PART 3 of Thread 5 [#JangDongYoon and #KimSoHyun before/during TTON]. At the very start, I have always maintained my position that JDY and KSH’s relationship is that of a close sibling. And I have a good reason for this: I believe that this close sibling relationship
was formed SPONTANEOUSLY when JDY and Sso met each other. The two were just so naturally compatible that they were able to show and express their true selves when they were with each other w/out the usual restraint reserved for strangers or acquaintances meeting for sometime (Sso
did mention in an interview that they became close because of their personalities). TBH, the degree of closeness is no joke considering the short amount of time before TTON’s first script reading (interviews did tell that they were already close before TTON started shooting
and JDY’s eyes already trailed Sso while Sso already showed some heartfelt big laughter during their 1st script reading). And they played this close sibling relationship excellently during the earlier parts of TTON when JDY was still widow Kim. But the first chink of their
being “close siblings” happened in Nokdu’s topless confession scene (JDY shared in an interview that he received so many NG’s in that scene despite doing good in practice while KSH told in an interview that she could have done better in that scene), and an even bigger chink was
in JDY and KSH’s first deep kiss scene in the swing (JDY was just so awkward in the BTS that Sso had to somehow take the lead so JDY could relax. They received plenty of NG’s there too). So, what am I suggesting here? Pretty obvious: that the close sibling label just did not cut
when they were acting the romantic scenes. And take note! Not one interview did they share that they felt weird kissing someone they called as sibling in their romantic scenes (JDY called it off as “business” while KSH said she liked it because it looked natural).
What I’m saying here is that the two were so naturally comfortable w/ each other (laughing, teasing, bickering publicly) that the most natural thing to call their relationship (even by outsiders) was that of close siblings. And when they realized that they genuinely liked
each other (AND THEY DID NOT FEEL ANY MALICE IN BEING SO CLOSE TOGETHER), they proceeded with interacting so comfortably w/out the burden of assuming a romance bet them. JDY and KSH know that liking each other doesn’t mean having to take up the romance route (Personally, I second
this. I had serious crushes in the past, even confessed why I like them, but never really thought about dating. I just seriously like the person for who they are. I'm probably similar w/ JDY in this respect)—they probably believe that friends can be anyone (e.g. siblings,
enemies, even lovers!), but lovers can never be friends. I’m saying that they are satisfied w/ the status quo, w/ how their relationship as “siblings” is going. So far, no problem. Or so they thought. JDY and KSH encountered a problem w/ their romantic scenes and it was clear:
they have not immersed themselves into the thought of becoming lovers. They probably thought they could act it out. But NO. The two just felt so insincere and they could not fool anyone. I’ll explain: JDY and KSH already shared in their interviews that the characters they were
playing were so similar to their real-life personalities. They just mesh well w/ their characters and even shown their personal colors by letting some of their real personalities flow to their characters. And this worked excellently when they were still treating each other
as siblings in the early part of TTON. But when the dark emotional scenes and intense kissing scenes came, they knew they had to channel their real feelings to do well. Yet, the two were having a difficult time accessing these feelings.
And you all know why: JDY and KSH had to make themselves be comfortable with the thought that they love each other as Nokdu and Dong Joo. The catch? They could only see their real selves and knew that they might be accessing feelings that might be too personal (I mean, imagine
being 100% in sync w/ your character to the point that you’re almost acting based on how you would react and feel in real life). And the bigger catch? Both JDY and KSH were both aware of this and it was KSH who knew what to do. Sso knew that she needed to tap on
her pure and real feelings and she’s determined to do well (I’m not making this up. Sso did mention in an interview that she would try to fall in love with her co-star just to portray that love acting well.) In the case of JDY, he actually felt lost (I think our JDY is pretty
much innocent in the love department. lol) So what happened? KSH had to lead JDY and JDY relied on KSH. Yep, the energetic JDY heavily relied on Sso during their intense and emotional scenes (This is why we hear JDY thanking Sso for being considerate and
he felt comfortable acting with Sso because they were respectful w/ each other). Sso knew how sensitive actors are by their own comments so she was very careful in offering suggestions. That’s why in his interview, JDY disclosed how he would ask Sso, “How should I do it?”
Sso would then answer, “Maybe you can try making my heart beat little faster?” Sso was exclusively kind and caring and patient with JDY (as she usually did w/ her co-stars esp during tough romantic/emotional scenes), and she never burdened him w/ her own presence or
his/her mistakes (JDY did mention that Sso would also get NG’s but she would just laugh it off or not care at all and just proceed by doing her best by redoing the shot. We can actually get a sense of JDY here feeling troubled by his own NGs and it was Sso’s carefree presence
that helped relieve the pressure). And you know the result! Somehow, both JDY and KSH got over this problem of doing the romantic and emotional scenes. Afterall, we just got served the most natural and beautiful kissing scenes and emotional scenes ever in TTON. But how did this
come about? I’m telling you that both JDY and Sso opened themselves to the experience of treating each other as a love interests. In other words, they just had to do it. In fact, they were comfortable in expressing their romance (I mean, in their interviews, the director told
them to do what makes them comfortable. And they did plus the steamy adlibs. Probably too comfortable, don’t you agree?). Sso was right: it really felt like dating. But more than this romantic change in how they relate with each other under the blanket of the characters
they are playing, a more meaningful change happened as TTON progressed. In the case of JDY, he saw firsthand Sso in all her glory: he saw Sso transform into the bravura actor that she truly is. Every smile, every teardrop, every loving gaze, JDY had observed and recorded
in memory with a lasting impression: that Sso was truly amazing (This is why JDY praised Sso heavily esp in cry acting. Accrdng to him, cry acting was symbolic and in Sso he had so much respect). Also JDY saw how Sso cared and encouraged her fellow actors, including him, which he
not only appreciated but also took to heart. He even saw in Sso a fine contradiction in Sso: how could someone be so carefree and serious at the same time still be so likeable? It was in Sso that JDY found what a serious actor should be, and how an actor seriously loves and looks
after his/her craft and development. It was in Sso that JDY found a deeper meaning, and a renewed view in his acting profession. JDY knew that meeting and being w/ Sso changed him. In the case of Sso, she received nothing but only good energy from JDY. With that, Sso too actually
relied on JDY and it was this good energy from JDY that let Sso felt at ease and free (Sso confessed in an interview that it was her first time not to carry the team's energy). Sso just felt comfortable w/ JDY (TBH, props to JDY for this achievement) that it became easy for Sso
to channel her true self in acting. And this is what she needed the most after her slump. It was in JDY’s company that she enjoyed herself and felt so happy acting again. JDY made her how to feel good and how to be in-the-moment. And she knew her affection for JDY changed too.
I’ll piece together everything shortly in Thread 6. Thank you everyone for your sweet words. I'll try my best to give justice to what I have started. I'll finish everything by today so we can all cheer for our #MacaronCouple later in the awards show and in the coming year. 😊
