Brothers meet, feelings are revealed, stories are botched, suspicions rise and lessons are learned in these next two episodes of Pinocchio and I, for one, couldn't be happier with the way this story is progressing.
We all knew the day would come when Dal Po and his brother would finally meet but it wasn't the reunion I was expecting and I have to admit, I'm more than a little sad about this. After all Dal Po and Jae Myeong have been through, I was hoping these brothers would be able to reunite under the happiest of circumstances and together find a way to heal the wounds of their past but it seems to me that's never going to happen. Dal Po is far too smart for his own good and after putting two and two together, he knows his brother has been up to some rather unsavory business. My heart breaks for Dal Po as I can only imagine the pain he must be feeling at the moment. Here he's been desperately hoping to be reunited with his brother for the past 13 years and when he finally gets the chance to meet him, he immediately suspects his brother has been up to some pretty foul business. Ugh! Sometimes I wish I didn't feel so much for the characters in the dramas I watch but I do and my heart aches for Dal Po as I can see things with his brother moving from bad to worse. I know I'm going to sound completely awful for saying this but I find myself almost wishing Jae Myeong won't survive this accident. I know I'm terrible but I'd rather have Dal Po suffer the passing of his brother while he still has some lingering feelings of love and/or respect rather than have Dal Po suffer the pain of uncovering the truth of his brothers actions. Yes. There. I've said it and it makes me cringe but the idea of Dal Po learning that his brother is a murder makes me cringe even more. Then again, the idea of Jae Myeong passing before Dal Po gets the chance to make peace with him also makes me cringe and suddenly I'm feeling all kinds of conflicted over how I want to see this story play out. No matter how I look at this, Dal Po is going to suffer a lot on his brother's account and it kills me to know there's not a thing I can do about this but sit back and watch.
It's a good thing we've got more going on in this story than just a couple of doomed brothers. We've also got the beginnings of what looks to be a beautiful relationship and that makes me want to go skipping around the room with the biggest smile plastered on my face. I can't help it. I'm a sucker for the romance in any story and even more so when it involves Lee Jong Suk. I absolutely love watching his characters fall in love and the way Dal Po interacts with In Ha causes my heart to flutter in the worst way. There's something to be said for a relationship built on complete honesty, there's no hiding anything, no way to avoid knowing exactly what the other person is thinking and feeling and I'm so very happy that Dal Po has finally stepped up and admitted his feelings for In Ha. Okay, so maybe he didn't actually confess, per se, but that kiss certainly seemed to say everything he was feeling, even if it wasn't in words. Even if In Ha wanted to deny Dal Po's feeligs for her, there's no way she's going to be able to now. Actually, I'm happy to see that she's not trying to downplay that kiss nor this new side of her relationship with Dal Po. The two seem to be taking it all in stride, as if this were the next step in the natural progression of their relationship, which makes me think this is going to work out rather well. Sure, Dal Pyeong is going to have a hard time accepting the fact that his daughter has chosen Dal Po over a rich, young heir but I'm sure he'll eventually come to see that these two are meant for each other. Their relationship is forming on a foundation of family and friendship that's been years in the making and that's not something that's going to be easily shaken. Of course I have no doubt this relationship will be tested before everything is all said and done but I'm not worried because this is Drama Land and true love always prevails.
That's not to say there won't be some fun moments with a couple of rather hopeless second leads between now and then. Poor Bum Jo doesn't stand a chance against Dal Po but he's determined to do his best to win In Ha's heart nonetheless. I can easily foresee a time when In Ha and Dal Po will be at odds with each other and Bum Jo will see that as the moment to make his move but he's going to inevitably fail. Sorry buddy, better luck next time. I don't really feel sorry for Bum Jo because he's still a bit of a creeper to me (I really can't get over the fact he's been creeping on In Ha's messages to her mother for the past thirteen years. Yick!) but I do feel sorry for Yoon Yoo Rae. That poor girl was blindsided by Bum Jo's announcement to the world that Dal Po has feelings for her and as much as she's trying to convince herself that she's not interested in Dal Po in the least, she's failing miserably. Not that I can blame her; Dal Po isn't exactly revolting so to imagine him liking you has to make your heart flutter at least a little bit. I think what might make this worse for Yoon Rae is the fact that this seems to be the first real guy to make her heart flutter. I know she has that picture of her "boyfriend" on her phone and all but knowing that she was a serious fangirl at one time, and having a bit of experience as a fangirl myself, I'm pretty sure that picture isn't of any boy she actually knows. My guess is that pictures is of her ultimate bias and she's just using it as an excuse to downplay her true feelings which, I'm sure, are something of a mystery to her seeing as how this may be the first time in her life she's ever had a guy "like" her. It's because of this suspicion of mine that I feel truly sorry for Yoo Rae. She's going to spend a lot of time trying to ignore her feelings for Dal Po and once she accepts them, she's only going to be rejected and that makes me sad. Suddenly I feel the need to smack Bum Jo for opening his big mouth. Yoo Rae is going to suffer so much now and it's all his fault! Wow, I'm not sure Bum Jo will ever find a way to get on my good side. Just saying...
I do find myself wondering if In Ha will ever find a way to get on her mom's good side. I mean one would think that after uncovering the truth behind the death of that poor woman at the health club and saving the face of the entire news station with that one story, there'd be some reason for Cha Ok to treat her daughter with a little respect, if nothing else, but I guess that's asking too much. I don't understand why Cha Ok is being so cold towards In Ha, unless maybe she feels guilty for abandoning her all those years ago. Though I'm not really sure this woman is capable of feeling anything. She's so cold and uncaring towards everyone, it makes me think there's some hidden reason behind it all. She had to have had a heart at one point in her life, otherwise she would have never gotten married and had In Ha but what happened between then and now to make her such a calloused individual? It does make a person wonder.
I'm sad that my prediction about the health club death story came true. I didn't really want Dal Po to fail like he did and I really didn't expect there to be such a heartbreaking story behind that poor woman's death. Oh my gosh, I bawled my eyes out for that poor girl! However, Dal Po learned a very valuable lesson from all of this and it's one that he desperately needed to learn. He went in to this whole reporter business to prove a point but he forgot one very simple truth and that's the fact that by becoming a reporter, he now wields the very power that destroyed his own life all those years ago. Gong Pil was right when he told Dal Po that he needed to learn to fear his position and the power that came with it and I'm happy to see that Dal Po took those wise words to heart. No longer the eager and reckless noob, Dal Po is going to be committed to making sure each and every story is presented only after being thoroughly researched. And that's going to make all the difference in the world, especially now that he's beginning to suspect his brother is up to no good. Of course before we get to this mysterious case with Jae Myeong, I'm expecting to see more of this back-and-forth between the two opposing broadcast companies as Dal Po and In Ha compete for stories. I could easily see this play out like some sort of bizarre ping-pong match but this accident with Jae Myeong might throw things off a bit. I'm pretty sure an accident like that will scoop a weather story any day. My question is, what's going to happen next? Will this accident bring Jae Myeong and Dal Po's relationship to light? Will Jae Myeong's involvement in this accident somehow lead to his connection with the container fire case the authorities and Dal Po have been working on? Will Jae Myeong even survive this accident? I mean he did drive his truck straight into another, that's not exactly a minor fender-bender. How is Dal Po going to react when he sees his brother in such a dire condition? Will he reveal his true identity to his brother? Perhaps the fear of Jae Myeong passing will inspire him to tell the truth? I have so many questions and very few answers but that's as it should be at this point in the story, I'm sure all will be revealed in time.
So tell me, are you enjoying this story as much as I am? Do you find yourself asking these same questions or do you have others you'd like answered? Do you have any predictions you'd like to make on where you see this story going from here? I always love hearing what you have to say so be sure to let me know what you're thinking by leaving me a comment below!
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