#Seungtak is Youngmin’s puppy

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Whomst Reviews: Ghost Doctor

(For those of you Kdrama Tumblrites who haven’t seen this masterpiece yet)

So you know how you watched an episode of Gray’s Anatomy and thought, this would be better if it was gayer and had more ghosts?

Have I got the show for YOU

Episode 1 Recap:

Once upon a time, there was a grumpy introvert heart surgeon named Cha Youngmin. He’s out here in his fancy little suits existing day to day for his work, being That Bitch to everyone to avoid feeling things, just him and his sugar glider son Man Du against the world.

Enter: one (1) naive but pure-hearted rich boy twink named Go Seungtak who loves drinking fancy coffee, showering people with gifts, taking naps, and avoiding real responsibility due to trauma-related anxiety and depression issues (so this is my drama debut tbh)

Necessarily, they clash! Bc Seungtak is the hospital foundation heir, his grandfather has decided that in order to manage the hospital, Seungtak should become a surgeon instead of using his MBA to manage things (not quite following the logic here but sure), and Youngmin, as an esteemed (if disliked) surgeon and all-around girlboss, does Not Like That.

Seungtak immediately falls in love becomes fascinated with Youngmin’s personality and impressed by his skills, and follows him around like the puppy-brained little shit he is. 

Unfortunately, as Youngmin simultaneously decides to make “tormenting Seungtak” his whole personality, this leads to a sad Puppy being first humiliated during a surgery then exiled to ER work. Mondays, bro. 

It’s the first warning we see that Youngmin can allow his emotions to sway his judgment (you know, that thing he bitches at everyone about doing? yeah), because:

1.) he let a first-year resident help with an operation on his first day at work,

2.) he immediately jumps to conclusions and publicly berates that resident for failures instead of assessing what went wrong, and

3.) he’s assigned as Seungtak’s mentor but jettisons him asap the next day after Seungtak witnesses him arguing with his ex (more on her in a sec)

It’s hard to say what would have become of the pair if not for a series of unfortunate and premeditated events brought to us by Hospital Mean Girl Han Seungwon and Corporate Asshat Jang Minho, and liberally edited by Bitch-Ass-Liar An Taehyeon. 

The grandpa-style chairman of a corporation thingy goes in for surgery that Youngmin is initially reluctant to try, as it has a low chance of success and would not give him much more time. We see multiple times that Youngmin will give up on a risky patient rather than spend extra money for what he assumes/judges to be futile efforts. However! Then his ex SeJin shows up, and surprise she’s the daughter of said chairman, who left Korea and now works in Seattle as a neurosurgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital

Having researched her dad’s condition, she doesn’t want Youngmin to do the surgery either; so naturally, Youngmin decides to do the surgery. 

This is ultimately what sets everything else into motion. The chairman’s surgery is an initial success, but then Youngmin gets a text from SeJin and leaves his resting  patient behind (we are told that a surgeon is supposed to stay and monitor the patient until they wake up).

Next thing we know, Youngmin has been in an accident:( and he’s having an out of body experience. We are talking full Patrick Swayze here. He gets rushed to his own hospital.

Who’s available in the ER to assess the patient? Yep, Youngmin’s played himself here, because Seungtak is on duty. Ghost Youngmin screams a lot at people who can’t hear him, realizes that he can’t touch anything in the physical world and thus can’t save himself with his ghost body, and cycles through stages of grief like he’s doing the Tour de France. Oops. 

After assessment, Seungtak takes him to the ER so some surgeon can perform a cardiac tamponade surgery—except the surgeons aren’t answering their phones. Like, none of them. What the hell is going on in this hospital??

So then our brave little toaster Takkie decides to pick up the scalpel himself, despite being visibly panicked. Youngmin, an eternal micromanager, automatically reaches to correct Seungtak’s grip and possesses him instead. 

We end the episode with Youngmin doing surgery on himself??

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*bursts back in the room after being gone like two minutes* anD ANOTHER THING

Ummm Youngmin’s face?? This time I’m not even talking about the Soft Look in the first gif, which is my own personal catnip on rainy days, nope. No I’m talking about the bewilderment of getting surprise hugs, genuine playful affection, just fully lovebombed by this intrepid twink puppy.

We don’t know much about Cha Youngmin’s early days—just that he was poor, hardworking, and secretly lived for Acts of Service love language with Sejin, who may have been his only person at all. And then she was gone—not her fault, which he couldn’t have known and she couldn’t have explained—and that left Youngmin the intern lonelier and more closed off than ever.

By the time we meet him as Professor Cha, he’s practically robotic, the ice prince of the hospital. He’s mean to his ex girlfriend SeJin (it’s been like 10 years, my dude) and bullies a new resident based on minimal interactions with both. Even as a coma ghost, he’s closed off and callous—he sees people care for his comatose body and finds things to complain about, he doesn’t think twice about possessing and terrifying some kid he worked with for all of two days, etc. you kinda see why he’s so unpopular, a la Scrooge.

Except.

Except the day before he became a coma ghost, this fucker named Go Seungtak showed up, grabbed Youngmin’s hand to shake when they meet, called him an asshole and a genius in the same breath, smiled no matter what Professor Cha throws at him, let the coma ghost Youngmin possess him with minimal complaint, was the one person to try to save Youngmin in surgery…

Seungtak hugs him like a lost baby chick returned to the nest the second Youngmin wakes up and is himself. It’s so beautiful and it’s the story underlying the main story: that in your worst circumstances, you learn who your friends really are. Even as Sejin is struggling with her dying father, she’s taking care of Youngmin and talking to him. Seungtak molds his entire life around saving Youngmin, and here is just so happy and openly affectionate with him, and the look on Youngmin’s face here is so unguarded for a moment because he has no idea what to do with that, with this honest, sweet kid who cares so openly for him. With his people that have been here for his curmudgeonly ass.

Look. I ship these two bitches with each other and ship SeJin with myself, and that’s my business. But regardless of whether you see them as bros or a couple, the bonding between the two of them is healing. Finally someone’s doing actual healing work around this hospital.

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Goodbye puppy Go Seungtak, professor Cha Youngmin and Ghost Doctor. Thank you. You will be missed a lot.

Screenshots trans: @/kimbum_global on Instagram.

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"Man, he's so tiresome. Okay, he said I should reveal it. I'll do just that."

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"Let's save the patient first. Cha Youngmin-ssi. Now, shall we officially get started?"

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Cha Youngmin walking away from his past (ex girlfriend) and going towards his future (Go Seungtak). Yes, that's how I interpreted this scene. Seeing what happens (at least so far) in the episodes after that, I'd say I'm not wrong. Also, Takie's face in the last gif... he's simultaneously concerned and "Oof, awkward af. Bad timing ig".

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"Are you close? It's like that. Friendships bloom on a battlefield. Enemies become lovers fast friends."

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No one was more excited than Go Seungtak to know that Cha Youngmin had a chance of waking up instead of dying. Look at him running and smiling like a happy lil puppy. Look at Youngmin's fondness for Seungtak. (also, "you use me during the day and at night" excuse me, sir.)

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Youngmin: so... I screwed up.

Seungtak: *scolds him like an angry puppy*

Youngmin: *becomes a scaredy-cat*

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WHAT THE FUCK the new episode of Ghost Doctor and that part in the preview of the next one:

Seems like he's trying to kiss him with their matching clothes and all. Even if the context ends up being another thing entirely. I could feel the tension from here.

Why is it turning more and more into a love story of destined soulmates between Go Seungtak and Cha Youngmin? With Youngmin literally saying their connection must be from a past life or the universe/destiny. Why are they so cute and funny and wholesome? Now that they're working together, getting to know each other more and supporting each other. My heart can't take it. Its getting so romantic??? People will call it bromance like always but the only B in this Bromance is bisexuality.

Blessed the day I wanted to and started watching this series to see if it was going to be another "disguised" love story between the male leads. Just like the day I met TDJ. It's becoming a tvN thing I guess... This one is a bit lighter storywise with lots of humor but still has its tension and angst/comfort moments. I recommend it if you want to have a laugh and relax a bit with this chaotic duo.

Also, it's canon to me: Takie is a puppy and a brat. He wants Minie to be his dilf/owner and brat tamer.