Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN

[shooastrid]

Guys, interesting commentary from @packmule3 on the main thread just posted now  I copied her awesome interpretation here, just in case you are reluctant to go there. Please don't hesitate to show your support to her actual post if you like. I hope she does not mind me posting her post here, even though she doesn't go to shipping threads. Lol.

As a note: this commentary is mostly on WHY PEOPLE THINK JH IS THE HUSBAND, so if you have a weak heart, skip it to the highlighted part. However, in her previous post, in her commentary she is clearly with us in her interpretations. She never said explicitly that TK is the husband, it's just that goes without saying. So please don't misunderstand her. It's also good for us to understand a bit what JH shippers perceive on their OTP.

Anyway, here you go:

Spoiler

As promised –

@minibunny, I believe it was you who asked eons ago – with a bit of frustration, if I remember correctly your post correctly – why do people presume that the OTP is JH and DS. I’m going to give you the reasons, bluntly, as I understood them. Again, I don’t ship drama couples; I ship scriptwriters and their scripts. It doesn’t matter to me with whom DS ends up, as long as 1) the scriptwriter has demonstrated a logical progression and resolution of plot ideas [i.e., No amnesia  for DS, no coma for JH, no mental breakdown for TK) and 2) the characters’ actions, words and thoughts are CONSISTENT with what we know of their personalities. Shippers who have a weak constitution or an intolerant mindset will have to avert their eyes now.

The main arguments for JH:

1. The actor who plays JH receives top billing. The actor Ryu Jun-Yeol doesn’t have the name recognition and the clout to be able to negotiate top billing if he’s only playing a secondary role here. If Tom Cruise was to appear in a cameo in this show for 2 nanoseconds in this show or Won Bin was to act as DS’ oppa crush, then sure these men would get top billing because their names are enough to draw people in. But RYJ?  No. 

He gets top billing because he’s NOT playing the supporting role here. He’s the lead, even if his screen-time ebbs and flows throughout the series, and he’s been stuck in secret admirer mode since Episode 3 when he had that sexual epiphany scene.

2. The writer has shown a predilection for bickering couples in the past two series. And in this show, the bickering couple would be JH and DS. Most people think it’s highly unlikely that the writer would ditch a plot format that had worked for them in the past two series.  Moreover, the fact that the same actors were casted as father and mother here reinforce the impression that the production team do NOT mind at all repeating a winning formula.  

I must admit that I tried to watch Reply 1994 after the series ended so I knew about Chilbong disaster. The early episodes absolutely turned me off, especially Ep 1. It was nauseating to watch a 20-yr-old girl and 25-yr-old guy involved in physical tousles. There was something incestuous about Oppa Trash freely touching her underwear, and Na Jung ordering him to take off his clothes and then proceeding to take off his boxers herself. Ugh! Thank goodness we’re spared that. When JH and DS tumbled on the floor as she wrestled him for the smut book, they didn’t look like siblings.  Nor did TK and DS look like Trash/Najung when DS ordered TK to take off his shoes and wrestled him on the sand to remove them. 

3. JH’s traits fit the mold set by Yoon-Jae and Trash so well that we should all be able to recognize the HERO TROPE of the Reply franchise. What’s the trope? One: The male hero ISN’T merely the boy-next-door; the boy actually lives in the same house as the girl at some point. Two: He’s top of the class as opposed to being a PRODIGY. (Yoon-Jae’s hyung was a computer prodigy, Chilbong was a baseball prodigy, and TK is a baduk prodigy.)  Three: He’s quiet and brooding. Four: He worships the girl anonymously and from afar. 

For me, however, the one Hero trope thing noticeably missing with JH is his affinity for DS’ father. In the other series, the male leads (hmm…as well as the secondary male leads, for that matter) have a special rapport with their future fathers-in-law already established early in the show. They’ve forged a male bonding, like the father recognizes an equal in the young man, and he can safely “give away” his daughter to him (sexist, I know). But we’re only in episode 16, and a relationship between DS’ father and JH can still develop in the next episodes. 

4. The writer is a professional; she’s adept at making the 2nd lead male look extremely appealing, and viable as a romantic lead.That’s her job: to create a CREDIBLE rival to compete with the male lead for the girl’s heart.  No matter how tempting she’ll make TK to be, she’s only using a secondary character as foil to highlight the admirable traits of lead character who’s been predetermined at the very start of the drama.    

5. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”  People are wary of being Chilbong-ed again so even if they can see connections between TK and DS; they aren’t willing to suspend their sanity and go through the heartache again.

Do you know what makes Charlie Brown of the Peanuts cartoon strip so pathetic? It’s because he always falls for Lucy’s football pranks. Lucy will persuade him to trust her to hold the football so he can kick it. At first, Charlie Brown will resist, but eventually he’ll go for it, believing that perhaps this time, Lucy will keep her word. So Charlie Brown ends up flying in the air and hurting himself.  Quite a number of viewers of Reply 1988 are afraid to punt the scriptwriter’s football here for fear of falling flat on their faces. 

6. The hints re. the Future Husband point to JH. Although the scriptwriter may have intended the “clues” as misdirection or red herrings to distract the viewers from the real husband, the fact remains that there are details that match only JH, and JH alone. To wit:

a. the chocolate in Episode 2. Footage from the camcorder suggested that DS slid a chocolate bar somewhere between the school jacket and the schoolbag on the floor. TK is eliminated from the suspect line-up because he doesn’t attend school.  Moreover, based on the conversation between DS and her father, she had met up with TK prior to going over to the party.  Her father had asked her “How come TK didn’t come with you?” And DS replied that he was on his way but she told him to borrow some comic books.   

Note: DS might have had a memory lapse here because she didn’t plan to give it to JH either. There were three bags on the floor, and she chose the bag partially hidden under the school jacket. JH had an animal-print jacket on, and he wouldn’t leave his school uniform lying on the floor of his house. He would hang it up.

b. the future husband knew of SW’s rejection of DS, and the postcards she wrote in Episode 6. JH was the only person who saw the postcard and overheard the conversation between SW and DS. Note: It’s possible that DR, the neighborhood eavesdropper, also heard the rejection and figured out the identity of “Sunny” on the radio.  

c. the confusion about 1988 college musical festivals (Episode 6). TK was in Busan, playing baduk (he missed his father’s birthday) so he wouldn’t have remembered anything about the college musical festival.  Also, from Ep 2, SW said that TK only listened to the band Deulgukhwa, thus the group-gift of the solo album of the band’s lead singer for TK birthday.  Between the JH and TK, JH was more likely to know pop culture and song hits than TK, whose only source of pop music was SW. 

As interesting it is to hunt for the husband based on the hints, it wouldn’t surprise me if the scriptwriter does a plot twist like she did in Reply 1994. In Episode 2, it was implied that the husband was Chilbongie because he had free use of the rooms; it was later revealed that the apartment belonged to him, and he was renting it out to NaJung and Trash. 

7. Last December 15, an article appeared here on soompi, supposedly with spoilers. An unidentified staff member of Reply 1988 production team shared a personal experience with the actor who’s portraying TK (sorry, I forgot his name, something gummybear).  The staff member compared Taek to Chilbong, writing, “Just like Chil Bong was Kim Jae Joon in ‘Reply 1994’ in my heart, I believe Taek shall always be Deok Sun’s husband to me.” The implication was TK would have the same fate as CB. 

In most cases, I would only give credence to news reports if the sources have been verified. Consider the source. For all we know, the person quoted in this article could have been a hairdresser or a wardrobe coordi expressing her shipper’s heart. Unless it comes directly from the scriptwriter or the director, it’s safe to ignore media play like this. 

8. First love. Many viewers think that the male character who loved the girl first or longest should get the girl in the end and that’s why they root for JH. 

Personally, I think this is the weakest argument for three reasons. First, the definition of FIRST love can be vague, and kdrama writers have been known to play around with this concept.  In the conventional definition, first love means the male character has never felt this way before towards any girl; he’s love-struck for the FIRST TIME. Infatuation and puppy love fall under this category of first love.  

However, in terms of significance and impact, first love can also mean that encounter when he was MOST affected and MOST changed by his feelings for the girl. It goes beyond puppy love. Even if the guy suffers from a heartbreak, the first love will always be remembered. Finally, in terms endurance and strength, first love can mean the GREATEST love. It might not be first, earliest, most memorable and most painful love, but it’s the love that lasts forever. It’s “first love” because the guy, for the first time in his life, is willing to endure all things for this love of his for all time. 

As you can see then, first love isn’t so cut-and-dried so I personally wouldn’t use this as a yardstick to determine the leading male. 

Furthermore, in this show, the person who loved DS first – meaning, earliest and longest -- was the person who didn’t speak much in the first couple of episodes. lol. Didn’t anybody else *see* that? 

It was Taek. 

It’s been so easy to overlook him. The viewers have to be more discerning and to follow his gaze to know where his attention rested. And the viewers need to review Episode 2: One Thing You Misunderstood About Me again. (In more ways than one, the title is very apt.)  

This was how the guys reacted to DS that morning in Episode 2 upon meeting her for the “first” time.

JH: “I’m late. richard simmons off.”
SW: “Doesn’t that jean jacket belong to your sister?”
TK: He briefly conversed with DS. He answered her question that he returned home yesterday, then asked her if she was going to school. She teased him to drink milk and hurry up and grow so he could marry her. He looked pensive after she and DR ran away. [He should have been grinning because of the joke and the cheeky pat on his bum, but instead he dribbled milk, like he was startled.]
DR: “Hurry. We only have a minute left!” He tugged her hair and she chased him. 

At his surprise party, he glanced at DS first.  

Then, note their differing opinions when they casually discussed DS’s growing aegyo.

DR: “Deok-sun is kinda cute lately, no?”
SW: “Yeah, a little.”   
TK: smiles and nods “Mmm.” [His shyness masked the honest truth.]
JH: “You’ve gone crazy, haven’t you? You’re crazy! Are you drunk?”

In Episode 3, when DS and JH asked for ramen, his eyes gravitated towards DS first before looking down at JH who was lounging by DS.

His questions re. the field trip looked innocent, too. On the surface, it appeared like he was feeling envious of their school trip. But he pointedly asked DS if she was going too and he stared at her afterwards. When they discovered that his next tournament was to be in Tokyo, their trip to the country sounded…well… provincial in comparison.  The following day, his father saw him staring at field trip info sheet. 

Now, look at this whole scene through the eyes of an infatuated guy, like this: he discovered that DS was going on a school trip with guys and it bothered him. Suddenly, JH’s remark that he was “jealous” took on a totally different meaning. [And the choice of camera angle was brilliant here].  lol. 

And as we all know, this school trip in Episode 3 is when JH became first sexually aware of DS, and couldn’t sleep at night. 

In the next episode (aptly titled as “Can’t help ~ing”), observe the differences in how people treated DS’ academic struggles.

Bora: is totally exasperated with her sister’s incompetence [can’t help berating]
DS’ father: thinks it’s a joke [can’t help treating it like a joke] 
DR: is happy to find a partner in his scholastic struggles, and they both opt to focus their energy on something do-able and having fun [can’t help laughing].  
JH: knows that DS struggles, but instead of helping her, he shows off his Engllish skills which ticks off DS. [can’t help being superior]
SW: hears DS’ wrong grammar, and corrects her English [can’t help correcting her] 
TK: is pressured to help her improve her concentration by teaching baduk and they both quickly realize that the situation is hopeless. [simply cannot HELP, lol] But she sticks around, and he lets her disturb his preparation for the tournament and indulges her rubik’s cube requests. [can’t help loving you the way you are]
 
See all those examples? As SW said in Episode 15, eyes don't lie. And if the viewers heeded SW and truly paid attention to TK, it was obvious from the beginning that TK was "only ever looking at her" even when they were together as a group. [clever meta-joke there].  

My last and final reason for disputing this “first love” is this: in real life, it doesn't matter if the person is the first, second or third love as long as he/she is the LAST love. That’s the important one here; let’s not lose sight of that even if kdramas insist on the romance of "first love". 

All the other proposed reasons why JH is the leading man have merits, though.

@shooastrid thanks for posting the info on baduk. I don’t loiter in both shippers’ threads to avoid being unduly influenced by one group or the other, so I appreciate you sharing it here. Will reply later. I can’t help resting now~

EDIT: Guys, guess what. I just lurked at JH X DS thread, and JS shippers argue if @packmule3 is in TK ship or JH ship even after she clearly mentioned how she is shipping the plot and narrative. I guess this is the joy of shipping polarizations. Interpretation differs from one another. I saw some comments in the past too about how she is quite biased for a neutral viewer, while we were celebrating her posts with big nods. I guess that's inevitable. Anyway, I'm proud that all of us here are able to look past "does she ship TK", and appreciate her point of views.

[nearsea]

@shooastrid In the defense of uri taek should  we somehow force post @Meliere 's awesome post on 'taek-jh comparison as the contender' on the main thread? =// You guys decide.

--- BTW her analysis is beyond amazing. Can't believe how she  traced out some almost non-existent clues out of nowhere.These are what we live for I guess lol.

[alayna]

I always ship couple that comfortably eating and sharing food together.. that was one of the reason why I'm in this ship.. I found that their eating scenes.. special.  Even when other people were there with them but for me, they were in their own world. 

I love the simple gestures like,  DS putting the ribs in TK's bowl (parallel with Noeul and gf's scene) and also the part where DS took TK's rice from his bowl because she said that he couldn't finish it anyway (ep where he had dinner at her place)..  it's too familiar and couplely to me..  maybe I'm someone who is too easily pleased.. tsk..  just like someone here mentioned, as you aged, you found this kind of thing is more appealing. 

[Wendy Wang]

After watching episode 16, I feel like the time skip is most likely in the next episode. 
1. Bora's heading the study for the bar exam 
2. Taek had his last competition and won 
3. No Eul's career is pretty much decided 
4. They talked a lot about what their dream job was 
5. The emotional music and slideshow at the end without any preview 
 - This could just be because they didn't finish filming yet, but the slideshow and ending was quite different from the usual: 
Sudden stop with the last frame which they didn't have 
The slideshow with the sad song which they normally don't have 
We'll probably be getting the missing scenes such as the MBC Singing Contest through flashbacks

[shooastrid]

29 minutes ago, nearsea said:

@shooastrid In the defense of uri taek should  we somehow force post @Meliere 's awesome post on 'taek-jh comparison as the contender' on the main thread? =// You guys decide.

--- BTW her analysis is beyond amazing. Can't believe how she  traced out some almost non-existent clues out of nowhere.These are what we live for I guess lol.

Only with @Meliere's permission  But you know what, the situation there is a bit "hot" if you know what I mean... I would suggest to tone it down a bit.. Hahaha. I am just like you, I love to torture myself by lurking to JH-DH shipper thread, and most of the time felt a bit sad after I finished reading...

At this point I am 100% sure about the power of the script and that Taek and DS are meant for each other. How can you not.. after reading all of your awesome posts, and my own interpretation of the drama. Let's relaxed and enjoy the ride together!!

Her analysis is brilliant, indeed, as she connects the red thread from different episodes. It's almost non existent at first, because it's so subtle and only became relevant after we get more references latter in the latter episodes. Ahhh the thing that we do in the name of obsession love.

[Phuong Tam Nguyen]

btw :)) many JH-DS said that DS intentionally went to school early and acted as if her legs were injured to get JH's attention. Just now, I've watched the compilations of TK-DS moments by hafunohane and in ep 8, DS was waiting for TK outside the beduk center at the payphone. She was excited to approach TK when he appeared at the door but she took a step back when she saw the manager/teacher and other people/fans of the baduk center. So, what did she do? She INTENTIONALLY stood next to the last person in the line so TK wouldn't see her. And then we got to see their smiles shining bright like diamonds haha.

So my point is DS can do thing intentionally to get TK's attention without being told that he likes her. 

And thanks to @packmule3, that's such a brilliant analysis! If the intention of the writer is like that, TK has been shown to like DS since ep 2, and JH only started at ep 3. I don't mean to offend anyone but yeah, haha =)) And the part about the school trip is really mind-blowing. Who says TK doesn't have "sexual" moments with DS? That "jealousy" in the analysis reminds me of the husband's line "How could you spend so much time with such many guys?" =)) Oh, now I realize that TK can say "Ya" to DS (beach scene) and the future DS asked the hubby "Why can't I say "Ya" to you when you said that to me?" And, I know appearance of the future hubby can't accurately justify anything but TK has been the only one seen in SHORT SLEEVES and NO SOCKS so far, let alone the smoking and coffee drinking habit. 

anyway, when I rewatch their moments, I can't help laughing at a lot of these scenes =)) Some moments are just so hilarious (the nosebleed, the China photo, the raw meet, the finger game, the curse lesson, the beach scene, the car scene where TK didn't know the title of the song and many more =)) Because it's TK who cares so much more about baduk than anything else, so the scene are so funny =))

Ok, that's all for me today chingu ^^

[salz]

18 minutes ago, shooastrid said:

Guys, interesting commentary from @packmule3 at main thread just posted now  I copied her awesome interpretation here, just in case you are reluctant to go there. Please don't hesitate to show your support to her actual post if you like. I hope she does not mind me posting her post here, even though she doesn't go to shipping threads. Lol. Anyway, here you go:

  Reveal hidden contents

As promised –

@minibunny, I believe it was you who asked eons ago – with a bit of frustration, if I remember correctly your post correctly – why do people presume that the OTP is JH and DS. I’m going to give you the reasons, bluntly, as I understood them. Again, I don’t ship drama couples; I ship scriptwriters and their scripts. It doesn’t matter to me with whom DS ends up, as long as 1) the scriptwriter has demonstrated a logical progression and resolution of plot ideas [i.e., No amnesia  for DS, no coma for JH, no mental breakdown for TK) and 2) the characters’ actions, words and thoughts are CONSISTENT with what we know of their personalities. Shippers who have a weak constitution or an intolerant mindset will have to avert their eyes now.

The main arguments for JH:

1. The actor who plays JH receives top billing. The actor Ryu Jun-Yeol doesn’t have the name recognition and the clout to be able to negotiate top billing if he’s only playing a secondary role here. If Tom Cruise was to appear in a cameo in this show for 2 nanoseconds in this show or Won Bin was to act as DS’ oppa crush, then sure these men would get top billing because their names are enough to draw people in. But RYJ?  No. 

He gets top billing because he’s NOT playing the supporting role here. He’s the lead, even if his screen-time ebbs and flows throughout the series, and he’s been stuck in secret admirer mode since Episode 3 when he had that sexual epiphany scene.

2. The writer has shown a predilection for bickering couples in the past two series. And in this show, the bickering couple would be JH and DS. Most people think it’s highly unlikely that the writer would ditch a plot format that had worked for them in the past two series.  Moreover, the fact that the same actors were casted as father and mother here reinforce the impression that the production team do NOT mind at all repeating a winning formula.  

I must admit that I tried to watch Reply 1994 after the series ended so I knew about Chilbong disaster. The early episodes absolutely turned me off, especially Ep 1. It was nauseating to watch a 20-yr-old girl and 25-yr-old guy involved in physical tousles. There was something incestuous about Oppa Trash freely touching her underwear, and Na Jung ordering him to take off his clothes and then proceeding to take off his boxers herself. Ugh! Thank goodness we’re spared that. When JH and DS tumbled on the floor as she wrestled him for the smut book, they didn’t look like siblings.  Nor did TK and DS look like Trash/Najung when DS ordered TK to take off his shoes and wrestled him on the sand to remove them. 

3. JH’s traits fit the mold set by Yoon-Jae and Trash so well that we should all be able to recognize the HERO TROPE of the Reply franchise. What’s the trope? One: The male hero ISN’T merely the boy-next-door; the boy actually lives in the same house as the girl at some point. Two: He’s top of the class as opposed to being a PRODIGY. (Yoon-Jae’s hyung was a computer prodigy, Chilbong was a baseball prodigy, and TK is a baduk prodigy.)  Three: He’s quiet and brooding. Four: He worships the girl anonymously and from afar. 

For me, however, the one Hero trope thing noticeably missing with JH is his affinity for DS’ father. In the other series, the male leads (hmm…as well as the secondary male leads, for that matter) have a special rapport with their future fathers-in-law already established early in the show. They’ve forged a male bonding, like the father recognizes an equal in the young man, and he can safely “give away” his daughter to him (sexist, I know). But we’re only in episode 16, and a relationship between DS’ father and JH can still develop in the next episodes. 

4. The writer is a professional; she’s adept at making the 2nd lead male look extremely appealing, and viable as a romantic lead.That’s her job: to create a CREDIBLE rival to compete with the male lead for the girl’s heart.  No matter how tempting she’ll make TK to be, she’s only using a secondary character as foil to highlight the admirable traits of lead character who’s been predetermined at the very start of the drama.    

5. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”  People are wary of being Chilbong-ed again so even if they can see connections between TK and DS; they aren’t willing to suspend their sanity and go through the heartache again.

Do you know what makes Charlie Brown of the Peanuts cartoon strip so pathetic? It’s because he always falls for Lucy’s football pranks. Lucy will persuade him to trust her to hold the football so he can kick it. At first, Charlie Brown will resist, but eventually he’ll go for it, believing that perhaps this time, Lucy will keep her word. So Charlie Brown ends up flying in the air and hurting himself.  Quite a number of viewers of Reply 1988 are afraid to punt the scriptwriter’s football here for fear of falling flat on their faces. 

6. The hints re. the Future Husband point to JH. Although the scriptwriter may have intended the “clues” as misdirection or red herrings to distract the viewers from the real husband, the fact remains that there are details that match only JH, and JH alone. To wit:

a. the chocolate in Episode 2. Footage from the camcorder suggested that DS slid a chocolate bar somewhere between the school jacket and the schoolbag on the floor. TK is eliminated from the suspect line-up because he doesn’t attend school.  Moreover, based on the conversation between DS and her father, she had met up with TK prior to going over to the party.  Her father had asked her “How come TK didn’t come with you?” And DS replied that he was on his way but she told him to borrow some comic books.   

Note: DS might have had a memory lapse here because she didn’t plan to give it to JH either. There were three bags on the floor, and she chose the bag partially hidden under the school jacket. JH had an animal-print jacket on, and he wouldn’t leave his school uniform lying on the floor of his house. He would hang it up.

b. the future husband knew of SW’s rejection of DS, and the postcards she wrote in Episode 6. JH was the only person who saw the postcard and overheard the conversation between SW and DS. Note: It’s possible that DR, the neighborhood eavesdropper, also heard the rejection and figured out the identity of “Sunny” on the radio.  

c. the confusion about 1988 college musical festivals (Episode 6). TK was in Busan, playing baduk (he missed his father’s birthday) so he wouldn’t have remembered anything about the college musical festival.  Also, from Ep 2, SW said that TK only listened to the band Deulgukhwa, thus the group-gift of the solo album of the band’s lead singer for TK birthday.  Between the JH and TK, JH was more likely to know pop culture and song hits than TK, whose only source of pop music was SW. 

As interesting it is to hunt for the husband based on the hints, it wouldn’t surprise me if the scriptwriter does a plot twist like she did in Reply 1994. In Episode 2, it was implied that the husband was Chilbongie because he had free use of the rooms; it was later revealed that the apartment belonged to him, and he was renting it out to NaJung and Trash. 

7. Last December 15, an article appeared here on soompi, supposedly with spoilers. An unidentified staff member of Reply 1988 production team shared a personal experience with the actor who’s portraying TK (sorry, I forgot his name, something gummybear).  The staff member compared Taek to Chilbong, writing, “Just like Chil Bong was Kim Jae Joon in ‘Reply 1994’ in my heart, I believe Taek shall always be Deok Sun’s husband to me.” The implication was TK would have the same fate as CB. 

In most cases, I would only give credence to news reports if the sources have been verified. Consider the source. For all we know, the person quoted in this article could have been a hairdresser or a wardrobe coordi expressing her shipper’s heart. Unless it comes directly from the scriptwriter or the director, it’s safe to ignore media play like this. 

8. First love. Many viewers think that the male character who loved the girl first or longest should get the girl in the end and that’s why they root for JH. 

Personally, I think this is the weakest argument for three reasons. First, the definition of FIRST love can be vague, and kdrama writers have been known to play around with this concept.  In the conventional definition, first love means the male character has never felt this way before towards any girl; he’s love-struck for the FIRST TIME. Infatuation and puppy love fall under this category of first love.  

However, in terms of significance and impact, first love can also mean that encounter when he was MOST affected and MOST changed by his feelings for the girl. It goes beyond puppy love. Even if the guy suffers from a heartbreak, the first love will always be remembered. Finally, in terms endurance and strength, first love can mean the GREATEST love. It might not be first, earliest, most memorable and most painful love, but it’s the love that lasts forever. It’s “first love” because the guy, for the first time in his life, is willing to endure all things for this love of his for all time. 

As you can see then, first love isn’t so cut-and-dried so I personally wouldn’t use this as a yardstick to determine the leading male. 

Furthermore, in this show, the person who loved DS first – meaning, earliest and longest -- was the person who didn’t speak much in the first couple of episodes. lol. Didn’t anybody else *see* that? 

It was Taek. 

It’s been so easy to overlook him. The viewers have to be more discerning and to follow his gaze to know where his attention rested. And the viewers need to review Episode 2: One Thing You Misunderstood About Me again. (In more ways than one, the title is very apt.)  

This was how the guys reacted to DS that morning in Episode 2 upon meeting her for the “first” time.

JH: “I’m late. richard simmons off.”
SW: “Doesn’t that jean jacket belong to your sister?”
TK: He briefly conversed with DS. He answered her question that he returned home yesterday, then asked her if she was going to school. She teased him to drink milk and hurry up and grow so he could marry her. He looked pensive after she and DR ran away. [He should have been grinning because of the joke and the cheeky pat on his bum, but instead he dribbled milk, like he was startled.]
DR: “Hurry. We only have a minute left!” He tugged her hair and she chased him. 

At his surprise party, he glanced at DS first.  

Then, note their differing opinions when they casually discussed DS’s growing aegyo.

DR: “Deok-sun is kinda cute lately, no?”
SW: “Yeah, a little.”   
TK: smiles and nods “Mmm.” [His shyness masked the honest truth.]
JH: “You’ve gone crazy, haven’t you? You’re crazy! Are you drunk?”

In Episode 3, when DS and JH asked for ramen, his eyes gravitated towards DS first before looking down at JH who was lounging by DS.

His questions re. the field trip looked innocent, too. On the surface, it appeared like he was feeling envious of their school trip. But he pointedly asked DS if she was going too and he stared at her afterwards. When they discovered that his next tournament was to be in Tokyo, their trip to the country sounded…well… provincial in comparison.  The following day, his father saw him staring at field trip info sheet. 

Now, look at this whole scene through the eyes of an infatuated guy, like this: he discovered that DS was going on a school trip with guys and it bothered him. Suddenly, JH’s remark that he was “jealous” took on a totally different meaning. [And the choice of camera angle was brilliant here].  lol. 

And as we all know, this school trip in Episode 3 is when JH became first sexually aware of DS, and couldn’t sleep at night. 

In the next episode (aptly titled as “Can’t help ~ing”), observe the differences in how people treated DS’ academic struggles.

Bora: is totally exasperated with her sister’s incompetence [can’t help berating]
DS’ father: thinks it’s a joke [can’t help treating it like a joke] 
DR: is happy to find a partner in his scholastic struggles, and they both opt to focus their energy on something do-able and having fun [can’t help laughing].  
JH: knows that DS struggles, but instead of helping her, he shows off his Engllish skills which ticks off DS. [can’t help being superior]
SW: hears DS’ wrong grammar, and corrects her English [can’t help correcting her] 
TK: is pressured to help her improve her concentration by teaching baduk and they both quickly realize that the situation is hopeless. [simply cannot HELP, lol] But she sticks around, and he lets her disturb his preparation for the tournament and indulges her rubik’s cube requests. [can’t help loving you the way you are]
 
See all those examples? As SW said in Episode 15, eyes don't lie. And if the viewers heeded SW and truly paid attention to TK, it was obvious from the beginning that TK was "only ever looking at her" even when they were together as a group. [clever meta-joke there].  

My last and final reason for disputing this “first love” is this: in real life, it doesn't matter if the person is the first, second or third love as long as he/she is the LAST love. That’s the important one here; let’s not lose sight of that even if kdramas insist on the romance of "first love". 

All the other proposed reasons why JH is the leading man have merits, though.

@shooastrid thanks for posting the info on baduk. I don’t loiter in both shippers’ threads to avoid being unduly influenced by one group or the other, so I appreciate you sharing it here. Will reply later. I can’t help resting now~

 

thank you for sharing♥

it great non-bias view and im glad there others who notice right away since it obvious from that milk incident the way he look and smile at her that it actually Taek who like DS first(well it not discussed enough) since i think it important as well especially with SW theory about looking at the eyes and Taek eyes always following DS since long ago..of course like she/he said that the last love is most important so at the end no matter who like who first it still gonna end with her choice who her heart really like:P

well even JH did fit the description of male lead very much but Taek is not exactly what we can describe a 2nd lead tbh.well i said before he neither a lead or 2nd lead since league of his own...but since im at lead man topic tbh i think both JH and Taek can be seen as sharing the leading position no matter who the husband since i don't think who get the girl is 100% the lead since Taek character development have surpassed any other 2nd lead in a kdrama so even he end up not husband he would still be lead to me and JH even his character pretty much have turtle development since ep10 or earlier but he already set up a hero material from ep1 and everything that the person write about JH&why he considered as lead above:P just my opinion

sigh SW your eyes don't lie theory keep haunting me everyday since it just pointing exactly at DS&TK eyes around each other..

[nearsea]

4 minutes ago, shooastrid said:

Only with @Meliere's permission  But you know what, the situation there is a bit "hot" if you know what I mean... I would suggest to tone it down a bit.. Hahaha. I am just like you, I love to torture myself by lurking to their thread, and most of the time felt a bit sad after I finished reading...

At this point I am 100% sure about the power of the script and that Taek and DS are meant for each other. How can you not.. after reading all of your awesome posts, and my own interpretation of the drama. Let's relaxed and enjoy the ride together!!

 

Oh is it? I thought to the contrary,all the ships are finally co-habitating well side  by side? =/ Haha well just that reading @packmule3's post I was thinking we have lots of gem of posts here as well,which should be brought into public eye.And more of them the better,all these posts speed up the time between the episodes anyway lol.

 

[nearsea]

20 minutes ago, Phuong Tam Nguyen said:

btw :)) many JH-DS said that DS intentionally went to school early and acted as if her legs were injured to get JH's attention. Just now, I've watched the compilations of TK-DS moments by hafunohane and in ep 8, DS was waiting for TK outside the beduk center at the payphone. She was excited to approach TK when he appeared at the door but she took a step back when she saw the manager/teacher and other people/fans of the baduk center. So, what did she do? She INTENTIONALLY stood next to the last person in the line so TK wouldn't see her. And then we got to see their smiles shining bright like diamonds haha.

So my point is DS can do thing intentionally to get TK's attention without being told that he likes her. 

And thanks to @packmule3, that's such a brilliant analysis! If the intention of the writer is like that, TK has been shown to like DS since ep 2, and JH only started at ep 3. I don't mean to offend anyone but yeah, haha =)) And the part about the school trip is really mind-blowing. Who says TK doesn't have "sexual" moments with DS? That "jealousy" in the analysis reminds me of the husband's line "How could you spend so much time with such many guys?" =)) Oh, now I realize that TK can say "Ya" to DS (beach scene) and the future DS asked the hubby "Why can't I say "Ya" to you when you said that to me?" And, I know appearance of the future hubby can't accurately justify anything but TK has been the only one seen in SHORT SLEEVES and NO SOCKS so far, let alone the smoking and coffee drinking habit. 

anyway, when I rewatch their moments, I can't help laughing at a lot of these scenes =)) Some moments are just so hilarious (the nosebleed, the China photo, the raw meet, the finger game, the curse lesson, the beach scene, the car scene where TK didn't know the title of the song and many more =)) Because it's TK who cares so much more about baduk than anything else, so the scene are so funny =))

Ok, that's all for me today chingu ^^

This! Great post @Phuong Tam Nguyen!

18 minutes ago, salz said:

sigh SW your eyes don't lie theory keep haunting me everyday since it just pointing exactly at DS&TK eyes around each other..

Sorry to cut your post,but this made me think how many close up shots of DS-Tk's eyes we've seen till now.A lot.

[mellinadear]

Read the post on the MT and I agree with it.

I remember a time on the MT when the pages were few, I pointed out about TK blushing when DR asked the boys that DS was getting pretty. I was shut down with," no, It was the effects of the alcohol. He just said that without any intentions"...Lawd...of course I kept quiet haha. Nothing I could do. 

[nearsea]

@hafunohane To reply to your last post..that volleyball scene at the  beach was kind of intense! I almost thought Deok Sun is going to notice how not-babyish[almost manlike]  taek looked at that particular point lol.

[mangachickava]

@mellinadear I remember your post!! its funnyy how expressions of TK would be quickly dismissed but anything that JH did would be analyzed to the ends of the earth....sigh the good old times when we didnt have a shippers thread

I think I once posted about the song "last Christmas" by wham foreshadowing DS picking TK gift over JH and they told me i was wrong and it was about sw...but that logic doesnt work because it could be both DS thinking about SW and also JH thinking about DS ( because they both had an ear phone)

also regarding the concert thing, many pages back I posted about it and here is the deal:

ep 6 we have a future scene including bora. Husband and DS talk about the college music festivel, husband gets the corrent winner and song for the one in 1989, DS says he is wrong and says the correct winner for 1988. She also says she watched it at home and everyone watched it together at the actual concert place in 1989.

Then ep 7 we get our answer that DS was right about the winner for 1988 ( the husband was right but a year off). Everyone is watching at JH's house except TK. 

now we know everyone is going to the 1989 concert so both JH and TK will be there. What's an interesting point is that since TK didnt see the 1988 he could have mixed up the dates, while JH saw both. 

[aurora1205]

Spoiler

Taekie gonna buy me whatever I want?!

Cinema...With me? Okie...

Why is Taekie staring?

I will pretend  I haven't seen this...

Photo with Taekie...like this?

Taekie says he is a man...

Nagging

Sigh...Can't leave alone this idiot

 

Understanding Deok Sun Lesson 1

[allegramente]

 @shooastrid, thanks for highlighting @packmule3's brilliant commentary.

This has got me realize the scope and magnitude of damage previous instalments of "Answer Me" franchise had done to people's psyche in the "husband-hunt" game. Because  I could not understand, and am seriously baffled, why I should resort to extratextual reading (looking up clues or pattern from previous series, K-drama's generic mould and rulings of  first and second leads) of this series, when, almost from the get-go, the text leads me to...  joining this thread, ie the Taektanic...  The text, in my reading, has been very well-structured and  self-contained.

Maybe it is because I have the advantage of digesting 14 episodes in one go, without the usual a-week break of live viewing, that I don't get the chance to speculate too early.

Ah well, I am glad I've joined the Taektanic... You guys are so articulate in giving voices as to why this ship sails when all I can do is looking right and left and wondering, "huh? isn't it obvious?!" 

[mellinadear]

@mangachickava haha...as usual,Anything related To TK obviously gets shut down. Even Parkmule3's analysis is being disregarded in the other thread just because she said TK has more chances of being the hubby instead of JH. Even the pictures Of the school trip where she said TK was jealous is being disregarded hahaha..I can't deal. I have become soooo immuned to things like that that I laugh. I read the thread(every thread for RP'88 ) and I tell myself, "girl, less clues and more enjoyment (of the show)".

Before the China episode, I mentioned that TK would end being the one who smoked and boyyy...I was laughed at. And when it happened, I laughed internally and that was the LAST day I gave my clues in that thread. I wanted to share a list I made too(did it at work ) but just didn't bother anymore cuz...well..you know why. Lol. 

6/7 of my list has happened Except one(Jeon yoo na's concert). If JH was the Hubby, he would remember the date of the concert but The hubby got the date mixed up and we know that TK forgets things too. 

[nearsea]

@shooastrid Lol lol seems like you and I have built our own ship as I also voluntarily went to the jh-ds thread .And yeah they're sure having doubts about @packmule3's neutrality regarding the post.Anyway silence speaks louder than words...so each to their own.But did you read the previous post of @packmule3? That was also quite an extensively done writing,on how TK-DS's father have kind of parallels with their choice of words like ' I can't live without her [deok sun's dad when mom was sick] / When she smiles I feel like I might die [that was from choi taek to sun woo],another brilliant find from her.She also compared how these two supermen can't/won't function without their women and might become laughing stock in front of their friends while  expressing this kind of personal thought process.Anyway however the drama goes,the viewers here and from the main thread,had made some of the most full-lengthed meticulous analysis on JH-DS-Tk or on solely taek at times,that I can't help wondering how each different pov has served to each kind of new finds...that's the beauty of any story I must say. 

[hmong_lubpaj]

Like I've mentioned before, a lot of the shippers are close minded to the possibility of Taek even being the husband. They're very one track minded. With that said, I know there are some who are open minded to the idea that though they prefer JH, our TK could also be DS's husband.  I never wanted to join a ship because like most, I believed JH would be the husband no matter what. However, watching the drama as it progressed, TK himself and his relationship with DS just gradually drew me in. PBG's acting in here is very well done. Before I knew it, I was already sailing on this ship that we're all on! :] Even though we seem to be at a stand still right now with the love lines, there has been so much progress elsewhere in the drama to appreciate and love. Having seen all three Reply dramas, I would have to say that this one is one of the better written ones.

[mangachickava]

sorry but i just assumed it was obvious TK has liked DS for a long time...when do JH/DS shippers think TK started liking DS?? ep 9?ep 6? 

[shooastrid]

37 minutes ago, allegramente said:

................ "huh? isn't it obvious?!" 

Believe me sweety, there were times when I wanted to pull my hair just because I did not want to see the truth: Oppa definitely got a lot more development than CB, therefore there is no chance my ship would sail. Hahaha. This time however, my brain and heart are in sync, so this must be a good sign.

Anyway, just finished watching subs for Episode 16 and then stumbled on this scene:

Confirmation for Baduk - Handicap interpretation?  

[salz]

10 minutes ago, nearsea said:

@shooastrid Lol lol seems like you and I have built our own ship as I also voluntarily went to the jh-ds thread .And yeah they're sure having doubts about @packmule3's neutrality regarding the post.Anyway silence speaks louder than words...so each to their own.But did you read the previous post of @packmule3? That was also quite an extensively done writing,on how TK-DS's father have kind of parallels with their choice of words like ' I can't live without her [deok sun's dad when mom was sick] / When she smiles I feel like I might die [that was from choi taek to sun woo],another brilliant find from her.She also compared how these two supermen can't/won't function without their women and might become laughing stock in front of their friends while  expressing this kind of personal thought process.Anyway however the drama goes,the viewers here and from the main thread,had made some of the most full-lengthed meticulous analysis on JH-DS-Tk or on solely taek at times,that I can't help wondering how each different pov has served to each kind of new finds...that's the beauty of any story I must say. 

don't anyone feel TK-DS have parallels moment with all 4 other couples...ds took care of tk like sw mom take care of tk dad,there time ds treat tk like mr kim treat ramiran joking around like the old married couple,ds dad like you stated,that moment sw put the blanket on br feet and ds did same with tk and some others.they really pretty much mirror all other real couples behaviors without being official couple themselves