One Spring Night - Part 2

When someone queries if for once he follows his heart whether he will be punished, what state of turmoil has that heart suffered or is suffering? This question from Ji-ho is both bad and good. Bad, as one wonders what could have led him to ask such a question. Good because, long stifled, his heart is stirring; it's telling him it's time to take a risk on love again. Perhaps instead of being punished, this time his feelings will be reciprocated.

Conversely, being a rebel is a hard act to keep up when there's nothing to rebel against. Still, Jeong-in chaffs against the thought of getting married just because others expect her to. Life might not be exciting, but she has stayed in a state of emotional limbo for four years without thought of escape -- until Ji-ho appeared. As her rebellious nature doesn't extend to openly breaking the cultural ties that bind her behaviour, extracting herself from a relationship that died long ago is, understandably, not easy to navigate. That's even without factoring in Ji-ho. When Jeong-in says she doesn't know what to do, that's the truth. When she says she doesn't know what she wants, that's a lie.

In turn, when Ji-ho asked what to do with someone who keeps lying to him, you understand that he knows his attraction to Jeong-in is mutual, even if she keeps denying it. It's what keeps him moving forward in pursuit of her despite the mixed messages she is giving him.

It's a little thing, if of big consequence, at least to me. I notice that everyone, in the world of One Spring Night, [1] whether they are good, bad, or even ugly, treats their servers (staff and retail) with respect and good manners. It is well noted that everyone in the drama nods and says thank you. They don't take out their anger and frustrations on others, and they courteously acknowledge greetings. It tells the measure of a person. It makes it easier to like their less favourable traits.

Episode 4 brought up an interesting issue in a seldom explored way. What do you do when the parents refuse to meet you? Nothing to do with you per se, all to do with the status of your family. If in the four years of dating your boyfriend his parents have refused to meet you, they are telling you they don't want the relationship to work. When he starts to talk about marriage, it should cause a spine-chilling reaction from you. What vipers’ lair is he inviting you to enter? If they dismissed you even without knowing you, it's easy to guess your future position in a family that looked down on you from the start. Who is to blame for this situation? Both of you, but mostly him. He is a coward, and marrying him will only bring you a new level of intolerable misery. You are to blame, too. If you truly loved him, the situation should have been faced head on. Ignoring it just doesn’t make sense, especially as you understand what it means. If you don't love him, why stay with him for so long?

The drama indicates that, for Jeong-in, the relationship had warped into one of irritating habit. A kind of trap created by herself arising from apathy and inaction. For him, Gi-seok? It's hard to tell. He certainly seems to want to please Jeong-in, but he also wants to meet the social climbing expectations of his parents.  The relationship with Jeong-in puts him in a bind, but his stubbornness keeps it going.  Perhaps he does actually know the value to this woman; perhaps he even really loves her. His repeated phrase when confronted by his father is that he will sort it out himself. But he never does, preferring to pretend there isn't a problem. Will a man like that protect you inside the family? Absolutely not, is the likely answer. Again, does Gi-seok love Jeong-in? Or is her presence a form of rebellion against his father’s expectations? A challenge he stubbornly clings to with every step Jeong-in takes towards leaving him.

Trying to do the right thing sure can be dispiriting. Ji-ho is trying to end both his attraction to Jeong-in and her chasing of him. Jeong-in is, too, actively pursuing Ji-ho, no matter what her words to him say.  As well, the push in her mind is fighting the pull in her heart.  She is already in a committed relationship and should not be coveting this man that will absolutely bring trouble with him. But as we all know, the heart wants what the heart wants. It will not easily be denied. Especially not by two emotionally needy, romantically barren people whose very first meeting triggered mutual visceral reactions of desire and, it can be argued, recognition of one another’s souls.  Ji-ho and Jeong-in are connected by more than just chemical reaction.

When they take the no-return step into a relationship, we see that Jeong-in is the one determining whether they move forward, but she's also the one with less self-discipline, which requires Ji-ho to be the one in control of the pace. Along the way, she turns up unannounced at his door and accuses him of not being distracted or anguished over a relationship she has up to that point denied. She prevents him from telling her it has to stop by covering his mouth. They do not need words to understand they are now mutually invested in the love affair. Instead, they move to bickering.  It's sweet and about time. Still, in absence of words of love and commitment being spoken, they continue to hedge through the safety of uncertainty. Him more than her. Jin-ho wants Jeong-in to push him away, to help him move on, to temper his desire, to deny his heart.  Her response:  She’s too selfish for that; she won’t help him.  Instead, with Ji-ho standing beside her, Jeong-in takes a leap of faith (or madness) and tells her boyfriend over the phone that they should break up. ­

It wasn’t planned, which made it powerful.  For both of them.  Jeong-in confuses matters afterwards by claiming the telephone breakup has nothing to do with Ji-ho, but who believes that? Ji-ho is shocked into silence and worry. Now, rather than not being happy about the breakup, as he claims, he's actually in panic. Now his desire is attainable. Now he has the responsibility of openly caring for her. Now he has to protect her from the troubles his parental status will burden her with. Ji-ho is overwhelmed with happiness and worry.

The two men Jeong-in’s caught between? They are acquaintances.  One of them, Gi-seok, the ex, is arrogant and disbelieving that she wants to leave him. The other, Ji-ho, is sure that she wants to be with him but is lacking confidence. The old boyfriend belittles the new boyfriend even without knowing who he is as a way of showing there is no contender for Jeong-in's heart. The secret new boyfriend drops heavy hints that the old boyfriend, unless he's stupid, can't miss.  Gi-seok is clueless but not stupid. When he finds out who has replaced him in Jeong-in’s heart, he simply refuses to take it seriously, refuses to view this younger, not rich, single father and therefore socially flawed person, as his competition.

It is a tangled web we weave when many hearts get caught in the snare of simultaneously dying and newly awakening love. It won't be pretty, but as neither of the Romeos are fighters, no blood will likely be shed.

Episode 6 - 10

Where he is a man of intense small gestures, her expressions are spontaneous and grand. He sneaks into her workplace to see her. She tells him she can't let him go. He tells her he wants to hug her. (In a later episode), she turns up at his home and tells him she wants him to make love to her. Still, it can be considered that both are being honest and upfront. It's their different characters asserting themselves. He's known for his restraint; she’s known to be a troublemaker -- as in she speaks her mind and will not tolerate being bullied. There is, nevertheless, a feeling that these two distinctly different people are well matched. One will be drawn out of their shell; the other will learn to moderate their temper. Perhaps he’s not as emotionally timid as he appears; perhaps she’s not as emotionally tough as she portrays.

Formally breaking up with Gi-seok is turning into a nightmare.  His refusal to accept that Jeong-in’s wants to finish with him means a continued push towards the altar of marriage.  The culture demands that both parties involved agree to the split.  Even worse, her parents are saying that unless he lets her go, nothing she says or does can invalidate the relationship.  And the unhappy couple were not even engaged.  It’s stressful for everyone because all involved want to adhere to social and cultural expectations. Personal desire does not count.  Somewhere between those emotional extremes, Ji-ho tells Jeong-in he is able to step back so she can resolve the issues with Gi-seok.  He immediately follows that up with the news that he will wait for her to come back to him -- however long it takes. Is that confidence or fatalism giving false comfort? Jeong-in comforts him with a promise of the future.  The ‘whenever’ arrives just minutes later. Ji-ho took a gamble, and it paid off. In not trying to tie Jeong-in down, not forcing her to make a decision, he got her to breach that final barrier of uncertainty. The future is right here, right now, as he envelops her in his arms. Neither of them planned this particular move of the emotional chess game they are caught in. He instinctively understands her and his admission of loving her was enough to make her sure she would be safe with him.

In One Spring Night, the scorned girlfriend turns meeting the parents on its head. Jeong-in consents to the request to meet the father who denied her existence and thereby denied her relationship with his son, Gi-seok, across the four years they dated. Except she wants to meet him alone. Her boyfriend is worried. Her father looks shaken and fearful. The father she will be meeting for the first time says he's excited about the arrangement. When she asked her mother to support her if she causes trouble, this might be the first of the mischief she means. One gets the impression that the old, bold Jeong-in has returned. She's heading into battle and Gi-seok's father, Kwon Young Kook, is her first adversary.

By way of introduction, Jeong-in lets it be known that she's aware she is not approved of by him.  Straight off the bat is the expression.  It hits its intended target and sets the tone for the bombshell announcement she has come to make.  Settling into the meeting, Jeong-in announces she won't marry his son.  This is underlined by describing the relationship as having failed. It is an understatement to say that snobbish boyfriend’s father is taken aback. Like his son already knows and father quickly deduces, this woman he has treated with ignorant disdain is brave, bold, sure of herself, and not easily intimidated. Now he likes her, discovering too late what he describes as her "rear quality".

Interestingly, no one bothers to tell Gi-seok about that conversation.  So, when the walls come tumbling down for him, the struggle is real. Leaving Gi-seok standing there as she chases after Ji-ho in the library car park where she works, all the subtle hints and direct break up messages coalesce into her apology and his humiliation. Jeong-in made a serious miscalculation minutes before when she suggested that Ji-ho take his son and sneak out a back entrance to avoid being seen by her old boyfriend. A step too far? A denial too many? Both, according to her new boyfriend. Not for himself, as he explains, but because he will not tolerate anyone -- without exception -- disrespecting (hurting) his boy. You want to whoop with joy to have identified his bottom line. But your heart hurts a little over the fact that their first fight is over his son, a fight instigated not by social disapprobation of their relationship, even, but by her act of panic. She thought she was protecting them. Certainly, it wasn't to protect herself or Gi-seok. Jeong-in's tears are of regret and frustration. Her response afterwards, of abandoning the old in preference for the new, is decisive.  However, it triggers the opening of the Pandora's box that he, Ji-ho, had tried so hard to avoid, the reason he told her to take her time, that he would wait as long as needed.

Gi-seok is now no longer clueless but instead has taken on the persona of ignorance. How can she leave him for one of society's rejects? The solution? He starts to pursue Jeong-in earnestly, because it’s no longer a matter of maintaining the relationship but trying to win it back. He tells himself it’s to save Jeong-in from blighting her reputation and her future, which will both happen if she stays with the single father, Ji-ho.

Leonora

asiandramaobserver@gmail.com

[1] One Spring Night. Screenplay by Kim Eunsang; Director, Ahn Pan-seok; Netflix.com/watch/81100182