Shy

I guess this episode pretty much confirms my suspicions that something's definitely up with Nayeon. There's more to her than it seems. It's not that Shinyu doesn't want to break things off with her, it's that he literally can't. Something invisible seems to be holding him back. I think she's playing with magic. Seeing as how she seems to be able to easily steal Shinyu's clothing to give it to creepy flower guy to do whatever 'hocus pocus' he was planning without any second thoughts...she definitely knows what she's doing! It's the fact that he tried multiple times to break up but can't seem to really shake her off. Plus, her being in cahoots with creepy guy and was the one behind the photos taken of Shinyu and Hongjo. So after Shinyu met up with creepy flower guy, we weren't shown what happened next but Nayeon apparently found him at the parking lot. But Shinyu said he can't remember what happened to him. That's sus af. & from the preview, Nayeon saying that their relationship isn't the type to be "easily broken". The show is holding off important information from us because they want to prolong the mystery.. but ughh.

Tbh, I'm quite glad that they are taking their time with the romance.
Because I'm one of those people whose interests would dip as soon as the main characters start dating. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘪. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦." 😂

It's usually the case especially those that start their relationship pretty early on within 8 eps. Happened in King The Land, My Lovely Liar, See You In My 19th Life, etc. There are exceptions though such as the main couple in Hometown Cha Cha Cha which kept me interested throughout. But then again, I believe their relationship officially started around ep 10 which is the 2nd half of its run. So it'll probably be the same for this couple lol.

While it saddens me to say goodbye to idol Rowoon, I'm welcoming actor Rowoon with open arms. Will always support you!

Yeah. He was diagnosed with herniated disc which is quite serious and is something he pretty much has to live with. There was even at one point he had to use crutches in order to walk. It was that bad. Participating in performances would only aggravate it.

As a fan, I see this coming. and to be honest, I think Rowoon's decision to back down from group activities is largely because of his health. His dancing hasn't been the same since his back injury. Even in the last promotion, it was obvious that he was in pain. I think it just came to the point that participating in idol activities with all those intense choreography isn't feasible for him anymore. Acting is just much more doable for his condition. As much as he wants to perform, its just gonna lay on his guilt for not being able to be on par with the others. In his most recent interview, he even mentioned about the depression he had for the past year and I assume it's largely due to this. Its sad to see that some of his so called 'fans' are not able to see this. And it is quite sad that he felt that he should not bring this topic up. It would've made people understand his position more since there were idols before who left due to injuries/declining health. But I think he doesn't want to bring it up because he's afraid of it sounding like an excuse to the fans. Which is just so sad to me that he felt that way. Whatever it is, I hope that some of those fans would cut him some slack and respect his decision.

Unfortunately, it's the only way to talk to the Korean fans so as to soften the blow. They can be notoriously entitled. Even now, some of them are kinda bashing him because how dare he for making a decision about his own career path 🙄. But eh, whatever. The negativity and hurt felt from both sides will pass eventually.

My theory is that Nayeon is completely aware of the existence of spells and curses due to her family history and connections. Two years ago, she met Shin Yu while she was working and started dating him, although initially he was completely uninterested in her (context taken from her official character description). But you know what else happened two years ago? Eunwol started losing her abilities and was unable to manage the shrine thus having to be sent to the nursing home (again, context taken from the official character descriptions). Eunwol's role is to guard the Jang family's shrine and in a way, protect the Jang family from any additional harm (aside from the curse of the genetic illness). So when Eunwol left the shrine, she is unable to carry on her duty hence leaving the Jang family, especially Shin Yu, unprotected. This is too much of a coincidence. I also think that this is when Red Hands started making her appearance. This gives the Yoon family the opportunity to have Nayeon grab hold of Shin Yu for their family's political purposes (Jang family is known for their wealth and elite noble status that dates back to the Joseon era) as well as for herself since she did find him attractive at first sight. Whether the Yoon family used their knowledge of black magic to get what they want is a big question mark as of now. But what is confirmed, at least according to the character descriptions, was that Nayeon did purposely plan out a scenario where Shin Yu would have to physically touch/hug her to help her up in which after that, she described it as "Game Over" for Shin Yu... Sounds pretty suspicious and sinister to me tbh.

So this is where Hong Jo comes into the picture as the owner of the wooden box and the book of spells after two years. How and why she came into the picture can't be determined but it can definitely be seen as fate/destiny trying to right the wrongs and Eunwol recognized that. She recognized Hong Jo as the new owner of the box and was eager to let the box be under her care. I think she believes that this is now the only way to protect Shin Yu. When the box went under Hong Jo's care, I think it sort of reactivated its protection and weakened the curse/spell that was placed on Shin Yu by (possibly) the Yoon family. This is when Shin Yu started acting differently. He started acting distant towards Nayeon and even naturally started being interested in someone else (Hong Jo). He resigned from his old job, started working in a new place and moved out of his family home without telling Nayeon, who is his supposed girlfriend. He even thought of taking a break from their relationship in the pretext of his illness which honestly, he could have done earlier within his two year relationship. So why now? It's probably because the hold Nayeon has on him was weakening due to the box finding its way back to its owner and reactivating its protection of Shin Yu. I think that's the reason why Eunwol was concerned when the box ended up back with Shin Yu and not with Hong Jo because it will 'lead him to danger'. The box has to be in Hong Jo's hands in order for Shin Yu to be protected from harm.

Basically the blog post Hong Jo was reading describes a dark and mysterious tale from the Joseon era:

- It begins by hinting at a curse in the palace, raising questions about whether curses are real and if it started with someone called Aeng Cho. Aeng Cho seems to be the central figure in these events.
- A quote from Hyojong Shillok on February 20th, Year 3 of King Hyojong's reign mentions that Aeng Cho is a shaman and she had secretive connections with Lady Yoon. The details surrounding her actions are described as eerie and secretive.
- Lady Yoon, a consort, comissioned servants to collect various remains from the deceased, including skulls, hands, feet, teeth, hair, flesh and even items related to tombs. She gathered these items secretly and buried them beneath the ground where the king walked during the night.
- The purpose of gathering these items was to curse the one who ascended to the throne, plotting to end the king's life by collecting the necessary materials for the curse.
- Aeng Cho, who wrote the book on divination and magic, was known for her proficiency in various forms of sorcery. Lady Yoon learned curse spells from Aeng Cho, aiming to end the king's life.

According to my previous theory if Lady Yoon is Yoon Na Yeon's ancestor then her family is definitely heavily involved in shamanism/black magic even today and would know how to cast a curse from the knowledge being passed down from Lady Yoon, their ancestor, who learned it directly from Aeng Cho. So Aeng Cho/Hong Jo wasn't the only one who knows about the book of curses. Lady Yoon knows it too and most likely her descendants would know about it too.

Therefore, this could only mean one thing. The person who's trying to curse Hong Jo and Shin Yu with the voodoo comes from the Yoon family or at least relations with the Yoon family since they're the only ones who would have that ability and knowledge besides Hong Jo.

Ok there's a screenshot I saw from TheQoo. It's basically a screenshot of when Hong Jo was reading a blog about Aeng Cho in the earlier episodes.

https://theqoo.net/dyb/2933674405

I'll try to summarize it as best as I can.

Adding on, I think the stalker might just be is our 2nd male lead, Jae Kyung. İ think he's acquainted with Na Yeon from the start and they probably partnered up to get what they want. I don't know if anyone noticed this but isn't it weird that he knew that Shin Yu has a girlfriend before anyone else did? They're not even close for him to know about Shin Yu's relationship status. Plus, Shin Yu is hella secretive when it comes to his relationship. When Jae Kyung told Hong Jo to find someone better but not someone who already has a girlfriend, it got me thinking... How the heck did he know that Shin Yu is attached? The only way for him to know that is if he knows Na Yeon.

Also, I was thinking of what are the ways the writer could do to make Shin Yu's character 'redeemable' (because there's just no way that the writer would want to ruin her male lead's characterization this way and paint him negatively as a two-timer) and honestly, I think this theory could be the only way. Because as of now, whether we like it or not, his character is a red flag. He wants to be with Hong Jo but still he's unable to let go of Na Yeon for some odd reason. But notice how he's problematic only when it involves his strange loyalty towards Na Yeon? What if he was blindsided by black magic and the root cause of it has been Na Yeon all along? The only way to redeem his character is for him to be compelled by Na Yeon from the start which would make his frustrating actions understandable.

The kiss wasn't meant to be reciprocated that's why 😂
Also as someone who studied film before, I think from the way they shot the scene, it wasn't meant to be romantic either. It wasn't shot prettily (the shot composition doesn't give off romantic vibes) and I'm pretty sure it was on purpose. The only romantic element from that scene was just the background music lol

Pretty sure that once their feelings are reciprocated and they have their real first kiss, its gonna be as hot as the kiss from his imagination 🙈

Ya'll I think there's more to the story than we think. Right now it's confusing because we're just seeing and being shown the surface. The show is definitely holding back some details and information on purpose. But I'm pretty sure we'll be diving in deeper next week once the past life's story is introduced and we'll be able to see the mystery being revealed layer by layer. Now that we know the existence of the 'black magic/curse' book, i have a feeling that there's another copy of it out there and someone is holding on to it and using it (the voodoo which Shin Yu and Hong Jo discovered) and its someone who knows the existence and location of the shrine. Apparently that voodoo was used to cut off the ties between two people (which in this case is Hong Jo and Shin Yu). I read this in a Korean community post.

I just think there's a reason why Shin Yu seems almost stupidly loyal to Na Yeon. It just doesn't feel right. He doesn't seem to be emotionally in love with her but yet he's being stupidly loyal to her for no reason. Despite being told multiple times that what he's doing is wrong, he always seem to disregard it (as if breaking up is never an option he could consider). Almost feels like there's a unexplainable force that's constantly holding him back when it comes to Na Yeon. He seem to always put her up on this weird pedestal. Him believing that she doesn't have any faults even when its being presented that she's somehow involved in Hong Jo being transferred (+ even when Hong Jo specifically said that Na Yeon slapped her, he completely dismissed it), finding her to be matchless/incomparable to other women even when he's obviously attracted to another and pushing the attention he received from others whenever they're together towards her to boost up her ego even when the attention was obviously on him and not her. He acts really differently when it comes to her too. He just doesn't act like his usual self, he acts weak when he's with her. Kinda like a puppet. & he was acting this way even before the whole 'love potion' confusion. Also the whole voodoo thing happened after Hong Jo met Na Yeon to tell her everything (about the use of spell) . BUT SUSPICIOUSLY, we didn't get to see her reaction... Now that feels rather on purpose. Why would they leave that out?

Hmm. Now I'm really suspicious. What if Na Yeon is the one with a copy? Maybe her family is involved with shamans too. & she used one of the spells to 'seduce' Shin Yu two years ago. Its weird because he just seems so uninterested but felt compelled to tolerate her for some reason. He wanted to break up but couldn't even be firm about it. It just feel weird to me because that's not how he is to everyone else. He's only like that towards her. I feel like it could be an outcome of black magic being used on him.

Apparently, from the historical records which we saw Shin Yu googling from the earlier episodes, there a 'Lady Yoon' mentioned that was involved with the death of Aeng Cho(which I believe is Hong Jo's past life). If Na Yeon is not the reincarnation of Lady Yoon then she is most definitely a descendent which would explain how she possibly would have a copy of the black magic book.

The question is if it's Na Yeon, how is she able to obtain Hong Jo's PJs? I think the stalker is definitely working for Na Yeon and the stalker is the one that stole Hong Jo's pjs. She may lie that she received the photos from an unknown number but the stalker definitely knows her well enough to be able to, firstly, recognize Shin Yu as her boyfriend, and secondly, knows her phone number in order to send her those photos. Also I'm pretty sure she would know where the Jang family shrine is since she's been with him for 2 years and hangs out with his family.

This is just a theory so just take it with a grain of salt.

Poor Shin Yu is constantly reminded that what he's doing is 'two-timing' and was called an a**hole and a loser to his face lol. He's completely aware of what others think of him (which would include some of us, viewers, as well XD) but he can't do anything about it so he just kinda accepts it because its indisputable anyway. It's funny but kinda sad too.

So I guess Nayeon has been cheating all along. Last week, I predicted that Nayeon wasn't really sincere with Shin Yu & I WAS RIGHT. She was definitely with him just for the status and ego boost and episode 7 kinda proved my theory. I just knew that there is no way for a girl like her to be that 'loyal' to someone that is hardly intimate with her. She has to have a side d*ck somewhere and I was right LOL

I honestly don't care how messy it is. I am quite invested in this messy ride. The last 10 minutes took me out. The makjangness of this whole situation LOL. Hahaha. I mean I've stuck with many messy dramas before. Some even messier than this but still enjoyable nonetheless. Now, I really need to know the deal with the spell book and curse. Whether the spells work and if the curse is still in action. I think ep 8 will put the 'curse' back into the picture. Seems like they're trying to bury the wooden box back.

Something about this show feels very nostalgic to me. It reminds me of the 2010s romcoms written by the Hong sisters. & we all know that the Hong sisters can either be a hit or miss for some but as a fan of most of the Hong sisters’ works, I’m quite enjoying this one. Sure, there are some moments in the show that I feel “ehh” about but overall I think it’s quite enjoyable. I actually decided to rewatch and binge ep 1 to 6 and surprisingly realised that I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the first time round lol. It’s the type of drama that you consume without thinking too much about and just enjoy the ‘messy ride’, if you will. If you’re an over-analytical drama watcher that enjoys finding meanings behind every scene, then this drama might not be for you. & that’s completely fine because not everyone share the same preference. I know I have my fair share of generally well-loved dramas that, for the life of me, I just couldn’t get into.

Anyways, what if the whole time, the key to breaking the curse is highly dependent on Hong Jo and Shin Yu’s relationship with each other? Red Hands disappeared as soon as Shin Yu and Hong Jo got into a ‘forced romantic’ relationship. I don’t think the disappearance has anything to do with the curing spell because that one was used specifically for physical illnesses. I think that the illness and the entity that has been haunting him are two separate things. Within the Jang family, they recognised the curse as a genetic illness that makes them die young but the haunting of the Red Hands is exclusively experienced by Shin Yu only. Probably because he is a reincarnation of someone that Red Hands was linked to in a previous life. I think there’s gonna be a moment in the show where Shin Yu and Hong Jo had to break their ties (whether it’s the breaking of the love spell or a break up) and had to be apart from one another, that’s when Red Hands would most likely make its return and I guess that’s how he would figure out that there’s a link between Red Hands and Hong Jo.

Edit: Btw, one thing non-Korean speakers might have missed in episode 5 during Nayeon's proposal scene was that Shin Yu talked to her in 존댓말 (formal speech). He was really distancing himself from her there lol

So I have not watched this yet so I’m gonna reserve my judgements for later but I see a lot of confused comments from viewers who have not seen the original. Because I remembered watching the original and while it was confusing at first but I thought it was pretty well explained and I managed to grasp what’s going on as the story unfolded. But here all I see are confused viewers 😅 So I’m wondering was the concept not shown/explained well here in comparison to the original?

While I love all the funny moments in the episode, the drunken confession scene and the scene where Hong Jo thanked Shin Yu for making her feel less lonely are definitely the stand out scenes from episode 6 for me. It was well acted and well directed. I think thats the most heartfelt drunken confession I’ve ever seen tbh because it felt so real and sincere hahaha. & I know there’s this question of whether it’s just the love spell talking or if it’s genuinely Shin Yu but eyes don’t lie. Just look at his eyes. It really says a lot about how much his feelings have evolved when it comes to Hong Jo if you compare it to episode 4 when the spell first affected him. He was saying the most cheesiest romantic lines but his eyes/expression showed that he was not into it at all lol. It looks almost like he’s being forced. Compare it to how he looks at Hong Jo now. His feelings are becoming too real whether he likes it or not haha.

I think it is still considered ‘cheating’ though. Even if he’s not emotionally with her, he is still physically with her. The people around them still think that they’re an item. He still considers her his gf (even if he don’t mean it or is pretending and tolerating for Nayeon’s sake). He still meets up with her when she calls him. It’s at least emotionally cheating or if not cheating, then he’s definitely leading her in a way which makes her think that he feels the same way. I think he tolerates her too much. The only way is for him to be firm and tell her that he has no feelings. Beating around the bush isn’t gonna work with this woman.

Ok I know some people are a bit icky about Shin Yu being a “cheater” but is it bad that a part of me is rejoicing over Nayeon being cheated on LOL. I mean, that’s karma working right there. The universe is killing two birds with one stone by working its way to not only get destined lovers, Shin Yu and Hong Jo, together but also to punish Nayeon in a way lol and you know what? I’m not even a little bit sorry for Nayeon. Girl is so fake.

Edit: I love my stories to have adequate angst so I don’t mind all these complications right now. I find it interesting how the relationship of the leads isn’t technically a slow burn (since the love potion revved up everything) but in a way it is still a slow burn because despite being heavily influenced by the love potion, they are slowly getting to know, understand, opening up to each other in the process. & I actually quite love that. I can’t wait for their past lives story to be revealed. I just know it’s gonna be full-blown angst with that one.