Han-Su and Eun-Hui 3
Episode 3 of Our Blues starts us off back on Jeju Island. Yeong-Ok’s phone constantly blows up with messages. Individual annoying one letter messages reading “I miss you.” Whoever it is, they want to meet but the reply Yeong-Ok gives (“Second Saturday of next month”) is met with a wonderfully cheerful “you b*tch.” As you may have guessed from the episode title, the focus here is still on Han-Su and Eun-Hui. Eun-Hui is dancing about and excited about her upcoming trip to Mokpo. Rumours of Han-Su being her boyfriend (not to mention the pair allegedly about to have sex at the weekend) spread like wildfire across the tight-knit community. Eun-Hui does sail across on the ferry with Han-Su, as the latter broaches the subject of Ho-Sik. Now, it turns out she actually dated him 20 years ago but they’re not an item anymore. Despite that, Eun-Hui admits she feels like a traitor to Ho-Sik. After seeing his family, including Ho-Sik’s bedridden grandparents, she felt a huge burden and decided to break up with him off the back of this. She had aspirations to rise above the poverty line, and being with Ho-Sik, seeing his family and how they were all eking out a living, was enough for her to break up with him based on this. The pair share stories like this while they head up to the highest heights of Mokpo, just as they promised one another. Eun-Hui starts sneezing just prior to this, prompting Han-Su to stop and rush into the pharmacy and pick up some medicine for her. The pair have a lovely time, taking a trip down memory lane. There are some really warm and lovely overlapping flashbacks here too, as we see Eun-Hui and Han-Su together, laughing while eating cotton candy. Oh, and obviously the scenes involving them sharing their first kiss on the steps at the back of the Real Estate shop too! As they walk together, eating candyfloss each, Han-Su puts his arm about Eun-Hui’s shoulder. As they talk, Eun-Hui admits that she believes she’ll die alone, pointing out that with every relationship she only really sees her own best interests. Funnily enough, this hits quite close to the bone for how Han-Su approaches his relationships too. The pair eventually shack up at a fancy 5 star hotel, which happens to be built over the spot of an old inn they stayed at last time. They both have their own rooms, with Han-Su promising her that this is their first and last trip down memory lane. While Han-Su heads out to get some alcohol so they can have a drink, the motley band of residents – including In-Gwon, Jeong-Jun and Myeong-Bo – all phone Eun-Hui, concerned. They put her on speaker phone as she mentions that Han-Su is actually separated and has been for the better part of 7 years. Only, that’s obviously not true. After getting off the phone, Eun-Hui’s mobile starts blowing up with messages, all of which photos from Myeong-Bo. These are of Han-Su and his family together from their social media page a year back. She’s also warned that Han-Su is in a lot of debt and the money he’s been asking to borrow from everyone is all so he can pay for his daughter’s golf lessons. In-Gwon warns that he’ll never pay her back, given Jae-Min is still waiting for her funds. At the same time, Han-Su receives a video call from Bo-Ram, which he answers when he gets back. She’s not happy playing golf and wants to quit. She also wants to head back to Seoul too. Han-Su is in denial and believes his daughter is lying. Bo-Ram and Mi-Ram both put him in his place, as Han-Su is left to despair about his broken dreams and how he’s tried to project them on his family, causing them more misery. All that money and time he’s spent trying to force something through that was never going to work; Han-Su is distraught. When he heads over to see Eun-Hui after, she confronts him about his money woes. She believes the entire weekend is one big fraud and confronts Han-Su over his lies. She even bashes him upside the head with a cushion. Eun-Hui is understandably hurt that he’s used her emotions against her, as Han-Su struggles hold back tears of his own and apologizes for hurting her. It’s a really heartbreaking moment, as Eun-Hui watches him leave and ends up eating alone in this hotel room, reflecting on her life. When Ho-Sik rings back, Eun-Hui points out that she’s lent money out to them and also to In-Gwon too, wondering how this is any different. Despite Han-Su’s betrayal, Eun-Hui still has the wherewithal and heart to see things from his perspective and hangs up on them both. In the morning she actually transfers him the money after all, likening it to a business losing money. It’s such a beautiful gesture and eventually he heads off to the airport, picking up Bo-Ram and Mi-Ram and deciding to head off on a road-trip. Han-Su messages Eun-Hui to tell her everything he’s up to, including how he’ll come back and share drinks with them in the future. He signs off to her as “your forever friend”, as Eun-Hui messages back and tells him he better return. The thing is, Han-Su is actually her first love and as she picks up her journal and writes inside, she says goodbye before drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
The Episode Review
For someone who doesn’t like giving out money, Eun-Hui sure does dish out a lot to her friends. It’s a testament to her character and how, behind that brash persona, she’s actually a really sweet and beautiful lady that just wants all of her friends to be happy. Her ability to see things from another’s perspective is a great bit of wisdom and it speaks volumes about her character that she’s able to do that. While Han-Su’s actions are sneaky and somewhat cowardly, you can really feel how difficult this is for him, deceiving his old friend, as he realizes he needs to betray her trust. Personally, it would have been nice to see Han-Su come to that conclusion himself, admitting the truth out of guilt rather than being forced to confront that by Ho-Sik, In-Gwon and the others. It would appear that the Han-Su and Eun-Hui saga is over, at least for now, and I’d imagine the episodes that follow this will be make or break for this show. While that sounds like hyperbole, I’m intrigued and cautiously optimistic to see how the other characters and their stories interweave around this. Will the tone feel jarring? Will everything almost feel like a completely different show? Or will there be a natural ebb and flow to this that helps everything feel consistent and gel together? We’ll have to wait and see!
