57 Comments On “Destined With You: Eps 7 & 8 Open Thread”
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
Thanks @pkml3! I’m here just to leave a comment and get notifications, although I’m not sure I’ll watch much of this series. I feel there are others I will find more compelling.
Fern
@packmule, the gifs alone made me laugh. The street lamps one especially.
Cleopatra
*Panja panja… * *Grins!
Kalispera Ladies! Thank you @Packmule3!
grace
Watching the first 10mins of this drama before I go to sleep and it got me in stitches from the 2 ML squabbling with each other. How did they make it so funny and keep a straight face or keep an upset at each other kind of face.
Their low key sarcasm and mocking each other, while talking about factual things got me.
Cleopatra
Seriously, I am so tired with the ease Hong Joo is casting spells in almost every episode.
Magic is not for fun. What the heck the jakkanim is thinking?
Let’s make someone love us / seduce /etc…and use a spell. It is not funny anymore. 😕
Cleopatra
Regardless, of what I wrote before, it was a very good episode.
Finally Hong Joo is accepting that she really likes Shin Yu too.
The two faced girlfriend is making me wanna throw… She is a (fake) bitch, but not welcomed to our club.
As for Jang Sin Yu’s father taking such liberties without talking to his son first. I was waiting for the moment when SY would say “No.”
Good Twin
The two men vying for her in the first 10 minutes was as funny as these brilliant gifs. I keep thinking that lucky Rowoon gets to say these lines tongue in cheek. AHS had to delivery almost equally cheesy lines in A Time Called You with all sincerity – he had the much harder acting job!
@Fern did you notice Haum’s bathrobe – it looked like a royal robe. Was he an evil prince in his past life? Also, HJ was again planting chrysanthemums – the triumphs over adversity flower.
monmor
It was a few minutes of laugh out loud. When the 2 male leaves were trying to get through the door To the female leads apartment.
oli
@Cleopatra
That was my thought too .. she uses those spells so easily. With the curse one it makes sense but just to prove to the other dude that the spells are real? Waste a spell like that?
And the way she left unattended that love potion bottle and anyone could have drank it .. man!
But what I find mostly annoying is how the ML still has a gf, that she is awful is irrelevant, he doesn’t know that.
It all started to irritate me after he accepted her proposal while still chasing after the FL. Love potion or not that is wrong
Cleopatra
Hey @Oli!
I haven’t seen you for a while here! I am glad you commented!
The Jakkanim has made Hong Joo to be irresponsible in that aspect, which for me is contradictory, when she is pretty responsible with her job. It is like she has values, but at the same time she overrides them that easily.
I also don’t like the messages the jakkanim is creating for her audience. Magic is not that innocent. You can keep it in your story but not make it that way.
It is NOT okay to cast a spell for someone to love you. This is not love from your part but obsession. If you want someone to love you let him / her love you by himself / herself. If he / she doesn’t love romantically you, then it is not meant to be.
As for Shin Yu I am not annoyed with him yet. So far he is doing what Hong Joo exactly told him. That is to do nothing and be a jerk to her, while he is dating his gf. I think from this episode and onwards, Shin Yu will react towards his gf and his father about that wedding. I mean why they are planning for them to marry so soon? What is the rush? To marry and have a baby in case he dies? *shivers*
I am royally pissed to that shitty girlfriend who has an affair with the Haum CEO and still is acting mighty and that she is hurt. She is delusional in the highest level and she likes to hurt people deliberately. I mean she is not only a bully that we know, but she deceives everyone with that good persona who has made for herself. She is an awful person.
As I have written in the previous thread I really like Kim Kwon the actor who plays Lee Hyun Seo over here. Although he takes roles as a baddie, he is pretty good.
Fern
@Good Twin, yes to the bathrobe which matches his entitled attitude.
@Cleopatra, I am with you 100% here. There is a disconnect about how the FL behaves in a working situation and how irresponsible she is in her personal life.
And now Jae-Kyung has thrown his hat into the ring, Hong Joo no longer blushes around him? I’m rolling my eyes about that. In one way, they might be a better match. His roof-top decor was very romantic.
I was looking for clues to the past. The florist is creeping me out. The black roses and his touching her are making me think again that he could be another shaman who might ultimately betray her. HJ responds clearly but not unkindly that she isn’t comfortable with his ‘kindness’. He taunts her that she will accept kindness from another volunteer but not him, calling it ‘nice’, then laughs in a creepy manner. He is unrepentant when confronted by SY. The older man volunteer may figure in the past as well.
I’ve written phone conversation with the Shaman. They are cryptic and may be less straightforward than they seem.
“…Was it the Year of the Horse? She loved the King but she couldn’t have him. So she hit on another guy. But he turned out to be a eunuch. That’s exactly what you’re doing.
will I meet such a guy?
Who knows? Let’s see. Yes. He’s honest and strong. He’s beside you.
Can you really see all these things? Then tell me more in detail.
Miss. I have to hang up.
Don’t fool me. You’re joking again, right?
I’m not. I need to watch BTS. Bye.”
I’m wondering who is the King and who is the eunuch in real times.
I can’t see any of them being a eunuch at the current time, but if one of the men has chemotherapy, it could lower sperm count. I can’t read the prescription in episode 2, 24.35, but some of the drugs for ischemic stroke could affect SY, statins for example, although it’s not proven. If SY is taking statins, his rushed marriage to produce an heir might be futile. Or the father is banking on the quick action to get the job done before the prolonged use of the drugs makes it impossible.
@Cleopatra, I was shocked by the father’s setting of the wedding date as well and by SY’s protest.
Fern
I meant to say, SY’s protest but lack of insistence that he make the choice as well. Except for his mother, they are all working behind SY’s back.
Fern
And I should definitely say, I’m not a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, so anything I say about drugs is just drawn from the internet and therefore not reliable. That statins cause male infertility, for example, because there isn’t proof.
Regarding the visit to the dog shelter, is there a meaning behind the dog’s name Bong-gil? It seems familiar. Did we discuss this name before?
Cleopatra
@Fern,
The jakkanim has made Hong Joo having this weakness and she should be more careful. That’s why I talked about her being a caricature at times. I cannot fully connect with her character.
On the other hand, I can sympathize fully with Shin Yu. See how much he has changed after meeting her. His aloof persona that he was having up front is totally off when he is around her.
His pained expression when he met her while she was drunk meant a lot for me. He is in pain and he is putting a charade for everyone to see. He doesn’t like that he has feelings for Hong Joo and he is being a jerk to her because she said so.
I am waiting for him to stand up for what HE really wants and break up with his disturbing gf and tell his father to leave him alone!
As for the Halmeoni / Shaman I took that she meant :
King : Shin Yu
Eunuch : Gae Gyeong.
I don’t like him by the way. The SML character I mean. He finally realized that he liked her after Shin Yu came near and the fact that he told her to have butterfly in her heart, doesn’t mean that it is going to be so.
I don’t remember who wrote it first (maybe was it @grace?), but Hong Jo and Shin Yu have spent quality time together and they have things that they shared. Things that brought them closer to each other.
I don’t like his father at all. He doesn’t know how to treat his wife and he is calling her names. If you don’t respect your own wife’s wishes are you going to respect your son’s?
Monmor
I could not find the meaning of jakkanim Using google translate. It insisted on making it an icelandic word. I am assuming from the Context that it means the writer?
Chrysanthemum seems to have many symbolic meanings but one of them is longevity And rebirth. I think it is also on the japanese royal seal. It is also the flower for november’s birthdays. The former is a hint at what is to come. Are the latter meanings also significant?
Monmor
About the dog. A similar dog was featured in chicago typewriter. They are called sapsali And are thought of as able to ward off evil. They are also called ghost hunters. They were slaughtered by japanese in historical times. They are now preserved in korea as national monuments.
I think The name of the dog in the shelter was the same name they were calling the dog in the forest.
Monmor
Wikipedia has very interesting entry about these dogs. They were becoming extinct and it took geneticists to revive the breed. Is this somewhat of a parallel to the illness in Sinyu’s family?
Thank you, Monmor. Isn’t a Sapsali the same dog as in Alchemy of Souls? I didn’t realise that Sapsali was the name of the breed. I thought it was just the term or name used for the hunter of Soul Shifters.
Okay. Bong Gil was familiar because it was the name of that dog that ran away in the forest during the spell? So HJ is remembering an event with SY while she is with JK.
monmor
That dog in Alchemy of Souls was scary! TY for the additional reference to the significance of this dog.
In the wikipedia entry, it discusses how geneticists had to weed out a genetic condition in order to preserve the breed. This makes me think about earlier comments regarding eunuchs and infertility. Will this be relevant to the development of the plot? I think the show needs to move to the past lives soon.
In Chicago typewriter I thought it embodied the ghost of the sml. I really want to re watch this show but cannot find a good quality version on line. For my rewatches I prefer to watch on my larger screen TV.
monmor
I just read that Sapsali were prize dogs for royalty. Now I am having all sorts of excitement for the plot development. I may have my hopes up too high.
Cleopatra
What the heck just happened!
Shin Yu-ssi 😕
Fern
Why didn’t she take out the stun gun or pepper spray instead of answering her phone when the lights went out? Why didn’t SY follow his own advice and have pepper spray or a stun gun if he was going to attempt a break-in?
From the previews, it looks like next week we will be propelled into the past.
Fern
@Monmor, on second look, I don’t think the new dog in the kennel – the one that they named Bong-gil – is a Sapsali. It looked like a slightly older female Labrador Retriever or Lab mix to me. Besides it, there was a Shiba Inu? in the back, and a Golden Retriever, two corgis and perhaps a Bedlington terrier in the pens near Bong-gil, I think. That must be the purebred area of those kennels. Those dogs looked on the posh side. They wouldn’t stay for long in the kennels near my home.
The one in the first book of spells *definitely* looked like a Sapsali. I looked up the Chicago Typewriter dog and it’s very shaggy, like the dog in the spells book.
Speaking of the spells book(s). So the first one was ‘white’ magic and the second one, under the false bottom of the box, is ‘black’ magic. Now it’s getting creepier. @Cleopatra, you had better brace yourself for more spell-making. I hope that the 2nd book doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
I have been wondering how long the Haum CEO and Nayeon have been together? Does it pre-date SY’s departure from the law firm? Is the CEO really attracted to Nayeon or more thrilled with the idea that he’s on SY’s turf?
Cleopatra
Hello @Monmor,
Yes, jakkanim is the korean world for writer. Since I don’t know to write Hangul, I am using the romanized version.
I don’t know if you have watched “Doom At Your Service”, but you can listen it mentioned there multiple times!
Cleopatra
Kalimera @Fern,
This is the part where my jakkanim will prove if she has done her research or not.
Magic is not to be taken lightly, whether is white or black. The effects are awful.
Regarding your question about Haum CEO and Nayeon:
I think they have been together since she was in the States. The way NaYeon entered his home and drank whisky from the bottle shows, that she is very familiar with his place, his tastes, etc. Don’t forget they also had sexual intercourse and slept together. It is not a fling.
Their characters seem to be quite similar. Haum CEO shows it and Nayeon hides it. What a lovely pair ! – Not really..(sic)
So, I think she just wanted Shin Yu for fun to play with him. She thinks of people as toys and that shows from the fact she is bullying them accordingly, when they are not doing what she wants.
As for the CEO himself, the way he acted and reacted in front of the Mayor and basically NaYeon’s father, kinda shows that maybe all of her family is not that good. They seem to know each other well since they are all in upper class. It is a fact that the CEO is testing Shin Yu’s nerves.
NaYeon doesn’t love Shin Yu. She simply wants his status. Afterall, Jang Shin Yu’s clan is one of the oldest and powerful in Korea. So, she wants to be referred as the daughter in law of the Jang family.
So, It is interesting to see how all that will play out, after the stalker incident, the coma etc.
grace
Bonggil’s name means 奉吉.
奉/Bong meaning to receive from superior or to offer or to revere
吉/Ji means lucky or auspicious.
At this point I’m not sure how the 2 dogs have meanings to the story as a whole till we get a back story. She must have named it because she remembered that incident when they had to help find Bonggil, a different dog.
So…even when she is with JK, she is thinking of SY. With all the things that has happened, her feelings for JK seem to have dissipated. She no longer blushes with him or gets excited like she used to.
Slowly, SY is making his way into her heart and she is going to deny it.
Fern
@Cleopatra, yes, Nayeon and Haum CEO may have been together for that long. I think he is enjoying cuckolding SY. (such an old fashioned term, but you know what I mean). But what a hypocrite NY is to slap HJ! The CEO of Haum is clearly aware of her engagement to SY and not only is not bothered but seems to be encouraging it for some reason! Think about this: if NY gets pregnant with the CEO’s child and then says it SY’s child that would really be bad. If SY were to die the child would be considered his heir but also the CEO and Nayeon would be able to marry and he might gain control of the Jang fortune. I’m a bit worried about the pregnancy spell.
Do you think Jae Geung is the hooded stalker?
Cleopatra
@Fern,
I had to google for this term…🙄🧐
Still, what you are saying it makes absolute sense! Haum CEO asked her before they went to bed, “why do you want to marry him?” And she answered something like “because I want to!”
I don’t think that the SML is the stalker. I wouldn’t make him that way if he was my character. I believe that the flower guy is more crazy and unstable than him. Although JG has a shady past we don’t know anything about.
BTW, Shin Yu is right to suspect him.
I mean there was someone who was following her that other night. And the reason SY is suspecting him is that who else could know NaYeon’s phone number than JY?
Of course Shin Yu doesn’t know her involvement with the Haum CEO.
On the other hand, I think that NaYeon herself went to a PI, in order to follow Shin Yu around. If you remember she saw them together that day with that box.
So, I don’t think that she is that innocent herself. She knows to play the victim card too well, when she is the perpetrator!
In any case, we need to distinguish who Hong Joo’s stalker is and who is the photographer who sent the pictures to Nayeon. I don’t think they are the same person.
monmor
I think the CEO asks at 1 point Why she so much wants to marry SY. Are they another scheming duo more than a romantic one? like a recent duo that had too much screen time and shall not be named here.
Cleopatra
@Grace,
Thank you for giving us insight to the Dog’s name!
Yes, Hong Joo is in the denial phase!
Cleopatra
@monmor,
Yes, I have written that above on a comment I made towards @Fern.
I think they are scheming things but we are going to find out eventually!
monmor
Is it OK to ask questions about how to use thread or should I?
Use the contact us button. I apologize for sending out so many sequential emails. Then it dawned on me that that could be problemalike.
monmor
Maybe I should stick with writer nim. One of my projects is to learn korean but I am still working on the alphabet. I am at the point where it is fun to read a name plate oe sign that is in hangeul with a romanized translation.
grace
Quite possibly, NY’s plan is really about power and money. Like what @Cleopatra and @Fern said, that could be the big plan. In a way, she & CEO would potentially be gaining power over 3 rich families.
Of course we know NY’s unscrupulous about getting what she wants. Maybe the fall out in high school with HongJoo was part of her plan, we just do not know what. We have yet to know about HongJoo’s stealing NY’s bf story. It could have been untrue and knowing NY, she will craft out some rumour to save herself face?
This is becoming a mystery!
Could it be JY sending the photos to NY? He was with them before they left and could have followed them. He always spotted them in front of the house.
It could also be flower guy since he is the stalking one but he would have to be outside the house often. Though I’m sure flower guy was the one who stole the pj and did all those curse-like things.
OR could JY and flower guy be in cahoots???? JY was away for 3 days…was he really with the Mayor?
Cleopatra
@monmor,
It’s okay to ask questions. We -the regulars- will try to answer you, as long we are active on the thread. @Packmule3 is currently busy, as it seems.
If you think you are sending too much, don’t panic!
I can suggest to you to group your thoughts and questions. Mostly in case we miss something when you post consecutive. Just check the thread and see if someone has written something about it. There are times when two posters are writing the same thing at the same time. I am looking at @GB Unnie that is not that active in this drama.
So, it’s okay. Nothing is wrong and you can continue writing. It is nice to see newcomers entering the blog and giving their opinions to! 😊
grace
@monmor, sure you can ask about it! I don’t quite get the comments by email so I usually manually check the comments. I guess as long as it doesn’t get too spammy. I think I tend to clump all my comments in one. But it could be difficult to read so much at one go? @pm3 has a post about what and what not to post…I don’t know where to find it for now.
Wondering if there is any site that talks about the puns and word play they use in this drama. The english subbers adjust the puns to suit the english context (which is quite smart) but we don’t get the original word play that gets lost when things get translated.
grace
On the idea of belief, these two episodes is also making us question the reliability of the spells. Did it really work?
Was it like what the doctor said is: neural coupling? “A phenomenon where the brain of a speaker and the brain of a listener work the same way. When the speaker tells a story in an exciting manner instead of simply relaying information, our brains react more strongly.”
But it was not like HJ professed her love towards SY and he responded by falling in love with her. He could have felt sympathetic towards her but it is not in his character to do so. As per the story logic, the spell worked on him. But there are so many factors a spell can work and how it gets manifested. I’m thinking of the flower guy and SY’s response to the rejection from HJ.
I would have thought neural coupling happened between HJ and JY! She confessed that she liked him and he eventually responded more positively towards her after. It made him consider the possibility of liking her.
Monmor
Very interesting to think about the idea of belief in this show. I have been questioning whether the spells really worked or not for a few sessions now. I believed at first that the love spell had worked. It strikes me as a good lens to analyze this show. I think the writers may be playing with the idea of belief. Oops I just got confused with destined with you.
Monmor
This is destined with you. I meant confused with lovely liar and the twist about the entertainment boss. Is there an edit option after posting?
Monmor
Thinking he was under a love spell the male lead was able to use that as a rationale to behave in ways he Would not have been able to otherwise- behaviors that would have threatened his pride. It was a lot of fun to watch his internal struggle.
Monmor
I have been wondering if he and The male lead may join forces to fight evil. They were having some bromance type interactions. I can’t recall the specifics right now.
Fern
@grace, the brain is such an interesting organ and we’re learning new things all of the time. Have you ever read some of the stories by Oliver Sacks? His most famous book was ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”. I’m interested in the neural coupling. Is it what happens when a hypnotist, for example, or some fortune tellers can make people believe by suggestion? It sort of sounds like the saying, ‘Great minds think alike.’ We might all be joined in K-drama neural coupling when a really gripping script and production makes all of us give a collective sigh of happiness or grumble of discontent.
My husband used to do research on brain injury, including stroke and neonatal brain injury. I should ask him about these terms…
Ah, back to who is the king and who is the eunuch? I did ask my husband since writing the bit above. He said that an ischemic condition could indeed be genetic. He said said of all of the medicines that might be used to treat ischemia (which is a brain lesion formed by blockage and subsequent malformation of blood vessels), none would cause sterility but one might cause impotency if a strong enough dose: a drug that might lower blood pressure significantly.
oli
I am actually confused as to why the characters believe the spells don’t work.
I mean the spell to remove the curse worked, we haven’t seen the bloody hand since (and I miss it tbh, I loved it)
They seemed to stop believing the spells work because
1. The fair skin spell they say didn’t work – although this makes no sense to me, HJ’s skin looked great before and after the spell, what change did they expect the spell to have on an already good skin??
2. They started believing the love may be real. But does it mean the spell didn’t work or just on top of the spell the love turned real too?
Maybe the neural coupling works in the opposite direction
The spell gave them an urge to love, a belief he is in love, and expressing that turned it into something real for both of them?
I’m still confused at why they think the spells don’t work all of a sudden
Fern
@oli, that’s a good point. Only SY knows about the hand though, so he would realise that it has disappeared. The only thing I can imagine, since only a couple of weeks seem to have passed since the beginning of the story, is that SY might expect it at any time. It may have been sporadic — we don’t know. As to the neural coupling, you could be right there, too.
@Monmor, I would also like to see a teaming up of the ML and the 2ML. I think that’s who you mean? Or did you mean the ML and Wook, his lawyer friend?
You asked for tips about the blog. For me personally, it would be helpful if a person doesn’t just write he or she but uses the name (eg., Shin Yu), initials (SY) or a description (ML) at least once and pronouns after that. Sometimes, as I’m reading through consecutive emails, I don’t know which character is being referenced without a descriptor. 🙂
Good Twin
@Fern and @Cleopatra one of you mentioned the pregnancy spell (I was reading emails deep in the night battling insomnia) – the spell I think NY may use is the seduction spell. And of course the book of black magic spells – we know that is going to land in the wrong hands.
I for one think the spells are real. They are all suffering from confirmation bias. They are seeing evidence to support whatever they want to believe. The next episode will likely show us that HJ made a huge mistake telling NY about the spells. I think SML is not a bad guy (but I also thought the same about the CEO in My Lovely Liar) so we will see.
monmor
@Fern Yes I did mean the ml and the sml. I have realized writing these posts that I have to get better at remembering characters’ names. Practice for improving what little Korean language I know.
@Fern Fascinating idea to think we are all neural coupling as we enjoy these dramas. The power of story telling!
Fern
@monmor, regarding names, I have a bad memory, so I usually go to a new tab and search for example, ‘Destined with you cast’, so I can put names with faces. Otherwise I make mistakes and confuse everyone. Then I leave the cast list up and can go back to this site and write.
The only problem is that sometimes the drama subs and the cast list spellings vary according to who does the subs to English from Korean. For example, J and K are sometimes swapped, Im may become Lim and Ju might be spelt Joo. If you are studying Korean, you will know more about this than I do.
Anna A
Thanks for the comments ladies!! I liked the idea that neural coupling is happening to us, the viewers too! It makes the viewing more interesting.
Just when I was disappointed that the spell did not work, there is Convo between Sin Yu and his coworker, Go Dong that made me think that the spell does work. In that scene, Gi Dong commented that HJ looks prettier today. That was after she casted the Fair Skin Spell!
My own theory of why leads need to think that spell does not work. It is so they could calmly process their feelings. I have been for the longest time wondering why SY doesn’t break off with NY! episode 8 gave me the answer, he thinks he needs to be loyal! No wonder the reference of SY to a dog is always made. He is not only cute as a puppy but loyal as a dog. I guess his parents are not the best role models of what being in a relationship mean. His dad doesn’t seem to love mum as much but stayed with her out of loyalty.Maybe this concept is ingrained in him? I find that SY would probably be more like his mum than dad. Mum said she has a lot of love to give but no one to receive. SY is one who has alot of love to give too and HJ seems to be one who could receive his love. However, this concept of love is new to him, so he is scared and he kept feeling out what HJ is thinking..
I really enjoyed HJ conversation with he boy, U-Ram. U-Ram is like her counsellor helping her to process her feelings towards SY and how he will call her out for lying. He is saying what I want to say as a viewer.
Fern
@Anna A, great points. You make me wonder if U-Ram will show up as a wise old man or woman in the past. Or perhaps he’s a deity, like Yoo Deok Hwa or Samshin lady in Goblin.
@Anna A, I like your catch on loyalty, SY being like a dog and SY’s attitude towards marriage reflecting his never having witnessed love between his parents.
Speaking of Mum, do you think that she and her divorce attorney Wook seem in danger of breaching the attorney/client relationship? Even as an acquaintance, he is so much more in tune with her than her family. (Actually, I was thinking that his dad who works at the observatory, might have a similar personality, but we didn’t see any meeting.)
Anna A
@fern I loved the idea that uram is a diety of sort. He is like a reminder to her that what He has joined, man cannot separate.
Attorney Wook and mum, I don’t think it will go that direction to create a love line between them and I hope it wouldn’t.
Wook has a crush on mum because she used to be a celebrity. I think it us like meeting with my idol up close and personal.
Mum seemed to have this love-hate relationship with SY dad.she yearns for his attention but no idea why dad is keeping a distance.
monmor
I have been Thinking so much about his illness as a curse that I forget if there was a medical diagnosis made or not
monmor
I gather from previous posts that he has some sort of ischemic vulnerability. I had been wondering if it could be seizure related. One of my pet theories that I have not yet explored Is that mystical/magical experience can be related to seizures or migraine auras. I am probably overthinking this in the context of this show. But it is interesting.
Anna A
@monmor there is a medical diagnosis for his illness! However, I like your theory ..that SY illness is a curse rather than a disease… Shaman EW did say that all pain and curses will be removed in the first episode right?
that is why SY illness is not cured using the simple cure disease spell? This theory adds another layer of complexity to the situation which will make this drama more interesting.
agdr03
I’m up to date with this drama and I would be so on board with SY’s two confessions if he’s available, but his not. 🙁
I love the way he covered the sun from HJ’s eyes when they we’re talking on the rooftop.
I want more sweet scenes but I guess I’ll have to wait. Sigh.
Fern
@packmule3, please could you open a Destined With You Eps 9 and 10? Hoping all is well with you.
Thanks @pkml3! I’m here just to leave a comment and get notifications, although I’m not sure I’ll watch much of this series. I feel there are others I will find more compelling.
@packmule, the gifs alone made me laugh. The street lamps one especially.
*Panja panja… * *Grins!
Kalispera Ladies! Thank you @Packmule3!
Watching the first 10mins of this drama before I go to sleep and it got me in stitches from the 2 ML squabbling with each other. How did they make it so funny and keep a straight face or keep an upset at each other kind of face.
Their low key sarcasm and mocking each other, while talking about factual things got me.
Seriously, I am so tired with the ease Hong Joo is casting spells in almost every episode.
Magic is not for fun. What the heck the jakkanim is thinking?
Let’s make someone love us / seduce /etc…and use a spell. It is not funny anymore. 😕
Regardless, of what I wrote before, it was a very good episode.
Finally Hong Joo is accepting that she really likes Shin Yu too.
The two faced girlfriend is making me wanna throw… She is a (fake) bitch, but not welcomed to our club.
As for Jang Sin Yu’s father taking such liberties without talking to his son first. I was waiting for the moment when SY would say “No.”
The two men vying for her in the first 10 minutes was as funny as these brilliant gifs. I keep thinking that lucky Rowoon gets to say these lines tongue in cheek. AHS had to delivery almost equally cheesy lines in A Time Called You with all sincerity – he had the much harder acting job!
@Fern did you notice Haum’s bathrobe – it looked like a royal robe. Was he an evil prince in his past life? Also, HJ was again planting chrysanthemums – the triumphs over adversity flower.
It was a few minutes of laugh out loud. When the 2 male leaves were trying to get through the door To the female leads apartment.
@Cleopatra
That was my thought too .. she uses those spells so easily. With the curse one it makes sense but just to prove to the other dude that the spells are real? Waste a spell like that?
And the way she left unattended that love potion bottle and anyone could have drank it .. man!
But what I find mostly annoying is how the ML still has a gf, that she is awful is irrelevant, he doesn’t know that.
It all started to irritate me after he accepted her proposal while still chasing after the FL. Love potion or not that is wrong
Hey @Oli!
I haven’t seen you for a while here! I am glad you commented!
The Jakkanim has made Hong Joo to be irresponsible in that aspect, which for me is contradictory, when she is pretty responsible with her job. It is like she has values, but at the same time she overrides them that easily.
I also don’t like the messages the jakkanim is creating for her audience. Magic is not that innocent. You can keep it in your story but not make it that way.
It is NOT okay to cast a spell for someone to love you. This is not love from your part but obsession. If you want someone to love you let him / her love you by himself / herself. If he / she doesn’t love romantically you, then it is not meant to be.
As for Shin Yu I am not annoyed with him yet. So far he is doing what Hong Joo exactly told him. That is to do nothing and be a jerk to her, while he is dating his gf. I think from this episode and onwards, Shin Yu will react towards his gf and his father about that wedding. I mean why they are planning for them to marry so soon? What is the rush? To marry and have a baby in case he dies? *shivers*
I am royally pissed to that shitty girlfriend who has an affair with the Haum CEO and still is acting mighty and that she is hurt. She is delusional in the highest level and she likes to hurt people deliberately. I mean she is not only a bully that we know, but she deceives everyone with that good persona who has made for herself. She is an awful person.
As I have written in the previous thread I really like Kim Kwon the actor who plays Lee Hyun Seo over here. Although he takes roles as a baddie, he is pretty good.
@Good Twin, yes to the bathrobe which matches his entitled attitude.
@Cleopatra, I am with you 100% here. There is a disconnect about how the FL behaves in a working situation and how irresponsible she is in her personal life.
And now Jae-Kyung has thrown his hat into the ring, Hong Joo no longer blushes around him? I’m rolling my eyes about that. In one way, they might be a better match. His roof-top decor was very romantic.
I was looking for clues to the past. The florist is creeping me out. The black roses and his touching her are making me think again that he could be another shaman who might ultimately betray her. HJ responds clearly but not unkindly that she isn’t comfortable with his ‘kindness’. He taunts her that she will accept kindness from another volunteer but not him, calling it ‘nice’, then laughs in a creepy manner. He is unrepentant when confronted by SY. The older man volunteer may figure in the past as well.
I’ve written phone conversation with the Shaman. They are cryptic and may be less straightforward than they seem.
“…Was it the Year of the Horse? She loved the King but she couldn’t have him. So she hit on another guy. But he turned out to be a eunuch. That’s exactly what you’re doing.
will I meet such a guy?
Who knows? Let’s see. Yes. He’s honest and strong. He’s beside you.
Can you really see all these things? Then tell me more in detail.
Miss. I have to hang up.
Don’t fool me. You’re joking again, right?
I’m not. I need to watch BTS. Bye.”
I’m wondering who is the King and who is the eunuch in real times.
I can’t see any of them being a eunuch at the current time, but if one of the men has chemotherapy, it could lower sperm count. I can’t read the prescription in episode 2, 24.35, but some of the drugs for ischemic stroke could affect SY, statins for example, although it’s not proven. If SY is taking statins, his rushed marriage to produce an heir might be futile. Or the father is banking on the quick action to get the job done before the prolonged use of the drugs makes it impossible.
@Cleopatra, I was shocked by the father’s setting of the wedding date as well and by SY’s protest.
I meant to say, SY’s protest but lack of insistence that he make the choice as well. Except for his mother, they are all working behind SY’s back.
And I should definitely say, I’m not a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, so anything I say about drugs is just drawn from the internet and therefore not reliable. That statins cause male infertility, for example, because there isn’t proof.
Regarding the visit to the dog shelter, is there a meaning behind the dog’s name Bong-gil? It seems familiar. Did we discuss this name before?
@Fern,
The jakkanim has made Hong Joo having this weakness and she should be more careful. That’s why I talked about her being a caricature at times. I cannot fully connect with her character.
On the other hand, I can sympathize fully with Shin Yu. See how much he has changed after meeting her. His aloof persona that he was having up front is totally off when he is around her.
His pained expression when he met her while she was drunk meant a lot for me. He is in pain and he is putting a charade for everyone to see. He doesn’t like that he has feelings for Hong Joo and he is being a jerk to her because she said so.
I am waiting for him to stand up for what HE really wants and break up with his disturbing gf and tell his father to leave him alone!
As for the Halmeoni / Shaman I took that she meant :
King : Shin Yu
Eunuch : Gae Gyeong.
I don’t like him by the way. The SML character I mean. He finally realized that he liked her after Shin Yu came near and the fact that he told her to have butterfly in her heart, doesn’t mean that it is going to be so.
I don’t remember who wrote it first (maybe was it @grace?), but Hong Jo and Shin Yu have spent quality time together and they have things that they shared. Things that brought them closer to each other.
I don’t like his father at all. He doesn’t know how to treat his wife and he is calling her names. If you don’t respect your own wife’s wishes are you going to respect your son’s?
I could not find the meaning of jakkanim Using google translate. It insisted on making it an icelandic word. I am assuming from the Context that it means the writer?
Chrysanthemum seems to have many symbolic meanings but one of them is longevity And rebirth. I think it is also on the japanese royal seal. It is also the flower for november’s birthdays. The former is a hint at what is to come. Are the latter meanings also significant?
About the dog. A similar dog was featured in chicago typewriter. They are called sapsali And are thought of as able to ward off evil. They are also called ghost hunters. They were slaughtered by japanese in historical times. They are now preserved in korea as national monuments.
I think The name of the dog in the shelter was the same name they were calling the dog in the forest.
Wikipedia has very interesting entry about these dogs. They were becoming extinct and it took geneticists to revive the breed. Is this somewhat of a parallel to the illness in Sinyu’s family?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapsali
Thank you, Monmor. Isn’t a Sapsali the same dog as in Alchemy of Souls? I didn’t realise that Sapsali was the name of the breed. I thought it was just the term or name used for the hunter of Soul Shifters.
Okay. Bong Gil was familiar because it was the name of that dog that ran away in the forest during the spell? So HJ is remembering an event with SY while she is with JK.
That dog in Alchemy of Souls was scary! TY for the additional reference to the significance of this dog.
In the wikipedia entry, it discusses how geneticists had to weed out a genetic condition in order to preserve the breed. This makes me think about earlier comments regarding eunuchs and infertility. Will this be relevant to the development of the plot? I think the show needs to move to the past lives soon.
In Chicago typewriter I thought it embodied the ghost of the sml. I really want to re watch this show but cannot find a good quality version on line. For my rewatches I prefer to watch on my larger screen TV.
I just read that Sapsali were prize dogs for royalty. Now I am having all sorts of excitement for the plot development. I may have my hopes up too high.
What the heck just happened!
Shin Yu-ssi 😕
Why didn’t she take out the stun gun or pepper spray instead of answering her phone when the lights went out? Why didn’t SY follow his own advice and have pepper spray or a stun gun if he was going to attempt a break-in?
From the previews, it looks like next week we will be propelled into the past.
@Monmor, on second look, I don’t think the new dog in the kennel – the one that they named Bong-gil – is a Sapsali. It looked like a slightly older female Labrador Retriever or Lab mix to me. Besides it, there was a Shiba Inu? in the back, and a Golden Retriever, two corgis and perhaps a Bedlington terrier in the pens near Bong-gil, I think. That must be the purebred area of those kennels. Those dogs looked on the posh side. They wouldn’t stay for long in the kennels near my home.
The one in the first book of spells *definitely* looked like a Sapsali. I looked up the Chicago Typewriter dog and it’s very shaggy, like the dog in the spells book.
Speaking of the spells book(s). So the first one was ‘white’ magic and the second one, under the false bottom of the box, is ‘black’ magic. Now it’s getting creepier. @Cleopatra, you had better brace yourself for more spell-making. I hope that the 2nd book doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
I have been wondering how long the Haum CEO and Nayeon have been together? Does it pre-date SY’s departure from the law firm? Is the CEO really attracted to Nayeon or more thrilled with the idea that he’s on SY’s turf?
Hello @Monmor,
Yes, jakkanim is the korean world for writer. Since I don’t know to write Hangul, I am using the romanized version.
I don’t know if you have watched “Doom At Your Service”, but you can listen it mentioned there multiple times!
Kalimera @Fern,
This is the part where my jakkanim will prove if she has done her research or not.
Magic is not to be taken lightly, whether is white or black. The effects are awful.
Regarding your question about Haum CEO and Nayeon:
I think they have been together since she was in the States. The way NaYeon entered his home and drank whisky from the bottle shows, that she is very familiar with his place, his tastes, etc. Don’t forget they also had sexual intercourse and slept together. It is not a fling.
Their characters seem to be quite similar. Haum CEO shows it and Nayeon hides it. What a lovely pair ! – Not really..(sic)
So, I think she just wanted Shin Yu for fun to play with him. She thinks of people as toys and that shows from the fact she is bullying them accordingly, when they are not doing what she wants.
As for the CEO himself, the way he acted and reacted in front of the Mayor and basically NaYeon’s father, kinda shows that maybe all of her family is not that good. They seem to know each other well since they are all in upper class. It is a fact that the CEO is testing Shin Yu’s nerves.
NaYeon doesn’t love Shin Yu. She simply wants his status. Afterall, Jang Shin Yu’s clan is one of the oldest and powerful in Korea. So, she wants to be referred as the daughter in law of the Jang family.
So, It is interesting to see how all that will play out, after the stalker incident, the coma etc.
Bonggil’s name means 奉吉.
奉/Bong meaning to receive from superior or to offer or to revere
吉/Ji means lucky or auspicious.
At this point I’m not sure how the 2 dogs have meanings to the story as a whole till we get a back story. She must have named it because she remembered that incident when they had to help find Bonggil, a different dog.
So…even when she is with JK, she is thinking of SY. With all the things that has happened, her feelings for JK seem to have dissipated. She no longer blushes with him or gets excited like she used to.
Slowly, SY is making his way into her heart and she is going to deny it.
@Cleopatra, yes, Nayeon and Haum CEO may have been together for that long. I think he is enjoying cuckolding SY. (such an old fashioned term, but you know what I mean). But what a hypocrite NY is to slap HJ! The CEO of Haum is clearly aware of her engagement to SY and not only is not bothered but seems to be encouraging it for some reason! Think about this: if NY gets pregnant with the CEO’s child and then says it SY’s child that would really be bad. If SY were to die the child would be considered his heir but also the CEO and Nayeon would be able to marry and he might gain control of the Jang fortune. I’m a bit worried about the pregnancy spell.
Do you think Jae Geung is the hooded stalker?
@Fern,
I had to google for this term…🙄🧐
Still, what you are saying it makes absolute sense! Haum CEO asked her before they went to bed, “why do you want to marry him?” And she answered something like “because I want to!”
I don’t think that the SML is the stalker. I wouldn’t make him that way if he was my character. I believe that the flower guy is more crazy and unstable than him. Although JG has a shady past we don’t know anything about.
BTW, Shin Yu is right to suspect him.
I mean there was someone who was following her that other night. And the reason SY is suspecting him is that who else could know NaYeon’s phone number than JY?
Of course Shin Yu doesn’t know her involvement with the Haum CEO.
On the other hand, I think that NaYeon herself went to a PI, in order to follow Shin Yu around. If you remember she saw them together that day with that box.
So, I don’t think that she is that innocent herself. She knows to play the victim card too well, when she is the perpetrator!
In any case, we need to distinguish who Hong Joo’s stalker is and who is the photographer who sent the pictures to Nayeon. I don’t think they are the same person.
I think the CEO asks at 1 point Why she so much wants to marry SY. Are they another scheming duo more than a romantic one? like a recent duo that had too much screen time and shall not be named here.
@Grace,
Thank you for giving us insight to the Dog’s name!
Yes, Hong Joo is in the denial phase!
@monmor,
Yes, I have written that above on a comment I made towards @Fern.
I think they are scheming things but we are going to find out eventually!
Is it OK to ask questions about how to use thread or should I?
Use the contact us button. I apologize for sending out so many sequential emails. Then it dawned on me that that could be problemalike.
Maybe I should stick with writer nim. One of my projects is to learn korean but I am still working on the alphabet. I am at the point where it is fun to read a name plate oe sign that is in hangeul with a romanized translation.
Quite possibly, NY’s plan is really about power and money. Like what @Cleopatra and @Fern said, that could be the big plan. In a way, she & CEO would potentially be gaining power over 3 rich families.
Of course we know NY’s unscrupulous about getting what she wants. Maybe the fall out in high school with HongJoo was part of her plan, we just do not know what. We have yet to know about HongJoo’s stealing NY’s bf story. It could have been untrue and knowing NY, she will craft out some rumour to save herself face?
This is becoming a mystery!
Could it be JY sending the photos to NY? He was with them before they left and could have followed them. He always spotted them in front of the house.
It could also be flower guy since he is the stalking one but he would have to be outside the house often. Though I’m sure flower guy was the one who stole the pj and did all those curse-like things.
OR could JY and flower guy be in cahoots???? JY was away for 3 days…was he really with the Mayor?
@monmor,
It’s okay to ask questions. We -the regulars- will try to answer you, as long we are active on the thread. @Packmule3 is currently busy, as it seems.
If you think you are sending too much, don’t panic!
I can suggest to you to group your thoughts and questions. Mostly in case we miss something when you post consecutive. Just check the thread and see if someone has written something about it. There are times when two posters are writing the same thing at the same time. I am looking at @GB Unnie that is not that active in this drama.
So, it’s okay. Nothing is wrong and you can continue writing. It is nice to see newcomers entering the blog and giving their opinions to! 😊
@monmor, sure you can ask about it! I don’t quite get the comments by email so I usually manually check the comments. I guess as long as it doesn’t get too spammy. I think I tend to clump all my comments in one. But it could be difficult to read so much at one go? @pm3 has a post about what and what not to post…I don’t know where to find it for now.
Wondering if there is any site that talks about the puns and word play they use in this drama. The english subbers adjust the puns to suit the english context (which is quite smart) but we don’t get the original word play that gets lost when things get translated.
On the idea of belief, these two episodes is also making us question the reliability of the spells. Did it really work?
Was it like what the doctor said is: neural coupling?
“A phenomenon where the brain of a speaker and the brain of a listener work the same way. When the speaker tells a story in an exciting manner instead of simply relaying information, our brains react more strongly.”
But it was not like HJ professed her love towards SY and he responded by falling in love with her. He could have felt sympathetic towards her but it is not in his character to do so. As per the story logic, the spell worked on him. But there are so many factors a spell can work and how it gets manifested. I’m thinking of the flower guy and SY’s response to the rejection from HJ.
I would have thought neural coupling happened between HJ and JY! She confessed that she liked him and he eventually responded more positively towards her after. It made him consider the possibility of liking her.
Very interesting to think about the idea of belief in this show. I have been questioning whether the spells really worked or not for a few sessions now. I believed at first that the love spell had worked. It strikes me as a good lens to analyze this show. I think the writers may be playing with the idea of belief. Oops I just got confused with destined with you.
This is destined with you. I meant confused with lovely liar and the twist about the entertainment boss. Is there an edit option after posting?
Thinking he was under a love spell the male lead was able to use that as a rationale to behave in ways he Would not have been able to otherwise- behaviors that would have threatened his pride. It was a lot of fun to watch his internal struggle.
I have been wondering if he and The male lead may join forces to fight evil. They were having some bromance type interactions. I can’t recall the specifics right now.
@grace, the brain is such an interesting organ and we’re learning new things all of the time. Have you ever read some of the stories by Oliver Sacks? His most famous book was ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”. I’m interested in the neural coupling. Is it what happens when a hypnotist, for example, or some fortune tellers can make people believe by suggestion? It sort of sounds like the saying, ‘Great minds think alike.’ We might all be joined in K-drama neural coupling when a really gripping script and production makes all of us give a collective sigh of happiness or grumble of discontent.
My husband used to do research on brain injury, including stroke and neonatal brain injury. I should ask him about these terms…
Ah, back to who is the king and who is the eunuch? I did ask my husband since writing the bit above. He said that an ischemic condition could indeed be genetic. He said said of all of the medicines that might be used to treat ischemia (which is a brain lesion formed by blockage and subsequent malformation of blood vessels), none would cause sterility but one might cause impotency if a strong enough dose: a drug that might lower blood pressure significantly.
I am actually confused as to why the characters believe the spells don’t work.
I mean the spell to remove the curse worked, we haven’t seen the bloody hand since (and I miss it tbh, I loved it)
They seemed to stop believing the spells work because
1. The fair skin spell they say didn’t work – although this makes no sense to me, HJ’s skin looked great before and after the spell, what change did they expect the spell to have on an already good skin??
2. They started believing the love may be real. But does it mean the spell didn’t work or just on top of the spell the love turned real too?
Maybe the neural coupling works in the opposite direction
The spell gave them an urge to love, a belief he is in love, and expressing that turned it into something real for both of them?
I’m still confused at why they think the spells don’t work all of a sudden
@oli, that’s a good point. Only SY knows about the hand though, so he would realise that it has disappeared. The only thing I can imagine, since only a couple of weeks seem to have passed since the beginning of the story, is that SY might expect it at any time. It may have been sporadic — we don’t know. As to the neural coupling, you could be right there, too.
@Monmor, I would also like to see a teaming up of the ML and the 2ML. I think that’s who you mean? Or did you mean the ML and Wook, his lawyer friend?
You asked for tips about the blog. For me personally, it would be helpful if a person doesn’t just write he or she but uses the name (eg., Shin Yu), initials (SY) or a description (ML) at least once and pronouns after that. Sometimes, as I’m reading through consecutive emails, I don’t know which character is being referenced without a descriptor. 🙂
@Fern and @Cleopatra one of you mentioned the pregnancy spell (I was reading emails deep in the night battling insomnia) – the spell I think NY may use is the seduction spell. And of course the book of black magic spells – we know that is going to land in the wrong hands.
I for one think the spells are real. They are all suffering from confirmation bias. They are seeing evidence to support whatever they want to believe. The next episode will likely show us that HJ made a huge mistake telling NY about the spells. I think SML is not a bad guy (but I also thought the same about the CEO in My Lovely Liar) so we will see.
@Fern Yes I did mean the ml and the sml. I have realized writing these posts that I have to get better at remembering characters’ names. Practice for improving what little Korean language I know.
@Fern Fascinating idea to think we are all neural coupling as we enjoy these dramas. The power of story telling!
@monmor, regarding names, I have a bad memory, so I usually go to a new tab and search for example, ‘Destined with you cast’, so I can put names with faces. Otherwise I make mistakes and confuse everyone. Then I leave the cast list up and can go back to this site and write.
The only problem is that sometimes the drama subs and the cast list spellings vary according to who does the subs to English from Korean. For example, J and K are sometimes swapped, Im may become Lim and Ju might be spelt Joo. If you are studying Korean, you will know more about this than I do.
Thanks for the comments ladies!! I liked the idea that neural coupling is happening to us, the viewers too! It makes the viewing more interesting.
Just when I was disappointed that the spell did not work, there is Convo between Sin Yu and his coworker, Go Dong that made me think that the spell does work. In that scene, Gi Dong commented that HJ looks prettier today. That was after she casted the Fair Skin Spell!
My own theory of why leads need to think that spell does not work. It is so they could calmly process their feelings. I have been for the longest time wondering why SY doesn’t break off with NY! episode 8 gave me the answer, he thinks he needs to be loyal! No wonder the reference of SY to a dog is always made. He is not only cute as a puppy but loyal as a dog. I guess his parents are not the best role models of what being in a relationship mean. His dad doesn’t seem to love mum as much but stayed with her out of loyalty.Maybe this concept is ingrained in him? I find that SY would probably be more like his mum than dad. Mum said she has a lot of love to give but no one to receive. SY is one who has alot of love to give too and HJ seems to be one who could receive his love. However, this concept of love is new to him, so he is scared and he kept feeling out what HJ is thinking..
I really enjoyed HJ conversation with he boy, U-Ram. U-Ram is like her counsellor helping her to process her feelings towards SY and how he will call her out for lying. He is saying what I want to say as a viewer.
@Anna A, great points. You make me wonder if U-Ram will show up as a wise old man or woman in the past. Or perhaps he’s a deity, like Yoo Deok Hwa or Samshin lady in Goblin.
@Anna A, I like your catch on loyalty, SY being like a dog and SY’s attitude towards marriage reflecting his never having witnessed love between his parents.
Speaking of Mum, do you think that she and her divorce attorney Wook seem in danger of breaching the attorney/client relationship? Even as an acquaintance, he is so much more in tune with her than her family. (Actually, I was thinking that his dad who works at the observatory, might have a similar personality, but we didn’t see any meeting.)
@fern I loved the idea that uram is a diety of sort. He is like a reminder to her that what He has joined, man cannot separate.
Attorney Wook and mum, I don’t think it will go that direction to create a love line between them and I hope it wouldn’t.
Wook has a crush on mum because she used to be a celebrity. I think it us like meeting with my idol up close and personal.
Mum seemed to have this love-hate relationship with SY dad.she yearns for his attention but no idea why dad is keeping a distance.
I have been Thinking so much about his illness as a curse that I forget if there was a medical diagnosis made or not
I gather from previous posts that he has some sort of ischemic vulnerability. I had been wondering if it could be seizure related. One of my pet theories that I have not yet explored Is that mystical/magical experience can be related to seizures or migraine auras. I am probably overthinking this in the context of this show. But it is interesting.
@monmor there is a medical diagnosis for his illness! However, I like your theory ..that SY illness is a curse rather than a disease… Shaman EW did say that all pain and curses will be removed in the first episode right?
that is why SY illness is not cured using the simple cure disease spell? This theory adds another layer of complexity to the situation which will make this drama more interesting.
I’m up to date with this drama and I would be so on board with SY’s two confessions if he’s available, but his not. 🙁
I love the way he covered the sun from HJ’s eyes when they we’re talking on the rooftop.
I want more sweet scenes but I guess I’ll have to wait. Sigh.
@packmule3, please could you open a Destined With You Eps 9 and 10? Hoping all is well with you.
Will do. Give me a few minutes. 🙂