizes that the amount is exorbitant! 300 euros, about the same in dollars.
It’s really a seaside restaurant with overcharged prices! For doughnuts and beers?! You’d think you were on the Champs Élysées in Paris. Really, BaBi should have found a pretext and intervened to pay for all this!
The “explicit” cell, which goes out under the effect of alcohol.
Series of kisses on the beach…
Transition, dawn in the night sky to dawn in the village.
Twist! A cute girl gets out of BaBi’s car.
This reminds me of Ruby’s comment in a previous episode!
The “anxiety” cell… is anxious. That reminds me: this poor cell has a really crappy life. All it does for the rest of its life is worry.
A new cell: “popping”, the cell that laughs at itself but disappears after twenty.
Then this new rival wears BaBi’s jacket.
Cliffhanger!!! Yumi asks BaBi “when did you start loving me?”.
Ayaaa…..
When we learn some of the inner workings of Yu Da Eun, the student intern at BaBi’s new office on Jeju, we hear them in voiceover. When we learn about Editor-in-Chief’s thoughts and motivations, it is through seeing his cells in action. The only other cells, besides Yumi’s, that we’ve seen are Woong’s and Babi’s, so this is a huge signal. We assume we are seeing the next romantic interest in Yumi’s life. Show may be trolling us.
Here’s how Show introduces us to Ahn Dae Yong:
— Yumi and BaBi talk about when he started liking her. We’ve been shown that BaBi engages in subterfuge with his answer. He gives one, as @Kate points out, that even his own Love cell doesn’t believe. The implication is that the truthful answer will put BaBi in a bad light. We viewers are still getting mixed signals about BaBi.
— We’re suddenly introduced to a new, different-looking love cell and see a flashback introducing us to Editor-in-Chief Ahn Dae Yong. Such a break in the storyline means we need to sit up and take notice. What do we learn about Ahn Dae Young? Fourteen years ago, when he was a graduate student and Yumi was a college freshman, he developed a crush on her. He was painfully shy. Because of his social awkwardness, he flubbed his encounters with Yumi. He was alert to details about her and her whereabouts…leaning toward, but not exactly falling into, stalker territory. To create an opportunity to talk to Yumi, he stubbornly persisted in a difficult task. (The Magic Mountain, the novel he forces himself to read because he saw Yumi carrying it, is in two volumes and renowned for its ambiguity. ABY, at least at first, found it boring.) There are so many tropes here: love at first sight, unrequited love, hidden past.
— As BaBi drives Yumi to the airport for her flight home, Yumi talks about one person in her life that bewildered her. How did they get onto that subject? Had Yumi bewildered BaBi? Or intern Yu Da Eun? What Yumi tells BaBi is her perspective of one short encounter with Ahn Dae Yong, although she doesn’t know his name. She perceived him as a man older than her by several years (way older, as she phrases it later). ADY abruptly asked her if she finished reading The Magic Mountain, then proudly informed her he’d finished it. That was all there was to their conversation before he walked away. BaBi guesses that ADY must have liked Yumi. Babi’s reasoning? “Men know how other men think. Didn’t he just want to talk to you about anything because he liked you?…I have a feeling that that Sunbae hadn’t ever dated then…My heart hurts for some reason. I wonder what he’s doing now.” Is BaBi feeling empathy for a man he deems an awkward loser, or is he feeling a hint of jealousy at the thought of Yumi being pursued? Whatever the case, Show is giving us foreshadowing.
— Yumi’s meeting with the publisher is that afternoon. We viewers will get to see what Ahn Dae Yong is doing fourteen years after his bewildering encounter with Yumi.
— Ahn Dae Yong, on his desk nameplate, has the English translation of his name as Ahn Big Dragon. The door to his office is labeled CEO Big dragon Ahn. As we see later, even his business cards display this translation. This name, along with the heroic style of his cells, do not jibe with his outward appearance or mannerisms. Does he have a realistic view of himself?
— ADY consistently has trouble deciding what he will order for lunch. Is someone so indecisive about simple matters to be trusted with big matters? He seems to be successful with his career, so his wishy washiness may not manifest in all areas of his life.
— ADY, waiting at the book café for his lunch appointment to start, orders and eats a piece of cheesecake before his meal. Is he impulsive?
— Ahn Dae Yong instantly recognizes Yumi after not having seen her for fourteen years. His cells are melodramatic to the point of being comedic. (ADY Love cell, with tears coursing down his face: “It’s possible that this was fate from the beginning…This is the most, most important moment in Dae Yong’s life!) The soundtrack accompanying ADY’s cells is old-fashioned ballad and romantic orchestral music. ADY’s past fourteen years, we eventually learn, included military service, a failed year-long romance (364 days), and the building of a successful career/business, yet his memory of Yumi renders him shy. ADY hides his face behind papers. Yumi does not recognize him from her past, even though hours ago she was speaking of him. Later, we see Yumi wondering why Editor-in-Chief looks familiar, but she doesn’t remember him as part of her past.
— Yumi interprets ADY’s dearth of conversation and lack of eye contact as coldness. ADY seems to still suffer from social awkwardness.
— Rather than reading the papers behind which he’s hiding his face, which has a big grin spread across it, ADY doodles Kim Yumi’s name like a lovesick schoolboy. His love cell engraves it on a stone monolith topped with a bust of a child-like Yumi. “I’ll engrave it so that we’ll never forget it.” When ADY talks with Yumi during the appointment, he keeps his tone professional while hiding his out-of-control face. Why does Yumi have such an outsized effect on him, considering how little interaction they had in the past? ADY appears to have created a mythology centered on Yumi, rather than knowing Yumi as a person.
— ADY breaks with standard office procedure to take over managing Yumi himself. He’s manipulating the situation to his advantage.
— I note that seating in their chauffeured car was such that Yumi was in the back next to ADY. Why wasn’t she put in shotgun, with the assistant sitting next to her boss?
— ADY gives Yumi a short deadline to make revisions so he can see her again as soon as possible. He has no consideration for what may already be on Yumi’s weekend schedule. He hides his true motivation behind the excuse of the publication needs. Yumi cannot push back because of the power imbalance between them: a new writer recently under contract, and the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the publishing company. I see this as a red flag, as he knows he’s pushing an unreasonable schedule to fulfill his own agenda, not his business’s.
— We learn ADY is intentionally withholding kindness from Yumi so it will be more notable when he finally does shower her with a huge amount of kindness. Again, I see this as being manipulative.
ADY demonstrated more manipulative behavior during the dinner to which he treated Yumi and his assistant following Yumi’s successful revision of her writing. He ordered another bottle of wine late in the meal to keep Yumi with him longer, knowing that his assistant would be departing. He convinced Yumi to let him follow her on social media so he could find, and exploit, common interests. If he didn’t look like such a dweeb, I would consider him a smooth mover. We see his Love Cell breaking latches on Yumi’s gate of heart when he establishes common interests such as liking the same author and food, although ADY lies that he only eats Hawaiian burgers, when he prefers bulgogi burgers. (This made me think of how Yumi ultimately refused to misrepresent her tastes to BaBi, revealing that she likes to eat entrails.)
At least ADY backs off his charm offensive when he learns Yumi has a boyfriend. But he switches to Plan B, which relies on revealing his past with her in the best possible light. In his mind, the trajectory of his career changed from business to literature because he read The Magic Mountain after seeing her carry it. He wanted her to recall that they’d shared the experience of reading that novel. She doesn’t make the connection, because there’s little for her to remember: even in the past she wasn’t aware who he was or why he told her he’d finished reading The Magic Mountain. Neither was his face committed to her memory. As when Yumi first met BaBi, ADY did not elicit an emotional response in Yumi that broke through her occasional face blindness.
With Show allowing us to see ADY’s backstory and the activity of his cells, is he being presented as Yumi’s next beau and potential marriage mate? That thought makes me uneasy, because I find much about him to not like…actions and attitudes, not just his being older and having a terrible haircut. Am I worried that Yumi will end up with Editor-in-Chief Ahn Dae Yong? No. I think Show had a grand old time trolling us, but makes it clear at the end of Episode 8 that he’s not the one. ADY’s other cells convince his love cell that he can’t get between Yumi and her boyfriend. Yumi’s Hunch Cell concludes Ahn Dae Yong is not the one who will get between Yumi and BaBi. ADY’s Love Cell, in voiceover says a dramatic goodbye to his first love, saying, “You are just my precious Writer Kim now.” ADY Love Cell destroys the monolith on which he’d engraved Yumi’s name.
So who is the one who will come between Yumi and BaBi? Is it Yu Da Eun? The trailers for next week seem to suggest so. But I think we were given a big hint on who will end up sweeping Yumi off her feet and becoming her husband. Who, you ask? This is my theory…and I warn you, I’ve been wrong with my theories in the past.
When ADY is trying to establish commonality with Yumi, he starts with something he knows is dear to her heart: literature. This is their conversation on that subject.
ADY: You said that you like Writer Lee Dong Geon, right? (This is meta, because the author of the Yumi’s Cells webtoon is Donggeon Lee.)
Y: Yes, I’m a big fan.
ADY: Then have you read his new release? It’s really good. It’s called—
Y: “100% sweetness”! [ADY says it after Y.]…You liked it too. I really liked it as well. Writer Lee Dong Geon must be a genius. It gets better every time.
ADY: I’ve met him and he really is a genius.
Y: Really? Are you close to him?
ADY: I’m close enough to meet and call him once in a while.
Y: That must be great. My wish is to meet him in person one day.
ADY: Let’s meet him together if an opportunity comes up next time.
Y: Really? Wow. I’m so excited. (And it is this thought, meeting Writer Lee Dong Geon, that causes a latch on Yumi’s gate of heart to disappear.)
My prediction is that we will meet a new character in Yumi’s Cells 2: Writer Lee Dong Geon. If that happens, I believe Writer Lee Dong Geon will be the one who knows the password to Yumi’s heart gate.
@WEnchanteur …laughed at your ‘this drama was written as suspense series’ comment! This series really does throw you off balance.
Yes – so expensive – what was that about? This isn’t NY and the equivalent of an SITC night out…
@Welmaris … love your detail on the ADY cells and ADY himself. Very helpful.
Great theory too re the Yumi love endgame! Interesting for those of us who know the gist of the webtoon story.
I am now looking back at the segue to ADY 14 years back thinking I must have misremembered the sequence. I will avoid commenting from memory in future. There was, however, a reason for my excited train of thought which we can discuss after the finale.
I had until this morning been building up a theory that the TV show writers were cleverly subverting our expectations of Ba Bi with an impartial reveal of his story. We would have an unexpected Yumi endgame with surprising insights into Ba Bi, tv show version.
Yes, the writers are withholding a lot of Ba Bi’s inner world but probably not for the reason I imagined.
This is especially the case if @Welmaris’ theory is correct.
Sad about this. The moral is not to get overly invested and not to watch late at night.
With an *only partial* reveal of his story.
I wonder how the different ways the guys tries to enter Yumi’s heart reflect their ernestness…or does it look a bit deceitful? Woong entered by disguising as a cute frog, Babi shot curve balls, and ADY with the bombs? I don’t know…it feels so intrusive. Wonder when Yumi will willingly open her heart without all the sneakiness or forcing.
ADY’s cells are really strange…why are they so large and muscular…and not cute?? What will happen if Yumi & ADY’s cells meet…won’t it be weird?? I think it is an indication of mismatch?
@Kate, do you think Babi would know ADY? Would that be the reason for his expression? But then again I think Babi and ADY won’t be connected because of their age?
haha…yeah trying not be to too invested in this since it is meant to be kinda of a realistic portrayal of life.
@Grace – good question and I agree the age thing kind of argues against Ba Bi and ADY having met before at Uni but more recently …
Ba Bi did work in a publishing company didn’t he at one time? I’m trying to remember his career trajectory. Perhaps he and ADY have met in bookish circles?
Yes agreed re the realism – this is – for all its fun and wonderful humour – is quite a bitter sweet account of romance! Sigh.
ps @Grace – it will be very interesting to see how Mr Endgame – whoever he is – enters Yumi’s heart based on your comment above.
Episode 8
Yumi Cells is the only drama whose credits I always watch. The same one every time. But it puts me in the mood of the drama!
BaBi’s secret… Spicy title of the first part. Yumi Cells is actually 20 minute episodes!!! This paces the drama.
HGW!!!? What does it mean? Handsome Guy in the World?
So we have a trainee with a mole on her nose swooning over BaBi, no matter what he does! Personal opinion: she’s not as pretty as Yumi. EXCEPT… Yumi came back with her horrible haircut! It’s the manhwa designer’s fault! My “anger” cell is screaming at him!
lol! So well seen! He doesn’t recognize her when he sees her in his neighborhood, even though he sees her every day at work and she’s already crazy about him.
He doesn’t offer her a ride in his car.
So she goes to the bus stop: /. .\
But, he passes by and stops to pick her up. Plot-hole! Here, we have to assume that he went for an errand before, because in reality, he had already left in the previous scene. So it’s impossible for him to pass here when she had to walk to the bus stop.
She understands that she has no chance, even if he didn’t have a girlfriend. He’s an “unattainable” guy.
A strange conflict in BaBi’s world prevents him from revealing when he started to love Yumi.
Horrible flashback scene with stretched image! As bad as in the drama Signal.
A guy from the past had a crush for Yumi. We’ll see him later I suppose.
Of course, right in the next scene, he’s the publisher!
With silly cells. It’s “destiny”! Everything is over-dramatic in his world. It even looks like a Japanese cartoon.
BGM and direction like old romantic drama. Bright background instead of the scenery.
As usual, a little twist in the process:
The assistant says she will take Yumi in charge, she is relieved.
But the editor insists on doing it.
His strange love strategy… being cold and painful to seem nice once… He criticizes her book with the remark “the protagonist is so childish”, when it applies well for him.
I don’t know if these reviews are abusive, and if he really practices and gives feedback as a professional publisher.
I pay a little more attention to the cutting of the 20-minute mini-episodes. And the second one ends with a cliffhanger, when BaBi sees the donut sent by the editor to Yumi. Does he understand the reason for the gift? No doubt…
Meeting with the editor-in-chief. The BGM is amazing! Alien-Like.
Visual trick: short banners appear next to the characters. The editor, but also Yumi when she lies.
Restaurant… again a very specific and new BGM to accompany the new male character.
Tragic BGM when he sees BaBi on Yumi’s social network.
Not to change… new plot twist! The trainee who was supposed to be harmless sincerely moved BaBi. Gosh. Cliffhanger.
@Kate, well see, it could be the coat. So he can’t say that, because he gave a coat to the trainee too.
@Welmaris, yeah, as we see the publisher cells, it introduces him like an important character, and potential love interest. Of course the guy looks like a bad choice. His cells are silly dramatics, he’s older and not a handsome guy. But that’s how a plot-twist could happens.
Or it’s just the drama concept to show cells from the guys in love with Yumi, even for a short while like that? It was good on comedy.
@WE – Agreed. That was my hunch too OR the opposite theory I was working on of a much earlier encounter which put Ba Bi in an entirely different light!
I enjoyed your Ep 8 reflections and perspectives. I laughed at your angry cell comment re Yumi’s hair + noted the comparison with Japanese cartoons.
Can anyone who has read the webtoon of Yumi’s Cells explain why the publisher’s cells were so different from Woong’s, Yumi’s, and Ba Bi’s? They looked big and masculine rather than childlike like the other cells. Does this reflect on his big ego/masculine idea of himself? I hope the show will explain this later because otherwise it just seems so out-of-nowhere.
I think that Ba Bi’s weakness is going to be that he doesn’t like to be alone or lonely–which is why the woman who is literally living next door to him could nudge his heart a bit. Ba Bi started noticing Yumi when he was still supposedly in a relationship with the reporter because he was alone so much on the weekends and holidays given the reporter’s busy schedule (but she also may have been intentionally beginning to avoid him). Now that he’s in a long-distance relationship with Yumi, a similar pattern is beginning. The intern is young, pretty, has a sunny personality, and adores him. It might be hard for him not to be tempted, especially if she really strokes his ego… Isn’t there a big age difference between them though? I thought Ba Bi was supposed to be in his early 30s and the intern is 22 or 23. Ba Bi may be needier than he first seemed. Or, he is just a typical young man, craving a woman’s steady company…
@BethB, They look like superheroes or aliens with ridiculous leggings. 🙂
This guy live his life a bit like it was a movie, or a manga cartoon. He adds a lot of dramatization to whatever he does or feel. Really different of the simple and pragmatic cells from BaBi or Yumi. More direct feelings.
The long distance seems to kill the BaBi love story with Yumi. As you said it, maybe he have difficulties to be alone. But anyway, the trainee goes to Busan now. So I don’t see how he could have a relationship with her. The problem is more that sincerely, he forgot Yumi in this last scene and started to have a feeling for someone else than Yumi. People don’t like when their wife or husband cheat and have an affair. But if we look closer, they are already gone in their mind and heart far before.
Now I think about that more… I don’t know what was this famous “BaBi secret”.
Do you get it?
Is there a play on names here? … Korean speakers can advise.
The author of the webtoon version of Yumi’s Cells is Donggun Lee and the author Yumi is going to meet is called Lee Dong Geon.
@WE (I think you already know this but you presented it as a question:) I think the key to Ba Bi’s secret is the scroll. The title of that episode is presented on a scroll with a heart on the top. Later in that episode, when Yumi asks him when he first started liking her (remembering how he was with her when he was still with his girlfriend), his cells delay his answer and edit it by burning the scroll it’s on (the same scroll in the episode title).
Now I wonder if his reporter girlfriend broke up with him not only because she was too busy for a relationship or growing tired of him (as the viewer was led to believe earlier) but because he also had confessed he was starting to be interested in someone else? Maybe Ba Bi is a serial romantic–his heart flitting from one woman then on to the next.
@BethB and @WE – I am still hoping against hope that there will be a twist here and Ba Bi’s secret is not what we currently think it is but something about an embarrassing crush from years back.
I’d love it if the TV show writer does something with Ba Bi in this season so that he develops rather than being in a pattern… could he then be Yumi’s Mr Endgame?
It seems unlikely though.
@Kate, I like the idea of BethB about BaBi. He gets jaded of a relationship after a while, and have a new crush. He’s sincere but for a time only. A nice plot-twist could be the trainee comes back from Busan quickly. ^^
I’ve no idea how the drama could end. Or maybe there is a season 3? Or she meets someone else before episode 14? The famous writer? Or just the weird Publisher?
I think Babi is probably as nice as he seems. He seemed to genuinely sell his house in the future episodes because he felt he had pushed a daughter away from her family and felt bad even though he had not done anything wrong.
I think Yumi’s insecurities might push him away.
The editor is effin hilarious. I love how there is so much humour in the last few episodes with her parents and the imaginary scene with Babi’s chaebol father and now the editor.
And god I hope that Da Eun’s speech about falling in love quickly was not meant to reflect Babi’s own experience. But he and Yumi have been together a year now, so perhaps not, I think he’s just nice. I am still team Woong for some reason lol
I think Yumi’s insecurities might be the nail in her and BAbi’s relationship because he seemed sad that Da Eun was separated from her parents and he felt guilty even though it was not his fault and he doesn’t have a great relationship with his own dad.
He is already sacrificing his home to make up for something he wasn’t responsible for and Yumi is going to go off on him and it shows him she doesn’t trust him even though he trusted her to go see Woong on Christmas Eve.
@WE – BethB’s theory is very plausible. I agree. Unfortunately, Ba Bi’s long distance situation with Yumi – as I think you or BethB said – has so many echoes of the situation with his pre-Yumi girlfriend.
Apparently, too, the actor playing him, PYJ, said that Ba Bi has issues with jealousy. His subconscious seems to be a messy place doesn’t it? Perhaps he doesn’t have the self understanding.
What did you think re the similarity of the famous writer’s name with that of the webtoon author?
If the names are similar, on purpose, I would be surprised if they made him Yumi’s future husband. But, the name aside, it is a good theory.
I don’t think we are getting a third season.
They are going to have to wrap up a lot of plot in the next 6 episodes.
That may be why the Ba Bi Yumi romance has been a bit truncated by being pushed forward a year.
Welcome to the blog, @rs19.
Hello @rs19! Didn’t see your maiden post.
Encouraged to see some pro Ba Bi thoughts!
And you are still team Woong! Well, who knows what will happen in the tv version.
We did at least get an encouraging sign that Woong’s business is doing well when we saw Ruby and the other office colleage playing the popular new on-line game with dogs in it.
The ring! He gave the ring to Yumi one year into their relationship…isn’t it quite fast? Maybe that happened to his previous gf, which is why he could throw away the ring so easily? After his breakup with his first gf he said he is learning to be alone and I think this would have been his struggle.
@BethB I also think, like you, that Babi may be a serial romantic..and falls in and out of love easily? He is quite smooth with his moves and isn’t as awkward as Woong is
@grace @kate regarding Ba Bi as a serial romantic: why were his cells so surprised by the sudden earthquake (when the intern was making her confession). Wouldn’t some or at least one of his cells had to have reacted to her confession rather than it causing a out-of-nowhere earthquake (disruption) in his cell village?
Actually does he even have a typical cell village? Unlike Yumi, whose village is guarded by at least two guards, a fortress, and a password for entry, Ba Bi’s cells seem to hang out on a town square. And rather than being secured behind a wall, his inner cells seem to have multiple small dwellings/huts. What does that mean?
@BethB – Are you saying that he is not well-boundaried as a person so things bowl him over rather than coming into conversation with bits of his cell support team or encountering barriers/gates/walls?
That is really interesting observation of his cell world and food for thought!
@Kate I’m not sure where my observation was going but now that you’ve described it that way… The disruption was such a contrast to Woong’s world and emotional inner life. For example, when Yumi’s tone of voice sounded serious over the phone, Woong’s inner computer/algorithm correctly calculated that Yumi was about to break up with him. It was very cerebral—his reason cell was sitting back and arguing with the computer. Whereas Ba Bi’s cells seemed caught off-guard and physically moved around by the intern’s confession…
@BethB – well we’ll see how this unfolds! I will be paying close attention to BB’s cell world in the next episodes.
@BathB you did make a point about the security between Babi and Yumi’s village.
Babi is very trusting though, as @rs19 you said, he trusted Yumi when she went to meet Woong. He knew that would make or break their relationship. Would Yumi trust him? I felt Babi has been rather truthful so far, he did kinda of draw a line between the intern except that he has been kind (or humanistic if you had watched Link). The first flutterings he felt I wondered if it is really fluttering or a sense of guilt? It was his confusion point, how he will act upon that earthquake feeling will determine how their future together
@Grace – interesting …Fluttering being more like confusion about what is going on + guilt. Especially, I guess after the lovely one year anniversary with Yumi.
Hi all,
I just checked through the complete cast for Season 2 and there are no further new guest appearances aside from Control Z.
Now, either they will surprise us…but is it usual to omit an actor from the cast details? If they do it will be one of those hopeful but open ended finales where Yumi sails off into a happy future with someone we don’t know very well …or perhaps Ba Bi is in with a chance. I can’t shake the hope.
Annyeong 🌴 BOD’erz.
appreciate them gifs @PM3. epic!
so we see two turning points in yumi’s life in Ep 7 >> getting published and getting the ring on their first anniversary = the aurora. love it! that blowout was expensive. daebak! their relationship is now public, to her girlfriends, at least. @WE, i also thought Babi will rescue her. but i guess she’s not broke yet. their moment at the beach with the ring, kiss and fireworks was indeed pure perfection. makes me wary. too perfect? waaaahhh yes Love cell, don’t let your guard down! i don’t like the intern. esp with that confession in the end. augh!
so is popping cell only for the youth. coz once you hit adulthood, you find life less funny? i still like to laugh and giggle. i think mostly coz i still tend to do stupid things. i laugh at the mistakes we still do. haha.
interesting that Yumi was so observant that she saw a similarity with Babi’s behavior or kindness with her and the intern. de ja vu. that led to her controversial question: when did you start liking me? and Babi noticed it right away – leading to his secret. and getting rid of useless memories? hmmm
i did find Editor Ahn’s cells amusing – they’re superhuman looking. did someone say TITANs? his alter egos. so unlike his appearance. i really thought he was going to open the gate of heart. but as mentioned before, i still wonder who yumi’s end game is as well. i want it to be Babi. but these 2 episodes made me question it. even though Editor Ahn gave up when he found out that Yumi has a BF already… i’m wondering if yumi’s next heartbreak will lead Editor Ahn to have another chance. i really hope that Babi will get over this intern. but it looks like she’ll be back and Yumi will get another surprise. augh! Ep 8 ending gave me a bad taste in the mouth. i did like it when they were Facetiming. That’s new. coz of the LDR *long distance relationship. why??? Move to Jeju island miss writer Yumi. wonder why she didn’t. she can write anywhere, can’t she?
@bethb good observation that Babi’s village does not have a wall. he has no barriers. not like Woong’s. he even has sharks. these cell villages are a hoot! i want to see more of his Titan cells hihi. i think his Titan village is not compatible with yumi’s cute cells hahaha.
About the living arrangements of BaBi’s cells, the first impression I had was that the coniferous forest where Yumi’s Love Cell landed did not seem to go with the adobe village in which BaBi’s cells held a welcoming fiesta. I haven’t yet figured out what to think about that.
Editor-in-Chief Ahn’s cells live in a desert setting, and we never saw a village. Perhaps this symbolizes his lack of internal development.
@Packmule3, the next two episodes will be released today (Friday). Would you please open a thread for 9 & 10? Thanks!
👍 Will do, @Welmaris. Thanks for the reminder.
Why are you awake? It must be 3 in the morning there.
Yes, @Packmule3, it was 3am when I wrote that note. I’d been tossing and turning for hours. I’ve been having trouble falling asleep for weeks, but last night I was particularly agitated by the news out of Japan. After posting to you, I checked a message from a friend who lives near Tokyo and learned former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s death had been officially announced. No chance of sleep for me the rest of the night.
Kalo mesimeri,
I am a little behind by you all. I haven’t managed to watch Episodes 9-10. Unfortunately, I have seen spoilers about the break up, so I know what to expect up until to a point.
I wasn’t expecting Babi to be swayed that easily by that intern’s confession and the impact to be that massive, based on the ending of Episode 8.
Still, I had a hunch that things won’t go well, after that foreshadowing question Yumi asked when he first liked her. The situation as was showed to us in Babi’s cell village spoke volumes. Two other cells attached his Love cell before answering.
Making it not hard to understand that Babi is a good person, but has hidden aspects of himself that noone knows about, not even himself.
If he cannot be sincere even to himself, how can be expected to be sincere with others?
Phychologically speaking, his response shows that Babi needs validation from other people. Especially those who are in a deeper relationship with him, in order to function properly.
Anyway, I do hope to watch Episodes 9-10 and comment on the latest threads.