Early Access: Hometown Cha Cha Cha E2

E2. I don't think I've told you guys this before, and you've probably already got a sense of this anyway, but sometimes, I find that I have to work to like a show. Like, put in the effort to see what's good about it, so that I can find a way to enjoy it, even though I may not have instinctively taken to it like others might have.

I'm so pleased to say that that is not the case with this show. I know I mentioned this in my E1 notes, but I had honestly worried that I wouldn't love this one, even though so many other people seem to love it. I feel like of late, there've been a number of times when I've had trouble taking to popular rom-coms. For example, I didn't take to You Are My Spring and didn't watch past E1, and I didn't truly love Run On, nor Start Up, even though I finished them both. I gave Run On and Start Up the best reviews I could, but I didn't glom onto them like so many other drama fans seemed to.

Which is why I am so thrilled that I'm finding it naturally easy to enjoy this show (so far, anyway!  Fingers crossed that this positive trajectory continues! 😅)

Even though I'd liked Hye Jin just fine in E1, I'd wondered whether there would be anything in E2, that would change my mind, especially since, since then, I've come across more remarks about Hye Jin's lack of likability.

I still like her, this episode. And I honestly don't think there's anything really unlikable about her.

Show might prove me wrong later, but I really do think that the main source of conflict here, is that we have two very different worlds clashing.

As a city girl through and through, Hye Jin's not at all used to the way things are done in Gongjin. After living in the city all her life, she's gotten used to certain hygiene standards, as well as a certain amount of personal space and privacy. She literally had no idea about the small town way of life, when she signed up (quite impetuously) to move to Gongjin, and she'd  (erroneously) believed that life would continue to be as transactional in the small town, as it had been, in the big city.

Her different expectations, combined with her introverted self feeling extremely uncomfortable with having to participate in community activities, and being overwhelmed by a large group of very chatty, overly interested people on a regular basis, are, I think, what makes her settling in process so rough.

Ah, another thing that I'd like to mention, is how low on social energy Hye Jin must be, after being exposed incessantly to all the townsfolk, their friendly curiosity and the community activities. Introverts need more social energy to deal with these things (while extroverts actually gain energy from interacting with other people), and introverts need to time recharge, while away from those energy-draining people and events. It's nothing personal against the people themselves; introverts just cannot recharge their social energy when in the company of others; that's just not how we're wired.

Unfortunately for Hye Jin, all of this comes together to make her look like a snooty, I'm-better-than-you city girl, to the Gongjin folks. In fact, if you come from a small town yourself, you might be in the camp that dislikes Hye Jin. As a city girl myself (Singapore has no countryside to speak of), I can empathize with Hye Jin. I know that I'd struggle to find my bearings too, if I were suddenly uprooted from the city, and thrust into the thick of small town or countryside living.

It takes a certain type of city girl to be able to quickly embrace the more rustic charms of small town or country living, and Hye Jin just isn't it. I do think that given time (key word being time), Hye Jin will adjust and come to understand and embrace the charms of countryside living. In the meantime, we do see signs that she's willing to do so - when prodded in the right direction.

I can see how, to Du Sik and the other Gongjin folks, Hye Jin might appear fussy, exhausting and altogether snobbish and insufferable.

For example, from everyone else's perspective, it seems nitpicky for Hye Jin to expect more from the house that she's rented from Hwa Jeong (of Hwa Jeong Raw Fish Restaurant), but from a city person's point of view, this is a transaction between landlord and tenant, and if stuff isn't up to expectation, it feels completely reasonable, from Hye Jin's point of view, to ask for things to be changed. Given Hye Jin's context as a city person, I think she even deserves a bit of acknowledgment, for not bringing up the things that bother her, until Hwa Jeong actually asks.

From a small town perspective, it's perfectly normal for everyone to do business with everyone, but from a city person's perspective, it's really kind of weird, that everyone's doing business with everyone. That's where my entertainment comes from, really. I can see why Hye Jin's suspicious of Du Sik and Hwa Jeong maybe being out to scam her, but I can also see why Du Sik and Hwa Jeong might roll their eyes at Hye Jin for being overly suspicious.

From a small town perspective, it's perfectly natural for everyone to gather around and get involved and gawk a little, and get to know the new person who's moving in. From a city person's perspective, particularly from an introvert's perspective, this is all very invasive and weird. I see that as why Hye Jin excuses herself rather quickly, when everyone crowds around her as she moves into her new place.

The thing is, I think Du Sik gets it. He's seen enough of her from her initial day out in Gongjin, to know that she's better than she appears, but he's also seen enough to know that she's going to need some time to get used to things in Gongjin, and he knows too, that it's not going to be easy or smooth-sailing.

From what I can tell, he's kind of watching over her, almost like a coach, but not a very protective one. It feels like he's allowing her to figure things out for herself (since she's got an independent streak and believes she will be able to handle most things on her own), but he'll step in to help her in the right direction, if he sees that she's really getting out of her depth.

From the way he defends her, even mildly, to the group of halmonis, and how they gawk at him for doing so, it's clear that he has some interest in Hye Jin, at least. The halmonis would know Du Sik well enough, to know if his defense of someone means anything, and I'm putting my trust in the halmonis - and in the epilogue from last episode - to conclude that Du Sik does have at least a mild interest in Hye Jin.

The thing about Hye Jin is, she does try, when prodded, but her lack of appreciation for just how important community and relationships are in small town living, and her intrinsic introversion, work against her. When Hwa Jeong invites her to the party for old folks, she doesn't actually want to go (because, introverts do not think of mixing with large crowds of strangers as a fun time), but she pushes herself to go because Hwa Jeong points out that it'd be a good chance to promote her dental clinic.

Yet, it's still really hard for Hye Jin to get used to things like a stranger handling food with her bare hands and wanting to put that food in her mouth for her, to feed her. This is the kind of thing that grandmothers would do for their own grandchildren, so it's a huge deal that Granny Gam Ri (as she's listed) would do that for Hye Jin.

It's a gesture of welcome and acceptance, and yet, for Hye Jin, this is highly uncomfortable. Not only does she not know Granny Gam Ri, the only other time she's seen Granny Gam Ri, is when Granng Gam Ri was handling raw seafood innards. The hygienist in Hye Jin, combined with the introvert in Hye Jin, must be so very uncomfortable. 

Edited to add: It occurs to me that if Hye Jin's gut is not used to the less strict hygiene standards of the food preparation at the party, it's also quite possible she could have gotten sick from eating the food. It's like how the locals might have no problems eating the food from a street food vendor, but visitors from other countries might get sick. So, I can't blame Hye Jin for being careful, either.

Given how overwhelming and uncomfortable everything is for Hye Jin, it's not really a surprise that she would vent a little to her friend, over the phone, in a place where she thinks is completely private. Who would've known, that her side of the conversation would be broadcast to the whole party? Ack. This is an introvert's ultimate nightmare, honestly.

I actually really like how Du Sik steps in to basically fix things, from the various angles that they need fixing. I've heard some dislike for Du Sik's character, and again, I don't actually find anything to dislike about him. He might be a little gruff, but he's essentially kind and helpful.

I like how he talks with failed singer Chun Jae first, to assure him that he's not a failure, and offer to have a drink with him, to help him feel better. And I like how he later helps Hye Jin get over the fallout of her mistake as well.

There's definitely something deeper about Du Sik that we don't know yet. The way he tells Hye Jin that not life's not fair to everyone, there's a reined in sort of fire in his eyes that makes me think that this bit of wisdom might stem from something more personal. Also, there's how he's clearly well-read and perfectly capable of achieving more material success, but chooses to do all manner of odd jobs in Gongjin, at minimum wage. I'm definitely curious to understand him better.

Admittedly, there's something a touch paternalistic about the way Du Sik steps in to tell people things and fix things for people, like the way he advises Ju Ri to be kinder to her father, or the way he advises Hye Jin to change her workout wardrobe, or the way he picks up Chun Jae's demo from the trash and digitalizes it. However, it's clear to me that he's benign and means only good things, so I don't actually find it offensive.

I'm glad that Hye Jin's bestie Mi Seon comes to Gongjin to live and work with her, because at least this way, Hye Jin has someone with whom she's actually comfortable, in her life. Otherwise, there'd just be too much change, and too many unfamiliar things, for her to deal with.

I honestly think that without Du Sik's help, Hye Jin might have never gotten through that mistake on her own. She might have ended up leaving Gongjin in defeat, because the townsfolk are all so upset with her. But with Du Sik's help, it all lands differently.

You could say that he's basically lending her the goodwill that he gets from everyone. Because he's the one who brings in the snacks, and because he's the one who tells everyone that Hye Jin bought them because she'd felt so bad, it all lands better with everyone. If Hye Jin had actually brought those snacks herself, and said something herself, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have gone as smoothly.

While the townsfolk might find Hye Jin lazy or standoffish for not joining in the weekly cleaning, I can understand Hye Jin's exhaustion. Like I said earlier, she's probably feeling drained from all the unfamiliarity and all the interactions she's had to have with unfamiliar people. I can understand her desire to just sleep for a week, to recharge herself.

That said, I'm glad that Du Sik gets her out of bed after all, because it is admittedly important for Hye Jin to create a positive impression on the people who will now be her community AND her customer base.

I also think it's kind of Du Sik to basically send patients to Hye Jin's dental clinic, even though he's never actually tested her skills for himself. Again, he's lending her the goodwill that he has with everyone, isn't he? Without his recommendation, people would certainly be less willing to give the new dental clinic a try, especially with Hye Jin's snafu.

At the same time, I'm glad to see that once Hye Jin has a chance to prove herself as a dentist, she does really well, with patients coming away with positive things to say, not only about her skills, but also about her reasonable pricing.

I'm glad that Hye Jin is now tuned in enough to realize that this has something to do with Du Sik, and I like that she doesn't wait around for an opportunity to talk to him, but proactively seeks him out. (I'm also glad that she finds the chance to mend bridges with Chun Jae, by showing him that she's listened to his CD, and telling him about the song that she likes, and why. It's so cute to see how that makes Chun Jae's day. Aw.)

I like how the literal act of Du Sik extending his hand towards Hye Jin, and Hye Jin choosing to take it, mirrors what's actually been happening, in the course of Hye Jin moving to Gongjin. She's needed help, and in accepting Du Sik's helping hand, when he's offered it to her, things have turned out for the better. Of course, I'm not at all opposed to the sudden dance-esque back dip that we get as well, accompanied by some intense eye contact, because Hye Jin slips on the rocks. Ooh. Are we getting into the hyperaware stage of things already..?

I typically don't like the childhood connection trope, but the way Show sells this one, between Hye Jin and Du Sik, is pretty darn cute. It feels meaningful, that he'd made the random little girl smile for her family photo - and that family photo had turned out to be one of the last (if not the last) family photo she'd ever take. It makes me glad for Hye Jin, that she has a photo of herself smiling with her mom, and I'm also coming to understand, more than ever, that Du Sik's a helpful guy by nature. No one had asked him to make the little girl smile. He'd just done it, so that she would. I love that.

Next episode notes will be out on: Wednesday, 29 Sept 2021!