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I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day: Episode 16 (Final)

Life goes on in our little town. After the drama of recent events, we catch up with everyone as they try to make the best of their situations and live to the fullest. The finale gives everyone a proper farewell but makes it clear this is by no means an ending for our characters. It’s merely a chapter in their lives where they learned to better love, live and forgive.

 
EPISODE 16: “After a Long Winter”

While villagers work in the fields, Eun-seob brews coffee in the bookshop. He stares out the window and muses, “Hae-won, I think you’re doing well.” In Seoul, Hae-won goes to an interview. Eun-seob goes about his day as usual, but his mind is on Hae-won.

At Hodu House, Myung-yeo and Myung-joo eat breakfast together. Myung-yeo laments her sister’s cooking – guess neither of them have that skill – and tells Myung-joo she’s leaving in a week. Myung-joo asks if she’s coming back, but Myung-yeo thinks it’s better for everyone if she doesn’t. Hmm…

Meanwhile, Yoon-taek is interviewed about his success as a publisher. The interviewer asks him, off the record, if it’s true he’s dating Myung-yeo. He looks a bit sad as he denies it. They used to date, but their relationship now is just the type where they root for each other. Yoon-taek asks her to write a nice article about Myung-yeo who calls just as he’s leaving.

At home, Myung-yeo comes across the letter Myung-joo sent her from prison and hands it to her sister. She tells her to write a letter like this one. “To whom?” Myung-joo asks. “Your daughter!” Myung-yeo says exasperatedly. Hae-won doesn’t know why Myung-joo shut her out, and she’ll never know unless Myung-joo tells her.

Speaking of letters, Hwi writes one to Yeong-soo who’s in college now. As she bemoans her loneliness, a new transfer student arrives. Oddly, his name is also Im Hwi which the teacher notes isn’t a common name. Hwi looks at him with a smile and crumples up her letter. HA!

Hyun-ji can’t believe Hwi got over Yeong-soo so quickly – he left only a month ago. Hwi is sure he’s happy, and he’s got Jae-in there. She wishes her every happiness. Pfft. Hwi is determined to date this new guy no matter what. Hyun-ji doesn’t trust in her abilities, and Hwi wonders if she’s jealous since, if things work out, she won’t eat lunch with her anymore.

Hwi cuts Hyun-ji’s lecture about her being in her final year short to run after her new crush. She introduces herself as his destiny. Oh, how I love this child. She prattles on until Lim Hwi *Snort* does the “look at that!” trick and runs away. Heh.

A batch of books is delivered to the bookshop, and the delivery man notes that it seems a certain book is selling particularly well. Is it true the woman at Hodu House wrote it? Eun-seob confirms it and stares solemnly at “Sisterfield Maze.”

Myung-yeo packs while Myung-joo cleans and glances at the pen and paper Myung-yeo left for her. She sits to write but struggles to put her thoughts into words. We see Hae-won eating alone in Seoul as Myung-joo narrates the letter. She didn’t intend to share this, but Myung-yeo’s advice changed her mind.

She had Hae-won when she was in her early twenties, so by Hae-won’s age, she already was raising a six-year-old. Her husband, who she had believed to be the “sweetest man in the world,” had already begun abusing her. She couldn’t think beyond her own pain and was cold to Hae-won. But she’s always loved her, even though she’s not good at expressing it.

Myung-joo informs Hae-won her aunt is leaving and asks her to visit. “The weather has gotten so nice, Hae-won.” At their old house, Myung-joo smiles at a lone, blooming flower. Hae-won finishes the letter and stares out the convenience store window.

At night, Hwi comes bursting into the bookshop to ask Eun-seob for money which he unquestioningly hands over. She excitedly gushes over the new transfer who shares her name. Eun-seob suspiciously asks if it’s a guy. “Of course, it’s a guy. I really like guys.” Ha. She announces her intentions to date him.

Eun-seob starts to say she’s too young but changes tack and tells her to be careful. She stares blankly as he instructs her to call him whenever she’s about to go on a date. Has he gone crazy? Does she need to pilfer more money from him? Pfft. He watches her flounce away with a grin.

The following morning, Eun-seob sits with his head laying on the table and listlessly flips through “Love Returns Like Spring After Winter” by drama writer Noh Hee-kyung. Meanwhile, our book club members go about their days much the same as always. Soo-jung enjoys nature, Seung-ho chats happily with his grandfather, Geun-sang scares off customers, Hyun-ji swipes from her mom’s pharmacy and Hwi screams for people to get out of her path.

Eun-seob prepares a gift while his mom is at home complaining about her husband’s clumsiness that results in more laundry for her. Eun-seob comes over and hands his mom the gift. She’s confused until he reminds her it’s her birthday. She coos that he’s the only who thinks about her and remembered.

She opens the box to reveal a scarf with the words “To the mom I love, Yoon Yeo-jung” hand-stitched by Eun-seob. Yeo-jung gets emotional, so he leaves to give her space.

In Seoul, Hae-won visits Yeong-woo’s café. He named the café after the song she played on the piano that day, he claims. Hae-won laughs that he sounds like someone who’s liked her for a long time. He maintains he has, and she gives him a knowing look.

Yeong-woo asks how she knew he wasn’t being 100% sincere when he said he’s liked her all this time. Wait, what?! Hae-won thinks back to Eun-seob and says, “I know the eyes of someone who’s liked me for a long time.

At what looks like another reunion, everyone ribs Jang-woo as usual. They’re surprised when Eun-shil shows up and even more surprised when she shares the news that she quit her job. Everyone takes note of the new closeness between her and Jang-woo. Eun-shil smiles as Jang-woo nervously denies it.

They all eagerly share what Jang-woo said last time about how Eun-shil liked him first. Jang-woo loudly proclaims he misses Eun-seob who happens to walk in the door that moment. Conversation turns to the strange pair that is Eun-seob and Jang-woo, and Eun-shil reveals that they became friends after Eun-seob saved him from bullies.

Eun-shil enthusiastically recounts how Jang-woo was dragged into the mountain and beat up. Jang-woo stops her, horrified, and wonders how she knows that. “You told me,” she states. It was in the letter he gave her with that bouquet of roses. To his embarrassment and everyone else’s amusement, she begins reciting the letter. Amidst the laughter and lively conversation, Eun-seob smiles but his eyes are lonely.

Outside, one of the women wonders why Hae-won didn’t show. Jang-woo throws a worried glance at Eun-seob – who retains a smile – while everyone says how much they miss her. Jang-woo stops them from calling her and shoos everyone away. Eun-seob returns to the bookshop and sits dejected in the dark.

The following morning, Myung-yeo is shocked to see Hae-won at Hodu House. Hae-won observes her aunt hasn’t left yet; she came thinking she was already gone. Hae-won heads upstairs while Myung-yeo calls after her.

Over a meal with her mom and aunt, Hae-won says she plans to stay about a week. She failed her interviews, so she’s thinking about opening a studio with her former classmates. Hae-won says ruefully she’s only good at teaching.

Myung-yeo wonders what happened to her notion that she isn’t qualified to teach. Hae-won still isn’t confident, but she doesn’t think she’s so bad. Her stressful, lonely life made her hate her job. After warming up (as in heat, not practice) and starting over, she could see more clearly that it wasn’t all bad.

Hae-won asks if Myung-joo moved back. She did, and she even sold the old house. “That’s good,” Hae-won responds. Her mom confirms she was living there and fixed it up well before selling. “That’s good,” Myung-yeo echoes.

Jang-woo walks into the restaurant and is stunned speechless to see Hae-won. He recovers and, after speeding through topics like they’re side effects in a drug commercial, notes there are no empty seats (there are), so he’ll eat outside. He practically trips over himself as he tries to leave and tells her to call him later. Or he’ll call. After noting Myung-yeo’s cool sunglasses, he’s out the door. Ha.

Outside, he tells the waiting Eun-seob and a friend that there aren’t any seats. Ah, so that’s why he panicked. Hae-won looks shaken as she watches Eun-seob out the window.

The next day, Yoon-taek comes to pick Myung-yeo up. Myung-yeo and Hae-won say, “Goodbye.” Myung-yeo replies, “Okay.” Then, she heads to the car. Yoon-taek looks between them, confused. “That’s it?” Ha. By the car, he chides Myung-yeo for her lackluster farewell.

In the car, Yoon-taek asks if she’ll return. “No. I won’t come back for the rest of my life.” After seeing her aunt off, Hae-won can’t help but look over at the bookshop.

In town, Jang-woo spots Eun-shil on the street and abandons his colleagues. He tells her he was about to take the rest of the day off. Uh-huh. She lights up and asks if he wants to hang out. He runs through ideas, but all she wants to do is get ice cream from the convenience store. When he agrees, she squeals and hops in delight.

In the car, Myung-yeo thanks Yoon-taek for driving her. He grins and she asks in surprise, “You’re not going to cry?” Ha! He laughs that he doesn’t do that anymore. Yoon-taek asks if she’s really not going to come back even to visit. “I don’t want to,” she says with a relaxed smile.

As they sit outside, Eun-shil enjoys her ice cream and randomly asks why Jang-woo moved back after getting his prestigious degree. He claims he likes living in his hometown, and his parents suggested he move back rather than get a job at some big company in Seoul.

Eun-shil is surprised he’s not more ambitious. Jang-woo explains, “For me, it guarantees happiness.” Eun-shil goes off, wondering if he means he’s ignored his own desires and is saying he’s happy living the life his parents have set up for him from school until now. He stops her as she gets more worked up.

He enjoys the mundane. Jang-woo’s dream is to live an ordinary life with an ordinary job. He knows himself and what makes him happy. Eun-shil wonders why he didn’t write that about himself in his letter instead of a story about him getting beaten up. Ha. She would have liked him better.

Eun-shil calls him cool and remarks that not many people know what makes them happy. Jang-woo realizes what he said must’ve sounded charming. As she eats her ice cream, she comments, “I’m hungry.” Ha. Jang-woo is amazed at the size of her stomach and says she’s exactly his type.

“Ah, I’ve fallen for Lee Jang-woo,” Eun-shil sighs in resignation as he babbles. She stands right in front of him and repeats it, looking him dead in the eye. She smiles to see him blushing again. As she turns away, he spins her around and kisses her.

He rushes off stammering that she said she’s hungry. Eun-shil catches up and asks if this means they’re together now. Jang-woo agrees but reminds her of his mother’s plans to marry him off soon, which she’s probably not ready for. She doesn’t seem fully opposed.

Eun-seob puts a bouquet in his car and stops at the sound of Hae-won’s voice. Is he going somewhere? They stare at each other for a moment, uncertain. He tells her it’s his mother’s death anniversary. After standing silent for a few seconds, he says goodbye and gets in his car.

As he drives, he sees Hae-won running after him in the rearview mirror. Eun-seob slams on the brakes and gets out. She’s out of breath as she says, “I want to hold you just once. Can I?” He stands silently as she runs over and throws her arms around him. A montage of their moments together plays.

Hae-won lets go and steps back. She apologizes, explaining that she was going to pretend not to see him, but she couldn’t once she saw his face. Hae-won apologizes again and walks away. Eun-seob finally breaks his silence to ask, “How much longer are you staying?” Hae-won smiles, and he smiles back.

Hae-won roams the bookshop, full of nostalgia. Having only spent a winter together, she thought she’d forget him. But he’s different, and it was foolish of her to think otherwise. “You sit heavy in my heart like winter snow and never leave me.”

Outside the one and only café, Myung-joo runs into Park Hin-dol. After confirming he’s “the letter guy,” she asks why he sent her letters for seven years. He answers simply that reading something nice makes you feel good.

Yeo-jung buys some food for Eun-seob, and the ajumma thinks her daughter must be jealous of the favoritism. Yeo-jung claims she tried to show extra love since Eun-seob was adopted so he wouldn’t feel less, but it ended up working too well. She shows off her scarf and emphasizes the word “love” Eun-seob stitched on it.

Hae-won sits in the bookshop reading “A Piece of Your Heart Kept Until the End.” Eun-seob narrates that Hae-won once said it’s hard to notice happiness. Even if you do, it takes work to hold onto it. Eun-seob agrees. Everyone strives for it, but it’s hard to grasp.

Eun-seob walks in with a smile, and Hae-won’s face brightens. She runs over and jumps into his arms. He continues narrating that happiness isn’t guaranteed even if you work for it. Hae-won clings to him as he makes coffee. They kiss as Eun-seob narrates that it’s impossible to predict the future. We pan to a book on display: “Goodnight, Irene” by Im Eun-seob.

Hwi rides her bike up to Hwi (heh) who pedals faster with a look of fear. Bo-yeong smiles at a text that says, “The weather is really nice today, Bo-yeong.” Eun-seob narrates that if you try hard and keep living, he believes the day will come. Hae-won’s voice chimes in to agree.

Eun-seob sees Hae-won standing in the yard and calls out to her. She turns, and they smile brightly at each other, looking happy and at peace. Hae-won narrates that she believes the day will come. “Like this,” their voices say in unison.

Eun-seob’s Blog Post

I met Irene again after a long time. I waited and longed to see her again so much. But I tried to hide my feelings and stupidly turned away from her. When she ran towards me and came into my arms, she melted my frozen heart yet again. I spent days and nights blankly without being able to sleep. But I can’t believe I’m back in the past now. It’s late at night, and she has fallen asleep on my arm. She is light, and smells like the grass from a spring breeze. Guys, the scent of acacia is filling up this place again. Roger.

P.S. She woke up from her sleep and kissed me on my nose and fell asleep again with her head buried in my chest. I didn’t know kissing was such a nice thing.

 
COMMENTS

I think we got a pretty decent ending, overall. We didn’t get answers to everything like where Myung-yeo actually went or if Hae-won gave up teaching, but I liked the somewhat open-endedness of it. I’m happy with where everyone ended up, although this episode did, at times, feel kind of perfunctory. All the loose ends were neatly tied up one after the other – they even brought back Hin-dol who I’d forgotten about – but it didn’t feel as emotionally resonant as I would have liked. I think since we’d already resolved most of the conflict and character growth, it lacked that emotional center and felt a little like going through the motions. All in all, though, I appreciated that even side characters’ stories were wrapped up. But where the heck was the book club?! I missed them in recent episodes, and I was hoping for one last meeting.

One of my favorite things about this drama was the great cast of diverse characters. I love that they all, including the side characters, felt like real people and not stock characters. Not only that, but I was pleasantly surprised that they frequently defied convention. Bo-yeong drove me nuts, but I appreciated the way she was utilized. She was set up like a conventional, jealous second lead, but in the end, it was all about her and Hae-won’s friendship. While Hae-won and Eun-seob’s relationship was at the center, this was a story about loneliness and the importance of connection in all its forms. This may not have technically been an ensemble drama, but the residents of our little town were integral to the story and not an afterthought.

Hae-won made a statement in an earlier episode about some people always being in shadow while others are always in light. While most of our characters fall into the former category with some serious trauma under their belt, Hwi and Jang-woo were like rays of sunshine. Easily my favorite characters, they brought fun and positivity. Jang-woo was endearing and sweet with an anxiously manic energy. Endlessly entertaining, he kept things simple. He worked to make everyone around him happy and didn’t ask for much out of life. I loved him from start to finish.

Then we have Hwi. Where to even start? She was a lot, and I’m not gonna lie, she irritated me at first. But she quickly joined Jang-woo as one of my favorites. Most people can only ever aspire to her level of confidence and self-esteem. She never let anything bring her down for long, bouncing back with a smile. Her exuberance for life was infectious. Hwi felt every bit a real teenager with her energy, intensity and even her self-absorption. And we can’t forget her boy-crazy ways. I cracked up when the mere sight of a new, pretty face made her instantly crumple up that letter and totally forget about the crush she’d been obsessing over for months. At least we know she won’t get hung up on her first love for decades. Kim Hwan-hee did a fantastic job in this role, and I’ll be looking forward to her future projects.

The acting was strong in general, but Moon Jeong-hee as Myung-yeo was a standout. I wasn’t familiar with her before, but I’ll certainly remember her now. She took a role that could easily have been too opaque or unlikable and played it with nuance and subtlety. And she did it while wearing sunglasses for 95% of her scenes. Despite Myung-yeo’s apathy and gruffness, she emanated a quiet loneliness and pain. Bravo.

I enjoyed our main couple’s quiet, supportive relationship. We get a lot of flashy, dramatic relationships in dramaland but fewer of the subtler variety. It was lovely watching them help each other heal and learn to be happy. The blog posts were a great way to provide insight into Eun-seob seeing as he’s not what you’d call communicative. I loved seeing him slowly come out of his shell and face the world. Nothing showed that better than his heartfelt gift to his mom; he finally directly said (or wrote), “I love you.” I was happy she got to hear that after all these years. Although he came a long way, I did hope for a little more growth from Eun-seob in terms of being more proactive. But I’ve already talked about that in previous recaps, so I won’t belabor the point. As for Hae-won, she finally learned to let go and forgive. She’s a harsh person, as is her entire family, with a tendency to be unyielding. Learning to be more understanding allowed her to let go of her anger and be happy. Her family became so much less tense once they all learned to communicate and cut each other (and themselves) some slack.

While I enjoyed the romance, the most touching moments of the show for me were surrounding family. We spent a lot of time exploring family ties in all their messiness and complexity. I especially liked the highlight on sibling relationships through both Hwi and Eun-seob – probably my favorite relationship of the drama – and Myung-joo and Myung-yeo. Eun-seob’s whole adoptive family storyline was touching and well done. Although I still don’t condone the favoritism Yeo-jung openly admitted to, her unshakable love for Eun-seob was lovely. I do wish we’d seen more of Eun-seob’s dad, though. He was completely backgrounded. Besides the actual families, we also had our wonderful book club family. I loved everything about that book club from its eclectic members and their support for each other to the way the readings were incorporated into the story.

Despite the later episodes being less sharply focused and some details of the backstory not being fleshed out (Myung-joo as a character and Hae-won’s feelings toward her father, in particular), the writing overall was strong. I haven’t read the book the drama was based on, but the drama seemed to benefit from having the entire story mapped out from the start. Everything felt intentional and developed naturally; the drama took its time and never hurried. The time spent developing not only the characters but the place aided in capturing the essence of this small mountain town. The slow pacing, unhurried shots, minimalism in dialogue and beautiful mountain scenery all helped evoke a melancholic and nostalgic vibe. Many dramas tout themselves as “healing,” but this one fit the bill. It may not have ended quite as strongly as it started, but it stayed a beautiful, warm tale about choosing to step out of the darkness and embrace happiness.

 
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I can’t believe it’s finally finished! I’m really going to miss these characters.

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Also I do feel the the last two episodes were a bit too vague for my liking! Especially since this drama started out so strong and knew exactly what it was meant to be. That certainty felt a bit lost by the end which disappointed me. However, it didn’t stop me from loving this whole drama and the amazingly character driven story of a village so warm everyone feels like family. This drama finished just as weather became nice here in England ;)

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Binge-Watch Marathon Time!

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PMY's smile, though! So lovely! And summed up the feel of the whole drama.

I wanted more of everything: more explanation (about everything! but especially Myoung-yeo: I guess she decided not to turn herself in after all??), more bookclub! But it was all so warm and fuzzy and I came away feeling warm and fuzzy so I'm happy.

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It was a really nice drama. I wasn't a fan of the separation though, but the rest of the drama was A1. Hwi was my favorite character and was the best until the end.

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1. I really love the understated storytelling, and the focus on not just romantic love, but also family love, friendship love and community love. therefor a very rich story.
2. The warm and comforting feeling of the story.
3. ES and JW sweet and not complicated road to love.
4. Hwi the mood maker.

SO some after thoughts:
I got the feeling since HW and ES never did talk about the future of their relationship witch to me was a crack in their relationship when spring did come. So you can say when HW got faced with some life changing revelation her reaction was wanting to leave. Sure ES could have opened for her to stay in contact or even stay with him, but in the end to me he let her decide what she wanted to and accepted her choice. Also to me this separation made them see if they could live without each other. Also since HW was the one that did left to me it was right for her to have to run after him after knowing she could not live without him. To me it was a great reward and show ES that the person he loves do come back.

Also since HW did talk about not knowing what the future hold not getting all the answer for every character future was in line with her line. And also how things is in real life too. we never know what lays in our future.

I am really gonna remember this drama for a long time.

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I came to Weather because of SKJ. I'm a big fan. I wasn't pretty sure of PMY. I like her but she always seem to play the same part. I would stay for SKJ only, but I stayed because of the wonderful story we were being told.

I agree that the last two episodes were not up to the rest of the drama. I loved the show, of course, but there were missing parts and we didn't get all the answers. I can be ok with that, but I wished we got them. But even so, along with Black Dog this drama is my favorite of the year so far.

Things I would have loved to see: more bookclub scenes (I would've loved to see one in the final episode), more about HW's feelings to her dad (I understand she was a child when everything happened), more MY, much more (I'm pretty sure I'm not going to forget Moon Jeng Hi form now on).

Things I LOVED: Every single member of the bookclub and specially JaeWook and his delightful humor and his cute smiles (as always LJW is the greatest scene stealer); how all characters grew during the show, all of them, in one form or another, the way they felt like REAL people; the music, how instruments were another character in the show; the cinematography and the use of cold and warm lights and colors.

And above all, EunSeob and Hwi relation. I can honestly say that the scenes with the siblings where the best, honest true love in which the word "love" was never said. I declare that the saddle scene was my favorite in the whole drama: I cried, laughed and clapped and felt eternal love for EunSeob and Hwi, and my admiration to Kim Hwan Hee and Seo Kang Joo for their performance.

I'm already missing you, show.

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Yes to everything, and:

I also really liked Eun Seob embroidering his love for his mother into a scarf.

I really didn't understand why MY wanted to go far away and never come back, or how much she was going to let Yoon Taek into her life.

I felt that what pricked HW was when she saw a woman next to Eun Seob outside the restaurant. I felt for the first time, she realized that he wasn't necessarily going to be frozen in time, missing her. Then he drove away from her. And then she decided to reach out. I was a little disgusted with her (and the writer) for portraying their relationship as a beautiful one-winter love affair up to that point, and for her plan to ignore him. There's something really selfish about that. The other thing I found upsetting was that ES asked, in the translation I saw, "How long are you staying this time," as though he's already prepared to let her back into his life temporarily and watch her leave again when she wants to. I don't like this drop-in kind of love.

There isn't another drama now that can fill the spot this show left, but all the same, I feel unsatisfied by the ending.

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I disagree about the idea that Eun-seob was being a doormat for Hae-won when he asked her how long she would stay. The point is not that this was his agreeing to another fling- it is that he loves Hae-won enough to accept her as she is- because he is not possessive in his love.

And please note that she does not answer him at all- instead she simply gives him a smile which grows ever brighter as Hae-won has her epiphany. Before he asked his question her plan was to stay a week. But now she realizes she cannot give that as an answer- and that this fact is nothing short of wonderful.

Later we see her wandering around the bookstore as she tells us that this whole fling idea was really a stupid idea all along. So, as she realizes that she and Eun-seob will not be leaving each other you could say that Hae-won has come to agree with you about 'drop in love' being something that she can no longer agree with either.

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I completely agree. You have to listen to the voiceover. She directly states her feelings. He is buried deep in her heart. HW if anything is straightforward with her feelings. She realized that she could never forget him and that she was foolish to think so. She loves him and is there to stay.

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Totally agree.
Even if she doesn't stay because the school she was talking about will be in Seoul, they will still have their relation and talk about it. This love is here to stay.

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Yes, thanks for this guys! You totally spoke my mind! As a person who has been obsessed over this drama, I feel like shouting this from the top of a hill, when anyone says she is going to leave in a week. I feel like saying- people this drama is like poetry, you have to read the subtle hints :) She has realized that he is like the permafrost who will never leave her and she is going to give her all to maintain that happiness! (I think I'm suffering from the drama withdrawal on mondays :))

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I totally agree with you on the bridge scene. I am utterly confused with the way the reunion was presented. First, Jangwoo was protective of Eunseob and then Eunseob ignored Haewon. So when Haewon approached Eunseob, I thought it was kind of selfish when she is planning to leave after a week. I was hoping Eunseob will be the one to approach her this time. Then Eunseob asked the question which makes it sadder than romantic.

I never doubted that they love each other and that they will be together in the end. It is just the way they united was a bit off. But then, Eunseob's character is not someone who everyone can relate or understand easily. Luckily, Haewon understands him fully well (even his confusing actions vs words persona) and just knows how to push their love forward. That makes them a perfect match.

On the other hand, this confusion doesn't really murk the pretty of the whole village, the two leads, and the warmth of relationships in this drama. This will be one of my PMY favorites.

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I don't see the selfishness in HW. I always thought she needed time. She had her time and she found her place with music, for instance, and we have to remember music is not only her job, but part of her life and she had lost it. She explained it to her mum and aunt in the restaurant.

She told Young Woo she knew how was the look in the eyes of someone who liked her for a long time, and she was smiling at that time.

We sometimes do stupid things in love, and when she returned she wasn't planning to see ES, I guess. Why? Because things like this happen: you don't want to see someone you had a romantic relation with and you drop because you're afraid of your feelings. If it's never happened to you, you're lucky. I can relate to her "fear" when she approached the book shop. And then I can see she was brave when she ran to the car.

Even EunSeob said in his epilogue that his heart was frozen, and that hug melted it for him.

I want to think that know that it seems they both have settled their hearts and heal their wounds (ES telling mum I love you and HW returning home with her mum and aunt) they will sort out a way of being together... I'm just imagining Seung Ho receiving music lesson from HW).

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I was left confused by HW's voice over this EP when she claimed that she thought she could forget him! Up till EP 13 end (aka the bombshell reveal), HW was shown to be totally committed to the relationship and was even heard in the voiceover saying she's just waiting for ES to talk about their future. And even last ep,I thought her leaving had to do with her needing time+ the different schools of thoughts they had about how love should be expressed (open communication for HW and quiet acts of sacrifice for ES). But the way they resolved it seemed to address none of these subtleties. Yes HW was 💯 shakes when she saw another girl(wasn't it JW's colleague tat ES had rescued from the mountain?) and she was anxious when she saw the flowers in ES's hands prompting the unsure where re you headed question. But then they just seem to have followed the old pattern of her chasing after him and then going right back to the new love giddiness after they first got together 🤷

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Her voice-over in the bookstore is the drama's way of explaining what has just happened. Even though Hae-won had fallen deeply in love with Eun-seob she had never envisioned a future with him- which is what commitment means .

Even as she chased after him she would still have thought that she would be leaving in a week. But she really wanted a hug from Eun-seob. Somehow it was that important though she did not yet have the words to say why.

Sometimes an important truth is revealed to us in an 'AH HAH' moment, like Archimedes shouting 'Eurika' as he realized how to measure density .

For Hae-won her 'Eureka' moment is triggered by Eun-seob asking her how long she will be staying this time. She cannot actually give him an answer as she is realizing that the only way to accurately answer that question would require knowing when she will die. Which could be seventy years from now. And so, instead of words we are seeing a bright beaming smile-because this is a truly joyous realization.

The greatest truths often reveal themselves very suddenly. But this is also why we the audience really needed the bookstore voiceover to know what has just happen. I am sure that in the novel it was explained as it happened.

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When her voice caught at the line, "...but when I saw your face, I couldn't," my own heart squeezed for her (and for him!). PMY played that realization with such a brave vulnerability, I actually felt it. And it so beautifully slid into that "Eureka!" moment you mention.

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Yes! I was hoping to see the book club too. Like a final story thay connects everything together! I want to be an aunt like Sujeong when I'm older. Hehe

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I think most will agree that this show wasn't perfect but it sure was warm. I wasn't even planning to watch it, but thanks to beanies who praised it on the fan wall, I gave it a chance and I'm glad I did! Its definitely going to be one of the best ones of 2020 however I can't help but wonder on the "What could have been"'s as highlighted by Sicarius on her wall.
(For those who want to know what I'm talking about --> http://www.dramabeans.com/members/sicarius/activity/1034649/).
I feel like the show would have been flawless if it had followed the Phillia before Eros (refer to link above), nevertheless I enjoyed the run. Scenes with Hwi and Jang Woo were the highlight! By the end I was conditioned to automatically smile as soon as I heard Hwi's "out of the way" & "move"! Also, what a cheerful and warm ball of energy was Jang Woo! These two and the book club added a definitive charm to the show!!
I will definitely miss it🌟💕

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@bluewaters20 MeloMe,
Thanks to the pointer to @sicarius's fan wall post and the entire discussion that follows. I totally agree that "friends first" would have been a better character progression for the OTP. Their lack of direct communication about their relationship, and Hae-won's reading Eun-seob's diary -- and then razzing him about it, Grrr! -- were red flags that for me never went away. Contrary to what the Beatles used to sing, "love is not all you need." I never got the impression that either of them possessed, or managed to develop within the course of the drama, the inner resources to heal themselves, let alone each other. Both they and their families needed therapy, but hell will freeze over before that happens in a Kdrama.

I really liked that Jang-woo had figured out what makes him happy, and followed his bliss with hard-working abandon. Alas, I cringed every time Eun-shil took it upon herself to embarrass him in the past and present. I hate that kind of public teasing.

I really missed the book club in the closing episodes. It was as if "when the weather is fine, we'll quit reading and discussing books." ;-)

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"Both they and their families needed therapy, but hell will freeze over before that happens in a Kdrama."
Hahaha so true! I'm hoping the new drama "Soul Mechanic" which is premiering soon will be refreshing in this regard.

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"I never got the impression that either of them possessed, or managed to develop within the course of the drama, the inner resources to heal themselves, let alone each other."
Yeahp.
Highkey want to write a JBL comparison essay now though. Lol.

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I thought it was a nice finale. But I agree with where the heck was the book club. I rooted for ES and HW, but I also loved their families and all of the book club members.

I said this in the What We're Watching thread, but I liked how this drama depicted the good and bad points of living in a small community.

HW, MY and MJ were great to watch, but I wish Eun Seob's parents hadn't disappeared after his backstory was revealed. I think my favorite scenes from the drama were the saddle scene with ES and Hwi and ES giving his mom the beetle in the flashbacks and the scarf in present day.

I'm going to miss this drama.

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The saddle scene was also the best for me.
And yes, the beetle scene, with little ES smiling with joy when his mum was so enthusiastic was perfect.

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A few reasons why I'll Go to You When the Weather is Nice will be one of my favourites for this year:

1. It lets its characters come and go as and when they are relevant.
Bo-young, Myeong-joo, Eun-shil, Yeong-woo, and more. They were gone if they weren't part of the arc the show was focusing on, a unique way for the drama to manage its many many themes.

2. The romance feels lived in.
I like that Hae-won and Eun-seob didn't feel like living each other came easily. They were awkward as they first started to connect, and that awkwardness never entirely went away. Until the end, perhaps. You can feel their bond grow and change and eventually blossom.

3. The acting is phenomenal.
I would have been happy enough if the actors just sold me their emotions, but everyone went a step further here. The characters felt like actual people I might meet, impossible to sort into individual personality traits. I'm genuinely angry that I've never seen Moon Jeong-hee before, she may possibly be the best actress... ever.

4. The show remembers things even I forgot.
Please raise your hand if you forgot about that one scene that established Eun-seob as an aspiring writer? Or if you forgot about that ahjussi who sent Myeong-joo letters in prison? Or, well, you name it. The drama literally wrapped up everything, and it pleases me.

Thanks for a great eight (nine, maybe) weeks, you beautiful show. I won't forget you that easily.

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Totally agree with you on everything: the characters felt like real people, with real reactions and real problems, and real feelings, and that was because of the wonderful acting, the writing and the better direction, because good actors and writing can all go to waste with a bad directing.

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I agree with you that these characters felt real. For instance when Eun-sil publicly teased Jong-woo you could actually say this is childish and even stupidly self-defeating- practically kindergarten playground stuff. But is it not true that we have seen exactly such behavior from people we know? also it did not mean that Eun-sil did not like Jong-woo or that she was trying to drive him away.

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But Eun Seop...why was Hae Won called Irene?!?!? I was waiting for that reveal for forever!!!!! Now that's gonna gnaw at me for ages.

I'm also rather confused surrounding Myung Yeo's best selling book. I mean, she does talk about killing her bro in law so wouldn't that raise some suspicion from the general public/police?!?

Despite being rather disappointed with the ending I still thoroughly enjoyed this drama with it's beautiful cinematography and tone.
If only I could read Korean I would go buy the book to read!

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Was wondering about that too! Until the last minute, I was like why did you call her Irene??? Hahaha.

It seems like she sold the book as fiction.

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I think it might have been based on an old Eric Clapton song called "Goodnight Irene" the words was a mirror to some of the lyrics reference to longing for somebody.

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Ohhh thank you! That makes sense!

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You are right. In fact, he sort of says it when HW asks who Irene saying it cannot be Hwi, he says it's the name of one of his favorite songs. The song is the one you mention.

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Oh really! So that's what it was! Thanks for letting me know. I think I can sleep better tonight :)

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Eric Clapton's recording was a remake of a remake of a classic American folksong first recorded by Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter in 1933. Even at that time the song had been known for at least 50 years. After Leadbelly died the Weavers made a hit recording of it in the 1950's.

There is a point to the reference to this song- At its heart the song is about one's yearning for a lost love. That song inspired the name of his bookstore (the Good Night Bookshop). Of course, this time there is a well deserved happy ending for Eun-seob (and his Irene).

There is something of an analog for Hae-won in this show- when she sits down to the piano in an early scene and play's Erik Satie's "Gymnopaedie number 2" (I think it is number 2). The hallmark of Satie's brilliant compositions was their extraordinary simplicity. In playing that piece Hae-won is expressing her desire to rid her life of its baggage and live a more basic existence. At the end of this drama she has indeed finally rid herself of her demons and can now live a peaceful and loving life with Eun-seob.

The literary and fold references in this drama helped to give it a depth rarely reached in a kdrama or any other drama for that matter.

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I meant 'Folk" not 'fold" references.

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@oldawyer,
I started composing my reply below before you posted yours. Glad to see another music fan on the premises. ;-)

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I love your take on the Satie piece - that adds another shade to the show for me. I found it haunting: sweet, simple, melancholy but somehow curious, still moving forward. It was an excellent addition to the already lovely OST.
(Tiny aside, it's Gymnopaedie number 1, but all three are beautiful in their symmetry and moving to play!)

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@Lydia, @gigichu, @earthna,
The song is a lot older than Eric Clapton. The original "Irene, Good Night" by African-American songwriter Gussie L. Davis dates back to 1886. Folk and blues singer Lead Belly reworked it and made it his signature song. The Weavers' smash hit with it in 1950 helped set off the folk revival -- and inspired Bob Dylan. ;-)

http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/997820/ and reply

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I loved the way this story stayed true to its characters. Most of these people were introverts, including both Hae-won and Eun-seob. Big splashy dramatic gestures would be out of character. So our ending is not some dramatic declaration but rather just a very simple coming back together- as Hae-won narrates how she has come to realize that Eun-seob has become a permanent part of her life- and she recognizes that he will never leave her.

It was painful for Eun-seob to be apart from Hae-won but I think it was necessary that he NOT go after her- because that would have been too possessive. It would have scared Hae-won if he had. She needed to be apart from him for a while to truly sort out her feelings. I loved how she responded to her other potential suitor: She knows the look in the eyes of someone who has liked her for a long time. At that moment she is finding just how different Eun-seob is from the others. The truth is that it probably took a lot of strength for Eun-seob to not run after Hae-won.

One of the things that I also liked about Eun-seob’s character is that he is not weak. Not at all. We saw this when he turned down his uncle’s offer to live with him by the beach. Eun-seob is a character we seldom see in a K-drama- the strong silent man- a character straight out of a classic American Western like HIGH NOON. We were actually shown the heroic side of him during the episode when he went by himself onto the mountain- in the dark- and rescued Eun-sil. We learned in this last episode that he once rescued Jang-woo as well, which was how they became friends. One more thing that Eun-sil and Jang-woo will have in common as they move forward together in life.

Jang-woo and Eun-sil will be together. It was sort of neat that the last we see of them – as they enjoy their impromptu date- is the moment when Eun-sil is about to inform Jang-woo that his assumption that she would not be interested in marrying was wrong- and that the topic would very much be on the table.

I agree with Quirky-case that this show benefited from the way that the writers must have stayed true to the novel that it was drawn from. I also had the best acting and wonderful cinematography. It was a drama that you wanted to go longer yet it ended just right. I loved it.

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* rescued Min-jung, a new worker at City Hall. Not Eun-sil, although that would have bookended well with his rescue of Jang-woo.

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I stand corrected, but it would have been nice.

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I agree with you in the fact that both ES and HW stayed in character all the time.

HW needed her time away to heal her wounds and made her mind clear, and ES knew that he had to give her space. It didn't mean they didn't suffer, after all we learned that ES hadn't been sleeping well from the moment she went away... but they were both true to the way they were.

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I actually liked how vague and open ended Myeong-yeo and Yoon-taek's story is. Moon Jeong-hee bring Myeong-yeo into life, because the character can be easily hated if portrayed a little bit differently.

I love love love the directing in this drama and I love how the characters are written to be similar to people in real life. And I love the book club. It is the execution of the last 2 episodes that I kind of don't like, but the show had a pretty satisfying ending (although it could be better in a lot of ways).

I am going to miss the warmth this show made me feel each episode.

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I have the feeling that even if MY says she will not come back, she will. I mean, she said she was going to turn herself in no matter what, and when HW told her not to do it, she didn't. So I want to think that one day HW will tell her to come back and she will.

And I didn't believe YT when he told the journalist they were not dating. Or maybe it is I didn't want to believe him. But as he knows where she's going, I hope they can also sort out their differences now that Crybaby has left his tears behind.

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My internal conflict, I hate that she called him this and it makes me laugh every time.

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Regarding MY's declaration never to come back, I think she stayed true to her tendency to be as dramatic and crass as possible... maybe teasing YT along the way... leaving the viewer to imagine how her story goes on, as with the rest of the characters.

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Yeah I also interpreted "I'm never coming back" the same way MY used her older refrain "let's breakup". her smile while looking away from him says that it isn't the end of the road for them yet. Ateast that's how I'm gonna think of it.

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It was an overall nice drama, though the last four episoded were kind of lackluster. I think what would have been nice is if the story abt all characters including Hae Won and Eun Seop were told simultaneously. We started with Hae Won, then moved to Eun Seop, then moved to the aunt which is probably why compared to the first 12 episodes, the last one felt empty. But overall it was nice and I think among my fave this yr so far. Good lesson abt happiness being a decision. Also happiness not being this "extraordinary" concept. Happinness can be grasped in our every day lives, in mundane thgs like Jang Woo said.

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It’s really hard to sum up this drama and explain how much I loved it. There were many great dramas this year (and hopefully more to come) but it’s surprising how fast I found a drama this year which has already won a special place in my heart. I was never super excited for this drama (only was going to tune in for Park Min-young) because there’s been so many similar dramas where the execution falls short, but this drama despite its flaws was PERFECT for me.

I love the characters which is the most important part. A good show will have good main leads but a great show will have good characters all around from the leads, to the supporting, and even characters that come in passing. I cared about almost every character because they felt real to me.

This drama made me smile, laugh, cry and above all made me feel warm every Monday and Tuesday.

Really looking forward to Park Min-young’s next project because they always end up being one of my favourite dramas. Seo Kang-joon has also earned another fan, didn’t know he could be this good! So many actors in this drama which I’m looking forward to their next dramas!

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I agree that the finale itself wasn't as emotionally resonant as I would've liked. Compared to other episodes, it just lacked that UGH factor.

And I can't help but get a nagging feeling at the ambiguous end of some plotlines as mentioned in the recap: where is Myung-yeo is going (is she back with Yoon-taek?), Hae-won's attitude towards her father...
But overall, I enjoyed and loved this drama.

I loved the slow, warm, and calm nature of this show. These are hard to come by in dramaland. I wasn't even planning on watching this, because I had reservations about SKJ as I had never vibed with him; and the image of PMY as bright and cheery was so embedded in my mind. All the compliments it was receiving from beanies encouraged me to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did!

This drama was an exploration of human closeness and what it means to ALLOW others to see us. The courage and pain involved in that vulnerability, and what a leap of faith that actually is. I'm glad that we explored that from the lens of romantic relationships, family ties, friendship, and even rivalry. These different perspectives are what made this a nuanced and well-told story.

I wasn't expecting it to, but I'm glad this ended up being a story with varied and fleshed out side characters that were all given their chance to shine. I'm glad we had characters like HWI and JANG-WOO who were bright and so full of life to give us a contrast to our more reserved characters, and provide us with moments of lightness. Applause to Kim Hwan-hee and Lee Jae-wook respectively for truly bringing their characters to life!

I love the fact that both our main leads were quiet, and/or awkward people and that this was a story of them coming together. There was just something SO satisfying in watching these two people with the same nature fumble to connect on an intimate level, and I really loved their chemistry and how well they portrayed those initial nervous encounters. It was a breath of fresh air that for once the main characters were not the gregarious type.

This is one of my favorite this year, and I will miss it.

PS: Special thanks to this drama for making me SKJ fan. And a standing ovation for Moon Jeong-hee as Shim Myung-yeo, because this woman was TERRIFIC. Her performance was heartfelt and aptly dramatic (in the strictest sense of the word).

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I have always liked Park Minyoung as she is strong is creating chemistry with her male leads (Only 3 cases where I found it flat - Kim Myung Min in that legal drama/ Yoo Seung Ho in Remember/ Song Seung Hun in (disastrous) Dr. Jin) but funnily I came into this drama solely for Seo Kang Joon. I have been following his career since Suspicious Housekeeper and after Kim So Hyun, imo none of his lead roles after had a credible A-list drama actress that could hold up on the romantic pairing. I had wanted to see him pair with a strong noona actress and it was jackpot when PMY got attached to the project. Must admit when I first read the storyline I was thinking man this sounds like "snoozefest" and truly it was boring in Ep 1 and 2. . But the story picked up and so did their chemistry. Overall I am glad to have stayed as Weather exceeded my expectations. There's just so much heart in the storytelling from the family relationships, small town friendships, the book club down to the blog postings... every part kinda engages you into their world and you can't help but fall in love with the charming tale being told. Like everyone else I am looking forward to many of the casts new projects. For SKJ - I would actually like to see him play the as***** king in Remarried Empress if he does get the offer. ES was such a passive character that it will be a nice change to watch him play a punk next.

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Thank you for recapping this show so thoughtfully @quirkycase! It was a very good show, with memorable characters, stunning cinematography, beautiful OST, and relaxing pace. The town felt lived in, and the drama never tried to portray it as a bad or good place. Gossip could ruin someone's life or just be innocent matchmaking.

Since I enjoyed the drama so much, I was disappointed at the way the OTP was handled in the final episodes and wrote a long piece about it (which I haven't done in ages). To some extent this ending reminds me of BECAUSE THIS LIFE IS OUR FIRST, but I was not nearly half as traumatised this time. I was just let down. So, if you finished with a full heart and are satisfied, maybe you shouldn't read further.

What’s wrong with this OTP? PART 1

Eun Seob was the real heart of the show and our guide into this world through his diary. I understood him even if I didn’t approve of his decisions. I really liked Hae Won too, especially the way she dealt with Bo Young. I wondered: Why couldn’t she be as open with Eun Seob? Mainly, I thought her transformation into a giggling clingy girlfriend was too drastic for her character. Around episode 11, I started to get confused. Why was I suddenly watching a rom-com? With the twists and turns in the finale, I lost my ability to connect with Hae Won, which made me sad. But back to Eun Seob...

Eun Seob’s character had a lot of narrative potential. He had the sad backstory: abandoned by his mother, trained by his father to not trust anyone, an outcast at school, and a valued but disposable asset of the town’s rescue operations. He wasn’t sociable, and yet he attended school gatherings and carved out a place for himself in the community with the bookstore. His adopted family loved him, but he had difficulty in saying that he loves them too.

What the narrative set out to do: He would meet his longtime crush again and she would reciprocate his feelings. Together they would navigate his fear of abandonment and heal the scars from his sad past, as well as confront her family demons. He would realize he has a right to be exist and would try to attain happiness, instead of being someone that goes through life aimlessly. She would find what makes her happy.

What actually happened: He met his longtime crush, and she reciprocated his feelings. He made a step in the right direction by refusing to listen to Loner Uncle and coming back to his adopted family. He decided that he does have a place in this world. However, by the end of the show, he had not resolved his fear of abandonment or his depression. In fact, he had expected Hae Won to leave all along. Hae Won's dilemma at "being betrayed" resulted in her leaving and finding happiness in teaching cello again (did I read the subtitles right???). She returned one fine day and happened to see Eun Seob with Min-jung, who finally got her dinner date. She ran to meet him on a bridge - a symbol of reunion. The drama ended with...

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The drama ended with his hopeful question: “How long are you staying this time?” They smiled and hugged.

PART 2

I think the drama was aiming for an open ending, but it left me feeling confused and not at all sure that it was a happy ending. If anything, we can conclude that Eun Seob was used to being abandoned. He consistently retreated to his mountain hideout throughout the drama, even shutting out those who loved him. I retreat into myself when I am hurt too, but I know that it’s not a healthy attitude. Do the characters in this show just like to suffer? Or am I misunderstanding something about Korean culture?

As far as I understood, Hae Won moved to Seoul. She found out that teaching cello makes her happy (really, how?). At the ending it’s implied she will stay with Eun Seob, but it doesn’t seem like a permanent move, since we just saw her smilingly explain to her aunt and mother that she's happy and doing well in Seoul. Thus, Eun Seob finds happiness in “living for the present”, though we’ve clearly seen that he became miserable once Hae Won left. Did the show want to be realistic or no? If the show wanted to be realistic, this relationship would not have worked, long distance or no. Neither of them learned to trust the other completely and speak their mind. If they do stay together, Eun Seob, like Yoon Taek, will mostly likely undergo decades of heartbreak since Hae Won tends to up and leave when she pleases. Both guys are generous and won't stop the girl from leaving, but we know that they gave up their dream of being together forever.

If they remain a couple, Hae Won will have to put up with a partner who tends to disappear when he’s not okay. So it’s confusing to watch a story that presented this separation and reunion cum ignoble idiocy as something romantic and beautiful without actually addressing the challenges they faced as a couple.

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PART 3 & Final comments

In my view the climax of the show came with that conversation between Eun Seob and Hwi, when he returned after rejecting Uncle’s invite to live alone together (?). But after the OTP got together, the show completely dropped the family storyline to focus on the lovey dovey OTP scenes. I noticed that Eun Seob spoke less and less as the show shifted to focus on Hae Won’s family. That gave Eun Seob no chance to develop further. We could have seen him interact with his adopted dad. We could have had a flashback to how he became friends with Jang Woo. We could have seen him dare and submit his book manuscript for publication. We could have seen him talk to Hae Won.

Regarding Hae Won, her declaration that she found happiness again in teaching cello came totally out of the blue. I thought the show had clearly established that she was unhappy in Seoul. I thought the story would end with her setting up a studio in the local area, since there were potential pupils. If she wasn’t planning to stay in the first place, her clingy attitude towards Eun Seob seems wrong. One scene stood out for me. I may be in the minority that did not swoon when she announced “I want to sleep with you”, because it was centered around what “I want”. She did not ask what Eun Seob wanted. With the scene shifting from their bed to the scenes of Myung Joo suffering abuse, I was really affected. Was the show trying to contrast a loving relationship with one gone wrong? Or was it darkly hinting that the OTP’s relationship was not as healthy as it seemed? The warm lighting suggested option 1, but in light of the finale I am starting to think option 2 was correct. But this is clearly not what the show set out to do! Thus the sunny ending does not feel earned. The episode 15 separation could have been handled much better with just a conversation: “I need some time alone so I’m going back to Seoul. You understand me right?” Not: “I’m breaking up with you. Good luck with the bookstore. Bye.” After breaking up in such a definitive way, I can’t understand how a hug in the end solves it all. Do they communicate by telepathy?

Anyway, thanks for reading my rambling comments. I did enjoy the show but I am disappointed that the drama failed to live up to its initial promise for the OTP. Jang Woo and Eun Shil had a more satisfying ending. And thank goodness for Hwi, who showed that not everyone in this town nurses crushes for a lifetime. Lol, girls will be girls. If Young Soo Oppa returns in 10 years he will probably fall head over heels for a popular and ravishing Hwi.

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Toki! I want that version of the ending! Esp regarding Eunseob and the stories that could be explored.

Haewon lost me at the end of ep14. I couldn’t relate to her after that.

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Wow, girl, you are critical! But it is good, it makes us realised things we haven't notice.
Honestly I was also not that happy with the OTP because I felt ES was too good for HW. Simply as that.

I understand it sounds romantic she said he was warm and her family is cold, therefore, she is cold,, but if he is giving her warmth, who is going to give warmth to him?
Ok, ok, I know he had gotten it from his family and he may be a never-ending source of warmth like the sun, but still I don't feel it is evenly right. You could think that opposite poles attract one another but I don't think that works permanently in the real life.

For a couple to work out you guys need to have similar goals and a similar capacity of giving each other what the other needs without neglecting yourself...
Long reflection, what is a good couple.
But anyway, I understand your rambling.

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Thanks for understanding my rambling hehe. I tend to become critical when a show that I really like goes off the rails at the end.... Sometimes it's better to not have expectations I guess.

I think the drama was using the "opposites attract" law with Eun Seob (warm) and Hae Won (cold), but as you say, who is giving Eun Seob warmth? I had to laugh when you compared him to the sun. I totally agree that both need to be able to give in order for a relationship to work.

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And the irony he said she was bright or shining for him at the end... (I don't remember the exact words) 😒
Then again, how?
Maybe he said it with eyes of love because he is much in love, but why?
I didn't hate her, it is just that I didn't feel she gave him (or us) enough reasons or material as why to think she was good for him. She didn't even play music for him, which was "her talent"...
Somehow her characterization let me down

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Yes, people seem to think her remark about him settling like heavy snow in her heart was a confession of lasting love. But first of all, snow is cold. And second, this confession wasn't any kind of commitment on her part. It was explicitly balanced by "happiness is elusive" and "we don't know what the future holds." Well, in life, we generally don't know what the future holds but we take a step toward defining it by making a commitment. "I love you do I'll be here for you." I never heard or felt that from HW. So yes, I do think she's selfish.

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Exactly, she did not answer how long she is staying or make any kind of commitment, which was followed by Eun Seob's voice over on elusive happiness... that's why I don't think Hae Won is going to stay and that Eun Seob has accepted that he'll have a seasonal love. That's how I interpreted this "open" ending.

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I interpreted the separation and reasons for reunion a little bit differently; when Hae-Won told her mom and aunt that she liked being back in Seoul and was happy there, I did not entirely believe her because the women in that family are so rarely honest, especially about failings: she never talked to them about her relationship with Eun-Seob, they never talk about things that do not go well. And like a lot of adult kids, she's going to put a rosy picture on everything when talking to elders. I think her expression when she saw ES through the window revealed that she wasn't nearly as happy and settled as she said. And in her voice-over, once she had reunited with ES, she admitted she had been foolish and made a big mistake. I was willing to cut her some slack; given all the upheaval of the past few months, it made sense for her to go back to what is 'normal life' and sort out her feelings.

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@skelly,
Thanks for pointing out the extent to which Hae-won, Mom, and Auntie are all Queens of Denial. That family is dysfunctional to the max, and lying, especially by omission, is a big part of their modus operandi. Not only do they lie about failings, they lie about feelings, too. I came to realize that a good bit of my own confusion about the show stems from the vast amounts of cognitive dissonance they generate as the say one thing and do something else... or just say nothing. Their dismissive attitudes towards other people (e.g., Crybaby) was another turn-off.

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@skelly I really wanted to interpret that scene as you did, that Hae Won was just pretending to be happy in front of Aunt. But the way it came off, whether by directorial decision or writing or Park Min Young's acting, it seemed Hae Won was being sincere. I was actually surprised that she spoke so much to Aunt and Mom in that conversation. She seemed genuinely relaxed until she saw Eun Seob through the window.

I totally agree that it made sense for her to go back to sort her feelings. However, the execution failed because it made it seem like she had used Eun Seob as an emotional crutch during the winter, while the whole drama had suggested that she was really falling for him and that she did not consider it a fling.

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Doesn't it make you wonder what happened in the novel? I wonder where the drama departed from the novel and why. Did the drama show us a different HW when she was falling in love with ES? And then reverted to the novel's HW when she put that relationship aside? Or vice versa? Or was the novel inconsistent? I don't know anything about the writer, but I would tend to think he's male and that he sees himself in Yoon Taek.

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Generally I like PMY's acting, especially once she's hit her stride in a show, but I don't feel she did an especially great job in the latter half of this show. I think she couldn't quite figure HW out - neither could we - and so she went to her fallback position which is bright and energetic. Yes, it is cute and it is classic PMY but it also really did not fit the character - neither her upbringing nor her situation.

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I can see how maybe the way it was played seemed like that, but I also interpreted it as HW being hell-bent on acting like everything was super-fine-great, because if she stuck to that it maybe it would somehow become the truth. And I do think that she'd deluded herself into believing it, too - until (as she confesses to ES on the bridge) she saw his face. Then the delusion just fell to ash. Having tried to pull the wool over my own eyes in a similar fashion in the past, perhaps I related to it that way since I was seeing it through the prism of my own experience! :-)

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@wishfultoki,

I may be in the minority that did not swoon when she announced “I want to sleep with you”, because it was centered around what “I want”. She did not ask what Eun Seob wanted...

After breaking up in such a definitive way, I can’t understand how a hug in the end solves it all. Do they communicate by telepathy?

You're not alone in the minority. That scene bothered me for the exact same reason. It struck me as demanding and pushy -- and all about her. No preface. No invitation. Not one iota of uri. So much for it taking two to tango.

At first blush, it was sort of novel that Hae-won assertively made the first move... as did Auntie, Hwi, Eun-shil, and even Bo Young. And Crybaby's ex. It's as if the men in this town are all passive. Hindol was shot down for 7 years when he kindly wrote to Mom in the slammer -- although he seemed to have caught her eye near the end. What the heck is in the water there?!

As for the reunion with Eun-seob, I got the impression that Hae-won was spurred to act when she saw him on the sidewalk with Eun-shil when Jang-woo came into the restaurant where she and her family were eating. He beat a hasty retreat to spare his buddy an uncomfortable meeting with the woman who dumped him, and hustled them off. (Good man, Jang-woo. You know his sleep has been messed up since she left.) Jealousy or insecurity lit a fire under her butt.

Later, she chased Eun-seob down the road like a heat-seeking missile and then told him, "I want to... I want to... hold you just once. Can I?" (Get yourself a space heater, toots.) She didn't wait for his answer, but ran over and threw her arms around his neck. At least she feigned bothering to ask, but it's still a case of wack-o mixed messages as far as I'm concerned. To wit: "I'm sorry. I was going to pretend I didn't see you, but when I saw your face, I couldn't help it. I'm sorry. I'll be going now [that I've copped a feel. The Devil made me do it]." He gazes at her impassively.

Finally he asks, "How long... are you staying this time? When are you leaving this time?" She breaks into a toothy grin and chuckles, but doesn't answer. He finally begins to smile slightly. (Forget telepathy and Vulcan mind-melds, Toki, I don't think they really communicate at all. Which renders their intimacy ersatz. But there's plenty of give-and-take. He gives. She takes.)

Later, alone in the bookstore, she muses that she was stupid to think that she would forget him despite their only having been together for one winter... but then reflects that he would sit heavy in her heart, like winter snow. And he would never leave her. (Ooo, l didn't know that abandonment issues were contagious.)

That scene is beautifully poetic and all, but Hae-won does know that snow melts and runs off, doesn't she?! Unless I'm misunderstanding this metaphor, snow isn't warm like Eun-seob, either.

It just...

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@wishfultoki,
Re: PART 3 & Final comments

- Continued -

It just occurred to me that in real life, damaged individuals often unconsciously gravitate to others of their kind because the resonance of trauma and dysfunction feels familiar. Relationships with healthy individuals are often spurned as boring or uncomfortable in the face of required emotional honesty or communication skills. In this respect, I find Hae-won and Eun-seob to be a distressingly logical fit. Without directly addressing their individual and collective issues, their long-term prospects -- and those of their children, should they ever have any -- are much more challenging than those of folks who are only dealing with the everyday burdens of the human condition, which are heavy enough.

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[blockquote]Get yourself a space heater, toots[/blockquote]
I'm laughing my head off in YY style here @pakalanapikake.

The snow and warmth metaphors tended to get a bit mixed in the end, I agree, as well as the mixed messages we got about this hot n' cold OTP. Eun Seob is supposed to be the warm one, and Hae Won the cold one, but he said in voiceover that Hae Won warmed his frozen heart... I won't try to make any more sense of this.

Wow, I thought I was the only one who didn't quite get Hae Won at the end, but you are even more critical LOL. I wonder if the novel's ending clashed with the constraints of kdrama at this moment. The reviled episode 15 separation may have been dealt with differently in the novel.

One correction: the girl that Hae Won spied through the window with Jang Woo and Eun Seob was not Eun Shil. It was Jang Woo's co-worker Min-jung. Remember the gal that got lost in the mountains and wanted to have dinner with her rescuer? I think she finally did in the final episode... which seemed to spark a jealous reaction out of Hae Won and sent her running after Eun Seob. I was mildly disgusted at this point with "Ji-ho Lite". If she really meant to dump him and forget him, she could let him meet other girls.

[blockquote] I find Hae-won and Eun-seob to be a distressingly logical fit[/blockquote].
This seems to be the norm in dramaland: hero with a traumatic past meets girl with at least some traumatic past... and they probably met as children. I don't know how this works in real life, but I'm guessing communication would be even more desirable if both are damaged individuals.

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@wishfultoki,
Thanks for setting me straight re: Min-jung vs. Eun-shil. I didn't get a good look at her, but now that I reconsider it, it makes sense. I wasn't certain which day of the week it was, and assumed that Eun-shil could have been in town on the weekend. Now Hae-won's jealous reaction makes more sense, because she was envious when Eun-seob went back up the mountain to search for Min-jung when she'd fallen behind on the group hike.

As for my criticality towards Hae-won, it comes down to my getting fed up with the self-centeredness that she shares with Mom and Auntie. The whole lot of them are dismissive of other people, which bothered me from the start, and alienated me by the end.

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You know... the more I think about it, the less I like this show at all. I think it's a very good thing I dropped it at 10: if I'd watched the last half I think my essay would've been a lot harsher; you make so many points here which are major issues with not just the show itself, but the wolrdview it was written by. Yikes.
Anyway, good rant: say it louder for the people at the back lol. ;)

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@sicarius,
Some of my crankiness is occasioned by a case of What Might Have Been-itis. I genuinely enjoyed watching this show and most of its characters, but certain aspects of it went off the rails (for me). I have to keep reminding myself that it's a rare drama that crosses the finish line without compromising itself. There was enough good about it for me to keep tuning in to see how it would turn out, but closer scrutiny revealed aspects that I found problematic. The collusion between Mom and Auntie to conceal the true facts of Dad's death left a bad taste in my mouth, and struck me as ridiculous because it was a clear case of self-defense. Maybe the audience was supposed to cut them some slack for freaking out and making bad decisions in the heat of the moment. Alas, it came across to me as just another instance of their habitual lying / denial of reality.

Among the features I particularly enjoyed: the coziness of the Goodnight Bookstore, especially when the book club was in session, Eun-seob's journal, the music, the rural locations, including Eun-seob's childhood home on the mountain, and the progression of the seasons visible in the vegetation. I second @quirkycase's kudos for Kim Hwan-hee's and Moon Jeong-hee's performances as Hwi and Auntie, respectively.

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At first glance HW can come across as pushy next to ES (though I never once took ES for a pushover) and perhaps for that line to seem kind of aggressive. But when I think about it: why is it bad for HW to state clearly what she wants? It wasn't a manipulation or even an attempt to persuade. It was pretty clear and matter-of-fact: she told him what she wanted - and it was up to him to decide if he wanted it, too (turns out, he did). In this respect, I sometimes was frustrated by ES. They're both adults, and no one is a mind-reader - despite being similar in temperament to some extent, they sure struggled with communication. Thankfully we had his journal entries, which helped, but I never heard him tell HW what he wanted - be it for her to stay, for her to chill out, whatever. At one point I wondered if he was such a fatalist about being so sure she was leaving that it never occurred to him to ask her or to tell her what he wanted?

That said, I kind of really liked this about them - two people who clearly cared so much for each other but struggled to communicate. It felt realer than a lot of TV relationships in this respect.

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Awesome comments and insights! You expressed many of my reactions to the show. You totally nailed it when the focus shifted to the death of Hae-won's father, we lost Eun-Soeb's story and narrative. And, where was the bookclub?

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Compared to BTIOFL, this forced separation seemed tame. At least we had a reason why HW left, though I didn't like the way she handled it. Also I pretend the last 2 eps of BTIOFL don't exist so.. 🤫

While I liked JW and ES's storyline, it still felt like she needs to ease up on the teasing which to me was borderline bullying. Especially at the alumni meet, she exposed his bullying by the other ppl, even though he took it light heartedly. Either he's very well adjusted or strong emotionally. But I didn't like it.

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I was uncomfortable with Eun-shil's teasing as well. I otherwise like them a lot as a pairing, since they're basically the same person, but her teasing was merciless and cruel.

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@superwhopotterlock,
Eun-shil is on my sh*t list because of her inappropriate public teasing of Jang-woo. It's a crappy way to treat him. It's one thing to gently and briefly tease in private, but she humiliated him in front of their class in high school, and she still keeps doing it. At the latest reunion, he looked uncomfortable, but she kept right on doing it anyway. He deserves way better than that.

I agree with you about BECAUSE THIS LIFE IS OUR FIRST. I'm not that keen on Hae-won, who has been as uncommunicative and self-centered as Mom and Auntie -- which makes her Ji-ho Lite in my book.

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Eek, I confess to teasing one of my close friends like this. You can only do it with someone who's so good that they won't get fed up and whom you've known since childhood. (I don't do it anymore because we've grown up and I don't like being teased myself, heh).

So yes, it was childish of Eun Shil to tease him so much, but then again it seemed to be a local pastime to tease Jang Woo. Everybody teased him in that town, even the young uns.

I do not however condone her public humiliation of Jang Woo in high school and bringing that up to embarrass him later. She's still quite childish, but he's innocent and has a solid philosophy of life, so I have no doubt that they will grow together and become that couple that likes to bicker playfully with each other. Jang Woo may even learn to tease her too.

I hope I don't come across as hypocritical for being so hard on Hae Won and giving Eun Shil a pass. I'm willing to forgive her a lot because she was direct and honest with Jang Woo, but I do think it's a fantasy to reject someone like she did and still find him still single and still crushing on her ten years later LOL.

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@wishfultoki,
I think it is precisely because everyone else in town busts Jang-woo's chops that I take such exception to Eun-shil's insistence on doing so. She of all people should treat him better than everyone else.

You are right. She is very immature in some ways. When she ran off at the mouth about why wasn't he as an SNU graduate working in Seoul for some big company, I felt like shaking her. I just about screamed when she told him he should have put his definition of happiness in his letter with the bouquet back in high school -- because then she would have liked him better. Sheesh! Maybe he hadn't yet formulated his definition of happiness. In the present, she seems to be pretty clueless about her own definition of happiness -- aside from quitting a boring civil service job and trying to get back into Jang-woo's good graces after treating him very badly. She's overflowing with ambition. Not.

I'd love to see Jang-woo become able to snark right back at everyone who teases him. But he's so focused on making his town a great place to live that he has neither time nor energy to spare for such frivolity. He's a man on a mission. I just hope that he can relax and become more comfortable in his own skin. In his own way, everyone is taking him for granted the same way they used to take Eun-seob for granted as the local search-and-rescue dude.

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I agree with @quirkycase that the ending felt perfunctory :/ I loved this drama and the characters overall but I wanted a little more closure on Myeong-Yeo? Are her feelings of guilt resolved now even though she didn't turn herself in? Also, was it necessary for Eun-seob and Hae-won to break up for that time apart? Lastly, Yeong-woo didn't have genuine feelings??? What?!

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Yeong-woo had feelings but not at the same depth as Eun-seob. This is really what Hae-won was saying.

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I thought Yeong-woo was trying to her rejection lightly... he seemed to have genuine feelings.

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Edit: "trying to take her rejection lightly".

That is, he was trying to be cool about it and let Hae Won think whatever she wants to think.

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What a refreshingly different relationship dynamic... really, in both the 1st and secondary love stories, it's the woman who calls the shots, and I think that is why we are feeling a little lost and worried about it - the men did not come in and sweep the ladies off their feet, they maybe spoke or showed what their life philosophies were, and it was up to the women to accept those life choices, or not. In both cases, they accepted, but it is still a bit open-ended because, refreshingly, there is also the option for them to change their minds. It was much more like real life. I will forever love this show because it allowed the women to have an active part in determining the shape of the relationship - even unto deciding the level of physical intimacy and when and where it happens.

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This story is all the more real in that it did not have men sweeping the ladies off their feet. Instead it acknowledged that men and women are people, each of them an individual. If a relationship is not to descend into a power struggle the man and the woman need to accept each other as people who make choices. That is the only way to form a life-long partnership.

What many watchers failed to understand is that both Eun-seob and Jang-woo made their choice long ago. Eun-sil has a tougher row to hoe because originally she had rejected him but sees that she made a huge mistake. So she has to really work on getting past the awkwardness that Jang-woo has- but in their final scenes we do see Jang-woo responding by taking a sudden half-day holiday, etc. Hae-won has a different problem- she has to overcome herself. It is actually a measure of Eun-seob's strength as a man that he understands this and accepts it- even though it may mean that he and Hae-won may not end up together.

The two men do not need to persuade the girls of their deep and sincere feelings- so there is no point to having them take stronger action. Both women are aware that they already have their man's heart. So the only question becomes can they accept the gift of love?

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I agree with you. It was nice to see not the alfa man telling the poor lady in distress: you must love me and fall in love with me because I like you (I'm exaggerating here, I know).

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Bravo indeed to Moon Jeong-hee as Myung-yeo! I got invested in her story and was happy how it ended for her. Get that surgery and live a happy life travelling while writing your book Aunt!

Despite not being satisfied with the last two episodes, I still enjoyed the show. It had a heart and brought warmth in this quarantine life. Also, a friend who just started watching Kdramas binged this and loved it.

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I had not considered this a gateway drama, but then again, it was a great watch during this quarantine life... sipping coffee or hot chocolate, watching winter turn into spring, and at the end seeing fear and darkness give way to hope and sunshine. If only the last episodes had lived up to the rest of the drama.

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Such a beautiful and quiet drama about the things people deal with quietly in their hearts! I loved how the characters were unique and true to themselves rather than conforming to the slick Seoul-based norms we usually see. I felt Hae Won's character wobbled in this one. The character was set up as being very cautious and careful and reined in, and her romantic side didn't follow that set up and so didn't ring true to me--even in love I would have expected those traits to express themselves. I did like how the drama showed how people suffer through pain and heal in different ways and paces, and how real life love shows through in as many ways as there are personalities (including all the types of love). I also liked that Jang-woo finally got a chance at fulfilling his 10 year crush--that was a very satisfying ending for a side character. And like has been said, the side character stories were all very earnest to me too. I loved the drama because I felt like it spoke to my personality and life experiences. It might not have been an industry favorite, but industry favorites aren't for every personality either. This drama and "A Piece of Your Mind" (even though it has uneven writing) have filled my craving for the study of deep thoughts and deeply felt and guarded emotions. Bravo!

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Thanks, quirkycase, for the recap. I posted on my wall but I want to chime in here since I share many of your thoughts. ...
I want to weigh in on the ending of this drama because I was so worried that the heaviness of two generations couldn’t be fixed. Maybe fixed isn’t the right word, perhaps lifted is better. How many final K-drama episodes have been anti-climactic or a letdown? In this case, I was prepared for a sad ending, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was relieved. And happy. It was as if decades of violent storm dust that had churned and thickened and choked Hye-Won’s family finally – FINALLY – settled. After it seemed impossible that it would. A lie, many lies, meant to protect Myung-Yeo and Hye-Won created a stifling distance that only the hidden truth could cut through. But once the truth was unleashed, the family and the entire town that had been affected on the peripheral was made right(er). Like settling dust that brings calm and those affected can look around, assess their surroundings, and brush off and move on. I loved that everyone could move on. And Eun-Seob? Well, his story that seemed prominent in the beginning and put him on shaky ground, also worked its way through the cycle of cosmic pulls and pushes. Really, it was a very nice – in the good sense – ending. My heart felt warm and stable.

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Definitively, something I like about this end is that it was not rushed, it didn't feel rushed or shallow in order to get everyone happy at the end. So it didn't change the tone the whole drama had from the beginning. Very well done! Very very nice.

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I'm sorry, but I was quite frustrated with the favouritism. What kind of mother would say "I love one of my children more than the other"? Not cool.

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Right? I was like whattt. Parents do play favourites but they don't usually say it out loud.

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I think it boils down to Korean culture. I have a lot of experience in this area and just to put it into perspective, orphanages have a lot more boys than girls solely due to girls getting adopted faster as there's no "bloodline" issue that relates to "bringing up another man's son" which is like a big humiliation. For Eun Jeong to be able to say out out loud this way, its very forward thinking and in some ways defying societal norms and crushing belief systems that is especially prevalent in small town settings. Kudos to her proclamation of love that can happen with nurture above nature. Hwi will always be a princess in that family but her protectiveness of ES is a broadcast to the world that she will take a bullet for the boy and not for anyone to mess with their family.

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Thanks for the explanation.

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Yes, I didn't like that either. But I do believe that in that family ES is just the favorite person to everyone: dad, mum and Hwi. He is.
Yet, I didn't like mum saying it outloud.

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Yes. I felt bad for Hwi.

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It also can explain why Hwi is the way she is, so confident and positive.

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I didn't want to comment coz then it would feel like it's already over. :(

This drama is exactly the time line: transition from winter to spring. It's being cold then offered a cup of hot chocolate. It's cozy!

So grateful to this drama for airing dueing the time I needed something like this. It just made me feel warm all over! The stories and poems were all beautiful and I've written a couple of poems since watching this. (I go for long periods of time without writing)

This is also the much needed breath of fresh air for PMY because she's been doing roles that are too similar. Also, this show reintroduced me to Seo Kang-joon, turned my dislike to appreciation.

Will probably rewatch at the end of the year when the weather gets hard to bear.

Thank you so much for recapping this show and giving us a place to discuss with fellow beanies!!

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I too appreciated the fact that it gave PW a completely different kind of role from what we have seen before.

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I will also definitely rewatch this year!

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My review on the last three episodes:

I don't understand Hae Won's behaviour. Can anyone enlighten me? In EP15 first she says goodbye to him coldly then after reflecting on it, runs after him to the cabin and hugs him, spends the night with him, then disappears AGAIN. In EP16 first she is avoiding him in town, then seeing Eun Seop with another girl, runs after him to hug him and then she wants to leave AGAIN. She said to him "I was going to pretend I didn't see you, but when I saw your face, I couldn't help it. I'm sorry. I'll be going now." How can she be such a selfish person? She must have learned it from her aunt and mother. My question is 'Why?' Why didn't she want to say hello to him after having returned? Throughout the drama it was shown they have formed a very close, deep friendship during the winter. Now I feel their relationship was degraded by making it seem like a summer romance, intense, but short. She just thought she would forget poor Eun Seop, because it only lasted for a few months after all. She was well aware that he has loved her for a long time, so she's just messed his life up. She took his for granted.

Auntie is just wallowing in self-pity. She acted in self-defence back then. The abusive husband threatened to kill them. So why the guilt complex? Because the father was sweet to his daughter and to his sister-in-law? All the sacrifice Hae Won's mother has made for her sister proved futile. It's so frustrating to see their self-sabotaging behaviour and thoughts making their life a misery. Poor Hae Won is blessed with this two reserved, abrupt, self-centred relatives of her! Neither of them has come across as likable individuals when they were younger too. To be honest I’ve got no sympathy for them, but I feel sorry for Hae Won who was brought up in a family like that. Unfortunately Hae Won displays similar characteristics like her female family members. They live in a world of their own, nurturing their own pain, not giving much attention to what other people feel. Hae Won's reaction was peculiar to the revelation. Personally, I would be affected more by the fact that my mother has been beaten up by my father on a regular basis. What the heck is wrong with this family, by the way?! They didn't even know where Mother lived after having been released from prison.

Eun Seop is another extreme - he is way too passive and put everyone else before himself. Be a bit more assertive, Eun Seop! Eun Seop told Auntie that the right thing to do would be facing Hae Won and speaking with her in person. Look who's talking! He as well has a mouth/voice to speak, why not using it? He should have asked Hae Won to stay with him, but he decided to remain silent about his own feelings and his heart's desire. He had only himself to blame for his sadness at Hae Won leaving town. He might have written a letter to her expressing himself because it's obvious he can communicate much clearly in writing. Like he did with...

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He might have written a letter to her expressing himself because it's obvious he can communicate much clearly in writing. Like he did with the scarf he gave to his mother. That scene of Hae Won saying goodbye to him...she was so cold, so formal as if nothing was going on between them and Eun Seop just stood there with a resigned look and without saying a word, then going to the mountains to brood. He's just going with the flow.

This drama had more than its fair share of frustrations. In my humble opinion, every women in this drama (Hae Won, Auntie, Eun Sil) take pleasure in making fool of the men who love them. These men are kind of pushovers. I wasn't at all rooting for none of the couples. This drama completely drained me mentally.

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Hae-won had indeed assumed that she could just have a fling with the man who had truly loved her for years. But in the end she discovered that she in fact could not do that. I do not think that Eun-seob saying or writing something earlier would have changed that- she could only reach this realization on her own. Which she did - and with it the knowledge that her previous approach to things had been completely stupid.

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Agree with you totally. He is the type who does not impose his his ideas on how others should act or think. In fact from day 1, it was already established that even though he likes "Irene" and pines for her, he was always responsible for his own feelings. She also knew how he felt about her, so it was up to her to stop being wishy washy and make up her mind and I am glad that realization ended their seperation

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The trauma and the painful angst in the past episodes were really tough to watch. Plus the fact that this drama was ending made me all depressed. However, this drama wrapped up on a good note and left me feeling lighthearted. There was no book club meeting, but it was nice to see everyone in the finale. It felt like we got a glimpse of this community during these past couple of months and they're still going about their ways. Going around town, going to school, planting crops, getting ready for the spring.

Eun Seob didn't have a huge character change, but I'm okay with that. He remained consistent with his mellow and warm personality. But now he's happy. I'm super glad to see his smiles! ♥ He realized he belongs where he is right now. With his family in their little town. There were times where I did want him to talk to Hae Won about his feelings. But he showed his love quietly through his actions. His personality is just not the expressive type. I can relate to this. I have never heard my father utter the words "I Love You". He is a gruff, quiet man who is not one to initiate a hug or show other ways of affection. He says very few words and doesn't strike up a conversation randomly. If he overhears my sister and I talking about a machine or needing a repair, then he'll want to fix it for us or give us instructions or recommendations. He wants to help the best way he can. Before we remember it's one of our birthdays, he'd be the one buying a cake already (not just because he likes sweets lol).

Eun Seob's gift to his mother was such a wonderful way to express his love!! I was teary-eyed before she was, ha. Like with Hae Won, he didn't say the words ILY out loud.

Eun Seob & Hae Won..... Their relationship started during one season. I can imagine him taking his sweet time in opening up more. The themes of family/sibling love, living life, and striving for happiness were more meaningful.

I loved that the side characters felt like real people.
Warm and cold. Loud and quiet. Young and old.
Gathered together for their love of literature.

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Actually, Eun-Seob publishing his novel is HUGE step forward; some people can never take this step throughout their lives. It is a real risk, putting yourself out their for the world to analyze and criticize - and I didn't even realize it until I read this recap and the book cover was translated! I wish a little bit more had been made of this.

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Yeah it was a great accomplishment. Wish the drama spent more time on it though. Like give us some reactions from family and friends or something more than a single scene.

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@skelly, @loveblossom,
It is indeed a Big Deal that Eun-seob's book was published. I bet his landlord is tickled to pieces. Not to mention Mom... if he even mentioned it at home.

I have a feeling that the reason we were taken by surprise by Eun-seob's novel being published is because still waters run deep, and he wasn't about to release it until he was good and ready. Perhaps he got inspired by the publication of Aunty's book, and/or Crybaby's.

We all know that he is not one to blow his own horn. I cannot imagine him doing a video or radio interview. But I could imagine his responding to interview questions via email.

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What a beautiful drama. I can say this is one of the best romantic drama ever. I like the overall drama from the beginning to the end. Park Seo Hoon and Park Min Young chemistry is soo good. I almost love everything about this drama including the village events, and book club.
I'm gonna miss Eunsup's routine, brewing his coffee and reading book and writing private blog. I'll miss Hwi too. She is somehow annoying but really give colors to this drama.
I love it finally can see Eunsup and Haewon's smile.

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It was a great drama! I really liked the pace, the cinematography, the fact it was in a small town in the countryside, the music, the story and the characters. It was warm and touching. I loved how ES's blog was used to let ut know his feelings. The book club was really nice with people of all ages.

My only complaints :
The last episodes were kinda disapointing for the couple ES-HW. It was HW being sad and ES hugging her without real conversations. I like how ES was there for her. But their couple lacked conversations at the end.
I think I don't like fully HW character because we saw her angry against BY for telling her secret (but in the same it was the truth), against her Mum for not communicating, against her Aunt for killing her father and lying about it but never against her Dad. It was sad to watch the Mother and the Aunt haunted by what happened when it was the Dad who did wrong. Why the Aunt had to leave? She did nothing wrong except to defend herself and her sister.

For ES, it was like the writer forgot him... He was just there and it's all... I wanted to know about the 3 years with his mother, how he turned down his uncle, to see more scenes with his family.

I wasn't invested in the couple KW and Eun Sil because I didn't like her the most of the time. I didn't like how she teased him everytime.

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It is finally here. The last episode.

There is this movie, with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, called "Notting Hill". The movie could have ended with the press conference and she answering the question of "How long are you gonna stay here in Britain?". And she answers "indefinitely". The movie could have ended there. But then we were giving an extra scene, where they are in a park, laying on a bench and she is there with a preggs belly. That is what this episode felt like. The extra scene on the park.

I like that it was in a bridge. And that we didnt need a lot of dialogue, it was simple. Minimal. ES understood, HW understood. They got their shit together, there wasn't a problem. The timing of the happiness was balanced. This is so far on my top 5 favourite drama.

I have to say, I came from watching Extraordinary You, and I am totally a fan of Lee Jae-wook.

Discovered Seo Kang Joon in this drama (yes, Ive seen CITT), and I am in love.

Thanks my drama friends, the people who understood the importance of this drama. I hope to see you guys here in the comments in the future.

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Thnak you @quirkycase for recaps . It was a beautiful journey from start to end . I wish Eun Seoup got some growth trough the drama tough.

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As the story is kind of open ended, we are left to come up with our own interpretation how every character will get by in the future. All in all, it was a beautiful show. And as Jang Woo aptly noted "Those sunglasses are cool!" Thank you for the recaps!

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this one gets a thumbs up from me!! will be recommending next time anyone asks for a quiet self healing drama.....

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This drama was such a visual feast. I hadn't realized ho much the sounds of the village contributed to the whole atmosphere until we were rudely assaulted(albeit for a short scene) by the unforgiving city sounds. This drama has confused my head with winter=warmth but as a compensation to there's this gorgeous array of knitwear/jacket fashion that we can all thumb through for the next cold bout 😁
*Moon Jong Her was a stand out as MY. Even though the show has left it completely opaque, I'mma assume she's finally off to fulfill her youthful dream of 'doing everything'. The shades are off, she is finally free of the guilt and is ready for her second spring.
*Lim "boys are my everything" Hwi - In any given episode, she makes me rewind her parts multiple times. Be it the fantastic saddle scene, her fantastic dialogue delivery while blackmailing JW, straight faced-ly declaring "I'm Ur destiny" as first words to a guy she just met that day or telling the guy who rejected her that even if he turns her down, he's objectively pretty as a 🌹- Hwi is a mood . I will miss her manic cycle riding and "get out of my way" shouts the mostest.
*JW aka our adorable glitchy local boy - he just wonderful embodies small town niceness and am glad that he finally has a lady love who's as extra as him.
*I am soo glad that the show finally remembered ES's family and his mom finally got to see the words of love and affirmation she has always longer for.
*ES- This is the first SKJ show that I have actually finished despite always thinking of his as a fantastic actor, I always feel that he's let down by the stories towards the latter half of shows. Ths one wasn't much different where they completely gave up on any growth for ES and basically turned him into a dude in depression till his lady love show up. however SKJ has done complete justice to the character.lookjng forward to his next project 🤞
*HW's character graph has had suffered immensely in the second half of the drama. Her monologues/dialogues in the last few episodes have directly contradicted many of the earlier scenes we were shown and felt that she was used more as a plot device than an actual character to bring about the changes the show needed made to reach the last bit. PMY however really impressed me with her acting and was even able to infuse couple of these puzzling beats with layers that helped the perceptive viewers read in things that weren't ever clarified by the show.
*The book club was sorely missed however appreciated the glimpses into all of their individual lives in this last episode.

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Final thoughts:
I hav only just realized via this recap that this show s developed from a novel. Although I'm completely unfamiliar with the source material, this does seem to explain some of the decisions made by the show. With all it's flaws, this is certainly a superior show and is definitely going on my recommended list.
Thanks to @quirkycase for recapping this wonderful show and for all the beanies who enriched my experience and appreciation with their thoughtful/witty comments. ♥️

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Thank you for reminding me- I too want to thank Quirkycase for the recaps.

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I personally think that HW initially thought that she would open an institution with her friends but once she sees Eun Seop she realizes that she is not going to be able to forget him that easily. She initially asks him (in the bed scene) to ask her to stay permanently like the winter snow. But once she sees him she realizes that he has become the snow in her heart and will not leave her heart.
Also If you remember the earlier episode of the blue bird, she refutes Hwi and says that she does not agree with the story about how happiness cannot be at home and it is far away. Fast forward in the present she talks about how she has understood the nature of happiness and how it is found in the simple things of life and how it has to be guarded. In the original story HW tells Eun Seop that she came back to see him smile and will stay forever with him from now on. I think the script writer chose to tweak this but sort of retained the idea that she has chosen to stay with him. If you listen to the 7th sound track in youtube you will see that it represents HW's voice and that she will his life with all seasons and memories from now on.
I found an excellent translation to the book diary from the original book in some other blog. It might make souls worried about Eun Sep (like me) happy :) Please note the translation is not mine:
Hae-won whispered. "...Please smile." But Eun-seop couldn't smile easily. It wasn't much longer than two months, but it was a longer and more sickness season for him than ever.
Hae-won saw his shaky eyes and realized that Eun-seop was more heartbroken than she thought. "I want you to smile. I came here to see your smiling face."
Finally, Eun-seop sighed low. "Yes, I'll smile if you tell me to. Then what would you do if I smiled?"
"I'll give you one last kiss." He looked down at her confusedly. There was a warm smile around Haewon's mouth. "I'll give you my last kiss in a hundred years or so. Until then, let's stay together all the time."After a moment of daze, Eun-seop finally smiled.
The scene was so thrilling that Hae-won closed her eyes for a while and opened her eyes. The sky was visible over his shoulder.The green leaves of the yard were swaying in the wind on the edge of the sky.
Winter and spring... Hae-won thought that she would never forget this moment when she stayed with Eun-seop for the two seasons at the same time. This moment that she kissed for a long time in the snow of spring.
---
H smiled and said to me standing speechless. "Good morning."
Ah, good night club. Did I tell you the real good of playing this club for a long time? When you say good morning beyond many goodnights, your heart beats like the morning sun. Did I tell you that I believe in that moment when the landscape grows distant and only her figure shines?
The morning was a beautiful thing .
Good morning, everyone, And Happy New Year! this is the end of the diary. Because I'm going to kiss her from now on_Jan. 3,...

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Thank you for sharing that blog excerpt! Would you be able to share the blog link? I'd be curious to read more.

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Salute! And congrats! Thank you for making this short drama so beautiful and cool to watch.. Its really great from the characters, plot, setting.. The production staff had worked hard we can see it in the outputs of your film, good job! Congrats! So with the writer of the story, you really melted our frozen hearts.,As Eun Sob said.

Thank you so much.. More dramas like this pls

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Those of us who are Jang-woo fans can look forward to the second half of the year for Lee Jae-wook's next drama. In it he will play a guy in the boondocks who meets a piano teacher played by Go Ara in a show with a totally ridiculous name:

http://asianwiki.com/Do_Do_Sol_Sol_La_La_Sol

Fie on that! I'm referring to it as Dodo -- like the extinct bird.

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Omo, I think I will watch this if there is music involved but oh look it's Go Ara will she really play the piano and that name is ridiculous but it's Lee Jae Wook and he's so cool.

Channeling my inner Jang Woo here. ;)
...................................

The Do-Do-Sol-Sol-La-La-Sol title refers to the opening notes of the tune commonly known as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in English, from a French nursery rhyme immortalised in Mozart's 12 variations "Ah vous dirais je maman"

Lyrics
Ah ! Vous dirai-je maman
Ce qui cause mon tourment?
Papa veut que je raisonne
Comme une grande personne
Moi je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.

Oh! Shall I tell you, Mummy
What is tormenting me?
Daddy wants me to reason
Like a grown-up person,
Me, I say that sweets
Are worth more than reasoning.

(Lyrics and translation from Wikipedia).

I guess this means we should expect a lighthearted rom-com without much logic, and lots of sweet Lee Jae Wook. I'm in.

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Forgot to add: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is one of the first tunes a beginner will learn when playing an instrument, so it's appropriate for a drama set in a music academy. In fact, it was the first (and only) tune I ever learned on the violin with the Suzuki method, and it sounded so horrible that I'm sure all violin teachers must hate teaching it. Imagine having a room full of little kids brandishing their bows and making a hellish screechy noise! Good thing Go Ara will be teaching piano.

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@wishfultoki,
Thank you for your musical expertise. I had no idea the title refers to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" -- or that it comes from a French nursery rhyme -- or that Mozart is involved. Now I'm having flashbacks to my own piano lessons, which didn't commence until after my family got a piano when I was in junior high. By then I'd already had guitar lessons for a year or two. But I never got the hang of reading music. LOL at your description of your violin classes. Shades of the late Jack Benny. ;-)

I was glad to see that Go Ara is back in circulation with a cameo as herself in HOSPITAL PLAYLIST after getting injured while filming HAECHI. I'm not sure what to expect of her as a piano teacher. A bona fide lighthearted rom-com would be a welcome switch from all the angst in this one. ;-)

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So Mozart 12 variations in C Major of "Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman" is Dodo song now? 😀

I'm really happy to see Lee Jae Wook as a lead in a drama, he almost did it with Extraordinary You. For Go Ara...

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This drama ended quietly, evoking winter more than spring, that it left me somewhat wanting more. Plot was tight up to about halfway then it sort of fizzled from there. The rest was really an ode to beauty--the winter landscapes, the scenic countryside, the quaint bookstore, even the lines read by the book club members--they were all achingly beautiful. But what will remain with me for a while are the people--the little town dynamics, the community, the school alumni, the families, and our main couple. As Jang-woo so eloquently explained, and echoed by Eun-seob in his last journal entry, the mundane can be a source of happiness. It was to these mundane characters that I found hard to say goodbye.

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❤️️

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Thanks for the recap.

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I really enjoyed this drama! My only question would be about Hae-Won's feelings about her father, she made a comment about not liking him either, but all of the flashbacks showed him as a loving and attentive father but those flashbacks only showed her as a young child. I'm going to assume she became aware of the abuse at some point.

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I really enjoyed this drama! My only question would be about Hae-Won's feelings about her father, she made a comment about not liking him either, but all of the flashbacks showed him as a loving and attentive father but those flashbacks only showed her as a young child. I'm going to assume she became aware of the abuse at some point.
Queen PMY stays winning!

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Who sings the last song in Episode 16 when Eun-seob and Hae-won hug each other in the bridge?

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Who sings the last song in Episode 16 when Eun-seob and Hae-won hug each other in the bridge?
Also, who sings the last song in the last minute of Episode 16? Both songs are amazingly beautiful.
Please! Help!

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It's Moody Night, sung by Jeon Sang-keun

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First off, thanks to quirkycase for the recap and it's wonderful to see all the great posts and discussions regarding this show.
To be honest, I've only started watching kdramas recently (newbie!) but I've been totally hooked! I've never felt the urge to comment on a dramabeans post but this show has inspired me to do so and share my thoughts (please excuse the rambling).
I did feel like there were certain elements of the show that I was hoping for more:
- More book club moments at the end
- More moments at the end of ES and his family and perhaps closure with uncle
But I think what I've realized is that despite any perceived flaws, the word I would describe this show is beautiful. I think I tend to compare with other shows and maybe I'm always curious and searching for a "perfect" show but it's not about being "perfect" or "perfectly executed". I'm reminded of a quote: "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel" and this show is a perfect example of that. From the gorgeous countryside scenes to the shots of the local community working together, this show felt different compared to the shows that I've seen and was a breath of fresh air compared to many kdramas (that I still also love) set in big cities with the typical Chaebol characters.
It is such a pleasure to see the many different viewpoints that everyone has and I guess I've always had an urge to lean towards a happy ending so my interpretation was that despite initially intending to perhaps open the class in Seoul, upon seeing ES again and having that "A-ha" moment, she realized her answer is that she would want to stay with him forever. I know it was mentioned in one of the comments that there was a translation of the book/blog posting? If there is some sort of resource on this I would be delighted to read.
I also had some curious questions:
- What was the time skip from Ep15 to Ep16? Was it like 1-2 months?
- As I loved this show, I was wondering if there were any recommendations on shows that were similar to this? (meaningful, beautiful, and utilizing great sources of metaphors, poems, books)
P.S. I myself am a HUGE PMY fan (celebrity crush)

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While I loved the drama as a whole, I did not like how ES and HW's relationship came to a resolution. They never talked about anything.

While HW had some insight into her heart's inner workings on that bridge when ES asked her how long she was staying, I don't feel that negates the brutality of her informing him she would be leaving and him just accepting it. Not to mention a whole year of separation without contact. After having taken such a long journey towards each other, I had a really hard time accepting such a hurried break-up, the show could have benefitted on spending some time, longer than 15 minutes, on their relationship.

I initially felt this drama was about HW establishing a new foundation for her life. But thinking about it now, I have a stronger feeling the show was about people's inability to open up to those around them and the loneliness this begets.

Was it just me, or did this feel not so much like a series finale as a season finale? There were so many things left unsaid and I really missed the book club and it's connection to the story-telling. In case the producers are watching this thread even in my late arrival; I wouldn't mind a second season!

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Just finished “When the Weather is Nice” (aka I’ll Go When the Weather is Nice)

THANK YOU @Quirkycase
WOW!! Beautifully expressed what was on my mind as I watched the show.

Last 2 episodes notwithstanding .. This Drama will stay with me ..

Below am copy pasting my feedback on the show – which I shared elsewhere also 🙂

NO SPOILERS .. so you can read safely

******************************************************************************************************************

(These days I’ve taken to testing Episode 1 – 2 for hook-ability .. so I am pickier with where I invest my time)

I LOVED every inch, nook and cranny of this show ..

Slice of life .. realistic acting .. strong well woven side threads of the main story line ..

no constant, compulsive labelling and explaining of motivations which removes the between spaces for viewer’s to fill in with their interpretation ..

No “whining-cringeworthy, doe-eyed, weepy Pity me” overacting actress performance .. no wrist grabbing .. I’ll be macho man and take care of you, stay by your side pronouncements from lead actor ..

Poetry poetry .. story story .. fables .. folktales .. forests of the Grimm Brothers .. journals .. authors, books ..

delightful side characters who successfully capture our attention and emotional investments ..

complex, dark, inscrutable women who damage themselves and the people around them .. Do I need the script / director to label them with explicit explanations?? NOPE!!

damaged, dark, wild, outsider men .. complex in their twisted world view yet tinged with unexpected ‘giving-ness’ .. do I need explicit explanations in the script to hammer it in .. no .. we’ve seen real people in real life who fit these character types to infer our own logic or motivations for it ..

The Drama is RICH .. because unlike the Studio Line produced Kdramas .. this show foregoes the easy explanations .. instead sketches in the shadows for dimension building ..

This Drama had a very ‘inde’ feel to it (independent cinema) .. more like a 16 hour long film .. than a drama – this could very well have passed off as an “EDrama” ;-p European Drama ;-D

At first I had baulked at the “slow burn” label and wondered if it would KILL me with boredom ..BUT in Episode 1 itself the show tendrils started to twine itself around me, my heart and mind .. putting me into a gentle binge-watch slouching in sofa fixation ..

I kept wondering how such a gentle pace, haunting OST, silent yet aware soundtrack was making my heart race .. my stomach churn .. my anxiety rise .. my chest heave and my eyes prick and my throat choke ..

A rare gem of a show in the top of my list of favourites from my 3 month old life as a Kdrama Fan. Am roughly 34 dramas into KDrama Land
;-p
which include a spectrum from Healer – Empress Ki – CLOY – SITR – OSN – Master’s Sun etcetera etc.

It ranks right up there with

– Empress Ki
– Healer
– What Happened in Bali
– OSN
– School 13
–...

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Cont. from previous post
@quirkycase

Last but not the least ..

I watched this show because I was blown away by Seo Kang Joon’s second lead act as Baek In Ho in Cheese in my Trap – I felt aah here is an actor I need to explore and follow .. So I looked up his shows and chose this one because it’s the most recent and Viki had a 9.3 audience rating from almost 18000 viewers ..

He SHINES!!! His show career as main lead is taking off .. I think if he continues to pick good scripts and talented directors (or vice versa) we can expect him to join the BIG league actors on the Korean Drama stage.

He has as stunning and unique a face and physicality as Ji Chang Wook / Kim Woo Bin.

The last time a second lead leapt off a Kdrama to nudge out its own memorable spot – was Kim Woo Bin in Heirs / School 13 and Chen Xiang in Whirlwind Girl 2 (ok Chen X. is Chinese and WG2 a CDrama).

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Does anyone remember where the nickname Irene came from?

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My wife and I have just watched this show - with great enjoyment - over the last week or so. My thanks to the Dramabeanies for their insights into ways at looking at what happened within and between the characters, and for bringing forth points that we non-Koreans [I am Anglo North American, my wife a native Peruvian] missed - for example, that ES's book had been published.

It is clear that bookseller ES's nickname for our central character comes from the song "Goodnight, Irene". I first became aware of this song in the 1950s, when I was a schoolchild [yes, I'm old - I have less time ahead of me, more mistakes behind me]. The version I heard was by the Weavers, the folk group that included Pete Seeger. The lyrics they sang were:

[Chorus -sung at the beginning and between each verse]

Irene, goodnight
Irene, goodnight
Goodnight, Irene
Goodnight, Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

[Verse 1]
Last Saturday night I got married
Me and my wife settled down
Now, me and my wife are parted
I'm gonna take another stroll downtown

[Verse 2]
Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in town
Sometimes I take a great notion
To jump into the river and drown

[Verse 3]
Stop ramblin', stop your gamblin'
Stop staying out late at night
Go home to your wife and family
Stay there by your fireside, bright

[end of quote of lyrics]

From this, it is clear to me that

1)Our character applied the nickname Irene after the river incident

2)Our story authors have shaped the entire story to include verses 1 & 2 - the failed marriages [to put it mildly, in the case of HW] of the parents of our main characters, the alternation between big city and village, or village and wilderness, of the life courses of our main couple, as well as HW's despairing walk into the river.

I encourage you to look at Wikipedia and YouTube for more about the song and the singers I've mentioned.

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One of the best Kdramas I’ve watched and continue to watch when I need to feel warm or just feeling the blues. Always puts a smile on my face. Park Min Young is such a great actress!

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June 2023, first watch. Thanks for all the comments, fellow beanies.

Am I the only one that thinks the show spent too much time on the mom-aunt story and not enough on Eun-Soeb's story?

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