We are halfway through our fluffy little drama and this week we are served with a side of distraction. What’s real and what’s fake?

The Big Fake-out

First, we have to address the big fake-out. Last week we saw someone’s feet walking in and thought he was the person who has been helping RaRa. This week we immediately find we are wrong when he turns out to be the Hair Chop guy and knows nothing about the dodosolsollalasol Instagram account. We may not have found out who RaRa’s benefactor is, but we sure have found out who the stalker is! There he is, in his hideout full of pictures of RaRa. He needs a new name. We voted and Hottie Stalker it is!

Telzeytalks: This is the fake-out drama of the year! We had creepy music in the alley which turned out to be Dr. Cha walking home. We had an evil stepmom who is a really just a stressed-out rude mom. When we met Haraboji (Grandpa) he was collecting cardboard and we thought he was homeless, but that’s not true either.

Clkytta: I’m convinced that nothing is what it seems. I had already pegged Hottie Stalker as a problem, but I think Dr. Cha is the man we were all waiting for. Poor Mom, I can kind of relate to her frustration now that I know that Joon is still a minor (Don’t get me started on how irritated that makes me). She’s probably used to him doing whatever he wants and she just has to keep his dad from freaking out.

Kmuse: All the bad people are turning out to not be bad people. The Step-mom especially tricked me into thinking she was evil. Now she kind of makes me laugh. I loved it when she threw the money at the detective and yelled at him to take his team to dinner. Now i am wondering if creepy guy is still a stalker or do we have it wrong again?

MiataMama: They are definitely keeping us guessing at every turn. I was relieved to find out that Hair Chop (sorry, he just doesn’t meet hottie status for me) is not her piano gifting benefactor. I’m still thinking it’s Dr. Cha, he’s got the knowledge of her past and most likely the means to purchase that pretty white baby grand.

Our Favorite Fluffy

There are many fluffy moments: Stylist Mom and her daughter Ha Young celebrating together with RaRa, RaRa making kimbap with the neighborhood ladies (sorta), RaRa and Joon making cookies with Jae Min, our little piano prodigy, and Joon turning to Seung Ki for advice. Seung Ki is a sympathetic listener, and Joon really needs a friend. Even though Seung Ki has a crush on Ha Young, he lets her rant to him about Joon. Now, Joon asks him which he should tell RaRa first: that he likes her, or a big secret that could make her refuse him. Seung Ki’s advice: tell her he likes her and add the complication later.

Telzeytalks: I love these two guys becoming friends, and Joon looking for advice from someone his age instead of from Haraboji. I was amused to find out that the actor for Seung Ki is actually older. Ha Young is the only real teenager in the bunch.

Clkytta: Joon opening up and letting people get close to him makes me happy. I am totally charmed by Seung Ki and I really really hope that Ha Young realizes that he’s the real prize. Every week I fall more and more in love with RaRa. She is more than a ditzy piano player, she’s just a lovely person all around.

Kmuse: I am really enjoying the new addition of Jae Min as the child prodigy. Also, I loved that she now has a little doorbell on the connecting door to the salon so no more hair “accidents” occur.

MiataMama: I really fell in love with Seung Ki this week – he is absolutely adorable and such a patient friend! I appreciate that his character is getting some additional depth. And I know this has been said before, but it is so heartwarming to see all these eclectic characters come together and support one another!

Love Confessions

This week we get love confessions; not one, not two, but three, and they are all different. The most important one to us is Joon and RaRa. Several times he tried and couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Finally, he just said, “I tried my best not to like you, but I do. I was all depressed and one day joy came to me, and that was you.” He offers her his hand, she takes it, and he softly kisses her.

Telzeytalks: I loved that he offered his hand first instead of grabbing hers. I’m waiting to see what she does when she realizes that she has depended on a person who is younger than she is and not even an adult. But then, I’m also counting on the author to come up with something funny.

Clkytta: While I love Joon, I can’t really root for him until they sort out this whole mess of him being a minor. I’m not a fan of the trope with one character still in school and the other is an adult. It’s not romantic, it’s squicky and I need this sorted out NOW! I don’t care if he still needs to graduate, but he needs to be of age. I can’t believe I’m saying this… we need a time jump. (MM: Noooooooo!!!)

Kmuse: I also am on the fence about the age thing. I don’t think things are going to get better if Joon waits for RaRa to fall deeper in love before he comes clean. This is one instance where Joon should take advice from Dr. Cha and not another high schooler.

MiataMama: I love this OTP and I really want them to live happily ever after. BUT (and I reeeeeeally hate to admit this), the only option we have to make this match-up acceptable is for a dreaded time jump to happen. Sigh. I was actually a little sad that he went in for the kiss. . . because her not knowing he’s a minor, that is NOT okay.

Conspiracy Theories

We can see by his reaction to little Jae Min that Hottie Stalker is a meanie. Clkytta wondered last week if he is somebody’s stepbrother or illegitimate child and if he is mostly after Joon or RaRa. We also want to know who sent him. Because at the start of episode 2 he was at an overlook watching for RaRa’s car to come across the bridge. Later on, he was at the multi-level marketing scam that Joon went to.

This doesn’t answer the question; it only brings up more. But in rewatching episode 1, when RaRa’s Dad falls with the heart attack, I noticed that he looked up as he was falling. At that point the camera showed us the courthouse (or whatever building that is). On the second floor balcony behind the balustrade, we see movement, as if someone were hiding there. Secretary Moon looked up there as well.

Telzeytalks: Ooh. Did somebody take out Dad? Is Secretary Moon helping them, or was he surprised by it? Did these people send Hottie Stalker to keep tabs on RaRa? Still, Joon was pick-pocketed, and the guy who had his ID was found floating in the bay.

Clkytta: Wipes away a proud tear, good work Telzeytalks! We need to find out who is this guy’s target. Is RaRa his real target or is he after Joon? Just because he has a creepy photo montage of RaRa doesn’t mean that she’s the real target. There is some kind of connection here, and I just can’t figure it out yet. My money is that Secretary Moon is about to make landfall and things will get moving soon.

Kmuse: I was oblivious to all these conspiracy moments. I didn’t catch any of them till you said anything. I am going to leave the sleuthing to you guys.

MiataMama: Don’t worry Kmuse, I was totally not tracking that Hair Chop showed up earlier in drama either. I’m not very good with the theories, but there is one that has been rolling around in my brain since last week. I feel like RaRa’s dad might still be alive, somehow. . . maybe in a coma? I don’t know. There are definitely puzzle pieces yet to be discovered.

Then there is the question of who is RaRa’s benefactor. When everyone was waiting to meet him, Hottie Stalker and Dr. Cha came in about the same time. Dr. Cha tried to say something but no one paid any attention. He could have been trying to tell them he was the one. We did see that he still has the tiara that RaRa dropped at her wedding. She told Joon she thought it was Dr. Cha because he wrote “hope” on the ribbon on a gift, which was similar to the Instagram messages. But then Joon told her it was him instead, which she didn’t believe. “That’s cute,” she said, “whatever.”

But there is also Haraboji. He calls himself Joon’s guardian, but he’s not a relative because Joon’s mom doesn’t know him. He has money; he owns the flower shop, a greenhouse, and has a nice home on the hill overlooking the sea. We also hear that Joon taught him how to use a cellphone and that he messages on it all the time.

Telzeytalks: My best guess is Haraboji. RaRa asked the neighborhood ladies about his wife, and in a flashback, we saw him feeding her, she talked about a piano, and we got a close-up of a big black boombox. After that, Joon bought a white CD player for him with some CDs. Was it a replacement for a white piano that his wife used to play?

Clkytta: I think Dr. Cha is the benefactor. I think Haraboji is just a nice old man. There could be more to him though. Sheesh, now I’m wondering if Dr. Cha is a red herring? Could Haraboji have been a friend of RaRa’s dad?

Kmuse: Yet again, I am lost on everything and am just taking the events as they come. Please don’t kick me out of the recap for being super unobservant.

MiataMama: You guys, I’m just worried about Dr. Cha. He’s got quite the pill-case of “vitamins”, and I’m worried that he’s nursing a terminal illness or something. It would explain why he up and left his wife and her money, choosing to live life on his own terms before it was too late. Maybe (hopefully) my suspicions are off-target. I just don’t want anything to happen to our sweet Dr. Cha.

Putting it all together

Our Gangster Private Investigator is on the case. He brings Mom to see Haraboji; she is polite and asks how Joon is, and Haraboji is impressed. After they drive away, Mom suddenly spots Joon and RaRa at the snack truck by the side of the road. By the time they get back there, Joon is gone. Mom recognizes RaRa from the wedding but doesn’t realize she knows Joon. Later, showing Joon’s picture to nurses at the hospital, Gangster PI learns that Joon was there with a pianist name RaRa. He puts it together and sneaks into the piano studio when no one is there, and sees the picture of Joon at the open house.

Telzeytalks: RaRa and Gangster PI make a lively show of it every time. She proves difficult to talk to, as she asks him, “Is this your wife?” and calls out the price for piano lessons as he leaves!

Clkytta: Gangster PI seems like a good guy. He’s just doing a job, but he’s not a horrible person. He seems to handle Mom well. She has to be the most stressed person I’ve seen in a drama in a while. I bet she’s the kind of mom who hits him when she sees him, then cries and hugs him. Gangster PI and Mom are comedy gold though.

Kmuse: Gangster PI is a hoot and I kind of wish Joon’s Stepmom was romantically available. I think they would make a cute couple.

MiataMama: Despite Mom constantly treating him like an idiot, Gangster PI is a smart cookie and he figured things out pretty quickly. I just wish he had shown up at La La Land under the pretense of piano lessons. Because let’s be honest, that would have been a fun interaction!

Our Thoughts

We keep learning more about everyone. Everything is interrelated, and the epilogue shows us how Joon originally met RaRa. His friend Ji Hoon was a fan of hers, and they had gone to her recital together. Joon had taken their picture. Oh, and that little case of Dr. Cha’s was a pill case, not a glasses case.

Telzeytalks: I’m really enjoying the show. There are enough fun scenes to balance the mystery, and the mystery keeps it lively. I’m also very glad that the actors are actually playing the piano themselves. That’s not to say that they don’t fake it sometimes, but check out those two children with dancing fingers!

Clkytta: I’m still liking the show, but I need this whole minor storyline resolved yesterday. I can’t focus on the issues at hand until Joon is able to stand on his own two feet. I really don’t like that trope at all. I like the side stories, especially Dr. Cha and Stylist Mom. I’m looking forward to more piano lessons for our little group and the mystery is moving the drama along nicely.

Kmuse: I am also really liking the drama and need to start paying closer attention to the little things so I don’t miss as much for next week.

MiataMama: I do appreciate all the comedic moments interspersed throughout the episodes. It keeps the main plotline from getting too heavy. I also like the mystery aspect. But I’m with Clkytta – Joon needs to confess his big secret to RaRa and we need a time-jump ASAP! Therefore, my favorite couple at the moment is actually SeungKi and HaYoung – I’m rooting for SeungKi to get his girl!!

Until the next song,

The Fangirls

Dramas With a Side of Kimche