(this is a bit of a RUN ON rant):
These two scenes really put Seon-gyeom’s personality and motives in perspective for me!

(1) The one with his mom exposed the source of his weirdness, his childlike traits that read almost as autism. It makes sense that with an upbringing that didn’t meet his emotional needs & was also abusive, he is now who he is– low on emotional intelligence and wide-eyed in the face of social situations and relationships.
(2) The scene where he goes “If I’ve become too boring, then tell me so” just broke my heart 😭. First of all who’s the bitch that hurt him so that he looked so crestfallen at the suspicion of being found “boring?!” What it did tell me was that he’s used to such rejections, and his prior hesitance on what to do about his feelings for MJ made so much more sense, bc that was just him trying to protect himself.

What I didn’t understand though was some of Mijoo’s reasoning. It’s true that Seon-gyeom can be confusing and needs to sharpen his communication skills. It’s also true that he has the tendency to bottle things up and make decisions all on his own, which makes it hard to judge where’s his mind is at, so I understand why MJ would feel “left out” (even though I don’t think he owes her anything).
HOWEVER, I really think Seon-gyeom stepped up in ep.9. He was so much more open and only had eyes for her. He even SAID he liked her ffs! So I was really confused when she pushed him away???
I did think (before watching ep.10) that her reaction stemmed from fear of abandonment, esp. since the show has mentioned the loss of her parents a lot– but that required a lot of mental gymnastics. As opposed to Seon-gyeom, whose past we’ve explored with clarity, we actually don’t know much about Mijoo’s past in detail (yet) and I find that a bit lacking. It’s much easier to understand Seon-gyeom’s actions in the context of their relationship- given all that we do know for sure about him, but we can only take Mijoo at her word when she says things like “I was too scared of loosing him, that I didn’t dare make a move … Like okay, but WHY is that?
(Anyways, if you’ve actually read this far, thanks)


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    It was the manner in which he confessed: she thought he was liking her as a favour to her, especially when he blindsided her about his departure from her house after she had just indirectly confessed to him earlier at the anchor-shaped pier. Her insecurity was made worse by the “Mr. One Month” nickname shared by Young Il earlier (which revealed why he said the line in the gif you posted).

    As for her background, I thought the end of Episode 8 covered that quite a bit with the car ride where Sun Gyum escorted the sick Mi Joo: they talked about her experience having no parents to comfort her while she had meningitis and how she had to learn how to blend in with the other kids to avoid being ostracised. The cliffhanger scene also shows her attachment issues with Sun Gyum stepping in to help her become her anchor that she can rely on.

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      I tend to think that MJ is unconsciously strongly influenced by movies and she has few possible scenarios in her head ready (like we saw when she was back at home) for the situation and when it happened in different direction it spoiled her mood and even when she doesn’t want to be mad she is mad. They are both very direct and spare on physical contact unless they’re drunk. Even when SG confess that he wants to hold her hand, hug her and kiss her more they’re not able to do so. They need more courage and forget about past relationships.

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      “It was the manner in which he confessed: she thought he was liking her as a favour to her”
      I agree with you on this, even though I find it wasn’t easily discernible. Hadn’t thought of it this way, thanks!

      And yes we do know about her background and can theorize with all that you said, but idk… I find that it’s not explored enough still, especially in comparison to how KSG is characterized.

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    Most of the issue stems from choice of words and interpretations. They both have issues. He states things in his own way. She interprets these in her own way (add to this her job which requires her to add context and subtexts). This seems to be the running theme. Communication and lost in translation.
    They both have been sending feelers since ep 2. But neither of them are confident and are not willing to take the leap of faith and move forward. He is not used to getting close to people and she is careful about not getting hurt by people she is close to. ( both of them don’t have the ‘family’ experience)

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    Thanks Yuyuu. I just finished episode 9.
    Re No. 1. I thought that was a beautifully written and acted mother/son scene.
    Re No. 2. I really think at key moments in their developing relationship Mi-joo has unnecessarily complicated things. Seon-gyeom had done so many things in the episode to show his feelings for her when because of the shoes she gets all worked up and then winds up taking the bus back to Seoul which I thought was ridiculous. She could of joked about it by saying something like, “don’t you know it is bad luck to give someone (you like maybe romantically) shoes”? It probably would have gone right over his head. “Give me a few minutes to get my stuff and let’s get on the road”.
    In an earlier episode (I think at the door to Seon-gyeom’s hotel room she said something to the effect, “when I am around you I feel crappy”. My response was, “why is that his fault”? He is not playing passive/aggressive games with you. Lay off the booze.
    Actually my favorite scene in episode 9 was the lunch break conversation between Seo-gyeom and Woo-shik.
    So far the writing and acting in RUN ON has been excellent.

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      My response was, “why is that his fault”?

      EXACTLY. So much of their conflict is about miscommunication. A lot of Mijoo’s anger comes from how she (incorrectly) interprets SG’s words. When she says why she’s mad, SG is always like “That’s not it, that’s not what I mean.” I wish their confrontations wouldn’t end there, that they have a heart-to-heart on what exactly is ticking them both off.

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    We do know about MiJoo background: her parents died when she was a kid and she grew up in foster homes, and had to navigate her childhood being nice to others to fit (the scene in the hotel when she was given the wedding invitation and was so meanly treated by the bride), had to accept all kind of money and works to survive. She dated a director for years who, when they broke up, spread rumors that she only got any job because of him. She only find a place to call home when after finishing high school she met May (her Eun-bi?). She’s lived a tough life and even if she decided to walk on the sunny side of the street, she’s struggling every single day. Her heart was broken with her last boyfriend… will she give her heart again to SK? I think she feels she likes him so much she can’t handle another disappointment and that’s why she keeps the distance while she tries to read the signals.

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      I really like the inclusion of her ex into your interpretation! It really adds a layer to why she’s keeping her distance from SG, on top of everything else.
      That much I do understand, but the way I see it is that her actions aren’t just her distancing herself from Seon-gyeom, but veer into pushing him away. I understand where she’s coming from, but also think she’s given SG too much grief for his missteps, while not owning up to hers

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    Thank you all for commenting on this! I loved all the discussions, and now I feel like I understand Mijoo better as character! The writing here is so strong that we’re able to have this much discussion about ONE character
    @radily @kerouregan @mayhemf @marcusnyc20 @eazal

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