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It’s Okay, It’s Love: Episode 14

Get a box of tissues at the ready before you watch this episode, because things have to get worse before they can get better. As years of underlying issues rise to the surface, brace yourself for an episode where everything spirals out of control, and then crashes and burns in front of our hero’s eyes. But no matter how hard things get, there are those who are willing to help explore the darkness with him now and pray for a more positive outcome for the future.

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EPISODE 14 RECAP

Hae-soo hugs Jae-yeol tightly for a few more seconds before pulling away to wash up, barely able to contain the oncoming tears. She rejoins Jae-yeol on the bed afterward, and he reminds her of the night they slept together—how she’d tell him why she was crying then, that she’d believe he loves her if he still does after hearing why, and lastly, that she’d tell him that she loves him back.

Holding his face in her hands, Hae-soo warns him that his feelings for her may change afterward, but she’ll swallow her fears and tell him since she feels that she can lower her defences around him. “Because that’s what love is to me.”

Jae-yeol waits patiently as Hae-soo shares how when she was still in high school, her father landed in the emergency room for the umpeenth time. It didn’t surprise her in the least, and she found herself hoping that he wouldn’t make it. But he did.

Unhappy that things felt like they were back to square one, Hae-soo called Ajusshi Kim in tears, and demanded that he meet her mother again and send them money so she can go to college. Mom had overheard the conversation and started seeing Ajusshi Kim again soon afterwards. Just like that, she sold her mother off for the funds to attend medical school.

Hae-soo cries in Jae-yeol’s embrace, and he tells her “I love you.” Now Hae-soo repeats them back to him: “I love you a lot.” He tells her he loves her again, comforting her.

Jae-yeol’s phone rings just then—it’s Kang-woo, whose call goes unanswered. But a glance at the calendar reminds him of Jae-bum asking to meet alone upon his release from prison today.

Hae-soo ignores a call from her sister, then cuddles closer to Jae-yeol in bed. He claims to be sleepy and doesn’t seem too bothered by the fact that he isn’t falling asleep in his bathtub. Once he’s asleep, she quietly slips out of bed and into the bathroom.

Jae-yeol receives a text from his brother telling him to meet at their old burned-down house, followed by an imaginary call from Kang-woo. Uh oh, is Jae-yeol going to go and “meet” him?

Which is why I’m thinking he won’t be in bed when Hae-soo tearfully calls Doctor Lee to take Jae-yeol away. Doctor Lee is willing to wait and give the couple a bit more time together, but Hae-soo requests that they give Jae-yeol a sedative to keep him sleeping peacefully for just a little longer, so he won’t know that he’s being transported.

So Hae-soo is alarmed when she comes out of the bathroom and finds the bed empty. Sunbae Jo and Tae-yong are already on the hunt when they check in with Hae-soo, having learned that Jae-bum got out of prison earlier than they were told.

Jae-yeol’s left a note saying he’s gone to see Kang-woo and Jae-bum, and Hae-soo directs Sunbae Jo to Jae-yeol’s childhood home. She gets through to Jae-yeol though, and keeps her voice calm while Jae-yeol asks in a panicky, concerned voice asking if he can call her back because he’s on his way to meet Kang-woo. But no sooner does he gets those words out that he’s forced to swerve his car in order to avoid the oncoming cars.

The call drops out, but Hae-soo keeps trying in Sunbae Jo and Tae-yong’s car. Meanwhile, Jae-bum narrowly avoids getting hit by an obnoxious driver and asks why Jae-yeol wants to postpone their get-together—is he afraid? But Jae-yeol denies it, then hangs up to pick up Kang-woo’s incoming call, demanding to know where he is right now.

Kang-woo tears his eyes away from his mother being abused by her husband once again, and lies that he’s on his way home. Rolling past Jae-bum on his bike, Kang-woo thanks Jae-yeol for always taking care of him and making a nobody like him feel special in this world. His words sound like a farewell, and Jae-yeol tells him as much—it’s too early for goodbyes between them.

Jae-yeol apologizes, admitting that he found Kang-woo burdensome, and that’s why he didn’t go see him despite knowing things were tough for him. “I’m sorry. I won’t do that again, Kang-woo.”

But then Jae-yeol’s eyes grow wide as he sees Kang-woo pass by on his bike, then screams when he sees Kang-woo crash into a car and rolls onto the ground, bloodied. Jae-yeol swerves around, letting the car crash into his.

He staggers over to Kang-woo, sporting the same bloody wound as Kang-woo’s. Jae-bum has seen the aftermath of the accident, and watches his brother walk off towards nothing. Jae-yeol’s knees buckles under him, still trying to get to Kang-woo just as the ambulance arrives.

Hae-soo isn’t far behind and rushes over to embrace Jae-yeol, who keeps insisting that he’s fine but they have to do something about Kang-woo. Hae-soo continues sobbing in his arms, scared by how he keeps pointing to someone that isn’t there.

While Jae-yeol is tied down with restraints afterward and imaginary Kang-woo moves jerkily in a jail cell, Sunbae Jo enlightens us with how Jae-yeol’s ALS symptoms are psychosomatic. Jae-yeol undergoes a round of electroconvulsive therapy while Soo-kwang stays with Hae-soo.

As Jae-yeol lays in bed, stupefied, a healthy-looking Kang-woo cries by his bedside. In voiceover, Sunbae Jo summarizes how Jae-yeol’s altered perception of reality has led him to believe that his own death was the only way to absolve him of the guilt felt towards his brother.

By creating someone like Kang-woo in his head and trying to save his life through an accident, Jae-yeol believes this scenario (which would eventually lead to his own death anyway) would be less painful for his mother, who’d be able to maintain her dissociation from the tragic events of her husband’s death.

After Jae-bum learns of how Mama Ok-ja may have been responsible for his stepfather’s death, he orders Sunbae Jo to treat his mother and dig out the truth from her in an amytal interview. He’s told that it wouldn’t work since Mama Ok-ja has no recollection of that night’s events—if Jae-bum wants to know the truth, he can go and pester Mama Ok-ja about it himself.

These are issues involving his family, so Jae-bum should have a care—his younger brother is in a psych ward and his abused mother only has him now. Isn’t that enough to satisfy Jae-bum’s personal revenge? Sunbae Jo isn’t going to sugarcoat it: “You only know of your own pain, but don’t care for other people’s pain. You’re like an immature white-haired three-year-old.”

That remark hits too close to home, and Jae-bum responds with his right hook. With that Jae-bum storms off, only to be further enraged when Mama Ok-ja calls in to ask what favorite food of his to add to his dinner.

Two weeks have already passed by the time we see the psychiatric residents gossip how Jae-yeol’s active symptoms have begun to diminish and Hae-soo is somehow managing to see some patients. She’s been sleeping in her office lately, and Doctor Lee notes that she’s also supervising Hae-soo’s caseload.

Hae-soo is curious as to when she can see Jae-yeol, only to be told to wait until he’s more stable—no one, not even his family are allowed a visit at present. Jae-yeol is closely supervised while he watches the CCTV footage we’ve seen several times already: the one of him fighting thin air.

He’s also shown the night of the car accident he believed Kang-woo suffered injuries from. His face remains expressionless (perhaps due to the medication and therapy) but there are tears that well up in his eyes that speak volumes more than his words ever could. “Do you see why we had you forcibly admitted?” Sunbae Jo asks. “You keep hurting yourself so we had no other choice.”

Jae-yeol and Sunbae Jo are alone by the time they review the case documents on his stepfather’s death. Jae-yeol flashes back to when he saw Mama Ok-ja’s reflection in the mirror throwing the lit paper behind her. “M… mom is innocent. Mom didn’t do anything wrong,” he utters.

Sunbae Jo says he knows, then asks where Kang-woo is right now. Jae-yeol’s eyes search the room and stops to imagine Kang-woo sitting by the window, smiling at him. He nods when he’s asked if Kang-woo is here with them in this room.

So Sunbae Jo does a bit of reality testing with Jae-yeol, telling him that this is a hospital and that one needs permission to be here. Why might Jae-yeol think Kang-woo is here? “I can’t see him, but you can. And you saw that Kang-woo wasn’t there in the video footage. But you still see Kang-woo.”

He asks Jae-yeol if something strikes false with that, and Jae-yeol nods. “You say that feels strange, but you still think you see Kang-woo. Then what might Kang-woo be?” Sunbae Jo continues. “Could he be something forged from your mind?”

Everything about this confrontation is incredibly powerful and haunting, and then Jae-yeol finally answers no, Kang-woo is real and present. “Because I’m the only one who believes in Kang-woo. He has no one else but me. Everyone feels uncomfortable around a kid who doesn’t have anything to his name, and tries to avoid him.”

Sunbae Jo reflects that statement back to Jae-yeol in the form of a question—was that how people reacted to him and Mama Ok-ja? “And to my brother, too…” Jae-yeol cries softly. “Then is Kang-woo you?” Sunbae Jo challenges. Jae-yeol shakes his head and replies, “No. Kang-woo… is Kang-woo.”

Sunbae Jo updates Hae-soo and Doctor Lee on Jae-yeol’s progress afterward: although the frequency of his hallucinations have decreased and Jae-yeol finds it strange that he’s the only person who can see Kang-woo, he still perceives his hallucination to be real.

Mama Ok-ja’s motherly concern only irritates Jae-bum (but Tae-yong is close by to keep an eye on him), while Soo-kwang sticks to the story with Hae-soo’s family that Hae-soo and Jae-yeol broke up.

But they know that he’s checking in with them on Hae-soo’s behalf, and tells him to relay that they can’t take care of Jae-yeol in addition to Hae-soo’s handicapped father.

After Jae-yeol takes his meds, he tells the nurse that he thinks he is schizophrenic. He thinks back to Hye-jin, Yoon-chul’s wife who also suffers from schizophrenia, and of Hae-soo’s constant prayers for their marriage. Remembering Hae-soo sobbing desperately in his arms brings tears to his eyes.

Hae-soo receives a sketch of herself from Hwan-hee, the teenager who used to draw genitalia. He’s even back at school, and asks if it’s true that the bestselling author Jang Jae-yeol is hospitalized here, then offers Hae-soo some encouraging words.

Mom comes to see Hae-soo at the hospital, but they pick up their conversation at home. When Hae-soo makes recommendations for her father, Mom tells her to worry about herself and slaps her daughter across the face before she can explain. Hae-soo will face much worse if Mom finds out that she and Jae-yeol haven’t ended things for good.

Mom asks if it’s true what Yoon-soo said that Hae-soo learned about being devoted to a man she loves from Mom. With another slap, Mom asks why her daughter’s forgotten about her affair with Ajusshi Kim or how she called Hae-soo selfish for wanting to attend medical school with their burdensome financial situation.

Would she have told her child not to pursue her studies if it weren’t for her sickly husband? “Do you have any idea what it’s like to live with someone with an illness?!” Her father can’t recognize his own wife or kids, and Mom points out that he hasn’t even come over after she hit her own daughter. “He doesn’t know anything! Believing that your father is mute while thinking he’s mentally fine… that’s a mistake on my part. I’m deceiving myself so that I can survive.”

Mom storms into her bedroom to see her husband crying. Aw, did he overhear the conversation? Wiping his tears away, she tells him that she can’t let their daughter follow in her footsteps.

Hae-soo runs into her sister before she leaves, and unni Yoon-soo makes it a point in telling her that she quit her job at the cafe. She heaps on more guilt by citing how she went to vocational school for Hae-soo’s education and tells her younger sister to get her act together. Gee, thanks for the pep talk, big sis.

Over at the hospital, Hae-soo wears one of her reluctant residents down into letting her see Jae-yeol. She wants to be alone with him in a room, only to be refused since Jae-yeol’s progress can backtrack upon seeing her. But a word of praise makes him give an inch, and he grants her a short visit.

She knocks before entering the room, and sits down next to him on the bed. Jae-yeol keeps his eyes trained on her as she reads aloud from the poetry book he’s reading: “When the wind blows, let it blow through/When loneliness comes, let it go through/Pain may come and it may linger/It may stay and then leave

Hae-soo tells Jae-yeol reassuringly that everything will come to pass. He doesn’t say anything, but keep his eyes on her and places his hand over hers. The countless happy memories with Hae-soo flash by in his head, and Hae-soo plants a kiss on his lips. He breaks into a small smile.

Jae-yeol musters up the strength to speak, admitting that it’s hard for him. She says it’s the effects of his medication, and he says he gets sleepy whenever he starts to miss her. She replies that it’ll get better soon.

It’s pitifully sad how Jae-yeol confesses that he wants to make her laugh, but he can’t think of how to do that. She’s understanding to that, and then when Jae-yeol says he wants to hug her, she does it for him.

“Please… let me out of here,” Jae-yeol begs. “I don’t feel like I’m me in here.” His eyes move towards the desk where Kang-woo is sitting. “If seeing Kang-woo is a sickness, then I’ll… fix it by my own will. Trust me… and let me out.”

“I won’t ever see Kang-woo again,” he promises, crying now. “I feel so pitiful being in here. I hate feeling this way. Let me out.” Hae-soo has tears in her eyes too and gives him another kiss. He asks if he shouldn’t be saying these things, and if she’ll leave him if he does.

Hae-soo promises to be back, but Jae-yeol holds onto her—they’ll keep him medicated here if he keeps holding onto her, right? She nods, but tells him to trust her: “Kang-woo’s a hallucination. I’m real.”

Even if Jae-yeol keeps seeing Kang-woo, acknowledging that he isn’t real and that he’s a manifestation of his younger self is the only way for him to get better. The only person who can differentiate his delusions from reality is himself.

Jae-yeol whispers that he’ll do that once they’re home. She tells him not to call for her once she leaves because she can’t come see him again if he does. Jae-yeol calls after her once she leaves, but his words are no louder than a whisper. Just outside the door, Hae-soo breaks down in tears.

She tells her resident that he was right—Jae-yeol saw Kang-woo again during her visit. She recommends that they might have to increase his dosage and walks away with fresh tears.

 
COMMENTS

After everything we’ve seen in this series thus far, I thought that I couldn’t feel any more sorry for Jae-yeol than I already did. But as it turns out, there’s something so tragic about seeing a broken man who’s hit rock bottom and has difficulty making the distinction between what (or rather who) is real and not.

Despite knowing that Jae-yeol deeply cares for his imaginary younger self, it was still pretty frightening watching just how far he went to protect him and save his life—to the point where his own life would be in danger. And when Jae-yeol saw the indisputable evidence of Kang-woo’s non-existence himself, it was hard watching him wrestle with himself with how he knows something isn’t quite right, but he can still see Kang-woo so clearly. Because to him, Kang-woo is very real and present to him, both today and for the past three years. It can’t be easy for Jae-yeol to divorce himself from someone who shares so many similarities with him that in essence, Kang-woo’s story is practically a recount of his own, and that Kang-woo is him.

So then I found the reality testing sequence between Sunbae Jo and Jae-yeol very insightful, because Jae-yeol was pressed to scrutinize the evidence he’d seen himself to what he perceives as real. Because we couldn’t rely on Jae-yeol’s dulled expressions (because of the effects of his medication) to clue us in, we needed other clues to see a glimpse of Jae-yeol’s reactions. And I honestly think that Jo In-sung did an incredible job in that regard, where we could see his sadness in his eyes, his pitiable state in his movements, and his desperation in his whispers. He longs to be back out in the world with the people he dearly loves, and yet can’t return until he’s no longer a risk to himself and to them.

I thought it interesting that whereas Soo-kwang was the representative voice of how those with psychological disorders also have the chance to lead a normal life with proper treatment and willingness to receive treatment, unni Yoon-soo is the voice of someone who refuses to accept Jae-yeol. I’d have an easier time understanding her dissent was more because of the societal stigma mental health issues carries in Korea, but her hysterical and stubborn reaction came across as another reason to be bitter towards Hae-soo. Mom’s reaction struck an odd middle ground of knowing what Hae-soo would face in her decision to be with someone who suffers from a condition, yet I’m not sure if I can fully understand her tough love approach in that conversation with Hae-soo.

Speaking of whom, I can’t imagine it’d be easy for Hae-soo to send away the man she loves to receive treatment and see him struggle. I didn’t think it was wise for her to see Jae-yeol when she knew his hallucinations were still evident, though being apart from him for a couple of weeks was hard for both of them. But just like Jae-yeol, she’s surrounded by the family who cares for her, blood relations be damned.

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I love this drama and I swear if I cried a little more I'd have been in danger of dehydration. it was as beautiful as it was sad though so I don't regret watching and shedding tears. However I can't help but dislike Hae Soo's sister, she's this ball of jealousy and resentment coated with a very thin veneer of self righteous I-know-best-because-I'm-your-older-sister-and-I-"love"-you, as an older sister myself I could never justify spitefully reminding my younger sister of what I did to help her get ahead. That's just not cool. If you're going to resent someone for your decisions then just don't do it.

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Oh and thanks for the wonderful recap Gummimochi!

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I bet the sister and the mom sure regret pressuring HS to date and marry him back when she didn't want to.

In that scene with her mom, HS told her mom she'd feel sorry later for slapping her since she really broke up with JY. What do you guys think was meant here? Was she really planning on breaking up with him?

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I took it to mean that HS knew this was the answer her mother deserved from her (that she did break up with JY). HS was willing to act like it was true because she fully understood what her mother was saying. Both HS and HS's mother took advantage of an outlet (President Kim) to make their difficult situation more bearable, and chose to overlook the hypocrisy and unethical implications of living that way. They both got what they wanted and now HS can't say to her mother that living with a sick person out of love is what she wants because she hated her own family's situation.

HS hated her family's situation and didn't understand her mother and now she can't expect her mother to understand her for staying a relationship with a sick person.

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I don't think that she is really planning on breaking up with him, but she knows that that's what her mother wants to hear. though it was disconcerting to hear her say that. (T_T)

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Yeah... it's disconcerting because we're so used to drama writers pulling out noble idiocy (and this would be a typical moment to do it).

But this writer has not pulled out any of the usual tricks, so I'm going to believe that she is just saying that to her mom because that's what her family wants to hear but that she has no intention whatsoever to break up.

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If I remember right, in the previous episodes HS & JY were talking about what would come between them in preventing them getting married. JY asked what she would do if her parents were against her seeing the guy, and she said she'd lie about breaking up, but secretly continue seeing him.

This situation is pretty much that in a sense, so I'm pretty sure she won't be breaking up with JY. Especially since she's all he currently has to hold onto.

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Ha! You have a good memory, forgot about that.

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I cannot resent the sister just because she brought up all old baggages just to get Haesoo see her point. This is a holistic drama, where we can see main characters actions and what is the impact and what is the reason behind it. Haesoo's mom told her to remember the times when she was younger and very rebellious and angry towards her mother. She insisted on studying in medical school despite family poor finances which then led her sister to opt for community college instead. Haesoo also once pointed out to Sonyeo that her family is ridden with debt so they can have a restaurant and put her in medical school. HS herself still has to pay all the student loan which probably she got under her own name (told by Sunbae Jo, in earlier episodes). So, inspite of living with 2 strong headed women who acts before they think: the mom and sister Haesoo, her sister saw it by default that she has to be the 'normal' or the 'good' one. Thus her option for community college and marriage to a regular guy whom she probably does not love much. So yeah, all in all, she is not to blame here. If she ever let the grudges go away, then it is her kindness not something to be expected from her. And seeing this drama, I think she will show her kindness at the end.

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Putting that aside, I wouldn't want my sis to marry a schizophrenic eithe. Its very hard, we have an acquintace. His wife was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 35, and its very hard on the kids.

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I don't think her sister is being resentful or regretting her decision...rather I think she's frustrated at HS.

She probably decided to help HS because HS wanted it and has the ability, or probably compared to herself, HS may be more ambitious.

However, if you help someone with the expectation that he/she will do very well, but in the end, if he/she screwed up because of something ridiculous (in this case, HS had hated her family's situation, but now she's doing the exact thing she hated. So I would say she's being not sensible), you would feel frustrated.

So I don't hate the sister. I mean HS was the one in the first place who hated her mother and yet asked her mother to get together with Ahjusshi Kim so that she can study! Even I would be exasperated seeing how such a selfish person will turn back on her initial "principle".

That's not saying she shouldn't or couldn't; I'm just saying that I would feel cheated out of my initial effort to help her in the first place. Because in her sister's eyes, she's not the kind of person to sacrifice, and then what now you're telling me oh you wanna sacrifice for love?! Are you kidding?!

Plus, it's also human nature to blame others when problem arises because it ease out the guilt. Examples: HS blaming her mother for her sexuality problems when she had a hand in causing her mother's affair; JB blaming his mother and brother for his imprisonment even though he had chosen to own up to the crime in the first place.

Yes I do agree these are not completely their fault, but the choices they make do lead them to face these consequences. Hence, if to follow your reasoning (which I think is very right, but easier said than done), they should own up to their choices and face the consequences right?

But they didn't exactly. But it's nice to see them slowly facing the responsibility. It was especially heartwarming watching the scenes where JB interacts with his brother and mother in Ep 15.

So my point is, we should really cut the sister some slack. Oh and it's just my opinion...not really trying to discredit you or anything. In fact I agree with you though not everyone can do that. Even I don't have the confidence. But if you can, then that's really great.

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Gong Hyo Jin and Jo In Sung are absolutely AMAZING. Can someone please give them all the awards? They portrayed the pain of their characters so well; it’s unbelievable. Like seriously, tear my heart out why don’t you?

The scene where Hae Soo snuck in to visit Jae Yeol was so heart wrenching. The way Jae Yeol looked at her when she first entered the room was filled with such love and longing and it was so sad to watch Jae Yeol, who’s known for his eloquence, have difficulty getting his words out. His pleas for Hae Soo to let him go home since in the hospital, he feels so small and not at all like himself was so difficult to watch. It also just shows the affect that the stigma towards mental illness has on the people who actually need help. I do think though that it’s a sign of healing that, after Hae Soo left, Jae Yeol kept calling her name and ignored Kang Woo’s presence.

Also what do you guys think about the scene where after Jae Yeol watched the CCTV footage of his episodes and seeing how worried and how much Hae Soo cried because of him, Jae Yeol was in his room and thought back to Hae Soo’s many pessimistic statements about love when it came to Hye Jin and Yoon Cheol. How she thought that it would be hard for them to endure even with love and how she doesn’t think they’ll stay together forever. I’m curious to know what Jae Yeol was thinking there. Does he think that Hae Soo will leave him?

I’m so glad that Jae Yeol has such a solid circle of support around him because we see how cruel society can be through Hae Soo’s family’s disapproval of Jae Yeol. Hae Soo’s mom and sister liked him so much before when they thought he was “normal” but now that he is sick, they abandon him. A part of me understands where Hae Soo’s family is coming from in wanting Hae Soo to break up with Jae Yeol. They want to protect her and they don’t want her to live with the responsibility of taking care of a “patient” for the rest of her life like how mom did with dad. After having experienced it they think that it would be too much for Hae Soo to handle and will only cause her great suffering. Mom wants Hae Soo to have what she couldn’t have; a happy, carefree life. However, Hae Soo is a grown woman and she should be able to make her own decisions when it comes to love and life. The girl’s a psychiatrist for crying out loud and has a good head on her shoulders. [Aside: mom slapping Hae Soo made me seriously angry. Arggh.]

Of course, their reaction towards Jae Yeol having schizophrenia is a classic example of how people fail to understand mental illness and therefore fear it. I’m especially fond of the way this show tries to normalize mental illness and its portrayal of how flawed society’s fear and ignorance of mental illness is. This prejudice is what makes people who need help feel small and worthless. When really, they are suffering from a sickness of the heart and mind, just like how everyone suffers physical illnesses of the body.

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With regards to the psychology of this show, it’s definitely not perfect but here’s my take. Personally, I give the writer a lot of slack since, when it comes down to it, she’s a writer, not a psychologist. However, I think she did a rather good job at trying to depict certain mental disorders in a favorable light, since she’s trying to reduce the prejudice that society has towards mental illnesses.

According to the DSM V, here’s a brief checklist for a diagnosis of schizophrenia:
(1) For at least a 1-month period, at least two of the following symptoms are present for a significant portion of time. One or more must be a, b, or c.
(a) Delusions
(b) Hallucinations
(c) Disorganized speech
(d) Grossly abnormal psychomotor behavior, including catatonia
(e) Negative symptoms (i.e. poverty of speech, social withdrawal, loss of volition….)
(2) Functioning in school, work, interpersonal relations, or self-care is markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset of symptoms.
(3) Continuous signs of the disturbance for at least 6 months, at least one month of which includes symptoms in full and active form. (Comer, 2014)

Everyone is different in how severely they are affected by schizophrenia and if we just base it off of that checklist, then Jae Yeol could be diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, Jae Yeol’s particular case is rather different from the majority of cases that I’ve heard and read about.

I’ve also read some comments about the show’s confusion regarding schizophrenia and PTSD. Actually, studies often reveal that people with schizophrenia experienced severe stress (& family stress) or traumas early in their lives (Bennington & Kuipers, 2011). PTSD and schizophrenia actually do tend to co-occur quite often and Jae Yeol did display some of the symptoms of PTSD as well (nightmares and flashbacks). Of course, the depiction of mental illness was far from perfect but it was a good attempt for a show that has a love story to tell on top of a psychological drama.

Anyways, I love this show to pieces so I tend to give it more room to breath. :D

What are your guys’ thoughts on Writer Noh’s attempt at psychology? Good enough to give it a pass or are some really unhappy about it? Would love to know.

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Yes schizophrenia has a gamut of presentations and like my professor likes to reminds us a patient is a person not your textbook so they'll never be exactly like the cases you study and you'll just have to make your best clinical decision taking into consideration all kinds of information.

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Thanks for responding! I agree with your professor, I think it's dangerous for people to assume that people with mental disorders will look and behave exactly like a textbook definition since it's more of a spectrum that people fall into.

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I totally agree with everything that you have said.

At first, i cannot believe that it will really be schizophrenia because maybe I am more interested on what really happened on that fateful day 14 years ago and I tend to criticise the psych aspects of the show. But then, at the end of this episode, I began to understand the writer...I recalled previous episodes and it really makes sense.

I cut this show some slack for the medical/psych procedures that they depicted because I really, really want to enjoy this drama but I just have to comment that I have never experienced or never have seen a patient receiving electroconvulsive therapy with a neck injury.

For your question re writer Noh, for me it may be imperfect but she has done a good job for delivering a good message so I hope it will be happy ending.

Btw, thanks gummimochi for the recap!

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Thanks for responding! :D

The heart of the show really is a love story between two people, their friends and families so I definitely overlook the psychological/medical inaccuracies. It's such a beautiful story with good intentions, so it would be a shame to miss due to the fact that it may not be "perfect".

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echo the thoughts

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it was a very good attempt having a different/very interesting story for a case of psychology topic a.k.a schizophrenic kdrama...
i'm used to seing movie (RAIN MAN & A BEAUTIFUL MIND) with your above enumeration of MENTAL symptoms...
i was amazed about the writer's attempt to implicate this kind of cases specifically in dramas because maybe everybody or some are aware that fusing this cases and kdrama would be a difficult task spefically that everybody mention the sensitivity of the sickness.
i appllaud the writer for doing it....
and lastly as they say text book and case to case of real life situation is really different...
i was hoping in the beginning that it was just those typical living your life with the hurtful past...
but i was amazed finding when i saw the first glimpse of schizophrenic from JJY...
shoot this story is different...
when i mention it to my sister she actually wanted to download the whole series...
she said it's a good case to look for her text book and re-run a study of this sickness....

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My brother has been diagnosed as both schizophrenic and having PTSD. The five different psychiatrists that he has seen can only give a best guess scenario on the way his illness manifested based on the current genetic and psychiatric research. Basically, they think that he had some genetic predisposition to a mental illness (we have family history), and he suffered a traumatic event when he was a teenager. By the time he was 20, he had delusions, auditory hallucinations, and had attempted suicide. Our minds respond to trauma in different ways, so it's almost like something switched on/off in his brain (chemically, probably) because of the trauma. They said he may or may not have developed the schizophrenia without the trauma, we will never know. But most of them have related the PTSD to the schizophrenia.

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This story is amazingly refreshing!

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Thanks for the professional information. *thumbs up* glad to hear that by a person-with-a-psychology-background's standards, the script gets a passing score :D

Now on hearing your explanation, I'm starting to think that they might be trying to say that Jae yeol is suffering a mix of both PTSD AND schizophrenia. the PTSD symptoms represented through his inability to sleep anywhere other than the bathtub, and his schizo through the manifestation he got after being stabbed by his bro; ie. hallucinations & delusions regarding Kang-Woo.
Poor Jae Yeol, I love him to pieces in this episode.

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l do not expect to learn psychiatry from this show any more than I expect to learn physics from "The Big Bang Theory!"

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Um...I'm not sure if you're just referring to watching BBT for comedy but all the physics on BBT is factually correct (and whatever they write on the white board).

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<Hae Soo’s mom and sister liked him so much before when they thought he was “normal” but now that he is sick, they abandon him. A part of me understands where Hae Soo’s family is coming from in wanting Hae Soo to break up with Jae Yeol. They want to protect her and they don’t want her to live with the responsibility of taking care of a “patient” for the rest of her life like how mom did with dad.

I confess I liked HS's mom and sister even less after this episode. First pushing her to marry a guy they barely knew, then doing a 180 degree turn around and wanting to force a break-up. It's, especially on HS's mom's part, quite hypocritical since she should also understand HS wanting to stand by the person that she loves, although, of course, at the same time it makes sense that HS's mom would want to warn her about a life like that. But does she need to? HS has grown up with her Dad, she knows the hardship. Also, JY's illness isn't the same as the Dad's – the hardship will be different. Their reaction shows mostly prejudice and not even trying to understand (or properly informing themselves about) the situation.

Families should and have every right to express their concern, but they go over the line yelling at her, slapping her, semi-threatening her. Because here's the thing – as you say, she's a grown woman and needs to make her own choices. And there's one other thing: Haesoo has clearly always made her own choices. She's strong-minded and independent and her family, after 30+ years, should know this: that she will do things her way and not just follow what they dictate (whether that is 'to marry' or 'dump the guy') – I already said this when they were pushing her to insta-marry him. I find it a little disappointing that in some way their behaviour seems to suggest that they don't really know and trust her.

Their reaction does reflect society, but I just feel they should have a little more understanding (or at least try to understand) because they have been exposed to mental illness before and because they should know Hae-soo. Particularly Hae-soo's sister was so insensitive and I'm glad that Soo-kwang told her off right away (yay for Soo-kwang!)

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I definitely agree about HS's parents, especially when her mom did a double slap. I was like whoazes, and the sister too! Totally did not see that guilt tripping right there.

However I think if they were too understanding, it wouldn't really reflect how strong a stigma mental illness is in Asian society, let alone Korea. This strong outburst from her family would probably be considered normal, because they are still reeling from the shock of JY being "sick". The whole family relationship was never really stable in the beginning as we all saw, so JY being sick could've been the tip of the ice berg. It could've been the excuse for all the previous issues everyone had bottling up, to be let out and explode.

Well that's how I see it anyway. God knows how crazy asian parents can be, no let me rephrase that as all parents can be.

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Well, there's a wide range between "being understanding" and "hitting and threatening worse measures" a person doesn't do what you want them to do. I would expect them to express concern, though possibly in different ways (HS Mom and HS sister are different people after all).

I guess we can be glad they haven't reacted in the most extreme of ways, e.g locking her up or being escorted everywhere by the man of their choice (1% of Anything I'm thinking of you...).

I do feel like they've been exploding on a regular basis already though...

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I don't think HS's mom is coming from teh point of view of stigma. I think she's coming from the point of view of someone who has had to take care of a husband as though he were a child. Having a partner with extreme disability (physical or mental) is a serious thing.

For example, one of the reasons a lot of people get married is to have a partner. That is, when they are going through a hard time, they will have someone to lean on, and when the partner is going through a hard time, they can be leaned on. When you have a partner with an extreme disability, it's like being a single parent. You can never rely on anyone outside of yourself.

I had a conversation a few years ago with a woman from Morocco who expressed surprise that I married someone with serious joint trouble. She told me that in her country, if you so much as had a lazy eye, you had a hard time finding someone to marry you. Her perspective was that, when you live in a place where so many more people live close to poverty, there just aren't resources enough to be romantic about love in this particular way. To do so would condemn yourself to things that she thought I couldn't imagine (which was probably true).

So I approach a story like this that way. We have HS's mom taking care of her husband with his physical (and probably mental) limitations, we have the couple with the mentally ill wife, and we have Kwang Soo's character, trying to deal with his limitations and have a love life (and HS's for that matter). I think the writer is trying to show us that in some ways stigmas are unfair, but that there is some reason that those stigmas exist. There's a range of circumstance, and though everyone (well and ill people alike) have all sorts of strengths and drawbacks, not everyone is equipped to deal with some of the more demanding limitations their partners might have.

I have a lot of sympathy for HS's mom. She has a very concrete idea of what it is to be always on call, at every moment. From her point of view, I think she's tryign to save HS from taking on such responsibility.

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Thanks @alua, @Nessie and @mwg for your insights! All very well said (er, written)! :D

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"Also what do you guys think about the scene where after Jae Yeol watched the CCTV footage of his episodes and seeing how worried and how much Hae Soo cried because of him, Jae Yeol was in his room and thought back to Hae Soo’s many pessimistic statements about love when it came to Hye Jin and Yoon Cheol... Does he think that Hae Soo will leave him?"

I forgot about that. Oh, no, why did you have to remind us? Now I have fresh reasons to cry TT.TT
(I was never enchanted by Jae-Yeol, maybe I'm just as cynical as Hae-Soo was, but this episode made me feel like adopting him as a son, and now, just thinking that he might think Hae-Soo's leaving him... What's the procedure for adopting fictional characters again?)

I think that the scene when HS first told him she loves him is the key here. JY knows her, he knows how dry & cynical he is, and yet she opened up to him and admitted that she loves him. That is a huge move for HS. Plus she could have left him just as soon as he gets warded but she came to see him. I guess that proves to JY that she won't desert him?

Don't worry, Jae-Yeol, the writers won't make her leave you. That will completely spit on the purpose of this show. If anything, HS will marry him out of stubbornness.

Also, I feel like HS+JY is the first couple that I actually get why they're in love and root for so completely.

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Gummomochi, "Cry" song of the day is right. Everyone is so fragile. Is that a life message? Right in the gut.

I do like how it falls to the older brother to piece things back together. Sure, pieces will be missing, the outside border of the puzzle will definitely be askew, the glue will be messy and might not always stick, but he really is the key to the story's acceptable if not exactly happy ending.

I was inspired to draw D.O. as Kang-woo before he disappears before our eyes. - "click" owl

Ending, don't kill me.

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Wow, you are talented.

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Thank you, Yo!

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This ep feels so real, detailed, painted with fine strokes. It feels like the writer is giving a factual acct rather than a fictional pc.

The pain and anguish are both raw and nuanced. I'm sure their acting has a lot to do with it. I've always known that GHJ is an excellent actress, (I've loved her in every role she has taken on), but I used to think that part of JIS's appeal came from his beauty. After today's scene I've to give more credit to his acting, much more. His look of disheveled confusion alone is enough to break hearts. Add to that the line:
"I want to hold you, but I can't, cos I'm not sexy anymore".
That line w his delivery opened the flood gates for me. Here is a man who is good-looking, debonair, intelligent, successful, sure of himself and the world, reduced to a shadow of the man he's known himself to be, by a figment of his imagination, that was produced to save his mom, from a guilt that she didn't quite deserve! Awww....
It is also a reminder that we humans are fragile beings, physically and mentally. So those of us who are functioning well, really have much to be thankful for.

I'm a bit disappointed in HS for insisting on visiting him against everyone's better judgement, but I do understand. It sets back his treatment and progress but it must be hard for her to stay away. Put another way, it must be hard to stay away, but she should consider the effects of her visit on his treatment.

I found Jo and Lee to be great friends and son-bai's but HS's sister to be an annoyance. KDs present so many ppl as feeling entitled to comment n meddle in other ppl's lives. This is just another ex.

JY will come back with the help of those who love and care about him, namely his GF and her support group. He must. It's great that while we can't pick our family members, we can pick our friends.

In the end, I love this show for cerebral more than emotional reasons. I thank it for showing that we shouldn't take ppl at face value. JY looks every inch like a man on top of the world, till we see that it's a world built on a glass foundation. HS earned our annoyance in earlier eps, until she shows that she is the kind of girl who would stand by her man come hell or hi water. I know it's just a drama, but a well thought-out drama can enlighten us too, only they are too few and far between. Thanks Noh jak-ga.

Happy Chuseok!

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"Here is a man who is good-looking, debonair, intelligent, successful, sure of himself and the world, reduced to a shadow of the man he’s known himself to be.."

Well said, my friend.

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"I thank it for showing that we shouldn’t take ppl at face value. JY looks every inch like a man on top of the world, till we see that it’s a world built on a glass foundation. HS earned our annoyance in earlier eps, until she shows that she is the kind of girl who would stand by her man come hell or hi water. I know it’s just a drama, but a well thought-out drama can enlighten us too, only they are too few and far between. Thanks Noh jak-ga."

This and the line @ilikemangos mentioned were so beautifully written! *clap clap* These types of dramas are certainly gems and hard to come by.

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"In the end, I love this show for cerebral more than emotional reasons. I thank it for showing that we shouldn’t take ppl at face value. JY looks every inch like a man on top of the world, till we see that it’s a world built on a glass foundation. HS earned our annoyance in earlier eps, until she shows that she is the kind of girl who would stand by her man come hell or hi water. I know it’s just a drama, but a well thought-out drama can enlighten us too, only they are too few and far between. Thanks Noh jak-ga."
You speak my mind so beautifully.

Thanks for sharing your views (salut)

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i cried buckets during this episode. Jo In Sung was fantastic - his portrayal of a vulnerable, scared and close to broken man was simply outstanding. And when he begged to go home...ohh the pain!!

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On an entirely shallow note, may I say how Sexy GHJ looks in that simple cream top and pencil skirt, which she wears to visit JY. It proves that 'It's all about the body"! It is motivating me to go to the gym n skip rice/starch at dinner!

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Yes! It made me realize how damn skinny she is. Though she's always had a model body haha

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great episode

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Just wanted to say this was an awesome episode as far as episodes go and put this drama in contention to be one of my favs (or at least this episode as one of my favorite drama episodes ever).

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Wow! This is episode was incredibly heart wrenching and the acting was superb. Jo in sung and gong hyo jin definitely delivered. I've never felt more sympathy for jaeyeol than in this episode. His portrayal of his self inflicted illness was appropriately quiet but emotional. He wasn't over dramatic even in his saddest scenes. Gong hyo Jin definitely brought on an onslaught of tears and relatability. This story had a slow start in my opinion but it quickly picked up in the second week for me. The casting for this drama was great and I have to add idol d.o was especially surprising this episode. His portrayal of ALS was chilling, almost disturbing to watch. Ive been pretty impressed with his performance throughout this drama which has been relatively stable. He's not amazing but he's definitely shown potential for future projects. I've loved sung dong I'll character and kwangsoos characters from the beginning. They've been the easiest characters for me to warm up to and have been consistently supportive of all characters in the drama. I can't wait for next weeks episodes.

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Best. Episode. Ever!!!

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I am rooting for Jo In Sung to win a Dae Sang this year from SBS. And even the Baeksang.

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Hell yeah! He deserves it! His acting in this episode seriously won me over, heart and soul!

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Eh, the SBS awards are a joke but I hope he gets daesang at the Baeksang awards show next year!

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Basically all the award shows are a joke but I really want this team to get some love and acknowledgement for their fantastic work!

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Watching these performances I somehow have the impression that both these actors will appreciate awards less than learning that their work has made a difference for mentally ill people in Korea. This is beautiful and meaningful work (acting, writing, and directing) that should make a difference in people's lives ... and yet it never feels like a lecture, even when the definitions flash up on the screen.

I never cry at movies or TV shows (although books can bring on the waterworks), because so often I can "see" the performance. But not this time.This time, tears.

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He got the SBS special award for TWTWB (in 2013's SBS year end drama awards), which is the 2nd best award after Daesang(grand prize), so here's to hoping he gets it again for his performance in IOIL, because jo in sung has really outdone himself.

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This was such an awesome episode! I especially loved the absence of music in certain scenes because they became more powerful than they already were!

And those last minutes just... I was bawling :P Jo In Sung blew me away with his performance there and the way he whispered his way through the conversation *chills*

I just really hope we get a happy end this week because if anyone deserves one it's Jae Yeol and Hae Soo!

Thanks for the recap gummi :)

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There's a thing Jo In Sung does with his breathing during that scene where he's being shown the CCTV footage that is so accurate--that little barely audible exhalation that is too feeble to be called panting.

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The entire cast deserves an award, but especially Hae-soo and Jae-yeol. I loved Gun in Fated to Love You...but for Jae-yeol in his verbal, silence, eyes, tears - to produce the emotions that he did ...he can rock any role...and I can not leave out the lady of the hour...Hae-soo who finally finds love in her terms and to see her using her skill sets to update her honey's diagnose...crying was not the word. I have read enough reviews where they stated a certain actor/actress overacted and I was clueless...but watching this episode I get it....the way he whispered her name...willingness to stop seeing Kang-woo...feeling small and helpless, yet wishing he had the abilities to make her laugh....so yes...the writer Noh did an excellent job...and again...strong supporting roles...Mom cooking and fussing over the return of the prodigal son...best friends weeping, praying and light candles....Sunbae Jo in the brutal debriefing with Jae-yeol...I cried for Sunbae Jo becauses I knew his heart was breaking...ok...I cried for everyone and this drama and these actor/actress should rack up the awards...this is talent and plus some...unlike Heir where popular actor/actress pulled in the numbers...just my thoughts...but Jae-yeol portrayal is soooo realistic

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OMG! I have been waiting for this recap for a really long time. Thanks for an awesome recap gummimochi! this episode was just so sad. I swear I haven't cried so much in a long time. jae-yeol looked so vulnerable and Have-soo was so captivating, I love them as a couple!! Cant wait for them to happy a happy ending! which they better or else these writers are going to hear from me.

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This episode was just heartbreaking. Jo In Sung blew me away in the ending scene. I love this couple so much, I'm praying for the best.

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It feels like I'm watching an Academy Of motion picture standard acting skills and cinematography from this drama and this episode is no exception. In fact the episode is exactly that. It would be a crime if Jo In Sung or Gong Hyo Jin doesn't get a daesang award for their acting skill in this drama because to me they no doubt deserves a pat on the back for delivering such a quality drama to the audiences. It's Okay, It's Love is no doubt and literally my ultimate number 1 korean drama and I really mean it. People who haven't seen this drama is really missing out on a big part of their life. If I was Hae Soo, I would definetly not leave Jae Yul because I know she doesn't just love him because of his appearance but because who he really is on the inside, and that's called true love. Nowadays when girls find out that their boyfriends have these kinds of illness, they would no doubt leave him right away unless she is very loyal, understanding and truly loves him. A person like Hae Soo is really hard to find, if anyone finds a person like her, please tell me, cause I want to make friends with her.

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I would really love too for GHJ n JIS to win award in SBS and Baeksang, but I wont set my hope highly like last year. even more with the popularity of "You Who Come From Another Star" just like "I hear your voice" in 2013 which made Lee bo young win daesang in most awards, I'm sure JJH would win daesang most likely...

also the rating so far never been really high, doubt that any ioil's cast will win high award, sigh...

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Jo In Sung and Gong Hye Jin have all been amazing. But I want to sing praises for Park Soo-kwang too, whose role should be the breakout performance of his career.

I don't care so much whether they win awards or not because kdrama awards are such a farce that I find them utterly meaningless. I just hope they all go on to do more interesting projects, including film projects (the kind that might win them awards that actually mean something) because they deserve that.

It's sad that this drama doesn't score high ratings, but not so surprising – no escaping from reality here. I'm glad it exists, because it makes a difference for every person that watches it and because it makes me believe that there can be more than just formulaic kdramas full of stock characters that do the same over and over again.

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i am impressed with Park Soo-kwang, too. I loved how Kwang-soo talked to JY while putting the puzzle together, and how he even cared for JH on the couch. The depth of his empathy for the situation came through in such a sensitive and caring way.

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It was wonderful, because it come out of nowhere either. They laid the foundation for his character in early episodes, when he was shown to be both sensitive and perceptive. It's a well-written character (as are Jae-yeol and Hae-soo) and wonderfully acted.

I loved his back-hug... not for the bromance (as much as I love bromance), but because you knew he was hugging Jae-yeol because of the pain (and empathy) he felt about his diagnosis, while knowing exactly how not to let anything on about this and just excuse it as "because you called me the coolest guy". And yet, he still remains a flawed character, overreacting with his girlfriend before she calls him out on that she's just trying to cheer him up in her way. (Not that she's the best girlfriend, but reminding us, he still has things to learn in relationships too.)

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*didn't come....

need to proofread

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Thanks for the recap!

The last 2 eps for me are the best for this show! Yes, they are heartbreaking and yet they are the most beautiful most endearing moments in the lovestory of HS and JY. This, I think is more than a psychological drama, it is lovestory at its finest. GHJ and JIS are such versatile actress and actor! They deserved an award and acclamation!

I am crossing my fingers for a happy ending, please please writer!

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anyone else thinks that JY character might die?
i keep seeing a music video shot of a pensive HS with a small white wild flower revisiting (or so it seems to me) the okinawa ledge they went for the trip now all by herself... and cant but help wondering.
hoping i'm wrong though.

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I'm confident in my beliefs that Jae Yul will survive. The re-occuring theme in this show has always been about how those with mental illnesses manage to go on living their day-to-day lives normally. If not, they still had something worth living on for. The production team has already gone in with this mindset for their characters..to kill off jae yul at the end would pretty much contradict their message to the viewers.
Technically you can't die from the illness itself (it's a disease of the mind), but rather from the effects of the disease (engaging in risky behavior due to delusions/paranoia resulting in suicide). Thankfully Jae Yul is not suffering from extreme cases of paranoia that could drive him mad. Kang Woo is more of a defense mechanism.
Jae Yul needs to cure his kang-woo fixation and seek therapy for his buried past so that his schizophrenia can be treated (though not cured). He has already shown that he is motivated to do whatever to "fix" it. With proper treatment and strong-will, I think Jae Yul will make it. He's a fighter, that guy.

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I completely agree with you. The theme of this show has always been to inspire and give hope to people suffering from mental illness; telling them that it's something that can be overcome and that it's not something to be ashamed of. The show wants to help normalize something that in Korean society still has a lot of stigma associated with it. If the writer kills off Jae Yeol, what would be the point of this drama? With help and support from his loved ones and his own strong will and motivation, I believe that Jae Yeol will be able to manage his illness and live to see the future with Hae Soo.

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Yes, I don't think he'll die either. He'll likely try to commit suicide but I think Hae-soo's words – that he must be the one to acknowledge that Kang-woo is an illusion in order to be able to be able to manage his condition – will pull him back. (I don't think it was wise of her to sneak in to see Jae-yeol and she and her colleague should be suspended because it was totally, totally unprofessional. However, I think it allowed her to understand the seriousness of the situation even better and him to hear words that will eventually get through to him, because as well-meaning the other doctors have been, I think as much as Hae-soo reinforces his episodes she's also what will help him the most with his recovery.).

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My guess is that HS will take the sabbatical she spoke about while JY is in lengthier-than-expected treatment so she will be prepared to marry him when he is recovered enough...just as they had spoken about before. The agreement was that if they were to marry it would be after she travels.

She knows she cannot see him without setting him back, and that he will be in the hospital for some time. A year apart will be excruciating all around, but the healthiest and most productive thing for her to do is strengthen herself rather than waste away crying while she waits.

I tear up thinking about JY being without her for so long at his weakest, but it is the strongest prescription I can imagine for a healthy future together.

As bad as things seem, they eventually could come together as stronger people, with JY more confident and more himself than if he continues to depend completely on HS as he sorts out the past and reconnects with reality. Fortunately he has competent and loyal support of many people, and that can make HS's life much different than her mom's.

I hate the necessity, but I could fully accept that progression. It's the best I can see how to hope for.

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Oh right, a one-year-later wrap up is a real possibility.

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I can fully understand why HS's family opposed HS-JY relationship. They have gone trough their life so much with difficulty, even made HS sold her mom and her mom had affair with pres. kim.

HS's sister for isnt annoyance at all, for all this time she accept HS for what she is even though HS behaved so rude and cruel, often so selfish! yet her sister keep being nice until then she found out about JY's illness, which sister would be happy if her younger sister will spent her life to live with a mental illness man like JY??

if you have daughter or sister, you love, then will you let her to spent her life with crazy man??? which mother or sister will let you live in many difficulty? for sure, no doubt, every mother and sister want their daughter/sister having happy life!

this episode truly hit my heart, has opened my eyes, and truly, IOIL should be watched by all people because we can learn about HUMAN BEHAVIOUR! I've promised to my self I will not call anyone who have mantal illness as crazy people anymore and since mental illness could be happen anytime, so it's A REMINDER for ALL OF US, to do self introspection. keep our behaviour, our attitude, and our emotion.

cant wait for ep 15-16, definitely IOIL will be listed in my top 5 favorite drama all time! and as gongvelyans, couldnt be more proud seeing GHJ-onnie nailed every crying scene and JIS, standing applause for his subtly acting! last for IOIL's crew, specially director and writer, just if I can met them directly, wanna hug them tightly while saying Thank You Very Much for making this incredible wonderful-educated drama!

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I got so frustrated with HS and her stupid mind games and power plays that I stopped watching and have only been reading the recaps. The last two recaps are making me reconsider that decision. I don't know if I'll go back and watch all of the episodes I missed, but I will watch this week's at least, and probably to the end since HS seems to be past that particular issue. Thanks for the recaps!

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"Words won't come to me that well. It's hard to walk, too. I want to see you, but suddenly i get sleepy. Even now, I want to make you laugh. But i don't know how to. I can't think of any words. I want to hug you, but i don't think I can. I'm not sexy, right?
Here, i don't feel like myself. Being here, i feel so small..."

This whole exchange had me bawling my eyes out. Showing this kind of vulnerability for a confident man such as Jae Yul himself if what makes it that much more heart-wrenching. I always thought Jo In Sung was a great actor even if i wasn't a huge fan, but my god, I guess this sort of flipped the switch for me. I'm going to go out on a limb to say this is the best performance i've seen in dramaland all year long thus far.

And i can easily say the same about gong hyo jin, who easily matches his performance. I don't have enough words for these two, other than the fact that no one could have quite portrayed or elevated the scenes quite like them. Exceptional performances. You don't get this kind of acting everyday in dramaland, that's for sure.

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I am tearing up just reading this. Sob...

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i would be very curious about the ending because schizophrenic is not curable of any medical/therapy
session....
since nobody knows exactly what is the source of this sickness...
the loss of ability to identify between reality and truth...

hmmmmm....what would it be...

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You are right: schizophrenia is not a curable illness, only a manageable one. In some cases. PTSD, if it's not a byproduct of another mental illness, can be cured with behavioral therapy. I went into specifics of removing the PTSD triggers for JY on earlier thread. I am not a clinical psychotherapist, only licensed MFT, so it's my personal opinion and experience.
I am curious too what illness the writer wants JY to end up with. PTSD makes more sense and it would justify his looking back at the years of trauma and abuse, and confronting his fears and mother.

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Based on DSM V, JY has schizophrenia. It's not your basic PTSD anymore which stemmed from maltreatment when he was a kid, but PTSD with psychosis, it's JY living with guilt (from accusing his brother) and fear of his brother retaliating (which culminated with the fork stabbing incident).

It's important to determine when JY started having hallucinations because that will indicate the length at which it could be definitely said he had psychosis, which, in turn, is important for treatment purposes.

Kang Woo started to appear after the fork stabbing done by Jae Bum three years ago.

It's true, there is no cure for schizophrenia at the moment but there is treatment. Symptoms can be controlled by medication and therapy. JY prior to his deterioration was highly functional so I am hopeful his symptoms will be controlled, plus he has HS and a strong support group.

I would like to see JY develop insight into his illness (the moment he realizes that Kang Woo is indeed a hallucination) because that will be the start at which his symptoms may be controlled.

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Easily my fave drama of 2014. I've always thought many kdramas, entertaining as they are, just lack that touch of subtlety and thespianism in comparison to Japanese or HK ones.

While I have enjoyed GHJ's performances previously, I think her pairing with JIS brings out the best in both of them, aided with the right script and crew. Nothing to pick on the acting here, and the scenes were done so beautifully too; never too obvious, well-acted and shot with feeling more than panache. Like is too mild a word, this is one to savour! Respect.

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I honestly think that JIS and GHJ bring out the best in each other, acting wise. I always thought they were great, but all through out this show I felt like somehow they become even better. This episode totally proves me right! I've never seen both of them be so phenomenal in a drama, and trust me I've seen a LOT of their dramas (being the drama addict I am). I hope they win awards, but I think they already got what matters most- they won our hearts. <3

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JIS and GHJ, you honor us with your superb performance. JIS with Sunbae Jo was so touching. Beyond words. Hats off to all Beanies for articulating how privileged we are before such talents. Writer Noh thank you for respecting us your audience.

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I had prepared dry tissues at the beginning of the episode, and by the end, all of that just became this glob of wet mess. However too many tears, are never a bad thing when you have such an amazing performance to cry over.

Jo In Sung nailed this episode so bad, his performance with GHJ was just breathtakingly raw, painful, but also beautiful at the same time. The emotions poured out from him, and GJH did an equally stellar job. I loved how she didn't break down in front of him, but stayed strong knowing that she must guide him towards understanding his situation. This couple just breaks my heart, but it makes me root for them all the more.

I've rewatched this episode a few times, and one thing I noticed was whenever we get shots of JY in his hospital room Kang Woo is never there. We only get shots of JY sitting by himself, looking outside or thinking of HS. However after HS leaves, we see the first shot of him alone in the room with Kang Woo. I'm not sure what this means, but I guess it's most likely a reference towards the recurring episodes that he has whenever he feels happy with her.

My view is the same as MostlyAmused, HS will most likely go on her travel trip while JY is treated. I mean the preview is in episode 15, so it can't be happening in episode 16. Maybe there will be a time skip? Either way I'm pretty high on hopes for a happy ending.

I am now kept sane from the waiting, by listening to the amazing ost. The BGM is also really good too!

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I guess I'll just echo the thoughts of many on this thread. I really loved the exchange between Jaeyeol and Haesoo at the end of the episode. Kudos to Jo Insung for such subtle acting and kudos to Gong Hyojin.

I have faith that the drama will end with the message of hope and positivity that has been expressed in all of the episodes.

I must confess that in the past year or so, I've had a hard time enjoying the shows I watched. I will say that I wasn't passionate about any of them. "It's Okay, That's Love" has been a real gem. Like many above have written, it may err when it comes to the science (but as others above have also written, people are not textbook cases; they are individuals), but it has a lot of heart. I also want to extend my praises to the rest of the cast, especially those playing the core characters who lend support and shower love on the two leads.

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I also have had a hard time enjoying a lot of shows in recent years and it's not that they are terrible but they just don't have the depth, acting, and story that just really tugs at your heartstrings ya know? I am so thankful that this drama has realistic aspects and isn't based on a fantasy love story that I have been seeing way too often.

And when I think about villains, there isn't that one annoying and extremely evil person in this drama. The true villain lies within each character's own mental health. Although JB seemed like the villain in the beginning, he really isn't. And I'm glad HS's ex-bf didn't turn out to be a villain. I was scared about what he was going to do with JY's past and story.

Anyways, I can go on and on about how great this show is. I also hope they get some awards at Baeksang, the cast and team all deserve it.

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Yes, we can thank writer-nim for not giving us one dimensional villains (and exes appearing at inopportune times) who would have dragged down the show.

"The true villain lies within each character’s own mental health." I like this observation :).

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< Although JB seemed like the villain in the beginning, he really isn’t. And I’m glad HS’s ex-bf didn’t turn out to be a villain. I was scared about what he was going to do with JY’s past and story.

So true... I was worried about that, since these things always happen in dramas.

Some characters are more likeable than others, some we might relate to better than others, and some are more dangerous (Jae-bum still is someone who might stab Jae-yeol and needs to address his anger/desire for revenge), but no one is truly evil.

I'm so, so happy there was no love triangle in this drama. It's certainly one of the reasons why this one ends up in my top 5 (although it's not the only reason since there is so much good stuff about this drama).

Funny to think that we started of this drama with the plagiarism controversy for the promo material... I wasn't even sure if I was going to watch this drama in the beginning!

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slow clap for their heartbreaking performances. just reaffirms my belief that watching Jo In Song is absolutely gratifying. :-)

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I have been impatiently waiting for this recap. I wanted to see the reaction to JIS/GHJ's performances. As usual, the comments above say all I wanted to say, and showed me some things I didn't even register!! Thanks to all of you insightful people.

I have only seen JIS in a few dramas, I thought he acted well, but mostly I just drowned in his gorgeousness. He actually made my chest hurt in this episode. Such raw emotion, portrayed with the subtle undercurrent of being drugged up. Geez, how did he do that??? It was a thing of beauty to watch.

GHJ was the star in my first K-drama (Pasta) and I was instantly smitten! She has always delivered and elevates any drama she is in!!

I can't believe there are only 2 episodes left. Off to pray for a happy ending.

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I really like this series too. What really sad is actually, I am not sure how the writer will finish this series...but, in reality, treating Joel Yeal would be really difficult because some one like Joe Yeol is likely to go off meds even more than anyone else. One thing he cannot live without is writing and sadly these anti-psychotic drugs do affect the creative side of the brain and he is likely to stop using because he will feel inhibited. Of course this is drama land and it is a rom-com, so we will see.

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All the leads are great actors. I just want to take Jae-Yeol home and protect him from everyone including his mothers and doctors. From reading comments, I understand that mental illness is almost a tabu subject in Korean society and medical ethics and rules are different from, let's say, US. However, I have a beef with writer when therapists diagnose Jae-Yeol with schizophrenia and put him in mental ward based only on few observations, no tests, no real sessions. They had the ambulance and shots ready even before he got into an accident. Why? I would understand if they transfer him into the mental ward AFTER the accident and tests. And why is the whole community talking about his schizophrenia the same hour he get's "diagnosed" with it?! What about his privacy? This is not helping patients with mental illness to come forward, it should scare them away. I understand that compared to some of S. Korea geographical neighbors it's all roses, caring, and some kind of freedom, but not in the eyes of others.

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I am so glad to see all the recognition of the superb acting in this episode. I have been raving about it for days. In addition to the two main charcters, I would also like to give kudos to Seong Dong-il. I loved him in My Girlfriend is a gumiho, and I am delighted to see him stepping outside his
usual great comedic characters to do such a sensitive role. All three of them grew beyond their type-casts to do this drama, and I applaud them heartily. It would be nice to see more actors try to grow this way.

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perhaps the IOIL is one of best acted drama, not only the the leads, but almost all of supported leads has done great job! even the newcomer, DO, amazed me. :)

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Few more thoughts. People praise this show for making us talk of mental illness in society. I think the show missed the opportunity to talk about silent victims of abuse in Korean society. If the writer would focus on JY's family story and all the trauma, injustice and mental illness it generated, it would have provided enough material for a great discassion. Look, we have so much here already to break our hearts: PTSD in everyone abused, trauma, mildly schizophrenic mother stayed with violent sociopath boyfriend, passively endured beatings because of it, then developed dissosiative disorder; eldest brother became a psychopath.
But the writer didn't think it was enough, and added all other mental illnesses and disorders in a book, gave it to most characters. What do we have now? It's not a show, it's a zoo with dozens of "exotic" illnesses on display. It diminished the real drama and emotions for me.

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I was really moved by Jo In-sung's performance in his last scene with Hy-soo. He begs her to let him out because he "doesn't feel like me anymore." This is a very common reason for some people to go off psychotropic drugs. It doesn't matter how sick that "you" is, it's still you that's slipping away and it's very scary. He's bargaining with her by promising to fix himself. If he's not supposed to see Kang-woo, then he's just not going to see him anymore as if his will alone can fix the problem. And maybe he's worried about his creativity but the fact is all of that creativity has been going into the hallucination that is Kang-woo since his stabbing by Jae-bum. Tae-yong says as much when he states that Jae-yeol has been plagiarizing himself for the past three years.

I don't think it matters about the pop psychology psycho-babble as to what exactly is wrong with Jae-yeol. Is he suffering from severe PTSD or schizophrenia or whatever? It is still a pretty accurate depiction of what happens when a person is confronted with his mental illness and with what it might mean to get better. And I hope his mother and brother end up being included in the process because the whole family is in dire need of treatment and maybe they can help to heal each other.

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First time commenting on here but this beauty of this show has compelled me to comment. As someone who works everyday in the mental health field, I will say not everything is done right, for instance there are clear ethical issues that stand out for me while watching. and at times it does feel like the writers just sat in front of the DSM-V and just chose different disorders and assigned them to the different characters without really looking at the criteria. For instance the character of Oh So-Nyeo's does not have Conduct Disorder at least in my opinion.

I understand what the writer and director is trying to do which is diminish the negative stigma that mental illness can sometimes have. Even in the Western world people see mental illness as a doomed label. I can appreciate the attempt and not everything is done completely wrong. For instance I love that the show highlights the doctors having consultations on different cases with each other. A very important practice if you are in the mental health field.

From a viewer and entertainment standpoint I completely looovvvve the acting of Gong Hyo Jin and Jo In Sung. The make the story seem real and their chemistry is out of this world amazing. Kudos to them for this entire episode which was just phenomenal. From Hae Soo crying in the bathroom to that last scene of the two of them in that hospital room. Jo In Sung relayed the physical and emotional difficulties a person on psychotropic medication experiences perfectly. I have always been impressed by the dialogue in this drama but this last episode just raised the bar for me.

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Episode 14 was the complete opposite of episode 13 in terms of plot development. While I was a tad disappointed that episode 13 was uneventful despite the show nearing its finale, episode 14 more than made up for it.

Finally everything, as in everything, is out in the open and we have all the answers we need. As a fan of this show, I take whatever is presented at face value; hence I don't scrutinize the truthfulness (or lack thereof) in the psychology and legal aspect. Besides, the actors have done their part in making this show "convincing."

There's so much to say about this episode, but the opinions above already touched on those. So I'll just add a couple of very minor comments: it was a joy seeing again the cute young man who used to draw private parts only. As one of the more successful (in terms of healing) patients of Hae-soo, his presence always adds to the my optimism that this show will have a happy ending. Incidentally, now that all the issues are out in the open, I've high hopes that the last two episodes are enough to resolve them and provide us with a more than satisfactory ending.

Oh, and thanks for the recap and comments, Gummimochi.

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I'm starting to love this show loads and loads.
Now that the story is getting into deep waters with facing Jae Yeol's ailment, we start to really touch what it truly means to suffer from psychological diseases, how even people who consider themselves open-minded and considering can act when faced with a psychological patient close, the prejudiced view the society gives them.

I totally agree with everyone, JIS & GHJ outdid themselves in this particular episode, especially JIS. WOW! How his eyes and each and every look & tear they shed conveys a mass of complicated emotions! the Guy's a genius, the director a pro, but above all the script-writer should be definitely also praised on this positive outcome. Both the conversation between Sunbae Jo and JY and the one between JY & HS,.....no words could have conveyed the subtle meanings and feeling they held any better.

Now I know that I like everyone else, had mixed feelings when HS was insisting on visiting JY's sickroom alone. I was shouting "DON'T! Please not yet!!" and sensing she was acting so unprofessionally, but at the same time I was wishing with all my heart for them to be allowed to meet not just because like a normal viewer I was dying for that moment (hehehe) but also because I could totally understand her wish to meet him at that particular moment, right after she was forced to lie to her mother that she broke up with him (when she perfectly knows she can never coz she loves him, and can't abandon him at such hard time) and also receiving all this harsh reprimands from her sister. She herself must have felt so insecure and unsure of what to do, that she needed to see his face and feel his presence just for a while to confirm her feelings and her resolutions.

Though in this episode I was a bit infuriated at Haesoo's mom and sis, feeling they were a bit overreacting (what's with the face slaps!! and the nasty words the sis through Haesoo's way!!) And though I would have expected them to be the most understanding and tolerating towards such diseases (they have Hae Soo as an example) besides they know she's a psychiatric for God's sake, but I just kept telling myself that the show is trying to say that because they know how they and Hae soo HERSELF suffered a lot over the years having to deal with her father, that they're turning sensitive trying to save her from the future they foresaw she would have to face if she ended up with Jae Yeol.

I had started to detest Hae Soo for a while especially during the middle of the show, because of all of her vague behaviors and indecisiveness, and had started to give up on any more character development coming her way (other than the sudden and super fast recovery from her anxiety complex Oo) but I'm so glad they gave us the moment of satisfaction hearing her opening up to sunbae jo and being honest blaming herself for being a bit indifferent to Jae Yeol's pains and kind of self-centered....she certainly was!!...

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Oh, this episode was a heartbreaker. I went from off-and-on tears through most of it, to full-on baby bawling from the scene where Hae Soo's mother came in to the room where her father is, and he's crying having overheard their whole conversation (thus proving that he's not just an empty shell, as her mother had insisted to her). It didn't let up till the end.

Jo In Sung's acting when his character, whose whole life revolves around words, knowing how to use them and spin them perfectly, is reduced to plaintive, childlike vocabulary and muted desperation, was so on-point. My heart ached for both Jae Yeol and Hae Soo.

What an episode.

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Loved this drama 10/10. I'm going to watch this drama over and over. Such great actors and actresses. Love the mains- especially Jo In Sung and Gong Hyo-jin. I think i've fallen in love with Jo In Sung's acting! Their tears were so touching and it felt real. The drama was really realistic and although it was another korean love story it was not exaggerated and seemed real

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