Nokdujeon: The Story Only They Knew

From episode 17 - Mystery Solved?

In episode 17, Nokdu and Dongju originally slept on separate mattresses placed side by side with a big distance between them. However, the next morning when Vice-Curator Yeon Geun opened the room door, he made a shocking discovery. So how did Dongju end up snuggled right next to Nokdu?

In the "After" scene, Nokdu and Dongju were shown still sleeping on their own mattresses, but somehow they had both shifted towards the middle of the room, sharing only one blanket (identified as Dongju's blanket based on the colour and pattern), with Nokdu's blanket carelessly abandoned on the other side of his mattress.

Missing Scene Reimagined:

Dongju and Nokdu had a hard time falling asleep that night after their angsty war of words.

"Fine. Do not worry about my well-being and pay me back. Understand?"

"Fine."

"So do not mind me either"

"Who said that I did? The feelings I have for you are gone."

"I never had any to begin with."

Nokdu was feeling dejected after hearing Dongju's nonchalant declaration of apathy towards him and he was also preoccupied with his own problems. Dongju was torn between feeling guilty about lying to Nokdu and worrying about how to keep him out of her dangerous revenge plan (she did not want to implicate him).

Both kept tossing and turning, and the loud ruffling of the blankets only made it worse. But neither uttered a word, as they did not want to acknowledge the reasons for their own insomnia. Dongju was glad that Nokdu remembered to leave the candle lit in the bedroom, knowing that she could not sleep in the dark.

Dongju was the first to fall asleep and as she drifted into slumberland her bad sleeping habits started to emerge. As Nokdu was a light sleeper, he witnessed the whole circus show. It started with Dongju kicking off her blanket violently with a thud. Nokdu's eyes sprung open and he saw Dongju wriggling like a starfish towards the right edge of her mattress, perhaps driven by her subconscious need to stay close to the candlelight. He had witnessed her frightening sleeping habits several times before when they shared a room at the Gibaeng, but tonight her sleeping zombie skills were in full display.

He wondered whether he should try to tuck her back into her bed, but he quivered each time she kicked her leg or punched her fist high into the air. It was remarkable that she didn't wake herself up while making such violent movements, and he silently prayed that she wasn't dreaming about beating him up.

He decided that the gentlemanly thing to do was to help her put the blanket back on, so he picked up her blanket and placed it over Dongju as fast as he could. He tiptoed back to his mattress and lay down on his own mattress, choosing to rest on the side that is closer to her, despite the known perils. Looking at her sleep soundly strangely gave him a sense of calmness and security.

Just as he finally started to fall asleep, he felt someone grab his shirt by the collar. Sleeping zombie Dongju's fight with the enemy in slumberland clearly had not ended. He was not sure what to do, but luckily Dongju's grip loosened as she snuggled like a kitten right next to him. She was way too close for comfort, but he realised that waking her up now in that awkward situation was going to be more dangerous, so he gave up. He decided to shut his eyes and wait for her to fall into deep sleep before moving himself a safer distance away.

Well that never happened, because he himself fell into deep sleep and did not stir until the next morning when he heard a ruckus outside the room. The first sight he beheld upon waking up: Vice-Curator Yeon Geon looking shell-shocked, Hwang-sabu looking amused and Aengdu with her eyes covered by Hwang-sabu's hands. Dongju was still sleeping peacefully with her head resting comfortably on his right shoulder.