Sassy Go Go: Episode 11

257 November 11, 2015January 23, 2016

by LollyPip

As old conflicts are put to rest, new ones crop up, and the cheerleading team may be in danger of missing regionals altogether. It’s not easy to balance school, friends, and home life, as all of our kids are beginning to realize. And what do you do when choosing your own happiness means taking away someone else’s dreams?

EPISODE 11 RECAP

With the entire cheerleading club bombarding her with adorable videos and sweet requests to come back and make up for what she’s done, Soo-ah cries with happiness. She spends some time thinking about what to do.

But the team wonders if she’s even gotten their videos — is she ignoring them? Aside from being their friend, they don’t have a flyer without Soo-ah, which could keep them from regionals.

Director Lee and Soo-ah’s mom come to collect her to send her overseas, and Mom repeats her sick mantra that nothing happened, and she can start a new life (which is dissonant on its own — if nothing happened, why does she need to start a new life?). But this time Soo-ah responds that something DID happen, and she chooses to go back to Sevit High and face her punishment.

Of course Mom is furious, because the appearance of perfection is more important than being a good person. But Soo-ah wants forgiveness from her teachers and fellow students, even if it takes time. Mom tries a different tactic, saying that she knows how she feels but this is a mistake that she’ll regret making later.

Soo-ah says that following her mother’s “road map” is what got her here, and she’s done following someone else’s plan. Now she’s going to do what she believes is right, and do what she wants to do. She’s not going to study overseas, and she’ll get into an Ivy League school through her own abilities.

When Yeon-doo sees Soo-ah back at school, she smiles, but puts on a stern face. She’s all Well, aren’t you coming? as she leads Soo-ah into the practice room. Soo-ah looks terrified, but she finally goes in, and the whole room goes silent.

The kids wait expectantly, because their desire for Soo-ah to come back wasn’t unconditional — she still has some atoning to do. Tentative and humbled, Soo-ah says that she was scared and didn’t know if she should come back. She says their videos gave her courage, and she thanks them, and says she’s sorry.

She particularly apologizes to Yeol and Dong-ha for hurting them, and says she’s sorry for dragging them all into her scheme to get into the Ivy Leagues. She can’t even look Yeon-doo in the face, but she apologies to her too, and Yeon-doo stops her.

She says that hurting someone else to save her own hide was terrible. Soo-ah knows that “sorry” isn’t enough, and the kids all pout at her for scaring them so badly that night she nearly killed herself. Yeon-doo admits that forgiving her won’t be easy, and as club captain, sentences Soo-ah to clean the practice room by herself for a month.

At such a normal punishment, the kids all snicker, and Soo-ah even cracks a smile to feel like part of the team again. Yeol adds that she should also provide all the snacks, and with that, the ice is broken. Now that their flyer is back, it’s time for serious practice!

Soo-ah receives punishment from the school itself, though the other students whine that volunteer work is too light a sentence. Soo-ah accepts it pragmatically, and it’s cute how Yeon-doo is all Yep, you totally deserve it. Soo-ah uses her old “I’m Kwan Soo-ah, this won’t break me” mantra in a new way, feeling good about taking her medicine.

She sincerely thanks Yeon-doo for not giving up on her, and Yeon-doo complains that she feels soooo wronged still, and wants to hit Soo-ah to get her back, hee. She gives her a good thump on the forehead, promising that Soo-ah has a lot more of those to look forward to before Yeon-doo feels like they’re even. So cute.

Later her roommates watch Soo-ah sleep, smiling that she looks relaxed for the first time in — well, ever. Yeon-doo tucks her in, and Soo-ah smiles in her sleep, feeling their acceptance.

During study hall, Yeon-doo gets bored and makes pouty faces at Yeol, trying to get his attention. He completely ignores her, so she grumpily sticks a note on his forehead and stomps off. The note quotes Yeol’s note asking her to see a movie after exams are over, and whines that exams were over a million years ago!

She gets no answer, and does the age-old phone dance of checking it every three seconds to make sure it’s still working. She bows up when she sees Yeol walking with Hyo-shik, figuring that he’s ignoring her.

She tracks down Ha-joon to ask him about a problem her “friend” is having with a guy. He asked her to a movie, but then a lot of things happened, so she gave him her answer late. HAHA, Ha-joon says, “You did?” and Yeon-doo is all, “Yeah I did. I mean MY FRIEND did!” Riiiight.

She asks if it looks obsessive for the girl to pursue the guy, and Ha-joon shyly says that he would like it, actually. Awww puppy, I can’t believe no girl has ever shown interest in that adorable face!

Yeol enlists Ha-joon’s help for a “secret project,” promising to explain the purpose to him later. All he’ll say is that he’s fulfilling a promise to Yeon-doo, which piques Ha-joon’s interest.

Yeol says that he wants his best friend to be the first to know, and nervously tells him that he and Yeon-doo are officially dating. It’s a struggle, but Ha-joon wishes them luck. Yeol can tell that something isn’t quite right, especially when Ha-joon quickly retreats from the room.

Yeon-doo lurks in the school common area, pretending nonchalance when Yeol and Ha-joon wander through. Yeol gives her greeting very little reaction, but he can’t tease her for long. He runs back with a mischievous grin (in other words, his normal grin) to stick yet another note to her forehead, which instructs her to come to the club room later.

When she gets there, she sees Yeol’s surprise: a projection screen playing a movie, and a cozy little loveseat with movie snacks at the ready. They’re adorably shy, but they snuggle up pretty quickly, and Yeol takes Yeon-doo’s hand while she nestles her head on his shoulder.

They’re blissfully happy, but Ha-joon sits downstairs alone. He starts to delete the picture of himself and Yeon-doo taking their punishment, but in the end, he keeps the photo.

The boys pack up to go home for break, noting that Ha-joon isn’t packing, which he says is because his family chauffeur is coming to do it for them. Dong-jae wants to go for burgers with Yeon-doo on their way home, which makes jealous Yeol bark at him. He pouts at all the skinship between the friends, now that Dong-jae’s touch-aversion is cured, and tags along after them.

When the three stop to eat, Yeol is still grumping about Dong-jae and Yeon-doo’s friendship. Yeol asks if Yeon-doo plans to keep hanging out with Dong-jae (and Dong-jae’s innocent-puppy expression kills me dead), and she just pats her poor jealous boy indulgingly.

Dong-jae catches on to Yeol’s jealousy, and offers to leave the two of them alone. He invites himself to dinner at Yeon-doo’s later because his own mom can’t cook, and Yeol adorably objects, since he hasn’t even eaten at her place yet. Yeon-doo just laughs at them both.

Ha-joon is still at school that night, alone, and he frowns at his report card — it must be bad. He remembers his father berating him for doing unimportant things like cheerleading and having friends. He gets a call from home, but doesn’t answer.

Yeol is back in fine boyfriend form as the three walk home together, holding an umbrella over Yeon-doo’s head and trying to secretly hold hands. HAHA, Dong-jae is on her other side, also holding an umbrella over her. She tells Dong-jae he can’t come for dinner tonight, but Yeol is still grumpy about not getting any alone time with Yeon-doo as they walk.

From the other direction, Yeon-doo’s mom and Yeol’s dad also walk home, and Mom invites Dad to take some food home from her place to feed his son. They discuss the plans to tell their kids about their relationship, intending to get it done this weekend.

Yeol grins ear-to-ear when they finally drop Dong-jae off at his house, and wants to know how long Yeon-doo intends to keep hanging out with him. He grabs her hand, complaining that he’s been wanting to do this so bad, and they walk all of five steps to Yeon-doo’s house.

Still holding hands, they run smack into their parents, who also look mighty cozy. Everyone drops hands in shock as they realize the situation, and the men are sent home so that Mom and Yeon-doo can talk.

Yeon-doo is, of course, freaking completely out that her mother is not only dating, but dating her boyfriend’s father. Mom tries to downplay her relationship, but Yeon-doo saw them holding hands and peppers her mother with questions. Mom finally collapses under pressure and admits that yes, she’s been dating Yeol’s father.

Yeol and his father have a much more tense version of the same conversation, and Yeol is pretty angry. Dad promises that he wasn’t going to make any big decisions without talking to Yeol first, but Yeol counters that he doesn’t have any reason to believe that, since Dad got divorced without asking how he felt. So why does he care now?

Dad says that she’s a good person, and he wouldn’t date her if she wasn’t someone who would be good to his child. Yeol scoffs, and asks what Dad would do if he says No… would he break up with her? Dad just sighs, and Yeol asks him to leave. Before he goes, Dad asks what relationship Yeol has with Yeon-doo, but we don’t hear Yeol’s answer.

Yeon-doo can’t even sleep for her frustration, and she has horrifying visions of having to live with Yeol as her oppa with all the romantic chemistry between them, and being unable to act on it. She and Yeol decide to go back to school without telling their parents, and both parents and children complain about the situation. This is why you don’t keep secrets about important stuff like who you’ve been dating for two years.

Both couples discuss what they know at this point, and Yeon-doo is saddened to hear that her mother lied to her by saying her relationship with Yeol’s dad isn’t serious. Both couples decide that they need to come up with some sort of plan.

Ha-joon is surprised to see Yeol back, but Yeol just says that neither of their homes was ever comfortable. He tells Ha-joon that his dad is dating Yeon-doo’s mom, and that it seems serious (in Korean society, dating is forbidden for stepsiblings — so if their parents get married, it effectively ends any future they may have together). As upset about this news as he is, he figures that must mean he really like Yeon-doo, and looks on the verge of tears just thinking about it.

Ha-joon finds Yeon-doo downstairs, and she invites him to sit — her “friend” has another problem. She tells him about the situation, unaware that he already knows, and he asks why she keeps telling him this stuff. Yeon-doo guesses that she just feels comfortable with him.

He advises that her “friend” should do what her heart wants the most… what will give her peace. Yeon-doo likes that, thanks him for the sympathetic ear, and leaves calling Yeol to meet. After she’s gone, Ha-joon calls himself an idiot for not being able to follow his own advice.

The kids both call their respective parents to meet and talk, which makes the parents nervous and puts them on their guard. But they’re shocked to realize the real plan — Yeol goes to talk to Mom (with flowers in hand, sweet boy) while Yeon-doo approaches Dad. Smart kids.

Yeol is adorably nervous, but he wastes no time identifying himself as her daughter’s boyfriend. Yeon-doo also tells Dad straight out that she and Yeol are dating, and that in fact he was hospitalized that time because he was saving her from injury.

Dad is surprised to hear that, since in his experience, Yeol only thinks of himself. But Yeon-doo tells him that actually, Yeol is very nice and thoughtful of others. She says that she was actually the selfish one, until she met his son.

Mom wants to know why Yeol likes her daughter, and he says that at first, it was because she’s fun. But now he’s grateful and happy that she believes in him, which gives him the courage to believe in others. Mom can’t help but smile, and says that her daughter has found a good boyfriend. It’s the crinkles — gets ’em every time.

Yeon-doo and Yeol compare notes back at school, and Yeol in particular is confident that their parents will decide not to get married. Yeon-doo doesn’t seem as happy about this as he is, feeling badly for attempting to take away her mother’s happiness.

The parents also feel badly, knowing that either they have to give each other up, or their kids do. Yeol’s dad seems a bit jealous of Yeon-doo, who got his son to open up when he never could, and Mom brags that she’s good at relationships like her mother. They wonder what to do, but neither has an answer.

Ha-joon’s father meets with the chairman of the Education Office, and asks if Sevit High is still under investigation for spec-building. The chairman tells him not to worry, but he does mention Ha-joon being on the cheerleading squad, and warns him that the club will be the focus of the investigation. Ha-joon’s father seems worried about a development fund, but the chairman just says obliquely that he might want to think of getting his son out of cheerleading.

Ha-joon’s dad surprises him at school, and immediately lights into him for his falling grades. He orders Ha-joon to quit the cheerleading team, but Ha-joon musters the courage to ask to wait until after regionals in two weeks. This insubordination earns him a bloody lip and a vicious beating with a wooden rod.

Yeol can guess what’s happening when Ha-joon doesn’t show up for cheerleading practice, and he tells Yeon-doo that he can’t sit back and let his friend’s abuse go on anymore. He runs to Ha-joon’s house, but he’s not there, nor is he answering his phone.

Yeon-doo sees him back at school, looking dejected and alone. He brushes her hand away when she reaches for his split lip, and get even angrier when she tries to help him walk. Yeon-doo insists that he needs treatment, but Ha-joon says he only fell, and she pretends to believe him in hopes that he’ll listen. But he’s embarrassed and angry, and begs her to pretend she didn’t see him.

She agrees if he’ll get treated, but his hopeless expression and silence finally convince her to stop fussing over him. But Yeon-doo can’t help but worry for Ha-joon, and doesn’t want to see him in pain. She turns to leave, but her last statement gets to him, and he folds her in a tight backhug.

“Don’t go,” he whispers, with tears rolling down his face. “Stay with me for a little bit. This is too painful.” Oh, honey.

Yeon-doo takes Ha-joon to the infirmary but can’t find any medicine, so he asks her to just sit with him. She offers to call Yeol since he’s so worried about Ha-joon, but he doesn’t want his friend seeing him this way. But Yeol finds them there anyway, and gets the medicine to treat Ha-joon’s injuries.

Clearly Yeol is bothered to see Ha-joon and Yeon-doo together, but he holds it in and only mentions that Yeon-doo’s eyes are red. He pretends it’s from lack of sleep and sends her away, ostensibly to get some rest, while he stays with Ha-joon.

Once she’s gone, Yeol softens to see his friend’s obvious embarrassment, and doctors his friend as he’s done probably a thousand times before. He asks if it’s because of his report card, but Ha-joon just apologizes, “For everything.”

On her way back to her dorm Yeon-doo thinks about that backhug, and explains it away as just Ha-joon being emotional about getting beaten. Yeol sits alone on the stairs, and we see now that he saw Ha-joon hugging Yeon-doo and asking her not to leave him.

The next time he sees Yeon-doo, it takes an extra moment for his crinkles to show up. But he manages to smile and flirt, and offers to tutor her again and help her ranking go up one more point, though he still wants food as payment. What, not kisses? He’s not thinking big enough.

At cheerleading practice, Instructor Nam notices that Ha-joon is very stiff and sore, warning him to be careful — as a base, if he falters, someone could get hurt. But before they can start, Teacher Im calls him to Principal Choi’s office, where he’s informed that his father is forcibly pulling from the cheerleading team.

She says that if he refuses, his father intends to use his influence with the school board chairman to make sure that both Teacher Yang and Instructor Kim lose their jobs. Geez, this couldn’t have waited a measly two weeks? Principal Choi is no fool, and mentions to Teacher Im that she thinks this is connected to the upcoming inspection.

Ha-joon watches his friends practice, and recalls his father saying that he could make sure the cheerleading team is dissolved completely. In order to let his friends continue cheering, and to save his teachers’ jobs, he decides to quit the team. Instructor Nam wants to know why, this close to regionals, but Ha-joon just says he doesn’t want to do it anymore.

Instructor Nam tells the rest of the kids that they’ll have to change a few positions, because Ha-joon is leaving the team. Everyone is upset, but nobody more than Yeol, who goes looking for Ha-joon and finds him alone in the gym.

He confronts Ha-joon, who tries to play it like he wants to focus on his studies. Yeol doesn’t believe that for one second, and furiously demands to know if it’s because of Yeon-doo. Ha-joon is surprised, and Yeol screams in his face, “I’m asking if it’s because of Kang Yeon-doo!”

COMMENTS

Alright Yeol, that was NOT okay, even if Ha-joon had wanted to leave the team which he didn’t. He knows Ha-joon’s father showed up and that he ended up with a fat lip and worse, and yet he still attacks him and accuses him? He can’t help if he likes Yeon-doo, but he’s never not once made a move on her. And I don’t think Ha-joon ever would, as long as he knows his best friend liked her. The backhug, to me, wasn’t really so much a request for her to return his romantic feelings, but a desperate plea for his friend not to leave him alone in that moment. It’s unfair on multiple levels for Yeol to behave that way, and it’s the first time in this whole drama that I’ve been angry with him.

Ha-joon himself is STILL killing me. I love that, now that he has friends and support and has managed to shake off his frequent impotent rage, he’s turning out to be quite the sweet little kitten. It’s wonderful to see his real personality shine though now that he doesn’t feel the need to lash out at the slightest sudden movement, and I love how mellow and gentle he truly is. It makes his earlier self-harm (possibly suicide attempts) a lot more understandable, that being so tender-hearted, he would turn his anger and frustration inward towards himself rather than out towards others. But it makes me worry for him even more, and we only have one more episode to help him find a different, happier way to be. But if this show can redeem Soo-ah, I have faith that it can save Ha-joon.

To go back to the beginning of the episode, it’s true that I haven’t been inclined to cut Soo-ah any slack for some time, and doubted that any kind of redemption for her would be satisfying enough to make me give her another chance. But I have to admit, as Saya said, that seeing Soo-ah saved instead of redeemed makes a lot of difference. She didn’t do anything to deserve forgiveness, and truly, there’s nothing she could do to deserve it. But for the other kids to decide to save and forgive her anyway — now that’s a horse of a different color. That says more about the other cheerleading club members than Soo-ah herself, but for Soo-ah to genuinely want to take the hand they reached out to her, and gather the courage to do so, is what made me change my mind and decide she deserves another shot. She’s not saying, “Look, I did some random good thing so I deserve to be forgiven.” She knows she doesn’t deserve it, and goes to them with a humble heart and a willing spirit. That’s much harder than making some grand gesture, and proves that she’s truly sorry and that she won’t fall back to her old ways.

Aside from being upset with his behavior int he last few minutes of the episode, I adore how completely out of his element Yeol is when it comes to dating. It’s doubly cute since he’s got such a reputation for being a ladies’ man. He’s so jealous of any contact Yeon-doo has with other guys, though it’s not the possessive, angry kind of jealousy, more like he just wants her to choose to hang out with him first. But good for her, for not ditching her existing friends just because she got a boyfriend, and for letting that boyfriend know that she has every intention of treating her old friends exactly as she has always done. He clearly has NO idea how to do this “you’re my girl but you have your own life too” thing, and thank goodness Yeon-doo’s reaction is just to laugh at how cute he is and not give his jealousy any weight. She has her head on straight and keeps her loyalties, and knows that it’s Yeol’s attitude that has to change and not her own friendships, which is super healthy of her.

But… that jealousy (cute as it is, for now) coupled with Yeol’s behavior when he found out his father is dating, is pretty problematic. Yeol’s one drawback is that he’s still very immature, as he demonstrated by insisting his father not date Yeon-doo’s mom. Maybe it comes down to a difference in culture, but I don’t think a parent has an obligation to consult his child (especially an almost-grown child) on who he can or cannot date. Ask their opinion, yes, but the child has no right to veto a parent’s choice just because they don’t like the idea of their parent dating. For Yeol to demand that his father break up with Yeon-doo’s mom, just because he didn’t talk to him first, is pretty selfish and not well done of him. He’s got a long way to go to understand how dating works, for himself AND for others.

But considering that one of the couples will have to give up their relationship in order for the other to survive, it’s definitely not an easy situation for any of them. I have no idea how they can solve this without one of the couples getting hurt, and I’m nervous that there’s only one episode left in which to do it. But this show has led us into situations that seem to have no good solution before and managed to get everyone out the other side safely, so I’m choosing to trust the show one last time. Don’t let me down!

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1 fab

November 11, 2015 at 8:13 AM

Finally. Thanks. One of the best episodes ever! ?. Big virtual hug for Ha-joon. The poor thing can't ever win...
I wish I have time to read the whole recap.

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2 heyitschristina

November 11, 2015 at 8:16 AM

They really had to put in one last beating for Hajoon :(

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pogo

November 12, 2015 at 10:59 AM

I have to confess, I couldn't watch that part. It's just too upsetting.

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3 Meow

November 11, 2015 at 8:20 AM

I really loved the ending, it gave an unexpectedly compelling conflict for the finale~

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redd

November 11, 2015 at 6:05 PM

Exactly. Angry Yeol deliver the scene really well.

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midnightmint

November 11, 2015 at 7:33 PM

Yes I loved him in that scene, actually, and I think I understand his outburst to Ha Joon at the last moment.
The moment he found out about the hug, rather than getting hurt thinking about his best friend liking his girl friend, I think he was hurt more because of the fact that HJ didn't tell the truth to him. They promised each other to be the first to know when there's someone they really like, and I guess he thought that HJ, one of a few that he trusted the most, broke that promise. He must've felt terrible too, thinking about how much he indirectly hurt HJ feelings by being together with YD.
I see it more like frustration rather than anger.
Well we can't blame HJ for not telling him too, because of course he loved his best friend and doesn't want to worry him, and I guess people also sometimes find themselves doing unpredictable things in their most fragile moments, and that's why he hugged YD.

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4 redfox

November 11, 2015 at 8:24 AM

ah, there are some things that are cliche. but there is a message of kindness in them. do not be bitches and love each other, thats all. lean on someone to come through, do not hide things from your friends etc.

i wish they would not have made it romantic, I would have liked a comradeship and willingness to put your neck on the line for any person who has won your trust.
but then, Ha Joons´ neck is already on the line. romantic conflict is better than a physical conflict, I guess.

I cheated though. I looked at ep 12 ending first.

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5 Asterido

November 11, 2015 at 8:29 AM

I saw the english sub for the finale is already out, but.... am too scared to watch and wait for the recap first. Such a coward, i am.

Its just the show look like other kdrama but in some areas not like other drama.
So yeah. Its hard to not have an ideal-ending assumption for the finale.
I just want all our characters be happy (ok minus soo ah's mom and principal choi perhaps.)

Please drama make it a good and memorable ending!

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confusedturtle

November 11, 2015 at 11:09 AM

It's sooooooo good. You should watch it.

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alias

November 11, 2015 at 11:31 AM

It's really okay. I promise. In fact, the finale is more than okay. It's one of the best episodes, though I enjoyed all of them.

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Ai

November 11, 2015 at 5:38 PM

The ending is surprisingly great. Though I hv my ideal ending, but I am actually buying the writer's direction. Honesty, it's the ending I can understand and can accept for everybody.

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6 hana

November 11, 2015 at 8:30 AM

I don't understand why everyone is saying oh no how can they date if the parents get married?! Has no one watched dramas before or have any knowledge of asian family registration? All they have to do is stay on different family registrations and then by law they aren't related. All Yeol would have to do is move to his mother's family registration ( which he would have left when his dad won him in the divorce). So if yeol is not on his father's registered family list then his dad can marry her mom and they aren't siblings. Yes I'm sure it would still be a bit awkward but it wouldn't be illegal or forbidden.

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Valentina

November 11, 2015 at 8:44 AM

I don't think it's just about that, because in dramaland, we are assuming that they stay together forever and get married, but let's be real, if they were to break up, which is more likey, but we don't need to think about that, it's really awkward, not just for them, but for their family. So if their parents got married, yea it's not illegal, but it's a complicated situation to explain because by law, they are siblings.

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 10:16 AM

I mean, it is dramaland, after all. How likely is it that a real-life school would basically magic a cheerleading club out of thin air and force it into competition for the sake of one student's college applications?

If anything, high school sweethearts staying together is a lot more realistic than that lol. And as a drama watcher, I'd rather just leave it all in dramaland and assume Yeol and Yeon-doo eventually go the distance and have loads of eyesmiling chipmunky babies (who will be sent to schools that aren't as nasty as Sevit, when it's time).

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alias

November 11, 2015 at 11:39 AM

Sigh~ I would watch the heck out of that. If only it could get an extension and do an epilogue like in Reply Me 1997. Their chipmunky babies would have the moxie to challenge the world and dominate it with their one-two-three style logic. Plus, they would have the best uncle in Ha Joon.

Maybe a Sassy Go Go 2: The Chipmunky Babies Bring It!

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 12:30 PM

I love that even Yeon-doo has taken to going 1, 2, 3 on things - Yeol must be getting to her!

and oh god, imagine the babies. Or maybe don't, teenage Yeol and Yeon-doo already have us in this state, if we got to see the inevitable eyesmiling babies we'd probably all die (official recorded cause of death: Too Much Cute).

chimchim

November 11, 2015 at 1:28 PM

Massive lolz. And i noticed too when KYD was chasing after SA for more forehead punishments, she was yelling 1. you can come to me or 2. i can come to you and you'll get hit more! happy to see the show address that people can't just go around slapping people and they'll just forget. nope, real people hold grudges, ha.

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 1:52 PM

I know, I was happy to see that too. It makes it more meaningful, that the kids didn't just let everything Soo-ah did, slide. I mean, those slaps looked like they hurt!

Linh

November 22, 2015 at 3:23 PM

High School sweethearts staying together, looking at Yeon Doo and Yeol's relationship, they have this strong and solid ground between them. Their relationship is actually more mature and understanding than many adults' relationships in many dramas I've seen. First, they started off being friends having crushes on each other, but they've always been communicative and honest with each other, then they confide in each other in a way that only they can understand each other while other people doesn't, then they grew and earned so much trust from each other and that made them respecting one another in a way that they can rely on each other through any situations. That's what makes their relationship being very healthy and mature than many other adults' relationships I've seen in dramas. This goes the same way between Yeon Doo and Ha Joon with their friendship qualities.

Trust me, YeolDoo will definitely last long than you guys expected as though they are just teenagers, but their relationship is more mature and solid than any other adults' relationships out there, which reminds me of my classmates' couple, they went out together since middle school, their relationship lasts all the way through high school to college. I don't know about now, since we don't see another after high school anymore, but their relationship really lasts a lifetime with each other. So yeah, that was through my experience that I've seen a very young couple lasting that long with each other, if they last that long, then why can't YeolDoo last that long like them, right? Yes, they've went through many problems with each other, even through a break up as well, and then they go back to each other again, that was exactly how I experienced from those two relationship, you know? So don't suggest or judge Yeol and Yeon Doo's couple just cause they are young, for these two, I can actually see no one can stop them with each other, not even their parents lol

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Jennipoh

November 11, 2015 at 9:02 AM

So this was the poster that I made for the last episode... http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/zeroshoofly/Sassyposter.jpg It really should say "10 episodes."

I'm disappointed in how they wrapped up Su Ah's conflict in a neat little bow. Of course, given the episode limit, they needed to redirect their attention to other unfinished business but the ideal would have been to gone deep into her redemption and how she would have confronted the beast that is her mother.

I think the mistake of not showing Su Ah's deep vulnerable moments of hesitation and conflict in episodes 1-10 caused a jarring contrast to her changed character in episode 11. If we had been able to see into her point-of-view deeply the struggle that she was experience (instead of 10 seconds of shocked/worried looks), her guilt and turn-around would've been more believable. That moment where she cried to Yeol asking for an extension of three-days, why the heck did they include that ominous sound of evil-plotting when they could've just left to indicate that she was really remorse?! To have her feel that guilty but be pushed to violent limits would've made her story more pitiful and tragic. It was charming to see such a sweet and playful side of Su Ah in this episode though!

Also with Ha Joon...I am so disappointed in how the writer wrote his relationship with Yeol. I was really hoping Ha Joon to be able to choose his best friend over the girl. I really thought he was going to delete that photo right there and then, in a show of utmost loyalty to the brother who has always been there for him.

And he shouldn't have hugged her. Ugh. I don't believe it was simply because he was lonely and desperate and hurt. He could've simply said the words, but he didn't have to hug her. He could've taken her hand but he shouldn't have done the back-hug of romance.

I think it was uncharacteristic of Yeol to have shouted at Ha Joon at the end. He's hardly ever one to shout... It would've been better for him just to accuse him calmly "Did you leave because of Yeon Doo?"

How much do I love Yeon Doo and her mom?! I love that they simply talked about the situation instead of going all makjang on each other!!!!! They are both so sweet to each other; I wish all mom and daughter relationships were like that.

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Jennipoh

November 11, 2015 at 9:06 AM

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry Brittni. I was intending to reply to you and forgot to switch out to the main comment box before writing out a whole commentary!

I was going to say for this line "All Yeol would have to do is move to his mother’s family registration ( which he would have left when his dad won him in the divorce)" - WINK WINK

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Maimee

November 12, 2015 at 5:17 PM

I think Yeol shout because he's frustrated in sense that he love Yeon Doo but his father's dating her mom and his bestfriend like his girlfriend. I believe in the back of his mind he realize he might hurting both his dad & his bestfriend. OOC maybe but sometime people just lash out unconsciously.

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Grnapple31

November 11, 2015 at 10:35 AM

Hey Brittni - thanks for that! I didn't know that's how the family registration worked. Totally makes sense now!

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Ameeramandy

November 11, 2015 at 10:44 AM

I cheated, i already watched the last episode and sorry for the spoiler... Yeol seems has that plan: move family registrations, he is not genius for nothing :D

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Ai

November 11, 2015 at 5:42 PM

Hahaha. I actually like what Yeol try to do. Hahaha. A true genius.

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Why

November 11, 2015 at 5:10 PM

Hahaha i am sorry but you obviously watched episode 12 haven't you? There's no need to sound so snobbish about it. They'll also know about it like you by tomorrow. To me the reactions are understandable. It isn't like all kdramas have 2-generational love stories, even makjang doesn't use it often. Plus the audience didn't jump on that because we have absolutely no information on yeol's mother. they never even mentioned whether yeol was in contact or on good terms with his mother after she just left, because if there was bad blood between them (even worse than with his dad) he would never choose to be part of her register. There's also another possible solution you know. The show never really emphasized that the parents found marriage necessary to continue their relationship, although they wanted it. Tbh at first i didn't get why they didn't just continue dating. But now I get that the writers probably wanted the kids to be the ones to adjust for their parents and in that way show that they matured.

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hana

November 11, 2015 at 5:23 PM

No at the time I had written my comment I had not watched episode 12. How is it snobbish to state a fact? Asian family registries are not the same as north american family ties. It is a different set up completely. It's not snobbish to state a simple fact, why would I freak out over a non-issue? Obviously he would just have to change family registries and they can keep dating. It's simple. Sorry you obviously got offended by your lack of knowledge if you thought I sounded like a snob.

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Ai

November 11, 2015 at 5:40 PM

Brittni. Then you'd love the ending and Yeol. Hahahaha

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 11:33 PM

I'll be quite honest, even if the parents had pressed ahead with their marriage plans, I'd have shipped Yeol/Yeon-doo anyway.

I mean, the last time I shipped prospective stepsiblings this hard was Choi Young-do/Yoo Rachel in Heirs (two characters who were much more interesting than the drama they were in), and those two had parents who were actually engaged and wedding planning.

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Nyke

November 12, 2015 at 10:35 PM

Yeah!!! Young Do and Rachel had such promising chemistry that I kept hoping something would happen.

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pogo

November 12, 2015 at 10:46 PM

It's pretty clear Kim Eun-seok intended to pair them up but then changed her mind halfway in response to viewers saying young-do should just pine over Eun-sang instead.

And yeah, the chemistry there was amazing. I loved that they went for it so openly even with the parents' marriage plans out in the open.

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7 Alessar

November 11, 2015 at 8:37 AM

The thing about the dating secrecy... it's not personal secrecy it's cultural. My understanding is you don't bring the bf/gf home to meet the parents until you're asking for marriage permission. Which, the adults were about to do in reverse to their kids. So compartmentalizing the 2 couples - it's just what's done. Of course, in this case normal is problematic.

Overall I feel like this drama is totally fizzling out.

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chimchim

November 11, 2015 at 1:40 PM

i can understand that, as the pace of the show hasn't been as fast before and all the obstacles left are stuff that we've been aware of for a few weeks now. but what's been comforting to me was thinking what drama has actually stayed strong and chugging until the very end? i mean this isn't a thriller drama or a makjang. even She Was Pretty, which is airing now to high ratings, has been running low on story fumes and the last dramas i watched like Twenty Again and Oh My Ghostess were also dragging or had wrapped things up too neatly at the end. i think the curse of watching the drama in real time is that the 1 week wait between episodes raises our expectations so high that we can't help but be a little disappointed. if only i had the patience to wait until the show was over and i can just marathon it through and ride on the high to get me through any final arc.

but with time, for a really satisfying drama, i can fondly look past its mistakes and clumsiness and just appreciate the fun times we had together.

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8 Valentina

November 11, 2015 at 8:38 AM

IDK, maybe it's just me, but everyone on Viki kept saying Yeol was being selfish, but I don't think so. The reason why it's okay to say what Yeol did was not okay is because we know the real reason why Ha Joon decided to quit, but to Yeol, he is angry about a lot of things, and I honestly think he is mainly angry for not knowing that Ha Joon likes Yeon Doo.

Yeol has always cherished Ha Joon, so I think for him, his blow up was more about what to do because even if his love is mutual, dating Yeon Doo while knowing Ha Joon's feelings, regardless of if Ha Joon made a move or not, is no no. I felt like I was the only one that understood that, because it happens in reality and if Yeol doesn't want to lose Ha Joon or Yeon Doo, he's kind of trapped and I think that was why he was so angry, not necessarily at Ha Joon, but at himself.

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Miranda

November 11, 2015 at 8:51 AM

Not just you - Yeol panicked, realizing Ha Joon was starting to draw a line between himself and Yeol/Yeon Doo. Yeol tends to think eight steps ahead and knows what that well-meaning isolation would do to Ha Joon (and to Yeol himself).

If Yeol were a selfish jerk concerned only about his own dating life he would have yelled at Ha Joon either in the infirmary or during the Yeon Doo hug. What makes him yell is Ha Joon isolating himself: totally different motivation.

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Sassy goer

November 11, 2015 at 9:12 AM

I was going to write about the same thing..yeol shouted not because of anger, it was more of regret/panick/guilt of why ha joon didn't tell him earlier..

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Jennipoh

November 11, 2015 at 9:13 AM

Love your insight! I can totally see Yeol worried about Ha Joon distancing himself.

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 9:26 AM

yeah, that's exactly what Yeol was afraid of - that Ha-joon would separate from him+Yeon-doo.

And when Yeol found out that Ha-joon had pulled out of cheerleading right in the wake of the revelation that he liked Yeon-doo, it's not hard to see why Yeol thought that separation was the reason, when in reality it was Ha-joon's asshole dad forcing him out.

(this episode/arc also has an interesting take on noble idiocy, because this time the keeping a secret and letting the other person think the worst/keeping them in the dark about the reason for their separation, isn't between romantic interests - it's between best friends)

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Miranda

November 11, 2015 at 10:24 AM

I am so, so delighted that being noble makes SENSE in this drama: Ha Joon is trying to clear up his feelings so he won't wreck his friendships, but Yeol is onto him and is going to make it a team project.

I also really like that Yeon Doo is pretty oblivious about all of this, so it really is between Ha Joon and Yeol, and it's not a fight over a girl so much as it's them figuring out how their bromance is going to work with Yeon Doo around. It's realistic that the girl isn't playing the guys off of one another in any way, and also nice that Yeol is so invested in Ha Joon's emotional wellbeing.

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 12:55 PM

Exactly. Let's not forget, Yeol has previously expressed jealousy of Yeon-doo touching Ha-joon in a completely innocent way (ep 9), and felt it when he saw the punishment picture Yeon-doo sent him.

But here, faced with an actual backhug, which is pretty unmistakably romantic in nature, and which came at Ha-joon's most vulnerable moment....basically, it's a major moment of potential jealousy, but Yeol doesn't even go there - he's at a loss about how to deal with it now that the thing he previously joked about, has become real in a way he didn't expect.

Ha Joon is trying to clear up his feelings so he won’t wreck his friendships, but Yeol is onto him and is going to make it a team project.

Spot-on. I actually believe Yeol would have left Ha-joon to work his own feelings out while still retaining their friendships, but the quitting forced Yeol's hand.

pogo

November 11, 2015 at 2:08 PM

oh, and count me among the people delighted that this remains between Yeol and Ha-joon, and that they are the focus of it - not their relationships with Yeon-doo, but with each other.

I do think it's probably healthier in the long run to have it all out though. Ha-joon trying to suppress his feelings and never speaking of them to anyone, would have been in for a world of pain before anything got better. It's almost like on one hand, forcing this into the open could be like dropping a nuclear bomb on them, while on the other, bringing it into the open robs it of the power it has as a secret.

pogo

November 11, 2015 at 2:25 PM

oh and now I'm really spamming but I do love the way the boys are playing this out, as Ha-joon's feelings are revealed, both to himself and to Yeol. Just last episode, Ha-joon got a major shock seeing Yeol and Yeon-doo kiss, and needed time out before he could face Yeol with her.....but he did go, even if he had to wait hours to do it - he still put his bro first even if it hurt him. And Yeol is mirroring that here after the backhug, because right in that moment, Ha-joon is his #1 priority.

siesta

November 11, 2015 at 11:21 PM

this has got to be the healthiest k-drama i've ever seen- where people actually talk and resolve things and act mature instead of going into unexplained rages and being secretive idiots. the irony is, the people involved are a bunch of 18 yos xD

pogo

November 11, 2015 at 11:34 PM

@siesta - they're not even actually 18, they're 17! (since Korea adds a year to everyone's age).

And they could still give lessons to most of dramaland on how to have a healthy but still adorable relationship.

Linh

November 21, 2015 at 9:37 PM

Yes. I also like that Yeon Doo is oblivious about it too, if Yeon Doo knows about it, if Yeol is being trapped like that, we would also know how Yeon Doo would also feel. Because the fact that the two best friends are both having feelings for her, she would also feel terrible about it too, or even feel worse than Yeol did.

But after watching episode 12, it was actually very heartwarming when she finally knows about Ha Joon's feelings to her :) Friendships is in fact these three #1 priority, so I'm very happy how everything was solved so beautifully.

Ina

November 11, 2015 at 7:57 PM

I was also totally gonna write about this...My take was also that he was angry with Ha Joon for not telling him, he was probably thinking how much it had hurt him watching Yeol so happy with YD. And at the same time angry at himself for not seeing it earlier. To me, it seemed inline with his friendship with HJ and with his character shown so far...

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pigsnout|♡☆SassyGoHigh

November 12, 2015 at 5:46 AM

I agree with this....after everything we have seen from Yeol and how precious Ha Joon is to him, do we really think he would say that so lightly and hurt his friend? I agree with everyone who says Yeol's true fear is not that Ha Joon has fallen for Yeon Doo, but that he will try to distance hims4lf from Yeol to deal with it.

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 9:18 AM

It's definitely not just you - Yeol's blowing his top at Ha-joon registers a lot like his earlier blowup at Yeon-doo at the start of episode 9, which is to say, a lot of the anger expressed is at himself and how he's inadvertently hurt someone he cherishes (in Yeon-doo's case, through the blackmail leading Soo-ah to lash out and leave her, and in Ha-joon's case, through what he probably sees in hindsight as rubbing his new love in the face of his best friend who's also in love with her).

It's also quite in contrast to his certainty about what to do re: the parental dating situation - there, he moves pretty speedily to come up with a fix that stalls the parents (he distrusts his dad and Yeon-doo's mother is an unknown quantity, so he's not nearly as conflicted over their feelings) and lets him and Yeon-doo keep dating, but when it's Ha-joon, he's at a loss about what to do and how to handle it. Especially since not dating Yeon-doo is not an option, he has Yeon-doo's feelings to consider too.

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dkaoru

November 11, 2015 at 10:48 AM

yep yep, I also think Yeol was mad because Ha Joon didn't tell him. It's about their friendship, not about the girl.
I love this show!

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confusedturtle

November 11, 2015 at 11:12 AM

Exactly. He's mad Ha Joon didn't tell him.

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Miranda

November 11, 2015 at 12:58 PM

I don't think Yeol minded Ha Joon not telling him - it felt like Yeol realized how tangled this might get, and was willing to let Ha Joon manage it on his own. Like Yeol was okay knowing without Ha Joon realizing it, and Yeol would just kind of monitor the situation and only mention it if something went wrong.

But when Ha Joon started actively doing things to detangle himself from Yeon Doo (and by extension Yeol), THAT was a problem.

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pogo

November 11, 2015 at 2:02 PM

I definitely think the childhood promise entered Yeol's mind at some point, but he realised that Ha-joon needed privacy about this. So he left it alone and thought that approach would work (as in get them to a point where their friendship was safe), until he gets what looks like a huge, flashing sign that it wouldn't - Ha-joon's withdrawal.

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chimchim

November 11, 2015 at 1:21 PM

totally agree. it was a little unfair of lollypip to put Yeol in such a selfish light. in a lesser drama, Yeol would have punched Ha joon or something (im getting flashes of Heirs when LMH ninja kicks KWB, LOLZ what a sight). Yeol has been noticing HJ being distant with him and secretive all episode, he didnt even tell him beforehand that he was pulling out of the cheerleading club. how could he not be hurt after all that they've been through?

same with Yeol and his dad. Yeol is being any regular old teenager who's been hurt too many times by his parent and is in shock at the fact that this parent could ruin the first real happy thing in his life. and this is a father who's been absent for most of his life where he dropped off his son to live with Grandma for a time which the recap didn't mention. so him telling his dad not to date KYD's mom was expected, although it wasn't even like an ultimatum like 'i'll disown you if you do!' but more like a sassy dare to his dad. plus the kids don't even know how serious this relationship is, yeol can't see his dad as a loving person after his divorce from his mom so how can he believe that this relationship is all that deep?

all in all i think his reactions were normal by real world standards, not kdrama. and for those who watch ep 12, you'll see a lot more insight into Yeol's thinking and his bromance with Ha Joon. Oh the BROMANCE!

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es

November 11, 2015 at 4:11 PM

yep, exactly. i don't see it as yeol being selfish either; it seemed more like a panicked outburst at the fact that ha-joon was isolating himself from yeol, compounded with his own guilt for not realising ha-joon's feelings, and now knowing that the girl he's dating is also the girl his best friend likes.

also, yeol doesn't know ha-joon's real reason for pulling out, which makes his assumption that the reason was yeon-doo quite logical from his point-of-view.

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Aqui

November 11, 2015 at 5:20 PM

He is angry with himself because he didn't know, but in ep 12 hajoon makes a great point in saying that even if yeol had been told it wouldn't have made a difference. And realized that it was true, even for hajoon dating yeondoo is not a no no.

Also, I actually think his conclusions were not logical this time around. He knew hajoon had just been beaten up, and he quit after he was called to the principal's office. So it makes more sense that those two things were factors. I wouldn't call yeol selfish, just immature. Intelligent but immature. The way he justified their plan to lead their parents to a breakup was immature (and fine, a bit selfish, but more immature). The way he screamed at hajoon without asking him first was also immature, especially as his frustration was misdirected. But you know what? That's all okay because he's a teenager and he makes these mistakes so he can grow.

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