Hospital Playlist 2 -- Episode 4: The Perils of Loving

It can't be easy staying emotionally connected in a long-distance relationship because no matter how strong of a bond one thinks they may have with their partner, long-distance has a way of breaking down at the simplest of things while at the same time building up the most unnecessary walls.

Each of the friends brings something important to the table. I love how invested Ik Jun is in his friends' happiness, and well-being be it in the matter of the heart or otherwise. I wish someone would take care of him for a change. He deserves to get the love he wants too. I like that Song Hwa advises Heo Sun Bin (Ha Yoon Kyung) not just about her personal life but professionally too. One shouldn't give up, be it work or an intimate relationship, because a situation isn't ideal. Great relationships aren't great because they have no problems. They are great because both people care enough about the other person to find a way to make it work. On the other hand, Jung Won's selflessness and warmheartedness, and especially his investment in his patients' lives and well-being, continues to amaze me. They all do, but him, most of all, for always willing to give more than he receives makes him so very special.

Nothing ever goes as planned or expected. I liked how Jun wan found space in his heart to comfort another, comforting himself in the process despite struggling with his own demons. There is nothing worse than one's helplessness in the face of their child's struggle to survive and especially when they start to lose hope. I know it wasn't easy for Eun-Ji's mother to see Min Chan get a donor while her child didn't, and to observe the ramification on her child, my heart broke for her hopelessness. But I loved how Jun wan's was so supportive, helping her realize that as much as she's struggling, so does her child, but she endures it for her. As they say, sometimes the heart needs more time to accept what the heart already knows -- if you believe it will work out. And it does. I loved it.

Despite technology providing a wide range of communication tools that allow long-distance love to connect quickly and easily, it's not so much the frequency of the communication that's important, but rather the quality of the essential exchange. It pained me to see Jun Wan start to doubt but even worse that Ik Sun thought it was okay to carelessly do what she did even if she did it to spare him the pain of being with someone with a life-threatening health issue.

One of my biggest pet peeves in k-drama is the girlfriend or boyfriend lying to save their partner the pain of an illness or whatever else may be going on in the storyline. In this particular insistence, I don't particularly appreciate the drama writer resorting to that with Jun wan and Ik Sun. More than that, I dislike that something has to happen to Ik Sun, to begin with, to make the story good because it didn't need it, the story is already worthwhile - the thought that a partner is incapable of deciding for themselves in a relationship is infuriating because how can white lies meant to save a partner from long-term be any less painful than the truth. Watch Episode 4 here.