The Open Threads are here:
Part 1: Our Beloved Summer, part 1
Part 2: Our Beloved Summer, part 2
There were reasons I didn't read the Open Threads or join in the discussion. I wasn't snubbing you all. 
I only wanted to make my own first impressions and avoid creating an echo chamber.
So here I go. I'll limit myself to 6 points because I want to finish "Bugasal."
1. "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or IKWYDLS
I like it when the writer (or director) takes the time to put a title to the episode. The title tells us what to expect in this episode, what the focal point will be, and what the characters' mindset are. I treat the title as a jumping-off point. It helps us viewers optimize our understanding of the show.
However, in the case of this drama, the title can be a bit confusing because the viewers don't know which IKWYDLS the title is referring to.
You see, there are four versions of IKWYDLS.
a. There's the book version which was written in 1973.
b. The original movie made in 1997. The movie became a franchise.
The book and the original movie had the same premise. Four teenagers accidentally killed an individual in a car accident, and a year later, somebody was out to punish them. But the villain in book and movie was different.
Spoiler alert! In the book, it was the older brother of the dead seeking revenge. In the movie, the "roadkill" turned out to be alive and he became a serial murderer.
c. The third version is a new series (2021) out on Amazon Prime. Again, same premise: car accident, dead person. But the villain is different.
Spoiler alert! I read it was the twin.
These three versions had these elements in common:
a death that was covered up,
a passage of time that allowed the anger and sense of injustice to fester,
and a retribution or vengeance for the wrongful death.
Okay, let's look at the fourth version of the IKQYDSS.
d. The fourth version is entirely different from the book and its adaptations, but if you ask me, I say that this title of this episode actually refers to this one.
It's a hit song by Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, released in 2015.
In an interview, Ms. Cabello said that the song is:
"…about finding out that somebody had been cheating on you, and the song is that moment right before you confront that person where you both know what's next, but it's killing the both of you."
Source: Rolling Stone
According to the lyrics, the girl cheated but was reluctant to fess up. She didn't know that the guy was already aware of her cheating, and it was tearing him apart. Despite it, he couldn't let go of her and was making excuses for her, saying that she didn't mean it.
Go ahead and watch the music video. And tell me what you think….
For me, the key points in this music video are:
a. the changing weather (signifying the passage of time) and
b. the stationary walk.
Throughout the video, the couple were walking toward each other but they never reached their destination. They were as far apart in the ending as they were in the beginning. To me, they were stuck in place, as if there was a divide between them that they can't cross over. Whatever they do, the distance separating them remained unchanged.
And I think that's going to be the theme of this drama.
The couple Woong and YeonSu are stuck in place. Although both will try to get closer to each other and reconcile, something happened during "that beloved summer" that'll hold them back from getting together again, even five years later.
Note: I'm not saying that an actual cheating took place. The "cheating" could be a symbolic one, like a lie, deception, or dishonesty. Whatever it is, it's a big enough impasse that they don't know how to overcome even five years later.
2. The Math class
This reminds me of the Math lessons in "The King: Eternal Monarch." Bear with me, okay? Bitches are good in math, too.
In the opening scene, immediately after the hero bowed in greeting to the audience, we're instantly transported to his Calculus class. He's yawning.
Calculus teacher: As limit x approaches one, you can find the limiting value. So we can think about the case when it's smaller than one, and when it's bigger than one. Understand?
lol. I understand that Calculus can be boring to some. But I think this teacher's lecture isn't an ordinary math lesson. I think it's a hint and a foreshadowing.
Calculus teacher: When it's smaller than one…(Ung receives instruction from the director)… For this case, it goes down like this. So the answer is… (Yeonsoo orders him to look front)…Should we look at the next one? The limiting value of this is one…(they start talking)… The limiting value of this is one as well. The limiting values of these are the same. (Ung thinks that she's an annoying brat)… Let's end it here.
Now, did you see what just happened?
The Calculus lecture is about limits.
She was telling the students to pick any number LESS than 1 that gets closer and closer to 1 (e.g., 0.9, 0.99, 0.999 and 0.9999). She also told them to pick any number GREATER than 1 that gets closer and closer to 1 (e.g., 1.01, 1.01, 1.001, 1.0001).
If the students plugged these numbers onto the equation (we didn't see the equation on the board), the students would discover that the "limit" or boundary or maximum value was 1.
Let's just say that her equation is x2or x squared.
0.9 squared is 0.81
0.99 squared is .9801
0.999 squared is .998001
Do you see it? Although the numbers are getting closer to 1, they can't equal to 1.
It's true for the opposite side, the numbers greater than 1.
1.1 squared is 1.21
1.01 squared is 1.0201
1.001 squared is 1.002001
1.0001 squared is 1.00020001
The numbers are also getting closer to 1 but they can't equal to 1.
Now, what's the relevance of this math?
I say it's a metaphor of their relationship.
lol.
Ung represents the numbers less than 1 (because he's the lazy one, lol). Yeonsu is similar to the numbers over 1 (because she's the overachiever).
Whatever they do – even if they exert double the effort – they can never attain oneness, unity, or harmony in their relationship.
Sure, they can attempt to get closer to each other, but they'll always reach their LIMITS with the other person.
Lol. This is the mathematical analogy to the music video of Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendez's IKWYDLS. The song was easier to explain. 
3. Kim JiUng, the "friend"
I'm telling you right now. I'm keeping an eye on this dude.
The story of their opening kindergarten day wasn't presented for nothing.
He resented that Ung was the apple of his parents' eyes. Ung's parents made a big fuss on the first day of school. Both were there to take pictures and commemorate the moment. They dressed Ung up in smart clothes: a tailored overcoat and a turtleneck. His lunchbag had his name "Choi Ung" stitched on it. And Choi Ung was a confident child, introducing himself and offering a handshake.
In contrast, JiUng had no parents to send him off. He was wearing regular down coat. His backpack simply had his named written in marker.
Ha! "I'm not going to tell you." I think these words are ominous. He wouldn't be able to tell Ung straight to his face how much he envied him.
I do believed that he envied Ung all these years, That's why now in their late 20s, he's basking in the fact that he's usurped Ung's spot in his parents' affection.
Ung: (telling his dad) I hope you're not forgetting that I'm your son!
Dad: (coming over to squeeze JiUng's face) Have two bowls, alright?
JU: Okay.
Ung: It seems like you'll be the one inheriting the restaurant later. My parents are acting like you're their son these days.
JU: But think about it. I act more like their son than you.
Ung: Jeez. Why do you keep lurking around here and threatening my status?
JU: I finally got a short vacation after finishing a program. I'll be busy again when I start my next project. I should have fun before then.
And then he spilled the beans to get Ung in trouble. There was a sibling rivalry between the two men although they weren't siblings.
To me, what JiUng said about love and hate also applied to him.
JU: The thing about love and hate is that there's a very thin line between them. They're two sides of the same coin.
He must love Ung or he wouldn't have stayed beside him after all these years. But it wouldn't be a shocker if underneath that brotherhood and camaraderie, he hated Ung's guts, too.
That's why there's a bit of passive-aggressiveness in his interactions with Ung. Like tattling on Ung's parents,
trash-talking,
and shaking the soda cans before handing them out.
He would be the type to envy and resent that Ung had everything easy. Ung was endowed with many things with little effort on his part. He had a loving family. He had a successful tv show career when he was a teen, and the documentary was still the talk of the town after 10 years. He dated the smartest girl in class, despite being the dumbest kid. He has a successful career where he's paid a whole lot more to afford a nice house of his own. He was his own boss. He was doing what he liked without working to the bone.
Given his character, I wouldn't be surprised if after all these years, he'd been secretly in love with the same girl as Ung. Hence, his reluctance to do the documentary.
4. Choi Ung's sketches
Go Oh is Ung's pseudonym. There must be an interesting backstory to this because taking on a different name is a big decision for any artist or writer.
At Yeonsu's project presentation, she had this to say about Go-Oh's work. She sounded like she genuinely admired him.
These are the works of Go-Oh, the most popular illustrator these days. Go-Oh is known for drawing detailed and trendy pieces based on buildings. And recently, Go-Oh received attention as the idol singer NJ bought one of them. Through this collaboration, we'll host a live drawing show for the opening ceremony….The artist's image matches the unique and innovative goods that Soen Shop aims to provide its customers. Go-Oh already has a large fanbase because of his unique drawings and his sincere attitude toward art. If we promote the shop with his drawing on the exterior wall, I'm sure it will make Soen Shop the hottest place to visit.
I wouldn't be surprised if she knew Go-Oh's real identity. I thought we were given hints.
a. Back in high school, when he sat beside her, he unfurled a big pouch of colored pencils. He might have liked drawing even back then.
b. If she dated him for five years, she would've known about his hobby. Mastery in drawing just doesn't happen overnight. He would've started early.
c. While waiting for the pop star, he drew on a napkin. I could imagine him doodling on similar napkins while he and YeonSu were out on dates or just passing time.
d. She looked pensive as she shifted through Go-Oh's sketches on the internet. Some of his drawings would have been familiar to her if they took trips together while they were dating or when she visited his family's house and restaurant.
Like the Seoul Hardware Store. He biked past that place on his way home from his father's restaurant. She would have seen this had she spent time in Ung's family restaurant.
e. She read the article on him. When he was asked why he didn't include people in his sketches, he replied, "I love things that don't change but people change or disappear over time. That's why there's no people nor time in my works." This kind of insight about his art wasn't something he could have thought of in the spur of the moment. He would've pondered about this for a long time to make it his philosophy in life.
I wonder if she was the reason he said this.
5. The couple sweatshirt
Yes. I laughed at the epilogue when Ung and Yeonsu were shown wearing a couple sweatshirt and she removed it to throw it at him. I thought it was funny because his manager threw the yellow sweatshirt at his face again when he was rummaging through his wardrobe.
That yellow sweatshirt must be cursed.
Manager: What? Why are there two of them?
Ung: Hey! That's…
Manager: It's tacky. (throwing it at him) What the heck? Is that a matching couple's shirt? What's with the long face?
Ung: Shut up.
Manager: You wore matching t-shirts? (Ung continues to fold it in silence) How cute.
I found his choice of clothes on his cancelled date interesting, too. His roommate went through the trouble of sorting out his clothes, but he still ended up a "fashion-killer" in those pants.
His clothes told me that he didn't really care about impressing this pop star.
In a way, Yeonsu and her client, the Soen Shop boss, were wearing a couple outfit too.
Yeonsu: Seems like you're eating alone. Mind if I join you?
Boss: Wouldn't it be awkward since we're wearing the same shirt?
He meant that people might think that they were a couple.
Yeonsu: I think it'll be weird to eat separately with the same shirt on. I'll pay for my own food so just let me sit here.
She soon discovered that inviting herself over was a disaster because they had nothing to talk about. They were so similar that they bore each other. She returned the conversation back to the shirt.
Yeonsu: That shirt. How much was it? I used a discount coupon and got it really cheap. I'd be upset if I paid more for it.
Boss: I paid full price for it.
Yeonsu: That's good to hear. But isn't it kind of amazing? Wearing the same shirt and coming to the same place.
Boss: It's my first time wearing the same clothes as someone else. This is still awkward.
Lol. What made their situation awkward was he couldn't make small talk. He didn't know how to listen to her, make connections, refer to their earlier meeting, encourage her to talk more, and show enthusiasm to engage in her mentally.
Yeonsu: You never wore matching tshirts?
Boss: I hate pathetic stuff like that.
Now, this was a reminder of what she said back when she was being interviewed for the documentary. She was asked what she hated, and she replied pointedly that she hated pathetic beings. "I hate everyone who's pathetic." She meant Ung, of course.
Yeonsu: (snort) I used to hate pathetic things too
Boss: But I guess you've done it before.
Yeonsu: Well, you know…sometimes you become someone else.
Boss: Is that so?
Yeonsu: I knew it. I really am more human than you.
Boss: That again?
Yeonsu: I used to be so childish. (then she falls silence)
Meaning, she was being childish before when she professed disdain for things like couple shirts. She's changed since then. She's become more "human." Now, she's admitting that wearing couple shirts might not be so foolish or deplorable after all.
6. So, what DID they do last summer?
I suspect it was revealed in the epilogue. They broke up as they were about to enter the Magic Castle, the symbolic happily-ever-after place. And it became a freaking horror show for them.
Although it wasn't a slasher film like IKWYDLS, the outcome was just as bloody and traumatic for them.
JiUng: They were together for about five years
Producer: They actually dated?
JiUng: And they broke up pretty badly. They hurt each other so much that they'll probably never see each other again.
See you in the next episode.
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