Thousand Day Promise: Episode 14
by javabeans
Just when you think this couple has finally achieved a measure of peace and reconciliation, new developments arise and rock their world, just a little further. As if they could take any more of the shaking. And with the news come additional conflicts to challenge this couple. As soon as they’ve gotten on the same page, there they are on opposite sides again.
SONG OF THE DAY
Top Cloud – “지워야 산다” (I have to forget to live) [ Download ]
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EPISODE 14 RECAP
On the morning of the wedding, Hyang-gi gets ready to leave the house for a change. She finds her parents in the workout room, and her mother proceeds to speculate that she’s going to go to some cafe with sentimental memories, where she’ll bawl out her eyes over her lost groom. Mom says she’s thankful to Ji-hyung, in fact, and wants to bow down in gratitude for calling off the engagement. The thought is so backwards that it’s kind of hilarious — like, Thanks for showing us you’re a jerk… to make up for the fact that you were a jerk in the first place.
Hyang-gi tells her mother that she’s the wrong one in this scenario for thinking solely of herself. She reminds Mom that she and “Ajumma” (Ji-hyung’s mother) have been friends for 40 years, and yet she hasn’t once thought of how painful this must be for her: “You’re not Ajumma’s friend. It’s so strange. You seem like a bad person. And if you’re a bad person, it makes me ashamed.”
Mom says that Ji-hyung leaving her for an Alzheimer’s patient is too much of a blow to the pride. Hyang-gi counters, “Is your pride more important than your friend’s unhappiness?” I half-expect Mom to retort, “Well, duh. It’s MY pride, and HER unhappiness.” But no, Mom gets offended and starts after her daughter, while Dad holds her back and urges Hyang-gi to go.
Mom stews, calling Hyang-gi an idiot, and Dad tells her that being pure doesn’t equal being stupid. He’s never thought of Hyang-gi as dumb.
The newlyweds follow their wedding ceremony with a plane ride to their honeymoon, while the groom’s family stays home, just waiting out the day. Ji-hyung’s father works in his home office, but a perturbed glance at the clock shows that he’s not totally uncaring of the fact that his son just got married and he didn’t bother going. At least I’m guessing that’s what that look means; the show’s got to do a lot more to convince me he actually has a heart capable of regretful feeling.
Ji-hyung’s aunt frets that she should’ve at least gone to the wedding, but she was mindful of his dad’s wrath, plus Mom stopped her from going. Mom replies that she can understand Dad’s reaction, and that they should respect how he feels. She says that even though he didn’t spend much time with Ji-hyung because of his work, he was generous by not showing his disappointment when Ji-hyung decided not to go to medical school and chose architecture instead. Pshhhhh. I literally just snorted so loud my cat fell off the desk. These people, I swear. Are they really human? Or maybe it’s just that their settings are calibrated to human-oid.
Architect Alex puts in a call to Mom to report that the wedding went off well and the couple is headed on their honeymoon. He says the bride was beautiful and it would’ve been nice if Ji-hyung’s parents had been there to see it, but adds that the couple was “briefly teary” at their absence.
Ji-hyung and Seo-yeon land and head to their beachside resort, and Seo-yeon says she wants to see the ocean today, “because it might not be there tomorrow.” Mood dampened at that constant reminder, Ji-hyung says the ocean won’t go anywhere and she apologizes, saying that she’s in a strange down mood. He says it’s because she’s tired and she agrees, telling him that she must be coming down from the stress.
She kisses him with a smile, but as her thoughts turn inward, her voice gets hard and scary:
Seo-yeon (voiceover): “That’s not it. Starting a while back, I suddenly felt angry, so much it made me want to die. Why me? Why did I have to get stuck with this? If this could happen to anyone, why did that anyone have to be me? What am I doing right now? What am I doing with this man?”
Ji-hyung breaks into that thought, commenting that it’s been exactly a year since their relationship began. She laughs over the memory of staying cooped up in a hotel room, uneasy at the thought of being labeled a man-stealer. Aside from the times they’d been washing up or eating, they’d spent most of their time in bed. He adds, “Because we were crazed.”
Hyang-gi ends up going to Ajumma’s house bearing flowers, saying she guessed she could used the consolation. Aunt gapes at her, as though wondering, Who created this girl? (Even more shocking is the answer to that question.) Ji-hyung’s mother says the consolation is working, and Hyang-gi’s pleased with that and hugs her, saying that she feels sympatico with her. Mom says she understands.
They go out for a walk, and Hyang-gi sympathizes with Ji-hyung’s mother, recalling how stunned she felt when she the wedding was first called off, and again when she heard he was getting married, and again when she found out the bride was ailing. But now she feels more at ease, after realizing that she couldn’t compete against the other woman, and seeing “what kind of love Oppa was in.”
She adds that she feels so sorry for Seo-yeon’s situation, and wishes she were her unni. Seeing Mom’s reaction, Hyang-gi smiles: “This is why my mother calls me moron, I’ll bet.”
The newlyweds settle into their extravagant honeymoon suite (a wedding gift) and put in a call to Seo-yeon’s aunt, who’s thrilled to hear from her. The call gets cut short by Myung-hee’s entrance, as she’s wincing in pain from a stomachache. Just as I’m gearing up to make a joke about what goes around comes around, her mother does it for me: “You’re being punished.” Not just for her general pissiness, but for carping all day long about the wedding, the bride’s old-fashioned gown, the groom’s appearance, and on and on.
Myung-hee retorts, “I was just speaking honestly.” It makes her feel better to say that at least she didn’t marry a groom whose family didn’t bother to show up, and Mom counters that her husband’s mother wasn’t all that fond of her, either. Myung-hee glares, and Mom says innocently, “What? I was just speaking honestly.” Ha. She adds, “What do the two of us have going for us aside from honesty?” Okay, that cracks me up.
Ji-hyung escorts Seo-yeon down for their honeymoon dinner, marveling at how grand she looks. She says that her clothes are wings, and he counters, “No, add wings to a pig and you still have a pig.” That’s cute.
She tells him that she’d planned this moment, picking out clothes to wow him. But his happy smile fades when she tells him to remember how she looks tonight, because if he forgets, her efforts were in vain. Aw, what a kicker.
She poses for photos with her handbag, blowing kisses, and making arm-hearts at Ji-hyung. Then he does the same. It’s pretty damn cute.
They have dinner and toast with a repeat of their vows (“I love you.” “Thank you for accepting me”). Seo-yeon says this is a welcome change from the affair, and lists all the precautions they had to take, and all the ways that made her feel left behind and lonely.
He apologizes, but she says it doesn’t matter now: “You’re mine 24 hours a day, I can hold your hand anywhere, and there’s no place we can’t go.”
He sits by her and smiles lovingly and tells her he loves her. She wants to eat quickly and go back to the room, which makes him tease, “And do what?” But she says, “Throw up. My insides feel all churned up.”
She vomits in the bathroom, then chalks it up to fatigue. Tiredness makes her nauseous, and she’s been feeling queasy since they started traveling.
An employee drops by with Seo-yeon’s purse, which she’d left in the bathroom. While Ji-hyung showers, she calls Jae-min, and I don’t know if it makes me happy or sad when she tells him, “I’m here on my honeymoon but I thought of you, Oppa.” She says lightly that she’s going to “fire” Ji-hyung since he didn’t notice she’d left her purse behind — she can’t have her caregiver being as senile as she is.
She hangs up as Ji-hyung joins her, but gags when another bout of nausea hits her. She lurches for the bathroom, this time clutching her head, and Ji-hyung worriedly rushes to her side. She says she’s fine, that it was just a momentary spell, but he watches over her in concern as she sleeps that night.
Seo-yeon feels better the next day as they head out to the beach and she recites passages from novels, although she forgets one in the middle of a line. But the wave of dizziness hits her again, and she attributes it to anemia.
The brief spell passes, and they spend the afternoon taking snapshots until she gets tired.
Hyang-gi’s mother comes to see Ji-hyung’s mother, for once her voice kind and gentle rather than that banshee shrill we’ve gotten used to. She says with genuine concern that she’s worried about Ji-hyung’s mother, admitting that when she gets worked up she can get harsh with her words; her husband calls her a “crazy plow.” That’s an apt description, which makes me laugh at the image of her churning up the soil in crazed motions, chewing up everything in her path.
Hyang-gi’s mother says that once she stopped and thought about it (which, granted, took her a while), she realized that the groom’s family had it worse, and commiserates with her plight of having a dementia patient for a daughter-in-law: “You’ll want to die.” Glad to see her flair for the dramatic is untouched. Ji-hyung’s mother says it’s not to that extent.
Hyang-gi’s mother apologizes for overreacting and promises she’ll be better. You’ve gotta love that even in her well-meaning olive-branch gesture, she’s blind to how she’s offending Ji-hyung’s mother with all the talk of how miserable she must feel, how her son is crazy, and how he’s doomed his own life. She tells Ji-hyung’s mother that they’re not just friends in name and that she sincerely feels for her, and to forget what she said about making her husband resign from the hospital. The sentiment is nice, but Ji-hyung’s mother’s answers are short.
She surprises Hyang-gi’s mother by saying she wants her husband to quit, because it has become clear that their relationship is skewed in the power department, and that Hyang-gi’s mother sees them as lower status than herself: “I want him to quit, and for our relationship to return to being equals.”
Hyang-gi’s mother protests that she is devoted to her friend, but Ji-hyung’s mother replies that the instant her friend ordered her husband to quit, she’d decided she wouldn’t see her anymore. She’s put up with a lot from Hyang-gi’s mother, holding back and only seeing her friend’s positive traits, so she entreats her friend not to ruin a 40-year-relationship.
Hyang-gi’s mother replies that it’s not just Ji-hyung’s mother who’s been holding back — that she’s done her fair share of biting her tongue, too (unbelievable, but true). That it’s plain as day when Ji-hyung’s mother looks down at her and thinks judgmentally, “Oh, what a snob she is.”
On the other hand, the dads have a calmer heart-to-heart in the sauna, with Ji-hyung’s father telling his friend that he would’ve been able to just accept and put it behind him if not for his wife. And because she wants him to quit the hospital, he’ll do it — because she still respects him and he doesn’t want to disappoint her, “even though it’s not like I’ve been such an outstanding husband.” Wow, is he actually a little bit self-aware? Not that it makes him any more likable, but it’s funny that he’s at his most candid and least prideful in front of his friend, whereas it’s like he’s got to maintain his front with his own family.
Seo-yeon gags again at lunch, so Ji-hyung insists on taking her to the hospital. She resists, saying it’s unnecessary since she’s just feeling the side effects of her medication. He can’t be sure that that’s it and is too uneasy to let it go, so he declares that if she doesn’t listen to him, he’s going to give her the silent treatment. And then he ruins that threat by adding that Architect Alex gave him the marital advice to start strong from Day 1 of the marriage, which makes her smile because it’s so unexpectedly cute.
Off to the hospital they go. Seo-yeon pouts, thinking this is going to just make the doctors annoyed with them, but he’s adamant that they go and not care about that. The doctor who checks her in guesses right away that she may be pregnant based on her symptoms — he’s an obstetrician — but that thought spooks Seo-yeon, who leaves the hospital before getting examined. She argues that it makes no sense based on the timing (they’d broken up months ago, and only married yesterday), declaring that she’s just going to pick up some digestive aids, and that’s that.
Turns out she picks up more than just that, because the next thing we know, she’s looking aghast at a pregnancy test, which shows two positive little lines. She wraps it well and throws it away, not telling Ji-hyung about it.
Next it’s Hyang-gi’s father’s turn to come to see Ji-hyung’s mother, asking her to help him convince her husband not to quit his job. He bows his head and apologizes to her.
She’s forgotten whether or not she remembered to call her brother after arriving, so she calls him now and chats about the basics: The weather’s cold, she’s happy, Ji-hyung’s treating her like a queen. But all the while she’s battling tears, and after hanging up she breaks down, angry at herself for forgetting her own brother.
That night, she takes another pregnancy test, which also comes out positive. When she joins Ji-hyung in bed, she tells him about the test, and how her illness must have been affecting her for a long time before she realized it, because she can’t recall when she stopped taking her birth control, or when her last period was. She says in that resigned voice that other newlyweds would like this news, and he touches her face and says, “I like it. Is it okay if I’m happy about it? Are you not?”
She tells him she can’t take care of a baby with dementia, and he says she can do it with help. She argues, what if she lets it drop over a balcony, or drowns it accidentally in the bath? He tells her not to fixate on the worst-case scenario, but she argues that she can’t be a mother who doesn’t know her child — she couldn’t do that to a baby. She says that if it’s true, they’ll have to abort. Turning away from him, she says, “I’m sorry. I’m your nightmare.”
The next day in the hospital, Seo-yeon gets an ultrasound and hears her baby’s heartbeat, confirming that she’s eight weeks pregnant. As she lies on the table, she hears Ji-hyung’s words: “It’s hard for me to give this up. I want another you. But the decision is yours. I’ll follow your decision.”
Next, they consult with Seo-yeon’s regular doctor, who agrees with Seo-yeon’s decision because the pregnancy will add stress to the patient. However, if she decides to go forward with it, she’ll have to discontinue her medication for the safety of the child. That’s enough to get Ji-hyung to change his mind on the spot, since Seo-yeon’s safety comes first.
But it has the converse effect on Seo-yeon, who changes her mind as well: “I want to have the baby.” Ji-hyung protests, but she says the medication doesn’t seem to be working anyway.
They take the argument outside, where he emphasizes, “But you’d have to stop your medication” and she yells back, “Its heart was beating!” She says it sounded like the baby was talking to her, asking her not to get rid of it. Ji-hyung says that there’s nothing more important that keeping her with him for as long as possible. I guess it shouldn’t be funny, but there’s a touch of black humor in the way they both use the same argument: “How can you flip-flop so easily?”
She tells him that her decision changed is because she can’t go through with it after all, and that she’s curious to know why of all the women out there, this child had to happen to a woman with Alzheimer’s. Ji-hyung’s frustrated retort: “What do you mean, why? You slept with me.” Ha, another moment that shouldn’t be funny but is.
Ji-hyung’s mother comes over to the newlywed pad to greet the couple, and gives some motherly advice to Seo-yeon about remembering that she’s dealing with a huge unhappiness hand-in-hand with a big happiness. It’s a reminder to not tilt too far in either direction, which I think is more apt that she knows.
Mom adds that as a mother, she finds it difficult to think this way, but that as person to person, woman to woman, she can’t dislike her son’s actions. She urges her to make the most of her time being happy while she can: “I hope you’ll make him happy, my son who says that nothing has meaning without you.”
Mom hands over a gift, which includes the only thing she had prepared for a future daughter-in-law, a ring, in addition to some of Mom’s own jewelry.
That night, the couple gets into a full-on, shouty fight about her decision. This time he’s throwing her own words at her (she can’t care for a baby), just as she’s throwing his (they’ll get help). She tells him that not having the baby was a decision she made for his benefit: “Having it is for me!”
She cries that she wants to have the baby, wants to look it in the eye and laugh. And now it spills out: “The mother who abandoned me is living, healthy. They say the probability of passing on the disease isn’t that high. Its heart was beating, you stubborn man!”
The fight leaves him and Ji-hyung grabs her in an embrace, and she sobs.
COMMENTS
Oy, this couple. They couldn’t just let them be happy a little before the impending doom, could they? They had to throw us another, even more heartbreaking wrench to topple the tentative peace they’ve made with their future.
This conflict stirs up some meaty issues, because before it was man versus nature, Seo-yeon in a race against time to make the most of her lucid days. Everyone was, for the most part, on the same page: Everyone wanted Seo-yeon to take her medication and be herself for as long as possible. Now, however, you’re pitting Seo-yeon’s desire to have the baby against Ji-hyung’s desire to keep her alive. Those aren’t mutually exclusive conditions — having the baby isn’t a death sentence — but he’s so scared of losing any time with her that he won’t give up the one thing he does have, and that’s the hope in the medicine. Without it, they’ve got no last line of defense against the disease.
But Seo-yeon wants the baby, and how do you argue with that? It’s a question I’ve pondered since Scent of a Woman raised a similar one, of whether the sick person is always right, and whether those around her are just supposed to bend, no matter what. Because she’s got them all beat on the My Life Sucks front, and therefore that’s her prerogative to tell or keep secrets, to take her medicine or not, to give up treatment or keep going.
I agree that it’s her choice, although it doesn’t stop my heart from pinching whenever her loved ones are hurt because of it. I confess I’ve started to feel upset with Seo-yeon every time she does that thing of stating her condition in the harshest, most wince-inducing way possible. I chafe, even as I recognize that she has the right to deal with her condition as she wishes, in whatever way works for her. But it’s almost cruel, her way of speaking. It’s not that she’s unaware that her brother, cousin, or husband are hurt; it’s like she does it on purpose, like the way she talks to Ji-hyung about the hard fate he has ahead of him. It feels like she’s rubbing his nose in his choice to stick with her, as though reminding him daily of the pain to come somehow prepares him for the pain better. Rather than, say, trying to focus on the good that’s here now while it’s here.
Ji-hyung points out that she seems to like using that word “adultery,” and I agree — it’s like she purposely says things in their harshest form, like using offense as defense. In that way she’s a porcupine of a character; she’s not as outwardly aggressive as Eun-jo in Cinderella’s Sister, for example, but she comes from the same branch of “Don’t hurt me — I won’t let you” and “If I say it first, you have no power to hurt me.” It’s interesting from a character analysis standpoint, but a little exhausting to watch as a viewer.
RELATED POSTS
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 13
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 12
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 11
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 10
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 9
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 8
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 7
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 6
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 5
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 4
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 3
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 2
- Thousand Day Promise: Episode 1
- Thousand Day Promise’s poster and trailer
Tags: featured, Jung Yumi (2), Kim Rae-won, Lee Sang-woo, Park Yoo-hwan, Su Ae, Thousand Day Promise
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
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1 Little One
November 29, 2011 at 8:32 PM
Thanks :)!
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2 Cynthia
November 29, 2011 at 8:35 PM
Thanks for the rapid recap!
I'm finding the pacing of this drama to be exactly right for my viewing. I actually
appreciated the mid-episode breather - it gave me time to reabsorb what is really
happening to Su Ae's character. I like her verbose approach, even if others have
criticised it as being "overly wordy, no one talks this much".
I disagree. She's a writer and an editor. Words are her bread and butter, and her love of
language spills over into her persona. This is an introspective piece - the writer is doing
justice to that internal monologue.
The one character I'm having doubts about is the aunt. To me, her erratic emotional swings are
akin to seeing a bi-polar personality. She's either manically high or depressingly low - and
sometimes both in the same scene. I'm uncomfortable watching her because it feels like over-acting, to me.
It's interesting to see the pregnancy twist thrown into the mix. This poor girl can't catch a break.
What I do find odd is that there are only a few episodes to go, so unless there's a time jump at
or near the end, this drama might not be living up to it's title. My only speculation is that she has the child
and he promises that he won't allow their child to ever forget her after she's gone. The time jump would have
to be shown when the child is 2 or older.
I might have a hard time seeing it - I know I'll be wailing like a 2 year old, myself, at the end of this one..
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Cynthia
November 29, 2011 at 8:50 PM
Sorry for the weird appearance of the split sentences - it's like my cut/paste tool went nuts.
:)
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rin
November 30, 2011 at 12:32 AM
It will probably be similar to "God give me more time" jdrama. She has baby last episode and time jump near the end.
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maracarrero
November 30, 2011 at 4:08 AM
wholeheartedly agree
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3 minhe
November 29, 2011 at 8:37 PM
thanks for the recap! sooo much..:)
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4 melonhead
November 29, 2011 at 8:40 PM
"Aunt gapes at her, as though wondering, Who created this girl? (Even more shocking is the answer to that question.)"
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
That just made my day. Naw, I love Hyang-gi. She's so sweet and good, even if she is really passive.
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5 fangirl98
November 29, 2011 at 9:09 PM
Oh no....
Didn't see THAT coming so soon. I truly need the rest of the week to process this one.
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6 sangay
November 29, 2011 at 9:19 PM
i have always like hyang gi.
though she loved ji hyung, but she never really clung to him even though he broke off their wedding at the last minute.
she just loved him in her own way, and wishing him happiness in his marriage with seo yeon too.
naive, maybe.
pure ... definitely !
realised yesterday that the drama's 20 episodes long, and was wondering how the story will continue ...
kind of expected this pregnancy thingy to appear since it seems most logical.
i have always felt seo yeon being unfair to her cousin and brother.
it's like she can just vent her frustration and all wilfulness at them at her while simply 'cos she's a patient and so they should understand and give in to her.
now i guess ji hyung has become the 3rd target.
in a way, i think it comes from seo yeon's pride. she was able to control herself very well since young, never really showing real emotions, working hard to keep herself and moon kwon from being treated (or viewed) as leeches.
last episode ... maybe we'll see ji yung reading a book to his daughter, a book that was written by seo yeon .....
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7 imChildish
November 29, 2011 at 9:22 PM
thx for recap :)
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8 LeeBebeolli
November 29, 2011 at 9:26 PM
I definitely saw the pregnancy thing coming. Just two minutes into reading the recaps and I had a feeling. But wow, i really wonder where this show is going to go for the next few episodes left. Thank you for the recaps. I've come to love them more than the actual show hehe :)
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9 cher
November 29, 2011 at 9:28 PM
Thank you for the recap. I look forward to it every Mon and Tues. Till next...
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10 saranga
November 29, 2011 at 9:39 PM
lee mi-sook cracks me up yet again. "your son's life is doomed." so frank, and unintentionally hurtful. she may have a sharp tongue, but at least she is honest in a way that isn't calculated or premeditated. she's always true to her feelings, and her coming to apologize shows that she knows how to admit to her own faults. sometimes.
hyang-gi's father had a funny moment too- "when did 7 become 12?" regarding his extramarital affairs. this was always hinted at in earlier episodes, but i guess it sort of explains why hyang-gi's mother is the way she is- the hospital visits for depression, the obsession with plastic surgery, clothes, shopping, and material things in general.
i really wish the show would clarify aunt's relationship to ji-hyung's mother. i know she is called aunt, and she calls ji-hyung's father "형부" but it doesn't seem like she could be a blood relative... otherwise would she be fetching tea and doing chores for the family? she seems too subservient to the family to be a blood relative, though she acts much more familiar with them than a regular housekeeper would. as far as i know, the show hasn't made this clear...
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Javabeans
November 29, 2011 at 9:45 PM
She is the aunt, younger sister of Mom. (Ji-hyang calls her 이모.) She has an oddly servile role in the household, with Lee Mi-sook just blithely breezing in and ordering drinks from her -- but on the other hand, she does also live a dilettante lifestyle on her sister and bro-in-law's dime, with her English lessons, movie clubs, and so on. I do think it's weird.
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11 cv
November 29, 2011 at 9:46 PM
Thanks for the recap. happy and sad news at the same time...awwww....
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12 luraaa
November 29, 2011 at 10:16 PM
Poor Oppa.
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13 nurii
November 29, 2011 at 10:17 PM
thanks for the fast and nicely written recaps.
i expected something happens and when its happening, i still cant believe it.
*sigh*
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14 joujou
November 29, 2011 at 10:31 PM
I agree with you sangay. I think Seo Yeon treats the men in her life unfairly, and even her Aunt too. Its like the people that care about her the most she treats worse than the people who know her the least and care about her the least (e.g. her treatment of Jiyang's mom). I would disagree with the concept that Seo Yeon's decision to have the baby is her prerogative or that about 50% of the decision she not only be hers especially because she is a wife. This is my own personal opinion but especially because she is married her decisions do not only affect her but her husband. It would be different if she were having the baby by herself and without Jiyang in the picture. Honestly, I think Seo Yeon can be rather selfish as a character because while she cares for others and is considerate of them to a certain extent. It feels that she does not believe that she could be wrong or that others would want her to act differently than she does. She lets her pride and potential fear of being weak or dependent from allowing her to develop closer relationships with others.
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15 jakebot
November 30, 2011 at 12:19 AM
you could say that seo-yeon's character is consistent in that she doesn't want any favors, and that she wants her family/loves to get that "this is not a game." it matters. she cuts everybody around her because all of the things she is going through are cutting her, and it's her only way to stay present. it is super challenging living with and helping the terminal. i've been forced to do it a few times, so i get the angle they are using for seo-yeon.
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Cynthia
November 30, 2011 at 6:41 AM
Have to agree. I've wondered if the writer for this drama has actually experienced dealing with an Alzheimer's patient. One of the reasons why I like seeing the forced perspective framed shots is its relation to memories (or thoughts) - as the brain loses its elasticity, the thought process becomes singular and isolated. For me, the framing/black shots show that.
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16 fallingstar
November 30, 2011 at 1:29 AM
Ji-hyung...god I have never hated a male lead so much. It's amazing how anyone could fall for him when all he's pretty much got is his looks. Everything else, from morals to personality is pretty subpar.
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17 Sisa
November 30, 2011 at 2:56 AM
Wow, i'm really shocked. I feel bad for them, having a baby is beautiful but not when one of you is gonna forget about it soon and the other has to take care of both the mother and baby.
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18 olsen
November 30, 2011 at 3:09 AM
Thank you
OMG..baby?? seriously?
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19 marie
November 30, 2011 at 3:23 AM
Thank you javabeans for the fast recap. More power to this blog!
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20 dddd
November 30, 2011 at 3:57 AM
l can understand Seo Yeon. Somehow she feels guilty marrying JiHyung as she is aware that she's ruining the life of the person she loves the most although she's trying hard to convince herself that she deserves to be happy like other women and JiHyung has always belonged to her. She knows that she's getting all the unexpected happiness she yearned for only because she's sick. It is the inner guilt towards her loves ones (not just JiHyung) and frustrations that she will be leaving them soon that makes her speak harshly to her loved ones. It feels like she's actually angry of herself. Her loved ones like JiHyung, oppa and moon kwon know that those words actually hurt Seo Yeon herself the most. I don't find her selfish. She might seem a person who keeps a distance to her loved ones but deep down inside she truly treasures them. She really cares for Moon Kwon. You can tell how upset she was to forget calling him during her honeymoon. She might seem harsh to him, but she cares for his future. As for Jaemin oppa, she respects him. That is why she insist in letting oppa to know her wedding news first before she announces to other people. To her, oppa is a person she can trust and lean on. I don't recall seeing her throwing tantrum to oppa. She is most grateful to aunt. Like she told oppa that she feels sorry for aunt and hopes that her aunt will not know about her sickness. I do feel that Seo Yeon actually misses her mom a lot and was hoping to see her mom at her wedding as she was repeating her words, trying to convince herself that it is not necessary to let her mom know about her wedding.
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21 nonski
November 30, 2011 at 6:28 AM
thanks for the recaps JB :)
awww, they got only got away from all the unhappiness for a very short time.
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22 sjk
November 30, 2011 at 6:30 AM
i really like how fleshed out the character of seo-yeon is...she seems like she is battling different emotions/feelings all at once. on one hand, the pain & abandonment from her childhood is always with her as she deals with people at a safe distance but on the other hand she is dealt with a disease that forces her to rely on others and it shatters the pride that she so wants to remain intact. i also agree that she wants to say/think it before anyone else does to combat some of the future pain/humiliation/dependency that she will have to face. she is trying to soften the blow for herself. her character is so starkly different from hyang-gi's character. hyang-gi has the emotion luxury of living out each of her hurts, not trying to hide them or protect herself, but feeling safe enough to feel them. it hurts her, but she doesn't seem to have any walls up at all. she is "pure".
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23 Venus
November 30, 2011 at 6:40 AM
Talking about huge curve ball..wow I really was expecting this at all. To be honest the first thing I though when she was feeling tired and sick "she got brain tumor"...but the pregnancy is ok with me, it makes the story more real. I totally feel for both of them and it a huge gamble cause she is risking her life. Lets see what other curve balls the writers come up with.
I agree JB the whole bravado face by SY is getting old at this point, I mean I get it she is trying to get a hold of herself, but at the same time is not very emotionaly healthy and is just kills the mood. I though she had come to accept her condition, but is clear in this episode she still struggling. I want YS to let go and truly embrace whatever time she got left, that she can have a good sense of humor and not just be "mood killer".
Thanks for recaps!!
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rin
November 30, 2011 at 9:37 PM
It's hard to come to terms with death. Especially if you have something to live for. You may accept it, but it will always flip flop between accepting it and rejecting it. It's similar to 1 litre of tears because she has no other choice but to accept her condition and behave bravely, but deep inside, she still fears death. One way to show a pretense of not fearing death is to make fun of it.
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24 Gongaroo
November 30, 2011 at 9:15 AM
I know - it's absolutely horrifying that she's a "mood killer" because she's got dementia and has to decide whether or not to have an abortion and is at odds with her husband about it.
Doesn't it totally suck to have a character who has good days and bad days when accepting her deteriorating mental condition instead of just gracefully accepting her fate and walking around with a smile on her face?
The thing I love the most about Seo-yeon is that her character is real. She's not perfect: she lashes out at her family, her fate, and is critical of herself, all things that everyone does from fear or frustration. How many people do you know that handle the fear of the unknown and death with poise and dignity every single day that they have left to them instead of breaking down and being human?
I can imagine no worse fate than losing myself piece by piece. Death doesn't scare me but the loss of who I am, my memories, the existence of my loved ones - now that scares the crap out of me. I feel that Yeon Jae had it a lot easier than Seo-yeon did as when Yeon Jae takes her last breath she'll be able to look her loved ones in the eye and know who they are. Seo-yeon won't be able to as she'll merely be a shell by then.
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25 kate cee
November 30, 2011 at 4:05 PM
Is anybody doing the math here on the baby's conception? 'Coz I believe the last time they met was over two months
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via
November 30, 2011 at 7:08 PM
I think they also making out when they got to see each other when she's trying to convince him not to canceled his wedding.. Just a thought.. hehehe... or it is exactly 2 months from their last meeting and making out before they broke up because he had to get married with his fiancee.
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jake
December 1, 2011 at 3:42 AM
the time period between their break up (1st episode) till their honeymoon is only at most two months, around 7 to 8 weeks.
Ji Hyung and Hyang Gi's wedding was supposed to be held one month after Ji Hyung and Seo Yeon's break up.
After that Ji Hyung started to propose to Seo Yeon. Before Seo Yeon accepted his marriage proposal, Ji Hyung's mom thought it was not right for Ji Hyung to marry someone so soon after the cancellation of the wedding with Hyang Gi. It didn't took Ji Hyung too long to get Seo Yeon to agree with the wedding so I would assume that he took at most 2 to 3 weeks to convince Seo Yeon.
The wedding with Seo Yeon was held on the same week after Seo Yeon accepted him. Ji Hyung visited Seo Yeon's aunt the next day after Seo Yeon agreed with marrying him. They told aunt that Seo Yeon will get married 'on this Saturday'. So, the wedding was held on the same week, just a few days after Ji Hyung finally succeeded in convincing Seo Yeon to marry him.
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26 shane
November 30, 2011 at 5:26 PM
Why is it that some of comments here is about Seo Yeon is dying. Is she die soon?
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rin
November 30, 2011 at 9:40 PM
She will die slowly. She won't live too long. The brain controls the whole body. If the brain shrivels, the body won't live. The doctor tells her to take medicine to slow down the process. But with the baby, she can't take medicine.
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27 via
November 30, 2011 at 7:03 PM
what a dilemma.. she shouldnt keep the baby, but the baby is already alive there, now its her heart taking all the rational thinking, because it is risky to keep the baby since she can't take the medicatiton for her ilness, but its alive inside her now that she can't just ignore and pretend the baby doesn't exist just like her mother did to her and her brother. I understand her feeling, but I also understand Ji Hyung feeling that he rather loose the baby than losing her.
Btw... Thanks for the recap JB..
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rin
November 30, 2011 at 9:45 PM
The rational choice is keeping the baby. SY has already lived 30 years and will probably live a few more. The baby will be able to live longer than her. It has his whole life ahead of him/her. I think the mom's sacrifice is worth it.
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Cynthia
November 30, 2011 at 11:30 PM
I think that SY is walking on the edge of a knife here. She may opt to continue the pregnancy, and stop taking her meds, but we can't forget that she's already been on those meds for a few weeks. And meds like that can affect the developing foetus. So there's the possibility that the baby could be born handicapped. That's a big load to place on her husband if this might be where the story goes.
Plus, taking herself off her meds will cause her Alzheimer's to speed up exponentially, thus shortening her own life.
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rin
December 2, 2011 at 1:54 PM
She was refusing to take meds. She only started after she got back together with him. I don't think she's been taking meds that long. Maybe a week or two. The wedding is kind of rushed since he wants to take care of her and doesn't want to wait. Just because she stops taking meds doesn't mean she's going to die in less than a year. I think people with Alzheimer live quite a few years even without taking meds. She just needs to eat healthy foods. She won't die before the baby is born. What is worrisome is the amount of headache pills she's been taking.
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28 joonni
November 30, 2011 at 7:50 PM
This drama poses a lot of valid questions for debate which is really rare these days. I appreciate that a lot.
"Aunt gapes at her, as though wondering, Who created this girl? (Even more shocking is the answer to that question.) "
Such snark. I laughed so hard. Thank you for the recap!
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29 meirav
November 30, 2011 at 10:35 PM
thanks for the recap:)
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30 Lia
December 1, 2011 at 1:29 AM
I haven't been catching this drama at all, but I've been following the recaps and I'm really tempted to start. How is the chemistry between Su Ae and Kim Rae Won? l can't decide between this and Flower Boy Ramen Shop.. I only have enough time for one, unfortunately. Any recommendations? :)
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jk
December 1, 2011 at 10:09 AM
They are totally different shows. This one is a heartbreaking tearjerker, whereas the Ramen Shop is fluffy romantic comedy. Thousand Day is depressing to watch, but it's the kind of drama that keeps you thinking about the characters and their ordeals and what-ifs and whatnot long after the episodes end. Ramen Shop on the other hand is fun to watch, but it certainly doesn't have the emotional impact of Thousand Day Promise. It's more of "laugh and enjoy while you watch, then forget" kind of show.
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31 lakorn
December 1, 2011 at 9:30 AM
This drama is an emotional roller coaster. I think I'll wait until the end and if it's a happy ending I'll watch the eps. Until then, thanks for the recaps.
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jk
December 1, 2011 at 10:14 AM
Well, I think the possibility of a happy ending went out the window the moment the lead character got diagnosed with dementia. There's no recovering from that.
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lakorn
December 1, 2011 at 11:01 AM
I mean if they kill Seoyon off and she's not with Jihung in the end. They would be too sad for me.
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rin
December 2, 2011 at 1:56 PM
She won't be with him in the end unless they don't jump a few years to see what happens after she's gone. There's no cure, you can only delay death.
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32 Lilian
March 4, 2012 at 12:41 PM
This drama is so NOT easy to watch. unlike most dramas, I usually make sure I leave the next episode for the next day instead of watching it in a row......too much negativity even when compared to Scent of a Woman!
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