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The Time I’ve Loved You: Episode 4

It just takes one conversation about Won and Hana’s true feelings to throw everything into flux, making us wonder whether our two besties remain so because they’re both equally afraid of what lies beyond. Life around them may change and so may the people they’re with, but all those things can be made bearable when you’ve got that one dependable constant on your side, always waiting with fresh alcohol in one hand to drown your sorrows and a tissue in the other to wipe away your drool and/or jjajangmyeon sauce. You’d have to be crazy to give that sort of relationship up… right?

SONG OF THE DAY

Take – “주르르 (Rainy Day)” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 4 RECAP

As Hana looks up at Won, she thinks, “That’s right, it’s okay. Whenever I face suffering in life, I have a precious friend who is always there for me.”

That precious friend buys her favorite snacks and beer before joining her in her room, after Hana’s washed away her streaked makeup and dried off. “When I was twenty-four years old,” she muses, “I thought a thirty-four-year-old woman was not a woman.”

Now that she’s that woman, she wonders why she once thought that she’d experience emotions like happiness and sadness differently, only to find out that it’s the same no matter the age.

Won just shakes his head. Sung-jae could’ve hit the jackpot with Hana, but he messed it all up. When Hana doesn’t believe him, Won defends what he said: “You’re capable, pretty, kind, smart, and cute. He’ll never meet someone like you again.”

She’s too keen on celebrating her pity party to take his compliments seriously, and just sniffs like a lost puppy when Won sits next to her and puts his hand to her forehead. If she gets sick from being caught out in the rain, he warns, then she’ll really be a hopeless ajumma.

Hana just sighs that she already got dumped by a kid she fell for, so she really would be overreacting if she were to get sick on top of all that. She can’t tell if she’s more frustrated with Sung-jae or herself, but it’s just too sad for her to bear.

A tear rolls down her cheek, and Won tsks at her as he wipes it away with his thumb. He’s let her wallow in self-pity long enough, now it’s time for a bit of friendly tough love, and high time for her to act her age and stop cosplaying as a tragic heroine.

Taking a dig at her age works at getting Hana up and going, if only so that she can get in some quips about his advanced years too. The two decide to stay up all night drinking, and the ensuing quick cuts run the gamut from being emotionally stirring to downright hilarious.

It’s a night of drinking everyone will have sometime in their life, when you go from laughing one minute to crying the next. At one point in the night Hana starts sobbing and walking toward the window, crying that she has to go to the beach. Won stops her, but can’t keep from laughing. I love them. Love, love, love.

They find themselves in bed the next morning, with Hana sleeping on Won’s arm. Won wakes up first and stares at Hana’s sleeping face before he traces the line of her brow with a smile.

But when she stirs, he immediately pretends to be asleep. He acts like he’s juuust waking up when Hana does, and tells her to get off his arm. Hah.

Hana’s sort of out of it the whole ride home, acting awkward with Won ever since she woke up next to him. Won has to practically remind her how to walk lest she just forget and fall flat on her face. Her change in demeanor doesn’t go unnoticed by little bro Dae-bok when she returns home.

Her paranoia is only further compounded when she remembers a conversation she had with Won the night before while they lied on the bed. They’d discussed what they thought about love with her head resting on his stomach, only to find out that their opinions differed: Hana believes love is about compromise and sacrifice, but Won believes it’s about loving the other person just the way they are.

“The only person who likes me for who I am is you, but you don’t see me as a woman,” Hana confessed. “You’re the one who doesn’t see me as a man,” Won had countered.

Curious then, Hana had peered up at him and asked, “Have you ever thought of me as a woman?” Won looked down at her then, his expression almost pained, but either she doesn’t remember what he said or we don’t get to hear it. She’s mortified that the conversation ever took place.

Mi-hyang has an inexplicable dream about a pig, and wonders if it’s a sign that money could be headed her way. But she ends up resuscitating an old woman who passes out in the bathroom instead. I’m sure they’re trying to sell me something here, I just don’t know what it is.

After freaking out her mom by uncharacteristically cleaning her room, Hana goes out for a sponsored bike ride and ends up crashing when her thoughts drift to waking up in bed next to Won. She goes home with a cast over her wrist.

Won can’t stop thinking about that morning either, and is so distracted that he fails to notice he’s smeared cappuccino foam all over his mouth. It gives his coworkers a chance to mention the infamous cappuccino kiss from Secret Garden, which Ha Ji-won was on the receiving end of.

So-eun calls him out on leaving suddenly the night before, and Won explains that he had to go because Hana needed him. Naturally, she asks if he’d drop everything and go to her if she were to call him in the middle of the night like that.

Won takes a moment before he explains that Hana is like family to him. “So you’re saying that Hana Unni is a friend who’s like family, and I’m your girlfriend, right?” When Won doesn’t respond, she adds onto the manipulation by saying she’ll think positively, since that’s a trait he likes about her. Grah, she’s annoying.

Hana’s parents wonder about their daughter’s odd behavior until Dae-bok sits them down for some earth-shattering news: Won and Hana spent the night together. He claims the business trip was a lie, and that he saw the two this morning looking like newlyweds after their first night together.

Mom and Dad’s reactions are subdued and a little disbelieving, but since they’re for their daughter dating Won, Mom suggests that the three of them go on a vacation to leave Hana and Won all alone together.

Hana gets called out by one of her old high school buddies to celebrate her engagement. Na-young’s also in attendance, and when relationships come up, she asks Hana whether she and Won ever had any skinship moments—they’ve been together for seventeen years, after all.

But Hana adamantly claims they never did any such thing, and that she’s even seen Won naked from the waist up (multiple times!) without feeling a thing. Na-young says maybe she felt nothing, but would Won feel differently if the tables were turned?

Flash back to their high school days, when Won had pointed out the fact that Hana was drooling all over her desk. She’d wiped her mouth and gone back to sleep, and in the present, Hana smiles that they’ve always been like that.

But her friend cautions her that the same actions she thought nothing of before could take on a different meaning in the future, causing Hana to fret about last night’s pillow talk with Won.

Won thinks Hana’s ignoring his messages when in reality she’s just dropped her phone in the toilet, making him worry that she’s gotten so uncomfortable about the night before that she’s purposefully avoiding him.

Hana returns to work the next day and imagines that she sees an encouraging note from Sung-jae, when he hasn’t even shown up for work yet. She has to sit through a meeting where Director Byun takes all the credit for Actress Gu showing up to the red carpet in their shoes, rocketing them to the top of the search engines.

But Hana doesn’t let him get away with it totally unscathed, and uses the opportunity to back him into a corner so he’ll support an initiative of her team’s to break into the Chinese market. At least her team members appreciate and support her.

And when called upon to be the bigger person, Hana proves her worth by giving Sung-jae’s resume to Director Byun and vouching for him. Because of her talking him up, he’ll get a full-time position in one of their branch offices in China.

It’s raining outside again, and once more Hana finds a strange umbrella over her head. A remorseful Sung-jae holds it as he thanks her for the recommendation.

She remains professional and cites that she based her decision on his merits alone, though she cautions him to use his abilities to read women’s hearts in a more constructive way for the future. Then, proving she’s learned, she pulls out her own damn umbrella.

“Because you fell for me, I really thought of being your protector,” Sung-jae calls after her. She keeps walking, and he follows her a ways before he just watches her go. “You’re a much better person than I thought you were,” he adds quietly.

As she leaves, Hana thinks to herself that the truth can be a comforting salve as much as it can be the knife that opens up old wounds. In her case, she’ll use Sung-jae’s sincerity to patch her wounds while she waits for new skin to grow. Time heals all wounds, they say.

Won worries when he still can’t get ahold of Hana, and shoots her a text asking if she broke her arm or something. (Hana: “Funny story…”)

Except at that exact moment, she’s at the repair shop for her phone—but when she finds out that it’ll be a few days, she’s surprisingly unconcerned. She asked for some vacation days anyway, so being off the grid will be a good thing.

She and her brother end up running into So-eun while buying him a pair of shoes, and Dae-bok seems awful quick to declare that he has no allegiance to his sister when faced with So-eun’s long legs.

So-eun invites Hana out for some juice, and ne’er has there been a meeting between first and second leads o’er two cups that’s ended well. Unsurprisingly, So-eun says she’d wanted to speak to Hana anyway, since her relationship with “Oppa” has been concerning her.

But now she claims she isn’t, since Won said Hana was like family and that’s why he always wants to take care of her. Why is it that So-eun sounds patronizing when she says that she’ll take care of Hana too? She didn’t mention the family thing because it actually made her feel better, that’s for sure.

Hana pretends not to be bothered by what So-eun said and replies instead that Won is like family to her too. “If he were to call me, I would have gone too. Don’t worry about what happened that night.”

Her family wasn’t counting on Hana to return home before they’d booked it for a one-night stay at the nearby hot springs, and aw darn, it’s the one trip Hana can’t go on with her arm in a cast. Well, guess that means she’ll be left all alone with Won next door.

So-eun greets Won on his way out, and uses that act as leverage to ask him to buy her a meal. He declines since he’s just heard from her family that Hana hurt her arm, and So-eun chimes in that she saw the cast when she spotted Hana at the mall earlier. She pointedly leaves out the talk she had with Hana by acting all cute and concerned about her.

Hana’s perfectly content to spend her vacation days locked inside her house being her usual clumsy self, but her parents aren’t—they call Won to give him permission to fix a broken lightbulb in their house.

It’s his and Hana’s first meeting since that night, and while he’s totally fine, she’s the one who ends up acting awkward around him. Well, he’s not that fine, because she’s being so weird, but it seems like he’s deliberately testing the boundaries of her uncomfortableness by getting closer than he needs to be.

She jumps and screams to herself once she’s alone, only to later find Won still standing outside her gate. He looks antsy and says nothing before he grabs her for a quick kiss. Hana pulls away and screams, “Are you crazy?!” before punching him with her cast arm. Owwww.

Luckily, that part was only a dream. Won wakes up as though he actually felt the hit, remembering when his “friends” had cornered him in high school, presumably over his relationship with Hana. He’d fought back, but they’d fought harder.

Still, Won didn’t give up, and chased after the leader of the boys. Once he had him on the ground, he yelled, “Why can’t I like Oh Hana?! Why can’t I?!”

After the fight, Hana found him in the library to offer him her class notes. When she started to notice the blood and bruises on his face, Won roughly pushed her away. Hana left, unable to understand the change in his demeanor, and Won just looked after where she’d gone like a kicked puppy. Aww.

Mi-hyang’s pig dream comes full circle when the grandmother she saved in the bathroom turns out to be the CEO of a giant food corporation specializing in pig feet. Mi-hyang gets a pass to eat free pig feet for life, so it’s too bad she doesn’t like them. At least we know what they were trying to sell us.

Hana’s parents return home disappointed to find out that nothing happened between Won and Hana. She finally gets her phone back and reads all the backlogged messages Won sent her, but before she allows herself to feel warm and fuzzy, she remembers So-eun saying that Won thought of her like family.

Neither Hana or Won are aware that they’ve picked the same art museum to visit that day, only Won’s brought So-eun there on a date. So-eun takes issue with the fact that he only takes her to places Hana likes to go, which Won hadn’t even realized he was doing.

But then So-eun lays on the sugar and slips her arm through his, which is how Hana spots the two of them. She makes herself feel better by throwing a little shade in their general direction, to which I say: good for her.

Remember Hana’s friend that just got engaged? Well, the wedding’s been called off, and the would-be bride sobs that she’s more upset over losing her friend of seventeen years than she is over losing a fiancé. This resonates with Hana for obvious reasons.

Still, when Won catches her outside her house and finds out she hasn’t eaten, he buys them jjajangmyeon to eat in front of the TV. He gives her a fork when she can’t open her chopsticks single-handedly, and wipes her mouth when it’s dripping black bean sauce. Adorable.

A moment passes before Hana asks Won if he’ll visit her often when she inevitably ends up in a nursing home after a life spent alone. She knows that’s how it’s going to be when she works all the time and still doesn’t have a boyfriend.

Won can’t help but agree that Hana doesn’t have an eye for good men, but he also agrees to be there for her until he dies—even if it means hanging out with her in a nursing home one day. But when he asks if she’d do the same for him should he end up alone, Hana teases him by saying she’ll have to think about it.

Not long after, Hana calls Won to celebrate her getting her cast removed. They agree to meet for their favorite treat that night while Won thinks to himself, “Hana, I wish that you’ll always be okay.” Meanwhile, Hana thinks that Won is the only person who knows her e-mail and phone passwords.

Then the two of them think at the same time: “Let’s be together until we die.”

At the airport, Won seems to recognize star pianist CHA SEO-HOO (Yoon Kyun-sang) while he’s on his way to a sound check.

Once there, Seo-hoo switches from playing rapid and complicated notes to playing the scales. But the sequence is incomplete because he can’t help but think of a voice from his past—Hana’s voice—confessing giddily that she liked to play her scales that way.

Won sees Seo-hoo again outside Hana’s house, looking mournfully up at her window. Immediately Won looks guilty and tries to hide the things he’s brought for her, but Seo-hoo doesn’t pay him any mind.

Instead he watches and smiles just a little when Hana appears like a ray of extra-cheerful sunshine. She doesn’t see Seo-hoo, but Won never takes his eyes off him.

Flash back to high school, when Won had put books under Hana’s head as pillows when she’d fall asleep in the library. He’d affectionately touch her hair and smile only when she was asleep, and act as though he’d just woken her up to point out her drooling problem if she caught him.

As always, Hana would buy his excuses. But only when Won was out of sight would he let out the breath he’d been holding and smile to himself.

 
COMMENTS

Now we’re getting hints that things may not have been so one-sided for Won, which sure does complicate things, doesn’t it? What is clear is that there have been a lot of mixed messages, misunderstandings, and things left unsaid—though some of that seems to have been purposeful on Won’s part, which gives events in their past another dimension entirely.

It’s interesting to see how the pieces are beginning to fit together, even if the finished picture is the furthest thing from complete. I’d been curious to know if there were external forces keeping Won from pursuing a romantic relationship with Hana, but I never would have guessed that there was some nefarious plot against him dating her going all the way back to high school. We literally saw him get beaten up because he liked her, and because he never wanted Hana to worry, he’d sooner push her away than let her know what was really going on.

That tendency of his to keep Hana out of the loop for her own protection is its own double-edged sword, and it’s frustrating to see him hide his feelings behind longing looks and stolen touches. I want him to just be open and frank with her, though that should also go both ways. At the same time, this episode showed quite clearly why he might be inclined to keep to the status quo of their friendship, especially if he doesn’t want to risk losing Hana should things not work out between them romantically.

Based on how Hana retreated into herself after their drunken conversation, it’s not hard to see why Won wouldn’t have been the most forthcoming up until now. I wonder if something’s being kept from us regarding that conversation, or if Hana was just so wound up because she’d asked the question and received no answer. And Won’s answer in that moment, or lack of it, would go a long way toward telling us whether he’s purposefully keeping Hana in the dark out of a lack of trust, or whether she’s not recognizing the clues he’s leaving for what they are.

And then there’s So-eun, who brings a different set of complications with her. Setting aside the fact that she’s all but engineered to be unlikable as the interfering second lead, we can’t really say she’s doing that much interfering. (Yet.) Sure, she’s been pushy and emotionally manipulative, but she hasn’t put Won in a situation that he couldn’t get himself out of. Which is to say, he’s a grown man making a conscious decision to be with her, even though he also maybe-sorta-kinda likes Hana and has for seventeen years. Y’know, just the usual baggage.

 
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yoohoo.. the last part.. omooo, i dont want dalpo hyung to be a jerk and bad guy here like in Taiwan version. oh writernim, please change the character, haha.. i cant see him as a jerk, oh noooo.. :P

thanks for the recap :D

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He was a jerk, but omo... what a hunky jerk.

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Thanks for the recap!

The scene of them drunk in the hotel was my favorite part. Very natural, cute, and funny. Seo Hoo (aka Hyung lol) has got me feeling some type of way.... Dammit. I hope the writers don't make him an asshole like the TW version

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eeeppp I couldn't help myself. I finally actually watched an episode instead of just reading the recaps (thanks for the recaps!!) The episode seems sooooo loooonnnggggggg! But zomg Won...you're going to make my heart hurt!! Why has he kept quiet all these years?!? How did they make it this far and have so many missed opportunities? I want to knooowwwww

I don't actually mind So-eun, mostly because it's not like Won is stopping her. She hasn't moved into annoying second lead territory yet for me.

buuuttt....who is this new boy now??!? I can't wait to find out!

But seriously...I cannot wait until these two have some real smooches. I just about died with the dream one.

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These two have proven their worth as on-screen kissers, so they better not have weak-ass, closed-mouthed, stale-as-dead-fish kisses later!

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+1

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+10

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Thanks for the recap! "Easy airhead" is grating on my nerves! Who goes around attaching herself to a guy in such a shameless manner?

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The young'uns, the naive, the thick-skinned, and those with nothing to lose, I guess. In such cases, what counts as shameless is subjective as it depends on the connotation - as they say, everything's fair in love and war!

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Mark Darcy moment, anyone?

One thing I love about this drama is how it's really centered around these two characters. Practically every scene has one or the other or both, and I don't mind it at all. Drama is letting me get to know these characters and not involving them in silly sideplots or whatever.

I do see So-eun being more manipulative as we go on, which is a shame because I was hoping we would divulge from the typical second lead. I guess she's not that typical (no yelling or aggression or slapping or meanness), but she's not the naive, kind of dense but sweet character I hoped she would be.

My favorite thing about this whole show is just the interactions between Hana and Won:
The hotel scene = cute, cute, cute (that Venus pose!).
The conversation on the bed = ermahgerd!
The jjangjangmyeon scene = sweetness overload
The library scenes = a little heartbreaking

Thanks, Heads, for recapping this show! This was my most-anticipated drama this year, so thank you, thank you, for letting me indulge in it!

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Yawn! Something about this show seems to really drag.... Any thoughts on why?

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...because it's going through time? Get it!? The TIME I loved yo..oh, never mind. To each their own I guess.

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:-)

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Hi @Susan
My guess... we've pretty much guessed from a while back how it's going to go. It is playing out as expected. It is competent, well acted and flowing but there is not much change in pace or direction, no exciting tension, nothing unpredictable to look forward too.

I was commenting in the previous episode "Well, ‘hyung’ (Yoon Kyun Sang) has to be the catalyst to get our OTP rowing in unchartered waters…. they’ve been meandering down stream slowly for too long!!!" And this could be the reason for the drag.

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Isn't interesting how everything can go well with a production and it still might not really engage it's audience?!

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I get the same feeling. I start watching an episode, get distracted, and forget it is even running. This is one I will probably end up dropping, will try to finish watching last episode, but so far.. Meh.

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I think I'm in the same camp. I'll probably end up dropping this.

I'm wondering if it's the lead casting that that has me so blase. Both are good actors, but somehow I'm not really all that excited about them getting together.

I had the same boredom problem with Warm and Cozy, but I liked the two leads so much that I eventually finished watching it. So, maybe with TTILY it's both the story - which seems to have no surprises and moves very slowly ala WAC - coupled with an OTP that I'm not all that drawn to.

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I read some interesting takes on So Eun’s character on the previous thread, so will share (re-post) my two cents here as I feel I missed out on the convo, ha!

Normally, with a character like that, I’d say an argument can be made both ways – you either love her, or hate her. But I can see why that might be a tad bit difficult in this version, where for some reason, she’s made to come across as being more manipulative as opposed to naive. That wasn’t the case in the original…

In the original, her character highlighted an age gap which Ha Na had to contend with, the older she got. Her youthful nature and naive optimism served as a great contrast to Ha na’s years of experience and general outlook on life, which changes according to generation.

And whilst the young can be annoying and lack perspective on life due to inexperience or naivety, you can’t blame them for taking advantage of opportunities laid out in front of them. That is the case with both SE and SJ, who take advantage of their youth to take bold steps. It’s one of the things I really enjoyed about the original – the essence of time, and how that translated into all the various characters, be it young or older, and the decisions they are forced to make as a result.

Yes, So Eun may be a little manipulative, but she’s also young, and her perspective on life is made to stand out vastly from both Ha na and Won’s (who belong to the same generation). If anything, her character showcases just how in sync Hana and Won are when it comes to life, and how their shared experiences doesn’t allow for a third party to enter so easily. In that sense, So Eun also comes across as slightly more pathetic if not sympathetic, as she’s of the naive mindset that her ideal vision of love can overcome a friendship of 17 or more years.

It may be frustrating, but she sure ain’t fooling anyone. Mind you, I think that's also a key problem - she was presented as being a lot younger than Won and Ha-na in the orig, making her antics a lot more believable, in that it made you think she’s young and naive, despite being annoying. Here, her character looks older – so her actions don’t quite match up, making her appear a lot more manipulative in the negative sense.

Won may be too nice a guy to decline her advances, but he sure isn’t innocent. Mi Hyang actually gave him very sound advice in not starting something he’s not committed to – so he entered this relationship knowingly. And him providing false hope is a lot more blameworthy than So Eun’s forthright nature. Doesn’t mean I like Won any less, it’s just that, it shows he’s not perfect – exactly how the Taiwanese version depicts him.

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Sorry, though I haven't yet watched this episode, I forgot to mention - thank you very much for recapping the show, HeadsNo2!

It's lovely being able to watch an all time favourite with fresh eyes. So far, I'm really enjoying this remake!

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I think Won is perhaps really trying to get into a relationship with So Eun so as to convince himself not to love Hana ?

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Why do people always touch the sleeping person's eyebrow? It's like the fourth unofficial rule in k-dramas that obligate a character to touch a sleeping person's eyebrow/forehead/nose/lip alongside with wrist grabs (which is usually just one arm but can include both arms, case in point, Who Are You), at least one deer-in-headlights kiss, and a scene in which the two leads narrowly miss seeing each other whilst using the exact same entrance.
Though in this scenario it is Ha Ji Won we're talking about here, so her eyebrows are probably dang irresistible.

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and here I am thinking everyone must have done the same thing I do.... touching the eyebrows or cheeks of a person sleep next to me.
am I the weird one..... *thrown into sudden confusion*
lol.

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I asked my husband if he ever touches me when I sleep LOL! He claims yes, but who knows???? For parent with their children yes, ... for two adults who like each other, I guess??? But I read another lot of comments (during Pinocchio) that had people saying it was not the thing to do. The question was, how we would feel if we are sleeping and this other person (who likes us) touches our face/hair but does not let on that they have done so. I actually don't know :D

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I have been very vocal about that issue in Pinocchio back then, but I've been in the minority. Most people thought that it was rather swoony.

I confess that I do it occasionally with my wife and I don't feel very bad about it (at all). However, it is a very intimate act and, for me, it needs to be grounded in mutual trust and affection. And that was not the case in Pinocchio, and it is not the case here. Their relationship is based on lies and a involuntarily mutual contract of thinly veiled deception.

However, when it comes to physical contact, culture plays a huge part. For example, I noticed that in some cultures, adults are allowed (even expected) to touch the children of strangers they run across, without any explicit consent from the child's parents (let alone the child's). In other cultures, that's a crime.

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The thing you said about, though it is a very far off from the drama topic, I did experience something on it.

Once when I was with my friends as a teenager we saw a cute Caucasian child in a shop with deep blue eyes with long eye lashes, curly blond hair, pink cheeks and lips....a baby that one sees in photos... The child was so cute that all of us at the same time starting fawning over the child and even tried to touch the child when the mother yelled "don't touch my baby!" in a loud booming voice. Everyone started looking at our way. More than being embarrassed, we were really upset and was surprised how could a woman say something like this. Mothers in our part would have been extremely proud and even show off her child when people are fawning over the child's cuteness. Over the years I understood the cultural difference and the Western sensitivity.

Like most Asian people touching others kids in the form of petting their head, pinching their cheeks, even kissing them, etc when we find them cute was considered normal.

I have concluded that it depends on the mentality and awareness because I am assuming towards these region we have lesser sexual crime against children (as reported). When we see children, we see them as cute and cuddly but thanks to the media which is highlighting issues against child abuse, we have come to know that some people may have bad intention. Nowadays mothers this side too have become cautious and also we have become careful in appreciating a stranger's cute child.
This awareness has been a boon and a bane both because the innocent mind has also become corrupt because it makes us think about things we have never thought before. Earlier those people who saw children in an innocent light now are aware that they can be targeted sexually too so I think it has given rise to new crimes against minors esp. done by minors too in recent years. Just an observation on my part...

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"Hana believes love is about compromise and sacrifice, but Won believes it’s about loving the other person just the way they are."
Hana-ah! Wonnie can't be any more revealing!

“The only person who likes me for who I am is you, but you don’t see me as a woman,” Hana confessed. “You’re the one who doesn’t see me as a man,” Won had countered.

My heart ached for Won!!!
I'm not sure if he said anything else to her, but the look he gave her spoke volumes!!! Filled with longing and love. Won-ah!!! My heart goes out to you!

Btw, the bed scene and the Wonnie pillow had me squealing with delight! I want a pillow too! Pun intended.

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I'd hoped that this drama wouldn't go into the usual second lead annoyingness and while it's nowhere near as bad as others I've seen, this episode just went there. However am I the only one that's more annoyed with Won? The dude isn't exactly shutting down her advances either, in fact he's not saying ANYTHING. Why do you not respond when someone just asked if she's your girlfriend? Don't expect me to understand that mysterious half-smile you did, I really don't know whether your smile is supposed to mean a yes or no, Won.

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A very worthy two cents! I had a good feeling about her in the first episode, but now that we're in the fourth episode, I do find her naivete and initial sweetness a bit off. I get that she's optimistic, but I don't know if that bright, sunny optimism is coming across the way it should.

And agree about Won. As much as I love him, I think he should have the awareness as the older, more experienced person in this "relationship" to either reject or accept her affection and not lead her on. He keeps assuring (or lying to) her that Hana is just a friend, like family, which only convinces her even more that he likes her.

I think it's interesting how many conversations we are having on this board about So-eun either way. However we think of her, she's definitely not uninteresting.

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*in response to namedx above in #7*

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"I think it’s interesting how many conversations we are having on this board about So-eun either way. However we think of her, she’s definitely not uninteresting."

For sure! Funny you say that though, because I feel she's a lot more interesting in this version than she was in the original. Having said that, it's obvious that her role in the story isn't there to put a dent in Ha-na and Won's relationship, rather it's used to paint a broader picture, mainly thematically, of love, friendship, and age. At least, that's the way I see it!

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Yeah, I think she's more of a catalyst rather than an obstacle (Hana's ex is filling that role, I believe) to their relationship.

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LOL the 2nd lead female is having more comments about her than the lead female!!!

"As much as I love him, I think he should have the awareness as the older, more experienced person in this “relationship” to either reject or accept her affection and not lead her on. He keeps assuring (or lying to) her that Hana is just a friend, like family, which only convinces her even more that he likes her."
About this... I agree with @crazyahjummafan that just because person A is family does not make person B a girlfriend LOL! where is the logic?

However, he needs to get his head together when dealing with a fast thinker and opportunistic go-getter like So Eun and be very clear whether she is a girlfriend or a friend who happens to be female or not a friend at all. :)

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This is how I see the logic: As So-eun, "I know that the guy I like has this friend that could mean something more to him. But he insists to me that they're just friends, practically family, as if trying to implicitly let me know that A) he is single, and B) there's nothing between them because he doesn't want me to think there's no chance for us."

Take it or leave it!

(And as I type this, I realize that Won's probably assuring himself more than anyone that Hana is just a friend. He's oblivious!)

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That's So-eun's logic. But like you mentioned, he's probably re-assuring himself more than convincing So-eun.

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It's like they are on two different levels. Only instead of taking the stairs or escalator to his level, So-eun simply jumps down.

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There's that part when Ha-na woke up and she said, "It's Won." When she said that, I had these two interpretations inside my head: (1) The literal sense in which, of course, Won's lying beside her on the bed; and (2) The deeper sense of "It's Won"--like realizing that he's what she's been looking for all this time.

Maybe I'm just reading too much into things (lol) but it's kinda cute if that means to be exactly like that ;)

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I think there'll be more to that hotel scene.

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Ooh! I hope so!

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@Jyc

As I mentioned in a comment below, it is totally your (2) interpretation as well as (1). She came to a realization and her behavior after that shows her awareness of a change.

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"Naturally, she asks if he’d drop everything and go to her if she were to call him in the middle of the night like that."

Won takes a moment before he explains that Hana is like family to him. “So you’re saying that Hana Unni is a friend who’s like family, and I’m your girlfriend, right?” When Won doesn’t respond, she adds onto the manipulation by saying she’ll think positively, since that’s a trait he likes about her. Grah, she’s annoying."

I CANNOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE!

Furthermore, she's illogical. Just because Hana is like a family friend doesn't mean that she is his girlfriend! How can she go from A to D, by ignoring B and C?

I'm teaching my students Cause and Effect now, and this is a very good example of what is NOT cause and effect! Think I'm going use it in class!

But all that said, Won, why didn't you say no? Do you think she's just teasing you?

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Lol, I can feel your frustration there *wink
Yepp, So-Eun is annoying (And I blame this to Won as well since he doesn't do anything to make her illogical conclusion right).
You know what, to avoid myself from other frustration, I skip the scene when I have only both of them in it.

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Goshhhhhh - this episode was a squee-fest!! I'm glad we got some squees in since next week will be rough for our precious Won!!

I LOVE the background score/OST of this show. The BGS that plays during the morning after to their awkward ride home was just beautiful! It highlighted Hana's awareness of Won in a romantic light for the first time in the show and the ensuing awkwardness.

While I've come to adore Hana I LOVE Won... like *heart eyes* love for him! My heart hurt for him when he he waited for Hana on the rooftop and thought the reason she hadn't read his text messages was because she was uncomfortable around him. Like, ughhhh!! In the concluding scene as well when he spots her ex and his smile instantaneously drops, his facial expression changes, and his posture brims with tension - nicely portrayed by LJW!!

While I'm all grabby hands for the next episodes I know it won't be easy watching Won playing second fiddle to the ex.

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I must be the only one here that doesn't really mind So Eun. All she's doing is going after a guy that she likes. Yes, she's kinda sticking herself into his life, but who hasn't done something to get closer to their crush. She's asked multiple people multiple times if there's more to the friendship between Won and Ha Na and has always gotten a response in the negative. She's bubbly and fun and keeping Won from being all mopey. As long as she doesn't do a complete 180° turn into Crazytown, she can stick around. It's not her fault that the OTP still can't get their stuff together after almost 2 decades.

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Lol, and here we have the other side of the argument - completely agree with this point too, btw!

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Right? While I understand the other side of the argument, I feel compelled to defend her because I give her props for going after what she wants, unlike some other characters (looking at you with loving eyes, Won). And honestly, when Sung-jae was doing this with Hana, I didn't see a lot of complaints. I thought he was just as intrusive and pushy and manipulative (and his feelings weren't even true!).

There are clear signs that Won probably doesn't like her, but on the flipside there aren't exactly clear signs that he doesn't like her.

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It's true that we didn't complain when SJ did it to Hana. For me it was because I genuinely thought that he liked her as I had not watched the TW version. He was forward and flirty, but not manipulative in the way that SE is. Yes, he knew about Hana's desperate love-life and capitalised on it using his charms, but there are inherent differences.

He was very forward and flirty but in a direct way. He didn't corner her into a decision the way So-eun did with Won. For eg, when he called her Noona, he just did it. When Hana showed surprise, he told that they are not in the office and therefore she is not his team leader and he's not her intern. Which is correct. It was up to Hana whether she was willing to accept it or not and Hana wouldn't appear heartless if she told him not to. In So-eun's case, she made it look like if Won didn't allow her, he was not being nice - after all she had no one to call Unni or Oppa before and he would be doing her a favour if he allowed her. If he didn't, he would appear heartless.

In any case, Hana also used him to make her look better - when she called him to take her home after that dinner with Won and SE and he was fully aware of it.

But in all honesty, some of us were perhaps enamoured with his boyish good looks and dimpled smile to overlook the warning signs, in the way Hana did. And I have to admit that he does know women - just like Hana said.

In that respect, So-eun knows men!

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Why does Won need to get a new room at the hotel when Hana was already staying there earlier?

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He didn't, that's the room she had

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But they showed him at the reception doing some checki-in thingee right? Else they could have gone up to the room directly.

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@prettysup

Good question... maybe she had not taken her room key or wanted a room switch or he was really getting his own room, but ended up being with her instead?

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Also, the sweet way that Won brushed Ha Na's hair off of her face KILLED me. They made great bookends to the episode.

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You know what I find most annoying about this drama is some scenes including dialogue seem lifted directly from In Time With You without changing anything. Then the changes they do make either annoy me, for instance So-eun is not a good trade off for Maggie, or seem to have no point like the invention of Mi-hyang, unless she's supposed to replace Uncle Bai in which case again that's not a good trade. Not to mention the fact I don't think Lee Jin-wook and Ha Ji-won have anywhere near as good a rapport as Arial Lin and Chen Bo Lin had.

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Your problem is that you're comparing. If you watch the drama on its own merit, you'll probably see it differently.

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Actually my real problem is I'm watching In Time With You with my mom at the moment, her first time my 3rd, and that makes it hard not to compare. Sometime in the future, later this year or next year, after mom and I have finished In Time With You and I've given it time to fade from my memory I'll probably come back and give this another chance.

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I know what you mean too. I've just recently finished the original version and hopped straight into watching this one. The original is still fresh on my mind so I can't help but compare either. However, I still like this remake as well. Anything that still does justice (ie follows the original story without changing too much) makes me happy.

Like what I've commented below, I miss the narration though. The "signs of ageing " and "charms of a mature woman" at the beginning and end of each episode respectively was a really nice touch to the drama in the original.

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Oh not to mention the recurring theme of Li Da-ren's (Won) love song that was the OST throughout the drama and became central to the plot later on. At first when I heard that song as the OST inein the drama I had no idea it was his love song until it got explained later on. I felt like everything in the drama tied in nicely.

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@Sajen..
//Not to mention the fact I don’t think Lee Jin-wook and Ha Ji-won have anywhere near as good a rapport as Arial Lin and Chen Bo Lin had.//

I agree with you...I go with Taiwan version. Amazing OTP in TW. I can't see any magic btwn ha ji won and Lee Jin wook.

Moreover, there is some soul in TW version (ariel lin's family(especially her mom....) and Bo lin's family(her arrogant ;-) mom and her block block sister and especially Uncle Boi) everything was perfect and having lot of soul in each and every character..Here so lacking in both families...Seems little disappointed...Let's see...

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I just agree a bit on family relationship. HN seems cold with her mum. But maybe, mother daughter relationship in reality depends on the family itself. Magic? I love LDR and CYQ chemistry. I also find magic in HN and CW chemistry. They are really playful and like to tease each other. Sometime, they can get to serious conversations. At least i get to understand the question if one sees the other as a man and the other way round. When they get together, sometimes CW acts a bit harsh to HN like a guy friend but deep in his heart he loves HN so much as a woman. Well, again, that my point of view.

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@ Sajen
As much as I love the original, i also love this remake. The thing that annoyed me much in the original was LDR manly man act. I tried to make my own imagination that he will bravely confessed to CYQ that he really love her. I guess Maggie was right, everything is the girl' s initiative to make the move. The other one is on CYQ part, is she feel the same as LDR? I got to know some of things that LDR expressed his love without CYQ noticing them.

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Thanks Heads!!

I'm still enjoying the ride and I like the exploration into whether men and women can be friends or go back to being friends after falling in love/breaking up. My personal take on this is that it really depends on individuals and on each couple. I believe that the better the communication between the couple, the more likely they are able to regain something of if not most of their friendship before being romantically involved. (I have heard from a divorcee so at least there is one case??) Whether it can be the same is less likely, since people do not remain exactly the same.

WRT to this show. I'm glad that Ha Na has literally woken up and seen Won with new eyes. Now that she realizes that he is the one she likes, all the obstacles are just going to come raining on them LOL! I loved the funny... the 'bedroom scenes', the meta ref to Gil Ra Im and froth-covered lips ... scenes included to lighten the mood as our OTP start getting more seriously thoughtful about where they are. It was also good that we are given enough to understand what gives Ha Na pause through her friends' Na Young's and Jeong Mi's experiences. At least viewers are not left in the dark to guess only.

WRT to Won, it is more of a puzzle. What would cause him to fight because he likes Ha Na and what outside influence would stop him? This show does not have a birth secret, right? right?? However his nightmare of being punched if he kissed Ha Na is revealing and saddening. Taken together with some unknown other reason, it might be compelling and understandable that Won's fears outweigh the rewards of taking the risk.

And Yoon Kyun Sang - so good to see him again... is he going to be a troublesome second lead? Romantic but irritating, behaving like he's entitled and putting Won down? Probably... but still seeing him again is a bit of a drool-ish experience. LOL!

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I wonder if it's that the other boy - maybe the class iljin - had a crush on her and that made her off-limits or something.

But that doesn't explain why into adulthood, long after leaving school, he couldn't then approach her as a man, unless it was that he didn't want to threaten the precious friendship.

I'm really struggling to figure out WHAT could make it so so not okay for him to have confessed his feelings back then. They stayed friends after all -- really really CLOSE friends -- so gah I don't know!

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A number of people have had problems with seeing HJW being aegyo and girly, partly because of her previous roles. Girly or not, I feel that Hana is just as tough as her other characters. She may not be literally kicking and fighting, but she's still kicking ass only in a different way because her battles are different.

1) It takes A LOT of courage and toughness to attend the wedding of a person who 2-timed you and ended up marrying the other person, who happens to be richer and younger...and they happen to be your colleagues as well. To top it off, you're the object of pity and scorn from your colleagues.

2) Then, at the wedding, your friend, with good intentions, messes up things more, and now the wedding guests are upset with you. You have to go back to work with the same people and hold your head up high. That's tough. But Hana did with pose and dignity. When everyone thought that she would resign, Hana stuck to her guns.

3) She's tough too in that she's professional. I liked the way she handled the difficult shoe customer with her knowledge of shoes. That's so admirable - rather than putting the lady down in a 'clever' way. I believe that in the original version, the female lead handled it in an aggressive way. I feel that Hana's way is much better and more professional. She had to humble herself - take the lady's foot in her hand, use her wits and knowledge to speak to the lady nicely when it would have been easier to just diss the customer.

4) The way she handled Sung Jae's betrayal. WOW! Daebak! I'm reminded about what a beloved Principal whom I've had the privilege of working with, taught me. One of the teachers in the school was dissing her behind her back, even up to the authorities. But that year, he got a promotion. I was very puzzled and asked her about it. Her reply was "I must separate the man from his work." Although the teacher was giving her a hard time, he was actually a good teacher and did his work well. It was just his relationship with the P that was not good. But she saw beyond the personal differences to the work he was doing. And that's what Hana did. She could have used her authority to not get him a job, but she didn't. I'm proud of her! And that takes guts!

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@crazyahjummafan

Yup your comments on Ha Na were what were popping into my head as I watched the last few episodes. I may have mentioned bits and pieces, but you've brought them all together. :)

Ha Na is one character who should really be respected as a 'person' in this show. It is so downplayed and undramatic, but what her character does, goes against the normal in both real and reel life. Basically, after getting hurt over and over, she does not take revenge or get bitter. She takes it in her stride, knowing it will blow over and rather than hide/quit/run which is easier, she stays the course.

She has shown a good thinking head in her dealings with the actress and how she gracefully let her boss take the credit but earned points with her team by getting them the approval for marketing to China. She has been professional where her work calls for it even when she was attracted to Sung Jae. He hit her below the belt by undermining her professionalism by deliberately deceiving her into thinking he really liked her. His words about her are true, she is a better person than he took her for and that realization is the 'best punishment' for people like him.

Now she's in a position where she is aware how her feelings towards Won have changed, at a time when he seems to her to be dating, and to a girl who wants to consider her family too (yes, @Heads, I do think that was patronising) and soon she will find out her ex is back. She will need to decide if she should remain true to her feelings and keep ex away or give in to loneliness and not feel left out by accepting ex's attentions. If there is a 3rd option, it should be.... confess to Won and risk it ALL!!! :)

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It's unfair, really. Ha Ji-won is an actor! Let her play something else for a change! And it's really refreshing for me to see her play a modern-day career woman who can be vulnerable and lets her hair down (literally and figuratively).

As for the aegyo thing, I noticed it only when she was drunk. It wasn't excessive at all to me.

And yes to everything you said about her. She doesn't need to be a carbon copy of the original character. Let her be her own character.

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carbon copy...haha...I like that. Yes, agree with you. If the remake copied the original 100%, I think I don't watch this drama because I already know the story. But, because of some changes and maybe the interpretation of the writer is different so it makes the drama interesting. I love that the writer or the director keep some sweet scenes and dialogues in this drama. If they change everything, it will be a huge disappointment to me.

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I agree totally with what you said about Hana! And I didn't find HJW annoying at all (think I'm pretty objective despite being a fan of hers ;)), despite others' complaints. I think it may just be a bit strange seeing her play a modern day "normal" working woman when she hasn't portrayed one in the projects she's been in in the past few years.

It's nice to see her in a simple love story, hopefully the writers won't swing us around as they did on Secret Garden. Great meta ref there.

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At first I found the aegyo awkward but I got over it eventually. It's a lot more natural now or maybe because I just see her as Hana now and no longer the Ha Ji Won who played badass characters Kim Hang Ah, Ki Sunyang and Gil Ra Im.

And I agree with @crazyahjummafan (Can I just say that I love how you phrase all your comments? You're always able to take the words out of my mouth all the time!), Hana is a pretty strong character despite her girly and cutesy demeanor. She's just as tough as HJW's past characters except she shows it in a subtler, average girl on the street way, without all the grand gestures.

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Totally agree with you.

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"Not to mention the fact I don’t think Lee Jin-wook and Ha Ji-won have anywhere near as good a rapport as Arial Lin and Chen Bo Lin had."

Ah, that's being a little harsh don't you think? I admit, it did seem a little rocky to begin with, but I think they've grown a lot more comfortable in their roles since then. Now, I find them oozing with chemistry, perhaps not in the same way as Bolin and Ariel, but certainly not worse or any less for that matter.

I have to agree with some of the changes you picked up on though, like Maggie's character for instance!! She was a lot more likeable (despite being annoying) in the Taiwanese version. And her presence proved a point in relation to age and experience.

However, Mi-hyang, I don't mind so much. Though I much preferred Da-ren (Won) being stuck in a house with women who had considerable impact on his life whilst growing up - his mother, his sister, and his best friend. It really served a narrative purpose.

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Sorry, the above was in reply to Sajen #18

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namedx ~

I'm currently watching the original and this simultaneously, (usually a no no for me), and I find Maggie to be much more annoying than So-eun. So-eun seems much more mature than Maggie.

Equally ingratiating, So-eun seems more calculating and Maggie seems more like a love sick teen.

I also find Ha Na to be "softer" than You Qing's character.

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Hey John,

Yep Maggie was indeed very annoying in the original, but she wasn't depicted as being manipulative or calculating, as you put it. And If I had to pick from the two, I'd pick the love sick teen lol, cause at least that way, you can get a good laugh out of it.

There were times when both Yo Qing and Da Ren were left rolling their eyeballs (in the orig) at her naivety which was just icing on the cake, because you can see how they both couldn't connect with her on an emotional level.

Ha-na is most definitely softer than Yo Qing's character - but it's a welcome change!

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Admittedly, I was very skeptical about this remake and I still have some reservations. Nonetheless, I'm pleased thus far. The pacing is a bit slow but it fits the drama and subject matter. What makes me nervous is how much story there is to cover but if the original could fit all in 13 extended episodes then 16 should do the trick. I've been considering the original and trying to figure out what will go in each episode.

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This episode left me with the following questions:

Is there a possibility Won can't like Hana because of the pianist?

Are the pianist and Won related?

Thank you for the recap?

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I don't think they are!
I'm not sure if this is a long shot, but CSH took off a watch and a leather looking braided thing before he started his rehearsal. I think I saw Won with a similar looking leather looking braided thing on his wrist in the last scene, where he was waiting for Hana with the food. Maybe they were inseparable hyungs at some point in time? Tho I agree with another commenter who said a bro code reason for won and hana not being together would be kinda lame

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@lemony

Good attention to detail. I completely missed the bracelet. Thanks!

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The pianist is Hana's ex boyfriend, they talked about him in the hotel room

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Ah! I thought they were referring to the ex who cheated on her with the co-worker.

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Saw the pianist taking off the braided bracelet but didn't notice Won wearing any, but the "ex" they mentioned in the hotel room was definitely the pianist. It was the same name. Won obviously didn't think much of him, referring to him as "bast*** / jerk"? I rely on subtitles so I am not sure what term that really was.

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I just finished watching Ep. 4 with subs and, whew, there were quite a few tiny-squeal-worthy moments there. The first three episodes were good enough to keep me interested but made me feel like the chemistry between the leads wasn't quite there yet (not like the gripping chemistry between CYQ and LDR in the original). But with episode 4, I can feel it steadily going into hyper gear. I love the flashback scenes they put at the end of each episode. It lets us see both Hana and Won's perspectives and helps us come full circle with each scene. Looking forward to the weekend! Hopefully they don't come up with some foolish reason as to why Won's been so hesitant the past 17 years. I don't want some bleh birth secret, noble idiocy, or any other typical K-drama trope. Give me something realistic, please.

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I liked the way Hana handled the final situation with Sung Jae. Loved that she was professional and gave him good advice. And that she took out her own dang umbrella!!

I enjoy watching Won+Hana's close relationship scenes. Makes me envious. They really care about each other. They know a lot of things about each other, but then again, they don't know the most important fact of all. Yet... I knew all those happy moments between Won and Hana would be short-lived.... Now the Ex is back.

Oh, and I loveeeeee Ha Ji Won's styling in this drama. Her pretty outfits and accessories! <3

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@Cocoboo

It occurred to me that her having that umbrella all along even as she stood letting the rain fall on her hand, was a nice metaphor that she had learned from the past. She had decided to enjoy what she had rain or shine, she would not depend on another if she could help herself and she had let go of the hurt, and was able to preserved her self-respect and was able to walk away independent and in control. I really liked that umbrella scene (and how she spoke to Sung Jae, so that his respect for her knew no bounds).

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I really like your commentary! And I agree. ^^

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Me too!

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