`tHe NeVeReNdInG fAiRyTaLe~hApPiLy EvEr AfTeR iS nOt ThAt FaR iS iT?` RyAn & MiNdY

Sunday, May 07, 2006
8:44 PM

~You are My Sunshine~

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

This film captures so well what it feels like to fall in love, only to have it all slip away. A heartrending tale of love won and lost.

Two main characters:
Suk-Jung, 27 is an innocent, naïve ranch farmer who owns a cow he always talks to. Basically the oafish boorish country boy who’s filial to mother and so charming in an innocent kind of way.
Eun Ha, 30 is a vivacious seductress who works at a coffee house where she provides special services with coffee delivery. She moonlights at a ktv lounge at night. (The translation called it a bar, whatever.) She always wears short skirts which show off her long slender legs. She was the typical bad girl who smokes, drinks and seduces.

Story begins:
Eun Ha and her gal-cum-room mate-cum colleague happen to witness a commotion outside a foreign brides agency where Suk-Jung demands to have a refund. They were startled when he starting throwing rocks at the windows and seeing him being held down by a group of men as he was struggling. They were unaware of what the matter was about and they hurriedly make their way home.

Next, the scene runs to Eun Ha’s gal pal telling her the actual reason why Suk-Jung was fighting. Eun Ha laughed in a mocking manner about his intentions to get hitched so badly.

Suk-Jung declares that he would rather be single his whole life than to marry someone he did not love.

A few days later, as Suk-Jung was riding on his bike to run an errand, he saw Eun Ha and her group of friends who work at the coffee house on bikes as well. As she rode past him, he fell in love at first sight with her at that instant. In his heart, he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world. However, Suk-Jung did not take notice of Eun Ha. Suk-Jung then followed the girls to outside the coffee house.

Suk-Jung accompanies his boss and friend to a bar for a fun time as a celebration as he had managed to get most of his money back from the foreign brides agency and was shocked to see Eun Ha there. Eun Ha tried to make him drink but Suk-Jung refused. Seeing him so awkward, she kept teasing him non-stop that she liked guys who didn’t drink and she thought he was so cute and innocent. Eun Ha hugged him and we can see his face turning red. Suk-Jung eventually relented and drank a few glasses when she cajoled him to drink, Suk-Jung was shy and uncomfortable around Eun Ha, for the girl of his dreams was interacting with him!

The next day, Suk-Jung visited Eun Ha at the coffee house. Having amasses a large amount of savings previously to marry a foreign bride, he ordered coffee to be sent to a hotel which was the routine as part of the coffee deal. The girls provided special services when they went on their coffee delivery rounds. Eun Ha tried to seduce Suk-Jung by removing her clothes leaving only her lingerie on. It was a comical scene as we see him shaking while preparing coffee for her and taking bread for her. So kind and sweet of him to be so thoughtful. When he tried fending off her sexual advances, it was really a funny sight. All he wanted to do was to let her take a rest as she must be tired from holding two jobs. She had said that he wasn’t that innocent after all since he ordered coffee. She laughed and joked that he was so innocent and naïve and she liked him for that. She proceeded to make a move on him. They ended up falling off the bed as he tried frantically to stop her from removing his clothes. However, she managed to take his virginity away as we all know. Of course they will do the deed. After that, he was so ecstatic. He told his friends how wonderful she was and that she had the most perfect body.

The very next day, Suk-Jung started to put 2 bottles of milk which he got from his cowand a rose outside her home. This became a daily habit. We can see how in love and silly he was. Alas, Eun Ha dislikes drinking milk as it gives her the runs. She pours the milk down the sink every time. Her gal pal commented that she was cruel and he would most probably be heart broken to know that she did not appreciate his efforts.

After that incident, Suk-Jung kept calling for coffee everyday but he was still shy. All he wanted to do was just be with her but he did not want to see her to engage her service. All he wanted was to see her.

One day, Suk-Jung helped Eun Ha to clean the coffee house sign and she thought of getting more bottles of milk from him to bathe with as she talked to her gal pal. She passed him a handkerchief after his task. He ended up smelling the handkerchief and doing weird stuff with it. Like jerking off in his room while smelling the handkerchief. Then it was really funny when his mother opened the door and he stopped what he was doing and pretended to be asleep.

He asked her out for a movie at a drive-in one fine day and she agreed. In the movie, the woman exclaims, “Love changes.” After the show has ended, he discussed the show with her. Him: I don’t understand. How can love change? Her: Love changes. Everything in the world changes. Nothing in the world is forever. Him: No. Love doesn’t change. When you love someone it is forever. Then they continued talking till Her: You are too good to me. Too much devotion is stupid. All this while, she did not really like him. In her mind, he was like a loser. She told him that just because they caught a movie together, it did not mean that they were dating. She said that she would not love anyone and she did not expect anyone to like her (coz of her job). The only reason she agreed to his date was that she appreciated his help for cleaning the sign and for being nice to her. He declared his love for her and requested that she not work at the coffeehouse so he could take care of her. He proposed to her but she spurned him, telling him not to look for her or doing silly redundant things again because she did not love him and he was not her type at all. She went home…

The next day, Suk-Jung waited for her at the hotel. Him: I really want to marry you. I love you very much. Please stop working at the coffee house. Her: Who do you think you are? I already told you not to look for me. You are so poor and you want me to stop working? She slapped him and says: “I enjoy working and I love money. You are not my type. I just dislike guys like you.” She storms off..

He did not give up. The same night, he waited for her outside the bar. He apologized for the incident hat occurred earlier on in the day. She was drunk because she was confused as to whether she loved him and whether to reciprocate his affections. As usual, she used her coin flipping method to make choices. That was to determine whether she would accept a ride from him home. He lost but she said, “Seeing that you are so sincere, I’ll take your ride home. The scene where she puts her arms around him was kind of cute as she sat sideways on his bike. He played music on a radio which he bought specially for her listening pleasure.

With his earnest persistence and sincerity she no longer treated him with contempt and she began warming up to him. She was no longer hostile to him but it was not to be when his mother who always wanted him to marry a decent girl says, “You are not to marry her. Over my dead body.”

His mother drags him to the coffee house for a blind date with a girl. Eun Ha was very miserable when she saw the 3 of them. Eun Ha’s gal pal: he keeps saying that he loves you but what is doing now? Coming here for a blind date!
Eun Ha was disappointed and upset but she could not do anything. A coffee order comes and Eun Ha volunteers to do the coffee delivery service instead of the usual coin flipping method which would decide whether her gal pal or she would need to go. As she opened the door, Suk-Jung turned to look at her. As she sat on her bike, he gazed at her longingly outside and felt totally guilty.

Eun Ha proceeds to the hotel. The fierce-looking customer kept trying to be funny with her but she kept trying to fend off his advances. She was very annoyed and she flashed her undies when he insisted to look at the design.
Eun Ha: Look. They are polka-dotted. All right?!
She wanted to leave but he kept trying to force himself on her.
Him: You slut! Don’t pretend to be pure and innocent. You cheap slut.
Her: You disgusts me and I’m turned off just by looking at you.
As soon as she retorted that, the crazy customer started to turn violent and inflicted blows on her.
Him: I hate people to say that I turn them off.
Blows just kept raining on her fragile body and finally, the ordeal only ceased when he smashed his beer bottle on her head. Eun Ha could not put up a struggle anymore as she was knocked unconscious lying helplessly in a pool of blood.

Eun Ha was in the hospital. As she woke up, she saw Suk-Jung had been by her side all along holding her hand and putting his head on her body as he fell asleep. He awoke too and the two started talking.
Him: I’m really sorry.
Her: Aren’t you supposed to be on a blind date? What are you doing here?
Of course things will turn out fine from there when he pacifies her and proclaims her to be the most beautiful in the world.
Her: You must be lying. How can I look beautiful with two black eyes?
Him: I’m not lying you are really the most beautiful girl.
He then proceeded to propose to her and she agreed.

2nd half of the story…
Everything went well like a fairy tale. Suk-Jung’s mother loved her for being a good daughter-in-law. Eun Ha was very considerate as she had bought a ticket for Suk-Jung’s mother to go on a vacation while she managed the affairs at home. Basically, Eun Ha was leading the simple life as a model wife and daughter-in-law. Life was great, the sex between the couple was fantastic (they did it everyday) and Eun Ha was enjoying the life she thought she abhorred earlier on when she declared she did not want to marry as she did not want to be a frumpy married woman haggling at the marketplace.

Suk-Jung and Eun Ha admiring the cherry blossoms and being playful with each other.
One could see the pure bliss they enjoyed and as they lied on the snow filled ground, they started talking.
Her: How much do you love me?
Him: I love you till I’ll die for you.
Her: How long will you love me?
Him: I will love you till the day I die. No, I will love you long after I die.
Her: Truly?
Him: Yes, I promise to take care of you all my life until the day you die.

It was not to be the happy days for long. Eun Ha’s past caught up with her. An abusive boyfriend showed up and tried to extort money from her. The crazy bugger was like a perpetual stalker: No matter where she went, he would always be able to track her wherabouts.
Ex: You think 5K can get me away from you?
The next thing we know, the crazy ex was screwing her in the bedroom of her home. Eun Ha was crying for she was not a willing party. He started harassing her by calling or visiting her everyday to blackmail her, threatening to expose the incident to Suk-Jung.

The asshole did look for Suk-Jung anyway and lied to him that Eun Ha was his wife, and showing him a photograph they had taken together. As Suk-Jung loved Eun Ha so much that he could not bear living his life without her, he sold his beloved cow which had been his confidante all the while to pay the ex so that there would not be trouble. He warned the ex not to show up again or else he would get beaten up. Suk-Jung hid the payment agreement outside his home and life was back to normal for a while before…

Another man showed up at Suk-Jung’s ranch. This time, the guy was a doctor. Earlier on in the story, Eun Ha had gone to a hospital to give blood and it was discovered that she was HIV positive. The doctor told him to get himself tested and to bring Eun Ha along for the checkup as well. Suk-Jung was being the considerate soul chose to bore the pain of hiding the her condition from her so that she would not be sad. He started withdrawing from Eun Ha and stayed overnights at the ranch without telling Eun Ha. Eun Ha could not understand why he was avoiding her. She became downcast and disappointed as she waited for him night after night to return home to her. Eventually, he did go to the hospital and the test came out negative.
Suk-Jung: How long does she have to live? Will she die?
Doctor: You have to think carefully about being with her. The disease is contagious, aren’t you afraid of getting infected?
The doctor proceeds to give inaccurate information about her condition. (I suppose people in the village did not understand this STD very well. Hence the misconception)
Suk-Jung: I want to look after her and live with her till the day she dies.

When Suk-Jung finally returned home from the ranch, all he saw was the sumptuous spread of dishes Eun Ha had whipped up for him. On the table was a letter she had left behind. Eun Ha had been waiting for Suk-Jung for days and as the days passed, the disappointment turned to dejection. After Suk-Jung read the letter, he dashed out of the home n the pouring rain, however she was already fall away from him on a bus to an urban area. In her letter, she mentioned that she was very thankful to him for helping her and that she was sorry for bringing him trouble. She also said that she would return the money she owed him as he sold his favourite cow. Eun Ha had discovered the truth. She decided to work as a prostitute in a brothel to pay him back.

Eun had never stopped loving Suk-Jung even though they were apart. She put the photograph she had taken with him together in the room where she works. Whenever, she had a client, she would put the picture faced down as she could not bear to face her guilt knowing that she was letting him down. Eun Ha was leading a decadent lifestyle. She loved Suk-Jung very much but she was determined not to let Suk-Jung find her.

On the other side of the picture, Suk-Jung had been looking for Eun Ha for a year without avail. He tried following the clue through the remittance form she had sent him to pay him back. However, there was no address in which he could look for her. Suk-Jung became despondent and turned to drinking heavily and lost his appetite. He lost a lot of weight and he would not listen to his family or friends when they advised him to forget her, give up on his search for her and pretend that she never existed. However, he loved Eun Ha too much to let the memories go and he chose to torture himself. It was a heart wrenching sight to see him wasting away but there was no way he could live a happy life without his beloved Eun Ha.

There was a police raid on the brothel Eun ha was working in. When Suk-Jung heard the news, he went straight to the police station. With a beer bottle in his hand, he lost control of his emotions and he threw the bottle on the ground when he saw Eun Ha. He had found her! Suk-Jung became hysterical and created a din at the police station.

Eun Ha had a police case against her for engaging in immoral activities and wilfully causing harm to others. This was due to her being aware of HIV status and yet she still engaged in prostitution, endangering the lives of others. Actually all along, she would offer condoms to her clients but if they refused then she would follow their wishes. Eun Ha had a lawyer to defend her and was sympathetic towards her. One could not help crying when she broke down: “Do I look like a girl with AIDS to you? This can’t be happening. I didn’t know I have AIDS. I want to retake the test. It must be wrong. This can’t be true!”

Even as Eun ha was in police custody, she refused to see Suk-Jung at all. It was like a self-imposed refusal to let him see her. She was ashamed to see him as she had disappointed him and let him down. Despite this, every day without fail, Suk-Jung would go to the police station in the hope that Eun Ha would agree to see him but Eun Ha was stubborn. He was very desperate to help her in the case as he did not want to see anything bad happen to her. He accepted the media’s interview which led to the whole case becoming a big story in his village. Suk-Jung’s brother admonished him for shaming the whole family and warned him that the family would disown him if he was insistent on taking care of the ill Eun Ha. Suk-Jung’s mother at this time teared profusely as she was lying down in the room, awoken by the harsh conversation. She was very sad to see Suk-Jung devastated and she was sympathetic to her daughter-in-law. Due to the media reports, the whole town had to be tested for HIV.

Suk-Jung was watching the tape which was taken at his wedding. Eun Ha was singing happily. On looking at her son’s behavior, Suk-Jung’s mother stopped the tape by destroyed it by pulling the film out. Suk-Jung could not take it. He grabbed the tape from his mother and sobbed loudly.

Suk-Jung’s brother brought his mother to visit Eun ha and warned her not to see Suk-Jung. He kept insulting her repeatedly. His mother on the other hand advised her to take care of her body. Eun Ha agreed. The case went on trial and Eun Ha was sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment.

During the period of Eun Ha’s imprisonment, Suk Jung would faithfully go to the prison in the hope of her agreeing to see him every day. However, he was still desvastated and he wanted to give up on himself. One day as he was sitting in the living room with the mother, he did the most unthinkable thing.
Mother: Just forget her and take it that she never existed in your life.
All this while, she was weeping as she was always by her son’s side and she was heartbroken to see her son mistreating himself.
Mother: Is it not enough that I’m by your side? I’m still living.
Suk-Jung shocked her when he retorted, “You have lived long enough. Are you going to be there when I die? I don’t need you or anyone at all. I only want to be with Eun Ha.
Mother (visibly shaken and upset): Why don’t we die together by drinking this?
There was a bowl of milky cleaning fluid in front of the. Suk-Jung grabbed it and drank everything. He coughed up blood and was rushed to the hospital. However, the corrosive liquid had destroyed his voice box.

Eun Ha kept looking at the 2 pictures she had placed on the wall which she took with Suk-Jung everyday. All this while, she still loved Suk-Jung dearly but she still persisted in her refusal to see him.

Suk-Jung took some time to recover from his injuries. His mother did not leave his side all this while, taking care of him at the hospital and tending to his needs.

Eun Ha finally agreed to see Suk-Jung for it was their wedding anniversary. She groomed herself properly for the occasion, however, she was cold and cruel while speaking to him.
She: Now you can see that I’m fine so don’t come here again. You are too good to me and I’ve ruined your life.
All this while she was forcing herself to put on a brave front in saying the things which were exactly opposite of how she felt. As the signal for the time up for the visit to end sounded, Suk-Jung took out a slip of paper and showed it to her. In it: Suk-Jung wants to live with Eun ha and promise to take care of her for the rest of her life until he dies. Eun ha kept taunting him to speak up but he could not speak. When the alarm kept sounding, tears started rolling down his cheeks as he struggled to speak. Eun Ha discovered that something was wrong. She panicked and refused to leave with the prison officer, desperately banging on the glass. Tears started swelling in her eyes. Suk-Jung became extremely uncontrollable and pulled out the alarm system which was attached on top of the glass divider. Through the hole, he grabbed her hand and the prison officers on both sides struggled to separate them by pulling them. The scene was extremely intense. It makes one want to lament the unfairness and cruelty which life had dealt on the two lovers.

Eun Ha was released from prison. Suk-Jung builds a cute snowman for her and she hugs him. The movie ends with the song “You are My Sunshine” playing in the background, while they were in a truck enjoying each other’s company and laughing together. Due to Eun Ha’s condition, she seemed to have aged a lot due to the ordeals she faced however, this all didn’t mean a thing as the two lovers were reunited. We all know this was going to be a short-lived happiness as she would be dying soon. But after going through so much together and suffering along the way, what mattered was they could be together again.

This movie came with the based on a true story tag. If this was really true, I wish I can ask the heavens why this could happen to two people who truly loved each other. What is true love? True love is making a promise to love each other for life and keeping it: no matter what happens, even in sickness or poverty. The marriage vows are meaningful but very few keep their vows and don’t understand what they are promising to do. True love is making sacrifices and suffering for the one he loves even though it can be extremely difficult, painful and hurtful.

People who don’t know what love is would say that the couple in the movie is foolish. If you truly love a person, you will shut yourself out from these “rational” people who never believe in love. Love is illogical, it’s a feeling not based on reason. It drives one to do crazy and incredible things. Love is not stupidity at all. The things one wants to do for love reflects the very essence of life itself. It is powerful as it allows one to live and breathe just believing in it. It gives one reason to live on.

Life is meaningless without love. If given a choice, death is a better option to living if love never existed. If you love someone truly, you’ll never be able to love another even if temptations abound. Your whole life revolves around him and you will never stop loving the person even in death or after death. No matter how much your loved one hurts you, you will never be able to allow the love to fade or be reduced, instead the feelings grow stronger. All you ask for is to be together with the one you love and he loves you too. That’s the only thing in life that is worth living for. It’s not family, friends, money or material things which are the most important in your life: It’s actually your beloved. You become fearless of dying for him because you are no longer afraid of the unknown after death but the idea that you won’t be able to love him anymore. The best ending in life would be to be with the one you love the most, to take care of him till the day you die and make him happy. That’s the most blissful joy in the whole universe which transcends time and space. Only then one would be able to die without regrets.

People these days would say that the notion of true love no longer exists. It still does just that people are too blinded to see it or believe in it. Love these days is consumed by the gratification of lust, uncertainty and infidelity. How many people would not remarry after their spouse has passed away? Are they strong enough to bear with the loneliness when the physical presence of their loved one is no longer there? How many people would not give up when problems show up in relationships or marriages? Faith has become something so difficult to grasp. Even if there are obstacles, perseverance would bring about a happy ending. Absence does not create a distance, it makes the heart grow fonder. Love is stronger than what most people would perceive. You will put yourself through hurt but you will not want to hurt your loved one. To be able to experience true love in one’s lifetime would mean the person is incredibly blessed and fortunate. I don’t deny I’m envious of these people. My mother says that life cannot exist on love alone but I beg to differ.

The saddest thing in the world is for love to be conditional. True love comes without strings attached. You don’t tell someone that you will love them only if they do certain things. You just love them because you want. You can’t find any reason why you fell in love them. It just happens. I love this quote from Moulin Rouge: The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love and be loved in return. How true. To people who think that romantic love is nothing but frivolous passion for the likes of sensitive souls who dabble in poetry or the arts, you don’t know what you are missing on. Your life is empty with an endless void.

Love contradicts. You can be both selfish and selfless in love at the same time but who can tell you what is right or wrong? Selfishness can be defined as wanting to be with the one you love or it can be defined as wanting to seek happiness for oneself at the expense of your loved one through actions which hurt him through lies or engaging in conditional love. If one hurts his partner intentionally, that is no longer love. It has evolved into something else yet it is not straightforward as thinking that it has evolved to hatred. It becomes unrecognizable and I have no idea what they label or call this. Maybe nobody believes in the notion of true love anymore, it has become just another idealistic theory or outdated principle in present times. For something which is difficult to attain and not tangible, if you can’t touch or see it, does it mean this does not exist? Nothing is impossible. Things only become impossible if you believe it to be so and close your heart to what it truly desires.

imlost...
inafairytale