What is a girl to do when the only reason she exists is to assist our lovebirds in finding their happy ever after? Come find out as Dan Oh tries to give her life meaning beyond the story the creator has given her.

Kudos!

Before we jump into this recap I just want to give a shout out to Kim Hye Yoon. She is doing a brilliant job carrying the drama so far. If you consider that around 75% of the episode is her doing monologues, her performance is very impressive.

Supporting Character Realization

We end Ep 2 with Dan Oh being confused why all the boys are not bringing her cakes and fawning over her. Only, to realize that she isn’t the lead of this manhwa but, in reality, a minor side character. So minor that her only two defining traits seem to be having a bad heart and being engaged to jerk hottie. There is nothing worse then finding out that you don’t even rate being a main second leading character but just an extra afterthought.

Outside Looking In

It is very amusing at how much this drama manages to make traditional romantic tropes seem annoying and contrived. Dan Oh is constantly finding herself forced to help our main couple get together. No matter how much she tries to express her own feelings and thoughts, the second the action starts Dan Oh has to play her part.

Her part includes sitting up front as a model, being ignored when Nam Joo is drawing our vapid heroine instead. In a fit of pip, Dan Oh smashes some artistic busts but all her tantrum is undone in the next blink and the comic world is back to normal. It is important to note that one student is super focused in drawing Dan Oh’s likeness, but we don’t see his face.

The In between

Dan Oh inquires of Squid Fairy why sometimes she has control of her actions and other times is forced to act in a certain way. Squid Fairy informs her that it is only when she is part of the comic narrative that she will be forced to act. At all other times, since she is now self aware, she is able to do whatever she wants. But anytime she is part of a scene she will be pulled back in. This enrages Dan Oh who wants to make her own fate. She declares that since she can see the future/upcoming storyboard she can change things.

Injury Averted

Aware that she was going to soon fall down some stairs and break her leg, Dan Oh decides that this is the perfect time to try to change the future. She tells her jerk of a fiance to never ever carry her anywhere (He had carried her to the nurse’s office after the accident in her vision.) She also threw on protective helmets and pads when she realized the scene was happening. But just like in the past, the second Dan Oh tries to change the future the scene blinks and she is back to square one. Realizing that she has no choice Dan Oh prepares to break her leg. But this time, just before the scene begins, a stranger bumps into her and her heart beats faster. Turning towards the person that is making her feel odd, she trips, and falls as planned. But this time there is a masculine back to break her fall. Instead of a broken leg she has a simply skinned knee. Things had changed!

Waking up in the Nurse’s office, Dan Oh becomes determined to discover who her mystery savior is. She goes through the whole school trying to bump into every student’s back. Checking her heart monitor for any unusual upticks, she fails to find her savior. What Dan Oh does manage to do, is catch the interest of her Fiance, who is wondering why she is acting so odd. Is it just me or does it look like Baek Kyung is on the verge of becoming self-aware?

Drastic Measures

Not being able to find her Prince Charming, Dan Oh decides that if he saved her last time maybe he would save her again if she was going to be hurt. With this in mind, Dan Oh puts herself right in the middle of a dodgeball game. Remember, that Dan Oh has a heart condition and isn’t supposed to be doing athletic things at all. Sure enough, just as she is about to be clocked by the ball, a broad back spins in front of her and they once again fall to the ground. This time she gets a good look at her mystery hero’s hand which sports a long scar across the palm. But before she can see his face she blips to the next scene.

Library Hottie

Recalling that she had seen that scarred hand before in the library, Dan Oh rushes there to see if she can find him. Dan Oh finds the library empty but spies a strange boy in the garden below the library window. Entering the garden, Dan Oh once again, has an elevated heartbeat. Confronting the strange boy, she finally sees the face of the person who can change her future. And what a beautiful face it is.

My Thoughts

I’m very excited to see where the story is going to take us. As I said before, Kim Hye Yoon is doing such a great job. I can’t believe that she is the same bratty princess that I watched in Sky Castle just a while ago. It also helps that everyone in the supporting cast is doing their part to elevate this drama from a simple manhwa adaptation to something more.

As for the possibility of future romance, I’m a bit nervous. If this mystery man is the writer of the comic, does that mean he is real or just a figment that has been written in? What is going on with the black holes and is there anyway Dan Oh can break free from the storyline? Or will they only provide her happiness within the story ,which mutes the importance of choosing your own destiny?

Until the next glitch in the system,

Kmuse

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi