Dal Ja's Spring Episode 19

Yeahhh although it's nice and sweet and…

Yeahhh although it's nice and sweet and all that Tae Bong's father is treating his mother so well now, that's pretty unrealistic, given the fact that he was cold and distant for 30 years. You can't just change that overnight because your son gives you a talking-to. Even for a drama, that was a bit sudden. Though to be fair, I don't necessarily want to watch even more of their story, so I'm good with things the way they are haha.

That was a really important epiphany Tae Bong had this episode. Yes, it's great that he wants to pursue his dream and all, but in the meantime, he was living in the apartment that his girlfriend was paying for, eating the food she was paying for, and making her suffer watching him struggle and get hurt. No, you don't have to give everything up for your partner, but it's important to consider them too and realize that you're not just living for yourself anymore. You're now a two-person unit, and you need to rearrange your priorities accordingly. It would be one thing if he couldn't get a job and was forced to take the construction job. But the fact of the matter was that he could have an incredibly high-paying job, delay his dream for just a few years, and make his partner feel comfortable and safe without having to do anything extra -- he already had all the qualifications and connections. Few people have such fortunate circumstances to even have the option of turning down such a high-spec job. Many dramas featuring a poor male lead make it a virtue for them to work tirelessly in a low-paying job and slowly build their way up to achieve their dream, but I thought this was more realistic (if someone being such a high-level lawyer and then giving it all up to wander the streets is at all realistic -- speaking of which, we haven't seen Kim Jae Wook in a while -- hope he's ok) in that sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do things you don't want to for others. When you're only looking after yourself, it's fine to put yourself through that unforgiving work and to live in less-than-ideal circumstances, but that changes when your life revolves around not just yourself but someone else as well. It's not sacrificing yourself, per se, but compromising and trying to find the best solution to your top priority problems.

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