We begin the discovery of all the poor parenting that led to our leads being a lit bit, well, emotionally damaged. Will the trauma of the past keep our OTP from beginning a romantic future? Come find out as Kmuse discusses ep 4.
All moms suck
If there is one thing we learn from this drama is that all the mothers really really suck. Not only suck, but are the cause of the majority of the mental disorders that we are witnessing. We first see bad mothering when the councilman’s wife comes to see her son, who is being dragged away by goons, back to the mental hospital. Rather then concern, she slaps him and questions why he ever had to be born. The poor boy just rubs his face, hiding the pain, and saying that when you love someone their abuse doesn’t hurt.
This triggers memories in Kang Tae. We witness his mother doting over his brother to the point where he is completely neglected. He never gets the food and love that a parent should share. Instead, he just gets complaints about how he isn’t putting his brother first and that the only reason she even had Kang Tae was to watch over his brother. It says a lot about Kang Tae’s personality that he truly cares about his brother and doesn’t just see him as a burden put on him by his mother.
Just want to be loved
This episode we see a lot of our OTP’s ideas on love and how to express it. Kang Tae is wound so tight from the stressors of his life that he wouldn’t know love if it bit him in the behind. The last time Kang Tae acted on his attraction for someone was before his mother’s death. And that person was a tortured youthful Moon Young. To say that Moon Young didn’t know how to express her interest at that point is an understatement. The fact that she doesn’t know exactly how to share her feelings now is no surprise. Rather than seem sincere, when Moon Young informs Kang Tae that she loves him, it comes across as insincere and stalkerish. The lack of real emotion is compounded when Moon Young doesn’t understand why saying “I love you” doesn’t have him returning her feelings. Instead, she screams at Kang Tae as he walks away from her insincere screeches of love.
Haunted
The bad mom theme continues as Moon Young continues to be haunted by the memories of her mother. It is obvious from the macabre glimpse of Moon Young’s nightmares, that her mother had some mental issues of her own. Reading in between the lines, or visuals as the case might be, Moon Young’s mother suffered from something that caused her to commit suicide. It’s also apparent that she mentally abused her daughter in the process.
Blackmail it is then
Politician Bad Dad has recovered from his fake collapse after his son’s outburst at his rally and is raging. He bursts into the hospital and demands that Moon Young and Kang Tae suffer consequences for his embarrassment. The Director is able to avoid firing Kang Tae thanks to having a CCVT in his office which captures the politician smacking Kang Tae. He is not above blackmailing the horrible father to make sure his people are safe.
Sang Tae Oppa
It was only a matter of time before Sang Tae and Moon Young met at the hospital. It was nothing short of magical. They sit outside discussing Sang Tae’s art and Moon Young agrees to buy a caricature he draws of her. They also are adorable as they take selfies together, smiles bursting on their faces. The mood is destroyed as Kang Tae finds them and yells at Moon Young to leave his brother alone. He also snaps at Sang Tae and orders him to leave. Poor Sang Tae hears the anger in his brother’s voice and runs to hide. The anger in his voice makes Sang Tae concerned that Kang Tae no longer loves him. When Moon Young tries to complain about Kang Tae’s yelling, he declares that she is nothing but an empty vase and that she is unable to feel any emotions. She is broken and he wants nothing to do with her.
Kill the monster
Moon Young thinks that the reason that Kang Tae is upset is that she has ignored her father. Originally, she was meant to take her father on walks in order to teach at the hospital. So in Moon Young’s mind, if she takes her father on walks then Kang Tae will see that she is trying. Her father is brought out and she inquires as to whether he really does have dementia? Does he truly not remember what he did. Obviously, his memories are not as gone as the staff thinks since he pushes his daughter down and starts choking her. Calling her a monster that needs to be killed. Moon Young doesn’t try to stop him and even after the staff drags her father away, she lays on the ground laughing and crying.
Zombie Boy
The bus Kang Tae is on passes Moon Young, who is walking barefoot along the street. You can see that he is concerned but he consciously pushes his concern out of his mind and goes home to de-stress. Kang Tae cleans his house and finds Moon Young’s newest book called Zombie Boy. He reads the tale of a mother who gives birth to a zombie. The mother kills animals to feed her son, who she had locked in her house to keep safe from other people. During a plague, all the animals and people left, leaving no food for her son. The mother cut off her own limbs and fed them to her son, eventually gathering her beloved child into her arms as he ate and killed her. Connecting the book with some of his own experiences with a mother who gave everything she was to only one son, Kang Tae falls into tears of anguish. Soon after, his pizza bestie stops by to inquire if Moon Young is ok (revealing that she had been attacked by her father,) Kang Tae rushes out into the rain to find her. The episode ends with them facing each other in the rain, and Kang Tae putting his jacket around a drenched Moon Young’s shoulders.
My Thoughts
I am finding this story very interesting. We have two people that have extreme emotional damage trying to make a connection. I like that the writer is making a point that even people who have psychological issues can find love. It just takes a bit more effort to make sure it is a healthy love and not something that is going to consume and destroy our OTP. Whether our couple is going to be able to not be consumed is still unsure, they obviously have some serious work to overcome their issues.
Until the next story,
Kmuse
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
