Let It Go
Returning for another slow-paced and warm slice of Korean drama, When The Weather Is Fine returns for another episode that sees the weather turn icy cold. Thankfully our characters have just the remedy for this – another steaming hot cup of coffee and a book club story. Some of the imagery in this series really manages to entice the senses and the emphasis on the weather ties in nicely to the storyline running through this one. We begin episode 3 of When The Weather Is Fine with Bo-Young showing up at the Good Night Bookstore and interrupting Hye-Won and Eun-Seob as they talk. The smile fades from Hye-Won’s face immediately and she walks away, refusing to engage with her old school friend. In the past, we see Hye-Won with her cello returning home to find blood-stains on the pavement and bearing witness to her Mother being imprisoned for killing her Father. This is where we hear Bo-Young pinky promise with Hye-Won not to tell anyone what happened as she trusts her fellow student with this precious news. A promise she presumably broke some time in the past. Despite her pleading, Hye-Won breaks free from her grip and walks away. Unfortunately the damage is done – it alienates everyone from her and worse, makes her the butt of jokes from other students. Some even go so far as to tell her to leave school. Back in the present, Hye-Won reflects on seeing Bo-Young again as she prepares for the upcoming cold weather. As the night closes in, the book club join again as Eun-Seob’s sister tells them all a story, complete with animations and pictures that join them in the room. The stories are shared out until we reach Eun-Seob who discusses his favourite tale – The Wolf’s Silver Eyelash. As he heads home, we hear him narrate this story, implying it’s about himself. Accompanying the cold weather are frozen pipes. Hye-Won’s Aunt starts to use a hairdryer to try and warm them up but it’s no good. Defeated, Myeong-Joo contemplates calling a plumber out but, realizing that’s not possible, ends up staying at Eun-Seob’s house with Hye-Won for the night. As she falls into a deep sleep, we cut back to the past where we see Hye-Won bullied by the kids, leaving strawberries in her shoe and hiding her gym gear, prompting her to lash out and subsequently get in trouble for doing so. The next day, Hye-Won returns home and finds the pipes have burst. It’s pure chaos as Hye-Won struggles to find someone to arrive in less than 5 days to fix the pipes and the running water. As she contemplates heading back home to Seoul again, Eun-Seob chimes in and suggests she stay with him. Out on the porch they stand and drink coffee together until they head into the city, given Eun-Seob has a meeting there. As it turns out, he gave Bo-Young her number and as she rings to try and make amends with Hye-Won, she invites her out for a hot drink. Hye-Won instead tells her she’ll see her when the weather clears up and drops the phone. With the weather continuing to get worse and the river freezing up before them, Hye-Won makes herself a hot drink, puts on the heater and starts reading poetry inside. You can almost feel this scene – it’s that cozy! As Im Whi arrives, Hye-Won gives her some advice given she’s having issues at school too, bemoaning that she has no friends. Eun-Seob however is nowhere to be seen and it causes Hye-Won to become concerned. As she soon learns from Im-Whi, Eun-Seob may actually be up in the mountains, prompting her to dress up warmly and head there to see for herself. After getting spooked by the various noises in the darkness, Hye-Won bumps into Eun-Seob and contemplates how cold he must have been. It’s enough for her to suddenly throw her arms around him and hug him tightly as the episode ends. Aside from the painful (and intentional of course!) rendition of Let It Go, When The Weather Is Fine continues to blend some nicely worked humour into its slow paced plot. As more of the past is revealed, we’re starting to get a better picture of what happened to Hye-Won and this lends itself nicely to the different stories we’re graced with too, courtesy of the book club. The changing weather brings with it a changing colour palette and where this series really thrives is with its cinematography and beautiful imagery. You really get the feel of this being a storybook and those little cut-away animations in this episode add some real charm to this series that helps it stand out next to other Korean dramas. Quite where this one goes from here remains to be seen but could we be seeing romance blossoming between our two leads soon? Hopefully we won’t have long to find out!
