Tao of K-drama: The Meaning of "When"

I play The New York Times' game Connections almost every day. I'm not that good at it. I like to think that this is because the connections require cultural knowledge that I don't have, like the names of music magazines. But I know that I'm not that quick at making connections, which is why my various research projects -- and certainly my study of K-drama -- have each taken so long. This is a long introduction to the simple fact that I'm watching When the Weather is Fine for the third time and just got the importance of "when." 

The first "when" is spoken by Muk Hae-won to a friend who abused her trust when they were in high school. She says she can't talk to her then but will "when the weather is fine." It is a curious statement. Later, her lover, Im Eun-seop, says to her, "You will be leaving in the spring," ie, "when the weather is fine." Shortly after that, her aunt asks, "Aren't you leaving in the spring?" 

Im Eun-seop, his adoptive family fears, might also leave, but when? His little sister screams at him in fury at the threat of his leaving. When did you start to love me so much, he asks her. "When I was born!" she shouts through her tears. 

The "when" is a marker of uncertainty, the possibility of loss, that one loves from that position of uncertainty. Muk Hae-won thinks to herself, "I wish you [Eun-seop] would say 'stay by my side.'" Im Eun-seop wants to say to his little sister, "I'm not leaving," but can't let the words go. And so the unspoken words come to stand for what might happen "when the weather is fine" or some other fearful moment that hovers in the future. 

"When the Weather is Fine" is not meant to imply "we'll see daffodils," but rather, "When the weather is fine, I will lose you." It is this spoken/unspoken terror that is at the heart of the show.