AAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! WHY THE HECK DID I EVER START WATCHING THIS STUPID DRAMA!?! IT’S THE DUMBEST THING I’VE EVER WASTED MY TIME ON AND YET I CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT BECAUSE IN HO NEEEEEEEEEEDS ME! Hey, someone has to be there for the poor guy! I’m just volunteering for the position!
Okay, so I guess I shouldn’t say I hate this dumb drama but in a lot of ways I really do. Seol and Yoo Jung have sunk so far below my level of caring that I’d really prefer it if they fell off the face of the planet and left In Ho to finish out the story on his own. ‘Cause honestly, he’s the only person I care about anymore.
Even so, I suppose I still have quite a bit to talk about so let’s get into this week’s episodes, shall we? Picking up where we left off last time, Seol continues to be stalked by the creeper Young Gon but she’s finally found her backbone and takes some rather impressive measure to exact her revenge. I’m not sure I should be applauding someone’s revenge but considering all Young Gon has put her through, I’m willing to cheer her on. Someone had to put a stop to all of Young Gon’s shenanigans and I’d rather have Seol stand up for herself and deal with this problem on her own than have her depend on someone else to solve this problem for her. Sure, she depended on the help of her friends to get the evidence she needed but she wasn’t asking them to do all the work for her, she just needed backup and that’s what they provided. All-in-all, I’m happy with the way they worked together and I was super proud of Bo Ra and Eun Taek for the way they protected Seol from Young Gon. Without these two, Seol could have been in a whole lot more trouble than she will ever know.
I really do hope this is the end of things with Young Gon but I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to pull one last stunt before the end. He’s gone completely off the deep end and is one of the most disturbed characters in the Dramaverse. Seriously, this guy needs professional help and I don’t mean that as a joke. He is seriously messed up and he needs help or he’s going to end up hurting himself and/or someone else. He’s the type of character you see becoming a psychopathic serial killer because he has no concept of boundaries and absolutely no sense of right and wrong. There are no limits with this guy and as such, he does whatever he wants without any sort of consideration for what the result of those actions may be. He’s reckless and careless and just all sorts of messed up and he needs help which I doubt he’ll ever get and in that sense, he’s one to be pitied. I just have to get over my repulsion first.
The sad thing is, Young Gon isn’t the only character with a messed up moral compass. I swear Yoo Jung gets creepier by the episode. I know this week’s episodes were supposed to paint him in a more favorable light, what with his coming to Seol’s rescue and his tragic back story and all. The problem is, none of those things brought him any sort of redemption. His back story shows he’s a troubled kid who needed to be looked after from a very young age. He misreads and misinterprets everyone around him and uses that as an excuse to justify his actions. His actions are the worst of the worst because he manipulates those around him to do what he wants and then watches coldly in the background while those he’s manipulated are brought to “justice.” And that’s the most messed up part about Yoo Jung. He spends an incredible amount of time and energy doling out justice but in reality, all he’s doing is exacting revenge. He’s taking his anger out on people he thinks are out to get him when in reality he’s reading what he wants into a situation and then acting out from there. In short, he’s completely messed up and just as dangerous to those around him as Young Gon.
This is what Baek In Ho has known from the very beginning and now we know why. In Ho has witnessed Yoo Jung’s manipulation and has suffered from Yoo Jung’s “justice” first-hand. In Ho knows exactly what type of person Yoo Jung is and he wants to save Seol from facing the same hurt he did but there’s nothing he can do that will make her listen. Seol is so blinded by her affection for Yoo Jung she can no longer see in him those things which first made him repulsive to her. She’s like a fly caught in a spider’s web and In Ho sees this and wants to rescue her but just as he’s approaching, the spider swoops in and sinks his fangs into his prey.
I think this is why I’m so frustrated with Seol. She knows what Yoo Jung is like. She’s been onto him and his dark side for a long time but she’s refusing to see that darkness now. Even when she catches glimpses of it now and then, she chooses to push that evidence aside and instead focus on the fact that he’s (sometimes) good to her and he’s a strong shoulder to cry on. I think that’s what’s drawn Seol to Yoo Jung the most. It’s the fact she has no one else to lean on and she doesn’t want to give that security up. My question is, is their relationship really something worth clinging to? I mean what kind of relationship do they really have? They spend more time fighting and apart than they do together. They never talk to each other about their problems. They never ask the other for help. Is this really a relationship at all? At least with In Ho there’s depth and substance and they know each other and what’s going on in each other’s lives and they can talk about anything and everything and they cheer each other on and all of that is what gives a relationship substance and meaning. What do Seol and Yoo Jung have?
It breaks my heart to see In Ho brushed aside like he is and it’s even worse that Seol doesn’t realize what an amazing person she’s pushing aside. I will admit there was a moment this week, when the family and In Ho were eating dinner together, where I thought it would be okay if they all just stayed as they were, as a family. In Ho desperately needs a place where he can feel loved and accepted and supported and he has that with Seol’s family and it makes my heart happy to see him enjoying the simple pleasures that come from being with people you love. But In Ho deserves so much more than just familial bliss. He deserves to be loved, heart and soul, forever and ever. And yes, I’m completely biased towards him but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a wounded soul who wants nothing more out of life than to love and be loved. You can see that in his actions and the way he’s trying to turn his life around. Before he met Seol and her family he was troubled kid with no hope and no future but now that he’s found a place where he’s loved and he feels like he belongs, he’s trying to get his life back on track. He’s trying to study for his GED, he’s practicing piano again, he’s preparing for a competition, he’s working, he’s trying to take care of his psycho sister… In short he’s doing everything he can to become someone who deserves to be loved and it kills me that Seol is too stupid to see that.
As much as I love In Ho, I will admit that he’s not infallible. He’s brought a lot of trouble upon himself over the years and there were times when he deserved what he got. However, he has come a long way and if he continues on this path he’s set out on, he should turn out alright. Too bad the same can’t be said for Yoo Jung. I don’t think he’s ever going to change which is why I was perfectly okay with In Ho trying to beat the crap out of him. Actually, I think those two have spent way too many years harboring malice towards one another and as childish as it may seem, I think fighting it out was actually good for both of them. They got to release a lot of pent-up anger towards each other and talk through some things in the process. Maybe violence isn’t the answer but in this case, I’m willing to make an exception. It’s just too bad Yoo Jung made it to Seol’s for consolation before In Ho did. Oh well, I guess that means I’ll have to tend to those wounds myself…
Okay, okay. I’ll stop with my daydreaming and my rambling and leave the rest of the discussion up to you. Of course that means you have to tell me what you thought of these two episodes in the comments below!
You can catch up on all my reviews of Cheese in the Trap here:
I was so frustrated this week. We made a descent into madness.
First, Seol put herself in harm’s way with Young Gon. Her “friends weren’t with her then, and she could have been in big danger. I just don’t understand how her friends calmly collected evidence over the period of months (boyfriend included) and never did anything more to protect her. Where the heck are the police in Korea? Why didn’t she tell her parents? I find that storyline bizarre. Young Gon is crazy and needs some serious help, but everyone stands around and watches.
Second, Yoo Jung is just as scary as Young Gon, but people stand around and watch him, too. They let him mete out his sick brand of justice with ABSOLUTELY no feelings whatsoever. Okay, he cries every so often and can act a bit pathetic around Seol, but I feel like it’s a manipulation rather than any demonstration of feelings. She never smiles around him. She has never had fun. Even when he gives her some affection its aggressive and self-pleasing. He thinks of her as his piece of property and that makes him no better than Young Gon. He’s even scarier because he is so smart and manipulative.
In Ho is the only person who has shown any growth in this drama (except maybe Seol’s dad and even that is questionable). His mouth and arrogance got him into trouble when he was younger, but for a kid who grew up abused and abandoned, that’s not surprising. He has a chance to turn his life around and I think he might just take it. If he doesn’t, this drama will be a total waste. I hope He doesn’t run away in fear of retribution from Yoo Jung, but I wouldn’t blame him if he did.
Seol, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!! You bae is a psychopath. In fact, you seem to be a psychopath magnet. Get some help and change your ideal type before you self-destruct! You are with a man that has no friends, makes no emotional attachments, cannot make you smile, and makes elaborate vigilante-type plans to punish others for perceived injustice…and you stay????? There may be no hope for you.
Sigh. And I was so excited about the shows returning after the Chinese New Year. At least Moorim School was good this week…
You’re absolutely right about everything!
Why the heck has Seol been letting Young Gon carry on like he has for over a year? Why wouldn’t she have gone to the police when things first started getting out of hand? Would the police require some sort of hard evidence? Is that why they decided to let her suffer so long? So they could have something concrete to take to the police? Even if that was the case, isn’t collecting evidence the job of the police? Why the heck would these kids decide to take on something like this on their own? Young Gon has gone so far as to threaten lives and even if he’s “just saying” that, it’s not a threat anyone would take lightly. Especially not when someone is as unstable as Young Gon.
Yoo Jung is just as bad, if not worse. Like you said, he’s got intelligence to add to his mental instability which means he can manipulate anyone in any situation and not even bat an eye. He has no conscious. No morals. Nothing to govern him but his own twisted mentality and that’s a scary thing. I don’t think he’s ever known how to love, I don’t think he ever wants to. He simply wants to use people around him before they use him. The thing is, most people around him don’t want to use him at all, he just thinks they do and lets his anger smolder silently beneath a very cold exterior.
I don’t understand why Seol is with Yoo Jung any more than I understand why he first approached her. They’re both miserable together and Seol is only clinging to him because she feels like he’s someone she can depend on. The stupid thing is, she doesn’t want to actually depend on him for anything because she doesn’t like his methods of “protection.” She knows Yoo Jung is manipulative and dangerous and yet she stays. WHY!?! Why would she do this when there are so many other people in this world to love??? Even if she doesn’t fall for In Ho, there’s a whole world of people out there, pick any one of them and they’re likely to be better than Yoo Jung. At least the majority of the people in this world won’t murder you in your sleep! (Not that Yoo Jung would but he definitely gives off that dangerous vibe.)
I don’t think there’s any hope for Seol. She’s too caught up in her own misery to see the reality of any situation. She almost had a breakthrough this week when she realized she’s not the only one in the world who suffers but even that was short-lived. Only too soon she was back in her own dark world of miserable self-pity. Dude, I get that life is tough but that doesn’t mean you start gravitating towards psychopaths who have a nice smile.
I’m really quite done with this whole thing but I’m determined to stick around until the end, just for the sake of In Ho. I want to see him get over all of the garbage of his past and become a successful pianist with a bright future and a pure heart. The rest can wallow in the pit of despair they’ve created for themselves. Maybe someday they’ll figure out a way to escape that pit but I’m not holding my breath.