grey days

I missed it the first time and had to go back and re-watch, but you’re right.

While Sangu-Su contemplated what would’ve happened if he had done things differently, she was admitting to not being upfront and honest - lying about dating Jong Hyeon, saying things wouldn’t have been different if he showed up that day, not telling him she liked him directly instead of using the lying game and finally, not telling him she wanted to come back with him. Huge difference between the two. Nice catch!

As for the hotel scene, it was probably Mi-Gyeong’s imagination. For my own peace of mind though, I’m going to believe that did happen in the next phase of their relationship.

I actually agree with you. The ending is open to interpretation and I guess it all depends on whether you’re a glass half full or half empty kind of person. On the Hill of Oblivion, they could’ve chosen to forget everything and go their separate ways. Instead, they continued onward to keep the promise of eating together.

Before I get to the highlight of the episode, let me start with the supporting characters. The bromance is back! Their banter was funny and cute. Loved seeing the mom besties united and supportive of each other. I’m glad Mi-Gyeong found her happiness and liked how she reconnected with Su-Yeong. It was organic and felt genuine. The moment with Su-Yeong and Jong-Hyeon was bittersweet and needed no words for them to have their closure.

I came into this drama with no expectations and I’m so glad I did. Some may have felt it was an open ending, but for me, it didn’t feel like one. Given the slow and steady pace from the very beginning, if it had ended with them happily married or dating after ep. 15, it would’ve been a great disservice. The message I got from this is that love is a marathon, not a sprint.

While watching, I kept coming back to this quote — “If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.” Understanding things from Sang-Su and Su-Yeong’s perspectives gave me a greater appreciation for their journey and where they ultimately ended up. I don’t know if I’d call what they have this never-ending circle where they keep returning to square one. What they shared feels more like fate and the circumstances that always brings them back to each other.

Their relationship has always been one of push and pull with Sang-Su putting in more effort than he got back. The play on the word “interest” in the title is a nice touch. In a bank setting, it means the price you pay to get something. In their case, it’s the price of love in the pursuit of happiness. Getting it is not easy and can sometimes make you wonder if the price of love is a form of punishment for something you did in a past life.

The time jump was necessary. Su-Yeong was just beginning to heal and if she had rushed back to Seoul and the bank, it would’ve ended badly. For her to truly move on, she had more baggage she needed to shed. Forgiving her parents for their lies and indiscretion was a start. Throwing away the blue lanyard that represented acceptance into a social hierarchy washed away any burden she carried with the constant need to prove herself. Choosing to follow her love of art was the right choice and one I don’t think she would’ve dared to venture into if she had left with him that day. Her outlook seemed more positive now that she has the cafe that she can call her own. She’s no longer this ghostly shadow of herself and actually looked healthy. She was glowing.

Today, I felt Su-Yeong pulling Sang-Su toward her more than past episodes. She tried to deceive herself and Mrs. Seo into believing she felt nothing when she saw him again after all this time. The reality is, she missed him a lot and I’m more convinced now than ever that he’s a big part of the happiness she’s seeking. The clues were nicely wrapped up in a pretty little art cafe, aptly named “Future Happiness” with the plant he gave her prominently sitting in the front. The paintings displayed were of places and memories she shared with him. It took a long time to get here, but today, it was her that didn’t want to let him go. He tried his best to keep their interaction purely business and faltered a bit at the end by asking to stay and paint. The biggest hesitation could be felt coming from her. For once, she got to feel the emptiness he must’ve felt when she suddenly disappeared by watching him leave and believing it would be the last time she’d ever see him again.

I knew the wall was significant and not surprised that they both found themselves going there when times were tough. The fact that she regularly frequented the place he goes to find comfort means he’s always in her thoughts. For each to admit they tried to find happiness during the time apart means they haven’t found it yet. Will their next chapter give them that? I believe so, which is why I don’t think this is the end for them.

The open and honest talk at the end with them reflecting on their choices and the “what if’s” was so powerful. That whole montage with the music in the background was simply mesmerizing to watch. My favorite scene.

This drama has been a mentally and emotionally exhausting journey, but boy, what a ride. Kudos to the actors and production team for putting together a piece of work that I’ll continue to enjoy. The ensemble cast was perfect and their character portrayals were skillfully executed. The highlight is the OST which captured every emotion these characters felt.

Sorry for the absurdly long post, but a finale this good warranted it.

He can’t quit smoking, just like he can’t quit her.

@OneAjhussi I actually laughed out loud at this comment. Thanks for that.

Unfortunately, I know what happened in the book.

Now that I think about it, instead of a narrative of the past, I think they’re setting things up for a time lapse. How long? Who knows, but some time will have passed before the two reconnect again. Let me update my original post.

While watching it, I kept having a sense that what we were seeing was not the present, but rather a retelling of a story. Maybe there will be a time lapse and in episode 16, we’ll pick up at the present where they’ll meet again after saying bye at the bus station.

This is purely speculative, of course. We could all be in for a big twist tomorrow.

“Patience is a virtue.” — While true, it was sorely tested while watching today’s episode.

Mi-Gyeong’s character continues to be redeemed. The talk with Gyeong-Pil was long overdue. Not much was said, but it was enough for him to understand the damage he did to her and continues to do to Sang-Su. I don’t think he would’ve sent the recording if she hadn’t called him out on his immaturity. The move to the States is a smart one. Let’s hope she finds her happiness.

It wasn’t surprising that Gyeong-Pil recorded their entire conversation, and I actually think Sang-Su listened to it. Whether he did it before or after he saw her, I think he’ll come to understand why she felt she needed an irrevocable reason to force him to leave her.

I have no words for Jong-Hyeon, so let’s move on.

Some may not see it or even agree, but Su-Yeong showed some growth today. Seeing how destructive she was when she thought her father had an affair, she finally learned to let go of her resentment. I’m glad she chose to rebuild her relationship with her parents. No good comes from bottling all that anger inside. The changes with Sang-Su were a little more subtle, but notable in their interactions. For the first time, she’s moving towards him. Waiting for him at the bath house, coming back to him at the guest house and finally, leaning in to kiss him first. The date they had was one they should’ve shared in the beginning. Away from the prying eyes of nosy co-workers, they were able to let their guards down and simply enjoy being together.

In ep. 14, Su-Yeong said she was going to pursue her future happiness, to put her feelings and happiness first. In today’s episode, she coyly looked at him when she said she needed much more to be happy. I think she realizes and accepts that he’s a part of that happiness. I think they’re setting things up for a time lapse and the next episode will pick up some time after the bus station. Sang-Su taking her to see the wall that he goes to find strength was significant. I suspect those two will end up there again and my hope is she’s the one that goes there to find him first.

This episode was longer than usual and it seems tomorrow will be a bit longer. I don’t usually watch melodramas since the last one killed the main couple, but for all its angst and emotional rollercoaster, this one was worth it. See you all back here tomorrow.

“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”

This episode was all about closure. Sang-Su and Su-Yeong finally met at the restaurant from ep. 1 and he got to tell her what he wanted to say. Mi-Gyeong finally learned the truth about Gyeong-Pil. I hope both women got the closure they needed to finally let go of the rejection they felt.

Today’s episode was difficult to watch and too somber, at times, to continue. Seeing Sang-Su struggle to hang onto the woman he loves was heartbreaking. He’s my favorite, by far, and will leave an impression long after this drama ends.

I wasn’t surprised that Su-Yeong moved out. Her home was once her sanctuary, but after the rather misguided decision to let Jong-Hyeon move in, it’s now become a constant reminder of him and their nasty break-up in the rain. It’s safe to assume she followed her parents back home, but I don’t think she’ll stay there long. She needs time to heal and I don’t think she can do it with Sang-Su around. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I suspect she loves him more than he does her and that’s saying a lot. Time will tell with these two, but I remain hopeful that they’ll be together once they get rid of old baggage.

Mi-Gyeong’s character was redeemed a bit today. She stood up to her father and admitted to Su-Yeong she disliked her, which they both knew already. Her last attempt to hold onto Sang-Su in the car was sad and you can see the pain in his eyes knowing it was never going to be.

I don’t know why we continue to be subjected to seeing or hearing Jong-Hyeon. His character does nothing to advance the storyline. With two episodes left, I don’t think it’s the last we’ll see of him, but if we must, let it be a few short seconds of him saluting her after finally passing the exam.

It seems this will be another long week of waiting, especially since we weren’t treated to any previews. Thankfully, we have the OST, which brings a bit of sanity back.

After a long week of waiting, I expected today to be full of heartache and turmoil. It didn’t disappoint. This one was tough to watch and even tougher to process.

This episode was all about the moms - one that’s trying to make her daughter face reality, another who just wants to be there for her daughter, and one who truly understands her son and can convey so much with very few words.

I wish Su-Yeong had the courage and backbone to break things off with Jong-Hyeon without further complicating things with the fake cheating. Whether it’s to divert his suspicions away from Sang-Su given all the times he’s seen them together, it was unnecessary.

Jong-Hyeon continues to be pathetic. Up until the dinner with his friends, he was passive when it came to Su-Yeong. Feels like he was trying to overcompensate with the rings and jealousy. Either way, they’ve broken up and he’s finally moved out. It’s about time.

I don’t know why, but I’m continuing to give Gyeong-Pil the benefit of the doubt. I think we all agree the fake cheating was ridiculous. We may never know his motivation for voluntarily putting himself in a bad light, but I don’t think it’s all bad.

Today’s episode was especially heartbreaking for Sang-Su. He’s so in love with Su-Yeong that he can’t quit her. The talk with Mi-Gyeong was painful to watch, but it needed to be said. While I don’t like her for her possessive tendencies and blatant disregard for his feelings, she deserved to hear that she wasn’t completely at fault for their failed relationship. I hope she will willingly leave his side and move on.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, but equally nervous with anxiety. Both Sang-Su and Su-Yeong have a lot of healing to do. The fact that he always shows up when she’s most vulnerable gives me hope that they can work it out.

The thing that frustrates me about the SFL is not how clingy she is, but how irrational and inconsistent her thoughts are. When she thought back to him asking if she was okay with him not 100% ready, she finally admits to herself that she wasn’t okay. Then later at the park when he asks if she’s okay dating him knowing his true feelings, she says anything is better than breaking up. When they were arguing on the street, she admitted that she knew all along where his true feelings were, yet demanded that he try again because he never loved her so it’s not a valid reason to break up. And after all that, she still begs him to love her.

The office is a toxic space right now with the friend’s affair, but even if the ML and SFL break up and he goes on to date the FL, so what? All they did was date for a few months. There was no commitment to marry, so why is the SFL making it sound so detrimental to the FL?

I hope the SFL’s desperation doesn’t make her reckless, but I don’t think she and the friend orchestrated the cheating rumor. Something tells me an outside force (father and cousin, or the study buddy) had something to do with it. Maybe someone spotted her at the hotel, took a picture, sent to the SML and the rest is history. In the preview, the friend is seen telling someone, presumably the SFL, “Sang-su and Su-yeong can never be together now. I’m just saying it’s okay to be happy about it.” I think he got caught up in the rumor and isn’t doing anything to clear it up after seeing how miserable the SFL was.

This is going to be a long week to get to Wednesday.

I could be wrong but I can’t help but wonder if the SFL’s father had something to do with the SML thinking the FL cheated on him. His comment to the ML, “I’ll give her anything and everything she wishes to have,” makes me uneasy.

Looking back, I don’t think the FL came to any agreement with the friend to let people think they cheated. They don’t seem to have any relationship outside of being coworkers who occasionally talk to each other. I think the second part of their conversation may have been him revealing what actually happened and that he probably didn’t cheat. The fact that the cousin visited him multiple times show just how aggressive the family was in trying to break them up. Furthermore, he confirmed what the Asst. Manager alluded to the ML. The super-rich and powerful are not to be messed with.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but as much as she frustrates me, I like and even understand the FL. Like the SFL, she’s also a product of her upbringing and environment. I think she questions whether she deserves happiness. The loving family she thought she had was destroyed, resulting in the loss of her beloved brother in the cruelest way possible. I’ll go back to what I said in a previous post. She’s built a wall around her heart to protect herself from getting hurt or disappointed. That’s why she purposely destroys the sandcastles, despite it bringing her joy. With the ML, I think she cares about him more than she’s willing to admit. I’m not sure if she caused or contributed to the misunderstanding with the SML, but knowing the damage the ML will suffer to his career and reputation if he goes against the SFL’s family, she may choose to let the misunderstanding continue. The problem is, the ML likes her too much to want to give her up - career and reputation, be dammed. Sounds cliche, but love makes people act impulsively and irrationally. This is not an excuse, but rather an understanding that love is complicated.

I think this week, we may finally see the SML move out of the FL’s home. Good riddance. Whether he’s out of her life completely remains to be seen, but I for one will not miss seeing him. I could’ve imagined it, but I saw hatred in the FL’s eyes at the end and it seemed directed at the SML. Something happened between them that has yet to be revealed. Either way, he needs to go away soon.

I don’t think the opening scene of ep. 12 was the SFL’s imagination. No matter how desperate she is to get him back and misses him, I doubt she wants to think about him being intimate with another woman. This drama’s editing team is pretty crafty in piecing scenes together to create a false narrative. I think that’s exactly what happened here with the SFL deep in thought before she was interrupted by the ex. I also don’t think the hotel scene happened at the beginning. A lot transpired in this episode that makes me think things are not being presented in chronological order on purpose. I think they got together, but that happened later in the story. The preview we were given now is a ploy to misdirect.

Just noticed that pamphlet guy (Mr. Kim) was the same one that Kyung Pil recorded making stupid suggestive comments to the FL about the office affair rumor. I have a feeling that recording may come up again.

Thank you.

Watching this episode gave me unwanted flashbacks of Fatal Attraction. Those that saw the movie may understand. Those that didn’t, I’m not sure I’d recommend watching it. Needless to say, it was unsettling.

This will be another long post.

I always seem to start with the SFL since she leaves an impression, none of which are good. Her character has spiraled into a weird state of delusion I can’t quite explain. She’s not outright mean, but her actions are vindictive. Since material things have not garnered her the attention or appreciation she expected of the ML and FL, she’s resorting to guilt. She knew the ML didn’t have deep feelings for her well before he confessed in the car. Using guilt to beg him to love her is pathetic at this point. Even if she succeeds in keeping the two apart, there’s no way the ML will go back to her. I see his patience waning and although he’s giving her time to process the break-up, he can only be pushed so far. People date and break up all the time, so her obsession with keeping him at all cost is a big red flag. The conversation with the FL was disturbing. Trying to guilt her by using their friendship as some sort of protection against hurting each other is manipulative, especially since I don’t think their friendship was genuine from the start. The quote “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” is very fitting with these two.

The SML remains as pathetic a character as ever. I’m not sure what prompted him to start being possessive of the FL, but it’s creepy and not endearing at all.

What can I say about the moms, other than their interactions provide a bit of comedy relief. Glad the ML’s mom didn’t kowtow to the FL’s mom to try to gain acceptance of her son. She knows her son well.

FL’s talk with her father was significant. “It can’t be stopped. Once you start loving someone, you can’t stop. You know it’s wrong, but you just can’t stop.” It is noteworthy that afterwards, she met up with the ML and we were treated to the scene at the beginning of the episode.

I’m still not convinced that the friend is a bad guy. It’s interesting that the second part of his talk with the FL was not revealed. I don’t think they slept together, but may have agreed to let people believe they did to protect others. It’s not a smart move, so we’ll see how that pans out in later episodes.

The FL is still an enigma that I’m slowly figuring out. One thing that’s clear is that she’s built a wall around her heart. The death of her brother and her father’s affair seems to have done great damage. I like that the ML is slowly chipping away at that wall. When she seems most vulnerable and lonely (school and beach), he suddenly appears and brings a smile to her face.

This truly is an imperfect drama about imperfect people. There’s an abundance of misunderstandings and misdirection if the preview is any indication. I liked seeing the ML punch the pamphlet guy. It was sneaky of him to secretly film the confrontation at the bank and so he deserved the ML’s anger.

Thank you!

There’s a lot to unpack, so this post will be long. Apologies ahead of time.

Ep. 11 is by far my favorite. It had some funny moments and the storage room scene even had me laughing.

When the SFL made her first appearance in the drama, I actually liked her. She brought a breath of fresh air to a situation that was stuffy and awkward. Since then, her character has become pitiful, desperate and clingy. Learning her father had a hand in her promotion should’ve made her understand the ML’s reluctance to accept her gifts. Instead, she turns around and uses her family’s influence to help the ML’s mom to try to curry favor. I’m glad the mom saw through that and nipped it in the bud early. I said before that the SFL is a product of her upbringing and it was very obvious in this episode. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The SML is still pathetic, but I’m not sure he’s cheating. He’s become dependent on the FL. He probably feels less of a man around her with this perception that he’s supposed to be the breadwinner in the relationship. The weight he carries on his shoulders is not there when he’s with the study buddy and he can be himself.

I’m glad I was right about Kyung Pil. He sees the potential train wreck coming and is trying to help his friend avoid it. His methods may seem sneaky and there are too many instances in this episode to dissect, but his subtle comments spoke volumes. I may have to watch again to appreciate it all. The biggest takeaway is when he told the ML not to make the FL the mistress.

Some may dislike the ML, but I don’t. His hesitation in the beginning frustrated me, but he owned up to it and even tried to make amends. His relationship with the SFL did not start on solid footing, so it’s no surprise it’s crumbling now. He was upfront with her when he said he wasn’t 100% ready. When she asked if he had any secrets he wanted to tell, she stopped him before he could tell her. He tried many times to find time with her so he could make a clean break and it was her that tried to avoid it. It was inevitable and rather unfortunate that their end had to happen on the streets, but she created a situation that was untenable with that ridiculous dinner. She’s not the victim here.

With 5 episodes left, anything can happen. I hope they don’t make the SFL dependent on sleeping pills. I may not like the character, but that’s going too far. I suspect she won’t let the ML go easily and here’s hoping she won’t turn to her father for help to keep him.

The FL needs to break things off with the SML. She lacks confidence and her self reflection was long overdue. The lying game was cute. I’m glad she was able to confess her true feelings to the ML.

It’s too early to say whether the FL loves the ML or vice versa. The attraction is obvious and it remains to be seen if that develops into something deeper.

The FL has commitment and trust issues stemming from what happened with her father. I hope that’s explored more in the upcoming episodes. I’m curious if her father really cheated or if it was just a misunderstanding. Misunderstandings seem to be the root of everything in this drama, so I wouldn’t be surprised.

I didn’t read the book, so my observation is based solely on the drama.

Kyung Pil doesn’t seem like a bad person. I don’t think he still harbors feelings for the SFL. His actions is more like a friend trying to right a ship that has gone astray. He knows how much his friend likes the FL. Seeing how their other friend is so miserable with his marriage, he’s trying to make the ML realize, sooner rather than later, that he’s settling. The misunderstanding about the FL leaving was a gut punch for the ML. Sneaky as it was, he needed it.

The SFL is a product of her upbringing - entitled, spoiled and oblivious to everyone’s feelings in her pursuit to get what she wants. I don’t feel sorry for her.

The SML is too pathetic a character to even bother with.

I quite enjoyed ep 10. The kiss was inevitable and I don’t blame the ML, which may be an unpopular opinion. The SFL’s actions is driving a wedge between them. On the surface, her reasons for giving the suit and car may seem like she really cares about him, but let’s be real here, it’s all a facade. She’s motivated by how he looks to her friends and family. Superficial and insecure. She hates her father, but doesn’t hesitate to use him or his money when it benefits her. The hypocrisy is unreal with this one.