[Drama 2018] My Mister, 나의 아저씨 - Best Drama at 2019 (55th) BaekSang Arts Awards

[philosophie]

I wish Pd or writernim would just clarify if JA and DH are end game. It’s okay I don’t need you guys to tell me, I’ll just assume it myself  

[mylovelystar]

^Credit cyunjoo92

[danielassny]

15 minutes ago, akhenaten said:

 

@justamom @danielassny @Sharine Phinisia

 

i kind of got that feeling too, especially with the way Dong Hoon’s happy face changed to one of sadness and regret, as if He seemed very happy for Ji An but he’s decided to let her go.

 

However, there was also that hint that this isn’t the end because of Ji An’s words that she’ll buy him dinner and she’ll call him.  And then their happy smiles after that, as if they’re looking forward to something good.  And he seemed reluctant to let her hand go.  

 

So I guess in the end the writer stuck to the ambiguity of their feelings.  No words of love, because as far as Park Dong Hoon and Lee Ji An are concerned, words are unnecessary. 

I am at least thankful the writer gave us this ending. We all know it's going to be a bittersweet one. It's natural to the plot and staying true to the characters. 

 

His happinesss is her hapiness and he wants to be happy for the sake of her happiness. Their love is so much bigger than any couple, in love and being together. Even until the end, you could see the longing in them. 

 

My take is... Their LOVE is an INDEFINABLE LOVE that never meant to be.  As someone at DB mentioned, a rare and special kind of love that many hope to have but only a few got to experience. 

[akhenaten]

Spoiler

 

 

I don’t remember where this song was played in the drama.  But it’s a happy song, fitting for the way it ended.  I hope the official MV contains additonal scenes of Dong Hoon and Ji An that are not in the drama but show them happy in the end. 

[philosophie]

I feel like now JA and DH will be like how KH and YR were when they first met after not seeing each other for a while. But why did KH and YR break up???

[sadiesmith]

Spoiler

5 hours ago, mushroomsoupie said:

Aw..  Please don't feel down, guys. Don't forget how amazing and heartwarming this show has been for the past 14 episodes. This comment by April is spot on and bridges the gap between the shippers and non-shippers really well..

 

The fact that Dong Hoon and Ji An did not end up together makes it painful for me to watch this episode. But that's one of the things that I like most about this drama, its truthfulness, its consistency, and its sense of realistic love up to the end. It is one of a kind and does not divert from its realistic ways just to appease the large number of audience who wish them to end up together the way dramas usually do. Surely, I personally believe that Dong Hoon has such deep and unfathomable feelings towards Ji An. A man who does not love a woman would not long for her like that.. he would not cry for her like that.. he would not fight for her like that.. he would not call her name like that... his eyes would not smile or be filled with such loneliness if he does not love the woman like that. Many times, Ji An has already confessed and he never did but at the same time, he never expressly rejected her feelings unlike during the first few episodes when he would outrightly deny Ji An's advances. Even some of the people around them are aware of his true feelings. But even at the end, he could not voice it out and they could not end up together because that is the reality of love and life. Truly, some of the most beautiful love stories are those where actions are enough, where words are not needed, and where people do not necessarily end up together.

 

I believe that ending it this way is just so much in accordance with the circumstances surrounding them at the moment and is also so much true to the character of Dong Hoon. He has always been a deeply rooted person who values the people he love more than himself especially his family. As a loving husband, he still somehow loves and care for his wife. But more than being a husband, he is also a father, a son, and a brother. Wrapping up the story with him and Ji An ending up together would hastily divert the flow of the story and Dong Hoon's character. For how about his mother and his son whom he loves very much and who trust him so much? A deeply rooted and sacrificial man like him would not just change like that and think solely about himself even if he has found a new love. But still, he wishes to keep Ji An by his side for isn't it that that's how we deeply wish when we love a person so much? So much so that we just want them to be within our touch no matter the kind of role that they can only play in our life?

 

Above all, I do feel hurt for Ji An. Watching her makes me cry for no matter how deep and sincere her love for Dong Hoon is, no matter how much she is willing to sacrifice for him, and no matter how much she loves every single detail about him, even the simplest things such as the sounds of his footsteps and his voice, he just cannot be the man of her life. Indeed, it hurts so much when you cannot have the person you wish for the most in your life. But I love Ji An for just being so thankful about everything. Her heart aches when she thinks and every time she's around Dong Hoon knowing that she cannot have him but above all, she is very thankful that she met such a good and beautiful person in her life. I truly feel her. For sometimes indeed, such thought is enough for a person to continuously love someone no matter how unreachable he or she may be.

 

 

Thank you for putting up this comment by April, whoever she is.  Like many here, I was so disappointed that episode 15 did not go the way my shipper's heart wanted, so the watching was a little more detached than before.  No tears or anything.  But April's words made me cry.  She was right about everything.  Their love is a beautiful one to behold, but very very painful at the same time.  I will keep coming back to her words if episode 16 does not wrap things up satisfactorily when it comes to Dong Hoon's feelings.  

[anipanch]

“I believe when two people are in love with each other, you can see it in their eyes. The way they look at each other, the way they stare at each other, it’s all there." - I just stumbled upon this quote on tumblr right now and dang what more to think about than DH and JA!

I was expecting more happiness on forum, because I loved the ending to death, their smiling faces omg I was grinning like an idiot  the whole time! Yes, my greedy a** would've been happier if we got a kiss, but screw that the was still so beautiful! I could feel the love transferring to me from the telephone screen. It was absolutely gorgeous and I refuse to think that they will continue being just friends. They're both healed and ready to take next step. Ugh I would kill to see their first date. Okay okay now I'm getting mad at the open ending, 'cos what's left is just my imagination and that kinda sucks  But it could've been worse and what we got is still so amazing, YES THEY ARE IN LOVE AND THEY WILL BE MORE THAN FRIENDS. That's the only option 

[jeijei]

Uh, he's not just into her. He still likes his wife but can't get past her affair. While it 's perfectly understandable that viewers are frustrated that DH and JA didn't end up together, we have to accept that not all love is romantic. Sometimes you just feel a connection beyond lust or reason. Both of them have been victims and are now less cynical about life. Loving someone is thrilling, but living peacefully is of a higher-order feeling. This show just illustrates the monk's philosophy in detail.

 

[akhenaten]

Spoiler

35 minutes ago, mylovelystar said:

^Credit cyunjoo92

 

 

Hahahah!  Look at LSK with that funny face in the last photo.  And LJE seems very happy and content.  Congratulations to the whole cast and crew of My Ahjussi.  I hope and pray that you sweep all the awards for 2018.  You definitely deserve it.  

 

LSK and LJE, please, please work together again.  Let's do a happy project next time, eh?

 

 

 

[babycrayon]

I don't feel any romantic love vides from DH. Nobody's comment made me change this impression.
For me, they are just reflections of each other, she is in love with him but he adores her as someone who is so similar to him, her brutal honesty, innocence and loneliness is unconditionally attractive. The difference between them is that she expresses herself and he doesn't, she has no solid support in her live and he happens to have it. They love each other, but their love is not romantic. (Well, it may be romantic for JA).

 

[akhenaten]

1 hour ago, philosophie said:

I’m wondering that too after reading recap!!

 

@timidjock0819 @philosophie  seems like it.  He was clearly already living alone in the apartment when he broke down and cried.  And although there were photos of Yoon Hee with Ji Seok on his desk afterwards, there was none of the three of them anymore.  I guess the writer leaves it to the viewers to deduce based on how we understand Dong Hoon's nature and by interpreting the different scenes.  

[mylovelystar]

Credit https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi4hvK-DspC/?taken-by=hanteooo

 

 

[tiger457_stv]

@mujay @akhenaten @justamom @africandramalover @chickfactor @anipanch @h2ogirl

 

Soompier, the  ending of  the story is perfect, amazing and logical!

To paraphrase what some soompier has hinted,  the ending is almost as if the Reborn Lee Ji-an would say to us:

"Well up to now you audience have seen into our inner souls as we bare our miserable lives to you, in all its gritty, depressing, brutal reality.  But now we are both reborn...me, being younger, I recover faster than Ajusshi.  With his life experience, he has accumulate a lot more baggage than me who started from nothing and restarted with nothing. 

Poor Ajusshi, still needs time to recover his young self, that of 20 years ago when he was not weight down by so much sorrow and hardship.  You see, he is now a successful director, and I am glad that by knowing me, it didn't destroy his career. I can smile, picturing in my mind how he is loved by his employees, his people as he touch them in their daily work, just like what he has touched mine...deeply.

 

Today for the first time in a while, we met....and it was an...interesting meeting!  So what will happen to us from this point?
Now that we have mostly recovered from our wounds, and can treat each other on almost equal term (he is always going to be my senior), we will retreat back into our private lives, away from your audiences' prying eyes... and que  sera sera!

PS:   I asked to buy him food in the future and he said yes with a smile.  don't worry about MY AJUSSHI,... just going on with your precious life...wink wink!

[ForgottenSoulx]

31 minutes ago, jeijei said:

Uh, he's not just into her. He still likes his wife but can't get past her affair. While it 's perfectly understandable that viewers are frustrated that DH and JA didn't end up together, we have to accept that not all love is romantic. Sometimes you just feel a connection beyond lust or reason. Both of them have been victims and are now less cynical about life. Loving someone is thrilling, but living peacefully is of a higher-order feeling. This show just illustrates the monk's philosophy in detail.

 

I think he was into her but lets agree to disagree , people have their own opinions i feel like he showed hints of him self caring about her more then he should. 

 

 

34 minutes ago, anipanch said:

“I believe when two people are in love with each other, you can see it in their eyes. The way they look at each other, the way they stare at each other, it’s all there." - I just stumbled upon this quote on tumblr right now and dang what more to think about than DH and JA!

I was expecting more happiness on forum, because I loved the ending to death, their smiling faces omg I was grinning like an idiot  the whole time! Yes, my greedy a** would've been happier if we got a kiss, but screw that the was still so beautiful! I could feel the love transferring to me from the telephone screen. It was absolutely gorgeous and I refuse to think that they will continue being just friends. They're both healed and ready to take next step. Ugh I would kill to see their first date. Okay okay now I'm getting mad at the open ending, 'cos what's left is just my imagination and that kinda sucks  But it could've been worse and what we got is still so amazing, YES THEY ARE IN LOVE AND THEY WILL BE MORE THAN FRIENDS. That's the only option 

 

I feel the same way im happy she was not adopted like some crazy people thought , she got a hug .. they plan to meet up.

 

Im happy but open ending yet again.. wish they would just what the characters think of each other but oh well. 

 

After episode 15 i was expecting alot worse though so im content with this ending. 

14 minutes ago, babycrayon said:

I don't feel any romantic love vides from DH. Nobody's comment made me change this impression.
For me, they are just reflections of each other, she is in love with him but he adores her as someone who is so similar to him, her brutal honesty, innocence and loneliness is unconditionally attractive. The difference between them is that she expresses herself and he doesn't, she has no solid support in her live and he happens to have it. They love each other, but their love is not romantic. (Well, it may be romantic for JA).

 

My issue with this argument is if he had no feelings for her why did he never say that? why did his friends tease him about her and he never really shot them down.

 

He should have flat out said i dont like you that way after she told him many times that she likes him. 

[akhenaten]

9 minutes ago, Wotad said:

I think he was into her but lets agree to disagree , people have their own opinions i feel like he showed hints of him self caring about her more then he should. 

 

 

 

I feel the same way im happy she was not adopted like some crazy people thought , she got a hug .. they plan to meet up.

 

Im happy but open ending yet again.. wish they would just what the characters think of each other but oh well. 

 

After episode 15 i was expecting alot worse though so im content with this ending. 

My issue with this argument is if he had no feelings for her why did he never say that? why did his friends tease him about her and he never really shot them down.

 

He should have flat out said i dont like you that way after she told him many times that she likes him. 

 

@Wotad  agree.  Park Dong Hoon is a very morally upright and decent man.  Like Do Joon Young said, he isn't the kind to lead a girl on, not even in sharing meals with her.  To him, even the simple act of sharing a meal is an intimate gesture that he only does with people he cares about.  So if he never had any feelings for Ji An at all, I think he would have said so at the onset.  But see, that's the thing.  Though he was conflicted for most of the drama, he was clearly aware that he did feel something for her and that it was deep and something he could never let go of.  

[justamom]

Hello guys. This ending was DRIPPING with his love for her. It was in every glance and every word. To me, he is with her, has been with her since he told her to buy another pair of slippers and by the time she leaves for Pusan he knows it. He knows it. And he breaks down because he really, really misses her. And I’m not delusional!

 

just jotting down points here, will have more tomorrow

 

1) Bong Ae’s funeral. @chickfactor probably has more to say about this but that scene with Dong Hoon at the head of the procession!!!!!!!!

hello guys!!!!! You know whose role that is??? The head of the family!!! The man of the family!!! Ie, the grand daughter’s husband!!!!!!

 

More: he can’t take his eyes off her the whole damned time. In the bus he’s literally staring at her so hard Ki Hoon offers him sunglasses. When his wife comes and leaves first. He says he’s staying with Ji An. “oh you should. She doesn’t have anyone.” But we ALL know the big damned reason. He’s the man of Ji An’s family!!! He’s the one standing there and bowing and receiving guests!!!

 

This is like the Joseon dynasty. The first wife comes to the concubine’s grandma's funeral. And the emperor stays with the concubine, because she has no one else. Get it??!!

 

Sitting on the steps while the ahjussis play soccer. The prince finally sits down next to his bereaved concubine. 

“Why are you so good to me?” she asks.

”You silly...”. He looks away because he’s embarrassed. And he isn’t yet able to articulate why, he just knows he needs to be there.

 

Bong Ae’s final conversation about fate. It’s fate she says — her relationship with Dong Hoon is fated.

 

2) Gwang Il is us. All of us jaded folks. It’s super meta — Gwang Il’s transformation is our healing. From only being able to understand one kind of possibility, our eyes have been opened to all the other kinds of possibilities out there.  By listening to Ji An and Dong Hoon, just like we have watched them over 16 episodes, he is a changed man. He did not realize such kindness, and such love could be possible. Gwang Il has redeemed himself — will you too?

 

3) The first parting. Remember. If Dong Hoon says he’s hungry, he’s starving. If the man cries, it’s time to evacuate!!! What does he say to Ji An when she says she’s leaving? “Why do you have to go so far???” Hello everyone that’s as good as saying he doesn’t want her to leave! Girl he's begging you not to go!!! But that is as far as he can go at the moment. He hasn’t reached breaking point yet.

 

Realistically. Since this show is all about realism. It’s not just that he’s still married. He’s in his forties, already lived half his life. She hasn’t seen anything in this world except human greed and evil. How is it fair to her to ask her to stay for him, when she hasn’t seen anything beyond her pitiful life? Her life is only just beginning.

 

Ji An says Dong Hoon’s most heart warming words were: Want me to buy anything? When he says that on the way home, that is the moment Yeon Hee realizes—this was his way of loving her, she just never saw it.

 

4) Their marriage is as good as over. This is showed to us. There’s no need to explicitly say this. The whole world knows she cheated on Dong Hoon with a crook who is probably now in jail. But you know, being the first wife and all, and the mother of the crown prince, she will always be part of the family. 

 

Ji An asking Yeon Hee. Why did you have an affair? When you had a man (as good as) Ahjussi? 

 

Her answer. “I had a thousand, a hundred reasons. But no one real reason.”

 

Lets just let that sit for a while. It’s so achingly obvious. There is no way she could ever go back to Dong Hoon! She would feel way, way too ashamed! Every one in his company knows now -- that scene where he's drinking with his team and none of them dares say a word except, hehe, "I love Lee Ji An." Which earns them what imho is a damned possessive smile on Dong Hoon! But also regret and longing--because she is no longer there.

 

Dong Hoon still has photos of his son and mom. Why? It’s the crown prince and his mom. She’ll always be the crown prince’s mom! But she is no longer there: instead all he has is reheated food from his mom, and he eats alone. What a pathetic existence. 

 

That moment when he broke: surely he was thinking of his promise to Lee Ji An. I promised her I will be happy. And look at me. What am I now if not pathetic? Like all the Soompiers in this forum? Has anything changed? NO! So change it must!

 

5) Finding Ji An. Our dear engineer knows that he needs to let his love go out and see the world. It would only be fair to her. How could he make her stay in Hugye for the rest of her life? But he’s waiting for her to call, to come back into his life. When Ki Hoon asks about her he gets pissed off because she hasn’t called! But guess what? He’s been keeping tabs on her! He knows she is living life happily and perhaps he has been thinking...oh I guess she doesn’t want me anymore now that she has seen the world. So passive, quiet Dong Hoon can’t say more when he sees her again, even though it’s bursting out of him with that radiant smile. 

 

And guess what....this time, she makes the move: “I’ll buy you something nice this time”. And... “I’ll call you.”

 

He wants so much to touch her, so much to hug her, but the best we can get from our passive, quiet engineer— “can we shake hands?”

 

and they do. And he won’t ever let go of her again.

 

The End.

 

I loved this show so much. I cried then I laughed, then I cried and laughed again. The funeral, the entire act was genius. GENIUS. It told us so much more about their relationship than some makjang confession scene between the two of them. There is no doubt. He loves her WITH ALL HIS LIFE.

 

P.S. @V @chickfactor did they cut out that line about "she never even hugged me, but?? I don't remember hearing it at all?!

 

P.P.S. Gosh my points became a long-assed essay....and I typed it all on my phone!! My fingers hurt. Off to bed!! (if I can still sleep tonight, haha!)

 

P.P.P.S. (edit) One more thing. That way she looked at him from behind while he was driving. "Ahjussi, I like everything about you. Your side profile. Your front profile. Your back profile while you're driving." OMG that tension! Like he needed something to hold and she felt it!

 

 

 

[anipanch]

@justamom Yes YEs and thousands of Yes to your post!

I haven't watched the full episode yet, but you definitely managed to detect all the signs of what love means to DH. This drama is a masterpiece, you have to be on alert all the time to get the message put in it. 

And honestly, it would be to dumb to think that they would jump into a relationship straight away. It's just not realistic, they both needed time to recollect their thoughts and feelings and make sure they were on the right path. With them both happy, their love now has a chance to flourish 

P.S. where's a picture with only LJE and LSK tho?? I'm waiting for ittttt

[TJ Starcandy]

1 hour ago, akhenaten said:

 

@timidjock0819 @philosophie  seems like it.  He was clearly already living alone in the apartment when he broke down and cried.  And although there were photos of Yoon Hee with Ji Seok on his desk afterwards, there was none of the three of them anymore.  I guess the writer leaves it to the viewers to deduce based on how we understand Dong Hoon's nature and by interpreting the different scenes.  

 

Yes, he was broken down because that the marriage is all over.. And finally he can break down over it now unlike before. He was buying all instant food from the grocery story alone (aka divorcee food) and not calling YH. I saw the TVN clip of the ending. Jian is still hopelessly in love with him after all the time apart. Thank you Ms Lee Jieun! for your sad longing beautiful big eyes that gave those feelings away. They shook hands and the electricity was still there (camera focus).. DH had that boyish grin when Jian said that she will call him for them to meet up and eat food. There was a few seconds of sadness when they parted probably reminiscing their history together and everything they went through.. Then finally, they parted with DH smiling in anticipation and Jian looking confident and smiling with anticipation.. Lovely ending that satisfied my shipper's heart. Those two can never be friends. They will always find each other, the same way Jian recognizes DH's voice from a mile away.

 

Those sad longing eyes of Jian reminded me of the car scene where she was looking directly at DH through the window. Same feels in episode 16. Awww.. my aching heart

 

Here is the foot in my mouth @MsMinnieFran  I am glad I don't have to blacklist Kim Won Suk.. I will give him a yellow card for now.. 

[ForgottenSoulx]

 

exa

19 minutes ago, justamom said:

 

 

 

 

Totally agree with everything you said and him asking to hold hands is so cute because Ji an was asking for hugs but now hes asking for something from her. 

6 minutes ago, timidjock0819 said:

 

I wonder if the better ending could have been her asking him right there to go get coffee then you see them having coffee together? 

[justamom]

1 hour ago, mylovelystar said:

 

 

 

 

Finally I see what Park Hae Young looks like.

 

Please all of us KOWTOW to her genius.

 

-kneels on floor and bows-

 

Lee Seon Gyun. You gorgeous, gorgeous man. You look 21 in this photo. OPPA!!!!!

 

-forever in love with park dong hoon-

Edited May 17, 2018 by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks! :)