This recap of the Netflix K-drama series Nevertheless season 1, episode 2 contains significant spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous chapter.
Naive Nabi should be the unofficial title of this episode. “He may flirt but never commits,” says Oh Bitna (Nabi’s close friend).
Listen to your friends
“The things that made you feel special might be meaningless to him,” Bitna mentions in another scene. And I agree, this is essentially the whole premise of this episode, and of course, our naive Nabi fails to realize this.
Word to Bitna, though, she hit the nail on the head. Korean dramas always give us some of the best analogies, and again, Bitna hit the nail on the head with her comment about Jae-eon. “Flowers don’t bloom just for one butterfly. Jae-eon is like that flower. Full of vanity, a symbol of seductive beauty that withers once it’s plucked. That’s what Jae-eon is.”
With that, Bitna reminds naive Nabi that “his every move is calculated.” What’s even more frustrating is that Nabi feels things are off but brushes them off immediately. And of course, our voice of reason, Bitna, once again reminds her that he’s just playing with her.
“Park Jae-eon? He has no interest in dating. He just likes to play with girls who are drawn to him.” Correct, but does naive Nabi see this? No.
Taking her out of her comfort zone, they go to a club. Now, this may seem cute at first, but it happens in the cringiest of ways. Slow dancing….in a club and whispering sweet nothings in her ear — never breaking eye contact and when he tries to kiss her, he is abruptly interrupted when barged in the club. Due to this, Nabi takes a quick bathroom break, and of course, the player is nowhere to be seen until she receives a text saying he’s outside smoking. Being the player he is, one of his previous interactions bombarded him with questions in front of naive Nabi. And of course, using his charm, he mentions that he’s with Nabi at the club.
Now, the most comical part of this scene is when this other girl lifts Nabi’s jacket up to look at the butterfly on her wrist. As established in the first recap, Jae-eon drew a butterfly on her wrist. In a shady manner, she mentions, “Come on, we can all hang out together.”
My wish for naive Nabi is that she gets some self-esteem and gets it quickly. Because, at home, she is staring at the butterfly that he drew on her wrist. The absolute definition of ‘down bad.’ As viewers (the sensible ones), we can see he is clearly playing with her, and she’s falling hard. It’s only the second episode!
One of the most anticipated scenes took place – except she was dreaming! Let’s just say it was a racy dream, and Nabi was very excited and woke up in shock, realizing she missed her lecture.
Some might find this cute, although it’s the bare minimum; she realizes that she has no period pads and texts her Bitna for some. Unfortunately for Nabi, Bitna doesn’t see the texts, and Nabi is left to her own demise. Instead, she sneaks out of the class, and of course, Jae-eon is there and gives her his jacket to wrap around her waist to hide any potential stains.
The evening scene – prepare for heartbreak
Invited by Bitna, Nabi attends a night out at a restaurant with her peers. Instantly, one of the side characters, who obviously had a crush on her, began asking about her past relationship. Red flag — she literally just broke up with the older man, and he’s asking questions. Not only was he annoying, but he also continued making suggestive comments until the conversation changed to Jae-eon. At the restaurant, one of the girls began to ask about Jae-eon’s whereabouts and emphasized that he’s always on his phone, his late replies, and how he ignores messages. Then another girl mentions, “no, he’s not like that.” And, of course, Nabi stays silent.
When things started to get boring, the main character appeared — Nabi’s exact thoughts whilst everyone was waiting for Jae-eon. Once he arrived, the mood changed amongst everyone. I mean, he is Mr. Popular, isn’t he? So popular to the extent that other women were jealous amongst one another and fought for his attention — though, his eye was always on Nabi.
The night ends with a drinking game at Nabi’s house. Long story short, the bottle landed on Nabi, who was meant to kiss Jae-eon, but she drank instantly. Perhaps, she was a bit nervous. When the gang went out for their usual smoke, Jae-eon being the flirt he is and was caught by Nabi kissing another girl. Now, this is where it goes downhill. How can you see a man kiss another girl then proceed to kiss him afterward? Viewers were impressed on Twitter — it was a red flag for me, and Nabi knew this too as she thought to herself, “just like that, the gates of hell have opened.” So, prepare yourself for heartbreak.
What did you think of Nevertheless season 1, episode 2? Comment below!
