Heart to Heart: The not-so-sick patient?

Eps5/6 of Heart are fun to watch, cos Hong-do’s therapy makes some really speedy progress; to the point that I am questioning whether she DOES have agoraphobia in the first place, or is it a case of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) “brought about by a woman”, as suggested by Yi-seok.

Firstly, Hong-do doesn’t seem to have problems taking the initiative in (ahem) bed. In the hilarious scene where she locks herself in her cupboard the morning-after — her hidey hole becomes a personal sound-surround 3D movie theatre as she sees flashbacks of herself nuzzling and kissing Yi-seok the night before. Doesn’t seem to me that she is exhibiting any shyness when it comes to foreplay. Even Yi-seok looks kinda surprised at her transformation. And Hong-do actually asks her one-night-stand partner if he has seen a hole in the panties she wore that night?! (ok, maybe not straight out, but then again, you won’t think of asking such a question unless you are soooo comfortable with the guy) On a sidenote, it’s also interesting that Yi-seok has no problem sleeping with Hong-do. We are reminded again of his previous disinterest or distancing from sex (?) with his ex-girlfriend(s), when Yeon-woo (his latest ex) chances upon him and Hong-do in bed.

Secondly, besides being able to perform in the Naughty category, Hong-do appears to rely less on her helmet in her daily interactions with people. She already has no qualms taking off her helmet in front of Yi-seok (and then giving him a piece of her mind after that). When Yi-seok is treating a high school girl in ep4 (or rather, when the high school girl is trying Yi-seok’s patience), Hong-do is helmet-less AND able to converse with the girl. The progress extends to her brief conversation with Doo-soo too, when she runs after him to “explain” why she is caught being so “friendly” (read: having too much bodily contact) with Yi-seok. Her safety helmet at that point is flung on in haste, and she doesn’t buckle it and pop the visor down as per usual. Yet she has no problems talking to Doo-soo, although she does end up being tongue tied trying to explain why Yi-seok is lying on top of her and both are giggling. (which, imo, is normal, given that she has been caught in a rather compromising position with another guy by her crush)

Lastly, the most telling sign of her progress is her willingness to actually meet Doo-soo, something she dreams of, but doesn’t dare to put into action in the previous eps. In ep4, Doo-soo (who finally realises he LIKES her romantically…duh..that guy) asks her out on a date. Hong-do doesn’t make excuses on not going but whirls around picking up clothes to dress up for the date. And she really intends to meet Doo-soo, had Yi-seok not prank her and mislead her into thinking that the hospital is on fire.

To me, Hong-do’s sociophobic tendencies are beginning to evaporate around the edges. Similarly, the other two guys in Heart also show marked growths. Yi-seok, for the first time in a relationship, finds himself being jerked around by a girl. Which he finds annoying, but refreshing — and most importantly, it makes him realise that he has been a selfish prick all along with his ex-es. Doo-soo, on the other hand, decides to stop being Mr Indecisive and realises that he cannot “go with the flow” all the time and ignoring what he really wants. Although his fiancee is the one who dumps him first, it probably also won’t take long for him to break off the marriage, as he realises he cares more about Hong-do than he’d admit.