ohlalalalaomg

The Jo family is a whole other family dynamic that would require another series to tackle. Not that I would want that to happen. Nope. Aside from the 2nd sister's attitude problem, their family certainly have some serious boundary issues!

Oh boy. This episode was a different kind of sad from episode 14. This was a dark kind of sad. I never imagined the depth of Gu's alcohol addiction and it feels like he is slowly drowning in it, trying so so hard to latch on to something so that he could come up for air once in a while. I get that MJ may be that latch for him and I still find their relationship amazing. I think, deep deep down MJ's subconscious, she wants Gu to stop, even when she said before that she won't. But more than that, Gu has to want to stop. I know I said before that I am just going to watch this story unfold, but my heart is hurting so much right now. And I want to root for Gu so much. I want him to want it that much, his liberation. I want him to want it desperately enough so that he would want to pull himself out. And I hope he finds enough willpower and courage and the latch to do that. And I really really hope that MJ is also strong enough to be there for him for that.

Because this is Gu and MJ, I would not have expected their characters to go into a shouting, tear-filled, blame-y kind of confrontation. I would have found that very unlike the characters that the show built for the past 14 episodes. As another user pointed out, if this were another kdrama, then maybe that kind of scenario would have made sense.

What I found really interesting though was how MJ confronted Gu. Because she did, just not as flashily. She did it in a way that suits MJ and Gu. When Gu pointed out that MJ changed her number, MJ said something like:

"I got angry waiting for your call." (Can be interpreted either as MJ angry that she's still waited for his call or angry because of Gu not calling.)

"I figured that you knew where I lived. You could have gone there if you really wanted to. You never called my old number. Did you?"

Or something like that.

If this were a different genre, a different writer, different characters, those words would have been "You never called. Why didn't you come see me? You knew where to find me. You knew my number, why didn't you call? Why?"

But this is MLN and this is MJ and this is Park Hae-Young. So, the way MJ said it is from the perspective of someone who has gotten over those sentiments. And Gu knew that. There was no hostility or demand in MJ's words. At that moment, it looked to me like MJ was just genuinely happy to see Gu again.

I think they will reveal more in the coming episode. So we'd get to see more of what's inside their heads.

First episode for me. Maybe because I felt like I was seeing a little bit of myself in all the three siblings. Rather than depressing, it felt nostalgic for me.

Lee Minki's character is very interesting here. He was annoying at first but his character has a lot of growth in the story line and personally, I think he is the best written character in this drama. There is a romance aspect in the story but I wouldn't say that it's a lot. And as it is, it is not the typical romance line. No big gestures that we would see in the rom-com genre. Let's say, on average, per episode, the romance line takes up about 20-30% of the screen time. Maybe less in other episodes. The story focuses more on each main character's personal struggles and goals, and included in that would be family-related drama.

The boss was having an affair with YMJ's co-worker, the one with the long, wavy hair. The one that she had a bag-fight with. The boss saved the girl's number as Yeom Mi Jeong (not her real name) to cover for the girl, maybe. And YMJ mentioned that because everyone knew how much her boss hate her (YMJ), even if rumors go around, people would find it hard to believe.

I don't know how it would be in real life. But in this story, in this drama, yes, it seems like they don't really care. If that is how the writer intended it to be, then so it is.

I get it now, what Lee El and Lee Min Ki meant when they said that this is like a documentary rather than a drama. It really feels like we are just watching life unfold for these characters and there's nothing we can do but watch. It's their lives and they have no obligation to us - we who are just seeing a slice of their life. As the audience, we just watch and observe. We can idealize how things should have been but it is not for us to impose. We can have hopes about how things could be but that's all there is to it. It's their story. Their lives will unfold the way it will unfold. As for me, I can only root for them and wish they get the liberation they have been chasing after.

They probably had a general idea but maybe not the details. Do they care about it? I don't think so.

And maybe it's just a difference in opinion but I think him being depressed and an alcoholic probably wasn't easy for Gu, either. It probably wasn't just nothing. People cope differently in different situations. And as a viewer, I just want to see how this story unfolds. Maybe this is him trying to get to Mi-Jeong. The time it took him to do so might not please everyone but he's doing it when he felt ready and that's good enough.

How hard was it for Gu to go visit Sanpo and the Yeom household? It must have been quite difficult, for many reasons. If it was easy, I think he would have done it sooner. Was it his work and background? Was it the fear of facing MJ? Was it the lack of excuses for leaving? Was it just fear of the complications? It could be a lot of things but it probably wasn't easy.

And wanting to go back after being away for so long doesn't make him an asshole. It makes him human - to miss a part of his life that saw a little bit of light including the Yeom parents, MJ and even CH. So he wasn't there when the mother died. So MJ cried for him. So he wasn't there to help the father out in the factory and in the farm. Does that make him a bad person? Of course not. He had his own burdens and his own life the same way that the Yeoms had theirs. And father Yeom, MJ and CH understood that. There was not an ounce of blame or resentment in father Yeom's demeanor when he saw Gu again. And the way his new wife/partner said "So this is Mr. Gu", "It's making me tear up again" was probably an indication that father Yeom talked about him often and with affection.

And CH waiting at the garage at the off chance he sees Gu there. CH was not angry or resentful. He just missed talking to Gu.

And MJ. She was hurt. And from their convo in ep 14, it was apparent that she got angry at some point as well. But did she blame him? Was there resentment? Based on just what they showed, there seem to be none. That may or may not change in the last 2 episodes.

But the point is, Gu was never an asshole to the Yeoms. He was never intentionally cruel to them. And he respected them. And that was mutual. So Gu returning to Sanpo after years of being gone was probably just as cathartic to Gu as it was for father Yeom.

I'm not sure at what part of the timeline it is when Gu and MJ finally met again. Was it 2022 or was it before that? Not sure but I'm going to trust the writer and the director with this one and just follow along this story.

It has only been a few episodes after Gu left Sanpo but that moment when their eyes met over that footbridge and then they smiled, that felt like forever. The heaviness of the past 2-3 episodes and the early part of episode 14 itself made it feel like it has been forever since we saw either Gu or MJ genuinely smile. And MJ has never smiled soooo big the way she did there.

Although MJ said that she has not yet been liberated, we saw bit by bit how she has been changing. Would the old MJ have handled that whole office scandal the way she did? When she called her boss and looked at the name registered and told him if he'd like to know who she was talking to. When MJ just stared down at her co-worker without saying anything - that scene felt so loud to me. When she slapped the co-worker with her bag because they dared to flirt and play footsies during her mom's funeral for crying out loud. Those were pieces of MJ who was slowly, very slowly, letting herself get liberated.

And so that smiling MJ who saw Gu for the first time in a long time showed another new MJ who can openly smile because she was genuinely glad to see Gu. And really hands down to Son Seok Koo's acting!!! The way he expresses the heaviness and lightness of his emotions with small details in his expressions - just amazing! The past 2 episodes, his face looked so heavy and old and pained, and in that last few minutes of the episode, he looked so genuinely happy. They make each other that happy damn it! They talk so freely with each other, especially Gu. The way those words just roll off his tongue because he doesn't need to pretend anymore. Saying his name just came so easily now. And I just really need a good closure for this series. I won't be able to deal with an open-ended series finale.

But as I said, I'm going to trust the writer and director with this one.

I've been trying to process ep.14 slowly because I felt that this was an important turning-point in all of their stories.

When KJ blurted out "Can't I be your mom? Because I really want to", at first I thought that was just off timing. For the first time, Yu-rim was responding to her and I thought "don't ruin this KJ!"

But watching it again, I thought, this is just KJ being KJ. I also wondered if she saw her pain of losing her mother in that child's tears. Maybe she did and maybe KJ thought "I can be her mother. Maybe I can make it less painful for her. I am not her real mother but maybe I can make the longing for a maternal affection less" - thoughts that reflect her own pain and longing for her mother. But maybe it was also just one of those unfiltered brain-farts from KJ. The way she has been trying to engage Yu-rim, trying to figure out what the child liked, maybe KJ really wanted to be a mother to her.

I don't know. That child is so hard to figure out. Maybe she is even more introverted than her dad.

And can I just say I loved how the older Cho sister hugged KJ!!!! And KJ got so teary-eyed by that act of affection. T_T

Their mom's death was painful. Of course it was. And watching the 4 Yeoms trying to pick themselves up and live their life was just as painful. It can feel so surreal one moment and devastating the next, with so many things that remind you of that person. But the world doesn't stop. Time doesn't stop. Life still expects you to show up. I felt how hard it was for them to adjust to their new family dynamics with the mother gone, and I understood the frustration as well.

When CH openly, proudly, with a smile on his face told his father "I love you", it destroyed me. In a good way. That was so powerful. In this family who barely shows their affection towards each other, to his father whom he felt never supported him, he said those words without an ounce of embarrassment. And it was beautiful.

Episode. 14. Is. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember MI Jeong say in episode 5 (i think), that she thinks her mom is unhappy because of her children. And so she said that when something bad happens, it's okay as long as her mother doesn't find out. So maybe, MJ really tried her best to keep her heartbreak a secret from her mother. Because she knew that would break her mother's heart, too. And it did.

I know not everyone would agree or relate, but I felt so much for CH when he asked if do people really need to have a goal. Can't we live just for the sake of living? Can't we just exist just as it is and not for anything in the future? I totally related to that. And it must have taken great courage for him to quit his job of 8 years with no particular prospects for a new job. Sometimes quitting needs as much courage as trying something new.

And the mom... the mooooommmmm! We'll find out in episode 14 the immediate aftermath of her death, but that was just painful. It always felt like she was the one thing keeping the family together. With her gone, all the things that she held together will slowly unravel.

Gu coming back to Sanpo after almost 3 years, it must have been a shock for him seeing how it all changed and how the Yeom family turned out. I believe, he had always had the Yeom family as his anchor, a distant anchor, but somewhere he felt safest. Maybe, in his most private, secluded thoughts, he might have considered Sanpo home and the Yeom family his family. It must have hurt him as well.

I am so excited for episode 14! Dang it MLN!

I don't know why but seeing Gu waiting for Mi Jeong at Dangmi station hurt so much.

You know what, it's okay.
It's okay to meet other people's expectations (to a degree that doesn't compromise your person). And it's okay not to meet other people's expectations. It's okay if the first date/meeting doesn't end up the way you expected. And it's okay if it does. It's okay to take it in steps and it's also okay to give it all at the get go. And that's the whole point. It's okay. Whatever works for the person is okay and they should not have to apologize for that.

I get what you mean. Is it because of society-imposed gender roles? Is it because we have been conditioned that in a heterosexual relationship, it is expected for man to make the move? Why do we sometimes treat relationships like a game? A push and pull? And I also agree with KJ when she said that why can't she just give it her all when she likes someone. Why does she have to make him anxious? I never understood that but somehow it's something common. Is it because we generally tend to put up walls? Or is it because we usually take our time to show the parts of ourselves that he hide behind the "social filter" that we use all the time when we interact with others? There must be an answer somewhere. It's probably complex and multi-faceted. These things are never just one dimensional.

Or maybe there is not one correct answer. Maybe it's just different for every person, in different situations, with different relationships.

That break-up talk in Gu's kitchen was one of the most devastatingly amazing and heartbreaking break-ups I've ever seen. And then MJ crying... so painful! Kudos to the writer and director for creating that scene the way they did. And ten thumbs up to Kim Ji Won and Son Seok Koo for the wonderful acting!!!