Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! The cuteness between our OTP is making me grin lots of goofy grins; I hope you guys are having a good time with this one too! ❤️

SOME IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS, before we begin:

ZERO SPOILER POLICY

1. We will be adopting a ZERO SPOILER POLICY for this Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point.

The spoiler tags don’t work in email notifications, therefore, please take note that WE WILL NOT BE USING SPOILER TAGS FOR THIS OPEN THREAD. 

ANY AND ALL SPOILERS WILL BE REDACTED to protect first-time viewers in our midst (although, I’d appreciate it if you would save me the trouble of having to redact spoilers, heh 😅).

This includes, but is not limited to, how characters &/or relationships develop, later in the show.

We need to protect the innocent! 😉

SPOILER ZONE

2. HOWEVER!! If you’d like to discuss spoilers from a rewatcher’s point of view, I’ve created a SPOILER ZONE for you, where you can discuss all the spoilers you’d like, without the need for spoiler warnings. You can find it here!

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

My thoughts

Episode 5

Welp. It’s confirmed. I pretty much have constant hearts in my eyes, when Boong Do and Hee Jin are in the same timeline, and are sharing the screen, but find my attention wandering somewhat, when they are apart.

These two basically carry this entire show, with their cuteness and chemistry, and I can’t get enough of the two of them, together. 😍

It’s kind of rom-com clichéd that Hee Jin gets caught by Soo Kyung, and gets bundled into the car where Soo Kyung proceeds to grill Boong Do, but because this is when Boong Do gets clued in that there are other ways of saying goodbye, I’m happy to just roll with it.

Also, Hee Jin’s cover story, that Boong Do’s a university student who’s helping her study history for her role as Queen In-hyun, is a pretty decent one, I think. It’s.. not terribly far from the truth, except for the part where he comes from 300 years ago. 😅

And even though Soo Kyung’s warning to Boong Do to be careful of Hee Jin putting the moves on him feels kinda out there (again, rom-com lens to the rescue), Boong Do’s amused expression, and polite bellow of a laugh, followed by him trying to quash his involuntary grins, makes it all worthwhile.

Seriously, Boong Do trying to suppress his smiles around Hee Jin, is one of Show’s big highlights. He just looks so amused – and also, kind of smitten – in spite of himself.

It’s just like Hee Jin, to have been so distracted by her impulse to kiss Boong Do in the elevator, that she’d forget that elevators tend to be fitted with CCTV cameras, pfft.

But how timely, though, that going back to the library to check on the CCTV footage (which doesn’t exist, thanks to a conveniently timed CCTV breakdown, heh), puts Hee Jin in a position to spot Boong Do sneaking back into the library, after hours.

I am a sucker for Boong Do and Hee Jin to share screen time for any reason at all, so I have absolutely no complaints about this. 😁

How very helpful of Hee Jin, to race over to Boong Do, to advise him on how to avoid the CCTV cameras. I’m sure it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that she’s attracted to him and would like to see him again, heh. 😉

And how swoony of Boong Do, to indicate that the fact that they keep running into each other, must be inevitable (read: fated) rather than mere coincidence.

In real life, that might be eye-rollingly cheesy, but in this drama world, coming from Boong Do, somehow, it lands as rather melty, and my heart wobbles in response. 💓

Hahaha, that when the topic of goodbyes comes up, Hee Jin claims that the method she’d taught Boong Do, is the most courteous and emotional, with the best manners.

Is that.. why Boong Do goes after Hee Jin, to pull her in for a kiss?

I mean, he says that that’s the reason for the kiss, but my gut tells me otherwise.

First, there’s the way he sighs to himself, just for a beat, before he goes after her and pulls her back by the wrist, to kiss her. This makes me feel that he’d been fighting himself, and finally gives in to the urge to kiss her.

Second, this kiss totally reminds me of how Hee Jin had first kissed him, thinking that she’d never see him again, in that it has a similar energy; it feels like he kisses her, because this is plausibly the last chance he’ll have to kiss her, given that he’s unlikely see her again, once he returns to his time.

Of course, it’s still possible that Boong Do believes what Hee Jin had told him, that this is a normal way of saying goodbye in 2012.

However, my gut says that most likely, he’s playing along with Hee Jin’s chosen cover story – but as far as he’s concerned, because this kissing thing is only done between lovers in his time, this isn’t just any old goodbye, from his point of view.

Plus, there’s just no mistaking the way his eyes light up with delight, each time he look at her, or in her general direction. 🤩

Much as I care for Boong Do’s safety, I have to confess that I was less interested in the plot to poison him, back in Joseon.

I was just glad and relieved that Boong Do’s time at the library, had apprised him of these events, so that he’d know how to save himself – thereby changing the course of history (which is pretty mind-boggling, come to think of it).

Poor Hee Jin, though. She gets so worried about Boong Do, when she finds out from the online chronicles, that Boong Do dies on Jeju Island, at the age of 27.

Not gonna lie; it gave me SUCH a thrill, that Hee Jin picks up that call with the Jeju area code, and hears Boong Do’s voice on the other end of the line.

Ahhh!!! He’s not only alive, he’s here in 2012! HUZZAH!!

How melty-swoony-adorable is it, that he spent 3 days learning how to use a payphone, so that he’d be able to contact Hee Jin? 😍

I have questions about how he managed to get Hee Jin’s phone number, but that can wait. For now, I’m just so happy that he’s safe, and back in 2012! 🤩

Episode 6

I’d been super curious to know how Boong Do got himself sorted and managed to call Hee Jin, so I’m extremely pleased that Show takes the time to show us just that.

We get insight into how Boong Do gets his hands on that guidebook and some money, and then how he basically teaches himself everything he needs to know, from currency, to getting medicine for his wound at the pharmacy, to how long flights from Jeju Island to the mainland take, to how to use a pay phone.

AND, importantly, Show remembers to fill in that bit of information, of how Boong Do knows Hee Jin’s phone number. How smart, that he’d thought to memorize it, when she’d written it down on that post-it for her car dashboard! 🤩

With Boong Do being as brainy as he is, I can absolutely believe that he’d successfully memorize it, and then retain that information accurately, for when he needed it.

I’ve always loved Boong Do’s extreme adaptability and his calm, analytical approach to solving problems, so these scenes were basically like catnip, to me.

The only thing that we don’t get to see, is how Boong Do gets his new set of clothes, but that’s just foundational to this story, by now.

We know that he steals a set of clothing each time he arrives in 2012, and we’ll just have to suspend disbelief around how he always manages to get a nice set of clothes in his size, along with a beanie – when it doesn’t look like beanies are big in fashion or anything. 😁

And, there’s also suspension of disbelief required in terms of how Boong Do manages to give himself such a professional looking haircut, with just a single pair of scissors, while standing over the sink in a public restroom.

I do wonder why he chose to cut his hair off, though. It’s not like his attacker chopped off so much of his long hair, that it could not longer be put up in a topknot.

And it’s not like he doesn’t plan to go back to his time – where he would need a topknot – so I’m quite puzzled about his decision to embrace the short hair of the times.

That said, all of this is really not that important.

What’s important is, Boong Do’s safe in 2012 with Hee Jin, while everyone back in his timeline is losing their minds over why they can’t find him anywhere, muahaha.

In particular, it gives me great satisfaction to see Lord Min Am getting so perplexed over Boong Do’s disappearance, and what his “better card” might be.

The other thing that gives me great satisfaction, is how Boong Do’s smile looks so happy and genuine, when he reconnects with Hee Jin, in 2012.

Both over the phone and in person, he just looks like he can’t stop that twinkle in his eye, when it comes to Hee Jin, and that absolutely gives me a case of the squees. 😍

It’s so like Hee Jin, to jump on a plane to Jeju, in order to see Boong Do – and well, to help him get to the mainland too, of course. Although, I’m really pretty sure that helping him is just an excuse to see him again, heh.

I do love the detail, that because Hee Jin’s drama is about to premiere, Boong Do catches sight of the trailer on a public TV at the airport, and for the first time, sees her beauty, because she’s dressed in a way that’s familiar to him.

Well, yes, I can see how Boong Do wouldn’t be used to the fashion of 2012, although I find it hard to believe that he couldn’t see Hee Jin’s beauty, aside from her Joseon makeover.

I do think that Soo Kyung’s suspicious attitude towards Boong Do is played rather too OTT, but it’s easy enough to shrug off, with a rom-com lens on.

Plus, it’s admittedly quite amusing, when she grills Boong Do on his background, and gets suitably impressed, when he gives her all those truthful answers, which place him as a very rich, very privileged person, heh.

Also, it’s just a relief to have Soo Kyung be nice to Boong Do for a change.

It’s cute how Boong Do and Hee Jin basically flirt their way through that conversation about cause and effect, even though they don’t seem to realize that they’re flirting.

Boong Do reaching out to wipe the coffee milk foam off Hee Jin’s lip is absolutely a player type move, so I’m with Hee Jin on this one. 😁 And, I love how quick Hee Jin is, to pick up on the cause and effect line of argument, and then turn it all back on Boong Do.

I luff her. 😂 And I can totally see why Boong Do always looks so amused by Hee Jin, when he’s around her.

Han Dong Min being on the same flight as Hee Jin and Boong Do, is the perfect catalyst for where we end our episode, so even as I’m rolling my eyes at Dong Min’s attempt at a big show to make himself look good as the hero type, I’m actually grateful to him, for making it such that Hee Jin comes right out and claims Boong Do as her boyfriend.

Cute! I love that Hee Jin’s instinct is to protect Boong Do, even at the cost of going public with a fake relationship that might affect her celebrity reputation. More than that, I love the potential for hijinks that we now have, with this fake relationship suddenly on the table.

The way Hee Jin walks over to Boong Do to hold his hand is so sweetly protective, and then the way she looks up into his face, and asks him what the result will be, if the cause is them being in a relationship, is so tentative and vulnerable.

We don’t get to hear Boong Do’s answer, but that look in his eyes, is so gentle, so tender and so intent, all at the same time, that I find myself in a melted puddle of squee. Glug. 😍