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

[aisling]

1 hour ago, ann04 said:

 

 

I feel like LSK was perfect for his role the way he is, he perfectly embodied DH, from looks and all! And with so many people converted in to shipping JA and DH during and after the show, it’s just a testament of how well he was able to hold himself up. He probably isn’t what others would call “as goodlooking as others” but that’s what actually adds to his charisma. 

 

@sadiesmith is actually Lee Sun Kyun’s biggest fan, so her post was no way criticising his appearance. She’s just concerned that she’ll never see him in a romantic setting ever again and I have to share the same sentiments.

[fauna]

1 hour ago, ann04 said:

 

 

I feel like LSK was perfect for his role the way he is, he perfectly embodied DH, from looks and all! And with so many people converted in to shipping JA and DH during and after the show, it’s just a testament of how well he was able to hold himself up. He probably isn’t what others would call “as goodlooking as others” but that’s what actually adds to his charisma. 

Yes, besides being enormously talented, he’s really very charming and charismatic. He really stands out. For example, in this Dunkin Donuts commercial, he stands out even more than Song Joong Ki does!

 

He’s so adorable in this soy sauce commercial with his wife, talking to her baby belly.

 

[akhenaten]

Annyeong, chinggus!  We are on the third week of our post-MA phase. Are we still okay?

 

My head is still full of thoughts and analysis on the different aspects of MA but I’m also trying to get myself into the groove again, so to speak.  Started on “Lawless Lawyer”.  Midway into the second episode but somehow, I’m not in a hurry to catch up.  Will also try to watch “About Time”, which gives me that light, fluffy vibe from the clips I’ve seen on YT. I’ll also try “Are You Human Too” which I believe only just started the other day.  Let’s see how everything pans out.   Though of course I don’t expect them to affect me as much as MA did and still does.  I just watched parts of episode 14 last night, from the beginnning up until that phone conversation and it still hurts as much as the first time.  I think even moreso now because I already have the luxury of deepere observation since I don’t have to keep up with reading the subtitles anymore.  I can just look at their expressions.  And I’m checking out IG.  That photo of LSK and LJE is just so adorable.  Gives me Dong Hoon-Ji An feels! Too bad photos of them together are so rare, much less video clips. Everyone must still be trying to be extra careful because of the controversies that surrounded the drama.  Duh. Not LSK and LJE’s fault if they just sparkle and shine together.  

[rellea]

So I found this amazing, detailed analysis of Donghoon's perspective on DC and I spent the past few days translating it. I wish all of you could read it in Korean because the original post is so much better written, but I did my best.

After reading this, I was like "Welp. No need to look for any other DH interpretations. This is it."

Let me know if anything is unclear and I'll try to find a better way to word it.

Warning, it's really freaking long.

 

Spoiler

It may be going a bit too far to say that every prop, background, screen layout, etc. have meaning, but when something is shown repeatedly and continuously, we can assume that it was deliberately inserted by the director in order to convey a message.

Some props that fit this criteria are:

Donghoon: the stuffy-looking bag he wears no matter where he goes at all times.

Jian: her excessively large overcoat, large bag, and instant coffee mix.

Of these, if we observe Donghoon's bag, we can get a sense of his internal shift toward Jian.

 

We see in episodes 1-5 that even before he became aware of Yoonhee's affair, Donghoon was already dying--a "pitiful" person struggling through his life sentence of earnestness.

After episode 5, as he learns about Yoonhee's unfaithfulness, the things he had lived while bearing thus far became too much to bear and Donghoon crumbles. What makes Yoonhee's cheating especially bad is the fact that her partner is Do Joonyoung. Do Joonyoung--the antithesis of all the values and rules that define Donghoon and that he upholds in his diligent and earnest life. That is the kind of world Donghoon lives in: a world where the person he hates so much he doesn't even want to think about why is successful. He forces himself to struggle through this world out of love and duty to his family. That family is collapsing.

The man Donghoon despises, who is the counterpoint of every single one of his values, is the man Yoonhee chose to cheat on him with.

To make matters worse, Yoonhee had known about Do Joonyoung's plans to have him fired and then for her to divorce him (in episode 7, he asks DJY "Did Yoonhee know [that you were trying to get me fired] or not?").

So, what Donghoon tells Yoonhee in episode 11--that she had "given him a death sentence", deemed him "worthless", and that what she had done was her "telling him to just die"--were not just things he said in the moment in his distress. And it is for the same reasons that the way Donghoon had stood for a very long time in the middle of the Han River bridge in episode 6 was so dangerous.

 

In the midst of all this, when did Donghoon find the time to think seriously about his relationship with Jian?

If we think about it from his perspective, his relationship with Jian is a really strange one.

An abnormally perceptive girl (DH asks JA in ep 3 how she knew he had gotten a bribe) who can see through to the parts of him no one else can (ep 4 "struggling through your life sentence of earnestness"). She threw away the bribe for him and in return for keeping it secret asks for food and alcohol. Then, she suddenly kisses him, but far from being interested in him, she regards him with hostility.

Despite all this, he cannot help but pity this child who is so similar to him.

Donghoon does not understand why Jian kissed him (although this puzzle would later be solved when DJY reveals the truth about JA). After the kiss incident and Hugye(?), DH and JA pass over the kiss like it never happened. DH must have been uncomfortable, but he reached out to her and greeted her like nothing happened out of his pity for a scarred and guarded child.

 

It is then that he discovers her true identity: a kind child. Not just a scarred child, but a child who despite being scarred and guarded is also kind.

When he asked Jian the meaning of her name, he lets out a deep, sympathetic sigh and offers her warm words which, though short, were laden with goodwill. "That's nice. You have a great name."

Donghoon probably doesn't think that the things he did (carrying her grandma) for Jian or the things he said to her were anything amazing. Because "being kind to people" is simply basic courtesy to Donghoon. Which is why Jian's returning favor surprised and bewildered him; she hit Kim Daeri hard because he had been badmouthing him.

How does Donghoon respond to this? If we look at episode 6, outwardly, Donghoon expresses anger, regret, and gratitude to Jian in turn. From his response, I felt Donghoon's bewilderment at the situation. From the girl he only ever felt hostility from, while looking at Jian who is watching him with a frustrated expression, he detects goodwill.

 

In the following bar scene, Donghoon and Jian have a conversation about two separate topics. Donghoon, about his wife's affair, says "If no one knows, it's nothing." and Jian, about the past she wants to hide, says "Then I would be scared that someone would find out. If I'm going to live in fear my whole life, I'd rather have it displayed in Gwanghwamun for everyone to see." They are talking about different things. Despite this, they are comforted by the other. "I'll pretend I don't know." "I feel like you know everything without me having to tell you." It's mysterious how they are able to gain comfort from one another while talking about different things, but even more mysterious is how we, watching them, are able to understand [this comfort].

It is probably a similar kind of comfort to that which many audience members receive while watching My Ahjussi. While watching this drama, I feel like old scars I had forgotten about or that I didn't even know I had are being pulled out and gently touched/healed. Donghoon and Jian, while talking about different things, are discovering and gently touching each other's hidden or forgotten scars. (This is perhaps the same comfort that JA got while listening to DH "persuade" the villa owner to apologize in episode 4.)

 

In episode 7, Donghoon tells Jian about the nursing home for her grandma and when Jian asks him to buy her food, he responds "I'll buy you alcohol too", expressing his gratitude. (Jian's hint about the public payphones had played a large part in Donghoon finding out about the affair and was the reason he could find DJY and warn him off.)

He is able to talk about DJY, who Donghoon can't tell his brothers or anyone from his Hugye group about, only with Jian. Jian's words "Why did he do it?" "Is that any reason to fire someone?" "What are you going to do? Will he really stop?" "Aren't punishments for those who did something wrong? Want me to kill him for you?" From these words, Donghoon sees that Jian is taking his side, and from her pitying gaze he reads compassion for him.

This pitiful child is.. looking at me pityingly. Though he had intended to buy her food and alcohol to thank her, Donghoon once again is comforted by her.

 

At the end of episode 7, after fighting with DJY on the rooftop, he goes not to Junghee's bar, but to the bar he met Jian twice at (episodes 6 and 7) and drinks alone. He asks the bartender if that girl didn't come. "The one who's always under dressed for the weather. With the pretty face." From this scene, we find out the real reason he came to this bar: The only person he can talk to about DJY (though he can't talk about Yoonhee with her). The person he receives comfort from every time he sees her. The person who takes his side.

At this point, Jian has already started to become the person who, by eating and drinking together, becomes his comfort. It is not in her words that he finds solace, however. Just that a person who is similar to him sympathizes with him and takes his side is a huge source of strength to Donghoon.

 

"When I run, I disappear. But I feel like that's the real me."

In Jian's words, there is an unfathomably deep darkness. This darkness and depth makes it impossible for DH to see JA as a child. When DH hears JA say things like this, now and then he lets out a quiet sigh.

 

For a split second, he smirks at nothing. This is a comfortable place where they can sit and drink without doing anything: a place where he drinks with Jian. At the beginning of episode 8, Jian and Donghoon drink without saying a word, looking like two of the most comfortable people in the world.

 

Donghoon is comforted once again as he walks Jian home and when they say goodbye. During their walk, he reminisces about his best and only friend "Sangwon"--a forbidden topic in Junghee's bar. In his monologue about internal forces, he is able to confide in someone his hardships and crumbling state.

Jian's blunt words seem almost to be telling Donghoon's own story. The way spring, summer, fall, and winter keep repeating is tiresome and she doesn't know why she keeps getting reborn--her words are also Donghoon's thoughts. This mysterious child is very similar to Donghoon. He does not reply to Jian's question (why do I keep getting reborn) except to say goodbye, but we see from his conversation with Junghee in a later scene that her words left a deep impression on him.

Jian sends one, sincere word to his lonely back: "Fighting". There are 2 reasons for Donghoon's surprised expression:

Jian is not the type to say things like this so he was surprised at her sudden change. He was also surprised that, as if she had seen through to his inner feelings, she had given him the words he most needed to hear that day (the day he had fought with DJY on the roof).

 

Episodes 8-9: Donghoon, who has become a candidate for directorship, is conflicted. He sees that Jian has missed their stop and he thinks about calling her before going to the supermart. His expression as he leaves the station is conflicted (I recommend those who are able to go back to this scene and check). When he returns, he looks at the station and Jian comes running out, looking around as though she were looking for someone. Their eyes meet.

On their way to Junghee's bar, Jian expresses her support for him when she tells him to make sure he becomes a director. She takes his side and tells him, "Don't worry, you'll become a director. I want to see it. DJY crumble pathetically." DH is once again comforted. Though Jian is unable to see it, DH smirks when she tells him not to worry and that he will become a director. But when DH hears that JA's reason for hating DJY is "Because you hate him, ahjussi", he tells her to call him 'manager' and picks up his pace, keeping a distance between them.

 

The first time DH has the chance to properly think about his gradually forming relationship with JA came due to external forces: the phone call that informed him JA hadn't stolen the bribe to help him, but to steal it. In his conflicted state of mind, DH rejects JA's request for a meal.

Director Yoon tries to bring DH down by questioning his relationship with JA. His colleagues' concern (about his relationship with JA) for him and their gazes trouble him. DH knows that no matter the truth, his relationship with JA will be an obstacle to his directorial candidacy.

Outside Junghee's bar, DH offers JA a timid greeting, but he knows that his actions and feelings are shameful and is tormented by this. If JA had done nothing but deceive and trick him, then DH would have no reason to be tormented. It is because he saw sincerity in her support of him and saw how even in the midst of her difficulties she took care of her family--because he saw her kindness, no matter what anyone says DH cannot deny what kind of person she truly is.

DH makes a decision to no longer be shameful and finds the old man to learn about JA's past. The line from episode 4 "I'm scared to learn of her past" comes to mind here. The past he learns about is frightening, gruesome, and painful.

On the stairs up to the loan building, DH recollects his brushes with her and a single tear falls. A child as pitiful as her... that child who was beaten, bruised, collapsed, who despite all her hardship never asked for help and instead bore her suffering alone with a can of beer... looked at him compassionately, comforted him, and to give him strength, told him "Fighting". That kind heart no one knew about. That pure heart. That scarred heart was so painful to him it brought tears to his eyes.

His meeting with Gwangil. DH, who came to pay JA's debt, physically fights him. Gwangil reveals that "That b**ch killed my dad. That b**ch killed him" and DH tackles him again. But he pauses briefly. In that short time, DH is not trying to understand JA's actions. As soon as he heard that she had killed someone, DH immediately understood her. Why JA's words and actions are so cold and why she deliberately ends relationships before they even start. The true meaning of the words she had confided in him "I wish it would be displayed in Gwanghwamun for everyone to see". Just how lonely must she have been. How long must she have walked silently alone in her scarred state, not even knowing that she had been hurt.

If DH had thought ahead to how this might affect his chances at promotion and calmly solved the matter with the law like an adult, then the problem would have been solved. But DH does not stop fighting and instead rushes once more at Gwangil. This is because beyond just understanding and compassion, DH felt the scars that JA had unknowingly hidden away to a painful degree. Wouldn't he have wanted to hit that b*st**d just one more time?

 

When JA passes him quickly by, he calls out to her "Why are you ignoring me again?" He thought she was mad at him, but she returns with a passionate confession he truly never expected. Just how bewildered and shaken must he have been to call that pitiful, kind, pretty JA a 'crazy b**ch' and even hit the back of her head.

 

This is when something interesting happens. Donghoon's bag.

If Jian's oversized coat and bag symbolize the heavy weight of her reality, then similarly, for Donghoon, the stuffy looking bag always hanging on his shoulder represents the self-imposed shackles of society. This bag is always hanging from DH's shoulder as he leaves for work.

In episode 11, when Gyeomduk brings him down to Junghee's bar, the bag is on his shoulder as he walks inside. Even when he runs, that bag is still slung on his shoulder (in episode 12, when he runs for the last train). Like an unbreakable shackle, the bag hanging from his shoulder gives off a stuffy feeling.

 

In the ending scene of episode 10, Jian forcefully tears away the shackle-like bag from his shoulder. Her refreshingly straightforward, orchestrated confession as well as the breaking of the shackles brings a sense of catharsis to this scene.

DH eventually comes back to his senses and picks up his fallen bag, but does not put it back on his shoulder, instead holding it in his hands as he leaves.

 

Starting from the end of episode 10 up through his time with Gyeomduk, Dong has time to himself to think, and I believe that DH realizes then what his feelings for JA are.

At the beginning of episode 11, DH is shown sitting in a daze at home. If before, DH had been made to think about his relationship with JA due to external forces, this time, JA's confession is a chance for him to thoroughly and deeply examine what JA is to him.

To make matters worse, he finds out that YH knows that he is aware of her affair with DJY.

DH, who has failed this life and doesn't know how he should live on, lets his heart fly away and goes to see Gyeomduk.

 

After his meeting with Gyeomduk, DH does 2 big things.

Thanks to Gyeomduk's encourage to shamelessly think only of himself, DH faces the two problems he had been struggling to deal with.

He goes to DJY, yells, gets angry, and even warns him with his fists before coming back to his seat, where his gaze then looks for JA.

He makes the decision to try and win the review/interview while embracing his relationship with JA (ep 12, JA's lines).

In ep 11, DH chases the leaving JA all the way her house and tells her what he had been too surprised and unprepared to tell her when she confessed. Though JA is trying to leave his life and is determined to be thrown away by him and acted like a crazy b**ch, DH will not throw her away. Instead, he tries to pulls her closer--not into a common man-woman relationship but into a dear and precious one.

The slippers that JA had thrown away in shame. "Buy me another pair of slippers".

In this scene, where JA pushes DH away and he pulls her in, DH is not wearing his bag on his shoulder, but holding it in his hand.

 

DH could have tried to make her see clearly and told her, "Why do you like me? Why me--an older, married man? I have a wife and a child--even if you like me, we can't work out. There is no future for us.", but he doesn't. This is because DH knows very well why JA likes him and that she is not dreaming of a future with him. And he also knows better than anyone--perhaps even better than JA herself--that those feelings are not so light that they will disappear from a smack to the head. Feelings that will not end no matter how hard you try. Others might not understand, but Donghoon knows exactly what it is like.

To Donghoon's words "You are clinging to me who is pitiful like you and crying", JA replies "Why were you so kind to me? Isn't it the same thing? We both pity each other." Donghoon has nothing to say to that.

Donghoon and Jian both understand what feelings they have for each other.

Jian, who waited for him because she missed him and who only came to like him more. She asks him, "Did I make it awkward?" Indeed, does DH feel uncomfortable and awkward with JA? DH finds the very fact that she likes him heartachingly sad. That this child has no choice but to like him hurts him and makes him sorry. These two, pitiful people who are so alike have no self-compassion and cannot feel sorry for or hug themselves... So they are crying and hugging each other.

 

**about this last line, I think it wasn't translated in the drama, maybe? But there is a line in the last episode (idk where) where Donghoon says that he hugged himself and cried for the first time. As in, he embraced his scars and comforted/loved himself for the first time. That is what the OP is referencing and what the two characters were doing for each other because they could not do it for themselves.

 

And after DH is promoted, he no longer carries his bag around.

The changing relationships after episode 12 are even more important, but this post is getting too long and might stop making sense if I keep going, so I'll stop here.

 

http://gall.dcinside.com/board/view/?id=mymister&no=54222&page=1

 

[justamom]

6 hours ago, nearsea said:

 

I saw this interesting post on the marriage, the author is probably trying to say how yoon hee already gave up on the marriage, and at the later episodes was trying to make things right and move on to the next phase. Google says the title is, think about the divorce of dong hoon. 

http://gall.dcinside.com/board/view/?id=mymister&no=54434&page=11

 

Who was the one who made the comment about Yoon Hee and beer? That "beer" is Yoon Hee's way of saying "We need to talk"? Because this poster made the same observation! Are they stalking us here? 

 

I'll just summarise the post:

- There's been many people here who said "Dong Hoon is not the type of person to divorce." Really?

- Yoon Hee says out all her thoughts and emotions 

- What does Dong Hoon say? "Making life harder for you, just to make it easier for myself--I'm not thinking about it that way." What does it mean? He's thought about divorcing her!

-  Dong Hoon's POV at this time: Even if I'm unhappy, as long as it maintains peace in the family

But...it's been 20 years since we met. How should we end it? Where to start? And how to end? That, I don't know.

- What does this all mean?? Dong Hoon is not thinking, should we divorce or not. He's thinking, How should we end it?

(meaning the marriage has ended = foregone conclusion)

- The ending suggests that they both found an amicable way to end it. Not a bitter ending, but one where they can still smile and say 'Hi'. Our fates have ended and we have all moved on to different paths

 

Comments from Me

Ugh this was just supposed to be a short post but...but...My Ahjussi what have you done to me? I ended up rewatching the first 15 minutes of episode 12 and it just hit. me. so. hard. It's got to be one of the best marriage breakdown scenes I've ever watched. So much depth, pain, and emotion...

 

Anyway, so the part after he says "How should we end it." The next line is:

 

 I thought we could move on if you didn't know. But now that's just too hard. For both you and me.

 

And what happens after that?

 

Dong Hoon, in deep thought in the passenger seat.

 

Soccer Ahjussi gives him a heart sign

 

Car drives off

 

Ji An appears.

 

She understands. She's been there the whole time for me. 

 

What does this juxtaposition mean? Ji An is the way for him to move on!!

 

This show is just too amazing.

[V]

On 6/2/2018 at 4:03 AM, justamom said:

 

 

Thanks. I really want this! I would never pay such a high price, but the scripts, if they are really giving the scripts...!!

 

Do Directors cuts usually cost so much? WHY? @V would you know? Are you ordering?

 

I am just now seeing this! Yes, I want it!!!! It is a bit too rich for my blood at the moment, but I want it! Amazon usually gets these types of things a couple months later, I might wait to see what they get.

[heilam]

9 hours ago, justamom said:

 

When I joined this forum in March (around page 15), no way did I imagine I would still be here three months later!!! And no way Jose did I imagine I would be writing, ahem ahem ahem....

 

Yes they had a cast gathering because they missed each other too much (rewind back 5-10 pages)

 

 

 

Hola! I will let them know in my next message.

 

 

Are you offering to pick up the tab? Since they said 300...and the cost is $230 each...I'm assuming the subtitle cost would be in the $xx,000 range....If you are serious I will ask!!

@justamomthank you. I have just taken a chance and ordered the Blu Ray. Really hoping that the English subtitles. PLEASE!!!

[sadiesmith]

57 minutes ago, justamom said:

 

Who was the one who made the comment about Yoon Hee and beer? That "beer" is Yoon Hee's way of saying "We need to talk"? Because this poster made the same observation! Are they stalking us here? 

 

I'll just summarise the post:

- There's been many people here who said "Dong Hoon is not the type of person to divorce." Really?

- Yoon Hee says out all her thoughts and emotions 

- What does Dong Hoon say? "Making life harder for you, just to make it easier for myself--I'm not thinking about it that way." What does it mean? He's thought about divorcing her!

-  Dong Hoon's POV at this time: Even if I'm unhappy, as long as it maintains peace in the family

But...it's been 20 years since we met. How should we end it? Where to start? And how to end? That, I don't know.

- What does this all mean?? Dong Hoon is not thinking, should we divorce or not. He's thinking, How should we end it?

(meaning the marriage has ended = foregone conclusion)

- The ending suggests that they both found an amicable way to end it. Not a bitter ending, but one where they can still smile and say 'Hi'. Our fates have ended and we have all moved on to different paths

 

Comments from Me

Ugh this was just supposed to be a short post but...but...My Ahjussi what have you done to me? I ended up rewatching the first 15 minutes of episode 12 and it just hit. me. so. hard. It's got to be one of the best marriage breakdown scenes I've ever watched. So much depth, pain, and emotion...

 

Anyway, so the part after he says "How should we end it." The next line is:

 

 I thought we could move on if you didn't know. But now that's just too hard. For both you and me.

 

And what happens after that?

 

Dong Hoon, in deep thought in the passenger seat.

 

Soccer Ahjussi gives him a heart sign

 

Car drives off

 

Ji An appears.

 

She understands. She's been there the whole time for me. 

 

What does this juxtaposition mean? Ji An is the way for him to move on!!

 

This show is just too amazing.

 

@justamom, thank you for doing us this service!  This scene, which begins with a heart sign by the soccer ajusshi followed by the revelation of who is behind the heart, is to me the director's indirect (not very indirect really) way of showing us that he is the first and biggest shipper of these two lost souls.  No one would get this from the first viewing as they would be busy processing all that was going on, especially with the scenes alternating between the present and flashbacks.  So now you are telling us that as Dong Hoon was recalling words from the night before, the universe revealed to him the answer to his dilemma right then and there!  Soul mates of the highest degree indeed!

 

 

 

[tiger457_stv]

11 hours ago, justamom said:

 

When I joined this forum in March (around page 15), no way did I imagine I would still be here three months later!!! And no way Jose did I imagine I would be writing, ahem ahem ahem....

 

Yes they had a cast gathering because they missed each other too much (rewind back 5-10 pages)

 

 

 

Hola! I will let them know in my next message.

 

 

Are you offering to pick up the tab? Since they said 300...and the cost is $230 each...I'm assuming the subtitle cost would be in the $xx,000 range....If you are serious I will ask!!

@justamom  this reader is willing to pay them what it would cost them to include the English subtitles in their bluray by having some one do the subtitles and include it in their bluray so it is worth it for us to buy them. 

They said they will put Chinese subs if there is enough demand like 100 disks.  to do that they will have to hire some person to translate into Chinese.

 

This reader is asking how much it would cost them to hire some good English speaker to translate into English and include it in the bluray so that we can buy it.

this reader is willing to pay them for the cost of getting that English translation and include it in the bluray.  ask them please.

[sadiesmith]

Spoiler

2 hours ago, rellea said:

So I found this amazing, detailed analysis of Donghoon's perspective on DC and I spent the past few days translating it. I wish all of you could read it in Korean because the original post is so much better written, but I did my best.

After reading this, I was like "Welp. No need to look for any other DH interpretations. This is it."

Let me know if anything is unclear and I'll try to find a better way to word it.

Warning, it's really freaking long.

 

  Hide contents

It may be going a bit too far to say that every prop, background, screen layout, etc. have meaning, but when something is shown repeatedly and continuously, we can assume that it was deliberately inserted by the director in order to convey a message.

Some props that fit this criteria are:

Donghoon: the stuffy-looking bag he wears no matter where he goes at all times.

Jian: her excessively large overcoat, large bag, and instant coffee mix.

Of these, if we observe Donghoon's bag, we can get a sense of his internal shift toward Jian.

 

We see in episodes 1-5 that even before he became aware of Yoonhee's affair, Donghoon was already dying--a "pitiful" person struggling through his life sentence of earnestness.

After episode 5, as he learns about Yoonhee's unfaithfulness, the things he had lived while bearing thus far became too much to bear and Donghoon crumbles. What makes Yoonhee's cheating especially bad is the fact that her partner is Do Joonyoung. Do Joonyoung--the antithesis of all the values and rules that define Donghoon and that he upholds in his diligent and earnest life. That is the kind of world Donghoon lives in: a world where the person he hates so much he doesn't even want to think about why is successful. He forces himself to struggle through this world out of love and duty to his family. That family is collapsing.

The man Donghoon despises, who is the counterpoint of every single one of his values, is the man Yoonhee chose to cheat on him with.

To make matters worse, Yoonhee had known about Do Joonyoung's plans to have him fired and then for her to divorce him (in episode 7, he asks DJY "Did Yoonhee know [that you were trying to get me fired] or not?").

So, what Donghoon tells Yoonhee in episode 11--that she had "given him a death sentence", deemed him "worthless", and that what she had done was her "telling him to just die"--were not just things he said in the moment in his distress. And it is for the same reasons that the way Donghoon had stood for a very long time in the middle of the Han River bridge in episode 6 was so dangerous.

 

In the midst of all this, when did Donghoon find the time to think seriously about his relationship with Jian?

If we think about it from his perspective, his relationship with Jian is a really strange one.

An abnormally perceptive girl (DH asks JA in ep 3 how she knew he had gotten a bribe) who can see through to the parts of him no one else can (ep 4 "struggling through your life sentence of earnestness"). She threw away the bribe for him and in return for keeping it secret asks for food and alcohol. Then, she suddenly kisses him, but far from being interested in him, she regards him with hostility.

Despite all this, he cannot help but pity this child who is so similar to him.

Donghoon does not understand why Jian kissed him (although this puzzle would later be solved when DJY reveals the truth about JA). After the kiss incident and Hugye(?), DH and JA pass over the kiss like it never happened. DH must have been uncomfortable, but he reached out to her and greeted her like nothing happened out of his pity for a scarred and guarded child.

 

It is then that he discovers her true identity: a kind child. Not just a scarred child, but a child who despite being scarred and guarded is also kind.

When he asked Jian the meaning of her name, he lets out a deep, sympathetic sigh and offers her warm words which, though short, were laden with goodwill. "That's nice. You have a great name."

Donghoon probably doesn't think that the things he did (carrying her grandma) for Jian or the things he said to her were anything amazing. Because "being kind to people" is simply basic courtesy to Donghoon. Which is why Jian's returning favor surprised and bewildered him; she hit Kim Daeri hard because he had been badmouthing him.

How does Donghoon respond to this? If we look at episode 6, outwardly, Donghoon expresses anger, regret, and gratitude to Jian in turn. From his response, I felt Donghoon's bewilderment at the situation. From the girl he only ever felt hostility from, while looking at Jian who is watching him with a frustrated expression, he detects goodwill.

 

In the following bar scene, Donghoon and Jian have a conversation about two separate topics. Donghoon, about his wife's affair, says "If no one knows, it's nothing." and Jian, about the past she wants to hide, says "Then I would be scared that someone would find out. If I'm going to live in fear my whole life, I'd rather have it displayed in Gwanghwamun for everyone to see." They are talking about different things. Despite this, they are comforted by the other. "I'll pretend I don't know." "I feel like you know everything without me having to tell you." It's mysterious how they are able to gain comfort from one another while talking about different things, but even more mysterious is how we, watching them, are able to understand [this comfort].

It is probably a similar kind of comfort to that which many audience members receive while watching My Ahjussi. While watching this drama, I feel like old scars I had forgotten about or that I didn't even know I had are being pulled out and gently touched/healed. Donghoon and Jian, while talking about different things, are discovering and gently touching each other's hidden or forgotten scars. (This is perhaps the same comfort that JA got while listening to DH "persuade" the villa owner to apologize in episode 4.)

 

In episode 7, Donghoon tells Jian about the nursing home for her grandma and when Jian asks him to buy her food, he responds "I'll buy you alcohol too", expressing his gratitude. (Jian's hint about the public payphones had played a large part in Donghoon finding out about the affair and was the reason he could find DJY and warn him off.)

He is able to talk about DJY, who Donghoon can't tell his brothers or anyone from his Hugye group about, only with Jian. Jian's words "Why did he do it?" "Is that any reason to fire someone?" "What are you going to do? Will he really stop?" "Aren't punishments for those who did something wrong? Want me to kill him for you?" From these words, Donghoon sees that Jian is taking his side, and from her pitying gaze he reads compassion for him.

This pitiful child is.. looking at me pityingly. Though he had intended to buy her food and alcohol to thank her, Donghoon once again is comforted by her.

 

At the end of episode 7, after fighting with DJY on the rooftop, he goes not to Junghee's bar, but to the bar he met Jian twice at (episodes 6 and 7) and drinks alone. He asks the bartender if that girl didn't come. "The one who's always under dressed for the weather. With the pretty face." From this scene, we find out the real reason he came to this bar: The only person he can talk to about DJY (though he can't talk about Yoonhee with her). The person he receives comfort from every time he sees her. The person who takes his side.

At this point, Jian has already started to become the person who, by eating and drinking together, becomes his comfort. It is not in her words that he finds solace, however. Just that a person who is similar to him sympathizes with him and takes his side is a huge source of strength to Donghoon.

 

"When I run, I disappear. But I feel like that's the real me."

In Jian's words, there is an unfathomably deep darkness. This darkness and depth makes it impossible for DH to see JA as a child. When DH hears JA say things like this, now and then he lets out a quiet sigh.

 

For a split second, he smirks at nothing. This is a comfortable place where they can sit and drink without doing anything: a place where he drinks with Jian. At the beginning of episode 8, Jian and Donghoon drink without saying a word, looking like two of the most comfortable people in the world.

 

Donghoon is comforted once again as he walks Jian home and when they say goodbye. During their walk, he reminisces about his best and only friend "Sangwon"--a forbidden topic in Junghee's bar. In his monologue about internal forces, he is able to confide in someone his hardships and crumbling state.

Jian's blunt words seem almost to be telling Donghoon's own story. The way spring, summer, fall, and winter keep repeating is tiresome and she doesn't know why she keeps getting reborn--her words are also Donghoon's thoughts. This mysterious child is very similar to Donghoon. He does not reply to Jian's question (why do I keep getting reborn) except to say goodbye, but we see from his conversation with Junghee in a later scene that her words left a deep impression on him.

Jian sends one, sincere word to his lonely back: "Fighting". There are 2 reasons for Donghoon's surprised expression:

Jian is not the type to say things like this so he was surprised at her sudden change. He was also surprised that, as if she had seen through to his inner feelings, she had given him the words he most needed to hear that day (the day he had fought with DJY on the roof).

 

Episodes 8-9: Donghoon, who has become a candidate for directorship, is conflicted. He sees that Jian has missed their stop and he thinks about calling her before going to the supermart. His expression as he leaves the station is conflicted (I recommend those who are able to go back to this scene and check). When he returns, he looks at the station and Jian comes running out, looking around as though she were looking for someone. Their eyes meet.

On their way to Junghee's bar, Jian expresses her support for him when she tells him to make sure he becomes a director. She takes his side and tells him, "Don't worry, you'll become a director. I want to see it. DJY crumble pathetically." DH is once again comforted. Though Jian is unable to see it, DH smirks when she tells him not to worry and that he will become a director. But when DH hears that JA's reason for hating DJY is "Because you hate him, ahjussi", he tells her to call him 'manager' and picks up his pace, keeping a distance between them.

 

The first time DH has the chance to properly think about his gradually forming relationship with JA came due to external forces: the phone call that informed him JA hadn't stolen the bribe to help him, but to steal it. In his conflicted state of mind, DH rejects JA's request for a meal.

Director Yoon tries to bring DH down by questioning his relationship with JA. His colleagues' concern (about his relationship with JA) for him and their gazes trouble him. DH knows that no matter the truth, his relationship with JA will be an obstacle to his directorial candidacy.

Outside Junghee's bar, DH offers JA a timid greeting, but he knows that his actions and feelings are shameful and is tormented by this. If JA had done nothing but deceive and trick him, then DH would have no reason to be tormented. It is because he saw sincerity in her support of him and saw how even in the midst of her difficulties she took care of her family--because he saw her kindness, no matter what anyone says DH cannot deny what kind of person she truly is.

DH makes a decision to no longer be shameful and finds the old man to learn about JA's past. The line from episode 4 "I'm scared to learn of her past" comes to mind here. The past he learns about is frightening, gruesome, and painful.

On the stairs up to the loan building, DH recollects his brushes with her and a single tear falls. A child as pitiful as her... that child who was beaten, bruised, collapsed, who despite all her hardship never asked for help and instead bore her suffering alone with a can of beer... looked at him compassionately, comforted him, and to give him strength, told him "Fighting". That kind heart no one knew about. That pure heart. That scarred heart was so painful to him it brought tears to his eyes.

His meeting with Gwangil. DH, who came to pay JA's debt, physically fights him. Gwangil reveals that "That b**ch killed my dad. That b**ch killed him" and DH tackles him again. But he pauses briefly. In that short time, DH is not trying to understand JA's actions. As soon as he heard that she had killed someone, DH immediately understood her. Why JA's words and actions are so cold and why she deliberately ends relationships before they even start. The true meaning of the words she had confided in him "I wish it would be displayed in Gwanghwamun for everyone to see". Just how lonely must she have been. How long must she have walked silently alone in her scarred state, not even knowing that she had been hurt.

If DH had thought ahead to how this might affect his chances at promotion and calmly solved the matter with the law like an adult, then the problem would have been solved. But DH does not stop fighting and instead rushes once more at Gwangil. This is because beyond just understanding and compassion, DH felt the scars that JA had unknowingly hidden away to a painful degree. Wouldn't he have wanted to hit that b*st**d just one more time?

 

When JA passes him quickly by, he calls out to her "Why are you ignoring me again?" He thought she was mad at him, but she returns with a passionate confession he truly never expected. Just how bewildered and shaken must he have been to call that pitiful, kind, pretty JA a 'crazy b**ch' and even hit the back of her head.

 

This is when something interesting happens. Donghoon's bag.

If Jian's oversized coat and bag symbolize the heavy weight of her reality, then similarly, for Donghoon, the stuffy looking bag always hanging on his shoulder represents the self-imposed shackles of society. This bag is always hanging from DH's shoulder as he leaves for work.

In episode 11, when Gyeomduk brings him down to Junghee's bar, the bag is on his shoulder as he walks inside. Even when he runs, that bag is still slung on his shoulder (in episode 12, when he runs for the last train). Like an unbreakable shackle, the bag hanging from his shoulder gives off a stuffy feeling.

 

In the ending scene of episode 10, Jian forcefully tears away the shackle-like bag from his shoulder. Her refreshingly straightforward, orchestrated confession as well as the breaking of the shackles brings a sense of catharsis to this scene.

DH eventually comes back to his senses and picks up his fallen bag, but does not put it back on his shoulder, instead holding it in his hands as he leaves.

 

Starting from the end of episode 10 up through his time with Gyeomduk, Dong has time to himself to think, and I believe that DH realizes then what his feelings for JA are.

At the beginning of episode 11, DH is shown sitting in a daze at home. If before, DH had been made to think about his relationship with JA due to external forces, this time, JA's confession is a chance for him to thoroughly and deeply examine what JA is to him.

To make matters worse, he finds out that YH knows that he is aware of her affair with DJY.

DH, who has failed this life and doesn't know how he should live on, lets his heart fly away and goes to see Gyeomduk.

 

After his meeting with Gyeomduk, DH does 2 big things.

Thanks to Gyeomduk's encourage to shamelessly think only of himself, DH faces the two problems he had been struggling to deal with.

He goes to DJY, yells, gets angry, and even warns him with his fists before coming back to his seat, where his gaze then looks for JA.

He makes the decision to try and win the review/interview while embracing his relationship with JA (ep 12, JA's lines).

In ep 11, DH chases the leaving JA all the way her house and tells her what he had been too surprised and unprepared to tell her when she confessed. Though JA is trying to leave his life and is determined to be thrown away by him and acted like a crazy b**ch, DH will not throw her away. Instead, he tries to pulls her closer--not into a common man-woman relationship but into a dear and precious one.

The slippers that JA had thrown away in shame. "Buy me another pair of slippers".

In this scene, where JA pushes DH away and he pulls her in, DH is not wearing his bag on his shoulder, but holding it in his hand.

 

DH could have tried to make her see clearly and told her, "Why do you like me? Why me--an older, married man? I have a wife and a child--even if you like me, we can't work out. There is no future for us.", but he doesn't. This is because DH knows very well why JA likes him and that she is not dreaming of a future with him. And he also knows better than anyone--perhaps even better than JA herself--that those feelings are not so light that they will disappear from a smack to the head. Feelings that will not end no matter how hard you try. Others might not understand, but Donghoon knows exactly what it is like.

To Donghoon's words "You are clinging to me who is pitiful like you and crying", JA replies "Why were you so kind to me? Isn't it the same thing? We both pity each other." Donghoon has nothing to say to that.

Donghoon and Jian both understand what feelings they have for each other.

Jian, who waited for him because she missed him and who only came to like him more. She asks him, "Did I make it awkward?" Indeed, does DH feel uncomfortable and awkward with JA? DH finds the very fact that she likes him heartachingly sad. That this child has no choice but to like him hurts him and makes him sorry. These two, pitiful people who are so alike have no self-compassion and cannot feel sorry for or hug themselves... So they are crying and hugging each other.

 

**about this last line, I think it wasn't translated in the drama, maybe? But there is a line in the last episode (idk where) where Donghoon says that he hugged himself and cried for the first time. As in, he embraced his scars and comforted/loved himself for the first time. That is what the OP is referencing and what the two characters were doing for each other because they could not do it for themselves.

 

And after DH is promoted, he no longer carries his bag around.

The changing relationships after episode 12 are even more important, but this post is getting too long and might stop making sense if I keep going, so I'll stop here.

 

http://gall.dcinside.com/board/view/?id=mymister&no=54222&page=1

 

 

 

Oh my goodness, @rellea, you rock!  What hard work you did to serve this fandom.  It was so long, but so worth reading every word.  WOW and no more.  I am speechless at that thoughtful analysis.  The writer summarized their relationship dynamic so beautifully with this line that I am in tears:

These two, pitiful people who are so alike have no self-compassion and cannot feel sorry for or hug themselves... So they are crying and hugging each other.

 

I did not see the line saying DH hugging himself translated by Dramafever, but it is the title of this official TVN YouTube clip, isn't it?  The ever reliable google told me it says "I have never hugged me.  I hugged and cried." 

 

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, justamom said:

 

Who was the one who made the comment about Yoon Hee and beer? That "beer" is Yoon Hee's way of saying "We need to talk"? Because this poster made the same observation! Are they stalking us here? 

 

I'll just summarise the post:

- There's been many people here who said "Dong Hoon is not the type of person to divorce." Really?

- Yoon Hee says out all her thoughts and emotions 

- What does Dong Hoon say? "Making life harder for you, just to make it easier for myself--I'm not thinking about it that way." What does it mean? He's thought about divorcing her!

-  Dong Hoon's POV at this time: Even if I'm unhappy, as long as it maintains peace in the family

But...it's been 20 years since we met. How should we end it? Where to start? And how to end? That, I don't know.

- What does this all mean?? Dong Hoon is not thinking, should we divorce or not. He's thinking, How should we end it?

(meaning the marriage has ended = foregone conclusion)

- The ending suggests that they both found an amicable way to end it. Not a bitter ending, but one where they can still smile and say 'Hi'. Our fates have ended and we have all moved on to different paths

 

Comments from Me

Ugh this was just supposed to be a short post but...but...My Ahjussi what have you done to me? I ended up rewatching the first 15 minutes of episode 12 and it just hit. me. so. hard. It's got to be one of the best marriage breakdown scenes I've ever watched. So much depth, pain, and emotion...

 

Anyway, so the part after he says "How should we end it." The next line is:

 

 I thought we could move on if you didn't know. But now that's just too hard. For both you and me.

 

And what happens after that?

 

Dong Hoon, in deep thought in the passenger seat.

 

Soccer Ahjussi gives him a heart sign

 

Car drives off

 

Ji An appears.

 

She understands. She's been there the whole time for me. 

 

What does this juxtaposition mean? Ji An is the way for him to move on!!

 

This show is just too amazing.

@justamom@rellea, thanks so much to beautiful heartfelt post especially @rellea, dc transltn, well written and wonderful transltn, thank you.

So when will come the day would might  us move on from the romantic beyond a words DH-Jian love story? 

Why all of soompier still in trance with their undeniable love line? this is dilemma, i want end it this feelings but depth in minds and heart there growing hole it's never filled up with another recently show. So what i can do is just stuck with this forum, reading all of rant and thoughts get muzzled, buzzle,pulled up and down feelings from one post to another think of thought.. such amazing,decisive and resistence lovers you are, my ahjussi lovers.

Keep it up, showers me with delightful post, sweet methapore secret and the passion of fanfic to void my starve Jian -DH never ending love story.

Bless you all dear soompier

Happy wednesday

A thousand meaningful Jian gaze.

Dcinside, says the answer of DH inqury how to end up his marriage

Great  insight hint.

 

 

If just Lee jieun take after drama interview it would be good for Us whom love Jian and stand by her unselfish love,to understand and to support her more, how she immerse to Jian character and dig all her heart content just to show Jian as personality is flawless .wish Jieun take interview , i knew she is depth blunt person so it would be interesting to know how and what she think about Jian.

[justamom]

20 minutes ago, tiger457_stv said:

@justamom  this reader is willing to pay them what it would cost them to include the English subtitles in their bluray by having some one do the subtitles and include it in their bluray so it is worth it for us to buy them. 

They said they will put Chinese subs if there is enough demand like 100 disks.  to do that they will have to hire some person to translate into Chinese.

 

This reader is asking how much it would cost them to hire some good English speaker to translate into English and include it in the bluray so that we can buy it.

this reader is willing to pay them for the cost of getting that English translation and include it in the bluray.  ask them please.

 

That is unbelievably generous of you!!! I have asked them and will let you know!

[tiger457_stv]

33 minutes ago, justamom said:

 

That is unbelievably generous of you!!! I have asked them and will let you know!

@justamom  please tell them that if they come up with an amount and this reader thinks it is reasonable, and this reader will pay them....

then:   how do this reader pay them?  wire transfer is acceptable in dollars? 

what contractual agreement are they willing to give to us, that they will include said English subtitle... because they will have to send us a receipt and a contract that they will complete their part

[akhenaten]

1 hour ago, sadiesmith said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Oh my goodness, @rellea, you rock!  What hard work you did to serve this fandom.  It was so long, but so worth reading every word.  WOW and no more.  I am speechless at that thoughtful analysis.  The writer summarized their relationship dynamic so beautifully with this line that I am in tears:

These two, pitiful people who are so alike have no self-compassion and cannot feel sorry for or hug themselves... So they are crying and hugging each other.

 

I did not see the line saying DH hugging himself translated by Dramafever, but it is the title of this official TVN YouTube clip, isn't it?  The ever reliable google told me it says "I have never hugged me.  I hugged and cried." 

 

 

 

@sadiesmith I can only wonder how

much we non-Korean speaking viewers may have missed with the translation we got.  Which is why I really hope tVN comes out with the official and accurate translations in their Bluray DVD.  

 

It was a good thing that the acting in this drama was so powerful that we felt the emotions of the characters but I can only imagine how much more we would have felt if we got the nuances of their lines. 

 

@mujay Yes, I would also love it if there will be an in-depth post-drama interview with the actors, especially LSK and LJE.  And I would want it to be a serious discussion on the process of creating their characters.  It would also be wonderful to see the take of the main leads on their unexpected chemistry

[kdramafanlsk]

4 hours ago, rellea said:

So I found this amazing, detailed analysis of Donghoon's perspective on DC and I spent the past few days translating it. I wish all of you could read it in Korean because the original post is so much better written, but I did my best.

After reading this, I was like "Welp. No need to look for any other DH interpretations. This is it."

Let me know if anything is unclear and I'll try to find a better way to word it.

Warning, it's really freaking long.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

It may be going a bit too far to say that every prop, background, screen layout, etc. have meaning, but when something is shown repeatedly and continuously, we can assume that it was deliberately inserted by the director in order to convey a message.

Some props that fit this criteria are:

Donghoon: the stuffy-looking bag he wears no matter where he goes at all times.

Jian: her excessively large overcoat, large bag, and instant coffee mix.

Of these, if we observe Donghoon's bag, we can get a sense of his internal shift toward Jian.

 

We see in episodes 1-5 that even before he became aware of Yoonhee's affair, Donghoon was already dying--a "pitiful" person struggling through his life sentence of earnestness.

After episode 5, as he learns about Yoonhee's unfaithfulness, the things he had lived while bearing thus far became too much to bear and Donghoon crumbles. What makes Yoonhee's cheating especially bad is the fact that her partner is Do Joonyoung. Do Joonyoung--the antithesis of all the values and rules that define Donghoon and that he upholds in his diligent and earnest life. That is the kind of world Donghoon lives in: a world where the person he hates so much he doesn't even want to think about why is successful. He forces himself to struggle through this world out of love and duty to his family. That family is collapsing.

The man Donghoon despises, who is the counterpoint of every single one of his values, is the man Yoonhee chose to cheat on him with.

To make matters worse, Yoonhee had known about Do Joonyoung's plans to have him fired and then for her to divorce him (in episode 7, he asks DJY "Did Yoonhee know [that you were trying to get me fired] or not?").

So, what Donghoon tells Yoonhee in episode 11--that she had "given him a death sentence", deemed him "worthless", and that what she had done was her "telling him to just die"--were not just things he said in the moment in his distress. And it is for the same reasons that the way Donghoon had stood for a very long time in the middle of the Han River bridge in episode 6 was so dangerous.

 

In the midst of all this, when did Donghoon find the time to think seriously about his relationship with Jian?

If we think about it from his perspective, his relationship with Jian is a really strange one.

An abnormally perceptive girl (DH asks JA in ep 3 how she knew he had gotten a bribe) who can see through to the parts of him no one else can (ep 4 "struggling through your life sentence of earnestness"). She threw away the bribe for him and in return for keeping it secret asks for food and alcohol. Then, she suddenly kisses him, but far from being interested in him, she regards him with hostility.

Despite all this, he cannot help but pity this child who is so similar to him.

Donghoon does not understand why Jian kissed him (although this puzzle would later be solved when DJY reveals the truth about JA). After the kiss incident and Hugye(?), DH and JA pass over the kiss like it never happened. DH must have been uncomfortable, but he reached out to her and greeted her like nothing happened out of his pity for a scarred and guarded child.

 

It is then that he discovers her true identity: a kind child. Not just a scarred child, but a child who despite being scarred and guarded is also kind.

When he asked Jian the meaning of her name, he lets out a deep, sympathetic sigh and offers her warm words which, though short, were laden with goodwill. "That's nice. You have a great name."

Donghoon probably doesn't think that the things he did (carrying her grandma) for Jian or the things he said to her were anything amazing. Because "being kind to people" is simply basic courtesy to Donghoon. Which is why Jian's returning favor surprised and bewildered him; she hit Kim Daeri hard because he had been badmouthing him.

How does Donghoon respond to this? If we look at episode 6, outwardly, Donghoon expresses anger, regret, and gratitude to Jian in turn. From his response, I felt Donghoon's bewilderment at the situation. From the girl he only ever felt hostility from, while looking at Jian who is watching him with a frustrated expression, he detects goodwill.

 

In the following bar scene, Donghoon and Jian have a conversation about two separate topics. Donghoon, about his wife's affair, says "If no one knows, it's nothing." and Jian, about the past she wants to hide, says "Then I would be scared that someone would find out. If I'm going to live in fear my whole life, I'd rather have it displayed in Gwanghwamun for everyone to see." They are talking about different things. Despite this, they are comforted by the other. "I'll pretend I don't know." "I feel like you know everything without me having to tell you." It's mysterious how they are able to gain comfort from one another while talking about different things, but even more mysterious is how we, watching them, are able to understand [this comfort].

It is probably a similar kind of comfort to that which many audience members receive while watching My Ahjussi. While watching this drama, I feel like old scars I had forgotten about or that I didn't even know I had are being pulled out and gently touched/healed. Donghoon and Jian, while talking about different things, are discovering and gently touching each other's hidden or forgotten scars. (This is perhaps the same comfort that JA got while listening to DH "persuade" the villa owner to apologize in episode 4.)

 

In episode 7, Donghoon tells Jian about the nursing home for her grandma and when Jian asks him to buy her food, he responds "I'll buy you alcohol too", expressing his gratitude. (Jian's hint about the public payphones had played a large part in Donghoon finding out about the affair and was the reason he could find DJY and warn him off.)

He is able to talk about DJY, who Donghoon can't tell his brothers or anyone from his Hugye group about, only with Jian. Jian's words "Why did he do it?" "Is that any reason to fire someone?" "What are you going to do? Will he really stop?" "Aren't punishments for those who did something wrong? Want me to kill him for you?" From these words, Donghoon sees that Jian is taking his side, and from her pitying gaze he reads compassion for him.

This pitiful child is.. looking at me pityingly. Though he had intended to buy her food and alcohol to thank her, Donghoon once again is comforted by her.

 

At the end of episode 7, after fighting with DJY on the rooftop, he goes not to Junghee's bar, but to the bar he met Jian twice at (episodes 6 and 7) and drinks alone. He asks the bartender if that girl didn't come. "The one who's always under dressed for the weather. With the pretty face." From this scene, we find out the real reason he came to this bar: The only person he can talk to about DJY (though he can't talk about Yoonhee with her). The person he receives comfort from every time he sees her. The person who takes his side.

At this point, Jian has already started to become the person who, by eating and drinking together, becomes his comfort. It is not in her words that he finds solace, however. Just that a person who is similar to him sympathizes with him and takes his side is a huge source of strength to Donghoon.

 

"When I run, I disappear. But I feel like that's the real me."

In Jian's words, there is an unfathomably deep darkness. This darkness and depth makes it impossible for DH to see JA as a child. When DH hears JA say things like this, now and then he lets out a quiet sigh.

 

For a split second, he smirks at nothing. This is a comfortable place where they can sit and drink without doing anything: a place where he drinks with Jian. At the beginning of episode 8, Jian and Donghoon drink without saying a word, looking like two of the most comfortable people in the world.

 

Donghoon is comforted once again as he walks Jian home and when they say goodbye. During their walk, he reminisces about his best and only friend "Sangwon"--a forbidden topic in Junghee's bar. In his monologue about internal forces, he is able to confide in someone his hardships and crumbling state.

Jian's blunt words seem almost to be telling Donghoon's own story. The way spring, summer, fall, and winter keep repeating is tiresome and she doesn't know why she keeps getting reborn--her words are also Donghoon's thoughts. This mysterious child is very similar to Donghoon. He does not reply to Jian's question (why do I keep getting reborn) except to say goodbye, but we see from his conversation with Junghee in a later scene that her words left a deep impression on him.

Jian sends one, sincere word to his lonely back: "Fighting". There are 2 reasons for Donghoon's surprised expression:

Jian is not the type to say things like this so he was surprised at her sudden change. He was also surprised that, as if she had seen through to his inner feelings, she had given him the words he most needed to hear that day (the day he had fought with DJY on the roof).

 

Episodes 8-9: Donghoon, who has become a candidate for directorship, is conflicted. He sees that Jian has missed their stop and he thinks about calling her before going to the supermart. His expression as he leaves the station is conflicted (I recommend those who are able to go back to this scene and check). When he returns, he looks at the station and Jian comes running out, looking around as though she were looking for someone. Their eyes meet.

On their way to Junghee's bar, Jian expresses her support for him when she tells him to make sure he becomes a director. She takes his side and tells him, "Don't worry, you'll become a director. I want to see it. DJY crumble pathetically." DH is once again comforted. Though Jian is unable to see it, DH smirks when she tells him not to worry and that he will become a director. But when DH hears that JA's reason for hating DJY is "Because you hate him, ahjussi", he tells her to call him 'manager' and picks up his pace, keeping a distance between them.

 

The first time DH has the chance to properly think about his gradually forming relationship with JA came due to external forces: the phone call that informed him JA hadn't stolen the bribe to help him, but to steal it. In his conflicted state of mind, DH rejects JA's request for a meal.

Director Yoon tries to bring DH down by questioning his relationship with JA. His colleagues' concern (about his relationship with JA) for him and their gazes trouble him. DH knows that no matter the truth, his relationship with JA will be an obstacle to his directorial candidacy.

Outside Junghee's bar, DH offers JA a timid greeting, but he knows that his actions and feelings are shameful and is tormented by this. If JA had done nothing but deceive and trick him, then DH would have no reason to be tormented. It is because he saw sincerity in her support of him and saw how even in the midst of her difficulties she took care of her family--because he saw her kindness, no matter what anyone says DH cannot deny what kind of person she truly is.

DH makes a decision to no longer be shameful and finds the old man to learn about JA's past. The line from episode 4 "I'm scared to learn of her past" comes to mind here. The past he learns about is frightening, gruesome, and painful.

On the stairs up to the loan building, DH recollects his brushes with her and a single tear falls. A child as pitiful as her... that child who was beaten, bruised, collapsed, who despite all her hardship never asked for help and instead bore her suffering alone with a can of beer... looked at him compassionately, comforted him, and to give him strength, told him "Fighting". That kind heart no one knew about. That pure heart. That scarred heart was so painful to him it brought tears to his eyes.

His meeting with Gwangil. DH, who came to pay JA's debt, physically fights him. Gwangil reveals that "That b**ch killed my dad. That b**ch killed him" and DH tackles him again. But he pauses briefly. In that short time, DH is not trying to understand JA's actions. As soon as he heard that she had killed someone, DH immediately understood her. Why JA's words and actions are so cold and why she deliberately ends relationships before they even start. The true meaning of the words she had confided in him "I wish it would be displayed in Gwanghwamun for everyone to see". Just how lonely must she have been. How long must she have walked silently alone in her scarred state, not even knowing that she had been hurt.

If DH had thought ahead to how this might affect his chances at promotion and calmly solved the matter with the law like an adult, then the problem would have been solved. But DH does not stop fighting and instead rushes once more at Gwangil. This is because beyond just understanding and compassion, DH felt the scars that JA had unknowingly hidden away to a painful degree. Wouldn't he have wanted to hit that b*st**d just one more time?

 

When JA passes him quickly by, he calls out to her "Why are you ignoring me again?" He thought she was mad at him, but she returns with a passionate confession he truly never expected. Just how bewildered and shaken must he have been to call that pitiful, kind, pretty JA a 'crazy b**ch' and even hit the back of her head.

 

This is when something interesting happens. Donghoon's bag.

If Jian's oversized coat and bag symbolize the heavy weight of her reality, then similarly, for Donghoon, the stuffy looking bag always hanging on his shoulder represents the self-imposed shackles of society. This bag is always hanging from DH's shoulder as he leaves for work.

In episode 11, when Gyeomduk brings him down to Junghee's bar, the bag is on his shoulder as he walks inside. Even when he runs, that bag is still slung on his shoulder (in episode 12, when he runs for the last train). Like an unbreakable shackle, the bag hanging from his shoulder gives off a stuffy feeling.

 

In the ending scene of episode 10, Jian forcefully tears away the shackle-like bag from his shoulder. Her refreshingly straightforward, orchestrated confession as well as the breaking of the shackles brings a sense of catharsis to this scene.

DH eventually comes back to his senses and picks up his fallen bag, but does not put it back on his shoulder, instead holding it in his hands as he leaves.

 

Starting from the end of episode 10 up through his time with Gyeomduk, Dong has time to himself to think, and I believe that DH realizes then what his feelings for JA are.

At the beginning of episode 11, DH is shown sitting in a daze at home. If before, DH had been made to think about his relationship with JA due to external forces, this time, JA's confession is a chance for him to thoroughly and deeply examine what JA is to him.

To make matters worse, he finds out that YH knows that he is aware of her affair with DJY.

DH, who has failed this life and doesn't know how he should live on, lets his heart fly away and goes to see Gyeomduk.

 

After his meeting with Gyeomduk, DH does 2 big things.

Thanks to Gyeomduk's encourage to shamelessly think only of himself, DH faces the two problems he had been struggling to deal with.

He goes to DJY, yells, gets angry, and even warns him with his fists before coming back to his seat, where his gaze then looks for JA.

He makes the decision to try and win the review/interview while embracing his relationship with JA (ep 12, JA's lines).

In ep 11, DH chases the leaving JA all the way her house and tells her what he had been too surprised and unprepared to tell her when she confessed. Though JA is trying to leave his life and is determined to be thrown away by him and acted like a crazy b**ch, DH will not throw her away. Instead, he tries to pulls her closer--not into a common man-woman relationship but into a dear and precious one.

The slippers that JA had thrown away in shame. "Buy me another pair of slippers".

In this scene, where JA pushes DH away and he pulls her in, DH is not wearing his bag on his shoulder, but holding it in his hand.

 

DH could have tried to make her see clearly and told her, "Why do you like me? Why me--an older, married man? I have a wife and a child--even if you like me, we can't work out. There is no future for us.", but he doesn't. This is because DH knows very well why JA likes him and that she is not dreaming of a future with him. And he also knows better than anyone--perhaps even better than JA herself--that those feelings are not so light that they will disappear from a smack to the head. Feelings that will not end no matter how hard you try. Others might not understand, but Donghoon knows exactly what it is like.

To Donghoon's words "You are clinging to me who is pitiful like you and crying", JA replies "Why were you so kind to me? Isn't it the same thing? We both pity each other." Donghoon has nothing to say to that.

Donghoon and Jian both understand what feelings they have for each other.

Jian, who waited for him because she missed him and who only came to like him more. She asks him, "Did I make it awkward?" Indeed, does DH feel uncomfortable and awkward with JA? DH finds the very fact that she likes him heartachingly sad. That this child has no choice but to like him hurts him and makes him sorry. These two, pitiful people who are so alike have no self-compassion and cannot feel sorry for or hug themselves... So they are crying and hugging each other.

 

**about this last line, I think it wasn't translated in the drama, maybe? But there is a line in the last episode (idk where) where Donghoon says that he hugged himself and cried for the first time. As in, he embraced his scars and comforted/loved himself for the first time. That is what the OP is referencing and what the two characters were doing for each other because they could not do it for themselves.

 

And after DH is promoted, he no longer carries his bag around.

The changing relationships after episode 12 are even more important, but this post is getting too long and might stop making sense if I keep going, so I'll stop here.

 

http://gall.dcinside.com/board/view/?id=mymister&no=54222&page=1

 

Ughh, because of this post I went back to rewatching episode 10 again. I am just amazed by how much I am still learning about the characters just by reading posts here in soompi. Thanks @rellea! Just looking at how JA keeps wrenching at DH's arms and making him lose grip on his bag, takes on a much more powerful meaning now. The way JA pushes him to his limits with a declaration of her feelings and the way he just holds on to the bag but loses it in their struggle makes this scene so much more passionate, even though I have always seen it as one of the most conflicted points in DH's mind on how to deal with JA. JA is just so true to her feelings for DH there is no other way for DH but also to evaluate how he feels for JA and accept it. These two are caught in each other's web, DH gets more stuck the more he denies it. Oh ged, seriously, this is turning to be one of the best love stories I've come across including all the classics. The build up is slow, but it is so certain and sure and indelible.

[Guest]

Someone did an amazing job

Thank you for shorten the mv. Just for our OTP Dong Hon-Jian love story

 

Thanks dear uploader

 

[sadiesmith]

I don't think anyone has posted the VLIVE interview in its entirety, so I want to put it here for posterity.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCr1hMGo3Q8

[mylovelystar]

Ji-an figurine 70% done by iron306

 

 

Love this by sonykorea

 

Spoiler

 

 

[chickfactor]

5 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I did not see the line saying DH hugging himself translated by Dramafever, but it is the title of this official TVN YouTube clip, isn't it?  The ever reliable google told me it says "I have never hugged me.  I hugged and cried." 

 

 

마음껏 우는 이선균, '한 번도 안아본 적 없는 나를. 끌어안고 울었다.' 나의 아저씨 16화

 

 

OMG, there it is.

 

That's that line he said in the preview that we thought he was saying to Ji-An. We thought he was saying, "You've never hugged me." But he was actually saying "I have never hugged me."

 

You found the buried mystery!

 

Korean sentences can be formed without the subject, so it can be a challenge to translate.

 

(I can't re-watch this scene, though. I'll be a mess. )

 

3 hours ago, akhenaten said:

 

@sadiesmith I can only wonder how

much we non-Korean speaking viewers may have missed with the translation we got.  Which is why I really hope tVN comes out with the official and accurate translations in their Bluray DVD.  

 

 

My guess is that it will have DramaFever subtitles.

 

I don't know how these things work. I do know that the DramaFever banner pops up at the end of each episode along with Chevy and Quiznos. And I know DramaFever sometimes invests in dramas and gets exclusive rights. It looks like that is what's happened here? So wouldn't the DVD production team have access to the DramaFever subtitles?

 

No diss to DramaFever. I do think their subs are not perfect, but they're not bad, and definitely better than nothing. I guess I appreciate them (and Viki) for helping spread the K-drama joy.

[h2ogirl]

Some more observations:

• YH doesn't have DH's photos in her workspace at home either. Earlier, I pointed out that she doesn't have photos with DH or the three of them together on her office desk.
  
  Spoiler

  

  
  It's safe to say that to YH, "family" = Ji Seok. And that's the family to whom she "fulfills her duties" till the very end. 
   
• Do you guys think the name / motto of the neighborhood convenience store has some significance: Happiness Mart in One's Life? Note that persimmons, which some of you have called the red-thread-of-destiny for DH and JA, bound them together in here.
  Spoiler

  

   

• YH feels stuffy in her marriage. This is shown visually when she opens their apartment's windows / doors (more than once in the series). To those of you who think otherwise, and were even rooting for DH and YH's reconciliation, I'd love to see your reasoning explained. I don't remember much love or rapport or healthy communication shown between DH and YH, and fail to see how their marriage could have repaired itself.
  
  Open: (just had a unilateral conversation about interest rates, trying to catch a breath)
  
  
  Closed: (can't bear to look at DH after he's beat up - thinks it's related to her affair and JY, feels suffocated)
  
  
  This goes for DH as well... and I doubt it's because he literally feels hot (it's frigging winter in Korea).
  Spoiler

  Open: (home alone, trying to catch a breath)

  

   

  Closed: (just overheard YH talking to JY, feels suffocated)

  

• I couldn't figure this out due to my limited Korean, but is this a reference to goose fathers? @justamom
  Spoiler

  

  
  This is what DH is watching when YH tells him off for drinking so much and keeps talking about interest rates / opening up his own business.