#i hope hyun jae doesn't get too depressed :(

[notfreetoday]

On Returning Favors in Jun & Jun

First of all @plantsarepeopletoo and @twig-tea I'm really sorry I couldn't do this in a reblog to your original post - I think there were just too many gifs and tumblr wouldn't let me post it once I started adding links - so I reblogged a link to this post instead! Second of all - apologies for just randomly jumping in all of a sudden but I think a lot of things are being read through different cultural lenses here and I thought it'd be nice to exchange perspectives. Returning favors seems to be seen as an imposed burden in OP's post, something that is demanded of an individual as opposed to an individual expressing their desire to show appreciation. Also, some of the English subs are awkward, and whilst I certainly don't speak enough Korean to give a blow-by-blow translation - I've asked friends who do and done some research for myself.

Except, the comment about not letting Jun eat made me cautious. Telling him to eat, and not skip, like Jun was prone to skipping breakfast, but we saw he was already at the convince store. It's the start of the implied ineptitude of Jun.

Asking if someone has eaten, and reminding someone to eat, to most Asians, is more of a way to show concern for each other than it is an actual, functional question. Hyun Jae is simply expressing his care for Lee Jun, not actually implying that Lee Jun doesn't know how to take care of himself. As for the comment Lee Jun makes about "previously you wouldn't even let me drink a sip of water" - this has been mentioned in some of the show's already released BTS videos/interviews where they each introduce their characters but not in specifically in the show yet so [SPOILER IN YELLOW] this is a reference to Hyun Jae previously being Lee Jun's manager when he was an idol.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Jo Chan Hyun Hyun Jae is the one who made Jun think he NEEDED to return favors. He at least is using the idea of favors to get closer to Jun. But who demands, expects, or allows close friends/brothers to return favors for things like that? That's just a "thank you"

I don't really feel as if Hyun Jae is demanding anything in return - I think Lee Jun wants to do it of his own volition. As a junior in a workplace, having a senior give you little tips, even if it's just about the type of people at the office, is often appreciated. And whilst it is considered good manners to look for a way to "repay" or "give back" or "return the favor" as a way of showing gratitude and acknowledging their effort, it is not expected, and if a senior lorded a favor over a junior then that would be considered poor behavior (unfortunately toxic workplace environments and harassment in Korea is well known). But here all Hyun Jae has done thus far is to look out for Lee Jun and make sure he settles in well, and really all Lee Jun would need to do in return is to be respectful, listen closely and do his best in his job (not putting in effort would result in a loss of face for Hyun Jae). A step further would be to treat someone to a meal as thanks or bring back some local delicacies from your hometown or after coming back from a holiday (again, we Asians like food). However, the show has established that Lee Jun feels very strongly about returning favors so that someone's kindness isn't taken for granted - so he pays a lot more attention to these things than the average person. I do, however, agree that Hyun Jae pays special attention to Lee Jun because well, he likes him.

Lee Jun is ordering the coffees just fine, honestly. Then Hyun pulls this stunt and starts rattling off orders. To impress Jun? To make Jun feel off balance?

I think this may not have come across in the English subtitles - Lee Jun makes a small mistake when ordering the drinks - he says "two ice vanilla lattes, and 5 americanos...and..." - because he forgets to indicate that the americanos are iced as well, the lady at the cashier interrupts him to confirm "iced...right?" but turns towards Hyun Jae instead. Lee Jun follows up saying "oh yes 4 iced americanos and 1 hot, and one hot chocolate latte, and lemonade...". This is the part where Hyun Jae interrupts Lee Jun and rattles off the orders in verbal shorthand instead. I don't actually see this as Hyun Jae pulling a stunt but...as someone who has made similar coffee runs for my seniors before, I will say I was sufficiently impressed hahaha It's a more efficient way of ordering and well as a newbie who will likely be making many coffee runs in the future, it's good for Lee Jun to know that (it really is quite a stressful thing and it's not easy to learn the verbal shorthand yourself). It does also show that Hyun Jae takes care of his team, because he knows these orders by heart, which means he's going himself and not sending the youngest on the team to go. And it's also a nice way to fit in the 2nd reference to the spoiler up in yellow I mentioned earlier. The rest of the conversation in the coffee shop... I don't actually think Hyun Jae is being condescending at all. Admittedly, some of the phrasings sound awkward in English - "High maintenance" for eg is not the best translation and sounds rather insulting in English - that whole sentence is probably more like "you really are new (to this) aren't you! Or hmm... maybe it's just that you're a handful?". Incidentally this is the same phrase that Choi Jun will use to describe Lee Jun later too - and in both situations, Lee Jun protests that phrase. Here, when Lee Jun says he's better with the skills one needs to function in society (not just social skills), Hyun Jae offers the praise that Lee Jun has always done well in that aspect - hence Lee Jun's shy smile and "really?". Maybe the sentence after that, where Lee Jun says "I still have many areas I'm not good in right? For now, I'll have to trouble you to keep looking out for me, even if that might be annoying for you", sounds a little too deferential in English? It's actually a really common way to talk about yourself and ask for continued guidance when you're new - it's also implied that you will make mistakes because of how new you are, and you're asking for leniency when it does happen. There are many versions of this phrase in many different languages (mostly Confucian Heritage Cultures) but it is an explicit request (and in some places, is accompanied by a gift, if more formal). Hence in response to that request Hyun Jae asks "so how will you repay me? Don't tell me... you're just saying that (without really meaning it)?". It's at this point that Lee Jun switches from addressing Hyun Jae as Hyung to his work title, Team Leader, and asks "Is there anything you might like to eat?". Again, this is really common - treating someone to a meal as a way to express thanks (yes we really like food). Hyun Jae then suggests Lee Jun treats him to a meal with his first paycheck.

This is like reaching a milestone in life. It may sound like I'm exaggerating, but it's true. This isn't about owning anyone a favor, it's about expressing gratitude to someone who has gone out of their way to help you in your life, and it feels good to be able to do it. When I first started work, my seniors and superiors paid for my meals whenever we went to eat. No amount of protesting was going to stop that - because I was "young" and "still learning". I still remember how it felt when I finally moved up in rank and my senior actually allowed me to pay for myself (but not treat), and a few years later, my (much more senior) mentor finally accepted my formal request to bring her out for dinner - because that was an acknowledgement that I had "grown up". There's a reason why Lee Jun is so enthusiastic about using his first paycheck to treat Hyun Jae - it's a recognition of Lee Jun's ability and well, of becoming someone who can contribute to society.

About the chocolate milk - no that's just Hyun Jae chasing Lee Jun hahaha Now I'm sorry for replying to 2 blog posts in one reblog but...

did Hyun Jae not just agree when Lee Jun asked if the Director was nice in ep1 (instead he caveats "you could say that")?

Here Lee Jun actually asks "So (based on what you said) it seems like the Director is a good person?" to which Hyun Jae replies "Mmm... (seems like) a good person, right?". He's not really throwing shade here, he's just agreeing with Lee Jun (and asking for Lee Jun's confirmation - you can read more about the ~지(요) sentence ending here)

Did I imagine him holding his lanyard down so that he would not have to hold the coffee cup with two hands when handing it to Choi Jun?

This is also an acceptable way to hand something to someone actually (3rd point from the bottom)

About the direction Hyun Jae is facing when he drinks - no clue actually. I thought it was weird too.

Ok so ends my sharing! Sorry it got so long. If you're interested in more discussions about social hierarchy in Confucian Heritage Cultures, I've written a small section here when I talked about Win/Team from Between Us (Korea and the Thai-Chinese community are both considered CHCs and thus the concept of the senior/junior dynamic is similar)