#ciit

I finished reading Cheese In The Trap back in 2017 (I think it's done in Indonesia around that time). And I just realized that the K-Drama is on Netflix, so I watched it. After watching it, I realize there are some differences (of course) but my point is... Baek In-Ho needs more clarity!

Or... I want to see that he got his own happy ending. Like, more happy ending, not the kind of Lalaland ending (a guy loves piano so much he marry his piano thing).

I love the idea that Seol finally happy with Jung. But it seems like only the girls get the boys. Bora with Taek, A-young with Jun, Mona with her boyfriend, even In-Ha got one. While the boys like In-Ho and Kwanghun (I forgot his name the one Seol accidentally holds his hand) gets none. It is natural of course that boys didn't get to meet their love ones at their 20s, but still!

“Once you start working, you’ll realize you’re no longer the center of the universe, you realize there’re many people who are better & scarier than you and you need to accept that you cannot control everything.”

Seventh K Drama: Cheese in the Trap

If there’s one word to describe this drama it would be problematic. But somehow, it depicts the ugly side of society – people will only care about you if they can get benefits from you and once the benefits ran out, they’ll leave you acting as if nothing happened. Sometimes you just can’t help but feel trapped in this fucked up society that we live in and this drama shows that.

Synopsis

Hong Seol is a junior university student who took a year off because of her family’s financial instability and also because of her sunbae Yoo Jung’s actions that scares her. When she gets back to school, Jung became warm and friendly towards her…the question is why?

There are mixed reviews about this drama and despite me describing this as problematic, I actually enjoyed watching this (although the ending was really disappointing). The chemistry of the main couple was on point and sometimes I wish they dated in real life hihi. Anyway, while this drama is a bit charming, it showcases the harsh reality of people only befriending you when they need you and will leave you when they no longer need you. Sometimes the real world sucks.

Anyway, I would like to discuss only the two main characters of this drama – how different and similar they are…how both of them are like cheese in the trap.

The good and the bad.

The main characters in this drama are the hoobae Hong Seol and the sunbae Yoo Jung. While they have their differences, I believe that they are also very similar. Hong Seol came from a humble background: she came from a middle class family who needs to work really hard in order for them to make ends meet. While life is tough, she’s a very determined and hardworking person. However, kind people are most of time gets taken advantage of.  Since Seol is hardworking, she takes her studies seriously. Most of her classmates rely on her on academic stuffs. Seol has the ‘never complain, always give’ kind of attitude so she always extend a helping hand to her schoolmates even though those people are obviously just befriending her because of the benefits. It is when the benefits end that you will know people’s true colors. When Seol had enough, those people that suck up to her ended up to be the first to turn their backs on her and even call her greedy. That’s the time you know that most people nowadays will only be there if they can gain something from you. Most people are users and I hate that. Yoo Jung, on the other hand, came from a wealthy background. His father is a rich businessman and since he’s an only child, he’s the sole heir to their business empire. At such a young age he already knew how horrible people is that’s why he keeps his guard up. In some ways, he is also like Seol with a ‘never complain, always give’ kind of attitude but there’s more to it. He may be helpful to people but he also know how to make them pay. I think if his life has a theme song it would be “Look what you made me do” since it was people’s actions towards him that led him to becoming somewhat a ‘monster’. I know that it’s not a good thing to take revenge on people but is it really bad if you would let them taste their own medicine? Anyway, I do believe that Jung needs psychiatric treatment because it might eat him up alive one day if he continues with his actions.

Like a cheese in the trap.

I guess all of us have experienced feeling out of place, like we can’t help but ask this question: “saan ba ako lulugar?” If you do good, people will abuse you. If you fight back, you’re a bad person. I just can’t understand it. I guess that’s how both Seol and Jung have felt. Seol has always been kind to her schoolmates but ended up getting betrayed by them. Jung used to trust people but all they did was to take advantage of him so he ended up cold hearted. But whatever you do, people will always have something to say, right? We are all like a cheese in the trap, caught up in this crazy and fucked up world but we just got to be stronger and wiser for us to survive cause in the end, if they try to get us (if the mouse tries to get the cheese) it will mean danger to them and somehow to ourselves as well since we’ll be affected in one way or another.

 Between the two main characters, I can say that I am more like Seol (or used to be like Seol) than Jung since even though I also have revenge thoughts, I’ve never put them into actions. I used to be like Seol – a person with a ‘never complain, always give’ attitude but it is tiring especially when you’re the one who needs someone the most and you will realize that you have no one. I guess the key here is communication – you gotta speak up when they’re already crossing the line. Things will be settled when you talk it out but if they still don’t cooperate then it’s their problem already and not yours. With Jung though, I feel like what he needs the most is understanding and guidance. Jung has to understand too that revenge is not the answer.

Btw, here’s some quotes from the drama that I liked:

“Living in society isn’t something you can do alone.”  -Professor Kang

“Management = Communication. It means communication is everything!” -Professor Kang

“People who play victim will always end up like that, losing what they have as they attempt to gain what isn’t theirs” –Yoo Jung

“Why is it that people always want what belongs to other people? Then they delude themselves thinking other people’s things are theirs when in the end they lose what’s their own.” –Yoo Jung

“I had no time to look sideways. I looked straight ahead so I wouldn’t fall. And I thought I had lived harder than anyone else around me.” -Hong Seol

“Teach him that perseverance is true talent” –In Ho’s former teacher

“The little things in life flow like shallow water. It is still shallow water, like all people do – it can be endured” -Hong Seol

“There are ups and downs in relationship but maintaining longevity is hard”

“No matter how rock bottom you are, you shouldn’t bring harm to people who care about you”

“Don’t put up walls and look down on people because among those people, there are some who sincerely wanted to be friends with you” -Sang Chul

“….you know that hurting someone means that it will come back to you.” –Hong Seol

X,

TinaMae

PS this is probably the most unruly blog post I’ve ever written. I hope you get my interpretation of Cheese in the Trap though. I loved the drama although it was a bit stressful to watch lol. #TeamSunbae #SometimesTeamInHo

so. very. smitten.