Early Access: Yumi's Cells 2 E9 (Patreon)

E9. Ok, I hadn't quite been prepared for the direction that our story takes by the end of the episode. Gulp.

But first, let me back up a bit.

While the introduction of Control-Z as a character had felt rather random, his presence, and his different point of view when it comes not only to Yumi's writing, but relationships, does act to drive our story forward.

On the one hand, it illustrates one of those truisms, that sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and bear it, when you have to work with people whom you find annoying.

And, it demonstrates for us how Yumi has to deal with the daily grind of all this, while being apart from Babi.

I feel like very often, the thing that wears down long distance relationships, is the way the couple isn't able to share in the nitty-gritty troubles of daily life, and therefore start to feel distant from each other, because they feel that the other person just doesn't understand.

I think that there's a bit of that going on, with Yumi and Babi.

I mean, on the upside, it's sweet that they do what they can, to share each other's days via their calls, and that beat, where Babi sends Yumi a box of pretty cakes to cheer her up after her run-in with Control-Z and the whole castella cake and ginger pie thing.

On the downside, this still isn't quite enough to fill in all the wistful gaps of them being apart for such an extended period of time.

I was glad for the idea of Yumi going to Jeju Island to spend time with Babi over the Christmas holidays, because they've been apart for such a long time, and this time together promises to be a good way of recharging them and their relationship.

But thenn.. that's when all the doubts start creeping in.

First, with Yumi running into the real estate agent showing the house to potential new tenants, because, what a shock it must be for Yumi, to only hear of this big decision, not from Babi himself, but from the real estate agent whom she just happens to run into.

Of course this would sow seeds of doubt in Yumi, that Babi hasn't mentioned anything about moving, even though they've been in contact fairly regularly.

Isn't that a sign of distance in the relationship, after all?

And then, there's the thing where Yumi runs into Da Eun, and Da Eun more or less admits that she'd had feelings for Babi.

The poignant thing about all this, is that we see how Yumi's doing all she can, to rationalize everything, so that she can continue to stay committed to the relationship.

That scene, where Love cell shreds the list of dislikes that Yumi had once made with Yi Da, and explains that there've been times when she's looked at other handsome men and thought they were cool, illustrates this so perfectly.

Haven't we all done similar things before, like rationalizing things in a way that makes the situation before us more acceptable in our hearts and minds?

Not that it's wrong to do so; certainly not.

I do think that it's important to compromise sometimes, for the sake of preserving a relationship, because people are imperfect, and if you hold onto a perfect set of standards, no one would ever be able to live up to them.

In that respect, I can empathize with Yumi and why she rationalizes things, in order to preserve her relationship with Babi.

The entire break-up scene is such a heartbreaking one, honestly, and so fantastically portrayed by both Kim Go Eun and Jinyoung. The redness in their eyes, and they fight back tears, as Yumi and Babi realize in turn, what's happening. Augh. Really, really well done.

On Yumi's side of things, I can understand that this is her #1, non-negotiable rule, that her partner must never be swayed by another woman, even a little bit, and she realizes that this is the one thing that she cannot bring herself to compromise on.

Like she says in voiceover, sometimes, dating leads you to learn more about yourself than your partner, and this is the moment that she realizes that she just can't accept the idea that Babi was swayed by someone else, even for a moment.

On Babi's side of things, I have to say that as a neutral bystander, I don't find myself judging his actions very harshly, actually.

Mainly, the human heart can be a fickle, easily distracted thing, and so I feel like I can't fault him too much, for having felt something, when Da Eun made that indirect confession to him.

After all, even the Bible says, in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Sometimes - oftentimes, more likely - we can't control the feelings that our hearts entertain.

What we can control, is what we do in response.

And Babi doesn't do anything that would give Da Eun the wrong idea. He conducts himself in the same casual, offhanded, amiable-but-distant manner that he's always had with her, even before he'd felt swayed by her.

And, when he starts to feel burdened by the mandarin oranges that her family continues to send him after she's left for Busan, he does what I consider to be a sensible thing: he takes steps to remove himself from the situation, while affirming to himself, that he loves Yumi and doesn't want to break up with her.

The only thing that I think Babi could and should have done differently, is to have been upfront with Yumi about this.

Arguably, that would have brought with it the risk of Yumi reacting this very same way, and breaking off their relationship.

And, knowing what we now know about Yumi and her #1 dating rule, it's not much of a stretch to guess that if Babi had 'fessed up, she would have likely broken up with him anyway.

The thing is, though, wise and experienced people who've had lifelong relationships have said that love is a decision, not a feeling.

While Babi couldn't control where his feelings leaned for a while, he did control his decisions, and his decisions were consistently prioritizing his relationship with Yumi. For that reason, I do find my sympathies with Babi, on this one.

I appreciate that with Babi's heartfelt apology, and his earnest plea that Yumi reconsider her decision, Yumi does waver.

In fact, we see Love cell destroy that plaque with Yumi's #1 dating rule on it, and even interrupt the hearing, where Judge cell is about to pronounce Babi guilty of hurting Yumi.

But.. as I've just mentioned, we can't control the feelings that our hearts entertain, and Yumi's feelings turn from hurt to rage.

I honestly feel that that rage comes from an amalgamation of emotional wounds that Yumi has sustained over her various relationships, and doesn't just come from this single incident with Babi.

But the point is, Yumi's not in a state where she can find it in her heart to continue in this relationship, whether Babi's sincerely sorry or not, and that's why she goes through with the break-up.

She chooses the thing that is right for her, in that moment, even though Babi's trespass isn't the worst thing ever, and we have to respect that.

I'm rather stunned at the finality of the close of the episode, because I'd expected Babi to do more to run after Yumi, but perhaps he knows Yumi well enough to know that she really means it when she says she can't see them going back to the way things used to be, even if they were to continue their relationship.

I can understand how, in the wake of all this, Yumi would choose to center her life around writing instead of love; after all, she needs time to find herself too, after all this, right?

The way Love cell explodes in rage and refuses to cede her position as prime cell to Writer cell makes sense, because Love had been Yumi's prime cell for a long time.

I do love the way Yumi comes to Cell Town and has that one-on-one time with Love cell, telling her that she's worked hard, and that it's ok to let Writer cell be the prime cell.

I love that it's Yumi's gentleness and acceptance, that causes the horns of fury to melt away from Love cell.

That's such a lovely illustration of self love, as Yumi allows herself to switch her priorities, while remaining in pursuit of the same goal as ever: happiness.

Next episode notes will be out on: Tuesday, 26 July 2022!