Our young ballerino learns the devasting truth about his elderly student and does his best to watch over him from a distance. Though all he can do is stay by his side and cheer him on, his presence is enough for our grandpa who still needs some time to gather his courage before revealing his illness to his family.
EPISODE 8 RECAP
As Eun-ho arrives at her grandparents’ house, she finds Chae-rok pacing outside the gate, so she invites him inside. When Hae-nam sees their new guest, she excitedly introduces her husband’s ballet teacher, but by now, most of the children know Chae-rok one way or another.
Ae-ran wonders how the two of them came together, and Eun-ho tells them that they both worked at the restaurant. Realizing that he was a part-timer, Seong-san uses this opportunity to bring him down, but Hae-nam will not tolerate his rude behavior and threatens to kick out her eldest if he continues acting this way.
When Deok-chul finally comes home after his errand, he is surprised to find Chae-rok with his family and asks why he is here. Chae-rok cannot bring himself to speak the truth, so he makes up an excuse about increasing their lesson hours. As he gets ready to leave, Hae-nam and Deok-chul insist that he stay for dinner.
Seung-joo shares a drink with Sori at a bar, and she teases him for finally becoming a human who knows how to comfort others. He chuckles since he is not quite “human” yet. He admits to feeling moved by Deok-chul’s ballet even though it was nothing grand, and she understands his sentiment. Sori tells him that he will make a good coach, but Seung-joo reminds her that he did not accept the position.
At the dinner table, the conversation naturally turns to ballet and Chae-rok. When Seong-sook hears that Chae-rok only started four years ago, she asks if he is any good, and without skipping a beat, he replies, “I am.”
His answer lightens the mood, and Ae-ran asks about Deok-chul’s progress. Seong-sook scolds her sister-in-law for asking a thoughtless question, but Chae-rok interjects and brags about Deok-chul’s debut today. While everyone else celebrates this good news, Chae-rok looks over at Deok-chul with a concerned expression, and Eun-ho notices him staring at her grandpa.
After the party, Deok-chul walks Chae-rok to the bus stop, and Chae-rok complains about being treated like a child. He asks Deok-chul if he can go back home by himself, and Deok-chul repeats the same refrain, making Chae-rok smile. Once the bus arrives, Chae-rok gets on and looks back at Deok-chul who waves at him from the sidewalk.
At home, Deok-chul takes out his memorial portrait and mentally crosses off a task from his checklist. When Hae-nam calls for him, he quickly hides the photo in his desk drawer before leaving the room. Meanwhile, Chae-rok comes home and sits in the dark. He recalls the signs of Deok-chul’s memory loss and hangs his head, conflicted over what he should do.
After practice, Deok-chul writes in his notebook and complains about his aching bones. He wonders if it will rain and tells Chae-rok that going to the bathhouse would be heavenly right now. He says that it makes for a great bonding experience and guilt-trips him to come scrub his back.
Since Chae-rok is a softie, he accompanies Deok-chul to the bathhouse and tells him to think of him as his grandson. While scrubbing Deok-chul’s back, Chae-rok shares some of his own worries and asks if his relationship with his dad could improve if they came to the bathhouse together.
Chae-rok says that he only has bad memories of his dad, and though he hates him, he cannot stop thinking of him, either. His feelings remind Deok-chul of his own past, and he tells Chae-rok about the time he came to the bathhouse with his aging dad.
While Deok-chul scrubbed his back, his dad suddenly apologized to him, and those simple words melted his heart. He realized that he was not the only one who regretted not doing ballet this entire time; his dad regretted it, too. He believes Chae-rok’s dad is probably the same and reassures the younger man that things will get better like it did for him.
As they step out of the bathhouse, Deok-chul and Chae-rok stare at the falling snow, and Deok-chul says that he is starting to like the snow again because of the wonderment it brings. Ruining the mood, Chae-rok reminds him to do his workouts at home since he will test him next time, and Deok-chul scurries away before he can give him more assignments.
Seong-gwan visits his friend at the hospital and tells him that he failed to find his first patient so he is moving on to plan B. Even though his friend disapproves of his project, he hands him some money as a birthday present and tells him to use it for his documentary. Seong-gwan objects at first, but eventually, he slips the envelope into his pocket.
Chae-rok follows Deok-chul from a distance to make sure he gets home safely. Once he sees him go inside, he silently praises him for doing a good job and walks away. At the bus stop, he writes and rewrites multiple text messages to Eun-ho about her grandpa’s illness, but he does not know how to break the news to her.
He asks her out to coffee, but even face-to-face, he cannot find the right words. While Eun-ho tells him about her first day at work, she notices his sullen expression and correctly guesses that something is wrong. He lies, claiming that he is alright, and Eun-ho does not press him for details.
While Chae-rok drags his feet back home, Se-jong runs up to him and asks about his girlfriend. He wonders if his cranky mood is because of a breakup, and Chae-rok tells him the truth about Deok-chul. He asks for advice on how to tell Eun-ho, and Se-jong randomly brings up his soccer match.
He tells Chae-rok that he made a goal today, and Chae-rok calls him crazy. He points out that Chae-rok is correct; it is crazy, just like his dilemma. He tells Chae-rok that he is merely a goalie, so the one who should make the goal is Deok-chul. He advises his friend to simply cheer him on and trust his striker to do his job.
While Deok-chul does his workouts on the couch, Hae-nam sits in the kitchen and thinks back to what Seong-sook told her. She wanted to give up trying to conceive a child, and it broke Hae-nam to see her daughter cry. Even now, that day weighs heavily on her heart, and Deok-chul realizes that something is bothering his wife.
At home, Chae-rok waits for his morning call, but it never arrives. He stops by the clinic to get his ankle checked out, and Dr. Oh complains about him encroaching on his precious weekend hours. He heard about Chae-rok’s decision to focus on recovery from his best friend (aka, Deok-chul), and as long as he is helping him, he warns him not to betray his manager’s devotion.
Still in his outside clothes, Deok-chul stares out into space as something dawns on him. He takes out his notebook and realizes that he forgot about his doctor’s appointment today. He lies to Chae-rok about his wife being sick and promises to come back.
Chae-rok offers to come with him, but Seung-joo stops him from leaving since he received a call from the rehabilitation center. He orders Chae-rok to make up his missed session now, and does not understand his insistence on following Deok-chul. Unable to explain himself, Chae-rok agrees to go and texts Deok-chul that he will back for his lesson.
COMMENTS
As a fan of the original webtoon, I naturally notice the differences between the drama and the source material. For the most part, the changes are minor, but they add up and impact the show. In the beginning, I doubted the show’s choices because they felt like unnecessarily divisive and overblown characterizations and backstories meant to make a heartwarming story more dramatic. However, as the show progressed, I slowly came to cherish these versions of Deok-chul, Chae-rok, Hae-nam, and the rest of the crew as variants of the original—not necessarily wrong, simply different. However, it was the ending of this episode that sold it for me. The scene of Chae-rok dancing in the snow for Deok-chul is a combination of multiple scenes from the webtoon, and while the ones in the comic worked for that story, this one works perfectly for the drama.
Surprisingly enough, the addition of Ho-bum was what made the scene feel even more special. His presence reminded me of the billiard scene where he orders Chae-rok to dance for him on the table. Back then, Deok-chul berated him for looking down on the future star and told him that Chae-rok’s dancing was meant for the stage. However, in that moment, on the streets and in the snow, Chae-rok dances for Deok-chul, and even though the conditions were terrible, he puts his heart into every move and makes that space his stage. Once an aimless talent filled with doubt, Chae-rok rediscovers his passion and reason to dance, and as a result, he shines. Even Ho-bum is stunned, but more importantly, his dance reaches Deok-chul who remembers ballet and Chae-rok once again.
From the first moment he saw Chae-rok, Deok-chul was enamored of him and his ballet. He wasn’t just some young and talented ballerino, but a remembrance of his first encounter with ballet and why he fell in love with it during his youth. In a sense, Chae-rok and ballet became one and the same, and to Deok-chul, this young man and his talents reminded him of his own passion for dance and helped him stay present. Unfortunately, the very thing that spurred Deok-chul to pursue his dreams is also the thing that may stop him from ever reaching it. Though I knew it was coming, I still cried when Deok-chul broke down after hearing about his illness. In that moment, he wasn’t the dependable grandpa who always knows what to say at the right moment, but another scared son looking for his parents to help him. Memories are such a core essence of the human experience, and Deok-chul shows just how important they are as he recalls the days, seasons, and years not as dates on a calendar but as precious moments with his loved ones. These aren’t just numbers to remember but events and people he cannot forget.
Navillera has always been a story about an old man and his dream as well as a younger man and his passion. At the same time, it is about the relationship that blossoms between these two individuals and their shared love for ballet. Just as Chae-rok is important to Deok-chul, Deok-chul has become irreplaceable for Chae-rok as well. Rather than view Deok-chul and his dream as a nuisance, Chae-rok learns to respect him, and Deok-chul becomes another reason for Chae-rok to do better and be better. Chae-rok receives a lot of pressure from those around him, not just from Deok-chul, but instead of letting it crush him, he is strong enough to accept everything—their expectations, desires, wants—and soar. Though I expect even more heartache for our lovely characters, I know that they will endure it all because of their love for ballet and each other.