I'll Find You on a Beautiful Day: Episode 12 » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps

92 April 10, 2020April 10, 2020

I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day: Episode 12

by quirkycase

We fill in more pieces of our heroine’s family’s story and catch up with some of our side characters this hour. While I’m all for rounding out characters and backstory, this episode feels a bit disjointed. Maybe it’s the shifting away from our central couple which serves as the grounding force of the drama. Hopefully, we’ll get more cohesion again as we move into the penultimate week.

EPISODE 12: “A Confession”

We open on sweet flashbacks of little Hae-won with her dad MOK JOO-HONG (Seo Tae-Hwa) as they sit on the swing and play soccer in the yard. In a good mood, Joo-hong rushes to help Myung-joo carry in groceries. Myung-yeo comes in later and sees a bruise on Myung-joo’s leg. We revisit the scene from last episode with Myung-yeo and Myung-joo watching Hae-won and her dad walking hand-in-hand.

Now we’re back to the fateful day Myung-yeo witnesses Joo-hong’s brutality. As they flee, Myung-yeo picks up the keys Myung-joo dropped and hops in the driver’s side. Joo-hong uses a golf club to strike the car again and again, screaming for Myung-joo to get out.

When he goes to smash in the windshield, Myung-yeo seems to accidentally step on the accelerator. He’s knocked to the ground uninjured but more enraged. Joo-hong goes to attack with more vigor, and Myung-yeo speeds forward. This time, he doesn’t get up.

The sisters are terrified. Myung-joo gets out of the car and calls for an ambulance while Myung-yeo sits unmoving in a state of shock. Myung-joo pulls her out of the car, telling her Joo-hong is dead. Myung-yeo mutters she did it, but Myung-joo holds her firm. “No! I killed him.” She instructs Myung-yeo to take a bus back and avoid any security cameras walking home.

Myung-yeo can barely process anything, so Myung-joo shouts at her to pull it together. She puts her own shoes on Myung-yeo’s feet as they both sob. Myung-joo strokes her sister’s hair and tells her to take a shower once she’s home. “Nothing happened. It’s okay,” Myung-joo repeats again and again as she pulls Myung-yeo into a hug. She forces Myung-yeo to leave.

At home, Myung-yeo weeps as she sits fully clothed in the shower. We hear Myung-joo telling her to get a shower and take a nap, after which she’ll receive a phone call. When the cops call as expected, Myung-yeo stifles her sobs as the officer relays the incident.

We skip to court where Myung-yeo stands in the back of the room and watches Myung-joo get sentenced to seven years. We flash back to Myung-joo wiping Myung-yeo prints and intentionally placing her own on the driver’s side of the car. Myung-joo had told her sister she’d get less time since she’d been abused whereas Myung-yeo could get life. She’d asked Myung-yeo to take care of Hae-won.

At the bookshop, Eun-seob stares at Hae-won as he lies beside her and claims he won’t ever forget this moment. He doesn’t even want to fall asleep, although he’s tired. Hae-won starts to say something but decides to tell him later. They snuggle together and go to sleep.

At Soon-yeong’s funeral, Myung-yeo and Soo-jung watch heavy-hearted as Soon-yeong’s teenage daughter arrives, sobbing. Myung-yeo thinks back to Hae-won at the police station after her dad’s death. Afterward, Myung-yeo had told her mom she’d stop being a writer and move in to help take care of Hae-won. She’s not as talented as she thought, anyway. Her mom’s reply was to smash an iron pot with an axe.

During visitation in prison, Myung-joo had blamed herself and told Myung-yeo she wasn’t responsible. She’d ordered her to stop crying and go live her life. “Spend lots of time with Hae-won. Hae-won will be lonely.” She’d later sent Myung-yeo a letter that said simply, “I’m okay.”

We cut back to Soon-yeong’s funeral where Myung-yeo is now wailing. Everyone stares in shock as her cries carry through the parlor. Meanwhile, Eun-seob wakes in the night and begins writing a post titled “This is my first love letter to you.”

Hae-won tries to sneak back home in the early hours of the morning but is caught outside by Myung-yeo. She asks her niece what she’s doing coming from Eun-seob’s place, but then sighs it’s none of her business now that Hae-won’s grown. Myung-yeo is drained from the funeral and asks if she can skip making breakfast. Hae-won offers to make her something instead, but Myung-yeo tells her not to bother.

Myung-yeo heard from Soo-jung that Hae-won gave an amazing cello performance. Hae-won lights up at the compliment but modestly claims she wasn’t that good. She’s confused when Myung-yeo muses, “I wonder who plucked out all of our family’s hedgehog spines.” Myung-yeo snaps she’s being poetic and sends Hae-won inside with a sigh.

Elsewhere, Bo-yeong – who’s been absent so long I almost forgot she existed – glumly stares at “Traveling After a Breakup.” She thinks back to high school days and her crush on Eun-seob.

Jang-woo, meanwhile, sits outside the convenience store sipping on a yogurt. A teenage boy sits down nearby, and they both smile and chuckle to themselves. Feeling self-conscious, Jang-woo asks what the kid’s so happy about. The kid, a self-proclaimed astronomy nerd, is looking at a depiction of a constellation.

Jang-woo matters that the kid’s crazy, so the boy asks what Jang-woo’s so happy about then. Jang-woo shows him a picture taken at the reunion event. “She’s pretty,” the boy notes as he points to Hae-won. Jang-woo makes him take a closer look and points out Eun-shil. He goes on about how pretty she is and asks the kid about his stars. Cute.

After reading Myung-yeo’s opening line, Yoon-taek anxiously calls Myung-yeo over and over, but she’s busy sleeping.

Hwi grins smugly when she sees Yeong-soo waiting for her. She controls her expression and walks over. Apropos of nothing, she informs him he looks good out of his school uniform. It could be his broad shoulders, she ventures. Pfft.

He gets awkward and reminds her she said her crush was over. Hwi confirms it is. When he’s skeptical, she sighs like he’s dense. “If I say I don’t like roses, are they no longer beautiful?” Ha! She said he looks good because he does, she matter-of-factly explains.

Uncharacteristically, they’re having the book club meeting in the afternoon. Hwi waltzes in with Yeong-soo in tow. Hyun-ji is amazed at Hwi’s audacity and thinks she kidnapped him or something. Heh. Hwi vaguely introduces him to the group as a new member. Eun-seob is scowling non-stop, making Jang-woo ask, “Eun-seob, why do you look mad?”

While Jang-woo reads the poem “When We Sit Face to Face,” we see Hae-won and Eun-seob blissfully playing in the snow and enjoying each other’s company. They discuss the beauty of the poem, and they all find it adorable when little Seung-ho claims he can relate.

Jang-woo asks what brought Yeong-soo to the club. Hyun-ji cuts in that he loves books and is their school’s top student who even has a girlfriend. “Hwi has a big crush on him, but he’s not interested at all.” Ha! Way to out your friend. Yeong-soo rolls his eyes as Hwi chides Hyun-ji for not putting that in the past tense. Eun-seob does the concerned big brother scan.

Jang-woo introduces himself as a fellow unicorn and thinks Yeong-soo looks smart like him. Is that why Hwi likes him? That sets Hwi off again. Oh, this kid didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Soo-jung and Geun-sang join in, wondering if it’s his good looks that Hwi likes. Only Hae-won steps in to take Hwi side.

Eun-seob’s continued glaring gets Hae-won’s attention and even makes Hwi stop arguing to ask what’s up. Hae-won notes he’s sweating and seems to have a fever.

Walking back from the bookshop, Jang-woo gets a call from Eun-shil. He’s so surprised he goes into a coughing fit. Eun-shil is doing a coffee event and figures Jang-woo can find her a good barista with all his connections. He’s disappointed that’s the only reason she called, but he still jumps to do it. Flustered as always, he wishes her a good lunch only for her to point out it’s 4:00 P.M. Ha.

Jang-woo can’t stop grinning as he saves Eun-shil’s number and relishes their first phone conversation. Over at the bus stop, Geun-sang marvels over Yeong-soo being the top student. Geun-sang notices Hwi speaking casually to Yeong-soo although he’s her senior and wonders why she uses polite language with him, then. Hwi starts talking nonsense about whether or not it’s all in his imagination, making Yeong-soo laugh.

Never missing an opportunity to make people uncomfortable, Hyun-ji asks why he smiles whenever Hwi talks. Does he like her? That wipes the smile off Yeong-soo’s face, and he insists it’s because he’s dumbfounded by her. Hyun-ji finds that reasonable since Hwi talks a lot of nonsense.

That night, Yoon-taek is still trying to reach Myung-yeo. He finally gets ahold of her and demands an explanation for the fax. She calmly states she sent him the opening sentence like he wanted. Myung-yeo reminds him he promised never to ask which parts of her story are fact and which fiction. Yoon-taek hangs up on her in frustration.

As Eun-seob walks Hae-won home, she stops underneath the streetlight he fixed. Whoever could’ve fixed it? Hae-won playfully bumps his arm, and they laugh. Hae-won promises to sneak out to the bookshop once her aunt falls asleep.

Eun-seob heads back to the bookshop in good spirits. That is, until he sees Bo-yeong waiting for him. Yeah, that’d mess with my mood too. Inside, Eun-seob comments she could’ve called rather than coming all the way there to return the book.

“It’s an excuse,” Bo-yeong admits. “Is everything going well with Hae-won?” she asks. Eun-seob says it is. Bo-yeong finally reveals she had a crush on him for a very long time. Eun-seob claims he didn’t know, prompting her to ask what if he had known? “Nothing would have changed,” he plainly states.

Bo-yeong says that’s okay (her face says otherwise) – she expected it. Outside, she cries as she thinks she liked him first. But that doesn’t matter since Hae-won was always the star. Even Eun-seob, who stood on the fringes, looked at her. We see Eun-seob staring at Hae-won in the school halls and passing Bo-yeong by without a glance. “I’m here too,” Bo-yeong narrates.

That night, Jang-woo has a beer and reminisces about his brief phone call with Eun-shil. He stares at pictures of her and thinks back to high school where, in the middle of declaring his non-interest in dating, Eun-shil accidentally bumped into him. She smiled, and he was a goner.

At Hodu House, Hae-won sneaks to the door and almost makes it out, but Myung-yeo pops around the corner. Hae-won pretends she just got in and asks why her aunt’s still up. She tells her aunt to get some sleep and heads right back upstairs.

Eun-seob continues writing his love letter post to Hae-won. He writes about seeing Hae-won looking hurt, like he was, at the station that day. Taking a break from his problems, he’d followed her all the way to the river. Ah, so it was him who alerted Myung-yeo.

After calling Myung-yeo, he sat nearby reading and kept an eye on Hae-won as she ate and napped. Later, when he’d looked up from his book, she was gone. Eun-seob ran around searching for her and narrates that he was scared she’d die. He heard Myung-yeo scream Hae-won’s name and rushed over to see her pulling Hae-won back from the water.

As he’s writing, Hae-won pops her head in and moans about how hard she worked to sneak out. She notices him guarding his computer and tries to sneak a peek. Hae-won whines she’s hurt he won’t show her and walks away. Eun-seob trails after her trying to assure her it’s nothing bad.

Outside, Eun-seob “teaches” Hae-won how to chop wood, but he fails on the first swing. He just wanted to show her how not to do it, he bluffs. Pfft. When he fails a second time, he blames the axe for being dull. Hae-won wants to give it a go, so he gives her some pointers. She swings and neatly chops the wood in half.

“How’d you do that?” Eun-seob self-consciously asks. Hae-won claims she just did as he taught her. Ha, right. He catches on that this isn’t her first time. She pretends her shoulder hurts and encourages him to do the rest. When he fails for a third time, Hae-won can’t hide her amusement. Embarrassed, Eun-seob ducks back inside.

Meanwhile, Bo-yeong is wandering alone through the dark forest. We flash back to when Min-jung went missing, and Bo-yeong had overheard her mom and a neighborhood ajumma discussing how Eun-seob went in to save her. Oh, hell no. This girl better not be playing the damsel in distress so her crush will save her. She needs some lessons from Hwi.

At the bookshop, Hae-won and Eun-seob sit outside, enjoying the night. Hae-won comments she likes Eun-seob so much she doesn’t know what to do. Eun-seob smiles at her, and she lays her head on his shoulder. “You?” she asks. “Me too,” he replies.

Bo-yeong stares down a tree-covered slope and narrates that everyone, no matter how seemingly insignificant, has feelings. We see the times she tried to get Eun-seob’s attention or engage him in conversation and failed. “I just want you to know,” she thinks desperately as she calls Eun-seob. But Eun-seob is busy playing around with Hae-won, and the call goes unnoticed.

Eun-seob’s Blog Post

This is my first love letter to you. That day, through the window, I saw you looking as hurt as I was. I want to leave. But no, I shouldn’t. I’d feel too sorry. Forgetting all of that, I ended up following you. Cheongdo is famous for its persimmon trees. The Nakdong River that runs across the city looked clear. I was scared you’d jump into the river. Even after calling your aunt, I was still scared that you’d die. And that was probably our very first autumn trip together.

COMMENTS

I swear, this girl is going to raise my blood pressure. Bo-yeong is insufferable. She’s the only character I outright dislike and find unnecessary. I think I’m supposed to feel sorry for her, but I don’t. Her problems are all brought on by herself. She’s so fixated on others, particularly Hae-won, and what she thinks she deserves. Everything is a competition for who gets the most attention or love, but she’s the only one competing. And this latest stunt is the last straw. It’s been 10 years, so she knows that Eun-seob isn’t into her. But all of a sudden, when Hae-won “wins,” Bo-yeong endangers herself so the boy she likes will have to pay attention to her? That’s frighteningly extreme and concerning in terms of her mental health. Really, it seems like everybody in that town needs some therapy.

Also, does everyone in that town fall in love in high school and never get over it? So far, we have Eun-seob, Bo-yeong, Jang-woo, Myung-yeo and Yoon-taek who all pine(d) for their first love or crush. I get that it’s a small town and all, but there are other people around. You’d think you’d become interested in someone else after, I don’t know, a decade or so. I know dramas are pretty obsessed with first loves, but this seems over the top.

Our resident piner Eun-seob and Hae-won were in the background again this hour, and nothing particularly significant happened with them. Besides some cute moments, the only thing we got was the revelation that Eun-seob was the one to call Myung-yeo the day Hae-won went to the river, which I’d suspected. I do have to say that sequence in all its autumn glory was gorgeous.

Delving into our weekly dose of tragedy, Myung-joo went to some extreme lengths to protect her little sister. As I thought, she took the fall since her sentence would be mitigated by the abuse, and it would leave Myung-yeo available to care for Hae-won. That’s a heavy burden to carry all these years for the both of them. Myung-yeo must’ve been tormented having to look Hae-won in the face everyday and watch her suffer like that. Being unable to acknowledge what she’d done, she couldn’t even properly grieve the cost of her actions and atone. It’s amazing she’s held it together as much as she has for so long. But if we know anything about their family, it’s that all the women are fierce, withholding types that push through their pain alone to their own detriment.

Now we know that Hae-won and her dad were close, at least when she was little. From what we’ve seen, he was affectionate and adored her. It doesn’t seem like his abuse extended to Hae-won at all, and she appeared unaware of his treatment of her mother at that time. Of course, we still don’t know if that holds true into her teen years. We’ve never gotten any indication that Hae-won has ever been close to her mom, so maybe that distance kept her from asking too many questions. Although, I’d still find it somewhat unrealistic if she had no idea whatsoever.

Onto lighter fare, I had a feeling our persistent Hwi would get her guy in the end, and it looks promising for her at the moment. And Yeong-soo thought he was going to a normal book club meeting. He should’ve known anything involving Hwi was likely to be out of his depth. That meeting was hilarious. They’re the embarrassing family who outs all your secrets and makes everyone awkward for funsies. Yeong-soo is a brave soul if he chances going back after all that. And Jang-woo made a teensy bit of progress with Eun-shil! Well, more the other way around, I guess. Her smiles suggest she’s not disinterested, so the boy just needs some confidence. Maybe Hwi can give him pointers. For a fee, of course.

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1 skelly

April 10, 2020 at 6:22 PM

Thanks for the Recap! I agree with you completely about Bo-young. I got antsy, feeling that the camera and the soulful music lingered far too long on her, as if we are supposed to be wringing our hands over her imminent plunge down the mountainside. I couldn't muster up anything but annoyance. Group UP already. So he just isn't into you, go find somebody else who will be.

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skelly

April 10, 2020 at 6:25 PM

Yikes that's supposed to be Grow Up. And did anyone else get a little worried about Hae-won? She seems a bit clingy, needing a lot of reassurance and not willing to give ES a centimeter of space. I know she's head over heels, but that sort of behavior is not going to wear well, long-term.

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Fly Colours

April 11, 2020 at 1:12 AM

Well...they're just starting a relationship and they are head over heels. I totally relate to her not getting enough of ES (can you blame her?) and find her sweet, not clingy... I guess it's all a matter of timing, it's ok to be a bit intense in the first stages of a relationship, it would be worrying if it lasted forever

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Eazal

April 11, 2020 at 3:54 AM

She's in the first days in a relation with the one she loves, I can totally understand she's clingy. I would be if someone looked at me whit those eyes!!

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kathia

April 11, 2020 at 8:29 AM

I find her sweet and not that clingy to be honest. I'm like that with my boyfriend. I give him space, but I'm an affectionate person.

It seems that Eun-seob is not annoyed by Hae-won close proximity to him. He loves her a lot, so he must feel very happy when Hae-won shows she loves him too.

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Ghost Chilli

April 11, 2020 at 11:00 PM

I don't think she is clingy. HW knows it's hard for ES to express himself. That's why she is the one making all the first moves. She doesn't beat around the bush and asks questions directly at ES. I think this kind of attitude is better for ES

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laisfrede

April 10, 2020 at 8:19 PM

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kathia

April 11, 2020 at 8:26 AM

Agree. Bo-young seriously has some real mental issues. Her trying to get lost and injury herself just for the sake of Eun-seob attention was dangerous.

In fact, I'm starting to believe that she spilled Hae-won's secret in High School because she noticed that Eun-seob was secretly in love with Hae-won. That's why she never apologized to Hae-won properly, and never atoned for her "mistake". If it was really a mistake, she would feel sorry for Hae-won. But she didn't and even blamed Hae-won for it, which makes me believe that she spread Hae.won's secret on purpose.

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2 Moonbean

April 10, 2020 at 6:25 PM

I have to say that Bo Young and her decade long unrequited first love more than bores me, she actively annoys me. I mean come on. Isn’t she about 30? She should have gotten over her high school crush already. Look at Hwi. Bo Young had years before Hae Won returned. If something was going to happen between her and Eun Seob it would have happened then. So what if she liked him first? The whole time she liked him he liked Hae Won. Was she dense enough not to see that or did she see it and spill the beans about Hae Won for spite? I still don’t see the misunderstanding she keeps insisting on.

I am so sick and tired of pining off after the first love theme in drama after drama.

I love Hwi and her crush and puppy Jang Woo.

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Eazal

April 11, 2020 at 3:56 AM

They both lived in the same town for 5 years (I'm taking the 3 years ES spent taking care of his ill mother and the ones he was in the military), so if she still felt she was in love with him, she should have made the move before. She's only doing this now because of HaeWon, that she doesn't want her "to win".

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kathia

April 11, 2020 at 8:33 AM

Yes, it all feels like a competition for Bo-young because of Hae-won. I mean, why be friends with Hae-won in the first place? It seemed that Hae-won was really famous with the guys before the secret spread. Bo-young was aware of it, and didn't enjoy it. So, why try to be friends with someone who held a grudge? I really don't know, and it seemed that she got friends easily after Hae-won was outcast by everyone in school.

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Eazal

April 11, 2020 at 9:40 AM

I think she tried to be friends with HaeWon because she didn't really have any close friends, so she could have a close friend only for hers, as HaeWon arrived in the middle of the year and didn't really had friends in town. The only thing that seems to move BY is selfishness.

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kathia

April 12, 2020 at 9:14 AM

Yes, but when Hae-won got outcasted in school, we saw Bo-young getting along with several girls. It seemed that she got other friends quite easily.

Eazal

April 12, 2020 at 9:34 AM

@kathia I believe the only reason she got those friends was precisely because she exposed HaeWon in the first place. If she had valued HaeWon's friendship she would have stood by her side, and instead she chose to be with the bullies. At least that's the way I see it.

kathia

April 11, 2020 at 8:37 AM

I do find the first love theme quite unrealistic and overrated in dramaland. I never discussed first loves with my friends because all of us move on...We spoke about boys in school and such, but nobody got clung to first loves...nobody. The only person in my life who talks about first love is my grandma since she married her first love, my grampa. That's why I can't relate to this theme, AND childhoos connections, which is another one where I can't relate as well.

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Eazal

April 11, 2020 at 9:40 AM

I can't remember my first crush. I'm doomed in dramaland.

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BdxPelik

April 11, 2020 at 1:03 PM

I remember my first crush vividly. But that means nothing more. I find it refreshing when Kdrama characters actually move on and have no past connections at all.

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BdxPelik

April 11, 2020 at 1:04 PM

*anymore

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MeloMe

April 12, 2020 at 6:54 AM

I remember my first crush. I think most people do. And I remember it as a good memery when attraction was new and we were discovering "new feelings". But I would never call that my first love. And I never think about it now except when the discussion is about first crushes and that does not happen as often as dramas make them out to be! So yah the kdrama obsession and the childhood fated connections was new to me.

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Moonbean

April 13, 2020 at 3:42 AM

I remember a number of serious crushes I have had but not really the first one because it has got to be way back in elementary school.

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3 latebloomer

April 10, 2020 at 6:42 PM

"Also, does everyone in that town fall in love in high school and never get over it? So far, we have Eun-seob, Bo-yeong, Jang-woo, Myung-yeo and Yoon-taek who all pine(d) for their first love or crush. I get that it’s a small town and all, but there are other people around. You’d think you’d become interested in someone else after, I don’t know, a decade or so. I know dramas are pretty obsessed with first loves, but this seems over the top." ---- Yes!!! I was thinking this too, but it's such a good drama that I didn't want to be the one to complain. And Bo-young deciding to put herself in harm's way to get noticed after all these years is just absurd. All the time that Hae-won was in Seoul, she couldn't manage to get Eun-seob's attention, and now she'll just die because he found happiness without her?!!

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4 neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~

April 10, 2020 at 7:16 PM

Bo-young's story has got to be the weakest in the drama. Though that talk about misunderstanding someone was great in the earlier episodes, her story should have ended there. I guess there's a need to shake Eun-seob and Hae-won's relationship at this time. Oh well.

Jang-woo, oh, Jang-woo. How adorable!

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greenfields

April 10, 2020 at 7:29 PM

I don't think her actions will shake their relationship. To be honest, I don't take mind Bo-young's story. Everyone here has a story, some are good, some are bad. I don't like Bo-young at all but she's taking on the tough role of an antagonist, in this otherwise undramatic drama. In typical I'll find you when the weather is nice style however, her antagonism is understated and kept to the background, rarely shows up. She's not an important part of the leads' lives and never will be.

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neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~

April 10, 2020 at 9:41 PM

I don't think so too. It felt like the writer had to add Bo-young at this point because there was nothing left to shake the OTP's relationship. The addition of Nam-ju (forgot his name in this drama) was a good one. It moved the plot while Bo-young, as you said, a background. And since I'm more interested on the Mok's sisters lives, I'd rather see more of them than Bo-young.

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kathia

April 11, 2020 at 8:43 AM

Yes, Nam-ju (ohh I can't remember his name too, so Extraordinary You here I go), helped the plot move along for Hae-won and Eun-seob's relationship.

So far Bo-young is only damaging Hae-won, and doesn't contribute to the story. I hope she learns from her mistakes, and try to be more independent. She clearly seeks attention, so she needs to love herself more and try to live freely without those dangerous desires of hers.

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Eazal

April 11, 2020 at 4:03 AM

I agree with you. I don't think Bo Young is meant to "shake" our OTP, but that her behavior fits what we already know about her. She didn't receive attention when she was younger when it was all she wanted. I guess that's the reason she became friends with HaeWon, because she didn't have any friends and she could have something "hers", then when she saw the chance to be more "popular" she told HW's story. I no longer believe in her "misunderstanding" but that she did it on purpose just to get more friends.
She's been ignored, I don't know why, but even her mother talks to her as if she was of no importance (the phone call when she tells her she can do an errand for her because she wants to attend the school reunion, or when her mother barely looked at her to tell her she should have gone directly home).
She seeks attention.

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5 greenfields

April 10, 2020 at 7:25 PM

There are actually two themes underlying the relationships in this drama;

1. Everyone fell in love in high school/has been pining since high school

2. The men are incredibly nice to the women they love. From Eun-seob to Jang-woo to Eun-taek to even Hae-won's dad at one point in this show & the other bookstore man who liked Hae-won's mum. I bet Young-soo is on his way to being incredibly thoughtful and kind to Hwi too.

These similarities make me roll my eyes but other than this, it's such a well done drama that I barely even notice them. No complaints at all so far. I was happy to watch high school Hae-won's near suicide day through Eun-seob's eyes, and glad the show took its time with that sequence, giving us his thoughts, feelings and views.

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pickleddragon

April 10, 2020 at 11:36 PM

This observation is on point! It's all so unreal. Which is why I also appreciated the dose of realism that was shown through the domestic violence episode (though, of course, not condoning it). I thought it was important to temper the fairy tale we are being shown with something, anything. Bo Young is also part of that exercise.

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6 commonwit

April 10, 2020 at 7:57 PM

“I wonder who plucked out all of our family’s hedgehog spines.” I snorted when I heard Myung-yeo say that epic line! As pointed out by @quirkycase, this is a family of fierce women, as we have already seen of the sisters and now of the matriarch when she swung the axe to the jar to express her sentiments. Ha! No words needed!

But the sisters at least have been tamed and are no longer as prickly as they used to be. I don't know how Hae-won was as a child and in her early teen years. We learned that in high school, she was just as beautiful and maybe as popular as her Mom and Aunt were, but I didn't see any manifestation of her being irascible.

But I know Hae-won can be fierce, and I hope she will fight for Eun-Seob against Bo-young's manipulation. On the other hand, if Eun Seob decides to leave her, it will be his loss because I am certain, she will not just survive but be stronger for it. I really hope Eun-Seob at the very least gives her the agency to decide for their future together.

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loveblossom🌸

April 10, 2020 at 10:35 PM

I loveeeed the hedgehog spines line! I chuckled too. It was great.

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healer99101

April 11, 2020 at 1:41 AM

What does that line mean ?

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loveblossom🌸

April 11, 2020 at 9:28 AM

Myung Yeo said that line meaning that she has become more soft and less mean/irritable. When we think of hedgehog spines, we usually think of them as sharp and prickly.

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Ashes2Ashes

April 10, 2020 at 11:12 PM

Yes .that line was hilarious and enlightening. HW thinks of her aunt as dull witted and uninterested in her life. But MY sees everything and cares deeply about her niece. Their interactions often make me wish that the murder plot was never involved. HW could just be estranged from her parents and HW-MY could still have th dynamic they do. Would have deeply enjoyed her confronting ES-HW in her straght shooter yet subtle ways. But with the introduction of MY as the murderer, it feels like they are on borrowed time. MY by nature is aloof and may b the guilt of her father's murder had always kept her from showing HW just how much she rally cares for her.

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7 snowy

April 10, 2020 at 8:05 PM

Some rambling thoughts:

These last two episodes have left me feeling kinda disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I was loving this show on a deep level up through ep 10. But these episodes just fell a bit flat for me. There were good moments, but the show seems to be spinning its wheels a bit. Especially in regards to Hae Won and Eun Seob’s relationship. They seem to have hit a plateau with no growth or forward movement.

I’m feeling conflicted as to whether their relationship moved too fast before they properly dealt with some of their individual issues. I realize that we are probably heading towards typical kdrama format, and their current happiness is the calm before the storm. I will wait until the finale to decide if this was a good format for this show to follow or not. I just hope the show digs deep during the last four eps to address the unresolved issues and bring some healing to these characters.

I’m also really ready for Eun Seob to initiate more. As a shy/reserved/anxious person, I completely understand how hard it is to take initiative and voice feelings. This is one of the reasons Eun Seob is the character I feel most connected to in this drama. But the longer this relationship goes on with Hae Won being the one doing all the initiating, the more unbalanced it feels. I’m hoping that if Hae Won withdraws back into herself upon learning the truth about her father’s death, it will bring out a fighting spirit in Eun Seob.

In my opinion, this show was at its best when it was exploring the inner workings and conflicts of Eun Seob and his relationship with his adoptive family. Ep 11 and 12 hardly touched on these things at all, and ES’s adoptive parents were completely absent. This felt a bit off, especially considering where ep 10 left off. I even started to wonder if something is going on behind the scenes. We never heard how he responded to his uncle or how he pushed back against the notion that his family are destined to be loners. I would really like this drama to get back to exploring these things instead of things like Bo-yeong pulling childish stunts.

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Ashes2Ashes

April 10, 2020 at 11:18 PM

Yeah 💯 there with you on the lack of ES's familial conglict.ES briefly touched on it in EP 11 monologue when he said he has come to believe that he deserves to be happy but that whole monologue was a bit off for me. he seemed to suggest there were people who looked down on him, but the feeling we had gotten so far was that it was ES's own inner thoughts and sense of duty toward both families that was causing him troubles. He never is shown to care much about the villagers or their occasiobal murmurings. Would jav greatly appreciated if instead of trying to introduce external conflict (Bo Young 🙄) they could hav shown how he works on resolving the familial strife and deals with his uncle Nd the book store in the city while also developing his relationship with HW.

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snowy

April 11, 2020 at 12:28 AM

Yes, exactly. I was dissatisfied with that monologue too. It felt like they were trying to wrap things up too quickly. I feel like there is so much potential with this storyline that could be further fleshed out and explored. I’m still holding out hope that they haven’t completely brushed it aside, but with four episodes left, Hae Won’s family’s story may take precedence. There's still a lot that needs to be addressed there too.

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technicat

April 11, 2020 at 12:21 AM

I agree, I feel the series so far has peaked around ep 9-10. His parents are not the most entertaining characters (Hwi is, of course) in the show but they're my favorite characters and their love and loyalty (Hwi too) anchor the story. Bo Young, on the other hand, seems to have dropped in from kdrama annoying tropeland and I almost stopped watching this episode until I realized it was almost at the end.

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Eazal

April 11, 2020 at 4:14 AM

I can get what you say, and I think maybe the reason is that theses two episodes have not been centered in HW and ES but more on the side stories, specially MY.
In fact I had the feeling during both episodes that we didn't get much of our OTP, yet I was ok with it.
MY story is important enough to be the center of the drama for this episode because we need to know all the background to know if they will be affected if the truth unfolds.
Honestly, I don't think they will be affected by BoYoung or by others. Their main conflict right now is that they have to resolve if they go on together as a couple, if they decide to continue this relation and if ES asks HE to stay. He wants to say, she wants to hear.

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8 superwhopotterlock

April 10, 2020 at 10:04 PM

I really thought BY had finally accepted and learnt to let go when she said it didn't matter if she liked ES longer. ES had always liked HW. I thought this would be the closure she needed and it'll be the end of her story. But alas!

Also HW's mom really cared about her. That scene after the accident was the first time I think where both the sisters showed their emotions so openly and after that both of them kind of closed up. Even though her mom wasn't close to HW, she was the only thing on her mind while thinking of all the repercussions and it's time she explains herself to HW.

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Ashes2Ashes

April 10, 2020 at 11:25 PM

Yes .I was also rooting for BY to finally accept and move on from her unrequited crush. Trouble is, we have only been shown BY in the context of MW, so it's very hard for the viewers to feel for her. It doesn't help that we haven't been shown a single scene in the interim years where BY has tried reaching ES until HW came along. This makes her crush look more like a competitive piece in HW-BY's fraught friendship(?) Bay's piece of grievance that HW was always the star and she seems to hav not respected the decade old fact that BY ha told HW bout her crush on ES smacks of pettiness and self importance. Le sigh, I had high hopes when BY was introduced of an old friendship healing or them finally getting some closure but it isn't to be. 🤷

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9 loveblossom🌸

April 10, 2020 at 10:32 PM

Hae Won and Eun Seob were not the main focus this episode, but I liked their various couple scenes for the most part. The light fixture tease and the wood chopping scene were particularly cute & funny and in character. I know they care for each other. She is fully embracing their love and showing her affection. I would like Eun Seob to open up a little more though. She's the one who's been leading and asking questions about their relationship. I want to see him talk about his feelings besides his answers of one or two words.

It was a blessing when the previous episodes didn't have any Bo Yeong screentime. Her reappearance was a drag. She is selfish. She hasn't learned from her mistakes or she doesn't want to admit them. Hae Won and Eun Seob each gave her a response to her pleading and her questions about their feelings. She has to move on.

I thought it was cute that, like Eun Seob, Jang Woo has a crush from way back in high school, but now, quirkycase made me realize there is first love/high school crush overload.
Still, it would be great if the reciprocal ones work out.

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