We’re back at some familiar nice houses, where it’s 1913. Yai sits alone, watching Kaew dance Chui Chai. Then some flashbacks/flashfowards show a bloody, tragic, vague fate.
And another Kaew wakes up from this nightmare in 1947
Awake, he and his Mom are about to be evicted for non-payment of rent. A stranger stops the landlord from punching him, but it’s not Yai, it’s some guy named Saen.
Not only does Saen pay the landlord, he has the last will and testament for Chao Meun Samur Jairatch (Yai). Kaew is his only descendant, so he gets a house. The name is familiar to Kaew For Some Reason, but otherwise, he and his mom have no idea what’s happening.
While they inspect the documents, a man named Sin arrives and calls Saen “Dad”. Sin appears to be older than Saen. Next, Ruedee, a friend of Kaew’s, arrives. She doesn’t seem to know Saen or Sin, but Saen recognizes her.
Kaew and his mother do not look a gift house in the mouth
Kaew stares at the house, which he recognizes from his dreams, while Ghost Yai stares at him. Saen gives a short history lesson on the place, the most important part being that Yai built it, hoping to share it with his lover. But not long after they moved in, it was deserted.
There’s a lot of information missing. Kaew knows the story is tragic, but he’s not sure why.
Flashback to 1913, Yai watches Kaew dance Chui Chai, but this time with other people. Later, beautiful, long-haired Kaew accidentally tosses his handkerchief onto a lily pad. Yai helps him retrieve it, but Kaew leaves without saying anything.
Back in 1947, Saen tells them that Yai had a music room built because he wanted his lover to dance only for him. Kaew thinks Yai’s possessiveness is proof of his love. Is it? This is a BL, so I’ll accept it.
Ruedee brags that her friend dances very well despite never having lessons.
Nanny Yam, an older lady, makes the awkward comment that Kaew looks the same as always. Kaew is uncomfortable owning a home with servants, and wants them to consider each other family. Ghost Yai approves of Kaew’s kindness.
Then an insect smashes into an invisible barrier
Meanwhile, Kaew keeps seeing places from his dreams, and Ghost Yai keeps following him.
Sin is surprised Kaew sees Yam, but not Yai. So Yam is a ghost, too? They guess it’s because of the promise that bound Yai to the house, and made it so he could not receive merits offered by anyone. Yai is bound there until… They’ll tell us later.
Kaew has another dream and sees Yai. He tries to find out who he is, but Yai walks away, and Kaew wakes up.
Ghost Yai watches Kaew and his Mom make merit with a monk. The monk welcomes them back, confusing them. He tells them to keep making merit, and when the time is right, they’ll see the person they want to see.
Kaew draws Yai, but doesn’t know who he is, and ghost Yai watches
Ruedee visits because she’s avoiding her cousin Sophee, who she finds creepy and off-putting. She’s surprised Kaew is working on a portrait, since he’s been having trouble drawing.
We see that 1913 Kaew was also working on a portrait of Yai. He asked that Kaew only do portraits of him. A spaced-out 1947 Kaew replies that he promises, but can’t tell Ruedee who he’s drawing.
We briefly see 1912 Sophee with a child version of Ruedee’s Mom, Nid. In 1947, Ruedee’s adult Mom tells current Sophee she looks just like her older cousin. Also named Sophee.
Ruedee arrives home, and when she mentions visiting her friend Kaew, Sophee drops her teacup and cuts her finger on the broken edge.
Meanwhile, Kaew maybe sees Yai’s ghost
Nevermind. After seemingly following him, he walks right through him.
Kaew tells his Mom he dedicated his merit to Yai and the other spirits there. This produces an awkward reaction from Yam and Saen. Then he mentions seeing Yai in his white suit, so we know he saw him for a moment.
In 1912, Yai’s search for his “Lady Chuichai” took him to someone who looks like Kaew’s Mom, and doesn’t help him. But a short time later, long-haired Kaew runs into Yai while chasing a thief.
Back in 1947, Saen reassures Ghost Yai that Kaew’s heart remembers him. Ghost Yai is impatient, but he has been reassured that bonded souls cannot stay apart forever. He just needs to be patient, and then he’ll never let him go again.
Sophee is having a strange day
She’s not sure why Kaew’s name upset her so much. Ruedee and her mom invite her to a welcome party for Ruedee’s brother, who just returned from abroad. Ruedee’s Mom also has a gift, an inheritance from her older cousin Sophee.
It’s a hairpin that Yai gave to Sophee in 1912. Eventually, she stabbed herself in the chest with it, vowing to remember this love and pain into the next life and get revenge. In 1947, Sophee screams.
Ruedee recounts this to Kaew, explaining that she thinks there’s a ghost in the pin. Kaew thinks the pin is too small to hold a ghost. Wait, do items need to be a certain size to hold ghosts?
He tells her not to worry, but Ghost Yai is worried.
Not without reason. Sophee feels the pin is proof that she was the first person he loved. But we see in the flashback that Yai felt grateful to her family for taking care of him. It wasn’t romantic.
It’s really hard being a ghost
Because Ghost Yai is forced to watch Kaew dress up for a party. All he can do is order Sin and Saen around, who make things confusing for Kaew by openly talking to the ghost he can’t see.
During this, Ghost Yai discovers he’s no longer trapped by the house and can follow Kaew to the party. He guesses that it wasn’t the house that trapped him, but his heart. I don’t know what that means anymore than I understand why a hairpin is too small to hold a ghost.
Saen says it’s time for Ghost Yai to be free from such an interminable wait. Oooh, title!
Kaew does the Chui Chai dance at the party! Sophee watches. Not good.
After, against Ghost Yai’s wishes and Sin’s efforts to stop it, Ruedee introduces Kaew to “her brother.” Kaew explains that he learned to dance from a neighbor who was a classical dancer. Yai’s jealousy grows as Ruedee’s Nameless Brother compliments Kaew.
Then, Nameless Brother tries to make Kaew dance with him. He might have a thing for Kaew, or he’s avoiding dancing with the women his parents want him to marry. Either way, this is not the kind of 1940s where the parents are excited for their son to dance with another man.
But Kaew isn’t excited either
His hesitation gives Ghost Yai time to take over Sin’s body, grab Kaew’s hand, and drag him away. Kaew is startled by Sin’s behavior. Even more so when Sin collapses outside.
Ghost Yai leaves his body and seems to be fading in and out of existence. Kaew can maybe see him for a moment.
Back home, Saen wants to know why Sin didn’t stop Ghost Yai, but when Yai is angry… Kaew watches this odd interaction between Sin and Saen.
Ghost Yai fades in and out of existence in what might be his office.
It would have been nice if Yai had gotten further with one of the Kaews
I think it would improve the pacing if we’d seen 1913 Yai and Kaew meet in a meaningful way. Since we know they will anyway, I’m curious why the delay. Maybe I’ll find out in the next episodes.
I also wish I had some idea of Ghost Yai’s plan. Does he want to be with Kaew as a ghost? Does he think he has some chance of not being a ghost? If I understood his goals, I could get more invested in what he’s trying to do.
But I like not knowing who is a ghost and who is alive. It reminds me of a favorite movie. Maybe Saen and Yam are ghosts, and Sin is alive? But Saen stopped that landlord from hitting Kaew, paid him, and gave Kaew the inheritance documents. So maybe not.
I know nothing about Thai dances and loved seeing the Chui Chai dance. Unfortunately, information about the dance in English on the internet is sparse. I’m spelling it how it seems to be commonly spelled there, not in the subtitles.
Sophee in 1947 is living my worst nightmare, basically having her body taken over by her past life self. According to Ruedee, she’s always been weird, but I can’t help but feel bad for the 1947 version of her.
In the next episodes, I hope Ghost Yai gets to do more than stand and stare, and we see both Kaew’s interact with their Yai.
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