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TEMPERATURES RISING
To be sure, heat and cold are pretty simple concepts, as far as literary metaphors go. It almost lends itself to a "Duh, we all know that" response because the relationship between physical heat (and cold) and their symbolic emotional counterparts has become so ingrained in our minds that the association seems to go without saying.

But I'll say it anyway. Fantasy Couple may have employed a well-worn and familiar metaphor, but it used it often and it used it well. So it bears some analysis.

Anna was always cold at heart, which we recognize instantly in her demeanor, speech patterns, and, oh yes, callous disregard for all persons not herself. Because this is a kdrama that doesn't seek to turn the genre on its head, we can be assured fairly early on that she will fall in love and said love will thaw out her cold, cold heart. But really, it's the how that is so entertaining, rather than the what (i.e., the happily ever after), because that has been preordained in the annals of kdrama convention since the beginning of time, or, at least the advent of the "trendy drama" in the early ’90s.

When Anna/Sang Shil first enters Chul Soo's household bearing most of Anna's frosty mannerisms, she first encounters physical warmth when she uses a plaster, a type of medicated bandage that offers soothing warmth (like a patch of Bengay). The plaster is a novel concept for her, but one which her affection-starved self is quick to latch onto. The idea is introduced so simply that it would seem like reading too much into too little (something I have been accused of more than once), if not for its thematic reinforcement in later instances. When Chul Soo suffers body aches from weathering a harsh storm, she covers his arms in plasters, and offers the same comfort to Billy when he falls down and scrapes his arms. To Anna, this newfound heat source becomes her cure-all for physical pain.

Later, Sang Shil's reaction to electric blankets ("You mean there was such a thing in the world?") is telling. She was as unused to the idea of that kind of physical warmth as she was the emotional kind, but she quickly grows attached to it. Chul Soo also briefly entertains the idea of making a room for Sang Shil. Despite knowing that she will eventually leave, he wants to solidify her place in the household more firmly by buying her a bed, because sleeping on the couch could never be anything more than a temporary arrangement. He then makes the electric heating pad a permanent fixture of the couch, signifying his wish to make Sang Shil's place permanent as well. After all, when Sang Shil looks saddenedby his gesture, she tells Chul Soo that it’s so nice and warm that she doesn't want to be parted from it, and we see the beginnings of her reluctance to leave her identity as Sang Shil. Chul Soo replies that she should just stay stuck to the couch, then. His actions correspond to his growing feelings for Sang Shil, and he reinforces them when he fixes the windowpanes to block out the cold more effectively.

When Anna retrieves her memory after falling into the pool, she dreams she's sitting with Chul Soo on the beach, and tells him she likes it there with him where it's warm. Her subconscious, dreaming brain knows it's time to leave his side, and dream-Chul Soo tells her to rise and go, since she's found her old self again, but she's loath to do so. Later that day, Billy finds her standing alone in the cold on the balcony. He tells her to go inside, but she tells him that she prefers the cold: "I don't want to remember being warm." For her, warmth signifies the newfound (and only) happiness in her life, and the loss of that is too painful to remember. Therefore, she would rather revert to her formerly cold self, and the physical coldness of the weather is her first step in that direction. She falls asleep on her (new, unheated) couch, but this time she awakens wondering why it's so cold. She'd sought out her old place looking for comfort, but it's no longer the same. Anna tells Billy not to mistake himself; just because she had opened her heart while she was Sang Shil doesn't mean she has changed forever. In order to stay with Billy, she will need to harden herself once again and become cold.

And here's an interesting side note. I don't know if the writers had meant to lay in the symbolism this far, and am inclined to think they hadn't, but as it turns out, the analogy works nicely. Even if the following was an unplanned association, it's a sign that the literary mechanisms are working well when they relate to such small moments as this: Kang Ja enjoys playing children's games, such as Freeze Tag (where whoever's "It" chases others around, tagging them so that they have to stay unmoving until they're untagged by another player). Sang Shil had once unfrozen Kang Ja from her literal inability to move, and in the last episode, Kang Ja unfreezes Anna from her figurative emotional stasis. She shows a keen prescience that is usually absent or overlooked by people who dismiss her asthe neighborhood crazy girl. Anna is having difficulty putting her past as Sang Shil behind her, so she intends to run away to America, but with everyone hanging onto her, she finds herself unable to move. Kang Ja asks Anna if she's frozen, and for once she's metaphorically on the money. She tells Anna she'll "ddeng" and unfreeze her, and thus free Anna from her obligation to remain icy and untouchable. Anna doesn't have to remain frozen if she doesn't want to, just as Kang Ja could have always just moved while playing Freeze Tag, rather than waiting for someone to come along to give her permission.

And here we have the lovely culmination of this straightforward but carefully layered metaphor: In order for Anna to survive apart from Chul Soo and her former happy life, she must leave behind warmth. Physical heat is only welcome when she is able to experience the corresponding emotional warmth; otherwise, the literal heat only contrasts with its glaring omission in her heart. Thank god for us all she and Chul Soo chose to be happy and left us with one last image of them basking in the sunshine on the cold -- er, I mean, warm beach!