Am I the only one who can’t believe we’ve come to the end of this drama already? I don’t know why the end took me so by surprise but it did and now here I sit, wondering what I’m going to do with my Sunday afternoons from now on. I’m really going to miss No Ra and Hyun Suk but I suppose moving on is better than dragging things out until they become unbearable. Funny how the lessons you learn in dramas can be applied to real life as well, isn’t it?
Last week we left Hyun Suk making a sincere confession his feelings to No Ra and this week we find that confession taking her completely by surprise. To be honest, I don’t really get why No Ra was surprised to the point of being plagued by hiccups. I mean it’s not like Hyun Suk hasn’t made it perfectly clear, from the very beginning, that he has feelings for No Ra. But I suppose when you spend 20 years with a man who shows absolutely no interest in or affection for you, you wouldn’t know if a man was truly interested in you until he hired a sky-writer to spell it out for you. This would also explain why, later on, No Ra is completely clueless about the friendly lawyer who only stops by to have ddeokbokki when she’s working. The poor woman is completely clueless when it comes to men expressing an interest in her, whether they subtly flirt like the lawyer or just flat-out say it, like Hyun Suk.
As much as I wanted No Ra to accept Hyun Suk’s feelings, I’m glad she didn’t do it right away. No Ra was right to insist on needing some time to herself. Stepping into one relationship so soon after walking away from another just doesn’t sit well with me. The whole point of No Ra going back to school and ending her marriage and starting her life over was because she was on a quest to find herself. Had she gone running straight into Hyun Suk’s arms, she never would have had a chance to experience living life as her own person. She simply would have gone from being Woo Chul’s wife to Hyun Suk’s girlfriend and that would have been so sad. By taking some time to live on her own, No Ra was able to get some things figured out and at least start down a path that will lead her to better places in the future.
While I’m sincerely happy No Ra and Hyun Suk end up together, I do think it would have been nice for them to spend a bit more time apart before getting together. This may end up being the only time I say a OTP needed more time apart before they go together but in this case, I really do believe No Ra would have benefited from more time on her own. Yes, the 3 months she and Hyun Suk apart seemed to have been put to good use. She decided college wasn’t for her, she found a place to live, she made a clean break from Woo Chul, she’s supported her son in whatever it is he’s doing at the moment, she’s found a job doing something she really loves and she’s had a chance to figure out her own heart. I’d say those were a very successful 3 months apart but really, it just doesn’t seem like a lot of time for someone to fully experience living life as a free and independent woman. Though when I take a second to examine No Ra and Hyun Suk’s relationship, it’s easy to see this isn’t the same sort of suffocating relationship she was in with Woo Chul. Hyun Suk isn’t someone No Ra feels she has to constantly compare herself to. She doesn’t see herself as an inferior in any way and she doesn’t spend every second of her life bowing to Hyun Suk’s wishes. These two are in a healthy, mature relationship where each is treated as an equal partner and it’s for that reason alone I’m okay with them being together so quickly. Well, that and the fact they’ve been friends for over 2 decades also helps. Their relationship is more like taking their friendship to the next level than anything else and I like that.
I also like the fact that everyone in this story was left in a better place than where they began. Obviously No Ra and Hyun Suk are together and everyone’s happy but they’re not the only ones who learned a few lessons along the way. Both Woo Chul and Ye Jin started off this drama as horribly conceited, selfish people and I wanted nothing but the worst for them but as the story progressed, they changed and I’m happy to say it was for the better. Being taken down a peg or two by Hyun Suk was the best thing to ever happen to them and I can honestly say that I wish them both well as they journey through life. I’m also wishing Min Soo and Hye Mi well as they face all the challenges that come with growing up. They both have a lot to learn but who doesn’t, especially at that age? I think their time together was well spent and though I was a bit sad to see them go their separate ways, I really do believe it was for the best. There’s so much in life they have to experience, so much more they have to learn, I think it’s better if they have time to learn and experience as much as they can now, while they’re young and free from all the obligations that tie a person down later on in life.
I don’t know if I’ve ever come across a drama that’s spoken so much to me on a personal level but this one sure did. I see so much of myself in No Ra it’s almost scary and I’ve been challenged by her in so many ways. Watching her story, I’ve been reminded that though there are some things in life you can’t change, there are plenty that you can and if there’s something you’re not happy about, or something you want to change, you have the power within yourself to make that change, so long as you have the courage to try. It’s a good lesson to learn and one I try to implement on a daily basis. After all, no one is ever going to change the world for you, it’s something you have to do for yourself. FIGHTING!
So tell me, what did you think of these final episodes? Were you happy with the way things went? Would you have liked to have seen things played out differently? Does anyone else now have “become someone’s eternal noona” on their bucket list, or is that just me? You know I always love hearing from you so be sure to let me know what you’re thinking in the comments below!
You can catch up on all my reviews of Twenty Again here:
A fine drama has many elements to make it unforgettable, one of which should be an OST that speak what the Writer do not intend for the OTP to speak to each other face to face. The unspoken words, the silent looks, the absent from each other moments, then the OST spoke volumes. Same in Hyunsuk’s case, in many of his scenes, I always found one familiar shots keep repeating, of Hyunsuk looking at Nora’s back.
Instead of his dimples, I am haunted by these numerous times he looked at her back, from afar.
He looked, as she cleaned the glass panel for the dance studio, mistaken her having cancer.
He looked as she stand up against the Prof Molester.
He looked in his car, as she walked passed lost in her thoughts.
He looked achingly, as she wandered into her nostalgia dimension, at the High School….
He looked thru’ his mobile phones, her images in the high school uniforms, wouldn’t sleep.
He looked, as she ran off after thanked him for her bucket list fulfilled, damning himself.
He looked, when she got drunken at lounge, that’s one of the very few times he got to look close at her long enough, without having her noticing.
He looked, as Nora walked pass the stunned Minsoo, and the WC in the car….
He looked as the hysterical Nora ran down the steps after witnessed WC’s affair.
He looked helplessly right after that, as Nora wept before Yoonyoung at the bench.
He looked at a contended Nora counting her first pay.
My best Looks of the drama: He looked alarmingly at the dancing Nora, remembering all the feels when he first loved her, oh, horrified that nothing has changed after all, shakened him to bits. You instantly felt his satisfaction, his admiration, his sudden nostalgia feels, his desires stirred, his alarm, his disbelief, his rejection, his fear, panicky, helpless and hopelessness. You felt him suffocated under his world that has collapsed upon him.
The lad can displayed all these those spilt seconds. This is what I call, Lee Sangyoon “becoming Hyunsuk”.