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perfectmatch2025-06-29 10:17 am
marriagebroker) wrote in perfectmatch2025-06-29 10:17 am
Entry tags:
tl;cr meme
post your character, people reply, give them the deets. you know how this goes.
post your character, people reply, give them the deets. you know how this goes.
no subject
1/3
Beginning with where they met in the gardens, the first thing that drew Yingying to Yi Sang was simply his stoic, quiet nature, and how strange it seemed for him to be standing there, completely still, staring at the pond. She’s friendly to everyone she meets, yes, but Yingying is particularly drawn to those who she thinks may be in need of help – or in need of a listening ear. That’s the kind of thing she’s best at, after all! They were going to have to get to know each other for the competition anyhow, so she approached without a second thought. She didn’t mind that their conversation started out stilted, or that there were misunderstandings… if anything, she found his avoidant gaze and stilted words unique and eccentric. In her love survey, I mentioned that she particularly likes shy and flustered types, as these are the types that she enjoys toying with and bringing out of their shell – so, Yi Sang caught her attention very early on, as she was equal parts curious about what his meekness entailed, as well as interested in seeing what may lie beneath it.
The other part of their first conversation that had her setting her sights on him as one of the contestants to pursue early on was their brief talk of their homelands. Coming into the competition, Yingying’s century-long connection to the last few days before her homeland’s ultimate demise had just been severed. Despite that, the grief she felt wasn’t the kind that had her falling to her knees and screaming – she, perhaps like him, had a deep sense of apathy for the future, paired alongside a yearning for a warmer, more colorful past. Yingying had always known that she wanted to share the traditions of her homeland with the contestants she met at the competition, however her fate ended up, so it was a no brainer to also wish for Yi Sang’s traditions to be shared as well, suspecting that he, too, may have lost his homeland in a tragic way. She parted ways with him in their initial conversation simply wishing in the future to get to know him more, and perhaps to get him to loosen up.
Thus, her intentions to mess with him during spin the bottle. Truthfully, as soon as the game began, she was hoping she would spin him, already ardently curious about what kind of expression he would have receiving a kiss from her. A kiss is just a kiss to Yingying – it’s really not a big deal, and not something she feels shy about handing out, receiving, or sharing. So her wanting to kiss him wasn’t exactly like… Romantic interest at this point… it was more curiosity and just wanting to draw a reaction out of him. Moreover, Yingying isn’t oblivious to her beauty or charms – quite the opposite, really – and she’s used to having something of an effect on people. She really wanted to see him flustered and blushing… (‾◡◝) like it’d be a crack in that stoic, quiet front he seemed to show everyone else. One that only she might be able to pry out. Him unwittingly saying romantic lines while being completely oblivious was just the cherry on top. Everything was pointing to him not being very experienced in matters of the heart… and this really was like catnip to her. Yingying is easily bored by the cliché, by being pursued and by outward efforts to charm her. Yingying loves happy endings, but traditional romance of the kind that are in Yugu’s tales or books don’t interest her at all… the truth is, she found his inexperienced fluster far, far more charming than many of the others she’d kissed that night. Like, it just made her want to kiss him again another time, later, with even more efforts, hoping that his reaction might get more and more adorable…
The teasing truly only got worse from here… when the group decided that Yingying was a good candidate for their first truth booth, she was more than fine with going! At that point in the game, I would still say that her interest in Yi Sang wasn’t necessarily romantic; she was just toying with him and having fun discovering new sides of him. When he butted in upon hearing the word ideal, she jumped at the chance to insinuate that he was angling to go to the booth with her, 100% knowing that that hadn’t been his intention at all. Any dismay she showed after he denied her claims was purely for the sake of playing and drawing out more sincerity from him, which, as always, worked marvelously! She wasn’t messing with him to be mean-spirited or try to embarrass him, at least – rather, she saw in Yi Sang someone who has a hard time fitting in or speaking up, and who may have a difficult time making connections. Like, he was so stiff? Messing with him was going to help him? Teasing and playing with him like this was her way of trying to make him be comfortable with them all (and her, specifically), to get him to loosen up and maybe laugh a little. Outside finding this side of him cute and genuinely wanting for him to be pulled into the wider circle of the contestants, her feelings didn’t extend beyond sincerely platonic.
But when he chose her at the ceremony… that’s when things started to change! If Yingying had to pinpoint one moment where she felt that she began to have serious feelings for him, this would be the moment she would choose. While it was obvious just from talking to him casually that he was well-read and articulate, she hadn’t been expecting him to say something so poetic at the ceremony to anyone, let alone her. While she’d brought up his name as someone she’d be interested in matching with, she had the impression that he might be too intimidated to pick her after she had been (affectionately) picking on him for the whole week prior. Even if he did pick her, she was expecting something shorter and more perfunctory, utilitarian in its briefness, like he was simply completing a chore. Instead, he had beautiful words to say about her stride, how dearly she carries “the memories of yesterday,” and it was surprising in the best way.
Yingying isn’t a stranger to the world of poetry; much of her in-game flavor text is based upon traditional Chinese poetry, and a lot of her in-game lines are clearly meant to be poems. Furthermore, the Wisteria Pavilion within which she lives is heavily implied to be like a courtesan house from historical Chinese fiction; courtesans in houses of the Wisteria Pavilion’s status, in this sort of fiction, were commonly poets, musicians, strategists, or scholars, alongside also being sex workers. While it isn’t explicitly laid out in her event, it’s quite likely that Yingying’s status in the house as a high-ranking courtesan means she has a lot of experience reading and sharing poetry with patrons, given her knowledge of the subject.
So! Anyways!! It was a really beautiful sentiment for him to share, and one she could appreciate more because of its plain straightforwardness. As above, she’s familiar with these sorts of things, but she’s also more accustomed to the sense of drama and romanticism such poems are usually performed with, which Yi Sang absolutely lacked. But it was in the absence of those qualities that made his words reach her more easily… because she knew they were offered simply and wholly from his heart. At this point in the game, the times where she felt he had truly spoken from deep within himself were few and far between, if at all. Coming to know that he had such a sensitive soul underneath his stoic, stilted attitude made her feel more motivated than ever to keep nourishing and coaxing out that side of him. For the first time, she started looking at him in a romantic light, charmed by the innocent nature of his kindness – he was just too sweet to not covet.
That’s why when asked, she didn’t quite have a number in mind for their likelihood. For all that Yingying seems to be from folklore, and how she reveres happy endings, she is, in actuality, a realist. Her vision of the matches was not quite so fantastical and rooted in ‘true love’ as it was logical: things like having feelings for someone can’t be quantified, and in that sense, can’t be fully predicted. So, from the start, her vision of the eventual match-ups was more along the lines of “there will be some kind of explanation for whoever I’m matched with,” but that didn’t hold any bearing over who she might have feelings for. Possibilities are endless, and different things happening at a different time might have caused her to fall for someone else entirely! That was what she had meant when talking about shadows – what might seem like an ‘ideal’ pair from one perspective may not seem like that at all from another. For instance, they might all find a pair unlikely, but the producers might see it in an entirely different light. All she could comment on is that if she had had the chance to choose, she would’ve picked him at the ceremony as well – that for the time being, she felt her connection to him was the most worth testing.
Emboldened by the words he’d said at the ceremony, she started feeling more confident in making advances towards him, and pushing him a little more… so, when he continued to avoid her gaze, she tried her hand at gently nudging him to look at her, not fully expecting it to work out. I think, from a bird’s eye standpoint, she’s not very used to being avoided like that – most people who met her at the Wisteria Pavilion had to pay an exorbitant price to do so, and those she was close with on the street she lived on were like her family, and had no reason to keep from looking at her directly. That isn’t to say no one’s ever been shy in her presence before… but Yi Sang’s avoidance always felt different than plain bashfulness. It felt like it went deeper than that, as she never saw him really looking at Anyone. She thought she’d just gently tease him a little and reassure him that it was okay to look at her, and that she wanted to see his gaze, too – because she did! Starting to feel a little flutter of something for him, she really wanted to look upon him properly; eyes are the windows to the soul, they say, after all… until then, she’d only really been able to read his gaze while it was slightly obscured by the angle.
It was really meaningful, then, that he pushed himself to meet her eyes, even if he broke away after a few short moments. It told her a lot about him. His gaze, while tentative and short lived, was gentle and wearied. As she would come to comment upon many times, he just always looked so tired… and uncertain, too, both things she felt she could steady and soothe in him. What would a well-rested, comforted Yi Sang look like? Looking into his eyes for the first time, she was determined to find the answer while being here, whether or not anything became of the tiny bud of her feelings.
But then everything changed when Odile one-shotted his single point of HP…….. I don’t really think Yingying was offended on his behalf, but more protective. Having seen how much he was struggling to speak, to connect with them all even in something as simple as making eye contact, Odile’s words were undoubtedly read as hurtful by her. To Yingying, it had seemed that his actions that day at the ceremony and after came from an immense internal effort, not to be taken lightly. Though he had struggled to confidently say who he was going to pick, he had worked up the courage to choose her and to write sincere words to accompany it, and to lift his head to look at her. She didn’t want that effort trampled on, even if inadvertently. Yingying isn’t the type to argue with or admonish others, so she approached the situation with her usual grace and patience, wanting to show Odile her perspective on things, instead of going ‘actually he asked for no pickles!!!!’ mode. She thought, perhaps, Odile couldn’t see how challenging it had been for Yi Sang to say what he had, to lift his head and look at her for the first time… to say it was all futile was akin to casting all his sincere efforts to the side with the trash.
On some matters, she knew that Odile was right – that whatever this ‘journey’ of his entailed, it was unlikely she’d be able to provide any guidance or help. Maybe it would turn out that Yingying was totally useless for him… she was still quite apathetic about her future, thinking that she would likely die or spend many more years imperceptible to the outside world before really being able to do anything. What use would a “traveler” like him have for someone like that? But she believed she was making positive strides with him, nonetheless. That she could bring out a different, more content side of him, before she faded away.
2/3
Not to the point of twisting his arm, though. Yingying can be extremely assertive, often doing things for others without their input or in spite of their protests. In Yi Sang’s case, though… it was already so rare for him to share his opinion; for him to reiterate his refusal seemed like the issue ran deeper than she could really comprehend at a glance. It’s why she was hesitant to accept it when he suddenly changed his tune, wondering if he was simply trying to do what she wanted without any regard for himself. When the time came for her to actually do it, she would’ve been very watchful for any signs of regret or trepidation… and she would’ve stayed with him until he woke.
The fact there was still so much lurking beneath the surface became more clear than ever when the apparitions appeared; I think she only ever understood Sang Yi to the extent of being an alternate self that Yi Sang used to speak with. A lesser person might have seen the brighter, smiling Yi Sang and been endeared by it, but truthfully… Yingying was a little unnerved by him? Yi Sang seemed so unwilling to talk about him, he quickly changed the subject when she tried to learn more… he was just not the cutieful eeyore she had come to know by those weeks. Not that she was suspicious of him or anything, she just didn’t really see him as “him,” but as a totally separate entity who just happened to look like him.
But since he shifted the focus back onto her, she let it happen because she could sense he wasn’t comfortable talking about whatever was between him and Sang Yi. She was happy to show him her moms anyway, they’re her most precious people… Yingying wasn’t quite as affected as some of the others by the visions; she’d been carting around their souls for so long, has had their imagery in her illusions so many times that seeing them again wasn’t too out of the ordinary. The most bittersweet part was not being able to talk to them, which is why she kept herself and Yi Sang far away from them… I think if she had gotten close and not been able to interact with them, that would have been the thing to make her upset, realizing that they couldn’t even play at being protective over her or fussing.
She was surprised to be asked about her happiness then… as she mentioned to him, she was happy being in the competition and getting to become close with the contestants. But her feelings beyond that were so vague, as he’d soon come to learn. She still couldn’t quite move forward from the past, still stuck in a purgatory of sorts despite the enjoyment she was getting in the competition. It could be said that she was the one wandering around in a futile, distracting respite, only prolonging the inevitable – not Yi Sang, as Odile has implied. He didn’t have to stay there all night with her to watch them, but he did… that was one of the most meaningful things he did forever.
All that only served to further support her thoughts that he had a sensitive soul, and that he truly cared about her. So, she was confident going into the Week 2 ceremony, certain of her feelings and that whether or not Yi Sang felt romantically for her, he had to at least care for her on a sentimental level to have done what he had. That being said, I think she was a little disappointed that he seemed so surprised when she said she would pick him… the sentiment he tried to share, that if she picked him it would be a moment unlike anyone else’s, went over her head somewhat. In her eyes, she took it more as him saying ‘being picked by anyone would be special,’ in a sort of cop-out sense…? Like, he had no complaints about being chosen by her, but did he actually Want to be picked??
But any reservations she might have had about him feeling ambivalent were temporarily eased by what happened after the rager… a part of her didn’t want anyone, let alone him, to see the wisteria in its true form, because Yingying just! Really! Does not want! People worrying about her!!! She’s always waving it off due to her apathy… in a way it was better that Yi Sang didn’t overreact or start showing a ton of dismay or concern for her right away, because that would’ve made her feel uncomfortable. That he would sit by the tree all night wasn’t that surprising – she knew already that he seemed to stay up, and he’d accompanied her with her moms – but the reasoning behind it is what gave her pause… I think she expected something more like curiosity or concern about her health to be the reasons for him sitting there. It’s why him commenting on the beauty of the rotted wisteria took her aback, because even though she knew he had a habit of saying things that might otherwise come off as very romantic and sensitive in the most face value way ever… it was really hard for her to take that any way than to heart. She’s never thought of what’s become of the wisteria as beautiful; it’s been a curse and a horrible “demonic” urban legend for the longest time. That he would find beauty in it still, beauty that she knew was earnestly felt and not just him feeling pity for her… it meant more than she could’ve ever explained. For the first time, she had a hard time accepting his words, because she didn’t think he understood the weight of what he was saying. Even more sincere and moving was the way he had so quietly turned to face where she was entombed in the trunk… the kindness of that gesture, that he would really look at her, whether the barren wisteria or the girl apart from the illusion, broke and won her heart at the same time. It hurt – Yi Sang was so gentle and empathetic, all while still not seeming to see himself as deserving of anything, nor was he even aware that someone might be touched by that kindness. But it made her fall for him, too – there was something fantastical and otherworldly about the earnest grace he had shown her. For a lack of a better term, she took it as overtly romantic, the kind of thing a yearning prince does for an ailing princess in a folktale, even knowing he probably didn’t mean it that way consciously.
All the more reason for her to be honest about her predicament, and her uncertainty for the future. She hadn’t yet acknowledged it to herself, but I think she wanted to be saved by him. Yingying speaks about her time wandering with the malevolent spirits as waiting and wishing for someone to save her, to bring her out of a world where everything around her is falling apart and dying. At this point, she didn’t know how to move forward with her life. But she did know that she didn’t want the woman still entombed in the wisteria to be forgotten… Yi Sang acknowledging her like that was the first step of many in her journey to really wish to live again, to be looked at again for real, the way Yi Sang had done first.
So too did she try to give her honest advice regarding his wings. Compared to the first week, even though he was still struggling along, she still felt he had come a long way in being able to speak his mind. She couldn’t be sure if the results were being carried over with other contestants… but it was a blessing enough that he could communicate his thoughts in however vague and quiet a way to her. If I had to choose a word for the way she felt towards this development… she was really proud of him.
And so! The Big Moment! After what had happened at the wisteria, she was completely convinced of and sure of her feelings. She had the intent and drive to make them known, and to pursue. It was obvious that Yi Sang didn’t have any experience in these matters, but that was okay! She didn’t mind!! And it was obvious to her that he clearly cared for her on a deep level; otherwise, he wouldn’t have made that expression looking at the trunk of the wisteria, wouldn’t have sat there all night while the party raged on. Yingying isn’t the self-deprecating or self-conscious type – she wasn’t thinking of excuses for him to have been sitting there, like “he just simply wanted a quiet place to read,” or something like that. No, after reflection, she could believe he sat there because he had been enchanted by the sight, and was waiting for her to reappear. So, at the ceremony, she wanted to communicate her feelings, to communicate to him that she cared for him. Yi Sang deserved that much, to feel loved and sought after, she thought. She just needed to think of a way to get that across to him in a way he’d understand… so she spent the rest of that day poring over the words she’d choose, balancing it between poetry and directness.
Born from what Yi Sang had told her about the mirror, she likened him to the moon in the sky, the “real” Yi Sang, the one whose beauty influences that in the lake. Of the two, he was the one her eyes were drawn to, alluring and central when compared to a reflection. He was real… and something to be admired. So too was he like autumn, which can be chilly and grey, all while bearing the fruits of the harvest. Everyone could see that Yi Sang was a bit morose; he’s quiet and a poor conversationalist, difficult to understand. But so too did he bear an abundance of gentleness and empathy for everyone. Melancholic, but comforting too, in the sweetness he carried along with him and gave to others. Like the fall! The passage of time is a big theme in Yingying’s lore – of course, the New Year is the most important holiday of all to her, when wishes are made. Yi Sang had explained to her already by this point that he was just trying to walk forward, and that time had seemed to stall… through her words, she wanted to impart to him the idea of looking forward, to making things to look forward to, whether that’s wishes, or connections, or anything else. Even if he feels he is not moving, time moves him along no matter what! So there will always be motion in his life, if he ever feels trapped.
All this, she tried to impart symbolically, thinking it would give him some things to reflect on… Yi Sang is an intellectual and very thoughtful; Yingying felt that he might understand what she was trying to say better if she said it artfully… that he might discover more and more what she had meant over time. The only part of it she kept direct was the part about her romantic feelings, which she figured he wouldn’t even pick up on unless she spelled it out for him… thus, “my heart fluttered underneath the wisteria with you,” and asking him to not leave her side. His response was cute, indicative of the very thing she’d been explaining – that he can be oblivious to hidden romantic/spicy meanings to his words – and she was happy and fond that he accepted what she said. No matching wasn’t too big a deal to her either – her feelings were strong enough and went beyond the confines of the competition.
After the ceremony, too, when he did his usual thing of not thinking much of himself, she decided to ramp up the teasing, kissing him again while leaving just enough room to try to keep him wanting. She felt confident at this point – that he probably felt something for her, though he might not understand it yet. Her plan from then on was to keep almost kissing him, almost coming on to him, until he worked up the courage to kiss her first or to make an advance on her.
3/3
At her date with Luka that week, she opened up about seriously trying to pursue Yi Sang, and confided in him about how it didn’t seem to be working. Further than that, she expressed what she had also alluded to during her date with Yi Sang that week – that he was quite obedient and eager to please, seemingly always wanting to bend to her whims. It was at this point that she started to have doubts… was Yi Sang just going along, trying to make her happy? Would it be fair if she kept pursuing, and he felt pressured, however unknowingly, to just let her affections happen? He lacked agency, and had from the beginning… Luka suggested being as direct as possible with him, but she worried that doing that would force his hand – ergo, why she had tried to coax him to chase her a little, rather than come on too strong. She talked about it with Aventurine too at the hot springs since she agreed to answer any question he asked – and very similarly, she just implied, very playfully, that there wasn’t much progress despite what she saw as direct action from her end. Despite explaining this to others, it’s important to note that her feelings weren’t hurt – she’s not really the type to wallow or feel sad if her feelings perhaps aren’t returned…. after all, it was obvious that Yi Sang cared about her on some level. She’d be happy for that no matter what, even if he didn’t feel quite the same way she did. Yingying is quite mature about matters of the heart…
Thus, sharing secrets at the hot springs with him, in light of all this discussion, became a more playful affair than a flirtatious one – he was acting cute, stuttering and emoting a little more, and that didn’t go unnoticed by her. His secret was an adorable one…. all this time, she’d been trying to see that kind of embarrassed, flustered reaction out of him… who knew something as cute as a little calf had gotten it out… but it was fine, because his stuttering and embarrassment over just recalling the event was like a delicious treat, anyhow. Even if he continued to never pick up the bait she left out for him when flirting. She decided to be merciful and shift the focus to her own secret, since it was important information about her livelihood anyhow – but she could’ve guessed from 10 miles away that Yi Sang was going to offer up some of his energy for her to have as soon as he learned about it. He’s too empathetic and self-sacrificial… not to mention not good at taking care of himself. That’s why she refused pre-emptively, still concerned about the way he seemed to bend to her will too easily with not much regard for himself. Her overarching goal throughout the competition was to get him to speak his mind more openly, and to gain some confidence… everytime he offered things like this to her, it just felt like he was endlessly giving without any thought for himself, and she didn’t want to encourage that. Still, she could tell he was genuinely trying to help her, so she told him plainly that she was happy he thought of her to that extent… it probably made her heart quicken on the inside, as did his comment that he would return to the wisteria when she eventually disappeared. She was beginning to give up on the idea that he felt the same… but she couldn’t help but still be besotted, resigning herself to pining for him quietly.
I think that feeling only intensified at the following ceremony…. suddenly, Yi Sang seemed to blossom. He was smiling, and speaking so openly… and she had known, since before, that he and Odile seemed to share a special connection – that of intellectuals and scholars. At that moment, though she did pick up on the subtle hints to both herself and their other colleagues in his speech at the ceremony, she saw Odile as the one with the clearest view of him, the one who could get through to him in a way she couldn’t. I wouldn’t say ‘discouraged’ is the right word to describe what she felt… but more like yearning, like he was just out of her reach. She was happy, really genuinely happy, to see his smile. Yingying knew on some level she had helped guide him there… but I think then, she still felt a sense of distance between them, an inability to get closer despite her efforts – which was a sensation she’s never felt before in life. It was bittersweet in a way she’d never known.
But! As before, she is really mature about these things. After the ceremony, I think she had respectfully accepted that it was the right thing to stop pursuing him, and that it was far more important to be happy and proud over his progress as an individual. She treasured him a lot as a friend too – it wasn’t just the romance to her. When he approached her after the ceremony, she kept up her usual playful antics, deciding to start insinuating that there was something going on between him and Odile instead (there probably wasn’t, but if there was… maybe he would blush and get cutieful…). Imagine her surprise when all of the sudden he wanted to talk in private… because he’d just expressed how free he was feeling, she assumed that what he wanted to talk about might have been whatever had prompted the final step in his big change – perhaps a special talk with Odile, or some realization he had come upon.
Instead, he alluded to how all this time, he may have misunderstood her words and intentions. She knew she could have successfully played it off and gaslit him into believing she had no idea what he was talking about… but that would be cruel, she thought, after Yi Sang had finally worked up the courage to speak his mind to this extent. She would take rejection gracefully if it came – she certainly wasn’t expecting him to reciprocate then. His words seemed more of an apology, like he’d realized her feelings and felt badly that he hadn’t been aware, and she didn’t want him to feel badly! She understood that he had had an innocent desire to try to see her wishes granted – hence, all his efforts to do as she asked – and she didn’t blame him for taking her words the way he had. If anything, it was most important to communicate to him that her most central emotion after the ceremony had still been relief and joy, all because his heart finally seemed ready to connect and open with others. That, like she said, had been her biggest wish from the beginning – by comparison, wishing that he might return her feelings was minuscule. That wasn’t self-deprecation on her part… that was her earnest care for him as an individual outweighing her personal feelings.
It was hard to tell whether his apology was simply because he felt badly that her feelings might have been hurt… or because he meant to confess feelings of his own, so she treaded lightly from there, prepared to accept rejection honorably if it came.
But it didn’t…! It was poetically ironic that his own confession was so cliche on its face, and that it called back to those words she’d teased him with during spin the bottle, which were definitely meant to imitate something cheesily romantic someone would say. It had been over the top back then on purpose… but here, it took on a totally different tone. There was a sweetness and boyishness to the way he wielded that very same phrase, paired with the innocent kiss on her cheek. He had made them his own. With those few short words, he was able to set aside any doubts she had that he would simply let himself get swept up in her affections… the words truly were his own, simple and heartfelt like so much else he had said to her. In lieu of a different term, it had been the perfect thing to say to set her worries to rest. Everything spilled out of her then, all she had wanted to say to him directly – that she wanted to see him smile, and to learn everything about his past, present and future. All the things she felt she couldn’t say before, not wanting to unduly pressure him. As I mentioned then, she confessed to him the full breadth of her affection while hugging him close, as prior to the actual confession, she’d think about saying all this in a way where he wouldn’t have to worry about whether to look at her or avert his gaze… she wanted him to just hear what she was saying with every ounce of affection she’d pour into the words, without having to think about anything else.
Anyways……… from then on, their relationship became quite doting and sweet, lacking some of the tentativeness or growing pains that an early stage relationship might have. The depth of her affections ran deep already, and now that Yi Sang had put a name to the feeling in him, their love was a profound one, rather than a fledgling one. It transcended things like mere infatuation or attraction. Loving Yi Sang, to Yingying, was about so much more: home, belonging, purpose, and the self. It’s more than just a relationship, it’s about their lives and journeys, and being happy going forward. Like him, she is deeply sentimental. Naturally, their love is like that too, and it allowed for a smooth transition from being companions to being lovers.
As such, whether he had expanded upon his secret or not… she would’ve waited patiently, like with everything else, for him to tell her when he was ready. I think hearing directly from him the abuse that he had suffered at the hands of Gubo recontextualized a lot of his behavior and thought processes, especially in the earlier weeks of the game. Who wouldn’t be reserved and withdrawn after having their trust betrayed like that? It also made her feel that his love was all that more precious to hold in her hands; it was no small feat that Yi Sang had kept such a sweet and gentle disposition in the face of such cruelty, where lesser others would become jaded and distrusting. Looking back on all their threads, there were several times that Yingying seemed to pick up on the potential for Yi Sang to be manipulated… I think it really broke her heart to find out that someone had already capitalized on that. His decision to leave and walk his own path, even if he had to be alone, was weightier for it… through all that hurt, he had still found the strength to go on, and she admired him more than ever, realizing that. He might have seen it as a failing on his part, but she didn’t see it that way – not even in a like, ‘I’m an apologist’ way. Just that’s a real ass man!!! Principled…
Continuing to be together after the competition was a no-brainer for her, and she had an inkling he would feel the same, but especially in light of what he’d just shared, she didn’t want to influence his decision in any way… from that moment on (and before), she wanted to protect and keep nurturing the agency he’d started to reclaim throughout the competition. She was elated, then, that he (finally!) could reach out and choose her, to see a future with her when not so long ago, neither of them saw much of a life ahead of themselves, apathetic to the idea of starting anew. Their love is very ‘saving each other’ energy. Yi Sang reminded her what it felt like to be cared for again, and she reminded him how to keep moving forward… they give each other hope, they really do.
She wouldn’t have dreamed of first touching anyone but him once her wish was granted… he was the one that had stayed by the wisteria’s side. He was the one she knew would still find beauty in her, no matter how her wish turned out. That’s the kind of love she’d only ever dreamed of having… in her event, her moms’ spirits note that what Yinging yearns for is a lifelong connection, and she feels she has that with Yi Sang. Dramatic maybe to think after four weeks, but her life has been an arduous and lonely one – four weeks of building this connection with him felt like a lifetime compared to the century of isolation she’d endured prior. From her perspective, their love is that world shattering and monumental. She felt more loved and cherished in those four weeks than she had since before the fall of the star. He’s really the love of her life.
Post the competition, she’s slowly phased out of calling anyone sweetheart but him… now others have become ‘my dear,’ or other nicknames, with sweetheart being reserved only for him. Because of him (and everyone’s) efforts, she feels motivated and excited to build a new life with him at her side… she couldn’t be happier or more fulfilled with him. Her sweetheart!
IM FREE