3 Painful Moments In Episodes 5-6 Of "Dear Hyeri"

According to Google, “Dear Hyeri” is classified as a rom-com, but where is the com of the rom-com? Every time something good happens for our main leads, it is quickly followed by a traumatic scene, and episodes 5 and 6 are no exception.

From Hyun Oh’s traumatic childhood to Joo Yeon’s growing attachment to Hye Ri, here are the three most painful moments from “Dear Hyeri” episodes 5 and 6 that left us teary-eyed.

Warning: spoilers for episodes 5-6 ahead!

Hyun Oh’s traumatic childhood

Since the premiere week episodes, viewers have been debating whether to love or hate Hyun Oh. On the one hand, he is Eun Ho’s No. 1 supporter—he gives her his own projects to advance her career, he runs after her when she is in need, and he even stays at Eun Ho’s house for days just to take care of her health. But on the other hand, despite all this evident love, he does not want to marry her.

This striking contrast between his actions has made it difficult to judge the character. However, episodes 5 and 6 finally show the audience why Hyun Oh does what he does and leave it to the audience to decide his fate.

Hyun Oh’s childhood was not much different from Eun Ho’s in the sense that both lost their parents when they were young. However, Eun Ho and Hye Ri were immediately adopted by a distant relative who treated them like her own granddaughters. Meanwhile, Hyun Oh’s story is a bit more complex than that.

His father had a gambling addiction, which caused Hyun Oh’s mother to leave him and Hyun Oh. He also had the habit of taking loans just to gamble them away. One day, he died in a house fire, leaving his debt for Hyun Oh to repay. The loan shark, an older woman, struck a deal with Hyun Oh—she would take care of him as her own child and pay for his tuition if he promised to care for her and multiple other older women in their old age—and Hyun Oh agreed.

Learning about Hyun Oh’s past makes one thing clear: the reason he doesn’t want to marry Eun Ho is not because he doesn’t love her, but quite the opposite. He loves Eun Ho so much that he doesn’t want to burden her with his responsibilities.

From the audience’s perspective, it might still be difficult to understand Hyun Oh’s thought process behind his decision. Because what do you mean you can’t marry Eun Ho because of your grandmothers? They clearly want you to be married and have a happy life.

However, trauma manifests differently in different people. On the surface, Hyun Oh is claiming his rejection is due to his grandmothers, but what if his fear of marriage stems from his parents’ failed marriage? He has clearly been through too much pain to even recognize the reason behind his own actions.

Eun Ho’s attempt at finding happiness

The initial assumption viewers made about Eun Ho’s DID was that she lost her sister in childhood and developed the disorder. However, the reality is even more painful than these assumptions.

When Eun Ho was just a child, she lost her parents in a car accident. As the older sister, she sat in the funeral home, consoling her younger sister, Hye Ri. While she tried to convince her sister that the world hadn’t ended yet and that they would be fine, their uncle and aunt were passing the responsibility of caring for them onto each other—an unwanted burden.

However, an older distant relative came as a godsend and took the girls under her wing. Even though she showed them as much love as anyone could, Hye Ri grew up a bit aloof, reclusive, and attached to Eun Ho. Then the incident happened: Eun Ho forced Hye Ri to go on the trip where she went missing. Eun Ho found comfort and love again with Hyun Oh, but he broke her heart when he ended their eight-year relationship as if it had meant nothing. If that pain weren’t enough, Eun Ho’s adoptive grandmother also passed away, leaving her alone in the world.

However, all this pain and trauma didn’t directly cause Eun Ho’s DID (dissociative identity disorder). In an attempt to find happiness and honor her sister’s wishes to work at a parking lot, Eun Ho began impersonating Hye Ri. At first, she was aware of her dual life, but after three years, her consciousness started splitting, and she developed another personality: Hye Ri.

What makes Eun Ho’s situation so painful is that she didn’t develop DID because of her trauma but because she wanted to be happy. Her real life had no happiness left, so her brain decided to give her a break and turn off her consciousness for 12 hours a day.

At the end, Eun Ho did find happiness as Hye Ri. However, even then, the person Hye Ri fell in love with was just another version of Hyun Oh—an announcer who acts cold in front of everyone but shows love to Eun Ho. Even as Hye Ri, Eun Ho wanted no one else but Hyun Oh.

Joo Yeon’s growing love for Hye Ri

Joo Yeon is the type of second male lead who is definitely going to give many second-lead syndrome. From the very start, he has been sweet toward Hye Ri, which makes his and Hye Ri’s arc that much more painful.

As Hyun Oh has been taking care of Eun Ho for the past two episodes, she hasn’t dissociated and hasn’t gone to Hye Ri’s parking lot job. This made Joo Yeon worried to the point where he went to Hye Ri’s residence in the middle of the night, only to find Hye Ri, who is actually Eun Ho, walking hand-in-hand with Hyun Oh.

Even though Hye Ri returns to her job by the end of episode 6, it isn’t Eun Ho’s second identity Hye Ri, but Eun Ho pretending to be Hye Ri. So even when Joo Yeon spends time with Hye Ri, it won’t be the person he truly likes—the person he was comfortable enough to show his vulnerabilities to, the one with whom he shared his painful past, and the person he allowed to meet his mother.

With each passing episode, it becomes more clear how much pain not only Eun Ho, but also Hyun Oh and Joo Yeon, have gone through in their lives. For Joo Yeon, his trauma has made it easier for him to bond with Hye Ri, who seems like a kindred spirit to him. But Hyun Oh’s trauma has manifested as his refusal to let Eun Ho get too close to him, as he is sure it will hurt her. While Joo Yeon’s openness toward love makes it easier for the audience to appreciate him more, seeing Hyun Oh’s past makes it difficult not to root for Hyun Oh and Eun Ho to end up together.

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Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring entire K-dramas in one sitting. Good screenwriting, beautiful cinematography, and a lack of cliches are the way to her heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to multiple artists across different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You can talk to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.

Currently watching: “Dear Hyeri,” “Love Next Door,” and “What Comes After Love.”
Looking forward to: “Squid Game Season 2,” “Good Boy,” and “Reborn.”