Castella gift fulfills final wish and halts Lee Ga-gyeong's departure

Lee Ga-gyeong abandoned her trip to the United States during the 10th episode of '100 Days of Deception' on the 8th. After receiving a lunch box containing castella from Yoo So-ran, Lee Ga-gyeong chose to return to save Yoo So-ran, fulfilling the final will of the late Geum Seok-jung.

A gift of castella from Yoo So-ran (Kim Hyun-joo) has halted Lee Ga-gyeong's (Kim You-jung) journey to the United States. The lunch box contained the memory of a daughter who could not fulfill her father's final request, the longing for a deceased husband, and an affectionate heart for Lee Ga-gyeong, whom she cherishes like her own daughter. As the final will left by Geum Seok-jung (Kam Woo-sung) was belatedly fulfilled, the intersecting fates of the three individuals moved viewers.

In the 10th episode of the tvN weekend drama '100 Days of Deception' broadcast on the 8th, Lee Ga-gyeong, who was preparing to head to the United States, is shown turning back in the face of an unexpected gift. Immediately after a bomb exploded at the Government-General of Korea, Lee Ga-gyeong prioritized the safety of Yoo So-ran over her own well-being and went to search for her.

However, Kim Myeong-nam (Park Jung-yeon) harshly urged Lee Ga-gyeong to leave. "Hurry up and go. If we stay here, we will all be caught. Why are you suddenly looking for loyalty when you are someone for whom everything ends once you go to the United States?" she pressed. While Lee Ga-gyeong hesitated, unable to find Yoo So-ran, she eventually entered the vehicle when Kim Myeong-nam repeatedly pressured her, asking, "What are you doing instead of going to Gyeongseong Station? Aren't you going to the United States?" and when Park Se-hwan, a member of the national salvation group, arrived to take her to the station.

Park Se-hwan handed Lee Ga-gyeong a bag containing the documents necessary for her trip to the United States, along with a lunch box prepared by Yoo So-ran. He explained, "All the documents for the United States are in the bag. Comrade Yoo So-ran told me to give this to you to eat on the ship." Although it was the final item for her departure, the contents of the lunch box were more than just a meal. While thinking of Yoo So-ran and Kim Tae-ung (Park Jin-young), Lee Ga-gyeong discovered an envelope and a letter, and her heart began to waver as she read the words written inside.

Yoo So-ran's letter contained a desperate plea for Lee Ga-gyeong. It read, "Ga-gyeong, once you go to the United States, live your life according to your own will. Neither I nor my daughter could do so, but I hope at least you will certainly do so. Live happily. You must do so." The message conveyed her sincere wish that Lee Ga-gyeong could enjoy the freedom and happiness that she herself could not achieve in her own life. The snack Yoo So-ran placed in the lunch box was castella.

This castella overlapped with the final will of the late Geum Seok-jung. Before he died, Geum Seok-jung had requested Lee Ga-gyeong to buy castella and deliver it to Yoo So-ran. However, Lee Ga-gyeong did not even know what castella was, so she was ultimately unable to fulfill that request. The scene where Yoo So-ran personally prepares the castella and hands it to Lee Ga-gyeong created a meaning beyond a simple snack.

In the past, Yoo So-ran had shared a memory of a promise made by her husband, Geum Seok-jung, that when spring came, they would go to Gyeongseong together with their daughter Geum Seo-hui to eat castella. However, that promise was never realized. For Yoo So-ran, who wailed at her husband's death, castella was a food symbolizing the time they could not spend together and the unfulfilled wishes of their family. She has now passed on the request her husband left to his daughter to Lee Ga-gyeong, whom she cherishes like a daughter.

The emotional resonance was even deeper because Yoo So-ran gifted the castella to Lee Ga-gyeong, which she had been unable to eat with her biological daughter, Geum Seo-hui. Considering that Lee Ga-gyeong is the person carrying the name and life of Geum Seo-hui, the lunch box can be read as a medium where Yoo So-ran's longing for her lost daughter and husband intersects with the affection she extends toward her new family. As Geum Seok-jung's final request reached Lee Ga-gyeong through Yoo So-ran, the emotional link that had long remained incomplete was finally connected.

Ultimately, Lee Ga-gyeong abandoned her trip to the United States and returned to Yoo So-ran's house. She succeeded in saving Yoo So-ran, who was under suspicion from the Japanese police, but in the process, her identity as a spy was discovered by Kim Tae-ung. The return she chose to protect Yoo So-ran brought about another crisis. Tension in the drama intensified as Yoo So-ran's plea to live a free life collided directly with Lee Ga-gyeong's choice, which could not ignore her.

Contained in a piece of castella was not a sweet snack, but an unfulfilled family promise and a desperate wish for the next generation to be happy. The reason Lee Ga-gyeong, who held the documents for the United States, turned back was ultimately because she could not ignore Yoo So-ran, who embraced her like a daughter. The castella, which began with Geum Seok-jung's final will, reconnected the relationship between Kim Hyun-joo and Kim You-jung, leaving a deep impression on viewers.

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