What’s happening to our sweet, fluffy show? We still just have short bits of trouble on the horizon, but can the cuteness survive?

What’s going on with RaRa?

She is generally cheerful, which is always a good personality trait for a plucky heroine in a drama. Although, when she tried to find her way back to Jun’s at the beginning of this episode, she got lost and sat at the bottom of a flight of stairs looking very dejected. She was determined that she would stay where she was until morning when she was certain she would be able to find her way home (Clkytta: I added that bit because she and Joon just seem like kimchi and rice; they go together). Still, she effusively compliments anyone who helps her, which makes them want to help her again. She is so excited to be offered a job at a piano academy, but when she gets her cast off, they don’t need her anymore. She goes through a total Scarlett O’Hara moment and says, “I’ll think about it tomorrow!” Suddenly, her Instagram follower (who had suggested she come to this town) strikes again and sends her a beautiful white piano. This is not just a pretty decoration; she decides to use it to teach piano lessons.

Telzeytalks: I love her interactions with Joon. When she notices that the machines at the laundromat sound like metronomes, he tells her, “You can’t forget 20 years; piano defines you.” This encourages her to start practicing again. As she leaves to spend time practicing the outdoor piano, she tells him, “don’t worry if I’m gone.” He replies, “I’m not curious.” To which she snaps, “I hope you have nightmares!”

Clkytta: RaRa is one of those characters that you either love or they irritate you to pieces. I’m happy to say that I absolutely adore her. She is a true optimist, yes, she feels pain and she’s tired, but she always looks on the bright side. It’s really hard to truly dislike someone who works as hard as RaRa, and that’s why she keeps drawing good people to her. For someone who says she, “Doesn’t play piano for money”, it’s the one way she will be able to support herself.

Kmuse: Oh, RaRa. I really want to keep cheering for her, but at some point, I have to wonder when she is going to get a bit more self-reliant? Yes, she is a hard worker, but the two men in her life are still taking care of her to an excessive point. They almost feel more like they took on the surrogate father role than that of a boyfriend.

MiataMama: I love RaRa! How she’s able to maintain her cheeriness in the midst of being homeless and penniless is honestly quite unbelievable. But it’s that sheer will of optimism and positivity in her that draws the characters around her, as well as the viewers like myself, close. If I’m going to escape reality for a bit with my kdramas, I definitely want to hang with a ray of sunshine like Ra Ra!!

What’s up with Joon?

He is still helping RaRa, working more part-time jobs, and babysitting her dog. He builds a mezzanine room for her and helps with the open house for her piano studio. We hear he moved into the flower shop a month ago when he rescued the elderly owner after an accident. He looks at pianos in a music store but doesn’t have enough money to buy one. Rara finds a notebook labeled Sun Woo Joon which is full of math problems (with a photo of himself and a friend stuck in it) which he snatches away immediately.

Telzeytalks: He tries to act cool and pretends he doesn’t like her; when Stylist Jin asks him if he thinks Rara is a con artist, he replies, “No, she’s too simple minded.” But she leads him around by the nose, and gets him to clean house while she practices.

Clkytta: Joon is a mystery. I watched with MiataMama, and I can’t decide if he’s a chaebol in hiding or just a guy who has no one and nowhere to go. I’m pretty sure he’s a chaebol in hiding, though, since his picture is the one that’s being shown around town. I have so many questions, though… Jun isn’t jaded, he’s too nice to the teenybopper next door, and he’s got a definite soft spot for RaRa. Even more intriguing is that he says he’s only a middle school graduate, but he seems to have training as an architect or engineer.

Kmuse: I totally think he is a chaebol, maybe with an evil stepmother? I can’t tell if she is out to get him or is just the helicopter mother from hell. Either way, he is trying to avoid some kind of affluent lifestyle right now. Also, I am curious to find out why a dead stranger had his ID card on him? Is there more than one sinister mystery going on?

MiataMama: Joon is a man of mystery with a heart of gold. Rescuing those in need seems to be his specialty, as we find out how he came to be living in the flower shop. I’m totally with my fellow fangirls – I’m fully convinced he’s a chaebol in hiding. And I’m betting bestie in the picture has something to do with him going on the run and hiding out down south. Answers will come, but for now, I love how smitten with Ra Ra he is! I’m smitten with this adorable OTP.

What’s going down with Dr. Cha?

His ex-wife complains about him to a friend, who asks if he might be terminally ill. Right after that, we see him popping a handful of pills, explaining them to his nurse as vitamins. He has RaRa’s cast-removal appointment on his phone and follows her to the Jin Hair Salon. He asks her out to dinner several times and then to take piano lessons. He follows Joon down an alleyway to the accompaniment of sinister music, and when Joon faces him down, he claims that he lives there. He does the same thing to Stylist Jin and reveals that he lives in the apartment above her. She recalls movers in there a month before.

Telzeytalks: He claims that he only thinks of RaRa as a patient, but he is obviously more interested in her than that. Are the fake-outs in the alley with the sinister music giving us a hint about him, or is that a red herring? He asks Rara how well she knows Joon, but we could ask the same thing about Dr. Cha.

Clkytta: I go between being charmed and being suspicious of this character. He tries way too hard. That said, I’m not shipping him with RaRa at all. I do like the coupling of him with our fabulous hairstylist though. He seems like someone who has completely burnt out on life. He gave up on his marriage, his clinic, and the people around him, so I think he is either sick, or just really tired.

Kmuse: Dr. Cha is coming across as a total stalker. I think Dr. Cha, if it was him, buying her that piano was more creepy than helpful. He is super hot, and I kind of want to ship him the hairdresser, so I hope he isn’t as creepy as he seems right now.

MiataMama: Dr. Cha went from sweet to creepy stalker in a flash! I don’t trust him. . . And I don’t like that he keeps trying to be friendly with Ra Ra when she has point-blank told him that she’s not comfortable around him. That being said, I’m totally on board the doc-hairdresser ship and would like him to focus his attention in that direction, please! And can we take just a second to talk about how much fun Hairdresser Mom’s styling is?! I love her bright and colorful gypsy flair!!

What’s with the mystery?

Having been suspicious of Secretary Moon telling RaRa to skip the funeral and he would fix everything, I’m not surprised that he shows up again living the high life on a yacht. There is also a man in a suit watching the salon and flower shop from a balcony on the opposite hill, and somewhere is a room with walls covered with pictures of Rara. Worse, there is a body floating in the sea, which the cops retrieve. We get a closeup of a watch and a flashback to episode 2, where someone with a similar watch was waiting at an overlook. The police ID the body as Joon and call his mom.

Telzeytalks: Besides all these snatches of odd events, I’m just as suspicious of the reason everyone is meeting up. How could they all not only come to the same town but end up in the same neighborhood?

Clkytta: The body in the water could be a red herring. I’m a huge fan of conspiracy theories and I wonder if that is the friend in the picture? Or is it someone they hired to be Joon? Who the heck is the mystery person looking out for RaRa? I know it’s not her father’s friend, but I think we are about to see him come back into the picture. Actually, it could be him. He could have gone away to let things die down and he’s coming back. Here’s the problem though, I’ve been conditioned to almost always think of that actor as a bad guy. He’s played a bad guy in several movies, and he is a really good bad guy actor. I’m suspicious of everyone but Joon at this point.

Kmuse: Evil is everywhere in this drama. I am still trying to decide if I am a fan of this darker story arc or if I wish it were all flowers and sausages. Only time will tell.

MiataMama: Lots of mysterious moments lurking around our characters this week. Personally, I think it balances out all the sweet and light-hearted scenes – I love hearing Clkytta’s conspiracy theories and then just watching the story unfold!

What are we thinking?

Telzeytalks: RaRa’s goodness and cheerfulness are holding the story together, but Joon’s brand of toughness and vulnerability has pulled me in the most. I hope the show stays light and our people don’t get into too much trouble.

Clkytta: I love the mix of light and dark in this show. RaRa is a ray of sunshine, but and this is a huge point; she works hard at being a ray of sunshine. She is determined to be happy. As long as the writers don’t lose track of who she is as a character, I think we will be okay. There are strong side characters in our stylist family, a solid possible second couple in the stylist and the doctor, and the cute shenanigans of our teenage friends.

Kmuse: Joon’s strong personality and awkward helpfulness are totally keeping me invested. I really hope RaRa does grow up a bit and becomes someone I can care about. I think she is still a bit shallow and needs to grow up and become an equal to the friends she has made.

MiataMama: This is my happy place drama!!! I’m always so excited to meet this menagerie of characters each week – hopefully, their story remains (mostly) light and fluffy for the duration!

Until the next chord,

The Fangirls

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi