Early Access: Breakup Probation, A Week E6 (Patreon)

E6. We get more context this episode, and it's woven into the events in the present day, and I rather like that effect. As our characters learn more about each other, so do we. And as it turns out, Seon Jae had known all along, that Hee Jeong had left him a note on her name card, and he'd tossed it out. He'd chosen Ga Ram anyway, which is something that I'd fully expected, but which doesn't make it any less satisfying to witness.

Through the various flashbacks, it's become clear that Ga Ram wasn't just making something up, to give Seon Jae a believable reason for her decision to break up with him. Those insecurities were real, and they were eating away at her in all the small things, and it had worn her down.

That reveal, that Hee Jeong had told Ga Ram that she'd never be good enough for Seon Jae, really demonstrates how hurtful words can be; how they can poison someone else, long after the speaker has forgotten ever saying those words. That's a sobering and thought-provoking reminder indeed.

Hee Jeong does turn out to be reasonably decent, though. When she realizes that Seon Jae really loves Ga Ram, and has no interest in rekindling his past relationship with her, she urges Seon Jae to go to Ga Ram and set things right. That goes a pretty long way in endearing her to me.

The other thing that I find thought-provoking, is that even though Ga Ram's insecurities presented themselves regularly in her interactions with Seon Jae, he never noticed them, because he'd always taken everything at face value and brushed stuff off casually. Perhaps if he'd taken the time to reflect on Ga Ram's patterns of behavior, he might have thought to talk things out with her, if only to make sure that she knew that he loved her as she was, and he didn't need her to be like someone else. It's a sobering reminder, that the people around us might have hidden hurts &/or insecurities, and we might be none the wiser, because we weren't more thoughtful in how we interact with them.

There's also the idea of love in the little things. As Ga Ram thinks back to all the times that she and Seon Jae had shared, there's a lot of affection that they share in the small moments, like when he's teasing her about her cooking, or as they're brushing their teeth together, and he tells her that she's prettier without makeup. Ga Ram's wistfulness, of not having realized how much love Seon Jae had given her, is also a reminder to learn to appreciate the happiness in the smaller moments in life.

Seon Jae looks suitable drawn and wan, when Ga Ram tells him that she doesn't love him enough, to bear with her miserable self. That's really something that he can't argue with, if he loves her.

Hyun Woo does best as an earnest sweet puppy, so I found the crying scene a little awkwardly delivered. However, the heartache of the moment isn't lost on me, and I'm curious to see how Show intends to wrap this up, since I have it on reasonably good authority that this one ends happily, and yet, X seems so set on Ga Ram killing off this relationship, before the relationship ends up killing Seon Jae.

While everything that Ga Ram is doing to break up with Seon Jae for his own good feels like a classic case of noble idiocy, it really isn't idiocy, in this case, I think. According to X, if Ga Ram fails to cut the red thread connecting her to Seon Jae before the time is up, Seon Jae will literally die. And since Ga Ram can't exactly tell Seon Jae about this and discuss it with him, I tend to accept the idea that she's just playing by the rules that she understands, as told to her by X. She literally sees no other way of saving Seon Jae's life.

Next episode notes will be out on: Thursday, 7 Oct 2021!