Responses
(2/) on a side note, had theo taken hyeonji with him to the states, one way or another i think beom and ho would've still found each other. whether it would've been in the states or back in the village if hyeonji had thought to have theo recuperate there. 100% they still would've met.
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Well put and I agree with you. It was a horrible situation and remember… the guy making that decision had a brain tumor at the same time. He may not have been thinking straight.
(1/2) i don't think this kind of thing is talked about alot, especially with critically ill patients. my grandpa went into a stroke and became bedridden for nearly a decade until he peacefully passed. my grandma had, for a number of times, expressed her frustration with the situation years before, but she was still the one who broke down the most that day when she realized he had no will to drink or eat anymore. she still includes him in our prayers and kind of "talks to him" when things happen, like when my cousins graduate or accomplish things.
i get that theo expected either he still died after the surgery or went into a vegetative state. either way, he was in no place to make the choices for her. she never got a chance to "struggle with him". so what if she ended up resenting him? or regretting ever leaving her village to take care of him? she would've still done it because she wanted to and it would've still meant she loved him enough to throw everything behind. and that love is what would've mattered in the end.
although i do disagree with people saying hyeonji felt unloved the whole time he was gone. i think in her subconscious she knew something happened that he couldn't tell her. she was "rich" while haebeom was growing up right? idk if it was mentioned but couldn't theo had left money behind for her? that itself would've been a silent message. and if that isn't clue enough, i feel it was in her nature to think kindly and optimistically. she fs resented him for leaving, but silently understood.
also, i hope people stop thinking there's any "sides" to take in this situation. there's no "justifying" his actions. it's a decision he very obviously thought hard about. he didn't think it was the best but he also didn't think there was any better option either. i also kind of commend his bravery or returning to the village despite all the pain he had to go through, and all the pain he imagines hyeonji had to go through. but the main thing is, hyeonji is dead and over 30+ years have passed. theo's main focus is to say goodbye to her one last time. he doesn't seek to create a relationship with haebeom because he's aware of the gravity of his past actions. it's better to leave it at that and wish they both (theo and haebeom) get to live lives happily with closure.