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guinearoyal

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  1. So I want to give my perspective on the whole love triangle going on with QF-XE-AR...

    But don't kill me, cause this is just my opinion based on what I have seen and I respect how everyone else feels about these characters....

    FYI, my analysis is long, so I put it in the spoiler.

    Spoiler

    I know that many feel for QF being pushed into second lead status, when he has clearly been nicer and seems to understand her better. But personally, I don't feel sorry for him at all.

    Before you get upset, please hear out my reasons as to why I feel that way.

    Firstly, QF could have easily gotten XE earlier on, he totally had the advantage and opportunity. And I personally think if he had not done some of the stupid stuff he did AR would have never had the chance to get XE at all. But QF was stupid, and that is why XE is now with AR. What were those mistakes? Well, the first, and biggest, mistake was that QF NEVER TOLD XE THAT HE DID NOT LIKE CC ANYMORE! 

    This is like rule number one in dating: do not let the girl you like believe you are in love with someone else. Why? because no matter how attracted she is to you, she will not act or believe it because you are considered "unavailable". And what is soooo frustrating, is that he had every opportunity to set her straight, and he never did, and even went so far to agreeing with her when she talked about him liking CC! Why would you do that when you don't even like the girl???!!! 

    But this also shows QF greatest flaw, which is he is waaaaayyyy too passive. He gives everyone too much space and doesn't follow up with XE. For example, when XE slaps CC, it is AR who follows her and not QF. When XE ran off because of her suspicions of MR, QF did not follow up on her and find out what is going on. When XE was stuck painting overnight, QF did not follow up to find out where she was and help her out. QF has been more of an observer than a participant when it comes to XE. If he had been less passive and more active in his courtship of XE, he totally would have gotten her hands down. The fact that he didn't and actively watched while XE and AR flirted in front of him, makes me wonder if he even liked her that way at all. Thus, I don't feel very sorry for him missing out on the girl. If he had made more of an effort, then that would have been a different story. 

     

    Now as for the XE - AR romance, according to my perspective, I can actually get behind it. I know that at first glance that it can look like AR only likes XE because she has become the female lead and XE only likes AR because he is a TX look alike and it has been her goal to be the female lead. But how I see it, is that is not the reasons why they like each other. In fact, my belief is that the reason XE became the female lead is BECAUSE AR liked her. And the kiss he gave her then forced the story to then changed according to HIS FEELINGS. So AR does not like her because she is the female lead, rather she is the female lead because he likes her.

    Then if that is the case, then why does AR like her? A big part of it is because how unconventional she is. She is interesting because she is a bit crazy, is unpredictable and she was fun. Think back to when she was staying at his house in the beginning. He loved messing with her and would purposefully go out of his way to tease her as he enjoyed her reactions. It was the classic "little boy likes you so he pulls on your piggy tales" attitude. And compared to CC, she was a lot more fun to spend time with. But then, XE did not fit is "ideal type", plus he had most likely never been in love before, so it would make sense that it would take him time to figure out that he actually liked XE. 

    As for XE liking AR because he is TX. That is not the case, because she had quickly figured out they were two separate people at the beginning of the show. Besides, she just had admiration for TX like she would for an idol. She had never met him before, had never talked to him and only knew him from TV or other forms of media. He was very much an ideal, but not really seen as a real person till she saw him at the hospital. But even then, they had no relationship and XE recognized that despite being aware of how he had been hurt by his family. And in the romance world, part of the reason XE even pursued AR too hook up with him was because he was not TX. If he had been TX, she would not have done even half of the things she did. She only did so because he wasn't TX.

    This takes us to other point people talk about, which is XE liking AR because he is the male lead in the story. From watching the show, I honestly believe that is not even the case at all and she genuinely likes AR for who he is. This is why I think so:

    While she did initially pursue him because he was the male lead, at that time, she did not view him as a person. In her mind, he was in a sense, not real. It was as she got to know him and forced to look at him as a person with feelings that slowly she came to care for him. Because XE has one very fatal flaw, she is very empathetic and always ends up treating people genuinely despite her plans to manipulate them. We see this happening when she helps CC and then ends up going far beyond what someone with insincere intentions would do. She is all talk and no bite. And this is a trait that many characters, including QF, notice and comment on throughout the show. She is much more compassionate and softhearted than she lets people know. This could be an affect of being an orphan and not wanting others to see her weaknesses. Plus she is also very much a nurturer. She likes taking care of people and being needed, no matter how much she grumbles about it. This can be seen how she purposefully heads home early because AR most likely has not eaten. boiling the dishrags to disinfect them, ...etc. The other thing is that, she has no family, she is very alone in the world. And despite how he steals her food, follows her around in the dark, bicker about cleaning and cooking like and kind of drives her nuts. She is not lonely, where as without him for her to chase and bother she is very much alone. Plus over time, their interactions do cause her to come to care for him because they make her view AR as a real person. But it is not till he faints at the resort and she overhears his reason why he is scared of the dark that she realizes that even though he is supposedly just a character, she can no longer treat him as such. She has come to recognize that he is a person in his own right with feelings, wishes and desires. Which is why she backs off in a sense. Because she is respecting his feelings and she understands it. But at the same time, she misses him, because when she was with AR, XE did not feel alone in a romantic novel world where she feels like she doesn't belong. (It is at this point that QF totally could have swooped in and made her his girl....but he played it way too safe/passive and didn't tell the girl he liked her and wanted to date her!! grrrrr!)

    I hope that make sense, as XE's feelings in the story are much more complex than any others, so it can be difficult to explain what I am picking up. 

     

     

     

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  2. My theory is that HS was physically abused by his father. The amount of fear that he has for his father cannot just be due to emotional abuse. My guess is that he used to restrain HS with the dog leash and treated him a bit like a dog. It is interesting that the image of the father always shows up when something happens that is positive or would be an event that would bring about positive feelings in a normal circumstances. My guess this reflects the times when he father would attack or hurt him, so he has in a way been conditioned to expect his father to come for him or be hurt by him when he feels anything remotely happy. 

    As for why HS thinks his "father" is "scared" of her, my guess is that the "father" is not really scared of JW at all, but rather the father was sent away by HS himself. It is interesting that it wasn't till she kissed him and he clearly was emotionally touched by it and let him self go into it for a sec. I see it as he felt her love for him and for someone who apparently has not had a lot of it in his life, it was perhaps very comforting and peaceful for him. And it was those feelings that sent the father away in his mind, it broke the conditioning he was used to and raised under, plus it distracted him. It is like when you have a kid that is crying because of something you get them to stop by distracting them with something else....kind of the same concept. 

    And having lived under the shadow of his fear of his father all his life, due to the trauma. Realizing that being with JW and her love could send the "father" away, it would have been a lifeline to someone who was emotionally and mentally dying. 

    Did he love her from the start? No, he most likely used her as a shield at the start and emotionally manipulated her. But I do think that over time he has come to care and love for her in his own way. And I do think that he is extremely loyal to her and very dependent emotionally. 

    I do worry about when JW is going to find out about his past and lies... but I have a feeling that rather than tear them apart, it will pull them closer together in the end.

    With how much it has been shown that he needs her and how desperate he is to keep her, I can see that he is not going to be willing to let go. Plus on the flip side, JW has been keeping secrets of her own from HS. Though at this point we don't know what they are, my guess it is related to why she wants to be a detective. Plus, she has been shown to be rather compassionate and more understanding of those who are left behind.  

     

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  3. Spoiler

    I found it interesting that in ep 4 he explained part of the reason he has stayed with his wife was that "my father is scared of her".

    The visions he was seeing at the beginning of the episode look like a reflection of how he fears he will become his father and how him father made him think of feel like he was a "monster". But when he is with her, that fear and his ugly past is banished. So when she is around, he can be normal. Thus while he may not understand or feel love, she is extremely precious to him because she is in a way his "savior"

     

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  4. 4 hours ago, Anjali Punia said:

     

    Well the stepbrother wasn't explicitly shown doing the misdeed so may be he just froze and neither helped nor pushed HTH?

     

    Yes, from what I saw too, the brother fell because the sister stopped him by reminding TJ....

    Spoiler

    about  TX's mothers death and TX may come back at them for revenge. It is still not clear exactly what happened to TX's mom, but it is becoming clear that someone did something to her which is why she died and the family is somehow responsible. And apparently it was bad enough that they fear TX's retaliation.

     

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  5. I like hearing everyone's thoughts and theories here. Makes waiting for the next episode a bit more bearable. I agree in a mishmash of everyone's different theories... This is how I see it:

    Spoiler

    The world they are in is created from a mixture of Xiao En and Aoran's mind. I think that the reason that this all happened is that TX's spirit latched onto Xiao En as someone who could help him and dragged her into the dream state with him as an attempt to communicate for her to help him. (Kind of like a form of haunting) This is most likely carried out, due to TX's feelings of being betrayed by his whole family and needing someone to help save him. But, because TX is in a coma, he is not able to communicate clearly with Xiao En, he can only bring her to his empty space. But since Xiao En is technically still conscious, she created a world in that space to move around it. And as a Romance Novel Editor, it would make sense for her to build a world using the last book she was working on.(They say when you dream, your mind goes over what you last did) Since TX is in a coma, his conscious is weaker in comparison, so while Xiao En provided the world to function in, TX provided additional details, such as many of the work colleagues and family members, to fill the various "spots". This is why TX character cannot remember the real world and is very different. We are interacting not with he conscious mind, but most likely his subconscious mind where TX does not hold himself back. Also, since this takes a "haunting" route, that would explain why the book is changing in the real world, because it is Xiao En's spirit that is "Editing" the book.

    At the moment QF is the mysterious figure, but I have wondered if he is a young version of the father, as he is in a coma too...maybe a bit ickky, but who knows! (And maybe it was the dad who caused XE and TX to meet in the "dream" world as this is his attempt to save his son as he was in a coma when everything happened to TX. )
    But ultimately, So it could be QF that is preventing her from leaving till she is able to save his son. My thought is that as TX starts to become more aware of who he really is, QF will be the one to let her go back to the real world and then TX will follow her, but because this was his subconscious, he will not remember her off the bat. She will go to save him, and he will feel the love and emotional connection with her, but not understand why. He will also have a bit of a personality change too, he will be more like Aoran in certain situations. He will most likely find himself seeking her out due to what happened in the "dream" and then eventually, over time, he will begin to piece back together their time and love.

     

     

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  6. 2 hours ago, jeonghyang said:

    I wonder why he stares at her eyes and lips. 33.gif It's the 2nd time he's doin' it. He's spacing. What the heck is he thinking?  59.gif I find it odd. 

     

    He is observing her face for social ques to determine how he should act and respond and how he should look with certain emotions. 
    It makes sense if he personally struggles with feelings and emotions, and since she is very much like an open book emotionally, he can "read" or understand her better than most people. Plus she is easy to please. And I think some part of him wants to be normal and accepted. I feel like its not so much about him liking her, but him trying to keep her around by keeping her happy so that she doesn't leave. 

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  7. So I have been quietly following this show and just had to make a few comments after ep 7

    Spoiler

    So, my take is that Aoran has fallen for her, he just isn't willing to admit it or even allow himself to believe that he has. The reason that I say so is that the show does not show him spending any time thinking about Chu Chu, most of his thoughts and energy is spent on Xiao An. "What is Xiao An doing?" "Why is she saying this?" "Where is she going?"...etc. She clearly occupies his thoughts and feelings more than Chu Chu, even when his is with Chu Chu he is thinking about Xiao An. But it is clear that he is not willing to let himself admit how he truly feels. Why? It is because she does not fit his ideal of what he thinks he should like. Chu Chu is his ideal, and fits his idea of the kind of girl he should like. But she does not cause him to think about her all hours of the night, miss her, or anything else. Chu Chu is a bit of an after thought, even when he thinks that Xiao An is plotting against her. All of his energy goes into Xiao An and not Chu Chu. I can see him torn between the two, particularly if he has never been in love before...So later in the show Aoran is going to be very confused and be going back and forth while he tried to sort out his emotions. 

     

    But with how our second lead is starting to come on strong, I do have a theory on how the story will flow....

    Since the title of the story is "Lost Romance" I speculate that perhaps that in our Novel world Aoran is going to miss out of his true love with Xiao An due to his actions along with other factors and she will end up with the second lead. As a result, when he gets back to the real world and he sees her again, he will be reminded of the lost his lost and will go and get her in the real world. 

    Plus, I have been wondering if the brother has more to do with his coma than what has let on. They have purposely not shown him getting pushed...so there is more than what they have let on. 

     

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  8. I got to say, I really like the screenwriters right now. They only had Haru and DO's separation for only two episodes, which I think was the perfect length to build some tension, but not drag it on till the end. It makes me excited to see what will happen next.

    Too many times, I will watch a drama and they separate our leads for most of the drama, only to get back together at the last possible second....which I hate. 

    Now that they are together, I can see them truely working to find out how they can free themselves from the writers preconditioned path. 

    Also, I am liking BK more recently as he has gotten his awareness and he is starting to see the whole situation objectively now, which is making him more compassionate. While on one hand I am sorry that he will not get the girl at the end of the day, I think for him it is better and more important  to free himself from his father and gain control of his own life. He needs to free himself from his demons first and I think his new awareness and understanding of DO will help encourage him to break free. And I think that is what will make him happy along with seeing DO happy as in a way she is a representation of his mother to him. Not really a relationship with DO.

    But that is just what I think.

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  9. 31 minutes ago, ktcjdrama said:

    The coffin JMW was dragging never contain any body... only of trinkets from dead people she killed or got killed because of her. 

     

    As for CS being the reincarnation of CM, I am in the camp of that not happening. I doubt the writers/producers would make it so complicated by using a different face when the others have appeared with the same face. 

    My best guess for now, the tree is CM. In the past we speculated that it was YW, but now that YW appeared in modern days, the tree could be CM. 

     

    I was on the same track at you. The coffin held the only things she could recover/carry of the people who had died... there were too many.

    As for what many people are saying about the firefly's and CS and CM. The firefly is definitely someone's soul, as to who it is, I say that there is a strong possibility that it is CM. In the first episode when MG took the coffin, all of the firefly's representing the souls all followed her, except for one, which turned back to stay. It could be he stayed out of guilt and longing for what he lost with her due to  his actions. 

    But one of the main reasons that I think that CS is not CM is how they act and treat her. My impression of CM was that he was trying to seduce her, but was very hands off with what she did. Note that he does not really stop her for the most part, he lets her do what she wants, even if it could destroy her. He holds himself back from fully loving MW even though it hurts her.  Where CS does not hold himself back. If he thinks she should stop what she is doing because it is bad for her and will hurt her, he makes her stop even though it hurts himself. Because saving her is more important than himself. These attributes of CS and CM are part of their innate character, so no matter if they reincarnate and can't remember, they will have certain traits that get passed on. For example, MR is still selfish in a way and just likes to take things even if they are not hers. (i.e. stealing money and sanchez pottery) And I bet we can say the same about YW as well. There are things about his character that will always be the same no matter what life they are living. Though the circumstances of the life will determine if they become positive or negative. Thus CM would always act as CM, but CS is not the same as CM in how he approaches things, and he does not abandon people he cares for, no matter what. Look, he still takes care of his ex-girlfriend despite not being in a relationship with her. CM though, he abandoned MW. Even if it was in the name of protecting her, he did abandon her. 

     

    As for what will happen at the end between CS and MW, It has crossed my mind at times that if she left to the afterlife, I could see him following her so she did not have to go alone. He is afraid of her leaving, suggesting how strong his attachment is to her. 

    And that could be the reason he was chosen by MG for MW, she knew that MW needed someone righteous who could steer her in the right direction and would not abandon her. Though how far he is willing to following will need to be seen.

     

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  10. 13 minutes ago, greenwatch08 said:

    Without any prior knowledge of the novel other than the sypnosis of this drama(since I'm avoiding spoilers), I've reached/finished episode 25. Wow, there's so much good things to unpack about this drama. 

     

    First & foremost, I love Ting Ye & Ming Lan,

    not only as an pair (platonically/

    romatically) but as individuals. I like how the story unfolds & allows both main characters to have their own unique voice & have relationship w/ other people. It gives room for the main characters to develop as individuals. Even with minimum interactions, ML & TY already have a grasp/understanding of each other, & can relate to eachother on a personal level.

     

    Ting Ye is a very well-written character. He's imperfect but that's one of his finer qualities because it makes him more relatable & likable. This gives him room to develop. I like that he's very experienced/well-adapted to the outside world. He's also understanding,onsiderate, & responsible, who handles business & take cares of his family well. Another plus side, he kicks major @$$. His interactions with people around him is great. He's a realist, much like Ming Lan. 

     

    Ming Lan is like a sponge & a quiet storm. Much like TY, she adapts well in any environment. I like that she is resilient even under all the scrutiny & challenges she faces. ML is intuitive,cunning, & also caring. It's great that she also thinks about her own well being & isnt written in situation that's degrading or belittling to her character growth. She's starting to break out of her little shell & the way it unfolds is great. Her relationship with her grandmother is endearing. 

     

    ML & TY is great as a duo.

    There's depth/dynamic to their interactions, which is based on mutual respect & understanding. I was pretty happy to finally seem them engage in conversations. It's so fun to watch, from their small bickering & quiter/intimate moments. Ming Lan always seem to be at ease when she's with TY & vice versa, since TY very much enjoys her company. They both look so nice being in each other's presence. 

     

    I agree with your points here. ML and TY are great characters, both together and separate, they are portrayed very realistically, compared to some dramas I have watched where the characters were a bit two dimensional. 

    But personally what I love about their relationship is how TY had always liked and respected ML since they were young. And unlike everyone else, he knew what kind of person she was behind her facade. This was really shown when they were in the Sheng school and he had encouraged her to speak out and debate with her. Everyone was like "oh the shy miss. oh sweet ML does not know very much." and TY was like "Lol, you people have literally no idea. Come on girl, talk!" He liked cracking her shell and when she would dish it back out at him. She would give as good as she got when it came to him and he respected her for that. 

    But I think it wasn't till he pulled her out of the river and they started talking about his daughters future, that he truly started to fall for ML. It is clear that with TY, from having such a crappy family life growing up, the key to his heart is family. He mentioned to his Nanny in the beginning that the birth of his children made him feel like he had a place and could for once be loved, when he was always hated and scorned before. Though he had liked MN in the beginning, he did not love her, he did however, love his children. So when ML started advising him to take better care of his daughter, it resonated with him that she cared for and thought well of someone he loved. And where others in her position would look down on a child like his due to birth and circumstance, she never did that once. And it occurred to him that with ML he could have the kind of life and family he has always wanted. So from that moment on, I can see that he viewed her as not just as ML, but as his future spouse. Cause if you watch carefully, his behavior and language towards her changes during their conversation on the beach. And afterwards he behaves much closer with her and starts following her around and taking her safety seriously. 

    Anyways, I got caught up and have started blabbing away.

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  11. Putting my two cents worth on why things did not work out with the ex and still won't.

    I think that there are still many faucets that have yet to be revealed about their relationship. But based on what they have shown, I got the impression that they were just too different at heart from each other. 

    If you think about it, she never really originally came from her ex's world. Her father was originally a journalist, so I am guessing that when she was very young, life was very nice and she was happy. However, as she has been pulled more and more into this other world because of her love for her father, part of her has wished or missed those times. Notice that the people she is really close to have been those who have known her since almost before her father went into politics. (Nam and the secretary) In her personal circle there is no one from the chabol or elitist world. 

    For me the conversation with the husband when she first met him was telling. She was very straightforward and simple with her conversation, where he spoke in circles with her. Even towards the end when he mentioned that she was his style, he was never straightforward. The Ex was speaking the language of the world he lived in which is full of double meanings and hypocrisy... something she clearly does not like nor understand. While he was interested in her, he was never able to reach her because he would not speak the language she understood. Thus unknowingly isolated her. 

    Another problem, is that he never also acknowledged that she did not feel comfortable about the situation, nor did he try to make her feel better. 

     

    This is in contrast to JH who is very direct with her and is very honest. She was impressed to find out later that everything he had told her in Cuba was true. Also, JH is very aware of how she must feel. He focuses on her feelings and makes them a priority. When they first met he kept reassuring her the whole time and kept insisting at the end he did not want to pressure her or make her feel like he had an ulterior motive. He motivates her to talk about her feelings and to do what she wants. She is the priority.

     

    Could have her marriage with the Ex worked if he was honest with her? On one hand, it would have made her open up to him more. But he would have still needed to step up and protect her from his mother and worked to make her feel less lonely. He was never at one point her friend, like JH is. 

     

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  12. The one think that drives me nuts about Dramas is how the gossip mill has so much power. Want to ruins someones life? Make up a story and broadcast it to everyone and people will believe it hook, line and sinker. Since I am not big following gossips or social media ( other than dramas, lol) I am not too sure if it is like that in real life. But it just rubs me the wrong way.

     

    Though I do think that JH's way of dealing with the issue was very good. He was making a very bold statement to them. Which was, there was nothing shameful about the situation, and it was in fact something rather normal. And secondly, it was showing SH that she was not alone and that he was not going to let her carry the burden by herself...which instantly made her burden lighter.

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  13. 12 minutes ago, rahma92 said:

    I think it will better if they're develop their feelings more, because we still in ep 3.

    still need one ep to make me believe it. 

    but still "I miss you" part really touching my heart. Supeeer acting from PBG   

     

    They do need more episodes to develop the relationship, however, he does like her. I think that is what his "I miss you"' conversation is all about. He is confused him self what their relationship is and truly how he feels, but what he does know for certain at this point is that he misses her when she is not around and that he looks forward to being with her and spending time. Which I think is a good natural step in their relationship at this point. 

     

    However, poor SH, she is extremely burdened and boxed in her life.Why else would she be taking sleeping pills. JH really said it right when she wasn't so much ok being alone as she was enduring it...which was very insightful. While I was watching all of this, I thought that a good way to keep people from trying to get SH back together with her ex is to get married to someone else and then announce it to the media, or just immigrate to another country all together.

     

    But that MIL will most likely not listen and try to force her way anyways. What gets my gall though is how clearly she dislikes SH and thinks her lower than dirt, but clearly knows that her son likes her, thus is why she is trying to get her back. Yeah, SH is smart not to want to go back to that nest of vipers.

     

    I do wish SH would be more proactive though in protecting herself and her life. But I did like how she became more fierce when it came to protecting JH. Clearly he means a lot as a good friend at this point. However, she seems so passive when it comes to herself, it is like she has given up. Which may be what they are trying to show for her character at this point.

     

    I did like how Manager Nam went out of his way to get to know JH. It is like he is acting on behalf of dad, checking out the potential boyfriend. But how he went out of his way to get them together as well. I think it was important that Manager Nam let the dad know indirectly that it seems that there was someone who was apparently going to be able to take care of SH and make her happy. In fact, manager nam mentioned that JH was doing an even better job of it. Which makes me feel that Dad is going to be one of their supporters. Dad seems to worry about SH alot.

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  14. 1 hour ago, NongpeeP said:

    I have just finished watching ep.3 with English Subtitle, free-spirit young man as KJH might do like that when he just feels for CSH.

     

    From life background and all responsibility CSH has to her family, colleagues, and people around.... I truly understand what CSH should do in reality...even we are watching K-Series but it should be reasonable too.  

     

    Two persons come from different family background and lessons learnt in life from age gap. 

     

    Ps. In ep3: Poem in the book reflected KJH’s feeling of yearning. Let see whether CSH feel “yearning” too. 

     

    Yes, SH and JH both have large barriers in their path of being together. But I think that the "Yearning" in the poem will be seen in the next episodes. Also, I think this is also where we are really going to see JH's stubborn side that was mentioned in the second episode. That once he likes something, he hangs on. So as JH hangs on to his love for SH, she will eventually give in. Because he will demonstrate to her that he will not crumble or allow himself to be pushed away like other most like would have been. 

    Plus, the driver is clearly matchmaking with SH and JH... so I can see him continuing to create opportunities for them to see each other despite what she worried.

    She clearly needs someone with her emotionally.

     

     

    Though, I do have a question about the animation in the show. I feel that it is supposed to be symbolic of what is happening in the story...does anyone know what the whole deal is with the butterflies?

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  15. Hello Chingus!

     

    I work long hours so I don't get to watch my dramas till late after work :bawling:....but on the plus side, the subs are usually done so I get to watch and thoroughly enjoy it :heart:!!!

     

    Anyways, I have not seen or read any of the webtoon\novel so all I have to work off of is the drama itself. Which has been very nuanced actually. Kudos to the director for putting in all of those little moments!

     

    So I liked how they are slowly revealing LJY's tramatic past, which I find explains alot of his "Narcissism" which I feel is a defense tactic he has developed to help him hide his fears and trauma. The reason I think so is that he is rather similar to my grandfather who had lived through WWII in Germany as a child. He never spoke about what happened to him in the War except on very rare occasions, but what he did tell us was utterly horrifying and awful. The whole experience was so traumatizing for him that when he immigrated to the US right after the war he refused to go back and even visit Germany for over 40 years because he was completely convinced that the Nazis were going to kill him... and he wasn't even Jewish. But with such traumatizing experienced, if you had met him, you would have had no idea that he had gone through such hard experiences. Like LJY he was overly boastful about his talents and capabilities, very insistent, defensive and picky, but also... if you brought up anything that came close to touching a subject that he felt was too close to a wound, he would draw your attention away by distracting you with a boast, an argument or joke (unlike LJY, my grandfather tended to be over jolly at times).... somewhat similar to what LJY does at the end of episode to keep KMS from thinking too much about his scars. 

     

    But I think it is good that KMS is seeing more of LJY's hidden side. While she has seen some of it while working for him (how could she not, working that long...plus she knew about the zip ties), but I believe that non of it has truly registered with her till now. Notice that after the incident with the zip tie, she begins to think that perhaps he really does need her. And hearing some stories of his hard childhood and now seeing his scars is I think opening her eyes to look beyond his attitude to the actual man beneath.

     

    Plus I feel that LJY has potential to become the man that KMS needs. Which I think was highlighted by how after KMS told him he was suppose to give his coat to her...despite making a bit of a fuss about it, he gave his coat to her willingly. Also, we need to keep in mind that he supposedly hasn't dated anyone at all... so essentially, the man is a total dating and relationship noobie! :tongue:

     

    Ok, I wrote way more than I planned!

    Anyways, looking forward to the next episode!!! 

    • Like 11
    • Sad 3
  16. @aisling

    I can understand you sentiments, as that is rather confusing.

    However, after some thinking I realized that he is using another tactic to manipulate her. This is made clear when he tells the new secretary to pretend to be trained for a month. 

    This is all in response to her informing him that he had given her such a hard time with his additional requests at work and such. "at work" being the key place where she has a hard time with him. So to "appease" her, he is giving the appearance of having given way to her request, which was to accept her resignation and start bringing in the new secretary to replace her. Though, knowing his character tends to be a bit zealous and intense to how he approaches things, it would make sense that he would come across as cold and callous.

    However, we see in some way this tactic is working on her, as she is being cut out of what has been her territory and responsibility, it is getting to her and it is bothering her.

    Next, while he is pulling back on the work front to get her to stay, he is now focusing at getting her though a different angle. Outside of work where she spoke about how upset that has made her and focused on something that she would like. Thus we see the survey he secretly got her to take and theme park 'date' as a result. 

     

    But does he love her? After this episode, I don't think it is...yet ... and let me tell you my theory as to why below:

     

    Spoiler

    I think that the reason he is so attached to Secretary Kim has to do with his trauma that we got a hint of today. Which I feel is most likely the reason why he does not have anything to do with women. And it appears to be a pretty bad trauma if he has nightmares and apparently has a prescription of sleeping pills...plus that text message from what appears to be his brother in the middle of the night...yeah, seems like it was not simple. 

     

    But my theory is that the scenes of what happened in America were important because this was apparently the time when she reached him past the trauma and allowed him to feel peaceful with her. And it most likely started with the argument that they had. Because notice in the first episode, it is stated that he does not give second chances. When you are out, you are out. But here they have this HUGE argument and what does he do? He gives her a second chance...something he never does. And it is only after that, when she ties his tie that what ever crack his armor that she found in their argument, that his feeling of dependency and need of her starts....but this is just an theory. But it is also suspect in how he reacted to her yelling at him...seems to be a weakness in him. As so far, every time she "yells" or gets angry with him, he seems to back off and is concerned about making her angry.

     

    • Like 13
    • Thanks 2
  17. Hi!

    So I finished watching the first episode with subs and absolutely loved it!

    I think PSJ's character is hilarious as a oblivious narcissist and how attached he has become to Secretary Kim. In a way she has been kind of acting like a de facto wife, how she was straightening his tie, telling him to not smoke in the office, and worrying about his well being. I get the feeling that her smiling "Angel like" personality is a result of her working so hard at her job due to what sounds like tremendous debts. She is so used to wearing her mask, that she no longer knows who she is any more as a person. Which is a motivator for her to quit. I think as the series goes on, the mask of hers will continue to crack as her boss attempts to keep her from leaving. 

    I think it was very telling when his friend was asking him why he was so upset about her leaving. When he really didn't get an answer, he started asking why when he doesn't like women or like to be touched by women, he has no problem with Secretary Kim...and his answer was "Because it is Secretary Kim" this suggests there is something about her in their time together that has set her apart from other women and not become those he finds distasteful. 

    I look forward to them finding their love together in the coming episodes!!

    • Like 5
  18. So I have been quietly following this thread and wanted to share some of my own personal insights to the show. 

     

    I know that there has been a debate of whether Oh Gong's "confession" is real or not based on whether he knows that the bracelet is frozen and thus not controlling him. However, I feel that in that moment he was actually genuine... while he may play it off later next week is very possible as he tends to not like admitting to things that make him "weak" or "vulnerable". Also, if you note that earlier in the episode, the Frosty King had advised Oh Gong to be sincere to Sam Jang, which he seemed to seriously consider. 

    Next, Oh Gong has up to this point been compelled to love Same Jang, assuming that Oh Gong has never learned what love is or have understood tender feelings such as compassion or empathy. Which makes sense when you see how cut throat and merciless all the demons are, everyone is always looking for a way to stab each other in the back, which is the antithesis of what love, true love is. Which is why he fights against it so hard, it goes against everything he understands how the world he lives in works. And being compelled to love, have compassion and empathy is teaching him what those emotions are... which I am pretty sure he has had before (note his small kind actions before he even had the bracelet) but never knew what they were or understood how important they were. Remember with the cotton candy Oh Gong said "Sweet is sweet and Like is Like" meaning that with or with out the bracelet, the feeling of love is the same, the feeling of liking something is the same emotion, that does not change...in Oh Gong's case the only thing that changed was the feeling of being compelled. Which is why he did not answer as quickly as he normally did. He was not compelled to answer ...but the feeling was still there and the same. As for why he would love her, I think it is in part due to Sam Jang's kindness and empathy towards him, particularly on topics that a normal demon would be merciless. Notice how each time she reaches out to him and touches his heart in someway, he tends to throw barbs at her. It is because she gets too close for comfort, and for someone who has spent thousands of years, isolated and reviled...it makes sense to push away kindness.

     

     

    Anyways, those are just my thoughts on the topic for now.

    • Like 17
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