There’s no point in trying to deny this anymore so I’m not even going to try. I’ve completely fallen for Baek In Ho and I want nothing but love and happiness and success and dreams come true and sunshine and rainbow ponies for him. I don’t even know if I care about any other character at this point, I just want Baek In Ho to get his life back and become so much more than what he or anyone else believes he can be. Yup, I’m hopeless.
Hopeless or not, I’ll try to put all that aside so I can talk about all the other events in these next two episodes. It’s kinda surprising how much has happened. We first start off with Hong Seol packing up to move back home and the whole gang is there to help her. I really enjoyed watching everyone together as it shows In Ho and Yoo Jung can get along when they want to. Like Hong Seol said, they don’t always seem like they hate each other, there’s just some sort of bad blood between them that keeps them from getting along and I think there’s more to it than In Ho’s injury. But more on that later. First we have to talk about Yoo Jung catching that creepy underwear thief and the way he handled that situation.
I’m all for Yoo Jung playing the part of the hero but this man needs to know there’s a line, even in the pursuit of justice, and that line shouldn’t be crossed. The fact Yoo Jung beat the crap out of that creeper and didn’t even bat an eye has me convinced there’s a much darker side to this man than any of us knows about. Yes, we’ve seen glimpses of this before, in the way he’s interacted with fellow students, as well as In Ho and In Ha, but this scene with the creeper goes way beyond menacing threats and childish revenge. You don’t beat a man senseless just for the fun of it and I hate to say it but it seems to me Yoo Jung really did enjoy taking his anger out on that scumbag.
I really wanted Seol to know just how dark Yoo Jung’s dark side was and in that respect I got my wish. However I wasn’t all that satisfied with the way she reacted afterwards. She had her moment of fear right after the beating but it didn’t take her very long to overcome that fear. I was okay with her getting over her fright of Yoo Jung but I wasn’t okay with her justifying his actions since they were done to protect her. Just because Yoo Jung was upset about Seol getting hurt doesn’t mean it was okay for him to beat a man so badly. The fact Seol was okay with someone else getting hurt on her behalf bothers me. I know she did confront Yoo Jung afterwards and tell him she didn’t want him to go so far in the future but that just didn’t work for me. It didn’t feel sincere enough and such a half-hearted attempt at keeping Yoo Jung from lashing out again isn’t going to work in the future. He has too much dark in him. He takes too much pleasure in hurting other people and I feel it’s going to take something more to get him to change his ways. if he ever changes at all.
I think that’s my biggest problem with Yoo Jung. He’s not willing to change at all. He’s so set in his ways. He’s so convinced he’s right and the whole rest of the world is in the wrong. A man like that won’t change. He doesn’t know how and now matter how sweet Hong Seol is, she’s not going to be able to make him change because he’s not going to see that he needs to. This is only going to lead to heartbreak later on and that just sucks!
What also sucks is watching Hong Seol become so caught up in all the warm-fuzzies that come with having her first real boyfriend that she’s becoming blinded to the things happening around her. She’s so caught up in Yoo Jung she’s unable to see he’s as manipulative as the creeper Oh Young Gon. It drives me so crazy, watching Yoo Jung use Seol to get under In Ho’s skin and knowing she’s completely clueless in the matter just makes it a thousand times worse. How can a girl be so swayed by everyone around her she can’t find the spine she needs to stand on her own two feet? She used to have a spine. She used to use her brain. She used to be able to see the broader picture but now she’s not only letting Yoo Jung manipulate her but she’s letting Bo Ra and Young Gon and Min Soo and pretty much everyone else in her life dictate what she does and where she goes and who she sees. The only person who’s not trying to take advantage of her at the moment is in In Ho, which is one of the many reasons why I love him so much. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to start gushing over him just yet.)
It’s very frustrating to me to watch Seol become the target of so many ridiculous characters. We learned a lot more about Young Gon and his story in these episodes which solved a lot of mysteries but I still can’t figure out why he’s so dead-set on getting his revenge. I get that he had a crush on Seol and I get that he thought Yoo Jung was encouraging him in his pursuit of Seol but why is he trying to drag them both down just because he was rejected? He was being a total creeper around Seol which makes her rejecting him completely understandable. But that was over a year ago and he’s still hung up on the whole thing? Why? He has a new girlfriend now, she has Yoo Jung, why in the world is he trying to exact revenge on people who didn’t really do anything to him in the first place? Is it a matter of pride? Is he still hung up on Seol? Is he just crazy? Why don’t I get this? Am I looking at this the wrong way? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
What makes even less sense to me is the way everyone is okay with Min Soo suddenly taking on the role of Hong Seol’s clone. Does no one but Bo Ra see the creepiness of this? I mean really! This is just plain old crazy! I understand imitation is considered the highest form of flattery and I’ve been known to try to re-create a certain look from time to time but I don’t go so far as to change everything about myself to become someone’s clone. Why is everyone okay with such an extreme form of imitation? And why is everyone taking this crazy chick’s side anytime something comes up between her and Hong Seol? Is everyone jealous because Seol is dating Yoo Jung? Do they think this is what she gets for reaching beyond her station or what? Again, I just don’t understand this.
Basically the only thing I do understand is In Ho’s desire to better himself. Out of all the characters in this story, he’s the only one making any sort of change for the better. He’s trying to improve himself and his life and though things don’t always go his way, he’s not giving up. When one job falls through, he’s goes out and gets another. When he’s presented with an opportunity to pursue a long-forgotten dream, he decides to put aside his pride and go after that dream. He’s starting to realize he could be doing so much more with his life than what he’s been doing these past five years and he’s starting down a path that will lead to a much better life, if only he’s willing to put in the work to get there. In short, In Ho is the only character who’s doing any sort of growing and that is probably the biggest reason why I love him so much. Well that and he’s an adorable, wounded, semi-scoundrel who plays the piano and has a smile so stunning it makes my heart stop but you know, that whole growing thing is important too.
There’s really a whole lot more I want to talk about but I’ve already rambled on for so long, I should probably wrap things up here. But before I go, I just want to ask, does anyone else have a feeling In Ha and Yoo Jung used to be more than friends? Their memories and such this week made me think they almost have this sort of jilted lover thing going on and it’s making me wonder if Yoo Jung isn’t being so nasty as a form of revenge for something In Ha did (or he believe she did). It’s just a thought and I just wanted to ask before we moved on to the next episodes. Now I am really am wrapping up so be sure to let me know your thoughts on these two episodes in the comments below!
You can catch up on all my reviews of Cheese in the Trap here:
Were you as shocked as I was that In Ho is able to play the piano? I was under the impression that he had chosen NOT to rehab his hand and that he was no longer capable of playing the piano. His ability to play the piano wasn’t taken from him – he just has to work at it a little. So why is he so angry? I was really confused. With practice he seems to have the ability to return to his former glory but he just gave up??? And why is he always running away? What else is going on?
Yoo Jung’s emotionless responses to things freaks me out more than just a little. He is a vigilante. He dispenses what he sees as justice without ever batting an eye. It’s scary. And Hong Seol’s rationalizations of his behavior as okay because it was done for her is just plain sick. Has she lost her mind? A cute, rich guy pays attention to her and she loses her mind? She needs to wise up or something bad is going to happen to her. Now In Ho was partially at fault for “baiting” Joo Young about having other men take care of his girlfriend when he knows the darkness that lies in his heart, but it would have happened eventually anyway. I am hoping that Hong Seol breaks free of this bizarre relationship, but I’m afraid that when you date “crazy”, you can’t leave…
I’m enjoying it and wondering what will happen next. I, too, have fallen for In Ho and hope he can move forward in life. I wish that for Hong Seol as well. I just know that there is going to be a lot of suffering in her future. Between Joo Young and Young Gon manipulating people, she doesn’t stand a chance at walking away unscathed.
It wouldn’t have made sense to me if In Ho had completely lost his ability to play the piano. I mean his hand obviously functions fine so it only makes sense for him to be able to play to some extent. I think the problem was that after his injury, he had to work for his talent and that wasn’t something he’d ever done before. I’m pretty sure he was born with this incredible gift and up to now he’s taken it for granted. When he lost the ability to play with ease, he decided to give up and hold a grudge because that’s way easier than working towards a dream. However, now that he’s met Seol he’s starting to realize it’s not a bad thing to work, if it means that work will bring you satisfaction and fulfillment in the end. That whole conversation they had on the subway, about work and what it is they’re both working for, says a lot. In Ho is beginning to realize if he wants things out of life, he’s going to have to work for them. He’s also starting to realize that’s not such a bad thing. It shows he’s growing up which is something not a lot of characters are choosing to do.
You’re right about Seol’s craziness. I can’t’ believe she’s sunk so far as to rationalize Yoo Jung’s behavior. She used to be so onto him and his shenanigans. Now she just looks on and smiles because it was all “done for her.” It’s disgusting and disturbing and I don’t like it at all. She’s going to end up being so hurt by the time all of this is said and done. I guess that’s what you get for letting yourself be swayed by handsome crazies.