Yohan Yuki Xieㆍ사요한・謝雪矢

Universe/World: I like the concept. If this was a novel, it could span 10 YA (Young Adult) novels easily. The adventure in this universe/world can be limitless, and the world can be fleshed out properly.

Speaking of fleshing out, episode 1 lacks a lot of that. It was as if this series is a sequel, or not standalone. That it expected the audience to already have knowledge of it.

But again, it's premier week. Still, for a show with only 8 episodes, they should be setting the universe early.

Acting: 5 out of 10 as of episode 1. The first episode gave me the feels that the talents are newbies. And I think they most of them are, at least after checking some of their past works listed here in MDL.

Directing/scenes: 6.5 out of 10. Needs more work. It seems like the show is being directed by a high school. They know what they want, but they are failing to capture the scene they have in mind.

Some weirdness in script: In the gym fight, the guy who went to the rescue of the FL acted as if he knows the real identity of the FL and have an idea on what's happening.

1. He was immediately on the offensive against the possessed student. No questions asked, just like that, he's flying for a punch.

2. When the FL summoned her weapon, and called his attention, he did not question why she's holding a weapon, and what she's about to do.

No ordinary student would act that way unless they too are a Phantom Hunter, or have knowledge of them.

If he is just an ordinary guy…

3. He never acted worried at all that the FL is “going to kill” their classmate, over for what? Defeating the bully?

Their classmate never did anything, as far as the gym scene is concerned, that would warrant getting stabbed by a spear. Yet, he just let the FL do it, no questions asked.

So, let's hope he is not an ordinary guy, and he does know something about what's going on. (After all, he did see the 7 orbs flying.)

Okay, so it was indeed a game as suspected and it was Se Eun's parents who programmid it and the "AI" Jung Won who learned how to hack it.

I think episode showing Jung Won creating the game was her learning the harsh fate of everyone, and she's continually trying to end the game.

Also, Jung Won seems to be making sure Jae In remembers bits and pieces of the previous games. And in the finale episode, Jae In remembers everything from the previous one, including when she was awakened by Se Eun's parents.

The real question here is this: Did See Eun's mother reprogrammed Jung Won?

When the game reset, Jung Won was sitting far from Jae In. Also, Jung Won looks at Jae In with contempt.

I'm highly suspecting Se Eun's mother changed Jung Won (the AI) and now Jae In will be the one who will suffer the most since she volunteered to take responsibility.

I think that's what She Eun's mother did, she reprogrammed Jung Won to "think" that Jae In is the primary person responsible. Hence, Jung Won was looking at Jae In with contempt.

Even moreso, Jae In remembering everything is an additional layer of "punishment". She will be the only one who will remember the pain, as Se Eun's mother wanted.

I want to give this an 8 out of 10, but it was so hard to do, 7 is fitting.

The acting was forced to act as students. You can see they have a talent and skills in acting, but it failed to show because they have to act like “kids”, it isn't their forte. They did not have to overdo it. In some behind-the-scene clips, those were perfect. They just have to be their normal selves, for example, in the BTS in the last episode where they were preparing the proposal, it was just them playing. It was like being in their natural habitats. We are all like that. But whenever the camera starts to roll, they become so focused on acting like a “teenager” that it turned out bad.

The kung fu fight scenes and the training scenes, no comments there.

Production. Seems to be a low budget show? It could have been better if they have a higher budget.

However, in the last few episodes, the editing started to go down. There were also scenes not needed at all. It's a rule in creative writing, a scene that doesn't add anything to the story should be deleted. And some of those only distracted from the objective of the scene.

Last episode. It's a typical wrap-up episode.

Overall, the series was like a school project. In the last episode, they even added an explanation of what happened to the gang. Was this not 100% fiction? Then that explanation is not needed at all, it is a given, they went to prison, end-of-story for them, we don't care about them. Unless this series was based on a true story? Because that's the only reason why that explanation was needed.

OST. Awesome!

Last but not the least, the story. That I love. The story's great. The plot, sub-plots, the different message the writer wants to send across.

I'm speaking here as an autistic person, my score is 7 out of 10.

Also note:
* I've heard a lot of good things about this.
* This was released 10 years ago.

Those said and considered:
1. The show is not about the autistic person, or autism for that matter. Autism was only used as a literary device to create a drama, like most other shows (be it Asian or Western) where there is an autistic character.

1. There was an excessive emphasis on "dumb", "stupid", and "idiot". Instead of it making people emphatize, it makes an audience hateful.

2. None of them actually showed that they finally understood autism and autistic people. To the very end, it was all about "do this" and "do that" so people will accept you and respect you. Sure, this is a common problem with society, however, should they have ended it that way? People will unconsciously think that's the proper way. It is not acceptance, it is forcing an autistic person to be "neurotypical".

And yet, 박시온 (Park Shi On) said in the last episode that it hurts him more when he's trying to remove his difference. But the people around him still acted the same way to end. There's a disconnect there.

1. The female lead is a prime example of a lover who doesn't understand a single thing about autism and autistic persons. She never showed any sign that she's doing her best to understand him, nope, instead she's doing her best to make him a "normal" person.

Yes, that's how it is in the real world. I've been in such a relationship. However, why leave it that way? She want to do things her way to the end. She will eventually get tired and quit. They will have a lot of fights. 시온 (Shi On) will just keep doing the same thing, keep quiet, say it is okay, say he is not mad, because he is always the one doing the "understanding".

What they did was to only validate that this relationship is doomed to fail instead of showing how a relationship with an autistic person can be if done properly.

1. The entire show, it was 박시온 who did the understanding and adjustments. Basically, the show taught us that autistic people should mask, mask, mask, and mask more. That no one will accept you unless you "get over" your autism (or in other words, mask your autism).

Conclusion:
* While it did show the discrimination, stereotype, and prejudices against autistic people.
* While it did capture the traits and quirks of an autistic person well.
* I cannot recommend this show at all because it does more damage than in helping the autistic cause.

If I watched this when it was released in 2013, yes, I would say the same thing and rate it similarly. I'm sorry.

Just watch 이상한 변호사 우영우 (Extraordinary Attorney Woo).

The story was good. The acting while simple, they delivered. However, the title itself was not explained the audience is left to create their own interpretation of what a collider is, and this was what disappointed me.

Questions like: Why should colliders be stopped? By the name itself, what are they colliding or causing? What are the rules on time travel and why colliders should be hunted? Why bother making people work for the organization when their memories were wiped anyway?

I think these questions would have been answered if some scenes were removed, like running towards the mountain; and showing teenagers being teenagers and having a drink which did not add anything to the story (those extra characters were not needed either).

There were hints, yes, but the rule in worldbuilding and storytelling is it is only canon if shown, spoken, or written. We can speculate all we want, as audiences, as to the why's, the who's, and the what's of colliders but since these were not answered, and barely implied, nothing is canon.

That's where I think it the storywriting failed. The script was good, it's the story flow that needs improvement. It's there already. (Oh, and of course what I mentioned earlier, scenes that doesn't add to the story can be removed so there is room for important scenes.)

It is a 2024 fantasy “damsel [in distress]” story. If you have read a lot of fantasy novels, or watched fantasy movies, the story will be very predictable for you right from the beginning (even that glowing larvae were too predictable). Thus, you should put those aside and just enjoy it for what it is: a 2024 fantasy movie.

The production was good. The animation was fluid, and they did take effort in creating the dragon more alive instead of taking shortcuts. For example, the dragon takes time to gain momentum, or had to do manoeuvres to have a controlled landing; instead of just plain flying or landing.

The acting was good and believable, and even though there weren't character backgrounds, one could easily imagine what kind of persons the characters were.

However, they should've not had any excessive screaming and running. They could've replaced those with the main character and the dragon exchanging heated conversations. Since she's screaming a lot instead of being quiet, might as well have a conversation instead of screaming here and there.

But, I think, what they want to show was how panic can make humans forget their intellect and wisdom. Survival is fight or flight, and the main character reacted with the latter. Which, in the end, we've seen how she's an intelligent and wise woman capable of doing things when she's in “fight” mode.

If we look at it from that perspective, then yes, they did well in telling the story and sending that message; and why she kept on screaming and running.

Another good lesson here is humanity's constant fear, leading to unwise decisions. As the dragon said, they killed her daughters unprovoked. That hinted how she would've left them alone, probably migrated later.

Then again, was it truly ‘fear’? The first king did say, “for the glory!” They were hunting. Which brings us to, well, wars. Was it about ‘fear’ or because we are ‘hunting’ and sugar-coating it to justify our actions? Similar to how the latter kings and queens did.

Last, but not the least, they showed us how weak a familial relationship is if a parent can sacrifice their children in the name of money and alleviating poverty. We assume it is justified because the people comes first. However, what kind of ruler are you if you are willing to sacrifice your own children? It speaks volume to your character and the high possibility you'll do it for anyone else.

You just don't. No matter what happens, a parent should never ever sacrifice their children, or use them to make money. Using your people/constituents to justify what you're doing/did to your children is nothing but an excuse.

Good lessons there, which I hope those who watched, and will watch, will also catch and be reminded about.

Did I just watch a true-to-life movie series?

I. Story
Overall, the story was great. The number of twists and turn, unexpected revelations, the high level political game, and the multiple layers, made this series one of the best crime drama of this decade ('10s). However, it failed closing the story properly.

In the last episode (16th), it was obvious it was rushed. There was no direction. Everything the series built up from episodes 1 to 15 disappeared. It started awesome, then became great, good, and ended poorly.

It is common among creative writers to have an open-ended story but in this case the ending was not an open-ending, no, it was a cliffhanger intended to be a premise for a guaranteed Season 2. If the intention was to have an open-ending, it should have ended with them driving to the airport. Everything else after that scene killed what made it great.

I still give it 8 out of 10 stars for the story regardless of the disaster after the "driving to the airport scene". I also applaud the writers and director for not inserting romantic scenes just because their lead female is well-known for it.

II. Acting
Suzy did well in portraying an intelligence officer. This was a big change from her usual romantic roles and I wasn't expecting she can pull it off. Yet, in the first two episodes, she already shone in her role, that's a sure sign of a talented actress.

The acting of the other actors were superb. I usually see them in dramas about family and relationships, seeing them portray political and intelligence roles was refreshing and in they owned the characters they portrayed in series.

Together, the acting were too believable I kept thinking I was watching a fictionalised true story. The characters were too real, all thanks to their acting and synergy.

III. Production
Did I just watch a 16-episode (16-hour) movie? It was clear they spent money on "Vagabond" to get it all right. But in the last episode the explosions were very bad. This was the other reason why I said earlier that anything after the "driving to the airport" scene should not have been included.

IV. Overall score
All things considered. I give it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars. The superb acting and quality production were what pulled it up, and for avoiding creating romantic scenes just because they have a great romantic-genre actress as a female lead.

A series I'll watch again in the future but not the scenes I mentioned earlier.

The 10th Hunger Games. Why 10th? Simple, it is both completion and a new beginning.

Now that's telling.
1. Completion of the "experiment" (if you will) if the Hunger Games work.
2. A new beginning to the Hunger Games. Since now they know it does work.
3. Completion of the old way. i.e Snow's father's idea.
4. Welcoming the new way. i.e. Snow's new idea.
5. Completion of the foundation the Snow family started.
6. The beginning of the real Hunger Games.

If you think about how the Hunger Games ended later with the death of Snow, you'll realised how poetic it was. The father implemented it (after stealing the idea). The son managed and improved it, and eventually died together with it.

Ironically, everything about "Katniss", the Mockingjay, betrayal, District 12, the song about the hanging tree; it started with Snow, and it was his downfall too.

If there was one thing Snow won, it was when Katniss killed the President of District 13. His laugh was a victory laugh. Because in the end, Snow died as a Victor.

Victor? Lucy left him. Lucy sang to him her last song. Lucy told him the name "katniss". Lucy told him about the Mockingjay. When Katniss shot the arrow against the District 13 President, that was Snow symbolically winning Lucy back in the end. Or, his revenge against Lucy. That hey, "I, Snow, turned Katniss, your Mockingjay my dear Lucy, to fulfill my last desire. Because I am a Victor."

For the non-spoiler part:
1. The time travel is straightforward and easy to follow. No advance time travel theories. No time travel gymnastics. Nothing crazy. Pretty much linear.

I strongly advise finishing the entire series first because the show itself explained the linearity of the time travel. Again, it's simple and easy to follow.

However… this is the SPOILER part.

They made a mistake on two things:
1. They dated the murder of Kwon Min-Ju on 1998-10-13.
2. When Han Jun Hee arrived in July 1998, her dialogue was she realised she only had 3 months to save Min-Ju.

Yet, in Episode 10/11, when Jung In-Kyu was about to jump to his death, he recalled the Christmas he, Nam Si-Heon, and Kwon Min-Ju, spent together. If Kwon Min-Ju did die on 1998-10-13, then how did he have a memory of spending Christmas together?

Kwon Min-Ju was murdered on 1999-10-13. Han Jun-Hee controlled the body of Kwon Min-Ju for almost 15 months. She spent 5 months in 1998; and spent 10 months in 1999. Not 3 months in 1998.

I'm not sure how they missed this very important detail; or why they filmed a Christmas scene and included it in Jung In Kyu's memories. If Kwon Min-Ju was indeed murdered in 1998-10-13, then the Christmas scene was not possible. If the Christmas scene was correct, then she died on 1999-10-13.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Do NOT enter a location when you see people wearing PPEs. (If you are a nurse, you should know this already.)

I applaud the screenwriter for not shying away from killing a major character. There are very few screenwriters who are brave enough to do it, often screenwriters choose the "they happily lived ever after" route.

However, as the intro to this post hinted, I do not approve the sudden stupidity of a major character just to get that character terminally ill. Go Mi Ho was a nurse. She is intelligent and full of wisdom. Where did her intelligence AND WISDOM go in the cave sinkhole episode? Then after that episode, Mi Ho became intelligent and full of wisdom again.

In that one episode, she suddenly acted a hero when it was never part of her character, and after that episode, she never acted a hero either. She is intelligent AND WISE. She took calculated risks. She was no hero, before or after. But in that one episode, she acted a dumb hero which led to her getting exposed to deadly radiation.

Sure. There are people who would have done the same as she did but that is a rare thing most especially when the people escaping a disaster are wearing PPEs, and you happen to know as well as corrupt and evil the operator of that cave. All for what? For that character she saved to only die WITHOUT contributing anything to the plot after he was saved.

That episode. Go Mi Ho suddenly throwing her intelligence and wisdom out the window was only meant to get her terminally ill. No more, no less. It was very weak. They could've have used a contaminated bottled water or fish planted by Choi Do Ha, or some other method other than letting her do something out of her character.

People rarely do something like what she did unless they have a very, very, very strong conviction which Go Mi Ho did not possess. She took calculated risks for her husband, that was the entire driving force behind her. Her saving people begins and ends with her working as a nurse, outside of it she didn't do anything.

Again, good job on not being afraid of killing a major character. But very bad job on how to get that character terminally ill.

From 10 stars, it's down to 8 stars.

As of Season 2 Episode 6, these are my speculations:

Something happened which split the group into four:
1. Silas - has his own agenda (although, IIRC, he was protecting Gavin/Isaiah because he made a promise to his mother, so they're probably "aligned"?)
2. Aldrich - had her own agenda
3. Gavin's mother - to permanently shutdown 1988
4. James (father) - who doesn't care what happens to the past as long as the future is saved

I think when they learned they were causing the sinkholes, James changed his agenda. They will stay in 10,000 B.C. and restart the human history their way.

Also, Gavin's mother said that their own future (2076) changed after the sinkholes started showing up randomly in their history. This is probably what gave James the idea to keep the portal open, and maybe to stay in 10,000 B.C.

I'm also suspecting that James is using the portals as a weapon. When they opened a portal to 1988, it caused an earthquake, a sign of an impending sinkhole.

If that is correct, then wherever the portal is opened, a sinkhole will eventually show up too.

The portal from the Lazarus project is one way. The sinkhole is the loop back. That is why the sinkholes are showing up. The energy produced by the Lazarus portal needs a loopback. Since no one's controlling it on the other side, a loopback portal shows up randomly.

Now, why a sinkhole? It's not the sinkhole per se, it is the location of the original portal.

Over time, throughout history, the elevation of land only kept on going higher and higher. Back in 10,000 B.C. compared to the modern era (1980s onwards), a lot of layers were already added.

So, when the loopback happens, it returns to the same elevation, and it is underneath the layers of soil that accumulated over thousands of years. Which resulted into sinkholes.

Only problem, the location of the portal is random. The only possible fixed thing is its elevation, hence the loopback portal is always underneath.

--- Another possibility, James already knew everything beforehand. His wife, Silas, Aldrich, they were all kept in the dark as to his actual agenda.

What I love the most with this series is the character are multidimensional. They are not your cookie-cutter template one-dimensional character that we see in many TV dramas.

While the Prime Minister and the Chairman/Father are the usual antagonist characters, evil and bad respectively, the rest are not.

For example, Doctor Moon. All he cared about was winning the competition. It was as if he doesn't care about the patients as long as he gets what he wants. Sounds selfish, right? It is. But deep down, Dr. Moon did what he did because he also had an experience he can not forget, at the same time, he has an ambition, and he truly cares about the patients.

This was touching for me because many of us judge other people based on our first impressions of them. We only see the surface and fail to understand what's driving them to be that way. Why are some people we meet always making jokes or making fun of others? Could it be that deep inside, they are broken, and it is their way of hiding it? Or maybe, at home, they live in a broken family, and making jokes and making fun is their only outlet?

I am not saying we should tolerate these things if it crosses-the-line, just us how some actions of Dr. Moon should not be tolerated when he's out of line already. We tend to forget the person inside and only see the surface.

To put it another way, there are also people who always smile, are kind, and helpful. But we forget to ask how their life is. Are those acts only there as a mask? Some people would even take advantage of them, without realising that behind it is some painful and tragic experience.

As the idiom goes, “do not judge the book by its cover”.

It was not only Doctor Moon, but the two main characters. As was explained in episode 16, the second lead couple failed to look behind the surface of the two main characters. They had a very painful and tragic life. They judged them immediately without first trying to understand what's driving them and why they do what they do.

This is what struck me about this show. It was not just a romantic story. It was not just an ER/OR drama. It's about how people judge each other.

And then there was the “it's not money that I want, it's your sincere apology”. A very powerful message itself. Often times we think too much that we forget all it takes is a sincere apology, and when something reaches the court, more often than not it was because the grace period for apologies had passed.

If a person still pursues a legal action even after apologising, that's their call. Asking for forgiveness and the rule of law, are two different things. For example, in the show's context, a medical malpractice is a medical malpractice, especially when there are clear guidelines in the first place. The victims can forgive, because forgiveness is personal, it benefits both parties, releases the burden. But the law is the law.

This series portrayed how the doctors and the Chairman/Father misunderstood apologising/forgiveness and the law. They assumed that people will sue them for medical malpractice just because. Or the victims are only after monetary compensation. We think too much that we create our own demons, when something can be solved by a sincere apology.

I'm glad I watched this drama. It's touching and full of life lessons.

I love it. They addressed the less spoken issue of Korea's marriage tradition wherein a spouse's family registration is transferred to the other spouse's family.

For those who are not familiar, in Korea, it has been their tradition for centuries, for a spouse to transfer to their spouse's clan. Usually, to this day, it is the wife. Family registrations, as it is called today, or family trees, is a huge thing in Korea to this day. When you get married, typically the wife's family tree is moved to the husband's family tree. The wife stops being a member of her original family. And she is treated as a “daughter-in-law”, not as a full daughter, of her new “family tree”.

There is a centuries old issue with this practice, the in-law spouse, if she's unlucky, is treated less, as a slave, or as a helper. They are expected to serve their new “family tree”, because if they don't, it is a valid cause for divorce the new “family tree” can force on the married couple.

Unfortunately, this tradition of serving your new “family tree” lingers on, and many are afraid of speaking out against it, especially if the new “family tree” a spouse was adopted into are people in power or influential. As proven by the case in this episode.

There is nothing wrong with keeping “family trees”, or being adopted into your spouse's family tree/registration. Personally, I like that. However, the adopted spouse should be treated as an equal. If a wife was transferred to your family tree/registration, then she should be treated as a full daughter. You should not let your daughter-in-law do things you wouldn't ask of your own flesh-and-blood daughter.

The same way goes if the spouse who was adopted/transferred is the husband (which is not unheard of, and did happen centuries ago [at least, in this regard, Korea is more advanced socially]). Using this episode's case, if you wouldn't ask your children to be your driver and personal secretary, and treat them as slaves, then you shouldn't treat your adopted children's spouses like that.

A good way to end this social issue without killing the tradition of family registry/trees is to give the married couple an option to start their own family registration/tree, and be 100% independent.

Of course, in a culture where family registration/tree is integral, being independent, or starting your own registration/tree, would also mean you are disowning your original families. That will be the main argument of many. And if you do, if one day you need help, they wouldn't bother helping you.

But, is there any difference to it when a spouse is removed from their original family registration/tree and transferred to another? No one complained when their daughters stopped being a member of their own family registration/tree and moved to their husband's. The original family's “rights” are very limited, almost none, but they don't turn a blind eye when they require help (unless it's political, or forced by law).

If so, then there shouldn't be an issue if the married couple decides to start their own family registration/tree. People who will interpret it as “disowning their own family” are the problem, not the couple.

Think of it this way, instead of only one spouse (wife or husband) transferring to another family registration/tree, it is both of them. Does that make them “no longer your child/family”? No. And if one day they need help, you help. It is, after all, your responsibility as parents, regardless which family registry/tree they are under.

Our responsibilities as parents never stops. As this episode has shown, once our kids are married, the parents become passengers. Parents do not disappear because our responsibility to our children continues, it only changed in form, as a passenger. As a guide. As a support.

The ones at the front, holding the wheel and making decisions, are the married couple.

So, you see, the tradition can stay, but there is an option to become independent.

Lastly, if the married couple chose not to be independent, the in-law who whose family registration/tree was transferred to their spouse, should have a protection against being treated as anything but a full child.

Seriously. If your child married him/her, and you treat their spouse less than your own flesh-and-blood child, what does that make your child? In the first place, you approved their marriage. Haven't they realised by treating their children's spouses as a 'slave', they're practically saying that their own children are slaves, too? And you, as the parent, are a complete fool for having approved of their marriage?

Even in political marriages, be it centuries ago or this very day, you don't pick just anyone because the spouse of your children will also reflect on your children, and yourselves as the parents.

Let's be more liberal. Children getting married without the approval of their parents, which is the case in many countries today. It still will reflect on your children, and you as parents, whoever their spouse is. After all, you were the ones who shaped them to be who they are.

If they chose someone “undesirable”, it simply means you failed as a parent. In the first place, why did your child pick as a person? More likely than not, when they were growing up, their choice of “friends” were also undesirables. What did you do as a parent? Make excuses like “I'm too busy with work, it is all for you so you will have a better life than me?”

Watch this episode. It applies, not only to Koreans, but for all of us.

The ultimate question: Did they live happily ever after, as a couple? Or, did they live happily ever after, as friends?

Answer: it can go either way, 50-50.

Here's why.

As I mentioned in the previous weeks, this show is a story about love, relationships, break-ups, forgiveness, and moving on. This is not a fantasy romance where we would feel we are in heaven, and dream of Mr. Right and Ms. Perfect. No, none of that.

My first romantic relationship lasted for three (3) years. She was my first, and I was her first. We broke up, we talked, we closed things properly. But, guess what? We both failed to moved on.

In our case, she got married a few years later. It took us 11 more years to have a real closure. We failed to move on because we were not honest with ourselves, and we did not learn to forgive ourselves.

Before we can truly move on, we need to forgive the other party. But, we can not forgive other people if we do not forgive our own self first. To be able to forgive our own self, we need to face the reality and embrace it.

Yes, it is a process. It can take years, or it can take as short as a minute. It does not matter if you understand the process, there are people who can truly move on fast without being aware of the process.

Personally, I have proven that process to myself, when in late 2020, my 15-year relationship ended. When I learned to face reality, when I learned to embrace it. It was only then I was able to forgive myself.

It felt good. The heavy burden in my mind, and on my shoulders, were lifted. I was able to finally breathe. Then, I was able to forgive and thank her, even though I was only talking to the air.

It took me three (3) months, and I also had to put a deadline for myself. What do I mean? I told myself, “after this date, all is over, period”. After that date passed, I moved on. I started to smile.

Once we have truly moved on, that is only the time that healing begins. There is no healing if you can not smile. There is no healing if you can stomach hearing your ex's (or enemy's) name. You are not healing at all if you are still reacting emotionally when you see that other person's shadows, or hear them breath.

All these things are what “The Interest of Love” was telling us.

We all know that love and relationships are complicated, but do we truly understand it?

The 1FL was mostly pessimistic in the entire show. Rightly so, because there are people who are pessimistic. They do exist, and if you have not met at least one pessimistic person, you have not truly lived. The 1FL represents people who are pessimistic.

While the 1ML is a type of person who have a positive outlook in life, who was later crashed because of love. He was that type of person you have probably met once who never had time about love and relationships. But, when their heart was stolen by someone, they had no idea how to act and handle things.

Our pessimist 1FL eventually grew and started to have a positive outlook in life. All because of the 1ML.

At the same time, our 1ML, who had no idea about love and relationships, learned to listen and understand other people. All because of the 1FL.

Are you seeing how these two characters are helping each other grow? That is love and relationship. In episode 16, they even asked, “Were we really in love?” Because their relationship as two individuals was closer than they care to admit.

Let's take a detour.

There is also an important contrast between the 1ML and the 2ML. The 2ML acted badly when he heard the news that the 1FL slept with another man (note: there was no concrete proof if she did or not). The last word he told the 1FL was, “b**ch”.

However, what struck me was the 2ML also grew. Instead of sulking, or trying to find the 1FL and, maybe, force her back into a relationship after apologising, he decided to just call it.

Like what I mentioned earlier, the 2ML faced his reality and embraced it. He was not able to ask for forgiveness in person, but he knew he was forgiven because he learned to forgive himself.

He turned his bad experiences as a source of strength. He focused on his studies, and eventually achieved his dream to become a police officer.

Meanwhile, the 1ML was not giving up. He tried to find the 1FL, and he did, only to lose her again. And for the next four years, he tried to survive, hoping to see her one more time. (We are assuming he chose the branch himself.)

Another detour. The 2FL! Let's not forget her.

What type of character was she? She is that person who will do anything to get what they want. Not necessarily rich and wealthy people, mind you, there are ordinary people who get what they want just because. The 2FL represents those type of persons.

However, when it comes to love and relationships, it's either shallow or one-sided. First, she accepted the fact that the 1ML has eyes for the 1FL, but when he needed a shoulder to cry on, she freely offered herself. This is what we call “rebound relationship”.

For the 2FL, as long as she gets what she wanted, it is fine for her to be the rebound. The bad effect of this is that, the other person (the 1ML in this case) will never be fully into that relationship. They are either still thinking of the other person (the 1FL in this case), or they are only using the rebound relationship to heal (and once they healed, they will more likely leave).

The 1ML, who was growing because of the 1FL, realised this and broke up with her. Three years later, the 2FL returned to Korea, healed. In episode 16, she mentioned that she is fine talking about the 1ML because she (truly) moved on.

They even showed a scene how the 2FL saw the 1ML during the wedding, and it did not bother her. Was it because she found a new boyfriend? No, it wasn't about faithfulness and loyalty to her new boyfriend. In the first place, if she has not truly moved on, she would not be able to have a new boyfriend, that is not her character. Not to mention, she would not show up in the wedding knowing that they may cross paths.

The 2FL grew and learned what it means to love and have a relationship. Not just a romantic relationship, but also a relationship with her father.

Which brings us back to the 1FL and her relationship with her father. Like the 2FL, the 1FL also have a strained relationship with her father, although different, they are both not close to them.

See the contrast and 'relationships'?

And now, we are in episode 16. We have gone full circle when the 1ML and the 1FL started to talk about their “what-ifs”. This is a different kind of “what-ifs”.

Usually, “what-ifs” are regrets. However, in the case of the 1ML and 1FL, it was an intellectual discourse. Would things between them have ended up differently… if…?

There were no regrets when they looked back at their memories. Why? How? Simple. They learned to face and embrace their reality, and have forgiven themselves, and each other.

They moved on from the pain they caused each other. And they used those experiences to grow for the next four years of their lives.

Thus, when they met again, they were simply two healed individuals reminiscing their time together.

Think of it this way, tabula rasa. Clean slate.

They can choose to become a couple. Or, they can decide to remain as “special” friends.

I personally know married couples who broke up and later met again 4+ years later. They rekindled their love and relationship.

I, myself, went through the latter. Remember the first relationship I shared earlier, which took 11 years before we finally were able to moved on? Whenever our paths cross, after the true closure, there are no more lingering emotions and feelings between us. We can talk about the past normally, as in, just the past.

Some would probably say, “well, she's married and have children”. Sure, that's valid. However, even if she is still single, that part of our lives is long gone. We have reached the point wherein we will never cross our unwritten and undiscussed boundaries. We are just nothing but “special” friends.

I can see it in her eyes, and I am sure she can see it in my eyes, too. The past is the past. It's over between us, permanently. There is nothing to rekindle. We can reminisce, but that's it, nothing to rekindle. Our love for each other changed to something akin to brother and sister.

This is why the ending of “The Interest of Love” was like that.

Here are two individuals, whose lives were entwined when they were younger and innocent. Four years later, having learned from their experiences, and have forgiven themselves in the process, their paths crossed again.

They are representing two types of “couples”.

The first is: those couples who rekindled their love and gotten married later.

The second is: those couples, like me and my first, who will never have a romantic relationship ever again, but remain good friends.

It is up to the audience to decide which path the 1ML and the 2FL will choose. They can remain as friends, having grown and learned from each other. Or, they can rekindle their love and see where it goes this time around.

After all, they did ask and realised, “were we in love then?”

These are what the 1ML, 1FL, 2FL, and the 2ML, all learned in their lives:
You are the sum of your experiences. Learn from it and become a better person. Never harbour hatred and bitterness, rather, listen and understand each other.

All of our relationships are important. Be it romantic, as friends, or with our families. In these personal relationships, let love encompassed it all.