We need to talk about Wooyeon
That’s right it’s me again, who won’t shut up about this drama. I just have a lot of feelings for this, okay? Okay. Enjoy my essay lmao
One of the things I liked about Wooyeon (and still do), from the very beginning, is the way she seemed like your classic romcom female lead (bubbly, girly, poor but great clothes, feels ungly but she’s super pretty, etc) on paper, but actually got more substance, a strong will (perphaps a bit too strong, come on girl, let your heart decide a little, go with the flow) and real personality once we got to meet her. I honestly think I’ve met a few people in real life that acted like her, so she seems like a real person (but that’s more of a praise for the writer than for her character so let’s continue).
During eps 1-2 I was completely on her side, more than Lee Soo’s. And I mean, we got most of our setup for the story from her, so it makes sense that she was more likable or she was more a person the audience would root for. The thing is I used to think she was not afraid of being vulnerable in relationships because of the way she confessed to Lee Soo on the airport, and how she did it again seven years later (but that second time still seems weird to me because the dude was only in Korea for a few days).
Except that things are clearer now and I wonder, was she ever vulnerable? Not with Lee Soo, but with others, I mean. It takes a lot of courage to confess your feelings to someone (believe me, I’ve been there) but it takes a lot more to actually open up to someone while in a relationship. And I think that’s one of the many reasons Wooyeon’s relationships with these other 12 guys never worked out.
What did that boyfriend, that broke up with her on the first ep, said? “Don’t date. You don’t know how to love”? And then she nostalgically starred into the distance, remembering how her “curse” with Lee Soo began? Like saying “That’s because I only love one person and I can’t forget about him”? Yeah, I think that ex-boyfriend was right. Not in the sense that she is unable to feel the emotion, but more like she really doesn’t let the other person in, there’s a wall around her and that’s why she can’t ever form a deeper bond with the other, thus leading said relationship to a premature end.
On eps 3-4 I was still on her side and this is when Lee Soo got on my nerves a little (well maybe a lot). The girl was clear that she never wanted to see him again but he kept pushing and pushing. That’s the only behavior of his I can call proper of a jerk, because before that, he’d been honest with WY and straighforward even if his words hurt her feelings a bit because it was not what she wanted to hear. And he took that job because he had decided to stay in the country already though, not to torment Wooyeon. Only once he had accepted the job he realized Wooyeon was gonna be working there as well.
It was on ep 5 when things took an unexpected turn and I started to root more for Lee Soo (not exactly his romance but for his development and for him to realize his feelings for WY as there were starting to appear some cracks on his emotional shield lol) than for Wooyeon. And I know why now. Because I wanted her to take a step back and look for therapy understand that jumping into another relationship after being once again swayed by Lee Soo, was not going to help her at all. Dating a man (no matter how nice and ‘perfect’) while she was still having all these unresolved issues and lingering feelings for Lee Soo, was only going to make things worse and confuse her.
Which you know, it happened. Especially because Lee Soo figured out his own feelings for her.
The fact that she started a relationship with a man she had rejected, a few hours prior (and he was waiting outside her house why exactly??creepy), for Lee Soo, is the most undeniable proof that her brain wasn’t working properly anymore. She was acting purely on emotion: hurt, shame, anger and resentment. None of that were love.
A lot of people have some very strong opinions about Lee Soo,but let’s not blame the man for the decisions Wooyeon took, especially for the time when he was out of the country. His biggest stupidity, in my opinion, wasn’t rejecting her twice (that was actually a good thing, he wasn’t ready to admit his feelings) but lying to Wooyeon on that Namsan day.
I think that Wooyeon, as of ep 8, is too angry to see clearly. I get her anger and her incredulity of Lee Soo’s words when he says he likes her. He has sent her so many mixed signals in the past. He acts like he has feelings for her but tells her he only wants to be friends. She’s tired, understandably.
Yet, I know she still likes Lee Soo. I know that, no matter how hard she tries to like CEO, that’s just not how feelings work. And we saw her treating him at arm’s lenght like all of her other boyfriends, so her wall is not down. And that’s not because of something Lee Soo did to her, that’s because that’s how she is at relationships. I believe that she has had more vulnerability with Lee Soo, as a friend, than with any of the men she’s dated.
So now, I wonder, will she or will she not realize in time that she’s doing wrong by remaining by CEO’s side despite her feelings for another man? Will she understand that she really is going to be the “Lee Soo” this time around? On purpose? Now that he has promised to do the one sided love? Because she knows how much that hurts and drains someone, so is she really going to put Lee Soo through that? Even when she cares for him? Let’s put aside whether or not he deserves it (I personally think he doesn’t). I think that’s just too cruel and more than enough “punishment” for not realizing his feelings sooner.
So I’m hoping Wooyeon breaks up with CEO and decides to start over with Lee Soo and I’m not saying they should date right away. Because there’s just no point in giving pain to a loved one, even if they wronged you. That’s below anyone and not something that should be one’s work.
