Why do some people ship Baek Kyung with Dan Oh? (discussion)

Nov 4, 2019 06:20 pm

what is SML

Nov 5, 2019 06:52 am

lonely emanon:
what is SML

Second male lead, usually in this sort of dramas there are two guys to compete for the girls love, here Haru and Baek Kyung. First male lead is the one that the female lead usually ends up with eventually, second male lead is there to challenge their romance. Usually (not in this drama though :D ) SMLs are very sweet, they might be FL (female lead) first love or something, but eventually ML (male lead) wins her affection.

SML syndrome means that viewers tend to ship the second male lead together with the FL. So here people are shipping Baek Kyung with Dan Oh, even if Haru is actually ML.

Hope this helped.

Chloe

Nov 5, 2019 09:28 am

I don't think there is any deep reason why they ship them. The main reason is surely because the actor is good looking, charismatic and talented. The second, because he's a tortured bad boy (well, more of an asshole in my eyes, but the difference is blurring), and lastly, because a hate/love relationship tends to be more interesting, which I often agree with, the problem here being I don't think there's any love in this one.

Personally, I don't dislike the character, he's just full of anger and sadness, and I would like to see him got an happy ending, but I really don't think he deserves to end up with Dan Oh after the way he treated her in the shadow.

vcr

Nov 5, 2019 02:57 pm

Helena:
Second male lead, usually in this sort of dramas there are two guys to compete for the girls love, here Haru and Baek Kyung. First male lead is the one that the female lead usually ends up with eventually, second male lead is there to challenge their romance. Usually (not in this drama though :D ) SMLs are very sweet, they might be FL (female lead) first love or something, but eventually ML (male lead) wins her affection.
SML syndrome means that viewers tend to ship the second male lead together with the FL. So here people are shipping Baek Kyung with Dan Oh, even if Haru is actually ML.
Hope this helped.

thanks!!!

miratheway

Nov 5, 2019 03:54 pm

I think the idea of someone being obsessed with you excites some people. In real life it is not something to be taken so lightly. And if his looks were ugly people wouldnt ship her with him, and i think they would feel disgusted with him. But the idea of a bad and handsome guy going out of his way to have you thrills some people. :/

Oizys

Nov 5, 2019 04:50 pm

He is a total ass and had little character development so far. I ship him cause I like him since Search:WWW and want him to be the main lead. But logically it will be more appropriate for Haru to end up with Dan Oh.

Shay

Nov 10, 2019 01:57 am

You said everything I thought. Before I started watching the drama I kept seeing people sympathizing for him so I thought he was someone who was rock on the outside but secretly soft for the female lead but not that case at all. He's violent, mean, never apologizes, and when he IS being slightly nice I can't even tell if it's because he likes her or it's for his manipulative dad agenda thingy. He is not like bad boy with soft edge like namjoo like you mentioned (of course there's flaws with him as well acting like ju da is his possession but baek kyung is much worse) He has no redeeming qualities. At all. He seems to be characterized as a villain more so especially now with the connection to the webtoon writer's past novel/webtoon.

People want to root for him because they think the actor is very attractive (which he is) and people want to strive to see the good in people--we're brainwashed to be drawn to characters who are cold on the exterior but we hope has a heart deep down. But the truth is he treats dan oh like trash and does not deserve her the slightest even if he does have feelings for her deep down.

Shay

Nov 10, 2019 01:59 am

miratheway:
I think the idea of someone being obsessed with you excites some people. In real life it is not something to be taken so lightly. And if his looks were ugly people wouldnt ship her with him, and i think they would feel disgusted with him. But the idea of a bad and handsome guy going out of his way to have you thrills some people. :/

Yes this exactly. The main reason people like him is because he's attractive and they want to believe that he feels jealous seeing dan oh with haru but he is just possessive and violent. I want to like him too, but I can't really :-/

chai tea latte

Nov 10, 2019 01:48 pm

SSKF:
I actually ship Baek Kyung and Dan Oh... but only so far as to make Baek Kyung hurt with remorse and regret for how he treated her. He's a legit good looking asshole, and his character is played by someone who is selling the acting and who is extremely good looking. That's 50% of the reason people ship them right there.
The other few percent, for me, is his eyes. In shadow, sometimes he has really strong remorse and longing feelings shining from his eyes when he looks at Dan Oh. Even on stage, when he's playing in the storyboard, his eyes show regret that 'this is part of the story, I don't mean it' sometimes. However, he's a douche, I got you there. Point is, he's portrayed as one of those reformed, regretful, bad boy is finally in love with me, douches.
IMO though, he's just there to make Haru look good. I prefer Haru for Dan Oh any day. I'd like Baek Kyung to sit in a corner and cry over the time he wasted with Dan Oh. Lol

This, very much.

TBH I had hopes that he would be nicer to Dan-oh and show positive character development, and even waited for him to be self-conscious to see improvement......but he continues to be a Class-A jerk 90% of the time. It's episode 24 already, and no redeeming quality yet so safe to say he's beyond help now lol

I really don't want Dan-oh to simply be a redemption arc for Baek Kyung, but the boy needs a good kick in the guts to make him see sense, and I'm so afraid the Writer is going down that route.

Kudos to Lee Jae Wook, it was him who made the character bearable.

SSKF

Nov 12, 2019 04:12 am

chai tea latte:
I really don't want Dan-oh to simply be a redemption arc for Baek Kyung

He's not really going to do a redemption arc (at least not in the comic). What I did see from the character was that during the novel scenes where he has no choice, he says and does things to hurt her. But after the scene ends, instantly he is regretful because it's not his true feeling. But he has no choice at the time. The problem with all that is : in shadow, he doesn't know how to apologise, how to talk nice, or do nice things.

You want to blame Baek Kyung, but remember all he has is his scum father's example. He knows it's wrong, and he hates his father enough to know better. The problem is that while he knows better, he doesn't know how to practice better. It feels awkward at first (to be a better person) and he's not the type to stand anything that makes him feel awkward.

Add that to all the resentment he felt in his life, plus + his current resentment that he's now the 2nd ML while Dan-Oh and Haru are the leads, and you've got one messed up boy who can't untangle his good feelings from the bad. Also add in the usual teenage frustrations... Well, Baek Kyung has his reasons for being an asshole. He also doesn't try hard at all to be better.

I love characters like this. He's actually more interesting than the flat character ML that is Haru. Haru is a condensed milk latte (sweet and delicious) but Baek Kyung is black coffee with a touch of sugar, maybe some spice, and definitely no milk.

The actor though - his talent of bringing to life all his characters is outstanding. I'm a fan. His face is beautiful too. I'd like to see him play the bad boy role in another drama where he gets the girl (not shy, sweet innocent, poor girl though. How about a well-off, badass fighter girl who could put him in his place?)

OppaCray

Nov 12, 2019 04:38 pm

@SSKF I would like to see him play a bad boy again too. A well-off badass fighter girl, you say? Kang Ye Seo from Sky Castle.

sunshine

Nov 13, 2019 02:02 am

Good looks and a troubled childhood are no excuse for his abusive attitude and behavior towards Dan Oh, his own brother, and peers.

I feel that his character will stay true to how he was in the historic novel. It would be delightful to see character development and a chance for him to redeem himself but... the latest episodes hint that this won't be the case.

I hope his selfish love for Dan Oh will change into a genuine one where he wishes for her happiness, even if that means with someone else (Haru).

honesu

Nov 13, 2019 10:12 am

I don't really ship them although if he became nicer and Dan Oh was a little less...childish I feel like I might. Like other people have mentioned he really just needs some love and a good arc but it doesn't mean Dan Oh has to be the center of his development. I love Haru but man is he boring. He does suit Dan Oh better tho.

Kim MC

Nov 14, 2019 08:09 pm

Personally, I've shipped Fairy and Dan Oh since episode one. I thought their chemistry was off the charts (don't get me wrong, I believe the two male leads and Dan Oh are also very good). I find Baek Kyung the most interestingly written character but as far as shipping him with Dan Oh, uh, no. With his family background in both comics, I'm surprised when he's not permanently glued to a therapist chair every time he's in the shadows. Haru is expertly acted by Ro Woon because the character is two dimensional, at best, and he makes that person a sympathetic hero. A very hard task for any actor.