Profiles - My Lovely Kim Sam Soon - Part 1

Looking at it from another angle

Mesmerised by her philosophy on her craft as a French trained pâtissier and by her passion for love and life generally, at the interview shortly after they first meet, the wheels of destiny start to turn to bind Jin-heon to Sam-soon. 

Mesmerised by her philosophy on her craft as a French trained pâtissier and by her passion for love and life generally, at the interview shortly after they first meet, the wheels of destiny start to turn to bind Jin-hoen to Sam-soon. 

Jin-heon, heir to a chain of businesses, including a hotel, but right now the head interviewer at his French restaurant, Bon Appétit, finds himself uncharacteristically speechless. Drawn to Sam-soon emotionally but not physically, or rather the way she looks compared to his ‘norm’, Jin-heon is, reasonably, confused and, less reasonably, determined to reject what his heart recognised in preference for what his eyes see. Yet, finding out by chance that she is on a date is immediately a problem for him.   Jin-heon torpedoes their respective dates to save himself, he subsequently says, from another blind date set up for him by his mother.  What is strange is his involving Sam-soon in his troubles.  Inviting Sam-soon to dinner immediately afterwards is also strange.  At that point, they hardly cross paths, even at work.  Perhaps the dinner invite is the reason he disrupted her date?  Only, he would deny that last point vehemently.

And why follow her the whole of that day post dating debacle?  I have come to consider that they are on their first ‘date’.  Sam Shik (Jin-heon’s alter ego) might not have recognised it.  Sam-soon might not have realised it.  They both, nonetheless, understood something was happening between them. What exactly that is is still unclear.  Because  Jin-heon, having been in an emotional fog for the last three years, will have felt a jolt as his heart awakened, a flutter in his stomach, and a catch in his breath ¾ like the rest of us.  Sam-soon, the romantic that she is, will have understood his actions, because they exactly match her idea of a ‘perfect’ date.  He (publicly) follows her around, does what she wants to do, stays by her side (even if, in this case, it starts at a few feet behind her, likely as an act of contrition).  Sam Shik, why follow her the WHOLE day?  Even when yawning from tiredness, he is never bored.  What he calls her ‘unique quality’ keeps him thoroughly engaged: What will she do next is what he, and the viewers, want to know. 

With Sam-soon, not once does she ask him why he is shadowing her.  Did Jin-heon intend to tell her how he felt during the cable car ride they take as part of the undeclared date?  It could not have been just to ask her to take back her resignation as his pastry chef after he crashed her blind date because they openly have that conversation later on a packed bus.  I think immature Jin-heon can not reconcile this external vision of a woman with the sudden internal reaction that makes things feel so right.  So, although he set it up by asking the other passengers to not board the cable car as he intends to propose to his girlfriend, he chickens out.  Never mind propose, he can’t even formally ask her out on a date. Within hours, Jin-heon claims that Sam-soon is his girlfriend three times.  The third time, he doesn’t refute the voiced assumption by a stranger, which comes to the same thing.  Telling them, “I didn’t let her drink [until she is drunk]” comes to the same thing.

Being arrogant does not mean you are not decent at the core, and Jin-heon is a decent man.  This is evident from the start of the drama when he does not hesitate to interact with a crying, distraught Sam-soon, who inadvertently takes refuge in a men’s washroom cubicle after being publicly dumped.  Piggybacking a too-drunk-to-walk Sam-soon from the cash dispenser to a place of safety, then, is natural.  What is not necessary is taking her to his home to sleep off her inebriated self. As owner of the restaurant where they both worked, he has access to all staff records.  Most people would have taken her to the office, found her address, then taken her to her home.  All right, maybe I am placing too much credence on common sense here.  Still, why let her sleep on his bed?  We know he is particular about whom he touches, who touches him, who sleeps on his bed.  His mother tells us so.  In keeping with his neat-freak personality, Jin-heon not only stripes off Sam-soon’s soiled clothes; he even sends them for dry cleaning.  And boy, oh boy, when he leans across her to press the intercom control to arrange for his apartment to be cleaned, pressed against her, their faces fewer than inches apart, the chemistry between this couple in denial is palpable; one can almost see and hear the crackle -- even if they do not understand its message.

The ‘date’ finishes with his love contract proposal.  Why, why, why (as Sam-soon has to ask of him on more than one occasion)? Rather than the reason Jin-heon gives ¾ that they loath each other and will never become true lovers, his alter ego, Sam Shik, knows he means the opposite.  Sadly, being the coward that he is, Jin-heon wants a way out should things get too serious.  His pride needs to believe that he is in control and that he can walk away at will.  We know Sam-soon is similarly hooked.  We see it in that dream dance she does on Jin-heon’s lap in celebration of getting the job as his pastry chef (Ep. 2).  Not enough evidence?  We see their mutual connection when, despite being in a crowded subway station, they can only hear each other, are no longer aware of the stream of people passing them (Ep. 4). When he pretends to kiss her to demonstrate that, contrary to what Sam-soon infers, he is indeed a fully functioning man (Ep. 4), he doesn’t need to be hovering over her to hear how her heartbeat has accelerated.  If Sam-soon wasn’t so flustered, she would have heard his similarly thumping heart. Their lips millimetres apart, they are emotionally in harmony. The fake in the love contract is already seeping away.

Could my summary be wrong?  Of course.  But let’s consider this: Prior to events on Jeju Island, at the elevator at Jin-heon’s apartment, Hee-jin, his estranged girlfriend, wants him to say he will finish with Sam-soon.  Why not agree?  She asks twice and waits even longer (Ep. 5).  Why not tell her there is actually nothing between him and Sam-soon?  Maybe because what Jin-heon needs are answers, not to change the status quo.  Reasonably, he may not even understand this himself.  He knows only that disowning a relationship with Sam-soon is not something he is willing or able to do at that time. Whatever is happening in in Jin-heon’s head or heart, the argument with Hee-jin leads to him and Sam-soon sharing a passionate kiss soon after (Ep. 6). Followed by their hilarious ‘I take responsibility for giving in to my desire’ argument afterwards, they might as well as labelled it a confession of their mutual feelings. And at the family’s hotel grand opening they attend together on Jeju Island shortly thereafter, Jin-heon brawls with Sam-soon’s ex-boyfriend in public (Ep.7)? It’s two against one when Jin-heon and Sam-soon form a tag time.  Are these things you do for a colleague, even for a fake lover?  Why, then, abandon Sam-soon on the highway on Jeju Island soon afterwards to run to Hee-jin?  It’s a cruel and despicable act by an impulsive and selfish person who doesn’t qualify to even be called a friend.

Being charitable, one can understand that Jin-heon needs to know why he was dumped by someone he loved for five years.  His heart needs to know, his pride needs to be soothed, his anger appeased, and Hee-jin, who vanished and reappeared equally suddenly, is ready to provide answers.  Without knowing, how can he find closure?  I say closure because after seeing Hee-jin held tightly in another man’s embrace outside her apartment, there is no way that proud Jin-heon can pick up where they left off.  He is a man that needs to fully own, control, believe in, trust, and love the person who has his heart. If Hee-jin forfeited that when she disappeared without saying goodbye three years before, her relationship with Henry, the good-looking man he sees her tearfully cling to, will cause a chasm that Jin-heon would not be able to surmount.

Meanwhile, as early as Episode 3, we start to see Jin-heon metamorphosing into Sam Shik.  He  matches Sam-soon’s ‘perfect’ man as he defends her against his mother’s insults.  President Na’s attacks against Sam-soon and Jin-heon’s indignant defense of her creates the first knot in the relationship between these seemingly unlikely lovers.  It’s the unintended consequence of a mother who has yet to learn that her son has grown up.  Jin-heon shortly thereafter introduces Sam-soon as his girlfriend to their work colleagues and, even more importantly, to her ex-boyfriend, Min Hyun-woo. Recognising Min Hyun-woo as the cruel man who loudly and publicly humiliated Sam-soon on Christmas eve, Jin-heon extols her virtues as a woman.  It’s his turn to state loudly and publicly just how good a ‘girlfriend’ Miss Kim is.  This man’s loyalty runs deep. Taking particular care to explain all the things he likes about her, Jin-heon unambiguously talks about the woman Kim Sam-soon, not the pastry chef with the assumed name Kim Hee-jin.  Subsequently, confirmation of his attachment to Sam-soon is evidenced in his anger when Min Hyun-woo propositions her (indirectly) during  the party celebrating his engagement to Chae-ri, who is mutually friends with Jin-heon and Sam-soon (Ep. 6).  Jin-heon is ready to fight because of it.  Why? Because she is a staff member?  Because she is his friend?  I doubt it.  Because she is upset and he cares about her emotionally?  That is a reason we can all identify with.  How can Jin-heon’s façade of indifference not totally dissolve at or because of those tears?  So, when he spends time alone with his ‘girlfriend’ later that evening, ending in a post-piano-playing-together-kiss (Ep. 6), no one is surprised.  If any doubts remain about how they feel romantically, wrapped in one another’s arms, hearts gently tripping, lips still warm from the contact, those should have evaporated. 

That Sam-soon, rather than Sam Shik, is in charge of the relationship becomes clear. She kisses him first, then again.  His response is so gentle that my heart rate slows whilst my pulse speeds up.  Still, a  habit, we all know,  is a hard thing to break and a convenient shield to hide behind.  Telling Sam-soon that the whole kiss thing was a mistake is so immature Jin-heon it isn’t worth commenting on.  More importantly, however, is that he is inviting Sam-soon to contradict him, to reassure him that the kiss had emotional merit.  Jin-heon is asking HER to take responsibility for the relationship going forward.  He still cannot accept them openly as a couple as, clearly, this would go against the spirit of the dating contract. And what about Hee-jin and the years of waiting for her to return to him? Sam-soon, the one used to deferring whilst in a relationship, does not counter his stand or interpretation of what happened between them. The opportunity to move forward together slips away.

For me, it was not the fight with Min Hyun-woo at the grand hotel opening on Jeju Island and Jin-heon’s demand subsequently that Sam-soon not look at, talk to, or listen to other men that identifies them as a couple (Ep. 7).  It is Jin-heon’s reaction to the gift that Min Hyun-woo presents to Sam-soon.  His jealousy cannot be any clearer as he ‘casually’ picks up the gift box and inspects it.  Gently taking out its content, and with a casualness that borders on boredom, throwing it into a nearby pond, says more about Jin-heon’s emotional state than the fight itself.  How can another man give gifts to his woman?  The punch he throws immediately following the disposal of the necklace consolidates their relationship on so many levels. 

Our reluctant lover, Jin-heon, starts to catch up with Sam Shik that day.  In the hotel room afterwards, where he opens his heart, shares his deepest secret and pain, and cries in Sam-soon’s arms, both his immature self and his heart acknowledge that she belongs to him.  Why else, when else, does one place demands on another person regarding whom they see, speak to, go out with?  Not that he has the right, but, in fact, the expectation in a relationship generally is that each partner has sole emotional as well as physical ownership of the other.  Indeed, was it not, after all, Sam-soon who set the  status of the relationship early on when she made clear to his mother their mutual commitment?  “I have full ownership of the President, and he has full ownership of me.  It’s a deep relationship”, is what she declared.  So, who is it that abandons Sam-soon on the side of the highway on Jeju Island later that same day?  That Bastard, Jin-heon.  So close to knowing why Hee-jin abandoned their five-year relationship, Jin-heon chooses to risk destroying the relationship he does not understand (Sam-soon) in order to understand what happened three years prior (Hee-jin).  Then, only then, can  he work out what he needs to do next.  Find closure for the past relationship and start again with Hee-jin?  Or move forward with Sam-soon?  Sam-soon lost, it appears. 

It is reasonable that Jin-heon needs to go back before he can move forward.  At first, I was incensed at his treatment of Sam-soon, especially as she had passed control of their relationship to him just minutes before.  By admitting she likes him, what happens next is down to Jin-heon.  Whilst Sam Shik might have handled it differently, Jin-heon has unfinished business with Yoo Hee-jin, and that wins this particular battle.  One must wonder whether Sam-soon really lost, however?  Jin-heon might have abandoned Sam-soon, but Sam Shik is still firmly attached to her.  Days later, when Sam-soon confronts him about the demands of the dating contract right there on his doorstep with Yoo Hee-jin at his side, Jin-heon looks both ashamed and chastened.  Why follow her as she leaves? Getting into the elevator without hesitation is something he refused to do with or for Hee-jin just days before.  It has to be because, as before, Sam-soon matters to him on a level he may refuse to acknowledge but cannot escape.  Why bother to explain that his return to Hee-jin triggers the forgiveness of the love contract debt?  Perhaps it’s guilt. Why accept Sam-soon’s slap without comment? Because he deserves it. Why follow her outside to taunt a very angry Sam-soon about still wanting to keep his promise to climb Mt Halla with her? Jin-heon could never turn away from Sam-soon and it’s no different now.  So he watches until she rides away on her bicycle? He can’t stop her but he still waits for her to leave.  Why, why, why?  Because Sam Shik is still challenging Jin-heon regarding his feelings.  Because, as on a number of occasions before, her anger calms him, draws him to her.  Combined with her tears, how can he walk away?

In typical Jin-heon style, of course, to seem in control, he uses inappropriate humour to deflect attention from his real feelings.  This quickly evaporates when Sam-soon passes out, falling off her bike, and he rushes to her aid.  Why stay with her?  Because Sam Shik has responsibilities towards Sam-soon.  Sam Shik stays for all the hours that his Sam-soon remains in hospital.  Why, why, why? He cannot do otherwise, that is why.  Upon her discharge from the hospital, he even begs her to let him drive her home (please, he urges).  Sam Shik needs to finish things that he starts, and the two personalities that make up Jin-heon needs to see that Sam-soon gets home safely.  It has nothing to do with guilt.

This aspect of their relationship, having full responsibility for one another, is one of the best things the main characters share.  Sam-soon’s no holds barred attitude when they argue matches Jin-heon’s hot-tempered explosions of anger.  Sam-soon’s reaction to his anger even surpasses it ¾ tone and volume. Reasonableness, it soon became clear, is not in their vocabulary.  Just as Jin-heon interferes in Sam-son’s affairs by crashing her blind dates with outrageous claims of intimacy and even pregnancy, Sam-soon does similar, proclaiming her judgement in a high-handed way over his relationship with Hee-jin, his treatment of Hee-jin, his rejection of Hee-jin.  On this one, one of them needs to step back from the edge if that argument is to avoid escalating into physical form. Sam-soon’s anger peaks and her verbal assaults transitions to violence,  as in smashing a glass vase and threats with balled fists to beat Jin-heon up if he continues to abuse her through the contract. Jin-heon appears unconcerned, amused.  He seems to recover his calm more easily than Sam-soon, and one wonders if, in fact, he just likes to wind her up.  It’s possible, as Jin-heon almost always starts their arguments, whilst Sam-soon invariably finishes them, to a fashion.  The fight over, both the combatants quickly return to a state of smooth waters, their relationship unruffled by the recent storm.  It’s how it should be.  Never having to say sorry. 

It is not the same with Hee-jin.

Leonora

asiandramaobserver@gmail.com

[1] Ji Soo-hyun, My Lovely Kim Sam Soon. Kim Sa-hyun MBC, 2005. Rakuten Viki, https://www.viki.com//tv/1476c-mylovely-sam-soon