#rootofallevil

Convo with @rootofallevil 😆

There's a level of understanding and empathy that only Joowon can ever afford Jeongje, because Joowon is the only person who can ever understand what it's like to survive through the harrowing ordeal of being raised by an abusive parent.

No one else can ever understand that about both Joowon and Jeongje.

Not even Dongsik.

"I've seen the best of you, and the worst of you, and I accept it all."

Posting this conversation between @rootofallevil and myself, because it’s such a revelation.

First, about Dongsik letting go of Joowon and allowing him to walk away—

I've been marinating over a specific thought in my head for a while now, and I think your comment is the perfect jump off point to address it.

In connection to how I've always been saying that Dongsik's strength lies in how he fiercely protects the people he loves, he does have tendencies to go overboard very similar to the way Do Haewon does (as I've addressed here), and that the only thing separating Dongsik from Haewon is that Dongsik never wants anyone else to be hurt by his actions, and always regrets it when he does; whereas Haewon doesn't care if the whole world burns as long as the person she loves is safe.

I think that part of that protectiveness inevitably morphs into possessiveness at times, which is sadly what the trauma of (multiple!!) losses did to Dongsik: he has to keep all his loved ones close, because he's terrified that he might lose them, too.

And I think one of the ways that manifested in a way he never expected to end up badly was the way his protectiveness became borderline possessive over Minjeong.

It's not the possessiveness by that of a jealous lover, but one that is, again, remarkably similar to Do Haewon: the possessiveness of a parent over their child with the belief that only they can keep them safe.

It manifested in the way he resorted to tracking Minjeong down using illegal means, and then traveling all the way to Seoul just to bring Minjeong back. The intention to protect her is apparent, and again, it stems from Dongsik's terrible fear of losing the people he loves; however, Dongsik didn't even stop to think that maybe, just maybe, there's a reason Minjeong is deliberately choosing to stay away from home—that there's a very specific reason she's avoiding her own father.

Dongsik, unbeknownst to him, brought Minjeong back to her would be killer—the one she was trying to escape from in the first place.

Bear in mind too that Minjeong is already an adult by this point, and capable of making her own decisions, but in this specific instance it's as if she was infantilized by Dongsik. Again, all with good intentions of a loving and doting father, but already with the shades of possessiveness incredibly similar to Haewon's infantilization of Jeongje—who was already 40 years old.

The reason why I'm bringing this up is I think that through the course of the story, Dongsik has come to realize this too, about himself, especially after everything he's come to discover about Haewon and Jeongje too: that perhaps he is seeing shades of that overbearing love apparent in himself, too.

And that, I think, is why he is making the choice—whether subconsciously or deliberately—to not make the same mistake when it comes to Joowon.

He is trying his best now for his love for Joowon to be selfless, and more than anything: to be hinged on absolute trust in Joowon (as I've mentioned here, too).

To be someone that Joowon never had before: someone completely believing in him, and believing him.

And as for your other question, regarding the reunion at Manyang and whether Joowon would be coming back—

The thing is, I actually believe both Dongsik and Joowon made the best decision to go separately on their own ways first, just because I think they were both starting to realize that even in such a short period of time, their relationship with each other has gotten so immensely intense that there are shades of codependency already—which is unhealthy in any relationship.

I think at this point it's important for them to establish their individuality and their individual purpose now that Dongsik and Joowon are now finally freed from the shadow of Lee Yuyeon and Han Kihwan respectively. In many ways, this is finally the chapter of the true beginning of their lives: for Dongsik to discover who he is without the shadow of his sister's death looming over him, and for Joowon to discover who he is without the shadow of his father tormenting his every step.

This is the chapter of their lives where they're finally free to be who they really are, and to finally freely live, without all of these shackles holding them back.

And I think that once they complete that journey of finding themselves, they can come back to each other as a completely whole person in themselves, without necessarily needing the other to "fulfill" their needs.