Jaeeon and Dohyuk’s Differences (13 August 21)

It’s a meeting of two distinctly different personalities, both who have feelings for NB. While both are essentially rivals because of that fact, this scene is not a mutual confrontation.

The differences between JE and DH are like night and day. DH is expressive, able to articulate whatever is on his mind, unable to hide his emotions, positive or negative. JE is considerably guarded, equally feeling but hiding behind questions and easy smiles.

On that night JE and NB kiss, DH calls NB. NB looks at the call, then moves back to kiss JE. JE pulls away and asks her if it’s really okay. Like I’ve said before, he’s not simply asking, “Is it okay to kiss you?”

The question is whether she is really ok not picking up the call. Is it ok to not respond to DH, because if he continues with NB, he won’t be able to stop. He already knows his feelings for her and is set to pursue her, but he wants to know what she actually wants.

Though he has an inkling of NB’s feelings, he isn’t able to get any concrete answer. NB walks away. It is then that he sees DH walk NB back, and DH then comes back with flowers in hand. JE puts two and two together. The flowers are for NB.

But JE doesn’t know that DH confessed, doesn’t know that the flowers had already been offered, he only knows that this DH guy did say NB was his first love, so looking at the flowers, he guesses, “You must like her a lot.”

See how JE freezes when DH answers him. It seems like he was just genuinely trying to strike up a conversation with DH. DH, understandably upset over being rejected, channels his disappointment at JE with a curt “Unlike someone.”

We know why DH acts this way. NB had told him about her breakup earlier in the year. Sensing the tension between NB and JE, and misinterpreting NB's words, he assumes JE is the ex. That often happens to JE. People always, consistently, assume things about him.

DH had every opportunity to check with NB if JE was indeed the ex. But he simply assumed he was right. Then he continues with what I will call, at best advice, at worst a threat – “Stop confusing her.”

JE replies that he’s not uncomfortable with DH’s over-meddling, which Netflix translates with a more curt, “It’s none of your business” Even if we were to go with that, I mean, is JE wrong? What gives DH the right to tell JE what he should or should not do?

JE then asks, is NB easily swayed by me? And DH seems to see this as a smug remark and gets angry. However, what JE is doing is picking up on a piece of information that DH gives him (about him confusing NB) and asking about it.

We know by now that JE always asks questions calmly, and that can unnerve people. However, that doesn’t mean that he is unaffected. Besides the kiss, all other kinds of communication that JE has tried with her have failed. We see it throughout Ep 7.

In the ferris wheel for example, we know that NB is affected by him, but she talks to him coldly. JE even has to ask if she hates him. He doesn’t know for sure that NB is swayed by him. That’s the reason why he asks.

DH is mad, and tells him no and that NB regrets her time with JE. It’s a bit of a contradictory statement, seeing that he just told JE to stop confusing NB. Again, it's a mix of assuming JE is the ex and misinterpreting NB's actual words.

I think we need to understand that JE in a way was also rejected, to an extent, by NB. Obviously they have a lot of unresolved feelings they have to address, so it’s not a direct rejection as with DH. However, NB did just walk away from their kiss.

In this ambiguous situation, hearing that the time he spent with her, fell in love with her, as a regretful thing to NB, is not easy. He tries to smile, but he can’t hide his hurt. Instead of getting angry at DH for speaking to him that way, he walks away.

When JE speaks to NB again, he tries again to ask about DH. And based on previews, it seems like he'll ask in Ep 9 too. JE unequivocally wants to pursue NB, but his constant questioning leads to one conclusion – He wants most of all to know what NB wants.

In this entire situation, what mainly gets to JE is not DH, but rather, what concerns him is what NB thinks, and what NB feels for him. That is our clue of JE headspace, his heart, and dare I say, his sincerity. 

doramaticbites

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