The thread is open.
Frankly speaking, I was exasperated with the female lead, HJ, in Episode 3. HY was right to point out that she was as “clueless and dumb as ever.”
In the same way that she was annoyed with him for ignoring her BFF’s letters, I’m annoyed with her for ignoring his nonverbal cues and subtle hints. She couldn’t be that obtuse, could she?
I often don’t mind when the man loves the woman more in the beginning of the story as long as I can expect a reciprocity of feelings at the end. But with just 5 … no, 4 … more episodes remaining, there isn’t enough time to convince me that HJ cares for him. The imbalance in their relationship is too great, especially when he’d been carrying a torch for her since their high school days.
Oh well…
Let’s enjoy the show.
Well, at least 2FL realized how foolish she was. But is she going to end up with her colleague, the PE teacher? I am rooting for the restaurant guy.
Agree, @Snowflower. The BFF acquitted herself well in this episode.
She read the room and realized that HY was in love with HJ all along. I like that after moping about it for a day, she got over it. It was just a teen crush after all.
Next, she stopped pressuring the PE teacher to date HJ. I don’t know…. Although I like the restaurant guy just fine, there seems to be more story development with the PE teacher and the BFF, e.g., the blind date, mountain trip, colleague’s blind date set-up, and this episode’s bench conversation. The screenwriter has to show me movement with the restaurant guy and BFF to make their relationship believable.
Last, when the accident happened to HJ, the BFF had the wits to call on HY first, and ask him to be HJ’s guardian. She could have called up the uncle.
Is HJ an orphan? Did we see a scene where she overheard grownups talk about sending her to an orphanage or did I just imagine it?
@pm3,
I agree about the BFF and the PE teacher. The writer has chosen to show more interaction between them. Maybe the restaurant guy functions as a supportive friend, not a romantic interest (unless there is a surprising new development). The shallow ahjumma in me thinks he is cuter than the PE guy, but the more important thing in a drama is a well told story rather than cute looks.
HJ seems to be an orphan or someone who grew up in an orphanage. Watching animated shows was her way of coping with an unhappy situation at home. That explains why she chose to work at an animation studio.
@Snow Flower and @pkml3
I agree with you about BFF Hye Jin. I loved that she figured it out with just a few minutes observation. I also like that she immediately asked Hu Heong the right questions and then outside the hospital, quickly engineered a quick turnaround of love interests, without going through tiresome explanations, by pretending to like the PE Teacher.
I also really like that the PE Teacher rose to the occasion instead of being stumped witless. He immediately pretended to be Hye Jin’s boyfriend, which was extremely sweet of him. He knew he was being made use of, but probably was a gentleman and he liked Hye Jin too.
I laughed so much when Hye Jin engineered everything so that Uncle, PE Teacer and she could leave in 1 car, leaving Hong Ju alone with Hu Yeong.
Although at first I deplored Hong Ju’s lack of awareness, her thoughtless words that hurt Hu Yeong, how she refused to listen or believe him, etc., the epilogue threw some light on her attitude.
Poor Hu Yeong had said to himself: “How many times can she dump me before I can even tell her.” But in that muddy pit of water in 2013, Hong Ju had become aware that she was not indifferent to Hu Yeong. Her constant pushing away of Hu Yeong could be due to guilt.
She was aware that she’d started liking him back in High School when he was her BFF’s first love. Hence she got into the habit of constantly not wanting him to help her or get close to her. She called it flirting instead of appreciating his sincere help, in order to keep a distance between them. All this because she felt guilty that she also liked him.
To the question of whether she was placed in an orphanage, it was likely the case. We heard her mother and step-father speaking about ‘getting rid of her’ when her mum got pregnant. An option was to place her with her father’s family ie her father had likely passed away and her mother had remarried, so she might also have been placed with her father’s relatives or in an orphanage. In any case friends like Hye Jin and Mr Baek somehow became her guardians. They knew that in the event of the accident, she would have been alone at the hospital.
We see that she appeared to take in the news of her being sent away calmly and that immediately after hearing this, she watched anime with enjoyment. However she could likely have been nursing a great hurt and chose to hide it behind smiles.
Dear All,
I’m catching up this weekend and have just watched episode 3. 🤔
After leaving the fried chicken cafe, Hong Ju said to herself that it was hard for her to leave Hu Yong with Hye Jin. I think that she had been attracted to Hu Yong for a while, but couldn’t admit it because Hy Yong was Hye Jin’s crush.
I quite like the PE teacher. He’s not as cute as the restaurant owner, but he has a considerate, strong, and quiet air that is rather attractive.
Meanwhile everyone is telling Hong Ju how dense she is, but not giving an explanation.
I hope for an explanation of how Hong Ju, Uncle and Hye Jin became a team.