Our Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days
Episode 11 of Our Beloved Summer begins with Choi Ung reflecting on the break-up with Yeon-Su once more. This time it’s given more context, specifically how Choi Ung was on the verge of leaving and asking Yeon-Su to study abroad with him. This all feeds back into the life of a dog from his past called Jjongjjong, whose mannerisms he likens to his own. The dog is afraid to go outside and shies away from big gatherings and crowds. This is important to note as it’s something that comes back later on in the episode. Meanwhile, pictures of NJ and Choi-Ung’s meeting begin to circulate online. CEO Kang believes this could be good for their PR image, given Choi has a solid reputation. For now, the CEO decides to overlook this hiccup in judgment from NJ. The celebrity scoffs at the CEO and tells her boss to stop treating her like a kid. When Yeon-Su sees this same news, she hurriedly shuts her laptop. Sol-Yi rings and tries to probe over exactly how she feels, but Yeon-Su remains quietly guarded on the topic. When she goes for a drive, a big billboard with NJ’s advert flashes up, causing her to question Choi-Ung’s feelings. Choi-Ung meanwhile, tells Eun-Ho the truth – that they’re not dating and are just friends. Ji-Ung heads to the office and learns that Choi was there earlier on. And specifically, hanging around in the editing room. Chae-Ran tries to talk Ji-Ung around, pointing out that it was his birthday yesterday and encouraging him to go out for dinner with her. Although he initially refuses, she’s pretty persistent and he eventually agrees. Unfortunately they’re not alone and as the other employees from the SBBS Special are there too, things don’t go to plan. Specifically, thanks to Lee Min-Kyung realizing that Ji-Ung likes Yeon-Su. Min-Kyung urges him to go back and re-edit the video, clearly concerned that his feelings could be changing the way this video is shot. That evening, Yeon-Su heads over to Choi-Ung’s place with bags full of food. Eun-Ho hurries her inside but Chou happens to be out. While she waits, NJ happens to head over too. The conversation is awkward, especially when NJ quizzes whether she’s getting in the way of Yeon-Su and Choi-ung. The thing is, regardless of what she says, NJ isn’t going to give him up without a fight and she knows that. So naturally, when Choi-Ung heads home and finds a trail of jujube fruits (along with a note from NJ outside) he contemplates what this means. And this is only exacerbated further when Ji-Ung heads over, drunk. He rambles about his feelings, eventually scoffing on the sofa when Choi-Ung tells him to go to sleep. In the morning, Choi-Ung doesn’t show up to their filming shoot. Ji-Ung feels guilty, believing he may be the one to blame for this. In reality, there’s more going on here, linking back to the past. He heads over to see Jjongjong, who’s out for walks now and no longer hates the outdoors. The dog has grown and changed; a metaphor for how Choi-ung has also changed. He just needs the courage to take that next step. This helps Choi-Ung take a better look at his life, and specifically what’s been going on with Yeon-Su. He doesn’t think he’s worthy of being with her, but a chat with Yeon-Su’s grandmother helps him to realize that actually, she’s every bit in love with him as he is with her. Yeon-Su eventually catches up with Choi-ung that night, allowing the pair to hash out their differences in private. Their conversation has been coming for a while, since their kiss several episodes back. After some Dutch courage (given the three bottles of soju) Yeon-Su opens up and tells him she doesn’t want to be his friend. “I missed you, Yeon-Su. I’ve always missed you.” Choi-Ung suddenly says, interrupting her. He finally has the courage to say what he feels and urges her to keep loving him. With tears in their eyes, Yeon-Su nods.
The Episode Review
What a beautiful ending. It’s been coming for a while but finally Choi-ung has the strength and courage to actually open up and admit how he really feels. Using the metaphor of that dog, Jjongjong, is a nice way of doing that and it helps to show that even animals can change their behaviour over time. And thus, that much is true for Yeon-Su and Choi-Ung, at least in terms of opening up and admitting the truth. Ji-Ung is still the odd third wheel in all of this though, with his inclusion in the story apparently a roadblock for both our main characters. In reality, he’s just awkwardly sticking around and getting in the way. He’s not much of a “threat” or an “obstacle” for either of these guys, so he’s just sorta… there. I’m glad Min-Kyung called him out for his behaviour but Ji-Ung’s drunken rant at Choi-ung’s place doesn’t do him any favours. Hopefully he opens up and sees what he has in his life, especially given how much Chae-Ran has taken a fancy to him. This is certainly a slower, more reflective episode though, and hopefully the chapters ahead can remedy that and start to pick things up a bit!
