#Han Ji Hyun is so pretty though

[drivingsideways]

2024 Watch List : K drama edition

Like 2023, I dropped more dramas than I finished, and I refused to watch about 90% of what's out there. Some of the big projects were absolute duds (Blood Free, anyone? ) and some dramas that seemed to have a spark at the start fizzed out pretty quickly (Frankly Speaking). I've just dropped Love Your Enemy, a rom com that stars- wait for it- Ju Ji hoon AND Jung Yu-mi- the audacity of making two such talented comedians play a script written by and for pre-teens quite takes my breath away.

Still, there were a few bright spots this year! Of the 2024 crop, it was LTNS, Love in the Big City and Jeong Nyeon : The Star is Born for me. But I've also been watching older stuff- both in movies and dramas (Asian/Western)- maybe it's just nostalgia as I get older, but I do feel that the kind of cinema or tv that I'm both familiar with and enjoy isn't out there much anymore. C'est la vie.

I've written about LTNS and The Matchmakers earlier this year, so here go the rest

Coffee Prince (2007)

This turned out to be every bit as charming and sweet as I was promised: both Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye really embodied their characters in ways that I've very rarely see in this genre.

I went back and forth on how I felt about the queerness of this show- everybody is queer and nobody is- but the show itself is extremely loving and sensitive and I think it pushed the envelope on gender and sexuality- in 2007!- in ways that current shows in this genre are both unwilling and perhaps unable to do. There's a willingness to accept and celebrate that love, sexual attraction, gender and sexuality are messy and fluid ; an exploration that seems increasingly absent in our present media, where those lines are becoming increasingly rigid, much like everything else about our politics. Anyway! one of the joys of 2024 was watching a baby Gong Yoo playing a disaster bisexual and Yoon Eun-hye playing a CHAOTIC GENDER, both putting their entire hearts and souls into their characters, resulting in something that feels like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of screen magic. 

The only sour note for me was the workplace romance/ power dynamic between Han Gyeol and Eun-chan- it made the bits post the gender reveal extremely difficult for me to sit through. The writing and direction were both so sensitive on the whole, though, that I want to forgive them this.  The three most magical moments for me in this series: Eun-chan curling up to her mother on the night before she plans to tell Han-gyeol about her gender; the entire beach sequence, starting with him turning up at her gate and just- hanging there, PINING; and THE CHESTNUT TRAIL reunion after they break up over the deception/ reveal. The sub plots and the second love track weren't interesting to me at all- I ffwded through most of it. On the whole, I see why so many people hold this up as the gold standard in kdrama romance, and you know what? I think they might be right.

Queen Seondeok (2009)

I was super excited to finally be able to see this (thanks Viki and VPNs), and I binged sixty two (62) episodes in something like three weeks! Yes, it did drive me that crazy. Writer nims have really perfected the made-for-me sageuk formula, though Seondeok isn't as weighty, politcally, as Tree With Deep Roots or Six Flying Dragons. But it shares the same theatrical and political imagination and ambition, and it's so very engaging for most parts. Go hyun-jung is-not my fave, sorry- but Mi-Shil is probably one of my top ten characters of ALL time!!! What a woman!!! What a villain!!! What a hero!!! The drama tanks a bit with Mi-shil's exit- it's like without her, nothing seems important anymore- and all the other characters know it, especially Deokman. I didn't particularly care for the ending- a tad too bleak and trite-but that's not important, I think, in this story. It's just a damn good yarn.

Love in the Big City (2024)

My expectations from this drama were not very high- in fact, given the way the movie based on the same book was marketed- I was rather trepidatious about it! How lovely to be proved wrong: the drama is that rare thing in k-ent- unabashedly and explicitly queer without catering in any way to a straight audience- whether sympathetic or not. By the simple virtue of treating its queer characters seriously as whole, entire people and not unicorns, it normalizes queer life without brushing aside the joys and trials peculiar to it. This story about being young and gay in 2010s Seoul, is tender, funny, sexy, wry, poignant- cinematically shot and directed, with a career making turn from Nam Yoon su. Watch it (it's on Viki in many countries) and also read the book by Sang Young Park (Translated into English by Anton Hur)- your heart will be full.

Jeong Nyeon: The Star is Born (2024)

A miracle. That's what I keep thinking this show is- everything about its existence seems improbable. While Netflix/Disney-fication of K-drama and the general political climate has swung the pendulum far right in many ways, here is a show with a cast and main crew that is entirely female led and featuring multiple queer characters. The compromises made to get here seem obvious when you watch the show- the 12 episode speed run, for one, that left little time to sit with any emotions or character other than the lead; the less-than-fairy-tale endings to both the main lesbian love stories for another- but despite that, this show is just wonderful, start to finish. It's got a rollicking pace, beautiful cinematography and an extraordinarily talented cast. But even with a stacked cast, the true stars of the show are the art forms of pansori and gukguek. Every single performance and song moved me to tears with the sheer beauty of the poetry- delivered with real passion and skill by every actor who went above and beyond. Kim Tae ri reportedly trained in pansori for three years for this role, starting even before the show was officially off the ground- which gives you some idea of the passion that drove this improbable project to the screen. Fans of the original, beloved webtoon are probably rightfully miffed at some of the changes made, but while this show isn't perfect, it was clearly made with love and dedication, and with an eye on something other than a spreadsheet of numbers - a difference that in this day and age seems like a- sorry, but that's the only word for it- miracle.

I can't say I'm going into 2025 with any great expectations from k drama land (or indeed, most of tv) . Forgettability is feature not a bug in the 24/7 streaming "content" era- but it does not make for good art or enthuse me in the slightest. The best case scenario, I think, will be 2-3 dramas that I'll probably even consider watching - it feels like the end of a short era of my life. On the other hand, there are still a bunch of older dramas that I can get into- in fact, I'm ending this year with Secret Door (2014, 24 episodes), a sageuk on the lines of TwDR and SFD (though with far less verve and imagination so far) , featuring the irreplaceable Han Suk kyu, who's evidently been collecting Joseon kings in his filmography with the dedication and enthusiasm of an arachnologist let loose in Australia.

Anyway, here's wishing fellow k drama enthusiasts an exciting new year, and tell me in the notes/ replies what you enjoyed in 2024!

[rye-views]

See You in my 19th Life. 이번 생도 잘 부탁해. 7.7/10

I would not recommend this show to my friends. I would not rewatch this show.

Omg Ha Yoon Kyung, a fav is here. Great acting with young Ae Gyeong and young Ji Eum.

Ahn Bo Hyun is so cute when he smiles here. Someone get me the acting role that lets me just kiss the man. Ji Eum is such a likable character. I also like her when she's the young her. Young Ae Gyeong is lovely too. I love the aesthetic of Cho Won and the flowers. Han Na is so pretty. Her character seemed highly irrelevant though, but I did like her.

Seo Ah and Ji Eum's first kiss(es) got me fluttering. I respect Ji Eum's forwardness, which reminds me of me. But find a man who even acts like that. Every time Jo Yuri's Down comes on, the scene makes me happy. I personally think that the first life trauma wasn't bad enough to have to remember all your lives again afterward. I would love a little sister like Chowon. I'm glad everyone else got to keep their memories in the end, but I honestly just have hella questions about how this life remembering thing works.

The question of sexuality definitely arises with Ji Eum's life being like Every Day movie/book. It's definitely interesting that their first lives physical appearance matched up all in Ji Eum's 19th life.

Memorable Quotes: "무서운게 아니라 무거운 거죠. 사는이 라는게."

[livinglifeonpause]

BP - My Picks

So lets pause and I'mma do MY picks.

Okay so I get 9 choices yes? 1. JAY CHANG (23, 5'9")/P/P/P/P/P - obvi. He's the whole reason I'm watching this show. But bias aside, STELLAR voice and decent dancing. He's quirky and speaks English. Sold. 2. PARK GUN WOOK (19, 6'0")/P/P/P/P/P - I have officially decided that YES. he IS handsome. But aside from that he's talented. obvi. He fits in fantastic with an idol concept.

3. WANG ZI HAO (23, 5'10)/F/P/F/P/P - he's quiet. he's pretty. he dances well. SOLD.

4. PARK HAN BIN (22, 5'9")/F/P/P/P/P - I said he's got charisma and he's got a flair for the dramatics. (kinda darker skin guy)

5. LEE SEUNG HWAN (24, 5'10")/P/P/P/P/P - this kid got all passes from me. But I have no idea who he is? My comments are that he has a real nice voice and has done some modern dance in the past? (Even looking at a picture of him. I still have no idea)

6. YOON JONG WOO (24, 5'9")/F/P/P/P/P - obvi he'd be the daddy leader of the group.

7. KEITA (23, 5'5")/F/F/P/P/F - he's fun. and "was fine at rapping"

8. KUM JUN HYEON (22, 5'11")/F/P/P/F/P - his goofy side won me over. I do love my variety shows.

10. KIM JI WOONG (25, 5'10)/P/P/P/P/F - BL actor. Donghyun type. Idk if he's right for an idol group though? I think maybe stay as an actor. idkkkk.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CLOSE CALLS:

10. HARUTO (19, 5'7")/F/P/P/P/P  - do I think he's the best rapper? no. Do I think he's the best this show has to offer? yes.

11. LEE YE DAM (21, 5'5")/F/P/P/P - short baby! he had stage presence.

12. HUI (31, 5'7")/P/P/P/P/P - I don't want him in this group. I want him solo. he deserves it.

13. OH SUNG MIN (23, 5'11")/P/F/P/F - as much as I love him, naurrrrr. I want more than smiley sunshine sprinkles

14. ZHANG HAO (24, 5'11")/F/P/P/P/P - idk I'm not super sold on him, but I've passed him every time! He just didn't get there for me!

15. PARK HYUN BEEN (19, 5'10")/F/P/F/P - the one from the hidden cam

16. RICKY (20, 6'0")/F/F/F/F/P - I mean he IS interesting to look at

17. SEOK MATTHEW (22 5'7")/P/P/P/P/F - I just dont vibe with him. But my comment was he's good at vocals. and he brought a pic of his family to the 90 sec thing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[baby-yongbok]

Sunday

Dom!Hyunjin x Dom!Han x Sub!Fem Reader

Genre: Smut, Pretty damn filthy 🌶️

Word Count: 4,688

Summary: Sunday can either be calm and relaxing or wild and fun. This weekend things take more of a spicy turn.

Warnings: Hyunsung action (mxm), unprotected sex (Wrap it up), dirty talk, oral (m & f receiving), fingering, squirting, creampie, anal sex, hand jobs, double penetration, slight orgasm denial, rough sex, Slight on screen aftercare, pet names, Reader is called a slut or twice, Han is mostly referred to as Jisung or Ji, Hyunjin is called Hyune and Jin. (Sorry if I missed anything, 99% sure this is all)

A/N: With all of the content that's been coming out and seeing Hyunjin and Han be silly with each other I started thinking... The rest is history. How my brain took them being cute and silly and turned it into pure filth idk.. (Sorry if you find mistakes, I only read over it once.)

✨Masterlist✨

The nights in the house were either quiet or rowdy, no in-between. Hyunjin and Jisung were without a doubt the louder ones tonight, playing video games and ordering food seemed to be a common weekend pass time for the boys. With both of them working early mornings and late nights preparing for this year's last comeback they looked forward to their rare free weekends to binge YouTube videos and game to their heart's content. 

You usually spend the weekends differently. You often occupied your time by reading books, painting, baking, watching a show and sometimes you even joined the boys while they fought each other in whatever game they’ve chosen for the night. Tonight you decided to do something different, you sat in your shared bedroom scrolling on your phone, headphones in and the lights dim. It's been hours since you’ve seen the boys, three to be exact. After dinner they cleaned up, gave you a kiss and went right to the sitting room to play. Despite your lonesome you found yourself feeling content, what better way to spend your Sunday night than listening to naughty audios and scrolling down Tumblr?

"Babe?" The sound of Jisung’s voice breaking through the moaning of your audio startles you. You look up to find him leaning against the doorframe. "Why are you in the dark?"

Grinning a bit you lower the volume of the audio you’re listening to and sit up. You try your best not to make the horny flush of your cheeks too obvious. Jisung is super observant and will notice the smallest change no matter how hard you try to hide it. "It's not dark, I just dimmed the lights a bit. Besides, I thought you and Jinnie were pouring yourself into a duos match."

"He got a call from Chan and had to take it, something about a wardrobe change." Stalking towards you slowly, Jisung furrows his brows. "I thought I'd find you reading or dancing to music, not scrolling on your phone in the dark." 

You pull your lips into a thin line opting to stay silent rather than coming up with some ludicrous excuse. What are you going to say?  'I'm actually just listening to a porn audio and scrolling through some smut on Tumblr.' No. You’re not saying that. Not in a Million years. You can understand why he’s so confused though, you’re usually up and busy when the boys come to find you around the house. It’s unusual for you to be doing nothing.

A quizzical look dampens Jisung's features as he quickly grabs your phone, ripping your earbuds away from you. "Ji! Stop it."

What was supposed to be a playful initiation turned into something so much darker once his eyes landed on your screen. A gif of a girl being fingered was front and center, and to make matters worse the moaning blaring from your headphones added a bit of spice to the situation. 

Licking his lips and turning towards you, Jisung grins menacingly. "Is this why you're all alone here? You were being a slut?" 

The horny blush that you were trying to hide seconds ago deepens and your mouth goes dry as you wrack your brain for a response but none of them seem to want to leave your parted lips. "All you have to do is ask, you know I can never say no to you." Tossing your phone onto the mattress, Jisung swiftly grabs your ankles and pulls you down onto your back, he positions himself in between your legs. He parts your knees and pins them to the mattress, holding you in place for him. Your lounge outfit of panties and one of his T-shirts was perfect for the easy access that this situation required. 

"Look at this, you're soaking through your panties, dove." Running a single finger up and down your covered core, Jisung teases you slowly. You can’t help but to shiver each time the pad of his finger caresses your swollen clit. 

"Ji?" Hyunjin curiously makes his way to the room but stops dead in his tracks once he gets a glimpse of what's going on. "Without me?" 

"It seems that we have a very naughty girl here listening to porn while we’re away. What should we do with her?" 

Hyunjin’s eyes darken instantly, his gaze lands on your desperate one before trailing down your plush curves and stopping at your dripping core. If looks could kill you’d be fucking dead. The hungry look in Hyunjin’s eyes never fails to intimidate you in the most thrilling way possible. 

"Oh really?" He takes a couple of steps into the room, strolling towards the two of you at a torturous pace. “I think that we should play with her, if our angel wants to be naughty then who are we to stop her?”

Jisung watches as you attempt to press your thighs together at Hyunjin’s suggestion. He keeps them open, grinning up at you with dark eyes." Grab her phone, check out what she's been indulging in." Without a hint of hesitation Hyunjin walks closer and makes his way around the bed. He grabs your phone, unlocking it with ease since you all know each other's passwords.

"Ah, so our shy little slut wants to be fingered? Let me not stop you, Ji." Crawling onto the bed and over to you, Hyunjin instructs you to sit up so that he can position himself behind you. You settle between his legs and now Hyunjin has a perfect view of Jisung and your dripping core. Moving your panties to the side, Jisung teases your folds painfully slow. He dips his finger into your entrance, inching in at tiny intervals before pulling out completely. The hours of porn that you’ve both listened to and watched has proven to be more than enough foreplay based on how swollen you are. Even the feeling of the cool air hitting your core sends a shiver up your spine.

"She's soaked, Hyune." You tilt your head back to look at Hyunjin, he stares down at your blown pupils with interest and amusement. There’s nothing that he loves more than watching you be fucked out and desperate for the two of them. 

"Did you get wet thinking of us coming in here and doing everything that you were listening to? You wanted us to wreck you?" You nod your head sheepishly and Hyunjin raises an eyebrow at you "Speak up, angel. You know we love hearing your pretty voice."

"I was thinking about the two of you touching me." Hyunjin gently brushes his knuckles over your cheek before he snakes his hands down to your breast and kneads it harshly. 

"What did you imagine me doing?” He stares down at you expectantly, waiting patiently for you to reply. Your tongue feels dry and heavy in your mouth but you drag it across your lips anyway as you prepare to answer him.

“I imagined you fucking my pussy.” You can feel Hyunjin’s cock twitch beneath you as he pinches your nipple. You buck your hips as much as you can against Jisung's grip, grinding into nothing. 

“Yeah? What about Ji?”

“I imagined him fucking my ass.”

“Is your tight little hole ready for that? Do you need his fingers first?" Without hesitation you nod your head. Your mouth is agape as you wait for their next move, eager to take all that they’ll give you. Hyunjin looks over to Jisung as he toys with your breast through your shirt, Jisung’s lip is sunken into his bottom lip as his eyes flick back and forth between your dripping core and Hyunjin’s hands. They exchange glances and you gasp as Jisung suddenly sinks his finger into your heat. Your eyes roll back and a whimper escapes you as you grind into his touch. Jisung curls his finger inside you as he picks up the pace a bit. Your pussy gushes around his fingers as Hyunjin hikes up your shirt to reveal your full breast and hard nipples. He rolls them between his fingers, smirking a bit when you groan at the sensitivity.  

"We wanna hear you louder baby, don't be shy." You allow your jaw to hang open at his request, letting out a deep and loud moan. You arch your back into Hyunjin, turning your face so that your cheek is pressing against the bulge in his shorts. "She's being so obedient today. She must’ve really worked herself up.”

Hyunjin lifts your head for a second so that he can free his aching cock from the confines of his shorts. Your attention shifts once you feel the warmth of him against your cheek. You open your mouth instinctively, craving the weight of him on your tongue.

"Let’s see if she can keep being this good." Jisung presses your legs into the mattress before moving both of his hands away. “Stay still, Jagi.”

You mumble out a small ‘okay’ and seconds later you feel the warmth of Jisung's mouth on your pussy. He adds another finger to your stretched hole as he laps at your clit like a starved man. Louder moans and pants escape you but you’re quickly silenced by the length of Hyunjin’s cock breaching your parted lips. You lick over to soft skin earning a light groan from the man above you. He watches with furrowed eyes as you struggle to take his length down your throat. Your tongue swirls around his tip, collecting his leaking arousal and letting it run down your chin, you know just how he likes it, messy and wet. 

“Fuck, angel, is Ji making you feel good?” Hyunjin looks down at your other partner as he works his tongue over your pussy, he bites his lip as they make eye contact, a low moan leaving the both of you. 

"So good, I’m so close." Hyunjin and Jisung exchange silent signals once again and before you know it all of the pleasure that you were previously feeling is ripped away from you. You whimper at the loss of contact, pulling away from Hyunjin's dick once Jisung pulls away from your core.

"I don’t remember giving her permission to cum. I don’t think you did either, did you Jin?" Jisung asks with a cocky grin as he licks the taste of you off of his lips and unties his sweatpants strings. 

"I didn’t, were you going to cum, princess? Without our permission?" 

“N-no I wasn’t I promise. I’m still being so good for you, promise.” You whine as you sit up, looking between the two of them. Hyunjin lazily strokes his cock, spreading your slick spit over the tip and sighing at the sensation. Jisung, stands from the end of the bed, circling around to be closer to the both of you. He starts to strip himself of his sweatpants, as his eyes flicker between yours and Hyunjin’s. 

“Why don’t you get on your knees and show us how good you can be, yeah? After that we’ll see if you can cum.” You take a deep breath, your whole body trembling as you crawl off of the bed and get down on your knees, you look up at them with pleading fucked out eyes and they can’t help but to smirk at each other at the sight. 

“So good for us.” Jisung steps out of the pooled fabric of his sweatpants and you open your mouth at the sight of his cock.  Hyunjin has a longer dick than Jisung but he beats Hyunjin when it comes to girth, either way they're both a mouth full, taking their pretty cocks down your throat has become somewhat of an addiction for you. You find yourself staying up late and waiting for them just to have a taste and help rid them of their pent up stress. “Go ahead, baby.”

Jisung stares down at you with a gaze full of lust and adoration as you lean forward to take his length down your throat. He moans as you start to move your head back and forth, your tongue flickers against the head of his cock and he throws his head back in pure bliss as you swallow around him. You look up at him with watery doe eyes as you deep throat him, choking a bit. 

"Look at you take that cock so well." Hyunjin compliments as he stands next to Jisung, looking down at you with a pleased smirk. He grabs a handful of your hair and starts to control your movements, slowing down and speeding up in a rhythm that Jisung seems to enjoy. 

"Fuck." He breathed out as the tip of his dick hit the back of your throat, you choke around him again, tears running down your cheeks as you swirl your tongue around his length. 

Once he’s satisfied Hyunjin lets go of your hair and turns his attention to his boyfriend whose eyebrows are knitted together as he pants from the intense pleasure.  He runs his hand up the back of his neck and tangles his fingers in his hair, snapping Jisung back to reality. He opens his eyes for a second before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Hyunjin’s lips. A desperate twin growl erupts from their throats as they taste each other. A moan vibrates from your throat as you watch intently, enjoying the show as you bring a hand to Han’s cock to stroke what you can’t take down your mouth. Your boyfriend seems to copy you, he reaches over towards Hyunjin’s cock, wrapping his hand around it and stroking slowly. Hyunjin breaks the kiss at the new sensation, moaning loudly and looking down to the source of pleasure.

"Get Jinnie’s dick wet, baby." You pull back from Jisung’s cock slowly, releasing it with a dramatic ‘pop’ that the boy's smile at.

“Having fun?” Jisung asks and you smile up at both of them and shake your head. 

The smile on Hyunjin’s face is quickly transformed when he feels the warmth of your mouth. A deep groan escapes him as take his entire length down your throat and swallow around him, you bob your head slowly, adjusting the pace to his preference. Jisung likes when you suck him off fast and choke around him while Hyunjin likes when you take your time. 

“Oh angel, that fucking throat is a dream.” 

Once Hyunjin starts to adjust to the euphoric feeling that you’re providing he reaches over to stroke Jisung’s cock using the spit that's left behind from your mouth. "Fuck, Hyune you know you're good at that."

“Kiss me, Ji.” He quickly complies, leaning over and attaching their lips in a heated kiss while Jisung's hand rests on the back of your head encouraging you to take all of your boyfriend's cock. Hyunjin moans into Jisung's mouth when you swallow around him again. Han presses against your head slightly, holding you in place and plugging your throat with Hyunjin’s dick, tears run down your face as you feel your cheeks begin to burn from the lack of oxygen. He finally lets up when you gag around his cock, you pull back, taking a deep breath and filling your burning lungs with oxygen. Spit drips down your chin as you pant with your tongue out like an eager puppy. Jisung suddenly breaks the kiss and squats down next to you gripping Hyunjin’s cock in his hand.

"Suck him off with me." Jisung's focuses his gaze on the man above him as he opens his mouth and sucks on the tip of Hyunjin’s member. He teases him slightly, taking him into his mouth inch by inch before bobbing his head. He made sure to leave enough room for you to suck and lick Hyunjin’s balls, something that made the man weak every time without fail. 

"Fuck, you two are gonna make me cum." You both look up at Hyunjin, your twin fucked out pupils twinkling with lust and desire as your tongues run over his most sensitive spots. He nearly loses it at the sight, he's a sucker for good head and eye contact and you both know it. "Touch yourselves while you suck me off."

You moan in response, Jisung's hand instantly reaches over to rub your clit and follow his action, wrapping your hand around his cock and stroking him at a steady pace. Your shared moans filling the room nearly mimicked a medieval choir, each the noises erupting from your throats displayed their own pitch of pleasure, you each fed off of each other's energy, pushing and pulling as you pleased. Jisung takes his boyfriend's cock down his throat one more time before releasing it, mimicking the ‘pop’ that you did earlier and earning a faint chuckle from you. He gives your ass a firm slap before standing.

"What do you say we fuck this pretty girl, yeah?" They both look down at you tantalizingly before Hyunjin gently pulls you up by your hair. "You wanna be filled, angel?" 

"Yes please, I want to feel you both." With a groan of a  response Hyunjin takes a step back and sits on the edge of the bed. He holds his hand out towards you, inviting you to straddle his waist. You excitedly climb onto him, attaching your lips immediately and melting into a sweet kiss as you both wait for Han. Just as you two start to get more into your make-out Jisung comes up behind you and kneads the plush of your waist and ass softly. 

“Ready?” You whimper out a small ‘yes’ against Hyunjin’s lips before you start kissing him again. With your word Jisung smears a glob of warm lube onto your asshole, he circles your second entrance lightly as he preps you. He slides his pointer finger into your puckered hole slowly, your greedy hole allows his finger to glide in with ease. He thrusts into you a few times before adding another finger and fucking you a bit deeper and rougher. Moans vibrate through you as you pull away from the kiss, You throw your head back as you grind into his fingers, rubbing your sopping cunt against the length of Hyunjin’s cock in the process. He moans along with you as he takes in the view of your beautifully contorted face above him. 

"I think this ass is ready for my cock." Jisung states before slapping your right ass cheek firmly, you yelp at the sensation and he smoothly rubs the sting away. "Do you agree, Jagi?" 

"Yeah yeah, I’m so ready." They take your fucked out response as their queue to position themselves. Jisung rubs the head of his cock at the entrance of your asshole before slowly pushing in. Your mouth falls open in a silent scream at the stretch of him. He pushes in slowly to allow you time to adjust to the feeling. It doesn’t take him long to bottom out, your hole is always so ready to swallow his cock.  

“J-ji you’re so b-big” You can feel his cock twitch inside of you at your comment. He sighs at how tight you are around him, trying his best to keep his hips still. 

“Hyune, please get inside of her. She’s impossibly tight.” Hyunjin acts quickly at Jisung’s request, sliding into your dripping cunt easily with the help of the various forms of slick. You all moan in tandem at the tight squeeze, you can’t help but to clench around them making it even more difficult for the boy’s to control themselves. 

"Fuck, I can feel you inside of her, Hyune" 

"I can feel you too, this pussy is squeezing me so good." You all stay still for a bit, getting used to the cock warming before you start to fuck. You all know that this’ll end quickly but the longer that you can last the better. It’s usually you who ends up cumming first and if you’re being honest you can see that being the case today too. Once you’re all adjusted to the tight squeeze they start to move in sync. 

“Holy Shit, she’s fucking creaming on us. You feel that good, baby?” You’re way too fucked out to give Jisung an actual answer. You nod the best you can before leaning forward and resting your head in the crook of Hyunjin’s neck giving him a front row seat to the pornographic moans falling from your lips. 

“Of course she feels good.” Hyunjin grunts as he bottoms out inside of you at the same time as Jisung. The boys moan in unison at the feeling of their cocks dragging along your walls together. “You know our princess loves to be stuffed full of us.”

“You like how full our cocks make you feel?” Jisung reaches forward and grabs a handful of your hair, he yanks your head back a lot rougher than you expected. The harsh sting makes your holes clench, milking a moan from the both of them. “How about we fuck you like a slut, huh?”

Han snaps his hips into yours and your eyes roll back into your head. When Hyunjin matches his action your jaw hangs open and your tongue lulls out of your mouth. There are so many sounds trying to escape from you but you’ll have to settle with a silent scream for now. They fuck up into you at an animalistic pace, rocking you against Hyunjin's pelvis and stimulating your clit in the process. You can’t even find it in you to move anymore, you’re simply a cock sleeve existing for their please at this point.

“Aw, she gave up.” Jisung lets go of your hair with a cocky chuckle, You let your head fall and rest against Hyunjin's chest as you cry out for them.

“D-don’t stop, please don’t fucking stop I’m gonna cum. Please let me cum, I wanna cum on your cocks. Please please please. Fuck.” Hyunjin can’t help but to bite his lip at your desperate babbling. It was only a matter of time before you fell apart. 

“I think our angel earned an orgasm. Don’t you, Ji?”

“She’s been so fucking good, so fucking tight, so perfect. I think she earned it.” Jisung throws his head back as your walls start to vigorously contract around them.

"Go ahead, princess" Hyunjin prompts through gritted teeth. 

“Cum for us.” Jisung groans and you let go for them immediately. You can’t help but to scream at the over stimulation as they both continue to fuck into your trembling walls. Just as your first orgasm starts to subside you feel another one forming deep in your belly.

“Oh fuck, oh my god, again. I-i’m gonna cum again.” Hyunjin wraps his hands around your throat, pressing gently at the sides and using your neck as leverage to pound into you. Whimpers fall from you as you near the edge of completion once again, it isn’t long before similar sounds start to fall from your boyfriend's lips.  

“Oh fuck, I’m gonna bust, Ji.”

“Me too, me fucking too.”

"Cum with us, angel." They both began to twitch inside of you more and more as their orgasms rushed to the forefront. “Make a fucking mess, come on.” Hyunjin grunts as his thrusts become more sloppy. 

 You contract around them over and over, trying your best to milk orgasms out of all of you. “Baby, baby, baby. If you keep doing that I’m gonna - Gonna fucking -”

“I’m cumming.” Jisung is cut off by Hyunjin's deep moan as he spills thick ropes of cum inside of you. Whines fall from his lips at the feeling of the overstimulation. Hyunjin never likes to pull out until both him and Jisung have finished, he’ll fuck you for another thirty minutes just waiting for him too cum too.  “My god, Ji- Jisung, I can feel you. Please cum for us, fuck.” 

Hyunjin’s pleading seems to throw you and your boyfriend over the edge at the same time. Han grabs your hips, digging his fingers into the plush flesh as he pulls you against him. The warm feeling of his seed flooding you mixed with Hyunjin’s moaning and whining has you trembling between them as streams of arousal squirt from your swollen cunt. The warm arousal pools at Hyunjin’s pelvis and runs down his hips creating a puddle beneath him.

Jisung hunches over leaning against your back for support as he comes down from his high. Panting fills the room as the smell of sex and sweat swirls through the air.

 "Fucking hell." Hyunjin groans out followed by a short chuckle, you smile against his chest and you can feel Jisung doing the same against your back. 

"Everyone okay?" You hum out a dazed yes and Hyunjin does the same.

“You okay, Sungie?” You slur and he hums out a yes as he lifts his head from your back.

He’s the first to make a move since he’s behind you. He slides out of you slowly and you can’t help but to moan at the sensitivity. Jisung winces once he’s free from your hole, he strokes his softening cock slowly as he watches his seed leak out of your gaping hole. You reach back and spread your cheeks for him, giving him the perfect view.

“Goddamn.” He hisses as he stuffs his cum back into you with two fingers. “You’re gonna make me hard again if you don’t stop it.”

You chuckle as you sit up, grinding down a bit into Hyunjin and earning a sharp hiss from him. He grabs your hips firmly, keeping you in place with his eyes squeezed shut. 

“Angel, please wait a second. Just a second.” You nod, making sure to keep yourself as still as possible. 

Your plan fails when Jisung comes up behind you, trailing kisses from your cheek to your neck and whispering into your ear. "You did amazing, baby.”

“Jisung so help me god.”

“What?

“You’re making her pussy squeeze me. She’s literally filled with my cum she’s so tight that I could bust just from breathing.” You chuckle a bit but you’re quickly stopped when Hyunjin’s nails dig into the tender flesh of your sides. “Fuck it, go ahead, get off.”

You climb off of your sensitive boyfriend at a moderate speed, not too fast and not too slow, but that doesn’t seem to help him much from the way that he curses under his breath. Though he’s sensitive he doesn’t let that stop him from sitting up on his elbows to watch his cum drip from your cunt. 

“Lemme see, angel. Spread your pussy for me.” You lean back, hooking your legs over your arms and spreading your pussy lips to give him a clear view. “So fucking hot, princess. Such a beautiful site.” 

The two take a second to calm down, panting softly until their breathing evens out. Once they’re calm enough they both search for their pants and start to get dressed. 

"I'll get the wet cloth." Hyunjin runs his hands through his hair and stretches his neck before starting to head out of the room.

"I'll get drinks and snacks." Jisung ties his sweatpants strings before turning to following Hyunjin

"I'll get -" You’re cut off by playful yet warning looks from your boyfriends.

"You'll do nothing but wait for us to get back and think of what movie you wanna watch" Jisung smiles as you nod at him.

“Relax okay? We’ll be right back.”

"You were a good fuck today, Ji." Hyunjin comments before turning into the bathroom.  Jisung leans on the bathroom door frame as his boyfriend soaks the cloth in warm  water and grabs some baby wipes.

"Yeah?  Thanks, I've actually been dying to have you in my mouth all day." 

"I'll return the favor later, probably once she’s sleeping." Hyunjin rings the cloth out and grabs the wipes before making his way over to Jisung. He leans in and catches Han’s lips with his quickly, giving him a sweet peck.

"Speaking of, we better hurry before she knocks out." Jisung turns to make his way towards the kitchen and grab your favorite aftercare refreshments.

“Oh she’s already gone, I just know it.”

[dramashii]

About the captain...How about a guy like him?

What do you mean?

Do you find him attractive?

Come on. He’s a total fogey

Interestingly the book she’s holding is On Love or more famously known as Essays in Love by Alain de Botton which chronicles the life cycle of romantic relationships: from meeting to breaking up.

Is this a foreshadowing, perhaps?

[mirambles]

Hometown Cha Cha - Masterclass in Love Triangle and Bromance

I detest love triangles - I don’t like seeing people heartbroken over unrequited love. I have rarely seen love triangles resolved amicably with no bad blood between the rivals. Most times they will fight , hate on each other or be competitors pulling each other down and the other times one of them will die, or one of them won’t confess, or if they confess, the person in question won’t have the decency to respectfully decline the confession (Do not get me started on StartUp and Dalmi - it will result in a long post on how terrible she was to Han Ji Pyeong - DoDal fans stay away, I have no time for you). So given my past experience with a crappy love triangle in Startup and the fact that I was witnessing Hometown Cha Cha Cha setting all the wrongs done in Startup right, I was slightly upset to see another love triangle creep in.

One because I was really beginning to like Ji PD’s character and Lee Sang Yi is a good actor. So I would not have been able to bear DuSik pull a DoSan on Ji PD.

Two, DuSik despite being surrounded by people who loved and cared for him, was a loner at heart. HyeJin was steadily making her way into his heart bringing his walls down. Sure DuSik needed to find the love of his life, but he had also lost a brother and a friend and he would appreciate if he found one again a lot more. Speaking from my own experience, it’s always better to find the love of your life and best friend in two different people rather than in a single person.

I loved how DuSik and Seong-Hyun ended up saving each other from falling into the sea.

Gif credit @iamacolor

Gif credit @junghaesin

Shared a common love for vintage cameras, photography and food. It was good to see the know-it-all DuSik get handed a lesson in modesty by a guy who was no villain, but an insanely likeable, good natured fellow just like DuSik was. Both had a natural chemistry going from the moment they met - yes pretty much like DuSik and HyeJin did from the word go and I loved their crazy, comic timing together.

Gif credit @idakosukes

How can you even get over their comical scene appreciating the exquisite rare fish meal at Hwa Jeong’s restaurant. Ji-Won was right to warn Doha to not tread on their paths.

The surfing lessons and all the banter, the jealousy surfacing and the need to outdo each other , but while maintaining respect for each other.

Gif credit @forursmiles @iamacolor

But there was the elephant in the room and each needed to address it sooner than later.

Seong-Hyun was in love with HyeJin for 14 years. She was his first love in college and he hesitated to confess to her. He had clearly not watched Reply 1988 because he would’ve got some valuable lessons from Jung Hwan - the one who hesitates always loses. So this time after meeting her again, he decided not to hesitate, though he had already sensed the atmosphere and knew he didn’t stand a chance against DuSik. But he confessed nevertheless, for himself, to have no regrets and that was a lovely message - that we need to open our true feelings and our heart for our own growth , so we can move on with zero regrets.

How beautiful was HyeJin in her response to his confession. She was so mature and measured in her response. So truthful and honest. What a realistic character Shin Ha Eun has given us. She was so respectful to him, his feelings and her own feelings. She did not hide from him that she indeed had feelings for him during their college days, but she did not think it would work out. We all go through these insecurities at that age, because we are battling so much while growing up that we are afraid to hurt ourselves. I got a bit emotional because it reminded me of my college days and how I never opened up about my first crush - for the fear that I would lose a friend (we have sadly lost touch over the years - no fall out) and I knew we would have never made it work, because we wanted such different things in life. But then who knows, maybe being honest would have made me have less regrets and the what ifs would have gone forever. It’s why I admire and love HyeJin even more - she was honest to her first love because she owed him that and bold enough to confess to the love of her life without fear of rejection. And the natural next step is that the second lead goes away from the couple and everyone moves on with their lives. But not this drama, because Hometown Cha Cha Cha was tropey for sure, but the writer was also a master at subverting these tropes. Seong-Hyun is a wonderful guy and so is DuSik and both are mature enough to not let go of their new found friendship.

Seong-Hyun delivers the best line of Episode 11 - it’s why I love his character, it’s why he will be a forever favourite second lead (Again don’t remind me Han Ji Pyeong was the second lead, if you watched StartUp, you know that’s a lie that we were fed)

I have watched 70 odd KDramas and none comes to mind which had such a beautiful, mature resolution to a love triangle. Hats off to Shin Ha Eun for delivering the best lesson in how to handle love triangles.

Ji Seong-Hyun may have lost his first love, but he was not going to lose a friend. DuSik knows he had found one too.

It is wonderful that when both are at their lowest and their hearts are hurting , they are there for each other to give the nudge they needed to move ahead in their respective relationships.

DuSik is at his lowest and scared to reach out to HyeJin, it’s Seong-Hyun who comes and tells him to lay all the cards in front of her honestly and that he trusts her enough to accept DuSik with all his faults. How right he is!

Seong-Hyun loses his appetite and is hurting at the thought of Ji-Won leaving him. DuSik makes him realise that his pain this time is greater than it was when HyeJin rejected him; and that he should not be hesitating again to lose Ji-Won in his life.

There is no need to have elaborate talks - because these two guys just get each other. Ji PD gets Hong DuSik just like HyeJin does. Ji PD is the one who tells DoHa: ‘It mustn’t have been easy for DuSik either - what a stroke of bad luck to hit everyone’. He pretty much won me over with that line, because like everyone else without hearing Dusik’s side, he could have so easily hated on DuSik too. But he didn’t, because he knows - he knows DuSik, even though DuSik hasn’t opened up to him. And that’s the kind of friend you need for life!

There are many wonderful bromances in KDramas and if I see the next list that comes out without Hong DuSik and Ji Seong-Hyun on it, I will be revolting!

[maystea]

Made by: ? , with love.

The Devil Judge has a lot of hidden small details which are actually pretty important for the plot. Sometimes they can be in facial expressions, sometimes it’s actions that show what is going on, and sometimes it’s words or simple mismatches.

While rewatching The Devil Judge one more time, I got a question about what Ga-On was eating in Kang’s mansion before he started to cook for Yo-Han, Elijah, and himself. So now, I want to speculate on all the variations that are shown or hinted at in the show.

— Option one: Instant food.

The most obvious one, and maybe the easiest to think since we have seen that Elijah eats instant food, Yo-Han eats instant food. Ga-On ate ramyeon when the Professor came in in episode eight.

But it’s not the thing because of two reasons. The first one, Ga-On doesn't approve of eating such food as complex meals, even though he doesn't mind having it with Soo-Hyun in episode two.

When Elijah asks him to make her ramyeon and to bring it to her, Ga-On looks at it with bewilderment and thought that can be heard even from here: “That won't do.” His next decision? To make a “simple” breakfast that looks more like a royal banquet.

The second reason is just a simple mismatch in time. He couldn't cook for himself the first meal while sleeping and being affected after the explosion. Yet, from the tray that Ms. Ji successfully broke, we see an easy-to-cook but still a plate or two of homemade food.

— Option two: Ms. Ji.

This one would explain the tray, and what Ga-On ate that small amount of days. Also, it’s logical for her to cook for a guest in the house where she works.

Ga-On's glad when Ms. Ji is preparing to start to cook for him. He even invites Elijah to eat with him, even though she resists, saying “she (Ms. Ji) put in the effort to...” and stops only when Elijah raises her voice at him.

Ga-On wanted to try Ms. Ji’s food but it turned out she was banned from cooking and after ignoring the rule of not being in the mansion after the sun has set down, was reminded of its existence (someone was just trying to save his husband’s receptors, but about it a little bit later).

...but well, he will eat more then. And when the lunch is ready, Ga-On’s excited when he sees all the main and side dishes on the table. “You're a great cook,” says Ga-On trying the soup... and understands that there was a reason why she was prohibited from cooking.

An important note is that Ga-On doesn't say “so I've been eating your food all this time,” or something similar to it. He just asks since when Yo-Han banned her from making dishes (with a readable attempt on his face to save his poor tongue from everything he tried a second ago).

And the last thing that proves this theory’s non-existence is the conversation in Elijah’s room. Even though Ga-On laughs, he asks with the betrayal on his face: “why didn't you warn me?”. He never ate Ms. Ji’s food and has never thought that someone would add truffle oil to kimchi.

— Option three: Yo-Han.

Let me explain this one. Yo-Han does cook. Maybe not that often, not for everyone but the fact remains: he cooks.

We see a hint to it in episode five when he comes home and asks if there’s something to eat, and Butler already wants to count on the ingredients when Yo-Han stops him, asking if there’s something to heat up and eat.

Another hint is the bottle with pasta in the kitchen. It got almost empty with the difference in just two episodes (from episode four to the beginning of episode six). Ga-On didn't cook anything with pasta for Elijah as an apology, nor did he cook something with pasta for Yo-Han.

And the way how Ga-On sighs and says “let’s eat like normal people,” when he made that breakfast makes sense since Yo-Han thinks he doesn't know the taste of food, so Ga-On’s meals probably weren't that delicious... but they still were made with love.

Bonus: ...are we really talking about kimchi here?

[convenientalias]

I Rate Kdramas by Quality of Whump: Part Two

A while back I rated a lot of kdramas by how good their whump was.

And now, I am back to do it some more with the kdramas I've been watching since then.

Some notes:

There will be a few spoilers below, though not terribly detailed.

Yes this rating scale is completely objective and accurate. What are you talking about?

If it seems like most of the ratings are high, that's bc whump is half the time why I'm watching a drama anyway! Whump, intrigue and shippiness are the things I look for in kdramas for the most part.

The Dramas:

Beyond Evil--This is a thriller where most of the whump is emotional. In particular, Lee Dong-sik and Park Jeong-je are really put through the ringer throughout the drama. Han Ju-won, played by a favorite actor of mine, Yeo Jin-goo, also gets his share of angst--has parental drama and guilt on his shoulders, and at one point he gets framed for a crime (sort of on purpose). The emotional whump is good stuff but I generally expect more physical whump from a crime thriller, and the level of that here is very low. 5/10, there are some very good scenes but I feel there was such potential for more.

Color Rush--There are three BL miniseries on this list and I was surprised by the whump level of two of them. This one in particular. I get that seeing colors out of the blue (haha!) is surprising when you've been colorblind your whole life, but is it necessary for Yeon Woo to faint quite so often? Yes, actually. Bc it is whumpy and good. The show also contains a lot of angst, anxiety and even a suicide attempt. Yeon Woo's love interest, Yoo Han, is also clearly obsessed with him and kind of aggressive/possessive about it (and also causes him to faint a couple times pretty much on purpose). But this is a romance drama, so this is more or less shown as romantic. Honestly 7/10, this drama didn't have to go this hard but I'm glad it did.

The Devil Judge--Whump level is deliberate, this show made a Choice. Both main characters are put through the ringer: explosions, false accusations (and true accusations!), kidnapping incidents, threats, people they love dying, strangling and punching (well, one lead strangles and punches the other... this is quality stuff), and so on and so forth. I find myself also thinking about Jeong Seon-ah's angst, the way she is judged for her lower-class background, her crisis of conscience, but I suppose that's not technically whump (except in the way of all tragic backstories, which, btw, our two male leads also have). Anyway. 10/10, this show set out to be whumpy and it succeeded.

Lovers of the Red Sky--I feel like historical dramas in general, even light-hearted ones, have a strong belief in whump, and Lovers of the Red Sky is no exception. Ha Ram's bouts of possession are always somewhat whumpy--sometimes he faints at the start of them, other times he's struggling for control, other times there's just the confused aftermath, but there's always something. Ha Ram also gets imprisoned for a certain amount of the show, and his backstory is of course tragic, involving human sacrifice and murder and all that good stuff. Other ppl in the show are not whumped as much, but I think Ha Ram's level of whump makes up for it. 7/10, this is not a very dark and whumpy show but it makes good use of whump for flavoring.

Mine--I mentioned in my last post that I'm so-so on lady whump, which is mostly what you get here. Jae-kyeong gets actually strangled (okay, I was kind of into it), Hi-soo suffers a miscarriage (just upsetting to me, but the recovery h/c was pretty good actually), and Seo-hyun gets blackmailed (...I was kind of into that too). Very little guy whump going around but Ji-yong sure is going through it (by it I mean a mental breakdown as everyone in his life turns against him). I guess I'll give it a 5/10; whump was not what kept me invested in this show but there is a decent level depending on what you like.

Mad Dog--Truly I appreciate that although this show already had a protagonist whose family was fridged killed in a plane crash and who was very broody about it, they realized that the true whump target of the show should be Kim Min-joon by virtue of his being acted by Woo Do-hwan (and also his being a slick conman loner type, very good for whumping). The dude gets strangled multiple times and also almost burns to death in a car, and has lots of angst and more than once makes it clear he doesn't care if he lives or dies. Other characters also get whumped in moderation. I give it an 8/10, once again a pretty light show makes good use of whump for flavoring.

Mr. Sunshine--This show had three goals: 1) history, 2) flirting, and 3) whump. Personally I think Eugene should have been whumped more bc he was my fave. But he did get shot and threatened and arrested and all that jazz, so I'm not particularly bitter about it. Gu Dong-mae is the show's whumpee of choice, though. Stabbed, shot, tortured, and a tragic backstory to boot (well, who doesn't have a tragic backstory in this show lols), and defiant through it all, it's no real surprise he's also as far as I can tell the fan favorite character. Really respectable levels of whump. 9/10.

The Veil--Whump is the main thing this show has going for it. Our amnesiac lead gets framed for crimes, kidnapped, sent to prison, tortured, and generally beat up throughout the show. This is on top of trauma flashbacks, paranoia, and occasional bouts of doubting his sanity. It's pretty good stuff. 8/10 bc the plot doesn't tend to linger on the whump bc it is also very much about competent spies being competent.

Where Your Eyes Linger--The second BL miniseries that impressed me, albeit not as much as Color Rush in this aspect. Imo a bodyguard romance should have a LOT of whump but this show focuses more on forbidden love, employee/employer relationship vs. friendship, class differences, and homophobia. Those last two episodes, though. Kidnapping, beat-downs, the implication that Gook has served as Tae-joo's whipping boy in the past... all very good. 5/10, good effort but could have been more.

You Make Me Dance--The third BL miniseries I watched this year. This is a broke dancer/loan shark romance and considering that, the level of whump is pathetic. Just a little intimidation and emotional angst, and not even that much of that. 1/10, a Disappointment to me personally.

[whoseafraidofliloleme]

Invisible Chapter 4

Summary: YN YLN has always been third in Class 2-5, right behind Lee Su Ho and Kang Soo Jin but with both of them having left Saebom Highschool, this is her time to shine. That is until Han Seosangnim asks her to tutor Han Seo Jun. A guy who doesn’t even know she existed.

Ship: Han Seo Jun x Female Reader.

Word Count: 3398 (I really can't write short chapters. Sorry I guess😂🤷🏽‍♀️😭)

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated with any reactions or whatever you want to say. Again I really don't know where I am going with this.

True Beauty Masterlist.

Chapter 3.

(I tried finding a gif of the class but couldn't so this will have to do)

Chapter 4:

As you and Seo Jun got to the bus stop. You finally dared to look back and saw that Hae Sung wasn’t behind you. You sighed and looked at Seo Jun, tapping his arm around your shoulders with your other hand.

Seo Jun quickly removed his arm from your shoulders and bumped shoulders with you, smirking at you. He sat down on the bench and motioned at you to sit next to him. Once you sat down next to him, you looked at him.

“Thanks for what you did and said back there, I really do not want to deal with Hae Sung right now” You thanked Seo Jun. Putting his arm around you and helping you to avoid talking to Hae Sung, was a relief. You’d almost forgotten about the argument with Hae Sung while tutoring Seo Jun, seeing him waiting outside, just hit you like a train with the memories of what he said.

“I don’t need an excuse to punch that idiot, just tell me now and Ill happily go and punch him” Seo Jun shrugged, then pointed at the bus approaching and stood up to get on the bus, looking at you, waiting for you to get up too.

You shook your head, Seo Jun looked confused but sat down again next to you.

“Uh, wasn’t that your bus? I don’t have my motorbike so how are you going to go home?” Seo Jun asked you.

“So, what I got out of that is, if you did have your bike, you would’ve given me a ride home,” You asked Seo Ju back laughing when he glared at you. After seeing his glare so much in the last few days, you were growing immune to it. At least you were starting to differentiate between the types of glares Seo Jun had.

“I don’t know how you know what bus I usually get, you stalker but I’m going to Mi Soo Unnie’s apartment. Hae Sung is my neighbour and I know he’ll turn up at breakfast tomorrow morning, so the best way to avoid him is to go live with Unnie for the rest of the week”. Shaking your head, you take a breath after saying so much. What is it about Seo Jun that just makes you word vomit and ramble on, when you barely talk to anyone in your class but with him, you feel like talking about anything and everything.

Seo Jun looked at you sadly, he couldn’t imagine having to deal with Lee Hae Sung as a best friend. That was something coming from him when he had to deal with Lee Su Ho and his stupidity, then again both of them had been at fault for the rift in their friendship but it was all sorted now and he couldn’t be happier about the place he was in with Su Ho.

“YN your really going to avoid your own home just so you don’t have to deal with Lee Hae Sung also doesn’t that other bus go in an opposite direction of the school. That is some level of dedication to avoiding him.” Seo Jun couldn’t understand not going home just to avoid someone, he would miss his bed too much and if that person dared show up at his apartment, well they were definitely not going to be leaving with breakfast.

You smiled, he made a good point, the lengths you were going to were extreme. But this was needed, you needed to put some distance between you and Hae Sung. The things he said to you may not have been the worst stuff he’s spewed out in an argument, but this time it was making you rethink your entire friendship.

“It’ll be okay, Unnie was saying how Joon Oppa was on a business trip and she felt lonely in their apartment, I was going to stay with her this weekend anyway, now I’m just going a bit earlier and her apartment isn’t all that far away from school, I’ll still be on time Seo Jun don’t worry” You explained, As you finished speaking you saw the bus you needed and stood up, searching for your bus pass as you waited for the bus.

Seo Jun laughed at your reply, before tapping your shoulder and giving you your bus pass that had fallen to the ground in your search for it. You thanked him and got on the bus, you turned expecting Seo Jun to get on with you, but he just gave you a small smile and waved at you. You waved back and then found a seat on the bus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Choi Soo Ah looked at her classmates. She had managed to convince them all, to come into school extra early to discuss how they were going to deal with showing Lee Hae Sung that he was wrong about Class 2-5 and quite frankly YLN YN didn’t even need him in her life.

For some reason Kim Cho Rong and Song Si Woo were also there but considering that YN, Cho Rong and Song Si Woo were close, she allowed it. Even if the messages she had painstakingly forwarded to everyone explicitly stated that this was important Class 2-5 only business.

Although she should probably thank Cho Rong and Si Woo, for being the ones who had managed to get Han Seo Jun to come to this meeting. Though from what Ju Kyung had told her, maybe Seo Jun was starting to care for YN just a little more than he cared for the rest of Class 2-5.

Which was great for him, sure she shipped Seo Jun and Ju Kyung. But really, she just wanted Seo Jun to be happy and if he was happy with YLN YN then Soo Ah was going to give them every opportunity for that crush to turn into like then love.

“Look guys I know you're tired but we need to have a plan, after what Hae Sung said, there’s no way I’m okay with this friendship carrying on, YLN YN deserves better from a guy who claims to be her best friend” Soo Ah exclaimed loudly, she needed to get everyone up and roaring to go with ideas. Not tired and falling asleep on her right now.

“Can't we just help her to avoid him and that’s it, she’s already living with her sister to avoid Lee Hae Sung” Seo Jun complained, while he was all for making sure that YN didn’t cry over Lee Hae Sung again, he did not appreciate losing sleep to be surrounded by his annoying classmates to plan this.

“Omo, she’s living with Mi Soo Unnie, yah that’s so much more travelling for her. Ugh, the things Lee Hae Sung is making the poor girl do” Hyun Ji said, this whole situation made her angry. She liked to think of herself as YLN YNs best female friend and she had never liked Hae Sung to begin with.

That confused Seo Jun, was Hyun Ji wrong or did you lie to him yesterday. Even if she did lie, why was Seo Jun annoyed at that, you weren’t that close to him. Why should he expect you to not lie to him, and he understood her reasoning for lying but it still stung that she didn’t just tell him the truth. He knew that you probably only said that to him so that he didn’t complain more about Hae Sung being the reason that you were going to live with your sister.

Ju Kyung sighed. With what Hyun Ji said, everyone was suddenly awake now and we're all speaking over each other. This was not helping in the slightest. She locked eyes with Seo Jun and begged him with her eyes to do something to get everyone to be quiet.

Thankfully, Seo Jun understood Ju Kyung’s begging and very suddenly he banged his hand on his desk. That shocked everyone into silence, he motioned to Ju Kyung who smiled at him and started talking about what she thought would be a good way to go about this plan to get you to drop Hae Sung as a friend.

From there, it was a productive discussion, and everyone managed to agree on a plan. It was decided that the quicker they all started acting, the quicker you would drop Lee Hae Sung as your best friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were running to class. You had woken up at the normal time for school. Forgetting that you were living with Mi Soo Unnie and the journey from Unnie’s house to Saebom was over an hour longer than it was from your house.

Mi Soo Unnie offered to drive you to school, but it was her day off and you felt bad to make her leave the house just to drive you to school. Especially when you had dropped in on her randomly without even telling her.

You saw Han Ssaem leave the Teachers Room and that made you fear being late and so that gave you more reason to sprint to your class. You got to the class and stood at your desk panting, trying to catch your breath. You felt a tap on your shoulder and just waved it off, assuming it was Hyun Ji or someone else.

That same person cleared their throat and you looked at Hyun Ji’s desk and saw her pointing behind you, your eyes widened in shock. If Hyun Ji was sitting at her desk, then that meant….

You turned around and saw Han Ssaem looking at you expectantly. You smiled at Han Ssaem awkwardly before sitting down quickly and looked back at Han Ssaem after taking out your books.

Han Ssaem laughed at you and shook his head, he put his papers down and started with his announcements for the day. You let out a sigh of relief, thank goodness it was Han Ssaem and not Kim Seosangnim, she would’ve had your neck for being late and given you detention immediately.

The bell rang for the break and you stretched your arms. You wanted to take a walk, maybe go to the Shop but as you looked around the room, your eyes went to the door and there you saw Hae Sung standing there. You made brief eye contact, but you looked away from him pretty fast.

As you stood up, Hyun Ji came up to you and linked your arms with hers. She smiled and started to just take you with her outside from the back door, completely ignoring Hae Sung at the other door, on your way Hae Sung tried to interrupt Hyun Ji and talk to you but somehow every guy in Class 2-5 would get in his way and stop him. You didn’t know what was going on with your Class, but you were grateful to them for helping you to avoid Hae Sung.

Once you got to the Shop, you looked at Hyun Ji. She smiled and you two went to get the snacks you wanted.

“Ji, thanks for helping me avoid Hae Sung, I know you probably don’t know why I am avoiding him but I appreciate the help, I just cant talk to him right now. It’s gotten to the point where I’m thinking of blocking his number.” You told Hyun Ji as you guys were paying for your items. Saying thank you to the Ahjumma at the cashier, you started to take the long way back to class. Once you got back to the class, you were shocked to see everyone standing around your desk.

You went there and saw that there was a basket of imported European chocolates on your desk with a note on the basket. You didn’t even have to look to the door, to see Hae Sung waiting there to see your reaction to his apology gift. You took the note and didn’t even read it before ripping it up and throwing it into the bin. You took the basket and started opening it up and looked at Hyun Ji next to you.

“Hey Ji, want some imported chocolates?” you asked her casually, you knew that Hae Sung was still watching from the door and frankly you didn’t care. You wanted Hae Sung to give you time and wait for you to reach out to him, instead of waiting for you, he was trying to bribe you with gifts into forgiving him without actually apologising or even understanding why you were upset with him.

Hyun Ji didn’t say anything but just nodded her head, you took out some chocolate and shared it with her. Then you turned to Soo Ah behind you and offered chocolates to her, you looked at Ju Kyung who was staring at you in shock and offered chocolate to her as well. Then you stood up and went to the back of the class and put the basket on the short cabinets at the back then turned around to everyone staring at you.

“Everyone do not forget to thank Lee Hae Sung for these chocolates, it was nice of him to bring us these chocolates” You made eye contact with Hae Sung as you talked loudly enough for Hae Sung to hear what you were saying. He looked angry, you knew he was thinking of grabbing your arm and drag you out to shout at you, but you did not care in the slightest.

Before the rest of your class could attack the chocolates, you took a few and tapped Seo Jun on his shoulder, he had been napping, while you didn’t want to wake him up, however, this would be the icing on the cake and make Hae Sung even angrier.

He groaned and looked up at you holding chocolates, he blinked rapidly very confused as to why you were holding chocolates in your hands. You smiled at him and held the chocolates out to him, he looked at you and you nodded smiling, encouraging him to take these chocolates.

“Just wanted to thank you for waiting with me for the bus yesterday Seo Jun, also no tutoring today as I’ve got a book club meeting.” Again, you talked loud enough for Hae Sung to hear you and you laughed when you saw that he was going back to his classroom.

No doubt he was going to throw some sort of tantrum or take his anger out on someone in his class. You felt bad about that, you made a mental note to message their class president Eun Hoo and apologise for whatever mess Hae Sung created.

Seo Jun just stared at you, holding out chocolates to him but looking at the door at Hae Sung and then laughing when he stomped away. He didn’t know whether he wanted to take the chocolates or not, while he did dislike Lee Hae Sung, why should he refuse free chocolates. From the reaction Hae Sung just gave. If he saw Seo Jun with those chocolates, he would be even angrier and while that would be funny for him.

Seo Jun didn’t want any of Hae Sung’s anger to affect you. That made him pause, why did he care so much about what would happen to you, it's not like you were friends that he should care. You were just his tutor and someone he wanted to get to know more. He most definitely wasn’t starting to get a crush on you.

No way was that happening. Your relationship with Hae Sung was confusing enough, it was obvious Hae Sung had feelings for you but what you felt for Hae Sung was up in the air and if you even knew that Hae Sung had feelings for you.

Why was he even thinking about this, he had been through enough with Ju Kyung, he didn’t want to like anyone especially not the person who was tutoring him.

“Yah, Han Seo Jun take these chocolates will you, my arm is starting to hurt” you complained when Seo Jun still hadn’t taken the chocolates from your hands. This seemed to jolt Seo Jun from whatever trance he was in and he quickly took the chocolates. You smiled brightly at him and went back to your seat.

“You know, YN that scene of you giving chocolates to Seo Jun felt like it was out of a drama. The girl confessing to the guy with chocolates. Argh so cute, I am here for this ship” Soo Ah said excitedly. You looked down embarrassed before shaking your head and looked down to avoid anyone seeing your blushing cheeks. Unfortunately, you weren’t quick enough.

“Aww, Seo Jun look she’s blushing now; yah I think we’ve got a new couple emerging in our class,” Tae Hoon said sounding just as excited if not more excited than Soo Ah at the prospect of another couple in your class. Seo Jun looked at you getting embarrassed, not lifting your head as other people started to tease you and felt anger. He didn’t understand why he was angry at Tae Hoon embarrassing you like this, but he was, and he had to do something about it.

“Aish, Yoo Tae Hoon shut that stupid mouth of yours before I punch you” Seo Jun snarled angrily at Tae Hoon who immediately stopped teasing you and went back to his desk, miming a zipper closing his mouth. Seeing that reaction everyone else that had been teasing you stopped as well.

You heard what happened and felt immensely grateful for Seo Jun getting everyone to be quiet. You wanted to thank him but didn’t want to stir up rumours so with your head still on your desk you texted Ju Kyung and asked her for Seo Jun’s number. Thankfully, she saw your message immediately and sent his number without even asking why you wanted it.

To Seo Jun:

Thanks for that, u didnt have to do that, but I appreciate it Seo Jun. Sorry about what happened tho, I shouldnt have given the chocolates to u now, if I knew it would’ve started this, I would’ve given them to Cho Rong or Ju Kyung to pass on to you instead. Oh, and Ju Kyung gave me ur number.

Almost immediately you felt your phone buzz and saw youd gotten a reply from Seo Jun.

From Seo Jun:

Watver Nerd, culdve asked for my number yesterday ya know but yeah ur welcome i guess, someone had to shut up these idiots. im happy u gave the chocolates to me, thnx for them bonus was seeing that bastard walking off in anger.

You laughed silently at Seo Jun calling Hae Sung a bastard, although your automatic reaction was to defend Hae Sung, you refrained from doing that and replied.

To Seo Jun:

Yh yh, I forgot sue me for being forgetful Han Seo Jun, I hope you enjoy the chocolates tho, their the expensive type so share them with ur mum and sister.

You knew he would share with his family, but just wanted to remind him, these chocolates were the type that you would finish without even realising it.

From Seo Jun:

Yah, wat do u take me for, ofcourse im sharing w/ my sis n mum, dw abt it, with the way these vultures attacked ill even save some for u.

Honestly who knew Seo Jun could be such a sweetheart over texts, this was a side of Han Seo Jun you never thought you would see.

To Seo Jun:

Aww, thnx for saving some for me too Seo Jun, you don’t have too but im not gonna say no to chocolates.

You smiled as you felt you phone vibrate with a response, Seo Jun was a quick responder, you didn’t think youd be texting with Seo Jun or even get his number but look you having a proper text conversation with him. Such a contrast to last week when you were afraid of him and now not only were you tutoring him but he was slowly becoming your friend.

From Seo Jun:

Understood, if I ever get u mad at me, imma get chocolates to get u to forgive me.

You giggled at his reply to your message and started to type a response. When you felt someone poke you, you looked to Hyun Ji and saw that Han Ssaem was entering the class. You locked your phone without replying and sat up straight ready for the next lesson.

Chapter 5

[technitango]

Ten Characters I Fell in Love with in 2021

Thank you for the tag! @maystea

1. Wen Kexing (Word of Honor)

He is The number one bae of 2021 for me. His energy, immaculate. Fashion sense on point. I could talk about the red eye makeup for days. Tragic somewhat villainous bestie that deserves the world. The embodiment of be gay do crimes. Love that for him.

2. Kim Ga On (The Devil Judge)

Frustrating, lovable, plant dad. He is stubborn and kind and a little slow to the uptake sometimes. His emotional intelligence gets me. I love him with my whole heart

3. Kang Yo Han (The Devil Judge)

Yo Han's character is everything. Dark and broody to cold and calculating to teasing and playful. The complexity of his character is astounding. I'm a sucker for a morally grey anti hero and Yo Han delivers that and so much more.

4. Kang Isaac (The Devil Judge)

What can I say? He isn't even alive throughout the show and exists entirely in dreams and flashbacks but he stole my heart anyway. I have an extra soft spot for him especially since I wrote my fic surrounding his character.

5. Jung Sun Ah (The Devil Judge)

Love of my life. She's a little unhinged and definitely Not Good. But that's what makes her so interesting. Every outfit she wore throughout the show was fire. And she was the star of every scene she was in.

6. Han Ju Won (Beyond Evil)

Ju Won brings out all my protective instincts. I too have an issue with cleanliness because of trauma so I found that aspect of him incredibly relatable. On top of that I could just never be mad at him no matter what he did throughout the show. He makes me feel gentle and soft even though his character can be abrasive. I want to hug him.

7. Yoon Sae Bom (Happiness)

I love zombie dramas, but Happiness just had that little extra something that made it unique and special and that had a lot to do with the main characters. Sae Bom is tough and kind and protective and gets the job done. I want to kiss her and I also want to Be Her.

8. Jung Yi Hyun (Happiness)

Strong male wife vibes. He is so in love with Sae Bom and I love that for him. *spoilers* when he rubbed blood all over the pos doctors face i was smitten *spoilers*. soft boi but could also beat the shit out of you.

9. Hong Ji Ah (Sell Your Haunted House)

She is so pretty. Every scene with her and her mother made me cry. By the end of the drama I was head over heels for her.

10. Han Ho Yeol (D.P.)

He is funny and charming and just overall a really enjoyable character. Even with so few episodes I was invested in him. His interactions with Jun Ho were priceless.

~Honorable Mentions~

Oh Jin Joo (The Devil Judge)

Lawyer Ko (The Devil Judge)

Kang Elijah (The Devil Judge)

Han Geu Ru (Move to Heaven)

An Jun Ho (D.P.)

I'll tag: @yohankang @cloudcatchers @adithemadfangirl @leonnamc

[drivingsideways]

Hey talk to me about your top three favourite kdrama women. What makes them special? What's a fic you would like to write about any one of them?

Mystery anon! :D What a lovely ask. 

I’m going to cheat a bit and divide my answer into characters I loved a lot, but do not want to write fic about, because I think the canon gives me what I need; and characters that I loved a lot but NEED TO BE RESCUED ZOMG.  (My fic writing impulses are 50% spite and 50% fix-it )

Caveat being that I’ve still watched only maybe a dozen kdramas, so I’m pretty limited in my knowledge!

Characters that I love a lot, but have very zero fic impulses toward:

Han Yeo-jin from Stranger/Secret Forest: What a delight! What an iconique character! Is there anyone like her? NO. LSY-nim gives us a delightfully complex character, and Bae Doona knocks it out of the park in every single scene, so I’m just happy to be along for the ride. I think what makes Yeo-jin special for me is the intrinsic place of empathy that she operates from.  I think “righteous” is a word that often comes with negative connotations (self-righteous, for eg), but I do think she’s one of the most righteous-in-the-good-way characters I’ve watched in kdrama or any drama. I’m tired of stories that portray goodness as “boring” , as unworthy of narrative breadth or depth, and I love that Han Yeo-jin comes to us like a breath of fresh air in our particular dystopian narratives hellscape. She’s good, but never naive. She’s righteous but never cruel in her moral certainties.  I think that LSY nim, in the second season especially, gave Yeo-jin the kind of arc that character deserved when she’s forced to really dig deep into herself to figure out how she’s going to live in the world in the face of a deeply cutting, deeply personal disillusionment, and I’m really hoping for an S3 to see how that plays out further. 

Goo Hae-ryung from Rookie Historian: Ok, I will admit this may be rose tinted glasses view due to this show being my gateway drug into kdrama, but c’mon! She’s a reader! and a Thinker! And loves her wine! She’s plucky! She’s cute! She’s got a wry sense of humour! She’s got principles! She’s got a solid common sense to her that somehow doesn’t get in the way of her dreaming BIG! Oh dear, doesn’t she sound like the Mary-est of Mary Sues? Good for her.gif,  I say! Anyways, Shin Se-kyung is unutterably charming in this (AS IN EVERY SHOW OMG GIRL) and I just have a huge fondness for free-spirited heroines who get to tramp through the narrative changing the world as they do! 

Lee Ji-an from My Ahjussi: I’ve never had my heart broken more OR restored by any single character. IU is *phenomenal * in this, I think she really stepped up to what the script demanded from her. Ji-an’s weariness, her fear and vulnerability, her prickliness, her anger and her bitterness, and how, despite everything, she fights : GOD. Just. Again, what I love about the writing in this show is that it’s deeply empathetic without being cloyingly sentimental. I think a less, hmm, imaginative writer/PD might have focused on the Lee Ji-an the victim, and while the show definitely tells you in no uncertain terms that she is one,  of both circumstances and a cruel society, I think it refuses to take away her agency over her own life.(Lee Ji-an when we meet her is too busy hanging onto life by tooth and claw to indulge in self-pity, but we also see the toll it takes on her not to be able to say “this is too heavy a burden for me to carry myself and it isn’t my fault”; the show I think approaches Dong-hoon from the opposite side- his emotional isolation is partly a result of his own choices, but he doesn’t see it yet, and so his journey is also about letting people in and sharing the burden, but also recovering his own agency over his life. It’s an interestingly gender-bent arc, which is one of the things I love about this show. )

Ok, can I please add one more?

Hwang Han-joo from Melo is my Nature: She just felt SO real to me. She’s someone who doesn’t have the spectacular brilliance of either Jin-joo or Eun-jung, and struggles with accepting her limitations but not allowing herself to be defeated by them? I love her struggles as a mother, as a working woman in a sexist industry, a woman who’s perhaps having to rethink and reimagine what she wants from romance. I love that she’s a little silly, a lot kind, and an optimist, and just. I just think she’s the bravest of the three, tbh, and I LOVE HER AND I WOULD WATCH A SPIN OFF ABOUT JUST HER (i shouldn’t have faves among the three i know, BUT I DO, IT’S HER, IT’S HER.)

Ok! On to the next section! And I’m going to cheat again because I can’t stop at three. SORRY. NOT SORRY. 

Characters I love and SHOULD write fic for if I weren’t such a tired and lazy bunny:  

Song Sa-hui from Rookie Historian: Oh, girl, girl, GIRL. I love how she fights to snatch her freedom from the jaws of the patriarchy. I love that she unapologetically centers herself while doing that, because she knows that nobody else will.  I love that she’s prickly and calculating. I love that she’s smart and knowledgeable. I am SO HAPPY that she got to carve out a little bit of freedom for herself, even if it also is exile to some degree. She *should * be Emperor Jin’s Prime Minister and steering the ship of state, while also carrying on a tumultous affair with Queen Min Woo-hee, while ALSO commiserating with Emperor Jin about his boyfriend Historian Min Woo-won’s regrettable tendency towards Principles (TM) and masochism-but-not-in-the-fun-way. (This takes up much of his time which is why Song Sa-hui is running the country, of course. It works out well for all concerned, well, except her dad, of course.)

Song Ga-gyeong from Search:WWW: What’s NOT to love about our brilliant, beautiful, emotionally tortured gay icon? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I loved how the show allowed her to be flawed and make bad decisions, and then allowed her to make better decisions and regain control of her life. What I do need to do, of course, is see the CANON LOVE STORY between her and Cha Hyeon through to the end. It must, of course, include at least one baseball game, a lot of tequila and messy beach kisses. 

Oh Ji-hwa from Beyond Evil: Oh boy, this year’s runaway hit cleared the extremely low bar for standard crime/ thriller shows by leaving more than one of its female characters breathing and with all limbs intact, and got called feminist for it BUT it didn’t do justice to any of them in any meaningful way and that never hurt more than in the way they sidelined Kim Shin-rok’s talent by not giving Oh Ji-hwa anything much to do. She’s a tough as nails cop, a loving sister, a devoted but unsentimental friend-and by rights SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HEROINE OF THIS SHOW. My secret fic fantasy is to rewrite the show entirely by making her , and the two other female characters in non-antagonist roles- Yoo Jae-yi and Im Sun-nyeo- as the central characters, as they investigate a serial killer who targets women.  It’s the only acceptable version of this done-to-death (ha!) genre, I have no idea what the Baeksang jury and tumblr fandom is smoking when they hype the show so much, I want none of it. 

Jung Sun-ah from The Devil Judge: I love her rage, her spite, her passionate defense of women, her style, her sexiness, her rage, her rage, her brilliance, her tenaciousness, her smartness, her clothes, her refusal to hate herself for everything she is and chooses to be, her ambition, her comfort wielding power, her EVERYTHING. Dead, her? NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT. Here’s what *really * happened at the end of canon- she gets out of the building by planting that lady-like but still deadly gun against Kang Yo-han’s temple and making him lead her through his own “secret escape route” or whatever the fuck it was the show wanted us to believe. From there on out, it’s all sunshine and beaches, and scheming and waiting for the right moment to strike again-though of course, this time around, she also has to reckon with vigilant, tenacious cop Soo-hyun -another character who REALLY didn’t die for manpain reasons and had the good sense to leave her gay best friend to follow his psychopath boyfriend to Switzerland or wherever it is that star crossed lovers in kdrama land meet up on the regs these days- anyways, Soo-hyun and her are in this catch-me-if-you-can epic transnational honest and cute cop-and-beautiful sexy villain chase and yes, they WILL kiss (and more) AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS. 

*whew *

Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.

[imaginariaextraordinaire]

Just a Mine appreciation post.

I loved the way the show didn't stick to stereotypes and have toxic relationships between the female leads. Seo-Hyun and Hee-Soo's womance is an absolute joy to watch and a reminder of how rare it is to see a real and credible friendship between women on screen. Also, props to writer Lee Na-Jung for showing us there are many kinds of friendship between women. For instance, what the ladies who make up the Bible study group share isn't as intense as what Seo-Hyun and Hee-Soo have, but it's still friendship that provides a certain kind of safe space to the women.

It would have been so easy to set up an antagonistic relationship between Hee-Soo and Hye-Jin. No one could have faulted Lee if she had chosen that route. Instead, she makes Hye-Jin a truly complex, flawed character who truly earns her redemption. How fantastic is the family of choice that the two women establish at the end!

Another great choice by Lee is making the two brothers — Ji-Yong and Jin-Ho — contrasting examples of masculinity. While Ji-Yong turns out to be toxic masculinity at its worst, Jin-Ho starts off seeming like a complete loser but he grows up in the course of the show. One of his best moments is when Seo-Hyun tells him she's gay. His first reaction — when his jaw pretty much literally drops — is comically innocent. His acceptance of her, though, is immediate and it shows he is capable of empathy (a quality that's in very short supply in the Han family).

Particularly given the long tradition of queerbaiting in K-drama, it still blows my mind that Mine had a proper love story between two women. I will never get over the irony of Seo-Hyun feeling safe enough to come out with a Catholic nun, but never mind that detail. Mine does such a great job of showing the tragic romance with respect and tenderness. Plus, the show also makes the subtle point of how intense the stigma surrounding homosexuality is because the Han family and Seo-Hyun are at the peak of privilege. That privilege lets them disregard all sorts of social mores and etiquette (case in point, the behaviour of the mother in-law and the sister in-law), but even with all this socio-cultural and financial capital, Seo-Hyun can't actually come out to the world at large. She's still with her husband at the end of the show.

Honestly, I hadn't thought I'd love this show as much as I did. The whodunit was solid; the comical bits were excellent; the characters were so well written. Altogether, this show was such a refreshing version of the chaebol drama and a great look at how complicated privilege and patriarchy are. I'm not saying Mine is flawless — Ji-Yong's character really pushes the limits of credibility and the straight love story between the "young master" and the maid is so damn blah — but its strengths far outshine the wobbly bits.

[kdramacrybaby]

Imitation (2021)

Genre: Music, Romance, Friendship

Synopsis: Lee Ma-ha dreams of becoming a popular k-pop idol and is willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Along with her friends and fellow trainees, she works tirelessly to reach her dreams. But there is a dark side to the glamorous life as an idol, and they will have to learn how to overcome many hardships on the way. Is it worth it in the end?

Episode info: 12 episodes / Runtime around 60 minutes

Lead cast: Jung Ji-so (Lee Ma-ha), Lee Jun-young (Kwon Ryok), Park Ji-yeon (La Ri-ma), Jeong Yun-ho (Lee Yu-jin), Lim Na-young (Shim Hyun-ji), Kim Min-seo (Yu Ri-ah), Kang Chan-hee (Lee Eun-jo), Ahn Jeong-hun (Han Jae-woo), Yuri Park (Bang Do-jin), Hwiyoung (Kang Lee-hyun), Choi Jong-ho (Yoon Hyuk), Lee Su-woon (Kim Hyun-oh), Park Seong-hwa (Nam Se-young), Choi San (Son Min-soo) (I know this is long, but I really thought they all deserved to be here 😅)

Link to watch: You can watch on Viki or Dramacool

Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)

This drama is based on a Webtoon of the same name, and I wanted to read it after finishing the drama, but it would be too expensive with more than 100 chapters locked behind separate paywalls. It's available on WebNovel though, if anyone is interested.

From the 10 chapters I did get to read though, I can definitely see why some people might not like this adaptation. It was like trying to compare two completely separate stories that just happened to share characters. I did recognize bits and pieces of the drama in the webtoon, but it was not a lot.

I, personally, prefer the drama, but I might be biased since I watched that first. But anyway, let's get into it.

From what I had seen, I expected a light-hearted drama about some young trainees trying to make it big - and it was largely that as well, but the first 10 minutes or so really surprised me. This is where my first warning comes in as well - though it doesn't show the act itself, it makes it very clear that a young woman commits suicide.

And now that we're in the dark parts, let's just stay there. The drama is overall very cute and funny, but there were two moments that really stood out to me, bothering me quite a bit. It is no secret that the kpop idol world is largely unhealthy behind the scenes, and they do touch on that here, though in a way that usually works. But these two moments just... I'm gonna make it tiny cause I have a lot to say 😅

In one scene, a manager is yelling at his young idols, making them weigh themselves in front of each other and scolding them for gaining (very little weight), which later results in them binging in secret. Now, this is something I know happens, but did they really have to play it off like it was nothing like that? And making the actors go through that as well just feels off...

Another point is where they start hinting at Hyun-ji losing weight and looking too skinny to the point where they comment on her cold hands as well, but no one really does anything about it? And then she is invited out to eat and suddenly all is well, despite the drama showing her struggling a lot mentally. I wish they hadn't just brushed over something like this that could have been a serious problem.

My point is mainly that, if they really want to show the actual struggles of the kpop idols behind the scenes, don't play it off as something normal and something that can just be fixed by a quick meal and some nice words. They handled everything with Annie decently in my opinion, so I wish they would have shown the same care with everything else as well.

Otherwise, I did actually enjoy this drama, though I know it doesn't sound like it. It's cringy and cheesy as hell and has almost every cliché you can think of, but it somehow just makes it work. I even somewhat accept the love triangle in it, and that says a lot.

The romance was pretty cute, but I honestly watched it more for the friendships that developed between all the characters. I absolutely adore the girls of Tea Party and genuinely wanted them to succeed, and the same for the boys in Sparkling. And had I been a part of this universe, I would definitely have been a SHAX fan. La Ri-ma is a queen and I love what they did with her character so so much.

I won't say this drama is perfect, it definitely is a little rough around the edges, but I like that it gave some new faces a chance at acting. (I'm talking mainly about the Ateez members here, as I don't really know much about the other actors/actresses). I really feel like they could be great after some proper experience and training if they want to stay in the acting scene.

But this is pretty much all I have to say. I don't really see why people were so disappointed in it, and I've seen some talking about it getting worse throughout the episodes, but I found it was an enjoyable watch overall.

[livinglifeonpause]

BP Mission 3 pre mix up

ELIMINATED BITCH

SWITCHED TEAMS BITCH

..............................................................................................................................

ZHANG SHUAI BO (22, 6'0")/P/F/F/F/F NA KAMDEN (23, 6'0")/F/P/F/P/F CAI JIN XIN (20, 6'2")/F/F/F/F ANTHONNY (20, 5'8")/F/P/F/F BRIAN (22, 6'1")/F/F/F/F DANG HONG HAI (20, 5'11")/F/F/F/F  WUMUTI (25, 5'9")/P/F/F/F - he seems so much more real here than in Build Up. I like him alot more. Although I do miss the glitter. KRYSTIAN (24, 5'10")/P/?/F/F JEONG I CHAN (23, 5'10")/P/F/F/F CHOI WOO JIN (19, 5'7")/P/P/F/F LEE DONG GUN (19, 5'10")/F/F/F/F

..............................................................................................................................

HARUTO (19, 5'7")/F/P/P/P/P MUN JUNG HYUN (19, 6'0")/F/P/F/P JUNG MIN GYU (24, 6'1")/F/F/F/F CHEN JIAN YU (26, 5'10")/P/?/F/F PARK JI HOO (18, 5'9")/F/F/F/F CONG (23, 5'8")/P/P/F/F BAK DO HA (21, 5'11")/F/F/F/F LEE DA EUL (20 5'7")/F/F/F/F LEE DONG YEOL (25, 5'9")/F/F/F/P PARK HYUN BEEN (19, 5'10")/F/P/F/P - I'm lowkey in love with this kid and his good attitude. He makes it on my team.

..............................................................................................................................

ZHANG HAO (24, 5'11")/F/P/P/P/P JAY CHANG (23, 5'9")/P/P/P/P/P --bby raised his hand then immediately put it down. RICKY (20, 6'0")/F/F/F/F/P CHEN KUAN JUI (23, 5'9")/F/F/F/F/F LEE JEONG HYEON (22, 6'1")/F/P/F/F/F KEITA (23, 5'5")/F/F/P/P - okay his laugh when they raised their hands for the killing part was everything see, this bby is honorable and votes for who he thinks. not like cuntface voting for Hui just so he'd win. YOON JONG WOO (24, 5'9")/F/P/P/P - This bby gets all the points for knowing how to be a fucking leader. WANG ZI HAO (23, 5'10)/F/P/F/P MA JING XIANG (20, 6'2")/F/F/F/F - Ricky haaaates this kid. I do too though, sooooo. - ohhh, Jongwoo haaaaates him too! LIM JUN SEO (19, 5'10")/F/F/F/F

..............................................................................................................................

SUNG HAN BIN (23, 5'10")/P/P/F/P/F HAN YU JIN (17, 5'10")/F/P/P/P/F SEOK MATTHEW (22 5'7")/P/P/P/P/F - sir, i dint really understand why the fuck you're crying?? -- omfg "i felt like it was my fault." - um, it 100% was sir. KIM JI WOONG (25, 5'10)/P/P/P/P/F - i just dont know what to make of this guy. why is he so intune w other ppls feelings? comforting them and shit. YOO SEUNG EON (20, 5'10")/F/P/F/F/P KIM TAE RAE (22, 5'8")/F/P/P/F SEO WON (23 5'7")/F/F/F/P TAKUTO (16, 5'5")/F/F/F/F OLLIE (18, 6'0")/F/F/F/F CHA WOONG KI (22, 5'8")/F/F/F/F

Why is it such an ordeal if Matthews leads them while bitchface is gone?? He's such a cunt face.

..............................................................................................................................

KIM GYU VIN (20, 6'0")/F/P/F/F/F - ewwwwww, NO you can't go again. You can go fucking home bro. This kid isn't good. He's like Kuanlin from Wanna One. Ppl just think he's good cause they like his looks. but he ain't even pretty! They gave HIM the 2nd killing part? Over Lee Yedam?? Over Kum Junhyeon? Nah. HUI (31, 5'7")/P/P/P/P/P PARK GUN WOOK (19, 6'0")/P/P/P/P/P >> Viki doesn't let me take screenshots, but when Gunwookie is watching Gyuvin and the caption says "Focused"; HE LOOKS GORGEOUS. omfg is he handsome!!! KUM JUN HYEON (22, 5'11")/F/P/P/F/P - smartass kid, haha! LEE SEUNG HWAN (24, 5'10")/P/P/P/P/P HIROTO (22, 5'9")/F/F/F/F/F PARK HAN BIN (22, 5'9")/F/P/P/P - awww, this kid goes "can I trust myself more?" Yes bby! you can! -- I like this kid. He's on my team. >> Switch (voluntary) When does he get his blue hair? LEE YE DAM (21, 5'5")/F/P/P/P - oh wait, why was this kid voted off? NAURRRR JI YUN SEO (19, 6'0")/F/P/P/F OH SUNG MIN (23, 5'11")/P/F/P/F - why is this bitch always leading though??

[what-breaks-my-heart]

Here are some brief thoughts on kdrama that started airing in 2020 that I've watched. I said brief, but those who have been following me would appreciate that this is indeed, brief.

The list is in alphabetical order.

1. 365: Repeat the Year (MBC)

Disclosure: I am a HUGE Lee Joon Hyuk stan. He is second only to Hyun Bin on my list. The fact that this drama is on the top of this list is a happy coincidence 🥰🥰

I was soooooooo excited when I knew Lee Joon Hyuk was to star in a new drama. MBC made the announcement of the drama late last year, and I was literally walking to the office when I saw the announcement on ig.

The premise of the drama was pretty straightforward. 10 people were given the chance to travel back in time exactly one year prior. Mysterious things kept happening to the people who took the trip, so our Detective Ji “Fluffy-Hair” Hyung Joo and webtoon writer Shin “Self-Hater” Ga Hyun joined hands to figure out what exactly happened.

Once they finally figured out what caused the mysterious cases, they faced a great dilemma on what to do, with our Fluffy Hair detective running as a fugitive.

The ending was really sad, and I really wished it ended differently, but the main character of the story was our Fluffy Hair detective, and him having to live on and reset the whole thing from the new past was a nice touch to the ending.

This drama was full of surprises, twist and turn, and it is certainly a drama I would consider rewatching in the future.

2. Do You Like Brahms? (SBS)

Many people criticised the second half of this drama. Apparently the year 2020 is the year when kdramaland keeps being a disappointment, and many people are quick to include this drama in the list of disappointing drama, despite having a good beginning.

I beg to differ though. To me this drama feels more of a healing drama, wherein the characters are forced to deal with their issues. And anyone who has had to go through any form of therapy knows how hard healing process is.

TL;DR: The main leads are both people who have been mentally abused by the people around them, except for Cha Young In, because she was the only reason I did not throw my remote control at my 50-inch TV.

Park Joon Young is your classic example of a ‘gifted kid’ struggle. He was seen as a young, talented pianist who had a bright future ahead of him. But people started to treat him more like a trophy than a human being, so he decided to take a sabbatical, much to the criticism of people in the music industry. Park Joon Young realised that his passion in playing the piano has faded away, no thanks to his abusive piano professor who belittled him again and again, and practically brainwashed him into being a people pleaser. You could see how Park Joon Young was not himself in the beginning of the drama once you finish the drama.

Chae Song Ah took interest in violin at a later age (much later than professional musicians) and decided to pursue her dream by enrolling into a music programme. Her classmates were all younger than her, and it didn’t help that they all learnt music since much younger. I love how Song Ah did not give up on her dream easily and gave it her all, before she finally decided to let go of her dream to become a musician. The metaphor of her love for violin and Joon Young hurting her again and again and she just endured it though.. I cried like a mess well I am a mess but that’s a separate issue

Special shout out to Cha Young In who was there for both of them.

3. Flower of Evil (tvN)

If thriller is your thing, consider this drama. If you are one of those people who like to see your characters being tortured (physically and mentally), this drama is a MUST WATCH. And if you enjoy watching Lee Joon Ki playing a character who is put at a great distress because he is trying to run from his past, go watch this drama.

More importantly, if you enjoy a drama where your ML is sexy, attends to house chores and takes care of his bright young daughter while his wife goes crazy for solving violent crimes, a devoted husband who is attentive and a tender person but also a freak in the sheets, you are wasting every single of your breath not watching this drama.

I mean look at this man teasing his wife about his stamina.

Flower of Evil did not feel draggy at all. Everything that happened within the first 6 episodes could have been an entire drama if this was written by someone else. Seriously, this drama kept me at the edge of my couch!

The dynamic of HS and JW screams POWER COUPLE but at the same time it broke my heart how they were pushed into corners too many times by the people around them I do hope they had some sexy times while they were in the corners though

The focus on their wedding rings throughout the drama symbolised their unbreakable bond. The wedding rings were literally the very last thing that kept them together when JW stumbled upon evidences that pointed against HS.

JW, whose compass was only trusting what she saw, and not what she heard, tried to break the stigma of women being at a disadvantage in the police force. Heck, she was better than her entire team when it came to solving cases, her being the only woman in the team. Who said women cannot make good cops?

The plot twist though.. And the climax.. To this day, I still listen to this soundtrack from the drama and cry just thinking of the climax.

4. Into the Ring (also known as Memorials) (KBS2)

I didn’t even plan on watching this drama. I was channel surfing and saw Park Sung Hoon looking all depressed in the first episode and ran into Koo Se Ra. Girl was UNHINGED and determined to fight for her way.

Her motivation was initially on getting a stable pay check from being a district representative (it was only 60 million won which is like USD55k so it’s not that much) but she eventually became the district representative who fought for the benefit of the people and did not care for the political warfare that took place.

Came along Seo Gong Myung, a government officer in the local government office who was demoted from planning unit of the accounting department or something to be a secretariat to the district assembly. Seo Gong Myung sticks to his principle no matter what, which surprise surprise, is HATED by everyone in the district government.

Turns out our main leads were friends when they were kids so Se Ra kept teasing him and dragging him into her scheme of fighting for the people, which Gong Myung agreed to, not so much because he was a community-loving person, but because he was afraid Se Ra would get into trouble since she was as straight as a ruler.

Long story short, our leads fell for each other, and their relationship was HILAIROUS to watch. I think I speak for everyone who watched the drama that we had no reason to believe Se Ra did not peg Gong Myung for fun 😝😝

They were so cute together awwww

5. Kairos (MBC)

This is another drama that I stumbled into. Only this time, I saw Nam Gyu Ri and I remember seeing her ig post on a new drama so I decided to give it a go. She wrecked my heart in 49 Days so I decided to check this out for funsies. Hooo boy was I in for a major surprise.

The first two episodes got me hooketh!! I still cannot believe how the drama managed to keep me on my edge especially during the last 5 minutes of every episode. The pacing is even faster than Flower of Evil, and since this drama went back and forth between past and future, it keeps me guessing whether their efforts would bear fruit.

Will Kim “Sexy Brain” Seo Jin  and Han “I-Know-No-Fear” Ae Ri succeed in fighting the evil, who at this point in time remains unknown? I know Chairman Yoo Seo Il is currently being hinted as the culprit behind everything but I know better that he is just a puppet who sold his soul to the real devil who most likely is in the higher ranks in politics. I mean he even hinted at his remorse for what happened with Taejung Town 19 years prior. My suspicion is he is trying to cover up whatever happened because otherwise his own family would be at risk, so his only option is to redeem himself by doing something about the Taejung Town. I could be wrong, but regardless of who turns out to be the real villain in the story, I can say I am so satisfied by how the story has progressed so far.

The time paradox still hurts my brain, but I am choosing that this drama does not assume that time is linear.

There is still not enough people watching this drama and I’m begging you all to go and catch up before it ends in two weeks time.

6. More than Friends (JTBC)

A little trivia: I reblog most of the posts from @kdramastuff even if I am not watching the show at the point of reblogging the posts. I had been following her posts on this drama for 3 weeks, and I finally decided to marathon all 6 episodes and joined the watching party.

More than Friends was another drama that many people called a disappointment but I had a different opinion on it. Yes, I used to be the nerd who had different opinions on many things in high school sue me

The drama is premised on Kyung Woo Yeon who is said to have a crush on her high school friend, Lee Soo for 10 years. Lee Soo is nowhere near to be the perfect boyfriend material. He is selfish, does not care about other people’s feelings, and was always a lone ranger.

BUUUUUUT, Lee Soo seemed to show signs of care and affection (even though it was not at all for a normal person’s standard) for Woo Yeon. Surprisingly, he seemed to only do it for Woo Yeon and gave attention to Woo Yeon alone, even though he could practically pick and choose anyone he liked from the swarm of girls who were chasing him.

One day, he told Woo Yeon that he had to leave to the US to study, which made our girl sad. She decided to confess at the airport, but he outright turned her down, saying he only wanted to be friends with her. Over the time, they kept running into each other by coincidence (note: her name Woo Yeon is a wordplay on coincidence in Korean). Later, it was revealed that he wanted her to always be by his side, but he has built a wall as tall as the Great Wall of China before the idea of love so he didn’t realise what his true feeling for Woo Yeon was all along.

Woo Yeon, who felt sick of the ten-year crush, decided to end the “curse” and kissed him by the beach, thinking of getting a closure on her crush.

Long story short, Lee Soo finally realised his feeling for her and decided to confess, but by that time, a young, handsome, rich CEO of a conglomerate has entered into the picture. Cue the game of cat and mouse between Lee Soo and Woo Yeon about resentment, regret and relationship.

This drama was promoted as a romcom, but it feels more like a slice-of-life drama with a mix of melo and romcom in there. Seriously, I cried buckets watching this drama, not something you’d expect from a romcom. The dialogues were well-written, with each episode revolving around a specific theme. This was such a good drama coming from a rookie writer.

This drama did not have that many viewers to begin with, and many of those few people dropped it along the way, including the one who was responsible in getting me hooked into this drama :p  By the end of it, there were so few people talking about this drama in the tag (shout out to @dohyunsoo @have-yet-to-decide @starfire-s @thbn-anything​ for keeping me company to the very end of this drama)

This drama broke my record of screenshots per episode and total screenshots for any show. Until now, I have yet to finish posting them. I should probably upload more screenshots later tonight.

This drama had some AMAZING shots in the first half, with beautiful sceneries mostly in Seoul. It’s like what they said, “a daily occurrence for you, a trip for me”.

7. Oh My Baby (tvN)

I did not even remember watching this drama!! It was only after scrolling through my gallery that I saw I had shared some posts on my ig story about the drama.

It was in the middle of a lockdown when this drama aired and many of my memories from back then feel so distant to me.

The plot was not THAT good, but this drama is something you may consider if you like torturing yourself about the struggle of wanting to have a baby.

8. Once Again (KBS2)

Arguably one of the weekend family drama KBS2 in a while that kept me waiting for new episodes in front of my TV. Some people are turned off by weekend family drama because they tend to have slow pacing which makes viewers feel like they are being dragged to one of those boring corporate events that you would rather miss and wish you could be literally anywhere else.

Because this drama had more pairing than the typical weekend family drama, the story did take some time before it was on full momentum. It did feel like the drama could have been better with even one less sibling to worry about, but it was a fun watch in the middle of lockdown.

Will I watch it again? I’d rather rewatch House of Bluebird (starring Lee Joon Hyuk and Lee Sang Yeob as friends to enemies to friends again) because that drama spoke to me in a way that was more relatable. No hate to Once Again though. I just prefer House of Bluebird better.

Note: Justice for Song Ga Hee and her lovely son, Kim Ji Hoon. He had to grow up so much because of what happened to his mother, that it broke Ga Hee’s heart. And mine of course

9. Secret Forest 2 (tvN)

I watched Secret Forest once it has finished and I fell in love with the drama! Imagine my excitement when they announced Secret Forest 2 with my three main characters reprising their roles. No hate to Yoon Se Ah, I love her, but her screen time in Secret Forest was not enough to make me excited about her return. But I was pleased with her role in Secret Forest 2 and I hope if there is a third season, her character gets the redemption arc that she yearns for.

Secret Forest 2 was not as intense as the brilliant original, but I understood that it had to do with the overall theme of the season, and the theme required the script to be as such. Some people may argue me on this, but I still think what they pulled off was brilliant.

Too bad there was a severe lack of Lee Joon Hyuk on my screen though.

10. Tale of the Nine-Tailed (tvN)

Well. This drama went far beyond my expectation. The OTP was to die for. No such thing as miscommunication trope. This drama did not waste time on unnecessary drama. The pacing was incredibly fast, even faster than Kairos. Although to be fair, Kairos had to play with two different timelines and required time to establish the setting.

I’m sad about what happened to Lee Rang, but he did what he did, and he would never be able to erase that much pain from his memory even if the deities decided to be lenient on him because of his roles in killing off Imoogi. A fresh start as a human seemed like a fair reset to his life, and I hope he lives well, surrounded by people who love him.

I was never a fan of Jo Bo Ah (no hate on her, I was just indifferent) but this drama opened my eyes to what an incredible actress she is. I wish her a successful career ahead.

[theadusa]

All the dramas I’ve watched in 2020

These are all the dramas that I watched in 2020, with some review there should be NO Spoilers. I think I watched a lot more than usual probably because what else am I supposed to do between school and quarantine. So this is gonna be a long one...

Crash Landing on You (Lee Jung-hyo, 2019-2020)

Main Leads: Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin

Episodes: 16, 70 to 110 Minutes 

Thoughts: I enjoyed this drama, and it was a good one to start 2020 with. I thought it was a perfect blend of romance, comedy, heartfelt, found family, action, and some tragedy. I would highly recommend it, especially for those who are new to Kdramas. Also fun fact this is my first Hyun Bin drama. Rating: Fun and adorable

Tale of Nokdu (Kim Dong-hwi, 2019)

Main Leads: Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun

Episodes: 32, 35 minutes

Thoughts: I actually started watching this when it was airing but I stopped around episode 13 because of my busy schedule and finished it in the new year. I adore the main couple, the romance, comedy, the found family, and the women center story. I thought it shined the brightest when it was focused on the group and its funny and warm moments but once it got too political it kinda fell flat. I loved the ending, however. Also, I really like Jang Dong Young as an actor, I saw him in Solomon’s Perjury (2016) and Mr. Sunshine (2018) and I loved how he played Nok Du too. Rating: I love a women’s only widow village

I’ll Find You When The Weather is Nice (Han Ji-seung, 2020)

Main Leads: Seo Kang Joon and Park Min Young

Episodes: 16, 60 minutes 

Thoughts: I really liked this drama, probably one of my favorites this year. As you will notice I enjoy quieter and more slow-burn stories. Also, I am a fan of Park Min Young she tends to pick more interesting and strong-willed female roles, so it is really enjoyable to watch.  Rating: makes me want to own a book store.

King: The Eternal Monarch (Kim Eun-sook, 2020)

Main Leads: Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun

Episodes: 16, 70 Minutes

Thoughts: Confession; I am actually not the biggest fan of Lee Min Ho, nothing against him I just hate rich bratty characters and he tends to play them. However, I surprisingly really liked his character, he wasn’t a rich brat he actually was likable. I also really like Kim Go Eun, she is actually one of the main reasons why I watched and also with all the hype around it. Woo Do Hwan, who I have always liked, stole the whole show, however. I didn’t hate it like a lot of people, I really liked the characters, I liked the romance and the action. Also, Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun’s hugs were absolutely fabulous. It wasn’t my favorite and there were too many product placements, but I don’t think it was the worst drama this year. Rating: Lukewarm 

A Piece of your mind (Lee Sang-yeob, 2020)

Main Leads: Jung Hae In and Chae Soo Bin

Episodes: 12, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I actually really liked this drama despite the low views, again I’m big on slow burn stories and character focus. I believe the episodes were cut from 16 to 12 I don’t know exactly why maybe because of the Pandemic or due to viewership or a mixture of both. Despite its being cut short I really liked the ending, and I thought the two leads were sweet. Rating: Wish we had more time to develop the characters.

Its Okay not to be Okay (Park Shin Woo, 2020) 

Main Leads: Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Yea Ji and Oh Jung Se 

Episodes: 16, 70 to 85 minutes

Thoughts: Out of all the dramas I talked the most about this one. I have always been a fan of Seo Yea Ji since Save Me (2017) and Lawless Lawyer (2018) and I am happy to see her getting more recognition because of this role. The entire cast was amazing and I think I cried every episode. Such a good and heart-wrenching drama which is why I chose to watch it before work every time. Rating: I would let Seo Yea Ji stab me with a knife anytime.

Mystic Pop up bar (Jeon Chang-geun, 2020) 

Main Leads: Hwang Jung Eum and Yook Sung Jae and Choi Won Young

Episodes: 12, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I actually watched this while I was watching Its Okay Not to Be Okay and it was a nice balance to it because this was more of a found family story with less heartbreaking moments. Though it did have its share of heartbreak. I really liked all the characters and their relationship. Also, I am a sucker for bureaucratic fantasy/ magic, and kdramas are so good at it. Rating: I wish it was 16 episodes. 

When the Camila Bloom (Cha Yeong Hoon, 2019) 

Main Leads: Gong Hyo Jin and Kang Ha Neul

Episodes: 20, 63 to 75 minutes

Thoughts: I liked the story overall, the romance was cute and the mystery was interesting but I thought the family expectations was the best part of the story. This was not my favorite drama, but it was enjoyable and heartfelt. I watched it right after It's Okay Not to Be Okay and while I was watching Flower of Evil (2020) which probably is why I was so underwhelmed by it. Rating: Sweet romance and adorable found family.

Flower of Evil (Kim Cheol Kyu, 2020) 

Main Leads: Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won

Episode:16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: This was my favorite drama of this year. I went into this drama not thinking much of it, and I mainly watched it as a post drama blues drama. It was an action and thriller which I mainly don’t get attached to plus I am a huge fan of Lee Joon Gi. I should have known better, I cared so much about all the characters, the acting phenomenal, also every time they showed their hands I cried. This drama left me shriveled and empty inside. Rating: Lee Joon Gi will literally kill me one day. 

Put Your Head On My Shoulders (Zhu Dongning, 2019) 

Main Leads: Xing Fei and Lin Yi 

Episodes: 24, 40 to 45 minutes

Thoughts: This is the first Chinese drama on this list. I thought it was cute, I liked the couple and thought it was alright. I started to dislike the male lead later in the series but it was overall fine. It was basic and sweet with very little drama. Rating: It did its job.

The School Nurse Files ( Lee Kyoung Mi, 2020)

Main Leads: Jung Yu Mi and Nam Joo Hyuk

Episodes: 6,  45 to 57 minutes

Thoughts: This is probably my second favorite drama. I couldn’t tell what happened in the drama but I loved it. I thought it was weird and fascinating, and just so magical. I loved the children and just how the whole school was just off its rocker. I also think that Nam Joo Hyuk does really well in serious roles, and I thought he did a really good job here. Rating: 1 jelly heart.  

Mr. Heart (Park Sun Jae, 2020) 

Main Leads: Cheon Seung Ho and Lee Se Jin

Episodes: 8, 11 Minutes

Thoughts: This was 8 episodes of start fluff and I adored it. Apparently, it is apart of a BL series by Park Sun Jae and there is a movie version that I haven’t watched. If you want to destress and watch just fluff this is the show for you. Rating: If it is any sweeter I would be going to the dentist. 

You are My Destiny ( Ding Ying Zhou, 2020) 

Main Leads: Xing Zhao Lin  and Liang Jie

Episodes: 36, 45 minutes

Thoughts: I hated this drama, I thought it was the worst thing ever. I don’t know why I even watched all 36 episodes. Apparently, it is a remake of a popular 2008 Twaniese drama Fated to Love You and there is a Korean remake of it as well. I have watched neither of them, so I was brand new to this story. I hated, despised the male lead. He was whiny, entitled, and an asshole. The only good part of the drama was the male and female lead actually had a lot of chemistry, unfortunately, they are playing awful characters. Rating: This was made in 2020???

First Romance (Ding Pei, 2020) 

Main Leads: Wan Peng and Riley Wang

Episodes: 24, 45 Minutes

Thoughts: This is another Chinese drama. Similar to Mr. Heart (2020) this show was super fluffy. I really liked the main couple they seem to respect each other and they both had adorable crushes on each other. I loved the whole dumb jock and dumb artist dynamic it was so funny. Rating: Cute!!! 

Lost Romance ( Eri Hao, 2020) 

Main Leads: Marcus Chang and Vivian Sung

Episodes: 20, 70 minutes 

Thoughts: This is the only Twainese drama on this list. I think I liked this drama, I actually only remember very little of this drama. I like the CEO in the real world more than the book world, and I also really liked the female lead except she lowkey stalked the CEO like that was not okay. Rating: I think I liked it???

When We Were Young ( Deng Ke, Liu Guo Hui, 2018)

Main Leads: Neo Hou and Wan Peng and Gala Zhang and Pan Mei and Ye Marcus Li

Episodes: 24, 45 minutes

Thoughts: I really liked this film, I loved all the characters and thought it was all very heartfelt. I cried like a baby, and Hua Biao was such a touching and relatable character. And the whole grandma story hit so close to home. Rating: Made me cry like a baby.

Moment of 18 ( Sim Na Yeon, 2019)

Main Leads: Ong Seong Wu and Kim Hyang Gi

Episodes: 16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I really liked this drama, and I thought the romance was so cute. I also really liked the relationship between the moms and was sad that the rich mom was a bitch and ruined the friendship. I also wasn’t a big fan of the ending, but I loved the rest of it. Rating: The main lead is part of a boy group because he had a random singing moment. 

Perfect and Casual ( Li Shuang, 2020) 

Main Leads: Miles Wei and Xu Ruo Han

Episodes: 24, 45 minutes

Thoughts: This is another Chinese drama on this list. I’m pretty sure it's considered an Idol drama so that sets your expectations. I really liked this drama a lot, I am a big fan of contract marriages and I thought the leads were so cute together. Also, this is the first contract marriage drama where the leads don’t break up which I like. A lot of the drama came from outside of the relationship. Rating: You can’t analyze love.

Le Coup De Foudre ( Wang Zhi, 2019) 

Main Leads: Janice Wu and Zhang Yujian

Episodes: 35, 45 minutes

Thoughts: My favorite Chinese drama on this list. I loved this drama, I thought it was sweet and simple and the main couple was so realistic. Unpopular opinion I disliked the second couple and the best friend I thought she was annoying and brattish. However, I adore the main couple and their relationship. Rating: Realistic sweet romance. 

More Than Friends ( Choi Sung Bum, 2020)

Main Leads: Ong Seong Wu and Shin Ye Eun

Episodes: 16, 70 minutes

Thoughts: I enjoyed the overall story and characters. I loved the group and their relationships. Also, Young-Hee made me cry, and her relationship with Hyun Jae was so sweet. The main leads were also sweet, and I related a lot to Lee So. I just didn’t like the back and forth. Rating: How many times can we break up in a drama. 

Be With You ( Zhou Miao, 2020) 

Main Leads: Ji Xiao Bing and Zhang Ya-Qin

Episodes: 24, 45 minutes

Thoughts: This is the last Chinese drama I watched this year. It was alright, the romance was sweet, I really like the female lead, and the male lead was nice to look at. It was okay. Also, the second couple was so ??? She was his boss, enemy, and older than him, what?? Rating: Sometimes you need to fall in love to be creative. 

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo ( Kim Kyu Tae, 2016) 

Main Leads: Lee Joon Gi and Lee Ji Eun (IU) 

Episodes: 20, 60 minutes

Thoughts: I know I am really late watching this, but I finally did. I went in knowing this would hurt me and Lee Joon Gi already scared me this year ( damn this man) so I was fully prepared. I really wasn’t,  it so much. (SPOIlERS) When Wang Eun and Park Soon Deok died I sob like a baby (SPOILER ENDING). It took me a long time to finish this show because its heart so much, like it physically hurt me. The show was really good, and heartbreaking, and the ending stabs me in the heart 20 times. Rating: Lee Joon Gi is trying to kill me with tears. 

Persona ( Lee Kyoung Mi, Yim Pil Sung, Jeon Go Woon, and Kim Jong Kwan, 2019) 

Main Leads: Lee Ji Eun (IU) 

Episodes: 4, 19 to 27

Thoughts: This is a collection of mini-films by directors. 4 separate stories are starring Lee Ji Eun. I thought all of them good, especially “ Kiss Burn” and “Walking at Night.” There isn’t much else to this, more than it is an artistic display of filmmaking. Rating: Hipster Kdrama

Come and Hug Me ( Choi Joon-bae, 2018) 

Main Leads: Jang Ki-Yong and Jin Ki-Joo

Episodes: 32, 35 minutes

Thoughts: I actually just finished this show today. I really liked it, I thought it was both sweet and heartwarming/wrenching. I hated that one journalist and the public like why are they blaming a victim. I didn’t watch it with my full mind because I’ve been distracted lately, but I did enjoy it. Rating: another cute but sad couple. 

Movies I watched this year: 

Spell Bound ( Hwang In Ho, 2011)

Main Cast: Son Ye Jin and Lee Min Ki

Running Time: 114 Minutes

Thoughts: I watched this at like 12 am after a bad day and it was cute. I love RomCom fantasy, which I think Korean media does really well. I don’t know what else to say except it is a really cute romance. Rating: Is it the ghost or the butterflies

The Host ( Bong Joon Ho, 2006)

Main Cast: Song Kang Ho and Byun Hee Bong and Park Hae Il and Bae Doona and Go, Ah Sung

Running Time: 119

Thoughts: This film I had to actually watch for class. It was a really good film which is expected from Bong Joon Ho. I love monster films and I thought this was a good rendition of this film. Also, The monster was so cool especially from 2006. I thought it was heartbreaking, stirring, and so beautifully shot. Rating: Oscar-worthy Direction 

Little Forest ( Yim Soon-rye, 2018) 

Main Cast: Kim Tae Ri  and Ryu Jun Yeol and Moon So Ri and Jin Ki Joo

Running Time: 103 minutes

Thoughts: I really, really liked this film. It reminded me so much of I’ll Find You When The Weather is Nice (2020) that I thought that it was based on this film but it isn’t. I have watched this film 3 times since October and every time I watch it have made bread. I really just love everything about this film, how quiet it is, the cinematography, the acting, just everything. Rating: Three loaves of bread. 

Always ( Song Il Gon, 2011)

Main Cast: So Ji Sub and Han Hyo Joo

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Thoughts: I thought it was okay, I watched it while I was knitting so I was distracted a bit. But I thought the couple was sweet, and the characters were interesting. Rating: It's Okay.

       Currently watching 

True Beauty ( Kim Sang-hyeop, 2020-) 

Main Cast: Moon Ga Young and Cha Eun Woo and Hwang In Yeop

Episodes: 16, 70 minutes 

Thoughts: This is currently an ongoing series that is actually really popular. Apparently, it is based on a webtoon, which I haven’t read. I like it so far, I always liked Moon Ga Young and I think she is a great actress. She plays Im Ju Kyung in a likable and insecure way, instead of someone annoying which could easily happen. I will be continuing watching. Rating so far: Okey dokey yo.

Live On ( Kim Sang-woo, 2020-) 

Main Cast: Jung Da Bin and Hwang Min Hyun

Episodes: 8?, 60 Minutes

Thoughts: I really Like this show. The main couple is sweet and supportive. I really like the female lead, I like that she is cold and kinda quiet, but with a sweet spot if you are not a dick. I really like the main relationship conflict comes from friendship instead of romance, I think it makes the show more interesting. Rating: I want to Join a Broadcast group.  

On My List: 

I actually don’t have anything else on my list so if anyone has recommendations please tell me. I am thinking about watching Mr. Queen ( 2020) because I really like Shin Hye Sun. I also want to watch Sweet Home (2020) the Netflix series. But please recommend me some dramas!!!

This is such a long list, and I had fun doing it and going back over all the dramas. I hope everyone has a good New year and that we will have many more good dramas in 2021!