So what's up with allergies? Lately, we find ourselves swooning over Jeong-won's show of affection as he proves that he can risk an allergic attack just to affirm his love for Gyeo-ul through a swoon-worthy kiss. We bet that most of you have been replaying this scene nonstop, dissecting the choreography of the kiss, asking questions like why do they kiss at a bad camera angle or why do they cover their lips at some point. Ahh! The mysteries that make this kiss even sweeter! We have replayed it countless of times too, trying to seek answers! And in one of those times, we found ourselves suddenly thinking. Could there be more to this allergy? So we started investigating.
The very first time that Jeong-won's allergy is brought up is in Season 1 Episode 3 during the scene that we lovingly refer to as the S1 Seven Dwarfs Scene. It seems quite random, really. It makes us wonder, if we were the writer, what purpose could mentioning his allergy serve at this particular moment?
So we looked at this sequence again and realized something quite interesting. This sequence is a showcase of Gyeo-ul's power over the GS Dads. In here, she is portrayed as someone whose decisions matter to the people around the table. The scene itself mimics a board meeting with Gyeo-ul seated on the Chairman's seat. This is a scene that we think might serve as a hint about what kind of person Gyeo-ul's Dad might be. If we are on the right track with this, then we might be able to predict that Gyeo-ul's Dad is either a wealthy businessman or a high-level politician.
This is the sequence that Jeong-won interrupts by barging in, talking about his allergy and seafood stew. What could be the implications? We think of 2 things. The first one is that the man being implied in the scene is like seafood that Jeong-won is allergic to. Second, if our prediction is right that Gyeo-ul's Dad is a rich, powerful man, it provides us a basis to analyze for contrast. We say contrast because well, if Jeong-won is allergic to the man, then it's logical to look for possible incompatibilities amidst similarities. They are possibly both wealthy men, but what gives? We predict that if Jeong-won is a gentleman, Gyeo-ul's Dad might not be so. If Jeong-won is a philantropist, Gyeo-ul's Dad might be the opposite. Basically, we're looking at the possibility that Gyeo-ul's Dad might be Jeong-won's antithesis and could be the source of conflict for Gyeo-ul and Jeong-won in Season 2.
Moreover, in Episode 6 of Season 2, we get to see Jeong-won's serious angry eyes as he takes offense upon hearing the patient's mother-in-law blaming her son's wife. For us, this is a strong foreshadowing that his relationship with his future in-laws may not become as smooth as we hope it would be. We definitely smell possible conflicts, especially with Episode 5 orange juice not yet being spilled. To understand what we mean with the orange juice, you may read this article: https://wintergardencrew.wixsite.com/website/post/making-sense-of-ha-yul-s-candies-hospital-playlist-season-2-wintergarden-theory
Another instance when allergy catches our attention is in Season 1 Episode 6, when Gyeo-ul's life is endangered by an anaphylaxis caused by her allergy to NSAID.
While we see Jeong-won defying his allergies in Season 2, we see Gyeo-ul very much affected by it to the point of being rushed to the ER in Season 1. If we are to extend our interpretation of Gyeo-ul's Dad = Allergy to Gyeo-ul's anaphylaxis, then we can look at this scene as suggestive of a possibility that Gyeo-ul's Dad may be a person who causes some sort of harm to her. It's like a metaphorical red apple from Snow White's Queen Stepmother.
We can also deduce that if this interpretation is correct, then it will be a cause of concern and worry for Jeong-won.
Luckily for us and for Gyeo-ul, our Jeong-won has already embraced his role as Gyeo-ul's prince and protector. So whatever conflict comes in between them, we're pretty positive that everything will be alright between our WinterGarden couple. Oops, wait! Do you see the orange cup beside Gyeo-ul too? That is orange, right? It is definitely an intentionally placed orange cup, isn't it?
This allergy theory and its possible connection to Hayul's orange candy remind us of this stick. You know what we think? We think that the lovely girl that Jeong-won draws on the stick represents Gyeo-ul. What about the ugly stick figure that Hayul draws? Is it really Jeong-won...or is it a preview to Jeong-won's antithesis? Could the stick in fact connect to the Orange theory and allude to a secret about domestic violence in relation to Gyeo-ul's family?
What do you guys think? With the timeline having been compressed via the time skip and with the series seemingly intent on moving all the ships to sail before the season ends, do you think we'll really see this kind of WinterGarden conflict served to us onscreen now that we're halfway through with Season 2? Well, we can only sit back and wait with anticipation.
We hope you enjoy reading this theory! We'd love to hear your thoughts via your tweets or your comments below! Thank you and 'til next time!
Another Dad / Allergy Connection Remember in S1E3 when U-ju had an allergic attack after dining in with his mom and it turns out it was triggered by the salad ordered for take out by his mom's lover who the restaurant crew thought to be his Dad, Ik-jun?
Adding U-ju's Allergy as a parallel to Gyeo-ul's anaphylaxis, and as relevant evidence to a potential Dad - Allergy Connection.