Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! Doesn’t our Mi Ho look so adorably happy with her big drumstick plushie? 😍

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 5

This episode, Dae Woong comes to terms with Mi Ho’s departure from his life, and.. I mostly still think he’s a lunkhead. 😏

I’m definitely feeling protective of Mi Ho, particularly since she’s heartbroken at having had to leave, after Dae Woong’s drunken request, so when I see that Dae Woong’s actually feeling happy when he realizes that Mi Ho’s left, and celebrating his newfound freedom, I do not feel very kindly towards him.

We do get small glimpses of Dae Woong feeling sorry that Mi Ho’s gone, like when he realizes that she’d left her chicken tokens behind without ever using them, even though she’d worked so hard to collect them. However, every time Dae Woong notices himself missing Mi Ho, or feeling sorry that she’s left, he quickly tamps it down so that he can carry on his merry way, which, again, I would rather he didn’t.

It makes me sad to see Mi Ho looking on tearfully, as Dae Woong leaves the action school with all his stuff in tow, but again, this does give us a glimpse at Dae Woong’s conscience, since he does appear vaguely troubled by the short shower of Fox Rain that falls, when Mi Ho cries a bit.

The fact that these feelings are surfacing do count for something. It’s going to be some time before Dae Woong becomes cognizant of his feelings for Mi Ho, let alone be able to admit it, but at least we are getting these early glimpses.

Mi Ho trying to have fun, and turning into a mischievous supernatural presence at the college, is rather amusing, what with her stealing the meat patties out of hamburgers (hello UEE! I’d had no idea that she’d done a cameo for this show!), and frightening students at the library late at night. However, I do get the sense that even though Mi Ho’s entertaining herself with her little pranks and her multiple cans of soda, she’s not actually having a good time.

Ugh, that Gumiho Hunter catches Mi Ho, and takes her bead captive, while he does so. His manner towards Mi Ho is kind, but even before the reveal at the end of the episode, it’s clear that he’s not to be trusted.

The way he sets out two choices for Mi Ho, to either drink his blood and slowly die in order to become human, or to drink the blue potion with her bead in it, which will put her back in the painting.

That’s not very helpful, since Mi Ho doesn’t want to go back to the painting, but neither does she have a ready human to help her hold her bead for the 100 days that it would take for her to become human. What happened to Option #3, where Gumiho Hunter just leaves Mi Ho alone?

At least Gumiho Hunter offers to give Mi Ho time to think things over, and says that she can stay at the animal hospital while she does so. I guess it’s a good thing that she has a place to sleep, and someone with the resources to provide her with food? Even though he’s technically trying to capture her? 😬😅 It’s a good thing that Mi Ho doesn’t hang out at his place all that much, preferring to go out into the world to practice doing things, “human style.”

Things appear to go swimmingly for Dae Woong, with him signing a contract with Director Ban for the movie, and then signing another contract with Noona’s agency, and even buying a new car with money from Grandpa, but that all comes to a head, when a minor accident lands him in a doctor’s office, and an x-ray reveals that Dae Woong’s bones have only just recovered, and  absolutely shouldn’t be put under the stress of action scenes. Ha. Dae Woong finally has a concrete reason to regret Mi Ho’s departure.

I feel rather peeved, actually, that Dae Woong only really misses Mi Ho in earnest because he needs her magic bead in order to protect his bones, but oh well, at least he’s cognizant that he wants her back?

To be honest, I feel quite gratified when Dae Woong finally remembers that he’s the one who had asked Mi Ho to leave in the first place. Yes, Dae Woong, you only have yourself to blame for this pickle that you’re in; if you hadn’t said that mean thing to Mi Ho, you’d still have the bead now.

In the meantime, Aunt and Director Ban continue to light up my screen with their ridiculousness. This time, Aunt getting all dressed up like Angelina Jolie and trying to magnify her pucker, is hilariously secondhand embarrassing to watch. I snickered at her conclusion that saying the word “udon” makes her lips look their sexiest. 😂 And then I had to pause the video to almost cry with laughter, when Aunt loses her balance and plants an imprint of her kiss on the butt of a nekkid statue, only to be caught redhanded by Director Ban himself. Ahahaha! Poor mortified Aunt. I’m sure she feels the opposite of sexy right now. 😂

I love that Director Ban is as gallant as ever, and saves the day as he always does, with a studied hyper-serious and respectful air about him. I love how he saves Aunt, by opening his trench coat to pull the pain patch off his shoulder, so that he can use it to cover up the kiss imprint on the statue’s butt. Lol. This is hysterical.

Aunt trying to align herself with Director Ban’s “rough” image, by telling him all the rough things that she likes, like showering roughly by scrubbing with an exfoliating towel, is so secondhand embarrassing to watch, eep, but not as secondhand embarrassing as Aunt amping up the sex appeal, by doubling down on the word “udon,” and inviting Director Ban to eat with her. Poor Director Ban blurts out that Angelina Jolie is Brad Pitt’s woman (pfft, no longer), and he cannot associate with women who have partners, such as Aunt herself.

Muahaha. The way Aunt bawls her way home in the car is so funny, and the way Director Ban staggers to his office, is so melodramatic as well. 😂 These two are so pricelessly ridiculous. I love it. I honestly wouldn’t mind watching a whole drama just about them.

Dae Woong apparently manages to get a tip-off on Mi Ho’s whereabouts from the ahjumma who had let Mi Ho use her phone, and it’s really quite touching to see Mi Ho react with such tearful, joyful wonder, when she realizes that Dae Woong’s making his way towards her. Aw. Our Mi Ho’s really been lonely, hasn’t she?

The two make happy plans to turn things back to the way they were, with Mi Ho setting off to get her bead back from Gumiho Hunter, and Dae Woong going home to pick up his things. That’s cute. It’s nice of Dae Woong to buy that drumstick plushie for Mi Ho because of her love for meat.

Noona asks to meet with Dae Woong, and this is when we learn that Noona’s not only sneaky, she’s selfish and self-centered too. I hope Dae Woong’s as shocked as I am, that Noona’s biggest reaction to the discovery that Dae Woong’s body is not in a good state and he shouldn’t take part in any action scenes, is to obsess over how this makes her look, since she’s the one who’d recommended Dae Woong to her agency to begin with. Wow. Talk about having blinders on, eh? Dae Woong looks suitably sobered, and I hope this wakes him up to Noona’s true nature, at least a little.

Meanwhile, Gumiho Hunter cautions Mi Ho against telling Dae Woong about her plan to become human, in case he betrays her and runs away, because that would result in her death. Mi Ho takes the advice to heart, but it’s only after Mi Ho leaves, that Gumiho Hunter reveals the truth behind his dark plan. When the 100 days are up and Mi Ho takes back her bead, it’s Dae Woong who will die, after having transferred his human spirit to the bead. Yikes. This is not good. I mean, I’m not exactly happy with Dae Woong right now, but that doesn’t mean I want him to die. 😬

When Mi Ho gets back to the rooftop apartment where Dae Woong’s waiting for her, she explains again to Dae Woong that he can’t share his energy with another woman, and asks that he hold her bead for 100 days. Dae Woong protests at how long 100 days is, and sputters that she’s not his girlfriend – to which Mi Ho replies that she does want to be his girlfriend, in that case. Ha.

Dae Woong runs off for a while, but to his credit, he comes back, and even admits to Mi Ho that the reason he’d missed her, was really because of the bead. Ok, Dae Woong gets a brownie point for honesty.

Dae Woong even looks kind of sorry, but Mi Ho doesn’t really seem to mind.

It’s honestly quite gracious of her to say, “It would be nice if you said you needed me, but the bead is a part of me and you won’t disappear. It’s better now. If you like the bead that much, you won’t leave me while you have it.”

Augh. Our Mi Ho is so guileless and pure.

It isn’t long before Dae Woong’s giving Mi Ho the couple ring that he’d originally bought for Noona, so that they can take care of things, “human style,” and officially asks Mi Ho to be his 100 day girlfriend. How cute, that Mi Ho’s so happy that all her tails spontaneously unfurl in the moonlight. 🤩

Our newly minted contract couple drinks to their agreement, with the potions that set things in motion, and it’s all very cute – except for the part where each potion signals the beginning of death, for its drinker. Eep. 😬

Episode 6

It’s quite amusing to see our newly minted contract couple explore their new couplehood (I’ve decided that that’s a word), and it’s sad-funny how Mi Ho’s first wish, is to at least pretend-marry Dae Woong.

The way she paints those little rouge circles on her cheeks like a Joseon-era bride is so cute (although, is there anything that Mi Ho does, that isn’t cute?), and yet, the way she thinks back to being ostracized back in the day, when she’d been preparing to get married, underscores the scene with a layer of poignance. Our Mi Ho’s wanted to feel included for so long; I’m beginning to understand her deep hunger to be human. I think she just wants to feel like she belongs.

It’s hilarious, the way Dae Woong balks at Mi Ho’s cheerful suggestion that they mate, and then tries to scare her off the idea, by pulling a typical drama wall-push close-up, only to have Mi Ho do the opposite of what he expects. The way she joyfully grabs him for a good, close squeeze is so cute and so funny, and I feel quite gratified, that Dae Woong really doesn’t quite know what to do with her, and hurriedly backs away from his bluff. Ha. Yes, Mi Ho, keep this boy on his toes.

I’m also amused at the scene after this, where Dae Woong tries to talk to Mi Ho about how they should navigate their contract relationship, and Mi Ho lets slip that she’s only ever thought about eating Dae Woong twice. Muahaha.

The way the scene is played, is like the typical scene where the boy’s asked the girl whether she’s ever had eyes for another boy, and she says, maybe just twice? Dae Woong’s aggrieved reaction, all (and I paraphrase), “Don’t talk to me; I need to be alone,” is so hilarious because the context is so different from what usually supports this kind of interaction. Instead of Mi Ho having entertained attraction to other guys, she’s entertained thoughts of eating him, and I am so very tickled by this. 😂

It’s rather nice that Dae Woong later helps Mi Ho remove the permanent marker stains from Mi Ho’s cheeks, and she tells him that she’s actually never eaten a human before. Also, how cute, that when Dae Woong hears Mi Ho’s story about being ostracized, he promises to make a movie shattering people’s misconceptions about gumihos, when he becomes a famous actor. That’s sweet. Also, I love how happy Mi Ho is, with the giant drumstick plushie that Dae Woong gives her. Her joy is so pure. ❤️

The other thing that is startlingly pure, is Mi Ho’s trust of Dae Woong, and her desire to give him what he wishes – something that she starts thinking about after Gumiho Hunter asks her what it is, that Dae Woong truly wants.

I got a kick out of all the times Dae Woong feels sidelined by the other people showing up in Mi Ho’s life, and also, all the times his protective (possessive?) boyfriend instincts kick in, whenever other guys gawk at Mi Ho’s beauty and try to approach her.

Pfft. This is such typical human nature, isn’t it, not treasuring someone much, until you realize that other people have a deep interest in said someone, and jealousy kicks in. It feels like Dae Woong’s being super territorial, the way he grabs Mi Ho by her shoulders, and also, the way he intercepts the guy who tries to sit next to her on the bus. I’m amused at how Dae Woong keeps flashing his couple ring at the other guys, with such a strong sense of defiance.

I’m hoping that this will jolt Dae Woong at least a little, in terms of clueing him in to how he really feels towards our sweet Mi Ho.

I’m also amused at how the territorial tendencies also extend to Mi Ho. It’s cute how she knows to be jealous, when Dae Woong’s approached by a pretty hoobae on the bus (ahaha! Crossover You’re Beautiful cameo by Park Shin Hye! Fun! This is such a Hong sisters sort of thing to do), and flashes her couple ring at Hoobae, with just as much assertive defiance.

I’m actually quite pleased that when Mi Ho realizes that Dae Woong had bought the rings to wear with Noona, she makes her displeasure very clear. I was half afraid that Dae Woong would get away with palming off that ring on Mi Ho, because he really hadn’t  bought it with her in mind, and that’s not ok. Well, it’s ok to him because he only sees this as a contract relationship (for now), but this is not ok to Mi Ho, because she really does like him, so I’m glad she gets the chance to express that.

Sometimes, Dae Woong is decent enough to Mi Ho, to make me think that maybe he’s not such a lunkhead after all, but then, he always seems to give me a reason to change my mind. Ha.

For example, I thought it was decent of him to feel sorry for leaving Mi Ho outside the school building, and invite her to join him for his lecture.

But, he’s so quick to say yes to Noona when she asks him to eat with her, and he ends up leaving Mi Ho alone in class, for way longer than the duration of the lecture. Sigh. For someone who worries about what a wandering gumiho might do on her own, he’s not very good at sorting out his priorities, is he?

Ooh, how intriguing though, that when Mi Ho runs away from Director Ban like Dae Woong advised her to, she gets a tight feeling in her chest and can’t breathe. According to Gumiho Hunter, this is the part of the process of Mi Ho becoming human.

Eep. Every time this death thing comes up, it makes me uncomfortable. Also, Gumiho Hunter says that he’s never lied to Mi Ho, which means that she really could become human, if she receives the bead carrying Dae Woong’s human spirit. It also means that if Dae Woong gives that bead to her, he will die. This is going to be a major conundrum for us later in the show, isn’t it? 😬

In the meantime, though, Mi Ho’s super happy about the idea that she’s becoming human, and I can only imagine how devastated she will be, when she finds out the truth.

Muahaha. Director Ban angsting at Aunt’s lipstick print on the statue’s butt, and Aunt sobbing over the smell of a freshly peeled pain patch, is hysterical. These two are so smitten, and so weird about how they are smitten.

Director Ban getting all angsty-drunk is the beginning of hilarity, because, 1, we get that scene where he parodies a dramatic death scene out of a classic Hong Kong movie, with the wine-blood spilled all over his shirt, and mournful-dramatic Cantonese music in the background, ha, and 2, we also get that scene where Aunt encounters Director Ban and tries to walk away, only to be enveloped in a dramatic backhug – that evolves into an awkward piggyback situation, when Director Ban literally falls asleep on her, mid-backhug. Pwahaha. This is ridiculous and off-the-wall; I love it, so much. 😂

Poor Mi Ho gets drunk on lots of soju and beer, after Dae Woong upsets her by not only losing his ring under the vending machine, but also, by telling her that his wish (that she’d asked him about) is to keep their relationship from Noona.

It’s kind of cute that Dae Woong works to humor Mi Ho a bit, by giving her other small wishes of his to work on, like getting a random dog to stop barking, and killing the mosquito that’s buzzing around him. I also like that Dae Woong realizes, from Mi Ho’s tipsy mumbling, that she’s always killed mosquitos for him, and that’s why he’s never gotten bitten, while living at the action school.

How dramatic, though, that when tipsy Mi Ho smells Noona coming towards Dae Woong, she voluntarily jumps off the building so that she’ll be able to give Dae Woong his true wish. Ack. She’s so pure, even when she’s drunk. I’m so gratified that Dae Woong’s so worried about Mi Ho disappearing off the building ledge, that he walks right past Noona, in search of Mi Ho. YESS.  Take that, Noona. 😏 (But also, I hope Mi Ho’s ok! )