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My Absolute Boyfriend: Episodes 13-14

With two alpha males clashing horns over her heart, it’s no wonder our heroine is angry. One suitor showers her with love and attention while the other acts cold yet possessive, which is bound to confuse anyone. But at least one of these infuriating lovers is capable of learning and growing — and it might not be the one Da-da expects.

 
EPISODES 13-14 RECAP

While waiting for Da-da at the TV station, Young-gu overhears Eun-dong complaining that he can’t find anyone to be Wang-joon’s manager for a month while Yeo-woong recovers from her accident. He offers himself for the job and is hired on the spot, but Wang-joon predictably refuses to work with Young-gu.

Eun-dong excuses Young-gu and tries to talk Wang-joon into accepting Young-gu. He admits that Young-gu has no experience and that Wang-joon is extremely hard to work for, but that gives Wang-joon an idea, so he goes after Young-gu. He asks if Young-gu is really up to being his manager, his words sounding like a dare.

Young-gu and Wang-joon are both thrilled to tell Da-da about Young-gu’s new job, though for very different reasons. Da-da, on the other hand, is incensed that Young-gu didn’t check with her first, but he argues that this way he can see her at the TV station since he’s now an employee.

He reminds Da-da that she said she doesn’t want a jobless boyfriend, and she hisses that she meant by human standards. But Young-gu pouts that he wants her to be proud of him. He promises he won’t get caught, so Da-da whines for him to do whatever, though Young-gu cheerfully takes that as consent.

Kyu-ri and Yoo-jin spot Young-gu leaving the building, and Yoo-jin tells Kyu-ri (who’s still convinced that Young-gu is in love with her, ha) that she needs to stop drooling after handsome guys or she’ll get hurt. She points out that she’d rather get hurt by handsome guys than unattractive ones, and Yoo-jin snaps that nobody’s dating her, anyway. HA.

Wang-joon watches Young-gu leaving and snarls to himself, “Uhm Da-da, I’ll thoroughly expose your ‘great’ boyfriend and make him suffer. Let’s see how much he can take.”

Da-da visits Yeo-woong at the hospital, relieved that she’s not hurt too badly. Yeo-woong describes how she almost hit Bo-won and tells Da-da that he disappeared from the hospital, and claims that she’s enjoying the break from Wang-joon. Da-da changes the subject when Yeo-woong tries to discuss Wang-joon with her.

Bo-won makes his way to Da-da’s house, bruised and filthy, and whines to Young-gu that he’s nearly died several times. He asks if Young-gu is running his full version now, and he’s pathetically grateful to learn that Da-da hasn’t kicked Young-gu out. He apologizes that Young-gu will need to stay with Da-da a while longer, promising to return for him soon… then begs pathetically for some food. Aww, he’s starving.

After getting cleaned up and fed, Bo-won is upset to learn that Young-gu is content to love Da-da without his love being returned. He tells Young-gu that love is supposed to go both ways, sobbing that this isn’t why he smuggled Young-gu out of Kronos Heaven.

He sees a picture of Wang-joon and Da-da together and asks Young-gu if they’re dating, shocked by the potential scandal. But Young-gu says they’re not together anymore, then changes the subject to his new job. Bo-won thinks he’s bonkers to take a job working for Da-da’s ex, but Young-gu says he wants to learn more about Wang-joon, and Bo-won concedes that he should be out among people.

Bo-won leaves before Da-da returns home, wishing Young-gu good luck and taking the backpack he left with Young-gu before.

At the hospital, Yeo-woong notices Da-da’s ring and asks if she’s seeing the guy that’s been hanging around so much. Da-da says it’s not like that — it’s just a situation she’s in. Yeo-woong starts to tell Da-da something else about Wang-joon, but changes her mind.

Director Go and In-hyuk stay up all night at Kronos Heaven analyzing Bo-won’s diary and the note “real,” but they find nothing. Director Go’s assistant does some sleuthing and finds Da-da’s special effects studio (which is named Real).

At her mansion, Diana hears some maids cooing over the video of Wang-joon holding Da-da in his arms at the amusement park. She tells them playfully that it’s childish, then notes that the one maid’s hair is getting long again and says they should play “dolls” again soon.

Young-gu adorably puts his A++ sticker on his shirt before heading off to his first day of work as Wang-joon’s manager. Da-da asks him one last time not to do this, but he goes anyway, leaving Da-da at home alone on her day off.

Wang-joon doesn’t actually have a schedule today, but he gets all dressed up, which is hysterical. Eun-dong asks why Wang-joon changed his mind about the temporary manager, but Wang-joon smirks that Young-gu won’t last three hours.

As soon as Young-gu arrives, Wang-joon is immediately unhappy that Bbobbi, his dog, falls for Young-gu on sight. He asks Young-gu questions like his name and age, and gapes at his answers (“I opened my eyes eleven days ago!” Hee). Wang-joon demands to know where “they” met, but at Eun-dong’s confusion, he says he’s just asking why Young-gu wants to work for him (Eun-dong: “Do you think this is a blind date??”).

Eun-dong says that the important thing is whether Young-gu can do whatever Wang-joon tells him to do. Young-gu says confidently that he can do anything, so Wang-joon instructs him to go to his favorite coffee shop and bring him an iced caramel macchiato without the ice having melted.

Young-gu delivers the drink in perfect condition by transporting it in a cooler full of ice. He even amazes Wang-joon by getting his very complicated order right, having asked the staff what he usually orders. Wang-joon says that was an easy test, but now he’s hungry, and he’s craving white jjajangmyun made by a famous chef in Chinatown.

Eun-dong tells Wang-joon that even if Young-gu hurries, the noodles will be soggy by the time he returns. But Wang-joon crows that that won’t be Young-gu’s problem — the place doesn’t allow takeout. LOL, Young-gu talks the actual chef into coming to Wang-joon’s house to personally make the jjajangmyun for him — turns out, he’s a big fan, hee.

At home, Da-da paces with worry over how Young-gu’s day is going. She decides to go to Wang-joon’s house to check on Young-gu, but as she leaves, she catches Director Go and In-hyuk peeking in her shop window. They lie that they’re detectives from the Serious Crimes Unit (omg wut) investigating a dog thief in the area.

They ask if she’s seen a suspicious man around, maybe someone dressed or acting strange, or someone she could love at first sight. HA! Da-da says she hasn’t, and asks why the Serious Crimes Unit (I’m sorry, I can’t) is handling a dog theft case. Director Go blurts out that he’s actually a serial dog killer, then realizes how dumb that sounds.

Wang-joon can’t help but be reluctantly impressed that Young-gu got a master chef to personally cook for him. Eun-dong declares Young-gu officially hired and gives him a phone to use for work. When Young-gu leaves to return the chef, Wang-joon complains and glares at Eun-dong when he considers signing on Young-gu as his next big star.

While in Wang-joon’s house, Young-gu analyzes his personality based on his possessions and preferences. Video games and a huge manhwa collection point to a childish side, and his cleanliness level is deemed “okay,” ha. Young-gu comes across the dummy cake that Da-da made for Wang-joon, which says “Seven years of precious memories” on the side.

Wang-joon confronts Young-gu and grabs his cake back, then tells him smugly that Da-da made the cake for him. He compares his seven years with Da-da to Young-gu’s roughly one month, but Young-gu proudly points to his A++ sticker, saying that Da-da accredited him. He smacks Wang-joon’s hand for trying to touch his sticker, pronouncing it only for special people. HEE.

Wang-joon, who looks like he’s got a killer migraine coming on, says that he doesn’t understand why Da-da is seeing someone like Young-gu. But he says he’s certain that Da-da doesn’t have feelings for Young-gu, she just needs someone by her side right now. Young-gu says he doesn’t care as long as Da-da is beside him and not Wang-joon.

Furious, Wang-joon invites Young-gu outside to settle this. Da-da watches nervously as Wang-joon leads Young-gu to a nearby building — LOL, it’s just the gym. Wang-joon feels superior when Young-gu admits that he’s never lifted weights, then gets jealous when his trainer chirps that Young-gu is so handsome, she thought he was a new actor, ha.

Wang-joon insists on starting with the heavy weights even though Young-gu argues that he should warm up first. He struggles to lift the barbells and has to ask for help or be crushed, so Young-gu puts the barbells back on the stand… one-handed. Wang-joon catches Young-gu snickering, but Young-gu just politely suggests he try something lighter.

His trainer kits up Wang-joon in a bunch of equipment, which Wang-joon brags makes the workout that much harder. Young-gu declines the equipment, which shocks the muscles with electricity while you work out, but Wang-joon shames him into it then whispers to the trainer to give Young-gu an extra-difficult workout. As soon it’s turned on, the equipment goes haywire and Young-gu is rendered unresponsive. Electrical currents race over his body, and even Wang-joon gets scared.

Da-da had followed the guys into the gym and sees what’s happening. She runs in, worried for Young-gu, and when the equipment finally shuts down, she stops the trainer from calling for help and says that he’ll be fine. She pulls Wang-joon aside and asks why he did that to Young-gu, not believing his weak excuses and accusing him of bullying.

He turns it around on her and asks if she followed them because she was worried about Young-gu. He asks if she truly has feelings for Young-gu, and if she’s slept with him, but she’s offended that that’s all he seems to care about.

Young-gu finally opens his eyes and sits up, perfectly fine. He finds Da-da and apologizes for worrying her, and asks Wang-joon if he can take Da-da home now. As they leave, he sees that the stone in Da-da’s ring has gone black for anger, and he thinks she’s angry with him for not working the few minutes that he was non-functional.

She asks what he’d have done if she hadn’t shown up, and complains that Bo-won tricked her into bringing Young-gu back. Young-gu meekly follows her at a respectful distance, which Wang-joon notices as he’s leaving. But he also notices that someone on a second-floor balcony is about to deliberately throw a flowerpot down onto Da-da’s head.

Without thinking, he grabs Da-da and spins her out of the way. Young-gu runs inside to chase the culprit, using his inhuman speed and acrobatic abilities to catch up to the guy. He grabs the man by the belt and flips him through the air to land about a hundred feet away in a pile of garbage, then politely invites him to visit the police station together.

At the station, Wang-joon notices that Da-da is babying her left wrist. He confronts the flowerpot thrower and asks if he’s been sending him the back boxes, but the culprit swears he doesn’t know anything about any boxes. Wang-joon doesn’t believe him and has to be restrained from attacking him.

Once they’re allowed to leave, he asks Da-da if she’s really okay, and she says she is. She leaves as Eun-dong arrives, beside himself with worry over Wang-joon getting himself into a legal situation. Wang-joon heads for the car and runs into Young-gu on his way back from the store, and he sees the medicine Young-gu bought and tell him it’s too strong for Da-da, tossing him something more appropriate instead.

Young-gu joins Da-da and asks why that man tried to hurt her, but she just says it was an accident. She’s impressed that Young-gu brought her favorite medicine, and Young-gu admits that Wang-joon gave it to him. Da-da recalls a time earlier in their relationship when Wang-joon had refused to put a patch on her sore back after a long day at work, which initially upset her.

But then he’d returned with this same spray, saying that she’d gotten swollen the last time she used those patches. He’d teased that he doesn’t always seem to be paying attention, but that he notices everything. Wang-joon also remembers that day and sighs heavily as he watches Da-da walking home with Young-gu.

Wang-joon takes a call, and someone whose voice is obviously altered asks why Wang-joon is still with Da-da after his warnings. When Wang-joon asks what he wants, the voice says he’s already made that clear. Wang-joon growls that he’s not scared of someone who can’t even face him, which just means they have something to hide.

He tells the caller to release any pictures or videos he wants, and the caller asks if he’s sure, because Da-da will be the one in danger. Wang-joon says they are over and to stop messing with her, but the caller says he’s a liar and tells him that Da-da will get hurt if he keeps this up.

That evening, Young-gu asks Da-da to help him write a resume (Eun-dong requested one). Da-da is surprised that he still wants to work for Wang-joon after today and asks him to reconsider, but Young-gu just sets his jaw stubbornly, so Da-da concedes defeat.

While she’s finding resume paper, Young-gu sees the photo of her and Wang-joon again, which was taken at the beach. He asks Da-da what the ocean is like, but she doesn’t hear him, and he drops the issue. They work on his resume, and when they get to the part about family, Da-da says that whoever made and cared for him is his family, so she puts down Bo-won as Young-gu’s uncle.

The resume is sparse, but Young-gu says happily that having one makes him feel human. He thanks Da-da, who says that she doesn’t do that much for him yet he’s always thanking her. Young-gu replies that even if she’s angry at him and her heart belongs to someone else, he’ll still be there for her and give her his love, because it’s the reason he was born.

Da-da gets a call from Yeo-woong, who asks if she’s with Wang-joon. She lets slip that she’s surprised Wang-joon and Da-da haven’t reconciled yet, and she tells Da-da that Wang-joon wasn’t at the restaurant the other night because he came to the hospital to see her.

Da-da remembers that Wang-joon did call her that night, but she’d cut him off and told him to leave her alone. Wang-joon and Da-da both spend the night thinking about the past, and Young-gu recalls how Wang-joon told him that he has seven years of memories with Da-da.

He reads his book, “The Happy Prince,” which is about a prince who was happy in life because he only saw the opulent inside of the castle, but became sad after he died and was made into a golden jeweled statue that overlooks the harsh realities of the city. The prince, with the help of a bird, gives up his jeweled eyes and his gold coating to help the people who are sick and hungry.

But when the people see that the statue is now ugly, they tear him down and throw him away. Bo-won had given Young-gu the book since it’s his favorite story, and had made him promise that he wouldn’t end up like the prince.

Young-gu finds Da-da asleep at her desk and gently puts her to bed. In her sleep, she murmurs Wang-joon’s name, and Young-gu feels his robotic heart respond erratically.

In the morning, Da-da wakes up in a car on a pier. Young-gu says he brought her here because he’s curious why people in love go to watch the sea. He says he’s never seen it before, and that he’s happy he got to see it with her.

He takes Da-da’s hands and grows serious, and asks her, “Can’t you give me a chance? I want to be loved now.”

 
COMMENTS

Awww, our lovebot is evolving! I’ve been awaiting for this, because Young-gu’s constant giving was getting almost oppressive. It’s not natural for anyone to only give love and never receive it, nor is it healthy in any relationship – it eventually leads to resentment, even from the person doing the receiving. For Young-gu to ask Da-da to love him back (or at least to try) is a huge step, because he’s noticed that the difference between him and Wang-joon is that Da-da loved Wang-joon. It makes me happy to see him asking to be loved, which makes the playing field feel more balanced. Of course, Da-da can’t make herself feel something that’s not there, and she’s free to refuse to try, but at least Young-gu is asking to be an equal part of whatever-this-is between them, and that’s no small thing.

Every time I start to feel bad for Wang-joon, he acts like a real jerk to Young-gu and/or Da-da, and I lose all sympathy again. The show keeps showing him looking sorry about losing Da-da, but to her face he’s demanding and rude, and now he’s bullying Young-gu. He keeps forgetting that he broke up with Da-da, which means he has no claim on her, regardless of his confidence that he will win her back. I was hoping that he would see how Young-gu treats Da-da and realize that that’s how she deserves to be treated, but right now he’s just strutting around being demanding and trying to make Young-gu miserable (and just because that’s not possible doesn’t get Wang-joon off the hook, because he doesn’t know that Young-gu is a robot). Add that to my seething anger at the way Wang-joon went about the breakup, and I have a hard time caring about how he feels. I want to care, I want him to have a redemption arc and have a real chance at getting Da-da back, but he’s got to do a lot of soul-searching and even more serious changing before that can happen. As he is now, my fervent wish is that when Wang-joon reveals to Da-da why he broke up with her and that he actually does want to marry her, she tells him to take a long walk off a short pier.

That said, I do think that’s where the plot is leading us — to Wang-joon and Da-da’s reconciliation. I do have sympathy for him because he’s in a pretty terrible situation and he’s scared for Da-da, and that’s bound to make a person act strangely, especially when it does look from his angle like Da-da moved on almost immediately. I don’t like the way Wang-joon is handling things, but I do give him credit for genuinely caring for Da-da even if he doesn’t — or can’t — always show it. I just want him to be… better. To talk to Da-da nicely and stop accusing her and asking questions he has no right to ask (like whether she’s slept with someone else, the nerve!). I want him to treat her well, like someone he loves, and not someone he feels jealous and possessive of. He’s still got time, but now Young-gu is stepping up, and Da-da’s feelings are going to get confusing if Wang-joon doesn’t start getting very honest with himself and her.

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Young Gu becoming Wang Joon’s manager wasn’t something I expected but at least it brought the show some comedy that it failed to deliver so far. I had expected a manga adaptation regarding a love robot not to take itself too seriously and deliver the laughs. I think part of the reason the show didn’t quite work for me was that it failed in both of these so far so this new relationship between the rivals was welcome. It was amusing to see Wang Joon’s plans regarding Young Gu backfire but I think it’s more than that. It just shows how unfair it is to compare a robot programmed to do things and do them perfectly with a complex human being with emotions and fears and limitations.

I understand why many don’t have much sympathy for Wang Joon but I don’t really understand how people find Young Gu so charming. I find him suffocating and infuriating. He is constantly going against Da Da’s wishes. How does it make sense that he wants to work because Da Da said she doesn’t want a jobless boyfriend but then goes to work as Wang Joon’s manager against Da Da's repeatedly expressed wishes? For all his grand words of wanting to make Da Da happy he doesn’t realize or care that his constant interactions with Wang Joon is forcing her to interact with him as well and this is hurting her. Da Da gets annoyed that all Wang Joon seems to care about is whether she slept with Young Gu (which is really not the case, this is the first time he brought it up whereas he has been bothered by Young Gu since he first saw him at her side) but it doesn’t seem to bother her that the first real emotion Young Gu feels is also jealousy. Why the double standard? Also going through Wang Joon’s possessions without permission is a big no.

I feel like made to be perfect boyfriend robot Young Gu is getting a free pass for all his mistakes because he is a robot, yet imperfect human Wang Joon is constantly expected to be perfect and judged very harshly.

I also don't agree that Wang Joon's breakup with Da Da was noble idiocy. He did not sacrifice his happiness for her well being. There is a real threat against Da Da that must have really scared him. Of course how he handled it was wrong and when are not not feeling that same fear for our loved ones it is easy for us to have a rational opinion on how he should have acted but we will never really know how we would have acted in his place. I always think theoretically stating I would act this way in a given situation is much easier than actually doing it. I have many opinions and principles but most of those have not been tested against being in the reality of that situation.

I suppose I have sympathy towards Wang Joon because I see how much he cares for Da Da (a top celebrity who has been faithful to his pre-fame girlfriend of seven years shows genuine love and care). Yes he made big mistakes. More than breaking up how he did it was very hurtful and humiliating for Da Da. But I don't think it was an unforgivable mistake if he...

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...learns from it. I also think the intent of the show is to redeem him in the end. The problem is that the weak writing sacrificed his character so much to move along Young Gu's loveline that some viewers don't want this ending anymore.

For my part, I just don't buy Young Gu as a viable option. To me he is just a machine and an illustration of how what looks good on paper (i.e. a perfect boyfriend that follows you around everywhere) can be a creepy nightmare in reality. But this is also the result of the weak storytelling here. I am not against it in principle as I rooted for the human-robot love in Are You Human Too. I still just don't feel Young Gu as a person with emotions.

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I agree with you. Young Gu doesn't seem like he would be a good boyfriend since he's constantly doing things against Dada's wishes but I can't see Dada getting back together with Wang Joon either. I'm wondering if the show will have her just be single at the end 😄
In Are You Human Too, Nam Shin 3 managed to convince me that he felt emotions and he seemed to really care for the female lead which was why I was able to root for them. But Young Goo just isn't on the same level.

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This is one very rare occasion where I am rooting for Second Lead all the way.
I simply cannot feel any love for Young Gu, he is like a loyal , immature, disobedient puppy. Look wise, he simply doesn't have the perfect looks despite the drama keep mentioning this and showing ladies swooning at him.

This is by far the weakest robot potrayal (if there is such a thing) I have ever seen on screen. Recent on screen robots,Nam Shin 3, Aji 3 was really good, even the oldie Jdrama robot was way better than this.

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@kai55

Seo Kang Joon is hard to surpass in his role as Nam Shin III. Yeo Jin Goo is like he's not even trying to be anything remotely robot. This may be due to the PD's direction and I think they really got it wrong. Part of the fun of a robot drama is to see a human playing a robot, isn't it?

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Surprising that I finally found someone who shares my views about Yeo Jin Goo's physical appearance. Of course he is not ugly or anything, he has quite nice features but I don't find him at all attractive. I would say maybe because he is so young I can't see him as a man but I found people only a couple of years older than him attractive so that can't be it. He just doesn't appeal to me physically. And I don't think acting wise this is one of his better works.

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@moonbean and @kai55

I think the majority thinks differently about Yeo Jin Goo. He's a well loved child actor who has grown into a good looking young man and cute too. This however might be the production's undoing. Sometimes, I get the feeling that the show is just depending on Jin Goo's charms to sell the human robot romance. Well, it didn't work for me.

I would rather they put more work into defining Young Goo like how viewers got to see Nam Shin III get started and evolved, buying into his growth and journey to become more human.

Here, I find it hard to even see Young Gu as a robot. I forget and often think of him as a sweet guy who somehow landed in Da Da's life in her most difficult time and offer her what her ex-bf cannot.

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@outofthisworld
I agree about Seo Jang Joon's acting in that drama wholeheartedly. He portrayed 3 different personas convincingly. There was the real human sour, cross Nam Shin who was disticnty different than Nam Shin III who was more robotic but cheerful and smiley. Then there was Nam Shin III pretending to be Nam Shin which again was somewhat different, so you could tell who you were seeing on screen.

Rather than acting like a robot I think Yeo Jin Goo is missing the mark by acting like a overgrown human child. I don't mean acting in the sense of his portrayal of the character here. It is the way the character is written and directed that is the problem.

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@moonbean

I think all parties have a part in how a character is presented to the audience. If the writer and PD think that Young Gu should be more human than robot, there's still room for Jin Goo to convey a character that looks very human but save for some subtle characteristics which reminds us that he is a robot.

Some actors can elevate a character to be more than what's written and directed. Jin Goo may be too young to do that or perhaps he thinks he should go along fully with the PD's direction.

Honestly, I don't think it is that easy to act the part of an A.I. who has sentient capabilities.

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Exactly!!! I think it's different with YG here!! I too loved NS3 a lot and their love story too....seemed very realistic from trust to friendship to like and finally love!! And I couldn't help but ship them both however crazy and impossible that seemed!! But here....I'm not feeling such vibes at all!!As you said.....he's really weird and maybe a little creepy too!! And for God's sake of I woke up at a beach taken away by robot....I would be scared beyond words!!! It's a robot afterall and it's already going beyond its programming level or like described modes!! He's already stopped accepting her commands and instead following its own decisions. Ofcourse it's for the ending or rather love at end..... but still that's crazy !!

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This show is a conundrum for me. I don't hate wang joo totally, but I cannot like him. I like young gu, but he is not real. I like Da da, but I am not sure she is mature enough handling both relationships.
And I am not sure I like this writer either, but I cannot stop watching and wanting to know how it will end.
I watched the original thousand years ago and it made me cry at the very end...
Here I don't know what to expect.

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I agree it seems that the plot is heading towards Dada and Wang-Joon reconciliation. But the writers still need to redeem Wang-Joon a bit more for me. The fact that he was receiving threats doesn't justify his petty and confusing behavior.

Oddly, I think this is one of my first dramas where I'm not shipping the FL with either male leads. If Wang-Joon hasn't figured out how to properly communicate with Dada in 7 years, I'm not sure more time would change that. On the other hand, Young-Gu communicates well but is more of a reliable friend than lover. Though I'm interested to see how the writer will end Young-Gu's arc.

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My guess is that they will somehow bring in the person on whom Young-gu is based and have Da-da end up with this person.

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Hmm interesting theory! But we're reaching midway point in the drama now ... may be too late to introduce another guy

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I think a lot of people are also missing that 09 is effectively one year old. An amazing, smart, seemingly developing sentience, but still very young, inexperienced and groping his way around a world that he doesn't actually understand and wasn't properly prepared for.

On the other hand, Wang Joon is an adult that supposedly knows and loves this girl, but apparently has forgotten how to communicate with her.

I don't know how this will end, but the robot has a better chance at becoming a viable boyfriend in my mind than the actual boyfriend.

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I'm rooting for Wang-joon here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he actually didn't break up with Da-da. He came to pick her up from the police station and she told him that she wanted to end it. That partly explains his erratic behavior. Also, I would feel soooo crappy if I dated someone for seven years and they had a new boyfriend like three days after our breakup.
As for not telling her about the death threats: Yeah, it's bad communication, but I think there is a lot of insecurity in Wang-joon. He knows that dating him in secret is already a tall order. Add death threats to it and he might have thought she would just walk away. Not smart, but understandable.

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No, he broke up with her. And then had her arrested as a stalker.

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No, he didn't. WaterBottle is right. Unless you interpret him getting her arrested as an implied break-up, Da-da is the one who says they should stop and end things after he goes to meet her at the police station.

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Unless you interpret him getting her arrested as an implied break-up

I did. And she did too. When he did that, she was reminded about his "joke" about breaking up and realised he was serious. So, yes, regardless of her 'technically' dumping him, he was the one who ended things and both of them know it.

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I think he was not serious about that 'joke'. I think that scene was supposed to suggest that he was considering breaking-up with her or that something was going on in their relationship, not that he actually intended on breaking-up with her. True, his subsequent behaviour gave her good reason to break-up with him and he was either reckless or willfully blind about what the consequences of his actions would be, but I still think she was the one who broke-up with him (after all, it seems like he thought she would still stay with him despite his mistreatment of her; being stupid is not the same thing as initiating a break-up imo).

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Not that he actually did break-up with her***

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You are right, at the studio dressing room he said jokingly let's break up and then took it back, and later she said "okey, let's break up". So he was the one who mentioned it first but she made the decision so I don't know why everyone is saying he broke up with her.

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If he broke up with her why would she be waiting at his house to celebrate his win?

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Thanks for explaining the Happy Prince story, @lollypip. I didn't know this story and - if nothing else - it completely explains why Bo Won wouldn't send Young Gu to Diana. She's a person who damages her toys and then doesn't love them anymore...

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I forgot to write about this. I am sure there will be some parallels to Young Gu's fate with Happy Prince as it is so heavy handedly hinted at but so far I don't have a guess.

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I think - maybe I should say 'I hope' - that the Happy Prince story is saying that if you just give and give until there's nothing left of you (or of what made you attractive in the first place), then the person who you are giving to won't necessarily love you for that.

I can actually see how the story is relevant for all our three leads: for Young Gu for giving too much, and coming across as needy rather than loving. For Da Da, as seeing that fitting around Wang-Joon's wishes didn't make her happy in that relationship. But the story would also fit for Wang-Joon - when his fans see that he's dating a normal person, they might actually turn on him; he's no longer a golden hero but a normal person and they'll stop loving him.

However, this theory will probably be handed back to me on a plate, when it turns out I was completely wrong.

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We will wait and see, in most dramas viewers spend more time trying to make sense of these things than writers unfortunately.

But I like your parallels. In fact what I am seeing here is this parallel: Yong Gu is doing for Da Da what Da Da was doing for Wang Joon for a long time: endlessly giving without asking back much. This did not necessarily make Wang Joon view her as needy but he definitely started taking her for granted. So all three of them have to learn that love is neither just giving, nor just taking but it has to be mutual.

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in most dramas viewers spend more time trying to make sense of these things than writers unfortunately.

So far, I don't see good writing here. I won't bet on it.

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Thanks @lollypip. Your summary of The Happy Prince reminded me of this story and I went on to read the synopses of this and of 4 other short stories by Oscar Wilde, and then about the playwright himself.

The thought does occur that Young Gu, like the Happy Prince, will just keep giving, possibly unwisely and at a cost to himself, as in being electrocuted in this episode, but his good deeds will be largely disregarded because he's 'just' a robot.

The pathos in the tale is that the statue actually had a lead heart that broke over the death of his friend, the swallow, and we see that Young Gu is developing a human-like heart, able to 'feel' jealousy over Da Da and a desire to be loved by her.

While it is not likely right now, taking our cue from The Happy Prince and depending on how Young Gu develops, we may be in for major heartache ourselves when the naive 'prince' becomes the blind, benefactor and dies (a second time) of a broken heart.

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So I'm going offer a dissenting opinion re: whether Wang-joon and Da-da will get together. It was noted in an earlier episode that Young-gu is based on somebody else (i.e. his appearance mimics that of some person whom the chaebol heiress knew when she was younger). I have a very strong suspicion that this show is going to pull some stupefying deus ex machina which will employ this unknown person and use him as a way to somehow give Young-gu and Da-da a happily-ever-after.

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