Tag: korean

Unnie Recap: Interpreting My Absolute Boyfriend’s Ending

This is officially my 1st post about a (semi) recap for a kdrama that recently concluded: My Absolute Boyfriend. Well actually, it’s more of a rant because I was typing away too many thoughts and realized that I was deviating from the main point of another post😅 So I decided to dedicate a separate entry for this altogether. If you’re interested in watching this kdrama, check out my first impressions post to familiarize yourself with the story.

Maybe this is the future we’re looking at given the progress of AI and technology today but I’d still prefer a human being as a lifelong partner. Watching the first few episodes of My Absolute Boyfriend gave me hope that perhaps this kdrama would be different. Boy was I wrong😂

An Absolute Choice

Da Da realized that she was truly in love with Zero Nine despite Wang Joon’s best (and a little questionable) efforts, he only ended up being friends with Da Da. Ironically though, Zero Nine was having a meltdown since developing human emotions is too much for his metal state. He ran out of power holding onto the memories he shared with the people he learned to love. Our lead female was heartbroken but she continued to live her life the best way she can. Da Da’s special effects make-up company grew bigger and she and Wang Joon are good friends.

It’s not that the story itself wasn’t compelling or that the cast was bad, but the character development could have been better and the potential for deeper reflections on having a robot vs. human boyfriend could have been further explored. Da Da was just persistent that she liked Zero Nine but does she really like him or is it just convenient that he was able to give her the time and attention she never got from Wang Joon? I hated the fact that they didn’t prolong her struggle of choosing between Wang Joon and Zero Nine since she shared so much history with the former.

In defense of Zero Nine

I disagree with the notion that being with a robot is having perfect love. It’s imperfect in a sense that issues and conflicts still need to be addressed when you’re in such a relationship. Think about all the backlash and raised eyebrows if other people knew you were dating a robot but even if you got past that, what about the fact that you can’t raise a family or grow old together? I do appreciate the fact that Da Da probably thought of these issues and decided that she would be okay with having no kids or having an unaging husband while she grew older. They had their share of arguments like jealousy, missing out on plans, and even a looming break-up just like any normal relationship.

But…

Zero Nine is a love robot programmed to be the perfect boyfriend to its owner. It’s hard to see that his actions are genuinely sincere towards her because it’s his very essence to be a loyal, caring, and unselfish partner. Even if the show did feature an episode where he told his friend that he wanted to receive love from Da Da (which is not programmed in him), he always has her best interests at heart.

It makes me think that she is sticking with him until the end because getting hurt would be of less impact compared to a human. Zero Nine can’t really hurt Da Da because he is hotwired to be her perfect boyfriend.

An Annoying Female Lead

I’m not the biggest fan of Da Da’s character because even if Wang Joon broke up with her and their relationship ran its course, I was so frustrated that the kdrama only showed Wang Joon’s faults and how he was more exhausted of their secret relationship. They were together for 7 years but she agreed to end it too without putting up much of a fight. She didn’t even show half the amount of effort and persistence she had with Zero Nine to make their relationship work. Yes, she was neglected and put to the side by Wang Joon because of his acting career but he could have called her out on not saying anything and also feeling exhausted of all the secrecy.

A relationship takes 2 to tango and I wish that they showed Da Da’s share of mistakes in their relationship too. Instead she meets a person who fulfilled the very things she wanted in a relationship without giving her past a second thought.

An Absolute Ending?

My Absolute Boyfriend’s ending kind of left it open for interpretation (at least for me). In the last episode, Wang Joon visited Da Da to tell her that he had been cast in a hollywood movie and asked her to go with him as his make-up artist. She declined (of course, you foolish girl!) his offer and I thought that this was really the end… but a green umbrella was shown inside his car as he was ready to leave her home. The final scene showed Da Da running into someone holding a green umbrella and wearing a brown coat as she smiles at the person. I mean, WHAT?!

Logic tells me that it’s Zero Nine, who magically came back to power and reliving their iconic under the rain scene in the earlier episodes. Except that I can’t imagine Zero Nine wearing such an attire and why even show Wang Joon having the same umbrella? I know it’s a pre-produced kdrama so there was no chance they could change the ending last minute but if I had to pick, the person standing before her is Wang Joon.

I know it makes little sense after building up the robot and girl but maybe it’s a message of hope that after losing a great love, you can find another one. Wang Joon remains vocal about his feelings for Da Da until the last episode so it’s not a far stretch for him to still try and make things work for them. Zero Nine did ask Wang Joon to take care of Da Da in his absence so this could be the manifestation of his last wish.

Wang Joon + Da Da Forever❤️

Wang Joon’s character was flawed and he showed it evidently when he publicly announced that he loved Da Da without her consent and tried to dissuade her from Zero Nine without trying to understand the situation from her perspective. But let’s be real, wouldn’t you flip out too if the person you love was dating a robot? But he showed his true colors with an honest heart and even helped her fix Zero Nine when he was malfunctioning. His love, like Zero Nine’s, became selfless and geared towards Da Da’s happiness. He reflected and learned to be a better person — an organic growth stemmed from making human mistakes.

If I could give an alternate ending/epilogue to My Absolute Boyfriend, it would be flash forward to a few years after Wang Joon has returned to Korea after becoming a top star overseas. He’ll go to the beach where he and Da Da took a trip to before. Coincidentally, Da Da will be there too. They’ll smile in recognition and walk towards each other as the scene zooms out to reveal an absolute, perfect sunset🌅

Unnie Recommends: A Love – Hate Relationship with One Spring Night (But mostly Love!)

Sometimes the most random encounters are those that make an impact in our lives. The memory stays with us longer than we expect and we wonder if such a casual event has more than what it initially offered. In “One Spring Night”, two strangers meet at a pharmacy and make a strong first impression on each other. Little by little, they find out that such a random meeting was a first of many more undiscovered connections they both share with each other.

Current Impression

Love: The story portrays men/women who are almost 30 years of age or above. Do you ever wonder if you’re living differently or similar to other people your age? The emotions, sentiments, and mindset you have — worries, goals, pleasure, are all valid.

Since we’re of similar age, I feel like it’s easier for me to relate and connect with such characters. With topics such as marriage, weighing responsibilities against having a personal life, and the opposite sex attraction but “I have issues” being explored, it feels good to see how others interpret such issues and that it’s okay not to give into the pressure.

Han Ji Min just recently concluded “The Light In your Eyes” kdrama and she’s still fantastic here portraying Jeong In, a librarian who is in a long relationship with her boyfriend (Ki Seok) but finds herself getting curious about the pharmacist she meets one day. It is immediately introduced that she has boyfriend whom she has been dating for awhile but they aren’t affectionate or seem that invested in each other. They update each other about their daily lives but it’s obvious that they both find a companion only in each other.

She is confident, opinionated, goes out for the occasional drink with her friend and seems like a good person. Her hesitation about getting married to her boyfriend I think has more to do with her unsure feelings for him and not about her random encounter at a pharmacy.

It’s normal for us to feel attracted to other men sometimes even when we’re in a relationship and to feel excited about imagining things. We are merely human beings who possess a myriad of emotions that vary from time to time, may it be pure intentions or clouded with malice. But…

Hate: Curiosity gets the best of us and even if we think that it’s harmless, our personal intentions and feelings are not always the best judge of action. The line between what’s right and wrong are blurred easily.

Jeong In meets Yoo Ji Ho, the friendly pharmacist who even if she didn’t have any money to pay for the hangover medicine she bought, was kind enough to let her go for the meantime and pay him back another time. Their next encounters are filled with awkward tension but you get a sense of attraction between them.

Ji Ho is a quiet and simple man who is a single dad, he lives separately from his family and kid so he could live closer to work. He tells Jeong In this fact immediately, perhaps to get it over with and see how she’ll react, but she is not deterred from this. Their world is smaller than they thought as it turns out, Ji Ho plays basketball with Ki Seok (Jeong In’s boyfriend) and they even have dinner together with the whole team one night.

It is Jeong In who initiates to Ji Ho that they become friends. We all know that this is just poking the beast, stirring the pot, and may all the other metaphors of giving in to temptation be applied. When he mentioned how her boyfriend would react, she told him that she wants to be respected and that he shouldn’t assume or worry about things she hasn’t mentioned. Oh come on! That’s like giving a signal to Ji Ho that something can happen between them and she’s willing to explore a possibility of a “relationship” with him. They can’t be just friends, not when you just met someone whom you’re clearly attracted to. If we’re hurting someone, unintentionally but still we do something towards that end, it’s just wrong. But with that said,

Love: Real life is messy and unpredictable. It’s nice to know that other people (even TV characters) go through the same ordeals as we do.

It seems too early to say on what will happen to our leading duo, given that only 4 episodes (1 episode is split into 2 intervals) have been shown. I love that One Spring Night holds many possibilities, whether they eventually become a couple, will Jeong In’s family approve, or how Jeong In deals with Ji Ho’s son are chapters reminiscent of what we, everyday people, can or have already experienced.

One Spring Night is a melodrama romance where conversations are emphasized and purposeful while background music hits when characters are walking, running, or thinking their time away. Although I feel like some might find the show’s muted tones and slow paced scenes boring, who knows? You might learn to love (and hate) this kdrama more than you think😙

Unnie Recommends: Abyss

Every now and then, a mystery/romance/supernatural themed show makes its way into kdramaland. Perhaps its the thrill of crafting a killer’s motives or piecing together how the protagonists will deal with each other & their dilemmas — its these different elements that make korean dramas so addicting to watch.

Having premiered with its first 2 episodes this week, Abyss tells the story of 2 friends who work together to solve a crime despite literally having an out of body experience.

Current Impression

The opening scene introduces us to a man drinking his sorrows away on a building rooftop. As he sits on the edge after climbing past the railing, we learn that the man’s (Cha Min) fiancé, can’t go through with their wedding because of his unattractive face. He is accidentally killed by supernatural forces (Special guest appearances from Jung So Min & Seo In Guk from Hundred Million Stars From the Sky🥰) but revived by them with an orb named Abyss. The rule is that a person will be revived with the reflection of their soul and since Cha Min is a kindhearted person, he was given a more handsome and fitter body.

Before Min’s untimely death, he calls his long time friend, Ko Se Yeon, a beautiful, smart, and driven prosecutor who is in the middle of a crime scene. Though it hasn’t been explicitly shown, Min apparently has been in love with her for the longest time but she isn’t reciprocating those feelings. She is murdered one night and by Min’s efforts, he was able to revive her with the Abyss. Only this time, she gets a downgrade as her face & body is just like any other normal Korean woman.

It’s a cat and mouse game they try to solve the mystery of Se Yeon’s murder and navigate everyday life with their new bodies. We weren’t shown any flashbacks yet of how Min and Se Yeon’s characters were like before they died but it’s safe to assume that how they are interacting with each other, revivial mode, is still their true personalities. I hope that Min stays humble and thoughtful even with his more attractive physique. Se Yeon doesn’t have a bad personality (Park Bo Young is adorable & not common at all!), she’s actually resourceful and practical but as the show stands, she has a normal-faced soul but I don’t really see anything wrong with that.

It’s obvious that Se Yeon will fall in love with Min now but I hope that she’ll be able to accept him for his physical features before. Falling in love with his handsome, reborn character is easier but accepting Min’s original face seems like an important point of this show. Despite having a fiancé, I think Min still cares about Se Yeon more than as a friend but with the roles reversed (She’s a plain Jane while he’s a hottie) now, I’m excited to see how their relationship progresses from this point on.

Unleash your detective sleuthing skills and don’t be surprised when you also get romantic feels as Abyss will surely deliver a mayhem of fun and suspense worth the weekly wait!