Is it just me, or were there a lot of parts of this episode that had a deja vu feeling? I mean, with all the reference to Oh Ha Ni’s love letter in episode 1, her “deal” with Baek Seung Jo to do well on her upcoming exams, and how Seung Jo can’t help but tease Ha Ni among other deja-vu-like events. Intentional? Or am I just being crazy?
Anyways, speaking of love letters, the Wang Kyung Soo character who’s chasing after Yoon He Ra reminds me a lot of Ha Ni. Both are obviously obsessed with someone and yet unable to maintain a…healthy…relationship. Instead, they became desperate in their attempts to capture the hearts of their crushes, only to be owned and forced to watch from afar with their one-sided affections. Perhaps this is also part of the reason why Ha Ni supports Kyung Soo: she sees a little bit of herself in him and wants to help a fellow comrade (or maybe she just wants someone to get He Ra out of the picture).
But, in some ways, Kyung Soo is worse off than Ha Ni. At least Seung Jo gave Ha Ni a chance–even though he graded the love letter, he still read it instead of directly ripping it into pieces and tossing it into the trash can. Also, after living with her for quite some time, he has learned to acknowledge her presence and…clumsiness. However, He Ra didn’t even give Kyung Soo a chance to express his feelings properly (I got the impression that she was annoyed that Seung Jo left and gave Kyung Soo a lame excuse to leave). Their interaction together is limited and almost uneventful, no matter how hard he tries–kind of reminds you of how Ha Ni and Seung Jo started out…and look where they are now!
So, positive development between Ha Ni and Seung Jo? I would think so…(except the preview seems to suggest otherwise…but we’ll get to that part later!) I’ve noticed that magical things happen almost every time they’re together. The chances that someone would all of a sudden stand up in a floating boat in the middle of a lake is probably small, and yet, somehow Ha Ni manages to pull it off…and ends up getting a matching shirt with Seung Jo. and completely out of the goodness of their hearts, Ha Ni’s adorable klutzy personality and Seung Jo’s intellect team up to bring joy and laughter to dull and uneventful life that No Ri, our…hospital-ridden elementary school kid has to live with due to his ill health. Even only for a week, it was probably an unforgettable experience that will forever remain ingrained in their memories.
However, are Seung Jo’s feelings towards Ha Ni really starting to change in her favor? Or is he just pulling her strings again only to tease/torture her so that he can have the final laugh? This kid needs to get his feelings straightened up and stop giving people false alarms. One minute he’s getting along with Ha Ni (even kind of glad that she has not fully disappeared in his life) and the next, he’s teasing her again like he can’t stand the thought of being close to someone…like her. But, is this bipolar reaction healthy and the type of relationship we want our two protagonists to have? Or do we want to see more of the facade he shows to He Ra, the distant nice guy who only seems to brighten up (or even change his expression) when he talks about Ha Ni? All in all, I guess his indecisiveness is somewhat justified. I mean, who would you rather choose: Ha Ni, the girl who keeps your life spontaneous or He Ra, the girl who may very well be the pea from your pod?
One thing’s for sure though: Seung Jo’s thoughts are definitely more centered around Ha Ni–he’s acknowledging how her presence in his life has changed him, into probably a better individual, one who thinks and acts in his own interest instead of following the common mindset set by society. No doubt about it, they’re definitely closer than they were before, but there is still a considerable gap in between them (sadness). So close and yet so far…hopefully they get closer before He Ra really steps in and starts breaking them apart.
A Patch of Sunshine 