In Korean dating culture, a man’s protection is directly tied to a woman’s view of her security in love. When JW states that he has nightmares about not being able to protect her because he is deaf, she severs that traditional way of thinking about protection = love. ME continues to be the mover in the couple relationship when she said she does not need his protection when she loves him. This is a refreshing change from normal story telling.

ME’s parents are having a hard time separating the traditional way of thinking about marriage candidates for ME when they met JW. But there may be hope for change. Taeho joining JW’s deaf art class was another example of breaking the stereotype of hearing disability and normalcy. This class really shows a real life report card. the four A’s in any student needs: acknowledgement, acceptance, admiration and affection.

It was a tough scene when Ki-Hyun talks to his wife about his daughter’s health condition. Even though he is aware a deaf person can have a normal life with a loving family, KH knows about the discrimination from his friendship with JW.

SK’s relationship with Artist Kwon was another crumb of a larger backstory that leaves us to wonder: did SK have an engagement with Kwon that she broke off by leaving for America? Did SK only return to South Korea to be with her first love, JW? In the second episode, there is a feeling that KS returned to apologize for abandoning JW, to leave him alone for 7 years. There is a hint that there was a scandal (college art plagiarism?) that JW took hard; and SK left for America to become a well known art director. I still think she came back for closure and not to entangle herself in his personal life. Artist Kwon still seems to be bitter about their college days. (I looked up the term DINO in Korean dictionary to see if it had any special meaning. It is short for “dinosaur,” perhaps how JW really sees himself in the world.)

The story is slowly moving toward both ME and JW advancing their professional careers at the cost of time together with the possible pitfalls of busy schedules and new obligations that strains any relationship, public or private. But so far we see a couple really communicating and sorting through issues. It is refreshing.

1. I'm glad her parents were so nice, and it was sweet that they tried their best to not upset Mo Eun. Such loving parents. I feel like this is the perfect family to "adopt" Jin Woo. They can give him all the love his biological parents couldn't give him.

2. Mo Eun said the "L" word. I was scared it was only bad subtitles, but no. I googled it. She did say "the person I love". I love this woman, she's gave me so much comfort this week. "You don't have to protect me".

3. My girl Seo Kyung... I don't know who that guy is, why he acts like she owes him something, but I hope that's it. I hope she solves wtv she needs to solve fast. I don't want him to do anything bad to her or Jin Woo in the future.

4. I love that we have a new student in Jin Woo's class, and I love how when he said that he wanted a quiet place, not only the other kids, but I also thought "this isn't it. They talk A LOT". Hahaha. I love the new dynamic in the classroom and what it represents.

I also liked that Jin Woo told the student about how the misunderstanding wasn't completely a misunderstanding. Jin Woo felt that something was wrong from the beginning, even if he didn't actually hear what the other kids said.

5. "It may sound rude, but I'm actually kind of jealous. Having your ears open all the time, it can be painful. I'm not grateful of every moment I hear. Not being able to hear is not so bad sometimes. Some words leave deeper scars than the ones you get from not being able to hear."

This quote broke me. I understand it too well.

I love all those intimate moments between our couple, and I hope Mo-Euns insecurities (which I can fully understand) will be healed quickly.
What I also love very much about this drama is how it builts up expectations of the usual things going the tropey line of awry but then taking out the tension quietly, like in the situation with Mo-Eun's parents. I think we all thought for a moment that her Dad will oppose her choice actively, but then he doesn't and he was actually quite friendly and her Mom is questioning herself and not her daughter.
It's a nice reminder of what we're capable of when we know only parts of a story and make up the rest; when we finally learn the truth it can be surprisingly uneventful.
I'm not sure how the artist from the center fits into all of this. Did Seokyung have an affair with him while being in a relationship with Jin Woo? Or is it purely professional jealousy? Or something completely different (and will the air be let out of this very quietly, too and all the excitement vanish)?
I'm conflicted about Seokyung and not really sure how to feel about her. I don't get any remotely "villainy" vibes from her but until now it's hard to understand why she came back, and why she is so adamant to insert herself into Jin Woo's life when he clearly got along fine on his own (well, more or less, but bottom line is: he doesn't need *her* to change his life). And she seems to be genuinely surprised or irritated that there is another woman in his life (meaning, not her). Did she really expect after all these years that he would be there for her taking without any changes? Or am I completely misunderstanding or misinterpreting?
I love how our couple grows so much comfortable in their behaviour towards each other, and that they can tease and trust each other and hopefully tell each other everything.

Just ❤️.

I'm really in love with how natural and realistic these plot points are too - like with the parents, it was understandable that they were a bit shocked but it was a refreshing change of pace to have them not want to push it further with Moeun and just to talk through their feelings in private.

This drama has very much become my happy place and I love the softness and calmness it brings. I think you said it in an earlier recap @dramaddictally, that this drama is very much something that makes you feel deeply more than think, and I couldn't agree more. There's so much I love about it, but I love the way it makes my head go quiet the most.

I really love Seo-kyung!

She's such an interesting character. I like how professional she is and how she reminds her employees to be professional too.

I want her to be happy without the past haunting her.

The last scene was very powerful.

Usually, the great drama always get less hype. And this is one of them.
To watch JWS in melodrama here is such a great pleasure for me. Their wording in silent ambient truly a golden treat. Much love for this drama, and sincerely hope for its best finale.

Still really enjoying this show a lot. I've been thinking of why I like this show so much, and of course there are multiple reasons--e.g. all the acting is top notch. But another reason is that it's one of the few shows where there is no real villain. Everyone is realistically complicated; and while everyone has (had) to make tough decisions, there are no malicious actions taken or conflict-producing actions taken simply as a plot device. So even without an obvious good vs. bad tension, the show has kept my interest and made me care about the characters. It's refreshing to have a past love who is not a villain, it's refreshing to have parents who, while the struggle is real, aren't crazily opposed to their daughter dating a deaf man.

I am enjoying the different elements of the drama watching the changes in the relationships being done in a realistic way. It reminds me of dramas like Would you like a cup of coffee? And Twelve night which may be because the original story was made so many years ago.

I love the students negotiating how to integrate the newbie ‘just smile’🤣 In the midst of the calm teacher they are so lively and bring him out of himself.

I am enjoying the way this drama flows back and forth in the story telling. Seeing the two orphans growing up together like brothers is lovely to watch and it’s great their strong bond continued into adulthood. They have kept the closeness even though one is married with a child and the other single.

I'm very sorry to be so late. Catching up with this gorgeous drama. At first I wasn't that happy with the two actors picked for the main leads, but they have slowly grown on me. This drama has the most perfect quiet moments. One of the best OST ever (I can clearly see sll the ties to Our Beloves Summer) and surley the best written male friendship in all dramaland. This drama makes me happy! <3