hashi
How much do you guys think the other characters (No-rae's bro, Ji-hwan, Enah, etc) know about Seolrae? How ssamba wrote them it's like they kinda get an inkling yet they're not as shocked as I would expect them to be
I think Enah wasn't sure about No-rae that's why she gave Seol-a that lil advice in the restroom. Seol-a is always so obvious, staring at No-rae when there are third person around all the time. It's hard not to notice. Thats why Seol-a was so frustrated No-rae gave her "clueless expressions" all the time (that was the best buildup Ssamba did imo, it made Seol-a's breakdown scene so heartfelt). No-rae on the other hand has always felt inferior to Seol-a. She never dared to have the thought of having Seol-a like her romantically back crossed her mind. And since she was so focused on that "promise" she made to Seol-a as "friends", she became dense and clueless to Seol-a's hints. No-rae has always been described as a girl behind many walls. So what she's been doing fits perfectly well with her personality. She's actually fragile so she guards her feelings very carefully. A good defense mechanism is not to set your expectations too high. So she never had any high expectations with Seol-a to begin with. Being close is enough for No-rae.
Thats the reason why I really really like the "hat" scene in last chapter. Many insecure people (mostly male) in my real life hide under (behind) their hats and hoods all the time, so my mind always associates that kind of hats with "insecurity" and "invisible walls." When No-rae was so worried about Seol-a, she ran so fast that her hat fell off and she didn't bother to pick it up. To me, No-rae leaving her hat behind is a foreshadow of a new beginning. Only when you experience the emotional possibility of your loved ones being dead that you start wanting to express your caring and loving them more explicitly. (Thats a lil extreme way to put it, but you know what I mean). For my own satisfaction, I interpret the scene where Sung-Pyo picked up her hat as him picking up the crumbles of No-rae's walls that he could never break before. *In your face, bro*
About No-rae's brother, there's really no ground for him to make such a big conclusion. It's reasonable for him to think of them as being good friends who cared about each other. Seol-a didn't even know she liked No-rae romantically back then. In her head, it's just running after a "friend" she cared about.
For Ji-hwan, I think he's in similar position with Enah-before-chapter-60. Knowing Seol-a for so long, it's hard not to notice she liked No-rae. When he gave Seol-a advice in the restaurant telling her to make up her mind or give up for everyone's sake (in a symbolic/figurative way), he didn't know about No-rae's feelings either. No-rae's always a mysterious butterfly drifting from flowers to flowers. Even if you "think" your female friend likes a another girl based on your intuition, it'd be awkward just to ask "so you like her romantically?" There's no real foundation yet and that'd just make you look like a fool if she says no.
I really like the idea of the hat symbolizing the letting go for a new beginning. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought of that. Now that you mentioned it, it makes since. We all know Ssamba has a thing for metaphors(which I love).
