We’ve got to hear from Choi Woong’s perspective on what life was like for him post break-up and post reunion, but there’s another side of the story that has remained in the shadows. Ji-woong steps in to explain his relationships with Choi Woong and Yeon-soo and what they both meant to him. What is his role in all of this?
Our Beloved Summer Episode 5: A Secret That Can’t Be Told
At the Soen Shop opening party, Choi Woong confronts Yeon-soo about the collaboration. Was she aware that Nu-Ah would also be working with him for the live drawing show? Yeon-soo remains confused and flustered at Choi Woong’s questions and she grows concerned when he marches out of the building. Ji-woong stands not too far away and observes the intense confrontation between Yeon-soo and Choi Woong.
Ji-woong revisits his childhood memories with Choi Woong and explains how it all started. Choi Woong was often a lonely boy who never really received special attention from his parents for they were too busy with the restaurant. Meanwhile, Ji-woong lived an unfortunate life from a very young age. He often came home from school without any food and also lived a very lonely life. But maybe it was this commonality of feeling lonely that bonded the two. They became friends because they could relate to each other. They were no longer lonely because they had each other.
What originally started off as hanging out in front of the restaurant or at Ji-woong’s house eventually transformed into eating together with Mom and Dad, sharing lunch boxes with each other, and eating together at the restaurant. Choi Woong always shared everything with Ji-woong. He shared his food and his time and his family. Thanks to him, Ji-woong was able to experience happiness in life.
But there’s always a third character in times like these and that third character was none other than Yeon-soo. Ji-woong first interacted with Yeon-soo on the day of the high school entrance ceremony. He handed her a hair tie which she thanked him for and that was it. But Ji-woong recalled just how effortlessly beautiful she looked, but of course, he wasn’t the main character. This is the life of a second male lead with unrequited love for the female lead. To this day, he remains second to Choi Woong.
Ji-woong chases after Choi Woong at the party while Yeon-soo has a talk with Mr. Jang about the live drawing show. Why didn’t she tell him about Nu-Ah also participating in the project? Mr. Jang believed it’ll be a great opportunity for publicity. Yeon-soo disagrees and she urges Mr. Jang to apologize to Choi Woong for misleading him and disrespecting him. She makes her stance on the situation clear and adds that she’ll take care of the rest of the project. Unlike him, she’s empathetic.
Ji-woong checks in on Choi Woong on the ride home together. He recalls how Choi Woong used to be calm and quiet until he met Yeon-soo. He didn’t really feel any way about anything unless it was related to Yeon-soo. Whether it was the grand day when he and Yeon-soo became a couple or the day when she broke up with him during their amusement date park, Choi Woong let Yeon-soo affect his emotions completely. Things doesn’t seem to have changed much even in the present.
Yeon-soo arrives home after the party and finds Grandma waiting for her in the living room. When asked about the party, Yeon-soo suddenly remembers about Choi Woong and she quickly switches the subject to Grandma. Grandma’s friend hasn’t been coming around as much anymore, but Grandma brushes it off as no big deal. Yeon-soo tells Grandma to get along with her friend.
… just like how Yeon-soo used to get along with Choi Woong when they were still a couple in college. There was one day in particular where Choi Woong approached Yeon-soo and strongly suggested that she apologize to him. Just say the two words. How hard can it be? If she did something wrong, she should apologize for it. It takes a few seconds of silence and intense stares for Yeon-soo to voice the words “I’m sorry.” Of course, she lets out a whisper at first and then shouts it out the second time so Choi Woong can hear it loud and clear. Choi Woong is glad to hear the words exit from Yeon-soo’s mouth. It’s not so much because he wanted to be proven right, but because he wanted Yeon-soo to say it and know that it’s ok to say such words to him. No matter what, he will always come back to her.
Yeon-soo can’t help but think about Choi Woong. She assumes he must be angry. Choi Woong re-centers himself by drawing in his studio that night. The next day, Yeon-soo gets ready to meet with Choi Woong for a professional matter: the apology. The documentary team follows her around, but Yeon-soo changes her mind when she’s unable to get in contact with Choi Woong. He doesn’t pick up her calls, lol. Choi Woong is busy filming for the documentary as well, but of course, he’s not alone. Eun-ho is there and he’s not so happy at the news of Choi Woong attending a party without him.
Eun-ho also updates Choi Woong on his response to the Nu-Ah participation in the Soen Shop project. Although he initially rejected the idea at first, there’s nothing much they can do about it now. But wait, they can take also advantage of this opportunity to humiliate Nu-Ah. Choi Woong should use it to prove exactly why he’s the better artist. He can also use the documentary as a way to show his more professional and artistic side.
So with that, Choi Woong heads to a museum and pretends to be someone who he’s not. So much for trying not to be be pretentious. Haha. While Eun-ho steps away to grab some batteries for the camera, Ji-woong checks in with Choi Woong about Yeon-soo. He suggests that Choi Woong meet with Yeon-soo to apologize, but Choi Woong mentions that he’ll take care of things on his own. Ji-woong remains blunt and interested in Choi Woong’s relationship with Yeon-soo. It’s a bit new for him as well as he wasn’t expecting to say all of this, but he does anyways. He accuses Choi Woong of being angry at Yeon-soo for what she’s done to him in the past, not because he was actually upset about the Soen Shop collaboration. It’s obvious that Choi Woong still has feelings for Yeon-soo. Choi Woong is surprised at Ji-woong’s abrupt comments and looks over at him in disbelief.
On her day off of work, Yeon-soo spends time with Sol-yi at her restaurant and helps her best friend in exchange for some fresh octopus. Of course, since the documentary crew is there too, Sol-yi steals the spotlight to tell her personal story for the camera. Chae-ran has to bring the topic back to Choi Woong and Sol-yi’s connection with the artist, but Yeon-soo interrupts the shooting. Anything related to Choi Woong? Cut!
Choi Woong receives a call to visit NJ to film a special video for one of their shows. He explains the instructions to her, but NJ is occupied with something else. She recalls how she first met Ji-woong and rambles on about what it was like for her back then and what she remembered about Ji-woong during that time. Ji-woong isn’t as interested as he would rather much get to filming, but NJ seems interested in his work. She’s curious as to what other projects he’s working on.
The large group reservation that was made at Sol-yi’s restaurant is cancelled and she’s stressed. The restaurant is empty once again so they try to pull some strings to get people to show up at the restaurant. Chae-ran gives Ji-woong a call only to find Choi Woong and Eun-ho arrive at the restaurant a few minutes later. Waaaait, what happened? They’re shocked to see one another, especially Choi Woong and Yeon-soo. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
The two have no choice but to play along. They sit behind at a table together while Eun-ho is interviewed for the documentary. He talks about how he first met Choi Woong and pretty much praises himself for becoming Choi Woong’s manager, lol. Eventually, he exits to use the restroom so the camera zooms in on the table with Choi Woong and Yeon-soo. Things are awkward (once again) especially with the confrontation at the party from the night before so Yeon-soo gathers her thoughts. Maybe she should apologize to him first. But just as she gets ready to say the words, Choi Woong gets to it first. He apologizes for his actions and words from the night before.
He understands that it wasn’t Yeon-soo’s fault so she doesn’t have to apologize. And if she’s worried about the Soen Shop project, he’ll do it. Even if Nu-Ah is participating. There’s no reason for him not to. And Choi Woong’s already met with Mr. Jang to discuss these matters so she doesn’t need to worry. But Yeon-soo is worried. She follows up with a ton of questions about the meeting, but Choi Woong remains cold and nonchalant. He took care of it. Yeon-soo can’t help but notice how distant Choi Woong feels. It’s as if he’s a stranger (omg I’m gonna cry). Things seem to be going well compared to where they were last night, but why does she feel weird about everything? Why does she feel like something’s out of place?
Ji-woong has a conversation with Mr. Park back at the office. How does he feel about the documentary so far? Has he been enjoying it? Ji-woong doubts whether he should have taken the job as producer or not. The two are reminded of their first interaction back in high school when Mr. Park was the producer for the high school documentary with Yeon-soo and Choi Woong. Mr. Park had only good reasons to explain why he enjoyed being a producer. It made him grateful for his life. That was the reason as to why Ji-woong chose to eventually become a producer. Even if things aren’t fun at the moment, that’s not to say that it won’t be in the future. Mr. Park is sure of it.
Sol-yi and Eun-ho join Yeon-soo and Choi Woong at their table only to exit a few seconds later. Things get awkward and uncomfortable every time they accidentally slip out comments about the break-up so they decide to just give it up altogether and leave the restaurant. Yeon-soo and Choi Woong are left at their table alone again so they proceed with the documentary shooting. Yeon-soo can’t seem to quite figure out Choi Woong’s strange behavior. She doesn’t seem to quite understand him. After the documentary shooting, Choi Woong steps outside for some fresh air. He doesn’t look so happy and the stress gets to him 😦
The live drawing show is approaching and Choi Woong is going to take on the challenge of drawing and working for 100 hours in five days. He’ll finish the rest of the drawing at the live show. Yeon-soo listens in on her team chat about Choi Woong’s work process and she grows concerned for him. But the work doesn’t stop. The grand day is almost here and Yeon-soo and her team work on the fine details and logistics for the event. Choi Woong puts on his Go-oh hat and gets to work with his drawing as well. Of course, all of this is captured on camera for the documentary.
Things seem to be going well for everyone else. Dad is still busy filming his promotional video for his restaurant while Sol-yi’s restaurant is also booming with customers. Choi Woong stops every once in a while to take a break from work, but he resumes just as quickly afterwards. The grind doesn’t stop for him just yet. Yeon-soo’s mind leads her back to Choi Woong and she comes close to contacting him one night, but she stops herself from going through with it. She respects his time and doesn’t want to interrupt him.
It’s the day before the big day. D-1. 1 more night. Before getting off of work, Yeon-soo calls Ji-woong to check up on Choi Woong. Ji-woong reassures Yeon-soo that Choi Woong is okay and will survive just fine. There’s no need to worry. This is just how he is when he’s super focused on work. That night, Yeon-soo debates as to whether or not she should contact him. Even though she stays true to her character and acts nonchalant about the situation, she somehow ends up in front of his house. LOL.
It’s for work purposes she convinces herself. She’s checking in with him because she has to make sure he’s fine for the big event the next day. So with that, Yeon-soo gathers her courage and appears in front of Choi Woong at his front door steps. When the two finally see each other again after what was a long work week, Yeon-soo quickly makes excuses for showing up at his house. Again, Yeon-soo goes with the work related excuse and hands him some jujube tea that she brewed to help him hopefully sleep better. Choi Woong’s eyes look soulless and he’s exhausted. He worked for 95 hours. Yeon-soo is impressed and proud of Choi Woong for his hard work and comes close to complimenting him only to stop herself at the last second. She reminds herself to stay professional and bids farewell with Choi Woong for the night.
But not so fast. Choi Woong appreciates the tea, but he appreciates Yeon-soo even more. He tugs at her arm and asks if she’d like to sleep over at his place. The two stare at each other and Yeon-soo is uncertain as to how to feel or respond.
Epilogue
In his meeting with Mr. Jang, Choi Woong agrees to do the collaboration with Soen Shop. He was on edge the night before at the party and he didn’t intend to act that way or hurt anyone’s feelings. But Mr. Jang points out that it was Yeon-soo who he directed his anger towards, not him. As long as the two don’t let their personal feelings get in the way of the project, everything should go according to plan. Oh, and Choi Woong doesn’t have to worry. Mr. Jang only likes Yeon-soo as a business partner, not in the romantic sense. It’s obvious to everyone that Choi Woong still has feelings for Yeon-soo and isn’t over her just yet. Meanwhile, Ji-woong stays behind at the office to continue editing. He watches the new clips from the party and gets to work.
My Thoughts:
Man, this episode was another really good one. I think one of the most refreshing and interesting takes was the way that this episode was essentially told from Ji-woong’s perspective. We got to learn more about him and hear his side of the story and the role he played in all of this. Where did he stand in this push-and-pull between Yeon-soo and Choi Woong? I also liked that the drama switched things up by adding in Ji-woong’s perspective. Although the episodes leading up to this one got progressively better, there were concerns that it could have gotten stale and repetitive. What new takes could the drama had given us in episode 5? However, the drama made sure to keep the drama afloat by throwing in Ji-woong’s point of view and I loved that. Good choice by the drama to try something different while still providing us with context and insight on Yeon-soo and Choi Woong’s complicated relationship.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to hear from Ji-woong’s perspective at all. That’s why I was a bit surprised when the drama went with that direction in this episode. I also wasn’t expecting the huge leaps from Yeon-soo in this episode. I remembered watching this episode the first time around and just completely being impressed and in love with the scene between Choi Woong and Yeon-soo at Sol-yi’s restaurant. I loved just how conflicted and confused she felt when Choi Woong wasn’t like his usual self. I loved how she was worried about him. I loved how she felt as if he was a stranger to her, how he was distant from her. Her personality doesn’t allow her to express these thoughts out loud, but there’s a whole battle going on inside of her mind. She notices it and she’s hurt by it. She’s worried that he’s not okay, but she’s also worried that their relationship took a turn for the worse. Yeon-soo does care and she cares deeply. We all know by now that even if she doesn’t necessarily show it, she feels it. I felt for Yeon-soo during that scene when she was having a hard time figuring out Choi Woong and his strange behavior. She doesn’t want to lose him – not this time around.
I also sensed some growth and development from Yeon-soo in that scene. It wasn’t just the way she cared for Choi Woong and was worried about him, but also in the way that she was preparing to apologize — something that she had a hard time doing in the past with Choi Woong. Unlike before, she was ready to do it in that moment. She learned her lesson the hard way and was going to sincerely apologize to Choi Woong. A part of it is out of professionalism, but I also want to believe a part of it is because she cared about Choi Woong. Maybe an apology could fix things just like how it did in the past when they were lovers in college. Yeon-soo can no longer stay as quiet and hidden about her feelings and soft spot for Choi Woong. There’s only so much she can do and only so much time until she lets it all out.
Another highlight from this episode definitely has to be the ending of this episode. Now that I keep talking about Yeon-soo, I’ve come to realize that she really was the highlight of this episode. I get that the episode was mainly Ji-woong’s time to shine, but Yeon-soo was so endearing throughout. I felt so proud of her; I felt like she really stepped it up. I felt like we only got to see Choi Woong pine after Yeon-soo for the longest time because Yeon-soo’s nonchalant personality didn’t necessarily allow us to see her differently when with him otherwise. But once again, I loved seeing these new sides of her. How many times was she tempted to contact Choi Woong out of concern and care? Or the way she finally gave in and called Ji-woong for updates because she didn’t want to disturb Choi Woong at work? Or the way she not only physically ended up at his house at the end, but also made him some tea because she knew he had a hard time getting sleep. YEON-SOOOOO. You are so lovable.
All it took was some distance from Choi Woong that got her to rethink everything and finally make some moves. It’s better late than never, but it’s little actions like these that will prove to Choi Woong that his efforts did not go to waste. Just like how he’s doing things out of his comfort zone, she too is reciprocating the same effort. Things had gotten hard for Choi Woong and I don’t think he was going to give up on Yeon-soo per se, but he needed some distance away from her to reevaluate himself. When he pushed himself away, Yeon-soo pulled herself closer to him. She was so used to him chasing after her that she did the chasing this time when he stopped momentarily. Yeon-soo was so adorable in this episode and I loved watching her grow, push her pride to the side, and own up to her mistakes and feelings. Even if she claims it’s all for work purposes, it’s really not. She’s doing these things out of care and love for Choi Woong.
Of course, Ji-woong had to be the typical second male lead with feelings for Yeon-soo. It doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise for me, but I do wonder if the drama is going to go anywhere with it. I’m really hoping it doesn’t because I fully enjoy just watching Yeon-soo and Choi Woong sort their issues out. I don’t think it’s necessary to have external factors affect and impact the way the two former lovers make up with each other. I liked that up until episode 5, Ji-woong was mainly just an observer. That he was the producer trying to ring Choi Woong and Yeon-soo back together. I hope things stay this way and that Yeon-soo and Choi Woong figure things out with each other. No outside noise, no outside influence, no distractions. Just Yeon-soo and Choi Woong alone. A second chance at forgiveness, a second chance at love, a second chance at an even better and more successful documentary.
MaryMeKpop 