Pride and Prejudice
Episode 6 of Our Beloved Summer begins back in November 2008. Yeon-Su’s family have always been poor and because of this, making friends and opening up has always been difficult for her. Yeon-Su’s classmates interpret this behaviour as her being self-centered and not caring, eventually leading to the tough exterior we’ve come to expect. After all, if you don’t let anyone care about you then no one can get hurt. Except, Choi-Ung does grow close to her. Yeon-Su allows him too as well, and another little montage shows this in more detail. We see Yeon-Su studying and desperate to find a full time job. Her poor background and family life serve as shackles, preventing her from flying. Pangs of resentment begin to seep in, especially given her and Choi-Ung’s different paths in life. Debt collectors are a constant reminder of how bad her family have it, while Yeon-Su’s grandmother being taken to hospital is the last straw – especially when she receives the bill. She believes that Choi-Ung has it all figured out; an innocence not swayed by hardships and unaware of how hard some people have it. The reason Yeon-Su broke up with him is because of this reality and their vastly different lives. In the present, Choi Ung awakens and struggles to remember moments from the previous night. Working 95 hours really wiped him out and he has no recollection of holding Yeon-Su’s arm or asking her to stay. The attention here though falls on the Live Drawing Show and Choi-Ung’s work. Yeon-Su is asleep in the meeting room, and Choi-ung notices her and watches while she’s sleeping. When Yeon-Su does awaken, Ung pretends he’s just arrived in the room. Yeon-Su is flustered, especially when Choi-Ung asks what happened last night. When she hurries into the main hall, Yeon-Su notices the video of Choi-Ung working playing up on the big screens. The time arrives and both Choi-ung and Nu-a both separately alongside one another, separated by a wall and a different crowd. Watching him work, Yeon-Su is captivated and is impressed given she’s never seen this side of Choi-Ung before. She’s surprised, believing he’s changed and matured from before. The thing is, he’s always been like this. When Choi-Ung’s parents skip away midway through the presentation, they reveal to Yeon-Su that they’ve always been sad when Ung drew by himself. Holding her hands, Choi-Ung’s mum goes on to reveal he didn’t take the break-up well. This really affects Yeon-Su, and she skips away to get some privacy. The thing is, all this time that Yeon-Su believed Choi-ung hadn’t changed, she’s the one who hasn’t. Despite paying off all her family’s debts and working really hard, Yeon-Su is still the same unfulfilled person she was back in school. Seeing Choi-Ung flourish while also maturing and working hard is enough to shift her perspective of him as a care-free immature guy. After the big show, Choi-Ung runs into NJ outside. He’s delighted to be referred to as her friend (she very clearly wants more than that!) although he does reject her offer of partying, given he’s exhausted after the show. Eun-Ho meanwhile, is still massively enthusiastic about her – anyone else think there may be a chance Eun-Ho romances with this celeb? Anyway, that evening Yeon-Su and Choi-Ung catch up. When they talk, Yeon-Su remembers what happened the previous evening. The thing is, Choi-ung slept on the sofa but admitted to her he’s in so much pain. A single tear fell from his face. As Yeon-Su tries to leave, Ung stops her and calls out how cold and standoffish they’ve been with one another. Of course, all of this is because of Yeon-Su’s pride… her pride of not being able to live without Choi-ung. As she lowers her head and looks at the floor, the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
Finally we see the real Yeon-Su and the heartbreaking reality about her past. All this time we’ve been led to believe Yeon-Su’s cold and standoffish display has been her true persona when in reality, it’s a front to hide how she really feels. The fear of falling in love and not being in control are two things that Yeon-Su is obviously suffering from and this chapter does a great job capturing that in its rawest form. Likewise, this chapter also shows how much Choi-ung has grown next to her, flourishing with his drawing but also burdened by the past. He’s matured and grown, albeit through hardships, while she’s struggled to move past what’s happened. In other words, she’s the one still held back with those proverbial shackles. It’s a nice way of shifting the focus and this episode in particular does a great job adding a bit more serious drama to what’s otherwise been a simple romance up until this point. Hopefully we’ll see more of this over the coming weeks.
