Diego Chang

Take heart my friends. The ending of the series was just the beginning for Pio and Jeong Yo. Finally.

After years of struggle...torment...conflict...depression...they are both now free from the shackles of performance pressure and public expectation. The two embattled souls have finally reunited....but as free spirits to soar together.

At first I was disappointed with the ending...considering it a dull easy way out...a non controversial ending that was carefully crafted not to offend anyone's sensitivities. And...it is....dull and an easy way out. But...there is more.

Jeong Yo needed to find himself again...needed to heal again...needed to quietly find a place where he would be hidden from the world and no one would find him. And like a wounded animal, he remained in seclusion to heal until he was ready to re-enter the world. He returned to Europe...to the monastery....his place of healing....to once again heal....to heal his soul.

Jeong Yo did not become a priest. He's not even a monk. After carefully researching this I learned that in the Benedictine Monasteries the monks wear a black woolen robe with a black hood and a scapular. Jeeong Yo was not wearing the scapular. That ... then...identifies him as a Benedictine Oblate....an oblate is a layman who lives in the monastery and chooses a monastic type of life without ever taking vows. He is has not made a life commitment and is free to come and go...to live a secular life....as did Jeong Yo when he left for Korea and then returned back to Europe.

And is that it then? Is that where Jeong Yo is destined to be for life? No. Both his and Pio's worlds have been set on paths that are always changing. For the two of them nothing is forever...except, that is, for each other. They are the forevers in each other's lives.

I took pause to think.

Everything in this series has required a deeper analysis...a look between the lines....studying the glances...observing the body language...and most of all reading the eye language. The eyes have been the window to both of their souls. The eyes have told the story from the very beginning.

So...in this ending we are each given the opportunity to interpret it as it most comfortably fits into our own expectations. It is...not open ended...it is merely unfinished.

For those who wanted a friendship, in their minds the friendship will continue...like two planets orbiting around each other but always keeping a fixed distance from each other....and in this case, a safely fixed emotional and physical distance.

For those who wanted a bromance, the groundwork has already been laid out. The two healed souls...now free spirits...can more than orbit around each other...they can revolve their lives around each other's. They can break the physical/emotional boundaries and be both physically close to each other when they feel the need....but emotionally close to each other for life.

But...in truth...this story is the story of the romance of two tortured and lost young men. All one needs to do is to reflect upon the eye exchanges...the glances...the smiles...the rage...the emotional turmoil...throughout the entire series. They can NOT live without each other. In the final scene Jeong Yo and Pio are in a Catholic church...sharing the moment in front of a choir of children. Jeong Yo and Pio share glances, smiles....their eyes sparkle, and the look of joy between them is the look of victory... "We did it! Here I am! And here I am!"... when they finally reunite. Although the exchange between them didn't show longing and passion, it couldn't. The two of them are in a church in front of a choir of children. Their smiles were love..pure and simple.

The only status quo in their lives is their need...and their love...for each other. They just can not live without each other.

So...for those who were hoping for a romance, the stage truly had been set in the final act of the last episode for a romance. They are at last together. Nothing, it seems, could keep them apart. And in the finality of it all, Pio and Jeong Yo will finally be able to be with each other...exclusively....just the two of them...as adults...unhindered...and unrestrained. Their intertwined destinies from childhood had all along been setting the path for a life together of exclusive love and happiness.

Sorry for those who don't want to accept it...but this story is the story of love....the romance of two young men.