"I can't do what I want to do anymore"… The diverging temperatures between 'Salon De Nabi's Kim Hyang-gi and Park Woo-yeol

The early narrative of the drama 'Salon De Nabi' unfolds through sharp confrontations between characters who have experienced an intense desire for dreams and loss. According to a review video released on the YouTube channel 'JTBC Drama', the protagonist Kim Hyang-gi is depicted as a person with extreme introversion, showing her process of attempting to adapt to society as a hair salon intern.

The struggles of social misfit Kim Hyang-gi and conflicts at the hair salon

In the video, Kim Hyang-gi is portrayed as a person with socially maladaptive traits, finding it difficult even to make eye contact with others. Having passed the internship for a franchise hair salon where masters of the beauty industry gather, she becomes a member of 'E-ventures' after many twists and turns thanks to a majority pass rule. However, her clumsy communication style immediately hits a realistic wall. Her habit of avoiding eye contact or mumbling during conversations with customers becomes a factor that causes her professional qualities as a hairdresser to be questioned.

In particular, while Kim Hyang-gi attempts to change by accepting advice from colleagues, situations arise where she unintentionally causes discomfort to customers. According to the subtitles and transcript in the video, Kim Hyang-gi faces traumas experienced as a hairdresser, such as being pointed out by customers, "Why don't you look people in the eye?" due to her characteristic of being unable to make eye contact, or the results of her efforts leading to total disasters. The criticism, "If you're like this, it'll be a problem even if you become a designer. How can you meet customers with that personality? How can you consult them?" is depicted as a trauma she has suffered her whole life. This process goes beyond simple professional training, capturing the process of a person clumsy at forming social relationships finding her place.

Park Woo-yeol who lost his dream, the sense of loss contained in the words "Just die then"

Park Woo-yeol, the counterpart of Kim Hyang-gi's conflict, forms a narrative at the exact opposite point from Kim Hyang-gi. According to the video, Park Woo-yeol is a person who can no longer achieve the dream he desperately wanted in the past due to an accident. He shows an attitude as if he has no special lingering affection for hairdressing work and reacts cynically toward Kim Hyang-gi, who struggles for her dream.

Park Woo-yeol throws an extreme remark at Kim Hyang-gi, saying, "I can't do what I want to do anymore, then just die then," showing how he dismisses the efforts of one moving toward a dream as 'nothing special.' This is read as a remark projecting his own sense of loss. He reveals that he did not place true sincerity in the profession of hairdressing, having even registered for a beauty academy in the past just to meet women, and sets up a confrontation with Kim Hyang-gi's sense of mission. Despite Kim Hyang-gi's protest, "I'm struggling because if I don't struggle, I can't survive here either," Park Woo-yeol shuts down her efforts by saying, "Do you think you've become some great person by doing that?" The collision between the two characters clearly shows the temperature difference arising from the fact that the 'weight of dreams' each possesses is different.

The formation of the hair salon 'E-ventures' and the aspects of various characters

The hair salon 'E-ventures' begins with the launch of three generations of beauty industry masters. According to the video, various characters with diverse personalities are gathered here. Michelle, who sets the mood with her abundant Chuseok dance; Jen, who performs complex coloring like magic; and Kwang-soo, who is rumored to have skill but a temper. They gathered under the name 'Salon De Nabi', but from the early stages of operation, they face difficulties in sales tasks such as handing out flyers. In particular, Kim Hyang-gi shows a side that is so clumsy at social interaction that even a smile feels like terror, and she endures a harsh reality, such as facing a complaint from the 58,000th customer just 3 months after the salon opened.

The point where different temperatures collide, the beginning of a relationship

The video highlights the process where characters confirm each other's temperature differences and exchange wounds. While Kim Hyang-gi feels anger at Park Woo-yeol's cynical attitude, she also feels complex emotions as she understands the depth of the loss he holds. Park Woo-yeol also leaves room for change as he faces Kim Hyang-gi's persistent efforts and clumsy sincerity.

In the closing stage of the review video, a scene appears where Kim Hyang-gi uses her hairdressing skills to touch someone's hair in order to apologize to Park Woo-yeol. Although it is a clumsy method, it can be interpreted as Kim Hyang-gi's attempt to communicate with others and restore relationships in her own way. The sight of Kim Hyang-gi saying, "I like this work too," and beginning not to leave the hair, suggests her growth. The drama 'Salon De Nabi' proceeds by forecasting how characters with different wounds and temperatures will step into each other's domains through the medium of hairdressing.