Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! This pair of episode, we’re starting to get some baby lashings of angst, but our Mi Ho is still adorable as ever – which is the most important thing, yes? 😍

Here are our usual ground rules, before we begin:

1. Please don’t post spoilers in the Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point. I repeat: no spoilers for future episodes please! We have quite a few first-time viewers among us, and we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

2. Discussions on this thread don’t have to close when newer threads open, just so you know! But as we progress through our group watch, please keep the discussions clear of spoilers from future episodes, so that future readers coming to this thread won’t be accidentally spoiled. Does that make sense?

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

My thoughts

Episode 3

I know I said last episode, that I am looking forward to Dae Woong to being the one smitten with Mi Ho, but it looks like it’s.. gonna be a while yet, before we get close to that happening. This episode, Dae Woong is as distracted by Noona as ever, and, well, as much of a lunkhead as ever, too. I guess growth takes time?

As Mi Ho tries to make sense of the world around her, her turns of phrase are adorably guileless and quirky. “I want to eat cow,” is one that manukajoe pointed out in our first Open Thread; this episode, it’s all about mating, as Mi Ho equates the concept of “girlfriend” with “someone you want to mate with.” It’s awkward and artless, and I love how she says it so easily and blithely, completely oblivious to how it might sound to others.

Dae Woong’s desperate attempt to balance his regard for Noona, with his promises to Mi Ho, form the backbone of this episode, and I have to say, Noona is showing some not-very-flattering colors, in the process.

In the beginning, it’s in the little things, like in how she keeps calling out to Dae Woong to hurry, even though she can see that Dae Woong is having a conversation with Mi Ho. That’s insensitive at best, and completely disrespectful of both Mi Ho and Dae Woong. She gets much worse in this episode’s late stretch, but we can talk about that.. in a bit.

We get some more information about how Dae Woong needs to care for Mi Ho’s bead; if he shares the energy with another woman – such as by mating – it will damage the bead, and therefore ultimately hurt Mi Ho.

Ha. I like that even though Dae Woong declares that he will avoid mating with another woman like Mi Ho says, Mi Ho is instinctively suspicious of Dae Woong’s ability to keep his word, because, according to her, Dae Woong would easily give Noona his soul. She’s.. not wrong? Noona really has Dae Woong wrapped around her little finger. Noona knows this; Mi Ho knows this; does Dae Woong know this, I wonder?

I do love how easily Mi Ho’s good spirits return, though. She really doesn’t seem like she holds a grudge. Whenever Dae Woong does something that upsets her, all it takes for Mi Ho’s smile to return, is one affirmation from Dae Woong. Like, when Dae Woong leaves his phone the bus and blames it all on Mi Ho (even though he’s the one who’d jumped to the wrong conclusion about her wanting to eat the little girl), Mi Ho literally runs to find the bus and get it back, and then runs back to Dae Woong. She’s just so happy to have been able to solve his problem for him; it’s just the most disarming thing.

Although Mi Ho’s alluded to this before, we learn this episode, that Mi Ho is weaker because of the fact that the bead isn’t with her. That’s why she’s so sweaty and out of breath, after getting back Dae Woong’s phone for him. Aw. She really is inconveniencing herself, in order to heal Dae Woong, isn’t she?

I do like the fact that Mi Ho gives Dae Woong a taste of the bead’s powers, when she hugs him, and he feels the difference in time and space. I feel like this appreciation for the bead’s powers, and the understanding of what this bead means to Mi Ho, ought to make Dae Woong more appreciative and sympathetic towards Mi Ho.

Meanwhile, Aunt makes her way to the action school, intending to haul Dae Woong back home – only to end up falling over the railing of the hall, right into the rescuing arms of Director Ban. Pwahaha. I hafta confess; I literally had to pause the video at this point, because I just needed time to laugh. It’s so hysterical, how Director Ban suddenly develops superhuman speed, and manages to catch the lady in his arms, like a dashing superhero. I was in literal stitches. 😆

Aunt is thrilled to find out that Director Ban is single, and determines to visit the action school daily, on the pretext of visiting Dae Woong. Little does she know of Director Ban’s angst – he still believes that she’s a married woman. Pfft. This is going to be more awkward than ever, isn’t it? The ridiculousness of this loveline is highly amusing to me.

Mi Ho’s love for chicken and her relentless quest to find chicken tokens, collides with Director Ban’s obsession with “real action,” when he sees her flying through the air to catch her runaway token one night, and.. this is going to get complicated, isn’t it? 😆

Complicating things even more, is the fact that Noona wants the part that Director Ban has in mind for Mi Ho, and even tries to dress the part – getting hair extensions and putting on a white dress – because she overhears that Director Ban can’t stop talking about a girl with long hair in a white dress. Heh. If only she knew, that the person she’s working so hard to imitate, is none other than Mi Ho, whom she obviously disdains.

Dae Woong is reminded of Mi Ho’s fear of bodies of water, when their bus goes past the sea, and I have to admit, it’s pretty decent of him to assuage her fears by pulling her close, so that she can be assured by sensing the bead near her. He’s quick to get away from Mi Ho, though, the moment he realizes that the other passengers think that they’re a lovey-dovey couple. Ha.

It’s also kind of nice that Dae Woong takes Mi Ho to the supermarket to get her fill of meat by eating samples, though it’s so typically thoughtless of him, to leave her alone, while he goes to freshen up in the cosmetics department.

I’m intrigued by the conversation that Mi Ho ends up having with Gumiho Hunter, at the department store. First of all, it’s interesting that he is able to speak into her thoughts. Second of all, how intriguing, that they are able to tell whether the other is human or not, by touching the other person on the cheek. He says, “Like I expected, you’re not that child that I knew before,” and I just want to clarify that the phrase “that child” is commonly used in Korean as a casual term of reference, and its use is not actually limited to literal children. Kinda like how, in English, the phrase “our friend” is used as a casual term of reference to somebody else, but that person may not actually be a friend. Does that help?

Also, my subs say that Gumiho Hunter tells Mi Ho that Kil Dal, who is the one she resembles, was a “supernatural being,” when the actual dialogue says “goblin.” I thought that would be interesting to mention. I wouldn’t trust Gumiho Hunter’s words too much, though, and he even goes so far as to say that Mi Ho is so weak that she can’t even discern his true form. This makes me think that he’s lying about Kil Dal having been a goblin.

I got quite a bit of satisfaction from Mi Ho calling Noona out on her lies at the department store, and, can’t lie, I also felt quite gratified that Noona spilled coffee all over herself, without Mi Ho having to lift a finger. However, it was not cool that Dae Woong believed Noona, that Mi Ho was at fault.

It’s really quite evil of Noona, to lie that she has to wear that exact dress for the audition, because she’s literally just spoken with her agent, who’s told her that the dress won’t do, and she’ll have to change anyway. I don’t know if Noona knew what kind of trouble she would put Dae Woong to because of her lie, but it’s true that Dae Woong wouldn’t have missed the audition, if he hadn’t been running across town to get that dress for her – which she doesn’t even end up wearing. Huh. 🙄

I get that Dae Woong’s frustrated by how everything’s not going his way, but leaving Mi Ho on a boat, alone, WHEN HE KNOWS THAT SHE’S DEATHLY AFRAID OF BODIES OF WATER, is just all kinds of wrong. UGHH. I was so upset at this, seriously. I’d thought that Dae Woong was a pretty decent guy underneath his lunkhead tendencies, but in this case, the lunkhead quotient far outweighs any lashings of decency that he’s shown. How could he do this?!? 😡

Dae Woong stops in his tracks when he realizes that Fox Rain is falling – meaning that Mi Ho is crying – but right now, I feel like nothing he could do, could make up for his cruelty to Mi Ho.

Episode 4

Alright, so Dae Woong does go back for Mi Ho, BUT, 1, he legit tries to talk himself out of it, even after the Fox Rain stops him in his tracks, and 2, he denies leaving Mi Ho on the boat on purpose, even though that’s what he totally did. Mi Ho might be happy with Dae Woong, but right now, Dae Woong’s still in the dog house where I’m concerned. 😤

It makes sense – though it hadn’t occurred to me before – that when Mi Ho is separated from her bead for long enough, and when she’s under duress, her aura is weakened and she starts to return to her original form.

Because Mi Ho’s allegedly really scary in her half-human, half-gumiho form, I’m mildly mollified that Dae Woong, despite being terrified, perseveres in his efforts to rescue and protect Mi Ho, and hugs her to himself, when the table cloth gets taken back by the boat crew. Although, I can’t help pointing out that if he’d never abandoned her on the boat, she wouldn’t have needed rescuing to begin with. (Yes, I’m feeling petty towards Dae Woong. 😜)

Also, Mi Ho is just gosh-darn adorable, the way she’s so happy to be back in her human form, and so gleeful, at being able to hug Dae Woong, just a little longer, on the pretext of being near her bead. I mean, just look at that delighted face! 😍

I do appreciate the little detail, that even though Dae Woong technically doesn’t need to hug her back, he does; he holds her head and and puts his hand on her back, which feels like a very reciprocal thing to do. Plus, I feel like there’s a tiny hint of wonder on his face, amid the nervous awkwardness. I guess these are the first (admittedly very baby) hints of Dae Woong’s feelings towards Mi Ho starting to change?

Meanwhile, every time (so far) that Director Ban and Aunt have shared the screen, I’ve found myself giggling out loud. This time, the scene of Director Ban opening his trench coat to create an awning for a sleeping Aunt, is just hilarious to me. The fact that he gets so sweaty under the hot sun, while Aunt continues napping blissfully, is especially funny to me. And then, the fact that Director Ban’s assistant just stands there and watches him, through the whole process, makes it even funnier.

I’m pretty sure I’m enjoying this arc wayy more this watch, than on my first watch, and that’s definitely thanks to now having a greater appreciation for not only Song Dong Il as an actor, but for this brand of humor as well.

Similarly, once I put aside my distaste for toilet humor, I found the entire set-up to Director Ban breaking the wall with his pee, quite hysterical. I mean, imagine the shock of someone breaking your wall down, purely with the force of his pee? Director Ban – not to mention that poor lady  – must have been in such shock. 🤣

To think that this gives Dae Woong the opportunity he needs to get into Director Ban’s good books, by vouching for him at the police station, that Director Ban had, indeed, only peed at the wall, and was not the pervert he was being accused of being. And then, Director Ban is so grateful, that he gives Dae Woong a second chance to audition. Pwahaha. I love that this ridiculous spot of funny actually contributes to legit plot movement. This really is the Hong Sisters at their best.

Dae Woong’s showing more of his decent side, now that things are starting to look up for him, with him not only offering to buy meat for Mi Ho, but even noticing that she’s looking a little worse for wear, and deciding that she needs a complete wardrobe and personal hygiene overhaul.

This entire highlight reel of Mi Ho’s makeover is so much fun to watch, with my two favorite things being, 1, this shot of her joyfully running through the department store with that packet of beef, and 2, her delighted tasting of everything she encounters along the way – most of them not actual food – to Dae Woong’s exasperated chagrin. Too cute. 🤩

We soon see that in actual fact, Dae Woong’s completely recovered from his injuries, but Mi Ho doesn’t actually want to take the bead back, because then she wouldn’t have an excuse to stay with Dae Woong. Aw. Our gumiho just wants a place to belong, doesn’t she? And ok, she also seems to have a crush on Dae Woong.

Considering how mad for meat Mi Ho usually is, it’s a huge deal, that she feels uncomfortable enough about this, to actually go to bed instead of eat the meat that Dae Woong’s cooking for her. Plus, she even volunteers to stay behind the next day, instead of tagging along after Dae Woong. Those should be big red flags for Dae Woong, signaling that somethings Very Wrong, but he only seems to be a little bit puzzled about it, probably because he’s also just relieved to enjoy a bit of freedom for a while.

Plus, he’s concerned enough, to actually leave money with Mi Ho, so that she can buy chicken, if she gets hungry. And, he even reminds her to call him, if anything happens. That’s.. not bad, for a guy as clueless as Dae Woong’s shown himself to be. I do get a sense of satisfaction, seeing that Dae Woong instinctively misses Mi Ho’s presence, when he heads out alone. She’s grown on him more than he realizes.

While Dae Woong’s out, Mi Ho continues her search for the chicken tokens, and Lol at the scene of the shocked ahjumma who’d had her wall knocked down by Director Ban’s pee, now gleefully informing her friends what a fine specimen of a man he was. Pwahaha. I’m sure Aunt would be.. pleased to know this tidbit of information. 😆

Gumiho Hunter seeks out Mi Ho, and takes her home (ack, I felt so nervous for Mi Ho, following a stranger home! Plus, she doesn’t have her bead, and he has that dagger.. 😝), and he ends up telling her that there is a way for her to become human. All she needs to do, is, 1, drink his blood, which would slowly kill her, and 2, have a human hold her bead for her for 100 days, so that they can share their spirit with her.

So.. I don’t trust Gumiho Hunter, because he’s got this slight nefarious tinge to his smoothness, plus, he’s been set on capturing Mi Ho from the start, right, so why would he actually tell her something helpful now? Don’t trust him so easily, Mi Ho!

Also, the grass really is greener on the other side, isn’t it? While Mi Ho longs to be human, I’m sure many humans wouldn’t mind having Mi Ho’s supernatural powers. That said, Mi Ho muses to herself that she just wants to stay by Dae Woong’s side; it just happens that she thinks Dae Woong would only consent to that, if she were human.

Dae Woong passes his audition and gets cast in Director Ban’s movie, and Sneaky Noona’s all ready to ingratiate herself with Dae Woong again. Show’s doing a really good job of making me dislike Sneaky Noona, because not only did she lie to Dae Woong and thus ruin his audition chances, she actively gossips with his friends, that it was all Mi Ho’s fault; that this all just proves what a source of misfortune Mi Ho is. And THEN, when Dae Woong gets cast in the movie (no thanks to her), she wastes no time in sidling up to him and purring that she always knew he’d be able to do it. Blech. 😑

It seems that Sneaky Noona likes a bit of a challenge; the more Dae Woong draws boundaries (while keeping in mind his promise to Mi Ho, to protect her bead well), the more she seems to feel the need to mark him as her territory. On top of that, there’s also how Sneaky Noona’s looking to impress Director Ban, by showing up for training at the action school, even though her role requires no action scenes whatsoever. I’m quite gratified, actually, to see how aggravated she is, when she realizes that the Real Action girl Director Ban has been obsessing over, is actually Mi Ho. Ha. Take that, Sneaky Noona.

But, the way Sneaky Noona then plays the victim card with Dae Woong, while banking on his feelings for her, is not cool. She’s basically giving him false hope, when she claims that she’d been looking forward to his love confession, and had even thought of an answer, before she tells him to break up with Mi Ho, to hold onto her. Ugh. The nerve.

It’s no wonder Dae Woong gets all confused and ends up drunkenly asking Mi Ho to do him the favor of leaving him. Poor Mi Ho looks so quietly devastated, as she agrees to his request. I hope Dae Woong misses her bad, now that Mi Ho’s gone. 😏