A Ghost From The Past
Episode 2 of When The Weather Is Fine begins with Hye-Won tattooing over the stickers on her hand; a remnant from the past and something we saw discussed briefly in the previous episode via a flashback. Eun-Seob meanwhile, writes on his blog and bemoans his luck as he believes he’s blown his chances with Hye-Won. This brings us back to the segment that finished the previous episode, as he invites her inside. Sandwiched in this segment is a flashback to the past as we see Hye-Won arriving at her new school off the train, greeted by students in the classroom. This happens to be the first time she and Eun-Seob met and as we jump back to the present, Hye-Won heads inside the bookshop and borrows a book from him. Before she leaves, she asks him what his favourite is. He initially brushes off her question but as she leaves, he thinks twice and he hurries after her, offering to walk her home. On the way he admires the tattoo on her hand and tells her it’s pretty. This leads us to several layered flashbacks, including Hye-Won’s past with her Mother before jumping back to the present with Jang-Woo, a bright student who was in the top 3 in their class. Inviting her along, he takes her to a Book Club where we’re introduced to an eclectic group of characters who join them to discuss the latest book. Soo-Jung picks out the book and after reading a beautiful passage, Jung Woo passes the spotlight to Hye-Won who recites a poem; the Grandfather sits in the corner listening while playing a make-shift game of Go with tangerines. The group have a great time, joking and laughing, before they all head home and leave Hye-Won and Eun-Seob in peace. They discuss reading before things inevitably turn toward their past and her memories of him from school. As we jump back to the school days, we see Eun-Seob admiring Hye-Won’s cello skills in a school performance. In the morning, Hye-Won discusses her headaches with her Aunt until she tells her to go back home to Seoul. As fate would have it, Good Night Bookstore are looking for part-time workers and Hye-Won heads up to see Eun-Seob where she asks whether she would fit the part. He tries to hide how shy he is, heading out with a stack of books while tasking her to look after the shop. As we flash back again, we see more of Hye-Won’s past, including her friend Bo-Yeong betraying her trust and spilling secrets to the school involving her Mum. Overhearing the other students talking, Hye-Won finds a secluded place and weeps. That evening, Eun-Seob winds up drunk and passes out, prompting Hye-Won to watch him sleep. Only, he murmurs Irene and tells her he’s thankful she’s with him. As night turns to day, she questions him about what he muttered in his sleep as they stand under the rain together. Only, Bo Yeong suddenly shows up and greets Hye-Won at the store. Given the history these two have, she is not best pleased to see her. With more of the past brought into view and plenty of scope for this drama to grow in the future, the slow pace returns but with a much more layered story full of flashbacks this time. These constant jumps back and forth do offset the pacing in the present storyline slightly but hopefully this is something that will change as we learn more about Hye-Won’s past and this settles down a bit. There’s certainly a lot of potential with this drama, and the gorgeous setting is enough to make this a really pretty show to watch. Whether this beauty can seep into the story itself and deliver something memorable in the weeks to come remains to be seen but for now, When The Weather Is Fine is simply “fine” but of course, only time will tell whether that changes.
