First I want to give a warning to those that might not know this yet and be curious about it. It’s not a fluffy romance, if you don’t go in expecting that, maybe you will enjoy it more.
Spoilers for eps 01-05
small rant ahead
After a slow and a bit artificial first ep I think drama really found it’s way and I was really enjoying all the characters but ep 5 was confusing. A long time ago a beanie commented on the stupid trope of insta love caused by touch, that really used to be very common in dramaland. I don’t think that cliche is so easy to find lately but I’m thinking that’s what happened in this drama.
Won Jun was very convincing giving all the signs and talking about still liking JinJu, yes he was a bit attracted to Doona, that was there, but it was something superficial. She kisses him and suddenly he likes her? That’s so stupid and completely opposite to this character’s personality.
I noticed other signs. He believes his timing with Jin-ju was off, plus he sees the other guy making moves on her. Missed timing in a relationship is something Won-jun really believes in (more evidence of that comes later). Meanwhile, he decides to live in the moment and roll the dice with his feelings for Doona. That kiss was inevitable, and I didn’t really feel it was contrary to his personality. If anything, I sort of expected it sooner.
What were these other signs? He does know about the other guy but Jin Ju never said she liked this guy and he kept talking about liking her. Don’t get me wrong, I fully expected him to fall for her tricks, he doesn’t have the maturity or experience to avoid that, but I just felt the drama skipped a few events and jumped from one kiss to sudden romantic feelings.
Didn’t we see flash-backs of Jin-ju dumping/ghosting him in their high school days? She never told him why (yet), and it hurt him deeply. He never forgot that, it’s clear from how he acts towards her when their paths cross again. Plus, years have passed, and now when he sees the other guy talking about them being “soulmates”, he realizes his time has passed with her. Remember this trait about Won-jun, as you watch the rest of the show.
Yes, they were very close, after he confessed she hugged him but later ghosted him because she was embarrassed she could not date him. She was wrong to do it and he was very hurt, so their relationship was complicated. I was expecting he would be slower to forgive her but he kept talking and acting as if he had decided to try again with her. Perhaps when that guy said soulmate and Jin Ju didn’t contradict him immediately he was more upset than I imagined and from that moment on his feelings shifted more radically. That can happen. Thanks I had not thought much about that moment.
Maybe superficial was a bit strong but before the kiss she gave him, I would not call them romantic. There was sexual interest, curiosity, a little pity, a kind of friendship, but nothing close to being very romantic and by the end of ep 5 he’s rejecting the girl he said he liked and almost acting like a jealous boyfriend with Doona.
I would call it romance, tho. Even the 2FL noticed something. That’s why she was nervous when she talked to Doo Na. She’s been nervous for a while now, even before the stalker incident.
Maybe because she was in a similar situation? The 2FL was in this “some” relationship with her sunbae but she also liked Won Jun. At the end her feelings for Won Jun were stronger.
In Won Jun’s case he had lingering feelings for her, but he was in this other relationship with Doo Na (at that time friendship?). And later, he decided to give up on his first love. But his relationship with Doo Na continued and it had a strange development (I wouldn’t sleep holding hands with my friend, not even even if a stalker came to their houses).
After that, his focus was on Doo Na. Well, from my perspective he has always been focused on Doo Na even if it wasn’t in a romantic way, but maybe that’s just me.
And I think it makes sense that he got like a “confirmation of his feelings” after physical contact. I think that’s normal? Idk.
While watching Do You Like Brahms, I had a similar question. I didn’t understand why the FL acted like a jealous gf when 1. she wasn’t even dating the guy and 2. she was crying about another guy like seconds ago.
Beanies told me that’s actually normal, so I think that’s what is happening in this situation. I find the flow in this show (Doo Na) more natural tho. Since Won Jun and the 2FL didn’t see each other for a year.
I feel like they just needed closure.
I never even for one moment cared deeply about Won-jun’s motivations in this drama!
He seemed to me a foil for Doona’s emotions. I mean, what does he want in life? Unclear. To live a staid existence perhaps (nothing wrong with that, but it seems like his “default”).
So, I hear what y’all are saying, but for me, I don’t know that he has any strong motivation to love either woman!
How interesting! I’m still on ep 5 but to me he’s been the lead from the beginning! The story might be called Doona but it’s almost entirely about this guy. A nice and sort of naive young guy that meets his old first love and this mysterious, angry, vulnerable girl that fascinates him and makes him want to protect her. Doona is almost a symbol for every classic femme fatale from any noir movie. Her manipulative lines are so classic!
It’s nice to watch him fall in that spider’s web even though she’s probably doing all that in a much more intuitive and unplanned way than those characters I’m talking about here.
I don’t agree that any of his motivations were unclear, quite the opposite. We know everything about him! He is that trustworthy guy that will always run to the rescue of those is need. He feels guilty for things he shouldn’t. He gets embarrassed for being inexperienced sometimes but not so much that it might make him not say what needs to be said, he learns fast.
Meanwhile Doona does very little in the first eps except smoke, be fragile and act strangely. Later we know more about her but not that much, in order to keep the mystery, I suppose, so in ep 5 we still don’t know how much she’s into him or if she even knows or cares if she likes him or not even though he was very honest about that.
I don’t understand the connection between liking someone and life goals, unless they’re planning to get married or something. But maybe your talking about some other kind of motivation? I didn’t understand well, sorry.
I haven’t finished the show yet (episode 5), but for me Won Jun is just a kid that hasn’t figure things out. And that makes sense with his character, imo.
His family depended on his father, so after his death they started to have economical problems. And money is the best beach to destroy a kid’s dreams and motivations.
It becomes about what you “can” do, not about what you “want” to do.
He probably got in college and decided to study something that will help him have financial stability.
He just thinks the best he can do is have an ordinary and stable life. Without having to worry about his sister getting sick and her hospital bills, or his mom breaking her back trying to make enough money for the three of them. That’s his vision at the moment.
He doesn’t complain or cry, and we don’t see flashbacks to understand how sad his situation is (because this isn’t that type of drama), they just show him living his life. I think that makes it more realistic, too.
@enriquequierecagar No, it’s not that I don’t think that Won-jun’s lack of personal experience includes or excludes him from liking someone. I was just responding to @lixie‘s focus on Won-jun as the central focus of their attention.
I simply found Doona a far more interesting and deep character–I found her interesting pretty much immediately, but also felt she gets more complicated by the end…although the last 60 minutes or so become confusing for everyone 😉
Yes, but Jin Ju knows she did something awful and she still liked him so she’s got plenty of reason to feel anxious about a pretty and flirty girl downstairs. She’s got too much pride or vanity and that’s her main issue, it stopped her from doing the right thing in the past and in the present it made her fail to correct her sunbae when he said soulmates. I’m much more willing to accept the change in Won Jun after that conversation, it’s as if the kiss was a factor but not the major reason.
I do think the kiss had power, it helped him understand his feelings better. He asked Doo Na to not do that again, because he felt butterflies and he doesn’t want to that from a meaningless kiss.
It’s not that he liked Doo Na because of the kiss, he liked the kiss because he likes Doo Na.
Lixie
October 22, 2023 at 2:59 PM
Doona! ep 5
First I want to give a warning to those that might not know this yet and be curious about it. It’s not a fluffy romance, if you don’t go in expecting that, maybe you will enjoy it more.
Spoilers for eps 01-05
small rant ahead
After a slow and a bit artificial first ep I think drama really found it’s way and I was really enjoying all the characters but ep 5 was confusing. A long time ago a beanie commented on the stupid trope of insta love caused by touch, that really used to be very common in dramaland. I don’t think that cliche is so easy to find lately but I’m thinking that’s what happened in this drama.
Won Jun was very convincing giving all the signs and talking about still liking JinJu, yes he was a bit attracted to Doona, that was there, but it was something superficial. She kisses him and suddenly he likes her? That’s so stupid and completely opposite to this character’s personality.
Ghost of Tim (eccentric observations from a male perspective)
October 22, 2023 at 3:34 PM
I noticed other signs. He believes his timing with Jin-ju was off, plus he sees the other guy making moves on her. Missed timing in a relationship is something Won-jun really believes in (more evidence of that comes later). Meanwhile, he decides to live in the moment and roll the dice with his feelings for Doona. That kiss was inevitable, and I didn’t really feel it was contrary to his personality. If anything, I sort of expected it sooner.
Lixie
October 22, 2023 at 6:18 PM
What were these other signs? He does know about the other guy but Jin Ju never said she liked this guy and he kept talking about liking her. Don’t get me wrong, I fully expected him to fall for her tricks, he doesn’t have the maturity or experience to avoid that, but I just felt the drama skipped a few events and jumped from one kiss to sudden romantic feelings.
Ghost of Tim (eccentric observations from a male perspective)
October 22, 2023 at 6:29 PM
Didn’t we see flash-backs of Jin-ju dumping/ghosting him in their high school days? She never told him why (yet), and it hurt him deeply. He never forgot that, it’s clear from how he acts towards her when their paths cross again. Plus, years have passed, and now when he sees the other guy talking about them being “soulmates”, he realizes his time has passed with her. Remember this trait about Won-jun, as you watch the rest of the show.
Lixie
October 22, 2023 at 8:04 PM
Yes, they were very close, after he confessed she hugged him but later ghosted him because she was embarrassed she could not date him. She was wrong to do it and he was very hurt, so their relationship was complicated. I was expecting he would be slower to forgive her but he kept talking and acting as if he had decided to try again with her. Perhaps when that guy said soulmate and Jin Ju didn’t contradict him immediately he was more upset than I imagined and from that moment on his feelings shifted more radically. That can happen. Thanks I had not thought much about that moment.
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
October 22, 2023 at 4:28 PM
I don’t think his feelings for Doo Na are superficial. I started feeling the development of their relationship in episodes 4 and 5.
Lixie
October 22, 2023 at 6:23 PM
Maybe superficial was a bit strong but before the kiss she gave him, I would not call them romantic. There was sexual interest, curiosity, a little pity, a kind of friendship, but nothing close to being very romantic and by the end of ep 5 he’s rejecting the girl he said he liked and almost acting like a jealous boyfriend with Doona.
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
October 22, 2023 at 8:04 PM
I would call it romance, tho. Even the 2FL noticed something. That’s why she was nervous when she talked to Doo Na. She’s been nervous for a while now, even before the stalker incident.
Maybe because she was in a similar situation? The 2FL was in this “some” relationship with her sunbae but she also liked Won Jun. At the end her feelings for Won Jun were stronger.
In Won Jun’s case he had lingering feelings for her, but he was in this other relationship with Doo Na (at that time friendship?). And later, he decided to give up on his first love. But his relationship with Doo Na continued and it had a strange development (I wouldn’t sleep holding hands with my friend, not even even if a stalker came to their houses).
After that, his focus was on Doo Na. Well, from my perspective he has always been focused on Doo Na even if it wasn’t in a romantic way, but maybe that’s just me.
And I think it makes sense that he got like a “confirmation of his feelings” after physical contact. I think that’s normal? Idk.
While watching Do You Like Brahms, I had a similar question. I didn’t understand why the FL acted like a jealous gf when 1. she wasn’t even dating the guy and 2. she was crying about another guy like seconds ago.
Beanies told me that’s actually normal, so I think that’s what is happening in this situation. I find the flow in this show (Doo Na) more natural tho. Since Won Jun and the 2FL didn’t see each other for a year.
I feel like they just needed closure.
Seon-ha
October 23, 2023 at 7:09 AM
I never even for one moment cared deeply about Won-jun’s motivations in this drama!
He seemed to me a foil for Doona’s emotions. I mean, what does he want in life? Unclear. To live a staid existence perhaps (nothing wrong with that, but it seems like his “default”).
So, I hear what y’all are saying, but for me, I don’t know that he has any strong motivation to love either woman!
Lixie
October 23, 2023 at 7:32 AM
How interesting! I’m still on ep 5 but to me he’s been the lead from the beginning! The story might be called Doona but it’s almost entirely about this guy. A nice and sort of naive young guy that meets his old first love and this mysterious, angry, vulnerable girl that fascinates him and makes him want to protect her. Doona is almost a symbol for every classic femme fatale from any noir movie. Her manipulative lines are so classic!
It’s nice to watch him fall in that spider’s web even though she’s probably doing all that in a much more intuitive and unplanned way than those characters I’m talking about here.
I don’t agree that any of his motivations were unclear, quite the opposite. We know everything about him! He is that trustworthy guy that will always run to the rescue of those is need. He feels guilty for things he shouldn’t. He gets embarrassed for being inexperienced sometimes but not so much that it might make him not say what needs to be said, he learns fast.
Meanwhile Doona does very little in the first eps except smoke, be fragile and act strangely. Later we know more about her but not that much, in order to keep the mystery, I suppose, so in ep 5 we still don’t know how much she’s into him or if she even knows or cares if she likes him or not even though he was very honest about that.
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
October 23, 2023 at 11:46 AM
I don’t understand the connection between liking someone and life goals, unless they’re planning to get married or something. But maybe your talking about some other kind of motivation? I didn’t understand well, sorry.
I haven’t finished the show yet (episode 5), but for me Won Jun is just a kid that hasn’t figure things out. And that makes sense with his character, imo.
His family depended on his father, so after his death they started to have economical problems. And money is the best beach to destroy a kid’s dreams and motivations.
It becomes about what you “can” do, not about what you “want” to do.
He probably got in college and decided to study something that will help him have financial stability.
He just thinks the best he can do is have an ordinary and stable life. Without having to worry about his sister getting sick and her hospital bills, or his mom breaking her back trying to make enough money for the three of them. That’s his vision at the moment.
He doesn’t complain or cry, and we don’t see flashbacks to understand how sad his situation is (because this isn’t that type of drama), they just show him living his life. I think that makes it more realistic, too.
Seon-ha
October 23, 2023 at 11:55 AM
@enriquequierecagar No, it’s not that I don’t think that Won-jun’s lack of personal experience includes or excludes him from liking someone. I was just responding to @lixie‘s focus on Won-jun as the central focus of their attention.
I simply found Doona a far more interesting and deep character–I found her interesting pretty much immediately, but also felt she gets more complicated by the end…although the last 60 minutes or so become confusing for everyone 😉
You all enjoy Won-jun to your heart’s content!!
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
October 23, 2023 at 1:40 PM
Ahhhhh. I get it.
Feel ya, Doo Na is a nice character. I really like her.
Lixie
October 23, 2023 at 7:19 AM
Yes, but Jin Ju knows she did something awful and she still liked him so she’s got plenty of reason to feel anxious about a pretty and flirty girl downstairs. She’s got too much pride or vanity and that’s her main issue, it stopped her from doing the right thing in the past and in the present it made her fail to correct her sunbae when he said soulmates. I’m much more willing to accept the change in Won Jun after that conversation, it’s as if the kiss was a factor but not the major reason.
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
October 23, 2023 at 11:19 AM
I do think the kiss had power, it helped him understand his feelings better. He asked Doo Na to not do that again, because he felt butterflies and he doesn’t want to that from a meaningless kiss.
It’s not that he liked Doo Na because of the kiss, he liked the kiss because he likes Doo Na.
Seon-ha
October 23, 2023 at 11:56 AM
It was also cute the way she pushed him back up onto that counter. I don’t usually like “reversals” like that, but this one was pretty cute.