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Gyeom has to work his way back into Moo-bi’s heart and it’s much harder this time around. He has to gain her trust. He has to prove that things will be different this time. He has to prove that his feelings for her are still as genuine as they were five years ago. Just how will Gyeom go about it and will it make any difference?

Melo Movie Episode 5: No One Can Prepare You for the Love and Fear

Moo-bi always knew Gyeom was kind of weird. We rewind back to five years ago when they were on set together for Director Ma’s movie. Whether it was helping her carry props to secretly stuffing some snacks into her coat to switching seats with her on the bus so that she could sit in quiet and peace, Gyeom had his own ways of caring for Moo-bi. Or maybe it was Moo-bi who was the weird one and not Gyeom. One night while carrying some movie props on set, she discovered that filming was cancelled due to the snow and that the crew had left her behind. Well, everyone except for Gyeom who had been waiting for her the entire time. So why? Why did he wait for her? Gyeom confesses that he did it because he likes her. Isn’t he allowed to like her? At that time, Moo-bi was moved by Gyeom’s confession. But when he confesses to her a second time five years later, she rejects his feelings. It’d be absurd for her to go through this all over again.. right?

Gyeom confides in his brother about his situation. They stand out in the front yard and stare across the street at Moo-bi’s house. Gyeom’s concerned that Moo-bi doesn’t like him. It also doesn’t help when Jeong-hoo is seen leaving Moo-bi’s house a few minutes after. As much as Gyeom thinks about Moo-bi, she can’t stop thinking about him either. She didn’t get any sleep the night before because of his confession. Jeong-hoo is pulled aside by Gyeom and interrogated by the movie critic regarding his relationship with Moo-bi. Jeong-hoo now understands that Gyeom has a crush on Moo-bi and he teases Gyeom about it. Gyeom isn’t her ideal type at all and he doesn’t have the looks either.

Si-joon reads over the “Melody” script in his studio. Meanwhile, Joo-Ah drops by Moo-bi’s office to update her on the situation with Si-joon. She’s excited that Si-joon has accepted their request to produce music for her movie. She’s confident that she won’t let her history with Si-joon affect their work at all. Gyeom goes out to grab some drinks with Director Ma and Director Kim (from episode 4) is also there. The two guys make amends with each other. Gyeom explains that writing has its limits since one person can interpret what’s being written differently from someone else. Gyeom asks for Director Kim’s understanding. At one point, the two guys are the only ones at the table and Director Kim admits that he plans on quitting directing soon. He would rather leave now while his love for movies is still strong than leave later and come to despise movies.

While walking back home from work, Moo-bi comes across Joon and the two walk home together. This isn’t the first time they’ve met since Moo-bi helped Joon out before. During their first interaction, she had witnessed a motorcyclist run into Joon and cause an accident. Though the driver claimed that he didn’t do anything wrong, Moo-bi saw the entire thing and was there to stand up for Joon. She demanded that the driver sincerely apologize to Joon. That was their first introduction to each other so they’re not as awkward with each other this second time around. Joon points out how similar Moo-bi is to her mom and Moo-bi in return points out how different Gyeom and Joon are. Joon likes how carefree and humorous Gyeom is but also notes how he uses it as a coping mechanism. He wishes his little brother was more carefree sometimes. He can tell that his brother has a lot weighing on his mind.

And one of those things on his mind is Moo-bi. After a night of drinking with Director Ma and Kim, Gyeom attempts to call Moo-bi but she still has his number blocked. So since he can’t reach her through the phone, he decides to go with another tactic instead. When Gyeom wakes up the next morning, he finds his brother already waiting in his room for him to wake up and he’s also wearing one of Moo-bi’s cardigans. Wait, what exactly happened? So we return to the night before. It’s 2am and Gyeom is outside of Moo-bi’s house causing a ruckus. He’s had a little too much to drink and he’s desperate for her attention. Joon overhears all the noise outside and discovers that it’s his little brother who’s causing a fuss. Haha. So just when he’s about to go grab his brother, he finds that Moo-bi was already outside with Gyeom. She’s tired of his drunk behavior and tells him to go back home but not before getting her cardigan snatched away by Gyeom. So that’s how Gyeom ended up with Moo-bi’s cardigan. LOL. The next morning, Moo-bi snatches her cardigan right back from Gyeom and warns him to never do the same thing to her again or else she’ll call the police. Gyeom’s definitely not on Moo-bi’s good side but Gyeom’s delulu side returns and he realizes that it’s a good thing she didn’t call the police on him. Maybe she doesn’t hate him that much after all. Hahaha. I love me some delulu Gyeom! When Moo-bi returns home with her cardigan, Mom approaches her and updates her on a special request. Her dad’s friend, Jun-sang, has a favor to ask of Moo-bi. Hmm.

Si-joon returns to his studio to find Gyeom and Joo-Ah there. He’s not so happy to see his ex-girlfriend. Just because he agreed to work with her on her movie doesn’t mean she can just show up anytime she wants. But Joo-Ah has her reasons. They’ll need to see each other more so that she can listen to the music he’s making and discuss what type of music to make. Plus, nothing is set in stone and Si-joon’s music will still have to be approved by the director anyways. So wait, who exactly is directing the movie? Gyeom does his best to be the mediator between his two friends but it’s no use and he stays out of their business. But it’s not until he checks out the script and learns that Moo-bi is the director that he pushes both Joo-Ah and Si-joon to stop fighting and to get along for the sake of the movie (Choi Woo-shik is soooo funny! He’s great!). Delulu Gyeom makes a return and just like he did five years ago, he announces to them that he has a crush on someone. And just like they did five years ago, neither Si-joon or Joo-Ah is interested. LOL. Si-joon marches out of his studio and leaves Gyeom behind with Joo-Ah. Joo-Ah takes this time to apologize to Gyeom for not coming to visit him for the past five years. It must have been hard on him. But Gyeom doesn’t think too much about it. It wasn’t all that bad. Instead, he changes the subject to Moo-bi. He wants Joo-Ah to tell him more about Moo-bi.

Moo-bi thinks long and hard about the special request that her father’s friend, Jun-sang, had for her. Meanwhile, Jeong-hoo joins Gyeom and Joon for their traditional movie night. In exchange for getting to watch a movie that he’s excited about, he’ll set up a chance for Gyeom to be with Moo-bi. There’s an outdoor screening that happens every year that used to be planned and organized by Moo-bi’s father. This year, the event is happening again and Jeong-hoo plans to take Moo-bi with him. This is Gyeom’s chance to finally make things up to her.

Moo-bi recalls childhood memories from when her dad used to plan the outdoor screening event. He especially enjoyed the part where he got to pick which movie to showcase at the event. Moo-bi’s movie is the one being shown at the screening event that night and it’s unfortunate that her dad won’t be there to see it. But someone who will be there to watch Moo-bi’s movie is none other than Gyeom. He shows up to help out set up for the event and it’s like the old times when they used to be on set together. He pesters her and teases her and tries to get her attention any chance he can get. Eventually, night time rolls around and it’s time to watch Moo-bi’s movie. Joon joins Gyeom first and then eventually Moo-bi, Mom, and Jeong-hoo make their way over to join them. Moo-bi is hesitant at first but Jeong-hoo is a man of his words and he carries out his plans for Gyeom. So the five of them sit together and munch on the food that Joon’s prepared and cooked.

Later on, Moo-bi finds that she’s the only one sitting with Gyeom at their mat. Joon, Jeong-hoo, and Mom are gone. She sits next to him and sneaks glances at him. Gyeom still remains interested and entertained in the movie even though he’s seen it a few times. Why is that? Gyeom likes just how different the movie feels each time (me with rewatching this drama LOL). It’s also because he likes Moo-bi (pun intended). And unlike the time five years ago where they waited at the bus stop while munching on some corn, Gyeom admits that he’s actually flirting with Moo-bi this time (the parallels!!). Gyeom’s love for movies reminds Moo-bi once again of her father. She’s afraid that Gyeom will disappear just like her dad did. She can’t trust him just yet and doesn’t want to get her hopes up. Bothered, Moo-bi gets up to walk away but Gyeom grabs her wrist to hold her back. The scene of a beautiful reflection of the ocean shimmers in the background.

Joo-Ah visits Si-joon at Vide bar in another attempt to convince him to work with her on her movie. She argues that they should put any personal feelings aside and be professional about everything. He should put up with it like she does. But what exactly does she put up with? Joo-Ah elaborates that she’s going through the same things that Si-joon is going through. Hmm. When Si-joon’s shift ends, he closes down the bar and finds Joo-Ah waiting for him outside. She pesters him and follows him so Si-joon tries to prove a point to her. He forces himself onto her for a kiss and she pushes him away. He hopes he made it clear enough that he wants her to stop testing him. Enough is enough. Joo-Ah’s eyes well up with tears and she throws her bag at Si-joon as he walks away. But he returns a few seconds later and hands it back to her. He explains that he just needs time. Time to get over her and their break-up. Time to sort out his feelings on his own terms. At his own pace. Joo-Ah’s sudden re-appearance in his life threw him off and he’s having a difficult time comprehending everything. Maybe they didn’t know each other as well as they thought they did and that’s why they broke up.

Back at the outdoor screening event, Gyeom chases after Moo-bi after she walks away. She’s still angry and upset for how he disappeared on her. He gave her butterflies, he gave her hope, then he made a fool out of her. She doesn’t trust him nor does she want to get hurt again. Gyeom interprets Moo-bi’s comments as her confessing to him and he’s relieved (delulu Gyeom strikes again!). He wasn’t kidding when he said he liked her. Why does he keep denying her feelings for him? What is she afraid of? Gyeom tried his best to make it as clear and simple for her as possible that he liked her back then. And he makes things clear for her again this time by repeating that he likes her. Moo-bi doesn’t want to fall for Gyeom’s words again but she can’t help it. She desperately wants to believe his words but she just can’t bring herself to.

Five years ago, Moo-bi made the first move on Gyeom by holding his hand on the bus and kissing him. But things are different this time. Gyeom pulls Moo-bi in for a hug and for a second, it’s as if they’re in their own movie. Their hug matches with the movie scene playing in the background where the main couple are hugging each other as well. In the sequel to Gyeom and Moo-bi’s love story, Gyeom makes the first move on her this time around.

Epilogue

During the outdoor screening event, Mom can tell that something is up between Gyeom and Moo-bi. She watches as Gyeom continues to take care of Moo-bi and look after her. While waiting for the event to start, Gyeom hangs out with Jeong-hoo at their mat and he notices that Moo-bi’s gone. The only thing she’s left behind is her phone. So Gyeom takes the opportunity to check her phone to see if she’s blocked his number and he smiles upon receiving the answer. Gyeom’s phone call goes through on Moo-bi’s phone.

My Thoughts:

And that’s why Gyeom confessed to Moo-bi at the end! He received confirmation that she didn’t hate him since she didn’t block his number on her phone. Gyeom’s biggest fear was being hated by Moo-bi and though it might seem a little ridiculous to interpret such a thing as a big deal, it was still an answer to Gyeom’s biggest question. If he wasn’t blocked on Moo-bi’s phone, that must have meant something, right?

I love how full circle the drama is with its themes and concepts but also in the storytelling. This episode started off with Gyeom’s confession from five years ago. Then the episode ended very similarly with Gyeom’s confession five years later. Then you have Moo-bi’s side of the confessions where five years ago she struggled to move on from him and then five years later, she didn’t want to fall for him again out of fear that history would repeat itself. I understood why Moo-bi was hesitant and reluctant to accept Gyeom’s second confession. Gyeom disappeared out of nowhere. What if he did the same thing again to her? Gyeom reminded Moo-bi of her dad. What if his story ended up similar to her dad’s? As a way to protect herself, Moo-bi wanted to distance herself from Gyeom. Her mind told her no but her heart said yes and she was constantly fighting this internal battle throughout. I would argue that Moo-bi’s conflict of whether to accept Gyeom back into her life or not already started before he confessed to her. She had already been struggling with how to process his return in her life the moment she saw him ask her a question at the movie theater for her movie.

Moo-bi’s reaction to Gyeom’s return was similar to Si-joon’s reaction to Joo-Ah’s appearance. They both had trust issues and were firm on not wanting to rekindle anything with their former lovers. Si-joon and Joo-Ah clearly had communication issues but a part of me wished that if they could just set their anger aside and actually really listened to each other, they would be able to understand how the other person felt. Si-joon wasn’t shy in expressing his hurt and heartbreak while Joo-Ah was desperate to stay professional with Si-joon. Joo-Ah used the movie to hide her feelings and serve as some sort of shield for her actual feelings. But if anything, she quietly hinted that she too was struggling with their break-up.

Just like Si-joon, she too was still hurt over their relationship. She was inspired to write a new script based on their relationship. She really wanted Si-joon to work on the music for the movie because the movie meant a lot to her and was so personal for her. She admitted that she was putting up with her own emotions and feelings and pushing them aside for the sake of this project. Those were signs to me that Joo-Ah was struggling just as much with the break-up as Si-joon was and that she just had a different way of expressing it (or rather not expressing it). It’s obvious they still both missed each other but it was also obvious that it wasn’t as easy to just place their personal feelings aside to work on the movie. Joo-Ah claimed that she was confident that she and Si-joon could get along and work together on the movie but she said that just to say it. She actually didn’t mean it. Si-joon was still not over their break-up and then it only got worse when Joo-Ah showed up in his life out of nowhere. His plea for Joo-Ah to give him some time to process everything was a nice insight from his point of view. We often saw him upset, frustrated, and mad about his current situation with Joo-Ah but his plea to Joo-Ah for some more time showed a new side to Si-joon. It illustrated that he was tired and emotionally drained.

I still get very sad every time Moo-bi’s dad is mentioned and every time the drama throws it back with flashbacks of him from Moo-bi’s childhood. I got emotional during the outdoor screening event when Moo-bi caught up with her dad’s friend and realized how proud her dad would have been of her for making her own movie. And how nice it would have been if he was still alive to watch her movie with her at the one event he loved and cared about so dearly. Once again, the drama does a wonderful job of tying the personal stories of our characters to their connections and relationships with the other characters. In this case, we saw the history behind the outdoor screening event and how this tied back into Moo-bi’s relationship with Gyeom. Her memories associated with the outdoor screening event remind her of her father and this caused Moo-bi to become afraid to welcome Gyeom back into her life. She knew her dad loved movies so much; she knew Gyeom loved movies just like her dad did. She couldn’t help but be afraid of being abandoned again by someone who she loved dearly and wanted to be loved by. Her dad wasn’t able to provide that love for her. Would Gyeom be able to? How would Gyeom be different from her dad? How would the Gyeom from five years ago be different from the Gyeom in the present? Has anything changed? Has he changed? I could understand why Moo-bi was so conflicted on how to react with Gyeom’s second confession.

The last thing I wanted to point out for this episode is how beautiful the cinematography and directing is for the drama, especially the scene towards the end of this episode with the outdoor screening event. I was so mesmerized and impressed with not only the way the movie synced up with Gyeom and Moo-bi’s hug but also the scene where the shot of the ocean water shimmered in the background. The beautiful cinematography isn’t so surprising if you’re familiar with Director Oh Choong-hwan’s work because he’s known for his bright, pretty, and positive style of directing. But I still wanted to point it out specifically after watching this episode because the drama has just been so visually pleasing to watch.

And then of course, writer Lee Na-eun doesn’t disappoint with her writing and she does a wonderful job at making you cry your heart out tugging at your heartstrings and writing stories that are multi-layered, nuanced, and detailed. Funny enough – the way that I felt about the first two episodes of “Our Beloved Summer” was pretty similar to the way that I felt about the first two episodes of “Melo Movie.” Though I saw some strengths in the episodes, I still wanted to give the next few episodes after a try to see if things would get better. And sure enough, just like how I was impressed with “Our Beloved Summer” after watching episodes 3 and 4, I became a much bigger fan of “Melo Movie” after watching its third and fourth episode. So I guess this is just now my thing with Lee Na-eun’s dramas where I question how to feel after finishing the first 2 episodes of her dramas and then I thankfully have any doubts removed by the time I tune into episode 3. At least with “Melo Movie”, I already learned my lesson and sort of knew what to expect going in this time. And when “Melo Movie” did immensely improve starting from episode 3, I wasn’t all that surprised. As expected of screenwriter Lee Na-eun and as expected of my watching experiences with her dramas. What a classic.