Episode Summary
Nakwon and Lieutenant Seo are at the cafe Nakwon visited the night he was attacked. They talk to the doctor-turned-cafe-owner but don’t get any new information from him for the investigation. Nakwon, however, doesn’t mind. He got a good cup of coffee out of the visit, so it was worth it.
Lieutenant Seo offers to drive Nakwon to the flower shop, and on the way there, he points out how Nakwon has been going there for months now. He thinks the reason for Nakwon’s near constant presence there is for the off chance that Park Gwangwoo will show his face. However, Nakwon’s motivations for visiting the flower shop are purely selfish. He just wants to be with Mokhwa.
When Nakwon arrives, the mood is tense at the shop as Mokhwa is finishing up a phone call. Before Nakwon can properly greet the flower shop owner, Mokhwa snaps at him. What is he doing here? Why didn’t he go straight home? Mokhwa reminds Nakwon that he was stabbed only days ago and that he has to be more cautious because he’s a target. Nakwon’s a little taken aback by Mokhwa’s attitude. He tries to defend himself, but Mokhwa keeps pushing. No normal person has to worry about being attacked.
Saying Nakwon wasn’t a regular person was the last straw. Nakwon is in pain, and he’s tired. He just dealt with his colleagues getting on his case for his injury and joking about his work ethic. All he wanted was to see Mokhwa, his one joy in his life right now, and this is how he’s greeted?
Nakwon snaps back that Mokhwa isn’t a regular person either. He still has to watch his back too. And what about Ms. Jungae? Wouldn’t she be devastated if something were to happen? The mention of Jungae instantly upsets Mokhwa, but Nakwon’s not done yet. He reminds Mokhwa that he wouldn’t have gotten injured in the first place if Mokhwa would have gone with him to the cafe. Why didn’t he care enough then? Why wait until Nakwon hobbled into the store with a stab wound to start caring?
Having had enough, Mokhwa brushes past Nakwon to go outside. He leaves Nakwon in the shop while he takes a smoke break. Nakwon watches him leave in surprise. Since when did Mokhwa smoke?
Discussion
I actually feel bad for Nakwon. Who hasn’t been in that situation where you’re having a really shitty day and the one thing you were looking forward to doesn’t work out the way you expected? He just wanted to be around Mokhwa, but it didn’t pan out the way he was hoping.
Knowing his past actions, Nakwon was actually pretty tame in his reaction to Mokhwa’s hostility. He could have said much worse things, especially when bringing up Ms. Jungae. So I think Mokhwa got off a little easy here. This could also be a sign of Nakwon’s growth.
And I wonder what Wonil said to Mokhwa over the phone, though. It wasn’t only Nakwon’s presence that made Mokhwa tense. He was already on edge and then Nakwon showed up. Because that kind of reaction from Mokhwa is out of character. For one, he really doesn’t say more than three words at a time. And two, with everything that Nakwon has done to him, that’s what makes him upset enough to lash out? Really?
I also like what Choi Song did with the coloring this episode. When Nakwon “snaps,” there’s a red outline around his pupils and for one panel, his background changes to red. I love that visual representation of Nakwon’s feelings. I also like the metaphor Nakwon uses when he calls Mokhwa an angel but that he only has half a halo since he’s only nice to women. That was so random but also so very Nakwon.
It’s hard to believe that just a few episodes ago, I was hesitant to feel any sort of pity for the guy because of what he’s done to Mokhwa. Now, though, Nakwon deserves a break, at least in this episode. I do wish he was a little more honest with his feelings. If he would have told Mokhwa straight to his face that he was there because he wanted to see him, I think that would have thrown Mokhwa off enough for him not to be so upset at Nakwon.
Series Details
Original Title: 3월의 보름을 조심하라
Alternate Titles: Beware the Full Moon in March
Author: Stan
Artist: Choi Song
Publisher: Lezhin
Audience: NSFW
