So, the last time we left off with Hong-do dumping Yun-bok in a stream to cool off because she was acting like a brat. He was planning on taking him to this Doctor he knew that would take care of Yun-bok’s hand. This 4^th episode picks up right from where the other left off.

With the main character intros out of the way, these discussions are going to get shorter and shorter especially when we hit those episodes where Jeong-hyang doesn’t show up. Hell, she took her sweet time appearing in this one that I almost thought those episodes were already upon us. But after watching this, I am reminded that it will be a while still before we are deprived of the lovely Jeong-hyang.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FCK
 
 
FCCCCK
 

 
Awkward!
 
 
But no harm done
 
Sad Puppy is sad
 

 
Just get married already!
 
 
 
In the middle of a test? You so bad Yun-bok!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Those looks tho >.<
 

 
 
 
 
I’m not sure who wants to devour who!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Does she know?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Mak-nyun is such a nice girl T.T
 
 
 

The first three quarters of this episode were all candy for all the Yun-bok/Hong-do shippers out there! Seriously, this was such a turn in the het direction that I had to use up two nights just to finish this episode. Breaks were absolutely necessary if you were so badly affected by het like I am. I tell ya, it’s a test of faith sitting through het scenes and this episode was more het-pandering than you would ever believe!

The moments these two had in this episode were so many I even lost track! Any cute moment between couples, some that should even be reserved for the LGBT community were in this episode! Okay, sure as far as Hong-do knows, well, as far as he knew before the last quarter, Yun-bok was a boy so all the moments they had would be considered yaoi. That night they spent together painting the King’s gift was absolute torture! But that wasn’t all for they had to bring back Hyung-nim to get Yun-bok out of the slump which meant more het scenes, well, kinda. It is very hard to not like Hyung especially given the fact that he has got to be the best brother ever!

But before we got to that, we first had to sit through a brooding Yun-bok! There is this scene in the very beginning back to the stream. She was sinking under water and as she did, she looked at her hand. Now there is more than two things that she could have been thinking of as she did that but what I got from it was that she was thinking of Jeong-hyang who had bandaged it up for her. A cut to that scene would have been very welcome and I am inclined to think that the editor just forgot to include it because that was the moment to give something! Sadly they did not show anything but Yun-bok staring at that hand. This to me was the first moment of our lovely couple. Sadly it had to fill me up until the very last quarter.

Before then the plot moved on forward! The students were about to sit the final exams and Yun-bok having taken unapproved leave, was disqualified from sitting the exams. Meanwhile Pil Chul (The inner villain) was out for some Hong-do blood. He all but was ready to throw Hong-do back into the mountains he had been living these past ten years because his work was over. He had been brought back to take care of the Queen Mother painting scandal and that was done with so there was no reason for him to stay. Pil Chul in fact said this to the King during the art selection for the Emperor of China.

The Chinese King’s emissary had visited the Kingdom and the King had promised to send him a gift. Seeing as the kingdom was more known for its art, the King chose to send a piece as a gift. In order for the Council to have more chances of appeasing the King, each drew a different piece of art that was presented to the King but they were not good enough. He rejected them all and when he asked why he did not see Hong-do’s art, Pil Chul told him that Hong-do would be returning to the mountains and that he had not participated.

The King’s disappointed face! Seriously, why weren’t these two one of the couples!!

Hong-do meanwhile is trying to think of what to draw for the King. Yes, the King had talked to him about this. He was on the range practicing his bow skills and it still shocked me how trusting of Hong-do the King was. Actually would it be farfetched to call this a kind of date? Sure there were other people around, but the King is always surrounded by guards anyway, but the King taking the time to chill with Hong-do while in training is just…

Okay, fine! I admit it. I ship these two!

So while Hong-do is thinking of what to draw for the King as a gift to the Chinese Emperor, he also manages to get Yun-bok back into the mind-set of a brilliant painter that he had first met. It was a difficult process. Not only did he have to share his past experiences but he also had to bring in Hyung in order to get Yun-bok out of his slump. Hyung stole a lot of points here at what he did. He acted the way that was expected of him. He managed to ease the worry that Yun-bok had for him but what neither Yun-bok nor Hong-do knew was that the place that they had banished Hyung to was no paradise. He was being bullied nasty over there. It was kind of expected seeing as Hyung’s family was one of the wealthiest and most prestigious around. But the fact that he hid this part of his new life, a life that was because of Yun-bok, just to protect his young sister!

How could anyone not like him?!

Actually we are introduced to another character that might be important later on this episode too. I don’t remember how big her role was but she was at that place they make inks where Hyung was banished. The way it was presented she will probably be his love interest, I don’t remember those episodes well but we are going through the series now so…

Hong-do takes Yun-bok out into town after Hyung gets her out of the slump. He gives a speech about how he too reached that point in his life where he questioned the reasons why he became a painter in the first place. As he tells the story the two have their date around town which included almost half of those moments I mentioned. But this was more than a simple walk around town. Hong-do was out looking for a muse for his painting to the King.

When they get back, he gets Yun-bok to help him lay out a couple of drawing paper and he gives Yun-bok another private lesson in painting when he tells him that the story is already on the blank paper and it is up to the painter to tell it (by drawing it out). Hong-do starts by drawing out a few human characters and after each one he would stop and ask Yun-bok if she saw what he was drawing. We find out soon enough that he was bringing the scenes he had seen in town during the day on paper.

He gets Yun-bok to help him out after she figures it out and the two have such a lovely moment I remember being so jealous and angry the first time I watched this drama! That bitterness still surfaced even now in the latest watch. The amount of guy hand-holding especially between Hong-do and Yun-bok is really disturbing! Now sure it isn’t the mutual hand-holding but more of a guidance hand-holding but that doesn’t make it any less romantic darn it! Neither does the fact that as far as Hong-do is concerned, Yun-bok is a boy so…But there is the fact that he and the King are…No, I won’t go there. The next morning there is this moment when Jung-suk drops in to wake the two up and finds them in a compromising position with Yun-bok holding a sleeping Hong-do’s hand in both of hers! There was an awkward moment when Jung-suk didn’t know what she was seeing and she did not bring it up which was fine by me. No need for misunderstandings this early on!

The following day Hong-do requests audience with the King and he presents his and Yun-bok’s work to him. Of course the King was happy with it. Sure the painting was wow-ing but for some reason I have the feeling that were it worse he would still have accepted it! He was literally ready to give Hong-do a hug, if the King did hugs that is! As his reward the King asks Hong-do what he wants and he would give it to him. Instead of asking for gold he instead confesses that the work was not just his alone but with Yun-bok.

The King knows of Yun-bok of course and his real part in the Queen Mother scandal. But even so he improvises and agrees to allow Yun-bok to continue being an artist but on a condition. Yun-bok would have to pass the exams! With the condition his hand was in and Pil Chul out to make sure that Yun-bok did not complete his piece of art in the first test, prepare thyselves for even more drama that we had last episode! You think I am lying? You just wait, for episode 5!

For now, the students are sitting the first exam which has two questions and they have to do one. The first option is for them to simply copy a painting. It is not an easy one. It was like a portrait of a palace! Imagine all the people in a palace and all those objects in it. It was madness and more of a test of time. They had 24 hours to complete it and all of them chose this option.

The other option was to draw an original painting based on a poem. According to our oldest student in school, no one has ever attempted to take the poem option before and so everyone, including the judges were surprised when Yun-bok chose to draw from the poem. They though she was skipping out on the exam when she stood up to leave but it was because she was looking for inspiration for the poem exam. Too bad because if she had chosen the first option she would have been safe with the other students and the elders watching them.

What was most interesting though was why Yun-bok chose to do the poem exam. She thought back to the night they did the King’s painting and something Hong-do had said about there being many living paintings waiting to be put on paper by artists and guess what living painting flashed into a smiling Yun-bok’s mind?

That’s right, the beautiful, beautiful Jeong-hyang! Needless to say Yun-bok did not waste a minute more in that place before running off in such for her inspiration. Interestingly she did not go looking for Jeong-hyang but the fates were watching! In the poem there was mention of swings and wind and so the first thing Yun-bok decides to look for is a swing. When she asks around she finds that there is a swing but that it is in a place that men can’t go. Think of it as the Garden of Eve filled with half-dressed women just enjoying the nice weather on the falls.

Yun-bok has to disguise herself to go in (funny that) and she does it by deceiving a woman who thought she was going to be drawn only to find that Yun-bok was after her clothes. She sneaks into the secret women’s heaven and there, she finds her muse. By the way, I just noticed Yun-bok’s art had a very heavy lean towards women, didn’t it? I mean she is one and it is probably instinct but still…Maybe it was the Lord of Yuri speaking to her?

Anyway once inside, she looks around and she does everything comes floating to her mind as she visualizes all she sees as it would be on paper. Her eyes falls on the swing surrounded by women having fun as they challenged who would swing farthest when Jeong-hyang comes sauntering in with her almost as equally lovely maid Mak-nyun. They pass by Yun-bok without recognizing her but Yun-bok approaches them, probably thinking that they wouldn’t recognize her the way she was dressed.

I have a feeling that Jeong-hyang knew who she was the moment her eyes laid on Girl Yun-bok. She had this look on her face that spoke of the conflict within as her senses battled with each other trying to understand what they were seeing. Her eyes were showing her a girl she did not know but her heart was familiar with the person standing next to her.

They then had one of those synchronized talks they have every time they meet where they seem to understand each other like they were of the same soul and I believe it is that which gave away Yun-bok. But still, something was still amiss. Because there were two more occasions where it looked like Jeong-hyang was still confirming that the person with her there was the Painter (should I call Yun-bok ‘her Painter’ now?).

The first time is when they are on the swing. Jeong-hyang was so bold as to ask Yun-bok to go together. I don’t think that she does that sort of thing often and I believe that she only asked Yun-bok because she knew she was her Painter. But if Jeong-hyang was that out-going, then I am kind of sad to think that she could have asked Mak-nyun to go together and darn it, I want to see it! But what we got was the best route of course.

On the swing Yun-bok looks very timid and Jeong-hyang asks her if this was her first time (on the swing, you perv) which of course sent Yun-bok into her Jeong-hyang-only tsun-dere mode and that was another hint that this person passing as a girl was indeed her Painter. Jeong-hyang even lets Yun-bok know that she knew when she says ‘You will be okay young Painter, just hang on tight”.

And then commences the best eye-sex I have ever witnessed!

Okay, calling it sex is kind of debasing because those looks they shared were just so, so lovely! They totally made up for all the het that was the other three quarters of the episode for me! Yun-bok was very happy when she felt her and saw her vision come together! She had gotten what she needed, the perfect representation of her understanding of poem and she would smile at Jeong-hyang from time to time because it was Jeong-hyang that had made that possible! Twice, Jeong-hyang has been an inspiration for Yun-bok!

Meanwhile, Jeong-hyang watched nothing but Yun-bok. Her eyes were on Yun-bok, her smile was for Yun-bok, her whole everything was for her young Painter that looked so majestic at how happy she was in that moment. Seriously, nothing describes ‘their own world’ like this moment on the swing!

And my God, thank you Director, for not making this a short scene! I would have watched them swing for four hours if they had kept at it that long! Of course those who have seen the MV would know that it is also probably the second longest in that MV, next to their first sight of each other on that bridge!

A bit later, Yun-bok breaks out her art pieces and begins to draw her painting right there surrounded by the ladies and with Jeong-hyang too watching. Okay, I have a question about this! From my understanding women were not allowed to paint in those days! If they were, there was no female Painter they showed in the whole series. Yun-bok had to grow up as a boy in order to become one but in her case maybe it was more complicated, what with the history of her father but more on that later.

So, how could these women not have questions when a girl pulls out quills and brushes and starts to paint?! Surely someone had suspicion of this! But no one did as all were busy fighting over who was in the painting. As I said Jeong-hyang was also present but while others watched the painting, Jeong-hyang was studying Yun-bok. She studied the Painter carefully, as if still not believing and then her eyes fell on the scar on her hand and that sealed the deal for Jeong-hyang but in perhaps more ways than one.

In one instance her deduction that this was her young Painter was proved with that scar on Yun-bok’s hand but on the other hand, her brain dropped all suspicions that Yun-bok, her Painter might actually be a girl. In confirming that the person was indeed her Painter she also closed off this dark seed that was about to sprout which was insinuating that her Painter was actually not a man but a woman.

Jeong-hyang was not the only one affected by girl Yun-bok though. In search for Yun-bok, Hong-do had found out that she had been looking for a swing and where said swing was. When he tried to get in he was of course stopped and he too had to disguise himself in order to get in.

It wasn’t hard to find Yun-bok once inside especially with the way all the ladies were crowding around her. Seeing her like that, Hong-do too had a third person identity crisis trying to figure this being next to him out.

Oh man, this is going to produce quite a stir of drama soon, isn’t it? I can just imagine. And we had managed to go an episode without much of that, except that Hyung moment.

Anyway Yun-bok is about to start on the swing but stops. Hong-do asks her what is wrong and she says that she can’t draw the woman on the swing (talking about Jeong-hyang of course). She says it’s because she doesn’t understand the woman’s feelings. I am not sure if Jeong-hyang hears this or not because they don’t cut to her to let us know. She probably didn’t.

Either way the lady that Yun-bok stole the clothes from crashes the party and the two have to flee with their lives! But before that, a thread in started that would lead to another Yun-bok/Jeong-hyang moment in the following episode because in the hurry, Jeong-hyang offers to keep the equipment and painting for Yun-bok. Even if she did not do that we would have gotten the moment anyway because Yun-bok would have visited her in order to ‘understand the woman’s feelings’ anyway. I guess that was a double confirmation to those that could not read between the lines.

That is where the episode ends with Yun-bok and Hong-do high-tailing it the hell out of dodge! So, while Hong-do hogged all the screen time for this episode, Jeong-hyang managed to steal the episode once again! I swear this couple! I don’t think I mentioned it yet but even now as Ire-watch this show, they are growing on me still!

Indeed, the best TV female couple! They are the only couple that have won an award, right? But really, what else was expected? Moon Geun-young is excellent, she won several awards for her role as Yun-bok including the Grand Prize for all Actors! Meanwhile Moon Chae-won snubbed herself the best new talent award for her role as Jeong-hyang! And those were just a few of the tens of wards they won between them!

This drama dear Readers…