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Doom at Your Service: Episode 2

Our heroine has officially entered into a contract with doom, but she finds herself unprepared for the consequences of this supernatural deal. Doom begins taking an interest in his human client who is dealing with more than her fair share of challenges. As they spend time getting to know each other, they begin to realize they might have more in common than they first assumed.

 
EPISODE 2

Dong-kyung takes Myeol-mang’s hand and lets him help her up. As they cross the street, time rewinds to before the incident. Myeol-mang warns her not to let go of his hand if she wants to live.

They sit in a café, still holding hands, and Dong-kyung tries to find a polite way of asking what the heck he is. Myeol-mang reminds her of all the impossible things she’s witnessed him do, but Dong-kyung is struggling to accept the truth.

Myeol-mang sighs and causes a power outage. When Dong-kyung says it could be a coincidence, he powers off every cell phone in the café. “Ah, so is your identity related to electricity?” Ha.

He scoffs and pointedly looks out the window. Dong-kyung gapes as several comets shoot across the sky. Myeol-mang returns everything to normal when she asks, but he cautions that he’s not a good person.

Myeol-mang is alerted to the impending death of a man in prison and gets up to leave, but Dong-kyung is reluctant to let go of his hand after his warning. He covers her wrist with his other hand, leaving a bracelet made of red thread.

With this, he’s fulfilling his promise to make her dying days painless. But to ensure she doesn’t run away, she has to “recharge” it every day before midnight by holding his hand. He reminds her to choose her one wish and walks off.

At the prison, Myeol-mang arrives in time to stop the man who went on a stabbing spree from hanging himself. He’s been hearing voices of people cursing him to die and can’t take it anymore. Myeol-mang refuses to allow him that relief.

Meanwhile, Dong-kyung ignores a call from her cheating ex and goes to her friend’s house. NA JI-NA (Shin Do-hyun) is curled on the ground, lamenting that it’s all gone. Dong-kyung covers her mouth in horror to realize the power outage made Ji-na lose all her writing for the upcoming episode.

Ji-na doesn’t see the point in rewriting it since her work hasn’t been getting a good response. Dong-kyung keeps the editing team’s criticisms of the webtoon to herself and gets Ji-na back at her computer to write. She can’t bring herself to tell her friend about all the crazy things happening to her lately.

Dong-kyung gets a call from Doctor Jung who’s worried she’s not taking her diagnosis seriously. He warns her the pain will be unbearable, but Dong-kyung muses that treatment can only slightly lessen the pain – she’ll die painfully either way.

At the hospital, a woman hands the goddess a flyer about the coming of doom. She claims God is angry, and the comets today were an omen. The goddess smiles and agrees when she sees Myeol-mang standing in her doorway.

He’s in a good mood since he found a human who wished for doom instead of the usual personal gain. If the “garden” disappears, there’s no need for a gardener or butterfly. The goddess says to do as he pleases, and she’ll do the same.

Myeol-mang wants to know why it has to be him, and the goddess vaguely answers it must be his fate. “How cruel,” Myeol-mang observes. She says fate is cruel to all and warns him he’ll be punished if he does anything bad. “I’m already being punished,” Myeol-mang responds.

Dong-kyung gets another text from her ex saying she’ll regret not taking his calls. He sends a picture of her workplace where he’s currently protesting with a sign and everything. Dae-han (cameo by Kim Ji-suk) has the audacity to call her a homewrecker who made his wife leave.

Dong-kyung’s coworkers watch Dae-han with disgust. When Dong-kyung arrives, he has it out with her right there. The manchild blames her for inciting his wife to divorce him and accuses Dong-kyung of not having any manners. He then acts like he was doing her a favor by dating her since she’s not all that and doesn’t even have parents.

At this point, Dong-kyung begins contemplating whether it’d be a waste to use her wish on trash like him. When she says she really wants to kill him, Dae-han says she’s “making it obvious” she didn’t have parents to guide her.

Dae-han approaches CHA JOO-IK (Lee Soo-hyuk) and tries to get Dong-kyung fired. Joo-ik instead roughly shoves him out the door, knocking Dae-han to the ground.

PARK JUNG-MIN (Park Tae-in) returns from his lunchbreak right as Dae-han runs back in. Thankfully, Dae-han’s wife shows up. As she drags him out, she apologizes and announces that her husband’s words are all lies.

The atmosphere is tense and awkward as everyone tries to get back to work. Tae-in wants to gossip about what happened in the company-wide chat, but Ye-ji puts a stop to that. Understandably, Dong-kyung hands in her resignation, but Joo-ik refuses to process it; he says she’ll have to wait for CEO Park to return from his trip to Bali with his girlfriend.

That night, Dong-kyung walks home after another crappy day. She gets to the crosswalk and freezes, remembering her recent brush with death. Myeol-mang appears by her side and takes her hand for a “recharge.” He walks with her across the street and tells her she can call him when she’s scared.

Myeol-mang asks how her day was, hoping for something doom-worthy. Dong-kyung asks what happens if she doesn’t uphold her end of the bargain and dies without wishing for doom. “Someone else will die instead – whoever you love most,” he answers casually.

Dong-kyung is horrified at this penalty, but Myeol-mang says she already agreed to this contract. She calls him a scammer and starts to walk off, but she stops when he asks if knowing this would’ve changed her decision.

Suddenly, she’s back at the intersection with the truck barreling towards her. Myeol-mang says they’ll do this fairly and gives her another chance to choose. Echoing Myeol-mang’s earlier sentiment, Dong-kyung demands to know why it has to be her. When he says it’s fate, Dong-kyung replies, “How cruel.”

The irony isn’t lost on Myeol-mang who repeats the goddess’s words that fate is cruel to all. With the truck almost on her, Dong-kyung yells for Myeol-mang to stop. The scene changes back to night, and the truck is gone.

“See?” Myeol-mang says with a satisfied smile. Dong-kyung marches over and slaps him hard in the face, calling him a jerk. Is it fun to toy with her? He reminds her he’s not on her side but will always respect her decision.

Once he’s alone, Myeol-mang drops the playful demeanor. He thinks back to asking the goddess why it had to be him and having his question thrown back at him by Dong-kyung.

Meanwhile, Dong-kyung gets a surprise visit from her little brother. As she stares at Sun-kyung’s smiling face, she thinks of Myeol-mang’s words that the person she loves most will die if she breaks her contract. Dong-kyung wordlessly grabs her little brother in a hug.

The next day, Dong-kyung expects to see Myeol-mang hanging around her, but he’s nowhere to be found. At the office, she meets with a sleazy writer who goes on about how “social stigma” shouldn’t be involved in “pure love,” which is why he includes things like a grown man hitting on a middle schooler in his webtoon.

“Love that extends beyond social stigma is called a crime,” Dong-kyung argues. Heh. The writer is stunned at being talked to like this, whining that she was never this way before. Dong-kyung is unapologetic and clearly tired of giving a damn.

Dong-kyung has lunch with Ji-na who’s decided to change her pen name based on a shaman’s advice. Apparently, it’s inspired by a guy’s name who she is no longer on friendly terms with. Ji-na wonders if she should quit writing.

Dong-kyung asks what Ji-na would do if she had 100 days to live. For her, she’d use those days to make sure Ji-na is successful. To Ji-na’s surprise, Dong-kyung suggests ending the webtoon within the month. Oh, and it’s no big deal, but her boyfriend turned out to be married. Pfft.

Elsewhere, Ye-jin gathers the rest of the editing team to make sure they won’t make a thing of what happened to Dong-kyung. Jung-min is the only one who hesitates, but the others pressure him into agreeing.

They’re meeting in a café run by the building owner’s son LEE HYUN-KYU (Kang Tae-oh) who seems to be the inspiration for Ji-na’s pen name “Lee Hyun.” When everyone returns to work, Dong-kyung reports that Ji-na agreed to end the series early.

Joo-ik wonders what Dong-kyung said to the sleazy writer earlier because he asked them to change his editor to “someone pretty.” Ugh. Joo-ik deadpans that he’ll take over since he’s the prettiest. (That’s fair.)

In his direct way, Joo-ik asks what Dong-kyung saw in Dae-han. It seems they had quite the meet cute. She was editing in a café when a spilt coffee almost ruined 80 pages worth of material. Dae-han blocked the coffee with his body, saving her work.

Dong-kyung looks at the blank pages in her planner and thinks of what she wants in her final days. She has no money, dreams, or love to speak of and wishing for those things for such a short time is meaningless. “The world I’m surviving in is no different than doom in the end.”

She wonders if everyone lives in this in-between, feeling neither alive nor dead. We cut to Myeol-mang at the hospital where he watches doctors doing CPR on the goddess. After she’s revived, she tells Myeol-mang it’ll be hard for her to live past 20 in this lifetime.

The goddess says someone must pay the price for the existence of the world. This time, that price is heart disease. She exists because humans asked for God. They created her, and she created Myeol-mang. It’s their job to pay the price.

She argues he can’t escape his fate, but Myeol-mang is determined to try. The goddess warns she’ll have to act, too. He stills when she tells him to go – it’s almost midnight. A god knows everything; they just pretend not to.

Myeol-mang arrives while Dong-kyung is having her funeral photo taken. She’s still mad at him for last time, but he walks home with her anyway. He thinks she’s wasting time. Why do humans bother with things they won’t be around to see?

Dong-kyung says it’s for others and accuses him of being selfish. He retorts she can’t imagine how much he lives for others. Even after she slapped him, he’s here to “save” her. He holds out his hand, and she reluctantly grabs it for a recharge.

A light flickers near them, and Myeol-mang explains that things like this happen around him. An ambulance whooshes by, and Dong-kyung sees a sign with the number of car accidents in Seoul the past day. Myeol-mang admits that’s because of his presence, too.

She wonders how he lives like this. He brushes it off, saying he’s more existing than living. He’s just a “doom button” whose every action leads to doom. That’s his whole reason for existence. Even if he does nothing, hell breaks loose. We see him sitting in the dark, covering his ears as all sorts of disasters occur. Voices cry in desperation and curse him.

Dong-kyung stares at him thoughtfully and says she understands what he meant with his earlier comment that gain always involves loss. For light to exist, there needs to be darkness. The same with birth and death. “So you’re winter, darkness, and death.” Now she agrees that he does care only about others. She’s the selfish one. Myeol-mang studies her silently.

Realizing they’re still holding hands, Dong-kyung asks how long they need to recharge for. Myeol-mang cheekily says he thought she just liked it. Dong-kyung yanks her hand out of his grip and walks ahead in a huff.

Myeol-mang walks her to her place and asks if he should pick her up tomorrow. When he makes a comment about how he shouldn’t care if she’s in pain or not, Dong-kyung goes off. Why is he picking a fight when they were getting along so well and understanding each other?

Amused, he steps closer and clarifies, “I’m telling you to cling to me. To the fate that came to you.” She’s speechless as he smiles and walks away.

Myeol-mang turns around when a thoroughly drunk Dae-han yells, “Hey, Tak Dong-kyung!” Dae-han stumbles toward Dong-kyung and drops to his knees. He whines about how he didn’t mean anything he said earlier and claims they were in love.

Dae-han starts drunkenly singing and clinging onto her despite her telling him numerous times to let go. While she struggles to push him away, her funeral portrait drops to the ground and shatters.

Myeol-mang makes his way over and grabs Dae-han by the jacket. He asks Dong-kyung if her wish is to make this man disappear from her life, but Dong-kyung doesn’t plan to waste her wish on the likes of him.

Myeol-mang decides to go a less severe route and pretends to be her boyfriend. Even that doesn’t drive Dae-han away. Instead, he takes it as a good thing since it means they’re both cheaters. The man is deluded enough to think they’re even and can start dating again.

Before she can address this latest insanity, Sun-kyung comes up with a mop. He’s ready to take out both men but decides to start with the married one and chases Dae-han down the street.

Myeol-mang watches Dong-kyung start picking up the shards of her photo frame. She cuts her finger and laughs humorlessly at the absurdity of it all. Myeol-mang crouches down and gently drags his finger over her cut to heal it.

He starts picking the shards off her photo and says he gets why she thought of him now – why she wished for doom. At that time, she was the only person with the same thoughts as him. Dong-kyung stares in surprise when he says he’s grateful to her.

Myeol-mang wipes off her photo and hands it to her before leaving. Dong-kyung calls out to him, saying this won’t do. “Let’s live together.” Myeol-mang is so surprised his cigarette almost falls out of his mouth. Then, he grins.

 
COMMENTS

Dong-kyung is already getting under Myeol-mang’s skin, and it’s only been a couple of days. He seems interested in her both for their similar desperation and the fact that she’s able to surprise him. Her empathy for his situation took him off guard, and he clearly wasn’t anticipating her suggestion that they should be roommates. I’m up for some cohabitation hijinks since I’m enjoying their chemistry. Maybe it’ll help Myeol-mang lower his walls a little because we’re still only getting glimpses of what lies beneath the surface. I know I already talked about how much I love Dong-kyung in the last recap, but this episode cemented that for me. She’s just such a well-drawn character whose reactions never feel overblown or unrealistic as sometimes happens in these sorts of stories. Dong-kyung feels like a real person who is processing trauma and grief over what’s happening to her. I hope she tells her loved ones about her diagnosis soon, though, because she’s going to break if she keeps trying to power through on her own. Right now, Myeol-mang is her sole support system, and he’s not even completely on her side yet.

Although, given how he’s been going above and beyond to help her, I’d say that’s rapidly changing. Myeol-mang easily could’ve left her to deal with Dae-han and the aftermath on her own, but he voluntarily intervened. Speaking of Dae-han, wow is he shamelessly awful. I can’t believe he went to her work and made everything out to be her fault, going so far as to publicly embarrass her and try to get her fired. I was glad to see most of her coworkers, particularly Ye-ji and Joo-ik, have her back. I loved how Joo-ik casually asked Dong-kyung about her relationship later, bringing it out into the open and making it no big deal. He may appear aloof, but he pays attention and eases the tension in his own way. With everything Dong-kyung has going on, thank goodness she has some good people around her.

The tone of this drama is so interesting. Everything from the color palette to the storytelling style to the side characters tells us this is a rom-com, but the story itself is dark and squarely in melo territory. This intentional dissonance creates an intriguing, slightly off-kilter vibe. It’s by no means a happy drama, but it doesn’t feel as dreary as it should either. Much in line with the theme of this episode, the brightness and darkness balance each other as complementary forces. I like the drama’s focus on balance and maintaining the natural order of things, particularly as it relates to the fantasy elements. The gods and supernatural beings might be powerful, but they’re beholden to the humans who gave them life. The goddess and Myeol-mang serve as tools to balance the world’s existence – their power is offset by personal suffering.

Dong-kyung is learning this lesson on cosmic balance and sacrifice the hard way. She made that deal with Myeol-mang out of desperation and didn’t fully think through the potential consequences. There’s no way a contract with a supernatural being wouldn’t have a penalty clause to ensure you can’t back out. Since Myeol-mang has been summoned, someone has to pay the price. As this episode hammered home, there’s always a sacrifice. Either Dong-kyung chooses doom’s target or the person she loves most becomes that target. Right now, that person is her little brother, but what happens if the person she loves most is doom? Can doom be doomed?

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I liked this episode a lot more as we delved into doom’s existence. The explanation of him being the darkness to light, death to birth and winter to summer was quite deep. It’s really interesting that in order for happiness to exist sadness is essential and vice versa and to have doom be personified as a being is an interesting concept.

I do hope that the world building for his existence doesn’t get complicated as the story progresses because I can already predict that the person that will become precious to dong kyung will be doom, and I dread to think what will happen to him if anything.

On a lighter note I didn’t expect her to invite doom to live with her, as if her life couldn’t be any less bleak lol but Im definitely anticipating the cohabitation hijinks that will ensue and the way they’ll both get under each other’s nerves, hopefully that means more chemistry filled moments.

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This is a great recap @quirkycase, thank you. I really like the way you see the show's content and its production as being reflective of the binary at the show's core: darkness and light.

And you've made clearer something that I found inexplicable when I first watched it - why she asked him to move in with her. She's embracing her fate, even if it's cruel. I can't say I'm thrilled with the prospect of cohabitation hijinks but it makes sense with her character's resigned nihilism that she has decided to go all-in with the inevitable.

As I said after the first episode, I really enjoyed this premiere week although I found some of the deliberate ambiguity a bit frustrating. It's not that I need answers, it's that it feels deliberate like the writer wants to be ambiguous so they can circle back later and tell us we were misdirected.

But both episodes were strong and having two actors like SIG and PBY certainly helps. I'm tentatively, cautiously looking forward to more.

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Can you please help clear my doubt, what exactly is the terms, she has to wish for what in order to save her brother?

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They explain it finally in episode 3. She has to doom the world before she dies. If she dies without dooming the world, then her brother dies.
Yes it makes no sense but roll with it.

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I like it because I have no idea how the story will go. I wasn't expecting that DK would ask Doom to live together for example. She has nothing more to lose I guess.

I like this uncertitude. It's fun.

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I expect to see a HUGE tonal change in episode 3. It may be a bit jarring. Rewatching episodes 1 and 2 (via Youtube show recapper) I'm starting to think the director just doesn't have a sense of humor. There were small scenes that, in other hands, would have been wacky screwball comedy. Here it felt sad and tragic, like the heroine's writer friend threatening to go up on the roof and jump off the building. I'm still watching to see where it will go.

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I was surprised, but I belive DK could see a similarity in his and herself loneliness as he explained his work was as his fait, just as her life was event that was beyond her control like lossing parents, having to take care of her brother and getting a terminal illness. From some of his action (offering his hand) and word (coming to her in the moring and rescue her from ex) she could understand he is not as cruel ass he say he is. So that is why I think she offered to live together.

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Wait but didn't Myul Mang say she can make a wish other than doom? So if she does that will somebody still die ?

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They haven't been clear enough on this point for me. I believe she can make any wish but he chose her to make specifically a doom wish. I think.
They also heavily implied that he wanted her to end the world completely but then the threat of her brother's death makes little sense. They need to clarify this better.

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The brother (or one she loves the most at that moment) will only die if she doesn't uphold her part of the contract which is to wish for doom to the world. She has yet to make it (if you remember when he came by her house, he told her she only had to just say it in front of him once more). It seems she has an extra wish she can make (one that does not have to do with what he wants her to wish about--remember he asked if she wished to use her wish to make her ex disappear from the world, but she didn't want to waste it on him), and if she only had the one wish, he wouldn't let her waste her wish on something else other than bringing doom to the world. But I agree, it does seem confusing.

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I don't agree that she has more than one wish. She has one wish, a doom wish. But she doesn't have to end the world. Because that makes no sense - if she ends the world her brother dies anyway so why would the threat of his death motivate her?

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When the time comes, Doom will be the person she will love the most. He dies instead of her, or she dies to save Doom. Hope I am wrong so that this drama will be something else entirely.

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I feel precisely the same way.
I mean I get the concept behind it, love defeats doom, after death comes rebirth. But I can't say I'm thrilled since it's not an original concept. Like you say, I mostly hope that I'm wrong because they seem to have set this up very clearly and it's a bit predictable.

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That's what I thought too, that it's implied by the end it wont be the brother but Doom that she loves most. Except Doom is not really a person so would he still have to die if she doesn't make the wish?

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Yeh, that foreshadowing stuck out like a sore thumb, didn't it. I like the thought that Doom dies which opens up the gates of hell and swallows up the earth. A plot arc which opens up the possibility that the heroine (I still haven't remembered her name) will elect to die to save both Doom and keep unleashed hell in check.

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I think they intended for it to not be that subtle. It's pretty obvious Myeol Mang wants to end his life, so he's deliberately just trying to set himself up for that, you know; creating win-win situations for himself so that whether or not DK makes the wish isn't of significance at all.

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And the parallels to Goblin keep coming. I think him wanting to be done is exactly our setup here. He's set to die either way, unless he's just trying to be out of a job (no garden to tend), than blinked out of existence with everything else. A commenter above mentioned that this needs to be explained more clearly and I agree. Does MM even know what will happen to him if the world ends? If he thinks that he dies along with everything else, then a romance to become the person she loves most makes more sense for everyone involved than her doom wish, but I think we're supposed to infer that falling in love was never his intention, so fine. But for anyone to try for any future prospects here makes no sense unless we're just choosing to seize the day and live it up.
We do know that this circumstance is coming because one of the previews did have him say to her, "pick me or the world" after she said she'd have a hard time killing him or something like that. So I think the choice will come down to does she doom the whole world, or just them two since she's going back on her word, killing her love? Because either way she's going to die, right? Not to sound morbid, but I am fine with that and don't need a coerced happy ending for this fictional character. All good stories come to an end. We're about to shed a lot of tears and characters bracing themselves for a cherished loved one to die. Somebody's got to die then for any of this emotion to be worth it.

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But.. without them falling in love (which will never be the case) , either her brother has to die , or the whole world has to end ? Am i getting it right. And what's with that wish he gave her. , can someone explain that part

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That might be the case but seriously hope not... its tooo cruel the end then

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I love this. I love the balance between light and darkness, and you put it so well @quirkycase. I love Dong-kyung's character. Is she just soldiering on with gritted teeth or is she strong and resilient? I think she's a bit stunned at the moment. In shock but intelligently trying to understand what is happening to her and why? She asks the "why me?" question that so many people ask when confronted with something horrible happening to them. And why does she ask him to live with her? Maybe we'll get a reason soon, but I don't think it's a bleak option. I think she feels safe with him. She also seems to be someone who faces her limited options head on. Also when it comes to last wishes, just look at him. What's she got to lose, spending her last days with him, especially when he promises that she won't be in pain. I wonder how their nilhism will go together. Like everyone else, I'm wondering how it works for doom to be doomed. I'm looking forward to seeing what her choices will be and how he will find meaning in being with her. As another beanie sais, it's quite existential.

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i can't believe how so casually hot Lee Soo-Hyuk is

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Kang Tae-oh's characters are around neighborhood cafes a lot.

Thank you for the recap and putting into words what makes this drama and its characters intriguing. I agree with you about the tone of this drama and the interesting dissonance.
Myeol-mang is quite difference from past kdrama supernatural fantasy male leads in that those previous characters felt like humans with supernatural powers - some of them were even human at one point. Myeol-mang doesn't feel like he has that human side. He is just an embodiment of an element that keeps cosmic balance in the universe.

The goddess mentioning the time to Myeol-mang and admission that she sees everything, but just pretend that she doesn't - makes me wonder if she knows Doom is up to something, like perhaps trying to trick Dong-kyung into dooming him out of existence. I feel like he's scamming her into the contract. Her death day wasn't for another 99 days so why was she about to get Truck-of-Doomed? Dong-kyung needs a supernatural lawyer to check out this contract.

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You may be right. He's in the process of orchestrating his own doom. Oh delicious complications.

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This show feels a bit dark at times and has Doomed ending written all over it. I hope I'm wrong cause I don't do tragic endings when it comes to kdramas, but I already like the chemistry enough to live watch.

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I really like Joo-ik so far! All of his appearances were marked with thoughtful gesture and even though he didn't outright say it, he always had Dongkyung's back. Like in the first episode when he was basically telling the CEO to shut up about the video and then this episode! I wonder if he has feeling for her, although the series description had him pair up with her friend instead.

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I desperately hope he doesn't have feelings for Dong-kyung. A love triangle between the leads is not something I (and most viewers, I think) signed up for. Also, I want Lee Soo-hyuk to get the girl and have a proper romance, so better pair him with Shin Do-hyun. He's also Dong-kyung's superior at work, which would make it super icky imo.

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Joo-ik NOT having feelings for Dong-kyung makes his actions towards her so much better IMO, like it'll be nice for someone to stick up for someone else simply because it's the right thing to do and not because they have an ulterior motive, and it makes their dynamic so much better!

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Lee soo hyuk stated in the press conference that there is two relationship that is fun aspect of the drama. DK and MM romance, as well JI, HK and JN romance. So it is very sure that JI do not have any romantic interest in DK, but just a nice person (make him a lovely character). Also he stated that he is not fan of supporting or biased for one side of the love triangle. They tried to act in way that allow viewers to like a related to all three characters. The two boys in roommates. I can already see we gonna be charmed by everyone as we get to see more of them.

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Doom, Doom. The drama seems to both equate and not equate doom with evil. I don't understand why they are doing it or even if they are doing it on purpose. The writer has established that Doom is or believes he just came into existance, so in my mind he is not evil, he just is. If he is the opposite of light or death to birth, he just is. Regardless, I hope they clarify.

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He's not evil. He's just not a good guy. Doom is, as you say: just is.

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Can doom be doomed?
Such a wonderful question😛😂😛😂
And that's what is probably going to get me to watch this show until the end, even if it will become whimsical.
I really want to find the answer, because I notice that's where they would go. Of the person she loves the most will die for her (or instead of her), and she will fall for him (well, who wouldn't?) Then....
And since he is so tired of his existence, that makes sense, but...
Ohhhh so juicy! 😅😅😅😅
This is gonna be interesting.
I will keep my expectations low anyways, but I am curious enough.

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I really enjoyed these opening episodes. I would've watched it anyway due to my love for Seo In-guk and the cast, but I still wanted it to be good. Maybe this is too soon to cast judgment and I've certainly been burnt way too many by excellent opening weeks - only for the quality to drop drastically - but I'm trying my best to be optimistic.

Now, let the cohabitation hijinks begin! (and for the love of God, let Myeol-mang have a smoke already).

I'm liking the fantasy elements so far. The current reasoning for Doom's existence was pretty neat and while I anticipate some plot twists regarding it in future episodes, I hope its not overly convoluted. The concept that diametrically opposed entities (i.e. darkness to light, death to birth) must exist because the universe requires order is certainly not an original one, but I want to see how they tackle this trope in a kdrama romance setting.

As for the characters, I really like Dong-kyung. She's clearly had a difficult life and is still processing her trauma, but she has a quiet strength to her that I found interesting. I hope that her shrinking lifespan and interactions with Myeol-mang makes her even more assertive and confident. And speaking of Myeol-mang; Seo In-guk is so damn good. I have missed this man in dramaland and just how mesmerizing he is on screen. He is so charming. Even if this drama goes to the dogs later, we will still get a great performance from him.

I hope Lee Soo-hyuk gets more screentime. He is talented, but rarely chooses good projects. Hopefully this could be a breakout role for him. I already like how quietly protective his character is towards his team members. I have nothing to say about Kang Tae-oh other than that it must be contractually obligated for him to be involved with a cafe somehow. I relate to Shin Do-hyun's character's insecurities regarding her writing, but need more time to get a handle on her.

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Ever notice how characters in KDramas are never seen ACTIVELY smoking on screen? I believe this is intentional, and probably related to censorship on Korean tv networks -- possibly to discourage viewers from thinking smoking is cool.

If this was broadcast on Netflix, yes, he'd smoke on screen.

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Yeah that’s probably it. It’s just a little irritating to see him get constantly interrupted right before he smokes.

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Agree with Lee Soo-hyuk. He is always second lead or the evil one, or both! Upsetting!
I find his persona very very interesting and charming. I wish he could be picked up as the main lead one day.

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KTO was inn Run On right? Is that why everyone is talking about a cafe link? Anyways if you want to see him in a different capacity/type of character I'd recommend Tale of Nokdu. I first saw him there I think. The beginning is good but then it has a total tone shift and the quality goes down I think, but it's worth watching the beginning at least for KTO. Also, Kim Sohyun and Jang Dong Yoon have awesome chemistry and acting as well :)

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I love love Tale of Nokdu and wish that back half tonal shift wasn't so jarring. It's honestly a slog but the ending is still great. It says something about how good the first half is and how great the characters are that I actually did that slog because I cared what happened to them.

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The tonal shift in Tale of Nokdu was bizarre story-wise, but at least Kang Tae-oh got to flex his acting chops. It’s not every drama where an actor gets to go from lovestruck nobleman to evil, psychopath prince.

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My sentiments for Lee Soo-hyuk .... At this point I want him to lead a drama, am over him getting the girl (born again crush all hopes) let him just lead a good drama ala guest (like KJW) I will be happy..

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Born Again did his character so dirty. I was so pissed I sat through that drama...they kept giving us hope and then just decided to shit on us in the end.

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I really love the main actor/actress/characters (and the supportive office coworkers) but I can't quite shake off NOT LIKING the storytelling's "intentional dissonance,' as @quirkycase astutely points out.

I'll give it until ep4.

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This drama is fasssst and Seo In Gook is hoooot!

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Doom. Doomed. Is it time for Dhoom 4 already? Sorry, couldn’t help it.

https://youtu.be/WGXmDsOwW4k

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Okay obviously Dong-kyung's ex is a certified trash bag, but I absolutely loved watching Kim Ji-suk play the character. I was just laughing at how ridiculous he was being, ESPECIALLY when he told Dong-kyung that her cheating on him cancels out his cheating and they can just be together (the nerve of him to say that!)

Also I loved the way Lee Soo-hyuk spells out M-A-N-N-E-R (I'm not embarrassed to admit I rewatched that scene one too many times)

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I love Kim Ju suk to death, and because I know how good he is, I didn't mind him doing this funny cameo. So childish! 😂😂😂😂😂
But yeah, it was pathetic at the same time, inside the story, I mean... what a stupid ex boyfriend😒😂😒😡

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Me too, javine! His childish antics were OTT, but I still loved it because it was KJS!

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So, she needs to make a wish to end the world or the person she loves most will die. In both cases the person she loves will die, the only difference in second case would be she won’t be around to witness it.
The choice is to live with regret of killing your loved one for rest of life or end all life altogether?

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Its still early to say how the story may flow but seriously this is definitely interesting... we have seen Gods' and goddesses, vampires, goblins, grim rippers, gumiho, manga characters, time travelers, mermaids, robots, angels and sooo many this is definitely a new spin since we now "Doom" and personally can doom look so good? Though I'm a little curious can doom be doomed 😅😅😅?

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Also a goddess who is vulnerable and probably incarnate repeatedly like those lamas in Tibet ...

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Yeah... I don't get her that much still

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I'll be that shallow person who will say that i found Myeol-mang really sexy in the last scene with the cigarette and music...

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You're in a company of shallow "people" don't worry 🙋🏿

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More than happy to admit I’m extremely shallow then.

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Nope, not at all, happy to be in the shallow camp as well!

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Myeol-mang is definitely going to be the person Dong-kyung loves most, but instead of dying, my theory is he'll turn human. Which honestly is the best birthday wish for him since he's tired of being immortal, but he'll still have to live the rest of his life without her, so I expect lots of tears when Myeol-mang pleads with God to save Dong-kyung.

It's heart fluttering how Dong-kyung recharges by holding hands, and I love how they use banmal. I wish their cohabitation is at Doom's house. Thanks a bunch for the recap, @quirkycase!

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When Dong Kyung was hesitating to cross the street and Myeol Mang grabbed her hand -- definitely heart fluttering!

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Question im I the only one who interpreted the light flickering with heart flickering ? Because he did say that sometimes he has no control over it and seems like a heightened pulse might have caused it adding that they panned back to light flickering before the scene cut.

Any thoughts ?

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That is SUPER interesting. I like that interpretation!

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I truly agree with this!

(Just to leave a note that I am following this drama, as well Law School in a comparatively slower pace, because the other one is so heavy, so I need something light to balance ...)

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Goodluck with that, because we need to prepare ourselves for the emotional heartache that's to come

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That's I am ready and at least this one is lighthearted (I would rather if they want to make it a tragedy, just make it tragic, not a last moment happy ending ...).

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Yep I had the same thought and spazzed abt it on twitter! He doesn't know, but his heart already likes her!

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Right !? I didn't want to believe that I was overthinking things, the heart knows what the mind doesn't

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"...but what happens if the person she loves most is doom?"
Oh!!! I Am so waiting for this already!!!!

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I wasn't sold with the first episode but this one was way more interesting. I absolutely love the magical hand holding! I get butterflies every time their hands touch someone help meeee

I love hated DK's cheating boyfriend. He's awful but hilarious.

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Love- the characters, the cinematography, the plot, the hint/potential of amazingness from the plot, the direction, the music, the palette, the chemistry, the hand holding, the acting, THE ACTORS!

Hate- Literally nothing at all!

I haven't felt this way abt a drama for a long time now! It feels nice to feel this! Thank you Drama Gods!

Now obviously I might be biased cuz it's the return of Seo In Guk after so many years, but it's not just him- I like everything abt this!

Can't wait for more!

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On a completely superficial level though, Seo In Guk's look here is making it hard to not watch him with heart eyes! The cigarette, the smirk in that last scene- and his ever-present grin which can turn into a scary eye look in a second~~ the way I swooooon!

Also, will he ever get to smoke? Or will it be a running gag hahha

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Aggressively Agreeing with you!!!
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

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Appreciating the aggression hahha

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So much entertainment to come! I was not really expecting the quick cohabitation turn, but I’m certainly not complaining. Any shower scenes coming? Please? Ok. Head out of gutter, the story is a bit enigmatic right now. It took us two episodes to really understand what Doom actually is. I thought he was a demigod or something similar. But he’s just an idea, a concept, in human form. He’s just darkness, but not necessarily evil. He’s a balance to light. Which means he’s probably not as free to do whatever he likes. The goddess/gardener probably will have more control than we think. After all, she created him, right? I wonder how she will play into this. I’m invested, so savoring every episode. What are the odds that SIG has two projects back-to-back where he dies? I think pretty good right now.

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While people here are insisting that dong Kyung is acting like she has resigned to her fate, I OTOH am not convinced that she has. My reasoning is that I interpreted her actions in ep 1 as one who hasn't fully grasped the severity of her illness and that she was already dying. She seems abit dull in the head too especially when she's talking to myul mang. Like he had to repeatedly show demonstrations before she fully understood that he's a supernatural being when it was pretty obvious ever since he stepped into her house. Believe it or not there are really people like dong Kyung irl. She reminds me of some people I encounter in my job, for example when I had to explain to a person that s/he has a certain illness and that said illness may or may not be life-threatening, but because this person only had a check-up as a requirement for his/her job his/her first question is "does that mean I won't get the job I'm applying for/will that affect my status as a regular or contractual employee?". It's strange when I hear that response especially when I just told them there's a mass growing in your breast which may or may not be cancerous, for example. IMO, DK reacted like that because she didn't understand her illness. There was also a scene saying she can't be scared of something she can't see, that is, dying. And only when she almost got hit by the TOD did she feel fear of dying. The fact that she took MM's hand and contract means she's not ready to die and hasn't fully resigned to her fate, when she could've just accepted death by TOD and be over it already.

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"Can doom be doomed?"... That's exactly what I thought at the end of that episode.
When he was talking about the consequences of breaking the contract he said the person she loves the most at "that" moment, and I have a feeling that will be Doom

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I'm not done watching the episode, but I just wanted to say how sweet the photographer in that short scene where she takes a funeral photo was. All she said was to print out the frame in that particular size usually used for fuenrals and he immediately asked if she wanted her eyes larger when he protested before that.

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Why do I feel like doom is setting this up so he will be the one that dies?

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"I loved how Joo-ik casually asked Dong-kyung about her relationship later, bringing it out into the open and making it no big deal. He may appear aloof, but he pays attention and eases the tension in his own way. " - You have no idea how much my heart warmed when I saw this scene. Characters like Joo-Ik are rare in today's corporate world.

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I'm a little confused about the role of the girl referred to as goddess, are you sure that's her role?

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