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blrush · 3 years

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Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (if it was a serious drama with hour long episodes)... Part 1: The Wedding Night

“Presenting, the bridegroom! … Presenting, the bride!”

Ki Wan could feel his heart beating in his throat, and pools of sweat were soaking into his layers of bridal wear. The sun was blistering, his hair was pulled too tight, his face itched from the make-up and it took all his strength not to lower his hands and scratch at it. He kept his arms raised, and angled his face down as much as possible, looking only at the ground instead of the man in front of him. This was absurd, how did he end up here?

The night before, he had gone to visit his sister, only to find her room empty, her wedding robes laid out across the bed, and a note which simply read; “I’m sorry.” He knew immediately that she had run away, and he could not blame her. He’d wanted to run himself so often from their home. Since their mother’s death, the Choi house had remained a desolate and cold place. His sister and himself both kept to themselves, busy with laundry, cutting firewood, mending clothes, cooking, cleaning. Endlessly, day in and day out. In the evening, they were both so tired they would simply sit in companionable silence, reading.

Though the Choi family had always been a noble family, it seemed their father was determined to end that legacy. After their mother passed, he took to drinking and would disappear to the city for days or weeks on end, leaving the teens alone. At first, the house without him was preferable, with their servants around, they didn’t feel the loss of their mother quite so badly. But soon the servants began to leave, first the caretaker, then the cook, then his sister’s handmaid. It became clear their father was gambling away their fortunes. He would arrive home, stumbling out of a carriage, cart, or palanquin blind drunk. Ki Wan knew circumstances were truly dire the night he came home without a footman or transport, simply riding through the gates on horseback, slumped over like a bag of rice.

Without warning one spring morning, he announced that Hwa Jin was to be married into the Ryu family. Ki Wan knew the name, a long standing and large noble family from the neighbouring province. Every business and manor home in those mountains bore the name “Ryu”.

“A nobleman named Ho Seon”, proclaimed their father between mouthfuls, “He needs a young wife, I believe his mother is sick.” He gulped down some soju. “I have made arrangements with his great uncle. He will come for you next week and take you to the Ryu estate to be wed.”

Ki Wan expected an outburst from his sister, she was no wallflower and had always been braver than him. He expected shouting, violence, smashed crockery. Nothing. She sat quietly staring down at her bowl of rice and the measly scraps they were excusing for dinner. She mumbled an acknowledgment, and picked at her food.

Later that night, Ki Wan took a lantern, and went to her room. He knocked gently, and she called to enter. He found her pulling a set of bright red and blue robes from a wooden trunk.

“It was mother’s.” she said. “I don’t even remember her giving it to me, I feel as though I’ve always had it. It just never occurred to me that I might actually have to wear it one day.”

Folded up with the robes were beautiful jewels and hairpins, that seemed to glisten even in the dull flickering candle light.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t sold these.” Ki Wan observed, as he gently held a hair pin made of smooth jade.

“I don’t think he knew they were here.” Replied Hwa Jin.

They both sat staring at the blood red robe. As usual they barely spoke, yet Ki Wan felt he knew what Hwa Jin must be thinking – for his own mind was a tangle of thoughts and flooded with emotion. He thought of the enormity of what was to come, what that dress meant for Hwa Jin, the bitter resentment and sadness she must be feeling toward their father, and how beautiful their mother must have looked herself in that dress.

Their mother had been a true beauty, smiling and warm, she was always full of light and colour. Perhaps he was imagining her more radiantly in his memories. But he will never forget how wrong it was to see her so pale. When she became sick it was as if all the colour drained from the world, and before he knew it, she was gone. Their father began to change. At first, he just seemed sad, but it was as if the sadness became a sickness in itself. He had once been a chubby and jolly sort of man, yet he became spindly and skinny, his skin almost grey. He never hugged them or laughed with them anymore, he barely acknowledged them at all. They felt like ghosts in their own home, each floating around aimlessly, slowly fading away.

Ki Wan opened his hand, the jade hairpin he was holding was now warm. Hmm, it seemed he was still warm – not a ghost after all.

Over the next few days, his sister seemed to retreat even further into herself. She barely left her room or ate, she began neglecting her share of the duties – though Ki Wan couldn’t blame her. If he was to marry some strange man, he would feel fairly distracted and nervous too. In fact, he imagined his sister must be even more scared. As a young man, Ki Wan was afforded certain liberties that she was not, he had accompanied his father before on business through the nearby towns, and had even once been to the capitol. He had attended Seodang school as a boy, been invited to aristocratic gatherings and meetings with his father, he’d slept in inns and toasted with strangers. His sister, as far as he knew, had barely left the house. She grew up completely within the confines of their walled property, took lessons in the garden, and had (perhaps) been into town a handful of times with their mother to buy dresses. But since recently, she had no handmaid to accompany her and was confined to the walls of the Choi residence. Ki Wan suddenly felt a deep sense of regret, for in his own grief, he had never thought to offer help to his sister in this way. She must have felt like a prisoner for years.

And so, when he found her missing, and the note left with the dress, he was not surprised. He felt anger at himself, he had failed her. He had been selfish and blind to her strife. Though he was somewhat fearful for her safety out in the world on her own, he also had faith that she could survive on her own, as she had always been smarter and braver than him. Now, all that remained was to break the news to his father. But should be wait, to give her a head start? Would their father go after her? With what resources? He had no men or horses to chase her, and no clue as to the where she would be headed. Did she have connections they did not know about? An old friend somewhere, or a lover perhaps? Ryu Ho Seon’s great uncle would be arriving in the morning to collect her, should he raise the alarm before then, or feign ignorance of her disappearance? His mind was whirring, but he found himself diligently heading toward his father’s chambers.

He found his father asleep, sitting on the floor slumped over the table. He imagined his father’s shame in the morning, facing some nobleman demanding to know the whereabouts of his daughter. What if he thought Master Choi had been lying about the existence of such a daughter? Ki Wan realised how pathetic his father had become, and yet, he was still his father.

“Father! Wake up. Father!” He jostled him awake, by shaking his shoulder.

“Hmmmm?!?? Wha, what?” Ki Wan waited for his father to wake properly and look at him.

“Hwa Jin is gone. She has run away.”

“WHAT!?” His father burst upright, waving his arm up frantically and catching Ki Wan on the jaw. “WHAT!? GONE!?!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?”

“She left a note. She has run away.” He tried to explain, holding his jaw, checking his lip for blood.

“STUPID SELFISH GIRL! DOES SHE KNOW WHAT SHE’S DONE!!?” He was yelling at no one in particular, gesturing wilding around the room. Ki Wan waited for him to calm down. Eventually, after some incoherent swearing and mumbling, his father sat back down, unsteadily, at the table. With his head in his hands he mumbled again …

“She doesn’t know what she’s done.” He sounded completely crest-fallen. Through deep breathes, he was fighting back tears, mumbling again “She was meant to save us… the marriage … going to save us….she ….left … abandoned us.”

“Father, what do you mean? Father?” His father’s passionate outburst seemed to have drained him, and he was beginning to fall asleep once more, Ki Wan kept gentling jostling his arm trying to keep him conscious.

“The deal…” he murmured into his sleeve. “…money… we’re finished… I… failed you.”

As his father fell asleep, Ki Wan wiped the tears and alcohol off his face.

Sitting in the cold room, whilst his father snored, Ki Wan tried to put together what his father had said. A deal. Of course, why else would he suddenly marry Hwa Jin off now, so suddenly. He must had brokered some sort of deal with this great uncle Ryu, perhaps an old acquaintance or friend of his father, or more likely, a gambling buddy to whom he had lost one too many wagers. A young, energetic, pretty, fertile, noble bride for his great-nephew in exchange for what, a set price, an amount of gold, an annual living wage? Whatever the price, his father would have no choice but to take it, they had nothing and all three of them would soon be starving.

But what was the catch? Young, eligible noble women were normally married off with a dowry themselves, and even though the Choi family had fallen somewhat into disrepute, Hwa Jin was still a noble woman by birth. So, this begged the question, what was so horribly wrong with Nobleman Ryu Ho Seon that he could not find a bride himself, that his family were so desperate they were essentially marrying HIM off with a dowry instead?

As dawn broke, Ki Wan sat in his sister’s room, carefully applying make-up and attempting to fix his hair into some upright fashion. This was a disaster, what was he thinking? But the faces of his mother and father from a decade ago, smiling happily at him was all he could think of. Perhaps it was some sense of lingering loyalty to his mother’s memory, or misguided pity for his father – but he had decided the only way forward, to save himself and his father, was to keep up his father’s end of the bargain.

He attempted to style his long hair into a low bun as he had seen his sister do, but his skills were limited, and the bun kept falling out, he couldn’t get the pins to sit in the right places. He looked a mess, but it would have to suffice, he would have to rely on the illusion of the clothes and hope that no one looked too closely.

A group of men carrying a set of palanquin came into the courtyard, and a middle-aged woman climbed out. She was very brisk and formal, she greeted him curtly.

“Miss Choi Hwa Jin, I presume? I’m Master Ryu Jin-Yeong’s secretary. It’s a long ride back, so you’d better hop in. Have you relieved yourself this morning? You should do, the road up to the mountains is bumpy and will take many hours.”

Ki Wan was taken aback by her manner, but nodded politely, and kept looking at his feet. He figured, if he could hide his neck he might pass as a woman. People had often commented on how he and his sister could have been twins, and when he was younger he was teased for being too small and dainty. His sister had once said that it was a shame they weren’t sisters, for he would have made such a pretty girl with such a small face, yet instead he looked awkward as a spindly sort of boy, and would never be considered truly attractive to noble women, who liked men with broad shoulders and strong bone-structure. These sort of rude comments and confused compliments never bothered Ki Wan much, as romance, courting and marriage had never really appealed to him in the first place. He never imagined himself marrying a woman, though he certainly never imagined himself marrying AS a woman either.

Before climbing into the palanquin, his father came down from his quarters, and pulled him in for a very stilted but tight hug. He had told his father his plan this morning, though he wasn’t sure how much of it his father fully comprehended. He looked even sadder than he had the night before. Ki Wan hated to think of his father left alone here, drinking away his sorrows without anyone left to watch over him. Though, at this point, the alternate prospect, of staying - only to slowly starve to death together - was far worse. Yet, when he came down to bid Ki Wan farewell, he seemed completely sober. He grasped Ki Wan tightly, then let go just as quickly, and gave him a look that seemed to convey such gratitude and depth of desperation that Ki Wan had to look away, and quickly climb into the carriage to prevent himself from crying.

The ride was indeed bumpy, and after an hour or so Ki Wan began to feel exceedingly nauseous. He didn’t want to ask to stop, for he feared his voice would give his disguise away. He also suspected they were on a strict time schedule, and that Master Ryu’s secretary would not allow it. Finally, after yet another hour or so, they came to a stop by a ravine. The men clambering down to splash themselves with water and relieve themselves by some trees. Ki Wan tentatively stepped out to stretch his legs.

Though he tried not to look towards his chaperone, he could feel her gaze upon him. Suddenly she moved toward him.

“Tsk! This is what comes of no mother or handmaids. Your hair is a mess. Stay still.” She then vigorously took to re-styling his hair. Once she was satisfied, she ordered him back inside the bridal palanquin and they set off once again.

~ ~ ~

“Presenting, the bridegroom!”

Ki Wan could feel himself shaking. It had been hours since he had anything to eat or drink, and the fear of getting caught was worsening by the minute.

“Presenting, the bride!” He forced his legs to move and stepped forward.

The ceremony passed in a blur, all he felt was nausea and all he could see was the endless enveloping dancing colours of his dress sleeves as he tried to stay focused on not being sick. At some point his hands were washed, he was plied with alcohol, poked and prodded by Ryu family members. The ceremony was blessedly short, considering there was no Choi family represented, many of the traditional customs were skipped.

The wedding felt very business-like and rushed, perhaps the Ryu’s themselves were all aware that this was somewhat of a sham wedding. The only person who seemed particularly enthusiastic was the mother of the bridegroom, who was buzzing around attending to important ceremonial elements and guiding Ki Wan around. At one point, she put a reassuring hand gently on Ki Wan’s back as she quietly instructed him that he needed to bow six times. He felt calmed by this small gesture, and a pang of guilt ran through him for tricking this nice old lady, who seemed so excited about getting a nice young daughter in law.

~ ~ ~

In the evening, Ki Wan found himself alone for the first time with the bridegroom. His new “husband”. What was he to do? In the intimate space of the bridal house, there was no way Ho Seon wouldn’t notice that there was something wrong with his bride. They sat in silence.

Ki Wan could hear the sounds of his own breath, his arms ached from holding them above his face for hours on end – he desperately wanted to lower them.

“밥 먹었어요? Have you eaten?” Ho Seon broke the silence. “It’s okay. You can relax. Would you like something to eat? I’m starving.” Ki Wan could hear him fiddling with the plates of food at the table, and pouring liquor. He sounded…. young. Younger than Ki Wan had assumed. So, he wasn’t too old to be considered eligible… hmmm it must have been something else. Perhaps he was hideously disfigured, or scarred? Graphic images flashed around Ki Wan’s imagination. He would have to look, eventually…

“It’s a bit strange isn’t it.” Ho Seon continued, keeping up his one-sided chatter. “Marrying someone you’ve never met.”

“Mmm,” Ki Wan agreed, giving a quiet murmur and nod of the head.

“I’m sorry this has all been so rushed. My family seemed determined that I should marry, and before I knew it they said they had found me a bride!” He took a swig of alcohol.

Ki Wan was still frozen, craving food but not wanting to let his guard down.

“I mean, not that I don’t want to marry you … I mean, I’ve never met you… it’s a bit… you know…” He poured himself another cup.

Perhaps, Ki Wan thought, if Ho Seon drank enough, he could avoid a confrontation entirely! Maybe he could lie, and tell Ho Seon in the morning that they had consummated their marriage, and that Ho Seon was simply too drunk to remember?

“Ughh. Sorry I feel like I’m making this worse. I don’t know what to say.” Another drink. “Could you… I mean… you can show me your face now – we’re alone. If you want to, I mean. You seem scared. I hope you’re not scared of me. I promise I won’t… do anything.”

Ki Wan steeled himself, and slowly lowered his arms just a fraction, so that he could see Ho Seon. Their eyes met for a moment, and Ki Wan quickly averted his gaze down again. No scars, no disfigurement, Ho Seon was the picture of health. Handsome and youthful, his warm brown eyes glimmering from the alcohol.

Another pang of guilt. Ho Seon looked so innocent. Evidently, he knew nothing of his family’s under-hand dealings, or that his bride had been bought for him. He was like an overexcited puppy, full of nervous energy. Ki Wan’s initial plan, to manipulate or swindle his new husband into either ignorance or compliance started slipping away. He felt the urge to suddenly come clean, to let everything come tumbling out.

He lowered his arms completely, and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He expected Ho Seon to suddenly jump back in fright, or exclaim “NAMJA! A MAN!” But his reveal inspired no such reaction. He looked up at Ho Seon who was gazing back at him.

“Oh.” Ho Seon sighed through a tipsy smile, “You’re beautiful.”

Ki Wan’s breath stopped in his throat. This was not what he planned. Was Ho Seon so drunk that he could not tell Ki Wan was a man? Or was Ki Wan’s disguise more convincing than he had thought it would be? Perhaps it was the bridal make-up and adornments?

Before he could properly regain his breath, or think of something to say, Ho Seon was reaching out a hand toward his face. Ki Wan wanted to swat it away, but something in the earnest look on Ho Seon’s face stopped him from moving. Ho Seon gingerly reached across the table, and his fingers softly brushed Ki Wan’s cheek, just near his ear, and only for a moment. But the touch was enough to send goose-bumps shooting down Ki Wan’s neck and arms. He must have made a noise, because Ho Seon quickly drew back his hand to the table, and poured himself another drink.

~ ~ ~

TBC (Next Parts Here}

Authors Note: Sorry this is unbeta’d atm. So this started as a bit of fun and has already gotten out of hand. As you can see I have completely re-written my own reasons for the wedding because I couldn’t stand the lack of explanation or logic in the show haha

So far this is all just like filling the blank plot-holes of the first episode. But I’m excited to get to the cute stuff, and can’t wait to write some heavy sexual tension and mutual pining as their marriage develops.

Let me know if you guys enjoy it, and I will try to write more asap! Feel free to send prompts too if you want!

Enjoy!

#nobleman ryu's wedding #kdrama #korean bl #류선비의 혼례식 #bl series #kdrama fanfic #kang insoo #Lee Sejin #choi ki wan #ryu ho seon #nobleman ryus wedding

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mangodelorean · 2 years

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Bad and Crazy - Ep 01 recap/musings

Some stray thoughts through the lucid lurgy of my covid booster jab (please get it if you're able to) that turned into a recap of sorts:

The opening credits are suitably mental.

...As was that trippy opening sequence with the Fight Club-esque boxing nightmare (I'd thought it was real from the previews) that sets up the Anti-Corruption Unit's Senior Inspector Ryu Su Yeol's social positioning nicely: He thinks he's got (literal) clout, and it seems like people are in his corner, but they just want to use him for their own ends.

Writer: How do we show how reckless this idiot is? Let's have him wake up in a bathtub FULL of water, then traipse around his flat in soaking wet clothes and then fall over like a dickhead:

Su Yeol finds his car damaged, so he Karens off to the security office to demand to see the CCTV footage... which shows it's actually him that did it. I'm glad we're already touching on this.

[Why would you go to work right after not remembering that you trashed your own car? Did he just think he was that wasted?]

He whines to himself about still having to make car payments when he runs into his ex Hee Kyum, who immediately calls him out about screwing over her captain just so he could get promoted. When he tries to make her feel small by bringing up their break-up (ew) and that he's her senior (double ew), she tells him he's the problem. He tries to snark his way out of it but she's not having any of it and flips him effortlessly to the ground. I love how she flips the back of her jacket like it's a superhero cape as she leaves. Like a cat pretending it didn't fall over, he jokes that she was "practicing her kicks" outside. Yeah, no-one's buying that.

At work and he's late (obviously). His partner Jae Seon asks if he drank last night. "Hey, that's not important." Ha.

The man they've brought in for questioning is already there, and Su Yeol makes up a flimsy excuse for his lateness about the cafe being busy. [He really is the person who shows up late with a Starbucks.] But at least he brought coffee for everyone. Iced americanos, though. Cheapskate. The man they're questioning is Kim Gye Sik. Su Yeol extends a hand but it's met with an icy stare from Kim Gye Sik, who points out that this "isn't exactly an honourable situation, is it?".

Su Yeol tries to look like he's defusing any tension but with the emotional expertise of an external HR consultant coming in to fire everyone. He offers condolences for what happened to Gye Sik's slain colleague Tak Min Su, but he's watching the other man's behaviour. Gye Sik recalls the situation: he saw Min Su fall from a height, saw the suspect fleeing and shot him, but the suspect, too, fell to his death. Cut to the present and Gye Sik is distraught, but Su Yeol has this look on his face that he can't wait for the other guy to stop crying. Out of context, he looks like the world's biggest arsehole.

Su Yeol mentions that the suspect, Sim Sang Ho, was close to Min Su, even helping him get clean from drugs. Gye Sik dismisses this by mentioning the suspect's drug history (implying potential for violence), and that he only shot him in the leg. But Su Yeol pokes holes in his story - the suspect had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time, and was on the edge of a rooftop with no railings, and that any DNA evidence of the killing was washed away by the rain - effectively accusing Gye Sik of murdering his own partner and covering it up. Whoa - that's a really heavy accusation. Two older cops - the Chief and the Commissioner - on the other side of the room's two-way mirror mention in the same breath that Gye Sik is the best cop in narcotics, but that his ego was getting too big and that he pissed off the Commissioner's nephew. So this is all politics.

In what's probably not even midday yet, Su Yeol drinks expensive whiskey in Chief Kwak Bong Pil's office, the latter stringing the former along with talk of promotion. He calls Su Yeol a "fox" (heh) for pretending not to know he was drinking with the Commissioner's nephew last night.

Drink every time Su Yeol complains about his back. But, at the sauna, he complains to himself about Hee Kyum's silver-spoon upbringing and why she can't just live comfortably and quietly. On the verge of a steam-room haze, he notices a dude in full motorcycle leathers and a bike helmet, and his first instinct is to think it's a delivery man. Ha. He is here to deliver, but not food - he silently walks up to Su Yeol (without slipping), and immediately beats the shit out of him - throwing him on the floor, hurling him against a sink so hard it breaks, rubbing salt in his eyes, garrotting him with a shower hose and spraying him with scalding hot water and, finally, sucker-punching him into the pool. He sinks into the water, and we're right back where we started.

It's the perfect place to put that title card. Chef's kiss!

Time to meet our wholesome cinnamon bun character: Officer O Gyeong Tae, whose presence is so threatening that a gaggle of tiny children smash into him and almost knock him over, but he responds with a genuine smile. He spots a young girl putting up a poster and is about to gently tell her it's not allowed when he notices it's a missing poster - and that the missing person is the girl's mother. Oh :(

Gyeong Tae takes her to the station and meets Do In Bom, the detective assigned to the mother's case, who dismisses the woman as a runaway drug addict because of her past. He asks Gyeong Tae why he cares. That's like asking a rainbow why it's so colourful.

As a palate cleanser, we're back to this dickhead Su Yeol Karenning it up at the sauna's front desk (he legit asks to speak to a manager), complaining about the man in the helmet and why they can't find him on their CCVTV, and keeps repeating that the attacker even wore his shoes in there. The poor minimum-waged employee apologises repeatedly and tries to placate him with a refund, but Su Yeol is insulted by the offer and argues that it's not about the money, it's about the principle of running a business properly. He's interrupted by a phone call from Bong Pil and, sensing he's about to get promoted, his mood/ego lifts. He brags about how busy he is, berates the employee for treating a long-term customer this way and repeats his disgust at the offer of a refund as he storms off... only to return seconds later to change his mind. When he can't produce the original credit card he paid with, he ragequits, stage left. Ha!

Back to Cinnamon Bun Gyeong Tae, who's walking the little girl home while carrying her little purple backpack for her. She tells him that her mother would always message her every day, even when she was abroad, but that she's never been to her mother's place because she's "busy". If that implies what I think it does, I wish things were safer for that line of work. He promises to find her mother and she offers a clover leaf she found and an adorable smile in response. Please protect these two at all costs.

Back again to our favourite dickhead, whose day is marred by the arrival of an even bigger dickhead, Senior Inspector Ju, in a garish yellow Porsche ("I bought it to celebrate my son's first birthday."). Su Yeol teabags Ju with his impending promotion, only for Jae Seon to maniacally run over to him and basically break it to him that... he's not getting promoted. It's Ju, and it's the only reason he's here.

In Bong Pil's office, Su Yeol is seething. In what seems to be an office tradition of saying abject bullshit and expecting the other person to believe it, Bong Pil explains that Ju's father is childhood friends with the Commissioner. An enraged Su Yeol points out that there's no way that's possible since the two grew up around 3 hours away from each other. Bong Pil just deadpans "Good point". Lmao. Su Yeol isn't happy, but Bong Pil negs Su Yeol with a rundown of his history: He got the highest score on his entrance exam, but he only graduated high school, never went to college, and wasn't born with wealth or any of its connections. He tells Su Yeol he needs a "reality check", and I don't think I've seen anyone want to chew off their own lip so angrily.

Gyeong Tae and his colleagues discuss the girl's missing mother, named Jeong Yu Na. They, too, write her off as a drug addict/runaway that doesn't need bothering with. Sigh. They joke that they usually just deal with missing cats (is that a Strangers From Hell reference?). A diligent Gyeong Tae isn't giving up, and forgoes a rather sad-looking bowl of jiajangmyeon to rush off when he gets a lead: He's found the building where Yu Na lived.

The night-time security guard tells him he doesn't remember Yu Na and that he doesn't have time to help (hmm). He then runs into a resident who tells him Yu Na's unit number, and he has a locksmith come to basically break in, while the security guard dobs him in over the phone. O, Officer O, can you please be careful?

Inside, the flat is quite homey. I like the set details: plenty of stiletto heels in the hall, a full bar cubbyhole stacked with top-shelf booze, a cozy couch and cute photos of Yu Na and her daughter, but a sad little kitchen area with run-down, stained appliances. Gyeong Tae smells bleach in the bathroom and, on instinct, lifts up the drain to find a clump of hair mixed with blood. Bingo.

In pops Detective Do who doesn't say anything - but instead brutally, and I mean brutally - attacks Gyeong Tae. It's horrifying to watch.

The next morning, Bong Pil calls Su Yeol into his office and, picking from a box of colourful macarons, offers him the yellow one (heh). Su Yeol declines, his ego still bruised from before, but perks up when Bong Pil tells him of an opportunity to curry favour with Assemblyman Do - yep, the cousin of that Detective Do. Su Yeol declines, citing Detective Do's famous reputation as a "ticking time bomb", but caves when he finds out that the Assemblyman specifically requested a meeting with him.

I understand networking among people who rank higher than you but, fuck me, I wasn't prepared for the level of second-hand cringe in this scene. At his brother's pizza shop, a simpering Su Yeol greets Assemblyman Do with a drink on a tray. Assemblyman Do sits but Su Yeol remains standing, snivelling, bowing, bursting out fake laughs, and the already existing, significant height difference between the two makes this darkly comical. It's like watching a giraffe squash champagne grapes for a hamster.

Su Yeol promises to smooth things over and sees him off with another bow. In walk his older brother Dong Yeol and mother, and Su Yeol chides the both of them for having her come in when she's still recovering from the back surgery he paid for. Mother Ryu replies that she said she'd pay him back, and Dong Yeol mentions that Su Yeol is so caring and technically the family breadwinner since he also opened up the shop for him. Su Yeol seems exasperated by all of this talk, as does Mother Ryu, who starts swatting the older brother with a rag. Su Yeol hands Mother Ryu a menu and tells her to "hit him harder". Ha! I don't think there's a lack of love in this family.

Su Yeol and Jae Seon arrive at Gyeong Tae's substation, and the former yells at the latter for making the station head wait outside for them. Su Yeol tries his "it's just a chat" line but his face drops when he sees Gyeong Tae's - it's so bruised, bloodied and swollen that on such an innocent-looking face as Gyeong Tae's, even a wankering bastard like Su Yeol feels a twinge of sympathy.

Thankfully, for Su Yeol's ruthless assholerypirations, this goes out the window when he "chats" to Gyeong Tae about what happened. When Su Yeol becomes yet another voice to ask "Why are you bothering?", Gyeong Tae can only answer with the truth: that he's a police officer, and that he just wanted to help because he's a police officer. Su Yeol dickheads back with "You think you're the only police officer?", pointing out that Detective Do is also a police officer, as is he, and snarks that maybe Gyeong Tae thinks he's better than everyone and that everyone else should quit. Unfortunately, Helmet Man does not show in this scene to kick him in the balls. But Su Yeol does listen when Gyeong Tae says he saw blood in Yu Na's flat. Off they go!

But nothing's there. Gyeong Tae swears on what he saw, but Su Yeol dismisses him as an American crime drama addict.

Su Yeol meets Detective Do at a cafe, where the former tells the latter to offer an apology. Do balks at this, and Su Yeol pulls rank, saying that the only one he has to be nice to is Assemblyman Do, not Detective Do. He thanks Do for the drink and then leaves. It doesn't seem like the detective's ego will let Su Yeol handle things quietly, though.

Back at the station, Su Yeol is flummoxed by Gyeong Tae's spotless work record. There's nothing he can use against him, so he tells a weight-lifting Jae Seon to get some dirt, no matter what. But Jae Seon isn't having it (yay!) and, weights still swinging, he has a go at Su Yeol and gives him shit for working this hard for such an ignoble cause. Su Yeol claps back and scolds Jae Seon for bringing in his weights and tries to lift just one of them, but his shoulder pops with a disgusting crack. You deserve it, you dickhead! Jae Seon mocks him for being out of shape. Ha.

Meanwhile, Gyeong Tae can't let this go, and stops by Yu Na's unit again, where he runs into a neighbour. She starts telling him info, but cuts herself short and runs into the bathroom. When he follows her, he finds her pretending to be fighting him off - even hurting her hand with broken glass - while the aforementioned shitty security guard arrives and turns him in. It's a set-up.

Now Gyeong Tae's being questioned by Jae Seon, who actually offers sympathy via food. But Gyeong Tae's facing a serious accusation of sexual assault by the neighbour. What a mess.

In the hospital, Su Yeol questions the neighbour, but his body language is just that of someone who does not give a shit. And we know why: The neighbour can't answer a single question without changing her story multiple times, prompting Su Yeol to phone Detective Do and tell him to stop muddying up the process with his shitty attempts to handle things.

Back home, Su Yeol tries to relax with a beer in his boring flat but realises this case isn't going to be as morally straightforward as he wants it to be: Detective Do's attitude is complicating things, and Gyeong Tae is far from the egotistic pariah that Gye Sik was being painted as.

But there's little time for more thought as in comes Helmet Man, who boops Su Yeol with said helmet until Bathrobe Dickhead falls unconscious.

He wakes up groaning in Yu Na's bathroom, which is UV-lit to show a myriad of blood stains. But, wait? UV light? How? Cut to Helmet Man, still in full leathers, swinging a UV light like he's at a school rave. Su Yeol tries to fight him by punching his bare fist onto the helmet like a fucking idiot, to which Helmet Man responds by kicking him back into the bathtub and knocking the shower curtain over him like a raccoon he's just cornered in his garage.

Su Yeol chases his attacker outside only to find him on his motorbike, running literal circles around him and terrorising him with the bike until he wakes up, back in his chair in his flat. Alone again, Bathrobe Wanker tries to convince himself that it's just a dream.

At the disciplinary hearing the next morning, Detective Do rattles off some bullshit about how bad he feels for hurting Gyeong Tae, who sits silently next to him. The disciplinary committee uses Gyeong Tae's breaking and entering, along with the sexual assault accusation, as negative points against him, but adds that the Anti-Corruption Unit "sorted it out". Like shit, they did. But of course a naive trusting Gyeong Tae runs into Jae Seon and Su Yeol outside, where he thanks the latter profusely. Out of earshot, Jae Seon rightfully berates Su Yeol for even including the sexual assault accusation in the report, to which Su Yeol arseholes back with "What was I supposed to do? Hide something that actually happened?" Fuck you.

Outside, Detective Do "thanks" Su Yeol and shows him footage of what appears to be Yu Na using her credit card at a convenience store, implying she's alive. Hmm. Su Yeol gets a positive-seeming call from Assemblyman Do.

Despite everything, Gyeong Tae has gone back to Yu Na's flat again - and alone, again (I'm going with brave and determined instead of stupid), where he discovers the unit has been emptied and renovated. He remembers the birthday present the little girl had mentioned and clocks it as the giant bear toy he saw previously, and he rushes out to the bins to scramble for it. He finds it, and I swear it looks like he's holding it like it's an actual child.

Su Yeol arrives at Assemblyman Do's estate - it's a party for his daughter, but there seem to be mostly adults there. Poor kid. Su Yeol grabs a flute of champagne and does the aimless "fuck I don't know any of these people" shuffling about that you're lying if you've never said you've done it.

The first person to greet him is, to his chagrin, Detective Do, who offers to get drunk with him to defuse the awkwardness but then deliberately makes a beeline to some other random person. Ha. Su Yeol spots the Commissioner who he thinks is greeting him, so he bows, only for the Commissioner to walk right by his bowing arse to say hello to Assemblyman Do. Ouch.

Giving up (I would, too), Su Yeol necks the entire glass of champagne, only to be spotted and called over by Assemblyman Do. In a moment of panic, Su Yeol spits out everything and rushes over to be introduced. The Commissioner: "Oh, it's you. I know you, of course." HA!

Assemblyman Do excuses himself to put his daughter to sleep (not like that) and leaves the two men to chat. The awkwardness is painful. After some silence, Su Yeol tries to break the ice by mentioning what a pleasant night it is, only for the heavens to choose that moment to crack with such loud thunder that the Commissioner visibly jumps. Pfft.

Assemblyman Do overhears his wife talking about one of the gifts, a giant teddy bear with a nannycam... and remembers, ten days ago, at Yu Na's flat, while half-dressed, yelling at Yu Na's body (corpse?) for "bleeding so much", that there was a similar bear there.

Luckily that bear, as we cut to it, is in the arms of Gyeong Tae, who tries to reunite it with the little girl at the place he last dropped her off. But the woman who lives there said the girl and her grandmother left without a forwarding address. On his way home, he's knocked over by a passing biker, and it's then that he notices the hidden camera in the bear. Bingo!

He sprints home and plugs in the camera's memory card. But he's interrupted by Detective Do, who brutalises him even more horrifically than before. Sob.

Meanwhile, a drunken Su Yeol is being driven home (by a designated driver, in his own car) while he swoons over the business cards he's collected.

Gyeong Tae tries to swallow the memory card, but Detective Do literally reaches into his throat and yanks it back out (jesus christ), before sloshing petrol over the entire place. He stops to stare at Gyeong Tae's bloodied, gasping face. Conscience?

Back to Car Dickhead, who's feeling a bit sick, so he asks the driver "not to drive so rough"... only to find that he's alone in the car and someone is actually just shaking it - guess who?

Su Yeol leans out of the car to vomit and Helmet Man taunts him, saying that it's fate they met again. Su Yeol tries to punch him but is no match for Helmet Man, who swiftly grounds him with several kicks and breaks his phone before he can call 112. Helmet Man drags him around like a ragdoll and brings him to Kyung Tae's rooftop flat, demanding he apologise. But when they open the door: KABLAMO!

Su Yeol tries to flee, but Helmet Man knocks the wind out of him with a stomach punch, and forces him into the flat. Su Yeol sees Gyeong Tae lying unconscious and tries to revive him, but he's out. A pillar collapses and blocks their exit, and Su Yeol yells at Helmet Man, asking how the hell they're going to get out. Helmet Man smashes a nearby window and gestures downward. Without much choice as the fire creeps closer to the stove, the trio make a calculated leap and land, back-down, on top of a car. Ouch, ouch, ouch. Gyeong Tae is still unconscious, but Su Yeol's arm under his neck broke his fall.

But Helmet Man not only pulled off a superhero landing, he did it while literally on fire. Facing an utterly astounded Su Yeol, he brushes the fire from his arms like it's just dust, removes his helmet, and smiles.

"It's nice to meet you, Ryu Su Yeol."

Su Yeol, a crumpled, bloody mess, grimaces, but Helmet Man grins broadly in reponse.

And that's episode 1!

Bloody grand stuff so far. To say it's living up to its title is an understatement, but there hasn't been a slow moment. We've seen snippets of side characters but enough to create intrigue, and I'm curious to see where this murder case goes.

As for Helmet Man/K: I don't think it's a secret that he's a split personality, but how is he manifesting? Is he a real entity brought into existence, or is he entirely in Su Yeol's head, like in Fight Club?

With the duality of Su Yeol and K, the concept so far feels like a bit like a reverse Venom (good making bad good), but with the both of them being unhinged in some way, I can't wait to see how crazy this will get. I always love a redemption story arc, but I hope they don't rush it - it's awfully satisfying at the moment seeing such a dickhead of a lead character getting his shit handed to him throughout the episode.

I'd thought we were getting 16 episodes, but perhaps the pacing would be more manic in just the 12. Can't wait for the rest!

Stray thoughts:

So many of the non-dialogue shots are so screenshot-worthy. What a grand DP!

Credit to Lee Dong Wook for making Su Yeol watchable despite the fact that the character, so far, is an utter bellend of a piece of shit (by design). And props to his physical comedy - that spit-take was gold.

"You're a fox" I see what you did there.

Su Yeol's flat is DEPRESSING. Most of those shelves are empty, there's nothing on the walls, and he has a single-seat chair with no other living room furniture.

The four-leaf clovers on Yu Na's bathroom mirror :(

Helmet Man/K seriously uses the front end of his bike like a sword in the chase scene, coming so close to practically dismembering Su Yeol.

I'm loving Jae Seon as what could be the show's voice of reason while Gyeong Tae is the moral compass.

The rain/water scenes introducing Helmet Man/K are absolutely a reference to Blade Man and I refuse to believe otherwise.

That bowing clown at the party a stone's throw away from giant Su Yeol and his hunched, ready-to-bow shoulders. Heh.

I have misophonia-triggered OCD, so it pains me to realise that K definitely punched Su Yeol so that he fell backwards onto his own vomit.

I have been in a house fire. This is accurate.

Maybe Su Yeol just drowned in the bathtub and this entire show is just a dream.

#bad and crazy #lee dong wook #wi ha jun #wi ha joon #kdrama #kdramas #bad and crazy recap

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dangermousie · 4 years

Text

So, I finished ep 16 of My Country with subs

I posted some thoughts on the raws previously, but me being me, I always have more to say.

First off, thanks for the crying headache drama. No, literally, I cried so much I have a headache.

MC is a rare drama that remained perfect and consistent through to the last second. It is also not one I plan to rewatch any time soon because watching it is like drinking a nice, hot, steaming cup of depression.

And now, before I get to the rest of my thoughts, I must sum up my n1 take on both the episode and the drama as a whole: FUCK YOU WITH A RUSTY SPIKE, YI SEUNG GYE!!!!

Ok,

Ahem.

Calmer now.

I loved that the last episode went back to the drama’s beginning - the bond between Hwi and Seon Ho. Facing impossible odds, going to their deaths knowingly (and oh, it killed me so when, before their big rush, Hwi admitted he was afraid. To do this when he doesn’t want to die any more, when he wants to live - that is brutal. The fact that Seon Ho was also scared, but only a little, because he’s given up on life thoroughly, killed me a bit in a different way.) But doing it happily because they are together. Hwi has so much forgiveness in him, it’s amazing. It’s that grace that Seon Ho needs so much, that Bang Won was drawn to - clearly he is problematic screwed up guy catnip. I mean, he was willing to let it go that Bang Won framed and murdered his father!

But the tragedy is, Bang Won can’t trust him enough to let him live because this kind of mercy that Hwi has is so alien to him and he doesn’t get it. Through the ep you saw that it killed him to order Hwi killed, he kept trying to find ways out (at one point, he literally declared Hwi his man) and gave him chances to escape that Hwi wouldn’t take but ultimately, for all his bleak kind of honor (he is the sole royal we have seen acknowledge responsibility for horrible things he’s done; look at him desperately trying to egg Hwi on about how he killed Seo Geom just so Hwi would hate him and he can try to feel less bad about what he feels he should do), he cannot let someone not in his control know something this important, be a wild card. You are either his or you aren’t and Hwi never was, and so finally he had to get rid of him since he couldn’t own him, especially with the pressure cooker YSG kept cranking up.

And that’s Bang Won’s tragedy. He is a much better man than his father and brothers. Remember his telling his second in command that he cannot kill someone unarmed and with their back to him? But his ambition, his belief that he can make a better country for everyone worth any cost, and all the blood he has waded through already, combine to turn him into the lonely monster he is at the end, telling himself “You did well” because now there is nobody who would tell it to him - his father never did and he has ordered killed the one man who did. I think he tried his best to limit the sea of blood, but at the end of ep 11, after that confrontation with Yi Seung Gye, where he understood precisely how little his father cared and how there was no way forward except being dead or being a victorious and blood-thirsty, the brakes came off that train entirely. And even then he held off a little (see him at his mother’s shrine) but the subsequent events removed even that and now the steering is gone too. And Bang Won with no limits is terrifying indeed. At the end, he has gotten what he wanted but he has nobody at his side to do anything to soften him in any way.

And Hwi! Hwi, so ready to die to save those Bang Won plans to kill (though he’s lucky he’s dealing with bang Won - YSG would promise and kill everyone anyway.) Restoring Seon Ho’s soul to him without even trying, saying and showing over and over how much he and SH belong together. Lying to Hui Jae about coming back because he is a caretaker. And the tragedy is all he wanted, his entire life, was not power or ideals or even revenge - it was, as he said, to have enough food not to starve. The fact that the world wouldn’t let someone with such small, safe, mundane dreams be is horrifying beyond words.

But the thing is, while Bang Won is irredeemable, Hwi’s care really does bring Seon Ho back from the brink. And I love how SH begins to realize how warped his whole perspective has been - how all the choices he thought he had were awful - but they weren’t the only choices actually. But then how would he know otherwise, brought up as he was. Hwi says he’d have thought the same in his place and he is right. To use modern lingo, it’s as if SH was caught in the cycle of abuse really.

Oh, and I loved that Chido plain text acknowledged that Hwi and SH are each other’s best person (and thanked Seon Ho for taking care of Hwi back when; making it plain text that Hwi and Yeon would have probably starved and died without him.) SH needed so much to hear he was good and he gets this in the ep and it was so necessary.

When Hwi wished SH could lead an easier life with more smiling in it - oh. But of course Hwi was going to sneak away on his suicide run by himself because he protects everyone. And I love that SH would not let him go alone - when he told Hwi that Liandong was the last place he let Hwi go along omg; let’s face it if he did, he’d kill himself anyway the moment Hwi died. This way he dies in Hwi’s arms (though when he told Hwi he is exhausted and he could never sleep well bot now he will rest, and he can face Yeon now, I started ugly crying), with meaning, and when he told Hwi that he and Yeon were his country - OMG. The drama does ram it home that the most worthwhile ideal is people you love; the other way lies insanity and butchery and innocents killed for your ideals.

In conclusion, Seon Ho’s last words to Hwi were “I missed you so much.”

That’s when I lost it and continued to bawl and bawl and bawl. Even now, I feel like crying.

We are not even getting into Hwi telling him he will follow soon, so very done with everything, protecting others with his last breath.

Anyway, MC was a giant bucket of pain and I am not OK.

#kdrama #my country #my country: the new age #my country the new age

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