This Siti finally caught some sleep. For more than a month, I traded my late-night shows for some spiritual reflection and quiet moments. It was a reset that I totally needed. But now the lights are back on and I found myself with the first show that got me staying up all night.
The show that got me thinking all night long was The Time of Fever. From the get-go, I knew the show is a blast from the past – the colour palette and the cinematography feels like a memory and not something that’s present. What I did not know was that it was a prequel to Unintentional Love Story. Thus, I watched both. But my focus would be on The Time of Fever. I was skipping through the story of the main couple in Unintentional Love Story to form any thoughts about it. My intention of watching it was Ho Tae and Dong Hee. Watching both made me understand the relationship of these two better. The vibes of the two shows for this couple is different. Because Unintentional Love Story was not focused on Ho Tae and Dong Hee, it was less aching and intense and more light-hearted. But it still made sense for their story considering the years that had gone past.
Rating: If Unintentional Love Story is more ☁️(fluffy) for this couple, The Time of Fever is 🌧️(bittersweet)
The Verdict: I stayed up till late night not because I was busy, but because I was so emotionally attached to this show that I couldn’t move on.
⚠️Spoilers ahead⚠️
The moment Ho Tae came back from the funeral of his father and Dong Hee from school, I knew there was something more than just childhood friends between the two. There is so much intensity in their quietness than the words exchanged. The way Ho Tae acted around Dong Hee is like a clingy puppy that wanted his attention. Dong Hee though was more matured in his actions. Ho Tae was just too playful to realize Dong Hee’s feelings for him. He himself had not realized (until later) that his feelings for Dong Hee is not brotherly at all. So, when the skinship happened later on, it was so intense but also so heartbreaking. Dong Hee’s trauma from his father and his gratitude for Ho Tae’s mother made him want to distance himself from Ho Tae, despite his own feelings for him. On the other hand, Ho Tae couldn’t care less about what the society will think about his feelings for Dong Hee after he came to terms with it.
I have to applaud Won Tae Min and Do Woo for playing these characters. For Tae Min, Ho Tae’s character is more playful with the hint of pride and ruggedness. Do Woo had to be more reserved and restrained in his actions but also insecure and calculated. While words have an impact, actions speak louder and the chemistry between these two is off the charts that, to me, they are easily the top 5 on-screen couples overall.
Watching the prequel made their story in Unintentional Love Story made sense. Why Ho Tae acted the way he did in the show: Not wanting Dong Hee to touch him after he was injured (the hurt he felt when Dong Hee went away for college); his never-ending perseverance in wanting Dong Hee (his constant pursuit, while light-hearted, made sense after The Time of Fever). Even Dong Hee’s own reservations to pursue his feelings for Ho Tae (his gratitude for Ho Tae’s mother – someone who was there for him when his own parents didn’t).
I also have to give credit to the directors and producers of both shows. The directors of the two shows are different. Usually when this happens, the stories would not align. But in this case, or more so for this couple, it surprisingly did. Maybe because the director for The Time of Fever knows how much the audience love Ho Tae and Dong Hee so they tried not to butcher it and gave it so much thought and love to the story of these two.
The only thing that’s bugging me right now and making me stay up thinking about the show is how open their ending is. They are neither together nor separated. I, as an audience, am in a limbo!
So, here’s my open letter to the producers of The Time of Fever:
Dear Producers,
I’m officially the Siti who can’t sleep because of Ho Tae and Dong Hee.
We’ve seen their beginning and we’ve seen their present but we have not gotten our closure. We need to desperately know what is their future. You have brought us Won Tae Min and Do Woo together and we are eternally grateful for that. And we know, deep in your hearts, that you want to pair these two together again. We can all admit that they have given life and soul to these characters and they work well together on screen.
So, please, we need more of Ho Tae and Dong Hee. We need our closure. Please give us more of this fever.
Signed,
The Siti Who Still Never Sleeps (because of them)
Stay awake with me,
Siti
This Siti Never Sleeps At Night 