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Coincidence: sometimes there are some things in life that you really didn’t expect to happen. But then there are other times where you sort of had a feeling all along. And then there’s others times where you make the decision yourself and refuse to let fate play a role. Gyeom and Moo-bi may have met by coincidence but now they can determine what type of ending they want for their love story. For others, the happy ending to their story may look a little differently.

Melo Movie Episode 6: Happy Ending is Mine!

Movies have always been in Gyeom’s life. He loves movies for the fact that anything can happen in them. And even when things in his life weren’t going so well, he was okay with it because he still had movies. Movies were always there for him. And it was as if Gyeom was in a movie of his own. Not a Western action movie or a comedy or a movie set on a college campus but rather.. a melo movie. He still recalls the moment from five years ago when he saw Moo-bi on set while returning Director Ma’s shoes that he accidentally took. He already was fascinated by Moo-bi when he first saw her, but seeing her sweet interactions with little child actors intensified those feelings even more. His movie with Moo-bi definitely has to have a happy ending, right?

The next morning, Moo-bi spends some time with her mom before having some breakfast. Why exactly did her mom like her father? What did she see in him? Mom reveals that it wasn’t Dad doing all the flirting as she also liked him just as much. Mom then transitions the conversation to Gyeom and advises that Moo-bi give Gyeom a chance if she really does like him. Don’t leave him hanging. Moo-bi is just like her mom and she pretends to hate what she likes (hmmm! This comment is actually so insightful. It all makes so much more sense now). Who knows, Gyeom might get tired of waiting and then leave. Speaking of Gyeom, he hangs out with Si-joon at Si-joon’s studio and wants to vent to his friend again about Moo-bi. But Si-joon isn’t in the mood to listen or talk to Gyeom so Gyeom switches the subject to Joo-Ah. He discovers the movie ticket from when Si-joon went to go watch Joo-Ah’s movie at the theater and asks him about it. Gyeom may not know a whole lot about love but Si-joon doesn’t either. The movie that he went to watch was completely about him and his relationship with Joo-Ah.

Gyeom hangs out with Director Ma at his office and notices that Director Ma isn’t feeling so good. Director Ma just came back from a funeral for a young production crew member who unfortunately passed away from overworking. His death reminds Director Ma of Moo-bi’s dad who also passed away for the same reason. It received a lot of attention at the time and it’s unfortunate that nothing much has changed. Gyeom hears this story about Moo-bi’s father for the first time.

Moo-bi learns that the budget for her movie is decreasing so they have to find ways to cut costs. One of those ways is by producing original music so that they won’t have to spend so much money on copyright royalties. Which is perfect because at that moment, Joo-Ah shows up again to Moo-bi’s office to meet with her (haha, Moo-bi’s office pretty much belongs to Joo-Ah at this point too). Moo-bi requests to meet with the songwriter (AKA Si-joon) since he’s producing music for the movie. Joo-Ah also overhears a phone call between Moo-bi and Gyeom and she has a feeling that she knows who it was on the other end of Moo-bi’s phone call.

The reason why Gyeom called Moo-bi during her meeting with Joo-Ah was to invite her out for some pizza. He’ll be waiting at the pizza joint in their neighborhood. If Moo-bi happens to be there, she can either just walk by and ignore him or she can choose to join him. So Gyeom waits and waits at the pizza joint for Moo-bi and just when it seems like all hope is lost, Moo-bi shows up to join him (EEEEK!). Wow, what a small neighborhood! What a coincidence! Who would have known that Moo-bi would see Gyeom at the pizza joint? Haha. So she munches on her Hawaiian pizza (which Gyeom is not a big fan of) and Gyeom eats his pepperoni pizza. He hopes that they can run into each other more often from now on.

It’s first the pizza joint and then Gyeom’s house. Gyeom invites Moo-bi to join him and Joon for some barbecue in his front yard. On another day, he rushes out to hand an umbrella to Moo-bi and the umbrella comes in handy when it begins to rain later on that day. Then on another separate occasion, Moo-bi catches Gyeom sitting outside the convenience store with some snacks that he’s already bought beforehand. And since he was waiting for her, she decides to sit with him. Moo-bi also joins Gyeom and Joon on their traditional movie night. Gyeom watches the movie but also can’t stop looking at Moo-bi. Moo-bi can’t help but fall for Gyeom’s silly little antics. One night while walking home, she finds herself alone and Gyeom is nowhere to be seen. She’s a bit disappointed as she had gotten used to him being around her. But just like all the other times, Gyeom is there for her again. He pops out of the bushes pretending to bid farewell with someone and then walks home with Moo-bi (spoiler: there wasn’t actually anyone talking to Gyeom and he was just joking around LOL. I laughed so hard during this scene!). Moo-bi can’t help but be entertained by her “coincidental” encounters with Gyeom. She’s curious as to what his next plans are and where they’re going to “meet” next. Before bidding farewell with Moo-bi in front of their houses, he stops to ask her,

“Do you want to run into each other by chance again tomorrow?”

6pm. In front of the takoyaki place. That’s where Moo-bi and Gyeom can meet each other next. Of course, it’ll all be by chance. (Gyeom was actually soooo smooth with this line.. it gave me butterflies and made my heart flutter. Honestly, this pick-up line would work on me too LOL). Moo-bi reads an article about a series of accidents on movie sets and she’s reminded of her father who died in a car accident because of exhaustion from overworking. Right at that moment, she receives a text message from Gyeom who reassures her that he’s gotten home safely and is going to get some sleep. Moo-bi often compares her father to Gyeom and is worried that Gyeom might get hurt the same way that her father did. With Gyeom’s text, Moo-bi finally feels at peace and she gets some sleep (the drama continues to draw similarities and parallels between Moo-bi’s dad and Gyeom and shows why Moo-bi doesn’t have to be so afraid or weary all the time. There’s reasons as to why Moo-bi should believe that things will be different this time around and that the outcome with Gyeom will be different from how her father’s life was. It’s nicely done and is a storyline that’s consistent).

Si-joon finishes a recording session with female vocalist, Yu-rim, who’s singing one of his songs and they step out of his studio for a coffee break. Joo-Ah herself “coincidentally” runs into Yu-rim and Si-joon at the same coffee shop (she was actually in the area to go visit Si-joon). When the former lovers see each other again, things are a little awkward. Before they can talk any further, Si-joon steps aside to pick up a phone call so Joo-Ah chats with Yu-rim. Joo-Ah previously misunderstood and assumed that Yu-rim was Si-joon’s girlfriend but she soon learns that that’s not the case. Si-joon still isn’t over Joo-Ah. So the two head over to Si-joon’s studio so that Joo-Ah can listen to the main OST track. The product isn’t finished just yet but they at least have something. Si-joon’s a bit shy and embarrassed to play his song for Joo-Ah but she’s quiet. She’s thinking. She recalls the times back when they were still a couple and she would compliment Si-joon on his music. Though they’re no longer in a relationship, she wants to help him. Joo-Ah suggests that Si-joon sing the song himself and he heads inside the music room. She joins him a few seconds later to get him to sing the lyrics. The door to the room gets jammed and the two get stuck in the room together. They both don’t have their phones on them.

Si-joon and Joo-Ah are both forced to stay in the same room together so they take the chance to talk about each other’s projects (oh ho ho, getting locked in the room together is actually a nice metaphor to illustrate how Joo-Ah and Si-joon both feel about their current situation. They feel stuck and are unable to find a way out). Joo-Ah’s curious about Yu-rim and Si-joon’s relationship but Si-joon shuts it down. The reason as to why Yu-rim knew who Joo-Ah was despite having never met her before was because he always mentioned Joo-Ah to her. He would either vent to Yu-rim out of anger or out of sadness and yearning. So wait, what about Joo-Ah’s movie? If it was truly based on their relationship, why did she have the female lead ask the male lead out first? The two bicker with each other on who asked the other person out first or who liked who first in their relationship. They’re reminded of a specific memory from high school when Si-joon asked Joo-Ah to be his girlfriend but she argues that she liked him way before that. Eventually, the bickering stops thanks to Gyeom who’s now at the studio. Gyeom being Gyeom, he has a little too much fun listening to some music in the studio but he eventually notices his two friends and gets them out of the room (Choi Woo-shik is sooooo funny!). Shortly after, Gyeom heads out because he has a “coincidental” date with Moo-bi to go to (I can’t stop laughing at Gyeom. He’s so delulu!!).

While on the way to meet Moo-bi at the takoyaki place, Gyeom stops by a floral street vendor to purchase a bouquet of flowers for her (EEEEEK so cute!!). But his plans are interrupted when he finds Joon crossing the street towards a bunch of quick passing cars. Gyeom panics and rescues his brother just in time. When they get back home, Gyeom can’t help but notice that Joon isn’t frightened. He doesn’t seem scared. Even though he almost died, he’s still somehow so calm. Joon was the exact same after his car accident from five years ago. Joon attempts to play it off as if nothing’s wrong but Gyeom can’t. He steps outside of the house to process the influx of emotions he’s facing. He doesn’t know what to make of the situation. Gyeom is so occupied with his brother’s situation that he forgets about his date with Moo-bi. She waited the entire night in hopes that he would show up but since he never did, she has no choice but to go back home alone. She’s disappointed over what happened but she also reflects on how she’s treated Gyeom in the past. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe Moo-bi should have treated Gyeom better. She was a little cold and harsh to him in the past. Could that be why he didn’t show up this time?

The next morning, Gyeom wakes up to find Joon sleeping next to him on his bed. Ahh, just like the good old times when they were younger. Joon teases Gyeom and jokes around with him in an attempt to brighten up the mood. Maybe they can just forget about what happened the night before and move on from that incident. Joon apologizes to his little brother. Later on that morning, Jeong-hoo joins the two brothers for some breakfast at their house. Gyeom struggles to come up with a message to text Moo-bi but it doesn’t matter because she ends up showing up at his house right at that moment (EEEEEK!). She’s all dolled up and she looks extra extra pretty and she has a special request to ask of Gyeom. She has to go somewhere for work and would like him to accompany her since it seems like Jeong-hoo’s busy (spoiler her: he’s actually not but it’s the perfect excuse to spend time with Gyeom, hehe). Gyeom is never too busy for Moo-bi and he happily accepts the opportunity to spend time with her. Even better, they go for a ride in Gyeom’s sweet red car. So while Gyeom and Moo-bi head off on their date, Jeong-hoo stays behind with Joon and they prepare to watch another movie together. But Jeong-hoo notices that Joon is feeling a lot more exhausted than usual and he tucks Joon into bed. Uh-oh.. (I get so choked up when it comes to Joon.. I just want to cryyyy).

While on their drive, Gyeom apologizes to Moo-bi for not showing up to their date but Moo-bi is okay with it. She lies that she didn’t go either (even though she did). Just then, Gyeom’s car breaks down and the two are stuck on the side of the road out in the countryside among a field of beautiful yellow flowers. So while they wait for some help to arrive, Gyeom senses that Moo-bi must have wanted to hang out with him. It’s the first time she’s proposed that they hang out together. There’s a sense of relief and acceptance for Moo-bi. She now understands that Gyeom disappeared on her five years ago because of something that had happened to Joon. She elaborates on why she never brought it up,

“I don’t like complicated things. I don’t like getting close to someone. I prefer not to go deeper into a person’s life. I know myself. Once I find out one thing about someone, I’ll want to know more. Then I won’t be able to help myself from falling deeper. In the end, I’ll become an idiot who fails to realize that the person is about to leave me. So I didn’t want to know more about you. You seemed to have an exceptionally complicated side to you.”

So if that’s the case, then what changed? Moo-bi explains,

“The thing I hate the most is when someone disappears without a word. Even though you did what I hate the most, I’m finding that I still like you. That can only mean I can’t find a reason to hate you. So I just decided.. To let things get complicated.”

Moo-bi has come around to accepting her situation with Gyeom. To accept her feelings for him. To accept the fact that yes, she does like him. And she makes this clear to Gyeom himself by confessing to him. She likes him. No matter what kind of person Gyeom is, Moo-bi likes him for who he is. Flaws and all. Gyeom is relieved to finally know how Moo-bi feels about him and he leans in towards her for a kiss. The two share a romantic kiss to confirm their feelings for each other. Surrounded by a bunch of beautiful yellow flowers and the bright yellow sun, Gyeom and Moo-bi are just as beautiful. They shine just as bright in this moment (this scene was soooo pretty!!!).

Si-joon plays his song for Moo-bi and Joo-Ah in his studio. Meanwhile, Gyeom’s life is like a melo movie and he’s excited at the thought of a beautiful romance with his lover, Moo-bi. But sometimes, some lives are shorter than others and it’s not all as it seems. While having some breakfast with Gyeom, Joon stops eating and he makes a confession. He has something to tell Gyeom.

Epilogue

Gyeom stares at his brother’s portrait while at his brother’s funeral. It hurts to lose his brother but Gyeom isn’t crying. Perhaps it’s still all too much for Gyeom to process. Perhaps he’s in shock. Or perhaps it’s because he had already prepared himself for this in a way. Maybe he already had a feeling all along. Gyeom may have gotten his happy ending with Moo-bi but his brother’s story concluded differently.

My Thoughts:

The ending to this episode still gave me goosebumps even after watching it a second time. I remembered just feeling this dread creep up on me and having a bad feeling the first time I saw it. Things were just too jolly and happy for Gyeom that it seemed like things were too good to be true. That the happiness wasn’t going to last for long. I really have to commend the drama for how it was able to craft Joon’s story in such a beautiful, subtle, simple, and yet impactful way. The drama never explicitly said or mentioned anything about him dying but there were clues and hints along the way that implied that he wasn’t going to live for long. There was the extreme fatigue and exhaustion. There was the crosswalk incident where he purposely walked across the street. There was the moment at the end when he admitted that he had something he wanted to tell Gyeom. You know a drama is good when you can understand what it’s trying to tell you without it having to directly tell you (if that makes any sense). I just knew that breakfast scene at the end of this episode between Gyeom and Joon was going to be heartbreaking and devastating. Then when the epilogue scene happened and we saw Gyeom at his brother’s funeral, it just hit so hard. The clues and hints were there all along but it still hurt so bad.

This episode finally gave us more insight into Joon’s story and confirmed traits about him that we were suspicious about for a while. After his car accident from five years ago, police investigators mentioned that there were no other cars near Joon at the time and that it must have been due to the fog or rain. That to me was already a sign that maybe there was more to Joon’s story than we knew and that maybe he was exhibiting symptoms of depression or being suicidal. Then once this episode showed Joon purposely crossing the street even though he wasn’t supposed to just yet, that confirmed what I had been thinking all along. In a way, Gyeom also had a feeling about his brother’s condition but was in denial about it. It was as if he didn’t want to believe it. Gyeom was afraid to face his brother’s truth but he was also afraid to face his truth. His truth was that he needed his brother in his life. He didn’t want to imagine a life without his brother. It was always him and Joon. He did what he had to do to support his brother to keep him alive. He was his brother’s primary caregiver. Gyeom worked endlessly to write movie reviews and become a successful movie critic to make good money to support him financially.

That conversation between them in the house after the crosswalk accident was so telling of how they each felt about everything. For Joon, he felt as if he had to put on this strong act and he pretended as if everything was okay. It was something he’s had to do since Gyeom’s childhood. Gyeom is his younger brother after all so Joon never wanted Gyeom to be concerned. Joon did things for Gyeom and for his sake but Gyeom reciprocated that support back to his older brother just as much. He did it in his own ways. He was suspicious during Joon’s car accident from five years ago and didn’t say much about it. But after the crosswalk incident, he finally revealed his honest thoughts and feelings for the first time. Gyeom knew that something wasn’t right with Joon and wanted to talk to him about it. Gyeom knew inside that his brother was putting up an act. Gyeom knew that his brother wasn’t okay but he didn’t want to accept it. As much as they wanted to act like everything is fine, they are brothers at the end of the day and they know each other best. And maybe that’s why Gyeom wasn’t crying during his brother’s funeral. Maybe it was because he had a sinking and nagging feeling all along. There were signs and hints and clues there that Gyeom picked up on over the years.

I had no idea that the drama was going to focus on the beautiful relationship between Joon and Gyeom and I had no idea that I would be bawling my eyes out after watching this episode. There were actually so many things that I had no idea that “Melo Movie” was about so I was pleasantly surprised at how much this drama covered. I’ll probably elaborate on this later on in a recap for another episode but it’s such a shame at how this drama was promoted and marketed by Netflix. It really was so much more than just a lovey-dovey rom-com type of drama. There were so many beautiful things about this drama that weren’t shown in any teaser or trailer or promotional content that should have been. As much as this drama is a rom-com, it was also so much more. It was about family, love, work, friendships, grieving and mourning the loss of a loved one. I had no idea that the drama was going to show us so much of the pain and beauty that was Joon and Gyeom’s familial relationship.

With that being said, something that the drama was not shy in promoting to us was Gyeom and Moo-bi’s love story and I was satisfied with the direction that their relationship went in. It made sense that Moo-bi was cautious and weary of Gyeom’s second confession. It also made sense that she decided to be a bit more proactive and took the initiative to approach him. Moo-bi’s been the type to compare her and her relationship with Gyeom to her mom’s relationship with her dad. Unlike what happened to her father, Gyeom was safe and he wasn’t overworked. Then when Moo-bi asked her mom what her relationship with her father was like, her mom told her how she did some of the chasing as well. This prompted Moo-bi to chase after Gyeom. She followed her mom’s advice and reflected on her treatment towards Gyeom. Moo-bi wasn’t the nicest to him while he was constantly chasing after her. Just like how Mom mentioned that it wasn’t always Dad doing all the chasing, Moo-bi realized that she also had to put in effort as well. She also had to chase after Gyeom.

And that’s why the confession scene was so meaningful and beautiful. Her entire life, Moo-bi was afraid to fall in love or get attached to people. She distanced herself from everyone out of fear of being abandoned. She didn’t like getting to know people because things could get complicated. She thought she could overcome the memories that were Gyeom. She thought that he didn’t mean anything to her or that their relationship meant nothing. She hated it most when someone disappeared without a word which, by default, meant that she should have hated Gyeom. But Mom noted that Moo-bi’s the type to pretend to hate someone when in reality she actually likes them. This applied to not only her father but also to Gyeom. Moo-bi pretended to hate Gyeom but she had a soft spot for him. She liked him. She was willing to change her mindset for him. She had her own beliefs and was set in her own ways but Gyeom changed all of that for her. She was willing to change all of that for him. Moo-bi didn’t like complicated things but for Gyeom, it was okay. She was okay with it. She came around to accepting her feelings and the reality of their situation. If things got complicated, then it got complicated. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. 

Gyeom was and has always been the exception for Moo-bi.