Operation Proposal: Episode 12
by gummimochi
How you continue to wrench my heart – and not in a good way. The small elements sprinkled that gave this show its initial charm is back and we discover more into Baek-ho’s background . The train for Yi-seul’s heart keeps chugging away, moving further and faster from him than ever before and maybe bowing out gracefully is better than holding on to what seems like water in your hands.
EPISODE 12 RECAP
Baek-ho returns home to find his place completely turned upside-down. He frantically rummages through his open drawers, empty of any stashed cash. Filled with rage, he lets out a deafening cry.
A store owner pleads with a man over an envelope of money she needs to maintain her business. It’s still not enough he says, and threatens to stop seeing her should she stop bringing cash.
Baek-ho watches the scene unfold from outside with a solemn expression, and I gather this is Mom and a good-for-nothing boyfriend. The sleazy boyfriend makes with the cash and rips up any evidence in front of Baek-ho’s eyes. Well at least we know where all that money went.
Mom has a delicate charm that makes her popular with her customers, taking in compliments with grace and entertaining them with a song. It begins to rain outside and it makes her sentimental while Baek-ho walks home sans an umbrella.
Drunk good-for-nothing boyfriend staggers outside of a nightclub and stops to puke in an alley. Then, a mysterious darkened figure appears, blocking his path. After a few punches, the boyfriend ends up on the ground, bloodied. The mysterious man pops a sweet in his mouth and walks away, humming the same song Mom is singing.
The silhouette looks oddly familiar, and so does that hair…
At the playground, Baek-ho sits on the swing as the rain continues to fall. Recollections of his childhood flash before him – Mom left him home alone for days, and seeing her get trampled by a string of worthless men marred his earlier memories of Mom.
Young Baek-ho slipped and fell after witnessing another one of these events, and started crying. A kind stranger helped him back up, gently wiped the tears from his eyes and tucked the same white sweet we’ve seen older Baek-ho suck on.
All the other parents would call for their children from the playground until Baek-ho and Yi-seul were left. But Yi-seul’s mom would call his name, and the three of them would leave hand in hand, surely warming his little heart.
In both the past and present, the swing swings as if its own accord, with a white sweet left on its seat.
Baek-ho’s mom pays Yi-seul a visit and they grab a bite to eat. Yi-seul asks after her well-being, happy to see her after such a long time. She asks with caution if she’s seen her son and Mom silently shakes her head no. Yi-seul assures her that he’s doing well and looks on with concern as they eat.
Baek-ho is penniless. It’s the day before Yi-seul’s birthday and has no means to buy a ring. But then he steps outside and eyes his car…
Jin-won asks after Yi-seul’s lunch date and is surprised to hear that she’s Baek-ho’s mother. He remarks that she seems too nice to be someone who emotionally abandoned their child. Considering that Baek-ho got as far as he did is a miracle, and he attributes about 80% of that credit to Yi-seul.
But he points out: “But you’re not Baek-ho’s mother.” He understands that it’s natural for her to think that she is, but feels it’s about time Yi-seul abandoned that role in his life.
In the lot, Baek-ho contemplates his decision, memories of when he showed off his then new car to Yi-seul and they adorably ran around spraying water and sticking soap bubbles on each other’s faces as they washed the car. Placing a hand on his car before it’s taken away, he fights tears – perhaps at the thought of never getting another chance to repeat that experience again.
Jin-won and Yi-seul swing by someone’s house and the little kid wonders why they come every day if it just angers Grandpa. They track him down at the baseball field and Jin-won attempts to convince the old man still has a desire to play baseball and quotes that if it weren’t for baseball, his life would feel so much emptier, especially after most of his family passed away early.
Grandpa comments that baseball isn’t some kind of charity and finds Jin-won’s plan crazy. There’s bitterness in his voice about how they don’t want ‘an old mean man’ to play baseball and Jin-won explains that’s exactly why they need him – someone who gives proper recognition to second string players, stars who are told they are too old and those who were never trained properly.
What does Jin-won expect to find from a recycling bin? A flower, he says, because it’s more precious when it blooms in waste. If Grandpa is curious what can come out of ‘trash,’ he’s more than welcome to watch the tryouts.
Grandpa mulls over the words as his grandson calls him out to play baseball.
Later that night, Baek-ho throws practice pitches in the park again and a sudden bright light shines in his face. Yi-seul smiles, showing off her new light so that Baek-ho can practice with it at night.
They sit on the swings and Baek-ho is disinterested in knowing of his mother’s whereabouts. Yi-seul mentions that she’s getting older now, but Baek-ho asks if that means if she makes him his mother now or if he has to be a filial son towards her.
She defends that he’s the only family she has, but Baek-ho barks, “I don’t have a family! I don’t even have a mother! It’s only you. You, your mother, and your father.” and stalks off.
Baek-ho smiles, with the ring now in hand and drops by Yi-seul’s office to pick her up. Before he can call out to her, he sees her run into Jin-won and his father. They joke about Jin-won in front of him (and how Yi-seul does all the work, keh).
They leave, but Yi-seul gets a call and answers, “Mother,” which spikes Baek-ho’s curiosity. He slips behind her table in a nearby coffee shop as Yi-seul hands over an envelope, apologizing to Baek-ho’s mother that it’s only half of what she requested.
Mom tells Yi-seul that Baek-ho’s father must have sent Yi-seul to her son’s life in place of his actual mother. She reaches for the envelope, saying it’s the very last time, when a hand grabs her wrist.
Baek-ho swipes the money with angry eyes and bitterly remarks that Mom isn’t even human. He storms off, Yi-seul tagging behind him and Mom half-cries and half-laughs alone in the coffee shop.
Yi-seul tracks down Baek-ho and explains that she’s helped his mother because things were rough for and he counters, “Hard? As much I’ve have?” He’d rather wish she was dead rather than living like that, begging money from others to survive. How dare his mother ask Yi-seul for money, he yells, and Yi-seul apologizes for not telling him.
He returns her money and sarcastically remarks that Yi-seul must be rich enough to give away money that she’ll never see returned and adds that a future chaebol-daughter-in-law must see the world differently.
She tells him to stop, but he persists, attacking her now. Did Yi-seul think she was his mother? Or because she felt sorry for him as an orphan? “Now that I think about it, you couldn’t leave stray dogs in the street because you felt sorry for them.”
He’s past the point of reason now and says that Yi-seul can stop meddling in other people’s business – he doesn’t need her sympathy or charity. It doesn’t suit her to go to such lengths so she can go her own path as a rich family’s daughter and marry Jin-won.
And she slaps him. Um, yeah. You deserved that. He walks off and Yi-seul falls to her knees, crying.
Yi-seul gets a call that Jin-won is missing from the office, so she searches high and low for him. She finally finds him at the batting cage, saying that it’s unlike him to suddenly disappear like that. He agrees that it’s untypical of him, but it’s the first time he was ever scared he was alone in a dream of creating a ragtag baseball team after she didn’t show for the tryouts. Afraid that it was just a pipe dream of a young, immature entrepreneur.
Stepping inside the cage, she tells him that dreams can become an ideal if they gain enough support and that she will evict his instilled fear in his heart.
He sweats at the stadium, the silence creeping into his nerves, scared that no one will show. But with Yi-seul’s help, he steps outside to the sounds of drums and cheering families in the crowd. Look there’s Sergeant Yong-soo!
Moved, Jin-won asks if this isn’t a dream and Yi-seul tells him that it’s just the beginning. Grumpy Grandpa from earlier is here too, ready to work.
Jin-won steps in front of the group after a long day, thanking them for their passion for baseball. They’re a recycled team if you word it bluntly, but he tells them to consider this a rest stop, an oasis of sorts, so that they end up somewhere better.
Their team name is the Han River Bastards, a name that best suits their circumstances. They’re going to show the others that a bunch of misfits can still pursue their dream and leads them in a heartwarming cheer.
Back at the restaurant, Mom’s boyfriend causes another ruckus to pillage for more cash when Baek-ho drives him out of the restaurant. Mother and son sit together, and she sadly wonders when her little boy grew up, noting that she has hardly any memories with him.
Baek-ho asks how long she’s met with Yi-seul, which surprises her that Yi-seul stayed mum about their acquaintance. Yi-seul first came to see her when he was in the military. She helped at the restaurant and learned how to make Baek-ho’s favorite dish.
Taking out a few boxes, Mom says that Yi-seul told her they were birthday gifts from Baek-ho. She knew they weren’t but Yi-seul was an angelic gift anyway and Mom considered her a hundred times better than herself.
Baek-ho runs out before she can say another word, memories of Yi-seul whipping up his favorite dish, the harsh words he threw at her. He realizes that he really knew nothing at all despite all of his time lapse trips and the numerous chances he got to reverse his wrongs.
At the baseball field, Jin-won admits to Yi-seul that he’s still scared, the fear of carrying not only the dreams of lost baseball players but also their families’ settling in. Would he be able to protect it and meet their expectations?
Yi-seul assures him that he will and that this isn’t a burden he has to carry alone. She places a comforting hand on his shoulder, joking that she can carry about 5 tons herself.
When she turns to leave, Jin-won suddenly grabs her by the arm, and pulls her into a tight embrace. In a gentle voice, he says, “Thank you for staying by my side. If it weren’t for you, I would never have gotten this far.”
Looking straight into her eyes now, he tells her, “I’m going to kiss you now.” He does and Yi-seul struggles at first, but sinks into the kisss… and the camera pulls back to Baek-ho witnessing this scene.
He sits in the dark with tears streaming down his face, the first ring he ever bought in his hand. Afraid that it wouldn’t slip on Yi-seul’s finger he asked for the biggest size. It was just as unlucky as he was and as it hangs loosely on his own finger, Baek-ho sees it as the end of the road.
Baek-ho steps onto the pitcher’s mound and chucks the ring as far as he can. I know this is supposed to be dramatic, but I don’t quite think it has the same effect as chucking it into a river. Just sayin’
Chan-wook calls from the snack shop, asking if Baek-ho has forgotten about Yi-seul’s birthday but Baek-ho bows out. The friends gather over cake and Baek-ho watches from just outside as they celebrate together. Chan-wook sets up the camera for a photo and back to the present we go.
HA! Okay, this is pretty awesome. Baek-ho is lying on the bed and he looks over to see Yi-seul lying beside him, smiling. She asks, “What do you think?” He blubbers that he likes it (I bet you do), and she concurs. Yi-seul adds that she doesn’t want to waver anymore… and pipes that she’ll get this bed.
We widen the shot and the friends are all gathered together, joking that Baek-ho already looks like he’s about to fall asleep on the comfortable bed. Tae-nam mentions that a bed shouldn’t be that comfortable for the newlyweds and Chae-ri chides him.
Outside, Baek-ho says that Yi-seul can ask for anything for her wedding gift and she eyes that he better not take back his words. On a slightly more serious note, however, she stops and asks that the five of them go on one last trip together before she gets married.
For some reason, they never went on their end-of-the-year trip last year and Chan-wook agrees that the trip can mark a celebration of a new chapter in Yi-seul’s life. Chae-ri gives a quick glance to Baek-ho to discern any response from him.
On the swings later that night, Baek-ho asks what gift she wants from him. She honestly says that she wishes that Baek-ho would join the Bastards, and he agrees to consider it.
Yi-seul gets up to leave when Baek-ho calls, “Are you sure you don’t have any regrets about this wedding?” She’s slightly miffed at the sudden question and says she’s leaving first.
But Baek-ho stops her in a back hug, begging her not to go. “I can’t send you away. No, I don’t want to.” He the one who knows her the best, the one who knows everything about her, and the one who shares the most memories with. “The person who loves you most isn’t Jin-won, but me!”
She takes his arms away and says that it’s too late. He protests that she can call off the wedding, but she looks at him and says, “Baek-ho, you don’t know anything. Back then and even now, you don’t know anything about me or my heart.”
Yi-seul tells him that the person she loves is Jin-won and walks away.
Back at his apartment, Baek-ho mulls over about how he heard the words he hated the most not once but now twice. He berates himself and hurls a baseball in frustration… and the Conductor catches it in his hand.
He tells Baek-ho that he feels that he owes him an apology. He knows that he’s not happily welcomed this time, but he reminds Baek-ho of what he said when they first met – why was Baek-ho hesitant when he had nothing to lose?
But that was only if it turned out for the better, and the Conductor admits to his own mistake. There were sacrifices that Baek-ho had to make in exchange for a few more chances and now he can’t say that Baek-ho is better off than the beginning, but rather he looks worse.
Baek-ho doesn’t want to hear it, but the Conductor continues it’s like Pandora’s Box has been flown wide open. He sees that Baek-ho wants her more, he’s obsessed with her now… and Baek-ho tells the Conductor to get lost.
But he’s here to suggest another offer as an apology – how about a trip to forget Yi-seul? Baek-ho’s confused so he clarifies that it might be easier to see Yi-seul get married if Baek-ho’s already dealt with his feelings for her.
Baek-ho asks if it’s possible and the Conductor smiles that it’s probably easier than trying to win Yi-seul back, since it just involves his heart.
There was a pitcher who came on as a relief late in the game and took the loss. As he left the mound, he said, “This is the end,” and effectively terminating his career. And that same pitcher turned into a successful singer, Lee Sang-hoon. The Conductor tells him that being tenacious doesn’t make you a pro, but sometimes knowing when to bow out.
Handing him a vial, the Conductor assures him that he can be worry-free this time and simply enjoy his trip.
It’s the end of 2010 and the friends are busy shopping in a busy supermarket. Baek-ho smiles when Yi-seul praises him for grabbing the sale items just in time, then hits himself in the head reminding himself that he’s here to forget her, not fall in love with her.
Yi-seul pulls him aside to the playground, and with a deep breath she starts, “You might already know, but I wanted to tell you myself. Kang Baek-ho I…”
In his head he pleads for her not to continue, that he doesn’t want to hear it. But she continues, “I decided to accept Jin-won’s heart. Officially.”
COMMENTS
What else is new, Yi-seul. We know. We get it. It’s obvious – Jin-won loves you. You don’t even have to tell us yourself – we can see it, your friends can see it, even Baek-ho sees it, even if he doesn’t want to. It’s a huge gripe I have with our main couple where I’m always left wondering if they are trying to skirt the hurt and anger they feel towards each other because they’re too scared or that they just aren’t aware of it. It’s a pretty thin boundary they’re playing with and my patience is wearing down. It’s wafer-thin, really. I think my mind just clicks off whenever they’re together on the screen.
I am glad, however, that we were finally introduced to Baek-ho’s mother and alluded to the brewing conflict that Baek-ho has with her. She’s abandoned him emotionally, a sad truth that she herself acknowledges, and explains why Baek-ho is so attached to Yi-seul and her family. A lot of readers have suggested that the writers imply that Baek-ho and Yi-seul aren’t meant to be together, an opinion I share in. Baek-ho may honestly be in love with her, but he also shares a familial love for her as she filled that void of maternal care that he needed so much in his life. So if he loses Yi-seul to Jin-won, or to anyone else for that matter, he also fears losing that connection with her as well.
I’m glad that Jin-won was the one who pointed out that it wasn’t Yi-seul’s role anymore to act as Baek-ho’s mother, and by doing so, it prevents her from moving on in her life and eventually hurting him. We see those different roles in Baek-ho’s life as foster mom, friend, and lover mesh together when Baek-ho confronts her about how she’s been helping his mother financially and how he can’t discern her roles in his life.
Like how the Conductor said, if it turns out for the better, that’s great, but right now Baek-ho is taking a turn for the worst, trying to fight fate to grasp what he thinks is his destiny.
It’s probably no surprise that the mysterious figure who slugged the good-for-nothing boyfriend is the Conductor, given the silhouette, and then it’s not too far a guess that he might be Dad. Why he approached Baek-ho in the first place is still a mystery and though I’m thoroughly fed up with Baek-ho breaking down every time he’s foiled at fighting the Powers That Be, I’m intrigued to wait and see what else he has left to find out.
RELATED POSTS
- Operation Proposal: Episode 11
- Operation Proposal: Episode 10
- Operation Proposal: Episode 9
- Operation Proposal: Episode 8
- Operation Proposal: Episode 7
- Operation Proposal: Episode 6
- Operation Proposal: Episode 5
- Operation Proposal: Episode 4
- Operation Proposal: Episode 3
- Operation Proposal: Episode 2
- Operation Proposal: Episode 1
Tags: featured, Lee Hyun-jin, Operation Proposal, Park Eun-bin, Yoo Seung-ho
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1 teawithlemonandhoney
March 17, 2012 at 1:18 PM
am i the first one?
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Lovely~
March 17, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Am I the only one that silently cheers a little whenever I see someone go, "I'm first!"
...Or is everyone else too cynical? Haha.
Comments aside, thanks for the recap, and I agree: it's really tiring to watch Baek-Ho trying to fight fate.
But, you know, we can all relate a little to what he's trying to do and somehow I just can't stop myself from rooting for him.
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2 Yasmin
March 17, 2012 at 1:38 PM
Thanks! This show was totally dragging and i really want to see baek ho stop fighting the ' powers that be' and maybe get yi seul to fight for him. Hmm, I thought the conductor might be baek ho in a few years but now I'm not sure.
I thibk that this show has lost track of the plot because i dont get how the otp will get together with jin won being perfecy and to seul acknowledging her fellings for him....
We'll just have to see next week.
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crizzyville
March 17, 2012 at 2:04 PM
yeah, that's my initial guess as well. that conductor is the future baek ho, trying to fix his life by going back to his past... and the show ends right where it started... just a guess cos i didnt get to watch prodai
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crizzyville
March 17, 2012 at 3:08 PM
aw i take that back... conductor might just be dad trying to give son dearie a whole lot of second chances in love and baseball... i wonder how this will all end
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3 KStyle
March 17, 2012 at 1:45 PM
@mpat yes you surely are :)
Ok OP I see what you are doing and I kind of like it ^.^
Back Ho: let's hope this time will help you heal
Yi Seul: I still can't be bothered. Sorry but you are still getting on my nerves sheesh.
JiWon:stay being perfect, it works for you ^.^
Now the friends are the ones I want to see have their story lines come to the forefront, I don't even care about the main couple anymore (now that a shame, shakin my head)
OP you are leading me down a ride that I'm starting to wish for my time back
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Mama J
March 17, 2012 at 2:09 PM
I'm with you. At this point I'm more solid than ever in my desire NOT to see BH and YS get together. They just don't seem to be right together.
I just want it to be Jin Won and Yi Seul, already. My God, the man deserves to get what he wants, not that deserving it means anything in love - but he's always there for her, always with the right sort of help and support, always seeing HER, not blinded by anything else.
Chae Ri and Tae Nam - I want to see that wedding. That wedding's gonna make me cry.
More Conductor story please!!! And where the hell is Jin Woo? I need me some Jin Woo-Chan Wook closure!
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jules
March 17, 2012 at 4:31 PM
I know! The absolute last thing I want right now is for Baek-ho to 'get' Yi-seul. Ugh, please no.
I'm all about Jin-won and Yi-seul, because not only is he awesome, I think they're good together and I think that when she's with him, Yi-seul is... her best self, if that makes sense?
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Lizzie
March 17, 2012 at 4:43 PM
But YS was never honest with JW too, so I don't know.
Also she is the best with him because she doesn't need to do anything and worry for nothing, because she knows he loves her the most and she is safe.
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cookie128
March 17, 2012 at 4:46 PM
I would say that JW is perfect husband. Plus, coz though you admire him, you don't love him that much, so less worry and insecured feeling.
jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 5:33 PM
I think we ALL need to get YS on the phone, ASAP.
Between the thirty of us, I think we could knock some sense into her, and get her to accept uri BH. There's still time!
Next time they show her phone, someone get the number!
Oh, does anyone here speak Korean?
Mama J
March 18, 2012 at 8:11 PM
But Lizzie, you SHOULD feel that from your husband. Jin Won can love her and make her feel safe and still be someone who stretches her and makes her grow and yes, be her best self. He expects that from everyone, including himself. He's not going to let Yi Seul off the hook - he fell for her because of who she is, but he'd keep falling for her as she continued to grow, ideally. Even with a guy who adores you, a relationship shouldn't be static and I don't get the impression that this one would be.
aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 6:14 PM
@jomo. lol ! That was one funny scenario : thirty OP fans (?) calling YS and talking in all languages except korean. Hee hee. I agrees. I think YS needs an intervention.
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jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 7:48 PM
Dude, we are on it!
4 crizzyville
March 17, 2012 at 2:00 PM
just before watching episode 1, i refreshed my browser and boom! gummi's recap!!! thanks dearie... despite the slump/lagginess the show might be taking, am still thrilled to be watching it.. the youth of the characters (plus their charm) and the boldness (KISS) the show is allowing them (the actors) is enough to get me glued to my screen. time travel always fascinates me, no matter how small or big the change it creates still challenges my imagination.. now, it's time to get to know baek ho's background story... off to watch again as i read! ciao!
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5 jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 2:02 PM
Thanks for the recap.
I didn't understand why BH went on the last trip, exactly.
What I understood, and what I wished happened, was that the Conductor would send BH to the FUTURE.
I thought it would be cool if he went ahead two years to see YS and JW happy together, and see/feel himself healed after having mourned the loss of YS.
I don't mind the slowness of the story, I like watching BH continue to figure out what the HECK he did wrong THIS time, and how to fix it. To me, that is how life is. We KEEP getting it wrong, and we KEEP trying because what else are we going to do?
I am sick, however, of YS and "You don't know anything, BH!" because who's fault is that? YS has been keeping her feelings, and now we find out keeping BH's mom's visits to herself for years. If BH is as thick as everyone is making him out to be then, really, you need to explain things to him. I don't think it is because he is being willfully ignorant.
Do I think they will end up together? I dunno, but I do think we had better see a HAPPY BH.
PS what happened to Jin Joo? Did she get a role in another show? How can a character just disappear like that?
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So3
March 17, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Actually I started to have the desire to see Yi Seul trying to win BH since a couple of episodes ago. Right now I don't see YS and BH together, NOT because of BH, but because of YS' attitude. It takes two hands to clap and if it's always BH doing the job and YS merely be the one there to accept then it's not gonna work.
The more I watch the more I think that the fact that YS and BH didn't get together is a problem created by them BOTH, not just BH alone.
To me, at this point, I don't think YS "deserves" BH, if I may loosely equate "deserve" as "love".
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Quaggy
March 17, 2012 at 5:27 PM
Yes yes yes to all of this!! I'm with you. It's time and past for Yi-seul to fight for Baek-ho!! Hell, she hasn't even given him that fated letter that started it all yet, has she? So she was braver at going after what she wants when she was still in middle school!
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aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 6:20 PM
Yeah. I agree. I think BH has done enough to get YS to love him. He might be a little stupid and not show his feelings like YS says. But in the last few episodes he has been very upfront with how he feels about her.
YS is lucky because she has BH in love with her and running after her and JW the perfect guy in love with her as well.
If she still choses JW now, then she really doesn't deserve BH. I think she should be the one regretting letting BH get away.
I really think we should see that. I want to see how she feels when she sees BH with another girl. You know, in LOVE with another girl. That's the only time when she'll feel the loss.
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6 merrygoocow
March 17, 2012 at 2:40 PM
People should probably give YS a little break. The reason why she is so insecure about BH is because like CW said, one minute he's nice to her and the next, he's straight up cold (due to the time traveling and all that jazz). From what I read (I haven't really been keeping up) it was YB who told YS about the forced kiss so doesn't that imply that past BH didn't bother to explain to her?
I know that he confessed to her but again, confessing in the past is a bad idea because his personality changed the minute he goes back to the present and so YS will be all confused etc. I'm not blaming BH either because he is trying so hard but yeah, this is why KZ decided to confess in the present instead.
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Kim Yoonmi
March 17, 2012 at 4:33 PM
No, YB told YS in the AIRPORT where she didn't wait for BH to explain. Ya know the "I'm coming for you, just wait" and then she doesn't because she wants sparkling *fate* to step in?
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Kim Yoonmi
March 17, 2012 at 4:43 PM
Oh and the snippet scene seems to be him trying to explain to her at a later date AFTER trying to catch her at the airport going back. (if you watch and catch all the dialogue.)
If you follow:
Yi Seul waits at airport, decides to wait for fate to intervene because she's lazy or watched too many Korean dramas, chalks up her impatience to "timing" which is poor excuse since it seems she left early anyhow. Baek Ho is trying to make it to the airport, she doesn't wait, YB tells YS about how it was her fault, probably in that I can't wait way, YS, decides to "give up."
KBH tells YS about the incident, YS tells KBH that she was told in the airport by YB, and has given up.
Point for KBH, shaking fist for YS. (Especially since she didn't let him explain either.)
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merrygoocow
March 17, 2012 at 5:12 PM
Lol, both of them are really similar. YS waits for fate, BH looks for the perfect moment. Although BH is starting to change so I'm hoping YS will change too at the end.
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Quaggy
March 17, 2012 at 5:29 PM
Makes you understand how these two kids who honestly love each other could never get it together!
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7 blueskymaiden
March 17, 2012 at 2:49 PM
This is much like the original - in the original we really didn't get to know the female lead, Rei, all that intimately either. Her persona was quiet and elusive but is even more so in this series - Yi Seul has greater difficulties with self-expression, self-realisation, and openness than Baek Ho does. The story is really about Baek Ho on a mission of self-discovery and self-realisation. Jin Won's character is rather one dimensional, although a likeable antagonist he is still lacking and rather flat (he reminds me of a wet fish). Rome wasn't built in a day and thus with every change that Baek Ho makes in the past there is a subtle change to the future makes an impact over time. Jin Won has really done nothing on any sort of romantic level to endear himself to Yi Seul whereas Baek Ho has.
The original was just as frustrating to watch but that is how it should be otherwise we wouldn't have a show.
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Kim Yoonmi
March 17, 2012 at 4:52 PM
I liked Rei better than Yi Seul though.
Yi Seul is annoying because she simply won't try and it seems more than Rei that every time something goes wrong with BH she *uses* JW to cheer her up. Where as in the original Rei seemed to flawlessly go for the Sensei and you didn't know why.
Yi Seul also *knows* she's in love with KBH...
Rei didn't seem to want to know that she was in love with Ken[zo] and by the time he confessed she was already dating the coach. She didn't know she was in love with Ken and though the things eventually made a difference, you didn't get pay off until the very end.
Those little things make YS a less desirable character. She and the coach aren't dating yet, and she pulled the stint in Episode 11--which didn't happen in the original.
Plus the original had some really nice subtle moments. Such as the "Don't knock NY" and the Taxi driver... and how the ring kept showing up, subtlely showing that maybe it doesn't seem like fate, but maybe they were really meant to be. Plus there was more humor weaved in subtly--though the Korean writer isn't well-known for subtle.
YS is less desirable than Rei for mostly the reason that she KNOWS she's in love, and simply won't do anything about it, even when handed the best. The marriage won't last either if both partners aren't willing to make the effort. She isn't. I see divorce between her and the coach. What do you do when you argue? She'll bail, just like she did with Baek-ho and blame it on "fate" and "timing."
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cindy
March 17, 2012 at 5:11 PM
Heh, I just thought in this:
YS and coach married. Everything goes well in their first year of marriage, everything is a bed of roses.
But then problems/conflicts start to appear and the couple have to deal it; problem is, YS doesn't try and just wait to fate do it for her.
Coach asks to YS do something/to make a effort.
YS doesn't do it and just throw it to the fate.
Coach try his best for their relationship go well.
YS says: You don't know anything coach! (because like she did with BH she also won't tell anything about her feelings to coach)
Coach finally decides to divorce. After trying hard not to.
Yi-Seul ''We weren't meant to be then, our fate isn't together''
Yi-seul cries saying nobody understand her.
With regrets, she goes after BH, but it's too late because he is already happy and married.
Yi-seul forever alone...
End of story
LOL LOL I already see this happening with YS and coach!
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aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 6:26 PM
Very nice analysis. Yup... if JW and YS get together, they are heading for divorce. And you know what... i think YS's mom knows it. That's why she looked so upset in the first episode, wondering if her daughter will be happy.
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cindy
March 17, 2012 at 6:42 PM
Everyone knows that, her mom, her father (the glove), her friends... and I think even JW knows that she likes BH too...
la dee dah
March 17, 2012 at 6:09 PM
Actually, Rei DID know she was in love with Ken - she didn't know Ken's feelings for her. That was why she wrote that love letter to him in middle school, but never got to give it to him (because he missed school that day). Then she finally decided she would give it to him years later, but then all these things happened, these missed meetings, she never got to see him to give him the letter, and she took it as a sign that she should just give up. The teacher then asked her out, which really surprised her (she also had no "feelings" for the teacher up til then), and she accepted because she told Ken she something like she was flattered that he was actually interested in her (not sure of the wording). But I agree that Rei didn't actually go seeking the teacher when things with wrong with Ken like YS does. I actually like the teacher here more, he seems to have more personality than the one in the Japanese version (who was basically all goody-two-shoes, not that's it's bad, but it doesn't really make him interesting).
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Kim Yoonmi
March 17, 2012 at 11:51 PM
True, true, but I felt the context of the letter was as you said, rather than talking through a window because she was absolutely scared and wanted to blame fate completely.
I also think the culmination effect is nicer than the "Oh, he's not on the team because of Yi Seul." =P It's been said of women, but it should be said of men, just because your love life is not going well, doesn't mean your career crashes too. That also strikes against Yi Seul in a lot of ways, I think... where it didn't matter so much for Rei. Rei had a straight path. When it wavers like it does, it makes the fundamental question different. With Rei it is "Why did she choose the teacher [when fate seems to be working *for them*]?" With Yi Seul it's "Why is she such a lazy person as to blame fate for everything?" While the question of fate did play in for Rei, it was a secondary question for the viewer, I think, where it is the primary question for Yi Seul, because we know why she chose the teacher--she needed a soft shoulder to cry on when things went bad with Baek Ho. And having that answer makes her less desirable as a heroine.
The culmination effect also meant slow building and careful weaving to show that everything had an effect and there was fate--but it was both accidental and made, rather than waiting for chance. The last dialogue with the fairy in the original made Kenzo say to the Fairy that he wouldn't need his services again, because he would work hard to make fate happen. Straight message with no apologizing. Also that fate is made in the now--which is a very East Asian/Indian message. (Fundamentally came from Hinduism to Buddhism.)
Teacher in the Japanese version did have more personality--but it was saved until the special where it is shown that he was jealous of the relationship between Rei and Ken because it was the same relationship he had with his best friend whom the show indicated that they, too, would get together, which added a nice final layer. It worked because it played into the first real dialogue he and Ken had about Ken and Rei's relationship. I'd like to see the jealousy streak in JW too. Chinks in people's armor makes them likable... and relateable.
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8 reallycool
March 17, 2012 at 2:52 PM
I couldn't bring myself to watch episode 12 after how frustrated I was with Yi Seul in episode 11. After reading the recap though I guess I'm still eager to see how this all plays out
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9 cookie128
March 17, 2012 at 3:31 PM
The writer kept that irritating "you know nothing"
line from the J-version, I really can't stand that sentence! Girl, you have to spell it out if your man doesn't get you. And by the way, I think it is more like YS knows nothing, nothing about how the guy has been making huge effort to come to her.
Really want to know how the story develop. I still hope BH wins YS in the end. YW is perfect, but so plain.
ps. Yoo Seung Ho rocks when he portrates sad moments.
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aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 8:53 PM
"JW is perfect, but so plain". Yes to that. And the kiss between them... I don't know... I didn't feel it one bit.
"Yoo Seung Ho rocks when he portrates sad moments"
He does, doesn't he? Like Jomo said, he's carrying the show. Any other hero, I'd have given up on the show a long time ago.
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crizzyville
March 17, 2012 at 9:48 PM
good job on the young man.. the breakdown scene after JW and YS kiss on the open field is heartbreaking... YSH rocks! t'is the first i've seen him act in a kdrama and he's gonna be one premier leading man if he's not yet one already...which i doubt... btw, i really love those eyes! expressive and man, he can really melt anyone just by staring!
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aoiaheen
March 18, 2012 at 1:41 PM
You should watch Warrior Baek Dong Soo. He's the sort-of-anti-hero but boy did he do an awesome job.
If you love swordplay and manes of glory you shouldn't miss it (expect ep 29 perhaps)
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malta
March 17, 2012 at 9:14 PM
You're so right! Yi Seul is actually the one who doesn't know anything. The guy has been time traveling to try to win her heart...so what if she learned to make crispy chicken for him, but never told him. I mean, 'A' for effort? Sheesh!
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jbb
March 20, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Ah... true. She never said it. Only in that letter. Interesting that she asked BH to repeat it in the makeout scene, but she never said it herself.
YS is a coward when it comes to BH. JW is easy. He has luck working in his favor, but he rally hasn't done anything else for YS that really mattered. He is convenient and he doesn't challenge her to grow in a relationship.
Eventually, BH will win YS by letting her go
I'm sure the ring will reappear. That's why it wasn't thrown in the river and we saw where it landed.
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10 Saima
March 17, 2012 at 4:26 PM
ehhh? Yday the OT thread had me convinced to give this drama a shot.....but, not anymore i guess!! Why is Yi Seul not responding to BH's feelings? What does BH not understand at all? Those kisses happened right or were they just a figment of his imagination? :/
I did watch ProDai and what touched my heart was Ken (just like BH does) tried soo bloody hard that you couldn't help but root for him. Sure, at times he was so dense that you felt like taking a frying pan to his head. I don't miss you, frustration,at all!!
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jbb
March 20, 2012 at 10:37 AM
YS is a coward. Instead of talking things out with BH, she just gets upset and runs away to the easy guy's arms. She like JW, but she's not passionate about him.
BH doesn't understand YS the way YS wants him to because she freaking won't tell him. The guy is not a mind reader.
A lot of women make this mistake. My mom is one of them. She wants things from my dad but wont tell him because I guess she thinks it will ruin the magic, or it isn't sincere anymore. It's stupid thinking.
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11 Quaggy
March 17, 2012 at 4:40 PM
I'm cautiously optimistic about this turn of events. Unlike a lot (most?) of you, I just can't get on board the Yi-seul/Jin-won ship, even though the deck is clearly stacked in his favor. I don't care if he's Mr. Perfect. I've never been one for the White Knight second lead in a drama. Plus, I find the fact that he was her teacher and she still only in her early 20s to be creepy. If they happened to fall in love (preferable after years of no contact) when she was mid- to late twenties with her personality and career established, that would be one thing. But he decided she was the one for him when she was still a kid in love with someone else. Baek-ho, at least, knew she loved him once and basically has worked like crazy not to loose that love.
That's why I'm so hopeful about this current development. Because this time, if Baek-ho truly does follow his mission to let her go, Yi-suel will then have to decide whether she can face it if he does just that. None of these alternative past or future selves ever had to do that. She's never had to think about what happens when Baek-ho no longer thinks of her as family, when he has someone else in his life that is more important and they drift apart. It reminds me a little of Su Ae's Bottom of the 9th With 2 Outs (another childhood best friend romantic comedy with a baseball theme!)... in the end, sometimes you have to decided if having the great love of your life is worth losing your dearest and best friend. Baek-ho gave it all he could. The ball is now in Yi-suel's court.
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cookie128
March 17, 2012 at 4:53 PM
I totally agree with you. I am sure YS's heart will be broken if she finds that BH has someone else more important, and hopefully at that moment, she will become tough and strong and make the effort!
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risu
March 17, 2012 at 6:27 PM
Doubt it. What happened with the doctor girl? YS didn't become tough at all even when the doctor girl told YS point blank that she was going after YS's boyfriend. She was surprised but was very passive about it. CR acted more like BH's girlfriend than YS ever did in that eating scene!
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jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 7:58 PM
I agree. YS is always ready to give up on BH. Still can't figure out why her glass is half empty ALL the TIME.
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Quaggy
March 18, 2012 at 4:12 AM
Totally different situation. Back then, Yi-seul was in a relationship with Baek-ho. It doesn't matter how many wannabe-evil-second-lead girls throw themselves at Baek-ho's feet as long as Yi-seul trusts her guy and is confident that he would never be unfaithful. It's awesome that she wasn't jealous and kept a level head.
But now is not about somebody falling in love with Baek-ho, it's about Baek-ho being free to fall in love with anybody else that he pleases. Yi-seul no longer has any ties on his heart. In fact, she was the one that cut those ties by choosing someone else. About time she realizes the consequence of that.
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risu
March 18, 2012 at 11:11 PM
I guess we're both assuming things about her character. But she was jealous. She couldn't really watch when the doctor girl was dancing with him.
It is quite difficult to believe that she was just trusting him with how she acted in previous episodes. She was always rather quick to assume that he was doing something wrong and she never gave him the benefit of the doubt. (Not that his actions helped much on that.) I don't see how being in a relationship for a few days makes her do a 180 on how she normally acts and she starts trusting everything he does. Also her character isn't confident at all, she's pretty insecure about their relationship. I don't see how declaring that they're now in a relationship would change that (when it was just the beginning of their relationship and was quite platonic at that moment).
I'd be more inclined to believe that it was a mixture of 1. she didn't know what to do due to her never having a rival before, 2. she did trust that he loves her, and 3. he isn't that type of person to be swayed so easily.
By the way YS didn't cut the ties, it was BH who did it first. During the scene on the rooftop where BH was yelling at YS about his mom problem, BH was the one that told her that he never suited her, that she should go be a rich daughter in law, marry JW, and left her crying.
12 msu
March 17, 2012 at 4:50 PM
I think the drama is rather a self improvement and realization process for BH than a journey for him to win YS's heart.
I think what he might learn after all the coming back and forth is that he has to live true to himself and be more responsible for his feeling and his own live.
So it is more like another meaning under that not simply fixing things to get YS. I do not think they can end up together, someone above say about the unstable treatment YS has to get, I agree. And also that YS does not really make any effort in the relationship, I mean she always said "You don't know anything about me and my feeling" has she ever tries to let him know? It is more like she feels insecure about him and her feeling for him that she is ready to run that the coach any time. I do not think she really loves him, maybe she just misunderstand her feeling for him... maybe she really thinks she is his mom...
The best ending for me is that it comes back to the Valentine day that YS's wedding is in. BH will wake up and realize it is a dream (well ofcoz it is not) and realize that he has to change how he lives his life from now on to avoid having any regret later on...
He gotta move on already, YS is not for you kid, save your effort for another girl who is willing to make a relationship happen.
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13 msu
March 17, 2012 at 4:55 PM
one side note, i cant bear to watch the coach... i mean he is perfect, nice and he knows exactly what he has to do.... but... how can the character be so plain? I skip all his parts, they are so boring to me...
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14 cookie128
March 17, 2012 at 4:57 PM
Hope the writer can make things turn around. I am pretty sure that it will be a happy ending coz PEB said in the press conference that though YSH and she have been in many projects where their relationship is always tragedy, this one is different - it is going to be a happy and joyful story...I trust her words...
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15 Lizzie
March 17, 2012 at 4:58 PM
I find unfair how everyone says JW is always there and is better than BH.
First, JW is older and more mature.
Second, you say he is always there for YS, but BH isn't? What? BH is always there! He was there for her since the first day when they met. He was the one who made YS go after her grandpa because BH knew it would be her last time seeing him, when she got sick, he did his best to take her to the hospital.
And is not like JW is always there for YS, it's YS who always runs to JW everytime. I think if YS ran to BH I bet he would also support her or comfort her.
Also, this ''you don't know anything'' BH. Oh right. I think you yourself doesn't also know YS.
JW is perfect and if YS really loved him I wouldn't be against it, but she loves BH first and I don't think JW deserves it.
For me, YS isn't looking for love, but for a safe place.
JW is more like a ''dad'' figure than a lover.
-
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msu
March 17, 2012 at 5:02 PM
I totally agree... YS is ready to run to JW all the time...
But about finding a safe place I think I can understand her, girls are like that... in drama and in real life...
But at least I hope she make an effort *sign*
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merrygoocow
March 17, 2012 at 5:17 PM
Nah YS doesn't run to JW everytime, it's just that JW is always there at the right place at the right time without even trying while BH gets bruised and beaten up trying to do the same thing lol.
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cindy
March 17, 2012 at 5:31 PM
Maybe because JW is rich and doesn't really need to do anything rthan just being around... he is always free and there for YS? lol
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jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 5:26 PM
Your sentence First, JW is older and more mature. sparked something I was feeling when I watched this last episode.
It actually made me a little nervous when BH decides to give YS a ring for her birthday and propose. Dude - you are NOT ready to get married. Not yet!
It struck me as unfair that JW proposes to YS and that she accepts him as a counter to BH. Just because the JW is at an age for marriage, doesn't rule out that one day BH would also be a good, solid husband to YS.
Yi-Seul - I ask you - what is the rush to get married, anyway? You don't have to make that decision right now. They go from dating to married in under a year? While she is still in her early 20s? She doesn't strike me as the type that wants to settle down and have kids right away, especially after all the work she had done on her career.
BH is struggling to become the best version of himself. He wants to be a man that YS is proud of. I think that is a pretty admirable goal, and, it won't happen overnight.
If YS really looks at everything going on with him, she would wait, rather than say "Timing is off." It's not off, it's just too soon, babe!
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Cookie128
March 17, 2012 at 5:45 PM
Well, regarding the age, isn't YS 28 when getting married? I sort of remember that the age set for BH is 28 on the official website..anyway I got a bit confused about the time after all these time travelings..
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Lizzie
March 17, 2012 at 6:12 PM
Yes, I agree, love reading your comments!
People forget JW older and was already established when YS and BH was still in school. When BH was still a teenager and a stundent.
If you think in this YS is marrying very young.
I went back to episode 4, and look what coach and Baek Ho talked, in the scene coach says to Baek Ho give up on baseball, and that are others things in life besides it. Baek Ho say there isn't, and says coach must know this too.
Coach: Watch what you say, Kang Baek Ho.
Baek Ho: The hardships that I have to face, the failures that I need to overcome, don't interfere with any of it. I need to pay my dues to to be as strong as you are. Then at least I have a chance to compete agaisnt you.
(omg this tell us everything that is happening right now - BH trying to be good enough to YS and trying to overcome his hardships!)
Coach in the same episode says this about when he was young:
I... only knew how to play baseball, like a baseball machine, I only played baseball like a mindless person. When I gave up baseball, I thought of giving up on life. There was life before baseball, and I'm learning that there's life beyong baseball. But It took me too long to accept it.
Heh, again, like BH, to coach it also took long to accept it.
Later in the same episode JW's teacher talks with him, and says:
''I have already told you this, but you are more admirable now than you ever were before your injury''
See everyone? Coach was once young and immature too. He wasn't always that strong and reliable person, that you or YS can depend on. When he was young he needed support too.
Coach is the strong and mature person he is because of the hardships he had to overcome. He did and turned a strong person, someone you can depend on.
BH is like this. BH have to overcome his hardships, to mature and become stronger, become someone you can depend on... and I do think in the future he will do well. It is just that he is still struggling.
I wonder if YS would still go or end up with coach if she met his young self. The younger JW... I wonder.
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aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 6:40 PM
I wonder that too. It's not fair to compare BH to JW because of the age difference. When JW got hurt, he wanted to jump off a building. Atleast BH just quit baseball. And when he went back to the future, he tried like hell to get over his injury.
That was a BH i really liked.
I know that JW looks perfect, but he's not "fun". He had good things handed to him on a platter, so of course he's made something of his life. BH had so many hardships in life and still maintains his sense of humour. I mean, he's lost everything in his life, and yet he goes out shopping with his friends for YS's furniture.
I wonder if YSH will ever play a character where he's not bogged down by bad luck.
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jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 7:40 PM
YSH does the sad unfortunate so well, though! :)
In this show, you absolutely forget the kid is 18 or 19 or whatever it is we call it.
He is carrying this show, the material may not be Shakespeare, but he is doing a great job with what he has.
malta
March 17, 2012 at 9:34 PM
I'm frightened YSH might become the next So Ji Sub and end up falling in love with his kinda almost sister and then lots and lots of crying... T.T
jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Oooh! Oooh!
What if at the end, we see BH accepting of losing YS to JW, and we all see YS with their baby, yada yada yada.
Baek Ho, instead of him being all poor poor pitiful me, he meets a younger ball player in crisis who reminds BH of himself, and decides to mentor that kid? Meaning all the struggles BH had finding himself work for him to help others.
The kid also happens to have a really cute big sister who catches BH's eye, and those two live happily ever after.
ALL I WANT AT THIS POINT IS FOR BAEK HO TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
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aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 8:40 PM
"The kid also happens to have a really cute big sister who catches BH’s eye, and those two live happily ever after"
Or the kid could have a cute older brother who bears a striking resemblance to Ji Chang Wook. Just because BH likes girls now doesn't mean the right guy couldn't change his mind. Just sayin'
And then BH will really live happily ever after.
jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 9:10 PM
I don't know if you have looked really closely at JCW, but he looks like someones older sister even in boy clothes.
Lemme see if I can find my fav pic of their happily ever after:
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnotjurDA11qhpy1co1_500.jpg
PS. Just scrolling through the Una photos is bringing tears to my eyes.
Linda165
March 19, 2012 at 12:43 PM
Coming out of stealth mode just to show you this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/linda1650/6997646065/in/photostream
Quaggy
March 17, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Oh, I love your point about Jin-won acting as dad. It's a nice counter argument to the idea that Yi-suel is acting like Baek-ho's mom. Frankly, I don't see her acting all that motherly. Her mom? Yeah, SHE acts motherly. But Yi-suel acts like a concerned girlfriend or wife.
The fact that Jin-won is the one (rather than her parents or her friends) that tells Yi-seul that she has to stop acting like Baek-ho's mother is annoying more than anything else. He's the one with most biased opinion! He wants to be with Yi-seul! Of course he's going to rather classify her taking care of Baek-ho as being his mother rather than what you do when you are someone's life partner (for lack of a better term). Of course, he's going to want her to stop!!
It bugs the hell out of me that Jin-won isn't encouraging Yi-suel to stop looking after Baek-ho so that she can take a great entry level position or study abroad or become strong and independent on her own... He's encouraging her to become his perfect partner. Someone who helps him makes HIS dream come true. It turns out Mr. Perfect is a lousy mentor!
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Lizzie
March 17, 2012 at 6:32 PM
I don't know you, but for me, it looked like coach wasn't saying it because he wanted the best for YS, but because he wanted YS to stop worring/caring about BH.
Maybe he is finally getting tired or jealous of her concern/relationship with BH? So he said she should stop acting like his mom... but maybe he knows she worries about BH not like a mom but like woman or a girl in love.
I think he just want to deny it. But I think he knows, because when he married YS he told BH that if BH liked YS, he wouldn't have a chance, meaning he knew YS liked BH. kekekek
No matter how I see it, sometimes I think JW manipulates YS's feelings...
But he is a good guy. He deserves a girl that really loves him back.
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Quaggy
March 18, 2012 at 4:21 AM
Yes, I agree. I think he's very self motivated when he tries to separate Baek-ho and Yi-seul. He's trying to get rid of his competition more than he's trying to free Yi-seul.
And yes, he is a good guy. But even a good guy and do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. I'm actually curious why a guy who has so much going for him is so fixated on just one girl, who doesn't even totally return his feelings.
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malta
March 17, 2012 at 9:27 PM
I call Jin Won the "perfect man," but he's also completely unrealistic. I do think he's a better man for Yi Seul, but not necessarily a better man than Baek Ho though. I did think throughout the whole drama so far that Baek Ho never acts his grown up age which I think is suppose to be in the mid to late 20's. If anything Jin Won is casted a bit young as the Harvard graduate who decided to coach high school baseball (whatev). Baek Ho has never acted as an adult. The entire time he's had the feelings and perceptions of basically a teenager and Yi Seul is no better.
When Baek Ho went back to high school he just fit right back in with his teenage friends even though he had the mind of an adult with enough experience in the world to have regret. While time traveling he never looked at his friends from the perspective of an adult and though, "man I love these guys, but we sure use to be silly and immature." Every adult thinks this about teenagers even if you empathize with how painful being a teenager can be.
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irmar
August 18, 2017 at 3:01 PM
That's true, but it may be just the point of the drama. That he was immature, because he somehow let chances to grow slip through his fingers, so he has to go back to do this growing up - while at the same time salvaging his relationship AND his career. All this travel is a growing up experience, and he does look more mature in ep.11-12 than he did as his "future self" in ep.1. (Of course it doesn't help that the actor himself was 19 when he played the role)
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16 aoiaheen
March 17, 2012 at 6:43 PM
I liked this episode actually. I loved that they showed what BH lost because of his time travel trips. He started off in his own little apartment, not happy, but at least settled with a stable job. Now he's back in his mothers house and not really anywhere.
Now i just wish in the next trip, BH finds another girl and tries to over YS.
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jomo143
March 17, 2012 at 7:56 PM
YES! to your last sentence!
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missjb
March 17, 2012 at 8:02 PM
"Now i just wish in the next trip, BH finds another girl and tries to over YS."
That's what I hope... there is another woman beside YB who loves BH and become YS's rival.... SOmeone who is better than YB.. even if YB doesn't change one bit about her decision to marry JW, at least he did try his best, and can move on without any regret..
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17 fangirl98
March 17, 2012 at 8:28 PM
I still want BH and YS together and happily ever after, blah blah blah......
But, I am sick of Princess Wishy-Washy (YS) not trying one iota to meet BH somewhere in the middle. As far as their romantic relationship goes, she doesn't lift a finger. Maybe she did in the past when BH started his time trips, but now that they're older and he's made SEVERAL love confessions to her, she hasn't moved one iota to "come to him". Granted, he's not our resident MR. PERFECT (JW) or 100% ready for marriage, but COME ON!!!! BH has made some great strides in becoming a better person and a better boyfriend for YS. He at least is trying....she puts forth zero effort and goes back and forth with both guys either way the wind blows.
If you can't tell, 1/2 of our OTP is on thin ice with me. :-/ Yi Seul better up her game. And soon.
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18 malta
March 17, 2012 at 9:06 PM
This was a much, much better episode than the last 2. It was really interesting and heart wrenching to see Baek Ho's relationship with his mother.
Yi Seul is still getting on my nerves. I don't like that she's so cryptic and faults Baek Ho for not understanding her. She just confuses me and it kinda makes me not like her for it.
One thing I cannot relate to in kdramas is when people go behind the backs of the of the ones they love doing what they believe is right regardless of how that person will feel. Like with Yi Seul giving money to Baek Ho's mom. Did she ever stop for one second to think how her doing that and keeping it a secret from Baek Ho will make him feel?... Basically indebted to her in a shameful way that he can't make right. That's messed up.
I can cut Yi Seul some slack and understand the money thing because you don't want his Mom to get physically hurt by that thug man, but Yi Seul also went and gave her presents saying that it was from Baek Ho when it wasn't. Her doing that is a judgement of Baek Ho's choice to not have a relationship with his Mom. She's basically saying, "I'm gonna do what's 'right' in your place since you aren't." I know Baek Ho goes running back in regret, but I agreed with his initial raw feelings which were 'who the hell are you to do this!'
Yi Seul has no place judging Baek Ho in that way. As far as I'm concerned that's not being a good friend. Since she was the one who saw him live through the hurt and pain of being abandoned by his mom she should understand that even if it would be great if mom and son were on good terms, that it's Baek Ho's battle and Baek Ho's decision to struggle with and make. Not hers. It makes me so mad just thinking about it. I can't help, but find it obnoxious and presumptuous.
I feel mean, but Yi Seul just seems like a nightmare of a person to be in a relationship with. This is why only a perfect (read: make-believe) man like Jin Won could suit her... ok now I feel really, really mean. Oh well.
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Miss
May 20, 2013 at 7:05 AM
It's alright to be mean at least you're not being like a meddler just like Yi Seul... (Does that also make me mean?)
No matter how close you are with someone, it's really not your right to meddle or do things or create decisions for another person, no matter how correct or better it is .
The only thing she could have done was to talk to Baek Ho and his mother to find some ways to patch their issues, but on doing things behind Baek Ho's back, when she should be the one who can understand him the most, of why he's acting like that, is plainly and bluntly called "betrayal". So for me, Yi Seul deserved whatever Baek Ho said to her.
I really hate the character of Yi Seul now. For me, she's plain self-righteous but she can't even fight her own demons. Thumbs down for her!
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19 Emy
March 17, 2012 at 9:16 PM
I'm so glad to read the same thoughts here in the comments.
I loved the drama when starting out -- because it was about Yi Seul doing so much for Baek Ho and BH needing to learn to deserve her love in return. However, it seems YS is taking three steps back for every one step BH takes forward.
YS doesn't even try to meet BH in the middle; rather, she depends on "fate." If the slightly thing goes awry, she takes it to mean they're not meant for each other. Which is. Seriously. >_<
I think YS and JW are perfect for each other after all. JW seems content to be doing everything in the relationship -- while YS just wants things that go smoothly.
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20 buttrcup
March 17, 2012 at 9:37 PM
Um, what in the what; in the actual freakin' what now? When 'x' is ready to confess their feelings for 'y' then 'y' doesn't want to hear it and when 'y' wants to confess 'x' doesn't want to hear it. So....Really show... really? Uggh; I don't even.
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21 Kim Yoonmi
March 18, 2012 at 12:14 AM
I do think KBH yelling at YS in this episode spelled out some of her fears--not to say that excuses her behavior in the least, but it might explain some of her motivation a bit. Him yelling at her that she doesn't understand (if you summarize it), also is an echo of what she says, but at least he spells out why he feels that way (Which is the "girl" in the relationship here? BH seems more verbal...)
If the writer is smart, maybe what she really is afraid of is him finding out she is imperfect--because she knows on some level he puts her on a pedestal. Being a friend means she can keep him at a distance to not see those imperfections. He may comment and say crass things, but he never criticizes her personally... like he did when he yelled at her.
Also, I kind of find it odd she needs his approval for her to accept someone else's heart... almost as if she's purposefully creating that distance.
I hope it is that, because, then, I could kinda forgive her if that's the source of her fear. If it's not, then I'm rewatching Salary Man so I can find a good juicy curse for YS. The motivation in 9 ins and 2 outs doesn't work well here--it was disproved by episode 11. Would explain why she was scared when he said, "I love you" instead of really happy.
Any other stabs at the source of her real fear of being with Baek Ho?
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22 HeadsNo2
March 18, 2012 at 1:08 AM
At first I thought the Conductor might be Baek-ho's dad. But the mints, and beating up the same guy, make me wonder if maybe the Conductor is a future version of Baek-ho. Whatever the case, I'm interested to see the outcome.
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jingelbells
March 18, 2012 at 1:59 AM
But that is weird, I though BH's dad is already dead? I mean ok, so the Conductor, is he invisible to others or solid as well? could he knock out goons like that? I mean maybe he is a person who loves Bh's mom.. etc.
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Kim Yoonmi
March 18, 2012 at 12:57 PM
In the original it was a fairy (Yosei) and it didn't matter... I don't see why they have to "explain" it here at all except for padding...
If he's a future version of Baek-ho, he wouldn't need all of the baseballs--he'd be stealing from himself and then that's a plot hole.
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cookie128
March 18, 2012 at 2:15 PM
The conductor is BH's father - already been explained in the character description on the official website even before this drama was aired.
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23 jingelbells
March 18, 2012 at 1:50 AM
I actually get YS for being the one who always takes care of KBH, and for a change would want someone to take care of her. So maybe I agree with you guys that they were not meant for each other. Though I wished they would have a good ending like in the Jap version. That maybe, maybe Yi Seul would get to her senses at the last moment and become the runaway bride. But if I were KBH, I would give up now, go abroad and never to come back. And no communication at all with HYS. Or KBH commit suicide then Conductor will give Yi Suel the vial. Makes her go back. Maybe, maybe by that time, she will realize that SHE was the one who took him for granted.
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24 GaRa
March 18, 2012 at 2:33 AM
I am fed up with YS. And BH not seeing her for what she is and cOnstantly apologizing for things he isn't even responsible for is tiring. Dude needs a phsychiatrist not a time conductor.
From the time in High School when she confessed to the Coach that she didn't give BH the letter with 'somehow I don't think we're fated' it became evident that she never wanted a long lasting relationship with the guy. From the onset she's been negative and morose.
I also don't see how, when she sees the Doctor mack on BH, stay for one second to see him push her away, to hear him out. She feels so 'betrayed' by his cheating that she runs off to the arms of the Coach. However, when she and BH have a fight, a couple's tiff, she feels so wronged by his words that she goes off and proves all his accusations as true, by kissing the Coach the same night! Which only means that she has been two-timing him all this time! There are many ways to cheat on a Partner, and by flirting with the person whom she knows is already in love with the makes her an undesirable female lead. It's worse then Geum Jan Di's constant seeking out of Jihoo.
Another major flaw with this story is - who knows that they're dating? Does the coach know? Because kissing someone else's girl like that makes him a conniving loser. He's worse than the doctor. You can never tell who knows or doesn't know, as if they're some celebrities dating in secret. Also, after having a relationship, can you really go back to being friends that have night meetings at the park?
And the timeline is giving me a migraine. I also want to see BH get a better woman.
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25 db5k
March 18, 2012 at 2:57 AM
I just can't help myself from hating Jinwon, lol.
This drama is really unique in that the male lead and the female lead probably won't end up together.
The only thing that slightly bugs me about this drama is that the obstacles between Baekho and Yiseul continues to be misunderstandings between the two. This can get pretty repetitive. Everytime Baekho goes back into the past to try to fix things with Yiseul, they always end up fighting because of some misunderstanding.
It seems like Baekho and Yiseul love each other so much. It's such a weak plot point to have them separated just because they continue to misunderstand each other. If two people are not meant to be together, the reason should NOT be because of misunderstandings. Because those two people can learn to honestly and openly share their innermost thoughts and feelings.
When viewers ask, "why can't Baekho and Yiseul be together?" And the answer is, "because they don't understand each other." It's not very satisfying. Because it means that Baekho is incapable of understanding Yiseul. And that makes Baekho seem like a very stupid person.
I like that it was revealed that Baekho's mother abandoned him. Because that would partially explain why Baekho is so immature sometimes.
All I can think is, Baekho is maturing through these flashback experiences. He's changing. Wouldn't he be able to be a good partner for Yiseul since he's growing? He's decided to let go of Yiseul. That shows that he's being considerate of her happiness before his own. It shows that he's learning how to let go of things.
It seems so disappointing that Baekho is going to become a better person, after Yiseul marries Jinwon.
Anyways, Gummimochi pointed out that maybe Yiseul was a substitute mother figure for Baekho. And maybe Yiseul had mother-like feelings of wanting to protect and take care of Baekho. Well...I guess that can explain why Baekho and Yiseul aren't really meant for each other. But again, it's not very satisfying. I feel like all women want to "mother" their boyfriends/husbands. Love between a couple can be many things. It can be friendship, it can be familial, etc, etc.
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26 olsen
March 18, 2012 at 4:04 AM
Thanx for the recap Gummi.
Oh gosh! The story is repeating itself over and over...and over again and my patience is growing thin.
This drama would have been better for a movie or a 6-episode drama.
And to think that we have FOUR more episodes to go??
But, the saddest part is that I cannot unfollow it. Damn.
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27 Belle
March 18, 2012 at 12:32 PM
This drama has such a good cast, that it's hard to break away.
BH better have a happy ending...w/ or w/out YS!
Thanks for the recap. :)
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28 ar_arguably romantic
March 18, 2012 at 2:11 PM
Thanks for the recap!
I hope this drama doesn't try to give it a kdrama happily ever after ending with Baek-ho and Yi-seul getting together. The entire drama seemed to scream "it isn't meant to be" and even though Baek-ho and Yi-seul are good people and are the best of friends, they just aren't meant for each other in a romantic way.
I hope Baek-ho falls in love with some girl at Yi-Seul's wedding.
I'm really interested in the Conductor - will we get some more backstory about him?
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cindy
March 18, 2012 at 6:27 PM
For me YS is the only one who screamed ''It isn't meant to be'' during the entire drama....
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irmar
August 18, 2017 at 3:05 PM
So you'd like all this superhuman effort he's been putting on to be in vain? Just "poof"? Of course he would have gained maturity and insight and bla bla bla, but as far as his main purpose in going back, it would be a resounding failure. What a lesson would that give? That trying one's best doesn't pay off.
And what's this "meant to be" and fate and stuff? It seems Asians are a lot into that, and I have some trouble understanding it. The whole series is supposed to mean that you can change your "fate", even if it's little by little and even if it's difficult. Or is it not? I will know when I'll have finished watching.
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29 Lilian
March 20, 2012 at 7:40 AM
still staying on just coz I wanna know how it will end....
this drama was slightly below my expectations. if it had been shorter, maybe it would have been better. and wth happened to Jin Joo?
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30 Lee
March 20, 2012 at 2:36 PM
I agree that YS is scared of letting BH see the real her and is trying to push him away all the time, it frustrates me to no end that she is being such a selfish coward. I think she need to see she is taking BH for granted just as much as he was of her.
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31 Kim Yoonmi
March 22, 2012 at 3:00 PM
Seeing the preview for 14 (no spoilers) makes me hate the fact I invested in this drama. >.<;; The writer didn't have to do that~ !@#$% ran out of plot.
Could have interwoven the special plot in some more... but noooo....
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Kim Yoonmi
March 23, 2012 at 4:43 PM
Seeing 14: (No Spoilers) !@#$% I have words after the recap of 14.
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32 weenhiecookies
June 16, 2012 at 1:56 AM
I thought the counductor told baek ho to go back a year before and have a vacation alone to forget yi-seul so that on the day of the wedding the feelings for yi seul were already gone but WTF. Come up again of another time traveling of we didn't know what will he do but we still end up to nothing.
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33 irmar
August 18, 2017 at 3:17 PM
What makes this drama very frustrating is that it shows two people with severe communication problems.
He has been (SLOWLY) getting better, but only because of the back and forth, because he has seen the consequences of his lack of proactivity. He originally was the person who doesn't express anything, who just waits for bad things to happen with zero reaction. Even when given a chance to go back, no, repeated chances, do you remember for how many episodes he didn't show his feelings for days, for months, and just waited for the "perfect moment" to make a grand gesture that would confess for him? The jacket button, then the Christmas present (desperate when a few hours had passed after Christmas Eve, as if that made a difference!), the fireworks... As if all the other moments in the many days they spent together were not good enough for showing love in many small ways.
When he was a soldier, yes, he was away from her and yes he missed her visit. Still there were things he could have done. When he got her letter, couldn't he send a loving letter to her? Maybe not confessing, but saying how much he misses her, how much he thinks about her...
And when they were together. Smiles, looks, soft words with a particularly tender meaning... There are hundreds of ways of showing love gradually, and making the other person's heart flutter. But he acted all neutral all the time, not even a sweet glance.
As I said, he has been getting better. He finally found the courage to kiss, to ask her to date him, to say he loves her, to make love to her.
BUT... She still hasn't caught up. She is still hesitant and not confident, because she didn't have the benefit of time travel that he had.
So I'm not hating her. They were both to be "hated" to start with, they had the same flaw. She did make some moves, but they were too subtle and he was too dense to understand them. He also didn't know many of them, like the glove, the letter, the doshirak, the near confession outside his window when he wasn't there!
He, thanks to the conductor's kind gift, has had the chance to grow, to become more aware of the consequences of inaction. But she didn't have that chance, so she has stayed just as she was in the beginning.
Now we have to find out what will make HER more aware.
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