Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

So Prince Charming (Hiro) turned out to be not so charming after all despite his leading man worthy entrance last episode. We now see the same scene from his perspective and it’s clear that he swooped in to catch Mu-hee, not from any chivalrous impulse, but rather to ensure that the red carpet (and therefore his own turn on it) did not get disrupted by her fainting. Doesn’t have quite the same impact on the heartstrings does it!

His actions do have far reaching consequences though, inspiring producers of ‘Romantic Travel’ (some sort of quasi dating cum travel reality show?) to cast the pair as the leads. And since they both speak different languages, coupled with the show being shot in multiple different countries, the producers also need a strong interpreter. Which is where Ho-jin comes in. At first he’s reluctant since he wants to keep his distance from Mu-hee, but when he finds out that his unrequited love (Ji-sun) is getting married to his brother, he leaps at the chance to have a plausible excuse to avoid the wedding. 

This sets the stage for Ho-Jin and Mu-Hee to organically spend time together and get to know each other better. It’s not a slow burn romance exactly since both we and Ho-Jin know that Mu-hee has a crush on him, but it does give their dynamic time to grow and helps us care for them as a couple. 

Ho-Jin is the only one Mu-hee has entrusted with her secret about the visions of Do-rami that are haunting her. This might seem like an odd choice given how little she actually knows about him. But it makes sense when you consider how little true support she has – no family, no friends that we see. Her agent seems like a total sweetheart but given how their jobs are interconnected she may not want to burden him with this. It’s not unthinkable then that she may find Ho-Jin, who has seen and helped her at her lowest point, as a safe haven to turn to. 

Their interactions also help soften the edges of Ho-Jin’s blunt character. At first, it seems like he’s driven by pity to help her. However, as he spends more time with her, it’s clear that he’s starting to enjoy her company. I don’t think he himself realizes yet how he is starting to care about her. But it is evident in his actions, whether it is not calling out her out on her lie about forgetting her room key so that they can spend time together, trying to protect her from Hiro’s mean-spirited antics, or searching for a four-leaf clover for her collection and calling her out to see the Northern lights together. 

They both still have a long way to go – Mu-hee needs to see him more for who he is rather than just her knight in shining armor, and Ho-Jin needs to put in the work to sort out his unresolved feelings towards Ji-sun before starting any other relationship. But it’s a good start. Although with Ji-sun popping up (in a fairly contrived manner) as the new producer of the show, hopefully we won’t see their dynamic regress back. 

Stray Musings

• Given how cavalier Ho-jin’s brother is about marrying Ji-sun, it’s no wonder their impending nuptials appears to be on hold 
• Hiro really is a self-absorbed ass. Dealing with his injured pride (since Mu-hee didn’t recognize him from the red carpet) by troubling her and disrupting the production is so unprofessional. Not very tempting second lead material. Though if his role is to make Ho-Jin seem more charming in comparison, it’s working! 
• My big ‘aw’ moment of this batch of episodes? When Ho-jin tells off the producer for repeatedly referring to Mu-hee as Do Ra-mi instead of by her actual name. I was wondering why everyone seemed to be thinking of her as her character. I can understand an actor being known for an iconic role, but at least within the industry, I would assume people would be adept at separating the two. Considering that Ho-jin knows how Do Ra-mi is haunting Mu-hee, it’s sweet that he advocated for her to not have her identity erased. It may also explain why she’s so drawn to him despite his earlier rejection. He’s likely one of the very few people in her life who sees her as herself rather than as her breakout role.